Schematic map of Rome showing the
seven hills and Servian wall
The
Esquiline Hill is one of the celebrated Seven Hills of Rome
. Its
southern-most cusp is the Oppius (
Oppian
Hill).
Etymology
The origin of the name
Esquilino is still under much
debate. One view is that the Hill was named after the abundance of
holm-oaks,
exculi, that resided
there.
Another view is that, during Rome's infancy,
the Capitolium
, the Palatium, and the
northern fringes of the Caelian
were the
most-populated areas of the city, whose inhabitants were considered
inquilini, in-towners; those that inhabited the
external regions - Aurelian, Oppius, Cispius, Fagutal - were
considered exquilini, suburbanites.
History
Rising
above the valley in which was later built the Colosseum
, the Esquiline was a fashionable residential
district. At the Oppius,
Nero confiscated property to build his extravagant, mile-long
Golden
House
, and later still Trajan constructed his bath complex,
both of whose remains are visible today.
Farther to
the northeast, at the summit of the Cispius, is the
Basilica of
Santa Maria Maggiore
.
In 1781, the marble statue of a
Discus
thrower - the so-called
Discobolus of
Myron - was discovered.
The tiny hamlet of El
Esquilinchuche in Honduras
is named
after Esquiline Hill.
References
Wikis
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