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42-505: It was built on the Ager Vaticanus , the alluvial plain outside the city walls which was developed at the end of the first century BC, allowing patrician families to construct luxurious private residences ( Horti ). Her son Caligula inherited the horti and as a chariot racing enthusiast he built the so-called Circus of Nero there. After the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD, Nero had

84-506: A "closed" design, with a number of streets radiating from the central square, maintaining the "spina", or spine, of the structures of Borgo directly between the square and the Tiber. Neither approach moved beyond sketches and blueprints. Both open and closed designs were considered by the Vatican, but were ultimately discarded for reasons of expense. A thorough examination of the costs of constructing

126-591: A thoroughfare was made by the Vatican-approved St. Peter's Building Commission in 1651. Their conclusion was that "the cardinals ' proposal to demolish all the buildings between the Borgo Nuovo and the Borgo Vecchio for a greater and longer vista to the church" would be infeasible due to inordinately high expropriation costs and vested property interests. Further momentum was lost when Gian Lorenzo Bernini

168-749: Is the primary access route to the Square. In addition to shops, it is bordered by a number of historical and religious buildings – including the Palazzo Torlonia , the Palazzo dei Penitenzieri and the Palazzo dei Convertendi , and the churches of Santa Maria in Traspontina and Santo Spirito in Sassia . Despite being one of the few major thoroughfares in Rome able to cope with a high volume of traffic without congestion, it

210-516: Is the subject of much ire both within the Roman community and among historical scholars due to the circumstances under which it was constructed. The area around the church was rebuilt several times following the various Sacks of Rome , and again after having deteriorated due to the loss of prosperity resulting from the Papacy's relocation to Avignon during the 14th century. Through all of these reconstructions,

252-616: The Campus Martius , crossed the Tiber on the Pons Neronianus , heading north in direction Monte Mario and then flowing into the via Cassia ; About the Cornelia' s path there are several hypotheses: until the 1940s was a common opinion that the road branched from the Triumphalis at a short distance from the bridge of Nero, running in east-west direction. According to this hypothesis,

294-489: The facades of the buildings lining this space did not align perfectly, in order to create the illusion of a perfectly straight causeway traffic islands would be erected along both sides, with rows of obelisks leading towards the Square, doubling as lampposts . These were also intended to reduce the effect that the funnel-shaped design would have on perspective when facing the Basilica. The wings of those buildings closest to

336-592: The palace of the Governatore di Borgo and the Churches of San Giacomo Scossacavalli and Sant'Angelo al Corridore , were not rebuilt after their destruction. Facing into the cleared area are five other historical buildings, the Palazzo Giraud Torlonia , the church of Santa Maria in Traspontina , the Palazzo dei Penitenzieri , Palazzo Serristori , and Palazzo Cesi (which was mutilated). The construction of

378-502: The via Triumphalis in a place corresponding to the destroyed Piazza Scossacavalli in Borgo. A third road, the via Aurelia nova , started from the Pons Aelius running southwest until today's Porta San Pancrazio . The Ager Vaticanus always remained outside the walls of Rome and the pomerium . According to Roman tradition, therefore, necropolises and sepulchers also settled along

420-541: The 4th century, of the first basilica dedicated to St. Peter, established according to Christian usage above what tradition claims is his tomb (the confessio ), and founded on the north side of the Gaianum along the Via Cornelia. Part of the surrounding necropolis was submerged under the construction of the church, but partly re-emerged during the research of the tomb of Peter conducted in the 1940s–1950s. The Ager Vaticanus

462-597: The Christians condemned to death by Nero would have walked across this road while going to their martyrdom in the Circus of the emperor. However, since during the excavations in Borgo during the 1940s for the building of Via della Conciliazione no sign of the road was found, now many scholars think that the via Cornelia started from Ponte Milvio and – running along the right bank of the Tiber – reached Hadrian's Mausoleum crossing

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504-531: The Middle Ages as the place of Peter's martyrdom. Traces of both monuments were found during the construction of the new buildings along Via della Conciliazione. Among the tombs, noteworthy is the one containing the sarcophagus of the young Crepereia Tryphaena ; this contained, together with her funeral equipment, a doll with jointed arms. This find, occurred in 1889, aroused much public emotion. The most recent discovery in this field (which occurred in 2003 but

546-608: The Tiber and the Square at opposite ends. Proponents of a closed plan would usually suggest that the space between the two causeways be separated by a colonnade , or by a row of inhabited structures whose designs would be scrutinised and approved by architects employed by the Holy See . Variations on both themes were submitted time and time again. Proponents of an "open" plan included such architects as Giovanni Battista Nolli and Cosimo Morelli . A number of other architects, such as Carlo Fontana , and at least one Pope ( Sixtus V ) favoured

588-509: The Vatican, in order to avoid any appearance of accepting the authority wielded by the Italian government over Rome as a whole. Initially, parts of the Italian government welcomed this, expecting the influence of the Papacy to fade to the point that enough political support could be gained to abolish it altogether. However, this failed to come to pass, and eventually a compromise acceptable to both states

630-528: The area in front of the short courtyard of Saint Peter's Basilica remained a maze of densely packed structures overhanging narrow side-streets and alleyways. Plans were drawn up several times over the years for the construction of a major link between the Vatican City and the centre of Rome; the number of submissions increasing dramatically with the onset of the Italian Renaissance . The first design

672-683: The area that stretches from Santo Spirito in Sassia to the Palazzaccio have brought to light traces of 1st and 2nd century buildings, pertinent to the Horti Agrippinae ("Agrippina's gardens"), belonging to Agrippina the Elder , wife of Germanicus . After her death, the Horti passed to her son Caligula , who had a hippodrome built there (the Circus Gaianus ). To mark its spina , Caligula erected in

714-502: The body of Saint Peter was handed down after his crucifixion under Nero. When Constantine legitimized the Christian cult with his Edict of Milan and began his Christian public building program with the Lateran , he didn't do so in the public spaces of Rome, but on areas lying to the margins of the urban area and belonging to the imperial state property. Thus began the construction, in

756-509: The circus an Egyptian obelisk (the only one always standing, among the numerous obelisks in Rome); it was later moved in 1586 by Pope Sixtus V (r. 1590–95) to St. Peter's Square. The circus and the Horti were inherited by Nero , who used both to lodge the Romans damaged by the great fire of 64, and to carry out the executions of the Christians accused of the fire itself. Because of that, until

798-470: The circus. The horti also included the Theatre of Nero , excavated from 2021 to 2023 in the courtyard of the Palazzo dei Penitenzieri . This article about an Ancient Roman building or structure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Ager Vaticanus In ancient Rome , the Ager Vaticanus ( [ˈa.ɡɛr waː.t̪iːˈkaː.n̪ʊs] , "Vatican Field") was the alluvial plain on

840-457: The designs submitted by Carlo Fontana, Piacentini came up with a plan that would preserve the best aspects of both the "open" and "closed" designs – a grand boulevard that would nonetheless obscure the majority of the Vatican buildings per Bernini's intentions. The vast colonnaded street would require the clearance of the whole "spina" of Borgo placed in between the Basilica and the Castle. Since

882-482: The end of the Middle Ages the popular name of the area beyond the Tiber north of Trastevere remained Prata Neronis ("Nero's meadows"). The neighboring Horti Domitiae ("Domitia's gardens"), owned either by Domitian 's wife, Domitia Longina , or by Nero's aunt, Domitia Lepida the Younger , also flowed into the imperial property; in this area Hadrian (r. 117–138) let later build his Mausoleum . Further away from

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924-569: The first Christians persecuted and (presumably) executed in these horti. One of them was the Apostle Peter , who was crucified in the circus. He was buried in the nearby necropolis on Via Cornelia and in the centuries that followed his tomb became a place of pilgrimage. In 324, Constantine the Great therefore had the first St. Peter's Basilica built on the grounds of the Horti Agrippinae and on

966-558: The liver of the victims of sacrifices and inspired by the god who controlled the area: the science of the Vaticini , the aruspicina or Etrusca Disciplina , had been introduced in Rome by the Etruscans. This term was ultimately derived from vātēs (“soothsayer, prophet”) and canō (“to sing”). During the first centuries of Rome, the Ager Vaticanus was the boundary between Rome and

1008-457: The peoples of the world; vast, orderly, powerful, as it was in the time of the first empire of Augustus . Construction of the road continued long after Mussolini's death and the abolition of Italian Fascism. The obelisks along the road were installed in time for the Jubilee of 1950. Since its completion, the road has acted as the primary access point to St. Peter's Square, and by extension to

1050-700: The powerful Etruscan city of Veii . After the Roman conquest of the rival city in 396 BC, the Centuriate Assembly kept the tradition of raising an ensign on the summit of the Janiculum hill, to signal a possible Etruscan raid. The hill was known as Antipolis ("anti-city" in Greek), in contrast with the Capitoline hill . By the laws of the Duodecim Tabulae , insolvent debtors could be sold into slavery, but only on

1092-450: The relative darkness of the city into the vast open space and grandeur of the Square and its surrounding buildings – a sight calculated to inspire awe in first-time visitors to the Holy See's seat of power. Bernini had originally planned to demolish a square roughly 100 m to a side directly in front of the square, filling the space with a third colonnade (or "terzo braccio") to match

1134-727: The right (west) bank of the Tiber . It was also called Ripa Veientana or Ripa Etrusca , indicating the Etruscan dominion during the archaic period. It was located between the Janiculum , the Vatican Hill , and Monte Mario , down to the Aventine Hill and up to the confluence of the Cremera creek. About the etymology of Vātī̆cānus there are several hypotheses: according to Barthold Georg Niebuhr ,

1176-520: The right bank of the Tiber. After Cincinnatus paid a large punitive fine for his son, it was recorded that he retired "like an exiled man" to his property in the Ager Vaticanus , although the plain was already Roman territory. The toponym Ager Vaticanus is attested until the 1st century AD: afterwards, another toponym appeared, Vaticanus , denoting an area much more restricted: the Vatican Hill , today's St. Peter's Square , and possibly today's Via della Conciliazione . The Ager Vaticanus lowland

1218-451: The river, Trajan had a Naumachia built, a facility intended to host naval battles. The Ager Vaticanus was serviced by two roads: the via Triumphalis and the via Cornelia . Both roads are well known from the ancient authors, but their real paths are unknown. There is consensus that the former, so called because of the triumphs of the Roman armies coming back from Veii , started in

1260-568: The road was only a small feature in the reconstruction of Rome ordered by Mussolini, which ranged from the restoration of the Castel Sant'Angelo , the clearance of the Mausoleum of Augustus , to the vastly more complicated site of the Via dell'Impero through Rome's ancient imperial remains. His plan was to transform Rome into a monument to Italian fascism . In five years, Rome must appear marvellous to all

1302-666: The road's construction was primarily political. Borgo, along with the rest of the Papal States outside of the Vatican itself, was taken by the Kingdom of Italy during the Italian unification in the 19th Century – leading to Pope Pius IX 's declaration that he had become a prisoner in the Vatican and the formation of the Roman Question . For the next 59 years, the Popes refused to leave

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1344-418: The square would be preserved to form a propylaea , blocking the greater portion of the Vatican City from approaching visitors and framing the Square and Basilica at the head of a grand open space that would allow for easy vehicular access. Demolition of the spina of Borgo began with Mussolini's symbolic strike of the first building with a pickaxe on 29 October 1936 and continued for twelve months. Even at

1386-546: The streets that crossed it, and were normally left in place until the need arose to demolish them to make room for new buildings (like the Basilica of Saint Peter ), or to recover materials. This was the fate of the so-called Meta Romuli (the other funerary pyramid existing in Rome in addition to that of Gaius Cestius outside Porta San Paolo ) and the nearby large cylindrical monument with overlapping tower called Terebinthus Neronis ; both burials were often considered in

1428-586: The time, the demolition proved controversial, with many Borgo residents displaced en masse to settlements ("borgate") outside of the city. Among the buildings dismantled, either totally or in part, and rebuilt in another position, were the Palazzo dei Convertendi , the house of Giacomo Bartolomeo da Brescia , the Church of the Nunziatina , and the palaces Rusticucci-Accoramboni and degli Alicorni (the latter had been already demolished in 1931). Other buildings, including

1470-409: The toponym perhaps refers to an archaic Etruscan settlement called Vaticum ; Varro derives the name from a childbirth deity named Vaticanus or Vagitanus , the god of the vagiti ("wailings"), since va was supposed to be the first syllable pronounced by a child; Aulus Gellius on his part derives the name from vāticinium , a prophecy elicited by the flight of the birds or from the study of

1512-597: The two still standing today. This would afford a longer vantage point to allow visitors a better viewing angle of the new Basilica. The death of his patron, Pope Alexander VII , put a halt to Bernini's work. The third set of columns was abandoned, and Bernini's piazza remained open-ended and incomplete. From the final major reconstruction of Borgo in the 15th century, the site which the Via della Conciliazione now covers remained occupied by residential, religious, and historical buildings for nearly 500 years. The final impetus behind

1554-428: Was commissioned to redesign the terrace in front of the Basilica in 1656. After discarding several sketches, Bernini settled on a colossal open space in the shape of an ellipse. With the potential expense of clearing Borgo, Bernini decided instead to make use of the warren of poorly maintained medieval buildings to obscure any view of the Vatican structures from any significant distance. In this way, pilgrims emerged from

1596-601: Was connected to Rome through two bridges: Via della Conciliazione Via della Conciliazione (Road of the Conciliation ) is a street in the Rione of Borgo within Rome , Italy . Roughly 500 metres (1,600 ft) in length, it connects Saint Peter's Square to the Castel Sant'Angelo on the western bank of the Tiber River . The road was constructed between 1936 and 1950, and it

1638-561: Was exposed to the periodic floods of the Tiber, hosted vegetable gardens and vineyards, and was known for its unhealthy climate and bad wine until the end of the first century BC, when the development of local roads along the Via Cornelia (towards the port of Caere ), the via Triumphalis towards Veii and the via Aurelia nova made possible for the families of the aristocracy the construction of luxurious private suburban residences ( Horti ). Excavations carried out in various periods in

1680-413: Was published only in 2006) is that of the large necropolis known as Santa Rosa's, along the via Triumphalis , which came to light during the excavation of the Vatican car park under the Janiculum hill. The latter site is not isolated, but constitutes a part of a vast burial ground which had been already discovered and explored in the 1950s, called "dell'Autoparco". In one of these very modest sepulchres,

1722-453: Was reached in the Lateran treaty of 1929. Dictator Benito Mussolini , who had signed the accord on behalf of the King, resurrected the idea of a grand thoroughfare symbolically connecting the Vatican to the heart of the Italian capital. To fulfil this vision, Mussolini turned to the prominent Fascist architects Marcello Piacentini and Attilio Spaccarelli . Drawing inspiration from a number of

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1764-463: Was submitted by Leone Battista Alberti during the reign of Pope Nicholas V , and formed one of the two perennial designs proposed for the area. Alberti envisioned an "open" plan, consisting of a single voluminous V-shaped boulevard, widest at St. Peter's Basilica itself and tapering as it approached the Tiber . The other scheme of designs submitted by architects was a "closed" plan that would consist of two roads arching outwards in an ellipse , with

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