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 assertion of Rousseau, who
asserted that England was the only country in the world where the safety of
foot passengers 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 principal 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 Gods 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.
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