The Alta Semita ("High Path") was a street in

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...

that gave its name to one of the

14 regions of Augustan Rome Fourteen or 14 may refer to: * 14 (number), the natural number following 13 and preceding 15 * one of the years 14 BC, AD 14, 1914, 2014 Music * 14th (band), a British electronic music duo * ''14'' (David Garrett album), 2013 *''14'', an unrele ...

. The Alta Semita brought traffic into Rome from the salt route ''(

Via Salaria The Via Salaria was an ancient Roman road in Italy. It eventually ran from Rome (from Porta Salaria of the Aurelian Walls) to ''Castrum Truentinum'' ( Porto d'Ascoli) on the Adriatic coast, a distance of 242 km. The road also passed throug ...

)'' that had existed since prehistoric times. The great antiquity of the street is also suggested by ''semita'', a Latin word usually meaning "footpath" and not used for any other Roman street. It ran most likely along the modern Via del Quirinale and Via Venti Settembre, on the spine of the

Quirinal Hill The Quirinal Hill (; la, Collis Quirinalis; it, Quirinale ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Pala ...

, creating a straight route southwest from the

Porta Collina The Colline Gate ( Latin ''Porta Collina'') was a landmark in ancient Rome, supposed to have been built by Servius Tullius, semi-legendary king of Rome 578–535 BC. The gate stood at the north end of the Servian Wall, and past it were two ...

in the

Servian Wall The Servian Wall ( la, Murus Servii Tullii; it, Mura Serviane) was an ancient Roman defensive barrier constructed around the city of Rome in the early 4th century BC. The wall was built of volcanic tuff and was up to in height in places, wide ...

to a major temple from the Hadrianic era on the Collis Salutaris. It probably connected to the Vicus Iugarius. It may also be that the street called ''Alta Semita'' in the

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Ki ...

was not the same as the one known in the later

Empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

. The regional catalogues name Regio VI as ''Alta Semita'', after the street.Richardson, ''A New Topographical Dictionary,'' p. 5. The temple of the Flavian family (''Templum Gentis Flaviae'') was located ''in Alta Semita'', according to the regional catalogue.

References

Ancient Roman roads in Rome {{ancientRome-stub