_From the Piazza del Popolo, a sloping, winding road leads up to_ the
favourite promenade of the Romans and Forestieri, who stroll and drive
here every day, and listen to a military band by which the place is
enlivened in the afternoons. _Ascending_, its terraces are
interspersed with fountains and statues, and there is a fine large
bas-relief on the wall opposite the two columnæ rostratæ adorned with
the prows of ships. The name of the hill is derived from the Pincii
family, whose estates were upon it towards the close of the empire. It
was formerly known as the Hill of Gardens, from those of Lucullus,
which passed to Valerius Asiaticus, and were coveted by Messalina. It
abounds in walks and shady nooks, interspersed with fountains and the
busts of Italia's great men. The side farthest from the city
overlooks the Villa Borghese. At the extreme corner is a fragment of
the old wall of Sylla--Muro Torto. From the terrace the scene below,
in the piazza, is quite a study:--beyond is the winding Tiber and its
round fortress of S. Angelo, the roof of the Pantheon, the columns of
Aurelius and Trajan, the Capitol and Milizie Towers, and the Quirinal
Palace; whilst between Monti Mario and the Janiculum is the world's
cathedral, with its vast dome towering high above all: this dome is
best seen at a distance, where the eye can embrace its full
proportions, for immediate proximity dwarfs its immensity.
_In the centre of the grounds is_