Trajan exhibition at Mercati di Traiano explores the emperor's legacy

A major exhibition titled 'Traiano. Costruire l’Impero, creare l’Europa' opens at the Mercati di Traiano in Rome, marking 1900 years since the emperor's death. The show reframes Trajan's rule not as conquest but as construction, linking ancient empire-building to contemporary European identity. It features seven sections that trace Trajan's life in reverse, from his death in Asia Minor to his triumphs. Highlights include objects from the Capitoline Superintendence, Vatican Museums, and the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, architectural models from the Museo della Civiltà Romana, and a 1975 Bulgari necklace with ancient Roman coins. An actor portrays Trajan in a video installation. The exhibition is curated by Claudio Parisi Presicce, Lucrezia Ungaro, and Livio Zerbini, with immersive films by the University of Ferrara's e-learning center. Trajan, the first non-Italian emperor, was celebrated by Dante in the Divine Comedy and depicted by artists from Rogier van der Weyden to Eugène Delacroix. His statue still stands in the U.S. Supreme Court. The exhibition runs at the Museo dei Fori Imperiali.