Lacus Curtius - Roma, Italy - Ancient Roman Civilization on Waymarking.com

The Lacus Curtius is on the Roman forum a place surrounded by a trellis fence, where are located a rounded well "puteal" and several altars. A marble relief probably dating from the time of Caesar was discovered nearby in 1553, it represents the hero Marcus Curtius throwing himself in the abyss.

The Lacus Curtius ("Lake of Curtius") was a mysterious pit or pool in the ground in the Forum Romanum. The area where the Forum would later be built was originally likely a lake, as the area it was in is known to have been surrounded by brooks and marshes. One part of the area was never drained, but gradually became smaller until only a basin, known as the Lacus Curtius, was left. Its nature and significance in Rome's early history is uncertain, and several conflicting stories exist about its history.

The most popular story (~362 BCE) was of a myth glorifying the nation: Rome was endangered when a great chasm opened on the Forum. An oracle told the people that they were to throw into the chasm "that what constituted the greatest strength of the Roman people," and that if they did the Roman nation would last forever. After dropping many things into the ravine without result, a young horseman named Marcus Curtius saved the city by realizing that it was youth that the Romans held most dear. He jumped in, in full armour on his horse, whereupon the earth closed over him and Rome was saved. The story, though clearly epic in nature, was likely a copy of another very similar Greek story concerning king Midas.

Marcus Curtius' self sacrifice has been a popular theme since the Renaissance, depicted by Paolo Veronese, Lucas Cranach the Elder and many others.

Source: Wikipedia (visit link)

Most Relevant Historical Period: Roman Empire > 27 B.C. Admission Fee: €12 Opening days/times: Every day: 8:30am until one hour before sunset; 25 December and 1 January: closed Web Site: [Web Link] Condition: Some remaining traces (ruins) or pieces

Visit Instructions:
A complete sentence or two or an uploaded photo taken by the waymarker will be required in the log to confirm that the logger is participating in the hobby in good faith. Logs of only a few words like "Visited it" without an original photo are subject to deletion.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log User Rating   09/12/2014 Becktracker visited it