| The Esquiline Hill, one of the seven hills of Rome |
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|---|---|---|
| In Latin / Italian | collis Esquilinus / Esquilino |
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| Rione | Esquilino | |
| Buildings | Temple of Minerva Medica, Domus Aurea, baths of Trajan | |
| Ancient Roman religion | Temple of Minerva Medica | |
| Roman sculptures | Discobolus | |
The Esquiline Hill is one of the celebrated Seven Hills of Rome. Its southern-most cusp is the Oppius (Oppian Hill).
Etymology
The origin of the name Esquilino is still under much debate. One view is that the Hill was named after the abundance of holm-oaks, exculi, that resided there. Another view is that, during Rome's infancy, the Capitolium, the Palatium, and the northern fringes of the Caelian were the most-populated areas of the city, whose inhabitants were considered inquilini, in-towners; those that inhabited the external regions - Aurelian, Oppius, Cispius, Fagutalis - were considered exquilini, suburbanites.
History
Rising above the valley in which was later built the Colosseum, the Esquiline was a fashionable residential district. At the Oppius, Nero confiscated property to build his extravagant, mile-long Golden House[1], and later still Trajan constructed his bath complex, both of whose remains are visible today. Farther to the northeast, at the summit of the Cispius, is the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. In 1781, the marble statue of a Discus thrower - the so-called Discobolus of Myron - was discovered.
References
- ^ Roth, Leland M. (1993). Understanding Architecture: Its Elements, History and Meaning, First, Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 227. ISBN 0-06-430158-3.
