By: Bonnie A. Catto
Rome is the eternal city, urbs aeterna, yet it is continually evolving. In Spring 2023 while teaching in Rome for Assumption University I visited all the usual sites (the Roman forum, the Colosseum, the Pantheon, the Vatican, the Trevi fountain and the Spanish steps), but I also found a number of museums and sites that were virtually empty since most tourists were at the usual sites. I did not ignore the famous sites but focused on others. New sites have been discovered, such as the Area Sacra dell’ Argentina off the Corso Vittorio Emanuelle Secondo which is the site of Caesar’s assassination. It is not yet open to the public except by viewing from above. Caesar may not be visible there, but his image is everywhere in Rome, including in bronze and marble statuary but also on barbershop windows that feature him with a laurel wreath which he liked to cover his bald spot! The Ara Pacis, altar of peace, which features Augustus, his triumphs and the imperial family, is fully open to the public in a purpose-built museum on the banks of the Tiber where sections were first found in the sixteenth century. Beginning in 1938, it was laboriously pieced together and the museum opened in 1999. Similarly the Domus Aurea, the golden house of Nero, is now underground but open to the public. It had been buried by Trajan as a damnatio memoriae but was later discovered by, among others, Michelangelo. These sites, however, have been rediscovered, not recycled as in my title.
Rome was the ultimate recycling society, although sometimes in destructive ways. The Romans believed in reusing, incorporating the old into the new. Later periods followed the same practice. In that sense Rome is like a palimpsest – a manuscript that is partially erased then written on again and again. Materials taken from a site are called spolia when they are then incorporated into a new construction. For example, in the post-Roman era columns were taken from old temples and incorporated into early Christian churches such as San Clemente and other buildings.
The Colosseum, built as the Flavian Amphitheater, is an interesting example of such recycling. We are used to seeing the Colosseum missing large sections, mainly the upper floors. What happened to the stone? There was no earthquake. Rather the stones were pillaged to create, primarily, the Vatican but also some papal residences. Basically the Colosseum was used as a quarry. The original basilica was ordered by Constantine and completed in 349 a.d.but was falling down by the 15th century, so Pope Julian II ordered a new building which was begun in 1506 on the grounds of what had been the original church and a palace. So here are the stones from the Colosseum. In the center of St. Peter’s Piazza there is also an Egyptian obelisk. Rome is full of obelisks pilfered from Egypt and installed in various piazzas .
Near the Vatican and across the Tiber from central Rome is the large circular fortress which is now called Castel St. Angelo but was originally the tomb of the emperor Hadrian (a.d. 76-117) built in a.d.139. In antiquity it definitely didn’t have a statue on the top of the Archangel Michael! It’s quite a stunning building with an intriguing history including as part of the Roman wall, as a medieval citadel and prison, and is most often linked with the Popes because of its proximity to the Vatican. The Ponte Aurelia Nova bridge that led across to central Rome is now named Ponte Sant’ Angelo with its Bernini statues of angels lining both sides.
Further downriver there are two bridges, one of which, Ponte Fabricius (62 b.c.), is the oldest surviving in Rome and is still in use for pedestrian traffic. The Roman (eastern) end of the bridge still has two ancient, weather-beaten statues at its entrance. Upriver from this is Tiber Island which itself has an interesting history. In antiquity there was a temple dedicated in 293 b.c. to the healing god Asclepius since the ill could be isolated there away from the rest of the population. Appropriately it is still the site of a major hospital. Talk about continuity!
As a contrast in terms of preservation just upriver from Ponte Fabricius you can see the Ponte Rotto (the broken bridge) on the Tiber built in the 2nd century b.c. and originally named the Pons Aemilius. The bridge has lost its road as it stands alone in the river.
Nearby this section of the Tiber there is the famous Bocca della Verita (the mouth of truth), featured in the 1953 film Roman Holiday. The site is very popular with tourists who insert their hands into the hole of the wheel-like marble to determine if they are telling the truth. It is housed in Santa Maria in Cosmedin near the old forum boarium (the cattle forum). What a bunch of nonsense! The circular marble disk is actually an ancient Roman sewer cover featuring the god Okeanos, since all water ultimately flowed out from Rome to the ocean. Certainly this is a recycling of a very pedestrian object into something with a totally new meaning. There was a large crowd waiting for this experience, and paying good money too!
Still in this neighborhood I had dinner one night at a lovely Jewish restaurant practically in the ancient Portico of Ottavia. The food was delicious (fresh artichokes were in season) and what a view! Not too far from there is a church, San Nicola in Carcere, with ancient columns (spolia) embedded in the brick and adjacent to the church is as a house with similar spolia.
Also not too far from this area is the Pyramid of Caius Sestius who died in 12 b.c. It’s the only pyramid in Rome despite all the obelisks! The Romans later extended the city wall incorporating this pre-existing structure The Protestant cemetery abuts this and uses the Roman wall as one of its borders. Non-Catholics were not allowed by the Pope to be buried in the city of Rome. Incidentally both the poets Keats and Shelley are buried in the lovely cemetery among many others.
Now to an excellent example of recycled Rome which is a bit further east than the sites described above. This is the fascinating church of San Clemente which has multiple layers, one atop the other, and is quite labyrinthine with passages and stairs and the constant sound of dripping water. One of my students was beginning to have a panic attack fearing he would get lost. At the bottom, several stories below today’s street level, there is a Mithraeum, a shrine to the eastern god Mithras who was very popular with soldiers. Mithraism was an all-male cult imported from Persia which rivaled early Christianity. In the shrine there is a triclinium (banquet area) and an altar with a relief of Mithras slaying a bull. On the next level above there is an ancient Roman insula – or apartment building – with many separate and small rooms. It is from the Republican era so 1st century b.c.! Above the insula there is a very early Christian church from the 4th century. Finally above that there is the “modern” church built in 1108. Here we find a fine example of spolia since the interior columns are all of different styles: Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, all intermingled and clearly removed from ancient temples.
Now to the center of Rome which is much more familiar. Next to Piazza Venezia there is the Victor Emmanuel monument, commonly called the wedding cake for its gleaming white facade. This was built atop the ruins of Roman insulae which even then were prime real estate. If you walk along the southwestern side of the monument you will see some low arches at ground level. Look closely and you will see Roman frescoes and possibly some later ones still exposed to the elements! I shudder to think how many archaeological treasures were destroyed in building the Emmanuel monument since it abuts the forum, the ancient temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline, etc.
Another very familiar site is the Pantheon, the temple to all the gods. It was erected by the emperor Hadrian on a pre-existing 27-25 b.c. temple built by Marcus Agrippa, Augustus’ right-hand man and general whose name is still engraved over the entrance on the pediment. Hadrian’s new temple was designed in 118-125 a.d. and features an oculus, an eye or opening in the roof which on Rome’s birthday, April 21, directs the sun through the central door. The building is 142 feet high and the rotunda is also 142 feet across. It is the largest such building still standing without interior supports. (This is probably because of the use of pozzolana stone mixed in with the concrete which strengthens the mix on exposure to water.) Moreover the great bronze doors, which one person can move, are 24.7 feet high and each door panel is 7.3 feet wide. The bronze lock apparently still works! Of course the Pantheon was made into a Christian church. Raphael is buried there as well as Corelli the great Italian composer. Neaby Hadrian has another temple which was built nearby by his son Antoninus Pius in ad 145. It now houses the Roman stock exchange.
Another familiar site is Piazza Navona with its Bernini fountains. Most piazzas in Rome are circular. This is not, but rather an ellipse. Why is that? Because originally it was the emperor Domitian’s (a.d. 51-96) racetrack! Some of the arches of the stadium are still visible under the Church of Sant’ Agnese in Agone. Domitian was an unpopular emperor because of his moral reforms. After his assassination his racetrack was repurposed. The buildings that now surround the piazza were where the grandstands for spectators originally stood. Now the piazza is thronged with cafes.
Nearby, just outside the southwest corner of the piazza and somewhat hidden away, there is a very unusual statue with an intriguing history. It’s named Pasquino and is called The Speaking Stone. It is an ancient marble statue from the 2nd century b.c. that was probably part of a sculptural group, possibly depicting Menelaus rescuing the body of Patroklos at Troy. It was neglected for years and even used as a stepping stone, since the area of the Piazza Navona was often flooded. Then in 1501 a cobbler named Pasquino wrote satirical political comments and attached them to the stone for all to read. He started a trend and soon people, under the cover of darkness, were posting frequently. Sort of a medieval internet! Apparently it’s still in use for political postings though none was there the day I visited.
To show how trends continue, I was exiting the fabulous Museo Nationale Romano near the Piazza della Repubblica. I had been stunned by the vivid first century b.c. wall-paintings of the empress Livia’s garden room and, as I exited the building, I couldn’t believe my eyes. Straight across the fairly narrow street was what looked like a bookseller’s kiosk with the blinds pulled down. It was on March 16, the day after the Ides. To my amazement I read: Quo usque tandem abutere patientia nostra (“For how long are you going to abuse our patience?”) – the first line of Cicero’s Catilinarian oration, minus the addressee, Catiline, who had hatched a plot to take over Rome. I crossed the street and walked over and around the little kiosk. All sides had political commentary:
2) Audente Fortuna Iuvat. Memento audere semper! (“ Fortune aids the brave. Remember always to be brave!”). Audente seems to be missing its s – audentes.
3) Hic Sunt Leones: (“Here are lions.”)
4) Viaggiare e utile, fa lavorare l’immaginazione tutto Il resto e noia e delusion. Carpe diem
To travel/to deal is useful. Make all your imagination work. All else remains trouble and delusion. Seize the day. (Carpe actually means “pluck the day” like a flower but is often translated as “seize” which makes sense in this context.)
To conclude, I’d like to put in a plug for two very sparsely attended museums. 1) The Museo del acqua near the Trevi fountain is a Roman insula with 4 or so floors through which water runs. It contains a castellum aquae, a very large water reservoir. That water now feeds the Trevi fountain. Subsequent to this talk the April/May 2025 issue of Smithsonian Magazine featured the museum in an article by Tony Perrottet (pp.110-24 with fine photographs.) Speaking of water, around Rome aqueducts are stlll very visible and even have their own park! The famous baths of Caracalla are also an interesting place to visit to marvel at their vastness. These too have been repurposed and operas are produced there including Verdi’s Aida with elephants. I saw Rossini’s William Tell there in 1969.
The second sparsely attended museum is in the southeast of Rome reachable from the Garbatella stop on the Metro. It’s called Museo Capitolino Centrale Montemartini. The Capitoline museums in central Rome are stuffed to overflowing with amazing sculptures, mosaics, etc. Where to put the new material that they keep excavating? The solution was to repurpose an old power station from the early twentieth century to house art. One finds an amazing juxtaposition of hulking cast iron machinery with ancient statues, an entire temple pediment, plus lots of mosaics and other treasures. And there is almost no one there!
In conclusion, Rome continues to evolve. As a final example there is a fairly new subway stop named Colosseo. When you come up the stairs suddenly – mirabile visu – there is the Colosseum right in front of you! Spectacular. Truly jaw-dropping. They are trying to build another subway station just across the street, but it’s slow going digging around the Roman Forum! Who knows what they are finding while digging?