| Pincian Hill | |
|---|---|
| Hill ofRome | |
| Latin name | Collis Hortorum ("Hill of the Gardens"), or Mons Pincius |
| Italian name | Pincio |
| Rione | Campo Marzio |
| Buildings | Galleria Borghese,Borghese gardens,Horti Lucullani,Horti Sallustiani, Horti Pompeiani, Horti Aciliorum,Piazza del Popolo |
| People | Pincii,Scipione Borghese |
ThePincian Hill (/ˈpɪnʃ(i)ən/PIN-sh(ee-)ən;Italian:Pincio[ˈpintʃo];Latin:Mons Pincius) is ahill in the northeast quadrant of the historical centre ofRome. The hill lies to the north of theQuirinal, overlooking theCampus Martius. It was outside the original boundaries of the ancient city of Rome, and was not one of theSeven hills of Rome, but it lies within thewall built byRoman EmperorAurelian between 270 and 273.
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Several important families inAncient Rome hadvillas andgardens (horti) on the south-facing slopes in the lateRoman Republic, including theHorti Lucullani (created byLucullus), theHorti Sallustiani (created by the historianSallust), theHorti Pompeiani, and theHorti Aciliorum. The hill came to be known in Roman times asCollis Hortorum (the "Hill of Gardens"). Its current name comes from the Pincii, one of the families that occupied it in the 4th century AD.
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The Pincio as seen today was laid out in 1809–14 byGiuseppe Valadier;[1] theFrench Academy at Rome had moved into theVilla Medici in 1802. The orchards of the Pincio were laid out with wide gravelledallées (viali) that are struck through denseboschi to unite some pre-existing features: oneviale extends a garden axis of the Villa Medici to the obelisk placed at the center of radiatingviali. The obelisk was erected byPope Pius VII[2] in September 1822[3] to provide an eye-catcher in the vistas; it is a Roman obelisk, not an Egyptian one, erected under theEmperor Hadrian in the early 2nd century, as part of a memorial to his belovedAntinous outside thePorta Maggiore.[4] The Piazza Napoleone – in fact Napoleon's grand urbanistic example was set from a distance, as he never visited Rome – is a grand open space that looks out overPiazza del Popolo, also laid out by Valadier, and provides views to the west, and of the skyline of Rome beyond. Valadier linked the two spaces with formal staircases broken by generous landings, and a switchback carriageway.
In 1873, ahydrochronometer on the 1867 design of Gian Battista Embriaco, O.P.[5] inventor and professor of theCollege of St. Thomas in Rome was built on the Pincian Hill in emulation of the one at theCollege of St. Thomas. Another version stands in theVilla Borghese gardens. Embriaco had presented two prototypes of his invention at theParis Universal Exposition in 1867 where it won prizes and great acclaim.[6]
In the gardens of the Pincio, it wasGiuseppe Mazzini's urging[7] that lined theviali with busts of notable Italians.
Though theVilla Ludovisi was built over at the turn of the 20th century, several villas and their gardens still occupy the hill, including theVilla Borghese gardens, linked to the Pincio by a pedestrian bridge that crosses the via del Muro Torto in the narrow cleft below; theMuro Torto is the winding stretch of theAurelian Wall, pierced by thePorta Pinciana.
41°54′42″N12°28′47″E / 41.91167°N 12.47972°E /41.91167; 12.47972
