Argiletum

Argiletum

View of the Curia Julia, with the remains of the Argiletum, beneath Medieval layers, in the foreground.
Argiletum Shown within Rome
Location	Rome, Italy

The Argiletum (Latin Argīlētum; Italian: Argileto) was a street in ancient Rome, which crossed the popular district of Suburra up to the Roman Forum, along the route of the current Via Leonina and Via della Madonna dei Monti.

On its eastern side, towards the Esquiline Hill, it branched off into the Vicus Patricius (now Via Urbana), which continued towards Porta Viminale, and the Clivus Suburanus (now Via in Selci), which climbed up to Porta Esquilina. On the western side, towards the Forum, it ended between the Basilica Aemilia and the Curia, but during the imperial age the first stretch was replaced by the Forum of Nerva, which however maintained a function of passageway and for this reason was also known as Forum Transitorium.

The name of the street could derive from the clay (Latin Argilla) carried by the waters that descended from the surrounding hills and then conveyed into the Cloaca Maxima. However, Varro claimed that the etymology of the term was connected with the name of a Greek scoundrel (see below).^[1][2]

The Argiletum was the street of the booksellers and is mentioned by many ancient authors such as Horace, Martial and Seneca, who have also handed down the names of their trusted suppliers.