Salotto 42 Rome: The Aperitivo Bar Facing the Temple of Hadrian

Why Hadrian was the most cultured emperor Rome ever had — and what he built to prove it

Hadrian (Emperor 117-138 AD) was the most architecturally prolific and culturally ambitious emperor in Rome's history. In 21 years of reign, he built: the Pantheon (117-128 AD — the current building, replacing an earlier Agrippa structure); the Temple of Venus and Roma (the largest temple in Rome); Hadrian's Wall (northern Britain, 122 AD); the Villa Adriana at Tivoli (his private pleasure city, 120-138 AD, UNESCO World Heritage); the Castel Sant'Angelo (his mausoleum, 135-139 AD, now visitable); and the Arch of Hadrian in Athens (completing Greek infrastructure as a gesture of Hellenic respect). Hadrian was the first Roman emperor to wear a beard (a Hellenic affectation that emphasized his identification with Greek culture), traveled continuously throughout the Empire rather than governing from Rome, and wrote poetry in Greek that survives. The Temple of Hadrian in Piazza di Pietra was built not by Hadrian but by his successor Antoninus Pius — Hadrian himself was too busy building everything else to build his own temple.