The Regio XII Piscina Publica is the twelfth 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 XII took its name from the '' Piscina Publica'', a swimming pool that disappeared during the middle imperial period.

Geographic extent and important features

Regio XII was named after the principal feature of this area during the reign of Augustus, the ''Piscina Publica'', a public reservoir and swimming pool, built around the 3rd century BCE. In extent, this region was bordered by the ''Vicus Piscinae Publicae'' to the north, the

Via Ostiensis The Via Ostiensis () was an important road in ancient Rome. It runs west from the city of Rome to its important sea port of Ostia Antica, from which it took its name. The road began near the Forum Boarium, ran between the Aventine Hill and t ...

to the west, 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 ...

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 ...

to the east, and 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 They superseded the earlier Servian Wall built during the 4th century BC.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 ...

to the south. Its principal gates through the walls were 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 ...

and the Porta Ardeatina. A measurement taken at the end of the 4th century recorded that the perimeter of the region was 12,000

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 3.5 km), making it one of the smaller of the Augustan regions. The ''Piscina'' itself sat in the low-lying area between the Via Appia, 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 ...

, and the northeast slope of the

Aventine Hill The Aventine Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the southernmost of Rome's seven hills. I ...

. If it was still present, it was eventually destroyed to make way for the monumental

Baths of Caracalla The Baths of Caracalla () in Rome, Italy, were the city's second largest Ancient Rome, Roman public baths, or ''thermae'', after the Baths of Diocletian. The baths were likely built between AD 212 (or 211) and 216/217, during the reigns of empero ...

in the 3rd century CE, whose massive ruins are still visible. In addition, the region hosted the Temple of Bona Dea and contained the house of the

Roman consul The consuls were the highest elected public officials of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC). Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum''an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspire ...

Lucius Fabius Cilo Lucius Fabius Cilo, full name Lucius Fabius Cilo Septiminus Catinius Acilianus Lepidus Fulcinianus, was a Roman senator, who was a confidant of Septimius Severus. He held a number of appointments that have been dated to the reigns of Commodus and S ...

, which was eventually turned into the church of

Santa Balbina Santa Balbina is a Roman Catholic basilica church in a quiet area on the side of the Aventine Hill, in Rome. It is next to the Baths of Caracalla. History This had been the site of the large home of Lucius Fabius Cilo, a wealthy Roman of the ...

. Its principal street was the ''Via Nova'', which ran parallel to the Via Appia, and took people from the Circus Maximus to the Baths of Caracalla. In the 180s, a bank and exchange for

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

operated in this region. The region also contained the station of the fourth cohort of the ''

Vigiles ''Vigiles'' or more properly the ''Vigiles Urbani'' ("watchmen of the Rome, City") or ''Cohortes Vigilum'' ("Cohort (military unit), cohorts of the watchmen") were the firefighters and police of ancient Rome. History The ''triumviri, triumviri ...

''. At the turn of the 5th century, the Regio contained 17''

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), 113 '' domūs'' (patrician houses), 27 ''

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), 63 ''

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 81 ''loci'' (fountains).

Subdivisions

At the turn of the 5th century, the Regio was divided into 17 '' vici'' (districts) and 2,487 ''

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 XII PISCINA PVBLICA

Notes

{{reflist

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. Regions of Augustan Rome Subdivisions of Rome Topography of the ancient city of Rome