Part 22 (2/2)
In their private characters they much resemble each other, being both honorable, generous, una.s.suming, and enthusiastic lovers of their profession and of the fine arts hi general.
I have been to see a remarkably fine picture, by a modern French artist, of the name of Granet. It may be considered as the _chef d'oeuvre_ of the perspective or dioramic art. This picture represents the ulterior of the convent of the Capuchins, near the Barberini Palace. The picture is by no means a very large one; but the optical deception is astonis.h.i.+ng. You fancy you are standing at the entrance of a long hall and ready to enter it; on looking at it, thro' a piece of paper rolled hi form of a speaking trumpet--which by hiding from the sight the frame of the picture, prevents the illusion from being dissipated--you suppose you could walk into the hall; and each figure of a monk therein appears a real human creature, seen from a long distance, so skilfully has the artist disposed his light and shade. This picture has excited the admiration of connoisseurs, as well as others, and it is universally proclaimed a masterpiece. M. Granet's house is filled every day with persons coming to see this picture, and many repeat their visits several tunes in the week. He has received several orders for copies of this picture, and I fancy he begins to be tired of eternally copying the same thing; for he told me that he wished that the gentlemen who employed him would vary their subjects, and either chuse some other themselves, or let him chuse for them. But no! such is the effect of vogue and fas.h.i.+on, and such the despotic influence they exercise even over the polite arts, that everybody must have a copy of Granet's picture of the interior of the Convent of Capuchins _coute que coute_; so that poor Granet seems bound to this Convent for life; except in the intervals of his labours, he should hit off another subject, with equal felicity, and this alone may perhaps serve to diminish the universal desire of possessing a copy of the Convent. The original picture is destined for the King of France.[114]
I remarked, in the collection of the works of this artist, a small picture representing Galileo in prison, and a monk descending the steps of the dungeon bringing him his scanty meal. A lamp hangs suspended from the roof, in the centre of the dungeon, and the artist has made a very happy hit in throwing the whole glare of the lamp on the countenance of Galileo, who is seated reading a book, while the gaoler monk is left completely in the shade. On seeing this I exclaimed: _Veramente, Signor Granet, e buonissimo quel vostro concetto!_
Easter Tuesday.
I have at length seen all the fine sights that Rome affords during the Holy Week, and have witnessed most of the religious ceremonies, viz., the illuminated cross hi St Peter's on Good Friday; the high ma.s.s celebrated by the Pope in person on Easter Sunday; the Papal benediction from a window of the church above the facade on the same day; the illumination of the facade of St Peter's on Easter Monday, and the _Girandola_ or grand firework at the Castle of St Angelo on the same evening. The ceremony of the Pope was.h.i.+ng the feet of twelve poor men I did not see, for I could not get into the Sistine Chapel, where the ceremony was performed: and at the ma.s.s performed by the Pope in the Sistine Chapel I did contrive to enter, but was so oppressed by the crowd and heat, that I almost fainted away, and was very glad to get out of the Chapel again, before the ceremony commenced.
Why in the name of commonsense do they perform these ceremonies in the Sistine Chapel which is small, instead of doing them in the church of St Peter's, which would contain so many people and produce a much grander effect?
A great many people are deprived of seeing the ceremonies in the Sistine Chapel from the difficulty of getting in. The Pope's Swiss Guard attend on that day in their ancient _costume_, with helmets, cuira.s.ses and halberds; these guard the entrance of the staircase leading to the Chapel, and they have no small trouble and difficulty in maintaining order, as there is always a great scuffle to get in, and they are particularly importuned by German visitors, who thinking to be favored by them, in speaking to them in their own language, vociferate; _Ich bin Ihr Landsmann!_ and hope by this to obtain a preference.
On Friday evening a large Cross is erected before the grand altar; every part of this Cross is filled with lamps, and at seven in the evening the whole is illuminated. It has a most brilliant appearance and gives the happiest _chiaro-oscuro_ effect to the statues, columns and pilasters which abound in this vast temple. There is no other light on this occasion than that reflected from the Cross. On Easter Sunday, when the Pope celebrates high ma.s.s in the church of St Peter's, the Papal n.o.ble Guard, composed of young men from the princ.i.p.al families in Rome, form a hedge on each side of the nave of the church, from the entrance of the facade to the grand altar.
The street or interval formed between this double line may be about thirty feet broad, and behind this guard or in any other part of the church, the spectators may stand; but as these guards wear very large feathers in their hats, they intercept very much the sight of those who stand behind them.
The uniform of the Papal n.o.ble Guard is very splendid, being a scarlet coat, covered with gold lace, white feathers, white breeches and long military boots. The approach of the Pope is announced by the thunder of cannon, and he is brought into the Church dressed in full pontificals, with the triple Crown on his head, on a chair borne by men, _palanquin_ fas.h.i.+on; he is conducted thro' the lane formed by the Papal Guard, and as he pa.s.ses he makes the sign of the cross several times with his finger, repeating the words: _Urbi et Orbi_. He is then set down, with his face fronting the baldachin, when he immediately takes off the tiara, and begins the ceremony. That ended, he leaves the church in the same state, and then ascends the staircase, in order to prepare to give the benediction, which is usually given from a window above the facade of the church. The Pope is there seated on a chair with the triple Crown on his head. Troops of cavalry and infantry are drawn up in a semi-circle before the facade of the church, and the whole vast _arena_ of the _Piazza di San Pietro_ is covered with spectators. On a sudden his Holiness rises, extends his hands towards heaven, then spreads them open, and seems as if he scattered something he held in them on the crowd below; a silly young Frenchman who was standing next to me said: _Le voila! Le voila qui arrache la benediction au ciel, et qui la repand sur tout le monde!_ I could not refrain from laughing at this sally, tho' I was much impressed with the solemnity of the scene, which I think one of the grandest and most sublime I ever beheld. This ceremony concluded, salves of ordnance were fired. The Pope retires amidst clouds of smoke, and seems to vanish from the Earth. The troops then fire a _feu de joie_ and move off, playing a march in quick time, and the company disperse.
It is the etiquette on these occasions that no person be admitted either into the church of St Peter or into the Sistine Chapel except in full toilette. The ladies dress generally in black with caps and feathers; the gentlemen either in black full dress or in military uniform. From the variety of foreigners of all nations that are here, most of whom are military men, or int.i.tled to wear military uniforms, much is added to the splendour of the spectacle.
On the evening of Easter Monday, I was present at the illumination of the facade of St Peter's. Rows of lamps are suspended the whole length of the columns and pilasters and all over the cupola, so that, when illuminated, the style of the architecture is perceptible. The illumination takes place almost at once. How it is managed I cannot say; but a splendid illuminated temple seems at once to drop from the clouds, like the work of an enchanter; I say _drop from the clouds_, because the illumination begins from the cross and cupola and is communicated with the rapidity of lightning to every other part of the edifice. About ten o'clock the same evening the most magnificent firework perhaps in the world begins to play from the castle of St Angelo. All kinds of shapes are a.s.sumed by these fireworks: here are castles, paG.o.das, dragons, griffins, etc. These last about an hour and then conclude, and with them conclude all the ceremonies used in commemoration of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Among the sights of Rome I must not omit that of a famous robber of the name of Barbone, who was the terror of the whole surrounding country from the depredations he committed. Having capitulated, and surrendered himself to the Papal Government, he is now confined in the Castle of St Angelo as a state prisoner. His wife, or a woman calling herself so, is confined there with him, and she is said to be a woman of uncommon beauty. It is quite the rage among the English here to go to see these _ill.u.s.trious_ captives, and Madame Barbone, superbly dressed, receives the hommage of the visitors. The d.u.c.h.ess of D[evons.h.i.+re] is said to have visited her, and made her a present of a pearl necklace. I hope this is not true. Surely the d.u.c.h.ess, who is a woman of talent and an encourager of the fine arts, might have found some other object worthier of her munificence. What claims the mistress, or even the wife, of a public robber can have on the generosity of travellers, I am at a loss to conceive; but such is the _bizarrerie_ and _inconsequence_ of the English, and no doubt, be this story of her Grace of D[evons.h.i.+re]
having given a present true or not, it will occasion many other presents being made to the captive Princess by a host of silly lord-aping English men and women. Barbone has, it is said, made an excellent capitulation. He has stipulated to be released from prison after a year and a day's confinement, and no doubt he will then resume his old trade of brigandage.
In the meantime he has disbanded his troops, as he calls them; but will his troops obey him, now that he is a captive? will they not rather chuse another leader?
In the time of the French occupation, nothing of this kind took place; but the present Government is weak and timid. I have not been myself to see either Barbone or his wife, but I have heard quite enough about them; they form one of the princ.i.p.al sights in Rome, and I am quite _unfas.h.i.+onable_ in not having gone to visit them; for according to the opinion of my English acquaintance, he who has not seen Barbone and his wife has seen nothing.
I started from Rome on the second of April with a _vetturino_, and on arrival at Baccano, we struck off into a road on the right hand, and arrived at Civita Castellana at a late hour. Civita Castellana merits no further attention, except that it is supposed to stand on the site of the ancient city of Veii. The following day at ten o'clock we reached the small town of Narni. Here are the remains of a beautiful bridge, constructed over the ravine, thro' which flows the river Nera, and which was built in the time of Augustus. It affords a very favorable specimen of the Roman bridge architecture. There is a small chapel here, and it contains, engraved on a stone, a description of a miracle wrought here about four years ago by the Virgin Mary, who saved the life of a postillion. He went into the river to water his horses, when he was carried off by the torrent and would have been drowned, had not the Virgin, on her aid being invoked, dashed into the river and haled him out by the hair of his head. Of this story, to use a phrase of old Josephus,[115] every one may believe as much as he thinks proper; but certain it is that the postillion made oath (which oath is registered) that his life was saved by the Virgin Mary in this manner, and he has put up a votive tablet at her shrine, which remains to this day, commemorative of the event. There is also a Roman aqueduct in the neighbourhood, eleven Italian miles in length.
We arrived at Terni at three o'clock and immediately hired a _caleche_ (the other travellers and myself) to visit the famous cascade of the Velino, about three miles distant from the town of Terni. The road thither is very rugged, and is a continual ascent on the flank of a ravine. For a long time before you arrive on the brink of the cascade, you hear the roaring of the waters; and it certainly is the most magnificent and awe-inspiring sight of the kind I ever beheld. It is far more stupendous than any cascade in Switzerland. That of Tivoli compared to it is as an infant six months old to a Goliath. The Velino forms three successive falls, and the last is tremendous, since it falls from a height of 1,068 feet into the abyss below. The foam and the froth it occasions is terrific; and the spray ascends so high that in standing at the distance of fifty yards from the fall you become as wet as if you had been standing in a shower of rain. The first fall it forms is of 800 feet; the second little less; the third I have stated already. No painting can possibly give a faithful delineation of this, and very possibly no poetic description can give an adequate idea thereof. We pa.s.sed the whole night at Terni and the next morning we stopped to dine at Spoleto. The same evening we arrived at Foligno. Spoleto is a neat town and well paved. Several ruins of ancient buildings are in its vicinity. Before you arrive there, on the left of the road, is an immensely high two-arched bridge. There is an aqueduct likewise just outside the town. We did not omit to read the inscription on the gate of the town, in commemoration of the repulse of Hannibal, who failed in his attempt to make himself master of this city, after having beat the Romans near the lake Trasymene. The gate is called in consequence _Porta Fugae_, and this gate const.i.tutes the princ.i.p.al glory of Spoleto. We were shown the rums of a Palace built by Theodoric. On leaving the town, just outside the gate, we were shewn a bridge which had laid underground for many centuries and had been lately discovered. A bridge was known to have been built here in the time of Augustus, and it is very probably the identical one; we could only see the top and part of the parapet.
Foligno is a large, well built city, neatly paved, populous and commercial, renowned for manufactories of paper, wax, and confectionary.
The whole road between Spoleto and Foligno is thro' a beautiful valley in high cultivation. There is a good deal of rich pasture ground, and it is watered by the river called in ancient tunes c.l.i.tumnus. Here are to be seen a fine breed of white cattle for which this part of the country has been long renowned, which cattle were used, in preference, for sacrifices (_Albi, c.l.i.tumne, greges_).[116] A similar breed is to be found in India and Egypt.
The streets in Foligno are broad. I remarked the _Palazzo Pubblico_ and Cathedral as very fine buildings. Our next day's journey brought us to Perugia, after pa.s.sing by a.s.sisi, the birth place of the famous St Francis, founder of the order of Franciscans. It is situated on an eminence: convents and churches abound therein.
Perugia is a large and opulent city, standing like a fortress on a mountain, and towering over the plain below. It is of steep ascent from the plain, and there are various terraces along the ramparts, commanding several fine points of view of the rich and fertile plains all round. These terraces are planted with trees and form the promenades appertaining to the city. The architecture of the various churches and Palaces is very superior. The streets are broad and every building has an air of magnificence. The Cathedral, dedicated to St Laurence, is well worth visiting; it stands on the _Piazza del Duomo_, where there is a fine fountain ornamented with statues. In the church of St Peter's there are some fine columns of marble and some pictures of Perugino and Raffaello.
[108] Virgil, _Aen_., VI, 886.--ED.
[109] Of the two persons here mentioned, by their initials only, the first, Luigi de' Medici, was chosen as Chancellor of the Exchequer by King Ferdinando in June, 1815. The second was Nugent, an Austrian _marescallo_, who became _capitano generale_ of the Neapolitan army, August, 1816, and _capo del supremo comando_, February, 1817.--ED.
[110] This most distinguished lady, Marianna Candidi, was born in Rome in 1756; her mother, Magdalena Scilla, was the daughter of a well known antiquary of Messina, Agostino Scilla. Marianna learned Latin, drawing and music; she achieved a reputation as landscape painter, and was elected a member of the Academies of St Luke in Rome, of Bologna, Pisa and Philadelphia. She married the lawyer Domenico Dionigi, and gave him seven children, one of whom, Henrietta, became Madame Orfei, and was much esteemed as ”improvisatrice.” Madame Dionigi herself published several works, among which a _Storia de' tempi presenti_, written in view of the education of her children. Her _salon_ in Rome was frequented by many men of distinction, such as Visconti, d'Agincourt, Erskine, etc. She died on the 10th June, 1826, at the age of seventy.
<script>