STATUE BASE FROM THE ATHENÆUM OF HADRIAN, 450-476. COLOSSEUM
Fabius Felix Passifilus / Paulinus, v(ir) c(larissimus) et inl(ustris), / praef(ectus) urb(i), / studiis suis
Discovered in 2009 during works for Metro Line C in piazza Madonna di Loreto, flanking piazza Venezia, this statue base is inscribed "Fabius Felix Passifilus Paulinus, of clarissimus and illustrious rank, prefect of the City, with his special care." This Passifilus Paulinus left his name all over a number of C5 statue bases and his is one of the last names inscribed on a locum or designated seat in the upper podium of the Colosseum, but the exact date of his prefecture remains elusive. It is unclear what statue he set up on this base, but his "special care" (a phrase only he uses) probably refers to his re-erecting statues from abandoned parts of Rome in areas still being used: in this context, it is interesting that even in the second half of the C5, the Athenæum of Hadrian was still functioning. The statue base of black-veined white marble is ancient spolia, with its original inscription erased and the base itself turned upside down, giving it a top-heavy appearance.
#EpigraphyTuesday introduces us to the aristocratic Fabius Felix Passifilus Paulinus, #senator and urban prefect in the later C5, who left his #epigraphic trace on the #Colosseum and on statue bases, moving public art from abandoned areas of #Rome into areas still important.
