Villas of Ancient Rome - IBAM

two parallel rows of six connecting
chambers, the remains of which can be
seen at the intersection between via
Sommelier and via Eleniana. In the
vicinity of the hall converted into a
church there is a small “court”
amphitheatre connected to the hall by
means of an open corridor 300 metres
long (of which some traces remain).
The amphitheatre became known as
“castrense”; perhaps when the villa
was abandoned it was used by the
nearby barracks of the equites singulares,
the imperial equestrian guard.
THE VILLAS
OF THE CITY
OUTSKIRTS
The Castrense Amphitheatre
In the scale model
of ancient Rome
(Museo della Civiltà Romana)
enriched by a smaller nave that was
obtained by incorporating a side corridor.
By the church, that now has the
aspect of the 18 th century restructuring,
in the area of the Museo Storico
dei Granatieri, there are the remains of
a sumptuous hall with an apse.
Nothing remains instead of the baths,
built at the beginning of the3rd century
AD, destroyed by a fire and rebuilt
by Helen between 323 and 326 AD and
thus known as Terme Elenianae. The
baths stood in the area now traversed
by via Sommeiller . Their substantial
remains were dismantled at the time
of pope Sixtus V during the building
of the via Felice (today via Santa Croce
in Gerusalemme). At a brief distance
there is a large cistern composed of
Almost circular in plan, with the two
axes of 88 and 75.80 metres, the
amphitheatre had two levels of arches
Castrense Amphitheatre:
Ruins incorporated in the
Aurelian Walls
Castrense Amphitheatre
In an engraving by Du Perac
(16 th century)
VILLAS
OF ANCIENT
2 9
ROME