4S8 



ROME. 



Rome. Felice, the Fontana Paolina, and the Fontana di Trevi. 



**~T~ m *' The Fontana Felice, in the Piazza del Termini, on the 

 Viminal hill, is supplied by the Aqua Claudia. It dis- 

 charges itself through a rock under an Ionic arcade of 

 white stone, cased with marble. Among its gigantic 

 statues are Moses striking the rock, Aaron conducting 

 the Israelites, Gideon leading his soldiers to the tor- 

 rent, and below are four lions, two of marble, and two 

 of basalt. This fountain was restored by Sextus V. 



Fontana The Fontana Paolina, situated in a deep evergreen 



Paolina. shade, stands on the brow of the Janiculum. It con- 

 sists of an arcade, supported by six pillars of granite. 

 Here torrents from the summit of the hill rush through 

 the three principal arches into an immense marble ba- 

 - sin, whose surface is agitated like the waves of a lake 

 by their concussion. The waters then roll down the 

 sides of the mountain, turn several mills as they de- 

 scend, and supply numerous reservoirs below. The 

 lofty situation of the fountain commands one of the 

 finest views of Rome, and the plain of the Campagna, 

 bounded only by the ridge of the Appennines. " The 

 trees," says Eustace, " that line its sides and wave to 

 the eye, through its arches, shed an unusual beauty 

 around it; and the immense bason which it reple- 

 nishes, gives it the appearance, not of the contrivance 

 of human ingenuity, but almost the creation of en- 

 chantment." 



Fountain of The fountain of Trevi, in the Piazza di Trevi, is the 



Urevi. finest in Rome, and probably the most magnificent in 

 the world. On a huge rough and broken rock, rises a 

 palace adorned with Corinthian pilasters, and support- 

 ed in the centre by vast Corinthian pillars. It is 

 ornamented with statues. In the middle of the edi- 

 fice, between the columns, under a rich arch, stands 

 Neptune in his car, in a majestic attitude. Two sea 

 horses, led by two tritons, drag his chariot, and 

 " emerging from the caverns of the rock, shake the 

 trees from their roots, while the obedient waves 

 burst forth in torrents on all sides, roar down the clefts 

 of the crag, and form a sea around its base." The ba- 

 sin is of white marble, and the enclosure around it is 

 flagged and lined with the same stone. A flight of 

 white marble steps leads down to the basin. 



< .'hurches. Rome is superior to all the other cities of Europe in 

 the number and splendour of its churches. The church 



St. 1 eter's. o f St. Peter has long been one of the wonders of the mo- 

 dern world. When the spectator approaches the en- 

 trance of the square in front of St. Peter's, he sees 

 four ranges of lofty pillars, retiring in a bold semicir- 

 cle to the right and left, containing the obelisk 

 already noticed. Before him he perceives the stu- 

 pendous front of St. Peter's, towering to the height 

 of 180 feet, and raised 'on three successive flights of 

 marble steps, extending 400 feet in length. Far be- 

 hind and above this, rises the dome of St. Peter's, to 

 the height of 400 feet. The plan and the external 

 architecture of St. Peter's have already been represent- 

 ed in Plate CLXXIV, of CIVIL ARCHITECTURE, in 

 contrast with our own national cathedral of St. Paul's. 

 The interior of St. Peter's corresponds with the 

 grandeur of the exterior. Five lofty portals open into 

 the portico, (a gallery equal to the most spacious ca- 

 thedral) 400 feet by seventy high and fifty broad, 

 paved with variegated marble, covered with a gilt vault, 

 adorned with pillars, mosaics, and terminated at each 

 end by an equestrian statue, one of Constantine, and 

 the other of Charlemagne. A fountain at each end re- 

 freshes the air. Opposite the five portals, are the five 

 doors of the church. The middle one has folding doors 



of bronze, and three have pillars of the finest marble. Rome. 

 On entering it, there is seen the most extensive hall \^^^^ 

 ever built, paved with variegated marble, and roofed $t Peter's. 

 with a gilded vault. The view from the foot of the 

 altar, in the centre of the church, is truly magnificent. 

 Four superb vistas appear around you, and the dome 

 rises above like the firmament, to the height of 

 four hundred feet, covered with mosaics of religious 

 history, and crowned with the throne of the Ecernal. 

 Around the dome rise four other cupolas of inferior 

 magnitude, and six more cover the different divisions 

 of the aisles, and other six as many chapels or church- 

 es. All these cupolas are lined with beautiful mosaics, 

 and the aisles and altars are variegated with every spe- 

 cies of ornament, and with the finest sculptured monu- 

 ments. The high altar which stands under the dome 

 is a most striking object. At its corners, there rise 

 from four ivory pedestals, four twisted pillars fifty feet 

 high, supporting an entablature, and bearing a canopy 

 rising to the height of 1 32 feet from the pavement. 

 All this, excepting the pedestals, is of Corinthian brass, 

 and is the most lofty or massive work of that or of any 

 other metal in the world. This brazen edifice is so disposed 

 as not to obstruct the view of the cathedra or chair of St. 

 Peter, which terminates the church. This is alsoof bronze, 

 and consists of a group of gigantic statues of the four 

 doctors of the Greek and Latin churches, supporting 

 the patriarchal chair of St. Peter. The chair is a 

 throne elevated seventy-five feet above the pavement ; 

 and a circular window, tinged witn yellow, throws 

 from above a mild radiance around it. 



At the west end of the high altar of St. Peter's is the The tomb 

 descent by a double flight of marble steps, to the tomb of St. Peter. 

 or confession of St. Peter. These steps lead to an area 

 before two brassfolding doors, which conduct into a vault 

 whose grated floor is right above the tomb. The rails 

 that surround this space above, are adorned with 112 

 bronze cornucopias, which support as many silver 

 lamps, that burn constantly in honour of the apostle. 

 The stair case, the pavement of the area, and the walls 

 around, are lined with alabaster, lapis lazuli, verde an- 

 tico, &c. 



The Sacre Grotte, which is on a level with the above Sacre 

 pavement, has its regular entrance beneath one of the Grotte. 

 great pillars that support the dome. This grotto, con- 

 sisting of several long winding galleries, stretching 

 under the first building in various directions, is the re- 

 mains of the ancient church built by Constantine. The 

 beautiful passage in which Mr. Eustace describes his 

 feelings in traversing this grotto, deserves to be read by 

 every Christian. " I may be pardoned, says he, when- 

 I acknowledge that I felt myself penetrated with holy 

 terror, while conducted by a priest in his surplice, 

 with a lighted torch in his hand, I ranged through 

 these dormitories of the dead, lined with the urns of 

 emperors and pontiffs, and almost paved with the re- 

 mains of saints and martyrs. The intrepid Otho, the 

 turbulent Alexander, and the polished Christina, lie 

 mouldering near the hallowed ashes of the apostles 

 Peter and Paul, and the holy pontiffs Linus, Sylvester, 

 and Adrian. The low vault closes over their porphyry 

 tombs, and silence and darkness brood uninterrupted 

 around them. They were increased as I approached the 

 monument of theapostles themselves. Others may behold 

 the mausoleum of an emperor or consul, a poet or an ora- 

 tor, with enthusiasm ; for my part, I contemplate the 

 reputation of these Christian heroes with heart-felt 

 veneration. What if a bold achievement, a useful in- 

 vention, a well-fought battle, or a well-told tale, can 



