October 11: Roman
History seen through its Statues -- Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (fee)
M.P.: Largo di Villa
Peretti, entrance to the Museum
Imperial
Reliefs
Description
of museum (Italian)
Museo
Nazionale Romano delle Terme F13b
Palazzo
Massimo alle Terme -- Koskimies
Palazzo
Massimo, Cambridge U. item -- scroll down
October 18: Romulus
and Remus and the Foundation of Rome
M.P.: Entrance to
the Museum of the Baths of Diocletion -- Via Luigi Einaudi (fee)
The recentlly
reopened Museum is hosting its second exhibition, this one on Romulous
and Remus and the founding of Rome. Starting with the legend of Aeneas'
departure from Troy, the exhibition moves through the various phases
of the precursors, establishment, and development of early Rome.
Aeneas
and the Foundation of Rome
Legend
of Aeneas and the Foundation of Rome
The
Aeneid by Virgil
Chronology
of Roman History: Romulus & Remus
Encyclopedia
Mythica -- Romulus
Encyclopedia
Mythica -- Quirinus
Encyclopedia
Mythica -- Rhea Silvia
The home page of the Encyclopedia
Mythica
Romulus
by Plutarch -- The Internet Classics Archive
Other Internet Classics Archive
titles (441 searchable works of classical literature) can be accessed at:
The
Internet Classics Archive
Hersilia: If Romulus was the Father
of Rome, his wife, Hersilia (one of the raped Sabine women) was, of course,
the Mother of Rome. (Rhea Silvia, the mother of Romulus and Remus,
often gets the title of Mother of Rome, but that says more about the psychology
of ancient Romans than we need to get into.) According to legend
Romulus and Hersilia had two children, Prima,
and Aollius
from the John Dryden translation
of "Romulus" by Plutarch:
Now the signal for their falling
on was to be whenever he rose and gathered up his robe and threw it over
his body; his men stood all ready armed, with their eyes intent upon him,
and when the sign was given, drawing their swords and falling on with a
great shout they ravished away the daughters of the Sabines, they themselves
flying without any let or hindrance. They say there were but thirty taken,
and from them the Curiae or Fraternities were named; but Valerius Antias
says five hundred and twenty-seven, Juba, six hundred and eighty-three
virgins: which was indeed the greatest excuse Romulus could allege, namely,
that they had taken no married woman, save one only, Hersilia by name,
and her too unknowingly; which showed that they did not commit this rape
wantonly, but with a design purely of forming alliance with their neighbours
by the greatest and surest bonds. This Hersilia some say Hostilius married,
a most eminent man among the Romans; others, Romulus himself, and that
she bore two children to him,- a daughter, by reason of primogeniture called
Prima, and one only son, whom, from the great concourse of citizens to
him at that time, he called Aollius, but after ages Abillius. But
Zenodotus the Troezenian, in giving this account, is contradicted by many.
(The
following site visit was cancelled and replaced by the Romulus and Remus
session above:
Rich
and poor in Rome -- the Insula, Piazza Aracoeli, foot of the steps of the
church
Insulae,
or
Roman apartment buildings, contained multiple apartments together with
shops, workshops, and storage areas. Unlike some well known
insulae
in Pompeii, Roman and Ostian insulae regularly ran to multiple storeys,
and, while Pompeiian insulae usually covered a whole city block,
those in Rome and Ostia usually had a smaller "footprint" -- there were
several per block.
Archeological
remains are not necessarily indicative of the capacity and occupancy
of individual
insulae: written sources clearly indicate that
the lower floors of stone, brick, and concrete (which are what we see at
the archeological sites) were routinely surmounted by several storeys of
wooden structures which landlords added to increase occupancy (and therefore
the landlord's revenue). Written sources also indicate that
spaces (as opposed to apartments) were rented out and that more prosperous
tenants might interconnect adjacent spaces while poorer folk crowded into
one. More desirable and larger apartments were on the lower storeys
for several reasons: insulae did not have elevators (although
the technology existed); upper apartments were much hotter during
the summer; and fire danger was much greater on the shabbily built wooden
upper floors. Neighborhood (location!) was important in determining
rents.
The
regionary catalogues of the fourth century list the number of insulae
in each region as well as the number of detached houses (domus).
The very high number of insulae (44,300) suggests that almost all
Romans lived in such apartment dwellings. No norm of size, either
for the
insula or for the individual apartment is known, so it is
impossible to determine how many people might have lived in each insula.
Roman
Housing Types
Insula
of Ara Coeli
Roman
Insula -- Koskimies
Capitoline
from the North -- Koskimies
The
Apartment at Ostia
Ostia
Topo dictionary - Building types)
October 25: Amphitheatrum Flavium: Colosseum from
A to Z, 20 centuries of history
M.P.: Entrance to the Colosseum (fee)
Amphitheatrum
Flavium -- Platner
The
Roman Amphitheater -- Smith's Dictionary
Amphitheatre
-- Britannica
Colosseum
-- Britannica
Colosseum
-- Great Buildings
Colosseum or
Flavian Amphitheatre
Images
of the Colosseum, Rome, 72-80 CE.
November 1: -- Fiera di Tutti Santi
Saints are pretty
much a Catholic thing, but Tutti Santi is a national holiday in Italy,
so, even if you're not a Catholic, it doesn't hurt to know what is being
celebrated.
Catholic Encyclopedia:
ALL SAINTS' DAY gives information on the feast day
Saints
(McGill U) on Saint's in general
Catholic Online
Saints Index (angels too) is just what the name says, with links to
rather simplistic and credulous bio bites. The
Catholic Encyclopedia gives more detailed information and reflects
the scepticism of the post-Enlightenment Church about the histories of
the saints.
Patron Saints
and Patron
Saints Index Patronage Index can give you a clue on who protects what
and whom.
Find out about the newly appointed patron Saint of the Internet at
Patron
Saint for Web.
All Hallows' Eve -- The day before Tutti Santi -- Halloween as it
is becoming popular in Italy and recipes for the traditional "Ossa dei
Morti", "bones of the dead" sweets from different sections of Italy: Ossa
dei Morti.
November 8: Nero's
Domus Aurea (fee)
M.P.: Via del Domus
Aurea, entrance to the Domus
The Golden House of Nero (Latin
- Domus Aurea) was constructed by Nero between AD 65 and 68, after
the great fire (after which the emperor used to expropriate an area of
more than 200 acres [81 hectares] of land in the center of Rome).
Nero had already planned and begun a palace, the Domus Transitoria, that
was to link the existing buildings on the Palatine Hill with the Gardens
of Maecenas and other imperial properties on the Esquiline and adjoining
hills. To these he now added a large part of the Caelian and Oppian hills
and the valley between them and the Palatine. This whole area was laid
out as a park with porticoes, pavilions, baths, and fountains, and in the
center an artificial lake was made that under the emperor Vespasian was
drained to provide a site for the Colosseum. On the slopes of the Velia
at the east end of the Forum a grandiose colonnaded approach and vestibule
were constructed, within which stood a colossal gilded bronze statue of
Nero. The domestic wing of the palace stood on the slopes of the Oppian
Hill facing south across the lake.
Little has survived of the palace. Because
the expropriations involved in its building were deeply resented, Nero's
successors hastened to put large parts of the palace to public use or to
construct other buildings on the land. Of the sumptuous wall paintings
and stucco decorations described by Pliny, all that was visible by the
16th century to inspire the grotesques of Raphael and his followers were
the wall paintings in the grotte, or caverns, of the palace.
The Golden House is historically important
because it expressed the aesthetic of monumental architecture that was
to characterize the imperial style of Roman architecture under Domitian,
Trajan, and Hadrian.
Domus
Aurea - Severus and Celer (architecture)
Domus
Aurea -- UTexas
Domus
Aurea -- Comune Roma
Domus
Aurea -- RAI
Plan, Domus Aurea
-- Athena Review
Domus
Aurea -- Maecenas -- Images
Domus
Aurea -- ArchArt.it -- very good images
Nero
- Britannica.com
Domus
Aurea (Scroll down) -- Platner and Ashby
Domus
Transitoria (Scroll down) -- Platner and Ashby
November
15: Renovated Musei Capitolini: Palazzo Nuovo (fee)
M.P.: Piazza del Campidoglio,
museum entrance
The Musei were designed by
Michelangelo along with the Campidoglio square. The collections are based
on the original donation of bronze sculptures from Pope Sixtus VI in 1471.
There have, of course, been numerous acquisitions since then, and the collections
are still growing, constantly adding the best
archeological finds in Italy.
There are actually a number of different
Museum spaces, but you get into all of them for the price of one ticket.
The sections are:
1. The Palazzo Nuovo which houses a
collection of Roman sculptures including the restored original equestrian
statue of Marcus Aurelius which formerly stood in the center of the Campidoglio
square (certainly the most famous equestrian statue in the world).
2. The Palazzo dei Conservatori which
houses an even larger collection of ancient sculpture, the sumptuously
decorated apartments of the "Conservatori", and the Capitoline Picture
Gallery (Pinacoteca). Constantine's giant head is once again available
for touching in the courtyard.
3. The Palazzo Cafferelli directly behind
and connected on all levels to the Palazzo dei Conservatori, which holds
still more antiquities.
4. A tunnel under Michelangelo's grand
Campidoglio square which connects to the ancient Roman Tabularium (archives)
which is directly below the Rome city government building at the back of
the square.
The view over the Forum from the Tabularium
is among the best you will find anywhere -- equivalent to what you can
see from the top of the Farnese gardens on the Palatine hill, but from
the other end of the Forum. You can get into the tunnel and to the Tabularium
from either the Palazzo Nuova or the Palazzo dei Conservatori. (The
Tunnel/Tabularium has brand new wheelchair lifts and the Curator said on
June 8 that similar lifts have been ordered for the whole museum complex.
There are elevators to some areas, but some of them would be too small
for a wheelchair.)
On the top level of the Palazzo Cafferelli
is an exhibition on the restoration of the famous bronze statue of the
"Capitoline Wolf" which suckled Romulous and Remus. The original
statue is on display along with lots of other Capitoline Wolf stuff and
exhibits of how the statue was restored. Behind the Wolf Exhibition is
a terrace with a nice cafeteria/restaurant (many sun umbrellas and some
indoor seating, spotless rest rooms here and several other places around
the Museums) and a great view of Rome toward the River -- you can't see
the Forum from this side. If you look down on the back side of the terrace
you can see the ongoing excavations at the base of the Temple of Jupiter
Optimus Maximus that stood on the south-western peak of the Capitoline
Hill.
There are two bookstores, one in the
Palazzo Nuova and another in the Palazzo dei Conservatori. Both offer normal
Rome Museum bookstore items, heavy on what is displayed at the Capitoline
Museums. You can get into either bookstore from the Campidoglio square,
without buying a ticket to the Museums.
Museum tickets and AudioGiudes are available
at separate cashiers within both bookstores. Tickets cost 15,000 Italian
Lira even though the brochure that comes with the ticket says IL 12,000.
The ticket is for all of the Museum spaces, although you'd be really hard
pressed to see everything on just one visit -- a minimum of three visits
would be about right if you just want to see everything. If you want to
contemplate or study what you are seeing, it would take many more. The
Capitoline Museums are not as big as the Ufizzi in Florence or the Vatican
Museums, but there is a lot more than anyone
can absorb, perhaps in a lifetime.
The AudioGuide is available in several
languages including English and Italian for an additional IL 7,000. The
Audioguide itinerary, which lasts at least two hours and fifteen minutes,
just skims you through the major pieces, but it is still worth the price.
It starts in a long corridor at the back of the bookstore in the Palazzo
Nuova, takes you through the Palazzo Nuova, then the tunnel and Tabularium,
and then back up into and through the Palazzo dei Conservatori on the opposite
side of the square. Neither the Pinacoteca
nor the Capitoline Wolf exhibit are
included in the AudioGuide, but there are good descriptive signs in English
and Italian throughout both of those exhibit areas.
There are numerous Internet links:
All of the major works are listed separately
on the Internet at various art sites: Look in your guidebooks, find the
name of the piece you want to view, and enter it in your Internet search
engine. For example, this
link gets you about ninety Internet pages that refer to the Capitoline
Venus through the AltaVista search engine, and this
one finds you 100+ pages that refer to the Marble Fawn, including several
that link you to sites about Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel of the same name
which uses the statue as its central image.
Marcus
Aurelius Equestrian Statue on the Campidoglio
-- The origninal is in the Palazzo Nuova. The one in the center of
the Campidoglio is a 1990's copy.
In the Palazzo dei Conservatori is the
Capitoline
Picture Galery.
November 22: The Ladies
of the Forum
M.P.: Entrance to the
Forum Romanum at Largo Romulo e Remo (opposite the south end of Via Cavour)
Cloacina, the Sewer Goddes,
(an aspect of Venus, i.e., Venus Cloacina) is arguably the first "Lady
of the Forum" and from the antiseptic standpoint the most important:
The
Shrine of Cloacina
Tarpeia, who betrayed Rome to its Sabine enemies (for gold, according
to Livy, for love, according to Propertius), could be considered a Lady
of the Forum, by virtue of the depiction of her story on the Basilica Aemilia.
The "triade capitolina" included Juno and Minerva in addition to
Jupiter. There was a temple to the Jupiter Optimus Maximus and the
Triad on the Capitoline, looming over the Forum
Juno
Minerva
The Vestals were, of course, the most famous of the Forum Ladies.
The temple of Vesta, where they preserved the Vestal fire, and their residence
was in the forum.
Vestal
Virgins Vestal Virgins Text and links
Pictures from Maecenas --
Temple
of Vesta and Vestals'
House in the Forum
The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina was originally dedicated only to
Faustina by her husband Antoninus -- his name and dedication was chiseled
in later.
Temple
of Antoninus and Faustina -- Pictures from Maecenas
Temple
of Antoninus and Faustina -- Description of the building, Platner and
Ashby
(No
great surprize -- the Hypogeum has still not been stabilized and, once
again, will not be open this semester. The following site visit has
thereore been cancelland and is replaced with "The Ladies of the Forum"
listed immediately above.
Via
Salaria Vetus, Via Salaria: The Hypogeum in Via Livenza and the tombs
in Via Salaria, Via Livenza, 4
AURELIAN'S
WALLS - scroll down to "second diversion"
The Aurelian Walls web site, of which this
is a small part, is a guide to walking tours around the northern,
eastern, and western Aurelian Walls (southern is still to be posted) and
around the walls of the Vatican, with a few diversions to sites near the
walls, such as the Hypogeum.
Hypogeum
of Via Livenza
A good description of the Hypogeum and a link
to the rest of the award winning Subterranean Rome Internet site
Tombs
of Sts. Chrysanthus and Daria
One of many Catholic Encyclopedia entries
on burials along Via Salaria. Use any Search engine and enter +tomb*
+"via salaria"
Mausoleo
di Lucilio Peto
Another tomb, outside the Aurelian walls)
November 29: Our Ancestors
-- Museo Etnografico Luigi Pigorini (fee)
M.P.: EUR, Piazza
Marconi
MUSEO PREISTORICO
ED ETNOGRAFICO LUIGI PIGORINI. The museum, one of the most important
of its kind in the world, is derived from the collection formed in the
late 17th century by Father Anastasius Kircher in the Collegio dei Gesuiti.
From 1871 onwards it was greatly enlarged by Luigi Pigorini, and in 1876
it became the Museo Preistorico del Nuovo Regno d'ltalia. After 1913
the protohistoric objects went to Villa Giulia, classical and Christian
antiquities to the Museo Nazionale Romano, and medieval exhibits to Palazzo
di Venezia.
The Museo Preistorico
is
arranged geographically to indicate the way civilisation developed regionally
through the Stone, Bronze and Iron Ages. Most of the exhibits are
Italian, of the prehistoric period. They include material from all
parts of the peninsula, so that a complete idea may be obtained of the
growth of its civilisation and of the commercial and artistic influences
of the East and of the countries bordering on the Aegean. The descriptive
labels, maps and diagrams are very informative. The most interesting
exhibits include: material from cemeteries in the Lazio area; finds of
the Italian School in Crete; curious Sardinian statuettes of priests and
warriors in bronze; a tomb from Golasecca, representative of the western
civilisation of Northern Italy. The objects found in
the cemeteries of western and southern Etruria (Vetulonia, Tarquinia, Vulci,
Veio, etc.) are particularly interesting; among them are well-tombs (1Oth
- 8th century BC), with ossuaries resembling those of Villanova, closed
with a flat lid or shaped like a house, and trench-tombs (8th and 7th centuries
BC) showing the influence of Greekcommerce, especially on pottery.
The Ethnographical Collection
includes material from the Americas, Africa, and Oceania collected by Lamberto
Loria, Vittorio Bottego, Guido Boggiani, and Enrico Hillyer Giglioli.
There is a pre-Columbian archaeological collection from Mexico and the
Andes, and artefacts made by the Inuits of the Arctic Circle. The
African collection includes material from Angola and Zaire.
Much of the material which belonged to Loria was collected by him in New
Guinea.
Pigorini
Museo
Museo
nazionale preistorico-etnografico "L. Pigorini"
MUSEO PREISTORICO
ETNOGRAFICO "LUIGI PIGORINI"
MUSEO
PREISTORICO ETNOGRAFICO L.PIGORINI -- ANTROPOLOGIA
EUR
Eur
- Home -- Ente EUR
EUR History
-- Ente EUR
Plans
and drawings
Rome EUR
December 6: S. Stefano
Rotondo, Outside the Servian Walls -- On the model of Constantinian churches
in Jerusalem
M.P.: Via di S.
Stefano Rotondo, 7
Santo Stefano Rotondo is one
of Rome's earliest Christian churches, and its shape is similar to
that of the rotunda of Constantine's Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem,
which some authorities say was its model. (Others say that a round
church that was on the site now occupied by the Dome of the Rock on Temple
Mount was the model. What is clear is that several round churches
were built in Jerusalem prior to the construction of S. Stefano.)
It was built between 468 and 483. Twenty-two columns support the
inner area. The drum in the center is 72 feet high and every bit
as wide. The 22 windows high on the walls illuminate the interior.
Gruesome frescoes by Niccolo Pomarancio were added in the 16th century
showing the purported martyrdom of many saints. Check out the 7th
century mosaic in the first chapel on the left, Christ with San Primo and
San Feliciano.
Church
of S. Stefano Rotondo: Bill Thayer's very good site (with links to
other sites)
The
Frescoes (in Italian)
S.
Stefano Rotondo -- Koskimies prints and photos
Catholic Encyclopedia:
ST. STEPHEN
December 13: Roman
supurb indifference to the changes in the world -- S. Lorenzo fuori le
Mura
M.P.: Piazzale del
Verano, 3, in front of the Church
The basilica
of SAN LORENZO FUORI LE MURA is one of the seven pilgrimage churches of
Rome and consists of two churches placed end to end. The complex
is located outside the eastern wall of Rome near the Campo Verano cemetery.
San Lorenzo was the only church in Rome to suffer serious damage during
the Second World War, when it was partly destroyed in an air raid on 19
July 1943: the facade and the south wall were rebuilt in 1949.
St. Lorenzo was, according
to legend, slowly burned to death on a gridiron, in 258 A.D. under the
Emperor Valerianus, and was buried in the Christian cemetery/catacomb of
St Cyriaca on August 4th of that year. (The Catholic Encyclopedia
acknowledges "the details concerning the martyrdom of St. Lawrence and
his activity before his death cannot claim any credibility".) Tradition
says that , during the reign of Pope Sylvester (313-335), Constantine built
a church on the site of Lorenzo's burial and that access to the catacomb
and tomb was through the Church. Between 579 and 590, Pope
Pelagius II built a new church beside Constantine's 4th century church
of San Lorenzo and thereafter there wer several additions. The ciborium
(sometimes
called a baldacchino), which was signed by stonemasons Johannes,
Petrus, Angelus, and Saxo (Sasso) -- sons of master mason Paolo Romano,
was installed on the high altar in 1148. Between 1187 and 1191,
Clement III added the cloister, and in 1191 or 1192 Cardinal Cencio Savelli,
Later Pope Honorius II, remodeled and decorated the tomb. In
1216 Honorius II demolished the apse of the 6th century church and built
onto it another church, placing the entrance at the opposite end.
Honorius' new basilica serves as a nave for Pelagius's old one which functions
as a chancel with the tomb of St. Lawrence in a crypt chapel beneath.
The Romanesque campanile
dates from the 12th century. The reconstructed 13th century narthex
of six antique lonic columns has a carved cornice and a mosaic frieze.
Inside are two unusual tombs, a tablet (1948) commemorating repairs ordered
by Pius XII after war damage, and a monument by Giacomo Manzu to the statesman
Alcide De Gasperi, the Christian Democrat who dominated Italian politics
between 1943 and 1953; the 13th century frescoes depict the lives of Saints
Laurence and Stephen.
The interior of the cojoined
basilicas is essentially 13th century and earlier. There is no transept.
In the nave (Honorius's church) twenty-two diverse Ionic columns (6 cipolino
marble, the others colored granites) support an architrave in the nave,
and the floor is paved with a 12th century Cosmatesque mosaic. Near
the entrance is the tomb of Cardinal Fieschi, a large Roman sarcophagus
converted to its present use in 1256: it was rebuilt from the original
fragments after the bombardment. Near the end of the nave on the
right is a Cosmatesque ambone and the twisted stem of a paschal candlestick.
The episcopal throne dates from the 13th century.
Inside the triumphal arch
connecting the two churches is a 6th century mosaic of Christ enthroned
(with Saints Paul, Stephen, and Hipolytus [left] and Peter and Lorenzo
[right])and with Pelagius offering the church, which was reset during the
Byzantine revival. The raised chancel incorporates the 6th century church
(except for its apse which was demolishedand replaced by the joining arch)
which is on a slightly different axis . The Corinthian columns in the chancel
are of precious pavonazzo marble (a creamy white to beige, with dark, often
purplish, streaks, quarried in the Pietrasanto region) and support an entablature
of 2nd and 3rd century fragments and an arcaded gallery.
The lower level, cloister
and catacombs can only be visited by special permission from the monastery.
The level of the earliest basilica has some of the original pillars, and
in its narthex is the mausoleum of Pius IX (died 1878), rebuilt by Cattaneo
in 1881 and decorated by Lodovico Seitz. Clement III's cloister (1187-91)
is decorated by an undistinguished modern fountain. Off the cloister
are the extensive Catacombs of St Cyriaca where the body of St Laurence
is said to have been placed affer his death in 258.
The churches were skilfully
restored in 1864-70 by Virginio Vespignani, and the facade, narthex,
and south wall of the church, damaged in World War II, were repaired in
1949 using original materials as much as possible.
---------------
To the right of the church
is the entrance to the huge municipal cemetery called Campo Verano, on
the site of the estate of the Emperor Lucius Verus. It was designed
by Giuseppe Valadier in 1807-12, with a church and quadriporticus by Virginio
Vespignani. The four colossal allegorical figures at the entrance
date from 1878. Among the tombs is that of Goffredo Mameli (died 1849),
the soldier-poet (first avenue to the left). On the high ground beside
Via Tiburtina is a memorial of the battle of Mentana (1867). (Mentana
was the battle where Garibaldi's last attempt to take Rome was defeated
by French and Papal forces. Among other participants in the battle
was Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky.) In the zone of the new plots
is a First World War memorial, by Raffaele de Vico.
S.
Lorenzo fuori le Mura
S.
Lorenzo fuori le Mura-- Romeartlover
Catholic Encyclopedia:
St. Lawrence
Seven
Churches of the Pilgrimage
Goffredo
Mameli - Britannica.com
mmdtkw dean - wukitsch
