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| Mercati di Traiano | |
|---|---|
| Name | Mercati di Traiano |
| Location | Rome, Italy |
| Built | 110 AD |
| Architect | Apollodorus of Damascus |
| Style | Ancient Roman architecture |
Mercati di Traiano is a large complex of ancient Roman market buildings situated on the northeastern slope of the Palatine Hill adjacent to the Forum of Trajan in Rome. Commissioned under Emperor Trajan and attributed to the architect Apollodorus of Damascus, the complex formed part of the imperial building program that included the Trajan's Forum, Trajan's Column, and the extension of the Via dei Fori Imperiali. The surviving multi-level brick and concrete structures have been reused and studied through successive periods including the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and modern Italian state interventions.
The complex was begun during the reign of Trajan (98–117 AD) and is conventionally dated to around 110 AD, connected to broader construction campaigns such as the erection of Trajan's Column and the development of the Forum of Trajan. Commissioned by the imperial administration of the Roman Empire and often attributed to Apollodorus of Damascus, the site functioned within the urban fabric of Ancient Rome alongside the Roman Forum and the Imperial fora. Over the Middle Ages parts of the complex were repurposed by families such as the Frangipani and the site appears in cartographic works by Giovanni Battista Piranesi and descriptions by antiquarians including Pietro Tartarino and Flavio Biondo. Excavations in the 19th and 20th centuries under archaeologists like Giovanni Battista de Rossi and administrators in the Italian Kingdom led to further exposure; later interventions during the Fascist Italy era affected the surrounding urban landscape and the creation of Via dei Fori Imperiali.
The complex exhibits multi-level masonry and concrete construction characteristic of Ancient Roman architecture with a semicircular, terraced plan arranged across several floors, combining tabernae and administrative spaces adjacent to vaulted corridors and exedrae. The principal block faces the Forum of Trajan and integrates with the slope of the Quirinal Hill and the Palatine Hill, using barrel and groin vaulting similar to that visible at the Baths of Diocletian and echoes of structural principles found in the Basilica Ulpia. Materials include brick-faced concrete, peperino, and marble revetments aligned with imperial building practice documented on monuments such as Trajan's Market in contemporary accounts. The complex contains a linear sequence of shops and offices stacked on terraces controlled by a network of stairways and corridors, with the upper levels providing panoramic views over the Forum Romanum and the Colosseum.
Originally conceived as a combined commercial and administrative hub, the complex housed tabernae for retail trade and offices for bureaucratic activities linked to the fiscal and provisioning systems of Trajan's Rome. The markets processed goods moving along routes like the Via Sacra and connected to infrastructures such as the Port of Ostia via road networks including the Via Flaminia. Functions included storage, commerce, tax collection, and perhaps administrative record-keeping similar to activities documented in other imperial fora, interacting with institutions such as the Curia and the imperial household. In later centuries, the spaces were adapted to residential and artisanal uses by families and guilds noted in medieval documents and inventories related to neighborhoods near the Capitoline Hill.
Systematic investigation began in the 19th century with surveys and limited digs by antiquarians; large-scale excavations resumed under 20th-century archaeologists and state-directed projects by agencies of the Italian Republic. Key campaigns revealed stratigraphy linking the market complex to the underlying Republican and Imperial layers studied in relation to sites like the Roman Forum and the Forum of Augustus. Finds included inscriptions, amphorae, lead writing tablets, masonry fragments, and architectural sculpture comparable to material from Trajan's Column and the Basilica Aemilia. Archaeological methodology incorporated stratigraphic recording, typological study of ceramics including Dressel amphorae, and architectural analysis informed by comparative work at sites such as Ostia Antica and Pompeii.
Conservation efforts have involved structural consolidation, cleaning of brickwork, and stabilization of vaulting overseen by Italian cultural bodies including the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (Italy) and municipal authorities of Rome. Twentieth- and twenty-first-century restorations balanced archaeological exposure with adaptive reuse, exemplified by conversion of parts of the complex into the civic Museo dei Fori Imperiali and exhibition spaces housing artifacts related to the imperial fora and the provinces. Interventions reference international conservation principles articulated by organizations such as ICOMOS and employ materials and techniques intended to respect authenticity while enabling public access adjacent to high-profile sites like the Capitol (Rome) and Piazza Venezia.
The complex has been a touchstone for scholars of Roman architecture, urbanism, and the administration of the Roman Empire, referenced in comparative studies alongside Hadrian's Villa and the urbanism of Constantinople. It has been depicted by artists and measured by architects from the Renaissance through the 19th century in works by figures who engaged with Roman antiquity such as Giuseppe Vasi and Piranesi. As both a tourist destination and research locus, the site continues to inform debates in classical archaeology, museology, and heritage policy, intersecting with contemporary issues surrounding the presentation of Ancient Rome in the modern Italian capital and the management of the terrain of the Imperial Fora.
Category:Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome Category:Archaeological sites in Rome