Walks in RomeHare, Augustus J. C. (Augustus John Cuthbert)
History
Walks in Rome
Hare, Augustus J. C. (Augustus John Cuthbert)
Rome (Italy) -- Description and travel
The grand staircase, "_La Cordonnata_," was opened in its present form
on the occasion of the entry of Charles V., in 1536.[38] At its foot are
two lions of Egyptian porphyry, which were removed hither from the
Church of S. Stefano in Cacco, by Pius IV. It was down the staircase
which originally existed on this site, that Rienzi the tribune fled in
his last moments, and close to the spot where the left-hand lion stands,
that he fell, covered with wounds, his wife witnessing his death from a
window of the burning palace above. A small space between the two
staircases has lately been transformed into a garden, through which
access may be obtained to four vaulted brick chambers, remnants of the
substructions of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus. A living wolf is
kept here in commemoration of the nurse of Romulus and Remus.
At the head of the stairs are colossal statues of the twin heroes,
Castor and Pollux (brought hither from the Ghetto), commemorating the
victory of the Lake Regillus, after which they rode before the army to
Rome, to announce the joyful news, watered their horses at the Aqua
Argentina, and then passed away from the gaze of the multitude into
celestial spheres. Beyond these, on either side, are two trophies of
imperial times discovered in the ruin on the Esquiline, misnamed the
Trophies of Marius. Next come statues of Constantine the Great and his
son Constantine II., from their baths on the Quirinal. The two ends of
the parapet are occupied by ancient Milliaria, being the first and
seventh milestones of the Appian Way. The first milestone was found in
_situ_, and showed that the miles counted from the gates of Rome, and
not, as was formerly supposed, from the Milliarium Aureum, at the foot
of the Capitol.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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