Glorious capitals ?

Maciamo

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The Romans raised monuments to their own glory and triumphs. Amongst them, the triumphal arches (or gates), often with a quadriga on top, and the columns (with a statue on top).

For instance :

- Arch of Titus (built in 81, 14.5m high and 13.5m wide)
- Arch of Septimius Severus (completed in 203, 21m high and 23m wide)
- Arch of Constantine (built in 312, 21m high and 26m wide)


Among the famous columns in Rome, there is/was :

- Trajan's Column (built in 113 ; 30m tall, or 38m with pedestal)
- Column of Antoninus Pius (built in 161 ; 20m tall - destroyed)
- Column of Marcus Aurelius (built in 193 ; 30m, or 42m with pedestal)


Europeans and Americans have perpetuated the tradition by erecting the same monuments in their respective greatest city. Here are a few examples.

Triumphal Arches

Brandenburg Gate, Berlin : erected by Friedrich Wilhelm I between 1788 and 1791. It is 26m high, and 65.5m in width with the side buildings (otherwise under 30m).

Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel, Paris : built by Napoleon I between 1806 and 1808.

Arc de Triomphe de l'Etoile, Paris : built between 1806 and 1836. It is 51m in height on 45m in width.

Wellington Arch, London : built between 1826 and 1830

Marble Arch, London : built in 1828.

Siegestor, Munich : built between 1843 and 1852 by by King Ludwig I of Bavaria (topped with a rare lion-quadriga)

Arch at Grand Army Plaza, New York : built between 1889 and 1892.

Washington Square Arch, New York : built in 1892 (23m high)

Jubilee Arches, Brussels : built in 1905 by Leopold II. The triple arch itself is 30m in height on 45m in width, but is prolongated by two circular galleries, making it the largest monument of the kind in the world.


Commemorative Columns

Vendôme Column (44m high), Paris : built by Napoleon in 1810 to celebrate the victory of Austerlitz. It was modelled after Trajan's Column and is surmounted by a statue of Napoleon I.

Nelson's Column (46m high), London : built between 1840 and 1843. It is surmounted by a statue of Admiral Horatio Nelson.

Congress Column (47m high), Brussels : built between 1850 and 1859. It is surmounted by a statue of King Leopold I.
 
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