![Janiculum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Janiculum.jpg)
The Janiculum (; it, Gianicolo ), occasionally the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
,
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being
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 ...
) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among the proverbial
Seven Hills of Rome
The seven hills of Rome ( la, Septem colles/montes Romae, it, Sette colli di Roma ) east of the river Tiber form the geographical heart of Rome, within the walls of the city.
Hills
The seven hills are:
* Aventine Hill (Latin: ''Collis Aventi ...
, being west of the
Tiber
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, 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 ...
and outside the boundaries of the ancient city.
Sights
The Janiculum is one of the best locations in Rome for a scenic view of central Rome with its
domes
A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...
and
bell tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...
s. Other sights on the Janiculum include the church of
San Pietro in Montorio
San Pietro in Montorio (Saint Peter on the Golden Mountain) is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard the ''Tempietto'', a small commemorative '' martyrium'' (tomb) built by Donato Bramante.
History
The Church of San Pietro in ...
, on what was formerly thought to be the site of
St Peter's
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 ...
; a small shrine known as the Tempietto, designed by
Donato Bramante
Donato Bramante ( , , ; 1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style ...
, marks the supposed site of Peter's death. The Janiculum also houses a
Baroque
The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
fountain built by
Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V ( la, Paulus V; it, Paolo V) (17 September 1550 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death in January 1621. In 1611, he honored ...
in the late 17th century, the
Fontana dell'Acqua Paola
The Fontana dell'Acqua Paola also known as Il Fontanone ("The big fountain") is a monumental fountain located on the Janiculum Hill, near the church of San Pietro in Montorio, in Rome, Italy. It was built in 1612 to mark the end of the Acqua Pa ...
, and several foreign research institutions, including the
American Academy in Rome
The American Academy in Rome is a research and arts institution located on the Gianicolo (Janiculum Hill) in Rome.
The academy is a member of the Council of American Overseas Research Centers.
History
In 1893, a group of American architects, ...
and the Spanish Academy in Rome. The Hill is also the location of
The American University of Rome
The American University of Rome (commonly referred to as AUR) is a degree-granting American university in Rome, Italy. AUR is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education in the United States and is recognized by the Italian Min ...
,
Pontifical Urban University
The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...
, and
Pontifical North American College
The Pontifical North American College (NAC) is a Catholic Church, Roman Catholic educational institution in Rome, Italy, that prepares seminarians to become priests in the United States and elsewhere. The NAC also provides a residence for Pri ...
, as well as the
Orto Botanico dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza"
The Orto Botanico dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza" (12 hectares), also known as the Orto Botanico di Roma, is a botanical garden operated by the Sapienza University of Rome and located at Largo Cristina di Svezia 24, Rome, Italy. It is open ...
and the Palazzo Montorio, residence of the Ambassadors of Spain.
The
Villa Lante al Gianicolo
Villa Lante al Gianicolo is a villa in Rome on the Janiculum Hill (Gianicolo). It is a summer house designed by Giulio Romano in 1520-21 for Baldassare Turini, as one of Romano's first independent commissions after the death of his master Raph ...
by
Giulio Romano
Giulio Romano (, ; – 1 November 1546), is the acquired name of Giulio Pippi, who was an Italian painter and architect. He was a pupil of Raphael, and his stylistic deviations from High Renaissance classicism help define the sixteenth-cent ...
(1520–21) is an important early building by the
Mannerist
Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, ...
master, also with magnificent views.
History
Ancient history and mythology
The Janiculum was a center for the cult of the god
Janus
In ancient Roman religion and myth, Janus ( ; la, Ianvs ) is the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, frames, and endings. He is usually depicted as having two faces. The month of January is named for Janu ...
: its position overlooking the city made it a good place for
augur
An augur was a priest and official in the classical Roman world. His main role was the practice of augury, the interpretation of the will of the gods by studying the flight of birds. Determinations were based upon whether they were flying i ...
s to observe the
auspice
Augury is the practice from ancient Roman religion of interpreting omens from the observed behavior of birds. When the individual, known as the augur, interpreted these signs, it is referred to as "taking the auspices". "Auspices" ( Latin ''aus ...
s.
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 the
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
by
Virgil
Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...
(Publius Vergilius Maro), King Evander shows
Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
(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 to
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...
, the Janiculum was incorporated into
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 ...
during the time of king
Ancus Marcius
Ancus Marcius was the legendary fourth king of Rome, who traditionally reigned 24 years. Upon the death of the previous king, Tullus Hostilius, the Roman Senate appointed an interrex, who in turn called a session of the assembly of the people who ...
to prevent an enemy from occupying it. It was fortified by a wall, and a bridge was built across the Tiber to join it to the rest of the city.
During the
war between Rome and Clusium in 508 BC, it is said that the forces of
Lars Porsena
Lars Porsena (or Porsenna; Etruscan: ) was an Etruscan civilization, Etruscan king (lar) known for his Roman-Etruscan Wars#War with Clusium in 508 BC, war against the city of Rome. He ruled over the city of Clusium (Etruscan language, Etruscan: ; ...
occupied the Janiculum and laid siege to Rome.
The water mills
The
Aurelian Walls were continued up the hill by the emperor
Aurelian (reigned AD 270–275) to include the
water mill
A watermill or water mill is a mill that uses hydropower. It is a structure that uses a water wheel or water turbine to drive a mechanical process such as milling (grinding), rolling, or hammering. Such processes are needed in the production o ...
s used to grind grain to provide bread flour for the city. The mills were supplied from an aqueduct, where it plunged down a steep hill. Thus the site resembles
Barbegal
The Barbegal aqueduct and mills is a Roman watermill complex located on the territory of the commune of Fontvieille, Bouches-du-Rhône, near the town of Arles, in southern France. The complex has been referred to as "the greatest known concentra ...
, although excavations in the late 1990s suggest that they may have been
undershot
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or bucket ...
rather than
overshot
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of flowing or falling water into useful forms of power, often in a watermill. A water wheel consists of a wheel (usually constructed from wood or metal), with a number of blades or buckets ...
in design (i. e. with the stream entering at the bottom of the wheel, not the top). The mills were in use in AD 537, when the
Goths
The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...
besieging the city cut off their water supply. But they were later restored and may have remained in operation until at least the time of
Pope Gregory IV
Pope Gregory IV ( la, Gregorius IV; died 25 January 844) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from October 827 to his death. His pontificate was notable for the papacy’s attempts to intervene in the quarrels between Emperor Loui ...
(827–844).
19th century to present
The Janiculum is the site of a battle in 1849 between the forces of
Garibaldi
Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, pat ...
, defending the revolutionary
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 Kin ...
against
French forces, who were fighting to restore the
temporal power of the Pope over Rome. Several monuments to Garibaldi and to the fallen in the wars of
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
independence are on the Janiculum.
Daily at noon, a cannon fires once from the Janiculum in the direction of the
Tiber
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, 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 ...
as a time signal. This tradition goes back to December 1847, when the cannon of the
Castel Sant'Angelo
The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (; English: ''Castle of the Holy Angel''), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausol ...
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 of
Ottorino Respighi's
tone poem
A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music, usually in a single continuous movement, which illustrates or evokes the content of a poem, short story, novel, painting, landscape, or other (non-musical) source. The German term ''T ...
''
Pines of Rome
''Pines of Rome'' ( it, Pini di Roma, link=no), P 141, is a tone poem in four movements for orchestra completed in 1924 by the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi. It is the second of his three tone poems about Rome, following ''Fontane di Roma'' ...
''.
Monuments
The crest of the Janiculum is dominated by the 1895 equestrian
Monument to Garibaldi, designed by Italian sculptor
Emilio Gallori. This site was chosen for its proximity to the
Villa Doria Pamphili
The Villa Doria Pamphili is a seventeenth-century villa with what is today the largest landscaped public park in Rome, Italy. It is located in the quarter of Monteverde, on the ''Gianicolo'' (or the Roman Janiculum), just outside the Porta San Pa ...
, where Garibaldi mounted a military defense of the short-lived
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 Kin ...
in late April 1849.
The hill also features a number of
statues 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.
[http://www.appasseggio.it/getFile.php?id=306 (Italian-language; pdf file)]
See also
References
External links
*
''The Janiculum''a
*
ttp://users.ox.ac.uk/~corp0057/JaniculumMills.html Recent excavations of the millsbr>
Passegiata del Gianicolo (in Italian)
{{Authority control
Hills of Rome
Rome R. XIII Trastevere