YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY From the Library of WILLIAM M. ODOM OF THE ANTIQUITIES AND OTHER CURIOSITIES OP ROME OF THE ANTIQUITIES AND OTHER CURIOSITIES OF ROME FROM PERSONAL OBSERVATION DURING A VISIT TO ITALY IN THE YEARS 1818-19. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS FROM ANCIENT AND MODERN WRITERS BY TBE REV. EDWARD BURTON, M. A. LATE STUDENT OF CHRIST CHURCH Vieni a veder la tua Roma che piagne , Vedova, sola, e di e nott& chiama. Dante. Purg. VI. in. FIRST FLORENTINE EDITION VOL. II PRINTED BY. h. MOLINI l83l. A DESCRIPTION OF TUB ANTIQUITIES AND OTHER CURIOSITIES ROME CIRCUS, The first games, of which we fin4 any ac count in the Roman history, are the Ludi Consuales, which were given hy Romulus, at the time that the Sabine women were carried off. These were probably in some part of the Campys Martius. Similar games were exhibited by the other kings: but Tarquinius Priscus improved greatly upon them, and established aq annual celebration of what were called Ludi Romani, ]\Iagnj, or Circenses. Liyy tells us, that they con sisted of equestrian and athletic, exercises, ( equi pugilesqtce , ) the performers in which came mostly from Etruria. The same 6 CIRCUS MAXIMUS king' first formed the Circus Maximus in the valley called Murcia , between the Pa latine and Aventine hills. Livy's account of it is as follows; (r) ce Separate places " were marked out for the senators and " knights, where each might see the games- " These were called fori. The spectators " were on high seats , twelve feet from the " ground, supported by wooden poles. " Dionysius would lead us to think, that Livy had rather represented Tarquin's Circus in too mean a light. He tells us (2) , that Tar- quin was the first who erected covered seats, the spectators having formerly stood upon wooden planks. He also divided the whole into thirty curias. The situation of the Cir cus Maximus is marked out by nature, otherwise scarcely any thing remains. The curved end was towards the south ; the straight end, where were the Carceres, was towards the river. The walls , which sur rounded it, and along which were the seats for the spectators , are entirely gone. All that can now be traced is a portion ofthe bottom of the wall at the curved end* According to -Dionysius> the Circus was )?AL (1) Lib. i. c. 35. . (2) Lib. iii. c- 68. CIRCUS MAXIMUS 7 3 '/a stadia long, and 4 plethra (about 400 feet) wide. It contained i5o,ooo people. Pliny makes it only 3 stadia long , and 1 wide, containing 260,000 .It is difficult to reconcile these statements. It might be thought, that the two authors were speaking of the building at different periods, and that the smaller number of people was con tained in the original Circus, built by Tar- quin. But Dionysius uses the present tense, as if he was describing the building of his own lime; and if it were otherwise, the Circus of the greater length would be made to contain the smaller number of people. P. Victor says, that it contained room for 385,ooo persons. Donati makes it out to have been 2,5oo Roman palms in length, and 1,280 in width. It seems probable that Pliny only measured the interior of the Circus , whereas Dionysius included the exterior walls and porticos. Dionysius pro ceeds to state, that round three sides of it there was a stream of water , called Euripus 10 feet in depth and width. Behind this was a triple portico: the lower seats were of stone, the upper of wood. The circumference of the whole measured eight stadia. Round it on the outside there was another single portico, with shops in it and rooms oyer 8 CIRCUS MAXIMUS them; through which there were passages and stair-cases, leading to the seats of the Circus. It was rebuilt by J- Caesar , (i) who ad ded the Euripus. The part towards Mount Aventine was burnt in the time pf Tibe rius. (2) The great fire in Nero's reign began in the Circus Maximus, and raged along the whole length of it. (3) The damage was probably not repaired till the time of Do- mitian, in whose reign the sides were rebuilt with stone taken from his Naumachia . (4) It was enlarged by Trajan, so as to contain 5ooo more persons, (5) and repaired by Antoninus Pius. (G) Elagabalus ornamented it with gold and some beautiful columns. He also restored the pavement with chryso- colla.'What this was welearnfromPliny; (7) and Suetonius tell us, (8) that the Arena was strewed with it aud vermilipn. The whole was considerably improved and beau tified by Constantine. (9) , (1) Suet. c. 3g Plin. lib.x-srxvi. t. i5. (2) Tacit. An. lib. vi. which still remains in great part, we are enabled to forma tolerably good idea of the ancient Circus , and it is chiefly from this that the annexed sketch has been made. From this figure it will be perceived , that the Circus was of an oblong form , straight at one end, and curved at the other, the length being about three times the breadth, or somewhat more. At the straight end were the Carceres. There were here thirteen openings or Ostia. That in the middle was larger than the rest, by which the horsemen and their chariots entered . On each side of this were six apertures, called Carceres , where the chariots stood before they started. We find various names given to these places, such as Oppidum _, Repagula , Alba linea, Crjptae j Claustra . They were called Op pidum , because anciently there were tur rets and battlements upon them, (i) Livy says, (2) that the Carceres were first placed in the Consulate of L. Papirius Crassus and L. PL Venno, U. C. 42^? by which he per haps means , that the Repagula or barriers were first placed in that year. Originally the (1) Vnrro, lib. iv. (2) Lib. via- c. 20. I * I O CIRCUS Carceres were of wood or stone : Claudius made them of marble, (i) The Repagula were not lowered, so that the chariots might pass over them ; but they turned upon hinges, as we may learn from Ovid, Utque fores nondum versati cardinis acer Nunc pede, nunc ipsa fronte lacessit equus. Trist. v. 9. 29. I And from Manilius, Ut cum laxato fugeruntcardine claustra >~ v. 76. In an old bas-relief in the-Farnese Palace , the Repagula are represented exactly as folding doors . Dionysius says, that they all opened at once; and we learn the same from Cassiodorus, (2) " Bissena Ostia ad " XII. signa posuerunt . Hsec , ab Hermulis " funibus^demissis , subita sequalitate pan- " duntur." In front of the Carceres, at each extremity, was a figure of Mercury holding a ropC. Previous to the games commencing, this rope was loose , and lay upon the ground: the people at first occupied the whole ofthe area, consulting fortune-tellers, or engaged in other amusements: the raising (1) Suet. c. 21. (2) Lib. iii. Var, CIRCUS I I and tightening ofthe rope was a signal for them to retire to their seats. Ovid alludes to this, Quid frustra refugis ? cogit nos linea juugi : Hasc ex lege loci commoda Circus babel. Amor. lib. iii. el. 3. 19. When this rope was once more lowered , the Carceres were opened and the chariots started. A similar line was extended before the Carceres at the Greek games. The person at whose expense the games were given, sat over the middle entrance. It was from hence that the signal was made for the chariots to start. At first torches were used; but afterwards a napkin or cloth was lowered. It was the business of the consul to make the .signal, and in his absence the praetor gave it. In the time of the empe rors it was the praetor's office : he let a napkin fall from the balcony; and it is said, that the custom arose from an order of Nero, who was dining, and the people became so impatient for the games to begin, that he ordered his own napkin to be thrown down as a signal • Hence Juvenal's expresssion, Interea Megalesiacae spectacula mappos. St. xi. 191. A trumpet also sounded, as at the Olympic games. 12 CIRCUS The drivers wore different colours, whence arose the different factions , which divided not only the Circus, but the whole city, (i) and raged so furiously afterwards in Con stantinople. (2) At first there were only two colours, the white and the red : two more were added, green and blue, which gave the names of Albata, Russata, Prasi- nas and Veneta, to thediffercnt factions (3). Domitian added two more, Aurata and Purpurea. One chariot started from each faction ; so that only six chariots started at once, and before Domitian's time only four. Cassiodorus also, who wrote about A. D. 5oo, mentions only four "colours. It is dif ficult to explain why there were twelve Carceres, if only six chariots started. At the Greek races they set out from each side alternately, (4) and sometimes as many as ten chariots entered the lists at once. It is probable, that the Romans borrowed the number of the Carceres from the Greeks, though they did not imitate that people in the use of them. For it is certain, that at Rome the same six Carceres were always (0 Vide Pliny* s Letters, lib. vs.. ep. 6. (2) Evagrlus, lib. iv. c. 32. (3) Terlull. de Spectac. g. (4) Pausan. Eliac. lib. ii. CIRCUS 1 3 used, yiz. those which had the middle en trance, or Janua Magistratuum _ at the left hand . It is evident, from an inspection of the plan, that these were the most ad vantageous places for starting from , as the chariots ran, keeping the Metae on their left. So also ofthe different Carceres, that which was nearest to the Janua Magistratuum was the best, and was called the first. It was also called A Pompd, because the pro cessions entered by the Janua Magistratuum. The others were numbered 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6, beginning from this. Lots were drawn for the places, as at the Greek games. The praetor shook the lots in an urn ; and the chariot , which took the first place, was cal led Sum ma j the sixth Ima . An ancient inscription mentions this custom, diocles SVMMA QVADRIGA ET OSTIO QVABTO MISSVS V1CIT. At the Olympic games the chariots ran twelve times round the course. At Rome they went only seven times round it: but as there was a Meta at each extremity ofthe course , it has been doubted whether each Meta was passed seven times, or whether seven Metae were to be passed during the race. It seems probable, however, that the chariots actually ran seven times round the 1 4 CIRCUS course; (i) and that which arrived first at the Meta nearest to the Carceres won the race; or rather that which arrived first at a, white line traced in chalk upon the ground, and reaching from one side of the Circus to the other. Cassiodorus describes this line, (2) " Alba linea non longe ab Ostiis " in utrumque podium, quasi regula direc- " ta , perducitur : ut quadrijugis progre- " dientibus inde certamen oriretur, ne dum " semper propere conantur elidere, spec- " tandi voluptatem viderentur populis a- " brogare. " From these words it is evi dent that the line was drawn between the Carceres and the first Meta, and the specta tors considered the race to have*begun, not so much when the chariots first started, as when they reached this line. It served also, as already stated, to mark the winning chariot ; for as they began the race on one side of the Spina and ended it on the other, the same line would naturally serve each purpose. Both uses of this line gave rise to proverbial expressions. A lined became a common phrase for the commencement of any thing : and the poets will supply us (t)Arnobius speaks of tbe chariots, « replicantes gyros septem. " Lib. vii. p. 245. (2) Var. lib. iii. epist. 5i. CIRCUS 1 5 with abundance of instances, where the ul tima tinea rerum is alluded to. The terms Calx and Creta also obtained the same significations, because the line was marked with chalk _, as Pliny tells us, (i) " The " commonest kind of chalk is that with " which the line is drawn across the Circus " to mark the winning chariot. " Hence we may understand, why in the same passages some manuscripts read Meta and others Creta ; for though the chalk line was not actually the same thing as the last goal, yet it was close to it, and at the end of the race it was the goal at which the contenders wished to arrive. Thus we have in Sene ca , " (2) Hanc, quam nunc in Circo cretam " vocamus calcem antiqui dicebant. " Some MSS. read Metam. It is the same with Pro- pertius, (3) " Haec spatiis ultima Creta " meis: " the common reading is Meta; but the former is probably right , because it is much more likely that a person not under standing the meaning of Creta should alter it to Meta. We have the same idea in Lu cretius, ( vi. 91.) Tu mihi supremse proescripta ad Candida calcis Current! spatium prxnionstra, callida Musa. (1) Lib. xxxv. c. 58. (2) Epist 108. (3) Lib. iv. el. 2. 58. 1 6 CIRCUS Each race of six chariots was called Missus: and of these there were twenty-five in the course of the day. The last was called JEra- rius: because the expense was defrayed by subscription: but it was afterwards left off, and there were only twenty-four races in the course of the day. Some emperors chose to give more than twenty-five, in which case the chariots generally did not go seven times round the course. To prevent mis takes, little pillars were erected near the Metae, on which an egg was placed every lime, that the chariots had come to the end ofthe course; so that the people could al ways tell how many times they had gone round. Dio says, (i) that Agrippa first insti tuted this custom : but it would seem from Livy, (2) that it was much older. The eggs were considered sacred to Castor and Pol lux. (3) The ground which the chariots occupied immediately upon leaving the Carceres, and before they reached the first Meta, seems to have been called spatium. Tertullian says, (4) " lineam extremam habet, si de- (1) Lib. xlix. (2) Lib. xii. c. 27. (33 Tertul. de Spectac. 8. (4) Adv. Hermog. c. 3. CIRCUS 1 7 " terminatur, quia spatiorum initiura et fi- " nis lineis notabatur." This may illustrate a passage in Virgil, where the word spatia occurs , Ut cam career ibus sese effudere qaadrigse, Addunt se in spatia. Georg. i. 5 12. And in describing a foot race, he says, siguoque repeute Corripiunt spatia audito limenque relinquunt. JEa. v. 3i5. Limen is probably here put for linea, as it is in Statius , Ut rait, atque aeqaum snmmisit regula limen, Corripuere leves spatium. Thebaid. lib. vi. To these examples may be added an ex pression used by Cicero, of a man at the end of his life being come usque ad extre- mum spatium. (i) We are apt in English to confound the terms Carceres and Meta, translating both by goal, which is a great mistake; and in a Latin Poem of the seventh century, written by an Italian, (2) we find the same mistake. (i) Pro Arcbia Poeta, 12. (2) Apol. Excid. Hierosol. lib. ii. l8 CIRCUS Sic cum frenatos astringit meta jugales, Ordineque emissos jussit deducere Praetor, Ire volunt omnes primi: The chariots were drawn by two, three, or four horses, but generally by four. Augustus introduced six, and some had seven. Nero drove as many as ten, but this was at Olympia, (i) and since he was thrown out of the chariot , his example was perhaps not followed. We find mention of elephants beingyoked, and camels, stags, dogs, tigers, lions, etc. (i) Sometimes also single horses ran ; and we read of equi desultoriij where the rider managed two horses, and leaped from one to the other. In some ancient bas- reliefs we may observe persons on horse back accompanying the chariots as they ran; their use seems to have been, to sup ply the drivers with anything which they might want. The charioteers were at first slaves, freedmen, or strangers: but after wards the nobles amused themselves with driving publicly in the Circus, and several emperors distinguished themselves by it. The line which occupies the middle of the Circus is the spina, round which the (i) Suet, c. 24. (2) Suet, in Nerone. Dio. Lamprid. in Elagab. SPINA 1 9 chariots ran , keeping it always on the left hand. It was a brick wall, four feet high, and at the end next to the Carceres twelve feet broad ; towards the other extremity it became narrower. At each end was a meta, round which the chariots turned ; and their object was to go as near as possible to these without touching them. The metae were originally of wood, and occasionally remov ed, when the whole area of the Circus was wanted for other purposes. Claudius had them made of marble, and gilt. Their form was conical, or, as Ovid says, like that of a Cypress: " metas imitata cupressus. " (i) Ancient sculptures represent them as divid ed into three, or rather like three cones compressed together, so that there were three distinct summits to each meta, with an oval ornament at the top . The meta nearest to the carceres was called murcia . Under this was a circular temple, sacred to the god Consus, to whom Romulus dedicat ed the games at which the Sabine women were carried off. (2) He is supposed to have been a God of Silence; but some make him the same as Neptune. From him, the games (1) Metamorph. x. 106. (23 Tertull. de Spectac. 5. 20 CIRCUS were called Ludi consuales, till the time of Tarquinius Priscus. There were other appendages to the spi na besides the metae. It has been already mentioned, that there were little pillars, on which eggs were placed, to mark the number of times the chariots had gone round. Figures of dolphins were used for the same purpose; hence the expression in Juvenal — Consulit ante falas Delphinorumque columnas. vi. 589. Obelisks were also placed upon the spina . In the Circus Maximus were two, one de dicated to the Sun, 109 feet high; the other to the'Moon, 80 feet high. There was also generally a figure of Cybele, drawn by lions. When the race was finished, the victor ascended the spina by some steps, and received his prize, which consisted of money, or a crown , or palm-branches. It appears from Cassiodorus, that a palm was the prize for athletic contests, (1) and for chariot races. (2) When the games were over, he went out by the Porta Triumph- (1) Var. lib. ii. epist. 28: see also Ml. Lamprid. Conimo- dus, 12. (1) Var. lib. iii. epist. 5i. SPINA 2 1 alis, which was at the curved end of the Circus ; at least such has alwavs been the opinion ofthe antiquaries; but an excava tion, lately made in the Circus of Cara- calla, has brought to light seven steps, lead ing up to what was called the Porta Tri- uniphalis. It will be observed, that the spina is not sp near the carceres as it is to the Porta Triumphalis ; nor does it stand in the middle of the Circus. In that of Caracalla , which is still perfect, the spina is thirty- six feet nearer to one side than it is to the other. The reason is this: as the chariots started from the carceres, and were to go round the course, leaving the spina to the left, at the time they reached the first meta they would be nearly all abreast; it was, therefore, more necessary that they should have room to pass each other at this part of the course^ than during all the rest of the race. Consequently, the spina was not pla ced quite in the middle; because, by the time the chariots turned the second meta, some must have taken the lead so decid edly, that the same space would not be re quired for them to run abreast , as at the beginning. The chariot race was by no means the T. II. 2 22 CIRCUS only amusement which the Circus afforded. We find mention of seven others in ancient authors; processions, gymnastics, Ludus Trojae, chases of wild beasts, combats of horse and foot, Naumachiae, and sometimes dramatic exhibitions. Of these, the pro cession was the first amusement in the course of the day, and was either sacred or military ; but it seems to have been by no means a favourite amusement, and the people were generally glad when it was over (i). Next followed the chariot and foot races; after which were the gymnastic exhibitions. The passage in which Virgil describes the Ludus Trojae, (2) is too well known to require insertion. The custom of celebrating it was revived by Caesar. The sons of knights alone acted in it; and the leader was called Princeps Juventutis. A passage in Claudian (3) seems clearly to describe this game as being exhibited in the time of Honorius. The exhibition of wild beasts was one of the most popular amusements at Rome . When amphitheatres were introduced, the Circus was not so much used for this pur- (1) Seneca, Controv. IS), i. I. prooem. (2) iEn. v. 579— 6o3. (3) De VI. Cous. Houor. 621. WILD BEASTS 2 3 pose as before ; but still there were hunts in the Circus till a late period. The number of wild beasts killed upon these occasions is truly wonderful ; and if the accounts were not well attested, we might be incredulous as to the possibility of so many being sup plied. It was in the course of the second Punic war that wild beasts were first exhi bited at all, as before that time there was a decree ofthe senate, prohibiting the im portation of beasts from Africa. At first they were only shown to the people, and not hunted or killed. The earliest account we have of such an exhibition was U. C. 5o2, when one hundred and forty-two elephants were produced, which were taken in Sicily. Pliny, who gives us this information, (1) tells us, that he could not ascertain whether they were put to death in the Circus, or merely exihibited there. But these animals had been seen in Rome twenty-three years before, in the triumph of M. C. Dentatus over Pyrrhus. (2) According to Seneca, (3) Pompey was the first person who gave a combat of elephants. If we may believe (j) Lib- viii. c 6. (2) Ibid. (3; DeBrev. Vitae, t. i3. 24 CIRCUS Suetonius, (1) Galba introduced them in the games dancing or walking upon ropes. Lions first appeared in any number U. C. 652; (2) but these were not turned loose. In the year 66 i,Sylla brought forward one hundred, when he was prastor,and had some African hunters sent on purpose to shoot them. (3) In the year 696, beside lions, elephants, bears, etc. one hundred and fifty panthers were shown for the first time. When Pompey dedicated his theatre, there was the greatest exhibition of beasts ever known. There were seventeen elephants, six hundred lions , which were killed in the course of five days ; four hundred and ten panthers, etc. etc. A rhinoceros also ap peared for the first time; a strange beast, called chaus or cepos , and a lupus cer- varius from Gaul. This was U. C. 698. The last day's sport was composed entire ly of elephants; and the terrible slaugh ter of these animals created a general com miseration. (4) The art of taming these beasts was carried to such perfection, that (0 Galba, c. 6. (2) Plin. lib- viii. c 16. (3) Seneca, lib. c (4) The First Letter of the Seventh Book of Cicero's Let ters to his Friends, will be read with interest, as describing these games. WILD BEASTS 25 M. Anthony actually yoked them to his carriage, (i) Caesar, in his third dictator ship, U. C. 708, showed a vast number of wild beasts, among which were four hun dred lions and a cameleopard. The latter animal is thus described by Pliny: (2) " The Ethiopians call it Nabis; in the neck " it resembles a horse, in the feet and legs " au ox, a camel in the head, and in colour " it is red with white spots. " Dio is. still more minute: (3) " This animal resembles " a camel, except that it has not the same " proportion in its limbs, the hind parts " are lower, and it rises gradually from the " tail ; the forelegs also serve to elevate the " rest of the body, and its neck is pecu- " liarly high. In colour it is spotted, like a "leopard. " Ten of these animals were shown in one day by the Emperor Philip.(4) A tiger was exhibited for the first time at the dedication ofthe Theatre of Marcellus, U. C. 743. It was kept in a cage. Claudius afterwards showed four together. (5) Titus (ijPlin. lib- viii. c 21 Plutarch. (a) Lib. viii c. 27. He is copied, word for word, by Soli- nus, Polybist. c 32. (3) Lib. xliii. (4) The cameleopard is described, also, by Philostorgius, iii. 11. This chapter contains a curious description of several strange animals. (5) Plin. lib. viii. c. 25. 2G WILD BEASTS exhibited five thousand beasts of various kinds in one day. (i) Hadrian had one thousand beasts slaughtered on his birth day; and Commodus killed several thou sands with his own hand. (2) The Emperor Gordian , besides showing one hundred African beasts, and one thousand bears, in one day, devised a spectacle of quite a new kind; he had a temporary wood planted in the Circus, and turned into it two hundred stags, (cervi palmati ,) thirty wild horses, one hundred wild sheep, ten elks, one hun dred Cyprian bulls, three hundred ostrich es, thirty wild asses, one hundred and fifty wild boars, two hundred ibices, and two hundred deer. He allowed all the people to enter the wood , and take what they pleased. (3) Probus imitated him in his idea ofa wood. Vopiscus describes it thus: " Large trees were pulled up by the roots, " and fastened to beams, which were laid " down crossing each other. Soil was then u thrown upon them, and the whole Circus " was planted like a wood. " There were turned in one thousand ostriches, one thou sand stags, one thousand boars, one thou- (1) Suet. c. 7. (2) Lamprid. 12. (3) Jul. Capitolinus. WILD BEASTS 27 sand deer, one thousand ibices, wild sheep, and other grazing animals, as many as could be fed or found. The people were then let in, and took what they wished. I have se lected those instances which appear most remarkable; but every reign would furnish us with incredible accounts. We find men tion in Pliny (i) of the boa constrictor; he gives it the name of boa, and tells us that Claudius had one killed in the Vatican Cir cus, iu the inside of which a child was found entire. Suetonius mentions another, (2) which measured fifty cubits in length; but this was exhibited in the Forum. (3) Enough has been stated to show that the ancients had much greater acquaintance with the wild beasts of Asia and Africa than the moderns have. I will close this account, which is already too long, with the cor respondence of Cicero and Caelius. When Cicero went out Proconsul ofCilicia, Caelius writes to him, (4) " I have spoken to you, " in almost all my letters, about the pau- " thers. It will be disgraceful lo you, that (1) Lib. viii. c. 14. (2) Vita Augusti. (3) Philostorgius mentions having seen the skins of such serpents at Rome; some of them were fifteen cubits in length- iii. 11. (4) Cicero. Epist. ad Fam. lib. viii. ep. 9. 28 CIRCUS '•' Patiscus has sent ten panthers to Curio, u while you have scarcely sent a greater " number to me. Curio has made me a pre- " sent of these, and ten others from Africa. " If you will only keep it in mind, and " employ the people of Cybira, and also " send letters into Pamphilia, ( for I un- " derstand that the greatest number are " taken there,) you will gain your object." To this the Proconsul replies, (1) " I have " given particular orders about the pan- " thers to those who are in the habit of " hunting them; but they are surprisingly " scarce; and it is said , that those which " are there make a great complaint, that " they are the only persons in my province " who have plots laid against them. It is " acordingly supposed, that they are deter- " mined to quit my province, and go into " Garia. However, I shall use all diligence, " and particularly with Patiscus. " ' The beasts were made to fight either with one another, or with men. The latter were called bestiarii, and occasionally fought without any weapons. Pliny calls them noxii, culprits: (2) and one of the common (1) Epist. Famil- lib. ii. ep. ii. (2) Lib. xxxiii. c. 16. So do Seneca, Spartian, etc WILD BEASTS 29 punishments of criminals was to be sentenced to these exhibitions in the public games. (1) Caligula even fed the wild beasts with these wretched victims at a time when butchers' meat was very dear. (2) There seems no sufficient reason why we should not interpret the expression of S. Paul (3) literally, and suppose, that he had actually been made lojight with beasfs in the Theatre at Ephesus. His words in another place (4) may possibly allude to this combat: and though what he says in his second E- pistle to Timothy , (5) of being delivered from the mouth of the lion , is generally interpreted metaphorically, it is deserving of notice, that Timothy was then residing at Ephesus; and in this passage the Apostle seems to be 'alluding to his own perils in that city. In an account of places, where these barbarities were practised, Ephesus is expressly mentioned: (6) and two ecclesias tical writers (7) preserve a tradition, that (1) Pliu. Epist. lib. x. ep. 4°. (2) Suetou. c 27. (3) 1 Cor. xv- 32 (4) 2 Cor. i. 8, etc (5)iv. 17. (6) Artemidor. Oneirocrit. lib. i. c 9. "^ (7) Nicephoms Hist.Eccles. lib. ii. c. 25. Theodoret. iu locum. Ignatius informs us , that such cases had bap- 2* 3o CIRCUS the Apostle was exposed to wild beasts, but that they would not touch him. Means were used to excite the fury of the wild animals, by applying fire , and lashing them with whips, (i) The elephants were intoxicated with wine and incense ; but ./Elian says, (2) that it was not wine from the grape, but a liquor made from rice and reeds. Cloths were used to irritate the lions and bears; (3) and wild boars had a parti cular objection to white cloths . Balls were also thrown at them to provoke them. The principal object ofthe Euripus mentioned above was to prevent the elephants and other beasts from coming to the people. Beside the battles in which wild beasts were engaged, there were other sanguinary spectacles, in which gladiators either con tended in single combat, or large bodies of horse and foot fought with each other. The usual division of the daily amusements was that in the morning men fought with beasts, pened: Epist. ad Rom. § 5. Tertullian seems to have understood the passage in i Cor. xv. 3a. literally: and so did Origen; Horn. 1 3 in Gen. § 3. Cyprian says, that S. Paul was exposed to beasts; Ep. 5. (i) Sozomen. lib. vii. c 23. (2) Lib- xiii. {3) Vid. Seneca de tra lib. iii. c. 3o. Plin. lib- viii. GLADIATORS 3 I in the middle of the day with each other* The latter was rather a kind of interlude to the former. (1) It appears from the chronicle of Gassiodorus, that athletic games were first exhibited in the year of Rome 567 ; and Livy tells us the same thing; (a) but by the term athletae we are not to understand simply gladiators, for the same author tells us , that they were introduced seventy eight years before, U. C. 489. (3) The emperor Gordian had sometimes five hundred pairs of gladiators exhibited in one day , and never less than one hundred and fifty. (4) In Caesar's games we find five hundred foot and three huudred horse enga ged together , beside three hundred and twenty pairs of gladiators: twenty ele phants were also introduced ; upon which occasion the metae were removed to give more room. From these two examples we may see in what number human victims were sacrificed that some great man might be popular, and the Roman rabble amused. In the days of Nero or Elagabalus, (5) a (1) Seneca, Epist 7. (2) Lib. xxxix. c. 22. (3) Epit. lib. xvi. et Val. Max. lib ii. c 4. (4) Jul. Capitolinus. (5) The only coin of which 1 hjve seen an engraving, writes the uame thus and not Heliogabalus. 02 NAUMACHIJE lion or an elephant was surely a much nobler animal than a Roman emperor; and it may be doubted whether a gladiator was not much fitter to govern a nation. Nero was not satisfied with having slaves as gladiators, but he made thirty knights destroy each other in that capacity ; and at another time four hundred senators and six hundred knights engaged by his order. We read even of women fighting in the Circus. The naval engagements were sometimes exhibited in the Circus Maximus, which could easily be filled with water - Calpur- nius, (i) after alluding to the woods which have been already mentioned as being in troduced into the Circus, says, Nee solum nobis sylvestri cernere monstra Contigit, aequoreos ego cum certantibus ursis Spectavi vltulos, et equorum nomine dignum Sed deforme pecus. In which he means to describe the Hippo potamus. Augustus had exhibited at one time thirty-six crocodiles. (2) Some ofthe emperors erected buildings on purpose , which were called Naumachiae. Two of the largest were built by Caesar and Augustus. (1) Eclog. vii- 66. (2) Dio Cass. lib. Iv. maumachijE 33 Suetonius, speaking ofthe former, says, (i) " a lake was dug in the form of a shell , in " which Biremes, Triremes , and Quadri- " remes, representing the Tyrianand Egyp- " tian fleets, engaged, with a vast number " of men on board. " It was filled up after Caesar's death. The Naumachia of Augustus was on the other side of the Tiber , and was 1800 feet in length, and 200 in width, so that thirty ships of war could engage in it. Caligula constructed one , (2) as did Do- mitian and others. That of Domitian was on the site of the present Piazz a di Spa- gna. Elagabalus upon one occasion filled the Euripus with wine, and had naval ex hibitions performed in it. (3) P. Victor mentions ten Naumachiae- Dramatic exhibitions were but seldom represented in the Circus. That they were so occasionally , we learn from Suetonius, who says, that Augustus had them exhibited there. (4) For many years the senators and com mon people sat together without any order. Attilius Serranus and L. Scribonius , who (1) C. 39. (2) Dia, lib. Hz. (3) Spartianus. (4) c. 43. 34 CIRCUS were iEdiles U. C. 558, appointed particular seats for the senators, (i) Augustus ordered thesenators and knights to sit separately 5(2) and Claudius appointed a particular place for the senators, as Nero did for the knights. Kings and foreigners of distinction were sometimes allowed , by a special decree, to sit in the places allotted to the senators (3) Livy says , that the people had no accom modation for sitting till the time of the Scipios: but it appears from Dionysius, that they had it from the days of Tarquiu. From a passage in Suetonius, (4) it might be thought that money was paid for admission to some of the seats. His words are, " Inquie- " tatusfremitu gratuita iu Circo loca de me- " dia nocte occupantium, omnes fustibus " obegit. " If gratuita loca mean, seats for which nothing was paid, it would certainly follow , that there were some seats , which were not of that description : and we have proof that in the third century money could procure admission to the best seals.(5) Augustus prohibited women from entering (1) Liv. lib. xxxiv. c. 54. Val. Max. lib. ii. c 4- (2) Dio, lib. Iv. (3) Joseph. Antiq. xiv. IO. 6. (4) Caligula, c. 26' (5) Arnobius adv. Gentes, lib. iv- p. 1 32. ed. iC5l. CIRCUS 35 before a certain hour of the day , that they might not be present at the athletic exer cises. He forced them also to confine them selves to the upper seats, while the gladiators were fighting. Married men had certain rows allotted to them ; and schoolmasters were favoured in the same way. (i) The consuls, praetors, and all those officers, who were entitled to preside, had seats over the middle gate of the Carceres, whence it was called Janua Magistratuum. Some magi strates also had seats near the first meta. It appears from Cassiodorus,(2) that particular individuals had fixed seats ( like private boxes ) belonging to them , which in some cases descended to their children. They were also given as a reward for some parti cular merit, and we read of the iElian family having seats assigned them both in the Circus Maximus and the Flaminian. (3) Nor were the magistrates the only persons provided with seats. Arnobius, (4) speaking of the general passion for these spectacles, complains , that the Priests, the Pontifex Maximus, the Augurs, and even the Vestal (i) Sueton. Aug. c. 44- (2) Varr. lib. iv. epist. 42. (3) Val. Max. lib. iv. t. 4- 5 8. (4) Lib. iv. contra Gentes. 36 circus Virgins, were in the habit of attending. The latter had a particular place allotted for them by Augustus ; ( i ) but were included in the prohibition mentioned above, which kept them from the athletic exercises. This prohibition was removed j as far as concerned the Vestal Virgins , by Nero , who quoted the precedent of the priestesses of Ceres being allowed to attend the Olympic games. (2) It would seem also from a pas sage in Cicero, (3) that the person, at whose expense the games were given, had some iseats reserved, in which he might place any of his own friends. Perhaps therefore we are to understand gratuita loca , as open seats, in opposition not to those which were paid for , but to those which were appropriated to persons of a certain rank or office. In later times the empress had her station among the Vestal Virgins. The eagerness with which all parties flocked to the games, is almost incredible. The passage lately quoted from Suetonius proves what it was in the time of Caligula; we have proof of it being the same at the beginning of the (1) Sueton. Aug. c. 44- (2) Sueton. Nero, t. 12. '3, Pro L. Murana, 34. CIRCUS 37 third century; (1) and Ammianus, who wrote in the fourth century , gives the fol lowing lively description of it in his days. " The people spend all their earnings in " drinkingandgaming,in spectacles, amuse- " ments, and shows. The Circus Maximus " is their temple , their dwelling-house , " their public meeting, and all their hopes. f< In the fora , the streets , and squares , " multitudes assemble together and dispute, " some defending one thing and some ano- " ther. The oldest take the privilege of their " age, and cry out in the temples and fo- " ra, that the Republic must fall, if in the " approaching games the person whom they " support does not win the prize, and first " pass the goal. When the wished-for day "ofthe equestrian games arrives, before " sun-rise all run headlong to the spot , " passing in swiftness the chariots that are " to run ; upon the success of which their " wishes are so divided, that many pass the " night without sleep. " Lactantius con firms this account , (2) and says , that the people often quarrelled and fought from their great eagerness. (1) Tertull. de Spectac. 16. (a) Lib. vi. 38 circus These descriptions would be applicable to the Roman people at any period , from the age of J. Caesar to the time in which they were written. It has been already stated , that Plinv makes the Circus Max imus capable of containing 260,000 persons, in which Sextus Rufus agrees with him. Publius Victor estimates the number at 385,ooo. Juvenal says, Tot am hodie Ro- main Circus capit. (1) At what period the different amusements of the Circus ceased , it would not be easy exactly to define . There is no mention of processions or nau machiae after the time of Constantine. We know that he forbade the combats of gladia tors: (2) but the custom must have been afterwards revived, since Honorius found it necessary to prohibit the combats of gladia tors by a special edict. (3) This was about the beginning of the fifth century: and Procopius , speaking of a Circus near the Vatican, (4) mentions it as a place then in disuse, in which, he says, for merlj single (1) Sat. \'\. 19"): vide Seneca, de Ira , lib. ii t. 7 : " ilium Ciicum, in quo maximam sui partem populus ostendit. " (2) Cassiodor. Hist. Eccles. lib. i. c 9. Euseb. Vita Constant, lib iv. c. a5. (3; Cassiodor. lib. x. c. 3. Theodorit. lib. v. c. 36. (4) Lib. iv. c 1. circus 3g combats were exhibited. This was about the year 54G. In the time of Honorius wild beasts were still exhibited in great numbers, as we may read in the lively de scription of Claudian. (i) The combats of men and beasts seem to have lasted till Justinian's days; though the younger Theo- dosiusputastopto them during his reign (2) and an edict was again issued for their prohibition in the time of Anastasius, about A- D. 5oo. (3) It is certain, that such bloody spectacles existed in the time of Theodoric, for we have in Cassiodorus (4) a letter from that king to the consul Maximus, in which he gives au interesting account of them , while he reprobates the custom extremely : culprits were devoured by beasts in the Amphitheatre as late as the year 58o. (5) It is probable, that the chariot and horse races continued much longer: the Hippo drome at Constantinople was certainly em ployed for this purpose at the time the Venetians took that city in 1 2o4« (1) In ii Cons. S til - 237 ad finem. (2) Socrates, lib. vii. c 22. (3) Theophanes in Chronico: Theodor. Lector, ii. 53. (4) Var..lib. v. epist. 42. (5; Eyagrius , lib. v. c 18. 4o CIRCUS OF CARACALLA AND OTHERS. The description given above of the dif ferent parts ofthe Roman Circus is taken from ancient authors , and from the actual appearance of what still remains of a Cir cus out ofthe Porta S. Sebastiano. This is generally called the Circus of Caracalla, though not upon any good authority. Fa- bretti is inclined to ascribe it to Gallienus; but an inscription discovered in 1825 has led the antiquaries to give it to Maxentius. The outer wall remains almost entire, but the seats are gone, except that, by having falfen in, they have left a kind of terrace along the whole length of the walls. In walking along this terrace, I observed a regular succession of round holes in the rubbish at a distance of eight paces from each other. There must have been some thing, that broke the continuity ofthe seats, so that when they fell in, they left a vacant space in these places. They may have been the stair-cases, by which the people ascend ed , and if they were circular , they would exactly answer to the holes which I have observed . If they were of stone , which is most probable, the steps have all been car- CIRCUS OF CARACALLA 4' ried off, and that would explain still better why a circular aperture should be left in the rubbish. There is also a curious thing to be observed in the walls, where they have been broken ; which is, there are several large earthen vessels inclosed within the brickwork. It has been conjectured, that they were used to expedite the building, or to lessen the expense; neither of which reasons seem adequate. Others have said, that their purpose was to lighten the build ing. Each pot might be considered a kind of arch supporting the masonry above; and1 they themselves being hollow, the entire mass supported by the arch below was less than if the whole were solid. Some support is given to this opinion by the fact, that in the baths of Caracalla the roofs which remain are partly composed of pumice- stone, (i) Yet after all it seems quite cer tain, that hollow vessels were placed in the walls of theatres for sake ofthe sound. Both the voice of the actor and the applause given by the audience, was made louder by it. Vitruvius (2) expressly says, that bronze vessels were placed under the seals, (1) Spence's Anecdotes, p. 94. (2) Lib. i. c. 1. 42 CIRCUS OF constructed upon mathematical principles, lo increase the sound of the voice coming from the stage, and to carry it with a clearer and sweeler tone to the audience . He explains the whole theory of these me tallic vessels, but says at the same time, that he could not produce any instance of their being so applied in any theatre in Rome; but in other cities of Italy and in Greece they were common. According to him, (i) earthen vessels were occasionally substituted for those of metal, for sake of fcieapness: and yet Nibby lays it down as certain, that wherever we see these earthen vessels, we may be sure that the building is of an age, in which architecture was on the decline. He supports the idea of their having been used to lighten the building. (2) In the present instance they were under neath the seats on which the spectators sat, and above the covered arcade, where the people walked. The same thing may be observed in several ruins about Rome: and the moderns have not wholly neglected this contrivance; for Evelyn mentions a room for music at Padua, in which " the filling (1) Lib. v. c. 5- Aristotle also speaks of such earthen ves- tels. Problem lib. ii: p. 92. ed. Sylbnrg. (3y Vinggi ue' Coulorni di Roma, vol. i. p. 2.J7- CARACALLA 4 3 ' up or cove 'twixt the walls were of urns " and earthen pots for the better sounding." We may observe generally, that the an cients paid great attention to the diffusion of sound in constructing iheir theatres; and by combining the principles of music and mathematics, as Vitruvius observes, (1 ) they contrived to make the actors audible in very large theatres, where there was no covering. In the remains of the theatre at Taormina ( Taurominiurn ) in Sicily, I have stood on the upper seat of all, and not only heard distinctly the sound of a voice speaking from the stage, but even the leaping of a piece of paper sounded as if quite near. It is right however to add, lhat these earthen vessels may be seen in ancient buildings in and about Rome, where no conveyance of sound was required; and where, it would seem, that their only use could be to lighten the building. The length of the Circus ofGaracalla is 1678 feet, the breadth 435. It is calculated that it could have contained 20, 000 specta tors. The Spina may be traced by the ground being considerably raised, and ( as has been already mentioned) it is about 36 (1) Lih. v- c. 3. 44 CIRCUS OF CARACALLA feet nearer to the left side of the Circus than to the right. An eminence may be observed at each end, where were the metae; and under that, which is nearest to the carceres, are some remains of the Temple of Consus. The obelisk, which is now in the Piazza Navona, stood formerly upon this Spina. Nothing can be made out as to the plan ofthe Carceres, but they seem to have gone rather in a curved than in a straight line. My first impression upon observing this was, Hiat the left extremity of them was advanced farther into the Circus, be cause the chariots, which started from that side, would otherwise have a great disad vantage. But as the writers upon this subject decide, that the right hand side of the Car ceres was alone used , I have followed their opinion in the above description, and perhaps the curved appearance may have been from the ruined state of the building. Fabretti,however,(in his work upon Trajan's Column,) asserts that the Carceres were in a curved line, in order to give all the chariots an equal chance. At either extremity ofthe Carceres are two towers, and in the sidewall on the left hand is a similar eminence. On the right hand there seems to have been very little wall, which was owing to the cifecus OF FLAMINIUS 45 ground being much higher on that side, which was taken advantage of to form the seats. (1) What wall there is here, is not straight. The next Circus iii point of antiquity to the Circus Maximus was that of Flaminius, built by the consul of that name, U. C. 53 1. But Livy mentions a Circus called Apol- linaris in the Prata Flaminia much earlier, where he is treating of the year 3o6. (2) This probably was of wood, and that ofthe Consul Flaminius succeeded it. It is how ever rather doubtful, who gave name to this Circus. Plutarch says it was an older Fla minius, who left an estate to the people, to supply the games. Varro only removes the difficulty by saying, that the Circus took its name from the Prata Flaminia. It stood in the Campus Martius, without the city , and no trace of it now remains. By coupling a passage of Pliny with one of Festus we may learn, that it was not far from the Theatre of Pompey. The former says, (3) that Cn. Octavlus about the year of Rome (i) Pocock states this to be the case witb the Circus at Ephesus. (2) Lib. iii. c. 63: but there are doubts as to the genuineness of the text. (3) Lib. xxxiv. c. 7. T. II. 3 46 CIRCUS OF FLAM1HIUS 590 erected a double portico ( i. e. a colon nade, with a double row of columns ) at the Circus Flaminius. Festus, after describing the Portico of Octavia , which was near to the Theatre of Marcellus , says that there was another Portico near the Theatre of Pompej , built by Cn. Octavius. He adds, that it was burnt down, and rebuilt by Augustus. L. Fauno gi ves the situation ofthe Circus Flaminius with great precision. Ac cording to him , the length of it was from San Salvatore in Palco _, to the Palazzo Mattel: the width from the Torre delle Citrangole to the street called Botteghe oscure- The Church of S. Caterina de' Fu- nari is supposed to stand about the middle ofthe Circus: and considerable remains of it existed , when the foundations were laid for the Palazzo Mattei. Vitruvius tells us , that there was a Temple of Castor within the Flaminian Circus : (1) and it could not have been a very small one, because he adds, that it was similar to the Temple of Miner va at Sunium. In the Piazza Navona we may trace the exact form of the Circus Agonalis, supposed to have been built by the Emperor Alexan- (1) Lib. iv 7. CIRCUS AGONAL IS 47 der Severus. The modern name also may easily be traced , as a corruption from ftie ancient one. From Agonalis or in Agone it came to be called Nagona , as it is writ ten by J. Laurus. From Nagona the transi tion to Navona is not difficult. It should be mentioned , however, that this etymology is ridiculed by Nardini. He informs us, that part ofthe Campus Martius was fenced off with wood for the games called Equiria , and that Alexander Severus formed it into a regular Circus . Donati mentions a coin of that Emperor with a Circus on the reverse : and Nibby quotes two documents of the years 875 and n43, in which the Circus Agonalis andCircus of Alexander are clearly identified with the Piazza Navona. The neighbouring Church of S. Niccolo de' Lo- renesi was formerly called S. N. dei Agone. The Piazza now forms a fine open space surrounded by buildings, in which the out line of the Circus is observed, and even the round end is not lost. The length is about 75o feet. On some occasions chariot-races _are still performed here in the ancient fashion: and on Saturdays and Sundays in the month of August it is covered with water to provide a remedy against the in tense heat. In the middle of the area are 48 CIRCUS AP0LL1NARIS three fountains : that by Bernini is among th£ finest in Rome. Between the Quirinal and Pincian hills was another Circus, in the gardens of Sal- lust, which some antiquaries have called the Circus ApoUinaris, and of which some slight vestiges may be traced not far from the Porta Pia . It seems probable that this Circus was in existence long before the time of Sallust: for Livy tells us that in con sequence cf a sudden rising of the Tiber in the year 55o , which flooded the usual Cir cus, the Apollinarian games were celebrated outside of the Porta Collina. (i) The Egy ptian Obelisk , which is placed in front of the Church of la Trinita de' Monti , stood in this Circus. Since Alaric entered Rome by the Porta Salara , the destruction of all the buildings in this quarter is well ac counted for; and it might be thought, that nothing had been done to repair the dam age since that time. A long line of wall of very ancient appearance is to be seen above the valley; which from its being built with arches has the look of being intended to support the soil, which rises behind it to a considerable height. It is said however to (i)Liv. lib. xxx. c. 38. CIRCUS OF FLORA 49 have formed part of the old walls', which ran in this direction, before Aurelian extend ed the circuit of them. Some authors mention another Circus in or near the Gardens of Stdlust. They give it the name of Flora, and place it near the Piazza Barberini. The Circus of Nero stood partly on the site of the Basilica of St. Peter, and was destroyed by Constantine , when he built the old church, A. D. 324- It was probably begun in the reign of Caligula, since Pliny calls it the Circus of Caius and Nero (i). A plan ofthe Circus , showing its situation •with respect to the ancient and modern church, may be seen in a work of Bonan- ni (2). The curved end was towards the east, and reached almost to the steps leading up to the church. The Carceres nearly coin cided with the farthest end of the Tribune. One side of it did not interfere with Con- stantine's building; the other was entirely built over , so that about half the area was occupied. Of the four pillars supporting the cupola, that at the south-west stands upon the site of the wall , where were the (1) Lib. xxxv. c. 1 5. (2) Historia Templi Vaticani, c. 6. 5o CIRCUS OF NERO seats ofthe spectators. The Obelisk, which is now in front of S. Peter's , stood upon the Spina; and its actual position is marked by a square stone in the passage leading from the sacristy to the choir. It was moved in 1086 by Sextus V. Bonanni, after com paring several contradictory statements, conjectures the whole length of the Circus to have been 1 240 palms. There was another Circus in the neigh bourhood of the Vatican , which may still be traced from any spot commanding this view. It is probably this wliich Procopius speaks of, as quoted above , where he men tions it as existing in his time, but in dis use. It also seems to be that which Andrea Fulvio notices, when after describing the Circus of Nero , he adds that not far from the Mole of Hadrian a small Circus could be traced, ofa black and hard stone, which was almost destroyed, and little known. Or ibis last may have been the Circus of Ha drian , of which some remains were disco vered in the time of Benedict XIV., in the meadows behind the castle of S. Angelo, and near to the river. The length of it was made out to be 5oo palms, the breadth 3oo, but the excavation was shortly after filled up again. CIRCUS 5 1 Some remains of another Circus may be seen outside of the walls, near the Amphi- theatrum Castrense. It has been ascribed to Elagabalus and to Aurelian. An obelisk, which was broken into two pieces, has been removed from hence to the Gardens of the Vatican. P. Victor mentions eight in all. AMPHITHEATRES The A mphitheatres^and Theatres of Rome were at first built only of wood , and fre quently taken to pieces after each represent ation. It was not till the time of Pontpey, that a permanent theatre was built, as will be mentioned hereafter. Nero intending to give an exhibition of ganres , erected an enormous amphitheatre of wood in theCam- pusMartius, which was finished in a year(i). But there was already one there of stone , and J.Caesar had also erected one of wood (2). The first built within the city was by Stati- lius Taurus, who was a great friend of Au gustus. Dio however says, (3) that this was in the Campus Martius. It was burnt in the (1) Tacit. An. lib. xiii.c. 3i.Suet. c. ia, (2) Dio, lib. xliii. (3) Lib, li. 0 2 AMPHITHEATRES time of Nero; and some persons have sup posed, that remains of it may still be seen in part of a wall near the Curia Innocen- ziana in the Piazza Citorio. Pliny mentions a most extraordinary contrivance in the formation of an amphitheatre: he tells us, (i) that Curio built two theatres close to each other, but looking different ways; when the people had taken their diversion at the same time in both theatres , they were at the close of the day moved round by some machinery, and so formed one amphitheatre. The original words are worth inserting, " Theatra duo juxtafecitamplissimaexligno: " cardinum singulorum versatili suspensa " libramento: in quibus utrisque , anteme- " ridiano ludorum spectaculo edito , inter " sese aversis , ne invicem obstreperent " scenae, et repente circumactis, ut contra " starent, postremo jam die, discedentibus " tabulis et cornibus inter se coeuntibus, fa- " ciebat amphitheatrum , et gladiatorum " spectacula edebat, ipsum magis auctora- " turn populum Romanum circumferens. " This theatre was existing in the time of Cicero. (2) Caligula began another amphi- (1) Lib. xxxvi. c, i5. (2) Epist. lib. viii* ep. 2. COLOSSEUM 53 theatre in the Campus Marlius, but it was not finished: (i) this was most probably of stone. Nero erected one of wood, also in the Campus Martius , which was completed in the course of one year. Ofthe Amphithea- trum Castrense mention has been made al ready. All such buildings however were far eclipsed in grandeur of dimensions by the. COLOSSEUM This building is spelt sometimes, Colos seum, or Coloseum, and sometimes Coli seum. But the former is adopted now as the correct mode ; and the Roman antiquaries tell us, that it is derived from the immense size of the edifice, not from the colossal statue of Nero , which was placed here by Hadrian, and dedicated to the Sun. The latter etymology is, however, given by Pomponius Laetus , in his work De Anti- quitatibus Urbis; and we find the adjective collosseus used by Pliny, (2) where he says, that Nero had himself painted of colos sal size. So , also , Suetonius (3) mentions (0 Suet. c. 3r. (2) Lib. xxxv. c. 33. {3) Calig. c 35. 54 COLOSSEUM one iEsius Proculus, who, from his prodi gious size, acquired the name of Colosseus. But Maffei , in his Verona illustrata, argues against the notion that the statue of Nero could have given the appellation to the building. It was first placed in the vestibule to Nero's golden house; and there is no evi dence that it ever stood in the amphithe atre. Maffei also produces a passage where the amphitheatre of Capua is called Colossu s; and here the epithet must certainly have been given from the size of the building. It is altogether a name of modern application, the edifice having been known formerly by the name of ihe Flavian amphitheatre , in memory of Flavins Vespasian , who com menced it A. D. 72. Augustus was said to have meditated raising a similar building on the same spot (1). On the reverse of one of the coins of Titus, with this inscription, IMP. CAESAR. VESPASIAN. AVG. COS. VIH. P. P. there is a representation of the amphi theatre. It was four years in building, and was completed by his son Titus , who had five thousand wild beasts killed at the dedica- (3; Sueton- Vesp.6 COLOSSEUM 55 tion of it, (1) and exhibited games for nearly one hundred days. We may suppose, that many Jewish prisoners formed part of the combatants in these exhibitions (2) Des- godetz says , that fifteen thousand men were employed for ten years upon the build ing; and then there was all the sculpture to finish. I should question his authority for this fact. Others have observed many proofs of precipitancy in the building , and conclu de that Vespasian and Titus hurried the completion of it. (3) They erected it as a triumphal commemoration of their success in the Jewish war; and Venuti conjec tures (4) that the architect's name was Gau- dentius, who was put to death for being a Christian. He grounds his conjecture merely upon an inscription found in the Church of S. Martina; but this appears evidently to be ofa much later date, and probably alludes to some Christian, who was exposed in the amphitheatre to wild beasts. (1) Eulropius, lib vii. c. 21. (2; See Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. lib. iii. c. 7. (3; Vide Forsyth. (4) Vol. i p. 3g Evelyn says, that it was built by 3o,ooo captive Jews. >- Memoirs. I know no authority for this asser tion. Titus brought 700 Jews to Rome to grace bis triumph. Joseph, de Bull. Jud. lib. vii. c. 5. 56 COLOSSEUM SIC. PREMIA. SERVAS. VESPASIANE. DIRE PREMI ATVS. ES. MORTE. GAVDENTI. LETARE CIVITAS. VBI GLORIE. TVE. AVTORI PROMISIT ISTE. DAT. KRISTVS. OMNIA. T1BI QVI. ALIVM. PARAVIT. THEATRvTlN. CELO If we compare the present appearance of the building wilh what it must have been formerly, it will be seen, that nearly two- thirds of the stone which composed it are actually gone. It is said to have suffered by earthquakes; and for a long while it served as a vast stone-quarry out of which modern Rome was ornamented. The Palazzo Farne- se, (which was built by Paul III. ) that of Venice, and the Cancelleria, as well as the Porto di Ripetta, and Churches of S. Loren zo in Damaso, and S. Agostino , are known to have been built from it. Even the iron , which united one block of stone to another, has been pillaged, as may be seen by the holes made in them for that purpose, (i) This spoliation probably commenced cen turies ago; and there is a letter in Cassiodo- rus, (2) in which Theodoric complains that no small quantity of brass and lead had been (1) Sir R. K. Porter observed the same marks of spoliation in the ruins ofMourgaub, the ancient Pasargadte , in Persia (2) Var. lib. iii. epist. 3l. COLOSSEUM 5n taken away from the ornaments of the city walls. He speaks, also, of temples and public buildings having suffered in this way. With respect to the holes which are observed in the stones of the Colosseum , different opi nions have been given as to the origin of them. The same thing may be observed in the Arches of Janus, Titus, and Constantine. A dissertation has been written upon the subject by Suaresius, (i)but he does not come to much conclusion. He mentions several conjectures , among which that already given seems much the most proba ble. Others have supposed that the holes were made for the purpose of fastening in poles for the shops and booth constructed in the interior. But little or no evidence is produced of such a custom Jiaving existed. The Abbe Barthelemi tells us, that he exa mined the building with a view to see if there were any of these cramps still ex isting, and to ascertain whether they were of brass or iron. He succeeded in finding some, and they were all of iron. Ficoroni says, that he saw some of brass. The ancients generally made use of metal for this pur- pose, as we learn from Thucydides , (2) in (1) Inserted in Sallengre's Thesaurus, vol. i. p. 3lS. (2) Lib. i. c. g3. 58 COLOSSEUM his description of the walls of the Piraeus. The stones of ihese were united externally by iron and lead, without any cement: and in the walls ofthe Propylaea and Parthenon, iron and lead have been observed. Vitruvius calls these fastenings Securiculae. Wood was also occasionally used. Blocks of cedar have been found, slill entire, in the columns ofthe Parthenon ; and the same has been noticed in buildings at Agrigentum. Flami nius Vacca says, (i) that when some stones were taken down from the Temple ofNerva, dovetails ofwoodwere found between them, which were perfectly sound and fit for use; he adds, that no carpenter could tell what kind of wood it was. But the paltry consideration ofa few bits of metal was not the only cause which urged the Romans to destroy their noblest orna ment. In ihe fury of the civil contentions which agitated Rome in the middle ages, the leaders of different factions found in the massy structures of their predecessors a number of strong fortresses. The family of the Annibaldi fortified themselves in the Colosseum; and before them, the Frangipa- ni had occupied it for the same purpose. (2) (¦;¦ No- 89 (1) lu the same maimer Les Chevaliers des Irenes de COLOSSEUM 5g We may suppose that their soldiers had not much reverence for the building, except so far as it afforded them protection. In a letter of the Bishop of Orvieto, who was le gate of Urban V. about the year i362, he says, that he had not found any purchasers for the stones ofthe Colosseum, which he had offered for sale, except the Frangipani, who wished to use them for building their palace: and Barthelemi (1) has produced a document of the fourteenth century, in which the contending parties agree to make the stones of the Colosseum common pro perty : " Et praeterea , si omnes concorda- " rent de faciendo Tiburtinam, quod esset " commune id, quod foderetur. " We know, that Robert Guiscard carried on a siege against the Colosseum for several days. Poggio also, who lived in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, lets us into another most destructive cause of the ruin of the Colos seum. In his work upon the Mutability of Fortune he tells us, that great part of it had been burnt to make lime ; a custom which seems to have been very general in those Nisnvts ,Ja France, derived their name end Iheir consequence in the middle ages from having possession of the Amphitheatre at Nismes. (3) Mem. Acad. vol. xxviii.p- 585. 60 COLOSSEUM days; so that the ancient buildings were made to furnish both the stone and the ce ment for modern edifices. The numerous palaces which were built at that time for the Roman nobles, and generally for the nephews and relations of the popes , must bear the infamy of this spoliation. But in spite of all this ill-usage, it is still perhaps the most wonderful monument remaining of Roman magnificence: it seems scarcely to be the ruin of one building only; and its majestic fragments are even magni fied by the desolation and solitude which now prevail round it. We may insert here an expression used by our venerable coun trymau Bede, in the eighth century. Whe ther he ever visited Rome himself may be doubted, though the place of his burial is shown there ; but he may well have receiv ed the account of this building from the Anglo-Saxon pilgrims. He says of it, " As " long as the Coliseum stands, Rome shall "stand: when the Coliseum falls, Rome " will fall: when Rome falls, the world " will fall " (i). We may contrast with this the words of Martial, who saw it in all its splendour, when first erected : (i) Vid. Ducange, Gloss, torn. ii. p. 407. COLOSSEUM 6 1 Barbara pyramidum sileat miracula Memphis, Assiduus jactet nee Babylona labor : Aere nee vacuo pendentia Mausolea ' Laudibus immodicis Cares in astra ferant : Omnis Cresareo cedat labor amphitheatro, Uaum pro cunctis fama loquatur opus- De Spectac. The pillage is at present stopped, and more particularly by a cross being erected in the middle of the Arena, which holds out for every kiss an indulgence of two hundred days. There are also fourteen stations (i) placed round it, so that it is in fact con secrated, to Christian worship, " having " been purified from she Pagan supersti- " tions " (as an inscription states) " by the " blood of the martyrs who suffered here. " The pope Pius VII erected an enormous buttress of brick at the south-east side, by which means a great part of the outer wall has been preserved from falling. He has also employed workmen to repair the in terior, at least a part of it, with a view to show the ancient arrangement of the seats. The amphitheatre is, as usual, elliptical. The wall which surrounds the whole con- (i) In Catholic countries, the different events which hap pened to our Saviour as he was going to the cross , are painted and placed at some distance from each other, so that the devout may stop and pray at each. These are called stations- 6av COLOSSEUM sisted of three rows of arches, one above the other, with half-pillars between each arch: still higher than this was a fourth row of pilasters, with forty square windows, but without arches. The Doric , Ionic, and Corinthian orders were successively em ployed in the three first rows; and the pilas ters of the fourth or upper row are also Corinthian. Maffei seems lo think, that the upper slory should be called Composite, though he allows with Scamozzi and other writers upon architecture that the capitals are Corinthian. It is only on account of the ornaments in the frieze, that he is in clined to the other opinion. Wilhin this outer wall were two other concentric ones, which did not rise so high as the former. This may be called the framework of the building; and the three walls together for med a double row of porticos, running round the whole, which communicated with each olher, and received light from the outside. The entrances were by eighty arches in the outer wall , which opened into the first Portico; from thence the people might pass by as many arches into the second, where they found at intervals staircases leading to the seats. Beside these staircases, there were COLOSSEUM 63 twenty other ascents to the upper seats, immediately from the outer wall, where there are traces ofa staircase at every fourth arch. So that the immense crowds which frequented thisamphitheatrecouldenter and depart in a short time, and with little con fusion. The arches were all numbered on the outside from i to lxxx; but as more than half of this outer wall is now entirely gone, the numbers can only be seen from xxxm toLiv. Between xxxvin and xxxix is an arch a little wider than the rest, without a number, and with no cornice over it; which is supposed to have served as the private entrance from the palace of Titus on the Esquiline hill. This arch is about fourteen feet eight inches wide , and it may be pre sumed , that there were four such in the whole circuit ofthe building. On the coins which represent this building, of which there are not a few, (i) we may observe a kind of projecting porch on one side, which probably belonged to this same entrance. There was another on the opposite side from the Palatine Hill: and a subterraneous passage has lately been discovered which communicated between the Palace and the amphitheatre. (i) Particularly in the reigns of Titus, Gordian, and Alexander Severus. 64 COLOSSEUM Not a single step is now remaining of all the seats of stone, which rose in regular succession from the arena. In all the am phitheatres the spectators sat upon the bare stone, except the senators, and they were allowed by Caligula to have cushions, as we learn from Dio, (i) " Cushions were " then for the first time placed upon the " senators' seats, that they might not sit " upon the bare planks ; and they were al- " lowed to bring Thessalian caps into the " theatre, that they might not suffer from " the sun. " It appears from Juvenal, that this privilege was afterwards granted to the knights ; exeat, inquit, Si pudor est, et de pulvino surgat equestri, Cujus res legi non sufficit. Sat. iii. i54- The seats only went as high as the top of the third story. Above this were staircases leading to a gallery in the fourth story, where the lower orders of people stood; or there was probably another series of seats here made of wood. It is certain , from the remains of the staircases, that many specta- (0 Lib. Iix. COLOSSEUM 65 tors were accommodated here; and above them was an apparatus for covering the amphitheatre in case of rain, as to the nature of which the learned do not seem to be agreed. This custom was first introduced in the theatres by Q. Catulus, when he dedicated the Capitol. He borrowed it from Campa nia (1) What this covering was made of at first, does not appear. Pliny tells us, (2) that Lentulus Spinther first introduced linen awnings at the Ludi Apollinares. This was U. C. 692. We learn from Lucretius that they were coloured, (3) and Dio men tions (4) a purple awning, in the middle of which was a figure of Nero driving his chariot, and stars of gold placed round him. It seems from Pliny, (5) that this was in a temporary amphitheatre built by Nero; and that this was the first time in which amphi theatres had been so covered. Caligula used to amuse himself with ordering these cur tains to be drawn back, when the sun was excessively scorching, and hindering any (1) Plin. lib- xjx- c. 6. Val. Max. lib.ii, c. 4- Amra. Mar- cell, lib. xiv. c- G- (2) Ibid. (3) iv. 73. (4) Lib. Ixiii. (5) Lib. xix. c.6. 66 COLOSSEUM person from going out. (i) If the wind was very high, this covering could not be drawn over so large a space: the spectators then carried parasols, as we may collect from these epigrams: Accipc (ju;e nimios vincant umbracula soles; Sic licet et ventus, te tua vela tegent. Mart. lib. xiv. ep. 28. In Pompeiano tectus spectabo Tbeatro, Nam populo Ventus vela uegare solet. There are some projecting stones at the top of the Colosseum, wliich probably were connected with this contrivance. And in the upper story on the outside there is a series of corbels all round the building , three between each pilaster. There are grooves in them, and directly over them there are depressions in the cornice, appa rently to admit upright poles, which sup ported the awning. Different statements are given of the dimensions of this amphitheatre: but many agree in saying, that the circumference measures 1741 feet; the whole length 619; the whole width 5i3. The length of the Arena is 3oo feet; the width of it 190; so 1 ;i) Sue ton. c- 26- COLOSSEUM 67 that the exterior circuit approaches much nearer to the circular form than the inte rior. The height of theouter wall, now that the soil has been cleared away , which had risen twelve or thirteen feet, is stated at 179 feet; which is certainly very great, but hardly sufficient to warrant the assertion of Ammianus, (i)"that the human eyesight "^cah scarcely reach the top of it: " or of Calpurnius, " that it almost reached the " heavens. " (2) According to P. Victor, 87,000 persons could be accommodated in the seats; and it seems probable, that 20,000 more could have found places above. This seems an almost incredible number; but it is perhaps still more extraordinary, that 100,000 per sons should have been found so frequently to fill it, when the spectacles exhibited were a constant repetition of the same thing, and attended with the most disgust ing barbarities. Yet we are told, that the eagerness to secure good places was such , that multitudes would flock to the Amphi theatre in the evening, and continue there all night, to be present at the first com- (1) Lib. xvi. c- 10. (2; Eclog. vii. 23. 68 COLOSSEUM mencement ofthe games. It should be men tioned, however, that Maffei (i) found room on the open seats for no more than 34>ooo. To show how greatly the Flavian Amphi theatre exceeded all others in size, I have brought into one view some of the dimen sions of those which still remain to us. The Numbers are probably not strictly accurate, but they are not wide from the truth. ColosseumCapua . . Verona . Nismes . Pompeii . Pola (2) . Paestum . a- a re a '£ • 0 CM O a 0 J3 "3 0 an --. -a -a c ns £ £ r-i % 619 5i3 3oo 190 25o i5o 464 367 233 1 36 438 343 174 96 436 346 426 335 160 98 cc en U ntian. Hadrian, g. THEATRES 85 theatres went there to gratify their ears and eyes more than their intellect , and were as impatient of sitting out the repre sentation ofa long tragedy, as they were incapable of appreciating its beauties: they would frequently interrupt the represent ation by demanding some brilliant specta cle, or some sanguinary combat: and the poets were little iuclined to encounter this mortification , or to submit their composi tions to such irrational judges; they wisely preferred private recitations before an au dience both able and willing to appreciate their labours. Ssepe etiam audacem fugat hoc terretque poetam, Quod uumero plures, virtute et honore minores, Indocti stolidique, et depugnare parati. Si discordet eques, media inter carmina poscunt Aut ursum aut pugiles: his nam plebecula gaudet. Epist. lib- ii- ep. i, 1S2 Before Vespasian commenced the Colos seum, the Circus was used for these specta cles. So it continued after the introduction of amphitheatres; but in nearly all the towns, where traces ofthe Romans remain, some vestiges of an amphitheatre are to be found (1) whereas the theatres are compara tively few. (1) Ruins of them may be seen at Pompeii, Capua , Poz- 86 THEATRE OF POMPEY. The first theatre of stone which was erected in Rome was that of Pompey. It has been already mentioned, that he was censured by the older and graver citizens for introducing such a "corruption of the public morals ; and the means which he took to obviate the charge are rather curious. On the top of ihe building was a temple, so that the seats ofthe theatre appeared as if they were steps leading up to the religious edifice; and when the day of dedication ar rived, the people were invited not as to a theatre, but as to a temple. Tertullian mentions this quibble, and ends his relation of it with these words, " ita damnatum et " damnandum opus templi titulo prse- ce texit. " (i) This writer calls the temple that of Venus, which he probably did to make the most of his story; for A. Gellius says, (2) it "was consecrated to Victory. Per haps Pliny gives us the true account ( and he lived much nearer to the time) when he zuoli , Verona , Paestum , Cumae, Alba , Minturnse, Ocriculi, Lucca, Arezzo, Nismes, Aries, Perigueux, Avenche, Hispalis, Corinth, Syracuse, Catania, etc. etc (1) De Spectac. 10. (3) Lib. x. c- 1. THEATRE OF POMPEY 87 says, (1) that Venus Victrix was thedeity, with which account Plutarch agrees. (2) The authors also differ as to the year. Ac cording to Tertullian the theatre and the temple were both dedicated by one act. But there^is a difficulty in following this account. The games , which preceded the dedication of the theatre , were undoubtedly given in Pompey 's second Consulship. Cicero, who must have known, expressly says so; (3) as does Pliny. He was consul , for the second time, U. C. 698: for the third in 701. It seems equally certain, that the temple was not dedicated till his third consulship; the anecdote quoted at p. 169, from A. Gellius, proves that it must have been so. It may therefore be supposed , that after having exhibited the games he deferred the dedica tion of the theatre, from some cause or other, till three years after. But the new Theatre was certainly opened in his second consul ship, since dramatic representations, upon a grand scale, formed part of the amusements. The dedication was a religious ceremony, with which games given by the founder of the building may have had no connexion. (1) Lib. viii, c. j. (2) In Pompeio. (3) De Oitic- lib. ii. i6< Epist. ad Fam. lib. vii. ep. I. 88 THEATRE OF POMPET According to Plutarch, the theatre was a copy of that at Mitylene, but on a more splendid scale. Pliny also speaks in high terms of the magnificence of its orna ments, (i) Dio says, that it was not built by Pompey, but by his freedman Demetri us, who, as we learn from another quarter, was reported to be richer than his master (2) However, it always went by the name of Pompey; who, by the spoils ofthe Mithri- datic war, was more likely than his freed man to have acquired funds for such a work: and we know, that upon his return home he distributed about three millions of our money among his soldiers. (3) The games, to which I have already al luded , were extremely magnificent, and lasted five days. They consisted of gladia tors, wild beasts, and dramatic performan ces both in tragedy and comedy. Cicero seems to have thought all the plays re markably dull. " What pleasure, " he says, could " it afford to a man of taste , to see a " thousand mules prancing about the stage " in the tragedy of Clytaemnestra, or whole (1) Lib. vii. c. 3. (2) Seneca de Tranquil, c. 8. (3) Plin. lib. xxxvii. c- 2. THEATRE OF POMPEY 89 " regiments of horse, accoutred in foreign " armour, in that of the Trojan Horse? " The theatre suffered from fire, and Tibe rius began to repair it; but Caligula fiuished it as we learn from Suetonius, (i) It was injured by fire, also, in the reigns of Clau dius, Titus, aud Philip. Nero covered it with gold during one day, to show it to Tiridates, who cariie to receive the crown of Armenia from his hands. (2) In the time of Honorius it seems to have been consider ed the principal theatre, if not the only one; (3) and in the middle of the sixth century Theodoric agaiu repaired it . We learn this from Cassiodorus, who also de scribes the vast solidity of the building. Having mentioned the repair, he adds, " What canst not thou destroy, age, who " hast shaken such mighty works? It would " have been thought easier for mountains " to give way, than the solidity with which " this theatre is held together; since such " was the rocky construction of the whole " mass, that it seemed to have been itself " a work of nature, with art superadded. " We perhaps should not have made these (1) Tib. 47, and Calig. c- 21. (2) Plin. lib. xxxiii, c. io. (3; Claudian, in i Cons. St il. 4o3. 90 THEATRE OF POMPEY " observations, if we had not happened to " see the arrangement of it; for instance, " the rows of seats, which are arched with " hanging rocks, and unite by concealed " joinings into such elegant forms, that " you would rather believe them to be ca- " verns in a lofty mountain, than guess " them to be any work of art. " At the end, Theodoric, in whose name this epistle is written, tells the patrician, Symmachus, that he will pay the expense, whether it required to be kept together by large but tresses or to be rebuilt, (t) During the middle ages, this, like other ancient buildings, was turned into a fortifi cation; and in the eleventh and twelfth centuries was occupied by the Orsini family. It was large enough to contain forty thousand persons. Of this theatre we can scarcely be said to have any remains- The situation of it was between the church of S. Andrea della Valle, andthePonte Sisto; and some houses still preserve a curved form , which is to be ascribed to the ancient theatre. In the fragments of ancient Rome, preserved in the Capitol, some portion of it may be observed . From these and from (i) Theodoric to Symmachus, Epist, Ii- lib. 4. THEATRE OF POMPEY 9 1 conjecture Bufalino , in his Ichnography of Rome, gives a plan ofthe whole building. Some of the stone was employed in build ing the Cancelleria. Pompey also built a portico near his Theatre, as Augustus did afterwards near that ofMarcellus. It is de scribed as being a most splendid work, to which, beside several rows of pillars, there was a grove of trees attached, and other luxuries. (1) I may take this opportunity of mention ing the statue, supposed to be that of Pompey, at the foot of which Ceesar fell and which is now in the Spada palace. It was found in the Strada de' Leutari, near the Cancelleria , in the year i553: and as the head lay under one house, and the rest of the body under another, the two pro prietors were on the point of dividing the statue, when the pope interposed and res cued it from this misfortune. (2) It stood originally in the place which Pompey had built near his theatre for the senate to as semble in: but we know from Suetonius, (3) that Augustus removed it to stand opposite (1) Martial, lib. ii- ep. 14 Propert. lib. ii. el. 32, 11; ib- iv- el. 8, 75. v. p. i63. (2) FI. Vacca, Mem. Ivii. (3) Aug- c. xxxi. 92 THEATRE OF MARCELLUS the Basilica of Pompey. Winkelmann (i ) ex presses some doubts whether it is really a statue of the great man whose name it bears. The head resembles others which remain to us of Pompey : but it seems not to have been originally made for the body. The left hand holds a globe. THEATRE OF MARCELLUS. The second theatre in Rome was that which bears the name of Marcellus, though it was begun b'y J. Caesar, and finished by Augustus. It has been asserted that Vitru- vius was the architect of it, but there seems no good evidence tosupport such an opinion. He speaks highly in commendation of the beauty ofthe building.lt was dedicated U. C. 743. (2) The stage was repaired by Ve spasian ; and it seems after that to have suffered by fire or some other calamity, as Lampridius mentions the intention of Alex ander Severus to repair it. (3) Considerable remains of it are still to be seen in ihe Piazza Montanara: and Baldassare Peruzzi, who built the Savelli Palace upon the site (1) Lib. vi. e. 5 §. 27. (2) Plin. lib. viii. c- 26. (3. C. 44. THATRE OF MARCEXLUS 9 3 of it, made out a plan of the whole, which was published by his pupil Serlio. It is the semicircular outer wall which has survived, and probably much more than is commonly seen is buried in the neighbouring houses. The ruins of it have made quite a hill, on which the Savelli palace is built : and some ofthe stone was employed in building the Palazzo Farnese. It is supposed to have been formed ori ginally of four stories, but the two upper ones are entirely gone, and the lower one is half buried. This last is! of the Doric order, and it may be observed that the pil lars have no bases; they are of that " tall " and effeminate Doric, " which js found in other buildings at Rome, (i) The story above it is Ionic, and they are considered as a very good specimen of the union of the two orders. The third and fourth stories were probably Corinthian , as in the Colos seum . The moderns do not much admire this mixture of orders; but we have these two instances of it in periods when taste certainly was not on the decline ; and the magnificent Temple of Minerva Alea , at Tegea in Arcadia, was composed of the (1) Dodwell. T. II. 94 THEATRE OF BALBUS. three orders: above the Doric was the Corinthian , and above that the Ionic: (i) There were seats for thirty thousand specta tors in this theatre. Some of the entrances may be seen , by which the people passed into the theatre ; and from plans of ancient Rome in the Capitol, part1 of the stage and proscenium may be made out. In the form of ihe stage little or no variation seems to have pre vailed in the Roman theatres, so that this fragment possesses little value. I annex an engraving of it from the work of Bellori, compared with my own sketch. Serlio, in his work upon architecture, makes out a plan of the whole theatre. (2) THEATRE OF BALBUS. This had its name from L. Cornelius Balbus, who built it at the exhortation of Augustus, U. C. 741 (3). He was possessed of so much wealth, that he left by will twenty-five drachms to every Roman. This theatre was calculated to contain thirty (1) Pausan. lib. viii- c 4, 4§ Dodwell's Travels in Greece, vol. ii. p. 4 '9 (2) Lib. iii. (3) Suet. Aug. xxix. THLATRVM MARCELLI THEATRE OF BALBUS. 95 thousand people, (i) It was dedicated by Claudius. According to Pliny (2) there were four columns of onyx in it, which were considered very remarkable. No remains of this theatre now exist, and the situation of it is not known for certain; but it is supposed that it stood near the Palazzo Cenci, and that the hill on which that palace stands was formed by the ruins of the theatre. (1) P. Victor. (2) Lib. xxxvi- c. 7. CHURCHES OF ROME It has been observed already, that the curiosities of Rome may be conveniently divided into the Antiquities, the Churches , and the Palaces. Having treated of the first of these divisions, we may now proceed to the second. The Churches of Rome are in many re spects remarkable to a stranger, and per haps to the English stranger more particu larly. In travelling through any Catholic country, a Protestant must necessarily be struck with the difference of ornaments and decorations in the places of public worship. The Englishman, accustomed to great sim plicity in the forms and ceremonies of de votion at home, sees much which surprises and shocks him in the Churches of Catholic countries. But in the Netherlands, in France, in Switzerland , and generally in those districts through which he passes on his CHURCHES 97 road to Italy, they are the ceremonies of religion, which for the most part seem to him so extraordinary. The exterior of the Churches themselves will frequently bring to his recollection those of his own coun try: and the pointed style of architecture , as it exists on the continent, is sufficiently allied to that which is so much the boast of his native land , as to set the difference between the several structures in no very strong light. But in Rome the contrast is in every way remarkable. There is some thing in the interior of a Roman church , which is wholly at variance with the pre vailing ecclesiastical architecture of Eng land; and at ihe same time much superior in taste to the religious edifices of most other Catholic countries. In the first place , the total absence of the Gothic or pointed style of architecture in the Roman churches, can hardly fail to be noticed by an English eye. I believe it may be asserted, that not a single specimen of what is called (properly or improperly) Gothic architecture, is to be found within the walls of Rome (i). The windows ofthe north aisle of St. Paul's, without the walls, (i) A friend informs me that some specimens pjay be seen in the Cburch of Ara Celi, 98 CHURCHES are the only instances which I observed near to Rome:: these have certainly a close re semblance to the windows of many of our own parish churches, and are said to have been added in the tenth century. In the tribune of St. John Laleran are four point ed arches ofthe date of 1288: but the cir cumstance of their being pointed is the only one which connects them with that singular form of architecture, so prevalent in the North and in England: they are wholly without mullions, or any other or nament whatseover peculiar to that style. These- are the only two specimens in or near the walls of Rome, which I could find ; and it may therefore be stated as a singular fact in the history of Roman architecture, that though there are churches of every age, and many contemporary with the introdu ction of the pointed style' into Italy and other parts of Europe, yet the pointed arch and its attending ornaments have not found their way into the city of Rome. The north gate in the transept of the old church of S. John Lateran appears how ever to have been Gothic. It is engraved in the work of Ciampini upon the buildings of Constantine(i). He states it to have been (1) Tab. v- POINTED ARCHITECTURE 99 built by- Gregory XL who reigned 1370-8. The same plate does not show any other part of the church to have been in the s;une style. His view of part of the old church of St. Peter also represents six windows, which are themselves round at top, but the com- partmens of each have tracery and mul lions like those in our Gothic churches. All the windows on the sides seem also to have been of the same kind. Much speculation might arise from the above observation, and many conjectures might be raised as to the cause of the ab sence of the pointed style from Rome. The difficulty is not diminished by this style being found in various parts of the Roman states at no great distance from the capi tal ; nor can the fact be explained by sup posing this order to have travelled thus far in a southward direction, and there to have stopped: for in Naples there are not a few specimens, in tolerably correct taste, though there is a great mixture of Grecian in many churches, which would otherwise be called Gothic. The introduction of the pointed style into Naples might perhaps be explain ed: at leas^i!" the result of my observation be accurate, that the cathedral is the oldest Gothic building in that capital, the adoption 100 CHURCHES of that style may be attributed to Charles of Anjou being its founder in i 280 , and introducing the fashion which had gained such firm footing in his own country. But Naples is not the only city south of Rome where this style is to be found : even in Sicily there are many churches decidedly older than the thirleenth century , which have the pointed arch. So that the question still remains to be answered, why there should be no churches of Gothic or pointed architecture in Rome. The traveller in his journey to this city from the Alps will have observed two styles to be mostly prevalent. In Lombardy , par ticularly in the cities of Placentia, Par ma, Reggio, Modena, Bologna, elc. he wil have recognized a great resemblance to what is apt to be called Saxon architecture in England; which term I may adopt for the sake of brevity , however incorrect may have been its original application. The same solidity inthe columns, the invariableadop- tion of the round arch without any mix ture of the pointed in the same building, that corrupt and degenerate resemblance to Grecian models, particularly in the ca pitals, but not at all in the proportions, those grotesque ornaments formed of real POINTED ARCHITECTURE 101 or imaginary animals, which characterize our Saxon edifices, may all be observed in those towns which I have specified above. This order of architecture seems mostly to be confined to the plains of Lombardy, bounded to the south by the Appennines. With some indeed it has obtained the ap pellation of Lombard architecture. Though it is not very material what terms we use to describe any particular style, provided we explain our use of them, yet it may be well to observe, that the terms Gothic and Lombard, as applied to architecture, may be demonstrated to be incorrect with respect to Italy. For as the Goths preceded the Lombards in their pos session of that country, the mode of build ing introduced by the former (if indeed lheyf introduced any) must have been prior to that ofthe latter: but as the Lombard acrhitecture is evidently allied to our Sax on, and we know, that in the north the Saxon was considerably more ancient than the pointed style, we come to an opposite conclusion as to their relative antiquity. We should come to the same conclusion also from examining the churches, of Italy , as well as those of the north of Europe. This may be added to the many arguments, 102 CHURCHES which show, that the term Gothic is in correct, as we use it. For as both the above conclusions cannot be true, and the one which makes the Lombard architecture to be most ancient is confirmed by observa tion, we must infer, that the terms them selves are incorrectly used, and that the style, which is later than that of the Lom bards, cannot be referred to the Goths, who preceded them. The Lombard architecture, as already stated, prevails mostly in ihe country now called Lombardy ; from which it might be presumed, that the term was not given without reason. The Lombards are said to have come from Pannonia, (that is, the country which now goes by the name of Hungary,) but whether that will throw any light upon the history of our Saxon ar chitecture, is a point which I do not pre sume to meddle with. Upon entering Tuscany the traveller will find a new style of building, and one to which his eye has been more familiar in theGothic edifices of his own country. If the distinction did not seem fanciful, I should be inclined to say, that at ihe time when the churches of Lombardy and Tuscanv were built, each of these styles was known and followed; but in Lombardy the Saxon POINTED ARCHITECTURE Io3 became the prevailing order , borrowing some occasional ornaments from the Go thic ; whereas in Tuscany the pointed be came the ruling form, with several admix tures of the more heavy and solid Saxon. The Cathedral of Florence was begun in 1298, and the arches are all pointed: that of Pisa is much older, having certainly been built in io63 , if not~earlier. The style both within and without is not the pointed; but in the baptistery, a circular building close to the west end of the cathedral, there is a row of arches on the outside decidedly Go thic. This building bears the date of n52. To assign a reason for the pointed style being found in some parts of Italy and not in others, is far beyond my pretensions; as it would involve in some measure the intricate question, Whence is the origin of Gothic architecture? To those who would give the merit of the invention to the Ita lians, I never can subscribe. At least it is singular, that the northern architects, who must in that case have imported it from Italy, should have made Mich prodigious improvements in the good taste and ele gance ofthe order, without imparting any of their rules to their former masters. For I can venture to assert, that any specimen 104 CHURCHES of that light and majestic architecture which prevails in our English cathedrals, and of which the unfinished cathedral of Cologne may be quoted as a noble instance on the continent, will in vain be sought for in Italy. The finest specimen of Gothic architecture in Italy, and perhaps in one sense in the world, is at Milan: but the cathedral there is not older than the fourteenth century (i); and its florid decorations and admixture of Grecian orders clearly show the decliue of Gothic architecture. Another hypothesis, which would bring it from the east , is also attended with considerable difficulties. From descriptions, which we have of oriental buildings, the notion certainly does not appear to be with out foundation: but if it was imported in to ihe west by means ofthe Crusades, or any other early intercourse between the two continents, should we not naturally find the earliest specimens of it in Venice, Ge noa, and Pisa, those maritime Republics, which so long monopolised the whole com merce of the east, which transported the Crusaders to and from their adventurous expeditions, and were the first to introduce (i) It was built in 1 386. POINTED ARCHITECTURE 1 o5 a spirit of luxury and refinement in their public and private buildings? Though a few specimens ofthe pointed style may be found in each of these cities, yet surely they are neither frequent nor pure enough to lead to the conclusion , that they were the first examples seen in Europe, after the order had been imported from the east. There are Gothic buildings in the north of Europe, which are older than any in Italy, and at all" events the style has been carried to a far greater elegance and perfection on this side of the Alps: so that an insuperable difficulty would seem to attend that hypo thesis , which would derive the origin of it from Italy; and one almost equally great would be found in supposing it to have been brought from the east, in the communica tion which took place between Europe and Asia in the middle ages. The Italians themselves, at least the Ro mans, are very ignorant of what we mean by the term Gothic, applying it indiscri minately to the pointed and to the Saxon styles: they pretend to hold it in great contempt; and seem to think, that no build ing in that taste can deserve any admiration from a classical eye. The epithets, which they apply to these styles, are such as Gre~ io6 CHURCHES co-barbaro _, Arabo-Tedesco, and such like; from which little can be proved as to the origin of the order. If it prove any thing, it would tend to show , that what we call Gothic architecture came originally from the east, and was first made known to the Italians by the Germans. The subject has been much discussed by the Italian antiquaries; amongst whom two of their most learned writers, Muratoriand Maffei , assigu a mnch later origin to this style of architecture. Tiraboschi however seems inclined (or rather he was so inclined in his first edition) to think, that the Goths were the introducers of the pointed stile, or, according to his own phrase, that they were the corrupters of architecture in Italy. Mr. Eustace quotes a passage from Cassio- dorus, for which, I imagine, he is indebted to Tiraboschi, who advan ces it in support of his theory. The passage is this: (i) " Quid " dicamus columnarum junceam procerita- " tatem? moles illas sublimissimas fabrica- " rum, quasi quibusdam erectis hastilibus " contineri, et substantias qualitate conca- " vis canalibus excavatas , ut magis ipsas " eestimes fuisse iransfusas; alias ceris judi- (i) Lib. vii. Var. form. i5. POINTED ARCHiTECTURE 1 07 " ces factum, quod metallis durissimis vi- " deas expolitum. " I confess, that I can not see much description of Gothic archi tecture here, and no mention whatever of the pointed arch. The Abbe Fea however (i) has entirely destroyed the weight of this passage, by showing, that Cassiodorus was speaking of the ancient Roman buildings, which existed in his time. This is quite evident, and Tiraboschi gives up the pas sage, which Eustace ought also lo have done. Frisi, a writer upon this subject, says, that one of the first examples ofa series of arches upon insulated columns, instead of these columns being united, as formerly, by horizontal architraves, is in the church of S. Vitale in Ravenna, which was begun in the time of Amalasuntha, Queen of the Goths, about A.D. 53o. But this can scarce ly be said to prove much as to the pointed style; and Tiraboschi himself allows, that in the Palace of Diocletian at Spalatro, which was built towards tbe end ofthe third century, there are remains in the same manner of building. So there are in the baths of this emperor at Rome. To which may be added two other instances: the (0 Vide Winkelmann, torn. iii. p. 272. 108 CHURCHES church of S. Constantia , by some called a temple of Bacchus, near to Rome, and out of the Porta Pia. It is certainly as old as the time of Constantine, and by some is thought to be much older. The other is the church of S. Stefano Rotondo on the Caelian hill. An engraving of it may be seen in the work of Desgodetz, who affirms, without expressing any doubt, that it was built in the reign of Claudius. He probably means, that it was the temple which Agrippina began to erect in honour of Claudius, and which was finished by Vespasian. ( i ) Other writers however suppose, that the building is not older than the fifth century. It is a circu lar building, with two concentric rows of pillars. The exterior row supports a series of arches. The windows also are curious, and might almost be thought a step towards those, which are so common in our, Gothic churches. The work above alluded to re presents them thus. (See the Plate. J Certain it is, that the term Gothic has in Italy been synonimous with German or Transalpine: and if the taste of the Roman architects may be considered as important in the question, it would appear evident (<) Sueton. Vesp. c. 9. Yol.u..P.mS- s" ~ CVsl: fe=?£!_li«ri>! - '* — "'!'i s-mic r^'' "-r; vv— -SnpiSl. r'r^'t t5=?^ ? i~ „ ;=. -=" - POINTED ARCHITECTURE 109 that the south of Italy had taken no part in producing this style of architecture; but that on the contrary it was held almost in abhorrence, and considered a decided proof of the bad taste of those nations, who had not drawn tlieir ideas from Italian models. This partly leads me back to the former ques tion, how the absence of all Gothic archit- ture is to be accounted for in Rome? And here I take the term Gothic in the same extended sense as the Romans do ; for neither the pointed style, nor that which we call Saxon, and which is so common in Lombardy, is to be found there. Upon this subject I have little to add. One remark however I shall venture to make, which, though it leave the origin of Gothic architecture unexplained, or rather assumes it to be northern, may perhaps af ford a solution of the other question, why no specimen of it is to be found in Rome? Whatever may be the origin of our north ern styles, the Italians call them both German, and at Rome they apply the term Gothic to one as much as to the other. Pisa seems to have set the example to Florence. From these several circumstances it appears not unreasonable to suppose, that as Pisa steadily adhered to the Ghibelline partyj 110 CHURCHES and Rome was the head of the Guelphic , the cause of the northern styles being adopted and united at Pisa may be ascribed to the connexion of that city with Ger many: whereas the hatred between the Ro mans and Germans will explain the oppo site fact in Rome. Whatever value may be attached to these remarks, the traveller, who has examined the churches of Rome wilh this view, will agree, that the pointed style has not prevailed there. The Roman architects have invariably studied the Grecian models; and whatever fault may be found in separate parts, it must be allowed, that the churches of this city present some ofthe most splendid spe cimens of architecture, which can be found in modern times. The difference between these churches and our own has been before observed to be very considerable. The fol lowing may be some ofthe principal points in which they differ. In England we know but little of Italian architects: I mean those of the school of Palladio, Borromini, Sanso- vino , Samraicheli , Fontana, etc. Some of our houses have been constructed after their directions; but with very few exceptions they have contributed nothing to the designs of our churches. The whole number ITALIAN ARCHITECTURE I 1 I indeed of churches built in England upon the Grecian style is small: and most of thern are of late date, where the architects, however unsuccessful they may have been, have endeavoured to copy the remains of antiquity, and.to adhere to the simplicity of their originals more closely than their pre decessors in Italy. I am aware, that I shall offend many by underrating the merits of Palladio, and what may be called ihe Ita lian school of architecture: for I deny, that it is to be identified wilh the Grecian, nor can I conceive, that the inventors of it meant that it should be so. They undoubt edly intended to strike out a variety of iheir own; and as such, we may venture to criti cise the Italian structures ofthe sixteenth century, without being accused of calling in question the established perfections of the Grecian orders. Of these I profess to be a most humble, but most unqualified admirer: and it is my admiration of their simplicity, which leads me to censure the innovations introduced by the Italian architects. The object of this school seems to have been to break the simplicity of the Grecian orders into numerous parts, and to overload them with ornament. The Doric may per haps be heavy, but the Italian variation of I I 2 CHURCHES it is florid. The former may present too great a mass of solid masonry, but in the latter the eye finds nothing to dwell upon: all is overloaded and broken into parts: every column must be ornamented : every pediment must be divided, and cyarged with some device:' nor can there be any space of a few feet in dimensions, which is not filled up with niches, urns, and statues. To these remarks there will of course be many exceptions; where the ancient models have been strictly followed, they will neces sarily be inapplicable: but my meaning is, that in many of those buildings wliich the Italians admire, there is abundance of bad taste and meretricious ornament, (i) This is particularly the case in many of the Roman churches : and consequently they will not obtain from an English eye that admiration, which a lover of Grecian archi tecture in Italy thinks them entitled to command. After what has been said above, it would be needless to mention the absence of any (i) Since tbe first edition of this Work was priuted, I find from Dodwell's Travels in Greece, (vol.i. 387.) tbat the inno vations of Italian architects of the sixteenth and seventeenth centnries have been condemned by an Italian writer, Milizia Pelle belle Arti del Disegno, p. iqi, CHURCHES I I 3 part of Gothic architecture as another point of difference ; but few English travellers can have failed to observe the total want of those spires and towers, which they have been apt to class among the greatest orna ments of their own towns . I say total want ; because though there may be a few towers rising above the other buildings, yet they can hardly exceed half-a-dozen in number, are generally of brick, (i) by no means high, and altogether much more disfiguring than ornamental. Of spires there is absolute ly not a single specimen : the deficiency is made up in cupolas, of which ihere is a prodigious number, hut these do not make much show, particularly when viewed from the streets , and the very form of them as connected with religious buildings is itself a rarity to the English eye. So much for the exterior of the churches. In the interior the English traveller will also find many points of difference, when he compares them with similar structures in his own country. By the time he has reached Rome, he will have become tole rably accustomed to the singular appen- (i) One disfigures S. Maria Maggiore, and another the church built near the Temple of Nerva. I *4 CHURCHES dages upon Roman Catholic worship: at first he may have thought these ornaments (for they are intended to be such) in extremely bad taste., if not irreverent: but in Rome it must be allowed that a much better taste prevails. The interior of the churches is frequently splendid, not to say superfluously gorgeous: but even Protestant scruples will find little to be offended with, though much which might be altered or retrenched. Rome, formerly the mistress of the world, and for some centuries the capital ofa new empire, that of superstition , still stands pre-eminently distinguished among the countries which acknowledge her supre macy and in the pomp and circumstances of religion far eclipses them all. In entering a Roman church I have felt an awe and a sense ofthe dignity ofthe Catholic religion, lo which I had been a stranger in other parts of the continent. There are some points indeed peculiar to Rome, and which not only the sacred edifices of our own country, but even those ofthe rest of Italy, must necessarily want. In Rome we pro bably see churches of a greater antiquitv than any other country can boast: we have there a kind of history and chronological series of religious architecture and religious CHURCHES ll5 customs: we find churches, which if not originally built for heathen temples, at least preserve the form of them , and may be considered as supplying the connecting link between the Pagan and Christian worship; in those of a later dale we have some of the finest remains of antiquity consecrated to a better and holier purpose: we find whole rows of columns, and marble of all descrip tions and sizes, taken from the ruins of ancient buildings, and serving as ornaments to more modern temples; and sometimes even the actual statues , which had borne the names of heathen deities, transformed, and as it were baptized, to suit the equally numerous catalogue of Christian sainls, The astonishing quantity of these remains may be conjectured from a calculation made some time ago by an inhabitant of Rome , that there were 14,000 Granite columns in the city, nearly all of which may be considered ancient: and I find in Spence's Anecdotes, (i) that the antique columns of marble amount to 6,3oo. The pictures, which are a striking feature in all Catholic churches, when contrasted with places of worship in Protestant coun- (i) l\ige o,G. Il6 CHURCHES tries, command peculiar attention in Rome. Some of the finest works of the greatest masters were painted for religious societies, and some of them still preserve their ori ginal situations. But beside the pictures , the ceilings are frequently painted; and in no respect are the churches of this capital more conspicuous, than for the frescos which adorn their roofs. The English traveller will also observe, and probably lament, the absence of painted glass in ihe Roman churches. Leo III . who reigned about the year 800, is said to have put coloured glass intoS. John Laleran and St. Peter's (1). But there is none now in the whole of Rome, and throughout Italy it is by no means so common as in the north. The French say, that the Italians learnt what they know of this art from a painter of Marseilles, who worked at Rome under Julius II. Having premised these observations wilh respect to the churches of Rome in general, we may now proceed to make some remarks upon those which hold the principal rank for size, for beauty, or for antiquity. It is right to begin first with the Basilicse. These (1) Annstasius. BASILICA 1 1 7 are a kind of metropolitan churches, having other parishes subordinate to them. The term Basilica, among the ancient Romans, signified a building where causes were heard, ambassadors received, public business trans acted, etc. etc. Shops were erected round them, in which various articles were sold. The form was an oblong; the middle of which was an open space to walk in, called Testudo , and which we should now call the nave; both of which terms are taken from the appearance ofthe wooden roof (i) On each side of this was one or more rows of pillars, according to the scale of tbe building, which formed what we should call side aisles, and which the ancients termed porticus. The end ofthe testudo was finished in a curved form, and called Tribunal, because causes were heard there. (2) Thus we find in Pru- dentius, Fronte sub adversa gradibus sublime Tribunal Tollitur, Antilles piaedicat uude Deum. Hymn. S. Hippolyti. Hence ihe term Tribune is applied to that (1) The apostolical Constitutions, which are probably as old as the fourth century, notice resemblauce ofa Church to a ship. Lib. ii. c. 5;. 2 Vid. Quiutil. lib. xii. c 5. T. II. 6 I 1 8 BASILICA end ofthe Roman churches which is behind the high altar, and which in the oldest churches generally preserves the curved ferm. The whole plan of the ancient Basi lica may be found in Vitruvius. (i) After having mentioned the above particulars, he adds, " but if there shall be greater room " in tlie length, Chalcidica may be added " at the extremities. " The meaning of this term Chalcidica is not certain; but the most probable interpretation seems to be , that they answered to our term transepts; and the custom of building them may have been brought from Ghalcis. (2) These tran septs, however, seem not to have produced the form of the Latin cross, but to have been added at the extremity of the building; for Baptista Albertus says, " they joined these " two (i. e. the Testudo and the Chalcidica) " so as to form a resemblance to the let- " ter T. " The old Basilica of St. Peter was exactly of this form. The proportions, ac cording to Vitruvius, were such, that the breadth equalled ihree-fifths of the length. It is not improbable, that in the Christian Basilicas the transepts were moved lower (i)Lib. v. t. 1. (2) It has been conjectured, that we should read Causidica. BASILICA 119 down in the building, in order to assimilate them to the form of the cross. The Italians always call the transept CroGiata,ixi\A. those who write in Latin call it Crux. From what has been stated, it is not dif ficult to see why the term Basilica was ap plied to Christian churches. For of the sacred edifices erected in Rome by Gonstan- tine, that ofthe Laleran, the old St. Peter's, and St. Paul's, were precisely of this form. Any Roman of that day who saw them would naturally apply the term to them, for they were in all respects the same as the heathen Basilicae. As these were the first churches upon a large scale, and legally acknowledged in Rome, the term Basilica would become identified with Christian temples; and though the other churches erected by Constanline, viz. S. Croce, S. Lorenzo, and S. Agnese, might not be of the same form, they would all come to be called Basilica? (1). At present the term is confined to seven churches, as mentioned above. It is not so easy to give a reason for this; but their antiquity, and the celebrity of their foundation, ( five of them being ihe (1) In the Greek of Eusebius, we find pcr. '" which may be seen an interesting description ofa church at Tyre, in the reign of Constautine . The Apostolical Constitutions expressly order the church to face tbe east. Lib. ii. c. 87. See Pseudo-Athauaa. vol. ii- p. 276. 1 36 s. peter's good reason for making St. Peter's face the east, because the approach from the city naturally required the entrance to be on that side: otherwise a person would have had to go round the church before he could get into it. S. Leo , in one of his sermons , (i ) mentions, with regret, that people were ac customed, as soon as they had ascended the steps of St. Peter's, to turn round and bow toward ihe rising sun; which, he says, gave him great pain, as proceeding partly from ignorance, and partly from a spirit of pa ganism. Gregory the First, or the Great, repaired the roof in 602; and some accounts make him to have procured timber for that purpose de partibus Britannorum . But Baronius clearly proves, that Britain is erroneously said to have contributed towards the repair ofthe sacred edifice, and that we ought to read Brutinorum, as the timber came from Calabria. (2) Anastasius, (1) De Nativ. vii. c 4. Vide Tertull. Apol. c. 16. (2) It is singular that the same mistake has crept into the copies of Athenaeus, lib. v.; who tells us, tbat the main-mast of the ship which Archimedes made for Hiero , was found in the mountains Tfc Bpsrravi'a;. Camden is undoubtedly right in suggesting BpsTTwvyij. He proposes a similar correction iu Polybius, lib. xi. s. peter s 137 in his Life of Honorius I. tells us, that this pope, about G3o, removed to the roof of S. Peter's some brazen tiles, which were upon the Temple of Venus and Romulus. Plati- na says, that they came from the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus; but the former ac count is more probable. In i34i, Benedict XII. put on an entirely new roof; on which occasion a beam of extraordinary size is said to have been taken down , which was put up by Constantine. Birds had built their nests in it; and even foxes were found to have takeu up their abode in it ! Pope Nicolas V. has the merit of having begun the new struct ure in i45o, but he only finished part of the tri bune, which at his death was not raised more than 4 rA feet from the ground. His architects were Bernar dino Rossellini and Leon Battista Alberti , both of Floreuce. Under the two following popes the work does not appear to have been continued. His immediate successor was Calixtus III. who is said to have repaired the windows, and to have strengthened the left-hand wall, which was in a falling state. But these expressions must relate to the old church, and it docs not appear that be furthered the design of building a new one. Paul II. who reigned from i4^4 to '471 > i 38 bramante went on with it, and spent 5ooo crowns upon the building. But Julius II. contribut ed more than any of his predecessors to the furtherance of this immortal work. It is as serted by Vasari, (i) that he was animated to the undertaking by the magnificent design for his own tomb, which Michel An gelo had just completed. The celebrated Bramante Lazari was his architect, to whom the original idea of the cupola is to be ascribed . He commenced his labours in i5o3, and half the old church was at once pulled down to enable him to execute his plans. It is said, that M. Angelo (who was then twenty-nine years old, and employed upon the tomb , as mentioned above, ) regretted the precipi tancy with which this demolition was car ried on. (2) Julius laid the first stone himself on the 18th of April, i5o6, and (1) Vol. ii. p. 83 and vol. iii. p. 211. (2) Theie is some difficulty as tothe year when M. Angelo first came to Rome. Condivi says, ( p. 16, ) that it was in i5o3 the first year of Julius' Pontificate. Roscoe, in his admirable life of Leo X. vol. iv. p. 298 , decides this to be wrong , but says, that it certainly was not later lhau i5o5. Yet if Bonan- ni (whom 1 have followed) is right in saying lliat Bramante commenced in i5o3, and if the two anecdotes mentioned of M. Angelo in the text are also true, he must have been in Rome in i5o3. s. peter's i3g marked it wilh appropriate inscriptions. It was deposited under one of the four pillars which support the cupola, where is now the statue of S. Veronica. In the following year two of the other pillars were begun upon; and Bramante lived to see all the four raised as high as the cornice, and the arches com pleted, which spring from one to the other. Each of the pillars was 5g feet in diameter. It would seem, however, that there was some defect in Bramaut's work ; for Serlio says of it, " It may be perceived, that Bra- " ma nte in forming a design was bolder " than he was circumspect; because so vast " mid massy a work should have au excel- " lent foundation, on which it might stand " secure, and not be built upon four bows " or arches of such an height. In confirma- " tion of my remark, the four pillars and " also the arches, without any other weight " upon them, have already settled and sunk, " and in some places even cracked." Serlio wrote his book about i544 • and it wiR be seen, that M. Angelo found it necessary to strengthen these pillars. M. Angelo has also the credit of having supplied Bramante with an improved plan tor the wooden machinery to support the arches, before they were finished. i4o BRAMANTE Bramante did not live to see the cupola completed according to his original design; but dying in i5i4> was buried with honour able solemnities in part of the new build ing. Two coins were struck , one of Julius II. the other of Leo X. on the reverses of which the front of the Basilica is represent ed according to the plan of Bramante. There was to have been a projecting portico of six columns , wilh a dome at the top of it. At each extremity ofthe front there was a high narrow tower of four stories. He intended to have adopted the form of the Latin cross: and in Serlio's Book upon Ar chitecture, (1) may be seen the ground plan of it, as designed by Raffael after Bramante's death. The interior would have consisted of a nave and two aisles , with two semicircular projections in lieu of tran septs. Leo X. who succeeded! Julius in i5i3, inherited his zeal for promoting the fine arts, and under him the building of St. Peter's wasconlinued with increased energy. It is well known , that both Julius and Leo carried to a much greater length than any of their predtcessors the sale of indulgences. (i) Lib. iii c. 4- RAEFAEL l4l The justification of such a measure was principally taken from the desire enter tained by the Roman pontiff for rebuilding the church of St. Peter: and as the Reform ation is certainly to be ascribed in a great degree to the offence raised by this scandalous traffic , we may say without aiming at a paradox, that the efforts of the Roman Catholics to beautify their Metropo litan church contributed in some degree to produce the Reformation, (i) Leo's first architects were Giuliano da San-Gallo and Giovanni da Verona : to whom was added the celebrated painter > Raffael. That this great man excelled in architecture, as well as in his favourite study, is perhaps not generally known. But at the revival of the art of paintings and for some time after, there were few profes sors of it, who did not also employ them selves in giving architectural designs. Raffael acquired not a little fame in this depart ment of a rt: and the Chapel of the Chigi family in the Church of S. Maria del Popolo , which was built upon his designs , is considered a fine specimen of his talents. Leo X. among his other magnificent pro- (0 Since writing this mnteuce, I find the same lentiment in the History of theCouncil of Trent, written by l'aUaviciui,c. i. p. 49. T. II. 7 l42 S. PETER'S jects had thoughts of rebuilding Rome upon a scale suitable to its former grandeur, and Raffael was employed by him to collect designs, (i) A Letter or rather Report, ad dressed by Raffael to the Pope upon this subject, is still extant. (2) It was in the year i5i5 that he was employed by Leo in the building of Si. Peter's, having been immortalizing himself by his paintings in the Vatican since i5o8. He was now thirty-two years of age. An original letter of his upon the occasion of his receiving the appointment being still preserved, I may perhaps be excused in translating part of it. (3) " His Holiness in " conferring an honour upon me has placed " a great load upon my shoulders: this is " the superintendence of the building of St. " Peter's. I hope, that I shall not sink under (1) See a Letter from C- Calcagaini to J. Ziegler, in the Collection by Colomiez at the end of his edition of Clement, London, 1687. From an expression In this Letter, Kaflfae I seems to have had the chief direction of tbe building of St. Peter's. (2) It is published in the Appendix to Roscoe's Life of Leo X. N.° ccxi. (3) I take this from a Collection of original Letters from Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, published by Bottari , in seven volumes: a very interesting work, and generally quoted under the name of Lettere Pitloriche, Tide, vol.i. p. 84. RAFFAEL 1 43 " it: and the more so, as the plan, which I " have made for it, pleases his Holiness , ""and is commended by many men of " genius. But I raise my thoughts even ^higher. I could wish to reach the beautiful " forms ofthe ancient buildings: nor can I " tell whether my flight will be like that " of Icarus . Vitruvius affords me great " lights, but not tn jugh/' Two letters, ad dressed to him by Cardinal Bembo in the name of Leo, are also extant, (i) from which it appears, that Bramante on his death-bed pointed him out as a fit succes sor; that he was to receive 3oo gold crowns faureij a year; and any marble dug up within ten miles of Rome was to be put at his disposal. From this and the other works, which were more immediately suited to his genius, Raffael was cut off by a premature death in i520, at the age of 37. San-Gallo had died three years before him, in 1517. Neither he nor his colleagues did much more than strengthen the four pillars, wliich had beeii raised by Bramante: but the plan which (2) These are published by Roscoe, Appendix, No. ccix and ccx. from Buinbi Epist. Pout if. lib. ix. epp. 1 J. el. f)i. I 44 s- peter's Raffael conceived may be seen in the work ofSerlio. (i) After this, Leo committed the work to Baltassar Peruzzi , who , despairing of money or time to complete Bramante's design , intended to adopt the Greek cross; Peruzzi's plan is also engraved by Serlio , and by Bonnanni. It would have been a perfect square: at each angle there was to be a square tower; and belween each of these angles was a semicircular projection. The diameter of the cupola in its widest part was to be 1 88 palms. Leo died in i52i, and for twelve years after his death little or nothing was added to the work. His suc cessor Adrian VI. did not live two years after his elevation ; and Clement VII. saw the city entered and pillaged by the German-Spanish army, which supported the cause of Charles V. Peruzzi however finished the tribune during his reign. Paul III. ( a Farnese , who reigned from 1 534 to i549) employed Antonio San-Gal- lo, (2) nephew to Giuliano, who again changed the. plan to a Latin cross. His design may still be seen in the church; but (1) Lib. iii. c. 4- (2) Antonio San-Gallo built a house for himself, which is now the Palazzo Sacchelti in the Strada Giulia. A. SAN GALL0 I 45 its rejection seems to have been merited. The pillars were much too large , and the aisles too small to produce a pleasing effect. The front was crowded to excess with co lumns and windows. The two towers, which were to rise from the extremities of it, were still more overloaded; -Mid he seems to have been fond of little pinnacles or pyramids, which concealed the building behind, and could not in themselves produce any effect of grandeur. Bramante's design for the cupola was much more simple; it was to have been surrounded with one row of Corinthian pillars at the lowest part of it, but the rest of the curvature was to"be plain. Antonio had two tiers of pillars and arches,one above the other, the lower Ionic, the upper Corinthian: at the top ofthe cupola were two more successive rows, and over all was a pyramid or cone ending in a ball; so that the simple majesty ofthe dome was entirely lost. The length of the church was to have been 1040 palms; the whole height 636. Fortunately for the success of the edifice, San-Gallo did not live long enough to execute his plans. He strengthened the supports of the cupola still farther and died in i5^6. He was buried in the Basilica. Upon his death the work was to have 1 46 s. peter's been entrusted to Giulio Romano, the cele brated pupil of Raffael ; but he died in the same year, and it was committed to the immortal M. Angelo. He was now about 72 years of age. The brief, by which the pope entrusted M. Angelo with the building, is still in existence. The pope had been charm ed with a model, which that great architect had executed for the Basilica, and in this letter he gives him the fullest powers to alter and pull down what his predecessors had done, to command and control all the other persons employed, in short, to be entirely absolute in following his own de signs. In i549 Paul HI- died. His successor was Julius III. , who was soon assailed with complaints from all sides, ofthe overbear ing temper of M. Angelo, and of his oppo sition to the plans and labours of the most experienced artists. It should be mention ed, that this great man was working all the time without pay, having refused the repeated offers of Paul IIL, who would have giveu him 100 gold crowns a month. Julius however was sensible of the merits of the architect, and of the envious malignity of his calumniators. In January, c552, he sent him a new diploma, confirmino- him in the entire and uncontrolled management M. ANGELO I 47 ofthe fabric. Notwithstanding this coun tenance given him by the sovereign pontiff, his enemies seem to have continued their clamours and impediments; and he would willingly have retired to end his days at Florence, where his presence was most ea gerly desired, if he had not postponed every consideration of private peace and tranquil lity to the importance of the work on which he was engaged. Several of his letters to his friends are extant in which he expresses these senti - ments. An extract may be given from one of them, which seems to have been writ ten about the year i556. It is to G. Vasa- ri, and begins with these words: " My dear " friend George, I call God to witness that " I was engaged against my will and with " very great reluctance by Pope Paul III. " in the building of St. Peter's ten years 11 ago : and if the construction of that build- " ing had been followed up to the present " day in the manner it was then carried " on , I should now be arrived at such a " point in the building, that I should turn " to it with delight ; but from want of " money it has proceeded and still pro- 11 ceeds very slowly, just as it is come to li the most laborious and difficult parts; so 1 48 s. peter's "that by abandoning it now, the only " consequence would be, that with exces- " sive shame and impropriety I should lose " the reward of the fatigues, which I have " endured these ten years for the love of " God. " He concludes ; " To make you un- " derstand the consequence of abandoning " the said building, in the first place, I "should satisfy several scoundrels, and I " should be the occasion of its falling to " ruin and perhaps of its being shut up for " ever " (i). Vasari also in a letter to M. Angelo alludes to the cruelties exercised upon the works of that great man , and advises him to fly from the ungrateful Ba bylon, which could not appreciate his me rit (2). The sublimity of his- genius is to be seen more than the success of his execution in the designs which he followed. These prin cipally consisted in alterations. He returned to Peruzzi's plan ofa Greek cross, widened the tribune and transepts, and gave a much freer area than his predecessors had pro jected. The cupola also was erected by him on a design different from that which had (1) Lettere Pittoricbe, vol. i. p. 5, (2) Ibid. vol. iii. p, 5o. M. ANGELO l49 been intended by the former architects. It is not my intention to describe, in detail his execution of this wonderful work. Bo- nanni's book may be consulted by those who interest themselves in such histories. The principal difference consisted in his constructing two domes, an inner and an outer one. The latter gave a greater majesty to the fabric when viewed from the exte rior; and in the body of the church the eye is more gratified with having the cu pola apparently nearer to it. The Church of our Lady of Loretto in the Piazza Tra- iana has a double cupola of this kind, the design for which was given by Bramante ', and this most probably suggested the idea to M. Angelo. With'respect to the elevation of the front, his plan was far more simple than that of Antonio San-Gallo ; but still it bears that striking characteristic of the Italian architects, a multiplicity of orna ments alternately advancing and receding. About two-thirds of it project out from the rest; and from this there was still another projection in a portico, which was support ed by four columns. The architecture was Corinthian. In consequence of the Greek cross being adopted, nearly the whole of the dome would have been visible whenever r >5o s. peter's the front was examined. M. Angelo died in i563, at the advanced age of 89, having been employed nearly eighteen years in the building. He completed what the Italians call the Tamburo of the dome, i. e. the cylindrical part, which rises from the four pillars to the spring ofthe arch ofthe dome. Many persons still lament that his ideas were ever departed from, and the Latin cross substituted for the Greek. It is difficult to deny that a greater idea of space and grandeur is raised by the latter than by the former. When all the four members of the cross are equal, a person standing in the centre is likely to be more impressed with the proportions of the building, than when one limb being so much longer than the rest, the others appear less than they really are- The churches of S. Maria degli Angioli a nd S. Agnese in Rome , and la Trinita Maggiore at Naples, may be mentioned as fine specimens of the Greek cross, but es pecially the first (1). The four pillars supporting this enor mous cupola are stupendous masses of ar- (1) Burke, in his Essay on the Sublime and Beautiful, ( part, ii . §. 9. ) oLjects to the Greek cross , and indeed lo any kind of cross, because it breaks the extension of the building. But he is speaking of the effect only from the outside. GREEK CROSS I 01 chitecture; but from the admirable propor tion observed in all the parts of this build ing, they are not so much observed as they otherwise would be. No better-notion can be conveyed of their prodigious dimensions than by stating, that there is a church in the Via delle 4 Fontane, called S. Carlo, which is exactly the same size as one of these pillars; nor does it^appear particularly small in the inside. It was built in 1640 by Borromini (1). By a rough measurement of one of these pillars, they are near 240 feet in circumference. M. Angelo insisted ear nestly that nothing should be added or altered in his design. Bernini afterwards undertook to make a staircaise within each of the columns. Just as they had hollowed and prepared the inside of one of them (that in front of which the statue of S. Veronica now stands,) the whole building gave a crash, and the Italian tradition says, it was as loud as thunder. They put up the stairs (1) This is the account of tbe Roman guides Ramsay (in Spence's Anecdotes , §. i . p- 4 1 • ) says , ," each of t he four co- " lumns takes up as much ground as a little chapel and cori- *' vent , ( S. Silvestro by the 4 Fontane ,) in which one of the " architects employed in that work lived. " This must be a mistake. There is no chucrh of S. Silvestro by the 4 Fonlane, and the church ofS. Carlo Was evidently built suhsecpaently lo the dome of S. Peter's. 1 52 s. peter's in that, but would not attempt any more of them. Some accounts say, however, that there existed originally a well for a stair case, and that Bernini only put the steps in it (2). The work went on during the Pontificate of S. Pius V. (1566-72) under GiacomoBa- rozzi da Vignola and Pirro Ligorio, who were charged by the Pope to follow in every thing the designs of Michel Angelo. Giaco- mo della Porta cout-inued it under Gregory XIIL (1572-85) and under Sextus V. com pleted the cupola. Domenico Fontaua was united with him in the work, and the zeal of Sextus being as great, if not greater than that of any of his predecessors, 600 work men were employed night and day, and the money expended was at the rate of 1 00,000 gold crowns per annum . This incessant labour completed the cupola in the short space, of twenty-two months, it being fin ished by May, 1590, all except the outer covering of lead. It was calculated, that 5oo lbs. weight of rope was used in the finishing of this dome, and 3o,ooo lbs. weight of iron. Above 1,100 beams were employed in one story only of the dome, (2) This anecdote is from Spence- s. peter's i53 ioo of which were so large that two men could not embrace them. The architects traced their design on the floor of St. Paul's, part of which may still be seen. Paul V. (Borghese) ascended the papal throne in i6o5, and pursued the work with as much eagerness as any of his predeces sors. The most astonishing part of the fabric, the cupola, was now finished; but great part of the original church was still standing at the east end, or near the entrance; so that there were in a manner two separate chur ches: one showing the taste of the fourth century, and the piety and magnificence of Constantine; the other exhibiting, byway of contrast, what was the state of the arts, and what were the resources of the Catholic Church, i,3oo years afterwards. Paul V. was animated with a desire of seeing the new fabric completed in his reign ; and being assured from various quarters that the old walls were in a most ruinous condition, he lost no time in ordering their demolition. Carlo Maderuo was the principal architect employed: preparations were made for erect ing the front or grand entrance, and the Pope laid the first stone in person the 18th of February, 1608. Maderno returned to the original plan ofthe Latin cross, and finished 1 54 s. peter's compared the whole in 1612. The portico was com pleted in 1614. The colonnade was added by Alexander VII. (1655-67,) with the architeclure of Bernini. Pius VI. (1775-800) built the sacristy, and gilded the ceiling ofthe inte rior. So that to bring St. Peter's to its pre sent form required three centuries and a half; and up to 1694 it was calculated, that forty-seven millions of scudi (upwards of ten millions and a half sterling) had been expended upon it. 1 have said, that the front erected by Carlo Maderno is the least successful part of the whole fabric. This is a remark which is made by many , indeed by most foreigners. All come to Rome with their expectations raised to the highest pitch from the ac counts which they have read of St. Peter's, and many are disappointed with the first view. If the utmost stretch of imagination was not far exceeded in the splendour of the interior, I should perhaps dwell more upon this disappointment in the first view ofthe exterior; but it is surely not merely national prejudice which prefers ihe front cf St. Paul's in London to that of St. Peter's. I speak merely of architectural design; for in dimensions it is well known that our En- with st. paul's i55 glish cathedral is far inferior; though this perhaps is not much thought of in viewing either building, because the other cannot be compared with it at the time. The black and dingy aspect of S. Paul's affords a me lancholy contrast lo the whiteness of St. Peter's; but in noticing some of the defects ofthe latter, it may perhaps be allowed, that a' decisive balance may be drawn in favour of St. Paul's. It must again be re peated, that I am now only speaking ofthe fronts of the two buildings. As to the ap proach to each of them, and the points of view from which they are first seen, both labour under great disadvantages: but the association of ideas is perhaps in favour of our own cathedral: Both of them want an open space, in wliich their beauty and mag nificence may have room to display them selves; and the approach to both of ihem is by narrow streets; but in London it is merely the closeness and narrowness of the way which is disadvantageous : the approach to St. Paul's is certainly close and crowded, but still in arriving at it we have been led through a line of indus try and opulence, through a succession of objects which attest our present gre.it- ness , to this monument of the wealth 1 56 s. peter's and zeal of our predecessors. Whereas the approach to St. Peter's is not only narrow, but mean: (i) the metropolitan church of Christendom not only stands in a remote and dirty part of the city, but in one which peculiarly shows the poverty and wretched ness of the inhabitants. The objections which I make to the front itself are these. In the first place there is no projecting portico to break the long line of building which this front presents; and the multiplicity of pilasters, windows, and re cesses, which Italian taste has so liberally bestowed, produces an effect by no means imposing.. In the centre is the balcony, from which the pope delivers his bene diction at Easter; and many will perhaps agree, that the faults here mentioned are principally owing to ihe necessity of intro ducing such a recess. (2) In fact, ihe front (1) On tbe right hand side ofthe street is a palace, built by Henry VIII. as a residence for his ambassadors and given by him to Cardinal Campegio. (2) Some persons may be gratified by seeing the form of this Benediction. " S. S. Aposloli Pelrus et Paulus, de quo- " rum poteslate et auctoritate conGdimus, ipsi inleicedantpro " nobis ad Dominum. Amen. " Precihus et meritis Beatse Maria? semper Virgiuis, Beat i " Michaclis Archangcli, Beati Joaniiis Baptists: etS. S. Apos- " tolorum Petri et Pauli, et omnium Sanctorum, misereatur "vestri Omninotens Deus.et dimissis omnibus peccatis ves- " tris perducat vos Jesus Christus ad vitam aeleniam. Amen. FRONT l57 is not at all in the style usually assigned to a religious building, but gives more the idea ofa palace. As there is no projecting portico, the pediment, which is over the four cen tre pillars, is rather unmeaning; and being oUt-topped by the attic story , it is only a triangle let into the wall, without forming a finish to the whole as a pediment is usual ly expected lo do. The general effect would perhaps be much improved, if the whole of this attic were away, by wliich means much more of the dome would be seen. At pre sent, that, which is the most wonderful and majestic part of the whole fabric, makes very little show from this point of view. Had the Greek cross been adopted, more of it would probably have been seen: and from these two causes, viz. the length of the nave, and the height of the front, the dome " Indulgentiam, Absolutionem et Remissionem omnium " peccatorum vestrorum, spatium verce et fi uctuosne pceniten- " tioe cor semper pcenitens, et emendationem vitae; gratiam et " consolationem Sancti Spiritus, et (inalem perseverantiam in " bonis operibus tribuat vobis omuipotctis et misericors Do- " minus. Amen. " Et Benedictio Dei Omnipotentis, Patris, Filii, et Spiri- " tus Saucti, desceudat super vos, et maneat semper. Amen. " Not a syllable of this can be heard by the thousands below: but as soon as it is delivered, a cardinal deacon reads two plenary indulgences, one in Latin, the other in Italian, and the papers containing them are thrown down and caught with the greatest eagerness by the people. jj58 s. peter's which ought to astonish the spectator at the first view, presents, but a small portion to the eye; and hence no doubt arises great part ofthe disappointment which is so ge nerally complained of. The thirteen statues on the top are those of our Saviour and his Apostles with the exception of S. Peter. His pi ace is supplied by John the Baptist, and the statues of St. Peter and St. Paul are to be seen below. It should be mentioned, that the eight half-pillars in this facade are nearly nine feet (English) in diameter, which is greater than that of the pillars in any modern building. Fragments belong ing to the temple of Jupiter Olympius at Girgenti, show the half-pillars there to have been eleven feet in diameter. "After having passed the long, narrow street mentioned above, the spectator finds himself in the Piazza de* Rusticucci, an ir regular open space, 246 feet long by 204 wide, which leads him into another open space immediately in front of St. Peter's, and almost inclosed by a colonnade, wliich stretches out in a curved line from each ex tremity of ihe building. Objections may be brought to the taste and to the design of this colonnade; but we must be scrupulous indeed to deny it the effect of grandeur. A COLONNADE I 59 semicircular or rather a semielliptical co lonnade on each side, inclosing a space of 728 feet by 606, with four rows of pillars, through the centre of which two carriages may pass, and of which pillars there are in all a56, beside 48 pilasters, surmounted ou the top with 192 statues of saints, each eleven feet high, must at least produce the effect of much magnificence. Nearly at the entrance of the colonnade stood the house of Raffael, designed by Bramante; but this and several other buildings were removed in 1660, to improve the approach to St. Peter's. If the whole stood iu an open unconfined space, with an approach through a wide handsome street, the colonnade would per haps be more approved of than it is at pre sent. It was builtby Bernini, as stated above, during the pontificate of Alexander VII. He chose a mixture of orders, which some critics may object to, but it is as little offensive as any union of different styles can be. The bases ofthe pillars are Tuscan, the capitals are Doric, and the shafts and cornices Ionic. The curved colonnades do not commence immediately from the cathedral, but are a continuation of two straight lines of columns of equal breadth , which go off from each 160 s. peter's extremity of the front , but not at right angles, for a distance of 296 feet. The area within this colonnade is the place from which the front of S. Peter's must be ex amined; not that the effect of it from this spot is altogether happy, as has been com plained of above, but because from the nar rowness of the streets leading to it, no view can be obtained of it before . The motley and incongruous buildings of the Vatican form also another great eye-sore. In the centre of the area is an Egyptian obelisk of granite, for an account of which the reader is referred to vol. i. p. 326, where it was stated that it does not stand exactly in the centre. On either side of it is a fountain of peculiar elegance and simplicity. The whole width ofthe front is 396 feet, the height 159. There are five open entrances, which lead into a covered portico, extending along the whole front, and continued beyond it at either end; so that the whole length ofthe portico is 468 feet by 4° wide. The pillars of this portico belonged to the old church . The true magnificence of St. Peter's begins here. At either end is an equestrian statue; that on the right is ofConstantine, that on the left of Charlemagne: the first thefoun- COLONNADE l6l der of the old cathedral , the latter of the greatest benefactors ofthe holy see. There are five doors leading into the church: the principal one in ihe centre is not general ly used, except on great ceremonies. The bronze doors belonged to the old cathedral, and were executed in i44^j i" the pontifi cate of Eugenius IV. who employed Anto nio Filarete, and Simone, brother of Do nate. The bars-reliefs represent the martyr dom of St. Peter and St. Paul. Some cir cumstances attending the Council of Flo rence, which was held by this pope, are also introduced. Near the martyrdom of St. Peter are represented some old buildings, which existed in the time of Eugenius. Some profane subjects are also added. Honorius I. in 63o, had placed silver doors here, but the silver was carried off by the Saracens in 846.. Leo IV replaced it. Three curious inscriptions may be seen near this door way: 1'. the bull of Boniface VIII. in i3oo, granting an indulgence for every year of jubilee: 2. elegiac verses, composed by Char lemagne in 796, upon Pope Adrian I.: and 3. the donation made by St. Gregory II. of many estates to the Basilica. We may mention here that there was a stone near the silver gate of ihe old church, under 1 62 s. peter's wliich the venerable Bede was said to be buried (1). Bede died in 735, but the tra dition of. his being buried here is certainly false (2). The stone was afterwards used for the pope to stand upon when he received the horse, wliich was sent by the king of Naples. / Opposite to this entrance is a represent ation in Mosaic of the Navicella, as it is called, painted by Giotto in i3#o; the ori ginal drawing for which may be seen over the entrance door of the church of the Ca- pucins in the Piazza Barberini. It was ex ecuted by the order of Cardinal Giacomo Gaetano Stefaneschi, who paid 1,200 gold florins for it. It represents St. Peter walk ing upon ihe sea, and Christ supporting him. This is one of -the ornaments which came from the old church, having stood over the east entrance to the Quadriporti- eus. When this building was destroyed, the Mosaic was removed, and it changed its (1) Mallius in Vatic, p. 1 17 Honorius August- de Lumiu. Eccles- (2) He was invited by Pope Sergius I. to go lo Borne , but there is 110 evidence that he went- He says of himself, that he had passed all the lime of his life from bis seventh year in tbe monastery at Weremoulh; and when he vrolc this' he w.is more than fifty-nine years old- There can be no doubt, that he was buried in his own convent , and lhat his bones were afterwards removed to Durham. jubilee i63 place two or three times , till Cardinal Bar- berini had it fixed in its present situation. Giotto was also employed by Benedict XII. in repairing the Mosaics, which were upon the arch ofthe tribune ofthe old Basilica. Another of these five doors is called the Porta Santa; it is blocked up with brick work, and only opened by the pope him self in the year of jubilee. It was Boniface VIII. who first established a year of jubilee in i3oo, in imitation of an imaginary pre cedent ioo years before; and it was intend ed to have it celebrated every ioo years (i). But after the expiration of the first half century, Clement VI. celebrated it again in i35o; upon which occasion Matteo Vil lain gives a curious account of the throng assembled in Rome. In i38o Urban VI. again celebrated it, and ordered it to be observed every 3o years; in 1 475 Sextus IV. changed it to every 25 years, which custom has been observed ever since (2). Upon this occasion the Porta Santa is open ed by thePope himself. On the eve of Chris t- VV lOtV-fj (1) The fullest account ofthe institution of the jubilee may be found in a woik entitled Leltres Historiques et Dog ma - tiques sur les Jnbiles et les Indulgences, par M.' Chilis. (2) In the jubilee of 1730, there were i3oo pilgrims at the opening of the Porta Santa, and 84oo came in the following week. In 182 j , there were only 476 in all. 164 s. peter's mas-day he commences the operation of pulling down the brickwork, by giving three blows wilh a silver hammer. I cannot find tvhen this custom was first introduced; but it is, not improbable , that a passage in Eze kiel gave rise to it (1). Over the door is a block of red and white marble, which is rather rarej and from its situation here, this sort is known at Rome by the name of Porta Santa. It is perhaps what was called by the ancients Lapis Chius , from the is land in the Archipelago, where it was found. Two pillars on the Arch of Drusus resem ble it, as does the sill of the door of the Pantheon , and some of the ancient pave ment of Trajan's Forum. Three other Basi lica; have a Porta Santa, where the same custom of opening it is observed; the Late ran, S. Maria Maggiore, and St. Paul's. The dates of the two last jubilees are always preserved over the door; when a new oue is put up , the oldest of the two others is removed. It is impossible to undertake a task of greater difficulty, than to describe the in terior of St. Peter's: whatever disappoint ment may have been felt upon the first (0 C. xliy. v- a. INTERIOR 1 65 view of the outside, every thing within is transcendent and astonishing. It is highly ornamented, without being ^audy; it is vast, but yet the different parts can easily be separated: every thing is grand, coslly> and magnificent . Nor can we ever suffi ciently wonder, that a building, which re quired three centuries to finish it, and which must consequently have fallen into the hands of so manv Pontiffs of different views, and so many architects of different tastes, should bear no marks of ihe precipitate vanity ofthe one, anxious to complete the edifice in their own reign, nor of the dis similar and discordant designs ofthe other. Though the greatest building of modern times, and greater ihan any temple which ancient Greece or Rome could boast , it does not appear at the first sight to be so prodi gious in its dimensions. This is indeed the principal excellence of the whole : it is the beautiful adaptation of the proportions , which distinguishes this edifice from every other. Accordingly there are many objects which seem small, or only of the common size, which are really far above it. As an instance of this, the two angels may be mentioned, which support the fonts on the first pillars ofthe nave: they have the ap- T. II. 8 166 s. peter's p^earance of representing children, but are really larger than the natural size of a man. So also the dove with an olive branch in its mouth, which occurs so frequently in this cathedral, (being the arms of Innocent X. Pamfili,) and forms an ornament on each ofthe pillars of the nave, seems to be easily within reach of every person, but can with difficulty be reached by the hand of the tallest. In the nave there are only three arches , and only one in the tribune, but notwith standing this, the eye can scarcely distin guish what is at the end ofthe church, so prodigious and at the same time so correct are the proportions. The whole length is 609 feet (1), the width ofthe nave 91 ; the length of the transepts is 44^- Upon the floor, which is composed of large blocks of marble of singular beauty, and disposed in various devices, are marked the lengths of some ofthe principal churches in Europe: that of St. Paul's in London comes next, being 52 1 feet long, then that of Milan, 43g; next that of St. Paul's at Rome, and (1) That is , from wall to wall, if we take in the thickness ofthe walls and the width of the portico, the whole length will be 722 English feet. FOUNDERS OF ORDERS 1 67 lastly S. Sophia at Constantinople, which is only 357 (0* Nothing forms so striking an ornament in this cathedral, as the profusion of mar ble, which is introduced into every part; much of this is ancient, and the varieties are ofthe greatest rarity and beauty. This, together with the gilded roof, the stalues, the monuments , the Mosaic ceilings, and pictures, forms a display of brilliant and unexampled magnificence, which requires weeks and almost years to contemplate. The only thing to be regretted is, that the great pilasters belween the arches of the nave are not of marble, but stucco; this however is little perceptible to the eye, and requires perhaps to be pointed out, before it would be complained of. These pilasters are 83 feet high, and in them are statues of the founders of various religious orders, many of them executed by great artists, and of singular beauty; there are more of them in the transepts, and the following is an al phabetical list of them, with a short ac count of tlieir lives. (i) Some accounts make the length only 240 feci. Vide Ducange, Canstantinopolis Christiana. 1 68 s. peter V JEmilianus. Born in 1481 , at Venice. He was at first a soldier, and established his order for the benefit of orphans at Somasco, a village between Milan and Bergamo, about the year t53i. Au- gust'ms. BENEDICTUS. Born in 480, or as some say, 45s, at JVursia , in the country of the Sabines. He first took to a religious life at Sublacurn (Subiaco): he established a monastery at Monte Cassino : wliere he died March 21 , 5^1, and was buried there (1). Bruno. Born in 1021 at Cologne. He founded the Carthusian order in 1080. The name was taken from a place called Chartreuse in Dauphine, to which he retired. He died 1 ioi , and was canon ized i5'4. Benedictines (2). Camillijs de Lellis. Born in i55o at Bucchiantco in Abruzzo. He was at first a soldier, and having been twice cured in an hospital, he founded his order for relieving the sick in 1591. He died July 1 4, 1614 , at Rome. CAIETANUS. Ordo Clericorum Regulariurn . This order was established about the year i524> an(^ the members of it were called Tbeatins, from J. P. Caraffa , Bishop of Theate or Chieti, in the Kingdom of Naples, who was afterwards Paul IV. Caietan was born in 1480 at Vicenza, died in i547, and was canonized m '669. Augustins. (1) Trithemius , who is followed by Baronius, enumerates 18 I'opes , above 200 Cardinals, 1,600 Archbishops, about 4,000 Bishops, 15,700 Abbots , and i5,6oo Saints of the Be nedictine order before his time: he was born in 1462. (2) The statue of S. Bruuo is considered one of the best iu S. Peter's. It is by Slodtz , a Frenchman, who died iu 1764. FOUNDERS OF ORDERS I G9 CALASANCTIUS Josephus. Ordo Scholarum Piarum. He was born in i556 at Peralte de la Sal in Ar- ragon; had his order confirmed by Gregory XV- in 162 1 , and died in 1648. Augustins. Dominicus. Born in 1170 at Calaurega in Spain. He encouraged the Crusades against the1 Albigen- ses, and founded the Inquisition. He died August 5, 1223, at Bologna, and was canonized by Gre gory IX. Augustins. EliAS. The Carmelites say, that they were the first to erect a chapel to the Virgin Mary, which they did A. D. 53, on Mount Carmel , and claim the Prophet Elias as founder of their society. They had no written rules till 1 122. Sozomen, the Ec clesiastical Historian , mentions the tradition (1) , that Monachism began with Elias and John the Baptist. Falconieri. Born 1270 at Florence- In i3 17 she was elected superior of an order of Servites, and established a new one, which was confirmed in 1424. She died 1 34>> FrAnciscus. Born 1182 at Assisum, near Spoleto. Innocent III. confirmed the order of Friars Minor in 1209. He died October 4, 1226, and wasbnried at Assisum. Augustins (2). FllANCiScus de PaolA. Born -4 16 at Paola near Cosenza in Calabria. The order of Minims was confirmed in i473. Louis XI. sent for him into France and his son Francis was called after him. He died in 1507 at Tours. Augustins. (1) Lib. i.e. 12. (a) At the beginning ofTEeeighteentb century there were 1 1 5,ooo Franciscan Friars in 7,000 couvents; and 28,000 Franciscan Nuns in 900 nunneries. 170 S. PETER S Ignatius Loyola. Born in 1492 at Loyola in Biscay: established tbe order of Jesuits in i54°: died in 1 556: canonized in 1622. (1) Joannes de Deo. Born in 1495 at Monte Major in Portugal: founded the order of Hospitality: died i55o. Augustins. Neri Filippo. Born at .Florence in i5i5: founded the Congregation of the Oratory : died at Rome in i595: canonized in 1622. WolASCO. Born at Lauraguais in Languedoc: formed a society in Spain for the redemption of captives in 1216. He himself was a layman, and died in 1286: canonized in 1628. Augustins. Norberto. Born in 1082 near to Cleves: retired to Premontre, in the Bishopric of Laon, and founded the Prsemonstratensian order in 1120: died in n34: canonized i582. Augustins. Petrus de Alcantara. Born in i499 at Alcantara in Estremadura. His reform of the Franciscan Order was approved of in i554" died in 1562 : canonized in 1669. Theresa. Born in -5i5 at Avila in Spain. Though a woman, she was at the head of an order of men, which was confirmed in i562 , and called Nova Reformat. Ord. Discalc. B. M. de Monte Carmelo. She died i582: canonized in 1622. Vincentius A Paulo. Congreg. Missionis. Born in 1576 at Poui in France: died in 1660. The object which commands most at tention, from its situation as well as its fi) 1° tne y«ar '7,0« tner« wow '9.998 members of this order, of whom 9, 947 were priests. BALDACCHINO 1 7 I costliness, is the B^ahdacchino , or canopy , immediately under the dome and over the high altar. It is entirely of bronze, and the ornaments are mostly. gilt; the four pillars which support it are twisted, and in other respects it is by no means in good taste, nor in unison with the majestic simplicity of the rest; but from its vast size, and the f ichness of the work , it can hardly fail to be admired. The height of it is almost incredible; some accounts making it 122 feet from the floor, and it is a common Saying, that it is as high as the Farnese palace, which is one ofthe loftiest in Rome. This is another proof of the admirable pro portion wliich prevails in all the parts; for, standing as it does in the centre of this stupendous edifice, its height appears by no means extraordinary. It was made in i633 under the direction of Bernini ; and the Bees, dispersed about in all directions, at test the Pontificate of Urban VIII. of the Barberini family , who bear this device. The cost is estimated at 100,000 scudi (L. 22,727) ; the gilding alone cost 4°>000 (L. 9,091). It is generally said, that it was made of the bronze taken from the Pan theon by Urban VIII; but this is denied by Fea, whd relates , upon the authority of 172 s. peter's books now existing, that all the metal was bought in Venice. This has been already alluded to at p. 21 5. ( vbl. i.) Under this canopy is the high altar, which is only used on the most solemn ce remonies; and beneath it reposes the body of St. Peter. It is said , that he suffered martyrdom on the neighbouring hill of S. Pietro in Montorio , and that his body was deposited in an adjoining cemetery. Pope Anacletus has the merit of having erected a chapel over the spot, in the year 10G, and of enclosing the body in a marble urn. But it appears from Platinaj that it was moved back again to the place of his crucifixion by Pope Cornelius (who reigned A. D. 25o-a) Constantine once more transported his remains to the place of their original inter ment, over which the present Basilica was erected; and it is reported, that he enclosed them in a covering of brass and copper, so that his relics can never be seen. In the painting in the Hall ofConstantine, which represents the donation made by that emperor to Pope Sylvester of the city of Rome, the Tribune ofthe old church is in troduced, and the Confessional over the tomb of St. Peter, round wliich are twelve spiral columns, eight of which are still pre- MOSAICS 173 served in the great pillars supporting the cupola. The descent to the shrine is by a double flight of steps, and 112 lamps are kept constantly burning round it. At the bottom of the steps it is intended to place the statue of Pius VI. which is being exe cuted by Canova. The pope is to be repre sented kneeling , and looking towards the tomb of the apostle; an appropriate altitude for a Pioman pontiff; but considering the peculiar sanctity of the place, it would perhaps have been fitter that no other monument should occupy the spot; at least there seems no reason why Pius VI. should have an honour conferred upon him , greater than any of his predecessors since St. Peter himself. Opposite lo each arch of the nave is a chapel recessed back from the side aisles . These chapels are each of them well worthy of observation, from the splendid decora tions which have been bestowed upon them. Mosaic-work and the richest marbles are scattered about them with the greatest pro fusion; and almost all of them contain a specimen of that wonder ofthe art, pictures executed iu Mosaic. There are altogether twentynine altars in St. Peler's , over each of which is one of these Mosaic pictures, of 8* 174 s* peter's which some description may be here intro duced. Several fine paintings were at dif ferent times executed for this church by the greatest masters, and for a time occupied the stations appointed to them: but it being found that the walls of the church were too damp , it was very judiciously determined to remove the paintings to a safer place, and have copies taken of them in Mosaic. Consequently, there is only one painting of any size or excellence in St. Peter's, and that is in oils upon the wall. It represents the fall of Simon Magus, painted by Fran cesco Vanni; and as the story is not cano nical, it was not ordered to be copied in Mosaic. Such is the reason given, but if true, the government must afterwards have become less scrupulous, as another picture ofthe same subject , by Baltoni, has been copied; the Mosaic is now in St. Peter's, and tbe original painting is in the Certosa. Simon Magus having gone to Rome before St. Peter, arrived there , preached very heretical and immoral doctrines. He pleas ed Nero exceedingly; and gave out , that on a certain day he should ascend into heaven. The confederate daemons assisted him in rising from the earth , but at the prayers of St. Peter he fell to the ground, MOSAICS 1^5 and fractured his legs; in consequence of which he died, in the year 66 or 67. So says tradition! (1) Eusebius tells us, that St. Peter went to Rome to oppose the progress of Simon Magus, and that he succeeded in checking his pernicious doctrine; but he does not add any thing furlher, (2) Justin Martyr informs us, that a statue was erected to Simon Magus in the river Tiber, between the two bridges, with this inscription, Si- moni Deo Sanctfo (3). The paintings that were removed are mostly to be seen in the church of the Certosa , or S. Maria degli Angioli. Copies were also taken ofthe most celebrated paintings in other churches, and all of them are now in St. Peter's. The building where this Mosaic-work is carried on is not far from the cathedral , and forms part of that which was (and I am afraid is still ) used for the office of the inquisition. The small pieces, which when put together compose the picture, are a (1) The Apostolical Constitutions , which are probahly as old as the third century, mention that he was bruised in au at tempt to fly, lib. ii. c. i4; and more at length, lib. vi. c- 9. Arnobius, lib. ii. Augustin. de Petro et Paulo. (a) Lib. ii. c. 14. (3} Apol. i. 26. Clem. Recogn. lib. ii. c. g. lrenaeui also says, that a statue was erected to him by Claudius, adv. Haer. lib. i. c 23. Tertull. Apologet. i3- 176 s. peter's vetrified subtance called Smalte, com pounded of glass, lead, and tin ; and I was assured, that there are i5,ooo different shades of colour. "When Urban VIII. first conceived the idea of substituting Mosaics for the paintings , the substance used was marble; and Gio. Battista Galendra of Ver- celli copied the painting of Michael the Archangel by Arpina. It was found , how ever, that there was too great a glare pro duced by the polish ofthe marble, and it ceased to be used as a material for Mosaic. Ofthe skill of the ancients in Mosaic we have many proofs remaining , which have suffered but little from time, beside the tes timony of Pliny, who mentions the excel lence to which the art had attained. But there is no evidence to induce us to believe, that the ancients at all approached to the perfection which the moderns may boast (i). The art seems never to have been lost in Rome ; and we have specimens remaining of almost every period of the middle ages , when painting can hardly be said to have existed. Tiraboschi (2) shows , that under (1) Pliny tells us that Mosaic pavements were introduced into Home in the time of Sylla. (2) Tom. iii. part i. p. 80, 149. MOSAICS 177 the Goths and Lombards Mosaic-work was not neglected. We may see a specimen of the fifth century in S. Maria Maggiore and S. Paul's; and ofthe eighth century at the Scala Santa, near the Lateran. This at least may be allowed to be one of the arts, in which the moderns have excelled the ancients: indeed it is impossible to conceive an adequate idea of the effect produced , without seeing these master pieces in St. Peter's. At a distance and in certain lights even an experienced eye might fancy them to be paintings: and as there is every rea son to suppose that the colours are as dur able as the substances themselves, after-ages will have to appeal to these pictures as a proof of the conception of a Raffael or a Domenichino, when the originals of those great masters have been totally obliterated. These Mosaic pictures cost about 20,000 crowns ( L. 4,546) apiece. The best is said to be the martyrdom of S. Petronilla , the original of which is now in ihe Capitol. The Mosaics, which ornament the cupolas of the several chapels, and likewise tbe great cupola itself, ( the whole interior of which is covered with them) produce a most bril liant effect: but when viewed near, they are found to be executed in the roughest style, 178 s. peter's which is necessary for the distance at which they are seen. The chapel, where the mass is daily ce lebrated is on the left-hand upon entering the church. There is nothing particular to make it observable: the organ is a good one, and at vespers on Sunday evening there is always a great concourse of people, particu larly of foreigners, to hear tbe music, which is generally extremely beautiful. Sermons are preached here upon the customary oc casions. In the first chapel on the right hand, cal led that ofthe Crucifix, is a figure ofthe Virgin supporting a dead Christ, which is called, as such subjects always are, a Pietd. It is the work of Michel Angelo, and one of his earliest performances , having been executed by him at the age of twenty-four, at the expense of John, Cardinal of S. Denis, ambassador from the King of France. The work having been attributed to a Milanese sculptor, M. Angelo secured his own claim by cutting his name on a fillet, which sur rounds the waist of the Virgin. Some have found fault with it , because the son is re presented as an older person than his mother. Several copies of it may be seen in Rome and elsewhere. Marini has these pi eta' i 79 lines upon- it , which have been much admired (i): Sasso non e costei Che l'estinto tigliuol fredJo qual ghiaccio Sostien pietosa in braccio: Sasso piu presto sei, Tu, che non piangi alia pieti di lei. Anzi sei piu che sasso: Che suol' anco da' sassi il piauto usciie, E i sassi si spezzaro al suo morire. She is not stone, who bears Her lifeless Son, with icy stiffness cold, In hea arms' tenderest fold: But thou art stony grown, Thou, who at grief like this hast shed no tears: Nay thou art more than stone, For rocts will weep, and pour a trickling tide, And rocks were rent in twain, when Jesus died. A list of some of the reHcs preserved in this chapel may be considered curious: such as some wood of the true cross ^ part of the cradle, the hay, and the manger, connected with the nativity; part of the veil ofthe Virgin Mary; some of her hair; part of Joseph's cloak and girdle; some ashes of John the Baptist; one finger of St. Peter: le antichissime imagini (whether in painting or sculpture is not stated) of St. Peter and St. Paul; St. Luke's Jiead ; one finger and (i) Madrigale 1 58. i8o s. peter's one shoulder of St. Stephen. The pillar also is in this chapel, against which Christ leaned when he preached to the people. It is one of the twelve which will be mentioned pre sently, as having stood round the high altar in the old church. In mentioning the curiosities of this church, the statue of St. Peter should not be omitted, which stands against the last pillar of the nave, near to the Baldacchino. A Roman antiquary (1) informs us, that this was made by order of St. Leo out of the bronze ofa statue of Jupiter Capitolinus ; and that it was intended as an offering for St. Peter having liberated Rome from the fury of Attila. There was a marble statue of St. Peter outside of the old church over a gate in the portico, which was held in great veneration, and is now in the Grotte Vaticane. The workmanship ofthe present one is extremely rude: and though it is cal led a bronze statue, it has much more the appearance of iron. It is the figure which is so frequently kissed by the faithful: no Ro man Catholic will pass it without going through the ceremony; and the usual form is to kiss the foot tw<* or three times, pres et) Turrigius de Crypt. Vat. p 126. CHAIR OF S. PETER l8l sing the forehead against it between each salutation: some will repeat each ceremony much oftener. The right foot projects for thispurpose, and great part of it is worn away by the operation: which calls to mind the words of Cicero in his description of a statue of Hercules at Agrigentum," that his mouth (t and chin were somewhat worn , because " in their prayers and thanksgivings they " were accustomed not only to worship but " to kiss it." (1) The tribune is extremely rich, but in bad taste, from a large glory , which forms the principal feature, and which is remarkable for being almost, if not absolutely, the only piece of stained glass in Rome. The bronze which is used so plentifully in its decoration, is said to have come from the Pantheon, as well as that of wliich the Baldacchino is composed. Within a large chair of bronze, raised a considerable height , is the identi cal seat which St. Peter and many of his successors used ; but it is completely cased in its outer covering, which was made iu 16(17: and this precious relic can only be (0 I» Ver- Act 2. lib- iv. c. 43 Mr. Blunt has given this quotation in his very ingenious work upon the manners and customs of Italy and Sicily. He also refers to Lucretius i. 3i8. 182 s. peter's seen by mounting an internal staircase. It is reported to be of wood , with ornaments of ivory and gold. It would be the height of temerity to question the genuineness of this chair after what Bonanni has said upon the subject, (i) The reader may perhaps wish to see the passage, but he must not expect me to incur the penalties of it by attempting to refute it. " This is the chair of St. Peter " which he occupied as universal pastor, " till he suffered death for Christ's sak& " This fact has been so fully proved , that " the few sectaries who deny it must be " most barefaced, or a set of children, and f silly children too, such as Velcinus , •" whom Roflensis has refuted, Sebastian of " France, and some obscure Englishmen to " be found in Saunders." Beside the danger of classing ourselves among these our un fortunate countrymen , it would be lost labour to dispute the question after the arguments which are adduced by Bonanni . In the first place, the miracles that have been wrought by it fully attest its apostolical antiquity. Secondly, Calvin doubted, be cause it was made of wood, so perishable a (i) C xxiii. p. i3i. There is also a dissertation, by Febei upon the antiquity and identity of this chair. CHAIR OF S. PETER 1 83 material. " But if this were a true ground for doubt, " says the honest Bonanni, „ the " true cross and the cradle of our Saviour " are made of wood, as are several statues of " the saints , and nobody doubts adout " them." It would perhaps have been more to his purpose to have reminded his readers, that Eusebius, who wrote in the fourth cen tury, says, that the episcopal chair of S. James was still shown at Jerusalem in his time, (i) There is also a passage in Tertul lian (2) which may perhaps imply that the authentic chairs of the Apostles were pre served in those cities , in which they had founded sees: and another author may be quoted as mentioning the preservation of S. Peter's Throne at Antioch. (3) But both these last passages will admit another inter pretation. The Acts of S. Mark, which are but a poor authority , inform us that the chair used by that evangelist at Alexandria was still preserved there, and was made of ivory. (i) Hist. Eccj. lib. vii.c. 19. and 32. (2) De Prescript. Haeret. c. 36. Percurre Ecclesias Aposto- licas, apud quas ipsos adhuc cathedrae Apostolorum suis loci's, president, apud qnas ipsa: authenticaa liteise eorum recitaulur. (3) Theodor. ep. 86: tou (ieya&ou IlsVpoy 5pavQ» e\ 'Av- 1 84 «• peter's The chair is supported by two fathers of the Latin Church, Augustin and Ambrose, and two of the Greek , Chrysostorn and Athanusius. St. Augustin was born in 354 at Tagasta in Numidia , and died in 43°- St. Ambrose was born in 333 or- 34o, at Treves, and died in 397. St. Chry sostorn was born at Antioch in 347 ' mac^e patriarch of Constantinople in 397 , and died in 4°7* St . Athanasius was born about 294, in Egypt, was made patriarch of Alexandria in 3^6 , and after being several times expelled and reinstated, died in 373. These men were worthy of supporting the chair of St. Peter, and deserve much ampler mention than this dry chronicle of their births and deaths. It will be found in some accounts, that all the four supporters are fathers ofthe Latin Church, and that the two others are St. Jerom, who was born in 34o, at Stridon in Dalmatia, and died in 420; and St. Gregory, who was a Roman, and pope from 5go to his death in 6o4- But the former account is the true one. The steps which lead up to this church are of porphyry, and served for the same purpose in the old church. Of the monuments, though much de serves to besaid, I cannot attempt a detailed MONUMENTS 1 85 description. From the instances being so few where works of ihis nature command general and unmixed approbation, it would seem, that lo design a good monument is among the most difficult branches of the art. Even wliere a tomb alone is to be exe cuted, without any figures real or allegorical , success is but rarely obtained; and the dif ficulty must be considerably increased where figures or groupes of figures are to be repre sented. The ancients and the moderns seem to have had different ideas upon this subject. From the monuments which remain to us of former times, it would seem not lo have been customary in ancient Greece or Rome to consider statues as part of a sepulchral ornament: they were satisfied with a sar cophagus, or some other tomb , sculptured indeed occasionally with bas-reliefs or busts, but very different from the modern taste, which iu all monuments to great characters represent figures as large as life, and some times nothing else but figures. Our own St. Paul's and Westminster Abbey will serve % illustrate this remark: and perhaps what lias been said above of the few successful specimens, will also be borne out in these Iwo collections. Perhaps one cause of the dissatisfaction 1 86 s. peter's which so frequently arises in viewing these works, is to be found in the want of any fixed rules and principles of criticism to guitje us in contemplating them: and this comes immediately from the fact mention ed above of the ancients having left no models of this kind . In Grecian buildings of modern erection we praise the architect, not for the originality of his genius, but for the correctness of his tasle; and according as he has adhered to or departed from the strict rules prescribed to him from anti quity, is the degree of praise wliich we bestow upon him. In painting we have no ancient standards left by which we can judge; but who will deny, that in forming our opinion of a modern picture we go back as far as we can, and we always compare it with the productions of the early masters? Even in poetry, a wildness of imagination (which is only originality under different forms) is censured by many as a fault; and all branches of composition, whether epic, dramatic, or pastoral, are submitted to prescribed laws and canons before judgment is passed. Let it not be supposed that I pre sume to condemn what I allow is practised by all. It is perhaps inherent in our nature to look up to authority in forming au MONUMENTS 1 87 opinion ; those who have no taste of their own, either natural or acquired,, must adopt the sentiments of others, unless they submit to being either silent upon such subjecls^or to expose themselves to constant ridicule: and even those who are said to have the finest taste, must have imbibed such notions before they were capable of judging for themselves: so that insensibly, and without being conscious of it, they are speaking what they have learnt from their predecessors , while they fancy that they are uttering their own sentiments. In fact, taste may be de fined an habitual and extemporaneous agree ment with the majority of mankind upon subjects which were at first arbitrary . For sepulchral monuments no rules seem to have been laid down, nor are any par ticular models appealed to. In inscriptions there are certain turns of expressions which are considered classical; and in these it is generally reckoned better to follow prece dent, than to adopt new phrases: which again confirms the observation made above, that whenever we can, we form our judg ments upon the most ancient authority wliich remains to us. But in the fashion of our monuments we have adopted designs which the ancients seem not to have coun- I 88 ST. PETER S tenanced; and as yet we are by no means agreed amongst ourselves as to what is to be held classical in this way. If these remarks contain any truth, they will perhaps account for the different opi nions which are expressed as to the monu ments in St. Peter's . The finest are those erected to the Popes . The deceased pontiff is generally represented as large as life; and the attitude of benediction which is com monly assigned to ihem, as well as their official robes, are by no means the best suited for sculptural effect. The statue of Clement X. by Ercole Ferrala, is an in stance of this. He is silting, and the whole attitude is extremely formal. The same may be said of Innocent VIII. in bronze, by Ant. Pollaiolo. That of Gregory XIIL is much belter, which was executed in plaister by Prospero of Brescia . Leo XI. by Algardi is also sitting, and extremely like Clement X, but his eyes not being turned in an unmeaning way upon the spectator , or rather upon nothing, the effect produced is not so formal; which shows how very little is sufficient to give a character to a picture or a statue; for the two figures are in every way similar, and the drapery equally inelegant. The figure of Alexander MONUMENTS I 89 VIL is kneeling which might be thought a becoming posture for a Christian monu ment; but sculpture has more to do wilh grandeur and animation than wilh piety and humility. These virtues are delightful when practised^ but there is nothing pleas ing or edifying in immoveable and in animate devotion. Beside which , ihe mass of drapery is far too heavy, aud we want to see the sculptor's skill displayed iu something more than the mere face and bauds. Figures of allegorical design are often introduced. In the monument to the right of St. Peter's chair, two figures will be observed at the foot ofthe pope Paul III, which represent Prudence and Justice. The figure of Justice has her draperv partly composed of bronze, which accords extreme ly ill with the marble. The reason of this incongruity arose from ihe delicate scruples of one ofthe popes, who being shocked at the naked figure which Giacomo della Por- ta had placed upon the tomb under the direction of Michel Angelo, ordered it to be covered in the way which we now see by Bernini. The monument corresponding to this on the other side of St. Peter's chair is to T. II. 9 I9O ST. PETER S Urban VIII. also by Bernini. The statue of the pope is in bronze, and, like the others, not pleasing. Of the allegorical figures below, Charity on the right is beautifully designed aud executed . I should almost prefer it to those on the tomb of Paul III. which are so much admired. There is loo much formality and study in these being placed back to back, and turning round to look at each other. The figure of Charity is perfect nature. She seems wholly inlent upon the two children, without appearing to study an attitude for the artist; which is what all painters and sculptors should endeavour to avoid. Death is represented as inscribing Urban's name in a book, upon which Cardinal Rapacciolio wrote this epi gram : Bernin si vivo il graude Urbano ha (into, E si ne'duri bronzi e 1' alma impresja, Che per torgli la fe, la Morte stessa Sta sul Sepolcro, a dimostrarlo estiiito. Such life, such warmth, Bernini's touch can shed, So stamp'd in bronze the very soul appears, That o'er the tomb the grisly tyrant rears His form, to tell us— that the soul is fled. Among these monuments, which have em ployed some ofthe best sculptors in Italy, that to Clement XIIL byCanova challeii"es MONUMENTS 1 9 I a comparison with any. The genius of Dealh is oiie of the finest conceptions of the art, and as finely executed. A similar figure may be seen at Vienna in the monument to the archduchess Christina, in the church ofthe Augustins, which is also the work ofCaiio- va. The corresponding figure, that of Reli gion, is certainly not so succesful, and may be called disproportioned and clumsy. Two lions, however, one sleeping, the other with a ferocious air, are sufficient of themselves lo stamp the sculptor's fame: they are among the finest specimens of sculpture which Rome can boast. Before we proceed to describe the dome, something may be said of the subterraneous part, or Grotte Vaticane, under the high altar, (i) No woman is allowed to enter this part ofthe church, except on the second festival of Pentecost, and then the same prohibition is extended to men. It has been already observed, that this is part of the original church, and is said to be that which was built over the burial-ground of the Christians, who suffered in the early per secutions. The old pavement is still pre- fi) This part has been described in a separate work by Torrigio, entitled Le Sacre Grotte Vaticane. 192 s. peter's served, eleven feet below that of the pre sent church, and the antiquary will be in terested with some paintings, which re present views of the former Basilica . The tpmbs of the early popes are curious, as are some old bas-reliefs, and some very ancient statues of St. Peter. Upon a stone here are the words of the grant, by which the Count ess Matilda bequeathed her possessions to the papal see. It is dated i 102. (1) Adrian IV. the only English pope, (2) whose name was Nicholas Brekespere, is buried here, and several characters distinguished iu history. Among other tombs are those of the Stuart family, with inscriptions to James III. Charles III. and Henry IX. (Cardinal of York,) who are all styled Kings of Great Britain, France, and Ireland. In (1) This was the second giant, which she made after her separation from her second husband. The first grant was made to Gregory VIII. about the year 1077, upon the death of her first husband, Godfrey, Dukeof Loriain. Matilda was daughter of Boniface, Duke of Tuscany, and died in m5 The March of Aticona has been held by the see of Rome, with- few inter ruptions, ever since that time. She was buried in a convent near Mantua, and her remains were removed to S. Peter's in i635, by Urban VUI. whoerected a handsome mon umeut over them. (2) Unless we reckon Pope Joan, who is said by some writers to have followed Leo IV- in 855, under Ihe name of John V1U. He or she was a native of Dunstable. Platina rather supports the story. RELICS ig3 the church above there is a handsome mo nument to Maria Clementina, Queen of the Pretender James III. erected at the expense of the cathedral, which cost 4091 pounds.(i) She is also presented with the crown of France among her other titles. Opposite to this a monument has lately been erected to the memory of Cardinal York, which is execut ed by Canova. The present King of England contributed largely to the expense of it , but it is represented as being no very suc cessful specimen of that great sculptor's talents. What principally makes St. Peter's the wonder of the world is the cupola. The enormous size ofthe four supports of it has been already mentioned. They are about 240 feet in circumference, and 178 in height. Each of the four has two niches in front, one above the other. In the lower ones are statues of saints, and some of the most precious relics are preserved in them. S. Veronica has her veil or sudarium: S. Helena has part ofthe true cross: S. Andrew (whose statue is the best ofthe four, and is the work of Fiammingo) takes charge of (t) She had retired to a convent geforeher death, because ber husband kept a mistress. I 94 VOLTO SANTO his own head: (i)and the fourth statue, by Bernini, is that of S. Longinus, the soldier, who pierced our Saviour's side. Some re marks may be made upon these statues and relics. It is unfortunate, or at least suspicious, for this sudarium of S. Veronica, that there are no less than six rival ones shown in dif ferent places, viz. Turin, Milan , Cadoin in Perigort, Besancon, Compeign, and Aix-la- Chapelle. That at Cadoin has fourteen bulls to declare it genuine; that at Turin has only four: (2) what credentials the other churches may be able to produce, I have not learned. Perhaps, however, all our suspicions may be removed by an expla nation given to me by a person at Rome, that the linen , which S. Veronica applied, consisted of different foldls; consequently the impression of the countenance went through all of them, and each successive fold must be as genuine as the other. There (1) Beside the bead of S. Andrew, that of S Luke, together with the whole boJies of S. Simon, S. Jude, and S. Matthias' are said to be deposited in tbis Basilica. It should he men tioned, however, that the Churches of S. Job, at Venice, and of S- Justina, at Padua, each claim possession of the body of S. Luke; and Evelyn says, that S. Matthias reposes in tbe Church of S. Maria Maggiore. (a) Misson's Travels. V0LT0 SANTO Ig5 is also another way of reconciling these conflicting claims. The authentic accounts make three folds in the original handker chief; but the cloth, which was wrapped round our Saviour's head in the sepulchre, received the same miraculous impression of his features; and it is said, that this is the treasure preserved at Turin. We may in crease this catalogue by mentioning what is related by some ancient writers, that Christ himself sent to Abgarus, King of Edessa, a cloth with the features of his countenance impressed upon it. Abgarus. had sent a painter to take the portrait of our Saviour; but he was unable to do it on account of the dazzling brightness of his countenance. The cloth is said to have been conveyed from Edessa to Constantinople, in the year 944 (i)- After all it ^seems doubtful , whether we are to take Veronica for the name of a woman, or of the su darium itself. Marianus Scotus, a writer of the eleventh century, is the first who makes any mention of such a person having exist ed. He tells us, upon the authority of one (t) Authorities for this tale may be found in Durant de Rit. Cath. lib. i. c- 5. The cloth itself is said to be preserved iu tbe Church of S. Silvestro in Capite. Aring. Rom. Subt. torn. ii- lib- v. c 4- I96 VOLTO SANTO Methodius, that Tiberius being ill ofa lep rosy, and having heard much ofthe miracles of Christ, sent ambassadors into Judea . Accordingly a woman, named Berenice, came to Rome, and cured ihe emperor by an application of the sudarium , wliich was in her possession. She had offered it to our Saviour as he was going to be crucified, and was labouring under the weight ofthe cross; his features remained impressed upon it j and engravings may be bought in Rome, which are copied from this relic. The fourth of February is sacred to this saint; and however the question may be decided as to her real or fabulous existence, she receives the prayers of her votaries as re gularly as her companions in the calen dar. (1) The Volto Santo was placed in 707 by John VII. in an altar erected by him with in an oratory of the old Basilica. After being removed successively to the Church of S. Spirito in Sassia, and to the Rolonda, it was finally deposited in its present situation in i6o5. It was formerly kept under six keys, each of which was in the (1) Tillemont is more candid upon this subject than might have been expected. Mem. torn. i. p. 243. VOL to SANTO 197 custody of different families: it is now se cured by three keys one of which is kept by the pope. The frame was given bv three Venetians in i35o. I saw this precious relic exhibited at Easter; but the height was so great, at which the person stood who dis played it , that nothing satisfactory could be seen: it certainly had the figure of a human countenance. We may observe, that the Italian paint ers have agreed in giving to our Saviour a certain cast of features, as they have to S. Peter and some other of the Apostles, so that we may immediately recognise their portraits. Some, however, paint his hair dark, and others light. We know that in the fifth century there was some tradition as to the correct manner of representing our Saviour's countenance: and one writer informs us, that he ought to be drawn with a small quantity of hair, and that soft and curling (l). The words of Isaiah, (liii. 2.) have been interpreted as predicting, that the countenance of the Messiah was not to be pleasing (2). This is very different from (1) oZ\ov v.oli o\r/oTpi%o-j. Theodor. Lect. i. i5. (2) Clemens Alexand. understood them so. Peed, lib. iii. c. I . Strom. lib. ii. J. 5 ; lib. iii. §. 17 ; lib. vi. §¦ 17. So also Ter tullian , de Idolat. u. 18; adv. Jud.c. i4; de Came Christi c. 9 Origeu c. Cels. lib. vi. c. 75. 9* I98 VOLTO SANTO the description given in the letter of Leu- tulus Proconsul of Syria, to the Roman Senate; which though the letter is acknow ledged to be spurious, may be not unac ceptable to my readers. " He is a tall well- " proportioned man : there is an air of se- " renity in his countenan ce, which attracts " at once the love and reverence of those " who see him. His hair is of the colour of " new wine from the root to the ears, and " from thence to the shoulders it is curled , (l and falls down lo the lowest part of them- ** Upon the forehead it parts in two, after " the manner of the Nazarenes. His forehead " is flat and fair; his face without any de- " feet, and adorned with a very graceful " vermilion. His air is majestic and agree- " able. His nose and mouth are very well- " proportioned; and his beard is thick and " forked, of the colour of his hair- His ".eyes are grey and extremely lively: . . . " there is something wonderfully charm- " ing in his face, wilh a mixture, of gra- " vity . . .He is very strait in stature: his 11 hands are large and spreading, and his " arm very beautiful .. .He is the handsom ¦ " est man in ihe world. " S. Helena, as is well known, was mother of the Emperor Constantine, and as some S. HELENA I99 have laboured to prove, of English birtli. Among the rest, Baronius asserts this story, ^making Heleua to be daughter of Coel, a British prince. But Gibbon contradicts it (1), and apparently with reason. Her moral character was not immaculate; but her ir regularities were previous to her conversion to Christianity* She was canonized for bring ing the true cross to Italy, from Jerusa lem; the history of which event is this. The empress, having a great wish to dis cover the true cross, made a journey to Jerusalem for that purpose, where there seems to have been a tradition that it had been buried, though the spot was not known. Sozomen gives il as his opinion, (2) that she had a special revelation from God as to the place of its concealment. But he also mentions a^traditon, which is followed by the Roman Breviary, that her success was not so miraculously obtained. Having con vened a great number of Jews, and de manded of them the desired information, they refused to impart it; upon which she threatened to put them to death; and ihey at length confessed that Judas, one of their number, could disclose the secret. He , how- (i)C. 14. (2) Lib. ii. c. I. 200 TRUE CROSS ever, was equally obstinate, until he had passed several days without food in a dry cistern, where the empress had placed him to break his silence. Hunger at length pre vailed over religious obstinacy, and he led the impatient empress to the spot. Search was immediately made, and three crosses were dug up. Still, however, they were at a loss to know which was the cross that had borne our Saviour; for though the su perscription was found, it was not attached to any of them. The faith of the empress soon hit upon an expedient. A woman, who laboured under some sickness , was made to touch successively each cross; two of them produced no effect, but the third cured her. This was of course the true cross. Part of it was put in a silver chest, and left where it was found; the rest, with the nails and superscription , was sent to Con stantine, who was at Rome. He had a helmet constructed out of the nails, and a bit for his horse ; which was considered as the completion ofa prophecy of Zachariah (i). One of the nails he threw into the Adriatic Sea, to make it more tranquil, (2) and an other came by some means into the posses- (1) C. xiv. v. 20. (2, l-'latina, Vita Sylvestri, who quotes Ambrosius. TRUE CROSS 201 sion ofthe King of Frauce (t) The dis covery was made on the third of May, 326, and the event is still commemorated by the Romish Church on that day (2). It must be allowed, that the authorities for this dis covery of the cross, and for some of the miraculous parts of the story , are very respectable, as may be seen by the note below. Eusebius, who lived at the time, says nothing about it, though he mentions the journey of Helena to Jerusalem. Socrates tells us, lliat he related the story as he had heard il ; but Sozomen is very particular in assuring us that his informers were to be relied upon ,as having received the story by tradition from their fathers; he appeals also to former writers. Sozoraen lived in the fifth century. Fragments of this cross have been dispersed all over Christendom, at least several churches pretend to have por tions of it. Indeed as it was said miracu lously to increase, to meet the demands of the faithful , we need not be surprised at the multiplied specimens of it (3). (1) One of the nails was also preserved in the Cathedral of Milan , m hich was given to S. Ambrose by the Emperor Theodosius. Coryat , Crudities, p. 99. (2; Vide Ruffinus, lib. i. c- 8 ; lib. *.c. 20. Socrates, lib. i. c. 17. Sozom. lib ii. c- 1- Cyril. Epist. ad Constantino). (3) In the Abbey of St. Edmuusbury there were as many 202 S. ANDREW The head of St. Andrew was sent from Greece to Rome in the time of Pius II. in 1 463. His body (whether headless or no I cannot learn) rests tinder the choir of the cathedral at Amalphi , which was dedicated to him in 1208, by Cardinal Capuano, who brought his remains thither from Constan tinople. Several ancient writers (1) speak of his bones being removed to the latter city from Achaia ; which was done by the Emperor Constantius in the year 357. It has been already mentioned, that this statue of St. Andrew, by Fiammingo, is much ad mired; and it is reported of the sculptor , that he died mad, because Bernini, who was then chief architect of St. Peter's, and was jealous of Fiammingo, had caused the statue to be placed in a disadvantageous light. He had wished it lo stand in the niche which is now occupied by the figure of S. Helena (2). The most extraordinary canonization is that of Longinus , the soldier who pierced our Saviour's side (3). Tradition says, that fragments, at the time of Ihe Reformation, as would have made a large whole cross. — Burnet. (1) Hieion. Catal. Vir- lllustr. in Luca. Dorotheus Sy- naps. Philostorg. lib. iii. i.Tlieodnr. Lector, ii.61. (2) Evelyn. Cicoguara , Storia delta Scultura. (3; Perhaps that of the good thief would equal it ; for bs s. longinus ao3 having been baptized by the apostles, he became a monk, and converted great num bers to Christianity in Cappadocia, where at length he suffered martyrdom, under Octavius. This happened at Caesarea. His tongue was cut out and his teeth extracted , notwithstanding which he held a long con ference with the Governor ; all which is preserved by the Roman Catholic histori ans. At length his head was cut off. The inhabitants of Mantua tell a very different story. They maintain , that he preached there, and suffered martyrdom in the se cond year after Christ's death. It certainly seems to be the orthodox opinion , thai his body was found near Mantua in the year 804, and with it a chest containing some of our Saviour's blood. His place in the Ca lendar is the fifteenth of March. The name of Longinus is supposed to have been taken from the Greek term signifying a spear. This saint is confounded, even by Catholic writ ers, with the Centurion, also christened Longinus, who bore testimony to our Sa viour's divinity at the crucifixion. The lat ter has also been canonized, together with two of his fellow-soldiers, who refused the - also is in the catalogue of Romish Saints. His name was Di- roas , that of the oilier was Geslas. 2o4 SACRED LANCE money with which the chief priests bribed the guard at the sepulchre (i). The sacred lance, which pierced our Sa*- viour'sside, was formerly preserved with this statue, but it is now kept in the gene ral repository for relics over the figure of S. Veronica. In the history of the first crusade under Godfrey de Bouillon, we read, that after the army had taken Antioch, in 1098, a Provencal or a Lombard clerk, named Peter Barlhelemy, saw St. Andrew in a vision, who carried him through the air to the Church of St. Peter, and showed him the very lance which had pierced the side of Christ. Raymond, Count of Tholouse, embraced the story; search was made under the direction of Barlhelemy , and at length he himself , descending into the excavation, found the precious relic. The sacred lance was carried before the army in battle, and the effect it had upon the soldiers was really miraculous. Still, however, many were in credulous; and the unfortunate Barlhelemy actually fell a victim to his enthusiasm , being consumed in a fire, to which he vo luntarily exposed himself as an ordeal. This event was probably fatal to the lance (2). (1) See Tilleinont , Mem. torn. i. p. 2^4. (2; Vide Mill's History of the Crusades, vol. i. p. an. SACRED LANCE 200 That which is preserved in St. Peter's rests upon very different testimony. Il is said that St. Helena , beside finding ihe true cross at Jerusalem , discovered also ihe iron of the lance, which was carried to Con stantinople. It was subsequently divided into two parts; the point was kept in the imperial palace , the other division in ihe Church of St. John of the Rock. It seems to be uncertain whether the division was made by Constantine II. who wished to give the point lo Charlemagne; or whether Baldwin, while he was King of Constan tinople, pawned it to the Venetians; from whom it was recovered by S. Louis, King of France. However, in i49'2> Bajazet the Second, Sultan of Constantinople, sent the part, which did not contain the point , as a present to Pope Innocent VIII. to induce him not to prolect his brother Zizim, who disputed the throne. The pope sent a solemn embassy to receive it; and for a long time it was preserved in the Vatican. In i5oo it was placed in a magnificent chapel, where was the statue of Longinus. But when this chapel was destroyed by Julius II. it was removed to the care of St. Veronica , where it has remained ever since, Benedict XIV 206 SACRED LANCE in one of his works, (i) assures us, that while he was canon of this Basilica, he had the exact measure of the point sent him from the Chapel Royal at Paris; and that after comparing the two together, they cor responded so exactly, that no manner of doubt could remain as to the identity of the two relics. It should be mentioned, that another lance is preserved in Nuremberg, which makes similar pretensions; but the orthodox give the preference to this in St. Peter's (2). It would be curious to trace the pedigree ofthe Nuremberg lance up to that which was found at Antioch, and for which poor Barthelemy was burnt (3). There is another preserved in the Monastery of Eitch-maiadzen, in Armenia (4); and part of the sacred lance is mentioned in a list of relics, which were once in an English Church (5). These relics are exhibited on Good-Friday (1) De Beatific, et Canoniz. IV. p. a , c. xxxi. n. i3. (2) Barouius , ad an. 929. (3) At the dissolution of monasteries in England, in i53S, among the relics preserved in the Abbey of Reading was an angel with one wing, that had brought over the spear's head which pierced our Saviour's side. (4) Porter's Travels , vol. i. p. 189. (5) Dugdale, Monast. vol. i. p. 233. CUPOLA 2O7 and other days. No one is allowed to visit the place where they are kept, unless he has the rank ofa canon. And those sovereigns or illustrious p ersons, who have sought this privilege., have first the honorary dignity of canon conferred upon them. In each, of the upper niches are two twisted columns, apparently of white marble, which are said lo have been brought by Tilus from the temple at Jerusalem, or according to some (1) from the temple of Diana at Ephesus. Their antiquity is pro bably considerable; and Raffael seems to have copied them in his cartoon of the healing of the lame man in front ofthe temple. The four pillars, which support the Baldacchino are also taken from them. There were twelve of these twisted pillars in the old church, which stood in front of the high al tar. Two others stand in the chapel of ihe Holy Sacrament: another is in the chapel of the Crucifix; and the twelfth was broken in the removal. Anastasius, in his life of Gregory III. mentions, that this Pope in 740, placed six volubiles (or volutiles) colamnas round the altar, and that he had them from the exarch Eutychius . Six others were already (1) Turrigius de Crypt. Vat. 208 s. peter's there. It seems probable, that the pillars in the present church are lliose mentioned by Anaslasius. The concave part of the cupola is filled wilh .mosaics, executed in the time of Cle ment VIII. and on the ceiling of the lantern is another mosaic of God the Father. Some of ihe proportions are as follow (i). From the cornice immediately above the pillars to the aperture ofthe lantern, 170 feet: from thence to the top of the cross 110; which added to ihe height of the supporters (178) makes the whole distance from the floor of the church to the top of the cross 458 feet. The internal diameter of the cu pola is 140 feet, which is two feet less than that of the dome of the Pantheon. But at St. Peter's there is an inner and an outer wall to the cupola, between which is the staircase: so that the diameter ofthe whole is 195 feet. The ascent to the top is tolerably easy. It commences by a succession of inclined plains without any steps, up which it is said that a carriage might be driven. From (2) The dimensions of all tbe pnrts of this building may be seen at the foot of the staircase leading up to the cupola. This is probably the most accurate account of all, and as such I have followed it. CUPOLA 209 the roof of the church, the cupolas (of which there are six oval and four octangular , be side the great one) give it more the ap pearance ofa town than any thing else , so astonishing is the size. A great crack may be observed in the roof of the nave, which probably took place in the original settling of the building. From hence , by different staircases , and at length between the two walls of the cupola, we come to the ball, which is said to contain sixteen persons , and is twenty-four feet in circumference. From the balustrade outside ofthe ball, it is not difficult to mount to the bottom of the cross by an iron ladder, which is in part quite perpendicular, and perhaps for midable. The cross is thirteen feel high. Alarm has frequently been felt for the strength and safety ofthe cupola, and at dif ferent times it has been asserted to be about to fall. Between the inner and outer curves several bands of iron may be observed: two of these were affixed when the building was first raised, and the others have been added subsequently. The Marquis Poleni publish ed a work upon the subject, and in the Letterc Pittoriche are some original letters of his, dated 1744- He states that the bands of iron, which were placed in his time , 2 10 S. JOHN LATERAN weighed 148,407 pounds. The cupola of the Duomo at Florence has cracked even worse than that of St. Peter's , but no bands of iron have been used^ It may be mentioned that the lead in the cupola is obliged to be considerably 'repaired, if not renewed, about every ten years, from the corrosive effect of the Scirocco, which the Greeks and Latins called Euronotus. The heat of the sun is also said to be sometimes so intense, that it al most melts the lead. I have heard it men tioned, as-an observation of the late profes sor Playfair, that this immense building absorbed so much heat during the summer, that it never wholly discharged it throughout the winter: and certainly the warm tempera ture of this church during the cold weather at Rome is very remarkable. S. JOHN LATERAN. This holds the second rank as a Basilica, though in former times it appears to have been superior to S. Peter's; and the chapter of the Lateran even now take precedence. Over the door is^this inscription: Sacrosan- cla Lateranensis Ecclesia, omnium urbis et orbis Ecclesiarum Mater et Caput. When a new pope is elected, one of the S. JOHN LATERAN 211 first ceremonies is to take possession of the Lateran Basilica , which is done in great state and with a solemn procession. He is also crowned here. Its name is said to be derived fromits being built on the site ofthe palace of PlautiusLateranus, whowas named for consul in 65, but was put to death by Nero for being privy to the conspiracy of Piso: (i) or it was perhaps named from another Claudius Lateranus, who was consul A. D. 198, and a particular friend of the emperor Sept. Severus. It has also been cal led Aurea, from the splendour of its deco- ations, and Constantiniana, from its found- rer. The buildings to be noticed are the Church itself with the Palace annexed, the Baptistery, and the Scala Santa. Of these the Baptistery is the oldest, and is said to have been erected by Constantine, when he was baptized by St. Sylvester. Gufficardini, (2) noticing the tradition of Constantine having given to Pope Sylvester the city of Rome and other towns and dis tricts of Italy, adds, that so far from this being generally believed, it was argued by some, that all ihe stories about Constantine (1) Tacitus, Au. xv. c. Go, {¦i\ Lib. iv. 212 CONSTANTINE pud Sylvester were untrue , and that they lived at different times. We know for certain (at least there is no reason lo doubt the ec clesiastical histories (i) in this particular) that Pope Sylvester reigned from 3i 4 to 335; and it is equally certain, that Con stantine gained his victory over Maxentius in 3 1 2, and reigned till 337, so that he un doubtedly might have been baptized by Pope Sylvester. The remark of Guicciardini would lead us to carry our scepticism too far: and with respect lo Constantine' s ce lebrated donation to the papal see, the argu ment of the Protestants is surely weakened by denying the two personages to have been contemporary. For if we can show, that the emperor might have given the temporal sovereignty of Rome to the Pope, and yet, notwithstanding his great zeal for Christi anity, he did not so bestow it, this surely makes more against the union of the tem poral and spiritual power, than if we labour to prove by dates that ihey did not live at the same time. With respect to this ques tion, which has excited so much controver sy , thus much is certain, that Constantine (3) Sozomen begins bis history wilh saying that Constan tine and Sylvester were contemporaries. S. JOHN LATERAN 2l3 and Sylvester were contemporaries : it is also now allowed on all hands, that the pretended deed of donation is spurious- Hincmar, Bishop of Rheims , is generally said to be the first to mention it, and he did not write till 85o; though Mosheim, the Protestant historian, thinks that it existed in the eighth century. The style is exces sively barbarous, and the date is undoubted ly false: for the year assigned is 3i5, and the deed makes meution of the baptism of Constantine as having taken place then; which is certainly not correct. But what is stronger than all, Rome for a long time after remained subject to the Greek em perors, and the popes acknowledged their sovereignty. The baptism ofConstantine was also once a subject of controversy. Baronius positively asserts, that he was baptized by Pope Syl vester, assigns to it the year 324, and con troverts all the arguments of those who maintain the contrary. Eusebius, how ever, (i) who wrote in the following, reign, expressly says, that he was baptized for the first time immediately before his death: (1 ) Life ofConstantine lib. iv. c. 61. See also Sozomsn, lib. iii- c. 19. T. II. 10 2 1 4 BAPTISTERY and this opinion is now entertained by all Protestant writers, (i) and by some Catho lics. (2) There was a mosaic in the old church, which represented the circumstance, under which was written, Rex baptizatur et lepra sorde lavatur. . We may now proceed to speak of the Baptistery, which is said to have been built by Constantine. It is octangular, and orna mented with several ancient columns : two of porphyry with the cornice over them are particularly observable at the door, which leads to the Basilica. The interior is certain ly curious, and the architecture bespeaks an age, when taste had sadly degenerated : but it has not on the whole that appearance of antiquity, which I had attached to a building of the fourth century. I have since discovered, that Palladio considered it to be modern, and made of the spoils of ancient buildings. (3) The font is evidently intend ed for immersion , and occupies a great proportion of the building. Anastasius (4) (1) Vide Gibbon, c. 20. (2) Perron, Petavius, etc. (3) Vide his work upon Architecture, lib. iv. c 16. (4) Vita Sylvest. A description of the ornaments of the font may also be seen in Platina. S. JOHN LATERAN 2l5 describes the font as being of porphyry, and covered entirely both within and without with silver, of which the weight was 3oo8 pounds. In the middle of the font was a column of porphyry. It is only used on the Saturday before Easter, for baptizing Jews or other infidels, who have been converted to Christianity. The custom of having a baptistery distinct from the church is to be found in many Italian towns. They are ge nerally round. At Florence and at Pisa baptisms could only be performed in one public font. At Parma also the baptistery is detached from the Duomo. The Basilica , as it now stands, is to be dated from the time of Clement V. as the old church, (said also to have been built by Constantine,) was burnt in i3o8. Nicepho- rus expressly says (i), that Constantine built it, and took the spade into his own hands to turn up the soil for a beginning. This is commemorated in the morning pray ers for the ninth of November. The found ation was probably about the year 3a3. Leo III. about 800, had added very much to the old church, and Sergius III. in 903, almost rebuilt it, as it had suffered by an earth en Lib. vii c 34. 46. 21 6 S. JOHN LATERAN quake ten years before. Several of the suc ceeding popes added to and ornamented the new church, which Clement V- began, and the magnificent portico was added by Sex tus V. In this is a colossal statue of Con stantine found in his baths . This perhaps should not be called a portico , as there is no projection from the building : but I use the term rather in its ancient sense of a colonnade, extending along the whole front, and forming the entrance to the church. Here, as at St. Peter's, it might be thought desiderable,that there had been a projecting portico: but ihe designs of the two build ings are considerably different; and if we complain of a want of simplicity in St. Peter's, we shall do so much more at the Lateran , where the fondness of the Italian architects for overloading their buildings with ornaments and breaking them into minute parts has been most luxuriantly displayed. Here, as at St. Peter's, some part of ihe bad effect may be ascribed lo the necessity of constructing a balcony for the papal benediction: a recess of this kind in the front ofa building is not ornamental , and other similar niches have been added for the sake of uniformity. On the top are S. JOHN LATERAN 2 I 7 fifteen statues of our Saviour and various saints. From the colonnade there are five entrances into the church; in the middle one is a bronze door, which came from what is called the Temple of Peace in the Forum. That to the right of it is -the Porta Santa. The interior is divided into five aisles, and in the pillars of the nave are colossal statues of the twelve Apostles, some of which are fine specimens of sculpture. The high altar contains the heads of St. Peter and St. Paul. At the altar of the sacrament, in the north transept, are two bronze columns, which are asserted to be the same which were constructed by order of Augus tus, after the battle of Actium, from the beaks of the enemy's ships, and which Virgil is supposed to allude to, when he says, — naval i surgentes Gere columns. — Georg. iii. 29. One ofthe richest chapels in Rome is in this church , that of the Corsini family. The tomb of Clement XII. who reposes here, is formed, of a noble antique urn of porphyry brought from the Pantheon, (i) It is com- (1) This is not the only instance of a Pagan sarcophagus being consecrated to the remains ofa pope. The tomb of In nocent II. was formerly that of Hadrian- 21 8 S. JOHN LATERAN monly said, but without any foundation, to have contained the remains of Agrippa. It is known that he was buried in the Mausoleum of Augustus. (2) I have already had occasion to mention, that in the Tribune there are four pointed arches ; and an inscription states that this part of the church was erected by Nicolas IV. who reigned from 1 288 to 1 292; so that this must be a portion wliich escaped the fire in 1 3o8 , and is the oldest part ofthe whole. Some mosaics in the concave part of the Tribune are curious from their antiquity, but otherwise extreme ly rude and ugly. The adjoining palace was built by Con stantine and for more than a thousand years the popes made it their residence. Sextus V. rebuilt it in its present magnificent form: and in 1693 Innocent XII. turned it into a hospital for the poor. Very near to the Basilica is the Scala Santa. Part of this belonged to the original church, and escaped the fire of i3o8. Sextus V. added the porlico and five staircases. It is that in the middle which gives the name to the building. It is said to have been sent from Pilate's house in Jerusalem to Helena, (i) Dio, lib. 54. SCALA SANTA 2 I Q and people are allowed to ascend it only on their knees. It is composed of twenty-eight steps of marble; but they were wearing away so fast from the devotion ofthe faithfuL that long ago they were cased with wood* This covering has been twice renewed , and the third already'gives great proofs of the effect of constant attrition. Whoever stops a few minutes near this place may have abund ant opportunities of seeing this operation performed: people of all ranks and ages may be observed ascending; and as it takes about three minutes to complete the task, it must be extremely disagreeable and fatiguing. They return by one ofthe lateral staircases, which, not having the same sanctity as the first, may be descended in the ordinary way. I never passed by the place without seeing some persons climbing on their knees, and generally a considerable number. To a Roman Catholic no doubt there is merit in the act itself; but there is also at the top a very sacred painting of our Saviour to at tract his devotion, and to encourage him in the task , beside several relics of peculiar sanctity, (i) As this picture claims to be a (i) Ofthe relics preserved in the church, the most remark able are, part ofthe cradle, of tbe vest without seam, of ihe barley-loaves and fishes, the table of the last supper, part ofthe purple robe, and of tbe reed which which Christ was smitten. 2 20 S. JOHN LATERAN correct representation of our Saviour, it may be mentioned, that it is five feet eight inches high. It represents our Saviour at the age of twelve, and was begun to be painted by St. Luke , but he found it mira culously finished for him. On one of the sides of this building is a curious mosaic, preserved since the time of Leo III. or a little earlier: he commenced his reign in 795. In design, as might be expected, it is extremely rude; but it is valuable from its antiquity, and as proving in some degree, if we may argue from this art to that of painting, that in the ninth century the latter art must have been in some state of progress towards the perfection which it afterwards attained. We are not wholly without materials for tracing the history of painting through the darkest ages; and its existence seems never wholly to have ceased. Anastasius tells us, that Pope Symmachus ornamented St. Peter's with mosaics, and St. Paul's with paintings: he reigned from 498 to 5i4- We have mention ofa painting of the Transfiguration, exe cuted at Naples in the time of Justinian (527-65). So that under the Goths the art was not wholly extinct; and under their successors, the Lombards, we have still MOSAICS 221 some traces of it. The same Anastasius men lions several churches being ornament ed with mosaic-work in the seventh and eighth centuries. He also supplies us with more direct evidence as lo painting; for, according to him, John VII. (7o5) had se veral picture executed in the churches of Rome; Gregory III. (731) ornamented many churches in this manner; and he makes particular mention of a painting in the Lateran, in the time of Pope Zacharias (741) and Paul I. (757). Adrian I. (768) also employed painters, and he was the im mediate predecessor of Leo III. in whose time the mosaic at the Scala Santa was executed. The portraits of the popes in St. Paul's are some of the oldest specimens of painting now existing in or near Rome; but on a large scale, there is nothing so ancient as some frescos on the wall of a chapel, which stands On the left of the Ap- pian Way. It is called by some a temple of Bacchus, and was dedicated by Urban VIII- to St. Urban I. Lanzi thinks ihem as old as ion* There is a considerable degree of spirit in the designs. This mosaic has also been cited, with a very different view, by the authors of 10* 222 S. MARIA MAGGIORE L' Art de verifier les Dates, (i) and Mura- tori. (2) It represents our Saviour giving the keys to St. Peter with one hand, and with the other a standard to a crowned prince, bearing the inscription , Constantine V ; from which it has been argued, that the authority ofthe Greek emperors oyer Ro me had not entirely ceased at that time. Con stantine V. began his reign in 780. The Egyptian Obelisk, which stands in front of this Basilica , and is the highest in Rome, has been already mentioned. S. MARIA MAGGIORE / is so called, because it was the largest church dedicated to the Virgin . It ranks third among the Basilica?. It is also known by the name of S. Maria ad Nives, from a vision which Pope Liberius and John , Patrician of Rome, had ofa miraculous fall of snow, which extended as far as the limits of the present church. This story is represented in one of the chapels. Those who express disappointment at the front of St. Peter's, and object to the archi tecture of St. John Lateran, will probably (1) Tom. i. p. 262. (2) Annali d' Italia, an. 79S. S. MARIA MAGGIORE 2 20 be equally dissatisfied with S. Maria Mag giore. Without entering into a detail ofthe building, or repeating what perhaps has already been considered impertinent in an account of Roman edifices, I cannot help observing, that the whole effect produced by this church is by no means proportion ate to the grandeur of its size and the la bour ofthe execution. A building of these dimensions in stone must always command some degree of admiration; but the great difference between the simple architecture of ancient Greece, and the overloaded alter ations introduced by modern Italy, is this, that the former does not always forcibly strike the eye at the first view , and some times even conveys an idea of heaviness ; but every succeeding examination discloses new beauties; the eye is never weary with contemplating it, and a perfect recollection of its parts remains upon the memory. The case is very different with such buildings as S. Maria Maggiore; at the first approach a great idea of grandeur is raised by such a prodigious edifice; the multitude of parts into which it is divided, and the variety of ornaments, furnish the eye with such a rapid succession of objects for a few min utes, that there is no room for any feeling 2 24 s* MARIA MAGGIORE but that of admiration; but this very abund ance of ornaments soon destroys the effect which il had itself raised : for impressions to be lasting, there must be an unity and a distinctness in them; whatever distracts the attention , prevents the mind from enjoying pleasure; and whenever we have no definite idea of an object which we have seen, it is impossible that we can be anxious to repeat the contemplation of it. Few per sons, who have made a single visit to Pass- turn, would be unable to give a rough sketch ofthe temples: after residing some months in Rome, who could draw from memory the front of S. Maria Maggiore? It was this which made me dissatisfied with this Basilica whenever I passed it, and deters me at present from attempting a description of its architecture. Whether the above remarks may be allowed to be just or no, a narrow brick tower, which rises above the whole, must by all be considered ex tremely ugly. I should imagine it to be a, remnant of the former edifice; but as the whole has been built at various times, it is difficult to assign a date to any particular part. The church is said to be as old as 352, the pontificate of Liberius, having been founded by John, Patrician of Rome: but S. MARIA MAGGIORE 223 it has been restored and ornamented by several succeeding popes. Sextus III. rebuilt it in 432, and the form of the interior has probably continued the same ever since that time. Eugenius III. added the portico in front, A. JD. n5o; aud Gregory XIIL repaired it in 1575. Sextus V. and Paul V. contributed much towards the ornaments of the exterior. The interior has three aisles, and along the middle one are thirty-six Ionic pillars of white marble, which have a beautiful ef fect. They are undoubtedly ancient, and perhaps came from the temple of Juno Lu- cina, which stood here. There is a good op portunity at Rome of viewing the three dif ferent orders of architecture in ancient columns appropriated to modern churches. In the one which we are now describing, we have the Ionic, at St. Paul's there is a double row of Corinthian pillars, unrivalled in beauty and proportion; (1) and at S. Pietro in Vincoli, though the pillars of the nave are not in so perfect a state as in the two former, we are enabled to admire the simplicity of the Doric: At S. Maria Maggio- (1) Another series of Corinthian columns may be seen in the Church of Ara Celi, but very inferior in elegance lo those of St. Paul's. 226 S. MARIA MAGGIORE re the roof will probably be considered as too low, and the effect produced by this double row of Ionic columns is diminished from this cause. The roof itself deserves to be mentioned, as being gilt, in i5oo, with the first gold which came from Peru, and which was a present from Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain to the Pope. The mosaics which are over the pillars of the nave , aud in the tribune, are as old as 4^4* Among the chapels, that of the Borghese family deserves to be examined for the richness of its decorations. Over the altar of the Virgin is one of those numerous pictures, which is said to have been the work of St. Luke ; and on the wall near to it may be read a pope's bull, declaring it to be the work of St. Luke the Evangelist . Notwithstanding this high au thority, and the notion prevalent in Italy of St. Luke having been a painter as well as a physical!, it is not now considered a matter of faith. It has been supposed by some who are very competent to judge, that the mistake arose from confounding a paint er of the twelfth century , called Luca San to, with the Evangelist. Lanzi, himself an ecclesiastic of high rank, who has so ably written ihe history of painting, asserts this S. LUKE . 237 as undeniable , and ridicules the absurdity of those who are credulous enough toehold the other opinion. Lanzi had perhaps never seen the pope's bull in Santa Maria Maggio re. Tiraboschi, however, without maintain ing the professional talents of the Evange list, seems clearly to prove, that the notion was prevalent as early as the eighth cen tury. (1) He might even have said the fifth. For we are told that Eudocia , the wife of the Emperor Theodosius II. , sent from her exile at Jerusalem about the year 44^ to Pulcheria, the Emperor's sister, a portrait ofthe Virgin, which was painted by St. Luke (2). So that the notion of Lanzi, how ever ingenious, cannot altogether account for the tradition , though it may explain the cause of its becoming more prevalent. Dodwell (3) mentions an image of the Vir gin at Megaspelia in Arcadia, which is said to have been made by St. Luke. He appears to mean a statue; so that the Evangelist was a sculptor .as well as a painter. It is certain that the Gnostics in the second century had pictures and statues of our Saviour, which were said to be the work of (1) Tom. iii. part 2. lib. iv. p. 458. (2) Theodor. Lector. Collectan. lib. i. init. (3) Travels in Greece, vol. ii. p. 4S0. 2 28 S. LUKE Pontius, Pilate: (i) and Eusebius asserts, that he had seen portraits of the Apostles Peter and Paul, as well as of our Saviour himself (2). In the church of SS. Domenico and Sisto is another picture of the Virgin , also declared by papal authority to be the work of Luke the Evangelist. The popes are perhaps not infallible as connoisseurs . Monlfaucon says, (3) that ihere are seven paintings with these pretensions in Rome. Dupin and Tillemont, the French eccle siastical historians, totally reject the notion: but Cave seems inclined to attach some credit to an inscription dug up near the Church of S. Maria in Via Lata, where were the words .... una e VII a B. Luca Depictis. The academy of painting at Rome is called that of St. Luke, and was founded in 1478. In front of this church is one of the handsomest Corinthian pillars any where to be seen. It came from the Temple of Peace in the Forum , and was placed here by Paul V. in i5i3. It is of white marble, forty-seven feet high without the pedestal and capital. Not far from this is another little pillar of very mean architeclure? sur- (1) lrenseus adv. Haer. lib. i. c. 24. (2) Hist. Eccl. lib. vii. c. 18. (3) Diar. ltal, p. 106. S. CROCE 229 mounted by a cross, erected in memory of the absolution given by Clement VIII. to Henry IV. of France, in 1595, upon his conversion to the Romish religion. Henry IV. himself had the pillar erected , with this inscription on the principal part of it, In hoc signo vinces. This passed at first for very Catholic, until it was observed that the part, on which the inscription was plac ed, is shaped iu the form ofa cannon, and that he had really attributed to his artil lery what they had taken to be addressed to heaven (1). S. CROCE IN GERUSALEMME, though not the next Basilica in point of size, yet comes next in order, as being within the walls . A church was erected here by Constantine, and in his time this part- of Rome was undoubtedly much more in habited than it is at present. S. Croce now stands quite alone, with no buildings near it. That the case was different formerly is evident from the ruins close to it, one of which has been called the Sessorium, aud the church from this cause is styled Basi- ( 1) Spence's Anecdotes, p> 90. 23o S. CROCE lica Sessoriana. It had its present name from a third part of the true cross being deposit ed here by Helena. There were also placed here two of the thorns , one of the thirty pieces of silver, the superscription, and part of the cross of the good thief. In the year 1492 a little chest was found in one of the walls which contained the inscrip tion; it was in red letters, and much de cayed, HIESUS NAZARENVS REX IVDAEOR. (i). The church was also called in Gerusalem- me, becanse some soil was brought from the Holy-Land at the same time, part of which was placed underneath the church, and part over the roof. It was repaired by Gregory II. who reigned 71 5-3 1 , when it is slated to have been without a roof, and in a great state of dilapidation. It was rebuilt by Lucius II. in 1 144 • ana the facade was added by Benedict XIV. It is small , and in no re spect deserving of much attention ; nor should I have mentioned it at all, if it did not bear the rank of a Basilica. It was in this church that the Pope used to consecrate the golden rose, which he sent annually (1) Sozomen gives a particular account ofthe discovery of this inscription iu tbe three languages at Jerusalem, lib. ii. c. I. S. CROCE 23 I to some sovereign or other great person. This custom seems at first to have been a religious one, and is said by some to be as old as the fiflh century. Urban V. was the first Pope who sent the rose as a mark of favour to a foreign sovereign (i). It was first presented to the Pope by the people of Rome on the 4th Sunday in Lent , and worn by him during the celebration of mass. Some relics preserved here are curious; such as, the finger, which Thomas thrust into our Saviour's side; part ofthe sponge, on which the vinegar was put; part ofthe vest without seam; part ofthe veil and hair of the Virgin Mary; some earth from Mount Calvary, stained by Christ's blood; part of the stone on which the angel stood when he saluted Mary; some ofthe manna; part of Aaron's rod, which budded; a tooth of St. Peter; part of the stone wliere Christ was born ; and some bones of Thomas k Becket. S, PAUL'S (2). The three remaining Basilica? are without the walls. That of St. Paul is much the (1) L' Enfant Hist, du Concile de Constance, p. 592-3. (2) I leave this description as it stood io the first edi- 232 s. paul's fiuest, and would be among the handsomest of the Roman churches , if it were in better condition. Before the Reformation the King of England was protector of it,, as the Em peror is of St. Peter's, the King of France of St. John Lateran ,and the King of Spain of S. Maria Maggiore. It is about i '/, mile out of the Porta S. Paolo, and it is per haps owing to its situation that it has been so much neglected. There was formerly a portico from the gate to the church , which is now entirely removed. Procopius men tions this portico and other buildings conti guous to the church, and says.it was distant thirteen stadia from Rome. But the inte rior and exterior present a sad appearance' of inattention, and in the midst of our ad miration for such a magnificent structure, we are disgusted with the damp and dirt which disfigure it. The first thing which struck me in ap proaching it was a series of Gothic windows in the side facing the city ; the only in stance of the kind which I had seen about Rome. These have already been mentioned, when it was stated, that they were an ad- tion. Tbe Church of S. Paul has since been burnt to the ground: but some readers will perhaps wish to have the de scription of it preserved. s. paul's 3 33 dition of the tenth century. I find mention of two periods, when the church underwent considerable repair. Leo III. who reigned from 795 to 816, restored the roof, which had been thrown down by an earthquake, and built the arch near the tribune. In n38 Innocent II. surrounded it with strong walls, as the former ones were in a ruinous condition. Iu ihe interior there is no ap pearance of these windows, as they are completely blocked up , and those which give light to the church are square, in the spaces belween the pointed ones. The two exterior aisles are lower than the rest of the church, and evidently ofa later date. The Basilica itself is in point of anti quity one of the most curious in the neigh bourhood of Rome. It was begun by Theo dosius in 386, and finished by Honorius in 3g5 : but there was a Basilica here before , built by Constantine. Baronius (1) quotes an original letter, as still existing, which Valenlinianus, Theodosius, and Arcadius wrote to Sallustius, prefect ofthe city, ex horting him to enlarge the Church of St. Paul; which had been built by Constant ine, but was confined in its dimensions (1) At the year 386. a34 s. paul's by the road and the river. Some verses of Prudentius deserve to be inserted upon this subject. He lived in the reign of Honorius. Parte alia titulum Pauli via servat Ostiensis, Qua striugit amnis cespitem siuistrum. Regia pompa loci est. Princeps bonus has sacravit arces, Clausitque magnis ambitum talentis. Bracteolas trabibus sublevit , ut omnis aurulenta Lux esset intus , ceu jubar sub ortu. Subdidit et Parias fulvis laqucaribus columnas , Distinguit ill ic quas quaternus ordo. Tunc camurus hyalo insigni varie cucurrit arcus: Sic prata vernis iloribus renident. Ils^i 2TSy. 12. 45. The last couplet alludes to a mosaic over the arch ofthe nave, which is still to be seen. We can have no doubt, that this is the ancient edifice, or at least great part of it, from ihe circumstance ofthe pillars in the nave, wliich I shall shortly mention. The portico was erected by Benedict XIII, and ihe bronze gate in the middle was cast in 1070, at Constantinople. This front is not made use of at present as an entrance, and can with difficulty be seen. There are some curious mosaics over it. The view of the interior would be mag nificent beyond description, if it had not been so shamefully neglected. No church in Rome, except St. Peter's, exceeds it in di- s. paul's 235 mensions, this being 260 feet long with out the tribune j an i36 wide : and even St. Peter's can produce nothing equal to the forty Corinthian pillars on each side of the nave. They are not all ofthe same marble , and consequently not of equal beauty ; but their heights accord , being fifty-two palms, and as age has made a great impression upon thecolour of all of them, the difference is not apparent on a general view. Twenty-four of them are of the marble, called, from its variegated colour, Pavonazzo ; the rest are of Parian marble. The principal quarry for the Pavonazzo or purple-spotted marble was near the city of Synnas, in Phrygia: and perhaps it is the same with what Pliny calls Alabandicus, from Alabanda inCaria, where it was found, as well as at Miletus. (1) He calls it black, or rather approaching to pur ple, and adds that it could be liquified by fire and run into glass. The variegated marble of Synnas is mentioned by several ancient writers; (2) but the most detailed account ofthe quarries is to be found in Strabo, (3) who informs us, that Synnadic (1) Lib. xtixv. c. i3. (2) lb. c. 1. Martial, lib. ix. ep. 77. Tibull. lib. iii. el. 3. i3- Claudian in Eulrop. x. 272. Prudent, c. Sym. x. 247. (3) Lib. xii. 236 PAVONAZZO was a name given to the marble by the Romans , whereas the natives called if Docimites or Docimaean, from Docimia, a neighbouring village; " At first the quarry " produced only small pieces: but from the " expensive taste of the Romans in the pre- " sent day, large pillars of a single block " are dug out : they resemble the marble " called Jlabastrites(i) in theirvariegation: •' and notwithstanding the difficulty of " conveying such burthens to the sea, co- " lumns and slabs of astonishing size and " beauty are transported to Rome." There seems to have been similar quarries in the Isle of Scyros. (2) It is generally said, that the pillars in the Basilica of S. Paul , were taken from some more ancient building: (vide Vol. I. p. 365) and il is not improbable that they came from the villa of Gordian, which stood in the Via Praenestina, and contained fifty columns of this marble. (3) Others think that they came from the Basilica ./Emilia in the Forum. But ihe verses quoted above from (1) t have conjectured at vol. I. p. 307, that this is what we now call Giallo Anlico , and the form of the spots is the same in t he Pavonazzo. (2) Strabo, lib. ix. (3; J. Capitol. Gordian 32. POPES 237 Prudentius prove tlieir removal to have taken place when the church was built, and not at any subsequent period: for he distinct ly mentions four rows of columns, and he was contemporary wilh the founder. It is perhaps worthy of remark, that both Pru dentius and Claudian, who lived at the time of this church being built, speak of the beauty of the Synnadic marble. I should not hesitate to pronunce these the finest assemblage of columns which Italy can boast. The interior is divided into five aisles, which contain in all eighty pillars, and the whole number, wliich ihe church contains, is said to be 1 38 , most of which are ancient. Thepavement contains several fragments of ancient inscriptions; but it has evidently been taken up at some time or other, and pul down in an irregular manner, without regard to the former position ofthe stones. This must have been since the time of Sex tus V. for the architects employed by him to build St. Peter's, Giacomo della Porta and Fontana, made use ofthe floor of this church to draw their designs for the cupola, there being no other place so convenient for tracing so vast a work. The antiquaries of the present day say, that it was Michel Angelo who made this use of the floor, in 7. II. 11 a38 s. paul's order to give the people of Rome an idea of his plan; but as it is Fontana himself who gives the accounts which have been stated above, (1) there can be little doubt that the dates and persons have been confounded. Several curved Hues are still to be seen upon the stones, but so broken, and interrupted by a subsequent alteration in their position, that little or nothing can be traced of the general design. Over ihe arch of the nave is a mosaic as old as 44°- Upon the top of the pillars are portraits of the popes from St. Peter to Pius VII. (2) Though we may not agree with the Catho lics as to the authenticity of the earliest of this series, yet as being nearly the oldest paintings extant, (I mean with reference to the middle ages,) and as preserving likeness es of most if not all the popes since the fifth century, they certainly may be consi dered valuable. Leo I. who began his reign in 46 1 , commenced the series, and had all his predecessors, up to his own time painted. These I am afraid we must allow to have been works of imagination; but it is reason- (1) Lib- v. c. 16. (2) The Cathedral of Siena pessesses a similar series of portraits: and there are twenty-eight portraits of popes who have been canonized, in the Pauline Chapel in the Vatican. popes 239 able to suppose, that after his lime they would be continued by each pontiff; though as it is stated, that S. Symmachus in 5 1 4 , and Benedicit XIV. in 1740, continued the work, there may have been occasional in- lerruptions. Perhaps they only restored the paintings , which had suffered from time. Many of them are now in a wretched condi tion, and almost entirely defaced. It is sin gular that with the predecessor of the pre sent pope the series had in a manner terminated, as it had gone all round the church, and the place appointed for Pius VI. was immediately next to that of S. Peter. It was a saying at Rome, in consequence of this circumstance, that they were to have no more popes; a prediction which seemed at one time very likely to be accomplished . Pius VII. has however recovered the ponti fical throne, an'd having placed his own portrait under that of St. Peter, he has com menced a new series, which may be conti nued to the same length as the former. It is perhaps not generally known, that ihe Roman Catholics possess in anticipation a list of all the popes who are to reign till the end ofthe world. A countryman of out- own has the merit of having drawn up this prophetic catalogue. St. Malachy was born a^o s. paul's at Armagh in 1094, and became archbishop of that see in 1 127: he resigned his honours in 1 1 35, and after working many miracles, he died in 11 48 at Clairvaux in France. It may be remarked, that he was the first saint regularly canonized by the Romish Church. (1) Among; other proofs of his supernatural powers, he left a list of all the popes from Celestin II. 1 143, to the end of time. The fact is now pretty well ascertained, that this was an invention ofthe cardinals assembled in conclave to elect a pope upon the death of Urban VII. in 1590. The par tisans of Cardinal Simoncelli , afterwards Gregory XIV. brought forward this list as a prophecy of St. Malachy; and the words which were considered indicative of his election were, " de Antiquitate Urbis," the cardinal being a nalive of Orvieto, the Latin name of which was Urbs Vetus. No men- lion is made of the existence of such a pro phecy till 1600, when it was published by Arnold de Wyon a Benedictine of Douay : and if we look to each prediction and its completion before the time of Gregory XIV. (1 ) It was not till the twelfth century that the right of canonization was vested in the pope alone: before which time provincial councils , and even bishops, had conferred this houour. Alexander HI. deprived them of this privilege. popes 241 we shall see very clearly, that the framers of it went upon good historical grounds; bu <- after his time the application of the prophe. cies is extremely forced. To make this clear }. I will give the three popes who succeeded each other immediately after the death of St. Malachy, and then the three who fol lowed Gregory XIV- 1 >43. Ex castris Tiberis. Celestin II. Born nt a castle on the Tiber. 1 ¦ 44- lnimicus expulsus. Lucius II. Of the family of Caccinnemici in Bologna . 1 145. Ex magnitudiue montis. Eugenius 111. Of Grandimont near Pisa. In these cases the agreement is very evident: but in the three cases which im mediately follow Gregory XIV. there is a striking difference. 1591- Pia Civitas in Bello. Innocent IX. A native of Bo logna. 1 5()2. Crux Romulea. Clement VIIL Ofthe Aldo- brandini fa mily, said to be descended from the first RomanChris- tian: they bearacrossedbranch in their arms. sGo5. Undosus Vir. Leo XI. He was tossed, as a wave only reigning 26 days. 242 s. paul's The last pope , Pius VI. had the symbol Peregrinus Apostolicus , which of course was accomplished by his journey to Vienna. His holiness now reigning (1) is designated by Aquila rapax;and though his own cha racter would deserve a much more amiable description, yet the rapacity of the French Eagle has certainly made his history sin gular among that of all the successors of St. Peter; and it is well if the rapacity of the double eagle of Austria does not make it more so. It is interesting to know, that our countryman did not anticipate more than fourteen popes from the present time, who are predicted under the following emblems: 1. Canis ct Coluber. 8. Fides intrt-pida 1. Vir religiosus. 9. Pastor Angelicus. 3. De Balneis Hetruriae. 10. Pastor et Wauta. 4- Crux de Cruce. 11. Flos Florum. 5. Lumen in ccelo. 12. De medietate Luuas. 6- l^nis Ardeus. i3. De Lahore Solis. 7. Religip depnpulata. 14. De Glorias Olivae. The concluding words ofthe prophecy are these: " In ihe last persecution ofthe holv " Roman Church, Peter of Rome shall be " on the throne, who shall feed his flock "" in many tribulations. When these are (2) The reader will remember that this was written, when Pius VII- was Pope. POPES 243 " past, the city upon seven hills shall be " destroyed , and the awful Judge shall u judge the people (1). " Under the high altar is preserved the body of St. Paul , which Constantine inclos ed in a case of brass, as he had done that of St. Peter. It is generally supposed that he suffered martyrdom in the year 65. Euse- bius and Sulpilius Severus say that he was beheaded; and the former appeals to a con stant tradition that he was buried on the road to Ostia (2). Platina informs us that his body was removed from the cemetery a,t the Vatican to this place;,, about the year 25 1 , when, Cornelius was pope. It may be observed that the ornaments of this altar are in the- Gothic style. A convent is annexed to the church; and; though the cloisters present, a sad spectacle of dirt and neglect , they deserve to be examined for their architecture, and se veral curious inscriptions preserved upon the walls. I shall only copy one of them, without pretending to decide as to its ge nuineness; but by, the account of its-, dis covery, which is aitnexed, it would, seem (1) A treatise has been written upon thii prophetical cata logue by Menestrier. (2) Hist. Eccles. lib. ii. c. 25, 244 s. paul's that some had believed it to be authentic; and it illustrates a passage in Suetonius, which I shall also produce. The inscription is this: Hoc specus exccpit post a urea tecta Neronem , Nam vivum inferius se sepelire timet : and under it is written, " Invent, prope " Anienem, inter Vias Salariam et Nomen- " tanam. " Suetonius tells us, (i) that when the emperor was forced to fly from his pa lace, Phaon, one of his freedmen, invited him to his garden , about four miles from Rome, between the Salarian and Nonientan roads, and advised him to hide himself in a cave, from which sand had been dug; but Nero replied, that he would not be buried alive. A place which answers this descrip tion has gone by the name of Gisterna Ne- ronis , and is mentioned particularly by Rodevicus de Gestis Frederici II. S. LORENZO. About a mile beyond the gate of S. Lo renzo, on the road to Tivoli, is the Basi- (i) Nero, c. xlviii. Eutropius agrees as to the distance and situation of the cave, lib, vii. c. iS. S. LORENZO 24>5 lica which bears this name. Constantine , to whom so many churches are ascribed in Rome, is said also to have erected this in 33o. It has also been restored by several popes, and finally in 1647 > so t^at ^ *s dif ficult to say how-much ofthe original edi fice remains. Great part of it is however undoubtedly ancient; and if it be true that there was a temple of Neptune here, I should be inclined to ascribe these remains to a period much older than that of Constan tine, and to suppose, that instead of build ing a new church, he consecrated a Pagan temple. The portico consists of six antique Ionic pillars, four of which are twisted- These be speak a taste much inferior to that of the pillars in the body of the church. There are some paintings in this portico of the thirteenth century, executed in the time of Honorius III. and representing among other subjects, the Coronation of Peter Courte- nay, as Emperor of the East, by that pope in 1 216. The tribune is raised above the rest ; and it is this part which I should think the oldest; it contains twelve pillars dif ferent from all the others, and for a con siderable height above their bases they are buried in the ground. One of ihem has been y 1 1 * 246 S. LORENZO dug round to show the height ofthe column. There are in all twenty-two pillars, divid ing the church into three aisles. Many of these pillars certainly came from other buildings, because their capitals and diame ters are different. Winkelmaim (i) thinks that he can trace one of them to the Por tico of Octavia, and his observation is cer tainly ingenious. It is built upon a passage in Pliny, (2) where he tells us, that Saurus and Batrachus, two architects of Sparta , built the Portico of Metellus, afterwards that of Octavia, and not venturing to put their names upon it, they carved a lizard and a frog in the volutes of the columns. Winkelmaim has observed these very em blems in the volutes of one (3) of these Ionic columns; which seems very nearly to de monstrate his conjecture, or at least to prove them to have been carved by the artists mentioned by Pliny. Nibby brings another proof of this church having been built out of the spoils of the Portico of Octavia. The frieze over the pillars formerly contained bas-reliefs of several subjects, which are ii) Vol. ii. p. 689. (2) Lib. xxxvi. c. 5. (3, It is Ihe eighth of those which support the roof, on the right hand. AMB0NES 247 now preserved in tbe Capitol: and since Augustus erected the Portico after his vic tory at Actium, it is probable that the decorations would bear some allusion to this triumph. Oil the capitals of two other pillars may be observed victories at each corner, with trophies between lliem. In the nave are two marble pulpits, or ambones, which are only to be seen in the oldest churches of Rome. These ambones are placed on each side of the nave, and from that on the south side the Epistle was read, from the other the Gospel: which order of reading is still observed in our own churches, when two clergymen officiate at the communion table. Anciently the custom seems to have been for there only to be one ambo, in which were two steps: from the higher one the Gospel was read; from the lower one the Epistle (1). Beside the am<- bones in this church, two are to be seen in St. Clement's, St. Pancrazio, and S. Maria in Cosmediu. In Italy the different sides of the church are frequently expressed by this distinction; and instead of speaking of the south or north side, they say the Epistle or the Gospel side. Indeed the other mode (0 Vid. Ducange, who derives the word fiom ayaSixiviu:. 248 S. LORENZO of distinguishing them could not always be used at Rome, from the circumstance al ready mentioned of the churches not al ways standing east and west. Some paintings may be seen in this church as old as the thirteenth century. Under the high altar are preserved the bodies of Si. Stephen and St. Laurence (i). There are also other relics, such as part of our Saviour's tomb; part ofthe clothes and of the tomb of the Virgin Mary; and one of the stones with which St. Stephen was stoned. The history of St. Laurence is as well attested as that of any of the martyrs, and perhaps we may be more inclined to be lieve it, because little or nothing is related of his actions before the time of his suffer ing. St. Ambrose, St. Augustin, St. Isi dore, Prudentius, etc. speak of him. He was a native of Osca in.Arragon , and went young to Rome. Sextus II. made him an archdeacon; and when that pope was being led to his martyrdom , he enjoined Lau rence to distribute his possessions to the 1 (I) Theodore Lector tells us , that the remains of St. Ste phen and St. Laurence were placed in the Church of St. Lau rence in the reign of the younger Theodosius; and he seems certainly io be speaking of Constantinople ( ii. 64 ). S. LORENZO 249 Christians. Being ordered to produce these treasures, he refused; and after being sus pended from the ground, and having plates of hot iron applied lo him, he was placed upon a gridiron over a slow fire, which broiled him to death. This happened on the 10th of August, 256; and the scene of it is laid in the Bath of Olympias, where was afterwards built the Church of S. Lo renzo in Panisperna, or in Pane e Perna. This is a little to the west of S. Maria Mag giore; and the name of it is derived from Perpenna Quadratianus, who restored the Baths ofConstantine. Part ofthe gridiron is said bo be preserved in this church. The histories add, that St. Laurence was buried in some ground belonging to Cyriaca, a widow, who lived on the road to Tibur. S. SEBASTIAN. The Basilica of S. Sebastian, about two miles out ofthe gate of that name, is re markable for nothing but its antiquity and the Catacombs. The father of S. Sebastian is said to have been a native of Narbonne, and his mother of Milan. He was tribune of the guard under Diocletian , and con verted many to Christianity. That empe- 25o s. Sebastian's ror, however, sentenced him to be shot with arrows, as is represented in so many pictures. He recovered from these wounds; but venturing afterwards to reprove the emperor for his crimes, he was beaten to death. The present church is not older than 1611. Over the three doors are paintings by A. Caracci. The Catacombs, or cemetery of S. Calixtus, are under this church, and extend a considerable way. My guide was positive that they reach as far as Ostia, a distance of sixteen miles. This and many other stories told of these Catacombs throw on air of suspicion over their history, and make us inclined to disbelieve the tradi tions concerning them. When it is asserted that fourteen popes and 170,000 Christian martyrs were buried here, we may reason ably ask, how the numbers or the pro prietors ofthe bones were ascertained with such accuracy? But ihis should not make us doubt the story altogether, of the Chris tians having first retired into these caves as a place of refuge, and having, subse.- quently used them as cemeteries. Theorigin ofthe Catacombs here and at Naples was most probably the same with those at Pa ris, which were undoubtedly excavations PUZZOLANA 25 I for. the purpose of procuring stone (i). The material here is much softer than the free stone of Paris, and supplied the ancient Romans with the earth called Puzzolana. Hence the excavations were called Arena- riae, or sand-pits. Cicero (2) mentions some not far from the Esquiline gate, which may have been these; and in his defence of Mi- lo, (3) when he speaks ofa spot on the Ap- pian road which was " a hiding place, and " receptacle for -thieve*, " he perhaps al luded to these Catacombs. The Puzzolana , which is so abundantly diffused over the neighbourhood of Rome, is generally said to be of volcanic origin , and is used very largely for making cement. It was known to the ancients, and was called Pulvis Pu- teoldnus, from the circumstance of its be ing found in great quantities near Puteoli (Pozzuoli). Vitruvius mentions it (4); and it seems to be his opinion, as it is that of (1) There are subterraneous quarries of the same kind at Marsala iu Sicily, (the ancient Lilybaeum,) Syracuse, Salerno, Malta, Maestricht ,. etc. and perhaps ihe celebrated Labyrinth in the island of Crete was formed originally by excavations of this kind' The country is stated to be full of sandstone. See Walpole's Travels , vol. ii. p. 407. (2) Pro Cluent. c. 1 3. (3) C. 19. (4) Lib. ii. c. 6. a52 s. Sebastian's the modems, that the same cause wliich produces volcanoes is instrumental in form ing this earth (i). There are two kinds of it, black and red; only the black is found near Naples, but both sorts exist in the neighbourhood of Rome; and they do not occur in any other parts of Italy. The place called Saxa Rubra by the ancients, (2) took its name from a rock of this earth, which may still be seen about mine miles from Rome, near to Prima Porta. Some beds of it have been explored eighty palms deep, and new discoveries are constantly being made of ancient excavations. The Puzzo lana makes the best cement known, and it has the property of hardening under water. (1) We may quote Vitruvius, as preserving the tcadition of Vesuvius having exploded in remote times; whereas some have asserted, that the great eruption in tbe time of Titus was the first. Strabo also , lib. V. refers to former eruptions. Plutarch alludes to the recent eruption of a mountain near Cumce and Puzzuoli , which had entirely destroyed and obli terated many cities (Cur Pylhia, etc. p. 398, E.). This would hardly seem to be the eruption in the reign of Titus. It is singular that Florus , who lived in the time of Trajan, men tions Herculaneum and Pompeii among the maritime towns of Campania ; from which it might be thought, that they were not lolally overwhelmed in the reign of Titus (lib. i. c. 16 j. They had suffered from an earthquake previous to that erup tion , (Sen. Nat. Qusest. lib. vi.) (2) Liv. ii. c 49- Tacit. Hist. lib. iv. c. 7g. Cicero, Phi lip, ii. 3i. Aur. Victor, Constautin. PUZZOLANA 253 In fact, it becomes as hard as the stone itself, if not harder (j). There seems sufficient evidence to induce us to believe that these subterraneous exca vations were used by the Christians to hide themselves in from their persecutors. Eu- sebius, (2) speaking ofthe persecutions in Egypt in the reign of Valerian, represents the governor iEmilianus as saying, that ihe Christians should not be allowed to hold meetings, nor to enter the places they cal led Cemeteries. He mentions, (3) also, the same prohibition as being ordered by Max imums. The Cemetery of which we are now speaking goes by the name of that of Ca lixtus, it being constructed by that pope, as we learn from his biographer Anastasius. The same historian relates, that St. Fabian ordered many buildings to he constructed in the Cemeteries; and we know from Cy prian, (4) that Xystus suffered martyrdom in one of them. The Christians appear never to have adopted the Roman custom of burn- (1) Seneca, Nat- Qaest, lib. iii. c. 20. (2) Lib. vii. c. nj where he quotes the words of Dionysius, Bishop of Alexandria. (3) Lib. ixc. 2. See the Apostolical Constitutions, lib. vi. c. 3o. Origen, in Jerom. Horn, iv- S 3. Acta S. Cypriani, 1, t\) Epist. 82. a54 s. Sebastian's ing the dead: (i) Macrobius indeed tells us , (2) that in his time (i. e. at the end of the fourth century ) the custom of burning the dead was entirely left off; and as burial within the walls was prohibited, they na turally had recourse to those places which had served as a retreat and refuge for the liv ing. For we have evidence, that the bodies of Christians were sometimes disturbed and disinterred by iheir heathen enemies. This custom conferred an additional sanctity upon the Catacombs; and the religious ve neration paid to relics is to be traced to this necessity of the living and the dead being brought so closely into contact. Jerom, in his Commentary upou Eze kiel, (3) tells us, that while he was pursu ing his studies at Rome, he was accustomed to go on Sundays, with others of the same age and pursuits, to visit the sepulchres of the apostles and martyrs. They frequently entered the Crypts, which were dug deep in the earth, and had on each side the bodies ofthe dead laid in the walls, and there was seldom any light admitted from above to mitigate the gloomy horror of the place. (1) Vide Tertull. De Corona, 11. Minucins Felix, p. 97. (2) Saturn, lib. vii, c. 7. (3) C. 40. CATACOMBS a55 When Christianity became the established religion, the bodies of the martyrs came to be removedinto moredignified places; and hence arose the custom of burying within the walls of churches, (i) Baronius men tions (2) ihe Cemetery of Priscilla being discovered in his time near the Via Latina; and his description may be applied to all the rest. He says, " It was quite a subter- " ranean city; at the entrance was a prin- " cipal street wider than the rest, and 011 " each side were several other streets, which " again branched off into lanes and alleys. " There vrerefora , as in cities , and more " open spaces for religious meetings, which " were ornamented with pictures of saints " and apertures for light. " (3) Perhaps we may also deduce from these Cemeteries the custom of having Crypts, or subterraneous churches, under the others. In these places near Rome, and wherever the early martyrs had suffered, it was very natural that places of worship should afterwards be erected over them: and other countries perhaps (1) A description of these Cemeteries may be seen in Pru dentius Hymn. xi. i53- (a) Ad An 1 3o. (3) A subterraneous town of this description maybe seen at Syracuse, called Grotta di S. Giovanni. These Catacombs are much more striking tbap those of Rome or Naples, a56 s. Sebastian's adopted the same form, and ascribed a pe culiar sanctity to the lower church, in which tlieir own dead were deposited. It is parti cularly mentioned in an edict of Constan tine, that the places where the martyrs were buried should be considered the pro perty of the churches (i) . And in the time of Athanasius, the custom was still preserv ed of praying in the Cemeteries (2) : so that the church and churchyard have been locally connected from the earliest times. That these Catacombs were used as burial- places, we may prove by the evidence of our own eyes. The earth has been cut into a variety of tombs, and several bones have been found. There is also great proof that service was performed here by those un happy men, who were prohibited the open profession of their religion in the face of day: and it appears from Athanasius, that even after the conversion of Constantine, and when there were many churches in Alexandria, it was still customary on some occasions to have meetings for prayer in the cemeteries (3). In the Catacombs at (1) Euseb. Vita Constant, lib. ii. c. 40. (2) Socrates, lib. ii. c. 28. Theodorit. lib.ii.c. 14. Consil- Elib. Can. 35. (3)Vol.i. p. 312.333. catacombs aSy Naples some paintings may be traced which ornamented the chapels. I do not know what particular means the Roman Catho lics possess of ascertaining the name of any saint discovered here, nor whether Sebas tian was or was not among the sufferers: but we may pardon a little superstition in others, and indulge a little veneration our selves far that spot, which preserved the early professors of our religion, and perhaps our religion itself, from destruction; and in treading the ground which, was stained by their blood, and which preserves their remains even to our own days , we may surely cherish their memory without a crime; and while we grieve for those who would pay them religious adoration, we may perhaps feel a little compunction at the coldness of our own faith, and animate our devotion by their example. In the church is shown the measure of our Saviour's two feet upon a stone, the history of which is connected with the lit tle church called Domine, quo vadis? (i) between this Basilica and the city. It is said, that St. Peter, being on his way from Rome (i) It is also called S. Maria delle Palme, or Piante, and was repaired by Cardinal Pole. 258 S. SEBASTIAN S to escape the persecution of Nero, met our Saviour at that spot, and addressed him in these words, Domine, quo vadis? Lord, whither art thou going? From which cir cumstance a church was built with that name; and the outline of our Saviour's feet, as he stood there, being taken, has been preserved ever since in this Basilica. With respect to the other churches, which rank after the seven Basilica?, it is by no means my intention to write an itinerary of Rome, nor to notice every object which would interest a stranger. I wish only to detail those points which are more pecu liarly worthy of his observation, and par ticularly where any thing in their history is curious and entertaining. Many churches command admiration from the splendour of their decorations, but 1 shall not lake up the reader's time in describing these; nor must a catalogue of the paintings and sta tues, which are to be found in them, be expected from me. Some of the works of art 1 shall occasionally notice, but not merely to expatiate upon their beauties. Having premised these remarks , I shall proceed tu select some ofthe churches, which mav be considered interesting from their antiquity or the objects contained in them. CHURCHES 259 It is perhaps impossible to say which is the oldest church in Rome. That the Chris tians had places of worship very early within the city, seems clearly proved; and a cen tury before the time of Constantine, Calix tus I. is said by his biographer Anastasius to have built a Basilica to the Virgin, dur ing the reign of Severus. These places of worship would of course be more or less public, according as the emperors were in clined to persecution or toleralion: but Eu- sebius plainly tells us , that before Dio cletian's persecution spacious and hand some churches had been erected in every city; most or all of which were totally de stroyed in the reign of Dioclelian. We have something like positive evidence , that in the reign of this Emperor there were up wards of forty churches in Rome (i): and the number seems to have been the same fifty years before (2). Those which had been destroyed in the persecution of Diocletian were rebuilt in the time ofConstantine on a larger scale (3). (1) OptatiiSj lib. ii. fHe lived in the fourth century.) (2) Cornelius, Papa, apud Euseb. H. E. lib. vi. c- 43: he says, there are forty-six Presbyters in Rome. (3) Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. viii. <-. 1,2, lib. a. c 3- Theo- dorit. lib. v. c 39. 260 S. THEODORE If, in describing the churches of Rome, we should proceed iu the order of tlieir age, those should be mentioned first, which are actually ancient buildings converted into churches. Of these St. Theodore would claim our first attention, if we believe the story , that it is the temple erected by Tatius lo Romulus. This church stands at the south ern extremity of the Forum, under ihe Pa latine Hill, is of a round form; and the brazen wolf, which is now in the Capitol , was certainly preserved here till the six teenth century. But this last fact, though much insisted on by Venuti , and perhaps sufficient "to prove it of considerable anti quity, is surely of no authority to demon strate this to be the original building. Diony sius informs us, that there was a temple of Romulus near this place, in which there was an ancient sculpture of a wolf of bronze . The roof is unquestionably modern, nor is there any thing to a common eye which bespeaks peculiar antiquity . In Spence's Anecdotes (i) we may find another argu ment in favour of its ancient date: he says, that the Roman matrons of old used to car ry their children when ill to the temple of (i } P. 89. So also Middleton, Letter from Rome. S. ADRIANO 261 Romulus; and the women still carry tlieir children to S. Theodore on the same occa sions. He adds, that the priests very wisely pray, that he would be so good as either to cure, or to take them to himself. The former part ofthe story is confirmed by Pancirolli- Nibby supposes it to have been the temple of Vesta. The interior is perfectly plain . On the outside by ihe door is an old altar, on which an inscription says, that profane incense once burued. It is not known when it was converted into a church; Adrian I. in 774 repaired it; and it is said by Platina , that Nicolas V. entirely rebuilt it in i45o. The front of S. Adriano in the Forum is ancient,and said to have been part of the Ba silica /Emilia. This was erected by iEmilius Lepidus iu the time of Augustus, and in the space of thirly-five years was twice rebuilt or considerably repaired. There are good reasons for thinking that the Basilica stood near this spot: but Nibby supposes the front of S. Adriano, which is of brick, to be later by some centuries. The Basilica is known to have been ornamented with Phrygian columns, (1) and it has been conjectured that these may still be seen in S. Paul's. The fi) Plin. lib. xxxvi. t. i5. P. Victor, Reg. 8. T. II. 12 262 S. CLEMENT ancient bronze door, which formed the en trance to ihis church , was removed to the Laleran by Alexander VII. S. Lorenzo in Miranda, at the north-east angle of the Forum, was formerly the temple of An toninus and Faustina. S. Bernardo was one of the round buildings which form ed the four corners of the Baths of Dio cletian. The Certosa, or S. Maria degli Angioli, also belonged to the same baths. S. Cosmo and Damiano near the Forum preserves as a vestibule the ancient temple of Remus. These and other churches should be men tioned first, if we adhered strictly to the order of time; but many of them come more properly under the head of antiquities; and when I speak of the earliest Christian churches as being interesting objects, I speak with reference to early Christian customs, and not to the other antiquities, wliich they have accidentally been the means of pre serving. In the road from the Colosseum to ihe Lateran may be seen one of ihe oldest churches in Rome, S. Clement, and ac cording to an inscription in it, the only one which preserves the form of the ancient Basilica. Many, however, are very like it, S. CLEMENT 263 except that in this there is an inclosure of marble round ihe altar, (imitated from the Cella ofthe Pagan temples, ) and two mar ble ambones or pulpits. In oilier respects it is much the same with all the old churches in Rome; that is, it is dividetl into three aisles, and has a semicircular tribune or recess behind the altar. Sixteen pillars of different marbles seem all to have been taken from some ancient building. On the stone over the principal entrance ( but not that which is commonly used from the street) in the inside is sar. divi. nervae. fil. The lesselated pavement also seems ex tremely ancient. The frescos by Masaccio, (who died in 1 443 ) in ihe Chapel della Pas- sione , are considered valuable as specimens of the art in that early age. They have lately been retouched, which was perhaps necessary to make them at all discfernible, but has considerably destroyed the interest raised by them. Tradition says, that the house of Clement the fellow-labourer of St. Paul, (i) and third pope, was on this spot : (i) Vide Phil. iv. 3. Wall in bisHislory of Infant Baptism thinks that the Clement mentioned by S. Paul , was not I lie same wilh the Bishop of Rome : though Eusebius, ( Hist. Ec- cles. lib. iii. c. 12.) Epiplianius, aud Jerome, (De Script. Ecel. V. Clemens,) expressly say that he was. 264 S" CLEMENT his body also is said to repose under the altar, having been brought from Pontus in the Pontificate of Nicolas I. (i) Whelher he suffered martyrdom is not certain. The fact is not mentioned by Irenseus; and Rufinus and Pope Zosimus, who place him in the catalogue, lived in the fifth century. He has however a place in the calendar, and his day is observed on the 23d of November. According to some accounts he was pope for nine years and a half, beginning from the year 67: but Pearson makes him to have reigned from 68 to 83 , and Dodwell from 65 to 81. Wall places him considerably later. There are also disputes whelher he succeeded immediately to Linus, the first Bishop of Rome, or whether Cletus or Ana cletus was interposed between them. The latter opinion seems preferable. Gregory of Tours relates many stories of his life, which are evidently false. (2) . Another very good specimen of the an cient church may be seen in S. Maria in (1) Platina (2) The Apocryphal Work entitled Recognitions S- de mentis, contains some anecdotes of his family , which is said to have been allied to that of Domitian, lib. vii. c. 8, etc. The Epitome de Gestis S. Petri j makes him to have been banished lo ucar Pontus, and to have been drowned there. S. MARIA IN COSMEDIN 265 Cosmedin. It is also called S. M. a Scuola Greca, because a school for teaching the Greek language was formerly kept here. Pancirol- li derives its other name of Cosmedin from the same circumstance, as if it implied the good order which was preserved there . Others deduce it from the ornaments, which were added to it by Adrian I. but neither of these etymologies will probably give much satisfaction. It was built by S- Dionysius, who was pope in 261. Stephen II. in 752, first established some Greeks here , who were driven from the east by Constantine Copronimus for worshipping images and saints. Adrian I. and Nicolas I- added much to it. It has still another name , Bocca delta Verita, from an old stone placed near the entrance, in the middle of which is a mouth. This was anciently used as a kind of ordeal: the suspected person put his hand into the mouth, and if he was able to draw it out again, he was innocent.The stone is ancient, and according to Fabretti belonged to a fi gure of the Nile. Others consider it to have served as the mouth of some fountain. Mr. Blunt conceives this name of the church to be derived from the ancient custom of per sons swearing at the Ara Maxima, which 266 ARA CELI was erected by Hercules near this spot, (i; The church is said to stand upon the site of a temple to Pudicitia Patricia. By ascend ing a staircase some fine capitals may be seen of ancient columns which were retained in the present building, but completely in closed in masonry. The Church of Ara Celi deserves parti cular mention -, from the venerable ap pearance of the building itself, and from the edifice to which it has succeeded. The Temple of Jupiter Feretrius, built by Ro mulus, is supposed to have stood on the site of this church. It was here that the Spolia Opima were deposited. Not a vestige remains of this temple, except some of the founda tions, which cannot easily be distinguished from those of other buildings, and perhaps some ofthe internal ornaments were appro priated to the modern edifice. Pancirolli explains the origin ofthe name of Ara Celi but his explanation has something of the fabulous in it. He tells us, that Augustus , having asked of the oracle at Delphi who would succeed him in the empire, received this answer: (I) Manners and Customs of Italy and Sicily, p. g3. ARA CELI 267 Me Puer Hebneis Divos Dens ipse gubernans Cedere sede jubet tristemque redire sub Orcum; Aris ergo dehiuc tacitus abscedilo uostris. Augustus in consequence raised an altar on this hill , with the inscription Ara primo- genito Dei. We may observe of this story , that it was forged since thetimeof Eusebius, who certainly had heard nothing of it He tells us, that neither Apollo nor any other God had foresight enough to predict their 0W11 overthrow, and the blow which would be given to their worship by the corning of Christ (1). Tradition has however preserved the memory of the precise spot , and placed it not far from the present high altar. Ana cletus, in n3o, (though he was antipope,) surrounded it with four pillars; and in i6o3 it was farther ornamented, from whence this chapel got the name of Ara Celi. The ascent to the church is by a flight of 1 24 marble steps, constructed in 1348 by the alms ofthe faithful after the great plague, which Boccaccio has so well described as afflicting Florence in that year. The cost was 5,ooo florins. Pancirolli says, that they were placed here by a Senator of the name of Ottone of Milan, who used the marble from (1) Euseb. de Laud. Constant, p. 738, Ed. Reading. 258 s. Sebastian's to escape the persecution of Nero, met our Saviour at that spot, and addressed him in these words, Domine, quo vadis? Lord, whither art thou going? From which cir cumstance a church was built with that name; and the outline of our Saviour's feet, as he stood there, being taken, has been preserved ever since in this Basilica. With respect to the other churches, which rank after the seven Basilicas, it is by no means my intention to write an itinerary of Rome, nor to notice every object which would interest a stranger. I wish only to detail those points which are more pecu liarly worthy of his observation, and par ticularly where any thing in their history is curious and entertaining. Many churches command admiration from the splendour of their decorations, but 1 shall not lake up the reader's time in describing these; nor must a catalogue of the paintings and sta tues, which are to be found in them , be expected from me. Some of the works of art ] shall occasionally notice, but not merely to expatiate upon their beauties. Having premised these remarks , I shall proceed to select some ofthe churches, which mav be considered interesting from their antiquity or the objects contained in them. CHURCHES 259 It is perhaps impossible to say which is the oldest church in Rome. That the Chris tians had places of worship very early within the city, seems clearly proved; and a cen tury before the time of Constantine, Calix tus I. is said by his biographer Anastasius to have built a Basilica to the Virgin, dur ing the reign of Severus. These places of worship would of course be more or less public, according as the emperors were in clined to persecution or toleration: but Eu- sebius plainly tells us, that before Dio cletian's persecution spacious and hand some churches had been erected in every city; most or all of which were totally de stroyed in the reign of Diocletian. We have something like positive evidence , that in the reign of this Emperor there were up wards of forty churches in Rome (1): and the number seems to have been ihe same fifty years before (2). Those which had been destroyed in the persecution of Diocletian were rebuilt in the time ofConstantine on a larger scale (3). (1) Optatns; lib. ii. fHe lived in the fourth century.) (2) Cornelius, Papa, apud Euseb. H. E. lib. vi. c. 43: he says, there are forty-six Presbyters in Rome. (3) Euseb. Hist. Eccl. lib. viii. c. i, a, lib. x. c. 3. Theo- dorit. lib. v. c. 3g. 260 S. THEODORE If, in describing; the churches of Rome, we should proceed in the order of their age, those should be menlioned first, which are actually ancient buildings converted into churches. Of these St. Theodore would claim our first attention, if we believe the story , that it is the temple erected by Tatius to Romulus. This church stands at the south ern extremity ofthe Forum, under the Pa latine Hill, is of a round form; and the brazen wolf, which is now in the Capitol , was certainly preserved here lill the six teenth century. But this last fact, though much insisted on by Venuti , and perhaps sufficient "to prove it of considerable anti quity, is surely of no authority to demon strate this to be the original building. Diony sius informs us, that there was a temple of Romulus near this place, in which there was an ancient sculpture of a wolf of bronze . The roof is unquestionably modern, nor is there any thing to a common eye which bespeaks peculiar antiquity . In Spence's Anecdotes (i) we may find another argu ment in favour of its ancient date: he says, that the Roman matrons of old used to car ry their children when ill to the temple of (i ) P. 89. So also Middleton, Letter from Rome._ S. ADRIANO 261 Romulus; and the women still carry their children to S. Theodore on the same occa sions. He adds, that the priests very wisely pray, that he would be so good as either to cure, or to take them to himself. The former part ofthe story is confirmed by Pancirolli- Nibby supposes it to have been the temple of Vesta. The interior is perfectly fdain . On the outside by the door is an old altar, on which an inscription says, that profane incense once burned. It is not known when it was converted into a church; Adrian I. in 774 repaired it; and it is said by Platina , that Nicolas V. entirely rebuilt it in i45o. The front of S. Adriano in the Forum is ancient,and said to have been part of the Ba silica iEniilia. This was erected by iEmilius Lepidus in the time of Augustus, and iu the space of thirty-five years was twice rebuilt or considerably repaired. There are good reasons for thinking that the Basilica stood near this spot: but Nibby supposes the front of S. Adriano, which is of brick, to be -later by some centuries. The Basilica is known to have been ornamented wilh Phrygian columns, (1) and it has been conjectured that these may still be seen in S. Paul's. The (1) Plin. lib. xxxvi. c. 1 5. P. Viclor, Reg. 8. T. II. 12 262 S. CLEMENT ancient bronze door, which formed the en trance to this church, was removed to the Laleran by Alexander VII. S. Lorenzo in Miranda, at the north-east angle of the Forum, was formerly the temple of An toninus and Faustina. S. Bernardo was one of the round buildings wliich form ed the four corners of the Baths of Dio cletian. The Certosa, or S. Maria degli Angioli, also belonged to the same baths. S. Cosmo and Damiano near the Forum preserves as a vestibule the ancient temple of Remus. These and other churches should be men tioned first, if we adhered strictly to the order of time; but many of them come more properly under the head of antiquities; and when I speak of the earliest Christian churches as being interesting objects, I speak with reference to early Christian customs, and not to the other antiquities, which they have accidentally been the means of pre serving. In the road from the Colosseum to ihe Lateran may be seen one of ihe oldest churches in Rome, S. Clement, and ac cording to an inscription in it, the only one which preserves the form of the ancient Basilica. Many, however, are very like it, 5. CLEMENT ^63 except that in this there is an inclosure of marble round the altar, (imitaled from the Cella ofthe Pagan temples, ) and two mar ble ambones or pulpits. In other respects it is much the same with all the old churches in Rome; that is, it is dividetl into three aisles , and has a semicircular tribune or recess behind the altar. Sixteen pillars of different marbles seem all to have been taken from some aucient building. On the stone over the principal entrance ( but not that which is commonly used from the street) in the inside is sar. divi. nervae. fil. The lesselated pavement also seems ex tremely ancient. The frescos by Masaccio, (who died in i443)iu the Chapel della Pas- sione , are considered valuable as specimens of the art in that early age. They have lately been retouched, which was perhaps necessary to make them at all discfernible, but has considerably destroyed the interest raised by them. Tradition says, that the house of Clement the fellow-labourer of St. Paul, (i) and third pope, was on this spot : (I) Vide Phil. iv. 3. Wall inhisHistory of Infant Baptism thinks that the Clement mentioned by S. Paul, was not Ihe same with the Bishop of Rome : though Eusebius, ( Hist. Ec- cles. lib. iii. c. 12.) Epiphanius, and Jerome, (De Script. Eccl. V. Clemens J expressly say that he was. 264 s* CLEMENT his body also is said to repose under the altar, having been brought from Pontus in the Pontificate of Nicolas I. (i) Whelher he suffered martyrdom is not certain. The fact is not mentioned by Irenseus; and Rufinus and Pope Zosimus, who place him in the catalogue, lived in the fifth century. He has however a place in the calendar, and his day is observed on the 23d of November. According to some accounts he was pope for nine years and a half, beginning from the year 67: but Pearson makes him to have reigned from 68 to 83 , and Dodwell from 65 to 81. Wall places him considerably later. There are also disputes whether he succeeded immediately to Linus, the first Bishop of Rome, or whether Cletus or Ana cletus was interposed between them. The latter opinion seems preferable. Gregory of Tours relates many stories of his life, which are evidently false. (2) Another very good specimen of the an cient church may be seen in S. Maria in (i\ Platina (2) The Apocryphal Work entitled Recognitions S- de mentis, contains some anecdotes of his family , which is said lo have been allied to that of Domitian, lib. vii. c. 8, etc. Thd Epitome de Gestis S. Petri j makes him to have been banished to near Pontus, and to have been drowned there. S. MARIA IN COSMEDIN 265 Cosmedin. It is also called S. M. a Scuola Greca, because a school for teaching the Greek language was formerly kept here. Pancirol- li derives its other name of Cosmedin from the same circumstance, as if it implied the good order which was preserved there . Others deduce it from the ornaments, which were added to it by Adrian I. but neither of these etymologies will probably give much satisfaction. It was built by S- Dionysius, who was pope in 261. Stephen II. in 752, first established some Greeks here , who were driven from the east by Constantine Copronimus for worshipping images and saints. Adrian I. and Nicolas I- added much to it. It has still another name , Bocca delta Verita, from an old stone placed near the entrance, in the middle of which is a mouth. This was anciently used as a kind of ordeal: the suspected person put his hand into the mouth, and if he was able to draw it out again, he was innocent.The stone is ancient, and according to Fabretti belonged to a fi gure of the Nile. Others consider it to have served as the mouth of some fountain. Mr. Blunt conceives this name of the church to be derived from the ancient custom of per sons swearing at the Ara Maxima, wliich 266 ARA CELI was erected by Hercules near this spot, (i) The church is said to stand upon the site of a temple to Pudicitia Patricia,. By ascend ing a staircase some fine capitals may be seen of ancient columns which were retained in the present building, but completely in closed in masonry. The Church of Ara Celi deserves parti cular mention , from the venerable ap pearance of the building itself, and from the edifice to which it has succeeded. The Temple of Jupiter Feretrius, built by Ro mulus, is supposed to have stood on the site of this church. It was here that the Spolia Opima were deposited. Not a vestige remains of this temple, except some of the founda tions, which cannot easily be distinguished from those of other buildings, and perhaps some ofthe internal ornaments were appro priated to the modern edifice. Pancirolli explains the origin ofthe name of Ara Celi but his explanation has something of the fabulous in it. He tells us, that Augustus , having asked of the oracle at Delphi who would succeed him in the empire, received this answer: (I) Manners and Customs of Italy and Sicily, p. g3. ARA CELI 267 Me Puer Hebrseis Divos Dens ipse gubernans Cedere sede jubet tristemque redire sub Orcum; Arts ergo deliinc tacit us abscedilo uostris. Augustus in consequence raised an altar on this hill, with the inscription Ara primo- genito Dei. We may observe of this story , that it was forged since thetimeof Eusebius, who certainly had heard nothing of it He tells us, that neither Apollo nor any other God had foresight enough to predict their 0W11 overthrow, and the blow which would be given to their worship by the coming of Christ (1). Tradition has however preserved the memory of the precise spot , and placed it not far from the present high altar. Ana cletus, in n3o, (though he was antipope,) surrounded it with four pillars; and in i6o3 it was farther ornamented, from whence this chapel got the name of Ara Celi. The ascent to the church is by a flight of 1 24 marble steps, constructed in 1348 by the alms ofthe faithful after the great plague, which Boccaccio has so well described as afflicting Florence in that year. The cost was 5,ooo florins. Pancirolli says, that they were placed here by a Senator of the name of Ottone of Milan, who used the marble from (1) Euseb. de Laud. Constant, p. j38, Ed. Reading. 268 ARA CELI an ancient temple of Romulus , near the Porta Salara. Some devout persons ascend these steps on their knees, like those of the Scala Santa at the Lateran ; and it is sin gular that Caesar and Claudius are both re corded to have mounted to the Capitol on their knees, when going to return thanks in the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. (2) On the left of this ascent are to be seen the foundations already mentioned, part of which was destroyed in 1819, in prepara tion for a fete given to the Emperor of Austria. The date of this church does not seem accu rately known, but it is evidently extremely old, and wholly devoid of elegance or orna ment on the outside. The interior is exceed ingly curious, and presents little else but an assemblage of fragments from various ancient edifices. The floor is one mass of mosaic, apparently of the rarest antique stones, and become exceedingly uneven from age. The roof was gilded after the defeat of the Turks at the battle of Lepanto in 1 57 1. The nave contains twenty-two pil lars, uniform only in their antiquity. Some are of granite, others of different materials, (i) Dio, lib. xliti. &, PIETRO IN VlNCOLI 269 and the capitals, wliich have been gilt, by no means correspond. On one of them is this inscription , a cvbicvlo avgvstorvm. It was in this church, that Gibbon represents himself as having first conceived the idea of writing his Roman History. S. Pielro in Vincoli is very old; at least part of it is so. Tradition makes it to have been founded by Eudoxia, wife of the Em peror Valenlinian, as staled bdlow. Aii inscription in this church states it to have been repaired by S. Pelagiusin 555. There is a mosaic ofS. Sebastian in oneof the side aisles, which was executed in the seventh century. In the year 680 Pope Agatho made use of this mosaic to avert a dreadful pestilence , which had raged in Rome for three months (1). It is remarkable, that the face ofthe saint is here represented as that of an old man, contrary to the usual paint ings. The pillars of the nave are ancient , and of the Doric order, but not very fine specimens of that simple style. This church has its name from the chain being preserved here wilh which St. Peter was bound at Je rusalem. It was sent from thence to Eudox ia , the wife of Valentinian, by her mother (1; Baronius ad an. 680. 12* 270 S. PIETRO IN VINCOLI Eudocia, who delivered it to Pope Leo; and soon by a special miracle it united itself to another chain, which had bound the apostle at Rome. (1). Eudoxia in consequence founded this church. Strangers will find it in vain to ask for a sight of this precious relic. The chief object of attraction here is the statue of Moses , by Michel Angelo, which some have exalted as the chef-d'oeuvre of that great sculptor, while others have abused and ridiculed it. It forms part of the tomb erected to Julius II. This pontiff invited M. Angelo to Rome soon after his succession in i5o3. For some months the great sculptor employed himself inmeditat- ing the plan without taking the chisel into his hands; and when at length he submit ted the magnificent design to the Pope, he approved of it beyond measure, and is said to have been instigated by the grandeur of it to undertake the rebuilding of St. Peter's. The plan was a parallelogram , which was to have been surmounted by as many as forty slatues , together with bas reliefs in bronze, and other ornaments. The im- (2) The Church of S Cecilia lays claim to thepossession of seven rings of S. Peter's chain. MOSES 27 I patient temper of Julius was provoked at ihe delay, which so vast a work necessarily caused; and Michel Angelo finding the Pope become colder towards him, and not having the money or materials supplied so liberal ly as he wished _, abruptly left the work, and went to Florence. The Pope was now really mortified, and even sent three letters to the Magistrates of Florence, requesting them to pacify M. Angelo, and induce him to return. The first letter, dated July 8th, i5o6, is still extant, (1) and is as follows: " Julius P. P. II. Dilectis filiis Prioribus " Libertatis, et Vexillifero Juslitiae populi " Florentini. " Dilecti filii, salutem et Apostolicam be- " nedictionem. Michael Angelus Sculptor, " qui a nobis leviter et inconsulte decessit, " redire, ut accepimus, ad nos timet, cui " nos non succensemus; novimus hujusmo- " di hoininum ingenia. Ut tamen omnem " suspicionem deponat, devotionem vestram " hortamur, velit ei nomine iiostro promit- " tere^ quod si ad nos redierit, illaesus in- " violatusque erit, et in ea gratia Aposto- (1) Published in tbe Latere Piltoriche, vol. iii. p. 3ao. 272 S. PIETRO IN VINCOLl " lica nos habituros, qua habebatur ante " decessum. " Datum Romae, 8 Julii i5o6: Pontifica- " tus nostri anno III. " M. Angelo complied with this humble pe tition of the sovereign pontiff: the reconci liation took place at Bologna , and in i5o8 he returned to Rome. He then continued for a while the execution of the tomb , but Julius took him verv reluctantly from this work to decorate the Sistine chapel. In i5i3 Julius died; and LeoX. who succeeded him, called M. Angelo off from hi& favourite work of the tomb , to rebuilt the church of S. Lorenzo at Florence. The consequence of this was, that during the pontificate of Leo, the monument of Julius remained almost untouched , but upon that Pope's death it was again resumed. The original design however was never executed ; the statue of Moses was alone erected upon the tomb , with two figures of Religion and Virtue: and these were placed not in the Basilica of S. Peter, but iu S. Pietro in Vincoli (4). (t) Three Ogures of slaves, which were intended to serve; as Caryatides to this monument, may still be seen; two of them at Paris, and the third iu the Boboli Gardens at Flo rence. See Cicdgnara, Storia della Scultura. MOSES 273 The question is very naturally asked, why such a figure should be introduced at all. But this ought not to interfere with the merits or demerits of the statue; we may censure the sculptor's taste for making it form part ofa sepulchral monument, but having done that, we should submit the execution alone to the test of criticism . Opinions must be ever variable upon works of art; and it isonly with such a production as the Apollo Belvedere, that persons should not venture to express any disappointment. But the Moses of M. Angelo has been so often criticised and so often abused, that there is no great presumption in stating some objections to it, or rather in repeating them, for they have struck thousands of persons before. In the first place, he is sitting down, or, as some say, preparing to rise, the effect of which is not dignified: he is besides brought so near, that the colossal size makes him look more like a savage than any thing else. The prodigious quantity of drapery adds to the heaviness, and his beard is quite a caricature. The horns also have been in troduced, which even in painting seldom look well, and amount almost to an absur dity in sculpture: from the circumstance of the horns and the beard, the statue has by 274 s- PIETRO JN VINCOLI some been said to resemble Pan or a Satyr more thau Moses. There is however a fine expression in the whole, and one thing at least would be allowed by all, that it is the work ofa great sculptor. No common arlist could ever have conceived such a work. There is a celebrated sonnet composed by Giovambattista Zappi upon this subject: Cbi e costui, che in si gran pietra scolto Siede gigante, e le piu illustri e conte Opre dell' arte avanza,e ha vive e pronte Le labbra si, che le parole ascolto? Quest' e Mose: ben mel diceva il folto Onor del mmto, e'l doppio raggio in fronle; Quest' e Mose, quando scendea dal monte, E gran parle del Nume avea nel volto: Tal era allor, che le sonanti e vaste Acque ei sospese a se d' intorno, e tale Quando il mar chiuse, e ne fe tomba altrui. E voi, sue turbe, un rio vitello alzaste ? Alzato aveste imago a questa eguale! Ch' era men fallo 1' adorar costui. What living form in solid marble hound Sits here gigantic, while each stretch of art Springs into being? — hark— there seems to start Forth from those living lips no fancied sound: "Pis He-> his brow with forked radiance crown 'd, His beard's full flowing honours speak his name, 'Tis Moses— > thus from off the mount of flame With godlike light encircling him he came. Such was his form, when huge and roaring waves Stood self- supported round him; thus he bade The sea to close and form a nation's lomb, And did ye raise a molten calf, ye slaves ? Had your vain idol been like this array'd, The veuial crime had met a milder doom. S. PUDENTIANA 275 The church of S. Pudentiana stands on the site ofthe house of S. Prudenlius, who is said by the Martyrologists to have been converted to Christianity by St. Peter, with his two sons Novatus and Timothy, and his two daughters Pudentiana and Prassede. Ac- cording to the same'authors, St. Peter lived in this house from the second year of Clau dius to the ninth. He left it when the edict was issued for all Jews to quit Rome, which is mentioned in Acts, xviii. 2. It was here that he superintended the Gospel of St. Mark, and upon going away he gave to his host a portrait of our Saviour, which is still preserved in the church of S. Prassede- When he returned to Rome with St. Paul, A. D. 63, he is said to have again lodged with Pudens, whom S. Paul mentions in 2 Tim. iv. 21. (1) Some commentators make the third Satire of Juvenal allude to the meetings held in this house. A church was built here by S. Pius I. in 1 44j (2) but how much of the present building, or whether any of it be of that date, I could not learn. The fourteen pillars, which divide it into three aisles, are perhaps the same which (1) S.Paul also names Claudia, who is said to have been the wife of Pudens, and daughter of the British chief Caractacus. (a) Platina. 276 S. MARIA DEGL1 ANG10L1 were erected then, and seem to have been taken from some older building. In the chapel to the right of the choir is the very altar on which St. Peter celebrated the mass. In the chapel of the Gaetani family is a well, in which S. Pudentiana put the blood ofthe martyrs, who are buried in this church to the number of 3, 000! A notice may be seen here, that all persons who visit this church every day have an indulgence of 3,ooo years, and a remission of half their sins. In point of grandeur and beauty, few churches have pleased me more than the Certosa, or S. Maria degli Angioli. It was a vast room, by some called a picture-gallery, in the baths of Diocletian, and converted into a church in i56i by Pius IV. upon tl^e designs of Michel Angelo: he formed it into a Greek cross, a shape which has been al ready praised as one particularly adapted to give an idea of extent and magnificence of proportion. As the floor suffered from damp, he raised it, by which means the eight granite columns belonging to the an cient edifice lost part of their height, and new bases were put of marble. In 1749 it underwent a great change, but the form of the Greek cross was still preserved, and S. MARIA DECL1 ANG10L1 2717 eight pillars were added of brick to resem ble the others. The imitation is extremely good. The original ones of granite are prodi giously fine, each being a solid mass of 46 feet in height: the diameter of four of them is 4 feet 2 inches, (French:) of the other four 4 feet 4 inches. The capitals of the former are Corinthian , and one of them, which had been destroyed, was replaced by another of equal dimensions found not fur from the Colosseum. The capitals ofthe new pillars are Composite. The cross is 298 feet in length either way, and the height is 9 1. The entrance is by a circular vestibule, likewise belonging to the ancient baths, which as well as the Church of S. Bernar do was one of the round buildings which stood at each of the four corners. Carlo Ma ra tla and Salvator Rosa are buried here. The pictures are some of the best in Rome. Many of them, as has been already men tioned, were painted for St. Peter's, and re moved hither. The martyrdom of S. Sebas- tian is one of the finest works of Domeni- chino. The Baptism of Jesus Christ, by Car lo Maratta; the Conception of the Madon na, by P. Bianchi ; the Fall of Simon Ma gus, by Pompeo Battoni, came from St. Peter's, aud are all excellent. In 1701 a 278 CIIIESA NUOVA meridian line was drawn on the floor by M. Bianchini. La Chiesa Nuova, or S. Maria in Vallicel- la, deserves an early mention, as being one ofthe largest and handsomest churches iu Rome. It was built in 1577, and received its name from having succeeded to an old church, which stood here in a low situation. Some of the pictures are good, but the light is not favourable for seeing them. The ceil ing and cupola were painted by Pietro da Cortona. The church was built by S. Filip- po Neri, whose house or a part of it slill re mains adjoining to the church: his confes sional, his bed, and his shoes, are among the objects shown. S. Filippo Neri is a saint of comparatively modern times; it not being above 2 25 years since he died. He was born at Florence, July 23d, i5i5, and sent to Naples as a merchant; but disliking his pro fession, he went to Rome, and at the age of 38 became priest. He was celebrated for devotional exercises, and passed forty hours successively in prayer. The congregation of the Oratory was founded by him ; which took its name from a room built by him at Florence in the form of an Oratory: and as music Was particularly used in their solem nities, the term Oratorio came to express CHURCH OF THE APOSTLES 279 compositions of sacred music. The first re gular composition ofthe kind was perform ed in this church in the year 1G00: but the origin of this kind of music is to be traced to a much earlier date. Oratorios are still performed during Lent in this church, at which no females can be present . Neri also encouraged Cardinal Baronius to write his celebrated Annals. He died in i5q5, and was canonized in 1622. Baronius is also buried in this church. The Church ofthe Holy Apostles in the Piazza of that name is also a fine structure. Some falling angels on the ceiling over the tribune are wonderfully painted. There is a fine tomb of Clement XIV. by Canova. I saw also an inscription to Maria Clemen tina, Queen of England, i. e. wife of the Pretender. Hie Clementina? remanent proecordia , nam cor Caelestis fecit, ne superesset, amor. Her body reposes in St. Peter's. S. Maria sopra Minerva is so called from being built upon the ruins of the Temple of Minerva, which Pompey erected after his conquests in Asia. Poggio, in his work upon the Mutability of Fortune, tells us, that some pillars and other remains of this 280 S. MARIA SOPRA MINERVA temple were destroyed to make lime not long before his time, that is in the four teenth century. The church is unfinished on the outside, but the interior is hand some. The most celebrated work in it is the statue of our Saviour, by Michel Angelo. It is not often that this subject has been treat ed in sculpture; and perhaps it were bet ter if the representation of his person were confined lo painting. However lliere is no thing irreverent in the effect produced by M. Angelo in the work before us. It is de servedly reckoned among his finest and most successful efforts: and was executed by him at or about the age of fifty. One foot is covered with brass, that it may not be worn away by the kisses of the faithful. Leo X. is buried here, behind the altar. An Englishman also will observe, not far off, the tomb of Ph. Th. Howard, Cardinal, " Magna? Britanniae Protector. " He died May 21 , 1694, and was grandson of Tho mas , Earl of Arundel. The best library in Rome for printed books belongs to the Dominican convent here: it does not how ever seem to possess many of a modern date. Strangers may enter without intro duction, and ask for any book: a pleasing instance of liberality, which is frequent on S. ANDREA DELLA VALLE 28 1 the continent, and might be oftener imi tated in our own country. S. Andrea della Valle has a handsome front, and the interior is also extremely fine. The cupola is painted by Lanfraiico, and is reckoned the most beautiful in Rome. At the four angles of it are the Evangelists by Domenichino, which surprised and pleas ed me as much as any paintings I ever saw. It is curious to find so learned a man as S. Jerom giving the following reason for the four beasts mentioned by Ezekiel (1) being represented together wilh the four Evangelists, as they are in this church. He says, that the face of the man was given to St. Matthew, because he begins his gospel by writing of man," Liber Generationis " Jesus Christi , etc. " The lion was ap plied to St. Mark, because he begins with the voice ofa lion roaring in the wilderness. St. Luke has the ox, because his Gospel commences with mention of Zacharias the priest. The flying eagle represents St. John , because he soars higher than the other E- vangelists, and discourses of the word of God. Irenseus points out a similar relation between the four Gospels, and the four (1) C. i. 5—io. . 282 S. ANDREA DELLA VALLE beasts mentioned in the Revelations (1): but he compares St. Mark to the eagle, and St. John to the lion (2). Augustin compares St. Matthew to the lion, and St. Mark to the man (3). The subject is treated with much more seriousness than it deserves, and much reading is exhibited in illustration of it, by M- J. Thomasius, iu a separate dis quisition (4). The ceiling ofthe tribune, re presenting the call of Peter and Andrew, is also by Domenichino, which is now much admired; but he himself could not bear lo look at the work when finished, as we learn from a letter in the collection already no ticed (5). The sentence is to this effect: " Is " not the tribune of S. Andrea della Valle " one of the finest things existing in fresco? " and yet there was an idea of sending the " masous with their hammers and pulling " it down, so poor did it appear, when he ',' threw it open to the public; and as he was " passing by the church, he (Domenichi- " no) stopped with his scholars to look at " it, and shrugging up his shoulders he said (1) Rev. iv. 7. (2) Lib. 3. cm. (3) De Cousens. Evang. c. 6 ("4) Published in the Critici Sacri. (5) Lettcre Piltoriche, vol. ii. p. 3j. S. CARLO BORROMEO 2 83 *' to them, Well! I did not think that I " had worked so ill as this. " In S. Carlo ai Gantinari may be seen similar paintings at the angles of ihe cu pola, also by Domenichino, but not equal to the former. This church is dedicated to S, Charles Borromeo, and has its name from a manufacture of wooden dishes, catini, being carried on in the Piazza in front of it. It was built in 1612. There is a painting ofthe saint behind the altar, by Guido. S. Charles, who was ofthe noble family of Borromeo at Milan, seems well deserving of the praise bestowed upon him by Eu stace. His fame rests upon a far different foundation from that of many of his breth ren in the calendar ; and if ever a man deserved such reverence from his fellow - men, it would be S. Charles Borromeo (1). His family was one of illustrious rank at Milan, and he himself was son of Count Gibert Borromeo, by Margaret de' Medici, sister of Pius IV. He was made cardinal in (1) It is strange that Jeremy Taylor mentions him toge ther wilh S. Fingare,S. Antony of Padua, S. Christopher, and many others " of whom Cardinal Bessarion complained, that " many of them were such persons whose life he could not " approve, and such concerning whom they knew nothing, but " from their parties, aud by preteuded revelations. "— ¦ Works, vol. x. p. 23i. 284 s- AliOSTINO i56o, and afterwards Archbishop of Mi lan. He turned his attention particularly to establishing ecclesiastical seminaries, and reforming the religious orders. He was parti cularly instrumental in bringing the Coun cil of Trent to a conclusion. His death hap pened in i584, and he was canonized in 1610. Lives of him have been written by Guissano, Godeau and others. There are two churches celebrated for the paintings of Raffael, S. Agostino and S. Maria della Pace. It has been already men tioned, that the cupola of S. Agostino is said to have been the first constructed in Rome. The church was built iu i483. Upon one ofthe pillars of the nave is a painting ofthe prophet Isaiah, by Raffael. The first impression upon seeing this painting is the difference in the style of it from that of all the other works of Raffael. The dispute, whether this great master profited by hav ing seen the paintings of Michel Angelo in the Sistine Ghapel, is generally known. The question has been very ably handled in a letter from Luigi Crespi (private chaplain to Benedict XIV.) to Bottari (1). He rests principally upon the authority of Vasari, (1) Lettere Pitloriche, vol- ii. p. 32 3-5 1. RAFFAEL AND M. ANGELO 285 from w.ho pa ; it appears, that Raffael twice got admission to the Sistine Chapel, while the work of M. Angelo was going en. M. Angelo left Rome after he had worked a- bout a year in the chapel, on which occasioii Bramante, who had the keys of it, let in Raffael. The consequence was, as Vasaiy asserts, that Raffael immediately repainted the figure of Isaiah, which he had already finished in S. Agostino. We must remark upon this story, that Vasari himself seems afterwards to have disbelieved it, and that M. Angelo appears never to have quitted Rome while he was engaged in this work (i). The dates also will not agree. When the paintings were half finished , the pope insisted upon their being opened to public inspection ; upon which occasion Vasari says, that all Rome ran to see them, and Raffael among the rest. From this time, he adds, Raffael suddenly changed his man ner , and to show his powers, immediately executed the Prophets and Sibyls in the Church of La Pace. Some of these assertions perhaps can never be proved or contradict ed ; but a simple statement of dates , as far as we can ascertain them, may be satis- ( i) This is very satisfactorily made out by Roscoe, in his Life of Leo X. vol. iv. p. 3^3. T. II. i3 286 RAFFAEL AND M. ANGELO factory. M. Angelo was first employed in the Sistine Chapel in i5o8, and finished his work in i5i2. Raffael was called to Rome, aud began the dispute upon the Sa crament in i5o8. The figure of Isaiah was painted, according to Vasari, in i5i I. Raf fael finished the second room , in which is the painting of Heliodorus , in i5i2. The fact seems hardly questionable, that he might have seen the work of M. An gelo; and there is considerably strong evi dence that he actually did. The great ad mirers of Raffael, iu anxiety for his fame, strenuously deny the fact; but they cannot deny, that he certainly made an alteration in his style about this time. Tradition says , that he painted this figure of Isaiah as a rival to the Prophets of M. Angelo in the Sistine Chapel. The imitation is very ap parent; and if the story be true, we must naturally conclude that Raffael felt a jealou sy for the fame which those works had gain ed for his great rival: he must have studied them accurately to produce an imitation; and consequently the question is reduced to a very narrow limit, — merely, whelher he saw the Sistine Chapel before 1 5i i ? That he saw it afterwards, and studied the paint ing of these Prophets in particular, is evi- RAFFAEL AND M. ANGELO 287 dent; and surely it is a strange way of sup porting the fame of Raffael or any master to say, that he scrutinized the finest produc tions ofthe art with an eye even of jealous accuracy, and yet did not profit by them. No person would accuse Raffael of servilely imitating M. Angelo; perhaps he was un conscious that he was imitating him at all; but it is ihe characteristic of true genius to cull from every quarter the excellencies which present themselves, and to unite and identify them with its own. Raffael himself is reported to have thanked God that he was born in the time of M. Angelo. The other church, S. Maria della Pace, was so called from the peace which was restored to Italy, when it was threatened by the Turks in 1480. Pope SixtusIV. then built the church in consequence of a vow: and Alexander VII. rebuilt it upon the re establishment of peace among the Christian Princes. The paintings in it are in fresco, over the arches of the nave on the south side. They represent the Cumaean, Persian , Phrygian, and Tiburtine Sibyls (1). There (1) Ratfael employed the assistance of one of his pupils for this work, Timoleo da TJrbino. In the Lellere Pittoriche, (vol. ii. p- 911,) Sebastiano Resta says, that he had obtained the original drawings of Ihese Sibyls ; one half came 1'iom Nu remberg , tbe other half from Messina. 288 S. MARIA DELLA PACE can be little doubt, that these were painted as rivals of M. Angelo's Sibyls in the Sistine Chapel: but here he has followed his own style, and extremely beautiful they are. In the former church he was anxious to show, that he also could adopt the style so much admired in his great rival; here he treated the same subject in his own manner, and set the one fairly against the other. Unfor tunately the work of Raffael has suffered much more from age than that of M. Angelo; and all the figures have lately been retouch ed: it may be added, that if they were half as much damaged as the frescos which are near them, they must have received a great deal of restoralion.lt is generally said, that Raffael traced the outlines, which were fill ed up by Giulio Romano. S. Agnese in the Piazza Navona is among the finest churches in Rome, both iu ihe exterior and interior. It is in the form of a Greek cross, and ornamented wilh good statues and paintings. Among the former is S. Sebastian, altered from an antique by Paolo Campi; and a statue of S. Agnese. Little is known of this saint, except what is related by S. Ambrose (i) and Pruden- (i) De Virginibus, lib i. c. a. S. AGNESE 289 tius (1). They tell us, that at the age of twelve or thirteen she suffered many tortures for her religion; and when the judge saw her disregard them, he ordered hef to be pub licly exposed; but the first person who cast his eyes upon her was struck wilh blind ness. Her body is supposed to lie in the church dedicated to her in the Via No men-. tana , which was built by Constantine. Some, however, say that she was buried at Nomento, but that her head is at St. John Lateran: others, again, maintain that her relics were conveyed to Constantino ple, (2) from thence to France, and after that to Manreza in Catalonia. They also pretend to preserve them at Utrecht. The church of the Trinita de' Monti, conspicuous from its situation on the top ofthe Pincian Hill, and the flight of i35 steps which lead to it, was built in i4°4 by Charles VIII. King of France, when he was on his expedition to Naples, and is still considered as belonging to the French na tion. The Deposition from the Cross, a ce lebrated wofk of Daniel da Volterra, and (0 Hymn. siv. (a) They were placed in the Church of S. Laurence at Constantinople, in the reign of the younger Theodosius. Theo- dor. Lector , ii. 64. 29° TRINITA DE' MONTI painted under, the direction of Michel An gelo, is here. In 1819, I saw it in a se parate part of the building, where it had been placed to receive some restorations, having been detached from the wall by that extraordinary process , which is so successfully practised with fresco paintings at Rome. This art was known to the an cients. Vitruvius expressly says, (1) that some paintings were taken from a wall at Sparta, the bricks themselves having been cut through, and were placed in wooden frames, after which they were carried to Rome , and put up in the Gumitium. Pliny also (2) talks of " crustas parietum excisas , " tabulis marginatis inclusas. " The Descent from the Cross was first carried to the Ca pitol, but is finally to resume its former station in the church. There is another fine fresco by the same master, the Murder of the Innocents , of which there is an oil painting also by Daniel in the tribune at Florence. We may observe in these paint ings, what is to be remarked in many by the early masters, that nearly all the fi gures have red hair. Considering the rarity (i)Lib. ii.c 8. (2) Lib. xxxv. c 45' TRINITA DE MONTI 29 1 of this circumstance in Italy , and that al most every native Italian is dark, it is dif ficult to explain what induced the first painters to make this alteration. I merely' offer this remark, as one which may per haps bear upon a very difficult subject, the' cause of the revival of the art of painting in Italy- The earliest oil paintings now preserved in that country are by Greeks: but that will not furnish any explanation. The Germans, who dispute with the Italians the merit of having taken the lead, would perhaps think the circumstance of the red hair in their own favour. The Church of the Capucins in the Piaz za Barberini must be visited for sake of the painting of Michael the Archangel by Gui- do. The face of the Devil is said to be a portrait of Pope Urban VIII, with whom the painter had some quarrel. Opposite to it is St. Paul cured by Ananias, one of the best paintings of Pietro da Cortona. Over the door is the .Cartoon of Giotto's Navi- cella, which is executed in mosaic over the entrance to St. Peter's. This is one of the largest convents of the order of Capucins, and it is perhaps not necessary to mention, that this is one cf the most numerous or ders. Matthew di Baschi, a Friar Minor or 292 CAPUCINS Franciscan of the convent of Monte Falco in the Duchy of Urbino, gave out in i525, that God had enjoined him by a vision to more rigorous poverty, and he retired into solitude. Many joined him; and after suf fering persecution, Clement VII. in i528, allowed them to establish a society, and be called Friars Eremite Minor (1). Their more common title of Capucins is taken from the hood , which they wear. Pope Urban VIII. allowed them to call themselves the true Sons of St. Francis. There were once 5oo convents of this order, and 25,ooo Ca pucins. Before the visit of the French there were three or four hundred Friars in this convent , and there are apartments for 1,000. In 1819 there were not more than 80 or 90, but the nn tubers were increasing. The cemetery of the convent deserves to be seen. It is in vaults under the church, and the soil came from Jerusalem. When a Friar dies, he is put into the oldest grave, and the bones of the former occupant are removed into a general receptacle.jjThe ceil ing and walls are ornamented with skulls and bones disposed in the most fanciful (1) I have seen it stated, that the Capucins were found ed in i54o by Godofledus Veraglius, who afterwards abjured popery , and was burned alive at Turin in 1 5S7. S. GREGORIO 293 shapes; all the furniture, even the lamps, are made of these materials. Some skeletons are dressed in the robe of the order. S. Gregorio , oh the Caelian Hill , stands where St. Gregory, who was pope about A. D. 600, had his house. He was of the Ani- cian family. The church is not remarkable; but from the terrace in front there is a most excellent view of the ruins of Rome. In a chapel detached from it are two su perb frescos, painted as rival performances; one by Guido, representing St. Andrew led to crucifixion; and the other by Domenichi no, ofthe flagellation of the same saiut. Annibal Caracci said ofthe two paintings, " Guido's is the painting ofthe master, " and turning to that of Domenichino, " This " is the painting of the scholar, but who " knew more about it than the master. " (1) In another chapel is a marble table , on which S. Gregory every morning fed twelve poor pilgrims. In a cloister I saw a monu- nument to Sir Edward Carne, Knt. " a " lawyer, and ambassador to the Emperor " and to Rome. After Queen Mary's death " he left England. Calfridus Vachanus " and Thomas Fremannus put up the mo- (1) Lettere Pittoriche, torn. iii. p. 383- i3* 294 s' CECILIA. nument. He died in i56i. " He is often mentioned by Burnet in his History ofthe Reformation , who has printed some of his dispatches. Elizabeth recalled him from Rome upon her accession; but Pope Paul IV- detained him. On the other side of the Tiber there are not many churches of much interest. S.Ce cilia's is handsome. Part of the house where the saint lived is shown here, and she herself lies buried under the high altar but the French carried off the silver urn which contained, her bones. There is a re cumbent statue of her in marble. Little or nothing is known of this musical lady; nor are the njartyrologists agreed, whether she suffered under Alexander Severus , M. Au relius, Commodus , or Diocletian. She has been honoured as a saint since the fifth century; and there are accounts of her body being found in the cemetery of S. Sixtus in the year 821: but that discovery was perhaps premature, as the real body was found at the end of the sixteenth century in her own church. The 2 2d of November is sacred to her. The invention ofthe organ has some times been ascribed to S . Cecilia . We know that this instrument was used at Constantinople in the time of Julian the S. MARIA IN TRASTEVEB.E 20,5 Apostate: (i) but musical instruments, the sound of which was produced by wind, were certainly known long before. S. Jerome mentions organs which might be heard at the distance ofa mile.The time of their being introduced into churches has been much disputed; some referring it to the seventh-, others to the thirteenth century. There were certainly organs in England in the eighth century (2). In the list of relics in this church, the following struck me as curious : part of Christ's vest; two of the, thorns; part ofthe sponge; some milk of the Virgin Mary; part of her veil and of her chemise; part ofthe vest and. staff of Joseph; two teeth of St. Peter; seven rings of the chain by which he was bound; one tooth of St. Paul; part of St. James's chin ; part of the head and two fingers of St. Thomas; and Mary Magda- n's great toe. S. Maria in Trastevere is a handsome church; and the twenty-two Ionic columns, which divide it into three aisles, appear to have belonged to some ancient building. The assumption of the Virgin is a very fine painting by Domenichino. This is stated to (1) Ammian. Marcel, lib. xiv. c. 6. (2) Turner, Hist, of Anglo-Saxons, vol. iii. p- 43 1. 296 S. PIETRO IN MONTORIO have been the first church publicly dedicat ed to God in Rome. It was in the year 224, and the worship of the Virgin is said to have been acknowledged in the title of it. In 34o it was entirely rebuilt by S. Julius. The Spanish writers say, that this was the second church erected in honour of the Vir gin, and that the first was founded by S. James the Apostle in Spain. The interval is rather inconveniently long. S. Pietro in Montorio was formerly visit ed by all strangers, to see the wonderful painting of the Trasfiguration by Raffael. This is generally called the finest picture in the world, though the Communion of St. Jerom, by Domenichino, makes the prize doubtful. The Transfiguration was one of the last works ofvRaffael, and was executed for the cathedral of Narbonne, by order of Cardinal Giulio de' Medici. Sebastian del Piombo painted, as a rival to it, the Raising of Lazarus, which was in the possession of Mr. Angerstein. After the return of the Transfiguration from the Louvre, it was put up in the Vatican , and the church ofS. Pietro in Montorio still enjoys a pension in lieu of it. The present church was built by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, and is said to stand near the place where St. Peter S. PIETRO IN MONTORIO 297 was crucified. Over the precise spot is -a beautiful little temple , built by Palladio. The origin of the name of the hill on which it stands, Mons Aureus or Montorio , is un certain ; but as this is said to be the spot where St. Peter was crucified, the name of Golden Hill has been thought to allude lo the value imposed upon it by that event. Andrea Fulvio says, with greater probabi lity, that it came from some sand of a yel low or golden colour being dug up here. We must remember, that St. Peter was crucified on this hill, but was buried at the Vatican. I should be inclined to believe the latter tradition, and perhaps the former may be true also: but the place of his in terment is more likely to have been kept in remembrance than that of his suffering Even Roman Catholic writers have differed as to the precise spot, where he was cruci fied, and eight different places' have been mentioned , all of which are in the neigh bourhood of the Vatican. Eusebi us appeals to a constant tradition, that S.Peter was buried in a cemetery at the Vatican , and quotes the authority of CahiSjWho lived early in the third century (i). Some Protestant (0 Hist. Eecl. lib. ii. c. a5. 298 S. PETER writers have thought it necessary to deny that St. Peter was ever at Rome at all. I confess that I am utterly at a loss to see wha| great advantage we give to tbe Roman Catholics by allowing their first pope to have resided at Rome. But at all events, truth is to be preferred to prejudice; and tlie Protestant cause is so great a gainer by the records of authentic history, that it would be the height of ingratitude in us to endeavour to pervert its testimony. After examining the evidence produced by Baro nius, the conclusion seems irresistible, that St. Peter undoubtedly visited Rome, and suffered martyrdom there. The only ques tion is concerning the period of his residence. It used lo be religiously maintained by the Roman Catholics, that he held ihe See of Rome twenty-five years: but the Protestants have shown this to be impossible, and some writers even of the Romish Church have allowed it to be unsupported by history. (1) The only antient authors who can be quoted as asserting it are Eusebius and Jerome: perhaps we should name the latter only. We read in the Chronicle of Eusebius, at the year 43 , that Peter , after founding the (a) Valesius: Papebrochius, Pagius,elc. S. PETER 299 Church of Antioch, (1) was sent to Rome, where he preached the Gospel for twenty- five years, and was Bishop of that city. But this part of the Chronicle does not exist in the Greek, nor in the Armenian, and it is supposed to have been one of the additions made by Jerome. Eusebius does not say the same in any other part of his writings, though he mentions- St. Peter's going to Romeinthe reign of Claudius: (2) but Jerome tells us that he came in the second year of this emperor, and held the See twenty-five years. (3) On the other hand, Origen who is quoted by Eusebius himself, (4) says that Peter went lo Rome towards the end of his life: and Lactantius places it in the reign of Nero, and adds that he suffered martyrdom not long after (5). Thus ihetestimony of the Fathers is at least divided, if it does not expressly disprove his long residence in Rome. Eusebius, indeed, says in his history as observed already, that Peler went to Rome in the reign of Claudius ; but this (1) Socrates calls Peter the first bishop of Antioch, lib. vi c. 8. See also Sozom. lib. i. c a. (a) Lib. ii. c. i4- (3) Catal. de Script. Eccles. (4) Lib. iii. c. 1. (5) De Mortib. Persecut. oa. 300 5. PETER very passage, if read with attention, seems to imply that he did not stay there long. The Acts of the Apostles also make it im possible, that he should have resided there -during the eighteen first years after the Resurrection, whereas the second year of Claudius (which is the time mentioned by Jerome for his going to Rome) falls in with the 9th year after the Resurrection, or A. D. 42. The history contained in the Acts may perhaps allow him to have gone to Rome some time in the reign of Claudius, but his visit must have been a short one: if we fol low Eusebius, it must have been before the events recorded in the 18th chapter of the Acts. (1) It has been observed also, that St. Paul makes no mention of St. Peter, either in his Epistle to the Romans , or in his Epistles written from Rome: from which it is inferred, that St. Peter was not at Rome at either of those periods. So that there seems good reason to prefer the authority of Origen and Lactantius, and to conclude either that St. Peter made two visits, the first of which was a very short one in the (1) The reader may see this by comparing the beginniugof the 17th chapter of the second book of Eusebius with the end of the twenty-eighth , where he treats ofthe journey which Puilo made to Rome. S. PETER 301 reign of Claudius, and the second in the time of Nero: or that he did not go there at all till the time of the latter emperor, some where about the year 66, which was also the period of St. Paul's second visit to Rome. It is supposed that they suffered martyrdom in the following year, during the persecution of Nero. This is positively asserted by Eusebius on the authority of Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth (i). I mention below the names of some of those writers who assert St. Peter to have been at Rome, and to have suffered martyr dom there. I am indebted for most of the references to Baronius, and the period in which each author lived, is also added (2). An Englishman may be allowed to notice the Church of St. Thomas , or S. Toma- (1) Lib. ii. c. i5. (a) Papias '(A. D. 1 16.) apud Euseb. lib. ii. c. i3. Diony- siusfijo.Japud Euseb. lib. ii. c. a5. Iren3eus,(i78.)adv. Hseres. lib. iii. c. 1. Clem. Alex. ( ig40 apud Euseb. lih. vi. c- 14. Tertullian (300.) de Praescript. c. 36) de Baptismq , c. 4 " adv. Marcion, lib. iv. t, 5. Petrus Alex- (3oo.) can. 9. Origen (a4°0 apud Euseb. lib. iii. c. 1. Lactantius, (3o6.) lib. iv. c. 21, Euseb. (3i 5,) II. cc. Athauasius(3a6.)Apol. vol. i p. 33 1. Hist. Ai-i.-m. i. p. 36G. Ambrqsius,(3j4-) in Natal, Apost. Hieruny. mus (392.) de Script. Eccles. in Petro, Augustin. (3g8Jser. vii. in Natal. Apost, Chrysost. (398 .) de Petro et Paulo. Socrates, (400,) Hist. Eccles. Jib. v. c. 23. Cyrillus, (4,a0 Epist. ad Coelcst. Spzom. (5th century,) lib. iv, c. l5, lib- vii. c. 4. 18, Tbeodoret. (4a3.> Epist, u<3, 3o2 S. THOMAS so degl' Inglesi, not far from the Palazzo Faruese, though it has no particular beauty to recommend it. It is known, that previous to 63o, Offa had built or restored a church in this place , which was dedicated to the Holy Trinity , and was one of the twenty privileged abbeys. Each of these had a hospital for the reception of pilgrims who visited Rome. Those from England were lodged here. In 817 the building was burnt down, and Egbert had it restored. A rich Englishman, John Scopard, is also said to have left considerable property towards the maintenance of this church . When Becket went to Rome, he lodged here; and when he was canonized by Alexander III. two years after his death' , the church took the name of St. Thomas. One of his arms is preserved in it, and there are several relics of him in Rome: but as such pains were taken by Henry VIII. to destroy his bones, we may wonder how these relics were oblained. His brains were sent to Rome soon after his murder. Gregory XIIL out of kindness to the English nation, which he hoped to convert from its lamentable heresy, established a seminary here for English students , who were bound to re turn to their native country, and endeavour S. THOMAS 3o3 to re-establish the Catholic religion, when ever it should seem good to their superiors. The church contains some paintings of the " martyrdoms suffered by many Catholics " under the cruel reign of Elizabeth. " This account is taken from Pancirolli, who has written a description of all ihe churches in Rome. It may not be unacceptable to the reader to give a short extract from this work, in which he notices the secession of the English Church. " The spirit of Henry " II. seems to have been inherited by Henry " VIII. who made himself head of the En- " glish Church in order lo divorce himself " from his legitimate consort, the sister of " the King of Spain, and to marry a low " woman, (malvagia,) so that Paul III. was " obliged to excommunicate him. From that " time forward the affairs of religion in " that kingdom have been constantly going " from bad to worse; all his successors , as "well male as female, having continued " to make themselves revered as vicars of " Christ. " There is a churh on the other side ofthe Tiber which is dedicated to St. Edmund, and applied to the same purpose as the last. Two Edmunds, saints and kings of England, are recorded in the Romish calendar. The 3o4 S. EDMUND date of the first is not known: the second was killed by the Danes in 870. Considering the dubious claims of some of the popish saints, it is but fair to our countryman to state, that he really existed, and was really killed by the Danes in the year mentioned. The reasons of his being admitted into the calendar are not so satisfactory. Matthew of Westminster tells us, that after the defeat at Thetford, he was obliged to surrender to the Danish army at Heglesdune. Not sa tisfied with simply putting him to death , the enemy fastened him to a tree, aud trans fixed him with arrows, till', as the honest chronicler expresses it, his body resembled a hedge-hog. His head was then severed from his body, and both were thrown un fa uried into a neighbouring wood. When the Danes quitted that part of the country, the inhabitants commenced a search after their saint and king. They vociferated for a long time, Where are you? when at length, to the surprise and delight of all, the head replied, Here, here, here! Soon after a wolf was seen carrying the head in his paws; and it was interred, together with the body, near ihe spot! St. Edmundsbury was called after this saint. PALACES v .- /, Having mentioned the Churches of Rome, we come next to the Palaces. An Englishman travelling in Italy must divest himself of the idea which he usually attaches to the word Palace. In our own country we under stand by in the residence of royalty; and affixing ideas of magnificence to the term, we often complain of being disappointed with the foreign palaces, whereas in our own country it is the general observation, that the royal palaces are inferior to private houses . In Italy the residence of every nobleman is called a palace. In Rome they are abundantly freqnent; and if a concise description were demanded of them , it would not be far from the truth to say, that with a splendid outside, they display a lamentable want of comfort and inatten tion to cleanliness in the interior- The plan 3o6 PALACES is nearly the same in all of them; they are built round a quadrangle, with a large stair case opening into the court: the rooms com municate with each other, sometimes round the whole of the quadrangle, and form a suit of apartments on each floor sufficient to constitute a house. But with all this scale of splendour, there is little or nothing in a Roman palace worth seeing , except the works of art. Even this attraction has been diminished in latter times, the poverty of the nobles having compelled many of them to sell their pictures. That splendour of furniture and decoration which character izes the English houses, whether in town or country, is unknown at Rome. The differ ence of climate probably made the taste of the two countries originally different; and the great contrast in national wealth, par ticularly in later times, has made it more apparent now. An Englishman, accustomed to a cold climate, has recourse to every thing which ingenuity and refinement can devise to exclude ihe outward air. That word of truly British growth, and which is to be found neither in the feelings nor in the language of any other country, comfort, makes various articles of domestic use indis pensable in England, which are little valued PALACES 307 abroad. In Rome the inhabitants are used to live a great deal in the outward air, and they study accordingly to preserve their dwelling-rooms cool. A brick floor without a carpet is revolting to our feelings, and still more so when seen in a palace: a stove appears but a poor substitute for a fireplace; and we are apt to condemn these residences ofthe Roman nobles, as a display of splen did misery. In former times they were un doubtedly much more brillanl than they are at present. For now, independent of any difference which might he caused by climate, the poverty and dirtiness of the owner are in many instances disgustingly apparent. It is however not fair to condemn a Rbman noble because his palace is dirty on the ground floor , or even on the first story. The quadrangle at the botlom generally serves for a court or stable yard, with of fices round it; and the first floor is not un- frequently let to tradesmen or other occu piers. Many English families have of late been accommodated in the Roman palaces: the suites of rooms being so extensive, the owner finds one floor sufficient for his own use, and is glad to make money by letting the remainder. All this is very discordant 3o8 PALACES with our notions: but if the Roman nobles are now become poor, we should recollect, that at the time when their palaces were built, they must have far exceeded our selves in ideas of magnificence. In some of the quadrangles the whole house of a no bleman in London might be placed: nor in point of style can we at all Compare the architecture ofthe two countries. Having made these general observations, it is not my intention to describe each pa lace in particular; but I shallcontent myself with giving some account of that in which the pope resides. For upwards of a thousand years from the time of Constantine the popes lived in the Lateran palace: but dur ing their residence at Avignon it fell into such decay, that Gregory XI. who brought back the holy see to Rome, did not think it suitable or safe, and removed to the Va tican, which was rendered secure during those turbulent times by its vicinity to tbe castle of S. Angelo. The Lateran palace was rebuilt in i586 by Sextus V; and in 1693 Innocent XII. turned it into a hospital for the poor. It was in this palace that the La teran Councils were held, of which eight are mentioned by the best authorities, viz. in 3 1 3, 499- 5oo, 5o 1,74^861, 993, io65. VATICAN 3og Paul III. was the first pope who resided in the palace on the Monte Cavallo : and his successors have followed his example, leav ing the Vatican merely for the celebration of ceremonies. The Vatican however being the most ancient, and by far the most ce lebrated, I shall confine myself to that. THE VATICAN The dimensions of this palace, and the number of rooms assigned to it, border upon the marvellous. The_whole pile of building, together with the gardens, is said to com prise a circumference of some miles: and while some accounts make the number of apartments 4j422> others swell it to 1 3,ooo! (i) The effect pf all this mass of architecture is any thing but pleasing: from no point of view does it present any extent of front or magnificence of design; while its proximity to St. Peter's interferes most un fortunately with the view of that building. It is in fact a collection of apartments built by several popes. The date of its first com mencement is not clearly known. There was certainly a palace here in the time of S. (1) Bonanni does this, p. aa5. T. II. 14 3lO SISTINE CHAPEL Leo III. as Charlemagne resided in it A. D. 800. Celestin III. added to it in 1191-8, as did Innocent III. 11 98-216; and Nicolas III. in 1278. Nicolas V. in i447"55 built ihe rooms which were afterwards painted by Raffael. Leo X. added the triple portico, the middle one of which is also painted by Raffael, and is thence called Le Logge di Raffaello. Sextus V. added an entirely new palace, and Pius VI. built what is called the Museo Pio Clementino. The paintings and statues preserved in this building, to gether with its prodigious library, have-de servedly raised the fame of the Vatican above that of every oilier palace in the world. The pictures are not numerous; but those which are here are all excellent, and the paintings in fresco are some ofthe most Wonderful productions which exist. The Sistine Chapel deserves to be men tioned first. It derives its name from Sextus IV. who employed Baccio Pintelli to build it, and had the walls ofthe two sides paint ed by several Florentine artists about the year 1 474 • ^ is a very large and lofty oblong room, with scarcely any of the usual furniture ofa chapel, and is used on few occasions except in the holy week, and the first Sunday in Advent. The cardi- M. ANGELO 3 1 I nals also meet here in conclave to elect a new pope, (i) Not long after the return of Michel An gelo lo Rome from Bologna in i5o8, Julius II. employed him, much against his will, to paint the ceiling. Previous to this time he had been very little employed in paint ing, having acquired his celebrity by sculp ture. He had executed the Bacchus and the David, which are now at Florence, and the Pieta, which is in St. Peter's. At this very time also he was employed by the Pope in executing a monument for himself, which has become universally celebrated by the statue of Moses. (2) He had however astonished his countrymen at Florence some years before by the Cartoon which he (1) The right of election was vested in the Cardinals oDly by Nicolas II. in theeleventh century. Leo VIII. (A. D-g6a,J had transferred the whole power of election to the Emperor, before which time the clergy and people had also a voice. It was at the Council of Lyons, held by Gregory X. in I2j4 that the Cardinals were ordered to be locked up, while they held tbe conclave. (2) It is singular that Phidias, who wasoneof the greatest sculptors of antiquity, was also a painter, (1'Iin. lib. xxxv. c. 34.) Michel Angelo's fame in this double capacity is cele brated by Arioslo in his Orlando Furioso. Canto xxxiii. 2. DuoDossi, e quel, che a par sculpe e colora, Michel piii chemortale Augel clivino. Ariostb and M. Angelo were born in the same year, i474- 3 12 M. ANGELO painted in rivalry to one by Lionardo da Vinci. Vasari tells us, that Julius was ad vised both by San Gallo and Bramante, the two celebrated architects, to employ M. Angelo in painting the chapel. Braman te seems to have given his advice partly from jealousy, and from a wish to hinder the fame of M. Angelo and his favour with the Pope from eclipsing that of his relation Raffael. He therefore thought, that if M. Angelo was called away from his favourite pursuit of sculpture, in which his fame was already so great, and was employed in some work of painting, he would either fail, and so make the success of Raffael still more conspicuous; or it would at least have the effect of keeping the attention of Julius fixed upon works of painting, in which case Raf fael could not fail to share his notice and applause, (i) He reluctantly undertook the task; and if we may believe Vasari, he even recommended Raffael to be employed. So anxious was he for the success of the work, that he prepared the Colours with his own hands, and finished the whole with scarcely any assistance. Even the scaffold ing is said to have been made under his own (i) Lettere Pittoriche, vol. ii. p. 33i , etc SISTINE CHAPEL 3 I 3 directions, and he gave the profits of it afterwards to a poor carpenter, who had executed it for him. The agreement, which he made with the Pope, through Braman te, was for i5,ooo ducats. He constantly refused to admit any person into the cha pel while the work was going on: but in i5n, when about half of it was finished, the Pope insisted upon it being thrown open to public inspection. This was accordingly done. The great artist was then urged more than ever by the Pope to hasten its com pletion, and on Nov. i, i5ia, the whole work was concluded , and the public admit ted without reserve. The latter part was finished in about 20 months. (1) He selected subjects from the Old Tes tament for the ceiling; among which may be observed several circumstances atteud- (1) A story is told by Vasari in the first edition which he published of his Lives of the Painters, that the Pope entered the chapel by stealth to seethe painting: and that M. Angelo, who had pretended to quit Rome for a few days, received him with a shower of rubbish from the scaffolding, in consequence of which he left Rome. This anecdote has been repeated hy later writers, but is evidently false. Vasari omitted it in his subsequent edition; and the quarrel between the painter and the Pope, which made the former retire to Florence, was while be was engaged in executing the tomb, as I have already mentioned at p. aji. The date of the Pope's letter which is given at p. 371, fully proves the mistake. 3 I 4 SIBYLS ing the creation, treated in a most sublime manner, and with an effect truly aston ishing. To artists it may be interesting to know, that the Deluge Was the first subject executed by him. He also painted some Pro phets and Sibyls over the windows, which are among the finest works which he has left. These Sibyls are five in number, and are known by the name of the Persian, Erythraean, Delphian, Cumsean, and Li byan (i). The introduction of such figures at all into a Christian Church may seem extraordinary, and a little digression may be allowed to explain the cause. The story of the conference between Tar- quinius Priscus and the Sibyl is too well known to need insertion. He appointed two persons tp take care of the books, and U. C. 388 the number was increased to ten. We frequently read ofthe Sibylline books being consulted upon any remarkable or calami tous event, and the greatest secrecy was observed in the preservation of them. In the year of Rome 67 1 , or A. C. 83 , the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, in which they were kept, was burnt, and the pre- (1) The Cave ofthe Cumcean Sibyl is mentioned by Aris totle, who says that she was the same with the Erithraean, — De Mirab. Auscult. SIBYLS 3 I 5 cious documents destroyed. In consequence of which , three ambassadors were dispatch ed to Erythrae, Samos, Ilium, and other places, to collect any prophecies of the Sibyls which were known. They brought back about 1000 verses (i). The number of curators was then increased to i5, and af terwards to 4o ,- but the name of Quinde^ cemviri still continued. Augustus removed the books to the palace; but whether they were destroyed by any of the fires which raged in that quarter, does not appear. Mention is certainly made ofthe Sibylline books to a late period. Ammianus notices them, .A.D. 363; and Claudius, Numatia- nus in 38g. But from what has been stated, it might be expected that great confusion would arise as to what were the original prophecies , and whether the subsequent additions were genuine or no. The Chris tians took advantage of them at an early period, forcing some into an interpretation favourable to tlieir religion, and by a pious fraud inventing others (2). A treajtise has been written upon the subject hy David Blondel, in which he conjectures, that the (0 Tacitus, An. lib. vi. c. 12. Lactant. lib. i. c 6. (a) Origen, c Cels. lib. vii. Lactant. de Vera Sap. c. i5. 3 1 6 SIBYLS forgery began about the year i38; and he even accuses Hermas of being accessary to it; but the charge is certainly unfounded. The Gnostics pretended to have some ge nuine works of Noah's wife : to meet which formidable document, the orthodox party produced the writings of Noah's daughter, whom they called a Sibyl. As many as eight Jbooks were circulated under ihe name of Sibylline; and nearly twenty persons from different countries are mentioned as Sibyls. Of these, the five already named became the most celebrated; and some of the early fathers, pious and learned men, believed that they really had prophesied of our Sa viour. It will be sufficient to mention Justin Martyr (1) and Clemens Alexandrinus. The Roman Catholics have particularly appeal ed to them in support of some of the doc trines which are now rejected by tbe Pro testants: and this will sufficiently account for their being joined in company wilh the Prophets in the Sistine Chapel. - The paintings on the side walls are also deserving of the greatest attention. They (i) Cohort, ad Groecos, xvii- 37. He tells us, that he had seen at Cumoe a chapel cut out of one stone, (meaning probably a cave in a rock,) from whence the Sibyl had delivered her oracles. LAST JUDGMENT 3l7 were executed by some of the most cele brated revivers ofthe art, and would well justify a description more in detail. M. Angelo was not employed any more in this chapel till the time of Paul III. nearly thirty years after his first work there. This pope was so anxious to have the benefit of his talents, and yet found him so difficult to be prevailed upon , that he went in person to his house with ten car dinals to beg him to execute a painting of the Last Judgment. The great master com plied, was employed eight years upon the work, and opened it to the public in Chris tmas 1542. This end ofthe chapel was be fore occupied by three paintings of Pietro Perugino. There is an original letter exist ing from M. Angelo to Pietro Aretino, the poet , from which we may ascertain the fact, that the design was entirely his own. He says, " I was delighted and grieved by " the receipt of your letter. I was delighted. " at its coming from you, whose merit is " so remarkable ; and I was also much " grieved , because as I have finished great " part ofthe story, I cannot execute your " ideas, which are of such a cast, that if " the day of judgment had taken place, and "you had actually seen it, your words *4* 3l8 SISTINE CHAPEL " could not describe it better. " At the end he dissuades him from coming to Rome to see the progress ofthe painting (i). The letter of Aretino is also preserved in the same collection ; and the contents of it will perhaps excuse my translating that part of it, which contains his ideas upon the subject which M. Angelo was to re present. It is dated Venice , September i5 , i537- " In my opinion you ought to be sa- " tisfied with having surpassed every one " else in your other works; but I perceive, " that with the termination of the uni- " verse, which you are now employed in " painting, you think to surpass the com- " mencement of the world , (2) which you " have already painted : that your works " surpassed by themselves may give you a " triumph over yourself. Who would not " be dismayed in applying his pencil to " such a terrific subject? I see Antichrist " in the middle of the crowd with a sem- " blance, which none but you could con- " ceive. I see the terror in the counte- " nances of the living: I see the symptoms " of extinction in the sun, the moon, and (1) Vide lettere Pittoriche, vol. ii. p. 17. (2) Alluding to tbe paintings on the ceiling, finished in i3ia. LAST JUDGMENT 3l 9 " the stars. I see Fire, and Air, and Earth, " and Water, as it were, yielding up their " spirit. I see Nature at a distance eonfound- " ed, concentrating her barrenness in the u decrepitude of age : I see Time dried " up and trembling, who being come to " his utmost limit is seated on a withered " trunk: and while I perceive the hearts in " every breast agitated by the trumpets of " the angels, I see Life and Death over- " whelmed by the horrible confusion; for " the former is labouring to resuscitate the " dead, the latter is preparing to overthrow " the living. I see Hope and Despair con- " ducting the ranks of the good and the " crowds of the wicked: I see the theatre " of clouds coloured by the rays proceeding " from the pure fires of heaven, upon which " Christ is seated among his hosts, sur- " rounded by splendour and by terrors. I " see his face glitter; and darting out fiery u sparks ofa light delightful and terrible, " he fills the righteous with joy , the wick- " ed with alarm. Meanwhile I see the mi- " nisters of the abyss , who with horrid " look, with Uie glory pf saints and mar- " tyrs , make game of the Caesars and the " Alexanders, telling them how conquest " over self differs from conquest of the 320 SISTINE CHAPEL " world. I see Fame with her crowns and " her palms under foot, tossed aside amidst " the wheels of her chariots. Finally , I see " the great sentence issuing from the mouth " of the Son of God. I see it in the form of " two rays, one of salvation, and the other " of damnation; and as I trace them flying " downward , I perceive their fury impinge " upon the elemental frame, and with tre- " mendous thunderings dissipate and dis- " solve it. I see the lights of paradise, and "the furnaces ofthe abyss, dividing the " darkness which has fallen upon the face "ofthe air; so that the thought, which " represents to my imagination the destruc- " tion ofthe Last Day, says to me, If we " tremble and are afraid in contemplating " the work of Buonarrotti, how shall we " tremble and be afraid when we shall " behold ourselves judged by him , who "ought to judge us" (i)J The sublimity of conception which raised these terrific images, will excuse the introduction of this passage, and the insufficiency ofthe trans lation. The Last Judgment , impossible as it seems to be couceived by mortal thought, has at least met with two masters, wlio .. (i) Lettere Pittoriche, vol. iii. p. 5g. LAST JUDGMENT Zl I have placed it sensibly before us, and in some measure brought it down to the level of our imaginations. We may beallowed to pause a little upon this painting, as it is perhaps the most wonderful specimen ofthe art in the world. I mean, the most surprising monument of genius and imagination : for unless we con found the ideas ofthe beautiful and the sub lime, and conceive that the former is al ways contained in the latter, it must be acknowledged, that many other paintings are more pleasing at the first view. Salvator Rosa in one of his Satires indulged himself in a pun, which not inaptly criticizes the work, Michel Angelo mio, non parlo in giuoco, Questo che dipiugete e un gran Giudizio, Ma del giudizio voi n'avete poco. But notwithstanding the ridiculous way, in which some part of the subject is treated, and the mixture of sacred and profane his tory throughout, this work of M. Angelo will surprise and please more and more every time that it is examined. It will perhaps be more admired when considered in single groups, than as a whole. It has often been remarked, that M. Angelo was indebted fo/ 322 SISTINE CHAPEL the conception of some of his figures to the poem of Dante. There is an amusing story told concern ing a figure, which was intended as a por trait ofa certain master ofthe ceremonies, who had complained to the Pope of the indecency ofthe painting (i). His name was Biagio of Cesena : the painting was not quite finished when he made this com plaint, and M. Angelo introduced his por trait as a Demon with ass's ears, encircled with a large serpent, and placed him in hell. Biagio again complained, and the Pope requested the painter to release him. M. Angelo replied, that had he been only in purgatory, it might have been possible, but from hell there was no redemption. Pius IV. being offended with so many of of the figures being naked , ordered Daniel da Volterra to remove the objection; who from this circumstance was called Brachet- tone. Paul IV. had mentioned the objection to M. Angelo himself, but he would not make any alteration: " Reform the world, " said he, " and the picture will reform " itself. " Stefano Pozzi completed the cov ering by order of Clement XII. It seems (0 Vid. Salyator Rosa, Sat. iii. p. 84. LAST JUDGMENT 3a3 that the Catholics were alarmed, lest the Lutherans should make the indecency of the paintings at Rome an objection to the Roman tenets (i). After all, we see this sublime work in the most disadvantageous manner: it is now more than two centuries and a half since it was completed, and the action of damp united with the smoke from the incense and the candles has thrown a great obscu rity over the whole.Tn the present age we may perhaps be allowed to regret, that the great masters painted so much in fresco. M. Angelo was accustomed to say, that painting in oils was an occupation for wo men : so convinced was he of the greater difficulty and merit of executing works in fresco. He confirmed this observation by his practice; and though he unquestionably amused himself occasionally with oils, it is asserted upon the best authority, (2) that there is not one undisputed oil-painting of his in existence. Many are exhibited , as laying claim to this honour, which perhaps were executed by his pupils, and may have received some touches from the master (1) Lettere Pittoricbe, vol. iii. p. 57. (2) Lauzi, vol. i. p. 140, etc. 324 SISTINE CHAPEL himself. Whatever may be the compara tive merits of the two arts, we have evi dently suffered by fresco painting being preferred: for while we have pictures in oils by Leonardo da Vinci, Raffael, and others contemporary with M. Angelo, the colours of which seem as fresh as when they were first laid on, (and perhaps more pleas ing in the effect,) those which were paint ed upon the wall have in a great part pe rished , and the rest are daily becoming more indistinct; so that unless this new discovery of detaching frescos from the wall eau preserve such works, our descendants will be enabled to judge of these great ef forts only by copies and engravings. It might be thought, that the ancients mixed tlieir colours for painting upon plaister bet ter than the moderns, at least that they were more durable. Pliny (1) mentions some paintings still existing at Ardea , Caere, and Lanuvium, which were older than the foundation of Rome; and had received little or no injury, though in a ruined building, and exposed to the air. This would give them an antiquity of 800 years and up wards. (0 Lib. xxxy. c. 6. PAULINE CHAPEL 325 The Pauline Chapel, which is near the Sistine , was erected by Paul III. about 1 54o, wilh designs of Antonio San Gallo. This also is used only on great festivals. The holy Sacrament is always kept there , and the popes were formerly created in it: but that ceremony is now performed in the Sistine Chapel. The walls are painted in fresco; and two ofthe subjects , the Con version of St. Paul, aud ihe Crucifixion of St. Peter, are by Michel Angelo they were nearly his last works; but they have suf fered so much, and there is so little light, that it is difficult to make out any design at all. These two chapels are connected by the Sala Regia, which was built by Antonio San Gallo, and painted ^first by Perino del Vaga , and afterwards by Vasari and other painters. These paintings may be interest ing to a zealous Catholic; but a phlegmatic Protestant , who prefers authentic history to traditions of the church, will look at them only with a smile. They almost all relate to some circumstance which tended to exalt the holy see; but the massacre of St. Bar tholomew's Day might as well have been omitted, It was painted by Vasari during the Pontificate of Gregory XIII, who had 326 LOGGIE DI RAFFAELLO also a medal struck to commemorate the slaughter of the Hugonots. The Loggie di Raffaello are, as I men tioned , three open galleries , one above the other, which go round three sides of a square court. The building was finished upon the designs of Raffael, having been begun by Bramante; and in the middle gallery the ceiling of one side is painted entirely after designs of Raffael. He em ployed in the work several of his pupils, Giulio Romano, Pierin del Vaga, Polidoro, and Maturiuo da Caravaggio, etc. etc. The ceiling is divided into thirteen compart ments, each of which contains four paint ings. All the subjects are taken from the Old Testament, and some are by Raffael himself. In the first compartment, which contains the creation, God dividing light from darknes is by him, aud much admir ed. But surely this is a subject too sublime for ihe greatest human genius. Raffael pro bably chose it, because Michel Angelo had represented the same subject on the roof of the Sistine Chapel. The two last paintings in this series, the Baptism of Jesus, and the Last Supper, are also by Raffael. The walls are covered with Arabesques, which are also after the designs of Raffael : LOGGIE DI RAFPAELL6 327 and he is said to have borrowed them from the baths of Titus, which were excavated in his days. But the story which is added, of his covering up the excavations as soon as he had finished his copies in-order that tbe imitation might be concealed, is one which few would believe, except on the most undeniable evidence. I have already attempted to prove the falsehood of it in a former part of this work : and it may be added, that it would have been impossible for Raffael to have had the praise of origi nality , even if he had wished it, as similar paintings had been discovered in excava tions at Tivoli, Pozzuoli, and other places. The Loggia were painted between the years i5i3 and i52i. . The Camere di Raffaello are a series of rooms, mostly painted by that great master, and contain some ofthe most valuable works which he has left. These too are all in fres co , and have suffered considerably from time. The subjects of them are well known by the engravings of Volpato. Julius II. commenced tbe decoration of these rooms, and employed as painters Pietro della Fran- cesca , Bramantino da Milano , Luca da Cortona , Pietro della Gatta , and Pietro Perugino. The latter, as is well known, 328 CAMERE DI RAFFAELLO was Raffael's master: and by his recom mendation, as well as that of Bramante , who was related to him, Raffael was called from Florence to Rome in the year i5o8, when he vubs 25 years of age. Some make him not to have gone to Rome till i5io (i). He Was first employed in the Camera della Segnatura, and finished what is generally called the Dispute upon the Sacrament. The Pope was so astonished and delighted with this effort, that he ordered all which was done by the other artists to be destroyed, that all ihe rooms might be painted by Raf fael. It is said, that he received for each large painting 1,200 crowns of gold. He, however, spared the work of his master Perugino , which is still to be seen upon the ceiling of the fourth room in this series. The first room is not painted by Raffael, as he did not live to complete it. It is call ed the hall of Constantine, from a large painting of the victory of that Emperor over Maxenlius. Raffael had finished the design, and prepared to paint it upon the wall in oils, when he died. It was then fi nished chiefly by Giulio Romano , who, preferring to work in fresco ^ destroyed all (1; Vid. Lanzi, vol. ii. p. 53. RAFFAEL 329 that his master had done, except two fi gures of Justice and Benignity , which were already finished. The head of S. Urban also, who is one of the eight popes painted in this room, is by Raffael. The oilier seven figures are S. Peter, S. Clement, S. Gre gory, S. Damasus, S. Leo I. S. Silvester, and S. Alexander I. The painting pf the Appearance ofthe Cross to Constantine is also said to be by Giulio Romano. The other two walls are painted by celebrated artists. The second room contains ihe story of Heliodorus, taken from the third chapter ofthe second Book of Maccabees. The whole design is allowed to be by Raffael ; but some say, that it was painted wholly or in part by Giulio Romano. Bellori however says, that it is all by Raffael. The date of.i5i4 is upon it; and.yet Fea, in his description ofthe Vatican, says, that it was executed previous to i5i2; from whence he argues, that it could hardly be the work of Giulio Romano, whowas not then twenty years old. Julius II. is intended to be represent ed by the figure carried on a chair. This Pontiff boasted to be the liberator of the church, and the restorer of its property. The secretary in front, who is one of the 33o RAFFAEL supporters, is Marc-Antonio Raimondi , ^ pupil of Raffael and an engraver: follow ing him is another secretary, with this inscription , J. Pietro de Foliariis Cremo- nens. On the wall opposite to this is S. Leo I. going out to meet Attila, and S. Peter and S. Paul appearing in the sky. S. Leo is a portrait of Leo X. the then reigning Pont iff, and allusion was probably intended to his having dispossessed Louis XII. of the states of Milan, and in fact driven him out of Italy. There is also another portrait of Leo as a cardinal: from which it is inferred, that the painting was commenced in the reign of Julius II. and finished in lhat of Leo X. Not far from the pope are three officers on horseback: the one in red , upon a white horse, is intended for Pietro Peru- gino. A building in the back-ground looks like the Colosseum; but as this scene took place near the river Miircms , it could hard ly be meant for it; though the great paint ers were not particularly scrupulous in com bining such incongruities. On one ofthe other sides is the Miracle of Bolsena ; which consisted in a priest being convinced of transubstantiation by drops of blood appearing when he broke RAFFAEL 33 1 the wafer (i). It was painted in i5i2, and Julius II. is introduced with some Car dinals. Opposite to this is the Liberation of St . Peter from prison. In this an allusion was intended to the liberation of Leo X. then Cardinal, after the battle of Ravenna. It is deserving of remark in this painting, that there are four different lights introduced. The date is i5i4- The ceiling of this room, which has suffered considerably, is also by Raffael. The third room , called La Camera del la Segnatura , was painted entirely by Raffael. This was the first apartment in which he was employed ; and the first painting is that which is generally cal led the Dispute upon the Sacrament. This title is probably erroneous: and as there are on the ceiling figures of Theology, Philoso phy, Poetry, and Jurisprudence, and the paintings under each correspond to these figures, it would seem more appropriate to call this, which was his first performance, Theology. The four Doctors of the Latin Church, Gregory, Jerom , Ambrose, and (i) Whoever wishes to read an account of similar mira cles may consult Bellartnin. de Eucbarist. lib. iii. c. 8. 332 RAFFAEL Augustin, are introduced in it, together with other divines, an altar wilh the Eu charist, and in the Heavens the Trinity and various saints. This bears marks of Raffael's early style, and will not please so much as the others. Our Saviour and the Saints have glories round their heads laid on in gold. Critics have discovered, that he began on the right-haud side of the wall; and they observe a manifest improvement in the style during the progress of the paintiug. It is also interesting from some portraits, which he has introduced. In a groupe of three figures that wliich is leaning on a marble parapet, with his right hand upon an open book, is Bramante. At the right- hand corner are two figures, and several heads behind them: one of these heads re presents Dante (i) in profile wilh a wreath of laurel, and near him St Thomas Aquinas, and Scotus. Not. far off is Savonarola, also in profile, and dressed in black. Opposite to Theology is Philosophy, or, as it is generally called, the School of Athens. Vasari erroneously styles it the1 Agreement of Philosophy and Astronomy (OThe portrait prefixed to the splendid edition of Dante printed at Rome iu 1815-7, is copied from this painting. RAFFAEL 333 with Theology. This painting has suffered like the rest; but it is still sufficiently per fect to command universal admiration. Ar chimedes, who is tracing with compasses on a tablet, is Bvamaute: the young man near to him, with his left knee upon the ground, who is looking back, and showing the figure to his companion, is Frederick II. Duke of Mantua. The two figures lo the left of Zoroaster, who may be known by the globe in his hand^are Raffael himself and his master Perugino. A youth in a white mantle, with his hand in his breast, by the side of Pythagoras, is Francesco Maria della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, and great nephew to Julius II. The original cartoon of this painting is in the Ambrosian Library at Milan. There is an old engraving of it by Giorgio Mantovano, which was retouched by Thomasin, and converted into St. Paul preaching at Atheus. Thomasin added a glory and a diadem to Plato and Aristotle. It was also engraved in i524 by Agostino Veneziano, who transformed Pythagoras into St. Mark, and the youth, who is stoop ing down with the tablet, into an Angel with the Salutation. Poetrv is represented by Mount Parnas sus, on which are Apollo, the Muses, and 7.//. i5 334 RAFFAEL various poets. Behind Homer is a portrait of Dante in profile: he is following Virgil, dres sed in a red mantle, with a cap crowned with laurel. Another head, crowned with laurel, near to Virgil, is supposed to be Raffael him self. Beneath these, and in front, is Sappho , holding in her left hand a volume inscribed wilh her name. She is turning towards a groupe of four figures, of which the woman with flowing hair, in conversation with a man and pointing to Homer, is intended for Corinna, and it is supposed that the two figures'are intended for Petrarch and Laura. The figurein front, dressed in yellow, whose face is not shown, is Ovid. On the left, cor responding with Sappho, is Pindar: in front of him is Horace. Another, with his finger on his moulh, is probably Callimachus. Behind them is Sanazzaro, without a beard. Two figures crowned with laurel are Te- baldeo and Boccaccio: the latter has no beard, and his hands are hid in his dress. This was painted in i5n. To represent Jurisprudence, Justinian is drawn giving the Digests to Tribonian, and Gregory IX. presenting the Decretals to a Consistory. The Decretals were published in five books, by Raimond de Pennafort , in 1234, at the command of Gregory IX. RAFFAEL 335 and may be considered as the foundation of that code of canon law, which the Church of Rome has acted upon ever since. They form a collection ofthe Decrees of Councils, and the Rescripts or Decretal Epistles of Popes to questions propounded upon emer gent doubts relative to matters of discipline and ecclesiastical ceremony, (i) For a Jong time a spurious Collection of Decretals was received by the Romish Church, which was said to have been made by Isidore of Hispala, who lived in the seventh century. But it has been proved, that the whole col lection could not have been made by him : and all the Decretals from Clement I. to Siricius , who was Pope in 384, are now acknowledged to be forgeries. (2) The Pope himself is a portrait of Julius II; near to him are John Cardinal de' Medici, after wards Leo X. Antonio Cardinal del Monti, Alessandro Cardinal Farnese, afterwards Paul III. The fourth room, which was painted about 1 517, contains subjects taken from the lives of those popes who bore the same name with the reigning pontiff. The prin- (1) Hallam's Middle Ages, c. ;¦ (a) A treatise has been written upon the subject by David Blondel, entitled Pseudo-lsidorus. 336 RAFFAEL cipal painting is the Fire of Borgo S. Pietro, which took place under the Pontificate of S. Leo IV. in the year 817. Borgo S. Pietro is that suburb of Rome which lies near St. Peter's: the fire came near the Vatican, and Leo extinguished it miraculously with the sign of the cross. The front of old St. Peter's is introduced, with steps leading up to it, and the balcony for the papal benediction. This painting is by many admired as much as any ofthe series: for delineation of feel ing and anatomical accuracy it certainly merits every attention. The latter excel lence may be seen particularly in two fi gures, one of whom is clinging by his hands to a wall, from which he is letting himself down, the other is drawing himself up: in both of which opposite exertions of the muscles great accuracy of drawing is ob served. The groupe ofthe man carrying off his father is by Giulio Romano. Opposite to this is the Justification of S. Leo III. before Charlemagne; in which the Pope is a portrait of Leo X. and Charle magne of Francis I.King of France. On one the other sides is the Victory gained by Leo IV. over the Saracens at Ostia, painted by Giovanni da Udine; opposite to which is the Coronation of Charlemagne, by S. Leo III. RAFFAEL 337 in the old cathedral: this was painted by Pierino del Vaga. The ceiling is by Peru gino. Other parts of the room contain paintings of those Princes who have been benefactors to the Holy See. Over one of them is writ ten, " Astulphus Rex sub Leone IV. Pont. " Britanniam Beato Petro vectigalem " facit." S. Leo IV. reigned from 847 to 855 , during which time Ethel wolf was King of England (1). Hume tells us, that he made a journey to Rome , and gave 3oo mancuses (2) a year to the See of Rome • One third of this was to support the lamps of St. Peter's; another third those of St. Paul's; and the remaining third was to go to the Pope himself (3). Some writers say , that it was Ethelwolf who agreed at this visit to pay the tribute to the See of Rome, which was called Peter's Pence, and which was continued till the time of Henry VIII. The inscription in theVatican seems toagree with this: but others contend, that the payment of Peter's Pence was established f 1 ) His name has been Latinized in various ways, — Alhul- fus, Odulfus, Ailhulfus, etc. (a) A mancus is about half a crown. (3) William of Malmesbui y , lib. ii. c. a. 338 CARTOONS in the reign of Ina in 725 (1). Over another figure in this room is " Dei non hominum " est Episcopos judicare." These figures are said to have suffered , when Rome was pillaged in 1527. Carlo Maratta was employed by Clement XL to restore them, as well as to clean all the rest. Some of the heads were restored by Sebas tiano del Piombo; and au anecdote is told of Titian, who, going to view these paintings in company with Sebastiano himself, asked him who that presumptuous and ignorant person could be, who had daubed over those faces. (2) :,, The rooms adjoining to these contain the tapestries, for which Raffael painted the Cartoons now in Hampton Court: there are also other tapestries, from designs by Raf fael, the originals of which are probably lost. Leo X. had them executed at Arras in Flanders; a place famous for its manu facture of tapestry, and which has given a name to it. The original designs were twelve (1) Mat. Westmon. ad au. 737. Ina travelled toEome.aud founded a school and church there for his countrymen : to sup port which he imposed the payment ofa penny upon every fa mily, which was called Romescot; bat this tax could ouly have been laid upon his subjects of Wessex. The East Saxons were subjected to the same payment by Ofla, in 793.. (2) Lettere Pittoriche, vol. iii. p. 384. CARTOONS 339 in number, from which two sets of tapestries were executed. The cost was 60,000 or 70,000 gold crowns. One set was hung up in the apartments of the Vatican , from whence they were carried off when Rome was plundered by the Spanish army in 1527: but Montmorenci, the French gene ral, found them, and restored them to the Pope. The one which represents Elymas struck blind by St. Paul, returned much mutilated. They were carried away agaia in 1798, when the French army en tered Rome; and some time afterwards, were found in the possession of a Jew in Paris, who had burnt two of them for the sake of the gold and silver which they con tained. The remaining ten were purchased by Pius VIL and may now be seen in their original station in the Vatican . The other set of tapestries was sent as a present by Leo X. to Henry VIII. and hung up in the banqueting room at Whitehall ; though some say that Henry purchased them from the Venetians. When Charles I. was be headed, these tapestries were sold with the rest of ihe royal collection, and purchased by the Spanish ambassador, who sent them to Spain. From thence, nine of them have again found their way into England, and 340 INSCRIPTIONS IN are now in the possession of a private in dividual. The original Cartoons remained iu Flanders, till they were purchased by Ru bens for Charles I. and were placed in the Gallery at Hampton Court by William III: but of the original twelve, only seven are now known to be in existence. For the sake of regularity, I shall now quit this part of the Vatican, and descend to the apartments of the statues. The en trance is by a long gallery, in the walls of which are let in a variety of ancient inscrip tions in Latin and Greek. The length of this gallery is about 33i yards. The inscrip tions on the left hand are mostly relating to the early Christians. Among those of the ancient Romans, few points are more striking than the gross mistakes in grammar and orthography which are to be found in many of the epitaphs. Some of those which are in verse bid equal definance to the laws of metre. A great proportion of these epi taphs relate to freedmen, and such persons whose names prove them to be of Greek origin; and some of the mistakes are such as a Greek, who had learnt the Latin lan guage imperfectly, would be likely to make. A copy of some of these inscriptions may perhaps afford amusement. THE VATICAN 34 1 BUS MAN1BVS CLAVDlAE. PISTES PRIMVS. CQN1VG1 OPTVJHAE. SAHCTAE ET. FIIE. BENEMERITAE NON. 4EQV0S. PARCAE. STATV1ST1S. STAMINA. VITAE TAH BENE. COMPOSITOS. POTVISTIS. SEDE. TENEBE AMISSA. EST. CONIVNX. CVR. EGO. ET. IPSE. MOROR SI. FELIX. ESSEM PISTE. MEA. VIVEBE. DEBVIT TRISTIA. CONTIGERVN. QVI. AMISSO. CONIVGE. VIVO NIL. EST. TAM MISERVM. QVAM. TOTAM. PEr.BERE. VITAM NEC. VITAE. NASCI. DVBA. PEREGISTIS. CRVDELIA. PENSA. SOROBES RVPTAQVE. DEFICIVNT. IN. PRIMO. MVNERE. FVSI O. N1MIS. INIVSTA13. TER. DENOS. DARE MVNVS. IN. ANNOS BECEPTVS. GRAVIVS. FATVM. SIC. PRESSIT. EGESTAS BVM. VITAM. TVI.ERO PRIMUS. PISTES. LVGEA. CON1VGIVM D. M. OTTEDIAE. ZMYRNAE. CONIVG. B. M. Q. V. ANN. XvT M. VIII. C. SALVIVS. AbASCANTTJS. FECIT. ET SIBI. ET SVIS. POSTERISQVE. EORVM HIC IACEO INFELIX ZMYRNA PVELLA TENEBRIS QVAEANNOSAETATlSAGENS SEX ET DECEMENSIBVS OCTO AMISI LVCEM ANIMAM ET RAPVERVNT FATA INIQVA CASTIOR VT PROBIOR SERVATIOR VLLA MARITO TE PRECOR HOC QVI RELEGES SIPI....S HABET VLL.OCVM (i) (0 I presume this is meant for si pi etas h abet vlla locvm. i 5* 342 INSCRIPTIONS IN SIC SIMILE TITVLVM ....TIS NON SCRIBERET OSSIS DISCEDENS DIC ZMYRNA ....E ITERVM TERET IN TV. NE. VELLIS. ALIEN A. MEMBRA INQVITARE. IACENTIS. DOLIES COMPARABIT. SIBl. QVOD. SINO CVERIS. NOCEBERIS. AB. ALIO NOMEN QVI RETINES TV MAGNVS ALEXANDER PALLADOS INVENTVM MEDIGlNALEMQVE LABOREM QVOT FECI STVDIO PRO XIMVS IPSE MEO TESTOR NVNC SVPEROS NON HOC MERVISSE VIDEBAR INVOLVENS CENORIS QVOT SVBITO DCCIDIMVS INVNC ET DVBIAS FATORVM NECLEGE CLADES CONIVNX QVOD POTVlT TIBI TVM MIHI REDDIDIT VNI THE VATICAN 343 VITB.IA. PHRTNE. VIXIT. TERSENOS. ANKOS OAR A. MEIS. VIH. SVBITO FATAIE. RAP1NA VLORENTEM. VITA. SVSTVLIT. ATRA. DIES OC. TVMVLO. NVNC. SVM. CINERES. S1MVL. HAMQVE. SACBATI PER. MATREM. CARAM. SVNT. FOSIT1QVE, ME1 QVOS. P1VS. SAEPE. COL1T. FBATER. CON1VHXQVE. PVELLAE ATQVE. OB1TVM. HOSTRVM. FLET1BVS. VSQVE. LVGENT DI. MANES ME VNVM RET1NETE. VT. VIVERE. P0SS1NT QVOS. SEMPER. C0LV1. VIVA. L1BENTE. AN1MO VT. S1KT. QVI. CINERES. NOSTROS. BENE FLORIBVS. SERTl • AEPE. ORNEHT. DICAT. SIT. M1H1. TERRA. LEVIS CLAVDIAE LAID! VXOBI CVM QVA VIXI ANN XXIII CLAVDIAE STVRE HELENE VXORICVMQVEMVrVOAB INFANTIA SINE CONTVMELIAS ANN XXXIII TI CLAVDIVS PANNYCHVS. CVM INSCRIBEREM. ARAM HABVI ANN LXXXVI From a stone containing the names of several trades, I copied these: exonebatoB CAlcarivs A remover of rubbish: a scavenger. notiTor. A green-grocer. 344 STATUE OF TIBERIUS MACISTEB ADAB1ARIVS A MINERVA MEDICA caesaris praesighator Imperial notary, (i) pistor macharivs pepsiahvs A wholesale baker. hegotianti vihario item A wine merchant. havicvlario cvr. corporis Boatman, commissioner maris hadriatici of the Adriatic sea v company. 1NVITAT0R. An agent. hvmvlarivs. Banker. lanio. Butcher. medigvs ivmektarivs Farrier and cow-leech. marmorarivs Stone-mason. Lampridius informs us that the Emperor Alexander Severus formed all the trades, into companies. In the continuation of this gallery, which contains several statues, etc. ihe one most deserving of attention is Tiberius sitting, found at Piperno, and very perfect. After enteriug the Museo Pio-Clementino , the first object of much interest is the tomb of C. L. Scipio Barbalus, which .together with several others was brought here from the tomb of the Scipios. The inscription upon it has been given in vol. i. p. 344- In the same room is the Torso di Belve dere, so much esteemed by Michel Angelo, (i; Vide Ducange. TORSO DI BELVEDERE 345 and all succeeding sculptors. Little more than the mere trunk is remaining; but even without being a sculptor, it is impossible not to admire the execution. It seems to have been a Hercules, and the name ofthe sculptor, Apullonius, son of Nestor, an Athenian, still remains. Winkelmann is enthusiastic in its praise, and thinks that it comes nearer to the sublime than the Apollo Belvedere. He considers the figure to have been sitting, with the left (i) arm over the head, and in a state of repose after labour. Visconti does not agree with this opinion; but conceives that Hercules had his arm round some other figure : and Flax- man has designed a groupe according to this idea. "Winkelmann places Apollonius among the sculptors who lived after the time of Alexander : (2) and the form of the w in ihe inscription has led others to refer this statue to the last days of the Romau Republic. The Torso was found in the Campo di Fiore. The first statue we come to of any ce lebrity is a Meleager, formerly in the Pa lazzo Pighini. The left hand is wanting, (i) Winkelmann says Ihe right arm, hut he evidently meant the left, as is pointed out by Visconti. (3) Lib. vi. c 4- S 5o 34^ MELEAGER but otherwise it is very perfect. On the right of the figure is a dog , on the left a. boar's head. It was found on the Janiculum, outside of the Porta Portese. The hand, which is broken off, may have held a hunt ing-horn. This is the case with a Meleager in the Giustiniani collection, which has the other appendages ofthe boars head and dog, like this in the Vatican . Or perhaps there was a spear in the left hand, the ex tremity of which may still be seen on the plinth. Outside of the window is a stone with twelve sides, on each of which the name of a wind is written in Greek and Latin. It was found in the Baths of Titus. There is one also at Gaeta: and two others have been described by Paciaudi (i) and Foggini (2) to which we may add the Temple of the Winds or Tower of Cyrrhestes at Athens, of which Stuart has given many engravings in his first volume. Different opinions were entertained by the ancients as to the number and names of the winds. Some made them only eight; but in general they were con sidered to be twelve. It would appear from (1) Monum. Pelop. torn. i. § 7. p. 21 5. (a) P. 173 and 408. WINDS 347 the names, that the Greeks first raised the number to twelve, and that the Romans either translated some of them, or applied local names, which in some cases has caused confusion. The ancient authors who have treated upon the subject , and given us the names of the winds, are Pliny , (1) Sene ca, (2) Aul. Gellius, (3) Vitruvius, (4) Ve- getius, (5) and Strabo. (6) Beside the testi mony of these writers, we have the Tower of Cyrrhestes at Athens, spoken of above, on the eight sides of which the names of eight winds are engraved. A. Gellius also gives the names of only eight winds, but he does not agree with the tower at Athens, as may be seen by the following table: ATHENS. A. GELLIUS N. . . Boreas. (7) . . Septemtrio, Aparctias, NE. . Ccecias Aquilo, Boreas. E. • . ApHelioles. . . Earus, Subsolanas, Aphe- liotes. SE. . Eurus Vnlturnus, Euro'iotus. S. . . Notus Anster, Not us. (1) Lib. ii. c 46. (2) Nat. Quaest. lib. V. c. 16. (3) Lib. ii. c. 22. (4) Lib. i, c. 6. (5) De Re Mil. lib. iv- c. 38. (6) Lib. i. (7) la this account of the winds, I mean all those word* 348 WINDS SW. . Lybs ktricxxt ,-Lybs. W. . . Zephyrus. . . Favonias, Zephyrus. NW. • Sciron Cauras, Argestes. Different countries undoubtedly used dif ferent terms, or affixed different significa tions to the same term; and since Pliny tells us that Sciron was a name known only at Athens, and that the wind so called was very little different from the Argestes, we need not be surprised that the tower at Athens and the Roman author do not ex actly agree. Vitruvius also only recognises eight winds; but I have not included him in the above comparison , because he tells us, that he follows the tower of Cyrrhestes, and the only difference is, that he substi tutes the Latin for the Greek names. Pliny, Seneca, and Vegetius, all agree iu makiug twelve winds: they also agree in their manner of dividing the heavens . They divide the East aud West each into three points, according to the direction in which the sun rises and sets in the summer and winter solstices, and at the equinox, (i) which are in Italics to stand for the Greek terms. (i) The Equinoxes and Solstices were fixed on the 8th Calends of April, July, October, and January: i. b. the Ver nal Equinox happened on the 25th of March, the Autnmnal on the 24th of September; the Summer Solstice on Ihe 241I1 of June, and the Winter Solstice on the 25th of September. V,'l 2.P.3--K?. / \ / ? 3 - ¦\ / >y #--^ ¦£•" 9~ WINDS 349 1, They also divide the North and South each into ihree points, but do not give any name to the two which are on either side of the Norlh and South. With respect to the names of the winds that blow from each of these points, they do not exactly agree . The annexed scheme represents the circle divid ed according to their system ; to each of which divisions I have affixed the name of the wind, with its Greek and Latin term. Where the authors differ with one another I have followed the majority : but I have taken no notice of Strabo, because he con tradicts all the rest, and must evidently be wrong. He places Eurus at ENE; Aphe- liotes at ESE; Zephyrus at WNW; and Argestes at WS W. Nor can we suppose his text to be corrupt, because he mentions Aristotle, Timosthenes, and Bio as differ ing from him; and the names which they give are placed exactly as they are by the writers quoted above. We find other names of Winds occurring o The primitive Christian Church observed the same rule: and since these four days correspond respectively with the Annun ciation to the Virgin, the conception of S. John Ihe Baptist, Ihe Nativity of the same S. John, and the Nativity of our Lord, it seems most natural to suppose that the festivals were purposely adapted to these particular days. 35o WINDS in ancient authors, which were peculiar to certain countries, such as Altanus, to the W- of S. ( Vitruvius. ) Atabulus. Apulia. ( Seneca and Pliny. ) Carbas: nearly E. (Vitruvius.) Catsegis. Pamphylia (Seneca.) Circius. Gaul. ( Seneca, Pliny, A. Gellius. ) Vegetius puts it at NWN. Euroclydon . It is mentioned only in Acts, xxvii. 1 4- The Vulgate reads Euro- aquilo. Iapyx. Calabria. ( Seneca.) Apulia. ( A. Gellius; who says that it is nearly the same as Caurus.) Vegetius makes it WNW. as he does Favonius. Meses, between Boreas and Csecias. (Pliny.) Oly mpias, nearly the same as Sciron (Pliny.) Onchesmites. SW. fromOnchesmus,a town of Epirus. (Cicero ad Att. lib. vii. ep. 2. ) Sciron. Athens. ( Tower of Cirrhestes, Se neca. Pliny tells us, that it is nearly the same as Argestes: and so A. Gellius makes it. ) Subvesperus. S. of W. (Vitruvius. ) The room, which has caused this digres sion, leads into an octagonal court, filled AMAZONS 35 1 with statues , bas-reliefs , marble pillars , immense baths of granite, porphyry, etc. which are all interesting, but contain nothing peculiarly worth mentioning. In some of the bas-reliefs the battle between Thesus and the Amazons is described; in which it will be observed, that those warlike dames have not submitted to the operation which is generally said to have given them their name. The same may be observed throughout the frieze containing the same subject, among the Phigalian marbles in the British Museum. Mitford, in his History of Greece, (i) has a judicious note upon the story of the Amazons: he says. " that Ama- " zon was a Greek name signifying breast- 11 less, appears to have been a late and an " unfounded imagination." He also remarks, that Herodotus calls these women Amazo- nids (2) thus implying, that he considered the name Amazon as applicable to men equally as to women. This latter remark, however, does not contain so much force as it appears to do. For though Herodotus uses the term Amazonids in this place, yet every where else he calls them as usual Amazons , (1) Vol x. p. 400. (2) 'AftaiJoWas, lib. ix, e. 27: we find Amazom'dum io Propertius, lib. iii. el. 14 > '3. 352 CANOVA and evidently considers them as women,(i) It is singular that Hippocrates adopts the usual etymology of the word Amazon. (2) Out of this court are the rooms containing the most celebrated statues. In the first are three modern ones by Canova. They were placed here while the aucient ones were at Paris; and since the restoration of the latter they have not been removed. Standing thus by the side of the noblest works of ancient sculpture, they must necessarily challenge a comparison. In the Perseus, which is the finest of the three, some imitation of the Belvedere Apollo may perhaps be observed. The other two are Creugas and Damoxenus, of whom the following story , as related by Pausanias (3) is perhaps necessary to under stand their attitudes. Creugas and Damox enus , two noted pugilists, the former of Dyrrachium, the latter of Syracuse, had fought all day without coming to any de cision. They at length agreed that each should stand to receive the blow ofthe other, in whatever part it might come. Creugas (1) E- g. lib. iv. c. no. (2) Galen Comm. in Aphorism. 43. 5 7- Hippocr. de Aquis, etc- c. t^i. This subject is discussed by Bryant, Mythol. voL iii. p. 457: and by Freret, Mem. Acad. vol. xxi. p. 106. (3) Lib. ii. CANOVA 353 accordingly let his fist fall upon the head of his antagonist. Damoxenus then told him to keep his hand still; and running at him with the fingers of his own hand stretched out, he thrust them into his side, and drew thern out again, followed by the bowels of his rival. Creugas immediately died ; but the prize was adjudged to him, and Damox enus was banished. In these two figures there is vast force of expression, but it is not pleasing, and the attitude of one of them seems very unna tural. The colour of these statues cannot fail to be observed: it is noticed in all Ca- nova's works, and he is said lo use some preparation, lo take off from the fresh ap pearance ofthe marble. The ancients seem to have had some custom of this kind. Vi truvius tells us, (1) that a preparation of wax and oil was laid upon the statues in a liquid state with a brush; when the marble was thus covered, fire was applied to it, and afterwards it was rubbed with tallow (can- dela) and linen. But he does not say whether this was done to give a brightness to new statues or to repolish old ones. Pliny cer tainly says, (2) that when the statues were (1) Lib. vii. c. 9- (2) Lib. xxxvi. c. 7. 354 ANTINOUS finished they were rubbed over with a stone called Naxos (because it was prepared at Naxos in Crete, but it came from Cyprus Afterwards, emery and tripoli were used; and last of all, the instrument was passed over the whole of them. , In the other room is the Belvedere An tinous, though some have lately changed its name to Mercury without much reason. The wings, the Caduceus, and every other em blem of Mercury, are wanting. The coun tenance also certainly resembles that which is usually given lo Antinous. If this notion be correct, we may fairly cite this statue, as a proof that the arls were still flourishing, and that there were sculptors almost equal to any of their predecessors in the time of Hadrian. In fad, we know that the arts, which had languished and were fast ap proaching to decay under the preceding em perors, experienced a temporary revival under Trajan and Hadrian . The latter in particular encouraged architecture and sculpture through the whole of his domin ions. Athens was embellished by him with splendid edifices, and sculpture once more found a congenial soil in Greece. Though we may ridicule or pity him for raising statues to Antinous as a god, yet there is ANTINOUS 355 no doubt that great encouragement must have been given to talent, in attempting to please the emperor by representations of his favourite. The Villa at Tivoli and the Mausoleum at Rome were of themselves enough to call forth genius: and tlie ac counts we have of them, as well as the actual remains, show that the call was obeyed. With respect to Antinous, of whom so many busts are in existence, we know that he was a native of Bithynia. He died A. D. 129, being drowned in the Nile, and it was believed, that he offered himself a voluntary sacrifice for Hadrian. For that emperor, having consulted the Augurs, was told, that he should learn his destiny in the en trails ofa victim, wliich was dearest to him. Upon which Antinous offered himself, and was drowned in the Nile. "Hadrian built a city on the spot, and called it after the name of his favourite: his statues and busts were spread in every country, and divine ho nours were very generally paid to him. (1) The celebrated Visconti thought the sta- (1) A Treatise has been written upon the worship. of An tinous by Riencourt, wheie all the placesare mentioned, where il was introduced, aud the authors who make any mention of it. Vide Dio, lib. lxix. Spartiauus , Aureliua Victor, Euse- bius His.' Eccl. lib. iv. c. 8. « 356 ANTINOUS tue to be a Mercury: and Addison tells us , that he had seen a gem, which represented Antinous in the habit of Mercury (t); so that both notions may be correct. It has also been called Meleager, and was found near the Church of S. Martino, upon the Esqui- line hill, in the sixteenth century, during the reign of Paul III. and not in the Mau soleum of Hadrian, as some have said. It is a most beautiful statue,, but the right arm and left hand are wanting. TheLaocoon occupiesanother apartment. This wonderful groupe astonishes more and more upon every inspection; and though not so pleasing as the Apollo, it will perhaps be considered a more surprising effort in a sculptor to have produced the Laocoon. It was found in the baths of Titus during the pontificate of Julius II. and some account of it may be seen in an original letler still extant from Cesare Trivulzio to, Pomponio Trivulzio, dated July i5o6. (2) The place of its discovery seems clearly to identify it with that which is described by Pliny. (3) He represents the whole groupe as being cut out of one block, and gives it the pre- (1) He appearsalsoas Apollo, Bacchus, Osiris, Haipocratcs. (2) Letlere Pittoriche, vol. iii. p. 321. (3) Lib. xxxvi. c. 5. LAOCOON 357 eminence over every other work of sculp- turei His words are these: " There are many " sculptors , whose fame is less generally " spread, because the number of artists em- " ployed made against their celebrity in " great works; for there is no one person to " enjoy the renown, and where there are " more than one, they cannot all obtain an " equal name:asfor instance in the Laocoon, " which is in the palace of the Emperor " Titus, a work which may be preferred to " all others either in painting or statuary. " The whole was made out of one block, the " father, his children, and the wonderful " folds of the serpents, according to a vote " ofthe council, by Agesander, Polydorus, "and Athenodorus, Rhodian Sculptors of " the first rank." Winkelmann supposes Agesander to have been father of the other two, and to have lived about the time of A- lexander (1). A Roman citizen, by nameFe- lice de Fredis, (who has a monument in the church of Ara Celi,) had the good fortune to discover this precious relic in the year i5o6, and he refused to sell it to the Car dinal of S. Pietro in Vincoli for 600 scudi. (1) Lib vi. c. 3. § 9- If soj it 's by no means improba ble, that the three figures are portraits of the three sculptors. T. Jl. 16 358 LAOCOON The Pope, however, was more successful , and erected a kind of chapel for it in the grounds of Belvedere. Winkelmann informs us, (1) that Julius II. had assigned a pension to Fredis and his son upon the duties pay- ble at the gate of St. John Lateran. Leo X. restored these duties to the church, and gave Fredis the office of apostolic secretary. This was in 1517. Michel Angelo denied Pliny's assertion of its being cut out of one block. Giovanangelo and Michel Christofano , two celebrated sculptors, agreed in this opinion, and pointed out three or four joinings, but they were united so admirably, that it would re quire a most experienced person to discover them. Winkelmann, speaking of the an cients joining different parts of their statues together, says, that we may see a piece of iron used for this purpose in the Laocoon , where it is placed behind the base (a).- But his annotator Fea says, that there is no such piece of iron to be discovered in this groupe, except one , which connects the left arm of the father with the right arm of one of his sons, wliere the marble had been broken; (i) Lib. vi. t. 3. S io. note. (2) Lib. iv. c. 7. § 29. LAOCOON 359 but this he says, is not ancient. He adds, (1) that three separate pieces can be clearly made out: the figure ofthe eldest son, which is on the left-hand, is one; the upper half of Laocoon himself, down to the knees, is another; and ihe rest of the groupe seems to be in one. (2) The left foot of the eldest son is longer than the olher. Disputes have arisen as to the author of the Restorations. There is a common report that Michel Angelo began an arm in mar ble for the larger figure, but left it unfinish ed , " Because , as he said , he found he " could do nothing worthy of so admirable a "piece. " (3) Vinkelmann asserts this, and adds, that he had intended lo make the arm bend back, so as to come over the head of the statue. It is certain, that an arm of this kind formely lay near the statue, but whe ther it was the work of Michel Angelo is at least doubtful . Winkelmann makes Bernini to have formed the arm, which we now see in Terra Cotta. Heyne (4) denies this; al- (1) Note to lib. vi. c. 3 § n. (2) Tbe Catalogue of the Louvre says , that there are five pieces- (3) Spence's Anecdotes, p. 86. (4) In his Collection of Essays upon differeut subjects of antiquity. 36o LAOCOON leging for his reason, that Bernini was not born till 1598; but in the engraving ofthe groupe, published by Marlianiin i544> 'he figure is represented as restored.. This how ever is no direct evidence against Bernini, as the engraver may have supplied the de ficiency from his own imagination, or Ber nini's restoration may have succeeded to a former one. We have however some certain evidence upon the subject. Vasari in his Life of Baccio Bandinelli, tells us, that this sculptor made an arm for the figure of Lao- coon in wax in the year i525. He followed this in his own copy of the groupe, which is now at Florence, and it is the same as what Marliani engraved in i544- Vasari also tells us, that Giovanangelo Montorsoli restored the right arm in marble by order of Clement VII. after i532. This is the arm, of which Winkelmann speaks, as not having been finished, and lying near the statue. It may have been attributed to Michel Angelo, from the similarity of the name. The ques tion still remains ; who formed the arm in terra cotta which we now see upon the statue? It may have been Bandinelli himself, or it may have been Bernini; but it is not mentioned in either of the lives written of him by his son, and by Baldinucci. We LAOCOON 36 I know, that the arms of the two children were restored by Agostino Cornacchini of Pistoja, but they are not much admired. He followed the copy of Bandinelli, and an en graving on wood made by Titian, in which he had turned the figures into three apes , to ridicule Bandinelli, who had boasted of producing a copy superior to the original. In the Camera Madama are two groupes of the Laocoon: the smaller is ofa different design from the famous Laocoon: but the larger groupe is just like it. It has the arm, which is wauling in the other; and Bandi nelli followed it in the copy, which he made of this groupe at the end of the gallery at Florence, (i) There was also a gem in the collection at Paris, where the groupe very nearly resembled this; and the right arm of Laocoon is bent, as M. Angelo intended his restoration to be. (2) Many criticisms have been bestowed upon this work: among which it is said , that the father seems to be feeling his own sufferings more than those of his sons: a remark which does not make the expression really less na tural, though it may not be so heroic. Win- (i) Spence's Anecdotes, p. 227. (2) It is engraved in the Work of Marietti, torn- ii. pl-cp 362 LAOCOON kelmann admires the statue, for expressing the exact contrary of this. It is however not unjust to say, that the bodies of the father and his sons are relatively out of proportion: for if the sons are viewed separately, they by no means present the idea of boys, but of men; whereas the father is so much lar ger, that either he must be a giant, or his sons dwarfs. The height of the whole groupe is eight palms nine inches. The celebrated passage in Virgil certain ly does not apply to this groupe: at primum parva duornm Corpora natoram serpens am plexus uterque Implicat, et miseros morsu clepascitur artus; Post ipsum, aaxilio suheuntem acteta ferentern, Corripiant, spirisqae ligant ingentibus; et jam Bis medium amplexi, bis collo squamea circum Terga dati, soperant capite et cervicibus altis. I lie simul manibus tendit divellere nodos. JEo. ii. 21 3. Still less does a passage in Petronius Arbiter agree with the work of theRhodian sculp tors. It occurs in his Satyricon. c. 89. infulis stabant sacri Pbrygioque caltu gemina nati pignora Laocoonte, quos repente tergoribns ligant Angues corusci: parvulas illi manus LAOCOON 363 Ad ora referunt; neuter anxilio sibi, Uterque fratri transtulit pias vices, Morsque ipsa miseros mutuo perdit metu. Accumulat ecce liberum funus parens, Inlinnus aaxiliator: invadunt virurn Jam morte pasti, membraque ad terram trahunt. Jacet sacerdos inter aras victima Terramque plangit. The preceding chapter contains a discourse upon the decay of the art of painting; and the Poem, to which these verses belong , seems to be descriptive ofa picture, called The Taking of Troy; from which we may infer, that the painter certainly did not consult the work of the sculptor for his ideas. Virgil seems in the same manner to have drawn from his own imagination in describing the scene; or he may have fol lowed writers who preceded him: for Servius quotes Bacchylides , as having mentioned the story; and adds, that Euphorion wrote a tragedy upon it. We know also, that So phocles wrote a tragedy called Laocoon: (i) and Lycophron, who was much earlier than Virgil, (2) alludes to it (3) In fact, it seems to have been a favourite subject with the (0 Vide Harpocration iu 'Ayuiews (2) He flourished 3c>4, A. C. (3) Cassandra, v. 347- 364 BELVEDERE APOLLO ancients . Quintus Calaber has several verses upon it; (i) and Hyginus (2) even tell us, that the names of his two sons were Antiphas and Thymbraeus: but Servius calls them Ethron andMelanthus. Hyginus makes Laocoon to have been son of Acaetes and brother of Anchises, whereas Tzetzes (3) calls him son of Antenor. What is more extraordinary, even the snakes have found names: for Lycophron calls one Porces, and Tzetzes tells us, that the other's name was Gharibsea. In the last room of this series is the ce lebrated Belvedere Apollo, of wliich so much has been said , and every description fails in conveying an adequate idea of its extraordinary beauty. It was found at An- tium towards the end of the fifteenth cen tury. The fingers of the right hand are in plaister: and the left hand is a modern re storation by Govanangelo Montorsoli; a pupil of Michel Angelo: the right arm and leg are ancient, but have been badly joined on, so that the knee seems rather turned in. Both ankles have been broken; and an ac- (1) 388- 409. (2) Fab. 1 35. (3; Ad Lycophron. BELVEDERE APOLLO 365 cident, which happened to it in its journey from Paris has been clumsily repaired. A variety of opinions has been expressed as to the character in which Agasias meant to represent Apollo. Speuce (i) conceived him to be a hunter. Visconti recognizes a statue, made by Calamis, and described by Pausanias, (2) which the Athenians erected to Apollo in his medical capacity after the great, plague. Other opinions are, that he has just defeated the giant Tityus; that he has expended all his arrows against the Achaeans; that he has been slaying the giants, Niobe, and her children, or the faith less Coronis. Such are some ofthe conjec tures to which this wonderful statue has given rise. (3) The prevailing opinion how ever is , that he has just slain the serpent Python , and this is the idea of Winkel mann. He certainly appears from the atti tude, and from the fragment of a bow in his left hand, to have just discharged an arrow: but it must be remembered, that this hand is modern: a quiver is on his back, and his feet are exactly in the attitude ofa per- sou who has drawn his bow, and is watching (t) PoTymetes, Dial. viii. p 87. (a) Lib. i- c. 3. (3; Vide Winkelmann, lib. vi. c. G. s. 5i, etc- 16* 366 BELVEDERE APOLLO the progress of his arrow. A snake is twist ed round the trunk, on which his right arm rests. Winkelmann is elevated into a strain of enthusiasm in describing this statue, which perhaps nothing but the Apollo Belvedere would save from being called rhapsody. He thinks it probable, that it was one of the numerous statues which were brought from the temple at Delphi by Nero. I have read some where,. but cannot remember the au thority , that it has been supposed to be the statue, which the Carthaginians carried off from the temple of iEsculapius at Agrigen- tum, and which was restored by Scipio. There is however no such statue mentioned by Cicero in his speech against Verres, where we might have expected to find it (i). After all these conjectures as to the de sign and history of this unrivalled statue, it remains that we should notice an opinion, which some have ventured to entertain, that after all it is merely a copy. They observe, that the marble is from the quar ries at Carrara, not from those of Paros: and Pliny says, (2) that the quarries of (1) Act. ii. lib. 4. (2) Lib. xxxvi. c. 4- BELVEDERE APOLLO 36^ Luna (i, e. Carrara) had not been discover ed long before his time, but that the marble was much whiter than that of Paros. It ap pears however from his own work,(i) that they were open in the time of Julius Csesar. The celebrated Canova thought that the original was of bronze: alleging in justifi cation of this opinion, that statues of that material have a certain style different from those in marble; aud that the Apollo Bel vedere, particularly the drapery, appears to have been copied from bronze (2). Vi sconti on the other hand will not allow, that the Apollo is made of Carrara marble. He contends, that it came from some Gre cian quarry , though not from those of Pen- telicus or Paros. He also remarks it as a cir cumstance rather singular, that the names of Apollonius, Glycon and Agasias, who have left us three of the most celebrated specimens of ancient sculpture, are not mentioned by those writers who have given us histories of the art (3). If they were real- (1) Ibid. c. 7. (2) Vide Dodwell's Travels in Greece, vol. i. p. 177. (3) A Mars in the Louvre has upon it the name of Ihe Sculptor Heraclides son of Agasias of Ephesus. The fighting Gladiator, also at Paris, which was found at Antium, has upon it the name of the sculptor , Agasias of Ephesus , sou of Dosilheus. It should be mentioned, that there is no direct evidence of Agasias being the sculptor of the Apollo. 368 BELVEDERE APOLLO ly not held in high esteem , what must we think of the works of those who excelled them, and which are lost? Addison tells us, that there are represent ations of the Apollo , the Hercules Far- nese, and ihe Venus de' Medici, upon me dals of Antoninus Pius, Commodus, and Faustina respectively; nor are they to be seen upon any earlier coins (1) : from which lie is " apt to think, they are all of them " the product of that age. " Critics have observed, that one leg ofthe Apollo is longer than the other, and that the head is awkwardly placed between the shoulders (2). The height is exactly nine palms, eight oncie; or with the plinth, nine palms, eleven oncie. It has been remarked, that there is a great resemblance in the style of this statue to that of the Diana in the Louvre. Out of this court we pass into a larger apartment , filled with various animals of Greek and Roman sculpture. The floor is composed of curious and handsome Mosaics, mostly found at Palestrina, the ancient Prameste. We know , that the sculptors of (1) In the Nouveau Voyage d' ltalie there is mention of a coin of Nero with the Hercules Faruese on the reverse. (2) Barry, yol. i. p. 449- MITHRAS 369 Greece paid particular attention to the stu dy of animals, and some of them excelled particularly ^in— this department. Calami/ was celebrated for representing horses (1), and Nicias for dogs (2). We may find men tion of dogs particularly well executed in other passages of Pliny (3). The cow of Myron is well known (4) : and Praxiteles had a living lion placed before him to co py (5). Out of Rome, we need only mention the lion at Venice, which came from the Piraeus at Athens, and the boar at tbe en trance of the gallery at Florence. Among the animals , one groupe is sure to be observed , which is repeated more than once in this collection, and is called Mithras. With little variation they all con sist of the following figures. A man with his head turned back rests his left knee upon a bull , while he places his left hand upon the bull's nose, and with his right plunges a sword into the bull's right shoulder; a dog licks up ihe blood which falls; a ser pent is represented below, and au eagle above. The whole is a Persian allegory, and (1) Plin. lib. xxxiv. c. 8. (2) Plin. lib. xxxv. c. 11. (3) Vide lib. xxxiv. t. 7 and 19; lib. xxxv. c. 10. (4) Vide Plin. lib. xxxiv. c. 8. (5)_lhid. lib. xx&vi. c. 5. 3^0 MITHRAS one ofthe interpretations is as follows. Mi thras was a title of the sun. The bull is the earth, which Mithras or the sun is fertiliz ing with heat, and penetrating with his influence in the sign of Taurus. The dog denotes, that all things are nourished by the sun's influence upon the earth; beside which, Canis is properly placed next to Taurus. The bull's tail terminates in ears of corn , to denote fecundity. De la Chausse, who has described this Museum, (i) says of another part of this groupe, " Virtus " Solaris in Tauro invalescens incipit de^ " ficere in Cancro, virtusque genitalis pau- " latim in illo comprimitur. " Another wri ter says, " Scorpium juxta Genitalia ad So- " lem in Scorpio refert, mense scilicet Oc- " tobri , quo semina remisso vigore propter " frigus concluduntur. " Bread and water were administered at the mysteries of Mi- thra, in a manner similar to the Christian Sacrament (i). This room leads into a long gallery, fill ed with statues and other antiquities, many of which are much deserving of notice. Two sitting figures, of the comic poets Posidip- (i) Museum Romanum, a vol. Roma 1746- (2) Justin Martyr, Apol. i. 66 Tertult. de Pra3scr. Hoer. c. 4°- ANCIENT BUSTS 37 1 pus and Menander, are perhaps most so. They were found in the time of Sextus V. in a round building near the Church of S- Pudentiana. The recumbent figure at the opposite end, which has been called a Cleo patra and an Ariadne by different critics, is also a chef-d'oeuvre. The name of Cleo patra has been given ^o it , because the bracelet has resemblance to a serpent: but the other conjecture is most probable. The head is modern. At one extremity is a great collection of busts, some of which are known, but a greater number are not so. We need not be astonished at the immense quantity of ancient busts which have been discovered. Pliny tells us, (i) that in his time it was a common custom to change the heads of illustrious persons and fit on new ones; so that the trade of making busts must have been one wliich was in great request: and Chrysostom (2) reproaches the Rhodians for their economy in dedicating the same statues to different persons, defacing the original inscriptions. Beside this even in the finest statues it was sometimes custom- (1) Lib. xxxv. c. 2. (2) Or. Rhod. 3i. 3^2 SOCRATES ary to work the heads separate from the rest, and join them on. This is the case in the statues of Niobe and her children at Florence (i). The Hall of the Muses contains much the best collection of those ladies which I have seen. Eight of them were found in the ruins ofthe Villa of Cassius, near to Tivoli, a- bout the year 1 774- Beside them, there are several busts of philosophers, some of which, from having their names and sayings under them, are unquestionably authentic. These are, Socrates, Zeno, Periander, Pittacus, Bias, Pericles, Anthisthenes, beside many which are mutilated. With respect to the bust of Socrates, it may be curious to show the exact agreement which his features bear to the descriptions in ancient authors. " So- " crates was said to resemble Silenus in his " looks; for he was flatnosedand bald (2)." " Now do not be angry with me: he was " not handsome, but he resembled you in " the flatness of his nose and in the exte- " rior of his eyes " (3). " A person would " be a fool , who was to put such a ques- (1) Winkelmann , lib. iv. c. 7. s. 10. (a) Schol. iu Aristoph. Nub. 223. (3) Plato, Theset. S. CONSTANTlA 373 " tion as this, Whether any one had a " flatter nose than Socrates (3)? " Iu a circular room put of this, which is 61 feet in diameter and extremely beauti ful, is a magnificent cup of porphyry, 46 feet in circumference, found in the Baths of Titus. The sides of the room are orna mented with very fine statues , and the floor contains the largest ancient mosaic extant. It was found at Otricoli^ anciently Ocriculum, on the road to Florence. The next room to this is in the shape of a Greek cross, and excessively rich in mar bles. Among its contents, the most striking are two Sarcophagi of red porphyry, of a great size, and ornamented with bas-reliefs, which are extremely perfect ^ but ill exe cuted. One contained the ashes of S. Con- stantia, daughter of Constantine, and was found in the mausoleum dedicated to her by that emperor, near the Church of S. Agnese, on the road leading from the Porta Pia. This is a very curious building, being (i) Athenaeus , lib. v. c. 6o. ( ed. Sweigh. ) The same ac count also is given by Plato, Sympos.; Lucian, Dial. Mort.; Xenophon.Sympos. ; and Synesius, Calvitii Encomium. From a passage in Cicero , it would seem that there were cranio- logists in those days : " Zopyrus et stupidum esse Socratem '* dixit et bardum, quod jugula concava non haberet; ob- «' structas eas partes et obturatas esse dicebat. " De Fato,c.a. 374 S- CONSTANTLY of a circular form and ornamented with ancient mosaics. It is thought to have been erected first as a baptistery to the neigh bouring Church of S. Agnese, (1) which was also built by Constantine, and afterwards to have been converted into a mausoleum to his daughter. We have certain evidence that many of Constantine's family were buried in a mausoleum on this road (2). The Sarcophagus is probably much older than the time ofConstantine. Paul II. was removing it to the Lateran, to serve for his own tomb, when he died; and his suc cessor, Sextus IV. restored it to its ori ginal place, from whence it was taken to the Vatican. It should be mentioned, how ever, that some consider the building to be much older, and call it a Temple of Bacchus. The capitals of the columns (3) are certainly in a style of elegance superior to the age of Constantine. Constantia died in 354- The other Sarcophagus contained the remains of S. Helena, mother ofConstan tine, and came from her mausoleum upon the road out of the Porta Maggiore. This (1) Anastasius, Platina, $ylvest. (2} Ammian. lib. xxi. c. i. {3) They are engraved by Desgodela. S. HELENA 375 mausoleum is now called Tor Pignattara , from the earthen vessels, pignatte, which are seen in the roof of this building, as in the Circus of Caracalla, and other ruins. Anastasius IV. removed the Sarcophagus to the Lateran, intending it for his own tomb. Pius VI. moved it to its present place. Some doubts have been raised whether this can really be the Sarcophagus of Helena ; for. Nicepliorus says, (1) that she was buried iu a round temple, out of thecily of Rome, in a marble urn, which was removed two years after to Constantinople. But as He lena died in 327, and Nicepliorus did not live till the fourteenth century, later writers have preferred the tradition which makes this the Sarcophagus of the Empress Saint. Cedrenus also says expressly, that she was buried in a tomb of porphyry. He adds, that Constantine was afterwards laid in the same: but Socrates tells us, that the body of Helena was removed to Constantinople two years after its interment (2). There is an inscription in this room, behind the tomb of Helena, which I have never yet seen cited, but which, if genuine, (i)"Lib. viii. c. 3i. (3) Lib. i. c. 1 3, 376 EPITAPH OF is of some interest in illustrating a fact , which was doubtful even in the days of Livv- I say, if it be genuine: for from the silence of antiquaries upon the subject and from the terms of the inscription itself, which is not altogether in the style of an cient epitaphs, I cannot help having sus picions. (1) However, I have never seen the least evidence of its being forged, and it holds its place in the Vatican among the most authentic remains. It purports to be the epitaph of Syphax King of Numidia, who was brought to Italy by Scipio Africanus to grace his triumph: but Livy says, (2) that he was saved this disgrace by dying at Tibur, whither he had been sent by the Se nate. He adds, however, that according to the account of Polybius he actually was led in triumph. Livy's words are these: " Sy- " phax was withdrawn rather from the gaze *' of the multitude, than from the glory of " the conqueror, by dying a little before " the Triumph at Tibur , whither he had u been removed from Alba. His death, how- " ever, drew notice, since he was b.uried (1) Nibby tells us, that it was found in the fifteenth cen tury, in the ruins ofa Villa not far from Tivoli; but he justly calls it " apocryphal." (l) Lib. xxx. c- ult. SYPHAX 377 11 with a public funeral. Polybius, a writer: " by no means to be slighted, says that " this King was led in Triumph ". Polybius adds, that he died in prison: and if we be lieve Claudian, he swallowed poison, haurire venena Corapulimus dirum Syphacem. but no other author mentions this; and the critics think we should read Annibalem.(i) The inscription touches upon the question of his being led in triumph; and I think that the following copy may be relied upon as preserving the abbreviations and stops exactly as they are iu the original. SYPHAX NVMIDIAE REX A : SCPIONE. AFRC. IVR. BEL. CAVSA ROM. IN RIUMPH. SVMORNV CAPTIVS. PERDVCTVS INTIBVRTINO. TERM. RELEGATV SVAMQSERVIT-V-INANIREVOL. SVPREM. B. CLAVSIT ETATIS, ANN. XLVIII. M. VI. B XI CAPTIVITS. V. OBRVT P. C. SCPIO. CONDITOSEPVL The abbreviations are perplexing ; and not (1) Vide Claud, de Bello Gildon. 91. Ovid makes the middle syllable of Syphacem long: Fast. lib. vi. 769. So does Propertius, lib. iii. el. 1 1, 5g. 378 EPIT. OF S1PHAX usual: but perhaps some of them may be written at length in the following manner. SYPHAX. NVMIDIAE. REX A. SCIPIONE. AFRlCANO. IVRIS. BELLI CAVSA ROMAM. IN TRIVMPHVM. SVVM. ORNANDVM CAPTIVVS. PERDVCTVS IN. TIBVRTINORVM. TERRIS. RELEGATVS (1) SVAMQVE. SERVITVTEM. IN. ANIMO. REVOLVENS SVPREMAM. DIEM. CLAVSIT AETATIS. ANNO. XLVIII. MENSE. VI. DIE. XI CAPTIVITATIS. VI. OBRVTVS P. C. SCIPIONE. CONDITORE. SEPVLCRI After all, the question between Polybius and the other Roman historians is not satis factorily decided by this document, though I should rather cite it on the side of Poly bius. The age of Syphas, which unfor tunately is not ofthe slightest importance, is perhaps the only fact proved by it. It may be mentioned, that the inscriptions from the tomb of the Scipios, which are nearly contemporary with thesupposed date of this, contain scarcely any abbreviations; and in a list of the inscriptions found at Tivoli there is no mention of this. To which (1) Or tibvrtiho. territorio Territorium is a classical S'ord: vid- Cic. 2. Philip, 40. and Plin. lib. xxix c 6. CHARIOTEERS 379 it may be-added, that a genuine inscription of that day would hardly give to Scipio the surname of Africanus. He certainly did not assume it before his Triumph; and at what- ' ever time Syphax died, he did not long survive it. After ascending a very handsome stair case, we come into a room called that of the chariot, from an ancient one of marble, wliich is preserved here. Two horses also in marble are yoked to it, and the whole has the appearance of being very perfect: but unfortunately only the car itself, not the wheels, and the body of one of the horses, are ancient; all' the rest are modern ad ditions, but well executed. In some bas- reliefs, which represent the games of the Circus, there are generally some figures lying prostrate under the legs ofthe horses, wliich are running. The antiquaries have made out the extraordinary explanation, that they were people who threw them selves down in the way of the chariots, that the drivers might show tlieir skill in pass ing over them. The drivers will also be ob served with the reins lapped round iheir bodies in several folds, a custom which pre- valied in the games of the Circus; and which may explain the misfortune, wliich 380 DISCOBOLUS OF MYRON would otherwise seem difficult to bave hap pened, in the account ofthe death of Ores tes. He is said to have been " rolled from " the chariot and to have been entangled " with the reins, "(i) The custom seems to be expressly noticed in the Hippolitus of Euripides, as some of the Commentators have perceived. The poet makes Hippolytus to have tied the reins to his body behind, that he might have greater command over the horses: and when he is thrown out ofthe chariot, he is represented as"en- " tangled in the reins, and bound in an in- " dissoluble knot"(2). The Tragedy of Sene ca confirms still more strongly this inter pretation. . Praeceps in ora fusus implicuit cadens Laqueo tenaci corpus, et quanto magis Pugnat, scquaces hoc magis nodos ligat. (3) There is here also a Discobolus, which has the name of Myron upou it: but it is not supposed to be the work of that great artist, who flourished in the eighty- seventh Olympiad , and worked chiefly in bronze :it is probably a copy from one (OSopb. Elect. 748. (2) Vide 1222 and 1236 Ed Beck. (3) Compare Ovid. Met. xv. 524: and Fast, vi- 743. See also Marklaud ad Eurip. Sup. 689. DISCOBOLUS OF MYRON 38 1 of his statues; and we know, that even wilh the ancients it was a common prac tice to put the name of some great sculp tor upon ordinary statues. Phaedrus tells us this: (i) Ut quidam artifices nostro faciunt saeculo, Qui pretium operibus ma jus inyeniunt, novo Si marmori ascripserunt Praxitelen suo, Trito Myrouem argento. Fabulae exeant Adeo fucatse; plus vetustis nam favet invidia mordax quam bonis prasentibus. The Catalogue of the Louvre says, that the name of Myron was added by the modern artist , who restored the statue. Pliny when speaking of Myron's works in bronze, (2) expressly mentions the Discobolus. Lucian also, who describes it, (3) implies that it was in bronze. It was placed in the vesti bule of a palace at Athens ; and as Lucian mentions ha ving seen it , it was in existence after the reign of Trajan . There is reason to think, that a great abundance of copies was made from it. There is oue at Florence, a tprso in (the capitol, and another in Engiland. This iu the Vatican , which is antique with exception of part ofthe right (1) Lib. v. in prol. (2) Lib. xxxiv. c 8. (3) Philopseud. s. 18. N T. II. 17 382 DISCOBOLUS OF MYRON leg, was found in the Villa Palombara on the Esquiline Hill, in the year 1781. The passage in Lucian alluded to above may convince us, that this is really a copy from the celebrated Discobolus of Myron,, and from no other; for it is that which Lucian is describing. He makes him stooping down, like one about to throw the quoit, turning his face back towards the hand which holds, it; and bending the left foot a little back, as if he was going to rise with the cast. Quintilian also (1) seems to allude to the strained attitude of the statue. Some parts of this copy were either not finished , or have suffered by time, as the left foot, the right knee, and part ofthe neck. When it was found, there was a piece of marble at tached to the right thigh, which supported the right arm : this has been removed. On the block which supports this statue we may see the ancient strigilis or scraper used in the baths. This apartment is the termination of the Museo Pio-Clementino, which it is impos sible to have passed through without admir ing the magnificence of the two pontiffs, who gave their name to it. The fame of (1) Inst. lib. ii. <.. i3. pius vi 383 Clement XIV. has however entirely merged in that of Pius VI. who built the Museum, and whose name is placed on almost every article preserved in it. Munificentia Pii Sexti meets us at every turn, as do the arms of Braschi, lo which family the pope belonged. This certainly exposes Pius VI. to the charge of vanity; and the Romans, who are always given to sarcasm, used it on one occasion as a reproof to their sovereign . In the time ofa scarcity, the bread, though it did not rise in price, was greatly reduced in the size ofthe loaves. The people thought, that part of the revenue might have been better applied to relieve their exigences, than to ornament the Vatican. Accordingly Pasquin appeared one morning with a loaf in his hand of the smallest dimensions, over which was written Munificentia Pii Sexti. Returning from the room of the Chariot, we enter a gallery the whole length of which is i,o4i feet; but it is not properly one gal lery, but a series of rooms, which are open to each other. Four of them are filled with works of ancient sculpture; and then comes a gallery 420 feet U1 length, the walls of which are painted with maps of dif ferent parts of Italy, executed by Ig»a_ 384 rivs V1 zio Danti in i58i. These are rudely done, but are well worth examining. This gal lery connects with the rooms already de scribed, in which the tapestries of Raffael are hung. a St ED 33JS Adrian, vide Hadrian. 5. Agnese . . . ... ii. 288 Alaric i. i3 i5 Albunia i. 56 Amazons ii. 3 5 1 Ambones . . . . ii. 247 263 Amphitheatre of St. Taurus, i. 69 Amphitheatres . . . ii. 5i Arqphitheatrum Castrense i. io3 S. Andrew ii. 202 Anio ........ i. 1 12 — novas . . . . i. 49 IT7 Antinous . i. 160 ii, 354 Apollo Belvedere. . . ii. 364 ApoIIodorus . . i. 235 23^ 271 Approach to Rome . . i- 5 Aqueducts . . . i 46-53 402 Aqua Appia ....). 47 Felice i. 49 Giulia . . . . i. 4S 402 Mania. • . . i. 48 402 — — Tepula ... . ibid. Virgo 1.4S Arabesques . . . i. 390 3g8 Ara Celi . . . i. i33 ii. 266 Arch ofConstantine * . i. 3oi Drusus . . . j i. 281 Fabius, . i. a55 273 3i2 ¦ -¦— Gallienus . . . . i. 3^o — — Gordian . , . . i. 3 1 3 ¦ Janus . . , , i, 5r) 275 — — M. Aurelius . . . i. 309 — — Sep. Severus . i. 292 197 — — Titus i. 282 — — Trajan . . • i. 3o Arco de' Pantani . . . i Arelino ...... ii Av.entine Hill, i. 65 72 74 200 Aurelian . , , . i. 74 rc'3 M. Aurelius, Statue ofs i. 149 196 B. Baccano . . • • . i. 5 Baldacchino . . . . ii. 171 Baptistery ..... ii. 214 Basalt i, 146 Basilica ii. 117 of P. zEmilius. . i. 60 ii. 261 Baths i. 373 of Caracalla . . i. 4°4 Diocletian . . . i. 411 P. iEmilius . . . i. 4i3 Titus i. 374 Bede ii. 60 162 Benediction . . . il. i56 Bernini ii. iyo Bramante . . . . ii. i38 3i2 Bridges : i. 45 414 Brunelleschi . ¦; . , ii, i3i 0, Cselian Hill . . . . i. T9-7 Cameleopard .... ii. 25 Campagna i. .7 Campus Martins, i. 67 2o3 2o5 Canonization . . ii. 240 3l23i8 Canova Capitol . ii. 190 35a . i. 1 5 25 4a 65 66 i3i 143 1 54 . . ii. 291 . . ii. 9.44 . . . i. 188 . i. 28 ii. 366 , . . ii. 338 219 Capucins . Carceres , C-aroccio . ' Carrara Marble Cartoons . . Caryatides . Castor and Pollux . . i. 146 Castle of S. Angelo . . j, 36o Castrutn Prselorium. . i. 98 I I II I I I I I I . 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 I I II I Cflwaitflhju^'ti'Bal I i * I I ! I I I ! ! ! ! ! :?a -¦» 2 q 2.<» M. 1 -1 >— O 3 I I I I I I g - 03 2.CR J' n s; » 5' a 2 » 5 "¦ I I I I 1 1 I r"B oi co o C5 O „ © M ^ — O O— QOaD10^ n • ffSun MP lill 1 I ! I ! OfiOt cr tr a* c B C V ? 3 ° | B a 2.AT i i 1 1 1 iss| ¦j. > =, «>> b 2. 2. 5 1 an w Q » 3 ' O » ¦ CO S -¦ 2 B M P. ' cn _ " ' B| 2. o _ '3 _ B O . 3 » "iT ¦ ¦ S o f> 8 W : o-'S 5' 2. n5 £ w ¦*>¦ LU m to OT 0 0 0 oo 0 n 1 0 0 3 3 o_ OP m 3 ri ¦S 3 *3 ttc I 4»>w M » » , -.0 » CO W MM* |0 oo^a osco »» co*o "J en •P-UJb- OT CO *i OlWlO 0000 H B P3 CI TD E. 3"Ti I0530CUO! 3 O O O —• — Q t . -. ^ - — w M tn c 3 sj a £.2. g S'S ? *¦ a £ H M N CO M CO CO V\ » OS W « I n n n n o n I •§ 3 S 3 3 § 0 l"S "8 ° ™ » 3 ^-~ S a D w S» » o S ^ -. z. » x* ^ 5 a B fl> ** « ^ 3 w « " W o" • -• . ? 3 :» w 3 i-s §¦£- ¦ ¦ • cr 3 - s . non I | " 3 I P. 2 2 S I I «»o»l "ino » -1 — I? S3 3 a. 12 s>2. "la" cu tu ¦" to » r^* INDEX Farnese Hercules . . i. 406 Fasti Capitolini . . . i. igI Fires in Rome . i. a3 23a ii. 8 F'ora i. 400, Fountains i. 5, Forom i. 248 Forum of Nerva . . i. 272 Trajan . . . i. 196 a35 Foundation of Rome . i, 3X Founders of Religious Orders, ii. 168 Frontinus j, 46 6. Gardens of Sallust . i. 45 73 Gates .... i. 94 107 i25 Gauls i. 23 Genseric . . . i. id 218 290 George, S i. 2jg Geta • '.293 Giallo antico .... i. 307 Giotto ii. i63 Gladiators ii. 3o Glass, use of. . i. 377 ii. ri6 Golden House . i. 63 129 i3o Rose ii. 23o Gothic Architecture. . ii. . 97 Goths • . . i. 12 17 ii. 101 Greek Cross . . . . ii. i5o Gregory i. 18 Grotte Vaticane . . Guido i r9i 2g3 H. Hadrian . . i. 93. 271 ii. 354 Hadrian's Villa . . . i. i5g Harpocrates . . . . i. 173 S. Helena ii. 198 , Tomb of. . . ii. 375 Henry IV. of France . ii. 220 Horses i. r^ Houses of the Ancients i. 375 Ichnography. i. 59. i65 23o Iliad Intercolumnia tions Intermontiuin . . 108 2T2 Isis i. Italian Architecture ii. 110 J. 387 164 T67 i. 38a, 2l6 223 Jani ...... . Janiculum . . • . i Jewish Spoils. . . i S. John Jubilee ...... Julius II. . . . ii. L. i. 976 . 65 104 . i5 a86 i. 118 ii. x63 i38 270 Laocoon . . . i. 3g8 ii. 356 Lapis Specularis . . . i. 384 Last Judgment . . ii. 317 Lateran . . . . ii. 210 3o8 S. Laurence . , . . ii. 248 Leo X ii. 140 Leonine City . . . . i. 107 Light and Shade . . . i. 3g5 Limits of Rome . . i. 73 88 Lombard Architecture . ii 101 S. Longinus • . . . ii. 202 S. Luke . . . , . . ii. 226 Lyons i. 53 M. tfagna Grsecia . . . i. 61 Majorian, Emperor . . 1. 17 S. Malachy .... ii. 23q Mamertine Prisons . . i. 35 Marforio i. iP Matilda, Countess . . ii. 192 Mausoleum of Augustus i. 358 — Hadrian . . . i. 36o Meleager ii. 345 Mela ii. i3 19 Meta Sudans . . . . i. 5i Michel Angelo, ii. 127 i3o i38 146 148 178 270 280 285 3n 323 Milestone i. 148 Mirrors i. 332 Mithras ii. 3Gg Mons Pincius . . . . i. 68 Mons Sacer . . , . i. 112 Monte Cavallo . . . i. 192 . Citorio . . . . i. 6, 9 388 INDEX Monte Giordano . . . i. 69 Mario . . . . i. 6 Testaccio . . . i. 70 Monuments in St. Peter's, ii. it»5 Mosaics, i. 168 ii. 173 221 226 Moses ii. 270 Muro Tnrto . . . . i. 101 Museum Capitolinum i. 157 Myron ii. 38o N. Naples ii. 99 Naamachia . . . t ii. 3 Neri, S. Filippo . . . ii. 278 Nero . . . . i. 63 68 ii. 244 Nismes i. 53 O. Obelisks . . . Opus Reticulatum Oratorio . . , Organs .... . 3 14 . 100 i 278 i. 294 Pas stum i. 3 2 Painted Glass. . . . ii. 116 Painting, Art of . . . ii. 220 ¦ ' ' of the Ancients . i. 392 Palace of the Caesars i. 64 *2ji Palaces ii. .io5 Palatine Hill . . . i. 63 128 Palazzo Senatorio . i. 66 Pantheon . . , i. 69 2o5 4^ ii. 127 171 Parthenon ii. 123 Pasquin i. i58 Paul , S. ... * . ii. 243 Paul V ii. i53 S. Paul's „ . . . ii. i54 23i Pavonazzo ii. 235 Peperino Stone . . . i. 43 Perspective . . . . i. 3ga S. Peter i. 41 ii. i3i 172 276. 297 — — Statue of . . . ii. 180 Phengites i, 384 Piazza Navona . i. 333 ii. 46 Pipta ii. 178 Pillar of M. Aurelius, i. 69 2i»3245 7097 72 252 9* 356 420 1. n.3 46 422 i. 418 i. 53 45 419 Pillar of Phoca* . . . i. 260 — — Trajan, . i. 197 202 23a Pius VI ; ii. 383 Podium ...... ii. Pointed Architecture . ii. Pornaerium 1. Pompeii, i. 375 383 393 ii. Pompey, Statue of . . ii. — , Tomb of ... i. Pons Ccslius . - . . i. — ¦-¦ Nomentanus — — Suhlicius — — Triumphalis Pont da Gard Ponte di 4- Capi Molle . . . . i. 9 423 S. Angelo . . . 1. 4^7 Bartolommeo. . i. 420 Rotto .... i. 45 421 Sislo . . . . i. 104 4r9 Pontine Marsches . . i. lao Pope Joan ii. 192 Popes, series of . . , ii. a38 Population of Rome . i. 75 87 Porta Aurelia i. 308 Capena . . . i. 119 124 del Popolo . , i. 9. 109 Flaminia . . . i. 9. 109 S. Giovanni . . i. 117 Latina , . i. 117 — S. Lorenzo . . i. 48 n5 -t- Maggiore . i. 5o 102 116 — Pancratiana . i. io5 108 S.Paolo . . . i. 125 Pia i. in Pinciana . . . . i. 110 Portese . . . . i. 108 — — Sal ara i. no — Santa ii. i63 S. Sebastiano . . i. ng Portcullis i. "n8 Portico of Octavia, i. 225 ii. 248 Puzzolana ii. 25i Pyramid of C. Ccslius i. 54 34g Qnadriporticus i. 365 ii. i33 Quirinal Hill . . . . i. 192 R. Raffael . . . . i. 223 3g8 ii. 141 284 296 3ia 32„ INDEX 3% Relics . . . Religious Orders Roman Money •—NumeralsRomulus . . Rosso Anlico • fJQ *4 295 1681861 85 64 '74 S Satires ..... . ii. Scala Santa . . . . ii. S. Sebastian . . . . ii. Senator ....*. i. Serapis i. Sesostris i. Sette Sale i. Seven Hills . . i. 67 127 Sibyls ii. Sieges of Rome . . . i. Simon Magus . . . . ii. Sistine Chapel. • . . ii. Sistrnm ...... i, Socrates ii. Spina ii. Statue of M. Aurelius . i. Stuarts ii. Sun-dial i. Syphax, Epitaph of . . ii, T Tabularium .... i. Tarpeian Rock ... i. Temple of Antoninus and Faustina . . i. 258. ii. — — — — Antoninus Pius, i — - — Conrord ... ¦¦ ¦ Diana at Ephesus ii. '12/ — - — — Fortuna Virilis, — Fortune . . . i. — — at Jerusalem . ii. 124. — — of Jupiter Capitoli nus . . . i. i34* ii> at Elis • ii. '---•' Olympius ii. -'~ Stator . i. ¦¦ — Tonans . i. Minerva . . . i. — — Medica • ii. «. Nerva. .... i. — .— . Peace. . . i. 368. ii. Temple of Remus Romulus. Theseus . Venus and 77 2l8249 144163322 400 192 314 i3 '743io164 3? 18 '49 192 170 376 4* l52262 . 10 224 265 207 58 166 207 123 . 124 , 124257263274 128 272 228 — Vesta Temples . . . Tertium or Tertio Theatres V. . Theatre of Balhus Marcel I us. Pompey • Thebes in Egypt. Theodoric. i. 12. Tiber Tivoli .... Tombs .... Tomb of Bibulus. C. Metella . Gonstantia ¦ Scipios . . T0V0 Farnese . . Torre delle Milizie Torso di Belvedere Totila .... Transfiguration . Travertine Stone . Tribune . . . Triumphal Arches Triumphs . . Trophies of Marias True Gross . . , Tufa Tuscans. . . . i. 44 59. *fW ii. io6 ii. 124 .'. i. 27 x i. 55 i. 54 109 note ii. 76 ii. 94 ii. ga ii. 86 ii. 125 34. 96. ii. 89 V 8. 414 . 56. 93 54. 336 54. 34o 54. 36g ii. 3;3 54. 343 i. 409 •• 197 ii. 344 ri. 17 ii. 296 i. 43 ii. 117 i. 274 54. i56 i. 146 ii. 199 i. 44 i. 3o i3 32 3o9 3o 279 17S 309 Vandals .'.... i. Vases i. Vatican . . . . i. io5. Veii _. . Velabrum i. Venus i. Verde antico .... i. S.Veronica ii. 193 Vestals i. 340 Via -Emilia .... i. 110 Appia i. 120 — Flaminia. ... i. no Latina i. 124 — - Nomentana ... i. in Sacra ..... i. a55 — Vitellia .... i. 108 Viminal Hill .... i. 19a 390 Vitiges . VivariumVolcanos Walls , <• 97' i- 99' iW INDEX 362 Wild Beasts ... ii. 21. i9 io3 Windows . . i. 376. 383. 389 44 Winds ii. 346 Wolf of bronie . i. 188. ii. 260 Works of the Republic, i. 22. 60 i. 45. a5. g5. io3 3 9002 08837 1(