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TheMamertine Prison (Italian:Carcere Mamertino), in antiquity theTullianum, was a prison (carcer) with a dungeon (oubliette) located in theComitium inancient Rome. It is said to have been built in the 7th century BC and was situated on the northeastern slope of theCapitoline Hill, facing theCuria and the imperialforums ofNerva,Vespasian, andAugustus. Located between it and theTabularium (record house) were theGemonian stairs leading to theArx of the Capitoline.
The church ofSan Giuseppe dei Falegnami now stands above the Mamertine.[1]
The origins of the prison's names are uncertain. The traditional derivation of "Tullianum" is from the name of one of the Roman kingsTullus Hostilius orServius Tullius (the latter is found inLivy,Varro, and alsoSallust); there is an alternative theory that it is from thearchaic Latintullius "a jet of water", in reference to the cistern. The name "Mamertine" is medieval in origin, and may be a reference to a nearby temple of Mars.
According to tradition, the prison was constructed around 640–616 BC, byAncus Marcius. It was originally created as acistern for a spring in the floor of the second lower level. Prisoners were lowered through an opening into the loweroubliette, known as the Tullianum.
Imprisonment was not a sentence underRoman statutory law,[2] thoughdetention is mentioned in theTwelve Tables and throughout theDigest.[3] "Detention", however, includesdebt bondage in the early Republic;[4] the wearing of chains(vincula publica), mainly forslaves; and during theImperial era a sentence ofhard labor at the mills, mines or quarries.[5] Slaves or lower-status citizens sentenced to hard labor were held in prison camps.[6]
Incarceration(publica custodia) in facilities such as the Tullianum was intended to be a temporary measure prior to trial or execution; abuses of this principle occurred but were officially censured.[7] Located near the law courts, the Tullianum was used as a jail or holding cell for short periods before executions and as a site for executions. In 63 BC, certainco-conspirators of Catiline, includingPublius Cornelius Lentulus Sura, were held briefly in the Tullianum and executed there for their alleged plot to overthrow the government.[8] In this case, the executions were conducted hastily, without due process of appeal, during the consulship ofCicero, who was later exiled for his actions.[9]Sejanus was held in the Tullianum before his baroque execution, which involved theGemonian stairs, and theconflicting accounts of the end of Pleminius include a timely death in jail during trial. SomeGracchan sympathizers ended up in theCarcer, where theharuspex Herennius Siculus hit his head on anarchitrave and died before he could be executed.[10]
There is no evidence that the Tullianum was used for long-term incarceration, and the lowest dungeon was unsuited for the purpose; the level above, however, in theory might have been.[11] In general, long-term incarceration was more widely practiced in the later Empire, and from the 4th century, under Christian rule, Roman laws and occasional personal intervention on the part of anemperor indicate a growing need to crack down on abuses such as filthy conditions and torture.[12]
In some cases, it is unclear whether a source using the wordcarcer means "the" Carcer, or imprisonment in some other facility. High-status prisoners, whether Roman or foreign, were typically held in the custody of individual Romans, sometimes attheir homes orcountry estates. The line between being a war captive and a hostage lawfully held by treaty was thin, and conditions of captivity could vary widely, from abject misery and humiliation to relative luxury. As a prisoner of war,Perseus of Macedon was placed in a foul, overcrowded dungeon atAlba Fucens;[13] the son ofTigranes was kept at apraetor's house in Rome, where he could be trotted out as a dinner-party guest.[14] The Tullianum only rarely played a role in these detentions. Captured foreign rulers or generals were paraded in a Roman conqueror'striumph, and on a few occasions the "most prominent, famous, or dastardly" were executed afterward at the Tullianum.[15] These were "strikingly few" in number, and included theSamniteGaius Pontius, theGaulVercingetorix, some"Cilician" pirates, and theGalatianAdiatorix.[16]Jugurtha, king ofNumidia, may have been executed at the conclusion ofMarius's triumph, or he may have died in prison several days afterward.[17] Most high-status war captives were neither executed nor held for any substantial length of time in the Tullianum.[18]
Although Saint Paul is said to have been held in Mamertine Prison, he awaited trial in a house in the southernCampus Martius that became the churchSan Paolo alla Regola.[19] It is not known when the prison went out of service permanently, but the site has been used for Christian worship since medieval times, and is currently occupied by two superimposed churches:San Giuseppe dei Falegnami (upper) andSan Pietro in Carcere (lower). The Cross on the altar in the lower chapel is upside down, since according to traditionSaint Peter wascrucified that way.
It has been long referenced[vague] that St. Peter was imprisoned at the Tullianum, and that the spring in the bottom of the pit came into existence miraculously to enable him to conduct baptisms, but theCatholic Encyclopedia points out that the spring had existed long before, and that there is little first hand account of St. Peter's imprisonment there other than being the only single celled prison available for VIPs deemed threats to the state. Saint Paul was aRoman citizen tried and executed underNero.[20]
41°53′36″N12°29′04″E / 41.89333°N 12.48444°E /41.89333; 12.48444
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