Part 13 (1/2)
Opulence seems to prevail in all the villages in the vicinity of Parma, and an immense quant.i.ty of cattle is seen grazing in the meadows on each side of the road. The female peasantry wear the Spanish costume and are remarkably well dressed.
We arrived at Parma at twelve o'clock and stopped there three hours.
PARMA.
After a hasty breakfast, Mr G-- and myself sallied forth to see what was possible during the time we stopped in this city, leaving the Captain, who refused to accompany us, to smoke his pipe. This city is very large and there is a very fine _Piazza._ The streets are broad, the buildings handsome and imposing, and there is a general appearance of opulence. We first proceeded to visit the celebrated amphitheatre, called _l'Amfiteatro Farnese_ in honour of the former sovereigns of the Duchy. It is a vast building and unites the conveniences both of the ancient and modern theatres. It has a roof like a modern theatre, and the seats in the _parterre_ are arranged like the seats in an ancient Greek theatre. Above this are what we should call boxes, and above them again what we usually term a gallery. A vast and deep arena lies between the _parterre_ and the orchestra and fills up the s.p.a.ce between the audience and the _proscenium_.
It is admirably adapted both for spectators and hearers; when a tragedy, comedy or opera is acted, a scaffolding is erected and seats placed in the arena. At other times the arena is made use of for equestrian exercises and chariot races in the style of the ancients, combats with wild beasts, etc., or it may be filled with water for the representation of naval fights (_naumachia_); in this case you have a vast oval lake between the spectators and the stage. It is a great pity that this superb and interesting building is not kept in good repair; the fact is it is seldom or ever made use of except on very particular occasions: it is almost useless in a place like Parma, ”so fallen from its high estate,” but were such an amphitheatre in Paris, London, or any great city, it might be used for all kinds of _spectacles_ and amus.e.m.e.nts. A small theatre from the design of Bernino stands close to this amphitheatre, and is built in a light tasteful manner. If fresh painted and lighted up it would make a very brilliant appearance. This may be considered as the Court theatre. At a short distance from the theatres is the Museum of Parma, in which there is a well chosen gallery of pictures. Among the most striking pictures of the old school is without doubt that of St Jerome by Correggio; but I was full as much, dare I be so heretical as to say more pleased, with the productions of the modern school of Parma. A distribution of prizes had lately been made by the Empress Maria Louisa, and there were many paintings, models of sculpture and architectural designs, that did infinite credit to the young artists. I remarked one painting in particular which is worthy of a Fuseli. It represented the battle of the river G.o.d Scamander with Achilles. The subjects of most of the paintings I saw here were taken from the mythology or from ancient and modern history; and this is perhaps the reason that they pleased me more than those of the ancient masters. Why in the name of the [Greek: to kalon] did these painters confine themselves so much to Madonnas, Crucifixions, and Martyrdoms, when their own poets, Ariosto and Ta.s.so, present so many subjects infinitely more pleasing? Then, again, in many of these crucifixions and martyrdoms, the gross anachronisms, such as introducing monks and soldiers with match-locks and women in Gothic costume at the crucifixion, totally destroy the seriousness and interest of the subject by annihilating all illusion and exciting risibility.
Parma will ever be renowned in history as the birthplace of Caius Ca.s.sius, the Mend and colleague of Brutus.
The Empress Maria Louisa lives here in the Ducal Palace, which is a s.p.a.cious but ornamental edifice. She lives, 'tis said, without any ostentation. Out of her own states, her presence in Italy would be attended with unpleasant consequences to the powers that be, on account of the attachment borne to Napoleon by all cla.s.ses of society; and it is on this account that on her last visit to Bologna she received an intimation from the papal authorities to quit the Roman territory in twenty-four hours. We next pa.s.sed thro' St Hilario and Reggio and brought to the evening at the village of Rubbiera. At St Hilario is the entrance into the Duke of Modena's territory, and here we underwent again &n examination of trunks, as we did both on entering and leaving the territory of Maria Louisa.
Reggio is a large walled city, but I had only time to visit the Cathedral and to remark therein a fine picture of the Virgin and the Chapel called ”Capella della Morte.” Reggio pretends to the honour of having given birth to the Divine Ariosto:
Quel grande che cant l'armi e gli amorl,
as Guarini describes him, I believe. The face of the country from Parma to Reggio is exactly the same as what we have pa.s.sed thro' already.
The next day (20 August) we pa.s.sed thro' Modena, where we stopped to breakfast and refresh horses. It is a large and handsome city, the Ducal Palace is striking and in the Cathedral is presented the famous bucket which gave rise to the poem of Ta.s.soni called _La Secchia rapita._ An air of opulence and grandeur seems to prevail in Modena.
At Samoggia we entered the Papal territory and again underwent a search of trunks. Within three miles of Bologna a number of villas and several tanneries, which send forth a most intolerable odour, announce the approach to that celebrated and venerable city. On the left hand side, before entering the town, is a superb portico with arcades, about one and a half miles in length, which leads from the city to the church of San Luca. On the right are the Appennines, towering gradually above you. Bologna lies at the foot of these mountains on the eastern side and here the plain ends for those who are bound to Florence, which lies on the western side of the vast ridge which divides Italy. We arrived at Bologna at half-past seven in the evening, and here we intend to repose a day or two; I shall then cross the Appennines for the first time in my life. A reinforcement of mules or oxen is required for every carriage; from the ascent the whole way you can travel, I understand, very little quicker _en poste_ than with a _vetturino_. We are lodged at Bologna in a very comfortable inn called _Locanda d'Inghilterra_.
BOLOGNA, 22d August.
The great popularity of Bologna, which is a very large and handsomely built city, lies in the colonnaded porticos and arcades on each side of the streets throughout the whole city. These arcades are mightily convenient against sun and rain, and contradict the a.s.sertion of Rousseau, who a.s.serted that England was the only country in the world where the safety of foot pa.s.sengers is consulted, whereas here in Bologna not only are _trottoirs_ broader than those of London in general, but you are effectually protected against sun and rain, and are not obliged to carry an umbrella about with you perpetually as in London. This arcade system, is, however, rather a take off from the beauty of the city, and gives it a gloomy heavy appearance, which is not diminished by the sight of friars and mendicants with which this place swarms, and announce to you that you are in the holy land. At Bologna it is necessary to have a sharp eye on your baggage, on account of the crowds of ragged _faineans_ that surround your carriage while it is unloading.
The first thing that the _ciceroni_ generally take you to see in Italy are the churches, and mine would not probably have spared me one, but I was more anxious to see the University. I however allowed him to lead me into two of the princ.i.p.al churches, viz., the _Duomo_ or Cathedral, and the church of San Petronio, both magnificent Gothic temples and worth the attention of the traveller. On the _Piazza del Gigante_ is a fine bronze statue of Neptune. The _Piazza_ takes its name from this statue, as at one time in Italy, after the introduction of Christianity and when the ancient mythology was totally forgotten, the statues of the G.o.ds were called Giants or named after Devils and their prototypes believed to be such.
In the Museum at the University is an admirable collection of fossils, minerals, and machines in every branch of science. There are some excellent pictures also; the University of Bologna was, you know, at all times famous and its celebrity, is not at all diminished, for I believe Bologna boasts more scientific men, and particularly in the sciences _positives_, than any other city in Italy.
In the _Palazzo pubblico_ (_Hotel de Ville_) is a Christ and a Samson by Guido Reni; but what pleased me most in the way of painting was the collection in the gallery of Count Marescalchi. The Count has been at great pains to form it and has shown great taste and discernment. It is a small but unique collection. Here is to be seen a head of Christ, the colouring of which is so brilliant as to illuminate the room in which it is appended, when the shutters are closed, and in the absence of all other light except what appears thro' the crevices of the window shutters. This head, however, does not seem characteristic of Christ; it wants the gravity, the soft melancholy and una.s.suming meekness of the _great Reformer_: in short, from the vivid fire of the eyes and the too great self-complacency of the countenance, it gave me rather the idea
Del biondo Dio che in Tessalia si adora.
I pa.s.sed two hours in this cabinet. I next repaired to the centre of the city with the intention of ascending one at least of the two square towers or _campanili_ which stand close together, one of which is _strait_, the other a leaning one. _Garisendi_ is the name of the leaning tower, and it forms a parallelipipedon of 140 feet in height and about twenty feet in breath and length. It leans so much as to form an angle of seventy-five degrees with the ground on which it stands. The other tower, the strait one, is called _Asinelli_ and is a parallelipipedon of 310 feet in height and about twenty-five feet in length and breadth. I ascended the leaning tower, but I found the fatigue so great that I was scarcely repaid by the fine view of the surrounding country, which presents on one side an immense plain covered with towns, villages and villas, and on the other the Appennines towering one above another. When on the top of _Garisendi_, _Asinelli_ appears to be four times higher than its neighbour, and the bare aspect of its enormous height deterred me from even making the attempt of ascending it. When viewed or rather looked down upon from _Garisendi_, Bologna, from its being of an elliptical form and surrounded by a wall and from having these two enormous towers in the centre, resembles a boat with masts.
From the great celebrity of its University and the eminent men it has produced, Bologna is considered as the most litterary city of Italy.
Galvani was born in Bologna and studied at this University, and among the modern prodigies is a young lady who is professor of Greek and who is by all accounts the most amiable _Bas bleu_ that ever existed.[82] The Bolognese are a remarkably fine, intelligent and robust race of people, and are renowned for their republican spirit, and the energy with which they at all times resisted the encroachments of the Holy See. Bologna was at one time a Republic, and on their coins is the word Libertas. The Bolognese never liked the Papal government and were much exasperated at returning under the domination of the Holy Father. In the time of Napoleon, Bologna formed part of the _Regno d'ltalia_ and partook of all its advantages.
Napoleon is much regretted by them; and so impatiently did the inhabitants bear the change, on the dismemberment of the kingdom of Italy, and their transfer to the pontifical sceptre, that on Murat's entry in their city in 1815 the students and other young men of the town flew to arms and in a few hours organised three battalions. Had the other cities shown equal energy and republican spirit, the revolution would have been completed and Italy free; but the fact is that the Italians in general, tho' discontented, had no very high opinion of Murat's talents as a political character, and he besides _committed_ a great fault in not entering Rome on his march and revolutionising it. Murat, like most men, was ruined by half-measures. The last tune that Maria Louisa was here the people surrounded the inn where she resided and hailed her with cries of _Viva I'Imperatrice!_ The Pope's legate in consequence intimated to her the expediency of her immediate departure from the city, with a request that she would not repeat her visit. Bologna is considered by the Ultras, _Obscuranten,_ and _eteignoirs_ as the focus and headquarters of Carbonarism.
In the evening I visited the theatre built by Bibbiena and had the pleasure of hearing for the first time an Italian tragedy, which, however, are now rarely represented and scarcely ever well acted. This night's performance formed an exception and was satisfactory. The piece was _Romeo and Giulietta_. The actress who did the part of Giulietta performed it with great effect, particularly in the tomb scene. In this scene she reminded me forcibly of our own excellent actress, Miss O'Neill. This was the only part of the play that had any resemblance to the tragedy of Shakespeare. All the rest was on the French model. I saw a number of beautiful women in the boxes. The Bolognese women are remarkable for their fine complexions; those that I saw were much inclined to _embonpoint_.
[79] And also to Napoleon, after the battle at Eylau.--ED.
[80] Joseph Forsyth (1763-1815), author of _Remarks on antiquities, arts and letters in Italy_, London, 1813.--ED.
[81] Horace, _Carm._, II, I, 33.--ED.