_From the Piazza del Popolo, a sloping, winding road leads up to_ the favourite promenade of the Romans and Forestieri, who stroll and drive here every day, and listen to a military band by which the place is enlivened in the afternoons. _Ascending_, its terraces are interspersed with fountains and statues, and there is a fine large bas-relief on the wall opposite the two columnæ rostratæ adorned with the prows of ships. The name of the hill is derived from the Pincii family, whose estates were upon it towards the close of the empire. It was formerly known as the Hill of Gardens, from those of Lucullus, which passed to Valerius Asiaticus, and were coveted by Messalina. It abounds in walks and shady nooks, interspersed with fountains and the busts of Italia's great men. The side farthest from the city overlooks the Villa Borghese. At the extreme corner is a fragment of the old wall of Sylla--Muro Torto. From the terrace the scene below, in the piazza, is quite a study:--beyond is the winding Tiber and its round fortress of S. Angelo, the roof of the Pantheon, the columns of Aurelius and Trajan, the Capitol and Milizie Towers, and the Quirinal Palace; whilst between Monti Mario and the Janiculum is the world's cathedral, with its vast dome towering high above all: this dome is best seen at a distance, where the eye can embrace its full proportions, for immediate proximity dwarfs its immensity. _In the centre of the grounds is_ THE EGYPTIAN OBELISK, which has on it the inscription ANTONINUS OSIRIS ORACLE (Utterer of truth). It was brought by Hadrian from Egypt, and erected by himself and his wife Sabina to his favourite Antinoüs, in the Varianus Circus, amidst which ruins, near S. Croce in Gerusalemme, outside the walls, it was found. _Passing out of the grounds by the road that runs parallel to the city, on our left is_ THE FRENCH ACADEMY, or Villa Medici, _open every day from 8 till 12, and from 3 till dusk_. The gardens are tastefully laid out, and several fine views may be obtained from them. The MUSEUM OF CASTS (of statues not in Rome) will repay a visit. _Proceeding up the avenue, just beyond, on the left, is the_ CHURCH OF TRINITA DEI MONTI, erected by Charles VIII. of France. Visitors should attend vespers here, the nuns singing choral service; it commences half an hour before Ave Maria. Over the altar of the side-chapel, in entering, is a beautiful Descent from the Cross, the masterpiece of Daniele da Volterra. THE EGYPTIAN OBELISK was found in the gardens of Sallust, and placed here by Pius VI. in 1789. It is 48 feet high without the pedestal, and is supposed to have been brought to Rome by Hadrian. It is thought by some to be only a copy of the original in Egypt. Marcellinus says it stood in the gardens of Sallust.