Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/433

 ROME 413 columns, bass reliefs, and statues, erected to commemorate the victory over Maxentius; and the arches of Dolabella, Gallienus, and Drusus. The most interesting of the columns erected in various parts of the city is that of Trajan, in the forum of Trajan, which was dedicated to that emperor by the senate and Koman people in commemoration of his victory over the Dacians. It is composed of 34 pieces of white marble, 9 of which form the base, 23 the shaft, and 2 the torus and capital. The height of the entire column, exclusive of the statue on its summit, is 127i ft., and of the shaft alone, 97J ft. The base and capital are of the Tuscan order, the shaft Doric, and the mouldings of the pedestal Corinthian. A se- ries of bass reliefs form a spiral around the Forum and Column of Trajan. shaft from the base to the summit, repre- senting the military achievements of the em- peror. There are 2,500 human figures in the sculptures, and many horses, military engines, and weapons. The column was formerly sur- mounted by a statue of Trajan, but its place is now occupied by one of St. Peter, which was erected by Sixtus V. In the interior of the column is a spiral staircase of 184 steps. The column of Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, in the piazza Colonna, erected A. D. 174, is similar to that of Trajan, but inferior in design and execution. Its height is 122 ft. 8 in., the shaft being 97i ft. On the summit is a statue of St. Paul, placed there by Sixtus V. Of the many obelisks in Borne, the highest is that of the Lateran, the shaft of which is 105 ft. 7 in. It was brought from Heliopolis to Alexandria by Constantino the Great, and removed by his son Constantius to Rome. The obelisk of the Vati- can was brought from Heliopolis by Caligula. The obelisk of Santa Maria Maggiore is one of the two which formerly stood at the entrance of the mausoleum of Augustus ; they are sup- posed to have been brought from Egypt by Claudius. The obelisk of the piazza del Popo- lo once stood before the temple of the sun at Heliopolis, whence it was removed to Rome by Augustus. Another obelisk, that of Monte Citorio, was also brought to Rome from Helio- polis by Augustus. The mausoleum of Augus- tus, in the Campus Martius, surrounded by a large park, was built by that emperor as the burial place of the imperial family, and was one of the most magnificent edifices of his reign. The mausoleum of Hadrian is now the castle Sant' Angelo. The tomb of the Scipios was discovered in 1780; and among the other most imposing sepulchral monuments were the tombs of Csecilia Metella, Cestius, and Septi- mius Severus. Modern Rome, The modern city occupies very nearly the same space as the ancient ; lat. of the observatory of the collegio Romano, 41 53' 62" K, Ion. 12 28' 40" E. ; pop. in 1846, 180,000; in 1852, 175,838; in 1858, 180,359; in 1872, 244,484. Since the change of government in 1870, the population has rapidly increased, but many new streets opened since then are yet scarcely inhabited. The Tiber has a course within the walls of about 3 m., and is crossed by five bridges, viz. : the Ponte Sant' Angelo, the ancient Pons ^Elius, opposite the castle of Sant' Angelo at the N". W. end of the city; the Ponte Sisto, built by Sixtus IV. in 1474 on the ruins of the Pons Janiculensis, connecting the city proper with the quarter of Trastevere ; the Ponte di Quattro Capi (so called from a four-headed statue of Janus), the ancient Pons Fabricius, and the Ponte San Bartolommeo, the ancient Pons Cestius, connecting the Isola di San Bar- tolommeo, the former with the city, and the lat- ter with the Trastevere ; and the Ponte Rotto, on the site of the ancient Pons ^Emilius ; this last was partly washed away in 1598, and a suspension bridge now extends from the re- maining portion to the shore. The ruins of the old Pons Triumphalis and Pons Sublicius are visible when the water is low. The walls are nearly 13 m. in circuit, those on the left bank of the river following the line of the wall of Aurelian ; they have been so often repaired that it is difficult to assign a date to any por- tion of them. On the outside they are 50 ft. high, on the inside generally less than 30. They have no ditch, but are crested with about 300 towers and pierced by 13 gates still in use. The general level of the city has been con- siderably raised by the rubbish accruing from long habitation and from the ruins of ancient edifices, so that the lower parts are estimated to be at least 15 ft. higher than they were in