| Vatican Hill | |
|---|---|
| Hill ofRome | |
| Latin name | Mons Vaticanus |
| Italian name | Colle Vaticano |
| Rione | Borgo |
| Buildings | Circus of Nero |
| Churches | St Peter's Basilica |
Vatican Hill (Latin:Mons Vaticanus;Italian:Colle Vaticano) is a hill inRome, located on the right bank (west side) ofTiber river, opposite to the traditionalseven hills of Rome. The hill also gave the name toVatican City. It is the location ofSt. Peter's Basilica.
Theancient Romans had several opinions about the derivation of the Latin wordVaticanus.[1]Varro (1st century BC) connected it to aDeus Vaticanus orVagitanus, aRoman deity thought to endow infants with the capacity for speech evidenced by their first wail (vagitus, the firstsyllable of which is pronounced[waː-] inClassical Latin). Varro's rather complicated explanation relates this function to thetutelary deity of the place and to the advanced powers of speech possessed by a prophet (vates), as preserved by the laterantiquarianAulus Gellius:
We have been told that the wordVatican is applied to the hill, and the deity who presides over it, from thevaticinia, or prophecies, which took place there by the power and inspiration of the god; but Marcus Varro, in his book onDivine Things, gives another reason for this name. "AsAius," says he, "was called a deity, and an altar was built to his honour in the lowest part of the new road, because in that place a voice from heaven was heard, so this deity was calledVaticanus, because he presided over the principles of the human voice; for infants, as soon as they are born, make the sound which forms the first syllable inVaticanus, and are therefore saidvagire (to cry) which word expresses the noise which an infant first makes".[2]
St. Augustine, who was familiar with Varro's works onancient Roman theology,[3] mentions this deity three times inThe City of God.[4]
Vaticanus is more likely to derive in fact from the name of anEtruscan settlement, possibly calledVatica orVaticum, located in the general area the Romans calledvaticanus ager, "Vatican territory". If such a settlement existed, however, no trace of it has been discovered. Theconsularfasti preserve a personal nameVaticanus in the mid-5th century BC, of unknown relation to the place name.[1]
Vaticanus Mons (orVaticanus Collis[5]) was most often a name in Classical Latin for theJaniculum.[6][1]Cicero uses the plural formVaticani Montes in a context that seems to include the modern Vatican Hill and theMonte Mario and the Janiculan hill.[7][1]
TheAger Vaticanus orCampus Vaticanus was originally a level area between theVaticanus Mons and the Tiber. During theRepublican era, it was an unwholesome site frequented by the destitute.[8]Caligula andNero used the area forchariot exercises, as at theGaianum, andrenewal was encouraged by the building of theCircus of Nero, also known as theCircus Vaticanus or simply theVaticanum. The location of tombs near theCircus Vaticanus is mentioned in a few late sources.[1]
The Vaticanum was also the site of thePhrygianum, a temple of theMagna Mater goddessCybele. Although secondary to this deity's main worship on thePalatine Hill, this temple gained such fame in the ancient world that bothLyon, in Gaul, andMainz, in Germany called their own Magna Mater compounds "Vaticanum" in imitation.[9] Remnants of this structure were encountered in the Seventeenth Century reconstruction of St. Peter's Square.
Vaticanus Mons came to refer to the modern Vatican Hill as a result of calling the whole area the "Vatican"(Vaticanum). Christian usage of the name was spurred by themartyrdom ofSt. Peter there.[1] Beginning in the early 4th century AD, construction began on theOld St. Peter's Basilica[10] over a cemetery that is the traditional site of St. Peter's tomb. Around this time, the nameVaticanus Mons was established in its modern usage, and the Janiculum hill was distinguished from it as theIaniculensis Mons.
Another cemetery nearby was opened to the public on 10 October 2006 to commemorate the 500th anniversary of theVatican Museums.[11]
The Vatican Hill was included within the city limits of Rome during the reign ofPope Leo IV, who,between 848 and 852, expanded the city walls to protect St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican. Thus, Vatican Hill has been within the walls and city limits of Rome for over 1100 years. Until theLateran Treaties in 1929 it was part of theRione ofBorgo.
Before theAvignon Papacy (1305–1378), the headquarters of theHoly See were located at theLateran Palace. After the Avignon Papacy the church administration moved to Vatican Hill and the papal palace was (until 1871) theQuirinal Palace, upon theQuirinal Hill. Since June 1929, part of the Vatican Hill is the site of theState of the Vatican City. However, the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, is not St. Peter's in the Vatican, butBasilica di San Giovanni in Laterano, which is extra-territorially linked, as indicated in theLateran Pacts signed with the Italian state in February 1929, with theHoly See.
| International | |
|---|---|
| Geographic | |
41°54′13″N012°27′01″E / 41.90361°N 12.45028°E /41.90361; 12.45028
