The Regio IV Templum Pacis is the fourth regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio IV took its name from the Temple of Peace built in the region by the emperor Vespasian. It includes the valley between the Esquiline and the Viminal hills, the popular area of the Suburra, and the Velian Hill.
Although centred on the Temple of Peace within the Imperial Fora, Regio IV was cut in two by the Clivus Suburanus. To the north west, it was bordered by the Vicus Patricius, the Clivus Suburanus and the Servian Wall and included the Carinae. To the south east, it was bordered by the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, and included the Imperial fora and the Suburra. A measurement taken at the end of the 4th century recorded that the perimeter of the region was 13,000 Roman feet (approximately 3.84 km). [1]
When first organised by Augustus, Regio IV was initially called the Via Sacra, after the street of the same name. Its name was altered after the construction of the Temple of Peace by Vespasian, and the region was noted for its magnificent imperial buildings. [2] Adjacent to the Colosseum stood the Meta Sudans of Domitian, a large monumental conical fountain estimated to have stood over 17 metres high. Also next to the Colosseum was the Colossus of Nero, itself standing some 30 metres high, that the emperor Hadrian later had moved to the stand beneath the double Temple of Venus and Roma, which was also in Regio IV. This was the largest temple in ancient Rome, and with its immense Corinthian pillars and gilt roof, it was reckoned by the historian Ammianus Marcellinus as one of the greatest buildings of Rome. [3]
Adjacent and to the north of the Temple of Venus and Roma stood the Basilica of Maxentius, which was inaugurated by Constantine the Great after his victory over his rival Maxentius. Further north, there stood the Temple of Peace and the Forum Pacis which, along with the Forum Transitorium bordered the southernmost part of the Imperial Fora (the fora formed part of the seventh region). [4]
The region also contained a temple dedicated to Jupiter Startor, most likely the one built during the Flavian period. [5] This temple no longer exists, but the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina that faces the Roman Forum still stands. Next to it stands the remains of the Basilica Aemilia, which had been originally erected in 179 BCE before being remodelled and renamed as the Basilica Paulli.
Away from the immediate vicinity of the Roman Forum, the region contained the Temple of Tellus, sited at the Carinae. An old temple, it was restored by Cicero in about 54 BCE and then rebuilt after the Great Fire of Rome in 64 CE. Finally it included the Sororium Tigillum , on the Vicus Cyprius, which the ancient Romans built to the memory of Horatius.
The region also originally contained the Velian Hill, the hill between the Palatine and the Oppian Hill. This hill was removed in the early 20th century to make way for the Via dei Fori Imperiali, the street passing between the Forum Romanum and the Forum of Augustus).
At the turn of the 5th century, the Regio contained eight aediculae (shrines), 88 domūs (patrician houses), 18 horrea (warehouses), 75 balneae (bath houses) and 78 loci (fountains). [6]
At the turn of the 5th century, the Regio was divided into eight vici (districts) and 2,757 insulae (blocks). It had two curators and was served by 48 Roman magistrates. [7]
The Caelian Hill is one of the famous seven hills of Rome.
The Via Sacra was the main street of ancient Rome, leading from the top of the Capitoline Hill, through some of the most important religious sites of the Forum, to the Colosseum.
The Imperial Fora are a series of monumental fora, constructed in Rome over a period of one and a half centuries, between 46 BC and 113 AD. The fora were the center of the Roman Republic and of the Roman Empire.
The Suburra, or Subura was a vast and populous neighborhood of Ancient Rome, located below the Murus Terreus on the Carinae and stretching on the slopes of the Quirinal and Viminal hills up to the offshoots of the Esquiline.
In 7 BC, Augustus divided the city of Rome into 14 administrative regions. These replaced the four regiones—or "quarters"—traditionally attributed to Servius Tullius, sixth king of Rome. They were further divided into official neighborhoods.
The Temple of Peace, also known as the Forum of Vespasian, was built in Rome in 71 AD under Emperor Vespasian in honour to Pax, the Roman goddess of peace. It faces the Velian Hill, toward the famous Colosseum, and was on the southeast side of the Argiletum.
The Regio I Porta Capena is the first regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio I took its name from the Porta Capena, a gate of the Servian Walls, through which the Appian Way entered the city prior to the construction of the Aurelian Walls.
The Regio II Caelimontium is the second regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. It took its name from the Caelian Hill, which the region was centred on.
The Regio III Isis et Serapis was the third regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio III took its name from the double sanctuary of Isis and Serapis, in the area of the Via Praenestina, containing the valley that was to be the future site of the Colosseum, and parts of the Oppian and Esquiline hills.
The Regio V Esquiliae is the fifth regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio V took its name from the Esquiline Hill. It contains parts of the Oppian Hill and Cispian Hill and of the Esquiline, plus the plain just outside the Servian Wall.
The Regio VI Alta Semita is the sixth regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio VI took its name from the street passing over the Quirinal Hill. It was a large regio that also encompassed the Viminal Hill, the lower slopes of the Pincian, and the valleys in-between.
The Regio VII Via Lata is the seventh regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio VII took its name from the wide urban street the Via Lata. It was the urban section of the Via Flaminia, which ran between the Servian walls and the Aurelian Walls, and corresponds to the modern Via del Corso. The regio contained part of the Campus Martius on the east of the street plus the Collis Hortulorum, the Pincian Hill.
The Regio VIII Forum Romanum Magnum is the eighth regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio VIII took its name from the Roman Forum, the political centre of Ancient Rome.
The Regio IX Circus Flaminius is the ninth regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio IX took its name from the racecourse located in the southern end of the Campus Martius, close to Tiber Island.
The Regio X Palatium is the tenth regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio X took its name from the Palatine Hill and the imperial palaces located on it.
The Regio XI Circus Maximus is the eleventh regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio XI took its name from the Circus Maximus, located in the valley between the Palatine and the Aventine hills.
The Regio XII Piscina Publica is the twelfth regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio XII took its name from the Piscina Publica, a swimming pool that disappeared during the middle imperial period.
The Regio XIII Aventinus is the thirteenth regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Regio XIII took its name from the hill which dominated the region, the Aventine.
The Regio XIV Transtiberim is the fourteenth regio of imperial Rome, under Augustus's administrative reform. Meaning "across the Tiber", the Regio took its name from its position on the west bank of the Tiber River.
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