E-Book Overview
From humble beginnings, Rome became perhaps the greatest intercontinental power in the world. Why did this historic city become so much more influential than its neighbor, nearby Latium, which was peopled by more or less the same stock? Over the years, historians, political analysts, and sociologists have discussed this question ad infinitum, without considering one underlying factor that led to the rise of Rome–the geology now hidden by the modern city. This book demonstrates the important link between the history of Rome and its geologic setting in a lively, fact-filled narrative sure to interest geology and history buffs and travelers alike.
E-Book Content
The Seven Hills of Rome
Copyright © 2005 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540 In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, 3 Market Place, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1SY All Rights Reserved Third printing, and first paperback printing, 2007 Paperback ISBN-13: 978-0-691-13038-5 Paperback ISBN-10: 0-691-13038-8 The Library of Congress has cataloged the cloth edition of this book as follows Heiken, Grant. The seven hills of Rome : A geological tour of the Eternal City / Grant Heiken, Renato Funiciello, and Donatella De Rita. p. cm. ISBN 0-691-06995-6 (alk. paper) 1. Rome (Italy)—Guidebooks. 2. Geology—Italy—Rome—Guidebooks. I. Funiciello, R. II. De Rita, Donatella. III. Title. DG804.H445 2005 913.7′602—dc22 2004016569 British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available This book has been composed in Minion Text Printed on acid-free paper. ∞ press.princeton.edu Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
Contents
Foreword, by Walter Veltroni
vii
Preface
ix
CHAPTER 1 A Tourist’s Introduction to the Geology of Rome
1
Timelines
18
CHAPTER 2 Center of the Western World—The Capitoline (Campidoglio) Hill
27
CHAPTER 3 Palaces and Gardens—The Palatine (Palatino) Hill
37
CHAPTER 4 The Aventine (Aventino) Hill
51
CHAPTER 5 The Tiber Floodplain, Commerce, and Tragedy
59
CHAPTER 6 The Tiber’s Tributaries in Rome—Clogged with Humankind’s Debris
85
CHAPTER 7 The Western Heights—Janiculum, Vatican, and Monte Mario
110
CHAPTER 8 The Celian (Celio) Hill
123
CHAPTER 9 Largest of the Seven Hills—The Esquiline (Esquilino)
153
v
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 10 Upper Class—The Viminal (Viminale) and Quirinal (Quirinale) Hills
162
CHAPTER 11 Field Trips in and around Rome
174
The Seven Hills of Rome in Fifteen Stops Panoramas, Piazzas, and Plateaus A Field Trip to Rome, the City of Water
174 195 216
Acknowledgments
229
Further Reading
231
Index
237
vi
Foreword
FROM ITS TIME as the historic center of the Roman world, Rome has been continuously a political, religious, and administrative capital. Geologic and terrain factors have assured its population growth and, above all, provided the conditions for survival of the most modern culture in the ancient world. From lessons of urban development and prosperity, the Roman people developed the capacity to recognize and to manage in a positive way the natural resources of the region. The volcanic terrain, the Tiber River and its complex watershed, the water resources of the central Apennines and surrounding countryside, and the abundant natural materials for construction, roads, and aqueducts have all contributed to the birth, growth, and success of Rome. If these natural riches were to be considered res nullius (a thing that has no owner), the city would experience progressive and ev