This column was erected between 176 and 193 after
the death of Marcus Aurelius (161-80), in honour of his victories
over the barbarian tribes of the Danube. He died at the front of
the plague. Marco Aurelio’s column depicts the significant
episodes in his wars with low relief carvings arranged in a spiral.
In 1589 Pope Sixtus V replaced the statue of the Emperor on the
top of the column with a statue of S. Paul.