PALATINE HILL - PALATINE HILL MUSEUM (second part)

ROOM VIII
More imperial portraits

Interesting portrait of “Marcus Aurelius (161/180)” young and beardless, dating back to about 147

“Julia Domna” Syrian wife of Septimius Severus (193/211) who was a native of Libya

“Maximinus Thrax (235/238)” the so-called “Emperor soldier”

He was born in today's Bulgaria and was a shepherd who had made a career in the army. He was huge and the Historia Augusta (document probably dating from the early fifth century AD with biographies of the emperors) reports that he was incredibly 2.40 m (9 feet) tall

He was the first emperor who never went to Rome during his reign

“Balbino (238)” was emperor for three months together with Pupienus with whom he quarreled bitterly. During the quarrel were both killed by the praetorians who proclaimed emperor the thirteen-years-old Gordian III

“Bust of Merman” late second century AD with his mouth open to let water flow out. It was in fact used as a fountain in the Septizonium

“Bas-relief of a woman with two birds in one hand and a cane in the other” early fourth century AD maybe a personification of winter

“Graffiti with donkey man crucified” from the Pedagogium with the inscription in Greek: “Alexamenos worships his god” first half of the third century AD

It is probably a very early mockery of the Christian religion

ROOM IX

The sculptural decoration of the Palace. Greek originals and Roman copies of the Classical and Hellenistic periods

“Acroterial headless statue of Aura” with peplum open on the side. Maybe Greek original of the fifth century BC from near the Arch of Titus

An acroterial statue is a statue placed as a decoration on the roof of a temple

“Fragment of a relief with Leda and the Swan”

“Child seated”

“Headless statue of Aphrodite or Kharis” from the original by Kallimacos with beautiful light drapery that enhances the sensual posing of the goddess

“Statuette of a satyr looking at his tail”

“Dionysus as a child”. It was originally placed in the arms of Hermes

“Head of Aphrodite”

“Fragmented face of Westmacott's Ephebe”

“Statuette of Diomedes carrying the Palladium”

“Torso of Artemis”

“Head of Aphrodite of Cnidus” and “Head of Apollo Sauroctonos” from the original by Praxiteles (about 395/326 BC)

“His ideal is the Charis, who is beauty combined with grace. He does not move in the sphere of the solemn Olympian deities as Phidias and the artists of the fifth century, but he chooses only a few semi-divine beings or gods, and represents them with an all human beauty in a tone already delicately sensual and romantic. For his particular poetic content he creates rhythms that free figures from the equilibrium gravitating around their axis which was the central problem of the art of the fifth century and which had been formulated in more complex and organic way by Polykleitos. Praxiteles' rhythms are either leaning on a lateral support, giving a new curve to the figure, or either, when support is lacking, the body bends in its own soft gravity, it is released in an inert abandonment, or bends in a simple pose, often with its head bowed, always avoiding the static and vertical line” (Enciclopedia Treccani)

“Headless statue of a girl dancing”

“Two muses sitting”

“Fragmentary head of Doryphoros” from original by Polykleitos of Argos (about 490/425 BC)

“Head of Asclepius”

“Two heads of Apollo” of the Anzio type

“Veiled head of Venus Sosandra” or savior of mankind, from an original of about 460 BC by Calamis

It was his most famous work and it was placed on the Acropolis of Athens

“Figure solemn and quiet, which expresses an ideal of femininity in the process of affirmation. We are far beyond the ancient climate: there is obviously some psychological research, the desire to penetrate in the privacy of individuals” (Carlo Bertelli, Giuliano Briganti, Antonio Giuliano)

“Hera Borghese” second century AD from an original of the end of the fifth century BC

“An original of the last quarter of the fifth century BC takes to the extreme the drapery of the Parthenon with a bold play of folds. It is a statue of a goddess found in secondary arrangement in the agora of Athens and reconstructed from several fragments. The work recalls the so-called type of the Hera Borghese, known only through replicas of Roman age. These types of statues, created especially to depict Aphrodite, introduce a new vision of the deity - more feminine and sensual, different from the idealized humanity of the goddesses of the Parthenon - which will lead, in the following century, to the naked Aphrodite by Praxiteles, the famous Aphrodite of Cnidus” (Marina Castoldi)

“Heads of Trojan princes and dying barbarians”

Statue of “Magna Mater sitting” in Pentelic marble, originally located in the Temple of Magna Mater

“Head of Hygeia” Augustan copy of a late-classical work

PALATINE HILL - PALATINE HILL MUSEUM (first part)

MUSEO PALATINO

Part of the Museo Nazionale Romano which is made out of five different museums in five different locations. The other four are Palazzo Massimo, Palazzo Altemps, Museo delle Terme and Crypta Balbi

 

Ground Floor - Palatine Hill from Origins to the Republican Period

ROOM I

The prehistory of the hill (from 100,000 years ago to the end of the second millennium BC). From the Middle Paleolithic to the Bronze Age with stable settlements from 1200 BC

ROOMS II - III

The early history of the hill (X/VII century BC), huts of the Iron Age and burials

Models of the significant settlement of huts on the Palatine Hill in the ninth century BC

ROOM IV

The Archaic and Republican period (VI/I century BC). Cultural complexes and private houses

“Antefix polychrome with head of woman”

“Bearded head in polychrome pottery”

“Fragment of terracotta head maybe of Dionysus”

 

First Floor - Palatine Hill in the Imperial Period

ROOM V

Augustan Age (27 BC/14). The sanctuary of Apollo of Actium and decorative theme in celebration of the Principality

“Fragments of head and one foot of the colossal statue of Apollo” by Skopas

“Fragment of the Face of Late Archaic statue of Athena”

“Fragment of the Palatine Palladium” original Greek of the sixth century BC

The Palladium was a statue that, according to the beliefs of antiquity, was capable of defending an entire city. The most famous was kept at Troy, and in fact the city was destroyed when Ulysses and Diomedes succeeded in stealing it

According to Virgil, Ulysses and Diomedes did not steal the Palladium, but it was Aeneas who brought it with him to Italy and there it stayed only to be eventually kept in the Temple of Vesta

“Three herms of canephorae in black ancient marble” from the porch of the Temple of Apollo

The canephorae were maidens who carried sacred objects of worship in baskets held deftly balanced on their heads

“Campana Slab” 36/28 BC architectural terracottas from the Temple of Apollo

Their name recalls that of the Marquis Giampietro Campana who, in the first half of 1800s, had gathered a rich collection of these particular kind of terracottas

“Fragments of frescoes” from the House of Augustus, one with “Apollo Citaredo”

ROOM VI

Age of Nero (54/68) - The Domus Transitoria (temporary house) and new decorative conception

“Inlaid marble panels” in opus sectile from the Domus Transitoria

Opus sectile is one of the more refined and prestigious techniques of marble ornamentation, both for the marbles used often very valuable and for implementation difficulties

Marble is cut into very thin sheets known as crustae and shaped with great precision, using the most different qualities of marble to obtain the desired color effects

Painted decorations with “Trojan Cycle of Ulysses” from the Domus Transitoria

ROOM VII

From the Julio-Claudian emperors to the Tetrarchy (284/312). Official portraiture and decoration of the Palace

“Two heads of Nero (54/68)”

“In the portraits of Nero, best known from coins emissions, it seems possible to distinguish three stylistically different periods due to his different political behavior. In the portrait of the Palatine, chronologically be placed in the middle years of the reign, the realism of some facial features is tempered by the apparent softness of the marble, the search for effects of light and pathos. This style heralds the stage of absolute rule of the emperor in which we witness, at the level of artistic language, the final affirmation of the Baroque and pictorial trend of the Hellenistic tradition, already in embryo in the figurative culture of Claudius” (Simona Fortunelli)

“Two pieces of the floor in opus sectile (inlaid marble)” of the Neronian period from the Domus Tiberiana

“Bust of Antoninus Pius (138/161)”

“He ruled with wisdom and righteousness, animated by paternal solicitude for the welfare of all. He eased the tax system, he was generous with donations, he founded charities, including one in favor of orphan girls. Respectful of official religion, however, he was not too intransigent toward Christians and Jews. To his wife Faustina he erected a temple on the Via Sacra. Under his reign raids by Mauri in Africa and Brigantes in Britain were easily tackled: here it was established the famous 'Antonine Wall'“ (Enciclopedia Treccani)

“Two heads of vestal virgins from a relief”

Beautiful “Head of a Young Princess” of the Antonine period

PALATINE HILL - AREA OF THE HOUSE OF AUGUSTUS (first part)

TEMPLE OF APOLLO

One of the most important buildings of the Palatine Hill, inaugurated in 28 BC with a solemn ceremony

The building was constructed entirely with white marble from Carrara and its doors were covered with gold and ivory

It had a portico of columns in yellow marble from Tunisia embellished with fifty statues of the Danaides in black marble placed between the columns whereas the cult statues of Apollo, Artemis and Leto (respectively by Scopas, Timotheos and Kephisodotos) were brought from Greece

In the base of the statue of Apollo were kept in golden reliquaries the Sibylline Books that Augustus wanted to move here from the Temple of Jupiter on Capitoline Hill

The nine Sibylline Books, according to Roman tradition, contained the destiny of Rome and had been offered to the king, Tarquin the Proud from a Sibyl at a price that the king thought too high

The Sibyl then burned three books and offered the remaining six but at the same previous price and the king refused again

The Sibyl then burned three more books and this time the king, on the advice of the priests, bought the remaining three always at the same price

They were kept in the Temple of Jupiter until the fire of 83 BC burned them

They were rewritten from copies and put by Augustus in the Temple of Apollo

Now it remains only the core of the podium in concrete (44 x 24 m - 145 x 79 feet)

Of the rich marble decorations remain only a few fragments with religious and mythical subjects connected with the cult of Apollo, part of the face and a foot of the statue of Apollo and three herms in black marble representing the Danaides now in the Palatine Museum

AUGUSTUS' HOUSE

Augustus (27 BC/14) lived here for about 40 years from about 30 BC

He chose to live on the Palatine Hill because that's where he was born, and because he wanted to make a clear juxtaposition between his political image and that of Romulus, who had founded the city and lived here

His decision was followed by the other emperors who lived on the hill as well and also extended the imperial seat, the PALATIUM, the palace par excellence

The house consists of a series of rooms on two terraces

In the lower terrace, the rooms excavated, built in square blocks of tufa, are based on two files and huddled up in a massive concrete wall that was used to hold the ground above

The house was restored by Augustus after the fire of AD 3 and is divided into a PRIVATE WING with some small, simple rooms and a PUBLIC WING, near the temple of Apollo, with large and lavish rooms, stucco ceilings and marble floors

The house was buried at the time of Nero (54/68) and replaced by a large rectangular enclosure, within which were placed at least three major bases for colossal statues and maybe a temple, probably a shrine of the imperial cult, the Aedes Caesarum in Palatio

In the PRIVATE WING there are two adjacent rooms:

The “Room of the Masks” maybe the bedroom of Augustus with a rich architectural decoration inspired by the theater scenes with, in the center of each wall, a representation of a rural sanctuary

The “Room of Festoons Pine” maybe Livia's bedroom, with a decorative pattern consisting of pine garlands placed between the wooden pillars of a porch located on a podium

In the PUBLIC WING there is a decoration with paintings of more sophisticated architectures:

The “Black-walled Room” is divided into panels by pilasters in bright red and yellow bands at the corners

In the “Western Library” the decoration is divided into two parts: in the atrium large yellow panels stand out on a red background and, on the inside, the red background is limited by green and yellow bands

The rooms defined by the numbers 8 and 9 have a decoration of a simple type

In the “Room of Perspective” is the representation of a two-story building projected forward creating an effect of perspective

The following rooms are accessible to the public:

 “Ramp” that used to lead from the house to the temple of Apollo with alternation between light and dark colors

Great “Pillared Hall” with inlaid marble floors and vaulted stucco

Small “Square Room” with inlaid marble floor and decorative painting on the walls divided into purple panels open outwards

“Study of Augustus” very interesting for the variety and sophistication of the paintings: the decorative scheme is the usual one, consisting of the podium, ortostati (clay slabs leaning or hanging on a wall for decoration) and upper area where the prevailing colors are red, yellow and black

On the ceiling there is a refined alternating of stucco and painted panels

ROMULUS' HUTS

Traces of three huts, built on the tufa stone of the hill, discovered in 1907 and studied in 1948

The huts dated back to around the eighth century BC and are considered by the Roman tradition the home of Romulus, the first king and the founder of Rome

The largest hut was measuring 4.9 x 3.6 m (16 x 12 feet) and had seven holes along the perimeter (three intermediate and four at the corners) corresponding to the support poles. The door was on the short side to the south, preceded by a small portico based on two poles

The sloping roof was thatched with reeds, and the walls were covered with clay

At the center there was a fireplace and on the outside a channel for rainwater

STRUCTURES BUILT IN CONCRETE AND BRICKS

Several structures built in peperino blocks and in opus latericium (concrete covered with bricks) maybe part of multi-storey residential buildings

The Cataloghi Regionari, a document of the beginning of the fourth century AD, reports that in Rome there were 89 domus (houses) and 2742 insulae (apartment blocks)

Rome was therefore much more like modern Rome, made up of apartment buildings, than a city that consisted mainly of villas like Pompeii

“ARCHAIC WALL”

It has been identified as the remains of the so-called fortification walls of the Palatine Hill built in square and rectangular interlocking blocks, made out of gray tufa from the quarries in Fidenae with carbonaceous fragments and of tufa from Grotta Oscura

It is maybe, however, just a terrace wall of the hill

SCALAE CACI

One of the ancient entrances to Palatine Hill

They were the stairs that were climbed, according to Virgil, by Aeneas with King Evander

They derive their name from the giant Cacus, foe of Hercules and consisted of alternating steps and ramps located on the hillside by the side of the Circus Maximus

TEMPLE OF THE MAGNA MATER

Temple dedicated to the worship of the Great Mother Cybele introduced in 204 BC after consulting the Sibylline Books

It was venerated in Pessinus in Turkey under the appearance of an elongated conical black stone, probably a meteorite

The statue was brought to Rome and placed temporarily in the Temple of Victory on the Palatine

The temple was Corinthian and hexastyle on high stairs as well as prostyle, i.e. without columns on the sides

The construction ended in 191 BC and at the dedication on April 11 the Ludi Megalensi (games in honor of the goddess) began for which Plautus and Terence wrote some of their best works

The statue of the goddess discovered near the temple is now in the Palatine Museum

The current base of the temple is certainly original. The restorations in opus reticulatum (reticulated work) are subsequent to the fire in 111 BC and some fragments of columns and pediment are subsequent to the fire of AD 3

On a marble base there is a dedication to the Great Mother of Gods Idea “M(ater) D(eum) M(agna) I(daea)”

Recent excavations have identified, to the east of the temple, the foundations and the remains of the podium of a temple identified as the TEMPLE OF VICTORY, built in 294 BC by the consul Lucius Postumius Megello

PALATINE HILL - EASTERN SIDE

ENTRANCE ON VIA DI S. GREGORIO

Gate by Jacopo Barozzi aka Vignola (1507/73) moved here from its original location on the Sacred Way

Entering it is possible to see the remains of buildings with vaults not yet studied that perhaps had functions of substructure

AQUEDUCT OF CLAUDIUS

Segment of the aqueduct that connected the Celium Hill with the Palatine Hill built by Domitian (81/96) in continuation of that of Nero (54/68) from the Spes Vetus (Porta Maggiore) to the Celium Hill, in turn a continuation of the Aqueduct of Claudius (41/54) 69 km (43 miles) long from the valley of the Aniene River

SEPTIZODIUM SEVERI

Known as Septizodium or according to some archaeologists, Septizonium

It was the monumental façade of a fountain-nymphaeum adorned with columns to impress those who came from the Appian Way

Demolished in about 1588 by order of Pope Sixtus V Peretti (1585/90) to obtain building materials with which to construct various buildings, including the Sistine Chapel in the Basilica of S. Maria Maggiore, elements of the façade of S. Girolamo degli Illirici and the Fountains of the Crossroads of the Quattro Fontane

ARCHES OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS

Structures of considerable height at the front end facing the Circus Maximus that had functions of substructure, to expand artificially the hill and create a platform to support the new wing of the palace at the time of Septimius Severus (193/211)

Though they are grand structures, they give only a faint idea of what was to be the grandeur of the original massive building

SEVERAN BATHS

Bathhouse from the time of Domitian (81/96)

The upper part of the building, the area of the baths, was built in later times, among which the most important is that of Septimius Severus (193/211), as shown by the marks on the bricks

The construction continued until the time of Maxentius (306/312)

MAXENTIUS BATHS

Among the Severan Baths and the Domus Augustana

Behind the building there is a cylindrical structure located towards the Circus Maximus, perhaps a latrine

Here Septimius Severus built a new imperial stage to watch the races of the Circus Maximus

SO CALLED “STADIUM“

160 x 48 m (525 x 157 feet)

At the two ends small semi-circular buildings, maybes fountains or terminal elements of the spina, the central dividing line

Originally there was a two-story portico restored in the Hadrian's period (117/138)

At the center along the east side there was the imperial box

Maybe it was the Viridarium, green space for rest and walking, and maybe even the Hippodromus Palatii

It was crossed by a wide boulevard ring from which paths and flower beds branched and it was decorated with statues and marbles

Here were found most of the statues now in the Museo Palatino

The small oval enclosure is perhaps dating back to the time of Theodoric (king of Italy 493/526) and may never have been used as an amphitheater, for gladiatorial games had been abolished for about 80 years at the time