The nymphaeum and its adjoining cisterns on the Palatine form a functional part of the hill's ancient water system, supplied by branches of the Aqua Claudia that fed imperial gardens and fountains. The cisterns served as settling chambers, where water was collected and clarified before distribution, and the nymphaeum marked the transition from utility to display — a point at which stored water became part of the palace landscape. Their position on the southern slope reflects the Palatine's terraced design, with service structures below and representative spaces above, including the nearby stadium of Domitian. These installations show the practical side of the imperial hill: the technical infrastructure that allowed the palaces, gardens and decorative water features to operate seamlessly.
Rome rises on seven hills, and this walk takes us across two of its most revealing ones — Esquiline and Palatine. The Esquiline, once the city’s eastern edge, still carries traces of imperial gardens, hidden nymphaea, magical gates, and traditions that survived the fall of the empire. The Palatine, the hill of the emperors, preserves stadiums, palaces, terraces and views where the entire history of Rome — Republic, Empire, Middle Ages, Baroque and modern Italy — lies in a single panorama. Along the way, we meet the monuments, streets and layers we uncovered in this journey: the baths of Trajan, the Domus Aurea beneath the grass, the Palatine stadium, the Forum’s arches and temples, and the buildings that reshaped Rome across two millennia. And we pause for something timeless: a pastry shop on the Esquiline that has kept its flavours unchanged for more than a century — a taste of Rome as constant as its stones.
