Chapter 3

COLUMN OF MARCUS AURELIUS.View larger image.

The shaft of this pillar is of precisely the same height as that of the Pillar of Trajan. The pedestal, on the other hand, is much higher, and rises considerably above the level of the modern pavement. The present marble facing of this pedestal has been employed to strengthen the foundations of the monument, which had been much injured. The pillar, after having been frequently struck and much damaged by lightning, was restored, at the command of Sixtus V., by Fontana and his nephew Carlo Maderno. Looking up, we perceive the iron cramps used to keep together the blocks of marble, which had slipped out of their original position. But for this support, this fine monument would long since have sunk beneath the pressure of its own weight.

The sculptures are very interesting, but can no more be enjoyed on the spot than those on the Pillar of Trajan. They represent scenes from the battles fought in Germany. The column is formed of 28 blocks of white marble, is 137 feet high, and is crowned with a statue of S. Paul. Sixtus V., in restoring the Column of Marcus Aurelius, in error inscribed it to Antoninus Pius.

Facingthe Piazza Colonna is a large palace. The columns which form the portico were found in the ruins of Veii.Our attention is next attracted by

situated in the Piazza Monte Citorio, behindthe Palace. Orders for admission to special seats may be obtained from any deputy, but there is a compartment in the gallery open to the public.

Opposite the Parliament House is an

It was erected originally at Heliopolis to Psammeticus I., of the twenty-fourth dynasty, more than six centuriesB.C.It is 72 feet high. Its first site in Rome was in the Campus Martius, where is now the Piazza dell'Impresa, where it was found and taken to its present site. The Roman pedestal with inscription is in the Church of S. Lorenzo in Lucina. The obelisk was repaired, and its present pedestal formed of fragments of the Antonine Column, which stood near by. The obelisk was brought to Rome by Augustus at the same time as the one in the Piazza del Popolo, and was put up, according to Pliny (xxxvi. 15), as a sun-dial:—

"The one that has been erected in the Campus Martius has been applied to a singular purpose by the late Emperor Augustus—that of marking the shadows projected by the sun, and so measuring the length of the days and nights. With this object, a stone pavement was laid, the extreme length of which corresponded exactly with the length of the shadow thrown by the obelisk at the sixth hour on the day of the winter solstice. After this period the shadow would go on day by day gradually decreasing, and then again would as gradually increase, correspondingly with certain lines of brass that were inserted in the stone—a device well deserving to be known, and due to the ingenuity of Facundus Novus, the mathematician. Upon the apex of the obelisk he placed a gilded ball, in order that the shadow of the summit might be condensed and agglomerated, and so prevent the shadow of the apex itself from running to a fine point of enormous extent, the plan being first suggested to him, it is said, by the shadow that is projected by the human head. For nearly the last thirty years, however, the observations derived from this dial have been found not to agree,—whether it is that the sun itself has changed its course, in consequence of some derangement of the heavenly system; or whether that the whole earth has been in some degree displaced from its centre—a thing that, I have heard say, has been remarked in other places as well; or whether that some earthquake, confined to this city only, has wrenched the dial from its original position; or whether it is that, in consequence of the inundations of the Tiber, the foundations of the mass have subsided, in spite of the general assertion that they are sunk as deep into the earth as the obelisk erected upon them is high."

Regaining the Corso, the first turning on the right, Via Pietra, leads into thePiazza di Pietra, in which are the ruins of

Eleven Corinthian columns, which formed a part of one side of the temple, still stand, forming the entrance into a building once used as a custom-house. They are 42½ feet high and 4½ feet in diameter, supporting an architrave of marble which has beenrecently restored. In the interior are some immense blocks of marble which formed part of the vaulting. The temple, with the Portico of the Argonauts which surrounded it, was erected by Agrippa. It is now used as a chamber of commerce.

TEMPLE OF NEPTUNE.View larger image.

Continuing our ramble along the Corso, on the rightis thePalazzo Simonetti, on the left thePalazzo Sciarra. The pictures here have not been shown to the public for some years. Beyond,standing back, is theChurch of S. Marcello, containing the celebrated cherubs of Pierino del Vaga, the most exquisite things ever done in fresco. The tomb of Cardinal Weld is also here.

Rienzi's body was hung up by the feet for two days in front of this church.

was founded in the eighth century, but was rebuilt in 1485, when the tradition arose that it was on the site of the hired house of S. Paul in Rome. Dodwell, the English explorer in Greece, was buried here. There are also tombs of several members of the Bonaparte family.A door on the left ofthe portico, built in 1662 from the designs of Pietro da Cortona, leads down into the subterranean chambers, where a well is shown said to have been used by S. Paul to baptize his converts. In an adjoining chamber S. Luke is said to have painted his Madonna. Here are some remains of the materials of the Arch of Claudius, which spanned the Via Flaminia at this point; and an old piece of fresco, said to be by S. Luke. These remains below the church formed part of

Cicero Ad Atticum (iv. 15) informs us that Julius Cæsar commenced a septa in the Campus Martius for the Comitia Centuriata and Tributa. It consisted of a beautiful building of marble, surrounded with a portico a mile square. It adjoined the Villa Publica. It was completed by Lepidus the triumvir, and dedicated by Agrippa (Dion Cassius, liii. 23). Frontinus (Aq. xxii.) says the arches of the Aqua Virgo ended in the Campus Martius, in front of the Septa.

The Comitia Centuriata, when the people assembled in their military order, to elect their highest magistrates, to pass their laws, and to vote upon peace or war, always met outside the walls in the Campus Martius.

Comitia Tributa, for less important magistrates, tribunes, and ædiles, met sometimes in the Campus Martius.

The Septa consisted of pens (hence the name), into which the tribes passed to record their votes, which were given by ballot. Every voter received atabella(tablet), on which he wrote the name of the candidate for whom he voted. He then dropped it into an urn.

Near by, Agrippa built the Diribitorium, a large building used for distributing and counting the ballot tickets. It was dedicated by Augustus (Dion Cassius, lv. 8; Pliny, xvi. 40). During a fire Claudius passed two nights here (Suetonius, "Claudius," xviii.).

These ruins extend under the Doria Palace, and have nothing to do with any house. There were no houses on the Campus Martius in Paul's time. (Seepage 197.)

Just beyond, on the same side of the way, is

open on Tuesday and Friday from 10 till 2. Catalogues in each room. Fee, half-franc.

First Roomcontains four sarcophagi. A picture of the Deluge, by Scarsellino.

Second Room.—4. Caritas Romana, by Valentin. (Seepage 191.) 24. Madonna and Child, by F. Francia. 28. Annunciation, by Lippi. 33. S. Agnese, by Guercino.

Fourth Room.—Bust of Leo X., Doria.

Fifth Room.—17. Money-Changers, by Quentin Matsys. 25. S. Joseph, by Guercino.

Sixth Room.—13. Madonna, by Carlo Maratta. 30. Sketch of a Boy.

Seventh Room.—8. Belisarius in the Desert, by Salvator Rosa. 19. Slaughter of the Innocents, by Mazzolini.

First Gallery.—3. Magdalen, by Annibale Caracci. 9. Holy Family, by Sassoferrato. 14. A Titian. 20. Three Ages of Man, by Titian. 25. Flight into Egypt, by Claude Lorraine. 45. Madonna, by Guido Reni. 50. Holy Family, by Giulio Romano.

Second Gallery.—6. Madonna, by Francia. 14. Bartolo and Baldo, by Raphael. 24. Calvin, Luther, and Catherine, by Giorgione. 40. Herodias, by Pordenone. 50. Confessor, by Rubens. 53. Joanna of Arragon, School of Leonardo da Vinci. Bust of Andrea Doria. 80. Wife and Self, by Titian.

Third Gallery.—5. Landscape, by Claude Lorraine. 12. The Mill, by same, a most extraordinary complication. 18. Pietà, by Caracci.

Cabinet of Gems.—1. Portrait of a Letterato, by Lucas van Leyden. 2. Andrea Doria, by Sebastiano del Piombo. 3. Giannetto Doria, by Bronzino. 4. S. Philip Neri, by Barocci. 5. Innocent X., by Velasquez. 6. Entombment, by John Emelingk. Bust of Lady Mary Talbot.

Proceeding down the Corso, we reach the Piazza di Venezia. On the leftis the Tolonia Palace, andon the rightthe Venetian Palace (now the Austrian Embassy), a building of the middle ages.On the right-hand side of the narrow street, in a line with the Corso, Via Morforio, is the

converted into a house, the lower part being shops. By descending into the vault, it will be seen that it is hewn out of the natural rock. The Claudii family "received, from the state, lands beyond the Anio for their followers, and a burying-place for themselves near the Capitol" (Suetonius, "Claudius," i. 1).

Adjoining is the house where Giulio Romano was born.

A few steps beyond, on the left-hand side of the same street, is the

The inscription records the virtue and public honour of a Roman magistrate of the time of the republic. It is supposed to be two thousand years old.

C. PUBLICO . L. Q. F. BIBULO . AED . PL. HONORISVIRTUTISQUE . CAUSSA . SENATUSCONSULTO . POPULIQUE . IUSSU . LOCUS.MONUMENTO . QUO . IPSE . POSTEREIQUEEIUS . INFERRENTUR . PUBLICE . DATUS . EST.

C. PUBLICO . L. Q. F. BIBULO . AED . PL. HONORIS

VIRTUTISQUE . CAUSSA . SENATUS

CONSULTO . POPULIQUE . IUSSU . LOCUS.

MONUMENTO . QUO . IPSE . POSTEREIQUE

EIUS . INFERRENTUR . PUBLICE . DATUS . EST.

It is of travertine stone and plain Doric architecture. There is some talk of pulling the house down, so that this interesting monument may be better seen.

Continuing our ramble down the street, we arrive, on the right, at the Church of S. Giuseppe dei Falegnami. It is built over part of

erected, according to Livy (i. 33) by Ancus Martius. "In order to suppress the terror, the boldness which the vicious assumed from hence (A.U.C.121),[1]and which gained ground continually, a prisonwas built in the middle of the city, adjoining the Forum." Servius Tullius added a lower cell, called theTullianum, 6½ feet high and 19 feet by 9. Prisoners who were condemned to be strangled or to die of hunger were thrust down the aperture; hence the phrase, "to cast into prison." Sallust ("Catiline," lv.) thus describes it:—

"There is a place in the prison which is called the Tullianum Dungeon. It is about 12 feet deep in the ground when you have ascended a little to the left.[2]It is secured round the sides by walls, and over it is a vaulted roof, connected with stone arches; but its appearance is disgusting and horrible, by reason of the filth, the obscurity, and the stench. When Lentulus had been let down into this place, certain men, to whom orders had been given, strangled him with a cord."

The upper part of the Mamertine Prison was partly rebuilt in the time of Tiberius, as we know from an inscription remaining in the cornice over the flight of steps under the church.

C. VIBIUS . C. F. RUFINUS . M. COCCEIUS . NERVA . COS . EX . S. C. ConsulsA.D.23.

It seems to have been used exclusively for state prisoners. We have records of the following, amongst others, who were confined here:—

Manlius, who had defended the Capitol against the Gauls.—B.C.382.

Quintus Pleminius, a prisoner for sedition.—B.C.194.

Jugurtha, King of Numidia, who was starved to deathB.C.104. He exclaimed, when cast in, "By Hercules! how cold is this bath of yours!" (Plutarch, in "Caius Marius"), evidently speaking of the spring as existing in those days.

Catiline conspirators, strangled by order of the Consul Cicero.—B.C.55.

Vercingetorix, King of the Gauls, by order of Julius Cæsar.

Sejanus, the minister of Tiberius.—A.D.31.

Simon, the son of Giora, the defender of Jerusalem against Vespasian.—A.D.69.

In the centre of the upper chamber is the round aperture, covered by a grate, down which the prisoners were cast.

Juvenal says: "Happy ages of the just, happy centuries, it may be said, those which saw, formerly under the kings, as under the tribunes, Rome content with one prison."

One prison may have been enough in those times when it was against the law to confine a Roman citizen before he was tried. We have records of other prisons. Appius Claudius constructed a prison for common offenders near the Forum Olitorium, the scene of "Roman Charity." (Seepage 190.) Pliny mentions "Stationes Municipiorum"—barracks of the municipal soldiers—near the Forum of Julius Cæsar. These may likewise have been prisons. In addition to these, there was theLautumiæ.

Belowthe church, the Chapel of the Crucifixion occupies part of the buildings of the prison, and from the sacristy a flight of modern steps leads down into a lower cell, the Chapel of SS. Peter and Paul. The entrance and steps from the street are also modern. In this chamber, to the right of the altar, is a closed-up passage; it evidently communicated with other chambers. On the tufa, carefully guarded by iron bars, an indentation is shown which, they say, was caused by the jailers beating Peter's face against the rock. (He must have had rather a hard head!)

Another flight of modern stairs leads down into the Tullianum: the opening down which the prisoners were cast can still be seen. The iron door is the opening of a sewer leading into the Cloaca Maxima, by which means the dead bodies, &c., were taken away. This drain is of the same construction as the Cloaca Maxima, and comes from beyond the other chambers, mentioned below, with which it also communicates.

The Roman Catholic tradition is, that SS. Peter and Paul were confined here, and they show the pillar to which they are said to have been chained, though there are no marks of a staple having been fixed in the stone, as represented in the bronze bas-relief; and a fountain which miraculously sprang up when they had converted their keepers, and they wished to be baptized: this was evidently alluded to by Jugurtha.

The name Mamertine Prison is medieval. By the ancients it was calledthe Prison, or the Tullian Prison.[3]The two chambers are only a small part of the ancient prison, which extended up the left side of the Clivus Argentarius, the modern Via Marforio, and evidences of its extent can be seen in the cellars of the houses. It evidently extended up as far as No. 68, for under that wine shop we found two chambers corresponding with the two under the church. The prison was approached from the Forum by a flight of stairs called

or Stairs of Wailing. Criminals were often put to death on them, and others were exposed there after death. "Those who were put to death were exposed on the Scalæ Gemoniæ, and then dragged into the Tiber" (Suetonius, "Tiberius," lxi.).

At a short distance from the church in the little lane opposite, Via Marmorelle, 29, are some more remains of the Prison, which eventually became the

"Julius Cæsar, with money raised from the spoils of war, began to construct a new Forum" (Suetonius, "Cæsar," xxvi.)—the site costing about £807,291. This new Forum was necessary, on account of the old Forum becoming too small for the public business. Pliny (xvi. 86) mentions the barracks of the municipal guards as being between the Vulcanal and the Forum of Julius Cæsar. These remains consist of a series of five large chambers; one is forty feet long and fourteen wide, divided by modern walls and partitions in various ways, and not easy of access. The walls are of tufa. The vaults are of brick, with openings for letting down prisoners. These are of later date than the tufa walls, and one of them is supported by a fine arch of travertine.

(The new excavations are open to the public every day without fee.

To understand the Roman Forum and its surroundings, visitors should attend the lectures given on the spot by the author of these Rambles, descend with him to its level, and examine each remaining object in detail; thus they may learn something of the buildings and the history that crowded on its space. For particulars, apply at 93 Via Babuino, Rome.

Mutilated fragments still speak of the former grandeur of the spot, dead men of its fame, and living authors of its past and present history.

In these Rambles we shall only treat of the most important and present remains, which are classed in the order in which they should be visited, and not chronologically.

The real foundation of the ancient city has long been covered over by the heaping up, during ages, of earth, stones, rubbish, &c., to the depth of thirty feet. The thick crust had lain untouched by shovel during the long series of popes; especially was this, until recently, thecondition of the Roman Forum. The latter is to be entirely excavated, and the removal of the superincumbent earth is at this present moment being made with a vigour never before attempted.

In short, the Forum is dressed up in quite a new attire, and many old visitors would scarcely recognize it in its modern garb. Crowds of spectators lean against the barriers every day, anxiously reviewing the carting of the earth, and awaiting for artistic valuables to "turn up."

The picturesqueness of the crowds, of the costumes and scenery, the variety of language and nationality, the past associations, all go to make up a spectacle quite unique.

We will follow the modern road, which crosses the Forum, and turning to the left, proceed along the side of the Basilica Julia to the Temple of Castor and Pollux, where a flight of steps gives access to the Forum.

Standing upon the platform of the temple, we propose to explain the various buildings that surrounded the Forum, and then to descend to its ancient level to examine the chief points of interest.

The wordforum, in its simple signification, means market-place; and the Roman Forum was the market-place when Rome consisted of but two hills, the Palatine and Capitoline. It soon lost its primitive use, and became the centre of the religious, civil, and political life of the Romans. Then other market-places were formed, and called after the principal commodity sold therein. In the time of Cæsar the Forum was found too small, and then was commenced the first of the Imperial Fora. The Forum, from the time of Constantine, gradually fell into decay, and was finally ruined in the year 1084, when Robert Guiscard, the Norman chief, burned all Rome from the Lateran to the Capitol.

We may learn from the erection of the Column of Phocas, inA.D.608, that the Forum was then unencumbered with soil. Rome having been at that time deserted for a long period by its emperors, its principal monuments began to fall into decay, the Romans themselves hastening on the work for the sake of the marble; the steady hand of time, allied with the luxuriant vegetation, working slowly but surely, added to thedébris; whilst deposits from the Tiber floods, the wind, and the wash of the rain-shed, helped still more to fill in the valleys. During a long course of years Rome was almost abandoned; the streets remained unswept, and the rubbish of the city collected upon them. At length a new life sprang up, and to thedust of ages was added the refuse of building materials for the new city, till in the year 1650 we have the Forum presented to us on a level with the modern streets, under the name of the Campo Vaccino (the Cow-field); and thus was the Forum filled up. Such are the fluctuations of worldly splendour!

PLAN OF THE ROMAN FORUM.View larger image.

The Forum was not, as many have supposed, a building, but an open space surrounded with buildings, the whole forming the Forum. It was 260 yards long, and 55 yards wide at the bottom. The top, under the Capitol, was 140 yards wide. The temples were built on lofty platforms (podia), to give them a more commanding appearance.

THE ROMAN FORUM, LOOKING TOWARDS THE CAPITOLINE HILL.1. The Temple of Castor and Pollux.2. The Basilica Julia.3. Shrine of Venus.4. Temple of Saturn.5. Tabularium.6. Arch of Severus.7. Mamertine Prison.8. Column of Phocas.9. Temple of Vespasian.10. Temple-tomb of Cæsar.11. Senate House.12. Shop.13. Via Sacra.14. Bases.15. Pedestal of Domitian's Statue.16. Puteal.17. Marsyas.18. Attus Navius.19. Old Rostra.20. Reliefs of M. Aurelius.21. Site of Statue.22. Portico of the 12 Gods.23. Clivus Capitolinus.24. Tarpeian Rock.25. Tower of Capitol.26. Vicus Tuscus.27. Street of Ox Heads.28. Curtian Lake.View larger image.

THE ROMAN FORUM, LOOKING TOWARDS THE CAPITOLINE HILL.

Founded by Aulus Posthumius,A.U.C.268–74, in commemoration of the battle of Lake Regillus. It was afterwards rebuilt by Lucius Metellus. "Tiberius dedicated the Temple of Castor and Pollux, which had been rebuilt out of the spoils of the German war, in his own and his brother's name" (Suetonius, "Tiberius," xx.). "Caligula converted it into a kind of vestibule to his house" (Ibid., "Caligula," xxii.).

The three magnificent pillars still standing belonged to the side facing the Palatine. They indicate approximately the south-east boundary of the Forum. The narrower front looked down from a terrace of considerable elevation upon the Forum, and was connected with it by means of a double flight of stairs, the remains of which were discovered during excavations made some time ago. These pillars, as well as the fragments of the architrave and cornice supported by them, are among the most beautiful architectural remains of ancient Rome. The ornaments of the capitals and of the entablature are as rich and splendid as they are pure and simple. It is therefore probable that they belong to the time of Tiberius.

Pliny (x. 60) tells us of "a raven that was hatched upon the roof of the Temple of Castor and Pollux, and flew into a bootmaker's shopopposite. Every morning it used to fly to the Rostra which looked towards the Forum (the Rostra Julia), where he would salute the Emperor Tiberius, Germanicus, Drusus, and others, as they passed; after which he returned to the shop. This the bird did for several years, till the owner of an opposition shop, through jealousy, killed him, for which the man was put to death; and such a favourite had the bird become that he had a public funeral, and was buried in thefield of Rediculus, on the right-hand side of the Via Appia, at the second milestone. No such crowds had ever escorted the funeral of any one out of the whole number of Rome's distinguished men."

The Church of S. Maria Liberatrice, on our right, occupies the site of

"Numa erected a palace near the Temple of Vesta, called to this day Regia" (Plutarch, "Numa"). Horace (O. i. 2) says: "We see the tawny Tiber, its waves violently forced back from the Tuscan shore, proceed to demolish the monumental Regia (Numæ) and the Temple of Vesta." It was the residence of the Pontifex Maximus, or chief priest, down to the time of Augustus. "Augustus presented the Regia to the Vestal Virgins, because it adjoined their residence" (Dion Cassius, lxv. 27). In the sixteenth century twelve inscriptions relative to the Virgins were found near the church.

Opposite the church, on the level of the Forum, is the round podium of

"Numa erected the Temple of Vesta (A.U.C.37) between the Capitoline and Palatine Hills; the Forum in which this temple was built lying between them" (Dionysius, ii. 66). "It was made round, as a symbol of the earth" (Ovid, "Fasti," vi. 265). "The roof was covered with bronze of Syracuse" (Pliny, xxxiv. 7). It was destroyed by fire under Nero and Commodus, and rebuilt by Vespasian and Septimius Severus. It was the conservatory of the Palladium and holy fire. The number of Virgins was originally four, afterwards increased to six. They were bound to their ministry for thirty years. If they broke their vow they were buried alive: they took their vows for thirty years. "Ten years they were being instructed in their duties, ten years they practised them, and ten years they passed in instructing others" (Plutarch).

On the opposite corner of the Forumten columns and the side walls remain of

Erected by Antoninus Pius,A.D.160; and dedicated by the Senate on his death to himself and wife, who were deified, as we learn from the inscription,—

DIVO . ANTONINO . ET . DIVAE . FAUSTINAE . EX . S. C.

The vestibule of this edifice, composed of ten Corinthian pillars of variegated green marble (cipollino) supporting an architrave andpart of the cellæ, built of square blocks of peperino, still remain. The architrave is adorned at each side with arabesque candelabra guarded, as it were, by griffins.

The portico was excavated in 1876: the ascent to the Temple from the Via Sacra was found to be by a flight of twenty-one steps, fifteen feet in height. The portico now fulfils the same office to the Church of S. Lorenzo in Miranda, which we understand is to be pulled down.

Between this temple and our vantage pointa mass of rubble work marks the site of

Ovid ("Met." xv., "Let." ii. 2), describes it as "close to Castor and Pollux, having its aspect towards the Forum and the Capitol." "They [the Triumvirs] likewise built a tomb to Julius Cæsar in the middle of the Forum, with an asylum, that should be for ever inviolable" (Dion Cassius, "Aug."). Before the temple was built, "a column of Numidian marble, formed of one stone twenty feet high, was erected to Cæsar in the Forum, inscribed—TO THE FATHER OF HIS COUNTRY" (Suetonius, "Cæsar," lxxxv.). This gave place to the temple, which had four columns in front, as we learn from a relief and a coin. It was decorated with the statues of the Julian line. "About the time of the death of Nero, the Temple of Cæsar being struck with lightning, the heads of all the statues in it fell off at once; and Augustus's sceptre was dashed from his hand" (Suetonius, "Galba").

We must now call attention to the buildings between the Temple of Antoninus and the Church of S. Adriano on the line of the houses shortly to be pulled down; but till the excavations are made, we cannot be certain of the details. Next to the temple stood

InB.C.180, "Marcus Fulvius made contracts for a court of justice behind the new bankers' shops" (Livy, xl. 51). It was destroyed by fire, and rebuilt by Paullus Æmilius,B.C.53.

Plutarch says that Paullus expended on it the large sum of money he had received from Cæsar as a bribe.

Pliny (xxxvi. 24) tells us it was celebrated for its columns of Phrygian marble.

For explanation of the word Basilica, seepage 82.

Between this and the Church of S. Adriano stood

InB.C.185, "Cato purchased for the use of the people the two houses, Mænius and Titius, in the Lautumiæ, and four shops, erecting on that ground a court of justice, which was called the Porcian" (Livy, xxxix. 44). "The tribunes likewise opposed him very much in his building, at the public charge, a hall below the Senate House, by the Forum, which he finished notwithstanding, and called it the Porcian Basilica" (Plutarch, in "Cato").

This is where the tribunes of the people used to hold their courts. It was destroyed by fire at the same time as the Curia.

Behind was

or Fish-Market. Plautus ("Capteivei," Act iv., Scene 2) says "that the stench of the fish frequently drove the frequenters of the Basilica Porcia into the Forum Romanum."

The Market was destroyed by fireB.C.212 (Livy, xxvi. 27), and rebuiltB.C.180 (Livy, xl. 51). "Marcus Fulvius contracted for the rebuilding of the Fish-Market."

In this districtwas also

It was not only a district near the Forum, but a prison, as the name signifies, made out of stone quarries. It is first mentioned (B.C.212) by Livy (xxvi. 27) in his account of the fire. Livy (xxxii. 26; xxxvii. 3) says it was a place for the custody of hostages and prisoners of war. When Q. M. Celer the consul was imprisoned there by the tribune L. Flavius, Celer attempted to assemble the Senate in it (Dion Cassius, xxxvii. 50); so we may infer that it was a large building. TheLautumiæwasentirely distinctfrom the Mamertine Prison.

The church with the plain front, S. Adriano, and the house with the green shutters, occupy the site of

originally built by Tullus Hostilius one hundred years after the foundation of Rome, and called the Curia Hostilia. "He built a Senate House, which retained the name Hostilia even within the memory of our fathers" (Livy, i. 30).

THE ROMAN FORUM, FROM THE CAPITOL.1. Senate House.2. Arch of Septimius Severus.3. Monument of Marcus Aurelius.4. Rostra ad Palmam.5. Comitium.6. Column of Phocas.7. Temple of Vespasian.8. Temple of Saturn.9. Basilica Julia.10. Sacred Way.11. Vicus Tuscus.12. Temple of Castor and Pollux.13. Palace of Caligula.14. Temple of Vesta.15. Palatine Hill.16. Arch of Titus.17. House of Cæsar.18. Arcade of the Pearl-Dealers.19. S. Francisca, Forum of Cupid.20. Colosseum.21. Basilica of Constantine.22. Temple of Venus and Roma.23. Temple of the Penates.24. Temple of Romulus.25. Temple of Antoninus Pius.26. Temple-Tomb of Cæsar.27. Site of the Arch of Fabius.28. Curtian Lake.29. Site of Basilica Æmilia.30. Site of Basilica Porcia.31. The Janus or Exchange.32. Site of Original Rostra.View larger image.

THE ROMAN FORUM, FROM THE CAPITOL.

It was destroyed by fire when the body of the tribune Clodius was burned,A.U.C.702. Rebuilt by Faustus, the son of Sylla. Destroyed a second time, to do away with the name of Sylla, on pretence of erecting the Temple of Felicity; rebuilt by Julius Cæsar,A.U.C.711, completed by the Triumvirs, and consecrated by Augustus, who named it the Curia Julia. Again destroyed by fire under Titus, and rebuilt by Domitian, and called Senatus.

It was approached by a flight of steps; for "Tarquin carried old Servius out of the Curia, and threw him down the steps to the bottom" (Livy, i. 48).

This was the proper Senate House; and when we read of the senators meeting in other places, there was always some special reason for their so doing. The tradition of the church, S. Adriano, is, that it was erected out of the remains of the Senate House, the bronze doors of which were carried off to the Lateran by Alexander VII., where they still remain.

An anonymous writer, quoted by Eckhard, states that inA.D.283, under Carinus, a fire destroyed the Curia Julia, the Græcostasis, the Basilica Julia, and the Forum of Cæsar, all of which were restored by Diocletian, 290. The Senate House seems to have been again destroyed, and rebuilt by Flavianus, prefect of the city, in 399, under the title of "Secretarium Senatus;" another prefect, Eucharius, restored it in 407.

The Church of S. Martino occupies the site of

Varro ("Ling. Lat.," v. 155) says: "The Græcostasis was on the right of the Curia, and projected in front of it; and here the Senate received the foreign ambassadors in audience. The Senaculum lay above the Græcostasis, and towards the Temple of Concord, and the senators deliberated in this building with the magistrates who were not entitled to enter the Senate House."

Between S. Martino and S. Adriano the Via Bonella runs out of the Forum on the line of

which passed through the Fora of Cæsar and Augustus to the Suburra. It was the Paternoster Row of ancient Rome. "Thou preferrest, little book, to dwell in the shops in the Argiletum" (Martial, i. 3).

At its entrance stood

InA.U.C.39, "Numa built a shrine to Janus, near the foot of the hill Argiletum, which was to notify a state either of war or peace" (Livy, i. 19). Ovid ("Fasti," i. 259) says, "Thou hast a shrine adjoining two Fora" (the Forum of Cæsar and the Roman Forum). "There was a Janus in the Forum before the Curia. This temple was made entirely of bronze, and of a square form; it was hardly large enough to hold the figure of Janus. The bronze image was four cubits high; in other respects like a man, except that it had two faces, one looking towards the east and the other towards the west. There were bronze doors in each front" (Procopius, "Bel. Got." i. 25). A brick podium under the right end column of the Arch of Severus marks its site.

Somewhat in the foreground is

erected,A.D.205, in honour of the emperor and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, by the senate and people of Rome.[4]The sculptures adorning it are interesting, and represent his victories over the Parthians, Arabians, and Adiabenes.

A chariot, containing the statues of the emperor and his sons, drawn by six horses (now in S. Mark's, Venice), stood on the summit. The sculptures represent details of the Roman military harangues, sieges, camps, assaults with battering-rams, and the submission of prisoners. The front towards the Forum represents the emperor addressing his troops, the taking of Carrha, the siege of Nisibis. The front facing the Capitol represents another harangue, the siege of Atra, and the passage of the Euphrates and Tigris.

In front of the arch are the bases of

DUILIAN COLUMN.View larger image.

erectedA.U.C.493. "Caius Duilius was the first to gain a naval triumphover the Carthaginians: his column still remains in the Forum" (Pliny, xxxiv. 11). It was of bronze, made out of the rostra of the captured ships. Being struck by lightning, it was restored by Germanicus, under Tiberius, and part of his inscription is still to be seen in the column made to receive it by Michael Angelo in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, on the Capitol.

"was erected in honour of C. Mænius, who conquered the ancient Latins,A.U.C.416, and to whom the Romans gave a third of the spoil" (Pliny, xxxiv. 11).

Immediately behind the Arch of Severus are the remains of

Here was originally a shrine erected by Flavius. Livy (ix. 46) says, "InA.U.C.449, to the great displeasure of the nobles, Caius Flavius performed the dedication of the Temple of Concord, in the area of Vulcan."

Pliny (xxxiii. 6) gives us further particulars, and points out the exact site:—"Flavius made a vow that he would consecrate a temple to Concord, if he should succeed in reconciling the privileged orders with the plebeians; and as no part of the public funds could be voted for the purpose, he accordingly built a small shrine of bronze near the Græcostasis, then situated above the Comitium, with the fines which had been exacted for usury.

"Here, too, he had an inscription engraved upon a tablet of brass, to the effect that the shrine was dedicated 203 years after the consecration of the Capitoline Jupiter."

The third temple, Livy (xxii. 33) says, "was erected in the Citadel,A.U.C.538, the Temple of Concord vowed by the Prætor Lucius Manlius, on occasion of the mutiny of some soldiers in Gaul,A.U.C.536."

The fourth temple was dedicated to Concord by the Consul Lucius Opimius, after the death of Gracchus,A.U.C.632. Appianus (i. 26) says "it was in the Forum." Varro ("L.L." v.) says, "The Senaculum was above the Græcostasis, towards the Temple of Concord and Basilica Opimia." Festus says it was "between the Capitoline Hill and the Forum."

The Senaculum was distinct from the Curia. Thus Livy (li. 27) says, "The censors constructed a portico from the Temple of Saturn on the Capitol to the Senaculum, which was above the Curia." The inscription has been preserved to us:—

S. P. Q. R. AEDEM CONCORDIAE VETVSTATE COLLAPSAM IN MELIOREM FACEM OPERE ET CVLTV SPLENDIDIORE RESTITVERVNT.

At the back of the ruins of the temple are the remains of the Basilica Opimia. Part of the ground-plan is shown on a fragment of the marble map of Rome, with a fragment of a basilica behind. On examination of the ruins, the two buildings can be distinctly made out.

In front are the ruins of the steps and portico, with the cella behind. There seems to have been at the back of the cella an entrance into the basilica, both being closed with independent doors. The marble threshold of the temple isin situ, and upon it is cut acaduceus, the emblem of Concord, which was once filled in with bronze; parallel to this, but distinct, is the marble threshold of the basilica, with the holes where the pivots of the doors turned. Under the podium of the basilica is a long narrow vault ofopus incertum, but it doesnotlead into the Tabularium, that being built long afterwards,A.U.C.675, as the old inscription records,B.C.78. It was probably the place where the utensils for the temple were deposited. Some of the marble decorations of the basilica still remain; and this was no doubt the hall used when the Senate are spoken of as having sat in the Temple of Concord. "The Senate assembled in the building near the Temple of Concord" (Dion Cassius, lviii. 2). "In this temple, in which, whilst I was advising the Senate, you placed around it armed men" (Cicero, "2 Phil." vii. and viii.). "Here, in this Cella of Concord, on the slope of the Capitol."

It may be that this is the basilica spoken of in later times as the Basilica Argentaria, probably taking that name from being frequented by the silversmiths. It was restored, after a fire, by Septimius Severus, and the inscription quoted is probably of his date. InA.D.731–741, Pope Gregory III. turned the remains into a Christian church, which exists no longer. In 1817, three inscriptions were found here, referring to the temple and basilica. Cicero ("Per Sest." lxvii.) tell us "that the monuments of L. Opimius in the Forum were very much frequented."

A Temple of Concord seems to have been decorated with many statues, but there is nothing to show whether it was that of Camillus on the Capitol, or Opimius's.

"Piston also made the statues of Mars and Mercury, which are in the Temple of Concord at Rome." "Sthenius made the statues of Ceres, Jupiter, and Minerva, which are now in the Temple of Concord." "Augustus consecrated in the Temple of Concord, as something marvellous, four figures of elephants made of obsidian stone." "Also, a picture of Marsyas bound by Leuxis" (Pliny, xxxiv. 19, xxxv. 36, xxxvi. 67).

"Vitellius left the palace to lay down the ensigns of sovereignty in the Temple of Concord" (Tacitus, "H." iii. 68).

To the left is

Vespasian having rendered such services by restoring the Capitol, and collecting the records in the Tabularium, no more suitable site could be found for the erection of a temple to the deified emperor than in front of an old entrance to this latter building. The three pillars, which are all that remain of the building, stand upon a lofty terrace; and the skill of the architect in concealing the limited depth of the space allotted to the temple is shown in his having placed the columns of the flank nearer to each other than those of the front.

The beauty of this ruin excites universal admiration. It approaches that of the Temple of Castor and Pollux in the Forum. The inscription on the architrave, copied, whilst still entire, by a monk of the monastery of Einsiedeln, in the eighth century, refers to the restoration of the building by Septimius Severus and Caracalla, who appear to have also restored other sanctuaries in the same neighbourhood.

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