SUMMARY · PRESS RELEASE · INFO SHEET · CREDITS · INSTITUTIONAL TEXT · INTRODUCTION TO THE ITINERARY · AN ITINERARY BETWEEN MYTH AND HISTORY · THE NATURALISTIC ITINERARY · MAP · GUIDE INFO SHEET PRESS After eighteen years the path along the ating it from the Aventine. The route takes a RELEASE slopes of the Palatine descending towards the broad circuit inside the Park, as well as restor- is reopening. A walk through ing the historical character of the green areas. , JUNE 21 2018 greenery spanning more than 1500 years of The landscape is an integral and characteristic history and almost one kilometer long. part of the whole archaeological area. And for The Archaeological Park of the Col- the first time, the focus us not only on the trees osseum further increases the spaces open but also the shrubs and herbaceous plants. to visitors in the archaeological precinct, regenerating a highly symbolic itinerary: the This initiative is part of the plan of pro- hillside where Romulus founded the city in gressive openings initiated by the Archaeo- 753 BC and where, even earlier, according to logical Park of the since its the myth, the she-wolf suckled the twins. inauguration last January by the Director Alfonsina Russo, with organizational and Along the way you will pass the imperial promotional support provided by Electa, the residences, from the House of to concession-holder for valorisation services. the Severan complex of the 3rd century AD. And it is precisely the mighty arches of the The reopening of the Farnese Aviaries has Severan palace that strongly mark the urban taken place in recent months, followed by the landscape of the capital and characterize the establishment of the S.U.P.E.R. ticket, which profile of the southern slopes of the Palatine. allows visits to a series of monuments of par- Later, in the Renaissance, the gardens known ticular importance, which had been closed as the Horti Farnesiani extended to this point. for some time. “Our great commitment the A particularly representative place in ancient regeneration of the landscape along the southern times, according to the Virgilian legend re- slopes of the Palatine,” explains Alfonsina Rus- lating how Aeneas, after escaping from Troy, so, “marks an important further step towards crossed these slopes to climb the hill and be the total return to public use of the central ar- welcomed by the aging King Evander. On the chaeological area in ​​the heart of Rome.” highest point stood the Temple of the Magna Mater (the Great Mother), today marked by With this project, the Palatine restores to imposing holm oaks. the public that fascination that, already in the 1950s, had bewitched Albert Camus, as well The itinerary, now reopened, winds as other notable intellectuals. through an utterly fascinating natural His words are the most exciting invitation landscape. to a visit: “It is in this way that Rome weighs, Acanthus bushes, their serrated leaves but with a light and sensitive weight, you carry reproduced on the Corinthian capitals of it on your heart like a body of fountains, gardens the monuments, the broom shrubs dotting and domes, you can breathe under it, a little the hillside, the climbing dog roses, mallow, oppressed but strangely happy.... and then that rosemary and mint, emanating their scents, marvelous hill of the Palatine, whose silence and capers today, as in the distant part, all line nothing spoils, peace, a world always nascent the path shaded by pines and cypresses. The and perfect. I began to find myself again...” recreation areas with their amenities are ideal for resting in glades offering striking views. A guide to the itinerary is published by Electa for the occasion with useful guide Myth, history and nature accompany the maps and texts explaining the archaeological visitor along a path that finally unites the val- monuments in the various sections. Further ley of the with the outermost insights are devoted to the botany of the hill front of the Palatine: the Murcia Valley separ- explored in historical terms. INFORMATION TITLE TICKET SHEET Paths in the green Full € 12,00; reduced € 7,50 on the slopes of the Palatine (reductions and gratuities according to current legislation) VENUE The ticket, valid for 2 days, allows Rome, Palatine one entrance at the Colosseum via di San Gregorio, 30 and one entrance at the Foro Romano-Palatino OPEN TO THE PUBLIC TO June 22, 2018 INFORMATION GUIDED TOURS PROMOTED BY PRESALES Parco archeologico del Colosseo www.coopculture.it phone +39.06.39967700 DIRECTOR Alfonsina Russo PRESS OFFICE Electa ORGANIZATION Gabriella Gatto AND PROMOTION phone +39.06.47497462 Electa [email protected] OPENING HOURS from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m Parco archeologico del Colosseo

Direttore Director Alfonsina Russo Electa

Segreteria del direttore Servizio Comunicazione, Organizzazione Realizzazione interventi Director’s Office relazioni con il pubblico, Organization di riqualificazione Gloria Nolfo la stampa, i social network Anna Grandi Implementation Luigi Daniele e progetti speciali Camilla Musci of enhancement projects Fernanda Spagnoli Service Communications, Giorgia Santoro BG Ambiente relations with the public, press, Vivaio Torre Gaia Funzionario archeologo social networks and special projects Comunicazione e promozione responsabile del Palatino Federica Rinaldi Communication and promotion Realizzazione Archaeologist responsible Gabriella Gatto dei supporti grafici for the Palatine Francesca Boldrighini Aurora Portesio Creation of graphic supports Paola Quaranta Elisa Cella Stefano Bonomelli (digital) SpSystema Giulia Giovanetti Progetto scientifico Andrea Schiappelli Editoria Scientific project Giovanni Pellegrini Raho Publishing Guida e pannelli didattici Alessandro D’Alessio Simonetta Massimi Carlotta Branzanti Guide and didactic panels Nunzio Giustozzi Progetto paesaggistico Servizio fotografico Testi Landscape project Photographic service Immagine coordinata Te xts Maria Maddalena Scoccianti Patrizia Fortini Coordinated image Roberta Alteri [RA] Gabriella Strano Studio Leonardo Sonnoli Daniela Bruno [DB] Bruno Angeli Alessandro D’Alessio [AD] Servizio Giardini Traduzioni Giulia Giovanetti [GG] Garden Service Translations Gianfilippo Lucatello [GL] Maria Maddalena Scoccianti Richard Sadleir Andrea Schiappelli [AS] Gabriella Strano [GS] Carlo Basili Progetto di riqualificazione Maria Antonietta Tomei [MAT] Tommaso Cellamare paesaggistica Iolanda De Noni Landscaping enhancement Fotografie Raffaella Raponi project Photographs Gabriella Strano Agrifolia Studio Associato Bruno Angeli Gianfilippo Lucatello Giulia Giovanetti Servizio di valorizzazione Daniele Dallari Andrea Schiappelli Promotion service Luca Catalano Martina Almonte Disegni Responsabile della sicurezza Drawings Ines Arletti Head of Security Agrifolia Studio Associato Daniele Fortuna Fabio Quintino Pitrelli Giulia Giovanetti Donatella Garritano Andrea Schiappelli Direttore dei lavori Works manager Apollodoro Studi e Ricerche Srl Prof. Arch. Ruggero Martines

Direttori operativi di cantiere Executive directors of works Arch. Giacomo Martines Arch. Cristina Piccione Arch. Leonardo Amerise PATHS IN THE The Palatine has always been viewed and esars. It is not possible, I believe, to find the a GREEN ON THE experienced by the Romans and by travelers view equal to this one.” from around the world as a place with a spe- After almost two centuries, in the fifties of SLOPES OF THE cial charm, immersed in an unrivaled harmony the last century, Albert Camus, in his notebo- PALATINE. between nature with a thousand nuances, evo- oks, wrote of Rome and the Palatine: “It is in MITH, HISTORY cations of life reborn each spring, and archae- this way that Rome weighs, but with a light AND NATURE ological monuments with rarely expressive ec- and sensitive weight, you carry it on your he- clesiastical complexes. art like a body of fountains, gardens and do- Perhaps the Palatine itself offers one of the mes, you can breathe under it, a little oppres- most extraordinary views of the Eternal City, sed but strangely happy... After so many years with its light at sunset, warm, welcoming, in- in a city without light, and many awakenings toxicating, such as few cities in the world can in the fog, I nurture myself unceasingly with show. this line of trees and skies that from Porta Pin- And the clearest expression of this magical ciana stretches as far as Trinità dei Monti, and presence of the Palatine, its poetry, appears in behind which Rome unfolds its domes and its the words of Goethe, who during his visit to disorder... and then that marvelous hill of the Rome on November 10, 1786 visited the Pa- Palatine, whose silence nothing spoils, peace, latine Hill at sunset: “Here I am now living a world always nascent and perfect. I began to with a calmness and a serenity to which I have find myself again... The light of Rome is round, for a long while been a stranger... Every day of- bright and soft. It makes one think of bodies...”. fers some new, wonderful object; fresh images And for those who are working today on every day, great, rare, and of a whole that I had the Palatine, preserving this harmony, also long dreamed of yet never succeeded in imagi- with the nature path now laid out on its slo- ning. Today I went to the , pes and which unfolds between myth, history and towards evening on Mount Palatine, whe- and art, is an overriding duty towards all tho- re the ruined walls rise of the palace of the Ca- se who love Rome.

Alfonsina Russo Director of Parco archeologico del Colosseo INTRODUCTION A journey in space and time. This is the spir- above and the Farnese Gardens, as far as the me- TO THE it with which the modern visitor can take the dieval church of San Teodoro. Finally passing ITINERARY path that winds along the southern and west- into the horrea Agrippiana (“warehouses”), our ern slopes of the Palatine (Palatium). Starting path brings us into the Roman Forum, behind CULTURAL, LANDSCAPE from the massive Severan arcades to the east the basilica Iulia (from which you can also take AND ENVIRONMENTAL (3rd century AD), the last extension of the the tour in the reverse direction). VALUES OF THE NEW ITINERARY sumptuous imperial palace, walking under the The path is not only of archaeological in- front of the palace (1st-2nd century AD) and terest but also a fascinating itinerary through above the Circus Maximus, in short tracing his- one of the most striking and unusual places in tory backwards (from the 1st to the 8th century Rome, so close to the city, present and living, yet BC), we reach the southwest slopes of the hill far from the noise of the urban traffic. A path (Cermalus), where Romulus founded the Eter- immersed at times in complete silence, in an al- nal City and where Augustus, Rome’s first em- most dreamlike atmosphere, where clusters of peror, lived and spent the most splendid years of flowers and grasses, dense shrubs and stands of his life. And from here again, continuing along trees, a lush, spontaneous vegetation, form a set- the western side of the hill, we retrace time with ting rich in sights and scents that enhance the the sanctuary of Cybele and Victoria (Palatine powerful remains of an archaeological site that acropolis), from the domus Tiberiana looming is unique worldwide. [AD] PATH THE SOUTHERN PALATINE nic backdrop of niches and columns designed I IN ITS URBAN SETTING to impress those arriving in Rome from the Via Appia. Destroyed in the 16th century at the The south side of the , direct- behest of Sixtus V, the building is document- ly connected to the of the birth of memorials ed by the Severan marble plan and some Re- Rome and always inhabited by the Roman ar- naissance drawings. [AD, GG] istocracy, offered (and partly still does) an im- mense scenic vista of the surrounding urban landscape, retaining a profound, continuous SEVERAN ARCADES symbolic bond with it: from the Valle Murcia AND MAXENTIUS’S below, occupied by the Circus Maximus, to the EXPANSION: Aventine, the hill opposite and famous as the BUILDING TECHNIQUES preserve of the common people and foreign The imposing substructures (about 20 m cults, as far as the Tiber, the high) built in the Severan age to extend the im- and the Ara Maxima (Great Altar) of Hercu- perial residence, are a clear example of the gran- les, the southwest vertex of the furrow traced deur of Roman architecture. by Romulus around the Palatine at the city’s In building them, the works in concrete foundation. [RA] (mortar and stone rubble) were used in the in- ner core of the walls, and brickwork (bricks and mortar) in the curtain walls. For roofing, the THE SEVERAN ARCADES AND THE SEPTIZODIUM concrete was poured on curved and removable wooden structures (centering), previously cov- The imposing arches (substructures) on the ered with square tiles (bessales), some of which southeast slopes of the Palatine, laid out on are still preserved on the intrados. In the cross several planes and levels, were built by the em- vault of the lower chamber bricks can be seen peror Septimius Severus (193-211 AD) to en- embedded in the concrete to give greater stabil- large the surface area of the building on the ity to the vault itself. hill, already occupied on this slope by the great The row of outermost chambers, in which palace built by the Flavian emperors in the 1st we find ourselves, dates back to the period of century AD. Maxentius (306-312 AD). We can identify the Further down, at the corner of the Palatine point where the new structures, added for static Hill, the Septizodium was built at the same reasons and to expand the palace, are laid against time. This was a monumental, three-story, sce- those of the Severan period. [GG] BATHS OF MAXENTIUS, SO-CALLED PAEDAGOGIUM PATH THE SO-CALLED STADIUM II AND Among the structures added to the imperial palace during the Flavian period (AD 69-96) Looking eastwards, you will see the baths was a brick building with rooms facing onto a that Maxentius (306-312 AD) built over the porticoed courtyard, including a central apsed Severan substructures, which he expanded. space. In the rooms built up against the slope The dating is based on stamps on the bricks of the hill, better preserved, some fragments of (seals with inscriptions) found in the struc- the frescoes survive, some original and others tures and written sources, which recall how dating to the Severan period (AD 193-211). the emperor . The thermas in Palatio fecit The graffiti scratched into some walls with heated rooms were canonically placed to the drawings or the names of slaves, followed by southwest: a large window of the tepidarium the word (school) date to the (a room for bathing in warm water) is clearly paedagogium same period and suggest that this was a school recognizable. where the palace servants were trained. [DB, Continuing to the left, in front of the so- MAT ] called Stadium, preserved to a considerable height, we see some rooms, one with a cof- fered ceiling in the apse, while further west is the curvilinear facade of the domus Augustana. [AD, GG] PATH BEFORE ROME a peristyle and preserving paintings of the hi- III ghest quality. In the place near the house whe- Thanks to its elevated position above the re a thunderbolt fell prodigiously in 28 BC, a unhealthy swamps below, the Palatine Hill was temple was dedicated to Actiacus. The always the ideal home for the village commu- residence of the princeps, which took the form nities. From this corner of the hill (called Cer- of both public and private spaces, included the malus in antiquity) it was also possible to con- cult of Vesta. The place chosen by Octavian Au- trol the ford across the Tiber, facilitated by the gustus for his residence, in an area rich in me- : a strategic point in the network of mories associated with Romulus, established an commercial and military roads, especially in the ideal and highly symbolic bond between the early stages of the city’s life (8th century BC), founder of Rome and that of the Empire. [GG] when the other side of the river was Etruscan territory. The earliest signs of human presence on this slope date from the Middle Paleolithic S. ANASTASIA (100,000 years ago) and continue until its set- AND THE PALATINE CHURCHES tlement with a village of huts in the early Iron Age (c. 830 BC). [AS] The oldest church on the Palatine is S. An- astasia, recorded at least since the 4th centu- ry and built above an insula with tabernae fac- THE AUGUSTAN COMPLEX ing the Circus Maximus. Restored several times through the centuries, it acquired its current ap- The written sources recall that Octavianus, pearance in the 17th century through the work who was born in a domus near the northeast of Pope Urban VIII Barberini. corner of the Palatine, after defeating Caesar’s With the decline of the Roman empire, the assassins at Philippi in 42 BC and then over Palatine hill did not lose its aura of prestige and, Pompey’s son at Naulochos in 36 BC, deci- although it was no longer in the center of the ded to buy some houses to build his own resi- city, it remained for a long time a coveted place dence. This has been identified as the complex of power. After S. Anastasia, between the 7th on the southwest side of the hill, partly visible and 12th centuries, the churches of S. Cesa- from here. It developed abutting onto and along rio, S. Maria Antiqua, S. Teodoro, S. Maria in the hillside, with the main chambers in the sec- Pallara, S. Antonio de Inferno and S. Maria de tor that can be visited today, arranged around Manu were built on the hill and its slopes. [AS] PATH THE ORIGINS OF THE CITY IV AND THE PALATINE ACROPOLIS The southwest corner of the Palatine (Cer- malus) is one of the most ancient and sacred places in Rome. Dedicated to the celebration of the city’s origins, the area hosted the monu- menta of the foundation and other memorials of Romulus: from the (the cave where the she-wolf suckled Romulus and Remus) to the casa Romuli and the tugurium Faustuli (the hut where Faustolo and Acca Larenzia raised the twins), from the fossa-ara/mundus of the Roma Quadrata (containing the sacrificial ob- jects used in the city’s foundation and inau- gural ceremony) to the curia Saliorum (an- cient college of priests). There were also traces or memories of other “contexts” related to the pre- and proto-urban structure of Rome (the 5 Sacraria of the Argei), next to the scalae Caci, a survival of one of the most remote access paths to this side of the hill. And here again were the ancestral deities of the first occupation of the Palatine Hill, the very ancient female and fer- tility cults (Iuno Sospita) then assimilated to the Greek and Oriental counterparts (the tem- ples of Victory and the Magna Mater/Cybe- le). A complex system of memories, in short, which gave the place that character as the Pala- tine acropolis that it would retain until the end of antiquity. [AD] PATH THE FORTRESSES CHURCH OF SAN TEODORO V OF THE FRANGIPANE At the foot of the facing Between the 11th and 13th centuries the domus Tiberiana the Velabrum stands an Orthodox Christian Frangipane, a Roman family of ancient ori- church with a circular plan, built from the gin, established their supremacy on the Pal- 15th century onwards on the site of an earlier atine, controlling the main access routes and diaconia dedicated to the Greek saint Theo- building a series of fortresses close to those dore of Amasea and attested from the late 8th monumental remains that were strategically century. Archaeological excavations inside the placed at the four summits: the Arch of Ti- church have revealed the presence of a basili- tus, the , the Temple of Antoni- Septizodium ca hall dating to the 5th century, perhaps the nus and Faustina and the southwest corner of first diaconia, and further below the remains the hill, on the edge of the Velabrum. Here of a private residence with an atrium dating to two sections of a wall of fortification are pre- around the 1st century BC opening onto the served, characterized by different revetments , now Via di San Teodoro. [DB, (curtain wall in chips of marble on the south vicus Tuscus MAT ] side and in tuff fragments and reused materi- als on the north side), probably belonging to the Palazzo dei Frangipane mentioned by the DOMUS TIBERIANA, sources. [AS] HORREA AGRIPPIANA AND VICUS TUSCUS Along the west flank of the Palatine are the THE GEOLOGY OF THE PALATINE substructures (about 20 m high) that support the a, the first imperial palace The Palatine Hill is the product of the alter- domus Tiberian built to a unified architectural project. Erect- nate layers of fluvial phenomena and volcanic ed in the 1st century AD, it was progressively eruptions, progressively overlapping, starting expanded and transformed until the late-an- in the Middle Pleistocene (700,000-120,000 cient period. In the middle of the 16th cen- years ago), over the extensive marine deposit tury the area of the was covered by of blue-gray clays dating from the Lower Pli- domus the Farnese Gardens, laid out by Alessandro ocene (5.3-3.6 million years ago). At various Farnese, nephew of Pope Paul III. Below, abut- points on the west side of the hill, due to the ting on the Forum, are the remains of a large erosion that has threatened it since ancient building, the , consisting of times, making it necessary to build massive horrea Agrippiana a courtyard surrounded by rooms ( ) retaining walls, it is now possible to observe tabernae on two floors. These were the grain warehouses the outcropping of the main geological levels. built during the Augustan age by Agrippa on In the archaic period, the lower slopes of this the , in the Velabrum area, occu- hillside were exploited as tuff quarries, main- vicus Tuscus pied by shops of various kinds. [RA] ly affecting the geological unit termed Prima Porta. [AS] WITH PLINIO The new archaeological-naturalistic itiner- bae surdae, meaning silent, without fame, to ALONG THE ary, of great scenic beauty, overlooks the Mur- those herbs eaten every day that prove more cia valley and the Circus Maximus, extending useful than costly medicines brought from SOUTHERN across the slopes of the Palatine hill to the val- exotic countries. Pliny also recorded that the SLOPES OF THE ley of the Forum. plants of the Mediterranean scrub were cer- PALATINE This route has long been closed to tourists, tainly the first used in religious rites; at the and nature has been able to take back its own time of the Trojan war only cedar and lemon spaces. The perception and excitement that de- twigs were burnt on altars; rosemary, by its in- rives from it is related to that of the Grand tense aroma and purifying virtues, was often Tour, where natural beauties are united with used to replace incense, despite being a com- the immense archaeological heritage. The na- mon shrub, easy to find, unlike exotic and ex- tive vegetation accompanies the visitor on a pensive incense. route through time and history to admire the The Roman historian Livy describes (Ab great monuments of the past and the vegeta- Urbe condita, I:24 and 33) the ritual for dec- tion fused into a marvelous whole. And for the larations of war by the college of fetial priests, first time, not only are trees the major feature in which tufts of a herb were used: it was called of interest, but also the shrubs and herbaceous sagmina, a term associated with the meanings plants growing wild, the potential natural veg- of sacer (sacred, consecrated). These may have etation that tends to spread in a given place been bundles of verbena, since they were called depending on the geological and bioclimatic verbenae, and the priest who wore them was characters, soil and landforms of the present. called the verbenarius. Of the present but very ancient: Pliny the The ancient texts of the agriculturalars , Elder in his treatise on Natural History men- the poetic or technical descriptions that have tions all the plants seen along the way and de- come down to us, are an indispensable source scribes their healthful or harmful properties for the knowledge of our historical botanical and medicinal uses. He applied the term her- heritage. [GS] DOG ROSE above all, if someone drinks half a cup (cya- thus) of its juice every day, they will be free The dog rose is a very ancient wild plant. It from all diseases”. And he notes its efficacy emerged more than forty million years ago, as against all wounds from thorns and especial- shown by fossil finds. It is defined as a “species”, ly the bites of scorpions, wasps and shrews. i.e. its fundamental characteristic is its ability Martial recommended mallow as a remedy for to transmit its distinctive features unchanged hangovers after the parties fashionable at the to its descendants. time. Thanks to its properties, in around Pliny the Elder mentions it as Rubus can- the 16th century mallow was called omnimor- inus. In his Natural History, VIII:146-156, he bia, because it was considered capable of cur- relates that this plant is a useful remedy against ing all ills. [GS] rabies transmitted by dog ​​bites and describes the healing of a soldier suffering from rabies by a decoction of dog rose, whose thorns resem- IRIS OR GLADIOLUS ble dogs’ teeth. Its false fruits, called rosehips, are the most interesting part of this plant, be- The name “iris” derives from the Greek cause they are rich in various active ingredi- word for “rainbow”, like the Greek goddess Iris ents, and make a very useful herbal medicine. who in flight ascended rainbows as the mes- The Romans used it for ornamental and ther- senger of the gods. apeutic purposes and extracted essential oils The Romans gave the flower the Latin name from it for perfumes and ointments. Legend gladiolus for the elongated shape of the leaves has it that the god Bacchus fell in love with similar to a gladius, the sword used in battle. a nymph who fled terrified until she tripped The Roman poet Virgil relates in the Aeneid, over a bush. Bacchus coupled with her and, to when Aeneas abandoned Dido, she slew her- thank the bush, turned it into a rose bearing self with his sword and her soul was transport- beautiful flowers of the delicate pinkish color ed by Iris to the kingdom of the dead “Dewy of the nymph’s cheeks. [GS] Iris, with crocus-colored feathers, in the sky drawing a thousand different colors from the sun, descends and hovered over her head.” This MALVA SYLVESTRIS is the reason why purple irises were placed on the graves of family members. The flower, de- Mallow was widely used by both the Greeks scribed by the writer on agriculture Columel- and Romans. Pythagoras (570-495 BC), a re- la as a terrestrial star, like other bulbs bearing nowned philosopher, mathematician and as- colorful hues, was used in the viridaria or gar- tronomer of ancient Greece, considered it sa- dens of Roman patrician houses as an orna- cred. Of the enormous virtues of this herb, mental plant or votive offering to the Lares, he wrote: “Sow mallow, but do not eat it; it the spirits of the deceased ancestors who, ac- is such a great good that it should be reserved cording to Roman tradition, watched over the for our fellows, rather than making use of it family. [GS] selfishly for our own advantage.” In Rome it was well known and prized: the mallow’s ten- der shoots were always present on Cicero’s ta- BROOM ble. The name mallow derives from Latin and meant “soft,” referring to its emollient prop- Broom was a plant much appreciated by the erties. Pliny the Elder in his Natural History Greeks and Romans, who cultivated it to at- (XX:222-230) stated that: “[223]... It makes tract bees and make honey. According to Pliny every soil fertile in which it is planted. [224] the Elder, Natural History, XXIV, XL:65 ‒ its Other wonderful things are also told of it, but flexible shoots were used for making bindings, and he quotes the popular belief that its ashes the equal of garlic and artemisia, consecrat- contained gold, probably because of the color ed to the warrior god Mars. Aristotle already of its flowers, which seen in sunlight resemble recommended its use against spirits and spells. the color of gold. Depending on the various Pliny, Natural History, XX:131-143, consid- species, the fiber of the roots of various kinds ers it among the most important medicinal of broom was used to produce heavy and very plants, for man and domestic animals. He dis- tough fabrics or the material for ropes used tinguishes cultivated rue from wild rue, the lat- on ships. Traditionally the plant represents ter being more prickly but more effective, and modesty and humility and the ability to ward he describes its many uses in antiquity. Colu- of evil influences and demons. It was used in mella, a Roman writer on agriculture, in his pre-Christian religious rituals, at the time re- De re rustica (XI:3, 38) speaks of the difficul- viled and persecuted, so that some Sicilian leg- ty of weeding rue because of the excoriations ends hold it was cursed by Christ because the and the great itching it produces on the hands. rattling noise it makes when shaken by the The Medical School of Salerno stated that its wind attracted the attention of the soldiers use “in a man cools Venus and in a woman kin- searching for him in the garden of Gethse- dles it, and sharpens the wit”. [GS] mane. In spring the Palatine hillsides towards the Circus Maximus, covered with flowering broom, recall the poem by Giacomo Leopar- CORNELIAN CHERRY di: “Here on the barren ridge of the formida- ble mountain ... Your solitary clusters you scat- The cornelian cherry is a fruit tree that ter, scented broom...”. [GS] grows wild. The name derives from the Lat- in cornus (animal horn), because its wood is as hard as horn. It was used for making weap- DANDELION ons. The ancient Persians, Greeks and Romans used it for javelins and spears. It is also said to The dandelion,antirrhinum or anarrhinon, have been used for the spears of the Macedo- is mentioned by Pliny the Elder in his Natu- nian phalanx. ral History, XV:80 by the name lychnis agria, a According to the legend recounted by plant similar to flax, without roots, with a flow- Plutarch (a Greek biographer and philosopher er like that of the hyacinth and a seed similar in in the 1st and 2nd centuries AD), the spear shape to a calf ’s muzzle. And he relates what that Romulus hurled from the Aventine on the wizards said: “people who rubbed them- the Palatine to trace the boundaries of Rome selves with this plant improved their physical was made of cornelian. He adds that “the point appearance and no noxious substance or poison penetrated so deeply into the ground that al- could harm them if they wore it like a bracelet”. though many tried to pull it out, no one suc- It is among the plants mentioned by Columel- ceeded...” and “it took root” in the fertile soil la among “the colorful flowers” in his manual, of the hill. The Romans guarded it and vener- De re rustica, a fundamental text on techniques ated it as a good omen for the city of Rome. of cultivation and preparation of produce in an- Plutarch says (Life of Romulus, 20) that it grew cient agriculture. At this point we should add: near the house of Romulus and near the steps Do not pick the flowers along the path! [GS] of Cacus. Its name also recalls the carrion crow, a bird sacred to Apollo which, as Ovid says, feeds on the red fruits of the cornelian cher- RUE ry. And, again, Homer recounts that the sor- ceress Circe fed cornelian cherries to her pigs, Described as the herb par excellence de the companions of Ulysses whom she had fuga demonis, for driving away devils, in this transformed with a spell. “And they had the head and voice and hairs and the whole body and a lighter green color. of pigs, but their minds were intact, as before. Its leaves, with broad jagged edges and very So weeping they were penned up, and Circe pronounced ribs, are of great decorative effect threw them acorns of holm oak and common and this is why the plant found a wide use in oak and cornelian cherries” (Od. X:230-243). ancient architecture, both Greek and Roman [GS] (capitals of the “normal” Corinthian order, composite and figured Corinthian). Acanthus leaves were also adopted in Chris- ACANTHUS tian architecture, in Gallo-Roman capitals and sepulchral monuments to symbolize the Resur- Vitruvius in De architectura (IV:8-10) says rection, drawing on the evident symbolism of that it was the Athenian sculptor Callimachus, the girl’s immortality. with his refined art, who first sculpted some The acanthus is a plant of Mediterranean acanthus leaves that he saw growing from the origin, whose name derives from the ancient tomb of a young girl. A basket with the or- Greek word acanthòs meaning thorny flow- naments of the deceased had been placed on er. Here we findAcanthus mollis (the common the tomb, and the acanthus wound sinuous- acanthus) growing mainly in shady, cool places ly around its sides. Pleased by the unusual ele- in meadows, on roadsides and amid ruins. It is gance of its form, imitating the slenderness of a perennial herbaceous species of considerable girls, in Corinth he modeled some columns on size that, besides the characteristic leaves, has a them, carving acanthus leaves on the columns. dense cylindrical inflorescence spike with whit- Probably the acanthus of the Corinthian ish corollas with purple veins that rise from the style was Acanthus spinosus L., typical of East- center of the leaves from April through June. ern Europe, with a prickly spike of light purple It is cultivated in gardens for the remarkable bracts, at least forty centimeters long, which beauty of the foliage and the grace of its flower- is very showy in July. In Italy Acanthus mollis ing. The emollient properties of the flowers and is more common, having soft, rounded foliage leaves inspired the symbol of Sweetness. [GL] PARCO ARCHEOLOGICO DEL COLOSSEO

INGRESSO/ ENTRANCE inklink, Firenze INGRESSO/USCITA/ ENTRANCE/EXIT INGRESSO/ ENTRANCE BIGLIETTERIA/ TICKET OFFICE

USCITA SOLO PER/ EXIT ONLY FOR USCITA/ EXIT

Via sacra AUDIOGUIDE BIGLIETTERIA/ TICKET OFFICE

USCITA/ EXIT

INGRESSO/USCITA/ ENTRANCE/EXIT

USCITA/ EXIT

Via Dei Cerchi INGRESSO/ BOOKSHOP ENTRANCE

INGRESSO/ ENTRANCE BIGLIETTERIA/ TICKET OFFICE AUDIOGUIDE

BAGNI CON ACQUA POTABILE/

Via di San Gregorio TOILETS WITH DRINKING WATER INGRESSO/USCITA ENTRANCE/EXIT ACQUA POTABILE/ DRINKING WATER BIGLIETTERIA/ TICKET OFFICE ACCESSIBILE AI DISABILI/ BOOKSHOP ACCESSIBLE FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY AUDIOGUIDE SELF BAR

1 CIRCO MASSIMO/ 7 FACCIATA DELLA DOMUS AUGUSTANA/ 14 TEMPIO DELLA MAGNA MATER/CIBELE/ CIRCUS MAXIMUS DOMUS AUGUSTANA, FACADE TEMPLE OF MAGNA MATER/CYBELE 2 ARCATE SEVERIANE/ 8 C.D. PAEDAGOGIUM/ 15 FORTEZZA FRANGIPANE/ SEVERAN ARCADES SO-CALLED PAEDAGOGIUM FRANGIPANE FORTRESS

3 PALAZZO DEI FLAVI 9 CASA DI AUGUSTO/ 16 S. TEODORO (DOMUS AUGUSTANA)/ HOUSE OF AUGUSTUS FLAVIAN PALACE (DOMUS AUGUSTANA) 17 VICUS TUSCUS 10 TEMPIO DI APOLLO/ 4 SEPTIZODIUM TEMPLE OF APOLLO 18 DOMUS TIBERIANA 5 AMPLIAMENTO MASSENZIANO/ 11 CAPANNE ROMULEE/ 19 HORREA AGRIPPIANA MAXENTIUS’S EXPANSION ROMULEAN HUTS 6 C.D. STADIO/ 12 S. ANASTASIA SO-CALLED STADIUM 13 SCALAE CACI Author: Various authors GUIDE INFO Format: 12,5 × 18 cm SHEET Pages: 96 Illustrations: 50

Price: 10 euro Edition: bilingueal ita/eng Publisher: Electa

The guide accompanies the visitor, through detailed texts and illustrations as well as guide maps, on an itinerary across the slopes of the Palatine, which, with their monumental remains, are now open to the public after many years. The itinerary, in five stages, is charged with a strong symbolic value for the city: these are the places of the myth of the foundation of Rome and its history, with the sumptuous im- perial residences, from the house of Augustus to the Severan palaces. An architectural sce- nario that over the centuries has become a fascinating natural landscape. Further insights are therefore devoted to the flora of the hill investigated not only botanically but also in histor- ical and literary terms.