What is the Ara Pacis Augustae?

It is an ancient Roman altar honouring the Pax Romana, exhibited in the Museum of the Ara Pacis.

Why did the Roman Senate commission the altar?

Roman senators decreed the monument to welcome Augustus back to Rome following military campaigns across Hispania and Gaul.

Where was the altar positioned during antiquity?

The monument stood north of the ancient city boundary along the Via Flaminia, occupying the Tiber River flood plain in the Campus Martius.

What caused the altar to disappear from view?

Flood silt from the Tiber River gradually covered the altar until modern excavation and reconstruction work took place.

How does the current museum arrangement compare with the historical layout?

The modern reconstruction rotates the altar counterclockwise from its original alignment, positioning the ancient western side toward the south.

Rome · Italy

Ara Pacis: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

Residents commuting through the Campus Martius walk past the glass enclosure daily, trading quiet residential side streets for steady visitor queues outside the pavilion.

Ara Pacis · CC BY-SA 4.0

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About the place

The reconstructed Roman altar stands inside a dedicated pavilion on the Tiber flood plain.

The Roman Senate commissioned the Ara Pacis Augustae to commemorate the return of Augustus from military campaigns across Hispania and Gaul. Dedicated to Roman peace, the carved marble structure originally occupied the flood plain of the Campus Martius along the western edge of the Via Flaminia. Periodic flooding deposited deep layers of river silt over the site, burying the monument until modern excavation retrieved it.

Read on

The monument now stands reassembled inside the Museum of the Ara Pacis near the riverbank. During its modern reconstruction, builders altered its physical orientation by turning the altar counterclockwise, causing the western portal to face southward instead of its historic alignment. For residents living nearby, the preserved enclosure turns imperial political art into a permanent fixture of everyday neighbourhood transit.

Associations

Pax RomanaThe altar commemorates imperial peace following campaigns in Hispania and Gaul.
Campus MartiusThe ancient floodplain setting placed the monument outside the pomerium boundary.
River silt accumulationRepeated floods buried the structure under deep mud deposits until excavation.
Altar rotationModern reconstruction rotated the altar so its western facade faces southward.

Facts

The Roman Senate ordered the construction of the monument to mark the return of Augustus from Hispania and Gaul.
The original site occupied the flood plain of the Tiber River along the Via Flaminia.
Modern reconstruction rotated the altar counterclockwise so that the original western portal faces south.
River silt gradually submerged the structure following repeated flooding across the Campus Martius.

Updated September 9, 2026Source: Wikipedia

Ara Pacis: what's nearby, how to get there and when to go · 2026

What is around40

The reconstructed Roman altar stands inside a dedicated pavilion on the Tiber flood plain.

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