The Forma Urbis Romae, also known as the Severan Marble Plan, was a massive marble map of ancient Rome, believed to have been created during the reign of emperor Septimius Severus between 203 and 211 CE. The map depicted every architectural feature in the city, ranging from grand imperial monuments to modest residential structures, streets, and even internal courtyards.
Created at a scale of approximately 1:240 (Cadario states 1:260 to 1:270), the map was detailed enough to show the floor plans of nearly every temple, bath, and insula in the central Roman city. The boundaries of the plan were decided based on the available space on the marble, instead of by geographical or political borders as modern maps usually are. It has been theorised that this map was actually used as a cadastral map, showing the boundaries and ownership of parcels of land.
The map was oriented with south at the top and north at the bottom. On the map are names and plans of public buildings, streets, and private homes. The creators used signs and details like columns and staircases.
The Plan was gradually destroyed during the Middle Ages, with the marble stones being used as building materials or for making lime. In 1562, the young antiquarian sculptor Giovanni Antonio Dosio excavated fragments of the Forma Urbis from a site near the Church of SS. Cosma e Damiano, under the direction of the humanist condottiere Torquato Conti, who had purchased excavation rights from the canons of the church. Conti made a gift of the recovered fragments to Cardinal Alessandro Farnese, who entrusted them to his librarian Onofrio Panvinio and his antiquarian Fulvio Orsini. Little interest seems to have been elicited by the marble shards.
In all about 10% of the original surface area of the plan has since been recovered in the form of over one thousand marble fragments. Part of the excavated plan showed a portion of the Forum of Augustus, interpreted as "a working drawing or as a proof of the existence of a more ancient Forma Urbis".
circa 203-211 CE
The monumental map was originally mounted on an interior wall of the Temple of Peace, now the north-east section of the external wall of Santi Cosma e Damiano. The map originally measured 18 meters (60 feet) wide by 13 meters (45 feet) high and was carved into 150 Proconnesian marble slabs. Covering a total area of 235 square meters, the map depicted an extensive land mass of approx. 3,800 acres. It was attached to the wall using a system of metal clamps and dowel rods.
circa 203-211 CE
Stanford Digital Forma Urbis Romae Project
The Stanford Digital Forma Urbis Romae Project is a scholarly initiative aimed at the comprehensive study and reconstruction of the Forma Urbis Romae, also known as the Severan Marble Plan of Rome. This monumental map, originally measuring approximately 18 by 13 meters, was intricately carved between 203 and 211 CE and displayed within the Templum Pacis. It detailed the ground plans of Rome's architectural features, from grand public edifices to modest private spaces. The project employs advanced digital technologies to systematically document, analyze, and reassemble the surviving marble fragments, which constitute about 10% of the original map. By creating high-resolution photographs and 3D models, the initiative facilitates precise matching and placement of fragments, enhancing our understanding of ancient Rome's urban landscape. This interdisciplinary endeavor not only advances archaeological scholarship but also exemplifies the integration of technology in the humanities.
circa 203-211 CE
The museum is situated within the Parco Archeologico del Celio, in close proximity to the Colosseum, and is housed in the historic building of the former Palestra della Gioventù Italiana del Littorio. The establishment of this museum offers scholars and visitors a unique opportunity to engage with one of antiquity's most significant cartographic artifacts, shedding light on the architectural and urban planning intricacies of ancient Rome. The museum exhibits the marble fragments superimposed on the Nolli's Forma Urbis Romae (1748 CE), a monumental cartographic work that attempted to map ancient Rome using archaeological and literary evidence.
circa 203-211 CE
Though the map depicted almost the entirety of the city of Roman in the early second century CE, due to its fragmentary condition only a few of the structures and landmarks have been identified. Some of these are listed below;
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