four o'clock
Pierre 's great surprise , however , was the Piazza del Campidoglio -- the `` Square of the Capitol '' -- which to him suggested a summit , an open spot overlooking the city and the world , but which he found to be small and square , and on three sides enclosed by palaces , whilst on the fourth side the view was of little extent . * There are no passers-by there ; visitors usually come up by a flight of steps bordered by a few palm-trees , only foreigners making use of the winding carriage-ascent . The vehicles wait , and the tourists loiter for a while with their eyes raised to the admirable equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius , in antique bronze , which occupies the centre of the piazza . Towards four o'clock , when the sun gilds the left-hand palace , and the slender statues of its entablature show vividly against the blue sky , you might think yourself in some warm cosy square of a little provincial town , what with the women of the neighbourhood who sit knitting under the arcade , and the bands of ragged urchins who disport themselves on all sides like school-boys in a playground . * The Piazza del Campidoglio is really a depression between the Capitolium proper and the northern height called the Arx . It is supposed to have been the exact site of Romulus 's traditional Asylum . -- Trans .