Wednesday, February 26, 2014

The Market of Trajan (Built 113 A.D.)



         One thing you can learn from the study of history, is that people are people and they dont change their basic nature, no matter what time period is examined. And there is one basic fact about humans that is true in all times, and in all places: people love to shop. And they are always looking for new stores to go to, and new products to buy. The Romans were no different. We’ve seen how small the original Forum was. Rome outgrew it by 50 B.C. What to do? There were no developers at the time and only the state had the power, or resources, to construct new retail sites in the city. Julius Caesar led the way. He built, and opened, the Forum of Julius Caesar in 46 B.C., financing it with booty he had looted from his conquest of Gaul. It was a smashing success and won him the adoration of the votersand the shoppers!
Subsequent Emperors took notice and built their own forums. But there can never be too much retail space.  By the year 100 A.D. Rome was bursting at the seams—commercially speaking. The Emperor Trajan decided to follow the tried and true method of winning friends, and making himself immortal (in the economic sense). Fresh from conquering Dacia (modern Romania), he plowed all of his gains into the magnificent Forum and Market of Trajan. First, he cut away a spur of the Quirinal Hill to make some space. Several million cubic yards of earth had to be moved. Then, he constructed his Forum, (the square space in the foreground). The semi-circular space is what remains of the Market. Everything was for sale: fish, wine, meat, oil, slaves, dyes, cloth, clothes, everything one could possibly imagineexcept for electronic equipment, and Chick-Fil-A. Sort of like a Roman version of the Mall of America. You wouldnt think that Romania had that much wealth to steal would you?

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Il Vittoriano (built 1885-1925 A.D.)


This monument is dedicated to King Victor Emmanuel II of Savoy, the first king of the unified Italian Kingdom. As Ive mentioned before, this is another example of national myth-building in marble.  It also houses the Tomb of Italys Unknown Soldier. Thats the king himself, in bronze, riding his horse and looking out over the sprawling, wealthy, vibrant, city that he loved and made his capitol. Thats the myth.

Actually, Victor Emmanuel never really bothered to learn Italian. He hated Rome and never spent one moment more in the city than was absolutely necessary. Although trained as a soldier, he nevewon a battle in his life. Every war he got Italy into was a total disaster. He had only one real interest in life: hunting. 20% of the new kingdoms budget went to its new royal family, and most of that was spent on palaces and hunting lodges for the king. When he wasnt hunting game, VE II devoted his energies to hunting his other favorite prey: women. Tall, short, skinny, fat, old, young, noble, commoners—it just didnt matter to him. Although he most certainly had never heard of George Washington, he definitely wanted to become the Father of His Country.

Probably the most frustrating thing about Victor Emmanuel is that, the more he screwed up, the more he prospered.  With every unnecessary war Italy lost under his leadership, the more territory it gained. The more tax money he wasted, the more funds a grateful parliament voted for him. With every friend and ally he betrayed, his personal prestige grewEven when Pius IX excommunicated him, it only served to increase his popularity among liberal nationalists, and provided a rallying point for secularist patriots. This guy just could not lose, no matter how hard he tried. And after he died, (cowering in fear of hell and begging for the last rites), the nation constructed this magnificent monument to their first king, and to all the glories of Italy that he personified. Think of what you or I could do with luck like that!

The monument is jammed up against the Capitoline Hill and offers some of the best vistas of Rome. Inside is a museum dedicated to the Risorgimento, the Italian Armed Forces, and the National Culture in general. Many Romans have nicknamed the monument The Wedding Cake.