Porta Maggiore, Praeneste and Tusculum

On Thursday, June 25 we took a field trip to visit three sites: the Porta Maggiore, the ancient town of Praeneste and the ancient town of Tusculum, where rich Romans had summer villas back in the day.

Our first stop was the Porta Maggiore and the Tomb of the Baker.  The tomb of the baker predates the gate/aqueduct constuction.  The holes on the side of the tomb are what bakers used to mix and knead dough.

The Porta Maggiore has three inscriptions, relating to emperors who built or restored portions of the aqueduct that brought water into Rome.  The three emperors were Claudius, Vespasian and Titus.

After the Porta Maggiore we headed to Praeneste.  Praeneste was the site of a significant shrine to the goddess Fortuna.  People made pilgrimages there to consult the oracle, who communicated the future by spilling out random words written on chips of wood.

The view from the shrine of Fortuna.

In the attached museum we saw several interesting pieces.  Here is the remnant of a statue of Fortuna.

And some mosaics.

This mosaic is a famous one showing the river Nile at flood.

We then drove to Tusculum to find Cicero's villa (no one has been able to determine if any of the villas found was actually Cicero's).  Here is the view from the knoll where the villas are situated.

Tusculum, as a resort area for rich folks, had amenities normally found in much larger towns, like a theater.

The surrounding countryside and views are spectacular.