Ager Vaticanus
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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 B ...
, the ''Ager Vaticanus'' (, "Vatican Field") was the
alluvial plain An alluvial plain is a largely flat landform created by the deposition of sediment over a long period of time by one or more rivers coming from highland regions, from which alluvial soil forms. A floodplain is part of the process, being the sma ...
on the right (west) bank of the
Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...
. It was also called ''Ripa Veientana'' or ''Ripa Etrusca'', indicating the
Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...
dominion during the archaic period. It was located between the
Janiculum The Janiculum (; it, Gianicolo ), occasionally the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among th ...
, the
Vatican Hill Vatican Hill (; la, Mons Vaticanus; it, Colle Vaticano) is a hill located across the Tiber river from the traditional seven hills of Rome, that also gave the name of Vatican City. It is the location of St. Peter's Basilica. Etymology The anc ...
, and
Monte Mario Monte Mario (English: Mount Mario or Mount Marius) is the hill that rises in the north-west area of Rome (Italy), on the right bank of the Tiber, crossed by the Via Trionfale. It occupies part of Balduina, of the territory of Municipio Roma I ...
, down to the
Aventine Hill The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the sou ...
and up to the confluence of the
Cremera The Cremera is a Italian stream in Lazio (and previously in Etruria) which runs past Sacrofano, Formello, and Campagnano di Roma before falling into the Tiber about north of Rome. It connects to the Tiber just as the Via Flaminia intersects the ...
creek.Liverani (2016) p. 21


Origin of the name

About the etymology of ''Vātī̆cānus'' there are several hypotheses: according to
Barthold Georg Niebuhr Barthold Georg Niebuhr (27 August 1776 – 2 January 1831) was a Danish–German statesman, banker, and historian who became Germany's leading historian of Ancient Rome and a founding father of modern scholarly historiography. By 1810 Niebuhr wa ...
, the toponym perhaps refers to an archaic Etruscan settlement called ''Vaticum'';Gigli (1990) p. 7
Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
derives the name from a childbirth deity named ''Vaticanus'' or ''
Vagitanus In ancient Roman religion, Vagitanus or Vaticanus was one of a number of childbirth deities who influenced or guided some aspect of parturition, in this instance the newborn's crying. The name is related to the Latin noun ''vagitus'', "crying, squa ...
'', the god of the ''vagiti'' ("wailings"), since ''va'' was supposed to be the first syllable pronounced by a child;
Aulus Gellius Aulus Gellius (c. 125after 180 AD) was a Roman author and grammarian, who was probably born and certainly brought up in Rome. He was educated in Athens, after which he returned to Rome. He is famous for his ''Attic Nights'', a commonplace book, or ...
on his part derives the name from ''vāticinium'', a prophecy elicited by the flight of the birds or from the study of the liver of the victims of sacrifices and inspired by the god who controlled the area:Delli (1988) p. 947 the science of the ''Vaticini'' , the '' aruspicina'' or ''Etrusca Disciplina'', had been introduced in Rome by the Etruscans. This term was ultimately derived from ''vātēs'' (“soothsayer, prophet”) and ''canō'' (“to sing”).


History

During the first centuries of Rome, the ''Ager Vaticanus'' was the boundary between Rome and the powerful Etruscan city of
Veii Veii (also Veius; it, Veio) was an important ancient Etruscan city situated on the southern limits of Etruria and north-northwest of Rome, Italy. It now lies in Isola Farnese, in the comune of Rome. Many other sites associated with and in the ...
. After the Roman conquest of the rival city in 396 BC, the
Centuriate Assembly The Centuriate Assembly (Latin: ''comitia centuriata'') of the Roman Republic was one of the three voting assemblies in the Roman constitution. It was named the Centuriate Assembly as it originally divided Roman citizens into groups of one hundred ...
kept the tradition of raising an ensign on the summit of the Janiculum hill, to signal a possible Etruscan raid. The hill was known as ''Antipolis'' ("anti-city" in Greek), in contrast with the
Capitoline hill The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. Th ...
. By the laws of the '' Duodecim Tabulae'', insolvent debtors could be sold into slavery, but only on the right bank of the Tiber. After
Cincinnatus Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus ( – ) was a Roman patrician, statesman, and military leader of the early Roman Republic who became a legendary figure of Roman virtue—particularly civic virtue—by the time of the late Republic. Cincinnatus was ...
paid a large punitive fine for his son, it was recorded that he retired "like an exiled man" to his property in the ''Ager Vaticanus'', although the plain was already Roman territory. The toponym ''Ager Vaticanus'' is attested until the 1st century AD: afterwards, another toponym appeared, ''Vaticanus'', denoting an area much more restricted: the
Vatican hill Vatican Hill (; la, Mons Vaticanus; it, Colle Vaticano) is a hill located across the Tiber river from the traditional seven hills of Rome, that also gave the name of Vatican City. It is the location of St. Peter's Basilica. Etymology The anc ...
, today's
St. Peter's Square Saint Peter's Square ( la, Forum Sancti Petri, it, Piazza San Pietro ,) is a large plaza located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the pope, papal enclave and exclave, enclave inside Rome, directly west of the neighbor ...
, and possibly today's
Via della Conciliazione Via della Conciliazione (Road of the Conciliation) is a street in the Rione of Borgo within Rome, Italy. Roughly in length, it connects Saint Peter's Square to the Castel Sant'Angelo on the western bank of the Tiber River. The road was constru ...
.


''Horti''

The ''Ager Vaticanus'' lowland was exposed to the periodic floods of the Tiber, hosted vegetable gardens and vineyards, and was known for its unhealthy climate and bad wineGigli (1990) p. 8 until the end of the first century BC, when the development of local roads along the
Via Cornelia Via Cornelia is an ancient Roman road that supposedly ran east–west along the northern wall of the Circus of Nero on land now covered by the southern wall of St. Peter's Basilica. The location is closely associated with the Via Aurelia and the Vi ...
(towards the port of
Caere : Caere (also Caisra and Cisra) is the Latin name given by the Romans to one of the larger cities of southern Etruria, the modern Cerveteri, approximately 50–60 kilometres north-northwest of Rome. To the Etruscans it was known as Cisra, to ...
), the ''
via Triumphalis Via Trionfale is a Roman road that leads to and within Rome, Italy. Formerly called Via Triumphalis, it was an ancient consular road that connected Rome to Veii. The northern terminus of the road connects with the Via Cassia. History The name giv ...
'' towards Veii and the via Aurelia novaCoarelli (1975) p. 311 made possible for the families of the aristocracy the construction of luxurious private suburban residences (''Horti''). Excavations carried out in various periods in the area that stretches from
Santo Spirito in Sassia Church of the Holy Spirit in the Saxon District (Italian: ''La chiesa di Santo Spirito in Sassia'') is a 12th-century titular church in Rome, Italy. It is in '' Borgo Santo Spirito'', a street which got its name from the church, placed in the sou ...
Coarelli (1975) p. 318 to the
Palazzaccio The Palace of Justice, Rome (Italian language, Italian: ''Palazzo di Giustizia'', also colloquially named ''Il Palazzaccio''), the seat of the Court of Cassation (Italy), Supreme Court of Cassation and the Judicial Public Library, is located in the ...
have brought to light traces of 1st and 2nd century buildings, pertinent to the ''
Horti Agrippinae The Horti Agrippinae (''Gardens of Agrippina'') was a luxurious villa-estate belonging to Agrippina the Elder in ancient Rome. It was located on the west bank of the river Tiber where St. Peter's Basilica is now, and extended to the river where a ...
'' ("Agrippina's gardens"), belonging to
Agrippina the Elder Agrippina "the Elder" (also, in Latin, , "Germanicus's Agrippina"; – AD 33) was a prominent member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. She was the daughter of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa (a close supporter of the first Roman emperor, Augustus) and ...
, wife of
Germanicus Germanicus Julius Caesar (24 May 15 BC – 10 October AD 19) was an ancient Roman general, known for his campaigns in Germania. The son of Nero Claudius Drusus and Antonia the Younger, Germanicus was born into an influential branch of the Patric ...
.Coarelli (1975) p. 310 After her death, the ''Horti'' passed to her son
Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
, who had a hippodrome built there (the '' Circus Gaianus''). To mark its ''
spina Spina was an Etruscan port city, established by the end of the 6th century BCE, on the Adriatic at the ancient mouth of the Po. Discovery The site of Spina was lost until modern times, when drainage schemes in the delta of the Po River in 1922 ...
'', Caligula erected in the circus an Egyptian obelisk (the only one always standing, among the numerous
obelisk An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by Anc ...
s in Rome); it was later moved in 1586 by
Pope Sixtus V Pope Sixtus V ( it, Sisto V; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order ...
(r. 1590-95) to St. Peter's Square. The ''circus'' and the ''Horti'' were inherited by
Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...
, who used both to lodge the Romans damaged by the great fire of 64, and to carry out the executions of the Christians accused of the fire itself.Liverani (2016) p. 23 Because of that, until the end of the Middle Ages the popular name of the area beyond the Tiber north of
Trastevere Trastevere () is the 13th ''rione'' of Rome: it is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin ''trans Tiberim'', literally 'beyond the Tiber'. Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a lio ...
remained ''Prata Neronis'' ("Nero's meadows").Castagnoli, (1958), p. 239 The neighboring '' Horti Domitiae'' ("Domitia's gardens"), owned either by
Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...
's wife,
Domitia Longina Domitia Longina ( 50–55 – 126–130s AD) was a Roman empress and wife to the Roman emperor Domitian. She was the youngest daughter of the general and consul Gnaeus Domitius Corbulo. Domitia divorced her first husband, Lucius Aelius Lamia P ...
, or by Nero's aunt,
Domitia Lepida the Younger Domitia Lepida (c. 5 BC – AD 54) was a Roman aristocrat, related to the imperial family. She was mother of Valeria Messalina, wife of the Emperor Claudius. Lepida was a beautiful and influential figure. Like her sister, she was also very wealth ...
,Liverani (2016) p. 22 also flowed into the imperial property; in this area
Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
(r. 117-138) let later build his Mausoleum. Further away from the river,
Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...
had a ''
Naumachia The naumachia (in Latin , from the Ancient Greek /, literally "naval combat") in the Ancient Roman world referred to both the staging of naval battles as mass entertainment, and the basin or building in which this took place. Early The first ...
'' built, a facility intended to host naval battles.Coarelli (1975) p. 324


Roads

The ''Ager Vaticanus'' was serviced by two roads: the ''via Triumphalis'' and the ''via Cornelia''.Gigli (1990) p. 9 Both roads are well known from the ancient authors, but their real paths are unknown. There is consensus that the former, so called because of the
triumphs ''Triumphs'' (Italian language, Italian: ''I Trionfi'') is a 14th-century Italian series of poems, written by Petrarch in the Tuscan language. The poem evokes the Roman triumph, Roman ceremony of triumph, where victorious generals and their armies ...
of the Roman armies coming back from ''Veii'', started in the ''
Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which covers ...
'', crossed the Tiber on the ''
Pons Neronianus The Pons Neronianus or Bridge of Nero was an ancient bridge in Rome built during the reign of the emperors Caligula or Nero to connect the western part of the Campus Martius with the Ager Vaticanus ("Vatican Fields"), where the Imperial Family ow ...
'', heading north in direction
Monte Mario Monte Mario (English: Mount Mario or Mount Marius) is the hill that rises in the north-west area of Rome (Italy), on the right bank of the Tiber, crossed by the Via Trionfale. It occupies part of Balduina, of the territory of Municipio Roma I ...
and then flowing into the ''
via Cassia The ''Via Cassia'' ("way of Cassius") was an important Roman road striking out of the ''Via Flaminia'' near the Milvian Bridge in the immediate vicinity of Rome and, passing not far from Veii, traversed Etruria. The ''Via Cassia'' passed throug ...
''; About the ''Cornelias path there are several hypotheses: until the 1940s was a common opinion that the road branched from the ''Triumphalis'' at a short distance from the bridge of Nero, running in east-west direction. According to this hypothesis, the Christians condemned to death by Nero would have walked across this road while going to their
martyrdom A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external ...
in the Circus of the emperor. However, since during the excavations in Borgo during the 1940s for the building of
Via della Conciliazione Via della Conciliazione (Road of the Conciliation) is a street in the Rione of Borgo within Rome, Italy. Roughly in length, it connects Saint Peter's Square to the Castel Sant'Angelo on the western bank of the Tiber River. The road was constru ...
no sign of the road was found, now many scholars think that the ''via Cornelia'' started from
Ponte Milvio The Milvian (or Mulvian) Bridge ( it, Ponte Milvio or ; la, Pons Milvius or ) is a bridge over the Tiber in northern Rome, Italy. It was an economically and strategically important bridge in the era of the Roman Empire and was the site of the f ...
and - running along the right bank of the Tiber - reached Hadrian's Mausoleum crossing the ''via Triumphalis'' in a place corresponding to the destroyed
Piazza Scossacavalli Piazza Scossacavalli, also named Piazza di San Clemente, Piazza di Trento, Piazza d'Aragona, Piazza Salviati, was a square in Rome, Italy, important for historical and architectonic reasons. The square was demolished together with the surrounding ...
in Borgo. A third road, the ''via Aurelia nova'', started from the ''
Pons Aelius Pons Aelius (Latin for "Aelian Bridge"), or Newcastle Roman Fort, was an auxiliary castra and small Roman settlement on Hadrian's Wall in the Roman province of Britannia Inferior (northern England), situated on the north bank of the River Tyn ...
'' running southwest until today's
Porta San Pancrazio Porta San Pancrazio is one of the southern gates of the Aurelian walls in Rome, Italy. The gate houses the National Association of Garibaldi Veterans and Survivors along with the Garibaldi Museum (also dedicated to the Italian Partisan Division ...
.


Burial areas

The ''Ager Vaticanus'' always remained outside the
walls of Rome Defensive walls are a feature of ancient Roman architecture. The Romans generally fortified cities, rather than building stand-alone fortresses, but there are some fortified camps, such as the Saxon Shore forts like Porchester Castle in England. ...
and the ''
pomerium The ''pomerium'' or ''pomoerium'' was a religious boundary around the city of Rome and cities controlled by Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within its ''pomerium''; everything beyond it was simply territory (''ager'') belonging to Rome. ...
''. According to Roman tradition, therefore, necropolises and sepulchers also settled along the streets that crossed it, and were normally left in place until the need arose to demolish them to make room for new buildings (like the
Basilica of Saint Peter The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...
),Coarelli (1975), p. 320-321 or to recover materials.Petacco (2016) p. 35-37 This was the fate of the so-called ''
Meta Romuli The Meta Romuli (in Latin ''mēta Rōmulī'' , transl.: "Pyramid of Romulus"; also named "Piramide vaticana" or "Piramide di Borgo" in Italian) was a pyramid built in ancient Rome that is important for historical, religious and architectural reas ...
'' (the other funerary pyramid existing in Rome in addition to that of Gaius Cestius outside
Porta San Paolo The Porta San Paolo (English: Saint Paul Gate) is one of the southern gates in the 3rd-century Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. The Via Ostiense Museum (') is housed within the gatehouse. It is in the Ostiense quarter; just to the west is the Roma ...
) and the nearby large cylindrical monument with overlapping tower called '' Terebinthus Neronis''; both burials were often considered in the Middle Ages as the place of Peter's martyrdom.Petacco (2016), p. 34 Traces of both monuments were found during the construction of the new buildings along Via della Conciliazione. Among the tombs, noteworthy is the one containing the sarcophagus of the young
Crepereia Tryphaena Crepereia Tryphaena was a young Roman people, Roman woman, presumably about 20 years old, whose sarcophagus was found during the excavation works started in 1889 for the foundations of the Palace of Justice, Rome, Palace of Justice and for the con ...
; this contained, together with her funeral equipment, a doll with jointed arms. This find, occurred in 1889, aroused much public emotion. The most recent discovery in this field (which occurred in 2003 but was published only in 2006) is that of the large necropolis known as Santa Rosa's,Liverani (2016) p. 24 along the ''via Triumphalis'', which came to light during the excavation of the Vatican car park under the Janiculum hill. The latter site is not isolated, but constitutes a part of a vast burial ground which had been already discovered and explored in the 1950s, called "dell'Autoparco".Gigli (1990) p. 10


St. Peter's tomb and the Constantinian basilica

In one of these very modest sepulchres, the body of
Saint Peter Saint Peter; he, שמעון בר יונה, Šimʿōn bar Yōnāh; ar, سِمعَان بُطرُس, translit=Simʿa̅n Buṭrus; grc-gre, Πέτρος, Petros; cop, Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ, Petros; lat, Petrus; ar, شمعون الصفـا, Sham'un ...
was handed down after his
crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
under Nero.Coarelli (1974), p. 320 When
Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
legitimized the Christian cult with his
Edict of Milan The Edict of Milan ( la, Edictum Mediolanense; el, Διάταγμα τῶν Μεδιολάνων, ''Diatagma tōn Mediolanōn'') was the February 313 AD agreement to treat Christians benevolently within the Roman Empire. Frend, W. H. C. ( ...
and began his Christian public building program with the
Lateran 250px, Basilica and Palace - side view Lateran and Laterano are the shared names of several buildings in Rome. The properties were once owned by the Lateranus family of the Roman Empire. The Laterani lost their properties to Emperor Constantine ...
, he didn't do so in the public spaces of Rome, but on areas lying to the margins of the urban area and belonging to the imperial state property.Krautheimer (1981), p. 34 Thus began the construction, in the 4th century, of the first basilica dedicated to St. Peter, established according to Christian usage above what tradition claims is his tomb (the ''confessio''), and founded on the north side of the ''Gaianum'' along the Via Cornelia. Part of the surrounding necropolis was submerged under the construction of the church, but partly re-emerged during the research of the tomb of Peter conducted in the 1940s-1950s.Coarelli (1974), p. 319


Bridges

The ''Ager Vaticanus'' was connected to Rome through two bridges: *Triumphal Bridge or '' Pons Neronianus in Sassiam'', mentioned in the '' Mirabilia''. The bridge was probably demolished during the construction of the Aurelian Walls,Liverani (2016) p. 28 but the remains of its pillars are visible still today during the lean flow periods of the
Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...
. *''Pons Aelius'' or ''Pons Hadriani'', then
Ponte Sant'Angelo Ponte Sant'Angelo, originally the Aelian Bridge or Pons Aelius, is a Roman bridge in Rome, Italy, completed in 134 AD by Roman Emperor Hadrian (Publius Aelius Hadrianus), to span the Tiber from the city centre to his newly constructed mauso ...
, built by Emperor Hadrian (r. 117-138) to connect his mausoleum with the city.Coarelli (1974), p. 322


References


Sources

* * * * * * * {{Cite book, first=Paolo, last=Liverani, title=''Un destino di marginalità: storia e topografia dell'area vaticana nell'antichità'', editor1=Claudio Parisi Presicce , editor2= Laura Petacco, work=La Spina: dall’Agro vaticano a via della Conciliazione, publisher=Rome, year=2016, language=it, isbn=978-88-492-3320-9 Topography of the ancient city of Rome Rome R. XIV Borgo Rome R. XXII Prati Geography of Vatican City