- UNESCO
- Free 1st Sunday
Photo: Jenni Ahonen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Archaeological site
Arch of Claudius
Triumphal arch
- Within the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura”
At a glance
- Type
- Archaeological site
- Coordinates
- 41°53′58″ N, 12°28′52″ E
History and description
The Arch of Claudius was a triumphal arch in Rome built in honour of the emperor Claudius's successful invasion of Britain in AD 43. It was dedicated in AD 51 but had already been anticipated in commemorative coins minted in AD 46–47 and 49, which depicted it summounted by an equestrian statue between two trophies. However, the real structure was a conversion of one of the arches of the Aqua Virgo aqueduct at the point where it crossed the Via Flaminia, the main road to the north, just north of the Saepta.
Inscription
The portions of surviving inscription survive in the Capitoline Museums and can be reconstructed with the aid of identical inscriptions on commemorative arches at Boulogne-sur-Mer and Cyzicus. It reads:
The Roman Senate and People to Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, son of Drusus, Pontifex Maximus, Tribunician power eleven times, Consul five times, Imperator 22 times, Censor, Father of the Fatherland, because he received the surrender of eleven kings of the Britons defeated without any loss, and first brought barbarian peoples across the Ocean into the dominion of the Roman people.
Destruction and Remains
The condition of the arch appears to have deteriorated as early as the eighth century and is no longer extant. However, portions of the structure were discovered in 1562, 1641 and 1869 and include part of the principal inscription, inscriptions dedicated to other members of the imperial family, some of the foundations, and fragments of sculpture.
Primary sources
Freeman & Sear Catalog No.12 (2005), item 536.
For reliefs discovered in the 1920s which may belong to it, see Notizie degli Scavi 1925, 230‑233; Bocconi, Musei Capitolini, 292.9; 294.14; YW 1925‑6, 112.
Text from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0. Full article: «Arch of Claudius».
Photos
Getting there
FlaminioTrain, nearest
1.6 km as the crow flies
Arch of Claudius
Aeroporto di Roma-Ciampino14.5 km
Distances are as the crow flies, not walking or driving.
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Nearby
See on the mapMore archaeological sites in Lazio
- Free 1st Sunday
- Free 1st Sunday
- UNESCO
Frequently asked questions
Where is Arch of Claudius?
Arch of Claudius is in Rome, in the province of Roma (Lazio), Italy. GPS coordinates: 41.89932, 12.48110.
What else is there to see near Arch of Claudius?
Nearby you’ll find: Palazzo Cipolla (0 m away), Palazzo Sciarra Colonna di Carbognano (0 m away), Roman College (100 m away).
Sources and licences
Text. Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Data. Wikidata (CC0); opening hours and contacts OpenStreetMap (ODbL).
Photos. Wikimedia Commons, author and licence on every image.
Credits for the 3 photos
- Capitoline museum2 — Jenni Ahonen, CC BY-SA 4.0
- Arc-claude-insc — Cassius Ahenobarbus, CC BY-SA 3.0
- Piranesi-1018 — Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Public domain
Updated 28 October 2026. All sources and licences