Chapter III: The Capitoline (1)

The Story of the Hill--Piazza del Campidoglio--Palace of the
Senator--View from the Capitol Tower--The Tabularium--The Museo
Capitolino--Gallery of Statues--Palace of the Conservators--Gallery
of Pictures--Palazzo Caffarelli--Tarpeian Rock--Convent and Church
of Ara-Cœli--Mamertine Prisons.

The Capitoline was the hill of the kings and the republic, as the Palatine was of the empire.

Entirely composed of tufa, its sides, now concealed by buildings or by the accumulated rubbish of ages, were abrupt and precipitous, as are still the sides of the neighbouring citadels of Corneto and Cervetri. It was united to the Quirinal by an isthmus of land cut away by Trajan, but in every other direction was isolated by its perpendicular cliffs:--

"Arduus in valles et fora clivus erat."

_Ovid, Fast._ i. 264.

Up to the time of the Tarquins, it bore the name of Mons Saturnus,[19] from the mythical king Saturn, who is reported to have come to Italy in the reign of Janus, and to have made a settlement here. His name was derived from sowing, and he was looked upon as the introducer of civilization and social order, both of which are inseparably connected with agriculture. His reign here was thus considered to be the golden age of Italy. His wife was Ops, the representative of plenty.[20]

"C'est la tradition d'un âge de paix représenté par le règne
paisible de Saturne; avant qu'il y eut une _Roma_, ville de la
force, il y eut une _Saturnia_, ville de la paix."--_Ampère, Hist.
Rom._ i. 86.

Virgil represents Evander, the mythical king of the Palatine, as exhibiting Saturnia, already in ruins, to Æneas.

"Hæc duo præterea disjectis oppida muris,
Reliquias veterumque vides monumenta virorum.
Hanc Janus pater, hanc Saturnus condidit arcem:
Janiculum huic, illi fuerat Saturnia nomen."

_Æn._ viii. 356.

When Romulus had fixed his settlement upon the Palatine, he opened an asylum for fugitive slaves upon the then deserted Saturnus, and here, at a sacred oak, he is said to have offered up the spoils of the Cæcinenses, and their king Acron, who had made a war of reprisal upon him, after the rape of their women in the Campus Martius; here also he vowed to build a temple to Jupiter Feretrius, where spoils should always be offered. But in the mean time, the Sabines, under Titius Tatus, besieged and took the hill, having a gate of its fortress (said to have been on the ascent above the spot where the arch of Severus now stands) opened to them by Tarpeia, who gazed with longing upon the golden bracelets of the warriors, and, obtaining a promise to receive that which they wore upon their arms, was crushed by their shields as they entered. Some authorities, however, maintain that she asked and obtained the hand of king Tatius. From this time the hill was completely occupied by the Sabines, and its name became partially merged in that of _Mons Tarpeia_, which its southern side has always retained. Niebuhr states that it is a popular superstition that the beautiful Tarpeia still sits, sparkling with gold and jewels, enchanted and motionless, in a cave in the centre of the hill.

After the death of Tatius, the Capitoline again fell under the government of Romulus, and his successor, Numa Pompilius, founded here a Temple of Fides Publica, in which the flamens were always to sacrifice with a fillet on their right hands, in sign of fidelity. To Numa also is attributed the worship of the god Terminus, who had a temple here in very early ages.

Under Tarquinius Superbus, B.C. 535, the magnificent _Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus_, which had been vowed by his father, was built with money taken from the Volscians in war. In digging its foundations, the head of a man was found, still bloody, an omen which was interpreted by an Etruscan augur to portend that Rome would become the head of Italy. In consequence of this, the name of the hill was once more changed, and has ever since been _Mons Capitolinus_, or Capitolium.

The site of this temple has always been one of the vexed questions of history. At the time it was built, as now, the hill consisted of two peaks, with a level space between them. Niebuhr and Gregorovius place the temple on the south-eastern height, but Canina and other authorities, with more probability, incline to the north-eastern eminence, the present site of Ara-Cœli, because, among many other reasons, the temple faced the south, and also the Forum, which it could not have done upon the south-eastern summit; and also because the citadel is always represented as having been nearer to the Tiber than the temple: for when Herdonius, and the Gauls, arriving by the river, scaled the heights of the Capitol, it was the _citadel_ which barred their path, and in which, in the latter case, Manlius was awakened by the noise of the sacred geese of Juno.

The temple of Jupiter occupied a lofty platform, the summit of the rock being levelled to receive it. Its façade was decorated with three ranges of columns, and its sides by a single colonnade. It was nearly square, being 200 Roman feet in length, and 185 in width.[21] The interior was divided into three cells; the figure of Jupiter occupied that in the centre, Minerva was on his right, and Juno on his left. The figure of Jupiter was the work of an artist of the Volscian city of Fregellæ,[22] and was formed of terra-cotta, painted like the statues which we may still see in the Etruscan museum at the Vatican, and clothed with the tunica palmata, and the toga picta, the costume of victorious generals. In his right hand was a thunder-bolt, and in his left a spear.

"Jupiter angusta vix totus stabat in Æde;
Inque Jovis dextra fictile fulmen erat."

_Ovid, Fast._ i. 202.

At a later period the statue was formed of gold, but this figure had ceased to exist in the time of Pliny.[23] When Martial wrote, the statues of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, were all gilt.

"Scriptus es æterno nunc primum, Jupiter, auro,
Et soror, et summi filia tota patris."

_Martial,_ xi. _Ep._ 5.

In the wall adjoining the cella of Minerva, a nail was fastened every year, to mark the lapse of time.[24] In the centre of the temple was the statue of Terminus.

"The sumptuous fane of Jupiter Capitolinus had peculiar claims on
the veneration of the Roman citizens; for not only the great lord
of the earth was worshipped in it, but the conservative principle
of property itself found therein its appropriate symbol. While the
statue of Jupiter occupied the usual place of the divinity in the
furthest recess of the building, an image of the god Terminus was
also placed in the centre of the nave, which was open to the
heavens. A venerable legend affirmed, that when, in the time of the
kings, it was requisite to clear a space on the Capitoline to erect
on it a temple to the great father of the gods, and the shrines of
the lesser divinities were to be removed for the purpose, Terminus
alone, the patron of boundaries, refused to quit his place, and
demanded to be included in the walls of the new edifice. Thus
propitiated he was understood to declare that henceforth the bounds
of the republic should never be removed; and the pledge was more
than fulfilled by the ever increasing circuit of her
dominion."--_Merivale, Romans Under the Empire._

The gates of the temple were of gilt bronze, and its pavement of mosaic;[25] in a vault beneath were preserved the Sibylline books placed there by Tarquin. The building of Tarquin lasted 400 years, and was burnt down in the civil wars, B.C. 83. It was rebuilt very soon afterwards by Sylla, and adorned with columns of Pentelic marble, which he had brought from the temple of Jupiter Olympus at Athens.[26] Sylla, however, did not live to rededicate it, and it was finished by Q. Lutatius Catulus, B.C. 62. This temple lasted till it was burnt to the ground by the soldiers of Vitellius, who set fire to it by throwing torches upon the portico, A.D. 69, and dragging forth Sabinus, the brother of Vespasian, murdered him at the foot of the Capitol, near the Mamertine Prisons.[27] Domitian, the younger son of Vespasian, was, at that time, in the temple with his uncle, and escaped in the dress of a priest; in commemoration of which, he erected a chapel to Jupiter Conservator, close to the temple, with an altar upon which his adventure was sculptured. The temple was rebuilt by Vespasian, who took so great an interest in the work, that he carried away some of the rubbish on his own shoulders; but his temple was the exact likeness of its predecessor, only higher, as the aruspices said that the gods would not allow it to be altered.[28] In this building Titus and Vespasian celebrated their triumph for the fall of Jerusalem. The ruin of the temple began in A.D. 404, during the short visit of the youthful Emperor Honorius to Rome, when the plates of gold which lined its doors were stripped off by Stilicho.[29] It was finally plundered by the Vandals, in A.D. 455, when its statues were carried off to adorn the African palace of Genseric, and half its roof was stripped of the gilt bronze tiles which covered it; but it is not known precisely when it ceased to exist,--the early fathers of the Christian Church speak of having seen it. The story that the bronze statue of Jupiter, belonging to this temple, was transformed by Leo I. into the famous image of St. Peter, is very doubtful.

Close beside this, the queen of Roman temples, stood the _Temple of Fides_, said to have been founded by Numa, where the senate were assembled at the time of the murder of Tiberius Gracchus, B.C. 133, who fell in front of the temple of Jupiter, at the foot of the statues of the kings: his blood being the first spilt in Rome in a civil war.[30] Near this, also, were the twin _Temples of Mars and Venus Erycina_, vowed after the battle of Thrasymene, and consecrated, B.C. 215, by the consuls Q. Fabius Maximus and T. Otacilius Crassus. Near the top of the Clivus was the _Temple of Jupiter Tonans_, built by Augustus, in consequence of a vow which he made in an expedition against the Cantabri when his litter was struck, and the slave who preceded him was killed by lightning. This temple was so near, that it was considered as a porch to that of Jupiter Capitolinus, and in token of that character, Augustus hung some bells upon its pediment.

On the Arx, or opposite height of the Capitol, was the _Temple of Honour and Virtue_, built B.C. 103, by Marius, with the spoils taken in the Cimbric wars. This temple was of sufficient size to allow of the senate meeting there, to pass the decree for Cicero's recall.[31] Here Nardini places the ancient _Temple of Jupiter Feretrius_, in which Romulus dedicated the first spolia opima. Here, on the site of the house of Manlius, was built the _Temple of Juno Moneta_, B.C. 345, in accordance with a vow of L. Furius Camillus.[32] On this height, also, was the _Altar of Jupiter Pistor_, which commemorated the stratagem of the Romans, who threw down loaves into the camp of the besieging Gauls, to deceive them as to the state of their supplies.[33]

"Nomine, quam pretio celebratior, arce Tonantis,
Dicam Pistoris quid velit ara Jovis."

_Ovid, Fast._ vi. 349.

It was probably also on this side of the hill that the gigantic _Statue of Jupiter_ stood, which was formed out of the armour taken from the Samnites, B.C. 293, and which is stated by Pliny to have been of such a size that it was visible from the top of Monte Cavo.

Two cliffs are now rival claimants to be considered as the Tarpeian Rock; but it is most probable that the whole of the hill on this side of the Intermontium was called the Mons Tarpeia, and was celebrated under that name by the poets.

"In summo custos Tarpeiæ Manlius arcis
Stabat pro templo, et Capitolia celsa tenebat:
Romuleoque recens horrebat regia culmo.
Atque hic auratis volitans argenteus anser
Porticibus, Gallos in limine adesse canebat."

_Virgil, Æn._ viii. 652.

"Aurea Tarpeia ponet Capitolia rupe,
Et junget nostro templorum culmina cœlo."

_Sil. Ital._ iii. 623.

... "juvat inter tecta Tonantis,
Cernere Tarpeia pendentes rupe Gigantes."

_Claud._ vi. _Cons. Hon._ 44.

Among the buildings upon the _Intermontium_, or space between the two heights, were the Tabularium, or Record Office, part of which still remains; a portico, built by Scipio Nasica,[34] and an arch which Nero built here to his own honour, the erection of which upon the sacred hill, hitherto devoted to the gods, was regarded even by the subservient senate as an unparalleled act of presumption.[35]

In mediæval times the revolutionary government of Arnold of Brescia established itself on this hill (1144), and Pope Lucius II., in attempting to regain his temporal power, was slain with a stone in attacking it. Here Petrarch received his laurel crown (1341); and here the tribune Rienzi promulgated the laws of the "good estate." At this time nothing existed on the Capitol but the church and convent of Ara-Cœli, and a few ruins. Yet the cry of the people at the coronation of Petrarch, "Long life to _the Capitol_ and the poet!" shows that the scene itself was then still more present to their minds than the principal actor upon it. But, when the popes returned from Avignon, the very memory of the Capitol seemed effaced, and the spot was only known as the Goat's Hill,--_Monte Caprino_. Pope Boniface IX. (1389--94) was the first to erect on the Capitol, on the ruins of the Tabularium, a residence for the senator and his assessors, Paul III. (1544--50) employed Michael Angelo to lay out the Piazza del Campidoglio; when he designed the Capitoline Museum and the Palace of the Conservators. Pius IV., Gregory XIII., and Sixtus V. added the sculptures and other monuments which now adorn the steps and balustrade.[36]

* * * * *

Just beyond the end of the Corso, the _Via della Pedacchia_ turns to the right, under a quaint archway in the secret passage constructed as a means of escape for the Franciscan Generals of Ara-Cœli to the Palazzo Venezia, as that in the Borgo is for the escape of the popes to S. Angelo. In this street is a house decorated with simple but elegant Doric details, and bearing an inscription over the door which shows that it was that of Pietro da Cortona.

The street ends in the sunny open space at the foot of the Capitol, with Ara-Cœli on its left, approached by an immense flight of steps, removed hither from the Temple of the Sun, on the Quirinal, but marking the site of the famous staircase to the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, which Julius Cæsar descended on his knees, after his triumph for his Gallic victories.[37]

The grand staircase, "_La Cordonnata_," was opened in its present form on the occasion of the entry of Charles V., in 1536.[38] At its foot are two lions of Egyptian porphyry, which were removed hither from the Church of S. Stefano in Cacco, by Pius IV. It was down the staircase which originally existed on this site, that Rienzi the tribune fled in his last moments, and close to the spot where the left-hand lion stands, that he fell, covered with wounds, his wife witnessing his death from a window of the burning palace above. A small space between the two staircases has lately been transformed into a garden, through which access may be obtained to four vaulted brick chambers, remnants of the substructions of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. A living wolf is kept here in commemoration of the nurse of Romulus and Remus.

At the head of the stairs are colossal statues of the twin heroes, Castor and Pollux (brought hither from the Ghetto), commemorating the victory of the Lake Regillus, after which they rode before the army to Rome, to announce the joyful news, watered their horses at the Aqua Argentina, and then passed away from the gaze of the multitude into celestial spheres. Beyond these, on either side, are two trophies of imperial times discovered in the ruin on the Esquiline, misnamed the Trophies of Marius. Next come statues of Constantine the Great and his son Constantine II., from their baths on the Quirinal. The two ends of the parapet are occupied by ancient Milliaria, being the first and seventh milestones of the Appian Way. The first milestone was found in _situ_, and showed that the miles counted from the gates of Rome, and not, as was formerly supposed, from the Milliarium Aureum, at the foot of the Capitol.

We now find ourselves in the _Piazza del Campidoglio_, occupying the Intermontium, where Brutus harangued the people after the murder of Julius Cæsar. In the centre of the square is the famous _Statue of Marcus Aurelius_, the only perfect ancient equestrian statue in existence. It was originally gilt, as may still be seen from marks of gilding upon the figure, and stood in front of the arch of Septimius-Severus. Hence it was removed by Sergius III. to the front of the Lateran, where, not long after, it was put to a singular use by John XIII., who hung a refractory prefect of the city from it by his hair.[39] During the rejoicings consequent upon the elevation of Rienzi to the tribuneship in 1347, one of its nostrils was made to flow with water and the other with wine. From its vicinity to the Lateran, so intimately connected with the history of Constantine, it was supposed during the middle ages to represent that Christian emperor, and this fortunate error alone preserved it from the destruction which befell so many other ancient imperial statues. Michael Angelo, when he designed the buildings of the Capitoline Piazza, wished to remove the statue to its present site, but the canons of the Lateran were unwilling to part with their treasure, and only consented to its removal upon an annual acknowledgment of their proprietorship, for which a bunch of flowers is still presented once a year by the senators to the chapter of the Lateran. Michael Angelo, standing in fixed admiration before this statue, is said to have bidden the horse "Cammina." Even until late years an especial guardian has been appointed to take care of it, with an annual stipend of ten scudi a year, and the title of "Il custode del Cavallo."

"They stood awhile to contemplate the bronze equestrian statue of
Marcus Aurelius. The moonlight glistened upon traces of the gilding
which had once covered both rider and steed; these were almost
gone, but the aspect of dignity was still perfect, clothing the
figure as it were with an imperial robe of light. It is the most
majestic representation of the kingly character that ever the world
has seen. A sight of the old heathen emperor is enough to create an
evanescent sentiment of loyalty even in a democratic bosom, so
august does he look, so fit to rule, so worthy of man's profoundest
homage and obedience, so inevitably attractive of his love. He
stretches forth his hand with an air of proud magnificence and
unlimited authority, as if uttering a decree from which no appeal
was permissible, but in which the obedient subject would find his
highest interests consulted: a command that was in itself a
benediction."--_Hawthorne._

"I often ascend the Capitoline Hill to look at Marcus Aurelius and
his horse, and have not been able to refrain from caressing the
lions of basalt. You cannot stand on the Aventine or the Palatine
without grave thoughts, but standing on the spot brings me very
little nearer the image of past ages."--_Niebuhr's Letters._

"La statue équestre de Marc-Aurèle a aussi sa légende, et celle-là
n'est pas du moyen âge, mais elle a été recueillie il y a peu
d'années de la bouche d'un jeune Romain. La dorure, en partie
détruite, se voit encore en quelques endroits. A en croire le jeune
Romain, cependant, la dorure, au lieu d'aller s'effaçant toujours
davantage, était en voie de progrès. 'Voyez, disait-il, la statue
de bronze commence à se dorer, et quand elle le sera entièrement,
le monde finira.'--C'est toujours, sous une forme absurde, la
vieille idée romaine, que les destinées et l'existence de Rome sont
liées aux destinées et à l'existence du monde. C'est ce qui faisait
dire au septième siècle; ainsi que les pèlerins saxons l'avaient
entendu et le répétaient; 'Quand le Colisée tombera, Rome et le
monde finiront.'"--_Ampère, Emp._ ii. 228.

The building at the back of the piazza is _The Palace of the Senator_, originally built by Boniface IX. (1389), but altered by Michael Angelo to correspond with his buildings on either side. The fountain at the foot of the double staircase was erected by Sixtus V., and is adorned with statues of river gods found in the Colonna Gardens, and a curious porphyry figure of Minerva--adapted as Rome. The body of this statue was found at Cori, but the head and arms are modern additions.

"Rome personnifiée, cette déesse à laquelle on érigea des temples,
voulut d'abord être une Amazone, ce qui se conçoit, car elle était
guerrière avant tout. C'est sous la forme de Minerve que Rome est
assise sur la place du Capitole."--_Ampère, Hist. Romaine_, iii.
242.

In the interior of this building the Hall of the Senators contains some papal statues, and that of Charles of Anjou, who was made senator of Rome in the thirteenth century.

The _Tower of the Capitol_ contains the great bell of Viterbo, carried off from that town during the wars of the middle ages, which is never rung except to announce the death of a pope, or the opening of the carnival. During the closing years of the temporal power of the popes, it has been difficult to obtain admission to the tower, but the ascent is well repaid by the view from the summit, which embraces not only the seven hills of Rome, but the various towns and villages of the neighbouring plain and mountains which successively fell under its dominion.

"Pour suivre les vicissitudes des luttes extérieures des Romains
contre les peuples qui les entourent et les pressent de tous côtés,
nous n'aurons qu'à regarder à l'horizon la sublime campagne romaine
et ces montagnes qui l'encadrent si admirablement. Elles sont
encore plus belles et l'œil prend encore plus de plaisir à les
contempler quand on songe à ce qu'elles ont vu d'efforts et de
courage dans les premiers temps de la république. Il n'est presque
pas un point de cette campagne qui n'ait été témoin de quelque
rencontre glorieuse; il n'est presque un rocher de ces montagnes
qui n'est été pris et repris vingt fois.

"Toutes ces nations sabelliques qui dominaient la ville du Tibre et
semblaient placées là sur des hauteurs disposées en demi-cercle
pour l'envelopper et l'écraser, toutes ces nations sont devant nous
et à la portée du regard.

"Voici de côté de la mer les montagnes des Volsques; plus à l'est
sont les Herniques et les Æques; au nord, les Sabins; à l'ouest,
d'autres ennemis, les Etrusques, dont le mont Ciminus est le
rempart.

"Au sud, la plaine se prolonge jusqu'à la mer. Ici sont les Latins,
qui, n'ayant pas des montagnes pour leur servir de citadelle et de
refuge, commenceront par être des alliés.

"Nous pouvons donc embrasser le panorama historique des premiers
combats qu'eurent à soutenir et que soutinrent si vaillamment les
Romains affranchis."--_Ampère, Hist. Rom._ ii. 373.

Beneath the Palace of the Senator (entered by a door in the street on the right), are the gigantic remains of the _Tabularium_, consisting of huge rectangular blocks of peperino supporting a Doric colonnade, which is shown by an inscription still preserved to have been that of the public Record Office, where the Tabulæ, engraved plates bearing important decrees of the Senate, were preserved, having been placed there by Q. Lutatius Catulus in B.C. 79. A gallery in the interior of the Tabularium has been fitted up as a museum of architectural antiquities collected from the neighbouring temples. This building is as it were the boundary between inhabited Rome and that Rome which is a city of ruins.

"I came to the Capitol, and looked down on the other side. There
before my eyes opened an immense grave, and out of the grave rose a
city of monuments in ruins, columns, triumphal arches, temples, and
palaces, broken, ruinous, but still beautiful and grand,--with a
solemn mournful beauty! It was the giant apparition of ancient
Rome."--_Frederika Bremer._

The traces of an ancient staircase still exist, which led down from the Tabularium to the Forum. This is believed by many to have been the path by which the besiegers under Vitellius, A.D. 69, attacked the Capitol.

The east side of the piazza--on the left as one stands at the head of the steps--is the _Museo Capitolino_ (open daily from 9 to 4, for a fee; and on Mondays and Thursdays gratis, from 2½ to 4½).

Above the fountain in the court, opposite the entrance, reclines the colossal statue of a river-god, called Marforio, removed hither from the end of the Via di Marforio (Forum Martis?) near the arch of Severus. This figure, according to Roman fancy, was the friend and gossip of Pasquin (at the Palazzo Braschi), and lively dialogues, merciless to the follies of the government and the times, used to appear with early morning, placarded on their respective pedestals, as passing between the two. Thus, when Clement XI. mulcted Rome of numerous sums to send to his native Urbino, Marforio asked, "What is Pasquino doing?" The next morning Pasquin answered, "I am taking care of Rome, that it does not go away to Urbino." In the desire of putting an end to such inconvenient remarks, the government ordered the removal of one of the statues to the Capitol, and, since Marforio has been shut up, Pasquino has lost his spirits.

From the corridor on the ground floor open several rooms devoted to ancient inscriptions and sarcophagi with bas-reliefs. The first room on the left has some bronzes--in the centre a mutilated horse, found, 1849, in the Trastevere.

"Calamis, venu un peu avant Phidias, n'eut point de rival pour les
chevaux. Calamis, qui fut fondeur en bronze, serait-il l'auteur du
cheval de bronze du Capitole, qui, en effet, semble plutôt un peu
antérieur que postérieur à Phidias?"--_Ampère, Hist. Rom._ iii.
234.

At the foot of the staircase is a colossal statue of the Emperor Hadrian, found on the Cœlian.

The _Staircase_ is lined with the fragments of the _Pianta Capitolina_, a series of marble slabs of imperial date (found in the sixteenth century under SS. Cosmo and Damian), inscribed with ground plans of Rome, and exceedingly important from the light they throw upon the ancient topography of the city.

The upper _Corridor_ is lined with statues and busts. Here and elsewhere we will only notice those especially remarkable for beauty or historic interest.[40]

L. 12. Satyr playing on a flute.
R. 13. Cupid bending his bow.
R. 20. Old woman intoxicated.

"Tout le monde a remarqué dans le musée du Capitole une vieille
femme serrant des deux mains une bouteille, la bouche entr'ouverte,
les yeux mourants tournés vers le ciel, comme si, dans la
jubilation de l'ivresse, elle savourait le vin qu'elle vient de
boire. Comment ne pas voir dans cette caricature en marbre une
reproduction de _la Vielle Femme ivre_ de Myron, qui passait pour
une des curiosités de Smyrne."--_Ampère, Hist. Rom._ iii. 272.

L. 26. The infant Hercules strangling a serpent.
L. 28. Grand Sarcophagus--the Rape of Proserpine.
R. 33. Satyr playing on a flute.
(In the wall on the left inscriptions from the columbarium of Livia.)
R. 43. Head of Ariadne.
L. 48. Sarcophagus--the birth and childhood of Bacchus.
L. 56. Statue, draped.
R. 64. Jupiter, on a cippus with a curious relief of Claudia drawing
the boat with the image of the Magna Mater up the Tiber.
L. 69. Bust of Caligula.
R. 70. Marcus Aurelius, as a boy--a very beautiful bust.
R. 70. Statue of Minerva from Velletri. The same as that in the
Braccio Nuovo of the Vatican.
R. 72. Trajan.
76. In the window, a magnificent vase, found near the tomb
of Cecilia Metella, standing on a puteal adorned with reliefs of the
twelve principal gods and goddesses.

From the right of this corridor open two chambers. The first is named the _Room of the Doves_, from the famous mosaic found in the ruins of Hadrian's villa near Tivoli, and generally called _Pliny's Doves_, because Pliny, when speaking of the perfection to which the mosaic art had attained, describes a wonderful mosaic of Sosus of Pergamos, in which one dove is seen drinking and casting her shadow on the water, while others are pluming themselves on the edge of the vase. As a pendant to this is another _Mosaic, of a Tragic and Comic Mask_. In the farther window is the _Iliac Tablet_, an interesting relief in the soft marble called palombino, relating to the story of the destruction of Troy, and the flight of Æneas, and found at Bovillæ.

"L'ensemble de la guerre contre Troie est contenu dans un abrégé
figuré qu'on appelle la Table Iliaque, petit bas-relief destiné à
offrir un résumé visible de cette guerre aux jeunes Romains, et à
servir dans les écoles soit pour l'_Iliade_, soit pour les poëmes
cycliques comme d'un _Index parlant_.

"La Table Iliaque est un ouvrage romain fait à Rome. Tout ce qui
touche aux origines troyennes de cette ville, inconnues à Homère et
célébrées surtout par Stésichore avant de l'être par Virgile, tient
dans ce bas-relief une place importante et domine dans sa
composition."--_Ampère, Hist. Rom._ iii. 431.

In the centre of the room is a pretty statuette of a girl shielding a dove.

The second chamber, known as _The Reserved Cabinet_, contains the famous _Venus of the Capitol_--a Greek statue, found immured in a wall upon the Quirinal.

"La vérité et la complaisance avec lesquelles la nature est rendue
dans la Vénus du Capitole faisaient de cette belle statue,--qui
pourtant n'a rien d'indécent bien que par une pruderie peu chaste
on l'ait reléguée dans un cabinet réservé,--faisaient de cette
belle statue un sujet de scandale pour l'austérité des premiers
chrétiens. C'était sans doute afin de la soustraire à leurs
mutilations qu'on l'avait enfouie avec soin, ce qui l'a conservée
dans son intégrité; ainsi son danger l'a sauvée. Comme on l'a
trouvée dans le quartier suspect de la Suburra, on peut supposer
qu'elle ornait l'atrium élégant de quelque riche
courtisane."--_Ampère_, iii. 318.

The two smaller sculptures of Leda and the Swan, and Cupid and Psyche--two lovely children embracing (most needlessly secluded here), were found on the Aventine.

From the end of the gallery we enter

_The Hall of the Emperors._ In the centre is the beautiful seated statue of Agrippina (grand-daughter of Augustus--wife of Germanicus--and mother of Caligula).

"On s'arrête avec respect devant la première Agrippine, assise avec
une si noble simplicité et dont le visage exprime si bien la
fermeté virile."--_Ampère_, iv.

"Ici nous la contemplons telle que nous pouvons nous la figurer
après la mort de Germanicus. Elle semble mise aux fers par le
destin, mais sans pouvoir encore renoncer aux pensées superbes dont
son âme était remplie aux jours de son bonheur."--_Braun._

Round the room are ranged 83 busts of Roman emperors, empresses, and their near relations, forming perhaps the most interesting portrait gallery in the world. Even viewed as works of art, many of them are of the utmost importance. They are--

1. Julius Cæsar, nat. B.C. 100; ob. B.C. 44.
2. Augustus, Imp. B.C. 12--A.D. 14.
3. Marcellus, his nephew and son-in-law, son
of Octavia, ob. B.C. 23, aged 20.
4, 5. Tiberius, Imp. A.D. 14-37.
6. Drusus, his brother, son of Livia and Claudius Nero, ob. B.C. 10.
7. Drusus, son of Tiberius and Vipsania, ob. A.D. 23.
8. Antonia, daughter of Mark Antony and Octavia, wife of the elder
Drusus, mother of Germanicus and Claudius.
9. Germanicus, son of Drusus and Antonia, ob. A.D. 19.
10. Agrippina, daughter of Julia and Agrippa, granddaughter of
Augustus, wife of Germanicus. Died of starvation under Tiberius, A.D. 33.
11. Caligula, Imp. A.D. 37-41, son of Germanicus and
Agrippina. Murdered by the tribune Cherœa (in basalt).
12. Claudius, Imp. A.D. 41-54, younger son of Drusus and Antonia.
Poisoned by Agrippina.
13. Messalina, third wife of Claudius. Put
to death by Claudius, A.D. 48.

"Une grosse commère sensuelle, aux traits bouffis, à l'air assez
commun, mais qui pouvait plaire à Claude."--_Ampère, Emp._ ii. 32.

14. Agrippina the younger, sixth wife of Claudius, daughter of Germanicus
and Agrippina the elder, great-granddaughter of Augustus. Murdered by
her son Nero, A.D. 60.

"Ce buste la montre avec cette beauté plus grande que celle de sa
mère, et qui était pour elle un moyen. Agrippine a les yeux levés
vers le ciel, on dirait qu'elle craint, et qu'elle attend."--_Emp._
ii. 34.

15, 16. Nero, Imp. A.D. 54-69, son of Agrippina the younger by her first
husband, Ahenobarbus. Died by his own hand.
17. Poppæa Sabina (?), second wife of Nero. Killed by a kick from
her husband, A.D. 62.

"Ce visage a la délicatesse presque enfantine que pouvait offrir
celui de cette femme, dont les molles recherches et les soins
curieux de toilette étaient célèbres, et dont Diderot a dit avec
vérité, bien qu'avec un peu d'emphase, 'C'était une furie sous le
visage des grâces.'"--_Emp._ ii. 38.

18. Galba, Imp. A.D. 69. Murdered in the Forum.
19. Otho, Imp. A.D. 69. Died by his own hand.
20. Vitellius (?), Imp. A.D. 69. Murdered at the Scalæ Gemoniæ.
21. Vespasian, Imp. A.D. 70-79.
22. Titus, Imp. A.D. 79-81. Supposed to have been poisoned by Domitian.
23. Julia, daughter of Titus.
24. Domitian, Imp. A.D. 81-96, son of Vespasian. Murdered
in the Palace of the Cæsars.

"Domitien est sans comparaison le plus beau des trois Flaviens:
mais c'est une beauté formidable, avec un air farouche et
faux."--_Emp._ ii. 12.

25. Longina (?).
26. Nerva (?), Imp. A.D. 96.
27. Trajan, Imp. A.D. 98-118.
28. Plotina, wife of Trajan.
29. Marciana, sister of Trajan.
30. Matidia, daughter of Marciana, niece of Trajan.
31, 32. Hadrian, Imp. A.D. 118-138, adopted son of Trajan.
33. Julia Sabina, wife of Hadrian, daughter of Matidia.
34. Elius Verus, first adopted son of Hadrian.
35. Antoninus Pius, Imp. A.D. 138-161, second adopted son of Hadrian.
36. Faustina the elder, wife of Antoninus Pius and sister of Elius Verus.
37. Marcus Aurelius, Imp. A.D. 161-180, son of Servianus by Paulina, sister
of Hadrian, adopted by Antoninus Pius, as a boy.
38. Marcus Aurelius, in later life.
39. Annia Faustina, wife of Marcus Aurelius, daughter of Antoninus Pius
and Faustina the elder.
40. Galerius Antoninus, son of Antoninus Pius.
41. Lucius Verus, son-in-law of Marcus Aurelius.
42. Lucilla, wife of Lucius Verus, daughter of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina
the younger. Put to death at Capri for a plot against her husband.
43. Commodus, Imp. A.D. 180-193, son of Marcus Aurelius and Faustina.
Murdered in the Palace of the Cæsars.
44. Crispina, wife of Commodus. Put to death by her husband at Capri.
45. Pertinax, Imp. A.D. 193, successor of Commodus, reigned three months.
Murdered in the Palace of the Cæsars.
46. Didius Julianus, Imp. A.D. 193, successor of Pertinax. Murdered in
the Palace of the Cæsars.
47. Manlia Scantilla (?), wife of Didius Julianus.
{rival candidates (after murder of Didius
48. Pescennius Niger,{Julianus, A.D. 193) for the Empire, which
49. Clodius Albinus, {they failed to obtain, and were both put to
{death.
50, 51. Septimius Severus, Imp. A.D. 193-211, successor of Didius Julianus.
52. Julia Pia, wife of Septimius Severus.
53. Caracalla, Imp. A.D. 211-217, son of Sept. Severus and Julia Pia.
Murdered.
54. Geta, brother of Caracalla, by whose order he was murdered in the
arms of Julia Pia.
55. Macrinus, Imp. A.D. 217, murderer and successor of Caracalla. Murdered.
56. Diadumenianus, son of Macrinus. Murdered with his father.
57. Heliogabalus, Imp. A.D. 218--222, son of Julia Soemis, daughter of
Julia Mœsa, who was sister of Julia Pia. Murdered.
58. Annia Faustina, third wife of Heliogabalus, great-granddaughter of
Marcus Aurelius.
59. Julia Mœsa, sister-in-law of Septimius Severus, aunt of Caracalla,
and grandmother of Alexander Severus.
60. Alexander Severus, Imp., son of Julia Mammea, second daughter of Julia
Mœsa. Murdered at the age of 30.
61. Julia Mammea, daughter of Julia Mœsa, and mother of Alexander
Severus. Murdered with her son.
62. Julius Maximinus, Imp. 235--238; elected by the army. Murdered.
63. Maximus. Murdered with his father, at the age of 18.
64. Gordianus Africanus, Imp. 238; a descendant of Trajan. Died by his
own hand.
65. (Antoninus) Gordianus, Junior, Imp. 238, son of Gordianus Africanus and
Fabia Orestella, great-granddaughter of Antoninus Pius. Died in battle.
66. Pupienus, Imp. 238, {reigned together for four months and then
67. Balbinus, Imp. 238, {were murdered.
68. Gordianus Pius, Imp. 238, grandson, through his mother, of Gordianus
Africanus. Murdered.
69. Philip II., Imp. 244, son of, and co-emperor with Philip I. Murdered.
70. Decius(?), Imp. 249--251. Forcibly elected by the army. Killed in
battle.
71. Quintus Herennius Etruscus, son of Decius and Herennia Etruscilla.
Killed in battle with his father.
72. Hostilianus, son or son-in-law of Decius, Imp. 251, with Treb. Gallus.
Murdered.
73. Trebonianus Gallus, Imp. 251--254. Murdered.
74, 75. Volusianus, son of Trebonianus Gallus. Murdered.
76. Gallienus, Imp. 261--268. Murdered.
77. Salonina, wife of Gallienus.
78. Saloninus, son of Gallienus and Salonina. Put to death by Postumus, A.D.
259, at the age of 17.
79. Marcus Aurelius Carinus, Imp. 283, son of the Emperor Carus. Murdered.
80. Diocletian, Imp. 284-305; elected by the army.
81. Constantinus Chlorus, Imp. 305-306, son of Eutropius and Claudia, niece
of the Emperor Claudius and Quintilius, father of Constantine the Great.
82. Julian the Apostate, Imp. 361-363, son of Julius Constantius and nephew
of Constantine the Great. Died in battle.
83. Magnus Decentius, brother of the Emperor Magnentius. Strangled
himself, 353.

"In their busts the lips of the Roman emperors are generally
closed, indicating reserve and dignity, free from human passions
and emotions."--_Winckelmann._

"At Rome the emperors become as familiar as the popes. Who does not
know the curly-headed Marcus Aurelius, with his lifted brow and
projecting eyes--from the full round beauty of his youth to the
more haggard look of his latest years? Are there any modern
portraits more familiar than the severe wedge-like head of
Augustus, with his sharp cut lips and nose,--or the dull phiz of
Hadrian, with his hair combed down over his low forehead,--or the
vain, perking face of Lucius Verus, with his thin nose, low brow,
and profusion of curls,--or the brutal bull head of Caracalla,--or
the bestial, bloated features of Vitellius?

"These men, who were but lay figures to us at school, mere pegs of
names to hang historic robes upon, thus interpreted by the living
history of their portraits, the incidental illustrations of the
places where they lived and moved and died, and the buildings and
monuments they erected, become like men of yesterday. Art has made
them our contemporaries. They are as near to us as Pius VII. and
Napoleon."--_Story's Roba di Roma._

"Nerva est le premier des bons, et Trajan le premier des grands
empereurs romains; après lui il y en eut deux autres, les deux
Antonins. Trois sur soixante-dix, tel est à Rome le bilan des
gloires morales de l'empire."--_Ampère, Hist. Rom._ liii.

Among the reliefs round the upper walls of this room are two,--of Endymion sleeping, and of Perseus delivering Andromeda, which belong to the set in the Palazzo Spada, and are exceedingly beautiful.

* * * * *

_The Hall of Illustrious Men_ contains a seated statue of M. Claudius Marcellus (?), the conqueror of Syracuse, B.C. 212. Round the room are ranged 93 busts of ancient philosophers, statesmen, and warriors. Among the more important are:--

4, 5, 6. Socrates.
9. Aristides, the orator.
10. Seneca (?).
16. Marcus Agrippa.
19. Theophrastus.
23. Thales.
25. Theon.
27. Pythagoras.
28. Alexander the Great(?).
30. Aristophanes.
31. Demosthenes.
38. Aratus.
39, 40. Democritus of Aldera.
42, 43. Euripides.
44, 45, 46. Homer.
47. Eumenides.
48. Cneius Domitius Corbulo, general under Claudius and Nero.
49. Scipio Africanus.
52. Cato Minor.
54. Aspasia(?).
55. Cleopatra (?).
60. Thucydides (?).
61. Æschines.
62, 64. Epicurus.
63. Epicurus and Metrodorus.
68, 69. Masinissa.
71. Antisthenes.
72, 73. Julian the Apostate.
75. Cicero.
76. Terence.
82. Æschylus (?).

Among the interesting bas-reliefs in this room is one of a Roman interior with a lady trying to persuade her cat to dance to a lyre--the cat, meanwhile, snapping, on its hind legs, at two ducks; the detail of the room is given--even to the slippers under the bed.

_The Saloon_ contains, down the centre,

1. Jupiter (in nero-antico), from Porto d'Anzio, on an altar with
figures of Mercury, Apollo, and Diana.

2, 4. Centaurs (in bigio-morato), by _Aristeas_ and _Papias_ (their
names are on the bases), from Hadrian's villa.

3. The young Hercules, found on the Aventine. It stands on an altar
of Jupiter.

"On voit au Capitole une statue d'Hercule très-jeune, en basalte,
qui frappe assez désagréablement, d'abord, par le contraste,
habilement exprimé toutefois, des formes molles de l'enfance et de
la vigueur caractéristique du héros. L'imitation de la Grèce se
montre même dans la matière que l'artiste a choisie; c'est un
basalt verdâtre, de couleur sombre. Tisagoras et Alcon avaient fait
un Hercule en fer, pour exprimer la force, et, comme dit Pline,
pour signifier l'énergie persévérante de dieu."--_Ampère, Hist.
Rom._ iii. 406.

5. Æsculapius (in nero-antico), on an altar, representing a
sacrifice.

Among the statues and busts round the room the more important are:--

9. Marcus Aurelius.

14. A Satyr.

21. Hadrian, as Mars, from Ceprano.

24. Hercules, in gilt bronze, found in the Forum-Boarium (the
columns on either side come from the tomb of Cecilia Metella).

"On cite de Myron trois Hercules, dont deux à Rome; l'un de ces
derniers a probablement servi de modèle à l'Hercule en bronze doré
du Capitole. Cette statue a été trouvée dans le marché aux
Bœufs, non loin du grand cirque. L'Hercule de Myron était dans
un temple élevé par Pompée et situé près du grand cirque; mais la
statue du Capitole, dont le geste est maniéré, quel que soit son
mérite, n'est pas assez parfaite qu'on puisse y reconnaître une
œuvre de Myron. Peut-être Pompée n'avait placé dans son temple
qu'une copie de l'un des deux Hercules de Myron et la donnait pour
l'original; peut-être aussi Pline y a-t-il été trompé. La vanité
que l'un montre dans tous les actes de sa vie et le peu de
sentiment vrai que trahit si souvent la vaste composition de
l'autre s'accordent également avec cette supposition et la rendent
assez vraisemblable."--_Ampère, Hist. Rom._ iii. 273.

28. Hecuba.

"Nous avons le personnage même d'Hécube dans la Pleureuse du
Capitole. Cette prétendué pleureuse est une Hécube furieuse et une
Hécube en scène, car elle porte le costume, elle a le geste et la
vivacité du théâtre, je dirais volontiers de la pantomime.... Son
regard est tourné vers le ciel, sa bouche lance des imprécations;
on voit qu'elle pourra faire entendre ces hurlements, ces
aboiements de la douleur effrénée que l'antiquité voulut exprimer
en supposant que la malheureuse Hécube avait été métamorphosée en
chienne, une chienne à laquelle on a arraché ses petits."--_Ampère,
Hist. Rom._ iii. 468.

31. Colossal bust of Antoninus Pius.

* * * * *

_The Hall of the Faun_ derives its name from the famous Faun of rosso-antico, holding a bunch of grapes to his mouth, found in Hadrian's Villa. It stands on an altar dedicated to Serapis. Against the right wall is a magnificent sarcophagus, whose reliefs (much studied by Flaxman) represent the battle of Theseus and the Amazons. The opposite sarcophagus has a relief of Diana and Endymion. We should also notice--

15. A boy with a mask.

21. A boy with a goose (found near the Lateran).

Let into the wall is a black tablet--the Lex Regia, or Senatus-Consultum, conferring imperial powers upon Vespasian, being the very table upon which Rienzi declaimed in favour of the rights of the people.

* * * * *

_The Hall of the Dying Gladiator_ contains the three gems of the collection--"the Gladiator," "the Antinous of the Capitol," and the "Faun of Praxiteles." Besides these, we should notice--2. Apollo with the lyre, and 9. a bust of M. Junius Brutus, the assassin of Julius Cæsar.

In the centre of the room is the grand statue of the wounded Gaul, generally known as the Dying Gladiator.

"I see before me the gladiator lie:
He leans upon his hand--his manly brow
Consents to death, but conquers agony,
And his drooped head sinks gradually low,--
And through his side the last drops, ebbing slow
From the red gash, fall heavy, one by one,
Like the first of a thunder-shower; and now
The arena swims around him--he is gone,
Ere ceased the inhuman shout which hailed the wretch who won.

"He heard it, but he heeded not--his eyes
Were with his heart, and that was far away;
He reck'd not of the life he lost, nor prize,
But where his rude hut by the Danube lay
There were his young barbarians all at play,
There was their Dacian mother--he, their sire,
Butchered to make a Roman holiday.
All this rushed with his blood--shall he expire,
And unavenged? Arise, ye Goths, and glut your ire!"

_Byron, Childe Harold._

It is delightful to read in this room the description in _Transformation_:--

"It was that room in the centre of which reclines the noble and
most pathetic figure of the dying gladiator, just sinking into his
death-swoon. Around the walls stand the Antinous, the Amazon, the
Lycian Apollo, the Juno; all famous productions of antique
sculpture, and still shining in the undiminished majesty and beauty
of their ideal life, although the marble that embodies them is
yellow with time, and perhaps corroded by the damp earth in which
they lay buried for centuries. Here, likewise, is seen a symbol (as
apt at this moment as it was two thousand years ago) of the Human
Soul, with its choice of Innocence or Evil close at hand, in the
pretty figure of a child, clasping a dove to her bosom, but
assaulted by a snake.

"From one of the windows of this saloon, we may see a broad flight
of stone steps, descending alongside the antique and massive
foundation of the Capitol, towards the battered triumphal arch of
Septimius Severus, right below. Farther on, the eye skirts along
the edge of the desolate Forum (where Roman washerwomen hang out
their linen to the sun), passing over a shapeless confusion of
modern edifices, piled rudely up with ancient brick and stone, and
over the domes of Christian churches, built on the old pavements
of heathen temples, and supported by the very pillars that once
upheld them. At a distance beyond--yet but a little way,
considering how much history is heaped into the intervening
space--rises the great sweep of the Coliseum, with the blue sky
brightening through its upper tier of arches. Far off, the view is
shut in by the Alban mountains, looking just the same, amid all
this decay and change, as when Romulus gazed thitherward over his
half-finished wall.

"In this chamber is the Faun of Praxiteles. It is the marble image
of a young man, leaning his right arm on the trunk or stump of a
tree: one hand hangs carelessly by his side, in the other he holds
a fragment of a pipe, or some such sylvan instrument of music. His
only garment, a lion's skin with the claws upon the shoulder, falls
half-way down his back, leaving his limbs and entire front of the
figure nude. The form, thus displayed, is marvellously graceful,
but has a fuller and more rounded outline, more flesh, and less of
heroic muscle, than the old sculptors were wont to assign to their
types of masculine beauty. The character of the face corresponds
with the figure; it is most agreeable in outline and feature, but
rounded and somewhat voluptuously developed, especially about the
throat and chin; the nose is almost straight, but very slightly
curves inward, thereby acquiring an indescribable charm of
geniality and humour. The mouth, with its full yet delicate lips,
seems so really to smile outright, that it calls forth a responsive
smile. The whole statue--unlike anything else that ever was wrought
in the severe material of marble--conveys the idea of an amiable
and sensual creature, easy, mirthful, apt for jollity, yet not
incapable of being touched by pathos. It is impossible to gaze long
at this stone image, without conceiving a kindly sentiment towards
it, as if its substance were warm to the touch, and imbued with
actual life. It comes very near to some of our pleasantest
sympathies."--_Hawthorne._

"Praxitèle avait dit à Phryné de choisir entre ses ouvrages celui
qu'elle aimerait le mieux. Pour savoir lequel de ses
chefs-d'œuvre l'artiste préférait, elle lui fit annoncer que le
feu avait pris à son atelier. 'Sauvez, s'écria-t-il, mon Satyre et
mon Amour!'"--_Ampère, Hist. Rom._ iii. 309.

The west or right side of the Capitoline Piazza is occupied by _the Palace of the Conservators_, which contains the Protomoteca, the Picture Gallery, and various other treasures.

The little court at the entrance is full of historical relics, including remains of two gigantic statues of Apollo; a colossal head of Domitian; and the marble pedestal, which once in the mausoleum of Augustus supported the cinerary urn of Agrippina, wife of Germanicus, with a very perfect inscription. In the opposite loggia are a statue of Rome Triumphant, and a group of a lion attacking a horse, found in the bed of the Almo. In the portico on the right is the only authentic statue of Julius Cæsar; on the left, a statue of Augustus, leaning against the rostrum of a galley, in allusion to the battle of Actium.

_The Protomoteca_, a suite of eight rooms on the ground floor, contains a collection of busts of eminent Italians, with a few foreigners considered as naturalised by a long residence in Rome. Those in the second room, representing artists of the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, were entirely executed at the expense of Canova.

At the foot of the staircase is a restoration by Michael Angelo of the column of Caius Duilius. On the upper flight of the staircase is a bas-relief of Curtius leaping into the gulf, here represented as a marsh.

"Un bas-relief d'un travail ancien, dont le style ressemble à celui
des figures peintes sur les vases dits archaïques, représente
Curtius engagé dans son marais; le cheval baisse la tête et flaire
le marécage, qui est indiqué par des roseaux. Le guerrier penché en
avant, presse sa monture. On a vivement, en présence de cette
curieuse sculpture, le sentiment d'un incident héroïque
probablement réel, et en même temps de l'aspect primitif du lieu
qui en fut témoin."--_Ampère, Hist. Rom. i. 321._

On the first and second landings are magnificent reliefs, representing events in the life of Marcus Aurelius, Imp., belonging to the arch dedicated to him, which was wantonly destroyed, in order to widen the Corso, by Alexander VII.

"Jusqu'au lègne de Commode Rome est représentée par une Amazone;
dans l'escalier du palais des Conservateurs, Rome, en tunique
courte d'Amazone et le globe à la main, reçoit Marc Aurèle; le
globe dans la main de Rome date de César."--_Ampère_, iii. 242.

_The Halls of the Conservators_ consist of eight rooms. The 1st, painted in fresco from the history of the Roman kings, by the _Cavaliere d'Arpino_, contains statues of Urban VIII., by Bernini; Leo X., by the Sicilian Giacomo della Duca;[41] and Innocent X., in bronze, by Algardi. The 2nd room, adorned with subjects from republican history by _Lauretti_, has statues of modern Roman generals--Marc Antonio Colonna, Tommaso Rospigliosi, Francesco Aldobrandini, Carlo Barberini, brother of Urban VIII., and Alessandro Farnese, Duke of Parma. The 3rd room, painted by _Daniele di Volterra_, with subjects from the wars with the Cimbri, contains the famous _Bronze Wolf of the Capitol_, one of the most interesting relics in the city. The figure of the wolf is of unknown antiquity; those of Romulus and Remus are modern. It has been doubted whether this is the wolf described by Dionysius as "an ancient work of brass" standing in the temple of Romulus under the Palatine, or the wolf described by Cicero, who speaks of a little gilt figure of the founder of the city sucking the teats of a wolf. The Ciceronian wolf was struck by lightning in the time of the great orator, and a fracture in the existing figure, attributed to lightning, is adduced in proof of its identity with it.

"Geminos huic ubera circum
Ludere pendentes pueros, et lambere matrem
Impavidos: illam tereti cervice reflexam
Mulcere alternos, et corpora fingere lingua."

_Virgil, Æn._ viii. 632.

"And thou, the thunder-stricken nurse of Rome!
She-wolf! whose brazen-imaged dugs impart
The milk of conquest yet within the dome
Where, as a monument of antique art,
Thou standest:--mother of the mighty heart,
Which the great founder sucked from thy wild teat,
Scorch'd by the Roman Jove's ethereal dart,
And thy limbs black with lightning--dost thou yet
Guard thy immortal cubs, nor thy fond charge forget?"

_Byron, Childe Harold._

Standing near the wolf is the well-known and beautiful figure of a boy extracting a thorn from his foot, called the Shepherd Martius.