Meta Romuli
Location | Ager Vaticanus |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°54′09.576″N 12°27′48.960″E / 41.90266000°N 12.46360000°E |
Type | Pyramid |
History | |
Founded | 1st century b.c. or 1st century a.d. |
The Meta Romuli (in Latin mēta Rōmulī [ˈmeːta ˈroː.mʊ.ɫ̪iː], transl.: "Pyramid of Romulus"; also named "Piramide vaticana" or "Piramide di Borgo" in Italian) was a pyramid built in ancient Rome that is important for historical, religious and architectural reasons. By the 16th century, it was almost completely demolished.
Location
The pyramid was located in today's
History
The Meta Romuli was a monumental burial erected in the
The first mention of the Meta can be found in a comment to
The name Meta Romuli instead was due to a popular belief, which linked it to the
Due to that, the Meta Romuli was a popular subject in the representations of the city in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Some examples are the
The cella of the pyramid was used for centuries as a granary by the Chapter of Saint Peter, which owned it from the 13th century until its destruction.[8] At the beginning of the 15th century, the pyramid's pinnacle was demolished; on the platform which resulted were garrisoned soldiers of the nearby Castle, who got their supplies thorough a system of ropes hanging to the fortress.[8]
Despite its importance for the city and for the church, Pope Alexander VI ordered its demolition on 26 November 1498[7] for the opening of the new Via Alessandrina (later known as Borgo Nuovo), a road which connected the Vatican area with the bridge crossing the Tiber.[7] Due to the difficulty of the undertaking, the pope conceded a plenary indulgence to the men willing to help.[4] On 24 December 1499, the pope blocked all the old roads between Saint Peter and the Tiber, forcing the people to use the new thoroughfare; however, the demolition of the pyramid was not complete, since Raphael, who arrived in Rome in 1509, in a letter to Pope Leo X written in 1519 about the antiquities of the city, writes that he could still see the remains of the monument.[4] In 1511, Pope Julius II claimed ownership of the monument, and in several documents of the 16th century until 1568 the Meta was cited as the end of the Palio race.[9]
Structure
The adoption of the pyramidal shape for
The Vatican pyramid dated back presumably to the same age or to the first imperial age,
In 1948–49, during the works for the construction of the first block of the north side of Via della Conciliazione, it came to light a northwest–southeast-oriented foundation[3] of concrete conglomeration made by tufa quarry waste, surrounded by a large pavement made with travertine slabs.[1] These remains fully confirm the description of the Meta found in the Mirabilia and those given by the eyewitnesses.[1]
See also
References
- ^ a b c Petacco (2016) p. 37
- ^ a b c Petacco (2016), p. 33
- ^ a b Coarelli (1974) p. 322
- ^ a b c d e f Petacco (2016) p. 36
- ^ Ps. - Acro, in Hor. Epod. 9, 25
- ^ a b c d e f Petacco (2016), p. 34
- ^ a b c d e Petacco (2016), p. 35
- ^ a b Gigli (1990) p. 84
- ^ Castagnoli, (1958), p. 363
- ^ "Pyramid of Gaius Cestius". Rome Reborn - University of Virginia. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
- ^ Castagnoli, (1958), p. 229
- ^ Mirabilia, 20, 3, 1-4
- ^ a b c Gigli (1990) p. 82
Sources
- Castagnoli, Ferdinando; Cecchelli, Carlo; Giovannoni, Gustavo; Zocca, Mario (1958). Topografia e urbanistica di Roma (in Italian). Bologna: Cappelli.
- Coarelli, Filippo (1974). Guida archeologica di Roma (in Italian). Milano: Arnoldo Mondadori Editore.
- Gigli, Laura (1990). Guide rionali di Roma (in Italian). Vol. Borgo (I). Roma: Fratelli Palombi Editori. ISSN 0393-2710.
- Petacco, Laura (2016). Claudio Parisi Presicce; Laura Petacco (eds.). La Meta Romuli e il Therebintus Neronis (in Italian). Rome: Gangemi. )