of different dates, and is built against the rocky hill on nine arches of considerable height, and consists of two stories. The cave in which St. Benedict lived in solitude, and where he wrote his rules of monastic life, is underneath the building. It is identified by some authorities with the oracle of Faunus, who according to tradition reigned in Italy 1300 years B. C., and was exalted into a deity after his death. If this conjecture is correct, the Holy Cave of Subiaco is the most venerable retreat of lying oracles extant. It contains a statue of its second oracle, St. Benedict, by Bernini. The dark and narrow streets of Subiaco present a repulsive aspect. The church was built by Pius VI., who was abbot of the monastery for many years before his elevation to the papal chair. The abbatical palace, seated on the summit of the rock, was erected by the same pontiff. This edifice was anciently a residence of the popes, and was then accessible by a carriage road, but has long ceased to be so. The town of Subiaco seated on an eminence, crowned with this ancient castle, offers a scene of singular attraction and beauty. ASSISI, CONVENT OF SAN FRANCISCO. let none who speak Of that place, say Assisi; for its name Were lamely so delivered; but the East,* To call things rightly be it henceforth styled. ROPERTIUS, Cimabue, Giotto, Dante, and Metastasio, names commanding homage, render Assisi deeply interesting to every lover of the sister arts of poetry and painting. Propertius, a native of the ancient Assisium, ist regarded by classical scholars as the rival of Tibullus in elegiac verse. The paintings of Cimabue and Giotto gave a proud distinction to Assisi in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; and Dante, their contemporary, celebrates in immortal verse their artistic triumphs and the piety of St. Francis, whose religious fervour powerfully influenced their genius. Metastasio, the operatic poet of Italy, was born at Assisi at the close of the seventeenth century. He was the son of a common soldier. Of the ancient Assisium we know nothing beyond its having been the birth-place of Propertius; but some remains of aqueducts and tombs, and of a theatre, together with a temple of Minerva, now converted into the church of Santa Maria della Minerva, bear testi Dante styles Assisi the "East," by way of eminence, in compliment to St. Francis. mony to its importance in the days of elder Italy. The middle age history of Assisi refers almost exclusively to the foundation of a religious brotherhood, named the order of St. Francis. The founder of this community was a native of Assisi; and a little church, the Chiesa Nuova, occupies the spot where he was born. Here is shown the prison in which he was confined by his father, who was exceedingly provoked by his prodigal distribution of alms. From the brotherhood of St. Francis several reformed orders have sprung, and to one of these, the order of the Holy Apostles, belongs the Sagro Convento, or Holy Convent of St. Francis, a building to which, in every sense, a catholic interest is attached. For the catholic particular there is the body of St. Francis deposited in the subterranean conventual church; and for the catholic universal there are the frescoes of Cimabue and Giotto, adorning the roof and walls of the upper and middle churches. The Sagro Convento was raised in the brief space of two years, in the interval between 1228 and 1230. It is an immense structure, and its walls in former times enclosed a greater number of monks than even the great monastery of Monte Casino. Including the subterranean church which forms the mausoleum of St. Francis, there are three churches rising one above another. The upper church is a fine specimen of Gothic, with lancet windows of painted glass. The roof and walls are decorated with frescoes by Cimabue, embracing a variety of subjects, amongst which are leading incidents in sacred history from the Creation to the Descent from the Cross, together with passages in the life of St. Francis, some of which last are attributed to Giotto. The seats in the choir were carved by one of the monks of the convent at the end of the fifteenth century. The campanile of this church is a massive pile, with stairs à cordoni, and commands from its summit an extensive and interesting prospect. The middle church has a gloomy and low appearance, but is rich in treasures of art. Giotto's three paintings of the Franciscan virtues, Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience, and a fourth named the glorification of St. Francis, occupy the four triangular compartments of the vault. In the cross-aisle is the celebrated Crucifixion by Pietro Cavallino, the pupil of Giotto, a fresco admired by Michael Angelo for its grandeur. In other divisions of the building, and in the adjoining chapels, are interesting works of art belonging to the school of Cimabue. The convent and its cloisters are not less interesting than the triple church. They contain a series of heads of eminent Franciscans by Adone Doni; and in the refectory is a fine painting of the Last Supper by Solimene. Besides the Sagro Convento, Assisi contains other structures of great interest both as regards their architecture and internal decoration. Amongst these may be named the church of Santa Chiara enriched with the frescoes of Giotto; the cathedral dedicated to St. Rufinus the first bishop of Assisi; and the church of Santa Maria della Minerva, to which is attached the magnificent portico of the ancient temple of Minerva. The city is surrounded with battlements and towers, and commanded by a lofty ruined citadel; and these features, combined with a long line of aqueducts, render Assisi one of the most picturesque scenes in Italy. A great fair is held here annually from the 21st July to the 1st August, during which period the grant of indulgences used to bring a multitude of visitors from all parts of Catholic Europe. Assisi is celebrated for the manufacture of needles and iron files; and of the former articles the yearly produce is four thousand pounds' weight. LORETT O. A brace of sinners, for no good, Were ordered to the Virgin Mary's shrine, Who at Loretto dwelt in wax, stone, wood, And, in a curl'd white wig, look'd wond'rous fine. Wolcot. O antique fame belongs to Loretto, which is, nevertheless, the most famous locality in the known world. But what a celebrity is that in which it rejoices! The distinction of having been, for five centuries and a half, the depository of a dilapidated cottage which the catholic wisdom of ages has decreed, and continues to decree, ought to be verily and indeed taken and received as the identical house of Joseph the carpenter, wherein he, together with the Virgin Mary, and the infant Christ, dwelt at Nazareth! And let no heretic throw discredit on the holy legend, for a pious hermit, accompanied by sixteen persons of reputation, made a journey to compare the walls of the house with the foundations remaining at Nazareth; and, moreover, the bricks are alive to this day at Loretto, to confirm the truth of old tradition. When the crusaders abandoned Palestine, in 1291, the house of the Virgin, we are told, was borne through the air by angels and deposited in Dalmatia, where it appears to have met with little respect, for its divine carriers, three years afterwards, transported it thence to the opposite sea-shore of Italy, when two brothers quarrelled for the possession of it, and one slew the other. After this tragical event the angels resumed their labours, and carried the sacred habitation to the very spot where it is now fixed, which at that time was in the midst of a forest. Persons were found to bear testimony that they had seen the house hovering in the air, and many declared that they had found it in the morning on a spot which they knew to have been vacant the evening before. An old lady, named Lauretta, upon whose land it ultimately rested, had credulity or craft enough to assist in maintaining this monstrous tale, and thus gained the identification of her name with the miracle. The miracle of Loretto gradually attracted the attention of the whole Christian world. Princes and prelates, rich and poor, hastened with pious alacrity to offer their devotions before the holy house. Gifts and votive offerings accumulated; a magnificent church was erected; gold, silver, and diamonds blazed around every altar, and heaps of treasures loaded the shelves of the sacristy; various edifices arose in the vicinity of the new temple, and Loretto became a populous city. The Chiesa della Santa Casa, or Church of the Holy House, is a noble structure, planned by Bramante, and built in the form of a cross. Under the dome stands the Santa Casa, a building of brick, about thirty feet long, and fourteen feet high. The smoke of numberless lamps 2 H-2I |