Perhaps most interesting to all of us from the point of view of architecture is the original location of this monument in relationship to Augustus' tomb and also what has been happening there in recent years under the direction of the famous American architect Richard Meier. I show you a view from Google Earth, an aerial view showing the mausoleum of Augustus, this large round tomb that we will look at on Thursday. Showing a piazza around it and showing from the air the Richard Meier Museum that has been built to enclose the Areopagus. This was not the end right near the Tiber River. This was not the original location of the Areopagus, which was up over here, it ended up beneath a pa-, palace in the Renaissance period. And at that time, some pieces of it were were, were taken apart and made their way to, to, to museums in Rome but also to museums as far away as Paris. And it is actually to Mussolini that we can be grateful for bringing all of those pieces back together and reconstructing the Areopagus. Couldn't reconstruct it because that palace is still there now, but reconstructing it right on the Tiber river next to the Mausoleum of Augustus and then having this whole piazza redesigned. As the piazza honoring Augustus, the Piazza, Piazza Augusto Imperatore honoring Augustus, but also honoring Mussolini because there's a major inscription of Mussolini as well as buildings very much in the so called Fascist style. We see the Meier building again here. And I show you the the travertine, because Meier was careful to use at least some travertine in this structure, the travertine base; although this was not his, this actually belongs to an original precinct that was located before, that was done by Mussolini's architect, with the entire text of the Res Gestae. Fortunately Meier kept that and kept that wall as part of his own building. Here you see one of the fascist structures in the area built by Mussolini, and then the famous Alfredo Ristorante. I'm not actually recommending it, but it's well known. There are better restaurants to eat in Rome. But because it has a certain historical cache at any rate I just mention to you that it's there. This is the interesting inscription that makes reference to Mussolini and note the flying victory figure which we'll see decorates often Roman arches carrying this bundle of twigs and rods that the Romans, the, the Roman, the Roman bodyguards of the emperor used to carry, these so-called fasces. If you ever wondered where the word fascism comes from, it comes from the Roman fasces. Mussolini's name, you can see part of it here, M-U-S-S-O-L; part of it scratched out after his death and discredit, you know, in the, in, in, in, in the 30s, and then ultimately what's been interesting to me is I've watched this inscription and photographed it year after year, whenever I'm there I've noticed recently that he's having a, something of a revival, because they are, and he has, he is. Mussolini is having something of a revival in Italy, and there's a good deal of interest in him and they have filled his name part of, when they redid the museum, they also refilled in his name as you can see here. I just wanted to make a point about the sighting of the Areopagus and its relationship to the mausoleum of Augustus. Remember, it's no longer, it's, it was, it's original location, now it's over here, right next to the mausoleum in the Tiber, that was not its original location. It was located over here along the ancient via Flaminia, the street that Augustus took when he returned from Spain and Gaul. It was put up right here And it had in front of it, an obelisk that was brought from Egypt and that obelisk was part of a sundial that would, that was orchestrated carefully enough so that the shadow from the sundial would fall exactly on the center of the Areopagus on Augustus' Birthday. That's how carefully orchestrated it was, and the fact that there's an Egyptian obelisk and there's mention in the inscription in that obelisk of the victory over Cleopatra and Antony at the Battle of Actium and that the Areopagus commemorates his diplomatic treaties in the western part of the empire in France and Spain, seems to me be a reference to the fact that Augustus was victorious in all parts of the Roman empire. The western as well as the eastern part of the empire referenced here. And then, close proximity to the mausoleum of Augustus because we've already talked about the fact that in the minds of the Romans, victory and battle, and victory over death, were essentially synonymous. Both of them referred to here. I'm not implying that this was planned as a complex. The mausoleum as we'll see on Thursday dates to 28 to 23, it was built much earlier than the altar of 13 to nine. But I think whey they decided to add the Areopagus to this complex, there was a great deal of thought that was given to sighting it in relationship to the tomb and to thinking about the whole as a complex at least at that particular juncture. And I"ll show two more restored views where you can see, the obelisk and the way in which it cast, it served as a sundial, cast a shadow towards the Areopagus and then there are even though this is a little bit out of focus, the relationship of the very large tomb to the obelisk and ultimately to the Areopagus, so an area that was not planned as a complex, but grew into one. A, an image of Mussolini, a wonderful photograph of Mussolini visiting the Areopagus after it was restored and dedicated and placed in a complex design by his architect and then an image down here of Richard Meier celebrating the, the rest of the cleaning and placement of, of the Areopagus inside the new museum designed by him. And in just a few minutes I would like to run through a series of slides because I think a particularly interesting issue for all of us, and one that I hope we will debate in the online forum, is the fact that the building by Richard Meier, this museum, which has been praised and maligned both this museum is the first modern building that has been put up in the central, the central core of Rome, Since the time of Mussolini. Since Mussolini redesigned the Piazza Augusto Imperatore and added some other buildings to the landscape of Rome. There are other, there are, there are buildings by major architects including Meier himself, Meier built the Jubilee Church a few years, a number of years ago. And Renzo Piano and other architects have been working in Rome. But they are not, their buildings are located on the outskirts. This was suburbs of the city and not in the city itself. This is the only new building that has been added to this city. And you can see from this particular view why some people think of it as a kind of white elephant that really doesn't fit the tenure of, the the the city and in fact, when it first opened in 2006. And I was, I was there not long after, and taking some photographs of some pictures of the building that were outside, that had been, that graffiti had been added to. And there, you know, they call it the, the Meier Criminale. And over here, this is my favorite, it says “meglio vli architect di secoli fa”, meaning those architects of the past were a lot better than Meier, is the, is the message here. So there are, there are many people who do not like this building and I think a case can be made with regard to the outside. Meier, there is a nod you know, to ancient Rome with the travertine wall that is outside and continuous inside. But it's typical Meier white glass and, and a lot of people. I mean, I don't mind that sort of thing but a lot of people feel that it doesn't, doesn't really suit the environment with the two baroque churches right across the way. And so on and so forth. So I think a case can be made for the exterior, but when you enter into the museum, and pay your fee, and then go into the door, and into the Areopagus itself, I have to say, and past the marble, the plaster casts of Augustus and his family that you can see lined up against the travertine wall when you confront the building itself in its new interior I have to say, I, I'm very impressed and very moved by this interior. You've got the sort of egg crate ceiling and these wonderful louvered windows that allow you to see not only Mussolini's fascist buildings next door but also the mausoleum of Augustus. That it, that it really, the, the light is superb and it really does give you a chance to see this alter in a way that it hasn't been seen before. And especially at night, I enjoy seeing it at night because as you go by, they have it light it up. As you drive by, one of the greatest things to do in Rome, by the way, is late at night, when all the traffic is died down, either by car or vesper or whatever. I just, just get around the city, go from one part of the city to another which you can zip around late at night and driving along Lungotevere the street along the Tiber river, and seeing the, the, altar of the Ara Pacis Augustae lighted up inside the new Meier museum like a jewel in a jewel box. I can't help but think Augustus is smiling somewhere to think that everything he did to try and preserve his memory for posterity has been done and has been helped to a great extent by the great American architect Richard Meier. Thank you.
