The Topography and Antiquities of Rome (Volume 2); Including Recent Discoveries Made about the Forum and the Via Sacra (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: DISSERTATION THE ELEVENTH. ON THE FOURTEENTH REGION, OR TRANSTYBERINA, WITH THE TYBER, BRIDGES AND DRAINS OF THE CITY; INCLUDING ALSO THE VATICAN MOUNT, THE FORT S. ANGELO, AND THE MONTE MARIO. " Ahi! Constantln ! di quanto mal fu madrc Non la tua conversion, ma quella dote Che da te prose il primo ricco padre." Daste. Jlhe vicissitudes of the city of Rome bear a striking analogy to those of her power and dominion. The distant provinces were gradually relinquished, as the power necessary for retaining them failed; and the inhabitants of the city, in an almost continued coincidence, gradually retired from the seven hills. Whilst the invisible contest between imperial and papal power was pending, the Romans clustered their abodes within the windings of the Tyber, as if at the same time doubtful whether the future renown of the city should rest upon the seven hills or the Vatican; but, at length, when time and circumstances declared in favour of the latter, the representative of the power migrated from the Capitoline Jove to the shrine of St. Peter; and now, whether the spiritual dominion shall flourish or decay, the eyes of the world are fixed upon the Vatican; where the pride of Rome has concentrated all her treasures and herglory; and thus the Transtyberine district, which scarcely deserved the notice of the ancient historian, has gradually risen with the ecclesiastical power, and triumphs over the prostrate city of the emperors. The Tyber enters Rome in a south-west direction, and, dividing the city by its serpentine course, embraces, within two alternate windings, the main portion of the present population. The communications from one side to the other are made by six ferries and four bridges. Comparing the present state of the river with ancient accounts, it...