The Porticus Vipsania (Latin for the "Vipsanian Portico"), also known as the Portico of Agrippa (Porticus Agrippae), was a portico near the Via Flaminia in the Campus Agrippae of ancient Rome, famed for its map of the world. It was designed by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and constructed by his sister Vipsania Polla after Agrippa died.[3][4] The map was named either directly after Vipsania Polla or the gens Vipsania, which Polla and her brother Agrippa belonged to.[5][6]

Porticus Vipsania
PORTICVS VIPSANIA
Porticus Vipsania is located in Italy
Porticus Vipsania
Shown within Italy
Alternative nameportico of Vipsania
porticus Pollae[1]
porticus Europae[2]
LocationItaly
RegionMetropolitan City of Rome Capital, Lazio
Typeportico

History

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Augustus had a world map engraved on marble, following the descriptions given in Agrippa's geographical work, the Commentarii.[7] Agrippa began construction of the map before his death in 12 BC, after which his sister Vipsania Polla oversaw the project.[8] It was not yet completed by 7 BC when Augustus opened the Campus Agrippae to the public. Polla had likely died before this[9] as Augustus was the one who finished the project at a later date.[10] It was the relatives of a person who were responsible for completing tasks begun by a person, once his sister died Augustus who was Agrippa's father-in-law likely felt responsible for it. It was considered inappropriate to interfere with another family's work so Augustus included a description of the portico that explained the process of its making.[5] Although the Porticus Vipsania has not survived, a description of it is given in Natural History by Pliny the Elder, and it is also known through the Peutinger Map.

Location

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Plan of the central Campus Martius

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Martial's Epigrams Book Two. Translated by Williams, Craig A. Oxford University Press. 2004. p. 70. ISBN 9780195348200. OCLC 59713644. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  2. ^ Duff, James Duff, ed. (1932). D. Ivnii Ivvenalis Satvrae XIV. Fourteen satires of Juvenal. University of Michigan: The University Press. p. 223. OCLC 164922. Satvrae XIV. Fourteen satires at the Internet Archive
  3. ^ "www.quondam.com/e28/2897.htm". www.quondam.com.
  4. ^ Rodriguez, Connie (1992). "The Porticus Vipsania and Contemporary Poetry". Latomus. 51 (1): 79–93. JSTOR 41536195.
  5. ^ a b Bianchetti, Serena; Cataudella, Michele; Gehrke, Hans-Joachim (2015). Brill's Companion to Ancient Geography: The Inhabited World in Greek and Roman Tradition. Brill's Companions in Classical Studies. BRILL. p. 219. ISBN 9789004284715.
  6. ^ Reinhold, Meyer (1933). Marcus Agrippa. Studia historica. Vol. 16. University of Michigan: Humphrey Press. p. 136.
  7. ^ "Lacus Curtius Porticus Vipsania (Platner & Ashby, 1929)". penelope.uchicago.edu.
  8. ^ Swan, Peter Michael (2004). The Augustan Succession: An Historical Commentary on Cassius Dio's Roman History Books 55-56 (9 B.C.-A.D. 14). Oxford University Press. p. 76. ISBN 9780195347142.
  9. ^ Bianchetti, Serena; Cataudella, Michele; Gehrke, Hans-Joachim (2015). Brill's Companion to Ancient Geography: The Inhabited World in Greek and Roman Tradition. Brill's Companions in Classical Studies. BRILL. p. 221. ISBN 9789004284715.
  10. ^ Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. Vol. 63. University of Chicago: Royal Irish Academy. 1963. p. 151.
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