Goth.,' lib. i.) Between the time of the rebuilding of the walls of Rome by Honorius and the Gothic, war, it appears to have been already turned into a fortress, but without injury to the decorations. During the wars with the Goths, the Romans, being abut up in the building, were reduced to the necessity of throwing down the statues on their besiegers. In the 10th century it was fortified, and it has been since extended and strengthened by the popes. The ancient doorway is situated immediately in front of the bridge; a spiral-way led to the sepulchral chambers at the summit of the building; part of the white mosaic floor with which the way was paved is still remaining.
Bridges.—The Ponslus, now Ponta San Angelo, crosses the Tiber immediately opposite the Mausoleum of Hadrian. It was constructed by Hadrian as an entrance to his mausoleum and the gardens of Domitia, in which he also built his circus. The whole of this bridge is ancient except the parapets, some trifling restorations of masonry, and a small arch on the aide of the Castle of San Angelo. It consists of three large and two small arches, with buttresses attached to the piers and starlings projecting beyond them. It is decorated with modern statues.
The Pons 31i1 vim, now Ponte Jlolle, on the Flam in ian Way, rather more than a mile from the city. The construction of this bridge is attributed to iEmilius Scaurus, about B.C. 100. A part only of the bridge is ancient. Nicholas V. restored it in the middle of the 15th century, up to which period the extremities consisted of wooden drawbridges.
The Pons Sublicius, or Sublician Bridge, first erected by Ancus Msrcius of wood, was destroyed by an inundation in the time of Augustus, and rebuilt of stone by M. lEmilius Lepidaa, the censor, from whom it took the name of ,Emilian. It was restored by Antoninus Pius, and in little more than six centuries after was destroyed by a great inun dation of the Tiber during the reign of Pope Adrian I. The basements of the piers are visible when the water is low. From a coin of the milli it appears to have consisted of three arches, and was adorned with an equestrian statue of the censor.
The Pons Fabricias, built byFabricius,the Curator Viarum, A.U.C. 690, connect. the city with the Isola Tiburtina, and is the best preserved of the ancient Roman bridges. Pons Gratianus is a continuation of the Pone i'abricius, connecting the Isola Tiburtina with Trastevere. It was constructed about a.n. 367.
The Pons Janiculensis, now Ponta Sisto, connecting Trastevere with the city above the Fabrician Bridge, appears to have been restored by one of the emperors. It was reconstructed in 1774.
The Pone Palatinus, or Senatorias, now called Ponta !lotto, was below the Fabrician and Omani" bridges, and above the Sublician ; only three arches of it remain on the Traatevero side. It was first built by
P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus, and was repaired by Augustus. It was a very handsome bridge, and had a roof supported by marble columns. Being carried off by a great flood, it was rebuilt by Pope Pius III., and again by Gregory XIII. in 1575; after which it broke down, and has not been repaired since.
The Pons Triumphal's, called also Pons Vatican us, was constructed in a bend of the river near the Vatican. It is conjectured to have been built by Caligula or Nero as a means of easy access to their gardens on the Vatican. It appears to have been ruined about the 5th century : some remains of the rubble piers of this bridge may be seen when the water is low.
TAratres.—Of the Theatre of Pompey, built by and named after Pompey the Great, there are some ruins under the Palazzo Pio, near the Cam to di Fiore.
The Theatre of Marcellus, built by Augustus, and dedicated to Mar cellos, son of Octavia, his slater, in honour of whom he named the portico attached to this theatre. This was the second solid theatre constructed in Rome, and consisted of three orders, the upper of which is entirely lost. The remains of this building are in the Piazza Mon tanan', and a small part near the entrance to the Palazzo Orsini. The style of the architecture was the Palladian model of the Roman Doric and Ionic orders.
The Flavian Amphitheatre, or Colosseum, well characterised by Byron In its present state as noble wreck In ruinous perfection," was commenced by Vespaaian, In the last year of his life, on the site of the great pond formed by Nero within the extent of his Demur Auras. The following brief description will give an idea of the exterior of this building when perfect :—Ita form is that of an ellipse, the axes of which are 620 feet and 513 feet long respectively. The arena is 2S7 feet long and 180 feet broad. The difference between the external and internal diameters (166 feet 6 inches at each end) is occupied by four corridors and two blocks of radiating substructions —in, or between, which are the staircases and ways from the outer corridors to the inner, and to the arena, together with the concentric) or encircling walls which gird the structure, separate the corridors, and Incline the arena. Two of the surrounding corridors lie together, or adjoin each other, on the outer side; and in this particular the Colos seum exceeds every other structure of the kind, all the rest having but one only ; it thus acquires a second gallery, in which also it is singular. The space covered by this edifice is little short of six acres.