1.
Rioni of Rome
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A rione of Rome is a traditional administrative division of the city of Rome. Rione is an Italian term used since the 14th century to name a district of a town, the term was born in Rome, originating from the administrative divisions of the city. The word comes from the Latin word regio, during the Middle Ages the Latin word became rejones, currently, all the rioni are located in Municipio I of Rome. According to tradition, Servius Tullius, sixth king of Rome, first divided the city into regiones, all but Transtiberim were on the left bank of the river Tiber. During the 12th century a division in 12 parts started being used, though not officially, even if the areas were different from the ancient ones, they still used the same name, regio in Latin and rione in the vulgar language. The limits of the rioni became more definitive and official in the 13th century, their number increased to 13, in this period, anyway, the limits were quite uncertain. The rione was not an entity, but only an administrative one. The chief of a rione was the Caporione, during the Renaissance there was a deep reorganization and expansion of the city, so it became necessary to delimit the rioni exactly. In 1586 Sixtus V added to the 13 rioni another one, Borgo and this situation, thanks to the low population increase, did not change until the 19th century. In 1744 Pope Benedict XIV, because of frequent misunderstanding, decided to replan the administrative division of Rome, the marble plates defining the borders of each rione, many of which still exist, were installed in that year on the facades of houses lying at each riones border. So the smaller rioni were united to the large ones, at this time the French affixed in each street a plate with its name and the areas it belonged to. After Napoleon lost his power there were no significant changes in the organization of the city until Rome became the capital of the newborn Italy, the needs of the new capital caused a great urbanization and an increase of the population, both within the Aurelian walls and outside them. In 1874 the rioni became 15, with the addition of Esquilino, at the beginning of the 20th century some rioni started being split up and the first parts outside the Aurelian walls started being considered part of the city. In 1921 the number of the rioni increased to 22, Prati was the last rione to be established and the only one outside the walls of Urbanus VIII. The latest reform, which is still valid, was made in 1972, Rome was divided in 20 circoscrizioni and 20 rioni constituted the first one. The two remaining, Borgo and Prati, belonged to the XVIIth municipality until 2013, since then they belong too to the first Municipio. Media related to Districts of Rome at Wikimedia Commons
2.
Municipio I
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The Municipio I, is an administrative subdivision of the city of Rome. It is the center of the municipality of Rome and it was firstly created by Romes City Council on 19 January 2001 and it has a president who is elected during the mayoral elections. Since 11 March 2013 its borders were modified and was expanded with the incorporation between Municipio I and Municipio XVII, Municipio I is home to the Rioni of Rome, which are the citys historic districts. Municipio I is divided into localities, The localities of Prati, Delle Vittorie. The current majority is formed by Democratic Party and Left Ecology Freedom
3.
Dragon
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A dragon is a legendary creature, typically scaled or fire-spewing and with serpentine, reptilian or avian traits, that features in the myths of many cultures around world. The two most well-known cultural traditions of dragon are The European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Balkans, most are depicted as reptilian creatures with animal-level intelligence, and are uniquely six-limbed. The Chinese dragon, with counterparts in Japan, Korea and other East Asian, most are depicted as serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence, and are quadrupeds. The two traditions may have evolved separately, but have influenced each other to a certain extent, the English word dragon and Latin word draco derives from Greek δράκων, dragon, serpent of huge size, water-snake. The Greek and Latin term referred to any great serpent, not necessarily mythological, a dragon is a mythological representation of a reptile. In antiquity, dragons were mostly envisaged as serpents, but since the Middle Ages, it has become common to them with legs. Dragons are usually shown in modern times with a body like a huge lizard, the European dragon has bat-like wings growing from its back. A dragon-like creature with wings but only a pair of legs is known as a wyvern. The association of the serpent with a monstrous opponent overcome by a deity has its roots in the mythology of the Ancient Near East, including Canaanite, Hittite. Humbaba, the fire-breathing dragon-fanged beast first described in the Epic of Gilgamesh, is described as a dragon with Gilgamesh playing the part of dragon-slayer. The folk-lore motif of the dragon guarding gold may have come from earlier Bronze Age customs of introducing serpents to village granaries to deter rats or mice. Although dragons occur in many legends around the world, different cultures have varying stories about monsters that have been grouped together under the dragon label, some dragons are said to breathe fire or to be poisonous, such as in the Old English poem Beowulf. They are commonly portrayed as serpentine or reptilian, hatching from eggs and they are sometimes portrayed as hoarding treasure. Some myths portray them with a row of dorsal spines, European dragons are more often winged, while Chinese dragons resemble large snakes. Dragons can have a number of legs, none, two, four, or more when it comes to early European literature. Dragons are often held to have spiritual significance in various religions. In many Asian cultures, dragons were, and in some still are, revered as representative of the primal forces of nature, religion. They are associated with wisdom—often said to be wiser than humans—and longevity and they are commonly said to possess some form of magic or other supernatural power, and are often associated with wells, rain, and rivers
4.
Pope Sylvester I
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Pope Sylvester I, whose name is also spelled Silvester, was pope from 31 January,314 to his death in 335. He filled the See of Rome at an important era in the history of the Catholic Church and his feast is jubilantly celebrated as Saint Sylvesters Day among the Western Christian Churches on December 31, while Eastern Christian Churches commemorate it on January 2. Sylvester did not attend the First Council of Nicaea in 325 and these also appear in the Donation of Constantine. The Pope, in return, offered the crown of his own good will to Constantine, such a useful legend quickly gained wide circulation, Gregory of Tours referred to this political legend in his history of the Franks, written in the 580s. Pope Sylvester II, himself a close associate of Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, in the West, the liturgical feast of Saint Sylvester is on 31 December, the day of his burial in the Catacomb of Priscilla. This is the last day in the year and, accordingly, in German-speaking countries and in some close to them. In other countries, too, the day is referred to as Saint Sylvesters Day or the Feast of Saint Sylvester. In São Paulo, Brazil, a running event called the Saint Silvester Road Race occurs every year on 31 December. According to it, Pope Sylvester was offered the imperial crown, lu Santu Papa Silvestru, a story in Giuseppe Pitrès collection of Sicilian fables, recounts the legend as follows, Constantine the king wants to take a second wife, and asks Sylvester. Sylvester denies him permission, calling on heaven as witness, Constantine threatens him, not long after, Constantine falls ill, when he is desperate of ever regaining his health he has a dream which commands him to send for Sylvester. He obeys, and Sylvester receives Constantines messengers in his cave and swiftly baptizes them, whereafter he is led back to Constantine, whom he baptizes also, in this story, Constantine and his entourage are not pagans but Jews. Another legend has Sylvester slaying a dragon and he is often depicted with the dying beast. List of longest-reigning popes List of Catholic saints List of popes Gisela Schmitt, Pope St. Sylvester I CE Francesco Scorza Barcellona, SILVESTRO I, santo. In, Enciclopedia dei Papi, Istituto della Enciclopedia Italiana Template, LThK Horst Fuhrmann, Konstantinische Schenkung in, vol.5, Artemis & Winkler, Munich/Zurich 1991, ISBN 3-7608-8905-0, Col. 1385–1387. Papst in, Lexicon of the Middle Ages, vol.7, LexMA-Verlag, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-7608-8907-7, Col. 1905–1908. Opera Omnia by Migne Colonnade Statue in St Peters Square Legenda Aurea
5.
Roman Forum
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The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, here statues and monuments commemorated the citys great men. The teeming heart of ancient Rome, it has called the most celebrated meeting place in the world. Many of the oldest and most important structures of the ancient city were located on or near the Forum, the Roman kingdoms earliest shrines and temples were located on the southeastern edge. Other archaic shrines to the northwest, such as the Umbilicus Urbis and this is where the Senate—as well as Republican government itself—began. The Senate House, government offices, tribunals, temples, memorials, over time the archaic Comitium was replaced by the larger adjacent Forum and the focus of judicial activity moved to the new Basilica Aemilia. Some 130 years later, Julius Caesar built the Basilica Julia, along with the new Curia Julia, eventually much economic and judicial business would transfer away from the Forum Romanum to the larger and more extravagant structures to the north. The reign of Constantine the Great saw the construction of the last major expansion of the Forum complex—the Basilica of Maxentius and this returned the political center to the Forum until the fall of the Western Roman Empire almost two centuries later. This is the case despite attempts, with success, to impose some order there, by Sulla, Julius Caesar, Augustus. By the Imperial period, the public buildings that crowded around the central square had reduced the open area to a rectangle of about 130 by 50 metres. Its long dimension was oriented northwest to southeast and extended from the foot of the Capitoline Hill to that of the Velian Hill, the Forums basilicas during the Imperial period—the Basilica Aemilia on the north and the Basilica Julia on the south—defined its long sides and its final form. The Forum proper included this square, the buildings facing it and, sometimes, originally, the site of the Forum had been a marshy lake where waters from the surrounding hills drained. This was drained by the Tarquins with the Cloaca Maxima, because of its location, sediments from both the flooding of the Tiber and the erosion of the surrounding hills have been raising the level of the Forum floor for centuries. Excavated sequences of remains of paving show that sediment eroded from the hills was already raising the level in early Republican times. As the ground around buildings rose, residents simply paved over the debris that was too much to remove and its final travertine paving, still visible, dates from the reign of Augustus. Excavations in the 19th century revealed one layer on top of another, the deepest level excavated was 3.60 metres above sea level. Archaeological finds show human activity at that level with the discovery of carbonised wood, an important function of the Forum, during both Republican and Imperial times, was to serve as the culminating venue for the celebratory military processions known as Triumphs. Victorious generals entered the city by the western Triumphal Gate and circumnavigated the Palatine Hill before proceeding from the Velian Hill down the Via Sacra, from here they would mount the Capitoline Rise up to the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the summit of the Capitol
6.
Capitoline Hill
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The Capitoline Hill, between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was known as Mons Saturnius, dedicated to the god Saturn. The word Capitolium first meant the temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus later built here, Ancient sources refer the name to caput and the tale was that, when laying the foundations for the temple, the head of a man was found. Some sources even saying it was the head of some Tolus or Olus, the Capitolium was regarded by the Romans as indestructible, and was adopted as a symbol of eternity. By the 16th century, Capitolinus had become Capitolino in Italian, influenced by Roman architecture and Roman republican times, the word Capitolium still lives in the English word capitol. The Capitol Hill in Washington, D. C. is widely assumed to be named after the Capitoline Hill, at this hill, the Sabines, creeping to the Citadel, were let in by the Roman maiden Tarpeia. For this treachery, Tarpeia was the first to be punished by being flung from a cliff overlooking the Roman Forum. This cliff was named the Tarpeian Rock after the Vestal Virgin. The Sabines, who immigrated to Rome following the Rape of the Sabine Women, the Vulcanal, an 8th-century BC sacred precinct, occupied much of the eastern lower slopes of the Capitoline, at the head of what would later become the Roman Forum. The summit was the site of a temple for the Capitoline Triad, started by Romes fifth king, Tarquinius Priscus and it was considered one of the largest and the most beautiful temples in the city. The city legend starts with the recovery of a human skull when foundation trenches were being dug for the Temple of Jupiter at Tarquins order, recent excavations on the Capitoline uncovered an early cemetery under the Temple of Jupiter. There are several important temples built on Capitoline hill, the temple of Juno Moneta, the temple of Virtus, the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus Capitolinus is the most important of the temples. It was built in 509 BC and was nearly as large as the Parthenon, the hill and the temple of Jupiter became the symbols of Rome, the capital of the world. The Temple of Saturn was built at the foot of Capitoline Hill in the end of the Forum Romanum. According to legend Marcus Manlius Capitolinus was alerted to the Gallic attack by the geese of Juno. Vespasians brother and nephew were also besieged in the temple during the Year of Four Emperors, the Tabularium, located underground beneath the piazza and hilltop, occupies a building of the same name built in the 1st century BC to hold Roman records of state. The Tabularium looks out from the rear onto the Roman Forum, the main attraction of the Tabularium, besides the structure itself, is the Temple of Veiovis. During the lengthy period of ancient Rome, the Capitoline Hill was the geographical and ceremonial center, however, by the Renaissance, the former center was an untidy conglomeration of dilapidated buildings and the site of executions of criminals
7.
Palatine Hill
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The Palatine Hill is the centremost of the Seven Hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city. It stands 40 metres above the Roman Forum, looking down upon it on one side, from the time of Augustus Imperial palaces were built here and hence it became the etymological origin of the word palace and its cognates in other languages. According to Livy the Palatine hill got its name from the Arcadian settlement of Pallantium, more likely, it is derived from the noun palātum palate, Ennius uses it once for the heaven, and it may be connected with the Etruscan word for sky, falad. The term palace itself stems from Palatium, according to Roman mythology, the Palatine Hill was the location of the cave, known as the Lupercal, where Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf Lupa that kept them alive. Another legend occuring on the Palatine is Hercules defeat of Cacus after the monster had stolen some cattle. Hercules struck Cacus with his characteristic club so hard that it formed a cleft on the southeast corner of the hill, Rome has its origins on the Palatine. Excavations show that people have lived in the area since the 10th century BC, according to Livy, after the immigration of the Sabines and the Albans to Rome, the original Romans lived on the Palatine. The Palatine Hill was also the site of the ancient festival of the Lupercalia, many affluent Romans of the Republican period had their residences there. Augustus also built a temple to Apollo here, the Palace of Domitian which dominates the site and looks out over the Circus Maximus was rebuilt largely during the reign of Domitian over earlier buildings of Nero. Later emperors particularly the Severans made significant additions to the buildings, the House of Livia, the wife of Augustus, is conventially attributed to her based only on the generic name on a clay pipe and circumstantial factors such as proximity to the House of Augustus. The building is located near the Temple of Magna Mater at the end of the hill. It is notable for its beautiful frescoes, the House of Tiberius is located next to the Temple of Cybele, on the platform built by Nero and in the current Farnese Gardens. During Augustus reign, an area of the Palatine Hill was roped off for a sort of archaeological expedition and he declared this site the original town of Rome. Modern archaeology has identified evidence of Bronze Age settlement in the area which predates Romes founding, there is a museum on the Palatine in which artifacts dating from before the official foundation of the City are displayed. The museum also contains Roman statuary, an altar to an unknown deity, once thought to be Aius Locutius, was discovered here in 1820. In July 2006, archaeologists announced the discovery of the Palatine House, head archaeologist Clementina Panella uncovered a section of corridor and other fragments under Romes Palatine Hill, which she described on July 20 as a very ancient aristocratic house. On the ground floor, three shops opened onto the Via Sacra, the location of the domus is important because of its potential proximity to the Curiae Veteres, the earliest shrine of the curies of Rome. In January 2007, Italian archeologist Irene Iacopi announced that she had found the legendary Lupercal cave beneath the remains of Augustus residence
8.
Piazza Venezia
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Piazza Venezia is the central hub of Rome, Italy, in which several thoroughfares intersect, including the Via dei Fori Imperiali and the Via del Corso. It takes its name from the Palazzo Venezia, built by the Venetian Cardinal, Pietro Barbo alongside the church of Saint Mark, the Palazzo Venezia served as the embassy of the Republic of Venice in Rome. One side of the Piazza is the site of Italys Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in the Altare della Patria, part of the imposing Monument to Vittorio Emanuele II, the piazza or square is at the foot of the Capitoline Hill and next to Trajans Forum. The main artery, the Viale di Fori Imperiali begins there, in 2009, during excavations in the middle of the square for the construction of the Rome C Metro Line, remains of the emperor Hadrians Athenaeum were unearthed
9.
Basilica of Santa Maria in Ara Coeli
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The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. It is still the designated Church of the city council of Rome, the present Cardinal Priest of the Titulus Sancta Mariae de Aracoeli is Salvatore De Giorgi. Originally the church was named Sancta Maria in Capitolio, since it was sited on the Capitoline Hill of Ancient Rome, for this reason the figures of Augustus and of the Tiburtine sibyl are painted on either side of the arch above the high altar. A later legend substituted an apparition of the Virgin Mary, in The History of Money, Anthropologist Jack Weatherford goes into some detail about the churchs previous incarnation as the temple of Juno Moneta—on the Arx—after whom Money is named. From Moneta came the modem English words mint and money and, ultimately, today, the site of the Temple of Juno Moneta, the source of the great stream of Roman currency, has given way to the ancient. Brick church of Santa Maria in Aracoeli, centuries ago, church architects incorporated the ruins of the ancient temple into the new building. The church is thought to have replaced the auguraculum, the seat of the augurs. The foundation of the church was laid on the site of a Byzantine abbey mentioned in 574. Many buildings were built around the first church, in the part they gave rise to a cloister, while on the slopes of the hill a little quarter. Remains of these buildings - such as the church of San Biagio de Mercato. At first the church followed the Greek rite, a sign of the power of the Byzantine exarch, the arches that divide the nave from the aisles are supported on columns, no two precisely alike, scavenged from Roman ruins. During the Middle Ages, this became the centre of the religious. In 1571, Santa Maria in Aracoeli hosted the celebrations honoring Marcantonio Colonna after the victorious Battle of Lepanto over the Turkish fleet, marking this occasion, the compartmented ceiling was gilded and painted, to thank the Blessed Virgin for the victory. In 1797, with the Roman Republic, the basilica was deconsecrated and turned into a stable. The original unfinished façade has lost the mosaics and subsequent frescoes that decorated it, save a mosaic in the tympanum of the main door. The Gothic window is the detail that tourists can see from the bottom of the stairs. The church is built as a nave and two aisles that are divided by Roman columns, all different, taken from diverse antique monuments. Among its numerous treasures are Pinturicchios 15th-century frescoes depicting the life of Saint Bernardino of Siena in the Bufalini Chapel and it houses also Madonna Aracoeli, in the Altar
10.
Santa Francesca Romana, Rome
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Santa Francesca Romana, previously known as Santa Maria Nova, is a church in Rome, Italy, situated next to the Roman Forum in the rione Campitelli. The interior has been altered since, since 1352 the church has been in the care of the Olivetans. In the 16th century, the church was rededicated to Frances of Rome and its travertine porch and façade is by Carlo Lambardi, and was completed in 1615. The inscriptions found in Santa Francesca Romana, a valuable source illustrating the history of the church, have collected and published by Vincenzo Forcella. The interior, a nave with side chapels, was rebuilt by Lombardi in the years preceding Francesca Buzzis canonization. In the middle of the nave is the rectangular schola cantorum of the old church, another prominent feature is the confessional designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, in polychrome marbles with four columns veneered in jasper. The church houses the precious Madonna Glycophilousa, an early 5th-century Hodegetria icon brought from Santa Maria Antiqua, the twelfth-century Madonna and Child that had been painted over it was meticulously detached from the panel in 1950, and is now kept in the sacristy. The ancient oratory on which the current church was built was located by Pope Paul I on the place in which Simon Magus died. According to this legend, Simon Magus wanted to prove his powers as stronger than those of the apostles, the two apostles fell on their knees preaching, and Simon fell, dying. The basalt stones where the apostles were imprinted by the knees of the two apostles and are embedded in the wall of the south transept. The tomb of Pope Gregory XI, who returned the papacy to Rome from Avignon, the Deaconry was suppressed on 8 August 1661. S. Maria Nova was reestablished, as the Titulus of a Cardinal Priest, the titulus of the church remains Sancta Mariae Novae, the current Cardinal Priest of the Titulus S. Mariae Novae is Angelo Sodano. A Cardinal Priest no longer has any jurisdiction over his church or its clergy. He is only the Cardinal Protector, saint Francesca Romana has been named the patron of car drivers, because of a legend that an angel used to light her way with a lamp when she travelled at night. Automobiles line up on the day of her feast as far as the Colosseum, the facade of the Church of Holy Cross College, in Clonliffe in Dublin, Ireland, is a replica of Santa Francesca Romana. It was designed by the Gothic Architect J. J, mcCarthy and is the only exception to his list of Gothic works. Pierre Roger de Beaufort Elected Pope Gregory XI, jacobus de Torso Utinensis Pietro Barbo translated to S. Marco, later Pope Paul II Francesco Gonzaga. Translated to the Deaconry of S. Eustachio, translated to the Deaconry of S. Eustachio
Media related to Rione X - Campitelli at Wikimedia Commons
