Walks in Rome

emple of Fortuna Virilis-House of Rienzi-Ponte-Rotto-Ponte Sublicio-S. Nicolo in Carcere-Theatre of Marcellus-Portico of Octavia-Pescheria-Jewish Synagogue-P

rtant. Martial speaks of its silk-mercers; from an inscription on a tomb we know that the fashionable tailors were to be found there; and the perfumers' shops were of such abundance as to give to part of the street the name of Vicus Thurarius. At its entrance was the statue of the Etruscan god, Vertumnus, the patron of the quarter.[74] This was the str

ne hills, and even reached as far as the foot of the Quirinal, where the Goat's Pool, at which Romulus disappeared, is supposed to have formed part of the same swamp. Ovid, in d

olent in Circu

lices crassaq

as rediens co

nautas ebria

iens diversis

erso cepera

erat juncis et

ato non ade

unt, et aquas s

tellus. Mos ta

. vi

ee times as much as one pays now for the boat at the Ripetta."[76] The creation of the Cloaca Maxima

the other.[77] Others derive the name from vela, also in reference to the mode of transit, or, according to another idea, in reference to the awni

radle of Romulus and Remus from the Tiber, and dep

called the temple of Romulus, on the very slight foundation that the famous bronze wolf, mentioned by Dionysius as existing in the temple of Romulus, was found near this spot. Dyer supposes that it may have been the Temple of Cyb

mple of Romulus, and there the ancient Romans used to carry children to be cured of their diseases by touching it. On the supposed site of the temple now stands the church dedicated to S. Teodoro, or Santo Toto, as he is called in Rome. Though names must have changed

is the large Church of Sta. Anastasia, containing, beneath the alt

persecution of Diocletian. She was persecuted by her husband and family for openly professing the Christian faith, but being sustained by the eloquent exhortations of St. Chrysogonu

garden of her house under the Palatine hill and close to the Circus Maximus. There stood the church, dedicated in the fourth century, and there it now stands. It was one of the principal churches in

econd mass of Christmas night in this church, for which reaso

Benzoni, who owed everything to the kind interest with which this cardinal regarded h

fe in wakeful

n, named Ang

robe and crim

iv'st me, Christ,

, long toil I

e my rest now,

enter some of the subterraneous ch

all called the spina, at each end of which were the met?, or goals. Between the met? were columns supporting the ova, egg-shaped balls, and Delphin?, or dolphins, each seven in number, one of which was put up for each circuit made in the race. At the extremity of the Circus were the stalls for the horses and chariots called Carceres. This, the square end of the Circus, was termed oppidum, from its external resemblance to a town, with walls and towers. In the Circus Maximus, which was used for hunting wild beasts, Julius C?sar made a canal, called Euripus,[79] ten feet wide, between the seats and the racecourse, to

er, and Libera (said to have been vowed by the Dictator Albus Postumius, at t

n fils n'avait que son pécule comme un esclave-à ce même temple de Cérès que Spurius Cassius avait consacré, et par une

ue l'on vendait auprès du temple de Cé

était le temple de la démocratie romaine. Le farouche patricien le choisit pour lui faire adresse

descend into a hollow on the left, which we have passe

re a brazen bull, brought from Egina,[80] once commemorated the story of the oxen of Geryon, which Hercules left to past

gno juncta est

sito de bove

. vi

ng used as a market for ox

live here;[82] and here the first fight of gladiators took place, being introduced by M. and D. Brutus, at the funeral of their father in B.C. 264.[83] He

of which no trace remains, were the Temple of the Sabine deity Ma

ferunt Matut?

ervi templa d

Fast.

una, tua est, au

ctis quis lat

t: hoc con

. vi

n this neighbourhood was that of Pudicitia Patricia, into which the noble ladies refused to admit Virginia, because she had espoused a plebeian consul[86] (see Chap. X.). Here, also, was the

, and forty-eight niches, probably intended for the reception of small statues. Bas-reliefs on the inverted blocks employed in the lower part of this edifice, show that they must have b

rst to the beautiful clear spring of the Aqua Argentina, which, according to some authorities,

e those stra

w and lo

ho saw the

their na

they to

el boughs

tops and fr

eir crests

drew nigh

lted dow

their horse

ngs by Ve

ht again t

to Vest

blast, away

an saw t

lay's

Maxima, the famous drain formed by Tarquinius Priscus, f

onvalles, quia ex planis locis haud facile evehebant aquas, clo

already withstood the earthquakes, inundations, and accidents of seven hundred years. Strabo tells that the tunnel of the Cloaca was of sufficient height to admit a waggon laden with hay, but this probably supposes the water at its lowest. Ag

à droite pour aller chercher les traces du Vélabre là où les rues et les habitations modernes ne les ont pas entièrement effacées. En s'avan?ant vers la Cloaca Maxima, on rencontre un enfoncement où une vieille église, elle-même au dedans humide et moisie, rappelle par son nom, San Giorgio in Velabro, que le Vélabre a été là. On voit sourdre encore les eaux qui l'alimentaient sous une vo?te sombre et froide, tapissée de mousses, de scolopendres et de grandes herbes frissonnant dans la nuit. Alentour, tout a un aspect triste et abandonné, abandonné comme le furent au bord du marais, suivan

lica form, the long nave being lined by sixteen columns, of various sizes, and with strangely different capitals, showing that they have been plundered from ancient temples. The carving on some of the capitals is sharp and delicate. There is a rather handsome ancient baldacchino, with an old Greek picture let into its front, over the high altar. Beneath is preserved a fragment of the banner of St George. Some injured frescoes in the tribune replace mosaics which once existed here, and

e verse, informing us that the Cardinal (or Prior) Stephen, added this detail (probably the campanile also), to the ancient church-about the middle of the thirteenth century, as is su

i) who had their shops in the Forum Boarium on this very spot ("cujus loci qui invehent"). The part of the dedication relating to Geta (as in the larger arch of Septimius) was obliterated after his murder,

in Greece. The church was built in the basilica form, in 782, by Adrian I., when the name Cosmedin, from the Greek κοσμο?, is supposed to have been given, from the ornaments with which he adorned it It was intended for the use of the Greek exiles expelled from the East by the iconoclasts under Constantine Copro

re is a curious crypt; the altar covers an ancient bason of red granite, and is shaded by a gothic canopy, supported by four Egyptian granite pillars; behind it is a fine episcopal throne, with lions, said to have been used by St. Augustine, an ancient Greek picture of the Virgin, and a graceful tabernacle of marble inlaid with mosaic, by Deodato Cosmati. In t

eighbouring piazza. It was believed that if a witness, whose truthfulness was doubtful, were desired to p

humain, mais au visage de la lune: on y distingue des yeux, un nez et une bouche ouverte où l'accusé mettait la main pour prêter serment. Cette bouche mordait les ment

portico is the tomb of Ca

one of the loftiest in Rome; also the sculptured doorway, the rich intarsio pavement, the high altar, the marble and mosaic-inlaid ambones, the marble episcopal throne, with supporting lions and a mosaic decoration above, &c.,-all of the twelfth century. But we have to regret the destruction of the ancient choir-screens, and (still more inexcusable) the white-washing of wall surfaces so as entirely to conceal the medi?val paintings which adorned them, conformably to that once almost universal practice of polychrome decoration in churches, prescribed even by law under Charlemagne. Ciampini (see his valuable history of this basilica) mentions the iron rods for curtains between the columns of the atrium, and those, still in

tood the Palace of Pop

rs to have been that of Hercules founded by Pompey. It is known to have existed in the time of Vespasian. It is very small, the circumference of the peristyle being only 156 feet, and that of the cella 26 feet,-t

situated near the Church of Sta. Maria Libe

avum Tiberi

rusco viol

tum monum

aque

m.

re like that on the temple of the Sibyl at Tivoli; but artists admire the exquisite play of ligh

rrivai sur la place, on n'y guillotinait personne; mais six cuisinières, dont une aussi belle que Junon, dansaient la tarantelle au so

It is surrounded by Ionic columns (one side being enclosed in other buildings), 28 feet high, clothed with hard stucco, and supporting an entablature adorned with figures of children, oxen, candelabra, &c. The Roman matrons had a great regard

Rienzi. It derives its present name from a long inscription over a doorway, which tallies with the bombastic epithets assumed by "The Last of the Tribunes"

mis magnus Nic

decus ob ren

scens matrisque

arum caro de

uit qui pat

ace against Otho III.; and that, three centuries later, the house may have belonged to Cola di Rienzi, a name which is, in fact, only popular language for Niccola Crescenzo. It is, however, known that Rienzi was not born in this

ulvius Nobilior, and finished by P. Scipio Africanus and L. Mummius, the censors, in B.C. 142. Hence the body of the Emperor Heliogabalus was thrown into the Tiber. The bridge has been three times rebuilt by diffe

age sur les fondements du Pons Palatinus, qui fut achevé sous la censure de Scipion l'Africain. Scipion l'

ts bridges, and hence, also, the Temple of Vesta is seen to g

beaucoup de grandeur et beaucoup d'oppression. Ce monument extraordinaire est une page importante de l'histoire romaine. Il est à la fois la suprême expression de la puissan

. Here stood the Pons Sublicius, the oldest bridge in Rome, built by Ancus Martius (B.C. 639), on which

ted Spuri

us dart

passed, benea

the timb

ey turned t

he farth

Horatius s

have crosse

a crash li

ry loose

dam, the m

athwart

g shout o

the wall

highest

ed the yel

lay's

The bridge was rebuilt by Tiberius and again by Antoninus Pius, each time of beams, but upon stone piers, of w

rth examination in a boat), are two gigantic Heads of Lions, to which in ancient times c

unded in 1488, devote themselves to criminals condemned to death. They visit them in prison, accompany them to execution, receive their bodies, and offer masses for their souls in their little chapel. Vasari gives the highest pra

ion of a Roman matron in the time of John I. (523-526), who attained such

f a wonderful love towards thy poor; grant us, through her merits and prayers,

omen in childbirth. The Porta Carmentalis was reached from the Forum by the Vicus Jugarius. It was by this route that the Fabii went forth to meet their doom in the valley of the Crimera. The Porta had two gates-one for those who entered, the other for those who left

t? dextro via

oli, quisquis

Fast.

strict called Tarentum, where there was a su

y, and is only interesting as occupying the site of the three Temples of Juno Matuta, Piety(?), and Hope, which are believed to mark the si

y of his defeating the forces of Antiochus the Great, king of Syria, at Thermopyl?. Others endeavour to identify it with the temple built on the site of the Decemviral prisons, to keep up the recollection of the famous story, called the "Caritas Romana,"-of a woman condemned to die of h

geon, in whose

e on? Nothing

slowly shadowe

d phantoms o

I see them f

nd a female y

rsing mother,

ctar:-but what

ed neck, and bos

h offers to ol

is own gift:-

nders back the

birth. No, he

warm and lovely

d holy feeli

le, whose deep st

river;-from t

, old man! Heaven's re

fable of t

story's pu

tion of a s

ture triumphs

r decree, tha

stant worlds:-Oh

clear stream i

heart, repleni

freed souls rejo

de H

probably owing to this legend that, in front of the Temple of Piety, was placed the Columna Lactaria, w

fountain, is called the Piazza Montanara, and is one of th

toutes à peindre sans exception: quand ce n'est pas pour la beauté de leurs traits, c'est pour l'élégance na?ve de leurs attitudes. Les hommes ont le long manteau bleu de ciel et le chapeau pointu; là-dessous leurs habits de travail font merveille, quoique roussis par le temps et couleur de perdrix. Le costume n'est pas uniforme; on voit plus d'un manteau amadou rapiécé de bleu vif ou de rouge garance. Le chapeau de paille abonde en été. La chaussure est très-capricieuse; soulier, botte et sandale foulent successivement le pavé. Les déchaussés trouvent ici près de grandes et profondes boutiques où l'on vend des marchandises d'occasion. Il y a des souliers de tout cuir et de tout age dans ces trésors de la chaussure; on y trouverait des cothurnes de l'an 500 de la république, en cherchant bien. Je viens de voir un pauvre diable qui essayait une paire de bottes à revers. Elles vont à ses jambes comme une plume à l'oreille d'un porc, et c'est plaisir de

la table pour dicter quelque-chose, cinq ou six curieux se réunissent officieusement autour de lui pour mieux entendre. Il y a une certaine bonhomie dans cette indiscrétion. Chacu

e son chapeau. Le gourmet achète des viandes d'occasion devant un petit étalage, où les rebuts de cuisine se vendent à la poignée. Pour un sou, le débitant remplit de b?uf haché et d'os de c?telettes un morceau de vieux journal; une pincée de s

est avis que ces pauvres ouvriers font leur purgatoire en ce monde; et qu'il vaudrait mieux leur

J'ai vu de ces conteurs qui avaient la physionomie bien fine et bien heureuse; mais je ne sais rien de charmant comme l'attention de leur public.

13 B.C.) in memory of the young nephew whom he married to his daughter Julia, and intended as his successor, but who was cut off by an early death. The theatre was capable of containing 20,000 spectators, and consisted of three tiers of arches, bu

u rez-de chaussée, sont habitées encore aujourd'hui comme elles l'étaient dans l'antiquité, mais plus honnêtement, par de pauvres gens qui vendent des ferrailles. Au-dessous des belles colonnes de l'enceinte extérieure, on a construit des maisons modernes dans lesquelles sont

on vit pour la première fois un tigre apprivoisé, tigrim mansuefactum. Dans

Porta Leone. The constant warfare in which they were engaged with their neighbours did much to destroy the building, whose interior became reduced to a mass of ruins, forming a hill, upon which Bal

es ans un criminel à la peine de mort: droit de grace, droit régalien reconnu par la monarchie absolue des papes. Les femmes de cette illustre famille ne sortaient point de leurs palais sinon dans un carosse

or of A.D. 1200. The princes of Orsini and Colonna, in their quality as attendants on

carriage-way through the courtyard. The apartments in which we shall live are those over the colonnade of Ionic pillars forming the third story of the ancient theatre, and some, on a level with them, which have been built out like wings on the rubbish of the ruins. These enclose a little quadrangular garden, which is indeed very small, only about eighty or ninety feet long, and scarcely so broad, but so delightful! It contains three fountains-an abundance of flowers: there are orange-trees on the wall between the windows, and jessamine under them. We mean to plant a vi

er (the unhappy wife of Antony), close to the theatre to which he had given the name of her son. The exact form of the building is known from the Pianta Capitolina,-that

relessly carried the statues of the gods to the wrong temples, it was imagined that they had done so from divine inspiration, and the people wou

s of Jupiter Stator and Juno existed also in this portico, one of them being the earliest temple built of marble in Rome. Before these temples Metellus placed the famous group of twenty-five bronze st

building had suffered from fire in the reign of Titus, and was restored by Sep

endour. Among the Jewish spectators stood the historian Flavius Josephus, who was one of the followers and flatterers o

a meeting for the re-establishment of "the good estate;" here he kept the vigil of the Holy Ghost; and hence he went forth, bareheaded, in complete

ry wall that Rienzi painted his famous allegorical picture. In this painting kings and men of the people were seen burning in a furnace, with a woman half consumed, who personified Rome,-and on the right was a church, whence issued a white-robed angel, bearing in one hand a naked sword, while with the other he plucked the woman from the flames. On the church tower were SS. Peter and

to her latest

housand tyrant

dark centuri

f Petrarch-h

of Romans!

ther'd trunk pu

tomb a garl

mpion, and the

thou-with reign,

de H

es still remaining in use. It is a striking scene-the dark, many-storied houses almost meeting overhead and framing a

ns. Les colonnes et le fronton s'élèvent au milieu de l'endroit le plus sale de Rome; leur effet n'en est pas moins pittoresque, il l'est peut-être davantage. Le lieu est fait pour une aquarelle, et quand un beau soleil éclaire les débris antiques, les vieux murs

story. Low arches cluster with life-a life humble and stately, though rags hang from the citizens and the windows. You realize it as you pass them-their temples are in ruins, their r

ntre of the Jews' qua

knowledged mistress of Titus, who would willingly have made her empress of Rome. The chief Jewish settlement in imperial times was nearly on the site of their present abode, but they were not compelled to live here, and also had a large colony in the Trastevere; and when St. Peter was at Rome (if the Church tradition be true), he dwelt, with Aquila and Priscilla, on the slopes of the Aventine. Julius, Augustus, and Tiberius C?sar treated the Jews with kindness, but under Caligula they already met with ill-treatment and contempt,-that emperor being especially irritated against them as the only n

y lived in a state of poverty and outlawry, which is described by Juvenal,[94] and occ

tin V., 1417-31), the physician of the Vatican was a Jew. The first really bitter enemy of the Jews was Eugenius IV. (Gabriele Condolmiere, 1431-39), who forbade Christians to trade, to eat, or to dwell with them, and prohibited them from walking in the streets, from building new synagogues, or from occupying any public post. Paul II. (1468) increased their humiliation by compelling them to run races during the Ca

n Senate sate in the Piazza del Popolo. In like manner they went to the senator, and, after the ancient custom, implored permission to remain in Rome. The senator placed his foot on their foreheads, ordered them to stand up, and replied in the accustomed formula, that Jews were not adopted in Rome, but allowed from c

, Paul IV. (Gio. Pietro Caraffa, 1555-59), and commanded never to appear outside it, unles

very, under the plea that Christian magnanimity allows them, should presume to dwell and mix with Chri

he Ponte Quattro Capi to the Piazza del Pianto, or "Place of Weeping," whose name bears witness to

t of the owner to announce to his Jewish tenant when his possession expired, or bankruptcy if the owner raised his rent. Thus originated a law which established that the Romans should remain in possession of the dwellings let to the Jews, but that the latter should hold the houses in fee farm; that is, the expiration of the contract cannot be announced to a Jewish tenant, and so long as he pays the lawful rent, the rent can never be raised; the Jew at the same time may alter or enlarge

ndini, 1592-1605), and under Clement XI. and Innocent XIII. all trade was forbidden them, except that in old-clothes, rags, and iron, "stracci feracci." To these Benedict XIV. (Lambertini) added trade in drapery, with which they are still largely occupied. Under Gregory XIII. (Buoncompagni, 1572-85) the Jews

ome, should be, though but once yearly, cast to the famishing dogs, undertrampled and bespitten upon beneath the feet of the guests; and a moving sight in truth this, of so many of the besotted, blind, restive, and ready-to-perish

d, on thus being driven to chur

X

ogether now,

it's a-work,

a herd of us, p

gh the Corso, stri

th sweat and b

worthily Chr

the hangman ent

us out to his ch

itch, when th

purse, would t

ows, when, to

their sins, help

ning, Holy

until the reign of the present pope, who removed the limits of the Ghetto, and revoked all the oppressive laws against the Jews. The humane feeling with which he regarded this hitherto oppressed race is said to ha

ial magistrate for all civil and criminal processes is the Cardinal Vicar. The tribunal which governs them consists of the Cardinal Vicar, the Prelato Vicegerente, the Prelato Luogo-tenente Civile, and the Criminal Lieutenant. In police matters, the President of the Region of S. Angelo and Cam

is nearest to the banks of the Tiber, are annually overflowed during the spring rains and melting of the mountain snows, which is productive of great misery and distress. Yet in spite of this, and of the teeming population crowded into its narrow alleys, the mortality was less here during the cholera than in any other part of Rome, and malaria is unknown here, a freedom from disease which may perhaps be attributed to the Jewish custom of whitewashing their dwellings at ev

cate," the Jew shopkeepers hiss at you as you thread their narrow alleys, and try to entice you into a bargain with them. The same article is often passed on by a mutual arrangement from shop to shop, and meets y

d with sculpture and gilding. On the external frieze are represented in stucco the seven-branched candlestick, David's harp, and Miriam's timbrel. The interior is highly picturesque and quaint, and is hung with curious tapestries on festas. The frieze which surrounds it represents the temple of Solomon with all its sacred vessels. A round window in the north wall, divided into twelve panes of coloured glass, is symbolical of the twelve tribes of Israel, and a type of the Urim and Thummim. "To the west is the round choir, a wooden desk for singers and precentors. Opposite

and tattered pieces, large and small. I never saw such varied rubbish. The Jews might mend up all creation with it, and patch the whole world as gaily as harlequin's coat. There they sit and grub in their sea of rags, as though seeking for treasures, at least for a lost gold brocade. For they are as good antiquarians as any of those in Rome, who grovel amongst the ruins to bring to light the stump of a column, a fragment of a relief, an ancient inscription, a coin, or such matters. Each Hebrew Winckelmann in the Ghetto lays out his rags for sale with a certain pride, as does the dealer in marble fragments. The latter boasts a piece of giallo-antico, the Jew can match it with an e

with a feeling of pain the pale, stooping, starving figures, laboriously plying the needle,-men as well as women, girls, and children. Misery stares forth from the tangled hair, and complains silently in the yellow-brown faces, and no beauty of feature recalls the countenance of Rachel, Leah, or Miriam,-only sometimes a glance from a deep-sunk, piercing black eye, that looks up from its needle and rags, and seems to say-'From the daughter of Zion, all her beauty is departed-she that was great among the nations, and princess amo

f an architrave, being the only visible remains of the Theatre of Balbus, erected by C. Cornelius Balbus, a general who triumphed in the time of Augustus, with the spoils taken from

elle Scuole, is the vast Palazzo Cenci, the ancient residence of the famous Cenci family (now represented b

er of the Jews, and from the upper windows you see the immense ruins of Mount Palatine, half hidden under the profuse undergrowth of trees. There is a court in one part of the palace supported by columns, and adorned with antique friezes of fine workmanship, and built up, a

ommaso del Cenci, founded 1113 by Cencio, bishop of Sabina; granted by

ned in order to marry the beautiful Lucrezia Petroni. His domestic cruelties to his children, especially to his three elder sons, Giacomo, Christoforo, and Rocco, were so terrible, that they petitioned the reigning Pope Clement V

dmitted, and where he constantly starved and beat her severely. When he received the news that his sons Christoforo and Rocco were assassinated in the neighbourhood of Rome by an unknown hand, he ex

iage to a Signor Guerra, who had long been attached to her. But this petition was intercepted by Francesco, who then carried off Lucrezia and his two youngest children, Beatrice and Bernardo, to Petrella, a vast and desolate castle in the Apennin

e day a servant, Marzio, whose betrothed had previously been seduced and murdered by Francesco, roused by the shrieks of Beatrice, burst into the room, and rushing upon his master dealt a terrible thrust with a dagger on his neck, exclaiming, 'I murder t

o administered an opiate to her husband, and then stole from him some keys which enabled her after midnight to liberate Bernardo and Beatrice. The latter she found in a state of stupefaction, and vainly endeavoured to rouse her, signifying that the moment of escape had arrived. Beatrice showed no symptom of surprise at the announcement, or at the visi

ody should be found the next morning, it might appear that whilst walking on the terrace, the foot of the count had slipped, and that he had fallen head-foremost on one of the stunted branches of the tree, which, piercing through his eye to the brain, had caused his death. Returning to the hall, they received from Lucrezia a purse of gold; Marzio, carrying with him a valuable cloak trimmed with gold lace, turned towards Beatrice (who still s

d bloody sheets from one of the inhabitants of the castle-she thought from Beatrice-the day after the murder. On hearing this, the fear that he would turn against them, induced Signor Guerra to hire assassins to pursue

n into prison and put to the torture. Giacomo, Bernardo, and Lucrez

e judge failed to extort from her lips a single word which could throw a shade over her innocence, and at length, believing it useless to pursue the torture further, he suspended the proceedings, and reported them to the pope. But Clement VIII, suspecting that the unwillingness of Moscati to believe Bea

g: the body was loosely attached to the back of the chair, cut also into angular points. A wretch stood near, pushing the victim from side to side, and now and then, by pulling the rope from the ceiling, gave the arms most painful jerks. In this horrible position the sufferer remained forty hours, the assistants being changed every fifth

sting of a mesh of small cords twined about the fingers, twisting them nearly out of joint and dragging the hand almost from the bone of the arm. The wretched girl screamed with agony, while the judge stood by, commanding the suspended rope to be tightened, and raising the body by the hair from the ground gave it a sudden jerk, exhorting her to confess. She cried out in a convulsion for water, rolling her eyes in agony, and exclaiming, 'I am innocent.' The torture being repeated with still greater cruelty, and the fortitude of the young girl remaining unshaken, the judge, b

a block of heated wood, prepared in such a way as to retain the scorching heat; then did the unhappy girl utter piercing shrieks, and remained some minutes apparently dead. These accumulated tortures were repeated, until her relations, who were handcuffed lest they should render her any assis

ion. The unhappy girl replied, 'Be it as you wish. I am content to die if I can preserve you'-and to each interrogatory of the judge she replied, 'E vero,' until asked whether she did not urge the assassins to kill her father, and, on their refusal, propose to commit the crime herself, when she involuntarily exclaimed, 'Impossi

horror evinced by all classes at this sentence induced him to grant a respite of twenty-five days, at the end of which a trial took place, and the advocate Farinacci boldly pleaded the defence of the prisoners. But while their fate was hanging in the balance, the Marchesa Santa-Croce was murd

ion passed the piazza of the Palazzo Cenci, Giacomo, who had appeared resigned, became dreadfully agitated, and uttered heart-rending cries of, 'My children! my children!' The people shouted, 'Dogs, give him his children!' The procession was proceeding, when the multitude assumed such a threatening aspect, that two of the Compagnia dei Conforta

ng cries that rent the hearts of all present The unhappy man embraced them, telling them that in Bernardo they would find a father; then, fixi

black, and a long black veil covered her head and shoulders; Beatrice in a dark robe and veil, a handkerchief of cloth of silver on her head, and slippers of white velvet, ornamented with crimson sandals and roset

ers, he led her to the foot of the scaffold. Here she stopped, prayed devoutly, kissed the crucifix, and taking off her shoes, mounted the ladder barefoot. From confusion and terror, she with difficulty ascended, crying out, 'Oh, my God! oh, holy brethren, pray for my soul, oh, God, pardon me!' The principal executioner beckoned to her to place herself on the block; the unhappy woman, from her unwieldy figure, being unable to do so, some violence was used, the executioner raised his axe

h fervour; then raising her voice, she said, 'Lord, thou hast called me, and I obey the summons willingly, as I hope for mercy!' Approaching her brother, she bade him farewell, and with a smile of love, said, 'Grieve not for me. We shall be happy in heaven, I have forgiven th

she might utter. Beatrice ascended the stairs with a slow but firm step. In a moment she placed herself on the block, which had caused so much fear to Lucrezia. She did not allow the executioner to remove the veil, but laid it herself upon the table. In this dreadful situation she remained a few minutes, a universal cry

. Turning towards the people, he said in a clear voice, 'Although in the agonies of torture I accused my sister and brother of sharing in the crime for which I suffer, I a

ise the details of this execution would be too dreadful; suffice it to say, he was beaten, beheaded, and quartered i

wn of flowers had been placed around the head of Beatrice, who seemed as though in sleep, so calm, so peaceful was that placid face, while a smile such as she wore i

affold, was borne, covered with garlands of flowers, to the church of San Pietro in Montorio; and bur

ewish traffic, we reach the Piazza delle Tartarughe, so called from the tortoises which form part of the adornment

nt we leave

e is the Palazzo Costaguti, celebrated for its

les wounding the

his car, Time discoverin

and Armida in a cha

uno nursing Hercule

co: Justic

Arion saved

lish ladies, but great powers of bargaining are called for. Almost immediate

rd of this palace is well worth examining, and is one of the handsomest in Rome, being quite encrusted, as well as the staircase, with ancient bas-reliefs, busts, and other sculptu

learned Don Michael-Angelo Ca?tani (Duke of Sermoneta and Prince of Teano), whose family is one of

pe de' nuo

Inferno

lius, created Count of Gaiet

ce of the Circus Flaminius, the especial circus of the plebs, which once occupied all the ground near this. The Via delle Botteghe Oscure, commemorates the dark shops which in medi?val times occupied the lower part of the circus, as they do no

n Portico, from the neighbouring portico of Octavia, a name which is sometimes applied to the present church. The miraculous mendicant image is now enshrined in gold and lapis-lazuli over the high altar. Other relics supposed to be preserved here are the bodies of Sta. Cyrica, Sta. Victoria, and Sta. Vincenza, and half that of Sta. Barbara! The second chapel on the right has a picture of the Descent of the Holy Ghost by Luca Giordano; in the first chapel on the lef

Ch. XIV.) was the Columna Bellica, from which when war was declared a dart was thrown into

ra C?li, are the remains of the ancient Palazzo Marg

ates the legend of Virgil as a necromancer, and of his magic tower lined with mi

cimen of a Roman convent. The first hall is painted with ancient frescoes, representing scenes in the life of the saint. Here, on a table, is the large bowl in which Sta. Francesca prepared ointment for the poor. Other relics are her veil, shoes, &c. Passing a number of open cloisters, cheerful with flowers and orange-trees, we reach the chapel, where sermons or rather lectures are delivered at the annivers

. The beautiful chapel; the garden with its magnificent orange-trees; the open galleries, with their fanciful decorations and scenic recesses, where a holy picture or figure takes you by surprise, and meets you at every turn; the light airy rooms, where religious print

vants; and to learn from them to amend her life, and enter upon a holier course. The spiritual daughters of Francesca hastened to raise and embrace her; and clothing her with their habit, they led the way to the chapel, where they all returned thanks to God. While she remained there in prayer, Agnese de Lellis, the superioress, assembled the sisters in the chapter-room, and declared to them, that now their true mother and foundress had come amongst them, it would be absurd for her to remain in her present office; that Francesca was their guide, their head, and that into her hands

23, 24); which attribute is derived from an incident thus narrated in the acts of her canonisation. Though unwearied in her devotions, yet if, during her prayers, she was called away by her husband on any domestic duty, she would close her book, saying that 'a wife and a mother, when called upon, must quit her God at the altar, and fi

is best seen. This spot is believed to have been the site of the house of Spurius M?lius, who tried to ingratiate himself with the people, by buying up corn and distributing it in a year of