Salvator Rosa was fond of splendor and ostentatious display. He courted
admiration from whatever source it could be obtained, and even sought it
by means to which the frivolous and the vain are supposed alone to
resort. He is described, therefore, as returning to Rome, from which he
had made so perilous and furtive an escape, in a showy and pompous
equipage, with "servants in rich liveries, armed with silver hafted
swords, and otherwise well accoutred." The beautiful Lucrezia, as "sua
Governante," accompanied him, and the little Rosalvo gave no scandal in
a society where the instructions of religion substitute license for
legitimate indulgence. Immediately on his arrival in Rome, Salvator
fixed upon one of the loveliest of her hills for his residence, and
purchased a handsome house upon the Monte Pincio, on the Piazza della
Trinità del Monte--"which," says Pascoli, "he furnished with noble and
rich furniture, establishing himself on the great scale, and in a lordly
manner." A site more favorable than the Pincio, for a man of Salvator's
taste and genius, could scarcely be imagined, commanding at once within
the scope of its vast prospect, picturesque views, and splendid
monuments of the most important events in the history of man--the
Capitol and the Campus Martius, the groves of the Quirinal and the
cupola of St. Peter's, the ruined palaces of the Cæsars, and sumptuous
villas of the sons of the reigning church. Such was then, as now, the
range of unrivalled objects which the Pincio commanded; but the noble
terrace smoothed over its acclivities, which recalled the memory of
Aurelian and the feast of Belisarius, presented at that period a far
different aspect from that which it now offers. Everything in this
enchanting sight was then fresh and splendid; the halls of the Villa
Medici, which at present only echo to the steps of a few French students
or English travelers, were then the bustling and splendid residence of
the old intriguing Cardinal Carlo de Medici, called the Cardinal of
Tuscany, whose followers and faction were perpetually going to and fro,
mingling their showy uniforms and liveries with the sober vestments of
the neighboring monks of the convent della Trinità! The delicious groves
and gardens of the Villa de Medici then covered more than two English
miles, and amidst cypress shades and shrubberies, watered by clear
springs, and reflected in translucent fountains, stood exposed to public
gaze all that now form the most precious treasures of the Florentine
Gallery--the Niobe, the Wrestlers, the Apollo, the Vase, and above all,
the Venus of Venuses, which has derived its distinguishing appellation
from these gardens, of which it was long the boast and ornament.