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All images © by Roberto Piperno, owner of the domain. Write to romapip@quipo.it. Text edited by Rosamie Moore.
Page revised in October 2009.

DON'T LET ME DOWN!

Piazza di Macel de' Corvi (Book 2) (Day 3) (Rione Monti)

In this page:
 The plate by Giuseppe Vasi
 Today's view
 Sepolcro di Caio Publicio Bibulo

The Plate (No. 36 - ii)

Piazza di Macel de' Corvi

Vasi included the slight widening of a street in the Book dedicated to the squares of Rome; maybe he was puzzled by the name of the site and he wanted to show his erudition by reporting some of the explanations for it.
Macel de' Corvi literally means Raven slaughterhouse; according to a source quoted by Vasi during the siege of Rome laid by the Gauls in 390 BC, at this location, a raven (Lat. Corvus) helped a Roman warrior in a fight with a Gaul; in memory of his unexpected ally, the warrior added to his name that of Corvinus and he wanted to be portrayed in a statue with a raven on his helm. The reference to the slaughterhouse was most likely due to the meat which was sold in the shops of this neighbourhood.
Macel de' Corvi was located at the junction between the street which linked Piazza Venezia with the top of Campidoglio and that which linked Piazza d'Aracoeli with Piazza di Colonna Trajana.
In the description below the plate Vasi made reference to: 1) Salita di Marforio (this street led to Campidoglio; the talking statue of Marforio stood here until 1679 when it was moved to Palazzo Nuovo di Campidoglio); 2) Tomb of Caio Publicio Bibulo; 3) Colonna Trajana and Dome of SS. Nome di Maria. 3) is shown in more detail in another page.

Small View

 Today

The view today
(left) The view in August 2008; (right-above) map before the construction of the Monument to King Victor Emmanuel II; (right-below) current map


Macel de' Corvi does not exist any longer and now Trajan's Column is in full view. The construction of the Monument to King Victor Emmanuel II (late XIXth century) and the opening of a large avenue leading to Colosseo (1930s) required a toll to be paid and this part of Rome which did not have famous churches and palaces was completely erased, with the sole exception of the tomb of Caio Publicio Bibulo.
In the maps the green dot shows Vasi's viewpoint. The dotted line in the old map delineates the borders between Rione Pigna (upper left quarter), Rione Trevi (upper right quarter), Rione Campitelli (lower left quarter) and Rione Monti (lower right quarter).

Grand View
The tomb of Caio Publicio Bibulo and behind it the lower part of the Monument to King Victor Emmanuel II

Sepolcro di Caio Publicio Bibulo

Sepolcro di Caio Publicio
Remaining side of the tomb of Caio Publicio Bibulo; it is thought that what today seems a window was originally a niche housing a statue of Bibulo.

Ancient Romans were not allowed to be buried inside the walls and the tomb of Caio Publicio Bibulo seems to contradict this statement, yet when the monument was erected (Ist century BC), the area at the foot of Campidoglio was not included in the pomerium, the sacred boundary of the City of Rome.

Sepolcro di Caio Publicio
(left) Inscription on the remaining (southern) side of the tomb; (right) fragment of the same inscription on the eastern side of the tomb

The inscription:
C(aio) Poplicio Bibulo Aed(ili) Pl(ebis) honoris
virtutisque caussa Senatus
consulto populique iussu locus
monumento quo ipse posterique
eius inferrentur publice datus est
says that the monument was paid for by the Senate in recognition of the services provided by Caio Publicio Bibulo; in the lack of other historic references to him, the decision by the Senate is rather puzzling because "Aedile of the People", the only office held by Caio Publicio Bibulo, was a minor one in the Roman Republic.
The inscription was repeated on all four sides of the monument, the use of which was granted for ever to Bibulo's family.

Excerpts from Giuseppe Vasi 1761 Itinerary related to this page:


Macel de' Corvi
Quì sebbene non vi sia, che una piccolissima piazza, con tutto ciò evvi un abbondante mercato di tutte le sorte di viveri. E' notabile il sepolcro di Cajo Publicio, che si vede nell'angolo della salita, che dicesi di Marforio, con una antica iscrizione, che resta quasi perduta.

Next plate in Book 2: Piazza alli Monti
Next step in Day 3 itinerary: Chiesa e Monastero dello Spirito Santo
Next step in your tour of Rione Monti: Chiesa e Monastero dello Spirito Santo