St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1880-04-16

Sistine Chapel contains some of Michael
greatest paintings, including
'.The Last Judgment" The section OF
the Vatican containing most of the
paintings and the Sistine Chapel, is ad-
jacent to st. Peters, and is entered
from the piazza of the church, in the
centre of which, by the way, is an Egyp-
tian obelisk drought from Heliopolis by
Caligula), and the largest of several to
be seen in various parts of the city.
The Vatican Museum, which contains
the Apollo Belvidere, the LAGOON and
many other celebrated works of ancient
sculptOrs.
Another excursion took us first down
the Corso to the Piazza COlonna where
stands the Column of Marcus Aurelius
thence to the Theatre of Marccllus
CONSTRUCTED by the Caesars B. c. and
the second theatre built in Rome) the
Temple of Vesta, or more proper
ly the Temple. of Hercules, situated in
the Forum BOarium the house of Ri
emf; the POnte RottO-the ancient |
Pons. Palatinus,-justb below the Sacred |
Isle of the Tiber, from which view
was had of the island and its connect
ing bridges, of the mouth of the Cloac-
ca MaXima, and of various other inter
esting objects and historic sites, as well
as of the Improvements now being made
along the banks of the river; and Du-
merous other points of interest.
A morning was passed at the Forum
Remanum, where Mr.. Forbes's expIana-
tions of the various curia, temples, ba-
Silica, monuments, etc, were particu-
larly interesting and valuable, and a
subsequent visit was paid to the Coos-
scum, and to the interesting objects in
its immediate vicinity, including the
Arch of Titus (upOn the inner walls of
which are representations of the most
precious spOils taken by Titus from the
Jews in Jerusalem, viz. the Ark of the
Covenant and the Seven -bTanched Can
dlestick), the Arch of Constantine, the
| SOlOSSuS vi ANClo, luC OuuluSs bhS
basilica of the Forum of Cupid, the
Temple of the Sun, the Temple OF
Romulus, the Temple of Venus and
Roma Occupying in part the site of Ne
ro's Golden HOuse), etc. The two arches
are we'll preserved, but the other an
cient edifices are mere masses of ruins
do - kI,1F
Fountain; Traian's Forum and Col,
umn the Temple of Mars UltOr; the
Altar of Minerva (now turned into a
bakers shop); the second and third
walls of Rome: the Gardens of Merca-
enas the Church of Santa Maria Mag
giore the largest of the eighty churches
in the city dedicated to the Virgin, and
also one of the oldest, forming one OF
the five patriarchal churches of Rome)
the Basilica of st. John Lateran (foI
centuries, and from the time of Con-
stantine the Great, the principal church
of Rome); the Baptstry of Constan-
tine the Scala Santa, or Sacred Stairs,
flight of twenty-eight marble steps,
brought from Jerusalem by that great
relic collector, the Empress Helena, and
alleged to have been the ones Christ
ascended in Pilates house; and the
Church of st. Clement, to which l have
alluded in another place.
A ride out on the Via Appia disclosed
to view the Baths of Caracalla, the Arch
of Drusus, the Porta Appia, or Gate of
San Sebastiano, the numerous tombs
which line that famous street of the
dead, including those of Cecilia Metella
and Romulus, the Circus of Maxentius,
and the ancient aqueducts. While
upon this excursion we visited the cat
acOmbs of St. Calixtus, especially in
teresting from the fact that they formed
the refuge of the early Christians, and
the Columbaria of Caesars household,
where the remains of some of the SER
wants of the emperor repose in icinerary
urns. We passed some time within the
catacombs, threading some of the intri-
cate passages with guides, and illumin-
ing our path with wax tapers. The
, galleries or passages are lined on either
, side with inches where the dead once
repOsed, and it is claimed that two
hundred thousand Christians were
. laid here. One of the chambers we
; visited was the crypt of St. Cecilia
where her body was placed after mar.
tyrdom by Pope Urban, A. d. 300, auG
from whence it was removed by Pas.
} chal l., in 800, to the Church of st
f Cecilia. The bodies have all, or nearly
: all, disappeared from the catacombs
2 There are about sixty catacombs in an(
about Rome, these being the most ex
: tensive.
f A visit to the Palatine Hill not only
| afforded an opportunity to explore the
2 Palaces of the Caesars, but also gave u
f grand panoramic view of Rome
, and comprehensive idea of it's sever
hills. Another magnificent view of tn,
e city and its surroundings, with the dis
g tant mountains and the nearer stretcl
of the Campagna, was had fIom tn
q terrace of the Church of st. Peter il
t Montario, or on the Mount whicI
e stands on the slope of the Janiculus
y The ride to the Janiculus, and up it
!. beautiful slopes, is one of the most de
/, lightful Rome or its neighborhood, af
t fords.