Janiculum
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Janiculum (Gianicolo in Italian) is a hill in western Rome.
Janiculum.JPG
While the tallest hill 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. Anciently, the Janiculum was a center for the cult of the god Janus; it was also known in Roman times as the Mons Vaticanus; the fact that it overlooked the city made it a good place for augurs to go and observe the auspices.
The Janiculum is a good place to get a view of the Roman skyline and the city's many domed churches. Other sights on the Janiculum include the church of San Pietro in Montorio, built upon the site formerly thought to be where St Peter was crucified; here, the Tempietto, a small shrine built 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 seventeenth century, the Acqua Paola, and several foreign research institutions, including the American Academy in Rome and the Academia de Espaņa.
In history, the Janiculum was the site of a battle in 1849 between the forces of Garibaldi and French forces fighting on behalf of the Pope, who sought to restore the dominion of Papal States over Rome. Because of this battle, several monuments to Garibaldi and to the fallen in the wars of Italian independence are on the Janiculum as well.
External links
- The Janiculum (http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/PLATOP*/Janiculum.html) at Lacus Curtius (http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/home.html)
- The Janiculum quarter (http://www.romanhomes.com/janiculum-quarter.htm), a tourist guide.