ROME AT A GLANCE 49
Museo e Galleria Borghese
The ground-floor museum houses
ancient Greek and Roman sculpture
as well as early Bernini master-
pieces such as his David (1619).
Upstairs are paintings by Titian,
Rubens and other masters.
Museo Nazionale Romano
This fresco, from Livia’s Villa
(1st century AD) outside Rome,
is one of a huge collection of
finds from archaeological sites
throughout the city.
Palazzo Barberini
The works of art here date
mainly from the 13th to the
16th centuries. This figure
of Providence comes
from Pietro da
Cortona’s The
Triumph of
Divine Providence
(1633–9).
Palazzo
Venezia
The highlights
of Rome’s most
important museum
decorative arts are its
ntine and medieval
ons, including this
enamel of Christ
he 13th century.
itoline Museums:
lazzo dei Conservatori
ietro da Cortona’s Rape of the Sabine
Women (1629) is one of many Baroque
paintings in the picture gallery.
ne Museums: Palazzo Nuovo
Among the sculptures is this head of Giulia Domna
(wife of Septimius Severus) from the 2nd century AD.
50 I N T R O D U C I N G R O M E
Exploring Museums and Galleries
Rome’s museums and galleries have the 1st century AD. It had tre-
two major strengths: Greek and Roman
archaeological treasures, and paintings mendous influence on the
and sculptures of the Renaissance and the
Baroque. The Vatican Museums have superb subsequent development of
collections of both, as do, on a smaller scale,
Etruscan the Capitoline Museums. Fine paintings can Roman art. Splendid copies of
clay head, also be found scattered throughout Rome in
Villa Giulia museums, galleries and churches (see pp46–7). Greek originals can be seen
in the Capitoline Museums.
In the Forum, occupying two
floors of the church of Santa
Francesca Romana, is the
Antiquarium
Forense with
restored finds
all objects here are Etruscan, from the
however; some of the pottery,
ETRUSCAN statuettes and artifacts are rel- excavations.
ARTIFACTS ics of the Faliscans, Latins and
other tribes who inhabited For those who
central Italy before the Romans.
enjoy history,
The Gregorian Etruscan
Museum in the Vatican the large scale
Museums was opened in 1837
to house Etruscan finds from model at
tombs on Church-owned
land. The Museo Barracco the Museo Centurion’s breast-
in the Piccola Farnesina plate, Museo della
has statues from the much della Civiltà
older civilizations of ancient Romana in Civiltà Romana
Egypt and Assyria. EUR gives an
excellent idea of what ancient
Rome looked like in the 4th
century AD.
ART GALLERIES
ANCIENT ROMAN ART
The archaeological zone
in Rome forms a huge open-
air museum of evidence of
ancient Roman life, while the
porticoes and cloisters of the
city’s churches are filled with
ancient sarcophagi and
fragments of statuary. The
5th-century BC Etruscan gold plate largest important collection
with inscription, Villa Giulia can be seen in the
Museo Nazionale
The Etruscans inhabited Romano at the Baths
an area stretching from of Diocletian and its new
Florence to Rome from the branch Palazzo Massimo.
8th century BC, and ruled The museum’s many
Rome from the late 7th ancient artifacts include, Muses in Raphael’s Parnassus
century BC (see pp18–19). It most notably, a sarco- (1508–11), Vatican Museums
was the Etruscan custom to phagus from Livia’s Villa In the past, many of Rome’s
great aristocratic families
bury the dead along with at Prima Porta just north owned magnificent private
collections of paintings and
their possessions, and as a of Rome. Also on display sculpture. Some of these
are still housed in ancestral
result Etruscan artifacts have are some wonderfully well- palazzi, which are open
to the public. One is the
been excavated from tombs preserved mosaics. The Galleria Doria Pamphilj,
which has the greatest
all over central Italy. Three museum’s great collection concentration of paintings
of any palazzo in Rome. It’s
main collections can be seen of Roman statues is now well worth searching through
the various rooms to find the
in Rome. The Villa Giulia has housed in the recently pearls of the collection, which
include works by Raphael,
been the home of the Museo restored Palazzo Altemps.
Nazionale Etrusco since 1889. The most important statues
The villa, designed by Vigno- are in the Vatican
la for Pope Julius III for sum- Museums, which also
mer outings, is one of have the best of the great
Rome’s prettiest Renaissance Greek works, such as
buildings. Its gardens the Laocoön,
contain a reconstructed Victory banner, Museo brought to
Etruscan temple. Not della Civiltà Romana Rome around
ROME AT A GLANCE 51
Filippo Lippi, be transferred to join the
Caravaggio, Titian Palazzo Barberini collection.
and Claude Lorrain, Another wonderful private
and a portrait of Pope collection was that of the
Innocent X Pamphilj Borghese family, also now
by the Spanish artist managed by the state. The
Velázquez. The Galleria Museo e Galleria Borghese
Spada collection, begun contains a sculpture collec-
by Bernardino Spada in tion, including the technically
1632, is still housed amazing Apollo and Daphne
in the fine original by the youthful genius Bernini
gallery built for and the famous statue of
Hellenistic it. The paintings Pauline Borghese by Canova.
faun, Museo demonstrate On the first floor is the picture Laocoön (1st century AD) in the
Vatican’s Pio-Clementine Museum
Borghese 17th-century collection with paintings by
of Napoleon and members of
Roman taste and Titian, Correggio and others. his family, many of whom
came to live in Rome.
include works by Rubens, The Capitoline Museums
Portrait of Pauline Borghese
Guido Reni, Guercino and Jan hold collections that were gifts painted by Kinson (c.1805),
now in the Museo Napoleonico
Brueghel the Elder. The of the popes to the people of
WHERE TO FIND
Galleria Colonna contains Rome. The Pinacoteca (art THE MUSEUMS
AND GALLERIES
a collection of art dating from gallery) in the Palazzo dei
Antiquarium Forense p87
the same period. Conservatori contains works Burcardo Theatre Museum p149
Capitoline Museums pp70–73
Other old family residences by Titian, Guercino and Van Galleria Colonna p158
Galleria Doria Pamphilj p107
are now showcases for state Dyck. There is an art gallery Galleria Nazionale d’Arte
art collections. The Galleria at the Vatican Museums, but Moderna pp258–9
Galleria Spada p147
Nazionale d’Arte Antica is lovers of Renaissance art will Keats-Shelley Memorial
divided between Palazzo head straight for the Sistine House p134
Museo e Galleria Borghese
Barberini and Palazzo Corsini. Chapel and the Raphael
pp260–61
Palazzo Barberini, built Rooms. Rome’s main modern Museo della Civiltà Romana p266
Museo di Roma in Trastevere p210
between 1625 and 1633 by art collection is in the Galleria Museo Nazionale Romano p163
Museo Napoleonico p126
Bernini and others for Nazionale d’Arte Moderna. Museum of Musical
the Barberini family, houses Instruments p181
Palazzo Altemps p127
paintings from the 13th to the Palazzo Barberini p255
Palazzo Corsini p218
16th centuries. It also has SMALLER MUSEUMS Palazzo dei Conservatori pp72–3
Palazzo Venezia p75
objets d’art acquired by the Piccola Farnesina p149
Vatican Museums pp234–47
state from various private The most important of the Villa Giulia pp262–3
collections. At some future smaller collections is the
date, the 17th- and 18th- beautifully laid-out medieval
century paintings exhibited in museum in Palazzo Venezia,
the Palazzo Corsini, on the with exhibits ranging from
south side of the Tiber, will ceramics to sculpture. Rome
has a wealth of
specialist museums
like the Museum
of Musical Instru-
ments, the Museo
di Roma in Traste-
vere, with tableaux
showing life in
Rome during the
last century, and
the Burcardo
Theatre Museum.
For those with
an interest in the
English Romantic
poets who lived in
Rome in the 19th
century, there is
the Keats-Shelley
Memorial House, a
museum in the
house where John
Keats died. Focus-
ing on the French
Empire, the Museo
Napoleonico has
The Deposition (1604) by Caravaggio, the Vatican relics and paintings
52 I N T R O D U C I N G R O M E
Rome’s Best: Fountains and Obelisks
Rome has some of the loveliest fountains in the world.
Many of them are the work of the greatest sculptors of the
Renaissance and Baroque. Some fountains are flamboyant
displays, others restful trickles of water. Many are simply
drinking fountains, while a few cascade from the sides
of buildings. Obelisks date from far earlier in the city’s
history. Although some of them were commissioned
by Roman emperors, many are even older and were
brought to Rome by triumphant, conquering armies.
A more detailed overview of Rome’s fountains and
obelisks is on pages 54–5.
Piazza San Pietro Piazza del Popolo
Twin fountains give Nineteenth-century
life to the splendid marble lions and
monumental piazza fountains surrou
of St Peter’s. Maderno ancient obelisk
designed the one on centre of the
the Vatican side in
1614; the other was
later built to match.
Fontana dei
The fountain of
rivers is the work o
Bernini. The four fi
represent the Ganges
Plate, the Danube
the Nile.
Obelisk of Santa Maria
sopra Minerva
The Egyptian obelisk,
held up by Bernini’s
marble elephant, dates
from the 6th century BC.
Fontana delle Tartarughe
One of Rome’s more secret fountains,
this jewel of Renaissance sculpture
shows youths helping tortoises into a basin.
ROME AT A GLANCE 53
Fontana della Barcaccia Trevi Fountain
This elegant fountain of 1627 The Trevi, inspired by Roman
triumphal arches, was designed by
probably the work of Pietro Nicola Salvi in 1732. Tradition has
father of the more 500 it that a coin thrown into the water
guarantees a visitor’s return to Rome.
delle Naiadi
s fountain was unveiled
the realistically
bronze nymphs
a storm of protest.
ano
est obelisk in
e dates from the
4th century BC.
me to Rome in
357, brought
on the orders
Constantine II.
della Bocca della Verità Fountain
In this 18th-century fountain, built by
Carlo Bizzaccheri for Pope Clement XI,
water spills over a craggy rock formation
where two Tritons hold aloft a large shell.
54 I N T R O D U C I N G R O M E
Exploring Fountains and Obelisks
The popes who restored the ancient Roman
aqueducts used to build fountains to
commemorate their deeds of munificence.
As a result, fountains of all sizes and shapes
punctuate the city, drawing grateful crowds
on hot summer days. Ancient obelisks
provide powerful reminders of the debt
Fountain of the Roman civilization owed to the Egyptians.
Amphorae Architects have learnt to incorporate them
(1920s) into Roman piazzas in fascinating ways.
FOUNTAINS wrestles with an octopus on The Pantheon Fountain
a 19th-century fountain. In
The Trevi fountain is one of Piazza Barberini is the mag- central obelisk plus two more
the most famous of all. It is a nificent Bernini creation of fountains on the east and
mostra, a monumental 1642–3: the Fontana del west sides of the square.
fountain built to mark the end Tritone with its sea god The early 20th century saw
of an aqueduct – in this case blowing through a shell. the opening of the Fontana
the Acqua Vergine, built by delle Naiadi (nymphs) in
Marcus Agrippa in 19 BC, More recently, large piazzas Piazza della Repubblica; its
although the Trevi itself was have been redesigned around earthy figures caused great
only completed in 1762. Other fountains. Valadier’s great scandal at the time. The highly
mostre are the Fontana design for Piazza del Popolo original Fountain of the
dell’Acqua Paola, built for (1816–20) has marble lions Amphorae (map 8 D2) was
Pope Paul V in 1612 on the and fountains surrounding the erected in Piazza dell’Emporio
Janiculum, and the Moses during the 1920s. The same
Fountain, commemorating the Fountain of the four tiaras located designer, Pietro Lombardi, also
opening of the Acqua Felice behind St Peter’s created the Fountain of the
by Pope Sixtus V in 1587. Four Tiaras (map 3 C3) behind
the colonnade of St Peter’s.
Almost all Rome’s famous
piazzas have fountains. In The city also has a number
Piazza San Pietro there is of smaller, and often very
a matching pair of powerful charming, fountains. At the
fountains. Piazza Navona has foot of the Spanish Steps is
Bernini’s wonderful Baroque the Fontana della Barcaccia
Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi (the leaking boat) of 1627; the
(fountain of the four rivers)
as its main attraction. The Fontana delle Tartarughe
fountain’s four figures each
represent one of the principal THE TREVI
rivers of the four continents
then known. To the south of FOUNTAIN
this is the smaller Fontana del
Moro (the Moor), also by Appropriately for a
Bernini, showing an Ethiopian
struggling with a dolphin. fountain resembling a
At the north end, Neptune
stage set, the theatrical
Fontana dei Cavalli Marini
Trevi has been the star of
many films set in Rome,
including romantic films
like Three Coins in a
Fountain and Roman
Holiday, but also La Dolce
Vita, Fellini’s satirical
portrait of Rome in the
1950s. Whatever liberties
Anita Ekberg took then,
paddling in the fountains
of Rome is now forbidden,
however tempting it could
be in the summer heat. Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita (1960)
ROME AT A GLANCE 55
(the tortoise fountain) has Piazza Navona with Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi, by Pannini (1691–1765)
been in the tiny Piazza Mattei
since 1581, and by Santa Maria brought to Rome in the time was the creator of the marble
in Domnica is the Fontana of Augustus and also erected
della Navicella (little boat), in the Circus Maximus. The elephant balancing the Egyp-
created out of an ancient slightly smaller Obelisk of
Roman sculpture in the 16th Piazza Montecitorio was tian Obelisk of Santa Maria
century. In the forecourt of another of Augustus’s
Santa Sabina (map 8 D2) trophies. The bronze ball sopra Minerva on its back,
water gushes from a huge and spike at the top recall its
mask set in an ancient basin. past use as a gnomon for a and the Fontana dei Fiumi,
The Pantheon Fountain sundial of vast proportions.
(map 4 F4), from 1575, is by with an obelisk from the
Jacopo della Porta. Le Quattro Other obelisks,
Fontane (four fountains) have such as the one Circus of Maxentius. Another
stood at the Quirinal hill at the top of the
crossroads since 1593. Spanish Steps, are obelisk was added to the
Roman imitations
Fountains in parks and of Egyptian remodelled Pantheon
gardens include the Galleon originals. The
Fountain (1620–21) at the Obelisk of Piazza Fountain in
Vatican, and the Fontana dei dell’ Esquilino
Cavalli Marini (seahorses), of and the one in 1711. The
1791, at Villa Borghese. The Piazza del
somewhat decayed 16th- Quirinale (map 5 obelisk in
century terraced gardens of B4) first stood at
the Villa d’Este, with their the entrance to Piazza San
display of over 500 fountains, the Mausoleum
are still worth the journey. of Augustus. Pietro is
When re-erected,
The Ovato fountain at Villa d’Este most obelisks were mounted Egyptian but
on decorative bases, often
OBELISKS with statues and fountains at does not have
their foot. Others became
The most ancient and parts of sculptures. Bernini the usual Wall fountain
tallest of Rome’s obelisks is hieroglyphics. at Villa d’Este
the Obelisk of Piazza di San Obelisk in Piazza del Popolo
Giovanni in Laterano. Built of WHERE TO FIND THE
red granite, 31 m (100 ft) FOUNTAINS AND
high, it came from OBELISKS
the Temple of Amon at
Thebes, erected in the 14th Fontana dei Cavalli Marini p258
century BC. It was brought Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi p120
to Rome in AD 357 by the Fontana del Moro p120
order of Constantine II and Fontana del Tritone p254
put up in the Circus Maximus. Fontana dell’Acqua Paola p219
In 1587 it was rediscovered, Fontana della Barcaccia p133
broken into three pieces, Fontana della Navicella p193
and was re-erected in the Fontana delle Naiadi p164
following year. Next in age Fontana delle Tartarughe p150
is the obelisk in Piazza del Galleon Fountain p225
Popolo, from the 13th or Moses Fountain p162
12th century BC. It was Obelisk of Piazza dell’Esquilino
p168
Obelisk of Piazza di San Giovanni
in Laterano p178
Obelisk of Piazza Montecitorio p113
Obelisk of Santa Maria sopra
Minerva p108
Piazza della Bocca della Verità
pp200–1
Piazza del Popolo p137
Piazza San Pietro pp224–5
Le Quattro Fontane p162
Trevi Fountain p159
Villa d’Este p268
56 I N T R O D U C I N G R O M E
Artists and Writers Inspired by Rome
Artists and writers have been attracted to Rome since
Classical times. Many came to work for the emperors;
the poets Horace, Virgil and Ovid, for example,
all enjoyed the patronage of Emperor
Augustus. Later on, especially in the
Renaissance and Baroque periods, the
greatest artists and architects came to
Rome to compete for commissions from
the popes. However, patronage was not
the only magnet. Since the Renaissance,
The prolific Rome’s Classical past and its picturesque
love poet Ovid ruins have drawn artists, architects and
(43 BC–AD 17) writers from all over Italy and abroad.
Self-portrait by the 18th-century
Milanese-born Caravaggio artist Angelica Kauffmann, c.1770
PAINTERS, SCULPTORS (1571–1610) despite his violent
AND ARCHITECTS character and unruly life. The the art treasures of the Vatican.
Carracci family from Bologna Rubens (1577–1640) came
also flourished – especially from Antwerp to study, and
brothers Annibale (1560–1609) carried out various commis-
and Agostino (1557–1602). sions. The French artists
The work of Gian Lorenzo Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665)
Bernini (1598–1680) can be and Claude Lorrain (1600–82)
seen all over Rome. He lived here for many years.
succeeded Carlo Maderno The Classical revival of the
(1556–1629) as architect of St 18th century attracted artists
Peter’s, and created its great to Rome in unprecedented
bronze baldacchino, the numbers. From Britain came
splendid colonnade (see the Scottish architect Robert
pp230–31) and numerous Adam (1728–92) and the Swiss
fountains, churches and artist Angelica Kauffmann
sculptures. His rival for the (1741–1807), who settled here
title of leading architect of the and was buried with great
Roman Baroque was Francesco honour in Sant’Andrea delle
Diego Velázquez, one of many great Borromini (1599–1667), Fratte. After the excesses of
17th-century artists to visit Rome whose highly original genius the Baroque, sculpture also
can be appreciated in many turned to the simplicity of
In the early 16th century, Roman churches and palazzi. Neo-Classicism. A leading
artists and architects were In the 17th century it exponent of this movement
summoned from all parts of became more common for was Antonio Canova (1757–
Italy to realize the grandiose artists from outside Italy to 1821). Sculptors from all over
building projects of the popes. come and work in Rome. Europe were influenced by
From Urbino came Bramante Diego Velázquez (1599–1660), him, including the Dane Bertel
(1444–1514) and Raphael King Philip IV of Spain’s court Thorvaldsen (1770–1844) who
(1483–1520); from Perugia painter, came in 1628 to study lived in Rome for many years.
Perugino (1450–1523); from
Florence Michelangelo
(1475–1564) and many others.
They worked in the Vatican,
on the new St Peter’s and the
decoration of the Sistine
Chapel. Artists were often well
rewarded, but they also lived
in dangerous times. Florentine
sculptor and goldsmith
Benvenuto Cellini (1500–71)
helped defend Castel Sant’
Angelo (see pp248–9) during
the Sack of Rome (1527), but
was later imprisoned there
and made a dramatic escape.
His memoirs tell the story.
Towards the end of the
16th century Church patron-
age was generous to the Claude Lorrain’s view of the Forum, painted in Rome in 1632
ROME AT A GLANCE 57
who wrote influential
WRITERS studies of ancient art,
and the poet J W von
Dante (1262–1321) visited Goethe (1749–1832).
Rome during his exile from In the Romantic
Florence and in the Inferno period Rome teemed
describes the great influx of with English writers:
pilgrims for the first Holy poets Keats, Shelley
Year (1300). The poet and Byron, followed
Petrarch (1304–74), born in by the Brownings and
Arezzo, came to the city in the novelist Charles
much happier circumstances Dickens. Travel writers
to be crowned with laurels in the 19th century
on the Capitol in 1341. The included Augustus
poet Torquato Tasso (1544– Hare (1834–1903) and
95), from Sorrento, was invited the German historian
to receive a similar honour, Ferdinand Gregorovius
but died soon after his arrival. (1821–91). Much of
He is buried in Sant’Onofrio The Portrait of a Lady
(see p219) on the Janiculum. by American Henry
Two of the first James (1843–1916) is
writers from set in Rome. Portrait of the poet John Keats painted by his
abroad to visit Modern life in Rome friend Joseph Severn in 1819
Rome were is brilliantly captured
the French by the Roman novelist and Corelli (1653–1713), the great
essayist short-story writer Alberto violinist and composer of the
Montaigne Moravia (1907–90). Baroque age, worked in Rome
(1533–92) under the patronage of Cardinal
and English Ottoboni. One of his first
poet John MUSICIANS commissions was to provide
Milton (1608– a festival of music for Queen
74). Then, by Giovanni Luigi da Palestrina Christina of Sweden.
Torquato Tasso the early 18th (1525–94), from the town of During the 19th
century, writ- that name, became choir- century the Prix
ers seemed to flock to Rome. master and organist to the de Rome brought
Edward Gibbon (1737–94) Vatican and composed some many French
was inspired to write Decline of the greatest unaccompanied musicians to study
and Fall of the Roman Empire choral music ever written. In here at the Villa
when he heard the monks 1770 the 14-year-old Mozart Medici (see
singing the Angelus outside heard Gregorio Allegri’s p135). Hector
Santa Maria in Aracoeli (see unpublished Miserere in the Berlioz (1803–
p69). German visitors included Sistine Chapel and wrote it 69) owed the
J J Winckelmann (1717–68), down from memory. Arcangelo inspiration for his
popular Roman Giacomo Puccini
ROMAN CINEMA Carnival, the
overture to his opera
The Cinecittà studios, built in 1937 Benvenuto Cellini, to his two-
just outside Rome, are most famous year stay in Rome. Georges
for the films made here in the 1940s – Bizet (1838–75) and Claude
classics of Italian Neo-Realism such Debussy (1862–1918) were
as Roberto Rossellini’s Roma Città also Prix de Rome winners.
Aperta and Vittorio De Sica’s Sciuscià Franz Liszt (1811–86), after
and Ladri di Biciclette. The director his 50th year, settled in Rome,
most often linked with Roman cinema took minor orders and
is Federico Fellini, through films became known as Abbé Liszt.
like La Dolce Vita (1960) and Roma He wrote Fountains of the
(1972). However, perhaps the most Villa d’Este while staying at
famous artist associated with Rome the villa in Tivoli.
is the controversial writer-turned-film- Twentieth-century musical
maker Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922–75), associations with Rome
widely known for his films Teorema include the popular works
(1968) and Il Decamerone (1971). by Ottorino Respighi (1870–
Since the 1950s, Rome and Cinecittà 1936): The Fountains of Rome
have also been much used for foreign and The Pines of Rome, while
films: from Ben-Hur and Spartacus in Giacomo Puccini (1858–1924)
the 1950s through to Gladiator and used Roman settings when
Scorsese’s Gangs of New York. Pier Paolo Pasolini creating his dramatic, tragic
opera Tosca.
58 I N T R O D U C I N G R O M E
ROME THROUGH THE YEAR
The best times to visit Rome are obviously very special in Rome, but
spring and autumn when the there are other religious festivals
weather is usually warm, and worth seeing at other times in the year,
sometimes even hot enough to sun- as well as some enjoyable secular
bathe and swim at the beaches and events like the Festa de’ Noantri in
lakes outside the city. In the winter Trastevere and the Flower Festival in
months, the weather tends to be grey Genzano. In villages outside Rome,
and wet, while in high summer, most local celebrations are held to welcome
people (including Romans, who leave new crops such as strawberries and
the city in their droves) find the heat beans in the spring, and grapes and
unbearable. Easter and Christmas are truffles in the autumn.
show. In the first
SPRING week of May the
International
Easter, falling in March or Horse Show is
April, marks the official begin- held in the Villa
ning of the tourist season in Borghese. Also
Rome. Catholics from all over usually in May,
the world flock into the city many world-class
to make their pilgrimages to tennis players
the main basilicas and to hear flock to Rome to
the Pope’s Easter Sunday compete in the
address outside St Peter’s, International Ten-
while the less devout come nis Champion-
simply to take advantage of ships held
the mild weather. Meanwhile, annually at the
Romans pile into their cars Crowds gathering in St Peter’s Square at Easter Foro Italico.
and head for the coast and
countryside, so you can In April tubs full of colourful EVENTS
expect the roads, beaches and azaleas are ranged on the
restaurants of the Castelli Spanish Steps and along Via Festa di Santa Francesca
Romani and Lake Bracciano Veneto, and once the roses Romana (9 March), Santa
to be busy. start to flower in the city’s Francesca Romana. Blessing of
Temperatures tend to be Rose Garden overlooking the the city’s vehicles (see p87).
around 18° C (66° F), but can Circus Maximus, it is opened Festa di San Giuseppe (19
hit 28° C (82° F), so by mid- to the public. March), in the Trionfale area.
May it is usually possible to For a fortnight from mid- St Joseph’s (and Father’s) Day
lunch and dine outside. How- May Via dei Coronari is lit by celebrated in the streets.
ever, there can still be sudden candles, lined with plants and Rome Marathon (late March),
downpours and temperature hung with banners for the through the city (see p367).
swings, so do bring warm street’s antiques fair, while Via Good Friday (March/April),
clothes and an umbrella. Margutta hosts an outdoor art Colosseum. Procession of the
Cross at 9pm led by the Pope.
Easter Sunday (March/April),
St Peter’s Square. Address
made by the Pope (see p231).
Rome’s Birthday (Sunday
before 21 April), Piazza del
Campidoglio.
Festa della Primavera (March/
April), Spanish Steps and
Trinità dei Monti. Azaleas in
the street and concerts.
Art exhibition (April/May),
Via Margutta (see p353).
International Horse Show
(early May), Villa Borghese
(see p366).
Antiques Fair (mid–late May),
Via dei Coronari (see p336).
International Tennis Champi-
onships (usually May), Foro
International Horse Show in Villa Borghese in May Italico (see p366).
ROME THROUGH THE YEAR 59
AVERAG Nov Dec Sunshine Chart
Rome is famous for its
Hours light. June is the
10 sunniest month but it
is also very dry, and
8 without the odd
shower the bright heat
6 can feel intense. In
autumn, Rome’s
4 southerly position
means that the sun
2 can still be enjoyably
warm at midday.
0
Ja
SUMMER Flower-carpeted streets in Genzano food and wine, music
and fireworks (see
In June a season of concerts In August, when the tempera- p353).
begins, with performances in ture often soars to over 40° C Festa de’ Noantri (last
some of the city’s most beau- (104° F), virtually all Romans two weeks in July), the
tiful palaces, churches and flee the city for the seaside, streets of Trastevere.
courtyards. In July and August meaning that many cafés, Food and entertain-
opera and drama are staged shops and restaurants close ment (see p353 and
at Ostia Antica (see pp270–71) for the entire month. p355).
and in various outdoor loca-
tions. During the summer there Alta Moda Fashion
are also contemporary cultur- Show (usually mid- to
al events – film, music of all late July), Pish Steps
kinds, dance and theatre. On (see p353).
midsummer evenings there are Estate Romana (July/
stalls and amusements on the August), Villa Ada,
Tiber embankments by Castel Ostia Antica, in parks,
Sant’Angelo, while in the last by the Tiber. Opera,
two weeks of July Trastevere concerts, drama, dance
becomes an open-air party as and film (see p355).
the Noantri festival is celebrat-
ed with trinket stalls, dining Festa della Madonna
in the street and fireworks. della Neve (5 August),
Santa Maria Maggiore.
Fourth-century
snowfall re-enacted
with white flower pet-
als (see p172).
Ferragosto (15 August), Santa
Maria in Trastevere. Midsum-
mer holiday. Almost every-
thing closes down.
Celebrations are held for the
Feast of the Assumption.
EVENTS
Summer vegetables Flower Festival (June, the The heat of an August afternoon in
Sunday after Corpus Domini), front of St Peter’s
The sales (saldi) begin in Genzano, Castelli Romani,
mid-July, and the relatively south of Rome. Streets are
new Alta Moda Fashion Show carpeted with flowers.
is usually held mid- to late Festa di San Giovanni (23–24
July at the Spanish Steps. June), Piazza di Porta San
Giovanni. Celebrated with
Many Romans leave the city meals of snails in tomato
at the end of June, when sauce, suckling pig, a fair and
schools close, but as June firework display.
and July are peak tourist Festa di San Pietro (29
months, hotels, cafés, restau- June), many churches.
rants and all the main places Celebrations mark the feast of
of interest and other attrac- St Peter.
tions are packed out. Tevere Expo (end June–mid-
July), along the Tiber. Crafts,
60 I N T R O D U C I N G R O M E
nches Rainfall Chart
4 Autumn is Rome’s
rainiest season, with
3 heavy downpours,
sometimes lasting for
2 days, especially in
November. Rain in
1 summer tends to come
in violent – but often
00 extremely refreshing –
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec storms. In winter and
early spring expect a
few dull, drizzly days.
Autumn is the season of har- November respectively, the
Romans make pilgrimages to
AUTUMN vest festivals, so head out to place chrysanthemums on the
tombs of relatives who are
the small towns around Rome buried in the cemeteries of
Prima Porta and Verano. On a
September and October are to sample delicacies such as much happier note, the
classical concert and opera
the best – and among the local cheeses, seasons begin again in
October and November.
most popular – months to sausages,
Details of performances can
visit Rome. The fiery heat of chestnuts and be found in listings mag-
azines such as Time
July and August will have mushrooms. Out Roma, Trovaroma
and Roma c’è (see
cooled a little, but midday can p354), in daily newspa-
pers, such as La Repub-
be very hot, and you can still blica (see p383), and on
posters around the city.
eat and drink outside without
EVENTS
feeling chilly until late at night.
RomaEuropa (autumn).
Visiting Rome in November is Films, dance, theatre and con-
certs around Rome (see p355).
not recommended: it is the La Notte Bianca (September).
Free entry to museums and
wettest month of the year and galleries all night one Saturday.
Art fair (September),
Roman rainstorms are often Via Margutta (see p353).
Crafts fair (last week Septem-
very strong and heavy. ber/first week October),
Via dell’Orso (see p353).
At the beginning of October
International Festival of
an artisans’ fair is held on Via Cinema (October). New
screenings and stars aplenty
dell’Orso and adjacent streets, (see p360).
Marino Wine Festival (first
while nearby the antiques A roast chestnut stall in autumn Sunday in October), Marino.
Celebrations include tastings
galleries of Via dei Coronari and street entertainment.
Antiques Fair (mid-October),
hold open house. There are Another reason for taking a Via dei Coronari (see p353).
also October antiques fairs in trip out of Rome is the wine All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days
(1, 2 November), Prima Porta
Orvieto and Perugia, two of festival in Marino, in the Cas- and Verano cemeteries. The
Pope usually celebrates Mass
the loveliest Umbrian hill telli Romani, south of the city. in the Verano cemetery.
Festa di Santa Cecilia (22
towns, which are about an There are many opportunities November), Santa Cecilia in
Trastevere and Catacombs of
hour’s drive north of Rome. to sample the wines of this San Callisto.
In November, there’s yet region that was once the home
another prestigious antiques to luxurious 16th- and 17th-
fair at the papal palace of century country residences
Viterbo, 65 km (40 m) north but now is renowned particu-
of Rome (see p271). larly for its white wines.
Throughout the
autumn and win-
ter in Rome
freshly roasted
chestnuts can be
bought from
vendors on street
corners, and
occasionally
there is a stand
on Campo de’
Fiori where you
can sample vino
novello, the new
season’s wine.
On All Saints’
and All Souls’
Days, which fall
Autumn in the Villa Doria Pamphilj park on 1 and 2
ROME THROUGH THE YEAR 61
AVERA F° Temperature Chart
85 The chart shows the
C° average minimum and
30 maximum monthly
temperatures. July and
24 75 August can be unbear-
ably hot, making sight-
18 65 seeing a chore. The
fresher days of spring
12 55 and autumn are ideal
to visit Rome, but there
6 45 are some dull and
rainy spells.
0 32
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
WINTER
During the winter Rome is Rome during one of its rare snowfalls
bracingly chilly but the tem-
perature rarely drops below parties and parades along Via PUBLIC HOLIDAYS
freezing. Not all buildings are Nazionale, Via Cola di Rienzo New Year’s Day (1 Jan)
centrally heated so if you are and the Pincio. Keep out of Epiphany (6 Jan)
staying in a small hotel bring the way of teenagers with Easter Monday
warm clothes and request extra shaving-cream spray cans and Liberation Day (25 Apr)
blankets as soon as you arrive, water-filled balloons. Labour Day (1 May)
as they can be in short supply. Republic Day (2 Jun)
Warm up in cafés with hot EVENTS SS Peter & Paul (29 Jun)
chocolate and cappuccino. Ferragosto (15 Aug)
Festa della Madonna Immaco- All Saints’ Day (1 Nov)
The run-up to Christmas is lata (8 December), Piazza di Immaculate Conception
great fun in Rome, especially Spagna. In the Pope’s pres- (8 Dec)
if you have children. Manger ence, firemen climb up a lad- Christmas Day (25 Dec)
scenes, presepi, are set up in der to place a wreath on the Santo Stefano (26 Dec)
many churches, piazzas and statue of the Virgin Mary.
public places and from mid- Christmas Market (mid- Via Condotti at Christmas
December to Twelfth Night December – 6 January), Piaz-
za Navona. Christmas and
Market on Piazza Navona children’s market (see p120).
Nativity scenes (mid-Decem-
Piazza Navona hosts a market ber – mid-January), many
where you can buy manger churches. Life-size scene in St
scenes, decorations and toys. Peter’s Square, collection at
Unless you have friends in Santi Cosma e Damiano.
Rome, Christmas itself can be Midnight Mass (24 Decem-
rather lonely, as it is very much ber), at most churches.
a family event. On New Year’s Christmas Day (25 December),
Eve, however, everyone is out St Peter’s Square. Blessing by
on the street to drink sparkling the Pope.
wine and let off fireworks. New Year’s Eve (31 Decem-
ber), all over city. Firework
La Befana, on 6 January, is displays, furniture thrown out.
a traditional holiday when a La Befana (6 January), all
witch, called La Befana, deliv- over city. Parties for children.
ers sweets to children.
The Carnival season runs
from late January through to
February, celebrated largely
by children with fancy-dress
Fontana delle Naiadi in Piazza della Repubblica
ROME AREA
BY AREA
CAPITOL 6475
FORUM 7695
PALATINE 96101
PIAZZA DELLA ROTONDA 102115
PIAZZA NAVONA 116127
PIAZZA DI SPAGNA 128141
CAMPO DE’ FIORI 142153
QUIRINAL 154165
ESQUILINE 166175
LATERAN 176187
CARACALLA 188197
AVENTINE 198205
TRASTEVERE 206213
JANICULUM 214221
VATICAN 222249
VIA VENETO 250255
FURTHER AFIELD 256271
NINE GUIDED WALKS 272291
ROME AREA BY AREA 65
CAPITOL
The temple of Jupiter on the Comune di Roma, meets in the
Capitol, the southern summit Renaissance splendour of Palazzo
of the Capitoline hill, was the Senatorio. The Capitol also serves
centre of the Roman world. as Rome’s Registry Office.
Reached by a zig-zag path up Rome’s position as a modern
from the Forum, the temple capital is forcefully expressed
was the scene of all the most in the enormous Victor
sacred religious and political Emmanuel Monument, which
ceremonies. The hill and its unfortunately blots out the
temple came to symbolize view of the Capitol from
Rome’s authority as caput Piazza Venezia. The present
mundi, head of the world, and arrangement on the hill dates
the Capitol gave its name to from the 16th century, when
the seat of the US Congress. Hand of colossal Michelangelo created a beauti-
statue in Palazzo
Throughout the city’s history, dei Conservatori ful piazza reached by a flight of
the Capitol (Campidoglio), has steps, the Cordonata. Two of the
remained the seat of municipal gov- buildings around the piazza now
ernment. Today’s city council, the house the Capitoline Museums.
SIGHTS AT A GLANCE Historic Streets and Piazzas GETTING THERE
Aracoeli Staircase 6 All the sights in this area are
Churches and Temples Cordonata 4 within walking distance of
San Marco w Piazza del Campidoglio 3 Piazza Venezia. Bus routes
Santa Maria in Aracoeli 7 converge here from all parts
Temple of Jupiter 8 Ancient Sites of the city, as do many
Tarpeian Rock 9 thousands of motorists. From
Museums and Galleries Termini station you can catch
Capitoline Museums: Monuments the 40, 64, or 170; from Piazza
Palazzo dei Conservatori Victor Emmanuel Barberini the 63 or 95. From
Monument 0 St Peter’s and the Vatican the
pp72–3 2 only buses are the 40, 62 and
Capitoline Museums: 64. Piazza Venezia is also a
Palazzo Nuovo pp70–71 1 stopping-off point for the 110
Palazzo Venezia tourist bus.
and Museum q
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KEY SEE ALSO
Street-by-Street map • Street Finder, maps 5, 12
Statue of Marcus Aurelius on Michelangelo’s Piazza del Campidoglio
66 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
Street-by-Street:The Capitol and Piazza Venezia
The Capitol, citadel of ancient Rome, is Victor Emmanuel
Monument
a must for every visitor. A broad flight This huge white marble
monument to Italy’s first king
of steps (the Cordonata) leads up to was completed in 1911 0
Michelangelo’s spectacular Piazza del
Campidoglio. This is flanked by the
Palazzo Nuovo and Palazzo dei
Conservatori, housing the
Capitoline Museums with their
fine collections of sculptures and
paintings. The absence of cars
makes the hill a welcome retreat
from the squeal of brakes
below, but you should brave
the traffic to visit Palazzo PIAZZA VENEZIA PIAZZA VENEZIA
Venezia and its museum.
San Marco
The church of the
Venetians in Rome
has a fine 9th-century
apse mosaic w
Palazzo Venezia VIA
The museum’s
finest exhibits, ARCELLO
such as this 13th- M
century gilded D
angel decorated TEATRO
with enamel, DEL
date from the late
Middle Ages q
Roman Insula I
This is a ruined
apartment Cordonata
block dating Michelangelo’s great
from Imperial staircase changed
Rome 5 the orientation of
the Capitol towards
Aracoeli Staircase the west 4
When it was built in 1348,
the staircase became a
centre for political debate 6
KEY
Suggested route
0 metres 75 . Palazzo dei Conservatori
0 yards 75 In this part of the Capitoline Museums a fine
series of reliefs from the Temple of Hadrian
(see p106) is displayed in the courtyard 2
CAPITOL 67
Santa Maria 1*";;" 26*3*/"-
in Aracoeli %&--"
The treasures hidden 3050/%"
behind the church’s
brick façade include $"1*50-
this 15th-century
fresco of the Funeral $".10 %&h '036.
of St Bernardino by '*03*
Pinturicchio 7
"7&/5*/&
. Palazzo Nuovo
This bust of Augustus in the LOCATOR MAP
Hall of the Emperors is one of See Central Rome Map pp14–15
many fine Classical sculptures
in the Capitoline Museums 1
VIA DI SAN
Palazzo Senatorio was used by the
Roman Senate from about the 12th
century. It now houses the offices
of the mayor.
. Piazza del
Campidoglio
Michelangelo
designed both
the geometric
paving and the
façades of the
buildings 3
Temple of
Jupiter
This artist’s
impression
shows the gold
and ivory statue
of Jupiter that
stood in the
temple 8
Tarpeian Rock STAR SIGHTS
In ancient Rome . Palazzo dei
traitors were thrown
to their death from Conservatori
this cliff on the . Palazzo Nuovo
Capitol 9
. Piazza dtel
Campidoglio
68 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
Capitoline century, the design remaining
Museums: largely faithful to the original.
Palazzo Nuovo 1 Pilasters two storeys high and
balustrades interspersed with
See pp70–71. statues link the buildings the-
matically. The piazza faces
Capitoline west towards St Peter’s, the
Museums: Palazzo Christian equivalent of the
dei Conservatori 2 Capitol. At its centre stands a
replica of a statue of Marcus
Aurelius. The original is in the
Palazzo Nuovo (see pp70–71).
See pp72–3. Cordonata 4
Piazza del Map 5 A5 & 12 F5. @ See Getting
Campidoglio 3 There p65.
Map 5 A5 & 12 F5. @ See Getting From Piazza Venezia, the A statue of one of the Dioscuri at
Capitol is approached by a
There p65. gently rising, subtly widening the top of the Cordonata
ramp – the Cordonata. At the
When Emperor Charles V vis- foot is a pair of granite Egyp- were often badly maintained
ited Rome in 1536, Pope Paul tian lions, and on the left a by landlords, and expensive
III Farnese was so embar- 19th-century monument to to rent in a city where land
rassed by the muddy state of Cola di Rienzo, close to where costs were high. This 2nd-
the Capitol that he asked the dashing 14th-century tyrant century AD tenement block,
Michelangelo to draw up was executed. The top of the of barrel-vault construction, is
plans for repaving the piazza, ramp is guarded by restored the only survivor in Rome
and for renovating the façades Classical statues of the Dio- from that era. The fourth,
of the Palazzo dei Conserva- scuri – Castor and Pollux. fifth and part of the sixth sto-
tori and Palazzo Senatorio. rey remain above current
Roman Insula 5 ground level.
Michelangelo proposed
adding the Palazzo Nuovo to Piazza d’Aracoeli. Map 5 A5 & 12 In the Middle Ages, a sec-
form a piazza in the shape of F4. Tel 06-6710 3819. @ See tion of these upper storeys
a trapezium, embellished with Getting There p65. Open by appt was converted into a church;
Classical sculptures chosen only: permit needed (see p383). its bell tower and 14th-centu-
for their relevance to Rome. ry Madonna in a niche are
Building started in 1546 but Two thousand years ago the visible from the street.
progressed so slowly that urban poor of Rome used to
Michelangelo only lived to make their homes in insulae During the Fascist years, the
oversee the double flight of – apartment blocks. These area was cleared, and three
steps at the entrance of lower floors emerged. Some
Palazzo Senatorio. The piazza 380 people may have lived in
was completed in the 17th the tenement, in the squalid
conditions described by the
The Cordonata in an 18th-century painting by Antonio Canaletto 1st-century AD satirical writers
Martial and Juvenal. The latter
mentions that he had to climb
200 steps to reach his garret.
This insula may once have
had more storeys. The higher
you lived, the more dismal
the conditions, as the poky
spaces of the building’s upper
levels testify.
CAPITOL 69
Aracoeli
Staircase 6
Piazza d’Aracoeli. Map 5 A5 & 12 Ceiling commemorating Battle of Lepanto in Santa Maria in Aracoeli
F4. @ See Getting There p65.
Capitoline, on the site of the The church is most famous,
The Aracoeli Staircase
numbers 124 marble steps ancient temple to Juno. Its 22 however, for an icon with
(122 if you start from the
right) and was completed in columns were taken from apparently miraculous powers,
1348, some say in thanks for
the passing of the Black various ancient buildings; the the Santo Bambino, a 15th-
Death, but probably in view
of the 1350 Holy Year. inscription on the third col- century olive-wood figure of
The 14th-century tribune- umn to the left tells us that it the Christ Child which was
turned-tyrant Cola di Rienzo
used to harangue the masses comes “a cubiculo Augusto- carved out of a tree from the
from the Aracoeli Staircase; in
the 17th century foreigners rum” – from the bedroom of garden of Gethsemane. Its
used to sleep on the steps,
until Prince Caffarelli, who the emperors. powers are said to include
lived on the hill, scared them
off by rolling barrels filled The church of the Roman resurrecting the dead, and it
with stones down them.
senators and people, Santa is sometimes summoned to
Popular belief has it that by
climbing the steps on your Maria in Aracoeli has been the bedsides of the gravely ill.
knees you can win the Italian
national lottery. From the top used to celebrate many tri- The original figure was stolen
there is a good view of Rome,
with the domes of Sant’ umphs over adversity. Its in 1994 but has been replaced
Andrea della Valle and St
Peter’s slightly to the right. ceiling, with naval motifs, by a replica.
Aracoeli Staircase commemorates the Battle of At Christmas the Christ
Santa Maria Lepanto (1571), and was built Child takes its place in the
in Aracoeli 7
under Pope Gregory XIII centre of a picturesque crib
Piazza d’Aracoeli (entrances via
Aracoeli Staircase and door behind Boncompagni, whose family (second chapel to the left) but
Palazzo Nuovo). Map 5 A5 & 12 F4.
Tel 06-679 81 55. @ See Getting crest, the dragon, can be seen is usually to be found in the
There p65. Open summer: 9.30am–
12.30pm, 3–6.30pm daily; winter: towards the altar end. sacristy, as is the panel of the
9.30am–12.30pm, 2–5.30pm daily.
Many other Roman families Holy Family from the work-
Dating from at least the 6th
century, the church of Santa and individuals are honoured shop of Giulio Romano.
Maria in Aracoeli, or St Mary
of the Altar in the Sky, stands by memorials in the church.
on the northern summit of the
To the right of the entrance
door, the tombstone of arch-
deacon Giovanni Crivelli,
rather than being set into the
floor of the church, stands
eternally to attention, partly
so that the signature “Don-
atelli” (by Donatello) can
be read at eye-level.
The frescoes in the first
chapel on the right, painted
by Pinturicchio in the 1480s
in the beautifully clear style
of the early Renaissance,
depict St Bernardino of
Siena. On the left wall, the
perspective of The Burial
of the Saint slants to the
right, taking into account
the position of the viewer The miraculous olive-wood Christ Child
just outside the chapel. at Santa Maria in Aracoeli
70 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
Capitoline Museums: Palazzo Nuovo 1
A collection of Classical statues has been kept Capitoline
on the Capitoline hill since the Renaissance. Venus
The first group of bronze sculptures was given This marble statue
to the city by Pope Sixtus IV in 1471 and more of Venus dating
additions were made by Pope Pius V in 1566. from around
The Palazzo Nuovo was designed by AD100–150, is a
Michelangelo as part of the Roman copy of
renovation of the Piazza del the original carved
Campidoglio, and after its in the 4th century
completion in 1655, a number BC by the Greek
of the statues were transferred sculptor Praxiteles.
here. In 1734 Pope Clement The statue is
XII Corsini decreed that the prized for its
building be turned into the striking beauty.
world’s first public museum.
MUSEUM GUIDE Portrait of a
The Palazzo Nuovo is devoted Flavian Lady
chiefly to sculpture, and most The woman wears
of its finest works, such as the the fanciful and
Capitoline Venus, are Roman elaborate hairstyle
copies of Greek masterpieces. popular among the
For visitors keen to identify the female aristocracy of
philosophers and poets of the 1st century AD.
ancient Greece and the rulers
of ancient Rome, there are
collections of busts assembled
in the 18th century. Admission
price also includes entry to the
Palazzo dei Conservatori
opposite. A gallery below
Piazza del Campidoglio links
the two buildings.
First floor Courtyard
Hall of the Philosophers Ground floor
The hall contains a rich mix
of portraits of Greek The façade of Palazzo Nuovo
politicians, scientists and was designed by Michelangelo,
literary figures. but the work was actually
finished in 1655 by the brothers
STAR SCULPTURES Carlo and Girolamo Rainaldi.
. Capitoline Venus
. Discobolus KEY TO FLOORPLAN
. Dying Galatian Non-exhibition space
Exhibition space
CAPITOL 71
VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Mosaic of the Doves Musei Capitolini, Piazza del
This charming, Campidoglio. Map 5 A5 & 12
naturalistic mosaic F5. Tel 06-3996 7800. @ 63,
once decorated the floor 70, 75, 81, 87, 95, 160, 170,
of Hadrian’s Villa at 204, 628, 716 and many other
Tivoli (see p269). It routes to Piazza Venezia. Open
shows doves drinking 9am–8pm Tue–Sun (last adm
water from a vase. 7pm). Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 25
Dec. Adm charge Entrance tick-
m et is also valid for Palazzo dei
Conservatori. 9 8 - = 7
NB The museum is still
undergoing some changes.
www.museicapitolini.org
. Discobolus
The twisted torso was
part of a Greek statue of a
discus thrower. An 18th-
century French sculptor,
Monnot, made the
additions that turned him
into a wounded warrior.
Stairs to Red Faun
ground floor Found at Tivoli, the
famous red marble
satyr is a 2nd-century
AD version of a Greek
original – an example
of Hadrian’s fondness
for all things Greek.
Stairs to galleries . Dying Galatian
below the Senate Great compassion is
and connecting conveyed in this Roman
with Palazzo copy of an original
dei Conservatori Greek work of the 3rd
century BC.
Stairs
to first
floor
Alexander
Severus as Hunter
In this marble of the
3rd century AD, the
emperor’s pose is a
pastiche of Perseus,
holding up the head
of Medusa the Gorgon
after he had killed
her in her sleep.
72 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
Capitoline Museums: Palazzo dei Conservatori 2
The Palazzo Dei Conservatori was the Façade of Palazzo dei Conservatori
seat of the city’s magistrates during Work began on this Michelangelo design
the late Middle Ages. Its frescoed halls in 1563, the year before his death.
are still used occasionally for political
meetings and the ground floor houses Second-floor
the municipal register office. The palazzo art gallery
was built by Giacomo della Porta who
carried out Michelangelo’s designs for
the Piazza del Campidoglio in the mid-
16th century. While much of
the palazzo is given over
sculpture, the art galleries
on the second floor hold
works by Veronese,
Guercino, Tintoretto,
Rubens, Caravaggio,
Van Dyck and Titian.
MUSEUM GUIDE m
The museum is being
reorganized, so some items Burial and Glory
might move. The first-floor of St Petronilla
rooms have original 16th- This huge Baroque altar-
and 17th-century decor- piece was painted in
ation and Classical 1622–3 by Guercino
statues. The second-floor to hang in St Peter’s.
gallery holds paintings
and a porcelain collection. e
Rooms 10 and 11 are
used as temporary
exhibition space.
. St John the Baptist
Painted in 1595–6,
Caravaggio’s sensual Stairs e
to second Courtyard
portrait of the young floor
saint presents a highly
unorthodox image
of the forerunner
of Christ.
Stairs to
first floor
The Horatii and Curatii KEY TO FLOORPLAN Main
D’Arpino’s fresco was painted in Exhibition space
1613 and depicts a duel taken Non-exhibition space entrance
from early Roman legend. n=d
CAPITOL 73
Endymion VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
The youth doomed to sleep
forever by the goddess Diana See p71.
was painted by Pier Francesco
Mola (1612–66), STAR EXHIBITS
who studied . St John the Baptist by
under
Cavalier Caravaggio
d’Arpino. . Spinario
. She-Wolf
m Constantine I
The head of a colossal
Portico of Marcus 4th-century AD statue
Aurelius of the emperor has
survived, along with
a hand and other
odd fragments.
m Medusa
This bust by Bernini
First floor of the mythological
0 Medusa is in Room 5.
. Spinario . She-Wolf
This is a charming bronze The Etruscan bronze of the
sculpture from the 1st wolf dates from the early 5th
century BC of a boy century BC. The legendary
trying to remove a twins Romulus and Remus
thorn from his foot. (see pp18–19) were probably
added in the 15th century.
74 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
Temple of
Jupiter 8
Via del Tempio di Giove. Map 5 A5 & Sabine soldiers crushing the treacherous Tarpeia with their shields
12 F5. @ See Getting There p65.
his men, bribed Tarpeia to let Victor Emmanuel
The temple of Jupiter, the them up on to the Capitol. As Monument 0
most important in ancient the Augustan historian Livy
Rome, was founded in honour records, the Sabines used to Piazza Venezia. Map 5 A5 & 12 F4.
of the arch-god around 509 BC wear heavy gold bracelets Tel 06-699 17 18. @ See Getting
on the southern summit of and jewelled rings on their
the Capitoline hill. From the left hands, and Tarpeia’s There p65. Open 9.30am–4pm daily
few traces that remain, reward for her treachery
archaeologists have been able was to be “what they wore (to 5pm summer).
to reconstruct the rectangular, on their shield-arms”.
Greek appearance of the Known as Il Vittoriano, this
temple as it once stood. In The Sabines kept to the monument was begun in
places you can see remnants letter of the bargain if not to 1885 and inaugurated in 1911
of its particularly Roman its spirit – they repaid Tarpeia in honour of Victor Emmanuel
feature, the podium. Most of not with their jewellery but II of Savoy, the first king of a
this lies beneath the Museo unified Italy. The king is
Nuovo wing of the Palazzo by crushing her to death depicted here in a gilt bronze
dei Conservatori (see pp72–3). between their shields. equestrian statue, oversized
Tarpeia was possibly like the monument itself – the
By walking around the site, the only casualty of her statue is 12 m (39 ft) long.
from the podium’s south- act of treachery – as
western corner in Via del the invading warriors The edifice also contains a
Tempio di Giove to its south- met the Roman museum of the Risorgimento,
eastern corner in Piazzale defenders, the Sabine the events that led to uni-
Caffarelli, you can see that women leapt between fication (see pp38–9). Built in
the temple was about the the two opposing austere white Brescian marble,
same size as the Pantheon. armies, forcing a the “wedding cake” or “type-
reconciliation. Traitors writer” (two of the many
Ancient coin showing the insulting nicknames given to
Temple of Jupiter and other condemned this white elephant) will never
criminals were subsequently mellow into the ochre tones
Tarpeian Rock 9 executed by being thrown of surrounding buildings. It is
over the sheer face of the rock. widely held to be the epitome
Via di Monte Caprino and Via del of self-important, insensitive
Tempio di Giove. Map 5 A5 & 12 F5. The place has been con- architecture, though the views
@ See Getting There p65. sidered dangerous and used that it offers are spectacular.
to be fenced off, but restora-
tion work is now under way.
The southern tip of the Capi- Victor Emmanuel Monument in Piazza Venezia
toline is called the Tarpeian
Rock (Rupe Tarpea), after
Tarpeia, the young daughter
of Spurius Tarpeius, defender
of the Capitol in the 8th-
century BC Sabine War.
The Sabines, bent on
vengeance for the rape of
their women by Romulus and
CAPITOL 75
Palazzo Venezia
and Museum q
Via del Plebiscito 118. Map 5 A4
& 12 E4. Tel 06-6999 4319.
@ See Getting There p65.
Open 8.30am–7.30pm Tue–Sun
(last adm: 1 hour before closing).
Closed 1 Jan, 1 May, 25 Dec.
Adm charge.7 Temporary
exhibitions.
The arched windows and
doors of this Renaissance
civic building are so Palazzo Venezia with Mussolini’s balcony in the centre
harmonious that San Marco w
the façade was The blue and gold coffered
once attributed to ceiling is decorated with Pope
the great Humanist Piazza San Marco 48. Paul’s heraldic crest, the lion
architect Leon Map 5 A4 & 12 F4. Tel 06-679 52 rampant, recalling the lion of
Battista Alberti 05. @ See Getting There p65. St Mark, the patron saint of
(1404–72). It Open 8am–noon Tue–Sun, 4–7pm Venice. The appearance of the
was more Mon–Sat, 9am–1pm, 4–8pm Sun. 5 rest of the interior, with its
probably colonnades of Sicilian jasper,
built by The church of San Marco was largely the creation of
Pope Paul II Giuliano da was founded in 336 by Pope Filippo Barigioni in the 1740s.
Maiano, who is Mark, in honour of St Mark Complemented by an
known to have carved the the Evangelist. The Pope’s interesting array of funerary
fine doorway on to the piazza. relics lie under the altar. The monuments in the aisles, the
Palazzo Venezia was built church was restored by style is typical of the late
in 1455–64 for the Venetian Pope Gregory IV in Roman Baroque.
cardinal Pietro Barbo, who the 9th century – Leon Battista
later became Pope Paul II. the magnificent Alberti, whose
It was at times a papal apse mosaics date name is also
residence, but it also served from this period. mentioned
as the Venetian Embassy to Further major tentatively in
Rome before passing into rebuilding took connection with
French hands in 1797. Since place in 1455–71, Palazzo Venezia,
1916 it has belonged to the when Pope Paul II may have been the
state; in the Fascist era Barbo made San architect of the
Mussolini used it as his head- Marco the church elegant travertine
quarters and addressed crowds of the Venetian Coat of arms of arcade and loggia
from the central balcony. community in Rome. Pope Paul II of the façade.
The interior is best seen by
visiting the Museo del Palazzo
Venezia, Rome’s most
underrated museum. It holds
first-class collections of early
Renaissance painting; painted
wood sculptures and
Renaissance chests from Italy;
tapestries from all of Europe;
majolica; silver; Neapolitan
ceramic figurines; Renaissance
bronzes; arms and armour;
Baroque terracotta sculptures
by Bernini, Algardi and
others; and 17th- and 18th-
century Italian painting. There
is a marble screen from the
Aracoeli convent, destroyed to
make way for the Victor
Emmanuel Monument, and a
bust of Paul II, showing him
to rank with Martin V and Leo
X among the fattest-ever popes.
The building also hosts major
temporary exhibitions. San Marco’s apse mosaic of Christ, with Gregory IV on the far left
ROME AREA BY AREA 77
FORUM
The Forum was the centre of Rome’s population boomed, the
political, commercial and Forum became too small. In 46 BC
judicial life in ancient Julius Caesar built a new one, set-
Rome. The largest buildings ting a precedent that was fol-
were the basilicas, where legal lowed by emperors from Augustus
cases were heard. According to to Trajan. As well as the Imperial
the playwright Plautus, the area Fora, emperors also erected tri-
teemed with “lawyers and liti- umphal arches to themselves,
gants, bankers and brokers, and just to the east Vespasian
shopkeepers and strumpets, built the Colosseum, centre of
good-for-nothings waiting Figure of barbarian on entertainment after the busi-
for a tip from the rich”. As the Arch of Constantine ness of the day.
SIGHTS AT A GLANCE Casa dei Cavalieri di Rodi a Ancient Sites
Churches and Temples Colosseum pp92–5 j Forum of Augustus s
Santa Francesca Romana r Curia 2 Forum of Caesar d
Temple of Antoninus and House of the Vestal Virgins 0 Forum of Nerva g
Mamertine Prison f Rostra 3
Faustina q Torre delle Milizie p
Temple of Castor Trajan’s Markets pp88–9 i GETTING THERE
The simplest way is by Metro
and Pollux 8 Museums to Colosseo on line B. The
Temple of Romulus and Santi Antiquarium Forense t main entrance to the Forum is
on Via dei Fori Imperiali,
Cosma e Damiano w Arches and Columns served by buses 75, 85, 87,
Temple of Saturn 5 Arch of Constantine h 117, 175, 186, 810 and 850. It
Temple of Venus and Rome u Arch of Septimius Severus 4 is also a short walk from Piaz-
Temple of Vesta 9 Arch of Titus y za Venezia. For Trajan’s Mar-
Column of Phocas 6 kets, the best buses are the 64
Historic Buildings Trajan’s Column o and 70 which stop in Via IV
Basilica Aemilia 1 Novembre.
Basilica of Constantine
and Maxentius e
Basilica Julia 7
7*" *7 /07&.#3& KEY
7*" &.*" Tour of the Forum maps
4 Q Metro station
&6' n Tourist information
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View of the Forum with the Colosseum rising behind the bell tower of Santa Francesca Romana
78 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
A Tour of the Roman Forum: West
To appreciate the layout of the Forum before visiting its
confusing patchwork of ruined temples and basilicas, it is
best to view the whole area from above, from the back of the
Capitol. From there you can make out the Via Sacra (the Sacred
Way), the route followed through the Forum by religious and
triumphal processions towards the
Capitol. Up until the 18th century
when archaeological excavations
began, the Arch of Septimius Severus
and the columns of the Temple of
Saturn lay half-buried underground.
Excavation of the Forum continues,
and the ruins uncovered date from
many different periods of
Roman history.
The Temple of Vespasian
was the point from where
Piranesi made this 18th-
century engraving of
the Forum. Its three
columns were
then almost
completely
buried.
Temple of
Concord
Temple of Saturn Portico of the
The eight surviving columns of Dii Consentes
this temple stand close by the three
columns of the Temple of
Vespasian 5
Rostra
These are the
ruins of the
platform used
for public
oratory in the
Forum 3
Basilica Julia
Named after Julius Caesar, who
ordered its construction, the basilica
housed important law courts 7
Column of Phocas
One of the very last monuments
erected in the Forum, this single
column dates from AD 608 6
FORUM 79
. Arch of Septi- 26*3*/"-
mius Severus
A 19th-century $"1*50- &426*-*/&
engraving shows '036.
the arch after
the Forum was
first excavated 4
"7&/5*/& 1"-"5*/&
Santi Luca e Martina was The Forum in- LOCATOR MAP
cluded the area See Central Rome Map pp14–15
an early medieval under Via dei Fori
Imperiali. More
VIA church, but was rebuilt parts have now
in 1635–64 by Pietro been made public.
D E I da Cortona. STAR SIGHT
FORI Curia
IMPERIALI This 3rd-century . Arch of
Septimius Severus
KEY
rebuilding of Suggested route
the Curia was 0 metres 75
0 yards 75
greatly restored in
1937 2
Basilica Aemilia
This large
meeting hall
was razed to
the ground
in the 5th
century AD 1
Entrance
to Forum
The Temple of Julius Caesar
was erected in his
memory by Augustus
on the spot where
Caesar’s body was
cremated after his
assassination in 44 BC.
To Roman Forum: Julius Caesar
East
See pp80–81
Temple of Castor
and Pollux
A temple to the twin
brothers (of whom only Pollux
was fathered by Jupiter) stood
on this spot from the 5th century
BC. This section of cornice and
its supporting columns date
from the rebuilding of AD 6 8
80 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
A Tour of the Roman Forum: East
The eastern end of the Roman Forum is dominated by The Regia was the office of the
Pontifex Maximus, the chief
the massive barrel-vaulted ruins of the Basilica of priest of ancient Rome.
Constantine. To picture the building as it was in the
4th century AD, you must imagine marble columns,
floors and statues, and glittering tiles of gilt
bronze. The remains of the other important
buildings are scanty, though the garden and
ponds in the centre of the House of the Vestal
Virgins make it a very attractive spot. The two
churches in this part of the Forum
cannot be reached from within To Forum
the archaeological area, but are entrance
accessible from the road outside.
Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
The portico of this temple, built
in AD 141, has been incorporated
in the church of San Lorenzo
in Miranda q
An early Iron Age necropolis was Temple of Romulus
found here in 1902. Finds from This domed building from the 4th
it, such as this burial urn, are on century AD has survived as part of
view in the Antiquarium. the church of
Santi Cosma e
Temple of Vesta Damiano w
Partly reconstructed, this tiny
temple to the goddess of the
hearth was one of ancient
Rome’s most sacred shrines 9
. House of the Vestal Virgins
The priestesses who tended the
sacred flame in the Temple of
Vesta lived here. The house was
a large rectangular building
around a central garden 0
FORUM 81
. Basilica of 26*3*/"-
Constantine and
Maxentius $"1*50- &426*-*/&
The stark remains
of the basilica’s '036.
huge arches and
ceilings give some "7&/5*/&
idea of the original 1"-"5*/&
scale and grandeur
of the Forum’s LOCATOR MAP
public buildings e See Central Rome Map pp14–15
Santa Francesca Romana Antiquarium Forense
The church takes its name A small museum houses
from a saint who cared archaeological finds made
for the Roman poor in the Forum. They include
in the 15th this frieze of Aeneas and the
century r Founding of Rome from the
Basilica Aemilia t
VIA
DEI FORI IMPERIALI Colonnade
surrounding Temple
of Venus and Rome
Temple of Venus
and Rome
These extensive
ruins are of a
magnificent
temple, built here
in AD 121 by the
Emperor Hadrian,
largely to his own
design u
To the Ruined STAR SIGHTS
Palatine Baths
. House of the Vestal
Arch of Titus Virgins
This 19th-century
reconstruction shows . Basilica of
how the arch may Constantine
have looked when it
KEY
spanned the
flagstoned roadway Suggested route
of the Via Sacra y
0 metres 75
0 yards 75
82 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
VISITORS’ CHECKLIST could and keep the difference. Rostra 3
This is why tax-collectors in
Entrances: Largo Romolo e
Remo; near the Arch of Titus on the Bible were so loathed. See Visitors’ Checklist.
Via Sacra. Map 5 B5 & 8 F1.
Tel 06-3996 7700. @ 85, 87, The basilica was
117, 175, 186, 810, 850. v 3.
Q Colosseo. Open 9am–1 hr rebuilt many times; it
before sunset daily (last adm: 1
hour before closing). Closed 1 was finally burned
Jan, 25 Dec. n Via dei Fori
Imperiali. Tel 06-679 7702. = down when the Visi-
9 8 Tours of newly excavated
sites available. goths sacked Rome in
AD 410. Business
seems to have carried
on until the last
moment, for the pave-
ment is splashed with
tiny lumps of coins
that melted in the fire. Ruins of the Imperial Rostra
Curia 2 Speeches were delivered from
this dais, the most famous –
thanks to Shakespeare –
See Visitors’ Checklist. being Mark Antony’s “Friends,
Romans, Countrymen” oration
A modern restoration now after the assassination of Julius
stands over the ruins of the Caesar in 44 BC. Caesar
Melted coins embedded in the floor hall where Rome’s Senate himself had just reorganized
of the Basilica Aemilia
(chief council of state) used the Forum and this speech
Basilica Aemilia 1
to meet. The first Curia stood was made from the newly
See Visitors’ Checklist.
on the site now occupied sited Rostra, where the
Originally this building was a
rectangular colonnaded hall, by the church of Santi ruins now stand. In
with a multicoloured marble
floor and a bronze-tiled roof. Luca e Martina, but the following year
It was built by the consuls
Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and after the building the head and
Marcus Fulvius Nobilor in 179
BC. The two consuls, who was destroyed by hands of Cicero
were elected annually,
exercised supreme power fire in 52 BC, Julius were put on show
over the Republic.
Caesar built a new here after he had
Basilicas in ancient Rome
served no religious purpose; Curia at the edge been put to death
they were meeting halls for
politicians, moneylenders and of the Forum. This by the second
publicani (businessmen
contracted by the state to was restored by Triumvirate
collect taxes). A consortium
agreed to hand over a specified Domitian in AD 94 (Augustus, Mark
sum to the state, but its
members were allowed to and, after another Antony and Marcus
collect as much as they
fire, rebuilt by The Curia today Lepidus). Fulvia,
Diocletian in the 3rd Mark Antony’s
century. The building you see wife, stabbed the great
today is a 1937 restoration of orator’s tongue with a hairpin.
Diocletian’s Curia. Inside are It was also here that Julia,
two relief panels commissioned Augustus’s daughter, was said
by Trajan to decorate the to have played the prostitute –
Rostra. One shows Trajan one of many scandalous acts
destroying records of unpaid that led to her banishment.
taxes to free citizens from debt; The dais took its name from
in the other he sits on a throne the ships’ prows (rostra) with
receiving a mother and child. which it was decorated.
Sheathed in iron (for ramming
enemy vessels), these came
Honorary from ships captured at the
statue Battle of Antium in 338 BC.
Rostra Relief panel
This reconstruction in balustrade,
shows the platform for
public speaking in the Forum, showing
as it looked in Imperial times. Trajan’s acts
of charity
ws of ships
(rostra)
FORUM 83
Arch of Septimius
Severus 4
See Visitors’ Checklist. Ionic capitals on the surviving columns of the Temple of Saturn
This triumphal arch, one of Saturn here as early as 497 BC, Column of
the most striking and best but it had to be rebuilt many Phocas 6
preserved monuments of the times and the current remains
Forum, was erected in AD 203 date only from 42 BC. See Visitors’ Checklist.
to celebrate the tenth
anniversary of the accession Saturn was the mythical This column, 13.5 m (44 ft)
of Septimius Severus. The god-king of Italy, said to have high, is one of the few to
relief panels – largely eroded – presided over a prosperous have remained upright since
celebrate the emperor’s and peaceful Golden Age the day it was put up. Until
victories in Parthia (modern- from which slavery, private 1816, when an inquisitive
day Iraq and Iran) and Arabia. property, crime and war were Englishwoman, Lady Elizabeth
absent. As such, he appealed Foster, widow of the fifth
Originally, the particularly to the lower and Duke of Devonshire, decided
inscription along slave classes. Every year, to excavate its pedestal,
the top of the between 17 December and nobody knew what it was. It
arch was to 23 December, Saturn’s reign turned out to be the youngest
Septimius and was remembered in a week of the Forum’s monuments,
his two sons, of sacrifices and feasting, erected in AD 608 in honour
Caracalla and known as the Saturnalia. of the Byzantine emperor,
Geta, but after Phocas, who had just paid a
Septimius died As long as the revels lasted, visit to Rome. The column
Caracalla the normal social order was may have been placed here as
murdered Geta, turned upside down. Slaves a mark of gratitude to Phocas
Barbarian and had his were permitted to drink and for giving the Pantheon to the
captives, Arch brother’s name dine with (and sometimes even pope (see pp110–11).
of Severus removed. Even be served by) their masters.
so the holes into Senators and other high- Slender, fluted Column of Phocas
which the letters of his name ranking Romans would
were pegged are still visible. abandon the aristocratic togas
During the Middle Ages the that they usually wore to
central arch, half buried in distinguish themselves from
earth and debris, was used to the lower classes and wear
shelter a barber’s shop. more democratic, loose-fitting
gowns. During the holidays,
Triumphal arch of the Emperor all the courts of law and
Septimius Severus schools in the city were
closed. No prisoner could be
Temple of Saturn 5 punished, and no war could
be declared.
See Visitors’ Checklist.
People also celebrated the
The most prominent of the Saturnalia in their own homes:
ruins in the fenced-off area they exchanged gifts, in
between the Forum and the particular special wax dolls
Capitoline hill is the Temple and wax tapers, and played
of Saturn. It consists of a high light-hearted gambling games,
platform, eight columns and a the stakes usually being nuts,
section of entablature. There a symbol of fruitfulness. Much
was a temple dedicated to of the spirit and many of the
rituals of the festival have
been preserved in the Christian
celebration of Christmas.
84 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
Temple of Castor
and Pollux 8
Remains of the Basilica Julia, a Roman court of civil law See Visitors’ Checklist, p82.
Basilica Julia 7 (260 ft by 59 ft), surrounded The three slender fluted
by a double portico. The hall columns of this temple form
See Visitors’ Checklist, p82. was on three floors, while the one of the Forum’s most
outer portico had only two. beautiful ruins. The first temple
This immense basilica, which here was probably dedicated
occupied the area between The Basilica Julia was the in 484 BC in honour of the
the temple of Saturn and the seat of the centumviri, a body mythical twins and patrons of
temple of Castor and Pollux, of 180 magistrates who tried horsemanship, Castor and
was begun by Julius Caesar in civil law cases. They were Pollux. During the battle of
54 BC and completed after his split into four chambers of 45 Lake Regillus (499 BC) against
death by his great-nephew men, and unless a case was the ousted Tarquin kings, the
Augustus. It was damaged by particularly complicated they Roman dictator Postumius
fire almost immediately after- would all sit separately. promised to build a temple to
wards in 9 BC, but was subse- the twins if the Romans were
quently repaired and The four courts were, how- victorious. Some said the twins
dedicated to the emperor’s ever, divided only by screens appeared on the battlefield,
grandsons, Gaius and Lucius. or curtains, and the voices of helped the Romans to victory
lawyers and cheers and boos and then materialized in the
After numerous sackings of spectators in the upper gal- Forum – the temple marks the
and pilferings, only the steps, leries echoed through the spot – to announce the news.
pavement and column stumps building. Lawyers used to hire
remain. Nevertheless the crowds of spectators, whow- The temple, like most
ground plan is fairly clear. ould applaud every time the buildings in the Forum, was
The basilica had a central lawyer who was paying them rebuilt many times. The three
hall, measuring 80 m by 18 m made a point and jeer at his surviving columns date from
opponents. The clappers and the last occasion on which it
TEMPLE OF VESTA booers must have had a good was rebuilt – by the future
The temple preserved the deal of time on their hands: Emperor Tiberius after a fire in
shape of an original scratched into the steps are AD 6. For a long period the
primitive structure made of chequerboards where they temple housed the city’s office
wooden posts with a of weights and measures, and
thatched roof. played dice and other gamb- it was also used at times by
ling games to while away a number of bankers.
the time between cases.
Cella (sacred
inner
chamber)
Corinthian columns of the
Temple of Castor and Pollux
Temple of Vesta 9
See Visitors’ Checklist, p82.
Ring of Corinthian columns Sacred flame The Forum’s most elegant
temple, a circular building
originally surrounded by a
ring of 20 fine fluted columns,
dates from the 4th century
AD, though there had been a
temple on the site for far
longer. It was partially
reconstructed in 1930.
The cult of the Vestals was
one of the oldest in Rome,
and centred on six Vestal
Virgins, who were required to
FORUM 85
keep alight the sacred flame
of Vesta, the goddess of the
hearth. This responsibility was
originally entrusted to the
daughters of the king, but it
then passed to the Vestals, the
only group of women priests
in Rome. It was no easy task,
as the flame was easily blown
out. Any Vestal who allowed
the flame to die was whipped
by the high priest (Pontifex
Maximus) and dismissed.
The girls, who had to belong
to noble families, were
selected when they were
between 6 and 10 years old.
They served for 30 years: the
first ten were spent learning Central courtyard of the House of the Vestal Virgins
their duties, the next ten
performing them and the final House of the Vestal to see the remains of a mill,
ten teaching novices. They used for grinding the grain
enjoyed high status and finan- Virgins 0
with which the Vestals made
cial security, but had to remain a special sacrificial cake.
virgins. The penalty for trans- See Visitors’ Checklist, p82. The bakery was next door.
gressing was to be buried
alive, although only ten Vestals As soon as a girl became a
are recorded as ever having Vestal she came to live in the Temple of
suffered this fate. The men House of the Vestal Virgins.
concerned were whipped to Originally this was an Antoninus and
death. When Vestals enormous complex with Faustina q
retired, they were free to about 50 rooms on three
live the rest of their lives storeys. The only sub- See Visitors’ Checklist, p82.
as ordinary citizens. If stantial remains today
they wished they could are some of the rooms One of the Forum’s oddest
marry, but few ever did. around the central sights is the Baroque façade
Another of the Vestals’ courtyard. This space of the church of San Lorenzo
duties was to guard the is perhaps the most in Miranda rising above the
Palladium, a sacred statue evocative part of the porch of a Roman temple.
of the goddess Pallas Forum. Overlooking First dedicated in AD 141 by
Athenae. The irreverent ponds of water lilies the Emperor Antoninus Pius
Emperor Heliogabalus and plump goldfish is to his late wife Faustina, the
burgled the temple in Honorary a row of eroded, and temple was rededicated to
the 3rd century AD. He statue of a mostly headless, statues them both on the death of the
thought he had Vestal Virgin of senior Vestals, dating emperor. In the 11th century
succeeded in stealing the from the 3rd and 4th it was converted into a church
Palladium, but the Vestals had centuries AD. The better- because it was believed that
been warned of his intention preserved examples were San Lorenzo (St Lawrence)
and had transferred to the Museo had been condemned to
replaced Nazionale Romano (see death there. The current
it with a p163). On one of the church dates from 1601.
replica. pedestals the inscription has
been removed because the
Vestal in question suffered
some disgrace. It is thought
she may have been a certain
Claudia, known to have
betrayed the cult by
converting to Christianity.
Though many of the rooms
surrounding the courtyard are
well preserved – some even
retain flights of steps leading
to an upper floor – you are
not allowed inside them. If
you peep into the series of
rooms along the south side,
Restored section of Temple of Vesta however, you might be able Temple of Antoninus and Faustina
86 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
Temple of Romulus The temple is a circular brick Nativity scene) are back on
and Santi Cosma building, topped by a cupola, view now, and the church has
e Damiano w with two rectangular side a vivid Byzantine apse
rooms and a concave porch. mosaic with Christ pictured
See Visitors’ Checklist, p82. Santi The heavy, dull bronze doors against orange clouds.
Cosma e Damiano are original.
Tel 06-692 04 41. Roof of the Temple of Romulus
Open 9am–1pm, 3–7pm daily. Since the 6th century the
Crib closed Mon. temple has acted as a vestibule
Adm charge for crib. 5 7 to the church of Santi Cosma
e Damiano, which itself
No one is sure to whom the occupies an ancient building
Temple of Romulus was dedi- – a hall in Vespasian’s Forum of
cated, but it was probably to Peace. The entrance to the
the son of Emperor Maxentius, church is on Via dei Fori
and not to Rome’s founder. Imperiali. The beautiful carved
figures of its 18th-century
Neapolitan presepio (crib or
Basilica of the administration of justice a 12-m (39-ft) statue of the
Constantine and
Maxentius e and for carrying on business, emperor, made partly of
See Visitors’ Checklist, p82. is often referred to simply as wood and partly of marble.
The basilica’s three vast, the Basilica of Constantine. The giant head, hand and
coffered barrel vaults are
powerful relics of what was The area covered by the foot are on display in the
the largest building in the
Forum. Work began in AD basilica was roughly 100 m by courtyard of the Palazzo dei
308 under the Emperor
Maxentius. When he was 65 m (330 ft by 215 ft). It was Conservatori (see pp72–3).
deposed by Constantine after
the Battle of the Milvian originally designed to have a The roof of the basilica
Bridge in AD 312, work on
the massive project continued long nave and aisles running glittered with gilded tiles until
under the new regime. The
building, which, like other from east to west, but Con- the 7th century when they
Roman basilicas, was used for
stantine switched the axis were stripped off to cover the
The octagonal
coffers in the around to create three short roof of the old St Peter’s.
vaulted ceiling
were originally broad aisles with the
faced with marble.
main entrance in the
centre of the long south
wall. The height of the
building was 35 m
(115 ft). In the apse at
the western end, where
it could be seen from all
over the building, stood
The three barrel-vaulted aisles of the
basilica were used as law courts.
The main entrance The roof was
was added by supported by eight
Constantine in AD 313. massive Corinthian
columns. One now stands
in Piazza Santa Maria
Maggiore (see p173).
FORUM 87
Santa Francesca
Romana r
Piazza di Santa Francesca Romana. Dedication to Titus and Vespasian on the Arch of Titus
Map 5 B5. Tel 06-679 55 28. occupants along with some Temple of Venus
@ 85, 87, 117, 175, 810. v 3. ancient bric-a-brac exhumed and Rome u
Q Colosseo. Open summer: 10am– from the Forum’s drains.
noon, 3.30–6pm daily; winter: 10am– When the reorganization is
noon, 3–5pm Thu–Tue. 5 9
complete you should be able See Visitors’ Checklist, p82.
Every year on 9 March devout
Roman drivers try to park to see fragments of statues,
as close as possible to
this Baroque church capitals, friezes and other The emperor Hadrian
with a Romanesque bell
tower. The aim of their architectural decoration taken designed this temple to
pilgrimage is to have
their vehicles blessed from the Forum’s buildings. occupy what had been the
by Santa
Francesca vestibule to Nero’s
Romana, the
patron saint Domus Aurea (see
of motorists.
During the p175). Many of the
15th century,
Francesca of columns have been re-
Trastevere
erected, and though
Bell tower of founded a
Santa Francesca society of there is no access,
pious women there is a good view as
devoted to helping the
less fortunate. After her you leave the Forum
canonization in 1608 the
church, originally named and from the upper
Santa Maria Nova, was
rededicated to Francesca. tiers of the Colosseum.
The most curious sight Frieze of Aeneas in the Antiquarium Forense The temple, the largest
inside the church is a flagstone
with what are said to be the Arch of Titus y in Rome, was dedicat-
imprints of the knees of St ed to Roma, the personifica-
Peter and St Paul. A magician,
Simon Magus, decided to tion of the city, and to Venus
prove that his powers were
superior to those of the See Visitors’ Checklist, p82. because she was the mother of
Apostles by levitating above
the Forum. As Simon was in Aeneas, father of Romulus and
mid-air, Peter and Paul fell
to their knees and prayed This triumphal arch was Remus. Each goddess had her
fervently for God to humble
him, and Simon immediately erected in AD 81 by the own cella (shrine). When the
plummeted to his death.
Emperor Domitian in honour architect Apollodorus pointed
Antiquarium
Forense t of the victories of his brother, out that the seated statues in
See Visitors’ Checklist, p82. Titus, and his father, Vespasian, the niches were too big (had
The former convent of Santa in Judaea. In AD 66 the Jews, they tried to “stand” their heads
Francesca Romana is now
occupied by the offices in weary of being exploited by would have hit the vaults),
charge of the excavations of
the Forum and a small unscrupulous Roman officials, Hadrian had him put to death.
museum. The latter is currently
being reorganized, and only rebelled. A bitter war broke Statue of Porphyry
a couple of rooms are open. out which ended 4 years later goddess column
They contain Iron Age burial
urns, graves and their skeletal in the fall of Jerusalem and
the Jewish Diaspora.
Although the reliefs
inside the arch are
badly eroded, you can
make out a triumphant
procession of Roman
soldiers carrying off
spoils from the Temple
of Jerusalem. The booty
includes the altar, silver
trumpets and a gold-
en seven-branched
candelabrum. Cross-section of Temple of Venus and Rome
88 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
Trajan’s Markets i
Originally considered among the wonders The Markets Today
of the Classical world, Trajan’s Markets Above the façade stands
now show only a hint of their former the 13th-century Torre
splendour. Emperor Trajan and his delle Milizie, built for
architect, Apollodorus of Damascus, defensive purposes.
built this visionary new complex
of 150 shops and offices Cross
(probably used for vaulting
administering the corn dole)
in the early 2nd century AD.
It was the ancient Roman
equivalent of the modern
shopping centre, selling
everything from silks
and spices imported
from the Middle
East to fresh fish,
fruit and flowers.
Trajan
The emperor was a
benevolent ruler and
a successful general.
Main Hall
Twelve shops were
built on two floors,
and the corn dole
was shared out on
the upper storey.
This was a free
corn ration given
to Roman men to
prevent hunger.
Via Biberatica Small
The main street semicircle
which runs of shops
through the
market is named
after the drinking
inns which once
lined it.
Staircase
TIMELINE 472 Invasion by 1200s Torre 1572 Convent 1924 Many
Ricimer the Suevian. delle Milizie of Santa medieval
AD 100–112 Some of his Germanic built on top Caterina da houses
Building of troops stationed here of the markets Siena built over
Trajan’s part of markets demolished
Markets AD 500
1000 1300 1800 1950
AD 100 552 Byzantine
takeover of 1300s 1828 First tentative 1911–14
AD 117 Death Rome. Markets Annibaldi and excavations, but Convent
of Trajan occupied and Caetani families value of site not demolished
fortified by vie for control recognized
AD 98 Trajan the army
succeeds Nerva of the area 1930–33 Markets
as emperor finally excavated
89
VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Mercati Traianei, Via IV
Novembre. Map 5 B4.
Tel 06-679 00 48. @ 64, 70,
170 and many routes to Piazza
Venezia. Open 9am–4.30pm
Tue–Sun (to 6.30pm summer).
Last adm: 45 mins before closing.
Phone ahead to check opening
times as they may have changed
due to recent restoration work.
=7
The Markets in the 16th Century
This fanciful fresco depicts a gladiatorial combat
taking place in front of the partly buried remains
of Trajan’s Markets.
A Market Shop
Shops were built with
arched entrances, with
jambs and lintels
creating rectangular
portals and windows.
A wooden mezzanine
was used for storage.
Upper Corridor
Shops on this upper level
were thought to have sold
wine and oil, since a
number of storage jars were
discovered here.
The terrace
over the archway
spanning Via
Biberatica has
a good view of
the Forum
of Trajan
below.
Wall dividing market area Large hall w MARKET SHOPPING
from Forum of Trajan semidomed ce
Shops opened early and closed about
Forum of Trajan, built in front of the markets noon. The best ones were decorated
in AD 107–113, was flanked by the Basilica Ulpia. with mosaics of the goods they sold.
The basilica, measuring 170 m (558 ft) by 60 m Almost all the shopping was done
(197 ft), was the largest in Rome. A small portion
of the Forum has been excavated; unfortunately, by men, though women visited the
however, the rest of it remains buried beneath dressmaker and cobbler. The
modern Rome’s busy city streets. tradesmen were almost all male.
In employment records for the
period AD 117–193, the only
female shopkeepers mentioned
are three wool-sellers, two
jewellers, a greengrocer
and a fishwife.
Fish mosaic
90 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
Trajan’s Markets i appeared to the pope to say Forum of
that Trajan had been rescued, Augustus s
See pp88–9. but asked him not to pray for
the souls of any more pagans. Piazza del Grillo 1. Map 5 B5 & 12 F5.
Trajan’s Column o See Trajan’s Markets’ Visitors’ Checklist,
According to legend, when p89. Tel 06-679 7702. Open by appt.
Via dei Fori Imperiali. Map 5 A4 & Trajan’s ashes were exhumed
12 F4. See Visitors’ Checklist for his skull and tongue were not
Trajan’s Markets, p89. only intact, but his tongue
told of his release from hell.
The land around the column
was then declared sacred and
the column itself was spared.
The statue of Trajan remained
on top of the column until
1587, when it was replaced
with one of St Peter.
Detail of Trajan’s Column Torre delle Podium of the Temple of Mars in
Milizie p
This elegant marble column the Forum of Augustus
was inaugurated by Trajan in Mercati Traianei, Via IV Novembre.
AD 113, and celebrates his Map 5 B4. Tel 06-679 00 48. The Forum of Augustus
two campaigns in Dacia Closed to the public. was built to celebrate
(Romania) in AD 101–3 and Augustus’s victory over Julius
AD 107–8. The column, base For centuries this massive Caesar’s assassins, Brutus and
and pedestal are 40 m (131 ft) brick tower was thought to Cassius, at the Battle of
tall – precisely the same height have been the one in which Philippi in 41 BC. The temple
as the spur of the Quirinal hill Nero stood watching Rome in its centre was dedicated to
which was excavated to make burn, after he had set it alight Mars the Avenger. The forum
room for Trajan’s Forum. to clear the city’s slums. It is stretched from a high wall at
Spiralling up the column are uncertain whether arson was the foot of the sleazy Suburra
minutely detailed scenes from among Nero’s crimes, but it is quarter to the edge of the
the campaigns, beginning with certain that he did not watch Forum of Caesar. At least half
the Romans preparing for war the fire from this tower – it of it is now concealed below
and ending with the Dacians was built in the 13th century. Mussolini’s Via dei Fori
being ousted from their Imperiali. The temple is easily
homeland. The column is Casa dei Cavalieri identified, with its cracked
pierced with small windows di Rodi a steps and four Corinthian
to illuminate its internal spiral columns. Originally it had a
staircase (closed to the public). Piazza del Grillo 1. Map 5 B5. statue of Mars which looked
If you wish to see the reliefs Tel 06-6710 2609. @ 84, 85, 87, very like Augustus. In case
in detail there is a complete 117, 175, 186, 810, 850. anyone failed to notice the
set of casts in the Museo Open Tue am, Thu am (by appt only). resemblance, a giant statue of
della Civiltà Romana at EUR Augustus himself was placed
(see p266). Loggia, Casa dei Cavalieri di Rodi against the Suburra wall.
When Trajan died in AD 117 Since the 12th century the Forum of Caesar d
his ashes, along with those of crusading order, the Knights of
his wife Plotina, were placed St John, also known as the Via del Carcere Tulliano.
in a golden urn in the column’s Knights of Rhodes (Rodi) or Map 5 A5. Tel 06-679 7702.
hollow base. The column’s Malta, have had their priorate @ 84, 85, 87, 175, 186, 810. 850.
survival was largely thanks in this medieval house above Open by appt only.
to the intervention of Pope the Forum of Augustus. If you
Gregory the Great (reigned are lucky enough to get The first of Rome’s Imperial
590–604). He was so moved inside, ask to see the beautiful fora was built by Julius
by a relief showing Trajan Cappella di San Giovanni Caesar. He spent a fortune –
helping a woman whose son (Chapel of St John). most of it booty from his
had been killed that he begged conquest of Gaul – buying up
God to release the emperor’s and demolishing houses on
soul from hell. God duly the site. Pride of place went
to a temple dedicated in 46
BC to the goddess Venus
Genetrix, from whom Caesar
claimed descent. The temple
contained statues of Caesar
and Cleopatra as well as of
Venus. All that remains of this
temple to vanity is a platform
FORUM 91
and three Corinthian columns. taverns, but only part of the
The forum was enclosed by forum can be seen, including
a double colonnade which the base of the temple and
sheltered a row of shops, but two columns that were part of
this burnt down in AD 80 the original colonnade. These
and was rebuilt by Domitian support a relief of Minerva
and Trajan. Trajan also added above a frieze of young girls
the Basilica Argentaria and a learning to sew and weave.
heated public lavatory.
Arch of
The forum is only open to Constantine h
the public by appointment, but
parts are visible from above Between Via di San Gregorio and
in Via dei Fori Imperiali.
Piazza del Colosseo. Map 8 F1.
Mamertine
Prison f @ 75, 85, 87, 175, 673, 810.
Clivo Argentario 1. Map 5 A5. v 3. Q Colosseo.
Tel 06-679 29 02. @ 84, 85, 87,
175, 186, 810, 850. Open 9am–7pm 17th-century view of the ruined
daily (to 5pm winter). Donation
expected. Forum of Nerva This triumphal arch was
dedicated in AD 315 to
19th-century engraving of guards Forum of Nerva g celebrate Constantine’s victory
visiting prisoners in the Mamertine three years before over his
Below the 16th-century Piazza del Grillo 1 (reached through co-emperor, Maxentius.
church of San Giuseppe dei Forum of Augustus). Map 5 B5. Tel Constantine claimed he owed
Falegnami (St Joseph of the
Carpenters) is a dank 06-679 7702. @ 84, 85, 87, 175, his victory to a vision of Christ,
dungeon in which, according
to Christian legend, St Peter 186, 810, 850. Open by appt only. but there is nothing Christian
was imprisoned. He is said to
have caused a spring to bubble about the arch – in fact, most
up into the cell, and used the
water to baptize his guards. The Forum of Nerva was of the medallions, reliefs and
The prison, also known as begun by his predecessor, statues were scavenged from
Tullianum, was in an old
cistern with access to the Domitian, and completed earlier monuments.
city’s main sewer (the Cloaca
Maxima). The lower cell was in AD 97. Little more There are statues of
used for executions and
bodies were thrown into the than a long corridor Dacian prisoners
sewer. Among the enemies of
Rome to be executed here with a colonnade taken from Trajan’s
was the Gaulish leader
Vercingetorix, defeated by along the sides and Forum and reliefs
Julius Caesar in 52 BC.
a Temple of Minerva of Marcus Aurelius,
at one end, it was also including one where
known as the Forum Medallion on the he distributes bread
Transitorium because Arch of Constantine to the poor. Inside
it lay between the the arch are reliefs
Forum of Peace built by the of Trajan’s victory over the
Emperor Vespasian in AD 70 Dacians. These were probably
and the Forum of Augustus. by the artist who worked on
Vespasian’s forum is almost Trajan’s Column.
completely covered by Via
dei Fori Imperiali, as is much
of the Forum of Nerva itself. Colosseum j
Excavations have unearthed
Renaissance shops and See pp92–5.
North side of the Arch of Constantine, facing the Colosseum
92 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
Colosseum j Outer Wall of the
Colosseum
Rome’s greatest amphitheatre Stone plundered
was commissioned by the from the façade in
Emperor Vespasian in AD 72 on the Renaissance
the marshy site of a lake in the was used to build
grounds of Nero’s palace, the several palaces,
Domus Aurea (see p175). bridges and parts
Deadly gladiatorial combats and of St Peter’s.
wild animal fights were staged
free of charge by the emperor
and wealthy citizens for public viewing.
The Colosseum was built to a practical design,
with its 80 arched entrances allowing easy
access to 55,000 spectators, but it is also a
building of great beauty. The drawing
here shows how it looked at the time
of its opening in AD 80. It was one of
several similar amphitheatres built in
the Roman Empire, and some survive
at El Djem in North Africa, Nîmes and
Arles in France, and Verona in
northern Italy.
Despite being
damaged over
the years by
neglect and
theft, it
remains a
majestic
sight.
The Founder The TIMELINE
of the Colosseum anchored
Vespasian was a professional velarium. 80 Vespasian’s son, Titus,
soldier who became emperor stages inaugural festival
in AD 69, founding the The velarium was a in the amphitheatre. It
Flavian dynasty. huge awning which lasts 100 days
shaded spectators
The outer walls are from the sun. AD 70 100
made of travertine. Supported on poles
fixed to the upper 72 Emperor 81–96
FLORA OF THE COLOSSEUM storey of the Vespasian Amphi-
building, it was then begins work theatre
By the 19th century the hoisted into position on the completed
Colosseum was heavily with ropes anchored Colosseum in reign of
overgrown. to bollards outside Domitian
Different micro- the stadium.
climates in
various parts
of the ruin had
created an im-
pressive variety
of herbs, grasses
and wild flowers.
Several botanists
were inspired to
study and catalogue
them and two books
were published,
one listing 420
different species. Borage, a herb
FORUM 93
Internal Corridors VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
These were designed to allow
Piazza del Colosseo. Map 9 A1.
the large and often unruly Tel 06-3996 7700. @ 75, 81, 85,
crowd to move freely and to 87, 117, 175, 673, 810. v 3 to
be seated within 10 minutes Piazza del Colosseo. Q Colosseo.
of arriving at the Colosseum. Open 9am–1 hour before sunset
daily. Closed 1 Jan, 25 Dec. Adm
The vomitorium was charge (includes the Palatine). 7
the exit used from each limited. 9 8 = Beware of
“gladiators” charging for photo-
graphs – negotiate a fee upfront.
rick formed
nner walls.
Corinthian large terrace where Entry routes to take
columns the emperor and the the spectators to their
wealthy upper classes seats were reached by
Ionic had their seats. means of staircases to
columns the various levels of
the amphitheatre. Colossus of Nero
Doric The Colosseum may
columns Arched entrances, 80 in total, have acquired its
were all numbered to let in the name from this huge
vast crowds that attended the fights. gilt bronze statue
that stood near the
amphitheatre.
230 404 1200s Frangipane family turn 1870 All
Colosseum Gladiatorial Colosseum into a fortress vegetation
restored by
Alexander combats 15th–16th centuries Ruins removed
banned used as quarry. Travertine
Severus A gladiator’s blocks recycled by popes
shield
200
400 1300 1500 1700 1900
248 Thousandth 442 Building 523 Wild 1312 Emperor 1749 1893–6
anniversary damaged in an animal fights Henry VII gives Colosseum Structure
banned Colosseum to the
celebration of earthquake Senate and people dedicated below
founding of of Rome to Passion arena
Rome by revealed
Romulus and of Jesus
Remus
94 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
How Fights were Staged in the Arena
The emperors held shows here which
often began with animals performing cir-
cus tricks. Then on came the gladiators,
who fought each other to the death. When
one was killed, attendants dressed as
Charon, the mythical ferryman of the dead,
carried his body off on a stretcher, and
sand was raked over the blood ready for
the next bout. A badly wounded gladiator
would surrender his fate to the crowd.
The “thumbs up” sign from the emperor
meant he could live, “thumbs down” that
he die, and the victor became an instant Beneath the Arena
hero. Animals were brought here from as Late 19th-century excavations exposed the
far away as North Africa and the Middle network of underground rooms where
East. The games held in AD 248 to mark the animals were kept.
the thousandth anniversary of Rome’s
founding saw the death of a host of lions, Interior of the
elephants, hippos, zebras and elks. Colosseum
The amphitheatre
Emperor’s entrance was built in the form
of an ellipse, with
Emperor’s box
tiers of seats around
a vast central arena.
Layout of
underground
passages
Tiers of Consul’s Consul’s
seats box entrance
Gladiators’ A complex of rooms,
entrance passages and lifts lies
underneath the arena.
Roman Gladiators Dramatic
These were usually slaves, prisoners of war Entrances
or condemned criminals. Most were men,
but there were a few female gladiators. Below the
sand was a
wooden floor
through which
animals, men
and scenery
appeared in
the arena.
RUM 95
The Colosseum by Seating was tiered, and
Antonio Canaletto different social classes
This 18th-century view of were segregated.
the Colosseum shows the
Meta Sudans fountain A winch
(now demolished). Water brought the
“sweated” from a metal animal cages
ball on top of its brick cone. up to arena
level when
Metal fencing they were
kept animals due to fight.
penned in,
while archers A ramp and trap
stood by just door enabled
in case an the animal to
escap reach the arena
after walking
along
a corridor.
Cages were like
three-sided lifts
which went up to
the next level
where the animals
were released.
SEA BATTLES IN THE ARENA
The historian Dion Cassius, writing
in the 4th century AD, relates
how, 150 years earlier, the
Colosseum’s arena was
flooded to stage a mock sea
battle. Scholars now believe
that he was mistaken. The
spectacle probably took place
in the Naumachia of Augustus,
a water-filled arena situated
across the Tiber in Trastevere.
ROME AREA BY AREA 97
PA L AT I N E
According to legend, Romulus circumstances even when he became
and Remus were brought up emperor. The two buildings identified
here by a wolf in a cave. as the House of Augustus and the
Traces of Iron Age huts, dating House of Livia, his wife, are among
from the 9th century BC, the best preserved here. The first
have been found on the emperor’s example of
Palatine hill, providing ar- frugality was ignored by his
chaeological support for successors, Tiberius, Caligula
the area’s legendary links and Domitian, who all built
with the founding of Rome. extravagant palaces here.
The Palatine was a very The ruins of Tiberius’s
desirable place to live, palace lie beneath the
becoming home to some 16th-century Farnese
of the city’s most famous Gardens. The most ex-
inhabitants. The great Fresco of mask in tensive ruins are those of
orator Cicero had a house the House of Augustus the Domus Augustana and
here, as did the lyric poet Catullus. Domus Flavia, the two wings of
Augustus was born on the hill and Domitian’s palace, and the later exten-
continued to live here in very modest sion built by Septimius Severus.
SIGHTS AT A GLANCE Parks and Gardens GETTING THERE
Farnese Gardens 8 There are two ways of getting
Temples on to the Palatine hill; either
Temple of Cybele 6 through the Roman Forum
(from Via dei Fori Imperiali)
Historic Buildings SEE ALSO or through the entrance in Via
Domus Augustana 3 • Street Finder, map 8 di San Gregorio. A separate
Domus Flavia 1 ticket for the Palatine is
House of Livia 5 needed, even if you come
through the Forum. The best
Ancient Sites buses are the 75, 85, 87, 117,
Cryptoporticus 2 175, 186, 810, 850; all stop in
Huts of Romulus 7 Via dei Fori Imperiali near the
Stadium 4 main entrance. Tram 3 and
Colosseo Metro station
are also handy.
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7*" %* 4"/ (3&(03*0
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Tour of the Palatine maps 1*";;"
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0 metres 200
0 yards 200
Towering ruins of the Palace of Septimius Severus on the Palatine hill
98 R O M E A R E A B Y A R E A
A Tour of the Palatine Huts of Romulus
These are traces of a
Shaded on its lower slopes with pines, and scattered 9th-century BC vi
in spring with wild flowers, the Palatine is the most on the Palatine
pleasant and relaxing of the city’s ancient sites. You can
reach the hill by walking up from To Farnese
the Roman Forum (see pp76–7). ens
The area is dominated by the
ruins of the Domus Flavia and
the Domus Augustana, two
parts of Domitian’s huge
palace built at the end of
1st century AD. What y
are able to see depen
on where excavations
taking place at the tim
Temple of Cybele
Also known as the Templ
Magna Mater, this was the
of an important fertility cu
h
w
his
STAR SIGHTS
. House of Livia
. Domus Flavia
KEY
Suggested route . Domus Flavia Domus Augustana
This oval fountain was The Roman emperors lived
0 metres 75 designed to be seen from the in this part of the palace,
0 yards 75 dining hall of the palace 1 while the Domus Flavia was
used for public functions 3
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