which Strabo thus describes: "The plain, adorned by nature and art, is
of wonderful extent, and affords an ample and a clear space for the
running of chariots, and other equestrian and gymnastic exercises. It
is in verdant bloom throughout the year, and is crowned by hills which
rise above the Tiber and slope down to its very banks. The whole
affords a picturesque and beautiful landscape, which you would linger
to behold. Near to this plain is another of less magnitude; and all
around it are innumerable porticoes and shady groves, besides three
theatres, an amphitheatre, and various temples contiguous to each
other, so that the rest of the city appears only an appendage to it."
This lesser plain occupied the space between the Mausoleum of Augustus
and the Theatre of Marcellus--the plain from the tomb to the modern
Ponte Molle. "Sylla's monument stood in the Campus Martius"
(Plutarch).
_Just past the bridge, a street on the left, by the side of the
Borghese Palace, leads to the entrance of_