DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61894#0134
112 . CLASSICAL TOUR Ch. Ill,
an impression, not of awe, but of delight and
tranquillity.
From the Basilica Liberiana a long and -wide
street leads to the Basilica Lateranensis. This
church is the regular cathedral of the bishop of
Rome, and as such assumes the priority of all
others, and the pompous title of the Parent
and Mother of all Churches, “ Ecclesiarum
Urbis et Orbis Mater et Caput.” It w as founded
by Constantine, but it has been burnt, ruined,
rebuilt, and frequently repaired since that period,
Its magnitude corresponds with its rank and ’
antiquity, and the richness of its decorations are
ecpial to both. The Basilica, like that of Santa
Maria Maggiore, has two porticos. That which
presents itself to the traveller coming from the
latter church, consists of a double gallery one
above the other, adorned with pilasters; the
lower range Doric, the higher Corinthian. On
the square before this portico rises a noble
obelisk, the most elevated of its kind. From its
'pedestal bursts an abundant stream, that sup-
plies all the neighboring* streets with water.
The principal portico faces the south ; it consists
of four lofty columns and six pilasters. The
order is Composite; the attic is adorned with a
balustrade, and that balustrade w ith statues. A
an impression, not of awe, but of delight and
tranquillity.
From the Basilica Liberiana a long and -wide
street leads to the Basilica Lateranensis. This
church is the regular cathedral of the bishop of
Rome, and as such assumes the priority of all
others, and the pompous title of the Parent
and Mother of all Churches, “ Ecclesiarum
Urbis et Orbis Mater et Caput.” It w as founded
by Constantine, but it has been burnt, ruined,
rebuilt, and frequently repaired since that period,
Its magnitude corresponds with its rank and ’
antiquity, and the richness of its decorations are
ecpial to both. The Basilica, like that of Santa
Maria Maggiore, has two porticos. That which
presents itself to the traveller coming from the
latter church, consists of a double gallery one
above the other, adorned with pilasters; the
lower range Doric, the higher Corinthian. On
the square before this portico rises a noble
obelisk, the most elevated of its kind. From its
'pedestal bursts an abundant stream, that sup-
plies all the neighboring* streets with water.
The principal portico faces the south ; it consists
of four lofty columns and six pilasters. The
order is Composite; the attic is adorned with a
balustrade, and that balustrade w ith statues. A