The emperor built his palace on the palatine. Roman Forum and Palatine Hill, what remains

Romulus walked around the Palatine Hill with a plow, and this became the first sacred border of Ancient Rome. The house of the founding king stood here; later emperors and patricians wished to settle nearby. All that remains of their magnificent residences are ruins, but in many languages ​​the very concept of “palace” (palazzo, palace, chambers...) comes from the Palatine.

SQUARE ROME OF ROMULUS

The leader said: “No one will cross the border of my city,” and death awaited the violator - his own brother...

The Palatine Hill opposite the ford near the island of Tiberin is the cradle of the great city. According to legend, approx. 771 BC e. a basket containing the newborns Romulus and Remus, thrown into the Tiber near their native Alba Longa. Somewhere here stood the hut of the shepherd Faustul, who became their adoptive father. Here in 753 BC. e. Little Rome was born - “Roma Square”, the square of the first borders of the settlement symbolically outlined by Romulus personally with a furrow. At the moment of the birth of the city, blood was shed, fratricide occurred: Romulus did not tolerate that his twin brother Remus, mocking the solemnity of the moment of the founding ceremony of the city, jumped over the pomerium (the sacred border of the city at the foot of the hill had no walls, the fortifications were built higher, more steep slopes). Now it seems to us that murder was an excessive punishment for petty hooliganism, but then everything was perceived differently.

“First of all, Romulus fortified the Palatine Hill, where he was raised. He made sacrifices to all the gods according to the Albanian (Alba-Longi) rite, only to Hercules - according to the Greek, as established by Evander” (Titus Livy). There were three gates in the wall of the original city: the Mugon gates led to the Sacred Street (via Sacra), the Roman ones to the New Street (via Nova), and the third communicated with the Caca Staircase, descending along the southern slope to the Circus Maximus. Then Rome began to grow, gradually uniting seven hills within its new borders, marked by the city wall of Servius Tullius. But no other hill in Rome is associated with as many legends, myths and traditions as the Palatine.

Perhaps the name of the hill comes from the ancient Italian goddess Palea, the patroness of shepherds. And historians (Greek Pausanias, Roman Titus of Livia, etc.) trace the name to the Arcadian city of Pallantia, from where, 60 years before the Trojan War, colonists led by Evander came to the site of the future Rome. This legend is partly confirmed by the remains of a very ancient settlement found on Palatina. If we proceed from the assumption that myths are the sacralization of history, then the presence of representatives of the Cretan-Mycenaean culture on the Palatine is evidenced by the ancient Greek myth about the victory of Hercules (and the Hellenes) over the ugly Cacus (in the myth - the son of a volcano, in the book “On the Foundation of Rome” by Titus Libya, he is named as a local shepherd, but could also be the leader of an aboriginal tribe), and the presence of the Kaka Stairs itself on the southern slope of the hill, descending to the Circus Maximus. The legend about the origin of Romulus and Remus from the descendants of the hero of the Trojan War Aeneas, who found shelter in Latium, also seems quite plausible.

During excavations on the hill in 2007, they discovered the Lupercal grotto (Latin for “lupa” - “she-wolf”), decorated with marble, mosaics and shells, which, according to legend, is the very cave where the she-wolf fed the boys. But, most likely, in this cave the Romans worshiped not a she-wolf, but Faun (the ancient Italian god of fertility, a variant of the Arcadian Pan; one of the nicknames Lupercus means “protector of herds from wolves”), in whose honor February 15 long before the founding of Rome (according to Titus Livy ) and until the ban in 456, Lupercalia was widely celebrated. Religious buildings have stood on the top since ancient times; in their place in the middle of the 3rd century. BC e. The temple of the goddess Victoria and the temple of the Great Mother (Cybele) appeared.

The Palatine was originally intended for the homes of worthy Roman citizens, patricians. But practically nothing has survived from the tsarist period. It can be assumed that the residential buildings of the very first Romans on the slopes of the Palatine differed little from typical Italian huts: a rounded shape made of branches coated with clay, a thatched roof supported by a central pillar and a tuff base. One of these huts near the Caca Stairs is considered to be the house of Romulus.

The flattest and most convenient for development was towards the Great Circus. Here they built their magnificent palaces, here was their main residence, right up to the southern slope of the Palatine Hill, descending the palaces of the Roman emperors, starting with Augustus, before moving the capital to Constantinople.

PALACES AND CHAMBERS OF PATRICIA

Both the Italian word “palazzo”, and the English “palace”, and the Russian “chambers” go back to one word - Palatsii. This was the name of the Palatine area built up with luxurious estates.

The second legendary Roman king Numa Pompilius (reigned from 715 to 673/672 BC) was a Sabine. According to legend, he founded the royal residence (regia) on a tuff platform between the Quirinal and the Palatine, thereby demonstrating the unification of the two communities. Only the regio of the Republican/Imperial period has survived to this day in the same place: on the Sacred Way on the outskirts of the Roman Forum, opposite the Temple of Vesta and the House of the Vestals. In general, the construction boom in Rome began during the Etruscan dynasty, starting with the fifth Roman king Lucius Tarquinius (the Ancient) Priscus (reigned from 616 to 579 BC). Even then, in the valley between the Palatine and the Aventine, on an area 600 m long and 100 m wide, chariot races drawn by four horses began* to be held. At first, the circus was a temporary structure: spectators sat on wooden benches. And when the river that flowed here was taken into a pipe, stone stands and marble stalls were built before the start. During the Republic, the Circus Maximus accommodated 150,000 spectators, and by the 4th century. n. e. - up to 380,000 people.

During the Republican period (from 509 BC), many famous statesmen, generals, orators and writers lived on the Palatine (Cicero, Mark Antony, Sulla, Mesalla Corvinus, Agrippa, Hortensius Gortal and many others). Since Octavian Augustus was born and raised on the Palatine Hill, he decided to revive the image of a “place for the elite”: the hill that gave home to the first Roman king now became the residence of the Roman emperors and an “elite quarter” for citizens of noble birth.

The House of Augustus was built in 36 BC. e., that is, even before Octavian became emperor (27 BC - 14 AD) and Father of the Fatherland. In the emperor's private chambers, the rooms were small and modest, while the rooms for public receptions, on the contrary, were large and richly decorated with marble and stucco. Later, Livia's house was added to the emperor's house for his wife. At the same time, a marble temple of Apollo appeared on the top.

Augustus's stepson Tiberius (reigned 14-37) ordered the palace to be expanded and renovated, and Tiberius's house appeared in its place. The heir of Tiberius Caligula (reigned 37-41) built the house towards the market. In 64, a great fire occurred in Rome, which burned for 9 days and reduced 10 of the 14 districts of the city to ashes. After the fire, Nero built the building of the Golden House on the freed 50 hectares from the Esquiline hill to the very top of the Palatine. There were rumors that he himself organized the fire in order to get rid of the old wooden buildings and clear the place for the palace; They also said that Nero ordered the fire “for inspiration” and, at the sight of burning Rome, loudly recited his own poem “The Fall of Troy.” They also said that the disaster was sent by the gods as punishment for the Vestal Virgin who had been dishonored by the emperor. The people grumbled, so the emperor hastened to protect himself by inciting people against the Jewish Christian community. All the accumulated rage and hatred resulted in pogroms and persecution of strangers; circus “games” unprecedented in the number of victims were staged, where the “arsonists” were pitted against dogs and lions... Later in 80, another fire occurred, after which the architect Rabirius, on the orders of Domitian from the Flavian family, leveled the area between the top of the Palatine Hill and the sloping descent to the Tiber and built on a single platform the huge Palatium palace complex, which united the Flavian house for official receptions, a two-story residential palace of the Emperors, a stadium, etc. The new residence of the emperors at the very top of the southern slope overlooked the Circus Maximus with one facade, and the other with Forum. An aqueduct was installed to provide the buildings with water. After the fire of 191, Septimius Severus again expanded the palace complex (the house of the Severus); Thermal baths were built on the foundation, supported by arches overlooking the Circus Maximus. A majestic Septisodia stage appeared nearby. There was also room on the hill for service buildings: the Herald School and the Pedagogy. Later than all these buildings, the temple of Elagabalus appeared.

FUN FACTS

■ According to legend, when Agrippina the Younger was told that her son Nero (then still a child) would reign, but would kill his mother, she exclaimed: “Let him kill, as long as he reigns.” In March 59, Nero invited his mother to take a trip on a ship that was about to sink. However, Agrippina was almost the only one who managed to escape and swim to the shore, because in the past she was a sponge diver. Then Nero ordered to kill her openly, sending soldiers. Realizing her fate, the woman asked to be stabbed in the stomach: by this she made it clear that she repented of having given birth to such a son.

■ They say that Domitian knew from his early youth when and how he would die, and towards the end of his life he became terribly suspicious, so he ordered the walls in his chambers to be decorated with moonstone so that by reflection he could see everything that was happening behind him.

■ The historical center of Rome, as you know, lies on seven hills. The number seven obviously has a sacred meaning. But initially it was said that the city stands on seven peaks, and these are different things. For example, among those original seven mountains are the two peaks of the Palatine Hill, namely Palatium and Cermal.

■ After the original Sibylline Books were burned in the Temple of Capitoline Jupiter in a fire in 83 BC. BC, a new collection of prophecies was compiled, collected from Greek materials (mainly from the Sibyls of Eritrea). Augustus transferred these new “Sibylline Books” to the temple of Apollo on the Palatine. The last time they were consulted was in 363 AD. e. They were burned by order of Stilicho in 408 AD. e.

■ According to legend, an unknown old woman (probably it was the Sibyl Kumekaya herself) offered to buy secret books with prophecies to King Tarquin the Proud. Twice the king refused, but after each refusal she threw three books into the fire, offering to buy the rest at the original price. When Tarquin finally bought the last three books, the old woman disappeared. The Sibylline Books were kept in the dungeons of the Temple of Jupiter Capitoline. The priests, on special instructions from the Senate, looked for appropriate prophecies in them in difficult times for the state.

ATTRACTIONS

Preserved as ruins
■ Temple of the Great Mother (Cybele)
■ House of Livia and Augustus
■ Temple of Apollo
■ House of Tiberius
■ Flavia's House
■ Royal court
■ House of Emperors
■ Exedra major
■ Domitian Stadium
■ Severov complex
■ Big Circus
■ Other: fragments of frescoes in the house of Livia, the House of the Griffins, the hall of Isis; mosaic floors.
■ Palatine Museum.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Romulus's original "Square Rome" was founded on the Palatine Hill. The historical center of Rome and the Vatican domain is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
■ Location: The Palatine Hill occupies the most protected, central position of the seven hills of Rome, overlooking the crossing of the Tiber, and has a gentle slope to the Circus Maximus.
■First settlements on the Palatine: OK. 1000 BC
■ Year of foundation of Rome: 753 BC e. Construction of the palace complex (later renovated and rebuilt many times) began under Octavian Augustus.
■ Construction of the Circus Maximus: IV century BC e. - IV century n. e.

Atlas. The whole world is in your hands #245

After visiting the Colosseum, we went to explore the Palatine and. You can take a pleasant walk along the Palatine, contemplating various ancient buildings of antiquity. But, subject to good weather. Unfortunately for us, it turned out to be extremely hot! But it is not all that bad! Here, as in many places, you can drink or wash with cold water in numerous fountains, which are very helpful in the heat.

The Palatine is one of the seven hills on which the city stands. Its height is about 40 meters. It was here that the ancient city arose during antiquity. The name of the hill comes from the name of the goddess Pales, guardian of livestock. On the hill there is a fairly large number of remains of ancient structures. Many of them can only be imagined, since, alas, there is little left of them... I will not bother you with the names of the buildings located here - I advise you to just take a walk and enjoy the atmosphere of the ancient city.

Information for travelers:

Address: entrance from the street. Via di San Gregorio (see map below). Phone: +39.06.39967700

Working hours:
Daily: 8.30 – 19.00.
Closed: January 1 and December 25.
The ticket office closes 1 hour before closing.

Ticket prices: single ticket for visiting the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine: 9 - 12 euros (depending on the availability of exhibitions). If you do not use a card, I advise you to buy tickets at the box office of the Palatine and the Roman Forum - the queues for tickets here are much shorter!

How to get there:

The Palatine is located near the Colosseum. The nearest station is Colosseo on the blue line B. I recommend visiting immediately after.

Entrance on the map:

Walking on Palantine:

2.
Ruins of ancient times...

Rome, the capital of Italy, is one of the oldest cities in the world. Even in ancient times, the names “ The eternal City " And " city ​​on seven hills ».

The seven hills on which Ancient Rome is located are located on the eastern bank.

The hills are considered symbols of Rome. They are separated from each other by relatively deep but small valleys. Modern Rome occupies both banks of the Tiber and there are now twelve hills on the territory of the city.

However, the history of the development of Rome begins precisely on the left bank of the Tiber. The first hill to be inhabited was Palatine- central hill. Then it was settled Esquelin, after - the northern and northwestern hills - Quirinal and, even later - Aventine, Viminal And Caelium. After including all seven hills within the city limits, the Romans had the festival of the seven hills, which was celebrated every year on December 11.

The valley where Rome was founded is of volcanic origin, the height of the hills is on average 40-50 meters above the level of the Tiber, the slopes of the hills are mostly sloping. In the 3rd century, Emperor Aurelian erected in four years, which surrounded all 7 hills. The total length of the wall is 19 km, thickness – 3.4 m, and height – 8 m. The wall had 18 gates and 383 towers. During the capture of Rome by the Goths, the wall was partially dismantled, but was restored and is well preserved today.

The history of Ancient Rome began from this place. According to legend, it was at the foot of the Palatine that a basket with two babies, Remus and Romulus, who later became the founders of the “Eternal City,” was washed up by the waves of the Tiber. According to legend, there was a cave here (Lupercalia), which nursed the brothers. The hill was named after Pales, the patron goddess of shepherds. Since the founding of the city, people who personified power in the city settled here: kings, emperors and patricians.

Representatives of the aristocracy erected luxurious palaces - Domuses, the remains of which can be seen by tourists.

Tourists visit the Palatine using a single ticket together with and. Among the attractions of the Palatine itself are the ruins of imperial palaces, temples of Apollo, Cybele and Victoria, and the baths of Septimius Severus. In between, a monastery was built, where the Palatine Museum is now located - Antiquarium del Palatino, which displays a collection from primitive tools to the creations of ancient Roman sculptors (most of the sculptures are devoid of any body parts).

• We recommend reading: at the Roman Forum

Capitol

The name comes from the word caput - head. This hill was densely built up with temples in ancient Roman times. Here in the temple lived the legendary geese, which with their cry warned the Romans about the approach of the Gauls.

At the same temple there was the first mint was created, the minted money began to be called “coins” in honor of the goddess.

During the time of Servius Tulius, a wall was built around the Capitol, and it was a well-fortified citadel. The highest point of the southern side of the hill was occupied by the Temple of Jupiter. The temple was divided into three cella (divisions) dedicated to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. Senate meetings were sometimes held in the central cella. Over the course of its history, the Temple of Jupiter was repeatedly burned, destroyed and again restored by emperors. Collapses of the quarries under the temple accelerated its complete (down to the foundation) destruction. In the 16th century, the Cafarelli Palace was built on the site of the temple, which now houses the city museum.

During the Middle Ages, there was only one monumental structure on the Capitol - the Church of St. Mary of Aracelli, to the entrance of which there are 122 steps (Scala Santa), built in honor of deliverance from the plague. In the 12th century, the Roman Senate was restored, and the Capitol again became the administrative center of the city. Today's Capitol owes its appearance to the person who made the drawing for the renovation of the hill.

Quirinal

The highest of the seven Roman hills. The hill is named after Quirin, the god of war of the ancient Sabines. According to legend, Rome was inhabited only by men. One day, Romulus invited the Sabines to a festival - consularia, at which the Romans kidnapped the Sabine girls. Then an armed conflict occurred, where the Romans lost to the Sabines. The war was stopped by the girls who became attached to their new families.

As a result, an agreement on eternal peace was concluded, under the terms of which the Sabine king Titus Tatius became co-ruler of Rome along with Romulus.

In 1573 the Quirinal Palace was built. The huge building was the summer residence of the Popes. The trial of (Galileo Galilei) was held here. Later, the palace was chosen by Italian monarchs. From 1948 to the present day, the Quirinal Palace has been the official residence of the President of Italy. A visit to the Quirinal Palace will cost adult tourists 5 euros. In front of the palace on Quirinale Square there is the Fountain of Diocourses by the architect Raffaele Stern. On the right side of the square is the Consulta Palace, which is occupied by the Constitutional Court.

Aventine

It was named after Aventinus Silvius (lat. Aventinus Silvius), a king who ruled after Romulus. Although there is a version that the hill got its name from the Albanian king Aventine. At first the hill was not inhabited, but as the city grew, it quickly became overgrown with buildings. During the Republic it was a very densely populated area. Mostly plebeians and slaves lived here. On the Aventine, temples were built dedicated to Diana, Mercury, the Moon, Vertumnus, Flora - gods widely revered by the lower classes. During the Empire, the area became richer, the aristocracy and the rich settled here, and thermal baths were built.

After the fall of the Empire, the Aventine is empty. But already in the Middle Ages, new structures were erected here. And in the 17th century, Aventine became a prestigious place where antique buildings and fashionable mansions were intricately mixed.

Among the attractions on the Aventine are: the Church of St. Sabina, the Church of Santi Alessio and Bonifacio, the Pyramid of Gaius Cestius. At the very top of the hill is Savello Park, which the Romans call the Orange Garden. This place is visited by lovers of romantic dates, and newlyweds often take photos here. From the terrace that ends the park, there is a wonderful view of and.

Viminal

“Willow Hill” owes its name to the willow twigs (Viminalis) that covered the slopes of the hill. The hill was originally inhabited by the Sabines. Viminal was annexed to the territory of Rome along with the Quirinal after the abduction of the Sabine women. During the Empire, the hill was mainly occupied by lower class residential buildings. Among the public buildings, the Baths of Diocletian were built here - ancient Roman baths with an area of ​​13 hectares. The thermal baths accommodated up to 3,200 people; on their territory there were gardens, fountains, and a library. Also on Viminale there was a camp of the Praetorians - the personal guard of the emperor.

Today on Viminal you can find the Viminal Palace - a fairly young building, erected in 1923. The Ministry of Internal Affairs is also located there.

The territory where the gardens of the Baths of Diocletian were located is now laid out (Piazza della Repubblica). The center of the square is occupied by the Naiad fountain, created by Mario Rutelli. Using the ruins of one of the halls of the Baths of Diocletian, Michelangelo designed the Church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, which was built in 1563-1566.

Esquiline

The name comes from ex + colere, which means suburb. Esquiline is a plateau with two languages ​​in the western part - Cispius and Opium. Esquiline was settled by the Romans immediately after the Palatine. For a long time, Esquiline was a rather dirty place, as there were city dumps here. Also in this place executions were carried out and there were common cemeteries for slaves and beggars, which were deep wells into which corpses were dumped. By order, the cemetery was filled up and built up, and the magnificent gardens of the Maecenas were planted on the vacated territory. Due to the higher location of eastern Rome, the water supply system was concentrated on the Esquiline.

Find a hotel near the Vatican
Among the attractions on the Esquiline, tourists can be attracted by the Catholic Church. There are four papal basilicas built in Rome. One of them is located on Esquiline.

According to legend, the foundation of the basilica is connected with the fact that the Virgin Mary appeared to Pope Liberius in a dream in August 352 and ordered to build the church where the snow would fall. The snow fell and the basilica was built. Also on the Esquiline there are churches: Santa Pudenziana, San Pietro in Vincoli, Santa Prassede.

Caelium

The hill is named after Celes Vibenna, an Etruscan, the ancestor of the Roman plebeian family. For a long time, Caelium was inhabited exclusively by plebeians.

Only in the 1st century did nobles begin to settle on the hill. The main religious building was the Temple of the Divine Claudius. Few fragments remain of the grandiose structure. A picturesque place in Celia is Villa Celimontana, a heritage park of a Roman urban garden. This is a great place for a picnic, with wonderful views from the hillsides. Jazz bands regularly perform in the park. Along the paths of the park are laid out ancient Roman fragments of sarcophagi, tombstones, and capitals. In the depths of the park there is a unique monument - the Chelimontan Obelisk, a composite obelisk, the upper part of which is covered with hieroglyphs from the era of Ramses II. Also on Celia are: Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Saints John and Paul), Basilica of Santa Maria in Domnica, Church of Santo Stefano Rotondo - one of the oldest, Library of Pope Agapit I, Oratory of Sant'Andrea and Arc di Dolabella.

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Hill Palatine (Monte Palatino) - the central and most significant of the 7 hills of Rome. According to legend, confirmed by excavations of the lower part of the hill, dating back to the 8th century BC, Romulus founded the city of Rome on the Palatine Hill (754 - 753 BC). Archaeological sites have confirmed that the hill has been continuously inhabited since the 13th century BC. Due to its historical and religious value, the Palatine has been the seat of the highest aristocracy of Rome since the 6th century BC. Among the most significant ruins of Republican houses are Aula Isiaca and “Casa dei Grifi”, decorated with frescoes and painted walls.

The appearance of the Palatine Hill underwent dramatic changes under the Emperor Octavian Augustus, who was born on this hill and chose it as his residence. All subsequent Roman emperors also began to live on the Palatine. Each of them built his own palace here: on the Palatine Hill you can see the ruins of the palace of Tiberius (Domus Tiberiana), Nero (Domus Transitoria and part of the Domus Aurea), Flavius ​​(Domus Flavia and Domus Augustana) and Septimius Severius (Domus Severiana). Towards the end of the third imperial era, the Palatine Hill was built up with a large single “reggia” (royal palace), called Palatium - after the hill. the name of the hill. Then the baths were built for the first time, turning it into a luxurious imperial palace.

In the 16th century, on the initiative of Cardinal Alessandro Franese, a large villa (Orti Farnesiani) was built on the site of the Domus Tiberiana. The villa was later almost completely destroyed.

Systematic excavations began on the hill already in the 18th century and continue to this day. Some of the finds are now on display in the Palatine Museum (Museo Palatino).

Post Palatine:

Address:

• Via della Salara Vecchia, 5/6
• Via di San Gregorio, 30
• Piazza di Santa Maria Nova, 53
• Piazza del Colosseo

Tickets to Palatine:

• Valid in the Colosseum + Roman Forum and Palatine (valid for 2 days).
• Please note: The Roman Forum and the Palatine are located in the same archaeological area, so if you use a ticket or Roma Pass to enter the park, you will not be able to enter for the second time.
• Tickets can be purchased online to avoid huge queues.
• Full tariff: € 12.00
• Concessional tariff: € 7.50 (EU residents 18 - 25 years old)
• Online tickets: additional booking fee € 2.00. Due to security measures, you need to be 30 minutes before the selected time in order to go through security (checking bags, etc.)
• Under 18 years old - free
• Free entry on the 1st Sunday of every month(ticket reservation is not possible).
• Roma Archeologia Card: adults: € 23,00 preferential: € 13.00 - valid 7 days
  Can be purchased at the box office and used in the following museums: , Palatine and , Villa dei Quintili, Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella, Palazzo Massimo, Palazzo Altemps, Crypta Balbi, . With an ARCHAEOLOGIA CARD ticket you can visit each of these museums once within 7 days.
• With the Roma Pass you can visit the Palatine and the Roman Forum for free.

Palatine opening hours:

• daily:
  08.30 - 16.30 from the last Sunday in October until February 15
  08.30 - 17.00 from February 16 to March 15
  08.30 - 17.30 from March 16 until the last Sunday. Martha
  08.30 - 19.15 from last Sunday. March until August 31
  08.30 - 19.00 from 1 to 30 September
  08.30 - 18.30 from October 1 to last Sunday. October
• 2 June: 13.30 - 19.15;
• Last entry: 1 hour before closing
• Closed: January 1, December 25
• Casa delle Vestali, Tempio di Venere e Roma and Museo del Palatino: last entry 30 minutes before closing

Antique villas of the Palatine

(Casa di Libya, I century BC BC) is one of the most fully preserved buildings on the Palatine. The wife of Emperor Augustus lived here. The walls of Livia's house are decorated with frescoes depicting mythological scenes and flowering landscapes, and the courtyard is decorated with mosaics.

House of Augustus

Located opposite Libya's house August's house(Casa d’ Augusto, I century BC BC), where you can also see perfectly preserved frescoes.

Below on the slope of the hill fragments have been preserved Temple of Cybele(Tempio di Cibele, OK. 20 BC e.). Here the Phrygian goddess was worshiped under the name Magna Mater, Great Mother. Going even lower, you can examine the remains of floor mosaics and wall paintings in the ruins Tiberius's palace (Domus Tiberiana, I century).

Along the palace of Tiberius passes cryptoportico(cryptoportico, “secret passage”) is a long underground gallery built by Emperor Caligula. Here the emperor was killed by a tribune of the Praetorian Guard.

To the east of the cryptoporticus the territory begins Palace Flaviev(Domus Fla via, 92). From the once huge structure, only the foundations and minor fragments have survived, among which the remains of fountains stand out: a brick oval structure and an octagon made of slabs located nearby. The Domus Flavius ​​was officially part of the Augustan palace. Ambassadors were received here and state banquets were held.

Part of Domitian's palace was the Stadium of Domitian. It has not yet been determined whether this stadium was used for horse racing or as a large park.

Palatine Museum

Gray three-story building next to the Flavian Palace - ( Museo Palatino), where antique sculptures found on the Palatine during excavations are exhibited.

• Museo Palatino – Casa di Augusto – Casa di Livia
• Visit only for groups with advance reservation

August Palace

Behind the Palatine Museum are the ruins of the Augustan Palace ( Domus Augustana, 1st century), residences of the emperors, after passing which you can go down to the entrance via di San

Rome is an ancient city, more than 2.7 thousand years old, the cradle of antiquity and European culture. No trip to Rome is complete without visiting the Colosseum, the Roman Forum and the Palatine Hill.

A walk through the ruins of a once powerful empire will help you compare modern Rome and ancient Rome and understand why it is called the “Eternal City”.

Exists single ticket for the Colosseum, Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. This is a great opportunity to get acquainted with the monuments of Ancient Rome. You can buy such a ticket in Rome at any ticket office in one of these three facilities; it costs 12 euros.

If you buy a ticket directly at the Colosseum, you will have to stand in a huge line. You can purchase an entrance ticket much faster if you buy one at the Forum or Palatine ticket office, since it is the same for all three objects and the cost is the same everywhere. But the queues are different :)

Please note that the ticket is valid for 2 days. The Forum and the Palatine are one territory, and if you leave the ruins, you will not go back. The Roman Colosseum is located separately and can be entered with the same ticket on the same or next day. We calmly and leisurely managed to visit all three Roman attractions in one day. You can also purchase tickets to the Colosseum, Palatine and Forum in advance via the Internet on the official site. In this case, the cost will be 2 euros higher - this is an additional payment for the pre-booking service.

While still at home, studying information about Rome and preparing for a trip to Italy, I thought that the easiest and fastest way was to buy a ticket at the Palatine ticket office. And so it turned out. So, after a short wandering through the streets of Rome, we got to the Palatine ticket office. Queue for only 3 minutes:

The Palatine ticket office is located here (I have marked its location in orange):

To find the Palatine ticket office in Rome, it is convenient to walk from the Colosseum along Via di San Gregorio, which begins immediately after the Arch of Constantine.

The Palatine Hill in Rome is a kind of open-air museum that allows you to get acquainted with the history of Ancient Rome. Palatine - the central of the seven hills of Rome, it was here, according to legend, that the ancient Roman civilization began.

According to legend, the waves of the Tiber River brought a basket with two babies to the foot of the Palatine Hill - they were Romulus and Remus. Here the brothers were suckled by the Capitoline she-wolf, whose cave (Lupercal), according to legend, is still located somewhere under the ruins of ancient Roman buildings on the Palatine Hill. Here Romulus founded the city of Rome. It is believed that the Palatine Hill was named after the patroness of shepherds - the goddess Pales.

The Palatine and the Circus Maximus in front of it during the heyday of the Roman Empire:

Since the founding of Rome, the Palatine Hill was the place where houses were built by people who personified power and money in Ancient Rome: emperors and rich patricians. Representatives of the Roman nobility erected luxurious palaces - Domuses, the ruins of which can still be seen on the Palatine today. The southern part of the Palatine was considered the most luxurious place to build a palace in Rome. From the palaces one could watch the competitions in the Circus Maximus. The photo below shows a reconstruction of the southern part of the hill at that time.

Photo from wikipedia.org

Not far from the entrance on the Palatine Hill is the Stadio di Domiziano, as well as part of the rich domus of Emperor Augustus:

Ruins of Severian's house on the Palatine:

Map of the Palatine Hill. Here we noted what has been preserved and what can be seen today on the Palatine Hill:

For some reason, the Italians installed art objects among the ruins on the Palatine.

By the way, the words familiar to us all - “palace” (palace), “chamber” were formed from the word “Palatine”. The height of the hill is 40 meters. From the Palatine Hill there is a beautiful view of the Forum and the central part of Rome:

View of Rome:

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From the Palatine Hill you can go down to the territory of the Roman Forum.

Roman Forum (Forum Romanum)- the former central market, a square in the center of Rome, a place of communication and trade for residents, where life was in full swing. Something like the Greek Agora, if someone has been to Greece. The Roman Forum is located in a lowland between the Palatine Hill on the south side, the Capitoline Hill on the west and the Colosseum in the east of Rome.

You can go down from the Palatine Hill to the Roman Forum completely freely, since in essence it is one museum area. Entrance to the Roman Forum is carried out using the same ticket as the Colosseum and Palatine. The Roman Forum today is one of the most visited must-see attractions in Rome. This is where the familiar word “Forum” comes from in its modern meaning.

Initially, this place in the central part of Ancient Rome, between 6 Roman hills, was a swampy lowland, eternally flooded by numerous springs. Until about the 8th century BC. the inhabitants of Rome used this lowland as a cemetery. Then the lowland was drained using drainage and the Romans built shopping arcades, temples and built a place for public performances in the Forum.

Map of the Roman Forum. Outputs are indicated in orange:

And this is what the Forum is supposed to have looked like during the heyday of the Roman Empire:

Photo from hdimagelib.com
Photo from slideshare.net

And now (in the photo - the western part of the Roman Forum and Arch of Septimius Severus twenty meters high):

The Roman Forum is filled with attractions. Along the entire Forum, from the eastern side to the western side, stretched Sacred Road (Via Sacra): religious processions passed along it on holidays, and along this same road Roman soldiers who returned with victory entered Rome.

A separate story is the temples of the Roman Forum. Temple of Romulus at Via Sacra, later converted into the Christian Church of Cosmas and Damian:

After the decline of the Roman Empire, the temples and buildings in the Forum were destroyed by time and people. Many temples of the Roman Forum were literally razed to pieces, for example, to build houses. In the Middle Ages, the Romans grazed cattle on this site, and the history of the Roman Forum was completely forgotten. Only at the beginning of the last century, restorers, architects and archaeologists, through joint efforts, were finally able to restore this grandiose ancient Roman and imperial ensemble for society.

At the foot of the Palatine, during the last excavations that were carried out at the Roman Forum, the remains of Temple of Vesta and the dwellings of the Vestals.

In the photo below - Temple of Antoninus and Faustina. This temple was built in 141 AD. e. by order of the Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius in memory of his deceased wife, Faustina. The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina in the Roman Forum is decorated with reliefs and ornaments.

The most impressive part of the ancient Roman buildings, grandiose in their mixture of styles, is located in the western part of the Roman Forum, looking towards the Tabularium.

In the photo below: The Arch of Septimius Severus against the backdrop of the walls of the Tabularium, behind them the snow-white monument of Vittoriano is visible. Left - steps Temple of Saturn (Tempio di Saturno).

The Temple of Saturn burned down in fires several times. This is evidenced by the inscription on its frieze: “Senatus populusque romanus incendio consumptum restituit” (“The Senate and people of Rome restored what was destroyed by fire”).

In this photo, on the left is the Temple of Saturn, and on the right are the remains of another temple in the Roman Forum - Temple of Vespasian, whose length was once 33 meters, and now only three columns remain from it.

Near the Temple of Saturn, every year on December 17, the inhabitants of Ancient Rome celebrated Saturnalia. During the celebration of Saturnalia, the difference between patrician (master) and slave disappeared for one night - all the Romans feasted together.

When you are in the Roman Forum, you understand why Rome is called the eternal city. Many eras coexist in it, merging into something single. Rome is both modern and ancient, pre-Christian, and at the same time medieval, and here and there you can see buildings of the 19th century, and all this does not interfere with each other, but organically forms the image of the city, one whole. It’s like you’re in many eras at the same time.

It took us about three hours to buy a ticket and visit the Palatine and the Roman Forum.

Opening hours of the Palatine and Roman Forum:
Last Sunday of October - 15 February: 08.30 - 16.30
February 16 - March 15: 08.30 - 17.00
March 16 - last Saturday in March: 08.30 - 17.30
Last Sunday of March - August 31: 08.30 - 19.15
September 1 - September 30: 08.30 - 19.00

Coliseum

Colosseum (Italian: Colosseo)- a symbol of Rome and Italy in general. Be prepared for the fact that there will be a simply unimaginable number of tourists here - after all, the Colosseum is probably the most popular place in Rome. As we advised earlier, it is better to buy a ticket to the Colosseum at another ticket office - from the Palatine or the Roman Forum.

Getting to the Colosseum is easy: it is located in the southern part of old Rome and is visible from everywhere.

The entrance to the Colosseum is marked in orange, the exit is at the Triumphal Arch of Constantine.

Briefly about the Colosseum in Rome. The history of the Colosseum goes back more than two thousand years! The Colosseum was built in the first century and at first was called the Flavian Amphitheatre. The Colosseum received its current name in honor of the statue of the mad Roman emperor Nero, which was installed nearby and which was popularly called “colossus” because of its gigantic size. It looked something like this:

Photo from the site kulturologia.ru

A little later, Emperor Vespasian ordered the construction of an amphitheater in the lowland between three Roman hills: Celio, Esquilino and Palatino - as a new center for the public life of the Romans. Vespasian came from the Flavian dynasty, hence the original name of the Colosseum.

The architecture of the Colosseum is similar to any amphitheater: it was built in the form of an ellipse, the arena was surrounded by stands, and the length of the outer ellipse exceeded 520 meters. The height of the structure reached 48 meters, which made the Colosseum the largest amphitheater of that time.

Photo from the-colosseum.net

In ancient times, gladiator fights were held here, entertaining up to 80,000 spectators. The ancient walls of the Colosseum remember gladiator battles, battles between animals that warmed up the crowd before gladiator fights... Once, in 55 BC. e, Cicero was present at the performance at which six hundred lions and eighteen elephants were killed for the amusement of the audience!

The games opened early in the morning with a parade of gladiators. The imperial family, priests and senators occupied the front row. A little higher sat the aristocrats and other important citizens of Rome. Even higher up, on marble benches, sat the middle class. The uppermost part of the stands of the Colosseum (already with wooden benches) was intended for the Roman plebs and slaves - everyone wanted bread and circuses.

The collapse of the Roman Empire and the raids of robbers gradually led to the destruction of the Colosseum. This was also facilitated by a strong earthquake in Rome in the 14th century. Looters and builders began to plunder and remove the beautiful, expensive marble from the Colosseum: this marble was used in the construction of St. John's Cathedral, the Lateran Basilica, the Palazzo Venezia and many other buildings in Rome. The underground floor (hypogeum) was filled with earth, and the inhabitants of Rome began to plant their gardens there, and merchants began to use the premises as warehouses.

But the story of the Roman Colosseum does not end there. Finally, in the middle of the 18th century, the Colosseum got a chance to be restored. Pope Benedict XIV ordered a huge cross to be erected in the arena in memory of the Christians killed in the Colosseum. However, historians claim that stories of Christians being executed in the Roman Colosseum are nothing more than a myth.

Now many world-famous stars choose the Colosseum as a concert venue in Rome.

Colosseum opening hours:
Last Sunday of October - 15 February: 08.30 - 15.30
February 16 - March 15: 08.30 - 16.00
March 16 - last Saturday in March: 08.30 - 16.30
Last Sunday of March - August 31: 08.30 - 16.15
September 1 - September 30: 08.30 - 18.00
October 1 - last Saturday in October: 08.30 - 17.30

Please note: ticket sales for the Colosseum close one hour before closing.