ROME. 



ROME. 



336 



became abandoned, they became also unhealthy, for popnlonsness and 

 salubrity go together in the whole Maremma region. But still the 

 unhe:ilthines8 of the city was, and is, much leas in degree than that 

 of the country without the walla, and especially of the lowlands 

 towards the sea coast. There are families and whole religious com- 

 munities that live all the year round on the desolate hills of old Rome 

 without any remarkable inconvenience, though no one would venture 

 to spend the summer months, at least from choice, outside of the 

 walls between Rome and the sea. The miasmata which produce the 

 malaria, emanate from the volcanic soil of the Campagna, acted upon 

 by the rays of a burning sun ; they seem to be of a dense heavy 

 nature, seldom rising very high above the ground unless wafted by the 

 winds. Walls appear to stop their advance, fire dispels them, and 

 house foundations and pavements prevent their emanation. 



It seems now proved that whenever the population has decreased 

 within Rome, from political and other causes, the air has become less 

 wholesome, and that the thinly-inhabited districts are, independently 

 of their situation, unwholesome in summer, when compared with the 

 more populous part of the town. Thus the neighbourhood of the 

 Cor<o and the lower town in general, and even the low filthy quarter 

 of the Jews, are salubrious, whilst the eastern part of the fine street 

 of Porta Pia, the neighbourhood of Santa Maria Maggiore, and that of 

 the Lateran are considered unhealthy in Bummer, although they are 

 on comparatively high ground. The part* of the Qnirinal and the 

 Pincian which are built upon are the most desirable situations in 

 modern Rome for fresh air and health. On the other side of the 

 river the thinly-built district of La Lnngara and the Vatican are con 

 ridrred unhealthy in summer, whilst the densely-peopled part of 

 Tnutevere is less complained of. The fact in, that wherever the 

 population get thin and miserable, the malaria will gain ground ; it 

 will take possession of houses and gardens from which the warmth of 

 the blazing hearth, and the cheering breath of human life, and the 

 cares of domestic industry have disappeared. 



The temperature of Rome Is generally mild and genial. Frosts 

 occur in January ; but the thermometer seldom descends lower than 

 26 Fahr., and the mid-day son generally produces a thaw. The 

 tramontana, or north wind, sometimes however blows cold and 

 piercing for days together. Snow falls at times, but it seldom remains 

 on the ground for more than a day. Orange-trees thrive in the open 

 ah*; but lemon-trees require covering during the winter months. 

 Rains are frequent and heavy in November and December, boi fogs 

 are rare. In the summer months the heat is at times oppressive, 

 especially when the scirocco, or south wind, blows. The hour which 

 follows sunset is considered the most unwholesome in snmmer, and 

 people avoid exposure to the open air. The sky of Rome has been 

 admired by most travellers for its soft transparent light, its ultramarine 

 blue tinge, and the splendid colours of the sunset, which Claude has 

 so well rendered. 



AnliquiHa : Bo/ A* The Baths of Titus were constructed near the 

 Flavian Amphitheatre about A.D. 80, on the site of the gardens of the 

 golden boose of Nero, between the Colosseum and the Esquilrae. The 

 ruins stand now in a vineyard. The Baths of Trajan, partly on the 

 same lite, and adjoining those of Titus, were commenced by Domitian 

 and finished by Trajan : they extended towards the church of San 

 Pietro in Vlncoli, which they almost touched. (In the church of San 

 Pietro in Vincoli is Michel Angelo's celebrated statue of Motes.) The 

 Baths of Trajan resemble very much those of Diocletian in plan : they 

 occupy an area of about 1100 feet by 800 feet One of the great 

 hemicycles near the northern angle still remains. On the shorter 

 sides, near the eastern and southern angles, are the remains of two 

 ycles with niches for statnes. The long side opposite the Colos- 

 seum contains in the centre the remains of a great semicircular 

 theatre. There are few (and those few an unintelligible) remains of 

 th internal part of the building. Part of the golden home of Nero 

 remains under the Baths of Trajan. In the passages and chambers of 

 this house there are still some ele;*nt arabesque decorations, the 

 colours of which in many parts are still very vivid. 



The Baths of Constantine were, according to Victor, in the region of 

 the QuirinaL They were erected about A.D. 826, and were repaired in 

 the middle of the 5th century. In 1519 some of the ruins were still 

 in existence, but they disappeared about 1527. Palladio restored the 

 plan, and in the reign of Clement XII. an excavation was made on 

 their site, when a magnificent portico, with an ornamented ceiling, 

 and walls painted with historical subjects, were discovered. 



The Baths of Diocl. tian, situated on the Vhninal, were erected by 

 Diocletian about A.D. 302. They were of vast dimensions. The 

 extensive and capacious ruins were adapted to the purposes of a 

 monastery, and Michel Angelo transformed the ancient tepidarlum, 

 Ww caldarinm, and a part of the frigidariura into a church with its 

 dependencies. The church is called Santa Maria degli Angeli. The 

 rest of the ruins consist of large brick masses with arches of enormous 



span : some of these masses (till support parts of the vaulted ceiling. 

 On a part of the sits of the baths Michel Angelo constructed a spacious 

 SBVO SMssjjt Cloister. 



The Baths of Agrippa were Inclosed within the space circumscribed 

 ky DM square of the Pantheon, the street of the Theatre delta Valle, 

 the street of the Stimulate, and that of Gesfc. They occupied a 

 ipsxs* about 600 feet from east to west and 700 feet from north to 



south. The Pantheon has been sometimes considered a part of these 

 baths. 



The Baths of Nero were situated on the ground which stretches 

 from east to west between the square of the Panthoon and the square 

 Delia Madama. Eusebius fixes the date of their construction at A.D. 65. 

 One hemicycle alone of these baths exists in the inn of the Piazza 

 Rondanini 



The Baths of Caracalla, commenced about A.D. 212, and continued 

 by Elagabalus and Alexander Severus, are situated on a prolongation 

 of the Aventine, not far from the gate of San Sebastian. They are 

 perhaps the most extensive ruins in Rome; but being stripped of 

 their marbles, columns, stuccoes, and paintings, they consist only of 

 vast and lofty walls, corbels, and niches of brick and tile, and for the 

 ordinary spectator possess in this dilapidated state little interest. The 

 ruins stand in three separate vineyards. 



Templet. -The ruins of the temple erected by Maxentius to the 

 memory of his son Romulus, are vulgarly called the Stables of the 

 Circus of Caracalla. They are situated in a large inclosure forming 

 part of the villa of Maxentius on the Appian Way, and about a mile 

 from the gate of San Sebastian. The lower part or basement is purely 

 sepulchral, with niches for the sepulchral urns. The ceiling is vaulted, 

 and supported by a huge central pier. 



The Temple of Vesta, situated in the Forum Boarium near the 

 Tiber, was constructed in the time of the Antonines. It is of a pure 

 Greek style. Twenty Corinthian columns, of which nineteen remain, 

 surrounded the circular cella, which was formed of masonry in the 

 Greek taste. These columns are of Parian marble, and fluted ; they 

 are raised on a series of steps, most of which have been destroyed or 

 removed. The ancient entablature and roof are wanting, and the 

 latter is supplied by an ugly tile covering. 



The Temple of Ceres and Proserpine, rebuilt by Tiberius, and now 

 forming part of the church of Santa Maria in Costnedin, is situated 

 almost opposite the circular temple of Vesta. A part of the cella con- 

 structed with large masses of travertine, and eight columns of the 

 peristyle, remain partly walled up in the church. The fluted white 

 marble columns are in a good style, and of the composite order. 



The Temple of Fortuna Virilis, originally built by Servius Tullius 

 on the banks of the Tiber, was burnt and rebuilt in the time of the 

 republic. It is of an oblong figure, constructed of travertine stone 

 and tufa, and stuccoed with a fine and hard marble stucco. The 

 bexastyle portico of the Ionic order has been walled up between the 

 columns, and an engaged intercolumniation is continued on the walls 

 of the cella. The temple is placed on a high moulded basement, and 

 was ascended by a flight of steps. The columns support an entabla- 

 ture, the cornice is bold, and the frieze is decorated with festoons 

 supported by infantine figures, and intermixed with skulls of oxen 

 and candelabra. 



The Temple of Fortune is situated in the Forum Romanum, on the 

 Clivns Capitolinns. On the entablature is the following inscription : 



BKNATVS POPYLVSqri HOMANVS 

 IXCKNDIO CONSVMPTVM RESTITVIT. 



The Temple of Jupiter Tonans, situated also on the Clivus Capi- 

 tolinns, was built by Augustus, and is supposed to have been restored 

 by Septimius Severus and Caracalla. The portico was hexastyle, of 

 the Corinthian order, and of white Luna marble. The columns are 

 deeply fluted. Upon the frieze are carved instruments of sacrifice, 

 and the decorations which remain indicate that the building was 

 highly ornamented. 



Of the Temple of Concord which stood near the temple of Jupiter 

 Tonans, there remain only the ruins of the cella, which was originally 

 covered with giallo antico and pavonazzetto. The pavement was 

 formed of slabs of the same material, and numerous fragments disco- 

 vered in the late excavations prove that it was profusely enriched 

 with ornamental carvings and statues, and that it was also destroyed 

 by fire. 



The Temple of Antoninus Pius is in the Forum of Antoninus, now 

 the Piazza delta Pietra, and at a short distance from the Column of 

 M. Anrelins Antoninus. Eleven large Corinthian columns, which are 

 much injured, remain on the north side, and support a white marble 

 architrave; the rest of the entablature, being much ruined, was 

 restored with stucco. The columns have been walled together, and 

 form the front of the present Custom-house, in the court of which 

 there are several fragments of vaulting adorned with sunk panels. 



The Temple of Antoninus and Faustina was erected by the senate 

 to the emperor and bis wife in the Forum Romannm. The two 

 sides of the cella, once clothed with marble, remain, as well as the 

 magnificent marble entablature over them. The hexastyle portico, 

 with the return columns of the Corinthian order, each of one single 

 piece of Carystian or Cipollino marble, still supports a considerable 

 part of the entablature. In the frieze are griffins, candelabra, and 

 other ornaments, in a fine style of art. On the ruins of the cella has 

 been erected the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda. 



The Temple of Romulus and Remus is a circular temple in the 

 Forum Romanum, near the temple of Antoninus and Faustina. In 

 the year 627, this building was used as a vestibule to the church of 

 Sonti Cosmo and Damiano, erected by Felix IV. Urban VIII. applied 

 the present Etruscan bronze door, found at Perugia, and placed the 



