PALAZZO DEI CONSERVATORI.
(New Capitoline Museum.)
Open every day. Fee, half lira. The principal objects in the Courtyard are, right:—
1. Statue of Julius Cæsar; the only authentic portrait of him.
2, 4, 9. Colossal fragments, found near the Basilica of Constantine. Supposed to have belonged to the statue of Apollo brought from Pontus by Lucullus. Square base, which contained the bones of Agrippina the elder.
11. Lion attacking a horse. Found in the river Almo, outside Porta S. Paolo.
12, 14. Captive Kings.
13. Large seated statue of Roma.
15. Colossal bronze head of a colossal statue of Apollo, found near the Colosseum. Reliefs of figures representing provinces; and reliefs of military trophies, recently found in the Piazza di Pietra.
28. Statue of the Emperor Augustus.
30. Modern rostral column, with ancient inscription. (See page 26.)
STAIRCASE AND LANDING.
36. Base Capitolina, an altar dedicated to Hadrian, whose bust it now supports, by the inspectors of the streets. On the sides are engraved the names of the magistrates who presided over the streets, which are named, of five of the fourteen regions into which Rome was divided. It has afforded much useful information to archæologists.
41. Alto-relief which formed part of the Arch of Antoninus Pius, found in the Piazza Sciarra, which spanned the Corso, and was destroyed in 1527.
42, 43, 44. Alto-reliefs, part of the Arch of Marcus Aurelius, which stood at the Via della Vita, in the Corso, and was pulled down in 1665.
45. Curious bas-relief, representing Mettus Curtius, on horseback, floundering in the marsh where is now the Forum. Found near the Church of S. Maria Liberatrice.
49, 50. Alto-reliefs from an arch which stood in the Corso in honour of Antoninus Pius.
At the top of the stairs on this floor are several rooms. On passing the turnstile keep straight on. The authorities number these rooms in the reverse way to ours.
![[View larger image.]](#8405191463268367814_i-216l.jpg.id-749028157474144802.wrap-0.html.html){kind=link}
PLAN OF THE PALAZZO DEI CONSERVATORI.
NEW CAPITOLINE MUSEUM.
[View larger image.]
![[View larger image.]](#8405191463268367814_i-217l.jpg.id-5193298767494194391.wrap-0.html.html){kind=link}
First Room contains a collection of majolica from the Cini family.
Second Room.—The vault is by Caracci. On the right of the door are S. Luke; S. Alexio, by Romanelli; the Virgin, by Andrea Allovisi, called L'Ingegno, pupil of Perugino; S. Cecilia, by Romanelli; S. Mark. On the left are S. John, S. Albertorn, and S. Eustachio, by Romanelli; S. Matthew.
Third Room, turn left.—Frescoes of the Punic wars by Bonfigli.
Fourth Room.—Frescoes from the wars of Scipio, and tapestries from the hospital of S. Michael. Right, the Boys of Falerii scourging their Schoolmaster, B.C. 392 (Livy, v. 27); the Vestal Tuccia, B.C. 144 (Dionysius, ii. 69); Romulus and Remus; busts of Italian patriots.
Fifth Room.—Garibaldi Museum. Frescoes of the school of Zuccari, representing games in the Circus Maximus, etc. There is a bust in rosso-antico called Appius Claudius, a bronze bust of Michael Angelo, and other busts. Two ducks in bronze are pointed out as the geese which saved the Capitol. Between them is a curious bronze vase, evidently a female portrait. Copy of Raphael's Holy Family.
Sixth Room.—On the wall of this room are preserved the Fasti Consulares, dating from B.C. 481 to the end of the Republic. These fragments were found in the Forum, and faced the podium of the Temple-Tomb of Cæsar. The frescoes are by Benedetto Bonfigli.
Seventh Room.—Frescoes: Triumph of Marius, and Defeat of the Cimbri, by Daniele da Volterra. Near the door is a relief, representing the Temple at Jerusalem; and in front of it a team of oxen drawing on a car the molten sea (1 Kings vii. 23; 2 Chron. iv. 2).
Eighth Room.—Scenes of the Roman Republic, by Lauretti.
Ninth Room.—Frescoes from the history of the kings, by Arpino.
Passing through the rooms of the Fasti, from 1540 A.D., we enter the Hall of Busts, comprising statesmen, poets, painters, authors, sculptors, all noted in Italian history. At the end is a monument to Canova.
A door on the right opens into the
FIRST HALL OF BRONZES.
(For numbers, see plan.)
1, 2. Cases of small bronze articles found at various times. 3. A bronze biga, or two-horse chariot, with reliefs depicting scenes from the circus; restored upon a wooden frame, and given by Signor A. Castellani. 4. A bisellium, or chair of state. 8. Lectica, or sedan chair. "These infirmities caused him [Claudius] to be carried in a close chair, which no Roman had ever used before; and from thence have the emperors and the rest of us consular men taken the custom of using chairs of that sort, for neither Augustus nor Tiberius used anything but small litters, which are still in fashion for the women" (Dion Cassius). 9, 10. Shelves containing household utensils, &c. 11. Fragments of columns of Bigio marble.
ROOM OF COINS.
The beautiful alabaster pavement of this room was found, as now fixed, upon the Esquiline Hill, on Christmas eve, 1874. It formed part of the House of the Larmæ, where the statues were found. The coins formed part of the Campana Collection, and are of great value. The small case of gems is worth looking into; it contains some fragments not unlike the Portland vase, white reliefs on a blue ground.
We now enter the new
OCTAGONAL HALL.
(The order is liable to alteration, as objects are constantly being added.)
This museum is formed of the remains found in the excavations of the municipality since Rome was made the capital of united Italy. The new circular hall, designed by Signor Vespignani, presents a light and elegant effect. Amongst the most important subjects placed in the new hall, we may mention No. 2, the monument of Quintus Sulpicius Maximus, found in 1870 in the Old Porta Salaria. The inscription states that he died at the early age of thirteen years, five months, and twelve days. He carried off the honours for composing Greek verse against fifty-two competitors. The poem is engraved on the pilasters. The subject is—The arguments used by Jove in reproving Phœbus for intrusting his chariot to Phaeton. Africa's deserts and the negroes' black skins are ascribed to the careless driving of Phaeton on that occasion. No. 5. Venus. 23. Mercury. 11. A bust of Faustina the elder. 13. A youth anointing himself. 14 and 16. Tritons. 15. A half statue of the Emperor Commodus as Hercules, beautifully executed in fine marble, with the lion's skin over his head and knotted upon his chest: in his right hand is the club. A bracket of marble, ornamented at its end with a celestial globe, rested on the pedestal, which formed a shield, a band running round the centre with the signs of the zodiac. This bracket is supported by two kneeling figures, holding cornucopias containing fruit. One is in good preservation; the fragments of the other were also found. 17. Plotina, wife of Trajan. 18. Apollo. 19. Bacchus, with a satyr on a leopard at his side. 21. Sarcophagus of the Calydonian boar hunt. Polyhymnia. 24. Terpsichore. 26. A beautiful nude statue of a young girl or nymph leaving the bath, of Parian marble, standing with sandalled feet by a pedestal, which supports her robe, the left hand fastening up the hair. 28, 29. Two magistrates about to start the racers by dropping a handkerchief. They represent L. A. A. Symmachus, prefect of Rome, A.D. 365, and his son; and are unique. The father was found in one hundred and eighty pieces, and the son in ninety pieces, which have been carefully put together. 31. Colossal statue. 33. Fortune. Apollo with the Lyre. Relief, forging the Shield of Minerva. 38, 42. Athletes starting for the Race. 40a. A Cow. 44. Manlia Scantilla. Marsyas bound to the tree; the finest statue in the collection, found in 1879. 48. Didia Clara. 49a. A Roman General; a striking statue. 8. The Earth; a sitting statuette in a niche found in the Roman Cemetery. 9. A Baccante.
In the inner circle.—A magnificent marble vase, found upon the Esquiline, called by the Greeks a Rhyton: it is the work of Pontios, an Athenian sculptor. A vase with figures in relief. The infant Hercules found at the Cemetery of S. Lorenzo. Another vase. The Muse of Astronomy. Exit. 74, 75. Hercules taming the Horses: part of a group found in many fragments, and very skilfully put together. Seated statue of a girl. 133. Minerva. 130. A statue of Silenus, which was formerly a fountain. A youth carrying a pig for sacrifice. Cupid playing with a tortoise. 123. Boy with a puppy. 81. Statuette of Venus. 81a. A Sleeping Cupid. 124. A large stone shield sculptured with the acanthus leaf. 90. Mithras slaying the Bull. 117, 105, 106. Reliefs relating to the worship of the Persian sun-god Mithras, recently found on the Esquiline Hill.
Crossing the Hall of Busts, by Canova's Monument, we enter the
TERRA-COTTA ROOM,
composed of remains found chiefly in the excavations in building the new quarter of Rome upon the Esquiline Hill. The principal objects are:—A coffin containing skulls; a large jar containing a leaden case, in which is enclosed a beautiful alabaster urn; a large and varied collection of Roman lamps, glass, and terra-cotta; also glass in various forms, and for windows, pieces of fresco, &c. A door on the left leads into the
SECOND HALL OF BRONZES.
In the centre of the first room is the celebrated bronze wolf of the Capitol (1), thus alluded to by Virgil ("Æn." viii. 630):—
"By the wolf were laid the martial twins,
Intrepid on her swelling dugs they hung:
The foster-dam lolled out her fawning tongue:
They sucked secure, while, bending back her head,
She licked their tender limbs, and formed them as they fed."
Cicero (in "Catiline" iii. 8), mentions this object as a small gilt figure of Romulus sucking the teat of a wolf, which was struck by lightning, and which his hearers remembered to have seen in the Capitol.
Dionysius, quoting from an older historian, Quintus Fabius Pictor, speaks of a temple in which a statue is placed representing the above incident. It is a wolf suckling two children; they are in brass, and of ancient workmanship. This latter must not be confounded with the statue mentioned by Cicero, which is generally believed to be the one before us. The fracture on the hind leg may have been caused by lightning, and traces of gilt may still be observed. It is not known where it was found, but in Cicero's time (B.C. 106–43) it was to be "seen in the Capitol." The workmanship of the wolf is of an early period, Etruscan; the twins are Roman.
10. A bull, found in Trastevere in 1849. 4. "Thou seest the faces of Hecate turned in three directions, that she may watch the cross-roads cut into three pathways." She was the patroness of magic, and was also set up before houses to ward off evil. This goddess is often confounded with Diana. 8. The shepherd Martius, a bronze statue of a boy extracting a thorn from his foot. 14. Horse found in Trastevere. 13. Foot found near the Colosseum.
The case on the left contains, amongst other objects, a bronze inscription, with heads in alto-relief, of Septimius Severus, Caracalla, and Julia Pia. 9. Gilt bronze statue of Hercules, found amongst the remains of a temple of Hercules, behind the Church of S. Maria in Cosmedin. 2, 3. Bronze globes, one of which was held in the hand of Trajan's statue on his column. 15. Diana of the Ephesians in bronze and marble. 6. A Camillus, one of the twelve youths who assisted at the sacrifices. 7. Bust of Lucius Junius Brutus, who expelled the Tarquins. 5. A fluted vase, found in the sea at Porto d'Anzio; a gift of Mithridates, King of Pontus, to a gymnasium of the Eupatorists.
From the Hall of Bronzes we enter the
ITALO-GRECO AND ETRUSCAN MUSEUM.
Formed by Signor A. Castellani, and presented by him to the senate and people of Rome. The objects were mostly found at Cervetri, Tarquinii, and Veii.
Passing out into the Hall of Busts, a door on the right leads to the
PINACOTHECA, OR PICTURE GALLERY.
Open every day from 10 till 3.
Founded by Benedict XIV., and composed of several rooms. The following are the most celebrated pictures, but each picture has the names of the artist and the subject printed under the frame:—
First Room.—Right: Romulus and Remus, by Rubens; Holy Family, by Giorgione; S. Cecilia, by Romanelli; Baptism, by Guercino; Magdalen, by Guido; Cumæan Sibyl, by Domenichino; Persian Sibyl, by Guercino; Madonna, by Botticelli; Assumption, by Cola dell'Amatrice; The Redeemed Spirit, by Guido; Madonna, by Francia.
The frescoes on the walls are from the deserted palace Magliana, the hunting-seat of Leo X., which has long been utilized as a farm by a community of nuns, and only inhabited by labourers. The frescoes are all more or less injured, and the feet of each figure, together with the lower part of the pictures, are quite obliterated. They represent the Muses, with Apollo as Musagetes, each figure distinguished by a motto in verse descriptive of the individual character, from the epigrams of Ausonius, and consist of the figures of Polyhymnia; Urania, with a distant view of Florence in the background (perhaps allusive to the pre-eminence of that city in astronomical science); Thalia, with the motto, "Comica lasciva gaudet sermone Thalia;" Clio, who is playing on the double flute; and Apollo, as leader of the Nine, who is seated, and playing on the violin: in the background of this picture is introduced a small group of Perseus slaying Medusa, while Pegasus springs from the blood of the decapitated gorgon. All these frescoes are ascribed to Giovanni lo Spagna, and there is much in their conception and sentiment which reminds us of the far superior works by that pupil of Pietro Perugino.
The Corridor contains views of Rome by Vanvitelli.
Second Room.—Annunciation, by Garofalo; Madonna, by P. Veronese. Portraits by Vandyck, etc.
Third Room.—Baptism, by Titian; Sebastian, by Bellini; S. Barbara, by Domenichino; Innocence, by Romanelli.
Fourth Room.—Left: S. Lucia, by Spagna; Europa, by P. Veronese; Burial and Assumption of Petronella, by Guercino; Sebastian, by Caracci; Cleopatra and Augustus, by Guercino; Sebastian, by Guido; Baptism, by Tintoretto.
Leaving the Palazzo dei Conservatori, and crossing the Piazza, we enter