the oppian, caelian,
and aventine hills

our apartment was located on the oppian hill, east of the colisseum. it is where the emperor nero built a huge palace in about 65 a.d. that he called the domus aurea, or golden house. it was later destroyed in a fire in 104 A.D., after which the baths of trajan were built there. the park where these ruins are found began about a block from the apartment.

the street where our apartment was located, in what had been a neighborhood of luxurious homes in the 19th century.

this mansion struck us as particularly interesting, with art deco motives with an etruscan influence.

traveling south from the apartment brought us quickly to the caelian hill, known especially for its early christian churches. our favorite was the church of saint clement or san clemente (he was said to have been the second pope of rome, after saint peter). the church was built in 1108, after a fire had destroyed an earlier church on the site. although there has been a lot of renovation of the church over the centuries, its spectacular 12th-century mosaics still dominate the apse (area around the altar).

the rounded end in this picture is the 12th-century portion, as is the stone mosaic floor, and the central choir stall with its short marble walls. the gilded ceiling and white plaster walls are much later additions. Note how the capitals at the top of the 12th-century columns have been covered over by the later changes.

the mosaic shows a byzantine influence.

details from the mosaic shows the quality of the work, including images from nature, such as a stag and a peacock, and scenes from everyday life, such as a woman feeding chickens and a man and boy tending sheep (is the boy milking the sheep?).

in the crypt below the 12th-century church, though, there are remnants of the earlier church, built in the 4th century A.D.

here is an image of a woman and child. it might be the madonna, but she is shown wearing the headdress of a byzantine empress.

below the 4th-century church are equally interesting remains, of a pagan temple dedicated to the persian god mithra.

mithra was a popular god with roman soldiers at the end of the roman empire, and is shown here, as usual, slaying a demon in the form of a bull.

there are other early christian churches on the caelian hill, but most have undergone substantial renovations that have changed them dramatically.

here is the campanile or bell tower of the church of saints john and paul (san giovanni e paolo). it dates from the 12th century, when the church was rebuilt after being sacked by the normans of sicily. the foundations of the campanile are built atop the ruins of the pagan temple to the emperor claudius, deified after his death.

moving to the west from the caelian hill is the aventine hill. it provides a beautiful view of the city of rome.

the dome of saint peter's basilica in vatican city is on the left horizon, the tiber river lies in the center with the oldest bridge, the ponte palatino, in the center, and the monument to king victor emmanuel ii is the structure with the two white towers on the capitoline hilltop on the right horizon.

the aventine hill is a quiet neighborhood, where the splashing of a public fountain provides a welcome sound.

between the aventine and caelian hills is a deep valley where the circus maximus was built. its origins may go back as far as the 7th century B.C., but it was julius caesar who enlarged it to over 1000 feet. here were held chariot races until 549 A.D., when the circus was abandoned. nowadays only the open area remains, with grassy banks covering what is left of the seating areas.

beyond the circus is the edge of the palatine hill, and buildings for the emperors to watch the races from a high vantage point.