the Library. ROME. IV. Right Bank. 311
of a learned institution, the applicant stating the branch of study
contemplated.
Visitors first enter (by the glass-door, mentioned at p. 296, opposite the
staircase leading to the Museum of Statuary) a long Corridor below the
Galleria dei Candelabri, divided into several rooms and sections. — Sec¬
tion I : Mdseo Profano : To the right, by the door : "Bronze Head of Au¬
gustus, one of the finest extant portrait-heads of that emperor; left, on
the table, a small, finely executed head of Venus. The closed cabinets
contain beautiful ancient and modera ornaments, etc; e.g'. in the 2nd cab¬
inet (left), Orientai bronzes and articles in gold, hair found in an ancient
tomb, etc. — At the entrance to the next room, or section, are two por¬
phyry columns from the Thermae of Constantine (p. 150), on each of which
are carved the figures of two kings. — The frescoes of scenes from the lives
of Pius VI. and Pius VII. possess little interest. — The following rooms
contain the Bibliotheca Ottoboniana, the Biblioiheca Reginensis, and the
MSS. of the Vatican library. — Continuation of the corridor, see below.
We now tura to the left and enter the Great Hall, 77 yds. long,
16 yds. wide, and 29 ft. high, supported by 6 pillars, constructed by
Fontana and paved with marble by Pius IX. The paintings (of the 17th
cent.) representing scenes from the life of Sixtus V., are interesting on
account of the views of the buildings of that pope, who entirely altered
the E. part of Rome (Rione Monti). By the walls and round the pillars
are 46 small cabinets containing the MSS. ; the antique vases upon the
cabinets are of little interest. The most celebrated MSS. are exhibited in
glass-cases: celebrated palimpsest of the Republic of Cicero, Dante with
miniatures by Giulio Clovio, the ritual of Cardinal Ottobuoni; breviary of
King Matthias Corvinus; celebrated MSS. of the Greek New Testament (5th
cent.),of Virgil (5th cent.), and Terence (the so-called 'Bembinus', of the
4th cent.) ; also autographs of Petrarch and Tasso ; and a small volume of
Henry VIII's love letters to Anne Boleyn. Also a number of gifts presented
to the popes: Sèvres candelabrum presented by Napoleon I. to Pius VII.;
a cross of malachite, from Prince Demidoff ; two vases of Berlin porcelain,
presented by Fred. William IV. after his last visit to Rome, to Pius IX.
vase of Sèvres porcelain, presented by Charles IX. ; vase of Scottish
granite, presented by the Duke of Northumberland to Card. Antonelli;
font, in Sèvres porcelain, in which the Prince Imperiai (d. 1879) was
baptised, presented by Napoleon III. to Pius IX. ; malachite vase, presented
by Emp. Nicholas to Gregory XVI. ; three Sèvres vases, a gift of Marshal
MacMahon to Pius IX. ; large vase of orientai alabaster, presented by the
Khedive Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt to Pius IX. ; vases of Berlin porcelain,
presented by King William I. of Prussia, afterwards German Emperor ; huge
block of malachite, from the Grand-duke Constantine of Russia. — In the
adjoining Reading Rooms are suspended the portraits of the cardinal-librar-
ians, framed papyrus-scrolls, and a facsimile of the two columns from the
Triopium of Herodes Atticus on the Via Appia, with an imitation of an¬
cient Attic characters, the originals of which are in Naples.
We now retrace our steps through the Great Hall to the Corridor,
the continuation of which is also divided into sections. The two first sec¬
tions contain the Latin MSS. of the Palatine and Urbino libraries. In the first,
over the entrance, is represented the Interior of SS. Apostoli ; over the egress,
Interior of the old church of St. Peter ; in the second, over the entrance, the
Erection of the Vatican Obelisk by Fontana (see p. 269); over the egress,
St. Peter's, according to Mich. Angelo's design. In the third section, quattro-
centists and orientai MSS. ; by the sides of the egress, two ancient portrait-
statues, 1. the orator Aristides, r. Lysias. — We next enter the —
Museum of Christian Antiquities (superintendent, Commendatore Giov.
Batt. de Rossi). The lst Room contains curiosities from the catacombs and
ancient church-furniture : lamps, glasses, gems, statuettes, pictures, altar-
pieces, crosses, etc, the most interesting of which are preserved under glass.
Second case on the right: several fine diptychs and triptychs in ivory. —
The 2nd Room, the Stanza de' Papiri, with ceiling-paintings by Raph.
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