Old Rome: A Handbook to the Ruins of the City and the Campagna

by Robert Burn

Of the great roads along which the principal traffic from ancient Rome passed, the Appian Road may perhaps be said to have been the most important, as it led to the southern and oriental provinces of the great empire; and it is on the line of this ancient road that the greatest number of ruined tombs and other buildings are still left. Two hundred ruins are said to stand on the sides of the Appian Road between the site of the Porta Capena, by which this road left the Servian walls, and Albano, a distance of fourteen miles. The tombs were of the most varied and fantastic shapes and designs, the most common forms being those with square or circular bases, cylindrical superstructure, and conical roof. Some were square with several floors, and surmounted by a pyramid, others consisted of chapels in brick, placed upon a cubical base, or of sarcophagi in various shapes, mounted upon brick substructions.

Many fragmentary inscriptions have been found which once belonged to these tombs, but not one of any historical importance. The greater part of them record the names of freedmen, and other obscure people, as the larger and more highly decorated tombs were plundered first, and their marble casing and inscriptions completely destroyed at an early period. The older fragments which have been saved may be studied in the Berlin Collection of Inscriptions where they are learnedly and ably edited by Th. Mommsen.

There were also many fountains and semicircular ranges of seats by the side of the road designed as resting-places for travellers.

The commencement of the ancient Appian Road now lies between the Porta S. Sebastiano and the site of the old Porta Capena. From this part of the road the Via Latina diverged on the left, and the Via Ardeatina on the right. Beyond the Porta S. Sebastiano, the first monument now visible is a mass of stonework on the left hand, about one hundred yards from the gate. From its form and the style of masonry there can be little doubt that it was a pyramidal tomb similar to that of Caius Cestius at the Porta S. Paolo, and that it was built in the Augustan era. The road then crosses the Almo, and the remains of another pyramidal tomb are to be seen on the left. This is sometimes called the Tomb of Priscilla, mentioned by Statius, but that name more probably belongs to the larger tomb further on, beyond the Church of Domine quo Vadis. This latter ruin agrees better with the description of Statius, as it had a cupola and loculi for the reception of unburnt corpses. The immense number of ruined tombs and other buildings which crowd the sides of the road beyond this point, make it necessary to restrict our remarks as much as possible, and we shall therefore only notice a few of the most prominent ruins upon the road or in the immediate neighbourhood.

Divus Rediculus.

The brick building called the Temple of the Divus Rediculus stands half a mile to the left of the road at the second milestone in the Caffarella valley. The legend which connects it with Hannibal’s march on Rome is altogether unworthy of credit,[129] and it is plain that the building, which had no rows of surrounding columns, but is constructed with Corinthian pilasters, had two stories, and cannot therefore have been a temple. Professor Reber considers that it was a chapel tomb similar to that to be seen further on the road at S. Urbano, near the Tomb of Cæcilia Metella.

Grotto of Egeria.

The Grotto of Egeria, as it is called, lies in the valley of the Almo about half a mile above the building just mentioned. It is an arched nymphæum of brick, at the back of which a plentiful stream of clear water issues. The mutilated statue of the nymph still remains, but no other parts of the decorations. There is little doubt that it was the nymphæum of some suburban villa.

Temple of Bacchus or Honos.

On the hill above it stands the Church of S. Urbano, probably an ancient tomb in the shape of a chapel. It is commonly called the Temple of Bacchus from the discovery under it of an altar of Dionysus with a Greek inscription. But this altar seems to have been moved here from some other spot. The building is in the form which has a projecting porch with four Corinthian columns and capitals. These are now built up into the modern wall. The whole, except the entablature and columns, is of brickwork of the Antonine era, as appears from the stamps of the bricks. The triple frieze, forming a kind of attica between the architrave and cornice, seems to contradict the notion that this was a temple, though the great antiquary E. Q. Visconti considered that it was the Temple of Honour built by Marius outside the Porta Capena.[130] The interior is tolerably well preserved, and has a vaulted roof with coffers and reliefs in the form of trophies.