Other tombs of interest are those of Cardinal Ancherus, assassinated in 1286 outside the Porta S. Giovanni, and of Monsignor Santoni, a bust, said to have been executed by Bernini when only ten years old.
Two pictures in side chapels are interesting in a Vallombrosan church, as connected with saints of that order,—one representing S. Pietro Aldobrandini passing through the furnace at Settimo; and another the martyrdom of Cardinal Beccaria, put to death at Florence (whither he was sent by Alexander IV. to make peace between the Guelfs and Ghibellines)—and consigned to hell by Dante.
Steps of magnificent rosso-antico lead to the tribune, which is covered with mosaics of A.D. 817-824. Those on the arch represent the heavenly Jerusalem; within is the Saviour with a cruciform halo—the hand of the first person of the Trinity holding a crown over his head—and St. Peter and St. Paul bringing in the sainted sisters of the church; on the right, Pope Paschal I.,[266] with a model of his church; on the left, St. Zeno (?). Above these figures, is the Adoration of the spotless Lamb, and beneath their feet the Jordan; below all is the Lamb again, with the twelve sheep issuing from the mystic cities of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, and verses recording the work of Paschal I.
"The arrangement of saints at Sta. Prassede (817) is altogether different from that at Ravenna, but equally striking. Over the grand arch which separates the choir from the nave is a mosaic, representing the New Jerusalem, as described in the Revelations. It is a walled enclosure, with a gate at each end, guarded by angels. Within is seen the Saviour of the World, holding in his hand the orb of sovereignty, and a company of blessed seated on thrones: outside, the noble army of martyrs is seen approaching, conducted and received by angels. They are all arrayed in white, and carry crowns in their hands. Lower down, on each side, a host of martyrs press forward with palms and crowns, to do homage to the Lamb, throned in the midst. None of the martyrs are distinguished by name, except those to whom the church is dedicated—Sta. Prassede and her sister Pudenziana."—Mrs. Jameson.
While Pope Gelasius II. was celebrating mass in this church, he was attacked by armed bands of the inimical houses of Leone and Frangipani, and was only rescued by the assistance of his nephew Gaetano, after a conflict of some hours. Hence in 1630, Moriandi, abbot of Sta. Prassede, was suddenly carried off and put to fearful tortures, which resulted in his death, ostensibly on account of irregularities in his convent, but really because he had been heard to speak against Urban VIII.[267]
In the sacristy is preserved a fine picture by Giulio Romano of the Flagellation—especially appropriate in the church of the Colonna.
Hence the curious campanile of the old church (built 1110) may be entered, and a loggia whence the great relics of the church are exhibited at Easter, including: portions of the crown of thorns, of the sponge, of the Virgin's hair, and a miniature portrait of our Saviour which is said to have belonged to St. Peter and to have been left by him with the daughters of Pudens.
The Monastery attached to the church, founded by Paschal I., was first occupied by Basilian, but since 1198 has belonged to Vallombrosan monks. Nothing remains of the mosaic-covered chapel of St. Agnes, built by the founder within its walls.
Where the Via Sta. Prassede crosses the road leading from Sta. Maria Maggiore to the Lateran, is the modern gothic church of Il Santissimo Redentore, built by Father Douglas within the last few years.
A little beyond this, attached to the Church of S. Vito, from which it has sometimes been named, is the Arch of Gallienus (supposed to occupy the site of the Esquiline gate in the wall of Servius), dedicated to Gallienus (A.D. 253—260) and his Empress Salonina, by Marcus Aurelius Victor, evidently a court-flatterer of the period, who was prefect of Rome, and possessed gardens on this spot. It is of very inferior execution; the original plan had three arches; only that in the centre remains, but traces of another may be seen on the side next the church. Gallienus was a cruel and self-indulgent emperor, who excited the indignation of the Romans by leaving his old father, Valerian, to die a captive in the hands of the Persians, so that the inscription, "Clementissimo principi cuius invicta virtus sola pietate superata est," is singularly false, even for the time.
"Il arrivait à Gallien de faire tuer trois ou quatre mille soldats en un jour, et il écrivait des lettres comme celle-ci, adressée à un de ses généraux: 'Tu n'auras pas fait assez pour moi, si tu ne mets à mort que des hommes armés, car le sort de la guerre aurait pu les faire périr. Il faut tuer quiconque a eu une intention mauvaise, quiconque a mal parlé de moi. Déchire, tue, extermine: lacera, occide, concide.' Entré dans Byzance en promettant leur pardon aux troupes qui avaient combattu contre lui, il les fit égorger, et les soldats ravagèrent la ville au point qu'il n'y resta pas un habitant. Voilà pour la clémence. Tandis que Valérien, son père, était prisonnier du roi des Perses Sapor, qui pour monter à cheval se servait du dos du vieil empereur comme d'un marchepied, en attendant qu'il le fit empailler, l'indigne fils de Valérien vivait au sein des plus honteuses voluptés, et ne tentait pas un seul effort pour le délivrer. Voilà pour la vaillance et la piété."—Ampère, Emp. ii. 334.
Close to this Gallienus had ordered a statue of himself to be erected, which was to be double the height of the colossus of Nero, but it was unfinished at the time of his death, and destroyed by his successor. From the centre of the arch hung, from the thirteenth century, the chain and keys of the gates of Viterbo, removed at the same time as the great bell of the Capitol. These interesting memorials of middle-age warfare were taken down in 1825.
Passing under the arch we enter upon the Via Maggiore, the main artery leading to Santa Croce. On the left is the humble convent of the Monache Polacche, where the long-suffering Madre Makrena, the sole survivor of the terrible persecution of the nuns of Minsk, has lived in the closest retirement since her escape in 1845.
The story of the cruel sufferings of the Polish-Basilian nuns of Minsk reminds one of the worst persecutions of the early Christians, under Nero and Diocletian. Makrena Miaczylslawska was abbess of a convent of thirty-eight nuns, whom the apostate bishop Siemasko first tried to compel to the Greek faith in the summer of 1838. Their refusal led to their being driven, laden with chains, to Witepsk, in Siberia, where they were forced to hard labour, many of them being beaten to death, one roasted alive in a hot stove, and another having her brains beaten out with a stake by the abbess of the Czernice (apostate nuns), on their persisting in their refusal to change their religion. In 1840 the surviving nuns were removed to Polock, where they were forced to work at building a palace for the bishop Siemasko, and where nine of them perished by a falling scaffold, and many others expired under the heavy weights they were compelled to carry, or under the lash. In 1842 their tortures were increased tenfold, eight of the sisters having their eyes torn out, and others being trodden to death. In 1843 those who still survived were removed to Miadzioly, where the "protopope Skrykin" said that he would "drown them like puppies," and where they were dragged by boats through the shallows of the half-frozen Dwina, up to their necks in water, till many died of the cold. In the spring of 1845, Makrena, with the only three nuns who survived with the use of their limbs (Eusebia Wawrzecka, Clotilda Konarska, and Irene Pomarnacka,) scaled the walls of their prison, while the priests and nuns who guarded them were lying drunk after an orgie, and, after wandering for three months in the forests of Lithuania, made good their escape. The nuns remained in Vienna; the abbess, after a series of extraordinary adventures, arrived in Rome, where she was at first lodged in the convent of the Trinità de' Monti. The story of the nuns of Minsk was taken down from her dictation at the same time by a number of eminent ecclesiastics, authorized by the pope, and the authenticity of her statements verified; after which she retired into complete seclusion in the Polish convent on the Esquiline, where she has long filled the humble office of portress. Her legs are eaten into the bone by the chains she wore in her prison life. The story of the persecution at Minsk may be read in "Le Récit de Makrena Miaczylslawska," published at Paris, by Lecoffre, in 1846; in a paper by Charles Dickens, in the "Household Words," for May, 1854; and in "Pictures of Christian Heroism," 1855.
Nearly opposite this convent is the picturesque ruin of a nymphæum, probably of the time of Septimius Severus, erroneously called The Trophies of Marius, from the trophies, now on the terrace in front of the Capitol, which were found here.
Beyond this, on the right, is the entrance of the Villa Palombara, occupying a great part of the site of the Baths of Titus.
"This villa once belonged to Queen Christina of Sweden, who has left upon the little doorway exactly opposite the ruin called the Trophies of Marius, a curious record of her credulity. It consists of a collection of unintelligible words, signs, and triangles, given her by some alchymist, as the rule to make gold, and which, no doubt, he had found successful, having obtained from her, and probably from many other votaries, abundance of that precious metal in exchange for it. But as she could make nothing of it, she caused it to be inscribed here, in case any passenger, wiser than herself, should be able to develope the mystic signs of this golden secret."—Eaton's Rome.
Though the existing ruin is misnamed, the trophies erected in honour of the victories which Marius gained over the Cimbri were really set up near this; and, curiously enough, on this site also Marius was defeated at the "Forum Esquilinum" by Sylla, who suddenly descended upon Rome from Nola with six legions, and entering by the Porta Esquilina, met his adversary here, and forced him to fly to Ostia.
Behind the Trophies of Marius a lane branches off on the left to the desolate Church of Sta. Bibiana.
In the time of Julian the Apostate, there dwelt in Rome a Christian unity, consisting of Flavian, his wife Dalfrosa, and his two daughters, Bibiana and Demetria. All these died for their faith. Flavian was exiled, and died of starvation; Dalfrosa was beheaded; the sisters were imprisoned (A.D. 362) and scourged, and Demetria died at once under the torture. Bibiana glorified God by longer sufferings. Apronius, the prefect of the city, astonished by her beauty, conceived a guilty passion for her, and placed her under the care of one of his creatures named Rufina, who was gradually to bend her to his will. But Bibiana repelled his proposals with horror, and her firmness excited him to such fury, that he commanded her to be bound to a column, and scourged to compliance. "The order was executed with all imaginable cruelty, rivers of blood flowed from each wound, and morsels of flesh were torn away, till even the most barbarous spectators were stricken with horror. The saint alone continued immoveable, with her eyes fixed upon heaven, and her countenance radiant with celestial peace,—until her body being torn to pieces, her soul escaped to her heavenly bridegroom, to receive the double crown of virginity and martyrdom."[268]
After the death of Bibiana, her body was exposed to dogs for three days in the Forum Boarium, but remained unmolested; after which it was stolen at night by John the priest, who buried it here.
The church, founded in the fifth century by Olympia, a Roman matron, was modernised by Bernini for Urban VIII., and has no external appearance of antiquity. The interior is adorned with frescoes; those on the right are by Agostino Ciampelli, those on the left are considered by Lanzi as the best works of Pietro da Cortona. They pourtray in detail the story of the saint:—
1. Bibiana refuses to sacrifice to idols.
2. The death of Demetria.
3. Bibiana is scourged at the column.
4. The body of Bibiana is watched over by a dog.
5. Olympia founds the church, which is dedicated by Pope Simplicius.
The statue of the saint at the high altar is considered the masterpiece of Bernini. It is dignified and graceful, and would hardly be recognised as his work.
"This statue is one of his earliest works; and it is said that when Bernini, in advanced life, returned from France, he uttered, on seeing it, an involuntary expression of admiration. 'But,' added he, 'had I always worked in this style, I should have been a beggar.' This would lead us to conclude, that his own taste led him to prefer simplicity and truth, but that he was obliged to conform to the corrupted predilection of the age."—Eaton's Rome.
The remains of the saint are preserved beneath the altar, in a splendid sarcophagus of oriental alabaster, adorned with a leopard's head. A column of rosso-antico is shown as that to which Sta. Bibiana was bound during her flagellation. The fête of the martyred sisters is observed with great solemnity on December 2.
"Il est touchant de voir, le jour de la fête, le Chapitre entier de la grande et somptueuse basilique de Sainte-Marie-Majeure venir processionellement à cette modeste église et célébrer de solennelles et pompeuses cérémonies en l'honneur de ces deux vierges et leur mère: C'est que si ces trois femmes étaient faibles et ignorées selon le monde, elles sont devenues par leur foi, fortes et sublimes; et l'Église ne croit pouvoir trop faire pour glorifier une pareille grandeur."—Impressions d'une Catholique à Rome.
On or near this site were the Horti Lamiani, in which the Emperor Caligula was hastily buried after his assassination, A.D. 41, though his remains were shortly afterwards disinterred by his sisters and burnt. These gardens were probably the property of Ælius Lamia, to whom Horace addressed one of his odes.[269] At an earlier period Elius Tubero lived here, celebrated for his virtue, his poverty, and his little house, where sixteen members of the Elian Gens dwelt harmoniously together.[270] He married the daughter of L. Emilius Paulus, "who," says Plutarch, "though the daughter of one who had twice been consul and twice triumphed, did not blush for the poverty of her husband, but admired the virtue which had made him poor."
On the other side of the Trophies of Marius, the Via Porta Maggiore leads to the gate of that name (see Ch. XIII.). Approached by a gate on the left of this road, most desolate, until the making of the railway amid its vineyards and gardens, and crowned with lentiscus and other shrubs, is the picturesque ruin generally called the Temple of Minerva Medica, from a false impression that the Giustiniani Minerva, now in the Vatican, had been found here.[271] It is now generally decided to be a remnant of the bath built by Augustus in honour of his grandsons Caius and Lucius Cæsar (sons of Agrippa and Julia). It is a decagon, with a vaulted brick roof, and nine niches for statues; those of Æsculapius, Antinous, Hercules, Adonis, Pomona, and (the Farnese) Faun, have been found on the site.
Near this is a curious Columbarium of the Arruntia Family, and a brick-lined hollow, supposed to be part of the Naumachia which Dion Cassius says that Augustus constructed "in the grove of Caius and Lucius."
Just where the lane turns off to Sta. Bibiana is the entrance to the courtyard of the Church and Monastery of S. Eusebio, built upon the site of the house of the saint, a priest of noble family, martyred by starvation under Constantius, A.D. 357. His body rests under the high altar, with that of St. Orosus, a Spanish priest, who suffered at the same time. The ceiling of the church is painted by Mengs, and represents the apotheosis of the patron saint. The campanile dates from 1220. In this convent (which was conceded to the Jesuits in 1825 by Leo XII.) English clergymen about to join the Roman Catholic Church frequently "make a retreat" before their reception; Archdeacon Wilberforce is one of many converts who have been received here.
Turning towards Sta. Maria Maggiore, on the left is a Cross on a pedestal formed by a cannon reversed, and inscribed "In hoc signo vinces,"—a memorial of the absolution given by Clement VIII. in 1595 to Henry IV. of France on his being received into the Roman Catholic Church.
Opposite this is a peculiar round arched doorway—unique in Rome—forming the entrance to the Church of S. Antonio Abbate, said to occupy the site of a temple of Diana. The church is decorated with very coarsely-executed frescoes of the life of the saint,—his birth, his confirmation by a bishop who predicted his future saintship, and his temptation by the devil in various forms.
"S. Antonio, called 'the patriarch of monks,' became a hermit in his twentieth year, and lived alone in the Egyptian desert till his fifty-fifth year, when he founded his monastery of Phaim, where he died at the age of 105, having passed his life in perpetual prayer, and often tasting no food for three days at a time. In the desert Satan was permitted to assault him in a visible manner, to terrify him with dismal noises; and once he so grievously beat him that he lay almost dead, covered with bruises and wounds. At other times the fiends attacked him with terrible clamours, and a variety of spectres, in hideous shapes of the most frightful wild beasts, which they assumed to dismay and terrify him; till a ray of heavenly light breaking in upon him, chased them away, and caused him to cry out, 'Where wast thou, my Lord and Master? Why wast thou not with me?' And a voice answered, 'Anthony, I was here the whole time; I stood by thee, and beheld thy combat: and because thou hast manfully withstood thy enemies I will always protect thee, and will render thy name famous throughout the earth.'"—Butler's Lives of the Saints.
"Surely the imagery painted on the inner walls of Egyptian tombs, and probably believed by Anthony and his compeers to be connected with devil-worship, explains his visions. In the 'Words of the Elders' a monk complains of being troubled with 'pictures, old and new.' Probably, again, the pain which Anthony felt was the agony of a fever, and the visions which he saw its delirium."—Kingsley's Hermits.
In the chapel of S. Antonio is a very ancient mosaic, representing a tiger tearing a bull.
"Le tigre en mosaïque conservé dans l'église de St. Antoine, patron des animaux, est, selon toute apparence, le portrait d'un acteur renommé."—Ampère, Hist. Rom. iv. 28.
Hither, on the week following the feast of St. Anthony (January 17), horses, mules, and cows are brought to be blest as a preservative against accidents for the year to come. On the 23rd, the horses of the pope, Prince Borghese, and other Roman grandees (about 2½ P.M.) are sent for this purpose. All the animals are sprinkled with holy water by a priest, who receives a gift in proportion to the wealth of their master, and recites over each group the formula,—
"Per intercessionem beati Antonii Abbatis, hæc animalia liberantur a malis, in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti. Amen!"
"Les bergers romains faisaient la lustration de leurs taureaux; ils purifiaient leurs brebis à la fête de Pales (pour écarter d'eux toute influence funeste), comme ils les font encore asperger d'eau bénite à la fête de Saint Antoine."—Ampère, Hist. Rom. ii. 329.[272]
"'Long live St. Anthony,' writes Mabillon (in the 17th century) as he describes the horses, asses, and mules, all going on the saint's festival to be sprinkled with holy water, and receive the benediction of a reverend father. 'All would go to ruin,' say the Romans, 'if this act of piety were omitted.' So nobody escapes paying toll on this occasion, not even Nostro Signore himself."—Stephens' French Benedictines.
"S. Antonio Abbate is the patron of the four-footed creation, and his feast is a saturnalia for the usually hard-worked beasts and for their attendants and drivers. Gentlefolks must be content on this day to stay at home or go on foot, for there are not wanting solemn tales of how the unbelievers who had obliged their coachmen to drive out on this day have been punished by great misfortunes. The church of S. Antonio stands in a large piazza, usually looking like a desert; but to-day it was enlivened by a varied throng: horses and mules, with tails and manes splendidly interlaced with ribbons, are brought to a small chapel standing somewhat apart from the church, where a priest armed with a large asperge plentifully besprinkles the animals with the holy water which is placed before him in tubs and pails, sometimes apparently with a sly wish to excite them to gambols. Devout coachmen bring larger or smaller wax-tapers, and their masters send alms and gifts, in order to secure to their valuable and useful animals a year's exemption from disease and accident. Horned cattle and donkeys, equally precious and serviceable to their owners, have their share in the blessing."—Goethe, Romische Briefe.
"At the blessing of the animals, an adventure happened, which afforded us some amusement. A countryman, having got a blessing on his beast, putting his whole trust in its power, set off from the church door at a grand gallop, and had scarcely cleared a hundred yards before the ungainly animal tumbled down with him, and over its head he rolled into the dirt. He soon got up, however, and shook himself, and so did the horse, without either seeming to be much the worse. The priest seemed not a whit out of countenance at this; and some of the standers-by exclaimed, with laudable steadfastness of faith, 'That but for the blessing, they might have broken their necks.'"—Eaton's Rome.
"Un postilion Italien, qui voyait mourir son cheval, priait pour lui, et s'écriait: O, Sant' Antonio, abbiate pietà dell' anima sua!"—Madame de Staël.
"The hog was the representative of the demon of sensuality and gluttony, which Anthony is supposed to have vanquished by the exercise of piety and by the divine aid. The ancient custom of placing in all his effigies a black pig at his feet, or under his feet, gave rise to the superstition, that this unclean animal was especially dedicated to him and under his protection. The monks of the Order of St. Anthony kept herds of consecrated pigs, which were allowed to feed at the public charge, and which it was a profanation to steal or kill; hence the proverb about the fatness of a 'Tantony pig.'"—Jameson's Sacred Art, p. 750.
We now enter the Piazza of Sta. Maria Maggiore, in front of which stands a beautiful Corinthian column, now called Colonna della Vergine. This is the last remaining column of the Basilica of Constantine, and is forty-seven feet high without its base and capital. It was brought hither by Paul V. in 1613. The figure of the Virgin on the top is by Bertelot.
The Basilica of Sta. Maria Maggiore, frequently named from its founder the Liberian Basilica, was founded A.D. 352, by Pope Liberius, and John,[273] a Roman patrician, to commemorate a miraculous fall of snow, which covered this spot of ground and no other, on the 5th of August, when the Virgin appearing in a vision, showed them that she had thus appropriated the site of a new temple.[274] This legend is commemorated every year on the 5th of August, the festa of La Madonna della Neve, when, during a solemn high mass in the Borghese chapel, showers of white rose-leaves are thrown down constantly through two holes in the ceiling, "like a leafy mist between the priests and worshippers."
This church, in spite of many alterations, is in some respects internally the most beautiful and harmonious building in Rome, and retains much of the character which it received when rebuilt between 432 and 440, by Sixtus III., who dedicated it to Sta. Maria Mater Dei, and established it as one of the four patriarchal basilicas, whence it is provided with the "porta santa," only opened by the pope, with great solemnity, four times in a century.
The west front was added under Benedict XIV. (Lambertini) in 1741, by Ferdinando Fuga, destroying a portico of the time of Eugenius III., of which the only remnant is an architrave, inserted into which is an inscription, quoted by its defenders in proof of the existence of Mariolatry in the twelfth century:—
In this portico is a statue of Philip IV. of Spain by Lucenti. In the upper story are preserved the mosaics which once decorated the old façade, some of them representing the miracle which led to the foundation of the church.
"To 1300 belong the mosaics on the upper part of the façade of Sta. Maria Maggiore (now inserted in the loggia), in which, in two rows, framed in architectural decorations, may be seen Christ in the act of benediction, and several saints above, and the legend of the founding of the church below—both well-arranged compositions. An inscription gives the name of the otherwise unknown master, 'Philippus Rusuti.' This work was formerly attributed to the Florentine mosaicist Gaddo Gaddi, who died 1312."—Kugler.
Five doors, if we include the walled-up Porta Santa, lead into the magnificent nave (280 feet long, 60 broad), lined by an avenue of white marble columns, surmounted by a frieze of mosaic pictures from the Old Testament, of A.D. 440—unbroken, except where six of the subjects have been cut away to make room for arches in front of the two great side chapels. The mosaics increase in splendour as they approach the tribune, in front of which is a grand baldacchino by Fuga, erected by Benedict XIV., supported by four porphyry columns wreathed with gilt leaves, and surmounted by four marble angels by Pietro Bracci. The pavement is of the most glorious opus-alexandrinum, and its crimson and violet hues temper the white and gold on the walls. The flat roof (by Sangallo), panelled and carved, is gilt with the first gold brought to Spain from South America, and presented to Alexander VI. by Ferdinand and Isabella.
"The mosaics above the chancel arch are valuable for the illustration of Christian doctrine: the throne of the Lamb as described in the Apocalypse, SS. Peter and Paul beside it (the earliest instance of their being thus represented); and the four symbols of the Evangelists above; the Annunciation; the Angel appearing to Zacharias; the Massacre of the Innocents; the Presentation in the Temple; the Adoration of the Magi; Herod receiving the head of St. John the Baptist; and, below these groups, a flock of sheep, type of the faithful, issuing from the mystic cities, Bethlehem and Jerusalem. We see here one curious example of the nimbus, round the head of Herod, as a symbol of power, apart from sanctity. In certain details these mosaics have been altered, with a view to adapting them to modern devotional bias, in a manner that deserves reprobation; but Ciampini (Monumenta Vetera) shows us in engraving what the originals were before this alteration, effected under Benedict XIV. In the group of the Adoration the child alone occupied the throne, while opposite (in the original work) was seated, on another chair, an elderly person in a long blue mantle veiling the head—concluded by Ciampini to be the senior among the Magi; the two others, younger, and both in the usual Oriental dress, with trousers and Phrygian caps, being seen to approach at the same side, whilst the mother stood beside the throne of the child,—her figure recognisable from its resemblance to others in scenes where she appears in the same series. As this group is now before us, the erect figure is left out; the seated one is converted into that of Mary, with a halo round the head, though in the original even such attribute (alike given to the Saviour and to all the angels introduced) is not assigned to her."—Hemans' Ancient Christian Art.
The vault of the tribune is covered with mosaics by Jacopo da Turrita, the same who executed those at the Lateran basilica.
"A general affinity with the style of Cimabue is observable in some mosaics executed by contemporary artists. Those in Sta. Maria Maggiore are inscribed with the name of Jacobus Torriti, and executed between 1287 and 1292. They are surpassed by no contemporary work in dignity, grace, and decorative beauty of arrangement. In a blue, gold-starred circle is seen Christ enthroned with the Virgin; on each side are adoring angels, kneeling and flying, on a gold ground, with St. Peter and St. Paul, the two St. Johns, St. Francis, and St. Anthony (the same in size and position as at St. J. Lateran), advancing devoutly along. The upper part is filled with graceful vine-branches, with symbolical animals among them. Below is Jordan, with small river gods, boats, and figures of men and animals. Further below are scenes from the life of Christ in animated arrangement. The group in the centre of the circle, of Christ enthroned with the Virgin, is especially fine: while the Saviour is placing the crown on His mother's head, she lifts up her hands with the expression both of admiration and of modest remonstrance.[275] The forms are very pure and noble; the execution careful, and very different from the Roman mosaics of the twelfth century."—Kugler.
In front of and beneath the high altar Pius IX. has lately been preparing his own monument, by constructing a splendid chamber approached by staircases, and lined with the most precious alabaster and marbles.
On the right of the western entrance is the tomb of the Rospigliosi pope, Clement IX. (1667—69), the work of Ercole Ferrata, a pupil of Bernini. His body rests before the high altar, surrounded by a number of the members of his family. Left of the entrance is the tomb of Nicholas IV., Masci (1288-92), erected to his memory three hundred years after his death by Sixtus V. while still a cardinal. He is represented giving benediction, between two allegorical figures of Justice and Religion,—a fine work of Leonardo da Sarzana.
"It is well to know that this pope, a mere upstart from the dust, sought to support himself through the mighty family of Colonna, by raising them too high. His friend, the Cardinal Giacomo Colonna, contributed with him to the renewal of the mosaics which are in the tribune of Sta. Maria Maggiore, and one can see their two figures there to this day. It was in this reign that Ptolemais, the last possession of the Christians in Asia, fell into the hands of the Mohammedans; thus ended the era of the Crusades."—Gregorovius.
Behind this tomb, near the walled-up Porta Santa, is a good tomb of two bishops, brothers, of the fifteenth century, and in the same aisle are many other monuments of the sixteenth century, some of them fine in their way.
Nearly on a line with the baldacchino is the entrance of the Borghese Chapel, built by Flaminio Ponzio for Paul V. in 1608, gorgeous with precious marbles and alabasters. Over its altar is preserved one of the pictures attributed to St. Luke (and announced to be such in a papal bull attached to the walls!), much revered from the belief that it stayed the plague which decimated the city during the reign of Pelagius II., and that (after its intercession had been sought by a procession by order of Innocent VIII.) it brought about the overthrow of the Moorish dominion in Spain.
"On conserve à Sainte Marie Majeure une des images de la Madonne peintes par St. Luc, et plusieurs fois on a trouvé les anges chantant les litanies autour de ce tableau."—Stendhal.
The "Scheme of decorations in this gorgeous chapel is so remarkable, as testifying to the development which the theological idea of the Virgin, as the Sposa or personified Church, had attained in the time of Paul V.—the same pope who in 1615 promulgated the famous bull relative to the Immaculate Conception"—that the insertion of the whole passage of Mrs. Jameson on this subject will not be considered too much.
"First, and elevated above all, we have the 'Madonna della Concezione,' 'Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception,' in a glory of light, sustained and surrounded by angels, having the crescent under her feet, according to the approved treatment. Beneath, round the dome, we read in conspicuous letters the text from the Revelation:—SIGNUM. MAGNUM. APPARAVIT. IN. CŒLO. MULIER. AMICTA. SOLE. ET. LUNA. SUB. PEDIBUS. EJUS. ET. IN. CAPITE. EJUS. CORONA. STELLARUM. DUODECIM. Lower down is a second inscription expressing the dedication. MARIÆ. CHRISTI. MATRI. SEMPER. VIRGINI. PAULUS. QUINTUS. P.M. The decorations beneath the cornice consist of eighteen large frescoes, and six statues in marble, above life size. We have the subjects arranged in the following order:—
"1. The four great prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, in their usual place in the four pendatives of the dome.
"2. Two large frescoes. In the first the Vision of St. Gregory Thaumaturgus, and Heretics bitten by Serpents. In the second, St. John Damascene and S. Ildefonso miraculously rewarded for defending the majesty of the Virgin.
"3. A large fresco, representing the four Doctors of the Church who had especially written in honour of the Virgin: viz., Irenæus and Cyprian, Ignatius and Theophilus, grouped two and two.
"4. St. Luke, who painted the Virgin, and whose gospel contains the best account of her.
"5. As spiritual conquerors in the name of the Virgin, St. Dominic and St. Francis, each attended by two companions of his Order.
"6. As military conquerors in the name of the Virgin, the Emperor Heraclius, and Narses, the general against the Arians.
"7. A group of three female figures, representing the three famous saintly princesses, who in marriage preserved their virginity, Pulcheria, Edeltruda (our famous Queen Ethelreda), and Cunegunda.
"8. A group of three learned Bishops, who had especially defended the immaculate purity of the Virgin, St. Cyril, St. Anselm, and St. Denis (?).
"9. The miserable ends of those who were opposed to the honour of the Virgin. 1. The death of Julian the Apostate, very oddly represented; he lies on an altar, transfixed by an arrow, as a victim; St. Mercurius in the air. 2. The death of Leo IV., who destroyed the effigies of the Virgin. 3. The death of Constantine IV., also a famous iconoclast.
"The statues which are placed in niches are—
"1—2. St. Joseph, as the nominal husband, and St. John the Evangelist, as the nominal son, of the Virgin; the latter, also, as prophet and poet, with reference to the passage in the Revelation, xii. i.
"3—4. Aaron, as priestly ancestor (because his wand blossomed), and David, as kingly ancestor, of the Virgin.
"5—6. St. Dionysius the Areopagite, who was present at the death of the Virgin, and St. Bernard, who composed the famous 'Salve Regina' in her honour.
"Such is this grand systematic scheme of decoration, which, to those who regard it cursorily, is merely a sumptuous confusion of colours and forms, or at best a 'fine example of the Guido school and Bernini.' It is altogether a very complete and magnificent specimen of the prevalent style of art, and a very comprehensive and suggestive expression of the prevalent tendency of thought in the Roman Catholic Church from the beginning of the seventeenth century. In no description of this chapel have I seen the names and subjects accurately given: the style of art belongs to the decadence, and the taste being worse than questionable, the prevailing doctrinal idea has been neglected, or never understood."—Legends of the Madonna, lxxi.
On the right is the tomb of Clement VIII. (1592—1605), the Florentine Ippolito Aldobrandini, the builder of the new palace of the Vatican, and the cruel torturer and executioner of the Cenci. He is represented in the act of benediction. The bas-reliefs on his monument commemorate the principal events of his reign,—the conclusion of peace between France and Spain, and the taking of Ferrara, which he seized from the heirs of Alphonso II.
On the left is the tomb of Paul V. (1605-1621), Camillo Borghese,—in whose reign St. Peter's was finished, as every traveller learns from the gigantic inscription over its portico,—who founded the great Borghese family, and left to his nephew, Cardinal Scipio Borghese, a fortune which enabled him to buy the Borghese Palace and to build the Borghese Villa.
"It is a truly herculean figure, with a grandly developed head, while in his thick neck, pride, violence, and sensuality seem to be united. He is the first pope who wore the beard of a cavalier, like that of Henry IV., which recalls the Thirty-years' War, which he lived through; as far as the battle of the White Mountain. In this round, domineering, pride-swollen countenance, appears the violent, imperious spirit of Paul, which aimed at an absolute power. Who does not remember his famous quarrel with Venice, and the rôle which his far superior adversary Paolo Sarpi played with such invincible courage? The bas-reliefs of his tomb represent the reception given by the pope to the envoys of Congo and Japan, the building of the citadel of Ferrara, the sending of auxiliary troops to Hungary to the assistance of Rudolph II., and the canonization of Sta. Francesca Romana and S. Carlo Borromeo."—Gregorovius.
The frescoes in the cupola are by Cigoli; those around the altar by the Cav. D'Arpino; those above the tombs and on the arches by Guido, except the Madonna, which is by Lanfranco. The late beloved Princess Borghese, née Lady Gwendoline Talbot, was buried in front of the altar, all Rome following her to the grave.
The funeral of Princess Borghese proved the feeling with which she was regarded. Her body lay upon a car which was drawn by forty young Romans, and was followed by all the poor of Rome, the procession swelling like a river in every street and piazza it passed through, while from all the windows as it passed flowers were showered down. In funeral ceremonies of great personages at Rome an ancient custom is observed by which, when the body is lowered into the grave, a chamberlain, coming out to the church door, announces to the coachman, who is waiting with the family carriage, that his master or mistress has no longer need of his services; and the coachman thereupon breaks his staff of office and drives mournfully away. When this formality was fulfilled at the funeral of Princess Borghese, the whole of the vast crowd waiting outside the basilica broke into tears and sobs, and kneeling by a common impulse, prayed aloud for the soul of their benefactress.
The chapel has been lately the scene of a miraculous story, with reference to a visionary appearance of the Princess Borghese, which has obtained great credit among the people, by whom she is already looked upon as a saint.
The first chapel in the right aisle is that of the Patrizi family, and close by is the sepulchral stone of their noble ancestor, Giovanni Patricino, whose bones were found beneath the high altar, and deposited here in 1700. A little further is the chapel of the Santa Croce, with ten porphyry columns. Then comes the Chapel of the Holy Sacrament, built by Fontana for Sixtus V. while still Cardinal of Montalto. Gregory XIII., who was then on the throne, visited this gorgeous chapel when it was nearly completed, and immediately decided that one who could build such a splendid temple was sufficiently rich, and suppressed the cardinal's pension. Fontana advanced a thousand scudi for the completion of the work, and had the delicacy never to allow the cardinal to imagine that he was indebted to him. The chapel, restored 1870, is adorned with statues by Giobattista Pozzo, Cesare Nebbia, and others. Under the altar is a presepio—one of the best works of Bernini, and opposite to it, in the confession, a beautiful statue of S. Gaetano (founder of the Theatines, who died 1547[276]), with two little children. On the right is the splendid tomb of Pius V., Michaele Ghislieri (1566—72), the barefooted, bareheaded Dominican monk of Sta. Sabina, who in his short six years' reign beheld amongst other events the victory of Lepanto, the fall of the Huguenots in France, and the massacre of St. Bartholomew, events which were celebrated at Rome with fêtes and thanksgivings. The figure of the pope, a monk wasted to a skeleton (by Leonardo de Sarzana), sits in the central niche, between statues of St. Dominic and St. Peter Martyr. A number of bas-reliefs by different sculptors represent the events of his life. Some are by the Flemish artists Nicolas d'Arras and Egidius.
On the left, is the tomb of Sixtus V. (1585-90), Felice Perretti, who as a boy kept his father's pigs at Montalto; who as a young man was a Franciscan monk preaching in the Apostoli, and attracting crowds by his eloquence; and who then rose to be bishop of Fermo, soon after to be cardinal, and was lastly raised to the papal throne, which he occupied only five years, a time which sufficed for the prince of the Church who loved building the most, to renew Rome entirely.
"If anything can still the spectator to silence, and awaken him to great recollections, it is the monument of this astonishing man, who, as child, herded swine, and as an old man commanded people and kings, and who filled Rome with so many works, that from every side his name, like an echo, rings in the traveller's ear. We never cease to be amazed at the wonderful luck which raised Napoleon from the dust to the throne of the world, as if it were a romance or a fairy story. But if in the history of kings these astonishing changes are extraordinary accidents, they seem quite natural in the history of the popes, they belong to the very essence of Christendom, which does not appeal to the person, but to the spirit; and while the one history is full of ordinary men, who, without the prerogative of their crown, would have sunk into eternal oblivion, the other is rich in great men, who, placed in a different sphere, would have been equally worthy of renown."—Gregorovius.
In a little chapel on the left of the entrance of this—which is as it were a transept of the church—is a fine picture of St. Jerome by Spagnuoletto, and in the chapel opposite a sarcophagus of two early Christian consuls, richly wrought in the Roman imperial style, but with Christian subjects,—Daniel in the den of lions, Zaccheus in the sycamore-tree, Martha at the raising of Lazarus, &c.
At the east end of the right aisle, near the door, is perhaps the finest gothic monument in Rome,—the tomb of Cardinal Gonsalvi, bishop of Albano, c. 1299.