Ara Pacis Augustae
Ara Pacis Augustae features on the Gingerguide audio walk through Rome. Give it roughly ~60 min: enough to look, hear a two to three minute story on the spot, and ask the AI guide whatever the story leaves open.
- Type monument
- Suggested visit ~60 min
- Rome Rome guide
About Ara Pacis Augustae
The Altar of Augustan Peace, a marble masterpiece commissioned in 13 BC to celebrate Rome's imperial peace, featuring some of the finest carved relief sculpture of the ancient world.
The Ara Pacis Augustae, Altar of Augustan Peace, is one of the most important surviving monuments of ancient Rome, commissioned by the Senate in 13 BC to celebrate Emperor Augustus's return from military campaigns in Spain and Gaul that had secured peace across the empire. It was completed and consecrated on January 30, 9 BC.
The altar consists of a walled enclosure surrounding the actual sacrificial altar. The outer walls are decorated with extraordinarily fine carved marble reliefs in two registers: the upper level shows a solemn procession of the imperial family, priests, Senate members, and other dignitaries, a parade of identifiable portraits including Augustus himself, his wife Livia, his general Marcus Agrippa, and their children. The lower register depicts continuous acanthus foliage scrolls of astonishing craftsmanship.
The altar was gradually buried and forgotten; fragments were excavated beginning in the 16th century. Mussolini ordered a complete excavation in 1938 to coincide with the bimillennium of Augustus's birth; he had pieces scattered across Europe repatriated, including fragments from the Louvre and the Uffizi. Richard Meier's controversial modern museum built around the altar opened in 2006.
Did you know? Pieces of the Ara Pacis ended up scattered across European museums, fragments were in the Louvre, the Uffizi, and the Vatican before Mussolini had them repatriated in 1938.
How long is a visit to Ara Pacis Augustae?
Set aside roughly ~60 min for Ara Pacis Augustae. That covers a good look and the narrated story, and because you set the pace you can always stay on.
Is Ara Pacis Augustae worth your time?
Ara Pacis Augustae is among the 47 narrated highlights the Gingerguide team chose for Rome, so it is worth a look. Hear the story for the context, then ask the AI guide for anything more.
Nearby stops in Rome
Hear the story of Ara Pacis Augustae
Preview the Rome tour free in the Gingerguide app.