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The world of ancient Romans abounded in a number of amazing curiosities and information. The source of knowledge about the life of the Romans are mainly works left to us by ancient writers or discoveries. The Romans left behind a lot of strange information and facts that are sometimes hard to believe.
Aquis Querquennis is a Roman military camp located in northwestern Spain, in Galicia, on the Limia River. It is one of the most important archaeological sites of the region, providing fascinating information about Roman expansion into the Iberian Peninsula and the lives of Roman legionaries in the province of Gallaecia.
Porta Portuensis was one of the monumental gates in the defensive walls of ancient Rome, built during the times of Emperor Aurelian in the 3rd century CE. The gate was located in the western part of the city, near today’s Trastevere, and led to the Roman Port, one of the main trading centers of antiquity, located at the mouth of the Tiber River. The gate was rebuilt in 403 CE, during the reign of Honorius.
Domus Transitoria is a very mysterious palace, about which much less is known than about other residences of Roman emperors. Other palaces of the Caesars: Domus Augustea, Domus Tiberiana, Domus Augustana, and Domus Flavia, Domus Severiana and even Domus Aurea) can still be admired on Palatine Hill or extensive ruins nearby. Meanwhile, surprisingly little is known about Nero’s first palace. Suetonius writes in the Lives of the Caesars that Nero built it to connect various residences inherited from his ancestors on the Palatine, Velia, Oppius and Esquiline. But this palace was destroyed during the great fire of Rome in 64 CE. Nero did not rebuild it, and on its ruins, he soon built Domus Aurea.
The insula was built at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries CE and was later rebuilt many times. It is located at the foot of the Capitoline Hill, from Via del Teatro di Marcello, and is perfectly visible to everyone heading from Piazza Venezia towards the monumental stairs leading to Piazza dell Campidoglio. Today, only three floors of the tenement house protrude above the street level – the second and third floors, as well as a small part of the fourth floor. The ground floor and first floor are located in a deep excavation and can only be seen by leaning over the railing (be careful!). Unfortunately, only the second and third floors can be visited. The rest are closed and even with a reservation it is impossible to see them.
Colosseum is such an overwhelmingly monumental monument that few people pass by it and pay attention to other remains of the ancient Roman world that are located nearby. Today’s post will be devoted to one of them – modest, but extremely interesting ruins, which almost everyone passes by with complete indifference. You will find them on the north side of the square where the Colosseum stands. These are strange, evenly-spaced brick structures placed along the sidewalk at the foot of Oppio Hill.
Rome today still hides many secrets, and visitors to this city can encounter evidence of its former power at every step. The impressive Colosseum or Pantheon, evidence of ancient technical thought, proudly towers above the crowds of tourists. However, some places offer almost intimate experiences and contain the pure spirit of antiquity. For just such an experience, we can visit the house of Octavian Augustus himself.
Forum Romanum is a place where every stone tells a story. Today I will tell you about one of the most inconspicuous relics of Roman civilization that can be found in the Forum – the shrine of Venus Cloacina.
I don’t know about you, but I’m fascinated by discovering the continuity of the fate of the city and its individual parts. From the perspective of a short human existence, the evolution of urban space – its reconstructions, transformations and changes in functions – seems almost imperceptible. Sometimes it is only when we return to a place after many years that we say “what has changed here!” But when you look at the city from the perspective of hundreds of years, the changes the city is undergoing are much more visible.
When you walk around Rome, do you wonder what is hidden under your feet? Aren’t you curious how much of the ancient capital of the Empire has been preserved in its medieval Renaissance and Baroque walls?
An aerial photo showing the Roman road in Jordan – Via Nova Traiana. The road was built during the reign of Emperor Trajan (reigned 98-117 CE) in the province of Arabia Petraea and stretched from the city of Aqaba (present-day Jordan) to Bostra (present-day Syria).
