Chapter XVII: The Island and the Trastevere

Ponte Quattro Capi--Gaetani Tower--S. Bartolomeo in Isola--Temple
of Æsculapius--Hospital of the Benfratelli--Mills on the
Tiber--Ponte Cestio--Fornarina's House--S. Benedetto a
Piscinuola--Castle of the Alberteschi--S. Crispino--Palazzo
Ponziani--Sta. Maria in Cappella--Sta. Cecilia--Hospital of S.
Michele--Porta Portese--Sta. Maria del Orto--S. Francesco a
Ripa--Castle of the Anquillara--S. Chrisogono--Hospital of S.
Gallicane--Sta. Maria in Trastevere--S. Calisto--Convent of Sta.
Anna--S. Cosimato--Porta Settimiana--Sta. Dorotea--Ponte Sisto.

Following the road which leads to the Temple of Vesta, &c., as far as the Via Savelli, and then turning down past the gateway of the Orsini palace, with its two bears,--we reach the _Ponte Quattro Capi_.

This was the ancient Pons Fabricius, built of stone in the place of a wooden bridge, A.U.C. 733, by Fabricius, the Curator Viarum. It has two arches, with a small ornamental one in the central pier. In the twelfth century the greater part was faced with brickwork. An inscription, only partly legible, remains. L. FABRICIUS. C. T. CUR. VIAR. FACIUNDUM. CURAVIT. EIDEMQ. PROBAVIT.--Q. LEPIDUS. M. F. M. LOLLIUS. M. F. COS. EX. S. C. PROBAVERUNT. From this inscription the inference has been drawn that the senate always allowed forty years to elapse between the completion of a public work, and the grant to it of their public approval. This bridge, according to Horace, was a favourite spot with those who wished to drown themselves; hence Damasippus would have leaped into the Tiber, if it were not for the precepts of the stoic Stertinius:

"Unde ego mira
Descripsi docilis præcepta hæc, tempore quo me
Solatus jussit sapientem pascere barbam,
Atque a Fabricio non tristem ponte reverti."

_Horace, Sat._ ii. 3.

The name of the bridge changed with time to "Pons Tarpeius" and "Pons Judæorum," from the neighbouring Ghetto. It is now called Ponte Quattro Capi, from two busts of the four-headed Janus, which adorn its parapet, and are supposed to have come from the temple of "Janus Geminus," which stood in this neighbourhood.

On crossing this bridge, we are on the Island in the Tiber, the formation of which is ascribed by tradition to the produce of the corn-fields of the Tarquins (cast contemptuously upon the waters after their expulsion), which accumulated here, till soil gathered around them, and a solid piece of land was formed. Of this, Ampère says:

"L'effet du courant rapide du fleuve est plutôt de détruire les
îles que d'en former. C'est ainsi qu'une petite île a été entraînée
par la violence des eaux en 1718."--_Histoire Romaine à Rome._

On this island, anciently known as the _Isola Tiberina_, were three temples,--those, namely, of Æsculapius:

"Unde Coroniden circumflua Tibridis alveo
Insula Romuleæ sacris adsciverit urbis."

_Ovid, Metam._ xv. 624.

"Accepit Phœbo Nymphaque Coronide natum
Insula, dividua quam premit amnis aqua."

_Ovid, Fast._ i. 291.

of Jupiter:

"Jupiter in parte est, cepit locus unus utrumque:
Junctaque sunt magno templa nepotis avo."

_Ovid, Fast._ i. 293.

and of Faunus:

"Idibus agrestis fumant altaria Fauni,
Hic ubi discretas insula rumpit aquas."

_Ovid, Fast._ ii. 193.

Here also was an altar to the Sabine god Semo-Sancus, whose inscription, legible in the early centuries of Christianity, led various ecclesiastical authors into the error that the words "Semoni Sanco" referred to Simon Magus.[357]

In imperial times the island was used as a prison: among remarkable prisoners immured here was Arvandus, Prefect of Gaul, A.D. 468. In the reign of Claudius sick slaves were exposed and left to die here,--that emperor--by a strange contradiction in one who caused fallen gladiators to be butchered "for the pleasure of seeing them die"--making a law that any slave so exposed should receive his liberty if he recovered. In the middle ages the island was under the jurisdiction of the Cardinal Bishop of Porto, who lived in the Franciscan convent. Under Leo X. a fête was held here in which Camillo Querno, the papal poet, was crowned with ivy, laurel, and cabbage (!). In 1656 the whole island was appropriated as a hospital for those stricken with the plague,--a singular coincidence for the site of the temple of Æsculapius.

The first building on the left, after passing the bridge, is a fine brick tower, of great historic interest, as the only relic of a castle, built by the family of the Anicii, of which St. Gregory the Great was a member, and two of whom were consuls together under Honorius:

"Est in Romuleo procumbens insula Tibri,
Qua medius geminas interfluit alveus urbes,
Discretas subeunte freto, pariterque minantes
Ardua turrigeræ surgunt in culmina ripæ.
Hic stetit et subitum prospexit ab aggere votum.
Unanimes fratres junctos stipante senatu
Ire forum, strictasque procul radiare secures,
Atque uno bijuges tolli de limine fasces."

_Claudius, Paneg. in Prob. et Olyb. Cons._ 226.

From the Anicii the castle passed to the Gaetani. It was occupied as a fortress by the Countess Matilda, after she had driven the faction of the anti-pope Guibert out of the island, and was the refuge where two successive popes, Victor III. and Urban II., lived under her protection.[358]

The centre of the island is now occupied by the _Church and Convent of S. Bartolomeo_, which gives it its present name.

The piazza in front of the church is occupied by a pillar, erected at the private expense of Pius IX., to commemorate the opening of the Vatican Council of 1869--70,--adorned with statues of St. Bartholomew, St. Paulinus of Nola, St. Francis, and S. Giovanni di Dio. Here formerly stood an ancient obelisk (the only one of unknown origin). A fragment of it was long preserved at the Villa Albani, whence it is said to have been removed to Urbino. The church, a basilica, was founded by Otho III. _c._ 1000; its campanile dates from 1118. The nave and aisles are divided by red granite columns, said to be relics of the ancient temple,--as is a marble well-head under the stairs leading to the tribune. This was restored in 1798, and dedicated to St. Adalbert of Gnesen, who bestowed upon the church its great relic, the body of St. Bartholomew, which he asserted to have brought from Beneventum, though the inhabitants of that town profess that they still possess the _real_ body of the apostle, and sent that of St. Paulinus of Nola to Rome instead. The dispute about the possession of this relic ran so high as to lead to a siege of Beneventum in the middle ages. The convent belongs to the Franciscans (Frati-Minori), who will admit male visitors into their pretty little garden at the end of the island, to see the remains of

The Temple of Æsculapius, built after the great plague in Rome, in B.C. 291, when, in accordance with the advice of the Sibylline books, ambassadors were sent to Epidaurus to bring Æsculapius to Rome;--they returned with a statue of the god, but as their vessel sailed up the Tiber, a serpent, which had lain concealed during the voyage, glided from it, and landed on this spot, hailed by the people under the belief that Æsculapius himself had thus come to them. In consequence of this story the form of a ship was given to this end of the island, and its bow may still be seen at the end of the convent garden, with the famous serpent of Æsculapius sculptured upon it in high relief.[359] The curious remains still existing are not of sufficient size to bear out the assertion often made that the whole island was enclosed in the travertine form of a ship, of which the temple of Jupiter at the other end afterwards formed the prow, and the obelisk the mast.

"Pendant les guerres Samnites, Rome fut de nouveau frappée par une
de ces maladies auxquelles elle était souvent en proie; celle-ci
dura trois années. On eut recours aux livres Sibyllins. En cas
pareil ils avaient prescrit de consacrer un temple à Apollon; cette
fois ils prescrivirent d'aller à Epidaure chercher le fils
d'Apollon, Esculape, et de l'amener à Rome. Esculape, sous la forme
d'un serpent, fut transporté d'Epidaure dans l'île Tibérine, où on
lui éleva un temple, et où ont été trouvés des _ex-voto_,
représentant des bras, des jambes, diverses autres parties du corps
humain, _ex-votos_ qu'on eût pu croire provenir d'une église de
Rome, car le catholicisme romain a adopté cet usage païen sans y
rien changer.

"Pourquoi place-t-on le temple d'Esculape en cet endroit? On a vu
que l'île Tibérine avait été très-anciennement consacrée au culte
d'un dieu des Latins primitifs, Faunus; or ce dieu rendait ses
oracles près des sources thermales; its devaient avoir souvent pour
l'objet la guérison des malades qui venaient demander la santé à
ces sources. De plus, les malades consultaient Esculape dans les
songes par incubation, comme dans l'Ovide, Numa va consulter Faunus
sur l'Aventin. Il n'est donc pas surprenant qu'on ait institué le
culte du dieu grec de la santé, là où le dieu latin Faunus rendait
ses oracles dans des songes, et où étaient probablement des sources
d'eau chaude qui ont disparu comme les _lautulæ_ près du Forum
romain.

"On donna à l'île la forme d'un vaisseau, plus tard un obélisque
figura le mât; en la regardant du Ponte Rotto, on reconnaît encore
très bien cette forme, de ce côté, on voit sculpté sur le mur qui
figure le vaisseau d'Esculape une image du dieu avec un serpent
entortillé autour de son sceptre. La belle statue d'Esculape, venue
des jardins Farnèse, passe pour avoir été celle de l'île Tibérine.
Un temple de Jupiter touchait à ce temple d'Esculape.

"Un jour que je visitais ce lieu, le sacristain de l'église de St.
Barthélemy me dit, '_Al tempo d'Esculapio quando Giove regnava._'
Phrase singulière, et qui montre encore vivante une sorte de foi au
paganisme chez les Romains."--_Ampère_, iii. 42.

Opposite S. Bartolomeo, on the site of the temple of Faunus, is the _Hospital of S. Giovanni Calabita_, also called _Benfratelli_, entirely under the care of the brethren of S. Giovanni di Dio, who cook, nurse, wash, and otherwise do all the work of those who pass under their care, often to the number of 1200 in the course of the year, though the hospital is very small.

"C'est à Pie V. que les frères de l'ordre de la _Charité_, institué
par saint Jean de Dieu, durent leur premier établissement à Rome.

"Au milieu du cortége triomphal qui accompagnait don Juan
d'Autriche (1571), lors de son retour de Lépante, on remarquait un
pauvre homme misérablement vêtu et à l'attitude modeste. Il se
nommait Sébastien Arias _des frères de Jean de Dieu_. Jean de Dieu
était mort sans laisser d'autre règle à ses disciples que ces
touchantes paroles qu'il répétait sans cesse, _faites le bien, mes
frères_; et Sébastien d'Arias venait à Rome pour demander au pape
l'autorisation de former des couvents et d'avoir des hospices où
ils pussent suivre les exemples de dévouement que leur avait
laissés Jean de Dieu. Or, Sébastien rencontra don Juan à Naples, et
le vainqueur de Lépante le prit avec lui. Il se chargea même
d'appuyer sa requête, et Pie V. s'empressa d'accorder aux frères
non-seulement la bulle qu'ils désiraient, mais encore un monastère
dans l'île du Tibre."--_Gournerie_, _Rome Chrétienne_, ii. 206.

A narrow lane near this leads to the other end of the island, where the temple of Jupiter stood. It is worth while to go thither for the sake of the view of the river and its bridges, which is to be obtained from a little quay leading to one of the numerous water-mills which exist near this. These floating _Mills_ (which bear sacred monograms upon their gables) are interesting as having been invented by Belisarius in order to supply the people and garrison with bread, during the siege of Rome by Vitiges, when the Goths had cut the aqueducts, and thus rendered the mills on the Janiculan useless.

The bridge, of one large and two smaller arches, which connects the island with the Trastevere, is now called the _Ponte S. Bartolomeo_, but was anciently the Pons Cestius, or Gratianus, built A.U.C. 708, by the Prætor Lucius Cestius, who was probably father to the Caius Cestius buried near the Porta S. Paolo. It was restored A.D. 370 by the emperors Valentinian, Valens, and Gratian, as is seen from the fragments of a red letter inscription on the inside of the parapet, in which the title "Pontifex Maximus" is ascribed to each--"a tide accepted without hesitation," says Gibbon, "by seven Christian emperors, who were invested with more absolute authority over the religion they had deserted, than over that which they professed."

We now enter _the Trastevere_, the city "across the Tiber,"--the portion of Rome which is most unaltered from mediæval times, and whose narrow streets are still overlooked by many ancient towers, gothic windows, and curious fragments of sculpture. The inhabitants on this side differ in many respects from those on the other side of the Tiber. They pride themselves upon being born "Trasteverini," profess to be the direct descendants of the ancient Romans, seldom intermarry with their neighbours, and speak a dialect peculiarly their own. It is said that in their dispositions also they differ from the other Romans, that they are a far more hasty, passionate, and revengeful, as they are a stronger and more vigorous race. The proportion of murders (a crime far less common in Rome than in England) is larger in this than in any other part of the city. This, it is believed, is partly due to the extreme excitement which the Trasteverini display in the pursuit of their national games, especially that of Morrà:--

"Morrà is played by the men, and merely consists in holding up, in
rapid succession, any number of fingers they please, calling out at
the same time the number their antagonist shows. Nothing,
seemingly, can be more simple or less interesting. Yet, to see them
play, so violent are their gestures, that you would imagine them
possessed by some diabolical passion. The eagerness and rapidity
with which they carry it on render it very liable to mistake and
altercation; then frenzy fires them, and too often furious disputes
arise at this trivial play that end in murder. Morrà seems to
differ in no respect from the _Micare Digitis_ of the ancient
Romans."--_Eaton's Rome._

A house with gothic windows on the right, soon after passing the bridge, is pointed out as that once inhabited by the _Fornarina_, beloved of Raphael, and so well known to us from his portrait of her in the Tribune at Florence.

Crossing the Via Longarina, we find ourselves in the little piazza of _S. Benedetto a Piscinuola_, where there is a tiny church, with a good brick campanile intersected by terra-cotta mouldings, which occupies the site of the house inhabited by St. Benedict before his retreat to Subiaco. The exterior is uninviting, but the interior very curious; an atrium with antique columns opens to a vaulted chapel (of the same design as the Orto del Paradiso at Sta. Prassede), in which is a picture of the Virgin and Child, revered as that before which St. Benedict was wont to pray. Hence is entered the cell of the saint, of rough-hewn stones. His stone pillow is shown.

The church has ancient pillars, and a rich opus-alexandrinum pavement.

"Over the high altar is a picture--full-length--of St. Benedict,
which Mabillon ('Iter Italicum') considers a genuine contemporary
portrait--though Nibby and other critics suppose it less ancient.
The figure on gold background is seated in a chair with gothic
carvings, such as were in mediæval use; the black cowl is drawn
over the head, the hair and beard are white; the aspect is serious
and thoughtful, in one hand a crozier, in the other the book of
rules drawn up by the Saint, displaying the words with which they
begin: 'Ausculta fili precepta magistri."--_Hemans' Ancient Sacred
Art._

Turning down the Via Longarina towards the river, we pass, on the left, considerable remains of the old mediæval _Castle of the Alberteschi Family_, consisting of a block of palatial buildings of handsome masonry, with numerous antique fragments built into them, and a very rich porch sculptured with egg and billet mouldings of _c._ A.D. 1150, and beyond these, separated from them by a modern street, a high brick tower of _c._ A.D. 1100. Above one of the windows of this tower, a head of Jupiter is engrafted in the wall.

We now reach the entrance of the Ponte Rotto (described Chap. V.). Close to this bridge is the Church of _S. Crispino al Ponte_ (the saint is buried at S. Lorenzo Pane e Perna). The front is modernized, but the east end displays rich terra-cotta cornices, and is very picturesque. On the river bank below this are the colossal lions' heads mentioned in Chap. V.

Turning up the Via dei Vascellari, we pass on the right, the ancient _Palace of the Ponziani Family_, once magnificent, but now of humble and rude exterior, and scarcely to be distinguished, except in March, during the festa of Sta. Francesca Romana, when old tapestries are hung out upon its white-washed walls, and the street in front is thickly strewn with box-leaves.

"The modern building that has been raised on the foundation of the
old palace is the Casa dei Esercizii Pii, for the young men of the
city. There the repentant sinner who longs to break the chain of
sin, the youth beset by some strong temptation, one who has heard
the inward voice summoning him to higher paths of virtue, another
who is in doubt as to the particular line of life to which he is
called, may come, and leave behind him for three, or five, or ten
days, as it may be, the busy world, with all its distractions and
its agitations, and, free for the time being from temporal cares,
the wants of the body being provided for, and the mind at rest, may
commune with God and their own souls.

"Over the Casa dei Esercizii Pii the sweet spirit of Francesca
seems still to preside. On the day of her festival its rooms are
thrown open, every memorial of the gentle saint is exhibited,
lights burn on numerous altars, flowers deck the passages, leaves
are strewn in the chapel, on the stairs, in the entrance-court; gay
carpets, figured tapestry, and crimson silks hang over the door,
and crowds of people go in and out, and kneel before the relics or
the pictures of the dear saint of Rome. It is a touching festival,
which carries back the mind to the day when the young bride of
Lorenzo Ponziano entered these walls for the first time, in all the
sacred beauty of holiness and youth."--_Lady G. Fullerton._

In this house, also, Sta. Francesca Romana died, having come hither from her convent to nurse her son who was ill, and having been then seized with mortal illness herself.

"Touching were the last words of the dying mother to her spiritual
children: 'Love, love,' was the burden of her teaching, as it had
been that of the beloved disciple. 'Love one another,' she said,
'and be faithful unto death. Satan will assault you, as he has
assaulted me, but be not afraid. You will overcome him through
patience and obedience; and no trial will be too grievous, if you
are united to Jesus; if you walk in His ways, He will be with you.'
On the seventh day of her illness, as she had herself announced,
her life came to a close. A sublime expression animated her face, a
more ethereal beauty clothed her earthly form. Her confessor for
the last time inquired what it was her enraptured eyes beheld, and
she answered, 'The heavens open! the angels descend! the angel has
finished his task. He stands before me. He beckons me to follow
him.' These were the last words Francesca uttered."--_Lady G.
Fullerton's Life of Sta. F. Romana._

Almost opposite the Ponziani Palace, an alley leads to the small chapel of _Sta. Maria in Cappella_, which has a good brick campanile, dating from 1090. This building is attached to a hospital for poor women ill of incurable diseases, attended by sisters of charity, and entirely under the patronage of the Doria family.

We now reach the front of the _Convent and Church of Sta. Cecilia_ (facing which is a picturesque mediæval house), in many ways one of the most interesting buildings in the city.

Cecilia was a noble and rich Roman lady, who lived in the reign of Alexander Severus. She was married at sixteen to Valerian, a heathen, with whom she lived in perpetual virginity, telling him that her guardian angel watched over her by day and night.

"I have an angel which thus loveth me--
That with great love, whether I wake or sleep,
Is ready aye my body for to keep."

_Chaucer._

At length Valerian and his brother Tiburtius were converted to Christianity by her prayers, and the exhortations of Pope Urban I. The husband and brother were beheaded for refusing to sacrifice to idols, and Cecilia was shortly afterwards condemned by Almachius, prefect of Rome, who was covetous of the great wealth she had inherited by their deaths. She was first shut up in the _Sudatorium_ of her own baths, and a blazing fire was lighted, that she might be destroyed by the hot vapours. But when the bath was opened, she was found still living, "for God," says the legend, "had sent a cooling shower, which had tempered the heat of the fire, and preserved the life of the saint." Almachius, then, who dreaded the consequences of bringing so noble and courageous a victim to public execution, sent a lictor to behead her in her own palace, but he executed his office so ill, that she still lived after the third blow of his axe, after which the Roman law forbade that a victim should be stricken again. "The Christians found her bathed in her blood, and during three days she still preached and taught, like a doctor of the Church, with such sweetness and eloquence, that four hundred pagans were converted. On the third day she was visited by Pope Urban, to whose care she tenderly committed the poor whom she nourished, and to him she bequeathed the palace in which she had lived, that it might be consecrated as a temple to the Saviour. Then, "thanking God that he considered her, a humble woman, worthy to share the glory of his heroes, and with her eyes apparently fixed upon the heavens opening before her, she departed to her heavenly bridegroom, upon the 22nd November, A.D. 280."

The foundation of the church dates from its consecration by Pope Urban I., after the death of St. Cecilia, but it was rebuilt by Paschal I. in 821, and miserably modernized by Cardinal Doria in 1725. The exterior retains its ancient campanile of 1120, and its atrium of marble pillars, evidently collected from pagan edifices and surmounted by a frieze of mosaic, in which medallion heads of Cecilia, Valerian, Tiburtius, Urban I., and others are introduced. In the courtyard of the convent, which belongs to Benedictine nuns, is a fine specimen of the Roman vase called Cantharus, perhaps coeval with St. Cecilia's own residence here.

Right of the door, on entering, is the tomb of Adam of Hertford, Bishop of London, who died 1398, the only one spared from a cruel death, of the cardinals who conspired against Urban VI., and were taken prisoners at Lucera--from fear of King John who was his friend. His sarcophagus is adorned with the arms of England, then three leopards and fleurs-de-lis quartered. On the opposite side of the entrance is the tomb of Cardinal Fortiguerra, conspicuous in the contests of Pius II. and Paul II. with the Malatestas and Savellis in the fifteenth century. The drapery is a beautiful specimen of the delicate carving of detail during that period.

The altar canopy, which bears the name of its artist, Arnolphus, and the date 1286, is a fine specimen of gothic work, and has statuettes of Cecilia, Valerian, Tiburtius, and Urban. Beneath the altar is the famous statue of St. Cecilia.

In the archives of the Vatican remains an account written by Pope Paschal I. (A.D. 817--24) himself, describing how, "yielding to the infirmity of the flesh," he fell asleep in his chair during the early morning service at St. Peter's, with his mind pre-occupied with a longing to find the burial-place of Cecilia, and discover her relics. Then in a glorified vision the virgin-saint appeared before him, and revealed the spot where she lay, with her husband and brother-in-law, in the catacomb of Calixtus, and there they were found, and transported to her church on the following day.

In the sixteenth century, Sfondrato, titular cardinal of the church, opened the tomb of the martyr, when the embalmed body of Cecilia was found, as it had been previously found by Paschal, robed in gold tissue, with linen clothes steeped in blood at her feet, "not lying upon the back, like a body in a tomb, but upon its right side, like a virgin in her bed, with her knees modestly drawn together, and offering the appearance of sleep." Pope Clement VIII. and all the people of Rome rushed to look upon the saint, who was afterwards enclosed as she was found, in a shrine of cypress wood cased in silver. But before she was again hidden from sight, the greatest artist of the day, Stefano Maderno, was called in by Sfondrato, to sculpture the marble portrait which we now see lying upon her grave. Sfondrato (whose tomb is in this church) also enriched her shrine with the ninety-six silver lamps which burn constantly before it. In regarding this statue it will be remembered that Cecilia was not beheaded, but wounded in the throat,--a gold circlet conceals the wound.

In the statue "the body lies on its side, the limbs a little drawn
up; the hands are delicate and fine,--they are not locked, but
crossed at the wrists: the arms are stretched out. The drapery is
beautifully modelled, and modestly covers the limbs.... It is the
statue of a lady, perfect in form, and affecting from the
resemblance to reality in the drapery of white marble, and the
unspotted appearance of the statue altogether. It lies as no living
body could lie, and yet correctly, as the dead when left to
expire,--I mean in the gravitation of the limbs."--_Sir C. Bell._

The inscription says: "Behold the body of the most holy virgin
Cecilia, whom I myself saw lying incorrupt in her tomb. I have in
this marble expressed for thee the same saint in the very same
posture of body."

The tribune is adorned with mosaics of the ninth century, erected in the lifetime of Paschal I. (see his _square_ nimbus). The Saviour is seen in the act of benediction, robed in gold: at his side are SS. Peter and Paul, St. Cecilia and St. Valerian, St. Paschal I. carrying the model of his church, and St. Agatha, whom he joined with Cecilia in its dedication. The mystic palm-trees and the phœnix, the emblem of eternity, are also represented, and, beneath, the four rivers, and the twelve sheep, emblematical of the apostles, issuing from the gates of Bethlehem and Jerusalem, to the adoration of the spotless Lamb. The picture of St. Cecilia behind the altar is attributed to _Guido_.

At the end of the right aisle is an ancient fresco representing the dream of Pope Paschal,--the (mitred) pope asleep upon his throne, and the saint appearing before him in a rich robe adorned with gems. This is the last of a series of frescoes which once existed in the portico of the church. The rest were destroyed in the seventeenth century. There are copies of them in the Barberini Library, viz.

1. The marriage feast of Valerian and Cecilia.
2. Cecilia persuades Valerian to seek for St. Urban.
3. Valerian rides forth to seek for Urban.
4. Valerian is baptized.
5. An Angel crowns Cecilia and Valerian.
6. Cecilia converts her executioners.
7. Cecilia suffers in the bath.
8. The Martyrdom of Cecilia.
9. The Burial of Cecilia.
10. The dream of Paschal.

Opening out of the same aisle are two chambers in the house of St. Cecilia, one the sudatorium of her baths, in which she was immured, actually retaining the pipes and calorifers of an ancient Roman bath.

The Festa of St. Cecilia is observed in this church on November 22nd, when--

--"rapt Cecilia, seraph-haunted queen of harmony"--[360]

is honoured in beautiful music from the papal choir assembled here. Visitors to Bologna will recollect the glorious figure of St. Cecilia by Raphael, rapt in ecstasy, and surrounded by instruments of music. This association with Cecilia probably arises from the tradition of the church, which tells how Valerian, returning from baptism by Pope Urban, found her singing hymns of triumph for his conversion, of which he had supposed her to be ignorant, and that when the bath was opened after her three days' imprisonment, she was again found singing the praises of her Saviour.

It is said that "she sang with such ravishing sweetness, that even the angels descended from heaven to listen to her, or to join their voices with hers."

The antiphons sung upon her festival are:

"And Cecilia, thy servant, serves thee, O Lord, even as the bee
that is never idle.

"I bless thee, O Father of my Lord Jesus Christ, for through thy
Son the fire hath been quenched round about me.

"I asked of the Lord a respite of three days, that I might
consecrate my house as a church.

"O Valerian, I have a secret to tell thee; I have for my lover an
angel of God, who, with great jealousy, watches over my body.

"The glorious virgin ever bore the Gospel of Christ in her bosom,
and neither by day nor night ceased from conversing with God in
prayer."

And the anthem:

"While the instruments of music were playing, Cecilia sang unto the
Lord, and said, Let my heart be undefiled, that I may never be
confounded.

"And Valerianus found Cecilia praying in her chamber with an
angel."

It will be remembered that Cecilia is one of the chosen saints _daily_ commemorated in the canon of the mass.

"Nobis quoque peccatoribus famulis tuis, de multitudine
miserationum tuarum sperantibus, partem aliquam et societatem
donare digneris cum tuis sanctis Apostolis et Martyribus: cum
Joanne, Stephano, Matthia, Barnaba, Ignatio, Alexandro, Marcellino,
Petro, Felicitate, Perpetua, Agata, Lucia, Agnete, _Cæcilia_,
Anastasia, et omnibus sanctis."

Just beyond St. Cecilia is the immense _Hospital of S. Michele_, founded by Cardinal Odescalchi, nephew of Innocent XI., in 1693, as a refuge for vagabond children, where they might be properly brought up and taught a trade. Innocent XII. (Pignatelli) added to this foundation a hospital for sick persons of both sexes, and each succeeding pope has increased the buildings and their endowment. The establishment is now divided into an asylum for old men and women, a school with ateliers for boys and girls, and a penitentiary ("Casa delle Donne cattive"). A large church was attached to the hospital by Leo XII. No old men are admitted who have not inhabited Rome for five years; if they are still able to work a small daily task is given to them. The old women, as long as they can work, are obliged to mend and wash the linen of the establishment. The boys, for the most part orphans, are received at the age of eleven. The girls receive a dowry of 300 francs if they marry, but double that sum if they consent to enter a convent. A printing press is attached to the hospital.

S. Michele occupies the site of the sacred grove of the goddess Furina (not of the Furies), where Caius Gracchus was killed, B.C. 123. Protected by his friends, he escaped from the Aventine, where he had first taken refuge, and crossed the Pons Sublicius. A single slave reached the grove of Furina with him, who having in vain sought for a horse to continue their flight, first slew his master and then himself. One Septimuleius then cut off the head of Gracchus, and--a proclamation having been issued that any one who brought the head of Caius Gracchus should receive its weight in gold--first filled it with lead, and then carried it on a spear to the consul Opimius, who paid him his blood-money.

At the end of this street is the _Porta Portese_, built by Urban VIII., through which runs the road to Porto and Fiumicino.

Outside this gate was the site of the camp of Tarquin,--afterwards given by the senate to Mutius-Scævola, for his bravery in the camp of Lars Porsenna. The vineyards here have an interest to Roman Catholics as the scene of one of the miracles attributed to Sta. Francesca Romana.

"One fine sunny January day, Francesca and her companions had
worked since dawn in the vineyards of the Porta Portese. They had
worked hard for several hours, and then suddenly remembered that
they had brought no provisions with them. They soon became faint
and hungry, and, above all, very thirsty. Perna, the youngest of
all the oblates, was particularly heated and tired, and asked
permission of the Mother Superior to go to drink water at a
fountain some way off on the public road.

"'Be patient, my child,' Francesca answered, and they went on with
their work; but Francesca withdrawing aside, knelt down, and said,
'Lord Jesus, I have been thoughtless in forgetting to provide food
for my sisters,--help us in our need.'

"Perna, who had kept near the Mother Superior, said to herself,
with some impatience, 'It would be more to the purpose to take us
home at once.' Then Francesca, turning to her, said, 'My child, you
do not trust in God; look up and see.' And Perna saw a vine
entwined around a tree, whose dead and leafless branches were
loaded with grapes. In speechless astonishment the oblates
assembled around the tree, for they had all seen its bare and
withered branches. Twenty times at least they had passed before it,
and the season for grapes was gone by. There were exactly as many
bunches as persons present.'--_See Lady G. Fullerton's Life of Sta.
F. Romana._

From the back of S. Michele a cross street leads to the _Church of Sta. Maria dell' Orto_, designed by Giulio Romano, _c._ 1530, except the façade, which is by Martino Lunghi. The high altar is by Giacomo della Porta. The church contains an Annunciation by _Taddeo Zucchero_.

"Cette église appartient à plusieurs corporations; chacune a sa
tombe devant sa propre chapelle, et sur le couvercle sont gravées
ses armes particulières; un coq sur la tombe des marchands de
volaille, une pantoufle sur celle des savetiers, des artichauts sur
celle des jardiniers, &c."--_Robello._

Close to this, at the end of the street which runs parallel with S. Michele, is the _Church of S. Francesco a Ripa_, the noviciate of the Franciscans--"Frati Minori." The convent contains the room (approached through the church) in which St. Francis lived, during his visits at Rome, with many relics of him. His stone pillow and his crucifix are shown, and a picture of him by G. de' Lettesoli. An altar in his chamber supports a reliquary in which 18,000 relics are displayed!

The church was rebuilt soon after the death of St. Francis by the knight Pandolfo d'Anquillara (his castle is in the Via Lungaretta), whose tomb is in the church, with his figure, in the dress of a Franciscan monk, which he assumed in the latter part of his life. It was again rebuilt by Cardinal Pallavicini, from designs of Matteo Rossi. Among its pictures are the Virgin and St. Anne by _Baciccio_, the Nativity by _Simon Vouet_, and a dead Christ by _Annibale Caracci_. On the left of the altar is the Altieri chapel, in which is a recumbent statue of the blessed Luigi Albertoni, by _Bernini_. In the third chapel on the right is a mummy, said to be that of the virgin martyr Sta. Semplicia. The convent garden has some beautiful palm-trees.

Following the Via Morticelli we regain the Via Lungaretta near S. Benedetto. This street, more than any other in Rome, retains remnants of mediæval architecture. On the right (opposite the opening to the west end of S. Chrisogono) is the entrance to the old _Castle of the Anguillara Family_, of whom were Count Pandolfo d'Anguillara already mentioned, and Everso, his grandson, celebrated for his highway robberies between Rome and Viterbo in the fifteenth century; also Orso d'Anguillara, senator of Rome, who crowned Petrarch at the Capitol on Easter Day, 1341. "The family device, two crossed eels, surmounted by a helmet, and a wild boar holding a serpent in his mouth, is believed to refer to the story of the founder of their house, Malagrotta, a second St. George, who slew a terrible serpent, which had devastated the district round his abode, and received in recompense from the pope the gift of as much land as he could walk round in one day."[361]

The existing remains consist of an arch, called "L'Arco dell' Annunziata," and a brick tower, which is now in the possession of a Signor Forti, who exhibits here, during Epiphany, a remarkably pretty _Presepio_, in which the Holy Family and the Shepherds are seen backed by the real landscape. For those who witness this sight it will be interesting to turn to the origin of a Presepio.

"St. Francis asked [of Pope Honorius III. 1223], with his usual
simplicity, to be allowed to celebrate Christmas with certain
unusual ceremonies which had suggested themselves to
him--ceremonies which he must have thought likely to seize upon the
popular imagination and impress the unlearned folk. He would not do
it on his own authority, we are told, lest he should be accused of
levity. When he made this petition, he was bound for the village of
Grecia, a little place not far from Assisi, where he was to remain
during that sacred season. In this village, when the eve of the
nativity approached, Francis instructed a certain grave and worthy
man, called Giovanni, to prepare an ox and an ass, along with a
manger and all the common fittings of a stable, for his use, in the
church. When the solemn night arrived, Francis and his brethren
arranged all these things into a visible representation of the
occurrences of the night at Bethlehem. The manger was filled with
hay, the animals were led into their places; the scene was
prepared as we see it now through all the churches of Southern
Italy--a reproduction, so far as the people know how, in startling
realistic detail of the surroundings of the first Christmas.... We
are told that Francis stood by this, his simple theatrical (for
such, indeed, it was--no shame to him) representation, all the
night long, sighing for joy, and filled with an unspeakable
sweetness."--_Mrs. Oliphant, St. Francis._

On the left, is the fine _Church of S. Chrisogono_, founded by Pope Sylvester, but rebuilt in 731, and again by Cardinal Scipio Borghese (who modernized so many of the old churches), in 1623. The tower is mediæval (rebuilt?), but spoilt by whitewash; the portico has four ancient granite columns. The interior is a basilica, the nave being separated from the aisles by twenty-two granite columns, and the tribune from the nave by two magnificent columns of porphyry. The baldacchino, of graceful proportions, rests on pillars of yellow alabaster. Over the tabernacle is a picture of the Virgin and Child by the _Cav. d'Arpino_. The mosaic in the tribune, probably only the fragment of a larger design, represents the Madonna and Child enthroned, between St. James the Great and St. Chrisogonus. The stalls are good specimens of modern wood-carving. Near the end of the right aisle is the modern tomb of Anna Maria Taigi, lately beatified and likely to be canonized, though readers of her life will find it difficult to imagine why,--the great point of her character being that she was a good wife to her husband, though he was "ruvido di maniere, e grossolano." Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, was titular cardinal of this church.

S. Chrisogono, represented in the mosaic as a young knight, stood by Sta. Anastasia during her martyrdom, exhorting her to patient endurance. He was afterwards himself beheaded under Diocletian, and his body thrown into the sea.

In 1866 an _Excubitorium_ of the VIIth cohort of Vigiles (a station of Roman firemen) was discovered near this church. Several chambers were tolerably perfect.

On the left, we pass the _Hospital of S. Gallicano_, founded by Benedict XIII. (Orsini), in 1725, as is told by the inscription over the entrance, for the "neglectis rejectisque ab omnibus." The interior contains two long halls opening into one another, the first containing 120 beds for men, the second 88 for women. Patients affected with maladies of the skin are received here to the number of 100. The principal treatment is by means of baths, which gives the negative, within these walls, to the Italian saying that "an ancient Roman took as many baths in a week as a modern Roman in all his life." The establishment is at present under the management of the Benfratelli ("Fate bene fratelli"). S. Gallicano, to whom the hospital is dedicated, was a Benfratello of the time of Constantine, who devoted his time and his fortune to the poor.

At the upper end of the Via Lungaretta is a piazza with a very handsome fountain, on one side of which is the _Church of Sta. Maria in Trastevere_, supposed to be the first church in Rome dedicated to the Virgin. It was founded by St. Calixtus in _A.D._ 224, on the site of the Taberna-Meritoria, an asylum for old soldiers; where, according to Don Cassius, a fountain of pure oil sprang up at the time of our Saviour's birth, and flowed away in one day to the Tiber, a story which gave the name of "Fons Olei" to the church in early times. It is said that wine-sellers and tavern-keepers (popinarii) disputed with the early Christian inhabitants for this site, upon which the latter had raised some kind of humble oratory, and that they carried their complaint before Alexander Severus, when the emperor awarded the site to the Christians, saying, "I prefer that it should belong to those who honour God, whatever be their form of worship."

"Ce souvenir augmente encore l'intérêt qui s'attache à l'église de
Santa Maria in Trastevere. Les colonnes antiques de granit égyptien
de cette basilique et les belles mosaïques qui la décorent me
touchent moins que la tradition d'après laquelle elle fut élevée là
où de pauvres chrétiens se rassemblaient dans un cabaret purifié
par leur piété, pour y célébrer le culte qui devait un jour étaler
ses magnificences sous le dôme resplendissant de
Saint-Pierre."--_Ampère, Emp._ ii. 318.

The church was rebuilt in 340 by Julius I., and after a series of alterations was again almost entirely reconstructed in 1139 by Innocent II., as a thanksgiving offering for the submission of the anti-pope. Eugenius III. (1145--50) finished what was left uncompleted, but the new basilica was not consecrated till the time of Innocent III. (1198--1216). The tower, apse, tribune, and mosaics belong to the early restoration; the rest is due to alterations made by Bernardino Rossellini for Nicholas V.

The west façade is covered with mosaics; the upper part--representing the Saviour throned between angels--and the lower--of palms, the twelve sheep, and the mystic cities--are additions by Pius IX. in 1869. The central frieze was begun in the twelfth century under Eugenius III., and completed in the fourteenth by Pietro Cavallini. It represents the Virgin and Child enthroned in the midst, and ten female figures, generally described as the Ten Virgins,--but Hemans remarks:

"It is evident that such subject cannot have been in the artist's
thoughts, as each stately figure advances towards the throne with
the same devout aspect and graceful serenity, the same faith and
confidence; the sole observable distinctions being that the two
with unlit lamps are somewhat more matronly, their costumes
simpler, than is the case with the rest; and that instead of being
crowned, as are the others, these two wear veils. Explanation of
such attributes may be found in the mystic meaning--the light being
appropriate to virgin saints, the oil taken to signify benevolence
or almsgiving; and we may conclude that those without light
represent wives or widows, the others virgin saints, in this group.
Two other diminutive figures (the scale indicating humility), who
kneel at the feet of Mary, are Innocent II. and Eugenius III., both
vested in the pontifical mantle, but bareheaded. Originally the
Mother and Child _alone_ had the nimbus around the head, as we see
in a water-colour drawing from this original (now in the Barberini
Library) dated 1640, made _before_ a renovation by which that halo
has been given alike to all the female figures. Another much faded
mosaic, the Madonna and Child, under an arched canopy, high up on
the campanile, may perhaps be as ancient as those on the
façade."--_Mediæval Christian Art._

The portico contains two frescoes of the Annunciation, one of them ascribed to _Cavallini_. Its walls are occupied by early Christian and pagan inscriptions. One, of the time of Trajan, is regarded with peculiar interest: "MARCUS COCCEUS LIB. AUG. AMBROSIUS PRÆPOSITUS, VESTIS ALBÆ, TRIUMPHALIS, FECIT, NICE CONJUGI SUÆ CUM QUA VIXIT ANNOS XXXXV., DIEBUS XI., SINE ULLA QUERELA." Between the doors is preserved a curious relic--the stone said to have been attached to St. Calixtus when he was thrown into the well. The interior is that of a basilica. The nave, paved with opus-alexandrinum, is divided from the aisles by twenty-two ancient granite columns, whose Ionic capitals are in several instances decorated with heads of pagan gods. They support a richly-decorated architrave. The roof, in the centre of which is a picture of the Assumption of the Virgin, is painted by _Domenichino_. On the right of the entrance is a ciborium by Mino da Fiesole. The high altar covers a confessional, beneath which are the remains of five early popes, removed from the catacombs. Among the tombs are those of the painters, Lanfranco and Ciro Ferri, and of Bastari, librarian of the Vatican, editor of the dictionary of the Della Cruscan Academy, and canon of this church, ob. 1775.

Pope Innocent II. is buried here without a tomb.

In the left transept is a beautiful gothic tabernacle over an altar, erected by Cardinal d'Alençon, nephew of Charles de Valois, and brother of Philippe le Bel. On one side is the tomb of that cardinal (the fresco represents the martyrdom of his patron St. Philip, who is pourtrayed as crucified with his head downwards like St. Peter); on the other is the monument of Cardinal Stefaneschi, by _Paolo_, one of the first sculptors of the fourteenth century. Opening from hence is a chapel, which has a curious picture of the Council of Trent by _Taddeo Zucchero_. At the end of the right aisle are several more fine tombs of the sixteenth century, and the chapel of the Madonna di Strada Cupa, designed by _Domenichino_, from whose hand is the figure of a child scattering flowers, sketched out in one corner of the vaulting.

The upper part of the tribune is adorned with magnificent mosaics, (restored in modern times by Camuccini,) of the time of Innocent II.

"In the centre of the principal group on the vault is the Saviour,
seated, with his Mother, crowned and robed like an Eastern Queen,
beside him, both sharing the same gorgeous throne and footstool;
while a hand extends from a fan-like glory with a jewelled crown
held over his head; _she_ (a singular detail here) giving
benediction with the usual action; He embracing her with the left
arm, and in the right hand holding a tablet that displays the words
'Veni, electa mea, et ponam in thronum meum;' to which corresponds
the text, from the song of Solomon, on a tablet in her left hand,
'Læva ejus sub capite meo et dextera illius amplexabitur me.' Below
the heavenly throne stand, each with name inscribed in gold
letters, Innocent II., holding a model of this church; St.
Laurence, in deacon's vestments, with the Gospels and the jewelled
cross; the sainted popes, Calixtus I., Cornelius, and Julius I.;
St. Peter (in classic white vestments), and Calepodius, a martyr of
the third century, here introduced because his body, together with
those of the other saints in the same group, was brought from the
catacombs to this church.

"As to ecclesiastical costume, this work affords decisive evidence
of its ancient splendour and varieties. We do not see the keys in
the hands of St. Peter, but the large tonsure on his head; that
ecclesiastical badge which he is said to have invented, and which
is sometimes the sole peculiarity (besides the ever-recognisable
type) given to this Apostle in art.

"Above the archivolt we see a cross between the Alpha and Omega,
and the winged emblems of the Evangelists; laterally, Jeremiah and
Isaiah, each with a prophetic text on a scroll; along a frieze
below, twelve sheep advancing from the holy cities, Jerusalem and
Bethlehem, towards the Divine Lamb, who stands on a mount whence
issue the four rivers of Paradise--or, according to perhaps juster
interpretation, the four streams of gospel truth. Palms and a
phœnix are seen beside the two prophets; also a less common
symbol--caged birds, that signify the righteous soul incarcerated
in the body, or (with highest reference) the Saviour in his assumed
humanity; such accessory reminding of the ancient usage, in some
countries, of releasing birds at funerals, and of that still kept
up amidst the magnificent canonization-rites, of offering various
kinds of birds, in cages, at the papal throne.

"Remembering the date of the composition before us, about a century
and a half before the time of Cimabue and Giotto, we may hail in
it, if not an actual Renaissance, the dawn, at least, that heralds
a brighter day for art, compared with the deep gloom
previous."--_Hemans' Mediæval Christian Art._

Below these are another series of mosaics representing six scenes in the life of the Virgin, the work of Pietro Cavallini, of the thirteenth century, when they were ordered by Bertoldo Stefaneschi, who is himself introduced in one of the subjects. In the centre of the tribune is an ancient marble episcopal throne, raised by a flight of steps.

In the _Sacristy_ is a picture of the Virgin with S. Rocco and S. Sebastiano, by _Perugino_. Here are preserved some beautiful fragments of mosaics of birds, &c., from the catacombs.

Outside the right transept of Sta. Maria is a picturesque shrine, and there are many points about this ancient church which are interesting to the artist. The palace, which forms one side of the piazza at the west end of the church, formerly _Palazzo Moroni_, is now used as the summer residence of the Benedictine monks of S. Paolo, who are driven from their convent by the malaria during the hot months. During the revolutionary government of 1848--49, a number of priests suffered death here, which has led to the monastery being regarded as "the Carmes of Rome." The modern _Church of S. Calisto_ contains the well in which he suffered martyrdom, A.D. 222. This well, now seen through a door near the altar, was then in the open air, and the pope was thrown into it from the window of a house in which he had been imprisoned and scourged, and where he had converted the soldier who was appointed to guard him. His festival is celebrated here with great splendour by the monks.

Opposite S. Calisto is the _Monastery of St. Anna_, in which were passed the last days of the beautiful and learned Vittoria Colonna. As her death approached she was removed to the neighbouring house of her kinsman Giuliano Cesarini, and there she expired (February, 1547) in the presence of her devoted friend, Michael Angelo, who always regretted that he had not in that solemn moment ventured to press his lips for the first and last time to her beautiful countenance. She was buried, by her own desire, in the convent chapel, without any monument.

Hence a lane leads to the _Church of S. Cosimato_, in an open space facing the hill of S. Rietro in Montorio (where stands of seats are placed during the Girandola). A courtyard is entered through a low arch supported by two ancient columns, having a high roof with rich terra-cotta mouldings,--beautiful in colour. The court contains an antique fountain, and is exceedingly picturesque. The church has carefully sculptured details of cornice and moulding; the door is a good specimen of mediæval wood-carving. The wall on the left of the altar is occupied by a most beautiful fresco of _Pinturicchio_, representing St. Francis and St. Clare standing on either side of the Virgin and Child. Opening from the end of the left aisle is a very interesting chapel, decorated with frescoes, and containing a most beautiful altar of the fifteenth century, in honour of the saints Severa and Fortunata, with statuettes of Faith, Justice, Charity, and Hope. Attached to the church is a very large convent of Poor Clares, which produced two saints, Theodora and Seraphina, in the fifteenth century.

Following the Via della Scala, on the south side of Sta. Maria in Trastevere, we reach the _Porta Settimiana_, built by Alexander VI. on the site of a gateway raised by Honorius, which marked the position of an arch of Septimius Severus. This is the entrance of the Via Lungara, containing the Corsini and Farnesina Palaces (see Chapter XX.). The gateway has forked battlements, but is much spoilt by recent plasterings. Near this is _Sta. Dorotea_, an ugly church, but important in church history from its connection with the foundation of the Order of the Theatins, which arose out of a revulsion from the sensuous age of Leo X.; and as containing the tomb of their founder, Don Gaëtano di Teatino, the friend of Paul IV.

"Dès le règne de Léon X., quelques symptômes d'une réaction
religieuse se manifestèrent dans les hautes classes de la société
romaine. On vit un certain nombre d'hommes éminents s'affilier les
uns aux autres, afin de trouver dans de saintes pratiques assez de
force pour résister à l'atmosphère énervante qui les entourait. Ils
prirent pour leur association le titre et les emblèmes de l'amour
divin, et ils s'assemblèrent, à des jours déterminés, dans l'église
de Sainte-Dorothée, près de la porte Settimiana. Parmi ces hommes
de foi et d'avenir, on citait un archevêque, Caraffa; un
protonotaire apostolique, Gaëtan de Thiène; un noble Vénitien aussi
distingué par son caractére que par ses talents, Contarini; et
cinquante autres dont les noms rappellaient tons, ou une
illustration ou une haute position sociale, tels que Lippomano,
Sadolet, Ghiberti.

"Mais bientôt ces premiers essais de rupture avec la tendance
générale des esprits enflammèrent le zèle de plusieurs des membres
de la Congrégation de _l'Amour divin_. Caraffa surtout, dont l'âme
ardente n'avait trouvé qu'anxiétés et fatigue dans les grandeurs,
aspirait à une vie d'action qui lui permit de s'employer, de tous
ses moyens, à la réforme du monde. Il trouva dans Gaëtan de Thiène
des dispositions conformes à ce qu'il désirait. Gaëtan avait
cependant un caractère très-différent du sien; doué d'une angélique
douceur, craignant de se faire entendre, recherchant la méditation
et la retraite, il eût voulu, lui aussi, réformer le monde, mais il
n'eût pas voulu en être connu. Les qualités diverses de ces deux
hommes rares se combinèrent heureusement dans l'exécution du projet
qu'ils avaient conçu, c'était de former des ecclésiastiques voués,
tout ensemble à la contemplation et à une vie austère, à la
prédication et au soin des malades; des ecclésiastiques qui
donnassent partout au clergé l'exemple de l'accomplissement des
devoirs de sa sainte mission."--_Gournerie, Rome Chrétienne_, ii.
157.

"When Dorothea, the maiden of Cæsarea, was condemned to death by
Sapritius, she replied, 'Be it so, then I shall the sooner stand in
the presence of Christ, my spouse, in whose garden are the fruits
of paradise, and roses that never fade.' As she was being led to
execution, the young Theophilus mocking said, 'O maiden, goest thou
to join thy bridegroom? send me then, I pray thee, of the fruits
and flowers which grow in his garden.' And the maiden bowed her
head and smiled, saying, 'Thy request is granted, O Theophilus,'
whereat he laughed, and she went forward to death.

"And behold, at the place of execution, a beautiful child, with
hair like the sunbeam, stood beside her, and in his hand was a
basket containing three fresh roses and three apples. And she said,
'Take these to Theophilus, and tell him that Dorothea waits for him
in the garden from whence they came.'

"And the child sought Theophilus, and gave him the flowers and the
fruits, saying, 'Dorothea sends thee these,' and vanished. And the
heart of Theophilus melted, and he ate of the fruit from heaven,
and was converted and professed himself one of Christ's servants,
so that he also was martyred, and was translated into the heavenly
garden."--_Legend._

This story is told in nearly all the pictures of Sta. Dorotea.

Hence we reach the _Ponte Sisto_, built 1473--75 by Sixtus IV. in the place of the Pons Janiculensis, (or, according to Ampère, the Pons Antoninus,) which Caracalla had erected to reach the garden in the Trastevere, formerly belonging to his brother Geta,--but which was known as the Pons Fractus after a flood had destroyed part of it in 792. The Acts of Eusebius describe the many Christian martyrdoms which took place from this bridge. S. Symphorosa under Hadrian, S. Sabas under Aurelian, S. Calepodius under Alexander, and S. Anthimius under Diocletian, were thrown into the Tiber from hence, with many others, whose bodies, usually drifting to the island then called Lycaonia, were recovered there by their faithful disciples.[362] An inscription upon the bridge begs the prayers of the passengers for its papal founder.

Beautiful views may be obtained from this bridge,--on the one side, of the island, of the temple of Vesta, and the Alban hills; on the other, of St. Peter's, rising behind the Farnesina Gardens, and the grand mass of the Farnese Palace, towering above the less important buildings.

"They had reached the bridge and stopped to look at the view,
perhaps the most beautiful of all those seen from the Roman
bridges. Looking towards the hills, the Tiber was spanned by Ponte
Rotto, under which the old black mills were turning ceaselessly,
almost level with the tawny water; the sunshine fell full on the
ruins of the Palatine, about the base of which had gathered a crowd
of modern buildings; a brick campanile, of the middle ages, rose
high above them against the blue sky, which was seen through its
open arches; beyond were the Latin Hills; on the other hand, St.
Peter's stood pre-eminent in the distance; nearer, a stack of
picturesque old houses were half hidden by orange-trees, where
golden fruit clustered thickly; women leant from the windows, long
lines of flapping clothes hung out to dry; below, the ferry-boat
was crossing the river, impelled by the current. Modern and ancient
Rome all mingled together--everywhere were thrilling names
connected with all that was most glorious in the past. The moderns
are richer than their ancestors, the past is theirs as well as the
present."--_Mademoiselle Mori._

Close to the further entrance of the bridge, opposite the Via Giulia, is the _Fountain of the Ponte Sisto_, built by Paul V. from a design of Fontana. The water, which falls in one body from a niche in the wall of a palace, is discharged a second time from the mouths of two monsters below.