Regio XIV comprised the land around the two hills on the west side of the Tiber, the
Vatican Hill to the north (including the
Ager Vaticanus) and the
Janiculum Hill to the south, as well as the
Tiber Island. While the area around the Janiculum was eventually encased with the
Aurelian Walls, the area around the Vatican did not possess any walls until the ninth century. The principal roads that exited and entered the region were the
Via Cornelia, the
Via Aurelia (through the
Porta Aurelia) and the
Via Portuensis (through the
Porta Portuensis). The final gate in the Aurelian Walls in this region was the
Porta Settimiana. A measurement taken at the end of the 4th century recorded that the perimeter of the region was 33,388
Roman feet (approximately 9.9 km), making it the largest of the Augustan regions. This region was largely devoted to entertaining the Roman people, so it was dotted with many extensive gardens and parks. It was also popular with the emperors, and they would frequently reside in their imperial villas in this part of Rome when not performing their official duties. Such imperial gardens included the
Horti Agrippinae, the Gardens of Nero and the
Horti Domitiae. In the north of the region was an entertainment complex which included the
Circus of Gaius (for many years mistakenly called the Circus of Nero) and the
Naumachia Traiani, where mock naval battles were held. By the middle of the 4th century, the Circus of Nero had largely been built over by the
Basilica of Saint Peter, built on the orders of
Constantine I. Close by is the
Mausoleum of Hadrian. In the area below the Janiculum stood the
Naumachia of
Augustus, one of the five
naumachiae in Regio XIV. It was in the area around the Janiculum where most of the population in Transtiberim lived. Around the Porta Settimiana stood the Gardens of
Geta, laid out by his father. Further along stood the
nemus Cæsarum (or sacred forest of the Caesars), while at the southernmost extremity of the region stood the
Horti Caesaris gardens, which included a villa belonging to
Julius Caesar where
Cleopatra stayed during her visit to Rome. Regio XIV also contained several religious sites, including a shrine to
Cybele and one to
Furrina, as well as a temple to
Fors Fortuna. On the Tiber Island stood the
Temple of Asclepius. In addition, it contained several shrines: •
Jupiter Jurarius ("guarantor of oaths") •
Semo Sancus Dius Fidius, also a witness of oaths •
Gaia, yet another witness of oaths •
Faunus, boundary deity •
Vejovis, god of healing •
Tiberinus, river god •
Bellona, war goddess Among the more obscure features mentioned in the 5th century
Notitia in this region was a prominent statue to an unknown member of the
gens Valeria, and the “Sleeping
Hercules”, a buried statue of the god. The region also contained the station of the seventh cohort of the
Vigiles. At the turn of the 5th century, the Regio contained 78
aediculae (shrines), 150
domūs (patrician houses), 22
horrea (warehouses), 86
balneae (bath houses) and 180
loci (fountains). ==Bridges and Subdivisions==