KIND OF ROME
ROME
Janiculum Hill
History and Mythology
The Janiculum was a center for the cult of the god Janus: its position overlooking the city made it a good place for augurs to observe the auspices. In Roman mythology, Janilumum is the name of an ancient town founded by the god Janus. In Book VII of the Aeneid by Virgil, King Evander shows Aeneas the ruins of Saturnia and Janiculum on the Capitoline Hill near the Arcadian city of Pallanteum. Virgil uses these ruins to stress the significance of the Capitoline Hill as the religious center of Rome. According to Livy, the Janiculum was incorporated into ancient Rome during the time of king Ancus Marcius to prevent an enemy from occupying it. It was fortified by a wall, and a bridge was built across the Tiber to join it to the rest of the city. During the war between Rome and Clusium in 508 BC, it is said that the forces of Lars Porsena occupied the Janiculum and laid siege to Rome.
19th century to present
The Janiculum is the site of a battle in 1849 between the forces of Garibaldi, defending the revolutionary Roman Republic against French forces, who were fighting to restore the temporal power of the Pope over Rome. Several monuments to Garibaldi and to the fallen in the wars of Italian independence are on the Janiculum. Daily at noon, a cannon fires once from the Janiculum in the direction of the Tiber as a time signal. This tradition goes back to December 1847, when the cannon of the 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's tone poem Pines of Rome.
Resources from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janiculum
Sights
The Janiculum is one of the best locations in Rome for a scenic view of central Rome with its domes and bell towers. Other sights on the Janiculum include the church of San Pietro in Montorio, on what was formerly thought to be the sight of Peter's crucifixion; a small shrine known as the Tempietto, designed by Donato Bramante, marks the supposed site of Peter's death. The Janiculum also houses a Baroque fountain built by Pope Paul V in the late 17th century, the Fontana dell'Acqua Poala, and several foreign research institutions, including the American Academy in Rome and the Spanish Academy in Rome. The hill is also the location of The American University of Rome, Pontifical Urban University, and Pontifical North College, as well as the Orto Botanico dell'Università di Roma "La Sapienza" and the Palazzo Montorio, residence of the Ambassadors of Spain.
The Villa Lante al Gianicolo by Giulio Romano (1520-21) is an important early building by the Mannerist master, also with magnificent views.
Resources from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Janiculum