The Arcus Argentariorum (Latin: Arch of the Money-Changers; in Italian: Arco degli Argentari), is an ancient Roman arch that was partly incorporated in the seventh century into the western wall of the nearby church of San Giorgio al Velabro in Rome, Italy. [1]
It is a widespread misconception that it is a triumphal arch, but it is in fact entirely different in form, with no curves and more resembling an architrave. Its actual purpose is unknown, but the most probable scenario is that it formed a monumental gate where the vicus Jugarius entered the Forum Boarium. As the dedicatory inscription says, it was commissioned not by the state or emperor, but by the local money-changers ( argentarii ) and merchants ( negotiantes ), in honour of Septimius Severus and his family. The top was possibly once decorated with statues of the imperial family, now long gone.
It was finished in 204 AD and is 6.15 metres (20.2 ft) tall and the passage (between two thick pillars supporting a flat lintel) is 3.3 metres (11 ft) wide. It is built of white marble, except for the base which is of travertine. The dedicatory inscription is framed by two bas-reliefs representing Hercules and a genius . The panels lining the passage present two sacrificial scenes — on the right (east), Septimius Severus, Julia Domna and Geta, and on the left (west) side Caracalla with his wife Fulvia Plautilla and father-in-law Gaius Fulvius Plautianus.
The figures of Caracalla's brother, father in law and wife on the passage panels and on the banners on the outside, and their names on the dedicatory inscription, were chiselled out after Caracalla seized sole power and assassinated them.
These sacrificial scenes gave rise to the popular but incorrect saying about the arch that
Tra la vacca e il toro, troverai un gran tesoro.
"Between the cow and the bull, you'll find a great treasure."
Past treasure-hunters interpreted this to mean that there was a treasure hidden inside the arch. They drilled many holes in it, which are still visible.
Above the main reliefs, are smaller panels with Victories or eagles holding up victors' wreaths, and beneath them more sacrificial scenes. The external decoration of the pillars includes soldiers, barbarian prisoners, military banners (with busts of the imperial family) and a now-damaged figure in a short tunic.[ citation needed ]
Lucius Septimius Severus was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of the emperor Pertinax in 193 during the Year of the Five Emperors.
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus "Caracalla" was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor Septimius Severus and Empress Julia Domna. Proclaimed co-ruler by his father in 198, he continued to reign with his brother Geta, co-emperor from 209, after their father's death in 211. His brother was murdered by the Praetorian Guard later that year, under orders from Caracalla himself, who then reigned afterwards as sole ruler of the Roman Empire. Caracalla found administration to be mundane, leaving those responsibilities to his mother. Caracalla's reign featured domestic instability and external invasions by the Germanic peoples.
The Arch of Titus is a 1st-century AD honorific arch, located on the Via Sacra, Rome, just to the south-east of the Roman Forum. It was constructed in c. 81 AD by the Emperor Domitian shortly after the death of his older brother Titus to commemorate Titus's official deification or consecratio and the victory of Titus together with their father, Vespasian, over the Jewish rebellion in Judaea. The arch contains panels depicting the triumphal procession celebrated in 71 AD after the Roman victory culminating in the fall of Jerusalem, and provides one of the few contemporary depictions of artifacts of Herod's Temple. It became a symbol of the Jewish diaspora, and the menorah depicted on the arch served as the model for the menorah used as the emblem of the state of Israel.
Publius Septimius Geta was Roman emperor with his father Septimius Severus and older brother Caracalla from 209, when he was named Augustus like his brother, who had held the title from 198. Severus died in 211, and although he intended for his sons to rule together, they proved incapable of sharing power, culminating with the murder of Geta in December of that year.
A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crowned with a flat entablature or attic on which a statue might be mounted or which bears commemorative inscriptions. The main structure is often decorated with carvings, sculpted reliefs, and dedications. More elaborate triumphal arches may have multiple archways.
The Arch of Constantine is a triumphal arch in Rome dedicated to the emperor Constantine the Great. The arch was commissioned by the Roman Senate to commemorate Constantine's victory over Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in AD 312. Situated between the Colosseum and the Palatine Hill, the arch spans the Via Triumphalis, the route taken by victorious military leaders when they entered the city in a triumphal procession. Dedicated in 315, it is the largest Roman triumphal arch, with overall dimensions of 21 m (69 ft) high, 25.9 m (85 ft) wide and 7.4 m (24 ft) deep. It has three bays, the central one being 11.5 m (38 ft) high and 6.5 m (21 ft) wide and the laterals 7.4 m (24 ft) by 3.4 m (11 ft) each. The arch is constructed of brick-faced concrete covered in marble.
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The Arch of Septimius Severus at the northeastern end of the Roman Forum is a white marble triumphal arch dedicated in 203 A.D. to commemorate the Parthian victories of Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, in the two campaigns against the Parthians of 194-195 A.D. and 197–199 A.D. After the death of Septimius Severus, his sons Caracalla and Geta were initially joint emperors. Caracalla had Geta assassinated in 212 A.D.; Geta's memorials were destroyed and all images or mentions of him were removed from public buildings and monuments. Accordingly, Geta's image and inscriptions referring to him were removed from the arch.
Theveste was a Roman colony situated in the present Tébessa, Algeria.
The Column of Marcus Aurelius is a Roman victory column in Piazza Colonna, Rome, Italy. It is a Doric column featuring a spiral relief: it was built in honour of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius and modeled on Trajan's Column.
The Arch of Trajan is an ancient Roman triumphal arch in Benevento, southern Italy. It was erected in honour of the Emperor Trajan across the Via Appia, at the point where it enters the city.
The Arch of Janus is the only quadrifrons triumphal arch preserved in Rome. It was set up at a crossroads at the northeastern limit of the Forum Boarium, close to the Velabrum, over the Cloaca Maxima drain that went from the Forum to the River Tiber.
The Severan Tondo or Berlin Tondo from circa 200 AD, is one of the few preserved examples of panel painting from Classical Antiquity, depicting the first two generations of the imperial Severan dynasty, whose members ruled the Roman Empire in the late 2nd and early 3rd centuries. It depicts the Roman emperor Septimius Severus with his wife, the augusta Julia Domna, and their two sons and co-augusti Caracalla and Geta. The face of one of the two brothers has been deliberately erased, very likely as part of damnatio memoriae.
The Arch of Gallienus is a name given to the Porta Esquilina, an ancient Roman arch in the Servian Wall of Rome. It was here that the ancient Roman roads Via Labicana and Via Tiburtina started.
A tetrapylon, plural tetrapyla, known in Latin as a quadrifrons is a type of ancient Roman monument of cubic shape, with a gate on each of the four sides, generally built on a crossroads.
Fortuna Redux was a form of the goddess Fortuna in the Roman Empire who oversaw a return, as from a long or perilous journey. Her attributes were Fortuna's typical cornucopia, with her specific function represented by a rudder or steering oar sometimes in conjunction with a globe.
The Arch of Caracalla is a Roman triumphal arch located at Djémila in Algeria (Cuicul). It was built during the early 3rd century. The arch, with a single span (fornix), was placed on the road leading to Sitifis. It constituted the entrance to the city's Severan forum.
The Arch of Caracalla is a tetrapylon Roman triumphal arch in Thebeste, located in present-day Tébessa, Tébessa Province, Algeria. It was constructed during the early 3rd century.
The Arch of Hadrian is an ancient Roman triumphal arch located in Santa Maria Capua Vetere. It was originally a triple arch, but today only three pylons and one of the lateral arches survive. It spanned the Appian Way and constituted an ideal entrance to the city, perhaps corresponding to the line of the pomerium.
The Arch of Septimius Severus is a triumphal arch in Leptis Magna, located in present-day Libya. It was commissioned by the Libya-born Roman Emperor Septimius Severus. The arch was in ruins but was pieced back together by archeologists after its discovery in 1928.
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Coordinates: 41°53′22.24″N12°28′58.71″E / 41.8895111°N 12.4829750°E
