﻿THE 
  SPLENDOR 
  OE 
  ROME 
  

  

  61' 
  

  

  At 
  the 
  turns 
  the 
  river 
  spreads 
  in 
  shin- 
  

   ing 
  reaches 
  that 
  reflect 
  sky 
  and 
  cloud, 
  

   palace 
  and 
  dome 
  ; 
  but 
  at 
  other 
  points 
  it 
  

   runs 
  sullenly 
  between 
  its 
  walls 
  and 
  is 
  

   never 
  to 
  Rome 
  what 
  the 
  Thames 
  is 
  to 
  

   London, 
  the 
  Seine 
  to 
  Paris, 
  a 
  servant, 
  a 
  

   lover, 
  and 
  a 
  friend. 
  

  

  There 
  is 
  no 
  least 
  trace 
  of 
  the 
  Sublician 
  

   bridge, 
  the 
  one 
  wooden 
  bridge 
  bolted 
  with 
  

   bronze, 
  so 
  readily 
  destroyed 
  when 
  danger 
  

   threatened 
  from 
  the 
  Janiculum. 
  Thence 
  

   it 
  was 
  that 
  Lars 
  Porsena 
  came, 
  and 
  

   "brave 
  Horatius" 
  with 
  two 
  comrades 
  held 
  

   this 
  bridge 
  against 
  the 
  whole 
  Etruscan 
  

   army. 
  

  

  The 
  river 
  can 
  tell 
  you 
  many 
  such 
  a 
  tale, 
  

   and 
  of 
  the 
  Castle 
  of 
  St. 
  Angelo 
  more 
  

   than 
  a 
  few 
  — 
  of 
  Theodora 
  the 
  Senatress 
  

   and 
  her 
  yet 
  more 
  evil 
  daughter, 
  Marozia, 
  

   who 
  held 
  it; 
  of 
  Cellini 
  and 
  Cenci 
  and 
  

   many 
  another 
  who 
  suffered 
  and 
  died 
  here 
  

   or 
  in 
  the 
  square 
  at 
  the 
  other 
  end 
  of 
  the 
  

   bridge. 
  

  

  TH£ 
  VICTOR 
  EMMANUIX 
  MONUMENT 
  

  

  From 
  the 
  Pincio 
  we 
  look 
  straight 
  down 
  

   the 
  Corso 
  to 
  Victor 
  Emmanuel's 
  great 
  

   monument, 
  reared 
  against 
  the 
  Capitoline 
  

   Hill 
  (see 
  page 
  625). 
  

  

  A 
  popular 
  American 
  lecturer 
  advises 
  

   his 
  hearers 
  "to 
  think 
  in 
  big 
  figures." 
  

   That 
  advice 
  has 
  ever 
  been 
  totally 
  super- 
  

   fluous 
  in 
  Rome. 
  Her 
  circuses, 
  her 
  Col- 
  

   osseum, 
  her 
  palaces, 
  her 
  triumphs, 
  her 
  

   banquets, 
  were 
  the 
  biggest 
  of 
  their 
  kind 
  ; 
  

   her 
  temples 
  were 
  huge, 
  her 
  churches 
  the 
  

   largest 
  in 
  Christendom. 
  Modern 
  Rome's 
  

   Palazzo 
  delle 
  Finanze 
  covers 
  thirty 
  thou- 
  

   sand 
  square 
  yards, 
  "the 
  largest 
  treasury 
  

   in 
  Europe 
  for 
  the 
  least 
  treasure" 
  ; 
  this 
  

   great, 
  expensive 
  monument 
  to 
  Victor 
  Em- 
  

   manuel 
  II 
  is 
  the 
  largest 
  of 
  its 
  kind 
  in 
  the 
  

   world. 
  

  

  It 
  seems 
  out 
  of 
  place 
  there, 
  against 
  the 
  

   Capitoline 
  Hill. 
  But, 
  then, 
  everything 
  is 
  

   out 
  of 
  place 
  there. 
  The 
  saddle 
  between 
  

   the 
  two 
  horns 
  is 
  a 
  magnificent 
  square, 
  the 
  

   Piazza 
  del 
  Campidoglio 
  (see 
  page 
  610). 
  

   At 
  right 
  and 
  left 
  are 
  palaces, 
  the 
  Capito- 
  

   line 
  Museum 
  and 
  the 
  Conservatori, 
  while 
  

   across 
  the 
  end 
  stretches 
  the 
  Palazzo 
  del 
  

   Senatore, 
  shutting 
  out 
  all 
  view 
  of 
  the 
  

   Forum, 
  which 
  was 
  nothing 
  but 
  a 
  quarry 
  

   when 
  the 
  palace 
  was 
  erected, 
  in 
  11 
  50. 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  sunny 
  pavement 
  of 
  the 
  piazza 
  

   Marcus 
  Aurelius 
  rides 
  his 
  bronze 
  horse 
  

   commandingly. 
  Of 
  all 
  the 
  many 
  eques- 
  

  

  trian 
  statues 
  of 
  ancient 
  Rome, 
  this 
  alone 
  

   survives, 
  Christian 
  Rome 
  accepting 
  it 
  as 
  

   a 
  portrait 
  of 
  Constantine, 
  respecting 
  it 
  

   when 
  Roman 
  marble 
  was 
  being 
  burned 
  

   for 
  lime 
  and 
  ancient 
  bronze 
  was 
  being 
  

   melted 
  down. 
  

  

  Michael 
  Angelo 
  set 
  up 
  the 
  statue 
  here 
  

   (1538), 
  bringing 
  it 
  from 
  the 
  piazza 
  of 
  

   the 
  Later 
  an. 
  

  

  But 
  this 
  square 
  is 
  too 
  modern 
  for 
  such 
  

   ancient 
  memories. 
  What 
  one 
  sees 
  here 
  is 
  

   Rienzi, 
  a 
  fallen 
  idol, 
  waiting 
  a 
  full 
  hour 
  

   for 
  the 
  people 
  to 
  strike 
  him 
  down. 
  Now 
  

   he 
  also 
  has 
  a 
  bronze 
  statue 
  in 
  the 
  pretty 
  

   garden 
  on 
  the 
  hill. 
  

  

  WHAT 
  SIXTUS 
  V 
  DID 
  FOR 
  ROMK 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  square 
  below 
  us, 
  as 
  we 
  loiter 
  on 
  

   the 
  Pincio, 
  is 
  a 
  great 
  obelisk, 
  and 
  that 
  

   brings 
  us 
  back 
  to 
  Sixtus 
  V 
  and 
  his 
  serv- 
  

   ices 
  to 
  Rome. 
  

  

  Not 
  a 
  few 
  of 
  Rome's 
  great 
  piazzi, 
  

   which 
  add 
  so 
  much 
  to 
  her 
  attractiveness, 
  

   are 
  the 
  more 
  beautiful 
  because 
  of 
  his 
  

   thought. 
  He 
  repaired, 
  he 
  restored, 
  he 
  

   tore 
  down, 
  he 
  built 
  up 
  ; 
  to 
  him 
  we 
  owe 
  

   the 
  Eateran 
  Palace 
  of 
  today 
  (a 
  museum), 
  

   the 
  marble 
  staircase 
  of 
  the 
  Piazza 
  di 
  

   Spagna, 
  the 
  Acqua 
  Felice, 
  the 
  Dome 
  of 
  

   St. 
  Peter's. 
  

  

  He 
  it 
  was 
  who 
  moved 
  the 
  "Horse 
  

   Tamers" 
  to 
  their 
  present 
  position 
  and 
  set 
  

   up 
  fountains 
  and 
  obelisks 
  in 
  the 
  squares 
  

   of 
  Rome. 
  One 
  obelisk, 
  that 
  of 
  Rameses 
  

   III, 
  brought 
  by 
  Augustus 
  to 
  Rome, 
  is 
  in 
  

   the 
  Piazza 
  del 
  Popolo 
  at 
  our 
  feet, 
  its 
  

   hieroglyphs 
  yet 
  visible, 
  taking 
  us 
  back 
  

   three 
  thousand 
  years 
  (see 
  page 
  611). 
  

   Another, 
  from 
  the 
  Basilica 
  of 
  Constan- 
  

   tine 
  in 
  the 
  Forum, 
  is 
  in 
  the 
  Piazza 
  dell' 
  

   Esquilino 
  before 
  Santa 
  Maria 
  Maggiore. 
  

   the 
  greatest 
  of 
  the 
  eighty 
  churches 
  dedi- 
  

   cated 
  to 
  the 
  Virgin 
  in 
  Rome. 
  Our 
  Ladv 
  

   of 
  the 
  Snows 
  is 
  her 
  older 
  and 
  prettier 
  

   name, 
  commemorating 
  the 
  legend 
  of 
  her 
  

   foundation, 
  an 
  August 
  snowfall 
  — 
  a 
  story 
  

   told 
  me 
  first 
  in 
  a 
  church 
  far 
  beyond 
  the 
  

   Alps, 
  in 
  the 
  open 
  German 
  plain. 
  

  

  Another 
  obelisk 
  is 
  near 
  San 
  Giovanni 
  

   in 
  Laterano, 
  the 
  oldest 
  and 
  largest 
  in 
  

   Rome, 
  perhaps 
  in 
  the 
  world. 
  It 
  is 
  of 
  red 
  

   granite, 
  105 
  feet 
  high 
  (with 
  pedestal 
  154 
  

   feet), 
  and 
  was 
  first 
  erected 
  by 
  Thothmes 
  

   III 
  1436-27 
  B. 
  C. 
  What 
  an 
  upstart 
  Rome 
  

   is, 
  to 
  be 
  sure 
  ! 
  Constantine 
  brought 
  the 
  

   monolith 
  to 
  Rome 
  to 
  adorn 
  the 
  Circus 
  

   Maximus, 
  possibly 
  to 
  mark 
  the 
  goal 
  of 
  

  

  