Palatine Hill — Where Rome Was BornRoman Mythology

In Roman mythology, the twins Romulus and Remus were the sons of Mars (god of war) and Rhea Silvia (a Vestal Virgin). Their great-uncle Amulius, who had usurped the throne of Alba Longa, ordered the infants drowned in the Tiber. Instead, they were carried downstream and washed ashore at the foot of the Palatine Hill, where a she-wolf (the Lupa) found and nursed them in a cave called the Lupercal.

Raised by shepherds, the twins grew to manhood, killed Amulius, and decided to found a new city. They disagreed on the location: Romulus favored the Palatine, Remus the Aventine. They consulted the gods through augury (watching the flight of birds). Romulus saw twelve vultures, Remus only six. Romulus began plowing the sacred furrow (pomerium) to mark Rome's boundary on April 21, 753 BCE. When Remus mockingly jumped over the incomplete wall, Romulus killed him — establishing the principle that Rome's boundary was inviolable.

The Palatine became the most prestigious residential district in Rome. Augustus was born there and chose it as his imperial residence, establishing a pattern that gave us the word 'palace' (from Palatium).

The Palatine Hill is the centermost of Rome's seven hills, rising 130 feet above the Roman Forum to the north and the Circus Maximus to the south. It is one of the most ancient parts of the city, with evidence of habitation from around 1000 BCE.

Today the hill is an archaeological park: the ruins of Augustus' relatively modest house (with well-preserved wall paintings), Domitian's vast Domus Flavia, the Farnese Gardens (Renaissance gardens built over the ruins), and the Stadium of Domitian. The views over the Forum and toward the Colosseum are among the best in Rome.

In 2007, archaeologists announced the discovery of a grotto beneath Augustus' palace that they identified as the Lupercal — the legendary cave where the she-wolf nursed Romulus and Remus. The vaulted chamber, decorated with mosaics and a white eagle, was found during restoration work. The identification remains debated, but the location matches ancient literary descriptions.

Archaeological evidence confirms that the Palatine was inhabited from at least the 10th century BCE, roughly consistent with the traditional founding date of 753 BCE. Iron Age hut foundations discovered on the hill in the 1940s are traditionally called the 'Hut of Romulus,' though the connection to the mythological founder is unprovable. What is clear is that the Romans themselves believed absolutely in the Palatine as the site of their origin.