The Piazza di Venezia, in which the Corso terminates, is the tramway centre of the city. On the southern side of this square is the im posing monument to Victor Emmanuel II, after designs by the late Count Sacconi, rising in the centre of a colonnaded platform to a height of more than 200 feet. The platform is approached by massive flights of steps. The monument was a quarter of a century building and cost about 2S,000,000 francs. From the Piazza di Venezia the broad Via Nazionale runs a general course northeast between the Quirinal and the Viminal Hills to the Church of Santa Maria deg* Angeli, a minute's walk from the railway station (Station di Termini), opposite the Baths of Diocletian. In the reverse direc tion this great street Is continued—under the names of the Via del Plebiscito and the Corso Vittorio Emanuele--.westward to the Tiber op posite the Villa Barberini. In a fairly accurate way it is the boundary between the area of ancient Rome and that of the modern city on the left bank of the river. Important streets south of this line are the Via Cavour and the Via Alessandrina, which pass the site of the Forum of Vespasian; the Via S. Teodoro (the Vicus Tuscus), traversing the ancient yela brum; the Via del Cerchi between the Pala tine and Aventine, running through the site of the Circus Maximus, and the Via di Porta S. Sebastian, touching the tomb of the Scipios and the arch of Drusus, and ending at the ancient gate to the Appian Way. Other im portantsquares and streets : the Piazza Bar berini adjacent to the Palace; the Piazza Colonna in the centre of the city, with a column of Marcus Aurelius, and nearby the Piazza di Monti Citoria, on which stand the Chamber of Deputies and other government offices • the Piazza San Pietro with its artistic colonnade, in front of Saint Peter's, and the Vatican; the Piazza di Navona with a fountain and two churches; the Piazza del Campidoglio in front of the Capitol, having the perfect equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius, celebrated as win ning Michelangelo's special regard; the Piazza di S. Agnese, a martyred saint; the Piazza di Navonna, containing the famous statue, a noble Greek work of Pasquino (hence the term (Pasquinadesi) where for a long time satires of the day, directed against the Pope or nobility and prevalent follies, were posted; the Piazza di Montanari, where from time im memorial peasants contracted with landowners for the season's farm-work; and in the new quarter, embracing the Esquiline, Viminale and a portion of the Pincian Hill, besides the Inde pendenza, are the Piazza di Dante, Vittorio Emanuele, Esquilino, Guglielmo Pepe, etc.
Before the railroad was built most travelers entered Rome by the Porta del Popolo, at the northern extremity of the city and but a short distance from the piazza of that name. Those bound for Tuscany depart thence along the Via Flaminia. Just outside is the Villa Borghese, officially styled Villa Umberto Primo since its purchase and transfer to the city as a public park.
The Porta Pinciana is less than a mile east of this gate, and the Porta Pia is a half mile still further on, along the Corso d'Italia. The Via Venti Settembre begins at the Porta Pia, near which the Italian troops entered Rome Sept. 20, 1870, and runs to the heart of the city near the Quirinal. From this gate the Via Nomentana leads across the Anio to Mons Sacer, where the plebeians took refuge during the secession movement which ended in the recognition of popular rights. A mile south is Porta San Lorenzo, the ancient Tiburtina, from which excursions leave Rome for Tivoli.
Along a• lane inside the wall, going south across the railroad, one reaches the Porta Maggiore, which was originally an archway in the Acqua Claudia (sit 52), which brought water from Subiaeo, 42 miles from Rome. Palestrina is reached from the gate over the ancient Praenes tina. The Porta S. Giovanni is the gate of departure from Naples, and the Porta S. Sebastian, the southernmost gate of the city, is the porte of departure for the tombs and other places of interest along the historic Appian \VW.
Government.— The government of Rome is administered by a communal council, a munici pal council and a syndic. The municipal council is a modified board of public works and the syndic is the administrative chief ; both are elected by the communal council from the mem bership of that body. The syndic is a member
of the government. The executive power of the state belongs exclusively to the sovereign and is applied by ministers, of whom there are 13, one without portfolio: The Foreign Affairs, the Colonies, Justice and Ecclesiastical Affairs the Treasury, Finance, War, Marine, Public Instruction, Public Works, Agriculture, Industry and Commerce, and Posts and Telegraphs. The legislative authority is the joint concern of king and Parliament. Parliament consists of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, the former composed of the princes of the royal house, who are over 21 (they may not vote until they are 25 years of age), and of an unlimited number of members over 40 who are nominated for life by the king. The total membership usually exceeds 400. The House of Deputies has a larger mem bership, now somewhat more than 500. The number is determined by the population — one deputy to every thousand. The Parliament sits in the Camera de' Deputati, in the Piazza Colonna. The Quirinal Palace is the residence of the royal family and the chief government bureaus are on the Quirinal Hill or near by.
Religion, Churches, etc.— The Roman Catholic Church is in name the ruling religion, but church and clergy are subordinate to the civil government, which guarantees freedom of worship. The law of 1873 abolished the legal status of religious corporations, and they cannot hold property. The revenue from lands des tined for charity or schools is now administered by the city, and by each commune; the income from monastic parish church property in Rome belongs to the parish churches, and that from property , of foreign religious orders in Rome about $80,000—goes to the Holy See. Saint Peter's and its precincts, the Vatican Palace and Saint John Lateran belong to the jurisdic tion of the popes. More than 95 per cent of the population of Italy is Catholic. Rome is a city of churches. Any good guide book records more than a hundred as worthy of a visit. Among those of most ancient foundation still in use are Santa Pudenziana, traditionally the oldest, dating from Saint Peter's establishment of a place of worship in the house of Pudens; S. Maria, in Transtevere, founded in the be ginning of the 3d century; San Paolo, Fuore le Mora, on the spot where Saint Paul suffered martydrom, S. Agnese, and S. Lorenzo Fuore, all credited to Constantine. Saint Peter's, of course, ranks first among Roman churches. It was founded by Constantine'on the site of the Circus of Caligula, where Saint Peter suffered martyrdom, and is gorgeously decorated with gold mosaics and marble. Bramante; Raphael, and Michelangelo were the chief architects. Bernini filled it with the sculptures of his con temporaries and many monuments line the pil lars and fill niches. The Pieta is one of the notable sculptures of Saint Peter's. The great dome is a marvel of architectural skill. The facade is 357 feet long and 144 feet high, and over the central entrance is the loggia, where the Pope is crowned and whence 'he gives his Easter benediction. Over the main entrance of the vestibule is the of the Novicella (1298), by Giotto and Cavallini, The magnificent central door of bronze, is a remnant of the old Basilica (1431-39). The enormous size of statues and ornaments in Saint Peter's are deceptive as relates to the vast proportions of its interior, which is only realized by ob serving the moving, living figures of people. Around the shrine under the dome, 86 gold lamps burn continually. Wonderful mosaic pictures are among the countless gems which enrich this noble temple. Its interior has die form of a Latin cross with chapels on the sides. Many princes of the church lie buried in the crypt The Vatican, the present residence of the popes, is a vast collection of palaces, com prising the old and new palaces of the popes, the Sistine Chapel, the Loggie and Stanze, the picture gallery, museums and library. RaphaeVs wall frescoes rank above all his other work, and in the 'School of Athens) and the 'Transfiguration,' fieliodorns from the and other frescoes of the Stanze and Loggie, he evinces astonishing wisdom and philosophical erudition.