The Villa of Maxentius is an imperial villa in Rome, built by the Roman emperor Maxentius. The complex is located between the second and third miles of the ancient Appian Way, and consists of three main buildings: the palace, the circus of Maxentius and the dynastic mausoleum, designed in an inseparable architectural unit to honor Maxentius.
The remains of beautiful buildings are configured as the last phase of the transformation of an original rustic republican villa (2nd century BC) built in a scenographic position on the side of a hill facing the Alban Hills.
The two nymphaeums facing the Appian Way are dated in the Julio-Claudian era, one of which, still visible and recently rebuilt, was much later attached to a farm. In the 2nd century the place underwent a radical transformation under Herodes Atticus, who incorporated it into his Pago Triopio. [1]
The property later passed under imperial rule and it was then that, in the early 4th century, Maxentius built the villa, the circus and the family mausoleum there. In this mausoleum was where his son Valerius Romulus, dead in adolescence, was perhaps first placed.
The defeat of Maxentius by Constantine probably led to the early abandonment of the site (it is believed that the racecourse was never used by Maxentius), and the property passed to the Patrimonium Appiae (already mentioned in the time of Pope Gregory I -in the late 6th century- among the ecclesiastical heritage). The circus, called «Girulum», is mentioned in a land-transaction document between ecclesiastical entities in 850. [2]
The great estate passed to the counts of Tusculum, then to the Cenci and finally to the Mattei -to whom the first excavations are connected- in the 16th century.
In mid-18th century a new rustic building was attached to the pronaos of the mausoleum; the rest of the old complex, known then as the Circus of Caracalla, was almost completely buried, reason why in 1763 Giuseppe Vasi described it thus: [3]
Only this Circus remains which, according to some, is the work of Galieno; a brick mass that was the main entrance, and the land cultivated around the Circus, in the middle of which was found the Egyptian obelisk that is now seen in the most noble source of Piazza Navona.
— Giuseppe Vassi
The obelisk mentioned is the Agonalis Obelisk, integrated into the Fountain of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona.
Shortly thereafter, in 1825, the property was acquired by Giovanni Torlonia, who twenty years earlier had already purchased the property of Roma Vecchia and his marquisate. It was then that Torlonia commissioned the first systematic excavations, although suggested, in the forms and in the completion, by Antonio Nibby. After eight months of hard excavation (in a field, Nibby pointed out in his dissertation, "bad and so hard that the tuff itself would have seemed softer") the circus had completely resurfaced to the Puerta del Triunfo on the street called Asinaria. And near that door two inscriptions were found, one of which indicated Maxentius as promoter of, and his son Romulus as the one who dedicated, the monument. On describing the excavation, Nibby meticulously observed the mediocre quality of the inscription walls and marble slabs, which therefore dated back to the 4th century. It also pointed out that the building had never been restored in ancient times. The Torlonia family continued to excavate throughout the 19th century (1877, 1883).
The archaeological complex was finally expropriated by the Municipality of Rome in 1943; in 1960, during the Rome Olympic Games, the entire circus was excavated, as well as the consolidation of the perimeter walls, followed by the partial excavation of the palace buildings, the restoration of the spina or euripus, [4] the quadriporticus and the mausoleum. Several other excavation and consolidation campaigns have followed since then, in 1975–77, 1979 and in the early 2000s.
Since 2008, the Villa of Maxentius has been part of the Municipal Museums system. Since December 2012, the site is part of the Aperti per Voi (Open for you) project of the Italian Touring Club, where dozens of volunteers take turns to receive visitors, whose number is constantly growing also thanks to the free access that came into force at end of August 2014. [5]
The best known monument in the entire complex is the Circus of Maxentius, the only one of the Roman circuses still well preserved in all its architectural components.
The dynastic mausoleum, also known as the Tomb of Romulus by the name of Valerius Romulus, a young son of the emperor who was presumably buried here, is located inside a four-sided portico aligned with the ancient Appian Way.
Access to the site also allows access to the nearby Tomb of Caecilia Metella.
The Appian Way 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, recorded by Statius, of Appia longarum... regina viarum . The road is named after Appius Claudius Caecus, the Roman censor who, during the Samnite Wars, began and completed the first section as a military road to the south in 312 BC.
The Porta Capena was a gate in the Servian Wall in Rome, Italy. The gate was located in the area of Piazza di Porta Capena, where the Caelian, Palatine and Aventine hills meet. Probably its exact position was between the entrance of Via di Valle delle Camene and the beginning of Via delle Terme di Caracalla, facing the curved side of the Circus Maximus.
Castel Gandolfo, colloquially known as Castello in the Castelli Romani dialects, is a town located 25 km (16 mi) southeast of Rome, in the Italian region of Lazio. Situated on a hilltop in the Alban Hills with panoramic views of Lake Albano, Castel Gandolfo is home to approximately 8,900 residents and is renowned as one of Italy's most scenic towns. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia.
Fontana dei Quattro Fiumi is a fountain in the Piazza Navona in Rome, Italy. It was designed in 1651 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini for Pope Innocent X whose family palace, the Palazzo Pamphili, faced onto the piazza as did the church of Sant'Agnese in Agone of which Innocent was the sponsor.
Lucos Cozza was an Italian Roman archaeologist.
The Circus of Maxentius is an ancient structure in Rome, Italy, part of a complex of buildings erected by emperor Maxentius on the Via Appia between AD 306 and 312. It is situated between the second and third miles of the Via Appia, between the basilica and catacombs of San Sebastiano and the imposing late republican tomb of Caecilia Metella, which dominates the hill that rises immediately to the east of the complex. It is part of the Appian Way Regional Park.
Villa Torlonia is a villa and surrounding gardens in Rome, Italy, formerly belonging to the Torlonia family. It is entered from the via Nomentana.
The Mausoleum of Helena is an ancient building in Rome, Italy, located on the Via Casilina, corresponding to the 3rd mile of the ancient Via Labicana. It was built by the Roman emperor Constantine I between 326 and 330, originally as a tomb for himself, but later assigned to his mother, Helena, who died in 330.
The Villa dei Sette Bassi was the second-largest ancient Roman villa or monumental palace in the suburbs after the Villa of the Quintilii.
The Castra Albana was an ancient Roman legionary fortress of the Legio II Parthica founded by the Emperor Septimius Severus (193–211) on the site of the present Albano Laziale.
The Appian Way Regional Park is the second-largest urban park of Europe, after Losiny Ostrov National Park in Moscow. It is a protected area of around 4580 hectares, established by the Italian region of Latium. It falls primarily within the territory of Rome but parts also extend into the neighbouring towns of Ciampino and Marino. The peculiarity of the park that distinguishes it, is that it also hosts the Archaeological park of Appia Antica, which coincides with the perimeter of the regional park itself. It is a monumental park which contains precious legacies of ancient Rome, including the Appian Way, various Roman aqueducts, Roman villas, mausoleums, catacombs.
The Mausoleum of Maxentius was part of a large complex on the Appian Way in Rome that included a palace and a chariot racing circus, constructed by the Emperor Maxentius. The large circular tomb was built by Maxentius in the early 4th century, probably with himself in mind and as a family tomb. When his young son Valerius Romulus died, he was buried there. After extensive renovation the mausoleum was reopened to the public in 2014.
The Villa of Domitian, known as Albanum Domitiani or Albanum Caesari in Latin, was a vast and sumptuous Roman villa or palace built by emperor Domitian. It was situated 20 km (12 mi) from Rome, high in the Alban Hills where summer temperatures are more comfortable. It faced west overlooking the sea and Ostia. To travellers on the via Appia it would have made an impressive sight.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Rome:
Municipio Roma VII is the seventh administrative subdivision of the Municipality of Rome (Italy).
The Torlonia Collection is a private art collection of 620 Ancient Greek and Roman art works assembled by the noble Torlonia family of Rome, Italy. It has been called "the greatest private collection of ancient Roman antiquity" by archaeologist Darius Arya. Around 180 pieces are busts, one of the largest collections of Roman portraiture in the world.
The Horti Spei Veteris, later called Horti Variani, was a luxurious and important palace-estate, eventually the residence of Emperors, on the Esquiline Hill at the south eastern corner of ancient Rome and covering an area of 12,000 m2.
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