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 - DOMUS TIBERIANA

Domus Tiberiana

The first truly unified palace built by an emperor is maybe that of Tiberius (14/37)

The area was covered in the sixteenth century by the Farnese Gardens. It is largely uncharted

Perhaps Tiberius built it over his birthplace. It included a library

It was probably the seat of the designated successor of the emperor when he was still alive, as Tiberius was the successor of Augustus

We know with certainty that Marcus Aurelius (161/180) and Lucius Verus (161/169) lived here when they were adopted and designated as successors of Antoninus Pius (138/161)

It was used as a residence by Pope John VII (705/707)

PALATINE HILL - NORTHERN SIDE

TEMPLE OF THE SUN

Foundations of a temple (60 x 40 m - 197 x 131 feet) of uncertain identification, but by many considered the Temple of the Sun, built by Emperor Elagabalus (218/222)

It must have been originally surrounded by an area with portico

Inside the temple Elagabalus were kept many sacred objects including the Palladium of Troy, the aniconic image of Cybele, the fire of Vesta and the ancilla or shields of Mars preserved in the Regia

Recent excavations have revealed the nature of garden of the area, perhaps the “Gardens of Adonis”. The building stood until the late empire as evidenced by mentions of various ancient authors

Recently, in the northeast corner structures have been excavated belonging to Nero's Domus Aurea, most likely including the famous ROUND ROOM WITH ROTATING FLOOR described by Suetonius

PENTAPYLUM

Maybe remains of the monumental entrance with five arches that used to give access to the colonnade of the Temple of the Sun

ARCH

Square area paved with stones and ruins of an arch of the imperial period

It was perhaps the monumental entrance to the Imperial Palace

BASE MAYBE OF A TEMPLE

NERONIAN CRYPTOPORTICUS

Semi-underground corridor 130 m (427 feet) long, illuminated by narrow windows, which united the Domus Aurea with the imperial palace

The attribution to Nero (54/68) is arbitrary

In the stretch leading to the house of Livia, is visible on the vault a copy of a stucco decoration with geometric panels surrounded by cupids and floral motifs. The original is in the Palatine Museum

ATRIUM GAI

Structures built by Domitian (81/96) on the remains of the House of Caligula (37/41) or Atrium Gai, where in the sixth century the church of S. Maria Antiqua was built

SO-CALLED “CLIVUS VICTORIA”

SHOPS

SO-CALLED “CLIVUS PALATINO” that maybe was the Vicus Apollinis

HOUSE OF MARCUS EMILIUS SCAURUS (see Roman Forum)

PORTICUS MARGARITARIA

Remains of brick walls parallel and perpendicular to the axis of the Sacred Way identified by Rodolfo Lanciani as a large porch that was built around rows of stone pillars and was given the name Porticus Margaritaria according to the Chronograph of 354 AD (an illustrated calendar) that mentions it among the buildings located in the Forum

The structure with portico was actually begun by Nero (54/68) shortly before the fire of 64

After the fire the construction of a grand portico with pillars began

It should have been used as access to the Domus Aurea, but it was never finished: after the death of Nero, the Flavian emperors stopped the work and the completed part was destined for public and commercial use until the late empire

SACRED WAY

Ancient road that connected the Palatine, the Forum and the Capitoline Hill

It owed its name to the functions and ceremonial processions that used to follow this road

According to ancient tradition, the sanctity of the street derives from the legendary pact of peace between Romulus and Titus Tatius, or from the fact that priests walked on it monthly during the sacred ceremonies of the Ides and Nonae

Until the beginning of the imperial age it would have had a first flat section from the Roman Forum, namely the Comitium, up the slopes of the Velia, more or less where the Basilica of Maxentius is, passing next to the Basilica Emilia

A second section uphill (summa Sacra Via) would have reached the Shrine of the Strenia Carinae, passing through the Velia

After the fire in 64 AD the second section was modified and brought to the atrium of the Domus Aurea, where later the Temple of Venus and Rome was built

One can categorically exclude that the Via Sacra is the one that passes under the Arch of Titus

FOUNDATIONS OF NERO’S PERIOD

Maybe part of the basement of the porch that surrounded the entrance hall of the Domus Aurea, the Golden House of Nero (54/68)

ARCH OF TITUS (see Roman Forum)

BASE

Rectangular base east of the Arch of Titus in flakes of flint, which were attached to some blocks of travertine and lava stone. Its function is unknown

Before the recent excavations, it was believed that it was the base of the Temple of Jupiter Stator, consecrated by Romulus in the Roman-Sabine war

In the Middle ages over the remains of the basement the Turris Chartularia was built, which owed its name to its supposed proximity to the imperial Chartularium (archive), later used as an archive of the popes

SACRARIUM OF AUGUSTUS

Next to the Sacred Way there are the remains of a complex that was perhaps used as baths and has been identified by some as the Baths of Elagabalus, by others as the Curiae Veteres, a temple that the written tradition attributed to Romulus, and that Tacitus mentions as the third corner of the pomerium (border) of the Palatine city

It is more probable that it is the Sacrarium of Augustus erected in the place where the emperor was born

The area is still being excavated, but a room with apse and fountains is visible, probably intended to use as baths but later used as a place of worship

PALATINE HILL - St. SEBASTIAN

S. Sebastiano

Known in the Middle Ages as S. Maria in Pallara from the Palladium of Troy, which was in the Temple of the Sun

The Palladium was a statue which, according to ancient beliefs, was able to defend an entire city

Rebuilt 1624/30 for Urban VIII Barberini (1623/44) by Luigi Arrigucci (1575/after 1643) retaining the original apse of the tenth century with traces of frescoes

COUNTER FAÇADE

Watercolors nineteenth-century copies of those of the seventeenth century, which were themselves copies of the destroyed medieval frescoes

Paintings in the PRESBYTERY and in the SPANDRELS

“God the Father and angels”, “Virtues”and “St. Sebastian” 1633/36 by Bernardino Gagliardi (1609/1660)

BEHIND THE MAIN ALTAR

Traces of “Frescoes with scenes of Christ” dating back to the end of the tenth century

ALTARPIECE ON THE LEFT WALL

“Martyrdom of St. Sebastian” 1633 by Andrea Camassei (1602/49) with the episode of the whipping that actually killed St. Sebastian and is rarely represented

The arrows with which he had previously been wounded in fact had not killed him

PALATINE HILL - St. BONAVENTURE

S. Bonaventura

1675/77 for Cardinal Francesco Barberini on a huge castellum aquae (building with the function of collection and distribution of water) that was intended to supply the Severan Baths

The cardinal supported the reformist Franciscan friar Bonaventure of Barcelona, later canonized, who wanted to build the church here

Today the convent adjacent to the church is the seat of the Centre for Youth Ministry in the Roman Province of the Franciscan Minor Friars

FAÇADE and INTERIOR redone in the years 1839/40

COUNTER FAÇADE

“Tombstone of the painter Francesco Mancini (1679/1758)” 1758 with his portrait

1^st ALTAR ON THE RIGHT

“Crucifixion with the Madonna, St. John the Evangelist and Mary Magdalene” about 1678 by G.B. Beinaschi (1638/88)

2^nd ALTAR ON THE RIGHT

“Madonna and Child, St. Anne, St. Joseph and Spanish Franciscan saints” 1680 by Giacinto Calandrucci (1646/1707) a pupil of Carlo Maratta

MAIN ALTAR

“Virgin Mary and the three Franciscan Orders” about 1685 by Filippo Micheli from Camerino

Beneath the altar there is the tomb of S. Leonardo da Porto Maurizio, who died in 1751 in a nearby convent and gave great impetus to the devotion of the Christian martyrs of the Colosseum and to the Via Crucis (Stations of the Cross) which was very popular since then

He was one of the greatest inventors and propagators of the Stations of the Cross personally creating some hundreds of them. He built the aediculae outside the church, in clay since 1772, and in the Colosseum, later removed

AT THE SIDES OF THE ALTAR

Niches on the right “St. Anthony of Padua” 1867 and on the left “St. Francis”1869 Pietro da Copenaghen

2^nd ALTAR ON THE LEFT

“Annunciation” about 1678 by G.B. Beinaschi

1^st ALTAR ON THE LEFT

“St. Michael the Archangel” about 1678 by G.B. Beinaschi who was assisted in the four paintings in this church by his daughter Angela Maria Beinaschi

SACRISTY

“Deposition” about 1678 by G.B. Beinaschi signed also by his daughter Angela Maria

“Virgin Mary with Sts. Francis and Anthony of Padua” 1862 by Pietro da Copenaghen

CONVENT

“Our Lady of Beautiful Love” by Sebastiano Conca (1680/1764)

“St. Anthony” by Luigi Garzi (1638/1721)

“Virgin Mary and St. Bonaventure” by Pietro Gagliardi (1809/90)

“Lady of the Sacred Heart Jesus” 1766 by Pompeo Batoni (1708/87) donated by the painter to the missionary priest of the convent to take with him on his missions

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

“AUGURATORIUM”
Shrine with simple plan and only two rooms with parts in opus reticulatum (reticulated work) of the Augustan period (27 BC/14), but almost entirely rebuilt in concrete covered with bricks by Hadrian (117/138)

Some scholars have mistakenly identified it with the Auguratorium, the place where the priests known as Auguri, in charge of forecasting the future, used to take the so called auspices before a major event, observing the flight of birds facing southeast

Instead, it is probably the SACELLO DI VICTORIA VIRGO (Shrine of Victoria Virgo) built in 193 BC by Marcus Cato Porcio next to the Temple of Victory

In the foundations an earlier archaic shrine was found, made out of big square blocks of “cappellaccio” stone, covered by a late-Republican concrete construction, probably corresponding to the ancient Sacello di Iuno Sospita (Shrine of Juno Sospita)

ROOMS BUILT IN CONCRETE AND BRICKS

Eighteen rooms in concrete covered with bricks dating around the age of Nero (54/68)

On the VAULTS there are remains of fresco paintings, unfortunately very damaged, dated around the third century AD

The numerous graffiti led to suppose that it was a sort of service areas, perhaps intended for guards

Here was found the beautiful statue of Charis now in the Palatine Museum

CISTERNS

Next to the House of Livia there are two circular tanks close together dating back to the archaic period

“LIVIA'S HOUSE”

House attributed to Livia, wife of Augustus, after the discovery of some lead pipes with the inscription Iulia Augusta

It was excavated in 1869 by Pietro Rosa for Napoleon III

The house is datable to the first century BC, but at least two different phases of construction have been recognized: 75/50 BC for the walls in opus reticulatum (concrete covered with bricks) and about 30 BC for the paintings

All rooms have remains of mosaic floors in simple black and white colors

The access to the dwelling, located at a lower level compared to the surrounding buildings, is down a HALLWAY with a black and white mosaic floor, which leads to a room known as ATRIUM with two pillars supporting the roof

It is more likely, however, that the true atrium was the so-called ROOM H where there are maybe elements of the impluvium (rectangular flat-bottomed tank to collect rainwater) surrounded by cubiculi (small bedrooms)

On the end side there are THREE ROOMS of which the central one is larger than the lateral ones, while on the right end side of the atrium there is maybe a triclinium with a fresco of landscape and an imageless symbol (betilo) of Diana

The TABLINUM in the center is the most important room from the pictorial point of view, even if the frescoes have faded, and it is difficult to clearly see the images

These paintings have been classified as belonging to an advanced stage of the second Pompeian style

The wall on the right is divided into three by a portico with Corinthian columns resting on high bases

The central aedicula depicts “Io, beloved by Jupiter, freed by Mercury from Argo's captivity”, a copy of a famous painting by Nikias. The girl sits at the foot of a column supporting a statue, while there are Argo on the right and Mercury on the left

On the wall on the left “Open window overlooking a busy city with various street scenes”

In the central panel of the wall “Nymph Galatea of the sea horse as she fled from Polyphemus”

In the HALL TO THE RIGHT OF THE TABLINUM still stands out the wall decoration on the left, in square panels, with festoons of leaves, flowers and fruits from which rural symbols hang

In the upper part there is a beautiful frieze on a yellow background, faded now, with “Scenes of Egyptian Life”

In the HALL TO THE LEFT OF THE TABLINUM walls are decorated with a system similar to the one of the other two rooms, with columns and pilasters on a lower part of fake marble, without any scene representing figures

BASIN

Great elliptical basin with internal steps. It is assumed that it was used as a vivarium or breeding ground for fish

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