Based on the style of sculptural details,
Domitian's favored architect
Rabirius, sometimes credited with the
Colosseum, may have executed the arch. Without contemporary documentation, however, attributions of Roman buildings on the basis of style are considered shaky. The brother and successor of Titus built the arch despite being described as hateful towards Titus by
Cassius Dio. The medieval Latin travel guide
Mirabilia Urbis Romae noted the monument, writing: "the arch of the Seven Lamps of Titus and Vespasian; [where Moses' candlestick is having seven branches, with the Ark, at the foot of the Cartulary Tower"]. During the
Middle Ages, the
Frangipani family added a second story to the vault, converting it into a fortified tower; beam holes from the construction remain in the panels. A chamber was built in the upper half, and the roadway was lowered to expose the travertine foundations. Pope
Paul IV (papacy 1555–9), having established the
Roman Ghetto in the bull
Cum nimis absurdum, made the arch the place of a yearly
oath of submission, forcing Jewish elders to kiss the feet of each newly crowned pope. In 1716,
Adriaan Reland published his
De spoliis templi Hierosolymitani in arcu Titiano Romae conspicuis, in English: "The spoils of the temple of Jerusalem visible on the Arch of Titan at Rome". It was one of the first buildings sustaining a modern restoration, starting with
Raffaele Stern in 1817 and continued by
Valadier under
Pius VII in 1821, with new capitals and with
travertine masonry, distinguishable from the original marble. The restoration was a model for the country side of
Porta Pia. At an unknown date, a local ban on Jews walking under the arch was placed on the monument by Rome's
Chief Rabbinate; this was rescinded on the foundation of the
State of Israel in 1947, and at a
Hanukkah event in 1997 the change was made public. The arch was never mentioned in
Rabbinic literature. ==Description==