All images © byRoberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write toromapip@quipo.it.

Notes:

Page revised in October 2023.

Links to this page can be found inBook1,Map A3,Day 2 andRione Monti.

The page covers:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
Porta Maggiore
Tomb of Marcus Virgilius Eurysaces
Republican Tombs in Via Statilia
Acquedotto Neroniano
The Walls between Porta Maggiore and Porta S. Giovanni (including Anfiteatro Castrense)

The Plate (No. 7)

In 52 ADEmperor Claudius built a double monumental arch acrossVia Prenestina andVia Labicana (today Via Casilina) to celebrate the completion of two aqueducts. The plate shows the fortifications which turned the arch into a well protected gate. The walls built byEmperor Aurelian in 275 reduced the size of the openings of the arch;Emperor Honorius built a new gate in front of the old one in the early Vth century; it was flanked by a high tower and by a smaller one which incorporated a funerary monument.
Maggiore in Italian means greater, but the name given to the gate is not related to its size; it is thought to be a contraction ofPorta diS. Maria Maggiore because it allowed direct access to that basilica; others suggest it was a reference toAula Majoris, a large hall of anearby palace owned by St. Helena. The gate was also known asPorta di S. Croce because of its proximity toS. Croce in Gerusalemme. Vasi believed that its ancient name wasNevia, but he was wrong. Porta Nevia was a (lost) gate of theServian walls and it was situated nearS. Balbina on the Aventine hill.
The view is taken from the green dot in the small 1748 map here below. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Aqueducts of Claudius; 2) Via Labicana. The small map shows also: 3) Porta Maggiore; 4) Anfiteatro Castrense; 5) Republican tombs in Via Statilia. The green dot happens to be placed almost on the site where in 1917 anunderground basilica of the Ist century AD was discovered.

Today

The view in June 2009

In 1838Pope Gregory XVI decided to partially free the monumental arch by removing the gate built by Honorius; the remaining fortifications were pulled down after the unification of Italy in 1870. In 1956 the ground was brought back to its original lower level and cars were no longer allowed to go through the gate.

Porta Maggiore

Porta Maggiore seen from the city (the two sides are identical)

Three lengthy inscriptions celebrate the completion of two aqueducts by Emperor Claudius and their restoration byEmperor Vespasian and his son Titus. An interesting aspect of the inscriptions is that they show the growing power of the emperors.
In the first inscription Claudius was described as:
TI. CLAUDIUS DRUSI F. CAESAR AUGUSTUS GERMANICUS PONTIF. MAXIM. TRIBUNICIA POTESTATE XII CO(n)S(ul) V IMPERATOR XXVII PATER PATRIAE ..
his name and the references to his family were followed byGermanicus, a title given to him for war victories, and by a series of "positions" he held in the frame of the republican institutions:pontifex maximus,tribune of the people,consul,imperator andfather of the nation; the numbers say how many times a "position" was held.Imperator was just one of Claudius' titles and it was not given a particular evidence.
The inscription for Vespasian starts as follows:
IMP(erator) CAESAR VESPASIANUS AUGUST. followed by the reference to the positions he held.
Finally the inscription for Titus begins with:
IMP(erator) T(itus). CAESAR DIVI F(ilius) VESPASIANUS.
In these cases the title ofimperator was emphasized by being placed at the beginning of the inscription.
Similar (but shorter) inscriptions can be seen on the inner side ofPorta Tiburtina.

(left) Section of the aqueduct which was incorporated into the walls; (centre) the two conduits: above "Anio Novus" and below "Aqua Claudia"; (right) frescoes in one of the smaller passages

Anio Novus andAqua Claudia were two aqueducts which carried water from springs nearSubiaco in the Apennine Mountains. They joined together some seven miles east of Rome. You can see picturesque images of them in a page describinga walk to Porta Furba.You may wish towalk along Via Prenestina and see some other Roman monuments or follow the steps of German historian Ferdinand Gregorovius who started from here hiswalks in the Roman countryside or learn more aboutRoman inscriptions.

(above) Vth century gate; (below) detail of the inscription with the names of Emperors Arcadius and Honorius (see asimilar one at Porta Tiburtina)

The upper part of the outer gate built by Emperor Honorius was relocated to the left side of Porta Maggiore. Historians set the split of the Roman Empire at the death ofEmperor Theodosius in 395. His two sons (Arcadius and Honorius) ruled over two separate entities: the Eastern and the Western Roman Empires. The inscriptions on the gates built/restored by Honorius show that in Rome there was not awareness of this split because they make reference to both emperors.

Tomb of Marcus Virgilius Eurysaces

(left) Tomb of Marcus Virgilius Eurysaces (late Ist century BC); (right) reliefs showing details of Eurysaces' trade: (above) sieving; (centre) grinding; (below) baking and delivering

Close to the city gate, the tomb of a rich baker, who supplied the Romans with bread two thousand years ago, has lately been discovered. It is a large building upon which are sculptured, in basso relievo, some of his men kneading the dough, and others setting the oven. We have instances enough nowadays of monumental extravagance; but where shall we find an honest tradesman of our times perpetuating the memory of his calling upon his tombstone . I rather think a modern baker, still more his descendants, would call in the aid of the Herald's College to sink the shop, and would take any allusion to dough as little better than an insult.
William Gardiner's Sights in Italy related to Rome. Published in 1847.
The restoration of Porta Maggiore has isolated an interesting tomb, that of Marcus Virgilius Eurysaces, a freedman, and of his wife Atistia. He was the owner of a bakery; it must have been a large one, because he described himself as a supplier of the state (in Britain he would have claimed to be a "purveyor to HM"). He celebrated his trade by decorating his tomb with reliefs depicting its phases "from manufacturer to consumer".The cylinders and the holes, one of which can be seen in the image used as background for this page, were most likely a reference to standard measures/containers for grain (seeone at Pompeii).

(left)Centrale Montemartini: statues of Eurysaces and his wife; (right) model of the tomb

The statues were meant for a frontal view but the heads have a small angle so that the couple slightly look at each other in a gesture of affection and support. The inscription under the statues indicates that Atistia died before her husband ("Atistia was my wife. She lived as an excellent woman, ...").
You may wish to see a mill/bakery atOstia or atPompeii or thefunerary monument of another miller at Ostia with reliefs related to his trade.

(left)Musei Vaticani: relief from a sarcophagus found near Porta Maggiore; (right) tomb in Piazza Porta Maggiore (Ist century BC): its decoration recalls thesarcophagus of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barbatus

Maybe the area around Porta Maggiore was a sort of "industrial area" of ancient Rome because a sarcophagus found there was decorated with a grinding machine activated by a horse. The tombs in the proximity of Porta Maggiore were most likely all built before the construction of the aqueducts.

Museo Nazionale Romano: IInd century AD sarcophagus which was found near Porta Maggiore; it depicts scenes from the myth of Medea and in particular her cruel vengeance on Creusa, for whom Jason had deserted her: the sending of poisoned gifts to Creusa; the madness and death of Creusa in front of her father Creon, king of Corinth; Medea about to kill her own two sons (see afresco from Pompeii); the departure of Medea on a chariot drawn by winged serpents

Creon: You, Medea, scowling with rage against your husband, I order you to leave this land and go into exile, taking your two children with you, and instantly. (..) I am afraid that you will do some deadly harm to my daughter. Many indications of this combine: you are a clever woman and skilled in many evil arts, and you are smarting with the loss of your husband's love. And I hear that you are threatening - such is the report people bring - to harm the bride, her father, and her husband.
(..)
Medea: Now I shall tell you all of my designs. (..) I shall send one of my servants and ask Jason to come to see me. When he arrives (..) I shall ask that the children be allowed to stay, not with the thought that I might leave my children behind on hostile soil for my enemies to insult, but so that I may kill the princess by guile. I shall send them bearing gifts, (bearing them to the bride so as not to be exiled,) a finely-woven gown and a diadem of beaten gold. If she takes this finery and puts it on, she will die a painful death, and likewise anyone who touches her: with such poisons will I smear these gifts. (..) Ah me, I groan at what a deed I must do next. I shall kill my children: there is no one who can rescue them. When I have utterly confounded the whole house of Jason, I shall leave the land, in flight from the murder of my own dear sons, having committed a most unholy deed.
Euripides - Medea - David Kovacs, Ed.

Republican Tombs in Via Statilia

Republican tombs in Via Statilia (thus named after Titus Statilius Taurus, the likely builder of anunderground basilica outside Porta Maggiore and the owner oflarge suburban gardens in the area): Sepolcro Gemino

In 1916 excavations made to enlarge a street found a series of funerary monuments of the late IInd/early Ist centuries BC. They were aligned alongVia Caelimontana, a road which led from the Servian walls to Porta Maggiore across theCaelian Hill, so when these tombs were built they complied with the Roman law which prohibited burials inside the city.
Sepolcro Gemino (Twin Mausoleum) is the most interesting of these tombs. It is made up of two identical funerary chambers. We know from the inscriptions that the dead were freedmen of important Roman families, in particular of the Tauri.

(left) Republican tombs in Via Statilia: Sepolcro Gemino: portraits of the dead; (right) Centrale Montemartini: statues of a couple which were found in Via Statilia (seeanother famous Roman couple)

Acquedotto Neroniano

The aqueduct in Via Statilia (left), nearScala Santa (centre) and in thevalley between the Caelian and Palatine hills (right)

The best view of the aqueduct is the bird's-eye view of Rome by Du Pérac (1577) in which its remains are very clearly shown. It is surprising to see how much appears to have been preserved. Nowadays it has been further concealed by modern constructions. (..) Nineteen piers exist in what was formerly the Vigna Conti along the present Via Statilia. (..) Thirty-three piers occur in the Villa Wolkonsky, in which a good deal of Neronian work may be seen. Then come nine piers in the garden of the Passionist Fathers at the Scala Santa. (..) Then followthirty piers, first on the right and then on the left of the Via diS. Stefano Rotondo most of them are late. The Arch of Dolabella was made to form an aqueduct arch and ten piers lie between it and theTemple of Claudius.(..) The branch which led to the Temple of Claudius was subsequently prolonged to the Palatine. The arches still visible in the valley between it and the Caelian show evidence of construction in two periods.
Thomas Ashby - The Aqueducts Of Ancient Rome - 1935

(left) Detail of the 1577 Map of Rome by Du Pérac showing the arches of the aqueduct nearSpedale di S. Giovanni andSS. Quattro Coronati; (right) an arch inside Villa Wolkonsky

Emperor Nero built an aqueduct which branched offAqua Claudia and carried water to hisDomus Aurea. It was extended to the Palatine byEmperor Domitian who built thereDomus Flavia which had gardens and fountains. It can still be seen at many locations between Porta Maggiore and the Palatine, although some of its arches are hidden to view by the high walls of private properties.

An illustration from "Italy from the Alps to Mount Etna" by Edward Paulus - 1877

The Walls between Porta Maggiore andPorta S. Giovanni

(above) Section of the walls near Porta Maggiore which was created by closing the arches of Aqua Claudia; (below) illustration from "Rodolfo Lanciani - The ruins and excavations of ancient Rome - 1897"

The next piece of the wall, from the Porta Maggiore to S. Croce in Gerusalemme, must be visited from thegarden annexed to this church. It appears like a combination of aqueducts and fortifications, of classic, mediaeval, and modern structures, ivy-clad and exceedingly picturesque. The entrance is from the first gate on the left of the church. Lanciani
See theevidence of Roman houses which was unearthed in recent years.

Anfiteatro Castrense

In the vineyard are the remains of the Amphitheatre Castrenso, which is half buried in accumulated earth. This amphitheatre was devoted to the use of the Roman soldiers for their martial games; and twenty feet below the surface they have lately discovered vast vaults, in which probably the wild beasts were kept for the exhibition of fights, as an amusement of the soldiers. Gardiner
Anfiteatro Castrense is the most interesting monument of this part of the walls; it is a IIIrd century amphitheatre which was used for training purposes by the Roman army or more likely by the guards of the nearbyresidence ofEmperor Heliogabalus. It was entirely made up of bricks; even the half-columns and their capitals were the result of elaborate masonry, similar to that of some tombs (e.g. that ofAnnia Regilla). It was incorporated into the walls by Emperor Aurelian and its entrances were closed. Its interior was eventually turned into akitchen garden by the Cistercian monks of S. Croce in Gerusalemme.

(left) Diagram by Andrea Palladio from "Rodolfo Lanciani - The ruins and excavations of ancient Rome - 1897"; (right) a detail of the amphitheatre from inside the garden of S. Croce in Gerusalemme

In the sixteenth century Palladio was able to measure it in its entirety, as shown by the drawing in the possession of the Duke of Devonshire, which is here reproduced for the first time. (Fig. 146.) Since Palladio's time the amphitheatre has suffered great damage. The upper floor has disappeared, and so have the maeniana(tiers of seats) and the steps which surrounded the arena. The arena has been excavated at least six times.Ficoroni (Roma antica, p. 121) speaks of discoveries made towards 1740 by the prior of Santa Croce, concerning the crypts, which were full of "ossa di grossi animali"(bones of large animals). Other excavations made in 1828 led to no results. Lanciani

(left) Detail of Anfiteatro Castrense; (centre) tower with lots of marble fragments (probably coming from the residence of Emperor Heliogabalus); (right) tower restored byPope Paul V

Next plate in Book 1:Porta S. Giovanni.
Next step in Day 2 itinerary:Tempio di Minerva Medica.
Next step in your tour of Rione Monti:Chiesa di S. Croce in Gerusalemme.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page: