Part 22

"The spirit of the spot shall lead Thy footsteps to a slope of green access."

The cemetery is an open space among the ruins, covered in winter with violets and daisies. "It might make one in love with death, to think that one should be buried in so sweet a place." So wrote Shelley, whose heart is contained in a tomb at the top left-hand corner of the new ground, his body having been burned upon the shore at Lerici, where it was thrown up by the sea. _Passing into the old ground_, "in the romantic and lovely cemetery under the pyramid which is the tomb of Cestius, and the mossy walls and towers, now mouldering and desolate, which formed the circuit of ancient Rome" (Shelley), here, on the right of the entrance, "lies one whose name was writ in water," Keats desiring this to be engraved upon his tomb. A fellow-poet says, "You feel an interest here, a sympathy you were not prepared for; you are yourself in a foreign land, and they are for the most part your countrymen, Englishmen."

_In returning from the Cemetery, nearly opposite the exit, a lane, Via S. Maria, leads up to the_ AVENTINE HILL. The square at the top is decorated with military trophies of the Knights of Malta. _A door on the left leads to_ their Priory; it contains a key-hole;--look through it, 'tis worth your while.

IL PRIORATO.

(_Open Wednesday and Saturday._)

Built upon the site of the Temple of the Bona Dea, and where, according to some accounts, Remus took up his position to consult the flight of birds. On the right in entering is the tomb of Bishop Spinelli, an antique sarcophagus representing Minerva and the Muses. The church contains several tombs of the Knights of Malta, to whom it belonged, and who still exist and hold property in Rome, their encampment being in the Via Condotti; amongst others, there is a tomb erected to Brother Bartholomew Caraffa, Grand Master, died 1450.

_Beyond, on the left, is the_

CHURCH OF S. ALEXIUS,

on the site of the Armilustrum, where the Sabine king, Titus Tatius, was buried. In the left aisle are a well and staircase belonging to the house of S. Alexius's parents, which formerly stood by the side of the church, where, after his return from his pilgrimage, he was allowed to live unrecognized by them. There is a very interesting fresco of S. Alexius's life on the walls of the underground Church of S. Clemente. (See page 228.)

_A little further, on the left, is the_

CHURCH OF S. SABINA,

on the site of the saint's house, and formerly of the Temple of Juno Regina founded by Camillus. The church has been much restored at different times.

In the chapel on the right of the high altar is Sassoferrato's Virgin, with the rosary. The Chapel of S. Catherine, painted by Odazzi, is worthy of note. In the convent garden is an orange-tree planted by S. Dominic.

_Following on the road, we take the first turning to the right; some little way down, on the left, is the_

CHURCH OF S. PRISCA,

supposed to occupy the site of the house, some remains of which can be seen in the crypt, in which she was baptized by S. Peter. Only open on January 18. Supposed to have been formerly the site of the Temple of Diana founded by Servius Tullius.

_Down the hill, and up the opposite one, leads to the_

CHURCH OF S. SABA,

built on the site of the house of Silvia, the mother of Gregory the Great, who used to send every day to her son on the Cœlian a silver basin containing soup. Uninteresting, and only open on the saint's day, December 5.

_At the foot of the hill, on the left corner of the two roads, is the_

CAVE OF AQUEDUCTS,

a large stone quarry, intersected in all directions by aqueducts. Some of them are cut out of the solid tufa, others built in passages cut through the tufa; some are blocked up with mud deposit, others with stalactite; some run for a considerable distance, others being broken in, in extracting the tufa. They present altogether a curious and interesting study.

_Opposite S. Prisca, in the vineyard of Prince Torlonia, are remains of the_

WALL OF THE LATINS,

built by the Latins under Ancus Martius, when he added the Aventine to the city.

The cliff has been scarped to the depth of 60 feet, and a terrace made on the