If the Duke _Carpinetti_ shou’d die without Issue, as ’tis believ’d will be the Case, from his having been married these four Years past to a Lady who never yet conceiv’d, the immense Estate of the _Pamphili_ Family goes to the Family of the Constable _Colonna_, and really it will then be in better Hands. You know that the _Colonna_’s are the gayest People in ROME, and the most illustrious next to the Princes of Sovereign Families, to many of whom they are related. They have the Honour to be of the same Stock as the Royal Family of _Prussia_. Since the _Ursini_ Family is extinct, there’s not one in ROME can equal the _Colonna_’s. The Head of this Family is hereditary Constable; he is Prince _del Soglio_, (of the Throne) and as such, in all public Ceremonies, he sits at the Right-hand of the Pope’s Throne, which is a Place that he yields to none but the Nephews of the reigning Pope. He is moreover Knight of the Golden Fleece, and the present Emperor declar’d him his perpetual Ambassador for presenting the Hackney, which is a Mark of the Tribute that the Kingdom of _Naples_ owes to the Holy See[3]. The _Colonna_’s are well-bred, affable and generous, and always liv’d with a Dignity suitable to their Birth. The present Cardinal, and the Constable his Nephew, are perhaps two of the finest Gentlemen in the World. They both dwell in the same Palace, and live in a Concord and Union, which is the more beautiful, because ’tis what is seldom known among the Great. Their Palace is one of the most magnificent in ROME, as to the Inside of it; and ’tis pity but that it had another Front. It owes its Rise to none but its Owners, without being oblig’d for it to any of St. _Peter_’s Successors. Instead of giving you the Particulars of every Room, I need only tell you, that they are all richly furnish’d. It has Cabinets, Pictures and Statues, that are of an extraordinary Beauty. The Gallery is truly Royal, and has Beauties that are not to be found in that of _Versailles_, which is admir’d by all _Europe_: Such are four Pillars of antique yellow Marble, two of which support an Arch at each End, whereby there’s an Entrance to the Salon, which is at the End of the Gallery. This might be said to be a complete Gallery, if one of the Salons at the End of it was not raised five or six Steps, whereas the other is level with the Apartment and the Gallery. The Roof of this fine Piece of Building is painted, and represents the Victory gain’d in the Time of _Pius_ V. over the _Turks_ at _Lepanto_, by the Valour of _Mark Antony Colonna_. These Paintings are by different Hands, and not all of the same Beauty. As to the Pictures and Statues that adorn the Walls which are fac’d with Marble, ’tis impossible to see any thing more complete; and this is a Truth even confessed by _Frenchmen_. I never saw a finer Show than this Gallery makes, when illuminated on the Eve and Festival of St. _Peter_, which is the Time of the Constable’s presenting the Hackney to the Pope.