ROME. 



ROME. 



*. a dblaoee at about a mil* Md a qoarter. whl*t from the Port* 

 AJPopoto u> 0>. foo of the Palatin. oppodte Poot Rotto, the 

 te4h*Mtothni point of modern Itomo. the di.unce U rath*r more 

 then mil* MM! Ulf. All to the touth and out of thaw limit*, 



,!,. a hout twthir>U of the arm within the walla, consist* of 

 rniM. finlM". and field*, with DOM churchy convent*, and other 

 tottered habitation*. 



The p".t liu. of wall, of Rome proper on th loft bank of the 

 river i. generally unlttood to be that traced by Aurelian, rwtored 

 by Roooriu*, and afterward* by Beli*ariu*. and linoe repeatedly 

 rea*wed by *crr*l pope*. It detcribe* an irregular polygon, of which 

 the Umgeet dianvrler it three mile* in length from north-west to 

 metfc ml from U Porto del Popolo to the Port* Sao Sebaatiano oa the 

 Apptan road. The whole circuit of the preeent wall., including those 

 o/Trwtertr. and of the Borgo or Vatican. U between 1 4 and 15 miles. 

 The wall i* mad* of brick mixed with stone* and rubbish, and ha. 

 bam often repaired. U variet in height, but in most place* does not 

 exowd 15 feet. It ba* DO ditch, but U flanked by towera and bastions, 

 which were repaired by Pop. Benedict XIV. Rome has 16 gates, 

 tome of which however are walled up. Beginning from the north it i : 

 1'orte del Popolo. on the Klaminian way, or high northern road, 

 which divide* at a thort dutence from Rome, ono branch leading to 

 Florence and the other to Anoona. 2. Farther cut, the next gate is 

 PorU Piooiina. 1 Porte Salaria, on the road to Kieti. 4. Porta 

 Pia, on the north-east, formerly Nomentana, the road from which 

 join* the Via SaUria. 6. Porte San Lorenzo, facing the cast, aud 

 leading to Tiroll 6. Porte liaggiore, leading to Paleetrina : this is 

 the handaoroot of the gates of Rome, being originally part of the 

 Aqueduct of Claudius rettorad by Vespasian and Titus, which is 

 tHortfd by the triple inscription over it It consists of a fine arch 

 which croaiea the high road, built of Travertine or Tiburtine stone. 

 7. Porte San Giovanni, which looks to the south-east an the modem 

 road to Albano and Naples. 8. Porta Latina, the road from which 

 joins the Niples road. 9. Porte San Sebaatiano, on the ancient Via 

 Appia. 10. Porto San Paola, on the road to Ostia. Crossing the 

 Tiber, w find 11. Porte Portese, which leads to Fiumicino, the 

 prevent port of Home. 12. Porte San Pancrazio, on the summit of 

 the Janiculum, which is nearly 300 feet above the Tiber. Outside 

 of thi* gate U the Villa Pamfili, with its shady walks, its waterworks, 

 and beautiful grove* of lofty umbrella pines. 13. Porta Cavalleggieri, 

 oath-wait of St Peter's ; it leads towards Civita Vecchia. 14. Porta 

 Fabbrioa, on the same side, is now walled up. IS. Port' Angelica, on 

 the oppotite or northern side of St Peter's, on the road leading to 

 Xante-Mario. 1C. Porte Castello, which opened from the Castle of 

 San Angelo northward into the country, and is now walled up. 

 Besides thtae, there are two internal gates, one called Santo Spirito, 

 leading from the Borgo to the Lungara, and the other Porta Settimiana, 

 leading from the Lungara to Trasturcre. These districts, Borgo aud 

 LoBcara, have been consecutively annexed to the modern city. 



The ooune of the Tiber within Rome, including its winding.', is 

 about three miles ; the banks arc not built up with quays or walks, 

 but in most places the river is bordered by the backs of houses gene- 

 rally of an inferior sort ; in other places there is a slip of sand or 

 gravelly ground between the houses and the river, which is frequently 

 overflowed. Then are only two places where there is a sort of quay 

 or landing place ; one in the northern part of the town, on the left 

 bank, above the bridge of San Angelo, called Ripetta, where the boats 

 from the inland province! on the upper Tiber land wine, charcoal, 

 and provisions; and the other at the southern extremity of the town, 

 on the right bank near Porte Portese, called liipa Grande, where sea- 

 veeteli land their cargoes, and where there is a line of warehouses 

 aad a ctuUxn-bouae. There nro three bridges across the Tiber within 

 Rome ; the northernmost U Ponte Sant' Angelo, the Pons -Elius, built 

 by Hadrian, and restored by several popes, and lastly by Clement IX., 

 by whoa* order Bernini constricted the present balustrade and the 

 Uturi with which it is decorated. It is about 300 feet lonir, but the 

 width of the bed of the river is not more than 200 feet The Ponte 

 8i*to, formerly Pons Janiculensis, built originally by Marcus Aurelius, 

 aad rebuilt by Sixtn* IV., it about 800 feet long, the bed of the river 

 being 280 feet wide. About half a mile lower down is the island of 

 Hen Bartolomeo, the ancient Insula Tiberiua. This island U of an 

 oblong shape, something like a ship, being about 1000 feet long, and 

 300 ftet wide in the middle of its length. It U joined to the main- 

 land by two bridges; one to the left bank called Ponto San Bartolo- 

 meo; and the other to the right bank, called Ponte Quattro Capi, 

 hoot a head of Janus Quadrifrous which once decorated it The two 

 arm* of the rirer together form a bed of about 200 feet in width 

 There are also within Rome the remains of three ancient bridges ; the 

 Trtempbalit, called alao Vatioanus, just below But' Angelo, of which 

 the pien have fallen into the bed of the river and occasion a rapid 

 the Poos PalaUnna, now called Ponte Rotto, of which three arches 

 remain on the Tnatevere tide; and Uutly, the Pons Sublicius, at the 

 foot of th Aventine, the first bridge built by the Romans, of which 

 there art very few vestigea. 



Rom. U divided into 14 dUWcto, called Rioni, which however do 

 not oorreepond in their boundaries to the Regiones of the ancient city. 

 The modern Rioni are of very unequal extent, their boundaries being 

 ** ' with refrimce to the population included within them 



Thu* the inhabited part of the city contain* 11 Rioni, namely 



I, Campo Mario, near Porte del Popplo ; 2, Colonna; and 3, Trevi, 

 along the slope of the Pincian and Quirinal ; 4, Sant' Eustachio ; and 

 5, Pigna, in the middle of the lower town ; 6, Ponte ; 7, Parione ; and 

 8, Rugola, near the left bank of the Tiber ; 9, Sant' Angelo in Pea- 

 cheria, between the Capitol aud the Tiber; and 10, Trasteverc, aud 



II, Borgo, on the right bank of the river. The whole of the ancient 

 or southern city U comprised within three extensive Rioui, namely 

 12, Monti, on the north-east; 13, Campitclli, south-east; aud 14, Ripa, 

 south-west 



The modern city of Rome may be conveniently divided, for the 

 sake of topographical description, into three great divisions : 1. The 

 lower part of the town between the eastern hills, the Tiber, and the 

 Capitol 2. The upper town, which extends along the eastern hills. 

 3. The part of the town which is on the right bank of the Til 



I. The Lower Town, which occupies the site of the ancient Campus 

 Martius and Campus Tiberiuus, is the seat of all the bustla and trade. 

 It is crossed in its central part from north by west to south by east by 

 the street Del Corso, which is about a mile in length from the Piazza 

 del Popolo, or great northern entrance of Home, a handsome open* 

 place with an obelisk in the middle, to the Venetian palace, near the 

 foot of the Capitol. Two other streets branch out from the Piazza 

 del Popolo on the right and left of the Corso, and at au acute angle 

 with it One leads south-east to the fine open place called Piazza di 

 Spagoa, the great resort of foreigners, at the foot of the Pincian 

 Mount, after crossing which it continues in the same direction to the 

 College of Propaganda at the foot of the Quirinal. The other street, 

 called Ripetta, runs in a south direction, parallel to the bank of the 

 Tiber, and then following the bend of the river leads, under a different 

 name, to the bridge of Sant' Augelo. 



About the middle of the Corso is a square, called Piazza Colonna, 

 from the column of Antoninus which stands in the middle of it. It 

 was raised by the senate in honour of the emperor Marcus Aurelius 

 Antoninus, and in memory of his victory over the llarcomanui and 

 other German tribes. After the extinction of the western empire this 

 column and its pedestal suffered greatly from fire, from lightning, and 

 from wanton injury. Pope Sixtus V. repaired it at the expense of 

 10,000 scudi, and placed the inscription which ia now seen on the 

 pedestal, the original one having been probably defaced. He also 

 raised on the summit of the pillar a bronze statue of St Paul ; that of 

 Marcus Aurelius, which formerly stood there, had been removed it 

 is not known when or by whom. The shaft of the pillar is 13 feet 1 inch 

 in diameter at the bottom, and one foot less at the top ; its height, 

 including the pedestal and capital, is 136 feet, of which 13 feet are 

 under ground ; and the statue on the top and its pedestal are 274 f ee t 

 more, making the whole height 163J feet The capital is Doric. The 

 shaft is made of 28 blocks of white marble placed one above the other ; 

 a spiral staircase of 190 steps is cut through the interior of the marble 

 and leads to the gallery on the top, which is surrounded by a balus- 

 trade. The exterior of the shaft is covered with bassi-rilievi placed in 

 a spiral line around, which represent the victories of Marcus Aurelius. 

 The column is still one of the most striking monuments of ancient 

 Rome and one of the principal ornaments of the modern city. 



Immediately to the west of the Piazza Colonna is an irregular 

 square, which crowns a slight eminence called Monte Citorio, or 

 Citatorio, a small hill which rises in the middle of the Campus 

 Martius. It contains a fine building, called Curia Inuocenziaua, in 

 which the courts of justice sit : a handsome obelisk stands in front of 

 it. Returning to the Corso, and following it southward, we meet with 

 a street on the left, which leads to the Foutaui di Trevi, the hand- 

 somest fountain in Rome, and then we come to auotier street, 1. 

 to the ascent of the Quirinal, or Monte Cavallo. Farther up the 

 Corso, on the right, is a wide street called Stada del Qesu, \vhicl> 

 to the splendid Jesuit church and convent of that name, whence, 

 turning to the left, is ft street that leads to the foot of the Capitol. 

 The whole of this part of the city, in the neighbourhood of the Corso, 

 consists chiefly of regular and substantial buildings. Tho most 

 remarkable are -1. Palazzo Borghese, near Ripetta, one of the largest 

 and finest in Rome : it contains a choice collection of paintings by 

 Titian, Domenichino, Albano, Aunibale Caracci, Caravaggio, Partni- 

 giano and other great masters. 2. Farther north the old mausoleum 

 of Augustus has been transformed into an amphitheatre, called ( 

 for bull-fights, fireworks, and other popular diversions. 3. Palazzo 

 Ruspoli, on the Corso, in a good style of architecture by Ammauato, 

 has a much-admired staircase, constructed by Martino Loughi, con- 

 sisting of 115 steps, each of a single block of white marble. The 

 extensive ground-floor of the palace has been converted into a coffee- 

 house, which is the largest in Rome, and consists of various rooms, 

 where several clubs of lawyers, merchants, and other persons assemble, 

 that of the contributors to the 'Qiornale Arcadico,' the literary review 

 of Rome, among the rest The artists' club is held at the Caffs' del 

 Greco, in the Piazza di Spagna ; that of the antiquarians at the oaffe" 

 of Fontena di Trevi ; the club of professors and other men of letters 

 meeta at the Caffs' di Monte Citorio. 4. Palazzo Ghigi, which forms 

 the north side of the Piazza Colonua, contains some choice paintings, 

 and a fine library rich in curious manuscripts. 5. Palazzo Piombino, 

 on the opposite or south side of the square. 6. Pajazzo Sciarra 

 Colonna, on the Corso, has a rich collection of paintings and a handsome 



