Official Information
Official website: https://www.arapacis.it/
Online tickets: https://museiincomuneroma.vivaticket.it/it/tour/museo-dell-ara-pacis/2383
Address:Lungotevere in Augusta (angolo Via Tomacelli), 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Google map: View on Google Maps
Opening Hours
Daily 09:30–19:30; 24 and 31 December 09:30–14:00; on 1 January 2025 11:00–20:00; closed 1 May and 25 December. Last entry one hour before closing; check the Avvisi page on the official site for updates.
The Ara Pacis Museum was created to house one of the most important surviving monuments of Augustan Rome, the Altar of Augustan Peace, in a contemporary pavilion on the banks of the Tiber. The marble altar itself was voted by the Senate in 13 BC to celebrate Augustus’s return from campaigns in Spain and Gaul and dedicated in 9 BC. Its sculpted reliefs present an extraordinary combination of mythological scenes, personifications of peace and prosperity, and an imperial family procession that offers a vivid snapshot of Augustan ideology and public image. In the twentieth century the altar was reassembled near its presumed ancient location by the Mausoleum of Augustus; in the early 2000s it was enclosed in the current glass and travertine structure designed by architect Richard Meier for Rome’s civic museums.
Inside the main hall, natural light floods in through large glass walls and a skylit roof, allowing visitors to walk all the way around the monument on a raised platform. From close range it is possible to appreciate the subtle carving of draperies, laurel garlands and acanthus scrolls and to see details like children holding hands or senators wearing laurel wreaths, which often disappear in photographs. Explanatory panels, models and multimedia supports explain both the original religious function of the altar and the story of its rediscovery and modern conservation.
The museum also devotes space to temporary exhibitions, frequently connected to themes of Roman history, photography, design or contemporary reflections on antiquity, which bring repeat visitors back even if they have already seen the altar. Because it stands at the edge of Piazza Augusto Imperatore, the visit can easily be combined with an exploration of the restored Mausoleum of Augustus and the surrounding rationalist urban fabric from the 1930s. Large windows frame views onto the square, connecting the ancient marble to the modern city and the nearby Tiber embankments.
For travellers, the Ara Pacis Museum offers a focused, manageable visit: a single masterpiece presented in depth, in a climate-controlled environment that is comfortable year-round and easy to fit into a busy Rome itinerary.