Chapter X: The Quirinal and Viminal (2)

Beneath the magnificent cypress-trees on the slope of the hill are several fine sarcophagi. Only the stem is preserved of the grand historical pine-tree, which was planted on the day on which Cola di Rienzi died, and which was one of the great ornaments of the city till 1848, when it was broken in a storm.

Just beyond the end of the garden, are the great _Convent_ and _Church of S. Silvestro a Monte Cavallo_--belonging to the Missionaries of St. Vincent de Paul--in which the Cardinals meet before going in procession to the Conclave. It contains a few rather good pictures. The cupola of the second chapel has frescoes by _Domenichino_, of David dancing before the Ark,--the Queen of Sheba and Solomon,--Judith with the head of Holofernes,--and Esther fainting before Ahasueras. These are considered by Lanzi as some of the finest frescoes of the master. In the left transept is a chapel containing a picture of the Assumption, painted on slate, considered the masterpiece of _Scipione Gaetani_. The last chapel but one on the left has a ceiling by _Cav. d'Arpino_, and frescoes on the walls by _Polidoro da Caravaggio_. The picture over the altar, representing St. Dominic and St. Catherine of Siena, is by _Mariotto Albertinelli_. Cardinal Bentivoglio--who wrote the history of the wars in Flanders, and lived in the Rospigliosi Palace--is buried here.

We now reach the height of Maganaopoli, from which the isthmus which joined the Quirinal to the Capitoline was cut away by Trajan. Here is a cross-ways. On the right is a descent to the Forum of Trajan, at the side of which is the villa of Cardinal Antonelli, and beyond it, the handsome modern palace of Count Trapani, cousin to the King of Naples.

Opposite, is the _Church of Sta. Caterina di Siena_, possessing some frescoes attributed, on doubtful grounds, to the rare master _Timoteo della Vite_. Adjoining, is a large convent, enclosed within the precincts of which is the tall brick mediæval tower, sometimes called the Tower of Nero, but generally known as the _Torre delle Milizie_, _i.e._ the Roman Militia. It was erected by the sons of Peter Alexius, a baron attached to the party of the Senator Pandolfo de Suburra. The lower part is said to have been built in 1210, the upper in 1294 and 1330.

"People pass through two regular courses of study at Rome,--the
first in learning, and the second in unlearning.

"'This is the tower of Nero, from which he saw the city in
flames,--and this is the temple of Concord,--and this is the temple
of Castor and Pollux,--and this is the temple of Vesta,--and these
are the baths of Paulus-Æmilius,'--and so on, says your lacquey.

"'This is not the tower of Nero,--nor that the temple of Castor and
Pollux,--nor the other the temple of Concord,--nor are any of these
things what they are called,' says your antiquary."--_Eaton's
Rome._

The Convent of Sta. Caterina was built by the celebrated Vittoria Colonna, who requested the advice of Michael Angelo on the subject, and was told that she had better make the ancient "Torre" into a belfry. A very curious account of the interview in which this subject was discussed, and which took place in the Church of S. Silvestro a Monte Cavallo, is left us in the memoirs of Francesco d'Olanda, a Portuguese painter, who was himself present at the conversation.

Near this point are two other fine mediæval towers. One is to the right of the descent to the Forum of Trajan, being that of the Colonnas, now called _Tor di Babele_, ornamented with three beautiful fragments of sculptured frieze, one of them bearing the device of the Colonna, a crowned column rising from a wreath. The other tower, immediately facing us, is called _Torre del Grillo_, from the ancient family of that name.

Opposite Sta. Caterina is the handsome _Church of SS. Domenico e Sisto_, approached by a good double twisted staircase. Over the second altar on the left is a picture of the marriage of St. Catherine by _Allegrani_, and, on the anniversary of her (visionary) marriage (July 19), the dried hand of the saint is exhibited here to the unspeakable comfort of the faithful.

Turning by this church into the Via Maganaopoli (formerly Baganaopoli, a corruption of Balnea Pauli--Baths of Emilius Paulus), we pass on the left the _Palazzo Aldobrandini_, with a bright pleasant-looking court and handsome fountain. The present Prince Aldobrandini is brother of Prince Borghese. Of this family was S. Pietro Aldobrandini, generally known as S. Pietro Igneo, who was canonized because, in 1067, he walked unhurt, crucifix in hand, through a burning fiery furnace ten feet long before the church door of Settimo, near Florence, to prove an accusation of simony which he had brought against Pietro di Pavia, bishop of that city.

In the Via di Mazzarini, in the hollow between the Quirinal and Viminal, is the _Convent of Sta. Agata in Suburra_, through the courtyard of which we enter the _Church of Sta. Agata dei Goti_. A tradition declares that this (like S. Sabba on the Aventine) is on the site of a house of Sta. Silvia, mother of St. Gregory the Great, who consecrated the church after it had been plundered by the Goths, and dedicated it to Sta. Agata. It was rebuilt by Ricimer, the king-maker, in A.D. 472. Twelve ancient granite columns and a handsome opus-alexandrinum pavement are its only signs of antiquity. The church now belongs to the Irish Seminary. In the left aisle is the monument of Daniel O'Connell, with bas-reliefs by Benzoni, inscribed:--

"This monument contains the heart of O'Connell, who dying at Genoa
on his way to the Eternal City, bequeathed his soul to God, his
body to Ireland, and his heart to Rome. He is represented at the
bar of the British House of Commons in MDCCCXXIII., when he refused
to take the anti-catholic declaration, in these remarkable
words--'I at once reject this declaration; part of it I believe to
be untrue, and the rest I know to be false.' He was born vi. Aug.
MDCCLXXVI., and died xv. May, MDCCCXLVIII. Erected by Charles
Bianconi, the faithful friend of the immortal liberator, and of
Ireland the land of his adoption."

At the end of the left aisle is a chapel, which Cardinal Antonelli (who has his palace near this) decorated, 1863, with frescoes and arabesques as a burial-place for his family. In the opposite chapel is a gilt figure of Sta. Agata carrying her breasts--showing the manner in which she suffered.

"Agatha was a maiden of Catania, in Sicily, whither Decius the
emperor sent Quintianus as governor. He, inflamed by the beauty of
Agatha, tempted her with rich gifts and promises, but she repulsed
him with disdain. Then Quintianus ordered her to be bound and
beaten with rods, and sent two of his slaves to tear her bosom with
iron shears, and as her blood flowed forth, she said to him, 'O
thou cruel tyrant! art thou not ashamed to treat me thus--hast thou
not thyself been fed at thy mother's breasts?' Thus only did she
murmur. And in the night a venerable man came to her, bearing a
vase of ointment, and before him walked a youth bearing a torch. It
was the holy apostle Peter, and the youth was an angel; but Agatha
knew it not; though such a glorious light filled the prison, that
the guards fled in terror.... Then St. Peter made himself known and
ministered to her, restoring with heavenly balm her wounded
breasts.

"Quintianus, infuriated, demanded who had healed her. She replied,
'He whom I confess and adore with heart and lips, he hath sent his
apostle who hath healed me.' Then Quintianus caused her to be
thrown bound upon a great fire, but instantly an earthquake arose,
and the people in terror cried, 'This visitation is sent because of
the sufferings of the maiden Agatha.' So he caused her to be taken
from the fire, and carried back to prison, where she prayed aloud
that having now proved her faith, she might be freed from pain and
see the glory of God;--and her prayer was answered and her spirit
instantly departed into eternal glory, Feb. 5, A.D. 251."--_From
the "Legende delle SS. Vergini."_

Agatha (patroness of Catania) is one of the saints most reverenced by the Roman people. On the 5th of February her vespers are sung here, which contain the antiphons:--

"Who art thou that art come to heal my wounds?--I am an apostle of
Christ, doubt not concerning me, my daughter.

"Medicine for the body have I never used; but I have the Lord Jesus
Christ, who with his word alone restoreth all things.

"I render thanks to thee, O Lord Jesus Christ, for that thou hast
been mindful of me, and hast sent thine apostle to heal my wounds.

"I bless thee, O Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, because through
thine apostle thou hast restored my breasts to me.

"Him who hath vouchsafed to heal me of every wound, and to restore
to me my breasts, him do I invoke, even the living God.

* * * * *

"Blessed Agatha, standing in her prison, stretched forth her hands
and prayed unto the Lord, saying, 'O Lord Jesus Christ, my good
master, I thank thee because thou hast given me strength to
overcome the tortures of the executioners; and now, Lord, speak the
word, that I may depart hence to thy glory which fadeth not away."

The tomb of John Lascaris (a refugee from Constantinople when taken by the Turks) has--in Greek--the inscription:--

"Lascaris lies here in a foreign grave; but, stranger, that does
not disturb him, rather does he rejoice; yet he is not without
sorrow, as a Grecian, that his fatherland will not bestow upon him
the freedom of a grave."

Passing the great Convent of S. Bernardino Senensis, we reach the Via dei Serpenti, interesting as occupying the supposed site of the Vallis Quirinalis, where Julius Proculus, returning from Alba Longa, encountered the ghost of Romulus:

"Sed Proculus Longâ veniebat Julius Albâ;
Lunaque fulgebat; nec facis usus erat:
Cum subito motu nubes crepuere sinistræ:
Retulit ille gradus, horrueruntque comæ.
Pulcher, et humano major, trabeâque decorus,
Romulus in mediâ visus adesse viâ."

_Ovid, Fast._ ii. 498.

Turning to the right down the Via dei Serpenti, we reach the Piazza Sta. Maria in Monti, containing a fountain, and a church dedicated to SS. Sergius and Bacchus, two martyrs who suffered under Maximian at Rasapha in Syria.

One side of this piazza is occupied by the _Church of Sta. Maria in Monti_, in which is deposited a figure of the beggar Labre (canonized by Pius IX. in 1860), dressed in the gown of a mendicant-pilgrim, which he wore when living. Over the altar is a picture of him in the Coliseum, distributing to his fellow-beggars the alms which he had obtained. His fête is observed here on April 16. (At No. 3 Via dei Serpenti, one may visit the chamber in which Labre died--and in the Via dei Crociferi, near the fountain of Trevi, a chapel containing many of his relics,--the bed on which he died, the crucifix which he wore in his bosom, &c.)

"Benoît Joseph Labre naquit en 1748 dans le diocèse de Boulogne
(France) de parents chrétiens et jouissant d'une modeste aisance.
D'une piété vive et tendre, il voulut d'abord se faire religieux;
mais sa santé ne put résister, ni aux règles des Chartreux, ni à
celles des Trappistes, chez lesquels il entra successivement. _Il
fut alors sollicité intérieurement_, est il dit dans la notice sur
sa vie, _de mener une vie de pénitence et de charité au milieu du
siècle_. Pendant sept années, il parcourut en pèlerin-mendiant,
les sanctuaires de la Vierge les plus vénérés de toute l'Europe; on
a calculé qu'il fit, à pied, plus de cinq mille lieues, pendant ces
sept années.

"En 1777, il revint en Italie, pour ne plus en sortir. Il habitait
Rome, faisant seulement une fois chaque année, le pèlerinage de
Lorète. Il passait une grande partie de ses journées dans les
églises, mendiait, et faisait des œuvres de charité. Il couchait
quelquefois sous le portique des églises, et le plus souvent au
Colysée derrière la petite chapelle de la cinquième station du
chemin de la croix. L'église qu'il fréquentait le plus, était celle
de Ste. Marie des Monts; le 16 Avril, 1783, après y avoir prié fort
longtemps, en sortant, il tomba, comme évanoui, sur les marches du
péristyle de l'église. On le transporta dans une maison voisine, où
il mourut le soir."--_Une Année à Rome._

Almost opposite this church, a narrow alley, which appears to be a _cul-de-sac_ ending in a picture of the Crucifixion, is in reality the approach to the carefully concealed _Convent of the Farnesiani Nuns_, generally known as the _Sepolte Vive_. The only means of communicating with them is by rapping on a barrel which projects from a wall on a platform above the roofs of the houses,--when a muffled voice is heard from the interior,--and if your references are satisfactory, the barrel turns round and eventually discloses a key by which the initiated can admit themselves to a small chamber in the interior of the convent. Over its door is an inscription, bidding those who enter that chamber to leave all worldly thoughts behind them. Round the walls are inscribed,--"Qui non diligit, manet in morti."--"Militia est vita hominis super terram."--"Alter alterius onera portate"; and, on the other side, opposite the door,

"Vi esorto a rimirar
La vita del mondo
Nella guisa che la mira
Un moribondo."

In one of the walls is an opening with a double grille, beyond which is a metal plate, pierced with holes like the rose of a watering-pot. It is beyond this grille and behind this plate, that the abbess of the Sepolte Vive receives her visitors, but she is even then veiled from head to foot in heavy folds of thick bure. Gregory XVI., who of course could penetrate within the convent and who wished to try her, said, "Sorella mia, levate il velo." "No, mio padre," she replied, "E vietato dalla nostra regola."

The nuns of the Sepolte Vive are never seen again after they once assume the black veil, though they are allowed double the ordinary noviciate. They never hear anything of the outer world, even of the deaths of their nearest relations. Daily, they are said to dig their own graves and lie down in them, and their remaining hours are occupied in perpetual and monotonous adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Returning as far as the Via Pane e Perna (a continuation of the Via Maganaopoli) we ascend the slope of the _Viminal Hill_, now with difficulty to be distinguished from the Quirinal. It derives its name from _vimina_, osiers, and was once probably covered with woods, since a temple of Sylvanus or Pan was one of several which adorned its principal street--the Vicus Longus--the site of which is now marked by the countrified lane called Via S. Vitale. This end of the hill is crowned by the _Church of S. Lorenzo Pane e Perna_, built on the site of the martyrdom of the deacon St. Laurence, who suffered under Claudius II., in A.D. 264, for refusing to give up the goods of the Church. Over the altar is a huge fresco, representing the saint extended upon a red-hot gridiron, and below--entered from the exterior of the church--a crypt is shown as the scene of his cruel sufferings.[236]

"Blessed Laurentius, as he lay stretched and burning on the
gridiron, said to the impious tyrant, 'The meat is done, make haste
hither and eat. As for the treasures of the Church which you seek,
the hands of the poor have carried them to a heavenly
treasury.'"--_Antiphon of St. Laurence._

The funeral of St. Bridget of Sweden took place in this church, July 1373, but after resting here for a year, her body was removed by her son to the monastery of Wastein in Sweden.

Under the second altar on the right are shown the relics of St. Crispin and St. Crispinian, "two holy brothers, who departed from Rome with St. Denis to preach the Gospel in France, where, after the example of St. Paul, they laboured with their hands, being by trade shoemakers. And these good saints made shoes for the poor without fee or reward (for which the angels supplied them with leather), until, denounced as Christians, they suffered martyrdom at Soissons, being, after many tortures, beheaded by the sword (A.D. 300)."[237] The festival of St. Crispin and St. Crispinian is held on October 25, the anniversary of the battle of Agincourt.

"And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,
From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered."

_Shakespeare, Henry V._

Throughout the middle ages the statues of Posidippus and Menander, now in the gallery of statues at the Vatican, were kissed and worshipped in this church under the impression that they represented saints (see Ch. XV.). They were found on this site, which was once occupied by the baths of Olympias, daughter-in-law of Constantine.

The strange name of the church, Pane e Perna, is supposed to have had its origin in a dole of bread and ham once given at the door of the adjacent convent. In the garden belonging to the convent is a mediæval house of _c._ 1200. The campanile is of 1450.

The small neighbouring _Church of S. Lorenzo in Fonte_ covers the site of the prison of St. Lawrence, and a fountain is shown there as that in which he baptized Vicus Patricius and his daughter Lucilla, whom he miraculously raised from the dead.

Descending the hill below the church--in the valley between the Esquiline and Viminal--we reach at the corner of the street a spot of preëminent historical interest, as that where Servius Tullius was killed, and where Tullia (B.C. 535) drove in her chariot over the dead body of her father. The Vicus Urbius by which the old king had reached the spot is now represented by the Via Urbana; the Vicus Cyprius, by which he was about to ascend to the palace on the hill Cispius, by the Via di Sta. Maria Maggiore.

"Servius-Tullius, après avoir pris le chemin raccourci qui partait
du pied de la Velia et allait du côté des Carines, atteignit le
Vicus-Cyprius (Via Urbana).

"Parvenu à l'extrémité du Vicus-Cyprius, le roi fut atteint et
assassiné par les gens de Tarquin auprès d'un temple de Diane.

"C'est arrivés en cet endroit, au moment de tourner à droite et de
gagner, en remontant le Vicus-Virbius, le Cispius, où habitait son
père, que les chevaux s'arrêtèrent; que Tullie, poussée par
l'impatience fièvreuse de l'ambition, et n'ayant plus que quelques
pas à faire pour arriver au terme, avertie par le cocher que le
cadavre de son père était là gisant, s'écria: 'Eh bien, pousse le
char en avant.'

"Le meurtre s'est accompli au pied du Viminal, à l'extrémité du
Vicus-Cyprius, là où fut depuis le Vicus-Sceleratus, la rue
Funeste.

"Le lieu où la tradition plaçait cette tragique aventure ne peut
être sur l'Esquilin: mais nécessairement au pied de cette colline
et du Viminal, puisque, parvenu à l'extrémité du Vicus-Cyprius, le
cocher allait tourner à droite et remonter pour gravir l'Esquilin.
Il ne faut donc pas chercher, comme Nibby, la rue Scélérate sur une
des pentes, ou, comme Canina et M. Dyer, sur le sommet de
l'Esquilin, d'où l'on ne pouvait monter sur l'Esquilin.

"Tullie n'allait pas sur l'Oppius (San-Pietro in Vincoli), dans la
demeure de son mari, mais sur le Cispius, dans la demeure de son
père. C'était de la demeure royale qu'elle allait prendre
possession pour le nouveau roi.

* * * * *

"Je n'oublierai jamais le soir où, après avoir longtemps cherché le
lieu qui vit la mort de Servius et le crime de Tullie, tout-à-coup
je découvris clairement que j'y étais arrivé, et m'arrêtant plein
d'horreur, comme le cocher de la parricide, plongeant dans l'ombre
un regard qui, malgré moi, y cherchait le cadavre du vieux roi, je
me dis: 'C'était là!'"

_Ampère, Hist. Rom._ ii. 153.

Turning to the left, at the foot of the Esquiline, we find the interesting _Church of Sta. Pudenziana_, supposed to be the most ancient of all the Roman churches ("omnium ecclesiaram urbis vetustissima"). Cardinal Wiseman, who took his title from this church, considers it was the principal place of worship in Rome after apostolic times, being founded on the site of the house where St. Paul lodged, A.D. 41 to 50, with the senator Pudens, whose family were his first converts, and who is said to have himself suffered martyrdom under Nero. On this ancient place of worship an oratory was engrafted by Pius I. (_c._ A.D. 145), in memory of the younger daughter of Pudens, Pudenziana, perhaps at the request of her sister Prassede, who is believed to have survived till that time. In very early times two small churches existed here, known as "Titulus Pudentis" and "Titulus Pastoris," the latter in memory of a brother of Pius I.

The church, which has been successively altered by Adrian I. in the eighth century, by Gregory VII., and by Innocent II., was finally modernised by Cardinal Caetani in 1597. Little remains of ancient external work except the graceful brick campanile (_c._ 1130) with triple arcades of open arches on every side separated by bands of terra-cotta moulding,--and the door adorned with low reliefs of the Lamb bearing a cross, and of Sta. Prassede and Sta. Pudenziana with the vases in which they collected the blood of the martyrs, and two other figures, probably St. Pudens and St. Pastor.

The chapel on the left of the tribune, which is regarded as the "Titulus Pudentis," has an old mosaic pavement, said to have belonged to the house of Pudens. Here is a bas-relief by Giacomo della Porta, representing our Saviour delivering the keys to St. Peter; and here is preserved part of the altar at which St. Peter is said to have celebrated mass (the rest is at the Lateran), and which was used by all the early popes till the time of Sylvester. Among early Christian inscriptions let into the walls, is one to a Cornelia, of the family of the Pudenziani, with a rude portrait.

Opening from the left aisle is the chapel of the Caetani family, with tombs of the seventeenth century. Over the altar is a bas-relief of the Adoration of the Magi, by _Paolo Olivieri_. On each side are fine columns of Lunachella marble. Over the entrance from the nave are ancient mosaics,--of the Evangelists and of Sta. Pudenziana collecting the blood of the martyrs. Beneath, is a gloomy and neglected vault, in which all the sarcophagi and coffins of the dead Caetani are shown by torchlight.

In the tribune are magnificent mosaics, ascribed by some to the eighth, by others to the fourth century, and considered by De Rossi,[238] as the best of all ancient Christian mosaics.

"In conception and treatment this work is indeed classic: seated on
a rich throne in the centre, is the Saviour with one arm extended,
and in the other hand holding a book open at the words,
_Conservator Ecclesiæ Pudentianæ_; laterally stand SS. Praxedis and
Pudentiana with leafy crowns in their hands; and at a lower level,
but more in front, SS. Peter and Paul with eight other male
figures, all in the amply-flowing costume of ancient Romans; while
in the background are seen, beyond a portico with arcades, various
stately buildings, one a rotunda, another a parallelogram with a
gable-headed front, recognizable as a baptistery and basilica,
here, we may believe, in authentic copy from the earliest types of
the period of the first Christian emperors. Above the group, and
hovering in the air, a large cross, studded with gems, surmounts
the head of our Saviour, between the four symbols of the
Evangelists, of which one has been entirely, and another in the
greater part, sacrificed to some wretched accessories in woodwork
actually allowed to conceal portions of this most interesting
mosaic! As to expression, a severe solemnity is that prevailing,
especially in the principal head, which _alone_ is crowned with the
nimbus--one among other proofs, if but negative, of its high
antiquity."--_Heman's Ancient Christian Art._

Besides Sta. Pudenziana and St. Pudens,--St. Novatus and St. Siricius are said to be buried here. Those who visit this sanctuary every day obtain an indulgence of 3000 years, with remission of a third part of their sins! Excavations made by Mr. J. H. Parker, in 1865, have laid bare some interesting constructions beneath the church,--supposed to be those of the house of Pudens--a part of the public baths of Novatus, the son of Pudens, which were in use for some centuries after his time, and a chamber in which is supposed to have been the oratory dedicated by Pius I. in A.D. 145.

"Eubulus greeteth thee, and _Pudens_, and Linus, and Claudia, and
all the brethren."--_2 Timothy_ iv. 21.

The following account of the family of Pudens is received as the legacy of Pastor to the Christian Church.

"Pudens went to his Saviour, leaving his daughters strengthened
with chastity, and learned in all the divine law. These sold their
goods, and distributed the produce to the poor, and persevered
strictly in the love of Christ, guarding intact the flower of their
virginity, and only seeking for glory in vigils, fastings, and
prayer. They desired to have a baptistery in their house, to which
the blessed Pius not only consented, but with his own hand drew the
plan of the fountain. Then calling in their slaves, both from town
and country, the two virgins gave liberty to those who were
Christians, and urged belief in the faith upon those who had not
yet received it. By the advice of the blessed Pius, the
affranchisement was declared, with all the ancient usages, in the
oratory founded by Pudens; then, at the festival of Easter,
ninety-six neophytes were baptized; so that thenceforth assemblies
were constantly held in the said oratory, which night and day
resounded with hymns of praise. Many pagans gladly came thither to
find the faith and receive baptism.

"Meanwhile the Emperor Antonine, being informed of what was taking
place, issued an edict commanding all Christians to dwell apart in
their own houses, without mixing with the rest of the people, and
that they should neither go to the public shops, nor to the baths.
Praxedis and Pudentiana then assembled those whom they had led to
the faith, and housed them. They nourished them for many days,
watching and praying. The blessed bishop Pius himself frequently
visited us with joy, and offered the sacrifice for us to the
Saviour.

"Then Pudentiana went to God. Her sister and I wrapped her in
perfumes and kept her concealed in the oratory. Then, at the end of
twenty-eight days, we carried her to the cemetery of Priscilla, and
laid her near her father Pudens.

"Eleven months after, Novatus died in his turn. He bequeathed his
goods to Praxedis, and she then begged of St. Pius to erect a
titular (a church) in the baths of Novatus, which were no longer
used, and where there was a large and spacious hall. The bishop
made the dedication in the name of the blessed virgin Praxedis. In
the same place he consecrated a baptistery.

"But, at the end of two years, a great persecution was declared
against the Christians, and many of them received the crown of
martyrdom. Praxedis concealed a great number of them in her
oratory, and nourished them at once with the food of this world and
with the word of God. But the Emperor Antonine, having learnt that
these meetings took place in the oratory of Priscilla, caused it to
be searched, and many Christians were taken, especially the priest
Simetrius and twenty-two others. And the blessed Praxedis collected
their bodies by night, and buried them in the cemetery of
Priscilla, on the seventh day of the calends of June. Then the
virgin of the Saviour, worn out with sorrow, only asked for death.
Her tears and her prayers reached to heaven, and fifty-four days
after her brethren had suffered, she passed to God. And I, Pastor,
the priest, have buried her body near that of her father
Pudens."--_From the Narration of Pastor._

Returning by the main line of streets to the Quattro Fontane, we skirt on the right the wall of the Villa Negroni (see Ch. XI). Beyond this, on the left, is the _Church of S. Paolo Primo Eremita_. The strange-looking palm-tree over the door, with a raven perched upon it and two lions below, commemorates the story of the saint, who, retiring to the desert at the age of 22, lived there till he was 112, eating nothing but the dates of his tree for twenty-two years, after which bread was daily brought to him by a raven. In his last hours St. Anthony came to visit him and was present at his burial, when two lions his companions came to dig his grave. The sustaining palm-tree and the three animals who loved S. Paolo are again represented over the altar. Further on the left, we pass the Via S. Vitale, occupying the site of the Vicus Longus, considered by Dyer to have been the longest street in the ancient city. Here stood the temples of Sylvanus, and of Fever, with that of Pudicitia Plebeia, founded _c._ B.C. 297, by Virginia the patrician, wife of Volumnius, when excluded from the patrician temple of Pudicitia in the Forum Boarium, on account of her plebeian marriage. "At its altar none but plebeian matrons of unimpeachable chastity, and who had been married to only one husband, were allowed to sacrifice."[239]

The _Church of S. Vitale_ on the Viminal, which now stands here, was founded by Innocent I. in A.D. 416. The interior is covered with frescoes of martyrdoms. It is seldom open except early on Sunday mornings. S. Vitale, father of S. Gervasius and S. Protasius, was the martyr and patron saint of Ravenna who was buried alive under Nero.

Beyond this, on the left of the Via delle Quattro Fontane, is the _Church of S. Dionisio_, belonging to the Basilian nuns, called Apostoline di S. Basilio. It contains an Ecce Homo of _Luca Giordano_, and the gaudy shrine of the virgin martyr Sta. Coraola.

END OF VOL. I.

Showing the more important streets and buildings. (left-side of map)]

WALKS IN ROME

TWO VOLS.--II.

WALKS IN ROME

BY AUGUSTUS J. C. HARE
AUTHOR OF "MEMORIALS OF A QUIET LIFE," "WANDERINGS IN SPAIN," ETC

TWO VOLUMES.----II.

_FIFTH EDITION_

LONDON
DALDY, ISBISTER & CO.
56, LUDGATE HILL
1875

[_All rights reserved_]

JOHN CHILDS AND SON, PRINTERS.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XI.

PAGE

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE BATHS OF DIOCLETIAN 7

CHAPTER XII.

THE ESQUILINE 46

CHAPTER XIII.

THE BASILICAS OF THE LATERAN, SANTA CROCE, AND S. LORENZO 94

CHAPTER XIV.

IN THE CAMPUS MARTIUS 148

CHAPTER XV.

THE BORGO AND ST. PETER'S 223

CHAPTER XVI.

THE VATICAN 282

CHAPTER XVII.

THE ISLAND AND THE TRASTEVERE 360

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE TRE FONTANE AND S. PAOLO 392

CHAPTER XIX.

THE VILLAS BORGHESE MADAMA, AND MELLINI 410

CHAPTER XX.

THE JANICULAN 432