Chapter XIII (1)

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

Via S. Giovanni--The Obelisk and Baptistery--Basilica and
Cloisters--Mosaic of the Triclinium--Santa Scala--Palace of the
Lateran--Villa Massimo Arsole--SS. Pietro e Marcellino--Villa
Wolkonski--(Porta Furba--Tombs of the Via Latina--Basilica of S.
Stefano)--Santa Croce in Gerusalemme--Amphitheatrum
Castrense--Porta Maggiore--(Tomb of Sta. Helena--Torre dei
Schiavi--Cervaletto--Cerbara)--Porta and Basilica of S.
Lorenzo--Catacomb of S. Hippolytus.

Behind the Coliseum the Via S. Giovanni ascends the slope of the Esquiline. In mediæval times this road was always avoided by the popes, on account (as most authorities state) of the scandal attaching to the more than doubtful legend of Joan, the famous papessa, who is said to have horrified her attendants by giving birth to a child on this spot, during a procession from the Lateran, and to have died of shame and terror immediately afterwards. Joan is stated to have been educated at Athens, to have skilfully obtained her election to the papal throne, disguised as a man, between the reign of Leo IV. and that of Benedict III. (855), and to have taken the name of John VIII. In the cathedral of Siena the heads of all the popes in terra-cotta (down to Alexander III.) decorate the frieze above the arches of the nave, and among them was that of Pope Joan, inscribed "Johannes VIII. Femina de Anglia," till 1600, when it was changed into a head of Pope Zacharias by the Grand Duke, at the request of Pope Clement VIII.

On the left of this street is S. Clemente (described Ch. VII.). On the right, a long wall flooded by a cascade of Banksia roses in spring, and a villa inlaid with terra-cotta ornaments, are those of the favourite residence of the well-known Marchese Campana, the learned archæologist of Etruria, and the chief benefactor of the Etruscan museum at the Vatican, cruelly imprisoned and exiled by the papal government in 1858, upon an accusation of having tampered with the revenues of Monte di Pietà.

Beyond the turn of the road leading to S. Stefano Rotondo (Ch. VII.), bas-reliefs of Our Saviour's Head (from the Acheirotopeton in the Sancta Sanctorum) between two candelabra--upon the different buildings, announce the property of the Lateran chapter.

The _Piazza di San Giovanni_ is surrounded by a remarkable group of buildings. In front are the Baptistery and Basilica of the Lateran. On the right is a Hospital for women, capable of containing 600 patients; on the left, beyond the modern palace, are seen the buildings which enclose the Santa Scala, and some broken arches of the Aqua Marcia. In the centre of the piazza is the _Obelisk of the Lateran_, 150 feet high, the oldest object in Rome, being referred by translators of hieroglyphics to the year 1740 B.C., when it was raised in memory of the Pharaoh Thothmes IV. It was brought, from the temple of the Sun at Heliopolis, to Alexandria by Constantine, and removed thence by his son Constantius to Rome, where it was used, together with the obelisk now in the Piazza del Popolo, to ornament the Circus Maximus. Hence it was moved to its present site in 1588, by Fontana, for Sixtus V. The obelisk was then broken into three pieces, and in order to piece them together, some part had to be cut off, but it is still the tallest in the city. One of the inscriptions on the basement is false, as it narrates that Constantine received at the Lateran the baptism which he did not receive till he was dying at Nicomedia.

An octagon building of mean and miserable exterior is that of the _Baptistery of the Lateran_, sometimes called S. Giovanni in Fonte, built, not by Constantine, to whom it is falsely ascribed, but by Sixtus III. (430-40). Of his time are the two porphyry columns at the entrance on the side nearest the church, and the eight which form a colonnade round the interior, supporting a cornice from which rise the eight small columns of white marble, which sustain the dome. In the centre is the font of green basalt in which Rienzi bathed on the night of August 1, 1347, before his public appearance as a knight, when he summoned Clement VI. and other sovereigns of Europe to appear before him for judgment. The cupola is decorated with scenes from the life of John the Baptist by _Andrea Sacchi_. On the walls are frescoes pourtraying the life of Constantine by _Gimignano_, _Carlo Maratta_, and _Andrea Camassei_.

On the right is the _Chapel of St. John the Baptist_, built by Pope Hilary (461-67). Between two serpentine columns is a figure of St. John Baptist by _L. Valadico_ after Donatello.

On the left is the _Chapel of St. John the Evangelist_, also built by Hilary, who presented its bronze doors (said to have once belonged to the Baths of Caracalla) in remembrance of his delivery from the fury of fanatical monks at the Second Council of Ephesus, where he appeared as the legate of Leo I.,--a fact commemorated by the inscription: "Liberatori suo B. Joanni Evangelistæ Hilarius Episcopus famulus Christi." The vault is covered with mosaics representing the Spotless Lamb in Paradise. Here is a statue of St. John by _Landini_.

Close by is the entrance to the _Oratory of S. Venanzio_,[277] built in 640 by John IV., and dedicated to St. Venantius, from a filial feeling to his father, who bore the same name. Nothing, however, remains of this time but the mosaics. Those in the apse represent the Saviour in the act of benediction with angels, and below him the Virgin (an aged woman) in adoration,[278] with St. Peter and St. John Baptist, St. Paul and St. John the Evangelist, St. Venantius and St. Domnus--and another figure unnamed, probably John IV., holding the model of a church. Outside the chancel arch are eight saints, with their names (Palmianus, Julius, Asterius, Anastasius, Maurus, Septimius, Antiochianus, Cajanus), the symbols of the evangelists, and the cities Bethlehem and Jerusalem; also the verses:--

"Martyribus Christi Domini pia vota Johannes
Reddidit antistes sanctificante Deo.
Ac sacri fontis simile fulgente metallo,
Providus instanter hoc copulavit opus:
Quo quisque gradiens et Christum pronus adorans,
Effusasque preces impetrat ille suas."

The next chapel, called the _Capella Borgia_, and used as the burial-place of that family, was once an open portico, but this character was destroyed by the building up of the intercolumniations. On its façade are a number of fragments of ancient friezes, &c. Over the inner door is a bas-relief of the Crucifixion, of 1494.

The piteous modernization of this ancient group of chapels is chiefly due to the folly of Urban VIII. The baptistery is used on Easter Eve for the ceremony of adult baptism, the recipients being called Jews.

The _Lateran_ derives its name from a rich patrician family, whose estates were confiscated by Nero, when their head, Plautius Lateranus, was put to death for taking part in the conspiracy of Piso.[279] It afterwards became an imperial residence, and a portion of it being given by Maximianus to his daughter Fausta, second wife of Constantine, received the name of "Domus Faustæ." It was this which was given by Constantine to Pope Melchiades in 312,--a donation which was confirmed to St. Sylvester, in whose reign the first basilica was built here, and consecrated on November 9, 324, Constantine having laboured with his own hands at the work. This basilica was overthrown by an earthquake in 896, but was rebuilt by Sergius III. (904--11), being then dedicated to St. John the Baptist. This second basilica, whose glories are alluded to by Dante,--

----"Quando Laterano
Alle cose mortale andò di sopra."

_Paradiso_, xxxi.

was of the greatest interest, but was almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1308. It was rebuilt, only to be again burnt down in 1360, when it remained for four years in utter ruin, in which state it was seen and mourned over by Petrarch. The fourth restoration of the basilica was due to Urban V. (1362-70), but it has since undergone a series of mutilations and modernizations, which have deplorably injured it. The west front still retains the inscription "Sacrosancta Lateranensis ecclesia, Omnium urbis et orbis Ecclesiarum Mater et Caput;" the Chapter of the Lateran still takes precedence even over that of St. Peter's; and every newly elected pope comes hither for his coronation.

"St. J. Lateran est regardé comme le siége du patriarchal romain. À
St. Pierre le pape est souverain pontife. À St. J. Lateran il est
évêque de Rome. Quand le pape est élu, il vient à St. J. Lateran
prendre possession de son siége comme évêque de Rome."--_A. Du
Pays._

The west end of the basilica is in part a remnant of the building of the tenth century, and has two quaint towers (rebuilt by Sixtus IV.) at the end of the transept, and a rich frieze of terra-cotta. The church is entered from the transept by a portico, ending in a gloomy chapel which contains a statue of Henry IV., by _Niccolo Cordieri_. The _transept_--rich in colour from its basement of varied marbles, and its upper frescoes of the legendary history of Constantine--is by far the finest part of the basilica, which, as a whole, is infinitely inferior to Sta. Maria Maggiore. The nave, consisting of five aisles, is of grand proportions, but has been hideously modernized under _Borromini_, who has enclosed all its ancient columns, except two near the tribune, in tawdry plaster piers, in front of which are huge statues of the apostles; the roof is gilt and gaudy, the tabernacle ugly and ill-proportioned,--only the ancient pavement of opus-alexandrinum is fine. Confessionals for different languages are placed here as in St. Peter's. The _Tabernacle_ was erected by Urban V. in the fourteenth century. Four granite columns support a gothic canopy, decorated at its angles with canopied statuettes. Between these, on either side, are three much restored frescoes by _Berni da Siena_, those in central panels representing the Annunciation, the Crucifixion, the Coronation of the Virgin, and the Saviour as a shepherd (very beautifully treated) feeding his flock with corn. The skulls of SS. Peter and Paul are said to be preserved here. The altar encloses the greater part of the famous wooden table, saved at great risk of life from the conflagration of 1308, upon which St. Peter is supposed to have celebrated mass in the house of Pudens.[280] The steps of the altar (at the top of which the pope is installed) have an allegorical enamelled border with emblems of an asp, a dragon, a lion, and basilisk, in allusion to Psalm xci.

In the confession, in front of the altar, is the bronze tomb of Martin V., Oddone Colonna (1417--24), the wise and just pope who was elected at the Council of Constance to put an end to the schism which had long divided the papacy, and which had almost reduced the capital of the Church to ruins. A bronze slab bears his figure, in low-relief, and is a fine work of _Antonio Filarete_, author of the bronze doors at St. Peter's. It bears the appropriate surname which was given to this justly-loved pope--"Temporum suorum felicitas."

The tribune is of the time of Nicholas IV. (1287--1292). Above the arch is a grand mosaic head of the Saviour, attributed to the time of Constantine, and evidently of the fourth century,--of great interest on this spot, as commemorating the vision of the Redeemer, who is said to have appeared here on the day of the consecration of the church by Sylvester and Constantine, looking down upon the people, and solemnly hallowing the work with his visible presence. The head, which is grand and sad in expression, is surrounded by six-winged seraphim. Below is an ornamented cross, above which hovers a dove--from whose beak, running down the cross, flow the waters which supply the four rivers of Paradise. The disciples, as harts (panting for the water-brooks) and sheep, flock to drink of the waters of life. In the distance is the New Jerusalem, within which the Phœnix, the bird of eternity, is seated upon the tree of Life, guarded by an angel with a two-edged sword. Beside the cross stand, on the left, the Virgin with her hand resting on the head of the kneeling pope, Nicholas IV.; St. Peter with a scroll inscribed, "Tu es Christus filius Dei vivi;" St. Paul with a scroll inscribed, "Salvatorem expectamus Dominum Jesum." On the right St. John the Baptist, St. John the Evangelist, St. Andrew (all with their names). Between the first and second of these figures are others, on a smaller scale, of St. Francis and St. Anthony of Padua. All these persons are represented as walking in a flowery Paradise, in which the souls of the blessed are besporting, and in front of which flows the Jordan. Below, between the windows, are figures of prophets, and (very small) of two Franciscans, who were the artists of the lower portion of the mosaic, as is shown by the inscriptions, "Jacobus Turriti, pictor, hoc opus fecit;"--"Fra Jacobus de Camerino socius magistri."

Behind the tribune, is all that remains internally of the architecture of the tenth century, in the vaulted passage called "Portico Leonino," from its founder, Leo I. It is supported on low marble and granite columns with Ionic and Corinthian capitals. Here are collected a variety of relics of the ancient basilica. On either side of the entrance are mosaic tablets, which relate to the building of the church. Then, on the right, is a curious kneeling statue of Pope Nicholas IV., Masci (1287--92). On the left, in the centre, is an altar, above which is an ancient crucifix, and on either side tenth century statues of SS. Peter and Paul.

On the right is the entrance to the sacristy (whose inner bronze doors date from 1196), which contains an Annunciation by _Sebastian del Piombo_, and a sketch by _Raphael_ for the Madonna, called "Della Casa d'Alba," now at St. Petersburg; also an ancient bas-relief, which represents the old and humble basilica of Pope Sergius. On the left, at the end of the passage, is a very handsome cinquecento ciborium, and near it the "Tabula Magna Lateranensis," containing the list of relics belonging to the church.

Near this, opening from the transept, is the _Capella del Coro_, with handsome wooden stallwork. It contains a portrait of Martin V., by _Scipione Gaetani_.

The altar of the Sacrament, which closes the transept, has four fluted bronze columns, said to have been brought from Jerusalem by Titus, and to be hollow and filled with earth from Palestine.[281] The last chapel in the left aisle is the _Corsini Chapel_, erected in 1729 in honour of St. Andrea Corsini, from designs of Alessandro Galilei. It is in the form of a Greek cross, and ranks next to the Borghese Chapel in the richness of its marble decoration. The mosaic altar-piece, representing S. Andrea Corsini, is a copy from _Guido_. The founder of the chapel, Clement XII., Lorenzo Corsini (1730--40), is buried in a splendid porphyry sarcophagus which he plundered from the Pantheon. Above it is a bronze statue of the pope.[282] Opposite is the tomb of Cardinal Neri Corsini, with a number of statues of the Bernini school.

Beneath the chapel is a vault lined with sarcophagi of the Corsini. Its altar is surmounted by a magnificent Pietà--in whose beautiful and impressive figures it is difficult to recognise a work of the usually coarse and theatrical artist _Bernini_.

Of the many tombs of mediæval popes which formerly existed in this
basilica,[283] none remain, except the memorial slab and epitaph of
Sylvester II., Gerbert (999--1003). This pope is said (by the
chronicler Martin Polonus de Corenza) to have been a kind of
magician, who obtained first the archbishopric of Rheims, then that
of Ravenna, and then the papacy, by the aid of the devil, to whom,
in return, he promised to belong after death. When he ascended the
throne, he asked the devil how long he could reign, and the devil,
as is his custom, answered by a double-entendre, "If you never
enter Jerusalem, you will reign a long time." He occupied the
throne for four years, one month, and ten days, when, one day, as
he was officiating in the basilica of Sta. Croce in Gerusalemme, he
saw that he had passed the fatal threshold, and that his death was
impending. Overwhelmed with repentance, he confessed his
backslidings before the people, and exhorted them to lay aside
pride, to resist the temptations of the devil, and to lead a good
life. After this he begged of his attendants to cut his body in
pieces after he was dead, as he deserved, and to place it on a
common cart, and bury it wherever the horses stopped of their own
accord. Then was manifested the will of the Divine Providence, that
repentant sinners should learn that their God preserves for them a
place of pardon even in this life,--for the horses went of their
own accord to St. John Lateran, where he was buried. "Since then,"
says Platina, "the rattling of his bones, and the sweat, or rather
the damp, with which his tomb becomes covered, has always been the
infallible sign and forerunner of the death of a pope"!

Against the second pillar of the right aisle, counting from the west door, is a very interesting fresco of _Giotto_, originally one of many paintings executed by him for the loggia of the adjoining papal palace, whence the benediction and "plenary indulgence" were given in the jubilee year. It represents Boniface VIII. (Benedetto Gaetani, 1294--1303), the founder of the jubilee, between two priests.

"On y voit Boniface annonçant au peuple le jubilé. Le portrait du
pape doit être ressemblant. J'ai reconnu dans cette physiognomie,
où il y a plus de finesse que de force, la statue que j'avais vue
couchée sur le tombeau de ce pape, dans les souterrains du
Vatican."--_Ampère, Voyage Dantesque._

Opening from this aisle are several chapels. The second is that of the newly established and rich family of Torlonia, which contains a marble Pietà, by Tenerani, and some handsome modern monuments. The third is that of the Massimi (designed by Giacomo della Porta), which has, as an altar-piece, the Crucifixion by _Sermoneta_. Beyond this, in the right aisle, are several remarkable tombs of cardinals, among which is the tomb of Cardinal Guissano, who died in 1287. The painters Cav. d'Arpino and Andrea Sacchi are buried in this church.

Entered from the last chapel in the left aisle (by a door which the sacristan will open) is the beautiful twelfth century _Cloister of the Monastery_, surrounded by low arches supported on exquisite inlaid and twisted columns, above which is a lovely frieze of coloured marbles. The court thus enclosed is a garden of roses; in the centre is a well (adorned with crosses) of the tenth century, called the "Well of the Woman of Samaria." In the cloister is a collection of architectural and traditional relics, including a beautiful old white marble throne, inlaid with mosaics, a candelabrum resting on a lion, and several other exquisitely wrought details from the old basilica; also a porphyry slab upon which the soldiers are said to have cast lots for the seamless robe; columns which were rent by the earthquake of the Crucifixion; a slab, resting on pillars, shown as a measure of the height of Our Saviour,[284] and a smaller slab, also on pillars, of which it is said that it was once an altar, at which the officiating priest doubted of the Real Presence, when the wafer fell from his hand through the stone, leaving a round hole which still remains.

Five General Councils have been held at the Lateran, viz.:--

I.--March 19, 1123, under Calixtus II., with regard to the
Investiture.

II.--April 18, 1139, under Innocent II., to condemn the doctrines
of Arnold of Brescia and Peter de Bruys, and to oppose the
anti-pope Anacletus II.

III.--March 5, 1179, under Alexander III., to condemn the
doctrines of Waldenses and Albigenses, and to end the schism
caused by Frederick Barbarossa.

IV.--Nov. 11, 1215, at which 400 bishops assembled under Innocent
III., to condemn the Albigenses, and the heresies of the Abbot
Joachim.

V.--May 3, 1512, under Julius II. and Leo X., at which the
Pragmatic Sanction was abolished, and a Concordat concluded between
the Pope and Francis I. for the destruction of the liberties of the
Gallican Church.

It is in the basilica of the Lateran that the Church places the first meeting between St. Francis and St Dominic.

"Une nuit, pendant que Dominique dormait, il lui sembla voir
Jésus-Christ se préparant à exterminer les superbes, les
voluptueux, les avares, lorsque tout-à-coup la Vierge l'apaisa en
lui présentant deux hommes: l'un d'eux lui-même; quant à l'autre,
il ne le connaissait pas; mais le lendemain, la première personne
qu'il aperçut, en entrant au Latran, fut l'inconnu qui lui était
apparu en songe. Il était couvert de haillons et priait avec
ferveur. Dominique se précipita dans ses bras, et l'embrassant avec
effusion: 'Tu es mon compagnon,' lui dit-il; 'nous courons la même
carrière, demeurons ensemble, et aucun ennemi ne prévaudra contre
nous.' Et, à partir de ce moment, dit la légende, ils n'eurent plus
qu'un cœur et qu'une âme dans le Seigneur. Ce pauvre, ce
mendiant, était saint François d'Assise."--_Gournerie, Rome
Chrétienne._

Issuing from the west door of the basilica, we find ourselves in a wide portico, one of whose five doors is a Porta Santa. At the end, is appropriately placed an ancient marble statue of Constantine, who is in the dress of a Roman warrior, bearing the _labarum_, or standard of the cross, which is here represented as a lance surmounted by the monogram of Christ. From this portico we look down upon one of the most beautiful and characteristic views in Rome. On one side are the Alban Hills, blue in morning, or purple in evening light, sprinkled with white villages of historic interest--Albano, Rocca di Papa, Marino, Frescati, Colonna; on the other side are the Sabine Mountains, tipped with snow; in the middle distance the long, golden-hued lines of aqueducts stretch away over the plain, till they are lost in the pink haze, and nearer still are the desolate basilica of Santa Croce, the fruit gardens of the Villa Wolkonski, interspersed with rugged fragments of massive brickwork, and the glorious old walls of the city itself. The road at our feet is the Via Appia Nuova, which leads to Naples, and which immediately passes through the modern gate of Rome, known as the Porta _San Giovanni_ (built in the sixteenth century by Gregory XIII.). Nearer to us, on the right, is an ancient gateway, the finest on the Aurelian wall, bricked up by Ladislaus, king of Naples, in 1408. By this gate, known as the _Porta Asinaria_, from the family of the Asinarii, Belisarius entered Rome in 505, and Totila, through the treachery of the Isaurian Guard, in 546. Here also, in 1084, Henry IV. entered Rome against Hildebrand with his anti-pope Guibert; and, a few years after, the name of the gate itself was changed to Porta Perusta, in consequence of the injuries it received from Robert Guiscard, who came to the rescue of the lawful pontiff.

The broad open space which we see beneath the steps was the favourite walk of the mediæval popes.

"The splendid palace of the Lateran reflected the rays of the
evening sun, as Francis of Assisi with two or three of his
disciples approached it to obtain the papal sanction for the rules
of his new Order. A group of churchmen in sumptuous apparel were
traversing with slow and measured steps its lofty terrace, then
called 'the Mirror,' as if afraid to overtake him who preceded
them, in a dress studiously simple, and with a countenance wrapped
in earnest meditation. Unruffled by passion, and yet elate with
conscious power, that eagle eye, and those capacious brows,
announced him the lord of a dominion which might have satisfied the
pride of Diogenes, and the ambition of Alexander. Since the
Tugurium was built on the Capitoline, no greater monarch had ever
called the seven hills his own. But, in his pontificate, no era had
occurred more arduous than that in which Innocent III. saw the
mendicants of Assisi prostrate at his feet. The interruption was as
unwelcome as it was abrupt; as he gazed at the squalid dress and
faces of his suitors, and observed their bare and unwashed feet,
his lip curled with disdain, and sternly commanding them to
withdraw, he seemed again to retire from the outer world into some
of the deep recesses of that capacious mind. Francis and his
companions betook themselves to prayer; Innocent to his couch.
There (says the legend) he dreamed that a palm-tree sprouted up
from the ground beneath his feet, and, swiftly shooting up into the
heavens, cast her boughs on every side, a shelter from the heat,
and a refreshment to the weary. The vision of the night dictated
the policy of the morning, and assured Innocent that, under his
fostering care, the Franciscan palm would strike deep her roots,
and expand her foliage on every side, in the vineyard of the
Church."--_Stephens' St. Francis of Assisi._

The western façade of the basilica, built by Alessandro Galilei in 1734, has a fine effect at a distance, but the statues of Christ and the apostles which line its parapet are too large for its proportions.

_The ancient Palace of the Lateran_ was the residence of the popes for nearly 1000 years. Almost all the events affecting the private lives of a vast line of ecclesiastical sovereigns happened within its walls. Plundered in each successive invasion, stricken with malaria during the autumn months, and often partially burnt, it was finally destroyed by the great enemy of Roman antiquities, Sixtus V. Among the scenes which occurred within its walls, perhaps the most terrible was that when John X., the completer of the Lateran basilica, was invaded here by Marozia, who was beginning to seize the chief power in Rome, and who carried the pope off prisoner to St. Angelo, after he had seen his brother Peter murdered before his eyes in the hall of the pontifical palace.

The only remnants preserved of this famous building are the private chapel of the popes, and the end wall of their dining-hall, known as the _Triclinium_, which contains a copy, erected by Benedict XIV., of the ancient mosaic of the time of Leo III. which formerly existed here, and the remains of which are preserved in the Vatican.

"In this mosaic, Hallam (Middle Ages) sees proof that the authority
of the Greek Emperor was not entirely abrogated at Rome till long
after the period of papal aggrandisement by Pepin and his son, but
he is warranted by no probabilities in concluding that Constantine
V., whose reign began A.D. 780, is intended by the emperor kneeling
with St. Peter or Pope Sylvester."--_Hemans' Ancient Christian
Art._

Professor Bryce finds two paintings in which the theory of the mediæval empire is unmistakeably set forth; one of them in Rome, the other in Florence, (a fresco in the chapter-house of S. M. Novella).

"The first of these is the famous mosaic of the Lateran triclinium,
constructed by Pope Leo III., about A.D. 800, and an exact copy of
which, made by the order of Sixtus V., may still be seen over
against the facade of St. John Lateran. Originally meant to adorn
the state banqueting-hall of the popes, it is now placed in the
open air, in the finest situation in Rome, looking from the brow of
a hill across the green ridges of the Campagna to the olive groves
of Tivoli and the glistering crags and snow-capped summits of the
Umbrian and Sabine Apennine. It represents in the centre Christ
surrounded by the apostles, whom He is sending forth to preach the
gospel; one hand is extended to bless, the other holds a book with
the words 'Pax vobis.' Below and to the right Christ is depicted
again, and this time sitting: on His right hand kneels Pope
Sylvester, on His left the Emperor Constantine; to the one He gives
the keys of heaven and hell, to the other a banner surmounted by a
cross. In the group on the opposite, that is, on the left side of
the arch, we see the Apostle Peter seated, before whom in like
manner kneel Pope Leo III. and Charles the Emperor; the latter
wearing, like Constantine, his crown. Peter, himself grasping the
keys, gives to Leo the pallium of an archbishop, to Charles the
banner of the Christian army. The inscription is 'Beatus Petrus
dona vitam Leoni P. Pet victoriam Carulo regi dona;' while round
the arch is written, 'Gloria in excelsis Deo, et in terra pax
omnibus bonæ voluntatis.'

"The order and nature of the ideas here symbolized is sufficiently
clear. First comes the revelation of the gospel, and the divine
commission to gather all men into its fold. Next, the institution,
at the memorable era of Constantine's conversion, of the two powers
by which the Christian people is to be respectively taught and
governed. Thirdly, we are shown the permanent Vicar of God, the
apostle who keeps the keys of heaven and hell, re-establishing
these same powers on a new and firmer basis. The badge of
ecclesiastical supremacy he gives to Leo as the spiritual head of
the faithful on earth, the banner of the Church militant to
Charles, who is to maintain her cause against heretics and
infidels."--_J. Bryce_, _Holy Roman Empire_, ch. vii. pp. 117, 118,
3rd ed., 1871.

In the building behind the Triclinium, attached to a convent of Passionist monks, and erected by Fontana for Sixtus V., is preserved _the Santa Scala_. This famous staircase, supposed to be that of the house of Pilate, ascended and descended by our Saviour, is said to have been brought from Jerusalem by Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, and has been regarded with especial reverence by the Roman Church for 1500 years. In 897 it was injured and partially thrown down by an earthquake, but was re-erected in the old Lateran palace, whence it was removed to its present site on the demolition of that venerable building. Clement XII. caused the steps to be covered by a wooden casing, which has since been repeatedly worn out by the knees of ascending pilgrims. Apertures are left, through which the marble steps can be seen; two of them are said to be stained with the blood of the Saviour!

At the foot of the stairs, within the atrium, are fine sculptures of _Giacometti_, representing the "Ecce Homo,"--and the "Kiss of Judas," purchased and placed here by Pius IX.

Between these statues the pilgrims kneel to commence the ascent of the Santa Scala. The effect of the staircase (especially on Fridays in Lent, and most of all on Good Friday), with the figures ascending on their knees in the dim light, and the dark vaulted ceiling covered with faded frescoes, is exceedingly picturesque.

"Reason may condemn, but feeling cannot resist the claim to
reverential sympathy in the spectacle daily presented by the Santa
Scala. Numerous indulgences have been granted by different popes to
those who ascend it with prayer at each step. Whilst kneeling upon
these stairs public penance used to be performed in the days of the
Church's more rigorous discipline; as the saintly matron Fabiola
there appeared a penitent before the public gaze, in sackcloth and
ashes, A.D. 390.... There is no day on which worshippers may not be
seen slowly ascending those stairs; but it is during Holy Week the
concourse is at its height; and on Good Friday I have seen this
structure completely covered by the multitude, like a swarm of bees
settling on flowers!"--_Hemans' Ancient Sacred Art._

"Brother Martin Luther went to accomplish the ascent of the Santa
Scala--the Holy Staircase--which once, they say, formed part of
Pilate's house. He slowly mounted step after step of the hard
stone, worn into hollows by the knees of penitents and pilgrims. An
indulgence for a thousand years--indulgence from penance--is
attached to this act of devotion. Patiently he crept half-way up
the staircase, when he suddenly stood erect, lifted his face
heavenward, and, in another moment, turned and walked slowly down
again.

"He said that, as he was toiling up, a voice as if from heaven,
seemed to whisper to him the old, well-known words, which had been
his battle-cry in so many a victorious combat,--'The just shall
live by faith.'

"He seemed awakened, as if from a nightmare, and restored to
himself. He dared not creep up another step; but, rising from his
knees, he stood upright, like a man suddenly loosed from bonds and
fetters, and with the firm step of a freeman, he descended the
staircase, and walked from the place."--_Schönberg-Cotta
Chronicles._

"Did the feet of the Saviour actually tread these steps? Are these
reliques really portions of his cross, crown of thorns, &c., or is
all this fictitious? To me it is all one.

"'He is not here, he is risen!' said the angel at the tomb. The
worship of the bodily covering which the spirit has cast off
belongs to the soul still in the larva condition; and the ascending
of the Scala Santa on the knees is too convenient a mode for
obtaining the forgiveness of sins, and at the same time a hindrance
upon the only true way."--_Frederika Bremer._

Ascending one of the lateral staircases--no _foot_ must touch the Santa Scala--we reach the outside of the _Sancta Sanctorum_, a chapel held so intensely sacred that none but the pope can officiate at its altar, and that it is _never_ open to others, except on the morning before Palm Sunday, when the canons of the Lateran come hither to worship, in solemn procession, with torches and a veiled crucifix, and, even then, none but the clergy are allowed to pass its threshold. The origin of the sanctuary is lost in antiquity, but it was the private chapel of the mediæval popes in the old palace, and is known to have existed already, dedicated to St. Laurence, in the time of Pelagius I. (578--590), who deposited here some relics of St. Andrew and St. Luke. It was restored by Honorius III. in 1216, and almost rebuilt by Nicholas III. in 1277.

It is permitted to gaze through a grating upon the picturesque glories of the interior, which are chiefly of the thirteenth century. The altar is in a recess, supported by two porphyry columns. Above it a beautiful silver tabernacle, presented by Innocent III. (1198-1216), to contain the great relic, which invests the chapel with its peculiar sanctity,--a portrait of our Saviour (placed here by Stephen III. in 752), held by the Roman Church as authentic,--to have been begun by St. Luke and finished by an angel, whence the name by which it is known, "Acheirotopeton," or, the "picture made without hands."

"The different theories as to the acheirotopeton picture, and the
manner in which it reached this city, are stated with naïveté by
Maroni--_i.e._, that the apostles and the Madonna, meeting after
the ascension, resolved to order a portrait of the Crucified, for
satisfying the desire of the faithful, and commissioned St. Luke to
execute the task; that after three days' prayer and fasting, such a
portrait was drawn in outline by that artist, but, before he had
begun to colour, the tints were found to have been filled in by
invisible hands; that this picture was brought from Jerusalem to
Rome, either by St. Peter, or by Titus (together with the sacred
spoils of the temple); or else expedited hither in a miraculous
voyage of only twenty-four hours by S. Germanus, patriarch of
Constantinople, who desired thus to save such a treasure from the
outrages of the Iconoclasts; and that, about A.D. 726, Pope Gregory
II., apprised of its arrival at the mouth of the Tiber by
revelation, proceeded to carry it thence, with due escort, to Rome;
since which advent it has remained in the Sancta
Sanctorum."--_Hemans' Mediæval Christian Art._

Above the altar is, in gilt letters, the inscription, "non est in tota sanctior urbe locus." Higher up, under gothic arches, and between twisted columns, are pictures of sainted popes and martyrs, but these have been so much retouched as to have lost their interest. The gratings here are those of the relic chamber, which contains the reputed sandals of Our Saviour, fragments of the true cross, &c. On the ceiling is a grand mosaic,--a head of Our Saviour within a nimbus, sustained by six-winged seraphim--ascribed to the eighth century. The sill in front of the screen is covered with money, thrown in as offerings by the pilgrims.

The chapel was once much larger. Its architect was probably Deodatus Cosmati. An inscription near the door tells us, "Magister Cosmatus fecit hoc opus."

Here, in the time when the Lateran palace was inhabited, the feet of twelve sub-deacons were annually washed by the pope on Holy Thursday. On the Feast of the Assumption the sacred picture used to be borne in triumph through the city, halting in the Forum, where the feet of the pope were washed in perfumed waters on the steps of Sta. Maria Nuova, and the "Kyrie Eleison" was chaunted a hundred times. This custom was abolished by Pius V. in 1566.

The _Modern Palace of the Lateran_ was built from designs of Fontana by Sixtus V. In 1693 Innocent XII. turned it into a hospital,--in 1438 Gregory XVI. appropriated it as a museum. The entrance faces the obelisk in the Piazza di San Giovanni. The palace is always shown, but the terrible cold which pervades it makes it a dangerous place except in the late spring months, and a visit to it is often productive of fever.

The ground floor is the principal receptacle for antiquities, found at Rome within the last few years. It contains a number of very beautiful sarcophagi and bas-reliefs.

Entering under the corridor on the right, the most remarkable objects are:--

_1st Room._--

LEFT WALL:

Relief of the Abduction of Helen.

RIGHT WALL:

High relief of two pugilists, 'Dares and Entellus.'

Grand relief of Trajan followed by senators, from the Forum of
Trajan.

The sacred oak of Jupiter, with figures.

Bust of Marcus Aurelius.

_2nd Room._--

Beautiful architectural fragments, chiefly from the Forum of
Trajan.

_3rd Room._--

ENTRANCE WALL:

Statue of Æsculapius.

RIGHT WALL:

Statue of Antinous, called the Braschi, found at Palestrina.

Bought from the Braschi family by Gregory XVI for 12,000 scudi.

WALL OF EGRESS:

Sarcophagus of a child, with a relief representing pugilists.

_4th Room._--

ENTRANCE WALL:

Greek relief of Medea and the daughters of Peleus.

Above (one of a number of busts), 762. Beautiful head of a Dryad.

Statue of Germanicus.

RIGHT WALL:

Statue of Mars.

WALL OF EGRESS:

Copy of the Faun of Praxiteles.

IN THE CENTRE:

A fine vase of Lumachella.

A passage is crossed to the

_5th Room._--

IN THE CENTRE:

1. Sacrifice of Mithras.
2. A stag of basalt.
3. A cow.

RIGHT WALL:

Sepulchral urn, with a curious relief representing children and
cock-fighting.

_6th Room._--

An interesting collection of statues, from Cervetri (Cære),
including those of Tiberius and Claudius; between them Agrippina,
sixth wife of Claudius,--and others less certain.

BETWEEN THE WINDOWS:

Drusilla, sister of Claudius, and, on the wall, part of her
epitaph.

_7th Room._--

RIGHT WALL:

Faun dancing,--found near Sta. Lucia in Selce.

FACING THE ENTRANCE:

_A grand statue of Sophocles_ (the gem of the collection), found at
Terracina, 1838. Given by the Antonelli family.

"Sophocle, dans une pose aisée et fière, un pied en avant, un bras
enveloppé dans son manteau qu'il serre contre son corps, contemple
avec une majestueuse sérénité la nature humaine et la domine d'un
regard sûr et tranquille."--_Ampère, Hist. Rom._ iii. 573.

_8th Room._--

Statue of Neptune, from Porto--the legs and arms restored.

_9th Room._--

Architectural fragments from the Via Appia and Forum.

_10th Room._--

A series of interesting reliefs, found 1848, at the tomb of the
Aterii at Centocellæ, representing the preparations for the funeral
solemnities of a great Roman lady.

ENTRANCE WALL:

The building of the sepulchre. A curious machine for raising heavy
stones is introduced.

RIGHT WALL:

The body of the dead surrounded by burning torches, the mourners
tearing their hair and beating their breasts.

WALL OF EGRESS:

Showing several Roman buildings which the funeral procession would
pass,--among them the Coliseum and the Arch of Titus--inscribed,
"Arcus in sacra via summa."

Signor Rosa has considered this last relief of great importance, as
indicating by the different monuments the route which a
well-ordered funeral procession ought to pursue.

A second passage is crossed to the

_11th Room._--

Containing several fine sarcophagi.

_12th Room._--

ENTRANCE WALL:

Sarcophagus, with the story of Orestes.

RIGHT WALL:

Sarcophagus decorated with Cupids bearing garlands, and supporting
a head of Augustus.

WALL OF EGRESS:

Sarcophagus representing the destruction of the children of Niobe.

_13th Room._--

ENTRANCE WALL:

Statue of C. Lælius Saturninus.

IN THE CENTRE:

Sarcophagus of P. Cæcilius Vallianus, representing a funeral
banquet.

LEFT WALL:

Unfinished statue of a captive barbarian, with sculptor's marks
remaining, to guide the workman's chisel.

_15th Room._--

This and the next room are devoted to objects recently found in the
excavations at Ostia.

LEFT WALL:

Mosaic in a niche.

_16th Room._--

IN THE CENTRE:

Reclining statue of Atys.

RIGHT WALL:

Frescoes of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, from a tomb at
Ostia.

The _Christian Museum_, founded by Pius IX., and arranged by Padre Marchi and the Cavaliere Rossi, is of great interest. In the first hall is a statue of Christ by _Sosnowsky_, and in the wall behind it three mosaics,--two from the catacombs, that in the centre--of Christ with SS. Peter and Paul--from the old St. Peter's. Hence we ascend a staircase lined with Christian sarcophagi. At the foot are two statues of the Good Shepherd.

"Une des compositions de Calamis ne doit pas être oubliée à Rome,
car ce sujet païen a été adopté par l'art chrétien des premiers
temps. Les représentations du _Bon Pasteur rapportant la brebis_,
expressions touchante de la miséricorde divine, ont leur origine
dans le _Mercure porte-bélier_ (Criophore). Quelquefois c'est un
_berger_ qui porte un bélier, une brebis ou un agneau; l'on se
rapproche ainsi a l'idée du _bon pasteur_. En général, le bon
pasteur, dans les monuments chrétiens, porte une _brebis_, la
brebis égarée de l'Évangile; mais quelquefois aussi il porte _un
bélier_; et alors le souvenir de l'original païen dans la
composition chrétienne est manifeste."--_Ampère, Hist. Rom._ iii.
256.

The sarcophagus on the left, which tells the story of Jonah, is especially fine. The corridor above is also lined with sarcophagi. The best are on the left; of these the most remarkable are, the 1st, the marriage at Cana; 4th, the Good Shepherd repeated several times among vines, with cherubs gathering the grapes; 7th, a sarcophagus with a canopy supported by two pavonazzetto columns, and on the wall behind, frescoes of the Good Shepherd, &c. At the raised end of the corridor is the seated statue of Hippolytus, Bishop of Porto in the third century (the upper part a restoration), found in the Catacomb of Sta. Cyriaca, and moved hither from the Vatican Library; upon the chair is engraved the celebrated Paschal Calendar, which is supposed to settle the unorthodoxy of those early Christians who kept Easter at the same time as the Jews.

Hence, three rooms lined with drawings from the paintings in the different catacombs, lead to,--

THE PICTURE GALLERY.

_1st Room._--

ENTRANCE WALL:

Cartoon of stoning of Stephen: _Giulio Romano_.

Below this is the celebrated mosaic called _Asarotos_, representing
an unswept floor after a banquet. It is inscribed with the name of
its artist, _Heraclitus_, but is a copy from one of the two famous
mosaics of Sosus of Pergamus (the other is "Pliny's Doves"). It was
found on the Aventine in 1833 in the gardens of Servilius, and
"probably adorned a dining-room where Cæsar may have supped with
Servilia, the sister of Cato, and mother of Brutus." A similar
pavement is alluded to by Statius:--

"Varias ubi picta per artes
Gaudet humus superare novis asarota figuris."

_Sylv._ i. 3, 55.

LEFT WALL:

Christ and St Thomas--a cartoon: _Camuccini_.

WINDOW WALL:

The first sketch for the famous fresco of the Descent from the
Cross at the Trinità de' Monti: _Daniele da Volterra_.

On the right is the entrance of the

_2nd Room._--

ENTRANCE WALL:

Annunciation: _Cav. d' Arpino_.

RIGHT WALL:

George IV. of England (most strangely out of place): _Lawrence_.

WALL OF EGRESS:

Assumption of the Virgin: _After Guercino_.

From the corner of this room, on the right, a staircase leads to a gallery, whence one may look down upon the huge and hideous mosaic pavement--with portraits of twenty-eight athletes--found in the Baths of Caracalla in 1822.

"Les gladiateurs de la mosaïque de Saint Jean de Latran ont reçu la
forte alimentation qu'on donnait à leurs pareils; ils ont bien cet
air de résolution brutale que devaient avoir ceux qui prononçaient
ce féroce serment que nous a conservé Pétrone: 'Nous jurons d'obéir
à nôtre maître Eumolpe, qu'il nous ordonne de nous laisser brûler,
enchaîner, frapper, tuer par le fer ou autrement; et comme vrais
gladiateurs, nous dévouons à notre maître nos corps et nos
vies.'"--_Ampère, Hist. Rom._ iv. 33.

On the left of 1st room is the

_3rd Room._--

ENTRANCE WALL:

Madonna with SS. Peter, Dominic, and Anthony on the right, and SS.
John Baptist, Laurence, and Francis on the left: _Marco Palmezzano
di Forli_, 1537.

IN THE LEFT CORNER:

Madonna and Saints: _Carlo Crivelli_, 1482.

LEFT WALL:

St. Thomas receiving the girdle of the Virgin (the Sacra Cintola of
Prato)--with a predella: _Benozzo Gozzoli_.

WALL OF EGRESS:

Madonna with St. John Baptist and St. Jerome: _Palmezzano_.

_4th Room._--

ENTRANCE WALL:

Sixtus V. as Cardinal: _Sassoferrato_.

Madonna: _Carlo Crivelli_, 1482--very highly finished.

LEFT WALL:

Sixtus V. as Pope: _Domenichino_(?).

Two Gobelins from pictures of Fra Bartolommeo at the Quirinal.

WALL OF EGRESS:

Christ with the Tribute Money: _Caravaggio_.

_5th Room._--

ENTRANCE WALL:

Entombment: _Venetian School_.

LEFT WALL:

Greek Baptism: _Pietro Nocchi_, 1840.

WALL OF EGRESS:

Holy Family: _Andrea del Sarto_.

_6th Room._--

ENTRANCE WALL:

Baptism of Christ: _Cesare da Sesto_.

LEFT WALL:

SS. Agnes and Emerentiana: _Luca Signorelli_; Annunciation: _F.
Francia_; SS. Laurence and Benedict (very peculiar, as scarcely
showing their faces at all, but magnificent in colour): _Luca
Signorelli_.

WALL OF EGRESS:

Coronation of the Virgin, with wings, of saints, angels, and doves:
_F. Filippo Lippi_.

BETWEEN THE WINDOWS: S. Jerome, in tempera: _Giovanni Sanzio,
father of Raphael_.

_7th Room._--

ENTRANCE WALL:

Pagan sacrifice: _Caravaggio_ (?).

LEFT WALL:

_Altar-piece by Antonio da Murano_, 1464.

WALL OF EGRESS:

Christ at Emmaus: _Caravaggio_.

_8th Room._--

An oil copy of the fresco of the Flagellation of St. Andrew by
Domenichino, at S. Gregorio.

_9th Room._--

A set of beautiful terracotta busts and reliefs by _Pettrich_,
illustrative of North American Indian life. This room is called the
Hall of Council, and is surrounded by fresco portraits of popes,
and pictures allegorical of their arms, &c.

The walls of the open galleries on this floor of the palace have been covered with early Christian inscriptions from the catacombs, which have been thus arranged in arches:--

1--3. Epitaphs of martyrs and others of temp. Damasus I. (366 to 384).
4--7. Dated inscriptions from 238 to 557.
8--9. Inscriptions relating to doctrine.
10.--Inscriptions relating to popes, presbyters, and deacons.
11--12. Inscriptions relating to simple ecclesiastics.
13.--Inscriptions of affection to relations and friends.
14--16. Symbolical.
17.--Simple epitaphs from different catacombs.

On the third floor of the palace are casts from the bas-reliefs on the column of Trajan.

Before leaving the Lateran altogether, we must notice amongst its early institutions, the famous school of music which existed here throughout the middle ages.

"Gregory the Great, whose object it seems to have been to render
religion a thing of the senses, was the founder of the music of the
Church. He instituted the school for it in the Lateran, whence the
Carlovingian monarchs obtained teachers of singing and
organ-playing. The Frankish monks were sent thither for
instruction."--_Dyer's Hist. of the City of Rome._

Opposite the palace is the entrance of the _Villa Massimo Arsoli_, to which admission may be obtained by a permesso given at the Palazzo Massimo alle Colonne. There is little to see here, however, except a casino beautifully decorated with scenes taken from the great Italian poets by the modern German artists, Schnorr, Kock, Ph. Veit, Overbeck, and Führich.

"Les sujets sont tirés de Dante, de l'Arioste, et du Tasse. Dante a
été confide à Cornélius, l'Arioste à Schnorr, le Tasse à Overbeck,
les trois plus célèbres noms de cette école qui croit pouvoir
remonter par une imitation savante à la naïveté du XVe.
siècle."--_Ampère, Voyage Dantesque._

Leading from the Piazza di San Giovanni to Sta. Maria Maggiore is the Via Immerulana, where, in the hollow, is the strange-looking _Church of SS. Pietro e Marcellino_, in which is preserved a miraculous painting of the Crucifixion; the figure upon the cross is supposed to move the eyes, when regarded by the faithful. This picture, a small replica of the magnificent Guido at S. Lorenzo in Lucina, is shown, behind a grille, by a nun of Sta. Theresa, veiled from head to foot in blue, like an immovable pillar of blue drapery.

"SS. Pietro e Marcellino stands in the valley behind the Esquiline,
in the long, lonely road between Sta. Maria Maggiore and the
Lateran. SS. Peter Exorcista and Marcellinus are always represented
together in priestly habits, bearing their palms. Their legend
relates, that in the persecution under Diocletian they were cast
into prison. Artemius, keeper of the dungeon, had a daughter named
Paulina, and she fell sick; and St. Peter offered to restore her
to health, if her father would believe in the true God. And the
jailer mocked him, saying, 'If I put thee into the deepest dungeon,
and load thee with heavier chains, will thy God deliver thee? If he
doth, I will believe in him.' And Peter answered, 'Be it so, not
out of regard to thee; for it matters little to our God whether
such an one as thou believe in him or not, but that the name of
Christ may be glorified, and thyself confounded.'

"And in the middle of the night Peter and Marcellinus, in white
shining garments, entered the chamber of Artemius as he lay asleep,
who, being struck with awe, fell down and worshipped the name of
Christ; and he, his wife, daughter, and three hundred others, were
baptized. After this the two holy men were condemned to die for the
faith, and the executioner was ordered to lead them to a forest
three miles from Rome, that the Christians might not discover their
place of sepulture. And when he had brought them to a solitary
thicket overgrown with brambles and thorns, he declared to them
that they were to die, upon which they cheerfully fell to work and
cleared away a space fit for the purpose, and dug the grave in
which they were to be laid. Then they were beheaded (June 2), and
died encouraging each other.

"The fame of SS. Pietro e Marcellino is not confined to Rome. In
the reign of Charlemagne they were venerated as martyrs throughout
Italy and Gaul; and Eginhard, the secretary of Charlemagne who
married his daughter Emma, is said to have held them in particular
honour. Every one, I believe, knows the beautiful story of Eginhard
and Emma,--and the connection of these saints with them, as their
chosen protectors, lends an interest to their solitary deserted
church. In the Roma Sotterranea of Bosio, p. 126, there is an
ancient fragment found in the catacombs, which represents St. Peter
Exorcista, St. Marcellinus, and Paulina, standing together."--_Mrs.
Jameson._

Behind the Santa Scala, a narrow lane leads to the _Villa Wolkonski_ (a "permesso" may be obtained through your banker), a most beautiful garden, running along the edge of the hill, intersected by the broken arches of the Aqua Claudia, and possessing exquisite views over the Campagna, with its lines of aqueducts to the Alban and Sabine mountains. _No one should omit to visit this villa._

"Where the aqueducts, just about to enter the city, most nearly
converge, and looking across the Campagna--which their arches only
seem able to span--towards Albano and the hills, stands the Villa.
Embosomed in olive and in ilex trees, it is rich in hoar cypresses,
in urns, and in those pathetic fragments of old workmanship which
an undergrowth of violets and acanthus half hides, and half
reveals."--_Vera._

* * * * *

About a mile beyond the Porta S. Giovanni, a road branches off on the left to the _Porta Furba_, an arch of the Aqua Felice, founded on the line of the Claudian and Marcian aqueducts. Artists may find a picturesque subject here in a pretty fountain, with a portion of the decaying aqueduct. Beyond the arch is the mound called _Monte del Grano_, which has been imagined to be the burial-place of Alexander Severus. Beyond this, the road (to Frescati) passes on the left the vast ruins, called _Sette Bassi_.