TheLosAngeleno – Page 27 – Los Angeles and the World

Rome – Richard Meier’s home for Ara Pacis Augustae

Richard Meier designed building to house Ara Pacis in Rome — Richard Meier designed building to house Ara Pacis Augustae in Rome from down the street.

Ara Pacis Augustae or Ara Pacis as it is mostly referred to, is a Roman Temple to the goddess of peace – Pax. It was commissioned by the Roman senate on July 4 13BC in honor of Augustus triumphant return to Rome after his years on campaign in Hispania and Gaul. It was originally erected on the northern outskirts of Rome or actually about a mile outside of what was considered to be part of Rome. It stood in a former floodplain of the Tiber river and was eventually buried in silt. Some fragments were found in the 1500’s and attempts at excavating the temple were made in the early 1900’s but they were not successful because of the instability of the Teatro Olimpia building that had later been built on top of Ara Pacis. It was not until 1937 that the Italian cabinet decided that the excavation should reassume for the 2000 year anniversary of the birth of Augustus (born Gaius Octavius in 63BC died 14AD ). The Temple was excavated and in 1938 Benito Mussolini had a structure built for the Temple next to the Mausoleum of Augustus.

The current home of Ara Pacis was designed by renowned American international architect Richard Meier and built in 2006. It was not without controversy when it was built, but today it seems to be accepted as the great architectural piece that it really is.

The side of the building that faces the Tiber river.

The side of the building that faces the river has a big wall towards a very busy street that runs between the building and the river, it is there to reduce traffic noise from the road.

Ara Pacis Augustae "Altar of Augustan Peace" dedicated to Pax, Roman goddess of peace. — Ara Pacis Augustae “Altar of Augustan Peace” dedicated to Pax, Roman goddess of peace.

Ara Pacis from the other side, please note the skylights that help illuminate the space in a great way.

Ara Pacis, the "Tellus" panel. — Ara Pacis, the “Tellus” panel.

The “Tellus” panel on Ara Pacis depicts Tellus Mater or Terra Mater (Mother Earth) goddess of the earth in Roman mythology.

Augustus mausoleum as seen from the Ara Pacis building.

Augustus mausoleum next to the Ara Pacis building is currently (November 2016) fenced off and closed for renovation, though the interior is never open to the public. The Mausoleum was built by Augustus himself in 28BC

Augustus mausoleum seen from a different angle. — Augustus mausoleum seen from a different angle showing the entry into the mausoleum.

Wurstküche in Venice

If you have a hankering for a good sausage and want an excellent selection of as good matching beers to choose from, stop off at Wurstküche at 625 Lincoln Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90291 where you can have both. Should you prefer to eat whole foods only (vegetarian/vegan) they have that too! It’s a hip place with trendy reclaimed wood and steel tables. During the day it’s a mix of people, families with kids and some hipsters/millenials.

Wurstküche has a large selection of beers as well as different mustards and condiments to choose from.

Vegetarian smoked apple sage sausage in a bun with Caramelized onions and Sauerkraut with fries and curry ketchup. — Vegetarian smoked apple sage sausage in a bun topped with Caramelized onions and Sauerkraut, Belgian fries and curry ketchup.

The Winter Penguin arrived in Venice

The winter penguin is out inside the Windward circle in preparation for the sign lighting tonight. — The winter penguin sits inside the Windward circle and Windward is being blocked off in preparation for the sign lighting tonight.

The penguin inside the Windward circle form another angle — The penguin inside the Windward circle from another angle.

Tonight between 6PM – 9PM is the 5:th annual lighting of the sign, that is the Venice sign on Windward and pacific, organized by the Venice chamber of commerce and advertised as having activities “for the whole family”.

Preparations for the lightjng of the Venice sign at Windward and Pacific tonight

Rome – Pantheon

The Pantheon in Rome stands on a site where there was a Roman temple built by Marcus Agrippa during Augustus reign (27 BC – 14 AD). The later, current temple was built by emperor Hadrian and was likely dedicated in about 126 AD, today it serves as a church dedicated to “St Mary and the martyrs” and has done so since the 7:th century. Due in large part to it’s continuous use throughout history, it is one of the best preserved ancient Roman buildings in existence. An interesting fact about the current temple/church is that when it was constructed, Hadrian chose to retain the inscription that Magrippa made over the entrance of the earlier structure. This later caused some confusion as to when the later structure actually was constructed. The Pantheon is to this day the largest unreinforced concrete dome in the world, with the interior circle measuring 43.3 m (142 ft) which is the same distance as from the floor to the “oculus”.

Pantheon Rome interior — The interior of the Pantheon in Rome.

The purpose of the “oculus” (size is 8.2 m/27 ft) was to let in light so as to light the interior of the structure the same way as the sun would light earth. It also let’s rain in, which serves to cool the structure during the summer months.

Pantheon ceiling detail with the “oculus” in what is the worlds largest unreinforced concrete dome.