Location Lazio Surface area 1.67 km (0.64 sq mi) Surface elevation 325 m | Basin countries Italy Max. depth 33 m (108 ft) Area 167 ha | |
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Similar Lake Albano, Nemi ships, Roman Castles, Alban Hills, Lake Bracciano | ||
The cradle of lake nemi near rome in the lazio region of italy
Lake Nemi (Italian: Lago di Nemi, Latin: Nemorensis Lacus, also called Diana's Mirror, Latin: Speculum Dianae) is a small circular volcanic lake in the Lazio region of Italy 30 km (19 mi) south of Rome, taking its name from Nemi, the largest town in the area, that overlooks it from a height.
Contents
- The cradle of lake nemi near rome in the lazio region of italy
- Map of Lake Nemi Rome Italy
- Archaeology and historyEdit
- The lake in art and literatureEdit
- References
Map of Lake Nemi, Rome, Italy
Archaeology and historyEdit
The lake is most famous for its sunken Roman ships. These ships were very large and technologically advanced for their time.
The lake was sacred to the goddess Diana and the site of the festival Nemoralia. Near the sanctuary of Diana were found a number of diminutive bronze statues of draped women and men, each holding libation bowls and incense boxes. Four of these figures are now in the British Museum's collection. Emperors Caligula and Tiberius sailed Lake Nemi not merely to cool off in summer, but to assert themselves as Nemorensis, rulers aligning with the Stars, wedded to Earth's perpetual life-force.
At the Hotel Diana, on the Western edge of the crater at Via Nemorense, there is a fine exhibit of the archeological excavation of the late 1920s, which exposed the enormous structure which Caligula built.