Night show illuminates Forum of Augustus

(ANSA) - Rome, April 22 - With the approach of the 2,000th anniversary of the death of Augustus, the storied ancient Roman emperor, historians, archaeologists and technicians have come together to take the public inside his world.
    Forum of Augustus, A Journey Through History, which opened this week and continues until September 18, also comes as Rome marks its 2,767th birthday.
    The event aims to illuminate Rome's ancient Forum of Augustus through film, animated images, and sound three times nightly.
    The show involves a system of projectors casting images of ancient structures onto the marble and stone walls which are still standing in the Forum, with narration via headphones in six languages: Italian, English, French, Russian, Spanish and Japanese.
    "Stones can talk and tell many stories," that will be rich in scientific and historical detail illuminating the period, promise organizers.
    Part of the 40-minute presentation will focus on the ancient temple dedicated to Mars the Avenger, constructed by Augustus to honour the memory of his great-uncle Julius Caesar following his assassination in 42 BC. Images will recreate this temple that stood as tall as a nine-storey building and dominated the Forum, while nearby stood an enormous statue of Augustus himself, which likely soared 12 meters high, although only a small part remains. "The temple was dedicated to Mars Ultor (the Avenger), the god of war, who represented peace through power," said Claudio Parisi Presicce, Rome's superintendent of archaeology.
    "The work of (technical creators) Paco Lanciano and Piero Angela, the visual and virtual reconstruction of the Forum and all its decorations, reconstructs the daily life of ancient Romans in a public space like this," he added.