Circus Varianus was a Roman circus, possibly started during the reign of Caracalla, residing in the palatial villa complex known as the Sessorium, beside the

Amphitheatrum Castrense The Amphitheatrum Castrense is a Roman amphitheatre in Rome, next to the church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme.Coulston, J C (01/01/2000). ''Ancient Rome : the archaeology of the eternal city''. eBook Academic Collection (EBSCOhost): Oxford Univers ...

. This circus has been identified as the space in which Elagabalus raced horses under the family name of Varius, lending the site the name of "Circus Varianus." The remnants of the circus survive to the south of Porta Maggiore, next to the Aurelian Wall, near the church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme. The dimensions of the circus measure 565 x 125 meters, just slightly smaller than the Circus Maximus (600 x 150 m). According to records in the 16th century, an obelisk was found at the site, measuring 9.25 meters tall. It had originally been located at the temple dedicated to

Antinous Antinous, also called Antinoös, (; grc-gre, Ἀντίνοος; 27 November – before 30 October 130) was a Greek youth from Bithynia and a favourite and probable lover of the Roman emperor Hadrian. Following his premature death before his ...

Antinoöpolis Antinoöpolis (also Antinoopolis, Antinoë, Antinopolis; grc, Ἀντινόου πόλις; cop, ⲁⲛⲧⲓⲛⲱⲟⲩ ''Antinow''; ar, الشيخ عبادة, modern ''Sheikh 'Ibada'' or ''Sheik Abāda'') was a city founded at an older Egyp ...

and was moved in the reign of Elagabalus. After being discovered, the obelisk was moved to the Palazzo Barberini in 1633,Richardson, pg. 272 from there to the Vatican in 1769, and reached

Monte Pincio 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 ...

in 1822 where it resides currently.

References

{{coord, 41.8878, N, 12.5194, E, source:wikidata, display=title Ancient Roman circuses in Rome

See also

References