566 



THE STANDARD DICTIONARY OF FACTS 



long the religious center of Western Christendom, 

 is one of the most ancient and interesting cities 

 of the world. It stands on both sides of the 

 Tiber, about fifteen miles from the sea. The 

 city is tolerably healthy during most of the year. 

 but in late summer and early autumn maleria 

 prevails to some extent. It has been greatly 

 improved in cleanliness 'and healthfulness since 

 it became the capital of modern Italy. 



The streets of ancient Rome were crooked 

 and narrow, till after the lire that took place in 

 Nero's reign, when the new streets were made 

 both wide and straight. In the. reign of Augus- 

 tus the population is believed to have amounted 

 to about 1,300,000 and in that of Trajan was 

 not far short of 2,000,000. 



Ancient Rome was adorned with a vast num- 

 ber of splendid buildings, including temples, 

 palaces, public halls, theaters, amphitheaters, 

 baths, porticoes, monuments, etc., of many of 

 which we can now form only a very imperfect j 

 idea. The oldest and most sacred temple 

 w.-is that of Jupiter Capitolinus on the Capi- 

 toline Hill. The Pantheon, a temple of various 

 gods (now Church of S. Maria Rotonda), is 

 still in excellent preservation. It is a great 

 circular building with a dome roof of stone 140 

 feet wide and 140 feet high, a marvel of construc- 

 tion, being two feet wider than the great dome j 

 of St. Peter's. The interior is lighted by a single 

 aperture in the center of the dome. Other tem- 

 ples were the Temple of Apollo, which Augustus 

 built of white marble, on the Palatine, containing 

 a splendid library, which served as a place of 

 resort to the poets; the Temple of Minerva, 

 which Pompey built in the Campus Martius, and 

 which Augustus covered with bronze; the Tem- 

 ple of peace, once the richest and most beautiful 

 temple in Rome, built by Vespasian, in the Via 

 Sacra, which contained the treasures of the 

 temple of Jerusalem, a splendid library, and other 

 curiosities, but was burned during the reign of 

 Commodus; the temple of the Sun, which Au- 

 relian erected to the east of the Quirinal ; and the 

 magnificent temple of Venus, which Ca3sar caused 

 to be built to her as the origin of his family. The 

 principal palace of ancient Rome was the 'Pala- 

 tium or imperial palace, on the Palatine Hill, a 

 private dwelling house enlarged and adopted as 

 the imperial residence by Augustus. Succeeding 

 emperors extended and beautified it. Among 

 the theaters, those of Pompey, Cornelius Balbus, 

 and Marcellus were the most celebrated. That 

 of Pompey, in the Campus Martius, was capable 

 of containing 40,000 persons. The most magnifi- 

 cent of the amphitheaters was that of Titus, 

 completed A. D. 80, now known as the Coliseum 

 or Colosseum. Though only one-third of the 

 gigantic structure remains, the ruins are still 

 stupendous. The principal of the circuses was 

 the Circus Maximus, between the Palatine and 

 Aventine, which was capable of containing 

 260,000 spectators. With slight exception its 

 walls have entirely disappeared, but its form is 

 still distinctly traceable. The public baths or 

 thermae in Rome were also very numerous. The 

 largest were the Thermae of Titus, part of the 

 substructure of which may still be seen on the 

 Esquiline Hill; the Thermae of Caracalla, even 

 larger, extensive remains of which still exist in 



the southeast of the city; and the Thermic of 

 Diocletian, the largest and most magnificent of 

 all, part of which is converted into a church. Of 

 the triumphal arches the most celebrated are 

 those of Titus (A. D. 81), Severus (A. D. 203), 

 and that of Constantine (A. D. 311), all in or near 

 the Forum and all well preserved structures. It 

 was not till the Seventeenth Century that the 

 modern city was extended to its present limits 

 on the right bank, by a wall built under the 

 pontificates of Urban VIII. . (1623-1GM) and 

 Innocent X. (1644-1655), and inclosing both the 

 Janiculum and the Vatican hills. The Doundary 

 wall on the left or east bank of the river follows 

 the same line as that traced by Aurelian in the 

 Third Century, and must in many parts be iden- 

 tical with the original structure. The walls on 

 both banks are built of brick, with occasional 

 portions of stone work, and on the outside are 

 about fifty-five feet high. The greater part 

 dates from A. D. 271 to 276. The city is entered 

 by twelve gates (several of those of earlier date 

 being now walled up) and several railway acces- 

 ses. Since Rome became the capital of United 

 Italy great changes have taken place in the 

 appearance of the city, many miles of new streets 

 being built, and much done in the way of paving, 

 drainage, and other improvements. It has thus 

 lost much of its ancient picturesque appearance, 

 and is rapidly acquiring the look of a great mod- 

 ern city with wide straight streets of uniform- 

 looking tenements having little distinctive char- 

 acter. The three finest streets, the Corsp and 

 the strade del Babbuino and di Ripetta, diverge 

 from the piazza del Popolo near the north u'ate. 

 The city is divided into 14 rioni or quarters, 

 twelve of which are on the left bank and two 

 on the right bank of the river. The latter two 

 are the rione Trastevere, the ancient Janiculum, 

 and the rione di Borgo, containing the castle of 

 Sant' Angelo, the citadel, now chiefly used as a 

 state prison, and the Vatican. Besides the 

 great collection of the Vatican, there are ten or 

 eleven public libraries. There are in the city 

 about 360 churches. Preeminent among the 

 Christian temples of the world is St. Peter's 

 church. The chief church in point of antiquity 

 and ecclesiastical dignity is the church of St. 

 John Lateran. Among the principal palaces are 

 the palazzi Doria, Ruspoli, Corsini, Orsini, Gius- 

 tiniani, Altieri, Cicciaporci, Farnese, Barberini, 

 and Colonna. The Quirinal, formerly the pope's 

 ordinary residence, is now the royal palace, the 

 pope residing in the Vatican. On the Capitoline 

 hill are three palaces appropriated for the as- 

 semblies of the magistrates, the observatory, 

 and the fine art collections. There are several 

 palaces which, from being surrounded by ex- 

 tensive gardens, are called villas. Of these the 

 principal is the villa Borghese, the gardens of 

 which form the most fashionable promenade in 

 Rome. There are many squares and fountains 

 in the city. Among the most curious remains 

 of ancient Rome are the catacombs. The 

 Ghetto, the quarter in which the Jewish inhabit- 

 ants were formerly confined, is a relic of the 

 Middle Ages. 



Till the establishment of the Italian kingdom, 

 Rome was the capital of the states of the Church ; 

 and it was, at a much earlier period, the capital 



