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 which the Esquiline, Viminal and Quirinal hills also arise. ''Caeliolus'' (also ''Caeliculus'' or ''Caelius Minor'') corresponds to a section of the hill, maybe the westernmost one, towards the valley that houses the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; , ultimately from Ancient Greek word "kolossos" meaning a large statue or giant) is an Ellipse, elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphi ...

, or the one now occupied by the Basilica dei Santi Quattro Coronati.

History

Archaic age

Under the reign of

Tullus Hostilius Tullus Hostilius (; r. 672–640 BC) was the legendary third king of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius. Unlike his predecessor, Tullus was known as a warlike king who, according to the Roman historian Livy, b ...

, the entire population of

Alba Longa Alba Longa (occasionally written Albalonga in Italian sources) was an ancient Latins (Italic tribe), Latin city in Central Italy in the vicinity of Lake Albano in the Alban Hills. The ancient Romans believed it to be the founder and head of the ...

was forcibly resettled on the Caelian Hill. According to a tradition recounted by

Varro Marcus Terentius Varro (116–27 BCE) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Virgil and Cicero). He is sometimes call ...

, the hill received its name from the Etruscan folk hero

Caelius Vibenna Caelius Vibenna ( Etruscan ''Caile Vipina'') was a noble Etruscan who lived (but see below) and was a brother of Aulus Vibenna ( Etruscan ''Avile Vipina''). Upon arriving at Rome, Vibenna aided Romulus in his wars against Titus Tatius. He and h ...

, because he either settled there or was honored posthumously by his friend

Servius Tullius Servius Tullius was the legendary sixth king of Rome, and the second of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned from 578 to 535 BC. Roman and Greek sources describe his servile origins and later marriage to a daughter of Lucius Tarquinius Pri ...

. Other authors have linked the name to the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''caelum'', "

heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

". Nevertheless, the former name of the hill probably was ''Querquetulanus mons'' due to the abundance of

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

s (Latin: ''Quercus''). Scholarship suggests that there existed the ethnic name ''Querquetulani'' as a designation of the previous inhabitants of Caelius, in pre-Etruscan times. ''Mons Caelius'' would have been included in the city perimeter under the reign of

Ancus Marcius Ancus Marcius () was the Roman mythology, legendary fourth king of Rome, who traditionally reigned 24 years. Upon the death of the previous king, Tullus Hostilius, the Roman Senate appointed an interrex, who in turn called a session of the Roman a ...

. The list of ''

Septimontium The Septimontium was a proto-Urban area, urban Roman festival, festival celebrated in ancient Rome by ''montani'', residents of the seven ''(sept-)'' communities associated with the hills or peaks of Rome ''(montes)'': Oppius, Palatine Hill, Palati ...

'' mentions it, and it was part of the 1st city quarter (''Suburana'') in the division made by Servius Tullius. In the later Augustan division, it became the Regio II Caelimontium. A trace of the archaic period remains in the memory of cults of woods and sources, such as that of 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 in the wood of Camenae, just outside Porta Capena.

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 ...

is said to have been particularly devoted to his sanctuary.

Republican age

In the Republican age (as well in Imperial Rome) the Caelian Hill was a fashionable residential district and the site of residences of the wealthy. A section of

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

's ''

Natural History Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

'', "Who Was the First to Encrust the Walls of Houses at Rome with Marble", attests to this. Mamurra, a soldier who served under

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

and profited tremendously from corruption, achieved this expensive feat on the Caelian Hill;

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

and

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; ), known as Catullus (), was a Latin neoteric poet of the late Roman Republic. His surviving works remain widely read due to their popularity as teaching tools and because of their personal or sexual themes. Life ...

mocked him accordingly. Most of the hill was outside the boundaries of the

pomerium The ''pomerium'' or ''pomoerium'' was a religious boundary around the city of Rome and cities controlled by Rome. In legal terms, Rome existed only within its ''pomerium''; everything beyond it was simply territory ('' ager'') belonging to Rome ...

, therefore temples to foreign divinities were allowed to be built, such as the Temple of Minerva Capta or the old Sacellum of Diana, outside the Servian Wall. Some sepulchres, such as the burial chamber in Via Celimontana, just before Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano, date back to this period.

Imperial age

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 ...

the Caelian Hill was one of the 14 divisions of the town, called ''Caelimontium''. The area between the Lateran and Porta Maggiore was included in the v Regio (''Esquiliae''), though physically it is part of the hill. On the higher point of the side facing the Colosseum, the Temple of Claudius was erected on a huge supporting platform. It was dedicated to the Emperor

Claudius Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; ; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54), or Claudius, was a Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusus and Ant ...

and begun by his widow Agrippina after his death and deification in 54 AD; it was not ultimately finished until the reign of

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

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

added a grand nymphaeum (tiered water fountain) to the eastern retaining wall of this platform, with semi-circular and rectangular niches. The water to supply this fountain was supplied by a special branch of the

Aqua Claudia Aqua Claudia ("the Claudius, Claudian water") was an ancient Roman aqueduct that, like the Aqua Anio Novus, was begun by Emperor Caligula (37–41 AD) in 38 AD and finished by Emperor Claudius (41–54 AD) in 52 AD. It was the eighth aqueduct to ...

, called the ''Arcus Neroniani'', which extended 2 kilometres west from the Claudia at Porta Maggiore and terminated on the southern side of the Caelian Hill in a structure called the ''Aqueductium''. The ''Aqueductium'' distributed the water via conduits to reservoirs behind the nymphaeum and to the site of the temple. The remains found in the area of the hill allow one to reconstruct a conspicuous housing phase in the second half of the 2nd century AD, while former buildings of the 1st century BC were probably destroyed by a fire in AD 27.

Jerome Jerome (; ; ; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was an early Christian presbyter, priest, Confessor of the Faith, confessor, theologian, translator, and historian; he is commonly known as Saint Jerome. He is best known ...

alleges that

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 ...

was born on the Caelian Hill in AD 121. In the 4th century rich ''domus'', surrounded by vast parks, stood on the hill, such as the ones belonging to the Symmachi (near which rose the Basilica hilariana) and Tetrici families, as well as the ''domus Faustae'', perhaps belonging to the wife of

Constantine I Constantine I (27 February 27222 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was a Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337 and the first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity. He played a Constantine the Great and Christianity, pivotal ro ...

. The property of the Annii, of Domitia Lucilla Minor (the mother of Marcus Aurelius) and of the Quintilii became part of the Domus Vectiliana of

Commodus Commodus (; ; 31 August 161 – 31 December 192) was Roman emperor from 177 to 192, first serving as nominal co-emperor under his father Marcus Aurelius and then ruling alone from 180. Commodus's sole reign is commonly thought to mark the end o ...

. In the interurban area of the hill several barracks were built for the troops stationed in the capital: in the site of the Basilica of Saint Stephen in the Round there were the '' Castra Peregrina'' (built under

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 ...

and restored several times in the following centuries), close to a large house of the Valerii (''domus Valerii''). Opposite, stood the headquarters of the V Cohort of the Vigiles (''stazio cohortis V vigilum''). In a land possession of the Laterani family

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; ; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through cursus honorum, the ...

built between 193 and 197 the ''castra nova equitum singularium'', a new barrack for the knights corps of the imperial guard, opposite the former barrack built under Trajan (''castra priora equitum singularium''). When Constantine I dissolved the corps, the new basilica dedicated to the Messiah, which later became the Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran, partially occupied the area of the Severian camp. The decisive battle in the 271 revolt of mint workers, led by Felicissimus, took place on the Caelian Hill. It is possible that this uprising was somehow connected with the senatorial and equestrian classes, as Aurelian executed several senators. The buildings of the Caelian hill were badly damaged during the sack of Alaric in 410; starting from this period, the hill was subject to increasing abandonment and ruralization.

Middle Ages

In the 6th century it was part of the II Roman ecclesiastical region due to its proximity to the Lateran basilica, so much so that the toponym of "Laterano" was often used for the entire hill. The erection of the ''Patriarchium'', which probably dates back to the 6th Century, gave rise to the creation of various '' tituli'' (the oldest places of Christian worship, often within private houses) and '' xenodochia'' (centers for the assistance and reception of pilgrims and sick). New churches continued to be built, initially to supersede the former ''tituli'', later independently, such as the Basilica of Saints John and Paul, the Basilica of the Four Crowned Martyrs, the Basilica of St. Mary in Domnica, the Basilica of St. Stephen in the Round, the church of San Giovanni a Porta Latina, the church of San Gregorio al Celio, the church of San Tommaso in Formis, the church of San Sisto Vecchio Monasteries, often surrounded by estates and gardens, were also founded on the hill, as well as some towers of noble families, mainly in the 10th and 11th centuries. A new destruction was suffered with the sack of 1084. From the 12th century, it was part of the ''Regio Montium'', which even extended to the

Quirinal Hill The Quirinal Hill (; ; ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Palace; by metonymy "the Quirinal" has c ...

Later history

Charles Lock Eastlake - The Celian Hill from the Palatine - 56

Today the Caelian Hill is included in the Rione of the same name and, continuing its vocation for assistance, hosts the Policlinico Militare del Celio, built on a project by Salvatore Bianchi and Filippo Laccetti. George Santayana lived in a room at the Convent of English Blue Sisters on the Caelian Hill from 1912 until his death.

Monuments

* Temple of Claudius * Basilica dei Santi Quattro Coronati * Clivus Scauri * Library of Pope Agapetus I * Basilica dei Santi Giovanni e Paolo * Sant'Andrea al Celio * Church of San Gregorio al Celio * Basilica di Santa Maria in Domnica * Arch of Dolabella * Villa Celimontana * Obelisk of villa Celimontana * Church of San Tommaso in Formis * Porta Metronia * Porta Latina * Church of San Giovanni a Porta Latina * Oratory of San Giovanni in Oleo *

Tomb of the Scipios The Tomb of the Scipios (), also called the , was the common tomb of the Patrician (ancient Rome), patrician Cornelii Scipiones, Scipio family during the Roman Republic for interments between the early 3rd century BC and the early 1st century AD. ...

* Basilica of San Sisto Vecchio * Basilica di Santo Stefano Rotondo al Monte Celio

References

Bibliography

* Filippo Coarelli, ''Guida archeologica di Roma'', Arnoldo Mondadori Editore, Verona 1984. * ''Caelius I Santa Maria in Domnica San Tommaso in Formis e il clivus Scauri'', edited by A. Englen, Erma di Bretschneider, Rome 2003 * Livy, Book One

External links

Samuel Ball Platner, ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'':
Caelian Hill {{coord, 41, 53, 06, N, 12, 29, 48, E, region:IT-RO_type:mountain, display=title Seven hills of Rome Septimontium Alba Longa Rome R. XIX Celio