| Caelian Hill | |
|---|---|
| One of theseven hills ofRome | |
| Latin name | Collis Caelius |
| Italian name | Celio |
| Rione | Celio |
| Buildings | Baths of Caracalla, Villa Celimontana |
| Churches | Santi Giovanni e Paolo, Santo Stefano Rotondo, San Gregorio Magno al Celio, San Tommaso in Formis, Santa Maria in Domnica |
| People | Tullus Hostilius,Caelius Vibenna,Servius Tullius |
TheCaelian Hill (/ˈsiːliən/SEE-lee-ən;Latin:Collis Caelius;Italian:Celio[ˈtʃɛːljo]) is one of the famousseven hills of Rome.
The Caelian Hill is a moderately long promontory about 2 km (1.2 mi) long, 400 m (0.25 mi) to 500 m (0.31 mi) wide, and 50 m (160 ft) tall in the park near theTemple of Claudius.[1] The hill overlooks a plateau from which theEsquiline,Viminal andQuirinal hills also arise.
Caeliolus (alsoCaeliculus orCaelius Minor) corresponds to a section of the hill, maybe the westernmost one, towards the valley that houses theColosseum, or the one now occupied by theBasilica dei Santi Quattro Coronati.
Under the reign ofTullus Hostilius, the entire population ofAlba Longa was forcibly resettled on the Caelian Hill.[2] According to a tradition recounted byVarro,[3] the hill received its name from theEtruscan folk heroCaelius Vibenna, because he either settled there or was honored posthumously by his friendServius Tullius. Other authors have linked the name to theLatincaelum, "heaven".[4] Nevertheless, the former name of the hill probably wasQuerquetulanus mons due to the abundance ofoaks (Latin:Quercus). Scholarship suggests that there existed the ethnic nameQuerquetulani as a designation of the previous inhabitants of Caelius, in pre-Etruscan times.[5]
Mons Caelius would have been included in the city perimeter under the reign ofAncus Marcius.[6] The list ofSeptimontium mentions it, and it was part of the 1st city quarter (Suburana) in the division made by Servius Tullius. In the laterAugustan division, it became theRegio II Caelimontium.
A trace of the archaic period remains in the memory of cults of woods and sources, such as that of thenymphEgeria in the wood ofCamenae, just outsidePorta Capena.Numa Pompilius is said[by whom?] to have been particularly devoted to his sanctuary.
In theRepublican age (as well inImperial Rome) the Caelian Hill was a fashionable residential district and the site of residences of the wealthy. A section ofPliny the Elder'sNatural History, "Who Was the First to Encrust the Walls of Houses at Rome with Marble", attests to this.[7]Mamurra, a soldier whoserved underJulius Caesar inGaul and profited tremendously from corruption, achieved this expensive feat on the Caelian Hill;Horace andCatullus mocked him accordingly.[8]
Most of the hill was outside the boundaries of thepomerium, therefore temples to foreign divinities were allowed to be built, such as the Temple of Minerva Capta or the old Sacellum of Diana, outside theServian Wall.
Some sepulchres, such as the burial chamber in Via Celimontana, just beforePiazza di San Giovanni in Laterano, date back to this period.
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UnderAugustus the Caelian Hill was one of the14 divisions of the town, calledCaelimontium. The area between theLateran andPorta Maggiore was included in the v Regio (Esquiliae), though physically it is part of the hill.
On the higher point of the side facing the Colosseum, theTemple of Claudius was erected on a huge supporting platform. It was dedicated to the EmperorClaudius and begun by his widowAgrippina after his death and deification in 54 AD; it was not ultimately finished until the reign ofVespasian.[9]Nero added a grandnymphaeum (tiered water fountain) to the eastern retaining wall of this platform, with semi-circular and rectangular niches.[10] The water to supply this fountain was supplied by a special branch of theAqua Claudia, called theArcus Neroniani, which extended 2 kilometres west from the Claudia atPorta Maggiore and terminated on the southern side of the Caelian Hill in a structure called theAqueductium. TheAqueductium distributed the water via conduits to reservoirs behind the nymphaeum and to the site of the temple.[10][11]
The remains found in the area of the hill allow one to reconstruct a conspicuous housing phase in the second half of the 2nd century AD, while former buildings of the 1st century BC were probably destroyed by a fire in AD 27.
Jerome alleges thatMarcus Aurelius was born on the Caelian Hill in AD 121.[7]
In the 4th century richdomus, surrounded by vast parks, stood on the hill, such as the ones belonging to the Symmachi (near which rose theBasilica hilariana) and Tetrici families, as well as thedomus Faustae, perhaps belonging to the wife ofConstantine I. The property of theAnnii, ofDomitia Lucilla Minor (the mother of Marcus Aurelius) and of theQuintilii became part of the Domus Vectiliana ofCommodus.
In the interurban area of the hill several barracks were built for the troops stationed in the capital: in the site of theBasilica of Saint Stephen in the Round there were theCastra Peregrina (built underTrajan and restored several times in the following centuries), close to a large house of theValerii (domus Valerii). Opposite, stood the headquarters of the VCohort of theVigiles (stazio cohortis V vigilum).
In a land possession of the Laterani familySeptimius Severus built between 193 and 197 thecastra nova equitum singularium, a new barrack for the knights corps of the imperial guard, opposite the former barrack built under Trajan (castra priora equitum singularium). When Constantine I dissolved the corps, the new basilica dedicated to the Messiah, which later became the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, partially occupied the area of the Severian camp.
The decisive battle in the 271 revolt of mint workers, led byFelicissimus, took place on the Caelian Hill.[12] It is possible that this uprising was somehow connected with the senatorial and equestrian classes, as Aurelian executed several senators.
The buildings of the Caelian hill were badly damaged during thesack of Alaric in 410; starting from this period, the hill was subject to increasing abandonment and ruralization.
In the 6th century it was part of the II Romanecclesiastical region due to its proximity to the Lateran basilica, so much so that the toponym of "Laterano" was often used for the entire hill. The erection of thePatriarchium, which probably dates back to the 6th Century, gave rise to the creation of varioustituli (the oldest places of Christian worship, often within private houses) andxenodochia (centers for the assistance and reception of pilgrims and sick).
New churches continued to be built, initially to supersede the formertituli, later independently, such as theBasilica of Saints John and Paul, theBasilica of the Four Crowned Martyrs, theBasilica of St. Mary in Domnica, theBasilica of St. Stephen in the Round, thechurch of San Giovanni a Porta Latina, thechurch of San Gregorio al Celio, thechurch of San Tommaso in Formis, thechurch of San Sisto Vecchio
Monasteries, often surrounded by estates and gardens, were also founded on the hill, as well as some towers of noble families, mainly in the 10th and 11th centuries. A new destruction was suffered with thesack of 1084.
From the 12th century, it was part of theRegio Montium, which even extended to theQuirinal Hill.
Today the Caelian Hill is included in theRione of the same name and, continuing its vocation for assistance, hosts thePoliclinico Militare del Celio, built on a project by Salvatore Bianchi and Filippo Laccetti.
George Santayana lived in a room at the Convent ofEnglish Blue Sisters on the Caelian Hill from 1912 until his death.
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41°53′06″N12°29′48″E / 41.88500°N 12.49667°E /41.88500; 12.49667
