ABSTRACT
In the first half of the sixteenth century the densely populated center of Rome was still surrounded by relatively uninhabited land on the seven hills and by farms and vineyards along the perimeter of the Aurelian walls. Members of the nobility and the College of Cardinals escaped from the unpleasant living conditions of the center by constructing retreats in the higher open areas. One of these, the ridge of the Quirinal Hill, from its summit at the Monte Cavallo to the Porta Nomentana, was especially popular both for its healthful elevation and its convenience to the center of the city. By 1559 when Pius IV was elected to the papal throne, a suburb of sumptuous villas had been built which extended as far as Santa Susanna and the Baths of Diocletian along either side of the road then called the Alta Semita. 1 Its continuation, the Via Nomentana, wandered through farms and orchards to the city gate.
