TORRI DELLE FINANZE
Viale Europa - Demolite
1957/62 Cesare Ligini (1913/88), who designed as well the also
demolished Velodrome of EUR, with the
collaboration of Vittorio Cafiero (1901/81), Robert Venturi and Guido
Marinucci for the Ministry of Finance
Also known as TORRI LIGINI. Three
60-storey towers and two low-rise buildings
They
were demolished in 2010 to make way for the project by Renzo Piano that will
provides housing and services for 1,600 people
TORRI DEI CAPOCCI E DEI GRAZIANI
Via Giovanni Lanza/Piazza di S.
Martino ai Monti
Two ancient
towers of the twelfth century
They were
arranged according to the orientation of the ancient Roman road which now
matches Via in Selci and Via di S. Martino ai Monti
THE HIGHEST
(36.10 m - 118.5 feet) originally belonged to the Arcioni family and later to
the Capoccis
It is divided
into seven floors plus the ground floor and terrace
THE LOWER
belonged at first to the Cerroni family and later to the Grazianis
They are
considered the Roman equivalent of the famous Towers Asinelli and Garisenda in
Bologna
TORRE DELLE MILIZIE
Largo Magnanapoli
It was
built at the beginning of the thirteenth century by Marchionne
Aretino for Innocent III of the Conti from Segni (1198/1216)
It was
originally in the area of the oratory of ORATORIO DEI Ss. CIRO E GIOVANNI (Sts. Cyrus and John) later known as S. ABBACIRO erected before the year 680
It was
bought by Boniface VIII Caetani (1294/1303) who fortified it against the
Colonna family
It was
ruined by the earthquake of 1348 which caused the slope and the loss of the
upper floor
In the
sixteenth century it belonged again to the Conti family
From 1619
it belonged to the nuns of S. Caterina a Magnanapoli
Restoration
in 1914 by Antonio Muñoz (1884/1960)
It was
freed from the surrounding buildings only in 1924
It is 51.10
meters (167.6 feet) high and it is one of the most important civic buildings in
medieval Rome
Since 1927
it is part of the complex of the Markets
of Trajan
The origin
of its name is a mystery
It
maybe corresponds to the AUGURACULUM, the area for taking the auspices in
relation to meetings that were held in the underlying Saepta Iulia
TORRE DEI CONTI
Via di Tor de' Conti/Largo Corrado
Ricci
1203 Marchionne Aretino, known as the “Prince of the military architects” for Innocent
III of the Conti from Segni (1198/1216)
It was also
known as Torre Maggiore (Major Tower)
because of its size: the original height had to be about 50-60 m (165-200
feet), whereas the current hight is 29 m (95 feet)
In 1348 the
tower became uninhabitable for an earthquake and it was abandoned until 1620,
when it was rebuilt
Other
earthquakes followed in 1630 and in 1644
Subsequent
restructuring occurred at the end of 1600s under Alexander VIII Ottoboni
(1689/91), with the construction of the two reinforcement buttresses
Currently
it houses offices of associations and of the local Roman government
It was
built on one of the corners of the ancient TEMPLE OF PEACE of the years 71/75
built for Vespasian (69/79)
TORRE DEI COLONNA
Via IV Novembre/Via delle Tre
Cannelle 18
End of the
twelfth century by Gilido Carbone
It was
attached to the defensive system of the Colonna family, later owned by the
Annibaldi Molara family
Built in
bricks. It was originally a three-storey buiding
The
crowning in travertine is modern
In the
lower part of the tower are embedded three ancient “Fragments of reliefs” and
the emblem of the Colonna family
It was
recently restored and reconverted into a luxury hotel with the name RESIDENZA
TORRE COLONNA
TORRE DEI CAETANI
Piazza Fatebenefratelli
Tenth
century, erected by the Pierleoni family
It is nicknamed
la pulzella (the maiden) for the tiny head in marble of a young girl dating
back to the late empire inserted in the brick facing of the Fabricius Bridge
It was part
of the CASTLE OF THE TIBERINE ISLAND that had hosted two popes: Victor III
(1086/87) for two months with Matilda of Canossa and Urban II (1088/99) for a
year, in 1089
At the end
of the thirteenth century it became property of the Caetani family who lived here
until 1470
After the
flood of 1557 that swept the castle, the tower was donated by the Caetani
family to the Franciscan fathers
Since
1870 the monastery is an almshouse for
Jewish people
TOMBE DELLA VIA LATINA
Via dell'Arco di Travertino 151
These tombs
are located on the ancient VIA LATINA
already used in prehistoric times, later used by the Etruscans and finally
paved on the fourth or third century BC
It branched
off from the Appian Way and headed to Casilinum
(now Capua), where it joined again with the Appian Way
It remained
in use until the fourteenth century
Excavations
of Lorenzo Fortunati in the years 1857/58
After the
entrance to the right there is the BARBERINI SEPULCHRE
It spreads
over three floors. Here was found the “Barberini Sarcophagus” now in the
Vatican Museums
Further on,
on the right TOMB OF THE VALERII
About 160
AD. The outside is a nineteenth-century makeover. The name is imaginative
The walls
were covered with marble slabs of which traces remain and there is in the
ceiling a refined decoration in white stucco with “Scene of the funerary world,
Dionysian subjects and representations from the marine repertoire “
Still further
on, on the left TOMB OF THE PANCRATII
About 140.
At the level of the ground “Black and white mosaic with fishes”
Downstairs there
is a vestibule where one sarcophagus remains mentioning the corporation of the Pancratii
In the
burial chamber patterned floor and ceiling painted and plastered with various
mythological themes that include also the top of the walls. At the center of
the vault “Male figure transported by the eagle of Jupiter”
Nearby
there are also the BACCELLI TOMB and the TOMB OF THE CALPURNII
On a
villa which maybe belonged to the Anici family, was built at the behest of Pope
Leo the Great (440/461) the CHURCH OF St. STEPHAN still in use in the
thirteenth century, with three naves, apse and baptistery
TOMBA DI NERONE
Via
Cassia 735
Second half
of the third century AD
It is
absolutely not the tomb of Emperor Nero (54/68), but the tomb of one Publius
Vibius Marianus, prefect of the third Gallic legion, prosecutor of Sardinia,
and of his wife, Regina Maxima
In his
erroneous identification, the tomb ended up giving the name to the locality
Nero was
buried, according to Suetonius, in the MAUSOLEUM OF THE DOMITII AHENOBARBII,
the family of the father of Nero, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus
The
mausoleum was in the area of Piazza del Popolo, where, in 1099, Pope Paschal II
(1099/1118) built the church of S.
Maria del Popolo
TOMBA DI GAIO PUBLICIO BIBULO
Piazza Venezia
First
decades of the first century BC
It was
erected by the Senate and by the people of Rome on the road out from the nearby
Porta Fontinalis for special merits of
this otherwise unknown AEDILE PLEBIS and of his descendants
The part visible
in travertine marble is the upper part while the high base is still landfilled
TOMBA DI EURISACE
Piazza di Porta Maggiore
Built in
the years 40/30 BC
It was originally
about 7 m (23 feet) high
Trapezoidal
shape, due to the position between the two divergent roads, Via Labicana and
Via Prenestina
It was
discovered during the demolition, arranged in 1838 for Pope Gregory XVI
Cappellari (1831/46), of the defensive towers built by Honorius (395/423) of
Porta Maggiore, in order to restore the old structure of the time of Aurelian
(271/275)
Marcus
Virgilius Eurysaces was a baker, probably an enriched freedman
He was
buried with his wife Atistia. The urn where her ashes were kept is now in the Museo delle Terme
In the
upper part of the tomb is the “Frieze with stages of the baking process”
“The
monumental complex responds well to the need for exposure of a person of humble
origins. The formal sketchy language of the frieze that mimics that of
continuous official reliefs, his didactic purpose, the emphasis on the
protagonist, as well as the theme, make it a typical work of plebeian art”
(Gian Luca Grassigli - TMG)
TERME DI TRAIANO
Via delle Terme di Traiano
104/109
Apollodorus of Damascus for Trajan (98/117) after the fire that destroyed the Domus
Aurea in the year
104
Whole area
330 x 315 m (1,090 x 1,030 feet)
Central
part 212 x 190 m (700 x 620 feet)
First
complete example of “great baths” in Rome with exedra and better layout in
relation to the sun and to the prevailing winds like the bathing complexes of Ostia, Caracalla, Diocletian and Decius
The Baths of Titus and the Baths of
Nero were oriented north south, affected perhaps by the adjacent buildings
The
tank of the baths was the large room known as SETTE SALE (Seven Rooms),
actually nine corridors (the last two were discovered in 1760, but the original
name lingered) of same width but of different length, oriented north south as
the Domus Aurea
TERME DI TITO
Via
Nicola Salvi
80 AD for
Titus (79/81) who probably did reuse the existing Baths of the Domus Aurea built
for Nero (54/68)
The only
ruins remaining are the brick pillars north of the Colosseum
The main
floor was about 17 m (56 feet) higher than that of the Colosseum, but the baths
were divided on multiple levels over the slope of the hill
The
architects of Nero did here, as in the Baths of Nero in the Campus Martius, a
symmetrical duplication of rooms arranged around a central axis, with the core
consists of a hall built as a basilica, a plan which will be increasingly
applied in the baths to be built afterwards
We
know the plan of the baths thanks to a drawing by the great architect Andrea Palladio
(1508/80)
TERME DI DIOCLEZIANO
Via
Enrico De Nicola 74
298/306, the largest
baths in ancient Rome
According
to the inscription in Room Five of the Museum of the Baths they were built in
less than eight years
Begun when
Maximian (286/305) was back from Africa (298) and finished after the abdication
of Diocletian (284/305) and Maximian (May 1, 305), but before the death of
Constantius (25 July 306)
Eusebio
said that for the construction were employed 40,000 Christians
Area of
about 380 x 370 m (1247 x 1214 feet)
They were
fed by the Aqua Marcia acqueduct
The plan is
similar to that of the Baths of Trajan:
CALDARIUM
not circular but rectangular with three niches
TEPIDARIUM
and NATATIO arranged along the minor axis
GYMNASIUMS
at the sides of the major axis
APODYTERIUM
(near the gymnasiums)
AUDITORIA
LIBRARIES
in which the books of the Basilica
Ulpia were transported to 200 years old and apparently abandoned
The bricks
with stamps all date back to the period of Diocletian
The complex
could have been used by more than 3,000 people, double the Baths of Caracalla
It remained
in operation until the time of the war between the Goths and Byzantines
(535/553)
The name
remains in the name Termini (Thermae) given to the nearby Termini Train Station
“The eight
largest public bathing establishments (among the eleven known) covered all
together an area of about 47 hectares (116 acres). There was also an
extraordinary number of private ‘balnea’, scattered in all districts of the
city: 856 were recorded in the fourth century AD” (Filippo Coarelli)
Museum
of the Baths
Branch of
the MUSEO NAZIONALE ROMANO (National Roman Museum) which is made out of five
different museums in five different locations. The other
four are Palazzo Massimo, Crypta Balbi, Palazzo Altemps and Museo del Palatino
The Baths
of Diocletian housed the first branch ever of the National Roman Museum which
opened in 1890
The museum
was completed in the thirties and renovated in the nineties of the 1900s
The rooms
of the Baths from the first to the eleventh are being restored
Statues, steles, sarcophagi and
funerary altars
At the
center fountain with “Colossal cantharus in marble” 2 m (6.6 feet) high decorated with
Cupids
Frescoes
found after restoration “Woman with two children” beginning of the eighteenth
century, maybe by Giovanni Odazzi (1663/1731)
“Sarcophagus with Dionysian
procession”
“Statue of man with toga” second century AD with head not
pertinent
“Funerary altar of the scribe of the
curule aedile Quintus Fulvius Priscus and his brother”
One of the
most important collections in the world with nearly 10,000 ancient inscriptions, which corresponds to about 10%
of all epigraphic inscriptions found in Rome
Exhibit
with evolution from the most rare inscriptions of the Archaic period to the
thousands of imperial age
“Fragment
of the Forma Urbis” representing the
Temple of the Castors
Copy (the
original is in the proto-historic museum) of “Vase with the oldest Greek inscription
found in Italy” ninth century BC from Osteria dell'Osa
Copy of the “Lapis Niger”
“Lapis Satricanum” from the Temple of Mater Matuta in
Satrico, where he this base offered to Publicola, first Roman consul in 509 BC,
was re-used
“Helmet, armor and weapons” of warrior from Lanuvium about 470
BC
“Bronze foil” with a dedication to Castor and
Pollux, second half of the sixth century BC, from the thirteen altars in the
sanctuary of Lavinium
Materials and inscriptions of the fourth and
third century BC from Rome and Lazio region
“Small base votive offering to
Aesculapius”
found in the Tiber River
“Crown of limestone dedicated to
Fortuna Primigenia” from Palestrina
“Truncated pyramid of peperino stone
dedicated to Aeneas” from Lavinium
“Marble base used as a fountain with
metal letters”
from the Temple of Hercules in Borgo S. Giovanni near Lanuvio
“Votive complex” with three terracotta statues seated and two standing of the fourth and third century BC
from the sanctuary of Demeter and Kore at Ariccia
Inscriptions dating back to the period of the
late republic
“Base of Lucius Mummius consul in
146 BC” from
Fregellae
Two “Small bowls” 63 BC with electioneering for
Catiline and Marcus Porcius Cato
“Plaque”
dedicated to the baker Eurisace
and his wife
“Laudatio Turiae” praise inscribed on marble for a courageous
wife during the civil wars
Imperial Age. The figure of the emperor
“Dedicatory inscription of the Baths
of Diocletian”
“Base with bronze plate” for the statue of Tiberius (14/37)
dedicated by the Aenatores
(musicians)
“Base in marble for series of
statues of members of the Julio-Claudian family” also dedicated by the Aenatores
Upstairs there
are epigraphs of the second and third century AD including: “Base for Julia Domna, wife of
Septimius Severus (193/211) as mater
castrorum”
Strata of Roman society
“Inscription commemorating the
historian Tacitus”
“Sarcophagus of the eques Aurelius Julianus for his son
Marcus Aurelius Romanus with scene of Ulysses and the sirens” third century AD
“Sarcophagus of the eques Julius Achilleus with pastoral
scenes” about
270
Lead pipes with marks
Oil lamps
Cast
(original is in the garden) of the “Huge inscription for the funerary monument
of Epaphroditus, freedman of Nero (54/68)”
Administration of the empire
Bronze “Tabula Alimentaria” of the Baebiani from the Liguria
region, 101 AD. They were deported en masse in the Irpinia region in Southern
italy
“Inscription for the career of Lucius
Lucilius Julianus praetorian prefect”
“Wall with graffiti” from the barracks of the fire brigade
Roman Businesses
“Funerary altar
of Aurelia Nais, fish seller “
“Eulogy of the freed Allia Potestas” from Via Pinciana
“Memorials of gladiators”
“Funerary
stele of Licinia Amias” with fish, Christological acrostic IΧΘΥΣ formed from
the initials of the phrase Ἰησοὺς Χριστὸς Θεοῦ Υἱὸς Σωτήρ which means Jesus
Christ, Son of God, Savior in Greek
“Altar of
Marcus Antonius Terentius, cattle dealer”
“Altar of a
mime from the Sanctuary of Hercules Victor at
Tivoli” 199 AD
“Iron collar for slave”
“Sarcophagus of the shoemaker Tits
Flavius Trophimas”
Religions in Rome
Inscriptions
for the worship of ancestors, Penati,
Lari and Mani
Christian and Jewish inscriptions
Statutes (leges) that regulated worship in
associations of faithful as the “Lex
familiae Silvani” or the “Lex
colleges salutaris Dianae et Antinoi”
“Inscriptions for the worship of
Anna Perenna”
with witchcraft curses found in 2000 near the fountain
and sacred source of Anna Perenna in Piazza Euclide
Cult of
Mithras with “Statuette of Petrogenitus Mithras” (born from a rock) and polychrome
relief with “Mithras tauroctonous” (bull killer)
“Idol of the Janiculum Hill” maybe Egyptian Osiris or Syrian
Adonis mid-fourth century AD from the Syrian
Sanctuary
Production
process of epigraphs and examples of false pieces
Large tombs of the Platorinis and of the Via
Portuense
Finally
opened to the public in 2009 with 57 years of delay since the, at the time,
planned opening. During all this long time the room was always deemed unusable
Probably
the hall was originally one of the two entrances to the complex
LARGE TOMB KNOWN AS PLATORINI’S TOMB
Discovered
in 1880 on Via Lungara and rebuilt in 1911
The burial
chamber is preceded by the statues of “Sulpicius Platorinus” and of his daughter “Sulpicia”, of the first century AD
Inside were relocated urns, richly
decorated with reliefs of ox skulls and garlands of fruit
TWO TOMBS BUILT AS CHAMBERS
Carved into
the tufa stone discovered in 1951 on Via Quirino Majorana
They were part
of a necropolis that developed along the Via Portuense between the end of the
first and third century AD:
“First tomb”
There are
niches on the walls and vaulted ceiling, decorated in white stucco with floral motifs and mythological
figures,
including the Dioscuri, Eros riding and Seasons
Allegorical
representations allusive to the immortality of the soul and the journey that the
soul will have to make to reach the place of the blessed
“Second tomb”
Arched
niches. It is painted inside with images that now, thanks to a careful
restoration, are presented in all their polychrome glory
On the left
side “Two peacocks with a crater”, on the right side “Figures playing ball and other
conversing, while a giant baby moves around with a tripod”
Also in the room there are:
“Sarcophagus with Dionysus and
Ariadne” from
the Via Labicana
“Two sinks”
not funerary, one in yellow marble from Tunisia and the other in granite
“Statues”
placed in the niches of the thermal baths’ walls
Pleistocene
(geological period from 2,000,000 to 10,000 BC)
Ages in
relation to man:
Paleolithic
divided into three phases: the lower, early Stone Age (2,500,000/120,000),
medium (120,000/36,000), higher (36,000/10,000)
Mesolithic:
bows and arrows, villages (10,000/7500)
Neolithic:
introduction agriculture, use of clay and ceramics (7,500/5,700)
Eneolithic
(or Chalcolithic): Copper Age (5,700/2,300), Bronze Age (2,300/1,100), Iron Age
(1100/800 late prehistory - early history)
Materials
of the various phases of the CULTURE OF THE LAZIO REGION especially from the
following sites:
Osteria
dell'Osa near Gabii (“Pot” with the oldest
Greek inscription found in Italy, ninth century BC)
La Rustica
Laurentino
Fidenae (hut)
Traditionally
attributed to Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475/1564) who worked for the church of St. Mary of the Angels in 1561,
but maybe only suggested the design that was initiated by his pupil Jacopo Del Duca (about 1520/1604) in 1565 and ended
only in the early seventeenth century
Second
floor finished in 1676 and fountain dating back to 1695
Restored in
2000
A corner “Door painted in trompe l'oeil with Carthusian
friar Fercoldo father of Pope Clement IV (1265/68)” in 1855 by Filippo
Balbi (1806/90)
Sculptures
Two “Headless
statues sitting down” of the Julio-Claudian period from Torpignattara
“Headless statue with armour” from Via Prenestina
“Headless statue of man in heroic
semi-nudity”
from S. Giovanni Incarico
“Woman standing headless” maybe priestess of Ceres of the second
century AD
Various
funerary altars including “Titus Aspulenus Carellianus” dead only five years
old and “Sarcophagus of child with
Centauromachy and Gigantomachy”
Three “Sileni squatting” maybe used as telamons
Sarcophagi
“Sarcophagus with the discovery of
the sleeping Ariadne” from Sts. Nereus and Achilleus
“Sarcophagus with two winged genies supporting
the clypeus with underneath Ocean and Tellus and at the sides the centaur
Chiron training Hercules” from Via Casilina
Stretch of an ancient road
“Sarcophagus
with the myth of Medea” from Palazzo Caucci
Small sarcophagi for children
Two “Coffins of the kline type” of the first century AD
Funerary altars and reliefs with portraits of deceased
“Aphrodite draped”
“Child asleep with lantern”
Two “Statues
of women in the archaic style”
“Funerary
relief with centaur who kidnaps a nymph” from Via Prenestina
Religious idols
“Drunken Dionysus”
“Dionysus with a panther”
“Headless satyr carrying a flask of
wine”
“Hercules”
“Aphrodite”
“Hera”
Two “Altars
for Diana”
Two statues
of “Boys sitting”
Statue of “Headless athlete” from Via Ostiense inspired from the
original by Polykleitos of Argos (about 490/about 425 BC)
Room with
eight sides located in the southwest corner of the Baths of Diocletian
It is also
known as Sala della Minerva (Hall of Minerva) and it is believed to be a
minor frigidarium for ablutions
In 1609 it
was included in the group of barns of the city of Rome that were transformed in
the Pius Institute of General Charity in the nineteenth century
In 1878 was
used as a headquarters of the Normal School of Gymnastics and later became the
Minerva Movie Theater
In 1928 it
was adapted to Planetarium by Italo Gismondi
Now it is part
of the National Roman Museum
According
to Filippo Coarelli it was built on the TEMPLUM GENTIS FLAVIAE from which would
originally come the Agonal Obelisk
now in Piazza Navona
Built in
about 94 by Domitian (81/96) on the place where he was born for the worship of
his gens (extended family)
He maybe
moved here from the Mausoleum of Augustus the ashes of his father Vespasian and
of his brother Titus
He was
buried here himself (Suetonius says that, after his assassination, it was his
nurse Phyllis to secretely bring the ashes in the temple and to mix them with
those of Giulia) together with Julia,
daughter of Titus and his mistress, the two Flavia
Domitillas, wife and daughter of Vespasian and Flavio Sabino brother of Vespasian who had died in the year 69
during ths skirmishes against the supporter of Vitellius
TERME ELENIANE
Via di S. Croce in Gerusalemme/Via
Germano Sommelier
Built in
the Severan period (193/235)
They were
restored by St. Helena, mother of Constantine (306/337), as part of the Palatium Sessorianum, the palace of the
imperial family
An
inscription, which currently is in the Vatican, says:
Our Lady Helen, augusta mother of our venerable
sir Constantine and grandmother of our happy and flourishing Caesar, (these)
baths, that had been destroyed by fire, restored
The complex
was buried at the orders of Sixtus V Peretti (1585/90) for the construction of
Via Carlo Felice
There are
only remnants of the tank with twelve rooms connected on two parallel lines
Andrea
Palladio (1508/80) and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (1484/1546) studied the
structures and their notes and drawings are valuable for studying the plan,
which appears to be irregular
In terms of
size was a middle ground between the huge Baths
of Constantine and smaller bathing complexes
The
northern part was fenced by a high wall
