A handsome gallery with paintings by _Marchetti_ and _De Angelis_,
adorned with porphyry busts of the twelve Cæsars.
32. Bronze statue of a boy.
_6th Room._--
IN THE CENTRE:
A Greek poet, probably Alcæus.
7. The Hermaphrodite; found near Sta. Maria Vittoria.
_7th Room._--
IN THE CENTRE:
Boy on a Dolphin.
"D'autres statues peuvent dériver de la grande composition maritime
de Scopas. Tel est la Palémon, assis sur un dauphin, de la villa
Borghese, d'après lequel a été évidemment conçu le Jonas de
l'église de Sainte-Marie du Peuple, qu'on attribue à
Raphaël."--_Ampère, Hist. Rom._ iii. 284.
_8th Room._--
1. Dancing Satyr.
The _Upper Story_, reached by a winding staircase from the Galleria,
contains:
_1st Room._--Three fine works by _Bernini_.
David with the sling: executed in his 18th year.
Apollo and Daphne.
Æneas carrying off Anchises: executed when the sculptor was only 15
years old.
_2nd Room._--
Filled with a collection of portraits, for the most part unknown.
Worthy of attention are the portraits of Paul V. by _Caravaggio_,
and of his father Marc-Antonio Borghese, attributed to _Guido_;
also the busts of Paul V. and of Cardinal Scipio Borghese, who
built the villa, by _Bernini_.
_5th Room._--
Statue of Princess Pauline Borghese, sister of Napoleon I., by
_Canova_, as Venus Victrix.
"Canova esteemed his statue of the Princess Borghese as one of his
best works. No one else could have an opportunity of judging of it,
for the prince, who certainly was not jealous of his wife's person,
was so jealous of her statue, that he kept it locked up in a room
in the Borghese Palace, of which he kept the key, and not a human
being, not even Canova himself, could get access to it."--_Eaton's
Rome._
Canova took Chantrey to see this statue by night, wishing, as was
his wont, to show it by the light of a single taper. Chantrey,
wishing to do honour to the artist, insisted upon holding the taper
for the best light himself, which gave rise to Moore's lines:
"When he, thy peer in art and fame,
Hung o'er the marble with delight;
And while his ling'ring hand would steal
O'er every grace the taper's rays,
Gave thee, with all the generous zeal
Such master-spirits only feel,
The best of fame--a rival's praise!"
In the upper part of the grounds, not far from the walls of Rome, stood
the Villa Olgiati, once the _Villa of Raphael_. It contained three rooms
ornamented with frescoes from the hand of the great master. The best of
these are now preserved in a room at the end of the gallery in the
Borghese Palace. The villa was destroyed during the siege of Rome in
1849, when many of the fine old trees were cut down on this side of the
grounds.
"The Casino of Raphael was unfurnished, except with casks of wine,
and uninhabited, except by a _contadina_. The chamber which was the
bedroom of Raphael was entirely adorned with the work of his own
hands. It was a small pleasant apartment, looking out on a little
green lawn, fenced in with trees irregularly planted. The walls
were covered with arabesques, in various whimsical and beautiful
designs--such as the sports of children; Loves balancing themselves
on poles, or mounted on horseback, full of glee and mirth; Fauns
and Satyrs; Mercury and Minerva; flowers and curling tendrils, and
every beautiful composition that could suggest itself to a classic
imagination in its most sportive mood. The cornice was supported by
painted Caryatides. The coved roof was adorned with four
medallions, containing portraits of his mistress, the Fornarina--it
seemed as if he took pleasure in multiplying that beloved object,
so that wherever his eyes turned her image might meet them. There
were three other paintings, one representing a Terminus with a
target before it, and a troop of men shooting at it with bows and
arrows which they had stolen from unsuspecting Cupid, lying asleep
on the ground. The second represented a figure, apparently a god,
seated at the foot of a couch, with an altar before him, in a
temple or rotunda, and from the gardens which appeared in
perspective through its open intercolumniations, were seen
advancing a troop of gay young nymphs, bearing vases full of roses
upon their heads.[369] ... The last and best of these paintings
represented the nuptials of Alexander the Great and
Roxana."--_Eaton's Rome._
Just outside the Porta del Popolo, a small gate on the left of the Villa
Borghese leads to the _Villa Esmeade_,--the property of an
Englishman,--of considerable extent, and possessing beautiful views of
Rome and the Sabine mountains from its heights, which are adorned with a
few ancient statues and vases.
Unpleasantly situated near the gate of the Villa Borghese is the
Pig-market. Fortunately the manner of pig-killing at Rome is not so
noisy as that in northern countries. The throats of the animals are not
cut, but they are pierced under the left shoulder with a long pointed
bodkin, which kills them almost instantly--no blood flowing. In a very
few minutes a whole pen-full of pigs can be stilettoed in this
manner--indeed, for any one interested in farming matters, the slaughter
of the Roman pigs is a sight worth seeing.
We now enter upon the ugly dusty road which leads in a straight line to
the Milvian Bridge. By this road the last triumphal procession entered
Rome--that of the Emperor Honorius and Stilicho (described by the poet
Claudian) in A.D. 403--a whole century having then elapsed since the
Romans had beheld their last triumph--that of Diocletian.
Under the line of hills (Monte Parioli) on the right of the road are the
_Catacombs of St. Valentine_. On the other side, the same hills are
undermined by the _Catacombs of SS. Gianutus and Basilla_.
Half a mile from the gate, rises conspicuously on the right of the road
the _Casino of Papa Giulio_, with picturesque overhanging cornices and
sculptured fountain. The courtyard has a quaint cloister. This is the
"Villino," and, far behind, but formerly connected with it by a long
corridor, is the _Villa of Papa Giulio_, containing several rooms with
very richly decorated ceilings, painted by _Taddeo Zucchero_. Michael
Angelo was consulted by the pope as to the building of this villa, and
Vasari made drawings for it, but "the actual architect was Vignola, a
modest genius, who had to suffer severely, together with all his
fellow-workmen, from the tracasseries of the pope's favourite, the
bishop Aliotti, whom the less-enduring Michael Angelo was wont to
nickname Monsignor Tante Cose."
"The villa of Papa Giulio is still visited by the stranger.
Restored to the presence of those times, he ascends the spacious
steps to the gallery, whence he overlooks the whole extent of Rome,
from Monte Mario, with all the windings of the Tiber. The building
of this palace, the laying out of its gardens, were the daily
occupation of Pope Julius III. The place was designed by himself,
but was never completed: every day brought with it some new
suggestion or caprice, which the architects must at once set
themselves to realize. This pontiff desired to forward the
interests of his family; but he was not inclined to involve himself
in dangerous perplexities on their account. The pleasant blameless
life of his villa was that which was best suited to him. He gave
entertainments, which he enlivened with proverbial and other modes
of expression, that sometimes mingled blushes with the smiles of
his guests. In the important affairs of the Church and State, he
took no other share than was absolutely inevitable. This Pope
Julius died March 23, 1555."--_Ranke's Hist. of the Popes._
"C'est uniquement comme protecteur des arts et comme prince
magnifique que nous pouvons envisager Jules III. Sa mauvaise santé
lui faisait rechercher le repos et les douceurs d'une vie grande et
libre. Aussi avait-il fait édifier avec une sorte de tendresse
paternelle cette belle _villa_, qui est célèbre, dans l'histoire de
l'art, sous le nom de Vigne de pape Jules. Michel-Ange, Vasari,
Vignole en avaient dessiné les profils; les nymphées et les
fontaines étaient d'Ammanati; les peintures de Taddeo Zuccari. Du
haut d'une galerie élégante on découvrait les sept collines, et
d'ombreuses allées, tracées par Jules III., égaraient les pas du
vieillard dans ce dédale de tertres et de vallées qui sépare le
pont où périt Maxence de la ville éternelle."--_Gournerie, Rome
Chrétienne_, ii. 172.
Pope Julius used to come hither, with all his court, from the Vatican by
water. The richly-decorated barge, filled with venerable ecclesiastics,
gliding between the osier-fringed banks of the yellow Tiber, with its
distant line of churches and palaces, would make a fine subject for a
picture.
Nearly opposite the Casino Papa Giulio, on the further bank of the
Tiber, is the picturesque classic _Villa of Claude Lorraine_, whither he
was wont to retire during the summer months, residing in the winter in
the Tempietto at the head of the Trinità steps. This villa is best seen
from the walk by the river-side, which is reached by turning at once to
the left on coming out of the Porta del Popolo. Hence it makes a good
foreground to the view of the city and distant heights of the Janiculan.
"This road is called 'Poussin's Walk,' because the great painter
used to go along it from Rome to his villa near Ponte Molle. One
sees here an horizon such as one often finds in Poussin's
pictures."--_Frederika Bremer._
Close to the Villa Papa Giulio is the tunnel called _Arco Oscuro_,
passing which, a steep lane with a beautiful view towards St. Peter's,
ascends between the hillsides of the Monte Parione, and descends on the
other side (following the turn to the right) to the Tiber bank, about
two miles from Rome, where is situated the _Acqua Acetosa_, a refreshing
mineral spring like seltzer water, enclosed in a fountain erected by
Bernini for Alexander VII. There is a lovely view from hence across the
Campagna in the direction of Fidenæ (Castel Giubeleo) and the Tor di
Quinto.
"A green hill, one of those bare table-lands so common in the
Campagna, rises on the right. Ascend it to where a broad furrow in
the slope seems to mark the site of an ancient road. You are on a
plateau, almost quadrangular in form, rising steeply to the height
of nearly two hundred feet above the Tiber, and isolated, save at
one angle, where it is united to other high ground by a narrow
isthmus. Not a tree--not a shrub on its turf-grown surface--not a
house--not a ruin--not one stone upon another, to tell you that the
site had been inhabited. Yet here once stood Antemnæ, the city of
many towers,[370] one of the most ancient of Italy![371] Not a
trace remains above ground. Even the broken pottery, that
infallible indicator of bygone civilisation, which marks the site
and determines the limits of habitation on many a now desolate spot
of classic ground, is here so overgrown with herbage that the eye
of an antiquary would alone detect it. It is a site strong by
nature, and well adapted for a city, as cities then were; for it is
scarcely larger than the Palatine Hill, which, though at first it
embraced the whole of Rome, was afterwards too small for a single
palace. It has a peculiar interest as one of the three cities of
Sabina,[372] whose daughters, ravished by the followers of Romulus,
became the mothers of the Roman race. Antemnæ was the nearest city
to Rome--only three miles distant--and therefore must have suffered
most from the inhospitable violence of the Romans."--_Dennis'
Cities of Etruria_, ch. iii.
There is a walk--rather dangerous for carriages--by the river, from
hence, to the Ponte Molle. Here Miss Bathurst was drowned by being
thrown from her horse into the Tiber.
The river bank presents a series of picturesque views, though the yellow
Tiber in no way reminds us of Virgil's description:
"Cæruleus Tybris cœlo gratissimus amnis."
_Æn._ viii. 64.
Continuing to follow the main road, on the left is the round _Church of
St. Andrew_, with a Doric portico, built by Vignola, in 1527, to
commemorate the deliverance of Clement VII. from the Germans.
Further, on the right, is another _Chapel in honour of St. Andrew's
Head_.
"One of the most curious instances of relique worship occurred here
in the reign of Æneas Sylvius, Pope Pius II. The head of St. Andrew
was brought in stately procession from the fortress of Narni,
whither, as the Turks invaded the Morea, it had been brought for
safety from Patras. It was intended that the most glorious heads of
St. Peter and St. Paul should go forth to meet that of their
brother apostle. But the mass of gold which enshrined, the cumbrous
iron which protected these reliques, was too heavy to be moved; so,
without them, the pope, the cardinals, the whole population of
Rome, thronged forth to the meadows near the Milvian Bridge. The
pope made an eloquent address to the head, a hymn was sung
entreating the saint's aid in the discomfiture of the Turks. It
rested that day on the altar of Santa Maria del Popolo, and was
then conveyed through the city, decorated with all splendour, to
St. Peter's. Cardinal Bessarion preached a sermon, and the head was
deposited with those of his brother apostles under the
high-altar_."--Milman's Latin Christianity._
A mile and a half from the gate, the Tiber is crossed by the _Ponte
Molle_, built by Pius VII. in 1815, on the site and foundations of the
Pons Milvius, which was erected B.C. 109 by the Censor M. Æmilius
Scaurus. It was here that, on the night of December 3, B.C. 63, Cicero
captured the emissaries of the Allobrogi, who were engaged in the
conspiracy of Catiline. Hence, on October 27, A.D. 312, Maxentius was
thrown into the river and drowned after his defeat by Constantine at the
Saxa Rubra. It was on this occasion that the seven-branched candlestick
of Jerusalem was dropped into the river, where it has probably ever
since been embedded. The statues of Our Saviour and John the Baptist, at
the further entrance of the bridge, are by _Mochi_.
Here are a number of taverns and _Trattorie_, much frequented by the
lower ranks of the Roman people, and for which especial open omnibuses
run from the Porta del Popolo. Similar places of public amusement seem
to have existed here from imperial times. Ovid describes the people
coming out hither in troops by the Via Flaminia to celebrate the fête of
Anna Perenna, an old woman who supplied the plebs with cakes during the
retreat to the Mons Sacer, but who afterwards, from a similitude of
names, was confounded with Anna, sister of Dido.
"Idibus est Annæ festum geniale Perennæ,
Haud procul a ripis, advena Tibri, tuis.
Plebs venit, ac virides passim disjecta per herbas
Potat; et accumbit cum pare quisque sua.
Sub Jove pars durat; pauci tentoria ponunt;
Sunt, quibus e ramo frondea facta casa est:
Pars, ubi pro rigidis calamos statuere columnis,
Desuper extentas imposuere togas.
Sole tamen vinoque calent; annosque precantur,
Quot sumant cyathos, ad numerumque bibunt.
Inventes illic, qui Nestoris ebibat annos:
Quæ sit per calices facta Sibylla suos.
Illic et cantant, quidquid didicere theatris,
Et jactant faciles ad sua verba manus:
Et ducunt posito duras cratere choreas,
Multaque diffusis saltat amica comis.
Quum redeunt, titubant, et sunt spectacula vulgo,
Et fortunatos obvia turba vocat.
Occurri nuper. Visa est mihi digna relatu
Pompa: senem potum pota trahebat anus."
_Fast._ iii. 523.
Here three roads meet. That on the right is the old Via Flaminia, begun
B.C. 220 by C. Flaminius the censor. This was the great northern road of
Italy, which, issuing from the city by the Porta Ratumena, which was
close to the tomb of Bibulus, followed a line a little east of the
modern Corso, and passed the Aurelian wall by the Porta Flaminia, near
the present Porta del Popolo. It extended to Ariminum (Rimini), a
distance of 210 miles.[373]
(Following this road for about 1½ mile, on the left are the ruins
called _Tor di Quinto_. A little further on the right of the road are
some tufa-rocks, with an injured tomb of the Nasones. Following the
valley under these rocks to the left we reach (1½ mile) the fine
_Castle of Crescenza_, now a farm-*house, picturesquely situated on a
rocky knoll,--once inhabited by Poussin, and reproduced in the
background of many of his pictures. In the interior are some remains of
ancient frescoes.
On this road, seven miles from Rome, is Prima Porta, where are the ruins
of the _Villa of Livia_, wife of Augustus, and mother of Tiberius. When
first opened, several small rooms in the villa, supposed to be baths,
were covered with frescoes and arabesques in a state of the most
marvellous beauty and preservation, but they are now greatly injured by
damp and exposure. From the character of the paintings, a trellis-*work
of fruit and flowers, amid which birds and insects are sporting, it is
supposed that they are the work of Ludius, described in Pliny, who "divi
Augusti ætate primus instituit amœnissimam parietum picturam, villas
et porticus ac topiaria opera, lucos, nemora ... blandissimo aspectu
minimoque impendio." It was here that the magnificent statue of
Augustus, now in the Braccio Nuovo of the Vatican, was discovered in
1863.
"What Augustus's affection for Livia was, is well known. 'Preserve
the remembrance of a husband who has loved you very tenderly,' were
the last words of the emperor, as he lay on his death-bed. And when
asked how she contrived to retain his affection, Dion Cassius tells
us that she replied, 'My secret is very simple: I have made it the
study of my life to please him, and I have never manifested any
indiscreet curiosity with regard to his public or private
affairs.'"--_Weld._
Just beyond this, the Tiber receives the little river _Valca_,
considered to be identical with the Crimera. Hither the devoted clan of
the Fabii, 4000 in number, retired from Rome, having offered to sustain,
at their own cost and risk, the war which Rome was then carrying on
against Veii. Here, because they felt a position within the city
untenable on account of the animosity of their fellow-patricians, which
had been excited by their advocacy of the agrarian law, and their
popularity with the plebeians, they established themselves on a hillock
overhanging the river, which they fortified, and where they dwelt for
three years. At the end of that time the Veiientines, by letting loose
herds of cattle like the _Vaccine_, which one still sees wandering in
that part of the Campagna, drew them into an ambuscade, and they were
all cut off to a man. According to Dionysius, a portion of the little
army remained to guard the fort, and the rest fled to another hill,
perhaps that now known as Vaccareccia. These were the last to be
exterminated.
"They fought from dawn to sunset. The enemy slain by their hand
formed heaps of corpses which barred their passage."--They were
summoned to surrender, but they preferred to die.--"The people of
Veii showered arrows and stones upon them from a distance, not
daring to approach them again. The arrows fell like thick snow. The
Fabii, with swords blunted by force of striking, with bucklers
broken, continued to fight, snatching fresh swords from the hands
of the enemy, and rushing upon them with the ferocity of wild
beasts."--_Dionysius_, ix. 21.
A little beyond this, ten miles from Rome, is the stream _Scannabecchi_,
which descends from the Crustuminian Hills, and is identical with the
Allia, "infaustum Allia nomen," where the Romans were (B.C. 390)
entirely defeated with great slaughter by the Gauls, before the capture
of the city, in which the aged senators were massacred at the doors of
their houses.
It was in the lands lying between the villa of Livia and the Tiber that
_Saxa Rubra_[374] was situated, where Constantine (A.D. 312) gained his
decisive victory over Maxentius, who, while attempting to escape over
the Milvian Bridge, was pushed by the throng of fugitives into the
Tiber, and perished, engulfed in the mud. The scene is depicted in the
famous fresco of Giulio Romano, in the stanze of the Vatican.
On the opposite side of the river, Castel Giubeleo, on the site of the
Etruscan Fidenæ, is a conspicuous object.)
(The direct road from the Ponte Molle is the ancient _Via Cassia_, which
must be followed for some distance by those who make the interesting
excursions to Veii, Galera, and Bracciano, each easily within the
compass of a day's expedition. On the left of this road, three miles
from Rome, is the fine sarcophagus of Publius Vibius Maximus and his
wife Regina Maxima, popularly known as "Nero's Tomb.")
Following the road to the left of the Ponte Molle, we turn up a steep
incline to the deserted _Villa Madama_, built by Giulio Romano, from
designs of Raphael for Cardinal Giulio de' Medici, afterwards Clement
VII. It derives its name from Margaret of Austria, daughter of Charles
V., and wife, first of Alessandro de' Medici, and then of Ottavio
Farnese, duke of Parma; from this second marriage, it descended through
Elisabetta Farnese, to the Bourbon kings of Naples. The neglected halls
contain some fresco decorations by _Giulio Romano_ and _Giovanni da
Udine_.
"They consist of a series of beautiful little pictures,
representing the sports of Satyrs and Loves; Juno, attended by her
peacocks; Jupiter and Ganymede; and various subjects of mythology
and fable. The paintings in the portico have been of first-rate
excellence; and I cannot but regret, that designs so beautiful
should not be engraved before their last traces disappear for ever.
A deep fringe on one of the deserted chambers, representing angels,
flowers, Caryatides, &c., by Giulio Romano; and also a fine fresco
on a ceiling, by Giovanni da Udine, of Phœbus driving his
heavenly steeds, are in somewhat better preservation.
"It was in the groves that surrounded Villa Madama, that the Pastor
Fido of Guarini was represented for the first time before a
brilliant circle of princes and nobles, such as these scenes will
see no more, and Italy itself could not now produce."--_Eaton's
Rome._
The frescoes and arabesques executed here by Giovanni da Udine were
considered at the time as among the most successful of his works. Vasari
says that in these he "wished to be supreme, and to excel himself."
Cardinal de' Medici was so delighted with them that he not only heaped
benefits on all the relations of the painter, but rewarded him with a
rich canonry, which he was allowed to transfer to his brother.
One can scarcely doubt from the description of Martial that this villa
occupies the site of that in which the poet came to visit his friend and
namesake.
"Juli jugera pauca Martialis,
Hortis Hesperidum beatiora,
Longo Janiculi jugo recumbunt.
Lati collibus imminent recessus;
Et planus modico tumore vertex
Cœlo perfruitur sereniore:
Et, curvas nebula tegente valles,
Solus luce nitet peculiari:
Puris leniter admoventur astris
Celsæ culmina delicata villæ.
Hinc septem dominos videre montes,
Et totam licet sestimare Romam."
The Villa Madama is situated on one of the slopes of _Monte Mario_,
which is ascended by a winding carriage-road from near the Porta
Angelica. This hill, in ancient times called Clivus Cinnæ, was in the
middle ages Monte Malo, and is thus spoken of by Dante (Paradiso, xv.
109). Its name changed to Mario, through Mario Mellini, its possessor in
the time of Sixtus V. Passing the two churches of Sta. Maria del Rosario
and Sta. Croce di Monte Mario,[375] we reach a gate with an old
pine-tree. This is the _Villa Mellini_ (for which an order is supposed
to be necessary, though a franc will usually cause the gates to fly
open), which possesses a magnificent view over Rome, from its terraces,
lined with ilexes and cypresses.
"The Monte Mario, like Cooper's Hill, is the highest, boldest, and
most prominent part of the line; it is about the height and
steepness too of Cooper's Hill, and has the Tiber at the foot of
it, like the Thames at Anchorwick. To keep up the resemblance,
there is a sort of terrace at the top of the Monte Mario, planted
with cypresses, and a villa, though dilapidated, crowns the summit,
as well as at our old friend above Egham. Here we stood, on a most
delicious evening, the ilex and the gum-cistus in great profusion
about us, the slope below full of vines and olives, the cypresses
above our heads, and before our eyes all that one has read of in
Roman History--the course of the Tiber between the hills that bound
it, coming down from Fidenæ and receiving the Allia and the Anio;
beyond, the Apennines, the distant and higher summits still quite
white with snow; in front, the Alban Hills; on the right, the
Campagna to the sea; and just beneath us the whole length of Rome,
ancient and modern--St. Peter's and the Coliseum, rising as the
representatives of each--the Pantheon, the Aventine, the Quirinal,
all the well-known objects distinctly laid before us. One may
safely say that the world cannot contain many views of such mingled
beauty and interest as this."--_Dr. Arnold._
"Les maisons de campagne des grands seigneurs donnent l'idée de
cette solitude, de cette indifférence des possesseurs au milieu des
plus admirables séjours du monde. On se promène dans ces immenses
jardins, sans se douter qu'ils aient un maître. L'herbe croît au
milieu des allées; et, dans ces mêmes allées abandonnées, les
arbres sont taillés artistement, selon l'ancien goût qui régnait en
France; singulière bizarrerie que cette négligence du nécessaire,
et cette affectation de l'inutile!"--_Mad. de Staël._
(Behind the Monte Mario, about four miles from Rome, is the church of
_S. Onofrio in Campagna_, with a curious ossuary.)
Just outside the Porta Angelica was the vineyard in which Alexander VI.
died.
"This is the manner in which Pope Alexander VI. came to his death.
"The cardinal datary, Arian de Corneto, having received a gracious
intimation that the pontiff, together with the Duke Valentinos,
designed to come and sup with him at his vineyard, and that his
Holiness would bring the supper with him, the cardinal suspected
that this determination had been taken for the purpose of
destroying his life by poison, to the end that the duke might have
his riches and appointments, the rather as he knew that the pope
had resolved to put him to death by some means, with a view to
seizing his property as I have said,--which was very great.
Considering of the means by which he might save himself, he could
see but one hope of safety--he sent in good time to the pope's
carver, with whom he had a certain intimacy, desiring that he would
come to speak with him; who, when he had come to the said cardinal,
was taken by him into a secret place, where, they two being
retired, the cardinal showed the carver a sum, prepared beforehand,
of 10,000 ducats, in gold, which the said cardinal persuaded the
carver to accept as a gift and to keep for love of him, and after
many words, they were at length accepted, the cardinal offering,
moreover, all the rest of his wealth at his command--for he was a
very rich cardinal, for he said that he could not keep the said
riches by any other means than through the said carver's aid, and
declared to him, 'You know of a certainty what the nature of the
pope is, and I know that he has resolved, with the Duke Valentinos,
to procure my life by poison, through your hand,'--wherefore he
besought the carver to take pity on him, and to give him his life.
And having said this, the carver declared to him the manner in
which it was ordered that the poison should be given to him at the
supper, but being moved to compassion he promised to preserve his
life. Now the orders were that the carver should present three
boxes of sweetmeats, in tablets or lozenges, after the supper, one
to the pope, one to the said cardinal, and another to the duke, and
in that for the cardinal there was poison: and thus being told, the
said cardinal gave directions to the aforesaid carver in what
manner he should serve them, so as to cause that the box of
poisoned confect which was to be for the cardinal, should be placed
before the pope, so that he might eat thereof, and so poison
himself, and die. And the pope being come accordingly with the duke
to supper on the day appointed, the cardinal threw himself at his
feet, kissing them and embracing them closely; then he entreated
his Holiness with most affectionate words, saying, he would never
rise from those feet until his Holiness had granted him a favour.
Being questioned by the pontiff what this favour was, and requested
to rise up, he would first have the grace he demanded, and the
promise of his Holiness to grant it. Now after much persuasion, the
pope remained sufficiently astonished, seeing the perseverance of
the cardinal, and that he would not rise, and promised to grant the
favour. Then the cardinal rose up and said, 'Holy Father, it is not
fitting that when the master comes to the house of his servant, the
servant should eat with his master like an equal (confrezer
parimente),' and therefore the grace he demanded was the just and
honest one, that he, the servant, should wait at the table of his
master; and this favour the pope granted him. Then having come to
supper, and the time for serving the confectionery having arrived,
the carver put the poisoned sweetmeats into the box, according to
the first order given to him by the pope, and the cardinal being
well informed as to which box had no poison, tasted of that one,
and put the poisoned confect before the pope. Then his Holiness,
trusting to his carver, and seeing the cardinal tasting, judged
that no poison was there, and ate of it heartily; while of the
other, which the pope thought was poisoned, but which was not, the
cardinal ate. Now at the hour accustomed, according to the quality
of that poison, his Holiness began to feel its effect, and so died
thereof; but the cardinal, who was yet much afraid, having
physicked himself and vomited, took no harm and escaped, though not
without difficulty."--_Sanuto_, iv., _Translation in Ranke's Hist.
of the Popes_.
The wine of the Vatican hill has had a bad reputation even from
classical times. "If you like vinegar," wrote Martial, "drink the wine
of the Vatican!"[376] and again, "To drink the wine of the Vatican is to
drink poison."[377]
(Here, also, is the entrance of the _Val d' Inferno_, a pleasant winter
walk, where, near the beginning of the Cork Woods, are some picturesque
remains of an ancient nymphæum.)
The _Porta Angelica_, built by Pius IV. (1559--1566), leads into the
Borgo, beneath the walls of the Vatican.
Those who return from hence to the English quarter in the evening, will
realize the vividness of Miss Thackeray's description:--
"They passed groups standing round their doorways; a blacksmith
hammering with great straight blows at a copper pot, shouting to a
friend, a young baker, naked almost, except for a great sheet flung
over his shoulders, and leaning against the door of his shop. The
horses tramp on. Listen to the flow of fountains gleaming white
against the dark marbles,--to the murmur of voices. An old lady,
who has apparently hung all her wardrobe out of window, in
petticoats and silk hankerchiefs, is looking out from beneath these
banners at the passers in the streets. Little babies, tied up tight
in swaddling-clothes, are being poised against their mother's hips;
a child is trying to raise the great knocker of some feudal-looking
arch, hidden in the corner of the street. Then they cross the
bridge, and see the last sun's rays flaming from the angel's sacred
sword. Driving on through the tranquil streets, populous and
thronged with citizens, they see brown-faced, bronze-headed Torsos
in balconies and window-frames; citizens sitting tranquilly,
resting on the kerb-*stones, with their feet in the gutters;
grand-looking women resting against their doorways. Sibyls out of
the Sistine were sitting on the steps of the churches. In one stone
archway sat the Fates spinning their web. There was a holy family
by a lemonade-shop, and a whole heaven of little Coreggio angels
perching dark-eyed along the road. Then comes a fountain falling
into a marble basin, at either end of which two little girls are
clinging and climbing. Here is a little lighted May-altar to the
Virgin, which the children have put up under the shrine by the
street-corner. They don't beg clamorously, but stand leaning
against the wall, waiting for a chance miraculous
baioch?"--_Bluebeard's Keys._
CHAPTER XX.
THE JANICULAN.
Gate of Sto. Spirito--Church, Convent, and Garden of S.
Onofrio--The Lungara--Palazzo Salviati and the Botanic-Garden--S.
Giovanni alla Lungara--Palazzo Corsini--The Farnesina--Porta
Settimiana--S. Pietro in Montorio--Fontana Paolina--Villa
Lante--Porta and Church of S. Pancrazio--Villa
Doria-Pamfili--Chapel of St. Andrew's Head.
The Janiculan is a steep crest of hill which rises abruptly on the west
bank of the Tiber, and breaks imperceptibly away on the other side into
the Campagna towards Civita Vecchia. Its lower formation is a marine
clay abounding in fossils, but its upper surface is formed of the yellow
sand which gave it the ancient name of Mons Aureus,--still commemorated
in Montorio--S. Pietro in Montorio.
A tradition universally received in ancient times, and adopted by
Virgil, derives the name of Janiculum from Janus, who was the sun-god,
as Jana, or Diana, was the moon-goddess. On this hill Janus is believed
to have founded a city, which is mentioned by Pliny under the name of
Antinopolis. Ovid makes Janus speak for himself as to his property:
"Arx mea collis erat, quem cultrix nomine nostro
Nuncupat hæc ætas, Janiculumque vocat."[378]
Fons, the supposed son of Janus, is known to have had an altar here in
very early times.[379] Janus Quirinus was a war-god, "the sun armed
with a lance." Thus, in time of peace, the gates of this temple were
closed, both because his worship was then unnecessary, and from an idea
of preventing war from going forth. It was probably in this character
that he was honoured on a site which the Romans looked upon as "the key
of Etruria," while other nations naturally regarded it as "the key of
Rome."
Janus was represented as having a key in his hand.
"Ille tenens dextra baculum, clavemque sinistra."
"Par un hasard singulier, Janus, qu'on représentait une clef à la
main, était le dieu du Janicule, voisin du Vatican, où est le
tombeau de Saint Pierre, que l'on représente aussi tenant une clef.
Janus, comme Saint Pierre, son futur voisin, était le portier
céleste."--_Ampère, Hist. Rom._ i. 229,
When the first Sabine king of Rome, Numa Pompilius, "like the darlings
of the gods in the golden age, fell asleep, full of days,"[380] he was
buried upon the sacred hill of his own people, and the books of his
sacred laws and ordinances were buried near him in a separate tomb.[381]
In the sixth century of the republic, a monument was discovered on the
Janiculan, which was believed to be that of Numa, and certain books were
dug up near it which were destroyed by the senate in the fear that they
might give a too free-*thinking explanation of the Roman mythology.[382]
Ancus Martius, the fourth king of Rome, connected the Janiculan with the
rest of the city by building the Pons Sublicius, the first bridge over
the Tiber; and erected a citadel on the crest of the hill as a bulwark
against Etruria, with which he was constantly at war.[383] Some
escarpments, supposed to belong to the fortifications of Ancus, have
lately been found behind the Fontana Paolina. It was from this same
ridge that his Etruscan successor, Tarquinius Priscus, coming from
Tarquinii (Corneto), had his first view of the city over which he came
to reign, and here the eagle, henceforth to be the emblem of Roman
power, replaced upon his head the cap which it had snatched away as he
was riding in his chariot. Hence, also, Lars Porsena, king of Etruria,
looked upon Rome, when he came to the assistance of Tarquinius Superbus,
and retired in fear of his life after he had seen specimens of Roman
endurance, in Horatius Cocles, who kept the falling bridge; in Mutius,
who burnt his hand in the charcoal; and in the hostage, Cœllia, who
swam home across the Tiber,--all anecdotes connected with the Janiculan.
After the time of the kings this hill appears less frequently in
history. But it was here that the consul Octavius, the friend of Sylla,
was murdered by the partisans of Marius, while seated in his curule
chair,--near the foot of the hill Julius Cæsar had his famous gardens,
and on its summit the Emperor Galba was buried. The Christian
associations of the hill will be noticed at the different points to
which they belong.
From the Borgo (Chap. XV.) the unfinished gate called _Porta Sto.
Spirito_, built by Antonio da San Gallo, leads into the Via Lungara, a
street three-quarters of a mile long, formed by Sixtus V., and occupying
the whole length of the valley between the Tiber and the Janiculan.
Immediately on the right, the steep "Salita di S. Onofrio" leads up the
hillside to the _Church of S. Onofrio_, built in 1439 by Nicolo da Forca
Palena, in honour of the Egyptian hermit, Honophrius.
"St. Onofrius was a monk of Thebes, who retired to the desert, far
from the sight of men, and dwelt there in a cave for sixty years,
and during all that time never beheld one human being, or uttered
one word of his mother-tongue except in prayer. He was unclothed,
except by some leaves twisted round his body, and his beard and
hair had become like the face of a wild beast. In this state he was
discovered by a holy man whose name was Paphnutius, who, seeing him
crawling on the ground, knew not at first what live thing it might
be."--_Jameson's Sacred Art._
From the little platform in front of the convent is one of the loveliest
views over the city. The church is approached by a portico, decorated
with glazed frescoes by _Domenichino_. Those on either side of the door
represent the saints of the Hieronomyte Order (the adjoining convent
belongs to Hieronomytes), viz.: S. Jerome, Sta. Paula, St. Eustochium,
S. Pietro Gambacorta of Pisa, St Augustine the hermit, S. Nicolo di
Forca Palena, S. Onofrio and the Blessed Benedict of Sicily, Philip of
St. Agatha, Paul of Venice, Bartholomew of Cesarea, Mark of Manuta,
Philip of Fulgaria, and John of Catalonia. Over the door is a Madonna
and Child. In the side arcade are three scenes in the life of St.
Jerome. 1. Represents his baptism as a young man at Rome. 2. Refers to
his vision of the Judgment (described in his letter to Eustochium), in
which he heard the Judge of the World ask what he was, and he answered,
"I am a Christian." But the Judge replied, "No, you lie, for you are a
Ciceronian," and he was condemned to be scourged, but continued to
protest that he was a Christian between every lash. 3. Is a scene
alluded to in another letter to Eustochium, in which Jerome says, "O how
often when alone in the desert with the wild beasts and scorpions, half
dead with fasting and penance, have I fancied myself a spectator of the
sins of Rome, and of the dances of its young women."
The church has a solemn and picturesque interior. It ends in a tribune
richly adorned with frescoes, those of the upper part (the Coronation of
the Virgin, and eight groups of saints and angels) being by
_Pinturicchio_, those of the lower (the Virgin and Saints, Nativity, and
Flight into Egypt) by _Baldassare Peruzzi_.
On the left of the entrance is the original monument of Tasso (with a
portrait), erected after his death by Cardinal Bevilacqua. Greatly
inferior in interest is a monument recently placed to his memory in the
adjoining chapel, by subscription, the work of _De Fabris_. Near this is
the grave of the poet, Alessandro Guidi, ob. 1712. In the third chapel
on the left is the grave of the learned Cardinal Mezzofanti, born at
Bologna, 1774, died at Rome, 1849.
The first chapel on the right, which is low and vaulted, with stumpy
pillars, is covered with frescoes relating to S. Onofrio.
The second chapel on the right, which is very richly decorated, contains
a Madonna crowned by Angels, by _Annibale Caracci_. Beyond this is the
fine tomb of Archbishop Sacchi, ob. 1502. The beautiful lunette, of the
Madonna teaching the Holy Child to read, is by _Pinturicchio_. The tomb
is inscribed:
"Labor et gloria vita fuit,
Mors requies."
Ladies are never admitted to visit the convent, except on April 25th,
the anniversary of the death of Tasso. It is approached by a cloister,
decorated with frescoes from the life of S. Onofrio.
"S. Onofrio is represented as a meagre old man, with long hair and
beard, grey and matted, a leafy branch twisted round his loins, a
stick in his hand. The artist generally tries to make him look as
haggard and inhuman as possible."--_Mrs. Jameson._
In a passage on the first floor is a beautiful fresco of the Virgin and
Child with the donor, by _Leonardo da Vinci_.
"To 1513 belongs a Madonna, painted on the wall of the upper
corridor of the convent of S. Onofrio. It is on a gold ground: the
action of the Madonna is beautiful, displaying the noblest form,
and the expression of the countenance is peculiarly sweet; but the
Child, notwithstanding his graceful action, is somewhat hard and
heavy, so as almost to warrant the conclusion that this picture
belongs to an earlier period, which would suppose a previous visit
to Rome."--_Kugler._
Torquato Tasso came to Rome in 1594, on the invitation of Clement VIII.,
that he might be crowned on the Capitol, but as he arrived in the month
of November, and the weather was then very bad, it was decided to
postpone the ceremony till late in the following spring. This delay was
a source of trouble to Tasso, who was in feeble health, and had a
presentiment that his death was near. Before the time for his crowning
arrived he had removed to S. Onofrio, saying to the monks who received
him at the entrance, "My fathers, I have come to die amongst you!" and
he wrote to one of his friends, "I am come to begin my conversation in
heaven in this elevated place, and in the society of these holy
fathers." During the fourteen days of his illness, he became perfectly
absorbed in the contemplation of divine subjects, and upon the last day
of his life, when he received the papal absolution, exclaimed, "I
believe that the crown which I looked for upon the Capitol is to be
changed for a better crown in heaven." Throughout the last night a monk
prayed by his side till the morning, when Tasso was heard to murmur, "In
manus tuas, Domine," and then he died. The room in which he expired,
April 25, 1595, contains his bust, crucifix, inkstand, autograph, a mask
taken from his face after death, and other relics. The archives of S.
Onofrio have this entry:
"Torquato Tasso, illustrious from his genius, died thus in our
monastery of S. Onofrio. In April, 1595, he caused himself to be
brought here that he might prepare for death with greater devotion
and security, as he felt his end approaching. He was received
courteously by our fathers, and conducted to chambers in the
loggia, where everything was ready for him. Soon afterwards he
became dangerously ill, and desired to confess and receive the most
Holy Sacrament from the prior. Being asked to write his will, he
said that he wished to be buried at S. Onofrio, and he left to the
convent his crucifix and fifty scudi for alms, that so many masses
might be said for his soul, in the manner that is read in the book
of legacies in our archives. Pope Clement VIII. was requested for
his benediction, which he gave amply for the remission of sins. In
his last days he received extreme unction, and then, with the
crucifix in his hand, contemplating and kissing the sacred image,
with Christian contrition and devotion, being surrounded by our
fathers, he gave up his spirit to the Creator, on April 25, 1595,
between the eleventh and twelfth hours (_i.e._, between 7 and 8
A.M.), in the fiftieth year of his age. In the evening his body was
interred with universal concourse in our church, near the steps of
the high altar, the Cardinal Giulio Aldobrandini, under whose
protection he had lived during the last years, being minded to
erect to him, as soon as possible, a sumptuous sepulchre; which,
however, was never carried into effect; but after the death of the
latter, the Signor Cardinal Bevilacqua raised to his memory the
monument which is seen on entering the church on the left side."
Ladies are admitted to the beautiful garden of the convent on ringing at
the first large gate on the left below the church.
This lovely plot of ground, fresh with running streams, possesses a
glorious view over the city, and the Campagna beyond S. Paolo. At the
further extremity, near a picturesque group of cypresses, are remains of
the oak planted by Tasso, the greater part of which was blown down in
1842. A young sapling is shooting up beside it. Beyond this is the
little amphitheatre, overgrown with grass and flowers, where S. Filippo
Neri used to teach children, and assemble them "for the half-dramatic
musical performances which were an original form of his oratorios. Here
every 25th of April a musical entertainment of the Accademia is held in
memory of Tasso,--his bust, crowned with laurel wreaths, and taken from
the cast after death, being placed in the centre of the
amphitheatre."[384]
Returning to the Lungara, on the left is a Lunatic Asylum, founded by
Pius IX., with a pompous inscription, and beyond it, a chain bridge to
S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini. On the right is the handsome _Palazzo
Salviati_, which formerly contained a fine collection of pictures,
removed to the Borghese Palace, when, upon the property falling into the
hands of Prince Borghese, he sold the palace to the government, who now
use it as a repository for the civil archives. The adjoining garden now
belongs to the Sapienza, and has been turned into a _Botanic Garden_.
The modernized church of S. _Giovanni alla Lungara_ dates from the time
of Leo IV. (845--857), and is now attached to a reformatory. On the
right is a large _Convent of the Buon Pastore_.
We now reach, on the right, the magnificent _Palazzo Corsini_, built
originally by the Riario family, from whom it was bought by Clement XII.
in 1729, for his nephew Cardinal Neri Corsini, for whom it was altered
to its present form by _Fuga_.
This palace was in turn the resort of Caterina Sforza, the brave duchess
of Imola; of the learned Poet Cardinal di S. Giorgio; of Michael Angelo,
who remained here more than a year on a visit to the cardinal, "who,"
says Vasari, "being of small understanding in art, gave him no
commission"; and of Erasmus, who always remembered the pleasant
conversations (confabulationes mellifluæ) of the "Riario Palace," as it
was then called. In the seventeenth century the palace became the
residence of Queen Christina of Sweden, who died here on April 19, 1689,
in a room which is distinguished by two columns of painted wood.
"With her residence in Rome, the habits of Christina became more
tranquil and better regulated. She obtained some mastery over
herself, suffered certain considerations of what was due to others
to prevail, and consented to acknowledge the necessities incident
to the peculiarities of her chosen residence. She took a constantly
increasing part in the splendour, the life, and the business of the
Curia, becoming indeed eventually altogether identified with its
interests. The collections she had brought with her from Sweden,
she now enlarged by so liberal an expenditure, and with so much
taste, judgment, and success, that she surpassed even the native
families, and elevated the pursuit from a mere gratification of
curiosity, to a higher and more significant importance both for
learning and art. Men such as Spanheim and Havercamp thought the
illustration of her coins and medals an object not unworthy of
their labours, and Sante Bartolo devoted his practised hand to her
cameos. The Coreggios of Christina's collection have always been
the richest ornament of every gallery into which the changes of
time have carried them. The MSS. of her choice have contributed in
no small degree to maintain the reputation of the Vatican library,
into which they were subsequently incorporated. Acquisitions and
possessions of this kind filled up the hours of her daily life,
with an enjoyment that was at least harmless. She also took
interest and an active part in scientific pursuits; and it is much
to her credit that she received the poor exiled Borelli, who was
compelled to resort in his old age to teaching as a means of
subsistence. The queen supported him with her utmost power, and
caused his renowned and still unsurpassed work, on the mechanics of
animal motion, by which physiological science has been so
importantly influenced and advanced, to be printed at her own cost.
Nay, I think we may even venture to affirm, that she herself, when
her character and intellect had been improved and matured, exerted
a powerfully efficient and enduring influence on the period, more
particularly on Italian literature. In the year 1680, she founded
an academy in her own residence for the discussion of literary and
political subjects; and the first rule of this institution was,
that its members should carefully abstain from the turgid style,
overloaded with false ornament, which prevailed at the time, and be
guided only by sound sense and the models of the Augustan and
Medicean ages. From the queen's academy proceeded such men as
Alessandro Guidi, who had previously been addicted to the style
then used, but after some time passed in the society of Christina,
he not only resolved to abandon it, but even formed a league with
some of his friends for the purpose of labouring to abolish it
altogether. The Arcadia, an academy to which the merit of
completing this good work is attributed, arose out of the society
which assembled around the Swedish queen. On the whole, it must
needs be admitted, that in the midst of the various influences
pressing around her, Christina preserved a noble independence of
mind. To the necessity for evincing that ostentatious piety usually
expected from converts, or which they impose on themselves, she
would by no means subject herself. Entirely Catholic as she was,
and though continually repeating her conviction of the pope's
infallibility, and of the necessity for believing all doctrines
enjoined either by himself or the Church, she had nevertheless an
extreme detestation of bigots, and utterly abhorred the direction
of father confessors, who were at that time the exclusive rulers of
all social and domestic life. She would not be prevented from
enjoying the amusements of the carnival, concerts, dramatic
entertainments, or whatever else might be offered by the habits of
life at Rome; above all, she refused to be withheld from the
internal movement of an intellectual and animated society. She
acknowledged a love of satires, and took pleasure in Pasquin. We
find her constantly mingled in the intrigues of the court, the
dissensions of the papal houses, and the factions of the
cardinals.... She attached herself to the mode of life presented to
her with a passionate love, and even thought it impossible to live
if she did not breathe the atmosphere of Rome."--_Ranke's Hist. of
the Popes._
In 1797 this palace was used as the French embassy, and on the 28th of
December was the scene of a terrible skirmish, when Joseph Buonaparte,
then ambassador, attempted to interfere between the French democratic
party and the papal dragoons, and when young General Duphot, who was
about to be married to Buonaparte's sister-in-law, was shot by his side
in a balcony. These events, after which Joseph Buonaparte immediately
demanded his passports and departed, were among the chief causes which
led to the invasion of Rome by Berthier, and the imprisonment of Pius
VII.[385]
The collections now in the palace have all been formed since the death
of Queen Christina. The _Picture Gallery_ is open to the public from
nine to twelve, every day except Sundays and holidays.
The following criticism, applicable to all the private galleries in
Rome, is perhaps especially so to this:
"You may generally form a tolerably correct conjecture of what a
gallery will contain, as to subject, before you enter it,--a
certain quantity of Landscapes, a great many Holy Families, a few
Crucifixions, two or three Pietàs, a reasonable proportion of St.
Jeromes, a mixture of other Saints and Martyrdoms, and a large
assortment of Madonnas and Magdalenes, make up the principal part
of all the collections in Rome; which are generally comprised of
quite as many bad as good paintings."--_Eaton's Rome._
The 1st room is chiefly occupied by pretty but unimportant
landscapes by _Orizzonti_ and _Vanvitelli_, and figure pieces by
Locatelli. We may notice (the best pictures being marked with an
asterisk):
_1st Room._--
24, 26. _Canaletti._
_2nd Room._--
12. Madonna and Child in glory: _Elis. Sirani_.
11, 27. Fruit: _Mario di Fiori_.
15. Landscape: _G. Poussin_.
17, 19. Landscapes with Cattle: _Berghem_.
20. Pietà: _Lod. Caracci_.
41. S. Andrea Corsini: _Fr. Gessi_.
_3rd Room._--
1. Ecce Homo: _Guercino_.*
9. Madonna and Child: _A. del Sarto_.
13. Holy Family: _Barocci_.
16, 20. Rock Scenes: _Salvator Rosa_.
17. Madonna and Child: _Caravaggio_.
23. Sunset: _Both_.*
26. Holy Family: _Fra. Bartolomeo_.
43. Two Martyrdoms: _Carlo Saraceni_.
44. Julius II.: _after Raphael_.
The portrait of Julius II. (della Rovere) is a replica or copy of
that at the Pitti Palace. There are other duplicates in the
Borghese Gallery, at the National Gallery in England, and at Leigh
Court in Somersetshire. Julius II. ob. 1513.
49. St. Appollonia: _Carlo Dolce_.
50. Philip II. of Spain: _Titian_.
52. Vanity: _Carlo Saraceni_.*
88. Ecce Homo: _Carlo Dolce_.
_4th Room._--
1. Clement XII. (Lorenzo Corsini, 1730--40): _Benedetto Luti_.
4. Cupid asleep: _Guido Reni_.
11. Daughter of Herodias: _Guido Reni_.*
16. Madonna: _Guido Reni_.
22. Christ and the Magdalen: _Barocci_.
27. Two Heads: _Lod. Caracci_.
28. St. Jerome: _Titian_.
40. Faustina Maratta--his daughter: _Carlo Maratta_.
41. Fornarina: _Giulio Romano, after Raphael_,--replica of the
picture at Florence.
42. Old Man: _Guido_.
44. A Hare: _Albert Durer_.*
55. Death of Adonis: _Spagnoletto_.
In this room is an ancient marble chair, found near the
Lateran--and on a table "the Corsini Vase," in silver, with reliefs
representing the judgment of Areopagus upon the matricide of
Orestes.
_5th Room._--(In which Christina died, with a ceiling by the _Zuccari_.)
2. Holy Family: _Pierino del Vaga_.
12. St. Agnes: _Carlo Dolce_.*
14. Madonna reading: _Sassoferrato_.
20. Ulysses and Polyphemus: _Lanfranco_.
23. Madonna and Child: _Albani_.
26. Madonna and Child: _Sassoferrato_.
37. Addolorata: _Guido Reni_.
38. Ecce Homo: _Guido Reni_.
39. St. John: _Guido Reni_.
_6th Room._--
19. Portrait: _Holbein_.
20. Mgr. Ghiberti: _Titian_.
21. Children of Charles V.: _Titian_.*
22. Old Woman: _Rembrandt_.*
23. Male Portrait: _Giorgione_.
31. Caterina Bora, Wife of Luther: _Holbein_.*
32. Male Portrait: _Vandyke_.
34. Nativity of the Virgin. Miniature from _Durer_.
40. Cardinal Divitius de Bibbiena: _Bronzino_.
47. Portrait of Himself: _Rubens_.*
48. A Doge of Venice: _Tintoret_.
54. Cardinal Alessandro Farnese: _Titian_.*
68. Cardinal Neri Corsini: _Baciccio_.
_7th Room._--
1. Madonna and Child: _Murillo_.*
13. Landscape: _G. Poussin_.
15. St. Sebastian: _Rubens_.
18. Christ bearing the Cross: _Garofalo_.
21. Christ among the Doctors: _Luca Giordano_.
22. Descent of the Holy Spirit: _Fra Angelico_.
23. Last Judgment: _Fra Angelico_.
24. Ascension: _Fra Angelico_.
"A Last Judgment by Angelico da Fiesole, with wings containing the
Ascension and the Descent of the Holy Ghost, is in the Corsini
Gallery. Here we perceive a great richness of expression and beauty
of drapery; the rapture of the blessed is told, chiefly by their
embraces and by their attitudes of prayer and praise. It is a
remarkable feature, and one indicative of the master, that the
ranks of the condemned are entirely filled by monks."--_Kugler._
26. Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew: _Lod. Caracci_.
30. Woman taken in Adultery: _Titian_.*
35. Gonfaloniere of the Church: _Domenichino_.
_8th Room._--
8. Christ before Pilate: _Vandyke_.
12. St. George: _Ercole Grandi_.
13. Contemplation: _Guido Reni_.
15. Landscape: _G. Poussin_.
17. Judith and Head of Holofernes: _Gérard de la Nuit_.
24. St. Jerome: _Guercino_.
25. St. Jerome: _Spagnoletto_.
43. Mosaic portrait of Clement XII. and his nephew Cardinal Neri
Corsini.
In this room are two modern family busts with touching
inscriptions.
CABINET:
26. Madonna and Child: _Spagna_.*
_9th Room._--
2. Village Interior: _Teniers_.
9. Innocent X.: _Velasquez_ (a replica of the Doria portrait).
26. Female Portrait: _Bronzino_.
28, 29. Battle-pieces: _Salvator Rosa_.
30. Two Heads: _Giorgione_.
40. Madonna Addolorata: _Cignani_.
49. Madonna and Child: _Gherardesco da Siena_.
One of the gems of the collection, a highly finished Madonna and Child
of Carlo Dolce, is usually shown in a glass case in the first room.
The Corsini Library (open every day except Wednesdays) contains a
magnificent collection of MSS. and engravings, founded by Cardinal Neri
Corsini. It has also some beautiful original drawings by the old
masters. Behind the palace, on the slope of the Janiculan, are large and
beautiful _Gardens_ adorned with fountains, cypresses, and some grand
old plane-trees. There is a fine view from the Casino on the summit of
the hill.
"A magnificent porter in cocked hat and grand livery conducted the
visitors across the quadrangle, unlocked the ponderous iron gates
of the gardens, and let them through, leaving them to their own
devices, and closing and locking the gates with a crash. They now
stood in a wide avenue of ilex, whose gloomy boughs, interlacing
overhead, effectually excluded the sunlight; nearly a quarter of a
mile further on, the ilexes were replaced by box and bay trees,
beneath which the sun and shade divided the path between them,
trembling and flickering on the ground and invading each other's
dominions with every breath of wind. The strangers heard the splash
of fountains as they walked onwards by banks precipitous as a
hill-side, and covered with wild rank herbage and tall trees.
Stooping to gather a flower, they almost started, as looking up,
they saw, rising against a sky fabulously blue, the unfamiliar
green ilex and dark cypress spire."--_Mademoiselle Mori_.
Opposite the Corsini Palace is the beautiful villa of _the Farnesina_
(open on Sundays from 10 to 3), built in 1506 by Baldassare Peruzzi for
the famous banker Agostino Chigi, who here gave his sumptuous and
extravagant entertainments to Leo X. and his court--banquets at which
three fish cost as much as 230 crowns, and after which the plate that
had been used, was all thrown into the Tiber.[386] This same Agostino
Chigi was one of the greatest of art patrons, and has handed down to us
not only the decorations of the Farnesina, but the Sibyls of Sta. Maria
della Pace, which he also ordered from Raphael.
"Le jour où Leon X. alla prendre possession de la basilique de
Latran, l'opulent Chigi se distingua. Le théâtre qui s'élevait
devant son palais était rempli des envoyés de tous les peuples,
blancs, cuivrés, et noirs; au milieu d'eux on distinguait les
images de Vénus, de Mars, de Minerve, allusion singulière aux trois
pontificats d'Alexander VI., de Jules II, et de Léon X. _Vénus a eu
son temps_: disait l'inscription; _Mars a eu le sien; c'est
aujourd'hui le règne de Minerve_. Antoine de San-Marino, qui
demeurait près de Chigi, répondit aussitot en plaçant sur sa
boutique la statue isolée de Vénus, avec ce peu de mots: Mars a
régné, Minerve règne, Vénus régnera toujours."--_Gournerie, Rome
Chrétienne_, ii. 109.
The Farnesina contains some of the most beautiful existing frescoes of
Raphael and his school. The principal hall was once open, but has now
been closed in to preserve the paintings. Its ceiling was designed by
_Raphael_ (1518--20), and painted by _Giulio Romano_ and _Francesco
Penni_, with twelve scenes from the story of Psyche as narrated by
Apuleius:
A king had three daughters. The youngest was named Psyche, and was
more lovely than the sunshine. Venus, the queen of beauty, was
herself jealous of her, and bade her son Cupid to destroy her
charms by inspiring her with an unworthy love (1). But Cupid, when
he beheld Psyche, loved her himself, showed her to the Graces (2),
and carried her off. He only visited her in the darkness of night,
and bade her always to repress her curiosity as to his appearance.
But while Cupid was sleeping, Psyche lighted a lamp, and looked
upon him,--and a drop of the hot oil fell upon him and he awoke.
Then he left her alone in grief and solitude. Venus in the mean
time learnt that Cupid was faithless to her, and imprisoned him,
and sought assistance from Juno and Ceres that she might find
Psyche, but they refused to aid her (3). Then she drove to seek
Jupiter in her chariot drawn by doves (4), and implored him to send
Mercury to her assistance (5). Jupiter listened to her prayer, and
Mercury was sent forth to seek for Psyche (6). Venus then showed
her spite against Psyche, and imposed harsh tasks upon her which
she was nevertheless enabled to perform. At length she was ordered
to bring a casket from the infernal regions (7), and even this, to
the amazement of Venus, she succeeded in effecting (8). Cupid,
escaped from captivity, then implored Jupiter to restore Psyche to
him. Jupiter embraced him (9), and bade Mercury summon the gods to
a council on the subject (see the ceiling on the right). Psyche was
then brought to Olympus (10), and became immortal, and the gods
celebrated her nuptial banquet (ceiling painting on left).
"On the flat of the ceiling are two large compositions, with
numerous figures,--the Judgment of the Gods, who decide the dispute
between Venus and Cupid, and the Marriage of Cupid and Psyche in
the festal assembly of the gods. In the lunettes of the ceiling are
_amorini_, with the attributes of those gods who have done homage
to the power of Love. In the triangular compartments between the
lunettes are different groups, illustrative of the incidents in the
fable. They are of great beauty, and are examples of the most
tasteful disposition in a given space. The picture of the three
Graces, that in which Cupid stands in an imploring attitude before
Jupiter; a third, where Psyche is borne away by Loves, are
extremely graceful. Peevish critics have designated these
representations as common and sensual, but the noble spirit visible
in all Raphael's works prevails also in these: religious feeling
could naturally find no place in them; but they are conceived in a
spirit of the purest artlessness, always a proof of true moral
feeling, and to which a narrow taste alone could object. In the
execution, indeed, we recognise little of Raphael's fine feeling;
the greatest part is by his scholars, after his cartoons,
especially by G. Romano. The nearest of the three Graces, in the
group before alluded to, appears to be by Raphael's own
hand."--_Kugler_.
The paintings were injuriously retouched by _Carlo Maratta_. The
garlands round them are by _Giovanni da Udine_. The second room contains
the beautiful fresco of Galatea floating in a shell drawn by dolphins,
by _Raphael_ himself.
"Raphael not only designed, but executed this fresco; and faded as
is its colouring, the mind must be dead to the highest beauties of
painting, that can contemplate it without admiration. The spirit
and beauty of the composition, the pure and perfect design, the
flowing outline, the soft and graceful contours, and the sentiment
and sweetness of the expression, all remain unchanged; for time,
till it totally obliterates, has no power to injure them.... The
figures of the attendant Nereid, and of the triumphant Triton who
embraces her, are beautiful beyond description."--_Eaton's Rome._
"The fresco of Galatea was painted in 1514. The greater part of
this is Raphael's own work, and the execution is consequently much
superior to that of the others. It represents the goddess of the
sea borne over the waves in her shell; tritons and sea-nymphs sport
joyously around her; _amorini_, discharging their arrows, appear in
the air like an angel-glory. The utmost sweetness, the most ardent
sense of pleasure, breathe from this work; everything lives, feels,
vibrates with enjoyment "--_Kugler._
The frescoes of the ceiling, representing Diana in her Car, and the
story of Medusa, are by _Baldassare Peruzzi_; the lunettes are by
_Sebastian del Piombo_ and _Daniele da Volterra_. Michael Angelo came
one day to visit the latter, and not finding him at his work, left the
colossal head, which remains in a lunette of the left wall, as a sign of
his visit.
In the upper story are two rooms; the first, adorned with a frieze of
subjects from Ovid's Metamorphoses, contains large architectural
paintings by _Baldassare Peruzzi_; the second has the Marriage of
Alexander and Roxana, and the family of Darius in the presence of
Alexander, by _Sodoma_.
The _Porta Settimiana_ at the end of the Lungara preserves in its name a
recollection of the gardens of Septimius Severus, which existed in this
quarter. From hence the Via delle Fornaci ascends the hill, and leads to
the broad new carriage-road, formed in 1867 under the superintendence
of the Cav. Trochi. A Via-Crucis with a staircase will conduct the
pedestrian by a shorter way to the platform on the hill-top.
The succession of beggars who infest this hill and stretch out their
maimed limbs or kiss their hands to the passers-by will call to mind the
lines of Juvenal:
"Cæcus adulator, dirusque a ponte satelles,
Dignus Aricinos qui mendicaret ad axes,
Blandaque devexæ jactaret basia rhedæ."
_Sat._ iv. 116.
_The Church of S. Pietro in Montorio_ was built by Ferdinand and
Isabella of Spain, from designs of Baccio Pintelli, on the site of an
oratory founded by Constantine upon the supposed spot of St. Peter's
crucifixion.
The first chapel on the right belongs to the Barberini, and contains
pictures by _Sebastian del Piombo_, (painted in oil upon stone, a
process which has caused them to be much blackened by time,) from
drawings of _Michael Angelo_. The central picture represents the
Scourging of Christ, a subject of which Sebastian was especially fond,
as it gave the opportunity of displaying his great anatomical power. On
the left is St. Peter, on the right St. Francis,--on the ceiling is the
Transfiguration,--outside the arch are a Prophet and a Sibyl. The second
chapel on the right has paintings by pupils of Perugino; the fifth
contains St. Paul healed by Ananias, by _Vasari_.
The fourth chapel on the right is of some interest in the history of
art. Julius III. had it greatly at heart to build and beautify this
chapel as a memorial to his family, to contain the tombs of his uncle
Cardinal Antonio di Monti, and of Fabiano, who first founded the
splendours of his house. The work was entrusted to Michael Angelo and
Vasari, who were at that time on terms of intimate friendship. They
disputed about their subordinates. Vasari wished to employ Simone Mosca
for the ornaments, and Raffaello da Montalupo for the statues; Michael
Angelo objected to having any ornamental work at all, saying that where
there were to be marble figures, there ought to be nothing else, and he
would have nothing to do with Montalupo because his figures for the tomb
of Julius II. had turned out so ill. When the chapel was finished
Michael Angelo confessed himself in the wrong for not having allowed
more ornament. The statues were entrusted to Bartolomeo Ammanati.
The first chapel on the left has St. Francis receiving the stigmata
attributed to _Giovanni de Vecchi_.
"A barber of the Cardinal S. Giorgio was an artist, who painted
very well in tempera, but had no idea of design. He made friends
with Michael-Angelo, who made him a cartoon of a St. Francis
receiving the stigmata, which the barber carefully carried out in
colour, and his picture is now placed in the first chapel on the
left of the entrance of S. Pietro in Montorio."--_Vasari_, vi.
The third chapel on the left contains a Virgin and Child with St. Anne,
of the school of Perugino; the fourth, a fine Entombment, by an unknown
hand; the fifth, the Baptism of Christ, said to be by _Daniele da
Volterra_.
The Transfiguration of Raphael was painted for this church, and remained
here till the French invasion. When it was returned from the Louvre it
was kept at the Vatican. Had it been restored to this church, it would
have been destroyed in the siege of 1849, when the tribune and
bell-tower were thrown down. Here, in front of the high altar, the
unhappy Beatrice Cenci was buried without any monument.
Irish travellers may be interested in the gravestones in the nave, of
Hugh O'Neil of Tyrone, Baron Dungannon, and O'Donnell of Tyrconnell
(1608). Near the door is the fine tomb, with the beautiful sleeping
figure of Julian, Archbishop of Ragusa, ob. 1510, inscribed "Bonis et
Mors et Vita dulcis est." An inscription below the steps in front of the
church commemorates the translation of a miraculous image of the Virgin
hither in 1714.
In the cloister is the _Tempietto_, a small domed building resting on
sixteen Doric columns, built by Bramante in 1502, on the spot where St.
Peter's cross is said to have stood. A few grains of the sacred sand
from the hole in the centre of the chapel are given to visitors by the
monks as a relic.
"St. Peter, when he was come to the place of execution, requested
of the officers that he might be crucified with his head downwards,
alleging that he was not worthy to suffer in the same manner his
divine Master had died before him. He had preached the cross of
Christ, had borne it in his heart, and its marks in his body, by
sufferings and mortification, and he had the happiness to end his
life on the cross. The Lord was pleased not only that he should die
for his love, but in the same manner himself had died for us, by
expiring on the cross, which was the throne of his love. Only the
apostle's humility made a difference, in desiring to be crucified
with his head downward. His Master looked toward heaven, which by
his death he opened to men; but he judged that a sinner formed from
dust, and going to return to dust, ought rather in confusion to
look on the earth, as unworthy to raise his eyes to heaven. St.
Ambrose, St. Austin, and St. Prudentius ascribe this his petition
partly to his humility, and partly to his desire of suffering more
for Christ. Seneca mentions that the Romans sometimes crucified men
with their heads downward; and Eusebius testifies that several
martyrs were put to that cruel death. Accordingly, the executioners
easily granted the apostle his extraordinary request. St.
Chrysostom, St. Austin, and St. Austerius say that he was nailed to
the cross; Tertullian mentions that he was tied with cords. He was
probably both nailed and bound with ropes."--_Alban Butler._
The view from the front of the church is almost unrivalled.
Behind it is the famous _Fontana Paolina_, whose name, by a curious
coincidence, combines those of its architect, Fontana, and its
originator, Paul V. It was erected in 1611, and is supplied with water
from the Lake of Bracciano, by the aqueduct of the Aqua Trajana,
thirty-five miles in length. The red granite columns, which divide the
fountain, were brought from the temple of Minerva in the Forum
Transitorium.
"The pleasant, natural sound of falling water, not unlike that of a
distant cascade in the forest, may be heard in many of the Roman
streets and piazzas, when the tumult of the city is hushed; for
consuls, emperors, and popes, the great men of every age, have
found no better way of immortalising their memories, than by the
shifting, indestructible, ever new, yet unchanging, up-gush and
down-fall of water. They have written their names in that unstable
element, and proved it a more durable record than brass or
marble."--_Hawthorne._
"Il n'y a rien encore, dans quelque état que ce soit, à opposer aux
magnifiques fontaines qu'on voit à Rome dans les places et les
carrefours, ni à l'abondance des eaux qui ne cessent jamais de
couler; magnificence d'autant plus louable que l'utilité publique y
est jointe."--_Duclos._
A little beyond this fountain is the modern _Porta S. Pancrazio_, near
the site of the ancient Porta Aurelia, built by Pius IX. in 1857, to
replace a gate destroyed by the French under Oudinot in 1849. Many
buildings outside the gate, injured at the same time, still remain in
ruins.
The lane on the right, inside the gate, leads to the _Villa Lante_,
built in 1524 by Giulio Romano, for Bartolomeo da Pescia, secretary of
Clement VII. It still contains some frescoes of Giulio Romano, though
they are only lately uncovered, as the house was used, until the last
two years, as a succursale to the Convent of the Sacré Cœur at the
Trinità de' Monti.
Not far outside the gate are the _Church and Convent of S. Pancrazio_,
founded in the sixth century by Pope Symmachus, but modernized in 1609
by Cardinal Torres. Here Crescenzio Nomentano, the famous consul of Rome
in the tenth century, is buried; here Narses, after the defeat of
Totila, was met by the pope and cardinals, and conducted in triumph to
St. Peter's to return thanks for his victory; here, also, Peter II. of
Arragon was crowned by Innocent III., and Louis of Naples was received
by John XII.
A flight of steps leads from the church to the _Catacomb of Calepodius_,
where many of the early popes and martyrs were buried. It has no
especial characteristic to make it worth visiting. Another flight of
steps leads to the spot where S. Pancrazio was martyred. His body rests
with that of St. Victor beneath the altar. A parish church in London is
dedicated to St. Pancras, in whose name kings of France used to confirm
their treaties.
"In the persecution under Diocletian, this young saint, who was
only fourteen years of age, offered himself voluntarily as a
martyr, defending boldly before the emperor the cause of the
Christians. He was therefore beheaded by the sword, and his body
was honourably buried by Christian women. His church, near the gate
of S. Pancrazio, has existed since the year 500. St. Pancras was in
the middle ages regarded as the protector against false oaths, and
the avenger of perjury. It was believed that those who swore
falsely by St. Pancras were immediately and visibly punished; hence
his popularity."--_Jameson's Sacred Art._
Turning to the left from the gate, on the side of the hill between this
and the Porta Portese, is the _Catacomb of S. Ponziano_.
"Here is the only perfect specimen still extant of a primitive
subterranean baptistery. A small stream of water runs through this
cemetery, and at this one place the channel has been deepened so as
to form a kind of reservoir, in which a certain quantity of water
is retained. We descend into it by a flight of steps, and the depth
of water it contains varies with the height of the Tiber. When that
river is swollen so as to block up the exit by which this stream
usually empties itself, the waters are sometimes so dammed back as
to inundate the adjacent galleries of the catacomb; at other times
there are not above three or four feet of water. At the back of
the font, and springing out of the water, is painted a beautiful
Latin cross, from whose sides leaves and flowers are budding forth,
and on the two arms rest ten candlesticks, with the letters Alpha
and Omega suspended by a little chain below them. On the front of
the arch over the font is the Baptism of our Lord in the river
Jordan by St. John, whilst St. Abdon, St. Sennen, St. Miles, and
other saints of the Oriental Church occupy the sides. These
paintings are all of late date, perhaps of the seventh or eighth
century: but there is no reason to doubt but that the baptistery
had been so used from the earliest times. We have distinct evidence
in the Acts of the Martyrs that the sacrament was not unfrequently
administered in the cemeteries."--_The Roman Catacombs--Northcote._
In this catacomb is an early _Portrait of Christ_, much resembling that
at SS. Nereo ed Achilleo.
"The figure is, however, draped, and the whole work has certain
peculiarities which appear to mark a later period of art. Both
these portraits agree, if not strictly, yet in general features,
with the description in Lentulus's letter (to the Roman senate),
and portraits and descriptions together serve to prove that the
earliest Christian delineators of the person of the Saviour
followed no arbitrary conception of their own, but were guided
rather by a particular traditional type, differing materially from
the Grecian ideal, and which they transmitted in a great measure to
future ages."--_Kugler_, i. 16.
In this vicinity are the Catacombs of SS. Abdon and Sennen, of St.
Julius, and of Sta. Generosa.
Opposite the Porta S. Pancrazio is the entrance of the beautiful _Villa
Pamfili Doria_ (open to pedestrians and to _two-horse_ carriages after
12 o'clock on Mondays and Fridays), called by the Italians "Belrespiro."
The _Casino_ contains a few (not first-rate) ancient statues, and some
views of Venice in the seventeenth century by _Heintius_. The garden,
for which especial permission must be obtained, is full of beautiful
azaleas and camellias.
From the ilex-fringed terrace in front of the casino is one of the best
views of St. Peter's, which is here seen without the town,--backed by
the Campagna, the Sabine Mountains, and the blue peak of Soracte. The
road to the left leads through pine-shaded lawns and woods, and by some
modern ruins, to the lake, above which is a graceful fountain. A small
temple raised in 1851 commemorates the French who fell here during the
siege of Rome in 1849. The word "Mary" in large letters of clipped box
on the other side of the grounds is a memorial of the late beloved
Princess Doria (Lady Mary Talbot). Not far from this is a columbarium.
The site of the Villa Doria was once occupied by the gardens of Galba,
and here the murdered emperor is believed to have been buried.
"Un certain Argius, autrefois esclave de Galba, ramassa son corps,
qui avait subi mille outrages, et alla lui creuser une humble
sépulture dans les jardins de son ancien maître; mais il fallut
retrouver la tête: elle avait été mutilée et promenée par les
goujats de l'armée. Enfin Argius la trouva le lendemain, et la
réunit au corps déjà brûlé. Les jardins de Galba étaient sur le
Janicule, près de la voie Aurélienne, et on croit que le lieu qui
vit le dernier dénouement de cette affreuse tragédie est celui
qu'occupe aujourd'hui la plus charmante promenade de Rome, là où
inclinent avec tant de grâce sur les pentes semées d'anémones et où
dessinent si délicatement sur l'azur du ciel et des montagnes leurs
parasols élégants les pins de la villa Pamphili."--_Ampère, Emp._
ii. 80.
The foundation of the Villa Pamfili Doria is due to the wealth extorted
by Olympia Maldacchini during the reign of her brother-in-law, Innocent
X.
"Innocent X. fut, pour ainsi dire, contraint de fonder la maison
Pamphili. Les casuistes et les jurisconsultes levèrent ses
scrupules, car il en avait. Ils lui prouvèrent que le pape était en
droit d'économiser sur les revenus du saint-siége pour assurer
l'avenir de sa famille. Ils fixèrent, avec une modération qui nous
fait dresser les cheveux sur la tête, le chiffre des libéralités
permises à chaque pape. Suivant eux, le souverain pontife pouvait,
sans abuser, établir un majorat de quatre mille francs de rente
nette, fonder une seconde géniture en faveur de quelque parent
moins avantagé, et donner neuf cent mille francs de dot à chacune
de ses nièces. Le général des jésuites, R. P. Vitelleschi, approuva
cette décision. Là-dessus, Innocent X. se mit à fonder la maison
Pamphili, à construire le palais Pamphili, à créer la villa
Pamphili, et à pamphiliser, tant qu'il put, les finances de
l'église et de l'état."--_About, Rome Contemporaine._
There are two ways of returning to Rome from the Villa Doria--one, which
descends straight into the valley to the Porta Cavalleggieri, passing on
the left the Church of Sta. Maria delle Fornaci; the other, skirting the
walls of the city beneath the Villa Lante, which passes a _Chapel_,
where St. Andrew's head, lost one day by the canons of St. Peter's, was
miraculously re-discovered!
"On ne voit pas que de nouveaux monuments religieux se rapportent
aux deux apparitions de Pyrrhus en Italie; seulement les augures
firent rétablir le temple du dieu des foudres nocturnes, le dieu
étrusco-sabin Summanus, en expiation sans doute de ce que la tête
de la statue de Summanus, placée sur le temple de Jupiter
Capitolin, avait été détachée par la foudre, et, après qu'on l'eut
cherchée en vain, retrouvée dans le Tibre.
"Je ne compare pas, mais j'ai vu le long des murs de Rome, entre la
porte Cavalleggieri et la porte Saint Pancrace, une petite chapelle
élevée au lieu où l'on a retrouvé la tête de Saint André apportée
solennellement de Constantinople à Rome au quinzième siècle, et qui
s'était perdue."--_Ampère, Hist. Rom._ iii. 55.
* * * * *
"Therefore farewell, ye hills, and ye, ye envineyarded ruins!
Therefore farewell, ye walls, palaces, pillars, and domes!
Therefore farewell, far seen, ye peaks of the mythic Albano,
Seen from Montorio's height, Tibur and Æsula's hills!
Ah, could we once ere we go, could we stand, while, to ocean descending,
Sinks o'er the yellow dark plain slowly the yellow broad sun,
Stand from the forest emerging at sunset, at once in the champaign,
Open, but studded with trees, chestnuts umbrageous and old,
E'en in those fair open fields that incurve to thy beautiful hollow,
Nemi imbedded in wood, Nemi inurn'd in the hill!--
Therefore farewell, ye plains, and ye hills, and the City Eternal!
Therefore farewell! we depart, but to behold you again!"
_A. H. Clough, Amours de Voyage._
THE END.
[Illustration: ROME.
Showing the more important streets and buildings. (left-side of map)]
[Illustration: ROME.
Showing the more important streets and buildings. (right-side of map)]
INDEX.
A.
Academy, French, in the Villa Medici, i. 49;
Costume, i. 55;
di S. Luca, i. 167
Æsculapius, temple of, ii. 364
Agger of Servius Tullius, ii. 38
Agrippa, baths of, ii. 211
Alberteschi family, Castle of the, ii. 368
Aldobrandini family, palace of, i. 461;
burial-place of, ii. 214
Alexis, St., frescoes of the life of, i. 346;
the story of, i. 362
Almo, the, i. 373, 375, 413; ii. 408
Altieri family, palace of, i. 107;
burial-place of, ii. 216
Amphitheatrum Castrense, ii. 131
Angelico, Fra, pictures by, ii. 216, 324, 348, 444;
tomb of, i. 219
Angelo, St., Castle, ii. 227;
Ponte, ii. 226
Anicii, Castle of the, ii. 362
Anio, the, ii. 31
Antemnæ, site of, ii. 420
Antinous, the, ii. 308
Apollo, Temple of, i. 296; ii. 134
Belvedere, ii. 311
Appia, Via, i. 372
Aqua Acetosa, ii. 420
Alexandrina, ii. 133
Argentina, i. 229
Bollicante, ii. 133
Claudia, ii. 113
Felice, ii. 124
Marcia, ii. 95
Aqueduct, Claudian, ii. 125
Arches--
Arco dell' Annunziata, ii. 380
di S. Lazzaro, ii. 393
Oscuro, ii. 420
dei Pantani, i. 165
of Constantine, i. 206
of Dolabella, i. 330
of Drusus, i. 387
of Gallienus, ii. 71
of Janus, i. 229
of Septimius Severus, i. 173;
miniature, 232
of Tiberius, i. 173
of Titus, i. 200
Arnolphus, ii. 373
Arpino, Cav. d', grave of, ii. 105
Artists, studios of, i. 30
Atticus, Herodes, story of, i. 414, 415
Augustus, Palace of, i. 280
Aurelian, Wall, i. 385;
Temple of the Sun built by, i. 436;
favourite residence of, ii. 12
Ave-Maria bell, i. 44
Aventine, the, i. 348
B.
Babuino, the, i. 36
Balconies, origin of, i. 61
Bambino, Il Santissimo, i. 151
Baptistery of the Lateran, ii. 96
Barberini,
Palazzo, i. 438
Cardinal, ii. 9
Casino of the, ii. 12
Castle of the, ii. 34
Garden of the, ii. 45
Barcaccia, the, i. 57
Basilicas (_pagan_)--
of Æmilius Paulus, i. 181
Constantine, i. 184; ii. 80
Julia, i. 175
in the Palace of the Cæsars, i. 282
Porcia, i. 182
Basilicas (_Christian_)--
Sessorian, ii. 131
S. Agnese fuori le Mura, ii. 26
S. Alessandro, ii. 32
S. Croce in Gerusalemme, ii. 128
Eudoxian, ii. 54
S. John Lateran, ii. 98
S. Lorenzo, ii. 136
S. Maria Maggiore, ii. 81
S. Pietro, ii. 242
S. Paolo fuori le Mura, ii. 402
S. Sebastiano, i. 416
S. Stefano, ii. 124
Baths--
of Agrippa, ii. 211
of Caracalla, i. 376
of Constantine, i. 436
of Diocletian, ii. 36, 38
of Livia, ii. 423
of Nero, ii. 202
of Titus, ii. 52
Befana, festival of the, ii. 202
Benedict, St., house inhabited by, ii. 368
Bernini, Palazzo, i. 73
Bocca della Verita, i. 233
Borghese, Camillo, tomb of, ii. 87
Cervaletto, farm at, ii. 85
Palace, i. 65
Piazza, i. 66
Villa, ii. 411
Casino, ii. 413
Chapel of, ii. 85
Borgia, family burial-place of, ii. 98
Cæsar, ii. 325
Lucrezia, ii. 62
Rodrigo, Pope Alexander VI., grave of, ii. 170;
empty tomb of, 269;
representations of the life of, 325
Borgo, the, ii. 235
Boschetto, the, i. 50
Bramante, ii. 244, 284, 308
Burial-Ground,
German, ii. 278
Jewish, i. 355
Protestant, ii. 397
Roman, ii. 144
C.
Cæsars, Palace of the, i. 273
Caius Gracchus, spot where he was killed, ii. 377
Caligula, Palace of, i. 292;
bridge of, 299;
obelisk brought to Rome by, ii. 238;
circus of, 283
Cameos, i. 29
Campaniles--
S. Benedetto a Piscinuola, ii. 368
S. Cecilia, ii. 372
S. Giovanni a Porta Latina, i. 384
S. Lorenzo in Lucina, i. 73
S. Lorenzo Pane e Perna, i. 468
S. Maria in Cosmedin, i. 234
S. Maria in Monticelli, ii. 182
S. Prassede, ii. 71
S. Pudenziana, i. 470
S. Silvestro, i. 74
S. Sisto, i. 382
Campo--
Militare, ii. 34
di Fiori, ii. 176
Campus Esquilinus, ii. 36
Campus Martius, ii. 148
Canova, i. 101; ii. 251, 266, 308, 347, 415
Capena, Porta, site of, i. 373;
historical interest of, 432
Capitol, the, i. 109--158
Cappuccini, piazza, ii. 7
Cemetery, 10
Caracci, Ann., tomb of, ii. 210
Carinæ, the, ii. 47
Caritas Romana, i. 241
Casale dei Pazzi, ii. 32
Castel Giubeleo, ii. 425
Castles of--
St. Angelo, ii. 227--234
the Alberteschi, ii. 368
the Anicii, ii. 368
the Anguillara, ii. 379
Crescenza, ii. 423
Rustica, ii. 135.
Catacombs--
of S. Agnese, ii. 29
of Calepodius, ii. 453
of St. Calixtus, i. 390--405
of S. Ciriaca, ii. 142--145
of S. Felicitas, ii. 20
of S. Felix, i. 49
of SS. Gianutus and Basilla, ii. 418
of S. Hippolytus, ii. 147
Jewish, i. 407
of SS. Nereo ed Achilleo, i. 408
of SS. Pietro e Marcellino, ii. 133
of S. Pretextatus, i. 405
of S. Ponziano, ii. 453
of S. Priscilla, ii. 20--24
of the Santi Quattro, ii. 125
of S. Sebastiano, i. 417
of St. Valentine, ii. 418
Cathedra Petri, ii. 261.
Catherine, S., of Siena, Church of, i. 459;
tomb of, ii. 217.
Cecilia. S., relics and tomb of, ii. 373;
house of, 375;
grave of, i. 397
Cemeteries--
_See_ Burial-grounds
Cenci, tragedy of the, i. 260--267;
portraits of Lucrezia and Beatrice, i. 440;
grave of Beatrice, ii. 450
Centocellæ, ii. 133
Chapels--
of St. Andrew, i. 325;
of St. Andrew's head, ii. 421
Chapter House of S. Sisto, i. 382
Churches of--
S. Adriano, i. 190
S. Agata dei Goti, i. 461
S. Agnese, ii. 193
S. Agnese fuori le Mura, ii. 26
S. Agostino, ii. 157
S. Alessio, i. 362
S. Anastasia, i. 224
S. Andrea a Monte Cavallo, i. 444
S. Andrea delle Fratte, i. 75
S. Andrea della Valle, ii. 184
S. Angelo in Pescheria, i. 248
S. Antonio Abbate, ii. 78
S. Apollinare, ii. 159
SS. Apostoli, i. 100
Ara-Cœli, i. 117, 144
S. Balbina, i. 370
S. Bartolomeo, ii. 363
S. Benedetto a Piscinuola, ii. 368
S. Bernardo, ii. 39, 45
S. Bibiana, ii. 74
S. Brigitta, ii. 173
S. Buonaventura, i. 204
S. Caio, i. 443; ii. 45
S. Calisto, ii. 387
I. Cappuccini, ii. 7
La Caravita, i. 85
S. Carlo a Catinari, ii. 183
S. Carlo in Corso, i. 64
S. Carlo a Quattro Fontane, i. 43
S. Caterina de' Funari, i. 268
S. Caterina di Siena, i. 459; ii. 224
S. Cecilia, ii. 370
S. Celso in Banchi, ii. 224
S. Cesareo, i. 382
S. Claudio, i. 76
S. Clemente, i. 342
S. Cosimato, ii. 388
SS. Cosmo e Damiano, i. 191
S. Costanza, ii. 28
S. Crisogono, ii. 381
S. Crispino al Ponte, ii. 369
S. Croce in Gerusalemme, ii. 128
I Crociferi, i. 81
SS. Domenico e Sisto, i. 461
S. Dionisio, i. 474
Domine Quo Vadis, i. 389
S. Dorotea, ii. 388
English and American, ii. 410
S. Eusebio, ii. 77
S. Eustachio, ii. 203
S. Francesco di Paola, ii. 62
a Ripa, ii. 379
S. Francesca Romana, i. 195
Gesù e Maria, i. 61
S. Giacomo degli Incurabili, i. 61
S. Giacomo Scossa Cavalli, ii. 237
S. Giorgio in Velabro, i. 231
S. Giovanni Decollato, i. 239
S. Giovanni de' Fiorentini, ii. 225
S. Giovanni alla Lungara, ii. 439
SS. Giovanni e Paolo, i. 321, 327
S. Giovanni della Pigna, ii. 209
S. Giovanni a Porta Latina, i. 384
S. Girolamo della Carità, ii. 172
S. Girolamo degli Schiavoni, i. 60
S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami, i. 157
Greek, i. 54
S. Gregorio, i. 319, 322
S. Ignazio, i. 85
Il Gesù, i. 106
S. Isidoro, ii. 11
S. Ivo of Brittany, ii. 155
SS. Lorenzo e Damaso, ii. 178
S. Lorenzo in Fonte, i. 468
in Lucina, i. 73
fuori le Mura, ii. 136
Pane e Perna, i. 466
S. Luigi dei Francesi, ii. 200
S. Marcello, i. 87
S. Marco, i. 105
S. Maria degli Angeli, ii. 40
dell' Anima, ii. 160
in Aquiro, i. 79
Aventina, i. 365
in Campitelli, i. 269
in Cappella, ii. 370
della Concezione, ii. 7
in Cosmedin, i. 232
in Domenica, i. 332
delle Fornaci, ii. 456
Liberatrice, i. 190
di Loreto, i. 162
Maggiore, ii. 81
sopra Minerva, ii. 212
di Monserrato, ii. 170
in Monticelli, ii. 182
in Monti, i. 464
dell' Orto, ii. 378
della Pace, ii. 163
della Pietà in Campo Santo, ii. 278
del Popolo, i. 39
Scala Cœli, ii. 399
Traspontina, ii. 236
in Trastevere, ii. 382
in Trivia, i. 81
in Valicella, ii. 166
in Via Lata, i. 89
di Vienna, i. 162
della Vittoria, ii. 43
S. Marta, ii. 278
S. Martina, i. 188
S. Martino al Monte, ii. 63
S. Michaele in Sassia, ii. 280
SS. Nereo ed Achilleo, i. 379
S. Nicolo in Carcere, i. 240
in Tolentino, ii. 12
S. Onofrio, ii. 434
S. Onofrio in Campagna, ii. 428
dell' Orazione, ii. 175
S. Pancrazio, ii. 452
S. Pantaleone, ii. 188
S. Paolo fuori le Mura, ii. 403
Primo Eremita, i. 473
allé Tre Fontane, ii. 401
delle Perpetua Adoratrice del Divin Sacramento del Altare, i. 446
S. Pietro in Carcere, i. 153
SS. Pietro e Marcellino, ii. 122
S. Pietro in Montorio, ii. 449
in Vincoli, ii. 54
S. Prassede, ii. 65
S. Prisca, i. 367
S. Pudenziana, i. 469
SS. Quattro Incoronati, i. 340
SS. Rocco e Martino, i. 60
S. Sabba, i. 369
S. Sabina, i. 356
S. Salvatore in Lauro, ii. 224
S. Salvatore in Torrione, ii. 280
Il Santissimo Redentore, ii. 71
S. Sebastiano, i. 416
in Palatino, i. 203
S. Silvestro a Monte Cavallo, i. 459
S. Sisto, i. 381
S. Stefano, ii. 278
S. Stefano Rotondo, i. 333
S. Susanna, ii. 44
S. Sylvestro in Capite, i. 74
S. Teodoro, i. 223
S. Teresa, ii. 45
S. Tomaso dei Cenci, i. 260
S. Tomaso degli Inglesi, ii. 170
Trinità de' Monti, i. 52
Trinità dei Pellegrini, ii, 181
S. Urbano, i. 413
SS. Vincenzo ed Anastasio, ii. 400
S. Vitale, i. 474
S. Vito, ii. 71
Cicero, House of, i. 301;
received at the Porta Capena, 375
Cimeterio dei Tedeschi, oldest Christian burial-ground, ii. 278
Circus--
Agonalis, ii. 196
of Caligula, ii. 283
of Flaminius, site of, i. 268
of Maxentius, i. 422
Maximus, i. 288
of Nero, ii. 283
Clement, St., Church and house of. i. 342--347
Clivus Capitolinus, i. 170, 172
Martis, i. 388
Victoriæ, i. 292
Cloaca Maxima, i. 229
Cloisters--
of S. Alessio, i. 364
of the Angeli, ii. 42
of S. Gregorio, i. 322
of the Lateran, ii. 105
of S. Lorenzo, ii. 144
of S. Paolo, ii. 405
of S. Pietro in Vincoli, ii. 62
Cœlian Hill, i. 316--342
Coliseum, i. 207--220
Collatia, ruins of, ii. 135
College for English missionaries, ii. 171
Collegio di Propaganda Fede, i. 58
Collegio Romano, i. 87
Colonna, Agnese Gaetani, funeral urn of, ii. 273
Gardens, i. 458
Lorenzo, murder of, ii. 224
Oddone, tomb of, ii. 100
Palazzo, i. 98
Piazza, i. 77
Princess, tomb of, ii. 213
Vittoria, residence of, i. 75;
death of, ii. 387
Columbaria,--
of the Arruntia family, ii. 77
of the Freedmen of Octavia, i. 385
Columna Lactaria, i, 242
Columns--
Colonna della Vergine, ii, 80
of M. Antoninus, i. 77
of Antoninus Pius, ii. 334
of Piazza di Spagna, i. 57
of Phocas, i. 179
of S. Prassede, ii. 68
of Trajan, i. 160
of the Vatican Council, ii. 363
Connell, Daniel O', monument of, i. 462
Constantine, statue of, i. 118;
basilica of, i. 184;
arch of, i. 206;
frescoes representing the conversion of, i. 341;
baths of, i. 458;
frescoes of legendary history of, ii. 99;
erection of a basilica on the site of St. Peter's, by, ii. 242;
Cimeterio del Tedeschi, set apart by, ii. 278;
Saxa Rubra, site of decisive victory of, ii. 425
Convents of--
S. Agata in Suburra, i. 461
S. Alessio, i. 362
Ara-Cœli, i. 153
S. Bartolomeo, ii. 363
S. Bernardo, ii. 45
the Buon Pastore, ii. 439
S. Buenaventura, i. 204
S. Caterina, i. 460
S. Cecilia, ii. 370
S. Eusebio, ii. 77
S. Francesca Romana, i. 198
S. Francesco a Rapa, ii. 379
the Gesù, i. 107
S. Gregorio, i. 326
S. Maria degli Angeli, ii. 42
the Minerva, ii. 222
Monache Polacche, ii. 72
the Noviciate of the order of Jesus, i. 445
S. Onofrio, ii. 435
the Oratorians, ii. 166
S. Pancrazio, ii. 452
S. Paolo, ii. 387
S. Pietro in Vincoli, ii. 53
Poor Clares, ii. 388
the Pregatrici, ii. 12
S. Sabina, i. 355
the Sacré Cœur, i. 53
Santi Quattro Incoronati, i. 340, 342
Sepolte Vive, the, or Farnesiani nuns, i. 465
S. Silvestro a Monte Cavallo, i. 459
S. Sisto, i. 381
S. Tomaso in Formis, i. 331
Tor de Specchi, i. 270
Ursuline nuns, i. 64,
Visitandine nuns, i. 304
Cordieri, Nicolo, statues by, i. 325, 326; ii. 99, 214
Cordonnata, La, i. 118
Corsini, Palazzo, ii. 439
Chapel of the, ii. 103
Corso, the, i. 60
Crypts--
of S. Alessio, i. 364
of SS. Cosmo e Damiano, i. 191
of S. Croce in Gerusalemme, ii. 130
of S. Martina, i. 188
of S. Martino al Monte, ii. 63
of St. Peter's, ii. 267
of S. Prassede, ii. 68
Crypto-Porticus, i. 281
Cybele, Temple of, i. 294;
Sacred Stone of, 294;
washing the statue of, ii. 408
D.
Dalmatica di Papa San Leone, in Treasury of St. Peter's, ii. 276
Damasus, Pope St., inscriptions of, i. 396, 407, 418
Diana, Temple of, i. 353
Diavolo, Casa del, ii. 124
Diocletian, Baths of, ii. 38
Doctors in Rome, i. 28
Domenichino, his most famous fresco, i. 325;
his masterpiece, ii. 349
Dominic, St., Convent of, i. 355;
orange-tree of, 356;
vision of, 358;
legends of, 359, 360;
first residence of, 381;
Divine mission of, 382;
place of first meeting with St. Francis, ii. 106
Domitian. Palace of, i. 312;
martyrs under, 334
Doria, Palazzo, i. 93;
Villa, ii. 454.
Dorotea, Sta., legend of, ii. 390
Drawing, materials, shops for, i. 29;
list of subjects for, 34;
best months for, in Rome, 35
E.
Easter benediction, ceremony of the, ii. 240, 241
Egeria, Fountain of, i. 375;
Grotto and grove of, 413
Esquiline Hill, ii. 46--93
Eustace, St., legend of the conversion of, ii. 204.
F.
Fabii, scene of the destruction of the, ii. 424
Farnese, Palazzo, ii 174;
Palazzetto, 178
Faustulus, Hut of, i. 288
Festa degli Artisti, ii. 135
Filomena, Sta., ii. 22
Fiori, Mario di, ii. 442
Fontana, works of, ii. 89, 93, 96, 114, 238, 257, 391
Fontana Paolina, ii. 451
Forums--
of Augustus, i. 164
Boarium, i. 227
of Nerva, i. 165
Romanum, i. 168--185
of Trajan, i. 159
Fountains--
of the Barcaccia, i. 57
of Egeria, i. 375
of S. Maria degli Angeli, ii. 42
of S. Maria in Cosmedin, i. 235
of S. Maria in Trastevere, ii. 382
of the Mascherone, ii. 175
of Palazzo Aldobrandini, i. 461
in Palace of the Senator, i. 120
in Piazza Navona, ii. 196
in Piazza Pia, ii. 236
of the Tantarughe, i. 267
Paolina, ii. 451
of the Piazza Montanara, i. 242
of the Ponte Sisto, ii. 391
attributed to the prayers of Peter and Paul in prison, i. 156
of the Quirinal, i. 473
of the Termini, ii. 42
of the Tre Fontane, ii. 401
of Trevi, i. 79
Francis, St., relics of, ii. 379;
celebration of Christmas by, 380
Frangipani family, castle of the, i. 217;
fortress of the, ii. 62
G.
Galileo, place of trial of, ii. 222
Gardens--
of Adonis, i. 305
of Barberini Palace, i. 443
Botanic, ii. 439
Colonna, i. 458
containing Columbaria, i. 386
Corsini, ii. 445
Government, i. 379
of the Pincio, i. 46
Priorato, i. 365
of the Quirinal, i. 445
Vatican, ii. 333
of S. Silvia, i. 324
of Sallust, ii. 12
of Villa Medici, i. 49
of Villa Massimo, ii. 122
of Villa Negroni, ii. 35
of Villa Wolkonski, ii. 123
Germale, the, i. 279
Gesù Nazareno, miracle-working picture of, ii. 182
Ghetto, the, i. 250;
burial-ground for, 355
Giardino della Pigna, ii. 333
Giotto, works of, ii. 104, 215, 246, 277, 324
Græcostasis, i. 171
Gregory, St., legends of, i. 322; ii. 229;
Church of, i. 322;
monastic cell of, 324;
statue of, 326;
family to which he belonged, 363
Grottoes of Cerbara, ii. 135
Guidi, antiquity vendor, i. 379
Guido, important works of, i. 73, 325; ii. 7
H.
Heads of Lions, on bank of the Tiber, i. 239
Horti Lamiana, ii. 76
Hospitals--
Sta. Galla, i. 239
S. Gallicano, ii. 382
of S. Giacomo degli Incurabili, i. 61
German, ii. 161
of S. Giovanni Calabrita, ii. 365
of S. Giovanni Laterano, ii. 95
in Mausoleum of Augustus, i. 64
S. Michaele, ii. 376
of Santa Maria in Capella, ii. 370
of San Rocco, i. 60
of Santo Spirito, ii. 237
of the Trinità dei Pellegrini, ii. 181
Houses--
of Aquila and Priscilla, i. 368
Cicero, i. 301
Claude Lorraine, i. 54
S. Clement, i. 347
Clodius, i. 300
Crassus, i. 301
Drusus and Antonia, i. 292
the Fornarina, ii. 368
Hortensius, i. 304
Lucrezia Borgia, ii. 62
Mark Antony, i. 303
Nero's Golden, ii. 52
of Nicholas Poussin, i. 54
Octavius and Afra, i. 277
Palestrina, i. 339
Pudens, i. 469
Poets, ii. 50
Pompey, ii. 48
Pomponius Atticus, i. 435
the Queen of Poland, i. 54
Raphael, ii. 225
Rienzi, i. 236
S. Silvia, i. 321
Spurius Mælius, i. 272
the "Violinista," ii. 225
I.
Ignatius, S., rooms in which he lived, i. 107;
his martyrdom, 211
Inquisition, Palace of the, ii. 278
Intermontium, the, i. 116
Island in the Tiber, ii. 360-62
J.
Janiculan, the, ii. 432-434
Jesuits, Order of the, established, ii. 262;
re-established, 264
Jews, quarter of the, i. 250;
history of, in Rome, from early times, 250;
persecution of, 251, 252;
terms of occupation of houses by, 253;
revocation of laws against, 254;
population, government, and mortality, 255;
synagogue of, 256;
burial-ground of, 355;
cupidity of, 355;
catacomb of, 407;
custom of, on the election of a pope, ii. 166
Jupiter, Capitolinus, temples of, i. 111; ii. 366;
--Tonans,--Feretrius,--Pistor, temples of, i. 115;
statue of, 115;
--Stator, temple of, 247, 278;
--Inventor, temple of, ii. 392
K.
Kircherian Museum. i. 88
L.
La Madonna Consolatrice degli Afflitti, miraculous picture, ii. 221
Lanfranco, tomb of, ii. 385
Laocoon, the, ii. 309
Lares, shrine of the, i. 382
Lateran, obelisk of the, ii. 95;
baptistery of, 96;
cloisters of, 104;
five General Councils held at, 105;
ancient palace of, 108;
modern palace of, 114;
Christian Museum, 117;
Picture Gallery, 118;
School of Music, 121