We then ascended the steps that lead to the modern Capitol and mounted on
the _Campanile_ of the same, from whence there is a superb panoramic view
of Rome. On descending from the _Campanile_, we visited the Tarpeian rock,
which is now of inconsiderable height, the ground about it and heaps of
rubbish having filled up the abyss below. We then entered the court yard of
the Capitol. The Capitol and building annexed to it form three sides of a
rectangle, the centre or _corps de logis_ lying North and South, and the
wings East and West, the whole inclosing a court yard open on the South
side of the rectangle, from whence you descend into the street on the plain
below, by a most magnificent escalier or flight of steps. Of the Capitol,
the _corps de logis_ or central building to which the _Campanile_ belongs,
is reserved for the occupation and habitation of the _Senator Romano_, a
civil magistrate, corresponding something to the mayor in France or
_Oberbuergermeister_ in the German towns, and who is chosen from among the
nobility and nominated by the Pope. The wings contain the _Museum
Capitolinum_ of painting and sculpture. There is a great deal to call forth
the admiration of the traveller in the court yard of the Capitol.
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