Following the Via Morticelli we regain the Via Lungaretta near S.

Benedetto. This street, more than any other in Rome, retains remnants of mediaeval architecture. On the right (opposite the opening to the west end of S. Chrisogono) is the entrance to the old _Castle of the Anguillara Family_, of whom were Count Pandolfo d'Anguillara already mentioned, and Everso, his grandson, celebrated for his highway robberies between Rome and Viterbo in the fifteenth century; also Orso d'Anguillara, senator of Rome, who crowned Petrarch at the Capitol on Easter Day, 1341. "The family device, two crossed eels, surmounted by a helmet, and a wild boar holding a serpent in his mouth, is believed to refer to the story of the founder of their house, Malagrotta, a second St. George, who slew a terrible serpent, which had devastated the district round his abode, and received in recompense from the pope the gift of as much land as he could walk round in one day."[361]

The existing remains consist of an arch, called "L'Arco dell'

Annunziata," and a brick tower, which is now in the possession of a Signor Forti, who exhibits here, during Epiphany, a remarkably pretty _Presepio_, in which the Holy Family and the Shepherds are seen backed by the real landscape. For those who witness this sight it will be interesting to turn to the origin of a Presepio.

"St. Francis asked [of Pope Honorius III. 1223], with his usual simplicity, to be allowed to celebrate Christmas with certain unusual ceremonies which had suggested themselves to him--ceremonies which he must have thought likely to seize upon the popular imagination and impress the unlearned folk. He would not do it on his own authority, we are told, lest he should be accused of levity. When he made this petition, he was bound for the village of Grecia, a little place not far from Assisi, where he was to remain during that sacred season. In this village, when the eve of the nativity approached, Francis instructed a certain grave and worthy man, called Giovanni, to prepare an ox and an ass, along with a manger and all the common fittings of a stable, for his use, in the church. When the solemn night arrived, Francis and his brethren arranged all these things into a visible representation of the occurrences of the night at Bethlehem. The manger was filled with hay, the animals were led into their places; the scene was prepared as we see it now through all the churches of Southern Italy--a reproduction, so far as the people know how, in startling realistic detail of the surroundings of the first Christmas.... We are told that Francis stood by this, his simple theatrical (for such, indeed, it was--no shame to him) representation, all the night long, sighing for joy, and filled with an unspeakable sweetness."--_Mrs. Oliphant, St. Francis._

On the left, is the fine _Church of S. Chrisogono_, founded by Pope Sylvester, but rebuilt in 731, and again by Cardinal Scipio Borghese (who modernized so many of the old churches), in 1623. The tower is mediaeval (rebuilt?), but spoilt by whitewash; the portico has four ancient granite columns. The interior is a basilica, the nave being separated from the aisles by twenty-two granite columns, and the tribune from the nave by two magnificent columns of porphyry. The baldacchino, of graceful proportions, rests on pillars of yellow alabaster. Over the tabernacle is a picture of the Virgin and Child by the _Cav. d'Arpino_.

The mosaic in the tribune, probably only the fragment of a larger design, represents the Madonna and Child enthroned, between St. James the Great and St. Chrisogonus. The stalls are good specimens of modern wood-carving. Near the end of the right aisle is the modern tomb of Anna Maria Taigi, lately beatified and likely to be canonized, though readers of her life will find it difficult to imagine why,--the great point of her character being that she was a good wife to her husband, though he was "ruvido di maniere, e grossolano." Stephen Langton, Archbishop of Canterbury, was titular cardinal of this church.

S. Chrisogono, represented in the mosaic as a young knight, stood by Sta. Anastasia during her martyrdom, exhorting her to patient endurance.

He was afterwards himself beheaded under Diocletian, and his body thrown into the sea.

In 1866 an _Excubitorium_ of the VIIth cohort of Vigiles (a station of Roman firemen) was discovered near this church. Several chambers were tolerably perfect.

On the left, we pass the _Hospital of S. Gallicano_, founded by Benedict XIII. (Orsini), in 1725, as is told by the inscription over the entrance, for the "neglectis rejectisque ab omnibus." The interior contains two long halls opening into one another, the first containing 120 beds for men, the second 88 for women. Patients affected with maladies of the skin are received here to the number of 100. The principal treatment is by means of baths, which gives the negative, within these walls, to the Italian saying that "an ancient Roman took as many baths in a week as a modern Roman in all his life." The establishment is at present under the management of the Benfratelli ("Fate bene fratelli"). S. Gallicano, to whom the hospital is dedicated, was a Benfratello of the time of Constantine, who devoted his time and his fortune to the poor.

At the upper end of the Via Lungaretta is a piazza with a very handsome fountain, on one side of which is the _Church of Sta. Maria in Trastevere_, supposed to be the first church in Rome dedicated to the Virgin. It was founded by St. Calixtus in _A.D._ 224, on the site of the Taberna-Meritoria, an asylum for old soldiers; where, according to Don Cassius, a fountain of pure oil sprang up at the time of our Saviour's birth, and flowed away in one day to the Tiber, a story which gave the name of "Fons Olei" to the church in early times. It is said that wine-sellers and tavern-keepers (popinarii) disputed with the early Christian inhabitants for this site, upon which the latter had raised some kind of humble oratory, and that they carried their complaint before Alexander Severus, when the emperor awarded the site to the Christians, saying, "I prefer that it should belong to those who honour God, whatever be their form of worship."

"Ce souvenir augmente encore l'interet qui s'attache a l'eglise de Santa Maria in Trastevere. Les colonnes antiques de granit egyptien de cette basilique et les belles mosaques qui la decorent me touchent moins que la tradition d'apres laquelle elle fut elevee la ou de pauvres chretiens se rassemblaient dans un cabaret purifie par leur piete, pour y celebrer le culte qui devait un jour etaler ses magnificences sous le dome resplendissant de Saint-Pierre."--_Ampere, Emp._ ii. 318.

The church was rebuilt in 340 by Julius I., and after a series of alterations was again almost entirely reconstructed in 1139 by Innocent II., as a thanksgiving offering for the submission of the anti-pope.

Eugenius III. (1145--50) finished what was left uncompleted, but the new basilica was not consecrated till the time of Innocent III.

(1198--1216). The tower, apse, tribune, and mosaics belong to the early restoration; the rest is due to alterations made by Bernardino Rossellini for Nicholas V.

The west facade is covered with mosaics; the upper part--representing the Saviour throned between angels--and the lower--of palms, the twelve sheep, and the mystic cities--are additions by Pius IX. in 1869. The central frieze was begun in the twelfth century under Eugenius III., and completed in the fourteenth by Pietro Cavallini. It represents the Virgin and Child enthroned in the midst, and ten female figures, generally described as the Ten Virgins,--but Hemans remarks:

"It is evident that such subject cannot have been in the artist's thoughts, as each stately figure advances towards the throne with the same devout aspect and graceful serenity, the same faith and confidence; the sole observable distinctions being that the two with unlit lamps are somewhat more matronly, their costumes simpler, than is the case with the rest; and that instead of being crowned, as are the others, these two wear veils. Explanation of such attributes may be found in the mystic meaning--the light being appropriate to virgin saints, the oil taken to signify benevolence or almsgiving; and we may conclude that those without light represent wives or widows, the others virgin saints, in this group.

Two other diminutive figures (the scale indicating humility), who kneel at the feet of Mary, are Innocent II. and Eugenius III., both vested in the pontifical mantle, but bareheaded. Originally the Mother and Child _alone_ had the nimbus around the head, as we see in a water-colour drawing from this original (now in the Barberini Library) dated 1640, made _before_ a renovation by which that halo has been given alike to all the female figures. Another much faded mosaic, the Madonna and Child, under an arched canopy, high up on the campanile, may perhaps be as ancient as those on the facade."--_Mediaeval Christian Art._

The portico contains two frescoes of the Annunciation, one of them ascribed to _Cavallini_. Its walls are occupied by early Christian and pagan inscriptions. One, of the time of Trajan, is regarded with peculiar interest: "MARCUS COCCEUS LIB. AUG. AMBROSIUS PRaePOSITUS, VESTIS ALBae, TRIUMPHALIS, FECIT, NICE CONJUGI SUae CUM QUA VIXIT ANNOS XXXXV., DIEBUS XI., SINE ULLA QUERELA." Between the doors is preserved a curious relic--the stone said to have been attached to St. Calixtus when he was thrown into the well. The interior is that of a basilica. The nave, paved with opus-alexandrinum, is divided from the aisles by twenty-two ancient granite columns, whose Ionic capitals are in several instances decorated with heads of pagan gods. They support a richly-decorated architrave. The roof, in the centre of which is a picture of the Assumption of the Virgin, is painted by _Domenichino_. On the right of the entrance is a ciborium by Mino da Fiesole. The high altar covers a confessional, beneath which are the remains of five early popes, removed from the catacombs. Among the tombs are those of the painters, Lanfranco and Ciro Ferri, and of Bastari, librarian of the Vatican, editor of the dictionary of the Della Cruscan Academy, and canon of this church, ob. 1775.

Pope Innocent II. is buried here without a tomb.

In the left transept is a beautiful gothic tabernacle over an altar, erected by Cardinal d'Alencon, nephew of Charles de Valois, and brother of Philippe le Bel. On one side is the tomb of that cardinal (the fresco represents the martyrdom of his patron St. Philip, who is pourtrayed as crucified with his head downwards like St. Peter); on the other is the monument of Cardinal Stefaneschi, by _Paolo_, one of the first sculptors of the fourteenth century. Opening from hence is a chapel, which has a curious picture of the Council of Trent by _Taddeo Zucchero_. At the end of the right aisle are several more fine tombs of the sixteenth century, and the chapel of the Madonna di Strada Cupa, designed by _Domenichino_, from whose hand is the figure of a child scattering flowers, sketched out in one corner of the vaulting.

The upper part of the tribune is adorned with magnificent mosaics, (restored in modern times by Camuccini,) of the time of Innocent II.

"In the centre of the principal group on the vault is the Saviour, seated, with his Mother, crowned and robed like an Eastern Queen, beside him, both sharing the same gorgeous throne and footstool; while a hand extends from a fan-like glory with a jewelled crown held over his head; _she_ (a singular detail here) giving benediction with the usual action; He embracing her with the left arm, and in the right hand holding a tablet that displays the words 'Veni, electa mea, et ponam in thronum meum;' to which corresponds the text, from the song of Solomon, on a tablet in her left hand, 'Laeva ejus sub capite meo et dextera illius amplexabitur me.' Below the heavenly throne stand, each with name inscribed in gold letters, Innocent II., holding a model of this church; St.

Laurence, in deacon's vestments, with the Gospels and the jewelled cross; the sainted popes, Calixtus I., Cornelius, and Julius I.; St. Peter (in classic white vestments), and Calepodius, a martyr of the third century, here introduced because his body, together with those of the other saints in the same group, was brought from the catacombs to this church.

"As to ecclesiastical costume, this work affords decisive evidence of its ancient splendour and varieties. We do not see the keys in the hands of St. Peter, but the large tonsure on his head; that ecclesiastical badge which he is said to have invented, and which is sometimes the sole peculiarity (besides the ever-recognisable type) given to this Apostle in art.

"Above the archivolt we see a cross between the Alpha and Omega, and the winged emblems of the Evangelists; laterally, Jeremiah and Isaiah, each with a prophetic text on a scroll; along a frieze below, twelve sheep advancing from the holy cities, Jerusalem and Bethlehem, towards the Divine Lamb, who stands on a mount whence issue the four rivers of Paradise--or, according to perhaps juster interpretation, the four streams of gospel truth. Palms and a phnix are seen beside the two prophets; also a less common symbol--caged birds, that signify the righteous soul incarcerated in the body, or (with highest reference) the Saviour in his assumed humanity; such accessory reminding of the ancient usage, in some countries, of releasing birds at funerals, and of that still kept up amidst the magnificent canonization-rites, of offering various kinds of birds, in cages, at the papal throne.

"Remembering the date of the composition before us, about a century and a half before the time of Cimabue and Giotto, we may hail in it, if not an actual Renaissance, the dawn, at least, that heralds a brighter day for art, compared with the deep gloom previous."--_Hemans' Mediaeval Christian Art._

Below these are another series of mosaics representing six scenes in the life of the Virgin, the work of Pietro Cavallini, of the thirteenth century, when they were ordered by Bertoldo Stefaneschi, who is himself introduced in one of the subjects. In the centre of the tribune is an ancient marble episcopal throne, raised by a flight of steps.

In the _Sacristy_ is a picture of the Virgin with S. Rocco and S.

Sebastiano, by _Perugino_. Here are preserved some beautiful fragments of mosaics of birds, &c., from the catacombs.

Outside the right transept of Sta. Maria is a picturesque shrine, and there are many points about this ancient church which are interesting to the artist. The palace, which forms one side of the piazza at the west end of the church, formerly _Palazzo Moroni_, is now used as the summer residence of the Benedictine monks of S. Paolo, who are driven from their convent by the malaria during the hot months. During the revolutionary government of 1848--49, a number of priests suffered death here, which has led to the monastery being regarded as "the Carmes of Rome." The modern _Church of S. Calisto_ contains the well in which he suffered martyrdom, A.D. 222. This well, now seen through a door near the altar, was then in the open air, and the pope was thrown into it from the window of a house in which he had been imprisoned and scourged, and where he had converted the soldier who was appointed to guard him.

His festival is celebrated here with great splendour by the monks.

Opposite S. Calisto is the _Monastery of St. Anna_, in which were passed the last days of the beautiful and learned Vittoria Colonna. As her death approached she was removed to the neighbouring house of her kinsman Giuliano Cesarini, and there she expired (February, 1547) in the presence of her devoted friend, Michael Angelo, who always regretted that he had not in that solemn moment ventured to press his lips for the first and last time to her beautiful countenance. She was buried, by her own desire, in the convent chapel, without any monument.

Hence a lane leads to the _Church of S. Cosimato_, in an open space facing the hill of S. Rietro in Montorio (where stands of seats are placed during the Girandola). A courtyard is entered through a low arch supported by two ancient columns, having a high roof with rich terra-cotta mouldings,--beautiful in colour. The court contains an antique fountain, and is exceedingly picturesque. The church has carefully sculptured details of cornice and moulding; the door is a good specimen of mediaeval wood-carving. The wall on the left of the altar is occupied by a most beautiful fresco of _Pinturicchio_, representing St.

Francis and St. Clare standing on either side of the Virgin and Child.

Opening from the end of the left aisle is a very interesting chapel, decorated with frescoes, and containing a most beautiful altar of the fifteenth century, in honour of the saints Severa and Fortunata, with statuettes of Faith, Justice, Charity, and Hope. Attached to the church is a very large convent of Poor Clares, which produced two saints, Theodora and Seraphina, in the fifteenth century.

Following the Via della Scala, on the south side of Sta. Maria in Trastevere, we reach the _Porta Settimiana_, built by Alexander VI. on the site of a gateway raised by Honorius, which marked the position of an arch of Septimius Severus. This is the entrance of the Via Lungara, containing the Corsini and Farnesina Palaces (see Chapter XX.). The gateway has forked battlements, but is much spoilt by recent plasterings. Near this is _Sta. Dorotea_, an ugly church, but important in church history from its connection with the foundation of the Order of the Theatins, which arose out of a revulsion from the sensuous age of Leo X.; and as containing the tomb of their founder, Don Gaetano di Teatino, the friend of Paul IV.

"Des le regne de Leon X., quelques symptomes d'une reaction religieuse se manifesterent dans les hautes classes de la societe romaine. On vit un certain nombre d'hommes eminents s'affilier les uns aux autres, afin de trouver dans de saintes pratiques assez de force pour resister a l'atmosphere enervante qui les entourait. Ils prirent pour leur association le titre et les emblemes de l'amour divin, et ils s'assemblerent, a des jours determines, dans l'eglise de Sainte-Dorothee, pres de la porte Settimiana. Parmi ces hommes de foi et d'avenir, on citait un archeveque, Caraffa; un protonotaire apostolique, Gaetan de Thiene; un noble Venitien aussi distingue par son caractere que par ses talents, Contarini; et cinquante autres dont les noms rappellaient tons, ou une illustration ou une haute position sociale, tels que Lippomano, Sadolet, Ghiberti.

"Mais bientot ces premiers essais de rupture avec la tendance generale des esprits enflammerent le zele de plusieurs des membres de la Congregation de _l'Amour divin_. Caraffa surtout, dont l'ame ardente n'avait trouve qu'anxietes et fatigue dans les grandeurs, aspirait a une vie d'action qui lui permit de s'employer, de tous ses moyens, a la reforme du monde. Il trouva dans Gaetan de Thiene des dispositions conformes a ce qu'il desirait. Gaetan avait cependant un caractere tres-different du sien; doue d'une angelique douceur, craignant de se faire entendre, recherchant la meditation et la retraite, il eut voulu, lui aussi, reformer le monde, mais il n'eut pas voulu en etre connu. Les qualites diverses de ces deux hommes rares se combinerent heureusement dans l'execution du projet qu'ils avaient concu, c'etait de former des ecclesiastiques voues, tout ensemble a la contemplation et a une vie austere, a la predication et au soin des malades; des ecclesiastiques qui donnassent partout au clerge l'exemple de l'accomplissement des devoirs de sa sainte mission."--_Gournerie, Rome Chretienne_, ii.

157.

"When Dorothea, the maiden of Caesarea, was condemned to death by Sapritius, she replied, 'Be it so, then I shall the sooner stand in the presence of Christ, my spouse, in whose garden are the fruits of paradise, and roses that never fade.' As she was being led to execution, the young Theophilus mocking said, 'O maiden, goest thou to join thy bridegroom? send me then, I pray thee, of the fruits and flowers which grow in his garden.' And the maiden bowed her head and smiled, saying, 'Thy request is granted, O Theophilus,'

whereat he laughed, and she went forward to death.

"And behold, at the place of execution, a beautiful child, with hair like the sunbeam, stood beside her, and in his hand was a basket containing three fresh roses and three apples. And she said, 'Take these to Theophilus, and tell him that Dorothea waits for him in the garden from whence they came.'

"And the child sought Theophilus, and gave him the flowers and the fruits, saying, 'Dorothea sends thee these,' and vanished. And the heart of Theophilus melted, and he ate of the fruit from heaven, and was converted and professed himself one of Christ's servants, so that he also was martyred, and was translated into the heavenly garden."--_Legend._

This story is told in nearly all the pictures of Sta. Dorotea.

Hence we reach the _Ponte Sisto_, built 1473--75 by Sixtus IV. in the place of the Pons Janiculensis, (or, according to Ampere, the Pons Antoninus,) which Caracalla had erected to reach the garden in the Trastevere, formerly belonging to his brother Geta,--but which was known as the Pons Fractus after a flood had destroyed part of it in 792. The Acts of Eusebius describe the many Christian martyrdoms which took place from this bridge. S. Symphorosa under Hadrian, S. Sabas under Aurelian, S. Calepodius under Alexander, and S. Anthimius under Diocletian, were thrown into the Tiber from hence, with many others, whose bodies, usually drifting to the island then called Lycaonia, were recovered there by their faithful disciples.[362] An inscription upon the bridge begs the prayers of the passengers for its papal founder.

Beautiful views may be obtained from this bridge,--on the one side, of the island, of the temple of Vesta, and the Alban hills; on the other, of St. Peter's, rising behind the Farnesina Gardens, and the grand mass of the Farnese Palace, towering above the less important buildings.

"They had reached the bridge and stopped to look at the view, perhaps the most beautiful of all those seen from the Roman bridges. Looking towards the hills, the Tiber was spanned by Ponte Rotto, under which the old black mills were turning ceaselessly, almost level with the tawny water; the sunshine fell full on the ruins of the Palatine, about the base of which had gathered a crowd of modern buildings; a brick campanile, of the middle ages, rose high above them against the blue sky, which was seen through its open arches; beyond were the Latin Hills; on the other hand, St.

Peter's stood pre-eminent in the distance; nearer, a stack of picturesque old houses were half hidden by orange-trees, where golden fruit clustered thickly; women leant from the windows, long lines of flapping clothes hung out to dry; below, the ferry-boat was crossing the river, impelled by the current. Modern and ancient Rome all mingled together--everywhere were thrilling names connected with all that was most glorious in the past. The moderns are richer than their ancestors, the past is theirs as well as the present."--_Mademoiselle Mori._

Close to the further entrance of the bridge, opposite the Via Giulia, is the _Fountain of the Ponte Sisto_, built by Paul V. from a design of Fontana. The water, which falls in one body from a niche in the wall of a palace, is discharged a second time from the mouths of two monsters below.

CHAPTER XVIII.

THE TRE FONTANE AND S. PAOLO.

The Marmorata--Arco di S. Lazzaro--Protestant Cemetery--Pyramid of Caius Cestius--Monte-Testaccio--Porta S. Paolo--Chapel of the Farewell--The Tre Fontane (SS. Vincenzo ed Anastasio--Sta. Maria Scala Cli--S. Paolo alle Tre Fontane)--Basilica and Monastery of S. Paolo.

Beyond the Piazza Bocca della Verita, the _Via della Marmorata_ is spanned by an arch which nearly marks the site of the _Porta Trigemina_, by which Marius fled to Ostia before Sylla in B.C. 88. Near this stood the statue erected by public subscription to Minucius, whose jealousy brought about the execution of the patriot Maelius, B.C. 440. Here also was the temple of Jupiter Inventor, whose dedication was attributed to the gratitude of Hercules for the restoration of his cattle, carried off by Cacus to his cave on the neighbouring Aventine.