Magnanapoli is a name given to part 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 Palace ...

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 ...

, literally meaning ''Great

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

''. The two most common explanations are that this is a corruption of: *''Balnea Pauli'' (Baths of Paul), name given to the nearby

Trajan's Market Trajan's Market (; ) is a large complex of ruins in the city of Rome, Italy, located on the Via dei Fori Imperiali, at the opposite end to the Colosseum. The surviving buildings and structures, built as an integral part of Trajan's Forum and ne ...

when it was thought to be a thermal-baths complex built by

Pope Paul I Pope Paul I ( la, Paulus I; 70028 June 767) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the emerging Papal States from 29 May 757 to his death. He first served as a Roman deacon and was frequently employed by his brother, Pope Stephen II, in negotiation ...

*Magnus Neapolitani Regni Connestabilis (Latin for ''Great Constable of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

''), a post held by members of the

Colonna The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Martin V) and many other church and politica ...

family, deriving from their many

fief A fief (; la, feudum) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an Lord, overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a for ...

s in the

. They held many towers in this area (like, but not including, the

Torre delle Milizie The Torre delle Milizie ("Tower of the Militia") is a fortified tower in Rome, Italy, located between Trajan's Market in the Imperial fora to the southwest and the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, or Angelicum, to the east. Histor ...

, which was built to oppose the Colonna's towers), and the corruption could have crept in from a shortened or damaged inscription. Today, piazza Magnanapoli is the site of the following churches: *

Santa Caterina a Magnanapoli Santa Caterina a Magnanapoli is a baroque church dedicated to St. Catherine of Siena on Largo Magnanapoli on the slopes of the Quirinal Hill in Rome. History A group of Dominican tertiary nuns, living in a small house in via Santa Chiara where ...

* Saints Dominic and Sixtus, the university church of the Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas, ''Angelicum''.

External links

Largo Magnanapoli
- Roma Segreta {{in lang, it Topography of the ancient city of Rome