Esquiline
The Esquiline ( Latin mons Esquilinus , Italian Colle Esquilino ) is one of the seven classical hills of Rome . The Esquiline gave its name to the Roman Rione Esquilino , which after Trastevere has the most inhabitants of the districts of the Roman old town. On the hill is the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and further southeast the Villa Wolkonsky , the residence of the British ambassador.
geography
The Esquilin is an elevation measuring 65 m at its highest point, which stretches from the Roman main station Termini in the direction of the Colosseum . The hill consists of three individual elevations:
- Cispio - Mons Cespius (north)
- Fagutal (west)
- Oppio - Mons Oppius (south)
The Fagutal is often viewed as part of the Oppio. In the ancient description of the festival of Septimontium , however, a distinction is made between these two elevations.
story
During the Augustan period , the Esquiline was the center of poets and epic poets. Virgil , Horace and their supporters Gaius Maecenas lived there . In the imperial era, the upper part of the hill was also considered a preferred residential area, with the lower areas being part of the disreputable Subura district.
The eastern section of the republican city wall of Rome, the Servian Wall , in which there was a gate, the Porta Esquilina , also ran over the Esquiline .
On one of the elevations of the Esquiline, the Oppio, was the residence of the Roman emperor Nero , the Domus Aurea . On another, the Cispio, are the patriarchal basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore and Santa Prassede . San Pietro in Vincoli was built on the Fagu valley.
The Carinae is the part of ancient Rome that encompasses the foothills of the Esquiline hill towards the Palatine Hill .
Archaeological finds
In 1506 the Laocoon group was found again on the Esquiline. In 1781 Carlo Fea identified the marble copy of Diskobolus found on the Esquiline as one of the bronze original by Myron . A statue of an unclothed female figure found in the imperial gardens on the Esquiline in 1874 is known as " Venus of the Esquiline ".
In 1793, workers found the Esquiline treasure at the foot of the hill , which is now in the British Museum .
literature
- Filippo Coarelli : Rome. An archaeological guide. Verlag von Zabern, Mainz 2000, ISBN 3-8053-2685-8 , pp. 214-240.
Web links
- Il rione Esquilino (Ital.)
- Presentation of the treasure on the website of the British Museum
Coordinates: 41 ° 54 ' N , 12 ° 30' E