HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION 
13 
According to Professor Lanciani, by whose untiring energy so much of ancient Rome has 
been laid bare, gardens abounded in every direction. The Emperor Augustus divided the city 
into fourteen regions, where the houses were more or less thickly 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 establishments or groups of villas ex¬ 
tending as far as the Alban Mountains on the south-east, towards Tivoli and Subiaco to the east, 
and along the banks of the Tiber—many of these villas consisted of a large and populous 
village. In the case of those villas in the immediate neighbourhood of the metropolis, the owner 
or man of business was daily carried in his litter to and from the city, but the more remote 
villas were occupied by the busy politician or wealthy patrician, seeking rest from his labours or 
wishing to spend his declining years in retirement and seclusion. 
The Pincian Hill was occupied by the magnificent gardens of Acilius Glabrio. On the site 
of the Villa Medici were the gardens of the Anician 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. Proceeding 
further south we should cross the gardens of Lollia Paulina, of Maecenas, of ^Elius Lamia, of 
Torquatus, of Epaphroditus, of Gallienus, of Pallas, of Heliogabalus, of Statilius Taurus, and 
many smaller gardens, all forming one stretch of verdure, more than two miles long and over half 
a mile broad. On the southern ridge of the Janiculum were situated the gardens of Julius Caesar, 
and the banks of the Tiber were transformed into gardens by Augustus, Pompey the Great, Nero, 
Caligula, and others. 1 
The gardens adjoining the sumptuous palace of Domitian upon the Palatine Hill were laid 
out in Eastern 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 anniversary of the feast of the god. 2 
Maecenas built his villa on a large tract of ground on the Esquiline Hill. The house 
was remarkable for its height, and was crowned by a belvedere tower, from which tradition asserts 
that Nero afterwards 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 Esquiline 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 of Rome. 
1 Ancient Rome in the Light of Recent Excavaiiotis, Professor R. Lanciani. 
2 These gardens are represented upon a fragment of a marble plan reproduced in Professor Lanciani’s Ruins and Excavations of Ancient Rome. 
