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TRAJAN MARKET
Trajan's Market (Latin: Mercatus Traiani, Italian: Mercati di Traiano) is a large complex of ruins in the city of Rome, Italy, located on the Via dei Fori Imperiali, at the opposite end to the Colosseum. The surviving buildings and structures, built as an integral part of Trajan's Forum and nestled against the excavated flank of the Quirinal Hill, present a living model of life in the Roman capital and a glimpse at the continuing restoration in the city, which reveals new treasures and insights about Ancient Roman architecture.
Thought to be the world's oldest purpose-built shopping mall, the arcades in Trajan's Market are now believed by many to be administrative offices for Emperor Trajan. The shops and apartments were built in a multi-level structure, of which several levels can be visited. Highlights include delicate marble floors and the remains of a library.
Trajan's Market was built in AD 100-110 by Apollodorus of Damascus, an architect who always followed Trajan in his adventures, to whom Trajan entrusted the planning of his Forum. During the Middle Ages the complex was transformed by adding floor levels, still visible today, and defensive elements such as the Torre delle Milizie, the "militia tower" built in 1200. A convent that was later built in this area was demolished at the beginning of the twentieth century to restore Trajan's Markets to the city of Rome.
Museo dei Fori Imperiali
The new Museo dei Fori Imperiali (Museum of the Imperial Forums), closed on Mondays, houses a wealth of artifacts from all of ancient Rome's forums. The modern entrance to Trajan's Market is at Via Quattro Novembre 94.[1] immediately the visitor enters into a shopping area, disposed on two different sides, where free wheat was once distributed to the people of Rome. At the end of this hall a large balcony offers a beautiful view of the markets, Trajan's Forum and the Vittoriano. This is actually a part of the Via Biberatica (from biber meaning drink, the location for most of the Roman taverns and grocers' shops), the road that starts from the entrance and divides Trajan's Market.
The upper levels of the market were used for offices while the lower part, forming one side of Trajan's Forum, had shops selling oil, wines, seafood, groceries, vegetables and fruit. Medieval houses built on the top floor face the semicircular segment of the Via Biberatica. The lower part of the market today shows two levels: a ground floor level for shops, with an entry made in travertine, surmounted by an arch. The second level was formed by adjoining shops selling wines and oil. A third level, today visible only as some walls, was discovered at the Via Biberatica and was probably used for grocers' shops. On the lower part there are also two large halls, probably used for auditions or concerts. A shop housed in the Market is known as a taberna. The giant exedra formed by the market structure was originally mirrored by a matching exedral boundary space on the south flank of Trajan's Forum (see map).
The market is roofed by a concrete vault raised on piers, both covering and allowing air and light into the central space. The market itself is constructed primarily out of brick and concrete.
History
This forum was constructed on the order of Emperor Trajan with the spoils of war from the conquest of Dacia, which ended in 106.[1] The Fasti Ostienses states that the Forum was inaugurated in 112, while Trajan's Column was inaugurated in 113.
To build this monumental complex, extensive excavations were required: workers eliminated the sides of the Quirinal and Capitoline (Campidoglio) Hills, which closed the valley occupied by the Imperial forums toward the Campus Martius.
It is possible that the excavations were initiated under Emperor Domitian, while the project of the Forum was completely attributed to the architect Apollodorus of Damascus,[1] who also accompanied Emperor Trajan in the Dacian campaign.
During the time of the construction, several other projects took place: The Markets of Trajan were constructed,[1] Caesar's Forum (where the Basilica Argentaria was built), and the Temple of Venus Genetrix were renovated.
Structure
The Forum was built from a vast stoa-lined piazza measuring 660 by 390 feet (200 x 120 m) with exedrae on two sides. The main entrance to the forum is on the southern side, a triumphal arch surmounted by a statue of Trajan in a six-horse chariot. The Basilica Ulpia lies at the north end of the piazza, which was cobbled with rectangular blocks of white marble and decorated by a large equestrian statue of Trajan. On either side of the piazza are markets, also housed by the exedrae.
North of the Basilica was a smaller piazza, with a temple dedicated to the deified Trajan on the far north side facing inwards. Directly north of the Basilica Ulpia on either side of the forum were two libraries, one housing Latin documents and the other Greek documents. Between the libraries was the 125-foot (38 m) Trajan's Column.[1]
In the mid-4th century, Constantius II, while visiting Rome, was amazed by the huge equestrian statue of Trajan and by the surrounding buildings:
But when he came to the Forum of Trajan, a construction unique under the heavens, as we believe, and admirable even in the unanimous opinion of the gods, he stood fast in amazement, turning his attention to the gigantic complex about him, beggaring description and never again to be imitated by mortal men. (Ammianus XVI 14)"Ammianus Marcellinus Roman Antiquities". penelope.uchicago.edu. https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Ammian/16*.html. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
The imperial visit and the landmarks of the forum were described by historian Ammianus Marcellinus.
In modern times only a section of the markets and the column of Trajan remain. A number of columns which historically formed the Basilica Ulpia remained on site, and have been re-erected. The construction of the Via dei Fori Imperiali in 1933 covered a number of these columns, which remain visible under the arches on which the road runs.
