For three weekends, one of Romes most famous ancient monuments, the Ara Pacis, or Altar of Peace, dedicated by the Emperor Augustus in 9 BC, will be shown in a blaze of colour, as it appeared originally.
The huge marble altar, covered in carvings, was buried in the Field of Mars for centuries before it was recovered and has lost all trace of its previous colour decoration. To modern eyes, accustomed to seeing classical buildings and sculpture a uniform and sober grey, the illusion created by a sophisticated play of lights on the surface of the monument may come as a bit of a shock, with the senators clad in deep purple marching above a frieze of green acanthus leaves and yellow flowers. However, the effect has been created according to strict scientific criteria, through the study of the colours in wall paintings from Pompeii and other contemporary Roman monuments to recreate a similar effect.
The present show is the repeat of an experiment carried out in 2008 on the 23 rd September, in honour of Augustus birthday.
The first Colori dell'Ara exhibition was held on the weekend 26 th- 28 th February 2010.
Subsequent showings on the 26 to 28 th March and 21 to 25 th April 2010, between 8pm and 11 pm, with last entry at 10 pm.
For information: www.arapacis.it
