Cardinal Wiseman, who took his title from this church, considers it was the principal place of worship in Rome after apostolic times, being founded on the site of the house where St. Paul lodged, A.D. 41 to 50, with the senator Pudens, whose family were his first converts, and who is said to have himself suffered martyrdom under Nero. On this ancient place of worship an oratory was engrafted by Pius I. (_c._ A.D. 145), in memory of the younger daughter of Pudens, Pudenziana, perhaps at the request of her sister Prassede, who is believed to have survived till that time. In very early times two small churches existed here, known as "Titulus Pudentis" and "Titulus Pastoris," the latter in memory of a brother of Pius I.

The church, which has been successively altered by Adrian I. in the eighth century, by Gregory VII., and by Innocent II., was finally modernised by Cardinal Caetani in 1597. Little remains of ancient external work except the graceful brick campanile (_c._ 1130) with triple arcades of open arches on every side separated by bands of terra-cotta moulding,--and the door adorned with low reliefs of the Lamb bearing a cross, and of Sta. Prassede and Sta. Pudenziana with the vases in which they collected the blood of the martyrs, and two other figures, probably St. Pudens and St. Pastor.

The chapel on the left of the tribune, which is regarded as the "Titulus Pudentis," has an old mosaic pavement, said to have belonged to the house of Pudens. Here is a bas-relief by Giacomo della Porta, representing our Saviour delivering the keys to St. Peter; and here is preserved part of the altar at which St. Peter is said to have celebrated mass (the rest is at the Lateran), and which was used by all the early popes till the time of Sylvester. Among early Christian inscriptions let into the walls, is one to a Cornelia, of the family of the Pudenziani, with a rude portrait.

Opening from the left aisle is the chapel of the Caetani family, with tombs of the seventeenth century. Over the altar is a bas-relief of the Adoration of the Magi, by _Paolo Olivieri_. On each side are fine columns of Lunachella marble. Over the entrance from the nave are ancient mosaics,--of the Evangelists and of Sta. Pudenziana collecting the blood of the martyrs. Beneath, is a gloomy and neglected vault, in which all the sarcophagi and coffins of the dead Caetani are shown by torchlight.

In the tribune are magnificent mosaics, ascribed by some to the eighth, by others to the fourth century, and considered by De Rossi,[238] as the best of all ancient Christian mosaics.

"In conception and treatment this work is indeed classic: seated on a rich throne in the centre, is the Saviour with one arm extended, and in the other hand holding a book open at the words, _Conservator Ecclesiae Pudentianae_; laterally stand SS. Praxedis and Pudentiana with leafy crowns in their hands; and at a lower level, but more in front, SS. Peter and Paul with eight other male figures, all in the amply-flowing costume of ancient Romans; while in the background are seen, beyond a portico with arcades, various stately buildings, one a rotunda, another a parallelogram with a gable-headed front, recognizable as a baptistery and basilica, here, we may believe, in authentic copy from the earliest types of the period of the first Christian emperors. Above the group, and hovering in the air, a large cross, studded with gems, surmounts the head of our Saviour, between the four symbols of the Evangelists, of which one has been entirely, and another in the greater part, sacrificed to some wretched accessories in woodwork actually allowed to conceal portions of this most interesting mosaic! As to expression, a severe solemnity is that prevailing, especially in the principal head, which _alone_ is crowned with the nimbus--one among other proofs, if but negative, of its high antiquity."--_Heman's Ancient Christian Art._

Besides Sta. Pudenziana and St. Pudens,--St. Novatus and St. Siricius are said to be buried here. Those who visit this sanctuary every day obtain an indulgence of 3000 years, with remission of a third part of their sins! Excavations made by Mr. J. H. Parker, in 1865, have laid bare some interesting constructions beneath the church,--supposed to be those of the house of Pudens--a part of the public baths of Novatus, the son of Pudens, which were in use for some centuries after his time, and a chamber in which is supposed to have been the oratory dedicated by Pius I. in A.D. 145.

"Eubulus greeteth thee, and _Pudens_, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the brethren."--_2 Timothy_ iv. 21.

The following account of the family of Pudens is received as the legacy of Pastor to the Christian Church.

"Pudens went to his Saviour, leaving his daughters strengthened with chastity, and learned in all the divine law. These sold their goods, and distributed the produce to the poor, and persevered strictly in the love of Christ, guarding intact the flower of their virginity, and only seeking for glory in vigils, fastings, and prayer. They desired to have a baptistery in their house, to which the blessed Pius not only consented, but with his own hand drew the plan of the fountain. Then calling in their slaves, both from town and country, the two virgins gave liberty to those who were Christians, and urged belief in the faith upon those who had not yet received it. By the advice of the blessed Pius, the affranchisement was declared, with all the ancient usages, in the oratory founded by Pudens; then, at the festival of Easter, ninety-six neophytes were baptized; so that thenceforth assemblies were constantly held in the said oratory, which night and day resounded with hymns of praise. Many pagans gladly came thither to find the faith and receive baptism.

"Meanwhile the Emperor Antonine, being informed of what was taking place, issued an edict commanding all Christians to dwell apart in their own houses, without mixing with the rest of the people, and that they should neither go to the public shops, nor to the baths.

Praxedis and Pudentiana then assembled those whom they had led to the faith, and housed them. They nourished them for many days, watching and praying. The blessed bishop Pius himself frequently visited us with joy, and offered the sacrifice for us to the Saviour.

"Then Pudentiana went to God. Her sister and I wrapped her in perfumes and kept her concealed in the oratory. Then, at the end of twenty-eight days, we carried her to the cemetery of Priscilla, and laid her near her father Pudens.

"Eleven months after, Novatus died in his turn. He bequeathed his goods to Praxedis, and she then begged of St. Pius to erect a titular (a church) in the baths of Novatus, which were no longer used, and where there was a large and spacious hall. The bishop made the dedication in the name of the blessed virgin Praxedis. In the same place he consecrated a baptistery.

"But, at the end of two years, a great persecution was declared against the Christians, and many of them received the crown of martyrdom. Praxedis concealed a great number of them in her oratory, and nourished them at once with the food of this world and with the word of God. But the Emperor Antonine, having learnt that these meetings took place in the oratory of Priscilla, caused it to be searched, and many Christians were taken, especially the priest Simetrius and twenty-two others. And the blessed Praxedis collected their bodies by night, and buried them in the cemetery of Priscilla, on the seventh day of the calends of June. Then the virgin of the Saviour, worn out with sorrow, only asked for death.

Her tears and her prayers reached to heaven, and fifty-four days after her brethren had suffered, she passed to God. And I, Pastor, the priest, have buried her body near that of her father Pudens."--_From the Narration of Pastor._

Returning by the main line of streets to the Quattro Fontane, we skirt on the right the wall of the Villa Negroni (see Ch. XI). Beyond this, on the left, is the _Church of S. Paolo Primo Eremita_. The strange-looking palm-tree over the door, with a raven perched upon it and two lions below, commemorates the story of the saint, who, retiring to the desert at the age of 22, lived there till he was 112, eating nothing but the dates of his tree for twenty-two years, after which bread was daily brought to him by a raven. In his last hours St. Anthony came to visit him and was present at his burial, when two lions his companions came to dig his grave. The sustaining palm-tree and the three animals who loved S. Paolo are again represented over the altar. Further on the left, we pass the Via S. Vitale, occupying the site of the Vicus Longus, considered by Dyer to have been the longest street in the ancient city.

Here stood the temples of Sylvanus, and of Fever, with that of Pudicitia Plebeia, founded _c._ B.C. 297, by Virginia the patrician, wife of Volumnius, when excluded from the patrician temple of Pudicitia in the Forum Boarium, on account of her plebeian marriage. "At its altar none but plebeian matrons of unimpeachable chastity, and who had been married to only one husband, were allowed to sacrifice."[239]

The _Church of S. Vitale_ on the Viminal, which now stands here, was founded by Innocent I. in A.D. 416. The interior is covered with frescoes of martyrdoms. It is seldom open except early on Sunday mornings. S. Vitale, father of S. Gervasius and S. Protasius, was the martyr and patron saint of Ravenna who was buried alive under Nero.

Beyond this, on the left of the Via delle Quattro Fontane, is the _Church of S. Dionisio_, belonging to the Basilian nuns, called Apostoline di S. Basilio. It contains an Ecce Homo of _Luca Giordano_, and the gaudy shrine of the virgin martyr Sta. Coraola.

END OF VOL. I.

[Illustration: ROME

Showing the more important streets and buildings. (left-side of map)]

[Illustration]

WALKS IN ROME

TWO VOLS.--II.

WALKS IN ROME

BY AUGUSTUS J. C. HARE AUTHOR OF "MEMORIALS OF A QUIET LIFE," "WANDERINGS IN SPAIN," ETC

TWO VOLUMES.----II.

_FIFTH EDITION_

LONDON DALDY, ISBISTER & CO.

56, LUDGATE HILL 1875

[_All rights reserved_]

JOHN CHILDS AND SON, PRINTERS.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XI.

PAGE

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF THE BATHS OF DIOCLETIAN 7

CHAPTER XII.

THE ESQUILINE 46

CHAPTER XIII.

THE BASILICAS OF THE LATERAN, SANTA CROCE, AND S. LORENZO 94

CHAPTER XIV.

IN THE CAMPUS MARTIUS 148

CHAPTER XV.

THE BORGO AND ST. PETER'S 223

CHAPTER XVI.