The Regio I Porta Capena is the first regio of imperial

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, under

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

's administrative reform. Regio I took its name from the

Porta Capena 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 Va ...

("Gate to

Capua Capua ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, located on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etruscan ''Capeva''. The ...

"), a gate of the

Servian Wall The Servian Wall (; ) is 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 at its base, long, and is believed to hav ...

s, through which the

Appian Way The Appian Way (Latin and Italian language, Italian: Via Appia) is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient Roman Republic, republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is in ...

entered the city prior to the construction of the

Aurelian Walls The Aurelian Walls () are a line of city walls built between 271 AD and 275 AD in Rome, Italy, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Aurelian. They superseded the earlier Servian Wall built during the 4th century BC. The walls enclosed all the ...

Geographic extent and important features

Bordered to the north by the

Via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: Via Appia) 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, recor ...

as it passed between the

Palatine Hill The Palatine Hill (; Classical Latin: ''Palatium''; Neo-Latin: ''Collis/Mons Palatinus''; ), which relative to the seven hills of Rome is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city; it has been called "the first nucleus of the ...

and the

Caelian Hill The Caelian Hill ( ; ; ) is one of the famous seven hills of Rome. Geography The Caelian Hill is a moderately long promontory about long, to wide, and tall in the park near the Temple of Claudius. The hill overlooks a plateau from wh ...

, Regio I stretched through the ancient

either to at least the boundary of the future Aurelian Walls, and possibly originally beyond the

Porta Appia The Porta San Sebastiano is the largest and one of the best-preserved gates passing through the Aurelian Walls in Rome (Italy). History Originally known as the Porta Appia, the gate sat astride the Appian Way, the ''regina viarum'' (queen of the ...

. Including areas that were traversed by the Via Appia and the

Via Latina The Via Latina (Latin for "Latin Road") was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers. Route It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus; it was important in the ea ...

, the boundary eventually turned back towards the ancient city until it returned back to the Caelian Hill. Prior to the construction of the Aurelian Walls, it is unclear how far along the Via Appia Regio I continued. A measurement taken at the end of the 4th century recorded that the perimeter of the region was 12,219

Roman feet The units of measurement of ancient Rome were generally consistent and well documented. Length The basic unit of Roman linear measurement was the ''pes'' (plural: ''pedes'') or Roman foot. Investigation of its relation to the English foot goes ...

(approximately 3.61 km). Drususbogen

Within this region lay a spring and a grove once sacred to the

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

Egeria, a divine consort and counsellor of

Numa Pompilius Numa Pompilius (; 753–672 BC; reigned 715–672 BC) was the Roman mythology, legendary second king of Rome, succeeding Romulus after a one-year interregnum. He was of Sabine origin, and many of Rome's most important religious and political ins ...

, the second king of Rome. A brook called the

Almo Almo may refer to: *Almo (god), a river deity from Roman mythology * Almo, the ancient name for the River Almone near Rome (whence the name of the above deity) *Almo, Idaho, a town in the United States *Almo, Kentucky, a town in the United States * ...

was nearby; this was where annually, on 27 March, the sacred black stone of the Magna Mater was brought from her temple on the

to where the brook crossed the Via Appia south of the Porta Capena, for the ceremony of ''lavatio'' (washing). Also present was the oldest temple to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

in Rome, " Templum Martis in Clivo". Built near the first

miliarium A miliarium () was a cylindrical, oval or parallelepiped column placed on the edge of Roman roads to mark the distances every thousand passus (double Roman steps), that is, every mile.A passus is an ancient Roman unit of length that is 2 gradū ...

of the Via Appia, it was where, in Republican times, the legions gathered prior to their allotted campaign, and where they returned to lay down their arms before re-entering the city. Along with the Temple of Mars, this region also had a temple dedicated to

Minerva Minerva (; ; ) is the Roman goddess of wisdom, justice, law, victory, and the sponsor of arts, trade, and strategy. She is also a goddess of warfare, though with a focus on strategic warfare, rather than the violence of gods such as Mars. Be ...

and one to the

Tempestas In ancient Roman religion, Tempestas (Latin '' tempestas'': "season, weather; bad weather; storm, tempest") is a goddess of storms or sudden weather. As with certain other nature and weather deities, the plural form Tempestates is common. Cicero, i ...

. Between the Servian and Aurelian Walls stood three

Triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...

es that spanned the via Appia: the Arch of

Drusus Drusus may refer to: * Gaius Livius Drusus (jurist), son of the Roman consul of 147 BC * Marcus Livius Drusus (consul) (155–108 BC), opponent of populist reformer Gaius Gracchus * Marcus Livius Drusus (reformer) (died 91 BC), whose assassinatio ...

, the Arch of

Lucius Verus Lucius Aurelius Verus (; 15 December 130 – 23 January 169) was Roman emperor from 161 until his death in 169, alongside his adoptive brother Marcus Aurelius. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. Verus' succession together with Ma ...

and

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

(for the Parthian triumph of 166 CE) and the Arch of

Trajan Trajan ( ; born Marcus Ulpius Traianus, 18 September 53) was a Roman emperor from AD 98 to 117, remembered as the second of the Five Good Emperors of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty. He was a philanthropic ruler and a successful soldier ...

. Neither of the first two arches are extant; however, the so-called

Arch of Drusus The Arch of Drusus is an ancient arch in Rome, Italy, close to the First Mile of the Appian Way and next to the Porta San Sebastiano. Long misidentified, it is most likely the remains of the Arch of Trajan. History The exact origins of the curre ...

that is still standing in the former Regio I is most likely the remains of the Arch of Trajan. Regio I also included the Baths of Commodus and the ''

Septizodium The Septizodium (also called ''Septizonium'', ''Septicodium'', or ''Septisolium'') was a building in ancient Rome. It was built in 203 AD by Emperor Septimius Severus. The origin of the name "Septizodium" is from ''Septisolium'', from the Latin ...

''. Finally, it also contained the ''Mutatorium Caesaris''. This was an area reserved for the Imperial family where their private transport could be housed and held for use whenever they returned to the capital from the Via Appia. At the turn of the 5th century, the Regio contained ten ''

aedicula In religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion, an ''aedicula'' (: ''aediculae'') is a small shrine, and in classical architecture refers to a Niche (architecture), niche covered by a pediment or entablature supported by a pair of columns an ...

e'' (shrines), 120 '' domūs'' (patrician houses), 26 ''

horrea A ''horreum'' (plural: ''horrea'') was a type of public warehouse used during the ancient Roman period. Although the Latin term is often used to refer to granaries. By the end of the imperial period, the city of Rome had nearly 300 ''horrea'' to s ...

'' (warehouses), 86 ''

balnea In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large imperial bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed in great numbers throughout ...

e'' (bath houses) and 87 ''loci'' (fountains). If the region extended beyond the Aurelian Wall, the region will also have included the

Circus of Maxentius The Circus of Maxentius (known until the 19th century as the Circus of Caracalla) 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 betwee ...

and the

Tomb of Caecilia Metella The Tomb of Caecilia Metella (Italian: ''Mausoleo di Cecilia Metella'') is a mausoleum located just outside Rome at the three mile marker of the Via Appia. It was built during the 1st century BC to honor Caecilia Metella, who was the daughter of ...

Subdivisions

At the turn of the 5th century, the Regio was divided into ten '' vici'' (districts) and 3,250 ''

insulae The Latin word (; : ) was used in Roman cities to mean either a city block in a city plan (i.e. a building area surrounded by four streets) or later a type of apartment building that occupied such a city block specifically in Rome and nearby ...

'' (blocks). It had two

curators A curator (from , meaning 'to take care') is a manager or overseer. When working with cultural organizations, a curator is typically a "collections curator" or an "exhibitions curator", and has multifaceted tasks dependent on the particular ins ...

and was served by 48

Roman magistrate The Roman magistrates () were elected officials in ancient Rome. During the period of the Roman Kingdom, the King of Rome was the principal executive magistrate.Abbott, 8 His power, in practice, was absolute. He was the chief priest, lawgive ...

s.''Notitia'', REGIO I PORTA CAPENA

Notes

References

* Platner, Samuel Ball, ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'', Oxford University Press (1929
(online version)
* Gregorovius, Ferdinand, ''History of the City of Rome in the Middle Ages'', Vol. 1, (1894)

''Curiosum - Notitia''. 4th-century descriptions of the regions of Rome and their main buildings

from the original on 8 June 2019. {{Authority control Regions of Augustan Rome Subdivisions of Rome Topography of the ancient city of Rome

Geographic extent and important features

Subdivisions

See also

Notes

References