1 86 THE VILLA MON DRAGONE AND VILLA BORGHESE, ERASCATI. 



buildings of the modern world were superimposed upon the decaying sites of the classic era. 

 This is believed in the later times of the Republic to have been part of the possessions of Claudius 

 and of Pompey. Certainly the Emperor Domitian had a magnificent country house here, where 

 he passed much of his time and held assemblies of men of letters. The Amphitheatre, where 

 he used to behold the destruction of a hundred wild beasts in a day, joined his gardens, and the 

 ruins of it can still be traced in an adjacent vineyard. The upper part of the Barberini garden 

 consists of three long walks, between which are square hedges and at one end a flower garden. 

 The wall to the right is continued along a terrace, raised over an immense gallery, which, no doubt, 

 is part of that built by Domitian, that gallery described by ancient authors, where he used to 

 dispute with his courtiers on political and historical subjects. Some scraps of ornament still 

 remain, fragments of stucco and gilding. The general style is that of the Temple of Peace in 

 Rome, built by his father, Vespasian. It is easy to make out, by following the vestiges of a wall 

 which evidently bounded the gallery, that it must have been at least a mile in extent. The 

 avenues of the great Cardinal who revived the traditions of this villa are, in their way, nearly 

 as striking. They are shaded by noble ilexes, open to the west winds and the setting sun, and 

 it is impossible to imagine more delightful walks. Fragments of cornices, columns, antique 

 marbles and porphyry are found in all directions, and small square pieces of glass, or rather of 

 paste, abound, and are remains of the numberless mosaic pavements of the villa. At the 

 extremity of the walk is an antique statue of a river god, and below is a grand old avenue of 

 stone pines. E. M. P. 



192. SIDE PORTICO AT THE VILLA BORGHESE, FRASCATI. 



