It has three aisles, with twenty Doric columns of Greek marble, and two of granite, which support the middle arch. On the first altar, to the right, there is S. Augustin, by Guercino. On the right of the high altar is the famous statue of MOSES, by MICHAEL ANGELO, rendered hideous by two horns sticking out from the forehead. Although we read that Moses was a horny man, it does not follow that he had horns, but that his flesh was hard like horn. The S. Margherita, in the adjacent chapel, is by Guercino; the tribune of the high altar was painted by I. Coppi. The new confessional, built by Pius IX., contains the tomb of the seven Maccabees. Here also are preserved the chains of S. Peter. The last altar but one of the other aisle has a S. Sebastian, a mosaic of the seventh century. In the sacristy there are the Liberation of S. Peter, by Domenichino; a Holy Family and Faith, of the school of G. Romano. Guido Reni's Hope was in this church, but it has been replaced by a copy, the original having been sold to an Irish gentleman. _From the front of the church a lane on our left_, VIA DELLA POLVERIERA, _leads, left_ (_carriage right_), _to the_ VIA LABICANE, _a short distance up which is the entrance to_ NERO'S GOLDEN HOUSE. _Entrance through a gate on the left; one of the custodi speaks English. Fee, one lira; Sundays, free._ "He completed his palace by continuing it from the Palatine to the Esquiline, calling the building at first only 'The Passage;' but after it was burned down and rebuilt, 'The Golden House.' Of its dimensions and furniture it may be sufficient to say this much:--The porch was so high that there stood in it a colossal statue of himself 120 feet in height; and the space included in it was so ample that it had triple porticoes a mile in length, and a lake like a sea, surrounded with buildings which had the appearance of a city. Within its area were corn-fields, vineyards, pastures, and woods, containing a vast number of animals of various kinds, both wild and tame. In other parts it was entirely overlaid with gold, and adorned with jewels and mother-of-pearl. The supper-rooms were vaulted, and compartments of the ceilings, inlaid with ivory, were made to revolve and scatter flowers, while they contained pipes which shed scents upon the guests. The chief banqueting room was circular, and revolved perpetually, night and day, in imitation of the motion of the celestial bodies. Upon the dedication of this magnificent house Nero said, in approval of it, 'that he had now a dwelling fit for a man'" (Suetonius, "Nero"). [Illustration: BATHS OF HADRIAN AND GOLDEN HOUSE OF NERO.] "Nero, dressed like a harper, was at the top of a tower in his palace, from whence he diverted himself with the sight of the fire" (Dion Cassius).