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WALKING TOURS OF ROME

'Money Has No Smell'!

15/1/2019

 
Piazzale Numa Pompilio
An ancient public urinal (commonly known as a Vespasiano), Piazzale Numa Pompilio, Rome
An ancient public urinal

​Standing in splendid isolation, on the south side of the busy Piazzale Numa Pompilio, is a curious brick structure, which looks rather like a sentry box. It is, in fact, an ancient orinatoio (public urinal), which is commonly known in Italy as a vespasiano. 

​The legacies of the emperor Titus Flavius Vespasianus (r. 69-79) are many and diverse. He gave the world the largest amphitheatre ever to be built, known today as the Colosseum. He also gave his name (albeit involuntarily) to the Italian public urinal. 
​
How such an object came to be named after one of Rome's greatest emperors is an interesting story and one which is related by Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (69-130) in his book De Vita Caesarum (Lives of the Caesars). Vespasian gained this rather dubious honour as the result of a tax he introduced on the collection of urine. Urine contains ammonia, which was used by ancient Roman fullers to clean togas.

When Vespasian's eldest son and heir, Titus, questioned whether this was an honourable way of making money his father is said to have held a coin up to his son's nose, asking if it smelt of anything! Titus had to conclude that 'pecunia non olet' ('money has no smell'). The phrase is still used to argue that the value of money is not tainted by its origins. 

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    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
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  • Blog
  • 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
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      • The Stuarts
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      • Door of Death
      • Door of Good and Evil
      • Central Door
      • Door of the Sacraments
      • Holy Door
    • Pieta
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    • 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