The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1885-05-04
A NOTED NAME,
The Part Played by the Cclonna Family
in italian History = An Interesting


The Part Played by the Colonna Family
in italian History = An Interesting
Palace.
The Colonns is one of the greatest
names in Italian or Roman modern his
tory. II is one of the few teudal fami-
lies remaining. The MasslmQ, Caetani,
and some other Roman priucely iami-
lies claim descent from ancient Roman
stock. A droll story is told Of an igno-
rant young English girl who once
asked a Prince Massimo: at it true
prince, that your family is descended
from the Cloaoa Massimo?p Tho prince
bowed and replied with that dxquisite
tact peculiar 10 all Romans, high and
low: "Ah, madamOiselle, it * true
our father Adam came from the dust
OF the Garth, but / mover heard
that my family, although very an.
Gent, sprang from the mud of that ri,
gantic city drain OF the kings Of Rome.n
The Col0nna family, on the contrary
had It's origin in Germany, and, with
the Orsini, FIRST appeared in Italy about
the tenth century. The first great Co.
lonna that looms up in the history
OF the peninsula was Pietro, who
about Ills, was lord of Palestrini~
old Praneste, the favorite retreat oil
Horace, the poet, who mentions il In
one of his most beautiful odes-Fourth
Ode-and tells how he read the Iliad
there i'll the second eplstle. 1t is on the
slopes Of the Alban hills, due east from
Rome. That ancient town, however
had belonged to the Colonna from 1913
when q ColOuna obtained it by marry.
Ing the heiresS Of the ancient counts Of
rusculum. do not mean to give the
genealogy lof this famous family. II
would not only be tedious, but lmpOssi
bio in this Limited space. Any ono who
feels curious about that subject can find
II in any historical biographical die
tionary; also q very interesting article
ON this great baronial family is in the
| Quarterly Review, No. 800, page 2l8
IL has been great family for d thous-
and years. During the middle ages and
Rinascimento, its history was closely
! woven in with the Roman annals
Members Of the house were the most
illustrious men OF Italy. IL was TO one
OF the great nnas-SteTano-thal
Petrarch, in the fourteenth century
wrote his fine Ninth Sonnet, beginning:
GloIioso Colonna, In cul s'appoggia,
Nostra speranza, Ell gran nome Lptino.
| NN9AN'' Cp1NiihRg III Nhbil ItbIh our
hopes and the great Latin name). A
brave old man was Stefano ColonnA
Those were fiercely warning times.
once when his enemies prevailed and
he was hunted out OF Italy, one of his
discouraged friends said: "What for
tress have you now" The stout war
rior placed his hand on his heart and
answered with quiet smile: "Eccolapi
(Here). The victor of the battle OF Lee
panto (l675), Marc Antonio Colonna, was
another hero of tho house. There was a
celebrated woman, too, in tho family.
Who has not heard OF that marvel of
womanly loveliness and genius,the only
woman Michael Angelo ever lOved-Vit.
torio Colonna, Marchess di Pescara? A
poetess OF great merit, who was called
dlVlne by her contemporaries. Her por-
trai5 hangs In the fine picture gallery of
the Colonna palace at Rome. In the
same hall Is portrait of Petrarch's
"GluTi0so Colonna.n
That palace, which Ia the residence of
the chief Of tho house, and his sons with
their families, was an apostolical resi-
dence from tho time of the Colonna
pope, Martin ", in the flftneenth con-
fury, up to the papacy OF Julius III, in
the sixteenth century. II is in Piazza
Santi ApostOli; tho church of that title
is in front. Where the Colonna palace
stands was the southwest end of the
great portico that LED TO Aurellan's vast
Temple of the Sun, which temple stood
on the western slopes of the Quirinal
hill Now this is one Of the great fas-
cinations OF Rome, this rich, intricate
web OF precious memories which covers
every inch of Roman soil. Here.
while l am telling you OF the
World-iamed history of an Italian fam
lily, into which an American girl has
married, suddenly find myself unray-
cling a glittering thread of Imperial Ro-
man days and telling You of the Daclan
peasant who became Roman emperor
IN the third century; the conqueror of
Aenobia, queen OF Palmyra, ne whose
triumphal professions that walked
through these Roman streets surpassed
IN Spiendor those of POmpey and Caesar.
10 was In honor Of his mother that Au.
teliRn built the Roman temple of Sole
scraps. She was a priestess Of the sun
~ the little Dacihn village whore Aura.
Ian was born, The COlonna gardens
rise up on the Quirinal behind
the palace and extend over n
cart OF the ground where that
magnificent temple stood. have often,
when walking in the interesting gar.
hout luuktu w Nno RUNS OF tue great
halls, huge masses Of briCkwork and the
fragments of a gigantic frleze aud en-
GAblatur0, which SHOW how vast the tenn.
pie was. Near the Colonna gardens
were found the statutes of tho Nile and
Tlber you see at the CampidOglia foun-
tain. Also, In the same neighborhood.
was found the fine statute of the Nile
that Is now In Vatican museum, like.
wise the 'Hiber of the Louvre museum,
All tho guido books of the art galleries
ought TO toll where tho
statues were found, IL Ia so
pleasant TO associate them with their
original sites. My walks In Rome and
my visits to the sculpture museums ara
made doubly and trebly interesting by
this knowledge. have given You this
short account Of the Colonna family be-
cause the young Princess di Gaiatro,
who is counted as an American. now
shares the pride of her husband in It's
ancient and illustrio lineage, and
through marriage belongs 70 this, one of
the greatest Italian families OF the last
l,OOO years. Correspondence San Fran
cisco Chronicle.