Tuesday, September 8, 2020

VILLA OF THE GORDIANS

 VILLA DEI GORDIANI

Via Prenestina/Largo Preneste

At the third mile of Via Prenestina, belonging to the ephemeral GORDIAN DINASTY of emperors

Gordian I was emperor for a month on the year 238 (the year of the six emperors, the other three, besides the Gordians, being Maximinus Thrax, Pupienus and Balbinus) together with his son Gordian II

Gordian III (238/244), grandson of Gordian I, became emperor at age 13, the youngest sole emperor in the history of the Roman empire, and reigned for six years

Ruins on both sides of the street:

On the right

Cistern, tombs and other remains

On the left

Another cistern, republican villa, octagonal hall close to a spa complex

Further east LARGE ROUND MAUSOLEUM known as Tor de' Schiavi dating back to the period of Constantine. The name derives from the Schiavi family who owned the land in the sixteenth century

Slightly later the nearby FUNERARY BASILICA was built, shaped as a circus (hippodrome) of 67 x 33 m (220 x 109 feet) with nearby COLUMBARIA of the first century AD

Nearby CATACOMBS were discovered

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