Topics
S.P.Q.R. * Seven * seven hills
* April 21 753 b.C. * kings of Rome * she-wolf
* Via * Tiber
* gladiators * Cybele
* Basilica Julia * Basilica
Aemilia * "Vespasiani" * "rioni" *Miliarum Aureum * Roman Forum * Gianus * Fori Imperiali
* S.Maria d’Aracoeli * Cloaca Maxima * Forma Urbis * Neronian bridge * Pantheon *
The Latin initials S.P.Q.R. is for Senatus PopolusQue
Romanus, which means "The Senate and the People of Rome". We found it on the legion signs and on everything concerned with the Republic
(like the writing "U.S." is for the United States of America), and used during the centuries till today to symbolizes the Rome Municipality
property.
Number Seven is, with no doubt, the most recurrent in Roman history: the hills where the city were built on, the kings of the monarchy period, the seven fated things (which, according to the legend, gave to Rome the name of Eternal) and the seven giants; also Rome has been founded on April 21st 753 b.C. with 21 multiple of seven.
It’s commonly known that the seven hills of Rome were the Aventinus, Exquilinus, Palatinus, Celius, Quirinalis, Viminalis and the Capitol (Capitolium). But to form what was called Septimontium (seven mountains) were some others different hills: the three tops of Palatinus (Palatium, Cermalus and Velia), the three ones of Exquilinus (Oppius, Cispius and Fagutal) and the Celius.
Rome has been founded on April 21st 753 b.C. by Romolus, son with his twin Remus, of Mars and the Vestal Rhea Silvia; she was directly descendant of Ascanius, first king of Alba Longa, son of Aeneas (founder of the town of Lavinio, once he arrived on the Latium shores). Aeneas, according to the Homeric story, was son of the goddess Venus and Trojan Anchises.
The
kings of Rome where seven, since 753 b.C. After the founder Romolus there was one of Sabine origin (Numa), maybe to solve the struggle between the two populations following the famous Rape of the Sabines, made by the Romans to assure themselves the prosecution of the descendants. After Numa there were new Roman and Sabine kings, Ancus Marcius and Tullius Hositilius. Last three were all Etruscan kings: Tarquinius Priscus, Servius Tullius and the tyrant Tarquinius Superbus. Monarchy lasted for 245 years, and having no definitive dates, it’s assumed that each one was king for an average period of 35 years.
The she-wolf symbolizes Rome and reminds the foundation of the city when the two twins Romulus and Remus were grown up by the animal and after by the shepherd Faustulus. On the Capitol hill, in the museums, there’s a 2500 years old bronze statue of the she-wolf built by the Etruscan masters. In the Capitol square, on a column, there’s a smaller copy.
In ancient Rome the only streets with the name Via were the Sacred Way and Nova
Via, both in the Forum area, and the Consular roads (such as the Appian way); all the others in town took the name of vicus or clivus (this last if a steep street).
The one on the Tiber is the smallest inhabited island in the entire world with a length of 300 Mts. and a width of 80 Mts. According to the legend the corn, transported by an engulfed ship, has formed it.
The crowd in the Coliseum during the games of gladiators expressed its will to kill or to save a loser: in the first case people turned its thumb up yelling Jugula; in the second case they either point its forefingers or waved a piece of cloth (even if it’s commonly believed that they turned their thumbs down) and shouted the word Mitte. Anyway the final judgement was due to the Emperor or the editor, the person who organized the games (ludi).
The big pine placed in the Cortile del Belvedere in the Vatican City seems to be the one from the temple of
Cybele, built by Claudius and destroyed after Teodosius’ edict in 389 A.D.
On the floor of Basilica Julia in the forum, are still carved on the marble some tabula lusoria, a kind of game very similar to modern tic-tac-toe. The several layabouts who went around all day long could spend some time of fun playing with them.
On the floor of Basilica Aemilia in the forum there’re a lot of coin prints liquefied by the big fire exploded during Alaric’s barbarians invasion in 410 A.D.
Public toilets in the streets, commonly called by Romans "Vespasiani", take their name from the ones put here and there by the emperor Vespasian. People were supposed to pay to use them and punished for not using; to his son Titus who argued about this unusual way of making money, he answered waving them under his nose: "Smell it! Do they stink?"
Rome Historical City center, limited by the river Tiber and the Aurelian’s walls, is more or less shaped on the divisions made by Augustus; along the borders of the 22 "rioni" you can see the signals with the emblems, placed there by Pope Benedictus XIV in 1743.
The Miliarum Aureum was a column of marble covered by bronze, placed in the Forum by Augustus, to symbolize the starting point of all the Consul roads; on it were carved the distances from Rome to the main cities of the empire.
The Roman Forum was the political and cultural center of all the Empire; here statues were erected in honor of gods and personalities, but also common people; in 156 D.C. the number of statues was so high to not allow the common passage of people in the streets; it was decided to remove most of them: among the others survived, there’s the one of Servius Sulpicius, a man who acquired the privilege for him and his descendants to occupy one squared meter and half for public ceremonies.
In the Forum there was the temple of Gianus, with its doors always open during wars and closed in time of piece.
When Mussolini built Via dell’Impero (the street called today Via dei Fori Imperiali) came out the big part of the complex of the Roman Forum, the Traian’s, the Ceasar’s, the Augustus’ and Nerva’s. Anyway the Fascist project did not stop and the current road once again covered all the area.
The third column on the left hand side of the aisle of S.Maria d’Aracoeli, on the Capitol hill, is crossed by a hole like a telescope; a writing on the column says "a cubiculo Augustorum" which means "from the emperor’s room", so that it’s possible that this was its original function.
The Cloaca Maxima, the ancient drainage system, still working, is attributed to Tarquinius Priscus for its Etruscan style; for a long time the water run at open air and the vault was built after. Born in the Suburra quarter, it run through the Forum and finishes in the Tiber by the Pons Aemilius.
On a wall of the Forum of the Peace, built by Vespasian in 71 A.D., which was where now there’s a wall of the Saints Cosma and Damian’s church, there was a big picture of ancient Rome of 205 A.D. period (under Septimius Severus rule); the picture called Forma Urbis was 18 x 13 Mts. wide and, like all the others from Romans and Greeks, is upside down (the North is our South). A rest of the Forma Urbis is now in the Musei Capitolini but just one tenth of the original size.
On summertime, when the level of the waters of the Tiber is low, it’s possible to see down the river the rests of the Neronian bridge, built by the emperor in 60 A.D., and maybe destroyed to avoid the Gots invasion in VI century. On that bridge crossed the river the Triumphalis road.
Both the obelisks in the square of Pantheon and Piazza della Minerva (just behind the temple) come from the temple of Iside and Serapide in the Campo Marzio.