Palatine: historical sights of Rome - imperial palaces. S.i

Hill Palatine begins its history even before the founding of Rome. Shepherds lived on this site about three thousand years ago. Later, the hill became the main scene of action in the legend about Romulus and Remus. Experts have found settlements founded in 1000 BC, which confirms the earlier settlement of the Palatine compared to the other six hills. The greatest Roman poem, The Aeneid, says that the first city on the site of Rome was founded by people from the harsh Greek Arcadia. It was called Pallantium, and the Palatine was its core and center. Although, perhaps, the hill was named after Pales, the patron goddess of shepherds.

Romulus settlement model

The history of Ancient Rome began from this place. It was at the foot of the Palatine, according to legend, that a basket with two babies, Remus and Romulus, who became the founders of the “Eternal City,” was washed up by the waves of the Tiber. According to legend, here was the cave of the she-wolf (Lupercalia), who nursed the brothers.

Subsequently, Romulus surrounded the Palatine Hill with a wall with two gates - this was the first semblance of the “Eternal City”.

The legendary cradle of Rome in our time has become its most romantic garden with columns fallen among wildflowers. During the Roman Republic, this area was considered elite and only the rich and aristocrats lived here, such as Crassus and Cicero. There stood the house of the Gracchi family, from which the brother reformers of the 2nd century BC emerged. e., Tiberius Claudius Nero, the father of Emperor Tiberius, lived there, Mark Antony, Caesar’s comrade-in-arms and future husband of Cleopatra, lived there.

The imperial style began in August. Subsequent emperors tried to surpass and eclipse him. Over time, the entire area turned into one huge palace. The word palace itself comes from the name of the hill.

The invasion of barbarians turned the Palatine into a scorched desert. The hill remained uninhabited until the seventeenth century, when it came into the possession of Pope Paul III Farnese. From this moment on, the revival of the hill begins. It was this family that first began to partially restore the long-forgotten history.

View of the Palatine Hill with the Arch of Constantine. A.R.L.Ducros (1748-1810)

Private archaeological work on the Palatine Hill was completed with the support of Napoleon III in the 60s of the 19th century, after which the Roman authorities took away Napoleon's property in connection with historical value discovered during excavations.

Nowadays, the Palatine is a collection of architectural monuments from various eras, starting from ancient period and ending with buildings of the nineteenth century. That is why all travelers who are even slightly interested in history and architecture should visit the place where the history of the great city begins.

There is little reminiscent of imperial pomp on the current Palatine. For a long time the hill was completely closed to the public: there was a leisurely drive archaeological excavations. This work continues today (a minority of the monuments have been excavated), but the Palatine is one of the few archaeological sites in the center of Rome where you can simply walk and forget about what this hill was for the people who lived on and around it two thousand years ago : the buildings on the Palatine are even worse preserved than on the Forum; there are almost no signs. And the impressive brick-lined ribs and vaults protruding along the edges of the hill are not the remains of the buildings themselves, but their foundations. In addition, the Palatine grew not only in breadth, but also in height. The current hill is largely the work of human hands: in its central part the cultural layer rises above the natural geological base by as much as fifteen meters!

You can climb the Palatine Hill from the eastern part of the Roman Forum, from the ruins of the House of the Vestals.

View of the Forum from the Palatine Hill

From the pavilions and terraces of the 17th century gardens laid out by the Farnese family, one can see beautiful view to the Forum. A small museum displays artifacts discovered nearby. The botanical rarities of the Farnese gardens were famous back in the 17th century, but the current layout of the plantings is largely the work of the archaeologist from the time of Napoleon III, Giacomo Boni. Boni worked on the excavations of the Forum, but lived on the Palatine. There he is buried - in the center of the garden, which he restored according to ancient Roman models.

Farnese Gardens on the Palatine

The Farnese Gardens are surrounded by temples. The main religious center of Rome was the Capitol - from the western part of the current gardens there was a majestic view of the Temple of Jupiter. But this view became especially majestic when, through the efforts of several generations, the Palatine was equal in height to the Capitol.

To the west of the garden is the House of Augustus ( Casa di Augusto), in which Augustus lived around 30 BC, before gaining supreme power and building his palace complex higher on the hill Domus Augustana. After many years of restoration in 2008 for visitors rooms with exquisite frescoes opened.

House of Augustus

Palace architecture Domus Augustana quite simple and made of marble. Nearby is a temple to the ancient Roman god Apollo, which is also made of pure marble. There are two libraries in the temple. At the beginning of our era, the palace burned down, but its owner immediately began to reconstruct the building. As a result, everything was restored to its original form, and a beautiful colonnade appeared nearby. It consisted of fifty-two columns, the spaces between which were filled with amazing statues.

House of Libya
Romulus's Hut

House of Livia ( Casa di Livia), in which his ambitious wife lived, is also decorated with wonderful frescoes and wall mosaics. This may be the former home of the orator Hortensius, purchased by Augustus. The surviving paintings depict garlands of fruits and flowers, landscapes in the Egyptian style, and in the central room - mythological scenes. On one wall there are depictions of the nymph Galatea and her lover sea ​​giant Polyphemus, on the other - Io, who is guarded by Argus. On the sides of the long wall are two small paintings in the Greek style, called pinax, “tablet” - they were highly valued and were closed with special doors; both have three-figure compositions depicting noble women. Nearby, three round stone-age dwellings excavated from the legendary founding of Rome are known as the Huts of Romulus ( Cappane di Romolo).

Covered arcade Criptoportico connected buildings on the Palatine Hill with the Palace of Nero.

Western part the hill was decorated with the palace of Tiberius ( Domus Tiberiana).

Huge ensemble of ruins Domus Flavia includes a basilica, throne and banquet halls, baths, porticoes and a labyrinthine fountain. Together with Domus Augustana the complex is known as the Palace of Domitian. The architecture of the building itself was luxurious and particularly elegant. On the territory of the palace there was a basilica and various halls. For example, the Throne Room, where the emperor gave audiences and held councils. The dining hall was gigantic - it exceeded thirty meters in length and height. The walls were decorated with three tiers of multi-colored columns. Everything around shone with marble and polished granite. The dining room was surrounded by gardens with fountains. Open courtyards were built around, each the size of a palace.

Palace of Domitian

To the east of this splendor another gigantic garden was laid out in the form of a “stadium” or “hippodrome” - one of the most impressive sights on the Palatine. What was in the Palatine “stadium”, other than the fountains on both sides (for which Domitian had a weakness), is unknown. Perhaps gold and silver statues depicting the emperor, which he only allowed to be erected, assigning their weight himself.

Stadium of Domitian

Septimius Severus, the last emperor to build on the Palatine Hill, erected an imperial palace on the southeastern edge of the hill. Therefore it Domus Severiana was the first thing that caught the eye of visitors to the capital. The building had a very interesting design of seven floors, and each level rises above the previous one thanks to high columns. It was dismantled in the Middle Ages and its marble decorations were used to build Renaissance Rome.

From the same edge of the hill there is a beautiful view of the huge grassy field of the stadium , where crowds of spectators watched the chariot races from rows of marble seats.

Circus Maximus

Many temples were also built on the Palatine. Although today only ruins remain of them (Victoria, Apollo) - in the 15-18 centuries the temples were stolen for building materials. The temple of Apollo contained books of Sibylline prophecy, placed there by Augustus. These books were in golden chests hidden under the pedestal of the statue of Apollo. And, over time, churches and basilicas appeared on the hill.

In November 2007, a team of Italian archaeologists led by Irene Jacopi and Andrea Carandini announced the discovery. A medium-sized grotto was discovered under the “house of Livia.” Its domed ceiling is decorated with multi-colored mosaics of smalt, pumice and seashells, with an image of a white eagle in the center. The researchers announced with great fanfare that they had found the legendary Lupercal - a sanctuary dedicated to Romulus, Remus and the she-wolf who suckled them. Our contemporary has not yet set foot inside the grotto - it is filled with construction debris dating back two thousand years and is in danger of collapsing. Nevertheless, photographs appeared taken using a special camera probe.

Lupercal

You can get to the Palatine after visiting. A ticket to the Roman Forum costs 12 euros and also includes a visit to the Palatine Hill. So, once in Rome, you don’t have to stand in a two-hour queue at the Colosseum ticket office, but just walk 100 meters to the side and buy the same ticket at the Forum ticket office. The ticket is valid for two days from the date of visiting any of the three attractions. Persons under 18 years of age have free admission.

When we were told about the Roman Forum at school, I imagined a large and beautiful square with an elevation for the speaker, but in reality everything turned out to be completely different. The Roman Forum is already several centuries old and it is quite natural that various temples and public buildings were erected in its place many times in ancient times. Those. his appearance was constantly changing. Then many buildings collapsed or were stolen for building materials, and today we can only see the ruins of bygone eras.

But these ruins amaze the imagination with their size. Some buildings are simply huge; one wonders how the ancients managed to build such grandiose buildings without technical means. The Roman Forum and Palatine Hill are one of the most famous and most visited archaeological parks in the world.

If you don’t really like walking among ruins, you can simply stroll along Via Imperiale; this street offers excellent views of the archaeological zone. From the Capitoline Hill you can view the entire Roman Forum; only the Palatine with the ruins of palaces belonging to the emperors and aristocrats of Ancient Rome will remain out of sight. It's absolutely free and available to everyone.

Entrance to the Roman Forum and Palatine costs 12 € and also includes a visit to the Colosseum arena. I wrote more about tickets, methods of purchasing them, available videos and audio guides in a previous article.

In this article I will make an easy overview of the forum buildings to make it easier for you to decide whether you want to explore it or not.

Roman Forum or Forum Romanum

Looking around the Forum, you can see for yourself that Christianity gradually grew out of paganism. Many temples of ancient deities became churches in the Christian era. There was even a church of St. Bacchus and St. Sergius at the Forum; now all that remains of it is a mention in Wikipedia. The ancient Saturnalia was transformed into the celebration of the Nativity of Christ and the New Year. In the Roman Forum, the columns of the Temple of Venus the Progenitor, the patroness of the hearth and motherhood, are still preserved. As a result of evolution, the cult of Venus was reborn into the cult of the Virgin Mary. And so on and so forth.

Some buildings of the Roman Forum can be seen from the walls of the Colosseum. Like, for example, the ruins of the Temple of Venus and Roma. At least half of this ancient temple was part of the Church of Santa Francesca Romana.

Temple of Venus and Roma, view from the walls of the Colosseum

In the photo below you can see the process of restoration of ancient columns. They are being restored from the rubble, supplementing the unpreserved areas with inserts of modern concrete. The Palantine is already visible behind the columns.

Ancient columns and Chinese tourists taking pictures of the Colosseum

But I invite you to first go under the Arch of Titus. There are three triumphal arches in total in the Roman Forum. I showed you the first one in the article about the Colosseum - this is the Arch of Constantine, the second is the Arch of Titus and the third will be the Arch of Septimius Severus. The latter is located in the area of ​​the Forum farthest from the entrance.

They say groups from Israel still bypass the Arch of Titus. The Jews have an ancient superstition: passing under the Arch of Titus means bad luck.

The triumphal arch of Titus, erected in honor of the capture of Jerusalem in 70 AD

Triumphal Arch of Titus, fragment with menorah

It is best to view the Roman Forum from the Palatine Hill, for great things can be seen from afar. The Basilica of Maxentius was built already during the time of Constantine the Great, the one who made Christianity the state religion, but was still an ancient temple. This is the largest structure in the Forum.

The Temple of the Divine Romulus is now better known as the Basilica of Cosmas and Damian. Initially, the temple was built in memory of his son, who received the name at the moment of an attack of love for the past that suddenly happened to his father, Emperor Maxentius. There is no entrance to the basilica from the Forum. The entrance from Via Imperiale is now open. The basilica is decorated with early Christian mosaics with sheep. We looked at mosaics in this style in 2014. Also worthy of attention is the pretty atrium and the huge scene of the Nativity of Christ.

View of the Roman Forum from Palatine Hill

The House of the Vestals served as a prototype of the Christian convent. IN different times 4 or 6 or 7 Vestals served in the temple. Becoming a Vestal Virgin was a very honorable mission. Usually girls from noble families applied for this position. The applicant had to be older than 6 years old, but younger than 10. She took a vow of chastity and was obliged to serve in the temple for 30 years; after the end of the service, the Vestal Virgin could leave the temple, get married and have children, but most of them remained until her death.

Ruins of the Temple of the Vestals

The mother of the legendary founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, Rhea Silvia, was also a Vestal Virgin. She claimed that the father of the twins was the god Mars himself.

There are several sculptures installed near the house of the Vestals. Most of them are without heads or other body parts.

Statue of the Vestal Virgin in the Roman Forum

In the foreground of the next photo you can see the surviving colonnade of the Temple of Saturn.

View of the Roman Forum from Capitoline Hill

The triumphal arch of Septimius Severus is located almost right next to the Capitoline Hill. But you can only get to it by leaving the archaeological zone, through the exit near the Colosseum itself.

Septimius Severus became famous for his successful military campaigns in Parthia and less successful ones in Scotland.

Triumphal Arch of Septimius Severus

At the very exit from the Forum there is an ascent to the Palatine Hill.

All that we can now see there is the result of excavations carried out in the 19th century.

In ancient times, there were located on the Palatine imperial palaces, stunning contemporaries with their magnificence. The Caesars lived there and the luxury of their homes increased as the Empire strengthened, and there were no more beautiful palaces in the world. From there they ruled their rich possessions, here they lived, surrounded by flatterers and slaves, here they often died the most miserable death - at the hands of a hired killer.

In total, the ruins of several palaces remained on Palantine. One of them is the Flavian house. It was built by Domitian Flavius, the Roman Emperor of 81-96. His father, Vespasian, had just begun building the famous Colosseum.

We saw the same wavy floors in the Cathedral of San Marco in Venice. Or rather, we felt them there with our feet; it was not possible to see them because of the crowds of people. But on Palantine, look at your health - there are very few people.

Floors of the Flavian house

Judging by the size of the foundations, the palace was very large. But unfortunately there is almost nothing left of it. No gold and silver roofs, no marble columns. Everything turned to dust and decay.

Ruins of the Flavian House

I was especially struck by the depth of some of the excavations. In the photograph below is one of the halls of the Flavian Palace, completely buried underground - it looks like three Khrushchev floors down.

House of Flavians

Next to the Flavian Palace stands the Stadium of Domitian, or rather what remains of it. It is believed that the stadium was used as a hippodrome and horse races were held there. The Romans were very fond of all kinds of competitions. At the foot of the Palatine Hill in those days there was the Great Circus or Circus Maximus, chariot races were held there, only a large clearing remained from the Great Circus, nothing has been preserved. And Domitian's Stadium is much better preserved, although it is much smaller in size than the Circus Maximus.

Stadium of Domitian

Supposedly this was the emperor's rostrum.

It is curious that the Augustan Palace was also built under Domitian. It’s just that the Flavian Palace was used for official events, and the Augustan Palace for relaxation in a close family circle.

August Palace

There are almost no art objects in the ruins of the Palatine. Everything that was found during the excavations is now exhibited in the museums of Rome. There is just a little bit of fresh air left. Below is almost everything I noticed.

Griffins

Ancient floors

Panel drawing

The photo below already shows an object belonging to the Farnese Gardens on the Palatine. This is a much later construction. The Nymphenium was erected by order of Alessandro Farnese, who later became Pope Paul III. The Farnese Gardens were laid out on the ruins of Tiberius's palace. The Nymphenium was an artificial grotto fountain decorated with statues of satyrs holding mirrors. What surprises me most about this is that the order to install the satyr statues was given by a Catholic bishop and the future Pope. In Russia, I cannot imagine a similar situation.

Nymphaeum of Mirrors

Our genuine joy was caused by the meeting with tangerine and lemon trees. We northern people have never seen tangerines growing on the street. Everyone warned us that these tangerines are almost inedible, but we checked it anyway personal experience. Wild tangerines are very sour, more sour than lemons, just like our apples, they fall from the trees and begin to rot. At the level of human growth, everything was cut short, apparently we are not the only ones.

Collecting wild tangerines on the Palatine

View from the Palatine Hill to the roofs of Rome with gardens

Trajan's Forum is located on the other side of Via Imperiale. Those. you need to leave the toll zone and walk a little forward to the monument to Victor Emmanuel II. On the way you will be able to explore Trajan's Forum, it is absolutely free.

Emperor Trajan believed that the old forum had become cramped and decided to build a new one worthy of its great name. Each emperor considered himself almost a god or descended from the gods. The Roman Empire received funds for such a grandiose construction after the conquest of Dacia. In the photo below you can also see another part of the exhibition “Skeletons of Horses” by contemporary Mexican sculptor Gustavo Aceves.

Trajan's Column frustrates historians with its complete lack of dates and inscriptions. In fact, these bas-reliefs describe the conquest of Dacia. The column is hollow inside, and there is even a staircase leading to the platform above. The top of the column is decorated with a statue of St. Peter, but it was not always there. At first, the top of the column was decorated with an imperial eagle, then with a statue of Emperor Troyan, and only in 1588 was the emperor finished off and his statue was replaced with a statue of the Saint.

Next to Trajan's Column there are two churches very similar to each other. And in front of them in December 2016, scammers were on duty. They first ask you to sign your name against drugs, and then demand money for using a pen and paper. We didn’t get caught up in this story, but we watched how they tried to divorce one couple. Be careful not to fall for the bait of such people.

Well, a little Roman flavor at the end of my story. Which tourist town does it do without mass entertainers? Naturally, they only want a few coins, but unlike scammers, they humbly ask, and do not brazenly extort.

The production of paintings is widespread in Rome. Right in front of the respectable public, this guy, deftly changing stencils and cans of paint in his hands, literally in a few minutes paints another picture with the Colosseum and the Moon. The only downside to this show is the strong paint smell.

Making paintings using stencils

That’s actually all I wanted to tell you about the Roman Forum, the Palatine and the unique Roman flavor with light elements of fraud. Do you like walking among ruins? Every stone there breathes the history of bygone centuries.

In the next article I will tell you, and then I will continue my Roman sketches - another monument of antiquity that raises doubts about its age.

Do you want to travel to Rome on your own? Read in one article. You will learn: about all types of transfer from the airport (cost), about the cost of tickets for public transport, get a 6-day city tour plan, where is the best place to buy tickets to the museums of Rome and avoid the queues.

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Rome is built on seven hills, the most ancient and significant of which is the Palatine. Archaeologists claim that the first buildings in the Eternal City arose on this 40-meter hill. During the power of the Empire, the residences of rulers were built here, and it was the Palatine Hill that became the progenitor of the Latin word palatium, which means “palace.” The name of the hill was given in honor of the goddess Pales, who patronized cattle breeding.

Legends of the Palatine Hill

There is evidence that the strategically important hill above the crossing of the Tiber was inhabited in the 9th-8th centuries. BC e. As the legend says, it was here that the she-wolf who nursed Romulus and Remus lived, and it was here that the founding brothers of the city were found by the shepherd Faustulus, who later raised them. From the hill, the brothers began the construction of the Great City; a little later, here Romulus killed his brother and surrounded the Palatine with two rows of powerful walls. Not long ago, scientists discovered a cave that could be the lair of the legendary she-wolf.

Mansion of Octavian Augustus

During the Republic, every patrician considered it his duty to build a luxurious estate on the Palatine. Beginning with the founder of the empire, Octavian Augustus, rulers began to settle on the Palatine Hill. Modest by the standards of those in power, Octavian's mansion was built of marble and was famous for its unique frescoes. In addition to the mansion, at that time there were temples of Vesta and Apollo, a propylaea and a colonnade with a large number of statues. The house of the wife of the ruler of Libya, consisting of 14 rooms, deserves special attention, decorated with frescoes depicting mythological creatures, flowers, candelabra and sphinxes.

Octavian's followers erected a much more significant palace complex, known in documents as the House of Tiberius. The beginning of construction took place under the leadership of Tiberius himself, and Nero was in charge of expanding the territory. To the north of Tiberius' creation was the Palace of Caligula.

Complex from the time of Domitian

The next surge of activity was observed under Domitian, when a luxurious palace complex with a Throne Room, a fountain surrounded by a colonnade, the Hall of Jupiter and a beautiful basilica was built on the Palatine Hill. During the time of Domitian, who loved sports, a stadium was erected with a special box for the emperor and his entourage.

Palace of Septimius Severus

The last of a series of Palatine palaces appeared on the map under Septimius Severus. In those days, a monumental fountain with columns, consisting of seven levels, and a bath appeared at the foot of the hill.

After the fall of Rome, the hill was in decline until the 16th century, when the restoration of this unique place The Farnese family took over. About 25% of the buildings were excavated and destroyed beautiful gardens, delighting visitors today. The restoration was completed under Napoleon III.

Antiquarium Museum and Roman Forum

Unique items, bas-reliefs, fragments of mosaics, ancient and modern sculptures are kept in the Antiquarium Museum, which opened its doors to visitors on the hill.

At the foot of the Palatine Hill is where the main political issues were decided and the destinies of rulers and states were decided.

How to get to Palatine Hill?

The hill is located in an area called XCampitelli.

Exact address: piazza S. Maria Nova, via di S. Gregorio 30.

To get here, just take the metro line B to Colosseo station.

In winter and summer, the attraction has different opening hours: in the cold season, visiting is possible from 8:30 to 16:30, and from March to the end of August - from 8:30 to 19:15.

No one is allowed into the territory later than an hour before closing.

Price entrance ticket– 12 euros.

There is a discount system, about which you can find out more on the website tourist center Eternal City. In addition to the hill itself, with a ticket you can explore the Colosseum and the Forum for two days. For those who want to save on the services of a guide, it is possible to order a Russian-language audio guide for 5 euros.

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Romulus walked around the Palatine Hill with a plow, and this became the first sacred border of Ancient Rome. The house of the founding king stood here; later emperors and patricians wished to settle nearby. All that remains of their magnificent residences are ruins, but in many languages ​​the very concept of “palace” (palazzo, palace, chambers...) comes from the Palatine.

SQUARE ROME OF ROMULUS

The leader said: “No one will cross the border of my city,” and death awaited the violator - his own brother...

The Palatine Hill opposite the ford near the island of Tiberin is the cradle of the great city. According to legend, approx. 771 BC e. a basket containing the newborns Romulus and Remus, thrown into the Tiber near their native Alba Longa. Somewhere here stood the hut of the shepherd Faustul, who became their adoptive father. Here in 753 BC. e. Little Rome was born - “Roma Square”, the square of the first borders of the settlement symbolically outlined by Romulus personally with a furrow. At the moment of the birth of the city, blood was shed and fratricide occurred: Romulus did not tolerate that his twin brother Remus, mocking the solemnity of the moment of the founding ceremony of the city, jumped over the pomerium (the sacred border of the city at the foot of the hill had no walls, the fortifications were built higher, more steep slopes). Now it seems to us that murder was an excessive punishment for petty hooliganism, but then everything was perceived differently.

“First of all, Romulus fortified the Palatine Hill, where he was raised. He made sacrifices to all the gods according to the Albanian (Alba-Longi) rite, only to Hercules - according to the Greek, as established by Evander” (Titus Livy). There were three gates in the wall of the original city: the Mugon gates led to the Sacred Street (via Sacra), the Roman ones to the New Street (via Nova), and the third communicated with the Caca Staircase, descending along the southern slope to the Circus Maximus. Then Rome began to grow, gradually uniting seven hills within its new borders, marked by the city wall of Servius Tullius. But no other hill in Rome is associated with so many legends, myths and traditions as the Palatine.

Perhaps the name of the hill comes from the ancient Italian goddess Palea, the patroness of shepherds. And historians (Greek Pausanias, Roman Titus of Livia, etc.) trace the name to the Arcadian city of Pallantia, from where, 60 years before the Trojan War, colonists led by Evander came to the site of the future Rome. This legend is partly confirmed by the remains of very ancient settlement. If we proceed from the assumption that myths are the sacralization of history, then the presence of representatives of the Cretan-Mycenaean culture on the Palatine is evidenced by the ancient Greek myth about the victory of Hercules (and the Hellenes) over the ugly Cacus (in the myth - the son of a volcano, in the book “On the Foundation of Rome” by Titus Libya, he is named as a local shepherd, but could also be the leader of an aboriginal tribe), and the presence of the Kaka Stairs itself on the southern slope of the hill, descending to the Circus Maximus. The legend about the origin of Romulus and Remus from the descendants of the hero of the Trojan War Aeneas, who found shelter in Latium, also seems quite plausible.

During excavations on the hill in 2007, they discovered the Lupercal grotto (Latin for “lupa” - “she-wolf”), decorated with marble, mosaics and shells, which, according to legend, is the very cave where the she-wolf fed the boys. But, most likely, in this cave the Romans worshiped not a she-wolf, but Faun (the ancient Italian god of fertility, a variant of the Arcadian Pan; one of the nicknames Lupercus means “protector of herds from wolves”), in whose honor February 15 long before the founding of Rome (according to Titus Livy ) and until the ban in 456, Lupercalia was widely celebrated. Religious buildings have stood on the top since ancient times; in their place in the middle of the 3rd century. BC e. The temple of the goddess Victoria and the temple of the Great Mother (Cybele) appeared.

The Palatine was originally intended for the homes of worthy Roman citizens, patricians. But practically nothing has survived from the tsarist period. It can be assumed that the residential buildings of the very first Romans on the slopes of the Palatine differed little from typical Italian huts: a rounded shape made of branches coated with clay, a thatched roof supported by a central pillar and a tuff base. One of these huts near the Caca Stairs is considered to be the house of Romulus.

The flattest and most convenient for development was towards the Great Circus. Here they built their magnificent palaces, here was their main residence, right up to the southern slope of the Palatine Hill, descending the palaces of the Roman emperors, starting with Augustus, before moving the capital to Constantinople.

PALACES AND CHAMBERS OF PATRICIA

Both the Italian word “palazzo”, and the English “palace”, and the Russian “chambers” go back to one word - Palatsii. This was the name of the Palatine area built up with luxurious estates.

The second legendary Roman king Numa Pompilius (reigned from 715 to 673/672 BC) was a Sabine. According to legend, he laid royal residence(regia) on a tuff platform between the Quirinal and the Palatine, thereby demonstrating the unification of the two communities. Only the region of the Republican/Imperial period has survived to this day in the same place: on sacred road on the outskirts of the Roman Forum, opposite the Temple of Vesta and the House of the Vestals. In general, the construction boom in Rome began during the Etruscan dynasty, starting with the fifth Roman king Lucius Tarquinius (the Ancient) Priscus (reigned from 616 to 579 BC). Even then, in the valley between the Palatine and the Aventine, on an area 600 m long and 100 m wide, chariot races drawn by four horses began* to be held. At first, the circus was a temporary structure: spectators sat on wooden benches. And when the river that flowed here was taken into a pipe, stone stands and marble stalls were built before the start. During the Republic, the Circus Maximus accommodated 150,000 spectators, and by the 4th century. n. e. - up to 380,000 people.

During the Republican period (from 509 BC), many famous statesmen, generals, orators and writers lived on the Palatine (Cicero, Mark Antony, Sulla, Mesalla Corvinus, Agrippa, Hortensius Gortal and many others). Since Octavian Augustus was born and raised on the Palatine Hill, he decided to revive the image of a “place for the elite”: the hill that gave home to the first Roman king now became the residence of the Roman emperors and an “elite quarter” for citizens of noble birth.

The House of Augustus was built in 36 BC. e., that is, even before Octavian became emperor (27 BC - 14 AD) and Father of the Fatherland. In the emperor's private chambers, the rooms were small and modest, while the rooms for public receptions, on the contrary, were large and richly decorated with marble and stucco. Later, Livia's house was added to the emperor's house for his wife. At the same time, a marble temple of Apollo appeared on the top.

Augustus's stepson Tiberius (reigned 14-37) ordered the palace to be expanded and renovated, and Tiberius's house appeared in its place. The heir of Tiberius Caligula (reigned 37-41) built the house towards the market. In 64, a great fire occurred in Rome, which burned for 9 days and reduced 10 of the 14 districts of the city to ashes. After the fire, Nero built the building of the Golden House on the freed 50 hectares from the Esquiline hill to the very top of the Palatine. There were rumors that he himself organized the fire in order to get rid of the old wooden buildings and clear the place for the palace; They also said that Nero ordered the fire “for inspiration” and, at the sight of burning Rome, loudly recited his own poem “The Fall of Troy.” It was also rumored that the disaster was sent by the gods as punishment for the Vestal Virgin who had been dishonored by the emperor. The people grumbled, so the emperor hastened to protect himself by inciting people against the Jewish Christian community. All the accumulated rage and hatred resulted in pogroms and persecution of strangers; circus “games” unprecedented in the number of victims were staged, where the “arsonists” were pitted against dogs and lions... Later in 80, another fire occurred, after which the architect Rabirius, on the orders of Domitian from the Flavian family, leveled the area between the top of the Palatine Hill and the sloping descent to the Tiber and built on a single platform the huge Palatium palace complex, which united the Flavian house for official receptions, a two-story residential palace of the Emperors, a stadium, etc. The new residence of the emperors at the very top of the southern slope overlooked the Circus Maximus with one facade, and the other with Forum. An aqueduct was installed to provide the buildings with water. After the fire of 191, Septimius Severus again expanded the palace complex (the house of the Severus); Thermal baths were built on the foundation, supported by arches overlooking the Circus Maximus. A majestic Septisodia stage appeared nearby. There was also room on the hill for service buildings: the Herald School and the Pedagogy. Later than all these buildings, the temple of Elagabalus appeared.

FUN FACTS

■ According to legend, when Agrippina the Younger was told that her son Nero (then still a child) would reign, but would kill his mother, she exclaimed: “Let him kill, as long as he reigns.” In March 59, Nero invited his mother to take a trip on a ship that was about to sink. However, Agrippina was almost the only one who managed to escape and swim to the shore, because in the past she was a sponge diver. Then Nero ordered to kill her openly, sending soldiers. Realizing her fate, the woman asked to be stabbed in the stomach: by this she made it clear that she repented of having given birth to such a son.

■ They say that Domitian knew from his early youth when and how he would die, and towards the end of his life he became terribly suspicious, so he ordered the walls in his chambers to be decorated moonstone so that by the reflection he could see everything that was happening behind him.

■ Historical Center Rome, as you know, lies on seven hills. The number seven obviously has a sacred meaning. But initially it was said that the city stands on seven peaks, and these are different things. For example, among those original seven mountains are the two peaks of the Palatine Hill, namely Palatium and Cermal.

■ After the original Sibylline Books were burned in the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter in a fire in 83 BC. BC, a new collection of prophecies was compiled, collected from Greek materials (mainly from the Sibyls of Eritrea). Augustus transferred these new “Sibylline Books” to the temple of Apollo on the Palatine. The last time they were consulted was in 363 AD. e. They were burned by order of Stilicho in 408 AD. e.

■ According to legend, an unknown old woman (probably it was the Sibyl Kumekai herself) offered to buy secret books with prophecies to King Tarquin the Proud. Twice the king refused, but after each refusal she threw three books into the fire, offering to buy the rest at the original price. When Tarquin finally bought the last three books, the old woman disappeared. The Sibylline Books were kept in the dungeons of the Temple of Jupiter Capitoline. The priests, on special instructions from the Senate, looked for appropriate prophecies in them in difficult times for the state.

ATTRACTIONS

Preserved as ruins
■ Temple of the Great Mother (Cybele)
■ House of Livia and Augustus
■ Temple of Apollo
■ House of Tiberius
■ Flavia's House
■ Royal court
■ House of Emperors
■ Exedra major
■ Domitian Stadium
■ Severov complex
■ Big Circus
■ Other: fragments of frescoes in the house of Livia, the House of the Griffins, the hall of Isis; mosaic floors.
■ Palatine Museum.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Romulus's original "Square Rome" was founded on the Palatine Hill. Historical center of Rome and Vatican possessions - object World Heritage UNESCO.
■ Location: The Palatine Hill occupies the most protected, central position of the seven hills of Rome, overlooking the crossing of the Tiber, and has a gentle slope to the Circus Maximus.
■First settlements on the Palatine: OK. 1000 BC
■ Year of foundation of Rome: 753 BC e. Construction of the palace complex (later renovated and rebuilt many times) began under Octavian Augustus.
■ Construction of the Circus Maximus: IV century BC e. - IV century n. e.

Atlas. The whole world in your hands #245

Settlement of the Palatine

The first of the Roman hills to be inhabited was the Palatine. The ancient tradition unanimously speaks about this, and it is supported by topographical considerations. The slopes of the Palatine are steep on three sides, and only from the northeast there is access to the hill, which, however, was easy to defend. The top of the Palatine had an area of ​​6-8 hectares, and therefore could fit small village. In ancient times, the hill was surrounded by swamps, which were later drained. Not far from it lay a ford across the Tiber, and at its base was the Salt Road. Thus, the location of the Palatine was very convenient, and it is understandable why it was settled before the other hills.

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