Triumphal arch and triumphal procession as antiquity identification means in European society in the 15-17 centuries

The article considers the European society’s tendency to identify with the antique culture and establish the ruling power through symbolic architectural objects such as triumphal arches. Along with this, triumphal processions are briefly characterized in connection with the significant historical events of the 15^th-17^th centuries. The authors emphasize that the triumphal arch was a symbol of the great Roman Empire’s might for the contemporaries and the generations to come; and that the festive triumphal processions and performances reflected the mass infatuation with antiquity and striving to identify with it. The tendency manifested itself in many European countries, i.e. Italy, France, the Netherlands, Germany, and Russia.