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
Square area
paved with stones and ruins of an arch of the imperial period
It was
perhaps the monumental entrance to the Imperial Palace
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
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”
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
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
Maybe part
of the basement of the porch that surrounded the entrance hall of the Domus
Aurea, the Golden House of Nero (54/68)
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
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
