Walks in Rome

by Augustus J. C. Hare

In a passage on the first floor is a beautiful fresco of the Virgin and Child with the donor, by Leonardo da Vinci.

"To 1513 belongs a Madonna, painted on the wall of the upper corridor of the convent of S. Onofrio. It is on a gold ground: the action of the Madonna is beautiful, displaying the noblest form, and the expression of the countenance is peculiarly sweet; but the Child, notwithstanding his graceful action, is somewhat hard and heavy, so as almost to warrant the conclusion that this picture belongs to an earlier period, which would suppose a previous visit to Rome."—Kugler.

Torquato Tasso came to Rome in 1594, on the invitation of Clement VIII., that he might be crowned on the Capitol, but as he arrived in the month of November, and the weather was then very bad, it was decided to postpone the ceremony till late in the following spring. This delay was a source of trouble to Tasso, who was in feeble health, and had a presentiment that his death was near. Before the time for his crowning arrived he had removed to S. Onofrio, saying to the monks who received him at the entrance, "My fathers, I have come to die amongst you!" and he wrote to one of his friends, "I am come to begin my conversation in heaven in this elevated place, and in the society of these holy fathers." During the fourteen days of his illness, he became perfectly absorbed in the contemplation of divine subjects, and upon the last day of his life, when he received the papal absolution, exclaimed, "I believe that the crown which I looked for upon the Capitol is to be changed for a better crown in heaven." Throughout the last night a monk prayed by his side till the morning, when Tasso was heard to murmur, "In manus tuas, Domine," and then he died. The room in which he expired, April 25, 1595, contains his bust, crucifix, inkstand, autograph, a mask taken from his face after death, and other relics. The archives of S. Onofrio have this entry:

"Torquato Tasso, illustrious from his genius, died thus in our monastery of S. Onofrio. In April, 1595, he caused himself to be brought here that he might prepare for death with greater devotion and security, as he felt his end approaching. He was received courteously by our fathers, and conducted to chambers in the loggia, where everything was ready for him. Soon afterwards he became dangerously ill, and desired to confess and receive the most Holy Sacrament from the prior. Being asked to write his will, he said that he wished to be buried at S. Onofrio, and he left to the convent his crucifix and fifty scudi for alms, that so many masses might be said for his soul, in the manner that is read in the book of legacies in our archives. Pope Clement VIII. was requested for his benediction, which he gave amply for the remission of sins. In his last days he received extreme unction, and then, with the crucifix in his hand, contemplating and kissing the sacred image, with Christian contrition and devotion, being surrounded by our fathers, he gave up his spirit to the Creator, on April 25, 1595, between the eleventh and twelfth hours (i.e., between 7 and 8 A.M.), in the fiftieth year of his age. In the evening his body was interred with universal concourse in our church, near the steps of the high altar, the Cardinal Giulio Aldobrandini, under whose protection he had lived during the last years, being minded to erect to him, as soon as possible, a sumptuous sepulchre; which, however, was never carried into effect; but after the death of the latter, the Signor Cardinal Bevilacqua raised to his memory the monument which is seen on entering the church on the left side."

Ladies are admitted to the beautiful garden of the convent on ringing at the first large gate on the left below the church.

This lovely plot of ground, fresh with running streams, possesses a glorious view over the city, and the Campagna beyond S. Paolo. At the further extremity, near a picturesque group of cypresses, are remains of the oak planted by Tasso, the greater part of which was blown down in 1842. A young sapling is shooting up beside it. Beyond this is the little amphitheatre, overgrown with grass and flowers, where S. Filippo Neri used to teach children, and assemble them "for the half-dramatic musical performances which were an original form of his oratorios. Here every 25th of April a musical entertainment of the Accademia is held in memory of Tasso,—his bust, crowned with laurel wreaths, and taken from the cast after death, being placed in the centre of the amphitheatre."[384]

Returning to the Lungara, on the left is a Lunatic Asylum, founded by Pius IX., with a pompous inscription, and beyond it, a chain bridge to S. Giovanni dei Fiorentini. On the right is the handsome Palazzo Salviati, which formerly contained a fine collection of pictures, removed to the Borghese Palace, when, upon the property falling into the hands of Prince Borghese, he sold the palace to the government, who now use it as a repository for the civil archives. The adjoining garden now belongs to the Sapienza, and has been turned into a Botanic Garden. The modernized church of S. Giovanni alla Lungara dates from the time of Leo IV. (845—857), and is now attached to a reformatory. On the right is a large Convent of the Buon Pastore.

We now reach, on the right, the magnificent Palazzo Corsini, built originally by the Riario family, from whom it was bought by Clement XII. in 1729, for his nephew Cardinal Neri Corsini, for whom it was altered to its present form by Fuga.

This palace was in turn the resort of Caterina Sforza, the brave duchess of Imola; of the learned Poet Cardinal di S. Giorgio; of Michael Angelo, who remained here more than a year on a visit to the cardinal, "who," says Vasari, "being of small understanding in art, gave him no commission"; and of Erasmus, who always remembered the pleasant conversations (confabulationes mellifluæ) of the "Riario Palace," as it was then called. In the seventeenth century the palace became the residence of Queen Christina of Sweden, who died here on April 19, 1689, in a room which is distinguished by two columns of painted wood.

"With her residence in Rome, the habits of Christina became more tranquil and better regulated. She obtained some mastery over herself, suffered certain considerations of what was due to others to prevail, and consented to acknowledge the necessities incident to the peculiarities of her chosen residence. She took a constantly increasing part in the splendour, the life, and the business of the Curia, becoming indeed eventually altogether identified with its interests. The collections she had brought with her from Sweden, she now enlarged by so liberal an expenditure, and with so much taste, judgment, and success, that she surpassed even the native families, and elevated the pursuit from a mere gratification of curiosity, to a higher and more significant importance both for learning and art. Men such as Spanheim and Havercamp thought the illustration of her coins and medals an object not unworthy of their labours, and Sante Bartolo devoted his practised hand to her cameos. The Coreggios of Christina's collection have always been the richest ornament of every gallery into which the changes of time have carried them. The MSS. of her choice have contributed in no small degree to maintain the reputation of the Vatican library, into which they were subsequently incorporated. Acquisitions and possessions of this kind filled up the hours of her daily life, with an enjoyment that was at least harmless. She also took interest and an active part in scientific pursuits; and it is much to her credit that she received the poor exiled Borelli, who was compelled to resort in his old age to teaching as a means of subsistence. The queen supported him with her utmost power, and caused his renowned and still unsurpassed work, on the mechanics of animal motion, by which physiological science has been so importantly influenced and advanced, to be printed at her own cost. Nay, I think we may even venture to affirm, that she herself, when her character and intellect had been improved and matured, exerted a powerfully efficient and enduring influence on the period, more particularly on Italian literature. In the year 1680, she founded an academy in her own residence for the discussion of literary and political subjects; and the first rule of this institution was, that its members should carefully abstain from the turgid style, overloaded with false ornament, which prevailed at the time, and be guided only by sound sense and the models of the Augustan and Medicean ages. From the queen's academy proceeded such men as Alessandro Guidi, who had previously been addicted to the style then used, but after some time passed in the society of Christina, he not only resolved to abandon it, but even formed a league with some of his friends for the purpose of labouring to abolish it altogether. The Arcadia, an academy to which the merit of completing this good work is attributed, arose out of the society which assembled around the Swedish queen. On the whole, it must needs be admitted, that in the midst of the various influences pressing around her, Christina preserved a noble independence of mind. To the necessity for evincing that ostentatious piety usually expected from converts, or which they impose on themselves, she would by no means subject herself. Entirely Catholic as she was, and though continually repeating her conviction of the pope's infallibility, and of the necessity for believing all doctrines enjoined either by himself or the Church, she had nevertheless an extreme detestation of bigots, and utterly abhorred the direction of father confessors, who were at that time the exclusive rulers of all social and domestic life. She would not be prevented from enjoying the amusements of the carnival, concerts, dramatic entertainments, or whatever else might be offered by the habits of life at Rome; above all, she refused to be withheld from the internal movement of an intellectual and animated society. She acknowledged a love of satires, and took pleasure in Pasquin. We find her constantly mingled in the intrigues of the court, the dissensions of the papal houses, and the factions of the cardinals.... She attached herself to the mode of life presented to her with a passionate love, and even thought it impossible to live if she did not breathe the atmosphere of Rome."—Ranke's Hist. of the Popes.