Please sign in to post.

Tarpeian Rock today?

A book I'm reading mentions that the Tarpeian Rock, which overlooks the Forum in Rome, was used to execute criminals for bearing false witness by throwing them off the cliff.

Does anyone have recent experience or photos of this Tarpeian Rock they can share? What does it look like today, and how can I orient myself if I'm thinking about the balcony from the Capitoline museum looking out at the preserved ruins of the Forum?

I looked at the historical articles online and see that it's been built on several times over the millennia, not least by the big temple to Jupiter, and that one of the last famous people executed there, from the 1st century Great Revolt in Jerusalem, is listed on a plaque at the Mamertine prison, but the most recent photo is from 2008, where it appears nowadays that if the fall didn't kill you, the Vespa traffic would finish you off. :-)

Posted by
2417 posts

Thanks for the link, Joe - while I was there at Google Maps, I walked the street view of the road up the rock, and you can see two women in shorts carrying the Rick Steves guidebook along the edge, ha.
Usually when I get to the big architectural wedding cake, I go around the other side towards the colosseum, so I've missed out on this little neighborhood.