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Mons Sacer

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The Mons Sacer , Sacer Mons , or Sacred Mount is a hill in Rome , famed as the location of the first secession of the plebs , in 494 BC.

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29-688: The Mons Sacer is a hill northeast of the Anio , the modern Aniene, a little above the confluence of the Anio with the Tiber . It was about three miles northeast of the ancient city , north of the Via Ficulensis , but now lies within the boundaries of modern Rome, where it gives its name to the Monte Sacro quarter . To the east and southwest, the hill descends steeply to the valley of the Anio, while to

58-623: A member of the Curia. The arrival of German monks at Subiaco attracted other Germans. Printers Arnold Pannartz and Konrad Sweynheim established the Subiaco Press here in 1464 and produced an edition of Donatus , a Cicero , De Oratore (September 1465), Lactantius ' De divinis institutionibus (October 1465) and Augustine 's De civitate Dei (1467), which were the first books to be printed in Italy . Pope Callixtus III , in 1455, gave

87-706: A mythical Etruscan king Anius who drowned in the river. The confluence of the Aniene and Tiber was controlled by Antemnae , a Latin settlement on a hill just to its south. Rome's foundation myths numbered them among the Sabines seized by Romulus but that his wife Hersilia convinced him to make its people Roman citizens after their defeat and annexation around 752 BC. In antiquity , three principal aqueducts of Rome —the Aqua Anio Vetus , Aqua Anio Novus and Aqua Claudia —had their sources in

116-707: A river in Italy is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Subiaco, Italy Subiaco is a comune (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital , in the Italian region of Latium , 40 kilometres (25 mi) from Tivoli alongside the River Aniene . It is a tourist and religious resort because of its sacred grotto ( Sacro Speco ), in the medieval St. Benedict's Abbey  [ it ] , and its Abbey of Santa Scolastica . It

145-525: A similar visit was made by Gregory VII. Special favour was shown by Paschal II , who took the abbey from the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Tivoli and made it an abbacy nullius. Its temporal welfare was also a personal care of the popes. Among others, Innocent III at his visit in 1203 increased the revenues of the abbey. With the decline of religious fervor, strife and dissension among the monks arose to such an extent that Abbot Bartholomew in 1364, by command of

174-509: Is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). The first books to be printed in Italy were produced here in the late 15th century. Among the first ancient settlers in the area were the Aequi , an Italic people. In 304 BC they were conquered by the Romans , who introduced their civilization and took advantage of the waters of the River Aniene . The present name of

203-455: Is said to have consecrated an altar to Sts. Benedict and Scholastica , who was St Benedict's sister, and another to St. Sylvester . Another renovation took place in 1053 under Abbot Humbert of the Abbey of St. Scholastica. Abbot John V, created cardinal by Pope Gregory VII , made the grotto the terminus of a yearly procession, built a new road, and had the altars reconsecrated. By 1200 there

232-592: The Teverone , is a 99-kilometer (62 mi) river in Lazio , Italy . It originates in the Apennines at Trevi nel Lazio and flows westward past Subiaco , Vicovaro , and Tivoli to join the Tiber in northern Rome . It formed the principal valley east of ancient Rome and became an important water source as the city's population expanded. The falls at Tivoli were noted for their beauty. Historic bridges across

261-524: The pope (Acta. Ap. Sedis, II, 405). The Abbey of St. Scolastica , located about a mile and a half below the grotto, was built originally by St Benedict about 520, and endowed by the Roman patricians, Tertullus and Æquitius. The second abbot, St. Honoratus, changed the old monastery into a chapter house and built a new one, dedicating it to Sts. Cosmas and Damian . It was destroyed by the Lombards in 601 and

290-504: The tribunes of the plebs , who could advocate and propose legislation on behalf of the plebeians, and veto the actions of the magistrates or other officials. In 449 BC, the plebeians seceded from the city for a second time , in protest of the tyranny of the second decemvirate . According to Livy , they first withdrew to the Aventine Hill , in the southern end of Rome, but finding the decemvirs unmoved, they resolved to desert

319-552: The Aniene valley. Together with the Aqua Marcia , they were regarded as the "four great aqueducts of Rome". The Aqua Anio Vetus ( Latin for "Old Anio aqueduct") was constructed around 270 BC. The Aqua Anio Novus ("New Anio aqueduct") was begun under Caligula around AD 38 and completed under Claudius in 48. A third aqueduct, the Aqua Marcia, was constructed by Q. Marcius Rex between 144 and 140 BC using

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348-624: The Sacred Mount, then returned to the city and occupied the Aventine Hill. The Sacred Mount plays no significant role in Roman history after these secessions. In the mid-nineteenth century the hill was uninhabited. Today it forms part of Municipio III , within the city of Rome. 41°56′27″N 12°31′57″E  /  41.9408°N 12.5325°E  / 41.9408; 12.5325 Anio The Aniene ( pronounced [aˈnjɛːne] ; Latin : Aniō ), formerly known as

377-624: The abbey in commendam to a cardinal. The first of these was the Spanish Cardinal Juan de Torquemada and the second Roderigo Borgia (later Alexander VI ), who remodeled the Castrum Sublacence, once the summer resort of the popes, and made it the residence of the commendatory abbot. Many of these abbots cared little for the religious life of the monks and looked only for revenue. One example, Pompeo Colonna , Bishop of Rieti , commendatory abbot since 1506, squandered

406-580: The age of fourteen ( c.  494 ), retired from the world and lived for three years in a cave above the River Aniene, he was supplied with the necessaries of life by a monk , St. Roman . From this grotto, St. Benedict developed the concepts and organization of the Benedictine Order . He built twelve monasteries, including one at the grotto, and placed twelve monks in each. In 854 a record noted its renovation. In this year, Pope Leo IV

435-576: The city comes from the artificial lakes of the luxurious villa that Roman Emperor Nero had built: in Latin Sublaqueum means "under the lake". The name was applied to the town that developed nearby. The biggest of the three Subiaco Dams was then the highest dam in the world until its destruction in 1305. After the fall of the Roman Empire , the villa and the town were abandoned, becoming almost forgotten ruins. When St. Benedict , at

464-545: The city for the Sacred Mount, hoping that the symbolism of that hill and its role in the first secession would stir the decemvirs to action. They marched out of the city along the Via Ficulensis, and once again stationed themselves on the Mons Sacer, where they remained until the senate's envoys were able to negotiate their return. Cicero reports these events in reverse, stating that the plebeians first seceded to

493-521: The goods of the abbey and gave the income to people described as unworthy subjects. On receiving a complaint from the community, in 1510 Julius II readjusted matters and restored the monastic possessions. For spiritual benefit, a union was made between Subiaco and the Farfa Abbey , but it lasted only a short time. In 1514, Subiaco joined the Congregation of Santa Justina, whose abbot-general

522-491: The monasteries and the churches. In 1849 and 1867 Giuseppe Garibaldi conquered the city as part of his campaign to end the temporal rule of the pope and unify Italy: in 1870 the city became definitively part of the Kingdom of Italy . In 1891, a Benedictine abbey founded earlier in western Arkansas , United States , changed its name to Subiaco as part of an effort to more closely align its teachings and practices to those of

551-508: The most serious one in 1826, prompted Popes Leo XII and Gregory XVI , as sovereigns of the Papal States , to undertake construction works to control the flow of the water. This included canalisation of the river upstream from Tivoli, excavation of a tunnel through Monte Catillo, and a diversion of the river around Tivoli. This Lazio location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to

580-473: The north the hill is connected with a plateau extending away from the city. A small stream, the Rivus Ulmanus , or stream of elms, descends from the steep eastern slope. The name of the Sacred Mount might be derived from its use as the site of rituals by augurs or haruspices , but according to the historians, it took its name from the lex Sacrata (Sacred Law) that ended the first secession , which

609-527: The plebeians appealed to the Roman Senate for relief, and were rebuffed. They then seceded en masse to the Sacred Mount, where they elected their own leaders, and refused all entreaties by the patricians to return. This standoff was resolved when the Senate, fearful of war with the Sabines , and faced with the lack of an army to fight on the city's behalf, sent envoys known to be favourably disposed to

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638-451: The plebs, led by Agrippa Menenius Lanatus . Menenius and his colleagues argued that neither the patricians nor the plebeians could survive without the other, and agreed to a series of concessions to induce the people to return to the city. The most important of these established two annual offices to be elected by the plebeian assembly alone: the aediles , who took charge of the city's temples, public buildings, and religious festivals, and

667-414: The pope, had to dismiss some of the disputatious monks and fill their places with religious from other monasteries. Numerous monks were brought in from Germany, and for many decades Subiaco was a center of German thrift, science, and art. Urban VI (1378–1389) abolished the position of abbot for life, withdrew from the monks the right of election, and made the administration and revenues the responsibility of

696-496: The proceeds from the destructions of Corinth and Carthage in 146 BC. The emperor Nero created three lakes on the river for his villa at Subiaco . The largest of these dams was the highest dam in classical antiquity and remained in use until its destruction by a flood in 1305. Trajan eventually connected the Anio Novus to one of these lakes. A series of floods during the early nineteenth century, especially

725-577: The river include the Ponte Nomentano , Ponte Mammolo, Ponte Salario , and Ponte di San Francesco , all of which were originally fortified with towers. The river was known to the Romans as Aniō ; this is of unknown etymology , but Francisco Villar Liebana has suggested a root * an - that is found in many river names, such as the Ana ( Guadiana ) and Anisus ( Enns ). Plutarch derived the name from

754-556: The ruins abandoned for a century. By order of John VII , it was rebuilt by Abbot Stephen and consecrated to Saints Benedict and Scholastica. Demolished once more in 840 by the Saracens and then in 981 by the Hungarians, it was rebuilt each time. Benedict VII consecrated the new church, and from then on the abbey was dedicated to Santa Scholastica. In 1052, Leo IX came to Subiaco to settle various disputes and to correct abuses;

783-404: Was a community of twelve monks, on which Innocent III conferred the title of priory; John XXII in 1312 appointed a special abbot for the monks. A new road was built by the city in 1688. The sacred grotto is still a favourite place of pilgrimage. On October 27, 1909, Pius X granted a daily plenary indulgence to those who received Holy Communion there and pray according to the intention of

812-402: Was passed and commemorated by an altar on the hill. The occasion for this law was strife between the patricians , the hereditary aristocracy of ancient Rome, who held nearly all of the city's political and economic power, and the plebeians , the common folk, who formed the majority of the city's population. This conflict of the orders reached its head in 494 BC, when faced with crushing debt,

841-529: Was titular of St. Scholastica, while a cardinal remained commendatory abbot. Even after this union there were quarrels between Subiaco and Farfa, Subiaco and Monte Cassino , essentially between the Germans and the Italians. After this little is known from historical records about the abbey and the city until the 19th century. In 1798–1799 and 1810–1814 French troops under Napoleon entered the city, plundering

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