Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-12-30
CANCELLERA PALACE
Where Many Papal Depart
ments Have Their Offices.
A HISTORIC BUILDING
SEAT OF APOSTOLIC COURTS OF
JUSTICE AT ONE TIME.
On the Site of Pompey's Theater Where
Caesar Was Assassinated-Cou
Rossi Murdered There.
A HISTORIC BUILDING
BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.


Special Correspondence of The Evening Star and
Chicago Record Herald.
ROME, December 20, 1903.
Only small part of the business of the
holy see is transacted at the Vatican. The
official organization of the Catholic church
is quite large as that of the kingdom of
Italy, excepting it's army and navy, or any
of the minor powers of Europe. for you
must remember that the pope has parish
of more than 250,O00O0O souls, which In
c1udes every civilized nation and mission
airy enterprises among the uncivilized from
the arctic SHOWS to the jungles of the
equator.
All this is looked after by staff of Off
Gals whose names fill volume of $50
pages, and it includes only those of re-
sponsibility. The different departments
presided over by the several cardinals of
what is known as the curia are scattered
over the city. The propaganda fide, which
is the most important, and has .jurisdic-
ton over all the world except Europe oc-
cupies an immense building on the Piazza
de Spagna, and there Cardinal Gotti, the
red pope they call him, because of
his enormous power, preSfdeS. The con-
gregation of studies is under Cardinal Sa-
TOLL, who lives in new wing of the old
palace of st. John Lateran, which was &C.
cupied by the popes for thousand years
before they moved into the Vatican.
A number of the other departments have
their offices at the palace of the Cancel
leria, built in 1894 for Cardinal Riario, who
was the power behind the throne until the
Borgias obtained control of the Vatican,
and had the unique honor of being ne
phew of two popes-Jul1us II and Sixtus
w. This huge structure, which was built
of material taken from the Coliseum and
from the ruins of the palaces of the
Caesars. is regarded as the most beautiful
example of early renaissance architecture
in Rome. and the interior court, or patio,
which Is very large, is surrounded by clols-
ters supported by forty-four granite col
umns that were originally in the theater
Of Pompey. This palace was the seat of
the apostolic courts of justice during the
reign of the papacy in Italy, and here the
Roman parliament, summoned by Plus TX
in 1S48, assembled.
At the foot of the staircase Count Rossi,
the chief reliance of the pope, was assasS1-
mated by the students OF the University OF
Rome in the most cowardly manner. His
bust upon a bracket marks the exact spot,
and his body is buried in the chapel of the
Cancelleria. Upon the monument the story
of his death is told in these words:
'Impiorum consilio meditata caede occu-
butt"
This was the end of the temporal power
of the pope and a few days later PluS TX
was fugitive.
ST Francis Xavier was the pastor of this
church in the sixteenth century, and here
Pope Damascus, who reigned from 1866 to
+,
this inscription:
Il have erected this building for the
archives Of the Roman church; l have
given 1t my name, which hope Will be re-
membered for centuries.
And his wish was fulfilled, Tor the chapel
is still called ST. Lorenzo In Damaso, and
the principal court of the Vatican also
bears his name.
Where Caesar Was Killed.
The Cancelleria, the neighboring church
of st. Andrew and other buildings in the
neiRhborhood cover the site of Pompey's
Theater in which julius Caesar was as
sassinated On one Of the neighboring
streets you can see the columns embedded
in the walls where the builders bricked up
the spaces between them. The capitals
project a few inches, and, strange to say,
the carving Is preserved without bruise or
blemiSh.
1t is generally supposed that Caesar was
assassinated in the FORUM but at that
time the senate house was In ruins ana
Caesar received the petitions of the people
temporarily in the theater of Pompey. He
had been warned of plot against his life
by his wife. who begged him to SEND an
excuse to the senate, but, being rldlculed
by Brutus for his coward1ce, he was car
ried across the city nearly mile and
half in litter. During mis- progress ne re-
ceived several warnings from vigilant
friends but the conspiratOrs surrounded
him and kept off all protection.
When he was seated in the senate cham-
ber Tillius approached him with petition
for his brothers pardon, ana other con-
spirators seized this occasion to grasp ms
hands and embrace his neck. Caesar at
first pushed them gently aside but when
they persisted he became indignant ana
finally, evidently suspecting treachery, re-
pelled them with main force. THUS Selzed
his toga and pulled it violently over his
arm Then Casca, who was behind, drew
his dagger but missed his victim, and only
graZed Caesars shoulder.
The latter snatched at the dagger, ex-
claiming "Casca, what means this?'
Whereupon Lucius. Brutus and the other
assassins stabbed him again and again.
Caesar cried Thou, too, Brutus? and
fell dead across the feet of Pompeys statue
What is claimed to be the actual statue,
with indelible blood stains upon the calf of
the leg, stands near by in the chamber of
the court of appeals In the ancient palace
Spada where ! saw it yesterday, surround
ed by cheap, modern drapery and gilded
desks. The note book of a stenographer
lay open where it had been carelessly placed
upon the pedestal. Through the open door
the click of a typewriter could be heard.
which was not conducive to reflection. One
is confronted by these startling anomalies
everywhere nowadays, as / told you in my
letters from Spain, but 1t is difficult to ad-
Just yourself to them.
The blood stains made by Caesars blood
in the delicate marble remain today, and
are believed to be genuine, but the head of
person, for it Is not a portrait of Pompey,
substituted for the original head which
was knocked off when the theater was de-
stroyed.
The Spada Palace Is one of the richest in
sculptured ornament that may be found in
Rome. Its decorations are superb The
library of the court of appeals is the best
collection of legal lore in Italy and the gar
den is delight.
1 love to wander around in this ancient
part of Rome, among the old palaces
which are associated with so much his
tory. tragedy and romance. Every block
in the pavement is sacred to the memory
of some great man has been the scene
of some event that has Influenced the
destiny of the nation. Near by is one of
the most interesting OF the humble
churches in Rome. built up in 1902 upon
| the site of a house occupied by Brigitta
Brahe. wife of the Duke of Nericia, bet
| ter known as st. Bridget, the patron of
servant girls. She was not an Irish
woman, however. but Swede, and she
walked all the way from the city of
Lund. Sweden, to Rome to fulfill VOW.
| From 1880 to 1873 she lived here in
| house where the church now stands
with her daughter, who was also canon
| lied as st. Catharine of Sweden, and ex-
| ercised a powerful influence among the
| priests as well as the people. 1t is not
often that you find two saints in the sa me