Antiquities, &c. R 0 
the ancient world were also the Campanian, the new and the 
old Valerian, both leading by Tivoli to the Adriatic ; the 
Tusculan,the Alban, the Ardeatine, onthe right oftheAppian: 
the Laurentine, a little more to the right, Pliny’s villa being 
mentioned as accessible from either of these last; the 
Portuensis, from the Porta Porfuese Trasteverina, leading to 
Ostia; and the Aurelia Nova, beginning fiom the Porta 
Janiculi, now Porta San Pancrazio, and leading towards 
Civita Vecchia. 
The walls of Rome enclose an area of about 16 miles in 
circumference ; towards the south, however, a great portion of 
the city is a mere mass of ruins; the population being chiefly 
confined to the northern part. 
The seven hills on which ancient Rome stood, are the 
Palatine, the Aventine, the Capitol, the Coelian, the 
Esquiline, the Quirinal, and the Viminal Hills. The five first 
have the appearance of small hills or large mounts; but the 
Esquiline and the Quirinal, though they have a considerable 
ascent on the side of Rome, have no descent on the opposite 
side; and the Viminal hill can no longer be recognized. 
The Aventine, Palatine, and Coelian hills, and also part of 
the Esquiline, Viminal, and Quirinal Hills, are now co¬ 
vered with vineyards and com fields. 
The Palatine hill is a square and flat topped elevation, 
situated nearly in the middle of the other hills, and contain¬ 
ing two solitary villas and a convent. Its numerous temples, 
palaces, porticoes and libraries, are now heaps of shapeless 
ruins. The part of the imperial palace which looked to the 
west still exists, but it is now buried in ruins. The immense 
hall which was discovered here about a hundred years ago, 
and the ornaments of which were carried off by the Farnese 
family, is described by Eustace as an area covered with 
weeds, and presenting to the eye a vast length of naked 
wall. « 
The Aventine, the most western of the hills, is divided 
from the Palatine by the valley of the Circus Maximus. 
Not a trace remains of any of the ancient and magnificent 
buildings which covered it. A few decaying churches 
and convents, half deserted, are the only objects which 
catch the eye. The principal edifices that stood on this 
hill, were the temples of Diana, Juno, and the Dea Bona. 
The west side of the Aventine looks down on the Tiber, and 
the fields called Prati del Popolo Romano. The Aventine 
has two distinct summits, divided by a valley. Near the 
base of the most southern of these, are the gigantic ruins of 
the baths of Caracalla. 
The Capitoline hill was originally called Saturnius, and 
afterwards Tarpeia. On the western side of the hill are still 
to be seen some remains of the ancient fortifications of the 
Capitol. In some of the cottages on Monte Caprino, there 
are walls of extraordinary solidity, which seem to have 
formed the exterior of one of the towers of the citadel. 
These walls, built of blocks of peperin stone, are considered 
to be of the age of Camillus; and, excepting the Cloaca 
Maxima, to be the oldest of all the remains of antiquity in 
Rome. The temple of Jupiter Feretrius is supposed to 
have occupied this (the western) eminence; and that of 
Jupiter Capitolina, the eastern summit of the hill. The 
common belief is, that the church of Ara Coeli stands on 
the site of the latter. The small square, having in its centre 
the equestrian statue of M. Aurelius, and enclosed by the 
three palaces of the senators, the conservator!, and the statue 
gallery, is supposed to have been the Intermontium. 
Beneath the. senators’ palace are the remains of the south and 
west sides of an ancient buildipg, consisting of large blocks 
of peperin stone. It is supposed to have been the Tabularium, 
where the public records were suspended on tables of bronze. 
In the interior of this building is an arched corridor of con¬ 
siderable extent and of a noble style of architecture. The 
modern buildings on this hill are a convent of bare-footed 
friars, and the Palazzo Caffarelli, in the stables, cellars, and 
gardens of which, there are remains of the ancient fortifica¬ 
tions of the citadel. The remains of the Julian or Mamer- 
tine prisons are still to be seen near the base of this hill, below 
the church of St. Pietro in Carcere, The Coelian Hill is 
M E. Antiquities, &c. 389 
crowned by the massive and lofty arches of Nero’s aqueduct. 
Its precipitous banks are encircled by various ruins, by 
arches, recesses, niches, and passages, which are considered 
by some to have been the Nymphaeum of Nero. An arched 
corridor, supposed to have formed part of the Vivarium, 
is to be found beneath the tower of the convent. The west¬ 
ern extremity of this hill is occupied by the church of San 
Stefano Rotonda, the reputed temple of Claudius; and the 
great Basilica of St, John Lateran stands on its most eastern 
summit. 
The Esquiline hill is of great extent, and of a very in¬ 
definite form. A part of it is covered with the streets and 
edifices of modern Rome,' and the rest of it is covered with 
vestiges of buildings of every age, with deserted convents 
and papal churches, as well as with the ruins of ancient 
Rome. On its summit are the majestic arches of the united 
aqueducts of Claudius and Nero; and it contains also the 
lonely ruin of Minerva Medica, and various subterranean 
sepulchres and other ruins. The Esquiline has two summits, 
viz. L’Oppio, which is occupied by the church of St. Pietro 
in Vinculis, built upon part of the extensive baths of Titus, 
and II Cispio, now crowned with the basilica of Santa Maria 
Maggiore, but once the site of the temple of Juno Lucina. 
The Quirinal hill is occupied with magnificent palaces, 
churches, streets, and fountains. The principal remains 
of antiquity which it contains, are the vestiges of the baths 
of Constantine, in the garden of the Colonna palace; and 
a part of those of Dioclesian, which were erected both on 
this and the Viminal hill. This bill is better known by 
the name of Monte Cavallo, in consequence of two colossal 
groups of a young man and horse, which were found in the 
ruins of the baths of Constantine, having been placed before 
the pope’s palace on the summit of this hill. These figures 
are supposed to represent Castor and Pollux, and to have 
been the production of Phidias and Praxiteles, principally 
on the authority of the inscriptions upon them. The house 
of Scipio is supposed to have occupied the site of the 
Colonna palace and garden; and there is a little street, 
Vico de’ Corneli, which has derived its name from that 
illustrious house. Having thus given a general notice of 
the seven hills of ancient Rome, we shall proceed to give a 
brief account of the principal remains of her ancient grandeur. 
The ancient Forum extends from east to west, along the 
base of the Capitoline hill, and stretching to the base of the 
Palatine hill. Its four corners are considered to have been 
at the Church of Santa Martina and S. Luca on the N. E.; 
of Santa Maria della Consolazionne on the N. W.; the 
little church of St. Theodore, once the temple of Romulus, 
on the S. W.; and an unmarked point, where the arch of 
the Fabii once stood, within the line of the temple of 
Antoninus and Faustina, on the S. E. The ruins which 
now stand within these limits, are the triumphal arch of 
Septimius Severus, the temple of Concord or Fortuna, the 
column of the emperor Phocas, the ruined wall of the Curia, 
and the three columns of the Comitium, at the base of 
the Palatine. The triumphal arch of Severus, built of 
marble, stands at the base of the Capitoline hill. It 
consists of one large and two smaller arches, with 
an entablature supported by four Corinthian columns 
with pilasters. The whole of it is adorned with bas- 
relief sculptures, representing Severus’s triumph over the 
Parthians. The Ionic portico of the temple of Concord is 
all that remains; but it is now supposed to have been the 
temple of Fortune. The column of Phocas is a single Co¬ 
rinthian pillar, erected in the seventh century by the Exarch 
Smaragdus to the emperor Phocas. The only remains of 
the Roman curia, or senate house, the site of which is occupied 
by the church of Santa Maria Liberatrice, is a high broken 
brick wall. The Comitium which stood in front of the 
curia, is now supposed to have been the owner of the three 
beautiful Corinthian columns called the disputed columns, 
which have been conjectured to be the remains of the tem¬ 
ple of Jupiter Stator. Marble steps in front of them have been 
discovered by recent excavations. The three beautiful 
fluted Corinthian columns which were supposed to be the 
remains 
