The Sight Of These Limbs Dangling In The Wind Is Not A Very
Comfortable One Towards The Close Of The Evening.
We left the Sepolero di Nerone, an ancient tomb so called, on the right
of our road and half a mile beyond it crossed the Tiber at the Ponte Molle
(Pons Milvius), where there is a gate, bridge and military post.
From this
post to the Porta del Popolo, the entrance into the city for those coming
from the North, the distance is one mile; there is a white wall on each
side of the road the whole way, and some farm houses and villas. Near the
Ponte Molle is the field of battle where Maxentius was defeated by
Constantine.
We entered the Porta del Popolo, crossed the Piazza of the same name,
where three streets present themselves to view. In the centre is the street
called the Corso, running in a direct line from the Porta across the
Piazza. We drove along the Corso till we arrived at a Piazza on our
right hand, which Piazza is called della Colonna from the Column of
Antoninus, which stands on it. We then crossed the Piazza which is very
large and soon reached the Dogana or Custom house, formerly the temple of
Antoninus Pius, where vile modern walls are built to fill up the intervals
between eleven columns of Grecian marble. Here our baggage underwent a
rigorous research; this rigour is not so much directed against the
fraudulent introduction of contraband or duty-bearing merchandise, as
against books, which undergo a severe scrutiny.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 282 of 558
Words from 77068 to 77330
of 151859
