HISTORICAL INTRODIXTION 13 



1 



According to Professor Lanciani, by whose untiring cncr-y so much of aaclcut Rome has 

 been laid bare, gardens abounded in e\-cry direction. The Emperor Augustus divided the city 

 into fourteen regions, where the houses were more or less thicldy crowded together; beyond this 

 district succeeded a second ring of houses rather less compactly placed, where more space was 

 available for the development of gardens; and, again, a third belt of villas surrounded the city 

 separated by larger estates ; and, lastly, a fourth ring of great establi^hmcntb or groups uf villas ex- 

 tending as far as the Alban Mountains on the south-east, towards Tivoli and Subiaco to tlie east, 

 and along the banks of the Tiber— many of these villas consisted of a large and populous 

 vdlage. In the case of those villas in the immediate neighbourhood uf the metropolis, the owner 

 or man o[ business was daily carried in iiis litter to and from the city, but the more remote 

 villas were occupied by the busy politician or wealthy patrician, seeking rest frum his labours or 

 wiihin- to spend his declining years in retirement and seclusion. 



The Pincian Hill was occupied by the magnificent gardens of Acilius Clabrlo. On the site 



of the \'illa -Medici were the gardens of the Anieian family, and the south-west of the same 



Pincian Hill was occupied by the gardens of Lucullus. The valley between the Pincian Hill and 



the Quirinal, a charming and undulating district, was the site of the gardens of Sallust. Proccedino- 



further south we should cross the gardens of LuUia Paulina, of Maecenas, of ^lius Lamia, of 



Torquatus, of TTpaphroditus, of Gallienus, of Pallas, of Ilcliogabalus, of Statilius Taurus, and 



man)- smaller gardens, all forming one stretch of verdure, mure than two miles long and n^'er half 



a mile broad. On the southern ridge of the Janiculum were situated the gardens of Julius C.xsar, 



and the banks of the Tiber were transformed into gardens b)- Augustus, Pompe)- the Great, Xero, 

 Calitnila. and others.* 



F 



The gardens adjoining the sumptuous palace of Domitian upon the Palatine llill were laid 

 out in Eabtern style, In imitation of the gardens of Adonis. The idea was borrowed from the 

 Assyrians, who dedicated such places to Adonis, the representative of the sun and the promoter 

 of vegetable life. According to Professor Lanciani, among the specialities of Domitian's gardens 

 were large pots of clay, and sometimes of brass and silver, in which fennel, lettuce, and other 

 plants were sown on the approach of the anuix^ersar)- of the feast of the god." 



Maccenas built his villa on a large tract of ground on the Lsquiline Hill. The house 

 was remarkable for its height, and was crowned by a belvedere tower, from which tradition asserts 

 that Nero afterwaids witnessed the burning of Rome. The gardens were laid out upon a tract of 

 land which had formerly been used as a public cemetery; but as they became offensive and 

 dangerous to public health, he obtained a grant of a portion of the Esqulllne Necropolis, and, 

 burying the whole place under a mass of pure earth, turned the pestilential area into pleasant 

 gardens. Here he passed most of his time and seldom visited the country; his villa became the 

 rendezvous of all the wits and virtuosi o[ Rome. 



^\ 



* Aiuicnt Kome in the Light of Rtant Excavations^ Professor R. Lanciani. 



^ These gardens are represented upon n fragment of a marble plan reproduced in Professor I.anciani's Rmris and Excavations of Ancient I^o^n^, 





