- Via Cornelia
Via Cornelia is an ancient
Roman Road that supposedly ran east west along the northern wall of theCircus of Nero on land now covered by the southern wall ofSt. Peter's Basilica . It is closely associated with theVia Aurelia and theVia Triumphalis . [ O'Callaghan, Roger T. "Recent Excavations under the Vatican Crypts." The Biblical Archaeologist, Vol. 12, No.1.(Feb., 1949) ]History
There is some belief amongst archeologists that the Via Cornelia did not exist and that the name is a mutilation of the
Via Aurelia . This conjecture stems from the fact that the Via Cornelia is only mentioned in the itineraries and witnesses of the 7th and 8th centuries; for in those centuries the population ofRome decreased from about one and a half million to sixty thousand and the people were impoverished and could hardly speakLatin well. The citizens would also have no idea of thetopography of the Imperial period. Where-as documents from the 4th century stateSaint Peter was buried along the "Via Triumphalis". [ L. E. Hudec "Recent Excavations under St. Peter's Basilica in Rome." Journal of Bible and Religion, Vol. 20, No. 1. (Jan., 1952) ]An excavation in 1924 at the site of
Pisidian Antioch discovered an inscribed stone dating from about 93 AD that offers strong evidence that the Via Cornelia had existed pre-Constantine. The inscription on the stone mentions a commander of the eightAugustinian legion underVespasian andTitus who had been a supervisor of theVia Aurelia and the Via Cornelia. [ Robinson, David M. "A New Latin Economic Edict from Pisidian Antioch" Transactions and Proceedings of the American Philological Association, Vol. 55. (1924) ]Location
It was generally accepted that the southern walls of
St. Peter's Basilica rested on the northern walls of theNero’s Circus , and that a street ran north of the circus under thebasilica (see figure). However, excavations of thebasilica and surrounding area have shown that this is not entirely correct. An excavation in 1936 in thePiazza San Pietro discovered traces of a road that may well be the post-Constantinian Via Cornelia. There was also found a fragment of pre-Constantinian paved road along the same alignment found at the south-west corner of thebasilica . It is now believed that the Via Cornelia came from the east and went west, rising gently near the present southernmost fountain in thePiazza San Pietro . Slightly before this point theVia Aurelia forked off from it and headed southwest, while the Via Cornelia continued westward just south offaçade of thebasilica and eventual on towardsCaere . "Via Triumphalis" is believed to have come fromPons Neronis towards thePiazza San Pietro and then to have veered northwest towards the business section ofVatican City . The present dayVia della Conciliazione follows approximately the same path as the Via Cornelia did. [ Townend, Gavind "Archaeological Notes: The Circus of Nero and the Vatican Excavations" American Journal of Archaeology, Vol. 62, No. 2. (Apr., 1958) ]Function
It is possible that the Via Cornelia may have been built by
Gaius to improve the approach to the imperial gardens, the "Horti Agrippinae". Therefore it may have formed the northern boundary of the gardens inNero ’s time. It would also have connected theCircus of Nero to thebasilica and to a double row ofmausoleums . [ J. M. C. Toynbee "The Shrine of St. Peter and Its Setting" The Journal of Roman Studies, Vol. 43. (1953) ]References
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