 Remains of the Baths of Constantine in the 16th century | |
   Baths of Constantine Shown in ancient Rome | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| Location | Rome, Italy |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°53′54″N12°29′14″E / 41.8983°N 12.4873°E |
Baths of Constantine (Latin, Thermae Constantinianae) was a public bathing complex built on Rome's Quirinal Hill, beside the Tiber River, by Constantine I, probably before 315. [1]
Ancient Constantinople and Arles also had complexes known as Baths of Constantine.
The last of Rome's bath complexes, they were constructed in the irregular space enclosed by the vicus Longus, the Alta Semita, the clivus Salutis and the vicus laci Fundani. And as this was on a side-hill, it was necessary to demolish the 4th-century houses then on the site (beneath which are ruins of second- and third-century houses) and make an artificial level over their ruins. [2] Because of these peculiar conditions, these thermae differed in plan from all others in the city – no anterooms were provided on either side of the caldarium , for instance, since the building was too narrow. The building was oriented north–south so as to heat it using the sun, with principal entrances on the west side, where there was a flight of steps down from the hill's summit to the Campus Martius, and on the middle of the north side.
As the main structure occupied all the space between the streets on the east and west, the ordinary peribolus was replaced by an enclosure across the front which was bounded on the north by a curved line, an area now occupied by the Palazzo della Consulta. The frigidarium seems to have had its longer axis aligned north and south instead of east and west, and behind it were tepidarium and caldarium, both circular in shape.
The only reference to these baths in ancient literature is in Ammianus Marcellinus, [3] though they are mentioned in the Einsiedeln Itinerary (1.10; 3.6; 7.11).
The baths suffered greatly from fire and earthquake in the century after their construction. They were restored in 443 by the city prefect Petronius Perpenna Magnus Quadratinus, [4] at which time it is probable that the colossal statues of the Dioscuri and horses, now in the Piazza del Quirinale, were set up within them. [5] The Baths of Constantine probably remained in use until the Gothic War (535–554), when all but one of the aqueducts to the city of Rome were cut by the Ostrogoths.
Enough of the structure was standing at the beginning of the sixteenth century to permit plans and drawings by architects of that period; these are the chief sources of our knowledge of the building. [6] The remains were almost entirely destroyed in 1605–1621 during the construction of the Palazzo Rospigliosi, but some traces were found a century later, [7] and since 1870. [8] Some of these can now be seen beneath the Casino dell'Aurora.
Notable art works were found on the site of these thermae, among them:
The Quirinal Hill 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 Palace; by metonymy "the Quirinal" has come to stand for the Italian president. The Quirinal Palace has an extension of 1.2 million square feet.
The Forma Urbis Romae or Severan Marble Plan is a massive marble map of ancient Rome, created under the emperor Septimius Severus between 203 and 211 CE. Matteo Cadario gives specific years of 205–208, noting that the map was based on property records.
Piazza del Campidoglio is a public square (piazza) on the top of the ancient Capitoline Hill, between the Roman Forum and the Campus Martius in Rome, Italy. The square includes three main buildings, the Palazzo Senatorio also known as the Comune di Roma Capitale, and the two palaces that make up the Capitoline Museums, the Palazzo dei Conservatori and the Palazzo Nuovo, considered to be one of the oldest national museums, founded in 1471 when Pope Sixtus IV donated some of the museums most impressive statues, the She-wolf, the Spinario, the Camillus and the colossal head of emperor Constantine. Over the centuries the museums' collection has grown to include many of ancient Roman's finest artworks and artifacts. If something was considered too valuable or fragile in Rome and a copy was made in its place for display, the original is likely now on display in the Capitoline Museum.The hilltop square was designed by Michelangelo in the 16th century. at the behest of Pope Paul III.
Trevi is the 2nd rione of Rome, identified by the initials R. II, located in Municipio I. The origin of its name is not clear, but the most accepted theory is that it comes from the Latin trivium, because there were three streets all leading to the current Piazza dei Crociferi, a square next to the modern Trevi square. Its coat of arms is made of three swords on a red background.
The Baths of Trajan were a massive thermae, a bathing and leisure complex, built in ancient Rome and dedicated under Trajan during the kalendae of July 109, shortly after the Aqua Traiana was dedicated.
The lesser-known Arch of Titus was a triple bay arch erected at the eastern end of the Circus Maximus by the Senate in A.D. 81, in honour of Titus and his capture of Jerusalem in the First Jewish–Roman War. Few traces remain. The inscription, quoted by an 8th-century Swiss monk known only as the "Einsiedeln Anonymous", makes it clear that this was Titus' triumphal arch. Sculptural fragments of a military frieze have been attributed to the arch.
In ancient Roman funerals, an ustrinum was the site of a cremation funeral pyre whose ashes were removed for interment elsewhere. The ancient Greek equivalent was a καύστρα. Ustrina could be used many times. A single-use cremation site that also functioned as a tomb was a bustum.
Marphurius or Marforio is one of the talking statues of Rome. Marforio maintained a friendly rivalry with his most prominent rival, Pasquin. As at the other five "talking statues", pasquinades—irreverent satires poking fun at public figures—were posted beside Marforio in the 16th and 17th centuries.
The temple of Minerva Medica was a temple in ancient Rome, built on the Esquiline Hill in the Republican era, though no remains of it have been found. Since the 17th century, it has been wrongly identified with the ruins of a nymphaeum on a nearby site, on account of the erroneous impression that the Athena Giustiniani had been found in its ruins.
The preservation and extensive excavations at Ostia Antica have brought to light 26 different bath complexes in the town. These range from large public baths, such as the Forum Baths, to smaller most likely private ones such as the small baths. It is unclear from the evidence if there was a fee charged or if they were free. Baths in Ostia would have served both a hygienic and a social function like in many other parts of the Roman world. Bath construction increased after an aqueduct was built for Ostia in the early Julio-Claudian Period. Many of the baths follow simple row arrangements, with one room following the next, due to the density of buildings in Ostia. Only a few, like the Forum Baths or the Baths of the Swimmers, had the space to include palestra. Archaeologist name the bathhouses from features preserved for example the inscription of Buticoso in building I, XIV, 8 lead to the name Bath of Buticosus or the mosaic of Neptune in building II, IV, 2 lead to the Baths of Neptune. The baths in Ostia follow the standard numbering convention by archaeologists, who divided the town into five regions, numbered I to V, and then identified the individual blocks and buildings as follows: (region) I, (block) I, (building) 1.
The Murus Terreus Carinarum is an obscure earthwork fortification of the ancient city of Rome known from a passage in the works of Varro. The Murus Terreus may have been a part of Rome's earliest fortifications, often referred to as the Servian Wall. While the location of the Murus Terreus remains unknown and debated, it is thought likely that it belonged to the fortifications of the Oppian Hill, thus placing it between the Carinae and the Subura. Pinza suggested that the works were located on the summit of the Oppian.
The Baths of Nero or Baths of Alexander were a complex of ancient Roman baths on the Campus Martius in Rome, built by Nero in either 62 or 64 and rebuilt by Alexander Severus in 227 or 229. It stood between the Pantheon and the Stadium of Domitian and were listed among the most notable buildings in the city by Roman authors and became a much-frequented venue. These thermae were the second large public baths built in Rome, after the Baths of Agrippa, and it was probably the first "imperial-type" complex of baths, with a monumental scale and symmetrical, axially-planned design. While in the sixteenth century the foundations of the caldarium were still visible, nothing else of the structure remains above ground except some fragments of walls incorporated into the structure of Palazzo Madama.
The gens Opetreia was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. No members of this gens are known to have held any important magistracies, but a number of them are found in inscriptions.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Rome:
The gens Rullia was an obscure plebeian family at ancient Rome. No members of this gens are mentioned in history, but a number are known from inscriptions.
The Hellenistic Prince, Seleucid Prince, or Terme Ruler is a Greek bronze statue, 204 centimetres high, made in the 2nd century BC, now in the collections of the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme in Rome. It was found in 1885, together with the Boxer at Rest, on the Quirinal Hill, probably near the Baths of Constantine during the construction of the National Theatre. The two statues were however not part of an ensemble, being of different dates. There are significant debates on who is the person pictured, the original attribution to a Hellenistic prince being now rejected in favour of a Roman general—possibly Scipio Aemilianus, although there have been other suggestions.
Crepereia Tryphaena was a young Roman woman, presumably about 20 years old, whose sarcophagus was found during the excavation works started in 1889 for the foundations of the Palace of Justice and for the construction of the Umberto I bridge over the Tiber in Rome. Among the items found in her sarcophagus were pieces of a funeral outfit, including a sculpted doll.
Francesco Valesio (1670–1742) was an Italian diarist and archeologist.
The via Tiberina was an ancient Roman road, which from the north of Rome, going up the right bank of the Tiber valley, crossed the ancient Faliscan-Capenate countryside to reach the Sabina and continued towards Ocriculum in Umbria. Today, in the metropolitan city of Rome Capital, its route coincides with the provincial road 15 / A Tiberina.
