# Janiculum > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Janiculum > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Janiculum.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janiculum > Source revision: 1354906609 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) The **Janiculum** (/dʒəˈnɪkjʊləm/ jə-NIK-yuu-ləm; Italian: *Gianicolo* dʒaˈniːkolo), occasionally known as the **Janiculan Hill**, is a hill in western [Rome](/source/Rome), Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being [Monte Mario](/source/Monte_Mario)) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum is not considered among the proverbial [Seven Hills of Rome](/source/Seven_Hills_of_Rome), as it is west of the [Tiber](/source/Tiber) river and outside the boundaries of the ancient city. ## Sights The Janiculum is one of the best locations for a scenic view of central Rome with its [domes](/source/Domes) and [bell towers](/source/Bell_tower). Other sights on the Janiculum include the church of [San Pietro in Montorio](/source/San_Pietro_in_Montorio), on what was formerly thought to be the site of [St Peter](/source/Saint_Peter)'s [crucifixion](/source/Crucifixion). A small shrine known as the Tempietto, designed by [Donato Bramante](/source/Donato_Bramante), marks the supposed site of Peter's death. The Janiculum also houses a [Baroque](/source/Baroque_architecture) fountain built by [Pope Paul V](/source/Pope_Paul_V) in the late 17th century, the [Fontana dell'Acqua Paola](/source/Fontana_dell'Acqua_Paola), and several foreign research institutions, including the [American](/source/American_Academy_in_Rome) and [Spanish Academies in Rome](/source/Spanish_Academy_in_Rome). The Hill is also the location of [The American University of Rome](/source/The_American_University_of_Rome), [Pontifical Urban University](/source/Pontifical_Urban_University), and [Pontifical North American College](/source/Pontifical_North_American_College), as well as the [Orto Botanico dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza"](/source/Orto_Botanico_dell'Universit%C3%A0_di_Roma_%22La_Sapienza%22) and the Palazzo Montorio, residence of the Ambassadors of Spain. The [Villa Lante al Gianicolo](/source/Villa_Lante_al_Gianicolo) by [Giulio Romano](/source/Giulio_Romano_(painter)) (1520–21) is an important early building by the [Mannerist](/source/Mannerist) master, also with magnificent views. ## History ### Ancient history and mythology The Janiculum was a center for the cult of the god [Janus](/source/Janus_(mythology)). Its position overlooking the city made it a good place for [augurs](/source/Augur) to observe the [auspices](/source/Auspice). In Roman mythology, *Janiculum* is the name of an ancient town founded by the god Janus (the two-faced god of beginnings). In Book VIII of the [Aeneid](/source/Aeneid) by [Virgil](/source/Virgil) (Publius Vergilius Maro), King Evander shows [Aeneas](/source/Aeneas) (the Trojan hero of this epic poem) the ruins of Saturnia and Janiculum on the Capitoline Hill near the Arcadian city of Pallanteum (the future site of Rome) (see line 54, Bk. 8). Virgil uses these ruins to stress the significance of the Capitoline Hill as the religious center of Rome. According to [Livy](/source/Livy), the Janiculum was incorporated into [ancient Rome](/source/Ancient_Rome) during the time of king [Ancus Marcius](/source/Ancus_Marcius) to prevent an enemy from occupying it. It was fortified by a wall, and a [bridge](/source/Pons_Sublicius) was built across the Tiber to join it to the rest of the city.[1] During the [war between Rome and Clusium](/source/Roman-Etruscan_Wars#War_with_Clusium_in_508_BC) in 508 BC, it is said that the forces of [Lars Porsena](/source/Lars_Porsena) occupied the Janiculum and laid siege to Rome.[2] ### The water mills See also: [List of Roman watermills](/source/List_of_Roman_watermills) During the third century AD, a complex of water-mills was built here to grind grain to provide bread flour for the city. As revealed by excavations in the 1990s under the present American Academy in Rome,[3] they sat astride the aqueduct [Aqua Traiana](/source/Aqua_Traiana) and were in brick-faced concrete with a cocciopesto floor. In the limited excavated area, two [mill races](/source/Mill_race) branched obliquely off the Aqua Traiana, turned to run parallel to the aqueduct for some distance, and then turned back to feed into the aqueduct again. It appeared that the northern mill race had 3 or 4 millwheels of 2.30 m diameter and width about 1.65 m to provide a sufficiently large working area, but only 2.6 m between their axle centres, which must have reduced efficiency due to turbulence between them. The southern race had one larger wheel. The site resembles [Barbegal](/source/Barbegal_aqueduct_and_mill), although the excavations show that they were [undershot](/source/Water_wheel#Undershot_wheel) rather than [overshot](/source/Water_wheel#Overshot_wheel) in design (i. e. with the stream entering at the bottom of the wheel, not the top). The mills were still in use in 537, when the [Goths](/source/Goths) besieging the city cut off their water supply, the [Aqua Traiana](/source/Aqua_Traiana).[4] They were later restored and may have remained in operation until at least the time of [Pope Gregory IV](/source/Pope_Gregory_IV) (827–844).[5] The [Aurelian Walls](/source/Aurelian_Walls) were continued up the hill by the emperor [Aurelian](/source/Aurelian) (reigned AD 270–275) to include the [water mills](/source/Water_mill). The mills were already known from observations by R. Lanciani in the 1880s. ### 19th century to present The Janiculum is the site of a battle in 1849 between the forces of [Garibaldi](/source/Giuseppe_Garibaldi), defending the revolutionary [Roman Republic](/source/Roman_Republic_(19th_century)) against [French](/source/France) forces, who were fighting to restore the [temporal power](/source/Temporal_power_(Papal)) of the Pope over Rome. Several monuments to Garibaldi and to the fallen in the wars of [Italian](/source/Italy) independence are on the Janiculum. Daily at noon, a cannon fires once from the Janiculum in the direction of the [Tiber](/source/Tiber) as a time signal. This tradition goes back to December 1847, when the cannon of the [Castel Sant'Angelo](/source/Castel_Sant'Angelo) gave the sign to the surrounding belltowers to start ringing at midday. In 1904, the ritual was transferred to the Janiculum and continued until 1939. On 21 April 1959, popular appeal convinced the Commune of Rome to resume the tradition after a twenty-year interruption. The hill is featured in the third section of [Ottorino Respighi](/source/Ottorino_Respighi)'s [tone poem](/source/Tone_poem) *[Pines of Rome](/source/Pines_of_Rome)*. ## Monuments The crest of the Janiculum is dominated by the 1895 equestrian [Monument to Garibaldi](/source/Monument_to_Garibaldi_(Rome)), designed by Italian sculptor [Emilio Gallori](/source/Emilio_Gallori). This site was chosen for its proximity to the [Villa Doria Pamphili](/source/Villa_Doria_Pamphili), where Garibaldi mounted a military defense of the short-lived [Roman Republic](/source/Roman_Republic_(19th_century)) in late April 1849.[6] The hill also features a number of [statues and monuments of prominent Italians](/source/Statues_and_monuments_of_patriots_on_the_Janiculum). A 2011 guide published by the local Associazione Amilcare Cipriani group, after an extensive restoration of these monuments, lists a total of 84 busts on the hill.[7] ## See also - [Seven hills of Rome](/source/Seven_hills_of_Rome) - [Aventine Hill (Aventino)](/source/Aventine_Hill) - [Caelian Hill (Celio)](/source/Caelian_Hill) - [Capitoline Hill (Capitolino)](/source/Capitoline_Hill) - [Cispian Hill (Cispio)](/source/Cispius_(disambiguation)) - [Esquiline Hill (Esquilino)](/source/Esquiline) - [Monte Mario](/source/Monte_Mario) - [Mons Sacer](/source/Mons_Sacer) - [Oppian Hill (Oppio)](/source/Oppian_Hill) - [Palatine Hill (Palatino)](/source/Palatine_Hill) - [Palazzolo](/source/Palazzolo_(Rome)) - [Pincian Hill (Pincio)](/source/Pincian_Hill) - [Quirinal Hill (Quirinale)](/source/Quirinal_Hill) - [Romanian Pontifical College](/source/Romanian_Pontifical_College) - [Vatican Hill (Vaticano)](/source/Vatican_Hill) - [Velian Hill (Velia)](/source/Velian_Hill) - [Viminal Hill (Viminale)](/source/Viminal_Hill) ## References 1. [Livy](/source/Livy), *[Ab urbe condita](/source/Ab_Urbe_Condita_Libri_(Livy))*, 1:33 1. [Livy](/source/Livy), *[Ab urbe condita](/source/Ab_urbe_condita_(book))*, 2.9–15 1. Janiculum Mills Excavations, Roman water-mills on the Janiculum Hill, Rome [https://users.ox.ac.uk/~corp0057/JaniculumMills.html](https://users.ox.ac.uk/~corp0057/JaniculumMills.html) 1. Procopius, *De Bello Gothico* I.XIX 1. [Örjan Wikander](/source/%C3%96rjan_Wikander), 'Water-mills in Ancient Rome' *Opuscula Romana* XII (1979), 13–36. 1. The Architecture of Modern Italy: Vol. 1: The Challenge of Tradition, 1750-1900, by Terry Kirk, 2005, page 239 1. [http://www.appasseggio.it/getFile.php?id=306](http://www.appasseggio.it/getFile.php?id=306) (Italian-language; pdf file) ## External links - [*The Janiculum*](https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Europe/Italy/Lazio/Roma/Rome/_Texts/PLATOP*/Janiculum.html) at [Lacus Curtius](https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/home.html) - [Roman Bookshelf – The Pauline Fountain (Janiculum) – views from the 18th and 19th century](http://romanbookshelf.com/prints/Pauline%20Fountain/Pauline.html) - [Recent excavations of the mills](http://users.ox.ac.uk/~corp0057/JaniculumMills.html) - [Passegiata del Gianicolo (in Italian)](http://www.sovraintendenzaroma.it/i_luoghi/ville_e_parchi_storici/passeggiate_parchi_e_giardini/passeggiata_del_gianicolo) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Janiculum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janiculum) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janiculum?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.