church a celestial lustre. Under the altar a door opens upon a marble staircase leading to a subterraneous chapel lined with stucco, nearly resembling marble, and adorned with numerous pillars in a very pleasing style of architecture. Thence you pass into the ancient church, which from the increase of the ruins around is now become almost subterranean: it is a large vaulted hall once paved with mosaic, and seems from the remains to have been well furnished with marble and paintings; it is now the receptacle of damp unwholesome vapours, that tinge the walls and hover round the solitary tombs. A few purple hats with their rich tassels, the insignia of the dignity of Cardinal, suspended from the vaults and tarnished with time and humidity, cast a feeble unavailing ray of splendour on the monuments of their departed possessors. The spectator, cautioned by the chillness of the place not to prolong his stay, contents himself with casting a transient glance on the sullen scenery, and returns to the splendid exhibition of the temple

above.

The church of St. Andrea in Monte Cavallo by Bernini, though so small as to deserve the name of chapel only, is so highly finished and so richly decorated that I should recommend it to the attention of the traveller as peculiarly beautiful. It was formerly with the annexed convent the property of the Jesuits, who seldom wanted either the means or the inclination to impart splendour and magnificence to their establishments. Unfortunately they have often displayed more riches than taste, and given their churches the decorations and glare of a theatre, instead of adhering to the golden rule in religious architecture, that of disposing the best materials in the simplest order. The neglect of this maxim renders the great church of the Jesuits (the Giesu), though confessedly one of the richest, yet in my opinion one of the ugliest, because one of the most gaudy in Rome.

St. Cecilia in Trastevere has great antiquity and much magnificence to recommend it. It is supposed to have been the house of that virgin martyr, and they show a bath annexed to it in which they pretend that she was beheaded. Over the tomb is a fine statue, exactly representing the attitude and the drapery of the body as it was discovered in the tomb in the year 821; such at least is the purport of the inscription. The saint is represented as reclining on her side, her garments spread in easy folds around her, and her neck and head covered with a veil of so delicate a texture as to allow the spectator almost to discover the outlines of the countenance. The posture and drapery are natural as well as graceful, and the whole form wrought with such exquisite art, that we seem to behold the martyred virgin, not locked in the slumbers of death, but in the repose of innocence awaiting the call of the morning. A court and portico, according to the ancient custom, lead to this church, and pillars of fine marble divide and adorn it; but it labours under the defect alluded to above, and like many other churches is encumbered with its own magnificence.

S. Pietro in Montorio or Monte Aureo, a very ancient church, was once remarkable for its sculpture and paintings, furnished by the first masters in these two branches; but many of the former have been broken or displaced, and some of the latter carried off by the French during the late predatory invasion. Among these is the famous Transfiguration, generally supposed to be the first painting in the world. It was said to have been in a bad light in its original situation; but it must be recollected that Raffaello designed it for that very light; besides, I do not believe that the French are likely to place it in a better*.

* When I was at Paris in the year 1802, it had been withdrawn from the gallery, and was intended for the chapel of one of the first consul's palaces. If in that of

In the middle of the little square formed by the cloister of the convent belonging to the church of St. Pietro in Montorio, is a chapel in the form of an ancient temple; round, supported by sixteen pillars, and crowned with a dome. It is the work of Bramante, and much admired. It would, methinks, have been more beautiful if the architect had copied the Greek models, or adopted the proportions of the temple of Tivoli of a similar form. Besides the lantern that crowns the dome, or rather terminates the cella, is by much too large for the edifice, and seems to crush it by its weight. Yet the colonnade, such is the effect of pillars, gives this little temple, with all its defects, an antique and noble appearance*.

Santa Maria in Trastevere, or Basilica Calixti, is a very ancient church, supposed to have been originally built by Pope Calixtus about the year 220. It was rebuilt by Julius I. in the year 340, and has since undergone various repairs and received of course many improvements. Its bold portico and its nave are supported by ancient pillars, some of red, some of black granite, all of different orders and different dimensions; the entablature also is composed of the shattered remains of various ancient cornices; and, indeed, the whole edifice seems an extraordinary assemblage of orders, proportions, and materials. However, it exhibits a certain greatness of manner in the whole that never fails to cover defects in the detail, and its general appearance is bold and majestic. Its vault and

Versailles the light be not too strong, the Transfiguration may appear to advantage, as the architecture and decorations of the chapel, the best I have seen beyond the Alps, are not perhaps altogether unworthy of contributing to display the beauties of such a masterpiece.

* This edifice is introduced into the Cartoon that represents St. Paul preaching at Athens, and is given with considerable accuracy.