Romanian tourists in Rome (like me) flock to
this monument which is part of the Romanian national pride.
Also, when I came back from Rome this was the monument all my
Romanian friends asked about. Did you see it? Were you able to
see the Dacians on the column? The reason is that Trajan's column
was built to commemorate his military campaigns in Dacia (which
is now Romania). It's true Trajan won and conquered Dacia but hey,
our ancestors can still be seen today, almost 2000 years later,
on this column in the center of Rome.
The column is a beautiful piece of Roman sculptural art; around
the column winds a spiral frieze with over 2500 figures in relief
illustrating the battles that took place during Trajan's military
campaigns in Dacia (101-102 and 105-106). At the top the statue
of Saint Peter replaced in 1588 a statue of Trajan. The ashes of
the emperor and his wife were places in a golden urn in a vault
below the column. The column stands in what was once Foro di
Traiano (Forum of Trajan) with a huge semicircular market building.