The Medieval Circus Maximus
Title
Subject
Description
At one end of the Circus Maximus stands a small tower, which tips us off to the fact that this area during the medieval period was a predominantly agricultural area, controlled by prominent families. Called the Tower of Moletta, the tower was likely built by the Frangipani family, who controlled parts of the surrounding area, and was probably associated with a short-lived water mill that they constructed during the 11th-12th century. This mill was powered by a river that had been channeled by Pope Callistus II in 1122 from some streams that had started winding through the valley in the 6th or 7th century.
In addition to the tower are the remains of some vaulting from the Roman circus. This vaulting, along with any additional pieces that have since been destroyed, would, like the vaulting of the Colosseum, have been used for medieval houses and shops, starting around the 13th century, when the monastic community of San Gregorio Magno, another controlling influence in the area, gave it over to that purpose.
Early in the medieval period, there also would have been a few arches and obelisks still standing from Roman times, though the obelisks would be moved to other locations in Rome (the Piazza del Popolo and St John Lateran) by the 16th century. But the relative barrenness of the modern circus is somewhat representative of the medieval realities of the area. A part of the disabitato, or relatively uninhabited part of medieval Rome, the circus area would have contained, in addition to the few ruins from ancient Rome and the mill and tower of the Frangipani, relatively few dwellings, along with open space and farmland. Antonio Tempesta’s 1593 map of Rome, while neglecting to show the tower, alludes to this usage, portraying the circus area as space filled with farm fields, trees, and a few buildings tucked among those trees.
Abstract
Creator
Source
"American Academy in Rome. “New Discoveries at the Mausoleum of Augustus, Circus Maximus and Aqua Claudia.” February 27, 2014. http://aarome.org/it/news/features/new-discoveries-at-the-mausoleum-of-augustus-circus-maximus-and-aqua-claudia.
Krautheimer, Richard. Rome: Profile of a City, 312-1308. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000.
Roma Capitale: Citta Storica Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali. “Circus Maximus: Medieval and Modern Stages.” Sign on Via dei Cerchi on Palatine side of Circus Maximus.
Speelberg, Femke. “Antonio Tempesta’s View of Rome: Portraying the Baroque Splendor of the Eternal City.” October 23, 2012. http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/now-at-the-met/features/2012/view-of-rome.
Identifier
Spatial Coverage
Description
At one end of the Circus Maximus stands a small tower, which tips us off to the fact that this area during the medieval period was a predominantly agricultural area, controlled by prominent families. Called the Tower of Moletta, the tower was likely built by the Frangipani family, who controlled parts of the surrounding area, and was probably associated with a short-lived water mill that they constructed during the 11th-12th century. This mill was powered by a river that had been channeled by Pope Callistus II in 1122 from some streams that had started winding through the valley in the 6th or 7th century.
In addition to the tower are the remains of some vaulting from the Roman circus. This vaulting, along with any additional pieces that have since been destroyed, would, like the vaulting of the Colosseum, have been used for medieval houses and shops, starting around the 13th century, when the monastic community of San Gregorio Magno, another controlling influence in the area, gave it over to that purpose.
Early in the medieval period, there also would have been a few arches and obelisks still standing from Roman times, though the obelisks would be moved to other locations in Rome (the Piazza del Popolo and St John Lateran) by the 16th century. But the relative barrenness of the modern circus is somewhat representative of the medieval realities of the area. A part of the disabitato, or relatively uninhabited part of medieval Rome, the circus area would have contained, in addition to the few ruins from ancient Rome and the mill and tower of the Frangipani, relatively few dwellings, along with open space and farmland. Antonio Tempesta’s 1593 map of Rome, while neglecting to show the tower, alludes to this usage, portraying the circus area as space filled with farm fields, trees, and a few buildings tucked among those trees.
Creator
Lindsay Brandt (2017)Source
"American Academy in Rome. “New Discoveries at the Mausoleum of Augustus, Circus Maximus and Aqua Claudia.” February 27, 2014. http://aarome.org/it/news/features/new-discoveries-at-the-mausoleum-of-augustus-circus-maximus-and-aqua-claudia.
Krautheimer, Richard. Rome: Profile of a City, 312-1308. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2000.
Roma Capitale: Citta Storica Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali. “Circus Maximus: Medieval and Modern Stages.” Sign on Via dei Cerchi on Palatine side of Circus Maximus.
Speelberg, Femke. “Antonio Tempesta’s View of Rome: Portraying the Baroque Splendor of the Eternal City.” October 23, 2012. http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/now-at-the-met/features/2012/view-of-rome.