Part 15

THE EGYPTIAN MUSEUM.

Formed by Gregory XVI. from Egypt, and from Egyptian remains dispersed in the several museums of Rome. It comprises a hall of monuments, hall of the imitations executed by Roman and Greek artists, and several cabinets containing many interesting objects.

_Ascending the stairs we reach, on the right_,

THE HALL OF THE BIGA,

adorned with several beautiful works of ancient art, the principal of which is the Biga or chariot, only the body of which is ancient. The Biga for a long time served as an episcopal throne in the Church of S. Mark in Rome. The torso of the right horse was a gift of Prince Borghese; the additions and restorations are by Franzoni. No. 611, Alcibiades, after Nycerates; 615, Discobolus, after Naukides; 616, Phocion; 618, Discobolus, after Myron. _The long corridor is called_

THE GALLERY OF THE CANDELABRA,

and is divided into six compartments, containing cups, vases, sarcophagi, statues, candelabra, &c. It has recently been restored by Leo XIII., the floors and ceilings being masterpieces of modern art. The most important objects of interest are: 19, a Child Playing at _Capita et Navim_ (heads or tails); 74, Faun Extracting a Thorn from a Satyr's Foot; 81, Diana of Ephesus--her sixteen breasts signify the sixteen cubits at which the Nile overflows; the various half figures of sphinxes, lions, bulls, stags, bees, and flowers are her attributes as the nurse of all things living; the disk ornament refers to the sun; the four seasons, the signs of the zodiac, and a necklace of acorns adorn her neck: the statue was found at Hadrian's Villa. 88, Mercury seated amidst his Symbols; 134_a_, a Well Head; 134_c_, statue of the Sabine God Semoni Sanco, found in 1879 on the slopes of the Quirinal Hill, presented by Leo XIII.; 134_b_, Well Head; 135, seated statuette of Sophocles; 177, an Old Fisherman; 183, Saturn (rare); 184, Personification of Antioch on the Orontes, by Eutychides; 222, a Spartan Virgin Racer, earlier art than that of Phidias; 231, Actor, with mask; 257, Ganymede and the Eagle. _Returning_--269, a Warrior; 194, Child and Swan; 204, sarcophagus representing Diana and Apollo Shooting at the Niobides; 149_a_, Somnus (Sleep); 148, a Faun Carrying the Infant Bacchus; 118_a_, the Eagle carrying off Ganymede, a replica of the bronze original, by Leochares; 112, sarcophagus illustrating the Story of Protesilaus and Laodamia. This should be compared with the relief, No. 269, in the Gallery of Statues. On the sides are the myths of Ixion, Sisiphus, and Tantalus. 52, a Drunken Faun, in green basalt.

THE GALLERY OF TAPESTRIES

contains copies of Raphael's cartoons which are at the South Kensington Museum: they were woven in Flanders by order of Leo X. to adorn the Sixtine Chapel. _Right side going down._ Our Saviour giving the Keys to Peter--_the border_ represents the Medici fleeing from Florence; Peter healing the Man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple--_border_, Cardinal Medici at the Battle of Ravenna; Conversion of Saul--_border_, the Taking of Prato in 1512; in three pieces, Slaughter of the Innocents; The Resurrection; Stoning of Stephen--_border_, Cardinal Medici entering Florence, allegorical of the Papal power; the Earthquake during Paul's imprisonment at Philippi. _Right in returning._ Descent of the Holy Ghost; Adoration of the Wise Men; Our Lord's Ascension; Adoration of the Shepherds; The Presentation in the Temple; Christ as the Gardener; Scenes from our Lord's Passion; _small_, Paul on Mars' Hill--_border_, Scenes from the Acts; Paul and Barnabas at Lystra--_border_, Scenes from the Life of Paul; Miraculous Draught of Fishes; Death of Ananias--_border_, Faith, Hope, and Charity.

_Retracing our way through the Gallery of the Candelabra, a small flight of steps at the end leads to a balcony where there is a good view of the lower halls. On the right is the entrance to_

THE ETRUSCAN MUSEUM,

which contains various works of art brought from the ancient towns of Etruria and Magna Græcia. These works are generally mixed up in the Roman museums.

FIRST ROOM.--Three terra-cotta sarcophagi, with reclining figures on the covers; two horses' heads in tufa from Vulci.

SECOND ROOM.--Cinerary urns from Volterra, in Volterra alabaster.

THIRD ROOM.--A large peperino sarcophagus, found at Corneto, the ancient Tarquinii: an Etruscan king-priest, _Lucumo_, reclines upon it, and on its sides are Greek myths. A travertine slab, with a Latin and Umbrian inscription, from Todi; frieze of terra-cotta from Cervetri. In the corners of the room cinerary urns, found beneath a volcanic stratum between Albano and Marino: they are in the form of huts, and still contain ashes.

FOURTH ROOM.--A Roman Mercury in terra-cotta, found at Tivoli; a wounded youth reclining on a couch, generally called Adonis.

FIFTH, SIXTH, SEVENTH, and EIGHTH ROOMS contain terra-cotta vases, glass beads, and ornaments.

NINTH ROOM (_entered from Sixth Room_).--Hall of bronzes and jewellery; a bronze statue of a warrior, found at Todi in 1835; shields, arrows, helmets, spurs, mirrors, &c.; a funeral bier from Cære; a bronze child with a bulla, supposed to represent Tages, the boy-god who sprang from a clod of earth at Tarquinii; a Roman war-chariot, found at the Villa of the Quintilii on the Appian Way; bronze toilet-cases (_cista mistica_); brazier with tongs on wheels; a rake with a hand for its handle; shovel--two swans bearing a boy and a girl form the handle. _In the centre of the hall_, Jewel-case of objects found in the tomb of _Mi Larthial_ ("I, the great lady") and of an Etruscan priest at Cervetri (Cære), from which town and its customs we get the word "ceremony."

TENTH ROOM.--Bronze figure of a boy; and Roman lead pipes.

ELEVENTH ROOM.--Copies of the frescoes found in the tombs at Vulci and Tarquinii; Etruscan vases.

TWELFTH ROOM.--Imitation Tomb, with genuine peperino lions.

THE INQUISITION.

Returning from the Museum, on reaching the colonnade of S. Peter's, _turn off to the right_, through the middle of the colonnade. Opposite is the Palazzo del S. Uffizio,--the Inquisition, which was established here in 1536, and abolished by the Roman Republic in 1849. It is now used as a barrack, and the Inquisition holds its meetings in the Vatican.

Passing at the back of the columns into the Borgo S. Michaele, and _turning to the right_, we enter the Borgo S. Spirito. _On the left_ is the fine tower of the Church of S. Michaele in Sassia, in which Raphael Mengs is buried. This name, Sassia, commemorates the Saxon settlement founded in 727, and the word "borgo" comes from the Saxon "burgh." _Beyond is_

THE PORTA S. SPIRITO,

a massive gateway built by San Gallo in the walls erected by Leo IV. round S. Peter's and the Vatican, whence the district inside is called the Leonine City. _Outside the gate a steep ascent leads up to_

S. ONOFRIO--TASSO'S TOMB.

This convent is for ever memorable in the history of Italian literature as the place where Tasso died. The adjoining church, called Girolmini, or Brothers of S. Jerome, built for the use of the monks, was erected in 1429 A.D., during the reign of Eugene IV. Tasso, summoned to the Capitol to be crowned there as king of bards, died in 1595, a short time after his arrival in Rome. He was buried in the church without much ceremony, and his remains lay undisturbed in a simple tomb on the left of the entrance until the year 1857, when they were transferred to a chapel in the church expressly built for their reception at the public expense. A fine statue of the poet by Fabris is shown. In the convent garden is a tree called Tasso's Oak, under which the author of "Jerusalem Delivered" used to sit in pious meditation. The view of Rome and of the Sabine and Alban Hills, with Soracte in the distance, is magnificent. The fresco of the Virgin and Child over the door of the church, and three paintings under the portico illustrating the life of S. Jerome, are the work of Domenichino. In the convent is a Virgin and Child by Leonardo da Vinci; and in the same building are preserved several relics of Tasso, in the room where he died--his crucifix, his inkstand, and the leaden coffin in which his bones reposed for two hundred and sixty-two years--namely, till the time of his second burial. Two other distinguished men were buried in S. Onofrio--Guidi, the poet, and Cardinal Mezzofanti, the famous linguist.

_At the bottom of the ascent, turn to the right, down the Via Lungara. Some little distance down on the right is the_

PALAZZO DEI LINCEI.

(_Formerly Corsini._)

_Open Monday, Thursday, and Saturday, from 9 to 3._

As this palace, now the home of the Academy of the Lincei, is again open to the public, and as the paintings were generously presented by Prince Corsini to the city of Rome, it may be of advantage to visitors in Rome if we enumerate the paintings most worth inspection. At the same time we would inform our readers that there are full catalogues, on cards, in Italian and French in each room.

FIRST ROOM.--_In glass case on stand at window_, Birth of Christ, by Batoni; 6, Sacred Family, by Barocci; 23, S. Catherine of Sienna, by Zobole.

SECOND ROOM.--_In glass case on stand at first window_, Mater Dolorosa, by Guido Reni. _In second window_, Madonna and Infant Jesus, by Carlo Dolci; 11 and 27, Fruit, by Mario di Fiori; 15, a Landscape, by Poussin; 20, Pietà, by Caracci; 41, Andrea Corsini, by Gessi, copied in mosaic in the Corsini Chapel in S. John's Lateran.

THIRD ROOM.--89, Ecce Homo, by Guido Reni; 1, Ecce Homo, by Guercino; 9, Madonna, by Sarto; 10, Birth of the Virgin, by Caracci; 15, Madonna, by Sarto; 17, Madonna, by Caravaggio; 21, Virgin and Child, by Vandyck; 22, The Players, by Rubens; 23, Sunset, by Botti; 26, Sacred Family, by Fra Bartolomeo; 27, Peter Paying the Tribute Money, by Caravaggio; 33, Flight into Egypt, by Perugino; 36, Holy Family, by Garofalo; 40, The Sleep of Jacob, by Massow; 44, Julius II., by Raphael; 45, Birth of the Virgin, by Berettini of Cortone. _Under glass in last window_, a Hare, by Albert Durer; 55, Butcher's Shop, by Teniers; 82, John the Baptist, by Carlo Maratta; 88, Ecce Homo, by Carlo Dolci.

FOURTH ROOM.--_In the centre_, an ancient marble chair, with low reliefs, found at the Lateran. 1, Ancient mosaic, a Man Binding Bulls; 4, Cupid Asleep, by Guido; 11, The Daughter of Herodias, by Guido; 16, Madonna, by Guido; 20, The Baptist, by Guercino; 31, Peter and Agata, by Lanfranco; 33, Death of S. Stephen, by Domenichino; 40, Faustina Maratta, by Carlo Maratta; 41, the Fornarina, by Giulio Romano, after Raphael; 42, an Old Man, by Guido; 43, Holy Family, by Carlo Maratta; 45, Magdalen, by Carlo Dolci.

FIFTH ROOM.--8, The Annunciation, by Michael Angelo--one of his few easel pictures; 12, S. Agnese, by Carlo Dolci; 16, The Sacred Family, by Schidone; 21, Madonna, by Carlo Maratta; 22, Marriage of S. Caterina, by Domenichino; 24, Christ at the Well, by Guercino; 26, Madonna, by Sassoferrato; 29, Madonna and Infant, by Guercino; 32-40, Annunciation, by Guercino; 34, The Forum Romanum, by Pannini; 38, Ecce Homo, by Guido; 39, S. John, by Guido.

SIXTH ROOM.--21, The Children of Charles V., by Titian; 22, a Woman, by Rembrandt; 37, Mrs. Martin Luther, by Holbein; 31, Martin Luther, by Holbein; 47, Rubens's Portrait, by himself; 50, Cardinal Farnese, by Titian.

SEVENTH ROOM.--11, Landscape, by Poussin; 15, S. Sebastian, by Rubens; 19-27, Annunciation, by Carlo Maratta; 21, The Dispute, by Giordano; 23, 24, Last Judgment and Ascension, by Fra Angelico; 30, "Let him who is without sin cast the first stone," by Titian; 42, Magdalen, by Franceschini.

EIGHTH ROOM.--2, Sacred Family, by Francia; 8, Christ before Pilate, by Vandyck; 9, The Baptist, by Caravaggio; 12, St. George and the Dragon, by Grandi; 13, Contemplation, by Guido; 15, Landscape, by Poussin; 16, a Sea Piece, by Salvator Rosa; 18, Susanna, by Domenichino; 19, Seneca Dying in the Bath, by Caravaggio; 24, S. Jerome, by Guercino; 29, Christ in the Garden, by Correggio; 32, Peter Raising Tabitha, by Placide Costanzi, copied in mosaic in S. Peter's; 37, Woman and Child, by Murillo.

NINTH ROOM.--2, Village Interior, by Teniers; 9, Triumph of Ovid, by Velasquez; 10, an Old Man Reading, by Guido; 12, Prometheus, by Salvator Rosa; 58, Death of S. Joseph, by Giuseppe del Sole. _Opposite is_

THE FARNESINA PALACE.

_Open on the 1st and 15th of the month._

It contains the famous frescoes of Raphael. On the ceiling of the first room that of the fable of Cupid and Psyche, designed by Raphael, and painted by Giulio Romano. This charming fable is described by Kugler in his "Handbook on the Italian Painters."

_Commencing on the left_, the first is Venus ordering Cupid to punish Psyche; second, Cupid showing Psyche to the Three Graces; third, Juno and Ceres pleading for Psyche; fourth, Venus in her Car going to claim the interference of Jupiter; fifth, Venus pleading before Jupiter; sixth, Mercury flying to execute the Order of Jupiter; seventh, Psyche with the Vase of Beauty-Paint given by Proserpine to appease Venus; eighth, Psyche giving the Vase to Venus; ninth, Cupid complaining to Jupiter; tenth, Mercury taking Psyche to Olympus. _On the vault_, Council of the Gods, by Giulio Romano; Banquet of the Gods, on the Marriage of Cupid, by Francesco Penni. _On the wall of the second room_, Raphael's Galatea; on the ceiling, Diana in her Car drawn by Oxen, by Peruzzi, and the fable of Medusa, by D. Volterra. The landscapes are by Poussin.

On the opposite side of the street, just beyond the Corsini Palace entrance, in the Vicolo Stalle d'Corsini, is the

TORLONIA MUSEUM.

(_Museo Torlonia._)

_Permission must be obtained from Prince Torlonia. Written application should be made to the prince at his palace in the Piazza di Venezia._

A full catalogue of the Torlonia Museum has been written and printed by Signor P. E. Visconti. Copies are lent for the use of visitors. This grand collection of sculptures has been in course of formation by Prince Torlonia during many years. Some of the objects were found on his own property, others have been purchased by him, and many of the most valuable works formerly belonged to the Mosca, Cambral, Giustiniani, Ruspoli, and Randanini collections. As containing works of art, it ranks next to the Vatican collection, and is the finest private gallery in the world.

Amongst so many valuable and beautiful works of art it is almost impossible to say what the casual observer should more particularly notice. A day may be well and profitably spent amongst this admirable collection. The lover of art will gain every information from Visconti's excellent catalogue, whilst ordinary visitors can stroll through and consult it for those objects which strike them most. Venuses, the Muses, gods and goddesses, heroes and tales of mythology, the emperors and their wives,--all are amply illustrated here. Many of the objects are unique, and as there is such a good printed catalogue lent, it is unnecessary for us to enumerate the different objects.

_Continuing down the Via Lungara, at a short distance is_

THE PORTA SETTIMIANA,

said to have been an archway leading into a villa of Septimius Severus. It was incorporated by Aurelian into the line of his walls, and fortified by Honorius. Passing under the arch, the VIA GARIBALDI _on the right_ leads to the garden-crowned height of

S. PIETRO IN MONTORIO,

which commands a magnificent view of Rome, its surroundings, and the windings of the Tiber. The church was erected by Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, and is still under the protection of the crowned head of Spain. In the court of the monastery is a small temple formed of sixteen Doric columns, said to be erected over the spot where the cross on which S. Peter was executed stood. Raphael's Transfiguration was painted for this church, whence it was taken by the French to adorn the Louvre. On its restoration to the Papal authorities it was placed in the Vatican. The tomb of Beatrice Cenci is to our left of the high altar, but no name is recorded on the stone. The new Spanish Academy adjoins the church.

MARTIAL'S VILLA.

The Government has recently acquired and thrown open to the public these grounds, known as the Corsini Villa, which for its view is one of the most charming sites in Europe, formerly the villa of Julius Martialis described by his nephew ("Ep." iv. 64):--

"The few acres of Julius Martial, More blest than the Hesperides' gardens, Lie on the long ridge of the Janiculum.

* * * * *

It is possible hence to see the seven ruling mounts,[8] And to estimate all Rome,-- The Alban hills, and those of Tusculum; And whatsoever cool shade lies under the city; Old Fidenæ,[9] and little Ruba;[10] And, that which delights in virgins' blood, The apple-bearing grove of Anna Perenna.[11] From thence, on the Flaminian and Salarian ways,[12] The rider is manifest, his chariot-wheels being silent, Whose gentle sleep may not be molested, Neither to break it by nautical shouts, Nor the clamour of the vigorous bargee, Although the Mulvian bridge[13] may be so near, And keels glide swiftly on the Sacred Tiber."

THE JANICULUM.

The long narrow ridge which commands Rome on its western side took its name from Janus (Virgil, "Æn." vii. 358), but, although fortified by Ancus Martius, was not reckoned in the city. It was sometimes called Mons Aureus, from the golden colour of its sandy soil. From the fort on the summit a flag flying denoted that all was well; but if the flag was hauled down, the enemy were in view. It was this fort that Lars Porsena seized when Horatius defended the bridge below.

[Illustration: THE PAULINE FOUNTAIN.]

_Above the church of S. Pietro in Montorio is_

THE PAULINE FOUNTAIN,

(_Fontana Paolina_,)

supplied by the ancient Aqua Trajana, which has its source in the Lago di Bracciano, thirty-five miles from Rome. The fountain was built out of the remains of the Temple of Minerva which stood in the Forum of Domitian. _The road through the_ PORTA S. PANCRAZIO _leads to the_

VILLA PAMPHILI DORIA.

_Open on Monday and Friday afternoons; one-horse carriages not admitted._

The villa--the most extensive and delightful of the Roman villas, abounding in avenues and woods, fountains and cascades--is situated on the summit of the Janiculum, it is supposed upon the site of a villa of Galba. From the ilex-fringed terrace there is one of the best views of S. Peter's; a lake supporting swans; a temple to the slain amongst the besiegers of Rome in 1849--all of which must be seen to be appreciated. "Galba was buried in his gardens, which are situated on the Aurelian Way, not far from the city" (Eutropius, vii. 16).

_Re-entering the city, and descending the hill by the new road, thence by the Via delle Fratte, we reach the_

CHURCH OF S. CECILIA,

originally the house of the saint. To the right, on entering, is the tomb of Adam Hereford, Bishop of London, who died in 1398. The second chapel on the right is said to have been the bath-room, and pipes may still be seen in the wall. Beneath the high altar is the statue of S. Cecilia, representing her body as found in the Catacombs of S. Calixtus, "not lying upon the back, like a body in a tomb, but upon its right side, like a virgin in her bed, with her knees modestly drawn together, and offering the appearance of sleep." A golden circlet conceals the wound in her throat that caused her death. The inscription is as follows: "Behold the body of the most holy virgin Cecilia, whom I myself saw lying incorrupt in her tomb. I have in this marble expressed for thee the same saint in the very same posture of body.--Stefano Maderno." Thus, when Cardinal Sfondrati restored the church, in 1599, was the body found in her tomb just as it had been deposited there eight hundred years before, after being found in the Catacombs by Paschal I. (See page 290.)

_By the Via de Vascellari and Via Lungaretta we reach the_

CHURCH OF S. CHRISOGONO.

Founded by Pope Sylvester, and rebuilt 1623. It has a fine old _opus Alexandrinum_ pavement, and the aisles are formed by twenty-two columns, two in porphyry supporting the arch. A mosaic in the tribune represents the Madonna and Child enthroned between SS. James and Chrisogono. The ceiling was painted by Arpino. _On the left of the piazza is the small street_, MONTE DI FIORE, _in which is the_

STAZIONE VII COHORTI DEI VIGILI

(Roman firemen), remodelled and formed into seven watches by Augustus. The building was discovered in 1866. _The custodian conducts the visitor over, fee half a franc._ Descending the stairs we enter a mosaic paved courtyard, with a well in the centre, and on the right a small altar with mural paintings. There are several other chambers, and a bath, with numerous inscriptions on the walls scratched by the firemen during their idle moments.

_Going down the_ VIA LUNGARETTA, _we enter the_ PIAZZA OF S. MARIA, in which are a fine fountain and the

CHURCH OF S. MARIA.

The façade is covered with mosaics representing the Virgin and Child enthroned, surrounded by ten virgins, and on either side the figure of a bishop (Innocent II. and Eugenius III.); above this are palms, the twelve sheep, and the mystic cities, and our Lord enthroned between angels. The interior contains twenty-two columns. The Assumption, on the ceiling, is by Domenichino. Beneath the high altar are the remains of five early popes. In the upper part of the tribune are mosaics of the Saviour and a female figure (representing the Church, the bride of Christ, and not the Virgin, as is generally said) seated on thrones; beneath are lambs, and representations from the life of the Virgin.

_Leaving the church, and going down the_ VIA DELLA SCALA, _hence turning to the right into the Via di Ponte Sisto_, the house on the left, a baker's shop, with Gothic upper windows, was the HOUSE OF RAPHAEL'S FORNARINA. RAPHAEL'S HOUSE was at No. 124 Via dei Coronari, near the S. Angelo Bridge. _A short distance, and we reach_

THE PONTE SISTO.

The present bridge was built by Pope Sixtus IV., who laid the foundation stone, April 29, 1473, on the site of an older bridge which was destroyed in the flood of A.D. 792, it having been built by Symmachus, prefect of Rome under Valentinian (A.D. 365), "under whose government the most sacred city enjoyed peace and plenty in an unusual degree; being also adorned with a magnificent and solid bridge which he constructed, and opened amid the great joy of his ungrateful fellow-citizens" (Ammianus Marcellinus, xxvii. iii. 3). In 1878, in making the new embankment for the Tiber, the remains of the left arch were found at the bottom of the river, upon which was part of the inscription, one foot seven inches high--VALENTINIAN. Pedestals which formed part of the decorations were also found, and part of an inscription--VALENTINIANI AU COSTI. At the Campus Martius end was a triumphal arch dedicated to Valens and Valentiniani--

DEDICANDI . OPERIS . HONORE . DELATO . INDICIO . PRINCIPUM . MAXIMORUM . LUCIO . AURELIO . AVIANIO . SYMMACHO . VIRO . CLARISSIMO . EX . PREFECTIS . URBI.

Remains of a bronze statue were also found.

The Via Giulia, _on the left_, and the Via Mascherone, _on the right, lead to_

THE FARNESE PALACE.