From this
post to the _Porta del Popolo_, the entrance into the city for those coming
from the North, the distance is one mile; there is a white wall on each
side of the road the whole way, and some farm houses and villas. Near the
_Ponte Molle_ is the field of battle where Maxentius was defeated by
Constantine.
We entered the _Porta del Popolo_, crossed the _Piazza_ of the same name,
where three streets present themselves to view. In the centre is the street
called the _Corso_, running in a direct line from the _Porta_ across the
_Piazza_. We drove along the _Corso_ till we arrived at a _Piazza_ on our
right hand, which _Piazza_ is called _della Colonna_ from the Column of
Antoninus, which stands on it. We then crossed the _Piazza_ which is very
large and soon reached the _Dogana_ or Custom house, formerly the temple of
Antoninus Pius, where vile modern walls are built to fill up the intervals
between eleven columns of Grecian marble. Here our baggage underwent a
rigorous research; this rigour is not so much directed against the
fraudulent introduction of contraband or duty-bearing merchandise, as
against _books_, which undergo a severe scrutiny.
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