Above: Trajan column 8 x 8″ or 20 x 20 cm., oil.
I did this landscape painting in Rome, Italy on a day painting with a few of my Roman plein air friends. It’s near the busiest tourist area, and luckily several good spots for inexpensive espresso and pizza were nearby.
Trajan’s Column (Italian: Colonna Traiana) is a column in Rome, Italy that commemorates Roman emperor Trajan’s victory in the Dacian Wars. Completed in AD 113, the freestanding column is most famous for its spiral bas-relief. The bas-relief artistically describes the epic wars between the Romans and Dacians.
The structure is about 30 metres (98 ft) in height, 35 metres (125 ft) including its large pedestal. The shaft is made from a series of 20 colossal Carrara marble drums. Each drum weighs about 32 tons and has a diameter of 3.7 metres (11 ft). The 190-metre (625 ft) frieze winds around the shaft 23 times. Inside the shaft, a spiral staircase of 185 stairs provides access to a viewing platform at the top. The capital block of Trajan’s Column weighs 53.3 tons, which had to be lifted to a height of c. 34 m.[2]
Ancient coins show preliminary plans to top the column with a statue of a bird, probably an eagle. But after construction, a statue of Trajan was put in place. This statue disappeared in the Middle Ages. On December 4, 1587, the top was crowned by Pope Sixtus V with a bronze figure of St. Peter, which remains to this day.
Painted Journals 
It’s exciting to see your paintings, Stephen, because I just finished reading Robert Hughes’ book ROME. Thanks so much for sharing these!
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Thanks Michael. I’ve read that too,although it’s been a long time.excellent book. Romes a great city. I hope to spend a lot more time there.
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“Buried in air, the deep blue sky of Rome,
And looking to the stars: they had contained
A Spirit which with these would find a home,
The last of those who o’er the whole earth reigned,
The Roman Globe—for, after, none sustained,
But yielded back his conquests:—he was more
Than a mere Alexander, and, unstained
With household blood and wine, serenely wore
His sovereign virtues—still we Trajan’s name adore…”
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Two very nice comments. Thank you. But I have to show my uneducated ignorance and ask you where those poems are from?
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