Villa dei Sette Bassi
The Villa dei Sette Bassi (also Villa Via Tuscolana) was the second-largest ancient Roman villa or monumental palace in the suburbs after the Villa of the Quintilii.[1]
The site is on a hilly plateau located at the fifth mile of Via Tuscolana to the southeast of Rome and forms part of the Appia Antica archaeological park. The name, known since the Middle Ages, is probably derived from the emperor Lucius Septimius Bassianus known as Caracalla (r. 198–217) and not from Septimius Bassus, prefect under the Emperor Septimius Severus (r.193–211) (Caracalla's father). Indeed, it seems that Caracalla had merged the villa of the Sette Bassi and the villa of the Quintilii into a single vast imperial estate.
It was inhabited until the beginning of the fourth century, and maintained by additional restorations for two more centuries.
Six Roman marble sculptures from the site can be found in the British Museum.[2]
The Site
The original access to the villa must have been in the south-west area, where there are remains of richly decorated rooms near the byway coming from the Via Latina.
The residential area consists of three contiguous parts, dating to three different periods in rapid succession. The parts are rectangular and are arranged aligned from east to west.[3] There were also gardens and a main park onto which the buildings looked. The easternmost building was built between 134 and 139 at the beginning of the reign of Antoninus Pius following a traditional structure of 50 m on each side and a peristyle in the northwest of about 45 m2 per side. The plan is compact, with no windows facing outward. The second building was constructed to the southwest of the previous peristyle, between 140 and 150. It has a length of 45 m and is 25 m wide, and includes a panoramic south-facing rotunda. It is a structure linked to luxury, without any functional character. The third structure is believed to have been constructed at the end of the reign of Antoninus Pius, and is the most elaborate with large spa rooms.
The large rectangular circus or hippodrome-garden, similar in concept to those at the imperial residences of the Villa of Domitian and the Palace of Domitian, was 95 x 327 m, terraced and surrounded by a cryptoporticus,and must have contained within it mirrors of water, avenues, ornamental buildings, statues, fountains.[4]
The water requirement was satisfied by means of a branch from the Anio Novus aqueduct which fed a complex system of cisterns, one of which with two floors. Remains of one of the cisterns form the foundations of a farmhouse on the property.[5]
To the northwest of the villa was the pars rustica of the villa, a series of houses where the service staff lived with warehouses, temples and cisterns and where most of the domestic and agricultural activities took place. The area has not been the subject of archaeological investigation but remains of a small temple identified with a nymphaeum are clearly visible. This was rectangular and constructed of brick, had vaulted ceilings and was gabled. It contained a rectangular apse for the Divine Statue.
The condition of these ruins is poor. In February 2014 a buttress collapsed. This was attributed to heavy rain but excavations have shown that the building materials used were of low quality. Also the area was subjected to some bombing during the Second World War.[6]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
See also
References
- ^ Roberto Egidi, Villa dei Sette Bassi, in Carmelo Calci (a cura di), Roma archeologica, Roma, Adnkronos Libri, 2005, pp. 442-444, ISBN 978-88-7118-184-4
- ^ British Museum collection
- ^ DE FRANCESCHINI M., 2005, Le ville dell'agro romano, Roma pp. 209-214, ISBN 978-88-8265-311-8
- ^ "IPPODROMO VILLA DEI SETTE BASSI (ROMA)". Retrieved 12 December 2015.
- ^ Guida al Patrimonio dei Beni Culturali del X Municipio. Rome: Municipio Roma X. 2009.
- ^ "Parco Appia Antica, crolla uno sperone della Villa dei Sette Bassi". La Repubblica. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
Bibliography
- R. Egidi, "Villa dei Sette Bassi," in C. Kicking, Rome archaeological, Rome 2005, p. 442-444.
- M. De Franceschini, "Villa Via Tuscolana, the Seven Netherlands", in Ville Agro Romano, Rome 2005, p. 209-214.W
External links
- Lucentini, M. (31 December 2012). The Rome Guide: Step by Step through History's Greatest City. Interlink. ISBN 9781623710088.
Media related to Villa of the sette bassi at Wikimedia Commons
Preceded by Villa of the Quintilii | Landmarks of Rome Villa dei Sette Bassi | Succeeded by Column of Antoninus Pius |
- v
- t
- e
landmarks
Triumphal arches | |
---|---|
Aqueducts | |
Sewers | |
Public baths | |
Religious |
|
Fora | |
Civic | |
Entertainment | |
Palaces and villae | |
Column monuments | |
Commerce | |
Tombs |
|
Bridges |
basilicas
- Archbasilica of Saint John Lateran
- Basilica of Saint Mary Major
- Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls
- Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican
- S. Lorenzo fuori le mura
- S. Agnese fuori le mura
- S. Agostino
- S. Anastasia al Palatino
- S. Andrea delle Fratte
- S. Andrea della Valle
- S. Antonio da Padova in Via Merulana
- S. Apollinare alle Terme
- Ss. Apostoli
- S. Balbina
- S. Bartolomeo all'Isola
- Ss. Bonifacio ed Alessio
- S. Camillo de Lellis
- S. Carlo al Corso
- S. Cecilia in Trastevere
- Ss. Celso e Giuliano
- S. Clemente
- Ss. Cosma e Damiano
- S. Crisogono
- S. Croce in Via Flaminia
- S. Croce in Gerusalemme
- S. Eugenio
- S. Eustachio
- S. Francesca Romana
- S. Giovanni a Porta Latina
- S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini
- Ss. Giovanni e Paolo
- S. Lorenzo in Damaso
- S. Lorenzo in Lucina
- S. Maria Ausiliatrice
- S. Marco
- S. Maria degli Angeli
- S. Maria in Montesanto
- S. Maria in Cosmedin
- S. Maria in Domnica
- S. Maria in Aracoeli
- S. Maria del Popolo
- S. Maria sopra Minerva
- S. Maria in Trastevere
- S. Maria in Via
- S. Maria in Via Lata
- S. Maria della Vittoria
- S. Martino ai Monti
- Ss. Nereo e Achilleo
- S. Nicola in Carcere
- S. Pancrazio
- Pantheon
- S. Pietro in Vincoli
- S. Prassede
- S. Pudenziana
- Ss. Quattro Coronati
- S. Saba
- S. Sabina
- Sacro Cuore di Maria
- Sacro Cuore di Cristo Re
- Sacro Cuore di Gesù a Castro Pretorio
- S. Sebastiano fuori le mura
- S. Silvestro in Capite
- S. Sisto Vecchio
- S. Sofia a Via Boccea
- S. Stefano Rotondo
- S. Teresa
- S. Vitale
- Arx
- Casa dei Cavalieri di Rodi
- Castel Sant'Angelo
- Domus Internationalis Paulus VI
- Palazzo Aragona Gonzaga
- Palazzo Barberini
- Palazzo Barberini ai Giubbonari
- Palazzo Borghese
- Palazzo della Cancelleria
- Palazzo Chigi
- Palazzo Colonna
- Palazzo della Consulta
- Palazzo Farnese
- Palazzo Fusconi-Pighini
- Palazzo Giustinani
- Lateran Palace
- Palazzo Madama
- Palazzo Malta
- Palazzo di Giustizia
- Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne
- Palazzo Mattei
- Palazzo del Quirinale
- Palazzo Pamphilj
- Palazzo Poli
- Palazzo Riario
- Palazzo Ruspoli
- Palazzo Spada
- Palazzo Valentini
- Palazzo Vidoni-Caffarelli
- Palazzo del Viminale
- Palazzo Wedekind
- Palazzo Zuccari
- Villa Farnesina
- Villa Giulia
- Villa Madama
- Api
- Acqua Felice
- Acqua Paola
- Babuino
- Barcaccia
- Il Facchino
- Marforio
- Moro
- Nasone
- Navicella
- Neptune
- Nettuno
- del Pantheon
- Pianto
- di Piazza d'Aracoeli
- di Piazza Colonna
- di Piazza Farnese
- della Piazza dei Quiriti
- di Piazza Nicosia
- in Piazza Santa Maria in Trastevere
- di Ponte Sisto
- Quattro Fiumi
- Quattro Fontane
- Tartarughe
- Trevi Fountain
- Tritons
- Tritone
- Altare della Patria (Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of Italy)
- Campo Verano
- Capocci Tower
- Column of the Immaculate Conception
- Conti Tower
- Hospital of the Holy Spirit
- Milizie Tower
- Sisto Bridge
- Spanish Steps
and public spaces
- Appian Way
- Campo de' Fiori
- Clivus Capitolinus
- Piazza Colonna
- Piazza d'Aracoeli
- Piazza del Popolo
- Piazza della Minerva
- Piazza della Repubblica
- Piazza Farnese
- Piazza Navona
- Piazza San Pietro
- Piazza di Spagna
- Piazza Venezia
- Via dei Coronari
- Via del Corso
- Via della Conciliazione
- Via dei Fori Imperiali
- Via Sacra
- Via Veneto
and zoos
art galleries
- Boncompagni Ludovisi Decorative Art Museum
- Capitoline Museums
- Casa di Goethe
- Galleria Borghese
- Galleria Comunale d'Arte Moderna
- Galleria Doria Pamphilj
- Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica
- Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna
- Giorgio de Chirico House Museum
- Galleria Spada
- Jewish Museum of Rome
- Keats–Shelley Memorial House
- MAXXI
- Museo Archeologico Ostiense
- Museo Barracco di Scultura Antica
- Museo Civico di Zoologia
- Museo delle anime del Purgatorio
- Museo delle Mura
- Museo di Roma
- Museo di Roma in Trastevere
- Museo nazionale del Palazzo di Venezia
- Museo Nazionale Etrusco
- Museo Nazionale Romano
- Museo Storico Nazionale dell'Arte Sanitaria
- Museum of Contemporary Art of Rome
- Museum of Roman Civilization
- Museum of the Ara Pacis
- Museum of the Liberation of Rome
- National Museum of Oriental Art
- Palazzo Colonna
- Palazzo delle Esposizioni
- Pigorini National Museum
- Porta San Paolo Railway Museum
- Santa Cecilia Musical Instruments Museum
- Venanzo Crocetti Museum
Seven Hills | |
---|---|
of Rome Capital