262 



M I L A N. 



Milan, high : and the roof itself is covered with blocks of 

 "Y' marble, so closely cemented together by a hard and 

 durable substance, as to appear one entire piece. The 

 principal tower, crowned by a balcony, and ascended by 

 4-68 steps, is 400 feet high, affording a magnificent 

 prospect of the city below, surrounded by a fertile 

 country and picturesque mountains. Although this 

 church was begun in the year 1386, the fa9ade, 

 presenting a great variety of ornaments, was never com- 

 pleted until Bonaparte, having resolved that it should 

 be finished in an elegant manner,employed a great many 

 workmen on it. About 4000 statues adorn the exte- 

 rior and interior of the cathedral, some not exceeding 

 a foot in height. One by the sculptor Agrati, repre- 

 sents St. Bartholomew, who was flayed alive, holding 

 up his own skin as a drapery. It is of white marble, 

 inscribed, Non me Praxiteles sed Marcus Jinxit Agrnli, 

 and is esteemed a chef d'cntvre of sculpture by the 

 Milanese. But it would certainly be more suitable 

 for an anatomical theatre, than to ornament the inte- 

 rior of a place of public worship. Two large pulpits 

 occupy the sides of the chancel, and near them is a 

 fine organ. Among the other more remarkable ob- 

 jects, is a subterraneous chapel, the place of sepulture 

 of Cardinal Borromeo, Archbishop of Milan, who died 

 in 1584. Seven bass reliefs of silver, forming seven 

 sides of the chapel, represent the principal incidents 

 of his life, executed in a masterly manner : and his 

 body reposes in a shrine, formed of large pieces of 

 glass, with edges of silver gilt. It is arrayed in his 

 pontifical habit ; the face exposed, and exhibiting a 

 mortifying spectacle amidst so much grandeur. His 

 hands, in silk gloves, hold a cross, ornamented with 

 diamonds, and a brilliant crown is suspended over his 

 head. The quantity of precious substances buried 

 here exceeds belief. The treasury of the cathedral 

 besides, contains immense riches in precious stones, 

 gold, and statues of massy silver. But a large propor- 

 tion of the revenues having been withdrawn by the 

 French for more useful purposes than sustaining eccle- 

 siastical pomp, the former splendour of this cathedral 

 is diminished. 



In its environs is the church of Santa Maria de Morti, a 

 small oratory, which is entirely ornamented with pictures 

 framed of human bones. The church of St. Ambrose, 

 who was Bishop of Milan in the fourth century, and 

 author of very voluminous works, is said to be reared on 

 foundations coeval with himself. But the present struc- 

 ture belongs to the ninth century, and if its doors of 

 bronze be of the same date, they must be different 

 from those which that celebrated father closed against 

 the emperor Theodosius. The pavement is of fine 

 mixed marbles. The vault of the choir is of Mosaic ; 

 and the great altar under which the body of St. Am- 

 brose rests, is supported by four beautiful columns of 

 porphyry, enriched with precious stones. The other 

 churches of San Vittore, Santa Maria della Grazie, 

 San Lorenao, San Celso, are remarkable for size, anti- 

 quity, architecture, or paintings. That of San Fran- 

 cesco Maggiore is the largest of the modern churches of 

 Milan. 



A considerable number of years ago, this city con- 

 tained 50 monasteries and 6'2 nunneries. The people 

 are very devout, for it is common to see a madonna in 

 differjut shops with a lamp burning before the image 

 until^^ning. 



There are many charitable establishments here, in- 

 cluding hospitals, schools, and colleges. The Great 



Hospital, which receives patients of both sexes, is a 

 spacious building, with a court of above 300 feet v 

 square, lined with a double portico, supported above 

 and below by columns of different orders. The whole 

 can accommodate 1500 patients, or even 2000 on ex- 

 traordinary occasions. Great operations are performed 

 during summer, under a portico open to the street, 

 where the groans of the sufferer are audible to the 

 passengers, and his person would be exposed to their 

 view were it not concealed by the surrounding crowd 

 of students. A smaller hospital, containing only 40 

 beds, is better managed : and there is likewise a mili- 

 tary hospital. The Lazaretto, environed by a ditch or 

 canal, is a vast quadrangular edifice, 1250 feet in 

 length, and 1200 in breadth, all of brick, containing 

 304 rooms, with fire-places. A chapel is so contrived 

 in the centre of its court, that divine service may be 

 seen by the sick from their beds. 



The college of Brera, once belonging to the Jesuits, 

 was more lately denominated the Palace of the Sciences 

 by the French, because physic, sculpture, architecture, 

 painting, and engraving, are taught in it. This edi- 

 fice has a square court, exhibiting two stories, the one 

 supported by Doric, the other by Ionic columns, which 

 are connected by a grand staircase. Here are a good 

 collection of machines, for illustrating the physical de- 

 partment, an observatory, a library, together with a ca- 

 binet of 1 2,000 medals, and a botanic garden. 



There are several libraries in Milan, of which the 

 chief is that of the college of Brera, and the next, 

 the Ambrosian, founded by a cardinal of the Bor- 

 romean family, a nephew of the archbishop above 

 mentioned, in 1609. its contents exceed 40,000 print- 

 ed volumes, and 15,000 manuscripts, the former ar- 

 ranged in a spacious gallery, the latter in a separate 

 apartment. Though open daily, and considered a 

 public establishment, this library is always under the 

 direction of the head of the family as its property. 

 Many valuable writings were preserved in it, such as 

 a translation of the works of Josephus, executed 1200 

 years ago on the bark of a tree ; Virgil's Works, with 

 Notes by Petrarch ; those of Gregory of Nazianzen ; 

 twelve volumes of mathematical, mechanical, and ar- 

 chitectural drawings, by Leonardi de Vinci : But the 

 most valuable portion was carried to Paris along with 

 the rest of the plunder of Italy, and it is yet unex- 

 plained what has been restored. A library belonging 

 to the monastery of St. Ambrose is very rich in Latin 

 manuscripts, besides a prodigious collection of charters 

 and diplomas, some of which ascend to the eighth cen- 

 tury, the whole being in excellent arrangement. 



Literature has been successfully cultivated in Milan ; 

 besides Alciati, Beccaria, Carli, Verri, and other authors 

 in history and political economy, this city has been em- 

 bellished by the names of Pini, Landriani, Frisi, and 

 Donna Maria Gaetana Agnesi, in the sciences. ( See AG- 

 NESI.) Many valuable works also have issued from the 

 press of Milan, among which may be named the Histo- 

 rians of Italy, in 25 folio volumes by Muratori, pub- 

 lished in the earlier part of last century, and the Classi- 

 cal Italian authors on Political Economy, in 48 octavo 

 volumes, published in the earlier years of the present 

 century. 



The theatre della Scala, which is one of the largest 

 in Italy, was built partly by subscription in 17?C, 

 on a magnificent plan. A great vestibule leads to 

 the pit, aiid two fine staircases ascend to the boxes, 

 of which there are five rows, besides a sixth, or gal- 



Milan. 



