HOMES OF THE POETS. "Sed quæ Tibur aquæ fertile præfluunt, Fingent Æolio carmine nobilem." iv. Od. 3. 205 "Que de vers charmants dans Horace, consacrés à peindre ce Tibur tant aimé, ce délicieux Tivoli dont il est si doux de goûter après lui, je dirai presque avec lui, les impérissables enchantements! Comment ne pas y murmurer cette ode ravissante dans laquelle, après avoir énuméré les beaux lieux qu'il avait admirés dans son voyage de Grèce, revenant à son cher Tibur, il s'écrie, comme d'autres pourraient le faire aussi: 'Rien ne m'a frappé autant que la demeure retentissante d'Albunée, l'Anio qui tombe, le bois sacré de Tiburnus, et les vergers qu'arrosent les eaux vagabondes !' 'Quam domus Albuneæ resonantis, Mobilibus pomaria rivis.' Carm. i. 7, 12. Est-il rien de plus gracieux, de plus sonore, et de plus frais? Malheureusement il ne reste d'Horace à Tivoli que les cascatelles, dont le murmure semble un écho de ses vers. Les ruines qu'on montre au voyageur, comme celles de la maison d'Horace, ne lui ont jamais appartenu, bien que déjà du temps de Suétone à Tibur on fît voir au curieux la maison du poëte."—Ampère, Emp. Rom. 1. 360. Catullus had a villa here on the boundary between the Sabine and Tiburtine territories, but which he chose to consider in the latter, while his friends, if they wished to tease him, said it was Sabine : "O funde noster, seu Sabine, seu Tiburs (Nam te esse Tiburtem autumant, quibus non est Sed seu Sabine sive verius Tiburs, Villa, malamque pectore expuli tussim.” Carm. 44. Here also lived Cynthia," whose real name was Hostia, the beloved of Propertius, who did not hesitate to test his devotion by summoning him to face the dangers of the road from Rome to Tibur at midnight. "Nox media, et dominæ mihi venit epistola nostræ, Tibure me missa jussit adesse mora, Candida qua geminas ostendunt culmina turres, Et cadit in patulos lympha Aniena lacus." iii. El. 16. And here she died and was buried, and her spirit, appearing to her lover, besought him to take care of her grave. "Pelle hederam tumulo, mihi quæ pugnante corymbo Pomosis Anio qua spumifer incubat arvis, v. 7. Beyond the Porta Santa Croce is the suburb Carciano, a corruption from Cassianum, its name in the 10th century from the villa of the gens Cassia, of which there are considerable remains beneath the Greek College. From the excavations made here in the reign of Pius VI. many of the finest statues in the Vatican were obtained, especially those in the Hall of the Muses. Painters, and all who stay long enough at Tivoli, should not fail to visit the picturesque ruins of the Marcian and Claudian aqueducts beyond the Porta S. Giovanni. Delightful excursions may also be made to Subiaco, to S. Cosimato and Licenza, to Monte Gennaro, and to Montecelli. A pleasant road leads by the old castle of Passerano and Zagarolo to Palestrina. CHAPTER XIII. LICENZA AND MONTE GENNARO. (This is one of the most interesting of the excursions from Tivoli. A carriage may be taken from Tivoli to the farm of Horace itself, or good walkers may take the morning diligence to Subiaco as far as S. Cosimato, and walk from thence to Licenza, returning to meet the diligence in the evening. For the excursion to Monte Gennaro, horses must be ordered beforehand.) OON after leaving Tivoli some magnificent arches of the Claudian Aqueduct are seen crossing a ravine on the left, through which a road leads to Ampiglione (probably the ancient Empulum), where some of the ancient walls remain. Then, also on the left, rises the most picturesque village of Castel Madama crowning a ridge of hill. Then the road passes close to some ruins supposed to be those of the tomb of C. Mænius Bassus of the time of Caligula. Seven miles from Tivoli we reach Vicovaro, the Varia of Horace. Some of the ancient walls remain, of huge blocks of travertine. The place now belongs to Count Bolognetti Cenci, who has a dismal palace here. At one end of a piazza facing the principal church in the upper town, is the beautiful Chapel of S. Giacomo, built for one of the Orsini, Count of Tagliacozzo, by Simone, a pupil of Brunelleschi, who (says Vasari) died when he was employed upon it. It is octagonal, with a dome crowned by the figure of a saint. The Italian-gothic is very peculiar. The principal door is richly adorned with saints: above are angels floating over the Virgin and Child, their attitude of adoration very beautiful. Santa Severa is buried here, as well as at Anagni! Pope Pius II. in his "Commentaria" (LVI.) speaks of this church as "nobile sacellum ex marmore candidissimo," and as adorned with "statuis egregiis." Of late years it has become important as a place of pilgrimage from "the miraculous picture" which it contains. "Outside the church was a stall, at which I bought a copy of a hymn addressed by the inhabitants of the town, to their miraculous picture of the most Holy Mary our advocate, which on July 22, 1868, began to move its eyes miraculously.' Then follows the hymn, which is poor enough. Inside the church, over the high altar, surrounded with decorations and with lights, is placed the picture, a beautiful one, full of feeling and pathos. The hands are united as in prayer, and the face is turned upwards, the eyes being large and lustrous, and in the very act of beginning to weep. It is a work of the school of Guido, and might be by the master himself. "Before the altar were kneeling a group of contadini, or country people, on their way from the Easter services at Rome. The priest was kneeling at the altar, singing the Litany of the Virgin, in which she is addressed in direct prayer, Mother of mercy, have mercy on us :''Mother of grace, have mercy upon us,' &c.: the contadini repeating the 'Miserere nobis' after each title of invocation had been given out by the priest. This being ended, the worshippers all bent down and kissed the pavement, and then went backwards out of the church, bowing repeatedly as they passed down the nave. "Meantime we were invited into the sacristy to see the book of testimonials to the fact of the miracle. The witnesses were many, of all nations. The purport of their testimony was mainly this: that at such a time the deposer had seen the left, or the right eye, or both, move or enlarge, or fill with tears; or the expression of the face change, or the throat become agitated. Many of the depositions were accompanied with fervent expressions of thankfulness and joy. "Now as to the account to be given of the phenomena thus deposed to. It is well known that certain arrangements of lines and of colours cause the appearance, when long contemplated, of unsteadiness and of motion in a picture: especially if combined with the representation of an expression of countenance itself emotioned, and, if I may thus use the word, transitional. Now this last is eminently the case at Vicovaro. I am convinced, that were I a devotee kneeling before that picture, I could in ten minutes imagine it to undergo any such change as those recorded in the book. All is engaging, lustrous, suggestive."-Dean Alford, 1865. A short distance beyond Vicovaro, almost opposite the convent of S. Cosimato (see ch. xix.), a road to the left turns up the valley of Licenza. On the right is the castle of the Marchese del Gallo. valley, on the left, the castle of Rocca Giovane is seen rising above its little town. Here was a temple of Vacuna, the Victoria of the Sabines. About two miles up the The scenery is now classical, for : "where yon bar Of girdling mountains intercepts the sight The Sabine farm was till'd, the weary bard's delight." Childe Harold. The village upon the right, Bardella, is Mandela. Be tween us and it flows the brook Licenza, the Digentia of Horace; the hill in front, Monte Libretti, is the famous Mons Lucretilis. "Me quoties reficit gelidus Digentia rivus, i. Epist. xviii. 104. Velox amonum sæpe Lucretilem Usque meis pluviosque ventos. i. Ode 17. "Le véritable pèlerinage à la demeure champêtre d'Horace, c'est celui qu'on peut faire a sa villa de la Sabine, dont l'emplacement a eté VOL. I. 14 |