Indy Chronicler

One of the most unusual sights of ancient Rome is the magnificent tomb of Gaius Cestius, built in the form of a Nubian pyramid at the end of the 1st century B.C. However, it is not the only monument of Rome of this kind.

A very similar pyramid of the same or larger size once stood in the Vatican area, not far from the northwestern border of the ancient city. Unfortunately, now there are no traces of it left.

It is not known whether this pyramid was older than the pyramid of Cestius and what its purpose was, although it probably also served as a tomb. We know about this monument mainly from the scanty descriptions found in the earliest guides to Rome (12th-14th centuries) for pilgrims and travelers, written in medieval (vulgar) Latin and in the nascent Italian language. These are not very detailed, but still give some idea of the pyramid’s appearance and location.

On a place of today’s district Borgo and Vatican in ancient times there were Gardens Agrippinae (Horti Agrippinae) – the open territory outside city limits on the western bank of Tiber, limited by the river itself and Vatican and Janikul hills. It was also the site of a circus (a stadium for chariot races) built by Emperors Gaius (better known as Caligula) and Nero and opened in 56 AD.

Another prominent landmark on the same bank of the Tiber was the monumental tomb (mausoleum) of Emperor Hadrian, built around 135 AD, turned into a fortress in the early Middle Ages and now known as the Castle of the Holy Angel.

Next to the pyramid, just beyond the bridge of Nero (Pons Neronis or Pons Triumphalis), two main roads, Via Triumphalis and Via Cornelia, formed a crossroads. To the north was another circus, the Gaianum, and some sources mention the nearby naumachia, a naval stadium, but its exact location has never been established.

In the Middle Ages, the impressive size of the two pyramids captured people’s imagination, linking the monuments to Romulus, the founder and first legendary king of Rome, and his brother Remus.

The pyramid located near the Vatican Hill was named Meta Romuli because its shape somewhat resembled metae, the conical pillars that marked the two ends of the track in circuses. However, the art historian Umberto Noli, in his work on the topography of Rome (1939), argued that in medieval Latin the word metae meant “dormitory,” and the monument may have received its name after becoming one of the sites of pilgrimage, many of which were located in the area.

In addition, in favor of the term “dormitory” may be the fact that due to the loss of construction technology in the Middle Ages, family houses and small fortresses were attached to ancient ruins for greater stability.

According to popular beliefs, Romulus was buried inside the pyramid, and a number of sources quite specifically refer to it as “the tomb of Romulus”. Although this was pure fiction, the name meta Romuli became so widespread that the second pyramid (despite the fact that it had an inscription with the name of Gaius Cestius on it) became known as meta Remi, i.e. “the tomb of Remus”.

The pyramid was also known by other names, such as meta Borgo (after the area formed in the Middle Ages in the suburban plains of the Vatican) and meta St. Peter (after the basilica built nearby).

In most medieval sources describing the meta-Romuli, a second tall structure, standing very close to the pyramid and called Nero’s Terebinthus, is also mentioned. Sometimes, however, its name was written as Terabintum (Terabintum) or even Tiburtinum (Tiburtinum), i.e. made of travertine (Latin marmor tiburtinum). The purpose and age of this structure remain unknown.

Assuming that Terebinthus did exist (no archaeological evidence has ever been found), by the time it is mentioned in medieval sources, the structure itself was either no longer there or had been badly destroyed, since all the texts speak of it in terms of “once upon a time…”

Nevertheless, the archaeologist Italo Gismondi, the author of the famous model of Rome of the times of the Empire, exhibited in the Museum of Roman Civilization, was obviously convinced of the existence of Terebinthus, because next to the meta Romuli installed on his model a cylindrical building equal in height to the pyramid.

A number of sources claim that the material with which both buildings were faced was used in the construction of the old St. Peter’s Basilica (completed around 335 AD). And while Terebinthus was gone by the time of his description, the meta Romuli could still be seen until the second half of the 16th century.

Below are excerpts from 12th-13th century works that mention the pyramid and Terebinthus.

From Mirabilia Urbis Romae (Wonders of the City of Rome), 12th century:

“XX. De meta et de tiburtino Neronis.

In Naumachia est sepulcrum Romuli, quod vocatur Meta, que fuit de miro lapide tabulata, ex quibus factum est pavimentum paradisi et graduum sancti Petri. Habuit circa se plateam tiburtinam XX pedum cum cloaca et florali suo.
Circa se habuit tiburtinum Neronis tante altitudinis quantum castellum Adriani, miro lapide tabulatam, ex quibus opus graduum et paradisi peractum fuit. Quod edificium rotundum fuit duobus gironibus sicut castrum, quorum labia erant cooperta tabulis lapideis pro stillicidiis, iuxta quod fuit crucifixus beatus Petrus apostolus.

(XX. On the meta and tiburtina of Nero.

Near the Navmachia stands the tomb of Romulus, called the Meta, and once covered with a beautiful stone, of which the floor and staircase of St. Peter’s were made. Around it was a 20-foot open space of travertine with its own gutter and flowers. Nearby was Nero’s tiburtinum, as high as Hadrian’s castle, covered with fine stone, of which they built the steps and the paradise [the courtyard in front of the cathedral]. This round building had two circular walls resembling the Castle, and their upper edges were covered with marble slabs for the drainage of water; near this place the holy Apostle Peter was crucified.)”

From Le miracole de Roma (The Wonders of Rome), 13th century:

“III. De la Meta et de lo Castiello.

I’Naumachia ène lo sepolcro de Romulo, lo quale se clama Meta de Sancto Pietro. La quale fo de belle marmora tabolata, de le quale foro facte le scale et lo pavimento de paradiso de Sancto Pietro. Et abbe intorno ad sì de plaza XX pedi, facta de tebertina, co la clavica donne scolava l’aqua de la placza de la Meta.

IV. De lo Terrebinto de Nero.

Ad lato ad essa fo lo Teribintho de Nero, tanto alto quanto lo Castiello Adriano. Lo quale fo de granne prete tabolato. Et abbe doi doi gyroni sicomo lo Castiello. Et li gironi de sopre erano cohoperti de granne tabole de marmo pro l’acqua. Et quello Terebynto fo ad lato dove fo crucifixo santo Pietro apostolo, là dov’ène mo’ Sancta Maria in Trasbedina.

(III. On Mete and Castle.

Near the Navmachia stands the tomb of Romulus, which is called the Meta of St. Peter. It was covered with fine marble, of which the floor and stairs of St. Peter’s were made. Around it was a 20-foot open space made of travertine marble, with a drainage gutter through which the water of the Meta’s open space flowed.

IV. About Nero’s Terebinth.

Near the Meta stood the Terebinth of Nero, as high as Hadrian’s Castle. It was covered with large slabs. And it had two round walls, similar to the Castle. And the top of the walls was protected from the water by large slabs of marble. Terebinth stood near the place where St. Peter the Apostle was crucified, and where the church of Santa Maria in Trasbedina [Traspontina] now stands).”

From Graphia aureae urbis Romae (Account of the Golden City of Rome), late 12th century:

“In Naumachia est sepulcrum Romuli, quod vocatur Meta, que fuit miro lapide tabulata, ex quibus factum est pavimentum paradisi et graduum Sancti Petri.
Habuit circa se plateam Tiburtinam XX pedum cum cloaca et florali suo. Circa se habuit Terebinta Neronis tante altitudinis, quantum monumentum Adriani, miro lapide tabulata, ex quibus opus graduum et paradisi peractum fuit. Quod edificium rotundum fuit duobus gironibus sicut et monumentum, quorum labia erant cooperta tabulis lapideis pro stillicidiis, iuxta quod fuit crucifixus beatus Petrus Apostolus.

(Near the Navmachia is the tomb of Romulus, called Meta, formerly covered with a fine stone, of which the floor and staircase of St. Peter were made. Around it was a 20-foot open space made of travertine marble, with a drainage gutter and its own flowers. Nearby stood the Terebinth of Nero, as tall as Hadrian’s monument, covered with the beautiful stone used to build the steps and the paradise. This round building had two circular walls like those of the monument, the upper part of which was covered with marble slabs for draining water; by this place the holy Apostle Peter was crucified).”

Fewer sources mention the pyramid at Borgo as the tomb of Remus.

From Tractatus de rebus antiquis urbis Romae (Essay on the Antiquities of the City of Rome) by an anonymous author, early 15th century:

“In Almachia, idest iuxta Sanctam Mariam Transpontinam, est meta, quae, ut dicitur, fuit sepulchrum Remuli, qui mandato Romuli in iano mortuus fuit: et de meta praedicta, sicut iam dixi, dubito quod non fuit Remuli per Romulum facta, quia illis temposibus Romulus et sui non erant tantae potentiae. Aliam ethimologiam sibi non invenio, de qua fidem facere possere possim: sed sit quod vult, mirae pulchritudinis fuit in lapidibus marmoreis tabulata de quibus tabulis ornatum et constructum fuit pavimentum Sancti petri per Constantinum, consistentem imperatorem. Habuit dicta meta circa se gradus viginti et altitudinis pedum decem, cum platea Tiburtina, et cloaca et foro. In opposito eius fuit Terabintum Neronis, quod aedificatum fuit super vestigia templi Iovis: de quo paret conca platae, in qua sacerdotes parasiti praedicabant illis temporibus in quibus Terabintum fuit. Postquam destructum est, aedificatum fuit templum Dianae et moles Adriana cum ponte quae nun ad praesens vocatur castrum Sancti Angeli, ut inferius postea subsequetur , ut epitaphiis apparet, usque ad Crescentium imperatorem, qui trastulit sibi nomen praedictum in castrum Crescentii, et usque ad odiernum pervenit nomen, quod a beato Gregorio papa sic denominatum extitit castrum Sancti Angeli.

(Near Almachia [distorted Navmachia], i.e. by the church of Santa Maria in Traspontina, stands a meta which is said to have been the tomb of Remus, who was killed on Janus [probably meaning the nearby Janiculum Hill] by order of Romulus; and as to this meta, as I have said, I doubt whether Romulus could not have built it for Remus, as his clan did not have so much power in those days. I can find no other etymology worthy of reliability; but be that as it may, it was very beautiful, as it was covered with the marble slabs of which the Emperor Constantine built and adorned the floor of St. Peter’s. The above-mentioned meta was framed by a circle of 20 steps 10 feet high with a courtyard of travertine with a drainage gutter and an opening. In front of it stood Nero’s Terabintum, built over the remains of the Temple of Jupiter: from this building comes the fountain basin in the square, where invited priests preached in the days when the Terabintum was there. After its destruction, the Temple of Diana and the great tomb of Hadrian with its bridge were built, which is now called the Castle of the Holy Angel, as will be said hereafter, according to what may be read in the inscriptions, down to the Emperor Crescentius, who changed its name to the Castle of Crescentius, while the above-mentioned name of the Castle of the Holy Angel, chosen by St. Pope Gregory, has been preserved to the present day)”.

The legend of the origin of the two pyramids misled even the most cultured people of his time, such as, for example, Petrarch. Around 1440-1450, Poggio Bracciolini, mentioned how the poet was mistaken about the pyramid of Gaius Cestius, despite the inscription on it:

“Quo magis miror, integro adhuc epigrammate, doctissimum virum Franciscum Petrarcham in quadam sua epistola scribere, id esse sepulcrum Remi; credo, secutum vulgi opinionem, non magni fecisse epigramma perquirere, fruticetis contectum, in quo legendo, qui postmodum secuti sunt, minore cum doctrina maiorem diligentiam praebuerunt.

(What is most surprising, since the inscription still survives, is that Francesco Petrarch, a learned man, wrote in one of his letters that this [pyramid] was Remus’s tomb; I suppose that, following the popular belief, he did not make a deep study of the inscription, covered by branches, in reading which those who came after him, though less cultured, were more careful.)”

Several depictions of the meta Romuli exist in artwork from the 13th to 17th centuries, most of which are quite reliable because they date from a time when the monument was still standing. In contrast, the smaller number of images of Terebinth are almost entirely fictional, as they were based on scant descriptions, which in turn were likely mere legends.

The subject in the background of which the Borgo district was most often depicted was the crucifixion of St. Peter. One of the earliest examples of it is a 1280 fresco by Cimabue in the Upper Basilica in Assisi. Unfortunately, the preservation of the fresco leaves much to be desired.

An almost identical view is shown on one of the panels of the Triptych of Stefaneschi, an altarpiece painted by Giotto about 1320 for one of the altars of the old St. Peter’s Basilica. In the background to the left rises a pyramid, i.e., the meta Romuli, and to the right is a corresponding structure of similar height and shape, but apparently hexagonal in cross-section and with a tree on top, possibly a Terebinth.

There are scholars who claim that the structure on the right is the meta Romuli and the pyramid on the left is the pyramid of Gaius Cestius (aka the meta Remi), despite the considerable distance between them. The seeming paradox is explained by the very popular view, which existed throughout the Middle Ages, that St. Peter was crucified inter duas metas, i.e., between two monuments identified as metas. And there were two ways to interpret this obscure location.

One of these ways was to suggest that one meta was this meta of Romuli in the Borgo area, and the other was the pyramid of Gaius Cestius, then known as the meta of Remi. For this reason, many people believed that the site of St. Peter’s crucifixion was the top of the Janiculum Hill, which is just halfway between the monuments. In this case, the above-mentioned paintings do not show the real, but a symbolic arrangement of the monuments.

Such an arrangement is represented in the painting by Mazaccio (1426). Here the two metas are shown so close to each other that there is almost no room for the cross.

However, there were those who rejected this legend, claiming that the apostle was killed near the Circus of Gaius and Nero, located in the 1st century AD to the left of the site of the future St. Peter’s Basilica. According to this hypothesis, the two metas between which the place of crucifixion was to be sought could have belonged to the circus itself.

But it is more likely that one of them was the same meta of Romuli from the neighboring Borgo, and the second – any similar in form monument, perceived by people as a second meta. Such a monument could even be the obelisk that marked the center of the arena, and was the only artifact left from the ancient circus.

Up until the end of the 16th century, this obelisk stood next to the basilica and was topped by a bronze ball. It is clearly shown on one of the panels of a series of frescoes with episodes from the life of the saint in the Basilica of San Pietro a Grado (near Pisa), painted in the early 1300s by Deodato Orlandi to commemorate the first Jubilee Year held in 1300.

Compositionally, the scene is very similar to a painting by Mazaccio, painted more than a century later. But in this case the artist used other architectural elements, placing on the left a structure made of large red blocks of polygonal cross-section and shape typical of meth Roman circuses.

It certainly alludes to the circus of Gaius and Nero, which is confirmed by the white monument in the center, which can be identified by its bronze ball top as the Vatican obelisk (the only one still standing in the 14th century). The real pyramid, however, is partially visible on the right, and it corresponds to the meta Romuli in the Borgo neighborhood.

In a series of 9 paintings by Andrea Mantegna under the general title The Triumph of Caesar (1485-1495), the background is filled with views of ancient Rome, and among a number of monuments, mostly fictional, there is a pyramid crowned with a sphere, a kind of “hybrid” between the obelisk and the meta Romuli.

The old belief about the Janiculum as the place of St. Peter’s execution was refuted by the scholar Biondo Flavio, secretary to Pope Eugenius IV. In an essay on the antiquities of Rome entitled Roma Instaurata (Renewed Rome), he wrote:

“And now, concerning the questions of the saints, let us state our opinion as to the place of the martyrdom and Passion of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles. It is generally believed that he suffered them at Terebinthus, between two meth. What this place is, is not at all clear; and there are those who attempt to place such an honor erroneously on Janiculum.”

The above quote again mentions the enigmatic Terebinth. However, 15th-century artists either completely disregarded its description as a monument or simply depicted it as a tree. Terebinth, or turpentine tree, is indeed the name of a Mediterranean native tree of the pistachio family, and it is even mentioned in the Bible.

The crucifixion of the Apostle is also depicted on a square relief panel belonging to the bronze doors of St. Peter’s Basilica, cast in 1445 by the famous sculptor Philaret. In this panel, one pyramid is clearly visible in the lower left corner, a second pyramid resembling that depicted in the paintings of Cimabue and Giotto is located in the lower right corner, and the cylindrical building in the center with a square base is undoubtedly Hadrian’s tomb. The space between the tomb and the right pyramid is occupied by the trunk of a large tree, Terebintha. In the upper right corner, Emperor Nero watches the execution, seated on a magnificent canopied throne.

A drawing by Vatican archivist Giacomo Grimaldi, apparently inspired by the bronze panel, shows the same details but with captions. The cone-shaped monument on the right is labeled Meta, and the tree standing next to it is labeled Terebinthus.

Hadrian’s tomb is named Castellum Hadriani, i.e. Hadrian’s Castle, but the pyramid on the left is unsigned, which again leaves open the debate as to whether the pyramid on the right is a meta of Romuli and the one on the left is a meta of Remi (and then Peter is crucified on the Janiculum), or whether the meta of Romuli is on the left and the meta on the right, whose ownership is not specified, is another unidentified landmark of the Borgo area.

In any case, both images contain a chronological paradox, since Peter was crucified in 64 or 67, and Hadrian’s tomb was built no earlier than 70 years later.

Moreover, if the pyramid on the left was the pyramid of Gaius Cestius (meta Remi), then Philaret’s bronze panel would have depicted it on the other side of the river. Although another interpretation is possible, given that the doors were commissioned by Pope Eugene IV, whose secretary opposed belief in the crucifixion of St. Peter on the Janiculum.

The meta Romuli is also present in the fresco The Vision of the Cross (1520-1524) by Giulio Romano, Raphael’s assistant. The background of the fresco also contains an image of Hadrian’s tomb. Since the subject of the painting is the battle at the Milvian Bridge between Constantine and Maxentius (312), which took place 4 km north of the Borgo district, the monuments are depicted closer than they should be seen in reality, and the second pyramid (in the distance, to the right of Hadrian’s tomb) may be Remi’s meta.

In addition to such works of art, several maps and views of the city shed light on the ancient monuments of the Borgo area. Many of them date from the 16th century and reflect the realities of a rapidly changing city, but there were also plans of ancient Rome that emerged thanks to a revival of interest in classical antiquity.

Unlike the backdrops of religious scenes corresponding to medieval beliefs, the maps were largely based on studies of actual ruins scattered throughout the city. Terebinth never appears on these maps, either as a structure or a tree. The meta Romuli, however, appears regularly on them, and since it was not demolished until the middle of the 16th century, its depictions should correspond fairly closely to its real appearance, although they sometimes have a different name.

For example, on the maps of Etienne du Perac (1574) and Pirro Ligorio (1561), the pyramid in the Borgo area is marked as the Monument of Sempronius. This family was very important in ancient Rome and had several branches.

Another historical figure with whom the meta-Romuli was associated was Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (235-183 BC), the victor of Hannibal. In the 15th century treatise “Tractatus de rebus antiquis…” mentioned earlier, in the list of the most important palaces of Rome, the pyramid is described as follows:

“Palatium Scipionis fuit in caballo, in via Cornelia, quod apparet adhuc. (Scipio’s palace stood next to a horse on the road Cornelia, where it is still visible).”

The horse is a simplification of the old place name coxa caballi (horse’s foot), later transformed into the Italian Scossacavalli, a now defunct square in the center of the Borgo district. However, the neighboring street is still called via Scossacavalli. Note that the real tomb of the Scipios is located on the ancient Appian Way.

Although such different interpretations of the monument do not provide a key to understanding its true purpose, they do confirm its presence in the Borgo neighborhood.

The Meta Romuli, as a whole, lasted until 1499, when Pope Alexander VI decided to straighten the main street of Borgo and rename it via Alexandrina in his honor. Half of the pyramid that was in the way of the street was demolished. The remaining part was demolished in 1564, when the old church of Santa Maria in Traspontina was also rebuilt on a new site, 100 meters away from the original.

Leonardo Buffalini’s map of Rome, drawn a few years before the remains of the pyramid were removed, clearly shows its position on the new street plan of the neighborhood. Santa Maria in Traspontina still stands on its original site, and the meta (the dark square in the lower left corner) labeled “tomb of Scipio Africanus” is crossed by via Lexandrina.