Lake Nemi

Lake Nemi
Lake Nemi
Lago di Nemi
Panoramic view
Location Lazio
Coordinates 41°42′44″N 12°42′09″E / 41.71222°N 12.7025°E / 41.71222; 12.7025
Basin countries Italy
Surface area 1.67 km2 (0.64 sq mi)
Max. depth 33 m (108 ft)
Surface elevation 325 m (1,066 ft)

Lake Nemi (Italian: Lago di Nemi, Latin: Nemorensis Lacus) 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

Archaeology and history

The lake is most famous for its sunken Roman ships. These ships were very large and technologically advanced for their time.

The lake is sacred to the goddess Diana and the site of the festival Nemoralia. 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 had ordered built.

The lake in art and literature

Painting by John Robert Cozens (c. 1777)
  • Lake Nemi is also a painting by American artist George Inness.
  • Muriel Spark's 1976 novel The Takeover is set in three fictitious villas overlooking Lake Nemi.
  • Lake Nemi inspired the first name of Norwegian comic character Nemi Montoya.

References

See also

External links


Coordinates: 41°42′44″N 12°42′09″E / 41.71222°N 12.7025°E / 41.71222; 12.7025


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  • Nemi — For the Norwegian comic strip, see Nemi (comic strip). Nemi   Comune   Comune di Nemi …   Wikipedia

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  • Rex Nemorensis — The rex Nemorensis , (Latin: the king of Nemi or the king of the grove ) was a sort of sacred king who served as priest of the goddess Diana at Aricia in Italy, by the shores of Lake Nemi. A priest who slew his predecessorSurviving lore… …   Wikipedia

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