the pope; it therefore takes precedence of all others, and is called Omnium urbis el orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput (the head and mother of all churches of the city and the world).  In it is celebrated the coronation of the popes.  It contains several pillars of granite, verde antico, and gilt bronze; the twelve apostles by Rusconi and Legros; and the beautiful chapel of Corsini, which is unequalled in its proportions, built by Alexander Galilei.  The altar-piece is a mosaic from a painting by Guido, and the beautiful porphyry sarcophagus, which is under the statue of Clement XII., was found in the Pantheon, and is supposed to have contained the ashes of M. Agrippa.  The nave of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore is supported by forty Ionic pillars of Grecian marble, which were taken from a temple of Juno Lucina:  the ceiling was gilded with the first gold brought from Peru.  We are here struck with admiration at the mosaics; the high altar, consisting of an antique porphyry sarcophagus; the chapel of Sixtus V., built from the designs of Fontana, and richly ornamented; the chapel of Paul V., adorned with marble and precious stones; the chapel of Sforza, by Michael Angelo; and the sepulchres of Guglielmo della Porta and Algardi.  In the square before the front is a Corinthian column, which is considered a masterpiece of its kind.  The largest church in Rome next to St. Peter’s was the Basilica di San Paolo fuori delle Mura, on the road to Ostia, burnt a few years since.  The church of S. Lorenzo, without the city, possesses some rare monuments of antiquity.  The church of San Pietro in Vincola contains the celebrated statue of Moses, by Michael Angelo.  The church of St. Agnes, in the place Navona, begun by Rainaldi and completed by Borromini, is one of the most highly ornamented, particularly with modern sculpture.  Here is the admirable relief of Algardi, representing St. Agnes deprived of her clothes, and covered only with her hair.  The Basilica of St. Sebastian, before the Porta Capena, contains the statue of the dying saint, by Giorgetti, a pupil of Algardi, and the master of Bernini.  Under these churches are the catacombs, which formerly served as places of burial.  In the church of St. Agnes, before the Porta Pia, among many other beautiful columns are four of porphyry, belonging to the high altar, and considered the most beautiful in Rome.  In a small chapel is a bust of the Savior by Michael Angelo—­a masterpiece.  In the church of St. Augustine, there is a picture by Raphael representing the prophet Isaiah, and an Ascension by Lanfranco.  The monastery has a rich library, called the Angelica, and increased by the library of cardinal Passionei.  The following churches also deserve to be mentioned, on account of their architecture and works of art; the churches of St. Ignatius, St. Cecilia, S. Andrea della Valle, S. Andrea del Noviziato, the Pantheon (also called la Rotonda), in which Raffaelle, Annibale Caracci, Mengs, etc., are interred.