
Ancient Rome: c. 753 B.C.E. – 400 C.E.

Vibrant frescoes from Room M at Boscoreale blur the line between urban, rural, and sacred scenes as well as what is real and imaginary.

This small temple is a rare surviving example from the Roman Republic. It is both innovative and traditional.
Temple of Portunus, Rome

Trajan expanded the Roman Empire to its greatest extent, celebrating his victories with this monumental column.
Column of Trajan

Nothing was more important to a Roman emperor than his image.
Augustus of Primaporta

Augustus is said to have found Rome a city of brick and left it a city of marble—this altar symbolizes his golden age.
Ara Pacis Augustae

The humble beginnings of Rome provide the roots of a long cultural story, one that we continue to experience, sample, and live via archaeology, history, and cultural reception.
City of Rome overview—origins to the archaic ...

Views of Rome have long fired human imagination, eliciting reactions that lead to contemplation and argue for conservation
The archaeological context of the Roman Forum ...

The building technique chosen for a given project can help archaeologists and art historians to understand scale, scope, expense, and technique, alongside other, more aesthetic considerations.
Italo-Roman building techniques

Gladiators, animal hunts, and executions: learn about the Colosseum, a monumental gift to the Roman people.
The Colosseum

A family drama —Caracalla assassinates his brother and damns his memory.
The Severan Tondo: damnatio memoriae in ancient ...

A tomb, a prison, the site of a miracle, papal apartments — this building has as many layers as Rome itself.
Rome’s layered history — the Castel Sant’Angelo

The truth is that the route to the gallery is often ugly, built on crime, brute force, and lies. When we catch a glimpse of that reality, we must not look away.
Seizure of Looted Antiquities Illuminates What Museums ...

One of the most impressive monuments on the Roman Forum
The Arch of Septimius Severus, portal to ...

Holding on to pagan traditions in the early Christian era
The Symmachi Panel

If the Roman government condemned a ruler, his portraits often died with him.
Damnatio memoriae—Roman sanctions against memory

Pompeii, once called the "City of the Dead," gives a marvelous sense of day-to-day Roman life.
Pompeii, an introduction

The rediscovery of ancient Pompeii and Herculaneum and the beginnings of archaeology.
The rediscovery of Pompeii and the other ...

Mount Vesuvius buried Pompeii two millennia ago—creating a time capsule of the evolution of Roman painting.
Roman wall painting styles

Realism, ideal beauty, and military might—explore the evolution of Roman portraits and political imagery.
Rome’s history in four faces at The ...

In the chaos of the 3rd century, can we be sure about the identification of this statue?