To follow, in a historical-artistic journey, the traces of the spread of Christianity in Rome, we start from the first historically incontrovertible fact, the principality of Octavian Augustus under which, "toto orbe in pace composite", as we read in the Martyrologium Romanum, the census took place throughout the Empire.Octavian, having received the title of Augustus in 27 BC, wanted, among other things, that a public altar be built to celebrate the newfound peace: the Ara Pacis Augustae (13-9 BC). Built along the urban stretch of the Via Flaminia, towards the Capitoline Hill, the altar ended up under some buildings on today's Via del Corso. Excavations that continued until the early XNUMXth century brought to light numerous fragments. It was therefore decided to rebuild it towards the Tiber, near the Mausoleum that Ottaviano had built for himself and his family, on the edge of the ancient Campus Martius. We are talking about an area that now takes the name of Piazza Augusto Imperatore and Lungotevere in Augusta. The mausoleum is still being restored today while the new building to protect the altar is completed, designed by the American architect Richard Meier, which allows a partial view also from the outside thanks to the use of large windows.
The altar consists of a rectangular podium delimited by a wall, with access, on one short side, via a staircase. Inside is the altar for sacrifices. The internal and external reliefs are splendid. The plinth is decorated with elegant spirals of acanthus leaves. On the long sides the procession which took place on the occasion of the inauguration of the altar is depicted with the presence of the Gens Iulia, Octavian's family. On the short sides there are allegorical figures including the Saturnia Tellus, Italy, symbolized by a young and proud woman, surrounded by animals and plants typical of our peninsula.
But in Rome there is also a place that specifically links Ottaviano to Jesus: the Church of Santa Maria d'Aracoeli. As the name of this Church indicates, it stands in the place where the Sibyl predicted to Octavian that an altar of the Son of God would be built. It is no coincidence that the Church is on the arce, the highest peak of the Capitoline Hill, the sacred hill of ancient Rome.
Another building connects Rome to the birth of Jesus, the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. But that's another story.
