Editing Palatine Hill

{{short description|Centremost of the seven hills of Rome, Italy}}
{{Infobox Hill of Rome
| Latin name   = Palatium; Collis Palatinus
| Italian name = Palatino
| seven hills  = yes
| eight hills  = no
| rione        = [[Campitelli]]
| buildings    = [[Flavian Palace]]
| churches     =
| palazzi      =
| people       = [[Cicero]], [[Augustus]], [[Tiberius]], [[Domitian]]
| events       = Finding of Romulus and Remus
| religion     = [[Temple of Apollo Palatinus]], [[Temple of Cybele (Palatine)|Temple of Cybele]], [[Lupercalia]], [[Secular Games]]
| mythology    = [[Romulus and Remus]], [[Faustulus]]
| sculptures   =
}}
[[File:Palatine Hill from across the Circus Maximus April 2019.jpg|thumb| 300px | View of the Palatine Hill from across the Circus Maximus]]
[[File:Seven Hills of Rome.svg|thumb|250px|A schematic map of Rome showing the seven hills and the [[Servian Wall]]]]
The '''Palatine Hill''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|æ|l|ə|t|aɪ|n}}; [[Classical Latin]]: ''Palatium'';<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0059%3Aentry%3DPalatium Lewis and Short, ''A Latin Dictionary'': ''Palatium'']</ref> [[Neo-Latin]]: ''Collis/Mons Palatinus''; {{langx|it|Palatino}} {{IPA|it|palaˈtiːno|}}), which relative to the [[seven hills of Rome]] is the centremost, is one of the most ancient parts of the city; it has been called "the first nucleus of the [[Roman Empire]]".<ref>[[Charles Merivale|Merivale, Charles]], [https://archive.org/details/ageneralhistory18unkngoog/page/n53/mode/1up ''A General History of Rome: from the Foundation of the City to the Fall of Augustulus, B.C. 753— A.D. 476'']. New York: Harper & Brothers (1880), p. 39.</ref> The site is now mainly a large open-air museum whilst the [[Palatine Museum]] houses many finds from the excavations here and from other ancient Italian sites. 

Imperial palaces were built there, starting with [[Augustus]]. Before imperial times the hill was mostly occupied by the houses of the rich.

The hill originally had two summits separated by a depression; the highest part was called Palatium and the other Germalus (or Cermalus). Using the [[Forma Urbis Romae|Forma Urbis]] its perimeter enclosed {{convert|63|acres|ha}}; while the Regionary Catalogues of the 4th century enclose {{convert|131| acres|ha}}.<ref>The Atlas of Ancient Rome, Biography and Portraits of the City, Ed. Andrea Carandini, Paolo Carafa, trans. Andrew Campbell Halavais, Princeton University Pressm 2012, pp. 216=17, {{ISBN|978-0-691-16347-5}}</ref>

== Etymology ==

According to [[Livy]]<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0026&layout=&loc=1.5 Livy 1.5.1].</ref> (59 BC &ndash; AD 17) the Palatine hill got its name from the [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]]n settlers from [[Pallantium]], named from its founder [[Pallas of Arcadia|Pallas, son of Lycaon]]. More likely, it is derived from the noun ''palātum'' "palate"; [[Ennius]] uses it once for the "heaven", and it may be connected with the [[Etruscan language|Etruscan]] word for sky, ''falad''.<ref>Ernout and Meillet, ''Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine'', s.v. ''palātum''.</ref>

The name of the hill is the [[etymology|etymological]] origin of the word ''[[palace]]'' and its cognates in other languages ([[Greek language|Greek]]: ''παλάτιον'', {{langx|it|palazzo}}, {{langx|fr|palais}}, [[Spanish language|Spanish]]: ''palacio'', [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]]: ''palácio'', {{langx|de|Pfalz}} and ''Palast'', {{langx|cs|palác}}, {{langx|hr|palača}}, etc.).<ref name="OED-palace">"Palace". From the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''</ref> 

The Palatine Hill is also the [[etymology|etymological]] origin (via the Latin adjective ''{{linktext|palatinus}}'') of "[[palatine]]", a 16th-century English adjective that originally signified something pertaining to the Caesar's palace, or someone who is invested with the king's authority. Later its use shifted to a reference to the [[German Palatinate]].<ref name="OED">"Palatine". From the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''</ref><!--(login required url:) http://dictionary.oed.com.dax.lib.unf.edu/cgi/entry/50169581?query_type=word&queryword=palatine--> The office of the German [[count palatine]] (''Pfalzgraf'') had its origins in the ''comes palatinus'', an earlier office in [[Merovingian]] and [[Carolingian]] times.<ref name=keller-medieval-france-ency>{{cite book|last=Stowe |first=George B. |title=Palatinates |editor-last1=Kibler |editor-first1=William |editor-last2=Zinn |editor-first2=Grover A. |work=Medieval France: An Encyclopedia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XkQrDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA576 |publisher=Garland |year=1995 |page=576 |isbn=9780824044442}}</ref>

Another modern English word, "{{linktext|paladin}}", came into usage to refer to any distinguished knight (especially one of the [[Paladin|Twelve Peers of Charlemagne]]) under Charlemagne in late renditions of the [[Matter of France]].{{Efn|This word came into use after an obsolete English "palasin" (from OF ''palaisin'') came into disuse.}}<ref>"Paladin". From the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]''</ref><!--(login required url:) http://dictionary.oed.com.dax.lib.unf.edu/cgi/entry/50169459?single=1&query_type=word&queryword=paladin Retrieved November 19, 2008.-->

==Mythology==
According to [[Roman mythology]], the Palatine Hill was the location of the cave, known as the [[Lupercal]], where [[Romulus and Remus]] were found by the [[She-wolf (Roman mythology)|she-wolf]] Lupa that kept them alive. This is also the hill on which the adult Romulus chose to found the city, and where he murdered his brother Remus. This ritualistic murder on the Palatine formed an important part of Roman identity and the mythological origins of the [[Pomerium]].

Another legend occurring on the Palatine is [[Hercules]]' defeat of [[Cacus]] after the monster had stolen some cattle.  Hercules struck Cacus with his characteristic club so hard that it formed a cleft on the southeast corner of the hill, where later a staircase bearing the name of Cacus was constructed.<ref>CACUS: Giant of the Land of Latium". theoi.com.</ref>

==History==
[[File:Palatin-legende.jpg|thumb|Palaces on the Palatine]]
[[File:Palatine Hill from Colosseum 2011 1.jpg|thumb|Palatine Hill from the Colosseum]]
[[File:Palatineterracing.jpg|thumb|Massive [[retaining wall]]s extended the area on the Palatine available for the Imperial building complex.]]
Rome has its origins on the Palatine. Excavations show that people have lived in the area since the 10th century BC.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldbyisa.com/palatine-hill-the-cradle-of-the-city-of-rome/|title=Palatine Hill: The Cradle of the City of Rome – World by Isa|date=8 April 2020}}</ref> Excavations performed on the hill in 1907 and again in 1948 unearthed a collection of huts believed to have been used for funerary purposes between the 9th and 7th century BC approximating the time period when the city of Rome was founded.<ref>https://www.world-archaeology.com/great-discoveries/palatine-hill/[[World Archeology 03MAR2011]]</ref>

Pallantium was an ancient city near the [[Tiber]] river on the Italian peninsula. [[Roman mythology]], as recounted in [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]'' for example, states that the city was founded by [[Evander of Pallene]] and other ancient Greeks sometime previous to the [[Trojan War]]. In addition, [[Dionysius of Halicarnassus]] writes that Romans say that the city was founded by Greeks from [[Pallantium (Arcadia)|Pallantium]] of [[Arcadia (ancient region)|Arcadia]], about sixty years before the Trojan war and the leader was Evander. The myth of the city's origin was significant in ancient Roman mythology because Pallantium became one of the cities that was merged later into [[ancient Rome]], thereby tying Rome's origins to the ancient Greek heroes. Other cities in the area were founded by various [[Italic tribes]].

Virgil states that Evander named the city in honor of his ancestor, Pallas, although [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] as well as Dionysius of Halicarnassus say that Evander's birth city was Pallantium, and thus he named the new city after the one in Arcadia. Dionysius of Halicarnassus also mention that some writers, including [[Polybius of Megalopolis]], say that the town was named after Pallas, who was the son of [[Heracles]] and Lavinia, the daughter of Evander, and when he died his grandfather raised a tomb to him on the hill and called the place Pallantium, after him.

According to [[Livy]], after the immigration of the [[Sabines]] and the [[Alba Longa|Albans]] to Rome, the original Romans lived on the Palatine.<ref>[[Livy]], ''[[Ab Urbe Condita Libri (Livy)|Ab urbe condita]]'', 1:33</ref> The Palatine Hill was also the site of the ancient festival of the [[Lupercalia]].

Many affluent Romans of the [[Roman Republic|Republican period]] ({{circa|509 BC}} – 44 BC) had their residences there.

From the start of the [[Roman Empire|Empire]] (27 BC) [[Augustus]] built his [[House of Augustus|palace]] there and the hill gradually became the exclusive domain of emperors; the ruins of the palaces of at least [[Augustus]] (27 BC – 14 AD), [[Tiberius]] (14–37 AD) and [[Domitian]] (81–96 AD) can still be seen.

Augustus also built a [[Temple of Apollo Palatinus|temple to Apollo]] here.

The [[Great Fire of Rome]] in AD 64 destroyed Nero's palace, the [[Domus Transitoria]], but he replaced it by AD 69 with the even larger [[Domus Aurea]], over which was eventually built Domitian's Palace.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=xtoVDAAAQBAJ ''Rome, An Oxford Archaeological Guide''], A. Claridge, 1998 {{ISBN|0-19-288003-9}}, p. 120</ref>

From the 16th century, the hill was owned by the [[House of Farnese|Farnese]] family and was occupied by the [[Farnese Gardens]], still partially preserved above the remains of the Domus Tiberiana.

At the top of the hill, between the Domus Flavia and the Domus Augustana, the Villa Mattei was built in the 16th century, then purchased around 1830 by the Scot Charles Mills who turned it into an elaborate neo-Gothic villa. At the end of the 19th century the villa was converted into a convent. This was partially demolished from 1928 to allow excavations and in the surviving part of the building the Palatine Museum has been installed.

==Monuments==
[[File:Guide to Italy and Sicily (1911) (14579345070).jpg|thumb|300px|Plan of the Palatine with modern buildings overlaid]]
Dominating the site is the [[Palace of Domitian]] which was rebuilt largely during the reign of [[Domitian]] over earlier buildings of [[Nero]]. Later emperors, particularly those of the [[Severan Dynasty]], made significant additions to the buildings, notably the [[Domus Severiana]].

===The Palace of Domitian===
{{main|Palace of Domitian}}

===Houses of Livia and Augustus===
{{main|House of Augustus}}
The House of [[Livia]], the wife of Augustus, is conventionally attributed to her based only on the generic name on a clay pipe and circumstantial factors such as proximity to the House of Augustus.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historvius.com/the-house-of-livia-729/|title=The House of Livia - Rome, Italy - History and Visitor Information|website=www.historvius.com|access-date=5 May 2018}}</ref>

The building is located near the [[Temple of Cybele (Palatine)|Temple of Magna Mater]] at the western end of the hill, on a lower terrace from the temple. It is notable for its frescoes.

===House of Tiberius===
Known as the [[Domus Tiberiana]] because the original house was built by [[Tiberius]], he spent much of his time in his palaces in Campania and Capri. It was later incorporated into [[Nero]]'s [[Domus Transitoria]].<ref>Encyclopedia of the Roman Empire, 184p.</ref> Part of its remains lie in the current [[Farnese Gardens]].

===Domus Severiana===
{{main|Domus Severiana}}

===Temple of Cybele===
{{main|Temple of Cybele (Palatine)}}

===Temple of Apollo Palatinus===
{{main|Temple of Apollo Palatinus}}

===Septizodium===
{{main|Septizodium}}

===Domus Transitoria===
{{main|Domus Transitoria}}

==Excavations==

Already during Augustus' reign an area of the Palatine Hill was subject to a sort of [[archaeology|archaeological]] expedition which found fragments of [[Bronze Age]] pots and tools. He declared this site the "original town of Rome." [[Modern archaeology]] has identified evidence of Bronze Age settlement in the area which predates Rome's founding. 

Intensive archaeological excavations began in the 18th century and culminated in the late 19th century, after the proclamation of Rome as the capital of the Kingdom of Italy. Discoveries continued sporadically throughout the 20th century until the present time.

[[File:Lupercal grotto.jpg|thumb|The photo of the excavated cave beneath the ''Domus Livia'' on the Palatine Hill, perhaps the [[Lupercal]]]]
In 2006, [[archaeologist]]s announced the discovery of the Palatine House, believed to be the birthplace of [[Ancient Rome|Rome]]'s first Emperor, Augustus.<ref>For a classical account of the birth (and birthplace) of Augustus, refer to: [[Suetonius]], ''[[Lives of the Twelve Caesars#Life of Augustus|Life of Augustus]]'', 5.</ref> A section of corridor and other fragments under the Hill were found and described as "a very ancient aristocratic house."{{cn|date=February 2020}} The two-story house appears to have been built around an [[Atrium (architecture)|atrium]], with frescoed walls and mosaic flooring, and is situated on the slope of the Palatine that overlooks the [[Colosseum]] and the [[Arch of Constantine]]. The Republican-era houses on the Palatine were overbuilt by later palaces after the [[Great Fire of Rome]] (AD 64), but apparently this one was not and perhaps was preserved for an important reason. On the ground floor, three shops opened onto the [[Via Sacra]]. The location of the ''domus'' is significant because of its potential proximity to the ''[[Curia#Curiae Veteres|Curiae Veteres]]'', the earliest shrine of the ''[[Curia|curies]]'' of Rome.<ref>[[Varro]] ''Linguae Latinae'' 5.155; [[Sextus Pompeius Festus|Festus]] L 174; [[Tacitus]] ''Annales'' 12.24</ref>

In 2007 the legendary [[Lupercal]] cave was claimed to have been found beneath the remains of the ''Domus Livia'' (House of [[Livia]]) on the Palatine. Archaeologists came across the 16-metre-deep cavity while restoring the decaying palace, with a richly decorated vault encrusted with mosaics and seashells.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/01/070126-rome-palatine.html|title=Sacred Cave of Rome's Founders Found, Scientists Say|website=news.nationalgeographic.com|access-date=5 May 2018|archive-date=2017-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819183841/https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/01/070126-rome-palatine.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The Lupercal was probably converted to a sanctuary by Romans in later centuries. Many others have denied its identification with the Lupercal on topographic and stylistic grounds, and believe that the grotto is actually a ''[[nymphaeum]]'' or underground ''[[triclinium]]'' from [[Nero]]nian times.<ref>Aloisi, Silvia "Expert doubts Lupercale 'find'" ''The Australian'' November 24, 2007 [http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22813219-12377,00.html theaustralian.news.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124214653/http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22813219-12377,00.html |date=2007-11-24 }}</ref><ref>"È uno splendido ninfeo, ma il Lupercale non era lì" '''la Repubblica''' November 23, 2007 [http://roma.repubblica.it/dettaglio/%C3%88-uno-splendido-ninfeo-ma-il-Lupercale-non-era-li/1392770] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126035614/https://roma.repubblica.it/dettaglio/%C3%88-uno-splendido-ninfeo-ma-il-Lupercale-non-era-li/1392770 |date=2021-01-26 }}</ref><ref>Schulz, Matthia "Is Italy's Spectacular Find Authentic?"''Spiegel Online'' November 29, 2007 [http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,520440,00.html spiegel.de] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120202092806/http://www.spiegel.de/international/europe/0,1518,520440,00.html |date=2012-02-02 }}</ref>

== See also ==
{{portal|Ancient Rome}}
{{columns-list|colwidth=30em|
* [[Aventine Hill|Aventine Hill (Aventino)]]
* [[Caelian Hill|Caelian Hill (Celio)]]
* [[Capitoline Hill|Capitoline Hill (Capitolino)]]
* [[Cispius|Cispian Hill (Cispio)]]
* [[Esquiline|Esquiline Hill (Esquilino)]]
* [[Janiculum Hill|Janiculum Hill (Gianicolo)]]
* [[Monte Mario]]
* [[Oppian Hill|Oppian Hill (Oppio)]]
* [[Pincian Hill|Pincian Hill (Pincio)]]
* [[Quirinal Hill|Quirinal Hill (Quirinale)]]
* [[Vatican Hill|Vatican Hill (Vaticano)]]
* [[Velian Hill|Velian Hill (Velia)]]
* [[Viminal Hill|Viminal Hill (Viminale)]]
}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
;Citations
<references />

;Bibliography
{{refbegin}}
*Tomei, Maria Antonietta.  "The Palatine."  Trans. Luisa Guarneri Hynd.  Milano: Electa (Ministero per i Beni e le Actività Culturali Sopraintendenza Archeologica di Roma), 1998.
{{refend}}

==External links==
{{Commons|Palatine hill}}
*[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/PLATOP*/Palatinus.html Samuel Ball Platner, ''A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome'':] Palatine Hill
*[https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/Palatine/home.html The Palatine Hill: Two Millennia of Landscaping]
* {{cite web | title=Aerial view of Palatine Hill | work=Bing Maps | url=http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cp=41.88890247641585~12.486960788377722&lvl=17&style=b | access-date=29 December 2010 }}
* {{cite web | title=Aerial view of Palatine Hill | work=Google Maps | url=https://maps.google.com/maps?q=rome,+italy&ll=41.888948,12.486820&spn=0.005023,0.008664&t=h&hl=en| access-date=October 14, 2005 }}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170928193753/http://www.stevan-kordic.com/palatine_museum Photos] from Palatine Museum
*High-resolution 360° Panoramas and Images of [https://mcid.mcah.columbia.edu/art-atlas/ancient-and-early-christian-sites-rome/palatine-hill Palatine Hill | Art Atlas]

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[[Category:Palatine Hill| ]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Rome]]
[[Category:Sacred groves]]
[[Category:Seven hills of Rome]]
[[Category:Septimontium]]
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[[Category:She-wolf (Roman mythology)]]