The Horti Liciniani was a luxurious complex of an ancient Roman villa with large gardens and outdoor rooms originally belonging to the gens Licinia. It was located in Rome on the

Esquiline Hill The Esquiline Hill (; la, Collis Esquilinus; it, Esquilino ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Its southernmost cusp is the ''Oppius'' ( Oppian Hill). Etymology The origin of the name ''Esquiline'' is still under much debate. One view is ...

between via Labicana and via Prenestina, close to the Aurelian walls. They bordered the

Horti Tauriani The Horti Tauriani (Latin for ‘Taurian gardens’) were a large set of gardens in ancient Rome around the residence of Statilius Taurus, an eminent character of the 1st century CE. They were perhaps the motive for his conviction on a charge o ...

to the north and the Horti Pallantiani and Horti Epaphroditiani to the west.

History

Lucullus Lucius Licinius Lucullus (; 118–57/56 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, closely connected with Lucius Cornelius Sulla. In culmination of over 20 years of almost continuous military and government service, he conquered the eastern kingdom ...

started the fashion of building luxurious garden-palaces in the 1st century BC with the construction of his

gardens A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate both ...

on the

Pincian Hill The Pincian Hill (; it, Pincio ; la, Mons Pincius) is a hill in the northeast quadrant of the historical centre of Rome. The hill lies to the north of the Quirinal, overlooking the Campus Martius. It was outside the original boundaries of th ...

, soon followed by

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisan o ...

between the Quirinal, Viminal and

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 ...

, which were the largest and richest in the Roman world. In the 3rd century AD the total number of gardens (''horti'') occupied about a tenth of Rome and formed a green belt around the centre. The ''horti'' were a place of pleasure, almost a small palace, and offered the rich owner and his court the possibility of living in isolation, away from the hectic life of the city but close to it. A fundamental feature of the ''horti'' was the large quantity of water necessary for the rich vegetation and for the functioning of the numerous fountains and

nymphaea ''Nymphaea'' () is a genus of hardy and tender aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Many species are cultivated as ornamental plants, and many cultivars have been bred. Some taxa occur as introduc ...

. The area was particularly suitable for these residences as eight of the eleven large aqueducts of the city reached the Esquiline. The Horti Liciniani took their name from the

Licinia Licinia is the name used by ancient Roman women of the '' gens Licinia''. Known individuals Daughter of Gaius Licinius Varus Licinia (flourished 188 BC–180 BC) was the daughter of Gaius Licinius Varus and the sister of Publius Licinius Crassus ...

family (''gens''), who owned them. In the 3rd century, the Horti Liciani were owned by the Emperor Licinius

Gallienus Publius Licinius Egnatius Gallienus (; c. 218 – September 268) was Roman emperor with his father Valerian from 253 to 260 and alone from 260 to 268. He ruled during the Crisis of the Third Century that nearly caused the collapse of the empi ...

, himself a member of the ''

gens In ancient Rome, a gens ( or , ; plural: ''gentes'' ) was a family consisting of individuals who shared the same Roman naming conventions#Nomen, nomen and who claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a ''stirps'' (p ...

''. Latin historians say that the emperor loved to reside here with his entire court, which indicates that it must have been a very large and rich complex. On the top of the Esquiline Hill Gallienus planned to erect a colossal statue depicting himself in the guise of the invincible

Sun god A solar deity or sun deity is a deity who represents the Sun, or an aspect of it. Such deities are usually associated with power and strength. Solar deities and Sun worship can be found throughout most of recorded history in various forms. The ...

, but the work was never completed. The ''arcus Gallieni'' (

Arch of Gallienus The Arch of Gallienus is a name given to the Porta Esquilina, an ancient Roman arch in the Servian Wall of Rome. It was here that the ancient Roman roads Via Labicana and Via Tiburtina started. History The arch was rebuilt in monumental style ...

) still stands at the

Esquiline gate The Porta Esquilina (or Esquiline Gate) was a gate in the Servian Wall,Platner, S.B. and Ashby, T. ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome''. London: Humphrey Milford Oxford University, Press. 1929 of which the Arch of Gallienus is extant toda ...

. The ''Palatium Licinianum'' (palace) stood near the site of the present church of Santa Balbina. The 4th-century domed

nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' or ''nymphaion'' ( grc, νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...

that survives, long miscalled a "

Temple of Minerva Medica The temple of Minerva Medica (akin to the temple of Apollo Medicus) was a temple in ancient Rome, built on the Esquiline Hill in the Republican era, though no remains of it have been found. Since the 17th century, it has been wrongly identified ...

", is believed to have been part of the gardens.

Excavations

Various artistic finds and statues have been found in the area starting from the 16th century, confirming the vast artistic collection of the Horti Liciniani. These included Venus, Aesclepius and one of

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

(thought to be Minerva) with the snake (symbol of medicine) from which the name derives. Between 1875 and 1878 the feverish post-unification development of Rome into an urban capital city and of the new Esquiline district revealed ancient buildings, perhaps belonging to the palace, near the nymphaeum, as recorded by

Rodolfo Lanciani Rodolfo Amedeo Lanciani (1 January 1845 – 22 May 1929) was an Italian archaeologist, a pioneering student of ancient Roman topography. Among his many excavations was that of the House of the Vestals in the Roman Forum. Lanciani earned LL.D. d ...

. A number of remarkable sculptures earlier than the nymphaeum were found reused in and around it, notable of which are statues of two magistrates launching the circus games, perhaps

Quintus Aurelius Symmachus Quintus Aurelius Symmachus signo Eusebius (, ; c. 345 – 402) was a Roman statesman, orator, and man of letters. He held the offices of governor of proconsular Africa in 373, urban prefect of Rome in 384 and 385, and consul in 391. Symmachus s ...

and his son Memmius Simmacus (in the Palazzo dei Conservatori), who were important in late 4th century Rome. Others are a bust of

Manlia Scantilla Manlia Scantilla ('' fl.'' 193) was a Roman woman who lived in the second century. She was very briefly Roman Empress as wife to the Roman Emperor Didius Julianus. Her name indicates that she was born into the '' gens Manlia'', which if corre ...

, wife of the emperor

Didius Julianus Marcus Didius Julianus (; 29 January 133 or 137 – 2 June 193) was Roman emperor for nine weeks from March to June 193, during the Year of the Five Emperors. Julianus had a promising political career, governing several provinces, including Dal ...

, some capitals with columns and Bacchic reliefs and a relief with the "forge of Vulcan". In 1904 a large mosaic floor with hunting scenes belonging to a long portico of the ''horti'' and dated to the early 4th century was found during the construction of the railway underpass. It was in excellent condition, but only 3/5 was removed because the rest remained under the railway tracks. It remained in a warehouse for decades and was "rediscovered" recently and since 1997 it has been exhibited in the Centrale Montemartini museum. File:Conservatori Girl Musei Capitolini MC1107 n1.jpg, Sitting girl from the nymphaeum File:Dionysos Horti Liciniani Musei Capitolini MC1132.jpg, ''

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

'' of

Pentelic marble Mount Pentelicus or Pentelikon (, or ) is a mountain in Attica, Greece, situated northeast of Athens and southwest of Marathon. Its highest point is the peak ''Pyrgari'', with an elevation of 1,109 m. The mountain is covered in large part w ...

discovered in the nymphaeum, 1879 (

Capitoline Museums The Capitoline Museums (Italian: ''Musei Capitolini'') are a group of art and archaeological museums in Piazza del Campidoglio, on top of the Capitoline Hill in Rome, Italy. The historic seats of the museums are Palazzo dei Conservatori and Pala ...

) File:Fragmentary bust of Hadrian, from the area of Santa Bibiana at Termini station, ca. 117-120, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome (27850662388).jpg, Fragmentary bust of Hadrian, 117-120 AD (Palazzo Massimo alle Terme) File:Atena giustiniani, copia romana da originale greco.JPG, Athena Giustiniani

References

External links

* Liciniani

History

Excavations

See also

References

External links