Over time, the swampy valleys between them were drained and replaced with public spaces. Only then did Rome as we know it begin to emerge and was protected by the great Servian Walls built in the fourth Century BC (black on map below).
Many of the great public forums and buildings of ancient Rome were built on areas of former swamp. At the end of the great Roman Empire when many of those public buildings had been abandoned and the Tiber flooded, as it often did, silt from the floods gradually built up reclaiming the lowest areas so that by medieval times many areas had reverted to grazing lands. Hence the need for modern archeological excavations to be so deep, especially around the Forum (on the map above).
1. The Palentine Hill is said to be where the brothers Romulus and Remus were discovered in a cave by the she-wolf Lupa who suckled them and kept them alive. Legend has it that after Romulus killed his brother Remus in a quarrel, he became king and founded Rome on the Palatine Hill in 753 BC.
Since the time of Augustus (27 BC- 14 AD) the Imperial palaces were built on the Palatine Hill, which makes it one of the richest archeological sites in Rome, including the Palace of Domitian, which dominates the site, the houses of Livia and Augustus, the Roman Forum, Circus Maximus and the Colosseum.
Palace of Domician on the Palantine looking across the Circus Maximus.
The Roman Forum with the highest wall of the Colosseum on the horizon in the background.
The Colosseum with more of those Roman pines pruned by a Medici giraffe.
2. Capitoline Hill was known as the political and religious center of Ancient Rome. In Ancient times the hill was the home of the Temples of Jupiter, as well as the Tabularium, or Archives, which can be seen beneath the Palazzo Senatorio, Rome’s current City Hall.
On the Capitoline Hill today is the Piazza del Campidoglio (above) designed by Michelangelo during the Renaissance. There are three buildings lining the piazza, the Palazzo Senatorio, the Palazzo dei Conservatori and the Palazzo Nuovo and they are known as the Capitoline museums. They house must-see Roman antiquities such as the original bronze she-wolf (La Lupa) that dates back from the fifth Century and is considered the symbol of Rome.
A little in front of the renaissance Piazza del Campidoglio sits the modern Vittorio Emanuele II Monument, also known as the Alter of the Fatherland, the typewriter and the wedding cake and built in 1910 in honour of Victor Emmanuel II, the first king of a unified Italy. It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill.
3. Viminal Hill is the smallest of the seven hills. Rome's main train station Termini is located on Viminal Hill as are the Baths of Diocletian. The basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri designed by Michelangelo is built inside the ruins of the ancient baths. The National Museum of Rome is also located within the ruins and utilises buildings formerly associated with Michelangelo's monastery.
The Baths of Diocletian, the largest baths in the Roman world, were built in just eight years between 298 and 306 AD. and were active until 6th Century AD. They covered an area of 13 hectares and could accommodate 13,000 people (read 'men") at a time. The architectural spaces in the buildings are so large that it is almost impossible to take meaningful photographs.
The ancient remains of the baths were a source of inspiration for the architects of the renaissance and Michelangelo, commissioned by Pope Pius IV, turned the frigidarium of the baths into the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri and also designed the monastery that was built behind the church.
The ancient unadorned brick wall of the baths belies the beauty of the church inside.
This is just one of the four sides of Michelangelo's monastery which now houses the intriguing National Museum of Rome.
Three hills is enough hills for now...... four more to go.
No comments:
Post a Comment