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147-520: The street is located in Rome, in the Borgo rione , and extends in an east–west direction from Via San Pio X to Largo degli Alicorni. Until 1870, the present Via dei Penitenzieri between house numbers 12 and 32 was also part of Borgo Santo Spirito. In the early Middle Ages, the eastern part of the street was called Borgo dei Sassoni , while the western part was called Borgo dei Frisoni or Borgo San Michele , and

294-753: A pyramid similar to that still standing near Porta San Paolo ) that was demolished only in 1499. At the foot of the Vatican Hill , two roads started: the Via Cornelia , which joined the Via Aurelia near Tarquinii , and the Via Triumphalis ( Triumphal Road), which met the Via Cassia a few kilometers north. The latter was so named because, beginning with Titus , the Roman Emperors used it to enter

441-556: A successful expedition . After Agrippina's exile, Burrus and Seneca were responsible for the administration of the Empire. However, Nero's "conduct became far more egregious" after his mother's death. Miriam T. Griffins suggests that Nero's decline began as early as AD 55 with the murder of his stepbrother Britannicus, but also notes that "Nero lost all sense of right and wrong and listened to flattery with total credulity" after Agrippina's death. Griffin points out that Tacitus "makes explicit

588-450: A "literary device, utilized [by Tacitus] because [he] could see no plausible explanation for Nero's conduct and also incidentally [served] to show that Nero, like Claudius, had fallen under the malign influence of a woman." Modern scholars believe that Nero's reign had been going well in the years before Agrippina's death. For example, Nero promoted the exploration of the Nile river sources with

735-658: A Lion (representing the Leonine City), and three Mounts and a Star (taken from the coat of arms of Pope Sixtus). At the beginning of the 17th century Pope Paul V restored the Aqua Traiana , an ancient Roman Aqueduct , and had several fountains built in the Rione (among them, that designed by Carlo Maderno in Piazza Scossacavalli , now placed in front of the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle ). Pope Alexander VII , after

882-627: A branch of the Santo Spirito. The hospital of Santo Spirito itself was enlarged by Alexander VII ( r.  1655–1667 ) (towards Via dei Penitenzieri) and by Benedict XIV ( r.  1740–1758 ) (along the Tiber). Continuing along the road towards St Peter's on the right-hand side, in 1659 the church of San Lorenzo in Piscibus ("St. Lawrence among the fishes", because of a nearby fish market), founded according to an ancient tradition by Galla of Rome in

1029-594: A building built near the Tiber to house clergymen and princes from his kingdom, imposing for its maintenance a tribute called Rome scot . The complex, called Schola Saxonum or Burgus Saxonum , was extended by Offa , king of Mercia , who built for the British pilgrims traveling to Rome a xenodochium with a small church called Santa Maria in Saxia . The schola , destroyed by two fires in 817 and 852, suffered severe damage during

1176-558: A few drawings, no scientific documentation of the old quarter was taken. Most of the inhabitants, whose families had been living and working in Borgo for centuries, were deported to the outskirts in the middle of the Campagna , as Acilia . That happened because no new apartment houses were built, but only offices, mainly used by the Vatican. Judgement about the whole undertaking, controversial since

1323-450: A lion (after the name " Leonine City ", which was also given to the district), lying in front of three mounts and a star. These – together with a lion rampant – are also part of the coat of arms of Pope Sixtus V , who annexed Borgo as the 14th rione of Rome. During the Roman age, the Borgo district was part of the 14th Regio (Regio XIV Transtiberim) and was named Ager Vaticanus , after

1470-509: A new Leader was in the making." However, David Shotter noted that, despite events in Rome, Nero's step-brother Britannicus was more prominent in provincial coinages during the early 50s. Nero formally entered public life as an adult in AD 51 while 13 years old. When he turned 16, Nero married Claudius' daughter (his step-sister), Claudia Octavia . Between the years AD 51 and AD 53, he gave several speeches on behalf of various communities, including

1617-583: A new bridge, Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II , located slightly north of the ruins of Nero's Bridge, connected the new avenue of Corso Vittorio Emanuele with Borgo. This situation changed forever in 1936. In that year, Mussolini and Pius XI a approved a plan by the Roman architects Marcello Piacentini and Attilio Spaccarelli to demolition of the spina , a neighborhood sandwiched between the Renaissance-era roads Borgo Nuovo and Borgo Vecchio that linked Saint Peter's to Castel Sant'Angelo. An agreement between

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1764-522: A passar la gente modo colto, che da l’un lato tutti hanno la fronte verso ’l castello e vanno a Santo Pietro, da l’altra sponda vanno verso ’l monte. as, in the year of Jubilee, the Romans, confronted by great crowds, contrived a plan that let the people pass across the bridge, for to one side went all who had their eyes upon the Castle, heading toward St. Peter’s, and to the other, those who faced

1911-460: A postcard, and the sense of perspective gets lost as well. During the 1930s extensive demolition affected also the northwestern part of the rione ( Via di Porta Angelica e Via del Mascherino ). These were officially undertaken in order to better define the border between Italy and the new State of the Vatican City. Since 1950, the remaining Borghiciani (the name by which the inhabitants of

2058-442: A public enemy. Nero prepared himself for suicide , pacing up and down muttering Qualis artifex pereo ("What an artist the world is losing!"). Losing his nerve, he begged one of his companions to set an example by killing himself first. At last, the sound of approaching horsemen drove Nero to face the end. However, he still could not bring himself to take his own life, but instead forced his private secretary, Epaphroditus, to perform

2205-469: A small lane near Borgo Pio, were the shops of the Roman umbrella makers, gathered there because of the bad smell coming from the oiled silk. In Borgo Vecchio several small foundries were active, where artistic objects made of bronze were cast. Particularly characteristic was the making of bells : the last foundry, located in Vicolo del Farinone , closed around 1995, after an activity lasted about 450 years. In

2352-458: A substantial body of Roman legion infantry were eliminated. The governor of the province, Gaius Suetonius Paulinus , assembled his remaining forces and defeated the Britons . Although order was restored for some time, Nero considered abandoning the province. Julius Classicianus replaced the former procurator, Catus Decianus, and Classicianus advised Nero to replace Paulinus who continued to punish

2499-503: A theatre. At Subiaco, Lazio , near Rome he had 3 artificial lakes built, with waterfalls, bridges and walkways for the luxurious villa. He stayed at the Villa of Nero at Olympia, Greece , during his participation at the Olympic Games of AD 67. According to Suetonius , Nero had his former freedman Anicetus arrange a shipwreck, which Agrippina managed to survive. She then swam ashore and

2646-540: A tribune and a centurion of the Praetorian Guard. According to Tacitus, many conspirators wished to "rescue the state" from the emperor and restore the Republic . The freedman Milichus discovered the conspiracy and reported it to Nero's secretary, Epaphroditus . As a result, the conspiracy failed and its members were executed, including Lucan , the poet. Nero's previous advisor Seneca was accused by Natalis; he denied

2793-681: A wisdom and moderation quite alien to his character", and that he "held our liberties in his hand and respected them". Modern scholarship generally holds that, while the Senate and more well-off individuals welcomed Nero's death, the general populace was "loyal to the end and beyond, for Otho and Vitellius both thought it worthwhile to appeal to their nostalgia ". Nero's name was erased from some monuments, in what Edward Champlin regards as an "outburst of private zeal". Many portraits of Nero were reworked to represent other figures; according to Eric R. Varner, over 50 such images survive. This reworking of images

2940-513: Is often explained as part of the way in which the memory of disgraced emperors was condemned posthumously, a practice known as damnatio memoriae . Champlin doubts that the practice is necessarily negative and notes that some continued to create images of Nero long after his death. Damaged portraits of Nero, often with hammer blows directed to the face, have been found in many provinces of the Roman Empire, three recently having been identified from

3087-561: Is unclear whether Nero took his own life. With his death, the Julio-Claudian dynasty ended. Chaos would ensue in the year of the Four Emperors . According to Suetonius and Cassius Dio, the people of Rome celebrated the death of Nero. Tacitus, though, describes a more complicated political environment. Tacitus mentions that Nero's death was welcomed by senators, nobility, and the upper class. The lower class, slaves, frequenters of

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3234-470: The Palazzo della Cancelleria , and Palazzo dei Penitenzieri , perhaps designed by of Baccio Pontelli . The last three palaces faced a small square, Piazza del Cardinale di S. Clemente (later Piazza Scossacavalli ), which became the most important in the Borgo. Also wealthy bourgeoises , such as Febo Brigotti and Jacopo da Brescia, the doctors respectively of Paul III and Leo X, had their houses built in

3381-643: The Roman aristocracy . During Nero's reign, the general Corbulo fought the Roman–Parthian War of 58–63 , and made peace with the hostile Parthian Empire . The Roman general Suetonius Paulinus quashed a major revolt in Britain led by queen Boudica . The Bosporan Kingdom was briefly annexed to the empire, and the First Jewish–Roman War began. When the Roman senator Vindex rebelled, with support from

3528-588: The Saracen incursion against Rome in 846. After this, Pope Leo IV ( r.  847–855 ) protected St Peter's and its surroundings with the walls that still bear his name . On this occasion it is possible that the Scholae were included inside the circuit of the new walls. The Schola Saxonum , restored again by Leo IV after the sack, was ruined by the conflict between Pope Gregory VII ( r.  1073–1085 ) and Emperor Henry IV of Franconia . The latter had fortified

3675-640: The Schola Saxonum was turned into a hospital. In 1204, Innocent had Guy de Montpellier come to Rome, and entrusted the hospital, rebuilt by Marchionne Aretino, to the Order of the Holy Ghost . The hospital expanded considerably until the end of the 14th century, acquiring many houses in the Borgo. It declined like the whole city during the Avignon Papacy . It was seriously damaged in 1409 by Ladislaus of Naples , and

3822-468: The Tiber . Returning, Nero sought a place where he could hide and collect his thoughts. An imperial freedman, Phaon , offered his villa, 4 mi (6.4 km) outside the city. Travelling in disguise, Nero and four loyal freedmen , Epaphroditus , Phaon , Neophytus , and Sporus , reached the villa, where Nero ordered them to dig a grave for him. At this time, Nero learned that the Senate had declared him

3969-531: The United Kingdom . The civil war during the year of the Four Emperors was described by ancient historians as a troubling period. According to Tacitus, this instability was rooted in the fact that emperors could no longer rely on the perceived legitimacy of the imperial bloodline, as Nero and those before him could. Galba began his short reign with the execution of many of Nero's allies. One such notable enemy included Nymphidius Sabinus , who claimed to be

4116-582: The Vatican City a western border, which is marked by the Vatican wall between Piazza del Risorgimento and Via di Porta Cavalleggeri . Westward, the rione also borders with Quartiere Aurelio (Q. XIII) , from which is separated by the stretch of the Leonine Walls beside Via di Porta Cavalleggeri, Largo di Porta Cavalleggeri and Viale delle Mura Aurelie. Southward, Borgo borders with Trastevere (R. XIII),

4263-505: The lyre while Rome burned "is at least partly a literary construct of Flavian propaganda ... which looked askance on the abortive Neronian attempt to rewrite Augustan models of rule". Tacitus suspends judgment on Nero's responsibility for the fire; he found that Nero was in Antium when the fire started, and returned to Rome to organize a relief effort, providing for the removal of bodies and debris, which he paid for from his own funds. After

4410-459: The old Vatican Basilica . At the beginning of the road towards the Tiber, some tanners had settled down, who gave their name to a winding alley, called dei Macellari ("Butchers' lane") or degli Spellari (" Tanners' lane"), which joined the road to the Tiber and later also to the Portica (the covered passage connecting Castel Sant'Angelo to St. Peter's), the future Borgo Vecchio. At the beginning of

4557-549: The Anglo-Saxon bishop Boniface . The schola , like the others, was founded to provide shelter for Frisian pilgrims, i.e. the inhabitants of the coastal areas between Denmark and today's Belgian Flanders , who were on their pilgrimage to Rome. On the left there was a slope (the future slope of Villa Cecchini) going to the ruins of the so-called palace of Nero, or Palatiolum , and to the small church of Santa Maria in Palazzolo, which

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4704-627: The Borgo are called in Roman dialect ), live north of the Passetto, where the quarter retained until recent times its character. Several high prelates live or lived there: among them, late Pope Benedict XVI , who had been living in Borgo Pio for more than twenty years before his election to the Papacy. South of the Passetto the quarter houses only some offices (mainly belonging to the Vatican), an Auditorium , and

4851-449: The Borgo were also located many famous osterie , where Romans and pilgrims could eat and drink wine. Another profession peculiar to the men of the Borgo was that of headsman (" boia "). In fact, the executioner was forbidden to live on the left bank, and even to go there ( Boia non passa Ponte , in English : "the headsman cannot cross the bridge", was a Roman proverb ), but had to stay in

4998-533: The Borgo, as fourteenth rione, became again a part of Rome. The Leonine walls, which incorporated an older wall built by Totila during the Gothic War , still exist between the Vatican and the Castle, where they bear the name of Passetto . This constitutes a covered passage, which could be used – and actually has been used several times - by the Pope as an escape route from his residence to the Castle in case of danger. In

5145-460: The Borgo. The Leonine City at that time was also renowned in Rome for its stufe . These buildings, whose tradition came from Germany (the name comes from the German word stube ), were something between a Roman bath and a modern sauna , and were often attended by artists, who could freely sketch nudes there (Raffaello himself was owner of a stufa in Borgo, near his palace). In order to address

5292-510: The Christians . The saint was buried nearby, and this turned the Vatican into a place of pilgrimage. Above the tomb of the saint, Pope Anacletus built an oratory , which in 324 Emperor Constantine turned into a huge basilica devoted to the prince of the Apostles . This church, known today as Old Saint Peter's , soon became (until its destruction in the 16th century, when the new Saint Peter's

5439-610: The Commendatore dell'Ospedale, built by order of Gregory XIII ( r.  1572–1585 ) by Nanni di Baccio Bigio . Borgo Santo Spirito was affected too by the building renewal of the Borgo during the Renaissance . Cause of this was Pope Sixtus IV, who on the occasion of the Jubilee of 1475 had the road straightened and paved. In addition, besides rebuilding the Hospital of Santo Spirito, on

5586-544: The Iceni to his daughters, was denied. When the Roman procurator Catus Decianus scourged Prasutagus' wife Boudica and raped her daughters, the Iceni revolted. They were joined by the Celtic Trinovantes tribe and their uprising became the most significant provincial rebellion of the 1st century AD. Under Queen Boudica, the towns of Camulodunum (Colchester), Londinium (London) and Verulamium (St. Albans) were burned, and

5733-504: The Ilians; the Apameans (requesting a five-year tax reprieve after an earthquake); and the northern colony of Bologna , after their settlement had suffered a devastating fire. Claudius died in AD 54; many ancient historians claim that he was poisoned by Agrippina. Shotter has written that "Claudius' death...has usually been regarded as an event hastened by Agrippina, due to signs that Claudius

5880-609: The Leonine City with all its inhabitants, this caused violent demonstrations in the Borgo. This offer was refused by Pius IX , who preferred to declare himself a prisoner of the Italian State and seclude himself in the Vatican complex. After 1870, the walls of Pius IV, which bordered the Rione to the north, were pulled down, together with the Porta Angelica, to ease communication with the new Rione of Prati . Between 1886 and 1911

6027-599: The Leonine City. The most important yearly event for the rione was the spectacular procession of Corpus Domini , which started and finished in Saint Peter's, and was led by the Pope himself together with the Cardinal Dean , during which each building was dressed with flags and standards. Things began to change again for the Borgo during the French occupation under Napoleon . The Préfet of Rome, Camille de Tournon , started

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6174-534: The Middle Ages, the quarter was not much populated, with sparse houses, some churches and a lot of vegetable gardens. There were also several brick furnaces, using the clay abundant in the Vatican and Gianicolo hills. A small harbor, the Porto Leonino , later used to deliver the travertine blocks needed to build the new Saint Peter's, existed south of the castle. The pilgrims going to St. Peter's and coming from

6321-548: The Migliorati palace, Ludovico, on the orders of his uncle, slaughtered the representatives of the Commune of Rome who had come to the pope to ask for guarantees for republican freedom. In this period during solemnities the Veil of Veronica , the most important relic of Christianity, was displayed from a window of the palace. In 1600, this group of houses was demolished to erect the palace of

6468-509: The Mount. During the Avignon Papacy the Borgo, together with Rome, suffered decay. The Portica collapsed, and on its place was built the road of Borgo Vecchio , also named Carriera Martyrum after the martyrs going to death in the Circus of Nero . During that time only Borgo Santo Spirito and Borgo Vecchio afforded access to reach Saint Peter's from the left bank. The recovery began with

6615-407: The Roman commoners. In the eastern provinces of the Empire, a popular legend arose that Nero had not died and would return . After his death, at least three leaders of short-lived, failed rebellions presented themselves as " Nero reborn " to gain popular support. Nero was born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus on 15 December AD 37 in Antium (modern Anzio ), eight months after the death of Tiberius . He

6762-529: The Roman people thought him compulsive and corrupt. Suetonius tells that many Romans believed the Great Fire of Rome was instigated by Nero to clear land for his planned " Golden House ". Tacitus claims Nero seized Christians as scapegoats for the fire and had them burned alive, seemingly motivated not by public justice, but personal cruelty. Some modern historians question the reliability of ancient sources on Nero's tyrannical acts, considering his popularity among

6909-690: The Senate. In the early years of his reign, Nero was advised and guided by his mother Agrippina, his tutor Seneca the Younger , and his praetorian prefect Sextus Afranius Burrus , but sought to rule independently and rid himself of restraining influences. The power struggle between Nero and his mother reached its climax when he orchestrated her murder. Roman sources also implicate Nero in the deaths of both his wife Claudia Octavia – supposedly so he could marry Poppaea Sabina – and his stepbrother Britannicus . Nero's practical contributions to Rome's governance focused on diplomacy , trade , and culture . He ordered

7056-510: The Vatican a circus ( Circus Gaianus ), which was then enlarged by Nero ( Circus Neronis ). The obelisk standing today in St. Peter's Square was erected along its raised median (the spina ). The circus was connected to the city through an archway ( Porticus ). Nero also replaced the timber bridge of the Via Triumphalis with a stone bridge, (whose ruins can still be seen in the Tiber during

7203-403: The Younger, the aunt that Nero had lived with during Agrippina's exile; Marcus Junius Silanus , a great-grandson of Augustus; and Narcissus . One of the earliest coins that Nero issued during his reign shows Agrippina on the coin's obverse side; usually, this would be reserved for a portrait of the emperor. The Senate also allowed Agrippina two lictors during public appearances, an honor that

7350-558: The administrative successes of these years. Malitz writes that in later years, Nero panicked when he had to make decisions on his own during times of crisis. Nevertheless, his early administration ruled to great acclaim. A generation later those years were seen in retrospect as an exemplar of good and moderate government and described as Quinquennium Neronis by Trajan . Especially well received were fiscal reforms which among others put tax collectors under more strict control by establishing local offices to supervise their activities. After

7497-481: The affair of Lucius Pedanius Secundus , who was murdered by a desperate slave, Nero allowed slaves to file complaints about their treatment to the authorities. Outside of Rome, Nero had several villas or palaces built, the ruins of which can still be seen today. These included the Villa of Nero at Antium, his place of birth, where he razed the villa on the site to rebuild it on a more massive and imperial scale and including

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7644-571: The alley along the river there was a small harbour, called della Traspontina . At that time, the pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle Peter through the Via Francigena had become common among the Britons. In 689, Caedwalla of Wessex , king of the Saxons , made a pilgrimage to Rome. The same did in 727 his successor Ine of Wessex who, after abdicating in favour of his relative Æthelheard , had

7791-416: The arena and the theater, and "those who were supported by the famous excesses of Nero", on the other hand, were upset with the news. Members of the military were said to have mixed feelings, as they had allegiance to Nero but had been bribed to overthrow him. Eastern sources, namely Philostratus and Apollonius of Tyana , mention that Nero's death was mourned as he "restored the liberties of Hellas with

7938-620: The auguries ( vaticinii ) performed there by the Etruscan Augurs . Since it lay outside the Pomerium (the religious city border inside which burial was forbidden) and was plagued by malaria , this territory was used as a burial place. Some tombs reached notable proportions, including the Terebinthus Neronis , which was a round tomb surmounted by a narrow tower, and the Meta Romuli ,

8085-405: The beginning of the 16th century by high prelates and aristocrats, including Palazzo Branconio dell'Aquila , designed by Raphael ; the Palazzo Caprini by Donato Bramante (a house that Raphael chose to buy, and later became part of the Palazzo dei Convertendi ); Palazzo Castellesi , built by Cardinal Adriano Castellesi , attributed to Andrea Bregno or Bramante and a small-scale copy of

8232-562: The beginning of the Renaissance, Borgo Vecchio and Borgo Santo Spirito were the only streets that allowed pilgrims coming from the left bank of the Tiber to reach the Vatican Basilica. Because of this, both streets were paved by Pope Nicholas V ( r.  1447–1455 ). Between the hospital and Via dei Penitenzieri in the 15th century lay some houses belonging to the Tomacelli and then to the Migliorati. The mother of Boniface IX ( r.  1389–1404 ) and Ludovico Migliorati, nephew of Innocent VII ( r.  1404–1406 ), lived there. In

8379-402: The beginning, appears now to be largely negative. In fact, besides the destruction of many ancient edifices and, above all, of a whole social tissue, what was lost forever was the "surprise" (typical of the Baroque ), when, at the very end of the narrow and dark lanes of the Borgo, the huge Piazza and Basilica suddenly appeared. Now, instead, Saint Peter's appears in the distance, flattened as in

8526-424: The boundary being outlined by the Aurelian Walls , up to Ponte Principe Amedeo Savoia Aosta . Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( / ˈ n ɪər oʊ / NEER -oh ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus ; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty , reigning from AD 54 until his death in AD 68. Nero

8673-451: The burning of Troy. Suetonius wrote that Nero started the fire to clear the site for his planned palatial Golden House . This would include lush artificial landscapes and a 30-meter-tall statue of himself, the Colossus of Nero , sited more or less where the Colosseum would eventually be built. Suetonius and Cassius Dio claim that Nero sang the " Sack of Ilium " in stage costume while the city burned. The popular legend that Nero played

8820-472: The capital, after crossing the Tiber on the Pons Helius (Nero's bridge had been already demolished for defensive reasons), made their way along the route at the foot of the Janiculum to Saint Peter's tomb . In the early Middle Ages, the future Borgo Santo Spirito was a path flanked by two walls, with vegetable gardens and a few small houses, leading from the square of the old church of Santa Maria in Traspontina (almost opposite Castel Sant'Angelo ) towards

8967-468: The charges but was still ordered to commit suicide, as by this point he had fallen out of favor with Nero. Nero was said to have kicked Poppaea to death in AD 65, before she could give birth to his second child. Modern historians, noting the probable biases of Suetonius, Tacitus, and Cassius Dio, and the likely absence of eyewitnesses to such an event, propose that Poppaea may have died after miscarriage or in childbirth. Nero went into deep mourning; Poppaea

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9114-408: The cithara or lyre, and whose face was similar to that of the dead emperor, appeared in 69 AD during the reign of Vitellius. After persuading some to recognize him, he was captured and executed. Sometime during the reign of Titus (79–81), another impostor appeared in Asia and sang to the accompaniment of the lyre and looked like Nero, but he, too, was killed. Twenty years after Nero's death, during

9261-450: The city when celebrating their Triumphs. At the beginning of the Imperial Age , magnificent Villae (country houses) and Horti ( Gardens ), such as those owned by Agrippina the Elder , wife of Germanicus and mother of Caligula ( Horti Agrippinae ), and by Domitia Longina , wife of Domitianus ( Horti Domitiae ), were built near the slopes of the Gianicolo and Vatican hills. Emperor Gaius (also known as Caligula) built on

9408-426: The clergy and people, started this undertaking walking bare-foot along the circuit of the new walls. Then, in order to augment the population, Pope Leo settled several families of Corsicans in the Borgo. Since that time, the quarter was no longer considered a part of Rome, but a separate town, the Leonine City ( Civitas Leonina ), with its own magistrates and governor. It was only in 1586, under Pope Sixtus V , that

9555-425: The completion of the colonnade designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (built between 1656 and 1665), ordered the demolition of the first block in front of it. He created so the Piazza Rusticucci , the vestibule to Saint Peter's Square. Among the other buildings, which then went lost, there was Palazzo Branconio . During the 18th and the early 19th centuries, the Borgo kept its characteristics. The bourgeoises abandoned

9702-506: The construction of amphitheaters , and promoted athletic games and contests . He made public appearances as an actor, poet, musician, and charioteer , which scandalized his aristocratic contemporaries as these occupations were usually the domain of slaves, public entertainers, and infamous persons . However, the provision of such entertainments made Nero popular among lower-class citizens. The costs involved were borne by local elites either directly or through taxation, and were much resented by

9849-401: The construction of the Curia Generalizia dei Gesuiti (the headquarter of the Jesuite order), located on the slopes of the Palazzolo hill. This new building replaced Villa Cecchini , a picturesque building from whose garden one could enjoy a famous view of the Borgo and St. Peter's. On the north side of the street, the Della Rovere and Serristori palaces were restored, while the Cesi palace

9996-408: The construction of the Jesuit Generalate, but a couple still remain today. In 1544 Pope Paul III ( r.  1534–1549 ) had Antonio da Sangallo the Younger elevate and complete the church of Santo Spirito, apart from the façade, which was built under Sixtus V ( r.  1585–1590 ) by Ottavio Mascherino . In the 16th century, the portal leading to the Scala Santa (one of two in Rome)

10143-403: The core of the future Hospital of Santo Spirito , one of the oldest and largest in Rome, founded by Pope Innocent III in 1198. Near the hospital was erected the church of Santo Spirito in Sassia . The German pilgrims gave the zone around their Scholae the name Burg (fortified town), which, italianised, became the name of the quarter. Since it lay outside Aurelian 's Walls, the Borgo

10290-407: The corruption of court favorites and freedmen, and above all to respect the privileges of the Senate and individual Senators." His respect for Senatorial autonomy, which distinguished him from Caligula and Claudius, was generally well received by the Roman Senate . Scullard writes that Nero's mother, Agrippina, "meant to rule through her son". Agrippina murdered her political rivals: Domitia Lepida

10437-405: The demolition of the buildings of the Hospital of Santo Spirito adjacent to the river, while the construction of Ponte Vittorio Emanuele II rose the issue of opening a road connecting the Historic Centre to Prati , cutting through the Rione and Borgo Santo Spirito. The solution came in 1936, with the construction of Via della Conciliazione, which profoundly altered the street, although this, unlike

10584-584: The demolition of the spina, but the project had to be interrupted shortly after it began due to a lack of funds. During the Italian Risorgimento the Borgo, together with Trastevere and Monti , was one of the quarters of Rome where public opinion supported with great enthusiasm the struggle for Italian independence. When, shortly after the September 20, 1870 the Italians offered the Pope full sovereignty over

10731-625: The end of the Western Schism and the beginning of the Renaissance . By that time, the center of gravity of Rome began to shift from the zone around Campidoglio , where medieval Rome had developed, to the Campo Marzio plain. At the same time, the Popes abandoned finally the Lateran complex for the Vatican, which now became the new center of power in Rome. The large amount of building activity and above all

10878-449: The evening in the palace. After sleeping, he awoke at about midnight to find the palace guard had left. Dispatching messages to his friends' palace chambers for them to come, he received no answers. Upon going to their chambers personally, he found them all abandoned. When he called for a gladiator or anyone else adept with a sword to kill him, no one appeared. He cried, "Have I neither friend nor foe?" and ran out as if to throw himself into

11025-723: The event that the Emperor survived. Suetonius differs in some details, but also implicates Halotus and Agrippina. Like Tacitus, Cassius Dio writes that the poison was prepared by Locusta, but in Dio's account it is administered by Agrippina instead of Halotus. In Apocolocyntosis , Seneca the Younger does not mention mushrooms at all. Agrippina's involvement in Claudius' death is not accepted by all modern scholars. Before Claudius' death, Agrippina had maneuvered to remove Claudius' sons' tutors in order to replace them with tutors that she had selected. She

11172-511: The eventual Roman emperor Galba , Nero was declared a public enemy and condemned to death in absentia . He fled Rome, and on 9 June AD 68 committed suicide. His death sparked a brief period of civil war known as the Year of the Four Emperors . Most Roman sources offer overwhelmingly negative assessments of his personality and reign. Most contemporary sources describe him as tyrannical, self-indulgent, and debauched. The historian Tacitus claims

11319-505: The fire an accident, as the merchant shops were timber-framed and sold flammable goods, and the outer seating stands of the Circus were timber-built. Others claimed it was arson committed on Nero's behalf. The accounts by Pliny the Elder , Suetonius, and Cassius Dio suggest several possible reasons for Nero's alleged arson, including his creation of a real-life backdrop to a theatrical performance about

11466-496: The fire, Nero opened his palaces to provide shelter for the homeless, and arranged for food supplies to be delivered in order to prevent starvation among the survivors. Tacitus writes that to remove suspicion from himself, Nero accused Christians of starting the fire. According to this account, many Christians were arrested and brutally executed by "being thrown to the beasts, crucified, and being burned alive". Tacitus asserts that in his imposition of such ferocious punishments, Nero

11613-430: The first of January 1474 he issued a papal bull granting many benefits to those who built houses in the Borgo that were at least 7 canne (15 m (49 ft) ca.) high. At the turn of the 15th and 16th centuries, Palazzo della Rovere was built on the northern side of the street, but its main façade faced Piazza Scossacavalli and Borgo Vecchio. Opposite the western side of this palace, Averando Serristori built

11760-662: The first treason trial of his reign ( maiestas trial) against Antistius Sosianus. He also executed his rivals Cornelius Sulla and Rubellius Plautus . Jürgen Malitz considers this to be a turning point in Nero's relationship with the Roman Senate . Malitz writes that "Nero abandoned the restraint he had previously shown because he believed a course supporting the Senate promised to be less and less profitable." After Burrus' death, Nero appointed two new Praetorian prefects: Faenius Rufus and Ofonius Tigellinus . Politically isolated, Seneca

11907-509: The governor of Hispania Tarraconensis , to join the rebellion and to declare himself emperor in opposition to Nero. At the Battle of Vesontio in May 68, Verginius' forces easily defeated those of Vindex, and the latter committed suicide. However, after defeating the rebel, Verginius' legions attempted to proclaim their own commander as Emperor. Verginius refused to act against Nero, but the discontent of

12054-517: The houses of the Rione south of the Passetto were demolished, with mostly new construction lining the Via della Conciliazione . A few major buildings including Santa Maria in Traspontina (the parish church of Borgo), Palazzo Torlonia , and Palazzo dei Penitenzieri were spared because they were more or less on axis with the new road. All the others were either pulled down and rebuilt with their fronts on

12201-523: The huge complex of the Hospital of Santo Spirito. Borgo lies on the west bank of the Tiber and has a trapezoidal shape. The territory of the rione includes a level part, which is made up of the Tiber's alluvial deposits , and a hilly zone, which coincides with the clay -laden slopes of the Vatican hill. In administrative terms, the rione became part of the city center (the Municipio I ) following city decree n.11 issued on 11 March 2013. Before then, it

12348-463: The inns of the chiavi ("keys"), of the colomba ("dove") and of the cavallo ("horse"). In addition, there were several shops of Paternostrari (or Coronari ), i.e. sellers of sacred images, and of Vergari , who sold the Bordone del pellegrino ( pilgrim's staff ), i.e. the staff used by pilgrims on their way to St. Peter's. After these two blocks, the Borgo merged in the old St. Peter's Square. Until

12495-401: The intention of going to the port of Ostia and, from there, to take a fleet to one of the still-loyal eastern provinces. According to Suetonius, Nero abandoned the idea when some army officers openly refused to obey his commands, responding with a line from Virgil 's Aeneid : "Is it so dreadful a thing then to die?" Nero then toyed with the idea of fleeing to Parthia , throwing himself upon

12642-539: The left bank through Ponte Sant'Angelo, after entering a gate (later named Porta Castello ) could walk through the Borgo of the Saxons (today's Borgo Santo Spirito ) or the Porticus or Portica (named now Porticus Sancti Petri ), which was still in place. Those coming from Trastevere along the route that would later become Via della Lungara used the posterula Saxonum (today's Porta Santo Spirito ), and, finally,

12789-534: The legions of Germania and the continued opposition of Galba in Hispania did not bode well for him. While Nero had retained some control of the situation, support for Galba increased despite his being officially declared a "public enemy". The prefect of the Praetorian Guard , Gaius Nymphidius Sabinus , also abandoned his allegiance to the Emperor and came out in support of Galba. In response, Nero fled Rome with

12936-474: The mercy of Galba, or appealing to the people and begging them to pardon him for his past offences "and if he could not soften their hearts, to entreat them at least to allow him the prefecture of Egypt ". Suetonius reports that the text of this speech was later found in Nero's writing desk, but that he dared not give it from fear of being torn to pieces before he could reach the Forum. Nero returned to Rome and spent

13083-463: The minimum flow periods) named after him Pons Neronianus or Triumphalis . Emperor Hadrian built near the Tiber his huge Mausoleum , which he connected to the left bank of the river with another Bridge, the Pons Ælius (today's Ponte Sant'Angelo ). But what changed forever the destiny of the zone was the martyrdom of St. Peter at the foot of the Vatican hill in 67, during the first persecution of

13230-641: The modern Borgo Santo Spirito: however, a few metres south of the modern street, ran the Roman road that departed from the Pons Neronianus . Remains of the road have been found under the Corsia Sistina (" Sixtine lane") of the Santo Spirito hospital and under the Generalate ("Curia Generalizia") of the Jesuits . This road was used during the late Empire by emperors who, during their increasingly rare visits to

13377-580: The nearby Borgo Vecchio and Borgo Nuovo, both demolished, was spared. Borgo Santo Spirito lost its easternmost stretch (east of the crossing with Via San Pio X), which now follows the numbering of the Lungotevere Vaticano. The Oratory of the Nunziatina was demolished and rebuilt in a different context along the Lungotevere Vaticano with a modern framework built according to the laws of structural engineering . The construction of Via della Traspontina ,

13524-402: The new emperor. Nero's mother married Claudius in AD 49, becoming his fourth wife. On 25 February AD 50, Claudius was pressured to adopt Nero as his son, giving him the new name of "Nero Claudius Caesar Drusus Germanicus". Claudius had gold coins issued to mark the adoption. Classics professor Josiah Osgood has written that "the coins, through their distribution and imagery alike, showed that

13671-535: The new roads (like Palazzo dei Convertendi , rebuilt to align with the Via della Conciliazione, and the houses of Febo Brigotti and Jacopo da Brescia, whose façades were reassembled on the new Via dei Corridori ), or, like the small churches of San Giacomo a Scossacavalli and Sant'Angelo ai Corridori, formerly built along the Piazza Scossacavalli and along the Passetto, simply demolished and never rebuilt. Besides

13818-513: The north Santa Maria dei Vergari and San Gregorio de Cortina , to the south San Martino . In this area was also located the Schola Armeniorum , or School of the Armenians , established either by Innocent III in 1202 or by Honorius III ( r.  1216–1227 ). In the two blocks of San Martino and San Gregorio in the late Middle Ages, there were several inns with lodgings: among them were

13965-609: The northern side lay Vicolo dell'Ospedale , near which there were the houses belonging to the Tomacelli and Migliorati families, and on the left the Via Settimiana (today's Via dei Penitenzieri ) leading to Trastevere . After this crossroads the Burgus changed its name, and was called Burgus Frisonum ("Burg of the Frisians "), because of the schola founded there in the eight century by

14112-406: The old Church of Santa Maria in Traspontina , which lay directly next to the Castle. A new church bearing the same name was built in 1587 in the middle of Borgo Nuovo. On December 9, 1586 (the year when Domenico Fontana erected in Saint Peter's Square the obelisk once standing in the Circus of Nero), Pope Sixtus V declared Borgo the fourteenth Rione of the city. Its coat of arms represents

14259-505: The one further west Borgo San Martino . The name Borgo , used instead of Via for Borgo Santo Spirito as well as for the main streets of the district, derives from the Anglo-Saxon word Burg ("fortified centre"), which denoted the Saxon pilgrims' fortified complex ( Burgus Saxonum ) located between the Circus of Nero and the Tiber. During the Roman period no road existed on the route of

14406-476: The only one of the ancient access roads to St Peter's Square that still provides the 'surprise' of discovering the square and the Basilica after having walked along a narrow street in the district. Borgo (rione of Rome) Borgo (sometimes called also I Borghi ) is the 14th rione of Rome , Italy. It is identified by the initials R. XIV and is included within Municipio I . Its coat of arms shows

14553-423: The palace that still bears his name during the reign of Pope Pius IV ( r.  1559–1565 ). West of this palace, between 1517 and 1520 Cardinal Francesco Armellini let built his palace , possibly after a project of Giulio Romano or his pupils. In the late Renaissance, several houses were built on the southern side of the street beyond the hospital. Most of them were demolished between 1923 and 1927 for

14700-528: The period was riddled with deflation and that Nero intended his spending on public-work and charities to ease economic troubles. Nero became emperor in AD 54, aged 16. His tutor, Seneca , prepared Nero's first speech before the Senate. During this speech, Nero spoke about "eliminating the ills of the previous regime". H. H. Scullard writes that "he promised to follow the Augustan model in his principate, to end all secret trials intra cubiculum , to have done with

14847-574: The pilgrims coming from the north ( monte Mario ) following the Via Francigena , entered through Porta San Pellegrino (also named Viridaria because of its vicinity to the Vatican Gardens ). In his Divine Comedy , Dante describes the great crowds of pilgrims visiting the Leonine City during the first Jubilee , which took place in 1300 under Boniface VIII . come i Roman per l’essercito molto, l’anno del giubileo, su per lo ponte hanno

14994-501: The population even after the rebellion was over. Nero decided to adopt a more lenient approach by appointing a new governor, Petronius Turpilianus . Nero began preparing for war in the early years of his reign, after the Parthian king Vologeses set his brother Tiridates on the Armenian throne. Around AD 57 and AD 58 Domitius Corbulo and his legions advanced on Tiridates and captured

15141-450: The project. Two Propylaea were built in front of Saint Peter's Square (inside that on the south side was enclosed the ancient church of San Lorenzo in piscibus ), and two others at the beginning of the road. The road was finished in time for the Jubilee of 1950, by putting along it two rows of obelisks (which the Romans quickly christened "the suppositories"). The result was that almost all

15288-413: The quarter was able to recover quite quickly. Paul III restored the walls, erecting three new ramparts and the still unfinished Porta Santo Spirito (the work of Antonio da Sangallo the younger ). The Borgo continued to grow to such an extent, that in 1565 Pius IV started the construction of three new roads, all north of the Passetto, named respectively Borgo Pio (after himself), Borgo Vittorio (after

15435-536: The rebuilding of Saint Peter , which was the ultimate result of this translocation, attracted several artists to the Borgo, while the renewed flood of pilgrims boosted commerce. Under Nicholas V , Bernardo Rossellino planned three diverging roads with arcades going to Saint Peter, but the Pontiff's death blocked the project. Sixtus IV opened a new road parallel to the Passetto, named after him via Sistina (later Borgo Sant'Angelo ). Magnificent buildings were built at

15582-440: The reconstruction, Nero's government increased taxation. Particularly heavy tributes were imposed on the provinces of the empire. To meet at least a portion of the costs, Nero devalued the Roman currency , increasing inflationary pressure for the first time in the Empire's history. In AD 65, Gaius Calpurnius Piso , a Roman statesman, organized a conspiracy against Nero with the help of Subrius Flavus and Sulpicius Asper ,

15729-548: The reign of Domitian , there was a third pretender. He was supported by the Parthians, who only reluctantly gave him up, and the matter almost came to war. In Britannia (Britain) in AD 59, Prasutagus , leader of the Iceni tribe and a client king of Rome during Claudius' reign, had died. The client state arrangement was unlikely to survive following the death of Claudius. The will of the Iceni tribal King Prasutagus, leaving control of

15876-476: The rione for the new settlements in Campo Marzio , and Borgo became a quarter inhabited by simple people (artisans or workers at the Vatican), very devoted yet always open to new ideas, and men of the church, who appreciated the vicinity to the Holy See. Many sellers of religious goods, named Paternostrari or Coronari ( rosary makers) had their shops here. At the edge of the quarter, in Vicolo degli ombrellari ,

16023-480: The road connecting Ponte Vittorio and the Prati rione (renamed Via San Pio X in its southern section), entailed the demolition of the hospital of San Carlo. Several minor buildings were demolished to allow the reconstruction of Palazzo Alicorni , located between Borgo S. Spirito and St. Peter's Square and destroyed in 1930, while other late-Renaissance houses after the junction with Via dei Penitenzieri were demolished for

16170-592: The ruins of the so-called Villa di Nerone (" Nero 's Villa ") on the high ground of the Palatiolum , the northernmost offshoot of the Janiculum hill overlooking to the south the western part of the street. Moreover, after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the sending of tribute for the maintenance of the schola ceased. In 1167, Frederick Barbarossa definitively destroyed the fortified complex. Before Innocent III ,

16317-582: The same nationality gathered together in associations named Scholae , whose task was to host and to aid men and women of the same nation coming to Rome. The most famous were those of the Franks , Saxons , Frisians and Lombards . Each Schola had its own hospice and church. One of the first – the Schola Saxonum - was built during the 8th century by Ina or Ine , king of the West Saxons . That hospice became

16464-560: The second half of the sixth century, was rebuilt by the architect Francesco Massari. The renovation was commissioned by the Dukes of Acquasparta , at that time owners of the adjacent Palazzo Cesi-Armellini . Opposite on the left, on the Palazzolo hill, the church of San Michele e Magno was completely rebuilt under Benedict XIV. In 1905, the construction of the Lungotevere Vaticano caused

16611-567: The significance of Agrippina's removal for Nero's conduct". He began to build a new palace, the Domus Transitoria , from about AD 60. It was intended to connect all of the imperial estates that had been acquired in various ways, with the Palatine including the Gardens of Maecenas , Horti Lamiani , Horti Lolliani , etc. In AD 62, Nero's adviser Burrus died. That same year, Nero called for

16758-765: The slope of the Aventine overlooking the Circus Maximus , or in the wooden outer seating of the Circus itself. Rome had always been vulnerable to fires, and this one was fanned to catastrophic proportions by the winds. Tacitus, Cassius Dio, and modern archaeology describe the destruction of mansions, ordinary residences, public buildings, and temples on the Aventine, Palatine, and Caelian hills. The fire burned for over seven days before subsiding; it then started again and burned for three more. It destroyed three of Rome's 14 districts and severely damaged seven more. Some Romans thought

16905-464: The so-called "spina" (named thus on account of its similarity to the dividing line of an ancient Roman Circus). At about its middle, the spina was interrupted by a small square, called Piazza Scossacavalli . A recurrent theme of Roman city planning , were the various projects contemplating the demolition of the spina: starting with, that of Carlo Fontana in the late 17th century; and ending, in 1936, when, under Benito Mussolini and Pius XI , this task

17052-561: The soldiers of Charles V entered the Leonine City and mercilessly plundered it, so starting the Sack of Rome . Clement VII barely escaped capture, running through the elevated Passetto (one block north of the spina) in his night dress and locking himself within Castel Sant'Angelo, while all the Swiss Guards , except those defending his escape, were killed near the obelisk. Despite this disaster,

17199-471: The son of Emperor Caligula . Otho overthrew Galba. Otho was said to be liked by many soldiers because he had been a friend of Nero and resembled him somewhat in temperament. It was said that the common Roman hailed Otho as Nero himself. Otho used "Nero" as a surname and reerected many statues to Nero. Vitellius overthrew Otho. Vitellius began his reign with a large funeral for Nero complete with songs written by Nero. After Nero's death in AD 68, there

17346-638: The task. When one of the horsemen entered and saw that Nero was dying, he attempted to stop the bleeding, but efforts to save Nero's life were unsuccessful. Nero's final words were "Too late! This is fidelity!". He died on 9 June 68, the anniversary of the death of his first wife, Claudia Octavia , and was buried in the Mausoleum of the Domitii Ahenobarbi, in what is now the Villa Borghese ( Pincian Hill ) area of Rome. According to Sulpicius Severus , it

17493-459: The traffic problems in the bustling Borgo, a new road, the Via Alexandrina or Recta , later named Borgo Nuovo , was opened during the Jubilee of 1500 by Pope Alexander VI Borgia was opened between Castel Sant'Angelo and Saint Peter's Square . The Borgo Nuovo paralleled to the north the existing road of Borgo Vecchio , creating a distinct row of houses between these two roads formed

17640-470: The twenty five Cardinals belonging to the Curia , each of whom maintained a court comprising hundreds of people, were living here. The most important artists (such as Raphael) took or built their houses in the Borgo. The only important female presence was that of the so-called Cortigiane , decent prostitutes, who were the lovers of high prelates and noblemen. All this came to an abrupt end on May 6, 1527, when

17787-601: The two leaders was possible because of the new climate of collaboration between the State and the Church following the signing of the Lateran Treaties in 1929. On October 23, 1936 (the day after the anniversary of the March on Rome ), Mussolini, standing on a roof, gave the first stroke of the pickaxe. On October 8, 1937 (less than one year later), the spina ceased to exist, and Saint Peter

17934-465: The usual ceremonies, including a dowry and a bridal veil. It is believed that he did this out of regret for his killing of Poppaea. In March 68, Gaius Julius Vindex , the governor of Gallia Lugdunensis , rebelled against Nero's tax policies. Lucius Verginius Rufus , the governor of Germania Superior , was ordered to put down Vindex's rebellion. In an attempt to gain support from outside his own province, Vindex called upon Servius Sulpicius Galba ,

18081-448: The victory of Lepanto ) and Borgo Angelico (after Angelo, his own first name prior to his election). In order to boost the new settlement, he gave tax privileges to the Romans who choose to build their houses here. New Walls, and a new monumental gate ( Porta Angelica ), were built to protect the new area, which in honor of the Pope was named Civitas Pia . Pius IV also demolished several old churches and monasteries: among these, in 1564,

18228-478: Was a widespread belief, especially in the eastern provinces, that he was not dead and somehow would return. This belief came to be known as the Nero Redivivus Legend . The legend of Nero's return lasted for hundreds of years after Nero's death. Augustine of Hippo wrote of the legend as a popular belief in AD 422. At least three Nero impostors emerged leading rebellions. The first, who sang and played

18375-621: Was also able to convince Claudius to replace two prefects of the Praetorian Guard (who were suspected of supporting Claudius' son) with Afranius Burrus (Nero's future guide). Since Agrippina had replaced the guard officers with men loyal to her, Nero was subsequently able to assume power without incident. The main ancient Roman literary sources for Nero's reign are Tacitus , Suetonius and Cassius Dio . They found Nero's construction projects overly extravagant and claim that their cost left Italy "thoroughly exhausted by contributions of money" with "the provinces ruined". Modern historians note that

18522-449: Was always exposed to attacks. During the 8th and 9th centuries, the quarter – together with the basilica - was plundered several times by Saracens who landed in Portus , and devastated by fires (that of 847 was immortalised by Raphael in a fresco painted in the stanze vaticane ). Finally, Pope Leo IV built the walls which still bear his name. On June 27, 852 the Pope, accompanied by

18669-557: Was an only-child, the son of the politician Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger . His mother Agrippina was the sister of the third Roman emperor Caligula . Nero was also the great-great-grandson of former emperor Augustus (descended from Augustus' only daughter, Julia ). The ancient biographer Suetonius , who was critical of Nero's ancestors, wrote that emperor Augustus had reproached Nero's grandfather for his unseemly enjoyment of violent gladiator games. According to Jürgen Malitz, Suetonius tells that Nero's father

18816-456: Was born at Antium in AD ;37, the son of Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus and Agrippina the Younger (great-granddaughter of the emperor Augustus ). Nero was three when his father died. By the time Nero turned eleven, his mother married Emperor Claudius , who then adopted Nero as his heir. Upon Claudius' death in AD 54, Nero ascended to the throne with the backing of the Praetorian Guard and

18963-605: Was customarily bestowed upon only magistrates and the Vestalis Maxima . In AD 55, Nero removed Agrippina's ally Marcus Antonius Pallas from his position in the treasury. Shotter writes the following about Agrippina's deteriorating relationship with Nero: "What Seneca and Burrus probably saw as relatively harmless in Nero—his cultural pursuits and his affair with the slave girl Claudia Acte —were to her signs of her son's dangerous emancipation of himself from her influence." Britannicus

19110-421: Was erected in its place) one of the centers of Christianity. During the early Middle Ages the bridge of Nero fell into ruins, while the Mausoleum of Hadrian was converted into a stronghold ( Castel Sant'Angelo ), the possession of which ensured control of the city. Despite the wars and invasions that plagued Rome during those centuries, the flood of pilgrims to the tomb of the apostle never stopped. Pilgrims of

19257-588: Was erected, which is the stairway that Jesus is said to have climbed after being scourged. It leads to the Church of Saints Michael and Magnus. Between 1742 and 1745, Pietro Passalacqua designed near the Tiber on the north side of the street the oratory of the SS Annunziata , popularly nicknamed the Nunziatina . Beyond the oratory, Pope Pius VI ( r.  1775–1799 ) had the Ospedale di San Carlo built in 1789,

19404-399: Was executed by Anicetus, who reported her death as a suicide. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome cautiously notes that Nero's reasons for killing his mother in AD 59 are "not fully understood". According to Tacitus , the source of conflict between Nero and his mother was Nero's affair with Poppaea Sabina . In Histories Tacitus writes that the affair began while Poppaea

19551-463: Was finally accomplished to create the wide Via della Conciliazione in the space between the form Borgo Nouvo and Borgo Vecchio . The golden Age of the Borgo reached its apogee during the reign of the two Florentine Popes, Leo X and Clement VII , both members of the Medici family . Under the latter, the quarter had a population of 4,926 inhabitants, almost all bachelors and non-Roman. Nine out of

19698-464: Was forced to retire. According to Tacitus, Nero divorced Octavia on grounds of infertility, and banished her. After public protests over Octavia's exile, Nero accused her of adultery with Anicetus, and she was executed. In AD 64 during the Saturnalia , Nero married Pythagoras , a freedman . The Great Fire of Rome began on the night of 18 to 19 July 64, probably in one of the merchant shops on

19845-405: Was freely visible from Castel Sant'Angelo. In the space between the two ancient roads, a new road celebrating the reconciliation ( La Conciliazione" ) of the pope and the Italian State was built, the Via della Conciliazione . Due to World War II , the work was interrupted. After the war, although the political and cultural climate had changed, the government and the Vatican decided to finish

19992-493: Was given a sumptuous state funeral and divine honors , and was promised a temple for her cult. A year's importation of incense was burned at the funeral. Her body was not cremated, as would have been strictly customary, but embalmed after the Egyptian manner and entombed; it is not known where. In AD 67, Nero married Sporus , a young boy who is said to have greatly resembled Poppaea. Nero had him castrated and married him with all

20139-606: Was given to the Canons of St. Peter by Leo IV. On the right were some houses owned in the 15th century by Cesare Borgia , and on the left two alleys (the first no longer existing, and the second transformed into a flight of steps) leading up to the national church of the Frisians, San Michele, later Santi Michele e Magno , mentioned for the first time in 854. Proceeding further westwards, one arrived at Borgo San Martino , which extended between two blocks formed by houses and little churches. To

20286-539: Was involved in a serious political scandal. His mother and his two surviving sisters, Agrippina and Julia Livilla , were exiled to a remote island in the Mediterranean Sea . His mother was said to have been exiled for plotting to overthrow the emperor Caligula. Nero's inheritance was taken from him, and he was sent to live with his paternal aunt Domitia Lepida , the mother of later emperor Claudius 's third wife, Messalina . After Caligula's death, Claudius became

20433-449: Was known to be "irascible and brutal", and that both "enjoyed chariot races and theater performances to a degree not befitting their position". Suetonius also mentions that when Nero's father Domitius was congratulated by his friends for the birth of his son, he replied that any child born to him and Agrippina would have a detestable nature and become a public danger. Domitius died in AD 41. A few years before his father's death, his father

20580-406: Was later almost abandoned. Pope Eugene IV ( r.  1431–1447 ) and above all Pope Sixtus IV ( r.  1471–1484 ) had the hospital restored and enlarged. The latter entrusted the work to Florentine architect Baccio Pontelli ; among others he designed the Corsia Sistina , a 126 m long hall with three rows of beds, flanked by a portico under which the homeless could sleep, to whom what

20727-475: Was left over from the canteen was distributed. Beyond the hospital, the church of Santa Maria in Saxia was rebuilt in 1363 and restored by Eugene IV. Due to Pontelli's work, the church was demolished, but Pope Sixtus founded a new one, Santo Spirito in Sassia , which he left unfinished. In front of the church there was a small alley, called Vicolo Geremia , connecting the street with the Portica . Going westwards, on

20874-449: Was mutilated. The church of San Lorenzo in Piscibus, whose apse faced the street, was brought back to its medieval state and incorporated into the southern propylaeum of Piazza Pio XII. As a result of these transformations, Borgo Santo Spirito, which was already a service road due to the presence of the hospital, lost almost all of its resident population. After the destruction of the nearby roads of Borgo Vecchio and Borgo Nuovo, it remains

21021-460: Was not motivated by a sense of justice, but by a penchant for personal cruelty. Houses built after the fire were spaced out, built in brick, and faced by porticos on wide roads. Nero also built himself a new palace complex known as the Domus Aurea in an area cleared by the fire. The cost to rebuild Rome was immense, requiring funds the state treasury did not have. To find the necessary funds for

21168-453: Was part of the now abolished Municipio XVII, together with rione of Prati (also merged to the I Municipio in March 2013) and the quartieri Trionfale and Della Vittoria . Northward, Borgo borders with Prati (R. XXII), from which is separated by Piazza Adriana, Via Alberico II , Via Properzio , Piazza Americo Capponi, Via Stefano Porcari and Piazza del Risorgimento Borgo shares with

21315-613: Was poisoned after Agrippina threatened to side with him. Nero, who was having an affair with Acte, exiled Agrippina from the palace when she began to cultivate a relationship with his wife Octavia. Jürgen Malitz writes that ancient sources do not provide any clear evidence to evaluate the extent of Nero's personal involvement in politics during the first years of his reign. He describes the policies that are explicitly attributed to Nero as "well-meant but incompetent notions" like Nero's failed initiative to abolish all taxes in AD 58. Scholars generally credit Nero's advisors Burrus and Seneca with

21462-472: Was showing a renewed affection for his natural son." He notes that among ancient sources, the Roman historian Josephus was uniquely reserved in describing the poisoning as a rumor. Contemporary sources differ in their accounts of the poisoning. Tacitus says that the poison-maker Locusta prepared the toxin, which was served to the Emperor by his servant Halotus . Tacitus also writes that Agrippina arranged for Claudius' doctor Xenophon to administer poison, in

21609-649: Was still married to Rufrius Crispinus , but in his later work Annals Tacitus says Poppaea was married to Otho when the affair began. In Annals Tacitus writes that Agrippina opposed Nero's affair with Poppaea because of her affection for his wife Octavia . Anthony A. Barrett writes that Tacitus' account in Annals "suggests that Poppaea's challenge drove [Nero] over the brink". A number of modern historians have noted that Agrippina's death would not have offered much advantage for Poppaea, as Nero did not marry Poppaea until AD 62. Barrett writes that Poppaea seems to serve as

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