liopolis by Caesar Augustus and originally stood in the Circus Maximus.
It was erected here by Pope Sixtus V, and it is nearly a hundred feet in
height. It is formed of red granite, and while it has been broken in
three places, the hieroglyphics are still legible. This obelisk was
first erected in Egypt as a part of the Temple of the Sun at Heliopolis,
in a period preceding that of Rameses II. After the battle of Actium,
Augustus transported it to Rome, and it was first placed in the Circus
Maximus, but during the reign of Valentinian it fell from its pedestal
and lay buried in the earth, until in the sixteenth century Pope Sixtus
V had it placed in the centre of the Piazza del Popolo, and consecrated
it to the cross. The two inscriptions are on opposite sides. One thus
reads:--

"The Emperor Caesar, son of the divine Caesar Augustus, Sovereign
Pontiff, twelve times Emperor, eleven times Consul, fourteen times
Tribune, having conquered Egypt, consecrated this gift to the Sun."

The other inscription is as follows:--

"Sixtus V, Sovereign Pontiff, excavated, transported, and restored
this obelisk, sacrilegiously consecrated to the Sun by the great
Augustus, in the great Circus, where it lay in ruins, and dedicated
it to the cross triumphant in the fourth year of his pontificate."

The Church of Santa Maria del Popolo is built into the very wall of
Monte Pincio on the site of Nero's tomb. It dates back to 1099, and
consists of three naves and several chapels. In the first chapel is a
"Nativity" by Pinturicchio, who also painted the lunettes. Another
chapel belongs to the Cibo family, and is rich in marbles and adorned
with sixteen columns of Sicilian jasper. The "Conception" is by Maratta,
the "Martyrdom of St. Lawrence" by Morandi, and the "St. Catherine" by
Volterra. The "Visitation" was sculptured by Bernini in 1679. The third
chapel is painted by Pinturicchio (1513), and the fourth has an
interesting bas-relief of the fifteenth century. The picture of the
Virgin, on the high altar, is one of those attributed to St. Luke; the
paintings on the vault of the choir are by Pinturicchio. The two marble
monuments are, from their perfection of design and execution, reckoned
among the best modern works. They are by Cantucci da S. Savino. In the
chapel following is an "Assumption" by Annibale Carracci; the side
pictures are by Caravaggio. The last chapel but one in the small nave is
the Chig