Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/282

* KOMBLON. 258 EOME. is sitnated in the centre of the Visayan Sea east of IVIincloro and north of Panay (ilap: Philip- j>iiie Islands, G 7). The principal islands with their areas in square miles are Tablas (320) in the west, Sibuyan (90) in the east, and Roni- l)!6n (54) in the centre; the total area of the I)rovince is 515 square miles. The islands are liighlv mountainous, with a number of peaks over 2000"fect high in Tablas, while the peak of Si- buyin has a height of 6424 feet. The greater portions are covered with forests containing valu- able woods, but wholly unexploited, except that a little gum nia.stic and copra are exported from the island of RomblOn. Cattle are also raised and exported from the latter island, but through- out the province agriculture and other indus- tries are engaged in only to supply the absolute necessities of home consumption. The population in 1901 was 55,339, mostly Visayans, with a few hundred savage Negritos in the interior of Tablas. The capital of the province is Romblun, ■with a well-sheltered harbor and a population of 6764. BOmE (Lat., It. Roma, Gk. 'Piiu^, Rome, con- nected with OLat. roumen, river Gk. pdv, rhcin, Skt. sru, to flow ), MoDERX. The capital of the Kingdom of Italy and of the Province of Piome, the third largest city in the country. The city lies on the plain on each side of the winding Tiber, and in part on the slopes of the historic Seven Hills (Jlap: Italy, G 6). Its geographical posi- tion at the observatory of the Collegio Romano is latitude 41° 53' 52" N., longitude 12° 28' 40" E. Its situation in the Campagna, about 14 miles from the Apennines on the east, and the same dis- tance from the Jlediterranean on the west, is naturally unfavorable to health, but Rome is now considered one of the most sanitary cities in Evi- rope, owing to extensive modern betterments of every description. The death rate fell from 30 per 1000 in 1870 to 26 in 1885, and to less than 18 later. The climate is less extreme than in Florence and Milan, the thermometer seldom rising above 99° F. or falling below 23°. The mean temperature in January is 44°, in July 77°. Modern Rome, situated on the many-bridged Tiber, and dignified by its many and historic gates, is distinguished by its vast ruins, its re- mains of ancient walls, its numberless public statues and monuments both new and old. its fountains, and the magnificent improvements which have been made since Italy became a united kingdom. The Tiber has been inclosed in vast emliankments of masonry, streets liave been wid- ened, filthy districts done away with, and pleas- ure grounds laid out. The Palatine Hill is now a public park; the Janiculum has been converfed into drives and wMlks; and the Villa Borghese (q.v. ) and gardens have been acquired for the metropolis. The historic present wall of the city is for the most part that of Aurelian, dat- ing mainly from about 275. Rome is fortified by a wide circle of detached forts. The circum- ference of the city is about 15 miles. There are 10 bridges, three of which are for the mo.st part ancient. Of these the five-arched Sant' Angelo is the best known. IIany handsome modern pub- lic edifices have been erected. Rome may be described as consisting of four sections or districts: The Campus Martius, the ancient southern portion, the more modern city on the northeast and east, and the district on the right bank. ]Medi;cval Rome grew ip not on the Seven Hills, but on the site of the old Campus ^Martins and across the Tiber around Saint Peter's and the Vatican; and these two districts remain to-day the most densely settled parts of the city. By far the larger of the two, the Campus Martius, occupies all tlie plain between the walls of Aure- lian, the Pincio, Quirinal. and Capitoline hills, and the river. At its northern extremity, where the Porta del Popolo opens through the walls, is the handsome Piazza del Popolo, in the centre of which stands an Egyptian obelisk brought to Rome by Augustus Ca-sar from the Temple of the Sun at Hcliopolis. The noteworthy Santa ilaria del Popolo Church adjoins this Piazza. It was rebuilt at the close of the fifteenth century, and contains many frescoes b}' Pinlurirchio. The Campus JIartius district is practically bordered on tile west for the most part by the important and historic Corso, which branches out from the Piazza del Popolo and runs south-southeast for about a mile to the Piazza di Venezia near the foot of the Capitoline Hill. It is lined with splendid palaces, churches, ancient and modern, and fine shops. Baroque architecture being in evidence. The Piazza Venezia takes its name from the ad- jacent Palazzo di Venezia. a fine Florentine struc- ture of the fifteenth century, built of stones from the Colosseum. In this part of the city the Italian Senate and Chamber of Deputies hold their sessions, and here are found also various Government otfices and the University of Rome. The celebrated Pantheon (q.v.). which has always been important in the city's history, is the only ancient building in Rome still practically ccm- plete. The splendid Piazza Colonna on the Corso is to the northeast of the Pantheon, and is the centre of modern Roman life. In it rises the fine ancient column of Marcus Aurelius, 95 feet high. Not far away from the square is the elegant Sciarra- Colonna Palace, scarcely surpassed even in Rome. It dates from the early part of the seventeenth cen- tury. Two historic piles in the vicinity are the Palace Torlonia and the Palace Bonaparte, where the mother of Napoleon lived and died. Near by is the superb Palace Doria, with its noteworthy collection of paintings. To the east is the equally well-known Colonna Palace, dating from the commencement of the fifteenth century, with a small but good picture gallery having some of the finest landscapes of Poussin. Some distance northwest, near the Tiber, stands the Palace Borghese, with a splendid colonnaded court. To the southwest of this palace is the noteworthy Sant' Agostino Church, dating from 1479, the first cliurch in Rome with a dome. Just south- east of the Pantheon is the Santa Maria sopra !Minerva Church, begun in 1285 and fully reno- vated in recent times. It contains Jlichelan- gclo's sublime "Christ and the Cross." West of the Pantheon is the interesting Piazza Navona, with 3 fountains. Near it rises the Santa Maria della Pace Church, due to Sixtus IV. (1484). In one of its chapels are the far-famed Sibyls of Raphael, painted in 1514. Bramante built the fine cloisters. In the district south of the Pan- theon is the Gesil, the .sumptuous church of the Jesuits, begun in 1568. West of it stands the in- teresting Sant' Andrea della Valle, dating from 1591. Still farther west rises the imposing Re- naissance Palace della Cancelleria, finished in 1495. Its areaded court is of much interest. Just