Rione / District X Campitelli
The zone, which is named after the Piazza Campitelli, holds the sites which witnessed the birth of Rome: the municipal castle on the Campidoglio Hill (Arx), formerly the seat of the government, of the civil institutions and of the State Archives (Tabularium), plus some of the more important religious buildings (for example, the Temple of the Capitoline Triade, the Palatine Hill, formerly a residential area which, beginning in the 1st century AD, became the site of the imperial palaces; the valley of the Roman Forum, where religious ceremonies were held, and the City's commercial and political activities were carried out; finally, the zone in the bend of the Tiber (the Velabro), where the Forum Boarium (the animal market) and the Forum Olitorium (the fruit and vegetable market) stood.
The decline of the Empire, the recurrent sacking of the City, and the definitive closing of the pagan temples (Vth century AD) led to the gradual abandonment of the large ancient buildings. In part, these were re-utilized as quarries for marble and construction materials, and in part they were transformed into churches. In the eleventh century, the clashes within the Roman nobility resulted in the transformation of a number of the monuments into turreted fortresses. In 1143 the Campidoglio became the seat of the municipal government of Rome.
The Forum was covered over by the waste materials from the building sites and the quarries, becoming a pasture area known as Campus Vaccinus.In the first half of the XVIth century, Pope Paul III of the Farnese family commissioned Michelangelo to transform the Campidoglio, for centuries the City's civic center, into a monumental setting, and the first digs were begun in the Roman Forum and the Palatine in search of ancient sculptures. It was not until the beginning of the XIXth century, however, that a full fledged campaign of archeological excavation was begun in the area of the Farnese Gardens, leading to the discovery of the ancient remains of the Domus Tiberiana, the House of Livy and the Temple of Apollo.
The last noticeable changes in the quarter were caused by the construction of the monument to Victor Emanuel between 1895 and 1911 and, finally, the creation of the Via dei Fori Imperiale (formerly the Via dell'Impero, 1924-40) and the Via del Teatro di Marcello (formerly the Via del Mare, 1926-30).
In the IX-VIII centuries BC the Palatine and Camidoglio Hills were already inhabited. The valley which divided them was used by the resident populations both as a burial site and as a zone for commercial exchanges. In the Monarchic Age (VIII-VI), the Palatine and the Campidoglio were included in the perimeter of the Servian wall. During the same years, the swampy low-lying
zones were reclaimed, and religious and civil buildings were built around a paved plaza which served as the center of municipal life: the Roman Forum. A street, the Via Sacra, descended from the Velia (an elevated area between the Palatine and the Esquiline), running directly to the Campidoglio, and was used for religious processions and triumphal marches. In the I century BC, the Roman Forum [was] no longer sufficient for carrying out all the Capital's civic functions.The creation of the Forum of Caesar, followed by that of the other Imperial Forums (of Augustus, Nerva, Trajan, Hadrian) solved the new needs of the Caput Mundi of the Empire, both in terms of urban planning and celebratory functions.
[Italian-language portion not transcribed]
Erected by Ministero Per I Beni E La Attivia Culturali - Presidenza Del Consiglio Dei Ministri Dipartimento Del Turismo. Soprintendenza Arceologica di Roma - Soprintendenza ai Beni Ambientali e Architettonici di Roma, Comune Di Roma – Assessorato alle Politche Culturali – Sovraintendenza Comunale ai Beni Culturali – Assessorato al Turismo e Giubileo, Azienda di Promozione Turistica di Roma.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Churches & Religion • Industry & Commerce
Location. 41° 53.573′ N, 12° 29.246′ E. Marker is in Roma, Lazio (Latium, Rome), in Città metropolitana di Roma Capitale. It is in Rione X Campitelli. Marker is at the intersection of Via dei Fori Imperiale and Via della Salara Vecchi, on the right when traveling east on Via dei Fori Imperiale. Marker is near the main entrance to the Roman Forum. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Roma, Lazio 00186, Italy. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Basilica Aemilia Entablature / Trabeazione (within shouting distance of this marker); Il Pavimento in Opus Sectile Della / The Opus Sectile Marble Floor (about 90 meters away, measured in a direct line); Foro di Nerva / Forum of Nerva (about 120 meters away); Temple of Antoninus and Faustina (about 120 meters away); Veduta del Tempio di Antonino e Faustina / View of the Temple of Antoninus and Faustina (about 120 meters away); Via Sacra: Il Tempo Che Scorre / Via Sacra: the Passage of Time (about 120 meters away); So-Called Carcer / Cosiddetto Carcer (about 120 meters away); Archaic Burial Ground / Sepolcreto Arcaico (about 120 meters away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Roma.
Also see . . .
1. Campitelli. (Submitted on June 19, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
2. Rione X Campitelli. (Submitted on June 19, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
3. Campitelli (Capitol Hill, Roman Forum, Palatine Hill). (Submitted on June 19, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on June 19, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 381 times since then and 2 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 19, 2015, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.