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The Pincian Hill (; it, Pincio ; la, Mons Pincius) is a
hill A hill is a landform that extends above the surrounding terrain. It often has a distinct summit. Terminology The distinction between a hill and a mountain is unclear and largely subjective, but a hill is universally considered to be not as ...
in the northeast quadrant of the historical centre of
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 ...
. The hill lies to the north of the
Quirinal 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 Pala ...
, overlooking 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 cove ...
. It was outside the original boundaries of the ancient city of Rome, and was not one of the Seven hills of Rome, but it lies within the
wall A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including: * Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the super ...
built by Roman Emperor
Aurelian Aurelian ( la, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus; 9 September 214 October 275) was a Roman emperor, who reigned during the Crisis of the Third Century, from 270 to 275. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited t ...
between 270 and 273.


Villas and gardens

Several important families 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 ...
had villas and
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 ...
(''horti'') on the south-facing slopes in the late
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 K ...
, including the
Horti Lucullani The Gardens of Lucullus ( lat, Horti Lucullani) were the setting for an ancient villa on the Pincian Hill on the edge of Rome; they were laid out by Lucius Licinius Lucullus about 60 BC. The Villa Borghese gardens still cover of green on the sit ...
(created by
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 kingd ...
), the Horti Sallustiani (created by the historian
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 ...
), the
Horti Pompeiani The Horti Pompeiani was the name of two gardens built by Pompey the Great. One surrounded the Theatre of Pompey, built in 55 BC, the other were a set of private gardens on the 'Carinae' slope of the Esquiline Hill, surrounding Pompey's villa. Aft ...
, and the
Horti Aciliorum The Horti Aciliorum were gardens in the city of Rome, created in the 2nd century on the Pincian Hill, between the Porta Pinciana and what is now the Spanish Steps. History Surrounded to the north, west and east by '' opus reticulatum'' retaining ...
. The hill came to be known in Roman times as ''Collis Hortorum'' (the "Hill of Gardens"). Its current name comes from the Pincii, one of the families that occupied it in the 4th century AD.


Modern Rome

The Pincio as seen today was laid out in 1809–14 by Giuseppe Valadier; the French Academy at Rome had moved into the
Villa Medici The Villa Medici () is a Mannerist villa and an architectural complex with a garden contiguous with the larger Borghese gardens, on the Pincian Hill next to Trinità dei Monti in Rome, Italy. The Villa Medici, founded by Ferdinando I de' Med ...
in 1802. The orchards of the Pincian were laid out with wide gravelled
allée In landscaping, an avenue (from the French), alameda (from the Portuguese and Spanish), or allée (from the French), is traditionally a straight path or road with a line of trees or large shrubs running along each side, which is used, as its L ...
s (''viali'') that are struck through dense '' boschi'' to unite some pre-existing features: one ''viale'' extends a garden axis of the Villa Medici to the obelisk placed at the center of radiating ''viali''. The obelisk was erected by
Pope Pius VII Pope Pius VII ( it, Pio VII; born Barnaba Niccolò Maria Luigi Chiaramonti; 14 August 1742 – 20 August 1823), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 March 1800 to his death in August 1823. Chiaramonti was also a ...
in September 1822 to provide an eye-catcher in the vistas; it is a Roman obelisk, not an Egyptian one, erected under the Emperor Hadrian in the early 2nd century, as part of a memorial to his beloved
Antinous Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; grc-gre, Ἀντίνοος; 27 November – before 30 October 130) was a Greek youth from Bithynia and a favourite and probable lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his ...
outside the Porta Maggiore. The Piazza Napoleone – in fact Napoleon's grand urbanistic example was set from a distance, as he never visited Rome – is a grand open space that looks out over
Piazza del Popolo Piazza del Popolo is a large urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian literally means "People's Square", but historically it derives from the poplars (''populus'' in Latin, ''pioppo'' in Italian) after which the church of Santa Maria ...
, also laid out by Valadier, and provides views to the west, and of the skyline of Rome beyond. Valadier linked the two spaces with formal staircases broken by generous landings, and a switchback carriageway. In 1873, a hydrochronometer on the 1867 design of Gian Battista Embriaco, O.P. inventor and professor of the College of St. Thomas in Rome was built on the Pincian Hill in emulation of the one at the College of St. Thomas. Another version stands in the Villa Borghese gardens. Embriaco had presented two prototypes of his invention at the Paris Universal Exposition in 1867 where it won prizes and great acclaim. In the gardens of the Pincian, it was
Giuseppe Mazzini Giuseppe Mazzini (, , ; 22 June 1805 – 10 March 1872) was an Italian politician, journalist, and activist for the unification of Italy (Risorgimento) and spearhead of the Italian revolutionary movement. His efforts helped bring about the i ...
's urgingAccording to (Touring Club Italiano), ''Roma e dintorni'' 1965:271 that lined the ''viali'' with busts of notable Italians. Though the Villa Ludovisi was built over at the turn of the 20th century, several villas and their gardens still occupy the hill, including the Villa Borghese gardens, linked to the Pincio by a pedestrian bridge that crosses the via del Muro Torto in the narrow cleft below; the ''Muro Torto'' is the winding stretch of the Aurelian Wall, pierced by the Porta Pinciana.


See also


References


External links


Hills and walls of Ancient Rome
* ttp://www.romereborn.virginia.edu/ge/GF-015.html Pinician Hill at Rome Reborn at University of Virginiabr>"Cisterne, mosaici e terme private. La collina del Pincio scopre i suoi segreti" ''La Repubblica'' 11 December 2014
{{Authority control Hills of Rome Rome R. IV Campo Marzio