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26-445: The villa was built in an area of Rome known as the 'Vigna Vecchia' (which was once against the city walls ), lying on the slopes of Monte Parioli , as a 'Villa Suburbana' and a place of repose. The pope, a highly literate connoisseur of the arts, assigned the initial design of the building to Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola in 1551–1553. The nymphaeum and other garden structures, however, were designed by Bartolomeo Ammanati , all under

52-536: A severe defeat on the Romans at Placentia (modern Piacenza ) before eventually being driven back. Further trouble broke out in Rome itself in the summer of 271, when the mint workers rose in rebellion . Several thousand people died in the fierce fighting that resulted. Aurelian's construction of the walls as an emergency measure was a reaction to the invasion of 270; the historian Aurelius Victor states explicitly that

78-753: A line of city walls built between 271 AD and 275 AD in Rome , Italy , during the reign of the Roman Emperor Aurelian . They superseded the earlier Servian Wall built during the 4th century BC. The walls enclosed all the seven hills of Rome plus the Campus Martius and, on the right bank of the Tiber , the Trastevere district. The river banks within the city limits appear to have been left unfortified, although they were fortified along

104-715: Is a museum dedicated to the Etruscan and Faliscan civilizations, housed in the Villa Giulia in Rome , Italy . It is the most important Etruscan museum in the world. The villa was built for Pope Julius III , for whom it was named. It remained in papal property until 1870, when, in the wake of the Risorgimento and the demise of the Papal States , it became the property of the Kingdom of Italy . The museum

130-688: The Acqua Vergine , also supplies the Trevi Fountain in Rome. The Casino della Vigna ("little house in the vineyard "), as it was sometimes known, and its gardens were set in the midst of vineyards, which could be viewed from shaded arcades on the outsides of the garden walls. Papal parties embarked on boats at the gates of the Vatican and were transported up the Tiber to the villa's long-gone private landing stage. Following Pope Julius' death, his successor Pope Paul IV confiscated all

156-711: The Plague of Cyprian . The walls were built in the short time of only five years, though Aurelian himself died before the completion of the project. Progress was accelerated, and money saved, by incorporating existing buildings into the structure. These included the Amphitheatrum Castrense , the Castra Praetoria , the Pyramid of Cestius , and even a section of the Aqua Claudia aqueduct near

182-581: The Porta Maggiore . As much as a sixth of the walls is estimated to have been composed of pre-existing structures. An area behind the walls was cleared and sentry passages were built to enable it to be reinforced quickly in an emergency. The actual effectiveness of the wall is disputable, given the relatively small size of the city's garrison. The entire combined strength of the Praetorian Guard , cohortes urbanae , and vigiles of Rome

208-493: The Tidewater region of Virginia . The rear of the building has Vignola's large hemispherical loggia overlooking the first of three courtyards, laid out as a simple parterre . At its rear the visitor passes through the casina , which again has a hemispherical rear facade, enclosing paired flights of re-entrant marble steps that give access to the heart of the villa complex: a two-story Nympheum for alfresco dining during

234-590: The Campus Martius. The size of the entire enclosed area is 1,400 hectares (3,500 acres). The wall cut through populated areas: in reality the city at the time embraced 2,400 hectares (5,900 acres). Pliny the Elder in the first century AD suggested that the densely populated areas, extrema tectorum ("the limits of the roofed areas") extended 2.8 kilometres (1.7 mi) from the Golden Milestone in

260-484: The Forum (Natural History 3.67). The full circuit ran for 19 km (12 mi) surrounding an area of 13.7 km (5.3 sq mi). The walls were constructed in brick-faced concrete, 3.5 m (11 ft) thick and 8 m (26 ft) high, with a square tower every 100 Roman feet (29.6 m (97 ft)). In the 4th century, remodelling doubled the height of the walls to 16 m (52 ft). By 500 AD,

286-514: The boundary of the city of Rome up until the 19th century, with the built-up area being confined within the walled area. The Aurelian Walls remain remarkably well-preserved today, largely the result of their constant use as Rome's primary fortification until the 19th century. The Museo delle Mura near the Porta San Sebastiano offers information on the walls' construction and how the defenses operated. The best-preserved sections of

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312-475: The building is a somber two-story facade with each story being given equal value. It has at its centre the triple rhythm of a richly detailed rusticated triumphal arch flanked by symmetrical wings of two bays only. The facade is terminated at each end by Doric pilasters . In this facade of the Villa Giulia is the genesis of the seven-bay 18th century Georgian villa, which was reproduced as far away as

338-512: The circuit possessed 383 towers, 7,020 crenellations , 18 main gates, 5 postern gates , 116 latrines , and 2,066 large external windows. By the third century AD, the boundaries of Rome had grown far beyond the area enclosed by the old Servian Wall , built during the Republican period in the late 4th century BC. Rome had remained unfortified during the subsequent centuries of expansion and consolidation due to lack of hostile threats against

364-742: The city. The citizens of Rome took great pride in knowing that Rome required no fortifications because of the stability brought by the Pax Romana and the protection of the Roman army . However, the need for updated defences became acute during the crisis of the Third Century , when various tribes moved through the Germanic frontier and the Roman army struggled to stop them. In 270, groups of Juthungi and Vandals invaded northern Italy , inflicting

390-457: The heat of the summer. This three-levelled structure of covered loggias, decorated with marble statuary, reclining river gods in niches, and balustrading, is constructed around a central fountain. Here in this cool environment, sheltered from the blazing sun, day-long picnics would be held. The central fountain, Fontana dell'Acqua Vergine , was designed and sculpted by Vasari and Ammannati: it depicts river gods and caryatids . The fountain's source,

416-499: The pope traveled often by boat. The villa, as was customary, had an urban entrance (on the Roman Via Flaminia ) and a formal but rural garden entrance. The villa itself was on the threshold between two worlds, that of the city and that of the country, an essentially Roman concept. A medal struck in 1935 shows the villa as substantially complete, but with a pair of cupolas which were never executed. Vignola's urban front of

442-416: The project aimed to alleviate the city's vulnerability. It may also have been intended to send a political signal as a statement that Aurelian trusted that the people of Rome would remain loyal, as well as serving as a public declaration of the emperor's firm hold on power. The construction of the walls was by far the largest building project that had taken place in Rome for many decades, and their construction

468-545: The properties he had assembled; the villa was divided, and the main building and part of the gardens became the property of the Camera apostolica . The Villa was reserved for the use of the new pope's Borromeo nephews. It was restored in 1769 on the initiative of Pope Clement XIV , confiscated by the new state of Italy in 1870, and given over to the National Etruscan Museum in the early 20th century. In

494-471: The supervision of Giorgio Vasari . Michelangelo also worked there. Pope Julius took a direct interest in the villa's design and decor and spent vast amounts of money on enhancing its beauties. Villa Giulia became one of the most delicate examples of Mannerist architecture . Only a small part of the original property has survived intact, comprising three vineyards which extended down to the Tiber, and to which

520-631: The third season of Medici , it is the site of the first meeting between Clarice Orsini , wife of Lorenzo Medici , and Caterina Sforza 's wife of Girolamo Riario , that takes place in what would appear to be the palace of a fictitious “Cardinal Bianco.” The meeting scene is filmed in the courtyard of the hemicycle of Villa Giulia in Rome (now home to the National Etruscan Museum ). [REDACTED] Media related to Villa Giulia (Rome) at Wikimedia Commons Aurelian Walls The Aurelian Walls ( Italian : Mura aureliane ) are

546-545: The wall were doubled in height by Maxentius in the period 306 - 312 AD, who also improved the watch-towers. In 401, under Honorius , the walls and the gates were improved. At this time, the Tomb of Hadrian across the Tiber was incorporated as a fortress in the city defenses. The Aurelian Walls halted the Arab raid against Rome in 846 and limited the raiders' pillaging, sacking, and plundering of historic treasures to sites outside

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572-750: The walls are found from the Muro Torto (Villa Borghese) to Corso d'Italia to Castro Pretorio; from Porta San Giovanni to Porta Ardeatina ; from Porta Ostiense to the Tiber; and around Porta San Pancrazio . List of gates ( porte ), from the northernmost and clockwise: Gates in Trastevere (from the southernmost and clockwise): [REDACTED] Media related to Gates of Rome at Wikimedia Commons 41°52′24″N 12°29′56″E  /  41.87333°N 12.49889°E  / 41.87333; 12.49889 National Etruscan Museum The National Etruscan Museum ( Italian : Museo Nazionale Etrusco )

598-613: The walls, including the basilicas of Old St Peter's and St Paul's-Outside-the-Walls . This vulnerability prompted the construction of the Leonine walls from 848 to 852 to encircle Vatican Hill . The Aurelian Walls continued as a significant military defense for the city of Rome until 20 September 1870, when the Bersaglieri of the Kingdom of Italy breached the wall near the Porta Pia and captured Rome . The walls also defined

624-424: Was a concrete statement of the continued strength of Rome. The construction project was unusually left to the citizens themselves to complete as Aurelian could not afford to spare a single legionary for the project. The root of this unorthodox practice was the imminent threat of the foreign tribes coupled with the wavering strength of the military as a whole due to being subject to years of bloody civil war, famine and

650-546: Was founded in 1889 as part of the same nationalistic movement, with the aim of collecting together all the pre- Roman antiquities of Latium , southern Etruria and Umbria belonging to the Etruscan and Faliscan civilizations, and has been housed in the villa since the beginning of the 20th century. The museum's most famous single treasure is the terracotta funerary monument, the almost life-size Bride and Groom (the so-called Sarcofago degli Sposi , or Sarcophagus of

676-427: Was only about 25,000 men – far too few to defend the circuit adequately. However, the military intention of the wall was not to withstand prolonged siege warfare; it was not common for the invading armies to besiege cities, as they were insufficiently equipped and provisioned for such a task. Instead, they carried out hit-and-run raids against ill-defended targets. The wall was a deterrent against such tactics. Parts of

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