CHAPTER I. TOPOGRAPHY OF ROME. Id. General References.-Platner, Bunsen, Urlichs, &c., Beschreibung der Stadt Rom, Stuttgart, 1830-1842. Nibby, Antonio: Roma nell' anno, MDCCCXXXVIII., Parte antica. Becker, W. Adolph: Topographie d. St. R. (Handbuch der Röm. Alterthümer, vol. I.), Leipzig, 1843. Canina, Luigi: Edifizii di Roma antica, &c., 6 vols., Rome, 1810-1850. Preller, Ludwig: Die Regionen d. St. R., Jena, 1846. Jordan, Heinrich: Forma Urbis R., Berlin, 1874. Topographie d. St. R. im Alterthum, Berlin, 1871. Corpus Inscript. latin., vols. VI. (6 parts), XIV. and XV. De Rossi, G. B.: Piante di R. anteriori al sec. XVI., Roma 1879. Richter, Otto: Topographie d. St. R., Nördlingen, 1889. Middleton, J. Henry: The Remains of Ancient Rome, 2nd ed., in 2 vols., London, 1892. Lanciani, Rodolfo: Forma Urbis Romas (Archæological Map of A. R., in 46 sheets), Milan, Hoepli, 1893. Campagna di Roma.— -The district now known as the Campagna di Roma extends along the shore of the Mediterranean for sixty miles, from Capo Linaro to Astura, and inland as far as the first slopes of the Apennines, which here begin to rise at a distance of from 25 to 35 miles from the sea. This region presents a very peculiar aspect. In the immediate vicinity of the coast the land is low and swampy, and as we ascend the streams the meadows which border their banks partake of the same character. But the remainder of the country is a vast expanse of table land, rolling in long swells, broken and furrowed in all directions by deep ravines and water-courses, the sides of which are frequently rocky and precipitous. The surface of the table land is, for the most part, perfectly dry, the general elevation above the level of the sea is seldom less than 100 feet, and in some places it rises into ridges of considerable height, while in the midst of the plain the bold, picturesque, isolated mass of the Alban hills (Mons Albanus=2,938 ft.) divides the Campagna proper from the deadly level of the Pomptine marshes (Paludes Pomptinae). In ancient times the portion of the Campagna on the right of the Tiber belonged to the Etruscans; that on the left to the Sabines (as far as the Anio) and to the Latins, while the slopes of the Apennines were inhabited by the Volscians. References.-Sir William Gell: The Topography of Rome and its Vicinity, London, 1846. Nibby Antonio: Analisi storico-antiquaria dei dintorni di Roma, 2nd ed., vol. III., Rome, 1848. Tomassetti Giuseppe: La campagna romana nel medio evo, published in the Archivio della Società di Storia Patria, Rome, vol. II.-X. Maps of the instituto Geografico Militare (Staff Survey), 1: 25,000. H. Kiepert: Carta dell' Itàlia Centrale, Berlin, Reimer, 1881. B Site of Rome —The seven hills.—About eighteen miles from the mouth of the Tiber, the stream, whose course is south by west, makes a very sudden bend nearly due west; and, as it gradually sweeps back to its former direction, forms an acute angle, in which lies an alluvial meadow, containing upwards of 300 English acres. This is the celebrated Campus Martius, and on this flat a great portion of the modern city has been built. The southern extremity of the Campus Martius was known by the name of the Prata Flaminia. A steep bank rises abruptly from the edge of the Campus Martius, and then slopes gradually into the table land, which forms the general surface of the country beyond. This bank presents a very irregular and rugged outline towards the river, the continuous ridge being broken by numerous projecting bluffs, which jut out into the low ground. The four bluffs which approach most nearly to the river, at the southern extremity of the Campus Martius, being cut off from the main ridge, and from each other, by intersecting hollows, stand as small isolated hills, with steep rocky escarpments. The smallest of the four, that which lies farthest to the north, is the MONS CAPITOLINUS; next in size, to the south of the Capitoline, is the PALATIUM or MONS PALATINUS; to the south of the Palatine, larger than either of the preceding, and almost touching the river, is the MONS AVENTINUS; to the south-east of the Palatine, and separated both from it and from the Aventine by a deep hollow, is the MONS COELIUS, originally called, we are told, MONS QUERQUETULANUS. Another deep hollow to the north of the Coelian divides it from a long continuous ridge, which, on the east, slopes gradually into the Campagna, while on the west, or side next the river, it is broken into four tongues, separated from each other by narrow dells. These tongues, taken in succession, are the ESQUILIAE or MONS ESQUILINUS, which comprehends two projections, severally distinguished in ancient times as the Mons Oppius and the Mons Cispius-beyond the Mons Cispius, the COLLIS VIMINALIS -beyond the Viminal, the COLLIS QUIRINALIS-beyond the Quirinal, the COLLIS HORTULORUM, called at a late period, Mons Pincius. The Mons Capitolinus, Mons Palatinus, Mons Aventinus, Mons Coelius, Mons Esquilinus, Collis Viminalis, Collis Quirinalis, are the far-famed Seven hills of Rome. It will be seen from this description, which must be carefully compared with the plan prefixed to this chapter, that the Mons Capitolinus, the Mons Palatinus, the Mons Aventinus, and the Mons Coelius can alone be regarded as hills, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, the remainder are mere irregular projections of the table land which constitutes the Campagna. Their respective heights above the level of the sea are: Capitoline (Aracoeli), 151 ft. Palatine (s. Bonaventura), 166 ft. 1 Varro L.L. V. § 50. Fest. s.v. Septimontio, p. 348. Aul. Gell. XV. I. The respective position of the Oppius and Cispius was made clear in May, 1887, by the discovery of a sacellum belonging to the Montani montis Oppi. It was found in the Via delle Sette Sale, above the church of S. Clemente. See Bull. com., 1887, p, 156. Esquiline (Agger of Servius Tullius), 204-5 ft. Quirinal (Baths of Diocletian), 170 ft. Aventine (s. Alessio), 146 ft. The highest point of the Janiculum is 297 ft.; of the Pincian, by the Casino dell' Aurora, 204 ft.; of the Vatican ridge (Monte Mario), 440 ft. The broad slope of the Mons Oppius, towards the Palatine, was the Carinae;1 1 the low ridge which runs from the Palatine towards the Carinae was the Velia; the lower slope of the Palatine, towards the Capitoline and the Tiber, was the Cermalus or Germalus; one of the branches of the Coelian, whose outline, on the eastern side, is not very sharply defined, was the Coeliolus or Minor Coelius. Lastly, it will be observed that there is a hill behind the Aventine, separated from it by a well defined hollow, the two highest points of which are marked by the churches of S. Saba and S. Balbina. We can scarcely suppose that it was regarded merely as a part of the Aventine, but we do not find it designated by any separate name, nor, indeed, is it distinctly noticed by any classical author. It must be remarked, that the hills of Rome do not now present, by any means, the same aspect which they must have borne during the earlier ages of the city. Their summits have been smoothed and levelled to adapt them for the foundations of the edifices by which they were crowned; their steep rocky sides have been, in many places, sloped away in order to afford more easy access, and the enormous accumulalation of rubbish around their bases has raised the surface of the ground below, and thus materially diminished their apparent elevation. The depth of the strata of ruins, viz., the difference of level between the ancient and modern city, varies from a minimum of 9 ft. on the summit of the hills, to a maximum of 36 ft. in the hollows by which the hills are separated. The greatest depth yet found is 66 ft. (S.W. corner of the house of the Vestals, and Baths of Neratius Cerialis, via Cavour, 45 ft.). Nearly opposite to the base of the Capitoline, the river, dividing into two branches, forms, as they reunite, a small island, the Insula Tiberina. Crossing over to the right bank of the Tiber, a long continuous ridge extends from the region of the Vatican to the south end of the city. This is the IANICULUM. To the north-west of the Janiculum, separated from it by a deep depression, and at a greater distance from the river, is the MONS VATICANUS. The meadow between the Vatican and the Tiber was the Ager Vaticanus, of which the Prata Quinctia formed a part, and the slope between the Janiculum and the Tiber was comprehended under the general designation of Regio Transtiberina. Returning to the left bank and the seven hills, we may now notice the hollows and flat spaces, by which the different eminences were separated from each other. The ravine between the Palatine and the Aventine was the Vallis Murcia, and here was laid out the Circus Maximus, the great race-course of Rome. In the low ground, extending from the Capitoline towards the Velia, lay the Forum Romanum; to the north-east of the Forum Romanum were formed the extensive Fora of 1 Liv. XXVI. 10. Dionys. III. 22. 2 Varro L. L. V. § 46.-Orat. de Harusp. Resp. 15. Mart. XII. 18. |