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Rome's District of
Campus Martius
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The land of the Tarquins, which lay between the city and the Tiber, was consecrated to Mars and henceforth known as the Campus Martius. Titus Livius, Ab Urbe Condita, 2.5.2
The Campus lay entirely outside the pomerium of Rome throughout the period of the Republic. Between the reign of Claudius and Hadrian, the pomerium was extended several times to include most of the Campus area south of the Pantheon, including the prata Flaminia district. The northern part of the Campus was included inside the pomerium only after the pomerium was extended to the line of the Aurelian Wall when construction began in 1024 A.U.C. As an area outside the sacred and legal boundary of Rome, the Campus has served as a scene for several important functions of civic life, especially during the Republican period. First, promagistrates and generals were forbidden within the pomerium and lost their imperium upon crossing it. Thus, generals awarded a triumph were required to remain outside the city along with their troops and were lodged in the Campus Martius until the day appointed for their triumphs. Soldiers also lost their status and became citizens again upon crossing the pomerium. For this reason, the Campus was used for the assembly and training of soldiers before military campaigns. Meetings of the Comitia Centuriata were also held outside the city and voting was conducted at the Saepta in the Campus, so that soldiers could participate and vote with their centuriae.
 The Triumph of Aemilius Paulus Since ancient times, ambassadors of foreign states have been required to register their names and intent before entering the city of Rome. Those that did not receive permission to enter the city were received by the Senate at the Temple of Bellona. All ambassadors were hosted as public guests and lodged outside the city. The Villa Publica has often been used as a guesthouse for both ambassadors and Roman generals. The anointed sovereigns of foreign states are also not permitted to cross within the pomerium. Religious cults that are not incorporated in the Religio Romana cannot have their temples located within the pomerium. Many of these cults have their temples and shrines in the Campus. Some of these are quite old and well-known, including the temples for Apollo, Hercules, and Bellona; more recent temples include those for Isis and Serapis. Finally, since it is also forbidden to bury the dead inside the pomerium, there are a number of sepulchra in the Campus. Augustus built his magnificent Mausoleum here along the Via Flaminia; it was used by his descendants and family down to the time of Nero.
Mausoleum of Augustus Development of the Regio: During the time of the Tarquins, the area of the Campus was used to grow large quantities of wheat. When the last king was expelled, the land was expropriated as a patrimonial holding of the people of Rome and all of the grain of the Tarquins was declared cursed. Legend tells that it was gathered and thrown into the Tiber, where it formed the base of the Tiber Island. Because the plain had been consecrated to Mars even before the Tarquins had claimed it for themselves, the area was renamed as the Campus Martius.
The oldest public building in the Campus is probably the ancient altar of Mars dating from the time of Numa, confirming the Campus’ link to Mars from the earliest period of Roman life. The altar is still served by the flamen martialis on holy days. Located nearby in the central part of the Campus are the Villa Publica built for the censors in 318 A.U.C. and the Saepta. A temple of Feronia and three other small temples built 350 and 650 are located between the Saepta and the Circus Flaminius Prata Flaminia The area of the Campus between the Capitoline Hill and the Tiber was the first to become significantly developed. This district became known as the prata Flaminia as early as the era when the Twelve Tables were first published. The district includes the Forum Holitorium, the vegetable market established in 365, located at the southern limit of the Campus just outside the Porta Carmentalis.
Just to the west, Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus built his theater and portico here in 698 A.U.C. The portico is lavishly decorated and contains an annex used for meetings of the Senate; it was here that Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March in 709. One other building that has become important to many citizens is the Porticus Minucia. Since the reign of Claudius, the office for grain distribution has operated from this site. The city’s curator aquarum has been located here since the time of Septimius Severus. By the end of the Republic, some land in the prata district was controlled by private owners. There were a number of homes of wealthy citizens in the neighborhood called Aemiliana just north of the Porta Flumentana near the Forum Holitorium. Scipio Africanus had a hortus located in the area. More land was sold in the time of Sulla’s rule to replenish the treasury and fund the war with Mithridates. Tarentum Another part of the Campus set aside since the earliest times is the most western section embraced by the bend of the Tiber. Known as Tarentum, the area is marked by hot springs of sulphurous water. There are pools here where people immerse themselves to cure various ailments.
An area along the Tiber called the Trigarium is a popular place for riding. The city’s racing factions also use it for the training of horses. See your favorite milliarii up close and personal on the Campus. Agrippa District After the period of the great Civil War, the emperor Augustus and his chief supporter Marcus Agrippa began a series of public works that transformed much of the central area of the Campus. Because of the low elevation of its ground and the tendency of the Tiber to rise significantly from heavy rains or melting snows higher in its course, the Campus Martius is subject to periodic flooding. A stream called the Petronia Amnis also flowed from the Quirinal Hill through the central part of the Campus and fed several swamps and ponds. When Agrippa began his building projects, he developed a plan to drain the Campus and channel the waters to his own purpose. The natural spring was diverted to feed a Stagnum. This formal pond was part of a great complex constructed in 728. Agrippa’s plan included the Pantheon of the gods and a hot-air bath. The buildings were constructed on a north-south axis with a public Basilica of Neptune between them. At the same time, he began a restoration of the ancient Saepta, enclosing it with two public porticoes decorated with heroic themes, the Porticus Argonautarum and the Porticus Meleagri.
Within a few years, Agrippa expanded his baths to create the magnificent Thermae Agrippae, fed by water from a new aqueduct. Agrippa built the Aqua Virgo to bring water from springs at the eighth mile of the Via Collatina, across the Collis Hortorum, then into the central Campus. Just to the northeast of this collection of buildings along the Via Flaminia, Agrippa also contructed a portico dedicated to his daughter. The Porticus Vipsania is decorated with a stunning map of the world as it was in Augustus’ reign.
Augustus added his own buildings to the Campus, mainly to the north of Agrippa’s and along the Via Lata. In addition to the Mausoleum, Augustus created an enormous Horologium using an obelisk brought from Heliopolis as its gnomon. The great sundial is just to the west of the Ara Pacis, erected by the Senate in 740 to commemorate peace with Hispania and Gaul.
When Augustus organized Rome into fourteen administrative regions, he divided the Campus along the line of the Via Flaminia. The area to the west of the road was designated as Region IX, known as the Circus Flaminius regio. The area to the east was included as part of Region VII, later known as the Via Lata regio. The largest remaining sections of open land after the building programs of Augustus and Agrippa were in the Tarentum quarter and along the Via Flaminia at the northern end. A few wooded areas remain in the Aesculetum and the Lucus Petelinus.
 Map of the Campus Martius† Quo Vadis? Finding Your Way: The main gates in the wall between the city and the Campus are the Porta Flumentana and Porta Carmentalis between the Tiber and the Capitoline Hill, the Porta Fontinalis between the Capitoline and Quirinal Hills, and the Portae Sanqualis, Salutaris, and Quirinalis along the Quirinal ridge. Transport drivers must check the city regulations before entering the gates.
The bridges along the Tiber provide important connections to the horti on the right bank of the river, the grain mills on the Island, and the neighborhoods of the Janiculum Hill. From north to south, these are the Pons Aelius and Pons Neronianus at Tarentum, the Pons Agrippa and Pons Aurelius just southwest of the Theater of Pompey, and the Pons Fabricius to the Tiber Island.
The Tiber is an important locus of transportation. In addition to the docks along the Aventine and Velabrum, the Campus has two main dock and warehouse areas. The Navalia is located just above the Pons Agrippae. The dockyard handles naval supplies, ship repairs, and equipment and provisions for the naumachia and the marines stationed in Rome to support the public games, as well as imports of bulk cargoes. Several large warehouses near the Tiber Island store vast quantities of wine. The Ciconiae Nixae are located in the upper Campus above the river bend. The docks here mainly handle bulk agricultural commodities, grain, and animals for the nearby Forum Suarium.
† All maps shown on this page are in the public domain. Some of the locations shown reflect the scholarship of a previous era. For the locations of any specific property in the Campus, please consult ancient sources or recent scholarly sources.
Additional sources of information:
Images:
The Articles of Campus Martius:
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