rome
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A $2.3 million laser restoration has refocused a graphic scene of a battlefield beheading and a female prisoner of war being dragged off by her hair, carved into the 1840 marble Column of Marcus Aurelius that towers over central Rome.
A team of 18 expert conservators has been working since the spring of 2025, using hand-held short-pulse lasers and chemical wraps to remove centuries of dirt from the 100-foot-tall monument. This column was erected between 180 AD and 193 AD, the year of the death of Roman philosopher and emperor Marcus Aurelius.
Restoration chief Marta Baumgartner said the project was the most extensive use of laser technology ever undertaken at an ancient site and was decided despite the cost.
“The laser is a tool that has been used with great success in restoration work, and the choice we made was to use the laser throughout the frieze, the decorative band, on the outside of the column,” Baumgartner told reporters after being granted rare access to the 16 levels of scaffolding surrounding the monument.
“It’s more expensive than traditional methods,” but it’s “a method that provides better repair results, including timing.”
She also said the technique will help maintain the integrity of the monument. “But above all, it guarantees respect for the material, for the marble itself. It completely guaranteed respect for the material and for its patina, which is evidence of the stone’s natural aging.”
Restorers are removing extensive black and gray deposits, filling cracks, repairing crevices and tackling erosion of the marble caused by decades of exposure to smog, rain and wind. They also discovered that inappropriate materials used in the 19th-century restoration damaged the fragile Carrara marble. Those materials have now been removed.
The column is one of the few Roman war monuments still in its original location. Built in 1562, it is located in front of the Chigi Palace, the official residence of the Italian Prime Minister, connecting ancient Rome with the modern nation.
A spiral frieze depicting the wars of the Roman Empire under Aurelius wraps around the monument 23 times, forming a continuous story from the base to the top. A plaster cast made in 1955 is on display at the Museum of Roman Civilization in the Italian capital and remains an important resource for scholars.
The tower is made up of 18 marble drums carved with more than 2,000 figures, including soldiers, prisoners, gods, and animals. There is even a scene of divine intervention in the form of heavy rain. Marcus Aurelius appears repeatedly. The sight is difficult to discern from the ground, but at close range the sight is impressive.
In 1589, the original statue of Marcus Aurelius on top of the column was replaced by a bronze statue of St. Paul. It was restored in the 1980s, using unsuitable materials, but has now been removed. The square around the Column was closed in 2013 after an assassination attempt on a guard at Chigi Palace, and reopened only in 2023.
Laser restoration is expected to be completed in early 2026.
