Mons Aventinus - The Aventine Hill
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Caelianhill1

Model by André Caron, Maquettes Historiques


COMMUNITY PAGES PORTAL
Aventine | Caelian | Campus Martius | Capitoline | Esquiline
Forum | Palatine | Quirinal | Trans Tiberim | Viminal


Community Praefectus: Q. Valerius Poplicola


Welcome to the Caelian Hill[]

The Caelian Hill (Latin Collis Caelius, Italian Celio) is one of the famous Seven Hills of Rome. Under reign of Tullus Hostilius, the entire population of Alba Longa was forcibly resettled on the Caelian Hill. According to a tradition recounted by Titus Livy, the hill received its name from Caelius Vibenna, either because he established a settlement there or because his friend Servius Tullius wished to honor him after his death.

In Republican-era Rome the Caelian Hill was a fashionable residential district and the site of residences of the wealthy. Archeological work under the Baths of Caracalla have uncovered the remains of lavish villas complete with murals and mosaics. The Caelian is also the site of Basilica of Santi Giovanni e Paolo (Rome) and the ancient basilica of Santo Stefano Rotondo, known for its centralized, circular plan.

The Emperor Claudius had a special relationship with the Caeilian Hill. Not only was the great Temple to his divinity built at its crest, but he built the great aqueduct which traversed part of it and brought bountiful fresh water to Rome.

Atop the Caelian hill, directly across a narrow valley from the Palatine Hill, the neighborhood was focused on its great Temple of Claudius [dedicated to the deified Emperor Claudius) and the temple courts that surrounded it. The Caelian Hill was always a quiet, fashionable residential neighborhood.

The Caelian is the most south-easterly of the Seven Hills of Rome and lies south of the Esquiline. It had two high points, referred to as the Larger Caelian (Caelius maior) to the west, and the Smaller Caelian, (Caelius minor) to the north. The Romans believed that Tullius Hostilius enlarged the city by adding the Caelian hill.

The Caelian originally was named Querquetulanus Mons. The earlier name was thought to be a reference to the oak trees with which the hill was covered. (Historians continue to dispute whether this represents a bona fide tradition or whether it simply was a later invention to explain the Porta Querquetulana.) The name Caelian derives from Caelius Vibenna, an early Etruscan warlord and adventurer who reputedly came to Rome in the time of Tarquinius Priscus and settled with his followers on the hill which later bore his name.

The Caelian was crossed by the Servian Wall, which traditionally was attributed to King Servius Tullius, but actually was built in 378 BC. It was densely populated during the days of the Republic. However, after a devastating fire in 27 A.D., the Caelian was occupied by the houses and extensive gardens of the wealthy. The chief buildings on the hill included the temple of Divus Claudius. The temple was almost entirely destroyed by Nero to build the nymphaeum which was part of his Domus Aurea. However, the temple of Divus Claudius was restored by Vespasian. Nero also constructed a new food market on the Caelian Hill. The Caelian served as the headquarters and barracks for several of the military units stationed in Rome, including the peregrini and the Frumentarii, the vigiles and the equites singulares (the mounted bodyguard of the emperor).

A major feature of the Caeilian, of course, was the massive aqueduct built by the Emperor Claudius, drawing abundant clear water from the hills far outside Rome itself.




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Community Streets for Residents[]

01 - Via Nova
02 - Via Appia
03 - Via Latina
04 - Via Ardeatina
05 - Via Tusculana
06 - Vicus Sulpicius
07 - Clivus Martius
08 - Clivus Scauri
09 - Vicus Honoris et Virtutis
10 - Vicus Lorarius
11 - Vicus Statae Matris
12 - Vicus Vitrarius
13 - Vicus Pulverarius
14 - Vicus Fortunae Obsequentis
15 - Vicus Camenarum
16 - Vicus Capitis Africae
17 - Vicus Cyclopis
18 - Vicus Drusianus


Sites of Interest[]

  • Amphitheatrum Flavium ~ An historical records list of the Nova Roma Ludi events held in the Flavian Aphitheatre (Colosseum)
  • Ludus Magnus ~ Historical Archives for Nova Roma virtual Ludi Munera Gladiatoria participants.
  • Ludus Gallicus ~ Historical Archives for Nova Roma virtual Ludi Munera Gladiatoria participants.
  • Ludus Matutinus ~ Historical Archives for Nova Roma virtual Ludi Venationes animals.
  • Ludus Dacicus ~ Online Reference Library for the Ludi Munera Gladiatoria and Venationes.
  • Temple of Camœnæ ~ A sabine temple; It was in this temple that the censors kept the lists of citizens and magistrates deposited the inventory tables of the citizen’s fortune. Here, it is the Album Civium of Nova Roma.
  • Cohors V Vigilum ~ Barracks of the Vth cohort of the Security Guards. Here is the home of the Roman Army Reenacting e-Mail list, a place for Roman reenactors to openly share ideas, how-to's, and comradeship. This list is meant to help the new reenactor as well as the veteran and to make all of our impressions better.
  • Domus Valeriorum, the house of the Valerii, built originally by Publius Valerius Poplicola, the original consul with Brutus after the Tarquinii were overthrown.
  • Domus of L. Marius Maximus Perpetuus ~ who was a consul in 198. At the foot of the promontory of this Domus, was a crevice or a hole known as the Den of the Cyclops from which the name of Vicus Cyclopis comes.
  • Macellum Magnum ~ Great Nero’s Market
  • Querquetulanus ~ A park planted with oaks
  • Valley of Camœnæ ~ and the sacred wood with, in the middle, the source that gushed out of a grotto. The Camœnæ were prophetic nymphs belonging to the old italic religion. Some texts assimilate them to the Muses. Here, it is the home of the Sodalitas Musarum of Nova Roma.
  • Add an historic Roma site in this community or update an unfinished link above

Community Administration[]

Praefectus: Q. Valerius Poplicola

The Praefectus position is a community administrator, responsible for updating, maintaining and overseeing of this community. Have a question about the Caelian Hill, contact the following:

Contact: catullus -dot- poeta -at- gmail -dot- com


www.novaroma.org


COMMUNITY PAGES PORTAL
Aventine | Caelian | Campus Martius | Capitoline | Esquiline
Forum | Palatine | Quirinal | Trans Tiberim | Viminal


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