lian, and in the lower grounds of the
Villa Fonseca, that is to say, at the foot of the Caelian Hill, near
the Via della Ferratella. I saw it first in 1868, and again in 1880
when collecting materials for my volume on the "Aqueducts and Springs
of Ancient Rome."[138] In 1887 it was buried by the military
engineers, while they were building their new hospital near Santo
Stefano Rotondo. The springs still make their way through the
newly-made ground, and appear again in the beautiful nymphaeum of the
Villa Mattei (von Hoffmann) at the corner of the Via delle Mole di S.
Sisto and the Via di Porta S. Sebastiano.

As regards the Sacred Grove, there is no doubt that its present
beautiful ilexes continue the tradition, and flourish on the very
spot of the old grove, sacred to the memory of Annia Regilla, CVIVS
HAEC PRAEDIA FVERVNT.

[Illustration: The Sacred Grove and the Temple of Ceres; now S. Urbano
alla Caffarella.]

To come back, however, to the "Queen of the Roads:" among the many
discoveries that have taken place in the cemeteries which line it,
that made on April 16, 1485, during the pontificate of Innocent VIII.,
remains unrivalled.

There have been so many accounts published by modern writers[139] in
reference to this extraordinary event that it may interest my readers
to learn the truth by reviewing the evidence as it stands in its
original simplicity. I shall only quote such authorities as enable us
to ascertain what really took place on that memorable day. The case is
in itself so unique that it does not need amplification or the
addition of imaginary details. Let us first consult the diary of
Antonio di Vaseli:--

(f. 48.) "To-day, April 19, 1485, the news came into Rome, that a body
buried a thousand years ago had been found in a farm of Santa Maria
Nova, in the Campagna, near the Casale Rotondo.... (f. 49.) The
Conservatori of Rome despatched a coffin to Santa Maria Nova
elaborately made, and a company of men for the transportation of the
body into the city. The body has been placed for exhibition in the
Conservatori palace, and large crowds of citizens and noblemen have
gone to see it. The body seems to be covered with a glutinous
substance, a mixture of myrrh and other precious ointments, which
attract swarms of bees. The said body is intact. The hair is long and
thick; the eyelashes, eyes, nose, and ears are spotless, as well as
the nails. It appears to be the body of a woman, of good size; and
her h