walks in rome · 2015-03-18 · the cradle of civilization from the forum boarium to the palatine...

The Cradle of CivilizationFrom the Forum Boarium to the Palatine

Comune di RomaTourism

Walks in Rome

03-The Cradle of Civilization 20-03-2007 17:03 Pagina 1

Rome for youInformation series on the City of Rome

Produced by: Cosmofilm spa - Elio de Rosa, editoreTexts: Alberto Tagliaferri, Valerio Variale

(Cultural Association Mirabilia Urbis)Editorial coordination: Emanuela BosiGraphics and page setting: Marco C. MastrolorenziTranslation edit by: Stephen Geoffrey Wheeler

Photos: D. Bianca: cover, p. 3, 15, 24, 25, 27 bottom, 31,32, 33; C. De Santis: p. 2, 10, 11, 18 top, 19bottom, 23, 26, 28, 29, 30, 34, 38; P. Soriani: p. 14, 16; Visual space: p. 12, 13 bottom, 35,36, 37; SSPMR: 27 top; Cosmofilm Archive: p. 9, 13 top, 17, 18 bottom, 19 top, 20, 21, 22

On the cover, the Temple of Portunus On this page, the Arch of the Argentarii, panel in relief

Co


• The Forum Boarium 81. Santa Maria in Cosmedin, the Bocca della Verità

and Hercules’s Great Altar 92. Walking, walking... 123. The Temple of Hercules Invictus and the

Temple of Portunus 144. Walking, walking... 175. San Giorgio in Velabro 266. Walking, walking... 297. The Circus Maximus 308. Walking, walking... 33

• The Palatine 34

The Cradle of CivilizationFrom the Forum Boarium to the Palatine

Walks in Rome

Temple of Hercules Invictus, detail of a capital

Comune di RomaTourism


Stampa: GRAFICA PONTINA - Pomezia - ord. n. 12564 del 3-6-09 (c. 10.000)

The so-called Temple of Vesta and the church of S. Maria in Cosmedin seen from the PonteRotto in a 19th century illustration

The ruins of imperial palaces on the Palatine in a 19th century engraving by B. Pinelli


PresentationThe Cradle of Civilization

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The Roman academic Silvio Negro maintai-ned that in order to know Rome, a “lifetimewas not enough”.

When faced with a history that is as eventfulas Rome’s, it is difficult to appraise it even intobrick thick guides, still we decided to offer a seriesof encompassing pocketbook volumes that anycurious tourist may carry with them during theirvisit.

The “Walks in Rome” series offers routeswithin the city’s great web of must-see sites andmonuments. Each publication has chosen a gui-ding theme allowing you to follow a path through,to mention a few, “Monumental Rome” (via deiFori Imperiali and the Colosseum) or “TheDawning of Christian Rome” (The Basilicas of St.Johns in the Lateran and the Holy Cross inJerusalem) or even enjoy the most earthly Rome“A virtual film set” (via Veneto and surroundings).

So, even if a lifetime is not enough, you mightas well start.

Tourism OfficeRome Municipal Council

Map

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Key1. Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Bocca della

Verità and the Hercules’s Great Altar2. Walking, walking... 3. The Temple of Hercules Invictus and the

Temple of Portunus 4. Walking, walking... 5. San Giorgio in Velabro6. Walking, walking... 7. The Circus Maximus8. Walking, walking... 9. Palatine

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3

7

5

4

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Map

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9

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The area of the Forum Boari-um is of great interest due toits associations with the city’s

earliest beginnings, and even moreimportant is the stretch of the Tibernow marked by the ruins of the 16thcentury Ponte Rotto (AemilianBridge). There is archeological evi-dence of the formation of small set-tlements of hut-dwellers on thePalatine and on the other hills inthe Tiber plain in around 1000 BC.These became united in the 8thcentury BC, giving rise to the city ofRome. The growth of these primi-tive settlements, inhabited byLatins, Sabines and Etruscans, wasencouraged by the possibility of ex-panding trade along the river. Salt,a most precious commodity be-cause of its use in rearing livestockand preserving meat, was panned atthe mouth of the Tiber near Ostiaand thence transported inland,along the route which was to be-come the Via Salaria. But there wasone principal factor which madevicinity to the river fundamental inthe destinies of the groups living onthe site of the Palatine and the oth-er hills at the time: this was the fordlocated immediately downstream ofthe Tiber Island. Later replaced bythe famous Pons Sublicius, this fordjoined the two main routes tra-versed by livestock farmers: theroute which led to the Etruscan

North and that leading to the GreekSouth, later to become known asthe Via Aurelia and the Via Appiarespectively. By controlling thisstretch of the river close to the TiberIsland, the first Romans were ableto benefit from the intense trade be-tween the two areas and rapidly at-tained a position of prestige. It is nocoincidence that the river bankoverlooking this point was referredto as the Forum Boarium, or cattlemarket, right up to Imperial times.Over the next new centuries theplace acquired a river port, locatedwhere the Anagrafe (PublicRecords Office) currently stands inVia Petroselli, and temples celebrat-ing the exploits of Hercules, whowas regarded as a protector of theplace and of traders in general. Thiswas because it was here, as myth hasit, that the demi-god defeated theevil giant Cacus, who had stolenfrom him the oxen won from Gery-on: the tale perhaps reflects the rolethe first Romans must actually haveplayed in ensuring safe commerce.The area was devoted mainly totrade throughout the Republicanand Imperial periods, and in the Ear-ly Medieval period it hosted a largeByzantine settlement, due to itscloseness to the Imperial palaces onthe Palatine, thus becoming knownas the Greek stretch of the river bank(ripa graeca).

…the walkbegins...

The Forum Boarium


The Cradle of Civilization

9

The church of S. Maria inCosmedin, in Piazza Bocca dellaVerità, stands on top of the site of

the Great Altar of Hercules. The archa-ic cult of Hercules was one of the mostdeeply rooted among the Romans, andthere are many religious and mytho-logical references to the god in thearea. Many centuries later the Byzan-tine Greek community from Constan-tinople was to establish its first abodein the area of these ancient temples(Ara Maxima, Hercules Invictus, AedesAemiliana Herculis). Indeed, it wasEastern monks who built themonastic foundation(diaconia) knownas S. Maria inScholaGrae-ca

in the 6th century AD. And in 782 PopeHadrian I had the ruins of the Great Al-tar of Hercules demolished in order toexpand it, as a sign of solidarity to-wards Greek monks taking refugefrom the persecution of Emperor Con-stantine V. A monastery was added tothe church at the end of the first mil-lennium, and it became known as theKosmidion, in memory of a building ofthe same name in Byzantium. Duringthe intervention of the Normans in1078 in defence of Pope Gregory VII,the church was heavily sacked and lat-er restored between 1118-19 and

1124. In 1715, under PopeClement XI, the lev-

el of thesquare in

frontwas

1. Santa Maria in Cosmedin, the Bocca dellaVerità and the Great Altar of Hercules

Bocca della Verità


lowered to bring it down to that of theinterior of the church, and three yearslater the architect Giuseppe Sardi wascommissioned to redesign both the in-terior and the exterior of the church.The elegant baroque façade, under-taken at this time by Sardi, was unfor-tunately destroyed between 1894 and1899 during attempts by G.B. Giove-nale to restore the church to its pre-sumed appearance in Medieval times.The current façade is in brick, precededby a portico on piers, with latticed sin-gle-leaved windows on the upperstorey. The upper part of the façade isslightly set back, with a seven-storey Romanesque belltoweron the left, decorated withconvex mouldings and poly-chrome marble disks and con-taining elegant three-leavedwindows with slendercolumns. The portico is pre-ceded by a porch supportedby four Ionic columns, andcontains various inscriptions,two ancient weights in basan-

ite, the remains of a fresco depictingthe Annunciation and the Nativity and,on the right, the funerary monumentof the 12th century prelate Alphanus.The architrave of the entrance, signedby Johannes de Venetia, depicts thehand of God in the act of blessing withthe thumb and ring finger united, ac-cording to Greek custom. On the left,at the end of the portico is the church’smost famous monument: the greatmask known as the Bocca della Verità(Mouth of Truth). This is an ancient Ro-man mask which probably served asthe cover of a water drain, and the

presence of two dolphins,the profiles of which canjust be made out, suggest itmay have depicted the godOceanus, or at least someriver god. The mask was setup in the portico in 1632,and with it is associated afamous Roman tradition, akind of ordeal or judgmentby God, whereby any liarwho introduced their handinto its mouth would haveit bitten off. Tourists stillqueue to be photographedperforming the same ritualof placing their hands in itsmouth.

The interior of thechurch,

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10S. Maria in Cosmedin



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which was also deprivedof its 18th century ele-ments in Giovenale’srestoration, consists ofthree aisles divided byfour piers and eighteenancient columns of vari-ous origin. Five of the an-cient capitals weresculpted in the 12th cen-tury and represent one ofthe best examples of Ro-manesque architecturaldecoration. The ceilingand Cosmatesque floorhave undergone recentrestoration, while thewomen’s gallery (ma-troneum) on the firstfloor has been restoredto its original form. TenRoman columns may benoted running from theleft aisle and across thecounter-facade of thechurch to the oppositeside. In antiquity thesesupported a series ofsmall arches and are allthat now remains of ashrine which was an-nexed to the Great Altar of Herculesand may have contained his sacred re-mains. In the upper part of the naveand triumphal arch there are somefragments of frescoes depicting Christand the saints, dating from the 8th tothe 12th centuries AD. The nave alsocontains the restored 12th-centuryschola cantorum, with its Paschal Can-dlestick resting on a heraldic lion. TheCosmatesque paving inside the scholais original, as is the Gothic-style canopy(ciborium), the work of Deodatus in1294, which covers the monolithicred-granite altar. The date 5 May 1123is carved on the altar, and the bishop’sthrone with its arm-rests in the shape

of lions stands on threesteps in the apse.The apse is decoratedwith modern frescoesbased on the originalmosaics, which havebeen lost. A door in theright aisle leads to thesacristy, which containsan extremely preciousfragment of mosaic de-picting the Epiphany.Transferred here in 1639,this dates back to the 8thcentury and was origi-nally located in the earlyBasilica of Saint Peter’sbuilt under Constantine.It is then worth visitingthe choir’s winter chapel,which contains the twoRoman columns towhich the apostles Peterand Paul are said to havebeen chained in theMamertine Prison: theseactually belonged to theRoman shrine men-tioned above. Above thealtar is an image of theMadonna Theotokos,

Mother of God (13th century), whichonce occupied the main apse prior tothe 19th-century restoration work.The niches of the chapel are decoratedwith statues depicting the Virtues byC. Maratta (1625-1713). A stairwayleads down to the crypt, which PopeHadrian I had carved out of the base ofthe Great Altar of Hercules. Evidenceof the latter remains in the form ofrows of blocks of Anio tufa faced inashlar masonry. The crypt’s altar,mounted on small columns, containsthe relics of various martyrs, includingthe head of Saint Valentine, and every14 February this is presented to thefaithful crowned with roses.

Carta lapidaria (stone tablet)hanging in the portico of the church


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Exiting fromthe portico ofS. Maria in

Cosmedin we come toa gate on the right whichprecedes a long, narrow courtyard.A mithraeum, now known as theMithraeum of Circus Maximus, wasdiscovered here, installed in the3rd century AD in some of therooms of an older building.Mithraea were sanctuaries for theworship of the god Mithras, a sungod of Persian origin, symbol oflight and purification from sin, rep-resenting the path of initiation to-wards moral perfection, whosebirthday fell on the winter solstice,the same day later chosen by theChristians to celebrate the anniver-

sary of the birth ofChrist. It is possibleto obtain permission

from the local author-ities to visit the atrium,

which contained the statues of thegenii of light (Cautes) and darkness(Cautopates), and the hall wherethe initiated met, taking theirplaces along the seating at the side,which was arranged to reflect theseven ranks of their hierarchy, in or-der to partake of the sacred meal,the agape fraterna. In the initiationceremony the neophyte, dressed inwhite, was bathed in the sacrificialblood of a bull or a cock. The roomcontains the bases of some of thestatues and the original relief ofMithras sacrificing a bull still.

2. Walking,walking...

The Mithraeum of Circus Maximus



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The relief bears an inscription ofthe name of its patron: ClodiusHermes.Going back out of the gate into Piaz-za della Bocca della Verità, we facethe Fountain of the Tritons on theother side of the road, a work whichwas designed by C.F. Bizzaccheriand executed in 1717 by F. Morattion behalf of Clement XI, Albani. Inthe middle of the basin, which is inthe form of an eight-pointed star,the emblem of the papal family, is a

group of sturdy rocks decoratedwith aquatic plants, sculpted by Fil-ippo Bai. On the rock are two tri-tons by Francesco Moratti, ofBerninian inspiration. Bizzaccheriplaced a large oblong water troughnext to the fountain, with a lion’shalf bust on one of its short sides.When the Tiber embankments werebuilt, the trough was moved to theother side of the crossroads on theleft, into the gardens running alongthe Lungotevere Aventino.

The Fountain of the Tritons

Mithraeum of Circus Maximus, relief of Mithras sacrificing the bull


The circular temple in the ForumBoarium, known incorrectly asthe Temple of Vesta, is the most

ancient in marble to survive in Rome.Sources suggest, that it must actuallyhave been the Temple of Hercules In-victus (the invincible Hercules). Itsstructure, which is similar to that of theTemple of the Goddess Vesta in the Ro-man Forum, resulted in it being consid-ered a shrine of the goddess of hearthand home. In the 12th century thetemple was converted into a church bythe Savelli family, acquiring the nameof S. Stefano delle Carrozze after thestreet nearby which led to S. Galla,which was called Via delle Carrozze alFiume. In 1560, there was a remark-able event: an image of the Virginpainted on papyrus wasfound in thewatersofthe

Tiber. The image was closed in a cas-ket, but after a few days a light asbright as the sun was seen to be break-ing out from within. The whole ofRome came to know of this prodigyand the image, which acquired thename of the Virgin of the Sun, was car-ried into the Savelli church, whichthence became known as S. Maria delSole (Saint Mary of the Sun). All thatnow remains inside the ancient churchis a 15th century fresco depicting aMadonna and Child and some saints.The present remains indicate aperipteral temple on 20 flutedcolumns bearing Corinthian capitalsdating back to the age of Tiberius. On-ly 19 of the columns remain, as onewas removed in the Middle Ages be-fore the building became a Christian

church. There isevi-

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3. The Temple of Hercules Invictusand the Temple of Portunus

The Temple of Hercules Invictus


dence of an attempt to demolish thetemple, a fate which befell the majori-ty of ancient buildings, in the presenceon the columns of grooves into whichropes were fitted in order to drag themdown. The reconstruction of the roof,which is low and tiled, does not reflectthe height of the original covering,now missing, which is thought to havebeen conical. Archeological assayshave shown that the foundations ofthe temple and its cella may date backto the end of the 2nd century BC,when the neo-Attic style was becom-ing fashionable in Rome due to thepresence of Hermodoros of Salamis, towhom some scholars attribute the de-sign of this building. The cella wasfound to contain the base of a statueof Hercules Olivarius by Skopas theYounger. This votive offering from theoil merchants of Ancient Rome and thefact of being in a centre ofintense trade like theForum Boariumprovides con-firmation

that the patron of the temple was in-deed Marcus Octavius Herrenus, oneof the most important oil producers atthe time, as cited in sources. Theevocative underground part of the sa-cred building may be reached via anopening in the floor of the cylindrical

cella.To the right of the Tem-

ple of Hercules Invic-tus, along Via Pet-

roselli, is anotherancient sacred

building, per-haps the

most intactin Rome


15The Temple of Portunus

Temple of Hercules Invictus, detail ofcolumns


along with the Pantheon.This is the Temple of Portunus, and notthe Temple of Fortuna Virilis as it waspreviously and mistakenly known. In-deed, this building, like the previousone, was victim of another long-stand-ing case of mistaken identity. In depthstudies now allow us to confirm thatthe temple was sacred to the god Por-tunus, patron of the Tiber river portand of sailors. The building was trans-formed into a church in 872 and dedi-cated to S. Maria Egiziaca, the Ana-choretian saint of Egypt, a formercourtesan who crossed the Jordanwhile it miraculously parted its watersbefore her. The relationship betweenthe saint and the river – in this case, theTiber – is evident in the name of thechurch, which was placed under thejurisdiction of Stefano Stefaneschi inthe 9th century. Pope Pius V Ghislieri(1566-72) granted it to the Armenians,who had had to abandon their churchbecause it fell within the boundaries ofthe ghetto established in 1555 by PaulIV Carafa. UnderPope ClementXI a hospicefor Ar-men-

ian pilgrims was added to the church,and the building belonged to this na-tion until 1921.The hospice was demolished in 1930to make way for the new Via del Mare(now Via del Teatro Marcello and ViaPetroselli) and the ancient temple wasrestored. According to Roman custom,the temple stood on a high podiumclad in slabs of travertine. It is pseudo-peripteral and tetrastyle, ie it featuresfour free-standing columns across thefront and four semi-columns engagedin the walls of each of the other threesides. The marble columns supportIonic capitals, while the semi-columnsare, like the rest of the building, inAnio tufa, covered in mock-marbleplaster-work. The frieze features can-dlesticks joined by garlands, and thecornice featured drip-mouldings withlions’ heads. The façade culminates inan elegant gabled pediment. Near theback left corner of the temple is a frag-ment of wall, which is all that remainsof the sacred precinct. The building still

hosts a canvas by F. Zuccari depictingS. Maria Egiziaca, remains of

medieval frescoes and thewooden model of the

Holy Sepulchre inJerusalem.

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16Temple of Portunus, from behind


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With ourbacks tothe façade

of the Temple of Por-tunus, looking across theroad, we come to a building whichis architecturally unusual becauseits structures have been embellishedby a large quantity of pieces of an-cient marble. The building, theHouse of the Crescenzi, was be-lieved to have been the house of Co-la di Rienzo, but it is also known asthe House of Pilate, because it

played this role inthe sacred represen-tations which took

place during HolyWeek.

As recorded in the Latin inscrip-tion on the curved Roman corniceused as an architrave of the doorwayof the building itself, the house ac-tually belonged to the Crescenzifamily. The tower built to fortify thehouse was demolished in 1312, andin the 16th century the house wasused as a stable.


House of the Crescenzi



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Restoration work in 1868 restoredit to its original form and it is now aconference hall. On either side ofthe main inscription there are alsogroups of isolated letters which arestill of uncertain interpretation. Tothe right of the doorway is a win-dow crowned with an arched Ro-man lintel.We continue along Via Petroselli,past the long Palazzo dell’Anagrafe

(Public Records Office), designedby C. Valle (1936-37). We cross at thetraffic lights and take the Vico Ju-gario on the right. On our right arevisible the excavations of the S.Omobono Sacred Precinct. In 1937,during the construction of publicoffices in the area to the right of thechurch of S. Omobono, thereemerged archeological evidence ofsuch importance that the site was

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Palazzo dell’Anagrafe (Public Record Office)

S. Omobono Sacred Precinct


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placed under protection and leftavailable for further scientific inves-tigation.When excavations were resumed af-ter the war in 1959, four successivedigs led to a series of findings whichmade it possible to provide a virtual-ly complete history of the site. Thearea had initially hosted an ancientvotive pit dating back to somewherebetween the 16th and 12th cen-turies BC and containing materialbelonging to the Apennine cultureand fragments of Greek potteryfrom the 8th to the 6th centuriesBC. There is evidence that the sitewas used for worship prior to theconstruction of the actual temple:this includes a hut dating back tothe 7th century BC and a pit for sac-rifices with an inscription in ArchaicLatin, dating back to the early 6thcentury BC. The most ancient nu-cleus of the Temple of Mater Matu-ta, the goddess of dawn and ofbirths, on the other hand, dates

back to the time of Servius Tullius(578-534 BC). Destroyed at the endof the 6th century BC, this was re-built at the beginning of the 5thcentury, along with its twin, theTemple of Fortuna, on a single base.Mater Matuta received the sacrificesof pregnant or newborn animals, orof women’s possessions. The re-


S. Omobono

S. Maria della Consolazione


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mains of the twin temples of Fortu-na and Mater Matuta point to thepresence of foreign clans in thisarea of the trading port. Indeed,twin temples have been recorded inother cities along the Tyrrheniancoast influenced by Punic settle-ment, such as Pyrgi, and we maydraw a parallel between the couple-worship of the Phoenician HerculesMelqart and the goddess Astarteand the simultaneous presence inthe Tiber port area of the temples ofHercules and Mater Matuta. All ofthis confirms the presence in theport of Punic traders suggested bythe finding of Phoenician andEgyptian objects in the same S.Omobono area, which must havebeen a veritable international em-porium in the heart of ArchaicRome. Indeed, it was here thatthe Euboaeic alphabet wasfirst introduced, as testifiedby some of the inscriptionsfound. Inside the archeologi-cal area the remains of twotemples are clearly visible;six piers run downthe space be-tween thetwo build-ings,andthey

have been partly identified as the re-mains of the four-fronted triumphalarch of Stertinius, erected in 196BC, the first triumphal arch to bebuilt in Rome. In front of the twotemples is the circular votive altardecorated with an egg-and-dart mo-tif and the remains of another rec-tangular one. The early Christianchurch, which rose in the 6th centu-ry on the site of the two temples un-der the name of S. Salvatore in Porti-co, was finally consecrated to SSOmobono and Antonio in 1575. Atthe bottom of Vico Jugario standsthe church of S. Maria della Conso-lazione, with its late 16th centuryfaçade, the work of Martino Longhithe Elder. This contains works by T.Zuccari, L. Agresti, G. Baglione, Po-marancio and Raffaello di Mon-

telupo, among others, and alsofragments of frescoes by Anto-niazzo Romano. The history ofthis church is closely linked to

that of the hospital behind. Right behind the area of S.

Omobono stood thechurch of S. Maria

in Cannapara,also known

as S.Maria

delle

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Ospedale della Consolazione, lunette over the doorway


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Grazie, where the confraternity ofthe guild of rope-makers (canapai)held their own liturgical cere-monies.A hospital was soon built next to thechurch: there are already traces of itin the 15th century. The church wasdemolished in 1876 and its objectstransferred to a chapel of S. Mariadella Consolazione. Meanwhile, inthe 16th century, the hospitals of S.Maria in Portico, S. Maria delle Gra-zie and S. Maria della Consolazionewere merged into the Arch-Hospitalof S. Maria de Vita Aeterna, whichlater became known as Ospedaledella Consolazione. So it was thatthose years saw the merging of thethree churches and the three hospi-tals with their respective confrater-nities into a single arch-confraterni-ty and a single arch-hospital.The hospital, which now serves as afire station, had fifty beds for menand ten for women. In the 17th cen-

tury it acquired a pharmacy(spezieria) and a health school withan anatomic theatre for the dissec-tion of cadavers. The hospital wasoften used as a hospice for the ter-minally ill, and the adjacent ceme-tery had to be sanitized in 1848 dueto the foul smell which emanatedfrom it. Although the hospital wasfamous in the city for its school ofsurgery, it was closed in 1936. Its pa-tients had received voluntary carefrom S. Ignazio di Loyola, S.Giuseppe Calasanzio, S. VincenzoPallotti and S. Camillo de Lellis. S.Luigi Gonzaga died there in 1591aged 23, having caught the plaguewhile looking after patients. Thepart of the hospital which faces ontoVia della Consolazione constitutesits oldest ward, and still features a15th century door with a lunettecontaining a relief depicting aMadonna and Child with Seraphs.There are two inscriptions in the


S. Teodoro


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wall along the side of the hospital:one commemorates the death ofLuigi Gonzaga and the other pro-hibits the passage of night traffic byorder of Alexander VIII, so as not todisturb the patients’ sleep.We skirt round the hospital until wecome to a marvelous view of the Ro-man Forum from the side, where itis possible to enter by way of a gate alittle further on. Further on to theleft, at the foot of the Palatine, is theancient church of S. Teodoro. Ac-cording to tradition, this stands onthe site of the Lupercal, the cavewhere the she-wolf is supposed tohave suckled the twins Romulus andRemus. The church dates back to atleast the 6th century and, like otherbuildings in the area, which wasstrongly influenced by the Byzan-tine presence, was consecrated toSaint Theodore, a native of Galatia.Saint Theodore was a famous mar-tyr-soldier of the East, with a sanctu-ary in Pontus, but he was also wor-shipped in Rome, as well as inVenice, Ferrara and the Monferratoarea. Accused of burning down a pa-

gan temple, he was tortured todeath under the principate of Max-imian. The church is circular inplan and is preceded by a brickporch. In front is a wide open court-yard reached from Via di S. Teodorodown a double flight of steps. Thebuilding is topped by a dome, de-signed in the 15th century byBernardo Rossellino, and repre-sents the first example in Rome of adome with ribs and sail-vaults. At thelevel beneath that of the currentbuilding are the remains of the old-er church, with its apse decorated bya 6th century mosaic depictingChrist with Saints Peter, Paul,Theodore and Cleonicus. Until ashort while ago, meetings were heldin this church by the Arch-Confra-ternity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus,known as the Whitesacks, whosemembers included popes, cardinalsand aristocrats. The headquartersof the Arch-Confraternity is now atS. Tommaso in Parione. The churchis now officiated by Greek monks ofthe Orthodox faith.On the other side of Via di S.

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Detail of the facade of S. Eligio dei Ferrari


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Teodoro we take Via dei Fienili.Back in Piazza della Consolazioneand enter Via di S. Giovanni Decol-lato on our left.Soon we come to the church of S.Eligio dei Ferrari, on our left. Hav-ing changed names various timesover the centuries, the church was fi-nally entrusted to the smiths’ guildby Pope Nicholas V in 1453, a corpo-ration which included knife-grinders, locksmiths, cauldronmak-ers, blacksmiths and swordsmiths.The guild dedicated the place to itspatron saint, Saint Eligius of Noyon,who lived in the 6th century and wasan artisan. Actually, the church isdedicated to at least three saints:James, Martin and Eligius. Theplace of worship was built over theremains of a previous building de-voted to Saint James, and at thesame time another nearby church,that of Saint Martin, was deconse-crated and converted into a granary.The church of S. Eligio has a brickfaçade featuring double pilasters ontravertine bases at regular intervals.Above the doorway is the bust of the

titular saint. The broad window wasoriginally circular: now it is sur-mounted by an elegant tympanum.The interior consists of a single aislewith decorations in plasterwork andmarble. The emblem of the smiths’guild stands out in the coffered ceil-ing, and over the 1640 altar is a can-vas depicting the Madonna and ba-by Jesus crowned by angels, withSaints Martin, James and Eligius, a16th century work by Girolamo Sici-olante. The hall of reliquiaries con-tains one donated by the Cathedralof Noyon, containing the remains ofSaint Eligius’s arm. A little furtheron to the right is the church of S.Giovanni Decollato (St. John theBeheaded), built by the Arciconfra-ternità della Misericordia di S. Giovan-ni Decollato towards the end of the15th century. In 1490 Pope Inno-cence VIII gave permission for thisFlorentine arch-confraternity, towhich Michelangelo also belonged,to carry out its good works in Romeas well. This consisted of giving sup-port to those condemned to be be-headed and burying their bodies.


S. Giovanni Decollato


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Every 29 August, the date associatedwith the finding in Syria of the headof John the Baptist, the arch-confra-ternity was allowed to free someoneon the death list, who would thenhead a procession of thanksgiving,flanked by the festive crowds. Theconfraternity still exists: now it pro-vides assistance to the families ofthose serving prison sentences, andthe church is officiated by Francis-can tertiaries. The other tympanumon the façade, in brick, stands uponfour Doric pilasters, which separatethe 16th century doorway with asemicircular window over it and twosimple niches. The church is builton a higher level than the presentstreet, and it is entered up twoflights of steps. Inside there is a sin-gle nave, divided at equal intervalsby Doric pilasters decorated withgrotesques and niches. The cloister

was built between 1535 and 1555and reworked under Pope ClementVIII. Today, three porticoed sidesremain, containing tombstones, thecovers of the tombs of those execut-ed, two 14th century column-bear-ing lions and two wooden altarsfrom the 16th century containingstatues of Saint Sebastian. It is worthrecording the fact that the first exhi-bitions in Rome of works of art,which were organized by this arch-confraternity and were open to thepublic, took place in this very clois-ter, and it was on one of these occa-sions that the artistic talent of Salva-tor Rosa became known. The porti-co leads to the famous camera storica,a room - actually a small museum -documenting the history of papaljustice. This contains: the basketwhich collected the head of BeatriceCenci; the hood of Giordano

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The Arch of Janus


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Bruno; the tablets bearing the sa-cred images which the condemnedwere given to kiss prior to their exe-cution; the red cowl worn by thosewho were to be executed; thelanterns which lit their last night;the paper, pens and ink-wells whichwere used to write up their wills.At the end of Via di S. GiovanniDecollato we take Via del Velabro onour left and follow it to the Arch ofJanus. As recorded in the fragmen-tary inscription kept in the porticoof the nearby church of S. Giorgioin Velabro, this monumental four-fronted arch, traditionally known asthe Arch of Janus, was put up byConstantine at a point where the an-cient Triumphal Way passed close tothe Sacred Way, in order to cele-brate his great victory at the MilvianBridge. The work was undertaken intravertine and Luna marble andrests on four robust piers which sup-port the cross-vault. Hollow am-phorae (earthenware vessels) wereused to lighten the load in the mid-dle, a standard late-Imperial build-ing technique. The piers were deco-rated on the outside by a series ofshell-shaped niches, originallyflanked by slender columns. The

keystones of the archways containthe figures of Rome and Juno seatedand Minerva and Ceres standing. Inthe Middle Ages the arch was usedas one of the bastions of the exten-sive Frangipane fortification, andwas renamed the Tower of Boetius.It was re-separated in the 14th cen-tury, but in 1827 the original brick-work on the attic, which had beenclad in marble in antiquity, was de-molished by mistake, along with themedieval structures on top. Next tothe arch is a house from which it ispossible, by request, to visit the Cloa-ca Maxima, Rome’s most ancientdrain. This was built in the 6th cen-tury BC, by Tarquinius Priscus, ac-cording to tradition, during Rome’s“Etruscan” phase. Its roof is vaultedin blocks of tufa, and it started at thechurch of SS. Quirico e Giulitta, car-ried on into the area of the forumsof Augustus and Nerva, passed un-der the Roman Forum at the level ofthe Basilica Aemilia, descended intothe Forum Boarium, ran past theTemple of Hercules Invictus andcame out near the Aemilian Bridge -known as the Ponte Rotto, or Bro-ken Bridge - where its exit can stillbe seen.


Cloaca Maxima, exit on the Tiber


OContinuing past the Arch ofJanus, we come to the church ofS. Giorgio in Velabro. Men-

tioned in Leo II’s Liber Pontifi-calis(682683), this was originally conse-crated to Saint Sebastian. PopeZacharias (741-752), who was of Greekorigin, dedicated it to Saint George,who was much venerated in Constan-tinople and in the Greek East, and towhom the Byzantine soldiers present inthe Greek community in this area weremuch devoted. Pope Gregory IV (827-

844) was re-sponsible forthe portico,and rebuiltthe apse andsacristy. In the19th century,

Popes Pius VII and Gregory XVI initiatedthe first research into the origins of thechurch, and it was restored to its mostancient form by Antonio Munoz in1926. This involved lowering the floor,re-opening the walled-in windows anddemolishing the Baroque façade. Thecurrent façade, with its severe simplici-ty, therefore dates back to this restora-tion. The portico stands between twobrick piers, the upper parts of which aredecorated with lozenge friezes. It is fur-ther divided by four ancient columnswith Ionic capitals, and it is closed offbehind railings.This portico was completely rebuilt af-ter it was totally destroyed by a bomb in1994. The upper part of the façade,which is crowned with a pediment, fea-tures a central roundel. On the leftstands the Romanesque bell-tower,which starts in one of the church’s side

aisles and dates back to the 12th cen-

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5. San Giorgio in Velabro

S. Giorgio in Velabro26



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Fresco in apse featuring Christ, the Madonna and Saints George, Peter and Sebastian

Arch of the Argentarii, scene of ritual sacrifice by the emperor Septimius Severus and theempress Julia Domna, his wife


tury. The main doorway consists ofsplendid cornices dating back to theRoman Age, and the beautiful marblethreshold is also ancient. The interiorfeatures three aisles and is irregular inplan because it rests on pre-existing Ro-man structures. The aisles are dividedby eight granite and Phrygian purplecolumns of Roman origin, with Ionicand Corinthian capitals dating back tothe Medieval period. The altar consistsof an 11th century marble slab. Thepresbytery is raised, as was usual in Ro-manesque architecture. Beneath the al-tar, in the confessio, is the head of SaintGeorge, his sword and a piece of hisstandard. The basin of the apse con-tains a late 18th century fresco depict-ing Christ, the Madonna and SaintsGeorge, Peter and Sebastian, which isattributed to Pietro Cavallini.

Next to the church on the left is the so-called Arch of the Argentarii, whichwas one of the entrances to the ForumBoarium. The arch consists of twoconcrete piers covered in marble andtravertine which support a marble ar-chitrave. Its building was sponsored bythe Ancient Roman bankers (argen-tarii) and by the local cattle traders,who dedicated it to the emperor Sep-timius Severus, his wife Julia Domnaand their children Caracalla and Geta.Indeed, the inscription commemo-rates the patrons and the emperor, hiswife and the young Caracalla. Thename of Geta was obliterated whenhis brother Caracalla had him killedand all trace of his memory was can-celled from all the monuments in theEmpire, according to the custom ofdamnatio memoriae.

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Arch of the Argentarii



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LLeaving thechurch be-hind us, we

turn left into Via di S.Teodoro and right into Pi-azza S. Anastasia to find ourselvesin front of the church of S. Anasta-sia. This saint was venerated inRome from the 5th century on-wards. Martyred in Sirmium and herremains were brought to Constan-tinople. S. Anastasia is the patronsaint of weavers, and her symbol isthe pyre upon which she was burnt.The church, the site of which was al-ready consecrated to Anastasia, wasbuilt as an official place of worshipfor Byzantine dignitaries residing inthe Imperial palaces on the Palatine.Restructured and restored on manyoccasions, it now features a two-storey brick façade built in 1636 un-der Urban VIII, with regularlyspaced pilasters with travertine cor-nices and capitals. On top of thepediment, on either side of thecross, are two groups of flaming can-dlesticks in marble. In the centre of

the pediment is theemblem of UrbanVIII Barberini, deco-

rated with garlands.The door is nicely aligned

with the upper window, and twobell-towers with elegant bases rise upfrom either side of the façade. Theinterior, which still contains its en-donarthex, is divided into three


S. Anastasia

Tomb of Cardinal Angelo Maj


The biggest monument for publicspectacles of all time, this wasbuilt in the ancient Murcia Valley

where, according to legend, the firstRomans raped the womenfolk of theSabines, their guests, while equestriangames were underway in honour ofthe god Consus. These games werepart of the great festivities linked to the

agricultural cycles of the ancient farm-ing populations of Latium. Accordingto tradition, the Circus Maximus wasbuilt by the Etruscan kings, as part ofthe extensive building project of whathas been defined as “the Great Romeof the Tarquins”. The first circus wasprobably built in wood. It was subse-quently rebuilt and embellished on

aisles by piers which reinforce thecolumns of the older church. Thesecolumns, in Carystian green marble,Phrygian purple and granite were,as was often the case, recycled fromancient pagan monuments. Thestatue of Saint Anastasia over the al-tar is to be admired: it was sculptedin 1667 by Ercole Ferrata, of theBerninian school. Set in the altar inthe left transept is the tomb of Cardi-nal Angelo Maj, the Vatican Libraryprefect who discovered Cicero’s DeRepublica.

In the subterranean parts of thechurch is a stretch of paved road andinteresting remains of ancient build-ings. These may be attributed in partto the nearby Circus Maximus andin part to a large building with sever-al rooms and a portico, with featureswhich can be dated to the period ofTheodoric: this forms part of thePalatine complex.Exiting from S. Anastasia we take Viadei Cerchi on the left and come tothe long grassy hollow where the Cir-cus Maximus once rose in antiquity.

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7. The Circus Maximus

Statue of Saint Anastasia beneath the main altar



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many occasions, in both Republicanand Imperial times, with projects spon-sored by Augustus, Caligula, Claudius,Nero, Domitian, Antoninus Pius, Cara-calla, Aurelian, Diocletian, Constantineand last of all, Constantius. The circusconsisted of two long sides and two

short ends, of which one was curvedand one straight. The carceres, ie thechariots’ starting gates, were openedfrom the straight end. On either side ofthese were two tall towers. Thesestarting posts pointed in an oblique di-rection so that the racing chariots

would be perfectly aligned witheach oth-

Circus Maximus, radial walls of the East part of the hemicycle

View of the Circus Maximus with the Caelian Hill in the background


er at the start of the first long lap. The chariots exited from the carceresand raced off at the departure signal,which was provided by a magistratewho would drop a white handkerchiefonto the track. A dividing line knownas the spina ran lengthwise down thecentre of the track. Augustus had theEgyptian obelisk of Ramses II set up inthe middle of the spina, and this wasmoved to Piazza del Popolo by PopeSixtus V in the 16th century. Constan-tius, the son of Constantine, addedanother Egyptian obelisk, that ofThutmosis IV, in the 4th century, andthis was also removed by Sixtus V, thisone to Piazza di S. Giovanni in Latera-no. The chariots were divided into fourteams marked by different colours,and were required to complete sevencircuits of the track around the spina,which was marked at either end bytwo cyclindrical elements tapering offat the top, known as metae.

The spina was alsolittered withsmall temples,shrines,buildings

and statues of

gods, including one of the goddessCybele. There were also seven bronzeeggs and dolphins in bronze fitted on-to horizontal bars. After every circuitcompleted by the chariots, one eggand one dolphin were counted off toindicate to the public the number ofcircuits left to the end of each race.On the Palatine side, the circus wastopped by a monumental podium,the pulvinar, upon which were set theimages of the gods previously exhibit-ed during the inaugural parade. In-deed, the spectacle was dedicated tothese gods. The deified emperor andhis retinue also took their places uponthe same podium. The races were al-most always offered to the people bythe monarch and by public officials orpatricians with political ambitionswho would thereby obtain the elec-torate’s favour. There were a largenumber of passionate followers ofthis event in the city, and they dividedup into fan-clubs sporting the coloursof the favourite team. The circus,which had a capacity of up to

350,000, was the

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32Radial walls of the cavea


scene of a number of accidentsthroughout its history, such as the col-lapse of some of the stands, which re-sulted in a large number of deaths onseveral occasions. And this was thestarting point of the most violent ofthe fires with which Rome was afflict-ed in 64 AD under Nero’s principate.Abandoned in the centuries followingthe end of the Empire, it was trans-formed – like other monuments – intoa quarry for building materials. It wassurrounded by Medieval structures,churches and convents, and convert-

ed into cultivated land. In 1852 it be-came the site of Rome’s first gas-works, demolished in 1943. Excava-tions conducted in the 1930s and1980s have uncovered evidence ofthe radial walls which supported therows of steps on the curved side to-wards the headquarters of the UN’sFAO. The foundations of the tri-umphal arch put up by Vespasian andTito to celebrate the conquest of Ju-daea have also been uncovered: thisserved as a monumental entrance tothis side of the circus.


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The little Torredei Frangi-pane still

stands at the end of thevalley. It was built near theMedieval Fosso dell’Acqua Mariana,the earliest channeling of which hasbeen discovered. Indeed, it was in or-der to exploit the current of thischannel that the towerwas converted into a wa-termill and renamed

Torre della Moletta.Here lived Iacopa deiNormanni, alias dei

Settesoli (perhaps dueto the nearby ruins of the

Septizonium), the first Roman fol-lower of Saint Frances of Assisi. Thesaint stayed with Iacopa – to whomhe referred as “sister Iacopa” - in thetower during his last visit to Rome.


The little Torre dei Frangipane renamed Torre della Moletta


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To the left of the remains ofthe Circus Maximus rises thesouth side of the Palatine

Hill, with its spectacular remains ofImperial palaces. For a more de-tailed exploration of the hill, wherethe many complex archeological ru-ins also include the remains of theFarnese gardens, it is necessary toenter via the monumental entranceon Via di S. Gregorio, or to ascendthe ramp which starts from the Archof Titus, and buy a ticket. For thepurposes of this walk, it will suffice to

continue along Via dei Cerchi in thedirection of Piazza di Porta Capena,at the foot of the hill, to obtain a gen-eral overview of the site. The Pala-tine Hill rises to about 50 metresabove sea-level. In antiquity, it had avery different appearance. One ofits ridges, known as the Germalus,sloped down to the Forum Boariumand the Tiber bank, and it waslinked by another ridge, which cul-minated in the plateau of the Velia,to the Esquiline Hill. The hill tookits name from the ancient cult of thegoddess Pales, protectress of flocks,whose feast day, the Palilia, was on 21April, which was also celebrated asRome’s birthday. At the foot of thePalatine, in the south-west corner ofthe Germalus, was the Lupercal cavewhere Romulus and Remus weresupposed to have been found by theshepherd Faustulus while beingsuckled by a she-wolf. Romulusfounded Rome in 753 BC, scratch-ing the rectangular boundaries ofthe city onto the hill, as recorded byVarro. Recent excavations haveidentified a section of embankmentdating back to the 8th century,which has been identified as the re-mains of an archaic circle of walls.The Romans identified a hut in thesouth-west corner of the hill as theancient house of Romulus, and pre-served and continually restored it asa precious relic. The emperor Au-

…continuingthe walk...

The Palatine

Entrance to the Palatine on Via diS. Gregorio



35

gustus chose his owndwelling nearby, perhaps toemphasize his own role assecond founder of Rome.In 1948, archeologistsfound the remains ofthree iron-age huts inthis area, of which it ispossible to distinguishthe floors, surroundedby a channel to drain awayrainwater, and the holes forthe support poles. The exca-vation has yielded materialfrom the 8th centu-ry BC, and also a10th century tomb.In the RepublicanAge, the Palatinebecame the quar-ter of the Roman aristocracy, andupon it rose temples to the GreatMother, to Cybele and to Apollo.This all changed when Augustus es-

tablished his ownresidence there,

which was fol-lowed by the in-

creasinglymonu-

men-

tal constructions commissioned byTiberius, Nero, the Flavians and

Septimius Severus. Thus thePalatine became the site of suc-cessive phases of splendid mar-

ble Imperial buildings, andthis is the origin of the veryterm “palace”, which de-rives from the hill’s Latin

name, Palatium. In themiddle of the slope facing

across to the Aventine are theremains of a large exedrawhich looked over the

Circus Maximus.Beneath the exe-dra, half way upthe slope, aretraces of a smallconstruction

which in antiquity was joined to thegreat palace. This has been identi-fied as the paedagogium, ie a schoolfor the instruction of the slaves em-ployed in the imperial residence.One famous example of the largequantity of graffiti found inside fea-tures a crucified donkey, accompa-nied by the inscription “Alexamenosworships his God”. Lower down, to-wards the Circus Maximus, is anoth-er building with a courtyard and ar-cades with square columns, wherethe splendid mosaics and pictures

The Palatine Antiquarium

Statue of the Great Mother


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36 Oval fountain in the Domus Flavia

Peristyle with octagonal fountain in the Domus Flavia



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now kept in the Palatine Antiquari-um were found. The building became known as theDomus Praeconum, ie the House ofthe Heralds, because one of the mo-saics found there depicts a proces-sion of heralds. A recently found in-scription confirms that this was in-deed the headquarters of the Cir-cus’s College of Messengers, whowere used in the processions thatwere held at the inauguration of theraces. Also on Via dei Cerchi is abuilding of unmistakably Baroqueappearance which may be regardedas one of the service buildings of theFarnese Gardens. Immediately afterthe area of the exedra, though notvisible from this vantage point, there

extends a vast quadriporticus with alarge fountain in the middle deco-rated with shield shapes called pelts,off which are the various interiorrooms of the imperial palace. In thenorth-western part of the domus,around the remains of another vastperistyle which surrounds an octag-onal fountain decorated withlabyrinthine meanders, are therooms of the official reception wing,which was known as the DomusFlavia. Behind this peristyle, in thedirection of the Roman Forum, wasa vast hall, more than 30 metreswide, with a throne in the centre ofan apse, where the emperor held hispublic audiences. The room wasdecorated with gigantic statues incoloured marble housed in niches.

Next to the hall was the Auditori-um, ie the Council Chamber

where

Fountain with figures of Amazons’ shields in the Domus Augustana


state affairs were decided, and alarge room where the PraetorianGuard was probably stationed. Re-tracing our steps back across thecourtyard with the octagonal foun-tain and returning in the directionof the Circus Maximus, we come toanother grand hall which retainssome of its original paving in marble.This was a hypocaust, ie a system ofdouble flooring through which hotair was circulated in order to heat theroom above. The room is nowthought to be the so called CoenatioIovis, where imperial parties wereheld. Here began the private sectorof the imperial residence, which wascalled the Domus Augustana. Thiswing also developed around a vastperistyle, built on the same axis asthe Fontana delle Pelte. This fea-tured a large exedra with a fountainand a wide pool. In the middle of thepool was an artificial island, uponwhich stood a little temple whichcould be reached by crossing a smallbridge. To the East, towards Via diSan Gregorio, this complex also fea-

tures a vast circus-shaped construc-tion with a two-storey portico alongits sides. The track originally con-tained a little spina, just like the onesin the larger circuses, and until theperiod of Domitian this must havebeen a garden and stables, a typicalfeature of the great patrician villas.All that can be seen from our vantagepoint in Via dei Cerchi is a series ofsubstantial brick foundations whichallowed Septimius Severus to createan artificial terrace upon which tobuilt a series of extensions to the Do-mus Augustana. At the foot of thesesupporting structures, on the side ofVia di S. Gregorio al Celio, recent ex-cavations have identified the founda-tions of the famous Septizonium, amonumental nymphaeum measuringover 70 metres tall, the remains ofwhich were finally demolished un-der the papacy of Sixtus V. A little fur-ther on, on the same road, the archesof a branch of the Claudian Aque-duct may be seen, which fed bathssomewhere in the palace, aboutwhich little is so far known.

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Supporting structures built in the reign of Septimius Severus38


Piazza della Bocca della Verità:23 - 30 - 44 - 81 - 95 -122 - 130 - 160 -170 - 271 - 280 - 628 - 715 - 716 - 781

Piazza di Porta Capena:3 - 60 - 75 - 81 - 118 - 122 - 160 - 175 -271 - 628 - 673 - Metro B

Tour Lines:110 - Archeobus

Legend:Numbers in bold show the terminus (e.g. 70)the underlined indicate the tram (e.g. 3)those in green are on Mondays - Saturdays (e.g. 30)those in red are only on holidays (e.g. 130)

How to get there…


Tourist Information Points

Comune di RomaTurismo


3

mon-sun 9.30am-7.00pm• Castel Sant’Angelo Piazza Pia• Santa Maria Maggiore Via dell’Olmata• Piazza Sonnino Trastevere• Via Nazionale near Palazzo Esposizioni

• Visitor Centre Via dei Fori Imperiali mon-sun 9.30am-6.00pm

• Fiumicino Leonardo da Vinci Airport - InternationalArrivals - Terminal Cmon-sun 9.00am-6.30pm

• Termini Station Via Giolitti 34 - Inside of building F/track 24mon-sun 8.00am-8.30pm

• Ciampino “G.B. Pastine” Airport of Romemon-sun 9.00am-6.30pm

• Lungomare P. Toscanelli - corner Piazza A. Marzio (Ostia Lido)mon-sun 9.30am-7.00pm

Tourism OfficeVia Leopardi, 24 - 00185 Roma

Tourist Call Centre +39 06 06 08(daily 9.00 a.m. - 7.30 p.m.)

Municipality pbx +39 06 06 06www.comune.roma.itwww.turismoroma.it

[email protected]

• Piazza Cinque Lune - Navona • Via Minghetti - Fontana di Trevi

walks in rome · 2015-03-18 · the cradle of civilization from the forum boarium to the palatine...

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