Settecamini is the 6th zona of Rome, identified by the initials Z. VI.. Settecamini is also the name of the urban zone 5L, within the Municipio V of Rome.
The first settlements in the area can be dated to the Roman Republican era: the neighbourhood developed around the Via Tiburtina Roman road and a crossroads, and included two Roman inns and many Roman villas and tombs.
In the Middle Age, the locality was called Campo dei Sette Fratelli ("Field of the Seven Brothers") or Forno dei Septe Fratri ("Oven of the Seven Brothers"): both names were related to the legend of Saint Symphorosa and her seven children, (Crescens, Eugenius, Julian, Justin, Nemesius, Primitivus and Stracteus), martyred in the near Tibur (present Tivoli, Lazio, Italy) toward the end of the reign of the Roman Emperor Hadrian.
Later, it was called simply Forno ("Oven") or Osteria del Forno ("Tavern of the Oven"), in reference to a farmstead located south of Via Tiburtina, which is currently known as Casale di Settecamini. The current toponym Settecamini began to be used in the second half of the 19th century, and the Rome municipality toponymic dictionary states that it derived from "the seven chimneys ("sette camini") of the building known as Il Fornaccio.
A small church, in late Baroque style, was built in 1700 at the crossroads between Via Tiburtina and Via Casal Bianco.
The modern settlement developed as a rural village at the beginning of the twentieth century, on some lands owned by the Duke Leopoldo Torlonia. Later, some houses were assigned to the First World War veterans. The inhabited area has now an extension of 21.612 km² and a population of about 19,000 inhabitants.
The archaeological area of Settecamini
Discovered in 1951 it is located at 9th mile of the Tiburtina (whose ancient pavement is visible), halfway between Rome and Tibur (Tivoli), where the Via Tiburtina crossed the road that led from the Aniene river to Etruria and Sabina. It was a settlement with several buildings and monumental tombs.
The first paleo-Christian building inserted in a pagan temple dates to around the 1st century BC. There is a courtyard with a central well, which is accessed from two side entrances. It was a residential area until the 5th century.
The building in the best condition is the "mansio", probably an inn for travellers, which has a mosaic from the imperial age. The building appears to have been in use from the 1st century BC to the 5th century AD and may have performed various functions over time.
Eastward, the zona shares the border with the municipality of Guidonia Montecelio, up to the river Aniene.
Southward, Settecamini borders with ZonaLunghezza (Z. X) and with ZonaAcqua Vergine (Z. IX): the border is outlined by the river Aniene, up to the Grande Raccordo Anulare.
To the west, Settecamini borders with ZonaTor Cervara (Z. VII), whose boundary is marked by the stretch of the Grande Raccordo Anulare between the Aniene and Via Tiburtina, and with QuartiereSan Basilio (Q. XXX), whose boundary is marked by the GRA itself, up to Via Nomentana.
Historical subdivisions
The frazioni of Case Rosse and the urban areas of Casal Monastero and Sant'Alessandro belong to Settecamini.
Odonymy
In the area of Casal Monastero, along the Via Nomentana, streets and squares are named after ancient and modern cities of Sabina and personalities related to that region (which was the terminus of the Via Nomentana), while other odonyms in the area near to the Via Tiburtina refers to the ancient history of Tivoli. Other streets and squares are chiefly dedicated to medieval authors, municipalities of Abruzzo and Molise (in the frazione of Case Rosse) and to engineers and scientists (in the area of Tecnopolo). Odonyms of the zone can be categorized as follows:
Industrialists, e.g. Via Giovanni Armenise, Largo Filippo Fratalocchi, Via Adriano Olivetti, Via Giacomo Peroni;
Local toponyms, e.g. Via di Casal Bianco, Via delle Case Rosse, Via Fondi di Monastero, Via Forno Casale, Via Osteria delle Capannacce, Via di Salone, Via di Sant'Alessandro, Via di Settecamini, Viale del Tecnopolo;
Names related to Tivoli, e.g. Via Coponia, Via Cossinia, Via Faustiniana, Via Plancina, Via Popilia, Via Quintiliolo, Via Rubellia, Via Saccomuro, Via San Getullo, Via della Sibilla Tiburtina;
Thermal complex and nymphaeum, in Via Forno Casale, south of the Fosso del Fornaccio. A 1st-century BC thermal complex and a nymphaeum that dates back to 3rd or 4st century.[6]
Latomie of Salone and Cervara, between Via di Salone and Via delle Case Rosse. Republican age The Latomie are ancient tuff quarries located in Salone between Via Tiburtina and the Autostrada dei Parchi. The blocks of tuff were transported to Rome by raft on the Aniene river which passes a few tens of metres from the quarries.[17]41°55′30″N12°37′50″E / 41.924920°N 12.630596°E / 41.924920; 12.630596
Roman villa of Monte dello Spavento/Necropolis/Sanctuary dating to the Middle-Republican age. The necropolis is located north-west of the sanctuary.[18]
colombarium in tuff between via Colsereno and via Tiburtina.[19]
mausoleum used in the Middle Ages as a lookout tower at 98 via Casal Bianco, on ancient via Tiburtina [20]
The farmhouse in Casal Monastero Vecchio is built on the ruins of a Roman villa in opus vittatum in tuff and bricks on the west side, in opus caementicium in tuff and recycled material on the other sides. It is built on a brick columbarium with a terminal apse and side niches. To the south-east there are other remains also in tuff and brick, built on a previous underground structure with a vault.[21]
Bibliography
Marina De Franceschini (2005). Ville dell'Agro romano. Rome: L'Erma di Bretschneider. ISBN978-88-8265-311-8.
Eschinardi, Francesco; Venuti, Ridolfino (1750). Descrizione di Roma e dell'Agro Romano. Rome: Domenico Francioli. p. 235.
References
^Roma Capitale – Roma Statistica. Population inscribed in the resident register at 31 December 2016 by toponymy subdivision.
