According to Dio Cassius (Roman History, LX.22), the Senate in 44 C.E. voted the Emperor Claudius a triumph for his military exploits in Britain, granted him the title of "Britannicus," and approved the erection of two triumphal arches. It wasn't until 52 C.E. that this particular arch was actually dedicated. Evidence suggests that it was a single arch of grey-brown tufa with travertine details, done in a rusticated style. It was well situated to span the Via Lata, a major thoroughfare leading from the heart of the city, past the Campus Martius and Campus Agrippae to the Porta Flaminia and points north, and to carry the terminal portion of the Aqua Virgo to the nearby Thermae Agrippae. (Claudius had restored this section of the aqueduct following its destruction in an ill-fated building scheme of the Emperor Gaius (Caligula).
- For more information on Claudius, click here.
- For more information on Gaius (Caligula) , click here.
N.B. The arch shown is not the actual structure which stood on this site; rather, it is an adaptation of a drawing by Piranesi depicting another Claudian archway spanning an ancient road and supporting the Aqua Virgo, remains of which can still be seen in the Via Nazzareno. The arch in question disappeared by the eighth century. Nothing survives, save for a substantial segment of the dedicatory inscription, and some fragments of sculpture.]