Rome in the Footsteps of an XVIIIth Century Traveller

Links to this page can be found in Book 2, Map B3, Day 1, View C9 and Rione Campitelli.

The page covers:
The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
Today's view
Colonna di Foca and Plutei di Traiano
Arco di Settimio Severo
Templi di Saturno e di Vespasiano
Miliarum Aureum and Umbilicus Urbis
Basilica Aemilia and Basilica Julia
Campidoglio
Ancient Rome

The Plate (No. 31)

This 1752 etching by Giuseppe Vasi shows the western part of Campo Vaccino whereas its central and eastern parts are shown in other etchings. Campo Vaccino (Cow Field) was the site of a weekly cattle market for many centuries (vacca = cow). In the XVIIIth century the level of the ground was higher than in antiquity and it covered most of the Roman ruins; the few surviving monuments were partly buried.
The view is taken from the green dot in the 1748 map here below. In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Arco di Settimio Severo; 2) Colonne del Tempio della Concordia (Tempio di Saturno); 3) Columns buried in the slope of the hill (Tempio di Vespasiano); 4) Colonna sola (Colonna di Foca); 5) Mura (walls) del Campidoglio (Capitoline Hill).

Museo di Roma a Palazzo Braschi: view of the western part of Campo Vaccino in ca 1765. In the right lower corner a fountain which is shown in another page

Vasi was very skilful in choosing the point from which he drew his view of Campo Vaccino. It allowed him to depict the ancient monuments, which instead are difficult to see in the painting shown above. He knew that many of his prospective customers were interested in them, rather than in landscape views of the site. In 1765 he covered this part of Campo Vaccino in a larger etching which shows some of the facilities of the cattle market. You may wish to see some paintings by Alberto Pisa showing the Roman Forum in 1905.

Today

The view in July 2009

In 1803 Pope Pius VII relocated the cattle market to an area near Porta S. Paolo and promoted the first archaeological excavations of the Forum; they targeted the three columns buried in the slope of the hill (Tempio di Vespasiano). The area was thoroughly excavated after 1870 with the objective of reaching the level of the ground at the time of Emperor Augustus; this approach led to uncovering the foundations of some Roman monuments built in later periods e.g. Colonna di Foca, the column standing at the centre of the image above and Arco di Settimio Severo.

The view in February 2016. It is more similar to that by Vasi. The building to the right is Curia Julia

The question is most of all poignant in the Forum, which I let wait a full fortnight before moving against it in the warm sun of an amiable February morning. On my first visit to Rome in 1867 I could hardly wait for day to dawn after my arrival before rushing to the Cow Field, as it was then called, and seeing the wide-horned cattle chewing the cud among the broken monuments now so carefully cherished and, as it were, sedulously cultivated. It is doubtful whether all that has since been done, and which could not but have been done, by the eager science as much involuntarily as voluntarily applied to the task, has resulted in a more potent suggestion of what the Forum was in the republican or imperial day than what that simple, old, unassuming Cow Field afforded.
Read more of William Dean Howells' account of his visit to Campo Vaccino in 1908 and his views about the pros and cons of the excavations in Roman Holidays and Others.

View of other monuments in the western side of the Forum from a former terrace of Orti Farnesiani on the Palatine Hill (some of which are covered in the historical section): 1) Basilica Julia; 2) Honorary Columns; 3) Lacus Curtius; 4) Lapis Niger; 5) Rostra; 6) site of Tempio della Concordia

We viewed the celebrated Forum. I experienced sublime and melancholy emotions as I thought of all the great affairs which had taken place there, and saw the place now all in ruins, with the wretched huts of carpenters and other artisans occupying the site of that rostrum from which Cicero had flung forth his stunning eloquence.
From James Boswell's letters on the Grand Tour related to his visit to Rome.

Colonna di Foca and Plutei di Traiano

(left) Colonna di Foca (Gr. Phocas); (centre) reassembled fragments of the dedicatory inscription; (right) the column and in the background SS. Luca e Martina

In the Forum, every foot of ground has been the field of antiquarian controversy. Every ruin has changed its name two or three times. (..) In all cases, indeed, accurate knowledge is not a gain. There is a solitary column in the Forum, which Byron calls 'the nameless column with a buried base', the history and origin of which were long unknown. Recent excavations have shown it to have been erected by the exarch Smaragdus to the Emperor Phocas, - the venal offering of a servile courtier to one of the most unmitigated monsters that ever stained the pages of history. Has not the column lost something of its charm? Before, there was a beauty and a mystery around it, - there was room for conjecture and food for fancy, - it was a voice that sounded from a dim and distant past, and therefore all the more impressive. But now the ideal light is vanished, and the column loses half its grace, since it speaks to us of the wickedness of tyrants and the weakness of slaves.
George Stillman Hillard - Six Months in Italy in 1847-1848
The exact purpose of the lonely column mentioned by Vasi was unknown at the time; it was thought to be the only remaining one of a series which supported a bridge between the Palatine and Capitoline hills. The excavations led to discovering fragments of an inscription at its base; they revealed that the column supported a bronze statue of Byzantine Emperor Foca and that it was erected in 608.
The column was taken from another building and most likely also the (lost) bronze statue was not original. Foca was an usurper and was known for being particularly cruel, even for the custom of his time; he murdered Maurice, the legitimate emperor, and his five sons; he eventually paid a price for this crime because, after being dethroned in 610, he was skinned and then burned alive.
To understand why in Rome he was so popular one must bear in mind that, because the Patriarch of Constantinople challenged the legitimacy of his power, in 607 Foca issued an edict saying that the Bishopric of Rome was the first of all sees. He then transferred the property of the Pantheon to Pope Boniface IV.
The column is the last monument erected in the Roman Forum.

Illustration from "Rodolfo Lanciani - The ruins and excavations of ancient Rome - 1897"

The Sculptured Plutei. - Between the Column of Phocas and the Street of Janus, one of the most interesting monuments was brought to light in September, 1872. It consists of two screens or plutei of white marble, with bas-reliefs on either side, surmounted with a richly carved cornice. Each screen, composed of several pieces of marble (a few missing), stands on a foundation of travertine, and a plinth of marble, which is a modern and doubtful addition. The exact state in which the bas-reliefs were found in September, 1872, is shown in the following cut (Fig. 95). Lanciani

Curia Julia: Relief depicting a bull about to be sacrificed (similar to that on Trajan's Arch at Benevento)

The inside panels represent the three animals sacrificed in the great lustral ceremony of the suovetaurilia - the sow, the ram, and the bull - all adorned with ribbons, and all moving in the direction of the Basilica Julia. The outer reliefs represent historical scenes, with a view of the Forum itself on the background. Their meaning has given rise to much controversy. It seems almost certain that the scene facing the Capitol alludes to the provision made by Trajan for the education and maintenance of children of poor or deceased citizens ("pueri et puellae alimentarii"). Lanciani

Curia Julia: Relief depicting the Emperor (in the background Basilica Julia and at the far right "Ficus Ruminali", a fig-tree which was considered to represent that which had sheltered with its shade the infant twins sucking the she wolf)

The Emperor is seated on a suggestum addressing a female figure, a personification of Italy, who carries an infant on the left arm, while another child probably stood on her right. On the opposite side of the same picture the Emperor is represented addressing the crowd from the Rostra. The second bas-relief, facing the south, represents the burning of the registers in which the sums due to the Fiscus by negligent tax-payers were recorded. The importance, however, of these panels rests in the view of the background, which represents the scene that was in reality before the spectator, the Forum and its surroundings. (..) The statue of Marsyas and the Ficus Ruminali which appear in both panels, symbolize the Forum and the Comitium. Opinions differ very much as to what purpose - beyond a commemorative object - these two screens served. (..) It is almost certain, however, that the plutei are not in their original place; so that all speculation about their scope is useless. Lanciani

Arco di Settimio Severo

(left) Arco di Settimio Severo seen from Orti Farnesiani; (right) view at close range (see a detail in the historical section)

The arch was erected by the Senate in 203 AD to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Septimius Severus' rule and his victories in wars against the Parthians.
The arch was built across Via Sacra, the main street of the Forum. The level of the ground at that time was higher than it had been at the time of Augustus and therefore there is a short slope between the arch and the rest of the archaeological area.

Dedicatory inscription

In 198 Septimius Severus appointed his elder son Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, better known as Caracalla, as co-ruler and at the same time he gave the title of Caesar to Geta, his younger son and a boy of nine. The first two lines of the long inscription list all the titles and positions of Septimius Severus, the third line lists those of Caracalla and the fourth (short) line made some reference to Geta. It was replaced by the words optimis fortissimisque principibus (excellent and very strong princes) which referred to Septimius Severus and Caracalla only. This occurred because Caracalla, after his father's death in 211, ordered the killing of Geta and the deletion of all references to him (not only in Rome, as one can see at Cendere Koprusu, a bridge in eastern Turkey and at Cuicul and Thamugadi in Algeria).

Details: (left) Mars on the keystone of the arch; (centre) a personification of Summer; (right) a river god

The reliefs of the arch are greatly damaged, in particular those showing events of the Parthian wars, including the conquests of Edessa (Sanliurfa) and Ctesiphon, the enemy's capital. Other reliefs are in pretty good condition, either because they were buried in the ground or because they were not affected by the modifications which turned the arch into a medieval small fortress (there are four rooms inside the arch and a turret was built on its top), into the church of SS. Sergio e Bacco al Foro Romano and after it was pulled down in the XVIth century into a storehouse of the cattle market.

Reliefs portraying prisoners (see those on Arco di Costantino)

It is interesting to note that the reliefs of Colonna Trajana set a pattern for depicting a prisoner of war which was followed in this arch; although the column illustrated Trajan's Dacian Wars, whereas this arch celebrated wars against the Parthians, the prisoners made by Septimius Severus were portrayed in Dacian costumes. At least in their reliefs and statues, the ancient Romans treated their conquered enemies in a dignified and compassionate manner.

Details of the reliefs depicting a triumphal procession. A similar strip already decorated Arco di Tito and Trajan's Arch at Benevento

Both sides of the arch are decorated with a very low strip of reliefs depicting a triumphal procession and scenes of surrender by the enemies. Unlike the reliefs of Colonna Traiana the subjects are almost entirely detached from the background.
Travellers of the past (and maybe also those of today) were not impressed by the decoration of the arch, but by its sheer size.
(In my last night in Rome in April 1788) I walked down by the steps at the back of the Capitol. There I was suddenly confronted by the dark triumphal arch of Septimius Severus, which cast a still darker shadow. In the solitude of the Via Sacra the well-known objects seemed alien and ghost-like.
J. W. Goethe - Italian Journey - translation by W. H. Auden and E. Mayer - Collins 1962

(left) The Emperor delivering a speech; (right) other details of the large panels

The decoration was completed by four large panels depicting episodes of the Parthian wars. They are very worn out. You may wish to compare this monument to arches built by Septimius Severus at Leptis Magna, his hometown and Thamugadi in Algeria and to the earlier arch at Orange. In 303 columns were erected to celebrate the Tetrarchy near the arch; only the base of one of them was found.

Templi di Saturno e di Vespasiano

Tempio di Saturno (left) and Tempio di Vespasiano (right); between them Clivus Capitolinus, the ancient street which led to the top of the hill (on its right side Portico degli Dei Consenti); the podium of Tempio della Concordia is partly visible in the lower right corner

We cannot trust much to the objects of the Roman Forum. It will have been seen that when Middleton was at Rome in 1725 the eight columns under the Capitol with the inscription "Senatus Populusque Romanus incendio consumptum restituit" were usually supposed those of the Ciceronian Temple of Concord. In fact they had gone by that name in the fifteenth century, when seen by Poggio Bracciolini, who witnessed the destruction of the cell and part of the portico. (..) The late excavations have not cleared the doubts which obscure these superb remains.
John Cam Hobhouse - Dissertations on the Ruins of Rome - 1818
The temple which Vasi thought was dedicated to Concordia (i.e. harmony, social peace) is now known as Tempio di Saturno. The current building is a restoration of a very old Republican temple which was rebuilt in 42 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus and damaged by a fire in 283 AD. The different size of the columns shows that the restoration was made by using materials coming from other ruined monuments.

The temples seen from a terrace on the Capitoline Hill; in the background on the left Torre delle Milizie and S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami which stands above the first prison of Rome

The temple dedicated to Emperor Vespasian was built by his son Domitian in 86 AD. Its three remaining columns and the cornice show great craftsmanship.
Tempio della Concordia was mentioned by many ancient writers and in particular Cicero delivered there one of his speeches against Catilina. It was built in the IVth century BC, perhaps by Marcus Furius Camillus to celebrate the social peace between patricians and plebeians. It was restored and decorated at the time of Emperor Augustus.

Vicus Iugarius, the street which led to Foro Boario, the ancient cattle market near the river bank and the rear side of Tempio di Saturno

The Saturn celebrated in this temple is not the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Chronus, Zeus' father, but an Italian god-king who presided over a mythical golden age; the Saturnalia were one of the main festivities of the Roman calendar; they took place around the winter solstice: slaves were allowed to treat their masters as their equals, gifts were exchanged, candles were lighted and banquets were arranged. Saturnalia are thought to have influenced some Christmas traditions. You may wish to see the Temple to Saturn at Thugga, one of the many towns of today's Tunisia where the god was worshipped. It is thought that the thick walls of the podium of Tempio di Saturno housed Aerarius, the place where the public treasure was kept. A (lost) arch to Emperor Tiberius stood in Vicus Iugarius near Tempio di Saturno.

(above-left) Musei Capitolini: cast of the decoration of Tempio di Vespasiano; (above-right) frieze of Tempio della Concordia; (below) detail of Tempio di Saturno

Miliarum Aureum and Umbilicus Urbis

(left) Site of Miliarum Aureum; (right) Umbilicus Urbis

Miliarium Aureum (the golden milestone). - A column of gilt bronze, on the surface of which were noted the distances from the gates of Rome to the postal stations on each of the main roads radiating from the metropolis. It was erected by Augustus in 29 B.C., as a record of the "mensuratio totius orbis" on which he and Agrippa had for many years been engaged. Its position was discovered in 1849-50, together with the remains of its exquisite marble base. (..) The Umbilicus Romae, the round basement of which still exists at the other end of the platform, near the Arch of Severus, belongs to a later period, probably to the age of Diocletian. Lanciani
The two monuments stood opposite one another between Tempio di Vespasiano and Arco di Settimio Severo. They both had the same purpose i.e. to indicate the very centre of Rome. Milion, an arch having the same purpose as Miliarum Aureum was erected at Nova Roma (Constantinople) when it became the capital of the Roman Empire. Umbilicus Urbis (Rome's Navel) was a small circular building which resembled the omphalos which marked the centre of the world at Delphi. It might have been built on the site of Mundus, a well dug by Romulus to establish a passage towards the Underworld.

Basilica Aemilia and Basilica Julia

Site and broken columns of Basilica Aemilia (more on the construction of the basilica in the historical section); in the background reconstructed columns of Tempio della Pace

The Romans did not go to the Forum to see the arches and the temples which celebrated the emperors. They went there because of the basilicas, large public buildings where business, legal and political matters were discussed and where one could learn what was going on in the city. Basilicas were usually surrounded by a portico and by arcades with shops and taverns.

Basilica Aemilia: (left) Museo del Foro: fragments of a Ist century BC frieze depicting Sabine soldiers throwing their shields at Tarpea, two fighting youths and a shepherd (you may wish to see another relief depicting the Rape of the Sabines); (right-above)) decorative relief which is also shown in the image used as background for this page; (right-below) Museo del Foro: another decorative relief

You may wish to see the basilicas at Pompeii, Ephesus (the latter was turned into a church) and Leptis Magna.

Basilica Julia and a view of the central and eastern parts of the Forum

Basilica Julia was named after Julius Caesar who began its construction in 54 BC on the site of a previous basilica. It was completed by Augustus who then rebuilt it after a fire in 12 BC. The building had five naves and it became a model for the construction of the first large Christian basilicas and in particular for S. Pietro and S. Giovanni in Laterano.

(above) Basilica Julia: holes for a popular betting game (see similar carvings at Foro di Cesare, Thugga in Tunisia and Philippi in Greece and other gaming-tables on the Palatine and at Thamugadi in Algeria); (below) other examples near Basilica Julia (left) and Arco di Tito (right)

The final discovery of Basilica Julia, begun in 1848, was completed in 1872. The pavement of the aisles, of white marble, is covered with "tabulae lusoriae", gaming-tables of every description. Lanciani
All the travertine used in building Palazzo Giraud-Torlonia, was chiefly taken from the Basilica Julia. On the pavement may be observed many "tabulae lusoriae", or circular dice-tables (black and white) incised in the marble.
Augustus J. C. Hare - Walks in Rome - 1913 Edition

Basilica Julia: (left) a pillar of the portico which surrounded the building; (right) view of the western part of the basilica with walls of buildings which housed taverns. In the background Ospedale della Consolazione and S. Maria della Consolazione

Campidoglio

(left) Palazzo Senatorio on the Capitoline Hill seen from Orti Farnesiani. The grey wall with three openings was part of "Tabularium". In the foreground (left to right) Portico degli Dei Consenti, Tempio di Saturno, Tempio di Vespasiano and Colonna di Foca; in the background the rear side of Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele II; (right) tower of Palazzo Senatorio

The view taken from Orti Farnesiani shows that Palazzo Senatorio stands on top of Tabularium, the building which housed the tabulae, the official Roman records of laws, treaties, appointments, etc.
The bell tower was built during the pontificate of Pope Gregory XIII and it replaced a medieval one. It was designed by Martino Longhi il Vecchio and it had on top a statue of Rome holding a large cross (actually it was an ancient statue portraying Diana). After 1870 this statue was replaced by another statue representing Rome, but without the cross; this was done to show the new lay function attributed to the building (it houses the Town Hall of Rome).

(left/centre) Tower of Pope Nicholas V; (right) tower of Pope Boniface IX

In the XIIth century Palazzo Senatorio became the house of Comune di Roma, the city-state system which at the same time was being adopted by many other Italian towns. The government was entrusted with a small parliament, the members of which were elected on a borough or guild basis. The presence of the Pope limited the authority of the municipal institutions, however in the XIVth century, when the Popes set their residence in Avignon, Rome was ruled as an independent Comune.
In 1398 fights among different parties led municipal authorities to request the protection of Pope Boniface IX who built a tower to strengthen the defence of the palace. At the same time most of the other Italian Comuni passed into the control of a family (Medici in Florence, Visconti in Milano, etc.), so what happened to Comune di Roma was part of a general decline of this institution.
In 1453 Pope Nicholas V built a tower on the north-eastern corner of the building. The small balcony on the side facing the Forum belongs to the office of the Mayor of Rome. The Mayor uses it to show the monuments of Rome to his/her distinguished guests (see Mayor Virginia Raggi and Pope Francis).

(left) Tower of Pope Martin V; (centre) former main entrance to the palace with the inscription XISTUS QUARTUS PONT(ifex) MAX(imus) URBIS RESTAURATOR and the coats of arms of Pope Sixtus IV and of Pope Innocent VIII; (right) fragments of ancient reliefs placed on the wall of the tower in 1655; they form a monument to Publius Cornelius Scipio

The main access to the hill was from the Forum. In the XVIth century a ramp was built on its western side and Michelangelo designed a large square and a new grand entrance to Palazzo Senatorio which however is used only in exceptional cases. The more modest entrance built by Pope Sixtus IV that is shown above is the ordinary access to the building.

(left) Fragment of Tempio di Vediovis inside the Tabularium; (right) Archaeological Museum of Viterbo: small bronze statue of Vediovis which was found in 1955 near the town (Ist century AD)

There is also a Temple at Rome between the Citadel and the Capitolium. (..) The statue of the god Vediovis, which is in the temple of which I spoke above, holds arrows, which, as everyone knows, are devised to inflict harms.
Aulus Gellius - Attic Nights 5:12 - Loeb edition
A temple to Vediovis on the Capitoline hill was referred to also by other Roman writers, but only in 1939 excavations meant to create an underground passage between Palazzo Senatorio and Palazzo Nuovo led to the identification of the site of the temple described by Gellius; according to Livy it was built in ca 200 BC. In 1955 a small bronze statue which could have been easily associated to Apollo was instead deemed to portray Vediovis because of the arrows in the right hand. Vediovis was a god of the underworld who was worshipped by the early Romans and was eventually regarded as a young Jupiter.

Details of the Tabularium which currently houses the Epigraphic Collection of Musei Capitolini in addition to fragments of buildings and reliefs from the Forum

Relief depicting the sacrifice of Curtius which was found in the Forum

Ancient Rome

Illustration by G. Cottafavi in Rev. J. Donovan - Rome Ancient and Modern - 1842: Reconstruction of the Roman Forum: the image shows in yellow the surviving monuments: (left to right) three columns of Tempio di Castore e Polluce, the portico of Tempio di Saturno, three columns of Tempio di Vespasiano, Tabularium, Arco di Settimio Severo, Curia Julia and Tempio di Annia Faustina (S. Lorenzo in Miranda)

The first attempts to reconstruct the whole appearance of Ancient Rome from the remaining buildings, date back to the XVth century. In 1553 the painter and architect Pirro Ligorio published Libro delle Antichità di Roma (Book on the Roman Antiquities) dedicated to Cardinal Ippolito d'Este for whom he had designed Villa d'Este, which was followed by a double map showing both modern and ancient Rome.
An unsightly piece of ground, disfeatured with filth and neglect, with a few ruins scattered over it, and two formal rows of trees running through it, is all that we see with the eye of the body. A few peasants wrapped in their mud-colored cloaks, a donkey or two, a yoke of the fine gray oxen of Italy, or, perhaps, a solitary wild-eyed buffalo, are the only living forms in a scene once peopled with wisdom, valor, and eloquence. Nothing gives a stronger impression of the shattering blows which have fallen upon the Eternal City than the present condition of the Forum. Mr. Cockerell, an English architect, has published a print which he calls the Restoration of the Forum, a crowded assemblage of temples, porticoes, and public structures, of rich and showy architecture; but, on the spot, I never could recall the past, nor see the natural relation between his architectural creation and the forlorn waste around me. Hillard
The etching by Cottafavi was based on a watercolour by architect and archaeologist Charles Robert Cockerell (1788-1863) (it opens in another window).

Next plate in Book 2: Parte di Campo Vaccino verso l'Arco di Tito.
Next step in Day 1 itinerary: S. Pietro in Carcere.
Next step in your tour of Rione Campitelli: Tempio di Castore e Polluce.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:

Campo Vaccino Prese un tal nome questo spazioso e celebre luogo dal mercato di bovi, ed altri animali da macello, che in esso ora si sa, a similitudine, dell'antico foro boario. Fu però questo il più magnifico e splendido sito in tempo di Roma trionfante, e si ravvisa ancora dalle copiose, e maravigliose rovine, che vi sono rimaste: onde per osservare tutto, e con piacere, cominceremo dal mentovato palazzo Senatorio dalla parte però, che guarda il campo. Gli archi chiusi entro le mura del medesimo, si crede, che fossero dell'antico Tabolario, in cui si tenevano le tavole della Legge; le tre colonne quali sepolte nel clivo, con capitelli e cornici lavorate alla corintia furono del tempio di Giove Tonante fatto da Ottaviano Augusto per difesa del Campidoglio, e le otto colonne di granito egizio con capitelli e cornice dorica sono del tempio della Concordia. L'arco, che si vede mezzo sepolto, lavorato tutto di marmo salino con bassirilievi, e colonne striate fu eretto dal Senato e Popolo Romano a Settimio Severo, e la gran colonna isolata, che si vede poco discosto, con capitello corintio, niuno ha saputo trovare di quale edifizio fosse.