Ara Pacis (Augustae), (Latin: “Augustan Altar of Peace”) State monument built by Caesar Augustus in Rome’s Campus Martius (13–9 bc) to commemorate his victorious return from Spain and Gaul. It consists of an altar on a podium enclosed by walls. Its lavish sculptural decoration is among the finest examples of Roman art; reliefs representing the ceremonial procession at the altar’s dedication are the first in Western art that can strictly be called documentary, showing identifiable individuals in a contemporary event.
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