Those who can do so should certainly endeavour to visit Trent during the latter part of the month of June, not merely from the fact that this month is charming by reason of the beauties of nature, the wealth of tender new foliage and delightful climate, but also because on the 26th of the month falls the Festival of Saint Vigilius, the patron saint of Trent, and the martyr missionary who anciently did much to Christianize the country. At this fête the ancient city, whose by-ways and narrower streets are full of interest, picturesqueness, and charm, is seen at its gayest and best. All the many churches are crowded with worshippers, thousands of whom have flocked down from the surrounding mountains and come in from the various villages of the Etschland, bound first upon religious observances in honour of their patron saint and afterwards to take part in the characteristic games and amusements which give the city for the time being such a festive and Bank Holiday air. In former days the more violent amusements were often supplemented by the performance of religious dramas, somewhat on the lines of the better known and more elaborate plays of Ober-Ammergau and the Brixenthal, and also by the illumination of the surrounding hills by huge bonfires, which are said to have had their origin in the religious observances of even more remote times than that of the Etruscan occupation.
Saint Vigilius, who was born at Rome, eventually became the Bishop of Trent, and ultimately suffered martyrdom during one of the many persecutions which took place, and were similar in character to those of the fourth century.
The city during its early wars was several times sacked, and more than once burnt by the Bavarian hordes which overran the country and even at last reached the gates of Rome itself. Thus Trent came to be built at various periods upon former foundations, and researches of recent times have tended to show that, as was the case with Rome itself, the comparatively modern Trent is built upon soil several feet above the level of its first site. One Italian authority, indeed, states that the streets of the original town lie some fourteen feet below the level of those of the present. Traces of at least three distinct lines of walls marking the growth of the city at various times have been excavated, leading also to the discovery of many interesting relics of Roman days, including tessellated pavements, portions of an amphitheatre of considerable size, ornaments, household utensils, etc.
The bishops still retain their title of Prince, but they lost their power as territorial rulers at the time of the secularization which took place throughout Tyrol, and also in the principality of Salzburg.
THE COUNCIL OF TRENT
Although this ancient city, which is characterized nowadays by a cleanliness and order so often found wanting in Italian towns, has undergone many vicissitudes and has been the scene of important historical events, to the Trent folk of to-day and to many of the visitors who come to it the chief events in connection with its history will undoubtedly remain the sittings of the famous Council which commenced in the year 1545. Many may wonder how it came about that so comparatively small a town should have been chosen as the meeting-place of a Conference intended to attempt the co-ordination of the beliefs and doctrines and the regulation of ecclesiastical affairs of the whole of the then Christian world. Probably the sole reason for this selection was the geographical position of the city, which lay then, as it does to-day, a frontier town, so to speak, between Italian and German influences, and though situated on Austrian soil, yet containing an Italian-speaking population.
The Council opened on December 13, 1545, and continued its sittings (with interruptions) until December 4, 1563, the last being the twenty-fifth in number. The meetings of the Council took place at various times during the reigns of three Popes, Paul III., Julius III., and Pius IV., and amongst the enactments of the Council the Canon of Scripture, including the Apocrypha, was confirmed, and the Church named as its sole interpreter; that traditions were to be considered as equal with Scripture, and the seven sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, the Lord's Supper, Penitence, extra-Unction, Orders, and Matrimony were also confirmed; transubstantiation, Purgatory indulgences, celibacy of the clergy, auricular confession, and other matters were dealt with.
The first sitting was held under Cardinal Del Monte, the papal legate, who rose amidst the assembled prelates and representatives and asked them whether it was their wish, "For the glory of God, the extirpation of heresy, and the reformation of the clergy and people, and the downfall of the enemy of the Christian name, to resolve and declare that the Sacred General Tridentine Council should begin and was begun?" The whole company, we are told, answered "Placet," a Te Deum was sung, and it was agreed that the first sitting of the Council should be held on the 7th of January. The sittings were continued at various times without any untoward event till the year 1552, when Maurice of Saxony invaded Tyrol, and although the Council was sitting, most of its members fled the country after having re-enacted the various decrees and ordinances which had been previously passed.
Ten years later, what was to all intents and purposes another Council met at Trent, and a solemn service was again held, at which Cardinal Gonzaga was elected president. A quarrel seems to have arisen between some of the archbishops and bishops and one of the French envoys. The former did not agree to some of the terms of the proposition made by the Archbishop of Reggio, whilst the latter raised an objection to the Council being considered a continuation of the first Council.
The building in which the Council sat has been stated at various times to have been the Cathedral, in the Piazza del Duomo, but there seems very little doubt now that the place of meeting was not there but in the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore, situated on the Piazza of the same name. In it on the north wall of the Choir hangs a large picture representing some three hundred of the various chief dignitaries as they sat in the Council Chamber. The members numbered nearly a thousand in all, and in addition to the cardinals, archbishops, bishops, abbots, chiefs of religious orders, and representatives from the University, there were also present ambassadors from the Emperor of Germany, and from the Kings of France, Spain, and Portugal, from the republic of Venice and Genoa, from Switzerland, and from the German electors.