The Gardens of Maecenas, or ''Horti Maecenatis'', constituted the luxurious ancient Roman estate of

Gaius Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. During the rei ...

, an Augustan-era imperial advisor and patron of the arts. The property was among the first in Italy to emulate the style of

Persian gardens The tradition and style of garden design represented by Persian gardens or Iranian gardens ( fa, باغ ایرانی), an example of the paradise garden, has influenced the design of gardens from Andalusia to India and beyond. The gardens of the ...

. The walled villa, buildings, and gardens were located on the

Esquiline Hill The Esquiline Hill (; la, Collis Esquilinus; it, Esquilino ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Its southernmost cusp is the ''Oppius'' (Oppian Hill). Etymology The origin of the name ''Esquiline'' is still under much debate. One view is ...

, atop the

agger Agger may refer to: * Agger (surname) * Agger (ancient Rome), a type of ancient Roman rampart or embankment * Agger (river), a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Agger nasi, an anatomical feature of the nose * Agger Rockshelter, in Wisconsi ...

of the

Servian Wall The Servian Wall ( la, Murus Servii Tullii; it, Mura Serviane) was an ancient Roman defensive barrier constructed around the city of Rome in the early 4th century BC. The wall was built of volcanic tuff and was up to in height in places, wide ...

and its adjoining

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

, as well as near the

Horti Lamiani The Horti Lamiani (Lamian Gardens) was a luxurious complex of an ancient Roman villa with large gardens and outdoor rooms located on the Esquiline Hill in Rome, in the area around the present Piazza Vittorio Emanuele. They were created by the con ...

History

Lucullus Lucius Licinius Lucullus (; 118–57/56 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, closely connected with Lucius Cornelius Sulla. In culmination of over 20 years of almost continuous military and government service, he conquered the eastern kingd ...

started the fashion of building luxurious garden-palaces in the 1st century BC with the construction of his

gardens A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

on the

Pincian Hill The Pincian Hill (; it, Pincio ; la, Mons Pincius) is a hill in the northeast quadrant of the historical centre of Rome. The hill lies to the north of the Quirinal, overlooking the Campus Martius. It was outside the original boundaries of th ...

, soon followed by

Sallust Gaius Sallustius Crispus, usually anglicised as Sallust (; 86 – ), was a Roman historian and politician from an Italian plebeian family. Probably born at Amiternum in the country of the Sabines, Sallust became during the 50s BC a partisa ...

between the Quirinal, Viminal and

Campus Martius The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which cove ...

, which were the largest and richest in the Roman world. In the 3rd century AD the total number of gardens (''horti'') occupied about a tenth of Rome and formed a green belt around the centre. The ''horti'' were a place of pleasure, almost a small palace, and offered the rich owner and his court the possibility of living in isolation, away from the hectic life of the city but close to it. A fundamental feature of the ''horti'' was the large quantity of water necessary for the rich vegetation and for the functioning of the numerous fountains and

nymphaea ''Nymphaea'' () is a genus of hardy and tender aquatic plants in the family Nymphaeaceae. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution. Many species are cultivated as ornamental plants, and many cultivars have been bred. Some taxa occur as introduc ...

. The area was particularly suitable for these residences as eight of the eleven large aqueducts of the city reached the Esquiline.

Site

In the Roman Republican era the eastern

Esquiline The Esquiline Hill (; la, Collis Esquilinus; it, Esquilino ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Its southernmost cusp is the ''Oppius'' (Oppian Hill). Etymology The origin of the name ''Esquiline'' is still under much debate. One view is ...

outside of the

Servian Walls The Servian Wall ( la, Murus Servii Tullii; it, Mura Serviane) was an ancient Roman defensive barrier constructed around the city of Rome in the early 4th century BC. The wall was built of volcanic tuff and was up to in height in places, wide ...

was a cemetery with open pits (''puticuli'') for the poor. The Esquiline gate was where criminals were executed and their bodies left for scavengers. Around 40 BC reform of public cemeteries was promoted by Maecenas, the friend and later minister of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...

, and begun under his reign. In 38 BC, the

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

banned open-air corpse cremation within a 2 mile radius of the city. The original phase of the garden was constructed by the conclusion of the 30s BC (the use of ''

opus reticulatum ''Opus reticulatum'' (also known as reticulate work) is a facing used for concrete walls in Roman architecture from about the first century BCE to the early first century CE. Facings are a type of polygonal masonry used to apply a smooth finish to ...

'' brickwork is the basis for this dating). This was achieved by burying the whole district alongside the

Agger of Servius Tullius Agger may refer to: * Agger (surname) * Agger (ancient Rome), a type of ancient Roman rampart or embankment * Agger (river), a river in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany * Agger nasi, an anatomical feature of the nose * Agger Rockshelter, in Wisconsi ...

under 6–8 m of earth and creating luxurious gardens on top. The results were celebrated in a song by Maecenas' friend,

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

: *''NuncLicet Esquiliis habitare salubribus, atque Aggere in aprico spatiari, quo modo tristes Albis informem spectabant ossibus agrum.'' *Today one may live on a wholesome Esquiline, and stroll on the sunny ramparts where of late one sadly looked out on ground ghastly with bleaching bones Many of the burial pits of the ancient necropolis, attested to predate the gardens, have been found near the north-west corner of the Piazza Vittorio Emanuele, that is, outside the

porta Esquilina The Porta Esquilina (or Esquiline Gate) was a gate in the Servian Wall,Platner, S.B. and Ashby, T. ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome''. London: Humphrey Milford Oxford University, Press. 1929 of which the Arch of Gallienus is extant tod ...

and the Servian Wall and north of the via Tiburtina vetus. Probably the horti extended north from that gate and road on both sides of the

House and gardens

preferred to stay in the gardens of his friend whenever he became ill. When Maecenas died in 8 BC, he left the gardens to Augustus in his will, and they became imperial property.

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

lived there after his return to Rome in 2 AD.

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68), was the fifth Roman emperor and final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 un ...

connected them with the

Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; la, Collis Palatium or Mons Palatinus; it, Palatino ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city and has been called "the first nucleus of the Roman Empire." ...

via his Domus Transitoria, and was alleged to view the burning of that palatial house from the ''turris Maecenatiana'' This ''turris'' might be the ''molem propinquam nubibus arduis'' ("the pile, among the clouds") mentioned by Horace. Towards the end of the

Julio-Claudian dynasty , native_name_lang=Latin, coat of arms=Great_Cameo_of_France-removebg.png, image_size=260px, caption= The Great Cameo of France depicting emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius and Nero, type= Ancient Roman dynasty, country= Roman Empire, estates=* ...

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger (; 65 AD), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, dramatist, and, in one work, satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca was born ...

contended with the legacy of Maecenas through the lens of decadence-despising

Stoic philosophy Stoicism is a school of Hellenistic philosophy founded by Zeno of Citium in Athens in the early 3rd century BCE. It is a philosophy of personal virtue ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world, asserting that t ...

. He said the gardens' immersive blend of art, nature, and water allowed Maecenas to "divert his worried mind with the sound of rippling waters." This negative reception of the gardens as a weak hermit's retreat is rooted in an indictment of the overarching effeminacy, illiberalism, and intoxication of the class and time which they symbolised. Sensory manipulation and distraction, on the scale of the garden or Maecenas' patronage within, spelled a loss of control incompatible with proper patriarchal goals. The imperial tutor and consul

Marcus Cornelius Fronto Marcus Cornelius Fronto (c. 100late 160s AD), best known as Fronto, was a Roman grammarian, rhetorician, and advocate. Of Berber origin, he was born at Cirta (modern-day Constantine, Algeria) in Numidia. He was suffect consul for the '' nundini ...

purchased the gardens by the mid-2nd century AD. In addition to his surviving correspondence with

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good E ...

, which boasts of a special connection to Horace forged by owning the land of Maecenas, nine lead water-pipes inscribed with his name were found adjacent to the so-called auditorium. A ''domus Frontoniana'', mentioned during the twelfth century in the topographical guide to Rome by

Magister Gregorius ''De mirabilibus urbis Romae'', preserved in a single manuscript in Cambridge, England, is a medieval guide in Latin to the splendours of Rome, which was written in the mid-twelfth century by a certain Magister Gregorius ("Master Gregory") of ...

, also may refer to these gardens.

Archaeology

Rodolfo Lanciani reported on the discoveries made during the feverish post- unification development of Rome into an urban capital city and of the new Esquiline district in 1874. Structures of the residential sector of the villa were found, including the so-called Auditorium (as shown on Lanciani's Map 23) and further excavations took place from 1876 to 1880. However, some adjoining remains were minimally described and quickly destroyed. The archaeology must have been extremely complex as excavations reported several levels of buildings. Those located higher up in brickwork were perhaps pertinent to a thermal baths of the third century. In the deeper layers were walls of ''opus reticulatum'' attributable to the era of Maecenas. The buildings on the outside of the vaults of the oldest rooms reused sculptures presumably belonging to the decoration of the horti as building material. Here were found the beautiful statue of

Marsyas In Greek mythology, the satyr Marsyas (; grc-gre, Μαρσύας) is a central figure in two stories involving music: in one, he picked up the double oboe ('' aulos'') that had been abandoned by Athena and played it; in the other, he challenged ...

in Pavonazzo marble, the statue of the muse Erato, the statue of a dog from Egypt, a splendid statue of Demeter, etc. In addition, Lanciani pointed out " several torsos of fauns and Venus, a flower vase worked in the form of a puteal and decorated with ivy and flowers; a broken altar (...), the lower part of a group of a hero and a draped woman; seven herms of Indian Bacchus, philosophers, athletes ... ". Together with the sculptures there were also numerous mosaics, including those in opus vermiculatum mounted on tiles, to be used as central emblematic of precious floors. In 1914, another notable building nucleus, including both ''reticulatum'' structures and brick walls was found a few metres from the Auditorium of Maecenas at the intersection of via Merulana and via Mecenate during the reconstruction of the Politeama Brancaccio Theatre. A map of the finds illustrates a coherent archaeological situation probably attributable, at least in part, to the original layout of a sector of the horti.

Features

The Latin all-encompassing term for gardens, ''horti'', is an effective misnomer, as in antiquity it referred generally to luxury villas on the outskirts of Rome, so-named for especially prominent vegetation and urban removal. The rustic yet holistic complex seems to have featured libraries,

pavilions In architecture, ''pavilion'' has several meanings: * It may be a subsidiary building that is either positioned separately or as an attachment to a main building. Often it is associated with pleasure. In palaces and traditional mansions of Asia ...

, riding grounds, baths, and an

aviary An aviary is a large enclosure for confining birds, although bats may also be considered for display. Unlike birdcages, aviaries allow birds a larger living space where they can fly; hence, aviaries are also sometimes known as flight cages. Avi ...

. Each part of the gardens was visually and physically accessible by successive terraces and porticos. The

Aqua Marcia The Aqua Marcia ( it, Acqua Marcia) is one of the longest of the eleven aqueducts that supplied the city of Rome. The aqueduct was built between 144–140 BC, during the Roman Republic. The still-functioning Acqua Felice from 1586 runs on long ...

, an essential aqueduct for the city, delivered high-quality water directly past Maecenas's property on the Esquiline, making the grounds uniquely poised to be maintained as one of the first private, landmark Roman gardens. This was crucial to another purported logistical feat of the gardens; Maecenas is said to be the first Roman to build a hot water swimming pool. Maecenas's sponsored retinue of influential Latin poets recorded some direct observations of his Esquiline gardens.

Propertius Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium and died shortly after 15 BC. Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of '' Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the poets Gallu ...

mentions that Maecenas “preferred a shady oak and falling waters and a few reliable acres of fruitful soil." In his ode to Maecenas, his close associate

emphasizes the sweeping elevation of the garden estate over the expanse of Rome, ultimately symbolic of his friend's detached yet esteemed semi-retirement, spent closely advising

The so-called Auditorium of Maecenas

The Late Republican-era room preserved on the grounds of the ''horti'', termed the "auditorium of Maecenas" in modernity, was most likely a

triclinium A ''triclinium'' (plural: ''triclinia'') is a formal dining room in a Roman building. The word is adopted from the Greek ()—from (), "three", and (), a sort of couch or rather chaise longue. Each couch was sized to accommodate a diner who ...

, functioning as a private banqueting hall attached to residential quarters. The structure was built directly into the

, as the city had long outgrown the defensive fortifications, and on top of the ''agger''. Verse of

attests to the domestic architectural takeover of the Servian Wall in Esquiline garden estates, as when he writes of a "stroll on the sunny rampart." Auditorium mecenate 1

The long rectangular hall was bisected by a channel of water. The room terminated with seven monumentalized, marble-clad steps in a semicircular apse. Drill-holes, accommodative of pipes, indicate this to be the cascade fixture of a fountain. The inside of the room was doubly secluded, with an ancient ramp leading visitors to a subterranean level. The room's functions as both an

ekklesiasterion In Ancient Greece, the ''ekklesiasterion'' (ἐκκλησιαστήριον) was the meeting place of the popular assembly ('' ekklesia'') in a democratic Greek city-state (''polis'', plural ''poleis''). Venue In a few ''poleis'' the ''ekklesi ...

-like recitation hall and a sumptuously decorated triclinium were not mutually exclusive, but could have been subject to seasonal conversion. Couches would have been placed in the middle of the room, perhaps facing a performance on the transept end. Evidence as to the social and chronological context of the building includes an erotic

epigram An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, and sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word is derived from the Greek "inscription" from "to write on, to inscribe", and the literary device has been employed for over two mill ...

by the Greek poet

Callimachus Callimachus (; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works in a wide varie ...

, painted onto the interior wall, which entreats a male lover to forgive misbehavior caused by lust and wine. A visually prominent Hellenistic precedent reinforced the individualistic emotionalism and witty experimentation valued by Augustan neoteric and

elegiac The adjective ''elegiac'' has two possible meanings. First, it can refer to something of, relating to, or involving, an elegy or something that expresses similar mournfulness or sorrow. Second, it can refer more specifically to poetry composed in ...

writers, who would have frequented the weighty functions of Maecenas, a renowned cultivator of culture. In fact, a Latin adaptation of the same poem appears in the works of Propertius, who certainly spent significant time on the estate. Auditorium mecenate 2

The interior wall sports seventeen niches, five along the apse and six on either side, decorated with naturalistic frescos depicting landscapes and gardens. However, their correlation to the Pompeian Third Style of Roman painting makes this decoration a likely product of later renovations done by

. Painting motifs evocative of the Dionysian Mysteries, such as drunken processional scenes with

thyrsi A thyrsus /ˈθɜːrsəs/ or thyrsos /ˈθɜːrˌsɒs/ ( Ancient Greek: θύρσος) was a wand or staff of giant fennel (''Ferula communis'') covered with ivy vines and leaves, sometimes wound with taeniae and topped with a pine cone, art ...

and

maenads In Greek mythology, maenads (; grc, μαινάδες ) were the female followers of Dionysus and the most significant members of the Thiasus, the god's retinue. Their name literally translates as "raving ones". Maenads were known as Bassarids, ...

prominent, match the early imperial fascination with cult initiation rites. The wall enclosing the southeastern side is a post-excavation addition. In its ancient form, the room seems to have been theatrically opened to the city below. Panoramic exposure to both the

Alban Hills The Alban Hills ( it, Colli Albani) are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio. The high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak the centre of the caldera, but the hi ...

and the surrounding neighborhoods ensured that occupants could view all while themselves being seen.

Works of art

The numerous works of art found at the end of the 19th century testify to the collecting taste of Maecenas and the luxury lavished in the furnishings of this suburban residence, like other ''horti''. Several marble fountains, mirroring the unparalleled gardens around them, blur the line between the tamed cultivation and human imitation of nature. These likenesses included the horn-shaped

rhyton A rhyton (plural rhytons or, following the Greek plural, rhyta) is a roughly conical container from which fluids were intended to be drunk or to be poured in some ceremony such as libation, or merely at table. A rhyton is typically formed in t ...

signed by the Greek artist Pontios, the statue of

in pavonazzetto marble, and a dog statue in green marble (serpentine moschinato). Many of these statues were reduced to fragments and reused as building material within late-ancient walls, following a well-established custom in Rome - especially on the Esquiline Hill. The "Charioteer of the Esquiline" group, a work from the early imperial age created in the style of the 5th century BC, together with the statue of Marsyas, are examples of a successful recovery reassembled with fragments found in the same area. Eugenio La Rocca, L'auriga dell'Esquilino, Roma, L'Erma di Bretschneider, 1987.

Gallery

Rhyton di pontios, fontana neoattica da horti di mecenate 02.JPG, Rhyton by Pontios (Capitoline museum) File:Hygeia Musei Capitolini MC1099.jpg, Hygeia from horti Maecenas (Capitoline museum) File:Eros Thanatos Musei Capitolini MC1092.jpg, Eros Thanatos from horti Maecenas (Capitoline museum) File:Mosaic Orestes Iphigenia Musei Capitolini MC4948.jpg, Mosaic of Orestes and Iphigenia from horti Maecenas (Capitoline museum) File:Bull Apis Altemps Inv182.584 n2.jpg, Egyptian

granodiorite Granodiorite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock similar to granite, but containing more plagioclase feldspar than orthoclase feldspar. The term banatite is sometimes used informally for various rocks ranging from gr ...

statue of Apis found in the vicinity of the Gardens of Maecenas (

Palazzo Altemps The National Roman Museum (Italian: ''Museo Nazionale Romano'') is a museum, with several branches in separate buildings throughout the city of Rome, Italy. It shows exhibits from the pre- and early history of Rome, with a focus on archaeological ...

) File:Marsyas, copy from the early Roman imperial age of a Greek original of the 2nd century BC, Musei Capitolini (15423282464).jpg, Capitoline Marsyas tied

References

Sources

, ''Satires'' i.8.14 - "nunc licet Esquiliis habitare salubribus atque / aggere in aprico spatiari, quo modo tristes / albis informem spectabant ossibus agrum,/cum mihi non tantum furesque feraeque suetae/hunc vexare locum curae sunt atque labori/quantum carminibus quae versant atque venenis/humanos animos: has nullo perdere possum/nec prohibere modo, simul ac vaga luna decorum/protulit os, quin ossa legant herbasque nocentis." *Acro, Porphyrio, and Comm. Cruq. ad loc.
Topographical Dictionary

External links

{{Monuments of Rome

Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. During the r ...

Rome R. XVII Sallustiano Gaius Maecenas