Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

The Aventine, Coelian, and Palatine hills are left to ruins, gardens, and monks. (..) Museo Urbano. In the wood in front of S. Gregorio, on the right going towards the Arch of Constantine, is the new City Museum, containing many objects of high historical interest arranged in chronological order. Not yet opened to the public.
S. Russel Forbes - Rambles in Rome: an archaeological and historical guide - 1877
The engraving shows in the foreground Vigna Cornovaglia, a farm which stood on the site of the modern archaeological park (you can see it in a 1748 map). In the early XIXth century it was bought by the French Administration of Rome to dump there the ground which was being excavated to unearth some of the ancient monuments, e.g. Basilica Ulpia.

(left) Former entrance to Orto Botanico al Celio; (right) inscription celebrating Pope Gregory XVI for having embellished the site

In 1835 Pope Gregory XVI turned the area into a public walk which was commonly known as Orto Botanico al Celio to distinguish it from the real botanic garden in Trastevere.
New mass archaeological excavations were started after Rome became the Capital of Italy in 1871. The most interesting findings were moved to Musei Capitolini and to the newly founded Museo Nazionale Romano, but their number was such that it was decided to utilize the area on the Coelian hill to build a new municipal archaeological museum and to place in its garden the exhibits which did not require being sheltered.

Overall view with the attic of Colosseo in the background

The life of the new museum was impacted by two negative events: a) in the 1920s the tramway Circle Line was opened across the garden of the museum dividing it into two sections; b) in 1939 the construction of the first underground line of Rome damaged the building which housed the most valuable findings. The museum was closed and some of its exhibits were moved to other locations, chiefly Centrale Montemartini. The garden was closed too; see some images of its eastern part before 2024.

Casina del Salvi and in the background the garden of the Congregation of the Passion of Jesus Christ on the podium of Tempio di Claudio

Pope Gregory XVI provided the Orto Botanico al Celio with a coffee-house which was designed by architect Gaspare Salvi, similar to what had been done on the Pincio promenade by architect Giacomo Valadier. During its recent restoration it was discovered that it stands on an ancient staircase which led to the temple at the top of the hill. The curators of the park plan to utilize the building for its original purpose.

Large inscriptions from Roman monuments and S. Bonaventura al Palatino in the background

The new set up strikes a balance between providing the public with a place where to have a walk or sit on a bench to enjoy the view, and displaying items of archaeological interest, without creating a crammed lapidary garden.
Entrance to the park is free, but the access to Museo della Forma Urbis, a nearby building housing the fragments of Forma Urbis Severiana, a marble plan of Ancient Rome, requires the payment of a ticket.

Broken columns: in the foreground one of porphyry

The exhibits are grouped into four categories, one of which consists of architectural materials, chiefly columns, which testifies to the variety of stones which were available to Roman architects.

Architectural fragments with an egg-and-dart decorative motif and with reliefs depicting spirals of flowers and leaves (see those of Ara Pacis Augustae)

This section includes a number of finely decorated marble lintels and ceilings, in particular two fragments of ceilings which were found near Colonna Antonina and a decorated inscription from Porta Flaminia. The winter sunshine emphasizes the accurate execution of the reliefs.

"Cippi" marking subsequent enlargements of the "pomerium" at the initiative of Emperors Claudius, Vespasian and Hadrian

Another group of exhibits is related to the monuments of Rome. Cippi were round or square stones which marked properties or indicated distances and streets, e.g. at Ostia. The pomerium was the legal and religious boundary of the City of Rome. No funerary monuments could be built inside the pomerium. Initially it coincided with the city walls, but when these lost their relevance and were no longer maintained, the pomerium was marked by cippi. One of them is still at its original location near Via di Monserrato, but many others were found elsewhere.
Similar cippi indicated the sites of repairs to the Aqua Iulia aqueduct near Porta Tiburtina.

Section with evidence of monuments of Rome - pedestals of statues which were found: (left) in 1915 when pulling down Palazzo Piombino in Piazza Colonna; (right) in 1928 near S. Anselmo

The curators of the park have selected two pedestals of statues which are rather peculiar because of the locations far from the Forum where they were found, e.g. that celebrating M. Pontius Archelaus, an otherwise unknown IIIrd century AD governor of Carthage near Colonna Antonina and that celebrating Iunius Quartus Palladius, Praefectus Urbis at the time of the Sack of Rome by the Visigoths, near S. Anselmo. The brother of Palladius thought it more prudent to place the statue in the garden of his own house, rather than in a public place.
This section houses also a lintel from the private baths of Claudianus on the Quirinale hill.

Three inscriptions making references to shrines to Silvanus, a Roman god of wood and fields (see an altar dedicated to him at Musei Capitolini)

A third group of exhibits is related to religion. In addition to the main historical temples there were many small shrines which were dedicated to minor gods who were worshipped since the days of the foundation of the City. Silvanus was one of them. Antinous, Hadrian's favourite was portrayed as Silvanus in a fine relief near Nettuno.
The most interesting exhibit of this group is a fragment of the Temple to Fortuna Muliebris along Via Latina which was mentioned by Livy.

Inscriptions indicating the size of the property associated with a tomb (see another one which was visible in the previous set up of the area)

The fourth and largest group of exhibits is related to funerary monuments. In particular the tombs of Q. Terentillus Rufus from near Porta Salaria and of S. Sulpicius Galba from near Horrea Galbana have been entirely reconstructed. Other minor exhibits highlight legal aspects of tombs by indicating the area which should be left free around them, e.g. feet (P) in the front (IN FRO.) and on the rear (IN AGR.). See the same inscriptions on a tomb along Via Collatina.

(above) Tympanum over the entrance to a tomb; it is decorated with the head of Medusa, which had the power of turning evil spirits away; (below) family funerary monuments similar to those along Via Appia Antica

Over the centuries Roman tombs were violated, their stones were reused in many ways and their reliefs were broken. In the new archaeological park a few parts of them seem to rejoice in the afternoon winter light, including the woman on the lid of her sarcophagus which is shown in the icon of this page. The curators have chosen to select a few examples of funerary items which are representative of the whole Roman tradition in this field.

Funerary inscriptions making reference to the trade of the dead or of their relatives: (left) M. Valerius Celer, a "bubularius" (from Via Portuense); (right) Claudia Pelagia, daughter of Moschus, a "lanipendius" (from near Villa Torlonia)

The tomb of Valerius Celer is interesting for its unusual design with a cavity for a funerary urn and for the frame surrounding the inscription which says: M. Valerius Celer, bublarius, qui plura maluit emereri quant consumere. Hic, fide et amicitia sanctissimus, sibi et suis fec(it). Bubularius means beef seller. Valerius Celer adds that he did not give away what he had earned with great labour (qui plura maluit emereri quant consumere).
Moschus was a freedman of Emperor Claudius, a very trusted one because he was the lanipendius, the employee of a patrician family who was in charge of weighing and distributing raw wool to the spinners and then checking the output of their work.
It is mainly from funerary inscriptions and reliefs that archaeologists and historians have learnt about the economy and society of Ancient Rome (see the tomb of Marcus Virgilius Eurysaces, a baker and reliefs at the Necropolis of Porto).

(above) Sarcophagus without inscription and with a roughly sketched relief portraying the dead: (below) panel which most likely decorated a tomb; this type of relief can be seen in mausoleums, e.g. that of Cecilia Metella, temples e.g. that of Vesta at Tivoli and altars

Curators chose to display this sarcophagus because some elements of its decoration are typical, i.e. the small portrait of the dead, the strigilato decoration pattern, after strigilis, a double curved tool which Roman athletes used to scrape oil or sweat from the skin and the two genii mourning the dead by holding their torches down (see a similar sarcophagus in Piazza del Popolo). The heirs did not care to hire a local sculptor to actually portray their relative out of the roughly sketched head made at the workshop (see other examples of "unsold" or "unfinished" sarcophagi in a page covering this topic). The park displays also the very fine Sarcophagus of Aemilia Onesime which was found near Ostia.
The ribbons decorating the ox skulls indicate that the animals were sacrificed, see a relief in Rome.

Pedestal of an anemoscope, a device designed to show the direction of the wind

The ancients reckoned only four winds corresponding to the four parts of the world; a very poor reason, as we now consider it. The next generation added eight others, but this was too refined and minute a division; the moderns have taken a middle course, and, out of this great number, have added four to the original set.
Pliny the Elder - The Natural History - Book II - Chapter 46
The most curious exhibit of the archaeological park was found in 1932 near Arco di San Lazzaro, not far from the river harbour of ancient Rome. It is decorated with sixteen faces, twelve of which are associated with the Latin name of a wind. The Tower of the Winds of Athens was based on eight winds and an anemoscope used by the sailors who manoeuvred the "velarium" of Colosseo had twelve sections. Because of the very rough depiction of the winds the anemoscope is dated Vth century AD. A rod carrying a windvane completed the device.

Other ancient stones in the still closed area around the former main building

The City of Rome plans to enlarge the archaeological park in order to include the area around the former main building. Many other interesting inscriptions and architectural decorations are waiting there to find a better display. The inscription Epigoni publ. Sodalium Flavialium Crescens et Abascantus collegae eius testifies to the existence of a college of officers in charge of the ceremonies at a mausoleum of the Flavian Emperors, the location of which is supposed to have been along Alta Semita / Strada Pia.
The image used as background for this page shows a side relief (a tree with birds) of a funerary altar.

Other Days of Peace pages:
A Sunny Day in Villa Borghese
At the Flea Market
At the Beach
Voicing Your Views ..... and feeling better
Christmas in Rome
Eating Outdoors
Celebrating the Foundation of Rome
A visit to Roseto di Roma
The procession of La Madonna de Noantri
Running the Marathon
Watching the Parade
Finding Solace at the Protestant Cemetery
Attending 2007 July Events
Rome's Sleepless Night
Attending Winter Ceremonies
Jogging at Valle delle Camene
Sailing on the River to see the Bridges of Roma
An October Outing to Marino
Attending a Funeral ...and enjoying it!
A Special Spring Weekend
Embassy-hunting in Parioli
Celebrating Eritrean Michaelmas in Rome
Visiting Rome at Dawn
Visiting Rome in the Moonlight
Visiting Rome on a Hop-on-Hop-off Bus
Visiting Multi-ethnic Rome
Baroque Fireworks
Playing in the Snow at the Janiculum
Watching the Pride Parade
Visiting the Movie Sets at Cinecittà
Reading Memoirs of Hadrian at Villa Adriana
Looking up at the Ceilings of the Vatican Palaces
Reading Seneca at the Baths
Spending the Last Roman Day at St. John Lateran's Cloister
Reading Ovid at St. Peter's
Walking the Dog at Valle della Caffarella
Keeping up with new discoveries at Museo Ninfeo