Trajan's Column
Discover Trajan's Column
Last updated on October 2, 2026Overview
Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome that commemorates the emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars — the victorious military campaigns he conducted against the Dacians. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus, at the order of the Roman Senate, and was completed and dedicated on . It stands on Via dei Fori Imperiali.
The shaft is 100 Roman feet — about 30 metres. The Sovrintendenza Capitolina describes it as composed of 17 colossal monolithic drums of white Carrara marble nearly four metres across; Wikipedia gives 20 drums, each weighing about 32 tons. Turismo Roma says that including the base it reaches almost 40 metres; Wikipedia gives 35 metres including the pedestal.
The frieze is the point. Arranged around the shaft and imagined as a scroll wound in a spiral, it runs 23 turns and roughly 200 metres, densely animated with scenes. The Sovrintendenza counts about 2,500 figures with Trajan appearing 59 times; Wikipedia counts 2,662 figures and 155 scenes, with Trajan appearing 58 times.
Inside is a spiral staircase of 185 steps leading to the summit. No authority publishes any means of climbing it.
It is also a tomb. A golden urn holding the ashes of the emperor, who died on 8 August 117, was placed in the base, and a gilded bronze statue of him stood on the summit. That statue disappeared in the Middle Ages; in Pope Sixtus V replaced it with a statue of Saint Peter, which is still there.
Introduction
Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome that commemorates the emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars — the victorious military campaigns he conducted against the Dacians. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus, at the order of the Roman Senate, and was completed and dedicated on . It stands on Via dei Fori Imperiali.
The shaft is 100 Roman feet — about 30 metres. The Sovrintendenza Capitolina describes it as composed of 17 colossal monolithic drums of white Carrara marble nearly four metres across; Wikipedia gives 20 drums, each weighing about 32 tons. Turismo Roma says that including the base it reaches almost 40 metres; Wikipedia gives 35 metres including the pedestal.
The frieze is the point. Arranged around the shaft and imagined as a scroll wound in a spiral, it runs 23 turns and roughly 200 metres, densely animated with scenes. The Sovrintendenza counts about 2,500 figures with Trajan appearing 59 times; Wikipedia counts 2,662 figures and 155 scenes, with Trajan appearing 58 times.
Inside is a spiral staircase of 185 steps leading to the summit. No authority publishes any means of climbing it.
It is also a tomb. A golden urn holding the ashes of the emperor, who died on 8 August 117, was placed in the base, and a gilded bronze statue of him stood on the summit. That statue disappeared in the Middle Ages; in Pope Sixtus V replaced it with a statue of Saint Peter, which is still there.
Architecture
It is a column designed as a book, and that is an unusual thing for architecture to attempt. The shaft is 100 Roman feet — about 30 metres — and the frieze around it is conceived, in the Sovrintendenza's phrase, as a scroll wound in a spiral. The reliefs make 23 turns and run to roughly 200 metres, densely animated with scenes.
It is built of stacked drums. The Sovrintendenza describes 17 colossal monolithic drums of white Carrara marble, nearly four metres in diameter; Wikipedia gives a series of 20 drums, each weighing about 32 tons. Either count makes the engineering the headline: these were quarried, carried across the Mediterranean, lifted and stacked, and only then carved continuously across the joints so the narrative runs unbroken.
The inside is hollow and climbable. A spiral staircase of 185 steps runs up within the shaft to the summit, which both the site authority and the reference work agree on. The column is therefore a tower as much as a monument — though nothing published offers you the use of it.
The height depends on who is measuring. Turismo Roma says that including the base it reaches almost 40 metres; Wikipedia gives 35 metres including the large pedestal, with the column itself about 30. The figures are not reconciled here because the sources do not reconcile them.
And the design has a flaw its builders must have known about. Even in antiquity it would have been difficult to follow the spiral frieze from end to end — walking in circles with the head inclined. Whatever the column is, it is not a monument built to be read by someone standing at the bottom of it.
How It Was Built and Evolved Over Time
It was built as a stack, and then carved as a single surface. That order is what makes the column remarkable. The shaft is composed of colossal monolithic drums of white Carrara marble — the Sovrintendenza counts 17, each nearly four metres in diameter; Wikipedia counts 20, each weighing about 32 tons. They were quarried in Tuscany, shipped, hauled through the city, and lifted into place one on top of another.
Only then could the frieze be cut. The relief is arranged around the shaft and imagined as a scroll wound in a spiral, roughly 200 metres long over 23 turns, densely animated with scenes. It runs continuously across the joints between drums, which means the carving had to be done after assembly, in position, at height — a sculptor working 25 metres up on a finished column.
The inside was hollowed as it rose. Within the shaft is a spiral staircase of 185 steps leading to the summit, cut through the same drums that carry the exterior relief. Each block therefore had to serve three purposes at once: structure, staircase and narrative surface.
Who directed it is a probability, not a certainty. The column was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus — Trajan's engineer, the man who built the Danube bridge the frieze itself depicts — at the order of the Roman Senate. It was completed and dedicated on .
And then it was rebuilt as a tomb. After Trajan's death on , a golden urn with the emperor's ashes was placed in the base — a monument finished for one purpose adapted within four years to another. A gilded bronze statue of Trajan stood on the summit until it disappeared in the Middle Ages, and on Pope Sixtus V had the top crowned with a bronze Saint Peter, which is what stands there now.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I climb it? No — not in any way any authority publishes. There is a spiral staircase of 185 steps inside the shaft, but neither the Sovrintendenza Capitolina nor Turismo Roma publishes hours, tickets or any means of using it.
Is it free? No admission charge is published by anyone, and the column stands at a public street address on Via dei Fori Imperiali, seen from the pavement and the railings. There is no gate and nothing to book.
How tall is it? The shaft is 100 Roman feet, about 30 metres. Including the base, Turismo Roma says almost 40 metres and Wikipedia says 35. The sources differ and are not reconciled here.
How long is the frieze? Roughly 200 metres over 23 turns, according to the Sovrintendenza and Turismo Roma; Wikipedia gives 190 metres over 23 turns.
How many figures are on it? About 2,500 by the Sovrintendenza's count, 2,662 by Wikipedia's — which also counts 155 scenes. Trajan himself appears 59 times by the first count and 58 by the second.
What does it commemorate? Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars — the victorious campaigns he conducted against the Dacians. It was dedicated on 12 May 113.
Who designed it? It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus, at the order of the Roman Senate.
Why is Saint Peter on top? A gilded bronze statue of Trajan originally stood there and disappeared in the Middle Ages. On 4 December 1587 Pope Sixtus V crowned the column with a bronze Saint Peter, which remains.
Is anyone buried in it? A golden urn with Trajan's ashes was placed in the base after his death on 8 August 117. Wikipedia adds that the Senate voted for the burial and that his wife Plotina's ashes were set there too.
Can I actually see the carvings? The bottom three or four turns, yes. Above that, not without binoculars — and even in antiquity it would have been difficult to follow the frieze from end to end, walking in circles with the head inclined.
How long does it take? Fifteen to twenty minutes. Pair it with Trajan's Market next door.