The Trajan's Column
Trajan’s Column is one of the most impressive sights in the Imperial Forum in Rome. This 98 foot monolith of carrara marble was erected on the site of Trajan’s Forum in 113 AD to celebrate the Emperor’s 
conquest of Dacia, modes day Romania. The majestic frieze that coils around the column 23 times can be viewed as an ancient comic strip. The nearly uninterrupted frieze, over 600 feet long if it could be unraveled like a ribbon, illustrates the specific stories, events, battles, speeches, and victories that occurred during the 5-year military campaign. Design by the greatest architect of the century, Apollodorus of Damascus, the scenes are rich with detail, depicting roughly 2500 human figures, including the Emperor himself no less than 59 times.
Almost imperceptible openings provide light to the staircase of 185 steps carved inside the 20 massive marble blocks that make up the column. They lead to a tiny balcony at the very top, where a bronze statue of Trajan himself, which disappeared during the middle ages. Want to climb it? Tough break, this honor is reserved for visiting heads of state.
It can be heard to get a good look at the frieze of the towering column, and nearly impossible, without a very strong pair of binoculars, to interpret any of the specific scenes. Passionate historians should head to the Museum of Roman Civilization in EUR to check out the plaster casts that were made of each individual scene, on display there. You can study them up close, history book in hand, to appreciate fully this extraordinary monument.
