Chapter IV: The Forums and the Coliseum (2)

"They passed the solitary column of Phocas, and looked down into
the excavated space, where a confusion of pillars, arches,
pavements, and shattered blocks and shafts--the crumbs of various
ruins dropt from the devouring maw of Time--stand, or lie, at the
base of the Capitoline Hill. That renowned hillock (for it is
little more) now rose abruptly above them. The ponderous masonry,
with which the hillside is built up, is as old as Rome itself, and
looks likely to endure while the world retains any substance or
permanence. It once sustained the Capitol, and now bears up the
great pile which the mediæval builders raised on the antique
foundation, and that still loftier tower, which looks abroad upon a
larger page of deeper historic interest than any other scene can
show. On the same pedestal of Roman masonry, other structures will
doubtless arise, and vanish like ephemeral things.

"To a spectator on the spot, it is remarkable that the events of
Roman history, and of Roman life itself, appear not so distant as
the Gothic ages which succeeded them. We stand in the Forum, or on
the height of the Capitol, and seem to see the Roman epoch close at
hand. We forget that a chasm extends between it and ourselves, in
which lie all those dark, rude, unlettered centuries, around the
birthtime of Christianity, as well as the age of chivalry and
romance, the feudal system, and the infancy of a better
civilization than that of Rome. Or, if we remember these mediæval
times, they look further off than the Augustan age. The reason may
be, that the old Roman literature survives, and creates for us an
intimacy with the classic ages, which we have no means of forming
with the subsequent ones.

"The Italian climate, moreover, robs age of its reverence, and
makes it look nearer than it is. Not the Coliseum, nor the tombs of
the Appian Way, nor the oldest pillar in the Forum, nor any other
Roman ruin, be it as dilapidated as it may, ever give the
impression of venerable antiquity which we gather, along with the
ivy, from the grey walls of an English abbey or castle. And yet
every brick and stone, which we pick up among the former, had
fallen, ages before the foundation of the latter was
begun."--_Hawthorne, Transformation._

"A Rome, vous marchez sur les pierres qui ont été les dieux de
César et de Pompée: vous considérez la ruine de ces grands
ouvrages, dont la vieillesse est encore belle, et vous vous
promènerez tous les jours parmi les histoires et les fables.... Il
n'y à que Rome où la vie soit agréable, où le corps trouve ses
plaisirs et l'esprit les siens, où l'on est à la source des belles
choses. Rome est cause que vous n'êtes plus barbares, elle vous a
appris la civilité et la religion.... Il est certain que je ne
monte jamais au Palatin ni au Capitole que je n'y change d'esprit,
et qu'il ne me vienne d'autres pensées que les miennes ordinaires.
Cet air m'inspire quelque chose de grand et de généreux que je
n'avais point auparavant: si je rêve deux heures au bord du Tibre,
je suis aussi savant que si j'avais étudié huit jours."--_Balzac._

* * * * *

Before leaving the Forum we must turn from its classical to its mediæval remains, and examine the very interesting group of churches which have sprung up amid its ruins.

Almost opposite the Mamertine Prisons, surmounted by a handsome dome, is the _Church of Sta. Martina_, which contains the original model, bequeathed by the sculptor Thorwaldsen, of his Copenhagen statue of Christ in the act of benediction. The opposite transept contains a very inferior statue of Religion by _Canova_. The figure of Sta. Martina by _Guerini_ reposes beneath the high altar. The subterranean church is well worth visiting. An ante-chapel adorned with statues of four virgin martyrs leads to a chapel erected at the cost and from the designs of Pietro da Cortona, whose tomb stands near its entrance, with a fine bust by _Bernini_. In the centre of the inner chapel lamps are burning round the magnificent bronze altar which covers the shrine of Sta. Martina, and beneath it, you can discover the martyr's tomb by the light of a torch which a monk lets down through a hole. In the tribune is an ancient throne. A side chapel contains the grave in which the body of the virgin saint, with three other martyrs, her companions, was found in 1634: it is adorned with a fine bas-relief by _Algardi_.

"At the foot of the Capitoline hill, on the left hand as we descend
from the Ara Cœli into the Forum, there stood in very ancient
times a small chapel dedicated to Sta. Martina, a Roman virgin, who
was martyred in the persecution under Alexander Severus. The
veneration paid to her was of very early date, and the Roman people
were accustomed to assemble there on the first day of the year.
This observance was, however, confined to the people, and not very
general till 1634; an era which connects her in rather an
interesting manner with the history of art. In this year, as they
were about to repair her chapel, they discovered, walled into the
foundations, a sarcophagus of terra-cotta, in which was the body of
a young female, whose severed head reposed in a separate casket.
These remains were very naturally supposed to be those of the saint
who had been so long venerated on that spot. The discovery was
hailed with the utmost exultation, not by the people only, but by
those who led the minds and consciences of the people. The pope
himself, Urban VIII., composed hymns in her praise; and Cardinal
Francesco Barberini undertook to rebuild her church. Amongst those
who shared the general enthusiasm was the painter, Pietro da
Cortona, who was at Rome at the time, who very earnestly dedicated
himself and his powers to the glorification of Sta. Martina. Her
church had already been given to the Academy of Painters, and
consecrated to St. Luke, their patron saint. It is now 'San Luca
and Santa Martina.' Pietro da Cortona erected at his own cost, the
chapel of Sta. Martina, and when he died, endowed it with his whole
fortune. He painted for the altarpiece his best picture, in which
the saint is represented as triumphing over the idols, while the
temple in which she has been led to sacrifice, is struck by
lightning from heaven, and falls in ruins around her. In a votive
picture of Sta. Martina kneeling at the feet of the Virgin and
Child, she is represented as very young and lovely; near her, a
horrid instrument of torture, a two-pronged fork with barbed
extremities, and the lictor's axe, signifying the manner of her
death."--_Jameson's Sacred and Legendary Art._

The feast of the saint is observed here on Jan. 30, with much solemnity. Then in all the Roman churches is sung the Hymn of Sta. Martina--

"Martinæ celebri plaudite nomini,
Cives Romulei, plaudite gloriæ;
Insignem mentis dicite virginem,
Christi dicite martyrem.

Hæc dum conspicuis orta parentibus
Inter delicias, inter amabiles
Luxus illecebras, ditibus affluit
Faustæ muneribus domus.

Vitæ despiciens commoda, dedicat
Se rerum Domino, et munifica manu
Christi pauperibus distribuens opes
Quærit præmia cœlitum.

A nobis abigas lubrica gaudia
Tu, qui martyribus dexter ades,
Deus
Une et trine: tuis da famulis jubar,
Quo clemens animos beas. Amen."

There is nothing especial to notice in _S. Adriano_, which is built in the ruins of the basilica of Emilius Paulus, or in _S. Lorenzo in Miranda_, which occupies the temple of Antoninus and Faustina, but _Sta. Maria Liberatrice_, built on the site of the house of Numa and the convent of the Vestals, commemorates by its name a curious legend of the fourth century. On this site, it is said, dwelt in a cave, a terrible dragon who had slain three hundred persons with the poison of his breath. Into this cave, instructed thereto by St. Peter, and entrusting himself to the care of the Virgin, descended St. Silvester the Pope, attended by two acolytes bearing torches, and here, having pronounced the name of Christ, he was miraculously enabled to bind the dragon, and to shut him up till the day of Judgment. But when he ascended in safety, he found at the mouth of the cave two magicians who had followed him in the hope of discovering some imposture, dying from the poison of the dragon's breath,--and these also he saved alive.

We now reach the circular building which has been so long known as the temple of Remus. To the right of the entrance are two pillars of cipolino, almost buried in the soil. The porphyry pillars at the entrance, supporting a richly sculptured cornice, were probably set up in their present position when the temple was turned into a church. The bronze doors were brought from Perugia. If, as is now supposed, the temple on this site was that of the Penates, the protectors against all kinds of illness and misfortune, the modern dedication to the protecting physicians Cosmo and Damian may have had some reference to that which went before.

The Church of _SS. Cosmo and Damiano_ was founded within the ancient temple by Pope Felix IV. in 527, and restored by Adrian I. in 780. In 1633 the whole building was modernized by Urban VIII., who, in order to raise it to the present level of the soil, cut the ancient church in half by the vaulting which now divides the upper and lower churches. To visit the lower church a monk must be summoned, who will bring a torch. This is well worth while. It is of great size, and contains a curious well into which Christian martyrs in the time of Nero are said to have been precipitated. The tomb of the martyrs Cosmo and Damian is beneath the altar, which is formed of beautiful transparent marble. Under a side altar is the grave of Felix IV. The third and lowest church (the _original_ crypt) which is very small, is said to have been a place of refuge during the early Christian persecutions. Here is shown the altar at which Felix IV. celebrated mass while his converts were hiding here--the grave in which the body of the pope was afterwards discovered--and a miraculous spring, still flowing, which is said to have burst forth in answer to his prayers that he might have wherewithal to baptize his disciples. A passage which formerly led from hence to the Catacombs of St. Sebastian, was walled up, twenty years ago, by the paternal government, because twenty persons were lost in it. In this crypt were found the famous "Pianta Capitolina," now preserved in the Capitol. In the upper church, on the right of the entrance from the circular vestibule into the body of the building is this inscription--

"L'imagine di Madonna Santissima che esiste all'altar magg. parlò a
S. Gregorio Papa dicendogli, 'Perchè piu non mi saluti mentre
passando eri solito salutarmi?' Il santo domandò perdona e concesse
a quelli che celebrano in quell'altare la liberazione dell'anima
dal purgatorio, cioé per quell'anima per la quale si celebra la
messa."[63]

Another inscription narrates--

"Gregorius primus concessit omnibus et singulis visitantibus
ecclesiam istam sanctorum Cosmæ et Damiani mille annos de
indulgentia, et in die stationis ejusdem ecclesiæ idem Gregorius
concessit decem millia annorum de indulgentia."

Among the many relics preserved in this church are, "Una ampulla lactis Beatæ Mariæ Virginis"; "De Domo Sanctæ Mariæ Magdalenæ"; "De Domo Sancti Zachariæ profeta!"

Deserving of the most minute attention is the grand mosaic of Christ--coming on the clouds of sunset.

"The mosaics of SS. Cosmo and Damian (A.D. 526--530) are the finest
of ancient Christian Rome. Above the arch appear, on each side of
the Lamb, four angels, of excellent but somewhat severe style; then
follow various apocalyptic emblems: a modern walling up having left
but few traces of the four and twenty elders. A gold surface,
dimmed by age, with little purple clouds, forms the background:
though in Rome, at least, at both an earlier and later date, a blue
ground prevailed. In the apsis itself, upon a dark blue ground,
with golden-edged clouds, is seen the colossal figure of Christ;
the right hand raised, either in benediction or teaching, the left
holding a written scroll; above is the hand, which is the emblem of
the First Person of the Trinity. Below, on each side, the apostles
Peter and Paul are leading SS. Cosmo and Damiano, each with crowns
on their heads, towards the Saviour, followed by St. Theodore on
the right, and by Pope Felix IV., the founder of the church, on the
left. This latter, unfortunately, is an entirely restored figure.
Two palm-trees, sparkling with gold, above one of which appears the
emblem of eternity, the phœnix--with a star-shaped nimbus, close
the composition on each side. Further below, indicated by
water-plants, sparkling also with gold, is the river Jordan. The
figure of Christ may be regarded as one of the most marvellous
specimens of the art of the middle ages. Countenance, attitude, and
drapery combine to give him an expression of quiet majesty, which,
for many centuries after, is not found again in equal beauty and
freedom. The drapery, especially, is disposed in noble folds, and
only in its somewhat too ornate details is a further departure from
the antique observable. The saints are not as yet arranged in stiff
parallel forms, but are advancing forward, so that their figures
appear somewhat distorted, while we already remark something
constrained and inanimate in their step. The apostles Peter and
Paul wear the usual ideal costume. SS. Cosmo and Damiano are
attired in the late Roman dress: violet mantles, in gold stuff,
with red embroideries of oriental barbaric effect. Otherwise the
chief motives of the drapery are of great beauty, though somewhat
too abundant in folds. The high lights are brought out by gold and
other sparkling materials, producing a gorgeous play of colour
which relieves the figures vigorously from the dark blue
background. Altogether, a feeling for colour is here displayed, of
which no later mosaics with gold grounds give any idea. The heads,
with the exception of the principal figure, are animated and
individual, though without any particular depth of expression;
somewhat elderly, also, in physiognomy, but still far removed from
any Byzantine stiffness; St. Peter has already the bald head, and
St. Paul the short brown hair and dark beard, by which they were
afterwards recognizable. Under this chief composition, on a gold
ground, is seen the Lamb upon a hill, with the four rivers of
Paradise, and the twelve sheep on either hand. The great care of
execution is seen in the five or six gradations of tints which the
artist has adopted."--_Kugler._

SS. Cosmo and Damian, to whom this church is dedicated, were two Arabian physicians who exercised their art from charity. They suffered under Diocletian. "First they were thrown into the sea, but an angel saved them; and then into the fire, but the fire refused to burn them; then they were bound to crosses and stoned, but the stones either fell harmless or rebounded on their executioners and killed them, so then the pro-consul Lycias, believing them to be sorcerers, commanded that they should be beheaded, and thus they died." SS. Cosmo and Damian were the patron saints of the Medici, and their gilt statues were carried in state at the coronation of Leo X. (Giovanni de' Medici). Their fame is general in many parts of France, where their fête is celebrated by a village fair--children who ask for their fairing of a toy or gingerbread calling it their "St. Côme."

"It is related that a certain man, who was afflicted with a cancer
in his leg, went to perform his devotions in the Church SS. Cosmo
and Damian at Rome, and he prayed most earnestly that these
beneficent saints would be pleased to aid him. When he had prayed,
a deep sleep fell upon him. Then he beheld St. Cosmo and St.
Damian, who stood beside him; and one carried a box of ointments,
and the other a sharp knife. And one said, 'What shall we do to
replace this diseased leg when we have cut it off?' And the other
replied, 'There is a Moor who has been buried just now at St.
Pietro in Vincoli; let us take his leg for the purpose.' So they
brought the leg of the dead man, and with it they replaced the leg
of the sick man; anointing it with celestial ointment, so that he
remained whole. When he awoke he almost doubted whether it could be
himself; but his neighbours, seeing that he was healed, looked into
the tomb of the Moor, and found that there had been an exchange of
legs: and thus the truth of this great miracle was proved to all
beholders."--_Mrs. Jameson, from the Legenda Aurea._

Just beyond the basilica of Constantine, stands the _Church of Sta. Francesca Romana_, which is full of interest. It was first built by St. Sylvester on the site of the temple of Venus and dedicated to the Virgin, under the title of Sta. Maria Antica. It was rebuilt in A.D. 872 by John VIII., who resided in the adjoining monastery during his pontificate. An ancient picture attributed to St. Luke, brought from Troy in 1100, was the only object in this church which was preserved when the building was totally destroyed by fire in 1216, after which the church, then called Sta. Maria Nuova, was restored by Honorius III. During the restoration, the picture was kept at S. Adriano, and its being brought back led to a contest amongst the people, which was ended by a child exclaiming--"What are you doing? the Madonna is already in her own church." She had betaken herself thither none knew how.

In the twelfth century the church was given to the Lateran Canons, in the fourteenth to the Olivetan monks; under Eugenius IV., the latter extended their boundaries so far that they included the Coliseum, but their walls were forced down in the succeeding pontificate. Gregory XI., Paul II., and Cæsar Borgia, were cardinals of Sta. Maria Novella. In 1440 the name was changed to that of Sta. Francesca Romana, when that saint, Francesca de' Ponziani, foundress of the Order of Oblates, was buried here. Her tomb was erected in 1640 by Donna Agata Pamfili, sister of Innocent X., herself an Oblate. It is from the designs of Bernini, and is rich in marbles. The figure was not added till 1868.

"After the death of Francesca, her body remained during a night and
a day at the Ponziani Palace, the Oblates watching by turns over
the beloved remains.... Francesca's face, which had recently borne
traces of age and suffering, became as beautiful again as in the
days of youth and prosperity; and the astonished bystanders gazed
with wonder and awe at her unearthly loveliness. Many of them
carried away particles from her clothes, and employed them for the
cure of several persons who had been considered beyond the
possibility of recovery. In the course of the day the crowd
augmented to a degree which alarmed the inhabitants of the palace,
Battista Ponziani took measures to have the body removed at once to
the church, and a procession of the regular and secular clergy
escorted the venerated remains to Santa Maria Nuova, where they
were to be interred.

"The popular feeling burst forth on the occasion; it was no longer
to be restrained. Francesca was invoked by the crowd, and her
beloved name was heard in every street, in every piazza, in every
corner of the Eternal City. It flew from mouth to mouth, it seemed
to float in the air, to be borne aloft by the grateful enthusiasm
of a whole people, who had seen her walk to that church by her
mother's side in her holy childhood; who had seen her kneel at that
altar in the grave beauty of womanhood, in the hour of bereavement,
and now in death, carried thither in state, she the gentle, the
humble saint of Rome, the poor woman of the Trastevere, as she was
sometimes called at her own desire."--_Lady G. Fullerton's Life of
Sta. Francesca Romana._

A chapel on the right of the church contains the monument of Cardinal Vulcani, 1322, supporting his figure, with Faith, Hope, and Charity sculptured in high relief below. Near the door is that of Cardinal Adimari, 1432, who died here after an ineffectual mission to the anti-pope Pedro da' Luna. In the left transept was a fine Perugino (removed 1867); in the right transept is the tomb of Pope Gregory XI., by Pietro Paolo Olivieri, erected by the senate in gratitude for his having restored the papal court to Rome from Avignon. A bas-relief represents his triumphal entry, with St. Catherine of Siena, by whose entreaties he was induced to return, walking before his mule. A breach in the walls indicates the ruinous state into which Rome had fallen, the chair of St. Peter is represented as floating back through the air, while an angel carries the papal tiara and keys; a metaphorical figure of Rome is coming forth to welcome the pope.

"The greatest part of the praise due to Gregory's return to Rome
belongs to St. Catherine of Siena, who, with infinite courage,
travelled to Avignon, and persuaded the pope to return, and by his
presence to dispel the evils which disgraced Italy, in consequence
of the absence of the popes. Thus it is not to be wondered at, that
those writers, who rightly understand the matter, should have said
that Catherine, the virgin of Siena, brought back to God the
abandoned apostolical chair upon her shoulders."--_Ughelli, Ital.
Sacra_, vi. col. 45.

Near Pope Gregory's tomb some blackened marks in the wall are shown as holes made by the (gigantic) knees of St. Peter, when he knelt to pray that Simon Magus might be dropped by the demons he had invoked to support him in the air, which he is said to have done to show his power on this spot.

"When the error of Simon was spreading farther and farther, the
illustrious pair of men, Peter and Paul, the rulers of the Church,
arrested it by going thither, who suddenly exhibited as dead,
Simon, the putative God, on his appearance. For when Simon declared
that he would ascend aloft into heaven, the servants of God cast
him headlong to the earth, and though this occurrence was wonderful
in itself, it was not wonderful under the circumstances, for it was
Peter who did it, he who bears with him the keys of heaven, ... it
was Paul who did it, he who was caught up into the third
heaven."--_St. Cyril of Jerusalem._

"Simon promised to fly, and thus ascend to the heavenly abodes. On
the day agreed upon, he went to the Capitoline hill, and throwing
himself from the rock, began his ascent. Then Peter, standing in
the midst, said, 'O Lord Jesus, show him that his arts are in
vain.' Hardly had the words been uttered, when the wings which
Simon had made use of became entangled, and he fell. His thigh was
fractured, never to be healed,--and some time afterwards, the
unhappy man died at Aretia, whither he had retired after his
discomfiture."--_St. Ambrose._[64]

"There can be no doubt that there existed in the first century a
Simon, a Samaritan, a pretender to divine authority and
supernatural powers; who, for a time, had many followers; who stood
in a certain relation to Christianity; and who may have held some
opinions more or less similar to those entertained by the most
famous heretics of the early ages, the Gnostics. Irenæus calls this
Simon the father of all heretics. 'All those,' he says, 'who in any
way corrupt the truth, or mar the preaching of the Church, are
disciples and successors of Simon, the Samaritan magician.' Simon
gave himself forth as a God, and carried about with him a beautiful
woman named Helena, whom he represented as the first conception of
his--that is, of the divine--mind, the symbol and manifestation of
that portion of spirituality which had become entangled in
matter."--_Jameson's Sacred Art_, p. 204.

The vault of the tribune is covered with mosaics.

"The restored tribune mosaics (A.D. 858--887, during the
pontificate of Nicholas I.), close the list of Roman Byzantine
works. By their time it had become apparent that such figures as
the art of the day was alone able to achieve, could have no
possible relation to each other, and therefore no longer constitute
a composition; the artists accordingly separated the Madonna on the
throne, and the four saints with uplifted hands, by graceful
arcades. The ground is gold, the nimbuses blue. The faces consist
only of feeble lines--the cheeks are only red blotches; the folds
merely dark strokes; nevertheless a certain flow and fulness in the
forms, and the character of a few accessories (for instance, the
exchange of a crown upon the Virgin's head for the invariable
Byzantine veil), seem to indicate that we have not so much to do
here with the decline of Byzantine art, as with a northern and
probably Frankish influence."--_Kugler._

The convent attached to this church was the abode of Tasso during his first visit to Rome.

Behind Sta. Francesca Romana, and facing the Coliseum, are the remains generally known as the _Temple of Venus and Rome_, also called Templum Urbis (now sometimes called by objectors the "Portico of Livia"), which, if this name is the correct one, was originally planned by the Emperor Hadrian to rival the Forum of Trajan, erected by the architect Apollodorus. It was built upon a site previously occupied by the atrium of Nero's Golden House. Little remains standing except a cella facing the Coliseum, and another in the cloisters of the adjoining convent (these, perhaps, being restorations by Maxentius, _c._ 307, after a fire had destroyed most of the building of Hadrian), but the surrounding grassy height is positively littered with fragments of the grey granite columns which once formed the grand portico (400 by 200 feet) of the building. A large mass of Corinthian cornice remains near the cella facing the Coliseum. This was the last pagan temple which remained in use in Rome.[65] It was only closed by Theodosius in 391, and remained entire till 625, when Pope Honorius carried off the bronze tiles of its roof to St. Peter's.

"Ac sacram resonare viam mugitibus, ante
Delubrum Romæ; colitur nam sanguine et ipsa
More deæ, nomenque loci, ceu numen, habetur.
Atque Urbis, Venerisque pari se culmine tollunt
Templa, simul geminis adolentur thura deabus."

_Prudentius contr. Symm._ v. 214.

"When about to construct his magnificent temple of Venus and Rome,
Hadrian produced a design of his own and showed it with proud
satisfaction to the architect Apollodorus. The creator of the
Trajan column remarked with a sneer that the deities, if they rose
from their seats, must thrust their heads through the ceiling. The
emperor, we are assured, could not forgive this banter; but we can
hardly take to the letter the statement that he put his critic to
death for it."--_Merivale_, ch. lxvi.

In front of this temple stood the bronze statue of Clœlia, mentioned by Livy and Seneca, and (till the sixth century) the bronze elephants mentioned by Cassiodorus. Nearer the Coliseum may still be seen the remains of the foundation prepared by Hadrian for the _Colossal Statue of Nero_, executed in bronze by Zenodorus. This statue was twice moved, first by Vespasian, in A.D. 75, that it might face the chief entrance of his amphitheatre,[66] whose plan had been already laid out. At the same time--though it was a striking likeness of Nero--its head was surrounded with rays that it might represent Apollo. In its second position it is described by Martial:

"Hic ubi sidereus propius videt astra colossus
Et crescunt media pegmata celsa via,
Invidiosa feri radiabant atria regis,
Unaque jam tota stabat in urbe domus."

_De Spect._ ii.

It was again moved (with the aid of forty-two elephants), a few yards further north, by Hadrian, when he built his temple of Venus and Rome. Pliny describes the colossus as 110, Dion Cassius as 100 feet high.

"Hadrian employed an architect named Decrianus to remove the
colossus of Nero, the face of which had been altered into a Sol. He
does not seem to have accomplished the design of Apollodorus to
erect a companion statue of Luna."--_Merivale_, ch. lxvi.

Near the Church of Sta. Francesca the Via Sacra passes under the _Arch of Titus_, which, even in its restored condition, is the most beautiful monument of the kind remaining in Rome. Its Christian interest is unrivalled, from its having been erected by the senate to commemorate the taking of Jerusalem, and from its bas-reliefs of the seven-branched candlestick and other treasures of the Jewish Temple. In mediæval times it was called the Arch of the Seven Candlesticks (septem lucernarum) from the bas-relief of the candlestick, concerning which Gregorovius remarks, that the fantastic figures carved upon it prove that it was _not_ an exact likeness of that which came from Jerusalem. The bas-reliefs are now greatly mutilated, but they are shown in their perfect state in a drawing of Giuliano di Sangallo. On the frieze is the sacred river Jordan, as an aged man, borne on a bier. The arch, which was in a very ruinous condition, had been engrafted in the middle ages into a fortress tower called Turris Cartularia, and so it remained till the present century. This tower originally formed the entrance to the vast fortress of the powerful Frangipani family, which included the Coliseum and a great part of the Palatine and Cœlian hills; and here, above the gate, Pope Urban II. dwelt in 1093, under the protection of Giovanni Frangipani. The arch was repaired by Pius VII., who replaced in travertine the lost marble portions at the top and sides.

"Standing beneath the arch of Titus, and amid so much ancient dust,
it is difficult to forbear the commonplaces of enthusiasm, on which
hundreds of tourists have already insisted. Over the half-worn
pavement, and beneath this arch, the Roman armies had trodden in
their outward march, to fight battles, a world's width away.
Returning victorious, with royal captives, and inestimable spoil, a
Roman triumph, that most gorgeous pageant of earthly pride, has
streamed and flaunted in hundred-fold succession over these same
flagstones, and through this yet stalwart archway. It is politic,
however, to make few allusions to such a past; nor is it wise to
suggest how Cicero's feet may have stepped on yonder stone, or how
Horace was wont to stroll near by, making his footsteps chime with
the measure of the ode that was ringing in his mind. The very
ghosts of that massive and stately epoch have so much density that
the people of to-day seem the thinner of the two, and stand more
ghost-like by the arches and columns, letting the rich sculpture be
discerned through their ill-compacted substance."--_Hawthorne,
Transformation._

"We passed on to the arch of Titus. Amongst the reliefs there is
the figure of a man bearing the golden candlestick from the Temple
at Jerusalem, as one of the spoils of the triumph. Yet He who
abandoned His visible and local temple to the hands of the heathen
for the sins of His nominal worshippers, has taken to Him His great
power, and has gotten Him glory by destroying the idols of Rome as
He had done the idols of Babylon; and the golden candlestick burns
and shall burn with an everlasting light, while the enemies of His
holy name, Babylon, Rome, or the carcass of sin in every land,
which the eagles of His wrath will surely find out, perish for ever
from before Him."--_Arnold's Journal._

"The Jewish trophies are sculptured in bas-relief on the inside of
the arch beneath the vaulting. Opposite to these is another
bas-relief representing Titus in the quadriga, the reins borne by
the goddess Roma. In the centre of the arch, Titus is borne to
heaven by an eagle. It may be conjectured that these ornaments to
his glory were designed after the death of Vespasian, and completed
after his own.... These witnesses to the truth of history are
scanned at this day by Christians passing to and fro between the
Coliseum and the Forum; and at this day the Jew refuses to walk
beneath them, and creeps stealthily by the side, with downcast
eyes, or countenance averted."--_Merivale, Romans under the
Empire_, vii. 250.

"The restoration of the arch of Titus reflects the greatest credit
on the commission appointed by Pius VII. for the restoration of
ancient edifices. This, not only beautiful, but precious monument,
had been made the nucleus of a hideous castellated fort by the
Frangipani family. Its masonry, however, embraced and held
together, as well as crushed, the marble arch; so that on freeing
it from its rude buttresses there was fear of its collapsing, and
it had first to be well bound together by props and bracing beams,
a process in which the Roman architects are unrivalled. The simple
expedient was then adopted by the architect Stern of completing the
arch in stone; for its sides had been removed. Thus increased in
solid structure, which continued all the architectural lines, and
renewed its proportions to the mutilated centre, the arch was both
completely secured and almost restored to its pristine
elegance."--_Wiseman's Life of Pius VII._

The processions of the popes going to the Lateran for their solemn installation, used to halt beside the arch of Titus while a Jew presented a copy of the Pentateuch, with a humble oath of fealty. This humiliating ceremony was omitted for the first time at the installation of Pius IX.

* * * * *

At this point it may not be inappropriate to notice two other buildings, which, though situated on the Palatine, are totally disconnected with the other objects occupying that hill.

A lane runs up to the right from the arch of Titus. On the left is a gateway, surmounted by a faded fresco of St. Sebastian. Here is the entrance to a wild and beautiful garden, possessing most lovely views of the various ruins, occupying the site of the gardens of Adonis. This is the place where St. Sebastian underwent his (so-called) martyrdom, and will call to mind the many fine pictures, scattered over Europe, of the youthful and beautiful saint, bound to a tree, and pierced with arrows. The finest of these are the Domenichino, in Sta. Maria degli Angeli, and the Sodoma at Florence. He is sometimes represented as bound to an orange tree, and sometimes, as in the Guido at Bologna, to a cypress, like those we still see on this spot. Here was an important Benedictine Convent, where Pope Boniface IV. was a monk before his election to the papacy, and where the famous abbots of Monte Casino had their Roman residence. Here, in 1118, fifty-one cardinals took refuge, and elected Gelasius II. as Pope. The only building remaining is the _Church of Sta. Maria Pallara_ or _S. Sebastiano_, containing some curious inscriptions relating to events which have occurred here, and--in the tribune, frescoes, of the Saviour in benediction with four saints, and below, two other groups representing the Virgin with saints and angels, placed, as we learn by the inscription beneath, by one Benedict--probably an abbot.

Further up the lane a "Via Crucis" leads to the _Church of S. Buonaventura_, "the seraphic doctor" (Cardinal and Bishop of Albano, ob. July 14, 1274), who in childhood was raised from the point of death (1221) by the prayers of St. Francis, who was so surprised when he came to life, that he involuntarily exclaimed, "O buona ventura"--("what a happy chance")--whence the name by which he was afterwards known.[67]

The little church contains several good modern monuments. Beneath the altar is shown the body of the Blessed Leonardo of Porto-Maurizio (ob. 1751), who arranged the Via Crucis in the Coliseum, and who is much revered by the ultra-Romanists for having prophesied the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The crucifix and the picture of the Madonna which he carried with him in his missions, are preserved in niches on either side of the tribune, and many other relics of him are shown in his cell in the adjoining convent of Minor Franciscans. Entered through the convent is a lovely little garden, whence there is a grand view of the Coliseum, and where a little fountain is shaded by two tall palm trees.

"Oswald went next to the monastery of S. Buenaventura, built on the
ruins of Nero's palace. There, where so many crimes had reigned
remorselessly, poor friars, tormented by conscientious scruples,
doom themselves to fasts and stripes for the least omission of
duty. 'Our only hope,' said one, 'is that when we die, our faults
will not have exceeded our penances.' Nevill, as he entered,
stumbled over a trap, and asked its purpose. 'It is through that we
are interred,' answered one of the youngest, already a prey to the
bad air. The natives of the south fear death so much that it is
wondrous to find there these perpetual mementoes; yet nature is
often fascinated by what she dreads, and such an intoxication fills
the soul exclusively. The antique sarcophagus of a child serves as
the fountain of this institution. The boasted palm of Rome is the
only tree of its garden."--_Madame de Staël, Corinne._

* * * * *

The arch of Titus is spoken of as being "in summa _Via Sacra_," as the street was called which led from the southern gate of Rome to the Capitol, and by which the victorious generals passed in their triumphant processions to the temple of Jupiter. Between the arch of Titus and the Coliseum, the ancient pavement of this famous road, composed of huge polygonal blocks of lava, has been allowed to remain. Here we may imagine Horace taking his favourite walk.

"Ibam forte Via Sacrâ, sicut meus est mos,
Nescio quid meditans nugarum, et totus in illis."

_Sat._ i. 9.

It appears to have been the favourite resort of the _flaneurs_ of the day:

"Videsne, Sacram metiente te viam
Cum bis ter ulnarum togâ,
Ut ora vertat huc et huc euntium
Liberrima indignatio?"

_Horace, Epod._ 4.

The Via Sacra was originally bordered with shops, some of which, together with some baths, have been unearthed on the right of the road. Ovid alludes frequently to the purchases which might be made there in his time. In this especial part of the Via was the market for fruit and honey.[68]

"Dum bene dives ager, dum rami pondere nutant;
Adferat in calatho rustica dona puer.
Rure suburbano poteris tibi dicere missa;
Illa vel in Sacra sint licet empta Via."

_Ovid, Art. Aman._ ii. 263.

At the foot of the hill are the remains of the bason and the brick cone of a fountain called _Meta Sudans_, where the gladiators used to wash. Seneca, who lived in this neighbourhood, complains (Epist. lvi.) of the noise which was made by a showman who blew his trumpet close to this fountain.

On the right the Via Triumphalis leads to the Via Appia, passing under the _Arch of Constantine_. The lower bas-reliefs upon this arch, which are crude and ill-designed, refer to the deeds of Constantine; but the upper, of fine workmanship, illustrate the life of Trajan, which has led some to imagine that the arch was originally erected in honour of Trajan, and afterwards appropriated by Constantine. They were, however, removed from an arch of Trajan (whose ruins existed in 1430[69]), and were appropriated by Constantine for his own arch.

"Constantin a enlevé à un arc de triomphe de Trajan les statues de
prisonniers daces que l'on voit au sommet du sien. Ce vol a été
puni au seizième siècle, car, dans ce qui semble un accès de folie,
Lorenzino, le bizarre assassin d'Alexandre de Médicis a décapité
toutes les statues qui surmontaient l'arche Constantin, moins une,
la seule dont la tête soit antique. Heureusement on a dans les
musées, à Rome et ailleurs, bon nombre de ces statues de captifs
barbares avec le même costume, c'est-à-dire le pantalon et le
bonnet, souvent les mains liées, dans une attitude de soumission
morne, quelque fois avec une expression de sombre fierté, car l'art
romain avait la noblesse de ne pas humilier les vaincus; il ne les
représentait point à genoux, foulés aux pieds par leurs vainqueurs;
on ne donnait pas à leurs traits étranges un aspect qu'on eût pu
rendre hideux; on les plaçait sur le sommet des arcs de triomphe,
debout, la tête baissée, l'air triste."

"'Summus tristis captivus in arcu.'"

_Ampère, Emp._ ii. 169.

The arch was further plundered by Clement VIII., who carried off one of its eight Corinthian columns to finish a chapel at the Lateran. They were formerly _all_ of giallo-antico. But it is still the most striking and beautiful of the Roman arches.

"L'inscription gravée sur l'arc de Constantin est curieuse par le
vague de l'expression en ce qui touche aux idées religieuses, par
l'indécision calculée des termes dont se servait un sénat qui
voulait éviter de se compromettre dans un sens comme dans l'autre.
L'inscription porte que cet arc a été dédié a l'empereur parcequ'il
a délivré la république d'un tyran (on dit encore la république!)
par la grandeur de son âme et une inspiration de la Divinité,
_instinctu Divinitatis_. Il parait même que ces mots ont été
ajoutés après coup pour remplacer une formule peut-être plus
explicitement païenne. Ce monument, qui célèbre le triomphe de
Constantin, ne proclame donc pas encore nettement le triomphe du
Christianisme. Comment s'en étonner, quand sur les monnaies de cet
empereur on voit d'un côté le monogramme du Christ et l'autre
l'effigie de Rome, qui était une divinité pour les
païens?"--_Ampère, Emp._ ii. 355.

We now turn to the _Coliseum_, originally called The Flavian Amphitheatre. This vast building was begun in A.D. 72, upon the site of the reservoir of Nero, by the Emperor Vespasian, who built as far as the third row of arches, the last two rows being finished by Titus after his return from the conquest of Jerusalem. It is said that 12,000 captive Jews were employed in this work, as the Hebrews in building the Pyramids of Egypt, and that the external walls alone cost a sum equal to 17,000,000 francs. It consists of four stories, the first Doric, the second Ionic, the third and fourth Corinthian. Its circumference is 1641 feet, its length is 287, its width 182, its height 157. The entrance for the emperor was between two arches facing the Esquiline, where there is no cornice. Here there are remains of stucco decoration. On the opposite side was a similar entrance from the Palatine. Towards S. Gregorio has been discovered the subterranean passage in which the Emperor Commodus was near being assassinated. The numerous holes visible all over the exterior of the building were made in the middle ages, to extract the iron cramps, at that time of great value. The arena was surrounded by a wall sufficiently high to protect the spectators from the wild beasts, who were introduced by subterranean passages closed by huge gates, from the side towards the Cœlian. The _podium_ contained the places of honour reserved for the Emperor and his family, the Senate, and the Vestal virgins. The places for the other spectators who entered by openings called _vomitoria_, were arranged in three stages (_caveæ_), separated by a gallery (_præcinctio_). The first stage for knights and tribunes, had 24 steps, the second (for the common people) 16, the third (for the soldiery) 10. The women, by order of the emperor, sate apart from the men, and married and unmarried men were also divided. The whole building was probably capable of containing 100,000 persons. At the top, on the exterior, may be seen the remains of the consoles which sustained the _velarium_ which was drawn over the arena to shelter the spectators from the sun or rain. The arena could on occasions be filled with water for the sake of naval combats.

Nothing is known with certainty as to the architect of the Coliseum, though a tradition of the Church (founded on an inscription in the crypt of S. Martino al Monte), ascribes it to Gaudentius, a Christian martyr, who afterwards suffered on the spot.[70]

"The name of the architect to whom the great work of the Coliseum
was entrusted has not come down to us. The ancients seem themselves
to have regarded this name as a matter of little interest; nor, in
fact, do they generally care to specify the authorship of their
most illustrious buildings. The reason is obvious. The forms of
ancient art in this department were almost wholly conventional, and
the limits of design within which they were executed gave little
room for the display of original taste and special character.... It
is only in periods of eclecticism and renaissance, when the taste
of the architect has wider scope, and may lead the eye instead of
following it, that interest attaches to his personal merit. Thus it
is that the Coliseum, the most conspicuous type of Roman
civilisation, the monument which divides the admiration of
strangers in modern Rome with St. Peter's itself, is nameless and
parentless, while every stage in the construction of the great
Christian temple, the creation of a modern revival, is appropriated
with jealous care to its special claimants.

"The dedication of the Coliseum afforded to Titus an opportunity
for a display of magnificence hitherto unrivalled, A battle of
cranes with dwarfs representing the pigmies was a fanciful novelty,
and might afford diversion for a moment; there were combats of
gladiators, among whom women were included, though no noble matron
was allowed to mingle in the fray; and the capacity of the vast
edifice was tested by the slaughter of five thousand animals in its
circuit. The show was crowned with the immission of water into the
arena, and with a sea-fight representing the contests of the
Corinthians and Corcyreans, related by Thucydides.... When all was
over, Titus himself was seen to weep, perhaps from fatigue,
possibly from vexation and disgust; but his tears were interpreted
as a presentiment of his death, which was now impending, and it is
probable that he was already suffering from a decline of bodily
strength.... He lamented effeminately the premature decease he too
surely anticipated, and, looking wistfully at the heavens,
exclaimed that he did not deserve to die. He expired on the 13th
September, 81, not having quite completed his fortieth
year."--_Merivale_, ch. Ix.

"Hadrian gave a series of entertainments in honour of his
birth-day, with the slaughter of a thousand beasts, including a
hundred lions and as many lionesses. One magical scene was the
representation of forests, when the whole arena became planted with
living trees, shrubs, and flowers; to complete which illusion the
ground was made to open, and send forth wild animals from yawning
clefts, instantly re-covered with bushes.

"One may imagine the frantic excess to which the taste for
gladiatorial combats was carried in Rome, from the preventive law
of Augustus that gladiators should no more combat without
permission of the senate; that prætors should not give these
spectacles more than twice a year; that more than sixty couples
should not engage at the same time; and that neither knights nor
senators should ever contend in the arena. The gladiators were
classified according to the national manner of fighting which they
imitated. Thus were distinguished the Gothic, Dacian, Thracian, and
Samnite combatants; the _Retiarii_, who entangled their opponents
in nets thrown with the left hand, defending themselves with
tridents in the right; the _Secutores_, whose special skill was in
pursuit; the _Laqueatores_, who threw slings against their
adversaries; the _Dimachæ_, armed with a short sword in each hand;
the _Hoplomachi_, armed at all points; the _Myrmillones_, so called
from the figure of a fish at the crest of the Gallic helmet they
wore; the _Bustuarii_, who fought at funeral games; the
_Bestiarii_, who only assailed animals; other classes who fought on
horseback, called _Andabates_; and those combating in chariots
drawn by two horses, _Essedarii_. Gladiators were originally
slaves, or prisoners of war; but the armies who contended on the
Roman arena in later epochs, were divided into compulsory and
voluntary combatants, the former alone composed of slaves, or
condemned criminals. The latter went through a laborious education
in their art, supported at the public cost, and instructed by
masters called _Lanistæ_, resident in colleges, called _Ludi_. To
the eternal disgrace of the morals of Imperial Rome, it is recorded
that women sometimes fought in the arena, without more modesty than
hired gladiators. The exhibition of himself in this character by
Commodus, was a degradation of the imperial dignity, perhaps more
infamous, according to ancient Roman notions, than the theatrical
performances of Nero."--_Hemans' Story of Monuments in Rome._

The Emperor Commodus (A.D. 180-182), frequently fought in the Coliseum himself, and killed both gladiators and wild beasts, calling himself Hercules, dressed in a lion's-skin, with his hair sprinkled with gold-dust.

The gladiatorial combats came to an end, when, in A.D. 403, an oriental monk named Telemachus, was so horrified at them, that he rushed into the midst of the arena and besought the spectators to renounce them: instead of listening to him, they stoned him to death. The first martyrdom here was that of St Ignatius, said to have been the child especially blessed by our Saviour--the disciple of John--and the companion of Polycarp--who was sent here from Antioch, where he was bishop. When brought into the arena, he knelt down, and exclaimed, "Romans who are present, know that I have not been brought into this place for any crime, but in order that by this means I may merit the fruition of the glory of God, for love of whom I have been made prisoner. I am as the grain of the field, and must be ground by the teeth of the lions, that I may become bread fit for His table." The lions were then let loose, and devoured him, except the larger bones, which the Christians collected during the night.

"It is related of Ignatius that he grew up in such innocence of
heart and purity of life, that to him it was granted to hear the
angels sing; hence, when he became bishop of Antioch, he introduced
into the service of his church the practice of singing the praises
of God in responses, as he had heard the choirs of angels answering
each other.... His story and fate are so well attested, and so
sublimely affecting, that it has always been to me a cause of
surprise as well as regret to find so few representations of
him."--_Jameson's Sacred Art_, 693.

Soon after the death of Ignatius, 115 Christians were shot down here with arrows. Under Hadrian, A.D. 218, a patrician named Placidus, his wife Theophista, and his two sons, were first exposed here to the wild beasts, but when these refused to touch them were shut up in a brazen bull, and roasted by a fire lighted beneath. In 253, Abdon and Sennen, two rich citizens of Babylon, were exposed here to two lions and four bears, but on their refusing to attack them, were killed by the swords of the gladiators. In A.D. 259, Sempronius, Olympius, Theodulus, and Exuperia, were burnt at the entrance of the Coliseum, before the statue of the Sun. In A.D. 272, Sta. Prisca was vainly exposed here to a lion, then starved for three days, then stretched on a rack to have her flesh torn by iron hooks, then put into a furnace, and--having survived all these torments--was finally beheaded. In A.D. 277, Sta. Martina, another noble Roman lady, was exposed in vain to the beasts and afterwards beheaded in the Coliseum. St. Alexander under Antoninus; St. Potitus, 168; St. Eleutherius, bishop of Illyria, under Hadrian; St Maximus, son of a senator, 284; and Vitus, Crescentia, and Modesta, under Domitian, were also martyred here.[71]

"It is no fiction, but plain, sober, honest truth, to say: so
suggestive and distinct is it at this hour: that, for a
moment--actually in passing in--they who will, may have the whole
great pile before them, as it used to be, with thousands of eager
faces staring down into the arena, and such a whirl of strife, and
blood, and dust going on there, as no language can describe. Its
solitude, its awful beauty, and its utter desolation, strike upon
the stranger, the next moment, like a softened sorrow; and never in
his life, perhaps, will he be so moved and overcome by any sight,
not immediately connected with his own affections and afflictions.