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WALKING TOURS OF ROME

The Discovery and Loss of the Ancient Ships of Lake Nemi

9/1/2020

 
Map
Bronze head of Medusa from age of Caligula, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, Rome
Bronze head of Medusa, Palazzo Massimo alle Terme

The beautifully crafted bronze head of Medusa, one of the exhibits in the Palazzo Massimo alle Terme, dates back to the reign of the emperor Caligula (r. 37-41). It is almost all the survives of two huge ships that were built at the emperor's behest for Lake Nemi, which lies about 20 miles to the south of Rome. 

The vast ships, the largest was 73 m (240 ft) long and 23 m (79 ft) wide, were, in truth, floating pleasure palaces on which Caligula, one of the most notorious of Rome's emperors, would hold wild parties.

Caligula's reign was brief and he was assassinated on January 24th, 41. Shortly after his death the ships met the same fate as their creator. Their hulls were pierced and, weighted down with heavy stones, they sank to the bottom of the lake.

There they lay for more than two thousand years until in 1929, on the orders of Italy's fascist dictator Benito Mussolini (r. 1922-43), Lake Nemi (with a surface area of 0.6 square miles and a depth of 65 feet) was drained. The remains of the two ships were found lying in the mud at the bottom of the lake. 

A museum was duly built to house them. It opened in 1940, but four years later, during the night of May 31st, 1944, a fire broke out and the ships were consumed in the flames. Whether the fire was caused by allied or German troops is still a matter of debate. All that survived were a few bronze artefacts (such as the head of Medusa) and the memory of one of the greatest excavations of the twentieth century. 

One of the reasons that Caligula chose Lake Nemi is that it was home to a temple to the goddess Diana Nemorensis, one of the most popular shrines in the ancient world. 


View of Lake Nemi
View of Lake Nemi

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    Walking Tours For Discerning Travellers

    My name is David Lown and I am an art historian from Cambridge, England. Since 2001 I have lived in Italy, where I run private and
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  • Home
  • Private Tours
  • Contact
  • Rome
  • St Peter's Basilica
    • Altars >
      • Altar of St Joseph
      • Altar of St Gregory the Great
      • Altar of the Madonna of Succour
      • Altar of St Sebastian
      • Altar of the Lie
      • Altar of the Presentation of the Virgin
      • Altar of St Jerome
      • Altar of the Transfiguration
      • Altar of Pope Leo the Great
    • Monuments >
      • Countess Matilda of Canossa
      • Maria Clementina Sobieska
      • Queen Christina of Sweden
      • Pope Innocent VIII
      • Pope Paul III
      • Pope Gregory XIII
      • Pope Gregory XIV
      • Pope Leo XI
      • Pope Urban VIII
      • Pope Alexander VII
      • Pope Clement X
      • Pope Innocent XI
      • Pope Alexander VIII
      • Pope Innocent XII
      • Pope Benedict XIV
      • Pope Clement XIII
      • Pope Pius VII
      • Pope Leo XII
      • Pope Pius VIII
      • Pope Gregory XVI
      • Pope Pius X
      • Pope Benedict XV
      • Pope Pius XI
      • Pope Pius XII
      • Pope John XXIII
      • The Stuarts
    • Portico >
      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Pieta
    • Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament
    • Cathedra Petri
    • Crossing >
      • Baldacchino
      • Confessio
      • Dome
      • St Longinus
      • St Helena
      • St Veronica
      • St Andrew
    • St Peter
    • Chapel of the Choir
    • Chapel of the Baptistery
    • Nave
  • Sistine Chapel
    • North Wall
    • South Wall
    • East Wall
    • Ceiling: Part One >
      • Ceiling: Part Two
      • Ceiling: Part Three
    • The Last Judgement
  • Fountains
    • Trevi Fountain
    • Fontana della Barcaccia
    • Fountain of the Triton
    • Fountain of the Bees
    • Fountain of Moses
    • Fountain of the Four Rivers
    • Fountain of the Acqua Paola
    • Fountain of the Turtles
    • Fountain of the Naiads
    • Fountain of the Cannonball
    • Piazza del Popolo
    • Fountain of the Pantheon
    • Fountains of Piazza Farnese
    • Fountain of Goddess Roma
    • Rioni Fountains
    • Street Fountains
    • Venice Marries the Sea
    • St Peter's Square
    • Fountain of the Moor
    • Fountain of Neptune
    • Fountain of the Porter
    • Fountain of the Seahorses
  • Gallery
    • Piazzas >
      • Piazza del Campidglio
      • Piazza del Quirinale
      • Piazza del Popolo
      • Piazza di Spagna
      • Piazza Navona
      • Piazza S. M. in Trastevere
      • Piazza San Pietro
    • Mosaics
    • Fountains
    • Churches
    • Ancient Rome
    • Palaces
    • Domes
    • Papal Coats of Arms
    • Street Shrines
    • Old Photographs
    • Borromini & the Baroque
  • Images of the Eternal City