Carcer Tullianum: Il Mamertino Al Foro Romano

English summary: Closely adjoining the north-east slopes of the Capitoline Hill, below the seventeenth-century church of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami with an adjoining Oratory, the structures of the Carcer-Tullianum (the "Mamertine Prison" of common memory) are preserved, one of the most relevant monumental complexes of the Republican Age in the Roman Forum (area of the Comitium) and most dear to the Christian faith as it is linked to the figure of Saint Peter. Connected to the substructural/defensive system of the Capitol since the Archaic Age (the so-called "Servan Walls"), the Carcer-Tullianum, according to classical sources, served as a place of confinement for the enemies of Rome condemned to death and was composed of two distinct nuclei, the Carcer and the Tullianum (hypogeum environment). The Carcer includes the trapezoidal shaped room and adjacent spaces from the Republican Age (late 4th-2nd century BC). The complex was monumentalized in the 1st century AD by Senatorial decree, as stated in the dedicatory inscription crowning the travertine facade that opens towards the Roman Forum, built on the occasion of the decree. As a whole, the Carcer presents as a system of stone structures in opus quadratum (Roman squared blocks masonry), articulated at various heights, situated close to the slopes of the Capitoline Arx facing the Valley of the Roman Forum. The complex created a strong masonry facade, forming the background of the Roman Forum and in close relationship with the buildings where the political, judicial and juridical life of Rome took place: the Curia, the Comitium and the courts. Tullianum is the name of the underground environment (hypogeum), built in blocks of peperino volcanic tuff (4th century BC, with a probable late 5th century BC phase) and characterised by a spring of water rising through pressure from the floor through a small square opening at the same level as the floor itself. Originally presenting a circular plan (tholos) - as revealed by excavations - it presented itself in the shape of a circular arch plan when the construction of the external elevation of the Carcer partly determined its dismantling. No data leading to recognize its function as a cistern emerged from the excavation: the duct itself, which until the last survey campaign still discharged the water collected in the well outside, is modern. The case found within the floor, dug specifically to house the Archaic and Republican material deposited following a ritual action that took place on an Autumn day, certainly dates back to the early Imperial Age. This case and the spring almost certainly lead to the conclusion that the Tullianum was originally built to house a sacred water source: a strong reference to the source where, according to the ancient authors, Tarpeia meets King Titus Tatius of the Sabines, enemies of the Romans, for the first time, and where the series of events that lead to the betrayal by the young woman and her death begin. It is suggestive to think that the water of the Tullianum ("Acqua Tulliana") is none other than the water present in the story of Tarpeia. This young Roman woman, daughter of the commander of the Capitoline fortress Spurius Tarpeius, meets Titus Tatius, head of the Sabine enemies, at a spring (the name of which has not been handed down), located outside the walls of the Capitoline Arx towards the plain that will later host the Roman Forum. Betrayal and punishment follow: Tarpeia is killed, buried alive under a heap of Sabine shields. Her father, who was found guilty of losing his post, is also executed, flung by the Romans themselves from the top of the cliff now remembered as Rupes Tarpeia or Saxum Tarpeium. The same cliff that today tends to be located on the Arx in the sector overlooking the Carcer-Tullianum, the place dedicated to the killing of the enemies of the Roman people par excellence. The complex lives on through the Early Middle Ages, transformed into a place of Christian worship, a site that since the 12th century is dedicated to the Apostles Peter and Paul: the Church of San Pietro in Carcere. Although covered by the foundations of the Church of San Giuseppe dei Falegnami built in the 16th century, the church always remains open to worship through time, thus preventing its destruction. In a room of the Carcer covered by the foundations of the 17th century church, a chapel is created in the mid-19th century to house the "Crocifisso delle Carceri", a wooden crucifix previously exhibited to popular piety on the travertine facade of the Carcer. The Carcer-Tullianum and the structures found after recent excavations are now part of the museum's exhibition itinerary, telling its complex history. Italian description: A ridosso delle pendici NE del Colle Capitolino, al di sotto della seicentesca chiesa di S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami con annesso Oratorio, si conservano le strutture del Carcer-Tullianum ("Carcere Mamertino" di comune memoria) uno dei complessi monumentali di eta repubblicana piu rilevanti del Foro Romano (area del Comizio) e piu cari alla fede cristiana perche legato alla figura di San Pietro. Connesso al sistema sostruttivo/difensivo del Campidoglio sin dall'eta arcaica (le cd. "Mura Serviane") il Carcer-Tullianum, secondo quanto attestato dalle fonti classiche, fungeva da luogo di reclusione dei nemici di Roma condannati a morte ed era composto da due nuclei distinti, il Carcer ed il Tullianum (ambiente ipogeo). Con Carcer si intende l'ambiente a pianta trapezoidale con gli ambienti attigui, di eta repubblicana (fine IV-II a.C.), che fu monumentalizzato nel I d.C. per disposizione senatoria, come recita l'iscrizione dedicatoria posta a coronamento della facciata in travertino che si apre rivolta verso il Foro Romano, edificata in quella occasione. Nel suo insieme si presenta come un sistema di strutture lapidee in opera quadrata, articolate e a varie quote, a ridosso delle pendici dell'Arce capitolina rivolte verso la valle

• Format: Paperback
• Language: Italian
• ISBN: 8891322407
• ISBN13: 9788891322401
• Release Date: June 2022
• Publisher: L'Erma Di Bretschneider
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 14.99 lbs.