Chapter 1776： Thoughtful Roman Emperor

After leaving the Vatican, Ye Tian's first stop was the Capitoline Museum, a famous museum in Capitoline Square.

Piazza Capitoline is one of the oldest squares in Rome. It is next to the Piazza Venezia and the Roman Forum that Ye Tian and the others had visited before. It is the seat of the city of Rome.

In this ancient square, there are mainly three statues of Rome City Hall, Emperor Aurelius on horseback, God of Wisdom, God of Tiber, and Sphinx.

But for Ye Tian, ​​the most important building on this square is the Capitoline Museum.

The Capitoline Museum is the most important museum in Rome, and it is also a famous museum that all art lovers who come to visit Rome should not miss.

This museum was built in 1471 AD. The original collection came from a batch of bronze sculptures donated by Pope Sixtus IV.

Later, the museum's collection expanded to include a large number of ancient Roman statues, inscriptions, and other handicrafts, medieval and Renaissance art, gems, coins, etc. The collection is very rich.

Today's Capitoline Museum is mainly composed of several palaces surrounding Capitoline Square. They are the New Palace and the Conservative Palace, the Senate Palace, and the Clementine Palace adjacent to the Conservative Palace.

Connecting these ancient palaces is a promenade located under the square, called the Jewel Promenade, which is also part of the Capitoline Museum.

Just after nine o'clock in the morning, Ye Tian and his convoy arrived at Capitoline Square and stopped on the side of the road in front of the square.

After getting off the car one after another, they walked into this ancient square while enjoying the surrounding scenery, looking like ordinary tourists.

But in the eyes of everyone else on the square, they are by no means ordinary people.

The arrival of the group of them inevitably caused a commotion. Almost everyone's eyes turned to this side. People were both curious and a little frightened!

"I'm going! Why did the **** Steven come to Piazza Capitoline? This is not good news, but I hope nothing will happen today!"

"Even if the **** Steven is crazy, he dare not make trouble here! The Senate Palace next to it is the seat of the Roman city government, and there are so many police officers patrolling the square!"

Compared to tourists and pedestrians in the square, the Roman police received the news earlier.

At this time, the Roman policemen patrolling the square were all on high alert as if they were on the verge of an enemy, staring at Ye Tian and the others, as well as other people on the square, and dared not relax for a moment!

In the streets around the square, many police cars are coming quickly from a distance, ready to support the police in Piazza Capitoline and defend the city of Rome!

Ye Tian took a look at the reactions of the people in the square and the reaction of the Roman police.

But he turned a blind eye, just nodded at these guys with a smile, and then led Betty and the others into the square and explained to them.

"The Piazza Capitoline is another outstanding work by the artist Michelangelo. All the details on the square, and even the design of the floor plan, are all made by Michelangelo.

The main buildings that make up the Capitoline Museum, the Palace of the Elders, the New Palace, and the Conservation Palace, were also planned by Michelangelo, who designed the new appearance.

It is a pity that Michelangelo passed away before the repair work was completed. It took more than 400 years for later generations to complete this work according to Michelangelo’s drawings..."

While they were talking, Ye Tian and the others had arrived in front of the bronze statue of Emperor Aurelius on horseback standing in the center of the square, then stopped and began to admire this famous sculpture.

This is a bronze statue of a tall heroic figure. The Roman emperor Ole remained on the mount and showed a thoughtful appearance, raising his right hand to the front right, just like other Roman leaders.

But in this statue, it seems that the spirit of the Roman emperor who gave orders, and the domineering and heroic spirit of the king!

On the contrary, it gave people a sense of calm. Roman Emperor Aurelius looked down on this turbulent world and seemed to be admonishing fatalism to the people.

The mount under his crotch is also different. Although the sculpture is very vivid, the posture is not aggressive, but a steadily stepping forward.

Different from the statues of other ancient Roman military leaders, on this famous statue, the impossibility of Roman military leaders is gone, and even the demeanor of a politician is not found here.

To put it simply, this bronze figure gives visitors a feeling of depression, which is very special!

After standing in front of this statue and admiring it for a while, Ye Tian's clear voice came to everyone's ears.

"The bronze statue in front of everyone is the famous bronze statue of Emperor Aurelius on horseback, but it is only a replica, and the authentic one is in the Capitoline Museum.

Emperor Aurelius was the last of the ‘Five Sage Emperors of Rome’ and the last emperor in the heyday of the ancient Roman Empire. He has done a lot in history and is one of the Five Sage Emperors.

During his reign, the Roman Empire faced immense border pressure. Parthians invaded in the east and Germans in the north. Wars continued for years and it was embarrassing on all sides.

Fortunately, Emperor Aurelius was able to conquer war and lead the Roman army to conquer the east and west, and only then did the Roman Empire barely maintain its original territory and temporarily maintain its superficial strength.

In addition to his martial arts, Emperor Aurelius was also a Stoic philosopher. During his military career, he also left a masterpiece of philosophy written in Greek, "Meditations".

After the death of Emperor Aurelius, his impeccable son Commod, who was the young emperor who killed his father and usurped the throne in the movie "Gladiator", succeeded to become the new Roman emperor.

In history, although Kang Maod was not a father-killer to usurp the throne, he was cowardly, stern, and arrogant. He practiced tyranny during his rule and was later killed, and the Antonian dynasty ended.

So far, one of the strongest and most glorious periods in the history of the Roman Empire, the golden age of the five sage emperors is gone. Since then, the Roman Empire has gradually declined until its extinction.

In the Middle Ages, most of the statues of Roman emperors were destroyed because they were considered by Christians to be pagans, but this bronze statue of Emperor Aurelius on horseback was miraculously preserved.

Because this statue was mistaken for the statue of Constantine the Great, it survived. It has been preserved to this day. The original has been moved to the Capitoline Museum for protection.

There are many bronze sculptures in Rome, but the bronze statue of Emperor Aurelius on horseback in the Capitoline Museum is the best-preserved of all ancient Roman bronze statues..."

While admiring the tall and heroic bronze sculpture in front of him, Ye Tian introduced Betty and the others to the hidden stories behind the sculpture. The explanation was still very exciting, professional and fascinating.

Listening to his explanation, not only Betty and the others, but also other tourists around, everyone was even fascinated by it.

At the same time, everyone's understanding of this statue has become more profound.

After admiring the bronze statue of Emperor Aurelius on horseback, Ye Tian and the others soon came to the gate of the Senate Palace where the Roman city government was located and began to admire the three sculptures standing here.

There are three statues in front of the Senate Palace.

In the middle is the God of Wisdom, on the right is the God of Tiber, which is a symbol of Rome, the mother wolf nursery statue, and on the left is the ancient Egyptian sphinx, lifelike!

The statue of "Mother Wolf Nurse Baby" has been seen in other places in Rome and has been introduced, so Ye Tian didn't repeat it again, but just explained the other two statues to Betty and the others!

During the explanation process, he did not forget to turn on the perspective. He secretly saw through the three statues in front of him, the inside and outside of the Senator's Palace, and the deep underground of Capitoline Square.

Ye Tian could see through everything in front of her sight, and there was no secret at all.

There are no hidden secrets in the three replica statues of later generations, but there are surprising discoveries in the palace of the elders and deep underground in Capitoline Square.

In the two rooms on the side of the Senate Palace near the square, Ye Tian discovered two hidden cells one after another.

In the first secret, he saw two old oil paintings on canvas, which radiated dazzling and beautiful light in his eyes, and there were many charming halos.

They are a work by Tintoretto, the representative painter of the Late Renaissance and the Venetian School, and a masterpiece by Caravaggio, a famous painter of the Baroque School.

Without exception, these two paintings are both priceless top-of-the-line works of art, but I don't know when they were hidden in the secrets of the Senator's Palace, and never saw the sun!

In the other secret compartment, there is a pile of sealed documents.

Although he doesn't know Italian, Ye Tian can determine from the dates marked on the documents that those documents are from the middle and late nineteenth century and should be related to the Italian unification movement.

In the middle and late nineteenth century, it was the era when the Italian unification movement was surging. Heroes appeared in large numbers. At that time, Rome was also in turmoil!

Except for the dates marked on the documents, the light they radiated in Ye Tian's eyes was the best explanation and the most accurate evidence.

Deep underground in Piazza Capitoline, there are several ancient Roman ruins, and most of them are from the Roman Republic period.

Buried in those ruins are some broken marble statues, various types of pottery, rusty weapons, and other items, etc. There are many valuable and top antique artworks.

There is no doubt that once these treasures in the Senate Palace and the deep underground of the square are released, they will definitely cause a sensation, and will even rewrite the partial history of the Italian Unification Movement!

But it is a pity that their location makes Ye Tian elusive, and there is no way to get them, so he can only sigh.

Unless the Italian authorities suddenly had a convulsion that day, and wanted to sell the Senate and Capitoline Square for money, he would be able to get these valuable treasures!

Once again, when a gentleman of Liang Shang sneaked into the Senate Palace in the middle of the night, he unknowingly opened the two hidden compartments and stole the two priceless oil paintings, making a fortune!

But Ye Tian disdains such a thing, and there is no need for it!

In a blink of an eye, Ye Tian had finished the perspective, and immediately retracted his sight.

Then I admired several sculptures in front of the Senate Palace and the historic building of the Senate Palace. Ye Tian and the others turned and left and walked towards the entrance of the Capitoline Museum not far away.

Seeing them leave, the armed policemen guarding the gate of the city of Rome couldn't help letting out a sigh of relief, and their tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

Some people in the Rome city government who received the news and observed Ye Tian and the others through the glass windows also took a deep breath!

Within a few steps, Ye Tian and the others came to the entrance of the museum, then lined up to buy tickets, and soon entered the most important museum in the city of Rome, and disappeared from the square!