Arch of Trajan.
It is without a doubt the most striking archaeological monument in Ancona: the slender marble triumphal arch that the Senate and people of Rome erected in the second century for the emperor Trajan (Trajanus; 98-117). The arch itself indicates why Trajan deserved the monument: because he had extended the port of Ancona, EX PECVNIA SVA, “with his own money”. With the extension of the port “he granted sailors a safer gateway to Italy”, or so the text on the triumphal arch claims. There can be little doubt that Ancona as a town profited economically from its larger and better port. However, the main reasons for the extension were the emperor’s Dacian Wars, which were fought in 101-102 and 105-106 in present-day Romania. Part of the Roman army departed for the battlefield from Ancona. Their departure is also featured on the famous Column of Trajan in Rome.
Decorations
The Arch of Trajan was erected on the pier of Ancona. One side faced the sea, the other side faced land. The Arch was topped by a total of six statues, presumably made of gilded bronze. Facing the sea were the deities Mercury, Neptune and Portunus. Mercury was a god of travellers and traders, and therefore important for sailors, while Neptune was of course the god of the sea. Portunus was a harbour god; he had an important temple close to the river port of Rome, which is still visible today (see Rome: Santa Maria in Cosmedin). The Arch and the statues of the three deities are depicted in a scene on Trajan’s Column. Roman ships can be seen leaving the port for one of the Dacian Wars (the first according to some sources, the second according to others). On the hill we see the temple of Venus, which is now the site of the cathedral of Ancona. The archaeological museum of Ancona possesses a plaster cast of the scene. Not visible are the three statues on the land side. These represented Trajan, his wife Plotina and his sister Marciana.
Plaster cast of a scene on Trajan’s column. On the left the arch and two temples.
Scale model of Trajan’s arch.
The Arch of Trajan was decorated with fourteen bronze naval rams, rostra in Latin. These symbolised Roman naval superiority. Already in the third century BCE the speaker’s platform on the Forum Romanum had been decorated with the rams of captured Carthaginian warships. Henceforth this platform was called the Rostra. Visitors of modern Ancona can only still see the Arch itself, which is made of Proconnesian marble.[1] The six statues, fourteen rams and even the bronze letters from the text on the Arch were very likely stolen when an Arab army attacked Ancona in the ninth century. The archaeological museum of Ancona has a scale model of the Arch with the rams and the bronze letters, but unfortunately without the statues of the gods and people. There appears to be some discussion about whether or not the statue of the emperor was an equestrian statue. Experts are currently inclined to assume that the emperor was on foot, while the archaeological museum goes so far as to categorically exclude the option of an equestrian statue.
Dating
The Arch of Trajan is usually attributed to the architect Apollodorus of Damascus, the architect responsible for the construction of Trajan’s Forum with the aforementioned Column in Rome. It is plausible that Apollodorus also led the project to extend the port of Ancona. There is still discussion about the exact dating of the Arch of Trajan. My travel guide claims that the monument was built in the year 115[2] and that is certainly possible, as the text on the Arch states that Trajan had been consul six times (COS VI) and had been acclaimed imperator or “victorious general” by his troops nine times (IMP IX). Trajan served as consul for the sixth and last time in 112, while his ninth acclamation as imperator took place during his Parthian War of 115-117. This does raise the question how it is possible that the Arch is featured on Trajan’s Column, which was completed in 113 and depicts an event from the year 101 or 105. One explanation is that the Arch was erected shortly after the extension of the port, around the year 100. According to this theory the Arch was only later dedicated to Trajan, and on this occasion the statues of the imperial family and the text may have been added.
The port of Ancona with Trajan’s Arch. Behind it the Arco Clementino, erected in honour of Pope Clemens XII.
Quay of Ancona.
Notes
[1] Marble from an island in the Sea of Marmara.
[2] Bradt travel guide Umbria & the Marche (2021), p. 227.