Rom - gesehen vom Gianicolo
in soft evening light
im sanften Abendlicht
The Janiculum (/dʒəˈnɪkjʊləm/; Italian: Gianicolo [dʒaˈniːkolo]), occasionally known as the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among the proverbial Seven Hills of Rome, being west of the Tiber and outside the boundaries of the ancient city.
Sights
The Janiculum is one of the best locations in Rome for a scenic view of central Rome with its domes and bell towers. Other sights on the Janiculum include the church of San Pietro in Montorio, on what was formerly thought to be the site of St Peter's crucifixion; a small shrine known as the Tempietto, designed by Donato Bramante, marks the supposed site of Peter's death. The Janiculum also houses a Baroque fountain built by Pope Paul V in the late 17th century, the Fontana dell'Acqua Paola, and several foreign research institutions, including the American and Spanish Academies in Rome. The Hill is also the location of The American University of Rome, Pontifical Urban University, and Pontifical North American College, as well as the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza" and the Palazzo Montorio, residence of the Ambassadors of Spain.
The Villa Lante al Gianicolo by Giulio Romano (1520–21) is an important early building by the Mannerist master, also with magnificent views.
History
Ancient history and mythology
The Janiculum was a center for the cult of the god Janus: its position overlooking the city made it a good place for augurs to observe the auspices.
In Roman mythology, Janiculum is the name of an ancient town founded by the god Janus (the two-faced god of beginnings). In Book VIII of the Aeneid by Virgil (Publius Vergilius Maro), King Evander shows Aeneas (the Trojan hero of this epic poem) the ruins of Saturnia and Janiculum on the Capitoline Hill near the Arcadian city of Pallanteum (the future site of Rome) (see line 54, Bk. 8). Virgil uses these ruins to stress the significance of the Capitoline Hill as the religious center of Rome.
According to Livy, the Janiculum was incorporated into ancient Rome during the time of king Ancus Marcius to prevent an enemy from occupying it. It was fortified by a wall, and a bridge was built across the Tiber to join it to the rest of the city.
During the war between Rome and Clusium in 508 BC, it is said that the forces of Lars Porsena occupied the Janiculum and laid siege to Rome.
The water mills
During the third century AD, a complex of water-mills was built here to grind grain to provide bread flour for the city. As revealed by excavations in the 1990s under the present American Academy in Rome, they sat astride the aqueduct Aqua Traiana and were in brick-faced concrete with a cocciopesto floor. In the limited excavated area, two mill races branched obliquely off the Aqua Traiana, turned to run parallel to the aqueduct for some distance, and then turned back to feed into the aqueduct again. It appeared that the northern mill race had 3 or 4 millwheels of 2.30 m diameter and width about 1.65 m to provide a sufficiently large working area, but only 2.6 m between their axle centres, which must have reduced efficiency due to turbulence between them. The southern race had one larger wheel.
The site resembles Barbegal, although the excavations show that they were undershot rather than overshot in design (i. e. with the stream entering at the bottom of the wheel, not the top). The mills were still in use in 537, when the Goths besieging the city cut off their water supply, the Aqua Traiana. They were later restored and may have remained in operation until at least the time of Pope Gregory IV (827–844).
The Aurelian Walls were continued up the hill by the emperor Aurelian (reigned AD 270–275) to include the water mills.
The mills were already known from observations by R. Lanciani in the 1880s.
19th century to present
The Janiculum is the site of a battle in 1849 between the forces of Garibaldi, defending the revolutionary Roman Republic against French forces, who were fighting to restore the temporal power of the Pope over Rome. Several monuments to Garibaldi and to the fallen in the wars of Italian independence are on the Janiculum.
Daily at noon, a cannon fires once from the Janiculum in the direction of the Tiber as a time signal. This tradition goes back to December 1847, when the cannon of the Castel Sant'Angelo gave the sign to the surrounding belltowers to start ringing at midday. In 1904, the ritual was transferred to the Janiculum and continued until 1939. On 21 April 1959, popular appeal convinced the Commune of Rome to resume the tradition after a twenty-year interruption.
The hill is featured in the third section of Ottorino Respighi's tone poem Pines of Rome.
Monuments
The crest of the Janiculum is dominated by the 1895 equestrian Monument to Garibaldi, designed by Italian sculptor Emilio Gallori. This site was chosen for its proximity to the Villa Doria Pamphili, where Garibaldi mounted a military defense of the short-lived Roman Republic in late April 1849.
The hill also features a number of statues and monuments of prominent Italians. A 2011 guide published by the local Associazione Amilcare Cipriani group, after an extensive restoration of these monuments, lists a total of 84 busts on the hill.
(Wikipedia)
Der Gianicolo (lateinisch Ianiculum, auch Janiculum genannt) ist ein Hügel in Rom, der sich vom Stadtteil Trastevere entlang des westlichen Tiberufers bis zur Vatikanstadt erstreckt. Der nordwestliche Teil des Hügels ist im exterritorialen Besitz des Heiligen Stuhls, dort befindet sich unter anderem die Pontificia Universitas Urbaniana. Er zählt – wie der Pincio – nicht zu den sieben eigentlichen Hügeln Roms.
Das gesamte Gebiet blieb bis zur Zeit Kaiser Aurelians aus dem Pomerium, der idealen Grenze des heiligen Territoriums Roms, ausgeschlossen. Unter Aurelian wurde das Stadtgebiet erweitert und der Hügel einbezogen.
Der Name geht auf den altrömischen Gott Janus zurück, der dort der Sage nach eine Burg errichtet haben soll. Diese war in der mythischen Vorzeit bereits eine Ruine.
Der Gianicolo war für die Kontrolle und die Verteidigung der Stadt unverzichtbar, so dass als Zeichen der Sicherheit eine Fahne gehisst wurde, wenn auf dem Marsfeld Volksversammlungen stattfanden. Hier wurden zudem wichtige Persönlichkeiten bestattet, wie z. B. der König Numa Pompilius und die Dichter Quintus Ennius und Caecilius Statius.
Der Hügel spielte erneut eine wichtige Rolle, als die französischen Truppen, die von Papst Pius IX. gegen die neugegründete Römische Republik zu Hilfe gerufen worden waren, am 29. April 1849 einen Angriff unternahmen. Die von Giuseppe Garibaldi angeführten Freiwilligen wurden nach einem zweimonatigen harten Kampf zur Aufgabe gezwungen. Das Triumvirat von Mazzini, Armellini und Saffi, das die Geschicke der kurzlebigen Republik geleitet hatte, musste ins Exil gehen.
Im Jahr 1895 wurde ein großes Denkmal für Garibaldi auf dem höchsten Punkt des Hügels errichtet, flankiert von einer Vielzahl von Büsten weiterer Persönlichkeiten des italienischen Freiheitskampfes. Längs der Straße, die vom Gianicolo zum Vatikan führt, befindet sich zudem ein Denkmal für Garibaldis Frau Anita Garibaldi, reitend mit Pistole in der Hand und Kind auf dem Arm, die dort nach dem Willen Garibaldis bestattet worden war.
Von nach Argentinien ausgewanderten Italienern wurde 1911 der Leuchtturm Faro del Gianicolo gestiftet, der von Manfredo Manfredi erbaut wurde und abends in den Nationalfarben grün, weiß und rot über der Stadt leuchtet.
Der Palazzo Courtial ist vatikanisches Hotel.
Der Hügel hat eine Höhe von 82 m s.l.m. Im Untergrund befindet sich ein für das Jubiläumsjahr 2000 gebauter riesiger Busbahnhof, der auch eine direkte Verbindung zum Petersplatz hat.
(Wikipedia)
