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1 ^- - 
 
REMARKS 
 
 ON THE 
 
 ANTIQUITIES OF ROME 
 
 AND 
 
 ITS ENVIRONS: 
 
 BEING A CLASSICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE RUINS 
 
 OF THAT CELEBRATED CITY. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED WITH ENGRAVINGS. 
 
 BY ANDREW LUMISDEN, ESQ. 
 
 MEMBER OF THE ROYAL AND ANTIQUARY SOCIETIES 
 OF EDINBURGH. 
 
 “ Mihi piilchrum imprimis videtur, non pati occidere quibus aeternitas debeatur.” 
 
 Plinius Secundus, 1. 5. ep. 8 
 
 THE SECOND EDITION. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 PRINTED BY W, BULMER AND CO. CLEVELAND ROW, 
 
 FOR G. AND W. NICOL, BOOKSELLERS TO HIS MAJESTY, 
 
 PALL-MALL. 
 
 1812 . 
 
THE 
 
 ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 The Author of the following Remarks, who resided many 
 years at Rome, committed them to writing for his own private 
 amusement. But, having shown them to several of his friends, 
 in whose taste and learning he has much confidence, he now 
 ventures to present them to the Public. He pretends not to 
 elegance of style: accuracy of observation is his great object. 
 He has pointed out the sources from whence knowledge of the 
 Roman Antiquities is to be drawn. He has corrected many 
 mistakes that various authors Iiave fallen into, and carefully 
 cited his authorities. Though he is far from thinking that he 
 has exhausted his extensive and difficult subject, yet he flatters 
 himself that these Remarks, imperfect as they are, may prove 
 useful to those who shall hereafter visit Rome, as well as to 
 every lover of the fine arts, and of classical learning; and that 
 they will not be unacceptable even to persons who have already 
 examined the Antiquities of that renowned city. 
 
 These Remarks could easily have been lengthened out; 
 but, in a work of this kind, the Author preferred conciseness, 
 and wished to say no more than what was necessary : at the 
 same time he hopes his ideas will be found to be sufficiently 
 clear. Such as they are, he submits them to the examination 
 of the candid Public. 
 
IV 
 
 THE ADVERTISEMENT. 
 
 The Work might, no doubt, have admitted of an extensive 
 number of engravings ; which, however, would have greatly in- 
 creased its price, and thereby rendered it, though more splen- 
 did, less universally useful. The Author, therefore, has given 
 only such, as were indispensably necessary for illustrating to the 
 eye, what he could not do so clearly by words. They are all of 
 them taken from accurate original drawings,* excepting only 
 those of the Pantheon and Vespasian's Amphitheatre, which 
 are copied, the one from Desgodetz, and the other from Fon- 
 tana. With regard to other engravings, which might have 
 been, but are not here given, the curious reader is referred, at 
 the proper places, to the different authors, by whom they have 
 been published. 
 
 In the course of the Work, the x^uthor frequently uses the 
 modern Roman measure called a palm, employed by their 
 architects ; it is equal to 8,779 English inches. 
 
 * Plates I. and III. are delineated by the ingenious Mr. John Myddelton, 
 from maps, plans, and drawings in the Author’s collection. Perhaps by com- 
 paring the Plan of Ancient Rome, Plate III, with one of Modern Rome, the 
 reader will be enabled to find out more easily the situation of the Antiquities 
 mentioned in these Remarks. The best Plan of Modern Rome is that by 
 Giambattista Nolli. 
 
 London, 1797. 
 
THE 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 T H E foundation of Rome, like that of most cities of great 
 antiquity, is wrapt up in fable.* The Roman Records were, 
 in a great measure, destroyed by the Gauls, 120 years after 
 the expulsion of their kings ; and their oldest Historian, Quintus 
 Fabius Pictor, lived 164, years after this loss. Uncertainty, 
 therefore, must necessarily attend many of the events related 
 in the first 500 years of their history. 
 
 Rome,'\ situated in the 41° 53' and 54" of north latitude, 
 was, according to Varro, founded by Rornulus, in the third year 
 of the sixth Olympiad, that is, 431 years after the destruction 
 of Troy, and 753 years before Christ. 
 
 * Datur haec venia antiquitali, ut miscendo humana divinis, primordia nr- 
 bium angostiora facial.”— T. Liv. 1. 1. praef. 
 
 t Rome in the Greek, which was the same as the Pelagian language, sig- 
 nified strength. — Plut. Life of Romulus. 
 
 B 
 
 Rome found- 
 ed by Romu- 
 lus. 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Although Romulus may justly be called the founder of 
 Rome, yet, before his time, it seems to have been inhabited, 
 and was named Saturnia : 
 
 “ A patre dicta meo quondam Saturnia Roma est.'' ^ 
 
 The same is confirmed by Pliny-f — “ Saturnia ubi nunc Roma 
 est.'" But it appears that Rome had a concealed name, which 
 superstitious and political reasons made unlawful to be re- 
 vealed. J Angerona is supposed to have been this name, and 
 the secret divinity who presided over the fate of Rome. She 
 was represented, like Harpocrate, with her finger on her 
 mouth, the emblem of secrecy and mystery. § 
 
 Could we give credit to the History of the beginning of this 
 celebrated city, what a series of wonders does it present to us 1 
 What an high idea must we have of the abilities of Romulus ! 
 He civilized and reduced into a regular society, a set of men, 
 drawn together by the love of novelty ; many of whom had 
 fled from the places of their birth, to escape the punishment 
 due to their crimes ; who lived on pillage, and breathed no- 
 thing but anarchy and unlimited liberty. How surprising is 
 it that, from the union of such men, an empire should arise, 
 the citizens of which were as illustrious by their virtues, as by 
 their bravery and universal conquest ! 
 
 * Ovid. Fast. 1. 6. v. 31. 
 
 t Plin. 1. 3. c. 5. Jib. 
 
 § Nam propterea ipsi Romani et deum, in cujus tutela urbs Roma est, 
 
 ut ipsiiis urbis Latinum nomen ignotiim esse voluerunt Sunt qui Ange~ 
 
 ronam quae digito ad os admoto silentium denuntiat.” Macrobius, 1. 3. 
 
 c. Q. 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 3 
 
 Nor could the founder of Rome have fixed upon a more ad- 
 vantageous situation for a great city. A cluster of small hills, 
 contiguous to each other, rising out of an extensive and fer- 
 tile plain, and washed by the Tyher* fourteen miles from 
 the sea,'f could not but render it healthful, strong, and com- 
 modious. 
 
 After the Gauls had retreated from Rome, the people, be- 
 holding the ruins of their city, desired to retire to Veii, and 
 there fix the seat of empire. A situation, excellent as it was, 
 still much inferior to that of Rome : but which the good sense 
 and eloquence of Camillus happily prevented. J 
 
 The government of Rome was regal for 244 years; and 
 seven kings only are said to have reigned during that period. § 
 
 * The name of this river may be derived from the Celtic, viz. Ti in that 
 language signifies great, and ber or beir, water. The Tyber, no doubt, is the 
 greatest river in that part of Italy. But in the Scotch and Irish Celtic, still 
 preserved in these countries, Tibhir seems to signify, to spring up asafountain. 
 Vide Lhuyd’s Archaeologia Britannica. 
 
 f Pliny places Rome sixteen miles from the sea. Roma terrarum caput, 
 XVI. m. pass, intervallo a mari.” L. 3. c. 5. 
 
 :}: Livy makes Camillus say — “ Non sine causfi dii liominesque hunc urbi 
 condendae locum elegerunt; saluberrimos colies, ilumen opportunum, quo ex 
 mediterraneis locis fruges devehantur, quo maritimi commeatus accipianlur : 
 mare vicinum ad commoditates, nec expositum nimia propinquitate ad pericula 
 classium externarum : regionum Italiae medium ad incrementum urbis natum 
 unice locum.^^ Decad. i. 1. 5. c, 64 : — Such indeed is the situation of Rome ! 
 
 § Much critical learning has been employed for and against the length of 
 these reigns : but it is foreign to my present subject to examine here that 
 controversy. 
 
 B 2 
 
 Its situation. 
 
 Epochs of 
 Roman his- 
 tory. 
 
4 
 
 THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Intention 
 of these re- 
 marks 
 
 Provoked at the misbehaviour of Tarquiuy the people abo- 
 lished the royalty, and the republic was governed by consuls 
 and other magistrates, for the space of 462 years, till Julius 
 CcesaVy under the name of perpetual dictator, overturned the 
 commonwealth. 
 
 From Julius Ccesar, till Constantine removed the seat of em - 
 pire to Byzantium, which he called Constantinople y A. D. 330, 
 Rome was governed by the Emperors. 
 
 Since that fatal period Rome has undergone many revolu- 
 tions. It has felt all the miseries of civil wars, as well as the 
 irruptions of barbarous nations. It has often been sacked 
 and burnt. 
 
 Before the Popes removed to Avignony A. D. 1305, their 
 power was often disputed at Rome. But since their return, 
 A. D. 1377, they have been despotic masters of that noble 
 city. 
 
 I am not, however, to trace here the history of the revolu- 
 tions of Rome : nor shall I attempt to give a description of it 
 at any particular period. I purpose only to throw together 
 a few remarks on the magnificent remains of antiquity, now 
 to be seen in and about that city. I cannot, indeed, but 
 sometimes mention classical situations, of which no monu- 
 ments at present exist, but are still too remarkable to be 
 passed over in silence. In the course of these remarks I 
 shall have occasion to observe many of the Roman institutions 
 
THE INTRODUCTION, 
 
 5 
 
 and customs, whether civil, military, or religious ; as well as 
 the progress of arts and luxury. 
 
 Although these remains are only the skeleton of its former 
 grandeur, they are of infinite use and value to the lovers of 
 the fine arts, and of classical learning : and they still charac- 
 terize its ancient power and splendour. It is indeed to be re- 
 gretted, that they are daily diminishing. But how much do 
 w^e owe to the industry of many ingenious artists, who have 
 measured and delineated these ruins, models of perfection in 
 architecture, and by means of the graver, thus transmitted 
 them down to posterity. 
 
 When the Italians, after a long lethargy, opened their eyes, 
 about the year 1400, they soon perceived the superior beauty 
 of ancient Greek and Roman architecture. To restore that 
 useful art, and to fix the pleasing proportions of its different 
 orders, they measured the most elegant remains of antiquity 
 in Rome. From Marcellus' s theatre they took the Doric, from 
 the temple of Fortuna Firilis the Ionic, from the Pantheon the 
 Corinthian, and from Titus’s triumphal arch the Composite, 
 But the restorers of architecture did not find, among the ruins 
 of Rome, any monument so entire, from which they could 
 measure the exact proportions of the Tuscan order : its ancient 
 proportions are therefore uncertain. Tney have called this 
 order Rustic, and made it the strongest of all : yet, according 
 to Pliny,* the Tuscan was lighter than the Doric ; for he gives 
 seven diameters to the former, and only six to the latter. But 
 
 * Hist. Is at. 1. 36, c. 23. 
 
 Use of the 
 remains. 
 
 Revival of 
 architecture. 
 
6 
 
 THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Greek ar- 
 chitecture 
 used at 
 Rome. 
 
 this probably is an error, as observed by the learned M. Scipio 
 MafFei,* of the transcribers of the text of Pliny, who, in place 
 of VII. to the Doric, have taken away I. and added it to the 
 Tuscan, Three of these orders are Greek, viz. the Doric, the 
 Ionic, and the Corinthian : the Tuscan and the Composite are 
 Italian. Thus the Italians have invented the heaviest and the 
 lightest of these orders : the one is the beginning, and the other 
 the consummation of the art.-f 
 
 Architecture, the child of necessity, and consequently the 
 invention of every country, has always been classed among 
 the fine arts. Slow indeed must have been its progress from 
 the simple hut to the luxurious palace. Although it cannot 
 be properly called an imitative art, yet the learned and ingeni- 
 ous Greeks have reduced it to rules, which include both conve- 
 niency and beauty. And such are their elegant proportions, 
 that, it is remarkable, when artists, either from a love of no- 
 velty, or the vanity of being thought inventors, have deviated 
 from these rules, their works cease to please. It was from 
 conquered Greece that the Romans acquired real taste in the 
 fine arts. Even in the time of Augustus they yielded the palm 
 in literature, in science, and in the fine arts, to Greece. They 
 thought that their superior political knowledge, and great 
 martial achievements, afforded them sufficient honour. As a 
 proof of this, I need only mention the well known verses of 
 
 * Degli Anfiteatri, 1. 2, c. 2. 
 
 For the proporliocs of these different orders, as well as for the parts that 
 accompanied them, and the terms used by architects, see Vitruvius, Palladio, 
 Vignola, &c. 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 7 
 
 Virgil: verses so elegant that they cannot be too often re- 
 peated : 
 
 “ Excudent alij spirantia mollius sera : 
 
 Credo equidem, vivos ducent de marmore vultus ; 
 Orabunt causas melius, coelique meatus 
 Describent radio ; et surgentia sidera dicent ; 
 
 Tu regere imperio populos, Romane, memento : 
 
 Hse tibi erunt artes ; pacisque imponere morem, 
 
 Parcere subjectis, et debellare superbos/"* 
 
 The same truth is acknowledged by Cicero — Doctrina 
 Grgecia nos, et omni literarum genere superabat : in quo erat 
 facile vincere non repugnantes.*'-f' 
 
 The first artists who ornamented Rome were Tuscans. 
 Solidity and even grandeur characterize their works : witness 
 the foundations of the Capitol, and the remains of the Cloaca 
 Maxima. Indeed the many Hetruscan monuments still pre- 
 served are a proof of the taste of that ingenious people in the 
 fine arts.J Their sculpture and painting were admired at Rome, 
 in the time of Horace.§ — Tyrrhena sigilla. — But when the 
 Romans became acquainted with Greece, they could not but 
 admire the superior taste of that country, from whence they 
 brought artists to embellish their city. So that the magnifi- 
 cent buildings erected at Rome, towards the end of the re- 
 public, and during the empire, were executed either by Greek 
 
 * ^n. 6. V. 847. t Cic. Qusest. Tusc. 1. 1 c. 1. 
 
 Vide Thomse Beinpsteri de Etruria regali libri septem.” Florentiae, 
 1723. § L. 2. ep. 2. V. 180. 
 
 Rome first 
 ornamented 
 by Tuscan 
 artists. 
 
8 
 
 THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Introductioii 
 of Grecian 
 arts. 
 
 artists, or by their Roman scholars. What I say of Greek ar- 
 chitecture may be extended to sculpture: hence I may con- 
 clude, that many of the fine statues found at Rome were the 
 works of Greek artists, although executed there. The dis- 
 tinction, therefore, often made between Greek and Roman 
 statues, seems to be ill founded. Indeed at that epoch, the lan- 
 guage, philosophy, and arts of Greece, were the ardent study 
 of every Roman, who wished to render himself conspicuous in 
 the state. It is, however, probable that the Romans, long 
 prior to this period, had picked up a little of the Pythagorean 
 philosophy, from the school of Crotona, in that part of Italy 
 called Magna Graecia ; since we find that the republic erected 
 a statue to Pythagoras, as the wisest of the Greek philo- 
 sophers I* ' 
 
 The first specimens of Grecian taste in the fine arts, brought 
 to Romef were found at Tarentum, taken by Curius Dentatus 
 in the year 4,81 U. C. and which he exhibited to public view 
 in his triumph. In former times, Florus informs us, the vic- 
 torious generals of Rome produced in their triumphs herds of 
 sheep and cattle taken from the Sabines and the Volsci, the 
 cars of the Gauls, and the broken arms of the Samnites : but 
 in that which was shown for the conquest of Tarentum, the 
 procession was led by Molossian, Thessalian, Macedonian, 
 Brutian, and Apulian captives, follow'ed with carriages loaded 
 with gold, purple, pictures, statues, and other Tarentine 
 luxuries.-f 
 
 * Plin. 1. 34. c. 6. 
 
 ^ Antehunc diem nihil nisi pecora Volseorum, gregesSabinorum,carpenta 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 9 
 
 We are frequently told that the temples, and great buildings 
 of ancient Rome were destroyed by the intemperate zeal of 
 the Christians, after their religion had been established by 
 law. But whoever impartially examines history, will find 
 that it was not the Christians; but that the barbarians, who 
 invaded Italy, were the chief authors of these devastations. 
 Even after Constantine impolitically removed the seat of em- 
 pire to Constantinople, Rome continued to be embellished by 
 new buildings, down to the time of Honorius, Nor is it to be 
 supposed that the Christians would wantonly destroy build- 
 ings, which either ornamented their city, or were their pri- 
 vate property. The Christians, no doubt, destroyed some of 
 the statues, and overturned the altars of the pagan deities, but 
 not their temples, many of which they converted into Chris- 
 tian churches. Some of the temples still remaining are a 
 convincing proof of it. Indeed St. Augustin says,^ that they 
 destroyed neither the temples, statues, nor sacred groves, any 
 more than the persons of the heathens, but converted and de- 
 dicated them to Christian uses. The smallness in general of 
 the Roman temples, which rendered them unfit for Christian 
 worship, is no doubt the reason that so few of them were con- 
 verted into churches : hence they either perished for want of 
 repairs, or were taken down for their precious materials, with 
 
 Gallorum, fracia Samnitiura arma vidisses : turn si captives aspiceres, Molossi, 
 Thessali, Macedones, Biuttius, Apulus, atque Lucanus: si pompas, aurum, 
 purpura, sigrio, tabulae, Tarentinaeque deliciae. Fl«»r. 1. I. c. 18. 
 
 * “Cum templa, idola, luci in honorem Dei conveituntur, hoc de illis 
 
 fit quod de hominibus, cum ex sacrilegis et impiis in veram religionem conver- 
 tunlur.” Aug. ad. Publicol. ep. 47. 
 
 G 
 
 Devastations 
 of Rome. 
 
iO 
 
 THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 which other buildings were decorated. Alaric, Genseric, Ri~ 
 cimer, and Toiila alternatively took Rome, in the course of one 
 hundred and th'rty-seven years : that is, from the year of 
 Christ 409 to ^46. It was during these incursions that the 
 city was so defaced. Totila was twice in possession of Homey 
 and was repulsed a third time by Belisarius. It was particu- 
 larly in his second invasion that he committed the greatest 
 ravages, and destroyed a considerable part of Aurelians walls, 
 which Belisarius afterwards repaired. His intention seems to 
 have been to have laid Rome level with the ground. It is true, 
 that the Popes, and powerful personages of Rome, during the 
 middle age, and even in late times, blind to the elegance of 
 Roman taste and Roman grandeur, in place of preserving what 
 remained of buildings, much defaced either by the barbarians, 
 or by the lapse of time, often destroyed the remainder, for the 
 sake of the materials, which they employed in other works, 
 
 Rome, no doubt, suffered much in the middle age from the 
 civil wars of the Roman barons, as well as from foreign inva- 
 sions. Robert Guiscard, Duke of Apulia, marched to Rome 
 with his Normands to relieve Gregory VII. called Hildebrand, 
 elected Pope in the year 1072, besieged in Hadrian's mauso- 
 leum by Henry IV. Emperor of Germany. The Romans 
 attached to the emperor, fortified themselves in the Capitol : 
 after many bloody actions, Robert took the Capitol, and almost 
 levelled it to the ground, as he had done most of the consi- 
 derable buildings that then remained about the Forum, and as 
 far as the Lateran palace, where he was encamped. See Pla- 
 tina’s Life of Gregory VII. Though these buildings had been 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 I 
 
 already much defaced, yet such excursions must have added 
 greatly to the devastation. Besides, from this period, during 
 a space of above 300 years, the almost constant civil wars of 
 the Roman barons, either with each other, or with the Popes, 
 must have been fatal to the city. The powerful families took 
 possession of the strongest buildings, which they used as forti- 
 fications. Thus the Colonnas seized Augustus's mausoleum, 
 and Constantine's baths — the Orsinis the mausoleum of Ha- 
 drian, and Pompey's theatre — the Frangipani Titus's amphi- 
 theatre, and the septizonium of Severus — the Savelli the theatre 
 of Marcellus, &c. — The attack and defence must have been 
 equally ruinous to these buildings. 
 
 As the antiquities often throw much light on many passages 
 of the Roman classics, so these authors serve reciprocally to 
 explain the ruins. I shall, therefore, in this inquiry, freely 
 make use of these elegant and sure guides. Great, indeed, as 
 the pleasure is that they every where afford, yet on the spot 
 we read them with an additional enthusiasm, when we see 
 the scenes they either describe or allude to. So many quota- 
 tions may perhaps appear, to some readers, an affectation of 
 learning; but in works of this kind they are indispensably 
 necessary. 
 
 If examining the very ruins of Rome gives us such pleasure, 
 what must have been our admiration to have seen it in all its 
 splendour: — to have seen its conscript fathers deliberating in 
 the senate, or its factious and ambitious tribunes haranguing 
 the people in the comitium : — to have seen the pomp of a 
 
 C2 
 
 Use of the 
 classics in 
 exaniimng 
 Kuaie. 
 
12 
 
 THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Progress of 
 Rome. 
 
 Its streets 
 narrow, and 
 houses high. 
 
 triumph : — to have heard a Cicero^ with his irresistible elo- 
 quence, declaiming from the rostrum: — or a Virgil and a Ho- 
 race reciting their immortal lays to Augustus ! 
 
 We must not form to ourselves the same idea of Roma 
 Qiiadrata,^ founded by Romulus, consisting of a few huts, 
 built of wood and reeds, and confined to the Palatine hill, and 
 of Imperial Rome, the capital of the world under the emperors. 
 Simple in its beginning, it became at last the first of cities. 
 
 Rome, notwithstanding the magnificence of its buildings, 
 was irregularly built. The streets were narrow and crooked, 
 and the houses high. The ancients seem to have thought, 
 that such a disposition of a city was a defence against violent 
 winds, and great heat. Nero burnt Rome, from the vanity, 
 perhaps, to rebuild it on a more regular plan — oflfensus de- 
 formitate veterum aedificiorum.*'-)'— He ordered the streets to 
 be made straight and broad ; and the houses to be built of a 
 proper height, ornamented with areas and porticos. But 
 this alteration was not universally approved. “ Erant,” says 
 Tacitus, J “ qui crederent veterem illam formam salubritati 
 magis conduxisse: quoniam angustiae itinerum, et altitudo 
 tectorum non perinde solis vapore perrumperentur ; at nunc 
 patulam latitudinem, et nulla umbra defensam, graviore aestu 
 ardescere.'* To prevent fire, Nero directed the houses to be 
 constructed without beams to a certain height, with stones 
 
 * Plutarch, in his life of Romulus, gives an account of the ceremonies he 
 observed in tracing the walls of the city. 
 
 t Suet, V. Neronis, c. 3S. 
 
 % Ann. 1. 15. c. 43. 
 
THE INTRODUCTION- 
 
 from Gabium or Alhano, which were supposed to resist fire. 
 
 “ Quod is lapis ignibus impervius est/'* 
 
 * Before the reign of Augustus, the houses in Rome seem to Height of 
 have been raised to a great height, which rendered them in- 
 secure, and sometimes occasioned disagreeable accidents, by 
 their falling down. To remedy which, that emperor, by a 
 law,f ordered that no building should exceed seventy feet. 
 
 When Nero rebuilt Rome, we find he ordered the houses to 
 be built to a proper height ; but what that height was, is not 
 mentioned by Tacitus : perhaps it was the same as regulated 
 by Augustus. But Trajan afterwards limited the height of 
 houses to sixty feet — “ statuens, ne domorum altitudo lx. 
 superaret pedes.’ 'J 
 
 The laws of the XII. Tables ^ ordered, that houses should Regulations 
 
 , ; 11,1 * 1 r for building. 
 
 not touch each other ; but that there should be an interval ot 
 two feet and a half befween house and house. This distance 
 was called ambitus. The civil law names this ambitus — spatium 
 legitimumW In the early period of Rome, and during a great 
 part of the republic, as the houses were chiefly built of wood, 
 this distance between them not only served fora free passage, 
 but prevented, in some measure, the progress of fire. Thus 
 as the houses were not joined together by common walls, the 
 great buildings were called insula. In these insula there were 
 
 * Tacit. Ann. 1. 15. c. 43. t Strabo, 1. 5. 
 
 X ‘‘ Auielius Victor ad Vitam Trajani, sub finem.” 
 
 § Tab. 8. lex i. jl Lex 13. Digest, de servitut. urban, piraed. 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 often small houses for the use of the lower citizens. Towards 
 the end of the republic, when Rome became more extensive, 
 the number of these insulce diminished, and the buildings came 
 to join each other. Nero * seems' to have restored the ancient 
 method of building; but in the reigns of Marcus Aurelius 
 Antoninus, and Lucius Verus, the houses again came to touch. 
 Several regulations were afterwards made with regard to 
 building. Constantine f ordered that private houses should 
 be loo feet distant from the public granaries ; ^nd 15 feet from 
 other buildings. Theodosius J ordered that there should be a 
 space of 15 feet between private houses and public granaries ; 
 and that the meniana^ i. e. the balconies or terraces of private 
 houses, should be 10 feet distant from each other, and 15 feet 
 from public buildings. Laws to regulate buildings in great 
 cities may be highly necessary ; but a multiplicity of laws to 
 direct the manners of a people, are a proof of their degene- 
 racy. Thus Rome, when governed by the short laws of the 
 XII. Tables, was more virtuous than in the time of Justinian, 
 when their code of laws was become so voluminous. 
 
 It was after the last Punic war, and the conquest of Greece, 
 that luxury in building made such progress in Rome. Many 
 expensive buildings had been erected towards the end of the 
 republic. In the b^fith year of Rome, the finest house there 
 was that of M. Lepidus ; but in thirty-five years after, it was 
 surpassed in beauty by many others, which, in their turn, were 
 
 * Tacit. 1. 15 . Annal. c. 42. 
 
 t Le.\ 4. and 46. Cod.Theod. de operibus publicis. 
 
 ij; Lex 10. and 11. Cod. de aedificiis publicis. 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 15 
 
 greatly eclipsed by those of the emperors. To embellish these 
 buildings, pictures, statues, bas-relieves, and marble columns 
 were brought fro n Greece, as well as granite obelisks from 
 Egypt, and from every country where these elegant luxuries 
 could be found. It is true that fdugustus added considerably 
 to the magnificence of the city; insomuch that he boasted — 
 ‘‘marmoream se relinquere, quam lateritiam accepisset."'* 
 But M. Portius Cato had justly foretold that Rome would 
 decline, when it came to be built with marble in the place of 
 brick.-)' This taste for building increased much under the 
 emperors, and continued to do so till the time of Dioclesian. 
 But architecture and sculpture seem to have been in their 
 greatest perfection in the reigns of Trajan and Adrian. 
 
 Pliny, in tracing the progress of the fine arts, mentions 
 many of the pictures, statues, and bas-relieves, and the places 
 in Rome where they were preserved : but, alas ! very few of 
 these masterpieces of art now exist. J Indeed the philoso- 
 phic historian expresses his surprise, that the censors, whilst 
 they enacted sumptuary laws to regulate the expense of the 
 table, should not have prevented the importation of these ex- 
 pensive monuments of the fine arts.§ So fond were the Ro- 
 mans of statues, that Cassiodorus,|| who died in the 562, at 
 the age of 100, says, there were as many statues at Rome 
 as inhabitants of that city : but, though the number was no 
 doubt very great, this was probably an exaggeration 
 
 * Suet. V. Augusti, c. 20 . Livy, 1. 34. c. 4. 
 
 J Plin. Nal. Hist. 1. 1. 34,35, and 36. 
 
 § Plin. ib. 1. 36. c. i. | Lib. 7. variarum. 
 
 Pictures, 
 statue.s, and 
 bas-relieves. 
 
i6 
 
 THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Remains to 
 be seen at 
 Rome. 
 
 Atrium. 
 
 ‘‘ Statuas primum Tusci in Italia invenisse referuntur, quas 
 amplexa posteritas, paene parem populum urbi dedit, quam 
 natura procreavit.” 
 
 The remains of ancient ^buildings, to be seen in and about 
 Rome, are chiefly public works, viz. temples, theatres, amphi- 
 theatres, triumphal arches, baths, aqueducts, sepulchres, &c. 
 We find few remains of the houses of private persons : and 
 what we. see are so defaced, that we can form no accurate ideas 
 of them. Vitruvius and other authors have preserved to us 
 the names of the different parts of these buildings, viz. vesti^ 
 hulum, atrium, caxxedium, triclinia, ccenationes, coenacula, diat^, 
 cubicula, &c. The vestibulum was reckoned no part of the 
 house, but the court between it and the street. The atrium 
 was a sort of porch or hall. Cato tells us, that the frugal old 
 Romans used to sup in their atrium on two dishes ; — “ In 
 atriis duobus ferculis epulabantur.'** The cavadium and the 
 
 ♦ It was in the atrium that the Romans, who had acquired theyws imaginis, 
 which was the same as ihe jus uobUitutis, placed their own and their predeces- 
 sors’ images, that they might be seen by the people. They seem to have been 
 hirsts made of wax : 
 
 Tota licet veteres exornent undique cerae 
 Atria, nobilitas sola est atque unica virlus.” 
 
 Juv. sat. 8. V. 19. 
 
 Appius Claudius, in the year of Rome 259, was the first who dedicated, in 
 temples and in public places, shields, on which were painted or engraved por- 
 traits of his ancestors. Marcus ^milius, in the 67 1 of Rome, placed not only 
 in his own house, but likewise in the .®milian basilic, the portraits of his fore- 
 fathers. PHny, approving of this custom, says — “ origo plena virtutis, faciem 
 reddi in scuto cujusque, qui fuerit usus illo. — Hist. Nat. 1. 35. c. 3. These 
 portraits produced useful efifects, and were not placed for mere ostentation. 
 
THE INT.RODUCTION. 
 
 ^7 
 
 atrium were not the same, although some authors have consi- 
 dered them as synonymous. The atrium was the first hall or 
 entry, whereas the cavcedium seems to have been an hall or 
 court, in the centre or interior part of the building, which led 
 immediately to the different apartments. It was sometimes 
 covered and sometimes open, and more or less ornamented 
 according to the magnificence of the building. This distinc- 
 tion between the atrium and the cavcedium is pointed out by 
 the younger Pliny, in his description of his Laurentine Villa.^ 
 the tricliniay ccenationesj ccenaculuy and dicetce^ were all eat- 
 ing rooms. The first had its name from the beds, on which 
 three persons lay in recumbent postures at table, but which 
 to us appears to have been very inconvenient : it was after 
 their eastern conquests, that the Romans adopted this indolent, 
 but which they thought luxurious custom. The second was 
 the great eating hall. The third was a more private eating 
 room, and was the term commonly used for the eating rooms 
 of the lower kind of people. And the last seem to have been 
 small eating rooms, resembling our parlours.-f The cubicula 
 
 Thus Sallust [Bellum Jugurthiniim,c. 4.] observes, that the Fabii, the Scipios, 
 and olher great men of the republic, declared that nothing elevated their minds 
 more to virtue, than the sight of the portraits of their ancestors : for they recalled 
 to their minds the great actions they had performed, and inflamed their breasts 
 with a love of glory, which nothing could extinguish, till they had equalled the 
 justly acquired honours of their forefathers. 
 
 * Lib. 2. ep. 17. 
 
 t Supper was the principal meal of the Romans, which, in the time of the 
 republican frugality, began at their ninth hour of the day, as the}' computed 
 their time, which I shall afterwards examine ; but, when luxury increased, it 
 began at their tenth hour. Martial, in transmitting some verses to Luphemus, 
 
 D 
 
i8 
 
 THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Luxury en- 
 couraged by 
 the empe- 
 lors. 
 
 were evidently bed-chambers. But the houses of the Romans, 
 in the time of their splendour, seem to have been towns, 
 rather than the habitations of particular persons ; for they 
 included in their precincts every thing subservient either to use 
 or luxury. 
 
 In the early period of the Roman republic, frugality and 
 patriotism went hand in hand. Modestly lodged themselves, 
 they employed what riches they had to build temples and 
 public works. The house did not then honour the master, but 
 the master the house : in their huts dwelt justice, generosity, 
 probity, faith, and honour. It was towards the end of the re- 
 public that, enriched by conquest, luxury made such progress, 
 and hastened its ruin. For luxury is the certain destroyer of 
 commonwealths : although, perhaps, it may be compatible, 
 in some degree, with extensive monarchies : but even these 
 luxury, like a canker-worm, will at last destroy. Augustus 
 and Tiberius^ able politicians, who had overturned the com- 
 monwealth, and were founding a monarchy, artfully evaded 
 the enacting of sumptuary laws, or any reform of manners 
 
 to be presented by him to the emperor when at supper, informs us how the 
 Romans employed themselves during the day : 
 
 ** Prima salutanles atque altera continet hora ; 
 
 Exercet raucos tertia caussidicos ; 
 
 In quinctam varios extendit Rorna labores ; 
 
 Sexta quies lassis, seplima finis erit ; 
 
 Sufficit in nonatn nitidis octava palsestris; 
 
 Imperat extructos frangere nona toros. 
 
 Hora libellorum decima est, Eupheme, meorum.” L. 4. ep. 8. 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 19 
 
 proposed to them by the senate. Tiberius said,* “ we were 
 frugal when citizens of one town, but we now consume the 
 riches of the world : we now make both masters and slaves 
 
 work for us."' “ The examples of ancient severity were 
 
 changed into a more agreeable manner of living.'" “ Multa 
 duritiei veterum melius et laetius mutata." The emperors 
 therefore promoted afid encouraged luxury and shows of every 
 kind, well knowing that they had little to fear from men 
 immersed in pleasure: 
 
 “Non his juventus orta parentibus 
 Infecit aequor sanguine Punico, 
 
 Pyrrhumque, et ingen tern cecidit 
 Antiochum, Hannibalemque dirum/"‘f' 
 
 But, notwithstanding Augustus's political knowledge, a 
 principal cause of the decline of the empire may be traced 
 from him. Because, thinking it a security to his new govern- 
 ment, he enervated the citizens, by indulging them in the love 
 of pleasure and ease ; and thus he rendered them, who should 
 have been the proper defenders of the empire, unfit for the 
 fatigues of war. And, in place of the citizens, he employed 
 mercenary soldiers to guard the cities ; and limited the bounds 
 of the empire by rivers and great fosses, or by steep mountains, 
 desert and impracticable passes, which he injudiciously thought 
 would defend the empire. J 
 
 * Tacitus, Ann. 1. 3. c. 34. t Hor. I. 3. od. 6. 
 
 % Herodian,!. 2. art. 38. 
 
 D 2 
 
20 
 
 THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Chimnies. 
 
 It has been a matter of dispute whether or not the ancients 
 used chimneys, or only heated their rooms with coals on bra- 
 siers, as is still common in most parts of Italy. They pro- 
 bably made more use of brasiers than chimneys. But when 
 they burnt wood, which Horace tells us they did, they must 
 necessarily have had chimneys to carry off the smoke : 
 
 “ Dissolve frigus, ligna super foco 
 Large reponens.”^ 
 
 That the Romans had chimneys may be inferred from 
 Virgil. -f- 
 
 “ Ante focurrif si frigus erit, si messis, in umbra.” 
 
 Here the bard, always accurate in expression, must have meant 
 a chimney, and not a brasier ; which last was circular, placed 
 in the middle of the room, and round which people sat : the 
 preposition ante could not therefore, with propriety, be applied 
 to it. 
 
 Although among the ruins of Rome I observed no chimneys, 
 yet that they were used there, as well as in Greece, seems to 
 appear from passages in ancient authors. — Philocleon, in the 
 comedy of the Wasps of Aristophanes, act i. sc. a, hid him- 
 self in a chimney. A slave hearing some noise, called out — 
 “ what noise is that in the pipe of the chimney ?” — Philo- 
 cleon, finding himself discovered, answered, “ that it was the 
 smoke which endeavoured to get out.” — And the son of Phi- 
 locleon, a little after, complains that they call him the son of 
 
 * Hor. 1. I. od. 9. t Eel. 5. v. 70. 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 21 
 
 a chimney-sweeper. And Appian, de Bell. Civ. 1. 4 . mention- 
 ing the proscriptions of the triumvirates, tells us that many 
 citizens hid in chimneys to conceal themselves from the mur- 
 derers. We know, even at present, how uncertain it is to 
 construct chimneys, so as to prevent smoke. And though the 
 Romans may not have constructed theirs on mechanical or 
 philosophical principles, yet they must, in general, have suc- 
 ceeded to do so tolerably well ; otherwise Horace would not 
 have complained so much of smoke, at one of his stages, in his 
 journey to Brundisium : 
 
 “ nisi nos vicina Trivici 
 
 Villa recepisset, lacrimoso non sine fumo ; 
 
 Udos cum foliis ramos urente camino."'* 
 
 It is true, the wood here used, being green and moist, would 
 have occasioned more smoke. Cato -f indeed says, that wood, 
 soaked in the lees of olive oil, burns well, and produces no 
 smoke. The same observation is mentioned by Pliny.J — 
 “ Postremo ligna macerata amurca, nullius fumi taedio ar- 
 dere."' Flues were used for heating the baths, as will appear 
 when I come to that subject. 
 
 The ingenious art of making glass is of great antiquity. 
 The quantities found in Herculaneum, and elsewhere, are a 
 proof of it. Indeed it has been doubted if the ancients em- 
 ployed it in their windows : but it is clear that they did so, 
 from a glass window found in the ruins of Pompeia. Besides 
 
 * Hor. 1. 1. sat. 5. v. 79* 1* Fe Rust. c. 131. 
 
 X Hist. Nat, 1. 15. c. 8. 
 
 Glass win- 
 dows. 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 many fragments of glass, proper only for windows, and some 
 of them even polished like mirror, have been collected by the 
 curious; particularly by my worthy and learned friend James 
 Byres, Esq. But glass windows were probably rare : for the 
 ancients, in place of glass, commonly used a transparent stone, 
 l(^pis specularis, which they called speculum. Pliny * informs 
 us, that these stones were first dug in Segobriga in Spain, but 
 that they were afterwards got in Cyprus, in Africa, and in 
 Sicily. It was either a talc, or gypsum, or a sort of alabaster. 
 Talc is a concretion of mica attenuated by humidity.-f* It is 
 found in many parts of the world. But the finest and largest 
 sheets hitherto discovered, are on the banks of the river 
 Witim, in Siberia. It is called Muscovia talc. The Russians 
 generally make use of it in windows in place of glass, and par- 
 ticularly in the windows of their ships; because it is less 
 brittle, and more pliable than glass, and resists better the 
 shock of the rebound of cannon. But if the ancients, accord- 
 ing to Pliny, J made their best lime from the lapis specularis, 
 it could not be talc, which is not calcinable : it must there- 
 
 * Lib. 36. c. 22. 
 
 t Histoire naturdle des Mineraux, par M. de Buffoii.” Tom. 1. and 4. 
 ed. in 4to. 
 
 J Hist. Nat. ]. 36. c. 24, where, treating of lime, he says, “ omnium aulem 
 optimum fieri compertum est e lapide speculari.” 
 
 From Martial it appears that the Romans knew the use of hot-houses, to 
 protect their plants from the cold, and which they covered with the lapis 
 specularis : 
 
 Hibernis objecta notis specularia puros 
 Admittunt soles, et sine faece diem.” L. 8. ep. 14. 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 23 
 
 fore have been gypsum, or a thin pellucid alabaster, which are 
 calcareous substances. 
 
 Ancient temples, generally small, seem rarely to have had 
 windows. They were lighted either by lamps, or by light ad- 
 mitted from the door. Indeed when the temples were circu- 
 lar, they were sometimes lighted by an opening in the top, as 
 is the Pantheon in the Campus Martins, and which, no doubt, 
 is the best suited to show to advantage either pictures or statues. 
 The private houses of the Romans had not many or large 
 windows, and which seem to have been placed high above the 
 level of the floor. This appears from bas-relieves, and from 
 paintings in the Vatican Virgil. 
 
 It is difficult to trace the various extensions of the walls of 
 Pome, under the kings, the consuls, and the emperors. Its 
 last and greatest extension was in the time of Aurelian. He 
 reigned from the year of Christ 270 to the 275. He inclosed 
 the Campus Martins within the walls, and considerably added to 
 the extent of the whole city."^ This extension of the walls is, 
 nearly, marked by a dotted line on the map of Rome, plate III. 
 
 Indeed it appears that Julius C^sar intended to have added 
 the Campus Marlius to the city, and to have substituted the 
 Campus Vaticanus in its place. For which purpose he was to 
 have caused the bed of the Tyber to have been altered, and its 
 course directed in a straight line by the foot of the Mons 
 
 * Vopiscus in Vita Aureliani, c. 21. cum nolis Salmasii. ed. Hackiani, 
 
 1671. 
 
 Temples 
 without win- 
 dows. 
 
 Extension of 
 the walls by 
 Aurelian. 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 
 Vatic anus. 
 project.^ 
 
 But his death prevented the execution of this 
 
 Extension of 
 the walls by 
 the Popes. 
 
 Rome after 
 the expul- 
 sion of the 
 kings. 
 
 The Popes too have enlarged the city, by adding to it the 
 Mons Vaticanus, which is known by the name of the Borgo, or 
 Cittd Leonina, from Pope Leo the IVth, who inclosed it about 
 the year 850. The walls of Rome are therefore more exten- 
 sive at present, than in the time of its ancient splendour. 
 Their circumference, according to Nolli,'f is fifteen miles and 
 an half, forty-two Cannes, and five palms, Roman measure. 
 Pliny however, in the time of Titus, and consequently be- 
 fore Aurelian extended the walls, made them thirteen miles 
 and two hundred paces. — “ Moenia ejus collegere ambitu, im- 
 peratoribus censoribusque Vespasianis, anno conditae 826, pass, 
 xiii. M. cc. complexa montes vii,'* 
 
 Rome, according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus, § was, in the 
 forty-seventh year after the expulsion of the kings, about the 
 same extent as Athens. A great part of the city was na- 
 turally defended by the river, the hills, and rocks. The only 
 part open to an attack was from the Esquiline to the Salarian 
 gates. But this was fortified by a fosse of 30 feet deep, and 
 about 100 feet broad: on the inside was a rampart or agger, 
 which t\\Q fosse prevented from being attacked by warlike en- 
 gines. To the north-east of Dioclesian's baths, vestiges of the 
 
 * Cicer. Epist. ad Alticum, 1. 13. ep. 33. 
 t “ Pianta di Roma, di Giambattista Nolli.”- 
 indice I.” 
 
 X Nat. Hist. 1. S. c. 5. 
 
 Roma del Vasi, 1. I, 
 
 § L. 9 . c. 19 . sect. 5, 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 agger of Tarquinius are still to be traced. Pliny,* mention- 
 ing this agger, says — “ clauditur ab oriente aggere Tarquinii 
 superbi, inter prima opere mirabili ; namque eum muris sequa- 
 vit, qua maxime patebat aditu piano; caetero munita erat 
 praecelsis muris, aut abruptis mo'ntibus.” 
 
 If some authors have magnified the extent of ancient Rome, 
 they must have been led to do so, by observing its environs so 
 crowded with buildings, and which they considered as part of 
 the city. Indeed the magnificent buildings along the sides of 
 the highways, for a considerable distance, seemed to be a con- 
 tinued city. This continuity of buildings made Dionysius of 
 Halicarnassus -f say, that it was difficult to determine the ex- 
 tent of Rome. But antiquaries have been chiefly induced to 
 magnify the extent of the walls of Rome, from the evidently 
 incorrect text of Vopiscus. J 
 
 The numbers of the inhabitants of cities, as well as coun- Number of 
 tries, are commonly exaggerated. This has been particularly 
 the case of Rome, Authors seem to have been misled, by 
 considering Roma and urbs as synonymous. Roman was a 
 generical name, given to every one who had a voice in elect- 
 ing magistrates, or in enacting laws, although they did not 
 reside in the city : whereas urhanus, or citizen, was properly 
 applied to those only who lived within the walls. || But from 
 
 * Hist. Nat. 1. 3. c. 5. f Lib. 4. c. 4. 
 
 if In Vita Aureliani, c. 39» {| Fabrettus de aquis et aqusduct. 
 
 p, 157, n. 292 . — Vide Leg. 2. sect, de verb, signif. — Urbis appellatio muris, 
 
 Romae autem continentibus sedificiis finitur, quod latiui patet.” 
 
 E 
 
 \ 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 not attending to this distinction, the numbers of the inha- 
 bitants of Rome have been, perhaps, so exaggerated. Indeed 
 if the inhabitants of the city, suburbs, and Campagna are 
 blended together, under the name of Romans, they may have 
 amounted to some millions. Although I have not been able 
 to ascertain the number of citizens, yet it is evident that Rome, 
 at no period, could contain a million of inhabitants. A circuit 
 of fifteen miles and an half, Roman, is too little to lodge such 
 numbers : and the rather that the Campus Martins, which was 
 of considerable extent, served only for places of exercise, and 
 some public buildings ; and that the Mons Vaticanus was 
 without the city ; and both are included in this circuit. Be- 
 sides much ground must have been employed in gardens and 
 pleasure: for Pliny tells us, — “jam quidem hortorum no- 
 mine in ipsa urhe delicias, agros, villasque possident.*' 
 
 The walls and the gates of the city were deemed sacred. -f 
 And to extend its pomoerium ^ was reckoned an act of reli- 
 gion, which could only be done with the consent of the col- 
 lege of augurs. Yet w hoever extended the limits of the em- 
 pire, might also extend the walls of the city. “ Et pomoerium 
 urbis auxit Caesar, more prisco : quo iis, qui protulere impe- 
 rium, etiam terminos urbis propagare datur.*' § The con- 
 
 « Hist. Nat. 1. 19 . C. 4. 
 
 Sanctsc quoque res Teluti muri et portae civitatis.” Just. Instit. 1. 2. Be 
 Rebus Div 
 
 J A. Gellius, 1. 13. c. 14. The pomoerium seems to have been a conse 
 efated slip of ground on both sides of the walls. 
 
 § Tacit. Ann. 1. 12. C. £3.— And Vopiscus, Vita Jurdiani, c. 21. says, Po 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 27 
 
 queror, perhaps, claimed this permission, in order to lodge 
 such of the conquered as he brought with him, whose arts and 
 industry might enrich the city. 
 
 The antiquaries, and even Nardini himself, are not much to 
 be depended on, in their placing the walls and gates of Rome 
 before Aurelian's days. They have long and learnedly dis- 
 puted this subject, without settling it. They have never been 
 able to fix, with any kind of certainty, the limits of the agger 
 of Tarquinius. Indeed the precise site of the gates must hav« 
 been altered, at each extension of the walls ; so that it is now 
 highly difficult to ascertain their exact situations. But could 
 this be done, it would greatly contribute to fix the real situa- 
 tion of many places in the neighbourhood of Rome, of which 
 there are now little or no remains; but whose names, and 
 distances from the gates, are often mentioned by ancient 
 writers. 
 
 The number of gates, before Aurelian enlarged the city, is 
 uncertain. Pliny * makes them in his time thirty-seven. The 
 critics, however, suppose that there is a mistake in this number. 
 It is not indeed probable that Aurelian^ when he extended the 
 walls, diminished the number of the gates. 
 
 The more frequented roads that led to the city had double 
 gates. That is, one side was allotted for those who entered 
 
 moerio autem nemini principum licet addere nisi ei qui agri barbarici aliqua 
 parte Romanam Reojp. locupletaverit.” 
 
 * Hist. Nat. I. 3. c. 5 . 
 
 Number of 
 gates. 
 
 Double gates. 
 
28 
 
 THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 the city, and the other for those who went out. These twin 
 gates were very useful, and often saved time to travellers. 
 When Pliny wrote, there seems to have been twelve of them ; 
 but which, in numbering the gates, he reckoned as single ones. 
 For what other reasonable interpretation can we give to his 
 words? “ ad singulas portas quae sunt hodie numero xxxvir. 
 ita ut XII. portag semel iiumerentur."'* * * § Thus the ancient 
 Car mental gate was double, and from the right hand side 
 marched out the Fahii. — “ Infelici via dextro jano portas Car- 
 mentalis profecti ad Cremeram flumen perveniunt.^'-f— This 
 jano was not the temple of the god JanuSy but one of the 
 double gates of the city.J Hence we learn, that those who 
 went out of the city took the right hand gate. Nardini has 
 given an example of these twin gates in that of the Porta 
 Portesey erected by Stilico, in the time of Arcadius and Ho- 
 norius, and removed by Urban the Vlllth in the 1643. Of 
 the same kind is the gate of Verona, known by the name 
 of Porta de* Borsari, which has been erroneously taken for a 
 triumphal arch.§ 
 
 • Hist. Nat. 1. 3. c. 5. — This text of Pliny — ita ut duodeciin port® semel 
 numerentui” — is no doubt obscure, and lias perplexed the commentators. It has 
 probably arisen from the carelessness of the transcribers. Pliny perhaps consi- 
 dered the twin gales as two, and that 12 of them were equal to 24 single gates. 
 But if we could suppose the text to have been originally 11. {dua) in place of 
 -x.!!. {duodecim), and that each two was reckoned as one; in that case there 
 might have been 18 double gates, and a single one, which would complete 
 
 Pliny’s number of thirty-seven. 
 
 i* Livius, 1. 2. c. 49 J Nardini, Roma Antica, 1. 1. c. 9. 
 
 § “ Verona illustrata” dell’ Marchese Scipio Maffei. Part 3. c. 2. And 
 
 Fabriche antiche e moderne di Verona, dell’ Valesi,” Tab. VI. 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 29 
 
 At each gate a statue of brass, of some tutelar god, seems 
 to have been placed ; whose right hand passengers kissed — 
 “ boni ominis causa.'* None of these now remain. Nor do I 
 remember that this superstitious custom is taken notice of by 
 any author but Lucretius. The philosophic poet mentioning 
 the imperceptible but real diminution of every thing by use, 
 says that the right hands of these statues were worn, by being 
 frequently kissed : — 
 
 “Turn portas propter ahena 
 
 Signa manus dextras ostendunt attenuari 
 Saepe salutantum tactu, praeterque meantum.'** 
 
 The trouble of guarding so many gates seems to have en- 
 gaged the Romans of the middle age to have lessened their 
 number. Thus the ancient gates of Prceneste and Labicum 
 were built up in the thirteenth century ; and between the two a 
 new gate was formed out of one of the arches of the castellum 
 of the Claudian aqueduct. It is called the Porta Maggiore, 
 
 There are twelve gates in the walls, as extended by Aure- 
 lian ; some of which, indeed, have been opened, and others of 
 them rebuilt since his time. And there are four gates^ in the 
 Cittd Leonina, added by the Popes. 
 
 * Lucr. ]. I. V. 318. The same cause has produced the same effect in mo- 
 dern Rome. Thus, among other examples, the foot of the elegant marble statue 
 
 of Christy by Michel’ Angelo Buonaroti, at the Minerva, having been defaced, 
 by devotees kissing and rubbing their foreheads on it, was afterwards covered 
 with brass ; and which last is now very considerably worn. 
 
 A statue at 
 each gate. 
 
 Number of 
 gates lessen- 
 ed. 
 
 At present 
 sixteen gates, 
 
3 ° 
 
 THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Rome di- 
 vided into 
 rcgiones. 
 
 After what I have said, perhaps it is unnecessary to observe, 
 that the walls of Rome are partly built by Aurelian, partly re- 
 built by Belisarius, on the same foundation, and partly by the 
 Popes. But from time to time, the whole have been re- 
 paired . 
 
 Rome was early divided into four quarters, or what were 
 called regiones. These divisions were useful for regulating its 
 police. But as the city had greatly increased, Augustus judged 
 it necessary to divide it into fourteen regiones. Publius Victor 
 and Sextus Rufus have described them ; and Panvinius has 
 made some additions.* But as Nardinij-f from these authors, 
 and from the Nolitia Imperii Romani^ has published lists of 
 them, and the various buildings and places each contained, 
 with further additions of his own, I beg leave to refer to him. 
 Nardini, indeed, has described Rome according to these re^ 
 giones. But, as the city has undergone many and great 
 changes, since that division was made by Augustus, I think 
 it is now impossible to trace their contour with any degree 
 of accuracy ; nor the streets of ancient Rome, several of whose 
 names are mentioned by the Roman writers. Disputes about 
 jurisdictions, and the police of the city, engaged Pope Benedict 
 XIV. to divide modern Rome likewise into fourteen quarters, 
 or what are now called rioni. But the contours of these rioni 
 are not the same that Augustus gave to his regiones. 
 
 * Onuphrii Panvinii reipublicae Romanae commentarioruaa libri tres.’’ 
 t ** Roma Antica.” 
 
 :|; “ Descrizione del nuovo ripartimento de’ Rioni di Roma, del Conte Beu 
 nardino Bernardini.” 
 
THE INTRODUCTION. 
 
 To render the survey of Rome more clear, and to methodize 
 my remarks, I shall — ist, examine the gates, and the most re- 
 markable antiquities to be seen on the roads which lead from 
 them. I shall, sdly, enter the city, and examine — the seven 
 hills, and afterwards the plains. To which I shall add, by 
 way of Appendix, some letters and remarks, descriptive of 
 some of the most renowned places and antiquities in the 
 neighbourhood of Rome, 
 
 Arrange- 
 ment of 
 these re- 
 marks. 
 
Back of 
 Foldout 
 Not Imaged 
 

 
 \VlTKhItO 
 
 
 oflTie Zinirons of 
 
 m.Uil.IANO 
 
 RO ME 
 
 
 ■ iHiiAnik ih Anfit/uHies. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 BH A.C C IAN O 
 
 
 
 
 “Wi Spnia 
 
 ROMA; 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 of HoniMi Miles. 74jito 
 
 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 I. PORTA DEL POPOLO. 
 
 Wh ETHER this gate has been named from the adjacent 
 church of the Madonna del Popolo, or the church from the 
 gate, is uncertain. Perhaps they were both thus named from 
 a grove of poplarsy which the Romans called populi. Indeed 
 Pliny^ informs us, that different places or quarters of Rome 
 were named from trees, or groves, that grew there. When 
 Aurelian added the Campus Martins to the city, it is generally 
 thought that he gave the name of Flaminia to this gate, as it 
 stood on the via Flaminia. But the ancient Porta Flaminia, 
 no doubt, stood much nearer to the Capitol. The outside of 
 this gate was built by Vignola, and is an elegant piece of 
 Doric architecture : the inside was ornamented by Bernini, 
 when Christina, Queen of Sweden, A. D. 1655, made her 
 entry into Rome. This access to the city is magnificent.*f 
 
 This gate leads in a straight line to the Ponte Molle, which 
 is commonly reckoned the Pons Milvius, so often mentioned 
 
 t See Piranesi’s large view of it. 
 
 F 
 
 Ponte Molle, 
 or Pons Mil- 
 vius. 
 
 * Hist. Nat. 1. 16. c. 10. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 43 
 
 1. Porta del by the Roman authors. It is near two miles from the gate. 
 
 Fopuio. built by M. i^^milius Scaurus.* It had been often re- 
 
 paired, but always on the old foundations. Lactantius Firmia- 
 nus-f tells us, that it was an ancient custom to throw a man 
 from off this bridge into the Tyber, as a sacrifice to Saturn. 
 It was here that the ambassadors of the Allobroges, in con- 
 cert with Cicero, were stopped, and their papers seized, which 
 fully discovered Lentulus, and all the persons engaged in Ca- 
 tiline’s conspiracy. J At this bridge too there were houses, 
 receptacles of nocturnal debauch, to which Nero used to go. § 
 But Piranesi || places the Pons Milvius above a mile higher up 
 the river, opposite to the Tor di Quinton and makes the via 
 Flaminia to have passed through the Porta Pinciana, and from 
 thence, by many turnings, to have reached his Pons Milvius. 
 The reasons offered by Piranesi, to support his singular opi- 
 nion, do not seem satisfactory. The Romans never made 
 their consular roads in winding lines, but in cases of absolute 
 necessity, which cannot be pleaded here. But this question, 
 I think, is decided by Suetonius,^ who tells us, that Augustus 
 built his mausoleum, — “ inter Flaminiam viam ripamque Ty- 
 beris.” Now, had the Flaminian road led to the Porta Pinciana, 
 
 * Aurel. Victor, de Vir. illustr. 
 
 t Lib. I. c. ai. I)e falsa religione — ^‘Saturnus in Latio eodem genere sa- 
 crificii cullusest: non quidem at homo ad aram immolaretur ; sed uti in Tybe- 
 rirn de Ponte MiJvio miHerelur.” 
 
 !j; Sallust. Bel. Catilin. c. 45. 
 
 Pons Milvius in eo tempore, Celebris nocturnis inlecebris erat ; ventita- 
 batque illuc Nero, quo solutius, urbem . extra, lasciviret.” Tacit. Ann. 1 1^. 
 c. 47. 
 
 I Le Ant. Rom. tom. i. p» 6. ^ Vita Aug. c. 100. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 35 
 
 it must have passed by the south end of the college of the Pro- 
 paganda Fide, and consequently the mausoleum could with no 
 propriety be said to stand between it and the river ; whereas, 
 if this road led to the Porta del Popolo, the historian’s descrip- 
 tion answers exactly ; for the remains of this monument are 
 yet to be seen, near to the church of St. Roch. 
 
 A little beyond the bridge the road separates. To the left 
 hand is the via Cassia, and to the right is the via Flaminia. 
 Three roads led from Rome to Lombardy; the Flaminian 
 along the Adriatic ; the Aurelian along the Mediterranean ; 
 and the Cassian between these two, through the interior part 
 of the country. 
 
 About three miles from the bridge, on the via Cassia, I saw 
 a monument, which is commonly called Nero’s sepulchre. 
 But by the inscription, although much defaced, it appears to 
 have been erected to C. Vibius Marianus, and his wife. It is 
 published by Gruter,* who, by mistake, places it two miles 
 from Rome. 
 
 The siege of Veii, the ten years labour of the Romans, is 
 recorded in their annals. It was protracted, perhaps, less by 
 the strength of the place than by the unskilfulness of the be- 
 siegers. At last M. Furius Camillus took it by stratagem.-f 
 He secretly carried on a mine, which terminated in the cita- 
 del, under the temple of Juno, where, by several pits, which 
 he caused to be opened at once, his soldiers entered the city, 
 
 F 2 
 
 1 . Porta del 
 PopoLo. 
 
 Via Cassia. 
 — Flaminia. 
 and 
 
 — Aurelia. 
 
 Monument 
 of C. Vibius 
 Marianus 
 
 Veii. 
 
 * Page 487. 
 
 t Livius, 1, 5. c. 21. 
 
56 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 1. Porta del 
 Popolo. 
 
 and thereby became masters of it. But where Veil stood has 
 been much disputed by the antiquaries. Strange, that the si- 
 tuation of a city, long the rival of Rome, and which has been 
 compared to Athens for extent and riches, should be thus un- 
 certain. A foolish vanity has placed it at Civitd Castellana, 
 thirty-five miles from Rome, and where they have set up mo- 
 dern inscriptions to assert it. Some, indeed, have placed it at 
 CastelnuovOy the second post from Rome on the via Flaminia : 
 others near to the Storta, about twelve miles from Rome, on 
 the right hand of the via Cassia^ between Isola and the Cre- 
 mera ; now called the Valca. But Zanchi,* I think, has at last 
 discovered the real situation of Veii. He places it in the wood 
 of Baccano and Montelupoliy eighteen miles from Rome, on the 
 right hand of the via Cassia, This is the distance from Rome 
 to Veii given by Eutropius,-f and which exactly agrees with 
 PeutingeEs X accurate Itinerary. Livy too confirms this dis- 
 tance, who makes Appius Claudius, complaining of the slow- 
 ness of the siege, say — “ Nos intra vicesimum lapidem, in con- 
 spectu prope urbis nostrae, annuam oppugnationem perferre 
 piget."’ § The advantageous situation for a city, the hills and 
 rocks, the distance from Rome, the via Cassia^ the nearness 
 of the Cremeray sufficiently point out Veii. But Zanchi gives 
 us a further confirmation of it. For, besides the remains of 
 ancient walls, and the fields covered with broken bricks, pieces 
 of columns, and fragments of buildings, he has traced here 
 
 * See his learned dissertation, entitled, 11 Veio illustrato.’’ — Roma, 1768. 
 8vo. 
 
 *t Hist. Rom. 1. I. 
 
 jTab. Peutingeriana— *ed. Tralteniana, 1753. § Lib. 5. c, 4. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS, 
 
 37 
 
 Camillus’s celebrated mine or cuniculus^* *with the different i 
 pits, by which the soldiers entered the citadel. Livy,-f men- 
 tioning this cuniculus, tells us — “ operum fuit omnium longe 
 maximum ac laboriosissimum.'’ But what greater remains 
 can we expect of a city taken and destroyed 394 years before 
 the birth of Christ ? 
 
 “ Et Veii veteres 
 
 Nunc intra muros pastoris buccina lend 
 Cantat, et in vestris ossibus arva metunt.'' J 
 
 When we view the small remains of Veii, and call to mind 
 the many formerly populous and flourishing cities reduced to 
 ruins, some of whose sites are not now even known, we can- 
 not but admire the philosophical idea which Servius Sulpicius 
 addresses to Cicero,§ to console him for the death of his daugh- 
 ter Tullia. — “ Ex Asia rediens, cum ab i^^gina Megaram ver- 
 sus navigarem, coepi regiones circumcirca prospicere. Post 
 me erat .®lgina, ante Megara, dextra Piraeus, sinistra Co- 
 rinthus; quae oppida quodam tempore florentissima fuerunt, 
 nunc prostrata et diruta ante oculos jacent. Coepi egomet me- 
 cum sic cogitare : hem ! nos homunculi indignamur, si quis 
 nostrum interiit, aut occisus est, quorum vita brevior esse debet; 
 cum uno loco tot oppidorum cadavera projecta jaceanf 
 
 The via Cassia passed by Baccano, Sutri, Capranica, Forum 
 
 * See a print of the cuniculus in Zunchi’s Veio Illustralo.’^ 
 
 t Lib 5. c. 19 . t i^roper. 1. 4. elegia xi. v. S7. 
 
 § Epist. ad Famil. lib. 4. ep. 5. 
 
 Porta del 
 Popolo. 
 
38 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 1. Porta del 
 Popolo. 
 Aquas Pas- 
 seris. 
 
 Tor di Quill' 
 to. 
 
 Battle of 
 Constantine 
 and Mdx«n- 
 tius. 
 
 Due Ponti. 
 
 Cassii, which is between S. Maria and VetraUa : and leaving 
 Viterbo tathe right, it went to Aquce Passeris, 
 
 ■ “ fervidique 
 
 Fluctus Passeris,'"* 
 
 where is to be seen the remains of an ancient bath, now called 
 Bagno dello Serpe : from thence it went to Montefiascone, and 
 so into Tuscany. 
 
 I return back to the via Flaminia. 
 
 The Tordi Quinto, to the right hand of the road, is supposed 
 by some antiquaries to take its name from L. Quintius Cin- 
 cinnatus, whose farm they place here. But, from an expression 
 of Livy, I shall afterwards fix it opposite to the Ripetta.'f 
 VenutiJ is of opinion, that it is thus named because of its 
 distance from Rome, ad V, lapidem. But whether I reckon 
 from the gate^ or from the Forum, I cannot make out that 
 distance. 
 
 The plains along the banks of the Tyber, and towards Ponte 
 Molle, were the field of battle, where Constantine, after having 
 seen the vision of the cross, — « In hoc signo vinces,"— as 
 mentioned by the ecclesiastical writers, defeated Maxentius, 
 A. D. 312. 
 
 A little beyond the Tor di Quinto, I crossed two bridges, which, 
 
 * Martial, 1. 6. ep. 42. f See Porta di Gastello, 
 
 J See his edition of £schinardi"s Agro Romano, page I 97 . 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 59 
 
 from their nearness to each other, has occasioned this place 
 to be called Due Ponti. Under the first bridge runs a rivulet 
 named Aqua Traversa^ and under the other the Valca or Cre~ 
 mera, on whose banks, according to Livy,* fell the 306 Fabii. 
 The castdlum built by these generous patriots, to defend the 
 Roman territories against the incursions of the Veientes, seems 
 to have stood on that piece of ground where the torrent, which 
 runs by the Osteria dell* Fosso^ in the Isola, falls into the 
 Cremera. It is about half a mile in circuit, defended by a deep 
 foss^, and still called la piazza d* arme. By some authors it has 
 been supposed to be Veil. 
 
 Two miles and a quarter from the Ponte Molle^ brought me 
 to the Flasonian sepulchre. It is cut out of the rock that over- 
 looks the via Flaminia. But as I shall give an account of this 
 curious monument in the Appendix, No. I. I beg leave to refer 
 to it. 
 
 Many indeed were the sepulchres erected along the sides of 
 this road, although few vestiges of them are now to be seen. 
 Nor could I discover that of Paris, the celebrated comedian, 
 Egyptian by birth, and freedman of Nero, whose epitaph, 
 wrote by Martial, is preserved to us in the works of that 
 agreeable poet. 
 
 “ Quisquis Flaminiam teris, viator. 
 
 Noli nobile praeterire marmor. 
 
 1. Porta del 
 Popolo. 
 
 Castellum of 
 the Fabii. 
 
 Nasonian 
 
 sepulchre. 
 
 Sepulchre of 
 Paris. 
 
 * Lib. 2. c. 50 — See Dion. Hal. 1. 9. c. 5. 
 f Lib. 1 1. ep. 13. 
 
40 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 1. Porta del 
 Popole. 
 
 Grotta 
 
 Rossa. 
 
 Ergastulum. 
 
 Urbis deliciae, salesque Nili, 
 
 Ars et gratia, lusus et voluptas, 
 
 Romani decus, et dolor theatri, 
 
 Atque omnes Veneres, Cupidinesque, 
 
 Hoc sunt condita, quo Paris, sepulcro.'" 
 
 About three miles from Ponte Molle is the Grotta Rossa, 
 formerly saa:a rubra, often mentioned by the Roman classics. 
 This continues to be a little dirty inn, as it probably was in the 
 time of Cicero, who in his second Philippic, upbraids Marc 
 Antony for having loitered here a whole day, drinking hard. 
 
 Near to the Grotta Rossa, cut out of the rock, are the re- 
 mains of an Ergastulum. These were prisons or dungeons, un- 
 der ground, where slaves, often in chains, were forced to work ; 
 they were common in Italy; and are a lasting proof of the 
 barbarity of those times, when slaves were treated rather like 
 cattle t han human creatures.* What a difference between 
 their situation and that of modern servants ! The improper 
 use frequently made of these prisons engaged Hadrian to abo- 
 lish them.-f And upon the whole, it is found by experience, 
 that we are cheaper and better served by free servants, hired 
 for a term, than by slaves, bought at a great price, apt to run 
 away, not to mention the risk of their sickness or sudden 
 death. 
 
 * Nec tanquam hominibus quidem, sed tanquam jumentis abutimur.” 
 Seneca, epist. 47. 
 
 t Vide— “ Lex Aquilia, de damno.” 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 41 
 
 At the first post the road divides. On the right hand road, 
 towards the river, Augustus had a villa. It was called Ad gal- 
 linas albas ; because here an eagle let drop a white hen, holding 
 in her bill a laurel branch full of berries, into Li via* s bosom, 
 of which Suetonius* and Pliny -f have transmitted us an ac- 
 count ; and which I shall afterwards have occasion to mention, 
 when I come to the baths of Paulus i^lmilius. 
 
 Faliscum, the capital of the Falisci^ stood, according to 
 Strabo, J as corrected by Cluverius,§ on the left hand of the 
 Flaminian road, between Rome and Otriculura. It was to the 
 schoolmaster of Faliscum, who conducted the children com- 
 mitted to his care to the Roman camp, that Camillus, up- 
 braiding him for his treachery, said — “ Ego Romanis artibus, 
 virtute, opere, armis vincam.**|| Such were the sentiments of 
 that virtuous period of the republic ! He ordered the lictors to 
 strip the villain, tie his hands behind him, and then furnish the 
 youths with rods to whip him back again to the city. 
 
 I return to the walls. 
 
 About 1800 palms from the Porta del Popolot towards the 
 Porta Pinciana, there is a part of the city wall, v*^hich, declin- 
 ing from the perpendicular, is called the muro torto ^ It seems 
 to be the remains of some building, which probably iVurelian 
 
 * Vit. Galbse, c. 1. i* Hist Nat. 1. 15, c. 30. 
 
 ;{: Lib. 5. § L. 2. c, S. || Livius. 1. 5. c. 27. 
 
 ^ Here are buried impenitent criminals, and licensed prostitutes, who hare 
 not renounced their infamous profession. 
 
 G 
 
 1. Porta del 
 Popolo. 
 Ad gallinai 
 albas. 
 
 Faliscum. 
 
 Muro torto. 
 
4 ® 
 
 1. Porta del 
 Popolo. 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 caused to serve for part of the wall, when he extended the city. 
 It is of that kind of construction which the Romans named 
 opus reticulatum. Some antiquaries suppose that it was the 
 sepulchre of the Domitian family, where the ashes of Nero 
 were deposited, by his nurses Ecloge and Alexandra, and by 
 his concubine Acte.* Be that as it may, tradition pretends, 
 that this is that very part of the city wall, of which Procopius -f 
 gives a miraculous account. He gravely tells us, that Belisa- 
 rius, when he defended Rome against the Goths, observing 
 that this wall was in a tottering condition, proposed to fortify 
 it; but he was opposed by the citizens, who affirmed that it 
 was unnecessary, because it was guarded and supported by St. 
 Peter. How did they know that the good saint would coun- 
 teract the general laws, by which God governs the material 
 world, in order to save them the trifling expence of rebuild- 
 ing it? May we not apply Horace's theatrical rule to such 
 miracles ? 
 
 “ Nec deus intersit, nisi dignus vindice nodus." J 
 
 The Romans, at all times superstitious, had often recourse to 
 miracles. They thought that the protection of their gods, 
 unassisted by man, was a sufficient defence of their city, against 
 hostile attacks. Thus their eloquent, but partial historian says, 
 — “ deserta omnia, sine capite, sine viribus, dii prsesides ac 
 fortuna urbis tutata est." § 
 
 * Suet. Vita Neronis, c. 50 . 
 % Ars poetica, v. IQl* 
 
 t Historia Gothica, 1. 1. 
 § Livy, 1. 3, c. 7. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 43 
 
 II. PORTA PINCIANA. 
 
 This gate, which stands on the Mons hortulorum, is thought 
 to have taken its name from the palace of the Pincian family, 
 which stood near it. And indeed the whole hill is often called 
 Mons Pincius. 
 
 The road from this gate leads into the via Salara. 
 
 A little without the gate, to the left hand, is the magnificent 
 villa Borghese, so richly ornamented with ancient statues, bas- 
 relieves and inscriptions, of which Domenico Montelatici* has 
 given a particular description. 
 
 * Villa Borghese, fuori di Porta Pinciana.” Roma, per Buaghi, IfOO. 
 8vo. 
 
 G £ 
 
 Villa Bor- 
 ghese. 
 
44 . 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Villa Albani. 
 
 III. PORTA SALARA, OR SALARIA. 
 
 The etymology of this name is uncertain. In vain do we 
 often attempt to^trace the origin of ancient names. Cicero* 
 justly observes, that by changing a single letter, any word 
 may be derived according to our fancy. Pliny supposes that 
 this gate was thus named, because by it the Sabines carried 
 their salt from Rome. May it not have been named from 
 the Salii, the priests of Mars .? It is sometimes called Porta 
 Colima, frorn the rising grounds in the neighbourhood: and 
 sometimes the Quirinal gate, as it led directly to the Qairinal 
 hill. It was likewise called Agonale, from the Agonale games 
 having been celebrated here, when the Circus Agonalis was 
 inundated by the Tyber. But as the city walls have been 
 considerably extended on this side by Aurelian, the Circus 
 Agonalis, and the temple of Venus Erycina, which stood without 
 the ancient Porta Salar.a, are now within the city, and which I 
 shall mention in my survey of the Quirinal hill, 
 
 A little without the gate, on the right hand, is the elegant 
 modern villa of Cardinal Alexander Albani. Surprising are 
 the numbers of ancient monuments of the fine arts collected 
 
 * Quoniam Neptunum a nando appellalum putas, nullum erit nomen, quod 
 non possis una littera explicare, unde ductuni sit.” — De Natura Deorum, i. 3. 
 c. 24. 
 
 t Magna (sal) apud antiquos auctoritate, sicut apparel ex nomine Salaria 
 via, quoniam ill^ salem in Sabinos portaii convenerat.” Hist, I^at. 1. 31. c. 7. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 45 
 
 and preserved here. The statues, busts, bas-relieves, urns, 
 inscriptions, columns, &c. would require volumes to describe 
 them properly. 
 
 Licinus, Augustus’s barber, erected his sumptuous monu- 
 ment about two miles .from this gate, but of which I find no 
 remains. Martial ironically says of him : 
 
 Hie quoque magnus homo est.”* 
 
 It was on seeing this sepulchre that Varro, we are told, wrote 
 this spirited distich : 
 
 “ Marmoreo lumulo Licinus jacet, ac Cato parvo, 
 Pompeius nullo, credimus esse deos 
 
 About two miles and a half from the gate, I came to Ponte 
 Salara. By the inscription I find that it had been destroyed 
 by Totila, and afterwards repaired by Narses, in the time of 
 Justinian. 
 
 It was on the other side of- this bridge that the Gauls en- 
 camped when T. Manlius killed the gigantic Gaul, in single 
 combat, and having taken from him his golden chain, torquis, 
 was thence called Torquatus.^ Thus we find that collars and 
 
 * Lib. e. ep. 32. 
 
 f Livius, 1. 7. c. 10. — From the eloquent historian it appears, that the Gaul 
 was dressed versicolori veste ; that is, in the Highland plaid, worn at this day by 
 the Scotch Highlanders; undoubtedly the descendants of the ancient Gauls. 
 Here we observe likewise, that the Homans, sensible of the advantage of th« 
 
 3. Porta Sa- 
 lara. 
 
 Sepulchre of 
 Licinus. 
 
 Ponte Salara. 
 
 Single com- 
 bat of Man- 
 lius Torqua- 
 
 tus. 
 
46 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 3. Porta Sa~ 
 lara. 
 
 Hannibal’s 
 
 encamp- 
 
 ment. 
 
 ribands, decorations and badges of distinction, still so much 
 admired, and eagerly desired, were early used by the Celtic 
 nations. 
 
 Near to the bridge, on the banks of the Anio, three miles 
 from Rome, I viewed the field where Hannibal encamped. — 
 “Inter base Annibal ad Anienem fluvium tria millia passuum 
 ab urbe castra admovit."’ * — Although there remains no monu- 
 ment of this memorable event, I could not but recall to mind 
 the history of it. The battle of Canna^ where so much Roman 
 blood was spilt, was fought in the third year of the second 
 Punic war. It was in the eighth year of the war that the 
 Carthaginian hero appeared before the walls of Rome. Various 
 were the motives that induced him to make this attempt. 
 Straightened for provisions, and unable to raise the siege of Ca- 
 pua, he thought, by marching his army to Rome, that he 
 
 short cut and thru'st sword of the Spaniards, had early adopted its form. For the 
 Roman champion was armed Hispano gladio, with which he rushed in on his 
 adversary, and stabbed him in the belly: whilst the Gaul, by his nearness to Man- 
 Hus, could make no use of his long sword. This perhaps was the sword still used 
 by our Highlanders, which they call the Cly-more, — Polybius,(lib S. c. 24 } in his 
 account of the battle of Cannae, says, that the Spaniards and Gauls used shields, 
 but that their swords were very different : those of the first were proper to cut 
 and thrust ; whereas those of the latter were only proper to cut, and that at a 
 distance. — The ingentts gladii of the Caledonians, mentioned by Tacitus, (Agri- 
 colae Vita, c. 36.) were probably that unwieldy weapon, the two-handed swords, 
 which they used, and of which many are yet preserved. They were generally 
 two inches broad, double-edged, the length of the blade three feet seven inches, 
 the handle one foot two inches, a plain transverse guard one foot ; and the weight 
 pix pounds and an half. — See Grose “ on ancient Armour.” 
 
 * Livius, 1 . 26 . c. 10 . 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 would have drawn off the Roman army from the siege, in 
 order to have defended their capital : or that his unexpected 
 march might have produced some lucky accident in his favour, 
 by either giving him an opportunity to engage the Roman 
 army with advantage, or by surprising Rome. But how dif- 
 ferent was the daring conduct of the Romans at this critical 
 conjuncture ; far from being intimidated by his approach, 
 they sold, by public auction, the very ground on which he was 
 actually encamped, for its current and full price : they marched 
 out, at an opposite gate, a body of troops to reinforce their le- 
 gions in Spain : and they presented another formidable army 
 to give him battle. Sensible, therefore, how little reason he 
 had to expect to take Rome, and certain of the h ss of men he 
 must have sustained in the action, and which he could not 
 easily recruit, Hannibal prudently retreated ; and thus tacitly 
 confessed the invincible courage of the Romans. In his march 
 to Rome, Hannibal came through the country of the Samnites ; 
 but in his return he seems to have marched through the coun- 
 try of the Volsci, hoping to have intercepted any forces sent 
 from Capua to the relief of Rome. It was probably in this 
 retreat that he encamped below the summit of 7nons Albanus, 
 on the plain which from iiim is still called HannihaVs Camp. '' 
 
 Going along the via Salaraj a little more than two miles 
 beyond the bridge, is the villa Spada ; and a little further on, 
 is Cast el Giubileo. Between these two places stood Fidence. 
 Hetruria must not have been limited by the Tyber, since 
 Livy * calls the Fidenates Hetrurians. — “ Nam Fidenates 
 
 47 
 
 3. Porta Sa- 
 lara. 
 
 Fidelias. 
 
 * Livius, 1. 1 , c. 15. 
 
48 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 3. Porta 
 lara. 
 
 Sa. quoque Etrusci fuerunt/’ — ^ Although FideruE was destroyed by 
 Mamercus about the year of Rome 327, yet in the 
 
 time of Tiberius it seems to have been in some measure re- 
 built, since it had then an amphitheatre, by whose fall, ac- 
 cording to Suetonius,* above 20000 persons were killed, Ta- 
 citus 'f indeed says, that as Tiberius discouraged public shows 
 in Rome, one Atilius, the son of a freedman, erected this am- 
 phitheatre, not from an ostentation of riches, or to procure the 
 favour of the people, but in hope of gain. For as Fidente was 
 so near Rome, every one went there to assist at the shows. 
 But as the amphitheatre was insufficiently built of wood, it 
 gave way, and by its fall 50000 persons were either killed or 
 wounded. It was after this melancholy accident, that the se- 
 nate passed a decree, that no person should exhibit a show of 
 gladiators, unless he was possessed of at least — “ quadringen- 
 torum millium res'" J — or to build an amphitheatre, except on 
 a sure foundation. 
 
 * Vit. Tiberii, c. 40. t Ann. ]. 4. c. 62, 63. 
 
 J 400000 sestertii. A sestertius, according to Dr. Arbuthuot, was equal to 
 one penny and farthings English money. — See Tables of ancient coins. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 49 
 
 IV. PORTA PIA. 
 
 This gate is so named from Pius IV. who caused it to be 
 built from a design of Michael Angelo Buonaroti, in place of 
 the Poria Nomentana, which he removed. The most ancient 
 name of this gate was Figulensei or Ficulense, because it led to 
 Ficulea, a place in Sabina ; in the same manner as it was af- 
 terwards called Nomentanay because it led to Nomentum.^ 
 From the church of S. Agnese^ a mile from the gate, it is some- 
 times called Porta di S. Agnese. 
 
 Almost joining to this church there is an ancient building, 
 commonly named the temple of Bacchus. It does not appear 
 that he had any temple on the via Nomentana, What pro- 
 bably led authors to ascribe this building to Bacchus, is the 
 representation of a vintage on its roof, executed in mosaic, 
 and a sarcophagus of porphyry, of an extraordinary size, pre- 
 served here, on which there is a bas-relief, likewise represent- 
 ing a vintage. Ficoroni -f has published this sarcophagus, 
 which, as well as some of the fine columns in the church of 
 S. Agnese^ were taken from the Moles FLadriani, This build- 
 ing seems to be of the age of Constantine, and perhaps was 
 erected by him, for a sepulchre to his daughter Constanza; 
 and indeed her acts, preserved in the library of the Chiesa 
 Nuova, afford a sort of proof of it. J It was converted into a 
 
 * Cluverius, Ital. Aiitiq. 1. ii. p. 660. 
 
 t Le Vest, di Roma, 1, i. c. 27. t Mabillion, Iter. Ital. p. 82. 
 
 H 
 
 Church of 
 St. Constan- 
 za, impro- 
 perly taken 
 for a temple 
 of Bacchus. 
 
50 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 4. Porta Pia. 
 
 Anhippodro- 
 
 mus. 
 
 Pons No- 
 mentanus. 
 
 Mons Sacer. 
 
 church, and dedicated to S. Constanza, by Alexander IV. Nor 
 need we be surprised to find here a representation of a vintage, 
 since we know that in the age of Constantine, it was not un- 
 common to mingle heathen Mnth Christian rites. The co- 
 lumns of thi§ church are elegantly grouped : * but it appears 
 evident that they had been taken from other buildings ; for 
 their capitals and bases are different, which surely would not 
 have been the case, had they been originally executed to or- 
 nament this monument. — Here, and in the adjacent church of 
 S. Agnese, are preserved five ancient candelabra, of marble, 
 of exquisite workmanship. 
 
 Adjacent to this temple, there is the remain of an oblong 
 building, which Piranesi calls a burying place. Most writers, 
 however, reckon it an hippodromus, or a place in which they 
 trained and exercised their horses. It was a sort of small 
 circus. 
 
 About a mile from this church is the Pons Nomentanus^ by 
 corruption now called Ponte Lamentana. It had been fortified 
 by Belisarius against the Goths, and afterwards repaired by 
 Narses. 
 
 On the other side of this bridge, to the right hand, is the 
 Mons Sacer, which forms a sort of amphitheatre on the banks 
 of the river. To this the people, oppressed and enslaved by 
 the Patricians, especially on account of their debts, retired, and 
 
 * See Piranesi’s Plan [Ant. Rom. Tom. 2. lav. 21.] and perspective view of 
 the inside of it. [Large views of Rome.] 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 5I. 
 
 fortified themselves; till Menenius Agrippa,* with his pru- Porta Via. 
 dence and eloquence, conciliated the differences between them 
 and the senate. This secession, A. R. 260, gave tribunes to 
 the people : annual magistrates, taken from their own body, 
 to protect them against the usurpations of the nobles, and 
 whose persons were deemed sacred; but whose factious and 
 ambitious conduct hastened, in the sequel, the ruin of the re- 
 public. On this classic spot, we were in a manner seized with 
 the true spirit of liberty : a liberty not licentious, but founded in 
 order, and regulated by wise laws. 
 
 Lamentana, the ancient Nomentuniy is about ten miles be- Nomentum. 
 yond the bridge. It was built by the old kings of Alba, as 
 Servius observes on this line of Virgil :-f 
 
 “ Hi tibi Nomentum, et Gabios urbemque Fidenam.” 
 
 Seneca J had a villa here, which he calls — “ Nomentanum 
 meum."" Columella § mentions the fertility of this villa, and 
 district. — “ Nomentana regio, celeberrima fama, illustris, et 
 prsecipue quam possidet Seneca, vir excellentis ingenii atque 
 doctrinae, cujus in piTediis vinearum jugera singula || culleos 
 octonos reddidisse, plerumque compertum est.” That is, each 
 jugerum, on this estate, produced eight culei of wine, which 
 make one hundred and sixty amphora. And indeed Colu- 
 
 * See Livy’s account of it, 1. 2. c. 32. 
 
 t ^n. i. 6. V. 773 . X Ep. 104. ad Lucilium. 
 
 § Lib, 3. c 3. Vide Plin. 1. 14. c. 4. 
 
 I According to which, an English acre would yield hogsheads. — See 
 
 Arbulhiiot’s Tables of ancient Coins, &c. p. 60. 
 
 H 2 
 
5 ® 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 4 . Torta Pia. 
 
 Italian wines, 
 ancient and 
 xnodern. 
 
 mella observes, that vineyards, whose produce is less than 
 three culei the jugerum, are not worth cultivating. 
 
 Although French wines are now in the highest estimation, 
 for their generous social qualities, the vine was much earlier 
 planted in Italy than in France. It was the love of wine that 
 chiefly enticed the Gauls to invade Italy. The Roman writers, 
 particularly Horace, celebrate the qualities of their wines, as 
 well as the length of time they preserved them. It is no doubt 
 by comparison only that we can properly ascertain the quali- 
 ties of different wines. It may therefore seem rash, at this 
 distance of time, to contradict the opinions of such respectable 
 authorities. But we know that the wines, whose age they 
 boasted, were inspissated, or reduced to a thickness or con- 
 sistence by force of heat : 
 
 “ Aut dulcis musti Vulcano decoquit humorem.'"* 
 
 Such wines might have been long kept, and could not be 
 drank till diluted with warm water : they were sometimes used 
 warm, and sometimes cooled in ice. The Romans seem even 
 to have paid particular attention to the quality of the water 
 they used for that purpose. Thus Horace says, that the Blan^ 
 dusian fountain was worthy to dilute the richest wines. — 
 
 “ Dulci digne mero."'-f* 
 
 The aqua Martia had been esteemed for this purpose — 
 
 “ Temperet annosum Martia lympha merum."' J 
 
 * Virg. Georg. 1. 1. v. 295. 
 I Tibullus, 1. 3. el. 7. v. 26 . 
 
 f Lib. S. od. 13. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 53 
 
 But can we suppose that wines in that state could retain the 
 high flavour and flattering taste, which we now justly admire 
 in these of Burgundy and Champaign ? The most celebrated 
 Italian wines were the Falernum, Massicum, Calenmn, Alba- 
 num, Setinum, and Surrentinum. The growths of these places 
 are still known, and though esteemed by the modern Italians, 
 yet how inferior are they to the fine wines of France. Of the 
 Ccecuha we can say nothing, since the vines that produced it 
 were become barren when Pliny writ. — Caecuba jam non 
 gignuntur.'"^ — We find, towards the end of the republic, and 
 during the empire, when luxury made such progress, that the 
 Romans, sensible of the superior merit and great prices of 
 some of the Greek wines, consumed immense quantities of 
 them.-f 
 
 At present Lamentana is a seat of the Borghese family, where 
 few remains of antiquity are to be seen. 
 
 These three gates, Pinciana, Salara, and Pia, lead to the 
 country of the Sabines. 
 
 Continuing my route round the walls, I came to the Cas~ 
 trum Prcetorium^ which I shall afterwards examine. I shall 
 only now observe, that, about the middle of the north side of 
 which, there is a gate built up : it is marked B, on the Plan of 
 Rome, plate III. 
 
 In the middle of the east side of the Castrum^ I saw another 
 
 4. Porta Pia. 
 
 A gate built 
 up. 
 
 Porta inter 
 aggeres. 
 
 * Hist. Nat. 1. 23. c. 1 
 
 t lb. 1. 14. c. 14. 
 
54 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 4. Porta Pia. gate which is built up : it is marked C on the same Plan. 
 
 Some antiquaries reckon that this answered to the Viminal 
 gate, before Aurelian extended the walls, and which, as it 
 stood in the middle of the agger Tarquinii, was also called • 
 Porta inter agger es. 
 
 Porta Quer- Anciently the road to Tibur, or Tivoli, was by the Viminal 
 gate. But after Aurelian enlarged the precincts of the city, 
 the road to Tivoli was by the Tihurtine gate. This seems to 
 be the one built up at the south-west corner of the Castrum, 
 marked D on the Plan, plate III. and which some writers call 
 the Porta Querquetiilana. But this gate having been built up 
 in the middle age, people went, and still continue to go to Tivoli 
 by the gate of St, Laurence. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 V. PORTA DI SAN LORENZO. 
 
 This is one of the arches of the Marcian, Tepulan, and Julian 
 aqueduct, and was called by Aurelian, when he extended the 
 walls, Porta Collatina. But when Collatiumy celebrated for 
 the adventure of Lucretiay was either destroyed, or reduced to 
 a small village, it was known by the name of St. Laurence , 
 whose church is about a mile without the gate. In my 
 jaunt to Tivoliy I have mentioned this church, and the via 
 Tihurtina.^ 
 
 Leandro Alberti, Lucio Fauno, and many of the antiquaries, 
 copying one another, give the name of Collatina to the Porta 
 Pinciana. But this is evidently a mistake'; for Collatium stood 
 between Tibur and Prceneste. Where it precisely stood, I be- 
 lieve, is uncertain. Ameti-f and FabrettiJ mark Collatium in 
 the plain, at a place called Uosteria delV Osa^ or Castrum Osce. 
 But had they consulted Virgil, § they would probably have 
 placed it on the mountains : 
 
 “ Hi Collatinas imponent montibus arces.'^ 
 
 About eight miles on the via Collatina near to S alone \\ is the 
 source of the aqua virginis. Frontinus^ gives us the original 
 
 * See Letter on Tivoli — Appendix, No. II. T Map of Latium. 
 
 J De aquis et aquaeductibus, sect. 316. § iEn. ]. 6. v. 774. 
 
 11 Salon6 was anciently called Solonus. This place and water had probably 
 been sacred to the sun, for &ol-on signifies the sun. 
 
 ^ Art. JO. 1. 1. 
 
 Collatium. 
 
 Salonc. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 5. Porta di of the fountain, and the reason of its name : — Virgo appel- 
 Aqua^*^vTrgi- ^^ta cst, quod qucBrentibus aquam militibiis, puella virguncula 
 venas quasdam monstravit, quas secuti qui foderant, ingentem 
 aquae modum invenerunt. i^^dicula fonti apposita hanc vir- 
 ginem pictura ostendit.'" It was usual to build cecliculce, or 
 small temples, to the nymphs who presided over fountains. 
 The one here mentioned was probably dedicated to the virgin, 
 who pointed out the fountain to the soldiers, who considered 
 her as a divinity, and placed in it her statue or portrait. 
 This aqueduct, now called di Trevi, and whose water is ex- 
 cellent, was brought to Rome by M. Agrippa. It is for it that 
 the magnificent fountain, fontana di Trevi, at the foot of the 
 Quirinal hill, which does so much honour to modern Rome, 
 was built by the celebrated architect, Nicolas Salvi. The 
 aqueduct, according to Frontinus, was, by its turnings, near 
 fourteen miles long : by a passage under ground, it was carried 
 eleven miles nine hundred and sixty-five paces; it then emerged, 
 and ran one thousand two hundred and forty paces above 
 ground ; afterwards five hundred and forty paces under ground. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 57 
 
 VI. PORTA MAGGIORE. 
 
 I have already observed ^ that this gate is formed out of one 
 of the arches of the castellum of the Claudian aqueduct. This 
 castellum gives us a great idea of the magnificence of the Roman 
 aqueducts.-f 
 
 Although authors call this gate indiscriminately Porta Prre- 
 nestina, Porta Labtcana, and Porta Ksquilina ; yet it seems to 
 be very different from these gates. Aurelian's Porta Pranes- 
 tina stood between those of St. Laurence and Maggiore, and is 
 perhaps the gate shut up, marked E, on the Plan of Rome, 
 plate III. The Labicana seems to have been on the other side 
 of the Maggiore, and is marked F, on the same Plan. And 
 the Esquilina, which stood behind the Maggiore, became use- 
 less after Aurelian extended the walls. 
 
 Two roads branch off from this gate. The one to the left 
 hand leads to the ancient via Prcenestina, which is now much 
 bi'oken ; and the right-hand road is the via Labicana, 
 
 About half a mile from the Porta Maggiore, the Irish Domi- 
 nicans have a vineyard called Torrione, from an ancient great 
 sepulchral monument there to be seen, though much defaced : 
 its form is round. To whom it belonged is not easy to decide, 
 
 * Page 29. 
 
 t See its elevation and inscription, in Sadeler’s Vestigi di Roma, No. S3. 
 
 I 
 
 Via Prasnes- 
 tina. 
 
 Torrione. 
 
58 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 6. Porta 
 Maggiore. 
 
 Temple of 
 Hope, 
 
 for there is no inscription fixed on it, nor has tradition pre- 
 served its name. I observed, indeed, an inscription placed on 
 the east side of the modern house of this vineyard, which, as 
 it has not been published, so far as I know, I shall here tran- 
 scribe. 
 
 D. M. 
 
 M. AVIIELIVS . SYNTOMVS . ET 
 AVRELIA . MARCIANE . iEDIFICIVM 
 CVM . CEPOTAFIO . ET . MEMORIAM 
 A . SOLO . FECERVNT . SIBI . ET . FILIIS 
 SVIS . AVRELIO . LEONTIO . ET AVRELI 
 AE . FRVCTOSAE . ET . LIB . LIBER. 
 
 POSTERISQVE . EORUM, 
 
 Who this M. Aurelius Syntomus was, I cannot discover. 
 Nor is it certain that this inscription, which seems to be of 
 the low empire, belonged to this monument; a monument 
 that must have been erected by a person remarkable either 
 for power or riches. With pleasure I mention this place, 
 since it recalls to my memory the hospitable manner in which 
 I was there entertained by the good and worthy fathers, to 
 whom it belongs. 
 
 About three miles from the gate, on the via Prcenestina^ I 
 saw the remains of an ancient building, called, by Ameti,* 
 Tor Schiava; and of which Ficoroni-f has given a plan and 
 perspective view. He would insinuate, but from no good au- 
 thority, that this might have been the temple of Hope, at 
 * Map of Latium, f Vest, di Roma, 1. 1. c. 26. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 59 
 
 which the people sacrificed, before they went to Praneste^ to 
 consult the Sortes. 
 
 To the left hand of the via Prcenestina, about twelve miles 
 from the gate, is the lacus Gabinus, now called lago di Casti- 
 glione, or Pantano ; perhaps formerly it was the crater of a 
 volcano. 
 
 A little further on, to the right hand of this road, I observed 
 the ruins of the ancient city of Gabii, built by the Alban kings.f 
 Virgil, mentioning the inhabitants of this territory among the 
 auxiliaries of Turnus — 
 
 “ Quique arva Gabinae 
 
 Junonis'^I — 
 
 shows, that they were dispersed, and had not then built the 
 city of Gabii. From the poet we find that they were under 
 the protection of Juno, It was here that Romulus and Remus 
 were educated. § It was from the Gabii that the Romans took 
 their short dress, cmctus Gabinus\\ which they used in war, or 
 in travelling, so different from the long flowing toga, which 
 they wore in the city. But what remains can we expect to find 
 of a town little inhabited in the time of Horace 
 
 “ Scis, Lebedos quid sit ; Gabiis desertior, atque 
 Fidenis vicus.** 
 
 * See my account of Praeneste, Appendix, No. TV. 
 
 t Virg. iEn. 1. 6. V. 773. J ^n. 7. v. 682. 
 
 § Plutarch, Life of Romulus. U Ferrarius de Re Vestiari*. 
 
 % L. 1. ep. 11. 
 
 6. Porta 
 Maggiore. 
 
 Lacus Gabi> 
 iius. 
 
 Gabii. 
 
6o 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 6. Porta 
 Maggiore. 
 
 Via l abica- 
 na. 
 
 Mausoleum 
 of litlen. 
 
 Cento Celle. 
 
 Colleae of 
 gladiators. 
 
 Though Gabii was a deserted village in the time of Horace 
 and Strabo, it must have been soon afterwards inhabited, and 
 ornamented with remarkable villas. This appears from the 
 many valuable statues, busts, inscriptions, &c. lately found 
 here, in an excavation carried on by my celebrated and inge- 
 nious friend Gavin Hamilton, Esq. of Murdieston, under the 
 protection of Prince Borghese, proprietor of the ground. 
 
 There were two Gabii. It is therefore necessary to distin- 
 guish this Gabii from the other^ which was in Sabina, about a 
 mile south of the abbacy of Farfu. It is now called Torri, or 
 Grotte di Torri.^ 
 
 About a mile and a half from the gate, on the via Labicana, 
 are the remains of the mausoleum of Helen, the mother of 
 Constantine. It is now called Torre Pignettara, The large 
 porphyry sarcophagus, in which her body was deposited, was 
 carried, by order of Pope Anastasius IV. to the cloister of St. 
 John Lateran. Piranesi has published this sepulchre, and the 
 sarcophagus.-f- 
 
 Four miles from the gate, on the same road, near to the 
 ruins called the Cento Celle, stood the college of the Sylvian- 
 Aurehan gladiators. It was here that the two inscriptions, 
 preserved at the villa Albani,J were found, in the year 1755, 
 and not on the Aventine hill, as mentioned by Venuti, in his 
 
 * Vide/‘Gabio antica cilia di Sabina, &c. discorso di D. Pierluigi Gallelti.” 
 t '' Le Antichita Rom.” Tom. 3. tav. 1 6, 17, 18, and IQ. 
 t See page 44. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 6i 
 
 dissertation on them.^ The first inscription contains the 
 names of thirty-two of the gladiators belonging to this col- 
 lege, with their designations; viz. Threces, Hoplomachi, Esse^ 
 dari, Retiarii, Murmillones, &c. By this inscription it appears 
 that the gladiators were formed into societies or communities. 
 These colleges, according to Varro, were composed of persons 
 of the same art or profession. They resembled little republics, 
 
 ‘ and made by-laws for their own regulation. Thus we find, 
 in Gruter, decrees— Collegii Fabrorum et Centonariorum.” 
 expressed in the style of a senatus consultum. The second in- 
 scription contains some flattering Tides to the emperor Corn- 
 modus, upon renewal of the college; who, from his fondness 
 for these exercises, called himself the Hercules Romanus. 
 
 To the left hand of the via Lahicana, and under Monte Fal- 
 cone, about tliirteen miles and a half from Rome, I saw the 
 Lacus Regillus, now a small puddle, but celebrated for the 
 victory obtained here by A, Posthumius over the sons of Tar- 
 quin ; when Castor and Pollux are fabled to have appeared 
 and fought in the Roman army.f This gave rise to the yearly 
 games instituted to them, and of which Dionysius of Halicar- 
 nassus has given us an account. J 
 
 * Venuti, Marmora Albano.” — See these inscriptions and the remains of 
 the building, as published bj' Piranesi, Tom. 4. tav. 57* — See also, Francisci 
 Antonii Vitale, in binas veteres Inscripliones L. Aurelii Commodi, Dissertalio. 
 Romae, 1763. 4to. 
 
 “ Apud Regillum flacum] bello Latinorum, cum A. Posthumius dictator 
 cum Octavio M amilio Tusculano prmlio ciimicaret, in nostra acie Castor et Pol- 
 lux ex equis pugnare visi sunt.” — Cicero de Nat. Deorum, 1. 2. c. €. Vide Val. 
 Max. 1. 1. c. 8. sect 1. J H6. 6. c. 2. sect, 2J, 22. 
 
 6. Porta 
 Maggiore. 
 
 Lacus Re- 
 gillus. 
 
62 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 6. Porta 
 
 Maggiore, 
 
 Labicum. 
 
 To fix the situation of ancient cities, although long since 
 destroyed, is to enrich geography. Labicum, or Lavicum, or 
 Lavicanum, situated on the via Lahicana, gave name to that 
 road, as well as to a gate of Rome, now built up.* Virgil 
 names the Lahicani, with their painted shields, among the 
 auxiliaries of Turnus : 
 
 “ Et picti scuta Labici.'^'f 
 
 This city is often mentioned by the Roman historians. Here 
 Julius Cassar had a villa, to which he used to retire, and where 
 he wrote his testament: — “ Quod Idibus Septembribus proxi- 
 mis in Lavicano suo fecerat.^’J It seems, however, to have 
 been destroyed during the civil wars, in the time of Augustus. 
 But afterwards a new town was built near to it, out of its 
 ruins, whose inhabitants were called Lavicani-Quintanensii, 
 Quintinum was another , village on the via Lahicana, perhaps 
 thus named from its distance from Rome, ad V. lapidem ; but 
 having been likewise destroyed, its inhabitants had joined 
 those of ancient Labicum, and formed a new settlement, de- 
 nominated by their joint names. This new settlement is pro- 
 bably now called Lugnano. Some antiquaries have placed La- 
 hicum at Colonna, and others at Volmontone. But the diligent 
 Ficoroni § places it at Colle delli Quadri, on the via Labicanq, 
 about 1 miles from the gate. This situation, though high, 
 has a plain on its summit proper for a town. Strabo || says, 
 that Labicum, stood on a height, a little more than 120 stadia 
 
 * See page 57. t 7. v. 796. 
 
 J Suetonius, Vita Jul, Caes. c. 83. § “ Le Memoiie ritrovate 
 
 nel territorio della prima e seconda citta di Labico.” U Strabo, 1. 5. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 63 
 
 from Rome. Indeed Ficoroni, who was born at Lugnano, 
 and had property in that neighbourhood, pretends that, about 
 the year 1650, the foundations of the walls and some grottos of 
 Labicum were traced at Colle delli Quadri ; but that most part 
 of the materials had been formerly employed to build Lugnano 
 and Valmontone. 
 
 Proceeding along the walls, at the church called S. Croce 
 in Gerusalemme^ I saw the remains of an amphitheatre built 
 up in, and making part of the city walls. It stood, no 
 doubt, without the walls, before they were extended by 
 Aurelian. It is built of brick, and is of the Corinthian 
 order.* A ^reat part of it had been destroyed by the monks, 
 for the materials to build their convent. Fauno, and some 
 other of the antiquaries, call this the amphitheatre of Statilius 
 Taurus, which he erected at the desire of Augustus.-f But 
 this must be a mistake ; for Taurus’s amphitheatre, according 
 to Dio Cassius, J stood in the Campus Mariius, and was of 
 marble. Nardini,§ with more probability, calls it the amphi^ 
 theatrum castrense. Here the prsetorian guards used to amuse 
 themselves, and practise the gymnastic exercises; exercises 
 which added strength to their bodies, activity to their limbs, 
 and grace to their motions. And such was the avidity the 
 Romans had for these exercises, that it was usual for the sol- 
 diers to form temporary amphitheatres, near the stations in the 
 distant provinces. Many vestiges of this kind have been traced 
 in Britain. They were not built of brick or stone, but were 
 
 ♦ See a small view of it in Piranesi, Ant. Rom. Tom.l. lav. 9 . fig, 2. 
 
 t Suelon. Vit. Aug. c. 28. % Lib. 47. § Roma Ant. 1 . 4 . c. 2. 
 
 6. Porta 
 Maggiore, 
 
 Amphithea- 
 trum cas- 
 trense. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 64 
 
 6. Porta 
 Maggiore. 
 
 only hollow circular spots dug in the ground, round the top of 
 which the spectators stood, or sat on the declivity, on seats 
 covered with sod : 
 
 ' “ In gradibus sedit populus de cespite factis."’^ 
 
 From their form they were named cavea, a term often given to 
 amphitheatres in general. But this castrensian amphitheatre, as 
 it belonged to the permanent praetorian camp, had been built in 
 a solid manner, with seats, and all the necessary conveniences. 
 
 * Ovid, de Arte Amandi, 1. 1. v. 107- 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 ^5 
 
 VII. PORTA DI SAN GIOVANNI. 
 
 This gate, so called from the neighbouring church of St. 
 John of Lateran, was ornamented by Pope Gregory XIII.; 
 perhaps from the spoils of the gate that stood a little to the 
 right hand of it, now built up, and which is reckoned, by some 
 of the antiquaries, to have been the Porta Asmaria, and by 
 others Celimontana. 
 
 At a little distance without the gate the road separates. The 
 one to the right hand leads to Albano and Marino ; and the 
 other to the left hand to Frascati. 
 
 About two miles and an half from the gate, on the Frascati 
 road, I saw the Monte del Grano. Covered with stones and 
 earth, resembling a hillock, it was thus named, till digging, 
 about the middle of the sixteenth century, it was discovered to 
 be a sepulchral monument.* From Virgil we learn, that it 
 had been an ancient custom, in Latium, to erect sepulchres in 
 form of mounts : thus, in mentioning that of King Dercennus, 
 he says — 
 
 “ Fuit ingens monte sub alto 
 
 Regis Dercenni terreno ex aggere bustum 
 Antiqui Laurentis, opacaque ilice tectum. 
 
 * Vide ‘‘ Memorie di Flaininio Vacca/’sect. 36. 
 
 t ^n. 11. V. 849. The ilex, or ever-green oak, was planted at sepulchral 
 monuments, having been considered by the ancients as a symbol of melancholy ; 
 
 K 
 
 Monte del 
 Grano. 
 
 A sepulchre 
 called that of 
 Alexander 
 Severus, but 
 more pro- 
 bably that of 
 his father, 
 Genesius 
 Marcianus. 
 
66 
 
 ANCIENT ROME, 
 
 7. Porta di 
 San Gio- 
 vanni. 
 
 A sarcopha- 
 gus. 
 
 The poet's description is very applicable to the monument in 
 question. The raising mounds, or tumuli, of loose stones over 
 the graves of the dead, seems to have been an universal prac- 
 tice among the ancients. These mounds are frequent in Bri- 
 tain, particularly in Scotland, where they are named cairns. 
 Passengers thought that they did honour to the dead by add- 
 ing stones to the cairn. Pietro Santi Bartoli* and Piranesi -f* 
 have given plans and sections of this sepulchre, as well as en- 
 gravings of the noble sarcophagus found here, and now pre- 
 served in the Capitol. From the time of its discovery, this 
 monument has been reckoned to be that of Alexander Severus, 
 and of his mother Julia Mammea. This opinion is founded on 
 the resemblance that the two statues, which lie on the sarco- 
 phagus, have to the medals of that emperor and his mother. 
 Indeed the head and dress of the lady resemble her portrait 
 on her medals ; but the man, who seems to be above fifty 
 years of age, and even much older than she is, surely is too 
 old to be her son, who was not twenty-seven when he was 
 murdered in Germany. It is therefore more probably the sta- 
 tue of Genesius Marcianus, the husband of Mammea, and the 
 father of Alexander Severus : and, laying aside the difference 
 of age, we observe a family likeness between the portrait of 
 Alexander Severus, on his medals, and that of his father on 
 
 it was therefore consecrated to Pluto, not only on account of the dull colour of 
 its leaves, but because it produced no flowers. Hence Pliny, 1. 16, c. 25, says 
 — Non enim oinnes [arbores] florent ; et sunt tristes quaedam, quaeque non 
 sentianl gaudia annoruni. Nam neque ilex, &c. ullo flore exhilarantur.” 
 
 * ' Gli Antichi Sepulcri,” tav. QO, et seq. 
 
 + “ Le Ant. Rom.” Tom. 2. tav. 31, et seq. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 this sarcophagus. The mausoleum, therefore, might more 
 properly have been called that of Genesius Marcianus, and of 
 Julia Mammea, than that of the son and mother. Besides, we 
 are uncertain if the ashes of Alexander Severus were deposited 
 here. Ancient monuments, that are not inscribed, may be, 
 and often are, variously explained ; this has been particularly 
 the fate of the sarcophagus I am now examining. Indeed it 
 is generally reckoned a barbarism for sculptors or painters to 
 inscribe the names of the personages they introduce in their 
 works. But surely these artists might do so, without disfi- 
 guring their compositions, or dishonouring their reputations; 
 
 thus, without enigma or conjecture, transmit their real 
 meaning to posterity. Neither need artists be ashamed to in- 
 scribe their works, since the great painter Polygnotus did so, 
 as recorded by Pausanias : — Polygnotus, the son of Thasus 
 of Aglaophon, painted this picture, which represents the tak- 
 ing of Troy.’' * Many antiquaries think, that the bas-relieves 
 on the front and ends of this sarcophagus represent the peace 
 concluded between Romulus and T. Tatius, after the rape of 
 the Sabine women ; and that the back part, which is not so 
 highly finished, exhibits Romulus's triumph over the Coenini. 
 Pietro Santi Bartoli indeed supposes that the subject engraved 
 on this monument relates to the history of Alexander Severus ; 
 but of which I can perceive no traces. However, Venuti'f 
 and Winckelmann ^ are of opinion that it represents the coun- 
 cil of the Greeks, and the restoration of Chryseis to her father 
 Chryses, the priest of Apollo ; and the back part, Priamus 
 
 * Pausanias, 1. 10. c. 17. t Spiegazione de’ Bassinlievi/' &c. 
 
 “ Monumenti Antichi inediti,” c. 6. p. l66. 
 
 K2 
 
 67 
 
 7 . Porta di 
 San Gio~ 
 vanni. 
 
68 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 7. Port a di 
 S(ui Gio- 
 vanni. 
 
 Barberini 
 
 vase. 
 
 begging the body of Hector from Achilles. If their explanation 
 is approved of, this urn expresses the beginningand the end of 
 the Iliad. In this sarcophagus was found the elegant vase, long 
 preserved in the Barberini palace at Rome, and known by the 
 name of the Barberini vase* It came into the hands of Mr. Byres, 
 who disposed of it to Sir William Hamilton, K. B. who sold it 
 to the late Duchess of Portland, and it is now in the posses- 
 sion of the Duke of Portland, from whom it is called the Port- 
 land vase. It is about ten inches high, and six in diameter in 
 the broadest parr. It is one of the most beautiful specimens 
 of Grecian taste, in sculpture, hitherto discovered ; and must 
 have been executed when the fine arts were in their highest 
 perfection in that country. It is not of stone, as was long sup- 
 posed, but of an artificial composition, or what is called a paste 
 vitrified. It is two bodies of paste, or glass of different co- 
 lours, so closely united together as to make two distinct strata, 
 like a cameo (onyx). The upper stratum, a beautiful white, 
 serves for the figures, which are in relief ; and the under one, 
 a darke blue, forms the ground. It is difficult to conceive how 
 these strata of glass could be so firmly joined, as not to break 
 or fly off' when the turning-wheel, or graver was applied to 
 them. Pietro Santi Bartoli,* by whom it was first published, 
 thought that the subject engraved on this vase relates to the 
 birth of Alexander the Great: but I can find no connection 
 between this bas-relief, and the fabulous story of that hero's 
 being the son of Jupiter Hammon. M. d'Hankerville-|' thinks 
 that it represents the well-know fable of Orpheus's descent 
 
 * See ** Gli Antichi Sepulcri,” plates 94, 95, and 9d. 
 
 + “ Rechercbes sur les Arts de la Grece,” &c. vol. 2, p. 133, et seq. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 into Elysium, to recover from thence his beloved Eurydice, so 
 elegantly told by Virgil.* M. von Veltheim f supposes, that 
 the story of i\dmetus recovering his wife Alcestes from Ely- 
 sium, is engraved on it. And the learned M. Ennio Quirino 
 Visconti J reckons that it records the marriage of Peleus and 
 Thetis. Subjects of the same kind are to be seen on many 
 sarcophagi: they probably all related to the Fables of Ely- 
 sium, and the state of the dead. But, of the many authors who 
 have mentioned this celebrated vase, I think the philosophic 
 poet. Dr. Darwin, § has given the most probable account of it. 
 He is of opinion that the figures of this funeral urn do not 
 represent the history of any jfarticular family or event; but 
 that they express part ot' the ceremonies of the Eleusinian 
 mysteries: he therefore divides this vase into two compart- 
 ments, and reckons that the first is emblematical of mortal life ; 
 expressed by a dying lady, or Libitina, holding an inverted 
 torch; she sits on ruins, under a tree of deciduous leaf, at- 
 tended by two persons, who seem to express the terror with 
 which mankind look upon death : and that the second com- 
 partment represents immortal life ; expressed by a hero entering 
 the gate of Elysium, conducted by divine love, and received by 
 immortality i who is to present him to Pluto, the judge of what 
 company be is fit to keep in Elysium, 
 
 “ Or bid mortality rejoice or mourn. 
 
 O’er the fine forms of Portland’s mystic urn.” 
 
 % 
 
 7. Porta di 
 San Gio- 
 vanni, 
 
 ♦Georg. 1. 4. f Gentleman’s Magazine, April, 1792. 
 
 11 Museo Pio Clementino,” Tom. 6. p. 71. 
 
 § “ Botanic Garden, canto £. v. 321, and additional notes, note 22, p. 53. 
 
70 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 7« Porta di 
 San Gio- 
 vanni. 
 
 Frascati. 
 
 on the bottom of the vase is the portrait of a woman, hold- 
 ing her finger on her mouth, the emblem of secrecy, and who 
 probably represents a priestess of these mysteries. Perhaps 
 this vase, and the following passage of Horace, * reciprocally 
 explain each other, — 
 
 “ Jam te premet nox fabulceque manes, 
 
 Et domus exilis Plutonia/* 
 
 Frascati, commonly reckoned the same as Tusculum^ is 
 twelve miles from the gate of St. John. It is the see of one of 
 the six cardinal bishops; and of all the places in the neigh- 
 bourhood of Rome, it is the most ornamented with magnifi- 
 cent villas, belonging to the great modern Roman families. 
 These beautiful villas, with their gardens and water- works, 
 cannot but attract the curiosity of travellers : but, being 
 foreign to the plan of this work, I shall not attempt to 
 describe them. 
 
 The ancient city of Tusculum having been barbarously de- 
 stroyed, by Pope Celestin the I lid, with the consent of the 
 Emperor Henry the Vlth, in the year 1191,^ the inhabitants, 
 who survived that misfortune, encamped below Tusculum, on 
 
 * Lib. I. od. 4. The late Mr. Pichler, the celebrated gem-engraver, struck 
 with the beautj of this vase, moulded it at Rome, before it came into the posses- 
 sion of Sir William Hamilton ; and from this perfect mould, or Jac simile, the 
 ingenious Mr. Tassie, after having taken sixty fine casts in plaster of Paris, 
 prepared with gum, broke the mould. Some of these beautiful casts, I believe, 
 are still to be had at his house. No. 20, Leicester-Fields, London. 
 
 t Muratori Annali dTtalia, Tom. 7* part 1. page Q5.ed. 8vo. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 the skirts of the plain, among the ruins of Lucullus* villa, 
 where they founded the modern city of Frascati ; which was so 
 named from the Italian word frasche, the branches of trees, with 
 which they formed their first huts. 
 
 The people of Latium were always fond to give fabulous 
 accounts of the founders of their ancient cities. Thus Tuscu- 
 lum is said to have been founded by Telegonus, the supposed 
 son of Ulysses and Circe, who ignorantly killed his father. 
 Horace,* in an invitation he gave to Maecenas to sup with him, 
 alludes to this — 
 
 ‘‘ Ne semper udum Tibur et ^Tsulse 
 Declive contempleris arvum, et 
 Telegoni juga parricidae."' 
 
 However this was, Tusculum was one of the powerful cities of 
 Latium, which long resisted the Roman arms ; but which af- 
 terwards became an useful ally to Rome, and produced many 
 great men, who there figured both in peace and war ; such as 
 the Fabii, the Catos, &c. It continued long a municipium, and 
 was governed by its own laws and magistrates. Its situation 
 was strong, being placed, like many of the old cities of Latium, 
 on the summit of the hill. Its figure and fortifications may be 
 seen on a medal of the Sulpician family, inscribed — tvscvl — 
 on the reverse of which are the heads of Castor and Pollux.'f* 
 Many foundations and ruins of this city may yet be traced, 
 from the summit of the hill down to the villa called Rufinella, 
 
 * Lib. 3. od. 29- v. 6. “t* This medal, from Uisini, is 
 
 published by Voipius, in his Vetus Latium, Tom. 8. tab. 2. fig, 3. 
 
 71 
 
 7. Porta di 
 San Gio- 
 vanni. 
 
 Tusculum. 
 
72 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 7. Porta di 
 San Gio- 
 vanni. 
 
 L. Lucullus’ 
 villa. 
 
 Grotto Per- 
 rata, or the 
 Tusculum of 
 Cicero. 
 
 which belonged to the Jesuits of the Roman college, who dis- 
 covered there some mosaic pavements and other antiquities. 
 
 The fine air of Tusculum, its beautiful situation, its near- 
 ness to Rome, and plenty of water, engaged many of the Ro- 
 mans to build villas in that territory. But the most magnifi- 
 cent, as well as the most extensive, of these villas was that of 
 Lucullus ; who, after he retired from public business, and 
 loaded with the riches he acquired in the Mithridatic war, 
 spent much of his time there, in a learned and luxurious man- 
 ner, as related by his historian Plutarch. Many of the ruins 
 of this vast villa may be traced in and about Frascati, parti- 
 cularly in the modern villa Ludovisi, The extensive and sin- 
 gular ruin there to be seen is generally supposed to have been 
 a part of Lucullus* library and gallery, which was amply fur- 
 nished with the best books, as well as ornamented with the 
 finest Grecian sculpture and painting ; to the use of which he 
 liberally invited the learned and the curious. 
 
 Grotto Ferrata, little more than a mile south of Frascati, is an 
 abbey of Basilian monks ; but it is remarkable for having been 
 the site where Cicero *s Tusculum villa stood. Although there 
 are no remains of it, we cannot, without a certain enthusiasm, 
 approach the spot where this celebrated statesmen, orator, and 
 philosopher composed many of his immortal works. This 
 villa, which seems formerly to have belonged to Sylla, had no 
 doubt been considerable before it was purchased by Cicero, 
 who made many additions to it, particularly a library and 
 gallery, which he called his academy, or gymnasium. It was 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 73 
 
 natural, for a person of Cicero's learning and taste, to collect 
 a curious and extensive library, and to ornament it with sta- 
 tues, and other works of the Grecian artists. — ‘‘ Sic literis sus- 
 tentor et recreor: maloque in ilia tua sedecula, quam habes 
 sub imagine Aristotelis, sedere, quam in istorum sella curuli."^ 
 — For this purpose we find him anxiously addressing himself, 
 in many of his epistles, to his friend Atticus, who chiefly re- 
 sided at Athens, the seat of the fine Arts, to purchase for him 
 books proper for his library, and statues to ornament his aca- 
 demy.-'j' In this elegant academic retreat, I still, in imagina- 
 tion, see the orator discoursing with the illustrious personages 
 whom he has made the interlocutors in his Tusculan Questions , 
 and in his other inimitable philosophic dialogues. Though 
 tradition has placed Cicero's Tusculum villa at Grotta Ferrata, 
 yet father Zuzzeri, perhaps from the vanity to make the Jesuits 
 possess this great man's villa, contends that it was at the villa 
 Rufinella, which I have just mentioned. J But Don Cardonus,§ 
 a Basilian monk^ has, I think, pretty clearly ascertained that it 
 was at Grotto Ferrata. 
 
 Between the Porta di San Giovanni and Porta Latina, there 
 is a gate built up, which seems to have corresponded to the 
 ancient Porta Firentina, which led to Firentum. It is at this 
 gate that the aqua Craba, now called Marana, enters Rome. 
 
 * Ad Atticum, 1. 4. ep. 10. 
 
 t Signa Megarica, et Hermas, de quibus ad me scripsisti, vehementer ex- 
 pecto. Quidquid ejusdem generis habebis, dignum academia tibi quod videbitur, 
 ne dubitaris mittere, et areas nostras confidito. Genus hoc est voluptatis meas : 
 quae yviM/aanoh maxima sunt, ea quaero.” Ad Atticum, 1. 1. ep. Q. 
 
 $ Page 71. ^ De Tusculano Ciceronis, nunc Crjpta-Ferrata. 
 
 L 
 
 7« Porta di 
 San Giom 
 vanni. 
 
 Porta Firen* 
 tina. 
 
74 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Temple of 
 Female for- 
 tune. 
 
 VIII. PORTA LATINA. 
 
 This gate seems to have been built in the low age, with 
 materials taken from other buildings. Some authors, indeed, 
 consider this and the Porta Firentina as the same. 
 
 As the roads to Marino and Albano, now in repair, are by 
 the gates of St. John and St. Sebastian, the Porta Latina 
 serves only for the conveniency of the neighbouring vine- 
 yards. 
 
 About three miles and an half from this gate, and near to 
 where the via Latina unites with the modern Albano road, we 
 find the remains of a small square building, published by Fi- 
 coroni.* He reckons that this is the for tunce mulie- 
 
 hrisy erected by the senate, in honour of the ladies, on the ' 
 spot where Veturia and Volumnia, attended by the Roman 
 matrons, overcame by their pathetic eloquence the obstinacy 
 of Coriolanus, and thereby saved their country. Dionysius 
 of Halicarnassus, -f* and Valerius Maximus, J agree in the si- 
 tuation of this temple. The latter, mentioning miraculous 
 events in the Roman history, says — “ Fortunse etiarn mulie- 
 bris simulacrum, quod est via Latina ad quartum milliarium, 
 eo tempore cum sede sua consecratum, quo Coriolanum ab 
 excidio urbis maternse preces repulerunt, non semel, sed bis 
 
 * Vest, di Roma, 1. 1. c. 24. 
 % Lib. 1. c. 8. sect. 4. 
 
 f Lib. 8. c. 7. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 75 
 
 locutum constitit, prius his verbis : rite me matronce vidistis : 8. Porta La~ 
 riteque dedicastky — If, indeed, the statue, supposed to be 
 Coriolanus caressed by his wife Volumnia, preserved in the 
 villa Borghese, was found here, as mentioned by father Scarli,* 
 it is not unreasonable to conclude, that this was the temple 
 of female fortune. It is built of brick, and ornamented with 
 a pediment and Corinthian pilasters. It must, however, have 
 been rebuilt during the empire, as appears from the taste of 
 architecture. Ficoroni conjectures, that it may have been 
 restored by Faustina the younger, because we see, on the 
 reverse of her silver medals,*f- a figure of Fortune, with this 
 legend : 
 
 FORTVNAE . MVLIEBRI. 
 
 It was from the baths of Titus on the Esquiline hill, that 
 Annibal Caracci copied the picture, now much defaced, 
 which is commonly reckoned to represent the story of Co- 
 riolanus and his mother, so elegantly related by Livy.J It 
 is published in the “ Admiranda Romanarum Antiquitatum,'* 
 
 No. 83. — But this picture conveys no just idea of this cele- 
 brated history; for the lady seems to be too young to be 
 the mother of this imagined Coriolanus: besides, the scene 
 here represented, passes within a building ; whereas the meet- 
 ing of the Roman hero and his mother was in the open 
 fields 
 
 * Letleia sopra vaij antichi monumenti,” p. 75. 
 
 f See this medal, and Coriolanus and his wife, Vest, di Roma, 1. 1. c. 5. 
 
 J “ Ubi ad castra ventum est,” &c. 1. 2. c. 40. 
 
 Ls 
 
70 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 8. Porta Lam 
 tina. 
 
 Aqua Santa. 
 
 Almost opposite to this temple, on the right hand of the 
 via Latina, is the Aqua Santa, formerly called Salutare, This 
 mineral water is still used by the Romans, as well for drinking 
 as bathing. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 77 
 
 IX. PORTA DI S. SEBASTIANO. 
 
 It is so named from the church of *9. Sebastian, which I shall 
 soon visit. As this gate stands on the via Appia, it is often, 
 by the antiquaries, called Capena. But the ancient Capena, 
 before Aurelian extended the walls, stood below the villa Mat- 
 tei, at the narrow part of the vale, between the Celian and 
 Aventine hills.* 
 
 Cicero, -f triumphantly returning from exile, writes to At- 
 ticus, his friend and confident — “ Cum venissem ad portam 
 Capenam, gradus templorum ab infima plebe completi erant.'* 
 Of these temples I find no vestiges. Indeed since the exten- 
 sion of the city walls, we must look for their situation within 
 the present gate. 
 
 The temple of Mars probably stood near to the church of 
 S. S. Nereo and Archelleo.;]; Here the senate gave audience 
 to their enemies' ambassadors, whom, perhaps from jealousy, 
 or want of hospitality, they would not permit to enter the 
 city. 
 
 M. Marcellus, § after the Sicilian conquest, intended to have 
 built a temple to Honour and Virtue : but the Roman super- 
 
 * Holdsworth’s Dissertations, p. 483. f Ad. Att. 1. 4. ep. 1. 
 
 Holdsworth, ib. p. 491. § Livius, 1, 27. c. 25. — Val. 
 
 Max 1. 1. c. 1. sect, 8. 
 
 Temple of 
 Mars. 
 
 Temple of 
 Honour and 
 Virtue. 
 
78 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 9* Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano, 
 
 Procession of 
 the Roman 
 knights. 
 
 stition would not allow him to lump them together. He 
 therefore erected a temple to each, and placed them in such 
 a manner, that no one could enter the temple of Honour but 
 by that of Virtue. Wise and noble idea, worthy of that great 
 man ! These temples perhaps stood opposite to that of Mars, 
 and where now stands the convent of S. S. Domenico and Sisto, 
 belonging to the Irish Dominicans.* They had been repaired 
 by Vespasian, and painted by Cornelius Pinus and Accius 
 Priscus.-f I cannot but particularly regret the destruction of 
 these twin temples, not only on account of the ingenuity of the 
 idea, but because, according to Vitruvius,^ they must have been 
 classed among the finest buildings of the Romans. 
 
 From the temple of Honour, the Roman knights annually, 
 on the Ides of July, i. e. the 13th of the month, marched in 
 procession to the Capitol, to be reviewed by the censor, seated 
 in his curule-chair. They were mounted on the horses given 
 them by the republic, dressed in their robes of ceremony, with 
 olive crowns on their heads, and such other ornaments in 
 their hands as they had received from their generals, as 
 marks of their military achievements. If, after examina- 
 tion, any knight was found to live a dissipated life, and had so 
 diminished his fortune that he could not support the dignity 
 
 ♦ Holdsworth’s Dissertations, p. 49I. t Plin. Hist. Nat. 1. 35. c. 10. 
 
 J Sed etiam a Cajo Mutio, qui inagna scientia confisus aedes Honoris et 
 Virtutis Marcellianae Celias, columiiarumque et epistyliorum symraetrias legitimis 
 aitis inslitutis perfecit : id vero si marmoreum fuisset, ut haberet, quemadmodum 
 ab arte subtilitatem, sic a magnificentia, et impensis auctoritatem, in primis et 
 sumrnis operibus nominaretur.’’ —Vitruvius, 1. 7, in prafat. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 79 
 
 of his rank, or had not had sufficient care of his horse, the 
 censor deprived him of it, and degraded him. But if this great 
 magistrate v^as satisfied w'ith the conduct of the knight, he 
 desired him to march on.^ 
 
 O 
 
 Since I left Rome a sepulchre of the Cornelian family has 
 been discovered in the year 1780. It stands on the left side 
 of the via Appia^ without the ancient Porta Capena, but within 
 the present gate of S. Sebastian, in a vineyard belonging to Sig. 
 Sassi. The vault of this sepulchre is dug in the tufoy like the 
 sand pits or catacombs ; in many places plastered over with a 
 hard cement; and the inscriptions, recording the names and 
 honours of this illustrious family, are placed on the sides. The 
 facing of the basement of the monument is of that volcanic 
 stone, which the Romans call peperinoj with a rustic cornice. 
 The building above the vault seems to have been of a later 
 period, and now serves for the foundation of the small house 
 and offices of the vineyard. The discovery of this sepulchre 
 has thrown some new light on the genealogy and history of 
 th.e Scipios, as well as on ancient geography. Aided with these 
 inscriptions, and the Roman historians, the learned M. Dutens 
 has given a genealogical tree of the family of the Scipios.-f* 
 The Pope, Pius VI. I am informed, has caused the sarcophagi 
 and inscriptions to be removed from the vault, where they 
 had remained untouched for so many centuries, to the museum 
 of the Vatican. They are of peperino, before the luxury of 
 marble had been introduced at Rome. The most remarkable 
 
 p. Porta di 
 S.Sebastiam. 
 
 Cornelian 
 
 sepulchre. 
 
 * Vide, Cujas. Observat. 1. 13. c. CQ. and 1. 21. c. 9. 
 f “ CEuvres Melees de M. L. Dutens.*' 
 
o 
 
 So 
 
 5. Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano. 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 of these monuments is that of Lucius Cornelius Scipio Barba- 
 tus, great-grandfather of Asiaticus and Africanus, who had 
 been consul with Cneius Fulvius, in the year of Rome 4,55, 
 i, e. thirty-five years before the first Punic war. It is an 
 elegant piece of Doric architecture, which s^ows that Grecian 
 taste was then known at Rome: and the inscription on it is 
 the most ancient of any hitherto discovered. It is indeed 
 more ancient than that of Duiiius, preserved at the Capitol, 
 who defeated the Carthaginians at sea, in the year 494. It 
 shows the progress that the Latin language made from that pe- 
 riod, which was about three hundred years previous to its com- 
 ing to its perfection in the time of Cicero. The difference of 
 the orthography, as well as the termination of some words, is 
 curious. For example, we read — Gnaivod for Gnao or CnceOy 
 quoins for cnjus, virtutei for virtuti, parisuma for parissimay 
 aidilis for cedilis, quei for qui ; the m in the accusative of Tau- 
 rasiam, &c. is omitted. However, these inscriptions, ancient 
 as they are, possess much force of expression and even ele- 
 gancy. But as they are not, I believe, yet much known, per- 
 haps it will not be disagreeable to the readers of these remarks 
 to examine this ancient specimen of Roman writing; I shall 
 therefore here present them, copied by my learned, accurate, 
 and ingenious friend Colin Morison, Esq, at Rome, who was so 
 obliging as to communicate them to me. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 8i 
 
 9 . Vorta di 
 S.Selastiano. 
 
 Inscriptions found in the Cornelian Sepulchre. 
 
 I. 
 
 This inscription is upon a sarcophagus of peperino, decorated 
 with Doric ornaments. 
 
 CORNELIVS LVCIVS SCIPIO BARBATVS GNAIVOD PATRE 
 PROGNATVS FORTIS VIR SAPIENS ^VE ^VOIVS FORMA 
 VIRTUTEI PARISVMA 
 
 FVIT CONSOL CENSOR AIDILIS QVEI FVIT APUD VOS TAVRA 
 
 SIA CiSAVNA 
 
 SAMNIO CEPIT SVBIGIT OMNE LOVCANA OPSIDES 
 gVE ABDOVCIT. 
 
 f. e. Cornelius Lucius Scipio Barbatus Gnaeo patre prognatus^ 
 fortis vir sapiensque, cujus forma virtute parissima fuit; Con- 
 sul, Censor, ^Tdilis qui fuit apud vos : Taurasiam Cisaunam 
 Samnio coepit: subegit omnem Lucaniam obsidesque abducit. 
 
 II. 
 
 In red letters, and not engraved on the stone. 
 
 L. CORNELIO. L. T. SCIPIO 
 AIDILES . COSOL . CESOR. 
 
 i. e, Lucius Cornelius Lucii Filius Scipio ^dilis Consul; 
 
 Censor. 
 
 M- 
 
9. Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano. 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 About the beginning of the last century, another inscription 
 was found in the same place, but engraved on the stone. It 
 is at present in the library of the Barberini family. It was 
 explained by Sirmond, and serves to correct some errors in 
 Pighius and Panvinius. Scipio. MafFei, in his Critica Lapidaria, 
 had declared it to be spurious. 
 
 That of the Barberini is thus — 
 
 HONC . OINO . PLOIRVME . CONSENTIONT. . R. 
 
 OVONORO . OPTVMO . FVISE . VIRO . 
 
 LVCIOM . SCIPIONE . FILIOS . BARBATI . 
 
 CONSOL . CENSOR . AIDILIS . HIC . FVIT . A . 
 
 HIC . CEPET . CORSICA . ALERIAgVE . VRBE . 
 
 DEDET . TEMPESTATEBVS . AEDE . MERETO . 
 
 i. e, Hunc unum plurimi consentiunt Romse bonorum opti- 
 mum fuisse virum Lucium Scipionem filium Barbati, Consul, 
 Censor, i^^dilis hie fuit, atque hie cepit Corsicam, Aleriamque 
 wrbem ; dedit tempestatibus ^edem, merito. 
 
 III. 
 
 AVLLA . CORNELIA . GN. F. HISP. 
 
 i. e, Aulla Cornelia Cnsei filia Hispali. 
 
 IV. 
 
 In red characters engraved. 
 
 L. CORNEXIVS . CN. F. CN. N. SCIPIO . MAGNA . 
 
 SAPIENTIA 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 83 
 
 MVLTASQVE . VIRTVTES . AETATE . QVOM . PARVA 
 POSIDET . HOC . SAXSVM . QVOI . El . VITA . DEFECIT 
 
 NON 
 
 HONOS . HONORE . IS . HIC . SITVS . QVEI . NVNQVAM 
 VICTVS . EST . VIRTVTEI . ANNOS . GNATVS . XX . IS 
 L. . . IS . MANDATVS . NE . ^VAIRATIS . HONORE 
 QVEI . MINVS . SIT . MANDATVS. 
 
 O 
 
 i. e. Lucius Cornelius Cnei filius Cnei Nepos Scipio mag- 
 nam sapientiain multasque virtutes setate cum parva possidet 
 hoc saxum, quo (/. e, in quo) ei vita defecit non honos, honore 
 (/. e. cum honore) is hie situs, qui numquam victus est virtute, 
 annos natus viginti, is lausis (pro lausibus, f. e, exequies) 
 mandatus, ne quseratis honorem qui minus sit mandatus. 
 
 V. 
 
 L. CORNEL I. L. F. P. N. 
 
 SCIPIO . gVAIST. 
 
 TR. MIL. ANNOS 
 GNATVS . XXXIir 
 MORTVOS . PATER 
 REGEM . ANTIOCO 
 SVBEGIT. 
 
 /. e. Lucius Cornelius Lucii filius, Publii Nepos Scipio,^ 
 Quaestor Tribunus Militaris, annos natus 33, mortuus pater 
 regem Antiochum subegit. 
 
 M 2 
 
 9. Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano^. 
 
ANCIEiNfT ROME, 
 
 9> Porta tU 
 S^Sebctstiam. 
 
 VI. 
 
 Engraved in red letters. 
 
 c. L. F. L. N. 
 
 SCIPIO . ASIAGENVS 
 COMATUS . ANNORV 
 GNAT VS . XVI. 
 
 O 
 
 i. e. Cornelius Lucii filius, Lucii Nepos Scipio, Asiagenus 
 comatus, annorum natus sexdecim. 
 
 VII. 
 
 QVEI . APICE . INSIGNE . DIALIS . FLAMINIS . GESISTI 
 MORS . ERFECIT . TVA . VT . ESSENT . OMNIA 
 BREVIA . HONOS . FAMA . VIRTVSQVE 
 GLORIA . ATQVE . INGENIVM . QVIBVS . SEI 
 IN . LONGA . LICVISET . TIRE . VTIER . VITA 
 FACILE , FACTEIS . SVPERASES . GLORIAM 
 MAIORVM . QVA . RE . LVBENS . TE . IN . GREMIV 
 SCIPIO . RECIPIT . TERRA . PVBLI 
 PROGNATVM . PVBLIO . CORNELI. 
 
 i, e. Qui apicem insignem Dialis Flaminis gessisti, mors 
 perfecit tua, ut essent omnia brevia; honos, fama, virtusque, 
 gloria, atque ingenium: quibus si in longa licuisset tibi utier 
 vita, facile factis superasses glbriam majorum. Quare lubens 
 te in gremium Scipio, recipit terra, Publi, Prognatum Publio, 
 Corneli. 
 
THE <JATES AND ENVIRONS, 
 
 85 
 
 •wTTT 9* Porta di 
 
 * ^ ^ ^ Sebastiano, 
 
 CN. CORNELIVS . CN, F« SCIPIO . HISPANVS 
 
 PR. AID. CUR. 2- TR. mil. II. X. VIR. ST. IVDIX 
 
 X. VIR. SACR, FAC. 
 
 VIRTVTES . GENERIS . MIEIS . MORIBVS . ACCVMVLAVI 
 PROGEN lEM . GENVI . FACTA . PATRIS . PETIEI 
 MAIORVM . OPTENVI . LAVDEM . VT . SIBEI . ME . ESSE . CREATVM 
 LAETENTVR . STIRPEM . NOBILITAVIT . HONOR. 
 
 IX. 
 
 ^ . 10 . TACITO 
 
 . . . ANNIS . DVOBVS 
 .. , NSIBVS . X . DIEBVS 
 II . HORIS . X . FECIT 
 LVCRETIA . TACITA 
 MATER . FILIO . B. M. 
 
 ET . SIBI . ET . SVIS . POS. 
 
 TERISgVE . EORVM. 
 
 X. 
 
 .... IS 
 
 , . . IPIONEM. 
 
 . . OAD . VEIXEI. 
 
 Immediately within the present gate, are the remains of an 
 arch, which is commonly reckoned the triumphal arch, de- 
 creed by the senate to Drusus, on the Appian road.^ Piranesi, 
 
 Arch at the 
 gale of St. 
 Sebastian. 
 
 * Suetonius, Vit, Claud, c. i 
 
AlsrCIENT ROME* 
 
 
 however, makes it one of the arches of the aqua Antoniniana 
 It might, indeed, have been an arch either of the aqua Martia, 
 or aqua Appia. But at any rate, it has more the appearance of 
 an arch of an aqueduct, than of a triumphal one. 
 
 Via Apf ia. The Romans, early sensible of the advantages arising from 
 an easy and speedy communication with the different parts of 
 their dominions, bestowed much attention on their highways, 
 commonly called their consular or military roads. Particular 
 officers were appointed for making and keeping them in repair. 
 These roads were generally carried on in straight lines; for 
 which purpose mountains w’ere sometimes levelled, vallies filled 
 up, swamps drained, banks raised, and ditches dug against in- 
 undations, and bridges built over rivers and hollows* Columns 
 W’ere erected at each mile, to point out the distance from Rome* 
 The via Appia takes its name from Appius Claudius Caecus, 
 who caused it to be made during his censorship, which w^as 
 from the year 441, to the 445 of Rome. .He carried it only to 
 Capua.f It was after the Romans had conquered the Sam- 
 nites, and beeame masters of the rest of the country, that they 
 continued on this road from Capua, by Beneventum, to Brun- 
 dusium, the port from whence they embarked for Greece. 
 And whether we consider the greatness of the via Appia, or 
 the many noble buildings, public and private, that ornamented 
 it, no doubt it w^as the most remarkable of antiquity. ‘‘ Re- 
 
 * Le Antichita Rom. Tom 1 . tav. 19. fig. 1 . 
 
 + That the via Jppia was executed by Appius Claudius Csecus, appears from 
 many of the Roman writers, as well as from an inscription, published by Gruter, 
 p. 3^9. No, 4 . 
 
 p. Porta di 
 S.Sebantiano^ 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 sr 
 
 gina viarum.''^ What yet remains is a proof of it.f Ho- 
 race,J in his entertaining journey to Brundusium, mentions, 
 with his usual wit, many of the places on this road ; and 
 makes this general remark, 
 
 o 
 
 “ Minus est gravis Appla tardis.'^ 
 
 1 know that this expression of the poet is always understood 
 to mark the roughness of the road : so that those who travelled 
 slowly v/ere the least jolted. But may I not be permitted to 
 give a more favourable interpretation to it ? viz. that the slower 
 the traveller went, he would have the more time to contemplate 
 the beauties of the many magnificent monuments, with w^hieh 
 tliis road w^as decorated. 
 
 How many sepulchral monuments, sacred to the memory 
 of illustrious personages, were erected on this road ! Cicero, 
 to fortify the mind against the terrors of death, points out to 
 us several of them. — “ An tu egressus porta Capena, cum Co- 
 latini, Scipionum, Serviliorum, Metellorum sepulchra vides, 
 miseros putas illos?• **§ The very ruins of these monuments 
 show their former magnificence. We have indeed lost the 
 history of many of them ; some, however, still retain their 
 former names, which I shall mention in the sequel. 
 
 • P. Papinius Statius, Sylvarum, 1. 2. villa Surentina. 
 
 Whoever desires to trace the Did ^ppid from Rome to Brundusium, may 
 see— Histoire des grands Chemins de I’Empire Remain, par Nicolas Bergier,” 
 
 2 Tom. 4lo. And La via Appia da Roma a Brindisi, per Francesco Maria 
 
 Pratilli, Napoli, per Simone.” 1745, fol. 
 
 t Serm. 1. i. sat, 5 § Tusc. i. c. 7. 
 
 9- Porta di 
 S.Sebastiam, 
 
 Sepulchres. 
 
88 
 
 ANCIENT ROIvIE. 
 
 6. Porta di 
 S.Scbastiano. 
 
 First mile- 
 stone on the 
 via Appia, 
 
 The column, preserved at the Capitol, which indicated the 
 first mile from Rome on the via Appia, was found at the vine- 
 yard of Marquis Nari, about 512 palms from the present gate 
 of St. Sebastian, and consequently a mile from the place where 
 the porta Capena stood. From hence the exact situation of 
 that ancient gate may be easily fixed. This column had been 
 erected by Vespasian, and restored by Nerva. It is published 
 by Gruter.^ To trace the ancient geography of Italy it is 
 often necessary to know, whether the Romans reckoned their 
 miles from the golden column in the Forum^ or from the dif- 
 ferent gates. This question has been much disputed by the 
 antiquaries. Indeed, if Vespasian's column stood, as probably 
 it did, at Nari's vineyard, it should of itself decide the contro-^ 
 versy. But, I think, it appears evident, from the learned 
 Ravillas' remarks on this subject, -f that the miles were reckon- 
 ed from the gates, and not from the Forum. Had it been 
 otherwise, the first mile-stone would often have been within 
 the city gates : with what propriety therefore, could they have 
 used the expression, adopted by all the Roman writers — “ I. ab- 
 urbe lapidem — The milliarium aureum, \n the Forum, had 
 been considered only as a centre, or the umbilicus urhis, to 
 which the streets from the different gates led. Or perhaps 
 it served as a register for the distances of all the remarkabla 
 towns in Italy from Rome. 
 
 * Page 154. No. G. 
 
 'Y " Disserlazione del. P. Abale Pavillas, sopra la eolonna dagli antiehi cbia- 
 Biala milliarium aureum, nell’ gli saggi dell’ Accademia di Cortona.” I'oia. i. 
 parte 2. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 ^9 
 
 About one-third of a mile from the gate, I saw a small ri- 
 vulet, now called Aquatacio^ or il rio di Appio. It runs through 
 the valley of Egeria, which I shall soon mention, and turning 
 towards the left, it crosses the Appian and Ostian roads, and 
 then loses itself in the Tiber. 
 
 “ Est locus, in Tiberim qua lubricus influit Almo, 
 
 Et nomen magno perdit ab amne minor/' 
 
 This is the Almo, or aqua Mercurii, with which the Roman 
 shopkeepers blessed their goods ; 
 
 Est aqua Mercurii portas vicina Capenae ; 
 
 Sijuvat expertis credere, numen habet. 
 
 Hue venit incinctus tunicas mercator ; et urna 
 Purus suffita, quam ferat, haurit aquam.^T 
 
 This rivulet seems to have been particularly sacred to Cybele, 
 for here the Galli, her priests, not only washed the statue of 
 their goddess yearly, X likewise purified themselves, and 
 their instruments of sacrifice : 
 
 “ Et lotam parvo revocant Almone Cybellem/'§ 
 
 And the modern Romans, imitating the superstition of their 
 ancestors, used to wash in this rivulet the feet of the statue of 
 
 * Ovid. Fast. 1. 4. v. 337. 
 flbid. 1. 5. V. 673. et seq. 
 
 % This was done on the 27th of March, [vide Am. Marcellinus, 1. 23.] and 
 not on the 1st of April, as mentioned by Rosinus, [Ant. Rom. 1. 4. c. 7*] The 
 ceremony, according to St. Augustin, [cle Civitate Dei, 1. 2. c. 4.] was performed 
 in a manner highly offensive to modesty. 
 
 ^ JLucan. 1. 1. 
 
 9 . Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano, 
 Almo, or 
 Aqua Mer- 
 curii. 
 
 N 
 
90 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 9 . Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano. 
 
 Sepulchre of 
 Scipio Afri- 
 canu3. 
 
 Christ. “ Hora ogni anno, il mese di Agosto, lavano in questo 
 ruscello di Appio i piede a la imagine del Salvatore, quando il 
 portano in processione per la citta.’"^ But this custom is now 
 abolished. 
 
 About half a mile from the gate, opposite to the little church, 
 called Domine quo vadis, l observed the remains of the sepulchre 
 commonly reckoned that of Scipio Africanus. It is published by 
 Piranesi, -f And although stripped of its ornaments, and much 
 ruined, it still discovers its ancient greatness. Three statues, 
 we are told, were placed here ; two of which were those of 
 Publius and Lucius Scipio, and the third that of the poet Q. 
 Ennius. The great Scipio thought it no dishonour to his il- 
 lustrious family thus to associate with them the best poet of 
 his age.J This mark of friendship to an eminent wit, who 
 had been the delight of his society, has not escaped the pen of 
 Ovid :§ 
 
 “ Ennius emeruit, Calabris in montibus ortus, 
 
 Contiguus poni, Scipio magne, tibi."" 
 
 And Cicero records the same, in his oration for the poet Archia : 
 “ Carus fuit Africano superiori noster Ennius : itaque etiam 
 in sepulchre Scipionum putatur is esse constitutus e mar- 
 more."' || Indeed if this mausoleum was erected to Scipio 
 
 * Lnccio Fauno, delle Ant. di Roma, 1. 3. c. 13. — Andrea Fulvio, Ant. di 
 Roma, 1. 1. c. £2. 
 
 t Ant. Rom. Tom. 2. tav. 27 and 28. 
 
 J Plin. 1. 7 . c. SO. § De Arte Amandi, 1, 3, v. 409. 
 
 11 Cic. pro Archia poeta. 
 
THE GATES AND ENIVRONS. 
 
 91 
 
 Africanus, it must have been a jc£vora(p<ov, or honorary monu- 
 ment in memory of this great man ; for he was buried at his 
 villa of Liternum, in the Campagna Felix, where he died in 
 voluntary exile— “Vitam Literni egit sine desiderio urbis. 
 Morientem rure eo ipso loco sepeliri se jussisse ferunt; monu-* 
 mentumque ibi sedificare, ne funus sibi in ingrata patria fie- 
 ret/'* I cannot but observe that in the sepulchre of the Cor- 
 nelian family, lately discovered, f no inscriptions have been 
 found there placed, either to Publius Scipio Africanus, or to 
 Lucius Scipio Asiaticus, 
 
 Just beyond this monument there is a road goes off from the 
 right hand of the via Appia ; it is reckoned the via Ardeatina, 
 which led to Ardea . — 
 
 “ Et nunc magnum manet Ardea nomen F- 
 
 A few’ modern huts, where the capital of the Rutuliwas, being 
 only to be seen. Indeed we can still trace a considerable ex- 
 tent of agger or fortification. Pliny mentions, § with rapture, 
 paintings that existed, in his time, in the temples of Ardea ; 
 paintings older than the foundation of Rome : so early had 
 the fine arts been cultivated by the Hetruscans. 
 
 A little further on there is another branch goes off from the 
 left hand of the via Appia, and which leads to the valley called 
 Caffarella, formerly ad Camcenas : 
 
 9. Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano* 
 
 Ardea. 
 
 Fountain of 
 ^Egeria. 
 
 * Livius, 1. 38. c. 53. — Vide c. 56. 
 J Virg. iEn. 7. v. 412. 
 
 f Seepage 79« 
 
 ^ Hist. Nat. 1. 35* c. 3. 
 
92 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 p. Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano. 
 
 In valleiii /Egerise descend im us. 
 
 This is the famous valley of Egeria, where I saw the remains 
 of the fountain sacred to this nymph and the Muses. The 
 situation is very romantic. The opus reticulatum, the niches 
 for the statues of the Muses, and the mutilated statue, perhaps 
 of the fountain, still remaining, bespeak its antiquity. Here 
 Numa, the celebrated legislator of Rome, in order to persuade 
 the people of the divinity of his institutions, retired, and pre- 
 tended to converse with his goddess. — “ Lucus erat, quern me- 
 dium ex opaco specu fons perenni rigabat aqua. Quo quia se 
 perscepe Numa sine arbitris, velut ad congressum Dese, infere- 
 bat, Camoenis eum locum sacravit; quod earum ibi concilia 
 cum conjuge sua Egeria essent.^"-'!'- — Egeria, and her fountain,, 
 have not been left unsung by Ovid— 
 
 “ Defluit incerto lapidosus murmure rivus : 
 
 Saspe, sed exiguis haustibus, inde bibes ; 
 
 Egeria est, quee prasbet aquas, Dea grata Camoenis: 
 
 Ilia Numse conjux conciliumquefuit.*'’J 
 
 In the infancy of civilization, before laws were reduced to a 
 science, the wise legislators of antiquity, to engage the people 
 to submit to their institutions, always held out to them the 
 interposition of some deity. Every legislator had therefore 
 recourse to his Egeria. And without such a pious fraud, how 
 
 ♦Juvenal, sat. 3. v. 17. 
 
 f Livius, 1. 1. c. 21. — See Holdswoilh’s Dissertation on the Fountain of 
 Egeria. 
 
 t Fast. 1. 3. V. 273. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 93 
 
 could a nation have been induced to embrace the laws given 
 them by a single person ?* 
 
 On the height above the fountain, there is a church, dedi- 
 cated to St. Urbanoy formed out of an ancient temple, and 
 which, from the old name of this place, ad CamoenaSy may 
 probably have been that of the Muses. From the remains of 
 the building, and fragments of capitals and columns lying here, 
 we may conclude its former beauty. These buildings, indeed, 
 are too elegant for the age of Numa: they must have been 
 rebuilt in much later times. In this church is preserved an 
 altar to Bacchus, which had been dedicated to him by Apro- 
 nianus, priest and interpreter of his mysteries. It serves for a 
 base to support the bason of holy water. From it, perhaps, 
 some antiquaries have called this the temple of Bacchus. I 
 know that it has been likewise reckoned the temple of Honour 
 and Virtue, vowed by Marcellus, which I have already men- 
 tioned.-!' But I did not find here these twin temples, nor any 
 real indication that this could have been one of them. Besides, 
 Livy J places them at or near where I have placed them, viz. 
 immediately without the ancient porta Capenuy and not at 
 such a distance from it as the valley of Egeria. His words 
 are “ Videbantur enim ab externis ad portam Capenam dedicata 
 
 ♦ The modern Romans, of a lower class, go annually in great numbers to 
 the valley of Egeria, on the first Sunday of May, where they eat and drink, and 
 crown themselves with garlands of flowers; and thus, dancing and singing to 
 various musical instruments, they return to Rome in the evening like so many 
 Bacchanals. This custom is, no doubt, a remainder of ancient superstition. 
 
 t See p, 77-. Livius, 1. 25. c. 40. 
 
 9 . Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano. 
 
 Temple of 
 the Muses. 
 
94 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 9. Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano. 
 
 Sepulchre of 
 the liber ti, 
 &c. of Livia. 
 
 a Marcello templa, propter excellentia ejus generis ornamenta, 
 quorum perexigua pars comparet.” 
 
 I return back to the via Appia. 
 
 About a mile from the gate, the new road to Albano goes off 
 from the left of the via Appia, and, at the fourth mile, unites 
 with the road from the gate of St. John. 
 
 Near to where the Albano road separates from the Appian, 
 viz. a mile and 800 feet from the gate, in the year 1726', was 
 discovered, in the vineyard of Filippo Benci, the sepulchre of 
 the liherti, servi, &c. of Livia, the wife of Augustus. This 
 monument was soon robbed of its sarcophagi, urns, and orna- 
 ments. One hundred and eighty- seven of the inscriptions, 
 containing the names of Livia*s servants, are now preserved 
 in the Capitol. They were first published, with plans and 
 views of the sepulchre, by the learned Bianchini, and have 
 been since republished by Piranesi.* Among these inscriptions 
 (Tab. 32.) I find the name of Livia Lalage. May not this 
 be that Lalage, whose pleasant humour, and agreeable manner, 
 captivated Horace more than even beauty itself? 
 
 “ Duke ridentem Lalagen amabo, 
 
 Duke loquentem.^’J* 
 
 This was not the only monument built for depositing the 
 ashes of Livia's servants. Others have been discovered on tiie 
 
 * Ant. Rom. Tom. 3. tav. 21. to tav. 37, inclusive? 
 f Lib. 1. od. 22, 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS, 
 
 95 
 
 via Appia, and elsewhere. The number of the inscriptions, as 
 well as the names of the different offices, cannot but give us 
 an high idea of the magnificence of the imperial court. Indeed 
 we meet with a certain Julia, whose only business was to or- 
 nament the empresses ears — “ Julia Livice Aug. auriculas oma~ 
 trix.*'^ The liherti, &c. entered into societies for building 
 these monuments, and deputed one or more of their number 
 to oversee the work. Thus we find that the freedman Lucius, 
 called Alexa, one of the curators deputed by a company to 
 oversee the building of a sepulchre, executed his trust so much 
 to the satisfaction of the company, that they allowed him to 
 choose six places for himself, whilst the others drew lots for 
 theirs. — “ Sine sorte primo ab sociis quas vellet ollse sex datse 
 sunt.'^-f 
 
 The temple of Redicule was, according to Pliny, J two miles 
 from Rome, to the right hand of the via Appia. It could not 
 therefore be that ruin to the left hand of the road, before we 
 arrive at Caracalla's circus, as mentioned by some of the an- 
 tiquari s. Festus§ gives us the reason why the Romans built 
 this singular temple, but of which I could find no remains.— 
 
 Rediculi fanum extra portam Capenam fuit, quia accedens 
 ad urbem Hannibal ex eo loco redierit quibusdam perterritus 
 visis."’ 
 
 The church of St. Sebastian is about two miles from the 
 gate. The portico is ornamented with some ancient pillars. 
 
 9. Porta di 
 S. Sebastiano . 
 
 Temple of 
 Redicule. 
 
 Church of St. 
 Sebastian, 
 
 * Pignorius, p. 199 . 
 Plin. -1. JO. c. 43. 
 
 t Fabrettus, Inscrip. p. 449. 
 § Festus, V. Rediculi. 
 
 o 
 
9 ^ 
 
 ANCIENT TOME, 
 
 g. Porta di 
 S, Sebastiano. 
 
 Catacombs. 
 
 of which there are vast numbers in and about Rome. The 
 Romans were so fond of columns, that they considered them 
 as articles of luxury ; and as such they laid taxes on them, as 
 in Britain they do upon coaches.^ 
 
 But here we are particularly to view the Catacombs, or sub- 
 terraneous Rome, where we may wander under ground an 
 incredible distance, among the mansions of the dead. In tra- 
 versing these dark passages, an association of ideas naturally 
 throws a gloom on the mind of the curious inquirer. We find 
 catacombs in many places round Rome, viz. at the churches 
 of St. Laurence, St. Agnese, &c. ; but those of St. Sebastian 
 are commonly visited by strangers. The entry to them is 
 within the church. They are a kind of labyrinths, with 
 many branches running off in different directions, and there 
 are even stories above stories of them. So that without torches 
 and a good guide, it is unsafe to examine them : and it is dan- 
 gerous to visit them in the summer season, as the cold in these 
 grottos is so much greater than that of the external air. Bosio, 
 Aringhi, and others, have described and published many mo- 
 numents and inscriptions found in these catacombs. They 
 generally pretend that they were made by the primitive 
 Christians, to which they retired in time of persecution, and 
 where they performed the rites of their religion. To sup- 
 pose that the persecuted Christians could secretly execute such 
 immense works, in which they might conceal themselves, is 
 absurd. And would they not, in time of persecution, rea- 
 dily search for them in these catacombs, known to all the 
 * Caesar, cle Bello Civ. 1. 3.— Cic. ad Alticum, 1. 13. ep. 6. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 97 
 
 world ? It is therefore, I think, more probable, that they were 
 dug by the ancient Romans, and served for two purposes. 
 First, the earth, po%zolana, and materials taken from them, 
 served to carry on their vast buildings, without destroying the 
 surface of the ground. And, secondly, these passages served 
 for burying- places to the ordinary people and slaves, who had 
 not particular sepulchres; especially after the Campus Esqui- 
 linus was given to Maecenas.* It is true, as many of the bo- 
 dies of Christians and martyrs had been likewise buried in 
 these places, it induced Christians to erect altars there, and 
 pay a great devotion to them. The bodies of the dead are 
 deposited along the sides of the catacombs, in rows, piled up, 
 one above another, to a considerable height; and they are 
 shut up with bricks, or slabs of stone or marble. It is from 
 hence that the monks, who have got possession of them, have 
 produced so many holy bodies and relics. For wherever 
 they find a cross cut upon a stone, and, with the body, a glass 
 vial, or lachrymatory vesseh-f tinged with a reddish colour. 
 
 * See Esquiline-hill . — These catacombs, or grottos, were by the ancient Ro- 
 mans called Arencn'id, Thus Cicero,— “ Asinius autem brevi illo tempore 
 quasi in hortulos iret, in aretiarias quasdain extra portam Exquiliniam perductus, 
 occiditur.” — Pro Cluent. 
 
 f The learned are divided in their opinions about the use of these glass vials, 
 commonly called lachrymatory vessels. Some of them are of a considerable size, 
 but the smallest of them would be, alas! more than sufficient to contain the 
 tears of the most afflicted friends and relations of the deceased. The real use of 
 these vessels seems to have been to contain perfumes and balsams, which thej' 
 poured on the funeral piles of the dead, and which they afterwards placed in 
 their sepulchral urns. As some of these drugs were of great value, they were 
 generally put into very small vessels. The various colours, or iris, which wc 
 
 o 
 
 9. Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano. 
 
 Lachryma- 
 tory vessels. 
 
98 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 g. Porta di 
 S.Sebastimo, 
 
 Temple of 
 Serapis and 
 Isis. 
 
 which they call blood, though perhaps it is nothing but rust, 
 they conclude the body to be that of a saint or martyr, to 
 which they are at no loss to give a name. Many mistakes of 
 this kind have been discovered ; and even Mabillion * detects 
 the story of St. Veronica. Neither does the emblem of the palm, 
 or perhaps the cypress tree, often found on these sepulchral 
 monuments, prove that the dead there buried were Christian 
 martyrs; for these symbols were used by the Heathens and 
 Jews, as well as by the Christians, as appears from inscrip- 
 tions.f The pope makes presents of these bodies to princes, 
 to ambassadors, and to great personages. The learned and 
 diligent Muratori, J who has thrown so much light on the his- 
 tory of the middle age, mentioning the facility with which the 
 people conferred the title of Saint, observes— ‘‘ Parte la pieta, 
 parte V interesse entravano a moltiplicare i Santi. Ognun ne 
 voleva ; e chi piu ne avea, si riputava piti felice degli altri."' 
 
 Sextus RufFus and Publius Victor mention temples erected 
 to Serapis and Isis, in the first region, that is, on the via 
 Appia ; but of which I find no remains. Near to the church 
 of St. Sebastian was found the square altar, dedicated to Serapis 
 
 commonly observe on them, is what happens to bottles, especially when thin, 
 long kept in cellars, or to window glass exposed to the vapours of putrid animal 
 substances, or to volatile alkali. But it does not appear that the Christians used 
 these rites in their funerals. 
 
 * Iter Italicum, p. 8 t). 
 
 t See Muratori — Dissertazioni sopra le Anlichita Italiane.— Diss. 58 . ed. 
 Rom. 1755, 8 vo. 
 t Ibid, 
 
PLAK of the Circus,, < iuppo,ve(f to h/?ve hern hnilt hy CARACALLAfwm Survey token May ijSz. 
 
 tncu/p.*jds Strxtfui. 
 
Back of 
 Foldout 
 Not Imaged 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 99 
 
 now preserved in the Capitol ; and which probably had belonged 
 to his temple here. On its front is this inscription ; 
 
 I. O. M. SOLI. SARAPIDI 
 SCIPIO . ORPITVS . V. C. 
 
 AVGVR 
 
 VOTI . COMPOS . REDDITVS.* 
 
 Almost opposite to the church of St. Sebastian, between the 
 via Appia and the modern road to Albano, there is a circus^ 
 generally reckoned that of Caracalla ; though some authors, 
 particularly the learned Fabretti, J call it that of Gallienus. 
 The Romans, always fond of shows and games, were singu- 
 larly attached to those of the circus. Their passion for them 
 was such, that Juvenal says,§ 
 
 “ Duas tantum res anxius optat, 
 
 Panem et circenses."" 
 
 Fifteen circuses are supposed to have been in Rome and its 
 environs. Many of them are entirely destroyed, and the others 
 so defaced, that we observe little more than their situation. 
 
 * Vide Museo Capitolino, Tom. 4. p. 351. 
 
 f This article was communicated by the author to his learned friend the late 
 Father Jacquier, at Rome; who published it, but not so tully, in the Gazette 
 Litteraire de I'Europe, Tom. 8. Paris, 1766.— Mention has been made of this 
 article in two notes added to the third edition of Roma Antica di Famiano 
 Nardini,” printed at Rome, 1771, pages 68 and 182.— It is likewise inserted in 
 the article cirque, Tom. 2, of the Dictionary of Antiquities, of the new French 
 Encyclopedic MSthodique. 
 
 J De Aquis, &c. p. 166. § Juvenal, sal. 10. v. 81. 
 
 Oa 
 
 9. Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano. 
 
 Caracalla’s 
 Circus. t 
 
lOO 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 g. Forta di 
 S.Sebastiano. 
 
 Indeed this of Caracalla is the most entire ; and there remains 
 enough of it to give us a distinct idea of them. Here we see 
 the metce, and trace the spina, in the middle of which stood 
 the obelisk, covered with hieroglyphics, that is now placed on 
 Berninis elegant fountain in the piazza Nauona,* There 
 were rows of seats for the spectators, built along the sides of 
 the circus, and under which were porticos, or galleries, to re- 
 tire to, in case of rain.f The emperors seat, or podium, 
 seems to have been on the left side of the circus, opposite 
 to the first meta. It was from his podium that the emperor, 
 or whoever presided at the shows, gave the signal to begin 
 the race, by throwing up a napkin, used for that purpose, 
 called mappa circensis. Panvinius, in his learned treatise— 
 de Jjudis Circensibus,\ has given a plan and elevation of this 
 circus, and likewise a view of its ruins. It is to be wished, 
 however, that his plan had been a little more exact. He has 
 placed the spina in the centre of the circus, that is, equally 
 distant from the seats on each side; whereas it was placed 
 nearer to the left side of the circus than to the right. This 
 was not done by accident, but by design. Because, as the 
 horses and chariots ran first down the right side of the circus, 
 it was necessary, in the beginning of the course, to have a 
 larger space, that they might the easier pass each other : 
 
 * See Kircher’s Obeliscus Pamphilius, 
 
 t Among the ruins I observed many earthen pots, employed in the construc- 
 tion of the circus, and which were common in the great buildings of the Ro- 
 mans. The use of these pots was founded on mechanical principles. Their 
 spherical form, like arches, diminished the perpendicular weight of the walls, 
 and contributed to strengthen the fabric. 
 
 J Lib. 1. c. 24. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 lOl 
 
 for by the time they had turned the farthest metat to return 
 towards the carceres, from which they started, many of the 
 chariots would be left So far behind, that a less space to run 
 in would suffice. The end of the circus, towards the east, is 
 terminated by a semicircle. But the meta, towards the west, 
 is placed at a considerable distance from the carceres, that the 
 horses and chariots might all enter the course with equal 
 advantage : 
 
 ‘‘ Fraus cursibus omnis abesto."* 
 
 It is for this reason that the right side of the circus is longer 
 than the left ; and the carceres are not placed in a straight 
 line, as in Panvinius's plan, but in the segment of a circle, 
 whose centre is the middle point between the first meta and 
 the right side of the circus; as will more distinctly appear 
 from the annexed figure and measures. Hence all the chariots 
 had an equal space to run, which made Ovid -f use the expres- 
 sion cequus career : 
 
 “ Maxima jam vacuo praetor spectacula circo 
 Quadrijuges aequo carcere misit equos." 
 
 The spina was considerably raised above the level of the arenas 
 that the chariots might not break in upon the obelisks, altars, 
 statues, &c. that ornamented it. None of these ornaments 
 now remain, but their forms are to be seen on medals, and 
 other ancient monuments. J 
 
 ♦ P. Papinii Statii Thebaidos, 1. 6. v. 630. 
 
 % Vide Panvinius de Ludis Circen. 
 
 9 . Porta di 
 S^Sebastiano. 
 
 + Amorum, 1. 3. eleg. 2. t. 65, 
 
10» 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 9. Porfa di 
 S,Sebastiano, 
 
 “Ut cum carceribus sese efFudere quadrigae, 
 
 Addunt in spatia, et frustra retinacula tendens 
 Fertur equis auriga, neque audit currus habenas.^*^ 
 
 The metce were a little broader than the spina. The address 
 of the charioteer was to turn the metcB as near as possible, 
 without endangering his chariot ; for, by this means, he 
 shortened his course : Horace -f therefore says, — 
 
 “ Metaque fervidis 
 
 Evitata rotis/* 
 
 Victory was pronounced in favour of the charioteer whose 
 chariot first touched a line, marked with white clalk, J drawn 
 between the first meta and the left side of the circus. In allu- 
 sion to this, Horace § elegantly calls death the line that termi- 
 nates life : 
 
 “ Mors ultima linea rerum est.'" 
 
 The ordinary course was seven rounds of the circus. Along 
 the sides of the circus, between the seats and the arena, there 
 was a ditch full of water, called the Euripus, to prevent the 
 chariots from approaching too near the spectators. The cha- 
 rioteers were generally slaves or strangers ; but during the 
 empire, persons of family, even senators, and some emperors, 
 did not blush to perform that mean office. They were divided 
 into companies or factions, and distinguished by the colour of 
 their dress. The green, the red, the blue, and the white 
 
 * Virg. Georg. 1. i. v. 512. 
 
 J Plin. Hist. Nat. 1. S6.c. 17. ad fin. 
 
 f Lib. 1. ode 1. 
 
 § Ep, 1.1. ep. 16. ad. fin 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 103 
 
 factions.^ These colours are supposed to have been an em- 9. Porta di 
 blem of the different seasons of the year, viz. the green repre- 
 sented the spring, the red the summer, the blue autumn, 
 and the white winter. The people attached themselves with 
 such violence to one or other of these factions, that it often 
 produced much disturbance, and even seditions. With what 
 fire does the Mantuan bard describe the chariot races ! when 
 we read his verses, we fancy ourselves present in the circus : 
 
 our eves are fixed on the race.-«r. 
 
 «/ 
 
 “ Nonne vides ? cum praecipite certamine campum 
 Corripuere, ruuntque effusi carcere currus, 
 
 Cum spes arrectse juvenum, exsultantiaque haurit 
 Corda pavor pulsans : illi instant verbere torto, 
 
 Et proni dant lora : volat vi fervidus axis. 
 
 Jamque humiles, jamque elati sublime videntur 
 Aera per vacuum ferri, atque assurgere in auras. 
 Nec mora, nec requies : at fulvse nimbus arense 
 Tollitur : humescunt spumis, flatuque sequentum. 
 Tantus amor laudum, tantae est victoria curse. 
 
 There was a space of about twelve feet between the metce and 
 spina. It served for a passage to go up the steps of the latter, 
 and to enter the small cells under the former, where it is 
 
 * Prasina, rubea vel rosea, veneta et alba , — The charioteers formed societies 
 or colleges, as appears from an inscription published by Spon,[Recherches cu- 
 rieuses d’ Antiquity, Diss. 2.] in which we find — Colleg Aurigariorum, IIH* 
 FACT. 
 
 t Virg. Georg. 1. 3 . v. 103 . 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 9. Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano, 
 
 Sepulchre 
 of Cascilia 
 Metella. 
 
 thought the altars of Consus^ were concealed. In the great 
 area, between the first meta and carceres, combats of gladiators 
 and wild beasts were frequently exhibited ; and sometimes wa- 
 ter was brought in, and those naval fights called naurnachia 
 were here represented. 
 
 A little distance beyond the church of St. Sebastian, we 
 cannot but admire the noble sepulchre of Cascilia Metella, the 
 daughter of Q. Creticus, and wife of Crassus the triumvir. 
 The inscription, which still remains, leaves no doubt to whom 
 it was erected. 
 
 CAECILIAE 
 Q. CRETICI . F. 
 
 METELLAE . CRASSI 
 
 / 
 
 This mausoleum gives an high idea of the riches and grandeur 
 of the person here interred. The lower part of it is square, 
 and the upper part round. The walls are of a vast thickness, 
 and incrusted with Tiburtine-stones of an immense size. An 
 elegant frieze of marble runs round the whole, ornamented 
 with rams^ heads, joined together with festoons, above which 
 are patera and other decorations. The beautiful sarcophagus, 
 in which lay the body of Caecilia, now stands in the court of 
 the Farnese palace. Untouched by barbarous hands, this se- 
 pulchre would have lasted whilst the earth remained ; but in 
 the low age, during the civil wars of the Roman barons, it 
 
 * This Consus seems to mean the god of counsel; hence the Romans called a 
 consultation consilium, and their chief magistrates consu/es, or counsellors. They 
 therefore hid this altar under ground, because all counsels ought to be kept 
 secret. — Plutarch’s Life ofRomulus. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 was converted into a castle, and they built a parapet and port 
 holes round its top. This seems to have been done by the 
 Gaetani family, for we find their arms on the gate of a consi* 
 derable fortification which remains here. Above these arms 
 there is carved a bull's head, from which this place, probably, 
 is now called Capo di Bove. Piranesi * has not only published 
 plates of this sepulchre, but has described the method by which 
 the huge stones and marbles used in this building might have 
 been raised. 
 
 Three miles from the ancient porta Capenat stood the Trio- 
 piunii TpiGTTiov, of Herodes Atticus — “ Vir et graeca facundia et 
 consulari honore praeditus."-f- But no part of this monument 
 remains. The rpioTriov seems to have been a temple where 
 festivals were celebrated to Apollo Triopius. The victors, in 
 the games called TpioTrioc, received tripods of brass, which they 
 consecrated to this deity. Here were found the two Greek 
 inscriptions, put up in honour of Herodes and his wife Regilla, 
 which are to be seen at the Villa Borghese ; as well as the two 
 pillars that formerly lay at the Farnese palace, I^nown by the 
 name of the Columnce Farneseance ; but which the King of 
 Naples has caused to be removed to his museum at Portici. 
 In the inscriptions on these columns the learned Herodes has 
 preserved, with great accuracy, the form of the most ancient 
 Greek characters to be found in his time. Mr. Russel J has 
 
 *Ant. Rom. Tom. 3. tav. 49, 50,31, 52, 33, and 54. 
 t A. Gellii Noct. Att. I. 1. c. 2. 
 
 Russel’s Lefiers, Vol. j. let. 22. and Vol, 2. let. 31 ■ — -See also M^moire 
 sur la Vie cle Aiticus, par M. Burigny, M4m. de i’Acad. des Inscrip. Tom, 31. 
 in 12mo. 
 
 P 
 
 105 
 
 9. Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano. 
 
 Capo 
 
 Bove. 
 
 Triopium of 
 Herodes At* 
 ticus. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 106 
 
 9- Porta di 
 S.Sebastia/io. 
 
 The public 
 Ustrina. 
 
 exactly copied and engraved them : his plates may be looked 
 upon as fac similes : and my late very learned and worthy 
 friend the Rev. Dr. WagstafF has accompanied these engrav- 
 ings with some observations. They are the right-handed cha- 
 racters ; that is, wrote from the right to the left hand. Though 
 executed about the middle of the second century of the Chris- 
 tian age, these characters are the same as those employed in 
 Greece 700 years prior to that time. They have indeed been 
 called Ionic ; but they seem to be the same characters anciently 
 used by the Pelasgians, the Athenians, and Greeks in general. 
 Herodes pretended to be descended from Hersee, one of the 
 daughters of Cecrops, first king of Athens, who lived before 
 Cadmus came into Greece. He therefore used these characters 
 to show the antiquity of his family, as well as the country from 
 whence he came ; for which reason he was named Atticus. 
 
 About two miles from the Capo di Bove, I saw a vast field of 
 ruins. The country people call this place Roma vecchiaJ^ The 
 names of these monuments have perished with the dead buried 
 in them. Among these ruins, indeed, I observed, on the right 
 hand of the road, a large oblong building, commonly reckoned 
 the great public Ustrina, where the bodies of the dead were 
 burnt. For, by the laws of the XII. Tables, it was unlawful 
 to burn them within the city. It was only the bodies of the 
 
 * Besides this field thus named, there is another known, by the country people, 
 by the same appellation. It lies on the right hand of the via Prenestina, a little 
 beyond the third mile from the porta Maggiore. It was in this last that several 
 ancient busts were found, in an excavation carried on by order of Pope Pius VI. 
 and which are now preserved in the Museo Pio Clementino. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 emperors, and personages of singular merit, which were per- 
 mitted to be burnt in the Campus Martins. Some particular 
 persons, however, had places joining to their sepulchres for 
 that purpose; they were named busta. The walls of this 
 building had been very high, and composed of large square 
 stones. The several ruins joining to it served, perhaps, for 
 lodging the persons employed in this mournful office.^ Virgil,'f* 
 in the funeral of Misenus, has described the whole ceremony 
 of burning the dead. From him we learn, that it was the 
 duty of the nearest relation to set fire to the pile ; but, to show 
 his reluctancy, he turned aside his face in the act of doing so : — 
 
 Triste ministerium, et subjectam more parentum 
 Aversi tenuere facem."" 
 
 To prevent the ashes from being scattered by the wind, or 
 mixing with the wood or earth, the bodies were wrapped up 
 in a cloth, made from a stone called amiantuSf or linum vivum, 
 and on which the fire had no influence. This stone is likewise 
 named asbestos. J One of these funeral cloths is preserved in 
 the Vatican library. It is nine palms, Roman measure, long, 
 and seven palms broad. Pliny, § enumerating the various kinds 
 
 * See the remains of the Ustrina, published by Piranesi, Ant. Rom. Tom. S. 
 tav. 3, 4, 5, and 6. f .®n. 6. v. 223. 
 
 ^ Although these stones are of the same kind, yet my learned and sagacious 
 friend M. D’Aubenton distinguishes them thus: in filaments soft and flexible he 
 calls them amiantus, and in filaments hard and not flexible he calls them asbestos. 
 The stones called mountain cork, and mountain leather seem to be of the same 
 nature. — See Tableau M^thodique des Min^raux, page 10. 
 
 §Hist. Nat. 1. 19. c. 1. 
 
 107 
 
 9 . Porta di 
 S.Sehastiano^ 
 
 Amiantus, 
 asbestos, or 
 linura vivum. 
 
io8 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 6. Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano. 
 
 of lint known in his time, mentions the linum vivum. He says 
 that it grew in the deserts, inhabited by serpents, and in those 
 parts of India where it never rains ; and that the burning heat 
 of the sun accustomed it to resist the fire. Though the cele- 
 brated naturalist gives us this fabulous account of t\\QamiantuSy 
 yet he has preserved to us facts of which he could not be igno- 
 rant. He informs us, that he iiad seen table-cloths made of it, 
 which, after having been soiled, were thrown into the fire, and 
 taken out unconsumed, and cleaner than if washed with water. 
 He tells us, that they made cloths of it for the funerals of kings, 
 to prevent their ashes from mixing with the materials with 
 which their bodies were burnt ; and that it was so rare, that 
 its value was equal to that of the finest pearls. Hence we may 
 justly conclude, that its use in funerals was not then general, 
 but confined to the rich only. And, indeed, among the nu- 
 merous sepulchral monuments opened in and about Rome, this 
 cloth preserved in the Vatican library, seems to be the only 
 entire one hitherto found. I saw the experiment made on it, 
 viz. after having rubbed the cloth over with wax, they held a 
 lighted torch under it, and when the inflammable matter was 
 entirely consumed, the cloth was clean and unhurt. It is cer- 
 tain that the amiantus, of which there are different kinds, 
 though very refractory, will vitrify by the heat of a violent 
 chemical furnace, or in the focus of a good burning-glass, 
 without any additional matter. But it resists the heat of a 
 funeral pile ; nor does the ashes of the wood serve for a dis- 
 solvent to it. At present we know that the amiantus is a stone 
 or mineral, consisting of threads or filaments, which may be 
 separated from each other, and by art spun and wove into 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 109 
 
 cloth. Ciampini* and Mahudel-f have published methods 
 by which it may be done. The amiantuSy rare, and only found 
 in the East when Pliny wrote, is now got in many parts of 
 Europe. It is commonly found on the sides, or at the foot of 
 hills, composed of vitrifiable stones. In the Pyrenees they 
 make garters, belts, purses, and other small works of it: 
 though coarse, they are soft and silky. It is of different co- 
 lours, white, grey, greenish, and reddish. Its filaments have 
 almost the lustre of silk: some of them are fourteen inches 
 long, and so small, that M.- D'Aubenton found some, whose 
 diameters were the 2000th part of a line. The naturalists dif- 
 fer about the nature of this stone. It has been ascribed, in 
 whole or in part, to calcareous earth, to gypsum, or to clay. 
 Some have made it a sort of iron decomposed by fire, a mix- 
 ture of iron and quartz. Others have advanced that it is of a 
 vegetable nature.J It has likewise been considered as a de- 
 composition of steatite, or of those stones called magnesiene.§ 
 But my late illustrious friend, M. le Comte de Buffbn, that 
 
 ♦ De incombuslibili lino, sive lapide amianlo. Roma, 1748, fol. 
 
 f M^raoires de TAcad^mie des Inscrip. Vol. 6. p. 409. ^d. 12mo. 
 
 J Indeed such is its resemblance to wood, that, we are told, monks used to 
 impose on the credulity of their devotees, by giving them small bits of it, as 
 relics of tiie holy cross ; and, to prove their assertion, showed them that the fire 
 had no influence on this sacred matter. See Mahudel, ut supra, p. 414. — See 
 also Muratori — Dissertazioni sopra le Antichit^ Italiane. Diss. 58. ed Rom. 
 1755, 8vo. 
 
 § The chemical analysis which Bergman made of the amiantus of Tarentum, 
 renders, however, this opinion probable. He found in a quintal — 6 of earth 
 vitriolized — 6rs of lime — 18/o of magnesia — of clay — 64 of vitrifiable 
 earth — and of calx of iron. — See Bergman’s Manuel de M ineralogiste, 
 
 traduit et augment^ par M. Mongez lejeune. p. 117 and 118. 
 
 9 . Por/a (li 
 S.Stbastiano. 
 
no 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 9 , Portn di 
 S.Sebastiano. 
 
 Combat of 
 the Horatii 
 and Curiatii. 
 
 sublime and eloquent philosopher, to whom Nature seems to 
 have revealed all her secrets, was pleased to assure me, that 
 the amiantus is a stalactite, or decomposition of mica and talc.* 
 Talc is a decomposition of mica, and as the former is softer 
 and more attenuated than the latter, we may conclude that 
 more talc enters into the composition of the amiantus, than 
 into that of the asbestos. They are both composed of fila- 
 ments, either longitudinal, as in the amiantus, or oblique and 
 converging, as in the asbestos. 
 
 The singularity of this stone, I hope, will apologize for the 
 length of this article. 
 
 The celebrated combat between the Horatii and Curiatii, 
 which decided the fate of Alba, was near the Fossa Cluilia, 
 five miles from Rome, on the via Appia. The place was called 
 Horatiorum campus sacer.'\ It is now called Casale Rotondo. 
 Each of the five champions was buried where he fell, and a 
 monument was erected for him ; but of these I found no ves- 
 tige. It was at the porta Capena that the victorious Horace 
 met his sister, bewailing the death of one of the Curiatii, to 
 whom she was betrothed, and killed her. — “ Abi hinc cum 
 immature amore ad sponsum, inquit, oblita fratrum mortuo- 
 rum vivique, oblita patrias. Sic eat, qusecumque Romana lu- 
 gebit hostem.^'J Barbarous action! — but in the infancy of 
 
 * See Histoire Naturelle des Min^raux, Vol. 4. in 4to. — M. de Bulfbn com- 
 municated to me his opinion of this stone, before he published this part of his 
 work. 
 
 •j* Martial, 1. S. ep, 47. + Liv. 1. 1. c. and 26, 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Rome, a savage enthusiasm for the grandeur of the state often 
 divested its citizens of the strong ties, and gentle feelings of 
 nature. 
 
 I do not pretend that all the wonderful events we meet with 
 in the Roman history are fabul6us : but there is reason to be- 
 lieve that some of them were stole by the Romans from the 
 Grecians, in order to add more lustre to their ancestors. Thus 
 we find the combat of the Horatii and Curiatii related, under 
 different names, but with the same circumstances, by Demo- 
 crates.^ The action of Mutius Scaevola is given to Agesilaus, 
 brother to Themistocles, by Agatharsides of Samos. -f And 
 Curtius precipitating himself into the gulf is ascribed, by 
 Callisthenes, to a son of king Midas. 
 
 From the Capo di Bove to the Frattocchie, a villa belonging 
 to the Constable Colonna, three miles from Albano, the via 
 Appia was so broken that it was quite impassable for carriages. 
 If repaired it will abridge the road to Albano, for it runs in a 
 straight line. 
 
 About the Frattocchie stood the Sacrarium of the Dea Bona,^ 
 before which Clodius received from Milo his mortal wound. 
 Asconius,|| the ancient commentator of Cicero, says, that Clo- 
 dius, being wounded, was carried into a tavern at the Bovillee, 
 
 * Apud Stobaeum, Serm. 157. f Ibid. Serm. 48. f Ibid. 
 
 § The Dea Bona, according to Macrobins fl. 1. c. 12.] was the same as 
 Terra. 
 
 jj Q. Asconius Pedianus, in Orat. Cic. pro A. Milone. 
 
 9. Vnrta di 
 S.SeLastiano. 
 
 Frattocchie. 
 
 Sacrarium 
 of the Dea 
 Bona. 
 
112 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Q. Porta di 
 S.Scf^asdano, 
 
 Bovillae. 
 
 Sacra rium 
 of the Julian 
 family. 
 
 Deification 
 of Homer. 
 
 The Iliad. 
 
 This must therefore have been near to the Frattocchie, and 
 not above a mile north-east from it, as placed by Amed in 
 his map of Latium. But the Bovillae, according to the ancient 
 Itinerarium, stood ten miles from Rome, on the via Appia^ 
 which answers to the Frattocchie. 
 
 At the Bovilla stood the Sacrarium of the Julian family, 
 but of which I observed no ruins. When the dead body of 
 Augustus was carried from Nola, where he died, to Rome to 
 be interred, it was, by the way, deposited in this family mo- 
 nument.* Here Tiberius placed a statue of Augustus ;'f and 
 here Nero caused shows to be exhibited, on Poppasa's being 
 delivered of a daughter. J Among many curious things dug 
 up in this neighbourhood is the celebrated bas-relief repre- 
 senting the deification of Homer, executed by Archelaus of 
 Priene, the son of Apolonius, and which is to be seen in the 
 Colonna palace at Rome.§ And the table, now preserved in 
 the Capitol, containing a representation of the Iliad, was like- 
 wise found here. 1 1 Perhaps these two singular Homeric mo- 
 
 * Suet. V. Aug. c. 100. f Tacit. Ann. 1 2. c. 41. 
 
 J Tacit. Ann. 1. 15. c. 23. 
 
 § This bas-relief has been often published. It has employed the pens of 
 many learned antiquaries, who have given very different explanations of it ; viz. 
 Kircher, Falconieri, Spanheimius, Cuper, Gronovius, Weslslain, TabreUi, 
 Schott, Winkelrnann, and Visconti. B«it the most satisfactory account 1 have 
 seen of it is that lately given by M D’Hankerville, in his learned work in titled 
 Eecherches sur I’Origine, I’Esprit, et les Progres des Arts de la Grece, &c. 
 Tom. 2. p. 291, et seq. 
 
 II Vide Fabretli de Columna Trajani, p. S15, and Museo Capitolino, Vol. 4^ 
 p. 363. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 numents were placed in the Sacrarium of the Julian family, as 
 marks of their supposed Trojan descent * 
 
 9. Porta di 
 S^Sebastiam, 
 
 Although there are no remains of the Bovilla, it had for- 
 merly been a considerable place. Jt was a municipium, and had 
 a theatre and school of comedians, whose names are preserved 
 in an inscription, found here, and now to be seen in the Co- 
 lonna palace at Marino. I cannot but observe that the actors, 
 histriones, of regular tragedy and comedy, were always re- 
 spected by the ancient Romans. Jndeed Cicero's friendship 
 for Roscius is a proof of the estimation in which a good actor 
 was held.-f On the contrary the mimi and pantomimi were 
 held in contempt, on account of their often indecent represen- 
 tations. But even these last came to be honoured in the licen- 
 tious times of the empire ; and some of them were promoted 
 to dignities, as appears from inscriptions.J Thus we find the 
 Archimimus Lucius Acilius, of the Pontine tribe, a priest of 
 Apollo, decorated with the office of Decurio, a magistrate, of 
 Bovillae.§ 
 
 A school of 
 comedians. 
 
 Near to the Frattocchie was discovered, in the year Anhypo- 
 
 among the ruins of an ancient villa, an hypocaustum, for 
 
 ♦ Origo JulisB gentis $neas, &c. Tacitus, An. 1. 4. c. 9. 
 
 f *‘Quis nostrum animo tarn agresti ac duro fuit, ut pro Roscii morte nuper 
 non commoveretur ? qui cum esset.senex mortuus, tamen propter excellentem 
 artern ac venuslatern videbalur omnino mori non debuisse.” — Pro Archia poeta. 
 
 X Vide Fieoronij.nel libro delle maschere sceniche, c. 5.— Gori, Inscrizione 
 deir Etruria, Tom. 2. p. 176.— Gruter, p. 330. No. 3.— p. 331.-— p. 363. 
 
 § Vide Gruter, p. 1089. No. 6.— 'He has likewise there published the list of 
 this school of comedians. 
 
 Q 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 114 
 
 9. Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano, 
 
 A gate built 
 up. 
 
 Another 
 gate built up. 
 
 Pliny's villa 
 Lauren tina. 
 
 heating an apartment, of which Piranesi* has published a 
 plate. 
 
 Between the Frattocchie and Albano, many parts of the via 
 Appia are very entire.-f 
 
 In the Appendix, No. V. I shall give an account of Albano^ 
 and its environs. 
 
 Having thus far strolled along the via Appia, let me now 
 return back to the walls of Rome. 
 
 Near to the gate of St. Sebastian there was another gate, but 
 which is now built up. It is marked G on the Plan of Rome, 
 plate III. 
 
 A little farther on, I observed a gate, also built up, which 
 seems to have belonged to some ancient building, because it 
 is rather too low to have served for a gate to the city. It is 
 marked H on the same Plan. But if this was a gate of the 
 city, it will, I believe, answer to the via Laurentina, which 
 lay between the Ardeatina and Ostiense, Pliny the younger J 
 tells us, that he could go to his villa Laurentina, seventeen 
 miles from Rome, either by the Laurentine or Ostian roads. — 
 “ Aditur non una via ; nam et Laurentina et Ostiensis eodem 
 ferunt, sed Laurentina a quarto decimo lapide, Ostiensis ab 
 undecimo relinquenda est. In the villa Sacchetti, towards 
 
 * Anlichila d’Albano, Tab, 26. f See Piranesi, ib. p. 25, and Tab. 25. 
 
 % Lib. 2. epist. 17. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 115 
 
 Ostia, I saw some of the foundations of Pliny’s villa, of which 
 he has left us so elegant and particular a description.* Although 
 he says that this villa was commodious and not splendid — 
 “ villa usibus capax, non sumptuosa tutela” — yet, from his 
 own account, it appears to have been magnificent : but per- 
 haps he considered it as small, compared with the extensive 
 villas of the then luxurious Romans. It was intended for his 
 winter retreat, for the coast was mild, and an agreeable situa- 
 tion for that season. He informs us, that his triclinium was 
 washed by the sea, when the wind blew from the south; — 
 “ mox triclinium satis pulchrum, quod in littus excurrit, ac 
 si quando Africo mare impulsum est, fractis jam et novissimis 
 fluctibus leviter alluitur.” — But the land has gained so much 
 from the water on this part of the coast since Pliny’s time, 
 that these ruins are now a considerable distance from the sea. 
 The south wind beating violently on the coast has forced up 
 much sand, and the great inundations of the Tiber, whose 
 
 * See — the Villas of the Ancients illustrated, by Robert Castell : in which 
 is an ingenious but imaginary plan of Pliny's villa. Indeed a plan and elevation 
 of a building cannot be exactly made out from description only. 
 
 M. Felibien des Avaux, from Pliny’s description, has likewise given ideal 
 plans of his villas of Laurentinum and Tuscum. 
 
 Cato, Varro, Columella, and PaHadius, ancient writers on husbandry, have 
 mentioned the principal parts of the Roman farm-houses. But the descriptions 
 that Pliny the younger gives of his villas of Laurentinum and Tuscum (lib. 5. 
 ep. 6.) are the only detailed accounts preserved to us of the country seats of the 
 Romans. Laurentinum, washed by the Mediterranean, was for his winter, and 
 Tuscum for his summer residence. This last was in Tuscany, at the foot of the 
 Apennines, near a town called Tiferfium Tiherinum, about 150 miles from 
 Rome, and the Tiber ran through his estate. Laurentinum, so near Rome, and 
 where his property was not extensive, may be considered as his villa suburbana, 
 while Tuscum, where he had a large estate, was his family seat, 
 
 Q 3 
 
 9 . Porta di 
 S. Sebastiano, 
 
116 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 9, Porta di 
 S.Sebastiano, 
 
 Laurentum. 
 
 Layinium. 
 
 Numicus. 
 
 waters spread far, and deposit much earth and mud, are the 
 apparent causes which in length of time, have produced this 
 effect. Inundations of rivers, earthquakes, and volcanic irrup- 
 tions have, no doubt, produced great alterations on the face of 
 our globe ; and which, by these means, is perpetually decom- 
 posing and recomposing. 
 
 Laurentum^ the capital of the ancient kings of Latium, is 
 reckoned to have stood near to Torre Paterno. 
 
 Lavinium, built by .®neas, and so named from his wife La- 
 vinia, probably stood where we now find Pratica: but when 
 Laurentum was destroyed, its inhabitants joined those of La^ 
 vinium, and formed one city ; they were called Laurentes La^ 
 vinates. Virgil, when he conducts i^^neas to this coast, gives it 
 the name of Lavinia — 
 
 “ Laviniaque venit 
 
 Litora.'** 
 
 To the west of Pratica, I observed a rivulet, which is com- 
 monly supposed to be the Numicus, in which Anna Perenna 
 was drowned : 
 
 “ Corniger haiic cupidis rapuisse Numicius undis 
 Creditor, et stagnis occuluisse suis.”-^' 
 
 Here, too, iEneas is said to have perished : but, had this rivulet 
 been as inconsiderable formerly as at present, it would have 
 required art to have drowned any one in it. Virgil, however, 
 mentions the Numicus, in his description of this part of the 
 country, where he lands his hero : 
 
 “ Hasc fontis stagna Numici/'J] 
 
 •f* Ovid Fast. 1, 3. v. 647. t !• 7. 150, 
 
 * .®n. 1. 1. V. 2 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 117 
 
 X. PORTA DI S. PAOLO. 
 
 This gate, called Ostiense by Aurelian, is now known by 
 the name of the Apostle of the Gentiles, whose church stands 
 about a mile from it, on the Ostia road. Before Aurelian en- 
 larged the city, the gate on the via Osliense was called porta 
 Trigemina, and probably stood between the Aventine hill and 
 the river, a little below the prior ata di Malta. For monte 
 Testaccio, which I shall afterwards examine, stood without the 
 city. 
 
 Almost joining to the gate, there is an elegant pyramid, 
 which is built up in, and serves for part of the city wall. It 
 had certainly stood without the city, before Aurelian extended 
 the walls. This is the only pyramid remaining about Rome : 
 but which conveys to us, though in miniature, an idea of those 
 in Egypt !* It was built to perpetuate the name of C. Cestius, 
 one of the septemvir Epulonum. But who this Cestius was, 
 other than the title given him on this monument, is uncertain. 
 The Epulones were a college of priests, of great dignity, who 
 prepared these feasts to the gods, called Lectisternia, where 
 their statues, laid on rich beds, were placed at table as the 
 principal guests. One of those beds, of bronze curiously 
 wrought, has been found in Herculaneum. These sumptu- 
 ous entertainments were devoured by the seven noble gor- 
 mandizing priests. It was to appease the gods, in time of a 
 
 * Pliny, mentioning the pyramids of Egypt, justly calls them — regum pe- 
 cuniae otiosa ac stulta ostentatio.” — Hist. Nat. 1. S6. c. 12. 
 
 Cestius's 
 
 pyrarniii. 
 
liS 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 10. Porta di plaguc, that the Romans first instituted these feasts, in the 
 year of Rome 356.* As the ground about the pyramid is 
 much raised, we have not so advantageous a sight of it as for- 
 merly. It is palms high, all incrusted with white mar- 
 ble, and rests on a base of Tiburtine stones, whose height is 
 3i- palms. The breadth of the square on which it stands, is 
 130 palms. Agreeable to the testament of Cestius, this vast 
 monument was built in 330 days. The sepulchral chamber 
 had been finely painted : it is now much defaced ; more per- 
 haps from the smoke of the torches used in showing it, than 
 from the humidity of the place. These figures and ornaments 
 seem all to relate to the sacred ceremonies of the Epulones. 
 The monument was judiciously repaired, without altering its 
 form, by Pope Alexander VII. The workmen employed to 
 do so discovered at each of its angles, which faced the via Os- 
 tiensiSf a marble pedestal, on one of which was found a brazen 
 foot ; a proof that there were formerly statues on them. It is 
 probable that they represented Cestius himself. These pedes- 
 tals, removed from hence, are now preserved in the Capitol, 
 the names of Cestius's heirs are engraved on them : and the 
 same inscription is repeated on each of these bases. Nor can 
 the meaning of the inscription be made out, unless we sup- 
 pose the letters S. F. C. viz. statiiam faciundam curaverunty 
 or some such words, to be understood. Perhaps the sculptor 
 thought it unnecessary to inscribe these words, as the statue 
 was in view, and spoke for itself. At the other two angles of 
 the pyramid were found two marble pillars broken down ; but 
 which have been repaired, and placed where they seem for- 
 
 * Livius, 1. 5 . c. J3. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 merly to have stood. These likewise had probably supported lo, 
 small statues. As M. Agrippa is mentioned in the inscriptions, 
 we may conclude with certainty, that this is a work of the 
 Augustan age, and which does no dishonour to it.* The 
 eTcpense of building this pyramid must have greatly exceeded 
 the sum allowed to be employed on sepulchral monuments 
 by the sumptuary laws of the aediles. Hence the executors 
 of Cestius had been fined in a sum, which they paid by the 
 sale of some rich furniture, as appears from the above inscrip- 
 tions, and which I shall here transcribe. — 
 
 M. VALERIVS . MESSALLA . CORVINVS . 
 
 P. RVTILIVS. LVPVS L. IVNIVS . SOLANVS . 
 
 L. PONTIVS . MELA . D. MARIVS . 
 
 NIGER . HEREDES . C. CESTI . ET . 
 
 L. CESTIVS . QVAE . EX . PARTE . AD . 
 
 EVM . FRATRIS . HEREDITAS . 
 
 M. AGRIPPAE . MVNERE . PER . 
 
 VENIT . EX . EA . PECVNIA . QVAM . 
 
 PRO . SVIS . PARTIBVS . RECEPER . 
 
 EX . VENDITIONE . ATTALICOR . 
 
 QVAE . EIS . PER . EDICTVM . 
 
 AEDILIS . IN . SEPVLCRVM . 
 
 C. CESTI . EX . TESTAMENTO . 
 
 EIVS . INFERRE . NON . LICVIT . 
 
 * See M. Falconieri’s dissertation on this monument, which is added to Nar- 
 dini’s Roma Antica . — See also Piranesi’s prints of it. Ant. JJom.Tora. 3. tav, 40. 
 
 to 48 inclusive. In the middle age this monument was called Meta Romuli, 
 
 as the equestrian statue of M. Aurelius, at the Capitol, was then named caballus 
 
 Constantini. Nerenius de Templo S. Alexii, p. 397. Protestants, who die at 
 
 Rome, use buried at the side of this pyramid. 
 
 119 
 
 Porta di 
 Paolo. 
 
120 
 
 ANCIENT HOME. 
 
 10. Porta di 
 S. Paolo. 
 
 Church of 
 St. Paul. 
 
 Vanity led the Romans to erect magnificent monuments to 
 perpetuate the names of their dead. In vain did the ^ediles 
 enact laws to restrain this expense. Thus Cicero, * over- 
 whelmed with affliction for the death of his beloved daughter, 
 Tullia, to elude the penalty of these sumptuary laws, meditated 
 to build a temple to her, — “ fanum fieri volo*' — in place of a 
 sepulchre ; which, no doubt, would have done her still a greater 
 honour, for this was a sort of deification, uTro^sua-tv. But the 
 confusion of the times had prevented Cicero from carrying 
 this extravagant idea into execution. Indeed this mistaken 
 fondness for the memory of the dead gave rise to much idola- 
 try. “For,"" Solomon -f tells us, “a father afflicted with un- 
 timely mourning, when he had made an image of his child, 
 soon taken away, now honoured him as a god, which was 
 then a dead man, and delivered to those that were under 
 him, ceremonies and sacrifices."" 
 
 The church of St. Paul, a mile from the gate, on the via 
 Ostiensis, is said to have been founded by Constantine. Be- 
 fore the Reformation, the Kings of England were protectors 
 of it, in the same manner as the Emperor of Germany is 
 protector of St. Peter"s, the King of France of St. John La- 
 teran’s, and the King of Spain of St. Maria Maggiore. Here 
 we find a noble collection of elegant columns, of various mar- 
 bles. The most remarkable, however, are the forty, which 
 support the great nave. They are Corinthian fluted pillars, 
 of pavonazzo, which were part of those that ornamented 
 
 * Epist. ad Atticum. 1. 12. ep. 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 35, and 36. 
 
 Book of Wisdom, ch. 14. v. lo. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 121 
 
 Adrian’s mausoleum, or Moles Hadriani, now the Castel Sant 
 Angelo* 
 
 A little further on, a road goes off from the left hand of the 
 via Ostiensisy and leads to the Tre Fontane, anciently ad aquas 
 SalviaSy a mile from St. Paul’s. Here are three churches : 
 but the church in which we find the three foutitains, is said 
 to be built on the spot where St. Paul suffered martyrdom. I 
 was told that his head, when struck off, gave three leaps, and a 
 miraculous fountain sprung up at each place where it lighted. 
 These fountains, they pretend, have each a different taste ; 
 but, after trial, I could discover no difference in them. 
 
 About three miles from the gate there v^ras a villa, belong- 
 ing to Alexander Severus. 'f Adjoining to it was a sepulchre, 
 which, from inscriptions, seems to have belonged to the Atian 
 family. X Here was found, according to Ficoroni, § a most 
 beautiful sarcophagus, now preserved in the Capitol. || On its 
 front are the nine Muses in elegant attitudes. They are dis- 
 
 * See Piranesi’s beautiful large view of the inside of this church. 
 
 t Am. Marcelliniis, 1. 17. c. 4. 
 
 J This family, originally plebeian, became celebrated by their connection 
 with the Julian, andOctavian families ; from the first of which descended Julius 
 Caesar, and from the second Augustus. Virgil alludes to this, when, in com- 
 pliment to Augustus, he says — 
 
 Alter Atys, genus unde Atti duxere Latini : 
 
 Parvus Atys, pueroque puer dilectus lulo.” 
 
 iEni 1. 5. V. 568. 
 
 I Ficoroni, Vest. di. Rom. I. 1. c. 10. p. 54. 
 
 II Museo Capitolino, Tom. 4. p. 141. tab. 26, 27, and 28. 
 
 R 
 
 10. Porta di 
 S. Paolo. 
 
 Tre Pon- 
 tane. 
 
 Villa of 
 
 Alexander 
 
 Severus. 
 
122 
 
 ANCIENT ROME., 
 
 tinguished by differe^Dt. attributes^^ Foggini, who, published 
 this volume of the Museo Capitolino^ arranges them thus : — 
 1. Calliope; 2. Melpomene; 5. Euterpe; 4. Terpsichore; 
 5. Erato ; 6 . Polyhymnia ; 7. Clio ; .8. Urania ; and 9. Thalia. 
 But the learned Visqonti is of opinion, that the Mu>es on 
 this fine monument are thus arranged,: — 1. Clio;. ,2. Thalia; 
 3. Erato; 4. Euterpe; 5. Polyhymnia; 6 . Calliope;. 7. Terp- 
 sichore ; 8. Urania ; and Melpomene, On the coyer ot this 
 sarcophagus are six personages, . in the action of feasting. On 
 the right hand side we see Homer, to whom poetry, or per- 
 haps Calliope, who was called his mother, presents a book. 
 And on the left hand side sits Socrates; and philosophy, or 
 Erato its muse, leaning on a base, reasons with hinn 
 
 Ostia. The, .Romans,. sensible of the importance having a-n har- 
 
 bour at the mouth of the Tiber, to secure its navigation, . built 
 and fortified which was. thus. nau.ed from the 
 
 circumstance of its situation. All their, historians, agree that 
 it was founded by Ancus Marcius, the .fourtir king of Rome. , 
 Livy,'!' in his account of this King, says — “ Nec urbs tantum 
 hoc rege crevit, sed etiam ager finesque. Silva Msesia Vejen- 
 tibus adempta: usque ad mare imperium prolatum, et in ore 
 Tiberis Ostia urbs condita \ mlincc J circa factae."" Ostia, when 
 
 * See Museo Pio Gleinentino, Tom. 1. p, &8* 
 
 4 Hist. I. 1. c. S3. 
 
 J It is still at these salirus, now called stag.no, that the ^ajt is, prepared for 
 the use of Rome and its neighbourhood. But as this operation is performed in 
 the summer, by evaporation, from the heat of the sun ; and the air, at that sea-, 
 son, is so bad at Oslia, labourers could not be induced to remain there. It is 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 founded was no doubt washed by the sea, and some pillars even 
 remain, to which ships and boats "seem to have \>een fastened. 
 The land, however, has by alluvion gained Here so much on 
 the water, as Fhave already mentioned,^ that Ostia is now 
 about a mile and a half distant from the sea, and consequently 
 rendered useless as an harbour. But Claudius, finding Ostia 
 not sufficiently large and convenient for the increase of the 
 shipping necessary for Rome, built the elegant harbour of 
 Porto opposite to it, on the other side of the river, which, in 
 the next article, I shall examine. Though Ostia, in its be- 
 ginning, must have been a small place, it was at last greatly 
 extended and embellished with villas and other buildings ; 
 for remains of walls and ruins, for a considerable space to- 
 wards Rome, are still to be seen. It has been so defaced, 
 chiefly by the Goths and Saracens, and its temples and houses 
 destroyed, that I can give no description of its former state. 
 At present it is a mean place, though a bishoprick, and the 
 see of the first cardinal-bishop, who is always dean of the 
 sacred college; but as its revenues are very small, the bi- 
 shoprick of Veletri is annexed to it. 
 
 The Tiber, near its mouth, is divided into two branches, 
 which form an island, which projects into the sea, between 
 
 for this reason that the Popes have made it an asylum for criminals of every 
 kind, to which these unhappy wretches fly, and support themselves, by pre- 
 paring the salt. But so pestiferous is the air that they seldom survive many 
 years. 
 
 • See page 115. 
 
 Us 
 
 10. Porta (It 
 S. Paolo. 
 
 Isola Sacra. 
 
124 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 ] 0 . Porta di 
 S. Paoto, 
 
 Ostia and Porto. It is called Isola Sacra. The branch of the 
 river to'wards Ostia is now known by the name of Bocca de la 
 Fiumara^ and that towards Porto is called Fiumicino. It is by 
 this last that vessels, going to Rome, enter the river. 
 
 
 I cross the Tiber, and come to 
 
THE GATES Al^D ENVIRONS. 
 
 125 
 
 XL PORTA PORTESE. 
 
 When the walls of the Transtiberim were renewed by 
 Urban VIII. this gate was placed further down the river than 
 the ancient one.^ It was begun by Urban, and finished by 
 Innocent X. 
 
 Though I observed no remains of the ancient road from 
 this gate, yet, according to Leon Batista Alberti it seems to 
 have been the most spacious and commodious of all the high 
 ways about Rome. For, he says, it was so broad that a wall, 
 little more than a foot high, diviJed it into two ; and, like the 
 twin gates I formerly mentioned,;!.* those who went from Rome 
 took one side of it, and those who came to the city the other. 
 His words are — quando enim iEgypto, Africa, Lybia, Hispa- 
 niis, Germania, Insulis, hominum ingens numerus, mercium 
 maxima vis confluebat ; stratam effecere duplam : et in medio, 
 lapidum ordo eminens ut linea, extabat pedem, ut prodirent 
 altera, redirent altera, vitata properantium ofFensione.” 
 
 This road leads to, and the gate takes its name from, the mag- 
 nificent harbour of Porto, built by Claudius, and not by Trajan, 
 as some authors assert; though it may have been enlarged by 
 the latter. D’Anville,§ copying other authors, called it Portus 
 Augusii. It is now, as well as Ostia, at a considerable distance 
 
 * See page €8. f Lib. 4. c. 5. Architecl;. See page 28, 
 
 § M^tn. de I’Acad. des Insciip. Tom. 52. p. 1 18. ed. in 12mo. 
 
 Harbour of 
 Porto. 
 
126 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 11. Porta 
 Portese, 
 
 Gardens of 
 Julius Cassar, 
 
 from the sea, as the land here has encroached much on the wa- 
 ter.* Although in ruins, and useless, it remains a monument 
 of Roman grandeur, and still deserves the attention of the cu- 
 rious traveller. Entering from the sea, it stands on the left 
 side, as- Ostia stands on the right,' of the mouth of the Tiber. 
 Its form is preserved on a (brass) medal bf Claudius.^ There 
 was here a light-house, like that of the famous Pharos of 
 Alexandria, in Egypt. J The huge vessel, which Caligula 
 caused to be constructed, to transport an obelisk from Egypt 
 to Rome, was afterwards used* as a cassoon, on which the 
 light-house was built. An elevation of this haven was pub- 
 lished by Stefano du Perach, in the 1575, when it was, no 
 doubt, more entire than at present; but surely less entire 
 than he has given it. In the year 1743, Benedict XIV. caused 
 a geometrical plan of its ruins to be published. M. Lucatelli 
 has indeed wrote a dissertation of this harbour, with observa- 
 tions on the manner the Romans built their sea*-ports along the 
 Mediterranean coast. § 
 
 Though Porto is a bishoprick, and the see of the second 
 cardinal-bishop, who is always subdean of the sacred col- 
 lege, it now consists only of a church, the bishop's house, and 
 a dirty inn. But to this bishoprick is annexed that of Sancta 
 Ruthna, formerly called Sylva Candida. 
 
 The gardens, which Julius Caesar[| bequeathed to the people 
 
 * See pages 115 and 123. -f Eiizzo sopra le Medaglie, p. I 66 . 
 
 J Plin Hist. Nat. 1. 36. c. 12. 
 
 • § Saggi di Disserlazioni dell’ Accademia di Cortona, Tom. 6. diss. 1. — Here 
 we find both Perach and Benedict’s Plans. | Suet. Vit. J. Caesar, c. 83. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIllONS. 
 
 127 
 
 of Rome, probably stood near to this gate, on the banks of 
 the Tiber:* 
 
 “ Trans Tiberim longe cubat is, prope Cassaris hortos.” 
 
 But here I could find no remains of the temple which Ti- 
 berius caused to be built to Fortune. — “ i^ldes Fortis Fortunae 
 Tiberim juxta in hortis, quos Caesar dictator populo Romano 
 legaverat. 
 
 * Hor,.l. ]. sal. Q. v, iS*. Tacit. Ann. 1. 2. c. 41. 
 
 1 1 . Porta 
 Portcse. 
 
128 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Sepulchral 
 
 inonuments. 
 
 Via Vitellia. 
 
 XII. PORTA DI S. PANCRAZIO. 
 
 It was rebuilt by Urban VIII. and takes its name from the 
 church of that saint on the via Vitellia. This gate was, per- 
 haps, formerly called Aurelia. It stands on the Mans Janicu- 
 lus, named in the low ages Mons aureus, and now by corruption 
 Montorio, 
 
 A little without the gate, on the left hand, is the villa Cor- 
 sini. About a century ago, in digging and levelling the ground 
 of this villa, a great number of sepulchral monuments were 
 discovered. Pietro Santi Bartoli* traced, designed, and pub- 
 lished thirty-four of these funeral chambers, or columbaria. 
 Many of them were elegantly ornamented with stucco and 
 painting, and the floors enriched with mosaic work. 1 shall 
 not, however, enter into a detail of them, but refer the reader 
 to the plates of that ingenious artist, which will convey a clearer 
 idea of these columbaria than the most accurate description of 
 the pen can do. 
 
 At the villa Corsini the road separates. The one to the left 
 hand, called via Vitellia, joins the via Portuensis, near to the 
 ponte Galera. This road, according to Suetonius,'f reached 
 from the Mons Janiculus to the sea. The other, to the right 
 hand, called via Aurelia, leads to Civita Vecchia, formerly 
 
 * Gli Antichi Sepolcri, da Pietro Sanli Barloli, Vol, I. — In Roma, per de 
 Rossi, 1696, fol. 
 t Vita Vitel. c. 1. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 139 
 
 called Centumcellce, Cicero tells us, that it was by the via 
 Aurelia' \S\2X Catiline went to join Manlius at Fiesole: “ De- 
 monstrabo iter ; Aurelia via profectus est.'" ♦ 
 
 By this gate, Trajan's aqueduct enters Rome. It was brought 
 from the other side of the lake SahatinuSy now Bracciano. Its 
 course is thirty-five miles. It is at present called aqua Paolo, 
 having been renewed and augmented by Pope Paul V. It is 
 so copious that it suffices to turn mills. The inscription on its 
 elegant fountain, at S. Pietro in Montorio, calls it aquce Alsie- 
 tince, which were brought by Augustus from the lake Alsietinus,'\ 
 now Martignano ; and Piranesi, in his map of the aqueducts, 
 marks it as such. But that this is a mistake appears evident 
 from Fabretti J and Cassio.§ The aqua Alsietina, muddy and 
 bad, was chiefly intended for the use of Augustus's naumachia; 
 whereas the Sabatina, wholesome and good, served for all the 
 uses of life. 
 
 About three quarters of a mile from the gate, on the via 
 Aurelia, we entered the villa Pamjili, called di bel respiro, 
 from its fine and airy situation, of which Algardi was archi- 
 tect. And when we consider its extent and variety of ground, 
 we may pronounce it the most magnificent of the modern Ro-’ 
 man villas. Many ancient statues, bas-relieves, and inscriptions, 
 are to be seen here. 
 
 * la L. Catilinam, 2. 
 
 t Akium, which gave name to the lake, had stood near it. RufFus Virginias, 
 celebrated by Pliny the younger, had a villa here, which he used to call — 
 ** Senectutis suse nidulum.” — Plin. 1. 6. ep. 10. 
 
 J Fabretti de Atjuaed. No. 87* p* 49* § Corso dell’ aque,Tom. 1. p. 353. 
 
 s 
 
 12. Vorta di 
 S. Pancrazio. 
 Via Aurelia. 
 
 Trajan's 
 
 aqueduct. 
 
 Villa Pamfili. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 I come now to the gates on the Mans Vaticanus, added by 
 the Popes.* 
 
 I. PORTA CAVALLEGGIERI. 
 
 It is so called from the stables of the Cavalleggieri guards, 
 which stand near it. The road from it, named via Aurelia 
 nnovay leads into the via Aurelia, at the villa Ferroni. 
 
 II. PORTA FABBRICA. 
 
 This gate leads to, and probably takes its name from, the 
 brick-kilns in the neighbourhood. 
 
 III. PORTA ANGELICA. 
 
 It was built by Pius IV. who was named Angelicus before he 
 was Pope. It runs in a straight line to Ponte Molle, where it 
 communicates with the Cassian and Flaminian roads, 
 
 Via Trium- Near to this gate passed the via Triumphalis ; it came down 
 from the Clivus Cinnce, which was part of the Janiculum. 
 Among the various honours decreed to Augustus after his 
 death, the senate permitted his body to be brought into Rome 
 by the triumphal road and gate. — “ Funus triumphali porta 
 ducendum."'-f — Had not this been a singularity, it would not 
 have been noticed by the historians. 
 
 * See p. 24, 
 
 t Suet. Vit. Aug. c. 100. The same is mentioned by Tacitus, Ann. 1. 1, c. 8. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 131 
 
 This Clivus CinncB is now called Monte Mario ^ probably 
 from Marius Mellini, whose family is still in possession of a 
 part of it. From their villa Mario^ on the top of the hill, 
 one enjoys a noble and extensive prospect of Rome and the 
 Campagnia. Martial ^ has described this beautiful situation. It 
 seems to have been a farm belonging to his kinsman Julius 
 Martialis : 
 
 “ Hinc septem dominos videre montes, 
 
 Et totam licet asstimare Romam, 
 
 Albanos quoque, Tusculosque colies, 
 
 Et quodcumque jacet sub urbe frigus.” 
 
 In the early ages of Rome, surrounded with jealous and hos- 
 tile neighbours, it was necessary to keep constant guards at 
 each gate. But when the people assembled for business in the 
 Campus Martins, these guards were drawn off, that they might 
 assist in the deliberations ; and for the security of the city, a 
 small exploratory guard was placed on this very spot of the 
 Mons Janiculus, from whence they had so full a view of the 
 Campagnia and Rome. Here they erected a standard as a 
 mark of safety, which they removed in case of an alarm. The 
 moment that the people in the Campus Martins did not see 
 this standard, there was an end to business, an immediate dis- 
 solution of the assembly, and each man ran to his allotted sta- 
 tion. This precaution, perhaps necessary in the infancy of 
 Rome, continued long after the reason of it seems to have 
 ceased : and towards the end of the republic, we find it some- 
 times politically used. Thus when a faction observed that the 
 
 * Lib. 4. epig. 63. 
 
 3. Porta 
 Angelica. 
 Monte Ma- 
 rio. 
 
 Mons Jani- 
 culus. 
 
iS® 
 
 3. Porta 
 Angelica, 
 
 Ripetta. 
 
 Adrian's 
 
 circus. 
 
 Prata 
 Quinctia, 
 the farm of 
 Cincinnatus, 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 assembly were going to decide any question disagreeable to 
 their wishes, they engaged some confidants to run to the Jiz- 
 niculum, and take down the standard ; which put an effectual 
 stop to all business. It was in this manner that the senate, in 
 the time of Cicero, stopt the proceedings of the people against 
 Rabirius.* 
 
 IV. PORTA DI GASTELLO. 
 
 It is so named from the CasteV sant */lngelo, formerly the 
 mausoleum of Adrian, in its neighbourhood, which I shall af- 
 terwards examine. The road from this gate passes through 
 the meadows and vineyards. To the left hand it joins the 
 road from the porta ,/lngelica, and to the right hand it leads 
 to the passage-boat at the Ripetta, 
 
 This Ripetta served formerly, as it does at present, as an 
 harbour for the boats, which bring goods down the river. It 
 was called Navalia. 
 
 In the meadows, behind the castle, stood Adrian's circus: 
 but of which I saw no remains. 
 
 These meadows were of considerable extent, although the 
 greatest part of them are now converted into vineyards. Here 
 probably were the prata Quinctia, where L. Quinctius Cincin- 
 natus, nobly poor, was, with his own hands, cultivating his 
 little farm, of four acres, when he was saluted dictator, 
 
 • Sueton. Vit. J. Caesaris, c. 12. + Columella de Re. Rust. 1. J . pr«f. 
 
THE GATES AND ENVIRONS. 
 
 133 
 
 by the deputies of the senate. How elegantly does Livy* paint 
 this scene, and the simplicity of the manners of this great man ! 
 What a contrast between these virtuous times, and the luxu- 
 ries and extravagancies of the Romans at the end of the re- 
 public, and during the empire! when a senator thought 
 himself narrowly lodged, if his house took up only as much 
 ground as the whole arable estate of Cincinnatus : — Anguste 
 se habitare nunc putat, cujus domus tantum patet, quantum 
 Cincinnati rura patuerunt/'-f — Ficoroni % places this venerable 
 farm at Tor di Quinto, a ruin about a mile above the Ponte 
 MollL% But the Navalia, mentioned by Livy, does not apply 
 to that place, but to the meadows opposite to the Ripetta, 
 Pliny indeed confirms this opinion, for he says that it was “ in 
 agro Vaticano/'ll It is perhaps unnecessary to observe here, 
 for every one knows, the honours that the Romans, those 
 great masters of human prudence, annexed to agriculture. 
 They brought their dictators and consuls from the plough to 
 quell civil sedition, or to oppose foreign enemies. And after 
 their wisdom and bravery had restored peace to the state, they 
 thought it no dishonour to return back to their farms, and 
 with their triumphant hands again manage the ploughshare. 
 
 • Lib. 3 . c. 26 . t Val. Max. 1. 4. c. 4. sect 7. 
 
 JVest. di Roma, 1. 1 . c. 28, where see a gem, which he supposes represents 
 this subject. § See page 38. | Pliny# 1« 18. c. 3. 
 
 4. Forta di 
 Gastello, 
 
Back of 
 Foldout 
 Not Imaged 
 
•hiulll 
 
ANCIENT ROME 
 
 THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 Having thus examined the gates and walls of Rome, and 
 the antiquities to be seen in its environs, I shall now enter 
 the city. 
 
 Rome has always been distinguished by its seven hills.^ It 
 has been called Septi collis. 
 
 “En hujus, nate, auspiciis ilia inclyta Roma 
 Imperium terris, animos sequabit Olympo, 
 
 Septemque una sibi muro circumdabit arces, 
 
 Felix prole virum."X 
 
 The Romans, fond of multiplying festivas, from the cir- 
 cumstance of the seven hills, instituted a religious ceremony 
 which was called dies septimontium. It was celebrated in 
 December : — “ dies septimontium nominatus ab his septem- 
 montibus, in queis sita urbs est.”J 
 
 * It is remarkable that Constantinople, the capital of the eastern, like Rome, 
 the capital of the western empire, should have been built on seven hills. See 
 Pocock’s Description of the East, V. 2. parted, 
 t Virg. .^n. 1. 6, v. 782. J Varro, de Ling, Lat. lib. 5. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 These hills are, i. the Palatine, which was the Roma Qua- 
 drata of Romulus ; s. the Capitol, added by T. Tatius ; 3. the 
 Quirinal, added by Numa; 4. the Celian, added by Tull us 
 Hostilius 5. the Aventine, added by Ancus Martius ; 6 and 
 7. the Viminal and Esquinal, added by Servius Tullus. Such 
 seems to have been the progress, in which these hills were in- 
 cluded in the city. But in my survey, I shall examine them 
 as they lie contiguous to each other : viz. 1 . the Capitol ; 2. 
 The Palatine ; 3. the Aventine ; 4. the Celian; 5. the Esqui- 
 line ; 6 , the Viminal ; and 7. the Quirinal. 
 
 The Mons Pincius was added to the city by Aurelian ; and 
 the Mons Janiculus, as well as the Mons Vaticanus, on the 
 Hetruscan side of the river, were properly without the city. 
 
 We can still trace the seven hills. It is true that they are 
 not so conspicuous as formerly. This, no doubt, is owing to 
 length of time, and to the many devastations Rome has under- 
 gone. When the buildings on the hills were destroyed, either 
 by hostile hands, or by accidental fire, the rubbish was re- 
 moved down to the plains, which raised the latter, and conse- 
 quently diminished the height of the former. Besides the 
 rain, in the space of so many centuries, must have washed 
 away much earth from the hills. The plains, in many places, 
 are now raised eighteen or twenty feet, and in some parts 
 much more, above their former level. Though I cannot 
 determine the height of these hills, when Rome was in all 
 its splendour; yet the ingenious and accurate Sir George 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 137 
 
 Shuckburgh^ has given us their present height, and that of some 
 other remarkable parts of Rome, above the level of the Tiber, 
 which I shall beg leave to subjoin. The level of this river, 
 at Rome, according to Sir George’s observations, is 33 feet 
 above that of the Mediterranean. 
 
 Above the Tiber. Feet, 
 
 “ The top of the Janiculum near the Villa Spada - - s6o 
 
 Aventine hill, near the Priory of Malta - - - 117 
 
 The Forum, near the arch of Severus, where the ground 
 is raised 23|- feet - - - - ^ ^ 
 
 Palatine hill, on the floor of the imperial palace - 133 
 
 Celian hill, near the Claudian aqueduct, - - 125 
 
 Bottom of the canal of the Claudian aqueduct - - 175 
 
 Esquiline hill, on the floor of St. Mary Major’s church - 15^ 
 
 Capitol hill, on the west end of the Tarpeian rock - - 118 
 
 In the Strada dei Specchiy in the Convent of St. Clare - 27 
 
 On the union of the Viminal and Quirinal hills, in the 
 Carthusian’s church, Dioclesian’s baths - - - 141 
 
 Pincian hill, in the garden of the Villa Medici - - 1^5 
 
 Top of the cross of St. Peter’s church - - - 502 
 
 The base of the obelisk, in the centre of the peristyle - 31” 
 
 I shall first survey the hills, in the order in which they na- 
 turally lie, and afterw^ards the plains. 
 
 I begin with 
 
 * “ Observations in order to ascertain the height of mountains by means of 
 the barometer.” Philosophical Transactions, Vol, 67. for the year 1777^ part 
 2d, page 594. 
 
 T 
 
138 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Capitol re- 
 paired, after 
 Rome was 
 sacked by 
 the Gauls. 
 
 Its smd.ll 
 extent. 
 
 I. THE CAPITOL HILL.^ 
 
 The Capitol hilly so celebrated by the Roman writers, is 
 surrounded by the Quirinal hill, the Campus Martins, the Ti- 
 ber, and the Forum Romanum. It was fortified by Romulus, 
 as well for a defence to his infant city, as for the asylum which 
 he there opened. It was, however, after the Sabine war that 
 it was made a part of the city by Titus Tatius. For this we 
 have the authority of Tacitus. — ‘‘ Capitolium non a Romulo, 
 sed a T .Tatio additum urbi credidere.*"*f- 
 
 In the year of Rome 3^7, after Camillus had taken Veii, 
 and Rome was sacked by the Gauls, the city was in a manner 
 rebuilt, and the Capitol was repaired with square stones; a 
 work, says Livy, J that may be admired even in the magnifi- 
 cent times of Augustus. 
 
 I observed behind the stables of the CafFerelli palace, a wall 
 which seems to be a part of the ancient fortifications. This 
 remain is published hy Ficoroni, § and by Piranesi. || 
 
 When we view the small extent of this hill, and at the same 
 time call to mind the many temples and other buldings that 
 formerly ornamented it, we are at a loss where to place them. 
 But our wonder ceases, when we consider that these buildings 
 
 ♦ See Capitol hill, Plan of Rome, plate III. f Ann. 1. 12. c. 24. 
 
 X Lib. 6. c. 4. ad fin. § Vest. Rom.l. 1 . c. 10. 
 
 {] Magnif. ed Archit. de’ Romani, Tab. 1. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 and temples, generally small, did not all exist at the same pe- 
 riod. Because, as the Capitol had been frequently destroyed 
 by fire, different names were perhaps given to the new build- 
 ings erected on the ruins of the former. Indeed the Romans 
 built so many temples on this hill, that it may be considered as 
 the principal abode of their gods. 
 
 As I find no delineation of the Capitol hill on ancient mo- 
 numents, and as few of the foundations of the old buildings 
 are now to be seen, it is impossible to give a plan of its former 
 state. The buildings in which the conquerors of the world 
 assembled to decide the fate of mankind, are no more. In 
 many of the descriptions of Rome we find plans and elevations 
 of it ; but these are merely ideal, and all differ from each other. 
 
 Although the whole hill was called Capitolimst yet Livy 
 and the ancient writers distinguish the Arx, or citadel, from 
 the Capitolium, The former stood on the eminence towards 
 the Tiber, and the latter on the eminence towards the Quirinal, 
 Between these eminences was Romulus's political asylum. 
 
 “ Romulus ut saxo lucum circumdedit alto ; 
 
 Cuilibet, hue, inquit, confuge ; tutus eris,”^ 
 
 It was probably about the place where now stands the noble 
 equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. Livy •f* says 
 of Romulus— ‘Mocum, qui nunc septus descendentibus inter 
 duos lucos est, asylum aperit. Ex eo finitimis populis turba 
 omnis, sine discrimine, liber an servus esset, avida novarum 
 
 J39 
 
 I. The Qa-* 
 pitol hill. 
 
 No ancient 
 delineations 
 of it. 
 
 Romulus’s 
 asylum 
 See Capitol 
 hill, plate 
 III. No. 3. 
 
 * Ovid. Fast. 1. 3. v. 431, 
 
 t Liv. 1. 1, c. 8, 
 
140 
 
 ANCIENT ROME, 
 
 1. The Ca- 
 pitol hill. 
 
 Temples of 
 Jupiter. 
 
 rerum perfugit/' — Asylums are of great antiquity The Jews 
 had six cities of refuge for manslayers, who had killed their 
 neighbours unawares.^ But the temples of the Heathens, and 
 afterwards the churches of the Christians, were refuges for 
 criminals of every kind. Asylums, it is true, may occasionally 
 give time to innocence to remove suspicions of guilt ; but in 
 general they are hurtful, and serve to encourage and protect 
 crimes. 
 
 Of the many temples erected on this hill, the two dedicated 
 to Jupiter, by the names of Feretrius and Capitolinus, were the 
 most remarkable. Donatus 'f places the former, where now 
 stands the church of the Ara Cceliy and the latter behind the 
 palace of the Conservatori. Nardini, J on the other hand, 
 places them just the reverse. Both these celebrated antiquaries 
 support their different opinions, by the same passage of Diony- 
 sius of Halicarnassus. § The opinion indeed of Donatus is con- 
 firmed by the learned Fabretti, || who thinks he saw with his 
 eyes the foundations of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, 
 when the Cafferelli family caused the ground to be levelled 
 between their palace and that of the Conservatori. He there- 
 fore concludes, — Ex accurata igitur eo loci descriptione, 
 quae hisce ruderibus optime convenit, controversiam inter P. 
 Alexandrum Donatum et Famianum Nardinum de situ tem- 
 pli subortam, jam facile negotio dijudicare possumus.’" — Had 
 Fabretti measured these foundations, and given the plan of 
 
 * Numbers, ch. 35. v. 6. 
 
 Roma Ant. 1. 5. c. 14. 
 
 II De columna Trajani, in addition. 
 
 4 Roma Vetus, I. 2. c. 3. 
 § Lib. 4. c. 13. sect. 8. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 141 
 
 them, I should with more certainty have embraced his 
 opinion. 
 
 I shall, however, venture to place the temple of Jupiter 
 Feretrius, being the first built in Rome, at the Ar'a Co’li. It 
 was founded by Romulus, after he had defeated the Coeni- 
 nenses, and killed Acron their king, whose arms, which he 
 called opima spolia,^ he consecrated to Jupiter Feretrius, 
 Such was the first Roman triumph; an honour which the Ro- 
 mans in the sequel were so ambitious to obtain and which 
 
 * This name, according to Livy, 1, 4. c. 20. was only given to such spoils as 
 the general of the Roman army had taken, with his own hands, from the general 
 of the enemy’s troops. And in the course of the Roman history, I remember 
 only three who had the glory to carry off such spoils : viz. Romulus, Cornelius 
 Cossus, and M. Claudius Marcellus. 
 
 C. Cossus was not, however, commander in chief when he killed Tolumnius. 
 It has been even disputed whether he was then consul, or oirly military tribune. 
 Livy thinks he was the former. “But Varro says, that the spoils were called 
 oprmay though taken by a private soldier, provided he took them from the general 
 of the enemy. Vide Festus, ofima spolia. 
 
 Plutarch has preserved to us Marcellus’s prayer, when he consecrated these 
 trophies to Jupiter.— -Life of Marcellus. 
 
 f The honour of triumph was allowed only to those commanders who were, 
 or had held the office of dictator, consul, or praetor. Thus a triumph was refused 
 to L. Cornelius Lenlulus, though worthy of it, because he had not bore any of 
 these offices. — Res triumpho dignas esse censebat senalus; sed exemplum h 
 majoribus non accepisse, ut qui neqiie dictator, neque consul, neque praetor res 
 gessisset, triumpharel.” T. Liv. 1. SI. c. 20. Pompey’s having therefore tri- 
 umphed, belore he had bore any of these offices, was particular. Piutaich s Life 
 of Poinpey. 
 
 Among the many marks of distinction which the Romans bestowed on their 
 generals, who had obtained the triumphal honours, one was to allow them to 
 
 1 . m Ca- 
 pitol hill. 
 
 Temple of 
 Jupiter Fe- 
 retrius. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 First Roman 
 triumph. 
 
A^rCIENT ROME. 
 
 1 . The Ca- 
 pitol kill. 
 
 proved to be one of the principal causes of the greatness of 
 Rome. This temple originally was only ten feet long, and five 
 feet broad:* 
 
 ‘‘ Jupiter angustd vix totus stabat in aede.''*^' 
 
 It had no doubt been rebuilt, and rendered more magnificent, 
 as well as more extensive, in after ages, and particularly by 
 Augustus.^ But as no part of it now remains, I shall not in- 
 quire into its form. Nardini§ reckons that the columns, which 
 ornament the nave of this church, are the same which sup- 
 ported the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. I should rather, ac- 
 cording to Donatus, suppose them to be the columns of Jupiter 
 Feretrius, But when I examined these columns, which are all 
 of different marbles, heights, and diameters, some of them 
 with, and others of them without bases, I was inclined to think 
 that they had belonged to different buildings. One of these 
 columns, which is the third on the left hand, entering by the 
 great door, has this inscription, cut in large letters, near to the 
 top of it ; 
 
 construct the doors of their houses so as to open into the street, and not into the 
 house, as those of others did — ^^Ut domus eoi um fores extra aperirentur, etjanua 
 in publicum rejiceretur. Hoc erat clarissimum insigne inter triuinphales quoque 
 domos.” Plin. Hist. Nat. 1. 36. c. 15. — See also Plutarch’s Life of Poplicola, 
 Thus every distinction, how trifling soever it may seem to be in itself, con- 
 ferred by the state, was considered as a mark of honour. Indeed nothing was 
 more political, or tended more to extend the Roman conquests, than the military 
 honours they bestowed on every great action ; such as crowns, supplications, 
 ovations, triumphs, medals, inscriptions, statues, &c. 
 
 * Dmn. Hal. 1. 2, f Ovid, Fast. 1. 1. v. 201, 
 
 t biv. 1. 4. c. 19. I p, 310, ed. 1704, 4to, 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 A CVBICVLO 
 AVGUSTORVM • 
 
 The Cuhicularii were officers that belonged to the imperial 
 court, and seem to have been either valets des chambres, or 
 those distinguished persons, in some modern courts, called 
 chambellans. If this inscription is entire, which I shall not 
 affirm, we may suppose that it marked out the station allotted 
 to the Cuhicularii in some public building. But if it is only a 
 part of an inscription, perhaps it ha^ been a column of a build- 
 ing erected at the expense of some of these officers. The great 
 staircase that leads to the church, from the side of the Campus 
 Martius, consists of one hundred and twenty-four steps. The 
 marble, with which this staircase is constructed, was taken 
 from the temple of Jupiter Quirinus, on the Quirinal hill. 
 
 Although there are no remains of the temple of Jupiter Ca- 
 pitolinus, it is too remarkable to be passed over in silence. 
 Tarquinius Priscus, in the Sabine war, vowed to build a temple 
 to Jupiter on the Mans Tarpeius.^ Tradition pretends that 
 digging for its foundations, they found a human head entire. -f- 
 The augurs immediately pronounced this an happy omen, and 
 gave the name of Capitolium to this place. The whole hill 
 was afterwards called Mans Capitalinus. This temple, though 
 begun by the elder, was only finished by the younger Tar- 
 quin. But the honour of consecrating it was reserved to the 
 
 * Tins bill was anciently called Saturniusy and afterwards Tarpeias, from lire 
 virgin Tarpeia, who admitted the Sabines into the fortress, 
 
 Varro de Ling. Lat. lib. 4. sect. 7* 
 
 HS 
 
 1. The Ca- 
 pitol hill. 
 
 The Cubi- 
 cularii. 
 
 Temple of 
 Jupiter Ca- 
 pitolinus. 
 No. 2. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 :144 
 
 l.TheCa- 
 jjitol hill. 
 
 consul Horatius Pulvillus.^ The riches got at taking Suessa 
 Pometia, the capitol of the Volsci, are said to have sufficed for 
 building this temple. It was several times consumed by fire. 
 First in the Marian war, and rebuilt by Sylla : — “ Curam 
 [Capitolii’] victor Sylla suscepit, neque tamen dedicavit : hoc 
 solum felicitati ejus negatum •/'’f — -but not having been entirely 
 finished at his death, it was completed, and afterwards dedi- 
 cated by, the consul Q. Lutatius Gatulus, who had the honour 
 to have his name inscribed on its front. J Indeed Julius 
 Ccesar, then connected with and desirous to flatter Pompey, 
 endeavoured to have the dedication of this temple conferred on 
 him, and his name inscribed on it, in place of that of Catulus : 
 but Ccesar failed in this invidious attempt.§ After the temple 
 of Jupiter Capitolinus was thus rebuilt, it seems to have suf- 
 fered from thunder, in the consulship of Cotta and Torquatus. 
 For Cicero tells us that, at this time, the turrets of the Capitol, 
 the statues of the gods, and the image of the infant Romulus 
 sucking the wolf, were struck down by lightning. — “ Tac- 
 tus est ille etiam, qui hanc urbem condidit, Romulus : quern 
 inauratum in Capitolio parvum atque lactantem, uberibus 
 
 ^ Tacit, Hist. 1. S, c. 72 f Tacit, ib 
 
 f Vide Paavinius et Sigon. in Fast. Cons, ad ann. 675. 
 
 Q. LVTATIVS . Q . F . 
 
 Q . N . CATVLVS , COS . 
 
 SVBSTRVCTIONEM . ET . 
 
 TABVLArtIVM . EXS . C . 
 
 FACIVNDVM . CVllAV • 
 
 This inscription, found in the ruins of the Capitol, was perhaps the original 
 which Catulus put up, 
 
 § Sueton. Vit. J. Caesar, c. 15. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 145 
 
 lupinis inhiantem fuisse meministis/** — In the modern Capitol 
 is preserved a brazen figure of Romulus and Remus sucking 
 the wolf, which is generally supposed to be that mentioned 
 by Cicero ; because on one of the legs of the wolf there are 
 marks of liquefaction by a stroke of lightning. This statue, 
 we are told, was found in the temple of Romulus, at the foot 
 of the Palatine hill, now dedicated to St. Theodoro. It might 
 probably have been removed thither from the Capitol. It is 
 surely of great antiquity, and perhaps the work of an He- 
 truscan artist. The singular circumstance of its being da- 
 maged by thunder, leaves little reason to doubt, but that it is 
 the same statue mentioned by Cicero.-f* It is not improbable 
 that Virgil had this statue in view, when he drew his elegant 
 description ; 
 
 Geminos huic ubera circum 
 
 Ludere pendentes pueros, et lambere matrem 
 Impavidos : illam tereti cervice reflexam 
 Mulcere alternos, et corpora fingere lingua.*’^ 
 
 Secondly, this temple was destroyed in the Vitellian sedition, and 
 rebuilt by Vespasian. And thirdly, at the end of his reign, it 
 was again burnt downj and for the last time rebuilt by Domi- 
 tian. Thus it stood till it was demolished and robbed by the 
 barbarous Genseric, who, as Procopius tells us,§ was invited to 
 Rome by Eudoxia to destroy Maximus, who had killed her 
 husband Valentinian. — “ Jovis Capitolini templum diripuit, ac 
 mediam partem abstulit tecti, quod ex aere optimo ductum 
 
 ♦ In Cat'll. 3. t Divinat. 1. 2. c. 20. + 1. 8. v. 631. 
 
 I Byzanl, Hist. Script. Tom. 1. p. 352, ed, Ven. 
 
 u 
 
 1. The Ca- 
 pitol hill. 
 Romulus 
 and Remus 
 sucking the 
 wolf, in brass, 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 146 
 
 1. The Ca- 
 pitol hill. 
 
 erat.*' — The remainder of the brass seems to have been car- 
 ried off by Pope Honorius I. to ornament the church of St. 
 Peter. From the description given by Dionysius of Halicar- 
 nassus,* Nardini-f- has forjned a plan of this temple: but vve 
 know how uncertain a plan must be, taken from description 
 only. Perhaps we have an elevation of its portico, preserved 
 in one of the basso-relievos, of Marcus Aurelius’s triumphal 
 arch, now placed in the staircase of the palace of the Conser- 
 vatori. This building, delubruniy consisted of three temples, 
 or shall I say of three chapels, under the same roof. The one 
 in the middle was that of Jupiter, on the right hand was that 
 of Minerva, and on the left that of Juno. These three were 
 the — “ Di patrii indigetes” — of Virgil, J Fabretti§ has pub- 
 lished an ancient gem, on which these deities, sitting in chairs, 
 are engraved in the same order. It was probably copied from 
 their statues placed here. They were originally of baked clay; 
 but it appears from Martial, that Trajan caused them to be 
 executed in gold : 
 
 “ Sculptus et geterno nunc primum Jupiter auro."' 
 
 It was perhaps to preserve the memory of this magnificent 
 present, that we find these statues on the reverse of that 
 emperor’s medals.^ In the work entitled “ Lucernas fictiles 
 musei Passerii,” there is a lamp, on which is represented the 
 inside of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. Here we see the 
 
 * Lib. 3. t Roma Ant. 1. 5. c. 15. J Geor. 1. 1. v. 498. 
 
 § De Columna Trajani, in addition. \\ Lib. 1 1. epig. 4. 
 
 ^ Havercamp. Nura. Reginae Chrislinae, Tab. Ifi. No. 23. — Just. Rycqui de 
 Capitol Romano Comment, p. 52. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 147 
 
 three deities in their niches; Jupiter is in the centre, Juno is 1. TUCa- 
 on the left, and Minervci on the right hand. Below is in- ' 
 
 scribed— M . i . ph . cos .111 . — which is interpreted, Marcus 
 Julius Philippus Cos. III. It may therefore have served in 
 the festival given by that emperor, in celebrating the secular 
 games. Incredible were the riches and ornaments of this 
 temple, as described by ancient authors. Domitian expended 
 twelve thousand talents in gilding it.* Although often rebuilt, 
 its. precincts seem to have rem.ained the same.f The only 
 difference was in the taste of architecture and ornaments. It 
 was originally of the Tuscan order, and built by artists of that 
 country. But when restored by Domitian it became Corinthian, 
 and was surely then in its greatest beauty : 
 
 “ Et laudant Catuli vilia templa senes.'' J 
 
 Pliny informs us, that after the third Punic war, the pave- 
 ment of this temple was engraved; but he does not mention 
 what it represented. We learn, however, from him, that it was 
 the first of that kind of work introduced into Rome.§ 
 
 It was into the wall of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, The annual 
 on the side next Minerva's chapel, that the chief magistrate 
 drove a nail, annually, on the ides of September, whereby they 
 
 * Pint. Life of Poplicola. 
 
 f « Curani restituendi Capitolii in L. Vestinum confert (Vespasianus). Ab 
 eo contracli baruspices, monuere, ut reliquiae prioris clelubri in paiudes avehe- 
 rentur. templuni iisdein vestigiis sisteretur: nolle deos muiaii veterein iormaui. ’ 
 
 Tacit. Hist. 1. 4. c. 53. % Mart. 1. 5. epig. 10. 
 
 ^ Romse scalpturatum in Jovis Capitolini sede primuin factum est post 
 tertium Punicuin bellum inituni.’^ Plin. Hist, Nat. 1. 36. c. 25. 
 
 Us 
 
14,8 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 1 . The Ca- 
 pitol hill. 
 
 ifEdes Fidei, 
 
 The Tarpeian 
 rock. 
 
 reckoned the years of the state, by the number of nails. Livy^ 
 calls this ceremony clavum p anger e, or clavum jigere : and adds 
 the reason of this method of preserving their chronology — 
 quia rarae per ea tempora literag erant.'" The nail was 
 called clavus annalis. I find this custom remaining in the 391 
 year of Rome, in the consulate of L. ^milius Mamercinus, 
 and of Cn. Genucius Aventinesis. The country people long 
 continued to reckon their own and children’s ages, by driving 
 nails into the walls of their cottages.-f- This operation was 
 likewise believed to be an antidote against the plague : for this 
 purpose L. Manlius, A. U. 390, was named Dictator to drive 
 the nail. 
 
 Cicero places the JEdes Fidei near to the temple of Jupiter 
 Capitolinus, but of which there are no remains. ^ “ Qui jus 
 jurandum violat, is Fidem violat, quam in Capitolio vicinam 
 Jovis Opt. Max. majores nostri esse voluerunt.” J 
 
 From the Tarpeian rock the Romans threw down many of 
 their criminals : 
 
 “ Et horribilis de saxo jactus deorsum.”§ 
 
 A mode of execution used by the Jews,|| and other ancient 
 nations. But its situation, like that of many of the Roman 
 antiquities, is disputed by the antiquaries. The precipice at 
 
 Lib. 7. c. 3. t Petron. Satyr, c. 5Q. J Cic. de Of- 
 
 ficiis, 1. 3. c, 29* § Lucretius, 1. 3. v. 1029- 
 
 II 2 Chronicles, ch. 25. r. 12. — See Barrington’s Observations on the ancient 
 Statutes, viz. 23 Henry VIII. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 the corner of the Cafferelli palace, and which overlooks the 
 convent^ of the Tor di Specchi, is commonly shown as such. 
 And, notwithstanding the quantity of rubbish with which it 
 is filled up, its height is not so contemptible as represented 
 by Bishop Burnet,* who seems, unhappily, to have had a re- 
 luctancy to tell truth, even when he had no interest to do 
 otherwise. This precipice is still about sixty feet of perpen- 
 dicular height : and if we add to it twenty feet, which seems 
 to be the height of the rubbish accumulated at the bot- 
 tom above the modern street, and twenty feet more, the 
 height of the latter above that of the ancient street; the 
 height of the whole was about an hundred feet. Others again 
 have placed this rock on the side of the hill towards the Forum, 
 And, in deed, there is a considerable rock, on that part of the 
 hill called Monte Caprino, which overlooks the pia%%a of the 
 church della Consolazione , where formerly was the Forum Ro- 
 manum. This rock, no doubt, might have served for this dis- 
 mal purpose. But the former seems more probably to have 
 been the Tarpeian rock^ because from it the criminal was 
 thrown properly out of the city, into the Campus MarliuSy 
 which was, as I have already observed, only inclosed within 
 the city walls by Aurelian. Yet Dionysius of Halicarnassus-f 
 tells us, that Cassius, condemned for conspiring against the 
 state, in the twenty-third year after the expulsion of the kings, 
 was thrown down, in presence of the people, from the rock 
 that overlooked the Forum, 
 
 Although the Romans placed many of the tables of their 
 
 * Travels, p. 231. ed. 1750. f Lib, 8. c» 12. sect. 4. 
 
 H9 
 
 1. The Ca- 
 pitol hill. 
 
 No. 4 . 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 Tabulariura. 
 
15© 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 1. The Ca- 
 pitol hill. 
 
 No. 6. 
 
 Temple of 
 Jupiter To- 
 nans. 
 
 No. 7. 
 
 laws in portico of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, and in the 
 Atrium Libertatis, which seems to have stood on the Ayentine 
 hill ; yet they had a particular building for that purpose on the 
 Capitol hill, called the Tahularium. The public laws engraved 
 on tables of brass, were fixed up in the porticos of this build- 
 ing, for the immediate inspection of the people ; as within it 
 the prvate deeds and other records were preserved. Vespasian 
 undertook to restore three thousand of these tables which 
 were defaced by fire, in the Vitellian tumult, causing diligent 
 search to be made for the truest copies to supply the loss. — 
 “ Instrumentum Imperii pulcherrimum, ac vetustissimum con- 
 fecit, quo continebantur pene ab exordio urbis senatus-consulta, 
 plebiscita, de societate et foedere, ac privilegio cuicumque con- 
 cessis.'’* These laws thus restored by Vespasian, were again 
 destroyed in a subsequent fire. And, in these different confla- 
 grations, we may justly conclude, perished the most valuable 
 vouchers of the Roman history. The senators" palace is built 
 on the ruins of the Tahularium', and we still see a part of its 
 Doric portico, towards the Forum, which serves for the stables. “f* 
 
 Immediately behind the Tahularium, on the declivity of the 
 hill, but much covered with rubbish, are three columns, with 
 part of the frieze and cornice of the temple of Jupiter Tonans. 
 Of all the epithets given to Jupiter, none conveyed more ter- 
 ror to superstitious man than that of the Thunderer — 
 
 “ Coelo tonantem credidimus Jovem 
 Regnare.’"J 
 
 * Suet. Vit. Vespas. c. 8. f This remain is published by Ficoroni, 
 
 Vest, di Roma, 1. 1, c. 10. f Hor. 1. 3. od. 5 . 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 Hence it was that Augustus caused this temple to be built, to 
 celebrate an escape which was somewhat particular. For be- 
 ing on an expedition in Cantabria, and travelling by night, a 
 flash of lightning struck against his litter, and killed the ser- 
 vant who carried the torch.'* * * § ' It had been burnt down, pro- 
 bably, along with the Tabularium, and afterwards restored, 
 as appears from the letters . estitver . . .f still to be seen 
 on the frieze. This temple is Corinthian, the columns are white 
 marble fluted, and the capitals and frieze are finely wrought. J 
 On the side of the frieze remain some instruments of sacrifice 
 elegantly cut in basso-relievo, viz. the pr^Jiculum, the patera 
 the aspergillum^ the securis^ and culter. Here we see the al- 
 hogaleruSi a cap exactly like a bishop's mitre, which no doubt 
 had been worn by the priests of Jupiter, and from which the 
 church has taken this ornament. Augustus has likewise trans- 
 mitted to us the history of this event, on the reverse of one of 
 his medals where we see this temple, with the inscription — 
 
 lOVI TONANTI. 
 
 It appears from Suetonius, § that the emperor often went to 
 this temple ; and that the people, copying his example, rarely 
 paid their devotions to any other deity. The historian, there- 
 
 *Suet. Vit. Aug. c. 28. 
 
 tThe first letter, viz. r is wanting, as are the last three, viz. vnt. 
 
 ± See Piranesi’s view of it — Ant. di Roma, Tom. 1. tab. 32. fig. 2.— See 
 
 T 
 
 also Les Edifices de Rome, par Desgodelz,” c. 11. 
 
 § Cum dedicatam in Capitolio sedem T.onanti Jovi assidue frequentaret, 
 somniavit queri Capitolinum Jovem, cultores sibi abduci, seque respondisse ; 
 Tonantem projanitore ei appositum.”— -Vit. August, c, 91* 
 
 151 
 
 1. r/je Cam 
 pitol hill* 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 i5» 
 
 1. Tht Ca- 
 pitol hill. 
 
 Modern Ca- 
 pitol. 
 
 Museum, 
 
 Lex regia. 
 
 fore, pleasantly tells us, that Jupiter Capitolinus appeared in 
 a dream to Augustus, and complained that he had diminished 
 the number of his votaries, to which he artfully answered, that 
 he had only given him a porter in the person of Jupiter Tonans. 
 And, inded, this temple is so placed that it might have been 
 called the porter’s lodge of the Capitol. 
 
 I cannot leave this hill without observing, that the modern 
 Capitol was rebuilt, by order of Pope Paul III. from the de- 
 signs of Michael Angelo Buonaroti. And the Museum 
 lace of the Conservatori are monuments of the fine taste of that 
 great artist. 
 
 The Museum contains the noble collection of marbles, busts, 
 statues, basso-relievos, urns, inscriptions, &c. formed by Cle- 
 ment XII. and Benedict XIV. To give a list of these curious 
 monuments would require a particular work ; and such a one 
 has been presented to the public, accompanied with prints and 
 learned remarks, by Monsignor Bottari, and Signor Niccolo 
 Fuggini.* And Marchese Lucatelli-f has given a decsriptive 
 catalogue of them. 
 
 In the Museum I saw the plate of brass on which is engraved 
 
 *^'Museo Capitolino, contenente le imagini degli uomini illustri, &c. colie 
 osservazioni di Monsignor Gio. Bottari.” In Roma, neila Calcografia, 4 Tom. 
 fol. 
 
 t Museo Capitolino, o sia descrizioni delle statue, &c. che si custodiscono 
 nell palazzo alia destradel Senatorio, &c. In Roma, neila Stamperia del Ber- 
 iiabo, 1750. 4to. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 153 
 
 the celebrated decree called the Lex Regia . By this lasting 
 monument of servility the senate divested themselves of all 
 power, by authorising Vespasian to make and repeal laws, de- 
 clare peace and war, and to do every other act of sovereignty, 
 without asking their advice or consent. This inscription, in- 
 deed, proves that the emperors, as such, did not succeed to the 
 unlimited power of the kings ; for the supreme power still re- 
 mained in the people and senate, who conferred it on such, 
 and not on all, of the emperors as they judged proper. Be- 
 cause here we find that, before Vespasian, this exuberant au- 
 thority had been given only to Augustus, to Tiberius, and to 
 Claudius.^ 
 
 In the palace of the Conservatori, among other ancient cu- 
 rious monuments, are preserved the Fasti ConsulareSy found 
 in the Foruniy during the pontificate of Paul III. and given to 
 the Capitol by Cardinal Alexander Farnese; inscriptions well 
 known, and which have thrown much light on chronology. 
 
 In an adjacent building is the gallery of pictures purchased 
 by Pope Benedict XIV, for the use of the public, and where 
 he established the academy of drawing. 
 
 Let me now turn towards the Forum. The entries to the 
 Capitol were formerly from that side, the rest being fortified. 
 
 * This inscription has been published by several authors, particularly by Gruter, 
 Gronovius, Gravina, Heineccius, and by Leopoldus Metastatius, in a dissertation 
 intituled — De Lege Regia, seu tabula aenea capitolina, notis animadversionibus 
 illustrata per Leopoldum Metastasiurn, Petri fratrem. Romae, 1757. 4to. 
 
 X 
 
 1. The Ca- 
 pitol hill. 
 
 Conserva- 
 
 tori. 
 
 Fasti Con- 
 sulares. 
 
 Gallery of 
 Pictures. 
 
 Entries to 
 the Capitol, 
 
ancient ROME. 
 
 1. The Ca- 
 pitol hill. 
 
 Tullianum. 
 
 They seem to have been three. The clivus capitolinus proba- 
 bly led from the side of the Tahularium towards the te:nple of 
 Concord, and was terminated by Tiberius's triumphal arch, of 
 which there is no remain.^ The second entry was from the 
 other side of the Tahularium, and led to Septimius Severus's 
 triumphal arch, which I shall afterwards mention. And the 
 third entry led to the Forum of Mars, and is now called Salita 
 di Marforio, a corruption of Martis Forum : this entry is just 
 behind the church named St. Peter s prison, which is com- 
 monly reckoned the ancient Tullianum. Though these three 
 were the principal entries to the Capitol, yet it appears from 
 Tacitus'J account of the Vitellian war, that a staircase of an 
 
 * This arch was erected in memory of the standards, the eagles, lost by 
 Varus in Germany, having been recovered by Germanicus, under the auspices 
 of Tiberius. — Tacit. Ann. 1. 2. c. 41. 
 
 *t The Tullianum, called from Servius Tullius, who seems to have invented 
 it, was not the prison in general, but a dismal dungeon in it, where malefactors 
 were privately strangled. To be sent to the Tullianum was the same as a sen- 
 tence of death. As a terror to commit a crime, this prison was built in view of 
 the Forum. The description which Sallust gives of the Tullianum conveys to us 
 all the horrors of a prison : — Est locus in carcere, quod Tullianum adpellatur, 
 ubi paullulum ascenderis ad laevam, circiler duodecim pedes humi depressus; 
 eum muniunt undique parietes, atque insuper camera, lapideis fornicibus vincta; 
 sed incultu, tenebris, odorefada atque tenibilis ejus facies estj* Bel. Catilin. c. 55, 
 This description, I think, exactly answers to the appearance of the church called 
 St. Peter's prison, though antiquaries are divided in their opinions on this head. 
 (See Nardini, Rom, Ant. 1. 5. c. 11.) The Tullianum was long the only prison 
 in Rome. Juvenal considered this as a mark of the morals of the people : — 
 
 ** Felices proavorum atavos, felicia dicas 
 Secula, quae quondam sub regibus, atque tribunis 
 Viderunt uno contentam carcere Romam.” Sat, 3. v. SIfi. 
 
 $ Hist. 1. 3.C. 71. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 155 
 
 hundred steps led to the Capitol by the Tarpeian rock. — 
 « Turn di versos Capitolii aditus invadunt, juxta lucum asyli, 
 et qua Tarpeia rapes centum gradibus aditur.'* 
 
 At the north-east side of this hill, at what is now called Ma- 
 cel di Corvi, I observed the remains of the sepulchral monument 
 of C. Poblicius Bibulus, which is thus inscribed— 
 
 C. POBLICIO . L. F. BIBVLO . AED . PL. HONORIS 
 VIRTVTISQVE . CAVSA . SENATVS 
 CONSVLTO . POPVLIQVE . IVSSV . LOCVS 
 MONVMENTO . QVO . IPSE . POSTEREIQVE 
 EIVS . INFERRENTVR . PVBLICE . DATVS • EST. 
 
 This monument, when erected, had been without the walls of 
 the city, and was properly in the Campus Martius. Still it 
 was a singular honour conferred on Bibulus, whoseems to have 
 lived in the time of the second Punic war, though I cannot 
 with certainty trace his history. Indeed I find a C. Poblicius 
 Bibulus pro-quaestor in the consulship of Q. Fabius Flaccus 
 in the year of Rome 541 , and tribune of the people in the 
 consulship of Q. Fabius Maximus, in the year 544* This 
 monument is no doubt of great antiquity, and the form of the 
 characters of the inscription deserve the attention of the cu- 
 rious. It is published by Piranesi. 
 
 1. The Ca- 
 pitol kill. 
 
 Sepulchre of 
 C. Poblicius. 
 Bibulus. 
 
 • Aut. Rom. Tom. 2. tab. 4 and 0 . 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Imperial pa» 
 lace, begun 
 by Augus- 
 tus, and fi- 
 nished by 
 Dumitian, 
 
 II. THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 The Palatine hill, which we may consider as the centre of 
 the seven hills, was that on which Romulus founded Rome ; 
 it was the Roma Qjuadrata ; but in the sequel it served only 
 for the imperial palace. 
 
 It is a trapezium approaching to a parallelogram; 
 
 1400 f. rom. 
 
 The side AB fronts the Circus Maximus, BD the Forum Ro- 
 manum, DC the via Sacra, and CA the Celian hill. 
 
 Before the time of Augustus, many buildings, both public 
 and private stood on this hill. It was in Hortensius's house 
 where Augustus first dwelt. But that having been consumed 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 by fire,* and perhaps thought too little for the imperial dig- 
 nity, he seems to have formed a regular plan of an immense 
 building. He executed, however, only that part of it towards 
 the Celian hill. The other half, towards the Forum, was 
 carried on by Tiberius, and completed by Caligula. But as 
 the palace had suffered much from fire, at different times, the 
 whole was restored and rendered more magnificent by Domi- 
 tian. For which purpose he employed the architect Rabirius, 
 whose talents are celebrated by Martial :-f — 
 
 ‘‘ Astra polumque tua cepisti mente, Rabiri : 
 
 Parrhasiam mira qui struis arte domum.'’ 
 
 This palace is most advantageously situated. It overlooks, 
 in a manner, the city, and is placed, according to Vitruvius, j 
 in the most healthful position. For he advises, in such a cli- 
 mate as Italy, not to build a house to front any of the four 
 cardinal points of the compass : and here we find this building 
 flanked by them; for the line SN lies south and north. 
 
 Few of the magnificent buildings of the Romans have suf- 
 fered more than the imperial palace, from length of time and 
 barbarous hands. Indeed many remains of it are still to be 
 seen, but so disjointed and defaced, that I cannot but think 
 it almost impossible to make out with certainty a plan, and 
 much more so an elevation of it. Such an undertaking, how- 
 
 * Suet. Vit. Aug. c. 57 . t Lib, 7. ep. 56.— Vide J. 10. ep, 71. 
 
 J Lib, 1. c, 6, 
 
 157 
 
 2. The Pala^ 
 tine hill. 
 
 Its situation. 
 
 Described by 
 Bianchini, 
 
158 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 The Pala* 
 tine hiU» 
 
 See Palatine 
 hill, pi. III. 
 No. 1. and 2. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 Gardens of 
 Adonis. 
 
 ever, has been attempted by the learned Monsignor Bianchini.^ 
 He died before his work was finished, and several articles he 
 no doubt intended to have mentioned are wanting. It is true, 
 he does not offer to give plans or elevations of the palace as it 
 was left either by Augustus, or Tiberius, or Caligula, but only 
 as it was restored and improved by Domitian. Although this 
 work, which is full of ingenious remarks, does not give us, 
 perhaps, the real plan of the imperial palace, yet it gives us such 
 an one as is not unworthy of the Roman emperors, and may 
 afford many useful and curious hints to architects. 
 
 Bianchini divides this palace into two parts. The half which 
 looks towards the Celian hill, he calls Domus Augustana, and 
 many of its ruins are to be seen in the gardens of the English 
 college, and convent of St. Bonaventura. The other half, 
 which looks towards the Forum, he calls Domus Tiheriana, 
 and we find its ruins in the Farnese gardens. Each of these 
 buildings was divided into several courts and apartments 
 
 Between these two buildings were the gardens of Adonis. 
 They stood on that part of the hill now belonging to the 
 Spada family. They were laid out by Domitian in the Assy- 
 rian manner, and seem to answer to the description given of 
 those of Ahasuerus, in the book of Esther, ch. i. Perhaps we 
 have the plan of these gardens, and of the noble hall, or tricli- 
 nium^ that stood in their centre, still preserved, in one of the 
 fragments of the marble plan of Rome, executed in the time 
 
 * Dell’ Pala 2 zo de’ Cesari, opera postuma di Monsignor Francesco Bianchini, 
 Veronese. In Verona, per Berno, 1738, fol. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. I59 
 
 of Septimius Severus, and which are now placed in the Capitol. 2. The Paia* 
 This fragment is marked . . donaea . . , the first letter a having 
 been broke off. Bellori,* who first published these fragments, 
 reckons adonaea the same as Adonidis Aula* It was here 
 that Domitian, according to PhilostratuSj-f gave audience to 
 Apollonius Tyaneus, that celebrated impostor. 
 
 The entry to the gardens seems to have been from the via 
 Sacra. The end towards the circus was terminated by a 
 theatre, which Panvinius,J and from him Bianchini calls 
 theairum Tauri. I am at a loss to know the reason of its A theatre, 
 being thus named. I remember no theatre built by Taurus. 
 
 There was, indeed, an amphitheatre built by Statilius Tau- 
 rus, which stood in the Campus Martius ; but which is quite 
 different from the theatre on this hill. On each side of the 
 gardens there was a gymnasium, or hyppodrom, for exercise. 
 
 The palace was supplied with water from the Claudian aque- ciaudian 
 duct, which was brought over the Celian hill; and some of its 
 arches are to be seen in the gardens of St. Bonaventura. 
 
 It was on the Palatine hill that Augustus built the temple Temple of 
 of Apollo. It stood, according to Bianchini, a little beyond 
 Titus's triumphal arch, in the gardens formerly of Ronconi, 
 and which are now part of the convent of St. Bonaventura. 
 
 * Fraginenta Vestigii veleris HomsB. Tab. XI. They have since been re- 
 published, in small, by Piranesi, Ant. Rom. Tom, 1. 
 
 I* Life of Apollonius Tyaneus, 1. 7. c, 14, and L 8. c. 2. 
 
 :|: De ludis Circensibus. 
 
i6o 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 2. The Pala- 
 tine hill. 
 
 Libraries. 
 
 On the reverse of a medal of Augustus, published by Ficoroni,* 
 
 I observe a temple, which is reckoned the one in question. 
 By this it appears to have been a rotondo, with an open portico, 
 somewhat like the temple of Vesta. Bianchini places it in a 
 square court ornamented with a peristyle. The statues of the 
 fifty daughters of Danaus surrounded the portico and op- 
 posite to them their husbands on horseback. In this temple 
 were preserved some of the finest works, both of sculpture 
 and painting of the celebrated Greek artists. Here, in presence 
 of Augustus, the Carmen Seoul are of Horace was sung by 
 twenty-seven noble youths, and as many virgins. And here 
 the emperor, towards the end of his reign, often assembled the 
 senate. J 
 
 Contiguous to this temple were the Greek and Latin libra- 
 ries, formed by Augustus. In these were deposited the works 
 of the most elegant writers. They were under the immediate 
 protection of Apollo. Horace, § accusing Celsus of plagiarism, 
 says he copies the works approved of by the Palatine Apollo : 
 
 “ Quid mihi Celsus agit.? monitus, multumque monendus; 
 Privatas ut quaerat opes, et tangere vitet 
 Scripta, Palatinus qucecunque recepit Apollo.'^ 
 
 Caius Julius Higinus, the freedman of Augustus, and an 
 eminent grammarian, was librarian of the Palatine library. || 
 
 * Le Vest, di Roma, 1. 1. c. 8, 
 
 J Suet. V. Aug. c. 29 . 
 
 H Suetonius de illust. Gramm, c. 20. 
 
 t Pioperlius, 1. 2. eleg. 21. 
 § Lib. 1. epist. 3 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 In the year 1720, digging in the Farnese gardens, a most 
 magnificent hall was discovered. It had been concealed by 
 the roof which had broken down, and by the rubbish of the 
 adjacent buildings which had been carried there. See its plan 
 and elevation in Bianchini. It was 200 palms in length, and 
 132 in breadth. It was ornamented with columns of giallo 
 antico, and other precious marbles. Here were found several 
 colossal statues of basalte. And indeed the very fragments of 
 capitals and friezes, still to be seen in the Farnese gardens, 
 demonstrate the magnificence of this hall. No sooner was it 
 fully discovered than the Farnese family robbed it of all its 
 ornaments. Bianchini reckons that it was built by Dornitian, 
 and served for the great chamber of audience. 
 
 Behind this hall I saw baths, which had been finely painted. 
 A few of the paintings still remaining are a proof of it. These 
 surely were not the baths mentioned by Cicero, in his oration 
 for Sextus Roscius: but perhaps they are those to which Ca- 
 ligula endeavoured to escape, when he was murdered by the 
 captain of the pretorian guard, in an unfrequented corridor that 
 led to them, as related by the historian Josephus* ** 
 
 Bianchini places the temple of Augustus near to the great 
 hall, on a line with that of Apollo. I am rather inclined to 
 think, that the temple of Augustus stood on the side of the 
 hill towards the Forum; since it was over that temple that 
 Caligula laid his bridge to join the palace to the Capitol.-f 
 
 * De Bello Jud. 1, 19 . c. 1. t Suet. V. Calig. c. 23. 
 
 Y 
 
 ifii 
 
 2. The Pala^ 
 tine hill. 
 
 A magnifi- 
 cent hall. 
 
 Baths. 
 
 Temple of 
 Augustus. 
 
162 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 2. The Palo“ 
 tine hill. 
 
 Front of the 
 palace. 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 This temple was destroyed by fire, before the time of Pliny the 
 elder. 
 
 The part of the palace towards the Forum was extended by 
 Caligula.* He so contrived it, that the temple of Castor and 
 Pollux seemed to be no more than a portico to his imperial 
 mansion. He thus honoured these heroical divinities, by 
 making them his porters. Here he used to sit, in his mad fits, 
 to be seen amidst his brother deities, and to be adored by those 
 who came to him about business. 
 
 There were, no doubt, entries to the palace from each side % 
 but the principal front was towards the via Sacra, Bianchini 
 flatters himself that he has discovered the elevation of its por- 
 tico. For Servius, the ancient commentator of Virgil, says that 
 the poet,-f under the name of the palace of Latinus, really 
 described that of Augustus on the Palatine hill : — 
 
 “ Tectum augustum, ingens, centum sublime columnis, 
 Urbe fuit sumraa/^ &c. 
 
 Now, at these verses, we find a painting, preserved among 
 the fragments of the Vatican Virgil, J of a portico, with eight 
 fluted Corinthian columns, not unlike that of the Pantheon. 
 This Bianchini supposes to have been copied from Augustus's 
 palace, as that building probably existed when these paintings 
 
 • Suet. V. Calig. c. 23. t ^n. 7. v. 170. 
 
 J See Sancto Bartoli’s print of it, in " Antiquissimi Virgiliani Codicis frag- 
 menla, et picturae ex bibliotheca Vaticana.” 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 were executed ; which Mabillion* reckons to be prior to tiie 
 time of Constantine. 
 
 To render the ascent to the palace, from the via Sacra, more 
 easy, there were steps, probably extended in a semicircular 
 form, before the portico, but so low that even horses and 
 carriages could go up. It was such as the Italians call scala 
 a cordonata. When Plotina, the virtuous wife of Trajan, first 
 entered the imperial palace, she stopped on the staircase, and, 
 turning to the people, said, that she hoped to return from the 
 palace as innocent as she now entered it.-f* In the Theodosian 
 code;[; we find several laws of Valentinian and Valens, — de 
 annonis civicis, et de pane gradili^^ — which ordered the bread, 
 their liberality gave to the people, to be publicly distributed on 
 the staircase. It is reasonable to believe that it was done on the 
 steps of the palace, under their own eyes. 
 
 The extent, the variety, the beauty and riches of the impe- 
 rial palace pronounced it the habitation of the masters of the 
 world. 
 
 I cannot conclude this article, without mentioning the tem- 
 ple of the goddess Viriplaca, which anciently stood on the Pa- 
 latine hill.§ When any dispute arose between husband and 
 wife, they repaired to this temple, and after exposing their 
 complaints before the goddess, all their differences were 
 
 1^3 
 
 2. The Pala- 
 tine hill. 
 
 Principal 
 
 eiUry. 
 
 Temple of 
 Viriplaca. 
 
 * Iter Italicum, p. 6l. 
 % L. 14. lit. 17. 
 
 f Dion. Cassius, in Trajano, c. 15. 
 § Val. Max. 1. 2 . c. 1. 
 
i6‘4 
 
 2. The Tala- 
 tine hill. 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 immediately reconciled, and they returned home in friendship. 
 Pity it is that there are not every where temples that can pro- 
 duce such happy effects ! 
 
 Mr. Gibbon* says, that “ the epithet Viriplaca, appeaser of 
 husbands, too clearly indicates on which side submission and 
 repentance were always expected.*' The celebrated historian 
 seems to have taken this idea from the learned Ludovicus 
 Vives.^ But the persuasive eloquence of the fair sex will, no 
 doubt, easily vindicate their own rights ; nor need they the 
 assistance of my rough voice to do so. 
 
 * Roman Empire, Vol. 4 . p. 379. 4to. 
 t Treatise on the duties of husbands to their wives, 1. e. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS, 
 
 165 
 
 III. THE AVENTINE HILL. 
 
 Behind the Circus Maximus lies the Aventine hill. It is sur- 
 rounded by the circus, the Tiber, the city walls, and Cara- 
 calla’s baths. Here Remus wished to build the new city, but 
 was prevented by an unpropitious augury. This hill was 
 therefore long considered as unfortunate. And though it was 
 inclosed by walls, and thus added to Rome by Ancus Martius, 
 yet it was not reckoned properly within the pomcerium till the 
 reign of Claudius. 
 
 On the Aventine hill were many temples and other build- 
 ings, of which Nardini"^ has given us a list : but as there are 
 now no remains of them, I shall not give myself much trouble 
 to fix their precise situations. At present a few churches and 
 vineyards are only to be seen here. 
 
 Of these temples that of Diana -f was the most celebrated. 
 It was built by Servius Tullius at the expense, and for the 
 common use of the people of Latium and Sabina. Here they 
 annually assembled, and, after sacrificing to the goddess, any 
 disputes that had arisen between the different cities were ami- 
 cably adjusted. The treaty of alliance, and the rules to be 
 observed at these meetings, were engraved on a pillar in the 
 
 * Roma Ant. 1. 7. c. 7* 
 
 f Diana was the same as Luna : hence Ovid says 
 
 Luna regit menses, luijus quoque tempora mensis 
 Finit Aveniino Luna colenda jugo.” Fast. 1. 3. v. 883. 
 
 See Aven- 
 tine bill, 
 plate III. 
 
 Temple of 
 Diana. 
 
i66 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 3. Thp Avert- 
 tine /nil. 
 
 No. 1. 
 No. 2. 
 
 Temple of 
 Juno. 
 
 Temple of 
 Hercules. 
 No. 3. 
 
 Armilus- 
 
 trum. 
 
 temple.* This political institution resembled that of Ephesus, 
 dedicated by the Asiatic Greeks to the same deity. Where 
 this temple stood is quite uncertain. Some antiquaries have 
 placed it where now stands the church of St. Sabina, and 
 others where we see that of St. Prisca ; but Bufulini, in his 
 map of RomCj-f places it almost on the centre of the hill. 
 
 Another remarkable temple that stood on this hill was that 
 of Juno, vowed to her by Camillus at the siege of Veii. Her 
 statue, which was carried in solemn procession from that un- 
 fortunate city, was preserved here : 
 
 “ Nec gens ulla tuos ^eque celebrabit honores.*^ J 
 
 The situation of this temple is equally uncertain. I find, in- 
 deed, that some antiquaries place it at St. Sabina. The 
 twenty-four elegant Corinthian columns, of white marble, 
 fluted, which support the nave of this church, may have or- 
 namented some of the temples that stood in this neighbour- 
 hood. 
 
 Near to this church is that of St. Alexius, lately rebuilt at 
 the expense of Cardinal Quirini.§ The temple of Hercules is 
 by some writers placed here ; for near to it was found the sta- 
 tue of young Hercules, of basidte, preserved in the Capitol. 
 Others reckon that this had been the situation of the armilus^ 
 trum, from an inscription likewise found here. 
 
 * Dion, Hal. 1. 4. c. 7* sect. 5. t Republished by Nolli, 
 
 J Virg. /En. 1. 12. v. 840. 
 
 § D. Felix Nerinius, de Templo et Ccenobio S. S. Bonifacii et Alexii. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 SACRVM . MAG . VICI . ARMILVSTRI 
 
 Xhe arniilustruM'^ was an annual feast, [J] at which the sol- 
 diers, in armour, were purified. They sacrificed and danced 
 round an altar, perhaps in_ honour of Hercules. It was pro- 
 bably here that the Romans deposited their arms; for they 
 were not allowed to wear them but in time of war. The po- 
 lished Romans, as well as the Greeks, thought it incompatible 
 with civil government to wear arms in time of peace. If dis- 
 putes arose between man and man, they were to be decided by 
 the magistrate. To be armed in time of peace, and to deter- 
 mine our private quarrels with the sword, are customs we in- 
 herit from our Gothic and Celtic ancestors. The Germans 
 W’ere always armed. — “Nihil autem neque publics neque pri- 
 vatge rei, nisi armati agunt.”§ — The absurd and barbarous 
 method of deciding questions of property by duel, seems to 
 have been early practised by the Celtic nations. Thus we 
 find in Spain, about the 546th year of Rome, two noblemen, 
 cousin-germans, deciding by the sword a claim for the prin- 
 cipality of the city of Ibis. And though Scipio desired to 
 settle their dispute amicably, they refused to do so, saying — 
 “ Nec alium deorum hominumve, quam Martem se judicem 
 habituros esse.*’ || 
 
 The cave of Cacus, that famous robber, is supposed to have 
 stood between the temple of Hercules and the river. According 
 
 * Lucio Fauno. 1. 3. c, 1. t Var. Ling. Lat. 5. 3. 
 
 4 It was on the xiv. cal. Novem. § Tacit, cle Moribus German, c. 13. 
 
 IIT. Liv. 1.28. C.21 
 
 167 
 
 3. The Aven- 
 tine hill. 
 
 Cave of Ca- 
 cus. 
 
i68 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 3. The Aten- 
 tine hill. 
 
 Priorato of 
 Malta. 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 Temple of 
 the Dea Bo- 
 na, 
 
 Temple of 
 Isis. 
 
 to Livy^ he was a shepherd : — “ Pastor accola ejus loci, nomine 
 Cacus, ferox viribus.” — And Virgil -f- makes him the son of 
 Vulcan, or the god of fire : 
 
 ‘‘ Huic monstro Vulcanus erat pater.* ** 
 
 But, stripped of his poetical appellation, perhaps Cacus was a 
 blacksmith, who had a forge on the side of the Aventine hill. 
 
 Joining to the convent of St. Alexius, I saw the church of St. 
 Mary, belonging to the knights of Malta; which, with its 
 little beautiful villa, is known by the name of the Priorato, 
 From hence we enjoyed a most advantageous view both of 
 Rome and of the Campagnia. The temple of the Dea Bona is 
 reckoned to have stood here : it was consecrated by the vestal 
 Claudia, and afterwards restored by Livia, the wife of Au- 
 gustus. 
 
 Publius Victor mentions the temple of Isis on the Aventine 
 hill. The curious table of basalte, covered with Egyptian 
 hieroglyphics, found here A. D. 1709, and published by 
 Ficoroni, J had no doubt belonged to this temple. Apuleius§ 
 has given a description of the feasts of Isis, as performed at 
 Rome, and which the Romans had copied from the Egyptians, 
 when they introduced her worship into Italy. These ceremo- 
 nies were so indecent that her priests and votaries were for some 
 time banished from Rome. Juvenal, || with his usual energy, 
 represents the temples of Isis as places of prostitution : — 
 
 * T. Liv. 1. Uc. 7. t ^n. 8. V. 198. J Vest di Roma, 1. 1. c, 12. 
 
 § Lib. 11 II Sat^r. 6. v. 488. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 169 
 
 « Jamque expectatur in hortis, 
 
 Aut apud Isiacae potius sacraria lenae.'* 
 
 In a vineyard, formerly belonging to the Jesuits, near to 
 the church of St. Prisca, I observed some ancient walls, orna- 
 mented with niches, which some antiquaries reckon to have 
 been part of the Atrium Libert atis, 
 
 I shall now examine the ground to the west of the hill. 
 
 Below the Aventine hill, along the side of the river, were the 
 salt works, public granaries and magazines of different kinds. 
 Some vestiges of these buildings still remain. Perhaps they were 
 some of those magazines erected by Alexander Severus, where 
 creditors might safely deposit the pledges of their debtors. For 
 by so doing, if any accident happened to the pledge, the loss 
 fell on the debtor, and the creditor had still his personal action 
 against him for the value.* This appears to have been the 
 port where ships unloaded their cargoes ; for many columns 
 and fragments of precious marbles have been found here ; in- 
 somuch that the modern Romans call it la marmorataA^ 
 
 Behind these buildings, on the plain, is Monte Testaccio, or 
 
 *This is clearly pointed out. Cod. 1. 4. tit, 24. sect, 9* — Pignus in bonis 
 debitoris permanere, ideoque ipsi perire in dubiumnon venit. Cum igilur adse- 
 veras in liorieis pignora deposila, consequensest, secundum jus perpetuum pigno- 
 ribus dcbitori pereuntibus (si tamen in horreis, quibus et alii solebant publice uti, 
 res deposiiae sint) personalem actionem debili reposcendi causa integram te 
 habere.” 
 
 t Ficoroni, Vest, di Roma, 1. 1* c, 22. 
 
 z 
 
 3. The Aven- 
 tine hill. 
 
 Atrium Li- 
 bertatis. 
 No. 5. 
 
 Magazines 
 and grana- 
 ries. 
 
 No. 6. 
 
 Monte Tes- 
 taccio. 
 
ancient aomj:. 
 
 170 
 
 3. The Aven- 
 tine hill. 
 
 Cellars re- 
 markably 
 cold. 
 
 'Mons TestHceus, or Doliolum, This is a very extraordinary ar- 
 tificial hill, made up of broken pots, bricks, and all sorts of 
 potter's ware. It is about two hundred palms high; its great- 
 est breadth is two hundred and forty palms ; and its circum- 
 ference five hundred and ninety paces. I find no mention 
 made of this hill by ancient authors.* The antiquaries have 
 assigned different reasons how it came to be fonned. The 
 most probable one is, that it had been the potters* field, whose 
 broken pots, 6rc. have, in process of time, formed a great part 
 of this hill ; and which has been increased by the rubbish 
 brought from the buildings in the neighbourhood. Cellars, 
 surprisingly cold, have been cut out of this hill, where the 
 Romans keep large quantities of wine. Some have ascribed 
 this great cold to the wind playing through the vacuities or 
 crevices of the pots and others to particular salts in this 
 ground, with which it is impregnated : salts, perhaps, not pe- 
 culiar to this spot, but distilled from the pots, bricks, &c. 
 Tills curious subject surely deserves to be attentively exa- 
 mined by the naturalists. In the mean time I shall beg leave 
 to subjoin some thermometrical observations, made in one of 
 these cellars, which may throw some light on this subject. 
 
 ♦ In a lease of a vineyard, A. D. 1256, published by Nerini (de Templo S. 
 Alexii, p. 4S8.) this hill is called Mons de Palio. Because the races, named 
 Corsa del Palio, were run here, till ib»ul 2d built the palace of St. Mark, from 
 which time these diversions have been exhibited, during the last eight days of 
 the Carnival, in the street from thence called il Corso. 
 
 fM.de Saussure ascribes this cold to a current of air, like that which issues 
 from the grottos at Cesi, called bocchi dei venti. Letter to Sir William Hamil 
 ton, K. B. published in the Journal de Pliysique, Janvier, 1776. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 171 
 
 August 26th, 1762. 
 
 A thermometer divided, according to the scale of M. de 
 Reaumure, being taken into one of the cellars, iin ler Monte 
 Testaccio, the mercury, in the several stations, to which it was 
 removed, stood at the underwritten degrees. 
 
 Degrees above the 
 freezing point. 
 
 The thermometer being placed at the entrance of the 
 cellar, within the arch, and resting on the ground, the 
 mercury stood at - - ~ - - - -12 
 
 In the same place, the thermometer being suspended 
 about four feet from the ground, it was at - - 13 
 
 In the same place, but suspended from the top of the 
 arch, it marked - - -15 
 
 The thermometer being placed within the vault, about 
 half way from the door-way to the farther extremity, and 
 suspended about seven feet high, the mercury stood at 15 
 In the same place, on the ground - - - 11 
 
 The thermometer being removed to the farthest ex- 
 tremity of the cave, and suspended as before - - 13 
 
 In the same place, on the ground - - - 10 
 
 N. B. This is the temperature of the cave of the 
 observatory at Paris. 
 
 The mercury, when the thermometer w'as carried into 
 the open air, but in the shade, was at - - - 21 
 
 And when placed in the sun, but exposed to a brisk 
 wind, it was at - - - - - 25 
 
 The mean heat of Rome is about 12° 5 
 Paris - - 9 1 
 
 London - 8 6 
 
 Z2 
 
 3. The Averts 
 tine hill. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 173 
 
 3. The Aven- 
 tine hill. 
 
 From these several observations it appears, first, that the 
 greatest degree of cold in the cellar is nearest the ground. 
 And, 
 
 edly, That the cold diminishes the nearer you approach to 
 the entrance. 
 
 From hence it seems natural to conclude. 
 
 First, that the cold in the cellar does not proceed from any 
 cold air being introduced, or filtered through innumerable cre- 
 vices, as has been imagined ; because in that case the cold 
 would certainly be more sensible at the first discharge from 
 them, that is at the top of the vault, whereas it is indeed there 
 in a less degree than below. 
 
 Secondly, that the cold, proceeding only from an exclusion 
 of the warmer air, is greater at the farther distance from the 
 door, because some warmer air must enter there, and loses its 
 degree of warmth as it advances into the cellar. 
 
 Thirdly, that the sensible stream of cold, which is so re- 
 markable at the entrance of the cellar, and even at some dis- 
 tance from it, does not proceed from any current of air pass- 
 ing through the cellar, from the insterstices abovementioned, 
 but is really no more than the volume of cold air, which was 
 in the cellar, forcing its way from thence by the bottom of the 
 opening of the door, and driving before it the warmer ex- 
 terior air, which being lighter, must yield to its effort : whilst 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 173 
 
 on the contrary this latter, to replace the vacuum, which would 
 otherwise remaim in-the cellar, flows into it, by the upper part 
 of the opening. 
 
 That these two currents are real, seems natural to imagine, 
 both from the difference of the temperature of the air, in the 
 several heights, as mentioned in the observations made at the 
 door; and even from the sensation of an observer, standing 
 there, who will feel the cold far more sharp on his legs than 
 upwards. 
 
 And that two such currents of the same fluid, in the same 
 opening, may subsist, is demonstrable to any one who will 
 make the experiment, by placing a lighted candle in the door- 
 way between the two rooms, where the air is warmed in dif- 
 ferent degrees. The flame will be seen to incline towards the 
 warmer room, when placed at the bottom of the door- way , 
 and, on the contrary, will tend to the cooler, when placed to- 
 wards the top ; which can proceed from nothing else but the 
 force of the stream of air, which carries the flame with it: 
 that from the colder room, being heavier, takes the lower part, 
 whilst the lighter floats at the top, and passes into the room 
 which the other has abandoned. And this effect will continue 
 to be observable till the temperature of the two rooms become 
 equal, which it will in some little time do; the warm and cold 
 air mixing, in the nature of all fluids, and forming a degree of 
 temperature equal to half the sum of the two when separate. 
 Thus supposing the warmer room to be heated to forty de- 
 grees, and the colder to twenty only ; the two being laid 
 
 3 . The Aven- 
 tine hill. 
 
174 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 3. The Avert' 
 tine hill. 
 
 Caracalla's 
 
 baths. 
 
 General re- 
 marks on 
 bathing. 
 
 Introduction 
 of baths. 
 
 together, the temperature will appear, after some reasonable 
 time, to be thirty degrees. 
 
 On the plain below the Aventine, and opposite to the Celian 
 hills, are the remains of Antoninus Caracalla's baths. 
 
 Bathing was long practised by all the eastern nations. 
 They considered it as an act of religion, as well as tending to 
 the preservation of health. They reckoned it a profanation 
 to sacrifice to their gods till they had purified themselves by 
 bathing. The introduction of the Christian religion seems to 
 have discouraged the use of public bathing : because it did not 
 admit the ablution of the body as a means to purify the soul. 
 Besides, continency having become a virtue, Christianity pro- 
 scribed every thing offensive to it. Nor do I find that any 
 public baths were built at Rome, from the time that Christia- 
 nity became the established religion of the empire. Such was 
 the light in which the primitive Christians considered promis- 
 cuous bathing. 
 
 Before Asiatic luxury was known at Rome, the Romans had 
 no other baths than the Tiber, which served to wash off the 
 dust and sweat they contracted in their manly exercises, in 
 the Campus Martins. Baths were long confined to the rich. 
 It was only in the time of the emperors that these magnificent 
 buildings, called thermcet were erected for public use. Vitru- 
 vius, who wrote under Augustus, did not live to see tiiese 
 thermcBy and has therefore only described to us the Grecian 
 palcestrce, or gymnasia; whereas the former seem to have 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 175 
 
 been an improvement on the latter, and were calculated as 
 well for pleasure as use, and for the exercises of the mind as 
 well as of the body. 
 
 The therms, besides the different baths properly so called, 
 contained not only places necessary for the pentathlic games, 
 viz. leaping, running, throwing the disk, darting, wrestling, 
 and boxing;* bat likewise for the more gentle exercises of 
 the ball, and walking, whether in the sun or shade. Here too 
 the learned found books, and convenient buildings in which 
 they assembled, to read their compositions, harangue, dispute, 
 and instruct the youth. Horace, -f* indeed, who never recited 
 his works but to his friends, and that even with reluctancy, 
 condemns the vanity of those poets, who used to repeat theirs 
 in the public forum and baths : — 
 
 “ Non recito cuiquam, nisi amicis, idque coactus; 
 
 Non ubivis, coramve quibuslibet, in medio qui 
 Scripta foro recitent, sunt multi ; quique lavantes : 
 
 Suave locus voci resonat conclusus/' 
 
 Although bathing was prescribed by physicians for medi- 
 cinal purposes, yet the principal use of the baths was to clean 
 the body, after exercise and before supper; wdiich was the 
 
 * Besides the simple pentathlic games, the ancients had two others more vio- 
 lent formed out of them, viz. the pancratium, which was composed of wrestling 
 and boxing, and the pentathlon, in which the whole of these exercises were 
 united. These two were a severe study, and were commonly practised by pro- 
 fessed gladiators, 
 f L. 1, sat. 4. V, 74, 
 
 3. The Aveii- 
 tine hill. 
 
 The Roman 
 thermae. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 176 
 
 3. The Aven- 
 tine hill. 
 
 Expence of 
 bathing. 
 
 Time of 
 bathing. 
 
 more necessary, as the old Romans made little use of linen 
 next their skin. Besides, bathing removed lassitude from the 
 body, and disposed the mind to enjoy the pleasures of their 
 convivial entertainments. 
 
 The common expence of bathing seems to have been a 
 quadrans, the fourth of an as, which is about our halfpenny. 
 Hence the lowest of the people could easily afford this ex- 
 pence. In the time of mourning only, whether private or 
 public, they abstained from the pleasure of bathing : the words 
 squalor and sordes were therefore used for mourning. Boys, 
 till the age of puberty, seem to have been bathed gratis : 
 
 « Nec pueri credunt, nisi qui nondum aere lavantur.''"*^ 
 
 The rich, indeed, had their baths tinged with saffron and 
 odoriferous herbs ; and after bathing, had their bodies rubbed 
 with oils and ointments of an incredible value. These oils no 
 doubt softened the skin, and made it firmer, as well as more 
 pliable. 
 
 When the baths were sufficiently heated, which was done at 
 a particular hour in the evening, a bell was rung to advertise 
 those who intended to use them; otherwise they could have 
 cold water only : 
 
 « Redde pilam : sonat aes thermarum. Ludere pergis ? 
 
 Virgine vis sola lotus abire domum.'^'t 
 
 * Juven, Sat, 2 . V, 152. 
 
 •J* Mart. 1. 14. ep. l6S. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 The baths were under the inspection of officers, authorized 
 by the magistrates to regulate their police. They had ser- 
 vants under them, called balnearii servi^ to whom various of- 
 fices were assigned. Some had the care of the furnaces, others 
 of the dressing rooms, the bathing rooms, &c. If bathers em- 
 ployed any of these public servants, to rub them down in the 
 bath, with the instrument named strigilist to anoint them with 
 oil, or to give them any other assistance, they rewarded them 
 for it; because those who paid the quadrans only were entitled 
 to no service. 
 
 Modesty did not permit the two sexes to bathe together. 
 Hence one side of the baths was allotted to the men, and the 
 other to the women. However, we find that Agrippina, the 
 mother of Nero, caused baths to be built solely for the use of 
 women.* And such was the regard the Romans, during the 
 republic, paid to modesty, that a father did not bathe with his 
 son, when he came to the age of puberty, nor a father-in- 
 law with his son-in-law.-f Indeed in the licentious times of 
 the empire, men and women seem to have bathed promis- 
 cuously together. But this indecency was always forbid by 
 the good emperors, particularly by Marcus Aurelius Anto- 
 ninus, under the penalty of divorce, and confiscation of their 
 portions. 
 
 * See Viminal hill. 
 
 f Nostro quidem more cum parentibus puberes filii, cum soceris generi 
 non lavantur. Retinenda est igitur hujus generis verecundia, prassertim natura 
 ipsa magistra et duce.” Cic. de Offic. 1. 1 . c. 35. — ^Vide Val, Max. 1. 2. c. 1, 
 sect. 7. 
 
 177 
 
 3. The Aven- 
 fine hill. 
 Police of the 
 baths. 
 
 Baths for the 
 
 different 
 
 sexes. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 3. The Aven- 
 tine hill. 
 
 The struc- 
 ture of baths 
 to be after- 
 wards exa- 
 mined. 
 
 As the Roman baths resembled each other in their principal 
 parts, I shall not enter into a detail of these of Caracalla, as I 
 intend to examine particularly those of Dioclesian, whose re- 
 mains are the most considerable, and which I flatter myself will 
 give a distinct idea of this curious subject. 
 
 Magnifi- 
 cence of 
 these baths. 
 
 The Farnese 
 Hercules. 
 
 The baths of Caracalla were reckoned amongst the most 
 magnificent of these buildings. According to Eusebius, they 
 were built in the fourth year of his reign, and in the 217th of 
 the Christian aera. He did not, however, build the porticos : 
 these were begun by Decius, and finished by Alexander Se- 
 verus. Although now in ruins, they still demonstrate their 
 former grandeur. We are told, that there were one thousand 
 six hundred marble seats, besides the lahra, or bathing tubs of 
 granite and porphyry, for the use of those who bathed here. 
 Two of these labra, of granite, serve for the fountains in the 
 piazza Farnese. 
 
 Many of the fine pieces of sculpture, preserved in the Far- 
 nese palace,* had ornamented Caracalla's baths: particularly 
 the celebrated Hercules. This statue is well known by the 
 name of the Farnesian Hercules. It is the work of Glycon, 
 the Athenian,-f* and is justly reckoned a model of masculine 
 strength. Horace J might have alluded to this statue, when he 
 says — 
 
 “ Invicti membra Glyconis.'" 
 
 * These noble works of art, I am informed, are now carried to Naples, by 
 order of his Sicilian majesty. 
 
 + It is inscribed — faykon aohnaios ehoihsi. J Epist. 1. v. 30. 
 
THE SEVEN HiLLS. 
 
 Hercules is here resting from one of his labours. Whether 
 the sculptor could have represented strength better in action, 
 than he has done at rest, as remarked by a very ingenious and 
 eloquent writer,^ I shall not decide. Strength is here won- 
 derfully expressed: and perhaps it shows more genius in the 
 artist to have done so at rest than in action. Permit me only 
 to observe, that this statue was not intended to have been 
 placed, as it now is, on the ground, and consequently level 
 with the eye. It should have been placed in an open gallery, 
 perhaps thirty or thirty-five feet high, and seen from the 
 street, or from a court. This is evident from the muscles of 
 the breast and belly being so much swelled ; but which would 
 appear in their just proportion were they thus viewed : 
 whereas the muscles of the back part of the statue, which were 
 to be seen near, by those who passed along the gallery, are in 
 their natural state, and not exaggerated like those in front. 
 The position of the head, bending forward, adds weight to 
 this observation. Had a modern but inaccurate traveller f ad- 
 verted to this circumstance, he might, without blaming the 
 great artist, have easily accounted for the disproportion of the 
 muscles, of the back and fore parts, of this noble statue. Few 
 of the ancient statues are preserved entire. Thus the legs 
 of this Hercules are restored by Guglielmo della Porta: and 
 though the real ones were afterwards found, and which, it is 
 said, are now at the villa Borghese, the modern were so well 
 proportioned and executed, that Michael Angelo Buonaroti 
 
 * Dr. Moore’s View of Manners in Italy, Vol. 2. p. 11. 
 
 t Sharp’s Letters from Italy. Letter 15. 
 
 A a 2 
 
 m 
 
 3. The Aven- 
 tine hill. 
 
i8o 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 3. The Aliens 
 tint hill. 
 
 The Toro. 
 
 advised not to change them ; in order to show, perhaps, the 
 merit of modern artists.* 
 
 Here too stood the surprising group, now at the Farnese pa- 
 lace, cut out of one piece of marble, called the Tbro, which 
 was brought from Rhodes, and is the work of Apollonius and 
 Tauriscus, renowned sculptors.^ It had belonged to Asinius 
 Pollio. It represents Amphion and Zethus, the sons of Lycus 
 king of Thebes, tying Dirc^ to the horns of a furious bull, in 
 order to precipitate her into the sea; in revenge for having 
 enticed their father to marry her, and to divorce their mother 
 Antiopa. This vast group has indeed been repaired by Gio- 
 vanni Battista Bianchi; and many parts of it are modern: 
 viz. the head and arms of Dirc4 ; the head and arms of An- 
 tiopa ; the statues of Amphion and Zethus, except the bodies 
 and one leg; and the legs and cord of the bull. But it is 
 easy to distinguish the superior merit of what is antique, from 
 the modern additions, in this wonderful monument.- 
 
 * Before this statue was carried to Naples, the modern legs were taken away, 
 and replaced by its own ancient ones ; which being of uniform style of sculpture 
 with the whole, adds, I am told, to its beauty, and does not justify the partial 
 opinion of the great modern artist. 
 
 t Plin. 1. 36. c. 5. — Zethus et Amphion ac Dirc4 et taurus, vinculumque, 
 ex eodem lapide, Rhodo advecta, opera Apollonii, et Taurisci. Parentum ii 
 certamen de se fecere : Menecratem videri professii, sed esse naturalem Artemi- 
 dorurn.”— That is, they were brothers, the sons of Artemidorus, and scholars of 
 Menecrates. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 i8i 
 
 IV. THE CELIAN HILL. 
 
 The Celian hill is long and narrow. It extends from the 
 south side of the Colosseo to the gate of St. John. It is bounded 
 on the north by the valley that separates it from the Esquiline 
 hill ; on the west, south, and east, by the valley that lies be- 
 tween it and the Aventine hill and the city walls. 
 
 This hill was formerly called Querquetulanus from the num- 
 ber of oaks {quercus) that grew here. But it was afterwards 
 named Ccelius, from Caeles Vibenna, an Hetruscan leader, who 
 settled on it with his men, whom he brought to assist the Ro- 
 mans. A fire that happened on this hill, in the time of Tibe- 
 rius, had almost given it the name of Augustus: because a 
 statue of Tiberius, placed in the house of Junius, a senator, 
 was respected by the flames, when every thing else was con- 
 sumed.* 
 
 The road up to the Celian hill, from the side opposite to 
 the Palatine, is perhaps the same as formerly. It was called 
 Clivus Scauri, 
 
 On the right hand of this road, the Anician family had a 
 house, in which Gregory, named the Great, son of Gordianus 
 Anicius and St. Silvia, was born.-f He converted this house 
 into a convent, about the year 573 of the Christian aera, and 
 
 t Vita di S, Silvia, per Alberto Cassio. 
 
 See Celian 
 hill, pi. III. 
 
 Clivus Scau- 
 ri. 
 
 No. 1. 
 
 Anician fa- 
 mily. 
 
 No. 2. 
 St. Gregory. 
 
 ^ Tacitus, Ann, 1. 4. c. 64, 65. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 i8s 
 
 4. The Ce- 
 lian hill. 
 
 St. John and 
 Paul. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 A remark- 
 able portico. 
 No. 4. 
 
 dedicated it to St. Andrew. The monks, however, of the 
 middle age, changed its name, and gave it that of its founder, 
 St. Gregory. 
 
 On the left hand of the same road, is the church dedicated 
 to the two brothers John and Paul, which is said to have been 
 their own house, in which they were put to death, by order 
 of Julian the Apostate. Under the steeple of this convent, and 
 running along the garden towards the Colosseo, I saw the re- 
 main of a noble portico. This is commonly called the Curia 
 of Tillius: Hostilius. We have only to observe the Doric and 
 Corinthian architecture with which it is ornamented, to pro- 
 nounce that it is not a work of the kings, who knew only the 
 simple. Tuscan. ■ The antiquaries would have gained more cre- 
 dit had they made it the house of Vectilianus, to which Corn- 
 modus retired, and where he was suffocated by the gladiator 
 Narcissus.* Alberto Cassio,-f having carefully examined this 
 portico, is of opinion that it is one side of a parallelogram 
 which had been a reservoir of water, erected by Vespasian for 
 the use of his amphitheatre. He even gives us a calculation 
 of the quantity of water it could have contained. The amphi- 
 theatre, no doubt, was often used as a fiaumacbia, much 
 water was therefore necessary for that purpose. Titus, who 
 finished the amphitheatre begun by his father, among the 
 shows he exhibited there, gave naval com bats. J On the con- 
 trary, Piranesi calls this ruin the Nympheum of Nero; and, 
 from his inventive genius, he has traced a very elegant plan 
 
 * Lampridius in Commod. •f' Corso dell’ acque, part 2. 
 
 4: Dion. Cas. 1. 66 , 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 of it.* Such is the uncertainty that often attends the Study 
 of the Roman antiquities ! 
 
 On the Celian hill many remains of aqueducts are to be 
 seen. Before the time of Nero, this hill was watered by the 
 Martian, Julian, and Tepulan aqueducts. But, in order to 
 supply his golden-house more plentifully with water, he brought 
 the aqua Claudia along this hill. The aqueducts, near to the 
 church of St. Stephen, are no doubt part of this work of Nero. 
 They had been repaired by different emperors, particularly 
 by Septimius Severus and Caracalla, as appears from inscrip- 
 tions. It is probable, indeed, that Caracalla continued a 
 branch of this aqueduct, from the church of St. Stephen, 
 where Nero's arches ended, to his baths below the Aventine 
 hill. 
 
 Of the antiquities to be seen on this hill, the church of St. 
 Stephen, from its figure called in rotondo^ is the most remark- 
 able. This ancient building seems to have been converted into 
 a Christian church by Pope Simplicius, who reigned from 
 A. D. 464 to 483. Many of the antiquaries, without exami- 
 nation, copying one another, call this the temple of Faunus, 
 the same as the Grecian Pan. It is not probable that so large 
 a building should have been erected to a rustic deity. Fron- 
 tinus,J' describing the aqueduct brought along this hill by 
 Nero, says — sed postquain Nero imperator Claudiam, opere 
 arcuato altius exceptam, usque ad templum Divi Claudii per- 
 
 * Ant. Rom. Tome 1. tav. 41. 
 
 *t De aquaeductibus, art 76 . p. 145. ed. Poleni, 1722. 4to. 
 
 4. The Ce- 
 lian hill. 
 
 Aqueducts. 
 No. 5. 
 
 Temple of 
 Claudius, 
 No. 6. 
 
184 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 4. The Ce- 
 lian kill. 
 
 Macellum 
 
 magnum. 
 
 duxit, ut inde distribueretur, priores non ampliatse, [the Mar- 
 tian and Julian] sed omissae sunt: nulla enim castella adjecit, 
 sed iisdem usus est, quorum, quamvis mutata aqua, vetus ap- 
 pellatio mansit.'’* — ^Now, as it is found, upon an accurate sur- 
 vey, that these arches extended exactly to the church of St. 
 Stephen, notwithstanding Nardini's assertion to the contrary, 
 we may, with some degree of certainty, conclude that this 
 was the temple of Claudius : a temple which was begun by 
 Agrippina, but destroyed by Nero, and afterwards rebuilt by 
 Vespasian. It has been often repaired and altered, whereby 
 its ancient form is much disfigured ; but still the columns that 
 support it are a proof of its former magnificence. 
 
 Publius Victor places the Macellum magnum'^ on the Celian 
 hill. The church of St. Stephen has been taken, by some an- 
 tiquaries, for this building. I observe the Macellum on the 
 reverse of a medal (brass) of Nero. It is a tholus, surrounded 
 with a square portico, in which is the statue of that emperor. 
 I likewise see a building, inscribed Macellum, on the ancient 
 marble plan of Rome.J- But the figure of this building, as 
 well on the medal as on the plan, seems very different from 
 
 * The Macellum seems not to have been limited to a butchery, but a general 
 market for every thing necessary for the table. Hence Terence makes Gnathp 
 say— 
 
 Hum haec loquimur, interea loci ad macellum ubi advenimus ; 
 
 Concurrunt laeti mi obviam cupedinarii omnes, 
 
 Cetarii, lanii, coqui, fartores, piscatores, aucupes.” — 
 
 Eunuchus, Act ii. sc. 
 
 t Tab. XI. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 i8 
 
 St. Stephen in rotondo. Perhaps the Macellum stood at the 4. The Ce- 
 side of the Celian opposite to the Palatine hill. ^ 
 
 The villa Mattel^ a little to the west of this church, is sup- Domiuan’s 
 posed to have been the castrum peregrinorum. It seems to No. 7. 
 have been here that Domitian built his celebrated coenaculum, 
 called the mica aurea. Martial,^ perhaps entertained in it by 
 the emperor, has described its situation as well as its luxuries : 
 
 Mica vocor: quid sim cernis: coenatio parva : 
 
 Ex me Csesareum prospicis, ecce, tholum, 
 
 Frange toros : pete vina : rosas cape : tingere nardo : 
 
 Ipse jubet mortis te meminisse Deus** 
 
 This description of a Roman luxurious entertainment, re- 
 sembles that of the ungodly given by Solomon.-f — “Let us 
 fill ourselves with costly wine and ointments : let no flower 
 of the spring pass by us : let us crown ourselves with rose 
 buds, before they are withered.’" — The tholus here mentioned 
 is no doubt the temple of Claudius, as that emperor is likewise 
 the Deus, The commentators of Martial, who suppose this 
 tholus to have been the mausoleum of Augustus in the Campus 
 Martius, are certainly mistaken, as that building could not be 
 seen from hence. Although no part of the mica remains, a 
 church, however, has been built on its foundations, dedicated 
 to the Madonna, called S. Maria in Dommica, which is surely 
 an abbreviation of Domitiana mica : but in later times it has 
 been thus corrupted— -m Domic a, in Domnica, and in Dominica, 
 
 * Lib. 2. ep. 59. t Wisdom, ch. 2. v. 7 and 8. 
 
 Bb 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 l86‘ 
 
 4. The Ce~ 
 lian hill. 
 Navicella. 
 
 Lateran pa- 
 lace. 
 
 No. 8. 
 
 This church is likewise called S. Maria della Navicella, from a 
 galley, of marble, that is placed before its portico. Ficoroni*' 
 supposes this galley to have been a votive offering of some 
 of the foreign soldiers. But the antiquity of this monument 
 may be justly doubted, because we observe modern arms cut 
 on it in basso-relievo. 
 
 The situation of the Lateran palace is preserved to us in the 
 name of the church of St. John in Laterano. Plautius Late- 
 ranus, consul elect, having engaged with Seneca and others 
 in the great- conspiracy against Nero, lost his life on that oc- 
 casion. The love of his country, and no personal resentment 
 against the monster, seems to have induced this virtuous man 
 to associate himself in so dangerous an attempt — “Lateranum, 
 consulem designatum, nulla injuria, sed amor reipublic^ socia- 
 vit.^'f — Hence his palace, having been confiscated, probably 
 remained in possession of the emperors, till Constantine made 
 a donation of it to the church, and built here the basilic of St. 
 John, which is properly the pope’s cathedral ; for the basilic 
 of St. Peter is only the cathedral of the diocese of Rome. 
 This is the meaning of the pompous inscription we read on 
 the front of the Lateran church : — 
 
 “Omnium in urbe atque in orbe ecclesiarum mater atque 
 
 caput.'' 
 
 The epithet egregias, used by Juvenal, J when he mentions 
 the Lateran palace, is a proof that it had been magnificent. — - 
 
 * Vest, di Roma, 1. 1. c. 14. 
 Sat. 10. V. 15. 
 
 t Tacit. Ann. 1. 15. c.49. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 187 
 
 « Jussuque Neronis 
 
 Longinum, et magnos Senecae pr^divitis hortos 
 Clausit, et egregias Lateranorum obsidet «des 
 Tota cohors/" 
 
 Near to the Lateran palace stood the house of Annius Verus, 
 in which his grandson Marcus Aurelius Antoninus was born 
 and educated. — “ Educatus est in eo loco in quo natus est, et 
 in domo avi sui Veri juxta aedes Laterani.’*^ As the elegant 
 equestrian brazen statue of that good emperor and philosopher 
 was found near the Scala Sajita^ we may conclude that his 
 house was situated there. This statue lay long neglected, till 
 Sextus IV. about the year 1470, caused it to be raised on a 
 pedestal, and placed before the Lateran church. Here it re- 
 mained till the pontificate of Paul III. who, about the 1.538, 
 ordered it to be removed to the square of the Capitol, where it 
 now stands ; and had it placed on a new pedestal, executed by 
 Michael Angelo Buonaroti. It is unnecessary for me to say 
 any thing of this magnificent and spirited statue, which is so 
 universally known and so justly admired. Many, no doubt, 
 must have been the statues and busts of this truly great per- 
 sonage; because, as Capitoiinus'|- tells us — ‘‘ Sacrilegus judi- 
 catus est, qui ejus (M. Aurelii) imaginem in sua domo non 
 habuit, qui per fortunam vel potuit habere vel debuit.” — 
 These statues and busts, as well as his niedals, which all re- 
 semble each other, convey to us an idea of his external ap- 
 pearance ; whilst his sublime meditations^ which are happily 
 
 4. TheCe- 
 lian hill. 
 
 House of 
 Annius Ve- 
 rus. 
 
 No. 10. 
 
 Equestrian 
 statue of 
 Marcus Au- 
 relius. 
 
 * Capitolinus in Vit. M. A. Anion, c. 1. 
 
 B b 2 
 
 t lb. c. 18. 
 
i88 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 4 . The Ce- 
 lt 071 hill. 
 
 Mons Celio- 
 ius. 
 
 Martyrdom 
 of St. John. 
 
 The Suburra. 
 
 preserved, give us the true picture of his virtuous and philo- 
 sophic mind. 
 
 But I shall waste no more time in investigating the situation 
 of the other buildings that stood on this hill, of which there are 
 now no remains. 
 
 There is a narrow branch runs off from the Celian hill, from 
 that part of the walls, where the rivulet Crabra, now named 
 Marana, enters Rome, and extends to the Porta Latina' This 
 is known by the name of the Mons Celiolus. Here we find a 
 chapel erected to St. John, on the spot,* ante port am Latinam, 
 where he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil, by order of 
 Domitian ; and near to it is a church dedicated to him. From 
 the ancient columns that support this church, and the frag- 
 ments of marbles to be seen about it, we may conclude that 
 some noble building had formerly stood here. But whether 
 this was the sacellum of Diana, mentioned by Cicero,-f I shall 
 leave to others to determine. 
 
 The ground that lay between the Celian and Esquiline hills, 
 and which extended from Titus's amphitheatre to the gate of 
 St. John, was called the Suburra, It wsls one of the most fre- 
 quented quarters of Rome, and is often mentioned by the 
 Roman writers : — 
 
 “ Famae non nimium bon^e puellam, 
 
 Quales in media sedent Suburra^ 
 
 Vendebat modo piceco Gellianus," J 
 
 * This was without the gate, till Aurelian extended the walls, 
 t De Aruspicum responsis, c. £9. + Martial, J. 6. epig. 66. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 Besides the prostitutes, many of the great men of Rome had 
 their houses here, though I could not discover any remains of 
 them. Thus Julius Csesar, before he was the high-priest, had 
 a house in the Suburra.— “ Habitavit primo in Suburra modicis 
 aedibus: post autem pontificatum maximum, in sacra via domo 
 publica.” 
 
 189 
 
 4. The Ct'» 
 lian hill. 
 
 * Suet V, Jul. Caesar, c. 46. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 1£0 
 
 V. THE ESQUILINE HILL. 
 
 line hiir* Celian, and to the south of the Viminal, 
 
 plate III, lies the Esqudine hill. It is of considerable extent, and many 
 were the buildings, both public and private, that ornamented 
 it. Few of these, however, now remain, and the whole of the 
 ground is so altered, that it is impossible to give an accurate 
 account of its former state. I shall therefore only offer some 
 remarks on the ruins still to be seen. Let me begin with that 
 part of the hill next to the amphitheatre. 
 
 Titus, having finished and dedicated the amphitheatre be- 
 gun by Vespasian, built, with great speed, his baths hard by 
 it.* They stand on the Esquiline hill, and many of their ruins 
 are still extant in the vineyards of the convent of St. Peter in 
 Vincula, Laureti, and Gualtieri. From these remains archi- 
 tects have endeavoured to make out the general plan of this 
 great work: Serliof in particular had done so, prior to Pira- 
 nesi J and Barbault:§ how then could Abbot Ridolphino Venuti|| 
 say, that Piranesi was the first who gave a plan of these baths.? 
 Inaccurate, however, as their plans may be, tliey all agree in 
 making this a regular building, nearly resembling the other 
 baths. But as I intend to give a detailed account of the va- 
 rious parts of the baths, when I come to treat of those of 
 Dioclesian, I shall not now anticipate the subject. Some 
 
 * Suelou. Vit. Tit. t Lib. 3. page 92. J Piranesi, Ant. 
 
 Rom, lorn, 1. lav. 27. § Barbault, Monu.de Rome, pi. 38. 
 
 II Descrizione delle Anlichila di Roma, Vol. I. p. 116. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 authors have ascribed these baths to Domltian, and others to 
 Trajan. To reconcile these accounts, we may reasonably sup- 
 pose that these emperors had repaired or added to the baths of 
 Titus. Here were found the two large lahra, or bathing-tubs, 
 of granite, preserved in the villa Medici. 
 
 A little to the east of the baths, there is a ruin commonly 
 called the sette sale. It should rather be called the nove sale^ 
 as it consists of nine galleries, though seven of them are only 
 open ; the other two being filled up with rubbish. These gal- 
 leries all communicate with each other, by means of doors or 
 arches placed in a transversal line, which affords an agreeable 
 prospect. They are built with great solidity, and the walls 
 are incrusted with a cement of an extraordinary hardness. 
 This building, which is entirely out of the plan of the baths, 
 has no doubt served for a reservoir of water, and not for the 
 tepidarium, as mentioned by Piranesi. 
 
 Adjoining to the baths,'*' there are some very considerable 
 ruins, which the anticjuaries call the palace oj Titus. As a 
 proof, we are told^ that the famous group of Laocoon and 
 his sons, preserved in the Belvedere of the Vatican, was found 
 here, in the time of Leo X. by Felix de Fredis; a fortunate 
 discovery, which is recorded in his epitaph, in the church of 
 the Ara-celi. For Pliny -f assures us tliat this statue, so much 
 admired when he wrote, stood in Titus's palace. — “ Sicut in 
 Laocoonte, qui est in Titi imperatoris domo, opus omnibus et 
 picturse et statuariae artis anteferendum : ex uno lapide eum 
 
 t Lib. S6. c. 5. 
 
 5. The Es~ 
 quiline hill. 
 
 The sette 
 sale. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 Titus’s pa- 
 lace. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 Group of 
 Laocoon and 
 his sons. 
 
 * In the vineyard of Gualtieri. 
 
19 * 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 5. The Es- 
 quiline hill. 
 
 et liberos draconumque mirabiles nexus de consilii sententia 
 fecere sum mi artifices Agesander et Polidorus et Athenodorus 
 Rodii/' — How pathetically has Virgil related the story of 
 Laocoon 1 He was the son of Priamus and Hecuba, and 
 priest of Neptune. In the act of sacrificing to Neptune, he 
 and his two sons were strangled by two monstrous serpents, 
 in revenge for having sacrilegiously thrust a spear into the 
 fatal wooden horse, consecrated to Minerva, and left by tlie 
 Greeks; but in which the destruction of Troy was artfully 
 concealed : — 
 
 Scelus expendisse merentem 
 
 Laocoonta ferunt; sacrum qui cuspide robur 
 Laeserit, et tergo sceleratam intorserit hastam.''* 
 
 It has been doubted, whether the statue was taken from the 
 poet’s description, or the description from the statue. The 
 latter is evident, since the artists who executed it lived some 
 centuries before Virgil. For we are informed by Pliny ,f that 
 Athenodorus was a scholar of Polycletus, who flourished about 
 the 87th olympiad, that is, near the 320th year of Rome. 
 The poet has not servilely copied the statue: he has given 
 us progressively the whole action. We see the serpents ad- 
 vance gradually: they first seize the sons and then the father; 
 whereas the statuaries, confined to a single point of time, were 
 obliged to make the serpents kill father and sons ; together. 
 Such is the advantage the poet has over the statuary and 
 
 * JEn. 2. V. 229. 
 
 t Lib. 34. c. 8. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 193 
 
 painter! It is impossible to look upon this group without horror 
 and compassion : we seem to hear their dying shrieks : 
 
 « Clamores simul horrendos ad sidera tollit.'*^ 
 
 Near to the church of St. Martino, on this hill, was found, 
 in the time of Leo X f the elegant statue, long preserved in 
 the Belvidere of the Vatican, commonly reckoned to represent 
 Antinous, but which the learned Visconti makes a Mercury. J 
 
 Scrambling among these ruins, I observed the remains of 
 some ancient paintings. § Indeed, sixteen rooms, or cryptce, 
 long concealed by earth and rubbish, have been lately disco- 
 vered ; and which were ornamented with paintings of various 
 kinds. But I shall not enter into a detail of them, because they 
 are now published by Mirri.|] 
 
 Whether Titus’s baths were erected in the gardens of M«- 
 cenas, as Piranesi supposes, or whether these gardens, and his 
 celebrated tower, lay farther east on the hill, I shall not ven- 
 ture to determine. I cannot, however, but observe, that M^- 
 cenas’s gardens stood in the campus Esquilinus, which was given 
 him by Augustus, as well to beautify the city, as to free it 
 from the stench of the bodies of the slaves and low people 
 buried there. When employed as burying ground, this field 
 
 * iEn. e. V. 222. 1“ Narclini, Roma An. I. 3. c. 10, 
 
 J Museo Pio Clernentino, Tom. 1. p. 9 and. 10. 
 
 ^ See Porta Latina, p. 75. 
 
 |] “ Le Antiche camere delle Terme di Tito, e le loro pitture, restituite alP 
 publico da Ludovico Mirri, e descritle dall’ Abale Giuseppe Carlelti.’’ fn Roma, 
 per Salomoni, 177t), fol» 
 
 C c 
 
 5. The E.S- 
 quiline hill. 
 
 Statue of 
 Mercury. 
 
 Paiatings, 
 
 Majcenas’s 
 
 gardens. 
 
194 . 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 5. The Es- 
 quiline hill. 
 
 Alclobrandini 
 
 marriage. 
 
 was without the walls of the city. — “ Puticulus, quo nunc ca- 
 davera projici solent, extra portam Esquilinam.^"^ — Now this 
 field is generally reckoned to have lain towards the agger of 
 Servius, and the high ground in the villa Negroni. But is it 
 probable that Maecenas’s gardens took up the whole length of 
 the hill ? The height of the tower, as well as its situation, made 
 Horace say-f — 
 
 “ Molem propinquam nubibus arduis.” 
 
 It was from hence that Nero had the cruel pleasure to behold 
 Rome in flames ; and, in his actor’s habit, to sing the tragedy 
 of the destruction of Troy.J 
 
 Among the ruins of Maecenas’s gardens was found, about 
 two hundred years ago, a picture, probably part of a cornice, 
 representing the bedding of a new married pair. It is pre- 
 served in the villa Aldobrandini, and from that circumstance 
 is known by the name of the Aldobrandini marriage. It is 
 supposed to express the marriage of Thetis and Peleus.§ Be 
 this as it may, it is, no doubt, the work of an able artist. 
 The figures are elegant, and painted with much freedom: 
 when seen at a proper distance, they produce a great effect. 
 Struck with the beauty of this picture, Poussin made a fine 
 copy of it, which is to be seen in the Pamphili palace. It is 
 likewise engraved by Pietro Santi Bartoli, and published in 
 the “ Admiranda Romanarum Antiquitatum,” No. 6i. — Bellori 
 calls this picture — “ unicum veteris artis exemplar et mira- 
 culum.” 
 
 * Festus. t Lib. 3. od. 21). J Suet. V, Nero. c. 38. 
 
 § Winckelmann, Monument! inediti, p. 60. 
 
the seven hills. 
 
 195 
 
 Horace* mentions burying the low and contemptible people 
 on this hill; but which, in his time, was rendered habitable, 
 beautiful, and wholesome 
 
 “ Hue prius angustis ejecta cadavera cellis 
 Conservus vili portanda locabat in area : 
 
 Hoc miserae plebi stabat commune sepulcrum, 
 
 Pantolabo scurrae, Noinentanoque nepoti. 
 
 Mille pedes in fronte, trecentos cippus in agrum 
 Hie dabat ; hseredes monumentum ne sequeretur. 
 
 Nunc licet Esquiliis habitare salubribus, atque 
 Aggere in aprico spatiari ; quo modo tristes 
 Albis informem spectabant ossibus agrum."' 
 
 The ancients often engraved these letters on sepulchral mo- 
 numents, viz. H. M. H. N. s. which they explained — “ Hoc 
 monumentum haeredes non sequatur.’" — That is, these monu- 
 ments, and the ground on which they stood, should, in honour 
 of the founder, remain always unalienable. But how fruitless 
 was their precaution I 
 
 The churches of St. Lucia in Selce, and St. Martino d monte 
 are built on the ruins of TrajaiVs baths, or more properly Do- 
 mitian's : for these baths were begun by the latter and finished 
 by the former, and continued to be known by the name of the 
 founder. In the year of Christ 320, an ecclesiastic council 
 met in these baths. — “ Venerunt omnes presbyteri et diaconi 
 omnes 284, intra thermas Domitianas, quas nunc Trajanas, et 
 sedet in sede sua in eodem loco/" -f 
 
 i* Synod. Roman. 2. sub S^'lvestro. 
 
 CC 3 
 
 5. The Es~ 
 quiline hill. 
 Burying 
 ground. 
 
 Trajan or 
 
 Doraitian’s 
 
 baths. 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 * Lib. 1. sat, 8. v. 8. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 106 
 
 5. The Es- 
 quiline hill. 
 Temple of 
 Juno. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 Sacred grove 
 of Juno. 
 
 Temple of 
 Diana. 
 
 No. 6, 
 
 The elegant church of St. Maria maggiore is reckoned to be 
 built on the ruins of a temple of Juno. When Benedict XIV. 
 caused this church to be repaired, the workmen found, about 
 eight palms below the present pavement, a mosaic one of 
 black and white marble, which perhaps belonged to the ancient 
 temple, as well as the beautiful Ionic columns that ornament 
 this church. 
 
 On the plain joining to this temple, probably towards the 
 entry to the villa Negroni, there was a grove sacred to 
 Juno. 
 
 ‘‘ Monte suh Esquilio multis incgeduus annis 
 Junonis magnae nomine lucus erat."* ** 
 
 In the convent of St. Anthony, Abbot, there is a square build- 
 ing, which the monks have converted into a granary. Many 
 of the antiquaries call it a temple of Diana. Their reason for 
 doing so is, because the walls were incrusted with mosaic- 
 work, representing huntings, animals, and landscapes. Little 
 of this mosaic now remains. Two large pieces, however, are 
 preserved in the chapel of St. Anthony, viz. two tigers de- 
 stroying two bulls ; but they seem to be executed in a bad 
 taste.-f 
 
 * Ovid, Fast. 1. 2. v. 435. 
 
 t It is to this church that the horses and asses of Rome, and the neighbourhood^ 
 are annually brought, on the festival of St. Anthony, the J7th of January, to be 
 blessed, by a priest besprinkling them with holy imter, as mentioned by Dr. 
 Middleton, in his letter from Rome, p. 141, &c. edition 1742; and which I 
 have seen performed. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 197 
 
 ODUOsiteto this church, I could not but observe the cwss H-Ttw Es. 
 
 1 r T • £: J quihne nill, 
 
 erected for the conversion of Henry IV. of France. It is nxed Cross lor the 
 on a granite pillar, cut into the form of a cannon, round the Hen*°iy. 
 belt of which is engraved— in . hoc . signo . vinces. 
 
 Near to the church of St. Vito, I examined the Doric arch Arch of Gal- 
 
 . henus. 
 
 of Gallienus. It shows the decline of architecture at that time. no. 7. 
 
 It does not appear to have been a triumphal arch ; but only 
 a private one, erected in honour of that emperor and his em- 
 press, by M. Aurelius Victor, as a mark of gratitude for favours 
 received from them. It is thus inscribed— 
 
 GALLIENO . CLEMENTISSIMO . PRINCIPI 
 CVIVS . INV-ICTA . VIRTVS. 
 
 SOLA . PIETATE . SVPERATA . EST 
 ET • SALONINAE . SANCTISSIMAE . AVG. 
 
 M. AVRELIVS . VICTOR 
 DEDICATISSIMUS 
 NVMINI . MAIESTATIQVE 
 EORVM. 
 
 This flattering inscription, the reverse of the real character of 
 Gallienus, may be considered rather as a satire than a pane- 
 gyric on him. 
 
 Five aqueducts passed through this quarter of the city, viz. Aqueducts, 
 the Marcian, the Tepulan, the Julian, the Claudian, and the 
 Anio Novus. Many vestiges of them are still to be seen. Near 
 to the church of St. Eusebio, there is a considerable ruin ot a 
 castellum of one of these aqueducts. It has been called by some 
 
 No. 8. 
 

 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 5. TheEs- 
 quiline hill. 
 
 The two tro- 
 phies now at 
 the Capitol. 
 
 Ludus mag- 
 nus. 
 
 No. 9 . 
 
 Temple, 
 commonly 
 called Mi- 
 nerva Medi- 
 ca. 
 
 No. 10. 
 
 writers the Marcian, by others the Claudian, or the Julian 
 aqueduct. To settle therefore this controversy, Piranesi* has 
 taken its level, with the remains of the different aqueducts 
 here. He finds that it exactly answers to the Julian, of which 
 he traces the course from the gate of St. Laurence. It was 
 from this castellum that the two noble trophies, preserved at 
 the Capitol, were taken. They have been supposed, by many 
 antiquaries, to be the trophies erected to Marius, on his Cim- 
 brian victory, which Sylla pulled down, and Julius Caesar re- 
 stored. Some have ascribed them to Domitian, and others to 
 Trajan. But as this reservoir was built in the time of Augus- 
 tus, Piranesi reckons them to be monuments of that Emperor. 
 It is, however, difficult to say, whether they apply to his vic- 
 tory of Actium, or to some of his northern conquests. The 
 sculpture on them is not unworthy of the Augustan age. 
 
 In the villa Palombara there are some ruins, which Pira- 
 nesi, I know not on what authority, supposes to have belonged 
 to the Ludus magnus. In the ancient marble plan of Rome, 
 there is a fragment marked lvdvs MAGNVs.-f But it is un- 
 certain where this building stood. 
 
 In the villa Magnani, behind the church of St. Bibiana, I 
 saw the ruin of a large temple, which is commonly called that 
 of Minerva Medic a. It is round without, but decagon within. 
 It is much defaced, and a great part of the roof is fallen in. 
 There is a wall joining to it, which perhaps may have been a 
 
 * Dell’ Gastello dell’ aqua Giulia. 
 
 t Tab. XI. 
 
the seven hills. 
 
 m 
 
 portico. Here was found the statue of Minerva with the ser- 
 pent, preserved in the Justinian! gallery. Probably it is from 
 this circumstance, that many antiquaries have given the name 
 of Minerva Medica to this temple. Some, indeed, have sup- 
 posed that this was the temple of Hercules Callaicus, built by 
 Decius Junius Brutus, in gratitude for his victory obtained 
 over the Callaicians, a people of Spain : their reason for doing 
 so is, because of the name Galluzzo, or Gallucio, given by 
 the moderns to this quarter, which they reckon a corruption 
 of Callaicus. But Pliny places the temple of Brutus in the 
 Flaminian circus in the Campus Martius; Rufus and Victor do 
 the same : whereas they place that of Minerva Medica on the 
 Esquiline hill. From the name Gallucio, others pretend, that 
 it was the basilic of Caius and Lucius, built to them by their 
 grandfather Augustus. But we have only to compare this 
 building with the description Vitruvius f gives of basilics, to 
 conclude that it did not serve for that use. 
 
 In the same vineyard, near to this temple, is the sepulchral 
 chamber of the Aruntian family, erected by Lucius Aruntius,J 
 for himself, his family, and freedmen. It was discovered in 
 the year 173 b. Here I particularly examined the columbaria ^ 
 and the ollulce, or pots, in which the ashes of the dead were 
 preserved. Many of the inscriptions still remain. This se- 
 pulchre had been much ornamented with painting and stucco. 
 But it is unnecessary to enter into a particular description of 
 
 *Lib. 36. c. 5 . tLib5. c. 1 . 
 
 J He lived under Tiberius; see his death in Tacitus, Ann. 1. 6. 
 
 5. TheEs- 
 quilim hill. 
 
 Aruntian se- 
 pulchre. 
 
200 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 5. The Es- 
 quiline hill. 
 
 Plebeian se- 
 pulchre. 
 
 Temple of 
 Venus an«l 
 Cupid. 
 No.ll. 
 
 Altar of bad 
 fortune. 
 
 it, because it has already been done by Russel* and by 
 Piranesi.-f 
 
 Another sepulchral chamber, near to that of the Aruntian 
 family, is to be seen here. From the inscriptions it seems to 
 have served for the burying place of some plebeians. It is 
 likewise published by Piranesi. J 
 
 To the right of the church of St. Croce in Gerusalemme, in 
 the garden of the monks, I observed a ruin, which is com- 
 monly reckoned the temple of Venus and Cupid. The only 
 reason for thus naming it, seems to be, that a statue of these 
 amorous deities, preserved in the Belvidere of the Vatican, was 
 found here. On its base is this inscription — 
 
 VENERI . FELICI . SACRVM . 
 
 SALLVSTIA . ELPIDVS . D. D. 
 
 Indeed there remains very little of this building, the monks 
 having taken the greatest part of its materials to rebuild their 
 convent. 
 
 To the left of the church is the amphitheatrum castrense, 
 which I have already examined, in my survey of the city 
 walls. § 
 
 On this hill there was an altar consecrated to had fortune . — 
 
 * Vol. 1. If't. 2f). 
 
 t Am. Rom. Vol. 2. tav. 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. 
 
 X lb. tav. 16, 17, 18, and ip. § See page 63. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 201 
 
 Aram malae Fortunae Esquiliis consecratam videmus.”* So 
 far did the Romans carry their superstition ! But I know not on 
 what particular spot of the hill it stood. 
 
 Many of the illustrious Romans had their houses on this 
 hill, though we cannot now, with any degree of certainty, 
 fix their situations. Thus Pliny the younger informs us, that 
 he lived on the Esquiline hill ; when he mentions the flatter- 
 ing verses addressed to him by Martial. — “ Ailoquitur musam, 
 mandat ut domum meam Esquiliis quaerat, adeat reverenter.''-f 
 The poet, not to interrupt the magistrate when engaged in 
 business, or in his studies, makes his muse wait on him in the 
 evening, at his hours of recreation, when feasting and enjoying 
 the conversation of his friends : — 
 
 Seras tutior ibis ad lucernas, 
 
 Haec hora est tua: dum furit Lyaeus, 
 
 Cum regnat rosa, cum madent capilli. 
 
 Tunc me vel rigidi legant Catones.'^]; 
 
 5. The Es- 
 quiline hill. 
 
 House of 
 Pliny the 
 younger. 
 
 * Cicero de Nat. Deor. 1. S. c. 25 : — and see Pliny, 1. 2. c. 7. 
 t Lib. 3. ep. 21. X Lib. 10. epig. I 9 . 
 
202 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Baths of 
 Olympias. 
 See Virainal 
 hill, pi. III. 
 No. 1. 
 
 VI. THE VIMINAL HILL. 
 
 The Viminal hill, towards the west, begins at the church 
 called La Madonna de* Monti, and extends east to Dioclesian's 
 baths. It lies between the Esquiline and Quirinal hills; viz. to 
 the north of the former, and to the south of the latter. It is 
 separated from these hills by vallies, which, though now much 
 filled up, had formerly been very conspicuous. The levellings 
 occasioned by the new roads, buildings, and gardens, in this 
 quarter of the city, render it more difficult to trace the outline 
 of this, than of any other of the seven hills. 
 
 Many buildings, both public and private, had no doubt for- 
 merly stood on this hill: but the most remarkable seem to 
 have been baths. At present nothing remains but a few 
 foundations ; nor is it possible to trace any plan of them. 
 
 The baths of Olympias had been of considerable extent, as 
 we may conclude from their vestiges, still to be seen in the 
 gardens of the convent of St. Laurence, and the places adja- 
 cent. It is uncertain who this Olympias was ; but, from the 
 remarks of C’assio,* it appears she was a woman. The eccle- 
 siastical writers inform us, that St. Laurence was martyred in 
 her baths. He -was broiled on a gridiron. But the venera- 
 tion which the Christians had for this saint, engaged them to 
 
 * Cassio, Corso dell’ acque, Tom, 2. No, 25, p. 251, 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS, 
 
 203 
 
 erect a church to him in these baths. It is called S, Lorenzo 
 in pane e pema. 
 
 The Lavacrum of Agrippina, the mother of Nero, is reckoned 
 to have stood behind Olympias’s baths, on the declivity of 
 the Viminal towards the Qjuirinal hill. But as I perceived no 
 remains of this building, it is unnecessary to enlarge on this 
 subject. 
 
 To the east of the baths of Olympias, is the church dedicated 
 to the two sisters Prassede and Pudentiana. Pope Pius I. is 
 said to have caused it to be built to them, in the baths of their 
 brother Novatus. It is to this Novatus* that Seneca addresses 
 his books de ira. And indeed this church retains many marks 
 of its antiquity. 
 
 So many baths, and so near each other, cannot be supposed 
 to have been public, but only private ones. 
 
 I shall now proceed to examine the baths of Dioclesian, and 
 the Prcetorian camp, 
 
 * Novatus is reckoned by some writers, to have been the elder brother of 
 Seneca : he was afterwards known by the name of Junius Gallio, having been 
 adopted by a celebrated lawyer of that name ; he was a senator and proconsul 
 of Achaia. 
 
 6, The Vimi- 
 nal hill. 
 
 Lavacrum of 
 Agrippina. 
 No. 2. 
 
 Baths of No- 
 vatus. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 Dds 
 
204 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 DIOCLESIAN'S BATHS. 
 
 On the east end of the ground, from whence the Quirinal 
 and Viminal hills seem to take their rise, Dioclesian built his 
 baths. Although greatly defaced, there remains as much of 
 them as to enable artists to make out a plan, but not an eleva- 
 tion, of this magnificent building. Indeed from these ruins we 
 find that taste in architecture had not, at this period, declined 
 so much as taste in sculpture had done. 
 
 To give a general idea of the extent of these baths, I shall 
 only observe, that on their ruins now stand the elegant church, 
 convent, and garden of the monks of St. Bernard ; the magni- 
 ficent church, convent, and garden of the Carthusians ; the 
 extensive public granaries ; and a large space called Piazza di 
 Terminiy which is a corruption of the word thermae, 
 
 Dioclesian^s baths were not finished when he abdicated the 
 empire the ist of May, 305. They seem to have been after- 
 wards extended, and rendered more complete, probably by 
 Valerius Severus, and consecrated by the different emperors 
 and Caesars, whom Dioclesian had associated with him in the 
 empire, to their generous benefactor, and dedicated by them 
 to the use of the Romans. This appears from the following 
 inscription, published by Gruter — 
 
 D. D. N. N. DIOCLETIANVS , ET 
 MAXIMIANVS . INVICTI . SENIORES 
 AVGVSTI . PATRES . IMPERATORVM , ET 
 * Pago 178. No. 7. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 205 
 
 CAESARVM . CONSTANTIVS . ET . MAXIMIA 
 NVS . INVICTI . AVGG . ET . SEVERVS . ET . MAXI 
 MIANVS . N<:BILISS . CAESARES . THERMAS 
 FELICES . DIOCLEriANI . AVG . FRATRIS . SVI 
 NOMINE . CONSECRAV . COEPTIS . AEDI 
 FICUS . PRO . TANTI . OPERIS . MAGNITV 
 DINE . OMNI . CVLTV . PERFECTAS 
 ROMANIS . SVIS . DEDICAV. 
 
 But whether this inscription is genuine, or exactly copied, I do 
 not pretend to decide ; as I know not where the original is now 
 to be found. 
 
 Ecclesiastical historians* tell us, that these baths were 
 erected during the tenth general persecution of the Christians. 
 The soldiers who had embraced that religion were condemned 
 to work here ; and, after having supported that fatigue for the 
 space of seven years, many of them were cruelly put to death. 
 Little -did these poor martyrs dream that they were then pre- 
 paring buildings for two splendid Christian churches. 
 
 The names and uses of the different parts of the baths are 
 often mentioned by Cornelius Celsus, Galenus, Vitruvius, and 
 other ancient authors. But as their descriptions are general, 
 and not accc.mpanied with plans of any of the baths, it is not 
 surprising that Baccius, and other modern writers, who have 
 given plans of Dioclesian's baths, should differ in the uses they 
 assign to the various parts still remaining of this wonderful 
 building. Indeed every one who examines them, will naturally 
 
 Dioclesian's 
 
 baths. 
 
 * Baronii Ann. Eccles. Vol. 2, ex Act. P. Marcelli. 
 
206 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Dioclesian^s 
 
 baths. 
 
 / 
 
 apply the ancient names, according as his own fancy, or sagacity 
 suggests to him. 
 
 In my remarks on Caracalla's baths, I gave some general 
 observations on the Thermce of the Romans, and to which I 
 now beg leave to refer.* 
 
 To give, however, a just idea of Dioclesian’s baths I shall 
 present the reader with a plan of them, executed with great 
 exactness, and communicated to me by my ingenious and ex- 
 cellent friend James Byres, of Tonley, Esq. to whom I cannot 
 sufficiently express my gratitude for the many favours he has 
 conferred on me. 
 
 Having often examined these baths on the spot, and reflected 
 on the uses of their different parts, I shall now attempt to de- 
 scribe them, as they appeared to me. 
 
 It is obvious that Dioclesian's baths formed a great and regu- 
 lar building ; and from what remains, it is not difficult to make 
 out the whole. On this plan, therefore, the parts still existing 
 are marked with a deep, and those destroyed with a faint tint. 
 
 The sides of the square of this building did not front any of 
 the four cardinal points of the compass, but were nearly inter- 
 sected by them.-f Thus the principal entry seems to have been 
 towards the north-east, and not far from the agger of Tarquinius. 
 
 The buildings along the sides BC, DE, and EB, were either 
 * See page 174. *t* See Palatine hill, p. 157. 
 
Plate w. 
 
 J)JO CJL£ SJJiJSrS Jijl TH S . 
 
 D 
 
 
 ■€ 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 207 
 
 semicircles or squares. They were named exedrce or scbol^. DiocieMa 
 They were the halls where the youth were instructed — where 
 men of learning and genius assembled to discourse and read 
 their compositions — and where probably the officers and ser- 
 vants, entrusted with the care of the baths were lodged. 
 
 Each of the extremities of the side CD was terminated with 
 a rotundo. The one at C, near the villa Negroni, now serves 
 for a public granary, and the other at D is converted into a 
 church, dedicated to St. Bernard. The interior of these ro- 
 tundos had been elegantly ornamented, as well as the other 
 parts of the baths, with statues and paintings, though none of 
 them now remain. Baccius* calls them sphceristeria, a sort of 
 tennis-courts, where they used to play at ball. But I think 
 that they were too small for that exercise. Besides, a sphceris- 
 terium took its name perhaps from the spherical form of the 
 balls, and not from that of the building. Indeed a square or 
 oblong seems to be a more proper form for a tennis-court. 
 
 Some authors suppose that these rotundos were the laconica, 
 or sweating rooms of the baths. But these, as well as the 
 sphctristeria, I shall, in the sequel, place elsewhere. I am ra- 
 ther inclined to believe that these rotundos were temples. 
 
 Perhaps one of them was dedicated to Apollo, and the other to 
 iEsculapius. 
 
 In the centre of the side CD, I observe the theatridimiy or 
 open theatre, where people placed themselves in fine weather, 
 to see different shows, and wrestlers exercise. 
 
 * Be Therm is, I. 7. g. 6. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 so8 
 
 Dioclesian's 
 
 baths. 
 
 Between the theatridium and the temples were parallelogram 
 buildings, which, in many of the plans of these baths, are 
 marked atrium. They might have served for noble halls, to 
 contain the famous Ulpian library, removed hither from Tra- 
 jan's forum. Perhaps one of them was destined for Greek, and 
 the other for Roman literature. 
 
 Within the square stood the natatio, or piscina ; the spbce- 
 risterium; the xystum; the apodyterium; the hypocaustum-^ 
 the different baths, viz. the frigidarium; the tepidarium; the 
 caldarium; and the laconicum ; as well as some other buildings, 
 whose situations I shall endeavour to point out. 
 
 The natatio, where people swam in the open air, was of 
 considerable extent. It was opposite to the principal entry A, 
 and occupied what is now the cloister of the Carthusians. 
 Three sides of it were bounded by porticos, which served for 
 walking places, and for the swimmers to strip themselves. 
 
 On each side of these porticos were basilics, or great halls, 
 for public assemblies ; and diatce, or eating rooms, where sump- 
 tuous entertainments were sometimes given. 
 
 ' Joining to the basilica and diatre there was an oblong hall, 
 which might have served properly for the sphceristerium, or 
 place for playing at ball ; which seems to have been a favourite 
 exercise at Rome, both of the young and the old : 
 
 ‘‘ Folle decet pueros ludere, folle senes." * 
 
 * Martia], 1. 14. ep. 47. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 Immediately behind the natatio was the lystiim. Here the 
 gladiators and wrestlers performed their exercises, under cover, 
 in bad weather. This spacious hall had been elegantly orna- 
 mented ; eight granite columns of an immense size still support 
 its roof. Pope Pius IV. having given this part of the baths to 
 the Carthusians, they, assisted by the great artist Michael An- 
 gelo Buonaroti, converted it into one of the most magnificent 
 churches of Rome. It is dedicated to St. Mary and the An- 
 gels. In the year 1701, Monsignor Bianchini, that learned 
 prelate and eminent astronomer, traced the meridian line, 
 which I saw in this church. It is, I believe, the greatest, and 
 most ornamented, with brass and marble, of any hitherto exe- 
 cuted. Nor could he have chosen a more solid situation for 
 such an operation, than what these walls, which have resisted 
 the wasting effects of sixteen centuries, afforded him. But it 
 is foreign to my subject to attempt to describe it, or its uses. 
 I shall therefore beg leave to refer the curious reader to Bian- 
 chini's own account of it.^' 
 
 At each extremity of the xystiim there was a cav^edium, or- 
 namented with columns. Here people might walk or exercise, 
 in the open air, protected from the wind. In many of the plans 
 of the baths, it is called atrium.'\ 
 
 Let me now examine the baths properly so named. They 
 
 * De Nummo et Gnomone Clementino,” published along with bis work — 
 “ De Kalendario et Cyclo Caesaris, ac de paschali canone S. Hippolili uiartyris, 
 dissertationes duaj.” Romse, 1703. fol. 
 
 f See Introduction, p. 16 . 
 
 E e 
 
 209 
 
 Dioclesian's 
 
 baths. 
 
210 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Dioclesian's 
 
 baths. 
 
 extended in a straight line, opposite to the Theatridium and the 
 
 Bibliothecae. 
 
 The apodytenum, or great hall, where those who bathed 
 undressed and dressed themselves, was placed in the centre of 
 the baths, but projected beyond their line. There is reason to 
 believe that it was richly ornamented ; but no part of it now re- 
 mains. About the year 17,50, Cardinal Valenti Gonzaga caused 
 tins ground to be dug for materials for his villa, which he was 
 then building, at the Porta Pia. Many bricks, and some frag- 
 ments of granite columns were found. But it had, no doubt, 
 been dug long prior to that period. What I chiefly remarked, 
 for I was there at that time, were flues that had conveyed fire 
 under this hall, to keep it in a proper degree of heat. 
 
 On each side of the apodyterium were four halls for the 
 baths. Whether these eight bathing rooms were all intended 
 for the use of men, or that one side was allotted for men and 
 the other for women, I do not pretend to decide. Indeed, it 
 is probable that they were for men only ; because, before this 
 time, baths, particularly those of Agrippina,* had been erected 
 for the use of women. 
 
 Authors, who have treated this subject, do not agree in their 
 arrangement of the different baths. I shall, however, take 
 the liberty to place them in the manner that appears most 
 reasonable to me. 
 
 ^ See Viminal hill, p. 202. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 211 
 
 The hall next to the apodyterhim was, I think, the frigida- 
 rium, or cold bath; the second was the tepidarium, or tepid 
 bath ; the third was the caldarium, or hot bath ; and the fourth 
 was the laconicunn^ or sweating room. Indeed the hall next the 
 side DE, which is now one of the public granaries, bears evi- 
 dent marks that it was the laconicum. The same arrangement 
 was repeated on the other side of the apodyterium. 
 
 The cold bath seems to have been used to brace the fibres, 
 and strengthen the body. The tepid bath for pleasure, and to 
 clean the body. The hot bath to soften the skin, to relieve from 
 fatigue, and to promote sleep. And the laconicum to produce a 
 violent sweat. These different baths were used before supper, 
 whilst the stomach w^as empty. Warm bathing, that is, water 
 warmer than the external air, is a great luxury in hot climates, 
 but in cold climates it is dangerous. 
 
 The baths communicated, in this order, from one to the 
 other. Each person stopped at the bath which he judged 
 proper for himself. If he made use of the laconicum^ he re- 
 turned through the different baths, and thus cooled himself 
 gradually before he reached the apodyterium. 
 
 All the lahrUy or bathing tubs, which were used in Diocle- 
 sian's baths, have been removed from thence. But several of 
 them are still preserved as fountains and ornaments, in diffe- 
 rent parts of Rome. 
 
 In the centre of the baths, between the apodyterium and the 
 
 Ee 3 
 
 Diocleslan s 
 baths. 
 
212 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 DiocJesian*$ 
 
 baths. 
 
 xystum was properly placed the bypocaiistum. It was the 
 great furnace from whence hot water was conveyed in pipes, 
 and hot air .in flues to the different baths. This part of the 
 building is still preserved, but the furnaces are destroyed.* 
 It serves for a sort of alrimn to the church of the Carthusians. 
 The furnaces had, no doubt, been much lower than the pre- 
 sent® level of the floor of the church. There was probably a 
 particular hypocaustiim under each laconicum. 
 
 Some antiquaries are of opinion, that there were two stories 
 of baths : if so, the under one is now entirely filled up with the 
 rubbish of the demolished baths. 
 
 The conisteriiim was probably on one side of the hypocaus- 
 turn. It was here they preserved the sand, with which the 
 wrestlers, after being anointed with oil, were rubbed before they 
 exercised. -f 
 
 Opposite to the conisterium was the elceothesium. It was 
 a sort of an apothecary's shop, furnished with a variety of oils, 
 ointments, and perfumes, for the use of the bathers. The 
 Romans, who borrowed many of their luxuries from the Greeks 
 and Asiatics, like them applied different ointments to different 
 parts of the body. AthenaeusJ has preserved to us the verses of 
 Antiphanus, in which these are enumerated. 
 
 * Baccius, in his book De Thermis, 1. 7. c. 9. and in his book De Naturali 
 Vinorum Historia, p. 178, has given a plate of a thermcpoUum, to show how the 
 water was heated to different degrees. And Sir Edward Barry, in his “ Obser- 
 vations on the Wines of the Ancients,” page l6l, has republished this plate. 
 
 ‘f Of the use wrestlers made of sand, see Lucian’s dialogue on gymnastic 
 exercises, L. 15. Deipnosophiston. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 213 
 
 Along the sides of the square, between the exedr^ and the Diodesian’s 
 centre buildings, were broad shadowy walks, planted with 
 plane-trees, which, like a stadium^ served for exercise, whe- 
 ther walking or running. 
 
 In the villa Negroni, beyond the line of the square of the 
 buildings, and opposite to the side BC, I observed the remains, 
 pretty entire, of the great reservoir, which contained the war- 
 ter for the use of the baths. 
 
 Thus have I given an idea of the Dioclesian baths, which 
 is as mucH as their present disfigured state will permit. But, 
 for the conveniency of the reader, I shall subjoin an index of 
 the different parts, marked as on the plan, plate IV. 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 A. Principal entry. 
 
 BE. Side towards the north- 
 east. 
 
 BC. Side towards the south- 
 east. 
 
 CD. Side towards the south- 
 west. 
 
 DE. Side towards the north- 
 west. 
 
 1. Lodgings for officers and 
 
 servants. 
 
 2. Exedrae. 
 
 3. Schola, or Ephebeum. 
 
 4. Temple of Apollo. 
 
 5. Temple of Esculapius*. 
 6 ; Bibliotheca. 
 
 7. Theatridium. 
 
 8. Natatio. 
 
 9. Porticus natationis. 
 
 10. Basilica. 
 
 11. Di^eta. 
 
 12. Sphaeristerium. 
 
 13. Cav^edium. 
 
 14. Xystum.- 
 
£14 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 DiocieMs 15- Apodyterium. 
 
 21. Conisterium. 
 
 baths, Frigidarium. 
 
 22 Elseothesium. 
 
 17. Tepidarium. 
 
 23* Ephebium for wrestlers. 
 
 18. Caldarium. 
 
 24 Walks shaded with 
 
 19. Laconicum. 
 
 plane-trees. 
 
 20. Hypocaustum, 
 
 25 Reservoir. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 215 
 
 THE PR.ETORIAN CAMP. 
 
 On the plain behind the agger of Tarquinius, and to the east 
 of the Viminal and Quirinal hills, there is a large vineyard, 
 which belonged to the Jesuits. Here stood the Praetorian 
 camp, and not on the broad summit of these hills, as mentioned 
 by a celebrated historian.’^ It was Sejanus, to increase his own 
 power, and to keep Rome in subjection, who advised Tiberius 
 to establish this camp.'f 
 
 It is unnecessary to say any thing of the Prcetorian guards. 
 The power of that body, their influence on government, and 
 their even selling the imperial dignity, is recorded in the 
 Roman annals.J 
 
 The Pisetorian camp, though small, had been fortified, and 
 laid out in the manner generally practised by the Romans, of 
 which Polybius, § in the time of Scipio Africanus, and Jose- 
 phus, || in the reign of Vespasian, have left us descriptions. It 
 seems to have been a parallelogram, and probably surrounded 
 with a double agger, between which was a ditch. On each 
 side of the parallelogram there was a gate, viz. the Pretoria 
 in the front, the decumana in the rear, the dextra and the 
 sinistra on the sides ; as we observe in the Roman camps still 
 
 * M. Gibbon’s Roman Empire, Vol. I. note 5. page 17 of his notes on c. 5. 
 
 f Tacitus, Ann. 1. 4. 
 
 X Thus Otho, by means of two soldiers, bribed by money, dethroned Gulba. 
 
 Suscepere duo manipulares imperium populi Romani transferendum, et 
 
 translulerunt,” — ^I’acit. Hist. 1. i. c 25. § Lib. 6. c. 5. 1| Lib. 3, c. 3. 
 
216 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Prceforian 
 
 .camp. 
 
 to be seen in Scotland and Ensfland for no vestiges of their 
 camps have hitherto been, so far as I know, traced in Italy. 
 These camps, like regular cities, contained every thing proper 
 to render the life of the soldier agreeable. And as the camp 
 in question was intended to be permanent, we may reasonably 
 suppose that these conveniences were here particularly studied. 
 
 The Romans used to erect, in their stationary camps, small 
 temples, probably dedicated to Mars, in which they deposited 
 the vexilla, or ensigns, as well as the simulacra deum^ and 
 imagines principumy which were all deemed sacred. 
 
 This Praetorian camp of Sejanus was, no doubt, without the 
 walls ; but whether it was afterwards added to the city by 
 Aurelian, or by Constantine the Great after the defeat of 
 Maxentius, seems uncertain. It is indeed commonly thought, 
 that it was inclosed within the city by the latter, who built 
 that part of the walls, which projects in a square, beyond the 
 line of those of Aurelian. Here Constantine, having dis- 
 banded the Praetorian guards, erected barracks for his soldiers, 
 which retained the name of Casirum Prcetorium, and of which 
 some remains may be still traced. 
 
 I come now to the Quirinal hill ; but, the better to connect 
 my survey, I shall proceed directly from hence to the west 
 end of it. 
 
 * See the “ military Antiquities of the Romans in North Britain, and particu- 
 larly their ancient System of Castrametation, illustrated by Plans; by the late 
 Major General Roy.” This splendid work was published by the Antiquary’ 
 Society of London, 1793. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 917 
 
 TRAJAN'S FORUM AND COLUMN. 
 
 Though ’TY2L]?ins, forum and column cannot properly be 
 said to stand on the Quirinal hill, yet as he caused part of the 
 west end of it to be cut down, in order to extend his celebrated 
 buildings, as will afterwards appear, I shall here contemplate 
 this classical spot before I proceed in my survey of the Qui- 
 rinal hill. 
 
 Of the various that of Trajan seems to have been 
 the most elegant. It was built by the renowned architect 
 Apollodorus. It stood between the Capitol and Quirinal hills 
 and Nerva's forum. It was ornamented with sumptuous build- 
 ings: a basilic, a gymnasium, the Ulpian library, an historical 
 column, porticos, a triumphal arch, &c. Indeed this last was 
 taken down, and its beautiful basso-relievos and rich materials 
 employed to erect a triumphal arch to Constantine, and which 
 I shall examine in the sequel. On the medals of Trajan we 
 find represented — his forum— column — triumphal arch— and 
 Ulpian basilic.^ 
 
 The grandeur of the buildings, that decorated this/orww, 
 may be estimated from the columns of Egyptian granite, dis- 
 covered in laying the foundation of the new entry to the Bo- 
 nelli palace, built on part of this forum. They are eight 
 
 * Vide — “ Vaillant, Numismata Imperatorum Romanorum praestantiora.” — 
 Vide * ** Havercampus, Nummophylaciuin Reginaj Cbristinae ” — Vide THis- 
 toria Augusta, da Angeloni, V, Trajano." 
 
 Ff 
 
 See Quiiinal 
 hill, pi. III. 
 No. 1. 
 
218 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Trajan's 
 
 forum. 
 
 palms and a half, Roman, in diameter. A fragment of the 
 cornice of the architrave, which these columns supported, is 
 preserved at the villa Albani. It is six palms high: hence 
 the height of the whole architrave, of which the cornice 
 used to be one-third, must have been about eighteen palms 
 high. This fragment probably belonged to the Ulpian ba- 
 silic, an elevation of which we observe on one of Trajan's 
 medals. 
 
 Although none of these buildings have escaped the rage of 
 barbarous hands, and all-devouring time, yet the most re- 
 markable monument of this/orwm still remains: viz. the his- 
 torical column erected by the senate and people to the em- 
 peror, after his Dacian conquests ; and in which the progress 
 of both these wars are represented in basso-relievo. After 
 many actions, and reduced to the last extremity, Decebalus, 
 their king, put an end to his own life; and Trajan erected 
 Dacia into a Roman province.* 
 
 Over the door, in the pedestal, by which we enter into the 
 column, we read the following inscription : 
 
 Although the Geles were the people who inhabited the country, along the 
 mouth of the Danube, yet the Greeks gave them the name of the Daces, that is^ 
 the Transilvanians,,the Valakians, and the Moldavians, They were conquered 
 by Trajan ; in whose reign the Roman empire was in its greatest extent. To the 
 north he added the country of the Dacii; and to the east he added Armenia, 
 Mesopotamia, and Assyria. He gave a king to Parthia, who acknowledged the 
 Roman power. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 219 
 
 SENATVS . POPVLVSgVE . ROMANVS 
 IMP . CAESARI . DIVI . NERVAE . F . NERVAE 
 TRAIANO . AVG . GERM . DACICO . PONTIF 
 MAXIMO . TRIE . POT . XVII . IMP . VI . COS . VI . P . P 
 AD . DECLARANDVM . QVANTAE . ALTITVDINIS 
 MONS . ET . LOCVS . TAN^/5 O/mBVS . SIT . EGESTVS. 
 
 This inscription shows, that Trajan had caused part of the 
 Quirinal hill to be cut down to give more extent to \i\s forum ; 
 and that the height of his column was the measure of that 
 level. The ground, indeed, is now much raised here, the mo- 
 dern pavement being about twenty feet above the ancient ; as 
 appears from the excavation made to show the height of the 
 column. 
 
 This column stood in the centre of the forum ^ and was ter- 
 minated with a statue of Trajan, as appears from a medal. 
 Thus it served for a sepulchral monument to that great man ; 
 for it is generally supposed that his ashes were put into a ball 
 of metal, which he held in his hand.f But Sixtus Quintus,- in 
 place of the statue of this respectable emperor, caused that of 
 St. Peter to be erected on this imperial monument, and which 
 can have no connection with the history of Trajan's wars, 
 there represented. 
 
 * The letters, tis and opeki, had been defaced in the barbarous ages, and 
 are thus supplied. They had probably been cut out to fix a beam to support 
 the roof of some hut or shop placed against the pedestal of the column. 
 
 Indeed some antiquaries reckon, that Trajan’s ashes were preserved in an 
 urn, which was placed in the cell, in the pedestal of this column. 
 
 F,f 2 
 
 Trajan’s 
 
 forum. 
 
220 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Trajan's 
 
 fonim. 
 
 The height of this monument is 115 feet 10 inches English 
 —viz. the pedestal 20 feet 10 inches, and the shaft of the co- 
 lumn 95 feet. Eutropius says, that this column is 144 feet 
 high. To make up this measure in Roman feet, the historian 
 probably included the height of the statue, and the base on 
 which it stood. 
 
 It is composed of thirty blocks of white statuary marble, 
 which seems to be that of Carrara ; and each block forms the 
 diameter of the column : viz. eight for the pedestal, nineteen 
 for the pillar, and three for the base of the statue of St. Peter. 
 
 There is a staircase, consisting of one hundred and eighty- 
 four steps, which leads to the top of the column, and which is 
 lighted by forty-three narrow slits or windows. This staircase 
 is cut out of the blocks of marble, which form the diameter of 
 the column. 
 
 On the four square sides of the pedestal, I observed the 
 shields and arms of the Daci, the Sarmati, and their allies. 
 They had been copied from the originals, brought to Rome by 
 the emperor, and which he had displayed in his triumph. 
 They are elegantly executed : nor had the sculptor occasion to 
 embellish them ; since Pausanias,* mentioning a Sarmate 
 cuirass preserved in the temple of ^Esculapius, informs us, 
 that the Sarmati excelled in the fine arts, and in this respect 
 might be compared with the Greeks themselves. 
 
 * L. 1.C.21. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 221 
 
 It is commonly said, that the basso-relievos on this monu- 
 ment increase in size as they approach towards the top, in 
 order to appear the same to the eye of the beholder from below. 
 But that this is not so, is evident from the plaister casts of this 
 column; ^ the general height of these figures being two feet 
 and an inch English. 
 
 That the eye might not be interrupted, in tracing the con- 
 nection of the sculpture, the column is carried up, from the 
 bottom to the top, in a spiral line or screw. Hence it is called 
 Column a Cochlis. 
 
 Besides the elegancy of the sculpture, executed at the period 
 when that art was in high perfection at Rome, we may con- 
 sider this wonderful monument as a system of antiquities. 
 For here we remark the manners, dress, discipline, arms, 
 marches, forages, and encampments of the soldiers of that age; 
 the Roman standards, as well as those of the enemy ; bridges, 
 passing of rivers, and the form of their ships ; sieges, battles, 
 victories, congresses, and peace; adlocutions of the emperor, 
 triumphs, sacrifices, libations, victims, altars, the dresses of the 
 priests, and various religious rites. 
 
 To give a proper description of the different subjects, repre- 
 sented on this column, would require a particular work. And 
 
 * To be seen at the French academy of painting, in Rome. These moulds,. 
 I was told, were taken off by order of Louis XIV. with an intention to ha^e 
 them afterwards cast in metal; and thus to have erected this surprising moni£'- 
 ment of art, in his gardens at Versailles. 
 
 Trajan's 
 
 Jorum. 
 
222 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Trajan's 
 
 forum. 
 
 General 
 Melville’s 
 Roman or- 
 der of battle. 
 
 after all, it would be impossible to convey to the reader a dis- 
 tinct idea of them, without engravings. I shall therefore beg 
 leave to refer to the plates, of the celebrated engraver Pietro 
 Santi Bartoli,* who has preserved to posterity so many valuable 
 works of antiquity. 
 
 The various sculptures on this splendid monument, cannot 
 but convey useful ideas to artists, as well as to antiquaries. 
 Among the latter, my most worthy and respected friend Ge- 
 neral Melville, whose happy genius embraces the whole circle 
 of science, was pleased to assure me that, from an examination 
 he made, when at Rome, in the year 1776, of the legionary 
 arms of the Romans, cut on Trajan’s column, he received the 
 fullest confirmation of the ideas he had formed of their order 
 of battle. The general was first led to investigate this curious 
 subject, from seeing and handling, in different positions, a 
 double-edged, sharp-pointed, short sword, said to be a Roman 
 gladiuSj dug up in the area of one of their castellciy remaining 
 in Scotland. For he properly considered the gladius as the 
 chief offensive weapon of the Romans, which, combined with 
 the superiority of their defensive armour, enabled that warlike 
 people to be the conquerors of the world. He therefore con- 
 cluded, that the legionary order of battle must have been that 
 which admitted the best use of its arms for offence and defence. 
 From this principle followed, in the general’s mind, a system 
 of arrangement in full lines, consisting of three men in depth, 
 placed in so many ranks, viz. the hastatiy the principes, and 
 
 • * See “ ColonnaTrajano, iniagiiata da P. S. JSartoIi, e spiegata da Gio. Pietro 
 Bellori.” Roma, per de’ Rossi, lol. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 223 
 
 tYiarii^ with sufficient intervals between man and man : the 
 whole standing chequer- ways, or in a quincunx, so as to allow 
 the necessary succession in fighting to the best advantage, and 
 without confusion. This arrangement was equally applicable 
 to two, tliree, or more such lines, of which the order of battle 
 might consist. The learned general found this order of battle 
 was agreeable to an impartial interpretation of the passages, 
 relative to it, in the Greek and Roman authors: but that it 
 was altogether inapplicable to the several parts of what has 
 been called the Lipsian system, from its author Justus Lipsius, 
 who published, above two hundred years ago, a work entitled 
 Militia Romana, Lipsius, indeed, is accused by Joseph Scali- 
 ger,^ to have only copied a prior work, by Patrizi de Ferrara, 
 viz. la Militia Romana, without naming him. But Patrizi hav- 
 ing improperly interpreted the meaning of some expressions, 
 in Polybius' description of Scipio’s order before the battle of 
 Zama, has erected on them a fanciful and impracticable sys- 
 tem: a system, however, which, from the authority of Lipsius, 
 has received a currency, and has been since adopted, with 
 only a few insignificant alterations, by all authors, military or 
 not military, who have wrote on this subject. Many years ago, 
 General Melville was pleased to communicate to me his rea- 
 soned system on the Roman order of battle, in manuscript, 
 with some plans and explanations, a work which highly de- 
 serves to be published, and which cannot but give great satis- 
 faction to every classical scholar, as well as to military gen- 
 tlemen. 
 
 * Lipsius libro de militia Romana, omnia cepit ex Francisco Patricio, qui 
 llalice scripsit ea de re.” — Vide Scaligerana, art, Lipsius, edit. Coloniee Agrip' 
 pinae, apud Scagen,,l66’7. 12mo. 
 
 TrqjarCs 
 
 forum. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 224, 
 
 Trajan’s 
 forum. 
 A building 
 commonly 
 called the 
 baths of 
 Paulus 
 iKmilius. 
 
 No. 2. 
 
 At a little distance from Trajan's column, and near to the 
 church of S. Maria in Campo Carleo, I observed the ruins of a 
 circular portico, of brick, of considerable extent. The second, 
 and a small part of the third stories of it, are only now to be 
 seen : the first being buried in the ground, which is greatly 
 raised here above its former level. What the use of this build- 
 ing was, is a matter of dispute among the antiquaries. 
 
 It is indeed commonly reckoned to have been part of the 
 baths of Paulus iT^milius : and, from this idea it is supposed, 
 that the part of the Quirinal hill, immediately joining to it, has 
 been named Monte Bagnanapoli, or Magnanapoli, a corruption 
 of Balnea Pauli. In the time of Paulus iTmilius, the luxury 
 of bathing had not then made such progress at Rome, as to 
 have produced a building for that purpose, so extensive as this 
 seems to have been. Besides, it does not resemble any of the 
 thermce, afterwards erected. 
 
 Alberto Cassio,^ having employed much learning on this 
 article, concludes that it was a magnificent hen-house, exe- 
 cuted by order of Livia, the wife of Augustus, in which were 
 preserved the race of the white hen, which an eagle had let 
 drop into her bosom, as I have already mentioned.-f* For the 
 empress having, on this occasion, consulted the augurs, they 
 declared the progeny of this hen sacred, and that they ought 
 to be preserved solely for their inspection. This superstition, 
 of foretelling future events by the flight of birds, or their man- 
 ner of eating, was of great antiquity, and connected with false 
 religion and policy: it is supposed that men could not be 
 
 * Corso dell’ acque, part. 2. No. 32. t See p. 41. 
 
the seven hills. 
 
 22^ 
 
 governed but by deceit. But, so absurd was it, that even Cicero, 
 himself an augur, makes the elder Cato say, “ that he wonders 
 how two augurs could see each other without laughing.'"* 
 
 But Piranesi,-f in his ingenious though ideal survey of Tra- 
 jan's/orww, makes this circular building a chalcidicum,X which 
 belonged to it ; and, on the opposite side of this splendid /omw, 
 he places another. 
 
 ♦ “ Velus autem illud Catonis admodum scitum est, qui mirari se aiebat, 
 quod non rideret haruspex haruspicem cum vidisset,” — Cic. de Divinatione, 
 1. 2. c. 40. t Ant. Rom. Tom, 1. tab. 43.— See also an elevation of 
 
 this ruin, ib. tab. 29- fig- 1- t Vitruvius, 1. 5. c. 1. 
 
 Trajan’s 
 
 forum. 
 
 Gg 
 
ancient ROME. 
 
 VII. THE QUIRINAL HILL. 
 
 I now come to the Quirinal, which completes the number of 
 the seven hills. To the west it is bounded by the Campus 
 MartiuSy to the south by the valley that separates it from the 
 ViminaU to the east by the agger Tarquinius, and to the north 
 by a valley that lies between it and the Mans Pincius, 
 
 This hill was long, and of an irregular figure. Its surface 
 was very uneven : it presented many points and eminences, to 
 which the ancients gave different names; but which are now 
 much levelled. The whole, however, was called Mons Qiiiri^ 
 nalisy from the temple of Quirinusy which I shall afterwards 
 mention : 
 
 “ Templa Deo fiunt: collis quoque dictus ab illo.'"’^ 
 
 But this hill, which was added to the city by Numa Pompi- 
 lius,f is now known by the name of Monte CavallOy from the 
 two marble horses, which I shall soon examine, placed in the 
 square before the magnificent Papal palace, where the popes 
 generally reside. 
 
 Many great buildings, now destroyed, stood on this hill. 
 We may, indeed, still trace fragments and foundations of build- 
 ings; but it is often difficult to ascertain to which they be- 
 longed. I shall, however, endeavour to point out some of the 
 most remarkable of them, beginning at the west end of the hill. 
 
 * Ovid. Fast. 1. 2. v. 51 1. 
 
 t Diou. Halic. 1. 2. c. 16. sect. 2. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 227 
 
 From Trajan's column I went, by a gradual ascent, to that 
 part of the Quirinal hill called Monte Bagnanapoliy and came 
 to the convent of Santa Caterina di Siena. In the garden of 
 these nuns there is a considerable tower, known by the name 
 of Torre delle Militie. Some of the antiquaries say, that this, 
 as well as another tower of the same kind, a little below it on 
 the plain, called Tor di Conti y served as watch-houses, in case 
 of fire, to Trajan's and the oiher forums in this neighbour- 
 hood. But these towers, though remarkable, seem only to be 
 of the middle age: and Nardini"*^ is of opinion, that they were 
 built by Innocent the Illd. or some other pope of the Conti 
 family, whose palace was in this quarter, and is now possessed 
 by the Duke of Grilli. 
 
 The Colonna family have converted into a garden that part 
 of this hill, which overlooked the Campus MartiuSy and lies be- 
 tween the pope’s stables and the Pilotta. By this operation 
 they have destroyed the ancient buildings which ornamented 
 it; though some fragments still remain. The antiquaries 
 place here the Senaculumy where the Roman matrons some- 
 times assembled, built for their use by Heliogabalus, as men- 
 tioned by Lampridius,'^' — ‘‘ Fecit et in colie Quirinali Senacu- 
 lum, id est mulierum senatumy in quo ante fuerat conventus 
 matronalis." On the face of the hill behind the Pilotta, I ob- 
 
 served the remains of a staircase, which seems to have led, 
 from the Campus MartiuSy to this building. 
 
 » Lib. 3. c. 15.— lib. 4. c. 6.— See also Vite de’ Pontifici da Platina,” 
 Tom. 3. p. 60. ed. Ven. 1763, in 4lo. t Lamp. Vit. Ant. Heliog. c. 4. 
 
 Gg 2 
 
 7. The Qui- 
 rinal hill. 
 Torre delle 
 Militie. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 Senaculum 
 of the Roman 
 matrons. 
 
 No. 4. 
 
228 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 7 . The Qui- 
 rinal hill. 
 Temple ofthe 
 Sun. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 Vico de 
 Cornelii. 
 
 Constantine’s 
 
 baths. 
 
 No. 6. 
 
 In these gardens I likewise observed some foundations of a 
 building, which is reckoned to have been the temple of the 
 Sun, erected by Aurelian. — ‘‘ Templum Solis magnificentis- 
 simum constitiiit,'' — says Vopiscus.'^ A part of a frieze of white 
 marble, of an immense size, elegantly cut into foliages, and 
 still remaining here, probably belonged to this temple, and is 
 a proof of its magnificence. And we may infer its greatness 
 from an entablature, likewise remaining in these gardens, by 
 which it appears that the diameter of the columns that sup- 
 ported it were seven feet English. Here too was found a 
 votive table of marble, preserved in tlie Colonna palace, on 
 which the worship of Mithras is represented. It is about four 
 palms high, and eight palms long. As the worship of Mithras, 
 brought to Rome from Persia, was connected with that of the 
 sun, and as Mithras was even taken for the sun, such a votive 
 offering was no doubt a proper ornament for this temple 
 and it is at least an indication that the temple of the Sun stood 
 here. 
 
 The Colonna palace, which stands on the site of the ancient 
 domus Cornelii, communicates with these gardens, by means of 
 bridges thrown over the road, called vico de Cornelii, between 
 it and the hill. In this vico were found the two river gods, now 
 placed at the fountain on the square of the Capitol. 
 
 Constantine's baths stood on that part of this hill, on which 
 
 * Vopiscus in Vita Aureliani, c. SQ. 
 
 t It is published by Vignoli, in his dissertation-^^* de Columna AntoniniPii” 
 — p, 174. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 229 
 
 now stands the Rospigliosi palace and garden, and the great 
 Papal building called the Consulta: perhaps they projected 
 into the square of the Monte Cavallo. But as these baths are 
 entirely destroyed, I can give no delineation of them. I may, 
 however, conclude, from the ground they occupied, that they 
 were extensive, and from fragments of painting and sculpture 
 found here, and preserved in the Rospigliosi collection, that 
 they were elegant. 
 
 In these baths stood the two colossean marble horses, each 
 held by a man, which now give name to this hill, as I have 
 already mentioned. They are commonly supposed to repre- 
 sent Alexander the Great training his horse Bucephalus. May 
 they not be equally well applied to Castor and Pollux? On the 
 modern bases that support them, opus Phidice is inscribed on 
 the one, and opus Praxitelis on the other. If these groups re- 
 present Alexander and Bucephalus, they cannot be the works 
 of those artists, since they lived prior to the time of that hero. 
 And, wonderful and spirited as they are, they want that cor- 
 rectness of design we expect to find in the works of those ce- 
 lebrated sculptors. We must not, however, examine them too 
 critically, because they have evidently suffered much from 
 length of time, and the effects of the air, to which they are 
 exposed.* 
 
 In these baths were likewise found the statue of Constan- 
 tine, which I saw in the portico of the church of St. John of 
 
 * I am informed that Pope Pius VI. has caused one of the obelisks, that for- 
 merly ornamented Augustus’s mausoleum, to be erected between these two groups. 
 
 '. The Quu 
 rinal hill. 
 
 Group call- 
 ed Alexan- 
 der and Bu- 
 cephalus. 
 
 Statues of 
 Constantine 
 and sons. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 230 
 
 7» Qwi- 
 rinal hill. 
 
 Temple of 
 Quiriiius. 
 No. 7. 
 
 Lateran, as well as the statues of two of his sons, preserved at 
 the Capitol. 
 
 Whether such personages as Romulus and Remus ever ex- 
 isted, or whether their history was only an allegory, alluding, 
 to the course of the sun, invented by the Romans in after ages, 
 as advanced by a learned but paradoxical modern writer,''^ I shall 
 not now enquire. It sufficeth to my present purpose that the 
 temple of Quirinus, the name given to Romulus after his death,f 
 stood on the Quirinal hill. Although there are no remains of 
 this building, it stood, however, on that part of the hill, just be- 
 hind where Bernini built the elegant little church for the no- 
 viciate of the Jesuits. It overlooked the valley that lies be- 
 tween the Quirinal and Viminal hills ; and the entry to it was 
 in front of the Viminal. It was from hence that the marble 
 steps, which now serve for the great staircase at the Ara Cceli, 
 were taken.;}; The senators, weary of the despotism of Romu- 
 lus, murdered him. But to prevent the resentment of the 
 people they deified him, and engaged the time-serving Pro- 
 culus Julius to attest that he saw him, as a god, ascend up into 
 heaven. I cannot but transcribe the words which Livy§ puts 
 into the mouth of Proculus — “ Romulus, inquit, Quirites, pa- 
 rens urbis hujus, prima hodierna luce coelo repente delapsus, 
 se mihi obvium dedit : quum perfusus horrore venerabundusque 
 adstitissem, petens prec ibus, ut contra intueri fas esset ; abi, 
 nuncia, inquit, Romanis, coelestes ita velle, ut mea Roma caput 
 
 * M. Court cle Gebelin — monde primitif, Calendrier” — ]. 2. c. 5. sect 2, 
 t Cic. de natura Deorum, 1. 2. c. 24. i See page J43. 
 
 § Lib. 1. c. 16 
 
the seven hills. 
 
 231 
 
 orbis terrarum sit; proinde rem militarem colant; sciantque, 
 et ita posteris tradant, nullas opes humanas armis Romanis re- 
 sistere posse: haec, inquity locutus, sublimis abiit.” — The elo- 
 quent historian tells us, that it was ad Caprce paludem where 
 this scene happened. Some authors place this spot in the 
 Campus Martius, on the banks of the Tiber; but tradition 
 says, that it was behind the temple of Quirinus, in the valley 
 between the Quirinal and Viminal hills : and perhaps it was 
 for this reason that his temple was built here. Pliny, always 
 fond to record the marvellous, mentions two myrtles planted 
 before this temple : he calls the one patriciariy and the other 
 plebeian : and says that these myrtles flourished or languished 
 alternatively, in proportion as either of these political parties 
 prevailed in the state."^ 
 
 The temple of SaluSy Health, stood near to that of Quirinus, 
 and in the neighbourhood of the house of Atticns.-f I can- 
 not, however, point out the exact spot : probably it stood op- 
 posite to the temple of Quirinus, on the ground where we 
 now see a part of the Papal palace. The Romans not only 
 personified and deified the moral virtues, but even every thing 
 that was useful. Thus they built a temple to the preservation 
 of the empire, under the name of the goddess Salus. It was 
 dedicated by the dictator C. Junius Bubulcus, on the 5th 
 August, in the year of Rome 451. J It had been painted by 
 Fabius Pictor,§ the year before the dedication. This work, 
 
 * Plin. Hist. Nat. 1. 15. c. 29. t Cic. ad Atticurn, 1. 4. ep. . 
 
 et tuse vicinae Salutis.’’ f Cic* — ^T. Liv. D. 1.1. 10. Corn, 
 
 Nepos,Vit. Alt. § Plin. Hist. Nat. 1. 35. c. 4, 
 
 7- The Qui- 
 rinal hill. 
 
 The Tem- 
 ple of 
 Health. 
 No. 8. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 232 
 
 7. The Qui- 
 rinal hill. 
 
 Capitolium 
 
 vetus. 
 
 No. 9 . 
 
 A nymphee^ 
 urn. 
 
 No. 10. 
 
 executed by a noble Roman, remained entire till the temple 
 was destroyed by fire, in the time of the Emperor Claudius. 
 It was from this Fabius that the illustrious family of the Fabii 
 took the surname of Pictor. Such was the esteem then shown 
 to that ingenious art. 
 
 Numa is said to have built a temple to Jupiter, on that part 
 of this hill called alia semita. It consisted, like that on the 
 Capitol hill,* of three chapels, viz. one to Jupiter, another to 
 Juno, and a third to Minerva; and was known by the name 
 of Capitolium vetus. If this is the temple mentioned by Va- 
 lerius Maximusf— « veteris Capitolii humilia tecta'*— -it had 
 not been magnificent. It is generally supposed to have stood 
 either on that height in the pope's garden, that overlooks the 
 Strada Rosella, or about where now stands the Barberini palace. 
 
 In digging the foundations of the magnificent Barberini pa- 
 lace, on this hill, the workmen found an ancient mosaic picture, 
 which represents a nymphceum. It is published by Holstenius.| 
 Antiquaries suppose that Dioclesian here built his nympheum. 
 But if this opinion is grounded only on this mosaic picture 
 having been found here, it is too slight an indication of it. 
 However, I shall embrace this opportunity to give an idea of 
 these celebrated buildings. 
 
 Of the ancient Nympbaa we find few remains. Imperfect 
 therefore must be the accounts given of them by the anti- 
 
 * See page 146, *j- Lib, 4, 4, sect. ult. 
 
 X Apud Graevium, Ant. Rom. Tom. 4. p. 799. 
 
 J 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 quaries. That they were fountains, appears evident from a 
 law in the codex* They seem to have been of different kinds, 
 and appropriated to various uses.f 
 
 The first nymphcea were probably only natural caves or 
 grottos, found in the sides of hills or rising grounds, from 
 which rushed streams of water, and where they adored the 
 goddesses or nymphs of the fountains, who they reckoned de- 
 lighted chiefly to reside there. Such is the grotto described 
 by Virgil :% 
 
 ‘‘ Fronte sub adversa scopulis pendentibus antrum : 
 
 Intus aquae dulces, vivoque sedilia saxo ; 
 
 Nympharum domus.*' 
 
 2dly. The ancients erected artificial fountains, to imitate 
 these natural ones, which they embellished with statues and 
 rustic ornaments. Such a nyTnphccuw seems to be represented 
 in the Barberini mosaic. 
 
 3dly. The emperors sometimes erected magnificent foun- 
 tains, to which they g^ve the same name. These imitated 
 cascades rushing out of caves and rocks, falling into laige 
 basons, surrounded with seats, ornamented with marble co- 
 lumns, and the statues of the nymphs. Here they used to sit, 
 
 * L. 11. tit. 42. sect. 6. de aqueeduct. 
 
 f The botanists give the name of nymphaa to a species of aquatic plants, in 
 order perhaps to convey an idea of the nymphs, whom the ancients imagined 
 presided over the fountains. t 
 
 H h 
 
ANCIENT ROME 
 
 234 
 
 7. The Qui- 
 rinal hill. 
 
 and enjoy the cool air in the summer evenings, as people do 
 now at the elegant fontana di TreviJ^ And here too they 
 sometimes supped, and gave sumptuous entertainments. 
 
 4thly. Large fountains and reservoirs of waters, but less or- 
 namented, for the use of the people, were likewise called nym~ 
 phcea. And, 
 
 5thly. After the Christian religion was established at Rome, 
 it was usual to build, before churches, fountains, which were 
 also named nymphaa ; and where the Christians washed their 
 hands, before they entered the church to pray. 
 
 An inscription, published by Boissard,-f may perhaps throw 
 some light on this subject : 
 
 NYMPHIS . LOCI . 
 
 BIBE . LAVA . TACE . 
 
 The following beautiful inscription, on a nymphceuMi was 
 engraved on the statue of a sleeping nymph. It was formerly 
 at Rome, but where it now is I have not been able to trace. — 
 
 Hujus nympha loci, sacri custodia fontis, 
 
 Dormio, dum blandae sentio murmur aquae. 
 
 Parce meum, quisquis tangis cava marmora, somnum 
 Rumpere, sive bibas, sive lavere, tace."' 
 
 * See page 56. 
 
 •f* Boissard, Tom, 5. 98 . 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 235 
 
 This inscription, which Mr. Pope justly admired, he has thus 
 translated — 
 
 « Nymph of the grot, these sacred springs I keep, 
 
 And to the murmur of these waters sleep ; 
 
 Ah spare my slumbers, gently tread the cave ! 
 
 And drink in silence, or in silence lavel"^ 
 
 Salust, the celebrated historian— 
 
 • « Primus Romana Crispus in historia*’f — 
 
 having been appointed proconsul of Africa, by Julius Caesar, 
 returned to Rome loaded with riches, which he had extorted 
 during his government. How different w'as his just theory 
 from his rapacious practice ! What an advantage would it often 
 be not to know the private lives of some renowned authors, 
 whose works we should otherwise read with additional plea- 
 sure and profit IJ The fine house Salust built, and the ele- 
 gant gardens he laid out at Rome, were monuments of his 
 guilt. Though no part of them now remain, yet as they are 
 often mentioned by the Roman writers, I cannot pass them 
 over entirely in silence. It is true I cannot fix with certainty 
 either their precise situation, or extent. Let me, however, 
 remark, that the antiquaries have not properly distinguished 
 Salusf s house and forum from his gardens : they have con- 
 founded them: but it is evident they were not contiguous. 
 His house, and what was called his forums joining to it, stood 
 
 * Pope’s Letters to Biount, No. 14. t Martial, 1. 14. ep. 191* 
 
 + See “ La vie tie Salluste, par le president de Brosses. 
 
 H h 2 
 
 f. The Qui- 
 rinal hiU, 
 
 The house 
 of C. Cris- 
 pus Salus- 
 tius. 
 
 No 11. 
 
236 
 
 7. TJu Qui- 
 rinal hill. 
 
 Campus 
 Sceleratus. 
 No. 12. 
 
 ANCIENT koME. 
 
 on the Ouirinal hill, near to the ancient Porta Salara, before 
 that gate and the walls of the city were extended by Aurelian. 
 It was probably on that part of the Quirinal hill, where now 
 stands the beautiful church, convent, and garden of the Ma- 
 donna della Victoria* Whereas his gardens, which stood on 
 the Mons hortuloruniy were separated from his house by the 
 valley between that rising ground and the Quirinal hill, and 
 which I shall examine in the sequel. But though his gardens 
 were without the then walls of the city, he might have had a 
 view of them from his house. 
 
 The Campus Sceleratus;\ where the vestal virgins, con- 
 demned for incontinency, were shut up alive in a small vault, 
 with a lamp, bed, a little bread, water, milk, and oil, was near 
 the ancient Porta Salara. It was within the city, on the side 
 of the agger Tarquinius. Nor was it singular that vestals, 
 thus condemned, were buried within the walls of the city ; 
 because, notwithstanding their pollution, their bodies w^ere 
 still considered as sacred ; and therefore they were not put to 
 death like other criminals, but allowed to perish for want. 
 Although there are no remains of that remarkable vault, it 
 seems to have been about the east end of the villa Mendosa, 
 by which the agger probably ran. 
 
 * The famous statue of the hermaphrodite, preserved at the villa Borghese, 
 was found in digging the foundations of this church. We may therefore infer 
 that it belonged to Salust. It is thought to be the work of Policies. See Winc- 
 kelmann, Monum. ant. ined. Irat. prim. p. 84. 
 
 t See Dion. Hal. 1. 2. c. 17. sect 7. — and Pint, Life of JSuma. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 237 
 
 1 have already mentioned * that the temple of Venus Ery- 7.^ Tfe Q-- 
 cina, which was without the Porta Salara, before Aurehan T™p.e^of_ 
 extended the walls, came to be within the present gate, on 
 the skirt of the Quirinal hill. 
 
 In the villa Mendosa, at the extremity of Salust^s circus, I 
 observed the remains of a building commonly called the 
 temple of Venus. I shall not assert that this is the temple of 
 Venus Erycina. In such enquiries it is safer to doubt than to 
 decide. It is indeed a considerable ruin, and answers to the 
 place where her temple seems to have stood. But whether the 
 ancient temple of Venus Erycina had been inclosed in Salust's 
 extensive gardens, or whether another temple, dedicated to 
 Venus, had been built there, is uncertain. However, that there 
 was a temple of Venus in these gardens, appears from the fol- 
 lowing inscriptions, published by Gruter,-— 
 
 1. 
 
 M . AVRELIVS . PACORUS 
 M . COCCEIVS . STRATOCLES 
 AEDITVII . VENERIS . HORTORVM 
 SALLVSTIANORVM . BASEM . CVM 
 PAVIMENTO . MARMORATO 
 DEANAE 
 
 D. <P ■ D-t 
 
 2 . 
 
 M. AVR . PACORVS • AEDI 
 TVVS . SANCTAE . VENE 
 
 f Gruter, Inscript, p. 39. No, 4. 
 
 ♦See page 44. 
 
J^NCIENT ROME* 
 
 238 
 
 7. The Qui* 
 rinal hill. 
 
 RIS . IN . SALVST . HORTIS 
 SPEI 
 
 ARAM . CVM . PAVIMENTO 
 SOMNO . MONITVS • SVM 
 TV . SVO , D . D .* 
 
 Various names were given, and many temples and statues 
 erected to Venus. It was Asia, the nursery of philosophy and 
 superstition, that gave rise to her worship. The ancient phi- 
 losophers of that country discoursed much on the origin of 
 things, on the formation of the world, on the first principle 
 and vivifying power. They represented the principle of ge- 
 neration under the figure of a goddess, who gives life to na- 
 ture, and extends her empire over all. Vulgar eyes could not 
 penetrate the mystery, hence they looked on the allegory as 
 a real story, and the ingenious fable, invented for their in- 
 struction, became the source of all their errors. They gave a 
 body to an abstract principle, which became an object of po- 
 pular veneration, and was adored as a goddess, who presided 
 over the reproduction of every being. Such seems to be the 
 origin of Venus. But when they made indiscriminately the 
 application of this abstract quality to both sexes, then the 
 creative principle degenerated, as we find from different names 
 given to Venus, viz. Fulgivaga, Ccelestis, &c. 
 
 We need not wonder that the poets, to ornament their fic- 
 tions, should address themselves particularly to Venus. They 
 
 * Gruter. Inscrip, p. 102. No 1 , 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 239 
 
 supposed her sprung from the froth of the sea, and, shining 
 with beauty, they made her the goddess of pleasure. 
 
 But, was I to take a review of the innumerable deities 
 adored at Rome, what an amazing assemblage should I find 
 of folly and ingenuity, of vice and virtue, of deformity and 
 beauty, presented as objects of popular adoration ! I cannot, 
 however, think that the mythology of the ancients was en- 
 tirely allegorical. It often consisted of real histories, blended 
 indeed with fables, and embellished with the elegance of 
 poetry. But it was chiefly from the appearances of nature, 
 and from the sublime science of astronomy, the rising and 
 setting of the sun, moon, and stars, that the poets peopled the 
 heavens : — 
 
 “ Horum carminibus nihil est nisi fabula coelum.'*^ 
 
 It was after the loss of the battle of Trasimenus, and the 
 death of the consul C. Flaminius, that the Romans vowed a 
 temple to Venus Er}fcina. 'f From Eryx in Sicily she w'as 
 thus named. Her temple there was built on the summit of 
 the mountain, and fortified round. Its form is preserved on 
 a medal of the Considia family, which has been published by 
 Vaillant and Paruta. This temple at Eryx, which was not 
 inferior in riches to that at Paphos, J is mentioned by Virgil : — 
 
 Turn vicina astris Erycinp in vertice sedes 
 Fundatur Veneri Idaliae/'§ 
 
 7 . The Qui- 
 rinal hill. 
 
 * Manlius, 1. 2. v. 37. 
 J Pausanias, 1, 8, c. 24. 
 
 t Livius, 1. 22. c. 9* 
 § ^n. 1. 5. V. 759- 
 
240 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 7. The Qui- 
 rinal hill. 
 
 Many were the votaries of this wanton deity. Among others 
 was L. Cornelius Sylla, the dictator ; as appears from the fol- 
 lowing inscription, found in the year 1733, castle 
 
 of Loretino, not far from Monte Verde, in the kingdom of 
 Naples, — 
 
 VENERI 
 
 ERYCINAE 
 
 VICTRICI 
 
 L . CORNELIVS . SVLLA 
 SPOLIA . DE . HOSTIB . 
 
 VOTO . DICAVIT 
 
 According to Vitruvius, •f the temples of Venus were gene- 
 rally placed without the walls of the city. The reason he 
 gives for it is curious — “ uti non insuescat in urbe adolescen- 
 tibus, seu matribus familiarum venerea libido/' — What a gross 
 idea of a divinity does this convey to us 1 Temples, however, 
 were dedicated to her, under different appellations, in various 
 quarters of the city. 
 
 I do not find the precise year when the Romans built this 
 temple to Venus Erycina, without the Porta Salara. It ex- 
 isted in the year of Rome 550, that is, fourteen years after the 
 battle of Trasimenus : for the Apollinarian games were that 
 year performed here : the cihus AgonaliSf in the Campus Mar- 
 tins, having been inundated by the Tiber.J It had probably 
 been destroyed by some accident, since, twenty-one years 
 
 * Dissertazione del P. Volpi, nell’ gli Saggi dell’ Academia di Cortona, 
 T. 2. p, 177. t Lib. 1. c. 7 ^bivius, 1. 30. c. 38. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 after that period, L. Portias, the duumvir, dedicated a temple 
 to Venus Erycina at the same place.* 
 
 This temple was held in great veneration by the ladies. 
 They went to it in solemn procession from their senaculum^ 
 which I have mentioned, on this hill.'f The matron, the most 
 renowned for chastity, carried a PriapuSy the emblem of fe- 
 cundity, and, with much ceremony, placed the lewd god in 
 the bosom of the mother of love. J But when we reflect, that 
 the ancients considered Priapus as the instrument of the re- 
 production of mankind, we may look on this rite, obscene as it 
 was, rather with the eye of pity than indignation. — Girls, when 
 they became marriageable, presented their dolls to Venus : — 
 
 ‘‘ Nempe hoc, quod Veneri donat^e a virgine puppag.”§ 
 
 The courtezans likewise frequented this temple : they presented 
 incense, myrtle, and roses to their patroness : they begged she 
 would bestow on them beauty, and the art to please ; that, 
 armed with these powerful weapons, they might be the abler 
 to seduce ; — 
 
 “ Sive tu mavis, Erycina ridens, 
 
 Quam jocus circumvolat, et Cupido.'*|| 
 
 In the valley that separates the Quirinal from the Pincian 
 hill, or Collis hortulorunii the remains of a circus are still easily 
 to be traced. It was probably the Agonal circus, which stood, 
 
 * Livius, 1. 40. c. 34. f P. 227. J Alexander ab 
 
 Alexandro, 1. 3, c. 18. and 1. 6, c. IQ. ed. Hackiana, 1673. § Persius, 
 
 Sat. 2. V. 70. 11 Hor. 1. 1. od. 2. 
 
 li 
 
 24,1 
 
 7 , The Qui* 
 rinal hilL 
 
 The circus of 
 Salust. 
 
 No. 14. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 242 
 
 7- The Qui- 
 rinal hill. 
 
 Obelisk. 
 
 The circus of 
 Flora. 
 
 No. 15, 
 
 as I have already observed * without the ancient porta Salara, 
 before Aurelian extended the walls. But, as it united with 
 Salust’s gardens, on the Collis hortulorum, and perhaps was 
 afterwards considered as a part of them, it acquired the name 
 of Salust’s circus. It begins near to the temple of Venus, in 
 the villa Mendosa, and extends along the outside of the Bar- 
 berini gardens. The immense walls and buttresses, which here 
 inclose the Quirinal, seem to be part of the agger Tarquinius, 
 and served for the support of the seats of the circus on that 
 side. But this circus is now greatly defaced, much of it hav- 
 ing been converted into kitchen ground. It had, however,- 
 been richly ornamented by the emperors, who, after the 
 death of Salust, got possession of his gardens, as I shall soon 
 remark. 
 
 An Egyptian obelisk, covered with hieroglyphics, and about 
 the size of the two obelisks which decorated Augustuses mau- 
 soleum in the Campus Martius, was found in these gardens; 
 and for this reason it has been called Salust* s obelisk.^ It had, 
 no doubt, been placed on the spina of the circus. It could not 
 have been erected by Salust, who died six years before Egypt 
 was conquered by Augustus; and consequently before any 
 obelisk was brought to Rome: it must therefore have been 
 erected by one of the emperors ; perhaps by Claudius or Au- 
 relian. 
 
 Continuing on the line from SalusCs circus, I came to the 
 
 * ' See page 44. 
 
 t Pope Pius VI. has lately caused this obelisk to be erected before the church 
 of the Trinita di monte. 
 
THE SEVEN HILLS. 
 
 243 
 
 square, or piazza, Barberini. Here the antiquaries place the 
 circus of Flora, of which no part remains. This circus was 
 not the same with that of Salust. The former seems to have 
 been of more antiquity than the latter. It is ifideed singular 
 that Nolli, in his elegant and accurate plan of Rome, should 
 have given the name of Flora to the circus of Salust. Martial, 
 who lived — ad pilam Tiburtinam — in the forum Archimonium^ 
 — had from his house a view of the circus of Flora, and of 
 the Capitolium vetus : whereas he could hardly have seen from 
 thence, even though he lived in a garret,-f the circus of Salust ; 
 not on account of the distance, but from the elevation of the 
 ground : — 
 
 “ Sed Tiburtinas sum proximus accola pilae ; 
 
 Qua videt antiquum rustica Flora Jovem.^’J 
 
 Either the mean manner in which this circus was constructed, 
 or the great concourse of the country people to see the low 
 and obscene shows there exhibited, probably engaged the poet 
 to use the epithet rustica. The Romans lumped the shews 
 exhibited to Flora, the amiable goddess of flowers, with these 
 of a celebrated courtezan, who bequeathed to them a large 
 sum of money, to be annually honoured with games.§ These 
 games, performed by naked prostitutes, were most offensive 
 to modesty. The people, however, had such respect for the 
 
 ^ Where i\\e forum Jrchimonium stood, a church has been dedicated to St, 
 Nicholas, called — in Arcione, a corruption of its former name, 
 
 + “ Et scalis habito tribus, sed aitis.” — Mart, 1. 1. ep. 118. 
 
 J lb. I. 6. ep. i.'l. 
 
 § bee the histor)' of Flora, in Banier’s Mithologie, 1. 3# c. 6. 
 
 I i a 
 
 7- The Qmi- 
 rinal hill. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 244 
 
 7. The Qm»- 
 rinaL hill. 
 
 character of the austere Cato, who seems imprudently to have 
 gone to assist at these shews, that the prostitutes themselves 
 would not strip and exhibit in his presence: he therefore re^ 
 tired. This anecdote gave rise to MartiaFs epigram,* where 
 he insinuates that Cato should either not have gone to such 
 infamous shews, or that he should have continued there, and 
 thus, by his respectable presence, prevented their exhibition : 
 
 “ Nosses jocosas dulce cum sacrum Floras, 
 
 Festosque lusus, et licentiam vulgi. 
 
 Cur in theatrum Cato severe venisti ? 
 
 An ideo tantumveneras,ut exires 
 
 Suetonius -f- mentions that Galba introduced a new species 
 of entertainment in the Florial games, viz. elephants taught 
 to dance on ropes — “ novum spectaculi genus, elephantos fu- 
 nambulos edidit.'* — If true, what a wonderful instance is this of 
 the docility of these sagacious animals I 
 
 ♦ L. 1. ep. 1. 
 
 f Vita Galbae, c, 6* 
 
C *45 3 
 
 COLLIS HORTULORUM, OR MONS PINCIUS. 
 
 Let me now proceed to the Collis hortulorum, or Mons Pin- 
 cius. It was added to the city, as I have already mentioned,^ 
 by Aiirelian. From the gardens, with which it was covered, 
 it had been named hortulorum ; but from the Pincian family, 
 who flourished in the low empire, and had a magnificent house 
 on this hill, it came to be generally called Pincius.'\ To the 
 south it is separated from the Ouirinal by the valley, which I 
 have just surveyed ; to the west it overlooks the Campus Mar- 
 tius ; and to the north and east it is bounded by Aurelian's 
 walls. 
 
 In the frugal ages of the republic, this hill had been par- 
 celled out to the citizens in small farms ; but after their eastern 
 conquests, it was purchased, and served for the gardens of a 
 few of the rich and luxurious commanders and governors of 
 these provinces. Its situation was airy and agreeable; and 
 from many parts of it they enjoyed views of the city as well as 
 of the country. The villas immediately without, and near to 
 the city walls, were called suburbana, in opposition to those at 
 a distance. Thus Cicero, after his banishment, by which 
 his fortune was diminished, having resolved to sell his fine 
 seat at Tusculum, wrote to his confident Atticus to find him 
 a small one, in the environs of the city; for, says he, — 
 suburbano non facile careo.*'J 
 
 * See page 136, f See page 43, X Ad Atticum, 1. 4, ep. 2* 
 
 See Mon» 
 Pincius, 
 plate III. 
 
246 
 
 ANCIENT ^OME, 
 
 Salust’s gar' 
 dens. 
 
 No. 16. 
 
 I have observed* that the house and forum of Salust stood 
 on the Quirinal hill : but his extensive gardens, or villa subur-- 
 hana, stood on the Pincian. They were therefore without the 
 walls, before Aurelian extended the precincts of the city. I can- 
 not, indeed, ascertain their exact boundaries ; but they seem 
 to have reached from the porta Salara to the porta Pinciana ; 
 an extent of ground on which I no vV find the villas of Verospi, 
 Belloni, and LudovisL The great historian had laid out his 
 gardens in a splendid manner, and decorated them with 
 houses, baths, temples, &c. Here he spent the last years of 
 his life in a learned luxury. But, after his death, the empe- 
 rors, struck with their beauty and advantageous situation,, got 
 possession of them, and, no doubt, added to their magnifi- 
 cence. Thus Vespasian spent more of his time in these gar- 
 dens, than in the imperial palace on the Palatine hill : Nerva 
 did the same, and died there ; and Aurelian, when in Rome, 
 would lodge no where else ; and built there an hippodromus, 
 called poriicus milliaria, I think, from the number of columns 
 that ornamented it, and not from its length ; -f* where he daily 
 exercised on horseback. Vestiges of porticus are to be 
 seen in the villa Cesi. In digging in SalusPs gardens many 
 ruins and foundations of buildings have been discovered, and 
 many fine statues and valuable marbles have been found. Of 
 these I shall only mention the dying gladiator, Mirmillo expi- 
 ransy that expressive statue, now preserved in the Capitol;— 
 young Papirus and his mother, in the villa Lodovisi and 
 Faunus holding young Bacchus in his arms, in the villa 
 
 • See page 235. 
 
 t See a note by Mr. D, Hume, on his essay xi. 
 
THE PINCIAN HILL. 
 
 Borghese. I cannot suppose that all these precious statues, 
 
 &c, were placed here by Salust ; many of them must have 
 been added by the emperors. 
 
 The Pincian palace, which I have mentioned,^ and gardens pindan pa- 
 probably occupied the ground, where now stand the church 
 and gardens of the French Minimes, and the agreeable villa 
 Medici, where I have often feasted my eyes, contemplating 
 the many fine pieces of ancient sculpture there preserved.— 
 
 But I am informed that the celebrated group of Niobe and 
 her children, and some other fine statues, have been carried 
 from thence to Florence, by order of the grand Duke, since 
 I left Rome. 
 
 Pompey the Great, after he had finished the war against Pompey'f 
 Mithridates, and before he returned to Rome, employed De- 
 metrius, his favourite freedman, to purchase an extensive 
 suburban villa for him.f But, from political reasons, this was 
 to be done in the name of Demetrius, and by which name it 
 continued to be called. The philosophic biographer of Pompey 
 does not mention its situation ; tradition, however, places it 
 on the Collis hortulorum, and extends it into the plain in the 
 villa Borghese. It had consequently stood on that part of the 
 hill that lies between the villa Medici and the muro tortoX and 
 which is now the vineyard of the Augustan Friars of the Ma- 
 donna del Popolo. From the summit of the hill, Pompey, to 
 the west, overlooked the Campus Martius, and to the east 
 
 * See page 43. t Plutarch’s Life of Pompey, 
 
 $ See page 41. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 he had a view of the country. Such a situation had made 
 these gardens be distinguished into higher and lower, Asco- 
 nius, the ancient commentator on Cicero, confirms this; a 
 distinction that perfectly applies to the situation I give them. 
 For Pompey, says he, amidst the riots which the killing of 
 Clodius, by Milo, occasioned, retired to his higher gardens^ 
 with a guard, in case he should be attacked by these factions. 
 — “ Diximus in argumento orationis hujus Qpro Milone]] 
 Cn. Pompeium simulasse se timere, seu plane timuisse Mi- 
 lonem, et ideo ne domi quidem suae, sed in hortis superiorihus 
 ante judicium mansisse, ita ut villam quoque praesidio mi- 
 litum circumdaret.''* — These gardens, no doubt, had been 
 laid out, by this hitherto fortunate general, with all the ex- 
 pensive taste that riches and luxury had then introduced at 
 Rome, Though the buildings have long since been destroyed, 
 yet I observed, in the vineyard of the friars, an immense re- 
 servoir for water, and some remains of aqueducts. These had 
 served for fish ponds and baths ; and being placed on the 
 summit, for watering the lower gardens. 
 
 * Asconius in Oral. Cic, pro Milone,p, 202. ed. Hackii, 1644. 
 
[ 249 H 
 
 THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 Having now examined the Pincian, as well as the seven 
 hills, I proceed to the interjacent plains. 
 
 The Campus Martins is the first plain that presents itself to 
 us. It is bounded by the Capitol, Quirinal, and Pincian hills, 
 and the Tiber. Although this celebrated field is often men- 
 tioned by ancient authors, yet it is difficult to ascertain either 
 the time when it was consecrated to Mars, or its extent. Va- 
 rious therefore are the opinions of antiquaries on these heads. 
 
 It seems probable that this field was consecrated by Ro- 
 mulus to the god of war, as a proper place for teaching the youth 
 the different branches of military science ; the importance of 
 which he early perceived. Indeed Tarquin the Proud, among 
 his many usurpations, seized on the Campus Martius, and con- 
 verted it into a corn-field. It was, however, on his banish- 
 ment, according to Dionysius of Halicarnassus,* restored by 
 the consuls to its former use. But Livy insinuates, that this 
 field belonged to the Tarquins, and was by the senate conse- 
 crated to Mars. — ‘‘Ager Tarquiniorum, qui inter urbem ac 
 Tiberim fuit, consecratus Marti, Martius deinde Campus 
 fuit.^'-f* 
 
 No situation could be more proper for the purposes fof 
 
 » Dion. Hal. 1. 5 . c. 2. sect, 19. t Liv. 1. 2. c. 5. 
 
 Kk 
 
250 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 which this field was appropriated. The Romans, after they 
 had performed their exercises here, whether on foot or on 
 horseback, used, covered with sweat and dust, to throw them- 
 selves into the Tiber, and thereby accustom themselves to 
 swim, which was reckoned a necessary part of military exer- 
 cise. Hence Vegetius^ tells us — “ Ideoque Romani veteres 
 
 Campum Martium vicinum Tiberi delegerunt, in quo 
 
 juventus, post exercitium armorum, sudorem pulveremque di- 
 lueret, ac lassitudinem cursusque laborem natando deponeret.'* 
 
 Although the Romans had no standing army in time of 
 peace, and inlisted their troops only at the breaking out of a 
 war, yet men, constantly practising military exercises, could 
 not but form at once a regular army. The short intervals of 
 peace did not enervate their bodies, or diminish their warlike 
 genius. Bred soldiers from their infancy, they needed only to 
 be classed into their different corps for immediate service. A 
 hardy people, able to support the cold of the north, and the 
 heat of the south, thus trained to the use of arms, fired with 
 the desire of aggrandising their country, and ambitious of 
 the military as well as civil honours conferred on them by the 
 state, were no doubt proper to be the conquerors of the world. 
 Rome, from her infancy to her old age, was always a warlike 
 nation. She alone, Plutarch observes,^ knew not the privi- 
 lege of age, which exempts from martial achievements. 
 
 Before Aurelian's reign the Campus Martius was without 
 * Veg. 1. 2. c, 23, Life of Marcellus. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 251 
 
 the city. Whether he inclosed the whole, or only a part of 
 it, within the city walls, has been much disputed. Donatus 
 confines it within the walls, Nardini leaves the point unde* 
 cided ; but Biondi, and after him Piranesi, extend it to Ponte 
 MolU. Indeed when we call to remembrance the many 
 and great public buildings that formerly stood here, it would 
 seem necessary to extend its limits beyond the Porta delV 
 Popolo, 
 
 Towards the end of the republic, and during the empire, 
 that part of the Campus Martins nearest to the city, at least 
 as far as Augustus’s mausoleum, came to be so covered with 
 various buildings, that little space remained for the public ex- 
 ercises. It was probably to add these magnificent buildings 
 to the city, and to secure them from hostile incursions, that 
 engaged Aurelian to inclose them within the city walls. The 
 public exercises therefore must have been performed to the 
 north of these buildings, in the field that extended along the 
 banks of the river to Ponte Molle. The picturesque description 
 of the Campus Martius, given by Strabo,"' is favourable to this 
 opinion. Here were the green sods proper for the equina, 
 or horse races, mentioned by Ovid 
 
 “ Altera gramineo spectabis equiria campo. 
 
 Quern Tiberis curvis in latus urget aquis.’' 
 
 * Strabo, 1. 5. . 
 
 t « Equiria, ab equoruin cursu. Eo eiiira. die [12 Febiuarii] currunt eqm 
 
 in Campo Martio.” — Varro de 1. 1. lib. 5.^ 
 
 Fast. 1. 5. V. 519. 
 
 K k a 
 
©52 
 
 ANCIENT SOME. 
 
 Augustus’s 
 mausoleum. 
 See Campus 
 Martins, 
 plate III. 
 No. 1. 
 
 Piranesi, in his elegant plan of the Campus Marti us,"*" has 
 completely traced all the buildings, which the Roman writers 
 have mentioned to have stood there, as if he had seen and 
 measured them ; though, of the greatest part of them, no ves- 
 tige remains. But this magnificent work, which is a proof of 
 the fertile invention of its ingenious author, will be apt to 
 mislead strangers, and future antiquaries, whilst it must afford 
 many noble ideas and useful hints to artists. 
 
 I do not pretend to trace the exact limits of the Campus 
 Martius, or to describe all the buildings that formerly stood 
 here : I purpose only to mention these of which there are still 
 some remains. I shall, however, endeavour to point out the 
 situations of some buildings, which, though there are now no 
 vestiges of them, are too remarkable in the Roman annals to 
 be passed over in entire silence. 
 
 Proceeding from the Porta del Popolo, through the Campus 
 Martius, the first object that calls our attention is the mauso- 
 leum of Augustus. Suetonius places it, as I have already men- 
 tioned,f between the Flaminian road and the banks of the 
 Tiber : the historian adds, that the emperor caused it to be 
 built in his sixth consulship, and proclaimed the groves and 
 walks round it to be for the use of the people. These groves 
 extended towards the Porta del Popolo: and the hustum, where 
 the bodies of the emperor and imperial family were burnt, is 
 reckoned to have stood on the site of the church of the 
 
 * Joannis Baptistae Piranesii Campus Martius.” Romee, 1762. fol. 
 t See page 34. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 *53 
 
 Madonna del Popolo. This sepulchral monument was incrusted 
 ^^ith white marble, and, raised to a great lieight, formed a 
 magnificent dome. It seems to have been divided into three 
 parts or stories. The walls of the first story were of a vast 
 thickness, and in them the sepulchral chambers were built. 
 The walls of the second story were less thick than these of the 
 first ; and the walls of the third were still less thick than these 
 of the second. These contractions, or diminishing the thick- 
 ness of the walls of this sepulchre, had been marked by broad 
 belts, or cornices, that were carried round it, and on which 
 were planted ever-green trees. On the summit of the whole 
 a statue of Augustus was erected. As a further ornament to 
 this monument, two Egyptian obelisks,* of red granite, were 
 afterwards placed here, perhaps by the Emperor Claudius. 
 It is chiefly Strabo f who enables me to give this account of 
 Augustus's mausoleum.—Marcellus, the beloved nephew of 
 Augustus, seems to have been the first of the imperial family 
 buried in it. Indeed the epithet recentem used by Virgil,J 
 when he pathetically mentions the funeral of that prince, is 
 thought to allude to it ; 
 
 “ Quantos ille virum magnam Mavortis ad urbem 
 Campus aget gemitus ! vel quse, Tiberine, videbis 
 Funera, cum tumulum praeterlabere recentem V* 
 
 Though the second and third stories of this mausoleum are 
 
 * One of these obelisks was removed by Sixtus V. and erected at the church 
 of St. Maria Maggiore; and the other has been lately erected by Pius VI. in 
 the square of the Monte Cavallo. 
 f Lib. 5. + 6. v. 872. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 254 
 
 Temple of 
 Juno Lucina 
 No. 2. 
 
 
 Obelisk and 
 
 meridian 
 
 line. 
 
 No. 3. 
 
 destroyed, yet the ruins of the first, with some of the sepul- 
 chral chambers, but stripped of all their ornaments, and the 
 imperial ashes dispersed, are still to be seen, behind the Cor^a 
 palace, in the street called de Ponteficiy near to the church of St. 
 Rock. The space within the circumference of the walls serves 
 now for a small garden, or parterre, to that palace. 
 
 Juno Lucina was invoked by women in child-bearing : 
 
 Juno Lucina, fer opem 
 
 Ovid addresses this deity on various occasions, and derives her 
 name from Lux, because she brought children into the light of 
 the world 
 
 “ Dicite, Tu lucem nobis, Lucina, dedisti. 
 
 Dicite, Tu voto parturientis ades.^'-f 
 
 She had temples and sacred groves in different quarters of the 
 cityj particularly in the Campus Martius; but of this last 
 I can trace no certain remains. Indeed from the name in 
 Lucina, antiquaries generally suppose, that the church of St. 
 Laurence, called in Lucina, is built on the foundations of her 
 temple. But, if credit can be given to the archives of this 
 church, and to inscriptions there preserved, it was probably thus 
 named from its founder Saint Lucina, who was grand-niece of 
 the Emperor Gallienus. 
 
 Near to the church of St. Laurence in Lucina, Augustus 
 
 * Ter. Andria, Act iii. sc. I. 
 
 J See page 196, 
 
 t Fast. lib. 3. V. 255, 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 caused the meridian line to be traced, whose gnomon or style 
 was the obelisk, which I am now to examine. Although the 
 meridian line has long since disappeared, yet it and its gnomon 
 are worthy the attention of the curious traveller. 
 
 This obelisk is broken into several pieces, and lies in the 
 court of the palace called del Impresa, behind the church. At 
 what time, how, or by whom it was overturned, I cannot 
 decide. But, after it had been long buried under the ruins of 
 the Campus Martius, about fourteen palms below the present 
 level of the ground, its pedestal and lower part were disco- 
 vered, in the year 1502, in digging a ditch in a garden be- 
 longing to a barber. But the embarrassed situation of the 
 affairs of Julius II. prevented him from removing it, and the 
 barber soon concealed it, by building over it. In the pontifi- 
 cate of Sixtus V. it was again discovered, but, on the report of 
 the architect Cavalier Fontana, that it was much broken and 
 defaced, he was discouraged from raising it. At last, however, 
 in the year 1748, it was for a third time seen, in rebuilding 
 some houses belonging to the Augustin friars of the Ma- 
 donna del Popolo; when Benedict XIV. desirous to recover 
 such a monument of antiquity, gave orders to the celebrated 
 self-taught engineer, Nicolas Zabaglia, to dig it up, and to 
 remove it to the court where I saw it ; and to ascertain 
 where it formerly stood, the pope caused an inscription to be 
 placed.^ 
 
 * See Russel’s Letters, Vol. 2. letter .*>2, in which he has given a design of 
 the machine, by which Zabaglia raised and removed these immense blocks of 
 
 granite. 
 
256 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 The height of the obelisk, when entire, without reckoning 
 the ball added by Manillas, which does not now remain, but 
 which I shall afterwards mention, was about 89 feet English, 
 viz. 
 
 Feet. 
 
 The shaft of the obelisk, of one piece of granite, inscribed 
 
 with hieroglyphics - - - - - 70 
 
 The granite pedestal, inscribed by Augustus - 1^ 
 
 And the base, on which the whole was placed - 5 
 
 Feet - 89 
 
 N. B. The square of the obelisk at the bottom is nine feet. 
 
 On two of the sides of the pedestal Augustus caused the 
 following inscription to be repeated : 
 
 IMP . CAESAR . DIVI . F 
 AVGVSTVS 
 
 PONTIFEX . MAXIMVS 
 IMP . XII . COS . XI . TRIE . POT . XIV. 
 
 AEGVPTO . IN . POTESTATEM 
 POPVLI . ROMANI . REDACTA 
 SOLI . DONVM . DEDIT. 
 
 The ancients considered the rays issuing from the sun as 
 SO many darts or arrows. Hence the Egyptians dedicated to 
 that glorious luminary obelisks, which they thought expressed 
 his rays, and which, according to Pliny,* was the meaning 
 of the word obelisk in the Egyptian language — “ Obeliscos 
 
 * Hist. Nat. 1. 36. c. 8, 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 vocantes, soils numini sacratos. Radiomm ejus argiunentum in 
 effigie est, et ita significatur nomine ^gyptio/’ — The Greeks 
 probably borrowed the words — o/ 3 eXoj and o( 3 eXicrKog — from the 
 Egyptians. 
 
 Indeed this obelisk is so broken and disfigured, that it will 
 be very difficult to repair and again erect it. The hierogly- 
 phics on two of its sides are defaced : several of these on a 
 third side still remain; but these on the fourth side, that lay 
 on the ground, are best preserved. James Stuart, known by 
 the name of the Athenian Stuart, from his elegant work on 
 the antiquities of Athens, has given an exact etching of two 
 sides, the least defaced," of this obelisk * The hieroglyphics 
 that remain on them are a proof of the perfection to which 
 the Egyptians early brought sculpture. For this monument 
 is supposed to have been executed in the reign of Sesostris, 
 whom Sir Isaac Newton f makes the same as Osiris, Sesac, 
 and Bacchus; and places him about looo years before Christ. 
 But M. Goguet J fixes the reign of Sesostris about the year 
 164,0 before the Christian sera. However, it must be allowed, 
 notwithstanding the labours of the learned, that much uncer- 
 tainty attends ancient chronology, and especially that of the 
 Egyptians. But that the Egyptians had engravers on hard 
 stones, before the departure of the Israelites from that coun- 
 try, appears from Genesis, c. 41. v. 42. and from Exodus, 
 
 * Vide Bandinius de Dbelisco Caesaris August! e Camp! Maitis ruderibua 
 nuper eruto ” Romae, 1750. fol. 
 
 t Cbi-onology — Egyptian. 
 
 ^ “ Ofigine des Loix,’^ &c. Vol, 2. 1. 3. art. 2. Astvouoiniet 
 
 LI 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 c. 28. V. 9 and 11; And indeed the hieroglyphics on this obe- 
 lisk are cut with so much neatness, that they seem to have 
 been executed not with a chisel, but with the tool of an en- 
 graver on gems. These hieroglyphics, although in bas-relief, 
 are sunk in compartments or frames, to prevent them from 
 being injured by rubbing, in removing the obelisk. 
 
 I shall not attempt to trace here the progress and various 
 methods of writing used by the Egyptians ; because this has 
 been already done by the learned, especially by Dr. War bur- 
 ton, late Bishop of Gloucester.* Hieroglyphic or picture writ- 
 ing was no doubt prior to the discovery of alphabetic writing, 
 or that useful and wonderful art which paints sounds and 
 speaks to the eye. Hieroglyphic was the first means, that 
 naturally presented itself, by which men could record their 
 ideas* Thus we find it was universally the earliest writing: 
 
 * “ Egyptian writing,” says the Bishop, was of four kinds; the first, 
 hieroglyphic, and this two-fold — ^the more rude, called curiologic; and the more 
 artificial, called tropical: the second symbolic ; and this likewise was two-fold— 
 the more simple, and the more mysterious ; that tropical, this allegorical. These 
 two kinds of writing, namely, the hieroglyphic and symbolic, (which went under 
 the generic term of A«Vrog'/y/>4fcs, distinguished into />ropg/- and symbolic hierogly- 
 phics) were not composed of the letters of an alphabet, but of marks or charac- 
 ters which stood for things, not wouds. The third epistoUc, so called, as we shall 
 see, from its being first applied to civil matters: afld the fourth and last, hiero- 
 grammatic, from its being used only itt religious. These two last kinds of 
 writing, namely, the epistolic and hierogramniatic, expressed words, and were 
 fornpted by the letters of an alphabet.*' — Divine legation of Moses, Vol. Ill, 
 
 p. 121. 
 
 See “ the origin and progress of writing, as well hieroglyphic as elementary,” 
 by my learned and ingemous friend I’honias Astle, Esq. London, l784,4to. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 S59 
 
 instances of which are found -in almost every part of the 
 world. In Egypt it seems to have undergone changes, at 
 different periods. The priests of that country invented a spe- 
 cies of it, called sacred, which they and their scholars only 
 could decypher; in order to conceal their doctrines from the 
 knowledge of those who were not initiated into their myste- 
 ries. Some writers pretend that the characters on the obe- 
 lisks are of the sacred kind, and that they convey to us the 
 mysterious doctrines of the priests, and secrets of nature , 
 whilst others contend that they are records of the laws and 
 actions of the kings, by whom they were erected. It is not, 
 indeed, probable that the priests of Egypt would inscribe 
 their hidden doctrines on monuments seen by all the people: 
 these they recorded in their sacred books, kept in their tem- 
 ples, of which none are preserved. But, from Diodorus Sicu- 
 lus, Strabo, Tacitus, Pliny, and other ancient authors, we 
 may conclude that the hieroglyphics, on the obelisks, related 
 to the history of their kings. With regard at least to the obe- 
 lisk I now examine, and which was one of the two obelisks 
 executed by order of Sesostris, Diodorus tells us, that this 
 great conqueror caused to be 'engraved on them the number 
 of his troops, the state of his finances, and a list of the nations 
 vvhom he had subdued. But notwithstanding the learned la- 
 ibours of a Kircher, a Shuckford, a Warburton, 8rc. it is proba- 
 ble that we shall never be able to explain these hieroglyphics. 
 We want a proper key to do so. The only ancient work, I have 
 seen on this subject, are the two books of Horus Apollo, said 
 
 * Lib. 1. sect. 2. c. 10. 
 
 L 1 2 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 to have been writ in the Egyptian language, and translated 
 into Greek by Philip. But so few hieroglyphics are explained 
 in this work, that when we come to apply them to the nu- 
 merous characters, which we find on Egyptian monuments, 
 we cannot connect them. It is much the same as to attempt to 
 read a language of which we know only a very few of its letters. 
 Besides, this much celebrated work of Horns Apollo has been 
 considered by some learned critics as the spurious production of 
 some Greek sophist.^ 
 
 An anonymous French writer -f- pretends that the figures on 
 the obelisks, which we call hieroglyphics, were not invented 
 as writing to record ideas, but as simple ornaments to the mo- 
 
 he^ were engraven. But this opinion, 
 clearly contradicted by all the ancients who have mentioned 
 the Egyptian hieroglyphics, I cannot embrace. It is, how- 
 ever, a proof of the ability of this author in defending a 
 paradox. 
 
 Egypt having been reduced to a Roman province by Au- 
 gustus, he could not but admire the magnificence of its monu- 
 ments, particularly its temples, pyramids, and obelisks. Al- 
 though he could not remove the former, he caused two of the 
 obelisks to be transported to Rome, to ornament that capital 
 of the world. I hey were the first monuments of this kind 
 seen in Europe. He placed one of them, which is the object 
 
 * See Dissertalion on the Aiunclelian marbles/’ by M. J. Robertson, p. 185. 
 t “ I>issei taUoii sur I’ecrituie hierogiyphique.” A Paris, chez Barbou, 1762 . 
 12mo. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 of these remarks, in the Campus Martins, and the other in the 
 Circus Maximus. Succeeding emperors, copying the example 
 of Augustus, robbed Egypt of many of its obelisks ; insomuch 
 that authors reckon eight great and forty-two small obelisks 
 were brought to Rome. Some of them are inscribed with 
 hieroglyphics, and others are plain. IVIany of them, indeed, 
 have now disappeared, but such as I can trace, I shall mention, 
 when 1 come to the places where they originally stood, and 
 not where now erected. They were of red granite,* (granito 
 rosso) and cut out of the quarries near to Siene, in the higher 
 Egypt. Immense must have been the expense and labour of 
 cutting, transporting, and erecting such vast monuments. 
 They have been justly considered among the wonders of 
 art. They are of great antiquity, being the works of the 
 kings of Egypt, belore that country was conquered by the 
 Persians. 
 
 We cannot suppose that the Egyptians, celebrated -for their 
 wisdom and learning, caused the obelisks to be raised for mere 
 ostentation. That ingenious nation early cultivated the science 
 of mathematics and astronomy : the situation of their country 
 naturally led them to do so. The obelisks therefore served 
 the^n as astronomical instruments, with which they observed 
 the course of the sun ; and for tliis reason they were generally 
 dedicated to that planet. 
 
 * Although granite is composed of hard substances, viz. quartz, mica, schorl 
 and felt-spath, yet in length of time, it is decomposed by the air. Thus we find 
 that this powerful agent has defaced many of the characters on the obelisks^ 
 especially the sides exposed to the north. 
 
ANCIENT ROME, 
 
 It was for the same purpose that Augustus employed this 
 obelisk. It was the gnomon, not of a sun-dial, as some call it, 
 but of a meridian line, which he caused to be delineated in the 
 Campus Martius. Pliny the elder, who had often examined 
 this meridian line, could not be mistaken in its use. I shall, 
 therefore transcribe his account of it.* 
 
 *‘To the obelisk,'* says he, which is in the Campus Mar- 
 tius, Augustus added a wonderful use, in order to find out the 
 different shadows projected from the sun, and thereby the dif- 
 ferent lengths of the days and nights. To this purpose he 
 caused a pavement to be layed according to the dimensions of 
 the obelisk, to which the shade would be exactly equal at the 
 sixth hour of the day (that is, mid-day) of the winter solstice, 
 and would gradually decrease every day, and then again in- 
 crease : all which was shewed by rules or lines of brass, let 
 into the stone : a thing deserving to be known, and worthy 
 
 ♦Hist. Nat. 1. 36. c. 10. — Ei, [sc. obelisco] qui est in Campo [sc. Mar- 
 tio] Augustus addidit mirabilem usum, ad deprehendendas soIis umbras, die- 
 rumque ac noctium ita magnifudines, strato lapide ad magnitudinem obelisci, 
 cui par fieret umbra, brumae confeclse die, sexta bora, paulatimque per regulas 
 (qu3B sunt ex sere inclusse) singulis diebus decresceret, ac rursus augesceret : digna 
 cognitu res et ingenio fecundo Manilii mathematici. Apici auralam pilani ad- 
 didit, cujus umbra vertice colligeretur in se ipsa, alias enormiter jaculante apice, 
 Tatione (ut ferunt) a capite hominis intellecta. Haec, indies, observalio trigin ta 
 jam fere annis non congmit, solis ipsius dissono cursu, et coeli aliqua ratione 
 mutato, sive universa tellure aliquid a centre suo dimota, ut deprehendi et in 
 aliis locis accipio ; sive urbis tremoribus, ibi lantum^gnonione intorto, siveinun- 
 dationious T.iberis sedemento molis facto: quamquani ad altitudinem impositi 
 oneris in terram quoque dicantui* acta fundamenta,” 
 
THECAMPtJS MARTIUff. ^ 6 $ 
 
 of the fruitful invention of Manilius* the mathematician. To 
 the top he added a gilded ball, the shade whereof might be 
 collected vertically in itself, whereas otherwise the top of the 
 obelisk would have cast a shadow too broad to be reduced 
 within any rules : the hint of this contrivance is said to have 
 been taken from the sun shining upon a man’s head. This 
 observation has not now answered for almost thirty years ; 
 upon what account is uncertain ; whether, because the dis« 
 cordant course of the sun itself, and of the heavens, have by 
 some means been changed ; or the whole earth has been 
 removed a little from its centre, which, I hear, has been ob- 
 served likewise in other places ; or that, either by reason of 
 the earthquakes, which have shaken the city, the gnomon 
 (obelisk) has inclined a little on one side, or through the inun- 
 dations of the Tiber has sunk dowm somewhat lower; though 
 to prevent this inconvenience, the foundations are said to have 
 been laid as deep in the earth as the load upon it is high.” 
 
 Such is the account given by Pliny of this wonderful meri- 
 dian line; which, from the height of the gnomon, must hav? 
 extended a great way. 
 
 This subject naturally leads me to mention the Roman sun- 
 dials, and the manner in which they computed their hours, so 
 closely connected with this article. 
 
 * Some of I he editions of Pliny read Manlii, others Mannii, or Mallii : but 
 the Milan MS. has Perhaps it is the same ManUiuh whose poem on 
 
 astronomy has reached us. 
 
2^4 
 
 Sui^ials. 
 
 The Roman 
 computa- 
 tion of their 
 hours. 
 
 ANCIENT ROME; 
 
 On the authority of Varro, Pliny* informs us, that the first 
 sun-dial set up for public use at Rome, was brought from Ca- 
 tania in Sicily, by the consul M. Valerius Messala, in the year 
 U. C. 491, and was placed on a column near the rostra : but 
 as this dial had been projected for a more southern latitude, it 
 did not show the hours with exactness. However, such' as it 
 was, the Romans regulated their time by it^ for the space of 
 ninety-nine years, when Q. Marcus Philippus, who was censor 
 with L. Paulus, caused another dial, constructed for the lati- 
 tude of Rome, to be erected near the old one. But as a sun- 
 dial did not serve in cloudy weather, Scipio Nasica, five years 
 after, remedied this defect, by introducing a method of divid- 
 ing the night as well as the day into hours, by means of a 
 water machine, a clepsidraf which Pliny calls an horologium.^ 
 
 I do not indeed conceive how a sun dial, or any other in- 
 strument, could point out the various hours, as time was com- 
 puted by the ancient Romans. The time the earth takes to 
 revolve once round its axis, or the space between the rising of 
 the sun till its next rising, which makes a day and a night, 
 divided into twenty-four equal parts, we call hours. Now, 
 the Romans divided the day and the night into twenty-four 
 hours. Twelve of these, from the rising of the sun to its set- 
 ting, constituted their day ; and the other twelve, from the 
 setting of the sun to its rising, constituted their night. Thus 
 as the seasons changed, the length of heir hours must have 
 varied. In winter the twelve hours of the day were short, and 
 
 * Hist. Nat. 1 . 7 . c. 60. 
 
 *t See Vitruvius, 1 . 9, c, 9. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 those of the night long: in summer they were the reverse. 
 
 How then could these hours of an unequal length, and which 
 dily varied, be measured by an instrument ? I have not been 
 able to discover any method by which this could be done. 
 
 However, they had two fixed points, viz. mid-day and mid- 
 night, which they called the sixth hour. So that a meridian 
 line would always point out the sixth hour, or mid-day. 
 
 Neither have I been able to discover when the modern Ro- Modem 
 mans changed this method of computing time. In the course Son ofhours 
 of the day and night they reckon twenty-four hours, which 
 are all of an equal length in every season of the year. No in- 
 convenience can arise in reckoning twenty-four hours, in place 
 of twelve and twelve, as we do. Perhaps so far the modern 
 Roman method is preferable to ours. But the difficulty is, 
 that they do not begin to reckon their hours from a fixed 
 point, viz. from mid-day, when the sun crosses the same me- 
 ridian line every day in the year. Thus they call half an hour 
 after sun set the twenty-fourth hour, and an hour and an half 
 after sun set the first hour, or one o’clock.* Hence the nomi- 
 nal hour of mid-day constantly changes with them : in June it 
 is called sixteen, and in December nineteen o’clock. To re- 
 gulate therefore a timepiece, by this method of computing, it 
 must be daily altered. 
 
 • To reckon time from the setting of the sun was a very ancient custom: it 
 was practised particularly by the Germans and Gauls ; it seems to be connected 
 wdlh the ideas which establish the existence of a chaos or night, before the 
 world or day. See “ Recherches sur Torigine el les progies des arts de la 
 Grece, par M. d’Hankerville.” 1. 1 , c. 2. p. 131. 
 
 M m 
 
q66 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Arch of 
 Marcus Au- 
 relius Anto- 
 ninus, and 
 Lucius Ve- 
 rus. 
 
 No. 4. 
 
 The narrow piazza^ of St. Laurence in Lucina, opens into 
 the street called the Corso, -f which was formerly part of the 
 via Flaminia, At the south-east corner of this piazza there is 
 a palace now belonging to the Fiano or Ottoboni family. 
 Joining to this palace there was an arch over the Corso, com- 
 monly called arco di Portugallof from a Portugueze cardinal 
 who had formerly inhabited that palace. Pope Alexander VII. 
 in the year 16^2, in order to widen the Corso, caused this 
 arch to be taken down, and an inscription was placed, to point 
 out where the arch stood. This, no doubt, had been an an- 
 cient and magnificent arch : but to whom it was erected has 
 been a matter of dispute among the antiquaries. Indeed, from 
 the remarks of Severoli,J it appears plain to me, that it was 
 
 ♦ By the word piazza^ the Italians mean a square, or any place approaching 
 to that figure, and not a colonnade or portico, as this term is generally used in 
 England. 
 
 t The tia Lata led from the Capitol to the piazza di Sciarra, where it joined 
 the via Flamhiia. I hese two roads, thus united in a straight line, about a mile 
 long, is now the street called il Corso, from the races there exhibited, during the 
 eight last days of the Carnival. These races had sometimes been performed on 
 the plain at Monte Testaccio (see page 170), and sometimes in the strada Giulia, 
 till Paul II. a Venetian, built the palace of St. Mark, and introduced them 
 into the Corso. Platina, the historian of that pope, says that his holiness, with 
 pleasure, assisted at these ridiculous shews, which were then of various kinds. — 
 ** Correvano i vecchi, correvano i giovani, correvano quelli che erano di niezza 
 et^, correvano i guidei, e li facevano ben saturare prima, perch6 meno veloci 
 corresero. Correvano i cavalli, e le cavalle, gli asini e i buffali con tanto piacere 
 di tutti, che per le risa grand! potevano appena star legente in pi^.” — Platina, 
 storia delle vite de’ Pontifici, Tom. 3. p. 411. ed. Venezia, 1763. 4to. At pre- 
 sent these races are performed only by horses, who are bred to run without 
 
 t Accademiadi Cortona, Tom. 1 disserlazione 
 
 xi. di Monsignor Marcello Severoli.’' 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 267 
 
 erected in honour of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Lucius 
 Verus. Perhaps it was by order of the senate, on suppressing 
 the revolt and dangerous rebellion of Avidius Cassius. Bel- 
 lori* has published an elevation of this arch ; the bas-relieves, 
 which ornamented it, are preserved in the Capitol : and two 
 of its columns, of verde antico, are to be seen in the Corsini 
 chapel, at St. John in Laterano. 
 
 A little to the south of St. Laurence in LucinUj is a rising 
 ground, which the modern Romans call Monte Citorioy or 
 Mons Citorius. In ancient authors I find no such name given 
 to any place in the Campus Martius. Modern writers indeed 
 have given various but unsatisfactory etymologies of this name, 
 with which I shall not trouble the reader, -f It is on this site 
 that Innocent XII. erected the great palace, called Curia In^ 
 nocenziaiia, for the different courts of justice. In digging for 
 foundations to this building, it evidently appeared that an am- 
 phitheatre, from its figure, seats, and other remains, had for- 
 merly stood here. But what other amphitheatre could this be 
 than that built by Statilius Taurus, at liis own expence, at the 
 desire of Augustus However, as no part of it now remains, 
 I can give no description of it. Monte Citorio is therefore an 
 artificial height, and must have been produced from the ruins 
 of this amphitheatre, and rubbish brought there from its 
 neighbourhood. 
 
 • Vide “ Veteres arcus Augustorum.” 
 
 ^ Vide Vignolius de columna Aulonini Pii. 
 
 ;J; Vide p. 63. and p. I6y, — Taurus amphithealrum in Campp 
 Marlio suis suiuptibus absolvit. ’ — Dion. Cass. Hist, 1. 55. 
 
 Mm2 
 
 Monte Ci- 
 torio, and 
 amphithea- 
 tre of Stati- 
 lius Taurus, 
 No. 5. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 *68 
 
 Column of 
 Antoninus 
 Pius. 
 
 No. 6. 
 
 On the west side of the Curia Innocen%iana is the convent of 
 the Fathers of the Mission. In their garden was discovered a 
 plain column, of red Egyptian granite, sixty-six palms and 
 eight inches high, and whose diameter is eight palms four 
 inches and a half. Its square pedestal, of white statuary 
 marble, is eleven palms high, and each side is thirteen palms 
 broad. The names of Trajan ^nd Nilus, an Egyptian archi- 
 tect, are inscribed, in Greek characters, though now much 
 defaced, on the bottom of the column, which rested on the 
 pedestal. This shows that it had been brought to Rome by 
 Trajan, who probably had erected it : for may it not be that 
 column, on the top of which is placed an owl, as we observe 
 on a medaglion of this Emperor, published by Ficoroni 
 But it had afterwards been, as we shall now see, dedicated to 
 Antoninus Pius. It was dug up by order of Clement XI. On 
 one side of the pedestal is represented, in bas-relief, the apo- 
 theosis of Antoninus Pius, and of Faustina the elder: on two 
 of its sides I observed decursiones^ox Pyrrhic, or Trojan dances, 
 rites used at funerals and on those solemn occasions : and on 
 the fourth side is this inscription : — 
 
 DIVO . ANTONINO . AVG . PIO 
 ANTONINVS . AVGVSTVS . ET 
 VERVS . AVGVSTVS . FILII. 
 
 Hence it is evident that this immense column had been dedi- 
 cated, by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus and Lucius Verus, to 
 Antoninus Pius. — Benedict XIV. caused this pedestal to be re- 
 paired, and placed before the Curia Innocenziana : but the 
 
 * I piombi antichi/* p. 5. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 2^9 
 
 column being much damaged, he was discouraged to erect it on 
 its pedestal. I saw this column lying on the ground, between 
 Monte Citorio and the convent of the Mission * 
 
 To the south-east of Monte Citorio, the magnificent historic 
 column of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus stands in the square, 
 from it, called colonna. It is constructed in imitation of that 
 of Trajan.-f — The blocks of white marble of which it is com- 
 posed, the narrow staircase cut out of these blocks, the slits of 
 windows by which it is lighted, and the spiral line to conduct 
 the eye to trace the connection of the sculpture, being the 
 same in both these columns. Indeed the sculpture on this 
 column is inferior to Trajan's; that ingenious art having 
 visibly declined from the reign of Trajan to that of Marcus 
 Aurelius. Besides the Aurelian column has suffered much, 
 probably from lightning, the sculpture in many places being 
 much defaced ; though the whole was repaired by order of 
 Sixtus V. who caused the statue of St. Paul to be placed on it, 
 as he had done that of St. Peter to be placed on the Trajan 
 column. 
 
 • Since the author of these remarks left Rome, he is informed that the pre- 
 sent Pope Pius VI. has removed this pedestal to the Vatican, and has caused, in 
 place of it, the obelisk, which served for the gnomon to the meridian line, to be 
 erected. But as this obelisk, as I remarked, page 257, was broken into several 
 pieces, and many of the hieroglyphics defaced, his holiness ordered the column of 
 Antoninus Pius to be cut down, to repair and case up the parts of this obelisk, 
 where the hieroglyphics were so defaced. Part, therefore, of this celebrated obe- 
 lisk must now appear covered with hieroglyphics, and part of it plain. Thus 
 Pope Pius VI. has had the honour to erect anew three great Egyptian obelisks. 
 See pages 229 and 242. f See pages 217, et seq. 
 
 Column of 
 Marcus Au- 
 relius Anto- 
 ninus. 
 
 No. 7. 
 
270 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 The height of the shaft of this column is ninety-seven feet, 
 and the pedestal twenty-five feet eight inches; so that the 
 whole height, exclusive of the statue, is one hundred and 
 twenty-two feet eight inches, English measure. 
 
 This column had been erected by the senate to Marcus 
 Aurelius Antoninus, but perhaps it was not finished till after 
 his death. On it is represented, in bas-relief, the progress of 
 the two wars, he carried on in Germany, against the Marco- 
 manni and Quadi, assisted by the Sarmatians, Vandals, and 
 other nations. But I cannot, in my limited remarks, and 
 without the assistance of plates, convey an accurate idea of 
 the numerous and various subjects engraved on this monument. 
 I must therefore beg leave to refer the reader, as I did for 
 Trajan's column, to the spirited plates given of it by Pietro 
 Santi Bartoli."^ In plate, No. 15, we see the grand representa- 
 tion of Jupiter Pluvius poetically imagined. He extends his 
 right hand over the Roman army, ready to perish of thirst, 
 whom he refreshes with rain, whilst his left hand is depressing 
 and thundering their enemies. This seasonable shower, rec- 
 koned miraculous, has been ascribed to the virtues of the em- 
 peror; but Christian writers say that it proceeded from the 
 prayers of the Militenium legion, called the Thunderers, the 
 greatest part of whom were Chris tians.-f 
 
 I cannot but here remark, that the hurry and danger of the 
 
 ♦ Vide ** Columna cochlis M. Aurelio Antonino Auguslo dicata, aotis Jo. 
 Petri Bellorii iilustrala, et a Petro Saocti Barlolo acre iocisa.*^ 
 
 + Vide Baronius. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 271 
 
 war did not prevent Marcus x\urelius from pursuing his fa- 
 vourite philosophical studies: for the first book of his Medi-^ 
 tations* is dated in the country of the Quadi, near Granua; 
 and the second book at Carnutum. 
 
 I have observed that this column was repaired by Sixtus V. 
 The pedestal was so defaced that the pope caused it to be cased 
 over with marble, and inscriptions to be inscribed on each of 
 its sides. We cannot, however, give credit to the modern in- 
 scription, on the west side, in which it is said that this column 
 was erected by Marcus Aurelius Antoninus to Antoninus Pius, 
 his adopted father.-f Indeed this opinion seems to have pre- 
 vailed pretty generally, till the plain granite column, which I 
 have just mentioned, was discovered, in the garden of the Mis-^ 
 sion, and which now decides this question. J For is it to be 
 supposed that Marcus Aurelius would have erected an historic 
 column to Antoninus Pius, in which none of the actions of the 
 latter emperor were recorded, but only the Marcomannic war 
 of the former ? 
 
 ♦ Vide page 187. t Modern inscription on this column • 
 
 M . AVRELIVS IMP . 
 
 ARMENIS PARTHIS 
 GERMANISQ . BELLO 
 MAXIMO DEVICTIS 
 TRIVMPHALEM HANC 
 COLVMNAM REBVS 
 GESTIS INSIGNEM 
 IMP . ANTONINO PIO 
 PATRI DEDICAVIT • 
 
 ^ Vide Vignolius de columna Antonini Pii. c. 7 * 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Piranesi's creative genius has, in his great plan of the 
 Campus Martins, given a design of a forum, which he calls 
 that of Marcus Aurelius, and in which he places the historic 
 column. 
 
 Basilic of A little to the south-west of Marcus Aurelius' historic column 
 Pius. is the modern custom-house, called Dogana di Terra, erected 
 
 by Innocent XII, It stands on the ruins of a magnificent 
 oblong building, each side of which had been decorated with 
 an open portico of Corinthian columns, fluted. It seems to 
 have been one of these buildings, which Vitruvius* calls Pseu- 
 dodipteros. The entry fronted east. Eleven columns^ of the 
 portico of the north side, still remain. They are thirty-nine 
 feet seven inches Roman, in height, and four feet two inches 
 in diameter: they support a noble cornice. They now serve 
 as a front to the custom-house; but as they are much defaced, 
 in order to strengthen them, it had been judged necessary to 
 join the columns together with a wall and windows, so that 
 they have only now the eflfect of semicolumns. This remark- 
 able piece of antiquity is mentioned by all the antiquaries, 
 many of whom have given engravings of it : but they do not 
 agree whether these columns are the remains of a temple or of 
 a basilic. Some suppose them to be the ruins of the temple of 
 Mars, and others the ruins of that of Antoninus Pius, or of 
 Marcus Aurelius. But, though I do not decide, I own that to 
 me they have more the appearance of the remains of a basilic 
 than of a temple. Perhaps it was the basilic of Antoninus Pius ; 
 and such I shall venture to name it. 
 
 * Vide 1. 3 . c. I. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 Thus I have observed four remarkable monuments near to 
 each other, erected to Antoninus Pius, to Marcus Aurelius, and 
 to Lucius Verus, in the Campus Martius. 
 
 The Roman historians all agree that the comitia, or assem- The septa 
 blies of the people, for the election of magistrates, were held s, 
 in the Campus Martius.* A particular place was appropriated 
 for that purpose, which, from its resemblance to sheep-folds, 
 was called septa, or ovile. It was divided into squares, and 
 each tribe had a square allotted to its use. Its form is to be 
 seen on a medal of the Licinian family. The entry to the 
 septa was by a narrow bridge ; by which means the collectors 
 of the votes could, with more facility, ascertain their number. 
 
 The septa continued for a long time to be inclosed with wood 
 only, till Lepidus began to surround them with a portico of 
 marble, which Agrippa finished, and rendered more magnifi- 
 cent, and, in compliment to Augustus, the adopted son of 
 Julius Caesar, he named them septa Julia. But where the 
 
 * See page 131. — The Romans in their elections, or other questions, voted 
 either in their tribes or in their centuries. In the first method, the majority of 
 votes in each tribe determined the general vote of the tribe, and a majority of 
 tribes determined the election, in which the meanest citizen had as good a vote 
 as the best. But in the second method, the balance of power was thrown into 
 the bands of the better sort, by a contrivance of Servius Tullius, who divided 
 the whole body of citizens into an hundred and ninety-three centuries, according 
 to a census or valuation of their estates ; and then reduced these centuries into six 
 classes, according to the same rule, assigning to the first or richest class ninety- 
 seven of these centuries, or a majority of the whole number. If the centuries 
 therefore of the first class agreed, the affair was over, and the votes of the rest 
 were rendered insignificant. 
 
 Nn 
 
274 ANCIENT ROME, 
 
 septa stood, and which must have required a considerable 
 space, is uncertain, and the antiquaries are much divided in 
 their opinions on this point. Biondi places the septa at the 
 piazza Colonna; Donatus at the Fontana di Trevi, towards the 
 Mons hortidorurn ; Nardini between Monte Citorio and the 
 church of S. Maria in Aquiro ; Piranesi makes two septa ; he 
 No. 10. places the one, which he calls septi Trigarii, at the convent of 
 S. Silvester in capite, and the other, which he calls septa Julia, 
 where stands the Pamfili palace in the Corso; and Venuti 
 places the septa Julia where we observe the palace of S. Mark 
 and the church of S. Ignatius. — In such a diversity of opinions, 
 and when I can discover no certain remains or indications of 
 this celebrated inclosure, I dare not venture to decide. It 
 was, however, too remarkable an article to be passed over in 
 silence. 
 
 Temple of Near to the septa, wheresoever they stood, the temple of 
 Sthrpoi- Neptune, and the portico of the Argonauts, seem to have 
 A^go^nauts placed. Agrippa added the portico, and caused the expe- 
 
 No. 11. dition of the Argonauts, to be there painted, probably in allusion 
 to his own naval victories.* Though Agrippa was reckoned a 
 rough soldier rather than a polished man, yet he must have 
 had taste in the fine arts, since he wrote an oration, now lost, 
 but highly praised by Pliny ,*1* to show the advantages that 
 taste would reap by having pictures and statues, which should 
 be considered as public property, exposed to public view, and 
 not concealed in private habitations. 
 
 * Dio Cassius, 1. 53. c. 27. 
 
 t Plin. 1. S5. c. 4. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 275 
 
 Of the temple of Minerva there are no remains. We only know 
 where it stood. On its ruins is built the great church, belonging 
 to the Dominicans, called Santa Maria sopra la Minerva. 
 
 Conquerors were ambitious to consecrate their glory to im- 
 mortality, by building temples, or other public monuments. 
 Thus Pompey, after he ended the war of thirty years, built, 
 out of its spoils, a temple to Minerva. It had no doubt been 
 magnificently ornamented : and in its inscription, preserved to 
 us by Pliny, he gave a summary of his victories, viz. 
 
 “That he had finished a war of thirty years; had van- 
 quished, slain, and taken, two millions, one hundred and, 
 eighty-three thousand men ; sunk or taken eight hundred and 
 forty-six ships ; reduced to the power of the empire a thou- 
 sand five hundred and thirty-eight towns and fortresses ; and 
 subdued all the countries between the lake Moeotis and the Red 
 
 Sea.’'* 
 
 • Cn . Pompeius . Cn . F . magnus . imp . 
 bello XXX . annorum . coufecto . 
 fusis . fugaiis . occisis . in . deditionem . 
 acceptis . hominum . cenlies . vicies . 
 semel . centenis . Lxxxiii . m , 
 depressis . aut . capt . navibus . dcccxlvi 0 
 oppidis . castellis . mdxxxyiii . 
 in . fidem . receptis . 
 terris . a . Moeoti-lacu . ad Rubrum 
 -mare . subactis . 
 votum • merito . Minervae.’^ 
 
 Plin. Hist. Nat, 1. 7* c. 2 - 
 
 ’ Nna 
 
 Temple of 
 Minei va. 
 No. 12. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 To a feeling mind how shocking must this pompous inscrip- 
 tion appear! Flattery calls Pompey great, for having de- 
 stroyed such numbers of the human race, and for having 
 ruined such an extent of country 1 In place of exterminating, 
 he would have been truly great, had he inspired them with 
 the love of justice and virtue, and thereby rendered them use- 
 ful members of society. But thoughtless man, dazzled with the 
 lustre of their actions, gives the appellation of hero to those 
 celebrated ambitious conquerors, who have done most mischief 
 to mankind. 
 
 Near to the temple of Minerva was found a small but beau- 
 tiful Egyptian obelisk, covered with hieroglyphics. It is 
 twenty-four palms high, and its pedestal three palms and one- 
 sixth. Pope Alexander VII, caused this obelisk to be erected 
 before the church of the Dominicans. It is placed on the back 
 of an elephant, executed from a design of Bernini, by one of 
 his scholars. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 277 
 
 THE PANTHEON. 
 
 I come to the Pantheon, the pride of Rome, and the admi- No. 13. 
 ration of every person of taste. From its circular form, it is 
 now generally known by the name of the Rotonda. Though 
 robbed of the greatest part of its precious ornaments, and after 
 the many alterations it has undergone, it still remains the most 
 complete and most magnificent of ail the ancient temples to 
 be seen at Rome. The Romans, having adopted the gods and 
 superstitions of all the countries which they conquered, na- 
 turally erected a temple to the whole : for such is the mean- 
 ing of Pantheon. 
 
 On the frieze of the portico, or porch, is inscribed, in large 
 letters. — 
 
 M . AGRIPPA . L . F . COS ^ TERTIVM . FECIT . 
 
 But whether Agrippa built the whole of this vast temple, or 
 only added the portico, has been made a matter of doubt. 
 
 Palladio* indeed thinks that the body of the Pantheon was 
 built in the time of the republic. At any rate, the addition of 
 the portico must have been an after thought, for the original 
 frontispiece or pediment, of small projection, is still to be seen 
 above Agrippa's portico. 
 
 4 
 
 That this temple had been repaired by Septimius Severus, 
 and his son M. Aurelius Antoninus Bassianus, better known 
 by the name of Caracalla, about two hundred years after the 
 time of Agrippa, appears from the following inscription, in 
 small characters, to be seen on the architrave.— 
 
 ♦ Lib. 4. c. 20. 
 
278 
 
 ANCIENT ROME.' 
 
 IMF . CAESAR . SEPTIMlVS . SEVERVS . PITS . PERTINAX . ARABIC . ADIABENIC . PARTHIC. 
 
 PONTIF . MAX . TRIB . POT . XI . COS . Ill • P . P . PROCOS . ET 
 
 IMP . CAES . M . AVRELIVS . ANTONI^VS . PITS . FELIX . AUG . TRIB . POT . V . COS 2 PROCOS i 
 PANTHEVM . VETYSTATE . CORRVPTVM . CVM . OMNI • CVLTV . RESTITVERVNT . 
 
 From this inscription, it is evident that this temple is the 
 Pantheon, and that it had suffered from age. But with what 
 propriety could such a building be said to have suffered from age, 
 had it been all built by Agrippa ! Is not this an indication that 
 the body of the temple was constructed long prior to the time 
 of the son-in-law of Augustus ? But by whom it was first built 
 or to what deity or deities it was afterwards dedicated, I have 
 not been able to ascertain. Pliny* indeed says, that Agrippa 
 dedicated it to Jupiter the Avenger — “ Pantheon Jovi ultori ab 
 Agrippa factum.'* — Some antiquaries suppose it was built by 
 Scipio Nasicu.-f about the year of Rome 555, in honour of 
 Cybele, and that, from the mother of the gods, it was called 
 Pantheon : but I find no sufficient authority for that opinion. 
 
 But, supposing the body of the Pantheon to have been built 
 in the time of the republic, yet is it not highly probable that 
 Agrippa, when he added the noble portico, renewed the inte- 
 rior of the temple, and decorated it with the rich ornaments, 
 mentioned by ancient writers ? May he not therefore, in some 
 measure, be considered as the author of the whole ? 
 
 From Dio Cassius, J it appears that Agrippa wished to place 
 the statue of Augustus in the Paniheon, and to have inscribed 
 his name as author of this superb temple, which the emperor 
 
 * Hist. Nat. 1. 35. c. 15. f Livy, lib. £9- c, 14. 
 
 X Lib. 53. c. 22. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 279 
 
 modestly declined. Agrippa therefore placed the statue of 
 Julius C^sar in the Pantheon, among the gods and the statues 
 of Augustus and himself in the great niches under the portico. 
 
 The Pantheon was ’given by the Emperor Phocas to Boni- 
 face IV. elected Pope in the year 608, who converted it into a 
 Chri.-tian church, and dedicated it to the Virgin Mary, and to 
 all the martyrs.^ 
 
 Notwithstanding the constant tradition that the Pantheon 
 was a temple, and that it contains in itself every indication 
 that it was such ; yet Father Lazzari,'f to show his ability to 
 defend a paradox, pretends that it was not a temple, but only 
 part of Agrippa's baths. The principal reason with which he 
 attempts to support his singular opinion is, that, had it been 
 a temple, the zeal of the primitive Christians would have de- 
 stroyed one so remarkable, dedicated to all the gods ; especi- 
 ally as they were, he says, authorised to do so, by a law of 
 Theodosius II. But this law seems to relate only to the abo- 
 lishing the superstitious worship and use of temples, and not 
 to the buildings themselves, many of which, if their size per- 
 mitted, § were converted into Christian churches. Indeed, 
 Theodosius’s edict only renewed what Arcadius and Honorius 
 had done before him : for when they condemned sacrificing, 
 they did not order the buildings to be destroyed, but command- 
 ed them to be preserved. — “ Sicut sacrificia templorum pro- 
 
 * See Platina’s life of Boniface IV. 
 
 Della consecrazione del Pantheon, fatta da Bonifazio IV. discorso dl 
 Pieiro Lazzari, della compagnia di Gesu.” 1749. 
 
 % Codex Theodos. 1. Id. tit. 10. sect. 7. § See page 9. 
 
S80 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 hibemus, ita volumus publicorum operum ornamenta servari/’* 
 the Pantheon was no part of Agrippa's baths, though it stood 
 near to them : nor would even this supposition of Lazzari have 
 been a protection to the Pantheon, since we know that the 
 popes, discouragers of public bathing, because of the many 
 indecencies there committed, contributed much to the de- 
 struction of the baths. 
 
 Many plans and elevations of the Pantheon have, no doubt, 
 been published, to which I migh refer the reader. But, as 
 delineations of such objects convey clearer ideas than can be 
 done by words, I have judged it necessary to accompany this 
 article with a plan and elevation of this celebrated building.*f 
 
 We have not now so advantageous a View of the Pantheon 
 as formerly ; because the ground about it has been much raised 
 by the rubbish of buildings destroyed in its neighbourhood. 
 The popes, indeed, have caused the ground to be cut down in 
 a slope, so that we descend to the portico. When the ground 
 was level there were seven steps to ascend the portico ; whereas 
 one only remains. 
 
 The whole of the Pantheon is Corinthian, and is reckoned 
 a model for the proportions of that elegant order. J The jx)r- 
 tico is supported by sixteen columns of oriental granite, the 
 shaft of each of which is a single stone, about forty-two feet, 
 English measure, high, without reckoning either base or capi- 
 tal. Eight of these columns ornament the front, and the other 
 eight are placed behind, as will appear from the annexed plan.§ 
 
 t See plates V. and VI, 
 
 I See plate V. 
 
 ^ Codex Just.|[.l. 1. tit. 1 1, sect. 3, 
 % See page 5. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 l8l 
 
 This portico is surmounted with a pediment, in the tympan of 
 which I observed many holes, which no doubt served to fix 
 a bas-relief, but which has been taken away. Indeed the por- 
 tico was covered, both outside and inside, with brass, which 
 Urban VIII. Barberini, employed to make the superb baldaquin 
 in St. Peter’s, and some cannon, which are to be seen in the 
 castle St. Angelo. It was this robbery that made Pasquin 
 say— “ Quod non fecerunt Barbari Romee, fecit Barberini,”— 
 This pope added the two towers, or belfries, which surely do 
 not correspond with the majesty of the Pantheon, and serve 
 only to disfigure it ; but for which, however, he caused an 
 inscription to be placed in the portico. 
 
 The present gate, though of metal, seems not to be the ori- 
 ginal one, which was of sculptured bronze, and is said to have 
 been carried away by Genseric, King of the Goths. 
 
 The diameter of the inside of the Pantheon is about 149 feet 
 English, exclusive ot the walls, which are about 18 feet thick • 
 so that the diameter of the whole circle is about 185 feet. The 
 bricks, with which the walls were built, must have been made 
 of excellent materials, and well baked, to have existed entire 
 such a number of years. 
 
 The height of the interior of the Pantheon was the same as 
 its breadth, before the floor was raised, which is now on a 
 level with the floor of the portico; whereas formerly it seems 
 to have been seven or eight feet lower than the level of the 
 portico, from whene they descended into the body of the 
 building by several steps. Such a construction was not unu- 
 
 O o 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 sual ; for the ancients thought that it added a majestic gravity 
 to their temples. In the present case the additional height, 
 wliich the .Pantheon by this means acquired, seems to have 
 been necessary for the Corinthian order. 
 
 Round the interior of the Pantheon, there were seven re- 
 cesses or chapels, formed in the thickness of the walls. Each 
 of these chapels is ornamented with two beautiful columns of 
 giallo antico, fluted. Between these chapels there are altars ; 
 but these have been added since the temple was converted into 
 a Christian church. 
 
 The walls from the floor to the cornice were divided into 
 compartments, and incrusted with precious marbles. The 
 frieze is of porphyry. Over the great cornice there is an at- 
 tic, decorated with fourteen niches ; between each niche were 
 four pilasters, with pannels of different marbles ; but this part 
 of the decoration was destroyed by Benedict XIV. whilst I was 
 at Rome. The attic has an entablature, from which imme- 
 diately springs the arch or vault which covers the whole. This 
 arch for a considerable distance is divided into compartments, 
 which are supposed to have been covered with sculptured 
 plates of silver, but of which there is no vestige. Towards 
 the summit the arch is plain. The Pantheon, being one of 
 those temples which Vitruvius* calls hypoethra, has no win- 
 dows, and is only lighted from the summit by a circular open- 
 ing, the diameter of which is about twenty-seven feet ; it may 
 properly be called its eye^ and nobly is it lighted. Through this 
 opening the rain indeed falls into the temple ; but there is a 
 
 * Lib. 1. c. 2. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 reservoir, in the middle of the floor, for carrying it ofF; and 
 for this reason the floor is not level, but slants to this centre. 
 
 The roof of the Pantheon, now covered with lead, was« for- 
 merly covered with plates of gilded brass. These, however, 
 as well as the silver and other metals that enriched the inside 
 of the arch, are said to have been carried away by Constans II. 
 in his visit to Rome, about the year 655* 
 
 Among the ornaments of the Pantheon, Pliny^ mentions 
 columns with capitals of the metal which he calls Syracusian, 
 but none of these are preserved. Nor do any of the caryatides 
 or statues executed by Diogenes, the Athenian sculptor, now 
 remain. — “ Agrippse Pantheum decoravit Diogenes Athenien- 
 sis : et caryatides in columnis templi ejus probantur inter pau- 
 ca operum ; sicut in fastigio posita signa, sed propter altitudi- 
 nem loci minus celebrata.*’*f' I am at a loss to decide where 
 the caryatides could have been placed, unless they served as 
 columns to the attic, and in its niches stood the statues. Per- 
 haps these figures being indecent, and improper for a Chris- 
 tian church, were removed when the Pantheon was converted 
 into that use. 
 
 Fine statues of many of the heathen deities had no doubt 
 been placed in the Pantheon. Pliny I particularly takes no- 
 tice of a statue of Venus, with a pair of ear-rings made of a 
 pearl cut asunder, being the companion of one which Cleo- 
 patra, in a wager, dissolved in vinegar, and drank to the health 
 
 f lb. lib. 36 . c. 5. 
 
 » Lib. 34. c. 3. 
 
 J Lib, 9* c* 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 of Mark Antony, to show her lover how much she could ex- 
 ceed him in extravagance. She intended to have dissolved 
 both ; but having won her wager, she was prevented from 
 destroying the other. These two pearls, the largest and finest 
 that ever had been seen, were valued at an immense price, viz. 
 about £So,ooo of our money. 
 
 Fabio Devoti, my late ingenious and learned friend, con- 
 templating the circular opening, or eye, by which the Pan- 
 theon is enlightened, thought that it presented to him an easy 
 solution of the celebrated enigma, which Virgil* makes Da- 
 rn seta s propose to Menalcas — 
 
 “ Die, quibus in terris, et eris mihi magnus Apollo, 
 
 Tres pateat coeli spatium non amplius ulnas 
 
 Looking through this opening, a very small portion only of the 
 heavens presents itself to us ; and indeed any deep pit would 
 produce the same effect, Devoti, therefore, supposing this to 
 have been the temple of Cybel^, the Berecynthian goddess, 
 makes Menalcas answer thus — 
 
 'Tngredere in templum, quod habet Berecynthia Romse : 
 Coelum ibi ab impluvio ternas arctatur ad ulnas."-f 
 
 Bramante, in the pontificate of Julius II. captivated with 
 the beauty of the Pantheon, wished to raise a monument still 
 more surprising. He therefore took it as his model for the 
 dome of St. Peter, and placed it in the air. But the great 
 
 * Eclog. 3. V. V. 104. and 105. 
 
 t “ Fabii Devoti in iEnigma Daraaetae de Coeli Spatio in terris quibusdara 
 tres non ainplius ulnas patente Commentanus/* Romae, 1763. 12mo. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 artist gave such a proportion to the four pillars that support it, 
 that this immense pile seems to be equally light and solid. It 
 is true that this dome is now considerably damaged ; but it 
 has not proceeded from ignorance in the artist, but from causes 
 which are foreign to my subject to examine.* Although my 
 remarks are limited to antiquity, and consequently I am not 
 to enter into a detail of the church of St. Peter, the greatest 
 temple perhaps ever erected, yet, from the connection between 
 its dome and the Pantheon its model, I cannot but observe 
 here, the effects it produced on me. When I entered this mag- 
 nificent cathedral nothing at first surprised me. I saw not 
 immediately its greatness. Its length, breadth, and height 
 are so nicely proportioned, that they exactly fill the eye : and 
 the oftener that I examined it, its grandeur and my asto- 
 nishment increased. Xhe exact proportions, every where 
 observed, easily impose on the eye. Thus when we enter 
 the gate, and look to the right and to the left hand, we ob- 
 serve the basons containing the holy water supported by sta- 
 tues that seem to be of the size of nature ; but, when we 
 approach them, they are gigantic. This is the test of art. 
 How different are the effects of Gothic cathedrals 1 these, 
 indeed, at first surprise us ; but when we examine them at- 
 tentively our surprise diminishes, and we perceive that it is a 
 want of proportion that produced it. A want of breadth 
 makes the length appear immense: or want of length gives 
 the same effect to their breadth : or if it is height we admire, 
 it generally proceeds from want of breadth. But persons of 
 
 * See Parere sopra i danni e risarcimenti della Cupola di S. Pietro, per i 
 Padri Lesieur, Jacquier e Boscovich.” Roma, 1743, 4to» 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 refined taste will no doubt prefer the Grecian to the Gothic 
 architecture. However, as these are few, compared with man- 
 kind at large, perhaps a Gothic cathedral, its awful height, 
 its vast length, added to its dim religious light, as Milton ex- 
 presses it, may imprint more veneration, and inspire the minds 
 of the people with higher ideas of the Divinity, than even the 
 wonderful church of St. Peter, with all its superior beauties, 
 can produce. 
 
 Agrippa’s Immediately behind the Pantheon were Agrippa's baths. 
 
 No. 14. They are now so demolished that I can give no description of 
 them. Many houses are built on their foundations. I in- 
 deed observed a semicircular building of great thickness, now 
 known by the name of arco della ciambella; but what part of 
 the baths this was I cannot ascertain. These seem, however, 
 to have been the first public baths constructed at Rome: but 
 they were eclipsed in extent, and perhaps in beauty, by these 
 afterwards built by Titus, Caracalla, and other emperors. 
 Agrippa bequeathed* his baths, along with his gardens, to the 
 people, where they bathed gratis. From Pliny f we learn 
 that these baths were elegantly decorated with enamel paint- 
 ings — « Agrippa certe in thermis, quas Roma^ fecit, figlinum 
 opus encausto pinxit: in reliquis albaria adornavit.*' — The 
 historian J observes, that these baths were built before the 
 luxury of ornamenting houses with glass vitrifications, or 
 what w^e call pastes, was introduced at Rome, otherwise 
 Agrippa would have employed them in his baths — “ Non 
 
 * Dio Cass. 1. 55. Ann. 742. f PJin. 1. 30. c. 25, 
 
 J Plin. ib. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 287 
 
 dubie vitreas facturus cameras, si prius inventum id fuisset/' — 
 Many fine statues had no doubt stood in these baths. Pliny* 
 mentions particularly one, by Lisippus, which was placed be- 
 fore the baths, which Tiberius so much admired, that he 
 ordered it to be carried to his o>vn bedchamber, and caused 
 another statue to be placed in its stead. But the people, en- 
 raged at the loss of their favourite statue, made such clamour 
 in the theatre, that even the tyrant Tiberius found it prudent 
 to restore it to them. — “ Plurima ex omnibus signa fecit, 
 (Lisippus) ut diximus, fecundissimae artis, inter quae distrin- 
 gentem se, quern Marcus Agrippa ante thermas suas dicavit, 
 mire gratum Tiberio principi: qui non quivit temperare sibi 
 in eo, quanquam imperiosus sui inter initia principatus, trans- 
 tulitque in cubiculum, alio ibi signo substituto : cum quidem 
 tanta populi Romani contumacia fuit, ut magnis theatri cla- 
 moribus reponi Apoxyomenon (nomen signi) flagitaverit, prin- 
 cepsque, quanquam adamatum, reposuerit." 
 
 Agrippa’s gardens and ponds (stagna) were probably ad- 
 joining to his baths. It was at these ponds that Nero gave 
 the obscene festival, described by the energetic pen of Tacitus.f 
 The beauty of these gardens, ponds, canals, and the aqua Vir- 
 ginis,\ made the unfortunate Ovid,§ after a four years' exile, 
 ardently wish to see them : 
 
 “ Nec tu credideris urbanae commoda vitae 
 Quaerere Nasonem, quasrit et ilia tamen. 
 
 * Plin. 1. 34. c. 8. t Ann. 1. 15. c. 37. X See page 55. 
 
 \ Be Ponto, 1, 1. epist. 8. 
 
 Gardens and 
 ponds. 
 
£88 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Nero's baths. 
 No. 15. 
 
 Alexander 
 
 Severus's 
 
 baths. 
 
 Atque domo rursus pulchrse loca vertor ad urbis, 
 Cunctaque mens oculis pervidet ilia suis. 
 
 Gramina nunc campi pulchros spectantis in hortos, 
 Stagnaque et Euripi^ Virgineusque liquor.'' 
 
 The palace of the governor of Rome, which was formerly 
 that of the grand Duke of Tuscany, is a little to the west of 
 the Pantheon. On this situation Nero built his baths ; but of 
 which no part remains. Indeed, while at Rome, I saw some 
 considerable walls of these baths taken down, when the stables 
 and offices for the governor were built. I can therefore give 
 no account of these celebrated baths. That they were elegant, 
 we may conclude from Martial's contrasting their beauty with 
 the worthlessness of Nero — 
 
 ‘‘ Quid Nerone pejus ? 
 
 Quid thermis melius Neronianis ?"* 
 
 Whether Alexander Severus only enlarged Nero's baths, or 
 whether he built new baths, adjoining to them, has been a 
 question among the antiquaries. But it plainly appears from 
 Lampridius,f that this emperor built baths of his own — “ Ipse 
 nova multa constituit: in his thermas nominis sui juxta eas 
 quas Neronianae fuerunt, aqua inducta, quse Alexandrma nunc 
 dicitur." — It is not, however, improbable that the baths of 
 Alexander Severus were, from their contiguity, incorporated 
 with those of Nero ; and that, from the public esteem of the 
 
 * Mart. 1. 7. ep. 34. 
 
 t Lamp. Vita A. Severi. c. 25. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 289 
 
 former, and the contempt of the character of the latter, they 
 came both to be named Thermce Alexandrince, 
 
 The Agonal games were of great antiquity. They are said 
 to have been instituted by Numa, in honour of Janus. The 
 piazza Navona is reckoned to have been the circus Where these 
 shows were exhibited. It is a parallelogram, and consequently 
 proper for that purpose. But it is now built on all sides, nor 
 could I trace any vestiges of its ancient form; though many 
 parts of its foundations, we were told, are yet to be seen in 
 the cellars and substructions of the modern buildings. When 
 this circus was inundated by the Tiber, which sometimes hap- 
 pened, the Agonal games were performed, as I have mentioned,* 
 in the circus at the Porta S alar a, 
 
 Pompey, — “ spoliis orientis onustus,^^ — added much to the 
 splendour of the Campus Martius. After he had finished the 
 Mithridatic war, he built, at a vast expence, a theatre, colon- 
 nades, or porticos, a curia, &c. in that part now called the 
 Campo di Fiore, and in its neighbourhood. A considerable 
 extent of ground was necessary for these various objects. 
 
 Before he returned to Rome, he had meditated to build a 
 theatre: for which reason, when at Mitylene, he was so 
 pleased with the form of its theatre, that he caused a plan of 
 it to be made, to serve as a model for the one he projected, 
 but which, in the execution, he made larger and more magni- 
 ficent.'f 
 
 * See page 44. 
 
 pp 
 
 Circus Ago- 
 nalis. 
 
 No. 16 . 
 
 Pompey’s 
 theatre, &c. 
 No. 17. 
 
 t Plutarch’s Life of Pompey, 
 
2^0 
 
 ANCIENT ROME, 
 
 Though Pompey’s great buildings have long since been de- 
 stroyed, and the ground on which they stood covered with 
 streets and houses, yet part of the walls and seats of the 
 theatre may still be traced in the cellars of the palace of Prince 
 Pio in the Campo di Fiore, formerly belonging to the Orsini 
 family, and in other houses in its vicinity. 
 
 However, on the ancient marble plan of Rome, which I 
 have already mentioned,^ I find (Tab. 15.) an entire theatre, 
 which, I have no doubt, was that of Pompey. As this is a 
 curious fragment, though not sufficiently detailed, I shall, from 
 Bellori, present an engraving of it to the reader, since it will 
 give an idea of a Roman theatre.-f Indeed Vitruvius, that 
 great master in architecture, has particularly treated this 
 subject.^ 
 
 A semicircular building was the best form that could have 
 been adopted for theatrical representations. It was the half of 
 an amphitheatre. The circular part served for the seats and 
 orchestra, and the straight line for the stage. By this means 
 the spectators saw and heard equally well. 
 
 Here we observe two pracinctiones, which separated the dif- 
 ferent seats, rising from the orchestra to the summit of the 
 building. Under the seats were corridors, or passages, which 
 by various staircases, led to the seats. These corridors were 
 called vomitorii, 
 
 ♦ See page 159. t See plate VII. % Vitruvius, 1. 5. 
 
 c. 3, to c, 9. inclusive. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 The proscenium had been richly ornamented with columns, 
 and represented a magnificent hall, terminated with two semi- 
 circular recesses or niches, for statues. 
 
 • 
 
 The celebrated torso, preserved in the Museo Pio Clemen- 
 tino at the Vatican, seems to have belonged to a statue of 
 Hercules. It was so much admired by Michael Angelo Buo- 
 narotti that it is known by his name. If this fragment was 
 found in the Campo di Fior^, in the time of Julius II. as men- 
 tioned by Mercati, it is not unreasonable to suppose that it had 
 ornamented Pompey's theatre. I shall not attempt to describe 
 this torso, which has been done by the learned pens of Wine- 
 kelmann, Mengs, and Visconti. 
 
 Behind the proscenium was the postscenium, which was a 
 covered portico, to which the actors retired, either to change 
 their dresses, or to prepare the temporary decorations of the 
 stage. To this portico the spectators could retire in case of 
 rain, as well as to the vomitorii : for the great Roman theatres 
 had no roofs, but were covered with awnings, as I shall more 
 fully remark, in my account of Vespasian’s amphitheatre. 
 That Pompey’s theatre had such a portico we learn from Vi- 
 truvius^ — “ Post scenam porticus sunt constituendse, uti cum 
 imbres repentini ludos interpellaverint, habeat populus, quo 
 se recipiat ex theatro: choragiaque laxamentum habeant ad 
 chorum parandum : uti sunt porticus Pompeiana** — And such 
 porticos are marked on the marble plan of this theatre. 
 
 ♦ Vitruvius, 1. 5. c. 9* ed. Galiani, 1758. fol. 
 
 P p 3 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Though I observed no doors marked on this plan, there must 
 have been many entrances, in the semicircular part of the 
 building, like these in Vespasian's amphitheatre, that the people 
 might, without confusion, enter to and retire from the diffe- 
 rent seats appropriated for them ; especially as this theatre, 
 according to Pliny could contain forty thousand spectators. 
 
 The chief difference between the Greek and Roman theatres 
 seems to have been in the size of the orchestras and stages. 
 In Greece the orchestra was appropriated for the dancers and 
 chorus, and therefore required to be large; and the stage was 
 narrow, because it served for the declaiming actors only: 
 whereas at Rome the stage was larger, because the whole re- 
 presentation was performed on it ; and the orchestra was 
 smaller, because it served only for the seats of the senators and 
 great magistrates. The seats f nearest to the stage, or pul- 
 pitunif were the most honourable. 
 
 In these vast theatres, where every thing required to be 
 exaggerated, perhaps the use of masks was necessary. These 
 masks were adapted to the characters to be represented, and 
 their mouths were so formed as to serve as trumpets to extend 
 the voice of the actor to a great distance. Hence they were 
 called persona a personando,\ Ficoroni,§ from ancient monu- 
 ments, has published a great variety of them. But it is ob- 
 vious, that the sudden changes of the countenance, and the 
 
 * Plin. ]. 36. c, 15. i* Vitruvius, 1. 5. c. 6. J A. Gellius, 
 
 1. 5 . c. 7. § Le Maschere sceniche e le Figure comiche d’antiche 
 
 Romani.” 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 fine expression either of the strong or gentle passions, which 
 give such pleasure to the spectators, and distinguish our 
 great actors, could never be so well imitated by masks ; which 
 could only express, in all parts, the same cast of counte- 
 nance ; and the voice alone left imperfectly to notify the 
 changes of passion which the audience were to hear repre- 
 sented, as the mask was always the same, utterly incapable of 
 variation. 
 
 I shall not here trace the progress of the Roman theatre ; 
 for, curious as the subject is, it would extend my remarks be- 
 yond what I intend. I shall only observe, that theatrical en- 
 tertainments were early introduced in Rome from Tuscany.* * * § 
 But the theatres were temporary : they remained only during 
 the particular show given ; and were constructed of wood and 
 branches of trees, which made Ovid-f* call them — nemorosa 
 
 palatia.'" Indeed towards the end of the republic, the extent 
 
 and magnificence of these temporary theatres surpass our 
 imagination, as may appear from the wonderful description 
 PlinyJ gives of those of Marcus Scaurus and Caius Curio.§ 
 
 * Livy, 1. 7. c. 2. t De Arte Amandi, 1. 1. v. 105. 
 
 X Pliny, 1. 36, c. 15. thus describes the theatre of M. Scaurus, — The scene 
 was three stories high, ornamented with three hundred and sixty columns. 
 The lowest part of the scene was of marble ; the second part, by an unheard 
 of piece of luxury, was of glass ; and the upper part was of tabulcB hiaurat^, 
 the meaning of which is difficult to determine : it literally signifies gildedtabk$ 
 
 or pictures. The lowest row of columns were forty-two feet high, and there 
 were three thousand brazen statues between the columns. This theatre con- 
 tained eighty thousand spectators. 
 
 § C. Curio’s tiieatre was of wood, and, after having served for the dramatic 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Pompey was the first who built a permanent theatre of stone 
 • at Rome. — “ Quippe erant/" says Tacitus,* “qui Cn. quoque 
 Pompeium incusatum a senioribus ferrent, quod mansuram 
 theatri sedem posuisset : nam antea subitariis gradibus, et scena 
 in tcmpus structa, ludos edi solitos : vel si vetustiora repetas, 
 stantem populum spectavisse ; ne, si consideret, theatro dies 
 totos ignavia continuaret.'' — But when the emperors politi- 
 cally encouraged idleness, to prevent the people from consi- 
 dering their degraded situation, they often entertained them 
 with show's of every kind : then a permanent theatre became 
 'an economy. — “ Sed et consultum parsimonise,"' adds the sa- 
 gacious historian,'!' “quod perpetua sedes theatro locata sit, 
 potius quam immense sumptu, singuios per annos consurgeret 
 ac strueretur.'* 
 
 To procure permanency to this theatre, and to prevent the 
 censor, that formidable magistrate, from causing it to be de- 
 molished, after he had there exhibited his expensive and mag- 
 nificent shows, Pompey erected a temple to Venus VictriXy 
 which projected into the circular part of the theatre, probably 
 as Adrian afterwards did at his theatre in his villa, as I have 
 mentioned, in the account of Tivoli. J He therefore pretended 
 that his theatre was a temple, and that the seats for the spec- 
 tators were the steps that led to it. 
 
 Pompey, in the inscription he writ to record his titles on 
 
 enterlainments, turned upon an axia, with the spectators in ifieir seats, and 
 formed an amphiiheatie. — Plin. ib. * Tacit. An. 1. J4. c. ^0, 
 
 t Tacit, ib. c. lil. I See Appendix, JNo. 11, 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 295 
 
 this temple of Venus, was at a loss how to express his third 
 consulship ; whether it should be by consvl tertivm, or 
 TERTio. He therefore referred it to the principal/ critics of 
 Rome, who differing in their opinions, he then begged Cicero 
 to decide this grammatical difficulty. But the orator, either 
 doubtful himself, or unwilling to offend any of the critics^ ad- 
 vised Pompey to abbreviate the word, and to write Tert.* — 
 Yet we find that Agrippa afterwards in his inscription on the 
 Pantheon, used the word TERXiUM.-f 
 
 Pompey at the dedication of his theatre exhibited to the 
 people entertainments of music, gymnastic exercises, and com- 
 bats of wild beasts, w'herein five hundred lions were slain. But 
 what gave the greatest astonishment and terror was the com- 
 bat of elephants. J Cicero,§ who, out of compliment to Pompey, 
 was present at these shows, says that the huntings were mag- 
 nificent ; but he asks, what pleasure is it to a man of taste to 
 see a poor weak fellow torn to pieces by a fierce beast, or a 
 noble beast struck dead with a spear ? Indeed, adds he, the last 
 day's show of elephants, instead of delight, raised compassion, 
 from an opinion of some relation between that sagacious ani- 
 mal and man. The great orator and philosopher || justly ob- 
 serves, that there is no real dignity or lasting honour in these 
 shows ; that they satiate while they please, and are forgotten 
 as soon as over. 
 
 This theatre having suffered from fire, Tiberius undertook 
 
 * A. Gellius, 1. 10. c. 1. f See page 277. $ Plutarch’s -Life of 
 
 Pompey. § Cic. Epist. Fam. I. 7. ep. 1. | Cic. de Ofiic. 1. 2. c. I 6 . 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 296 
 
 to repair it at his own ex pence, because there was no descendant 
 of Pompey’s illustrious family sufficiently rich to do so.* It had 
 afterwards been repaired at various times. 
 
 The Mons Jankulum was opposite to Pompey's theatre, 
 and might have been easily seen from thence : but Horace 
 seems to consider it and the Mons V aiicanus as the same: for 
 the poet says, that the Mons Vaticanus, and banks of the 
 Tiber, echoed back the praises given to Maecenas by the 
 people in this theatre : — 
 
 “ Datus in theatro 
 
 cum tibi plausus. 
 
 Care Maecenas eques ; ut paterni 
 Fluminis ripae, simul et jocosa 
 Redderet laudes tibi Vaticani 
 mentis imago/*’f 
 
 Colonnades In front of the postscenium, as we observe on the marble 
 and parterre Pompey’s magnificent colonnades and parterres, 
 
 which served for public walks. The colonnades were richly 
 decorated with pictures, statues, and expensive ornaments. 
 Their beauty did not escape the attention of the poet Pro- 
 pertius,J who mentions them to Cynthia as more engaging 
 than the walks she would find either at Tibur or Prasneste, 
 where she intended to retire. 
 
 * Tacit. An. 1. 3 . c. 72 . fL, l.od. 20, 
 
 J Propertius, 1. 2. eleg. 32. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 ^97 
 
 “ Nam quid Prasnestis dubias, 6 Cynthia, sorte s. 
 
 Quid petis ^ei moenia Telegoni ? 
 
 Scilicet umbrosis sordet Pompeia columnis 
 Porticus, Aulasis nobilis attalicis 
 
 That these porticos and gardens were much frequented ap- 
 pears from Martial,* who satirising the parasite Selius, for 
 going from one public walk to another, in quest of persons to 
 invite him to dinner or supper, leads him here ; — 
 
 Inde petit centum pendentia tecta columnis ; 
 mine Pompeii dona, nemusque duplex/’ 
 
 Contiguous to his theatre Pompey built his curia or hasilic, pompeyV 
 Although I cannot fix its exact situation, as no part of it re- statue!^^ 
 mains, yet it is too remarkable in the Roman history to be 
 passed over in silence. It was in this curia that Julius Caesar 
 assembled the senate on the ides of March, a day so fatal to 
 him. Attacked by Brutus and Cassius, and the other con- 
 spirators, and covered with wounds, he expired at the foot of 
 Pompey’s statue, which was stained with his blood.*f* Shak- 
 speare, J the immortal father of the English theatre, has seized 
 this cirumstance, when he makes Antony poetically say to 
 the people — 
 
 — ^ Even at the base of Pompey’s statue. 
 
 Which all the while ran blood, great Caesar fell.” 
 
 This curia was ordered to be shut up,§ and the senate never 
 
 • Martial, 1. 2, ep. 14. f Plutarch, Life of J, Caesar. 
 
 X Shakspeare, J, Caesar, act 3. sc. 2. § Suet. Life of J. Caesar, c. 88. 
 
 Qq 
 
2g8 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Circus of 
 Flaminius. 
 No. 18 . 
 
 again assembled in it : but Augustus caused the statue to be 
 removed from thence, and placed it over against his theatre, 
 upon a marble gate.* The noble colossean figure of Pompey, 
 which is now preserved in the Spada palace at Rome, was 
 found here, and probably is the very statue in question. Con- 
 trary, indeed, to the modesty of a Roman citizen, -f it is naked, 
 with the chlamys only in the manner of the ancient Grecian 
 heroes, or deified emperors. It must therefore have been exe- 
 cuted in Pompey’s lifetime, and not after his death, and his 
 party extinguished* 
 
 Another remarkable object in the Campus Martius was the 
 Flaminian circus* It was built, according to Festus, by that 
 C. Flaminius killed at the battle of Trasimenus, on theprata 
 Flaminia, formerly given to the republic by that family. It 
 stood to the south-east of Pompey's theatre. But is so en- 
 tirely destroyed, and covered with buildings, that I can give 
 no description of it. I only know, that on part of its site stand 
 the palace of the Duke Mattei, and the church and convent of 
 the nuns of St. Catherine di Funari. In digging in the garden 
 of these nuns, while I was at Rome, some vestiges of this circus, 
 were discovered, but soon concealed again. As this circus, in 
 the time of Cicero, was without the w’alls, we find assembliesr 
 of the people held there, to give opportunities to generals to 
 assist at them : for when a general was invested with a mili- 
 tary command, he could not appear within the walls of the 
 city. 
 
 * Suet. Aug c. 30. t Grseca res est, nihil velare : ac contra 
 
 Roaiana ac militaris, thoracas addere.”— Plin. 1. 34. c. 5. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS* 
 
 Several temples and other buildings, mentioned by ancient 
 writers, stood near to this circus, but none of them are now to 
 be traced. 
 
 The theatre built by L. Cornelius Balbus, at the desire of Baibus’s 
 
 ^ tluatre. 
 
 Augustus,* was likewise in the Campus Marti us. But where no, 19. 
 it precisely stood, I believe is uncertain. The antiquaries ge- 
 nerally placp it near to the river, in the neighbourhood of the 
 Fabrician b?*idge. A fragment of a theatre, on the marble 
 plan of Rome (Tab. 12), is probably part of t\\e proscenium 
 of this theatre. Because, we know, there were only three per- 
 manent theatres at Rome, viz. those of Pompey, Balbus, and 
 Marcellus, which made Ovid-f say — 
 
 “ Visite conspicuis terna theatra locis."' 
 
 Now, as we plainly trace, among the fragments of this an- 
 cient plan, the theatres of Pompey and Marcdlus, we may 
 conclude that this third belongs to the theatre of Balbus. 
 
 Titus, having taken Jerusalem, brought numbers of Jews The Ghetto, 
 captives to Rome. He employed them in working in the J®wry. 
 buildings he constructed. Their descendants are lodged in a 
 quarter called the Ghetto : a wretched, dirty, confined place, 
 along the banks of the river, to the north of the entry to the 
 Fabrician bridge. May not this be the same site mentioned 
 by Juvenal 
 
 * Suel. .Aug. c. 28. 
 
 ± Sat. 3. V. 13. 
 
 t Be Arte Amandi, 1, 3J v. 394. 
 
300 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Portico of 
 Octavia. 
 No, 20 and 
 21 . 
 
 ** et delubra locantur 
 
 Judasis : quorum cophinus, foenumque siipellex.*' 
 
 These people still remain here in a state of slavery. Ten 
 thousand of them are every night locked up, in this narrow 
 quarter, by order of government. They are heavily taxed, 
 and are often forced to hear sermons preached to them for 
 their conversion. They support themselves by exercising 
 every low profession. It must, however, be acknowledged, 
 that these Jews are now the most ancient inhabitants cf Rome, 
 whose families can with certainty be traced ; and who scru- 
 pulously practise the customs and rites of their forefathers. 
 
 Augustus* was politically anxious to embellish Rome : it 
 was to amuse the people, to obtain their love, to make them 
 forget the loss of their liberty, and the cruelties he committed 
 during his detestable triumvirate. He therefore not only en- 
 gaged rich persons, such as Agrippa, Taurus, Balbus, See. to 
 
 • It wfts sftid of Augustus, that ho should never have been born, or never died. 
 For the first part of his life was stained with such vices and cruelties, and the 
 latter part of it breatlred such humanity and love of the people, that he was then 
 considered as the tutelar deity of the empire. Hence statues, altars, and temples 
 were erected to him in his lifetime. But, whether this absurd flattery pro- 
 ceeded from the poets, or that they only re-echoed the voice of the people, it is 
 now diflicult to pronounce. Virgil invokes him as a deity— 
 
 ** Dens nobis haec otia fecit ; 
 
 Namque erit iile mihi semper deus : illius aram 
 Saepe tener noslris ab ovilibus imbuet agnus.’' Eel. 1, 
 and Horace says — 
 
 — praesens divus habebitur 
 Augustus’^—— L, 3. od. 5» 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 do SO at their own expence ; but he himself likewise erected 
 magnificent buildings, without assuming the praise, having 
 ascribed them either to Livia, to Octavia, to Marcellus, or to 
 Caius and Lucius.* Thus he built an elegant portico, to 
 which he gave the name of his sister Octavia. It stood be- 
 tween the Flaminian circus and Marcellus' theatre. In it 
 were inclosed the temples of Jupiter and Juno, said to have 
 been built, in the time of the republic, by Metellus Macedo- 
 nicus, but which probably had afterwards been embellished by 
 Augustus. The form of this portico and those temples is pre- 
 served on the ancient marble plan of Rome. (Tab. 2.) Con- 
 siderable remains of them are still to be seen at the Pescheria 
 (the fish-market) and the church of St, Angiolo, called in Pes- 
 cheria. Piranesi has traced these beautiful remains, which are 
 of the Corinthian order, and given engravings of them.-f 
 From an inscription remaining on the portico of the temple of 
 Juno, it appears to have suffered from fire — incendio con- 
 sVMPTAM — -and to have been restored by Septimius Severus and 
 Caracalla. It is indeed singular that such solid buildings, of 
 stone and marble, should so frequently have suffered from fire : 
 but this fact is so established by inscriptions, and by many of the 
 Roman writers, that we cannot doubt of it. — Pliny J informs 
 us that these temples, included in the portico of Octavia, were 
 executed by Scaurus and Betrachus, two w^ealthy Lacedemo- 
 nian artists, who offered to build them at their own expence, 
 
 • Suet. Life of Aug. c, 2Q. 
 to tab, 45, inclusive. 
 
 f Piran, Ant. Rom, Tom, 4. tab. 3Q. 
 % Plin. 1. 36 . c. 5, 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 30s 
 
 provided they 'were allowed to inscribe them with their names : 
 but this honour having been refused’ them, they preserved 
 their names by an ingenious hieroglyphic or symbol, viz. by 
 engraving — “ in spiris columnarum'"* — a lizard and a frog — 
 XTcotvpog and BoiTpoixo ^ — being the Greek names of those archi- 
 tects as well as of these animals. That these buildings had 
 been richly ornamented with painting and sculpture, appears 
 from the Venus, known by the name of Medicis, because now 
 preserved in the Medicean gallery at Florence, having been 
 found at the Pescheria. It seems to be the same statue, exe- 
 cuted by Phidias and mentioned by Plinyf — “ Et ipsum Phi- 
 diam tradunt scalpsisse marmora, Veneremque ejus esse Romae 
 in Octavise operibus eximice pulchritudinis ,” — ^Ovid J may have 
 alluded to this statue when he said — 
 
 “ Ipsa Venus pubem, quoties velamina ponit, 
 Protegitur l^evd semireducta manu.*' 
 
 — The Venus of Medicis, the model of female beauty and ele- 
 gance, is too universally known and justly admired to need the 
 aid of my feeble pen to add to its celebrity. 
 
 Marceiius’s Augustus, among his many great works to embellish Rome, 
 between the portico of Octavia and the Capitol hill, a 
 magnificent theatre, on the ground where Julius Csesar 
 
 * Plin. 1. S6. c. 5. — Vide Winckelmann's Monumenti antichi inediti, p. 269 * 
 f Plin. ib. — Pausanias, 1. 1. c. 14. mentions a slaiue of Vemis Urania of Pa- 
 rian marble, the work of Phidias. % De Ai te Amandi, 1. 2. v. Cil3. 
 
 ) 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 intended to have erected one * and gave it the name of his 
 nephew Marcellus, though then dead. Its remains are to be 
 seen at the piazza called Montanara : and on a fragment of the 
 ancient marble plan of Rome (Tab. 12.) I observe part of 
 the orchestra, the pulpitum, the proscenium, and postsceniuM of 
 this theatre. Piranesi,f with much labour, has traced and de- 
 lineated what remains of Marcellus*s theatre, and to his plates 
 I beg leave to refer the curious reader. This theatre, like 
 Vespasian's amphitheatre, was four stories high : but the two 
 upper stories are entirely destroyed, and by their fall have 
 buried in their ruins the seats that were below them, as well 
 as the orchestra and stage. However, almost one half of the 
 elevation of the first and second stories, of the circular part of 
 the theatre, remains, and, though in many places much de- 
 faced, is a proof of the magnificence of this building. The 
 portico of the ground story, which led to the different passages 
 and staircases, is Doric, and is reckoned a model for the 
 proportions of that order. These columns are placed without 
 bases, which, it was thought, gave a gravity to the building, 
 and did not impede the access to the theatre. The second 
 story is Ionic. Tliree steps went round the whole, by which 
 the spectators entered into the lower portico, but which are 
 now concealed, as well as half of the Doric order, by the mo- 
 dern street having become so much higher than the level of the 
 ancient. 
 
 ♦ Suet. Vita. J. Caesaris, c. 44. 
 
 f Ant. Kom. Tom. 4. tub. 25 to tab. 37> inclusive.. 
 
 See page 5. 
 
AKGIENT ROME, 
 
 304 < 
 
 As the Roman theatres were all constructed on the same 
 principles, it is unnecessary, after what I have remarked on 
 Pompey's theatre,* to enter into a further detail of this of 
 Marceilus, 
 
 In the precincts and on the ruins of this theatre, the Savelli 
 family -f built a great palace, which now belongs to the family 
 of Orsini, Dukes of Gravina. 
 
 Prison of the Near to the theatre of Marceilus, stood the prison of the 
 and temple Deccmvirs. On its foundations is built the church of St. Ni- 
 cholas, called, from this circumstance, in car cere. In this pri- 
 son was confined a man, according to Festus and Solinus, but 
 according to Pliny J and Valerius Maximus,§ a woman, con- 
 demned to be starved to death. A daughter, however, lately 
 brought to bed, got access to the prison, but was always care- 
 ful y searched by the jailer, lest she should carry in provisions, 
 and with her own milk long privately nourished her parent. 
 At last when discovered, life was not only granted to the pri- 
 soner and daughter, but, as an encouragement to the great 
 though natural virtue of filial duty, a pension also was con- 
 ferred on them by the state ; and, to commemorate this pious 
 action, a temple was there erected to filial piety. This is 
 said to have happened in the 604th year of Rome. A similar 
 story, from Grecian history, is related by Hyginus.|| He says 
 
 * See page 289, &c. f See page 11. J Pliny, 1. 7. c. 36. 
 
 § Val Max. 1. 5. c. 4. sect. 7. H Fab. 254.— See also Val, Max. 
 
 . 5. c. 4. ex. 1. sect. 1. 
 
THE CAMPUS MARTIUS. 
 
 that Xantippe thus saved the life of her father Cimon, con- 
 demned to be starved in prison. Hence the painters, who 
 have often represented this subject, call the one the Roman, 
 and the othenthe Grecian Charity. They have generally and 
 properly assumed, contrary to the narration of Pliny, and of 
 Valerius Maximus, that the prisoner was a man ; an old man 
 and a young woman giving, no doubt, a greater contrast to 
 their pictures, than the mother and the daughter would have 
 done. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 306 
 
 Having thus examined the most remarkable objects in the 
 Campus Martins, I shall now endeavour to trace the interesting 
 remains of Roman magnificence to be seen in the plain that 
 surrounds the Palatine hill. 
 
 Porta Flu- Before Aurelian added the Campus Marti us to the city, here 
 anTporta the aiicient walls of Rome ran between the Capitol hill and the 
 river, a little below the south end of the island of i^^sculapius ; 
 and near to the bank of the river was the Porta Flumentana. The 
 Porta Carmentalis seems to have been behind the Tarpeian rock. 
 
 Velabrum. When Rome was confined to the Palatine hill, all the plain 
 around it was a sort of marsh ; and that part which extended 
 from the Forum Romanum towards the Circus Maximus was 
 called Velabrum, The etymology of Velabrum is uncertain. 
 Some suppose that it is derived from velatura, the name given 
 to the passage boats, in which people and goods were carried 
 over this plain, when it was overflowed, which frequently 
 happened, by the Tiber : 
 
 . « Qua Velabra suo stagnabant flumine, quoque 
 Nauta per urbanas velificabat aquas.’'* 
 
 Others derive this name from velum, a veil, because those who 
 exhibited public shows in the Circus, generally making their 
 processions from the Forum to the Circus, hung the space 
 between, which was the Velabrum, with veils or hangings. 
 
 Cioacamaxi- It was to drain these grounds, and to preserve the city in 
 
 ma. 
 
 No. 25. * Propertius, 1. 4. el. 10. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 307 
 
 general clean, that Tarquinius Priscus constructed the cloaca 
 maxima. It is one of the most ancient remains of Roman 
 buildings; and it is surprising to find that an infant state 
 should have been able to carry on a work, in which much art 
 and great expence are so conspicuous. It is constructed with 
 huge stones, regularly placed without cement, and forming 
 three rows of arches. Its height and breadth were the same, 
 viz. about eighteen palms Roman. It entered the Tiber be- 
 tween the Pons Senatorius and tlie temple of Vesta: and when 
 the river is low its mouth is easily seen. It was reckoned, in 
 the midst of the Roman grandeur, among the wonders of the 
 world.^ Although the greatest part of this useful and magni- 
 ficent work is now choked up or destroyed, still there remains 
 enough of it to show its former greatness. When these com- 
 mon sewers came to be obstructed in the time of the republic, 
 the censors contracted to pay a thousand talents for cleaning 
 and repairing them and the doing so anew, in the reign of 
 Augustus, is reckoned among the great works of Agrippa. 
 
 “ Hie, ubi nunc fora sunt, udse tenuere paludes ; 
 
 Amne redundatis fossa madebat aquis. 
 
 Curtius ille lacus, siccas qui sustinet aras, 
 
 Nunc solida est tellus, sed lacus ante fuit. 
 
 Qua Velabra solent in Circum ducere pompas; 
 
 Nil praster salices cassaque canna fuit." J 
 
 In the Velabrum were several market-places, viz. the Forum 
 Boarium, the Forum Olitorium, and the Forum Pescatoiium; 
 
 * Livy, 1. 1. c. 38.— See page 7. t Pion. Halic. 1. 3. c. 20. 
 
 J Ovid. Fast. 1. 6. v. 401. 
 
 Forum Boa- 
 rium. 
 
 Forum Oli- 
 toriuin. 
 Forum Pes- 
 catoriuui. 
 
 R r 2 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 besides many buildings, both public and private, now destroy- 
 ed, and several streets, viz. the vicus Jugarius, Argiletus, Tiis- 
 cus, &c. mentioned by the Roman writers; but' the exact 
 situations and extent of which I have not been able to as- 
 certain. 
 
 An arch erected by the bankers and merchants of the Forum 
 Boarium, to Septimius Severus, to his empress Julia, and to 
 their son Caracalla, still exists, and is thus inscribed : — 
 
 IMP. CAES. Ij. SEPTIMIO . SEVERO . PIO . PERTINACI . AVG. ARABIC . ADIABENIC . PARTH. MAX. FORTISSIMO . FEEICISSIMO . 
 
 PONTIF. MAX. TRIB. POTEST . XII. IMP. XI. COS. III. PATRI . PATRIAE . ET . 
 
 [fEEICISSIMOQVE . PRINCIPI . ET . 
 
 IMP. CAES. M. AVRELIO . ANTONINO . PIO . FELICI . AVG. TRIB. POTEST . VII. COS. III. P. P. PROCOS . FORTISSIMO . * 
 
 [PII . FELICIS . AVG. 
 
 IVLIAE . AVG. MATRI . AVG. N. ET . CASTRORVM . ET . SENATVS . ET . FATRIAS . ET . IMP. CAES. AVRElI . ANTONINI . » 
 
 PARTICI . MAXIMI . BRITANNICI . MAXIMI . 
 
 ARGENTArI . ET . NEGOTIANTES . BOArI . ^VIVS DEVOTI . NVMIEl . EORVM. 
 
 Engravings of this arch have been published by Bellori,^ 
 and by other antiquarians. From inspection it appears, that 
 the original words in the third line of this inscription, from 
 the word cos. had been erased, and in their place, in the hol- 
 low left by the erasure, were inscribed — iii. p. p. procos . for- 
 tissimo . FELicissiMOQVE . PRINCIPI . ET . — Now, it is highly 
 probable that this monument was erected in honour of Geta, 
 as well as of Caracalla, and that this last, after he murdered 
 his brother Geta, caused his name to be erased from this inscrip- 
 tion, as he did from every inscription in which it was found. 
 Bellori is of opinion, that, in place of the words engraved on this 
 
 ^ Vide “ Veteres arcus Augustorum triumphis insignes ex reliquiis quae Ro- 
 maeadhuc supersunt.cum imaginibus triumphalibusrestituti,antiquis nummis no- 
 tisque Jo. Petri Bellorii illustrati.*' Tab. 20 and £1. — Desgodelz, c. 19. p. QG, 
 
 So8 
 
 Arch erected 
 by the Ar- 
 genlarii, &c. 
 No. 26 . 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 309 
 
 erasure, it stood originally — et . p . septimio . getae . nobilis- 
 siMo . CAESARi. — Aiid, ill the fifth line, — partici . maximi . 
 BRiTANNici . MAXIMI — are likewise engraved on an erasure : the 
 original inscription seems probably to have been — et . p. septi- 
 Mii . getae : NOBiLissiMi . CAESARis.^ — It was long after this 
 monument was erected, that Caracalla took the appellation of 
 Parthicus and Britannicus. The sculpture on this arch, though 
 in many places much defaced, resembles that on the triumphal 
 arch of Septimius Severus, which I shall afterwards exarpine. 
 Here I saw sacrifices and various objects ; but Bellori's plates 
 will give the reader a clearer idea of the subjects represented 
 on this monument than I can do by words. This arch now 
 serves for a portico to the church of St. George in Velabro 
 supposed by the antiquaries to be built on the ruins of the 
 basilic of Sempronius. 
 
 Numa built a temple to Janus, the shutting or opening the 
 doors of which was a signal of peace or war: Livy^ places it 
 at the lower end of the street called Argiletum,-p which was 
 in the Velabrum, towards the river; but of this celebrated 
 temple, which had been often renewed, there are no vestiges. 
 Indeed temples, in various parts of the city, had been dedi- 
 cated to Janus. 
 
 However, there is a singular building, commonly but im- 
 properly called a temple of Janus, near to the arch erected by 
 
 * Livy, 1 . 1. c. 19. tThis quarter seems to have been much 
 
 frequented'. It was full of shops, particularly of booksellers : here too the 
 persons belonging to the Circus, and the prostitutes had their habitations. 
 
 Basilic of 
 Sempronius, 
 
 Temple of 
 Janus. 
 
 Janus Qua- 
 drifrons. 
 No. 27. 
 
3lO ANCIENT FxOME. 
 
 Lacus Ju- 
 tuinus. 
 
 the Argentarii, which I have just mentioned. This building, 
 which has no resemblance to a temple, probably served for an 
 exchange, where merchants and money dealers assembled to 
 transact their business. It is called Jams QuadriJronsj and, 
 perhaps, it is the same Janus mentioned by Ovid,* where the 
 debtor, afraid to meet his creditor, regretted the quick return of 
 the term of payment — 
 
 “ Qui Puteal Janumque timet, celeresque kalendas.** 
 
 This Janus Quadrifrons is published by Piranesi,‘f and by 
 Serlio.J It is a square building, each front being 102 palms 
 long ; and a gate in the centre of every front, makes it 
 a thoroughfare on all sides. It is constructed with large 
 blocks of marble, and each front is ornamented with two sto- 
 ries of niches, viz. three above and three below the other, 
 which make six on the side of every gate, and consequently 
 twelve on each front. It had been decorated with columns, 
 but these have been taken away. Above the coTnice I ob- 
 served a construction of brick, which had been added by the 
 Frangipani family, when, in the middle age, they converted 
 this monument into a small fortress. 
 
 Below the Janus Quadrifrons, and opposite to the Palatine 
 hill, there is a little canal of limpid water, which after turning 
 a paper mill, and serving for a washing place, discharges itself 
 into the cloaca maxima. I shall not waste time to trace out 
 
 • Remedia Amoris, v. 561. f Ant. Rom. Tom 1. lab. 2J. fig. 
 
 ^ Serlio, Archilettura, 1. 3. p. cii. — Vide Marhanus, p. 54. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 311 
 
 the source of this water ; I shall only remark, that tradition 
 makes this canal the lake of Juturna, where, as the mytholo- 
 gists pretend. Castor and Pollux were seen to water their 
 horses, after the battle at the Lacus Regillus,* * * § and then dis- 
 appeared. 
 
 Near to the Palatine or Senatorial! bridge, now known by 
 the name of the Ponte RottOi I observed the remains of a build- 
 ing called, by some authors, the house of Pontius Pilate, and 
 by others that of Cola di Rie'nzo,'f the celebrated tyrant of 
 Rome, in the time of Pope Clement VI. But, by a barbarous 
 inscription, of the tenth century, still remaining, and published 
 by Abbot Nerini,;}; it plainly appears to have been the house 
 of Nicolas, the son of Crescens and Theodora. This is pro- 
 bably that Crescens, buried at St. Alexis,§ whom Baronius|| 
 supposes to be the son of Pope John X. who was the son of 
 Pope Sergius and Marozia. An account of the amours and 
 infamous lives of these pontiffs is transmitted to us in lively 
 colours by the historian Luitprandus, ^ Bishop of Cremona. 
 
 * See page 6 I. 
 
 f -Cola di Rienzo is ?in abbreviation of Nicolas the son of Laurence.— Cle- 
 ment VI. was elected Pope in the year 1342. — See Vita Nicolai Laurentii apud 
 Muratorium, Ant. Ital, medii aevi, Tom. 3 . p. 399*~See Gibbon’s Rom. Hist. 
 Tom. 6. in 4to. p. 572, &c.—-See also conjuration de Nicolas de Rienzi, par 
 le Pere Cerceau. 
 
 J I). Felicis Nerinii de Templo et Coenobio S, S. Bonifacii et Alexii Historia 
 Monumenta. p. 318. 
 
 § Nerinius, ib. p. 83, &c. H Annal. Eccles. ad annum 996* sect. II. 
 
 ^ Apud Muratorium, Rer. Ital. Script. Tom. 2.— See Gibbon’s Rom. Hist. 
 Vol. 5, in 4to. p. 153, &c. 
 
 House of 
 Nicolas 
 Crescens. 
 No. 28 . 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 512 
 
 Though this building, published by Piranesi,^ cannot be 
 called a Roman antiquity, yet as it is constructed with ma- 
 terials taken from ancient monuments, and is in itself singular, 
 it deserves the attention of the curious. 
 
 Temple of 
 Fortuna Vi- 
 rilis. 
 
 No. 529. 
 
 Fortune could not but have many votaries: under various 
 appellations temples were often dedicated^ to this inconstant 
 deity. Servius Tullius, in gratitude for his prosperous fortune, 
 built, near to the Tiber, a temple to Fortuna ViriUs;\ which is 
 now converted into the church of S, Maria Egyptiacay belong- 
 ing to the Arminians. The elegant fluted Ionic columns 
 which ornament this temple, and which served as models for 
 the proportions of this order, show that it was not the 
 original temple built by Servius, but that it must have been 
 rebuilt at the time when architecture was in great perfection 
 at Rome. It seems to have suffered from fire. The body of 
 the temple is built with that stone which the Romans call 
 peperino and the portico with travertino : but to render the 
 whole uniform, and to conceal what had been defaced by fire, 
 it was covered with a fine stucco. This temple, like many 
 of the ancient buildings of Rome, now appears to great disad- 
 vantage, because the high basement, on which it stands, and 
 even part of the columns, are covered with the ground, which 
 is so much raised above the level of the ancient street. — The 
 form of this temple is a parallelogram : its exterior length, 
 including the portico, is about 78 palms Roman, and its breadth 
 48 palms ; the interior, or cella, of the temple was about 45 
 
 ^ Ant. Rom. Tom. 1. tab. 21. fig. 1. 
 t Dion. Hal. Ant. Rom. 1. 4. 
 
 % See page 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 3^3 
 
 palms long, and 32 palms broad. But, to enlarge the nave of 
 the present church, the wall which separated the cella from the 
 portico was taken down, and the beautiful little portico, which 
 was open, is now walled up. It is, indeed, unnecessary for me 
 to describe particularly this building, since Palladio,^ Desgo- 
 detZj-f and Piranesi X have done so, and to whose plates I beg 
 leave to refer. 
 
 On the banks of the river, a little below the temple of For- 
 tuna ViriliSj I observed a small rotonda, which tradition makes 
 a temple of Vesta; but some antiquaries suppose it to have 
 been the temple of Hercules ; Nardini,§ indeed, seems to think 
 that it was that oiVoluptas; and Piranesi || calls it that of 
 Cyhele, Such is the uncertainty that too often attends our 
 inquiries into Roman antiquities ! It is now converted into a 
 church called S, Maria delV Sole, or S, Stephano delle carozzct 
 
 This is one of these temples which Vitruvius ^ names 
 ripteri. Of these spherical temples some had no particular 
 porch to mark the front, but were entirely surrounded with 
 an open colonnade ; such is the temple in question, as well as 
 that of V esta at Tivoli others had only a porch in front, 
 but no colonnade round the body of the temple ; such is the 
 superb Pantheon in the Campus Martius.f f 
 
 * Dell’ Arc’hitettura, 1. 4. c. 13. t Les Edifices antiques de Rome, 
 
 C- 6. p. 41. Ant. Rom. Tom. 4. taV- 49, 60, 51, and 52 , 
 
 § Rom. Ant. 1. 7 * c. 3. \\ Ant. Rom. Tom. 1. p. 22 , and tab. 22 , fig. 1. 
 
 ^ L. 4. c. 7. See Appendix. No. II. 
 
 tt See page 277. 
 
 Ss 
 
 Temple of 
 Vesta. 
 
 No. 30. 
 
ANCIENT ROME 
 
 Though tin’s temple of Vesta, for such I reckon it, is much 
 defaced, enough of it remains to show its former elegance. 
 The interior, or cella, is very small, its diameter being only 
 the length of one of the columns, including the capital and 
 base, which is the proportion laid down by Vitruvius for such 
 temples. The wall of the cella is built with white marble, the 
 blocks of which are so nicely joined that it seems to be formed 
 of one block. The twenty columns of the same marble, which 
 form the colonnade, are placed at about eight feet from the 
 wall. The abacus of the capitals of these columns have their 
 angles acute, that is, they are not cut off, as is generally 
 practised. 
 
 So much of this temple remains, that it would not have 
 been difficult to have restored and preserved for ages this 
 monument of Roman taste. But in place of doing so, and 
 repairing the cornice and frieze, which are entirely destroyed, 
 beams have been laid over the columns, on which is raised an 
 ugly roof, like that of a windmill. The open colonnade is 
 now shut up, by building walls between the intercolumniation, 
 so that only about a third of each column is now seen. The 
 space between the colonnade and the cella, on the left hand 
 as we enter, serves for a sacristy to the little church ; and the 
 space on tlie right hand is degraded into a farrier's shop. 
 Delineations of this temple have been often published, parti- 
 cularly by Palladio* and by Desgodetz ;*f' and Piranesij; has 
 given what remains of it, stripped of its modern additions. 
 
 * L. 4. c. 14. 
 
 t C. 4. 
 
 J Ut supra. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 315 
 
 The worship of Festa, or that of fire, had been early intro- 
 duced int Italy. VirgiF makes JEneds, amidst the confla- 
 gration of Troy, carry away with him the statue of Vesta ^ and 
 the perpetual fire consecrated to her : — 
 
 Vestamque potentem, 
 
 iEternumque adytis elFert penetralibus ignem.” 
 
 Numa Pompilius built a temple to Vesta between the Pala- 
 tine and Capitol hills, -f but of which there are no remains. At 
 the same time, this great legislator of Rome, instituted a so- 
 ciety of vestals, or noble virgin priestesses, to perform all the 
 sacred rites to the goddess, and particularly to watch over the 
 fire, that it might always continue burning. If it happened to 
 go out, it was reckoned to presage some dreadful calamity to 
 the state, and severely were the vestals chastised for this 
 negligence. 
 
 But besides the temple built by Numa, at the side of the 
 Palatine hill, Vesta had another erected to her on the banks 
 of the Tiber. Virgil seems to point out these two temples 
 when he says — • 
 
 ‘‘ Vestaque mater 
 
 Quse Tuscum Tiherim, et Romana palatia servas."'J 
 
 The Tiber was anciently the boundary between Tuscany and 
 Latium: hence the poet gives the epithet of Tuscum to that 
 
 • ^n. 2. V. 296. t Dioa. Hal. 1. 2. c. 17 . sect. 3.—and Plutarch’s 
 
 Life of IS uma. t Georg. 1 . v. 498. 
 
 SS 2 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 river. Tolomeus* says — Tuscia in oriente habet Latium 
 et Tiberim. 
 
 The Temple of Vesta, on the banks of the Tiber, which I 
 am now examining, must, from its elegant Greek architec- 
 ture, have been built at a much later period than that of 
 Numa. By whom it was built we cannot discover : but 
 that it existed in the time of Horace, we may conclude from 
 his verses, when describing an inundation of the river he 
 says — 
 
 “ Vidimus flavum Tiberim, retortis 
 Littore Etrusco violenter undis. 
 
 Ire dejectum monumenta regis, 
 
 Templaque Vestce."" 
 
 The poet using the plural templa, may have had in view both 
 the temples dedicated to this favourite deity. 
 
 Plutarch, J mentioning the temple of Vesta, says that it 
 was of an orbicular form, for the preservation of the sacred 
 fire; intending thereby to express not so much the earth 
 or Vesta, as the whole universe, in the centre of which 
 the Pythagoreans placed fire, which they called Vesta and 
 Unity. 
 
 In my account of Tivoli, § I observed that the temples of 
 
 * Geographia, 1, 3. 
 
 $ De Iside et Osiride 
 
 t L, 1. od, 2. 
 
 § Appendix. No. II. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 Vesta were round, in allusion to the figure of our earth : it 
 seems, however, probable that the worship of Vesta or fire 
 had been borrowed, though not rightly understood, from Asia, 
 and that it was properly the worship of the sun, which a more 
 ancient and a more improved astronomy placed in the centre of 
 the universe; and from which Pythagoras had taken his 
 system:* a system revived by Copernicus, and demonstrated 
 by the immortal Newton. 
 
 The church dedicated to S. Maria in Cosrnedin^ opposite to Temple of 
 
 Pudicitia 
 
 the temple of Vesta, is no doubt built on the ruins of an an- Patricia, 
 cient temple. The antiquaries generally reckon, that this was 
 the temple of Pudicita, or chastity, belonging to the Patrician 
 matrons, and from which the plebeians were excluded.-f- For 
 such was the distinction of ranks, during the consular state of 
 Rome, between the patrician and plebeian ladies, that the 
 former would not allow the latter to be present with them at 
 their sacred rites. They even excluded Virginia, of noble 
 birth, because she had married the consul Volumnius, a ple- 
 beian. This gave rise to the temple of Pudiciiia Plebeia, 
 which Virginia erected in her own house, in Vico longo,"^ but oi 
 which I can trace no remain. Indeed the temple of Pudi- 
 citia Patricia is so defaced and altered by the modern build- 
 ing, that I cannot decide, with any degree of certainty, on its 
 
 * Hisloire de I’Astronomie Anciennfe, par Bailly, 1. 8. sect. 3. et Eclaiicisse- 
 niens. t T. Livius, 1. JO. c. -aS.— See a curions medal of Magnia 
 
 Ujbica, the wife of Carinus, on the reverse of which is a Pudiciiia. Picoroni 
 Ptom. Ant. 1. 1. c. 6 . t Livius, ib. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 former state. But, from marble columns built up in the walls 
 of this church, the ancient form of the temple seems to have 
 been square; and we may presume that it was spacious and 
 magnificent. 
 
 From a tradition that S. Augustin, before his conversion, 
 taught rhetoric here, this church of S. Maria is sometimes 
 called in Scuola Greca. But the vulgar and general appellation 
 of Bocca della veritd has been given to it, from a large and 
 hideous marble mask, placed on the wall of its porch. This 
 mask, by some writers, is supposed to represent Jupiter, into 
 whose mouth those who were to make oath, before a judge, 
 put their hand— “ Jovem lapidem jurare; *— and if they swore 
 falsely, it was believed that the idol miraculously shut its pon- 
 derous jaws, and crushed the hand of the perjurer. But who- 
 ever examines this mask attentively will be of opinion, that it 
 either represents some river-god, or that it served for an orna- 
 ment to a fountain or aqueduct. 
 
 * Cicero, when his friend Trebatius became an 'Epicurean, asks him— 
 « Quomodo autem tibi placebit Jovem lapidem jnrare, cum scius Jovem iratuni 
 ^sse nemini posse?” — Ep. Earn. 1. 7. ep» 12. 
 
 t Vide Fabretli de Column a Trajani Syntagma, p. 305. c. 9. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 SI9 
 
 I proceed to the Circus Maximus. It was so named from its 
 being the most extensive of all the circuses in and about Rome. 
 It is situated on the plain, which was called Fallis Murcia^ 
 and now known by the name of Valle di Circhi, between the 
 Pal tine and Aventine hills. But so few fragments of it re- 
 main, I cannot give its exact delineation: the ground on 
 which it stood being now divided into and employed for kitchen 
 gardens. 
 
 This circus was overlooked by the imperial palace, from 
 the height of which the emperors had such a full view of 
 it, that they could even there give signals to begin the 
 races. 
 
 The games of the circus, in which religion, politics, and 
 amusement were combined, seem to have been coeval with 
 Rome. Such probably were the games which Romulus pro- 
 claimed, to attract his Sabine neighbours to Rome, when he 
 meditated to carry off their women, to increase the population 
 of his infant state. These games, simple no doubt in the be- 
 ginning, came at last to be performed with the utmost art and 
 splendour. 
 
 Tarquinius Priscus was the first who gave a form to the 
 Circus Maximus. He surrounded it with covered seats, for 
 till then the spectators stood on scaffolds supported by beams.* 
 But, from time to time enlarged and embellished, particularly 
 * JDion. Hal. 1. 3. c. £0. sect. 4. 
 
 The Circus 
 Maximus. 
 No. 32 , 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 by the emperors, it became a most superb building, worthy of 
 the grandeur of Rome. 
 
 Julius Caesar added to the extent of this circus, and sur- 
 rounded it with a euripus or canal, supplied with water from 
 the rivulet Crahra or Marana^ which runs between the Aven- 
 tine hill and the circus, and discharges itself into the Tiber 
 between the Palatine and Sublician bridges. This euripus, 
 ten feet deep, and as many broad,'f was no doubt a defence to 
 the spectators against the chariots, but must have been dan- 
 gerous to the latter and their conductors. 
 
 The Circus Maximus, thus improved by Julius, was, accord- 
 ing to Pliny, J three stadia long, and one stadium broad, and 
 could contain two hundred and sixty thousand spectators. But 
 these measures do not exactly agree with those given by Dio- 
 nysius of Halicarnassus.§ The great extent of this circus made 
 Juvenal say — 
 
 ‘‘ Totam hodie Romam circus capit.*’|] 
 
 Mr. Addison applied this poetical exaggeration to Vespasian's 
 amphitheatre — 
 
 ** That on its public shows unpeopled Rome." 
 
 *** See page 73. t Dion. Hal. 1. 3. c. 20. sect. 4. 
 
 ^ Lib. 36. c. 15.— A stadium contained six hundred and twenty-five feet, and 
 eight stadia was reckoned equal to an Italian mile. § Ib. sect. 5, 
 
 II Sat. 11. V. 195. ^ Letter from Italy to Lord Halifax, 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 321 
 
 The circus no doubt contained more spectators than the am- 
 phitheatre could have done. 
 
 Claudius rebuilt the carceres with marble, and gilded the 
 metcSy which had formerly been of common stone and wood; 
 and assigned proper places for the senators, who till then seem 
 to have mingled promiscuously with the people.* 
 
 The carceres were placed at the north end of this circus. 
 But they are so destroyed that I cannot with certainty decide, 
 whether they and the metre were constructed on the same in- 
 genious principle, which I remarked in those of the circus of 
 Caracalla,'!' by which the horses and chariots all entered the 
 course with equal advantage. T am, indeed, inclined to think 
 that the same construction was observed here, especially after 
 that Claudius renewed the carceres. I find circuses delineated 
 on various medals, but these are too small to preserve their 
 exact proportions, to allow me to draw any certain conclusion 
 from them. 
 
 As no part of the exterior of this circus remains, I cannot 
 describe its decoration. It is, indeed, generally supposed that 
 it was surrounded, except at the end where the carceres were 
 placed, with three open porticos, above each other, which, like 
 those of the theatres and amphitheatres, led to the different 
 passages, vomitorii, and seats ; and thus served for an easy ac-» 
 cess and retreat to the numerous spectators. 
 
 * Suelon. V, Tib. Claudii Caes. c. 21. f See page 99^ el seq. 
 
 / T t 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Some antiquaries reckon that many of the lower arches of 
 the circus served for shops to merchants, but from which they 
 were obliged to remove their goods, before the exhibition of 
 the sames. It would seem, however, that there was a regular 
 but lower range of buildings, between the circus and Palatine 
 hill, called tabernce, which with the circus formed a street. 
 These taherncs served not only for shops to merchants, but 
 for brothels to licenced prostitutes. From the fornices, in 
 which these last were lodged, is derived fornicatio. These 
 prostitutes paid a tax to the state : Alexander Severus forbad 
 the money arising from this disgraceful tax to be paid into the 
 treasury, but that it should be applied to the repairing the 
 buildings for public shows, viz. theatres, amphitheatres, cir- 
 cuses, &c.^ It was chiefly about these places of public resort 
 the prostitutes assembled. Thus LampridiusJ has given us a 
 picture of the debauches of the infamous Heliogabalus — 
 “ Omnes de circo, de theatro, de stadio, et omnibus locis, et 
 balneis meretrices collegit in aedes publicas, et apud eas con- 
 cionem habuit quasi militarem, dicens eas commilitones : dis- 
 putavitque de generibus schematum et voluptatum.'' — And 
 Juvenal says§ — 
 
 et ad circum jussas prostrare puellas.*' 
 
 From my remarks on Caracalla's circus, || and the plan of 
 them, added to the present observations, I flatter myself that 
 the reader will be enabled to form a distinct idea of circuses in 
 general. 
 
 * Lampridius’s Life of Alexander Severus, c. 24. f Ibid. 
 
 X Life of Heliogabalus, c. 26. § Sat. 3. v. 65. || See page 99; et seq. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 3^3 
 
 I cannot conclude this article without mentioning the two Tsvo obelisks, 
 great Egyptian obelisks that formerly ornamented the spina of 
 the Circus Maximus, 
 
 The obelisk placed here by Augustus'*' is covered with hie- 
 roglyphics, and is supposed to have been executed by order of 
 Psammiticus or SemneserteiiSj-f who began to reign in Egypt 
 408 years before Christ, and governed that country twelve 
 years. The length of its shaft, or ray, without the pedestal, 
 is one hundred and ten palms. Sixtus Quintus employed Fon- 
 tana, his architect, to remove this obelisk from the circus, and 
 to place it in the pia%%a deV Popolo^ where it serves as a mag- 
 nificent ornament to that beautiful entry to the city. The 
 height of the whole obelisk, including the base, and the cross 
 with which it is surmounted, is, according to Fontana, one 
 hundred and sixty-three palms. 
 
 The other obelisk, placed likewise on the spina of this circus, 
 was the highest of these wonderful monuments of Egyptian 
 art brought to Rome. It was first removed, by order of Con- 
 stantine the Great, from- Thebes to Alexandria, with an in- 
 tention to have sent it to his new city of Constantinople : but, 
 some years after his death, it was conveyed from Alexandria 
 to Rome, by his son Constantius. It was after he had visited 
 Rome, in the year 358, that, struck with its magnificence, 
 which he found greater than even fame herself had announced, 
 he resolved to add this extraordinary obelisk to its splendour, 
 
 # gee page 261, f M. Mercati de gli Obelischi di Roma, c. 19* 
 
 T t 2 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 i 
 
 The reasons given by Monsignor Mercati^ leave little doubt 
 but that this is the obelisk executed by Ramises or Ramses, 
 the sixth king of that name. Its shaft or ray was one hun- 
 dred and forty-eiglit palms high, exclusive of its pedestal of 
 red granite, composed of different pieces ; but these pieces were 
 so broken, that Mercati, employed for this purpose by Sixtus 
 Quintus, could with much difficulty unite them, and copy the 
 twenty-four hexameter Verses, six lines of which were inscribed 
 on each side of the pedestal, and which this learned prelate 
 published, with observations.-f 
 
 This is the obelisk which the celebrated pontiff, Sixtus 
 Quintus, ordered Fontana to erect at the church of St. John 
 of Lateran. The architect was obliged to give it a new pe- 
 destal, and to cut off four palms, much defaced, from the bot- 
 tom of its ray : yet the height of the whole, from the ground to 
 the top of the cross placed on it, is two hundred and four palms 
 Roman. 
 
 Ammianus Marcellinus'J] has recorded a translation in Greek 
 of the hieroglyphics engraved on an jobelisk. Mercati § thinks 
 it is the interpretation of part of Augustus's obelisk, now placed 
 at the piazza del* Popolo : but some antiquaries apply this in- 
 terpretation to Constantius's obelisk at St. John of Lateran. 
 Be this as it may, Ammianus copied this interpretation from 
 JJermapion, supposed to have been an Egyptian. It seems to 
 contain little more than some flattering titles to Rhamestus : 
 
 * Mercati de gli Obelischi di Roma, c, 31. 
 
 X Lib. 17. 
 
 + Ib. c. 32 
 § Mercati, ib. c. 19. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 325 
 
 but the text is so corrupted, it is difficult to make out its 
 meaning, and perhaps the whole is a forgery by some Egyp- 
 tian. However, Mercati* has published a Latin translation of 
 it, which he has accompanied with remarks. 
 
 At the side of the Palatine hill, opposite to the church and 
 convent of St. Gregory,’^ stood the Septizoniuin of Septimius 
 Severus. It is reckoned to have beeen a sepulchral monument 
 of that emperor. From its vast height, seven stories,, it pro- 
 bably took its name. No vestige of it now remains ; but it is 
 said, part of it existed in the time of Pope Sixtus Quintus, 
 which he removed, and employed thirty eight of its columns 
 to ornament the church of St. Peter. Delineations of what 
 remained of this monument, immediately before it was entirely 
 destroyed by Sixtus Quintus, show that it had been magnifi- 
 cent. Claudius Duchetus, in the year 1583, which was prior 
 to the reigh of Sixtus V. published an engraving of it, in 
 which we observe part of the first, second, and third stories. 
 
 Near to Vespasian’s amphitheatre, between the Palatine 
 and Celian hills, stands the triumphal arch of Constantine, 
 which is the most entire of all these proud monuments erected 
 by flattery. His victory over Maxentius^ procured him this 
 honour from the senate, and the protection he gave to the 
 Christian religion, the appellation of great from the church. 
 We may perhaps ascribe the superior preservation of this arch 
 to the gratitude of the popes, and particularly to Clement XII. 
 
 * Mercati de gli Obelischi di Roma, c, 19 ct 20. i* See page 181. 
 
 :J; See page 38. 
 
 Septizoniura 
 of Severus. 
 No. 33. 
 
 Constan- 
 tine's trium- 
 phal arch. 
 No. 34. 
 
326 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 who repaired it, and restored the heads of the statues, of the eight 
 Dacian captives, placed on the columns, which are said to have 
 been stolen and carried to Florence by Laurence of Medici.^ 
 
 This monument consists of three arches or passages, viz. a 
 great arch in the centre, and a smaller one on each side ; and 
 the whole is richly ornamented with fine columns, and sculp- 
 tured marbles 
 
 The following inscription, published by Gruter,f and other 
 authors, is repeated above the centre arch, on both sides of the 
 monument. 
 
 IMP . CAES .. FL . CONSTANTINO . MAXIMO 
 P . F . AVGVSTO . S . P . 2 . R . 
 
 QVOD . INSTINCTV . DIVINITATIS . MENTIS 
 MAGNITVDINE . CVM . EXERCITV . SVO 
 TAM . DE . TTRANNO . QVAM . DE . OMNI , EIVS 
 FACTIONE . VNO . TEMPORE IVSTIS 
 REMPVBLICAM . VLTVS . EST . ARMIS 
 
 ARCVM . TRIVMPHIS . INSIGNEM . DICAVIT . 
 
 Within the centre arch, on one side, I read — liberatori 
 VRB is — and on the other — fvndatori . gviETis . — 
 
 Over the small arch, on the left hand going from the circus, 
 I observed — sic . x . — and over the small arch, on the right 
 hand sio . xx. — On the side towards the amphitheatre, over 
 the same arches, is marked — votis . x . — and votis • xx. 
 
 * Venuti, Ant. di Roma, page 13. ed. in 4to. f Page 282. jNo. 2. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. gSjT 
 
 This triumphal arch seems to have been erected three years 
 after the defeat of Maxentius ; but we find no mention in the 
 inscription of the celebrated vision of the cross, unless it is in- 
 tended by the ambiguous expression — ‘‘ Instinctu divinitatis** 
 
 and even these two words have been thought, by some 
 
 critics,^ to be a superinduction. 
 
 In this arch we have a remarkable instance of the decline of 
 sculpture from the time of Trajan, when that ingenious art 
 was in great perfection at Rome, to that of Constantine. Ar- 
 chitecture, indeed, had not declined so fast, for the form of 
 this arch is elegant. 
 
 The senate, desirous to erect a magnificent monument to 
 Constantine, and not finding artists capable to do so, ordered 
 the superb triumphal arch of Trajan to be taken down, and 
 its beautiful bas-relieves, and rich materials, to be employed to 
 ornament this of Constantine.f Besides the barbarity of de- 
 stroying a monument belonging to so great an emperor as 
 Trajan, they did not perceive the absurdity of employing 
 sculptures that recorded the actions of the latter only, and 
 which had no connection with the history of Constantine. 
 
 This arch may therefore be still more properly called Trajan’s 
 than Constantine’s. But it is easy to distinguish the superior 
 elegance of the bas-relieves of Trajan, preserved on this arch, 
 from the half Gothic ones added to celebrate the actions of 
 Constantine. 
 
 * Venuti, Ant, di Roma, p. U2. 
 
 t See page 217. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Sensible that I could not, without the assistance of plates, 
 give a proper description of this triumphal arch, and the va- 
 rious subjects represented on it, I beg leave to refer the curious 
 reader to Pietro Santo Bartoli's engravings, published by Bel- 
 lori.* But those who examine, on the arch itself, the bas- 
 relieves executed in the time of Constantine, will readily per- 
 ceive that the ingenious Bartoli has improved them in his prints, 
 
 * Veleres Arcus Augustorum, &c. tab. 23. ad tab. 47, inclusive. 
 


THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 329 
 
 VESPASIAN^S AMPHITHEATRE. 
 
 The next object that attracts the eye, even of the most in- No. 35. 
 attentive observer, is the amphitheatre, commonly called the 
 Colosseo,'\ begun by Vespasian and finished by Titus.J This 
 stupendous building, considering the purposes for which it was 
 intended, was the most complete that ingenuity ever imagined, 
 or art executed. If with wonder we still view it, in its 
 ruinous state, what must have been our astonishment to have 
 seen it entire, and above eighty thousand spectators con- 
 veniently placed on its seats !§ Indeed Martial might justly 
 
 sayll— 
 
 “ Omnis Caesareo cedat labor amphitheatro ; 
 
 Unum prae cunctis fama loquatur opus. 
 
 Although the terms theatre and amphitheatre have been often 
 used without distinction, by writers both ancient and modern, 
 yet the difference of their form, as well as their use, is well 
 
 t In the low ages it was called Colis(£UTn or Co/osseo, from the vaslness of the 
 building, and not from aColossean statue of Nero, supposed to have stood near 
 it. See Scipio Maffei degli Anfiteatri, 1. 1. c. 4. 
 
 Suetonius, V. Titi, c. 7. ^ Besides a vast number, who could not 
 
 find seats, stood on the 'prcEcinctiones and other parts of the building. 
 
 |j De Spectaculis, ep. 1. 
 
 U u 
 
33 ^ 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 known. The first was half of a circle or oval, and served for 
 the representation of dramatic compositions; whereas the se- 
 cond was an entire circle, or oval, and appropriated for exhi- 
 biting the combats of gladiators, the hunting of wild beasts, 
 and sometimes for those naval fights called naumachia. Hence 
 the amphitheatre was a double theatre. Both were admirably 
 contrived for these different uses.^ 
 
 The bloody combats of gladiators seem to have been pecu- 
 liar to the Hetrurians, from whom the Romans copied them, 
 as well as many of their religious ceremonies. We find on 
 Hetruscan monuments representations of such combats, and 
 men in attitudes of killing one another, with various weapons. 
 Gladiators fought both at funerals and festivals. Such com- 
 bats were considered as agreeable to the dead, and diverting 
 to the living. They were no doubt well adapted to the genius 
 of a fierce and warlike people, and contributed not a little to 
 inspire them with courage. Indeed, a savage patriotism, which 
 produced a relentless heroism, and an ardent attendance on 
 these sanguinary shows, could not but steel the hearts of the 
 Romans, and render them callous to the finer feelings of na- 
 ture. Hence my amiable, ingenious, and worthy friend, George 
 Keate, Esq. in his elegant poem. Ancient and Modern Rome, 
 well observes — 
 
 * Dio Cassius describes the amphitheatre thus —* ** Theatrum quoque ad ve- 
 nalionem aptum aedificavit, quod, quia uniquaque haberet sedes, scaenaque caret, 
 amphitheatrum cognoininatuin est.” Hist. Rom, 1. 43 . — Hence Cassiodorus 
 
 calls an amphitheatre—^^ Theatrum venatorium.” Var. 1. 5 . 42 . 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 33 1 
 
 ‘‘ The pursuit of arms 
 
 Had check’d each softer impulse, and forbad 
 To call compassion virtue.” 
 
 When the Athenians were deliberating, whether they should 
 have gladiators as well as the Corinthians, the Philosopher 
 Demonax advised them not to vote for it, till they had pulled 
 down the altar of mercy , — Though Cicero* does not approve 
 of these bloody shows, yet I do not remember to have met 
 with any of the Roman writers who have expressly condemned 
 them, except Seneca.-f 
 
 Man can methodize even his prejudices. Thus colleges were 
 instituted for the education of gladiators. J They were classed 
 into different kinds, and distinguished by their dress and 
 weapons. This variety increased the pleasure of the spectator. 
 
 The retiarius commonly attacked the secutor, and sometimes 
 the myrmillo : the myrmillo was matched with the thrax, &c. 
 
 But it would lengthen my remarks, beyond my intention, to 
 give a particular account of the various kinds of gladiators, 
 their arms, and manner of fighting. I shall therefore beg 
 leave to refer the curious reader to the learned dissertation of 
 abbot Vitale§ on this subject, I shall only here observe, that 
 the Romans carried the luxury, if I may so call it, of these 
 combats so far, that the instructors, named lanistic, of the gla- 
 diators, not only taught them the art of attack and defence, 
 
 * See page %Q5, Epist. 1. 7. ep. 95. $ See page 60. 
 
 I See page 61. 
 
 U U 3 
 
332 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 but, when wounded, to throw themselves into elegant attitudes, 
 and to die gracefully. 
 
 These barbarous combats were exhibited with great pomp 
 and solemnity, gefore the construction of amphitheatres, 
 they were commonly given either in the forum or circus. The 
 first public exhibition of this sort, seems to have been in the 
 490th year of Rome ; when, at the instance of the Brutiy three 
 couples of gladiators Tought, in memory of their deceased 
 father, and to do honour to his obsequies.-’^ Afterwards, to 
 flatter the people, great personages, and whoever were elected 
 into certain offices, particularly that of aedile, presented com- 
 bats of gladiators, as a grateful acknowledgement for the favour 
 conferred on them. They were called muneruy donatives or 
 gifts. 
 
 From Pliny-f we learn that the first show of wild beasts, 
 brought into the circus, was in the year of Rome 502. They 
 were the elephants taken from the Carthaginians, on the vic- 
 tory obtained by Lucius Metellus, in Sicily. But the making 
 them fight was only introduced about the middle of that age. 
 However, luxury increasing with riches, Marcus Scaurus, in. 
 his cedileship, exhibited one hundred and fifty tigers, five cro- 
 codiles, and an hippopotamus. But Pompey, on dedicating his 
 theatre, as I have observed, exceeded all the shows hitherto 
 given to the people. He presented four hundred and ten 
 tigers, five hundred lions, a number of elephants, the lynx, 
 the rhinoceros, and other large beasts, many of which were 
 * T. Liv. c. 42. 1. 16, f Nat. Hist. 1. 8. c. 7. See page 29*5. 
 
 O 
 
333 
 
 THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 brouo-ht from Ethiopia. Julius Cssar, when asdile, gave the 
 peopte a combat of three hundred and twenty couple of gla- 
 diators ; but, after he ended the civil war, he divided his hunt- 
 ing games so as to last five days. In these shows five hundred 
 men on foot, and three hundred on horseback, were made to 
 fight with tw'enty elephants, on whose backs turrets were 
 placed, and defended by sixty men. 
 
 The huntings of wild beasts, having become so magnificent, 
 it was necessary to contrive a building where they might be 
 performed more conveniently than in the circus. Because the 
 length of the circus, proper for the chariot races, was improper 
 for these combats ; the distance, as well as elevation of the 
 spina and mela, rendering it difficult for the people to see. 
 And, indeed, no form of building could be better calculated 
 for such shows than an amphitheatre, which, as I have just 
 remarked is two theatres joined together. Here the spectators, 
 placed round a circle or oval, with nothing to interrupt their 
 view, and secured from the danger of the wild beasts, could 
 fully enjoy the sight of these favourite shows. 
 
 The amphitheatres at first were only temporary, and built 
 of wood. The first built of stone was that erected in. the 
 Campus Martius by Statilius Taurus, in the time of Augustus, 
 as I have already mentioned ;* and which was probably con- 
 structed after the death of Vitruvius, since he takes no notice 
 of such a building. But the most magnificent ever erected 
 was this of Vespasian. Nor did Martial without reason assert, 
 
 * See page 267 
 
334 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 that the pyramids and mausoleums of Egypt ought to yield to 
 it in grandeur.* He caused the ground, which Nero had ap- 
 propriated for his ponds^ adjacent to his golden house, to be 
 drained, and there built his amphitheatre : 
 
 “ Hie, ubi conspicui venerabilis amphitheatri 
 Erigitur moles, stagna Neronis erant.'’'f* 
 
 When Vespasian destroyed the buildings of that tyrant, he 
 and Titus, no doubt, employed many of their materials for 
 constructing the amphitheatre, which is placed between the 
 Palatine, Celian, and Esquiline hills. 
 
 A delineation of this vast building will convey to the reader 
 a juster idea of it, than I can do by words. I might indeed 
 refer to the plans, elevations, and measures given by the archi- 
 tect Cavalier Carlo Fontana but as this splendid book is not 
 common, I shall copy his general plan and elevation, on which 
 I shall offer some remarks. 
 
 Almost one half of the exterior of the building, marked on 
 the plan § with a black tint, remains entire, but the interior is 
 much defaced. Indeed the state of the amphitheatre of Verona 
 is the reverse of this : little of its exterior remains, but its in- 
 terior, having been from time to time repaired, is entire. By a 
 careful examination of these two, we may form a just idea of an 
 amphitheatre. II 
 
 ** De Spectaoulis, ep. 1. f Ib. ep. 2. 
 
 J L’Anfiteatro Flavio descritto e delineate), dal Cavaliere Carlo Fontana. 
 Nel’ Haia appresso Vaillant, M25, fol. § See plate VIII. 
 
 |] Vide Scipio MafFei degli Anfiteatri, e singolarmente del Veronese, 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 335 
 
 From the plan and elevation, it appears that this amphi- 
 theatre is an oval, whose greatest diameter, or length, between 
 wail and wall, is about 84,5 palms Roman,* its breadth 700 
 palms; and the height of the whole building is about 230 
 palms. 
 
 The cavea'\ or arena^ which served for the field of battle, is, 
 according to Fontana, J about 410 palms long, and 260 ‘broad ; 
 but Nolli,§ who published the accurate plan of Rome, makes 
 it 450 palms long, and 305 broad. It was called arena from 
 the sand with which it was covered, in order to prevent the 
 combatants from slipping, as well as to absorb the blood there 
 shed. Hence the gladiators were often named arenarii. The 
 pavement of the arena, greatly covered by the rubbish, was 
 much lower than at present. 
 
 The external elevation of the amphitheatre forms four 
 stories or flats. 1 1 An open portico, divided into eighty arches, 
 surrounds each of the three first flats. The arches are de- 
 corated with columns of different orders of architecture; 
 viz. the first is Doric, the second Ionic, and the third Co- ' 
 rinthian. The fourth flat, which is not, like the others, 
 an open portico, is ornamented with Corinthian, or, as some 
 writers call them, composite pilasters. There are forty win- 
 dows round this upper flat; that is, a window over each 
 second arch of the lower flats. On a level with the tops of 
 these windows, there are, between each pilaster, three mo- 
 
 ♦ See Advertisement, page iv. 4 page 64, + L. 2. c. 1. 
 
 § See Marangoni dell’ Auiiteatro Flavio, sect. 32. jj See plate IX. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 dillions or projections, each of which supported a beam, that 
 passed through the great cornice of the building, and which 
 served for extending the awning, which I shall afterwards 
 mention. Three broad steps, surrounding the whole building, 
 by which the spectators entered the lower portico, could not 
 but add to the beauty of the whole. But these steps are now 
 covered with earth and rubbish. 
 
 The eighty arches of the ground flat, served for so many 
 entrances to the amphitheatre. Each arch was numbered 
 thus — I. II. III. IV. &c. Thirty-one of these arches, so 
 numbered, still remain, viz. from No. XXIII. to LIIII. By 
 this means the people could enter into, and retire from the 
 amphitheatre in a short time, without any confusion. For 
 each curia, or division of the people, had their entrances allotted 
 to them. The same rule was observed in the circus. 
 
 Some authors say that there were four entrances which led 
 to the arena: but I think there were only two, viz. at the east 
 and west extremities, and which remain, and serve for the pre- 
 sent entrances. By these the gladiators, wild beasts, and 
 machines, used in their shows, were introduced into the arena. 
 The walls of the podium, still remaining, show that there were 
 no entrances to it from these sides. 
 
 The amphitheatre is distant from the Esquiline hill the 
 breadth of the road only. On one of the arches, viz. between 
 No. XXXVIII. and XXXIX. there is no number marked. 
 But over this arch I observed a little projection, which seems 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 337 
 
 to have been the abutment of a bridge, that the emperor proba- 
 bly, caused to be thrown over, from his palace and baths on this 
 hill, and by which he and his suit entered the amphitheatre. 
 
 The interior of the amphitheatre was divided into the arena, 
 and four circular corridors, called vomitorii. Each of these 
 corridors led to the staircases of the different flats, and to the 
 seats. 
 
 The arena was surrounded by a strong wall, about twelve or 
 perhaps fifteen feet high, on which were placed rails and other 
 conveniences, to prevent the wild beasts from springing on the 
 spectators ; and to render them still more secure, there seems 
 to have been a ditch or euripus, full of water, between the 
 arena and the wall. % 
 
 On the top of this wall was a platform, called the podium : 
 and, being nearest to the shows, it was reckoned the most 
 honourable place. Here, therefore, were seated the emperor, 
 the high magistrates, senators, and all those entitled to cu~ 
 rule chairs, as w'ell as the priests and vestal virgins. I cannot, 
 indeed, but express my surprise, that these ladies, esteemed 
 for their purity and virtue, should have witnessed spectacles 
 so offensive to chastity, and so shocking to humanity ! how 
 different were the manners of the Grecians, who would not 
 permit a woman, under pain of death, to assist at the Olympic 
 games, where no blood was shed, in order only to preserve their 
 modesty, because the actors were all naked !* 
 
 * Pausanias, 1. 5. c. 6. 
 
 X X , 
 
338 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 From behind the podium^ the seats arose to the summit of 
 the building. They were divided into four divisions, called 
 pr cecinctiones or baltei^ corresponding to the four corridors, or 
 votnitoriiy that led to them. On these pr cecinctiones many spec- 
 tators, as I have observed, placed themselves, when they could 
 not procure seats. 
 
 The patricians and plebeians seem to have sat promiscu- 
 ously at the public games, till Scipio Africanus obtained sepa- 
 rate seats for the senators.* But, in the time of Cicero, L. 
 Otho procured fourteen seats, next behind the senators, for 
 the equestrian order, who till then mingled with the people. 
 Such distinctions, however, in a popular state, are always dis- 
 agreeable, and often disturb the public peace. This was par- 
 ticularly the case at Rome, where the people thought it an 
 indignity to be removed farther than formerly, from the sight 
 of plays and shows, in which they took so much delight. 
 This innovation is frequently mentioned by the Roman 
 authors : — 
 
 “ Sedilibusque magnus in primis eques, 
 
 Othone contempto, sedet.''-f 
 
 The seats of the fourth, or higher division, which served 
 for the lower class of people, were entirely of wood : and un- 
 less they had been so, how could the amphitheatre have so 
 often, as we are told, suffered from fire and lightning ? Indeed 
 the seats of the lower divisions, though of stone, were covered 
 
 * T. Livius, ]. 34. c, 54. 
 
 t Hor. epodon. 4. v. 15. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 339 
 
 with wood, for the convenience of the spectators; and the 
 great personages had even cushions. 
 
 In case of a sudden heavy rain, the spectators could retire 
 under the covered galleries, or vomitorii. But to protect them 
 from the scorching sun, or from a slight shower, the amphi- 
 theatre, from the walls to the arena, was covered with an awn- 
 ing. I have observed, that modillions or projections are placed 
 round the exterior of the fourth story, and over them holes are 
 cut through the great cornice of the building. On these mo- 
 dillions were placed 240 masts, or beams of wood, or bars of 
 metal, to which, passing through these holes, the awning was 
 fixed. Fontana,* and, after him, MafFei,-f have given draw- 
 ings to show how this might have been done. This curious 
 awning, in imitation of the colour of the sky, was commonly 
 of purple; but, by some of the extravagant emperors, it was 
 richly ornamented. 
 
 Curiosity will naturally ask, where the vast numbers of wild 
 beasts, exhibited in the amphitheatre, were kept? LipsiusJ 
 and other authors suppose, that they were preserved under 
 the podium, in dens or rooms, with doors, from which they 
 issued into the arena. But, in digging along part of the walls 
 of the podium, no vestiges of such dens or doors seem to have 
 been found. The opinion therefore of Scipio Maffei§ is more 
 
 * Plate No. 12. + Ib. No. 12. J De Amphiiliealro, c. 8 and 9 . 
 
 § Degli Anfitealro, 1. 2. c. 7 . 
 
 X X 2 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 probable, viz. that these animals were kept at the vivarium^ 
 an extensive place constructed for that purpose, without the 
 walls of the city, near to the praetorian camp,-f from which 
 they were brought, in cages or other machines, to the amphi- 
 theatre. 
 
 The inhuman combats of gladiators were first discouraged 
 by Constantine.^ However, they seem to have been tolerated 
 till the reign of Honorius, which was the last time the amphi- 
 theatre was polluted with human blood. But the hunting of 
 wild beasts continued much longer. 
 
 I shall not waste time to trace here the many devastations 
 the amphitheatre has undergone at various periods. Many 
 indeed of the great palaces of modern Rome, have been built’ 
 with the stones taken from it. But what remains of this superb 
 monument may now long continue : for Pope Benedict XIV. 
 considering it as sanctified by the blood of the number of 
 Christians here martyred, during the different persecutions of 
 the emperors, assigned to it all the privileges of a church; 
 and caused stations or altars to be placed round the arena, 
 where devotees go to sing the litanies, and perform their de- 
 votions. 
 
 Meta su- Near to the amphitheatre, on the corner of the road that 
 
 ^No. 36. f^^om it to the via sacra, I saw the remains of a fountain, 
 
 ♦ Procopius de Bel. Got. 1. J.— and Nardini Roma Antica, 1. 4 . c. 2 . 
 
 See page 215. % Codicis, 1. J 1. tit. 43. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 341 
 
 which, from its resemblance to the meta of a circus, is known 
 by the name of the Meta sudante. It supplied the spectators 
 who assisted at the shows with water; and perhaps it was 
 used for filling the for the naumachicB. That this foun- 
 tain had been magnificent, we may conclude from its having 
 been introduced on the medals of the amphitheatre, which 
 bear the names of Vespasian, Titus, Alexander Severus, and 
 Gordianus Pius. On the same medals we observe arches, in 
 form of a portico, which were probably the aqueduct that 
 conveyed the water to the fountain. These works had been 
 executed in the time of Vespasian ; otherwise Titus would not 
 have placed them on the reverse of the medal, he caused 
 to be struck in honour of his father, about six months after 
 his death. Vespasian died in summer 79, and Titus dedicated 
 the amphitheatre, and published the medal, in the beginning 
 of the year 80. But whether this water was brought from the 
 Celian hill,^ or from the Sette sale *f on the Esquiline hill, or 
 from both, I shall leave to others to decide. 
 
 Going from the amphitheatre, the first monument I ob- 
 served, on the via sacra, was Titus’s triumphal arch. And 
 whether we consider the elegance of the sculpture, or the in- 
 teresting subjects here represented, it no doubt deserves our 
 particular attention. 
 
 This monument consists of one great arch, over which is 
 an attic story; and each front was ornamented with four 
 
 Titus's tri- 
 umphal arch. 
 No. 37. 
 
 * See page 183. 
 
 f See page 19 1. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 342 
 
 elegant fluted composite columns, from which the revivers of 
 architecture took the proportions of that order.* 
 
 On the attic story, fronting the amphitheatre, I read the 
 following inscription — 
 
 SENATVS 
 
 POPVLVSgVE . ROMANY S 
 DIVO . TITO . DIVI . VESPASIANI . F . 
 
 VESPASIANO . AVGVSTO. 
 
 From the appellation divo, here given to Titus, it is evi- 
 dent that this arch was erected to him after his death : for, 
 absurd as this title is, it was never given to the living, but 
 only to the dead emperors. And, as a confirmation of it, I 
 observed the deification of Titus represented on the roof of 
 the inside of the arch, where an eagle is carrying him to hea- 
 ven, which could not have been done had he been alive.f 
 
 Along the frieze is represented Titus’s triumphal procession 
 over the Jews ; with the victimarii^fiamines, oxen to be sacri- 
 ficed, altars, &c. Here I remarked the image of a river god, 
 carried on a bed, intended probably to express the river Jordan. 
 
 Under the arch, on one side, is the emperor, seated in a 
 triumphal chariot, drawn by four spirited horses, conducted 
 by the genius of Rome; and behind him is a winged Victor) 
 crowning him with a laurel. 
 
 * See page 5. 
 
 t Tacitus Ann. 1, 15. c. 74. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 343 
 
 On the other side of the arch, I saw the ornaments of the 
 temple of Jerusalem, viz. the table of the shew bread — the seven^ 
 branched golden candlestick — and the silver trumpets, See. These, 
 no doubt, were copied from the originals brought from the 
 Jewish temple to Rome by Titus, who deposited them in the 
 temple of peace, where they were destroyed by fire. This 
 therefore is a most interesting bas-relief, being the only 
 faithful representation that exists of these sacred Jewish 
 antiquities. 
 
 For the exact view of this arch, and the noble sculptures 
 on it, I must refer the curious reader to Pietro Santo Bartoli's 
 plates, published by Bellori,^ and to Desgodetz.J- 
 
 Vespasian and Titus have recorded their conquest of Judea 
 on their medals, as well as on their public monuments. Judea 
 is always represented as a woman sitting on the ground, in a 
 posture that denotes sorrow and captivity.-— “ The virgins of 
 Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground.^'-f* — Thus 
 we see her on a bas-relief, cut on a pedestal, preserved at the 
 Capitol. Mr. Addison§ fancies that “ the Romans might have 
 had an eye to the customs of the Jewish nation, as well as to 
 those of their own country, in the several marks of sorrow 
 they have set on this figure. The Psalmist describes the Jews 
 lamenting their captivity in the same pensive posture — the 
 
 • Veteres Arcus Augustorum triumphis insignes, &c. Tab. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. 
 and 8. + Edifices antiques de Kome, p. 78. 
 
 ;|: Lamentations, ch. 11. v. 10. ^ On Medals, dial. 2. fig 13. 
 
 series 3* 
 
S4^4^ 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Nero’s gold- 
 en house. , 
 
 waters of Babylon we sat down and wept ; when we remembered 
 thee, O Sion*’* — And he adds, “ that we find Judea repre- 
 sented as a woman in sorrow, sitting on the ground, in a pas- 
 sage of the prophet, that foretells the very captivity recorded 
 on this medar* — of Titus — ivdea . capta. But the learned 
 and elegant Bishop Lowth -f observes, that the prophecy of 
 Isaiah, to which Addison seems to refer, did not foretell the 
 destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, but the destruction 
 of the city by Nebuchadnezzar, and the dissolution of the 
 Jewish state under the captivity at Babylon. 
 
 Although no vestige remains of Nero's celebrated golden 
 house, domus aurea, I cannot pass it over in silence. This ex- 
 travagant monster constructed this immense building, which 
 joined to the imperial palace, on the Palatine hill, considered 
 by him as too little, and extended over a great part of the Es- 
 q inline hill. These buildings seem to have been destroyed by 
 Vespasian, who, on their site, erected his amphitheatre, as 
 Titus did his baths and palace. The domus aurea must have 
 required a great extent of ground, but I cannot ascertain its 
 exact limits : nor can I convey to the reader a better idea of 
 its luxuries, than by transcribing the account transmitted to 
 us by the historian Suetonius. J — “ There was nothing,’' says 
 he, “ in which Nero was more expensive to others than in his 
 buildings : he enlarged his house from the Palatine to the Es- 
 quiiine hill. He first called it his thoroughfare ; but being 
 burnt down, he rebuilt and named it his golden house. To give 
 
 * Psalm 137- V. 1. New translation of Isaiah, note on ch. 3. v. 26. 
 
 ' X Hfe of Nero, c. 31. 
 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 345 
 
 an idea of its extent and beauty, it is sufficient to say, that in 
 its vestihulum^ was placed his colossean statue, which was one 
 hundred and twenty feet high. It had a triple portico, sup- 
 ported with a thousand columns, with a piece of water like a 
 sea, and surrounded with buildings that resembled cities. It 
 contained fields, vineyards, pasture ground, and woods, in 
 which were a variety of all sorts of animals, both wild and 
 tame. Its interior shone with gold, gems, and mother-of-pearl. 
 In the vaulted roofs of the eating rooms were ivory tables that 
 turned round, and, from pipes, scattered flowers and perfumes 
 on the guests. But the principal eating room was a rotonda, 
 and so constructed that it turned round, night and day, in 
 imitation of the motion of the earth. His baths were supplied 
 either with sea water, or with the sulphureous waters of AI- 
 bulae.-f However, having finished and dedicated this house, he 
 only said, ‘‘ that now he should begin to live like a man.’* 
 
 Joining to Titus's triumphal arch, in the garden of the con- 
 vent of S. Francesca Romana, which was no doubt a part of the 
 site of Nero's golden house, I observed an elegant ruin, of 
 which Bianchini has given an engraving. J The antiquaries 
 generally reckon that iths the remains of a double temple. It 
 had two fronts, one to the east, and the other to the west. 
 Each had a porch ornamented with six columns. These 
 temples, of equal dimensions, were separated by two great 
 niches, or tribuneSj fronting the porches. Some writers call it a 
 temple of the sun and moon, or Serapis and Isis, others that of 
 
 ♦ See page l6. t See Appendix, No. II. 
 
 ^ Palazzo di Cesari, tab. l6. 
 
 Yy 
 
 Temple of 
 Rome and 
 Venus, or 
 Pales. 
 
 No. 38. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 34,6 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Venus and Rome: but Piranesi* supposes that it was a double 
 triclinium-|- of Nero’s golden house; the one fronting the east 
 having served for a summer, and the other to the west for a 
 winter eating room, agreeable to a rule laid down by Vitru- 
 vius, J for the construction of such buildings. But if this rain 
 is admitted to have been a temple, may it not be that which 
 Hadrian built to Rome and Pales On the 21 st of April 
 
 there was a festival observed, for time immemorial, in honour 
 of Pales, the goddess of husbandry, who perhaps was the same 
 as Venus. But as tliis was the day of the foundation of Rome, 
 called naialis urbis, Hadrian changed the name into that of 
 Romana ; and thus not only instituted a solemn festival, but at 
 the same time erected a temple to the capital of the world. 
 However, as the porches of this ruin were, according to Bian- 
 chini, ornamented with six columns each, it is different from a 
 temple we observe on a medal of Hadrian, published by Buo- 
 narotti, || which has ten columns in front. 
 
 Temple of 
 l*eace. 
 
 No 39- 
 
 Near to the church of Santa Francesca Romana, and oppo- 
 site to that part of the Palatine hill that fronts the via sacra, 
 the remains of the temple of Peace could not escape my at- 
 tention. 
 
 
 After the Germans were beat back by the Generals of Ves- 
 pasian, and Judea was reduced to a Roman province by Titus, 
 both father and son triumphed in the year of Christ 71 , when 
 
 * Ant. Rom. Tom. 1. page 35. No. £S5. t See page 17. 
 
 ^ Lib. 6. c. 7. § Alhenaeus, Deipnosoph. 1. 8 . c. 16. H Osservazioni 
 
 istoriche sopra alcuni Medaglioni Antichi, tab. 1. fig. 5 ; and page 17. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 34 / 
 
 peace became universal. The temple of Janus was then pro- 
 bably shut, because Vespasian was very observant of ancient 
 customs. It was in contemplation of this blessing that Vespa- 
 sian built the temple of peace, which is said to have been de- 
 faced by fire, towards the end of the reign of Com modus, in 
 the year 191. Its ruins, however, still give an high idea of 
 Roman grandeur, and correspond with the account given of 
 this temple by Pliny* — “ Templum pacis, Vespasiani impera- 
 toris Augusti, pulcherrima operum, quas unquam.*’ 
 
 This was the largest of the Roman temples ; and as much 
 of it remains as may enable architects to give not only its plan, 
 but an elevation of one side of its interior ; which Palladio^f* 
 and Desgodetz J have done, and engraved. Piranesi,§ how- 
 ever, contrary to tradition, contends that this was not the 
 temple of peace, but part of Nero's golden house; and in his 
 plan of the Forum Romanum^ has placed the temple of peace 
 behind this building. This ruin has, indeed, the appearance of 
 an ancient basilic, or court of justice. 
 
 Its form was quadrangular ; and about three hundred feet 
 long, and two hundred feet broad. It consisted of three naves 
 with three niches or tribunes on each side, and one opposite 
 to the gate. The eight immense fluted Corinthian columns, 
 of white marble, that decorated the inside of this temple, per- 
 haps belonged to Nero's golden house. One of these columns 
 still remains entire, whose shaft without base or capitol, is 
 
 * Hist. Nat. 1. 36. c. 15. t Lib. 4. c. 6. % Les Edifices 
 
 Antiques de Rome, page 45. § Ant, Rom. Tom. 1, p. 34. No, 283. 
 
 Yy 2 
 
34.8 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 about forty-eight English feet high. It was removed from 
 the temple of peace by Pope Paul V. who erected it before the 
 church of S. Maria Maggiore, on the Esquiline hill,* and placed 
 on its top a brazen statue of the V irgin, with a young Christ 
 in her arms. 
 
 Besides the sacred furniture of the Jewish temple, which I 
 have mentioned, a noble library was preserved herej-f* as well 
 as some of the finest statues and pictures of the Grecian mas- 
 ters : particularly the celebrated picture, painted by Proto- 
 genes for the Rhodians, representing the story of Jalysus, 
 which Cassius brought to Rome, and Pliny § places here 
 the statue of the Nile, with sixteen children, of basalte, which 
 seems to be the same now preserved at the Belvidere of the 
 Vatican. I shall transcribe the words of the naturalist. — 
 “ Invenit eadem iEgyptus in i^thiopia, quern vocant basalten, 
 ferrei colons atque duritice. Unde et nomen ei dedit. Nun- 
 quam hie major repertus est, quam in templo pacis ab impera- 
 tore Vespasiano Augusto dicatus : argumento Nili, xvi liberis 
 circa ludentibus, per quos totidem cubita summi increment! 
 augentis se amnis intelliguntur."^ 
 
 Near to the temple of peace, on the same side of the via 
 sacra, is the church of S, S. Cosmo and Damiano. There is no 
 doubt that this is the remain of an ancient temple. But here 
 lam again at a loss, for various are the opinions of the anti- 
 quaries, to whom it was erected. Donatus || calls it that of 
 
 * See page 196. f Auli Gellii Nodes Atlicae, 1. 16. c. 8. % Plutarch’s 
 
 Life of Demetrius. § Lib, 36. c, 7% H Roma vetus ac recens, 1. 3. c. 4 . 
 
 Temple of 
 Romulus, 
 and Rc'mus, 
 No. 40. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 34,9 
 
 Romulus; Nardini* supposes it to have been that of Remus, 
 and places the temple of Romulus at the side of the Palatine 
 hill : some reckon this to have been the temple of the brothers 
 Romulus and Remus; whilst others call it the double temple 
 of Rome and Venus, built by Hadrian, which 1 have just men- 
 tioned;-!' and they ascribe to Rome the rotonda by which we 
 enter, and the oblong part to Venus. But whoever examines 
 this building with attention will, I think, be of opinion that it 
 is not the work of Hadrian, in whose time architecture was in 
 high perfection. It seems to have been built at different pe- 
 riods : the rotonda has the appearance of great antiquity, but 
 the square part of a more modern date. Amidst such a va- 
 riety of opinions, I shall not attempt to ascertain to whom this 
 temple was dedicated. I shall only observe, that it must have 
 been a remarkable one, since here was found the curious plan Marble plan 
 of Rome, I have frequently mentioned, cut on white marble, pi Rome. 
 and probably executed in the time of Septimius Severus and his 
 son Caracalla, whose names I find inscribed on a fragment of 
 it.;!: This plan was discovered in the time of Pope Paul III. 
 
 and the fragments removed to the Farnese palace, where they 
 remained, till the King of Naples, heir of that family, gave 
 them to Pope Benedict XIV. who caused them to be placed 
 on the walls of the great staircase of the Capitolean museum, 
 where they are now to be seen. It is much to be regretted, 
 that, in removing this plan from the temple, the workmen had 
 
 • Rom. Atit. 1. 3. c. 12. + See page 345. % Tab. 4. 
 
 SKVERI , Er . A 
 TOM I M . A\G . 
 
 N . N . 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 S-50 
 
 not regularly marked each fragment, so as to have enabled 
 others afterwards to have united them> which cannot now be 
 done. Had this been attended to, we might have seen the 
 entire plan of Rome, as it was in the time of Septimius Se- 
 verus; which would have saved antiquaries much conjecture: 
 whereas, as it now stands, we can only, from mutilated inscrip- 
 tions on a few of the fragments, know some particular build- 
 ings, without being able to ascertain the precise spot where 
 they stood. And though this plan may not have been mea- 
 sured with mathematical exactness, or drawn with architec- 
 tural nicety, yet it would have conveyed to us the real form& of 
 the buildings. The learned BelJori published twenty plates of 
 these fragments, to which six plates have been added in a late 
 edition of this work.* 
 
 Temple of 
 Antoninus 
 and Fausti- 
 na. 
 
 No. 41. 
 
 Next to the church of S, S. Cosmo and Damiano, or shall I 
 say the temple of Romulus and Remus^ I observed the remains 
 of the temple of Antoninus and Faustina. The inscription, on 
 the frieze of the portico, leaves no doubt to whom this temple 
 was dedicated : 
 
 DIVO . ANTONINO . ET 
 DIVAE . FAVSTINAE . EX . S . C . 
 
 Though Antoninus, after the death of Faustina, entreated 
 the senate to bestow on her, infamous as she was, divine 
 
 ^ Ichnographia veteres Romge xx tabulis comprehensa, cum notis Jo. Petri 
 Bellorii, accesserunt aliae vi tabulae ineditae, cum notis. Romae, 17ti4, ex 
 Calcographia R. C, A,” 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 351 
 
 honours, and to build her a temple;'^ yet this inscription must 
 have been pat on the temple after his death. “f- Whatever 
 marks of honour might have been due to the memory of the 
 virtuous Antoninus; yet never could such honours have been 
 more misplaced than in conferring them on Faustina. 
 
 This portico is indeed magnificent, and serves for the entry 
 to the modern church of S. Laurence in Miranda. It is deco- 
 rated with ten Corinthian columns, J viz. six in front, and two 
 on each side : these columns are of that marble which the 
 Romans call dpollino, or lapis phrigius^ and are the largest to be 
 seen at Rome of that kind of marble. The sides of the portico, 
 built with Tiburtine stone, had been incrusted, as was pro- 
 bably the whole temple, with marble, but of which it is now 
 stripped. However, a noble frieze of white marble still remains, 
 on which are elegantly cut griffins, candelabra, and other or- 
 naments. 
 
 Towards the Capitol hill, on the same line with the temples 
 I have just mentioned, is the church of S. Adriano, The an- 
 tiquaries generally agree that this was the temple of SaturUy^ 
 built in the time of the republic: but so little of the ancient 
 building remains, I shall not attempt to give a description 
 of it. In this temple was kept the public treasure, so that it 
 might have been called the treasury. It was pillaged by Julius 
 Caesar, to supply the expence of his war against Pompey.||— 
 
 ♦ Capitolini V. M Antonini, c. 25. t See page 342. 
 
 :j: See Pullaclio, 1. 4. c. 9. — and Desgodetz, c. 8, § Plutarch’s Life of 
 
 Poplicola. U Plutarch’s Life of Julius Caesar. 
 
 Temple of 
 Saturn. 
 No. 42. 
 
ANCIENT ROME, 
 
 352 
 
 Pope Alexander VII. carried away its brazen gate, with which 
 he ornamented the church of S. John of Lateran. 
 
 Forum of Extent of conquest having multiplied business, the Roman 
 
 Julius Cse- 
 
 sar. Forum became too little for transacting it, and could not be 
 
 enlarged without destroying the many buildings with which it 
 was surrounded. To flatter therefore the people, Julius Caesar, 
 out of the spoils he had acquired in Gaul,^ built a new forum, 
 to which he gave his own name. It stood near to the old 
 forum, behind the temples of Romulus and Remus, and of 
 Antoninus and Faustina, on what is called the Carine : but no 
 vestige of it is now to be seen. From ancient writers we learn 
 that its length was twice its breadth. It had, no doubt, been 
 elegantly ornamented. 
 
 Here Julius Caesar built a basilic, or court of justice, and a 
 temple, which he dedicated to Venus Genitrix, which he had 
 vowed to her just before the battle of Pharsalia,-f* and from 
 whom the Julian family pretended to be descended. J In this 
 temple he placed a statue of Venus, presented to him by 
 Cleopatra, and by it another of this celebrated Egyptian 
 queen.§ He likewise deposited here his collection of engraved 
 gems — “ Csesar dictator sex dactyliothecas in sede Veneris 
 Genitricis consecravit.'"|| — Much value has always been put on 
 these learned and beautiful works of art. 
 
 Pliny ^ and Suetonius** both agree that the dictator paid for 
 
 * Suet. Vit. Caes. c. 26. t Appian, de Bell. Civ. 1. 2, 
 
 X See page IIS. § Appian. de Bello Civ. 1. 2. j| Plin. 1. S7. c. I< 
 ^ Ib. 1. 36. c. 15. ♦* Suet. V. J. Caes. c. 26. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 the ground, on which he built his Forum — m millies — which sum, 
 according to Dr. Arbuthnot,^ was equal to 807,291/. 13^. jyd. 
 sterling. But this must certainly be a mistake: for, by this 
 calculation, an acre of forum would have been twenty 
 
 shillings a foot of yearly ground rent, a price that exceeds our 
 imagination. 
 
 The same motives that engaged Julius Csesar to build a new Forum of 
 Forum, induced Augustus to erect another.-f It stood behind ^"no? 43. 
 the churches of St. Adrian and St. Luke, and was almost pa- 
 rallel with the dictator’s forum* But as no part of it remains, 
 
 I shall not attempt to trace its limits. It had no doubt been 
 magnificent, and worthy of Augustus, who built here a temple 
 to Mars Ultor, which he had vowed to the god of war at the 
 battle of Philippi.J The porticos of this forum were orna- 
 mented with the statues of the illustrious Romans, who by their 
 achievements had raised, from small beginnings, the Roman 
 empire to such height. By contemplating these venerable 
 forms, Augustus thought that it inspired him with a desire, 
 and hoped it would have the same effect on succeeding ponces, 
 to imitate their actions, and thereby acquire the love of the 
 people. 
 
 Another forum was begun by Domitian, but, having been Forum of 
 finished by Nerva, it was called Forum Nervce.^ It was al- 
 most adjoining to that of Augustus. Considerable remains of 
 this forum are still to be seen, at the church of the Nunziatina 
 
 * Tables of ancient Coin?, p. 157. ed. London, 1727. 4to. 
 t Suet. V. Augusti, c. 29 . % lb. § Suet. V. Domitiani, c. 5. 
 
 Z z 
 
Basilic or 
 temple of 
 Nerva. 
 
 Temple of 
 Pallas. 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 and arco de* Pantani. It was small, and not quadrangular like 
 the other fora, as appears from a vast circular wall still remain- 
 ing, in which is the gate known by the name of the arco de 
 Pantani. Perhaps this proceeded from an unwillingness to 
 destroy ancient buildings, or to encroach on the then streets. 
 This forum was called Transitorium, or the thoroughfare, be- 
 cause it led to the other fora in its neighbourhood. 
 
 Whether the three magnificent fluted composite columns, 
 over which is built a belfrey to the church of the Nunziatina, 
 belonged to the basilic, or to the temple of Nerva, I cannot 
 decide. But surely these columns, as Desgodetz advances,* 
 did not belong to the temple of Mars Ultor, which I have 
 placed in the forum of Augustus. And to show that this ele- 
 gant building was not erected by Augustus, but by Nerva, I 
 have only to observe, that the antiquaries have recorded the 
 following inscription, somewhat defaced, which was on the 
 frieze of this building: but, on account of the marble. Pope 
 Paul V. took it away, and employed it to ornament his fountain, 
 on the Janiculum hill.-f 
 
 IMP . NERVA . CAESAR . AVG . PONTIF . 
 
 MAX . TRIB . POT . II . IMP . II . PROCOS . 
 
 Opposite to these columns are the remains of the temple of 
 Pallas. Over the cornice is the figure of this goddess in alto- 
 relievo; and, along the frieze, her domestic arts or labours, 
 spinning and weaving, are elegantly cut in basso-relievo: they 
 
 * Les Edifices Antiques de Rome, c, 12, 
 
 t See page 12Q. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 S55 
 
 are now considerably defaced; but they have been engraved 
 by Pietro Santo Bartoli, and published by Bellori.* This 
 temple was probably built by Domitian, who was a devotee to 
 this deity and from her it was called Forum Palladium^ 
 before it was named Forum Nervce. 
 
 I must observe that these beautiful ruins are now seen to 
 great disadvantage, being much buried, with the increase of 
 earth above the level of the ancient pavement : and the same 
 remark may be extended to all the ruins on the plain, round the 
 Palatine hill. 
 
 Let me now take a view of the Forum Romanum, What an Forum Ro- 
 object of contemplation, to see this celebrated spot, where the 
 conquerors of the world assembled, to transact the business not 
 only of Rome but of every country, reduced to a few scattered 
 columns, fragments of temples, and half-buried arches ! In- 
 stead of the orators haranguing the people from the rostrum, 
 to engage them to enact the laws they proposed, or to concur 
 in their political measures, to see this field converted into a 
 cow-market, J and reduced almost to the same state in which, 
 according to the poet, iTneas saw it, when he came to solicit 
 the assistahee of Evander against Turnus 1 
 
 * Admiianda Romanarum antiquitatum, tab. 35 to tab, 42. inclusive. 
 
 Suet. V. Domitiani, c. 15. Tlie author of these remarks has, in his col- 
 lection, a spirited drawing of these ruins, by the late ingenious artist Zocch^ of 
 Florence. ^ The Forum, from this circumstance, is now called Campo 
 
 mccino* 
 
 Z Z 2 
 
356 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Temple of 
 Jupiter Sta- 
 tor. 
 
 No. 45. 
 
 ‘‘ Talibus inter se dictis ad tecta subibant 
 Pauperis Evandri ; passimque armenta videbant 
 Romanoque foro, et lautis mugire Carinis.*'* 
 
 The Forum, no doubt, lay between the Palatine and Capitol 
 hills : but, in its present ruinous state, I cannot with cer- 
 tainty fix its limits. However, having often examined it, with 
 much attention, I think it probably extended in length, from 
 south to north, from the church of the Consolation to that of 
 S. Adrian ; and in breadth, from west to east, from the three 
 columns, said to have belonged to the temple of Jupiter Stator, 
 to the triumphal arch of Septimius Severus, under the entrance 
 to the Capitol. 
 
 Here I am much bewildered : nor have I sufficient classical 
 authority where to place the different buildings that surrounded 
 the Forum. Such as I can trace I shall mention, and place 
 some others where, to me, they seem most probably to have 
 stood. 
 
 The first object that draws our attention is the three fluted 
 Corinthian columns, with part of their frieze and cornice, at the 
 side of the via sacra, towards the north corner of the Palatine hill. 
 These elegant columns, of white marble, are generally reckoned 
 to have been part of the portico of the temple of Jupiter Stator: 
 a temple vowed by Romulus to this deity, on the place where 
 he rallied his men flying from the Sabines, and there repulsed 
 
 * Virg. iEn. 1. 8. v. 359. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 357 
 
 them.* If this was the temple of Jupiter Stator, mentioned 
 by Vitruvius,-f it had been of that construction which he calls 
 peripteros. But these remains are too magnificent to be the 
 work of Romulus ; the temple must therefore have been rebuilt 
 at a period when architecture was in high perfection at Rome. 
 
 Piranesi J thinks that these columns are the remains of the 
 temple of Castor and Pollux, Other antiquaries make them 
 belong to the temple of Augustus, over which Caligula threw a 
 bridge, as I have mentioned,§ to join the Palatine and the 
 Capitol hills ; but the temple of Augustus, if it served for this 
 purpose, could not have stood here ; it must have stood on the 
 north-east side of the Palatine hill, which answers to the west 
 side of the Forum, At any rate these beautiful columns serve 
 for an useful study to architects, and as such have been pub- 
 lished by Palladio, 1 1 by Desgodetz,^ and other authors. 
 
 The church of S. Maria Liberatrice, on the side of the Pa- 
 latine hill, behind the temple of Jupiter Stator, is generally 
 believed to be built on the ground, where the original temple 
 of Vesta, erected by Numa, stood. No vestige of it remains. 
 It was in this temple that the perpetual sacred fire was pre- 
 served ; and Numa gave his house, which the poets have 
 
 * Livy, 1. 1. c. I’S-^ It was in this temple that Cicero first assembled the 
 senate, and communicated to them, in presence of Cataline, the conspiracy 
 which obliged him to abandon Rome. — See Plutarch’s Life of Cicero.- — See also 
 page 1£9. I* Bib* 3. c. 5. Ant. Rom. Tom. 1. p. 34, tab. 33. 
 
 fig. 1. § See page l6l. [] Lib. 4. c, 18. f Les Edifices 
 
 Antiques de Rome, c. 10. 
 
 Temple of 
 Vesta. 
 
 No. 4d. 
 
358 
 
 Temple of 
 Romulus. 
 
 No. 47. 
 
 Side of the 
 Forum, to- 
 wards the 
 Palatine hill 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 dignified with the name of royal, to the vestal virgins, for their 
 habitation. But, having had occasion ^ to say so much of the 
 temples of Vesta, and her worship, it is unnecessary to add 
 more on this subject. I shall only observe, that when this 
 temple was in flames, Cecilius Metcllus courageously entered 
 it, and saved some of its precious effects, abandoned by the 
 timid vestals. This action procured him the honour of a 
 statue, which was placed in the Capitol. -f* 
 
 On the declivity of the Palatine hill, immediately behind 
 the Foruniy I saw the church of St, Theodorus, vulgarly called 
 Santo Toto, This small rotonda is commonly reckoned to have 
 been the temple of Romulus : but it is so modernized that 
 little of the antique remains. Here was found the brazen 
 wolf suckling the twin brothers, preserved at the Capitol, 
 which I have already mentioned. J Dio Cassius§ informs us 
 that the senate, after the defeat of Pompey*s sons, caused a 
 statue of Julius Csesar to be placed in the temple of Romulus, 
 with this inscription — deo . invicto — Such absurd flattery 
 had been formerly paid to some of the Roman governors, by 
 the slavish Asiatics ;■ which no doubt facilitated the admission 
 of this profanation at Rome. A people capable of thus ador- 
 ing the conqueror of his country were surely ripe for servitude. 
 
 I shall now examine each of the four sides of the Forum. 
 
 As I could trace no remains of the buildings that ornamented 
 
 * See page 313, el seq. f Guasco, de I'Usage des Statues chez les An- 
 
 ciens, c. 3. seconde partie. See page 145. § Lib. 43. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 859 
 
 this side of the Forum, unwilling to mislead the reader, I can 
 only offer conjectures on this subject.—Here probably stood 
 the curia of Hostilius — the basilic of Porcius — the temple of 
 Augustus — and the temple of Castor and Pollux. — It is also 
 reasonable to suppose that the rostrum, or stage, was placed in 
 the centre of this side, that the orator, who declaimed from it, 
 might be better seen and heard by the numerous audience 
 there assembled. 
 
 The open Forum long served for the Comitium : at last a co- 
 vered building was appropriated for that purpose. No part of 
 it remains ; and the antiquaries are not agreed where it stood. , 
 It must have required a considerable extent of ground ; nor 
 can I find a more convenient situation for it, than at the south 
 end of the Forum, where now stands the church of the Consola- 
 tion. Perhaps I may, not totally without probability, venture 
 to place the Comitium here. 
 
 On the side of the Forum towards the Capitol, I found no 
 vestiges of ancient buildings, till I came to the temple of Con- 
 cord. This temple was built, in view of the Forum, in conse- 
 quence of a vow of the great Camillus, when he conciliated 
 the differences between the senate and people, whereby the 
 latter came to share the consular dignity with the former : 
 an important event in the Roman history, that happened in 
 the 387th year of Rome.^ But, the original temple having 
 been consumed by fire, it had been rebuilt ; I know not at 
 
 Curia of 
 Hostilius. 
 Basilic of 
 Porcius. 
 Temple of 
 Augustus. 
 Temple of 
 Castor and 
 Pollux. 
 Rostrum. 
 
 South side 
 of the Fo- 
 rum. 
 
 Comitium. 
 No. 4 S. 
 
 Side of the 
 Forum to- 
 wards the 
 Capitol hill. 
 Temple of 
 Concord. 
 No. 49. 
 
 * Plutarch, Life of Camillus, ad fin. 
 
S6o ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 ■what period, by the senate and people, as appears from this 
 inscription on the frieze. — 
 
 SENATVS . POPVLVSQUE . ROMANVS 
 INCENDIO . CONSVMPTVM . RESTITVIT. 
 
 But as the temple of Concord is not mentioned in the in- 
 scription, some antiquaries, contrary to tradition, have doubted 
 if this was it. 
 
 The portico of this building only remains. It consists in 
 front of six Ionic columns, of a light coloured granite, whose 
 bases and capitals are of white marble, with a column on each 
 side. This remain has been often published, particularly by 
 Palladio,* by Desgodetz-f and by Piranesi. J 
 
 Here the senate used frequently to assemble. But the di- 
 visions that constantly reigned in the Forum^ show how little 
 influence the sight of [this temple had on the minds of the 
 people who seem to have sacrificed oftener to discord than to 
 concord, 
 
 Opimius, after the illegal murder of Caius, the younger 
 Gracchus, likewise built a temple to concord. Where it stood 
 is uncertain. The people, who could not behold this monu- 
 nument of tyrannical rage without indignation, secretly caused 
 
 • Lib. 4. c. 30. *t C. 9 t Bom. Tom. 1. tab.3 
 
 fig. 1. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 
 
 3^1 
 
 the following ironical inscription, to be found in Plutarch,* to 
 be fixed on it, by an unknown hand. 
 
 “ The works of fury erect a temple to concord** 
 
 Between the temple of Concord and the triumphal arch of 
 Septimius Severus, I observed a solitary column standing, 
 like those of the temple of Jupiter Stator. To what building 
 this column belonged I cannot say. Some antiquaries sup- 
 pose that the Gnccostasis stood here, whilst others place it 
 behind the north-west corner of the Forum, The Grcecostasis 
 seems to have been a building, where such ambassadors as 
 were received into the city, remained till the senate gave them 
 audience. Varro, mentioning the Grcecostasis, says — sub- 
 dextra hujus a comitio locus substructus, ubi nationum subsis- 
 terent legati, qui ad senatum essent missi. Is Graecostasis ap- 
 pellatur a parte, ut multa. Senaculum supra Grsecostasin, ubi 
 aedes Concordiae, et basilica Opimia.'^-f 
 
 The senate and people erected a magnificent triumphal 
 arch to Septimius Severus, and to his sons Caracalla and Geta. 
 It stands just below the entrance to the Capitol from the Forum. 
 Like that of Constantine, it consists of a great arch in the 
 centre, and a small one on each side. The fronts, towards the 
 Forum and Capitol, are each decorated with four fluted com- 
 posite columns; and on the attic the following inscription is 
 repeated on both sides. 
 
 * Plutarch’s Life of C. Gracchus. f Varro de Ling. Lat. p. 38^ ed. 
 
 H. Stephani, 1573. X See page 325. 
 
 Graecostasii, 
 
 No.50. 
 
 Triumphal 
 arch of Sep- 
 timius Se- 
 verus. 
 
 No. 51. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 IMP . CAES . EVCIO . SEPTIMIO . M. FIL. SETERO . PIO . PERTIBTACI . AYG. PATRI . PATRIAE . PARTHICO , A RABICO . S» 
 PARTHICO . ADIABENICO . PONTIFIC . MAXIMO . TRIBVNIC . POTEST . XI. IMP. XI. COS. III. PROCOS . ET 
 IMP. CAES. M. AVRELIO . L. FIE. ANTONINO .AVG. PIO . FELICI . TRIBVNIC . POTEST. VI. COS. PROCOS . P. P. 
 
 OPTIMIS . FORTISSIMISQUE . PRINCIPIBVS. 
 
 OB . REMPVBLICAM i RESTITVTAM . IMPERIVMQVE . POPVLI . ROMANI . PROPAGATVM 
 INSIGNIBVS • VIRTVTIBVS . EORVM . DOMI . FORISQVE . S. P. Q. R. 
 
 The letters of this inscription were first cut on the marble, 
 and afterwards filled up with plates of brass. Though long 
 since robbed of the brass, the inscription is still legible. 
 
 The same remark, made on the inscription on the arch 
 erected to Septimius Severus and his sons, in the Forum 
 Boarium, * will apply to this arch. For here, in the fourth 
 line, an erasure is plainly to be seen, from the cavity of the 
 marble, as well as from marks where the original brass letters 
 were fixed. This must have been done by order of Caracalla, 
 after he had barbarously murdered Geta. The inscription 
 thus erased seems to have been — et . pvblio . septimio . 
 GEi AE . CAES. poNTiF. — ill place of which the following 
 words were substituted — optimis . fortissimisque . prin- 
 
 CIPIBVS. 
 
 On the reverse of a medal of Septimius Severus we find 
 this triumphal arch. Above the attic we observe a triumphal 
 car, drawn by six horses, in which are placed two personages, 
 probably the two brothers, because an attack of the gout pre- 
 vented the father from assisting in the triumphal procession. 
 On each side of the car is a foot soldier, and on each extre- 
 
 * See page 308. 
 
THE PLAIN- THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 3% 
 
 mity of the attic a soldier on horseback. Whether these 
 figures were of marble or metal, I cannot say, for they have 
 been long since taken away. 
 
 This arch had been erected to Seplimius Severus after his 
 Parthian, Arabian, and Adiabenian conquests ; and the history 
 of these wars is preserved on it in basso-relievo. Though 
 sculpture had already declined, from the time of Trajan, we 
 must not examine too critically the sculpture on this arch, be- 
 cause it is now greatly defaced, having been built with a softer 
 marble than that employed in the construction of Trajan's co- 
 lumn, and Constantine's arch. However, Pietro Santo Bartoli, 
 in his spirited engravings, published by Bellori, * has made 
 out and preserved to posterity, the subjects represented on 
 this monument. 
 
 By the increase of the ground here, almost a third of the 
 height of this arch is now concealed. 
 
 I have already mentioned that the temple of Saturn-f stood North side 
 
 of tho Forum. 
 
 on the north side of the Forum ; but I cannot ascertain what 
 other buildings may have been placed there, as no vestiges of 
 them are now to be seen. 
 
 * Veteres Arcus Augustoruno, &c. Tab. 9 to tab. 15, inclusive ; to which is 
 added — Josephi Mariae Suaresii apparatus historicus ad explicationem Arcus L. 
 
 Septimii Sever! Aug. — The reader may likewise see this arch as published by 
 Desgodetz, c. 18. from plate 83 to plate 92, inclusive. 
 
 t See page 351. 
 
 3 Aa 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 3S4 
 
 Miliaiium 
 
 aureum. 
 
 Lacus Cur* 
 tius. 
 
 The Miliarium aureum , according to Tacitus,* stood near to 
 the temple of Saturn; — “Inde ad miliarium aureum, sub 
 ^dem Saturni, pergit/*— But, to what I formerly saidf of 
 this celebrated column, it is unnecessary to add more. 
 
 The many statues of heroes and illustrious personages, tro- 
 phies, and other ornaments, mentioned by ancient writers, 
 with which the Forum was decorated, must have rendered 
 it both magnificent and interesting. 
 
 Though it is not my intention to trace here the variety of 
 extraordinary events that happened in this Forum, yet I cannot 
 pass over in silence tl\e gulf into which M. Curtius generously 
 precipitated himself to save his country. It was in the middle 
 of the Forum, and from him it was called Lacus Curtius, Livy J 
 has recorded this heroic action. But whether there might have 
 been some foundation for this story, or whether it was a pure 
 fiction to embellish the Roman annals, I shall not decide. It 
 has served, however, as a fine subject, to employ the pencil of 
 the painter, and the chisel of the sculptor. Thus I saw an 
 alto-relievo, at the villa Borgliese, in which it is represented, 
 and which is said to have been found where the Lacus Curtius 
 stood. Here the self-devoted hero plunges, with his horse, into 
 the abyss : his determined air shows that he is led on to die 
 by a noble motive. What an instance of courage, supported 
 by superstition 1 Indeed the Roman history affords us seve- 
 
 * Hist. 1. 1, c, 27« t See page 88. 
 
 t Liv. J. 7. c. Vide Valerius Maximus, 1.5, c, 6, sect. 2. 
 
THE PLAIN THAT SURROUNDS THE PALATINE HILL. 365 
 
 ral examples of such courage, particularly in the Decii and 
 Fabii. 
 
 On this classic spot I could not but recollect the history of Virginia. 
 Virginia, Her death abolished the tyranny of the decemvirs, 
 and restored the republic, in the year of Rome 304. It was 
 in this Forum that the beautiful and innocent girl, unjustly 
 condemned to slavery by the lascivious decemvir Appius, was 
 sacrificed to chastity and liberty by her father, in whom cruelty, 
 paternal fondness, and the love of his country were singularly 
 blended. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 THE TIBER. 
 
 Having examined the Seven Hills, and the circumjacent 
 plains, before I proceed to the Transtyherim, now called il 
 Trastevere, I shall make a few remarks on the Tiber, and the 
 different bridges that led to that quarter. 
 
 The Tiber takes its rise in the Apennine mountains, above 
 Borgo St. Sepulchre, and is increased by many streams be- 
 fore it reaches Rome. At Ort^, below Perugia, it receives 
 the Nera, and becomes navigable. But it is not my intention 
 minutely to trace all the course of this celebrated river. It is 
 sufficient to observe, that, running through a rich country, it 
 carries along with it much earth, which gives it that muddy 
 dark colour, which Horace properly calls— — an epi- 
 thet, I think, juster than caruleus — given to it by Virgil 
 
 “ Casruleus Tiberis, coelo gratissimus amnis." 
 
 The muddy state of this river, at Rome, makes it unfit for 
 the general uses of life; but properly filtered, it is good, light, 
 and wholesome. However, Rome is so happily and plentifully 
 provided with excellent water, from its different aqueducts, as 
 well as from springs in various parts of the city, that the people 
 rarely make use of the water of the Tiber, except for washing 
 of linen, or such purposes. 
 
 * Lib. I. od. 2. 
 
 t .En. 8. V. 64. 
 
THE TIBER. 
 
 The fall or declivity of this river, from Ort^ till it loses itself 
 in the Mediterranean sea, is very little ; the computation being 
 not above half a foot, in the length of six thousand feet."*^ 
 
 * This gentle descent of the Tiber, with the moderateness of its current from 
 Eome to the sea, measuring, with its windings, about twenty Italian miles, pro- 
 duced in that river a degree of depth which could not have consisted with a greater 
 rapidity; and afforded the important benefit of a navigation to that city, which 
 would have been otherwise impracticable without the aid of expensive locks, as 
 the Mediterranean does not yield the advantage of tides, sufficiently perceptible. 
 
 The depth of the bed of the Tiber is probably diminished, from what it was 
 formerly, occasioned by many of the ruined edifices of the city, &c. having 
 been thrown into it. However, it still serves for the navigation of large vessels, 
 called tartans, drawn by buffaloes, which bring goods to Rome. But that this 
 river could not have been less considerable formerly than it is at present, may, 
 I think, be fairly inferred from the ships, or lesser vessels of burden, which 
 had been used not only in supplying Rome with cargoes of foreign productions, 
 but also for importing to it the huge and ponderous obelisks of granite, brought 
 from Egypt. But Pliny, f partial to Rome, surely exaggerates, when he makes 
 this river as considerable as the Nile— Quo experimento (sc. bringing an obe- 
 lisk to Rome) patuit, non minus aquarum huic amni (sc. Tiberis) esse, quam 
 Nilo.” 
 
 Here it may not be improper to remark, that the flatness of bottom, used in 
 constructing of ships for the Mediterranean, was not confined to the make of 
 vessels of burden, but was equally applied to the construction of the naves long(B, 
 or war galleys of all rates, thereby fitting them to go into very shallow water. 
 From want of tide, this construction was necessary, both for launching vessel 
 from the shore into the sea, and for hauling them up from it to liie land, which 
 was frequently practised — deducliones,^ et subductiones\ navium. 
 
 Thus there remains no difficulty in crediting, that Paulus .Slmilius, as related 
 by Plutarch in his life of that great man, was carried up the Tiber in the royal 
 galley of Perseus, king of Macedonia, his captive, having no less than sixteen 
 ranks of oars on each side, and decorated with the richest spoils of the enemy. 
 
 t Hist. Nat. lib. 36. c. 9 . % Virgil. iEn. 4, v. 397 . 
 
 § Ib. .$ln. 1. V. 055. 
 
ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Rome, and the country about it, suffers much from time 
 to time from the inundations of the Tiber. I have seen boats 
 in several streets of Rome. These inundations may be ac- 
 counted for from various causes. — i. From the great increase of 
 the river, produced either by the melting of snow, or immense 
 falls of rain in the mountains — 2. From the bed of the river 
 being greatly raised, and choked up with the quantity of earth 
 and sand it brings down, as well as from rubbish thrown into 
 
 A spectacle so new and magnificent could not but induce many of the Romans 
 to descend along the banks of the Tiber to meet, and then to accompany it, 
 while proceeding with slow majestic motion up the river; and thus they enjoyed 
 that striking view as a prelude to the grand triumph afterwards exhibited. 
 
 The Roman and other ancient war galleys were denominated biremes — tri-^ 
 femes— quadriremes — quinquer ernes y &c. according to the number of ranks of oars, 
 used cbeckerways above each other, on the oblique sides of these galleys, with a 
 correspondent number of rowers, respectively occupying horizontal seats of two 
 feet in length within the side. The number of rowers and oars, no doubt, con- 
 stituted the chief moving powers of these ships. For it appears that they had 
 not any standing rigging of masts, yards, and sails, but only one small tempo- 
 rary mast, occasionally put up, with its yard and sail, to aid the rowers in a fair 
 wind ; but when the wind was contrary, it was laid down : hence dimittere 
 malum, to lower or let down the mast, was a sea term used by the Romans, 
 
 But, for a more particular description of the construction of the ancient 
 Roman war galleys, I beg leave to refer to the account, which my learned and 
 much esteemed friend John Gillies, LL.D. has given, in his elegant and judi- 
 cious history of Greece,* of a model executed by the directions of General Mel- 
 ville,t in order to illustrate and confirm his ingenious discovery of the arrange- 
 ment of the ancient rowers ; a model which I have repeatedly examined, and 
 considered as a satisfactory solution of that great difficulty, which had so long 
 exejcised and eluded all the researches of the antiquarians. 
 
 * JSote, page 208, of Vol. 1. ed 3. 8vo. 
 t See General Melville’s Roman order of battle, page 222. 
 
THE TIBER. 
 
 it, and want of a sufficient fall to carry it off. — And, 3. From 
 violent and long continued south winds, blowing on the mouth 
 of the river, which prevent its free current, and force back the 
 water. Other reasons might be added, but, I think, these are 
 sufficient to explain this effect. I formerly observed,* that 
 these south winds, blowing up much sand from the sea, the 
 land has greatly increased along this flat coast. 
 
 At the Ripetta there is a column, on which is marked the 
 height to which the Tiber has, in different inundations, rose. 
 
 This river has been celebrated for its excellent fish, parti- 
 cularly for the sturio, or sturgeon, and the lupus, which the 
 modern Romans call spigola,'\ which seems to be the same as 
 the Indus, or pike. 
 
 Much treasure, especially statues, is supposed to be buried 
 in the bed of the Tiber. If this is true, these statues must 
 have been thrown into it by the Romans, to conceal them 
 from the barbarians who invaded Rome, with the hope of 
 being afterwards able to draw them out; or by the Christians, 
 to destroy the idols of the heathens. Be this as it may, it is 
 said that proposals have frequently been made to the popes 
 to clean out the river, in order to recover these riches. But, 
 as the quantity of mud with which it is choked up is im- 
 mense, and the depth of the river very unequal, it could not 
 be done by a dragging machine : it could only be effectually 
 
 * See page 11^. 
 
 f Giovius de Piscibus Roinanorun;. 
 
 3 B 
 
370 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 done by changing its course, which would be attended with 
 great expence and much inconvenience. Besides, the exhala- 
 tions from the mud, in the hot season, might prove pestilential 
 to the city. 
 
 If the reader desires more information on this subject, he 
 may consult — i. II Tevere di Giov. Bat. Modio — 2. Dell' 
 Tevere di Andrea Bacci. — 3. Descrizione delle Cagioni^delle 
 Inondazioni dell' Tevere, colla pianta, &c. da Andrea Chiesa e 
 Bernardo Gambarini, ingegneri, 1744. 
 
[ 371 ] 
 
 THE BRIDGES. 
 
 Seven bridges served for a communication between the city 
 and Transtiberim, viz i. Pons MliuSy now called Ponte S. 
 Angelo; s. Pons Triumphalis, now destroyed; 3. Pons Jani- 
 culensis, now Ponte Sisto; 4. Pons FahriciuSy now Ponte dei 
 Quattro Capi; 5. Pons CesUuSy now Ponte Ferrato; 6 . Pons 
 PalatinuSy or SenatoriiiSy now Ponte S. Maria, but, being 
 broken down, it is commonly known by the name of the Ponte 
 Rotto ; and 7. Pons SubliciuSy now destroyed. I shall examine 
 these bridges in their order. 
 
 I begin with the Pons JEliuSy being the highest up the 
 river. It was built by the Emperor ^Tlius Hadrianus, from 
 whom it was named. It served for an access to his superb 
 mausoleum, Moles Hadrianiy which he erected on the bank 
 of the Tiber, opposite to that of Augustus."^— Fecit (Ha- 
 drianus) et sui nominis pontem, et sepulcrum juxta Tiberim."''f 
 By this bridge the mausoleum was, in a manner, united to the 
 Campus Martins. The Pons Mlius, elegant, light, and solid, 
 consists of seven arches, viz. three great arches in the middle, 
 and two small ones on each side. Piranesi, as an architect, 
 seems with attention to have examined this bridge and the 
 mausoleum ; he has given plates to explain their construction, 
 to which I beg leave to refer the reader.]|] He has traced 
 
 ^ ^ Spfirticin# c» IQ* 
 
 X Piran. Ant* Rom* Tom. 4. tab. 4. to tab. 12, inclusive. 
 
 3 B 2 
 
 1. Pons 
 jiElius. 
 
37 * 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 Mausoleum 
 of Hadrian. 
 
 their foundations so minutely, that one would think he had 
 assisted at the building of them. I am indeed afraid that 
 much of this is ideal ; but his ingenious remarks may be useful 
 to artists. 
 
 By a medal of Hadrian, published by Erizzo,^ it appears 
 that this bridge was originally ornamented with statues, but 
 what these were we know not, as none of them now remain. 
 However, when the bridge was repaired by Pope Clement IX. 
 he added the elegant parapet, on which he placed the statues 
 of St. Peter and St. Paul, and the ten statues of angels, carry- 
 ing emblems representing different parts of the passion of our 
 Saviour, executed by the scholars of Bernini, from the designs 
 of that master, who himself is said to have executed the statue, 
 which bears the inscription of the cross, 
 
 Dio Cassius “f says that Hadrian built his mausoleum, because 
 that of Augustus was already full of dead bodies. It is diffi- 
 cult to believe that so great a monument as that of Augustus 
 could have been then filled with the imperial dead. I am ra- 
 ther inclined to think that Hadrian erected his from vanity, to 
 outdo Augustus in magnificence. For the Moles Hadriani was 
 the most superb sepulchral monument ever constructed at 
 Rome. 
 
 A square base of a great height supported a vast rotonda, 
 surrounded with an open portico of Corinthian columns. 
 
 ^ Discorso sopra le Medaglie Antichi. 
 
 t Vita Hadriani. 
 
THE BRIDGES. 
 
 373 
 
 Above the cornice of this portico were placed many statues. 
 It was terminated with a tholus, which was likewise sur- 
 rounded with statues ; and over which was placed a brazen 
 pin, commonly supposed to be the one preserved at the 
 Vatican. On each corner of the square base was a man 
 holding a horse, much in the same attitude with those that 
 stood in Constantine's baths, on the Quirinal hill,"^ which 
 has led some antiquaries to suppose, that Constantine had 
 taken them from this monument. Such is the description 
 generally given of Hadrian’s mausoleum ; and such is it 
 represented to have been in a print, in the author's collec- 
 tion, engraved by Henricus Von Schoel, and published at 
 Rome, 1583. 
 
 The whole of this monument had been incrusted with mar- 
 ble. The elegant columns, as I have observed,f that ornament 
 the church of St. Paul, on the Ostian road, are reckoned to 
 have been taken from this sepulchre : and the immense sar- 
 cophagus of porphyry which I saw in the church of S. Con- 
 stanza, on the via Nomentana,X is a proof of the magnificence 
 of the sepulchral urns formerly placed in this singular mo- 
 nument. 
 
 The situation as well as the extent of this mausoleum, 
 pointed it out for a place of defence, when the barbarous 
 nations invaded Italy. It was taken and retaken by the Goths 
 and Belisarius. In these different attacks it must have greatly 
 
 * See page 229. 
 
 t See page 120. 
 
 4 ; See page 49* 
 
374 ^ 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 suffered. It is said that the besieged broke the statues, and 
 launched their fragments on the besiegers. 
 
 About the year 593, during the pontificate of Gregory the 
 Great, Rome was afflicted with a plague. It was then pretended 
 that an angel was seen on the top of this building, putting 
 a sword into a scabbard ; which was considered as a mark of 
 the cessation of the plague ; and, in consequence of this vision, 
 the pope gave the name of Castel S. Angelo to the Moles Ha-* 
 driani, by which it is now known ; and the Pons MliuSy for 
 the same reason, was called Ponte Sant Angelo, 
 
 This castle, for such we must now consider it, was defended 
 by Crecentius Nomentanus, about the year 985, against the 
 Emperor Otho III. 
 
 The popes, from time to time, have added to its fortifica- 
 tions. But the last and great improvement was made by 
 Urban VIII. who completed the fosse and bastions towards 
 the meadow's ; so that it is now the citadel of Rome. 
 
 Alexander VI. caused a covered gallery supported by arches, 
 to be made between the Vatican palace and this castle, to 
 which the popes may retire, in case of a popular tumult, or 
 any sudden danger. 
 
 It is from this castle that the superb fireworks, given on 
 the eve and festival of St. Peter, and on the eve and day of 
 the pope’s coronation, are annually displayed. 
 
THE BRIDGES. 
 
 375 
 
 Opposite to the hospital of S. Spirito, I observed, when the 
 river was low, the remains of the Pons Triumpbalis. When, 
 or by whom it was built, I have not been able to discover. 
 It w’as the communication from the triumphal road to the 
 Campus Martius.* 
 
 Of the triumphal gate there are no vestiges. Antiquarians 
 are at a loss where to place it. Though I do not pretend to 
 decide this question, yet I think this gate, appropriated to 
 those only who obtained the honours of triumph, probably 
 stood between the Flumentan and Carmental gates, before Au- 
 relian inclosed the Campus Martius within the walls of the 
 city.-|- The triumphal procession, the most august of all 
 shows, passed by the Flaminian Circus,J through this gate, 
 to the Circus Maximus, § and round the Palatine hill to the 
 Via Sacra, 1 1 which led directly to the temple of the Capitoline 
 Jupiter, to whom the spoils of the conquered enemy were 
 with pomp presented. 
 
 The Pons Janiculensis was probably thus named, 'because 
 it was placed opposite to the Mons Janiculus ; but I cannot 
 trace its history. After having been broken down, it was re- 
 built by Pope Sixtus IV. and is now known by the name of 
 Ponte Sisto. — Along this bridge, a branch of the Aqua Saba^ 
 iina is carried from the noble fountain on the Mons Aureus^^ 
 and falls into a bason at the Sirada Julia, 
 
 * See page 130. t See page 30(>. ' J See page 298 . 
 
 § See page 319 . 11 See page 340. % See page I 29 . 
 
 2 . Pons Tri 
 uinphalis. 
 
 3. Pons Ja- 
 niculensis, 
 
ANCIENT ROMEc 
 
 S?6 
 
 The island 
 and temple 
 of i^scula- 
 pius. 
 
 i. Pons Fa- 
 bricius. 
 
 5. Pons Ces- 
 tius. 
 
 Island, how- 
 formed. 
 
 The island, in the Tiber, formerly called that of 7Escula~ 
 piuSy or the Isola Sacra, is now known by the name of St. 
 Bartholomew, from a church there dedicated to that Apostle, 
 and built on the foundations of the temple of the god of 
 health. 
 
 The bridge that leads into the island, from the side towards 
 the Capitol, is the Pons Fahricius, now called Ponte del quat- 
 tro Capi ; and the bridge towards the Janiculum is the Pons 
 vulgarly named Ponte Ferrato. The inscriptions on 
 these bridges are so defaced, that it is not easy to ascertain 
 who the Fabricius and Cestius were, by whom they were 
 built. But that they were repaired by Valentinian, Valens, 
 and Gratian, appears from an inscription still entire.^ This 
 island was therefore sometimes named — “ inter duos pontes.'* 
 
 The Romans, 'f always fond of giving extraordinary ac- 
 counts of the beginnings of their city, pretended that this 
 island was formed by the corn, sown by Tarquin the Proud 
 in the Campus Martius, having been cut down and thrown 
 into the river, by order of the consuls. For they considered 
 that the tyrant's having sown, for his own use, a field conse- 
 crated to Mars, was a profanation ; they would not therefore 
 allow the people to appropriate it to themselves. But the 
 river, at that season, being low, the corn stopped here, and 
 thus produced the island. Though this beginning of it may 
 
 ♦ Antichita di Roma dell’ Venuti, Tom. 2. p. 92. 
 
 t Livy, 1. 2. c. 5. — —Dion. Hal. 1. 5 . c. 2, sect, I 9 , Plutarch’s Life of 
 
 Poplicola, 
 
THE BRIDGES. 
 
 377 
 
 not be true, and only given by the Roman historians to em- 
 bellish their history, yet we know that islands in rivers are 
 frequently formed from very small beginnings. A few stones 
 or trees in the bed of a river, or any other obstruction, will 
 serve as a foundation : sand and mud will soon collect about 
 it, which with time, will increase its extent, and raise it to a 
 level with the surface of the water ; and every future inunda- 
 tion of the river, by depositing new matter, will add to its 
 heio-ht, till it comes to a level with its banks. But that the 
 island had been heightened by art, appears from the ramparts 
 still remaining, and is acknowledged even by Livy* — “ Postea 
 credo additas moles, manuque adjutum, ut tarn eminens area, 
 firmaque templis quoque ac porticibus sustinendis essct.'"— . 
 The length of the island is about looo feet English, and its 
 breadth 300. Its form resembles that of a galley, especially 
 the end where stood the temple of ^Tsculapius. 
 
 About the year of Rome 462, the city and Campagnia suf- 
 fered from a plague. To remove this calamity, the senate 
 consulted the Sibylline books, by which they were directed, as 
 the only remedy, to bring iEsculapius of Epidaurus to Rome. 
 An embassy was therefore sent, which was well received by 
 the Epidaurians ; who conducted them to their temple, and 
 the serpent which they worshipped there, under the name of 
 iTsculapius, followed the embassadors into their ship. He 
 remained in the cabin of Q. Ogulnius, the head of the em- 
 
 * Liv. 1 . 2. c. 5. 
 
 3C 
 
ANCIENT ROME, 
 
 bassy, till they arrived at Rome ; when he quitted the ship, 
 and swam into the island, where a temple was built for him. 
 Such is the account given us of this wonderful event.* And 
 to perpetuate its memory, we still see the figure of a ser- 
 pent cut on the stones that served for the foundation of the 
 temple. 
 
 Antoninus Pius has likewise recorded this history on a me- 
 dallion, inscribed — ^sculapivs — on the reverse of which we 
 observe the serpent springing from the prow of the ship into 
 the island, and the river god Tiber, half above the water, 
 ready to receive him. This medallion has been published by 
 several authors, particularly by Spanhemius,‘f by Spon,;}; and 
 by Overbeke.§ 
 
 The placing this temple in the island was proper ; for it 
 gave a command of water for baths, as well as for ablutions, 
 and drink, which might be prescribed by the oracle, to the 
 sick who came to consult the god. 
 
 We need not be surprised that the Romans should have 
 added the god of health to the many deities whom they bor- 
 rowed from Greece and other countries. His festival was 
 observed, with great solemnity, the first day of January; 
 
 * Liv. 1. 11. Epitomae. — Val. Max. 1. 1. c. 8. 
 
 t De Prajstanlia et Usu Kumismatum. Diss. S. p. 181. ed. Els, 1671. 
 J R^cherches Curieuses d’ Antiquity, Diss. 31. 
 
 ^ Avanzi dell’ Antica Roma, tradolta da Paolo Rolli, p. 301. 
 
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 Joti ve I/iscripfions ibund ui Temple ef^ Eseidapius. 
 
THE BRIDGES. 
 
 379 
 
 probably to render him propitious to Rome, and to prevent 
 the plague, and other epidemical diseases, during the course 
 of the year. 
 
 This temple of i^^sculapius was long held in the highest 
 veneration, and numbers of miraculous cures are said to have 
 been performed here. The votive inscriptions, on a table of 
 marble, found among its ruins, and now preserved in the 
 Farnese collection, are a proof of it. They have been long 
 since published by Hieronymus Mercurial, in his book, De 
 Arte Gymnastica.^ — But my late ingenious friend Mr. James 
 Russell, author of the Letters from a young Painter, &c. 
 copied and imitated the form of the characters of these in- 
 scriptions with the greatest accuracy. He intended to have 
 published them, along with some other curious inscriptions, 
 traced in the same manner, but death prevented him. I know 
 not what is become of Mr. Russell's plate; but as he gave me 
 an impression of it, which I preserve, I have had it exactly 
 re-engraved, and here present it to the learned and curious 
 reader. -f- 
 
 These inscriptions may be thus translated. 
 
 1. “ In these days the god, (i^lsculapius) admonished by 
 the oracle, answered one Caius, who was blind, that he should 
 go to the right side of the altar and worship ; afterwards from 
 
 t See plate X. 
 
 3C2 
 
 • Lib. 1. c. 1. 
 
380 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 the right to go to the left, and place his five fingers upon the 
 ♦ altar, and lift up his hands and lay them upon his own eyes, 
 
 and he recovered his sight directly ; the people standing by 
 and rejoicing together with him, that such great miracles 
 were performed under our Emperor Antoninus/' 
 
 2. ‘‘ The god (iTsculapius) answered by the oracle to Lu- 
 cius, who had a pleurisy, and was despaired of by every man, 
 to come and take from the altar some ashes, and mix them 
 together with wine, and put them on his side, and he was 
 cured; and he f publicly returned thanks to the god, and the 
 people congratulated with him/' 
 
 3. “The god, (iEsculapius) by means of the oracle, ad- 
 monished Julianus, who vomited blood, despaired of by every 
 man, to come and take pine berries from the altar, and eat 
 them with honey for three days, and he was cured ; and com- 
 ing forth, he publicly returned thanks before the people." 
 
 4. “The god (iEsculapius) admonished, by means of the 
 oracle, Valerius Aper, a blind soldier, to come and take the 
 blood out of a white cock, to beat it up together with honey 
 and collyrium, and, for three days, put it upon his eyes ; and 
 he recovered his sight ; and he came forth, and gave thanks 
 in a public manner to the god." 
 
 From the first inscription we observe, that these miracles 
 were performed in the time of Antoninus ; but that this must 
 
THE BRIDGES. 
 
 have been Antoninus Pius, appears from the medallion of that 
 emperor, which I have just mentioned, and of which these 
 pretended miracles probably suggested the idea."^ 
 
 Many, no doubt, were the votive tables placed in this tem- 
 ple, but which are now lost. Various medical prescriptions 
 were likewise inscribed on its walls : among others, we learn 
 from Pliny,t that on a table of stone in the portico, was en- 
 graved, in verse, the recipe for making the confectio theriac^ 
 of the ancients, which was reckoned an antidote against all 
 sorts of poison. The great naturalist, as well as Galen,I have 
 preserved to us that recipe ; but it is not exactly the same with 
 the theriac, commonly called Venice treacle, composed and im- 
 proved by the moderns. 
 
 The sick used to be carried to the temple and placed there, 
 according to certain rites, that, when asleep, they might be 
 advised by iEsculapius of their proper remedy.§ 
 
 It was common for the patient, after having been exposed 
 some nights in the temple, without being cured, to depart, and 
 put an end to his own life. Plautus[| makes Cappadox quit 
 
 * Tncilus relates two miracles performed by Vespasian at Alexandria. A poor 
 man, known to be blind, threw himself at the emperor’s feet, and begged that 
 he would anoint his cheeks, and the circle of his eyes, with his imperial spittle ; 
 for such the Egvptii.li god Scrapis advised him to ask -The other, whose band 
 was paraljlic, desired he wi iild put his foot on and walk over it. espasian 
 having consented to do so, they both immediately recovered. Hist. 1. 4. c. 81. 
 t Nal. Hist, I. «0. c. 04 . i L. S. He Anlidot. c. 14. 
 
 % Cic. de Divio. I. 3. II Curculio, act 2. sc. 1. 
 
 S8x 
 
ANCIENT ROME, 
 
 382 
 
 the temple in despair, because in place of recovering he daily 
 became worse : — 
 
 Migrare certum est jam nunc e fano foras, 
 
 Quando iEsculapii jam sentio sententiam ; 
 
 Ut qui me nihili faciat, salvam velit ; 
 
 Valetudo decrescit, accrescit labor.*' 
 
 Slaves, of whose recovery there was no hope, were exposed 
 in this temple, and, if health was restored to them, they ac- 
 quired their liberty,* 
 
 Notwithstanding the superstition of the Romans, towards 
 the end of the republic, and during the beginning of the em- 
 pire, when various sects of Greek philosophers came among 
 them, many of the great men of Rome became sceptics, and 
 ridiculed the religion of their forefathers. This appears from 
 Cicero's Dialogues on the Nature of the Gods ; for there we find 
 Cotta, a Roman pontiff and great magistrate, one of the inter- 
 locutors, advance, that diseases are cured by natural means, 
 and not by divine interventions. Thus he gives more credit 
 to Hippocrates than to iTsculapius, — “ Nec ego multorum 
 aegrorum salutem non ab Hippocrate potius, quam ab iTscu- 
 lapio datarn judico."'f' 
 
 Two other temples are mentioned to have stood on this 
 island, dedicated to Jupiter, J and Faunus.§ No part of these 
 
 * Suet. V. Claud, c. 25. 
 
 X Liv. 1, 34. c. 53. 
 
 t Cic. de Nat, Deor. 1. 3. c. 38. 
 § Liv, 1. 33. c. 42. 
 
THE BRIDGES. 
 
 383 
 
 remains; but, according to Vitruvius,* they were of that spe- 
 cies of architecture called prostyloi. — “ Hujus exemplar est in 
 insula Tibertina in aede Jovis, et Fauni/* 
 
 An Egyptian obelisk, inscribed with hieroglyphics, had pro- 
 bably been placed in the island ; a fragment of which still re- 
 mains before the church of St. Bartholomew.'!' 
 
 The ingenious PiranesiJ has presented us with an elegant 
 little plan of the island and its buildings; but it is ideal; for 
 surely there are not sufficient remains of these ancient buildings, 
 to have enabled him thus to trace them. 
 
 Below the island is the Pons Senatorius, or Palatinus, for 
 both these names are given to it by the antiquaries. It had, 
 however, in modern times, been called Ponte Santa Maria, 
 either from an image of the Virgin placed on it, or from the 
 church of 6*. Maria Egyptiaca, which I mentioned, § in its vi- 
 cinity. But two of its arches having been broken down by 
 an inundation of the river, in it remains impassable; 
 
 and, from this circumstance, it is now named Ponte Potto. 
 From what remains, this bridge appears to have been spacious 
 and handsome. 
 
 The last bridge in my order, though the first built at Rome, 
 is the Pons Suhlicius, the work of Ancus Martius.|| Towards 
 
 * Vitr. 1. 3. c. I. 
 
 *t It is published by Piranesi, Ant. Rom. Tom. 4. tav. 14. 
 
 X Piranesi, ib. § See page SP2. 11 Liv. 1, 1. c. 33. 
 
 6. Pons Se 
 natorius. 
 
 7 . Pons Sub- 
 licius. 
 
ANCIENT ROME, 
 
 the Ripa grande I saw some of its foundations. It was con- 
 structed with wood, when defended by Horatius Codes; but 
 after that event the planks, with which it was covered, were laid 
 across, without being fixed with nails, that they might be the 
 more easily removed in any sudden danger. Pliny,* mention- 
 ing buildings without nails, has taken notice of this circumstance 
 — “ quod item Romse in ponte Sublicio religiosum est ; postea- 
 quam Coclite Horatio defendente segre revulsus est."' — However, 
 it is said that, in later times, this bridge, which is now destroyed, 
 was rebuilt with stone. 
 
 In viewing the ruins of the Pons Sublicius, we naturally re- 
 collect the story of Horatius Codes. Porsena, king of Clu- 
 sium, in Hetruria, ally to the Tarquins, rendered himself master 
 of the castellum on the Janiculum. The Romans marched out 
 to attack Porsena, but were repulsed, and forced to re-cross 
 this bridge with great precipitation. At last Horatius Codes, 
 along with Sp. Lartius and T. Herminius, afraid lest Porsena 
 might have pursued his advantage, and entered Rome, resolved 
 to defend the end of the bridge, towards the Janiculum. The 
 arms of Lartius and Herminius being broken in the violence 
 of the action, they retired ; and Horatius Codes alone defended 
 the bridge, till the Romans had destroyed as much of its end 
 towards the city, as to render it impassable. Then the hero, 
 wounded in the thigh, threw himself into the river, and, amidst 
 a shower of darts, swam over. For this heroic action the Ro- 
 mans placed his statue in the temple of Saturn, and bestowed 
 on him land and other presents. 
 
 * Lib. 36. c. 15. 
 
C 385 3 
 
 TRANSTIBERIM. 
 
 I shall now cross the river, and enter into the Transtiberim, 
 by the modern Italians named il Trastevere. It may be con- 
 sidered as a suburb of Rome. It is the plain that lies between 
 the Tiber and the Janiculum hill. 
 
 Livy* tells us, that it was added to the city by Ancus 
 Martius. — “ Janiculum quoque adjectum ; non inopia loci, sed 
 ne quando ea arx hostium esset.’* — But, as the Tiber was the 
 boundary between Hetruria and Latiumj-f it is not probable 
 that the Romans ventured to build much in the Transtiberim, 
 before they rendered themselves masters of a considerable part 
 of Hetruria. 
 
 The first inhabitants of this quarter were low people brought 
 from different parts of Latium, conquered by the Romans, to 
 increase the population of the city. Here the meanest trades 
 and manufactories were carried on. Thus Martial, J satiriz- 
 ing a prostitute who had an offensive breath, compares her to 
 several nasty objects, and among others to a dog-skinner in the 
 Transtiberim : 
 
 “ Non detracta cani Transtiberina cutis." 
 
 ♦ Liv. 1, 1. c. 33. — Vide Dion. Hal. 1. 3. c. 14. § 3. 
 
 X Lib. 6. ep. 93. 
 
 sD 
 
 t See page 315. 
 
386 
 
 ANCIENT ROME. 
 
 St, Cecilia. 
 No. 52. 
 
 Porta Septi- 
 miana. 
 
 Though there are now several fine churches, hospitals, and 
 great palaces in the Trastevere, yet it is chiefly inhabited by 
 low people, who consider themselves as a different race from 
 the other Romans : they seem to retain a certain rusticity ; and 
 when any tumults happen at Rome, they are always observed 
 to figure in them. 
 
 Publius Victor and the antiquaries give lists of baths, nau- 
 machias, and other monuments, that formerly ornamented the 
 Trastevere ; but, as I have not been able to fix their situations, 
 I shall not trouble the reader with mere conjecture. 
 
 An object, however, that deserves our attention, is to be 
 seen at the church of St. Cecilia, the amiable patroness of mu- 
 sic ; that divine art, by which, according to the poet,* “ she 
 drew an angel down.’* This elegant church is built on the 
 foundation of the saint’s house ; and her bath, in which she 
 was martyred, about the year 232, is converted into a chapel. 
 In this chapel I observed, in the walls, earthen pipes or flues, 
 by which hot air had been conveyed into the bath. They are 
 the only flues of this kind hitherto discovered among the ancient 
 baths of Rome. 
 
 Near to the little but elegant Farnese palace, I observed a 
 ruin, commonly called Porta Septimiana, Perhaps it was a 
 gate, and the ancient walls went in that direction, before Au- 
 relian extended the city on this side the Tiber. 
 
 * See Dryden’s Ode, in honour of St, Cecilia’s day. 
 
TRANSTIBERIM. 
 
 387 
 
 The great church of S. Maria in Trastevere, is built on the 
 foundations of an ancient building. It is generally supposed to 
 have been the Taberna Meritoria, probably a military hospital. 
 Eusebius^ tells us that, before the birth of Christ, a fountain 
 of oil rose up here, so copious that it ran into the Tiber: from 
 this circumstance the church has been sometimes named — 
 S. Maria ad fontem olei. — Be this as it may, to preserve the tra- 
 dition, an inscription is placed near the great altar — fons olei. 
 This church is chiefly constructed with materials that be- 
 longed to former buildings. Here I observed some noble Ionic 
 columns, on the centre of whose volutes is cut, in basso-relievo, 
 the bust of Harpocrate, with his finger on his mouth, the symbol 
 of silence. 
 
 I have already mentioned •f' that the Mons Vaticanus, and 
 its circumjacent plain, was added to the city by the Popes, 
 But it may be considered as a continuation of the Prastevere. 
 
 That Nero's Circus ran along the side of the sacristy of the 
 church of St. Peter, appears from the noble obelisk J that 
 
 # Hist. Eccles. 1 . 1 . f See page 24. 
 
 + This obelisk, of one piece of granite, but without hieroglyphics, had, accord- 
 ing to Pliny, 1 . 36 . c. 11. been cut out of the quarries of Syene, and erected at 
 Heliopolis by Nuncoreus son of Sesostris king of Egypt. It was from thence 
 brought to Rome by Caligula, who dedicated it to Augustus and to Tiberius. 
 Nero afterwards placed it in his circus, where it remained, till Pope Sixtus V. 
 had it erected at a great ex pence, before the fagade of St. Peter, by the cele- 
 brated architect Dominico Fontana. The shaft of this obelisk is 113| palms, 
 and the height of the whole, fiom the ground to the top of the cross, is 180 
 palms. — See Descrizione del’ Vaticano da Chattard, Tom. 1. p. 3. 
 
 3 D 2 
 
 Taberna 
 Meritv)ria. 
 No. 53. 
 
 Mons Vati- 
 canus. 
 
 Nero’s Cir- 
 cus. 
 
 No. 54. 
 
388 
 
 ANCIENT ROME, 
 
 ornamented its spina, and which remained standing* there, till 
 it was removed by Pope Sixtus V. who had it erected in the 
 centre of the colonnade of this wonderful temple. 
 
 The circus was probably destroyed for the sake of its mate- 
 rials, with which the original church of St. Peter had been 
 built. But though there are no remains of it, still it is too re- 
 markable to be passed over unobserved. It seems to have ex- 
 tended from the church of S. Martha to the first step of the 
 portico of S. Peter. 
 
 Seneca and Burrhus seem to have wished to prevent Nero 
 from appearing as a charioteer and a comedian. But when 
 their advice was rejected, they caused this circus which had 
 been begun by Caligula, to be finished for him ; where he might 
 conduct a chariot, unseen by the people. At last his vanity 
 invited the people to see him, whose applauses encouraged his 
 passion for these diversions. It was to diminish his own in- 
 famy that, by largesses, he engaged many persons of noble fa- 
 milies to imitate his example. — “ Nam et ejus flagitium est, 
 qui pecuniam ob delicta potius dedit, quam ne delinquerent."^ 
 — Tacitus tells us that the people regretted the death of Nero. 
 The sagacious historian could not have given a stronger proof 
 of the degeneracy of those times. The Romans, enslaved, as- 
 pired no higher than to have food and amusements ; — panem et 
 eircenses . — They did not see that Nero was a tyrant, a matri- 
 cide, a monster; they only considered him as a prince who 
 
 * Tacitus, ann. 1. 14. c. 14, 
 
TRANSTIBERINf. 
 
 389 
 
 multiplied their diversions, particularly those of the circus, in 
 which he himself was a principal actor. 
 
 The rotonda, which long served for the only sacristy of St. 
 Peter, is reckoned to have been a temple of Apollo ; it stood 
 at the side of Nero's circus. Perhaps it was built on the spot, 
 where tradition made an oracle give responses ; and from Va- 
 ticiniuniy this hill might have been called Vaticanus. Other 
 etymologies, however, have been given for this name.* 
 
 The many aqueducts, by which rivers, if I may be allowed 
 the expression, of excellent water were conveyed to Rome, have 
 been justly considered among the most magnificent, as well as 
 the most useful works of the Romans. It may therefore be 
 expected that I should have traced particularly these aqueducts. 
 I have mentioned such of them as occurred in my survey ; 
 but to have traced them minutely, from their various and dis- 
 tant sources, to the final distribution of their water in Rome, 
 is a subject so extensive and intricate, that it would require a 
 work apart. It is the less necessary for me to undertake it, as 
 it has been done by Frontinus,-f by Fabrettus,J and by Alberto 
 Cassio,§ to whose learned works I beg leave to refer the cu- 
 rious reader. 
 
 * A. Gellius, 1. 16 . c. 17. + De Aquaeductibus Urbis Romae. Studio 
 
 Joannis Poleni. Patavii, 1722. 4to. De Aquis et Aquaeductibus 
 
 Veteris Romae. § Corso dell’ Aque Antiche e Moderne di Roma. 
 
 Temple of 
 Apollo. 
 No. 55. 
 
 Aqueducts. 
 
S9° 
 
 The conclu- 
 sion. 
 
 ANCIENT ROME, 
 
 Thus, according to my plan, have I completed the remarks 
 I purposed to make on the remains of antiquity to be seen at 
 Rome, and in its environs. They are the result of considerable 
 reading, and an attentive examination of the monuments them- 
 selves on the spot, during a number of years, that I resided in 
 that city ; and I have endeavoured to give as exact an account 
 as their present shattered state would permit. 
 
 This inquiry, full of variety and ancient anecdote, has 
 afforded much pleasure to my own mind ; and after a long 
 lapse of time, I still, in imagination, frequently tread over this 
 classical ground, and never without the recollected satisfaction 
 I enjoyed in the agreeable pursuit. 
 
THE 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 No. I. 
 
 THE NASONIAN SEPULCHRE. 
 
 A LETTER FROM ROME. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 As exercise is extremely necessary here to preserve health, I 
 frequently make little excursions round the city. A few days 
 ago I strolled as far as the Nasonian sepulchre, commonly 
 called Ovid's tomb. This monument, cut out of the rock that 
 overtops the via Flaminia, is about two miles and a quarter 
 beyond the bridge named Ponte Moll 4 , formerly Pons Milvius. 
 It was discovered, in the year 1674, by the workmen repair- 
 ing that road.^ 
 
 To dispose of the bodies of the dead has been the religious 
 care of all nations. Dreadful was the idea of being deprived of 
 sepulchral rites. Till these were performed properly, at least 
 the body covered with earth, the credulous Roman believed 
 that Charon would not receive the soul into his boat, and con- 
 duct it to the delightful Elysium ; but that it wandered an 
 
 *■ See page S9* 
 
APPENDIX. NO. I.- 
 
 hundred years on the banks of the dismal Styx. Hence Virgil 
 makes the Sibyl inform i^^neas : 
 
 “ Nec ripas datur horrendas et rauca fluenta 
 Transportare prius, quam sedibus ossa quierunt. 
 Centum errant annos, volitantque hgec litora circum : 
 Turn demum admissi stagna exoptata revisunt.*'^ 
 
 Various indeed have been the methods of disposing of the 
 dead. But inhumation seems to be the most ancient, as well 
 as the most universal practice : dust to dust. Burning too had 
 been early received at Rome. It was introduced, perhaps, 
 to facilitate the means of bringing home, and preserving, the 
 ashes of the brave citizens who had lost their lives abroad in 
 defence of their country ; as well as to prevent the remains of 
 the dead from being dug up and insulted by their enemies. 
 Some of the great families of Rome, however, continued long 
 the custom of inhumation. Sylla, the dictator, was the first 
 of the Cornelian family who ordered his body to be burnt ; 
 afraid, probably, lest the Marian faction might do to his body 
 what he had barbarously done to that of Marius, viz. to tear it 
 from the grave, and throw it into the river.-f 
 
 Pliny informs us, that the Romans did not burn the bodies 
 of children before they got their teeth, — “ Hominem prius- 
 
 quam genito dente cremari, mos gentium non est.^'J This 
 
 custom is likewise mentioned by Juvenal. § 
 
 * jEn. 1. 6. V. 327. f Cic. de Legibus, 1. 2.— PJin. Hist. Nat, 1. 7. c. 54. 
 
 X Plin, 1. 7. c. 16. § Sat. 15. v. 138. 
 
THE NASONIAN SEPULCHRE. 
 
 393 
 
 “ Naturas imperio getnimus, cum funus adultae 
 Virginis occurrit, vel terra clauditur infans, 
 
 Et minor igne rogi.*" 
 
 Sensible how much the putrefaction of dead bodies must 
 corrupt the purity of the air of populous cities, the Romans, 
 by a law of the XII Tables, made it unlawful to bury or bu rn 
 the dead within the city. — “ Hominem mortuum in urbe ne 
 sepelito, neve urito.'** — ^The senate and people, however, 
 sometimes dispensed with this law ; particularly in favour of 
 the emperors, of the vestal virgins, and of personages who 
 had rendered signal services to the state. 
 
 The Romans therefore commonly placed their sepulchres 
 near the highways. They had several reasons for this custom. 
 It admonished travellers to wish rest to the souls of the dead ; 
 it awakened in their minds many moral reflections ; and made 
 them ambitious to imitate the virtues and to detest the vices 
 of the persons to whose memories these tombs were erected. 
 
 It was natural for those whose characters were stained with 
 vices or follies, or whose lives had passed in obscurity, to wish 
 to be buried in some remote corner, that they might thereby 
 escape the censure of passengers. It was this, perhaps, made 
 Propertius say — 
 
 ‘‘ Di faciant, mea ne terra locet ossa frequenti 
 Qua facit assiduo tramite vulgus iter.'.-f 
 
 3 E 
 
 * Tab. X. de jure sacro. 
 
 t Lib. 3. eleg. 16. 
 
594 
 
 APPENDIX, NO. I. 
 
 The via Flammia and via Latina were remarkable for the 
 number of sepulchral monuments that ornamented them. Ju- 
 venal, to screen himself from the resentment of those wliose 
 vices he satirised, pretends that he attacks the dead buried 
 on those roads : — 
 
 « Experiar, quid concedatur in illos 
 
 Quorum Flaminia tegitur cinis, atque Latina/'* 
 
 It was usual to build monuments in honour of the dead, 
 although they were not buried in them. Such a tomb was 
 called by the Greeks >c£voroc(piov, and by the Romans honorarms. 
 The ancients used certain religious ceremonies, to invite the 
 soul of the dead to take possession of such a monument. Thus 
 Virgil makes iEneas call thrice on the soul of Deiphobus, when 
 he erected a Ksvarapov to him, at Rhoeteum, a promontory on 
 the Trojan coast : — 
 
 “ Tunc egomet tumulum Rhoeteo in litore inanem 
 Constitui, et magna manes ter voce vocavi.'*-f 
 
 Ovid was banished by Augustus. Whether it was because 
 the amorous poet had made love to Livia his wife, or to Julia 
 his daughter, or because he had surprised the father holding 
 criminal conversation with the daughter, or for what other 
 reason, is very uncertain. It appears, indeed, that the emperor 
 was so enraged at him, that he never would permit his return 
 
 •Sat. 1. V. 170. t 1. 6. V. 505; 
 
THE NASONIAN SEPULCHRE. 
 
 S9S 
 
 home : and that he died and was buried at Tomus* in Pontus, 
 to which he was exiled.-f* 
 
 When the Polish army, in the year 1581, was at Pont- 
 Euxine, they found, it is said,J among the ruins of the ancient 
 city of Tomus, a large stone, with an inscription on it, which 
 seems to be Ovid’s epitaph — 
 
 “ Hie situs est vates, quern Divi Ccesaris ira 
 Augusti, patria cederejussit humo. 
 
 S^pe miser voluit patriis occumbere terris, 
 
 Sed frustra : hunc illi fata dedere locum.” 
 
 But whether or not this inscription is genuine, I shall not here 
 inquire. It is, however, very applicable to the unfortunate 
 but delightful poet.§ 
 
 * Now called Kiovia. f See Ovid. Trist. 1. 1. eleg. 2. v. 85. 
 
 ^ Hist, della Famiglia Gonzaga, da Passevino. 
 
 § AUhongh it is generally believed that Ovid was exiled to Tomus, yet there 
 is a tradition that it was to Julia Alba, now called Czetate Alba, in lower Mol- 
 davia, formerly the country of the Getes. From M. Carra, who resided some 
 time there, we have this anecdote Near to Julia Alba, says he, there is a lake, 
 still called Lacul-Ovidului, or Ovid's-lake. And about three leagues from the 
 city there is a romantic situation, which is supposed to have been a retreat of 
 the poet. Here the ruins of a village are to be seen, and a fountain which, as 
 well as the lake, is named from him. His name is still preserved and venerated 
 by the people of that country. They say- — that there came, from the banks 
 of the Tiber, an extraordinary man, who had the gentleness of a child, and the 
 goodness of a parent ; that he sighed incessantly, and sometimes talked to him- 
 self ; but when he spoke to any one, honey seemed to flow from his moutb.’^ — 
 See Histoire de la Moldavie et de la Valachie, avec une dissertation sur I’^tat 
 actuel de ces deux provinces; par M, Carra; a Paris, chez Laugrain, 1778. 
 12mo. p. 7 . 
 
 3 E 2 
 
APPENDIX. NO. I. 
 
 How feelingly does Ovid regret that, dying in exile, he 
 would have no friendly hand to close his eyes, or tongue to 
 proclaim his death ! 
 
 “ Nec cum clamore supremo 
 
 Languentes oculos claudat arnica man us/'* 
 
 At Rome, as soon as a person died, the friends caused the 
 doors of the house to be thrown open, and whoever entered 
 called him by his name, and going out to the street proclaimed 
 him dead by saying — “ conclamatum est/' — This ceremony 
 was repeated seven days. It was only on the eighth day that 
 the body was carried out : so cautious were they lest it should 
 be buried or burnt alive! because till putrehiction begins, 
 there is no certain sign of death. The modern European na- 
 tions generally bury the dead too soon ; but eight days, in 
 such a climate as Rome, seems more than sufficient. 
 
 We learn from Ovid,‘f that he had a villa between the 
 Claudian and Flaminian ways. It is near to this where Q. 
 Nasonius Ambrosius, of the Ovidian family, built this sepul- 
 chre for himself and posterity ; and at the same time to per- 
 petuate the memory of the celebrated poet, 
 
 D. M. 
 
 Q. NASONIVS . AMBROSIVS 
 SIBI . ET • SVIS . FECIT . LI 
 BERTIS . LIBERTABVSQVE 
 
 * Ovid. Trist. 1. 3. eleg. 3. t, 4S» 
 
 t Lib, 1. de Ponto, ep. 8. v. 44. 
 
THE NASONIAN SEPULCHRE. 
 
 397 
 
 NASONIAE . VRBICAE 
 CONIVGI . SVAE , ET . COL 
 LIBERIS . SVIS . ET 
 POSTERISQVE . EOR. 
 
 But from different inscriptions found here, it appears that 
 others, besides the family of Naso, were, in after ages, buried 
 also in this sepulchre. 
 
 The front was almost square, ornamented with four Co- 
 rinthian pilasters, and terminated with a pediment. The 
 sepulchral chamber is forty Roman palms long, and twenty 
 broad. There are seven niches on a level with the floor, viz. 
 three on each side, and one opposite to the door. In each 
 niche stood a sarcophagus. Above the niches there is a cor- 
 nice. The roof is arched. The floor, which was paved with 
 mosaic, is now much raised by earth and dung, as the herds- 
 men lodge their sheep in it. Strange, that the government 
 here, and in which there are men of taste and learning, should 
 not liave prevented so noble a piece of antiquity from being 
 thus degraded ! 
 
 Every part of this monument w’as elegantly painted. It was 
 divided into different compartments ; in which were represented 
 the ancient stories concerning the state of the dead, and the 
 Elysian fields. 
 
 These ] aintings are now defaced; a few single figures on 
 the roof only being visible. Don Caspar Altieri had three 
 
S98 
 
 APPENDIX. NO. I. 
 
 pieces cut off the walls, viz. the fable of CEdipus and the 
 sphinx, a hunting of the tiger, and a horse, which are pre- 
 served at his villa, near the church called S. Croce in Gem- 
 salemme. 
 
 Soon after the discovery of this sepulchre, Cardinal Massimi 
 had exact designs of all the paintings made by Pietro Sancti 
 Bartoii, and which that ingenious artist afterwards (1680), 
 engraved. The orginal drawings, I am informed, are in 
 the collection of the late Dr. Mead. The prints are learn- 
 edly explained by Bellori.* From the goodness of the paint- 
 ings, and the characters of tlie sepulchral inscription, Bellori 
 is of opinion, that they are as old as the time of Antoninus 
 Pius. 
 
 By Bartoli's prints we find,f that in the niche opposite to 
 the door, which was the principle one, stood Ovid, crowned 
 with laurel, addressing himself to the infernal Mercury. At 
 his side sits a muse, or perhaps his wife Perilla, whom he 
 taught poetry, that she might be a more agreeable companion 
 to him : her right hand rests on a harp, or cilhara, and in her 
 left she holds a sort of long flute with three stops, or rather a 
 plectrum. Behind Mercury stands a woman dressed like a 
 Roman matron. 
 
 In another niche, J Pluto and Proserpine sat on a throne, 
 judging the souls of the dead presented to them by Mercury. 
 
 * Le pittme antiche del sepolchro de’ Nasonii, nella via Flaininia. 
 
 + Tab. V. Xai,, vill. 
 
THE NASONIAN SEPULCHRE. 
 
 Claudiaii makes Pluto confer this right on Proserpine, after he 
 stole her away : 
 
 ‘‘ Sub tua purpurei venient vestigia reges, 
 
 Deposito luxu, turba cum aupere mixti. 
 
 Omnia mors aequat. Tu damnatura nocentes: 
 
 Tu requiem latura piis."** 
 
 For a description of the other paintings, I refer to Bellori. 
 
 I am, &c. 
 
 * Lib. 2, de rapt. Proserp. 
 
C 400 J 
 
 APPENDIX. No. II.* 
 
 TIVOLI. 
 
 A LETTER TO JOHN MACGOUAN, ESQ. 
 
 Rome, Dec. 1 , 1765. 
 
 The favourable reception, my dear friend, you are pleased to 
 give the accounts I send you, of some of the antiquities here, 
 encourages me to trouble you with the following journal of a 
 jaunt to Tivoli, the Tihur of the ancients : 
 
 " Itur ad Herculei gelidas qua Tiburis arces, 
 
 Canaque sulphureis Albula fumat aquis.”-f* 
 
 As this is properly a classical excursion, I shall find myself 
 sometimes obliged to transcribe a Latin sentence: but need 
 I apologize for it, when I write to one who thoroughly un- 
 derstands, and justly admires the beauties of those elegant 
 originals } 
 
 * This letter, and the Appendix No. ITT. were read at a meeting of ihe Royal 
 Society of Edinburgh, July 18, 1791 ; but, making part of this work, the au- 
 thor declined to leave them for publication, otherwise that learned Society would 
 have honoured them with a place in their Transactions. — See Transactions of 
 the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Vol. 3. History of the Society, p. 19. 
 t Martial, 1, 1. ep. 13. 
 
TIVOLI. 
 
 o 
 
 Before Aurelian enlarged the precincts of Rome, the road 
 to Tivoli was by the Viminal gate, which opened in the mid- 
 dle of the agger of Tarquinius ; and was from thence some- 
 times called Porta inter aggeres. After the walls were ex- 
 tended, the road was by the Tiburtine gate, which joined to 
 the castrum pratorianorum. But this gate having been built 
 up, probably when the barbarous nations invaded Italy, people 
 went to Tivoli by the gate of St. Laurence, which still conti- 
 nues to be the road. This gate of St. Laurence is one of the 
 arches of the Martian, Tepulan, and Julian aqueduct; and 
 was made a gate of the city by Aurelian, who called it Porta 
 Collatina, But when Collatia^ was either destroyed, or re- 
 duced to a small village, it was known by the name of St. 
 Laurence. 
 
 About half a mile from the gate is the church of St. Lau- 
 rence. It is one of those said to have been founded by Con- 
 stantine, and built on the foundation of a temple of Neptune. 
 In its nave there are twenty-two ancient columns of Oriental 
 granite. Round the choir there are ten fluted columns of 
 pavonazzo. The two first of these are composite; but their 
 capitals are ornamented with trophies of arms in alto-relievo : 
 they may be called military capitals. The other eight columns 
 are Corinthian, and their capitals are finely executed. These 
 columns are half buried, the choir being now raised much 
 higher than it had originally been. To show, however, the 
 elegance of the columns, one of them has been since dug 
 
 401 
 
 Road to Ti- 
 voli. 
 
 Church of 
 St. Laurence, 
 
 * See page 55. 
 
 gF 
 
4Ps 
 
 AsarcopLa- 
 
 fius. 
 
 Sepulchre of 
 Pallans. 
 
 Pons Mam- 
 meus. 
 
 APPENDIX, NO, II. 
 
 0 
 
 round, whereby vve can trace its whole height. In this church 
 there is a remarkable sarcophagus, on which is a basso-relievo, 
 representing an ancient marriage, with all its ceremonies, and 
 of which I shall .afterwards give you a particular account.^ 
 The body of Cardinal William, nephevy of Innocent IV. is 
 buried in it. 
 
 Many vestiges of sepulchres are to be seen on this road. 
 About a mile from where the Viminal gate probably stood, I 
 searched in vain to discover the remains of that of PallanSy'\ 
 the freedman of Claudius. Pliny the younger, J who mentions 
 it with so much indignation, has preserved to us the inscrip- 
 tion:-—** Huic senatus ob fidem, pietatemque erga patronos 
 ornamenta pr^etoria decrevit, et sestertium centies quinqua- 
 gies,§ cujus honores contentus fuit." — What a picture is this 
 of the depravity of the senate, of the wickedness of the emperor, 
 and of the insolence and vanity, under the mask of modesty, of 
 the catamite ! 
 
 I crossed the Teverone, four miles from the gate, at the 
 bridge called Mammeus^ from Mammea, the mother of Alex- 
 ander Severus, by whom it was repaired ; but, by corruption, 
 it is now called Mammolo. I do not find how this river got 
 
 * Appendix, No. III. *1 He lived to the plh of Nero. 
 
 ^ Lib. 7. ep. £Q. — See likewise Tacitus Ann. 1. 12. c. 53. 
 
 § Which, according to Dr. Arbuthnot, was equal to 12 1,093. 15s. sterling. 
 This sum, as the Doctor observes, w'as afterwards erased out of the records by 
 Justinian, — " sub. tit, de senatus consulto Claudiano.”— See Tables of ancient 
 Coins, page 118. 
 
TIVOLI. 
 
 the name of Teverone. Plutarch* informs us, that it was first The Anio. 
 called Parheusium, and then Anio, from King AniuSj who 
 precipitated himself into it : — • 
 
 ‘‘ Rex Anius, rex idem hominum, Phoebique sacerdos/'-f 
 
 'Phis river comes from the Apennines, between Felettino and 
 Trevi, and after a course of about sixty miles, loses itself in the 
 Tiber near Rome. 
 
 At the eighth mile the road divides. The right hand leads 
 to Tivoli, and the left to Monticelli. 
 
 About the thirteenth mile, to the left of the road, I saw a Lago di Tar- 
 ruin called Castell* A.rcionit and near to it the small puddle 
 named l^ago di TartarL It smells strong of sulphur. From 
 hence to Tivoli, and along the sides of the mountain, part of 
 the Apennines, on which Tivoli is built, are the quarries of 
 that hard porous freestone, known by the name of lapis Ti- 
 burtinus or Travertino, employed in the great buildings at 
 Rome. This stone may be calcined into lime: it is done in 
 the open air, and not in kilns. It seems to be produced from 
 the sediment of the waters that come from the Apennines, and 
 which by length of time have formed considerable beds of 
 it. In this neighbourhood are many osteocolla, as the natu- 
 ralists name them; that is, roots, branches, and trunks of 
 trees incrusted, or petrified by the same calcareous lapidific 
 juice. 
 
 * In Opusc. Paral. 77. t Virgil. .3En. 3. v. 80. 
 
 3 F 3 
 
APPENDIX. NO. I!. 
 
 404 
 
 Aquae Albu- 
 Ise. 
 
 The fourteenth mile brought me to the bridge upon the 
 canal of the Solfatara. It is thus named from the sulphureous 
 lake, anciently Aquce Albulce ; which, according to Strabo,^ 
 were several springs collected together. The lake itself is 
 about a mile north of the bridge. There are many such lakes 
 in Italy. Pliny the younger* * * § s description of that of Vadimon-f 
 is an exact account of the Solfatara : the whitish-blue colour of 
 the water, the sulphureous smell, the mineral taste, and the 
 floating islands being precisely the same. 
 
 Before I arrived at the lake, I perceived at a considerable 
 distance, its disagreeable smell. The water resembles that 
 produced by flour of brimstone boiled with lime. Although 
 Pliny the elder J calls 4his water cold, it is hotter than the 
 external air: for Abb^ Nollet§ having plunged a thermo- 
 meter, graduated according to Reaumur, into this lake, it rose 
 to twenty degrees above the freezing point, while the external 
 air was at sixteen degrees only. 
 
 The ground round the lake sounds hollow. It is probably 
 undermined by the water. It is no doubt the crust, detached 
 from the sides and falling into the lake, that has formed the 
 floating islands. They are composed of roots of trees, shrubs, 
 and reeds wove together, and covered with a little earth ; so 
 
 * Planitiem illam per qiiam delabitur Anio, Alhula etiam perjiuunt aquae 
 frigidae multis fontibus exorientes, ad varies inorbos potae, aut pro balneis 
 
 usurpatae remedium adfeientes.” — Strabo, Origin, 1. 13. c. 13. 
 
 t Now logo di Bassenello, 1. 8. ep. 20. $ Hist. Nat. 1. 31, c. 3. 
 
 § Mem. de TAcad. des Sciences, ann, 1750. 
 
TIVOLI, 
 
 that they may easily float, and be carried by the wind from 
 side to side of the lake. 
 
 The incrusting, or tartarizing quality of this water is very 
 strong ; for whatever it touches, except the earth, is in a short 
 time covered with a hard stony matter. This appears from 
 the experiment of throwing a bundle of small sticks, shrubs, 
 or such materials into it, and in a few days you may observe 
 the incrustation. It is remarkable that this tartarizing quality 
 is not so strong in the lake, as it is in the canal that flows from 
 thence. And the further the water has run from the fountain 
 head; until it loses itself in the Anio, the stronger this quality 
 is observed to be. Hence these small white incrustations found 
 in the canal, like sugar-plums, called confetti di Tivoli, 
 
 Although there are fish in the Anio, particularly trouts, 
 both above and below Tivoli, yet after it receives the Albulce 
 there are none to be found in it. — Andreas Baccius, in his 
 book de Thermis, gives an account of the medical virtues of 
 these waters, which are quite abandoned by the modern 
 Romans. According to the great naturalist,^ they were parti- 
 cularly employed in the cure of wounds. — “ Juxta Romam 
 Albulas dquae vulneribus medentur.” 
 
 As the Solfatara was much frequented by the ancients in the 
 bathing season, besides private houses and public baths, there 
 were here temples erected to different deities, as is evident 
 
 * Piin, Hist. Nat. 1. 31. c. 2. 
 
APPENDIX. NO. ir. 
 
 from inscriptions. But all these are now destroyed, the fields’ 
 about the lake being covered with reeds and briars. 
 
 The only remains of buildings I observed were on the north 
 side of the lake. They are reckoned to be a part of Augustus's 
 baths. Perhaps it was here that Antonius Musa recovered 
 the emperor from a dangerous indisposition by bathing, and 
 killed Marcellus by the same prescription. These baths were 
 afterwards repaired by Zenobia, the renowned queen of Pal- 
 myra, and, from her, their ruins are now named Bagni della 
 Regina, 
 
 In the year 173^, the community of Tivoli, digging near 
 the Solfatara, found several marble columns, statues, and frag- 
 ments of antiquity, among which there was an altar with this 
 inscription— 
 
 A$^VIS . ALBVLIS . SAN . 
 
 C. VMBREIVS 
 LAVICANVS . PRO 
 SAL . V. S. L. M. 
 
 In Fabretti’s^ collection of inscriptions, we read the fol- 
 lowing — 
 
 AQVIS . ALBVLIS 
 SANTISSIMIS 
 VLPIA . ATHENAIS 
 M. VLPII . AVG. 
 
 * Cap. 6. inscrip. 8. 
 
TIVOLI. 
 
 407 
 
 LIB . AB . EPISTV 
 LIS . VXOR 
 LIBENS 
 
 D. D. 
 
 From these inscriptions we find that Albulce had temples 
 and altars as a deity. Seneca remarks that the ancients paid 
 divine honours to deep lakes, hot springs, and copious foun- 
 tains gushing out from the bowels of the earth. — Subita ex 
 abdito vast! amnis eruptio aras habet : coluntur aquaru rn calen- 
 tium fontes ; et stagna qu^dam, vel opacitas vel immensa alti- 
 tude sacravit.*'* 
 
 About the sulphur lake, and towards Tivoli, was perhaps 
 the forest of Albunea, in which was a sacred grove dedicated 
 to Faunus. For to this Virgil seems to lead king Latinus, 
 to consult his father Faunus, as an oracle : — 
 
 « At rex solicitus monstris, oracula Fauni 
 Fatidici genitoris adit ; lucosque sub alta 
 Consulit Albunea : nemorum quse maxima sacro 
 Fonte sonat, sasvamque exhalat opaca Mephitim.’^-f* 
 
 Zenobia having graced the splendid triumph of her con- 
 queror Aurelian,J he gave her a villa, not far from that of 
 
 ♦Sen. ep. 41. t ^n. 1. 7* v. 81. 
 
 X Great talents, and strict military discipline, advanced Aurelian from a 
 Pannonian peasant to the imperial dignity. His cruelty, however, according 
 to his historian Vopiscus, induces me to class him among the bad emperors. — 
 *^Aurelianus, quod negari non potest, severus, iruculentus, sanguinarius fuit 
 
 Forest of 
 Albunea, 
 
 Villa of Ze- 
 nobia. 
 
APPENDIX. NO. II. 
 
 Hadrian. Trebellius Pollio calls the place Conche,^ Where 
 this villa precisely stood is uncertain. I find, indeed, that 
 Ravillias, in his map of the diocese of Tivoli, calls the plain 
 that extends from Monticelli towards the sulphur lake, Piani 
 di Concbe. At Vitriano, which joins to the plain, many re- 
 mains of ancient buildings have been dug up. In the year 
 ^755 was found a piece of a cornice of plaster, on which were 
 painted some characters, which have been judged Palmyrian. 
 This perhaps had been part of the queen’s villa, where she 
 spun out the remainder of her days. Scholar of Longinus, 
 and celebrated for courage, for learning, and for taste in the 
 fine arts, we may suppose that she rendered this villa, if not 
 elegant, at least commodious and agreeable. She was buried, 
 it is supposed, about two miles north of the lake, at a place 
 now called Colle di Ferro, 
 
 The sixteenth milestone brought me to Ponte Lucano, 
 Some authors say that this bridge was so named either from 
 lucus, a sacred grove in this neighbourhood, or from a victory 
 obtained here by the Romans over the Lucani, or from a vil- 
 lage that stood near it, of which there are still some ruins 
 called ad volcanum ; and from hence the bridge was sometimes 
 called Pons ad volcanum. But it is more probable that it was 
 
 princeps/’f — So few indeed were the truly good Roman Emperors, that their 
 names, to use the expression of the same author, might have been inscribed on 
 a ring. — In uno anulo bonos principes posse perscribi atque depingi.”J 
 *Triginta tyranni, c. 29. 
 
 t Vopiscus in Vita Aurel. c. 36, 
 
 X Ib. c. 42. 
 
TIVOLI. 
 
 409 
 
 thus named from M. Plautius Lucanus,* by whom it was 
 perhaps built. The Plautii were a great family of Tivoli, 
 who figured in the state, and had considerable possessions 
 there. 
 
 At the end of the bridge is the Plautian sepulchre.-f It is a 
 round tower, raised on a square base, not unlike that of Ccecilia 
 Metella, on the via Appia ; and, like that too, had been used 
 during the civil wars as a fort to guard the bridge. The front 
 of this monument had been afterwards added, in order to gain 
 space, to put up inscriptions to record the honours of this dis- 
 tinguished family. There seems to have been five inscriptions 
 here, two of which only remain. They have been published 
 by several authors, particularly by Gruter, and by Domenico 
 de Sanctis, J — One of these inscriptions is to Marcus Plautius 
 Silvanus, and to his wife Lartia. The tower had probably 
 been built by them, for this was the original inscription placed 
 on it, a fragment of which still remains ; but, when the front 
 was added, the family had thought proper to cause it to be 
 repeated on its centre. And adjoining to this inscription is 
 one to A. Plautius Virgulanius, son of Marcus, who died at 
 the age of nine years. The other inscription, and which is 
 indeed a curious record, is to Tiberius Plautius Silvanus .T^lia- 
 nus, son of Marcus. § Among his many titles he is designed — 
 
 * We find this Plautius Lucanus mentioned in an inscription, published by 
 Gruter. Page IQo. n. 2. 
 
 i* See Piranesi’s view of this monument, — Ant. Rom. Tom. 3. tab. 12. 
 
 J II Mausoleo de’ Plauzi in 1 ivoli, deli’ U. Domenico de Sanctis. 
 
 § It is published by Gruter, page 453 ; and by de Sanctis, ut supm. 
 
 3 G 
 
 Plautian se- 
 pulchre. 
 
410 
 
 APPENDIX. NO. II. 
 
 Hadrian’s 
 
 villa. 
 
 LEGAT . ET . COMITI . CLAVD . CAESARIS . IN . BRITANNIA. 
 
 The comes, till this office was rendered purely honorary by 
 Constantins, was an officer of distinction attached to the em- 
 peror, who attended him in his military expeditions, and was 
 his counsellor in every thing that occurred. Tacitus,* in his 
 life of Agricola, mentions Aulus, but not Tiberius Plautius, 
 having been sent into Britain by Claudius. He calls him 
 hello egregius. As this inscription is of more authority than 
 any manuscript, may we not conclude that Aulus, in place of 
 Tiberius, has crept into the text of Tacitus, by the careless- 
 ness of transcribers ^ 
 
 Here the road separates. The one to the left hand leads to 
 the Porta dell’ Colle of Tivoli, two miles from the bridge, and 
 the other, to the right, to Hadrian's villa. 
 
 The villas of the old Romans were only country houses, 
 contrived for the conveniency of private life. But when riches, 
 the effect of their conquests, grew upon them, their villas ra- 
 ther resembled cities than the seats of particular persons; and 
 in which nothing breathed but luxury and pleasure. This 
 taste increased greatly under the emperors, each endeavouring 
 to outdo his predecessor in grandeur. Hadrian, -f endowed 
 
 * Agricolae Vita, c. 14. t The virtues and vices of Hadrian \rere 
 
 so conspicuous, that it is difficult whether to class him among the good or bad 
 princes, among the benefactors or scourges of mankind. But what opinion 
 soever we may form of Hadrian’s moral and political character, he was, if we 
 may give credit to his historian, Aurelius Victor,;}: eminent in literature, in 
 
 In vita Hadriani, 
 
TIVOLI. 
 
 with an excellent genius for the fine arts, having visited all 
 the empire, brought home with him whatever he found most 
 curious to adorn his villa, of which he himself was the architect. 
 And, indeed, whether we consider its extent, being about three 
 miles long, and a mile broad, or the greatness and variety of 
 the buildings, temples, theatres, circusses, baths, porticoes, &c. 
 or the exquisite works of sculpture and painting that orna- 
 mented it, this villa must have been one of the finest of anti- 
 quity. Spartian writes that the emperor gave the names of 
 the most remarkable buildings in the world to these he erected 
 in it. The Lyceum of Aristotle, the Academia of Plato, the 
 Prytaneum of Athens, the Canopus of Egypt, the Poeciie of 
 the Stoics, the Temp6 of Thessaly, the Elysian fields, and the 
 infernal regions were to be seen here.^ 
 
 Pirro Ligorio, a better architect than accurate antiquary, 
 has given a plan and description of this villa, and which has 
 been since revised by Contini,*f but in which there are still 
 many mistakes. Barbarous hands joined to all-devouring 
 time have, indeed so defaced it, that it is now very difficult, 
 I may almost say impossible, to trace out these different build- 
 
 science, and the fine arts. — Nam non sennone tanliini, sed caeteris disci- 
 plinis, canendi, psallendi, medendique scientia, inusicus, geometra, pictor, 
 fictorex aere, ex marmore proxiine ad Policletos et Euphranoras.” 
 
 ♦ “ Tiburtinam villam mirb exaedificavit, ita ut in ea et provinciaium, et lo- 
 corum celeberrima nominainscriberet,velut Lyceum, Academiam, Prytaneum, 
 Cauopum, PcEcilerh, Tempe, vocaret ; et ut nihil praetermitteret etiam inferos 
 finxit.” — Spartiani Vita Hadriani, c. 26 . 
 
 t Pianta della Villa Tiburlina di Adriano Cesare, da Pirro Ligorio, Sec, 
 Roma, 1751. fol. 
 
 3 G 2 
 
41 S APPENDIX. NO. II. 
 
 ings. And it must become daily more so, as the persons who 
 have got possession of it, throw down the remains, either in 
 hopes of finding statues and other valuable things, or to plant 
 vineyards. 
 
 From the irregularity of the villa, it seems probable that 
 there had been buildings here before Hadrian’s time, and 
 which he had caused to be joined together by corridors and 
 other passages. These corridors, or cryptce, were painted in 
 the grotesque manner, and some fragments of them still re- 
 main. It was from them, perhaps, that Raphael took the 
 idea of painting the lodges of the Vatican. This kind of paint- 
 ing, Pliny tells us, * was introduced into Rome in the time of 
 Augustus, by a painter named Ludius. 
 
 Here were two theatres. Ligorio has greatly misplaced the 
 one, which we find in that part of the villa now belonging to 
 Conte Fed6. He has placed it on the other side of the rivulet, 
 where there are no remains of buildings : whereas it stands 
 where he has marked an amphitheatre, which he calls Panta- 
 ntllo. The seats for the spectators, and the proscenium, are 
 yet to be seen. 
 
 The other theatre stands about the middle of the villa. 
 Giuseppe Pannini has given a plan and elevation of it. The 
 scene had been elegantly ornamented by two porticoes, the 
 one above the other, and each supported by twelve composite 
 
 * Hist. Nat. 1. 35. c. 10. 
 
TIVOLI. 
 
 columns. The columns of the lower portico were granite, 
 and those above giallo-antico, fluted. There is a small round 
 temple, behind the middle of the semicircular part, which has 
 an citviuMj paved with mosaic, that projects into the theatre. 
 This perhaps was a temple dedicated to Apollo and the Muses. 
 As the games and theatrical entertainments of the ancients 
 were connected with their religious ceremonies, it was usual 
 to build small temples in or near their theatres. Thus there 
 was a temple at Pompey*s theatre, in which Claudius ^ made 
 his supplications, and from whence he descended into the 
 orchestra, to give the signal to begin the play. Thus we find, 
 on the reverse of a medal of Gordianus, struck by the colony 
 of Heraclea in Pontus, and published by Buonarotti,f a theatre 
 with a square temple, pr6bably sacred to Hercules, as we 
 observe the statue of that deity placed in the orchestra. 
 
 Many of the finest statues now at Rome have been found 
 in this villa; particularly the curious collection of Egyptian 
 idols, the elegant Flora, the two Centaurs, &c. preserved 
 in the Capitol: the Caflnis and Byblis belonging to Cont^ 
 Fed^, &c. 
 
 Among the many precious works of art, with which Ha- 
 drian ornamented his villa, I cannot but mention the mosaic 
 picture placed in the centre of a pavement, discovered by Car- 
 dinal Furietti, in the year 1737, and which is now preserved 
 in the Capitol. It represents an elegant bason full of water ; 
 
 * Suet. Vit. Claud, c. 2 J.— Vide p. 294. 
 
 t Osservazioni istoiiche sopra alcuni Medaglioni Antichi. Tav. 13. No. 7* 
 
414 
 
 APPENDIX. NO. II. 
 
 TiToli, or 
 Tibur. 
 
 on its edge sit four pigeons of various colours : one of them 
 drinks, another picks his plumage, and two are placed in diffe- 
 rent attitudes. The whole is grouped with much taste, and is 
 a proof of the perfection to which the ancients had carried this 
 ingenious art. The stones of which it is composed are so 
 small, and exactly joined, that unless it is viewed very near, 
 it appears to be a fine painting, rather than a mosaic.* * * § It 
 would seem that Hadrian brought it from Pergamus, and that 
 it was the work of Sosus, which Pliny thus describes — “ mi- 
 rabilis ibi columba bibens, et aquam umbra capitis infuscans: 
 apricantur aliie scabentes sese in canthari labro.’’ 
 
 Here too was found the elegant medallion of Parian marble, 
 an half length figure in profile, of Antinous, now preserved 
 at the villa Albani, without the Porta Salara. The place 
 where it was discovered, and its resemblance to the medals of 
 that celebrated catamite, leave no doubt whose portrait it is, 
 otherwise it might have passed for a young Bacchus. It is 
 published by Borioni,J and by Winckelmann.§ 
 
 After viewing these magnificent ruins, I came to 
 
 Tivoli, or Tibur, a town of Latium, of great antiquity. The 
 ancients computed twenty miles from Rome to Tivoli : 
 
 * See Furietli de Musivis, p. QQ, where there is an exact engraving of this 
 
 mosaic. t Plin. Nat. Hist. 1. 30. c. 25. 
 
 X Collectanea Ant. Rom. tab. 9 . 
 
 § Monument! Antichi inediti. 
 
TIVOLI. 
 
 ‘‘ Quo te bis decimus duxit ab urbe lapis,” 
 
 says Martial.* The Tabula Peutingeriana^ as corrected by 
 Cluverius, in his Italia, reckons sixteen miles to the Solfa- 
 tara, and four from thence to Tivoli: — “ ad aquas Albulas 
 XVI. — Tibure iiii.” — With these agree the Itinerarium Anto~ 
 nini. At present they count eighteen miles to Tivoli from the 
 gate of St. Laurence. 
 
 The history of the founders of ancient cities is generally 
 lost in fable. Dionysius of Halicarnassus tells us,'f that Ti- 
 bur was built by the Sicani, who called it Sicilium. But 
 they being drove out by Tiburtus, Catillus, and Corax, the 
 sons of Catillus, admiral of Evander's fleet, it was named 
 Tibur from the eldest. Catillus gave name to a mountain 
 east of Tibur, and Corax to Cora, another town of Latium. 
 Virgil J names these brothers, with distinction, among the 
 auxiliaries of Turnus : — 
 
 “ Turn gemini fratres Tiburtia moenia linquunt, 
 
 Fratris Tiburti dictam cognomine gentem, 
 
 Catillusque, acerque Corax, Argiva juventus ; 
 
 Et primam ante aciem densa inter tela feruntur.” 
 
 This Greek colony is said to have come into Italy sixty 
 years before the Trojan war. If this account is true, Tiburtus 
 is almost five hundred years older than Romulus. Divine ho- 
 nours were given to Tiburtus, and a sacred grove and fountain 
 
 * L. 4. ep. 57 . t Ant. Rom. 1. 1. c. 2. sect. 4. 
 
 X iEn.l. 7. V.67O. 
 
APPENDIX, NO. II. 
 
 dedicated to him. Horace alludes to this — ‘‘ et Tiburni lu- 
 cus/** — The people of Latium considered the founders of their 
 cities as deities. 
 
 The Tiburtines maintained long and bloody wars against 
 the Romans, till, at last, overcome with the other cities of 
 Latium, they obtained from these universal conquerors the 
 freedom of Rome. 
 
 As Tibur stands on a height, one enjoys from it a very fine 
 prospect 6f the Campagnia of Rome, and the sea. Such a si- 
 tuation might well make Virgil say — “ Tiburque superbum.'^-f 
 — But his commentator Servius will have them called — “ Ti- 
 burtini superbi*" — by the senate of Rome, on account of a 
 haughty speech made to them by the deputies of that place. 
 
 Cascade of The Aiiio, at the east end of the town, rushing down from 
 a great height, forms a noble cascade and, after a second 
 fall, under a high bridge, loses itself for some time among 
 rocks, which are worn into surprising shapes by the force of 
 the water. Hence it is that Horace says§ — “ et prseceps 
 
 * L. ]. od. 7. + ^n. 1. 7. v. 630. 
 
 J This cascade, though natural, has been assisted by art, as we find from an 
 inscription placed at its side. It was begun in 15Q2, and finished the following 
 year. § Lib. I. od. 7.— Lord Orrery, in a note on 1. 8. ep. 17. of Pliny 
 
 the younger, says that Horace uses the epithet praceps^ because of the rapid 
 manner in which this river falls into the Tiber, and adds, that the place is called 
 la Cascata. Whereas nothing can be smoother than the junction of these rivers, 
 which is little more than two miles, in a straight line, from Rome, and near six- 
 
TIVOLI. 
 
 417 
 
 Anio.*' — And such is the violence of the fall, that its foam and 
 mist almost darken the air; and which, joined to the noise 
 of hammers of forges, and paper mills, in the neighbourhood, 
 produce a singular and awful effect. A branch of this river is 
 carried through the city, which, after turning some mills, and 
 supplying the noble fountains in the gardens of Est6, tumbles 
 down very high banks, at different places, and forms the little 
 cascades — le Cascatelle. We must view them from the op- 
 posite side of the river. It is indeed impossible to convey by 
 writing an exact idea of these cascades, which are often visited 
 by the landscape painters, whose warmest imaginations can add 
 nothing to their beauty. 
 
 At the side of the great cascade there is a forge, which is 
 blown by the air produced from a fall of water, instead of bel- 
 lows. As this method seems simple and ingenious, and in 
 certain situations may be usefully adopted, I shall endeavour to 
 give you an idea of it. 
 
 teen miles from the Cascata. So difficult is it to write with accuracy of the 
 geography and antiquities of a country, without having examined them on the 
 spot. 
 
 A forge 
 blown bv a 
 fall of water. 
 
APPENDIX. NO. II. 
 
 AA is an horizontal channel, which conveys the water to the 
 perpendicular channel BB. The fall of water drives the air or 
 wind with groat violence into the cistern C ; which finding an 
 outlet at E, rushes through the pipe, and blows the forge F. 
 D is an outlet to carry off the water. 
 
 The principal deities adored at Tivoli were the Grecian Her- 
 cules, and the Sibylla Tiburtina, called Albunea. The former 
 spent some time in this place among his countrymen, who 
 erected to him a temple, and many altars. The present ca- 
 thedral is said to be built on the foundation of this temple. And 
 such was their esteem of this heroic deity that they often called 
 their town Heraclea. 
 
 Hercules, 
 and the Si- 
 bylla Tibur- 
 tina. 
 
 A temple, 
 commonly 
 called the 
 Sibyl’s. 
 
 On a rock that overlooks the second cascade, I saw the re- 
 mains of an elegant temple. It is commonly called the Si- 
 byl’s temple : but Palladio, who has given a plan and elevation 
 of it, calls it that of Vesta.* It is a small rotonda, surrounded 
 with an open portico of fluted columns of the Corinthian order. 
 The diameter of the cell, or interior part of the temple, is about 
 thirty-two palms Roman. It is built with great taste, and is 
 the most beautiful remain I have seen of ancient architecture. 
 Although we have no certainty to whom it was dedicated, yet 
 its form and ornaments are very applicable to Vesta. She was 
 the same as the earth : — 
 
 “ Vesta eadem est quse Terra.” 
 
 says Ovid.-f Her temples were therefore round, an emblem 
 
 * Palladio, 1. 4. c. 23. — This temple has been measured and designed, by 
 almost every artist who has seen it. f Fast. 1. 6. v. 267. 
 
TIVOLI. 
 
 419 
 
 of the figure of our globe : and the decoration of the frieze, 
 and capitals of the columns of this temple are expressive of the 
 productions of the Earth, and consequently of her worship: 
 viz. fruits and flowers, and the heads of oxen. The ox was 
 the symbol of agriculture, and sacrificed to the Earth. Thus 
 Faunus advised Numa to offer up two oxen to her:— 
 
 “ Morte bourn tibi, rex, tellus placanda duarum.'^* 
 
 It appears from Vitruvius that the ancients were atten- 
 tive to place the temples of their gods in the most conspicuous 
 situations, that they might be the oftener seen by the people. 
 And indeed no situation could agree better with such an idea 
 than that of this temple. From the bridge I had a most ad- 
 vantageous view of it. It is a building worthy of the purest 
 age of the fine arts ; but it is uncertain when it was erected. 
 It had, however, been executed under the direction of L. Cel- 
 lius, as appears from a fragment of an inscription, extant on 
 that part of the frieze still preserved; viz. 
 
 eJ . L . CELLIO . L . F . 
 
 Near to the temple of Vesta, there is a little church, evidently 
 an ancient building, dedicated to St. George. It is probably 
 the temple, of the Tiburtine Sibyl. It is the 
 ‘‘ Domus Albuneas resonantis,'* 
 
 * Ovid. Fast. 1. 4. v. 665. t Lib. 4. c. 5. and 7- 
 
 + This E is perhaps the last letter of the word cvrante, or cvratore. 
 But if this was the temple of Vesta, there was place round the frieze to have 
 inscribed it thus — 
 
 — AEDEM . VESTAE .S.P.Q.T. PECVNIA . PVBLICA • RESTITVIT . CV- 
 RATORE . L . CELLIO . L . F . 
 
 3H s 
 
 The domuj 
 Albunea. 
 
420 
 
 APPENDIX. NO. II. 
 
 A cart wheel 
 petrified. 
 
 Villas at 
 Tivoli. 
 
 as Horace* expresses it, exposed to all the noise and rush of 
 the foaming Anio. It is a parallelogram, with an open por- 
 tico, ornamented with four Ionic columns, and terminated 
 with a pediment. Joining to this temple, there is a grotto 
 cut out of the rock, which now serves for a cellar, and which 
 some antiquaries suppose to have been the ancient domus 
 Albunea. 
 
 On the face of the rock, under the temple, I saw a singular 
 object of natural history ; viz, the wheel of a cart petrified. It 
 must have been inclosed in the calcareous matter, when loose, 
 of which this rock is composed, and afterwards, by lapidific 
 juice, petrified together. TJie rock has been broken down, by 
 which means the wheel is exposed to view. Could the anti- 
 quity of this wheel be calculated, it would be a curious problem 
 in nature. 
 
 The situation of Tibur, the purity of its air, its convenient 
 distance from Rome, joined to its fertile fields, producing wine, 
 oil, fruits, and corn, could not fail to render it one of the 
 agreeable retirements of the Romans. Hence we find that 
 many of their great men had villas here : particularly Marius, 
 Brutus, Cassius, Quintilius Varo, Cocceius, Lepidus, Maecenas, 
 Horace, Catullus, Manlius Vopiscus, Martial, &c. Many ruins 
 of ancient buildings are to be seen, but so defaced that we can 
 form no just idea of what they were. It is, indeed, very uncer- 
 tain if the antiquaries of Tivoli are right in the places they 
 
 * L. J , od. 7. 
 
TIVOLI. 
 
 421 
 
 assign to the different villas. Man will swallow dQwn any 
 story rather than appear ignorant. The truth is, we can have 
 no certainty of the exact situations of ancient places, of which 
 there are no remains, unless we are aided either by historical 
 records, or by uninterupted tradition, or by inscriptions dug 
 up on the spot; for without such guides, conjecture alone will 
 be apt to mislead us. 
 
 Of these remains the villa of Maecenas is the most consi- 
 derable.* It stands on the south bank of the Anio. Here 
 Augustus was a frequent guest, and mingled with the wits of 
 that celebrated age. He even did business here : for he used 
 to hear causes, and pronounce judgment in the porticoes of the 
 * temple of Hercules .•f* 
 
 On the opposite side of the river stood the villa of Quinti- 
 lius Varo. He enjoyed from it a most beautiful prospect of 
 Tivoli, the Cascatelle, and the Campagnia. Here I observed 
 many remains of buildings, and particularly a curious reservoir 
 for water : although less, its form resembles the one at Baia, 
 called the piscina mirabilis. The roof is supported by twenty- 
 four square columns of brick. The ruins of this villa show 
 
 ♦ A learned antiquary, a friend of mine, thought that these ruins are not 
 Maecenas’s villa, but part of the porticoesof the temple of Heicules, which were 
 of great extent. But when they are examined with attention, they appear to 
 be the remains of a magnificent palace, and not of a temple, or any part of it. 
 
 f “ Tibur : ubi etiara in porticibus Herculis templi persaepe jus dixit.” Suet. 
 Vita Aug. c. 72 . 
 
 Msecenas’s 
 
 villa. 
 
 Q. Varo’s 
 villa. 
 
APPENDIX. NO. II. 
 
 4®2 
 
 that it was worthy of the elegant friend of Virgil and 
 Horace.* 
 
 Horace’s Not far from this, and near to the church of St. Anthony, 
 Volpif places the Villa of Horace. But by the description he 
 himself gives us of his villa, which he calls Lucretilis, it stood 
 near to the Fanum VacuncBi now named Rocca Giovane, about 
 ten miles from Tivoli. It is from thence he writes his epistle 
 to Fuscus Aristius 
 
 “ Haec tibi dictabam post Fanum putre Vacun^.'' 
 
 Although this villa was in the country of the Sabines, yet 
 from its vicinity to Tivoli, it might be called his Tiburtine 
 villa. Horace, who neither had nor desired riches, thought 
 himself sufiSciently happy to possess it. — 
 
 “ Satis beatus unicis Sabinis.” 
 
 The hills, the woods, the fountain, the river, the places in the 
 
 The Varia- * It is to this Varo that Horace inscribes the 18th ode of the first book. The 
 na clades. commentators generally imagine that it was on his death that, Horace addressed 
 the beautiful ode to Virgil — Quis desiderio/^ 1. H ode 24. But this is evi- 
 dently a mistake. For Quintilius Varo was killed in Germany sixteen years 
 after the death of Horace. The Variana clades was in the year of Rome 762, 
 and Horace died in the year 746. The Quintilius, therefore, whose death the 
 poet laments, seems to be Quintilius Cremonensis, supposed to have been Vir- 
 gil’s relation. He died in the year of Rome 730. Eusebius, Chron. ad An. 
 primum Olymp. 189 t Vet. Lat. Tom, 10. 1. 18. c. 8. 
 
 X Lib. 1. ep. 10. § Lib. 2. od. 18. 
 
TIVOLI. 
 
 423 
 
 neighbourhood, which retain almost the same names given 
 to them by the poet, all concur to fix his villa here 
 
 ‘‘ Me quoties reficit gelidus Digentia'f rivus, 
 
 Quern Mandela, J bibit rugosus frigore Pagus ; 
 
 Quid sentire putas ? quid credis, amice, precari ? 
 
 Sit mihi quod nunc est ; etiam minus ; et mihi vivam 
 Quod superest aevi, si quid superesse volunt Di.Ӥ 
 
 To this agreeable farm, which afforded the conveniences, 
 although not the luxuries of life, Horace wished often to retire, 
 from the subjection of the great, and the hurry of the city, to 
 live with himself and the Muses : 
 
 “ O rus, quando ego te aspiciam ? quandoque licebit. 
 
 Nunc veterum libris, nunc somno, et inertibus horis 
 Ducere sollicitse jucunda oblivia vitae ?’"|| 
 
 It is true, caressed by the generous Maecenas, he was often 
 obliged to live with him at Tivoli. Here, no doubt, he used 
 frequently to stroll along its romantic banks. Delightful scene ! 
 methinks I see the bard, amidst the singing of birds, the fall of 
 waters, and shady groves, meditating his immortal songs ; or 
 as he himself says,f 
 
 — — — . Ego, apis Matin se 
 more modoque, 
 
 * See Dissertazione soprala VilladiOrazio Flacco,dell’ abbate Dominico de 
 Sanctis. f Now Licenza. X Now Bardela, 
 
 § Hor. 1. 1. epist. 18. v. 104. j[ lb, 1. 2. sat. 6. v. 60 Lib. 4. ode e. 
 
APPENDIX. NO. II. 
 
 424, 
 
 Grata carpentis thyma per laborem 
 Plurimum, circa nemus, uvidique 
 Tiburis ripas, operosa parvus 
 Carmina fingo.'' 
 
 The many beauties of Tivoli could not but make the phi- 
 losophic poet wish, 
 
 “ Tibur Argeo positum colono 
 Sit mese sedes utinam senectse; 
 
 Sit modus lasso maris, et viarum, 
 
 Militiseque.'* ** 
 
 Ions Bian- Horace tells us, that there was in his villa a spring, so con- 
 
 dusiae. ... ^ o 
 
 siderable that it might give name to a rivulet : 
 
 “ Fons etiam rivo dare nomen idoneus/'-f 
 
 Such a fountain is to be seen 3 a little to the north of the Fanum 
 Vacunce. It gave name to the Digentia. Indeed some of the con- 
 mentators suppose, that this spring is the same with the Fons 
 Blandusi(P,\ But this surely is a mistake. The truth is, the 
 poet neither mentions its situation, nor hints that it was his 
 property. And although I do not pretend to determine where 
 it stood, there is, however, a copious limpid stream§ which 
 rushes out of a small cave, near to the pons Cellius, below 
 Tivoli, and which, if it is not the remain of an ancient aque- 
 
 * Hor. lib. e. od. 6. t Lib. 1. epist. 16. J Lib. 3. od. 13. 
 
 § It is called Fons aqutd aurece, and by corruption Aquacoria, or Accoria, 
 
TIVOLI. 
 
 425 
 
 duct, agrees with the beautiful description of the Fons Blan- 
 dusice : 
 
 « Te flagrantis atrox hora Caniculse 
 Nescit tangere. 
 
 Cavis impositam ilicem 
 
 Saxis, unde loquaces 
 Lymphse desiliunt tuse.'" 
 
 Although there are no remains of Horace’s villa, yet his 
 works, as he justly foresaw, are a lasting monument to his 
 memory, which time cannot destroy : 
 
 “ Exegi monumentum sere perennius, 
 
 Regalique situ pyramidum altius . 
 
 Non omnis moriar ; multaque pars mei 
 Vitabit Libitinam. Usque ego postera 
 Crescam laude recens ; dum Capitolium 
 Scandet cum tacita virgine Pontifex.”^ 
 
 The temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, the boast of Rome, with 
 
 its proud priest conducting the silent Vestal to sacrifice there, 
 are no more ; while the works of the bard, the delight of every 
 reader of taste, are immortal. 
 
 Having, with a classical curiosity, viewed the ground where 
 Horace’s villa stood, I returned back to Tivoli. 
 
 * Lib. 3. od. SO. 
 
 31 
 
APPENDIX. NO. II. 
 
 With no small degree of enthusiasm we contemplate the 
 habitations, even in ruins, of those great men, who have ren- 
 dered themselves the admiration of the world, either by their 
 actions or writings. This kind of pleasure is finely expressed 
 by Cicero, who makes his polite friend Atticus say — “ Move- 
 mur enim, nescio quo pacto, locis ipsis, in quibus eorum quos 
 diligimus, aut admiramur, adsunt vestigia. Me quidem ipsas 
 illae nostrae Athenae, non tarn operibus magnificis, exquisitisque 
 antiquorum artibus delectant, quam recordatione summorum 
 virorum, ubi quisque habitare, ubi sedere, ubi disputare, sit 
 solitus : studioseque eorum sepulchra contemplor.^'* — Cicero 
 seems to have been fond of this just thought, for he has even 
 amplified it, in the beginning of the fifth book de Finibus, and 
 draws from it this important inference. — Tanta vis admoni- 
 tionis inest in locis ; ut non sine causa ex his memorice ducta 
 sit disciplina."' 
 
 M. Vopis- 
 cus’s villa. 
 
 The villa of Manilius Vopiscus, so elegantly described by 
 P. Statius, -f is supposed to have stood on the banks of the 
 Anio, below the cascades. 
 
 Modern villa Modem Tivoli is very irregular, and meanly built. The 
 at Este. palace and gardens of Est^ are indeed remarkable. At pre- 
 sent they are much neglected, especially the water-works, 
 which were among the first great designs of this kind in Eu- 
 rope, and might have served as models for those of Versailles, 
 rather than these of Frascati, which are later, and not socon- 
 
 * De Legibus, 1. 2. c. 2. 
 
 t Stat, Sylv. 1. 1. car, 3. 
 
TIVOLI. 
 
 427 
 
 siderable."^ In the palace there are several roofs painted by 
 the Zucchari. There were formerly some good statues here, 
 which Pope Benedict XIV. purchased from the Duke of Mo- 
 dena, and which are now preserved in the Capitol. 
 
 Returning from Tivoli, by the Porta delV Colie to the Ponte of 
 LncanOy I saw in a vineyard to my left hand, a small rotonda, 
 commonly called the temple of Tussis, This building is simple, 
 and without any ornaments. I am, indeed, uncertain whether 
 it had been a temple or a sepulchral monument. Among the 
 infinite variety of fictitious gods, adopted by the Romans, I 
 do not remember, to have met with Tussis, or the god of 
 coughing. Although Catullus'!* does not invoke this deity, he 
 acknowledges, however, that the air of Tivoli had cured him 
 of that disease. — 
 
 Fui libenter in tua suburbana 
 
 Villa, malamque pectore expui tussim.'" 
 
 But it would not have been singular, had this been a temple 
 
 dedicated to Tussis ; since CiceroJ and Pliny,§ ridiculing su- 
 perstition, inform us, that the Romans erected a temple to 
 fever, Febrifanum, on the Palatine hill. Was not this wor- 
 shipping the devil from fear ? Such divinities seem to have 
 been invoked, not to procure a positive good, but to prevent a 
 contingent evil. 
 
 * See Addison’s Italy, p. 215.--He calls villa d’Est 6 villa de Medicis, p.213. 
 
 t Ep. $ De Natura Deorum, 1. 3. c. 25. 
 
 ^ Hist, Nat, 1. 2 , c, 7 . 
 
 31 2 
 
APPENDIX. NO. II. 
 
 428 
 
 Inscription 
 to the sons 
 of Constan- 
 tine. 
 
 A little further on, I observed, on the side of the highway, 
 the following inscription, w’hich was dug up in the year 1735. 
 It was set up, by cardinal Imperiali’s order, at the place where 
 it was found, and where, probably, it had originally been 
 erected. 
 
 BEATISSIMO . SAECVLO 
 DOMINORVM 
 NOSTRORVM 
 CONSTANTI 
 ET gOJ:OTANY « 
 
 AVGVSTORVM 
 SENATVS + POPVLVSQ 
 ROMANVS 
 
 CLIVVM + TIBVRTINVM 
 IN PLANITIEM REDEGIT 
 CVRANTE + L + TVRCIO 
 SECONDO + APRONIANI 
 PRAEF + VRB + FIL 
 ASTERIO -I- C . V 
 CORRECTORE + FLAM 
 ET . PICENI . 
 
 From this inscription we find, that the access to Tivoli had 
 been much improved, by levelling of ground, in the time of 
 the sons of Constantine the Great. It had been done under 
 the direction of Lucius Turcius Secundus Asterius (son of 
 Apronianus, praefect of Rome) corrector of the Flaminian 
 and Picenian provinces. The correctors were magistrates, 
 instituted about the time of the emperor Commodus, who 
 
TIVOLI. 
 
 governed one or more provinces, and who judged causes, both 
 civil and criminal, like the high magistrates of Rome. They 
 were called viri clarissimi, a title then given only to the first 
 personages of the state. Constantine, the elder of the three 
 brothers, is not here mentioned. This proves that the inscrip- 
 tion was set up after the year 340, in which he was killed. 
 Constans* name has been defaced, yet so as we can read it. 
 This must have been done in the year 350, in which Con- 
 stans was murdered ; and Magnentius became master of Italy, 
 Gaul, Spain, Britain, and part of Illyricum. But as Constantius 
 was master of the East, and had a powerful army, they spared 
 his name. 
 
 The pleasure, my dear friend, I had in examining Tivoli, 
 made me flatter myself that an account of it, and its environs, 
 would not be unacceptable to you. Such as it is, I give it you. 
 But how afraid am I lest it should not answer your expectation! 
 
 T am, &c. 
 
c 4S0 ;] 
 
 APPENDIX. No. III. 
 
 SARCOPHAGUS, 
 
 IN THE CHURCH OF ST. LAURENCE.* 
 
 At Rome we frequently find heathen urns placed in churches, 
 as sepulchral monuments, although the sculpture on them has 
 no connection with the Christian rites. Thus I saw a sarco- 
 phagus in the church of St. Laurence, half a mile without the 
 gate, on the Tivoli road, which serves for the sepulchre of 
 Cardinal William, nephew of Innocent, IV. 
 
 On this sarcophagus there is a bas-relief, representing an 
 ancient marriage. Although the sculpture is indifferent, the 
 subject is curious and instructive. But as there is no original 
 inscription on it, I cannot ascertain the time when it was exe- 
 cuted, or the person to whom it belonged. The style of the 
 sculpture, however, points out the declension of that noble 
 art. 
 
 The length of this sarcophagus is seven feet nine inches 
 and an half, English measure. Its height, including the co- 
 ver, four feet five inches and an half; of which the cover is 
 
 * See page 402, 
 
Back of 
 Foldout 
 Not Imaged 
 
A SARCOPHAGUS. 
 
 431 
 
 one foot one inch and an half. And its breadth three feet and 
 eleven inches. 
 
 Many bas-relieves, and even some pictures are preserved, 
 where marriages are represented but I have met with none 
 that conveys to us so many of the marriage ceremonies as this 
 
 does. 
 
 It has indeed been published and explained by several au- 
 thors, f particularly by Ficoroni ;J but neither their plates, 
 nor their descriptions are given with that accuracy I could 
 wish. I shall therefore present the reader an exact engrav- 
 ing, and endeavour to explain the different figures on this 
 monument. 
 
 1. Hymen carrying his torch, and who Used to sing — 
 
 “ lo Hymen, Hymenaee, lo. 
 lo Hymen, Hymensee, Io.'"§ 
 
 2. The bridegroom, or sponsus, with his head bare, giving 
 his right hand to the bride, and holding the marriage articles, 
 tabulas nuptialeSy in his left. 
 
 3. The bride, sponsUy with her head covered with the fam- 
 
 * See Atltniranda Romanarum Antiquitatum— engraved by P. S. Bartoli, and 
 explained by Bellori. 
 
 t Montfaucon, Ant. expl.l. 1 . c. 9. 
 
 + Roma Ant. da Ficoroni, 1. 1. c. 17. 
 
 § Catullus, carm. 60. 
 
432 
 
 APPENDIX, NO, lU 
 
 meum, or yellow scarf, giving her right hand to the bride- 
 groom. 
 
 4. The Flammica-dialis j or wife of the priest of Jupiter, 
 standing behind, and embracing the married couple: or per- 
 haps a vestal virgin, for they too had a right to perform that 
 ceremony. 
 
 5. At the side of the bride stands a bride-maid, or pronuba. 
 
 6 and 7. Two bride-men, or pronubij stand at the side of 
 the bridegroom. According to Ausonius, there seem commonly 
 to have been four pronubi, and as many pronuba : — 
 
 “ Et juvenes quatuor totidem innuptseque puellse. 
 Omnibus in morem tonsa coma.’"^ 
 
 These seven personages stand under a sort of canopy. In 
 the church of Rome, during the ceremony of a marriage, it is 
 still the custom, in some places, to hold a linen cloth or canopy 
 over the married pair.-f 
 
 8. The Jiamen, or priest, holding the end of h\s flammeum 
 with his left hand, and stretching out his right, which is 
 
 * Auson. Eidyl. 13. 64. 
 
 t Pope Nicholas I, aoaong other marriage ceremonies, mentions the canopy 
 or veil, which was held up by four men : he calls it— velamen cceleste:— It was 
 considered as a mark of modesty and chastity ; for he adds— Verum tamen 
 
 velamen illud non suscipit qui ad secundas nuptias migrat." See Muiatori— 
 
 Dissertazioni sopra le Antichita Italiane, Dissert. £0, 
 
A sarcophagus. 
 
 43S 
 
 broken off, to an altar, or rather to a basket containing flowers 
 or fruit. 
 
 9. Before the altar is a young person, in whose hands are, 
 perhaps, the nuts which were given at marriages. Virgil 
 says,— 
 
 “ Sparge, marite, nuces.” * 
 
 10. Before the altar is likewise a young man, or Popa, with 
 a pair of scissars in his hand, ready to sheer a sheep, in order 
 to present the wool to the bride to spin ; an emblem of house- 
 hold industry. 
 
 11. Behind the Popa is a body, whose head being broken 
 off, it is difficult to ascertain his office. Perhaps he was a 
 Camillus, with his tibia. 
 
 These last three figures Stand before a kind of portico, sup- 
 ported by four columns: or perhaps it is the anclabris, a sort 
 of portable altar, on which the priests used to place the offer- 
 ings or sacred vessels. 
 
 12. A woman, whose right hand is broken off, but in her 
 left she holds a turtle dove ; the symbol of conjugal love. 
 
 13. A woman holding a garland of flowers to crown the 
 married pair. 
 
 ♦ Ed, 8, V. SO.— See also Pliny’s Nat. Hist. 1. 15. c. £2. 
 
 SK 
 
 o 
 
4S4 
 
 APPENDIX. NO. III. 
 
 14. A woman holding in her left hand a roll, which probably 
 contains the epithalamium, or marriage song. 
 
 15. A woman crowned, representing Cybel^, holding a 
 cornucopia in her left hand ; an emblem of peace, plenty, and 
 increase. Her right hand is broken off. 
 
 On one end of the sarcophagus * are three young women. — 
 One of them carries a. patera — another a box of perfumes — and 
 a third a musical, or some instrument of sacrifice. 
 
 On the other end of the sarcophagus are likewise three 
 figures, viz. a young man carrying a basket of fruit— 2. A 
 woman holding a festoon of flowers — and, 3. A Popa, with a 
 knife in his right hand, and perhaps the secespita in his left, 
 going to sacrifice a sow. At marriages the Romans used to 
 offer up this animal, on account of its fecundity, to Juno Lu- 
 cina. They seem to have borrowed this custom, as they did 
 most of their religious ceremonies, from the Hetruscans.-f 
 
 Marriage, and its sacred rights, were early established in the 
 world : — 
 
 ‘‘ Concubitu prohibere vago, dare jure maritis.'" J 
 
 Various indeed were the forms invented by civilized man to 
 ascertain this important contract. 
 
 * See plate XII. f Varro de Re Rust. 1. 2. c. 11. 
 
 X Hor. Poet, v. 398. 
 
 o 
 
A SARCOPHAGUS. 
 
 From the beginning of Rome, marriages between patricians 
 and plebeians were prohibited. To preserve that distinction 
 of ranks, and to keep up the animosity that subsisted between 
 them, it was made a positive law by the decemvirs.^ It did 
 not, however, long exist ; as, seven years after, it was repealed 
 by Canuleius, tribune of the people.-f 
 
 Marriages, indeed, between Romans and strangers were 
 reckoned unlawful. Thus the marriage of Marc Antony and 
 Cleopatra was condemned at Rome: nor could the renowned 
 queen of Egypt, great and beautiful as she was, be, according 
 to their customs, mother of a Roman citizen. 
 
 Some alterations, with respect to marriage, were afterwards 
 introduced, particularly by Augustus, by the law called pa- 
 pia poppcea,X by which a senator, or the son of a senator, 
 could not marry a freed woman, nor a comedian, nor a prosti- 
 tute, nor any whose father or mother had exercised a low 
 profession. This prohibition was carried still further by Con- 
 stantine, § and by Marcian-H But Justinian, to enable him 
 to marry Theodora, a comedian and a prostitute, prevailed on 
 his predecessor Justin, to abolish, by a new constitution, these 
 restraints on marriage.^ 
 
 Libertinism in the men, and extravagance and infidelity in 
 the women, were great obstacles to marriage. It was for this 
 
 * Laws of the XI L Tables, tab. XI. law 2 . f Livy, 1. 4. c. 5. 
 
 X Lex 44. Dig. de Rilu. Nuptiar. § Lex 1. Cod. de JNaturalibus Liberis. 
 
 H Lex 7. Cod. de Incestis et Inutil. Nupt. Procop. in Anecdotis, p. 46. 
 
 sKa 
 
436 
 
 APPENDIX. NO. III. 
 
 reason that, as early as the 518th year of Rome, the censors, 
 when they numbered the people, made all the young men 
 take an oath that they would marry. Julius Cagsar and Au- 
 gustus, to repair the loss of citizens destroyed in the civil wars, 
 enacted many laws to encourage marriage.* 
 
 The Romans seem to have introduced among them three 
 kinds of marriages, viz. conjarreatione^ coemptione, et usu. — Of 
 each of these modes, I shall endeavour to give an idea. 
 
 Of these marriages that by confarreation was the most so- 
 lemn and honourable. It could only be celebrated in presence 
 of the pontijex maximus, or of thejlamen dialis. The Jiaminicat 
 or a vestal virgin, seems likewise to have assisted. It was a 
 sort of sacrifice, in which entered augury, A clap of thunder, 
 or any other sinistrous omen, would have stopped or retarded 
 the marriage ceremony. It was done by means of a little 
 flour, mixed with salt, and some fruits; an emblem, no 
 doubt, of family economy. Such a, marriage had great privi- 
 leges annexed to it; since we find that no one could be ad- 
 vanced to the dignity of the Jiamen dialis, unless he was born 
 of parents so married. But these marriages, by confarreation, 
 were much laid aside towards the end of the republic, and in 
 the time of the emperors.'f Perhaps it partly proceeded from 
 the progress that free-thinking had made, and which rendered 
 the religious ceremonies by which such marriages were per- 
 formed disagreeable; as well as ^ from the great difficulty of 
 
 ♦ See Heineccius ad Leg. Jul, et Pap. Popp. 1. 1. c. 2. 
 
 t Tacit. Ann. 1. 4. c. 16. 
 
A SARCOPHAGUS. 
 
 437 
 
 dissolving them, which could only be done by other tedious 
 religious rites. Other reaso’\s may have occurred that ren- 
 dered these marriages less frequent. 
 
 The second kind of marriage, by coemption, came to be 
 more common. The man and woman, as in civil sales, in 
 presence of witnesses, gave each other a piece of money, as a 
 mark of mutual purchase. The man asked the woman if she 
 consented to be his wife ; and the woman asked the man if 
 he consented to be her husband. On their both answering in 
 the affirmative, they joined hands, and the marriage was com- 
 pleted. 
 
 Marriages thus contracted, as well as those by confarr cation, 
 gave the husband absolute power over his wife. She became 
 part of his family, partook of all his civil and religious rights, 
 and was subject to his domestic tribunal. 
 
 Women, except the vestal virgins, who enjoyed particular 
 privileges, were by the Roman law always considered as mi- 
 nors. They were either subject to the power of their own 
 families, or to that of their husbands. Of themselves they 
 could execute no valid act. Hence it was that, to preserve 
 more liberty, and not to divest themselves of their fortune, 
 they chose to remain under the tuition of their own families. 
 To effect which, the woman entered into a civil contract to 
 live with such a man as her husband. But, unless she lived 
 a complete year with him, without interruption, he did not 
 acquire over her the power of a husband. By absenting her- 
 
438 
 
 APPENDIX. N0= IIL 
 
 self three days every year, she interrupted, what the law 
 called, his usucapio, or prescriptive right over her.* This 
 gave rise to the third kind of marriage, usu^ by usage or cus- 
 tom. It was concluded without the religious or other ceremo- 
 nies necessary for the two former, and became at Rome the 
 most common mode of marriage. But, misled by the word 
 year, some authors have supposed that these marriages were 
 contracted for a year only ; which surely is a mistake. 
 
 A woman married either by confarreation or by coemption 
 seems to have had the appellations of uxor, mater-familias, 
 and matrona ; but, if married by usu, she was called mulier. 
 The two former were named nuptice, and the latter matrimonium, 
 or connuhium. Simple marriage was the institution of nature ; 
 whereas the nuptice were religious and civil ceremonies in- 
 vented by society. 
 
 Although all the particular rites, that distinguish these 
 marriages from each other, are not perfectly known ; yet the 
 pomp and solemnities attending the one represented on this 
 sarcophagus, leave us no reason to doubt that it was a marriage 
 by confarreation. 
 
 Let me now examine the cover of the sarcophagus.*f 
 
 On the corners are two heads, in the manner in which Janus 
 is commonly represented Between these heads is a bas-relief, 
 
 * Laws of the XII. Tables, tab. 6. law 4. t See plate XI, 
 
A SARCOPHAGUS. 
 
 439 
 
 in the middle of which are three figures, standing under a 
 canopy, viz. a man between two women. By the character 
 of the head, the man seems to be Jupiter, and the women 
 goddesses : one of them is distinguished by a bird, perhaps 
 Juno ; and the other by a dog, perhaps Diana. At their sides 
 are Castor and Pollux, with their horses. On the right hand 
 of these figures is a quadriga^ spurred on by a Victory, scram- 
 bling up a hill ; it seems to overturn a figure, representing 
 perhaps Time. And on the left we see a biga, with the horses 
 spent and fallen down ; and a Victory or Genius spreading out 
 a cloth to cover them. 
 
 Whether this bas-relief is intended to represent the birth 
 and death of man, or to express Time, and the rising and set- 
 ting of the sun and moon, or what else is meant by it, I shall 
 leave to others to determine. The ancients, indeed, gave four 
 horses to the sun, and two to the moon. — » 
 
 “ Quadrijugis et Phoebus equis et Delia bigis,'** 
 
 * Manil. 1. 5 . v. 3. 
 
[ 44*0 ] 
 
 APPENDIX. No. IV. 
 
 PR^NESTE.^ 
 
 Prjeneste, or Palestrina as named by the moderns^ about 
 twenty -two miles south-east of Rome, is too remarkable to 
 be passed over in silence. Its situation is very advantageous. 
 On the top of the hill was a castle, or arx ; on the face of the 
 hill, cut into terraces, was the temple of Fortune ; and below 
 the temple, on the plain, was the city. But few are the re- 
 mains either of the castle or city. The present city of Pales- 
 trina, being the see of a cardinal-bishop, is built within the 
 precincts, and on the ruins of the temple. 
 
 The cool situation of Praneste, as well as its convenient 
 distance from Rome, could not but engage many of the Ro- 
 mans to retire to it in the hot season. — “ Et gestivse Prseneste 
 delicias.''-f — Here, indeed we find Horace studying the works 
 of the immortal Homer ; from whom he says he reaped 
 more useful instruction, than from the writings of the most 
 celebrated philosophers . — 
 
 ‘‘ Trojani belli scriptorem, maxime Lolli, 
 
 Dum tu declamas Romae, Prseneste relegi : 
 
 Qui, quid sit pulchrum, quid turpe, quid utile, quid non, 
 Plenius ac melius Chrysippo et Crantore dicit.'^J 
 
 * See page 59. f Florus, 1. J. c. 1 1 . + Hor. ]. 1. epist. 2. 
 
PRiENESTE. 
 
 441 
 
 Prseneste, from being a colony, was made a municipal town 
 by Tiberius, in gratitude for having there recovered his health, 
 after a dangerous indisposition.* 
 
 Prgeneste and Tivoli were among the privileged cities to 
 which a Roman, accused capitally, might with safety retire 
 in voluntary exile, provided he did so before judgment was 
 completely pronounced against him by the people.f These 
 cities of refuge were all in the neighbourhood of Rome, which 
 made Ovid bitterly complain of the distance, viz. to Pontus, 
 to which Augustus banished him : — 
 
 ‘‘ Quid referam veteres Romanae gentis, apud quos 
 Exulibus tellus ultima Tibur erat 
 
 The ancients observing the vicissitudes of human affairs, 
 supposed that some deity presided over the world, who dis- 
 posed of all things at pleasure. This divinity was by the 
 Greeks called Tux^i, and by the Romans Fortuna, Many tem- 
 ples were dedicated to this capricious goddess ; but that of 
 Prfeneste was the most celebrated, and rich by the donations 
 of her devotees. — ‘‘ Nusquam se fortunatiorem quam Praeneste 
 vidisse Fortunam*'§ — was the expression of Carneades, the 
 Athenian philosopher, who had visited this temple. 
 
 To trace the origin and progress of this temple of Fortune 
 would be a fruitless attempt. Simple, no doubt, in its be- 
 
 * A. Gellii Nodes Atticae, i. I 6 . c. 13. Polybius, 1. 6. c. 3 
 
 X Ex Ponto, I. 1. eleg. S. v. 81. § Cic. de Divinatione, 1, 2. 
 
 3L 
 
 A munici- 
 piutn. 
 
 A city of re- 
 fuge. 
 
 Temple of 
 Fortune. 
 
APPENDIX. NO. IV. 
 
 ginning, it became at last one of the most magnificent build- 
 ings of antiquity. It resembled a city rather than a temple. 
 We may easily judge of its grandeur from its present ruins. 
 We may yet trace its precincts, as well as the streets, and 
 some parts of the buildings of which it was composed. 
 
 L. Sylla having taken Praeneste, and defeated young Marius, 
 he qssumed the name of Felix, or the fortunate ; * and calling 
 himself the son of Fortune, he increased the number of her 
 priests. He greatly embellished the temple. He caused a 
 sun dial to be erected between the j^^milian and Fulvian 
 basilic. But his most remarkable addition was the mosaic 
 pavement, mentioned by Pliny, -f — “ Lithostrata quidem coep- 
 tavere jam sub Sylla, parvulis certe crustis, extat hodieque, 
 quod in Fortun^e delubro Prseneste fecit.” 
 
 The first buildings here were surely all consecrated to For^ 
 tune : others, however, were afterwards erected to different 
 deities, and for various purposes. Thus the temple of Serapis, 
 and the Faustinian school, were both built at the expense of 
 C. Valerius Hermaiscus, as appears from this inscription found 
 there. — 
 
 DOM us . C. VALERI . HERMAISCI 
 TEMPLUM . SERAPIS . SCHOLA 
 FAUSTINIANA . FECIT . C. 
 
 VALERIUS . HERMAISCUS . DEDIC . ID. 
 
 ^ ^^Unus hominum ud hoc aevi, Felicis s\hi cognomen asseruit L. Sylla, civili 
 nempe sanguine, ac patriae oppugnatione adoptatus.” — Pliny, 1. 7. c, 43. 
 
 *t L. S6. c. 25. 
 
PRiENESTE. 
 
 DEC . BARBARO 
 ET . REGULO . COS.^ 
 
 Cicero, -f laughing at the superstition of the Sors Pr^enestina, 
 mentions the antiquity and beauty of this temple, the deities 
 together with Fortune worshipped in it, and the manner of 
 consulting the Sortes» 
 
 The temple seems to have consisted properly of two parts, 
 delubra, cedtSy which I shall call, though perhaps improperly, 
 chapels. In these Fortune was worshipped under different 
 names. In the highest one she was called Fortuna Prantstina, 
 and in the other Fortuna Primigenia» Probably she was re- 
 presented in the first with the Sortes ; but in the second she 
 held a young Jupiter and Juno in her arms, whom she is sup- 
 posed to have nursed. 
 
 Pietro da Cortona, the celebrated painter and architect, has 
 given a perspective view, plan and elevation of this temple, 
 but in which there are many mistakes. An ingenious and ac- 
 curate artist, I think, might still make out a pretty exact 
 plan, but not an elevation of it. — Kirker, Suaresio, Volpi, 
 &c. have attempted to describe it, but Mgr. Cecconiji has 
 done it with most care. 
 
 * Cecconi Stor. di Palestrina, p. 181. — Barbarus and Regulus were consuls 
 A. D . 157^ nineteen years after the death of Hadrian* 
 
 f De Divin. 1. 2. 
 
 ^ Storia di Palestrina citta del prisco Lazio, scritta da Leonardo Cecconi, 
 Vescovo di Montalto. Ascoli, 1750. ^ 
 
 3 L 2 
 
APPENDIX. NO. IV. 
 
 It was built on the side of the mountain, which had been 
 cut down in different places to render the temple more noble 
 and venerable. It may be divided into three stories or stages. 
 On the lowest was a large cistern, or bason, towards the west 
 side ; its remains are to be seen in Prince Barberinfs garden. 
 It served, perhaps, for the sacrificers to purify the victims. 
 M. Suaresio makes two cisterns ; but there is no vestige of the 
 one towards the east ; even remains of some vaulted buildings 
 have been lately discovered, where he supposed this cistern to 
 have been placed. 
 
 There were four entries to the temple.* One of them was 
 on the arches of the street called Aricioni, and the other, that 
 corresponded to it, was opposite the prince's garden. These 
 led to the lowest division, where stood the cistern, and united 
 in a point that answered to the centre of the whole building.-f 
 The third entry was near the gate del Sole ; and the fourth 
 on the opposite side, which was above the gate of St, Martino. 
 These two entries led up to, and united in that part where 
 the modern piazza is situated. This was the forum of the 
 lower chapel. 
 
 To reach the higher chapel, there were two streets, one to 
 the right and the other to the left, which slanted up the hill, 
 and united in a point answering likewise to the centre of the 
 
 ♦ Suaresio makes but one gate, and places it where it seems impossible to 
 have been, on account of the ancient buildings which stood there. 
 
 t This is now the garden of Petrini. 
 
PR^NESTE. 
 
 temple, above the three great arches which still remain. It 
 has been supposed that a great lantern, to advertise sailors to 
 worship Fortune y was suspended under one of these arches : 
 
 “ Te dominam ^equoris."* * * § 
 
 But I cannot think that any light placed there could be seen 
 at sea. — These streets led to a portico supported by columns,f 
 and passing near the sun dial, conducted to a large forum, on 
 which stood the higher chapel. 
 
 There are few remains of this part of the building. I find, 
 indeed, that the two sides were ornamented with great arches, 
 enriched with columns. The building terminated in a semi- 
 circular form,J along which ran a noble base; and on this 
 base were raised columns, as the last ornament of the temple. 
 The view of the whole, from the plain, must have been 
 magnificent. 
 
 The remains of the lower chapel are to be seen near the 
 present seminary. § It was decorated on the side towards the 
 forum with four columns, whose capitals were cut into fo- 
 liages, different from any of the known orders of architecture. 
 Cardinal de Polignac, it is said, used to call them the Tibur- 
 tine order. — To the west of this chapel, there was a court 
 richly ornamented with columns and arches. In one of these 
 
 * Horace,!, l.od. 35. — Here the poet addresses himself to Fortune at Antiuni. 
 
 •f The modern street is called from hence — di Colonnara, 
 
 $ This is now the Barberini palace. 
 
 § Formerly the Bishop’s palace. 
 
APPENDIX. NO. IV. 
 
 4^^ 
 
 arches we find a gate, which perhaps led to the lodgings of 
 the priests. From this court there was also an entry to the 
 chapel. 
 
 The form of this chapel was almost square. The inmost 
 part of it was a sort of tribune with three niches. There 
 are at the sides large marble bases, which perhaps served for 
 tables, on which were placed the offerings, or the sacred 
 vessels. It was paved with the celebrated mosaic I am now to 
 mention. 
 
 A mosaic Long covered over with rubbish, and in danger of being de- 
 
 paveinent, i i i i ^ o'' 
 
 stroyed by the humidity of the place, this mosaic was disco- 
 vered in the time of Cardinal Francis Barberini, who caused 
 it to be removed to his palace on the summit of the temple, 
 and where it is now carefully preserved. It is about eighteen 
 feet long, and fourteen feet broad. The fragments of marble, 
 of which the ground and greatest part is composed, are about 
 a quarter of an inch square ; but those which form the figures 
 are much smaller. Great must have been the labour to col- 
 lect such a number of various coloured marbles, and to have 
 executed this pavement. 
 
 The Romans gave different names to that work which we 
 call mosaic, viz. mosibum, museum, musivum. Hence the artists 
 who wrought in it were called, in a law of Constantine,* 
 musivarii, 
 
 * Cod. Tbeod. 1. 13. tit. 4.— But in I. x. tit. 64. Cod. Justin, they are 
 named musearii. 
 
PR^NESTE. 
 
 447 
 
 Some have ascribed the origin of this art to the Hetruscans, 
 but others to the Persians. That mosaic work was used in 
 Persia in the time of Ahasuerus, or i\rtaxerxes, appears from 
 the first book of Esther.* It seems to have been carried from 
 Persia into Assyria, from thence into Greece, and, some ages 
 after, the Romans introduced it into Italy, with the other 
 Grecian arts. 
 
 The mosaic at Praeneste seems to have been executed by a 
 Grecian artist, because the names of the animals represented 
 in it are writ in Greek characters. By their form, particu- 
 larly the epsilon and the sigma, they are judged to be rather 
 of the second century than olden But, whether it proceeded 
 from the ignorance of the original artist, or from the careless- 
 ness of those who removed it to the Barberini palace, several 
 of the characters seem to be misplaced, whereby the explana- 
 tion of the names is rendered more difficult and uncertain. The 
 architecture, as well as the manner of designing the figures, 
 is much in the Chinese taste. Here are seen, in different co- 
 lours, soldiers with their shields, priests in procession, hunters, 
 fishers, animals, birds, trees, plants, rivers, mountains, vallies, 
 temples, porticoes, houses, tents, &c. 
 
 This singular monument surely deserves the attention both 
 of the antiquary and artist. It may throw some light on the 
 customs and manners of the Egyptians. Various explanations 
 have, indeed, been given of it. 
 
 * Chap. 1, V. 6. 
 
APPENDIX. NO. IV. 
 
 F. Kirker^ seems to have been one of the first who attempted 
 to explain it. He observes that the ancients ascribed both gjod 
 and evil to Fortune. He therefore divides the mosaic into three 
 parts. In the first, he supposes the evils, occasioned by adverse 
 Fortune, to be represented : — in the second, the sacrifices offered 
 to render her propitious : and, in the last, the solemnities used 
 in thanking her for favours received. The first is expressed 
 by hunting the beasts, birds, serpents, and noxious animals 
 that infested the mountains and vallies. The different temples, 
 in the second part, he supposes to belong to Hercules, Juno, 
 Venus, Diana, and Serapis, to whom it was usual to sacrifice, 
 before they consulted the Fortuna Prcenestina, The two wo- 
 men standing in the temple, he takes to be the Sortes Pres- 
 nestincB, who are addressed by a sailor, under the figure of 
 Neptune. Good Fortune, he thinks, is pointed out, in the last 
 part, by the soldiers with palms in their hands, by the sailors 
 spreading their sails, by the people banqueting, and by the 
 priests, wearing crowns, attended with music, carrying a torch 
 in solemn procession. — Such is the metaphysical interpretation 
 of Kirker. 
 
 The ingenious Cardinal de Polignac*f has given, however, 
 a very different explanation of this mosaic. He supposes that 
 it was the mosaic executed by order of Sylla, who, affecting 
 the power and prosperity of Alexander the Great, desired 
 to express that hero’s expedition to the temple of Jupiter 
 
 * In veler. Latio. t It is published, but vrilhout his name, at the bot- 
 
 tom of Uie print of this mosaic, engraved by order of Cardinal Francis Barberini 
 the younger. — See Cecconi, 1. 1. c. 4. p. 48. 
 
PR^NESTE. 
 
 449 
 
 Hammon. The conqueror went to consult the oracle, whether 
 the gods intended to give him the empire of the world.* The 
 Cardinal reckons that the rugged mountains, inhabited by 
 wild beasts, pursued by hunters, represents the higher Egypt. 
 The river, in the second part, he takes to be the Nile, and 
 the buildings there denote the cities of Heliopolis with its 
 obelisks, and Memphis with its mausoleums. In the lower 
 part is Alexander with his attendants, under a royal tent, and 
 Fortune presenting him a palm. The person in the boat, at- 
 tended with spearmen, seems to be Mazaces, or Astaces, 
 Darius's praetor, who commanded at Memphis. He came to 
 beg peace of Alexander, and offered him eight hundred ta- 
 lents, with all the royal furniture. The procession, with Anu- 
 bis on an altar, and Ibis on a spear, points out the Egyptians 
 rejoicing at their being delivered from the Persian govern- 
 ment. 
 
 The scorpions on the shields of the soldiers who attended 
 Alexander, the cardinal thinks, add weight to his explanation. 
 These animals, very frequent in Egypt, are so venomous there 
 that their bite is reckoned immediate death. Superstition be- 
 lieved, that to carry about the figure of the animal was an an- 
 tidote to his poison ; the soldiers, therefore, as a defence 
 against them, had their figures engraved on their shields. 
 But this observation is of little force, for the scorpion might 
 have been only the distinctive mark of a particular Roman 
 legion or cohort.-f 
 
 * Q. Curtius, 1. 4. c. 31. ed. Delph. 4to — An tolius oibis imperiuin falis 
 sibi destinaret pater 'f* Veg, de Re Milit. 1. 2. c, 18. 
 
 3 M 
 
APPENDIX. NO. IV. 
 
 Whatever difficulty may attend the subject of this mosaic, 
 the scene evidently lies in Egypt; and the obelisks, mauso- 
 leums, and animals peculiar to that country and Ethiopia, are 
 circumstances favourable to Polignac's interpretation. But 
 the officers and soldiers dressed in the Roman, and not in the 
 Macedonian manner, induces me to think that it relates to some 
 Roman story. 
 
 The learned abb4 Barthelemy,^ persuaded that this mosaic 
 is connected with Roman history, has applied it to Hadrian: 
 an emperor who visited the greatest part of the Roman em- 
 pire, and particularly Egypt. Had the mosaic executed in 
 the temple of Fortune, by order of Sylla, expressed any parti- 
 cular subject, Pliny would naturally have mentioned it. That 
 mosaic, we may therefore reasonably suppose, was only a 
 pavement, of various coloured stones, divided into compart- 
 ments. Besides, I do not see any connection between an 
 Egyptian festival and either Fortune or Sylla, who does not 
 appear ever to have been in that country. And, it may be 
 asked ; pray, what resemblance is there between the history of 
 the latter and that of Alexander the Great f 
 
 It is no doubt difficult to distinguish, with certainty, the 
 different buildings erected within the precincts of the temple 
 of Fortune. Several pieces of mosaic have been found among 
 these ruins ; particularly the rape of Europa, preserved in the 
 Barberini palace at Rome. But it is highly probable that the 
 
 * Mdmoires de TAcad^mie des Inscriptions et des Belles Lettres de Paris, 
 Tom. 53. in 12mo. 
 
PRiENESTE. 
 
 mosaic in question was not the pavement of the temple of 
 Fortune mentioned by Pliny, but of that of Serapis, built by 
 C. Valerius Hermaiscus. Perhaps, having attended Hadrian 
 in his progress through Egypt, he desired to preserve this me- 
 morial of it, and of the emperor, who had bestowed particular 
 marks of favour on that country; from which he brought 
 many statues and curiosities, to ornament his villa at Tivoli. 
 And what decoration could be more proper for the temple of 
 Serapis, than the representation of an Egyptian festival ? 
 
 This picture is not a general view of Egypt, but of the 
 island of Elephantine,^ near to SyenOj-f below the Cataracts. 
 According to Tacitus, J they were the boundaries, in those 
 parts, of the Roman empire, — “ claustra Romani imperii,’" — 
 and separated it from Ethiopia. They were inhabited both 
 by Egyptians and Ethiopians, and decorated with temples. 
 In the island of Elephantine was the temple of Cnuphis and a 
 Nilometer. This Nilometer§ was a well, on the banks of the 
 Nile, on the inside of which were engraved several lines, to 
 denote the several increases of the river. Cnuphis, Cneph, 
 Neph, Anubis, Ibis, seem to have been one and the same 
 deity, or a person remarkable for observing the rise of the 
 Nile. He w^as represented under various emblematical cha- 
 racters engraved on the Nilometer, viz. a serpent with a lion’s 
 
 * Now named Geziret-el-sag, or the flowery island. 
 
 t Now called Assuan, or Essuen. X -Ann. 1. *2. c. 61. 
 
 § Strabo, 1. 17. — The temple of Cnuphis still exists, and is very little injured. 
 By an observation, if accurate, made here, by Mr. Bruce of Kinnaird, its north 
 latitude is 24° 45". — Travels to discover the Source of the Nile, Vol. 1. p. l60. 
 
 3 M 2 
 
APPENDIX. KO. IV. 
 
 459 
 
 head ; a serpent with a hawk*s head ; a dog, &c.* Now, in 
 this mosaic, we may trace the temple of Cnuphis, and the 
 well or Nilometer. The temple is that building, in which 
 stand the two women, addressed by a sailor ; and near to it is 
 the Nilometer. 
 
 Hadrian is the principal personage under the tent ; to whom 
 a woman presents a crown with her right hand, and holds a 
 palm in her left. She is neither Fortune nor a priestess, for 
 the Egyptians had none; but a genius personating the island 
 of Elephantine, Vv^ho testifies the gratitude of the inhabitants, 
 as the whole of the scene does, to the emperor, for having ho- 
 noured them with his visit. And over the gate of a building, 
 ornamented with four Egyptian statues, I observed a spread- 
 eagle, the emblem of the Roman empire. 
 
 Having thus given a probable account of the subject of this 
 mosaic, I shall not attempt to give a particular description of 
 each figure, animal, bird, plant, or building expressed in it. 
 They are sufficiently explained either in the print, or in M. 
 Barthelemy’s memoir. 
 
 * The dog was the emblem of the dog-slar, which becomes visible in Egypt 
 in the month of July, about the time when, it is agreed by all writers, the Nile 
 generally begins to overflow its banks. When the river hath overflowed its 
 banks, it drives all the serpents before it out of their lurking places; so the 
 hawks, at the same season, annually return into Egypt in quest of their prey: 
 and as the sun, in the month of July, enters the constellation of the Lion, this 
 was another proper symbol to denote the serpents quitting their holes, in 
 consequence of the increase of the Nile. 
 
[ 453 ] 
 
 APPENDIX, No. V. 
 
 ALBANO, AND ITS ENVIRONS. 
 
 AlbanOj fourteen miles from Rome, on the Via Appia, is the 
 see of one of the six cardinal bishops. It is situated between 
 Castel Gandolfo and Aricia, now called La Rida. As it stands 
 on the Alban territory, some writers, from its name, have 
 supposed it to be the ancient city of Alba Longa, the mother 
 of Rome ; but this is a mistake, as I shall soon satisfy the 
 
 reader. 
 
 The situation oi* Albano, its moderate height above the level 
 of the plain, its fine air, its shady walks, and beautiful views 
 of Rome, the Campagnia, and the sea, cannot but make it a 
 favourite retreat of the Romans, during the spring and au- 
 tumnal seasons, where many rusticate. 
 
 This city is built on the ruins of Pompey's villa, named 
 Alhanum Pompeii, which, after the murder and forfeiture of 
 that illustrious man, was sold by public auction, and purchased 
 by Mark Antony. He was the only person who had the as- 
 surance to offer for it, for which Cicero* justly upbraided him ; 
 
 Albanum 
 
 Pompeii. 
 
 * In M. Antonium Philippica 2. 
 
454 
 
 APPENDIX. NO. V. 
 
 An amphi- 
 theatre, a re- 
 servoir, and 
 praetorian 
 camp. 
 
 The Capu- 
 chins. 
 
 A mauso- 
 leum. 
 
 because it was then reckoned infamous, on such occasions, to 
 deprive innocent heirs of the property of their unfortunate 
 families. With what strong colouring does the orator paint 
 the debaucheries of Antony at this villa. Many of its ruins 
 are still to be seen, particularly in the villa Paolucci, and at 
 the church of St. Peter ; which last are conjectured to have 
 been baths. 
 
 At the abbey of St. Paul’s, I observed considerable remains 
 of an amphitheatre, a reservoir for water, and a prsetorian 
 camp. Perhaps these were erected by Domitian. But it is 
 unnecessary for me to describe them, because they have been 
 published by Piranesi,"^ to whose plates I beg leave to refer. 
 
 Above St. Paul’s, on the borders of the lake^ is the convent 
 of the Capuchins : from different stations of whose gardens 
 are to be seen various delightful romantic views. Indeed 
 here, and in this part of the country in general, landscape 
 painters find the most captivating scenes to engage their ta- 
 lents. But I shall not attempt to describe with my pen beauties 
 which even the pencil of the artist can imperfectly delineate. 
 
 Before I entered the Roman gate of Albano, I observed, on 
 the left hand of the Appian road, the remains of a magnificent 
 mausoleum. It is published by Piranesi.-f It had been three 
 stories high, incr listed with marble, and each story ornamented 
 with columns, no doubt of different orders. Though robbed 
 
 * Antichita d’Albano. 
 
 t Ib. page 7* tav. 4. 
 
ALBANO. 
 
 455 
 
 of these columns, and the incrustation, yet the belts or prce- 
 cinctiones of these stories, and the marble blocks to which 
 they were fixed still remain, and point out its former state. 
 
 Without the other gate of Albano, on the side of the Appian 
 road, at the church called the Madonna della Stella, I saw 
 another remarkable sepulchral monument. On a high square 
 base are placed five round pyramids or towers, viz., one on the 
 centre, and one on each of the square corners. Two of these 
 pyramids are entire, and the other three, though defaced, are 
 still very visible. This monument is likewise published by 
 Piranesi.* 
 
 As no inscriptions remain on either of these monuments I 
 cannot ascertain to whom they belonged. Antiquaries, I 
 know, generally reckon that one of these two mausoleums 
 was that of the great Pompey, whose ashes Cornelia, according 
 to Plutarch, f brought from Egypt, where he was murdered, 
 and deposited at his villa near Alba. Plutarch is the only 
 historian who mentions this : whereas Strabo, J Pliny,§ and 
 Dio Cassius 1| affirm, that Pompey was buried on Mons Casius, 
 in Egypt. His body had been burnt by his freed man Philip : 
 but it is not probable that Cornelia, who fled before her hus- 
 band was murdered, and long obliged to conceal herself be- 
 fore she was permitted to return to Rome, could have received 
 from Philip the ashes of his master, and carried them about 
 
 * Antichila d’Albano, page 8. tav. 5. and 6. t Hfe of Pompey. 
 
 % Lib. 16. § Lib. 5. c. 12. — His words are — Casius luons 
 
 delubruni Jovis Casii, tumulus Magni Pompeii* U Lib. 42. 
 
 Another 
 
 mausoleum. 
 
 One of these 
 mausoleums 
 is commonly 
 reckoned to 
 be that of 
 Pompey, and 
 the other of 
 the Horatii 
 and the Cu- 
 iatii. 
 
456 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 NO. V. 
 
 with her in her peregrinations. Nor is it reasonable to sup- 
 pose that Cornelia, after the death of Pompey, and his pro- 
 perty confiscated, could have erected a sumptuous monument 
 to his memory. If therefore either of these sepulchres be- 
 longed to Pompey, it must have been built by himself in his 
 prosperity ; and in that case I should, from the style of 
 architecture, reckon it to be the one at the Roman gate, ra- 
 ther than that at the Stella, which seems to be of much 
 greater antiquity. The great modern Savelli family, now ex- 
 tinct, but formerly lords of Albano, had indeed caused an 
 inscription* to be placed on this singular monument, which 
 names it that of the Horatii and Curiatii ; but there is no 
 authority for having done so On the contrary, the five bro- 
 thers, as I observed, were buried where they fell. This 
 monument somewhat resembles that very ancient one at 
 Clusium, erected for Porsena, King of Hetruria, described 
 by Pliny. J Had an honorary monument been erected for 
 the five champions, of which there is no mention, it would 
 
 * The modern inscription on the tomb at the Stella, said to be that of the 
 Horatii and Curiatii ; — 
 
 Hospes 
 
 Dignare memoria ossa quae calcas 
 Hie caesis Curiatiis unicus ex Horatiis superstes 
 Romam Albae praefecit 
 Sabelli 
 
 Quibus et patria et dominium unam iitramque fecit 
 Ambarum glorias consulentes 
 Pyramides latitantes 
 Elogio praetereiintibus indicarunt. 
 
 X Hist. Nat. 1. 36. c. IS. 
 
 t See page 1 10. 
 
ALBANO. 
 
 457 
 
 naturally have been placed on the site of Alba Longa^ which 
 this is not. 
 
 Between the Stella and La Ricia there is a remarkable part 
 of the Via Appia, which deserves the attention of the curious. 
 It is a long and vast mole or lev^, carried across the vale of 
 La Ricia, to facilitate the passage. Arches are constructed 
 at certain distances, to carry off the water that may collect 
 there. This mole remains a monument of Roman grandeur, 
 and gives an high idea of the expense they bestowed on their 
 consular roads. To see it to advantage, it is necessary to go 
 down to the vale, for its sides are now so covered with trees 
 and shrubs, that one may travel along it without perceiving 
 its greatness. Such had happened even to the ingenious Pi- 
 ranesi, to whom, on publishing his elegant work on Albano, 
 I observed that he had taken no notice of this part of the 
 Via Appia : he promised to supply this neglect, but which, 
 as far as I know, has not been done. The fertile vale of La 
 Ricia had been formerly a lake. It was supplied with watei^ 
 from the lake of Nemi ; but the water is now carried off by 
 a rivulet, that runs through the vale and turns a mill. 
 
 The delightful shady road from Albano to Castel Gandolfo, 
 planted with large evergreen oaks, is called the lower gallery ; 
 and the road from Castel Gandolfo, along the banks of the 
 lake, to the Capuchins, the upper gallery. How often have I 
 strolled along these roads, wrapped in admiration at the beau* 
 tiful scenery, which on every side captivated the eye ! 
 
 SN 
 
 Via Appia. 
 
 Vale of La 
 Ricia. 
 
 Road to Cas- 
 tel Gandolfo. 
 
APPENDIX. NO. V. 
 
 45f^ 
 
 Domitian’s 
 
 villa. 
 
 Two crypt®. 
 
 Two nym- 
 phea. 
 
 Lake of A1 
 bano. 
 
 Domitian, before he succeeded to the empire, resided much 
 at Albano. Besides the use he may have made of Pompey^s 
 villa, he extended his ovim from Castel Gandolfo to the con- 
 vent of the Capuchins, and down to the lake on one side, and 
 the plain on the other. In the modern villa Barberini,* the 
 remains of two extensive cryptcE, or galleries, are to be seen : 
 they now serve for terraces, and are a proof of its former mag- 
 nificence. He embellished the steep banks of the lake with 
 curious buildings ; among others with two grottoes, or nymphea^ 
 of which Piranesi has given plans and views.f They are the 
 more curious, because few nympheaj have been hitherto dis- 
 covered. They seem to have been natural grottoes, but which 
 Domitian had improved by art ; one of them is very beautiful. 
 Attached to Minerva, he established, at Albano, a college of 
 priests for the service of that deity, and there celebrated her 
 festivals called quinquatnay with huntings, plays, and orato- 
 rial and poetical compositions. J 
 
 The form of this lake is an irregular ellipsis, surrounded 
 with very high banks, except towards Marino, where they are 
 lower. To walk round the top of its crater is generally com- 
 puted to be about eight miles, and round the edges of the 
 
 * It stands, according to some antiquaries, on the site of the villa of the fac^ 
 tious Clodius, killed by Milo. 
 
 t Antichi ta d’Albano. J See page 232. 
 
 1 Celebrabat in Albano quotannis quinquatria Minervae, cui collegium 
 constituerat : ex quo sorte ducti magisterio, fungerentur, ederentque eximias 
 venationes et scenicos ludos, superque oratorum ac poetarum certamina.’^— 
 Suet. V. Domitiani, c. 4. 
 
ALBANO. 
 
 459 
 
 water four miles. Its depth is unequal ; in some parts the 
 depth is very great, particularly under Palazzuolo; Among 
 a variety of fishes found in this lake, there are eels of a vast 
 size, and which are much esteemed by the luxurious. 
 
 From sand, stones, lava, and other minerals, evidently 
 volcanic productions, found here and in its neighbourhood, 
 naturalists have concluded that this lake, as well as that of 
 Nemi, f called the Speculum Biance, have been the mouths of 
 volcanoes, which sunk these parts of the Mans Albanus. If this 
 is so, these eruptions must have happened long prior to the 
 building of Alba Longa, and before the time of historical re- 
 cords, or even tradition. 
 
 But what chiefly demands the attention of the inquisitive 
 traveller is the subterraneous canal or outlet, that carries 
 off the water of the lake. It begins a little to the south of 
 Castel Gandolfo, and is carried about a mile and a half under 
 the hill of Albano, till the water appears in the plain. Livy,J 
 and many of the Roman writers, mention prodigies that hap- 
 pened during the siege of Veii ;§ particularly, that the lake 
 of Albano, without any visible cause, overflowed its banks, 
 and inundated the plain, and even threatened Rome itself. 
 The senate therefore sent an embassy to consult the oracle 
 
 ^ See Tour to Italy, by M. De la Condamine and Lettres sur la Mind- 
 ralogie d’ltalie, par M. Ferber. 
 
 •j- It is about two miles south of the lake of Albano, and is not one half of 
 the extent of the latter. 
 
 + Lib. 5. c. Jo. § See page 33. 
 
 3 N 2 
 
 Formerly a. 
 volcano. 
 
 Outlet of the 
 lake. 
 
460 
 
 APPENDIX. NO. V. 
 
 Delphi, to know what was to be done to appease the gods. 
 In the mean time the Romans were told by a Veientan sooth- 
 sayer, who was their prisoner, that Veii could never be taken 
 till the lake of Albano was prevented from overflowing its 
 banks. This prophecy agreeing with the answer afterwards 
 received from the oracle, the Romans immediately set about 
 making the outlet in question, and completed it in the course 
 of a year, viz. in the year of Rome 355. What fiction soever 
 there may be in this account, the canal itself is wonderful, to 
 have been executed at that early period of time. It is still 
 entire, and serves the purpose for which it was intended. 
 And whether we consider the difficulty of executing this vast 
 work, or the expedition with which it was done, or its dura- 
 tion, it is justly an object of admiration. The canal, in gene- 
 ral, is five palms and three inches Roman measure broad, and 
 its height from nine to ten palms. Had six men only been 
 employed to cut this narrow canal, and more could not have 
 been employed at the same time ; that is three men beginning 
 at each extremity, till the six met in the centre, it would have 
 required many years to have accomplished it. But the inge- 
 nious Piranesi,* who examined it with much attention, shows 
 that, after tracing the line of the canal above ground, pits and 
 mines were sunk at certain distances from each other, by 
 which many men might have been let down, and wrought at 
 the same time; and by means of these pits draw out the earth 
 and stones from the canal. He discovered some of these 
 pits, and traced the whole as minutely as if he had been the 
 
 * See Descrizione e Disegno dell’ Emissario del Lago Albano. 
 
ALBANO. 
 
 overseer of the work. But whatever indulgence he may have 
 given to fancy, his inquiry is very curious. He has given 
 nine plates, with many figures, to explain it, and which will 
 convey a more distinct idea of it than can be done by words. 
 
 The entry to the canal from the lake, and its issue in the plain, 
 are solidly built, and remain noble specimens of Hetruscan . 
 architecture. 
 
 From Bianchini’s ^ observations it appears, that the bottom 
 of the lake is on a level with the floor of the Carthusian church, 
 at Dioclesian’s baths.-f Hence water might have been brought 
 from it to Rome, and there raised to a great height. 
 
 The fabulous account of the foundation of Alha^ by Ascanius, Alba Longa, 
 the son of iEneas, is mentioned by all the Roman historians, 
 as well as by many of the poets : — 
 
 « Genus unde Latinum, 
 
 Albanique patres, atque altae moenia Rom^.*" J 
 
 It was the capital of ancient Latium. However, after the ce- 
 lebrated combat of the Horatii and Curiatii,§ which gave the 
 superiority to Rome over Alba, Tullus Hostilius destroyed this 
 very ancient city, and brought the greatest part of its inha- 
 bitants to increase the population of Rome. To distinguish 
 this Alba from other cities of the same name, it got the appel- 
 lation of Longa, because it was narrow and long ; having been 
 built between the Mons Albanus, now called Monte Cavo, and 
 
 * Francisci Bianchini Opuscula varia. 
 
 Virg, iEn. 1. 1. v. 6. 
 
 t See page 209. 
 § See page 1 10. 
 
462 
 
 APPENDIX. NO. V. 
 
 A sepulchral 
 monument. 
 
 Mons Aiba- 
 nus. 
 
 the lake, along the crater of which it had extended a consi- 
 derable way. Perhaps the centre of Alba Longa was about 
 Palazzuolo, a villa belonging to the Colonna family, and a 
 Franciscan convent. 
 
 Scrambling among the trees and bushes, with which the 
 greatest part of the ground is covered, I observed the founda- 
 tions of some ancient buildings. Near to the convent, I have 
 just mentioned, there is a remarkable sepulchre, cut on the 
 face of the rock. Uninscribed, I cannot conjecture to whom 
 it belonged. On its centre is a bas relief, but the figures are 
 much defaced, and a sceptre terminated with an eagle: and 
 on each side of the bas-relief there are six Roman fasces with 
 the axes, placed like columns. These marks of dignity be- 
 longed to the kings, as well as to the consuls. The style of the 
 sculpture is good; and it is published by Piranesi.* 
 
 From the east side of the lake, Mons Albanus raises its lofty 
 head, and overlooks Latium, and a great extent of country.-f 
 This remarkable mountain is often mentioned by the Roman 
 authors. On its summit stood the temple of Jupiter Latialis — 
 
 “ Et residens celsa Latialis Jupiter Alba.'^J 
 
 * Antichita d’Albano, pages 6 and 7, tav. 3 . — I have in my collection an 
 accurate dravving of this monument. 
 
 t The people in this part of the country consider Monl4 Cavo as a haro- 
 meter for the weather. When the summit of the mountain is covered with a 
 fog, they say — Mont^ Cavo ha il capello, piover^.” 
 
 ;|: Lucanus, lib. 1. v. I98. 
 
ALBANO. 
 
 4^3 
 
 By whom it was originally built is uncertain. It seems, how- 
 ever, to have been renewed by Tarquin the Proud, who there 
 instituted the Ferice Latirue ; at which deputies from the dif- 
 ferent states of Latium assembled annually, and ratified their 
 mutual engagements. A Roman consul always presided at 
 these meetings. An ox was sacrificed to Jupiter, and each de- 
 puty carried home with him a part of the victim. During these 
 Ferice all hostilities between any of these states ceased. Such 
 a political institution must have been productive of useful con- 
 sequences. It was here likewise that the Roman generals, who 
 were refused the honour of the great triumph in Rome, per- 
 formed the lesser triumph, called an ovation, and sacrificed to 
 Jupiter Latialis. But this famous temple, which had been for- 
 tified, has long since been destroyed. Indeed, when I first 
 visited the ruins, in the year 1750? I observed a part of its 
 foundations : ^ but these materials have been since employed 
 to build a small church and convent, for a late established re- 
 ligious order, called the Passionites, or the fathers of the passion, 
 who have got possession of this classic ground. 
 
 When placed on the ruins of the temple of Jupiter Latialis, 
 I beheld under me the lakes, the woods, the spot where stood 
 the villa of Clodius, I could not but recall to my memory the 
 beautiful apostrophe, which Cicero made to Jupiter, against 
 this turbulent seditious man, whom the orator maintains was 
 justly killed by his client Milo: — “ Tuque ex edito isto tuo 
 monte, Latialis sancte Jupiter, cujus ille (Clodius) lacus, nemora, 
 
 * Some fragments of these ruins are published by Piranesi— Ant. d’Albano, 
 lav. 1 and 2. 
 
APPENDIX. NO. V. 
 
 finesque ssepe omni nefario stupro, et scelere macularat ; ali- 
 quando ad eum puniendum oculos aperuisti.'** 
 
 A road. To facilitate the acc^s to this temple, a road was made, 
 
 paved like that of the Via Appia, and of which I observed con- 
 siderable remains. The stones so employed are chiefly lava, or 
 volcanic productions. 
 
 Roccadi About half way up the mountain, to the left of the road, 
 
 there is a village called Rocca di Papa, Its situation is singu- 
 lar. Some antiquaries suppose that it is Fabienses, mentioned 
 by Pliny j-f and others Forum Populi,\ Perhaps it was here 
 that the people assembled and rested, before they proceeded to 
 the temple of Jupiter. 
 
 Hannibal’s A little above Rocca di Papa, there is a plain called Hanni- 
 haVs camp, which I have formerly mentioned.§ It is here that 
 Pits for pre- the SHOW is Collected annually for the use of Rome. It is a 
 serving snow. produces a revenue to the Pope. The use of 
 
 snow or ice to cool liquors, &c. is no doubt, in hot climates, 
 an agreeable luxury. The Romans make much use of it; and 
 perhaps the reader will not be dissatisfied to know the simple 
 manner by which they preserve it. On this dry plain they 
 dig pits, without any building, about fifty feet deep, and 
 twenty-five broad at the top, in the form of a sugar-loaf, or 
 cone. The larger the pit, the snow, no doubt, will preserve 
 the better. About three feet from the bottom they commonly 
 
 * Cic. pro Milone. f Lib. 3. c. 5. % Cluver. Ital. Ant. 
 
 § See page 46. 
 
ALBAKO. 
 
 fix a wooden grate, which serves for a drain, if any of the 
 snow should happen to melt, which otherwise would stagnate, 
 and hasten the dissolution of the rest. The pit thus formed, 
 and lined with prunings of trees and straw, is filled with snow, 
 which is beat down as hard as possible, till it becomes a solid 
 body. It is afterwards covered with more prunings of trees, 
 and a roof raised in form of a low cone, well thatched over 
 with straw. A door is left at the side, covered likewise with 
 straw, by which men enter and cut out the ice, for such it 
 becomes, with a mattock. A row of tall shady trees may be 
 planted round the pit, to protect it the better from the sun. 
 The quantity daily demanded is carried to Rome, in the night 
 time, in carts well covered with straw. It is found by expe- 
 rience that snow, thus pressed down, is not only colder, but 
 preserves longer than cakes of ice taken from ponds or ditches. 
 
 3O 
 
C 4f>’6 '2 
 
 APPENDIX. No. VI. 
 
 HERCULANEUM.* 
 
 Sir, Naples, April 18lh, 1750. 
 
 I SHOULD not have ventured to send you the following ac- 
 count of Herciilaneurn, had I not known your love for anti- 
 quities, and the desire you have to be informed of the present 
 state of that discovery : especially as so many false and ridi- 
 culous relations have been given of it. But as I have had op- 
 portunities of examining this celebrated place several times, 
 during the two months I have spent in this country, you may 
 depend on my exactness. To describe it. Sir, as it ought, 
 would require one of your happy turn, who examines every 
 
 ♦ Though this letter, written to the Author’s father, the late William Lumis- 
 den. Esq. has no relation to the Antiquities of Rome; yet as the subject is 
 interestino- to the curious, and as it gives a distinct though short account of the 
 discovery of Herculaneum, he hopes he will be pardoned forgiving it a place in 
 this Appendix. He is the rather induced to do so, because it was imperfectly pub- 
 lished in some periodical papers, and particularly with the translation of Belli- 
 card’s Observations upon the Antiquities of the Town of Herculaneum, printed 
 at London, 1753. Much, no doubt, has been published on the Herculaneum, 
 since this letter was written; but as far as it goes, he flatters himself, it will be 
 found still to be accurate. 
 
HERCULANEUM. 
 
 thing with such taste, and whose ideas of what you do examine 
 are never imperfect. 
 
 Herculaneum was a city of vast antiquity, dedicated to, or 
 as some writers say, founded by Hercules. This heroic divinity 
 was much esteemed all over the then known world. Temples 
 and altars were every where erected to him: witness the fa- 
 mous temple of Cadiz, built by the Tyrians,-« extra Herculis 
 columnas in Gadibus,” *— the boundary of his expeditions to 
 the west. The Carthaginians offered him human sacrifices; 
 and the Romans made vows to, and consulted him in their 
 greatest enter prizes. 
 
 This city stood where now stands the royal village of Portici, 
 washed by the sea, four miles from Naples, and about three 
 from the top of Vesuvius. It seems, as likewise Pompeiai 
 
 * The two promontories, at the entry of the Straits, the one in Europe 
 and the other in Africa, were called hy geographers Hercules’s Pillars. The 
 former, Calpi, is Gibraltar in Europe, and the latter, Jbila, is Ceuta m Africa. 
 The fabulous tradition of the old Spaniards was, that these mountains were cut 
 asunder by Hercules, by which means the Atlantic ocean rushed in, and formed 
 the Mediterranean sea.— Abila Africae, Europae Calp6, laborum Herculis 
 metae. Quam ob causam indigenae columnas ejus Dei vocant, creduntque per 
 fossas exclusa antea admisisse maria, et rerum naturae mutasse faciem." Plin. 
 Hist. Nat. 1. 3. proem. — But besides these fictitious pillars, the temple of Her- 
 cules at Cadiz was ornamented with real columns of metal, and covered with 
 inscriptions, as mentioned by Philostralus, in his Life of Apollonius Tyanaeus, 
 1. 5. c. 1. Indeed the expression of Pliny, 1. 2. c. 107, ** ab India ad 
 Herculis columnas Gadibus sacratas,”— means these rqal columns. 
 
 t Pompeia stood on the banks of the Sarno, near to the place called Torre 
 deir Annomiata, ten or eleven miles from Portici. 
 
 3 O 2 
 
468 
 
 APPENDIX. NO. VI. 
 
 and Retina,^ to have been buried in the great eruption of that 
 mountain, in the time of the emperor Titus, by which Pliny 
 the elder was suffocated.-j- 
 
 This Was not the first eruption of Vesuvius. Diodorus 
 Siculus, J cotemporary with Augustus, and consequently older 
 than Pliny, says that the eruptions of that mountain were as 
 old as the fabulous ages. Is it not, therefore, surprising that this 
 should not have been mentioned by Pliny, the great historian 
 of nature? But perhaps that part of his work is lost. Al- 
 though the eruptions prior to Pliny had not been recorded by 
 any author, yet their effects were visibly traced, in digging at 
 the foot of the mountain, in the year 1689. Observations on 
 this excavation have been published by the learned Bianchini.§ 
 As a further proof of the antiquity of these eruptions, we have 
 only to remark that the streets of Herculaneum were paved 
 with lava, or basalte, which surely had been formerly thrown 
 out from Vesuvius. But what are our oldest records compared 
 with the lasting monuments of nature ? 
 
 The city is between seventy or eighty feet below the present 
 
 * Retina or Resina, was probably a country seat, or small village near to 
 Herculaneum. f Plin. Secund. 1. 6. ep. 16. 
 
 Hist. 1. 5. — Herculis deinde a Tiburi profectus, per littus Italiaj ad Cu- 
 nieum venit campum r in quo tradunt fuisse homines admodum fortes, et ob 
 eorum scelera gigantes appellatos.^ Campus quoque ipse diclus Phlegreeus, a 
 colie qui olim plurimum ignis instar dEthnae Siculi evomens, nunc Vesuvius 
 vocatur, multa servans ignis antiqui vestigia.” 
 
 I La Storia universale provata con Monumenli, &c, Roma, 1747, p. 246. 
 
HERCULANEUM. 
 
 4^.9 
 
 surface of the ground. The matter with which it is co- 
 vered is not every w’here the same. In some places it is a sort 
 of burnt dry earth, like ashes ; in others, a sort of lime and 
 hard cement ; and elsewhere, it is covered with that vitrified 
 matter which the Neapolitans call lava^ composed of sulphur 
 stones, and metallic substances, which Vesuvius throws out in 
 its eruptions. This lava, whilst it preserved its fluidity, ran 
 like a river towards the sea : but as soon as it cooled it sub- 
 sided, and became a solid substance, like a dark blue marble, 
 and of which 1 have seen tables, snuff-boxes, and many trin- 
 kets. It is, therefore, no wonder that this river should have 
 penetrated into every cavity it met* with in its course, so we 
 find that part of the city over which it ran full of it. 
 
 Nothing is more difficult than to explain this surprising ef- 
 fect. The learned are much divided in their opinions concern- 
 ing it. The most general opinion is, that the mountain first 
 threw out such a quantity of cinders as covered the city, and 
 then the sea penetrating into the bottom of the volcano was 
 afterwards vomited out, and in its course pushed the cinders 
 earth, 5 cc. into the houses. These eruptions are probably pro- 
 duced from marcasites, or pyrites, and sulphureous and bitu- 
 minous substances mixed together in the earth, and humected 
 by water. Many authors assert, that Vesuvius in its eruptions 
 throws out more water than fire. In the eruption of December 
 lOth, 1631, it is said that the harbour of Naples was, for a 
 moment quite emptied, and that all sorts of shell-fishes were 
 mixed with the lava that came from the mountain. Pliny the 
 younger, giving Tacitus an account of the death of his uncle. 
 
470 
 
 APPENDIX. NO. VI, 
 
 says that the sea seemed to go back.* The water entering the 
 volcano, probably gave rise to this observation. Perhaps, too, 
 the eruption was attended by an earthquake, which may have 
 assisted to swallow up the city. But to return. 
 
 Herculaneum lay thus buried from the year 79 to the 1739. 
 The prince of Elbeuf, indeed, in the year 1711, building a 
 house near to Portici, and digging for a well, found some 
 pieces of wrought marble ; and afterwards discovered a temple 
 of a round figure, the general form of those dedicated to 
 Bacchus, adorned with pillars of yellow marble, and some fine 
 statues: viz. a Hercules, a Cleopatra, and three elegant ves- 
 tals, which he sent to Vienna to Prince Eugene of Savoy. The 
 vestals are now at Dresden, in the noble collection of the elec- 
 tor of Saxony. But the discovery went no further ; nor did 
 they suspect that this was part of Herculaneum. 
 
 It was in the beginning of the 1739 that, digging for ano- 
 ther well, some more marble was found. And being ordered 
 by the king of Naples to dig towards the grotto, formerly dis- 
 covered by Elbeuf, the workmen found two consular statues of 
 marble, one of which was Augustus ; afterwards some brick pil- 
 lars painted with different colours. And continuing the search, 
 they fell on the theatre, which was built according to the rules 
 of Vitruvius. It consisted of eighteen seats for the spectators, 
 and was incrusted with marble, and beautified with pillars, 
 
 * Praeleiea mare in se resorberi, et tremore terrae, quasi repelli videbamus. 
 Certe processerat litus, multaque animalia maris siccis arenis detinebat.^’ 
 Lib. 6. ep. 20. 
 
HEUCULANElTMi 
 
 47 ^ 
 
 statues, and paintin^^s Nor is it Strange to find a tb?ntTe in 
 a country once inhabited ’:y the Osd, a people rema-k.ible fof 
 having invented those licentious performances called the Osce*- 
 nian comedy t and Fescenine verses. 
 
 I shall not waste time in describing the many statues al- 
 ready found here. I cannot, however, omit mentioning an 
 equestrian one of marble, with the following inscription on 
 its pe estal : an inscription which leaves no doubt to whom it 
 belonged, and that this was the ancient city of Herculaneum. 
 
 M . NONIO . M . F . 
 
 BALBO . 
 
 PR . PRO . COS . 
 
 HERCULANENSES. 
 
 Some connoisseurs say that this statue is preferable, in point 
 of execution, to the so justly celebrated one at the Capitol, of 
 Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, of Corinthian brass. The former 
 is indeed more ancient, and perhaps the work of a more emi- 
 nent master : but, — 
 
 « Non nostrum inter vos tantas componere lites.'"' 
 
 This statue of Balbus, and another of his father, were found in 
 the portico of the foi'um, or cholcidicum, supposed to be the 
 place where the courts of justice or public assemblies were 
 held. It seems to have been a rectangular building, surrounded 
 with a peristyle, ornamented with columns, statues, and 
 paintings. 
 
47 ^ 
 
 APPEl^DIX. NO. Vi; 
 
 Satisfied that they had at last discovered Herculaneum, they 
 continued to work on, and near the theatre they found ano- 
 ther temple dedicated to Hercules. It has been disputed if 
 the ancients used to build temples so near their theatres. The 
 one here found is a proof of the affirmative ; and indeed altars 
 have been erected within theatres themselves. Sacrifices pre- 
 ceded their games and plays, which were connected with, and 
 made part of their religious ceremonies. Here were got small 
 statues of several deities, particularly one of Hercules, of brass, 
 and all the instruments proper for sacrifice. 
 
 The walls of this temple were painted in different compart- 
 ments, representing combats of wild beasts, real and ima- 
 ginary animals, heads of Medusa, landscapes, views of houses, 
 and architecture of various kinds. But what surprise every 
 one, being of much value in themselves, are the historical 
 paintings. 
 
 One represents a naked Theseus, with a club in his hand, a 
 ring on his finger, and the chlamys, a sort of scarf, hanging at 
 his shoulders. Between his legs lies the Minotaur naked ; 
 whose body is of a human figure, but his head is horned like a 
 bull : the head is intirely seen, but the body goes back in a 
 straight line, and is finely foreshortened. The hero is sur- 
 rounded with three boys ; two of wffiom kiss his hands, and 
 the third embraces his left arm. A virgin modestly touches 
 the club, who perhaps is Ariadne, or Phaedra. In the air is 
 seen another figure, which denotes victory ; and we can also 
 observe the volutes of the pillars that adorn the labyrinth. 
 
HERCULANEUM. 
 
 473 
 
 In the second we see a woman sitting, crowned with flowers,^ 
 at her left side is a basket of fruits, and at her right a young 
 Faunus playing on a pipe. Opposite to the woman is a naked 
 man, with a black beard, with bow, quiver and club. Behind 
 him is another woman, who seems to speak to the first ; and 
 below is a child sucking a deer. The subject of this picture is 
 probably the birth of Telephus, the son of Hercules and Augea. 
 The sitting woman representing Augea, the naked man Her- 
 cules, and the child Telephus, who was said to be miraculously 
 nursed by a deer. 
 
 A third represents Chiron, under the figure of the centaur, 
 teaching young Achilles music. 
 
 A fourth is Mercury giving Bacchus to the nurse. — But it 
 would be tedious to describe all the pictures. 
 
 I do not pretend that all the paintings here found are equally 
 good : some of them are very bad ; but surely those I have 
 mentioned, and several others have great merit, whether we 
 consider the judicious composition, the accurate contour, or 
 fine colouring. And if such is the value of these pictures, 
 what must have been the works of Apelles, and the other 
 masters of Greece, so renowned in story ? For though the Ho- 
 mans, fond of the gulf of Naples, may have built magnificent 
 villas along that coast, yet we cannot suppose that they em- 
 poyed any of the painters celebrated by the ancients to orna- 
 ment them. Besides, Pliny* regrets that the art of painting 
 Haclenus dictum sil de dignitale artis morientis.” Nat, Hist. 1. 35. c. 5. 
 
 SP 
 
 * « 
 
474 
 
 APPENDIX, NO VI. 
 
 had greatly declined in his time. It would therefore be unjust, 
 from these paintings only, to decide the controversy between 
 the ancients and the moderns on this head. But how can we 
 doubt of the excellence of Grecian painting, since the statues 
 still preserved are a demonstration of their superior knowledge 
 in designing elegant nature ? 
 
 Although buried near 1700 years, the colouring is as fresh 
 as if painted a few years ago. But perhaps this is partly ow- 
 ing to the external air having been so effectually excluded. 
 The king has caused the pictures to be cut off the walls, and 
 put in frames. I must observe that the buildings in which 
 these pictures, &c. were preserved, were filled up with earth 
 and ashes ; for where the lava ran, nothing could resist its 
 heat. 
 
 Cicero* and Pliny-f inform us, that the ancient painters 
 used only four colours : these were white, black, yellow, and 
 red. But in the paintings discovered in Herculaneum we find 
 both blue and green. Perhaps we ought not to interpret too 
 strictly these authors ; and suppose that, by their naming 
 these four colours, they excluded all others. Indeed had they 
 mentioned hlue^ as one of the four colours, we should have been 
 
 * In Bruto, No. 70. — Similis in pictura ratio est, in qua Zeuxim et Po- 
 lygnotura, et Timantem, el eorum qui non sunt usi plusquam quatuor coioribus, 
 formas 8c lineamenta laudamus. At in CEtione, Nicoinacho, Protogene, Apelle, 
 jam perfeeta sunt omnia, et nescio an reliquis omnibus idem eveniat. Nihil 
 est enim simul et inventum et perfeclum,” 
 
 t Lib. 35, c. 7. — “ Quatuor coioribus solis iramortalia ilia opera fecere.” 
 
HERCULANEUM. 
 
 475 
 
 the less surprised, since we are told, that all objects may be 
 represented by the mixure of three colours, viz. yellow, red, 
 and blue. Thus yellow and red produce orange, red and blue 
 produce purple and violet, blue and yellow produce green, 
 the mixture of these material colours, used by painters, pro- 
 duce black ; although the primitive colours in a prism produce 
 the contrary, namely, white. 
 
 It has been said too that the ancients did not understand 
 perspective ; but the above paintings are a clear evidence to 
 the contrary. Vitruvius and Pliny use the word mensura for 
 what we call perspective. For what else can mean that pas- 
 sage of Pliny where mentioning the great candour, as well 
 as wonderful abilities of Apelles, he says — “ non cedebat Am- 
 phioni de dispositione, Asclepiodore de mensuris, hoc est, quan- 
 to quid a quo distare deberet ?’* 
 
 Near a kin to perspective is the chiaro oscuro, that magic 
 effect of painting. Even this was not unknown to the ancients, 
 it was invented by Zeuxis, as Quintilian tells us, 'f who at the 
 same time informs us, that Parrhasius excelled in correct draw- 
 ing, and in the delicacy of outline : — “ Quorum prior luminum 
 umbrarumque invenisse rationem ; secundus examinasse sub- 
 tilius lineas traditur.*' 
 
 Proceeding with the excavation, the workmen entered a 
 street with houses on both sides. Some of them were incrusted 
 
 * Hist. Nal.l. 35. c. 10. 
 
 t Quint. Inst. Orator. 1. 12. c. 10. 
 
 3 Pe 
 
4?6 
 
 APPENDIX. NO. VI. 
 
 with marble and richly ornamented, the floors being generally 
 paved with mosaic. Within the houses they found dead bo- 
 dies, medals, cameos, intaglios, small statues, which were pro- 
 bably their dii penates or lares^ with furniture and things of 
 all kinds. I was told that the bodies mouldered away when 
 exposed to the air. I saw the whole utensils of a kitchen, 
 pots, pans, glass bottles, shapes for making pies, &c. In an 
 oven was found a loaf still entire, on which is stamped the name 
 of the baker ; and, in earthen pots, corn quite fresh. 
 
 The elegant forms and execution of the kitchen furniture 
 found in Herculaneum, as well as the statues, paintings, tables, 
 &c. show the opulence of that city; because the rich only 
 could procure furniture of such value, and which has been 
 found there, even in the most inconsiderable habitations. 
 
 It is impossible for me to give you a catalogue of this vast 
 treasure, which is daily increasing, and will serve to clear up 
 many difficulties concerning the history, customs, arts, and 
 religious rites of the ancients. 
 
 The King of Naples, proud of this singular collection, has 
 caused a palace to be built at Portici, where every thing found 
 in Herculaneum is preserved. A bold attempt, you will say, 
 to build a city where one formerly met with such a catastrophe. 
 But the inhabitants of this country foolishly think, that the 
 eruptions of Vesuvius will never again be so considerable, as 
 jt is in a manner so worn out, with daily throwing up quan- 
 tities of^matter. I was really astonished to see what vollies of 
 
HERCUtANEUM. 
 
 477 
 
 stones and sulphur it threw out, attended with a noise like 
 that of many cannon. This effect, though natural, is so sur- 
 prising, that it is no wnnder to find the ignorant people here 
 believe Vesuvius to be the mouth of hell. Astonishment pro- 
 duces fear, and fear begets superstition : hence they imagine 
 that the noise of the volcano is the cries of the damned, and 
 that the eruptions are the effects of their fury. 
 
 I cannot help regretting the method they have taken to 
 clear out this city. Had they laid it open from the top, we 
 should have had the pleasure of seeing it as it formerly stood ; 
 we should have seen the disposition of the streets, houses, 
 temples, &c.; we should have seen the interior of the houses, 
 and a thousand curiosities we are now deprived of. But, as 
 the city lies so far below ground, it would have been an im- 
 mense expense to have wrought in this manner. They have 
 therefore satisfied themselves with cleaning it out like a mine, 
 by leaving a number of pillars to support the roof, which other- 
 wise would be in danger of falling. In most places they have 
 filled up the houses, which they had already gutted of what- 
 ever was curious, with the rubbish they took from the adjacent 
 ones. And after wandering some hours with torches, I cannot 
 say I was able to form a distinct notion of the situation of the 
 houses, streets, or any thing, except of the theatre, which was 
 not again filled up. Such was the confusion that reigned 
 
 every where! 
 
 Thus, Sir, have I attempted to give you an idea of this 
 famous discovery: a minute description of it would require 
 
478 
 
 APPENDIX. NO. VI, 
 
 volumes. Such a work is to be published by Monsignor 
 Baiardi, the king^s librarian, who told me that his first volume 
 was mostly printed. This work will consist of several volumes 
 in folio, and there will be prints of whatever is most curious. 
 They are designed by- Camillo Paderni, and engraved by 
 Pozzi. 
 
 I am, 8cc. 
 
THE 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 A Page 
 
 D gallinas Albas - - 4* 
 
 Livia’s henhouse 224 
 
 Ad pilam Tiburtinani - - 243 
 
 Adrian, see Hadrian. 
 iEdes, see Temple. 
 
 ^geria, see Fountain. 
 j®sculapius, see Island, Temple. 
 
 , votive inscriptions to 379 
 
 Agger of Tarquinius 25, 27, 242 
 
 Agnes, see Church. 
 
 Agriculture honoured by the Romans 133 
 Agrippa, sec Baths — Gardens — Pan- 
 theon — septa Julia, and Temple of 
 Neptune, and Argonauts. 
 
 Alaric - - « _ - 10 
 
 Alba Longa - - - 461 
 
 Albani, see villa. 
 
 Albano - - - 65, 453 
 
 Albanum Pompeii - - tb 
 
 Albuneas domus _ _ _ 
 
 Forest or Lucus - 407 
 
 Aldobrandini marriage, see Paintings. 
 Alexander and Bucephalus, see Statues. 
 Alsium - - - 129 
 
 Amiantus, or asbestos, or linum vi- 
 vum - - - 167 
 
 Amphitheatre af Albano - - 454 
 
 ■ Atilius, at Fidenas 48 
 
 Castrense - 63 
 
 • Statilius Taurus - 267 
 
 Vespasian - - 329 
 
 Angerona, the concealed name of 
 Rome - - - 2 
 
 Anician family - - - 181 
 
 Annibal, see Hannibal. 
 
 Anio, now called Teverone - 403 
 
 Annius Verus, the house of - 187 
 
 Annual nail, or Clavus annalis 147 
 
 Antoninus and Faustina, see Temple. 
 
 Pa»:e 
 
 73 > 
 
 Aqua Almonis, or Mercufii 
 
 Antoniniana 
 
 Crabra, or Marana 
 
 — — Passeris 
 
 Santa, or Salutare 
 
 • Salvia - - _ 
 
 Traversa - - - 
 
 Virginia - _ 
 
 Aquas Albulas - - - 
 
 Aqueducts 
 
 , Appia - - - 
 
 , Agrippa 
 
 •, Anio Vetus 
 
 Claudian 57, 159, 183, 
 
 I97» 
 
 86, 183,, 19-, 
 
 , Julian 
 
 , Marcian 
 
 , Tepulan 
 
 , Trajan 
 
 Arch of Constantine 
 Drusus 
 
 Galienus 
 Marcus Aurelius and Lucins 
 
 89 
 86 
 320 
 
 '"6 
 
 121 
 
 39 
 
 5 5 
 
 404 
 
 3^9 
 86 
 
 56 
 
 197 
 
 ‘97 
 401 
 401 
 197, 401 
 129 
 
 “ 325 
 
 85 
 
 197 
 
 Verus 
 
 Pantani 
 
 ■ Septimius Severus 
 
 Tiberius 
 
 Titus 
 
 Trajan 
 
 Triumphal 
 
 Archimonium, see Forum. 
 Architecture, revival of 
 
 Greek 
 
 T uscan 
 
 Ardea 
 
 Argonauts, see Portico. 
 Aricia, vale of 
 Armilustrura 
 Aruntian, see Sepulchre. 
 
 308; 
 
 266^ 
 
 354 
 
 , 361 
 
 154 
 
 341 
 
 217 
 
 375 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 91 
 
 457 
 
 166 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Asbestos, see Amiantus. 
 Asylum of Romulus 
 
 • , cities of refuge 
 
 Atian family 
 Atrium 
 
 Libertatis 
 
 Page 
 
 - 139 
 
 - 441 
 
 - 121 
 16 
 
 150^ 169 
 
 Atticus Herodes, see Triopium. 
 
 Augers - - - 26, 224 
 
 Augustus added to the magnificence of 
 the city. - “ ^5 
 
 politically embellished it 300 
 
 ■ encouraged luxury - 18 
 
 a cause of the decline of 
 
 Rome - - -19 
 
 mausoleum - - 34, 252 
 
 absurd flattery paid him 300 
 
 see Forum. •' 
 
 see Villa. 
 
 Aurelian extended the walls of Rome 23 
 
 trumphed over Zenobia 407 
 
 Aventine hill - - - 165 
 
 B 
 
 Baccano - - 
 
 Bacchus, see Temple. 
 
 Bad Fortune, altar of 
 Balbus, see Statue, see Theatre. 
 Barberini vase 
 Basilic, ^milian 
 
 — Antoninus Pius 
 
 Nerva 
 
 Pompey 
 
 • Portius 
 
 Sempronius 
 
 Bas-relieves 15 
 Baths of Agrippa 
 
 Agrippina 
 
 Alexander Severus 
 
 ■ Caracal la 
 
 remarks on bathing 
 
 — ' — introduction of baths 
 
 the Roman Thermae 
 
 expense of bathing 
 
 time of bathing 
 
 police of the baths 
 
 for the different sexes 
 
 magnificence of 
 
 - Cecilia, St. 
 
 r» . 
 
 Baths of Constantine - - 228 
 
 Dioclesian, particularly describ- 
 - 204 
 
 ed 
 
 Domitian 
 Nero 
 Novatus 
 Olympias 
 Paulus iSlmilius 
 Titus 
 Trajan 
 
 - 19IJ 
 
 195 
 
 288 
 
 203 
 
 202 - 
 
 IQO 
 
 191, 195 
 
 Battle of Constantine and MaxentiuS38 
 Belisarius 
 
 Blandusize, see Fountain. 
 
 Boarium, see Forum. 
 
 Bocca della Verita 
 Bona Dea, see TempleS. 
 
 Borghese, see Villa. 
 
 Bovillne, now Frattocchia 
 Bracciani, see Lacus. 
 
 Bridges, see Pons. 
 
 Burying ground 
 Busta 
 
 10,50 
 
 318 
 
 III 
 
 10 
 
 /> 
 
 *95 
 
 252 
 
 36 
 
 200 
 
 68 
 16 
 272 
 
 354 
 
 - 297 
 
 359 
 
 309 
 
 1 12, 228, 268, 438 
 286 
 
 - 203 
 288 
 
 174 
 
 ih, 
 ib, 
 
 175 
 
 176 
 
 ib, 
 
 177 
 
 ib, 
 
 17S 
 
 386 
 
 Cacus, cave of - - 169. 
 
 Caccilia Metella, see Sepulchre. 
 
 Saint, see Church. 
 
 Coenacula - - - 16 
 
 Campus Hannibalus - 46, 464 
 
 Martius - - 249 
 
 — Praetorian , 209, 454 
 
 Sceleratus . 236 
 
 ■ Vaticanus - - 23, 132 
 
 Capitol hill - - 138 
 
 , its small extent - ib, 
 
 — ; , no ancient delineation of 
 
 it, • _ - 
 
 , entrances to it - 153 
 
 • Capitolium vetus - 232 
 
 Capranica - - 37 
 
 CapodiBove - - 105 
 
 Capuchins at Albano, a fine situation 454 
 Caracalla, see Baths, Circus, 
 Carmentalis, see Porta. 
 
 Castelnuovo - - ^5 
 
 Cart wheel petrified - - 420 
 
 Cascade of the Anio at Tivoli 417 
 
 ■ a forge blown by a fall of water ib. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Cassiodorus - - 15 
 
 Castel Gandolfo - - 454 
 
 Castel St. Angelo, or Moles Hadrian! 374 
 Caftellana Civita - - 36 
 
 Castelnuovo - - ib. 
 
 Castdium of the Fabii - 39 
 
 — Claudian aqueduct, &c. 29, 
 
 57 » 197 
 
 Castrum peregrinorum » 1H5 
 
 — prastorianorum - 215 
 
 Castor and Pollux - 61, 71, 311 
 
 ^ Temple. 
 
 Catacombs - - 96 
 
 Cavjedium - - 16 
 
 Celian Hill - - 18 1 
 
 Celiolus - . - 188 
 
 Cellars, very cold, sec Monte Testaccio. 
 tCento Celle, a college of gladiators 60 
 
 Cestius’s Pyramid - - 117 
 
 Characters, see Greek. 
 
 Chimneys - - 20 
 
 Churches of St. Agnes - 49 
 
 St Alexius - 166 
 
 St. Antony - 196 
 
 : St. Cecilia - 385 
 
 St Constanza - 49 
 
 ■ ■■ — St, Gregory - 181 
 
 St. John Lateran 186 
 
 - ante portam Lati- 
 
 nam - - 188 
 
 — St. John and Paul, brothers 
 
 182 
 
 ■ ' — St. Laurence in Lucina 254 
 
 in pane e per- 
 
 - - - 203 
 
 on the Tivoli 
 
 na 
 
 road 
 
 55, 401 
 
 St Lucia in Scelce 195 
 
 ■■■ — Madonna del Popolo 33 
 
 St Maria Maggiore 196 
 
 — and all the Mar- 
 tyrs - - 279 
 
 — ■ - and all the Saints 
 
 209 
 
 opr a la Minerva 
 
 275 
 
 St. Maria in Trastevere 387 
 
 St. Martino a Monte 195 
 
 — St, Peter - 284 
 
 Page 
 
 Churches of St. Paul - - 120 
 
 —S. S. Prascede and Pruden- 
 
 tiana - - 203 
 
 St.’Prisca - 166 
 
 St. Sabina - ib, 
 
 St. Sebastian - 95 
 
 St, Stephano in rotonda 183 
 
 Tre Fontane - 121 
 
 St. Urbano - 93 
 
 Cicero’s Tusculum, see Villa 
 Cincinnatus’s farm - 38, 132 
 
 Circus Agonalis - 44, 241, 289 
 
 Caracalla - 99 
 
 Flaminius - - 298 
 
 Flora - - 242 
 
 Hadrian - - 133 
 
 Maximus - - 319 
 
 Nero - - 287 
 
 Sallust - - 241 
 
 Citta Leonina - - 29 
 
 Civita Castellana - 36 
 
 Civita Vecchia - - 128 
 
 Classics, use of in examining ancient 
 Rome - - - II 
 
 Claudius, see Temple, 
 
 Clivus Cinnae - - 130 
 
 Scauri - - i8r 
 
 Cloaca Maxima - - 306 
 
 Cola di Ricnzo - - 31 1 
 
 Collatium - - 55, 40I 
 
 Collis*Hortulorum; see Mons Pincius 
 Column of Antoninus Pius - 268 
 
 Marcus Aurelius Antoni- 
 nus - - 269 
 
 Trajan - - 217 
 
 Columnas Farnesianae - 105 
 
 Combat, see Horatii and Curiatii. 
 
 — , see Torquatus. 
 
 Comedians, a school of - 113 
 
 Comes - - 410 
 
 Comitium - - 359 
 
 Composite order - - 5 
 
 Conche - , 408 
 
 Conclusion - - 390 
 
 Concord, see Temple. 
 
 Constantine defeated Maxentius 38 
 Constantine, see Arch, Baths, Statues. 
 
 C onsuls, their government - 4 
 
 Correctores - - - 428 
 
 sQ 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Corinthian order “ *• 5 
 
 Coriolanus and his mother, &c. 74 
 
 Cornelian, see Sepulchre. 
 
 Corso, il - - 170, 266 
 
 Cremora, or Valca - 28, 36 
 
 Crescens, Nicholas, house of - 31 1 
 
 Cross for the conversion of Hen. IV. 197 
 Cryptse - - 412, 458 
 
 Cubicula - - - 16 
 
 Cubicularii - - - 143 
 
 Curia of Hostiiius - 182, 359 
 
 Pompey - - 297 
 
 Curiatii, see Horatii. 
 
 Cybele - - 89, 278 
 
 D 
 
 Diaeta - - - 16 
 
 Domitian's baths - . 195 
 
 ■ mica aurea - 185 
 
 restored the imperial palace 
 
 ^57 
 
 built the temple of Pallas 354 
 Doric order - - 5 
 
 E 
 
 Elephants taught to dance on ropes 244 
 Emperors, their reign - - 4 
 
 Entrance to the Capitol - 153 
 
 Epochs of Roman history - 3 
 
 Ergastulum - - 40 
 
 Exchange for money dealers 310 
 
 F 
 
 Fabiensis 
 
 Fabii Castellum 
 
 Faliscum 
 
 Fasti Consulares 
 
 Faunus, see Temple. 
 
 sacred grove 
 
 Feriae Latinas 
 Ficulense 
 
 Fidenas - - - . 
 
 Flues - 21, 210, 
 
 Fontana di Paolo V. 
 
 — - di Treve 
 
 Fountain of iEgeria 
 
 — Blandusias 
 
 Forum Archimonium 
 Augustus 
 
 Forum Boarium 
 
 — Cassii — by Serafini, 
 
 Vetralla 
 
 Julius Cffisar 
 
 Nerva 
 
 Olitorium 
 
 Piscatorium 
 
 Populi 
 
 Romanum 
 
 Sallust 
 
 Trajan 
 
 Frascati 
 
 Frattocchie 
 
 G 
 
 - 307 
 reckoned 
 
 38 
 
 - 352 
 
 353 
 
 “ 307 
 
 - lb. 
 
 464 
 
 - 355 
 
 235 
 217 
 65, 70 
 
 - Ill 
 
 Gabii - - 
 
 Gabinus Lacus 
 Galli, the priests of Cybele 
 Gallery of pictures at the Capitol 
 Gardens ot Adonis 
 
 Agrippa 
 
 Julius Caesar 
 
 Mjecenas 
 
 Pompey 
 
 Sallust 
 
 Gates, 
 
 see Porta. 
 
 , number of 
 
 - 464 
 
 28 
 
 - 41 
 
 - 153 
 
 407 
 
 463 
 
 49 
 
 47 
 
 212, 386 
 129 
 
 - 5 ^^ 
 
 - 91 
 424 
 243 
 
 353 
 
 59 
 
 ih. 
 
 89 
 
 153 
 159 
 
 287 
 126 
 
 *93 
 
 247 
 
 240 
 
 t 
 
 29 
 
 ib^ 
 
 ib. 
 
 53 
 
 54 
 
 ib. 
 
 lb. 
 
 73 
 
 114 
 
 ib. 
 
 Genesius Marcianus, see sepulchre of 
 Alexander Severus. 
 
 Genseric 
 Ghetto — 
 
 Gladiators 
 
 Glass, see Windows. 
 
 Grascastasis 
 Grecian architecture and arts introduced 
 at Rome - - 6, 8 
 
 Greek characters, see Herodes Atticus. 
 
 — , double gates 
 
 — , a statue at each gate 
 
 - , number of gates lessened 
 
 — , at present sixteen 
 
 — , built up, marked Pi. III. B. 
 
 C. 
 
 D. 
 
 E. 
 
 F. 
 
 G. 
 
 H. 
 
 I. 
 
 10 
 
 299 
 60, 330 
 
 361 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Gregory the Great - 
 
 Grotta Ferrata - - 2 
 
 Grotta Rossa, or Saxa Rubra 40 
 
 Grove sacred to Juno - 196 
 
 Guiscard, Robert - 10 
 
 Gymnasium - - 72, 159 
 
 H 
 
 Hadrian, see Circus, Sepulchre, Villa. 
 Hannibal’s encampment - 4b, 464 
 
 ; See Temple of Ridicule. 
 
 Harbour, see Ostia, Porto. 
 
 Herculaneum - " 4^6 
 
 Hercules Farnese, see Statues, Temples. 
 Herodes Atticus, see Triopium. 
 Hieroglyphics, Egyptian 168, 258 
 Hills, see Rome, seven hills - 135 
 
 Albanus, or Monte Cavo 462 
 
 Aventine - " 165 
 
 Bagnanapoli 227 
 
 Capitol ” " ^^ 3 ^ 
 
 Celian, or Querquctulanus 181 
 
 Celiolus “ " 188 
 
 Citorio - “ 267 
 
 Esquinal - * * 9 ^ 
 
 — — — Grano, see sepulchre of Alexander 
 Severus. 
 
 Janiculum 128, 131, 136, 375 
 
 3 Hy 385 
 
 Mario, or Clivus Cinnas 13 1 
 
 Palatine - - 15^ 
 
 Pincian, or Mons Hortulorum 136, 
 
 Houses, height of 
 Hypocaustum 
 
 Page 
 
 - 13 
 
 1 13, 212 
 
 I 
 
 Janus, see Temple. 
 
 Jewry, see Ghetto. 
 
 Ilex - - - 65 
 
 Iliads, see Homer. 
 
 Inscriptions on the Cornelian sepulchre 
 
 ■ ■ — Lex regia - 15^ 
 
 The sons of Constantine 
 
 428 
 
 Insular 
 
 John, St. ante Portam Latinam 
 John and Paul, brothers 
 Ionic order 
 
 Island, of iEsculapius 
 I sola 
 
 Sacra 
 
 Juno, see Temple. 
 
 Jupiter, see Temple. 
 
 Jus imaginis 
 
 ' 13 
 
 188 
 
 182 
 
 5 
 
 37 ^> 
 3^> 39 
 123 
 
 16 
 
 K 
 
 Kings, their reign - 3 
 
 Knights went annually from the temple 
 of honour and virtue, to be reviewed 
 by the censor - 7 ^ 
 
 their seats in the amphitheatre 
 
 33 ^ 
 
 L 
 
 245 
 
 Quirinal - • 226 
 
 Sacer - " 5 ® 
 
 — • — Testaccio - - 169 
 
 Vaticanus - 24, 296, 387 
 
 Viminal - - 202 
 
 Hippodromus - - ^59 
 
 Homer, deification of - 112 
 
 Horatii, combat with the Curiatii no 
 
 their supposed sepulchre at AI- 
 
 bano - - * 45 ^ 
 
 Horatius Flaceus, see Villa. 
 
 Hot-houses - “ 22 
 
 Hours, ancient manner of computing 
 
 them 
 
 modern manner 
 
 Labicum 
 
 Lacrymatory vessels 
 Lacus Albanus 
 
 formerly a volcano 
 
 264 
 
 265 
 
 sQ. 
 
 — its outlet 
 
 62 
 
 97 
 
 458 
 
 459 
 
 ib. 
 
 — Alsietinus, now Martignano 129 
 
 — Curtius - “ 3 ^ 4 - 
 
 — Gabinus - •*59 
 
 — Jurtunus - - 3 *° 
 
 — Nemi, called speculum Dianae 
 
 459 
 
 — Regillus - _ - 
 
 Sabatinus, now Bracciano 
 
 Solfatara, or Aquae Albulae 
 Tartaro 
 
 61 
 
 129 
 
 404 
 
 403 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 351 
 
 *3 
 
 351 
 
 79 
 
 22 
 
 403 
 
 116 
 
 Lapis Albaniis 
 
 Cepollino 
 
 Gabinus 
 
 Phrigius 
 
 Piperinus, or Peperino 
 
 Specularis 
 
 Tiburtiiuis, or Travertine 
 
 Lateran, see Church, Palace. 
 Laurcntiim 
 
 * see Plir.y. 
 
 Lavinium 
 Lectisternia 
 Lex regia 
 
 Licinius, see sepulchre. 
 
 Libraries of Augustus 
 ■ — Cicero 
 
 — — Lucullus 
 
 — Trajan, called the Ulpian, 
 
 208, 217 
 
 Vespasian - 348 
 
 Lucus, see Albunas 
 
 Ludus magnus - ^ 1,58 
 
 Luxury encouraged by the emperors 18 
 
 M 
 
 1 16 
 
 117 
 152 
 
 160 
 
 72 
 
 ib. 
 
 Macellum magnum 
 Magazines and graneries 
 Malta, priorato of 
 Marble plan of Rome 
 
 159= 
 
 Marino 
 
 Marriages explained 
 Masks, use of 
 
 Melville, General, Roman 
 battle 
 
 — see War Galleys. 
 
 184 
 169 
 168 
 198, 290, 
 
 301, 349 
 
 65, 74 
 
 434 
 
 292 
 order of 
 222 
 
 209 
 
 340 
 
 Meridian line 
 Meta sudans 
 
 Mica aurea, see Domitian, 
 
 Miles reckoned from the gates, and not 
 from the forum - - 88 
 
 Milliarium aureum - 88, 364 
 
 Mithras, worship of 
 Mons, see hill. 
 
 Monticelli 
 
 Mosaic, pigeons at Hadrian’s villa 
 • at Praeneste 
 
 representing a vintage 
 see 
 
 72 ; 
 
 228 
 
 403 
 
 413 
 
 446 
 
 49 
 
 196 
 
 Page 
 
 Muro Torto, marked A. Plate III. 41 
 
 Museum at the Capitol 
 N 
 
 Narses 
 
 Nasonian, see Sepulchre. 
 
 Navicella 
 
 Nero’s golden house 
 
 ■ see Baths. 
 
 Nilometer 
 
 Nomentum, now Lamentana 
 Numa 
 Nuuiicus 
 Nynnpheum 
 
 o 
 
 Obelisks (two) at Augustus’s mausoleum 
 
 253 
 
 at Caracalla’s circus 100 
 
 (two) at the circus maximus 
 
 323 
 
 Meridian line in the Campus 
 
 Martins - _ 254 
 
 at the church of the Minerva 
 
 276 
 
 at Nero’s Circus 
 
 i52 
 
 45> 50 
 
 186 
 
 344 
 
 451 
 49> 51 
 92 
 1 16 
 232, 458 
 
 — ^ at Sallust’s Circus 
 
 Opima spolia 
 Osteria del Fosso 
 
 deir Osa 
 
 Ostia 
 Ovation 
 
 Ovid banished by Augustus 
 see Nasonian sepulchre, 
 
 P 
 
 Palace, the Imperial, see Palatine hill 
 
 Lateran - - 186 
 
 Pincian 
 
 387 
 
 242 
 
 141 
 
 39 
 
 55 
 
 122 
 
 463 
 
 394 
 
 43 > 247 
 - 191 
 
 156 
 • ib. 
 
 Titus 
 
 Palatine hill 
 
 Imperial palace 
 
 its situation - 
 
 described by Bianchini ib. 
 
 — gardens of Adonis 158 
 
 a theatre - 1^9 
 
 ■ — Clauilian Aqueduct ib. 
 
 • T emple of Apollo ib. 
 
 libraries - 160 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Palatine hill. Imperial palace. 
 
 a magnificent hall i6i 
 
 baths •• - ib, 
 
 temple of Augustus ib. 
 
 front of the palace 162 
 
 principal entrance 163 
 
 temple of Viriplaca ib. 
 
 Pantheon, see Temple. 
 
 Paris, see Sepulchre. 
 
 Petrifactions - - 4 ^ 2 * 4^5 
 
 a cart wheel petrified 420 
 
 Pictures, remarks on ancient paintings 
 
 ^73 
 
 ■ Aldobrandini marriage 194 
 
 Coriolanus and his mother 75 
 
 — — found in Hadrian’s villa 413 
 
 in Herculaneum 472 
 
 in the Imperial pa- 
 
 lace - - - 16 I 
 
 in Titus’s baths 193 
 
 Pincian palace - - 247 
 
 Pits for preserving snow or ice 464 
 Plautian family, see Sepulchre. 
 
 Pliny the younger’s villa of Laurentum 
 
 114 
 
 of Tuscum 1 15 
 
 house on the Esquiline hill 201 
 
 Pomserium - ~ - 26 
 
 Pompey, see Albano, Curia, Gardens, 
 Theatre. 
 
 Pons AElius, now called Ponte St. An- 
 gelo - " - 371 
 
 Cestius, now Ponte Ferrata 376 
 
 Due ponti - " 38 
 
 — — Fabricius, now Ponte di Quatro 
 Capi - _ - - . 376 
 
 Janiculensis, now Ponte Slsto 375 
 
 Lucanus - - 408 
 
 Mammeus - - 4°2 
 
 Milvius, now Ponte Molle 33 
 
 Nomentanus - " 5 ® 
 
 Palatinus, or Senatorius, now Ponte 
 
 Rotto - - 383 
 
 Salara - - 45 
 
 Sublicius, now destroyed 383 
 
 Triumphalis, now destroyed 375 
 
 Popolo, see Porta. 
 
 Porta Angelica - - 130 
 
 — — Asinaria - - 05 
 
 Porta Gapena, see San Sebastiano. 
 
 Carmentales 
 
 Gastello, di - 
 
 Cavalleggieri 
 
 Celimontana 
 
 Collatina 
 
 Page 
 
 Esquilina 
 Fabrica 
 Firentina 
 Flaminia 
 Flumentana 
 inter aggeres, marked C. Plate III. 
 
 53> 401 
 
 57 
 
 306 
 132 
 130 
 ^5 
 
 55> 401 
 
 57 
 
 130 
 
 73 
 34 
 306 
 
 — Labicana 
 
 — Latina 
 — • Maggiore 
 — Ostiense 
 
 — Pia - 
 
 — Pinciana 
 
 — Popolo, del, substituted for 
 
 minia _ _ - 
 
 — Portese - - , 
 
 — Prasnestina 
 
 — Querquetulana, marked D. 
 
 III. 
 
 — Salara 
 
 — San Giovanni 
 
 Lorenzo 
 
 Pancrazio 
 
 Paolo 
 
 — — Sebastiano 
 
 — Septimiana 
 
 — Tiburtina 
 
 — Trigemina 
 
 — Viminale 
 
 Portico of the Argonauts 
 
 74 
 57 
 117 
 
 49 
 
 43 
 
 Fla- 
 
 33 
 
 125 
 
 57 
 
 Plate 
 
 54 
 
 44 
 
 65 
 
 55 » 401 
 128 
 117 
 
 77 
 
 386 
 
 54 
 
 117 
 
 54 
 
 274 
 
 commonly called the Curia of 
 
 Tullus Hostilius 
 of Octavia 
 
 Porto - - - 
 
 Prata Qiiinctia, see Cincinnatus. 
 Praetorian, see Campus, 
 
 Prisons, of the Decemvirs 
 
 , see Ergastulum, 
 
 , Tullianum 
 
 Prostitutes 
 
 182 
 
 300 
 
 125 
 
 304 
 
 149 
 
 0, 
 
 309, 322 
 
 Qiiirinal hill 
 Qiiirinalis Jupiter, see Temple, 
 
 226 > 
 
INDEX. 
 
 R 
 
 Page 
 
 Regillus lacus - - Ci 
 
 Ricimer - - - ro 
 
 Ripetta, formerly Navalia - 132 
 
 Roads, see Via. 
 
 Rocca di Papa - - 464 
 
 Roma Quadrata - 12, 156 
 
 Rome, plan of, see Marble. 
 
 properly founded by Romulus i 
 
 — though inhabited before his time 2 
 
 — it was called Saturnia - tl. 
 
 its concealed name was Angerona il> . 
 
 governed ist, by kings, 2dly, by 
 
 consuls, and 3dly, by emperors 
 
 — intention of these remarks 
 
 — use of these remains 
 
 — devastations by the barbarians 
 in the middle age 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 — progress of - - 12 
 
 — streets narrow and houses high ib. 
 
 — regulations for building - 13 
 
 — luxury in building - 14 
 
 — its walls extended by Aurelian 23 
 
 by the Popes 24 
 
 — its extent after the expulsion of the 
 
 kings - - - ib. 
 
 — number of its inhabitants 
 
 uncer- 
 
 tain 
 
 see Gates, or Porta, 
 divided into regiones 
 
 25 
 
 30 
 
 arrangement of the remarks 3 r 
 
 — — Seven Hills - - 135 
 
 their present height 137 
 
 Sacrarium of the Dea Bona - in 
 
 of the Julian family 1 12 
 
 Salone - - ”55 
 
 Sallust’s gardens - - 246 
 
 house - - 235 
 
 Sarcophagus in the church of St. Con- 
 stanza, on which is represented a vin- 
 tage - - - 49 
 
 of Helen the mother of Con- 
 stantine - - 60 
 
 — of Caecilia Metella 104 
 
 of Lucius Cornelius Scipio 
 
 Barbatus - - 80 
 
 Page 
 
 Sarcophagus found at Monte del gra- 
 no, now in the Capitol - 66 
 
 • it contained theBarberini vase68 
 
 in the church of St. Sebastian, 
 
 representing marriage ceremonies 402, 
 
 430 
 
 of the Nine Muses at the Ca- 
 
 and mother 
 
 It 
 
 driani 
 
 Constantine 
 
 pitol - - 12 1 
 
 Senaculum of the Roman ladies 227 
 Septa Julia - - - 273 
 
 Septi Trigarii - - 274 
 
 Sepulchral monuments at Albano 454, 
 
 455, 462 
 
 — of Alexander Severus 
 
 " • ‘ 
 
 Aiuntian - 199 
 
 Angus us - 252 
 
 Cseciiia Metella 104 
 C. Vibius Marianus35 
 Cesiius’s pyramid 117 
 Cornelian - 79 
 
 inscriptions found in 
 - - 
 
 Domitian - 42 
 
 Hadrian, Moles Ha- 
 372 
 
 Helen, the mother of 
 - 60 
 
 Liberti,&c.of Livia 94 
 
 Licinius - 4^ 
 
 Nasonian 39, 391 
 
 remarks on disposing 
 
 of the bodies of the dead - ib, 
 
 Ovid . 394 
 
 Palazzuolo, at 4D2 
 
 Pallans - 402 
 
 — — Paris, a comedian 39 
 
 Plautian - 409 
 
 Plebeian - 200 
 
 Poblicius Bibulus 155 
 
 Scipio Africanus 90 
 
 Septizonium of Septi- 
 
 . - .325 
 
 on the Via Appia 87 
 at the gate of San Pan- 
 128 
 
 Torrionc - 57 
 
 191 
 ^5 
 
 mius Severus 
 
 crazia 
 
 Sette Sale 
 
 Statues very numerous 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Statues, Agrippa - - 279 
 
 Alexander and Bucephalus, or 
 
 perhaps Castor and Pollux - 229 
 
 Antinous - I 93 > 4*4 
 
 Antoninus,Marcus Aurelius 139, 
 
 187, 471 
 
 Apoxyomenon 
 
 Augustus 
 
 — Balbus Nonius 
 
 Catmis and Byblis 
 
 — : Centaurs 
 
 Cleopatra 
 
 
 287 
 279 
 471 
 
 4*3 
 
 ib. 
 
 470 
 
 Constantine and sons 229 
 
 Danaus, the fifty daughters of, 
 
 - 1 60 
 
 Egyptian idols - 4^3 
 
 Ennius, Q; - - 90 
 
 Flora - - 4*3 
 
 Hercules Farnesian - 178 
 
 Torso at the Vatican 291 
 
 found in Herculaneum 470 
 
 236 
 
 358 
 
 146 
 ib. 
 191 
 
 Sutri 
 
 T 
 
 Taberna Meritoria 
 Tabularium 
 Tarpeian rock 
 Temples without windows 
 
 Temple, ^Edes Fidei 
 
 — ^des Fortis Fortunas 
 
 iEsculapius - 207 
 
 Albulje 
 
 Antoninus and Faustina 
 
 Apollo - 159, 207 
 
 Augustus 
 
 — — Bacchus 
 
 — Bona Dea 
 
 Castor and Pollux 
 
 Claudius 
 
 Concord 
 
 Cnuphis 
 
 Cybele 
 
 Diana 
 
 Faunus 
 
 Febri Fanum 
 
 — Filial piety 
 
 Fortune at Antium 
 
 Bad 
 
 Hermaphrodite 
 
 — Julius Caesar - 279, 
 
 — — Jupiter 
 
 Juno - - - 
 
 Laocoon and sons 
 
 Mercury, commonly called An- 
 tinous - - - 193 
 
 — Minerva - - 146 
 
 Marmillo, or dying gladiator 246 
 
 Nile - - 348 
 
 — Pompey - - 297 
 
 .... - River gods - ^ 228 
 
 Romulus and Remus sucking the 
 
 wolf - - . - 145> 358 
 
 Toro Farnesian - 180 
 
 Torso at the Vatican 291 
 
 Venus, Medici - 302 
 
 , in the Pantheon 283 
 
 Vestals - - 47® 
 
 Storta - - “ 3 ^ 
 
 Suburra - - - 188 
 
 Supper the principal meal - 17 
 
 Page 
 
 I 48 > 
 127 
 356 
 
 407 
 
 350 
 . 389 
 
 161, 359 
 49> 93 
 
 III, 168 
 
 357» 359 
 
 ■ 183 
 
 359 
 ’ o ^51 
 278, 313 
 165, 196 
 183, 382 
 427 
 
 — Female 
 
 — at Praeneste 
 
 — Virilis 
 
 - 304 
 
 445 
 
 200 
 
 74 
 441 
 312 
 166, 418 
 
 77 » 93 
 53 
 
 - Hercules 
 
 - Honour and Virtue 
 
 - Hope 
 
 - Isis, see Serapis, Temple. 
 
 - Janus - - 308 
 
 - Quadrifrons - ib, 
 
 - Juno ' - 166, 196, 301 
 
 Lucina - 254 
 
 Jupiter Capitolinus 140, 143)425 
 
 Feretrius - 140, 141 
 
 Latialis 
 
 Stator 
 
 — . — Tonans 
 
 U itor 
 
 Mars 
 
 Ultor 
 
 Minerva 
 Medica 
 
 37 
 
 462 
 356 
 150 
 
 278, 382 
 77, 216 
 
 353 
 275, 458 
 
 198 
 93) 207 
 274) 401 
 
 354 
 
 387 
 
 149 
 
 148 
 
 20 
 
 Muses 
 Neptune 
 Nerva 
 
 Pales, see Rome, Temple 
 Pallas - - 354 
 
 Pantheon - - 277 
 
 Peace - - 34 ® 
 
 Pudicitia Patricia - 317 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Page 
 
 Temple of Pudicitia Plebeia 3 1 7 
 
 Qiiirinus - 143, 230 
 
 Redicule - ^ 
 
 Rome and Venus, or Pales 345 
 
 Romulus - - 358 
 
 and Remus 348 
 
 — Salus, health - 231 
 
 Saturn - 35 i> 3^3 
 
 - - Serapis and Isis 98, 168, 345 
 
 Sybilla Albunea 
 
 Solis, the Sun 
 
 Sun and Moon 
 
 Tussis 
 
 Venus Erycina 
 
 and Cupid 
 
 — Genetrix 
 
 Vesta - 313 
 
 Viriplaca 
 
 44» 
 
 357> 
 
 Voluptas 
 
 Testaccio, see Hill. 
 Theatre, Balbus 
 
 — T C. Curio 
 
 Hadrian 
 
 418 
 
 228 
 
 345 
 
 427 
 
 237 
 
 200 
 
 352 
 
 418 
 
 163 
 
 3»3 
 
 • Herculaneum 
 
 — Marcellus 
 
 on the Palatine hill 
 
 — Pompey 
 
 Scaurus 
 
 Tiber - _ _ 
 
 Tibur, or Tivoli, and its environs 
 Tor di Conti 
 
 Militie - 
 
 — Q^iinto 
 
 Schiava 
 
 Torrione - - - 
 
 Torquatus’ combat with the Gaul 
 
 arms and dress 
 
 Totila - ^ 
 
 Trajan’s Forum and Column 
 Transtioerim 
 
 Tre Fontane, or ad aquas Salvias 
 Tribunes 
 Triclinia 
 
 Triopium of Herodes Atticus 
 Triumph instituted by Rojr.uliis 
 Trophies (two) at the Capitol 
 Tuscan order 
 
 Tullianum - - - 
 
 Tusculum, founded by Telegonus 
 
 299 
 293 
 
 412 
 470 
 302 
 
 289 
 
 293 
 3> 366 
 400 
 
 227 
 
 3S 
 
 58 
 
 57 
 
 45 
 
 10 
 
 217 
 
 385 
 
 J2I 
 
 5 i 
 
 16, 158 
 105 
 
 141 
 198 
 5 
 
 154 
 
 71 
 
 Valca, or Cretnora 
 Variana clades 
 Vaticanus, see Campus, 
 Veii 
 
 Velabrum 
 
 Venus, see Temple. 
 Vesta, see Temple. 
 
 Vestal virgins 
 
 — , see Campus 
 
 Vestibulum 
 Vesuvius, its eruptions 
 Via Appia 
 
 Aideatina 
 
 — Aurelia 
 
 Cassia 
 
 Flaminia 
 
 — Labicana 
 
 Latina 
 
 Laurentina 
 
 — ^ — Ostiensis 
 
 Portuensis 
 
 — - Prasnestina 
 
 Sacra 
 
 Ttburtina 
 
 Triumphalis 
 
 Vitcllia 
 
 Vico de Cprnelii 
 Villa Albani 
 
 Alexander Severus 
 
 Augustus, called ad 
 
 Borghese 
 
 Cicero’s Tusculum 
 
 Domitian 
 
 Este 
 
 Hadrian 
 
 Horace 
 
 Julius Caesar 
 
 Lucullus 
 
 Msccnas 
 
 Manilius Vopiscus 
 
 Mattel 
 
 Page 
 
 39 
 
 422 
 
 3» 35 
 
 306 
 
 Ovid 
 
 Pamfili 
 
 Pompey 
 
 — Quintiiius Varo 
 
 Ruffus Virginius 
 
 — — Rufinella 
 
 n’, 357 
 
 Sceleratus. 
 
 16 
 
 468 
 
 77> 86 , 457 
 
 91 
 
 35> 128 
 
 35 
 
 - i 7 >. 
 
 - 60 
 
 74 
 
 114 
 
 117 
 
 125 
 
 57 
 
 341, 346, 348 
 
 55 
 
 130 
 
 128 
 
 - 228 
 
 44 
 
 121 
 
 gallinas albas 
 
 41, 124 
 
 43 
 
 72 
 
 458 
 
 - 426 
 410 
 
 - 422 
 
 62 
 71,72 
 42 f 
 426 
 
 - 185 
 
 396 
 
 129 
 
 453 
 
 421 
 
 129 
 
 - 7 H 73 
 
INDEX 
 
 Villa of Seneca 
 
 Tivoli, villas at 
 
 Zenobia 
 
 Virgil’s enigma, eclog. 
 Virginia 
 Viri clarissimi 
 Vitriano 
 
 U 
 
 Ustrina, the public 
 
 , solved 
 
 Page 
 
 5f 
 
 420 
 
 407 
 284 
 
 365 
 
 429 
 
 408 
 
 W 
 
 Page 
 
 Walls and gates - - 26 
 
 War galleys, their construction disco- 
 vered by General Melville 367 
 
 Windows, glass - - 21 
 
 Wines (Italian) ancient and modern 52 
 
 Z 
 
 106 Zenobia, see Villa. 
 
DIRECTIONS TO THE BOOK-BINDER. 
 
 The Portrait to front the Title page. 
 
 Plate. 
 
 1. The Map of the Environs of Rome, to be placed with a guard, fronting 
 
 page 33* 
 
 2. Caracalla’s Circus, with a guard, at page 99. 
 
 3. The Plan of Ancient Rome, with a guard, before page 135. 
 
 4. Dioclesian’s Baths, between pages 206 and 207. 
 
 5. and 6. The Pantheon — Plan and Elevation — at page 277. 
 
 7. Pompey’s Theatre, at page 290. 
 
 8. and 9. Vespasian’s Amphitheatre — Plan and Elevation — at page 329. 
 
 10. Inscriptions in the Temple of ^Esculapius, at page 379.' 
 
 11. and 12. Sarcophagus in the Church of St. Laurence — Front and Sides— with a 
 
 guard, between pages 430 and 431.