Rome - Column of Marcus Aurelius

(Local Name: Colonna di Marco Aurelio) The Piazza Colonna, with the Palazzo Chigi (now housing the Prime Minister's office), is dominated by the column of Marcus Aurelius. After Marcus Aurelius' defeat of the Marcomanni, Quadi and Sarmatae the column was erected by the Senate in the center of a square flanked by temples dedicated to Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius and by other public buildings. The inscription at the foot of the column wrongly ascribes it to Antoninus Pius, and it is sometimes also known by the name of that Emperor. The column, standing 29.6m/97ft high (42m/138ft, if the base and capital are included) and 3.7m/12ft in diameter, is constructed of 27 drums of Carrara marble. A spiral relief runs up the