The Suburra, or ''Subura'' (unknown etymology), was a vast and populous neighborhood of

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 (753–50 ...

, located below the '' Murus Terreus'' on the ''

Carinae ''Carinae'' was an area of ancient Rome. It was one of its most exclusive neighborhoods, where many of the senatorial class lived. Florus described the ''Carinae'' as the "''most celebrated part of the city''" (''celeberrima pars urbis''). Des ...

'' and stretching on the slopes of the Quirinal and Viminal hills up to the offshoots of the Esquiline ( Oppian, Cispian and Fagutal hills). Since the lower part of the neighborhood - although overlooking an area of monuments and public services - was home to urban underclass who lived in miserable conditions, as well as a pleasure district, the term ''suburra'' has remained in the Italian language with the generic meaning of "disreputable place", "place of ill repute" or similar. Julius Caesar lived in a family home ('' domus'') in the Suburra until, in 63 BC, he was elected '' pontifex maximus'' at the age of 37, as the Suburra had grown up around the property many years before his birth. The poet

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 an ...

also lived there.

History

The Suburra was originally part of the so-called ''

Septimontium The Septimontium was a proto- urban festival celebrated in ancient Rome by ''montani'', residents of the seven ''(sept-)'' communities associated with the hills or peaks of Rome ''(montes)'': Oppius, Palatium, Velia, Fagutal, Cermalus, Caelius, ...

'', an area of the city associated with a religious procession that was celebrated on 11 January of each year since the reign of Numa Pompilius. The neighborhood was crossed by the street called '' Argiletum'' (broadly corresponding to the present Via Leonina and Via della Madonna dei Monti), which came to a fork near the Cispian Hill: the '' Vicus Patricius'' (now Via Urbana), towards the '' Porta Viminalis'' in the republican wall, and the '' Clivus Suburanus'' (now Via in Selci), towards '' Porta Esquilina''. This last street marked the border between the '' Regio IV'' and the '' Regio V'' of the Augustan subdivision of the city. Starting from the 1st century BC, the lower part of the valley was first occupied by the Forum of Caesar, inaugurated in 46 BC under the eastern slope of the Capitolium, and then by the Forum of Augustus, inaugurated in 2 BC. Further additions towards the valley of the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world ...

were the Temple of Peace in AD 75, the Forum of Nerva inaugurated in AD 97 and finally – following the excavation of the hollow between the Quirinal Hill and the Capitolium – the

Trajan's Forum Trajan's Forum ( la, Forum Traiani; it, Foro di Traiano) was the last of the Imperial fora to be constructed in ancient Rome. The architect Apollodorus of Damascus oversaw its construction. History This forum was built on the order of the empe ...

, inaugurated in AD 112. In the time of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, these monumental areas were protected from fires, which frequently broke out in the popular tenements of the Suburra, by building the massive wall that still survives today and represents the only trace of the ancient Suburra within the modern city. In the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, aristocratic families built houses and towers on the ruins of the Suburra and the Forums: some of them are still preserved, though greatly modified, such as Torre dei Conti and Torre del Grillo. The urban fabric of the neighborhood, now a part of the

rione Monti Monti is the 1st ''rione'' of Rome, identified by the initials R. I, located in Municipio I. The name literally means "mountains" in Italian and comes from the fact that the Esquiline, the Viminal Hills, and parts of the Quirinal and the Caelian H ...

, was heavily altered by the opening of Via Cavour and Via degli Annibaldi at the end of the 19th century, while the demolitions of the 1930s for the construction of Via dell'Impero (now Via dei Fori Imperiali) deleted all the civil and religious buildings which, from the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass id ...

onwards, had been erected in the Forums.

The Wall of Suburra

Roma, via Tor de' Conti e muro della Suburra nel 1880

It is a very peculiar monument: it is an isodomum wall, stretching from the ground level of the Forum and built in peperino and Gabine stone (''lapis gabinum''), which ancient Romans thought was particularly resistant to fire. The boulders with which it is made – arranged into highly precise laying surfaces – are not linked by mortar, but only connected to each other by dovetail oak joints, and the wall, interspersed with three travertine recesses, has stood for over 2000 years to its own weight. At the time of its construction, the wall served several functions, since it was a fire protection, an element of separation between the residential area of the city and the public one and a monumental backdrop of the Temple of Mars Ultor, with which it created a strong color contrast. The access road to the Forum passed alongside the Temple of Mars Ultor, through the arch in travertine blocks which is still existing and visible – though among parked cars – which during Middle Ages was called "''Arco dei Pantani''" (Italian for "Arch of the Quagmires"), due to the gradual swamping of the Forum area.

Geographic location

The orography of the area – with the hollow between the slopes of the major hills merging into the valley between the Capitoline and Palatine hills towards the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...

– conditioned the road system and the development of the neighborhood: the higher areas hosted the houses of senators and '' equites'' (remains can be found under the present churches of San Pietro in Vincoli, on the Fagutal, and Santa Pudenziana, on the Viminal Hill), while the valley floor, the most popular and infamous part, was occupied by large '' insulae'' (multi-storey residential buildings with '' tabernae'' on the ground floor), such as those found during the restoration of the monastery of San Martino ai Monti.

In popular culture

The neighborhood is featured in Colleen McCullough's '' Masters of Rome'', in Steven Saylor's '' Roman Blood'', in Martha Marks' ''Rubies of the Viper'', in the '' SPQR series'' by John Maddox Roberts, as well as Netflix's first original motion picture in Italy, '' Suburra'', and its prequel '' Suburra: Blood on Rome''.

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