The exhibition itinerary
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Introduction
Building a masterpiece: Trajan’s Column
Inaugurated in 113 C.E., Trajan’s Column—with its immensely heavy blocks of Carrara marble—is an incredibly complex engineering achievement that embodies the peak of Roman expertise in the art of construction. Its measurements are sufficient to grasp the challenges faced by its builders: originally topped by the bronze statue of the emperor Trajan, the Column stands 38.40 meters tall and weighs approximately 1,050 metric tons. Thanks to a detailed study of ancient documents, we can describe all the phases of this enterprise—from the extraction of the marble from the Apuan Alps to the journey of the massive blocks to Rome; from the organization of the construction site to the placement of the Column blocks on top of one another. Trajan’s Column was designed by Apollodorus of Damascus, the most famous architect of antiquity. It has survived more than two thousand years of history intact..