Roma Quadrata (1527)
Rome during the reign of Romulus. BENEVOLO, Leonardo (1980). The History of the City. Scolar Press, London.
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Romulus was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these traditions incorporate elements of folklore, and it is unclear to what extent a historical figure underlies the mythical Romulus, the events and institutions ascribed to him were central to the narrative of Rome's origins and cultural traditions.
The myths concerning Romulus involve several distinct episodes and figures: the miraculous birth and youth of Romulus and his twin brother, Remus; Remus' murder and the founding of Rome; the Rape of the Sabine Women; the war with the Sabines; Titus Tatius; the establishment of Roman institutions; and the death or apotheosis of Romulus, and succession of Numa Pompilius.
Romulus and Remus
Romulus and his twin brother, Remus, were the sons of Rhea Silvia, herself the daughter of Numitor, the former king of Alba Longa. Through them, the twins are descended from the Trojan hero Aeneas and Latinus, the mythical founder of the kingdom of Latium.
Before the twins' birth, Numitor had been usurped by his brother, Amulius. After seizing the throne, Amulius murdered Numitor's son, and condemned Rhea to perpetual virginity by consecrating her a Vestal. Rhea, however, became pregnant, ostensibly by the god Mars. Amulius had her imprisoned, and upon the twins' birth, ordered that they be thrown into the rain-swollen Tiber. Instead of carrying out the king's orders, his servants left the twins along the riverbank at the foot of Palatine Hill.
In the traditional telling of the legend, a she-wolf happened upon the twins, who were at the foot of a fig tree. She suckled and tended them by a cave until they were found by the herdsman Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia. The brothers grew to manhood among the shepherds and hill-folk.
After becoming involved in a conflict between the followers of Amulius and those of their grandfather Numitor, they learned the truth of their origin. They overthrew and killed Amulius and restored Numitor to the throne. The princes set out to establish a city of their own. They returned to the hills overlooking the Tiber, the site where they had been exposed as infants. They could not agree on which hill should house the new city. When an omen to resolve the controversy failed to provide a clear indication, the conflict escalated and Remus was killed by his brother or by his brother's follower. In a variant of the legend, the augurs favoured Romulus, who proceeded to plough a square furrow around the Palatine Hill to demarcate the walls of the future city. When Remus derisively leapt over the "walls" to show how inadequate they were against invaders, he was struck down by Romulus. In another variant, Remus died during a melée along with Faustulus.
Establishment of the city
The founding of the city by Romulus was commemorated annually on April 21, with the festival of the Parilia. His first act was to fortify the Palatine, in the course of which he made a sacrifice to the gods. He then laid out the city's boundaries with a furrow that he ploughed, performed another sacrifice, and with his followers set to work building the city itself. Romulus then sought the assent of the people to become their king. With Numitor's help, he addressed them and received their approval. Romulus accepted the crown after he sacrificed and prayed to Jupiter, and after receiving favourable omens.
Romulus then divided the populace into three tribes, known as the Ramnes, Titienses, and Luceres, for taxation and military purposes. Each tribe was presided over by an official known as a tribune, and was further divided into ten curiae, or wards, each presided over by an official known as a curio. Romulus also allotted a portion of land to each ward, for the benefit of the people. Nothing is known of the manner in which the tribes and curiae were taxed, but for the military levy, each curia was responsible for providing one hundred foot soldiers, a unit known as a century, and ten cavalry. Each Romulean tribe thus provided about one thousand infantry, and one century of cavalry; the three hundred cavalry became known as the Celeres, "the swift", and formed the royal bodyguard.
Choosing one hundred men from the leading families, Romulus established the Roman senate. These men he called patres, the city fathers; their descendants came to be known as "patricians", forming one of the two major social classes at Rome. The other class, known as the "plebs" or "plebeians", consisted of the servants, freedmen, fugitives who sought asylum at Rome, those captured in war, and others who were granted Roman citizenship over time.
To encourage the growth of the city, Romulus outlawed infanticide, and established an asylum for fugitives on the Capitoline Hill, where freemen and slaves alike could claim protection and seek Roman citizenship (Wikipdia).
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Quadralectic Architecture - Marten Kuilman (2011), p. 668 - 669:
The geometric forms of the Roman design caught on in the Italian Renaissance. Marco Fabio Calvo’s publication of the old city of Rome in 1527 gave several interpretations of the outlay of Rome in various periods (MARCONI, 1973). Much of it, including a 'Roma quadrata', seems to be rather fanciful, and more inspired by a dedication to a geometry-in-general than representing a historical situation (fig. 543).
Fig. 543 – Roma quadrata (quadripartite Rome) was the name for the oldest habitation of the Palatine Hill during the time of Romulus (eighth century BC). The initial settlement also comprised communities on the other hills of Rome: Quirinalis, Viminalis and Esquilinus. King Servius Tullius divided the city in four sections: Suburran, Esquiline, Colline and Palatine. Later he joined the Palatinus and Quirinalis by a wall and established the core of the classical city of Rome.
The cross – as a Christian symbol – started its course of victory in the legend of the Milvian Bridge in Rome, when Constantine promised to christianize Rome when he would win the battle with Maxentius (312). The cult of the cross caught on from about 500 AD onwards, when its function as a torture instrument had faded.
Pope Sixtus V, the devoted builder of Rome in the early sixteenth century (see p. 575; fig. 470), was a propagator of the cross and used the sign as a legitimization of the strength of the Church. SCHIFFMANN (1985) mentioned an unpublished document in the Biblioteca Vaticana (Ottob. Lat. 568) in which Foglietta pointed to the cross-shape in the street pattern of Rome. However, it is doubtful if a ‘sixtinische kreuzinterpretation’ has played a serious role in the development of the city.
Roma Quadrata (1527)
Rome during the reign of Romulus. BENEVOLO, Leonardo (1980). The History of the City. Scolar Press, London.
---
Romulus was the legendary founder and first king of Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus and his contemporaries. Although many of these traditions incorporate elements of folklore, and it is unclear to what extent a historical figure underlies the mythical Romulus, the events and institutions ascribed to him were central to the narrative of Rome's origins and cultural traditions.
The myths concerning Romulus involve several distinct episodes and figures: the miraculous birth and youth of Romulus and his twin brother, Remus; Remus' murder and the founding of Rome; the Rape of the Sabine Women; the war with the Sabines; Titus Tatius; the establishment of Roman institutions; and the death or apotheosis of Romulus, and succession of Numa Pompilius.
Romulus and Remus
Romulus and his twin brother, Remus, were the sons of Rhea Silvia, herself the daughter of Numitor, the former king of Alba Longa. Through them, the twins are descended from the Trojan hero Aeneas and Latinus, the mythical founder of the kingdom of Latium.
Before the twins' birth, Numitor had been usurped by his brother, Amulius. After seizing the throne, Amulius murdered Numitor's son, and condemned Rhea to perpetual virginity by consecrating her a Vestal. Rhea, however, became pregnant, ostensibly by the god Mars. Amulius had her imprisoned, and upon the twins' birth, ordered that they be thrown into the rain-swollen Tiber. Instead of carrying out the king's orders, his servants left the twins along the riverbank at the foot of Palatine Hill.
In the traditional telling of the legend, a she-wolf happened upon the twins, who were at the foot of a fig tree. She suckled and tended them by a cave until they were found by the herdsman Faustulus and his wife, Acca Larentia. The brothers grew to manhood among the shepherds and hill-folk.
After becoming involved in a conflict between the followers of Amulius and those of their grandfather Numitor, they learned the truth of their origin. They overthrew and killed Amulius and restored Numitor to the throne. The princes set out to establish a city of their own. They returned to the hills overlooking the Tiber, the site where they had been exposed as infants. They could not agree on which hill should house the new city. When an omen to resolve the controversy failed to provide a clear indication, the conflict escalated and Remus was killed by his brother or by his brother's follower. In a variant of the legend, the augurs favoured Romulus, who proceeded to plough a square furrow around the Palatine Hill to demarcate the walls of the future city. When Remus derisively leapt over the "walls" to show how inadequate they were against invaders, he was struck down by Romulus. In another variant, Remus died during a melée along with Faustulus.
Establishment of the city
The founding of the city by Romulus was commemorated annually on April 21, with the festival of the Parilia. His first act was to fortify the Palatine, in the course of which he made a sacrifice to the gods. He then laid out the city's boundaries with a furrow that he ploughed, performed another sacrifice, and with his followers set to work building the city itself. Romulus then sought the assent of the people to become their king. With Numitor's help, he addressed them and received their approval. Romulus accepted the crown after he sacrificed and prayed to Jupiter, and after receiving favourable omens.
Romulus then divided the populace into three tribes, known as the Ramnes, Titienses, and Luceres, for taxation and military purposes. Each tribe was presided over by an official known as a tribune, and was further divided into ten curiae, or wards, each presided over by an official known as a curio. Romulus also allotted a portion of land to each ward, for the benefit of the people. Nothing is known of the manner in which the tribes and curiae were taxed, but for the military levy, each curia was responsible for providing one hundred foot soldiers, a unit known as a century, and ten cavalry. Each Romulean tribe thus provided about one thousand infantry, and one century of cavalry; the three hundred cavalry became known as the Celeres, "the swift", and formed the royal bodyguard.
Choosing one hundred men from the leading families, Romulus established the Roman senate. These men he called patres, the city fathers; their descendants came to be known as "patricians", forming one of the two major social classes at Rome. The other class, known as the "plebs" or "plebeians", consisted of the servants, freedmen, fugitives who sought asylum at Rome, those captured in war, and others who were granted Roman citizenship over time.
To encourage the growth of the city, Romulus outlawed infanticide, and established an asylum for fugitives on the Capitoline Hill, where freemen and slaves alike could claim protection and seek Roman citizenship (Wikipdia).
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Quadralectic Architecture - Marten Kuilman (2011), p. 668 - 669:
The geometric forms of the Roman design caught on in the Italian Renaissance. Marco Fabio Calvo’s publication of the old city of Rome in 1527 gave several interpretations of the outlay of Rome in various periods (MARCONI, 1973). Much of it, including a 'Roma quadrata', seems to be rather fanciful, and more inspired by a dedication to a geometry-in-general than representing a historical situation (fig. 543).
Fig. 543 – Roma quadrata (quadripartite Rome) was the name for the oldest habitation of the Palatine Hill during the time of Romulus (eighth century BC). The initial settlement also comprised communities on the other hills of Rome: Quirinalis, Viminalis and Esquilinus. King Servius Tullius divided the city in four sections: Suburran, Esquiline, Colline and Palatine. Later he joined the Palatinus and Quirinalis by a wall and established the core of the classical city of Rome.
The cross – as a Christian symbol – started its course of victory in the legend of the Milvian Bridge in Rome, when Constantine promised to christianize Rome when he would win the battle with Maxentius (312). The cult of the cross caught on from about 500 AD onwards, when its function as a torture instrument had faded.
Pope Sixtus V, the devoted builder of Rome in the early sixteenth century (see p. 575; fig. 470), was a propagator of the cross and used the sign as a legitimization of the strength of the Church. SCHIFFMANN (1985) mentioned an unpublished document in the Biblioteca Vaticana (Ottob. Lat. 568) in which Foglietta pointed to the cross-shape in the street pattern of Rome. However, it is doubtful if a ‘sixtinische kreuzinterpretation’ has played a serious role in the development of the city.