| Janiculum | |
|---|---|
| Hill ofRome | |
| Latin name | Ianiculum |
| Italian name | Gianicolo |
| Rione | Trastevere |
| Buildings | Academia de España in Rome,American Academy in Rome, Acqua Paola, Water Mill (site) |
| Churches | San Pietro in Montorio,San Pancrazio |
| Events | 1849 battle |
| Ancient Roman religion | augurs |
| Mythological figures | Janus |
TheJaniculum (/dʒəˈnɪkjʊləm/;Italian:Gianicolo[dʒaˈniːkolo]), occasionally known as theJaniculan Hill, is a hill in westernRome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest beingMonte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among the proverbialSeven Hills of Rome, being west of theTiber and outside the boundaries of the ancient city.
The Janiculum is one of the best locations in Rome for a scenic view of central Rome with itsdomes andbell towers. Other sights on the Janiculum include the church ofSan Pietro in Montorio, on what was formerly thought to be the site ofSt Peter'scrucifixion; a small shrine known as the Tempietto, designed byDonato Bramante, marks the supposed site of Peter's death. The Janiculum also houses aBaroque fountain built byPope Paul V in the late 17th century, theFontana dell'Acqua Paola, and several foreign research institutions, including theAmerican andSpanish Academies in Rome. The Hill is also the location ofThe American University of Rome,Pontifical Urban University, andPontifical North American College, as well as theOrto Botanico dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza" and the Palazzo Montorio, residence of the Ambassadors of Spain.
TheVilla Lante al Gianicolo byGiulio Romano (1520–21) is an important early building by theMannerist master, also with magnificent views.
The Janiculum was a center for the cult of the godJanus: its position overlooking the city made it a good place foraugurs to observe theauspices.
In Roman mythology,Janiculum is the name of an ancient town founded by the god Janus (the two-faced god of beginnings). In Book VIII of theAeneid byVirgil (Publius Vergilius Maro), King Evander showsAeneas (the Trojan hero of this epic poem) the ruins of Saturnia and Janiculum on the Capitoline Hill near the Arcadian city of Pallanteum (the future site of Rome) (see line 54, Bk. 8). Virgil uses these ruins to stress the significance of the Capitoline Hill as the religious center of Rome.
According toLivy, the Janiculum was incorporated intoancient Rome during the time of kingAncus Marcius to prevent an enemy from occupying it. It was fortified by a wall, and abridge was built across the Tiber to join it to the rest of the city.[1]
During thewar between Rome and Clusium in 508 BC, it is said that the forces ofLars Porsena occupied the Janiculum and laid siege to Rome.[2]
During the third century AD, a complex of water-mills was built here to grind grain to provide bread flour for the city. As revealed by excavations in the 1990s under the present American Academy in Rome,[3] they sat astride the aqueductAqua Traiana and were in brick-faced concrete with a cocciopesto floor. In the limited excavated area, twomill races branched obliquely off the Aqua Traiana, turned to run parallel to the aqueduct for some distance, and then turned back to feed into the aqueduct again. It appeared that the northern mill race had 3 or 4 millwheels of 2.30 m diameter and width about 1.65 m to provide a sufficiently large working area, but only 2.6 m between their axle centres, which must have reduced efficiency due to turbulence between them. The southern race had one larger wheel.
The site resemblesBarbegal, although the excavations show that they wereundershot rather thanovershot in design (i. e. with the stream entering at the bottom of the wheel, not the top). The mills were still in use in 537, when theGoths besieging the city cut off their water supply, theAqua Traiana.[4] They were later restored and may have remained in operation until at least the time ofPope Gregory IV (827–844).[5]
TheAurelian Walls were continued up the hill by the emperorAurelian (reigned AD 270–275) to include thewater mills.
The mills were already known from observations by R. Lanciani in the 1880s.
The Janiculum is the site of a battle in 1849 between the forces ofGaribaldi, defending the revolutionaryRoman Republic againstFrench forces, who were fighting to restore thetemporal power of the Pope over Rome. Several monuments to Garibaldi and to the fallen in the wars ofItalian independence are on the Janiculum.
Daily at noon, a cannon fires once from the Janiculum in the direction of theTiber as a time signal. This tradition goes back to December 1847, when the cannon of theCastel Sant'Angelo gave the sign to the surrounding belltowers to start ringing at midday. In 1904, the ritual was transferred to the Janiculum and continued until 1939. On 21 April 1959, popular appeal convinced the Commune of Rome to resume the tradition after a twenty-year interruption.
The hill is featured in the third section ofOttorino Respighi'stone poemPines of Rome.
The crest of the Janiculum is dominated by the 1895 equestrianMonument to Garibaldi, designed by Italian sculptorEmilio Gallori. This site was chosen for its proximity to theVilla Doria Pamphili, where Garibaldi mounted a military defense of the short-livedRoman Republic in late April 1849.[6]
The hill also features a number ofstatues and monuments of prominent Italians. A 2011 guide published by the local Associazione Amilcare Cipriani group, after an extensive restoration of these monuments, lists a total of 84 busts on the hill.[7]
Media related toGianicolo (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons41°53′30″N12°27′40″E / 41.89167°N 12.46111°E /41.89167; 12.46111
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