Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/284

BOME. 260 KOME. 400. and restored in the last half of the nine- teenth century. Portions of the early edifices here are worthy of study. The district north of the Ca-lian and radiat- ing cast from the Colosseum is that of San Clera- ente and the Lateran. The former basilica, just to the east of the amphitheatre, is of interesting antiquity and handsomely presei'ved. L'nder- neath are the remains of the original church, dat- ing from the fourth century. This lower church vas large and its frescoes are of value. The up- per church is also striking. The extensive Saint .John in Laterano basilica, with its square and apjiroaches. is very impressive. In the centre of the square stands a red obelisk from Thebes — the largest obelisk in Europe. On the left is the Late- ran Museum, occupying the former residential palace of the popes. Opposite the JIuseum and across the square is the baptistery, the first one in Rome. The interior is decorated with mosaics and frescoes. In the interior of the church itself may be observed an admirable Gothic canopy and mosaics by J. Torriti. The cloisters of the thirteenth century are fine. Just to the northeast of the Lateran is the edifice which contains the well-known Scala Santa and the former chapel of the popes. (See L.ter.k^. Church of S.int John.) The most modern region of Rome, lying northeast and east of the Campus ilartius ami beyond the Corso. covers the slopes and pla- teaux of the Pincian. Quirinal, Viminal, and Es- quilinc hills. Here the city presents the usual appearance of a Continental metropolis. East of and adjoining the Piazza del Popolo rises the beautiful, garden-covered Pincio — the fashion- able place for driving in the afternoon. The gar- dens of Lucullus were here. The grounds are everywhere embellished with statues, etc. The view over Rome is fine. Here is situated the Villa Medici, dating from 1540, in which the French Academy of Art has been housed since 1801. The Piazza di Spagna, the centre of the foreign life in Rome and of the artists' quarter, is near by. To it descends the imposing Scala di Spagna (1725) in 1.37 steps. Near the royal palace, situated to the southeast, is the grand Fontana Trevi, the most famous fountain in Rome. It dates from 1762. Northeast of the palace is the Piazza Barberini. with Bernini's fine fountain of the Tritons. The Barberini Pal- ace (q.v. ) is adjacent. Farther to the northeast stands the Palazzo Piombino, with the Boncom- pagni Museum of antiques, including the famous Head of Juno — Juno Ludovisi — and other fine examples. This vicinit.v was occupied by the gar- dens of Sallust. The neighboring Quirinal Pal- ace, the abode of the King, belongs to the last part of the sixteenth century. Directly south is the interesting Rospigliosi Palace, dating from 1603. In its adjoining casino is the famous "Au- rora" of Guido Reni — a ceiling painting. A long street follows the top of the Quirinal ridge from Monte Cavallo. the square in front of the royal palace (so called from the colossal an- cient statues of Castor and Pollux with their horses. Cavalli, that stand here — magnificent specimens) . northeast to the Porta Pia in the city walls. This street is called Via del Quirinale in its lower part, then Via Venti Settembre. On it arc the ^Ministries of War and Finance. South of this street and running parallel with it is the Via Nazionale — the most important street of the modern city. All this handsome new region, in fact, is traversed bj' straight magnificent avenues reaching in all directions. Near its centre are the vast Baths of Diocletian (q.v.), where is located the Santa Maria dcgli Angeli Cliurch. Southwest is the magnificent modern building of the National Gallery of Modern .rt, to the southeast of which stands the .Santa Pudenziana, said to be the oldest church in Kome. In the vicinity rises, in a spacious square, the imposing Santa Maria Maggiore (q.v.). To the south of it lay the gardens of iliecenas, and not far away may be seen remains of the Servian Wall. Quite a distance to the east is the noteworthy pilgrim- age church San Lorenzo fuuri le Mura, rebuilt in 578. Just south of the Maria Maggiore is the very early Santa Prassede. It was last restored in 1860. To the southwest is San Pietro in Vin- eoli, founded in the middle of the fifth century, and containing Michelangelo's celebrated Moses. Among the well-known villas in northeastern Rome the Borghese, with its art collections and beautiful grounds, is justly the most famous. The villa dates from the early part of the seven- teenth century. The grounds are enriched with statues, fountains, miniature temples, etc. The splendid collections include Titian's far-famed "Sacred and Profane Love." That part of the modern city of Rome which lies on the right or western bank of the Tiber may be divided into three parts — the Vatican quarter, otherwise called il Borgo, the Trastevere proper, and the Prati di Castello. The Borgo, or Leonine city, inclosed in a wall of its own. ex- tends between Saint Peter's and Sant' Angelo. Sant' Angelo rises at the north end of the bridge of Sant' Angelo, which crosses the Tiber near the western end of the Campus Martins. The Prati lies to the north, and is a modern quarter, large- ly of a])artment houses, uninteresting and ugly. The circular Castle of Sant' Angelo. as the great Sepulchre of Hadrian is called, is surrounded with ' ramparts, moats, and bastions, mounted with cannon, and is used as the citadel of Rome. It was erected a.d. 136. It is both imposing and picturesqtie. and has for some fifteen centuries been regarded as the fortress of Rome, figuring prominently in all the mediaeval warfare of the city. Its height is 160 feet. When it was in the hands of the popes they connected it with the Vatican by an underground passage. Certain of the apartments are decorated, and the visitor is shown where Cellini and Beatrice Cenci were im- prisoned. On the way to the Vatican stands the fine Giraud Palace, dating from 1503. The district of the Borgo has been more or less closely asso- ciated with Papal history from the beginning of the sixth century, but is not in itself very inter- esting. Immediately to the west, on the shipcs of the Monte Vatieano, loom the vast and magnifi- cent establishments of Saint Peter's and the Vatican. See the articles Saint Peter's Church and Vatican. South of Saint Peter's and along the Tiber and the Janiculum (q.v.) range of hills extends the Trastevere — that distinct district of Rome where the handsome work-people claim direct descent from the ancient Romans. It is connected with the Saint Peter's district by the Via della Lun- gara. which runs close to the river, and by the Strata della JIura along the heights. In the monastery of Sant' Onofrio, in the northern part of the Trastevere. Tasso lived for a time and died. Farther on and near the right is the magnificent