The Domus Severiana is the modern name given to the final extension to the imperial palaces on the

Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...

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 ...

, built to the south-east of the Stadium Palatinum in the

Domus Augustana The Domus Augustana is the modern name given to the central residential part of the vast Roman Palace of Domitian (92 AD) on the Palatine Hill. In antiquity the name may have applied to the whole of the palace. Its name is not directly related t ...

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...

. It included the Baths of Septimius Severus (Latin: ''Balneum Palatii''). All that remains of the building are the imposing brick substructures at the corner of the hill, which created an artificial platform at the same level as the palace of Domitian, extending it, since the emperors had run out of space on the hill. There are very few remains of the building itself, which was then built on the terrace under the substructures. It had a view of Rome from the

Circus Maximus The Circus Maximus (Latin for "largest circus"; Italian: ''Circo Massimo'') is an ancient Roman chariot-racing stadium and mass entertainment venue in Rome, Italy. In the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and lar ...

and the

Aventine Hill The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the sou ...

to the

Caelian Hill The Caelian Hill (; la, Collis Caelius; it, Celio ) is one of the famous seven hills of Rome. Geography The Caelian Hill is a sort of long promontory about long, to wide, and tall in the park near the Temple of Claudius. The hill over ...

and the

Baths of Caracalla The Baths of Caracalla ( it, Terme di Caracalla) in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, durin ...

. They were part of an imperial baths complex or

thermae In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...

, now visible in the remains below the exedra of the Stadium Palatinum, which may have been built under

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Flavi ...

and which was rebuilt by

Maxentius Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maxentius (c. 283 – 28 October 312) was a Roman emperor, who reigned from 306 until his death in 312. Despite ruling in Italy and North Africa, and having the recognition of the Senate in Rome, he was not recognized ...

. They were fed by a branch of the

Aqua Claudia Aqua Claudia ("the Claudian water") was an ancient Roman aqueduct that, like the Aqua Anio Novus, was begun by Emperor Caligula (37–41 AD) in 38 AD and finished by Emperor Claudius (41–54 AD) in 52 AD. Together with Aqua Anio Novus, Aqua ...

, which spanned the valley between the Palatine Hill and the Caelian Hill and whose arches are still visible. On the side facing the

via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, rec ...

, Septimius Severus commissioned an impressive three-level facade akin to the ''

scaenae frons The scaenae frons is the elaborately decorated permanent architectural background of a Roman theatre stage. The form may have been intended to resemble the facades of imperial palaces. It could support a permanent roof or awnings. The Roman scae ...

'' in a theatre, with fountains and colonnades. This became known as the

Septizodium The Septizodium (also called ''Septizonium'' or ''Septicodium'') was a building in ancient Rome. It was built in 203 AD by Emperor Septimius Severus. The origin of the name "Septizodium" is from ''Septisolium'', from the Latin for temple of seve ...

. It is said that the emperor monumentalised this side of the building to impress his fellow Africans, who would arrive in Rome along the via Appia. The Septizodium's remains were demolished in the 16th century and it is only known from Renaissance drawings.

Bibliography

*Filippo Coarelli, ''Guida archeologica di Roma'', Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Verona 1984.

External links

Baths of Septimius Severus

*http://www.maquettes-historiques.net/P18F.html *http://www.aviewoncities.com/rome/palatinehill.htm

*http://www.maquettes-historiques.net/page18H7.html Buildings and structures completed in the 2nd century Ancient Roman buildings and structures in Rome Rome R. X Campitelli category:Palatine Hill {{Italy-struct-stub

See also

Bibliography

External links

Baths of Septimius Severus