434 



ROME. 



Rtitr.e. 



Capitoline 

 hill. 



'I'he Ccelian 

 hill. 



Esquiline 

 hill. 



Viminal 

 hill. 



Maximus. Not a trace remains of any of the ancient 

 and magnificent buildings which covered it. A few 

 decaying churches and convents, half deserted, are the 

 only objects which catch the eye. The principal edi- 

 fices that stood on this hill, were the temples of Diana, 

 Juno, and the Dea Bona. The west side of the Aven- 

 tine looks down on the Tiber, and the fields called 

 Prati del Popolo Romano. The Aventine has two dis- 

 tjnct summits, divided by a valley. Near the base of 

 the most southern of these, are the gigantic ruins of 

 the baths of Caracalla. 



The Capitoline hill was originally called Saturnius, 

 and afterwards Tarpeia. On the western side of the 

 hill are still to be seen some remains of the ancient for- 

 tifications of the capitol. In some of the cottages on 

 Monte Caprino, there are walls of extraordinary so- 

 lidity, which seem to have formed the exterior of 

 one of the towers of the citadel. These walls, built 

 of blocks of peperin stone, are considered to be of the 

 age of Camillus ; and, excepting the Cloaca Maxima, 

 to be the oldest of all the remains of antiquity in Rome. 

 The temple of Jupiter Feretrius is supposed to have 

 occupied this (the western) eminence ; and that of Ju- 

 piter Capitolinus, the eastern summit of the hill. The 

 common belief is, that the church of Ara Cceli stands on 

 the site of the latter. The small square, having in its cen- 

 tre the equestrian statue of M. Aurelius, and enclosed by 

 the three palaces of the senators, theconservatori, and the 

 statue gallery, is supposed to have been the Intermon- 

 tium. Beneath the senators palace are the remains of 

 the south and west sides of an ancient building, con- 

 sisting of large blocks of peperin stone. It is supposed 

 to have been the Tabularium, where the public records 

 were suspended on tables of bronze. In the interior 

 of this building is an arched corridor of considerable 

 extent, and of a noble style of architecture. The mo- 

 dern buildings on this hill are a convent of bare-footed 

 friars, and the Palazzo Caffarelli, in the stables, cellars, 

 and gardens of which, there are remains of the ancient 

 fortifications of the citadel. The remains of the Julian 

 or Mamertine prisons are still to be seen near the base 

 of this hill, below the church of St. Pietro in Carcere. 



The Ccelian Hill is crowned by the massive and lofty 

 arches of Nero's aqueduct. Its precipitous banks are 

 encircled by various ruins, by arches, recesses, niches, 

 and passages, which are considered by some to have 

 been the Nymphaeum of Nero. An arched corridor, 

 supposed to have formed part of the Vivarium, is to be 

 found beneath the tower of the convent. The western 

 extremity of this hill is occupied by the church of San 

 Stefano Rotonda, the reputed temple of Claudius; and 

 the great Basilica of St. John Lateran stands on its 

 most eastern summit. 



- The Esquiline hill is of great extent, and of a very in- 

 definite form. A part of it is covered with the streets 

 and edifices of modern Rome, and -the rest of it is co- 

 vered with the vestiges of buildings of every age, with 

 deserted convents and papal churches, as well as with 

 the ruins of ancient Rome. On its summit are the 

 majestic arches of the united aqueducts of Claudius 

 and Nero; and it contains also the lonely ruin of Mi- 

 iverva Medica, and various subterranean sepulchres and 

 other ruins. I'he Esquiline has two summits, viz. 

 L'Oppio, which is occupied by the church of St. Pietro 

 in Vinculis, built upon part of the extensive baths of 

 Titus, and II Cispio, now crowned with the basilica of 

 Santa Maria Maggiore, but once the site of the temple 

 of Juno Lucina. 



The Viminal hill, which stands between the Esqui- 

 line and the Quirinal, is scarcely to be distinguished 



from either, and it must therefore be considered as Rme. 

 forming a part of both. V^y^/ 



The Quirinal hill is occupied with magnificent pa- Quit-hud 

 laces, churches, streets, and fountains. The principal hill, 

 remains of antiquity which it contains, are the ves 

 tiges of the baths of Constantine, in the garden of the 

 Colonna palace; and a part of those of Dioclesian, 

 which were erected both on this and the Viminal hill. 

 This hill is better known by the name of Monte Cavallo, 

 in consequence of two colossal groups of a young man 

 and horse, which were found in the ruins of the baths 

 of Constantine, having been placed before the pope's 

 palace on the summit of this hill. These figures are 

 supposed to represent Castor and Pollux, and to have 

 been the production of Phidias and Praxiteles, princi- 

 pally on the authority of the inscriptions upon them. 

 The house of Scipio is supposed to have occupied the 

 site of the Colonna palace and garden ; and there is a 

 little street, Vico de' Corneli, which has derived its 

 name from that illustrious house. Having thus given 

 a general notice of the seven hills of ancient Rome, we 

 shall proceed to give a brief account of the principal 

 remains of her ancient grandeur. 



The ancient Forum extends from east to west, along R wt\ 

 the base of the Capitoline hill, and stretching to the Forum. 

 base of the Palatine hill. Its four corners are consi- . 

 dered to have been at the Church of Santa Martina and 

 S. Luca on the N. E. ; of Santa Maria della Consola- 

 zionne on the N. W. ; the little church of St. Theodore, 

 once the temple of Romulus, on the S. W. ; and an un- 

 marked point, where the arch of the Fabii once stood, 

 within the line of the temple of Antoninus and Faus- 

 tina, on the S. E. The ruins which now stand within 

 these limits, are the triumphal arch of Septimius Se- 

 verus, the temple of Concord or Fortuna, the column 

 of the emperor Phocas, the ruined wall of the Curia, 

 and the three columns of the Comitium, at the base of 

 the Palatine. The triumphal arch of Severus, built of Arch of 

 marble, stands at the base of the Capitoline hill. It con- Severus. 

 sistsof one large and two smaller arches, with an entabla- 

 ture supported by four Corinthian columns with pilas- 

 ters. The whole of it is adorned with bas relief sculp- 

 tures, representing Severus's triumph over the Parthians. 

 The Ionic portico of the temple of Concord is all that Temple of 

 remains ; but it is now supposed to have been the tem- Concord, 

 pie of Fortune. The column of Phocas is a single Co- Column of 

 rinthian pillar, erected in the seventh century by the Phocas. 

 Exarch Smaragdus to the emperor Phocas. The only 

 remains of the Roman curia or senate house, the site Curia, 

 of which is occupied by the church of Santa Maria Li- 

 beratrice, is a high broken brick wall. The Comitium 

 which stood in front of the curia, is now supposed to 

 have been the owner of the three beautiful Corinthian 

 columns called the disputed columns, which have been 

 conjectured to be the remains of the temple of Jupiter 

 Stator. Marble steps in front of them have been dis- 

 covered by recent excavations. The three beautiful 

 fluted Corinthian columns which were supposed to be 

 the remains of the temple of Jupiter Tonans, stood on 

 the declivity of the Capitoline. They formed the cor- 

 ner of its portico, and were erected by Augustus. The 

 frieze is finely sculptured in bas relief, and the letters 

 ESTITUER are the only remains of the inscrip- 

 tion. 



In quitting the forurn by the Via Secondaria, we Arch of 

 t pass through the broken and defaced triumphal arch 'l' ibe us - 

 of Tiberius. It consists of a single arch, and only four 

 of its eight fluted marble columns remain ; two of 

 which are entire. The interior of the arch is adorned 

 with two bas reliefs, representing Titus in triumph, 



