Rome. A Tour of many days

Chapter 1

Plan of the Work — History of the Roman Churches and other preliminary matter — Progress in execution of plan and collection of materials.

CHAPTER I. APPROACH BY THE VIA FLAMINIA

17 Ponte Molle — Perforation of a Tower — The Road — Temple of S. Andrew — Another Temple of S. Andrew — Casino of Julius III. — Another Casino of Julius III. — Road to summit of the Cliffs — Acqua Acetosa — Arco Oscuro — Volcanic appearance of Soil — View from Cliffs — Banks of the Tiber — Government deposit of Firewood — Public Shambles — Implement of the Roman Butchers for killing Oxen — Singular method of killing Pigs — Villa Borghese — Approach to Casino — Artificial ruins — Aqueduct — Hippodrome — Chapel — Ornamental Enclosure — Fountain — Stone Pines — Casino — Malaria — Chilly Pavement, and necessary precautions — Portico — Apartments on ground-floor from 1 to 10 — Apartments on first-floor from 1 to 7 — October fetes in the grounds of the Villa — A fancy Waterman — Mat de Cocaigne — Montgolfler Balloon — English Protestant Church.

Chapter II. The Corso

53 Porta del Popolo — Muro Torto — Dogana, or Custom-house — The regulations — Passports — Piazza del Popolo — Egyptian Obelisks — Obelisk in Piazza — Climate of Rome — Deleterious habits of Foreigners — Exhilarating influence of Climate on the Romaus — A CONTENTS OF VOL. I. Ta^e Female cavalcades— The Carnival— Its origin— Preparations for a Carnival— Entrance of the Masks on the Corso— The Masquerade —View from the Balconies— The Characters— The Horse-race- Preliminary arrangements — The Race viewed from starting-place The Race viewed from Balconies— The Race viewed at wiuning place—Moccoli—The Promenade— Assault of the Carriages— Battle in the Balconies— Pavement of the Corso— Drains— Houses— Water spouts — Palazzo Capranica — Palazzo Ruspoli — Grande Caffe — Palazzo Fiano— Burratini— Arch of Marcus Aurelius— Palazzo Sciarra— Arch of Claudius— Celebrated Wine-shop— Trattoria of Bertini— Palazzo Bonaparte — Specola on the summit— Palazzo Doria— Via di Ripresa de' Barberi— Covered way of Paul II. from the Palazzo Venezia to Convent of Aracœli — Site of ancient Porta Rattumena.

Section II

— Churches 95 S.Maria del Popolo— S. Maria di Monte Santo— S. Maria dei Miracoli — Gesu e Maria ; Catholic preachers and English congregations — S. Giacomo ; hospital attached to the Church— S. Carlo ; Funzioni — S. Marcello ; Cardinals' hats— S. Maria in Via Lata ; S. Paul's Dungeon — Arch of Gordian III.

Chapter III. The Pincio

119 Via Babbuino — Shops — Fountain — Collegio Greco — Aliberti Theatre — Piazza di Spagna — Fountain — Hired Carriages — Hotels — Lodgings — Propaganda — English Reading-room — Scalinata, or magnificent flight of steps to the Pincio — Egyptian Obelisk — A celebrated Beggar — Clock cf S. Trinita. de' Monti — Roman method of computing Time — Villa Medici, now Accademia di Francia — Section of a Bank showing Geological strata — Gardens of the Pincio — Another Egyptian Obelisk — Carriage drive — Forcati — Superannuated Government Labourers - History of the Propaganda — Polyglottic Festival at the Epiphany — Via Condotti — Trattoria of Lepre — Caffe Greco — Albergo di Allemagna — Via Gregoriana — Via Sistina — Piazza Barberini — Site of Circus of Flora — Two Fountains— Porta Salaria.

SECTION II.

— Churches 157 S.S. Trinita dei Monti ; Dames de Sacre Cœur — S. Isidoro; Irish Franciscans — Dei Capuccini ; Capuchins' Cemetery — S. Giuseppe Capo le Case ; House of Federico Zuccari — S. Andrea delle Frati ; Miraculous Apparition of the Holy Virgin, and Conversion of a Jew — S. Silvestro in Capite. CONTENTS OF VOL. I. V Pago

Chapter IV. The Quirinale

172 Porta Pia— Site of Ancient Porta Collina — Gardens of Sallust — House of Sallust — Porticus Milliarensis — Temple of Venus Erycina — Nondescript Arches — Remains of Walls of Servius Tullius — Remains of Agger of Servius Tullius — Site of Campus Sceleratus — Piazza delle Quatro Fontane — Piazza del Quirinale, or Piazza di Monte Cavallo — Egyptian Obelisk — Men and Horses of Phidias and Praxiteles — Fountain — Quirinale Palace — The Pope's Gardens — Palazzo della Consulta — Palazzo Rospigliosi — Via del Quirinale — Sun-dial — Gardens of the Colonna Palace — Ruins of Baths of Constantine — Ruins of Temple of the Sun of Aurelian — Colonna Palace — Via del Archetto — Madonua del Archetto — Wayside Chapels — Portable Images of Saints and the Madonna — Calabrian Piferari — Fountain of Trevi — House of Belisarius.

SECTION II.

— Churches 210 S. Maria in Via — S. Maria a Trevi — S.S. Apostoli — S. Maria di Loretto — Al Nome di Maria di Vienna — S. Silvestro — S. Andrea di Monte Cavallo ; House of Novitiate of the Jesuits ; Festival of S. Stanislaus, in House of Novitiate — S. Vitale — S. Dionisio — S. Carlo alle Quatro Fontane : the church and convent built within the area of one of the main piers of S. Peter's — S. Susanna— S. Maria della Vittoria ; Groupe of S. Theresa and the Angel of Death by Bernini — S. Niccola da Tolentino.

Chapter V. The Viminale

241 Baths of Paulus Emilius, or Balnea Pauli — Torre delle Milizie, called Nero's Tower — Via de' Serpenti — Site ofthe Vallis Quiriualis, where Julius Proculus met the Ghost of Romulus — Site of Temple of Romulus — Palazzo Cimarra, a central point on the Viminale — Jesuits' Vineyard — Castra Prætoria — Baths of Dioclesian, including Bernardine and Carthusian Convents — Another portion ofthe Agger of Servius Tullius — Fontana Felice.

SECTION II.

— Churches 256 S. Maria degli Angeli, comprising Pinnacotheka of Dioclesian ; Meridian Line and other Astronomical Diagrams on Pavement — S. Bernardo — S. Paolo Primo Eremita — Santa Pudenziana ; Site of House of Pudens the Roman Senator, and Host of S. Peter ; Supposed Ruins of the Baths of his son Novatus — S.S. Domenico e Sisto — S. Caterina da Sienna— S. Agatha, the Church where O'Connell's Heart was deposited. CONTENTS OF VOL. I. VI Page

CHAPTER VI. CAMPUS MARTIUS— Eastern Portion 27

Porto di Legna — Ornamental Enclosure — Via de' Pontefici — Palazzo Corea — Mausoleum of Augustus converted to a modern Amphitheatre — The Ruin — Performance of Equestrians — Porto di Ripetta — French Table, showing the height of the Tiber at the various periods of Inundation — Ferry-boat across the River — Palazzo Borghese — Largo della Impresa — Inscription recording the Discovery of the Egyptian Obelisk now in the Piazza di Monte Citorio — The Monte Citorio formed of the Ruins of the ancient Amphitheatre of Statilius Taurus — Piazza di Monte Citorio — Palace of Innocent X., called Curia Innocenziana — The Clock — Via delle Missioni — Casa della Missione — Column of Antoninus Pius, dedicated by Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus, discovered in the Garden — Egyptian Obelisk, called Obeliscus Solaris — Piazza Colonna — Column dedicated by the Senate and Roman People to Marcus Aurelius, commonly called the Antonine Column — General Post Office — Arbitrary behaviour of the Authorities — Piazza della Dogana — Temple of Antoninus Pins — Site of Forum of Antoninus Pius — Via de' Pastini, leading to Pantheon — Characteristics of Locality — Poulterers — Fishmongers — Vendors of Frogs and Snails — Pizzicagnoli — Friggitori — Vendors of Morning Drams before daylight — The Pantheon — Baths of Agrippa — Arco di Ciambella — Nondescript Ruins in Via delle Stimmate — Piazza della Minerva — Accademia Ecclesiastica — Egyptian Obelisk — Site of Temple dedicated by Pompey to Minerva — Tablet showing the height of the Inundations of the Tiber — Dominican Convent — Rendezvous of the Santa Cougregazione, formerly the Holy Inquisition — Casanata Library — The Pie di Marmo, or Foot of an unknown colossal Statue — Sites of Temples of Isis and Serapis — Permanent establishment ofthe Christians after the Edicts of the Emperor Gratiau — Piazza di Collegio Romauo — Library — Kircherian Museum — Professed House of Jesuits — Presentation to the General of the Jesuits — Various receptacles of Prints, Tracts, and Pamphlets ofthe Jesuits — Palazzo di Venezia — Via di S. Marco ■ — Sacrilegious Robbery of an Image of the Madonna — Via delle BottegheOscure — A miraculous Picture ofthe Madonna — Septa Julia — Temple of Hercules Custos — Flaminian Circus — Via della Margana — Abundance of Fragments of ancient Buildings engrafted on the Walls, and preserved on Staircases and in the Quadrangles — Convento di Tor de' Specchi, built near the site of the ancient Columna Bellica — A Visit to the Convent.

SECTION II.

— Churches 332 S. Rocco — S. Girolamo dei Schiavoni — S. Lorenzo in Lucina — S. Maria in Campo Marzo — S. Maria Maddalena— S. Maria in Aquiro, otherwise called Degli Orfanelli — S. Iguazio — Caravita — Del Gesu ; Observance on Ash Wednesday ; Paterualia Militum — S. Maria sopra Minerva — Delle Stimmate — S. Marco. CONTENTS OF VOL. I. VII I'age

Chapter VII. Campus

MARTIUS— Western Portion . . . . .307 Via di Ripetta — Piazza Nicosia, or Piazza Clementina — Diligence Office — Palace of Baron Camuccini — Academy for Russian Artists — Dilapidated French Church of S. Ivo — Registration of Property on Tablets of Bronze or Marble — Seminario Romano, or Collegio Germanico— Palazzo Altemps — Piazza Navona — Site of Circus of Alexander Severus — Market of Vegetables, &c. &c. &c. — Etymology of term " Navona " — The Four Fountains — Dilapidated Church of S. Giacomo belonging to the Spanish Government — Fresco Paintings of Annibale Carracci transferred from the walls to canvas — Baths of Alexander Severus — Palazzo Madama — Palazzo Giustiniani — Numerous Reliques of Baths of Alexander Severus — Columna Milliaria — Pasquino Statue — Palazzo Braschi — Sapienza, or Principal University of Papal States — Library and Museum — Palazzo Massimi — Via del Sudario — Site of Senate House where Julius Cæsar was assassinated — Palazzo Valle — Convent of Theatine Monks — Via della Valle — Teatro della Valle — Via Argentina — Teatro Argentina — Palazzo Pio — Site of Pompey's Theatre — History of the Theatre — Campo di Fiore — Site of Pompey's Gardens — Piazza Farnese — Two Fountains — Farnese Palace — Sarcophagus of Cecilia Metella, Farnese Hercules, &e. — Spada Palace — Portico of Borromini — Pompey's Statue — Piazza Pelegrini — Inscription illustrative of administration of Criminal Law by secret Tribunals — Assassins' Daggers suspended as votive offerings at a Shrine of the Madonna — Palazzo Mattei — Palazzo Costaguti ; celebrated Frescoes on Ceilings — Piazza delle Tarterugghe — Fountain— Piazza de' Cenci — Palazzo Cenci, built on the site of ancient Theatre of Balbus — Jews Ghetto — Piazza di Pescheria — Roman Fishniarket — Portico of Octavia — Theatre of Marcellus — Palazzo della Cancelleria — Viccolo de' Leutari, where Pompey's Statue was discovered — Palazzo Farnesina — Via Giulia — Site of Pons Vaticanus, or Triumphalis — Fontana di Ponte Sisto — Piazza de' Scarrici— Via di Mascherone — Colossal marble Mask — Palazzo Falconieri, residence of Cardinal Fesch — English College — Ferry-boat — Roman Prisons— Another Ferry-boat — Via Paola — Arch of Emperor Gratian — Banco di S. Spirito — Monte Giordano — Via de' Coronari — House of Raphael — Venders of Beads and Crucifixes — Convent of S. Agostino — Biblioteca Angelica — Palazzo Lancellotti — Fresco Painting by Polidoro da Caravaggio.

SECTION IL

— Churches 41fi S. Antonio de' Portoghesi — S. Agostino ; Magnificent Image of Madonna and Infant Saviour ; Copious collection of Assassins' Daggers, silver Hearts, and votive Pictures — S. Apollinare — S. Luigi de' Francesi — S. Salvatore in Termis — S. Eustachio — S. Maria in Monterone — S. Andrea della Valle— S. Pantaleo — S. Carlo ai CatiDari S. Caterina de Funari — S. Maria in Campitelli— S. Angelo in Pescaria — S. Salvatore in Lauro — S. Maria in Vallicella, or Chiesa Nuova CONTENTS OF VOL. I. Pagi ;e S. Maria della Pace— S. Maria dell' Anima— S. Agnese— Crypt of S. Agnese; a miracle relating to her preservation — S. Giacomo — S. Lo renzo in Damaso— S. Caterina della Rota — S. Girolamo della Carita —S.S. Trinita de' Pelegrini— Della Morte, or Santa Maria dell' Ora zione ; Subterraneous Cemetery — S. Caterina di Sienna — Spirito Santo dei Napolitani— S. Maria del Suffragio— S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini ; Subterraneous Cemetery.

Appendix

. (A.) — Showing the several divisions of the whole intramural territory, distinguished by the modern streets of Rome, as boundaries . . 485 (B.) — Extracts, collected, passim, from a work entitled 'Trattato delle Pietre Antiche,' di Faustino Corsi ...... 489 (C.) — Relating to the assimilation of the Roman Palm to English measure . . . . . . . . . .519 (D.) — Table, showing the Time of Noon by the Italian Clocks, calculated according to the latitude of Rome, 41° 53' 52", and the obliquity of the ecliptic, 23° 27' 48" Sfc. fye. Introductory Chapter. " Chi va piano, va sano, — e va lontano." Italian Proverb. The present work is intended for the general public ; to fur nish to the numerous readers, at home or abroad, a simple and distinct account of Rome and its antiquities, according to a plan which I will at once endeavour to explain ; and then I will state the means by which the materials necessary to carry the plan into execution were collected.

The extent of territory proposed to be described in these volumes is limited to the space enclosed within the walls of Rome on both sides of the Tiber, with the addition only of a few places and objects which, falling within the reach of an easy morning's walk, must be considered part and parcel of the things to be visited : such as the Ponte Molle ; the villas Borghese, Albani, and Pamfili Doria ; the Basilicas of S. Sebastian, S. Lorenzo, and S. Paolo fuori le Mura ; the churches of S. Pancrazio, S. Agnese fuori le Mura, S. Cos tanza, and Domine quo vadis ; the ancient temples of Bacchus and of Dio Redicolo ; the fountain of Egeria ; and the tombs of Caius Cestius and Cecilia Metella. This territory I have divided into eighteen topographical divisions, and have assigned a separate chapter to each division ; and each chapter, with the exception of the first and ninth, where there are no churches, contains two sections, of which the second section relates to the churches exclusively.

VOL. I. B I have not here adopted the ancient plan of Augustus, who divided Rome into fourteen regiones — for this reason, because the regiones, or, as they are called in modern Italian, rioni, are traced in such a manner that, without any regard to the limits of the seven hills, here and there portions of two or more hills are indiscriminately comprehended in the same regio ; whereas it is infinitely more desirable to have a clear idea of the hills than of the regiones, which latter are in teresting almost exclusively to antiquaries. Neither are there sufficient means of knowing the precise limits of the regiones ; for Publius Victor, Sextus Rufus, and others, on whose writings we depend exclusively for information, give no farther data as to the periphery of each regio, than the boundaries with relation to each other, the number of streets belonging to each, and a list of the temples and public buildings they con tain.

Therefore I bave preferred to assume for my divisions those remarkable portions of ground with which the modern public at large are best acquainted, as will be seen by the following list of my chapters :— Chapter 1 contains the portion outside the walls comprising the approach by the Porta del Popolo. 2. The Corso, identical with the ancient Via Fla minia. 3. Tbe Pincio. 4. The Quirinale. 5. The Vimi nale. 6. The eastern portion of the Campus Martius. 7. The western portion of the Campus Martius. 8. The Capi toline. 9. The Palatine. 10. The Forum, the Velabrum, and Circus Maximus. 11. The Cœlian. 12. The Esquiline. 13. The Aventine. 14. The portion outside the walls from the Porta Salaria to the Porta Ostiensis, now S. Paolo. 15. The Janiculum. 16. The Vatican or the Leonine city. 17. The Vatican, comprehending the palace exclusively. 18.

The portion outside the walls beyond the Porta Janiculensis, now Pancrazio. With all which well-known points and places the divisions may be identified precisely in the same manner as the smaller streets in London are identified, according to our system of social and postal communication, with the larger streets and with the squares. Thus, to say nothing of the Corso and the Forum, places of common resort, the Campus Martius is enclosed, as it were, in a nook, within a bend of the Tiber ; and all the rest above specified are either of limits not to be mistaken, or else remarkable by some one or more well-known object or objects. The Capitoline hill, for instance, is surmounted by a lofty tower, crowned by the statue of Roma Christiana, conspicuous the whole length of the Corso. The Palatine is circumscribed all round by lofty banks, scarped and lined with brick — ruins, for the most part, of the palace of the Cæsars.

On the summit of the Quirinale are the horses of Phidias and Praxiteles. On the Viminale are the baths of Dioclesian. On the Esquiline the baths of Titus. The Cælian is distinguished by lofty scarped banks on every side, and the Colosseum at its foot ; and the Aven tine by a cluster of churches and convents, forming together a beautifully picturesque group, overhanging the Temple of Vesta and the Tiber. Notwithstanding, however, that the divisions are thus so far determinable, it is not so easy to state the boundaries of the seven hills precisely, or say always with certainty what portion of ground properly belongs to one hill and what to another, even if the ancients themselves were able to do so ; especially where the Quirinale, Viminale, and Esquiline, all three converge upon an undulating surface, covered with a multitude of small streets so unconnected and tortuous, that it is quite impossible to pursue one's way straight to a desired point in any given direction.

Under these cir cumstances I have assumed, somewhat arbitrarily perhaps, the modern streets, such as they are, for my boundary lines, not caring whether the deviation be on one side or on the other, but reconciling all discrepancies as well as I can after an attentive consideration of the subject, and a tolerably perfect acquaintance with the ground in question, — careful above all things to convey a correct idea of the locality to the mind of the reader. The territory being thus distributed, I have traced the various routes according to the paper in the Ap pendix to the first volume marked A, through all the streets and lanes, with sufficient exactness to enable any person if in Rome to go from one place to another ; or even if at home, sitting in his arm-chair, to mark the way upon a map of the modern city.

At the same time I have taken care to arrange the topographical descriptions in such a manner that those persons not interested or curious about that portion of the work may skip, if so inclined, and pass forward without inconvenience to the subject that follows. b In describing the antiquities, I have not aimed at more than to give just so much of the history and character of each object as, though perhaps already known to numerous enlight ened readers, is indispensable to mark its identity, and serve as the substructure of what I have to add from personal observa tion ; such as here and there a remark either with regard to disputed questions among antiquaries, or arising from the relation which the ruin or monument in question may bear to others in the vicinity ; and I have introduced occasionally, as episodes in the way of light reading, such various scenes and incidents illustrative of the present condition of modern Rome as bear reference to each particular locality.

With regard to the churches, and previous to making the reader acquainted with the regular order, which for the sake of easy reference and perspicuity I have adhered to in de scribing them, it will be necessary to say a few words relative to their construction and history. The ancient Roman basilica, used for the purpose of their law-courts and as a rendezvous for merchants and the people, is the prototype of the Christian churches : accordingly the seven principal cathedrals in Rome, S. Peter, S. John Lateran, S. Maria Maggiore, S. Croce in Gerusalemme, S. Paolo fuori le Mura, S. Lorenzo, and S. Sebastiano, are called basilicas. The area of the interior was an oblong, terminating with a small portion elevated a few steps above the lower level ; and at the extremity was a large niche or absis, in the centre of whicli the prætor or presiding magistrate sat in his chair sur rounded by the public functionaries.

The larger portion of the area towards the entrance consisted either of a single nave, or three naves, or five naves, divided in both the latter cases by columns supporting a continuous entablature ; and above was a flat ceiling. The Roman churches, however, may per haps owe a more ancient origin to the Pagan temples, between which and the basilica there was essentially little difference, as may be seen by the ancient temple of Fortuna Virilis in Rome, converted with very trifling alterations to a place of Christian worship ; or by the description by Lucian of the temple of the Syrian goddess at Hieropolis, within a few miles of Samosata, his native town, of which, speaking as an eye witness, he gives a wonderfully graphic picture, comprising some very striking points of resemblance, such as the in terior perfumed with clouds of incense, the columns, the statues, the gilded ceiling, and a portion of the area at the extremity, called ©adaptor, accessible to none but the priests, and elevated, like the modern choir, above the lower level.

At all events the circular temples, such as the Pantheon and the Temple of Vesta, the former of which was adapted to the offices of the Roman Catholic church, literally without any change at all, have evidently furnished the model of the nu merous circular, oval, and octagonal churches at present ex isting. <&• As to the rectangular churches, it is not to be wondered at that in the early days of Christianity a form of building espe cially contrived for the convenience of large congregations, and then in general use, was adopted ; and there are, accordingly, at the present day churches of a single nave, churches of three naves, and, in the instances of S. John Lateran and S. Paolo fuori le Mura, churches of five naves. In these generally the elevated portion above-mentioned of the area at the extremity of the basilica is still represented by the choir or sanctuary ; and the absis — which may be briefly described as the perpen dicular section, or rather bi-section of a dome, the same as a spacious niche, as near as may be — has been preserved without any alteration.

Also in the centre of the absis the pontifical, papal, or episcopal chair is to be seen in many of the early Christian churches, placed in precisely the same position where the prætor's chair stood formerly. The form, moreover, is so like the ancient Roman prætor's or curule chair, that, com pared with specimens of the latter that I have seen in Rome, the difference is hardly perceptible. Both, in shape resembling an easy library chair, are formed out of a solid block of white marble, and ornamented with bass-relief. The altars, too, of the pagan temples have been adopted in the Roman churches with little alteration. These may be said to be of two varieties, such as may be seen existing in their original state on the circumference of the Pantheon : one, the œdicula, a term indicating the station where the ancients used to place the statues of their deities, and consisting of an altar table upon the wall, protected by a pediment supported on a pair of columns ; and the other similarly protected by a pcdiment and its columns, but contained within an arched or rectangular recess, or within an absis.

Another and a modern variety of altar also in use in the modern churches is merely an altar table appended to the wall, without any other ornament than the altar picture, with which altars of every description in Rome are almost invariably surmounted. It will be here necessary to remark that in the Roman Catholic churches the terms chapel and altar, " capella" and "altare," are used indiscriminately. The pediments in the Roman churches are of three varieties, to the first of which, when neither of the others are particularly mentioned, I must be understood to allude in my description ; that is the most ordinary and classical of all, used above the windows and doors of most modern dwellings, and being of the form of an isosceles triangle, somewhat resembling, from the inclination of the upper members, the expanded wings of an eagle, was called by the Greeks Astosor Ae-r^a. The second variety, which I have distinguished by the term "curved," is where a curve instead of the legs of the triangle surmounts the entablature ; and the third variety, which I have called the " broken pediment," is where the apex of either of the two varieties above-mentioned, like the centre of a blown-up bridge, is wanting.

Among the various appendages which, notwithstanding the above-mentioned characteristic features retained, the forms and ceremonies of the early Christian worship rendered necessary to engraft upon the basilica, the first was the atrium or quadrangle in front of the principal entrance and gable. The quadrangle with a fountain in the middle, of which the recep tacle was called the " cantharus," was surrounded by a portico, for the convenience of those penitents or neophytes whose state of probation was not sufficient to be permitted to advance nearer to the sanctuary. Immediately within the entrance of the church there was also a portico, called the "narthex," appropriated to the reception of the neophyte or catechumen more advanced in the order of privileges ; and upon the walls of the church above, encompassing one, two, or three sides of the building, was another portico, or rather gallery, for the convenience of women exclusively.

The choir or presbytery perhaps for the purpose of removing it from the position previously occupied by the ©«X_/ios in the pagan temples, was at first constructed on a quadrangular area in the middle of the nave, and enclosed by a low marble balustrade, outside of which, upon the two angles towards the entrance of the church, were a pair of marble pulpits, called " ambones," from one of which was read the epistle, and from the other, distinguished by the paschal candlestick, the gospel. The practice, therefore, of having two pulpits, which has grown into use of late years in our English churches, proceeds evidently from this origin. Of the above-mentioned distinctive features of the primary Christian churches, though all have generally disappeared for many centuries, some one or more specimen or specimens of each are yet in existence.

For instance, in the church of S. Clemente, the most perfect model existing as well of the early Christian church as of the ancient Roman basilica, supposed to have been built by S. Clement, third bishop of Rome in succession after S. Peter the apostle, in the ninety-first year of the Christian era, there is to be seen in perfect preservation the atrium outside the building. In the church of S. Clemente also, enclosed in the middle of the nave by a low balustrade of marble, is the choir or presbytery in the position above referred to ; and also outside the balustrade a pair of marble ambones, and in front of the one on the left-hand side, a small column of marble representing the paschal candlestick. The present is the only specimen in Rome of such a choir or presbytery, though there are several of the ambones, of which the two finest pair are — one in the church of Aracœli, and the other in the church of SS.

Nereo ed Achilleo, near the baths of Caracalla. The position, however, in the churches where the presbytery enclosed in the middle of the nave is wanting, is on both sides ofthe main arch which divides the nave from the transept. There is also in the church of S. Clemente, upon the gable wall above the entrance, one of the ancient galleries above referred to, which was used to be appropriated to the female congregation. A better specimen of such a gallery is to be seen in the church of S. Agnese fuori le Mura, where it encompasses three sides instead of, as here, one side only of the building. In the church of S. Clemente also, in the absis at the ex tremity, may be seen, as well as in many others of the early churches, an episcopal chair of marble. In the church of S. Clemente there is not the narthex or inner portico ; though speci mens of these also may be seen in the churches of S. Silvestro in Capite, S. Maria in Acquiro, S. Agnese fuori le Mura, S. Anas tasia, and S. Lorenzo in Damaso, all, with the exception of S. Anastasia, the date of which is unknown, belonging to the third and fourth centuries.