Miguel de Cervantes (1547–1616)

Translated by James Y. Gibson

O POWERFUL, grand, thrice-blessed, and passing fair

City of Rome! To thee I bend the knee,

A pilgrim new, a lowly devotee,

Whose wonder grows to see thy beauty rare!

The sight of thee, past fame, beyond compare,

Suspends the fancy, soaring tho’ it be,

Of him who comes to see and worship thee,

With naked feet, and tender loving care.

The soil of this thy land which now I view,

Where blood of martyrs mingles with the clod,

Is the world’s relic, prized of every land;

No part of thee but serves as pattern true

Of sanctity; as if the City of God

Had been in every line its model grand!