"Luciani hastened to the pope with the news that Beatrice had confessed. Clement VIII. was seized with one of those fits of anger to which he was subject, and exclaimed--'Let them all be immediately bound to the tails of wild horses, and dragged through the streets until life is extinct.' The horror evinced by all classes at this sentence induced him to grant a respite of twenty-five days, at the end of which a trial took place, and the advocate Farinacci boldly pleaded the defence of the prisoners. But while their fate was hanging in the balance, the Marchesa Santa-Croce was murdered by her own son, which caused Clement to order the immediate execution of the whole Cenci family, and the entreaties of their friends only induced him to spare the life of Bernardo, with the horrible proviso that he was to remain upon the scaffold and witness the execution of his relations.

" ... During the fearful and protracted transit to the scaffold, it was the custom of the satellites of the inquisition, at regular intervals, to tear from the body pieces of flesh with heated pincers, but in this instance the pope dispensed with this torture, but ordered that Giacomo should be beaten to death and then quartered. As the procession passed the piazza of the Palazzo Cenci, Giacomo, who had appeared resigned, became dreadfully agitated, and uttered heart-rending cries of, 'My children! my children!' The people shouted, 'Dogs, give him his children!' The procession was proceeding, when the multitude assumed such a threatening aspect, that two of the Compagnia dei Confortati thought themselves authorised to pause, the unhappy man imploring them in accents of despair, to suffer him once more to behold his children. The crowd became pacified on seeing Giacomo descend from the cart and conducted to the vestibule of his palace, where they brought to him his children and his wife. The latter fainted on the last step.

"The scene that followed was the most affecting and painful that the imagination can picture. His three children clung around his legs, uttering cries that rent the hearts of all present The unhappy man embraced them, telling them that in Bernardo they would find a father; then, fixing his eyes on his unconscious wife, he said, 'Let us go!' Reascending the cart, the procession stopped before the prison of the Corte Savella.

"Here Beatrice and Lucrezia appeared before the gates, conducted by the Confortati. They knelt down and prayed for some time before the crucifix, and then walked on foot behind the carriage. Lucrezia wore a robe of black, and a long black veil covered her head and shoulders; Beatrice in a dark robe and veil, a handkerchief of cloth of silver on her head, and slippers of white velvet, ornamented with crimson sandals and rosettes, followed.... Twice during the passage, an attempt was made to rescue Beatrice, but each failed, and she reached the chapel, where all the condemned were to receive the blessing of the Sacrament before execution.

"The first brought out to ascend the scaffold was Bernardo, who, according to the conditions of his reprieve, was to witness the death of his relatives. The poor boy, before he had reached the summit, fell down in a swoon, and was obliged to be supported to his seat of torture. Preceded by the standard and the brethren of the Misericordia, the executioner next entered the chapel to convey Lucrezia. Binding her hands behind her back, and removing the veil that covered her head and shoulders, he led her to the foot of the scaffold. Here she stopped, prayed devoutly, kissed the crucifix, and taking off her shoes, mounted the ladder barefoot. From confusion and terror, she with difficulty ascended, crying out, 'Oh, my God! oh, holy brethren, pray for my soul, oh, God, pardon me!' The principal executioner beckoned to her to place herself on the block; the unhappy woman, from her unwieldy figure, being unable to do so, some violence was used, the executioner raised his axe, and with one stroke severed the head from the body! Catching it by the hair, he exposed it, still quivering, to the gaze of the populace; then wrapping it in the veil, he laid it on a bier in the corner of the scaffold, the body falling into a coffin placed underneath. The violence used towards the sufferer had so excited the multitude, that a universal uproar commenced. Forty young men rushed forward to the chapel to rescue Beatrice, but were again defeated, after a short struggle....

"Meanwhile Beatrice, kneeling in the chapel absorbed in prayer, heeded not the uproar that surrounded her. She rose, as the standard appeared to precede her to the block, and with eagerness demanded, 'Is my mother then really dead?'--Answered in the affirmative, she prayed with fervour; then raising her voice, she said, 'Lord, thou hast called me, and I obey the summons willingly, as I hope for mercy!' Approaching her brother, she bade him farewell, and with a smile of love, said, 'Grieve not for me.

We shall be happy in heaven, I have forgiven thee.' Giacomo fainted; his sister, turning round, said, 'Let us proceed!' The executioner appeared with a cord, but seemed afraid to fasten it round her body. She saw this, and with a sad smile said, 'Bind this body; but hasten to release the soul, which pants for immortality!'

"Scarcely had the victim arrived at the foot of the scaffold, when the square, filled with that vast multitude before so uproarious, suddenly assumed the silence of a desert. Each one bent forward to hear her speak; with every eye riveted on her, and lips apart, it seemed as if their very existence depended on any words she might utter. Beatrice ascended the stairs with a slow but firm step. In a moment she placed herself on the block, which had caused so much fear to Lucrezia. She did not allow the executioner to remove the veil, but laid it herself upon the table. In this dreadful situation she remained a few minutes, a universal cry of horror staying the arm of the executioner. But soon the head of his victim was held up separated from the trunk, which was violently agitated for a few seconds. The miserable Bernardo Cenci, forced to witness the fate of his sister, again swooned away; nor could he be restored to his senses for more than half an hour.

"Meanwhile the scaffold was made ready for the dreadful punishment destined for Giacomo. Having performed some religious ceremonies, he appeared dressed in a cloak and cap. Turning towards the people, he said in a clear voice, 'Although in the agonies of torture I accused my sister and brother of sharing in the crime for which I suffer, I accused them falsely. Now that I am about to render an account of my actions to God, I solemnly assert their entire innocence. Farewell, my friends. Oh, pray to God for me.'

"Saying these words, he knelt down; the executioner bound his legs to the block and bandaged his eyes. To particularise the details of this execution would be too dreadful; suffice it to say, he was beaten, beheaded, and quartered in the sight of that vast multitude, and by the side of a brother, who was sprinkled with his blood. All was now over.

"..... Near the statue of St. Paul, according to custom, were placed three biers, each with four lighted torches. In these were laid the bodies of the victims. A crown of flowers had been placed around the head of Beatrice, who seemed as though in sleep, so calm, so peaceful was that placid face, while a smile such as she wore in life still hovered on her lips. Many a tear was shed over that bier, many a flower was scattered around her, whose fate all mourned--whose innocence none questioned.

"On that night the bodies were interred. The corpse of Beatrice, clad in the dress she wore on the scaffold, was borne, covered with garlands of flowers, to the church of San Pietro in Montorio; and buried at the foot of the high altar, before Raffaelle's celebrated picture of the Transfiguration."[97]

Retracing our steps to the Piazza della Giudecca and turning left down a narrow alley, which is always busy with Jewish traffic, we reach the _Piazza delle Tartarughe_, so called from the tortoises which form part of the adornments of its lovely little fountain,--designed by Giacomo della Porta, the four figures of boys being by Taddeo Landini.

At this point we leave the Ghetto.

Forming one side of the Piazza delle Tartarughe is the _Palazzo Costaguti_, celebrated for its six splendid ceilings by great artists, viz.:--

1. _Albani_: Hercules wounding the Centaur Nessus.

2. _Domenichino_: Apollo in his car, Time discovering truth, &c., much injured.

3. _Guercino_: _Rinaldo_ and _Armida_ in a chariot drawn by dragons.

4. _Cav. d'Arpino_: Juno nursing Hercules, Venus and Cupids.

5. _Lanfranco_: Justice and Peace.

6. _Romanelli_: Arion saved by the dolphin.

In a corner of the piazza, is a well-known _Lace-Shop_, much frequented by English ladies, but great powers of bargaining are called for. Almost immediately behind this is one of the most picturesque mediaeval courtyards in the city.

On the same line, at the end of the street, is the _Palazzo Mattei_, built by Carlo Maderno (1615) for Duke Asdrubal Mattei, on the site of the Circus of Flaminius. The small courtyard of this palace is well worth examining, and is one of the handsomest in Rome, being quite encrusted, as well as the staircase, with ancient bas-reliefs, busts, and other sculptures. It contained a gallery of pictures, the greater part of which have been dispersed. The rooms have frescoes by _Pomerancio_, _Lanfranco_, _Pietro da Cortona_, _Domenichino_, and _Albani_.

Behind this, facing the Via delle Botteghe Oscure, is the vast _Palazzo Caetani_, now inhabited by the learned Don Michael-Angelo Caetani (Duke of Sermoneta and Prince of Teano), whose family is one of the most distinguished in the mediaeval history of Rome, and which gave Boniface VIII. to the church:

"Lo principe de' nuovi farisei."

_Dante, Inferno,_ xxvii.

It claims descent from Anatolius, created Count of Gaieta by Pope Gregory II. in 730.

Close to the Palazzo Mattei is the _Church of Sta. Caterina de' Funari_, built by Giacomo della Porta, in 1563, adjoining a convent of Augustinian nuns. The streets in this quarter are interesting as bearing witness in their names to the existence of the Circus Flaminius, the especial circus of the plebs, which once occupied all the ground near this. The _Via delle Botteghe Oscure_, commemorates the dark shops which in mediaeval times occupied the lower part of the circus, as they do now that of the Theatre of Marcellus. The Via dei Funari, the ropemakers who took advantage for their work of the light and open space which the interior of the deserted circus afforded. The remains of the circus existed to the sixteenth century.

Near this, turning right, is the _Piazza di Campitelli_, which contains the _Church of S. Maria in Campitelli_, built by Rinaldi for Alexander VII. in 1659, upon the site of an oratory erected by Sta. Galla in the time of John I. (523-6), in honour of an image of the Virgin, which one day miraculously appeared imploring her charity, in company with the twelve poor women to whom she was daily in the habit of giving alms. The oratory of Sta. Galla was called Sta. Maria in Portico, from the neighbouring portico of Octavia, a name which is sometimes applied to the present church. The miraculous mendicant image is now enshrined in gold and lapis-lazuli over the high altar. Other relics supposed to be preserved here are the bodies of Sta. Cyrica, Sta. Victoria, and Sta.

Vincenza, and half that of Sta. Barbara! The second chapel on the right has a picture of the Descent of the Holy Ghost by _Luca Giordano_; in the first chapel on the left is the tomb of Prince Altieri, inscribed "Umbra," and that of his wife, Donna Laura di Carpegna, inscribed "Nihil;" they rest on lions of rosso-antico. In the right transept is the tomb, by _Pettrich_, of Cardinal Pacca, who lived in the Palazzo Pacca, on the opposite side of the square, and was the faithful friend of Pius VII. in his exile. The bas-relief on the tomb, of St. Peter delivered by the angel, is in allusion to the deliverance from the French captivity.

The name Campitelli is probably derived from Campusteli, because in this neighbourhood (see Ch. XIV.) was the Columna Bellica, from which when war was declared a dart was thrown into a plot of ground, representing the hostile territory,--perhaps the very site of this church.

In the street behind this, leading into the Via di Ara Cli, are the remains of the ancient _Palazzo Margana_, with a very richly-sculptured gateway of _c._ 1350.

Opening from hence upon the left is the _Via Tor de' Specchi_, whose name commemorates the legend of Virgil as a necromancer, and of his magic tower lined with mirrors, in which all the secrets of the city were reflected and brought to light.

Here is the famous _Convent of the Tor de' Specchi_, founded by Sta.

Francesca Romana, and open to the public during the octave of the anniversary of her death (following the 9th of March). At this time the pavements are strewn with box, the halls and galleries are bright with fresh flowers, and Swiss guards are posted at the different turnings, to facilitate the circulation of visitors. It is a beautiful specimen of a Roman convent. The first hall is painted with ancient frescoes, representing scenes in the life of the saint. Here, on a table, is the large bowl in which Sta. Francesca prepared ointment for the poor. Other relics are her veil, shoes, &c. Passing a number of open cloisters, cheerful with flowers and orange-trees, we reach the chapel, where sermons or rather lectures are delivered at the anniversary upon the story of Sta. Francesca's life, and where her embalmed body may be seen beneath the altar. A staircase seldom seen, but especially used by Francesca, is only ascended by the nuns upon their knees. It leads to her cell and a small chapel, black with age, and preserved as when she used them. The picturesque dress of the Oblate sisters who are everywhere visible, adds to the interest of the scene.

"It is no gloomy abode, the Convent of the Tor di Specchi, even in the eyes of those who cannot understand the happiness of a nun. It is such a place as one loves to see children in; where religion is combined with everything that pleases the eye and recreates the mind. The beautiful chapel; the garden with its magnificent orange-trees; the open galleries, with their fanciful decorations and scenic recesses, where a holy picture or figure takes you by surprise, and meets you at every turn; the light airy rooms, where religious prints and ornaments, with flowers, birds, and ingenious toys, testify that innocent enjoyments are encouraged and smiled upon; while from every window may be caught a glimpse of the Eternal City, a spire, a ruined wall,--something that speaks of Rome and its thousand charms.

"It was on the 21st of March, the festival of St. Benedict, that Francesca herself entered the convent, not as the foundress, but as a humble suppliant for admission. At the foot of the stairs, having taken off her customary black gown, her veil, and her shoes, and placed a cord around her neck, she knelt down, kissed the ground, and, shedding an abundance of tears, made her general confession aloud in the presence of all the Oblates; she described herself as a miserable sinner, a grievous offender against God, and asked permission to dwell amongst them as the meanest of their servants; and to learn from them to amend her life, and enter upon a holier course. The spiritual daughters of Francesca hastened to raise and embrace her; and clothing her with their habit, they led the way to the chapel, where they all returned thanks to God. While she remained there in prayer, Agnese de Lellis, the superioress, assembled the sisters in the chapter-room, and declared to them, that now their true mother and foundress had come amongst them, it would be absurd for her to remain in her present office; that Francesca was their guide, their head, and that into her hands she should instantly resign her authority. They all applauded her decision, and gathering around the Saint, announced to her their wishes. As was to be expected, Francesca strenuously refused to accede to this proposal, and pleaded her inability for the duties of a superioress. The Oblates had recourse to Don Giovanni, the confessor of Francesca, who began by entreating, and finally commanded her acceptance of the charge. His order she never resisted; and accordingly, on the 25th of March, she was duly elected to that office."--_Lady Georgina Fullerton's Life of Sta.

Francesca Romana._

"Sta. Francesca Romana is represented in the dress of a Benedictine nun, a black robe and a white hood or veil; and her proper attribute is an angel, who holds in his hand the book of the Office of the Virgin, open at the words, '_Tenuisti manum dexteram meam, et in voluntate tua deduxisti me, et cum gloria suscepisti me_'

(Ps. lxxiii. 23, 24); which attribute is derived from an incident thus narrated in the acts of her canonisation. Though unwearied in her devotions, yet if, during her prayers, she was called away by her husband on any domestic duty, she would close her book, saying that 'a wife and a mother, when called upon, must quit her God at the altar, and find him in her household affairs.' Now it happened once, that, in reciting the Office of Our Lady, she was called away four times just as she was beginning the same verse, and, returning the fifth time, she found that verse written upon the page in letters of golden light by the hand of her guardian angel."--_Jameson's Sacred Art_, p. 151.

Almost opposite the convent is the Via del Monte Tarpeio, a narrow alley, leading up to the foot of the Tarpeian rock, beneath the Palazzo Caffarelli, and one of the points at which the rock is best seen. This spot is believed to have been the site of the house of Spurius Maelius, who tried to ingratiate himself with the people, by buying up corn and distributing it in a year of scarcity (B.C. 440), but who was in consequence put to death by the patricians. His house was razed to the ground, and its site, being always kept vacant, went by the name of aequimaelium.[98]

CHAPTER VI.

THE PALATINE.

The Story of the Hill--Orti Farnesiani--The Via Nova--Roma Quadrata--The Houses of the early Kings--Temple of Jupiter Stator--Palace of Augustus--Palace of Vespasian--Crypto-Porticus--Temple of Jupiter-Victor--The Lupercal and the Hut of Faustulus--Palace of Tiberius--Palace of Caligula--Clivus Victoriae--Ruins of the Kingly Period--Altar of the Genius Loci--House of Hortensius--Septizonium of Severus--Palace of Domitian.

"The Palatine formed a trapezium of solid rock, two sides of which were about 300 yards in length, the others about 400: the area of its summit, to compare it with a familiar object, was nearly equal to the space between Pall-Mall and Piccadilly in London."[99]

The history of the Palatine is the history of the City of Rome. Here was the Roma Quadrata, the "oppidum," or fortress of the Pelasgi, of which the only remaining trace is the name Roma, signifying force. This is the fortress where the shepherd-king Evander is represented by Virgil as welcoming aeneas.

The Pelasgic fortress was enclosed by Romulus within the limits of this new city, which, "after the Etruscan fashion, he traced round the foot of the hill with a plough drawn by a bull and a heifer, the furrow being carefully made to fall inwards, and the heifer yoked to the near-side, to signify that strength and courage were required without, obedience and fertility within the city.... The locality thus enclosed was reserved for the temples of the gods and the residence of the ruling class, the class of patricians or burghers, as Niebuhr has taught us to entitle them, which predominated over the dependent commons, and only suffered them to crouch for security under the walls of Romulus. The Palatine was never occupied by the plebs. In the last age of the republic, long after the removal of this partition, or of the civil distinction between the great classes of the state, here was still the chosen site of the mansions of the highest nobility."[100]

In the time of the early kings the City of Rome was represented by the Palatine only. It was at first divided into two parts, one inhabited, and the other called Velia, and left for the grazing of cattle. It had two gates, the Porta Romana to the north, and the Porta Mugonia--so called from the lowing of the cattle--to the south, on the side of the Velia.

Augustus was born on the Palatine, and dwelt there in common with other patrician citizens in his youth. After he became emperor he still lived there, but simply, and in the house of Hortensius, till, on its destruction by fire, the people of Rome insisted upon building him a palace more worthy of their ruler. This building was the foundation-stone of "the Palace of the Caesars," which in time overran the whole hill, and, under Nero, two of the neighbouring hills besides, and whose ruins are daily being disinterred and recognised, though much confusion still remains regarding their respective sites. In A.D. 663, part of the palace remained sufficiently perfect to be inhabited by the Emperor Constans, and its plan is believed to have been entire for a century after, but it never really recovered its sack by Genseric in A.D. 455, in which it was completely gutted, even of the commonest furniture; and as years passed on it became imbedded in the soil which has so marvellously enshrouded all the ancient buildings of Rome, so that till within the last ten years, only a few broken nameless walls were visible above ground.

"Cypress and ivy, weed and wallflower grown Matted and mass'd together, hillocks heap'd On what were chambers, arch crush'd, columns strown In fragments, choked-up vaults, and frescoes steep'd In subterranean damps, where the owl peep'd, Deeming it midnight:--Temples, baths, or halls?

Pronounce who can; for all that Learning reap'd From her research has been, that these are walls.-- Behold the Imperial Mount! 'Tis thus the mighty falls."

_Byron, Childe Harold._