wife of Lucius Cornelius Sylla, and daughter of Quintus Cæcilius Metellus (Plutarch). The building consists of a circular tower, seventy feet in diameter, resting on a quadrangular basement made chiefly of lava and stone, cemented together by lime and pozzuolana, and strengthened with key-stones of travertine. This ruin, so long respected as a tomb, was converted into a fortress by Boniface VIII., and used as such by the Gaetani, his near relatives. It now belongs to archæology. Learned men have made it one of their most sacred resting-places, and it is a favourite resort of tourists and artists. The inscription on the side facing the road runs as follows: "Cæciliæ--Q. Cretici. F.--Metellæ. Crassi." _To the right_ there are bas-reliefs, well preserved--one representing a trophy of victory, another a slave or a prisoner; both were brought from a tomb about a mile further on. The tower was built seventy-nine years before Christ. The construction is very remarkable, on account of the enormous thickness of the walls, which are of concrete faced with travertine and lined with brick in the interior. The enormous massiveness of the structure indicates a rude and semi-barbarous period. Plutarch speaks of the extravagance of Sylla in funeral ceremonies. Cecilia Metella had been previously married to the elder Scaurus (Pliny, xxxvi. 24; xxxvii. 5). "Sylla dreamed, shortly before his death, that his son Cornelius, who died before his wife, Cecilia Metella, appeared to him, and summoned him away to join his mother" (Plutarch). The inner chamber of the ruin is fifteen feet in diameter, and was at one time supposed to contain great treasures both of art and coinage. But the sarcophagus of white marble now in the court of the Farnese Palace, and _believed_ to have been discovered in or near the Tomb of Cecilia Metella, is the only treasure it has produced. "What was this tower of strength? within its cave What treasure lay so locked, so hid?--a woman's grave." _Opposite are_ the ruins of a Gothic church,-- S. NICHOLAS OF BARI. Built by the Gaetani. Considerable remains of this fortress exist, showing the strength of the hold by means of which they levied "black mail" on the passers-by. [Illustration: TOMB OF CECILIA METELLA.] From this point the Via Appia continues in a straight line to Albano. Considerable remains of tombs exist on each side of the way, connected with which are many anecdotes and tragedies. Along the Via Appia a most magnificent prospect of the Campagna is enjoyed, with its ruined tombs and aqueducts, and the Sabine and Alban Hills in the distance. TOMBS ON THE VIA APPIA. From just beyond the tomb of Metella the Via Appia was lost till excavated by Canina, under Pius IX. (1850-53), when many of the tombs were restored, as far as possible, with the fragments.