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Geographical position of Ancient Rome

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Map showing 7 hills of Rome

Ancient Rome lay on the left bank of the river Tiber (25 km from the mouth). In the era of empires, ancient Rome was spread on seven surrounding hills: the Capitol, the Aventine, Palatine, Quirinal, Viminal, Eskvinil and Celli and it also included one part of the hill wich was located at the right bank –  Janiculum.

The most suitable for settlement was the Palatine hill, which was surrounded on three sides by steep cliffs. Legend says Romulus founded Rome on the Palatine Hill in 753 BC, and it was the first of Rome’s hills to be inhabited. Ancient Rome’s wealthy aristocrats lived on the Palatine Hill and Augustus, the first emperor, was born there in 63 BC. Many of the emperors built their palaces there, and the ruins of the palace of the Emperor Domitian, as well as other imperial buildings, can still be seen today. At the way they buried their deceased (incineration), also it can be concluded that in many ways it resembled the Albanian way and that the residents of Alba settled Palatine.

Adjacent to the Roman Forum, the Capitoline Hill was the location of a citadel and temples sacred to Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, and the Roman senate held meetings there. Later, the Capitol and the Quirinal were taken over by other residents (inhumation) – scientists considered that those people were Sabines. In the VIII century happened the unification of the village with seven hills – Septimontium (literally “of the seven hills”). The Quirinal was named after the god Quirinus, whose temple was located there.

In the seventh century the first city – Roma quadrata on the Palatine (was a place named just like that and honoured as a sacred place in historical times). The name Roma originally referred probably to that city on the Palatine, gradually spreading to other mountains with the exception of the Aventine (which was united in the fourth century). At that time, the swampy Forum was dried out and around the city, walls were raised. The city borders were named Pomerium. The word Roma – was Etruscans origin. According to that, Rome was created by combination of Latin and Sabines villages + Etruscans participation in the cultural and later in the political agenda.

Most of the ancient structures on the Aventine Hill were destroyed by fires, but the 5th century Mithraic basilica of Santa Sabina remains intact.

After conquering the city of Alba Longa, Roman King Tullus Hostilius (673-641 BC) relocated the population of that city to the Caelian Hill. It was the home of the elite during the period of the Roman Republic. The ruins of the Baths of Caracalla, built between AD 206-216, are located on the Caelian Hill.

In the aftermath of the devastating fire of AD 64, Emperor Nero built an extravagant palace called the Domus Aurea, or Golden House, on and around the Esquiline Hill. After Nero’s death, the palace was largely destroyed and built over. The Colosseum and Baths of Trajan were built in its place. The Basilica of Maxentius, begun in AD 311, is located between the Esquiline and Palatine Hills.
The enormous Baths of Diocletian, built between AD 298 and 306, are located near the Viminal Hill. The church of San Bernardo and the church of Santa Maria degli Angeli, as well as the National Museum of Rome were all later built within the baths complex.

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