“This pretty little triumphal arch was ercctcd in honor of Titus, the
son of Emperor Vespasian; it was inspired by the desire to immortalize
the conqucst of Jérusalem; it has only one arcade. After Drusus’s
triumphal arch near the gâte of San Sebastiano, this is the most ancient
of those to be seen in Rome; it was the most élégant up to the time
when it was redone by M. Valadier.
This man is an architect and a Roman by birth despite his French
name. Instcad of supporting Titus’s arch, which was falling into ruin,
by Steel reinforcements, or by an arched buttress of brick, quitc distinct
from the monument itself, the poor man rebuilt it. He had the nerve to
hew blocks of travertino after the form of the antique stones and to
substitutc them for these, which were cartcd away I know not where.
What remains to us is therefore but a copy of Titus’s arch.
It is true that this copy is placed at the very spot where the former
arch stood, and the bas-reliefs which adorn the inside of the arch way…” (Stendhal)