St Pietro in Vincoli is chiefly remarkable for its being built near the
dungeon where, according to the tradition, St Peter was confined and from
whence he was released by Angels; its chief ornament is the colossal statue
of Moses. Somewhere close to this place are shewn the ruins of the
Mamertine prison where Jugurtha was incarcerated and died.
There are in Rome about three hundred other churches, all of which can
boast of very interesting and valuable contents. One in particular called
the Portuguese Church is uncommonly beautiful tho' small; another, that of
St Ignazio, or the Jesuits' church, is vast and imposing, and very fine
singing is occasionally to be heard there.
ROME, 21st Sept.
The Palace occupied by the Pope is that of the Quirinal, standing on the
Quirinal Hill, which is commonly called Monte Cavallo from the statues of
the two Hippodamoi or tamers of horses, thought to be meant for Castor
and Pollux which stand on this hill; this group is surmounted by an
Egyptian obelisk. These statues are said to be the work of Phidias; but
there is a terrible disproportion between the men and the horses they are
leading; they give you the idea of Brobdignagians leading Shetland ponies.
The Quirinal palace is every way magnificent and worthy of the Sovereign
Pontiff; there are large grounds annexed to it; it stands nearly in the
centre of Rome and from this palace are dated the Papal edicts. The Pope
resides here during the whole year, with the exception of three or four
months in the hot season, when he repairs to Castel Gandolfo near la
Riccia.
Of the fountains the grandest and most striking is that of Trevi, which
lies at the foot of Quirinal Hill. Here is a magnificent group in marble of
Neptune, in his car in the shape of a mussel-shell drawn by Sea-horses and
surrounded by Nymphs and Tritons. An immense basin of white marble, as
large as a moderate sized pond, receives the water which gushes from the
nostrils of the Sea-horses and from the mouths of the Tritons. There is a
very good and just remark made on the subject of this group by Stolberg,
viz. the attention of Neptune seems too much directed towards one of his
horses, a piece of minutiae more worthy of a charioteer endeavouring to
turn a difficult corner, than of the God who at a word could control the
winds and tranquillize the Ocean.
The fountain Termina, so called from its vicinity to the Thermes of
Diocletian, is the next remarkable fountain. Here is a colossal statue of
Moses striking the rock and causing the water to gush forth. The grandeur
and majesty of this statue would be more striking but for the incongruity
of the arcades on each side of the rock, and the two lions in black basalt
who spout water. Moses and the rock would have been sufficient. Simplicity
is, in my opinion, the soul of architecture, and where is there in all
history a subject more peculiarly adapted to a fountain than this part of
the history of Moses?
The Fountain Paolina is a fountain that springs from under a beautiful
arcade, but there are no statues nor bas-reliefs. It is a plain neat
fountain and the water is esteemed the best in Rome. This fountain is
situated on the Janicule Hill, from which you have perhaps the best view of
Rome; as it re-unites more than any other position, at one coup d'oeil,
both the modern and debris of the ancient city, without the view of the one
interfering with or being intercepted by the other. From here you can
distinguish rums of triumphal arches, broken columns, aqueducts, etc., as
far as the eye can reach. It demonstrates what an immense extent of ground
ancient Rome must have covered. Near the fountain is the church where St
Peter is said to have suffered martyrdom with his head downwards.
The Column of Trajan is near the fountain Trevi, and it stands in an
inclosure, the pavement of which is seven feet lower than the piazza on
which it stands. The inclosure is walled round. Had not this excavation
been made, one third of the column (lower part) would not be seen. The
Piazza, on which this column stands is called Il foro Trajano. The
column represents Trajan's triumphs over the Daci, Quadi and Marcomanni,
and is the model from whence Napoleon's column of the Grand Army in the
Place Vendome at Paris is taken. A statue of St Peter stands on this
column.
The Column of Antoninus stands on the Piazza Colonna; on it are
sculptured the victories gained by that Emperor. Round this column it has
not been necessary to make excavations. On this column stands the statue of
St Paul.
Amongst the immense variety of edifices and ruins of edifices which most
interest the antiquarian are the Thermes of Diocletian. Here are four
different semi-circular halls, two of which were destined for philosophers,
one for poets and one for orators; baths; a building for tennis or rackets;
three open courts, one for the exercise of the discus, one for athletes and
one for hurling the javelin. Of this vast building part is now a
manufactory, and the hall of the wrestlers is a Carthusian church.
I have now, I believe, visited most, if not all that is to be seen in Rome.
I have visited the Pyramid of Cestius, the tomb of Metella, I have
consulted, the nymph Egeria, smelled at the Cloaca Maxima; in fine, I
have given in to all the singeries of pedantry and virtu with as much
ardour as Martinus Scriblerus himself would have done. But it yet remains
for me to speak of the most interesting exhibition that modern Rome can
boast, and of the most interesting person in it and in all Italy, and that
is the atelier of Canova and Canova himself, the greatest sculptor,
perhaps, either of ancient or modern times, except the mighty unknown who
conceived and executed the Apollo of the Vatican.
