December 13, 2014: Horses in Rome Advent Calendar

There are fanciful architectural details on many of the buildings in Garbatella, the neighbourhood where I live in Rome. This medallion with horses is an example.

December 12, 2014: Horses in Rome Advent Calendar

There is an equestrian monument and obelisk in front of the Quirinal Palace, built between the 16th and 18th centuries as the Pope's residence. After 1870 it was occupied by the Kings of Italy and it is now the official residence of the President of the Republic of Italy.

According to tradition, these statues (Roman copies of 5th-century BC Greek originals) represent the "Horse Tamers," the twins Castor and Pollux, Greek heroes the ancient Romans worshipped as protectors of Rome. (Recent interpretations from medieval documents suggest that they are two versions of a single subject: Alexander the Great taming his horse Bucephalus.)

December 11, 2014: Horses in Rome Advent Calendar

Fountain of the Sea Horses, in the gardens of the Villa Borghese, is an 18th-century work in marble by Christopher Unterberger.

December 10, 2014: Horses in Rome Advent Calendar

The Baths of Diocletian, built between 298 and 306 AD, were the grandest of public baths in ancient Rome. Today the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri (designed by Michelangelo) occupies the space that was originally the frigidarium.

These colossal horse heads, discovered in Trajan's Forum in 1586, are in the garden of the nearby cloister (also designed by Michelangelo).

A museum exists today in other parts of the old bath structure and these horses can be found there.

December 9, 2014: Horses in Rome Advent Calendar

Fountain of the Naiads (water nymphs) including the nymph of the ocean riding a horse. (1901)

 
Piazza della Repubblica was the new name given to Piazza Esedra afterthe unification of Italy. The original fountain was commissioned by Pope Pius IX in 1870 and had water from the Aqua Pia . The original lions in the fountain were replaced with nymphs, including the "nymph of the ocean" riding a horse in 1901. The sculptures are by Mario Rutelli.

December 8, 2014: Horses in Rome Advent Calenadar

Today if you travel along the Via Appia Antica (The Appian Way) as it leads from Rome you will often see horses.

The Appian Way was one of the earliest and most important roads of Ancient Rome.  The Roman Poet Statius (45-96 AD) wrote:

Appia teritur regina longarum viarum.

"The Appian way is the queen of the long roads."

The road is named after Appius Claudius Caecus, who began and completed the first section of this road in 312 BC.

December 7, 2014: Horses in Rome Advent Calendar

Not far from the ancient Pyramid of Cestius, behind the Testaccio Post Office, is Piazza Albania. It received this name in 1940, one year after the annexation of Albania to the Kingdom of Italy. In the park facing the piazza is an equestrian monument to Giorgio Castriota Skanderberg, the 15^th-century national hero of Albania. (It is the work of sculptor Romano Romanelli.)