Volusia Cornelia,Marzano, ''Roman Villas in Central Italy: A Social and Economic History'', p. 196 also known as Cornelia Volusia was a Roman woman of Patrician status who lived in the late 1st century. She was the daughter of the

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Quintus Volusius Saturninus Quintus Volusius Saturninus (born AD 25) was a Roman Senator who lived in the Roman Empire during the Principate. He was consul in the year 56 with Publius Cornelius Scipio as his colleague. Family background The Volusii, according to Tacitus, ...

suffect consul A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politic ...

in 92.Rudolf Hanslik, "Volusia Q.f. Cornelia 23", '' Realencyclopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft'', Supplement 9A, col. 1863 She was born and raised in Rome. Her cognomen ''Cornelia'', she inherited from paternal great-grandmother Cornelia Lentula, the daughter of the consul of 3 BC, Lucius Cornelius Lentulus from the gens Cornelia.

Inscriptionals

Volusia is known through various surviving inscriptions. The evidence reveals she was a wealthy, distinguished woman of the

Senatorial class A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. She owned a private luxurious villa in Nemi, the previous possession of the Roman emperor

Caligula Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...

. In an area of the villa, Volusia restored a theatre. The theatre was used to entertained guests that happened to be at the villa, such as family members, friends sharing a vacation, neighboring villa-owners and notables invited to dinner. After the theatre was restored, her deed was recorded in a monumental inscription. which has decorative handles.The World of Class - Images of Class: Patrons - Volusia Cornelia
One branch of the Volusii family had a praedium in the area of Nemi and a fistulae bearing the name of Volusia was also found. The inscription which is dated from the mid-1st century reads in Latin which is translated in English: : volvsia q. f. cornelia theatrvm : vetvstate corrvptvm restitvit et excolivit : Volusia Cornelia, daughter of Quintus, restored and decorated the theatre damaged by age. The plaque is on display at the

National Museum of Rome The National Roman Museum (Italian: ''Museo Nazionale Romano'') is a museum, with several branches in separate buildings throughout the city of Rome, Italy. It shows exhibits from the pre- and early history of Rome, with a focus on archaeological ...

. She was also a donor at the Sanctuary of Diana at Nemi. The below funeral inscription is dedicated to commemorate the hairdresser of Volusia. The Latin inscription which is found in Rome reads in English: : To the Departed Spirits. : Elate, hairdresser of Cornelia Volusia : lived twenty years. Hellanicus (made this) : for a well-deserving wife. (, Rome)Joshel, ''Slavery in the Roman World'', p. 143

References

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Sources

The World of Class - Images of Class: Patrons - Volusia Cornelia
* B. Levick, ''Tiberius the Politician'', Routledge, 1999 * ''Biographischer Index der Antike'' (Google eBook), Walter de Gruyter, 2001 * A. Marzano, ''Roman Villas in Central Italy: A Social and Economic History'', BRILL, 2007 * C.M.C. Green, ''Roman Religion and the Cult of Diana of Aricia'', Cambridge University Press, 2007 * S.R. Joshel, ''Slavery in the Roman World'', Cambridge University Press, 2010 1st-century Romans 1st-century Roman women Cornelia