ROME - PART II
rome-travel
PART II
Sites: "Seven Churches" of Rome (Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City [see Vatican City], Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Basilica of Saint Mary Major, Basilica of Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls, Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, Basilica of Saint Sebastian Outside the Walls), Other Churches (Basilica of Saint Clemente, Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains, Church of Jesus, Church of Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins, Chiesa Nuova, Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs, Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin ["Bocca della Verità" - Mouth of Truth], Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere), Catacombs (Catacombs of San Callisto, Catacombs of San Sebastiano), Appian Way, Baths of Caracalla, Ostia Antica.
"Seven Churches" of Rome
The Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome are seven churches in Rome, which were visited by the ancient pilgrims in one day in order to gain indulgences. The churches include the four patriarchal basilicas:
- Basilica of Saint John Lateran
- Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City (see Vatican City)
- Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
- Basilica of Saint Mary Major
They also include three minor basilicas:
- Basilica of Saint Lawrence Outisde the Walls
- Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme
- Basilica of Saint Sebastian Outisde the Walls
Basilica of Saint John Lateran
The Basilica of Saint John Latern is the cathedral church of Rome and the official ecclesiastical seat of the Bishop of Rome, who is the Pope. It is the oldest and ranks first (being the cathedral of Rome) among the four major basilicas of Rome, and holds the title of ecumenical mother church (mother church of the whole inhabited world) among Roman Catholics. As the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome, containing the papal throne (Cathedra Romana), it ranks above all other churches in Roman Catholic Church, even above St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican. The site on which the Basilica sits was occupied during the early Roman Empire by the palace of the gens Laterani. The Lateran Palace fell into the hands of the emperor when Constantine I married his second wife Fausta, sister of Maxentius. The Lateran Palace was eventually given to the Bishop of Rome by Constantine. The palace basilica was converted and extended, eventually becoming the cathedral of Rome, the seat of the popes as bishop of Rome. There were several attempts at reconstruction of the basilica before Pope Sixtus V's definitive project. Sixtus hired his favorite architect Domenico Fontana to oversee much of the project.
Further renovation of the interior ensued under the direction of Francesco Borromini, commissioned by Pope Innocent X. The vision of Pope Clement XII for reconstruction was an ambitious one: he launched a competition to design the new facade. Over 23 architects, mostly working in the current Baroque idiom competed. The putatively impartial jury was chaired by Sebastiano Conca, president of the Roman Academy of Saint Luke. The winner of the competition was Alessandro Galilei. The facade as it appears today was completed in 1735. Galilei's facade however removed all vestiges of traditional ancient basilica architecture, and imparted a neo-classical facade. The "Scala Sancta" (Holy Stairs), wooden steps that encase white marble steps, is, according to Roman Catholic tradition, the staircase leading once to the praetorium of Pilate at Jerusalem, hence sanctified by the footsteps of Jesus Christ during his Passion. The marble stairs are visible through openings in the wooden risers. Their translation from Jerusalem to the complex of palaces that became the ancient seat of popes in the IV century is credited to Saint Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine I. In 1589, Pope Sixtus V relocated the steps to their present location in front of the ancient Palatine Chapel (Sancta Sanctorum). Nearby the Basilica there is the Lateran Palace. From the IV century the Palace of the Lateran was the principal residence of the Popes, and continued so for about a thousand years.
Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
The "Basilica di San Paolo Fuori le Mura", known in english as the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, is one of four churches considered to be the great ancient basilica of Rome. The Roman Catholic Church counts among them St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Peter's. The basilica was founded by the Roman Emperor Constantine I over what was believed to be the burial place of Saint Paul, where it was said that, after the Apostle's execution, his followers erected a memorial, called a cella memoriae, over his grave. This first edifice was expanded under Valentinian I. In 386, Emperor Thedosius I began the erection of a much larger and more beautiful basilica; the work including the mosaics was not completed till the pontificate of Leo I. In the V century it was even larger than the Old St. Peter's Basilica. Under Gregory the Great (590-604) the basilica was again extensively modified: the pavement was raised, in order to place the altar directly over Saint Paul's tomb.
As it lay outside the Aurelian Walls, the basilica was damaged during the Saracen invasions in the IX century. In consequence of this Pope John VIII fortified the basilica, the nearby monastery, and the dwellings of the peasantry, forming the town of Joannispolis. It existed until 1348 when an earthquake totally destroyed it. On July 15th, 1823 a fire, started through the negligence of a workman who was repairing the lead of the roof, resulted in the almost total destruction of the basilica. Alone of all the churches of Rome, it had preserved its primitive character for 1435 years. The basilica was reopened in 1840, but it was reconsecrated only fifteen years later at the presence of Pope Pius IX. The basilica has maintained the original structure with one nave and four aisles. The tabernacle of the confession of Arnolfo di Cambio (1285) belong to the XIII century. South to the transept is the cloister, considered "one of the most beautiful of the Middle Ages".
Basilica of Saint Mary Major
The Basilica of Saint Mary Major (Santa Maria Maggiore) is another of the four major or four papal basilicas. Santa Maria Maggiore is the only Roman basilica that retained the core of its original structure, left intact despite several additional construction projects and damage from the earthquake of 1348. The name of the church reflects two ideas of greatness (major), that of a major (or papal) basilica and that of the largest (major) church in Rome dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. After the Avignon papacy formally ended and the papacy returned to Rome, the Basilica became a temporary Palace of the Popes due to the deteriorated state of the Lateran Palace. The papal residence was later moved to the Palace of the Vatican in what is now Vatican City. Pope Liberius commissioned the construction of the Liberian Basilica, around 360. According to the founding legend, which cannot be traced farther back than the XIII century, he wanted a shrine built at the site where an apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary manifested herself in identical dreams shared by a local patrician and his wife and by the pope. According to tradition, the outline of the church was physically laid out on the ground of the noble's property by Liberius himself under a miraculous but predicted snowfall that took place on the night August 4th-5th 352. The present building dates from the time of Pope Sixtus III (432-440) and contains many ancient mosaics from this period. Its form so exactly follows the conventions of an imperial basilica it has at times been taken for one. The Athenian marble columns supporting the nave are even older, and either come from the first basilica, or from another antique Roman building. Below the sanctuary of Santa Maria Maggiore is the Crypt of the Nativity or the Bethlehem Crypt, which is the burial place for prominent Catholics, popes and Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The decoration of the Sistine chapel of Santa Maria Maggiore, which should not be confused with the more famous Sistine chapel of the Vatican, was commissioned by the administration of Pope Sixtus V. The architect Domenico Fontana was called to design the chapel to house the presumptive relics o the Nativity crib. The original Nativity Oratory, with the first nativity scene built in the XIII century by Arnolfo di Cambio, is below the chapel.
Basilica of Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls
The Basilica of Saint Lawrence Outisde the Walls is the shrine tomb of the church's namesake, Saint Lawrence, one of the first seven deacons of Rome martyred in 258. Pope Pius IX, awaiting canonization into sainthood, is also buried at the basilica. Before the present-day basilica was constructed, the estate upon which it sits was once home to a small ortory built by the Emperor Constantine I. The emperor built it over the site on which it was believed that Saint Lawrence was executed. In the 580s, Pope Pelagius II commissioned the construction of a church over the site, in honor of the martyr. In the XIII century, Pope Honorius III commissioned the construction of another church in front of the older structure. It was adorned with frescoes depicting the lives of Saint Lawrence, and the first martyred deacon Saint Stephen, who is interred with Saint Lawrence in the confessio under the high altar. The two structures were united as part of a program of urban renewal. Excavations have revealed several other crypts of various people, buried below street level. In 1943, the church was bombed during World War II. Restoration lasted until 1948, allowing some XIX century accretions to be removed: however, the frescoes on the facade were lost.
Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme
According to tradition, the basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme was consecrated around 325 to house the Passion Relics brought to Rome from the Holy Land by St. Helena of Constantinople, mother of Constantine I. At that time, the basilica floor was covered with soil from Jerusalem, thus aquiring the title in Hierusalem. The church is built around a room in St. Helena's imperial palace, Palazzo Sessoriano, which she adapted to a chapel around the year 320. Some decennia later the chapel was turned into a true basilica, called Heleniana or Sessoriana. After falling into neglect, the church was restored by Pope Lucius II (1144-1145). In the occasion it assumed a Romanesque appearance, with three naves, a belfry and a porch. The church was also modified in the XVI century, but it assumed its current Baroque appearance under Benedict XIV (1740-1758). The famous relics, whose authenticity is disputed, are now housed in a Chapel (the "Chapel of the Holy Relics") built in 1930. They include: a part of the Elogium or Titulus Crucis and the panel which was hanged to the Christ's Cross; two thorns of his crown; an incomplete nail; three small wooden pieces of the True Cross itself; a large fragment of the Good Thief's cross and small pieces of the Scourging Pillar. In Santa Croce there are also a finger of Saint Thomas and fragments of the grotto of Bethlehem.
Basilica of Saint Sebastian Outside the Walls
Built originally in the IV century, the Basilica of Saint Sebastian Outside the Walls is dedicated to Saint Sebastian, a popular Roman martyr of the III century. It is also named "San Sebastiano ad Catacumbas" because ad catacumbas refers to the catacombs of St. Sebastian, on which the church was built, while "Fuori le Mura" refers to the fact that the church is built outside the Aurelian Walls, and is used to differentiate the basilica from the church of "San Sebastiano al Palatino". In 258, during the Valerian persecutions, the catacombs were temporarily used as place of sepulture of two other saints matyred in Rome, Peter and Paul, whose remains were later transferred to the two basilicas carrying their names. Sebastian's remains were moved here around 350. They were transferred to St. Peter's in 826, fearing a Saracen assault: the latter, in fact, materialized and the church was destroyed. The building was refounded under Pope Nicholas I (858-867), while the martyr's altar was reconsecrated by Honorius III, by request of the Cistercenses who had received the place. The current edifice is largely a XVII construction, commissioned by Cardinal Scipione Borghese to Flaminio Ponzio and, after the former's death, Giovanni Vasanzio. The Relics Chapel houses a stone carrying the alleged footprints of Jesus, one of the arrows which struck St. Sebastian and part of the column on which he was tied during the martyrdom. Noteworthy is the Albani Chapel, built in 1716 and designed by Maratta, Specchi, Filippo Barigioni and Carlo Fontana.
Other Churches
Among the hundreds of Churches that are in Rome, there are others that is worth to remember.
Basilica of Saint Clemente
The Basilica of Saint Clemente is a complex of buildings in Rome centred around a XII century Roman Catholic church dedicated to Pope Clement I. This ancient church was transformed over the centuries from a private home that was the site of clandestine Christian worship in the I century to a grand public basilica by the VI century, reflecting the emerging Catholic Church's growing legitimacy and power. The house was originally owned by Roman consul and martyr Titus Flavius Clemens, who was one of the first among the Roman senatorial class to convert to Christianity. He allowed his house to be used as a secret gathering place for fellow Christians, the religion being outlawed at the time. In the II century members of a Mithraic cult built a small temple dedicated to Mithras in an insula, or apartment complex, on the site. This temple, used for initiation rituals, lasted until about the III century. Excavations in the 1860s revealed the forgotten earlier basilica that underlies the medieval one. In the late IV or early V century, after Christianity became the state religion of Rome, the small church underwent expansion, acquiring the adjoining insula and other nearby buildings. Architects began work on the complex of rooms and courtyards, building a central nave over the early church site, and an apse over the former Mithraeum. The new church was dedicated to Pope Clement I. Apart from those in Santa Maria Antiqua, the largest collection of Early Medieval wall paintings are to be found in the lower basilica of Saint Clemente. Over the next several centuries, Saint Clemente became a beacon for church artists and sculptors, benefitting from Imperial largesse. Today, it is one of the most richly adorned churches in Rome.
Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains
The Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains (San Pietro in Vincoli) is known for being the home of Michelangelo's magnificent statue of Moses. Also known as the Basilica Eudoxiana, it was first built in 432-440 to house the relic of the chains that bound Saint Peter when he was imprisoned in Jerusalem. According to legend, when the Empress Eudoxia (wife of Emperor Valentininan III) gifted the chains to Pope Leo I, while he compared them to the chains of St. Peter's final imprisonment in the Mamertine Prison in Rome, the two chains miraculously fused together. The chains are kept in a reliquary under the main altar in the basilica. Michelangelo's Moses (completed 1515), while originally intended as part of a massive 47-statue, free-standing funeral monument for Pope Julius II, became the centerpiece of the Pope's funeral monument and tomb in this, his family's church (Della Rovere family). Moses is depicted with horns, as opposed to "the radiance of the Lord", due to the similarity in the Hebrew between the word for "beams of light" and "horns". This kind of iconographic symbolism was common in early sacred art, and in this case was easier for the sculptor (as sculpting concrete horns is easier than sculpting rays of light) and would have been understood by all who saw it as referring to the radiance of Moses' face; they would not have actually thought that he had horns.
Church of Jesus
The Church of Jesus is the mother church of the Society of Jesus, known as the Jesuits, an order of the Roman Catholic Church. Its facade recognized as "the first truly baroque facade" it was the model for innumerable Jesuit churches all over the world, especially in the Americas. The Jesuit Mother Church was built according to the new requirements formulated during the Council of Trent. There is no narthex in which to linger: the visitor is projected immediately into the body of the church, a single nave without aisles, so that the congregation is assembled and attention is focused on the high altar. In place of aisles there are a series of identical interconnecting chapels behind arched openings, to which entrance is controlled by decorative balustrades with gates. Transepts are reduced to stubs that emphasize the altars of their end walls. The most striking feature of the interior decoration is the ceiling fresco named "Triumph of the Name of Jesus" by Giovanni Battista Gaulli, that frescoed also the cupola. The imposing St. Ignatius Chapel is the church's masterpiec, designed by Andrea Pozzo houses the saint's tomb. The altar by Pozzo shows the Trinity, while four lapis lazuli-veneered columns enclose the colossal statue of the saint.
Church of Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins
"Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini", or Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins, is a church commissioned by Pope Urban VIII, whose brother, Antonio Barberini, was a Capuchin friar. It is located at Via Veneto, close to Piazza Barberini. The church was designed by Antonio Casoni and built between 1626 and 1631. It comprises a small nave and several side chapels. The church is most famous as an ossuary, known as the Capuchin Crypt, in which is displayed the bones of over 4.000 Capuchin friars, collected between the years of 1528 and 1870. The bones are fashioned into decorative displays in the Baroque and Rococo style. The popularity of the crypt as a tourist attraction once rivalled the Catacombs. The Sedlec ossuary (1870) in the Czech Republic is said to have been inspired from it.
Chiesa Nuova
Pope Gregory I built the first church on the site. By the XII century, it was dedicated to Santa Maria in Vallicella (Our Lady in the Little Valley). In the XVI century, St. Philip Neri, helped by cardinal Pierdonato Cesi and Pope Gregory XIII, had the church rebuilt. Initially the architect was Martino Longhi the Elder, but he was replaced later by Matteo da Castello. The nave was completed in 1577, and the church was consecrated in 1599. The floor-plan models the post-Counter-Reformation design of the Gesù; cross-like with one main nave leading toward the altar. The interior of the Chiesa Nuova was filled by patrons mainly during 1620-1690 and accounts, by all measures, as a collection of masterworks by the prime artists of those decades in Rome. It is renown for its Barocci altarpieces, Cortona frescoed ceiling, and Rubens' slate and copper altarpiece. One painting's that did not stay in its intended chapel is worth recording; Caravaggio's altarpiece of the Entombment of Christ was commissioned by Alessandro Vittrice, nephew of one of Saint Philip's friends, and depicted the entombment in a radically naturalistic format, foreign to the grand manner found in the remaining altarpieces. The original is now a treasure of the Vatican Pinacoteca. The walls of the nave and transept, as well as the presbitery ceiling, have canvases of Episodes of the Old and New Testament are by Lazzaro Baldi, Giuseppe Ghezzi, Daniele Seiter, Giuseppe Passeri and Domenico Parodi. The ceiling frescoes in the nave and cupola, Triumph of the Cross (1647-51), were painted by Pietro da Cortona, while his designs for stucco decoration (1662-65) were completed by Cosimo Fancelli and Ferrata. Cortona also frescoed the prophets in the spandrels of the dome (1657-60).
Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs
Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (St. Mary of the Angels and the Martyrs) is a basilica built inside the Baths of Diocletian. The basilica is dedicated to the Christian martyrs, known and unknown. It was also a pesonal monument of Pope Pius IV, whose tombs is in the apsidal tribune that culminates the series of spaces. The Baths of Diocletian dominated the Quirinal Hill with their ruined mass and had successfully resisted Christianization. Michelangelo Buonarroti worked from 1563 to 1566 to adapt a section of the remaining structure of the baths to enclose a church. Some later construction directed by Luigi Vanvitelli in 1749 only superficially distracts from the grand and harmonious Michelangelesque volumes. At Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri Michelangelo archieved and unexampled sequence of shaped architectural spaces, with few precedents or followers. There is no true facade: the simple entrance is set within one of the coved apses of a main space of the baths. The plan is developed from a Greek cross, with a transept so dominant, with its cubical chapels at each end, that the effect is of a transverse nave. At the beginning of the XVIII century Pope Clement XI commissioned the astronomer, mathematician, archaeologist, historian and philosopher Francesco Bianchini to build a meridian line, a sort of sundial, within the basilica; it was completed in 1702. The object was threefold: the pope wanted to check the accuracy of the Gregorian reformation of the calendar, to produce a tool to exactly predict Easter, and, not least, to give Rome a meridian line as important as the one Giovanni Domenico Cassini had recently built in Bologna's cathedral, San Petronio. In addition to the line mark the sun, Bianchini also added holes in the ceiling to mark the passage of stars. Inside the dark interior, Polaris, Arcturus and Sirius are visible through these holes, even in bright midday. The meridian is still operational today.
Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin
The Church of Santa Maria in Cosmedin was built in the VI century over the remains of the Templum Herculis Pompeiani in the Forum Boarium and of the Statio annonae, one of the food distribution centers of ancient Rome. Since it was located near many Byzantine structures, in VII century this church was called "de Schola Graeca", and a close street is still called "della Greca". Greek monks escaping iconoclastic persecutions decorated the church around 782, when Pope Adrian I promoted its reconstruction: the church was built with three naves and a portico. Because of its beauty, the church received the adjective "cosmedin" (from Greek kosmidion), beautiful. After being acquired by Benedictines and a period of decay, in 1718 the church was brought up to a Baroque style. The Baroque additions, however, were removed in the restoration of 1894-1899 together with the coat-of-arms of Pope Clement XI. The church draws many visitors because of the "Bocca della Verità" (Mouth of Truth), an ancient sculpture thought to be a drain covering, located in its portico; yet is in fact primarily worth visiting for its exceptionally well preserved early medieval choir enclosure and its very fine Cosmatesque pavement. The "Bocca della Verità" is a renowned image, carved from marble, of a man-like face. The sculpture is thought to be part of an ancient Roman fountain, or perhaps a manhole cover, portraying one of several possible pagan gods. The most famous characteristic of the Mouth, however, is its role as a lie detector. Starting from the Middle Ages, it was believed that if one told a lie with one's hand in the mouth of the sculpture, it would be bitten off.
Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere
The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere is one of the oldest churches in Rome, perhaps the first in which mass was openly celebrated. This is the queen of the trasteverine churches. A Christian house-church was founded here about 220 by Pope Saint Callixtus I on the site of the Taberna meritoria, an asylum for retired soldiers. The area was given over to Christian use by the Emperor Severus when he settled a dispute between the Christians and tavern-keepers. In 340 Pope Julius I rebuilt the titulus Callixti on a larger scale, and it became the titulus Iulii. In 1140 it was re-erected under Innocent II as a thanksgiving offering for the submission of the anti-pope, Celestine II. Inside the church are a number of late XIII-century mosaics by Pietro Cavallini on the subject of the Life of the Virgin (1291) centering on a "Coronation of the Virgin" in the apse. Domenichino's octagonal ceiling painting, Assumption of the Virgin (1617) fits in the coffered ceiling setting he designed.
Catacombs
The Catacombs of Rome are ancient catacombs, or underground burial places under or near Rome, of which there are at least forty, some discovered only in recent decades. Though most famous for Christian burials, they include pagan and Jewish burials, either in separate catacombs or mixed together. They began in the II century, as much as a response to overcrowding and shortage of land as a need for persecuted Christians to bury their dead secrely, although that was a factor. The soft volcanic tufo rock under Rome is highly suitable for tunnelling, as it is softer when first exposed to air, hardening afterwards.
Catacombs of San Callisto
Sited along the Appian Way, these catacombs were built around the end of the II century, with some private Christian hypogea and a funeral area directly dependent on the Roman church. It takes its name from the deacon Saint Callixtus, proposed by pope Zephyrinus in the administration of the same cemetery; on his ascession as pope, he enlarged the complex, that quite soon became the official one for the Roman Church. The arcades, where more than fifty martyrs and sixteen pontiffs are buried, form part of a complex graveyard that occupies fifteen hectares and is almost twenty km long. This catacomb's most ancient parts are the crypt of Lucina, the region of the Popes and the region of Saint Cecilia, where some of the most sacred memories of the place are preserved.
Catacombs of San Sebastiano
One of the smallest Christian cemeteries, this was always been one of the most accessible catacombs and is thus one of the least preserved ( of the four original floors, the first is almost completely gone).
Appian Way
The Appian Way ("Via Appia") was the most important ancient Roman road. It is also called the "Queen of roads". It connected Rome to Brindisi. The Roman army, for its success, depend on the use of highways to prepare for battle and to afterward refresh and re-equip. The specific Via Appia was used as a main route for military supplies for many years from the middle of the IV century BC. Bases allowed the Romans to keep large numbers in the field waiting for the opportunity to strike. In the late Republic the Romans were masters of road construction, but this art was not yet in their repertory until their territory expanded. The few roads outside the early city were Etruscan and they were not used to connect bases or supply troops. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the road fell out of use; Pope Pius VI ordered its restoration. A new Appian Way was built in parallel with the old one in 1784 as far as the Alban Hills region. The new is the "Appia Nuova" as opposed to the old section, now a tourist attraction, the "Via Appia Antica". Wide parts of the original road have been preserved, and some are now used by cars. Along the part of the road closest to Rome, one can see many tombs and catacombs of Roman and early Christian origin.
Baths of Caracalla
The Baths of Caracalla were Roman public baths, built between 212 and 216 AD, during the reign of the Emperor Caracalla. The extensive ruins of the baths have become a popular tourist attraction. The Caracalla bath complex of buildings was more a leisure centre than just a series of baths. The "baths" were the second to have a public library within the complex. Like other public libraries in Rome, there were two separate and equal sized rooms or buildings; one for Greek language texts and one for Latin language texts. The baths consisted of a central frigidarium (cold room) under high groin vaults, a double pool tepidarium (medium), and a caldarium (hot room), as well as two palaestras (gyms where wrestling and boxing were practiced). The north end of the bath building contained a natatio or swimming pool. The natatio was roofless with bronze mirrors mounted overhead to direct sunlight into the pool area. The libraries were located in exedrae on the east and west sides of the bath complex. The entire north wall of the complex was devoted to shops. The reservoirs on the south wall of the complex were fed with water from the Marcian Aqueduct. The building was heated by a hypocaust, a system of burning coal and wood underneath the ground to heat water provided by a dedicated aqueduct. It was in use up to the XIX century.
Ostia Antica
Ostia Antica was the harbour of ancient Rome and perhaps its first colonia. Located at the mouth of the Tiber River, Ostia was said to have founded by Ancus Marcius, the fourth king of Rome, in the VII century BC. However the most ancient archaeological remains so far discovered are no older than the IV century BC. Although Ostia was probably founded for the sole purpose of military defense, since hostile armies could eventually reach Rome by water through the mouth of the Tiber River, in time the port became a very important commercial harbour. Ostia was a large town, about three times larger than Pompeii. Many of the goods that Rome received from its colonies and provinces passed through Ostia, including the essential grain supply to the city of Rome. In 87 BC, the town was razed by Gaius Marius. In 68 BC, the town was again sacked, this time by pirates. During the sacking, the port was set on fire, the consular war fleet was destroyed, and two prominent senators were kidnapped. The town was then re-built, and provided with protective walls by the statesman and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero. The town was further developed during the I century AD under the influence of Tiberius, who ordered the building of the town's first Forum. The town was also soon enriched by the construction of a new harbour on the northern mouth of the Tiber. The new harbour was excavated from the ground at the orders of the emperor Claudius. This harbour became silted up and needed to be supplemented later by a harbour built by Trajan finished in the year 113 AD. This took business way from Ostia itself (further down river) and began its commercial decline. In the Middle Ages, bricks from buildings in Ostia were used for several other occasions. The Leaning Tower of Pisa (see Pisa) was entirely built of material originally belonging to Ostia. It has been estimated that two thirds of the ancient town have currently been found.
It can seem strange, but this is only a summary of that Rome can offer... we say that these are the sites that you can not miss during your stay in the Eternal City. In fact, in 1980 the historic centre of Rome is declared UNESCO World Heritage Site. The justifications for the inscription are:
- Criterion (i): It represents a masterpiece of human creative genius;
- Criterion (ii): It exhibits an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design;
- Criterion (iii): It bears a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared;
- Criterion (iv): It is an outstanding example of a type of buildings, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) signiicant stage(s) in human history;
- Criterion (vi): It is directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance.
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