THE CHURCH OF ARA CŒLI.
The nave is formed by twenty-two columns, the spoils of ancient buildings. The third one on the left has engraved upon it—
A CVBICVLO AVGVSTORVM,
showing that it came from the Palatine Hill. At the end of the nave are two Gothic ambones with mosaic work. The altar urn of red porphyry formerly, it is said, contained the body of Constantine's mother. This church is rendered famous as being the place where, on the 15th of October 1764, Gibbon "sat musing amidst the ruins of the Capitol, and conceived the idea of writing the 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.'"
VIEW OF THE CAPITOL.
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The church is the residence of the celebrated Santissimo Bambino, carved out of a tree from the Mount of Olives, and painted by S. Luke. This image is highly decorated with jewellery, and has a two-horse carriage at its disposal, with coachmen and footmen, when it pays a visit to the sick. "As thy faith, so be it unto thee." Apply at the sacristy to see it. The floor of the church is of the kind called opus-Alexandrinum, tesselated mosaic, and slab tombs of medieval period. A grand ceremony is held here on Christmas day, and at the Epiphany children recite the story of Christ.
In the left transept an isolated octagonal chapel, dedicated to S. Helena, is said by the church authorities to stand on the site of an altar erected by Augustus—Ara primogeniti Dei—to commemorate the Cumæan sibyl's prophecy of the coming of the Saviour. Its present name is traceable to this altar. Some traces of Gothic can be seen in the walls and windows of this church, which stands on the site of