Piazza Colonna te Rome c. 1750 - 1799

This print by Domenico Montaigù depicts the Piazza Colonna in Rome, dominated by the Column of Marcus Aurelius. The column is not merely a structural element; it's a historical palimpsest, adorned with a spiral relief narrating Emperor Marcus Aurelius's military campaigns. Such columns echo the ancient obelisks of Egypt, transplanted to Rome as trophies of conquest, symbolizing power and continuity. This act of appropriation reveals a deep-seated human impulse: to seize and assimilate the symbols of other cultures, weaving them into our own narratives of dominance. Consider, too, the emotional weight of these towering structures. They are not simply monuments but rather manifestations of collective memory, rising high above the everyday lives of the population below. This is a powerful display of authority, designed to impress upon the subconscious the permanence and might of the established order.