The ara pacis augustae in ancient Rome: the material for a modern guide book

The article represents modern trends in museology and scientific directions in historical and cultural tourism. It is of an interdisciplinary nature and follows several approaches in ancient monuments interpretation, such as theory and history of plastic arts, civil and political history of Ancient Rome, history of Roman religion and urban development. The article can be a useful tool to assist tourist guides and museum professionals since its approach is concentrated not so much on antiquity studies but rather on relationships with the audience of modern citizens. The sightseer is regarded as an active agent of museum communication, not as passive recipient of scholarly information and aesthetic impression. The exhibit is in turn being described in terms of communication between the sightseer and the real object as it had been formed within urban, political, religious and aesthetical logic of the ancient culture. To test the efficiency of such an approach in this case the Ara Pacis Augustae is chosen. The authors seek to restore the ancient Campus Martius urban and religious context of the altar which was lost after the altar’s destruction and subsequent displacement to Via di Ripetta. To make the approach more illustrative the authors compare propagandist techniques used in ancient religious constructions and in the monuments of totalitarian epochs. An analysis of the iconographical program of the Ara Pacis is intended to help the sightseer to reveal himself as an interlocutor of ancient monuments and to assist the guide in his work. This approach can be used when working with objects in situ.