Marcus Aurelius
How could someone who is talking about Italy, with a family name of Marcus, not say a few words about Marcus Aurelius Antoninus!
He was born in Rome of an aristocratic family with a established presence in Spain. As a child, Emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138) caught his attention. Hadrian appointed Marcus to the priesthood (129) and looked after his top notch education.
Marcus discovered Stoicism by age 11 and by his early 20's he left his other studies to focus on philosophy. The most concise summary of what is follows is summarized as the goal of human existence is to live consistently with nature, which means "consistently with Reason".
Emperor Antoninus Pius, followed Hadrian, and adopted Marcus as his son in 138. Keeping the family as a focus, Marcus married Pius's daughter - Faustian in 139.
Admitted to the Senate and holding consulship twice. In 147 he shared power with Antoninus. in 161 Marcus ascended the throne, sharing imperial power with his adopted brother Luscious Aurelius Verus for eight years. Then with the death of Verus, Marcus' own son, Commodus, joined to govern in 177.
It is said that Emperor Marcus was just. He rules for about 75% of what is referred to as the period of five good emperors (Narva, Trajan, Hadrian, Antonimis Pius and Marcus. During his rule, he had a series of problems to deal with such as famine, earthquakes, fires, and plague. On top of all the internal issues, the Germans were a problem in the North and the Parthians in the east.
Marcus was a strict follower of the Roman religion at the time and as a result, persecuted the Christians.
By 175 his rule was coming to an end, and Marcus had to deal with a revolt of Syria, Avidius Cassius.
He dies on March 17, 180 in Vindobona Vienna, Austria) and his son Commodus became Emperor and turned out to be one of the worst rulers of Rome. The ashes of Marcus were returned to Rome and placed in Hadrian's Mausoleum - this is what is today known as the Castel Sant'Angelo.
His Meditations live on and are said to be interesting to read. He also left two Roman monuments. The column to commemorate in the Marcomannic Wars and the equestrian statue on the Capitol.
The Column of Marcus Aurelius
The Marcus Aurelius Column was modeled after another column in Rome, - Trajan's Column which was completed in 113, located in Trajan's Forum, near the Quirinal Hill. It is not known for sure when it was built, if it was built while he was alive or shortly after but there is some document that dates the column as being completed in 193. The column was restored in 1589 when at that time, a good three meters of its base was below ground level! Inside is a narrow stairway and there are small slits that allow light in,
The relief tells the store of the Danubian or Marcomannic wars (166 and on).
While very similar to Trajan's Column, the carvings have a more dramatic style (heads larger so that viewers can see their facial expressions.
When it was restored in 1589 by Pope Sixtus V a bronze status of St, Paul was placed on the top to match the state of St. Peter than was placed on the top of Trajan's column.
Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius
In the Piazza del Campidoglio is a replica (1981) of the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius. The original was moved, relatively recently, in 1981 to the Palazzo dei Conservatori.
It is said that the statue remains because of an error. With Rome's conversion to Christanity, many of the bronze imperial statues were melted down to make coin or to make new sculptures for Christian churches. It is said that when the time cam to melt the Marcus statue, it was throught to protray the Christian Emperor Constantine. This we have the only remain bronze statue of a Roman Emperor that pre-dates Christanity.
The status has been moved from time to time. It was in the Lateran Palace and in 1538 was moved to the Piazza del Campidoglio when Michelangelo took on the re-design of the hill. Michelangelo ws commissioned by Pope Paul III to restructure the Campidoglio. It was a centre for worship of Jupiture during the Roman Empire. It was hoped that the redesign would be a symbol of the New Rome of Popes.