Column of Marcus Aurelius - Piazza Colonna, Rome - The Emperor's Victory Column

The Column of Marcus Aurelius has stood in Piazza Colonna for nearly two thousand years, crowned by the bronze statue of Saint Paul.

The Column of Marcus Aurelius rises prominently from Piazza Colonna in the historic center of Rome, its tall marble shaft covered with a continuous spiral of sculpted reliefs. Erected in honour of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, the column commemorates his military campaigns against Germanic and Sarmatian peoples during the Marcomannic Wars of the 2nd century AD. The detailed reliefs wind upward around the monument, depicting Roman soldiers, battles, river crossings and other episodes from the campaigns. The column was inspired by the earlier Column of Trajan and originally carried a statue of Marcus Aurelius at its summit. During restoration ordered by Pope Sixtus V in 1589, this was replaced by the bronze statue of Saint Paul that crowns the monument today. Standing beside Via del Corso and surrounded by later palaces, the ancient column provides a striking reminder of Imperial Rome within the busy modern city.