ROM 



theatre ; the gallery was painted by Hannibal Caracci ; and 

 the Monte della Pieta, eitablifhed in the year 1539, for the 

 purpofe of lending money on pledges without intereft. The 

 Rione di St. Eultachio contains the beautiful church of St. 

 Charles aux Catinari, in which, among many others, is a 

 beautiful pifture reprefenting the death of St. Anne ; the 

 church of St. Andre de la Valle, which contains fome ex- 

 cellent paintings ; the college de Sapienza is, perhaps, the 

 molt celebrated in the univerfe ; this magnificent building 

 was begun under Leo X. from the defign of Michael An- 

 gelo ; the palace of Jufliniani, adorned with a great num- 

 ber of bas reliefs, and antique ftatues ; many of them 

 found on the fpot on which were the baths of Nero, 

 and the palace is now erefted : the Theatre d' Argentina, 

 and many other palaces, antiquities, and churches. The 

 Rione della Pigna contains the Piazza della Rotondo, in 

 which is a beautiful fountain of white marble, ornamented 

 with an obelifk and dolphins, which fpout out the water. 

 The Roman college is a vaft and fuperb edifice, built in the 

 time of Gregory XIV. for the ftudy of the languages and 

 fciences ; here is kept the mufauim of father Kircher, and 

 the library is well furnifhed : the church of St. Maria della 

 Sopra Minerva, fo called from a temple of Minerva which 

 anciently flood there. The ward of the Rione di Campitelli, 

 or Du Capitole, contains the Capitolinus mountain, the 

 Palatine, and part of mount Coelius ; the church of St. 

 Mary in Campitelli, rebuilt in the year 1656, by the people 

 of Rome. Here are found many beautiful ftatues and pic- 

 tures, by the mod celebrated mailers ; the Tarpeian rock, now 

 called Monte Caprino ; the remains of the temple of Jupiter 

 Tonans ; and the church of St. Peter in Carcere ; part of 

 the prifon conftrufted by Ancus Martius ; the ruins of a 

 temple of Concord ; the church of our Lady of Confo- 

 lation ; the church of St. Sebaflian, built in the ancient 

 Hippodrome. In this ward is found likewife the Cohfeum, 

 a fuperb building, conftrufted at the command of Vefpafian, 

 by the Jews brought from Jerufalem, and deftined for the 

 combats of gladiators and public fpeftacles. In the Rion* di 

 St. Angelo is the church of St. Angelo, which gives name 

 to the ward, was built in the eighth century ; near it is the 

 theatre of Marcellus, built by Augullus, and capable of 

 holding 30,000 fpeftators ; the palace of Savelli, and the 

 palace of Mattei, celebrated for the piftures and ftatues which 

 they contain ; and many others. The ward of the Rione 

 di Ripa, on the fide of the river, includes the Aventine 

 mountain, and the ifland of St. Bartholomew, inhabited at 

 the time of the expulfion of the Tarquins, and then called 

 Tiberina and Lycania ; the church of St. Bartholomew was 

 founded on the ruins of an ancient temple of Efculapius. 

 This ifland is joined to the reft of the city by two bridges. 

 The church of St. Nicholas in Carcere is built near the com- 

 mon prifon ; St. George in Valebro ; the arches of Septimius 

 Severus and Janus ; St. Mary in Cofmedin, built by the 

 earlieft Chriftians, on the ruins of a temple of Modefty ; 

 St. Paul without the walls is a patriarchal church, and, 

 next to St. Peter, one of the largeft in Rome, built by 

 Conftantine ; the immenfe ruins of the baths of Caracalla, 

 in which it is faid 3000 perfons might bathe at one time ; 

 the grand circus ; the tomb of Ceitius ; the catacombs or 

 vaults dug in the ftone or folid earth, and ufed for depo- 

 fitingof the dead in this ward. The Rione di Tranftevere 

 is on the other fide of the Tiber, and includes the mountain 

 Janiculus ; in the church of St. Peter in Montorio is the 

 celebrated pifture of the Transfiguration, by Raphael, by 

 fome thought to be the moft perfeft painting that exifts ; the 

 baths of Severus ; the Naumachium of Augullus ; and the 

 temple of Fortune. The Rione di Borgo, or Rione del 



5 



11 O M 



Vatican ; this, too, is beyond the Tiber, and is joined t o 

 the reft of the city by means of the bridge of St. Angelo, 

 anciently Pons CElius ; in it is the caltle of St. Angelo, 

 anciently called Moles Adriani, from its founder ; it is cir- 

 cular, and exceedingly ilrong : here the papal crown is kept, 

 and prifoners of ftate are confined ; it communicates with 

 the Vatican by a long covered gallery. The church of St. 

 Peter is the chef-d'eeuvre of Italy, the largeil and moft 

 beautiful church in the world. It was projefted by Ni- 

 cholas V. ; Julius II. laid the iirft ftone in the year 1506; 

 but the whole building was not fimftied till the next cen- 

 tury : it is faid to cover 20 acres, and to have coft upwards 

 of one million llerling. The original artift was Bramante, 

 but the greater part was from the plan of Michael Angelo, 

 who raifed the cupola ; Maderni finifhed it in the year 1621. 

 The pavilion of the great altar of this church, and the four 

 wreathed pillars of Corinthian brafs which fupport it, were 

 formed out of the fpoils of the Pantheon. The Pantheon, 

 originally dedicated to the honour of all the gods, is now a 

 Chriftian temple, and is ft ill the moft perfeft of the Roman 

 temples that now remain, and notwithftanding the depre- 

 dations it has fuftained from Goths, Vandals, and Popes, is 

 flill a beautiful monument of Roman tafte. 



The pope has three fine palaces, of which the principal is 

 the Vatican, which fee. The library of this palace is the 

 largeil and moft complete in the world, rich, efpecially in 

 manufcripts, in all languages, and all ages. In Rome, the 

 lover of the fine arts will, after all the depredations of the 

 French, meet with innumerable paintings by the moft cele- 

 brated mafters in the world, and with the finefl works of 

 fculpture. Befides the univerfity, which confifts of feveral 

 noble colleges, there are numerous academies and literary 

 focieties. 



The relative fituation of Rome, with regard to other 

 European capitals, is as follows : it is 380 miles from Vienna, 

 560 from Paris, 740 from Amfterdam, 810 from London, 

 and 900 from Madrid. It Hands within 10 miles of the 

 Tufcan fea. Univerfal Hiltory. Holberg's Introduftion. 

 Tytler's Elements of General Hiftory. Playfair's Chro- 

 nology. Gibbon's Hiilory of tihe Rife, &c. Encyclopedie 

 Methodique. Euitace's Claffical Tour, 2d edition. 



Rome, Citizen of, at firft, was only a citizen of Rome : 

 at length, the right of citizenfhip was given to other cities 

 and people, both in Italy and the provinces. It was thus 

 St. Paul was a Roman citizen, Afts, xvi. 21. 37, 38. xxii. 

 25, 26, 27. xxiii. 26 ; the city of Taifus, in Cilicia, a 

 native of which he was, having the right of Roman citizens. 

 See Municipal Cities, and Paul. 



Rome de l'Isle, John Baptist Louis, in Biography, 

 was born, in 1736, at Gray, in Franche-Comte. He ap- 

 plied himfelf, from a very early period, with earneftnefs to 

 the ftudy of natural hiftory and mineralogy ; and by his dif- 

 coveries and writings he acquired a confiderable reputation. 

 In 1766 he publilhed " A Letter to M. Bertrand on Frefh- 

 Water Polypes." He drew up defcriptive catalogues of 

 many rich colleftions of minerals and madrepores, ot which 

 the moil diftinguifhed was that of Davila, in 3 vols. 8vo. 

 1767. In 1779 and 1781 he publilhed a work, entitled 

 " L'Aftion de Feu central banni de la Surface du Globe, 

 et le Soleil retabli dans fes Droits." In 1783 he publifhed 

 that work by which he is bed known, entitled " Chrillal- 

 lographie ou Defcription des Formes propres a tous les 

 Corps du Regne minerale," 4 vols. In this elaborate per- 

 formance, the author gives a defcription of the forms proper 

 to every fubflance of the mineral kingdom, in a falinc, 

 flony, and metallic combination ; with figures of all the 

 known cryftals, arranged according to the number and dif- 



pofition 



