Velabrum

The Velabrum (Classical Latin: [weː.laː.brũ]) is the low valley in the city of Rome that connects the Forum with the Forum Boarium,^[1] and the Capitoline Hill with the western slope of the Palatine Hill.^[2] The outer boundaries of the area are not themselves clear. Roman etymologies of the name are confused, with attempts to connect it to the Latin words vehere (conveyance) and velum (cloth): Varro, Propertius, and Tibullus claimed that it was the location of a ferry;^[3] Plutarch, however, claimed the name derived from the awnings placed over the Circus Maximus during games.^[4] The name may also translate to "place of mud".^[5]

Plan showing the area of the Velabrum

It was believed that before the construction of the Cloaca Maxima, which probably follows the course of an ancient stream called Spinon,^[6] the area was a swamp,^[7] though this claim has been disproven by core samples taken from Velabrum in 1994.^[8] Varro claims there are two velabra, one maius and one minus, with the smaller emerging from the drainage of a swamp close to the northern side of the Forum: if there was any drainage the distinction between the two was largely forgotten by the last century BC when it was referred to in the plural for both.^[9] Ancient authorities^[which?] state that in this marshy area the roots of a fig tree (Ficus Ruminalis) caught and stopped the basket carrying Romulus and Remus as it floated along on the Tiber current.^[5] The place therefore has a high symbolic significance.

It was also used as a marketplace and a centre of commerce, connecting the Palatine with the two major fora.^[10][11][12] Plautus (Captivi 489) mentions it as a place where oil-sellers were found, and a scholiast (ancient commentator) on Horace (Satires 2.3.229) states: "Velabrum is a place in Rome where everything connected with food and delicacies was on sale."^[13]

Even after the Cloaca was built, the area was still prone to flooding from the Tiber,^[14] until the ground level was raised after the Neronian fire.

Within it were the tomb of Acca Larentia along with a small temple to Felicitas.^[10] It is also the site of the Arch of Janus, the Arcus Argentariorum and the church San Giorgio al Velabro.^[15]

References

1. Schmitz, Leonhard (2012-12-13). The Classical Museum: A Journal of Philology, and of Ancient History and Literature. Cambridge University Press. p. 217. ISBN 978-1-108-05777-6.
2. Richmond, Ian Archibald; Patterson, John (2012). "velabrum". Oxford Classical Dictionary (4th ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199381135.013.6712. ISBN 978-0-19-938113-5. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
3. Richardson 1992, p. 406, citing Varro Ling., 5.43–44, 6.24; Prop., 4.9.5; Tib., 2.5.33.
4. Richardson 1992, p. 406, citing Plut. Rom., 5.5.
5. Landart, Paula (2021-12-05). Finding Ancient Rome: Walks in the city. Paula Landart. p. 45.
6. Roma: la valle del Velabro, il Tevere e il canale idraulico dei Tarquini prima della Cloaca Massima; Elisabetta Bianchi, Piero Bellotti; IX Convegno Nazionale di Speleologia in Cavità Artificiali; Opera Ipogea, 1-2/2020, p83
7. Beard, Mary (2009-06-30). The Roman Triumph. Harvard University Press. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-674-02059-7.
8. Ammerman, Albert J (2013-03-28). "Looking at Early Rome With Fresh Eyes: Transforming the Landscape". In Evans, Jane DeRose (ed.). A Companion to the Archaeology of the Roman Republic. Oxford: Blackwell. pp. 167–180. doi:10.1002/9781118557129.ch11. ISBN 978-1-118-55712-9. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
9. Richardson 1992, p. 406, citing Varro Ling. 5.156.
10. Richardson 1992, p. 406.
11. Platner, Samuel (1929). Velabrum. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 2023-01-14. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
12. Ammerman, Albert J (1998). "Environmental archaeology in the Velabrum, Rome: interim report". Journal of Roman Archaeology. 11: 213–223. doi:10.1017/S1047759400017268. ISSN 1047-7594. S2CID 163003508.
13. W. M. Lindsay (1900), Plauti Captivi, p. 238.
14. Littlewood, R Joy (2006-06-29). A Commentary on Ovid's Fasti, Book 6. Oxford University Press. p. 124. ISBN 978-0-19-927134-4.
15. Wiseman, T P (2007). "Where was the Porta Romanula?". Papers of the British School at Rome. 75: 231–237. doi:10.1017/S0068246200003548. ISSN 2045-239X. S2CID 163018804.

Bibliography

• Richardson, L (1992). "Velabrum Maius". A new topographical dictionary of ancient Rome. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 406–7. ISBN 978-0-8018-4300-6.
• Höcker, C (2006). "Velabrum". Brill's New Pauly. Brill. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e1229240. Retrieved 2023-08-04.

41.8892°N 12.4819°E / 41.8892; 12.4819