Museo dell'Ara Pacis - Interior

Left Side, toward Tiber River


The site chosen in 1937 for the reconstruction of the Ara Pacis and for the construction of its protecting pavilion was a narrow area between two streets (Lungotevere in Augusta and Via di Ripetta). The altar was reconstructed with its sides facing these two streets. Because of these decisions, the building was necessarily designed with only narrow passages beside the Ara Pacis on its two sides. The present museum was constructed around the altar on the same site, thus suffering from the same limitation..

Because the Ara Pacis Augustae was originally located in the open with the monument viewable from many distances, these narrow passages provide limited viewing conditions for the 2 sides of the Ara Pacis. This is especially unsuitable for the important processional friezes on the upper portions of the two sides, which must be viewed at severe angles. The original north side can be viewed from a distance from outside the left side of the museum, through tinted, reflective windows. The original south side, however, when seen from outside the museum, can only be seen at a severe angle from the street below. The 1938 pavilion attempted to accommodate this slightly with viewing ramps, close to the altar, on both sides. The new museum has no such viewing ramps.

On this left side of the museum, the vast side windows provide views of nearby people and traffic and of the far bank of the Tiber River.

TO ZOOM IN ON THE LARGE IMAGES, USE THE BUTTONS AT TOP-LEFT.

Tips for using this website