ROME 



5064 



ROME 



Martius. Ten fine bridges, three of them an- 

 cient in part, cross the river within the city 

 walls, and the treacherous stream has been con- 

 fined within stone embankments, that it may 

 not overflow as in former times. All in all. 

 though it still has its "slums,' 1 Rome is an at- 

 tractive city, and since the introduction of 

 modern improvements it is healthful, despite 

 its situation on the fever-breathing Campagna, 

 the plain surrounding Rome, made malarial by 

 the overflow of the Tiber and the resulting 

 marshes. This area has lately been drained and 

 made more healthful. 



The Seven Hills. The Palatine Hill, where 

 was planted the very earliest settlement, is 

 now in part a public park, in part a mass of 

 ruins among which excavations are still being 

 made. Here stood in olden times most of the 

 palaces of the wealthy Romans, and modern 

 research is revealing remains of great splendor. 

 On the Aventine and Caelian hills, too, are 

 ruins, and little else, for few modern habita- 

 tions have been built there, while on the Esqui- 

 line and Viminal have sprung up crowded in- 

 il ust rial quarters. The Quirinal, near the center 

 of the modern city, is crowned by the royal 

 palace and the chief public buildings, while the 

 Capitoline Hill, as in ancient days, is a most 

 impressive spot. Here stands the Capitol, de- 

 signed by Michelangelo to take the place of the 

 ancient structure, and here are famous modern 

 museums of art and the great monument 

 erected to Victor Emmanuel. 



Other hills there are which were not num- 

 bered with the original seven the Pincio, 

 which with its beautiful gardens and walks 

 constitutes a favorite afternoon resort, and the 

 Janiculum, on the other side of the Tiber. 

 This was the old lookout spot, the outpost of 

 the city. 



For since Janiculum is lost, 

 What hope to save the town ? 



says Macaulay. To-day it is laid out in public 

 drives and walks. 



Buildings and Institutions. Rome has its full 

 share of churches, among which may be men- 

 tioned the great Saint Peter's and the Lateran; 

 and of palaces, of which the Barberini, Colonna, 

 Farnese, Orsini and the Borghese (outside the 

 city) are the most famous. This latter contains 

 a celebrated collection of pictures, by no means 

 the only one in the city, for Rome is rich in 

 museums, whether of paintings, of sculpture or 

 of antiquities. The greatest is that of the 

 Vatican, but the Capitoline Museum also con- 

 tains some of the world's chief art treasures. 



Among the schools of Rome the university 

 is the oldest and most famous, but it has no 

 longer the importance which it possessed four 

 centuries ago. There are several seminaries for 

 the training of priests and of diplomats, various 

 academies of arts and sciences and schools for 

 classic study founded by almost all the leading 

 nations. Best known of these to Americans is 

 the American School of Classic Languages. For 

 a long time Rome was the center of art study; 

 this position it no longer holds, for it has been 

 surpassed by Paris. 



Industrial Life. The Campagna about Rome 

 has been, until recently, mainly an untilled 

 waste, and most of the provisions of the city 

 were brought from a distance. This is yet true, 

 to a great degree. Its chief commerce is in cat- 

 tle, grains and wine. In return it sends out its 

 limited manufactures, mostly such art objects 

 as mosaics, terra cotta, copies of well-known 

 paintings and statuettes, though artificial flow- 

 ers and imitation pearls are made in consider- 

 able quantities. But industrially Rome is of 

 minor importance. 



History. For centuries after the fall of the 

 Empire Rome was but a dependency of the 

 Byzantine Empire, and had no history but that 

 of the Church. Latterly its life has been 

 merged in that of Italy, for with the stirrings 

 of the desire for Italian unity came a renewed 

 feeling for Rome as a secular as well as a 

 Church capital. In 1848 Pope Pius IX was 

 driven from the city and a republic was formed, 

 but in the next year French troops recaptured 

 the city, and under their protection the Pope 

 reigned until 1870, when Italian troops pos- 

 sessed it. In the following year the famous 

 city> with all its heritage of glory and of dis- 

 aster, became the capital of United Italy. The 

 king took up his residence in the Quirinal, and 

 the Pope became, according to his own descrip- 

 tion, a "prisoner in the Vatican." 



The population of Rome, according to the 

 census of 1913, was 576,435. A.MC c. 



Consult Ferrero's Greatness and Decline of 

 Rome (translation by Zimmern and Chaytor) ; 

 Baddeley's Rome and Its Story; Myers' History 

 of Rome; Abbott's The Common People of An- 

 cient Rome. 



Related Subjects. The following articles in 

 these volumes will be of interest in connection 

 with this study of Rome : 



HISTORICAL ARTICLES 



Agrarian Laws Caesar 



Appian Way Campus Martius 



Atrium Censors 



Augurs Cimbri 



Byzantine Empire Circus 



