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A ZIENDA DI P ROMOZIONE T URISTICA DI R OMA OF ANCIENT AZIENDA DI PROMOZIONE TURISTICA DI Via Parigi, 11 - 00185 Roma

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An editorial realization by the Publishing Department of the APT of Rome

TEXT: Romolo Augusto Staccioli

TRANSLATION BY: Francesca Caruso

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GRAPHICS AND COVER: Valeria Lemmi

PRINTED BY: Stilgrafica srl A ZIENDA DI P ROMOZIONE T URISTICA DI R OMA

VILLAS OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ...... page 3

THE SUBURBAN VILLAS ...... page 5 The of The Villa of the Vignacce The The Villa of the Sette Bassi The Villa of the Gordiani The Villa of The Villa of the Christian Flavians

A SPECIAL VILLA: THE AUREA ...... page 17

THE VILLAS OF THE CITY OUTSKIRTS ...... page 19 The Villa of the Farnesina The Villa of the Lamia The Villa of The Villa of Maecenas The Villa of Agrippina The Villa of Domitia The Villa of The Villa of the Sessorium The Villas of the Pincio

GLOSSARY ...... page 33 INFORMATION ...... page 34 nitially, in ancient Rome, there was They were the ideal place to spend INTRODUCTION a small domestic garden called a leisure time alternating rest and recre- I“hortus”, confined in a narrow ation with intellectual activities, to space at the back of the . Then receive friends and cultivate high rank- came the horti, the plural form indicat- ing social connections and to deal with ing a greatly extended garden in which business and political matters in a the house was only a part of an elabo- more relaxed environment. rate, organic complex consist- ing of different elements, that INTRODUCTION we refer to a “villa”. Owing to their location outside the old city The favoured locations were those that walls, villas were formally considered met various requirements: proximity suburban residences even though they to the “walled” city, availability of were used as town or rather as ample space, pleasant surroundings dwellings on the outskirts of the city. and panoramic views, a supply of They became proper urban residences water, possibly spring water, etc. The at the end of the 3rd century AD, when choice initially fell on the high grounds the emperor included them in and slopes of hills, such as those of the the circuit of the new city walls. The Quirinal facing the , villas were obviously luxurious resi- the Campus Martius itself, the right dences in which to retreat from the bank of the and the heights of the concerns of hectic city life and to sleep . The Pincio was soon The main soundly far from nocturnal noises. favoured as well, and became known suburban Villas

VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 3 INTRODUCTION as the “hill of the villas” for the exten- with the prerogative of “unified prop- sion and quality of its buildings.. erty”. Eventually, in fact, and for dif- Subsequently attention was directed ferent reasons (through bequests, towards the external and more periph- acquisition through marriage or con- eric areas of the Caelian and Esquiline fiscation), the villas all became imperi- hills that were already partially inhab- al property. ited and included in the circuit of the Owing to the progressive “saturation” ancient city walls. of available space, most of the new In villa design, open spaces were very buildings had to necessarily be located important and skillfully arranged with beyond the of the “peripheric” paths, flowerbeds, bowers, brooks, horti, in the more distant suburbs, fountains and waterworks, and along the arteries of the main . In adorned with exedrae, pavilions and the meantime, emperors and members . The buildings themselves of the imperial , the Julio- could be structured differently: as a Claudians, the Severans, the Gordians, compact block, with a main body and Maxentius and Constantine among projecting wings, with a closed or open them, also started building villas. courtyard, or as individual pavilions. These were proper suburban villas Additional constructions could be that accentuated every part of the added to the specifically residential complex, starting from the construct- section and used as baths, libraries, ed areas and with the of new cavae and belvederes. All these or previously undeveloped elements. elements were conceived as an organic The perfected structures included the rational system that always main- circus and the hippodrome, an area tained contact with the outside world. equipped for horse-back riding and a Porticoes and cryptoporticus, exedrae, manège and, not infrequently, a mon- open galleries and belvedere terraces umental tomb. Among the were used as elements of passage and innovations, the most relevant was connection, creating an authentic that of the “”, a building with a union of nature and the work of . main cylindrical body and walls sub- The result was a new “landscape”, sep- divided into niches and apses covered arated and isolated, fenced off from the with a and a forepart in the surrounding area. shape of a pronaos. The rotunda was The first villas were built by private variously used as a bath, a meeting citizens, members of the great senato- hall, a living quarter, or even as mau- rial families who had accumulated for- soleum. tunes with the spoils of war and the The last villas were built in the first exploitation of conquered territories. decades of the 4th century, that also Building began in the first half of the saw the first instances of abandonment 2nd century BC, but the number of vil- or of incipient decay , even though las increased in the period between the restorations are often documented well decline of the and the rise of into the 6th century. The buildings suf- the empire. The trend lasted for the fered further damage during the sack- duration of the empire and is of great ing and devastation of the importance in the urban development , starting from that of Alaric and history of ancient Rome. In time, in 410. Their fabulous wealth, the luxu- the villas surrounded the whole inhab- rious furnishings and splendid decora- ited area and formed a single, vast and tions naturally made the villas “privi- VILLAS splendid ring of “structured greenery” leged” targets for plunder. OF ANCIENT ROME 4 he ancient Roman villas that had was planted and developed into a THE SUBURBAN better chances of surviving were grove. After Livia’s death, the villa VILLAS Tthose located in the “urban became imperial property and was periphery” and that eventually became probably in use until a late period, part of the Campagna romana - the since the stamps indicate that Roman countryside. The area has only recently been threat- THE SUBURBAN VILLAS ened and partially absorbed by the monstrous expansion of the restorations took place in the Severan modern city. Consequently, especially and again during the reign of in the southeast section traversed by Theodoric. : , detail the via Appia, the ancient via Labicana, A massive wall with evident counter- (Museo Nazionale Romano- Via Tuscolana and , of forts (still partially identifiable, even at Palazzo Massimo alle Terme) great villas, still stand sometimes reaching many metres in height. They are often situated in the vicinity of the long arched aqueducts, amidst the green fields that have remained virtu- ally untouched by devastating intru- sions. These villas, as their distance from the ancient inhabited area indi- cates, all date from imperial times and when they were not “incorporated” into to the villas of the “urban periph- ery”, they formed a second and wider ring of “structured greenery” around the city. The most important and best preserved among them are the most famous owing to recent research, exca- vations and restoration. They will be described in the chronological order of the main phases of construction and with the names that are currently used.

The Villa of Livia

The villa belonged to Livia Drusilla, wife of and was situated at the 9th of the (near the modern ), on high ground overlooking the Tiber valley. It was commonly known as ad gallinas albas (“the hens”) because of a a distance) ran along the southern side prodigy which according to tradition of the high ground overlooking the took place there. An eagle dropped a river and supporting the terracing on white hen with a laurel branch in its which the villa was erected and that beak into the empress’s lap. The laurel was accessible through a side lane of VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 5 the Flaminia. The rooms including the caldarium, also remains of the provided with two pools. East of the buildings are unfor- baths and connected to them by a tunately in very long corridor, was the first nucleus of poor condition. the residential section as well as the Villa of Livia: The Systematic studies main entrance to the villa. On one (Vatican ) and excavations side, a series of rooms, including a began in 1863/4 great , are arranged around with the discov- an atrium with four pilasters. The ery of the famous other side consists of a what might be of a peristyle, around an open porticoed Augustus (known area with ambulatories and important as the Augustus of rooms. The other residential section Prima Porta), now stood on the opposite side and con- on display in the sisted of semi-subterranean rooms . including a great rectangular hall The residential sec- (11.70 by 5.20 m) preceded by a tion of the villa was vestibule and with a floor pat- situated in the terned with rows of white cubes western area. The against a background. ample, quadrangular free space Identifiable as a summer triclinium, towards the south was probably a this room was covered by a garden. The residential area consisted decorated with painted stucco of two sections and had a large cis- . The walls were completely covered with the celebrated frescoes representing a flourishing garden sur- rounded by a reed fence and are one of the most remarkable examples of 3rd Roman wall painting, dat- ing from the end of the 1st century BC . They were removed in 1951 and are now on display at the Museo Nazionale Romano. During the restructuring of the villa in the first half of the 2nd century AD, other rooms (including a heated quarter and a latrine) were added above this residential nucleus. The walls are in some cases are covered with frescoes or slabs of marble and the floors are in black and white mosaic or poly- chrome marble inlay. Towards the Plan of the tern and a bath complex at the centre. northern end, a staircase with two Villa of Livia at Prima Porta (from Messineo) The cistern was dug out of the tufa ramps and two small ovens on the and was divided by pilasters into intermediate landing, led to a service naves covered by depressed room, covered with a barrel vault and vaults. The vast bath complex had a a skylight at the centre and probably large rectangular hall with two pools connected with the nearby bath com- VILLAS (frigidarium) and a series of additional plex. OF ANCIENT ROME 6 surviving half of the dome is one of THE SUBURBAN the most ancient examples of the use VILLAS of adding amphorae to the masonry to lighten the weight. Northwest of the hall there is a rectangular room with an apse and a cross vault. Further on are the remains of a vast rectangular hall with apses, flanked by a corridor and two rooms on each side, the larger rooms have cross vaults, the smaller ones barrel vaults. The southern sec- tion of the villa includes a large cis- tern, fed by the nearby of the . It had three rooms on the lower level, four on the upper one and two rows of semi-circular niches. Three other water reserves were locat- ed in the western section of the com- plex.

In the past the villa underwent Villa of the Vignacce: unsystematic investigations and Ruins excavations, pilfering and devasta- tion. It has only recently been reor- ganized in part and included in the “”- the Park of the Aqueducts. The colossal marble The Villa of the Vignacce head of Domna is on display in

The villa was situated at 5th mile of the ancient Via Latina, at the end of a side lane that flanked the of the Aqua Marcia aqueduct, now close to the via Tuscolana, at the Quadraro. It was built in the first half of the 2nd century AD, maybe by a Quinto Servilio Pudente, a wealthy owner of brick kilns, even though the surviving structures show signs of 6th century restorations. The main complex stood on large terracing, 120 metres in length, along the modern via Lemonia. Its supporting wall had a continuous series of counterforts and a niche with a fountain. The large ruins that rise from the ground belong to the bath the “rotunda” of the Vatican Museums, Villa of the Vignacce: complex. The most interesting are as well as the statue of the Tyche of Parco degli Acquedotti those of a large circular hall surround- and of Ganymede carried off ed by a series of small chambers of by an eagle, also in the Museo which about a fourth remains. The Chiaromonti, also in the Vatican. VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 7 complex and the creation of an anti- quarium in an old farmhouse (via Appia Nuova n.1089). The surviving structures indicate two construction phases, the first dating from the time of the original owners, around 150 AD (or slightly before), and the second (preceded by some reconstruction attributable to ) from between the end of the 3rd century and the beginning of the 4th . Documented restorations also took place in the 6th century, during the reign of Theodoric. The complex consists of five nuclei var- iously arranged on irregular land. The first corresponds to a service area that Villa of the Quintilii: includes a large circular cistern, 29 Ruins of the bath complex The Villa of the Quintilii metres in diameter, and divided into five connecting chambers. Another cis- The villa was located after the fifth mile tern of rectangular shape on two levels, of the Via Appia. Its identification was was used in the as a foun- made possible by the finding of the own- dation for the farmhouse known as ers’ names stamped on the pipes on Santa Maria Nuova. The approach to the site. The Quintili brothers, Sesto the villa on the Via Appia, past struc- Condiano Massimo and Sesto Valeriano tures identifiable as tabernae, consisted Massimo,were members of one of the of a monumental on two Villa of the Quintilii: most important senatorial levels composed of a wide Cistern families at the time of semicircular exedra the Antonines. The with niches and a villa covered a sur- fountain at the face of about 1000 center. Initially square metres. It the nymphaeum was one of the was separated largest in the out- from the by a skirts of the city and wall that ran along its numerous and impos- the traces of an aqueduct ing ruins were known in the past as (derived from the Anio Novus ). “Old Rome”. In 182 AD the emperor Subsequently it was given an entrance Commodus condemned the Quintili facing the road, flanked by two brothers to death on a false charge of on high bases and brick conspiracy, and the villa became an pilasters on the sides. In the Middle imperial property. The emperor Ages it was incorporated into a Commodus, who had coveted it so that at first belonged to the Counts of much, have resided there himself. Tuscolo. Substantial remains are still Unsystematic investigations and occa- standing, including the beautiful log- sional excavations were conducted on gia erected by the Astalli between the the site starting from the mid 1700s. 12th and 13th centuries. Behind the More recent interventions include the nympheum, in place of the present VILLAS liberation and reorganization of the lawn, there used to be an enormous OF ANCIENT ROME 8 THE SUBURBAN VILLAS

Aqueduct Near the Villa of the Quintilii garden which may have had porticoes at least on its main sides. It was 300 metres long and, after the demolition of an earlier boundary wall, almost 110 metres wide. The aqueduct that reached the nymphaeum ran along the same boundary wall on the southeast- ern side. In later times two “circular pavilions” were added on the southern and western corners. Beyond the gar- den, facing east, there is a rectangular cistern, divided into two chambers with barrel vaults, that was connected to the aqueduct by a series of arches, closed in later times. The third nucleus of the villa was located in the northern “rotunda” measuring 36 metres in diam- Villa of the Quintilii: section along with the bath complex. eter, probably open and used as a pool. Remains of one of the halls of the bath complex Imposing remains of grandiose rooms The residential area proper was located still stand, their walls reaching a height east of the bath complex and arranged of 14 metres. The first section belongs to around a large courtyard, 36.50 by 12 the frigidarium, a rectangular hall with metres, onto which opened a heated large arched windows on two levels octagonal hall with a polychrome mar- and a cross vault (collapsed), two pools ble inlay floor, rooms identifiable as on the shorter sides and a rather well cubicoli or bedrooms, a nymphaeum preserved polychrome marble floor. and a place of worship. A lower floor The following walls are those of the cal- housed cryptoporticus and service darium, another great hall, almost areas. The fourth nucleus of the villa entirely taken up by a large pool origi- was situated on the southeastern side nally faced with marble. The few and consisted of a circus-like structure, remains by the caldarium belong to a or a hippodrome, 400 metres long (and VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 9 THE SUBURBAN between 90 and 115 metres wide) that Pius, on the site of a late republican VILLAS was added in a later phase and provid- “” and a small agricultural village ed on one end with a semicircular (possibly the pagus Lemonius) that nymphaeum fed by two cisterns, and became the “rustic quarter” of the subsequently transformed into a small complex. It consisted of three main sec- bath. Brick stamps in this section indi- tions, built in successive stages, cate restorations carried out in the 6th although over a brief period of time century. Finally, in the northern corner and according to a unitary project. The of the entire complex, was the “rustic”, enormous terraced garden at its head productive area of the villa with rooms measured 327 by 95 metres and was assigned to the service area and the liv- situated 5 metres below the level of the ing quarters of the personnel. buildings and bounded by porticoes with exedrae and belvedere “” at the corners. Two nuclei in the north- The Villa of the Sette Bassi eastern section faced the two contigu- ous sides of a peristyle. The first to be The villa, one of the largest in the sub- built was a compact square block (50 urbs, was located at the 6th mile of the by 50 metres) with various groups of Via Latina, corresponding to the mod- rooms opening onto a courtyard or on ern Osteria del Curato. The peculiar interior open spaces, still partially pre- name was already known in the served, with walls more than 10 metres Middle Ages and may derive from the heigh. The second nucleus had a series popular corruption of the name of a of rooms along the ambulatory of the possible owner, Septimius Bassus. All peristyle and others against the side of that remains today is a complex of a large, partially open, porticoed hemi- grandiose ruins that have been only cycle, with its convex facade projecting partially excavated and investigated in into the garden. The third nucleus, the past. The villa was built in the 2nd more splendid than the others, extend- century AD, at the time of Antoninus ed over the entire side at the end of the

Villa of the Sette Bassi: View

VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 1 0 THE SUBURBAN VILLAS

Villa of the Sette Bassi: Ruins large garden. It stood on substructures The Villa of the Gordiani that made it level with the other two nuclei. The interior contained two The complex was situated at the 3rd cryptoporticus and service rooms. mile of the along both About half of the building was occu- sides of the road. Nowadays it corre- pied by a bath complex. The remains sponds to the archeological Parco dei correspond to a great hall flanked with Gordiani, one kilometer past Largo smaller ones and a double row of large Preneste (near via Olevano Romano). windows on the front (one of the win- It is mentioned in the dows collapsed during a violent down- as one of the most luxurious in the sub- pour in 1951). Other buildings stood urbs and renowned for its spectacular apart from the main complex. The peristyle composed of 200 columns of most substantial and visible remains four different types of marble. are those of a small , located in (Carystian green or cipollino, por- the northeast area. The walls had a phyry, Phrygian purple and Numidian double row of windows preserved up yellow). The family of the Gordiani to the base of the barrel vaulted ceiling, probably owned the villa before some externally covered with a sloping . of its members rose to the imperial East of the large garden there is a cis- . Gordian III (238-244 AD), in tern with a series of niches on the out- particular, enlarged, restored and reor- side and the interior divided into two ganized it. Within the “archeological sections. The branch of the aqueduct park”, on the right, among minor that derived from the ruins, are the remains of a large square with a series of arches ended there. The cistern dating from the 2nd century villa eventually became property of the AD. It is provided with counterforts; Lateran , perhaps through a the lower floor is divided into two donation at the time of Constantine, chambers with a supporting function, and was in use until after the end of and the upper level is divided into six ancient times. barrel-vaulted chambers used to store VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 1 1 Villa of the Gordiani: water. The most important ruins are on the beginning of the 4th century AD, The Mausoleum the left. Besides those of two other after the time of the Gordiani and the adjoining cisterns (the remains of a approximately three quarters of it that more ancient and modest villa from remain have the aspect of a large republican times are situated just past “rotunda”(13.20 metres in diameter); a them and have been filled in again cylindrical drum is provided with with earth ), there is the remaining half round windows in the upper section. of an octagonal hall with a circular The hemispherical dome is not entirely upper section. During the Middle Ages visible from the exterior because the it was used to build a to which drum is raised above its impost. The the circular pilaster at the centre interior had two floors. The lower, belongs. The hall, probably a bath, was partly underground floor had a ring- erected at the time of the Gordiani. The shaped ambulatory with a barrel vault interior contained a series of alternat- around a central pilaster and niches in ing rectangular and semicircular nich- the side walls in the usual alternation. es and was covered by a dome. There The upper floor (probably reserved for are other minor ruins, including those funerary cult) had the same alternation of a hall with an apse covered with a of niches and was directly accessible “shell shaped” vault that may have from the outside through a monumen- also been part of the bath complex. The tal pronaos with four columns. It was following is the most preceded by a flight of steps that imposing and is commonly known as served as the monument’s “facade”, Tor de’ Schiavi, from the name of the now entirely lost. The nearby ruins of family that owned the area in the 16th a paleochristian basilica (67 by 33 VILLAS century. It is a mausoleum dating from metres) also date from the 4th century OF ANCIENT ROME 1 2 out and adapted with terracing sup- THE SUBURBAN ported, for a length of 115 metres, by a VILLAS cryptoporticus with two parallel ambulatories, covered by barrel vaults and illuminated by small “- mouth” windows. Later on, it was interrupted by a group of three rooms, while two panoramic pavilions in the form of towers were added to the two extremeties. In front of the cryptoporti- cus and thus at the base of the “palace”, there were two nymphae carved in the rock and at one time rich- ly decorated with and paint-

ings. Above it ran a , probably Villa of the Gordiani: open toward the valley, beyond which The Mausoleum rose the “palace”. Several rooms can be when the villa was partially reutilized. distinguished which were arranged The characteristic “circus” plan, the along the sides of a great hall with an traces of a large ground and the apse (33 by 19.45 metres), provided presence of catacombs in the area, indi- with a heating plant. This was the most cate that the basilica had a funerary important area of the whole complex, function. apparently a “basilica”, designed for public meetings, hearings and cere- monies. In front of it, a few remains of The Villa of Maxentius an atrium can be seen, while on the north side there is a long and narrow The villa extended along the cistern. East of it an area which was at Way between the 2nd and 3rd , first probably round and covered with near the tomb of Cecilia Metella. Its Villa of Maxentius: first phase must have been in the late Ruins of the Circus republican period (1st century BC), a second phase in the Julio- period, and a third datable around the middle of the 2nd century AD when it was probably included in the large “farm” of the so-called Triopio of Herodus Atticus. The final phase of construction took place under Maxentius ( in the years around 310 AD) when the villa became an imperi- al residence. The erection of presti- gious structures such as the “basilica”, the opening of a new monumental entrance, and the addition of a circus and mausoleum, conformed to a scheme based on the newly affirmed imperial ideology. The residential part rose on high grounds, properly evened VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 1 3 THE SUBURBAN a vault, may have been part of the onto the opposite curved side. This VILLAS monumental entrance to the “palace”. and the two long sides were taken up This was connected by a long ambula- by tiers of seats which rested on a tory to the circus, which is the best pre- vaulted structure and were divided served and most interesting part of the into two sections of six tiers each, with whole complex ( and also the best pre- a seating capacity of 10.000. The impe- served of all in the circuses of the rial consisting of a large rectan- Roman world). It extends along the gular space and a rotunda with a dome valley, from east to west, for about 520 set against it was situated on the long metres, with a maximum width of 92 north side. On the opposite side, metres. On the short west side delimit- another tribune was perhaps reserved ed by two towers three stories tall (16 for the judges of the races. In the centre metres) and rounded on the outside, of the arena, the “spina”, the longitudi- there were twelve areas (carceres) from nal element around which the which the riding chariots came out, raced) is still recognizable. Its length is while the main entrance to the build- exactly 1000 Roman feet or 296 metres, ing in the form of a large arch opened and had a series of pools alternating at the centre. Another arched entrance with niches and statues. An (“the triumphal entrance”) opened was also placed there, the one original- Villa of Maxentius: ly erected in the Plan and reconstructive section of the Tomb Iseo Campense (or of Romolus rather, in the (from Rasch). Temple of the Flavia on the Quirinal). Once recovered, it was boldly erected by Bernini in 1650 on his Fountain of the Rivers in the ). The third element of the villa is the so-called Tomb of Romolus, after the son of Maxentius who died in 309 AD and was buried there. In actual fact, this was a dynastic mausoleum intended for the whole imperial family. It was erected at a short distance from the VILLAS Via Appia and OF ANCIENT ROME 1 4 aligned with it, at the centre of a large age) known as the Tomb of the Villa of Maxentius: Towers of the carceres quadriportico (108 by 121 metres). It Semproni, which was incorporated of the Circus. consisted of a circular building preced- into the mausoleum of Maxentius. ed by a projecting structure or pronaos, Beyond the north corner of the same similar to that of the Pantheon (substi- quadriportico, several rooms with tuted in the 19th century by a still exist- pools faced with marble belonged to ing farm house) with six columns and the baths of the villa. steps in the front The “rotunda”, par- tially preserved (diameter approx. 33 metres) had two stories the first of The Villa of the Christian which consisted of a ring–shaped Flavians ambulatory with barrel vaults around a central pilaster (diameter 7.50 In antiquity the site was indicated with metres). Two entrances set against each the name of ad duas lauros (“the two other, and six niches designed to house laurels”). At the time of Constantine the sarchopagi, were illuminated by (founder of the dynasty of the second “wolf-mouth” windows. The upper or Christian Flavians) it was part of the story had an area (now completely immense imperial properties that also lost) originally covered with a gigantic included the Severan villa “of Old dome and destined for the cult. Hope” and extended without interrup- Adjacent to the east side of the quadri- tion from the area of Santa Croce in portico are the remains of the Gerusalemme to most of the southern nucleus of an older sepulchre (perhaps suburb between the Via Praenestina, Via from the beginning of the Augustan Labicana (modern Casilina) and Via VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 1 5 THE SUBURBAN tial structures in via VILLAS Papiria. The villa had an extremely regular structure with differ- ent constructions side by side and var- iously arranged at the sides of a central “body” composed of an enormous peri- style surrounded by several rooms. An intermediate atrium connected it to a large hemicycle, visi- bly projecting from the outside wall. The bath “quarter” was situated in the left section. A long cov- ered ambulatory departed from it in a perpendicular sense flanking a vast area which was probably a garden. The sec- Villa of the Christian Flavians: tion on the right, Remains of the Mausoleum of Helen developed around two or three open Latina (modern Tuscolana), up to the spaces, was more strictly residential. of the . In particular, the It was connected to a portico with a nucleus of buildings known by the small temple at the centre (or a sepul- ancient name, was located on the site chre in the shape of a small temple), of the former airport of Centocelle, while two round, domed mau- between the modern and soleums were instead detached and via Papiria. During the construction of separated from each other. Another the airport, around 1925, numerous section of the vast estate housed the ruins above ground (that during the mausoleum of Helen, in the custom- Middle Ages gave rise to the toponym ary type of the domed “rotunda”. The Centumcellae) and those that reached a presence of amphorae in the masonry certain depth underground, were to lighten its weight is at the origin of destroyed. All the rest, buried below the popular name Torpignattara that the runways, “reappeared” almost was later extended to the area where magically in pictures taken from the air the monument was located, along the in 1953 that clearly revealed the practi- modern via Casilina, the ancient Via cally intact planimetry of the villa. Labicana. The villa was also the site of Regular excavations on the site have the execution in 445, of the emperor been conducted only recently, also Valentinian III, son of . VILLAS revealing a bath complex and residen- OF ANCIENT ROME 1 6 ero’s is a par- statue of the Sun with the features of A SPECIAL VILLA: ticular case: a proper urban , 35 metres tall. The section on THE DOMUS AUREAA Nvilla situated right in the the that Nero had adapted heart of Rome, to the point that a before the fire of 64 AD (that eventually pasquinade claimed that the entire city allowed him to build the rest) was would be “transformed into a single meant to connect the imperial proper- great domus”. It extended for 80/100 ties on the Palatine to those on the Esquiline that A SPECIAL VILLA: corresponded hectares from the THE DOMUS AUREA Palatine to the , from the Velia to the to the former villa of Maecenes. For Esquiline. At the centre, in the valley this reason the complex was called later occupied later by the , there was a large lake that described as similar to a “sea, surrounded by porticoes and buildings as if it were a city”. The lake received water from different sources but mostly from the Celimontano aque- duct that also fed the monumental fountain obtained by modify- ing the outer wall of the eastern side of the Temple of on the slope of the Caelian hill (along the modern via Claudia) with great niches , that is “of passage”. Domus Aurea: and a colonnaded facade. Suetonious It was rebuilt after the fire and its The “Hall of the Masks” wrote that around the lake “there scarce remains are now below were cultivated fields, pastures, the structures of the palace of vineyards, woods and a multi- Domitian, built later. The tude of domestic and wild ani- remains include a large cir- Marble head of Nero mals of every species”. The cular hall initially covered buildings consisted of differ- with a dome and located in a ent complexes that were rectangular basin which may nonetheless connected among correspond to one of the - themselves. A large porticoed tiones, or banquet halls men- vestibule was located on the tioned by Suetonious. summit of the Velia. At its Finally, the was centre was a colossal excavated and terraced so that VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 1 7 The dome was placed directly above the octagon, without “pendentives”. The hall is commonly identified with the cenatio rotunda that according to Suetonious rotated “on itself day and night, like the world”. This seems to indicate the presence of a hydraulic ball-bearing mechanism. Suetonious adds that “in the rest of the construction everything was covered with gold and adorned with gems and mother of pearl; the ceilings of the banquet halls had mov- ing panels with holes through which flowers and were scattered… the bath rooms had sulphurous water and sea water”. This information sheds light The urban area occupied the architects Severus and Celer could on Nero’s exclamation on occasion of by the Domus Aurea raise the main building that extended the inauguration of his new abode, from east to west for almost 300 metres still largely incomplete at the time : and with a maximum depth of 60 “Finally I can start living like a man!”. metres. This section was raised on at All this magnificence had a short life. least two levels and had an open por- A few years later, in of 68, after ticoed facade along the southern side the death of the emperor and the trou- overlooking the lake. It consisted of bled months of civil war that fol- three different nuclei between two lowed, reduced the size of large rectangular peristyles and on the the gigantic complex. He divided and sides of two large pentagonal twin partially dismantled it “to return to courts. The different nuclei were inter- the city what had been taken from it”. connected by the porticoed facade and The lake was consequently drained in by long cryptoporticus along the order to erect the Colosseum in its entire north-facing side that also place, while the building on the served as an “interspace” for the exca- Oppian hill, perhaps only briefly vated hill. Each nucleus housed inhabited by before he succeed- Domus Aurea: numerous rooms with different floor ed his father, was abandoned. The Entrance for visitors plans and uses, arranged in a regular complex was later seriously damaged layout. A great octagonal hall, still by fire and eventually interred and perfectly preserved and situated at used as a “foundation” for the great the centre of the entire complex, was baths that built on the Oppian surrounded by a ring of other rooms. hill.

Domus Aurea: Plan of the main building on the Colle Oppio

VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 1 8 ot much is left of the great vil- Nothing is left of the villas of the two THE VILLAS las of the city outskirts, swept famous and wealthy freedmen of OF THE CITY Naway by historical events or Claudius and Nero, Pallante and OUTSKIRTS erased by urban development and Epafrodito, that rose on the high transformation. Of many there are only ground of the Esquiline, east of the memories or at the most the possibility modern piazza Vittorio Emanuele. The of identifying their location THE VILLAS OF THE CITY OUTSKIRTS through quo- tations in ancient sources. Others have Villa of Domitia (perhaps Domitia left “monumental” traces, almost with- Longina, wife of Domitian) was locat- out exception suffocated in the oppres- ed on the right bank of the Tiber, in the sive embrace of the modern city. Still area later occupied by the mausoleum others have survived only in scattered of , now Castel Sant’Angelo, and heterogeneous elements of archi- but nothing remains. tectural structures or decorations now on display in museums. The Villa of no longer exists. It The Villa of the Farnesina was probably located on the slope of the facing the Campus Considerable sections of the wall and Martius, more or less where the largo ceiling decorations in fresco and stuc- Magnanapoli is today. Nothing is left co, belonging to different rooms of the of the Villa of later of Mark Villa of the Farnesina, are now on dis- Villa of the Farnesina: Anthony, that must have been in the play in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Wall with fresco heart of the Campus Martius, in the at Palazzo Massimo. The villa itself in “cubicle B” area nowadays included between the Monte Giordano and Campo de’ Fiori. The magnificent Villa of in , on the slopes of the Janiculum towards the and the river, is also irretrievably lost. It was here that and her son Caesarion resided between 46 and 44 BC, and where Caesar in 45 BC offered lavish banquets to thousands of guests to celebrate his triumph. Nothing remains of the neighbouring Villa of Mark Anthony, perhaps around the area of today’s piazza San Cosimato. The same fate overtook the Villa of that occupied the sec- tion of the Campus Martius between the Pantheon and the Tiber and includ- ed a small wood (in the area where Domitian built his Odeum, close to piazza Navona). The Villa of Asinio Pollone on the where erected his great baths, is also lost.

1 9 THE VILLAS rose on the right bank of the river at the centre, as if from a window, onto OF THE CITY Tiber, in correspondence to the 16th great paintings of classical inspiration, OUTSKIRTS century villa of the same name. The flanked by genre scenes. The accessory substantial remains of the building - decoration is also remarkable. It is exe- commonly known as the “Farnesina”- cuted with masterly skill and made up were found and partially excavated of minute elements (threadlike cande- but then reinterred or destroyed, labra, foliage, garlands, acroteria, fig- around 1880, during the construction of caryatides and winged victo- of the embankments of the river. ries) or “miniaturistic” figurative Datable from the second half of the friezes placed above the wainscotting first century AD, the villa was initially adorned with geometric and vegeta- attributed to Clodia, sister of the trib- tive motifs. The signature of Seleukos, une Publius Claudius and celebrated a Syrian-Greek painter, is still visible by with the name of Lesbia. on one of the walls. At present, it seems more likely that the occasion for its construction was the marriage of Agrippa to Julia, The Villa of the Lamia daughter of Augustus, in 19 BC. The painted decorations, full of motifs and The remains of the Villa of the Lamia references to recently conquered are also preserved in a . They , certainly date from that time. comprise a remarkable group of stat- The villa was not used for long and ues found in excavations in the area of was in fact abandoned owing to the the villa in 1874, and now in the constant devastating floods of the . The most signif- Tiber. As far as it is possible to estab- icant are the Anadiomene lish, it had a main central Villa of the Lamia: body in the shape of a hemi- Bust of Commodus as between cycle with the convex side fac- two Tritons ing the river and two symmet- (Capitoline Museums) rical structures on the sides. These had a loggia also over- looking the river and were connected by a long crypto- porticus that opened onto a large room aligned with the hemicycle and symmetrically flanked by minor chambers probably arranged around two courtyards. The wall paintings are many and well preserved. They feature monochrome surfaces within architectural “frames”, con- sisting of extremely slender elements and small pictures at the centre. Or else they repre- sent complex and sceno- graphic architectural parti- VILLAS tions that seem almost to open OF ANCIENT ROME 2 0 THE VILLAS OF THE CITY OUTSKIRTS

Area of the Villa of the Lamia on the Esquiline

(known as Esquiline Venus) and two structures scattered amidst the green- related female figures, a recumbent ery and adapted to the elevation of the and a portrait of terrain. The strictly residential section Commodus as Hercules between two was situated between the modern busts of Tritons. There is also a splen- piazza Vittorio Emanuele, piazza did floor inlaid with alabaster along Dante and via Emanuele Filiberto. The with elements of architectural complex included porticoes, crypto- decoration in gilded stucco and porticus, baths, cisterns and a other sumptuous decorations grandiose “nymphaeum” shaped with gilded bronze friezes like the cavea of a theatre (95 studded with gems and precious metres in diameter), closed stones. The villa, created at the by a long portico and served end of the 1st century BC by by a complex hydraulic sys- Elio Lamia, stretched over the tem. plateau of the Esquiline that corre- sponds to the area south of the present piazza Vittorio Emanuele. The Villa of Sallust At the time of , who was briefly and secretly buried there The “monumental” ruins of after his assassination in 41 half a dozen villas have sur- Villa of the Lamia: AD, it had already vived in varying conditions of “Venere Esquilina” (Centrale Montemartini) become imperial proper- preservation and visibility. The ty. Nero is likely to have Villa of Sallust (Horti Sallustiani) included it in the is the first among them, also for Domus Aurea complex. chronological reasons. The com- Numerous remains plex was created by the historian found during the Gaius Sallustius Crispus after 44 building boom of the BC and extended over the wide, late 1800s, were deep valley between the Quirinal destroyed or rein- and the Pincio (the area terred. The ruins included today between the belonged to different , via , VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 2 1 villa probably became imperial property at the time of . It was enlarged, embellished and restored especially by Hadrian in the 2nd century AD and probably again by Aurelian in the 3rd century. It was the favorite resort of numerous emperors besides Hadrian and Aurelian, including Nero, Vespasian, and who died there in of the year 98 AD. Works of art found on the site are evidence of the magnificence of the villa and include the famous “ throne”, the “acrolith” (a colossal Villa of Sallust: via Venti Settembre and via Piave) with statue of a female ) also known Plan of the central building a stream, the Aqua Sallustiana, flowing as Ludovisi, the Niobe and probably through it. The valley was entirely the Dying and the Gaul commit- filled in at the end of the 1800s. The ting . The obelisk found there

Villa of Sallust: Ruins in Piazza Sallustio

VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 2 2 Sallustio, up to 35 metres below the THE VILLAS street level. The different sections of OF THE CITY the villa alternated with vast green OUTSKIRTS areas. The main edifice was complete- ly reconstructed at the time Hadrian. It appears to be developed on two lev- els around a large rotunda of the diam- eter of 11.20 metres, and a “shell- shaped” vault. The walls had niches Villa of Sallust: that were originally covered with a The Obelisk wainscotting of marble slabs and stuc- of Trinità dei co in the upper sections. The hall is preceded by a vestibule and flanked by two rooms (maybe ). At the far end, past a room that was sym- metrical to the vestibule and had two niches in the walls, there was a too, was almost certainly erected by large rectan- Aurelian. It was recovered in 1735 and gular hall after being transported to the Lateran, with a small was placed in front of the of the apse, a barrel SS. Trinità dei Monti by pope Pius VI in vault and 1789. The villa always remained one of two smaller the most celebrated and admired in the chambers city but it was almost entirely on the sides. destroyed during the “sack” of the Other remains led by Alaric who entered into of the villa are vis- the city through the nearby Salaria ible within the confines gate. The imposing remains of what of the American Embassy (part of a Villa of Sallust: must have been the main edifice are cryptoporticus with wall paintings) with the birth of Aphrodite, visible today at the centre of piazza and in via Lucullo (section of wall known as “Trono Ludovisi” with niches). The villa probably also (Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Altemps) included the large cistern dating from the age of Hadrian composed of four parallel, communicating naves. It is now in the basement of the German- Hungarian in via S.Nicola da Tolentino.

Villa of Sallust: The Dying Gaul (Capitoline Museums) VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 2 3 THE VILLAS The Villa of Maecenas with the excavations, it can be assumed OF THE CITY that the triclinium was the meeting OUTSKIRTS The Villa of Maecenas (Horti place of the circle of and men of Maecenatis) also survives in monumen- letters that Maecenas had gathered tal ruins. The area had been previous- around him and that included, among ly occupied by the ancient others, , , Cornelius Gallus of the city, and . The six rectangular almost entirely aban- niches along the longer walls were doned and in frescoed with trees and fountains extremely bad behind fences, creating the illusion of repair. The villa windows opening on a garden. The far was built on the end wall was entirely occupied by an Esquiline after the exedra, with five niches in the upper great works of section and six wide concentric steps reclamation that in the lower section that formed a kind Maecenas himself of theatre cavea. Water came out of promoted around holes in the walls (closed in later 30 BC. These times) and flowed down marble-cov- involved the ered steps with the effect of a water- interment of the fall. The opposite side of the hall prob- cemetery and the ably had a at the centre, flanked leveling of the by windows overlooking the view embankment of toward the Alban hills. The upper sec- the republican tions of the longer sides above the walls (that were niches and the section of the exedra Plan of the Auditorium partially disman- below the niches, were entirely fres- of Maecenas tled and partially incorporated into the new structures) and led to the transformation of the high ground of the hill, past the crowded neighbour- hoods, into a continuous series of splendid villas. The Villa of Maecenas was inherited by Augustus and became the residence of Tiberius, not yet emperor, on his return from the voluntary exile in Rhodes, in 2 AD. Nero later incorporated it into the Domus Aurea. All that remains is a vast half buried hall, 10.60 by 24.40 metres, accessible by means of a slop- ing ramp. When found and excavated in 1874 at the centre of today’s largo Leopardi, it was named “auditorium

Auditorium of Maecenas: of Maecenas”. It is more accurate to call Fresco (detail) it a nymphaeum or better still, a sum- mer triclinium. It was located at the cen- tre of a group of residential buildings, partially uncovered during excavations VILLAS and then demolished. In agreement OF ANCIENT ROME 2 4 THE VILLAS OF THE CITY OUTSKIRTS

Auditorium of Maecenas: Interior coed with a low frieze representing married and became the Dionysian and genre scenes against a mother of the emperor Caligula. The black background, surmounted by complex stretched over various “ter- vermilion red areas adorned with races” on the right bank of the Tiber, foliage motifs. The original mosaic between the river, the Janiculum and floor had very fine tiles and a double the Vatican Field. It developed in par- frame in encaustic painting. In later ticular on the northern extremity of times it was substituted with slabs of the high ground known in modern marble. times as Collina di Santo Spirito- Hill of the Holy Spirit, now occupied by the complex of the “De Propaganda The Villa of Agrippina Fide” College (College for the Propagation of Faith). At his mother’s The fortuitous discovery of remains of death in 33 AD, Caligula inherited the the Villa of Agrippina (Horti villa and built a circus, later known as Agrippinae) in August of 1999, in the the “circus of Gaius and Caligula”, on course of the construction of a parking the northern boundary of the property lot in the Janiculum, (in the area that filled the local today extends Roman with the effigies from piazza of Agrippina and Caligula with heated San Pietro past polemics on the Vatican the eve of Basilica). the Jubilee of Caligula had an the year 2000. obelisk brought The villa belonged from Egypt in 37 to Agrippina, the daughter of Agrippa AC and placed on the spina of the cir- and Augustus’ daughter Julia, who cus. It was still standing in 1586 (on VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 2 5 THE VILLAS the side of the Sacristy of St. Peter) and 1964 in the area of the square and OF THE CITY and then moved to the centre of the the hospital of Saint John Lateran have OUTSKIRTS piazza San Pietro. The villa later been attributed with near certainty to became the property of Nero, who the Villa of Domitia Lucilla, mother of opened it to give refuge to the people , who was born there. who lost their homes in the fire of 64 The complex, consisting of various AD. It also became the site of the mar- structures dating between the 1st and tyrdom of the apostle Peter and of the 4th centuries AD has been the object of Christians whom Nero blamed for the controversial interpretations and fire. hypotheses. In particular, below the Numerous remains unearthed in the Corsia Mazzoni of the Hospital, there area since the mid 1700s and attrib- are rooms probably corresponding to a uted to the Villa of Agrippina have bath complex, and a peristyle with a rarely been preserved (for example, pool at the centre that was later substi- beneath the hospital of Santo Spirito). tuted with a section of wall. Marble The remains found in 1999 (and par- reliefs representing the Temple of tially destroyed) belonged to various and the Vestal Virgins (also rooms with plastered walls frescoed found during the excavations) may in the so-called Fourth Style (white have belonged to it. It is thought to be backgrounds, slender stylized archi- the original base of the equestrian stat- tectural elements on different levels, ue of Marcus Aurelius that was located small genre paintings of fantastic in this area before being transferred to small figurines, little , and floral the Capitoline to 1538. The villa was motifs), dating from the 2nd century most likely inherited by Marcus AD. Aurelius and then by his son Commodus, thus becoming imperial property. The Villa of Domitia Lucilla

The numerous and scattered remains The Villa of Gallienus of buildings discovered between 1959 The imposing ruin of the so-called Villa of Domitia Lucilla: Temple of Medica, by the of Marcus Aurelius Stazione Termini, along the via Giolitti, at the Campidoglio in correspondence to via P. Micca, is commonly indicated as monumental evidence of the Villa of Gallienus, emperor from 260 to 268 AD. Nonetheless, a very recent study attributes the monument- that proba- bly dates from the era of Constantine- to the nearby villa of “Old Hope”. Known by the modern name of Horti Liciniani, the villa of Gallienus must have been on the highest part of the Esquiline, included today between the church of Santa Bibiana and , at one time occupied by a VILLAS burial ground, later reclaimed. Ancient OF ANCIENT ROME 2 6 THE VILLAS OF THE CITY OUTSKIRTS

Villa of Gallienus: Planimetry of the complex of the Temple of Minerva Medica sources describe it as being such a vast which have been found on different complex that the whole court could occasions, along with other statues, find lodgings when the emperor columns and capitals. The most resided there. The construction of the remarkable are those dating from Aurelian walls left out a large part of it. between the end of the 4th and the

As far as the Temple of Minerva is Villa of Gallienus: corcerned, it was actually a large hall Temple known as used as living quarters, for meetings “Minerva Medica” and for business. It was partially heat- ed in the winter and later made more pleasant in the summer with the addi- tion of two large exedrae, opposite one another and with fountains. The hall appears decagonal on the outside and circular inside (25 metres in diameter). The walls, covered at one time with mosaics and slabs of , are sub- divided into a series of deeply recessed niches. Ten large, arched windows opened above them. The hall was cov- ered with an “umbrella vault” at a maximum height of 33 metres, at least partly covered with mosaics. It col- lapsed almost entirely in 1828. The niches contained statues, some of VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 2 7 THE VILLAS beginning of the AD, now Severus, continued under Caracalla OF THE CITY part of the Capitoline Collections. They and was completed in the first decades OUTSKIRTS represent two wearing of the 3rd century AD by . It their about to launch the mappa fell into disuse after his death in 222 that marked the beginning of the char- and was partially damaged by the con- iot races in the circus. struction of the Aurelian walls even though the circuit was designed to include it. The villa was brought to The Villa of the Sessorium new life with substantial building activity at the time of Constantine, The villa known as “Old Hope” (Horti when his mother Helen chose it as her Spei Veteris) still survives in significant residence. The villa was frequented ruins. The peculiar name from until the early 5th century AD. In later a toponym that in turn derived from times it was abandoned and then the ancient Temple of Hope, built in became in part property of the Church. the first half of the 5th century BC in Among the more or less substantial the area traversed by the Via Labicana ruins that have survived, the most important is the Basilica of Santa Croce In Gerusalemme great palatine hall that Helen trans- formed into the Basilica that later became Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. The rectangular hall (36.50 by 22 metres and 22 in height) was originally open on all sides with a series of arches on pilasters surmount- ed by a row of win- dows and the entrance was on one of the long sides. When it was trans- formed into a church, the hall was isolated from the rest of the palace and every connec- tion closed off. The and later famous for the presence of hall was given an apse on one of the the Porta Maggiore. After the 4th cen- short sides (the entrance was trans- tury AD, it was also indicated with the ferred to the opposite short wall) and name Sessorium, probably from sedes, divided internally into three spans in the sense of “residence”. The con- with transversal, open walls with VILLAS struction began under Septimius arches on columns or pilasters. It was OF ANCIENT ROME 2 8 two parallel rows of six connecting THE VILLAS chambers, the remains of which can be OF THE CITY seen at the intersection between via OUTSKIRTS Sommelier and via Eleniana. In the vicinity of the hall converted into a church there is a small “court” connected to the hall by means of an open corridor 300 metres long (of which some traces remain). The amphitheatre became known as “castrense”; perhaps when the villa was abandoned it was used by the The Castrense Amphitheatre In the scale model nearby barracks of the singu- of ancient Rome lares, the imperial equestrian guard. (Museo della Civiltà Romana) enriched by a smaller nave that was obtained by incorporating a side corri- dor. By the church, that now has the aspect of the 18th century restructur- ing, in the area of the Museo Storico dei Granatieri, there are the remains of a sumptuous hall with an apse. Nothing remains instead of the baths, built at the beginning of the3rd centu- ry AD, destroyed by a fire and rebuilt by Helen between 323 and 326 AD and thus known as Terme Elenianae. The baths stood in the area now traversed by via Sommeiller . Their substantial remains were dismantled at the time of pope Sixtus V during the building of the via Felice (today via Santa Croce Almost circular in plan, with the two Castrense Amphitheatre: Ruins incorporated in the in Gerusalemme). At a brief distance axes of 88 and 75.80 metres, the Aurelian Walls there is a large cistern composed of amphitheatre had two levels of arches

Castrense Amphitheatre In an engraving by Du Perac (16th century)

VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 2 9 THE VILLAS OF THE CITY OUTSKIRTS

The Aurelian Walls In Viale Castrense

on pilasters framed by Corinthian was adorned by the obelisk that semi-columns on the first level and Hadrian had dedicated to Antinous pilasters on the second. Above this (probably on the Palatine, in the gar- was a filled-in wall with windows dens of the Adonea). The obelisk was having travertine brackets to fasten found, collapsed, in the 1600s and was the poles that held the fabric of the initially transported to Palazzo “velarium”. At the time of Aurelian, Barberini, then moved to the Vatican, the amphitheatre was incorporated and finally erected in the Pincio gar- into the new city walls with the clos- dens by pope Pius VII in 1882. The cir- ing of the arches involved and the cus was abandoned when the lowering of the external level by Aurelian walls cut it in half, leaving roughly two metres. This guaranteed two thirds of it outside of their circuit. the preservation of three quarters of The remaining part inside the walls the perimeter of the building, espe- was used in different ways and sub- cially around via Nola and viale stantial ruins have recently been Castrense. Much less remains instead brought to light during excavations of the circus built by Elagabalus (who behind the basilica of Santa Croce. loved riding chariots in it personally) that was named Circus Varianus, from the emperor’s proper name, Vario The Villas of the Pincio Avito. The circus extended for about 500 metres parallel to the nearby Via Ancient sources mention various villas Labicana (modern via Casilina), with but in most cases the names change the longitudinal axis more or less cor- according to the succession of owners, responding to the modern via Acireale such as the villas of the Domitii, the and via Oristano, and the curved side Acilii, the Anicii and finally of the VILLAS located past via Ozieri. The “spina” Pincii, the family who bought most of OF ANCIENT ROME 3 0 the hill in the 4th century AD and after the residence of , who had THE VILLAS whom it was named. In any case, the done everything she could to acquire it OF THE CITY most ancient villa, as well as one of the but who enjoyed it for only a few OUTSKIRTS most ancient in Rome, was the months because she was assassi- one created in the 1st century nated a year later. When the BC by Licinius emperors started favouring Lucullus (Horti Luculliani) the more comfortable and who built it with the splendid Villa of Sallust proceeds from the (also for security rea- spoils of the war sons owing to its prox- against Mithridates. imity to the barracks The villa extended for of the pretorian about 20 hectares on guard), the villa must the summit of the hill have been sold to pri- and over two of the vate citizens, perhaps western slopes. The at the time of Trajan. In main section stood in the 2nd and 3rd cen- the area included today turies it must have been between Trinità dei Monti the property of the Acilii Bust of Lucullus and . It was Glabriones . Between the 4th inherited by the son of and 5th centuries it belonged Lucullus (who must have com- to the Anicii and then to the Pincii, pleted it) and then ceded to Marcus but after the in 410, it Valerius Messalla Corvinus, an illustri- became imperial property once more. ous figure of the Augustan era. In 47 At the beginning of the 6th century king AD, the villa belonged to Valerius Theodoricus ordered the spoliation of Asiaticus who was accused of conspir- the villa but in the same century it was acy against Claudius and forced to used again as a residence by the commit suicide. It consequently became Byzantine general Belisarius.

Plan of the Horti Luculliani

VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 3 1 THE VILLAS ensured the water supply later OF THE CITY obtained with double connec- OUTSKIRTS tions to the Aqua Claudia and the Anio Novus. A large still visible cistern having the capacity of 1000 square metres was instead built during the late 4th century phase. Recent excavations under Villa Medici led to the explo- ration of important structures including a large apse (14 metres in diameter) provided with a heating plant, richly decorated

Villa Medici on the Pincio, and covered with marble, dating on the site of the ancient from the time of . In Villa of Lucullus the basement of the Convent of Today almost nothing visible is left, the Sacred Heart there is a complex of but what was seen in the past, what six chambers connected to three differ- remains below the structures and the ent corridors and to a cryptoporticus. gardens of the Villa Medici and the On an upper level there are rooms Convent of the Sacred Heart at Trinità with mosaic floors. Below the nearby dei Monti, and what has been found in Biblioteca Hertziana, in the via recent excavations, not yet completed, Gregoriana, there is a long foundation allows us to “reconstruct” the main wall of the late republican period later features of the villa and its overall transformed (perhaps in the Julio- structure. The complex was developed Claudian era) with a series of niches with a series of “terraces” connected into a nymphaeum . Its wall was deco- with ramps of steps facing the rated with mythological and sacred Campus Martius and the course of the landscapes in glass paste mosaic. The river Tiber. Its most renowned element structures known as “Muro Torto”, was on the summit of the entire com- along the avenue with the same name, plex and consisted of an imposing belonged to the villa and were sub- curvilinear structure (almost 200 structures of the northern section. metres in diameter) that cov-

Substructures of the Pincio ered the entire area included in Viale del Muro Torto between the Villa Medici and Trinità dei Monti. It probably had porticoes and was sup- ported by a massive terraced wall (still partially visible in the 1500s). The structure is commonly identified with the “Nymphaeum of ”, mentioned by sources and per- haps dating from the period in which the villa belonged to Valerius Atticus. A complex system of canalizations carved VILLAS out of the tufa and ending OF ANCIENT ROME inside Villa Medici initially 3 2 GLOSSARY GLOSSARY

Apse: A covered semicircular or polygo- Lacunar: A recessed panel in a ceiling nal architectural structure with a vault- Mausoleum: A large stately tomb, the ed recess name derives from the sepulchre of Acroterion: An placed at the Mausolus at Halicarnassus (4th century of a temple structure BC) Agger: Rampart, embankment Nymphaeum: A building of varying Alabaster: A fine grained or cal- shape and decoration, usually contain- cite, easy to work with ing one or more fountains Ambulacrum/ambulatory: A sheltered Pavilion: An isolated building in an place to walk in, normally in the shape open space, used for different purposes of a portico Pendentive: The section of vaulting Atrium: A large entrance hall in a public between the dome and the walls of the or private building. In a Roman house, square structure that supports it the porticoed courtyard onto which the Peristyle: An open space enclosed by rooms opened colonnades, common to Greek and Basilica: A public Roman building with Roman buildings a rectangular plan used for meetings, Porphyry: Precious ornamental material business transactions and the adminis- obtained from volcanic rocks tration of justice Portico: A porch or walkway with rows Cal(i)darium: In a bath complex, the of columns on one or more of its sides heated room with a large pool for Pronaos: The portico that precedes a Greek or Roman building : A supporting sculp- Raceme: In , a stylized deco- tured in the form of a female figure rative motif with foliage scrolls and Cavea: The seating complex of an sometimes symbolical elements ancient theatre or amphitheatre Specchiatura: An architectural element : A bright red mineral used in consisting of a recessed panel, usually antiquity for pigment outlined by moulding Cistern: A brickwork structure for the : In the Roman world, a shop storing of rainwater often connected to living quarters Corinthian: One of the classical architec- Terme: Public buildings with rooms and tural orders, characterized by capitals equipment for hot and cold baths, mas- with acanthus leaves sage and physical exercise Cryptoporticus: In Roman architec- Triclinium: The dining room in a Roman ture, a partially underground covered house consisting of couches along three portico of the walls Hemicycle: A semi-circular structure in Velarium: An awning consisting of vari- a building or in an architectural complex ous sections of cloth spread across Encaustic: Ancient painting technique Roman and to consisting of pigment mixed with shield the spectators from the sun beeswax and fixed with heat on a plaster Vestibule: The open space that precedes surface after its application a hall or a complex of rooms Exedra: A semicircular structure in - Vault: An arched structure serving to lic and private Roman buildings cover a space that differs according to Frigidarium: An unheated room with a the successions or crossing of the arches cold water pool in a bath complex themselves VILLAS OF ANCIENT ROME 3 3 INFORMATION INFORMATION

SITES OPEN TO THE PUBLIC Addresses, opening , directions from Termini Train Station

DOMUS AUREA VILLA OF THE VIGNACCE Via della Domus Aurea Via Lemonia (Parco degli Acquedotti) Gardens of the Colle Oppio Metro Line A “Giulio ” stop Admission: € 5,00 + € 1,50 Reservation required VILLA OF DOMITIA LUCILLA Tel 06 39967700 Remains of the bath complex and var- Open: 9.00am-7.45pm ious structures in the basement of the Closed Tuesday – Bus n. 714 S. Giovanni Hospital Via dell’Amba Aradam, 9 VILLA OF THE FLAVIAN Open: only on request CHRISTIANS – MAUSOLEUM OF Tel 0677053011- fax 06 77053495 HELEN Bus n.16 Via Casilina, Km.5 (Tor Pignattara) Bus n.105 VILLA OF GALLIENUS Temple known as Minerva Medica VILLA OF THE GORDIANI (Via Giolitti/Via Pietro Micca) Access from Via Prenestina and Via Tram n.14 or a few minutes on foot Venezia Giulia – Tram n.14 VILLA OF MAXENTIUS VILLA OF THE QUINTILII and Tomb of Via Appia Nuova, 1092 Romolus Tel 06 39967700 Via Appia Antica,153 – tel 06 7801324 Admission: € 4,00 Admission: € 2,60 Opening hours: winter 9.00am- Opening hours: winter 9.00am- 3.30pm – summer 9.00am-5.30pm 5.00pm – summer 9.00am-1.00pm Closed Monday Closed Monday – Bus n. 714 Metro Line A – “Colli Albani” stop up to Piazza Numa Pompilio and then then Bus n.664 Bus n.118

VILLA OF THE SETTE BASSI VILLA OF MAECENAS (Osteria del Curato) Auditorium – Largo Leopardi,2 Metro Line A- “Anagnina” stop 06 4873262 Admission: € 2,60 VILLA OF THE SESSORIUM Opening hours: 9.00am-1.30pm Remains of the hall with apse in the Closed Monday – Bus n.16 area of the Museo Storico dei Granatieri di Sardegna VILLA OF SALLUST Piazza Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, 7 Remains in the centre of Piazza Tel. 06 7028287 Sallustio Opening hours: from Monday to Bus n.910 Friday 9.00am-4.00pm Saturday and Underground cistern in the interior holidays only with Reservation of the German Hungarian Pontifical Remains of the Castrense Amphitheatre College Viale Castrense/ Via Nola Via S. Nicola da Tolentino, 13 VILLAS Basilica di S. Croce in Gerusalemme Tel 06421191 – fax 06 42119125 OF ANCIENT Piazza S. Croce in Gerusalemme,12 Visits by appointment ROME Tel 06 7029279 - Bus n.16 Metro Line A “ Barberini” stop 3 4 INFORMATION INFORMATION

MUSEUMS THAT DISPLAY FINDINGS FROM THE ANCIENT VILLAS Addresses, opening hours and directions from Termini Train Station

CAPITOLINE MUSEUMS: “Tyche of Antioch” (Villa of the “Dying Gaul” (Villa of Sallust), Vignacce) “Magistrates wearing their togas” Viale Vaticano – tel. 06 69884947 (Villa of Gallienus) Admission: € 12,00 reduced € 8,00 Piazza del Campidoglio Opening hours: January- Tel 06 67102475 and - 8.45am- Admission: € 7,80 1.45pm; from march to Opening hours: 9.00am-8.00pm 8.45am-4.45 pm Closed Monday Closed and religious holidays. Buses n.64/40/70/H/170 Open with free admission every last Sunday of the month. CENTRALE MONTEMARTINI: Metro Line A “Cipro” stop “Esquiline Venus” (Villa of Lamia) Via Ostiense, 106 – tel 065748038 • The sites mentioned in the text not Admission: € 4,20 listed on these pages are not at pre- Opening hours: 9.30am-7pm Closed sent open to the public Monday • Opening times and admission prices Metro B Line “Piramide” stop then bus may vary n.23

MUSEO NAZIONALE ROMANO – PALAZZO ALTEMPS: “Ludovisi Throne”, “Acrolith”, “Gaul committing suicide” (Villa of Sallust) Piazza Sant’Apollinare, 44 Tel 06 39967700 Admission: € 5,00 Opening hours: 9.00am-7.45pm Closed Monday – Bus n.70

MUSEO NAZIONALE ROMANO – PALAZZO MASSIMO ALLE TERME: Rooms with frescoes (Villa of Livia Villa of Sallust: and Villa of the Farnesina), Statue of Niobe “Niobe” (Villa of Sallust) (Museo Nazionale Romano – Palazzo Massimo Largo di Villa Peretti,1 Alle Terme) Tel 06 39967700 Admission: € 6,00 Opening hours: 9.00am-7.45pm Closed Monday A few minutes on foot

VATICAN MUSEUMS “Augustus of Prima Porta” (Villa of Livia), “Colossal head of Julia VILLAS Domna”, “Ganymede and the Eagle”, OF ANCIENT ROME 3 5 This publication may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, including illustrations, without permission i INFORMATION POINTS

Aeroporto Leonardo Da Vinci (Arrivi Internazionali - Terminal B)

Largo Goldoni ()

Piazza San Giovanni in Laterano

Via Nazionale (Palazzo delle Esposizioni)

Piazza delle Cinque Lune (Piazza Navona)

Piazza Pia (Castel Sant’Angelo)

Piazza del Tempio della Pace (Fori Imperiali)

Piazza Sonnino (Trastevere)

Via dell’Olmata ()

Piazza dei (Stazione Termini)

Stazione Termini (Galleria Gommata)

Via Marco Minghetti (Fontana di ) REGIONE PROVINCIA DI ROMA DI ROMA

AZIENDA DI PROMOZIONE TURISTICA DI ROMA Via Parigi 11 - 00185 Roma Tel. 06 488991 - Fax 0648899238

Visitor Center Via Parigi 5

Tourist Information Service Tel. 06 36004399

www.romaturismo.it Free distribution

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