Circus of Maxentius

Coordinates: 41°51′17.20444″N 12°31′14.47900″E / 41.8547790111°N 12.5206886111°E / 41.8547790111; 12.5206886111
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Circus of Maxentius
Circus

The Circus of Maxentius (known until the 19th century as the Circus of Caracalla) is an ancient structure in

Caecilia Metella, which dominates the hill that rises immediately to the east of the complex.[1] It is part of the Appian Way Regional Park
.

Overview

The Circus itself is the best preserved in the area of Rome, and is second only in size to the Circus Maximus in Rome.[2] The only games recorded at the circus were its inaugural ones and these are generally thought to have been funerary in character.[3] They would have been held in honour of Maxentius' son Valerius Romulus, who died in AD 309 at a very young age and who was probably interred in the adjacent cylindrical tomb (tomb of Romulus). The imperial box (pulvinar) of the circus is connected, via a covered portico, to the villa of Maxentius, whose scant remains are today obscured by dense foliage, except for the apse of the basilical audience hall, which pokes out from the tree tops. The complex was probably never used after the death of Maxentius in AD 312 (archaeological excavations indicate the tracks were covered in sand already in antiquity).

Circus of Maxentius in ancient times

The circus is constructed, after the fashion of many Roman buildings of this period, in concrete faced with

Earl of Arundel paid a deposit for the pieces in the 1630s and attempted to have them removed to London but Urban VIII forbade its export and his successor Innocent X had it erected in the Piazza Navona by Bernini.[6] The track's outer walls were laid out to be wider at the start to allow the racers to spread out before reaching the spina, and were also made wider at the point of the turn, which accommodated the turning circle of the chariots. At the east end of the track is a small triumphal arch, in which exposed opus vittatum work can be seen. The judges' box was located about two-thirds of the way down on the southern side of the track, where it would have been in clear sight of the finishing line. The imperial box, the remains of which are identifiable, was situated in the usual fashion to give the most dramatic views of the race. Directly opposite the imperial box, in the south track wall, there is a small arch, through which can be seen the Tomb of Caecilia Metella. From the height of the box the tomb would have been entirely visible, and it has been argued that the circus, which is curiously positioned relative to contemporary and existing structures, was purposely skewed in order to integrate the tomb into the Maxentian architectural scheme.[7]

The circus-complex of Maxentius as originally conceived can be partly understood as an elaborate imperial version of the type of elite residences that appear in Rome and throughout the provinces in late antiquity, whose pretensions are evidenced in the regular presence of large audience halls, familial tombs and circus-shaped structures – the Villa Gordiani, also in Rome, and the complex at Piazza Armerina in Sicily, are two examples.[8][9] The progenitor of these residences was of course the Palatine complex in Rome, where Maxentius himself made some alterations to the palace in which he played out public life.[10] Imperial parallels for the Via Appia complex include that of Maxentius's contemporary Galerius at Thessaloniki and Diocletian's Palace at Split.[11]

The complex may well have changed in use and character following the death of Romulus; the mausoleum, surely intended for Maxentius himself, as were the mausolea built by Galerius and Diocletian intended for themselves whilst still alive, now received as its occupant Maxentius' only son.[11] The inaugural games became funeral games, and these, like the circus, were dedicated to the now deified Romulus. The pervasive emphasis of death and apotheosis has led to the argument that the whole complex became overwhelmingly funerary in character from this point, and that the memorial references generated by Romulus extend, spatially and ideologically, to the heart of Rome.[7] Maxentius died just three years after Romulus, at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, when he was defeated by Constantine the Great, who then expropriated the property.

The circus is under the care of the Soprintendenza Archeologica di Roma, and is open to the public.

See also

References

  1. ^ Quilici, L.; S. Quilici Gigli; R. Talbert; S. Gillies; J. Åhlfeldt; T. Elliott; J. Becker (7 April 2023). "Places: 423129 (Villa Maxentii)". Pleiades. Retrieved March 13, 2013.
  2. ^ For general size comparisons, see Humphrey, J H (1986) Roman Circuses: Arenas for Chariot Racing London: Batsford, pp. 56-131.
  3. ^ For example, see Bertolotti, R. De Angelis (2001), "I Giochi Circensi", in R. De Angelis Bertolotti et al. (eds), La Residenza Imperiale di Massenzio. Rome: Fratelli Palombi, 60-64.
  4. ^ See Adam, J.-P. and M. Fulford (1994). Roman Building Materials and Techniques. London: Batsford.
  5. ^ CIL VI.1138; Nibby, A. (1825). Del Circo volgarmente detto di Caracalla. Rome: Tipografia delle Belle Arte.
  6. ^ Edward Chaney, "Roma Britannica and the Cultural Memory of Egypt: Lord Arundel and the Obelisk of Domitian", in Roma Britannica: Art Patronage and Cultural Exchange in Eighteenth-Century Rome, eds. D. Marshall, K. Wolfe and S. Russell, British School at Rome, 2011, pp. 147–70.
  7. ^
    doi:10.16995/TRAC2001_24_33 Open access icon
  8. ^ Steinby, M. (ed.) (1995). Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae, vol II, pp.34-25.
  9. ^ Wilson, R. (1983). Piazza Armerina London: Granada.
  10. ^ Carettoni, G. (1972). "Terme di Settimio Severo e terme di Massenzio in Palatio". Archeologia Classica 24: 96ff.
  11. ^ a b For references to Galerius' palace, which is scantily written about, see Vickers, M. (1973) Observations on the octagon at Thessaloniki Journal of Roman Studies 63, pp.111-20. The best shorter account of the history of Diocletian's Palace is: Wilkes, J J (1993) Diocletian's Palace, Split: Residence of a Retired Roman Emperor Sheffield: University Press.

Sources

External links

Media related to Circus of Maxentius (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by
Circus Maximus 		Landmarks of Rome
Circus of Maxentius 		Succeeded by
Circus of Nero
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