House of the Vestals

Coordinates: 41°53′29″N 12°29′12″E / 41.89139°N 12.48667°E / 41.89139; 12.48667
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
House of the Vestal Virgins
House of the Vestals
Vestal Virgins is located in Rome
Vestal Virgins
Vestal Virgins
Shown within Augustan Rome
Map
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Coordinates41°53′29″N 12°29′12″E / 41.89139°N 12.48667°E / 41.89139; 12.48667

The House of the Vestal Virgins (

Pontifex Maximus dwelled, was located near the Atrium until that role was assumed by the emperors.[2]

Structure

The Atrium Vestae was a three-story 50-room palace in the ancient Roman Forum built around an elegant elongated atrium or court with a double pool. To the very east is an open vaulted hall with a statue of Numa Pompilius, the mythological founder of the cult.[3]

The complex lay at the foot of the Palatine Hill, where a

Fire of Rome in 64. The House of the Vestals was rebuilt several times in the course of the Empire. After the dissolution of the College of the Vestals in the late 4th century AD, the House of the Vestals continued to serve as a residence building. It now housed officials of the imperial court, and subsequently the papal court. Archaeological finds from this period include a hoard of 397 gold coins from the 5th century and another 830 Anglo-Saxon coins dating from the 9th and 10th centuries. The site was abandoned in the 11th/12th century.[3]

Today, remains of the statues of the Vestals can be seen in the Atrium Vestae.[3]

Gallery

  • Statues at the House of the Vestals
    Statues at the House of the Vestals
  • A reconstruction of the House of the Vestals by Christian Huelsen (1905)
    A reconstruction of the House of the Vestals by
    Christian Huelsen
    (1905)
  • Roman sculpture, House of the Vestals, Forum Romanum
    Roman sculpture, House of the Vestals, Forum Romanum

Notes

  1. ^ Who were the Vestal Virgins? Lutwyche, J BBC. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012
  2. ^ SCOTT, RUSSELL T., Paul Henderson, Charlotte Steffensen, Christina Trier, Lorenzo Costantini, John Giorgi, and A. J. Ammerman. “Excavations in the Area Sacra of Vesta (1987–1996).” Memoirs of the American Academy in Rome. Supplementary Volumes 8 (2009): i–167. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25759485.
  3. ^ a b c Honors 2013.

References

  • Honors (2013). "Honors Latin III Roman Forum Project". Archived from the original on 9 June 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.

External links

Media related to House of the Vestals at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by
Temple of Vesta
Landmarks of Rome
House of the Vestals
Succeeded by
Largo di Torre Argentina