L’Ara si rivela

An immersive experience that combines technology, sound, and storytelling in a thrilling and engaging visit: L’Ara si rivela is a new and innovative multimedia project inviting you to explore this iconic monument – commissioned by the Roman Senate to honour Octavian Augustus – through an extraordinary and exciting visual journey.

Through video mapping, colours and details gradually come to life, showing the different stages of the Ara Pacis Augustae’s history, from its origins in the Augustan age to the surprising events of its rediscovery. The voices in your headphones, in Italian and English, guide you through a captivating storytelling with music and sound effects. The marble reliefs come to life with light effects and projections that make them easier to understand. Eight 4K laser projectors, synchronised by a central system, transform the bas-reliefs with lights, colours and details, adapting in real time to your gaze. The colour reconstructions are based on scientific studies and comparisons with Roman art; the plant frieze has been reinterpreted thanks to the identification of over 50 real species.

The visit path, divided into four stages, takes you on a discovery journey of the monument, revealing its ancient history and the events that marked its rediscovery, as told by the voices of 16th-century collectors, restorers, and archaeologists who, over time, have restored this extraordinary masterpiece to the world.

The visit begins at the main façade, where the monument is displayed within its original setting in the Campus Martius in accordance with its original function: celebrating an annual sacrifice. Here, the mythical origins of Rome and the gens Iulia, Augustus’s family, also take shape, with Aeneas on one side and Romulus and Remus, suckled by the She-Wolf, on the other.

Then, the path continues along the sides of the enclosure, where the great procession sculpted in marble comes to life like a scene suspended in time. On the northern frieze, priests, magistrates and members of the imperial family parade; on the southern frieze, Augustus appears, his head veiled, surrounded by a vast procession as he prepares for the sacred rite. This story is also brought to life by some of its key figures, such as Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, Antonia Minor and Drusus, who explain the significance of the monument, both for the imperial family and within the context of Augustus’s dynastic project.

From inside the ambulacrum, you can see the rear side, dominated by symbolic figures such as Tellus, the fertile mother, and the goddess Roma. The famous vegetal frieze is a lush interweaving of acanthus, flowers and plants, populated by small animals hidden amongst the vegetation — including snakes, birds, scorpions, frogs, and butterflies — symbols of transformation, once vividly coloured. Above all, two majestic swans with outstretched wings stand out.

The experience concludes with a journey through time, retracing the history of the Ara: from its oblivion for over a thousand years to its rediscovery during the Renaissance, up to the excavations carried out between the mid-19th century and the 1930s, which restored the monument to its present form.

The project is promoted by Roma Capitale, Assessorato alla Cultura e al Coordinamento delle iniziative riconducibili alla Giornata della Memoria (Department of Culture and Coordination of initiatives related to Holocaust Remembrance Day), Capitoline Superintendence for Cultural Heritage. It is organised and managed by Zètema Progetto Cultura and produced by AV Set Produzioni SpA with Luca Scarzella. Scientific direction is provided by the Capitoline Superintendence for Cultural Heritage.