Arch of Janus

On a recent journey in the historic center I saw students from Harvard University sketching the "Arch of Janus." This was the center of an area of ancient Rome called the Velabro that linked the wholesale markets with the Roman Forum. In antiquity it was a bustling area with boats unloading cargo and merchants and customers haggling for the best prices. Today is it a quiet place, with the Basilica di San Giorgio in the background.

The "Arch of Janus" is not a regular arch, but a massive travertine cube that was a four-way covered passage, built by Constantine in the 4th century on top of the Cloaca Maxima. It was not dedicated to the Roman god Janus, but probably received the name because the passage could be walked through in two different directions. (The god Janus faced two different directions.)

In the Middle Ages the Frangipane family transformed the building into a fortress. In 1830 an attic and top of the monument were removed because archeologists at the time incorrectly thought that they were not part of the original structure.

Happy Birthday Rome - Ancient Roman style

On my way home this afternoon, as I approached the Temple dedicated to Hercules, often confused as a Temple of Vesta, I saw people getting ready for a Roman re-enactment. I got off the bus and witnessed the ritual of the Palilie. In ancient Rome, on April 21, the anniversary of the founding of Rome, there was a festival to honor the farming dieties who protected the flocks and herds.

The day began with women going to the house of the Vestal Virgins to receive elements to purify their houses and barns. The priestesses prepared fumigations with the ashes of a calf fetus, mixed with the stems of broad beans (considered an important ingredient of purification), and the blood of the horse sacrificed to Mars on the Ides of October.

Above: Patrician women go to the Vestal Virgins.

Below: The women purify their homes.

Above: A commoner goes to the Vestal Virgins

for the necessary ingredients to purify her house and barn.

After performing the required ritual at home,

this woman led her neighbors in a dancing festival.