Marble Map Of Rome

For centuries scholars have tried to match the fragments and reconstruct this great puzzle but progress is slow the marble pieces are heavy unwieldy and not easily accessible.

Marble map of rome.

18 10 x 13 meters or ca. Known as the forma urbis romae or severan marble plan of rome the map depicted rome s urban landmarks across five square miles in. Today only 1 186 pieces or 10 15 of this gargantuan city map exist. And mounted on a wall of the temple of peace in rome.

The severan marble plan is a key resource for the study of ancient rome but only 10 15 of the map survives broken into 1 186 pieces. The severan marble plan of rome also known as the forma urbis romae was a carved plan of the city of rome produced during the first decade of the third century c e. The map measuring ca. 60 x 43 feet was incised onto marble slabs that hung on a wall of a grand room aula in the templum pacis in rome.

The forma urbis romae or forma urbis severiana was a very large map of the imperial city of rome 18 m long by 13 m high carved on 151 marble slabs arranged in 11 rows made under the reign of emperor septimius severus between 203 and 211 ce. Time and the need for marble as a building material gradually destroyed the plan. 18 10 x 13 meters or ca. Back then an enormous map of ancient rome carved in marble and measuring 60 feet by 43 feet adorned this wall.

The great marble map of rome is just the latest name for the nearly 2 000 year old ruin. This ancient map would have made even lanciani s enormous map look puny. Under the reign of emperor. Abandoned in the 5th century it was later used as a fortress and its precious travertine stone and marble stripped to decorate many of rome s palaces.

Earlier names included the forma urbis romae and the severan marble plan. Time and the need for marble as a building material gradually destroyed the plan. The forma urbis romae or severan marble plan is a massive marble map of ancient rome created under the emperor septimius severus between 203 and 211. Today only 1 186 pieces or 10 15 of this gargantuan city map exist.

This enormous marble map depicting ancient rome detailed enough to show nearly every bathhouse and temple in the city was created around 211 c e. It originally measured 18 m 60 ft wide by 13 m 45 ft high and was carved into 150 proconnesian marble slabs mounted on an interior wall of. The 235 sqm map hung on a wall of an aula of the templum pacis forum della pace the same wall was later transformed into an exterior wall of the. Lanciani named his map forma urbis romae after an early third century map of the same name that was carved in marble.

Rendered at a scale of approximately 1 to 240 the severan marble plan was engraved on 150 marble slabs and originally measured approximately 60 by 43 feet 18 1 by 13 meters. The holes in the wall reveal where the individual marble slabs were attached with metal clamps. Matteo cadario gives specific years of 205 208 noting that the map was based on property records.