Rome: Marcus Aurelius' Bronze Equestrian Statue Has A New Home
 

http://ansa.it/main/notizie/awnplus/...5_2121498.html
An added treat in this new location is a 7m stretch of wall from the 'Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus'.
 There are other foundation remains in out of the way places on the Capitoline Hill but these will be easier to find.

 The God Jupiter and this temple was the center of the Roman state religion. And it was closely tied into Roman politics as well; Magistrates began their year in office with sarifices on the Temple's altar and the Senate held their 1st meeting of the year in the Temple.

Julius Caesar's assassins and their supporters fortressed themselves in this temple following the assassination.
Caligula built a skybridge from the Palatine over to this temple so he could talk and argue with the statue of Jupiter within the temple.
If you watched HBO's Rome, this is the temple Julius Caesar visits and talks with the Priests.
Regards, Walter

I suppose this is good news compared to the news that the Domus Aurea will be closed for two years (and if you believe it will only be two years, there's a nice bridge in Brooklyn that I could sell you...).

It's not that I don't recognize that these treasures have to be safeguarded for future generations, but good heavens, how many glass boxes are going to be built around how many ancient monuments, distancing them from their place in Rome and in history?

Actually I was originally going to make a joke in that Domus Aurea post about how long '2 Italian years' are in real-time :). Regards, Walter

Walter, I see that you and I both have more than a passing experience of Italy...

This is good news. The place where's it been most recently was very difficult to deal with; it was hard to see the statue well, and you couldn't walk round it. Thanks for posting!

Exciting, I guess. Glad I saw the Domus Aurea during the short window of opportunity. Don't really expect it to reopen for another twenty years.

When I first visited Rome in late 1971, neither the Forum nor the Coliseum were gated. You simply walked in and wandered at will. By the Eighties they were charging admission. Last time I visited they had stopped charging admission to the Forum, but you were resticted to fenced walkways. I'd gladly pay for the old freedom.

I just recently found out that ansa.it URLs go dead a short time after the article is posted.
This is a more recent article with more info the Temple of Jupiter remains in this new museum wing.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article...OTC-RSS&at
Regards, Walter