Francesco Petrarca, Epistolae de rebus familiares 6.2, VZ 4.6-10 (mid-fourteenth century A.D.):


Ad Iohannem de Columna ordinis praedicatorum non sectas amandas esse sed verum, et delocis insignibus urbis Romae.


...Vagabamur pariter in illa urbe tam magna, quae cum propter spatium vacua videatur, populum habet immensum; nec in urbe tantum, sed circa urbem vagabamur, aderatque per singulos passus quod linguam atque animum excitaret: hic Evandri regia, hic Carmentis aedis, hic Caci spelunca, hic lupa nutrix et ruminalis ficus, veriori cognomine romularis, hic Remi transitus, hic ludi circenses et Sabinarum raptus, hic Caprae palus et Romulus evanescens, hic Numae cum Egeria colloquim, hic tergeminorum acies. Hic fulmine victus victor hostium artifexque militiae Tullus Hostilius, hic rex architector Ancus Martius, hic discretor ordinum Priscus Tarquinius habitavit; hic Servio caput arsit, hic carpento insidens atrox Tullia transivit et scelere suo vicum fecit infamem. Haec autem Sacra Via est, hae sunt Esquiliae, hic Viminalis, hic Quirinalis collis, hic Caelius, hic Martius Campus et Superbi manibus decussa papavera. Hic miserabilis Lucretia ferro incumbens, et in mortem fugiens adulter, et lesae pudicitiae vindex Brutus. Hic minax Porsenna, et etruscus exercitus,, et infestus erranti dextrae Mutius, et tyranni filius cum libertate concurrens, et hostem urbe depulsum ad inferos sequens consul, et fractus a tergo viri fortis Pons Sublicius, et Horatius natans, et Tyberis revehens Cloeliam. Hic erat Publicolae nequicquam suspecta domus, hic Quintius arabat dum fieri meruit de aratore dictator, hinc abductus Serranus ad consulatum venit. Hoc est Ianiculum, hic Aventinus, ille Sacer Mons, in quos ter irata patribus plebs secessit; hic libidinosum tribunal Appii fuit, et ferro patris iniuriae subducta Virginia, et decemviri luxuriae dignus fuit Hinc Coriolanus, armis forte victurus, suorum pietate victus abscessit: hoc saxum defendit Manlius, hinc excidit; hic Camillus inhiantes auro Gallos subito repulit interventu et desperantes cives amissam patriam ferro docuit recuperare, non auro. His descendit Curtius armatus; hic inventum sub terram caput hominis et immotus terminus praesagium summo et stabili imperio fuere. Hic fallax virgo armis obruta et suis circumventa fallaciis; haec Tarpeia arx, et romani populi census toto orbe collectus; his anser argenteus; hic custos armorum Ianus; hoc Feretrii Iovis templum; haec fuerat cella Iovis, haec domus omnium triumphorum; huc compulsus est Perses, hinc repulsus est Hannibal; hinc impulsus est Iugurtha, ut quidam opinantur, alii vero in carcere illum necant. Hic triumphavit Caesar, hic periit. Hoc Augustus in templo reges affusos et tributarium orbem vidit; hic Pompeii arcus, haec porticus, hoc Marii Cimbrum fuit. Haec Traiani columna, ubi ille unus omnium imperatorum, ut ait Eusebius, intra urbem est sepultus; hic eiusdem pons, qui Sancti Petri nomen invenit, et Hadriani moles, cui ipse quoque subiectus est, quod Sancti Angeli Castrum vocant. Hoc est saxum mirae magnitudinis aeneisque leonibus innixum, divis imperatoribus sacrum, cuius in vertice Iulii Caesaris ossa quiescere fama est. Haec Telluris aedes, haec Fortunae domus, hoc templum Pacis, adventu vere pacifici regis eiusdem; hoc opus Agrippae, quod falsorum deorum matri veri Dei mater eripuit. Hic ninxit Nonis Augusti; hinc rivus olei fluxit in Tyberim; hinc, ut fama est, monstrante Sibilla, senex Augustus Cristum vidit infantem. Haec Neronis insolentia et in aedificiis fervens luxus; haec Augusta domus, via Flaminia, ubi sepulcrum ipsius domini quidam tradunt; haec Antonini columna; hoc eiusdem proximum Appiae palatium; hoc Severi Afri Septizonium, quam tu sedem Solis vocas, sed meum nomen in historiis scriptum lego. Hoc Praxitelis Phidiaeque extans in lapide tot iam seculis de ingenio et arte certamen....


To Giovanni Colonna of the Order of Preachers, that one must love not sects but the truth, and concerning the remarkable places in the city of Rome.


...We used to wander together in that great city, which though it appeared empty because of its vast size, had a huge population. And we would wander not only in the city itself but around it, and at each step there was something present which would excite our tongue and mind: here was the palace of Evander, the shrine of Carmentis, here the Cave of Cacus, there the famous she-wolf and fig tree of Rumina with the more apt surname of Romulus, there the overpass of Remus, here the circus games and the rape of the Sabines, there the marsh of Capri and the place where Romulus vanished, here the conversations of Numa and Egeria, there the battle line of the trigemini. Here the conqueror of enemies who was in turn conquered by a thunderbolt, and the builder of the militia; there the architect king Ancus Martius; here the organizer of social classes, Priscus Tarquinius, lived; there the head of Servius glowed; there sitting in her carriage cruel Tullia crossed and made the street infamous because of her crime. Here however is the Sacred Way, while over there are the Esquiline Hill, the Viminal, the Quirinal; here the Campus Celius, there the Campus Martius and the poppies cut down by the hand of the proud one. Here one can still see the wretched Lucretia lying upon her sword and the adulterer fleeing his death, as well as Brutus the defender of violated chastity. There is threatening Porcina and the Etruscan army, and Mutius beset by his erring right hand, and the son of the tyrant competing with liberty, and the Consul pursuing (too hell itself) the enemy expelled from the city; and the Sublician bridge broken behind the brave man, and Horatius swimming, and Cloelia returning to the Tiber. There may be seen the house of Publicola which was fruitlessly suspected; here Quintius used to plow until through his merit the plowman was made dictator; from here Serranus was led away to become Consul. There is the Janiculum, this is the Aventine, that is Monte Sacro, on which the angered plebs withdrew from the rulers; here the lustful tribunal of Appius stood, and Virginia was rescued from violence by the sword of her father, and there occurred a worthy end to the dissipation of the Ten Men. From here Coriolanus, who was perhaps about to triumph with his arms, departed after having been conquered by the devotion of his supporters. This is the rock that Manlius defended and then fell from; here Camillus repelled the Gauls as they gaped at the unexpected gold and taught the despairing citizens how to recover a lost fatherland with a sword and not with gold. Here armed Curtius descended; there was found underground the head of a man with an immovable face which was viewed as a prediction of the highest and firmest form of empire. There a deceitful Virgin fell under arms after having been deceived by her own deceits; here is the Tarpeian fortress, and the wealth of the Roman people collected throughout the world; here is the silver goose; there is Janus the guardian of arms; here is the temple of Jupiter Feretrius; this was the temple of Jupiter, this was the home of all the triumphs; here Perses was brought, from here Hannibal was driven away, here Jugurtha was destroyed as some believe, others indeed believe that he was slain in prison. Here Caesar triumphed, here he perished. In this temple Augustus viewed the prostrate kings and the whole world at his feet; here is the arch of Pompeius, here is the portico, here is the Cimbrian arch of Marius. There is Trajan's Column where he alone of all the emperors, according to Eusebius, is buried inside the city; here is his bridge which eventually assumed the name of St. Peter, and Hadrian's fortress, under which he also lies buried and which they call Castel Sant'Angelo. This is that massive rock surrounded by two bronze lions which was sacred to the deified emperors, and on whose summit, rumor has it, rest the bones of Julius Caesar. This is the shrine to the goddess Tellure, this is the temple of Fortune, this is the temple of Peace, which was rightly destroyed at the arrival of the King of Peace; this is the work of Agrippa taken from the false gods to be dedicated to the mother of the true God. Here is where it snowed on the fifth of August; from here a stream of oil flowed in the Tiber; from here, according to tradition, the old Augustus, following the Sibyl's advice, saw the Christ child. This is the insolence of Nero and his raging extravagance in the buildings he raised; there is the house of Augustus, on Via Flaminia, where some maintain is the tomb of the Emperor himself; this is the Column of Antonius; this the palace of Appius; this is the Septizonium of Severus Afrus which you call the temple of the sun but whose name I find in the form I use written in history. On these stones still survives after so many centuries the great rivalry in talent and skill between Praxiteles and Phidias....  (Aldo S. Bernando, trans.)