The Porticus Catuli (" Portico of Catulus") was a landmark (Latin ''monumentum'') on the Palatine Hill 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 ...

. It was built by

Quintus Lutatius Catulus Quintus Lutatius Catulus (149–87 BC) was a consul of the Roman Republic in 102 BC. His consular colleague was Gaius Marius. During their consulship the Cimbri and Teutones marched south again and threatened the Republic. While Marius marched ag ...

(

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

102 BC) to commemorate his joint victory with

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbric and Jugurthine wars, he held the office of consul an unprecedented seven times during his career. He was also noted for his important refor ...

over the

Cimbri The Cimbri (Greek Κίμβροι, ''Kímbroi''; Latin ''Cimbri'') were an ancient tribe in Europe. Ancient authors described them variously as a Celtic people (or Gaulish), Germanic people, or even Cimmerian. Several ancient sources indicate that ...

Vercellae Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, a ...

. The portico was adjacent to the house ''( domus)'' of Catulus, which

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...

regarded as one of the grandest built in the late 2nd century BC. The practice of expanding a family's ''domus'' from the relatively modest structures of the mid-Republic began at this time. The Porticus Catuli became known for the display of art works there. Its impressiveness rivaled that of the Temple of Honor and Virtue built by Marius also to commemorate the victory, for which both men earned a

triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

. The Porticus Catuli was located on a prominent piece of real estate that had already been highly politicized. It had formerly been the site of the house of M. Fulvius Flaccus, one of the supporters of the popularist

Gaius Gracchus Gaius Sempronius Gracchus ( – 121 BC) was a reformist Roman politician in the 2nd century BC. He is most famous for his tribunate for the years 123 and 122 BC, in which he proposed a wide set of laws, including laws to establish ...

who were condemned to death and had their property confiscated and destroyed. In the mid-1st century BC, the Porticus Catuli was involved in the feud between

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...

and

Clodius Clodius is an alternate form of the Roman '' nomen'' Claudius, a patrician ''gens'' that was traditionally regarded as Sabine in origin. The alternation of ''o'' and ''au'' is characteristic of the Sabine dialect. The feminine form is Clodia. R ...

. When Cicero was condemned to exile for putting Roman citizens to death without allowing them right of appeal, Clodius razed Cicero's house and perhaps also the Porticus Catuli to build a shrine ''(

aedes ''Aedes'' is a genus of mosquitoes originally found in tropical and subtropical zones, but now found on all continents except perhaps Antarctica. Some species have been spread by human activity: '' Aedes albopictus'', a particularly invasive sp ...

)'' to

Libertas Libertas (Latin for 'liberty' or 'freedom', ) is the Roman goddess and personification of liberty. She became a politicised figure in the Late Republic, featured on coins supporting the populares faction, and later those of the assassins of ...

. If the portico was razed rather than incorporated into the new religious complex, it was rebuilt along with Cicero's house when the orator was restored to Rome.W. Jeffrey Tatum, ''The Patrician Tribune: Publius Clodius Pulcher'' (University of North Carolina Press, 1999), pp. 162–163, 193.

References

Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome {{ancientRome-stub