Aureum, at the foot of the Capitol.
We now find ourselves in the Piazza del Campidoglio, occupying the Intermontium, where Brutus harangued the people after the murder of Julius Cæsar. In the centre of the square is the famous Statue of Marcus Aurelius, the only perfect ancient equestrian statue in existence. It was originally gilt, as may still be seen from marks of gilding upon the figure, and stood in front of the arch of Septimius-Severus. Hence it was removed by Sergius III. to the front of the Lateran, where, not long after, it was put to a singular use by John XIII., who hung a refractory prefect of the city from it by his hair.[39] During the rejoicings consequent upon the elevation of Rienzi to the tribuneship in 1347, one of its nostrils was made to flow with water and the other with wine. From its vicinity to the Lateran, so intimately connected with the history of Constantine, it was supposed during the middle ages to represent that Christian emperor, and this fortunate error alone preserved it from the destruction which befell so many other ancient imperial statues. Michael Angelo, when he designed the buildings of the Capitoline Piazza, wished to remove the statue to its present site, but the canons of the Lateran were unwilling to part with their treasure, and only consented to its removal upon an annual acknowledgment of their proprietorship, for which a bunch of flowers is still presented once a year by the senators to the chapter of the Lateran. Michael Angelo, standing in fixed admiration before this statue, is said to have bidden the horse "Cammina." Even until late years an especial guardian has been appointed to take care of it, with an annual stipend of ten scudi a year, and the title of "Il custode del Cavallo."
"They stood awhile to contemplate the bronze equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius. The moonlight glistened upon traces of the gilding which had once covered both rider and steed; these were almost gone, but the aspect of dignity was still perfect, clothing the figure as it were with an imperial robe of light. It is the most majestic representation of the kingly character that ever the world has seen. A sight of the old heathen emperor is enough to create an evanescent sentiment of loyalty even in a democratic bosom, so august does he look, so fit to rule, so worthy of man's profoundest homage and obedience, so inevitably attractive of his love. He stretches forth his hand with an air of proud magnificence and unlimited authority, as if uttering a decree from which no appeal was permissible, but in which the obedient subject would find his highest interests consulted: a command that was in itself a benediction."—Hawthorne.
"I often ascend the Capitoline Hill to look at Marcus Aurelius and his horse, and have not been able to refrain from caressing the lions of basalt. You cannot stand on the Aventine or the Palatine without grave thoughts, but standing on the spot brings me very little nearer the image of past ages."—Niebuhr's Letters.
"La statue équestre de Marc-Aurèle a aussi sa légende, et celle-là n'est pas du moyen âge, mais elle a été recueillie il y a peu d'années de la bouche d'un jeune Romain. La dorure, en partie détruite, se voit encore en quelques endroits. A en croire le jeune Romain, cependant, la dorure, au lieu d'aller s'effaçant toujours davantage, était en voie de progrès. 'Voyez, disait-il, la statue de bronze commence à se dorer, et quand elle le sera entièrement, le monde finira.'—C'est toujours, sous une forme absurde, la vieille idée romaine, que les destinées et l'existence de Rome sont liées aux destinées et à l'existence du monde. C'est ce qui faisait dire au septième siècle; ainsi que les pèlerins saxons l'avaient entendu et le répétaient; 'Quand le Colisée tombera, Rome et le monde finiront.'"—Ampère, Emp. ii. 228.
The building at the back of the piazza is The Palace of the Senator, originally built by Boniface IX. (1389), but altered by Michael Angelo to correspond with his buildings on either side. The fountain at the foot of the double staircase was erected by Sixtus V., and is adorned with statues of river gods found in the Colonna Gardens, and a curious porphyry figure of Minerva—adapted as Rome. The body of this statue was found at Cori, but the head and arms are modern additions.
"Rome personnifiée, cette déesse à laquelle on érigea des temples, voulut d'abord être une Amazone, ce qui se conçoit, car elle était guerrière avant tout. C'est sous la forme de Minerve que Rome est assise sur la place du Capitole."—Ampère, Hist. Romaine, iii. 242.
In the interior of this building the Hall of the Senators contains some papal statues, and that of Charles of Anjou, who was made senator of Rome in the thirteenth century.
The Tower of the Capitol contains the great bell of Viterbo, carried off from that town during the wars of the middle ages, which is never rung except to announce the death of a pope, or the opening of the carnival. During the closing years of the temporal power of the popes, it has been difficult to obtain admission to the tower, but the ascent is well repaid by the view from the summit, which embraces not only the seven hills of Rome, but the various towns and villages of the neighbouring plain and mountains which successively fell under its dominion.
"Pour suivre les vicissitudes des luttes extérieures des Romains contre les peuples qui les entourent et les pressent de tous côtés, nous n'aurons qu'à regarder à l'horizon la sublime campagne romaine et ces montagnes qui l'encadrent si admirablement. Elles sont encore plus belles et l'œil prend encore plus de plaisir à les contempler quand on songe à ce qu'elles ont vu d'efforts et de courage dans les premiers temps de la république. Il n'est presque pas un point de cette campagne qui n'ait été témoin de quelque rencontre glorieuse; il n'est presque un rocher de ces montagnes qui n'est été pris et repris vingt fois.
"Toutes ces nations sabelliques qui dominaient la ville du Tibre et semblaient placées là sur des hauteurs disposées en demi-cercle pour l'envelopper et l'écraser, toutes ces nations sont devant nous et à la portée du regard.
"Voici de côté de la mer les montagnes des Volsques; plus à l'est sont les Herniques et les Æques; au nord, les Sabins; à l'ouest, d'autres ennemis, les Etrusques, dont le mont Ciminus est le rempart.
"Au sud, la plaine se prolonge jusqu'à la mer. Ici sont les Latins, qui, n'ayant pas des montagnes pour leur servir de citadelle et de refuge, commenceront par être des alliés.
"Nous pouvons donc embrasser le panorama historique des premiers combats qu'eurent à soutenir et que soutinrent si vaillamment les Romains affranchis."—Ampère, Hist. Rom. ii. 373.
Beneath the Palace of the Senator (entered by a door in the street on the right), are the gigantic remains of the Tabularium, consisting of huge rectangular blocks of peperino supporting a Doric colonnade, which is shown by an inscription still preserved to have been that of the public Record Office, where the Tabulæ, engraved plates bearing important decrees of the Senate, were preserved, having been placed there by Q. Lutatius Catulus in B.C. 79. A gallery in the interior of the Tabularium has been fitted up as a museum of architectural antiquities collected from the neighbouring temples. This building is as it were the boundary between inhabited Rome and that Rome which is a city of ruins.
"I came to the Capitol, and looked down on the other side. There before my eyes opened an immense grave, and out of the grave rose a city of monuments in ruins, columns, triumphal arches, temples, and palaces, broken, ruinous, but still beautiful and grand—with a solemn mournful beauty! It was the giant apparition of ancient Rome."—Frederika Bremer.
The traces of an ancient staircase still exist, which led down from the Tabularium to the Forum. This is believed by many to have been the path by which the besiegers under Vitellius, A.D. 69, attacked the Capitol.
The east side of the piazza—on the left as one stands at the head of the steps—is the Museo Capitolino (open daily from 9 to 4, for a fee; and on Mondays and Thursdays gratis, from 2½ to 4½).
Above the fountain in the court, opposite the entrance, reclines the colossal statue of a river-god, called Marforio, removed hither from the end of the Via di Marforio (Forum Martis?) near the arch of Severus. This figure, according to Roman fancy, was the friend and gossip of Pasquin (at the Palazzo Braschi), and lively dialogues, merciless to the follies of the government and the times, used to appear with early morning, placarded on their respective pedestals, as passing between the two. Thus, when Clement XI. mulcted Rome of numerous sums to send to his native Urbino, Marforio asked, "What is Pasquino doing?" The next morning Pasquin answered, "I am taking