Rome, Arch of Constantine

(3 photos)

Since we can look in the mirror to see what we look like, while we travel we seldom take photos that include either of us, and a photo with the both of us, taken by some kind stranger, is almost unique. When this does happen, I always make sure the photographer is elderly or handicapped in some manner, so I can out-run him and retrieve our camera, in case we have trusted the wrong person. Some people collect many cameras by claiming to be a good photographer, when in fact they are a fast runner.

Erected just past the Roman Forum, and almost in the shadow of the Colosseum, the Arch of Constantine, the last of the great Roman triumphal arches, was erected in 315 AD, built from fragments of earlier Roman buildings. The arch was completely under scaffolding for renovation during one visit, but for our other visits the reliefs depicting scenes from the lives of Constantine, Trajan, and Aurélius, were available for our inspection.
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Isn't it amazing, here's the Arch just a couple of years later (without the distractions!), and it looks the same as it did a couple of thousand years ago.

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And yet another

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Some Internet sites list two to three dozen triumphal arches here and there around the world. The best known and most elaborate arches in Rome are the Titus, Septimius Severus, and the Constantine. There are other triumphal arches in southern France, several in Paris, London, New York City, and who knows where else. We remember an arch in Innsbruck, Austria, right in the middle of Maria Theresien Strasse (Street).