"Here rests the just, wise, and noble prince, Urban VI., a native of Naples.

He, full of zeal, gave a safe refuge to the teachers of the faith.

That gained for him, noble one, a fatal poison cup at the close of the repast.

Great was the schism, but great was his courage in opposing it, And in the presence of this mighty pope Simony sate dumb.

But it is needless to reiterate his praises upon earth, While heaven is shining with his immortal glory."

"Sepelitur in beati Petri Basilica, paucis admodum ejus mortem, utpote hominis rustici et inexorabilis, flentibus. Hujus autem sepulchrum adhuc visitur cum epitaphio satis rustico et inepto."--_Platina._

Next come the sarcophagi of Innocent VII., Cosmato de Miliorati (1404--6), bearing his figure; of Marcellus II., Marcello Cervini (1555), who only reigned twenty-five days; and of Innocent IX., Giov.

Antonio Facchinetti (1591--92), who reigned only sixty.

Near these is the urn of Agnese Gaetani Colonna, the only lady not of royal birth buried in the basilica.

Hence we return to the corridor of the Grotte Nuove, containing a number of mosaics and statues detached from different papal tombs, the best being those from that of Nicholas V. and that of Paul II., by _Mino da Fiesole_ (a figure of Charity is especially beautiful), and a bas-relief of the Virgin and Child, by _Arnolfo_, from the tomb of Benedict VIII.

Here also are a half-length statue of Boniface VIII., ascribed to _Andrea Pisano_; a half-length of Benedict XII., by _Paolo di Siena_; and a figure of St. Peter seated on a gothic throne which once supported a statue of Benedict XII.

The _Chapel of St. Longinus_ has a mosaic from a picture by Andrea Sacchi. Near the entrance of the shrine are marble reliefs of the martyrdoms of St. Peter and St. Paul. Opposite to the entrance of the shrine is the magnificent sarcophagus of Junius Bassus, Christian prefect of Rome, who died A.D. 359. It was discovered near its present site in 1595. It is adorned with admirable sculptures from the Old and New Testament.

Opening from the centre of the circular passage is the _Confession or Shrine of SS. Peter and Paul_, which contains the sarcophagus brought from the Catacomb near S. Sebastiano in 257, and which the Roman Catholic Church has always revered as that of St. Peter. On the altar, consecrated in 1122, are two ancient pictures of St. Peter and St.

Paul. Only half the bodies of the saints are held to be preserved here, the other portion of that of St. Peter being at the Lateran, and of St.

Paul at S. Paolo fuori Mura.

To the Roman Catholic mind this is naturally one of the most sacred spots in the world, since it holds literally the words of St. Ambrose, that: "Where Peter is, there is the Church,--and where the Church is, there is no death, but life eternal."[340]

"From this place Peter, from this place Paul, shall be caught up in the resurrection. Oh consider with trembling that which Rome will behold, when Paul suddenly rises with Peter from this sepulchre, and is carried up into the air to meet the Lord."--_St. John Chrysostom, Homily on the Ep. to the Romans._

"Among the cemeteries ascribed by tradition to apostolic times, the crypts of the Vatican would have the first claim on our attention, had they not been almost destroyed by the foundations of the vast basilica which guards the tomb of St. Peter.... The _Liber Pontificalis_ says that Anacletus, the successor of Clement in the Apostolic See, '_built_ and adorned the sepulchral monument (_construxit memoriam_) of blessed Peter, since he had been ordained priest by St. Peter, and other burial-places where the bishops might be laid.' It is added that he himself was buried there; and the same is recorded of Linus and Cletus, and of Evaristus, Sixtus I., Telesphorus, Hyginus, Pius I., Eleutherius, and Victor, the last of whom was buried A.D. 203; and after St.

Victor, no other pontiff is recorded to have been buried at the Vatican until Leo the Great was laid in St. Peter's, A.D. 461. The idea conveyed by the words _construxit memoriam_ is that of a monument above-ground according to the usual Roman custom; and we have seen that such a monument, even though it covered the tomb of Christian bishops, would not be likely to be disturbed at any time during the first or second century. For the reason we have already stated, it is impossible to confront these ancient notices with any existing monuments. It is worth mentioning, however, that De Rossi believes that the sepulchre of St. Linus was discovered in this very place early in the seventeenth century, bearing simply the name of Linus."--_Northcote and Brownlow, Roma Setterranea._

To ascend the _Dome of St. Peter's_ requires a special order. The entrance is from the first door in the left aisle, near the tomb of Maria-Clementina Sobieski. The ascent is by an easy staircase _a cordoni_, the walls of which bear memorial tablets of all the royal personages who have ascended it. The aspect of the roof is exceedingly curious from the number of small domes and houses of workmen with which it is studded,--quite a little village in themselves. A chamber in one of the pillars which support the dome contains a model of the ancient throne of St. Peter, and a model of the church, by Michael Angelo and his predecessor, Antonio di Sangallo. The dome is 300 feet above the roof, and 613 feet in circumference. An iron staircase leads thence to the ball, which is capable of containing sixteen persons.

"Cette hauteur fait fremir," dit Beyle, "quand on songe aux tremblements de terre qui agitent frequemment l'Italie, et qu'un instant peut vous priver du plus beau monument qui existe.

Certainement jamais il ne serait releve: nous sommes trop _raisonables_."

"De Brosse raconte que deux moines espagnoles, qui se trouvaient dons la boule de St. Pierre lors de la secousse de 1730, eurent une telle peur, que l'un d'eux mourut sur la place."--_A. Du Pays._

_The Sacristy of St. Peter's_, which is entered by a grey marble door on the left, before turning into the south transept, was built by Pius VI., in 1755, from designs of _Carlo Marchione_. It consists of three halls, with a corridor adorned with columns and inscriptions from the old church, and with statues of SS. Peter and Paul, which stood in front of it. The central hall, _Sagrestia Commune_, is adorned with eight fluted pillars of grey marble (bigio) from Hadrian's Villa. On the left is the _Sagrestia dei Canonici_, with the Cappella dei Canonici, which has two pictures, the Madonna and Saints (Anna, Peter, and Paul), by _Francesco Penni_, and the Madonna and Child, _Giulio Romano_. Hence opens the _Stanza Capitolare_, containing an interesting remnant of the many works of Giotto in the old basilica under Boniface VIII. (for which he received 3020 gold florins), in three panel pictures belonging to the ciborium for the high altar ordered by Cardinal Stefaneschi, and representing,--Christ with that Cardinal,--the Crucifixion of St.

Peter,--the Execution of St. Peter,--and on the back of the same panel, another picture, in which Cardinal Stefaneschi is offering his ciborium to St. Peter.

"The fragments which are preserved of the painting which Giotto executed for the Church of St. Peter cannot fail to make us regret its loss. The fragments are treated with a grandeur of style which has led Rumohr to suspect that the susceptible imagination of Giotto was unable to resist the impression which the ancient mosaics of the Christian basilicas must have produced upon him."--_Rio. Poetry of Christian Art._

Here also are several fragments of the frescoes (of angels and apostles), by _Melozzo da Forl_, which existed in the former dome of the SS. Apostoli, and of which the finest portion is now at the Quirinal Palace. On the right is the _Sagrestia dei Benefiziati_, which contains a picture of the Saviour giving the keys to St. Peter, by _Muziano_, and an image called La Madonna della Febbre, which stood in the old Sacristy. Opening hence is the _Treasury of St. Peter's_, containing some ancient jewels, crucifixes, and candelabra, by Benvenuto Cellini and Michael Angelo, and, among other relics, the famous sacerdotal robe called the _Dalmatica di Papa San Leone_, "said to have been embroidered at Constantinople for the coronation of Charlemagne as Emperor of the West, but fixed by German criticism as a production of the twelfth, or the early part of the thirteenth century. The emperors, at least, have worn it ever since, while serving as deacons at the pope's altar during their coronation-mass."

"It is a large robe of stiff brocade, falling in broad and unbroken folds in front and behind,--broad and deep enough for the Goliath-like stature and the Herculean chest of Charlemagne himself. On the breast the Saviour is represented in glory, on the back the Transfiguration, and on the two shoulders Christ administering the Eucharist to the Apostles. In each of these last compositions, our Saviour, a stiff but majestic figure, stands behind the altar, on which are deposited a chalice and a paten or basket containing crossed wafers. He gives, in the one case, the cup to St. Paul, in the other the bread to St. Peter,--they do not kneel, but bend reverently to receive it; five other disciples await their turn in each instance,--all are standing.

"I do not apprehend your being disappointed with the Dalmatica di San Leone, or your dissenting from my conclusion, that a master, a Michael-Angelo I would almost say, then flourished at Byzantium.

"It was in this Dalmatica--then _semee_ all over with pearls and glittering in freshness--that Cola di Rienzi robed himself over his armour in the sacristy of St. Peter's and thence ascended to the Palace of the Popes, after the manner of the Caesars, with sounding trumpets and his horsemen following him--his truncheon in his hand and his crown on his head--'terribile e fantastico,' as his biographer describes him--to wait upon the Legate."--_Lord Lindsay's Christian Art_, i. 137.

Above the Sacristy are the _Archives of St. Peter's_, containing, among many other ancient MSS., a life of St. George, with miniatures, by _Giotto_. The entrance to the Archivio, at the end of the corridor, is adorned with fragments of the chains of the ports of Smyrna and Tunis.

Here, also, is a statue of Pius VI., by _Agostino Penna_.

It is quite worth while to leave St. Peter's by the Porta Sta. Marta beneath the tomb of Alexander VII., in order to examine the exterior of the church from behind, where it completely dwarfs all the surrounding buildings. Among these are the _Church of S. Stefano_, with a fine door composed of antique fragments, and the dismal _Church of Sta. Marta_, which contains several of the Roman weights known as "Pietra di Paragone," said to have been used in the martyrdoms. Beyond the Sacristy is the pretty little _Cimeterio dei Tedeschi_, the oldest of Christian burial-grounds, said to have been set apart by Constantine, and filled with earth from Calvary. It was granted to the Germans in 1779, by Pius VI. Close by is the _Church of Sta. Maria della Pieta in Campo Santo_.

Not far from hence (in a street behind the nearest colonnade) is the _Palazzo del Santo Uffizio--or of the Inquisition_. This body, for some time past, suppressed everywhere except in the States of the Pope, was established here in 1536 by Paul III., acting on the advice of Cardinal Caraffa, afterwards Paul IV., for inquiry into cases of heresy, and the punishment of ecclesiastical offences. It was by the authority of the "Holy Office" that the "Index" of prohibited books was first drawn up.

Paul IV., on his deathbed, summoned the cardinals to his side, and recommended to them this "Santissimo Tribunale," as he called it, and succeeding popes have protected and encouraged it. The character of the Inquisition has been much changed from that which it bore three hundred years ago; but even in late years, many cases of extreme severity have been reported,--especially one of a French bishop cruelly imprisoned for sixteen years in one of its dungeons (merely because he had received his consecration from a French constitutional prelate), and who was only released when its doors were opened in the revolution of 1848.

"Within these walls has been confined for many years a very extraordinary person--the archbishop of Memphis.... Pope Leo XII.

received a letter from the Pacha of Egypt informing his Holiness, that he and a large portion of his subjects desired to be received into the bosom of the Church of Rome; and announcing that he and they were willing to conform, provided the pope would send out an archbishop, with a suitable train of ecclesiastics, and requesting that his Holiness would do him the favour of appointing a certain young student whom he named, the first archbishop of Memphis, and despatch him to Egypt. No doubt was entertained as to the truth of this communication, but an objection presented itself in the youth of the ecclesiastical student whom the Pacha wished to have as his archbishop. The pope consulted his cardinals, who advised him not to make the dangerous precedent of raising a novice to so high a rank in the Church, but his Holiness, tempted by the desire of converting a kingdom to Christianity, resolved to conform to the wishes of the Pacha, and did consecrate the youth archbishop of Memphis. The archbishop was sent out attended by a train of priests to Egypt. When the ship arrived, the authorities in Egypt declared the affair was an imposition. His Grace confessed the fraud, was arrested, and reconducted to Rome. He was the author of the letter which imposed on the pope--his original intention having been to confess to the pope as a priest, after his consecration, the imposition he had practised; and as the pope could not betray a secret imparted to him at the confessional, the offender might have obtained absolution, and escaped punishment. Whether this would have been practicable I know not; but it was not accomplished, and as the youth had the rank of archbishop indelibly imprinted on him, nothing remained but to confine his Grace for the remainder of his life; and accordingly he was confined to this prison near the Vatican, whence he may find it difficult to escape."--_Whiteside's Italy_, 1860.

The tribunal of the Inquisition was formally abolished by the Roman Assembly in February, 1849, but was re-established by Pius IX. in the following June. Its meetings, however, now take place in the Vatican, and the old palace of the Holy Office was long used as a barrack for French soldiers.

In the interior of the building is a lofty hall, with gloomy frescoes of Dominican saints,--and many terrible dungeons and cells in which the victim is unable to stand upright, having their vaulted ceilings lined with reeds, to deaden sound,--but all this is seldom seen. When the people rushed into the Inquisition at the revolution, a number of human bones were found in these vaults, which so excited the popular fury, that an attack on the Dominican convent at the Minerva was anticipated.

Ardent defenders of the papacy maintain that these bones had been previously transported to the Inquisition from a cemetery, to get up a sensation.[341]

Built up into the back of this palace is the tribune of the _Church of S. Salvatore in Torrione or in Macello_, whose foundation is ascribed to Charlemagne (797). Senerano (Sette Chiese) supposes that the French had here their schola or special centre for worship and assemblage. The windows of this building are among the few examples of gothic in Rome, and there are good terra-cotta mouldings. It may best be seen from the _Porta Cavalleggieri_, which was designed by Sangallo, and derives its name from the cavalry barracks close by.

A short distance from the lower end of the Colonnade is the _Church of S. Michaele in Sassia_, whose handsome tower is a relic of the church founded by Leo IV., who built the walls of the Borgo, especially for funeral masses for the souls of those who fell in its defence against the Saracens. Raphael Mengs is buried in the modern church.

The name of this church commemorates the Saxon settlement "called Burgus Saxonum, Vicus Saxonum, Schola Saxonum, and simply Saxia or Sassia,"[342] founded _c._ 727 by Ina, king of Wessex, and enlarged in 794 by Offa, king of Mercia, when he made a pilgrimage to Rome in penance for the murder of Ethelbert, king of East-Anglia. Ina founded here a church, "Sta. Maria quae vocatur Schola Saxorum," which is mentioned as late as 854. Dyer (Hist. of the City of Rome) says that "when Leo IV. enclosed this part of the city, it obtained the name of Borgo, from the Burgus Saxonum, and one of the gates was called Saxonum Posterula. The 'Schola Francorum' was also in the Borgo."

CHAPTER XVI.

THE VATICAN.

History of the Vatican Quarter and of the Palace--Scala Regia--Pauline Chapel--Sistine Chapel--Sala Ducale--Court of St.

Damasus--Galleria Lapidaria--Braccio Nuovo--Museo Chiaramonti--The Belvedere--Gallery of Statues--Hall of Busts--Sala delle Muse--Sala Rotonda--Sala a Croce Greca--Galleria dei Candelabri--Galleria degli Arazzi--Library--Appartamenti Borgia--Etruscan Museum--Egyptian Museum--Gardens--Villa Pia--Loggie--Stanze--Chapel of S. Lorenzo--Gallery of Pictures.

The hollow of the Janiculum between S. Onofrio and the Monte Mario is believed to have been a site of Etruscan divination.

"Fauni vatesque canebant."

_Ennius._

Hence the name, which is now only used in regard to the papal palace and the basilica of St. Peter, but which was once applied to the whole district between the foot of the hill and the Tiber near S. Angelo.

" ... ut paterni Fluminis ripae, simul et jocosa Redderet laudes tibi Vaticani Montis imago."

_Horace_, i. _Od._ 20.

Tacitus speaks of the unwholesome air of this quarter. In this district was the Circus of Caligula, adjoining the gardens of his mother Agrippina, decorated by the obelisk which now stands in the front of St.

Peter's.[343] Here Seneca describes that while Caligula was walking by torchlight, he amused himself by the slaughter of a number of distinguished persons--senators and Roman ladies. Afterwards it became the Circus of Nero, who from his adjoining gardens used to watch the martyrdom of the Christians[344]--mentioned by Suetonius as "a race given up to a new and evil superstition"--and who used their living bodies, covered with pitch and set on fire, as torches for his nocturnal promenades.

The first residence of the popes at the Vatican was erected by St.