678 



STATES OF THE CHURCH. 



the entrances into the city. Several of the principal streets are spacious and of great length • 

 among these is the Corso, in which the races are held, and which forms the favorite promenade 

 of the Romans. 



The church of St. Peter, built at the expense of the whole Roman world, is the glory of 



modern architecture. The symmetry and 

 beauty of its proportions cause such sen- 

 sations of dehght, that the traveler, on 

 leaving Rome, finds his most painful regret 

 to be that he shall see St. Peter's no 

 more. It is fronted by a circular colon- 

 nade surrounding an Egyptian obelisk and 

 2 magnificent fountains. The immense 

 dome, the boldest work of modern archi- 

 tecture, rises to the height of 520 feet ; 

 under this is the higli altar, with a colossal 

 canopy, supported by 4 bronze pillars, 120 

 feet in height. The church was 1 1 1 years 

 in building, and cost a sum equal to 

 160,000,000 dollars at the present day. 

 No other church in Rome can be com- 

 pared to this, yet there are many remarka- 

 ble for magnificence and antiquity. The Pantheon is the most perfect edifice of ancient Rome ; 

 it is now converted into a church ; its portico is unrivaled. The St. John's of Lateran, in 

 which the Popes are crowned, and Great St. Mary's, are also magnificent edifices. 



The winter residence of the popes is the Vatican, the largest palace in Europe, containing 

 4,420 halls and galleries, filled with the treasures of ancient and modern art. The library is 

 one of the largest and richest in the world. Tiie Quirinal palace is the summer residence, and 

 its gardens are the most beautiful in Italy. The palaces of the rich Romans, and the villas, or 

 palaces surrounded with gardens, groves, and parks, resemble rather the residences of princes, 

 than of private individuals ; and many of them are adorned with a profusion of the finest works 

 of statuary and painting ; the edifices themselves are the productions of the greatest geniuses 

 of modern times. 



The number of literary institutions and societies in Rome is very great, and there are acade- 

 mies for all branches of the fine arts. The University della Sapienza, the Roman College, the 

 Propaganda, for the education of missionaries, and 21 colleges, are the chief establishments 

 for education. 



There are many remarkable monuments of ancient Rome, which should not be for- 

 gotten in an account of the modern city. 

 The iElian bridge over the Tiber, now 

 called the bridge of St. Angelo, is one of 

 the finest in Italy. The mausoleum of 

 Adrian, a rounded pyramid of white mar- 

 ble, called also from its great size Adrian's 

 Mole , now bears the name of the Castle of 

 St. Angelo ; it has been converted into a 

 citadel, and in it are kept the treasures of 

 the popes, and the bulls and documents of 

 the papal court ; the ))risoners of state are 

 also confined here. The Coliseum, a vast 

 amphitheatre, 1,600 feet in circumference, 

 and capable of containing 100,000 specta- 

 tors, is much decayed.* Several temples, 

 the columns of Antonine and Trajan, the 

 triumphal arches of Titus and Constantine, 

 and numerous obelisks are in good preser 



* Tliere is authority to say. impossible as it may seem, the fox to the lion and the tiger, from the elephant to the 



that when Titus for the first time opened the door of this p'azelle, which perished in the games of a single day, 



prodigious edifice, begun by Vespnsian his father, and fin- slaiiglitering and slaughtered, amounted to 5,000. — Si- 



ished by himself, the number of beasts of all sorts. iVon.i monil. 



Church of St. Fitcr. 



