A lane runs up to the right from the arch of Titus. On the left is a gateway, surmounted by a faded fresco of St. Sebastian. Here is the entrance to a wild and beautiful garden, possessing most lovely views of the various ruins, occupying the site of the gardens of Adonis. This is the place where St. Sebastian underwent his (so-called) martyrdom, and will call to mind the many fine pictures, scattered over Europe, of the youthful and beautiful saint, bound to a tree, and pierced with arrows. The finest of these are the Domenichino, in Sta. Maria degli Angeli, and the Sodoma at Florence. He is sometimes represented as bound to an orange tree, and sometimes, as in the Guido at Bologna, to a cypress, like those we still see on this spot. Here was an important Benedictine Convent, where Pope Boniface IV. was a monk before his election to the papacy, and where the famous abbots of Monte Casino had their Roman residence. Here, in 1118, fifty-one cardinals took refuge, and elected Gelasius II. as Pope. The only building remaining is the Church of Sta. Maria Pallara or S. Sebastiano, containing some curious inscriptions relating to events which have occurred here, and—in the tribune, frescoes, of the Saviour in benediction with four saints, and below, two other groups representing the Virgin with saints and angels, placed, as we learn by the inscription beneath, by one Benedict—probably an abbot.
Further up the lane a "Via Crucis" leads to the Church of S. Buonaventura, "the seraphic doctor" (Cardinal and Bishop of Albano, ob. July 14, 1274), who in childhood was raised from the point of death (1221) by the prayers of St. Francis, who was so surprised when he came to life, that he involuntarily exclaimed, "O buona ventura"—("what a happy chance")—whence the name by which he was afterwards known.[67]
The little church contains several good modern monuments. Beneath the altar is shown the body of the Blessed Leonardo of Porto-Maurizio (ob. 1751), who arranged the Via Crucis in the Coliseum, and who is much revered by the ultra-Romanists for having prophesied the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. The crucifix and the picture of the Madonna which he carried with him in his missions, are preserved in niches on either side of the tribune, and many other relics of him are shown in his cell in the adjoining convent of Minor Franciscans. Entered through the convent is a lovely little garden, whence there is a grand view of the Coliseum, and where a little fountain is shaded by two tall palm trees.
"Oswald went next to the monastery of S. Buenaventura, built on the ruins of Nero's palace. There, where so many crimes had reigned remorselessly, poor friars, tormented by conscientious scruples, doom themselves to fasts and stripes for the least omission of duty. 'Our only hope,' said one, 'is that when we die, our faults will not have exceeded our penances.' Nevill, as he entered, stumbled over a trap, and asked its purpose. 'It is through that we are interred,' answered one of the youngest, already a prey to the bad air. The natives of the south fear death so much that it is wondrous to find there these perpetual mementoes; yet nature is often fascinated by what she dreads, and such an intoxication fills the soul exclusively. The antique sarcophagus of a child serves as the fountain of this institution. The boasted palm of Rome is the only tree of its garden."—Madame de Staël, Corinne.
The arch of Titus is spoken of as being "in summa Via Sacra," as the street was called which led from the southern gate of Rome to the Capitol, and by which the victorious generals passed in their triumphant processions to the temple of Jupiter. Between the arch of Titus and the Coliseum, the ancient pavement of this famous road, composed of huge polygonal blocks of lava, has been allowed to remain. Here we may imagine Horace taking his favourite walk.
"Ibam forte Via Sacrâ, sicut meus est mos,
Nescio quid meditans nugarum, et totus in illis."
Sat. i. 9.
It appears to have been the favourite resort of the flaneurs of the day:
"Videsne, Sacram metiente te viam
Cum bis ter ulnarum togâ,
Ut ora vertat huc et huc euntium
Liberrima indignatio?"
Horace, Epod. 4.
The Via Sacra was originally bordered with shops, some of which, together with some baths, have been unearthed on the right of the road. Ovid alludes frequently to the purchases which might be made there in his time. In this especial part of the Via was the market for fruit and honey.[68]