LaurieAnnie's photos with the keyword: hill

The archaeological site of Morgantina is located in east central Sicily, at 37° 26.035' N 14° 28.928' E. It is sixty kilometres (forty miles) from the coast of the Ionian Sea, in the province of Enna. The closest modern town is Aidone, two kilometres southwest of the site. The site consists of a two-kilometre long ridge running southwest–northeast, known as Serra Orlando, and a neighboring hill at the northeast called Cittadella. Morgantina was inhabited in several periods. The earliest major settlement was made at Cittadella and lasted from about 1000/900 to about 450 BCE. The other major settlement was located on Serra Orlando, and existed from about 450 BCE to about 50 CE. Morgantina has been the subject of archaeological investigation since the early 20th century. According to Strabo, Morgantina was founded by a pre-Roman Italian group known as the Morgeti. Dionysos of Halikarnassos wrote that the Morgetes were led by a king named Morges. The earliest historical date associated with Morgantina is 459 BCE, when Douketios, leader of the indigenous Sikel population of central Sicily, attacked the city and captured it. Morgantina was probably still under Douketios' control when he was defeated at Nomai by Syracuse in 449 BCE. No further mention of Morgantina is made until Thucydides lists it as part of the terms of a truce in the war of 427–424 BCE between Syracuse and the Dorian cities of Sicily on one side, and Kamarina, the Khalkidian cities of Sicily, the Sikels, and Athens on the other side. Thucydides says that Syracuse agreed at the Congress of Gela to give Morgantina to Kamarina in return for payment of an indemnity. Kamarina was destroyed in 405 by the Carthaginians. Morgantina therefore must have been independent from at least this date, although it was soon re-captured by Dionysios of Syracuse in 396. Syracuse retained (occasionally more nominal than actual) control of Morgantina until the Second Punic War. In 317, Morgantina received the tyrant Agathokles, then in exile, and offered him help in returning to Syracuse. He was elected praetor at Morgantina, and later dux. As part of the Syracusan kingdom of Hieron II, Morgantina fell under the hegemony of Rome when Hieron became a Roman vassal in 263. In 214, Morgantina switched its allegiance from Rome to Carthage. Morgantina remained autonomous until 211, when it became the last Sicilian town to be captured by the Romans. It was given as payment by Rome to a group of Spanish mercenaries. In 133, Morgantina was the place where Eunus, the leader of the slave rebellion known as the First Servile War died. In the Second Servile War, Morgantina was besieged and taken by slaves. The final mention of Morgantina comes again from Strabo, who notes that in his own time, the first century CE, the city had ceased to exist. A few literary sources describe Morgantina and its economy. Most famous of these are the references to the vitis murgentina, a strain of grape mentioned by Cato, Columella, and Pliny the Elder. These grapes were prized for their wine — Pliny called it "the very best among all those that come from Sicily" — and had been transplanted from Sicily to mainland Italy by the 2nd century BCE. Text from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morgantina

The Palatine Hill (Latin: Palatium) is the centermost of the seven hills of Rome and is one of the most ancient parts of the city of Rome in Italy. It is some 70 metres high and looks down on one side upon the Forum Romanum and on the other side upon the Circus Maximus. According to Roman mythology, the Palatine hill was where Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf that kept them alive. According to this legend, the shepherd Faustulus found the infants, and with his wife Acca Larentia raised the children. When they were older this is where Romulus decided to build Rome. Rome has its origins on the Palatine. Indeed, recent excavations show that people have lived there since approximately 1000 BC. Many affluent Romans of the Republican time (510 BC – c. 44 BC) had their residences there. The ruins of the palaces of Augustus (63 BC – 14), Tiberius (42 BC – 37) and Domitian (51 – 96) can still be seen. The Palatine Hill was also the site of the festival of the Lupercalia. One building, believed to be the residence of Livia (58 BC – 29), the wife of Augustus, is currently undergoing renovation. Situated near to the house of Livia is the palace of Cybele, currently not fully excavated and not open to the public. Behind this structure, cut into the side of the hill, is the so-called House of Tiberius. Overlooking the Forum Romanum is the Flavian Palace which was built largely during the reign of the Flavian dynasty (69 – 96) – Vespasian, Titus and Domitian. This palace, which was extended and modified by several emperors, extends across the Palatine Hill and looks out over the Circus Maximus. The building of the greater part the palace visible from the Circus was undertaken in the reign of the Emperor Septimius Severus (146 – 211). Immediately adjacent to the palace of Severus is the stadium of Domitian. This is a structure which has the appearance of a Roman Circus, but is of insufficient size to accommodate chariots. Its exact purpose is disputed. It may have been a venue for foot-racing, field sports or equestrian events. The Palatine Hill is now a large open-air museum and can be visited during the daytime for a small charge. The entrance is near the Arch of Titus on the Forum Romanum. During Augustus' reign, an area of the Palatine Hill was roped off for a sort of archaeological expedition, which found fragments of Bronze Age pots and tools. He declared this site the "original town of Rome". Modern archaeology has identified evidence of Bronze Age settlement in the area which predates Rome's founding. There is a museum on the Palatine in which artifacts dating from before the official foundation of the City are displayed. The museum also contains Roman statuary. An altar to an unknown deity, once thought to be Aius Locutius, was discovered here in 1820. In July of 2006 archaeologists announced the discovery of what they believe to be the birth place of Augustus. According to Livy (59 BC – 17) the Palatine hill got its name from the Arcadian settlement of Pallantium. The term palace itself stems from Palatium. Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palatine_Hill

The Farnese Gardens (Orti Farnesiani sul Palatino or "Gardens of Farnese upon the Palatine") are a garden in Rome, central Italy, created in 1550 on the northern portion of Palatine Hill, by Cardinal Alessandro Farnese. They were the first private botanical gardens in Europe (the first botanical gardens of any kind in Europe being started by Italian universities in the mid-16th century, only a short time before). Alessandro Farnese was appointed Cardinal Deacon of the Roman Catholic Church in 1534 at the age of 14, by Paul III, his grandfather, who had been elected to the papacy two months previously. He is remembered for being an antiquarian who assembled the greatest collection of Roman sculpture assembled in private hands since antiquity. In 1550, when Farnese acquired a northern portion of Palatine hill (historically the oldest of Rome's seven hills) he had ruins from a Roman palace of Tiberius at the northwest end of the hill top filled in, and converted to a summer home. The site overlooks the Roman Forum and is near the Arch of Titus. He called this Horti Farnesiani (possibly meaning to suggest the hortus conclusus or "enclosed garden" where Mary conceived Jesus Christ). The garden was divided into the classic style of quadrants with a well or a fountain at its centre, deriving from the design of the Roman peristilium palaces of the area, as re-created by the noted architect Vignola. Though little of the Farnese Gardens survives today, some remnant structures may be seen. Text from: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farnese_Gardens