Villas of Ancient Rome - IBAM

THE SUBURBAN
VILLAS
Villa of Maxentius:
Plan and reconstructive
section of the Tomb
of Romolus
(from Rasch).
VILLAS
OF ANCIENT
ROME
1 4
a vault, may have been part of the
monumental entrance to the “palace”.
This was connected by a long ambulatory
to the circus, which is the best preserved
and most interesting part of the
whole complex ( and also the best preserved
of all in the circuses of the
Roman world). It extends along the
valley, from east to west, for about 520
metres, with a maximum width of 92
metres. On the short west side delimited
by two towers three stories tall (16
metres) and rounded on the outside,
there were twelve areas (carceres) from
which the riding chariots came out,
while the main entrance to the building
in the form of a large arch opened
at the centre. Another arched entrance
(“the triumphal entrance”) opened
onto the opposite curved side. This
and the two long sides were taken up
by tiers of seats which rested on a
vaulted structure and were divided
into two sections of six tiers each, with
a seating capacity of 10.000. The imperial
tribune consisting of a large rectangular
space and a rotunda with a dome
set against it was situated on the long
north side. On the opposite side,
another tribune was perhaps reserved
for the judges of the races. In the centre
of the arena, the “spina”, the longitudinal
element around which the chariots
raced) is still recognizable. Its length is
exactly 1000 Roman feet or 296 metres,
and had a series of pools alternating
with niches and statues. An obelisk
was also placed there, the one
Domitian originally
erected in the
Iseo Campense (or
rather, in the
Temple of the Gens
Flavia on the
Quirinal). Once
recovered, it was
boldly erected by
Bernini in 1650 on
his Fountain of the
Rivers in the
Piazza Navona).
The third element
of the villa is the
so-called Tomb of
Romolus, after the
son of Maxentius
who died in 309
AD and was
buried there. In
actual fact, this
was a dynastic
mausoleum
intended for the
whole imperial
family. It was
erected at a short
distance from the
Via Appia and