showing that it came from the Palatine Hill. At the end of the nave
are two Gothic ambones with mosaic work. The altar urn of red porphyry
formerly, it is said, contained the body of Constantine's mother. This
church is rendered famous as being the place where, on the 15th of
October 1764, Gibbon "sat musing amidst the ruins of the Capitol, and
conceived the idea of writing the 'Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire.'"
[Illustration: VIEW OF THE CAPITOL.]
The church is the residence of the celebrated Santissimo Bambino,
carved out of a tree from the Mount of Olives, and painted by S. Luke.
This image is highly decorated with jewellery, and has a two-horse
carriage at its disposal, with coachmen and footmen, when it pays a
visit to the sick. "As thy faith, so be it unto thee." Apply at the
sacristy to see it. The floor of the church is of the kind called
_opus-Alexandrinum_, tesselated mosaic, and slab tombs of medieval
period. A grand ceremony is held here on Christmas day, and at the
Epiphany children recite the story of Christ.
In the left transept an isolated octagonal chapel, dedicated to S.
Helena, is said by the church authorities to stand on the site of an
altar erected by Augustus--_Ara primogeniti Dei_--to commemorate the
Cumæan sibyl's prophecy of the coming of the Saviour. Its present name
is traceable to this altar. Some traces of Gothic can be seen in the
walls and windows of this church, which stands on the site of