"Each procession was part of an urban continuum, a street connected in time as well as in space with the past and future of the Roman state, the triumph ritual, and the topography of Rome." (p. 155 Streets)

The History of the Parade

The triumphal parade, which some Roman authors claimed dated back to the time of Romulus was one of the longstanding traditions of Rome. "The route of the triumphal parade clearly followed Romes earliest trails along the floors of connected valleys. In fact, each step drue upon the city's topographic history. For example, the loop through the Velabrum preserved the memory of the swamp that once had occupied the area northeast of the Forum Boarium." (p. 155 Streets) When the early town was located on the Palatine Hill and the zone that would become the Forum was just marshland, there was a market between the Palatine and the river where foreigners traded with the early Romans. A small stream, the Velabrum, flowed through the valley of the Forum down through this zone and into the Tiber. The Etruscan kings were responsible for reclaiming the marshland and channelling the Velabrum which was eventually closed during republican times (becoming the Cloaca Maxima).

Former site of the Velabrum http://www.druidic.isles.net/visits/rome-january-2002/friday/further.up.the.velabrum.jpg

Preserving Open Space: The Grand Spectacle

"The triumphal street was powerful and enduring, yet it did not have a fixed itinerary. Three broad topographical componenets remained constant in all processions" the sorting out in the Campus Martius, the loop around the Palatine, and the terminus at the Capitoline. Within these areas, however, the route could vary." (157 Streets)

"The celebration transformed Rome's entertainment structures. To keep large audiences comfortable throughout the lengthy event, triumphators diverted processions directly into and through spectator buildings such as theaters and circuses. The public perception of these structures thus changed temporarily from having a centralized focus to having a linear one." (p. 157 Streets)

"After the last trumpet had sounded, residents found their understanding of the city's topography and history once more strengthened. They varried home a sense of security tangibly evidenced by the active presence their impressive army

*The Standard Bearer from the Triumph of Caesar by Andrea Andreani (p.155 Streets)*

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Cynthia Querio

Social Constructs They Upheld