PORTA TIBURTINA.

(Porta S. Lorenzo.)

This gate was built by Augustus, B.C. 3, over the line of the Pomœrium, being one of the arches of the Marcian Aqueduct, B.C. 145. The Aquæ Tepula and Julia likewise passed over it. The inscriptions refer to Augustus, and to repairs by Vespasian, Caracalla, and Honorius, who added the picturesque brick towers in 402.

A new road has now been made to the Cemetery, which is passed by the tramway to Tivoli. Three quarters of a mile on the road is the

CHURCH OF S. LORENZO,

founded in 308 by Constantine, in the place where was the cemetery of S. Cyriaca, which contained the body of S. Lorenzo. It was enlarged and restored at different periods. Finally, in 1864, Pius IX. caused the architect Vespignani to make great improvements, and it was then that the column of red granite with the statue of the martyr was placed in the adjacent square.

The poet Bishop Vida describes the martyrdom of S. Lawrence, and thus foretells his monument:—

"As circling years revolve, the day shall come

When Troy's great progeny, imperial Rome,

To the blest youth, who, filled with holy pride,

Tyrants, and flames, and bitter death defied,

Shall build full many an altar, many a shrine,

And grace his sepulchre with rites divine."

Under the colonnade, supported by six Ionic columns, and adorned with frescoes, are two sarcophagi with bas-reliefs; also some curious frescoes relating to the soul of the Saxon count Henry. The interior is divided into three aisles by twenty-two columns, the greater part in Oriental granite. The paving recalls the style of the basilicæ of the primitive times. The great aisle was painted, by order of Pius IX., by Cesare Fracassini; in it are two pulpits of marble. A double staircase of marble conducts to that part of the Basilica Constantiniana which by Honorius III. was converted into the presbytery. It is decorated at the upper end by twelve columns of violet marble, which rise from the level of the primitive basilica beneath it. At the end is the ancient pontifical seat, adorned with mosaic and precious marbles. The papal altar is under a canopy in the Byzantine style. The pavement of the presbytery is worthy of attention. Descending to the confessional, which is under the high altar, we find the tomb of the martyred saints—Lawrence, Stephen, and Justin. Pius IX. is interred here. Returning to the church by the staircase on the left, we enter the sacristy, where is the altar of the Holy Sacrament, with a picture by E. Savonanzio, representing S. Cyriaca, who is having the martyrs buried. Close by is the Roman Cemetery, opened in 1834. The frescoes here are worth seeing, as well as the different monuments.

THE VIA TIBURTINA.

Mr. Forbes's steam-tramway excursion-lecture to Tivoli and Hadrian's Villa, every Thursday.

This road is the worst kept, the least interesting, and the most frequented out of Rome. The new tramway is now open, so it is more come-at-able than hitherto. Leaving the cemetery, we soon pass the Florence railway; then a bridge over the Ulmanus stream. The farm on the right, inside the gateway, is upon the site of the Villa of Regulus (Martial, i. 13). At the first mile was the monument of Pallas (Pliny younger, vii. 29; viii. 6). We soon cross the Anio by the modern bridge: the old one, Ponte Mammolo, can be seen to the right; it took its name from Mammæa, the mother of Alexander Severus, who repaired it. In these meadows Hannibal had his first camp (see [page 288]). Beyond, we pass along the modern causeway over the meadows where his second camp was, by the Tutia, which stream we cross. We now pass some of the old pavement, and upon the left Castel Arcione, a medieval castle belonging to a family of that name; destroyed by the S. P. Q. T., it having become a stronghold for brigands.

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PLAN OF TIVOLI.

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The calciferous lake of Tartarus formerly existed, just beyond, but is now dried up. Near by a sulphurous odour indicates the proximity of the Aquæ Albulæ, baths often frequented in ancient times. A channel, constructed by Cardinal Este, draws off the water from these sulphurous lakes to the Tiber. The bath-house was erected in 1880, and the water is beneficial for skin diseases.

In the vicinity are the quarries of travertine—so called from the stone taking the ancient name Tiburtians—which have yielded the materials for building both ancient and modern Rome, the Colosseum, and S. Peter's.

Three miles from Tivoli we cross the picturesque

PONTE LUCANO,

which spans the Anio. Near by is the solid and magnificent Tomb of the Plautii, similar to that of Cecilia Metella. The upper part has been repaired in medieval times, that it might serve as a fortress. Erected, 1 B.C., by M. Plautius Silvanus for himself, Lartia his wife, and Urgularicus his child. The inscription tells us that one of his descendants served in Britain, and died A.D. 76.

A little beyond, a road turns off to the right, leading to Hadrian's Villa, which had better be visited in returning.

First visit the glen at Tivoli, then take the road round to see the small falls passing over the Ponte dell' Acquoria. Turn to the right. This brings us into the main road below the town. A short distance down we turn off to Hadrian's Villa; or, instead of turning to the right after passing the bridge, the road to the left leads past the Tempio della Tosse up to the Villa d'Este.

TIVOLI.

Donkey for excursion to the Falls, one and a half lira; guide (not necessary), one franc.

The Albergo Regina is the best in the town; everything clean, good cookery, and comfortable apartments for those spending a few days upon the spot. The Sibilla not so clean or comfortable, but a fair lunch can be provided in the Temple of Vesta attached to the inn. Pension at both houses.

THE VILLA D'ESTE,

near the entrance of the town from Rome, first turning left. It is ornamented with fountains, ilexes, cypresses, formal plantations and clipped hedges—all very stiff amidst so much natural beauty. The casino is decorated with frescoes by F. Zucchero and Muziano.

The villa has been neglected and deserted by its present proprietor, Cardinal Baroli, and is fast going to ruin and decay: this rather adds to its picturesque and haunted appearance. If Scott or Dickens had only made it the scene of one of their tales, it might have become historical.

If your time be limited, omit this villa.

GROTTO OF THE SIBYL, TIVOLI.
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THE ANCIENT TIBUR

was delightfully situated on the Sabine Hills. The modern town, of 7000 inhabitants, has few attractions except its charming situation and past recollections. It bore the name of Tibur in antiquity, and during the Augustan age the Roman nobles founded splendid villas there, among which were those of Augustus himself, Mæcenas, and the Emperor Hadrian. The beauties of Tivoli and the surrounding country were recorded in undying verse by Horace, whose Sabine farm was not far distant, and who seems to have delighted to dwell in retirement in the neighbourhood rather than in noisy, bustling Rome. The old town held in high reverence Hercules, the Sibyl, and Vesta, and the remains of temples dedicated to the latter are still visible immediately above the cascades on the edge of the present city limits. It is generally in Vesta's temple that tourists to the locality spread out and partake of the provisions brought with them from Rome; this is only advisable in warm weather. This circular Temple of Vesta is surrounded by an open corridor of Corinthian columns, ten of which still remain. It was destroyed by Lord Bristol, who wanted to carry it off to his estate in Norfolk.

TEMPLE OF VESTA AND GROTTO OF NEPTUNE.
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The terrace of the temple commands a good view of the falls, which are formed by the waters of the Anio. A swift torrent, proceeding from the mountain heights, and leaping down a precipice at the village, constitutes the celebrated cascades of Tivoli, one of which is three hundred and forty feet in height. Visitors are conducted to various spots (on donkeys or on foot) whence they may be able to catch the finest glimpses of the rising spray, and also in order to visit the grottoes of Neptune and the Sibyl. The path is often precipitous, rough, and narrow, but the sight well repays the trouble of parading over so much ground. Le Cascatelle, or small falls, are formed by a branch of the Anio. The tunnels through Monte Catillo were cut in 1834, to divert the river, as when it followed the old course the town was frequently flooded; in fact, the inundation of 1826 rendered these new channels necessary. This flood exposed the remains of two ancient bridges and several tombs—the one higher up the river, Pons Valerius, and the other near the mouth of the tunnels, Pons Vopisci, after the owner of the adjoining ancient villa. The Villa of Mæcenas and Temple of Hercules are now occupied by iron-works; in the garden are remains of a Doric portico. Below the iron-works is the so-called Tempio della Tosse, a circular building like the Pantheon, probably the tomb of the Turcia family.

Having seen the glen at Tivoli, take a donkey round the bank of the glen over the Ponte Acquoria to the Villa of Hadrian. Man and donkey, 4 lire.

HADRIAN'S VILLA

(Entrance, one lira)

stands on the slope of the heights of Tivoli, from which it is only thirty minutes' walk. It once covered an area of several square miles; and its magnificent grounds, unequalled in the Roman Empire, were laid out by Hadrian in order to assemble within them models of everything that had struck him during his travels, and accordingly they were filled with the finest statuary, palaces, temples, theatres, circuses, and academies. Some of the finest antique statues were found here under the popes. All this sumptuousness was destroyed in the sixth century by the Goths. Extensive ruins still exist. It is thus described by Pope Pius II.:—

"About the third of a mile from the city of Tivoli, the Emperor Hadrian built a very splendid villa, like a great village. The lofty and vast roofs of the temples still remain; the columns of the peristyles and sublime porticoes may yet be gazed at with admiration. There are still the remains of the piscinas and baths, where a canal derived from the Anio once cooled the summer heats.

"Age deforms all things: the ivy now drapes those walls once covered with painted hangings and cloths woven with gold; thorns and brambles have grown where purple-clothed tribunes sat; and snakes inhabit the chambers of queens. Thus perishable is the nature of all things mortal."

PLAN OF HADRIAN'S VILLA AT TIVOLI.
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VILLA OF HADRIAN.
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Entering through an avenue of cypresses, we arrive at the Odeum, the skeleton of which only remains; this was for musical performances. Following the path beyond the modern Casino, to the left, by the Nymphæum, then along the brink of the valley, we mount up to some chambers, formerly a reservoir from which the water poured in a cascade to the stream Peneas below. From the edge of this ruin we look down upon a valley, made in imitation of the Vale of Tempe. A stream runs through it, named, after the river in Thessaly, Peneas. On the opposite slope of the valley was the Latin Theatre. We now enter the Imperial Palace, with the ruins of the Temples of Diana and Venus adjoining; passing through which, at the farthest extremity, is the Temple of Castor and Pollux. Near this are some subterranean passages, called the Tartarus. Beyond were the Elysian Fields. Elysium, or the Elysian Fields, was the region where the souls of the dead were supposed to go to if they had been good. There, happiness was complete, and the pleasures were innocent and refined; the air was serene and temperate, the bowers ever green, and the meadows watered with perennial streams, and the birds continually warbled in the groves.

Tartarus was the region of punishment in the nether world of the ancients. On the farther side of Tartarus is the Roman Theatre; beyond was the Lyceum. Returning, we come upon the Academy. The Academy at Athens was an open meadow, given to the city by Academus, from whom it took its name. It was afterwards formed into a grove. It was the resort of Plato, and hence his disciples took the name of academic philosophers.

Beyond is the Serapeon of Canopus, with the Sacrarium of Jupiter Serapis at the end, built in imitation of the canal connecting Alexandria with Canopus, a city of Lower Egypt, twelve miles east of Alexandria, at the west or Canopic mouth of the Nile.

On the right are some remains of the Hippodrome; and towards the entrance of the Serapeon, the Baths. From here we reach the Stadium, where the foot races were held. We now come upon a lofty wall of opus reticulatum, nearly six hundred feet long. This was one of the walls of the Poecile Stoa, in imitation of the grand portico at Athens of that name, famed for its fresco-paintings of the battle of Marathon by Polygnotus, and as the seat of the school of Zeno the philosopher, who took the name Stoic from frequenting this portico. This portico was built on an artificial platform, and the wall can be traced all round; underneath are the Hundred Chambers of the Guards. From our right of the wall, we enter the Prytaneum, in imitation of the council hall of that name at Athens, where the fifty deputies of the republic lived and held office, each five weeks in turn. Through this we reach the Aquarium, a circular edifice with an octagonal platform in the centre, with openings for fountains and statues; to the left of this were the Greek and Latin Libraries.

Having now rambled over the extent of this famous villa, and picked up a memento of our visit, we may truly exclaim—"Sic transit gloria mundi."

The tramway back to Rome is taken from the end of the road leading from the villa.