Seven hills of Rome

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For the film starring Mario Lanza, see Seven Hills of Rome (film).

The Seven Hills of Rome east of the Tiber form the heart of Rome. The Seven Hills of early Rome were the Cermalus, Cispius, Fagutal, Oppius, Palatium, Sucusa, and Velia, figuring prominently into Roman mythology, religion, and politics; the original city was held by tradition to have been founded by Romulus on the Palatine Hill (Collis Palatinus). The other six are now the Aventine (Collis Aventinus), the Capitoline (Capitolinus), the Quirinal (Quirinalis), the Viminal (Viminalis), the Esquiline (Esquilinus), and the Caelian (Caelius).

A mnemonic device used to memorize their names gives them in clockwise order, starting with the Quirinal. It is: Queen Victoria Eyes Caesar's Awfully Painful Corns for the Quirinal, Viminal, Esquiline, Caelian, Aventine, Palatine, and Capitoline Hills.

Map of early Rome showing the seven hills

Initially and traditionally, the seven hills were occupied by small settlements and not grouped or recognized as a city called "Rome". The denizens of the seven hills began to participate in a series of religious games which started to bond the groups together. The city of Rome thus came into being as these separate settlements acted as a group, draining the marshy valleys between them and turning them into markets and fora.

The now-famous Vatican Hill (Latin Collis Vaticanus) is northwest of the Tiber and is not one of the Seven Hills of Rome. Likewise, the Pincian Hill (Latin Mons Pincius), to the north, and the Janiculum Hill (Latin Ianiculum), to the west, are not counted among the traditional Seven Hills.

Of the Seven Hills of current Rome, five (Aventine, Caelian, Esquiline, Quirinal, and Viminal hills) are populated with monuments, buildings and parks; the Capitoline now hosts the Municipality of Rome; and the Palatine Hill is an archaeological area.

[edit] Biblical reference

One reference that possibly refers to the Seven Hills of Rome is in the prophetic imagery of the Book of Revelation. Revelation 17 makes reference to the "great harlot" seated on "a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names, with seven heads and ten horns," and the angel, speaking to the narrator, says:

And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. (Revelation 17:9-10)

The angel adds:

And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth. (Revelation 17:18)

At the time that Revelation was written, the early Christians were persecuted by the Roman Empire, which itself was historically known as the "City of Seven Hills". It is widely believed that the "seven mountains" mentioned refer to the seven hills of Rome.