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The Velabrum is an important valley in the city of Rome that lies between the Capitoline and Palatine hills. It is bordered by the Roman Forum and the Forum Boarium, which served as Rome’s cattle market.
The origin of the name Velabrum has puzzled scholars since antiquity. It is generally believed that the “vela-” prefix is derived from vellum, a Latin word that means cloth covering. However, it is not clear what kind of cloth covering is being referred to. One interpretation is that “vela-” refers to the sails of a boat, as the Velabrum once hosted a ferry that connected the Aventine Hill to the Roman Forum. Another interpretation is that “vela-” refers to the awnings that ancient Romans would use during the city’s infamously hot summers.
The origin of the site is also disputed. Ancient Romans believed that the valley was originally a swamp, subject to flooding from the Tiber, until it was drained by Rome’s sewer – the Cloaca Maxima. However, modern archeological excavations have found no proof for these claims.
What is agreed upon is that the Velabrum was one of the busiest commercial districts in Rome during antiquity. It was widely known for its marketplace, which served as the center of the food trade in Rome. The Velabrum was also along the route that victorious generals took during their triumphal parades through the city. Famously, Julius Caesar once fell off his chariot during a triumph as he passed through the Velabrum.
While relatively light on monuments, the Velabrum was home to the tomb of Acca Larentia, a minor Roman goddess associated with fertility and the city’s early history. There was also a temple dedicated to Felicitas, a more notable goddess associated with good luck.
Bibliography
- Delaine, Janet. (2012). Cloaca Maxima. In The Oxford Classical Dictionary (4th ed). doi: 10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001
- Phillips III, C. Robert. (2012). Acca Larentia. In The Oxford Classical Dictionary (4th ed). doi: 10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001
- Richardson, Lawrence. (1992). Velabrum Maius. In A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. John Hopkins University Press.
- Richmond, Ian Archibald and John Patterson. (2012). Velabrum. In The Oxford Classical Dictionary (4th ed). doi: 10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001
- Rose, Herbert Jennings and John Scheid. (2012). Felicitas. In The Oxford Classical Dictionary (4th ed). doi: 10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001
Velabrum: the low ground lying between the north-west slope of the Palatine and the Capitoline. The name is probably ancient, and originally it may well have been given to the whole district between these two hills, the forum valley and the river, but during the historical period it was somewhat more restricted.
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It was bounded approximately by the form on the north, the slope of the Palatine and the vicus Tuscus on the east, the district traversed by the vicus Iugarius on the west, while the line of separation between it and the forum Boarium passed through the present church of S. Giorgio in Velabro and is marked by the arcus argentariorum (CIL vi. 1035; cf. Varro, LL v. 43; vi. 24; Liv. xxvii. 37. 15; Plut. Rom. 5). According to tradition, which there seems to be no good to doubt, this district was originally very swampy, with sufficient water to float small boats (Varro, LL v. 44; Plut. Rom. 5; Ovid. Fast. vi. 405; Prop. iv. 9. 5; Tib. ii. 5. 33), until it was drained by the construction of the cloaca Maxima and the connecting system of sewers. It was always, however, subject to inundation when the Tiber was very high. The meaning and etymology of Velabrum are uncertain. Varro (LL. v. 44, 156) derived it a vehendo (i.e. ratibus), and Plutarch (Rom. 5) also suggests a derivation from the vela carried in processions, but neither these nor those of modern scholars are satisfactory (cf. Jord. i. 1. 195; Gilb. i. 103; Nissen, Templum, 84).
The Velabrum was an important centre of industrial and commercial activity, and in particular of the trade in food-stuffs, oil and wine (Plaut. Capt. 489; Curc. 483; Hor. Sat. ii. 3. 229; Mart. xi. 52. 10; xiii. 32; CIL vi. 467, 9184, 9259, 9993, 33933). It was a locus celeberrimus urbis (Macrob. i. 10. 15), for all the traffic between the forum and the pons Sublicius passed through the streets that bounded it, the vicus Tuscus and the vicus Iugarius (cf. Liv. xxvii. 37. 15; Suet. Caes. 37, for the line of the pompa), but it seems to have contained only one shrine, that of Acca Larentia (Cic. ad Brut. i. 15. 8). In two passages in poetry (Ovid, Propertius, locc. citt.) Velabra is used in the plural, and in Varro (LL v. v. 156: ab his palus fuit in minore Velabro, … ut illud maius de quo supra dictum est) a distinction is made between Velabrum maius and Velabrum minus, but is is not possible to determine what this is (cf. Pais, Anc. Legends 329, n. 49, for a misinterpretation of the Varronian passage, and see also Eranos, 1923, 52).
Jord. i. 1. 126-127, 194-195; 2. 473-474; Gilb i. 69-70; iii. 439; Richter 181-183. In the Middle Ages, the name was corrupted into Velum Aureum (or avreum) (HCh 255).
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Cite this page as: Darius Arya, The American Institute for Roman Culture, Velabrum” Ancient Rome Live. Last modified 07/27/2024. https://ancientromelive.org/velabrum/
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