the fifth to the fifteenth century, were forined indeed of costly materials, but these materials were heaped together with little regard to order, proportion and symmetry. At length a happier period succeeded, the arts and sciences smiled once more upon their ancient seat, and architects of high name and reputation succeeded each other-their exertions were called forth and rewarded by the authority and munificence of Pontiffs -they had sites formed by nature before them, and every material ready prepared at hand. In such circumstances, and with such models as Rome presents on every side, who would not have expected to see architecture carried to its highest perfection, and even the ideal fair and beautiful, so long conceived in theory, at length realized in practice? But such was not the event. Architects imagined that with so many advantages it would be mean to copy, and easy to surpass antiquity. They sought in the luxuriancy of an irregular imagination forms more fair, combinations more majestic, and even proportions more beautiful than the ancient world had beheld. They all made the attempt and have all failed, and by their failure have proved that in the same proportion as we follow or abandon the ancients, we approach or deviate from perfection. It must be acknowledged however, notwithstanding the censure which I have ventured to pass upon modern architecture, that it has produced edifices splendid, rich, and magnificent, with all their defects inferior only to the inodels of antiquity, and still sufficiently great and numerous to render Rome the first of cities. The grandeur that results from these modern structures, combined with the majesty of the ancient monu ments, induced a French writer* to observe, that Rome is a map of the world in relievo, presenting to the eye the united wonders of Asia, of Egypt, and of Greece; of the Roman, Macedonian, and Persian empires; of the world ancient and modern†. But the glory of man, although consigned to marble and bronze, is doomed to perish; even those noble features which it was believed would bloom for ever and confer immortal beauty on the city fondly entitled Eternal, have, each in its season, flourished and faded away. Of the five eras of architecture, four have already departed, and left vast and often shapeless heaps of ruin to mark the spot where their lofty structures once rose: the fifth age is on the decline; some of its proudest palaces are deserted, and not a few of its noblest temples already forsaken and neglected. A century or two will probably strew the seven hills with its splendid embellishments, and the future traveller may have to admire and to deplore the ruins of the Medicean as of * Montaigne. + This compliment is nearly copied from Propertius— Omnia Romanæ cedent miracula terræ Natura hic posuit quidquid ubique fuit. Armis apta magis tellus, quam commoda noxæ. Famam, Roma, tuæ non pudet historiæ. Lib. 111. Eleg. 22. Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, and some other imperial monsters, nearly deprived Rome of the eulogium contained in the two last verses. the Augustan age, the fragments of pontifical as of imperial grandeur*. OBSERVATIONS. The contemplation of the ancient monuments, and the study of Vitruvius, had first excited attention and then, wakened a spirit of emulation. Bramante and Sangallo began the work of reformation with spirit, and at the same time with singular modesty, and a well-founded apprehension of the danger of forsaking the traces of antiquity. Peruzzi and Raffaello pursued the work with equal intelligence but more boldness. The principles of Vitruvius were reduced into a system, and adapted to modern edifices by Palladio. So far there was * The Villa Manliani, Villa Sacchetti, &c. in ruins; Villa Medici, Palazzo Farnese, Palazzo Giustiniani, &c. &c. uninhabited, unfurnished, almost abandoned. Vos operum stratæ moles, collesque superbi Queis modo nunc Romæ nomen inane manet Digna vel æthereis amphitheatra locis: At Romæ Æneadum magnam et memorabile nomen Ingenii, quæ non ulla senecta rapit. Bonamico. ap. Fab. much to praise, and little to criticise in the new system. But the genius of Michael Angelo, sublime, daring, and impatient of control, is accused of deviating from antiquity and of introducing innovations, which, copied and exaggerated by his followers, soon degenerated into defects, and became at length the bane of the art itself in the following century, when the check of his authority was removed, and the impulse only which he had given, remained. The defects of the style to which this great man is supposed to have given rise, and which Borromini finally carried to the very height of deformity and folly, are principally the following:-1. Pillars that support nothing, that are coupled together and hid in niches and recesses.-2. The repetition of the same order on a different scale, or the introduction of another order in the same story or on the same plane.— 3. The same order carried through different stories and the consequent confusion of proportions.-4. Multiplicity of pedestals and pilasters-5. Prodigality of ornaments.-6. Breaks, interruption, or waving of the cornice.-7. Profusion of pediments, and pediments of various forms, such as curves, semicircles, arcs of circles, advancing, receding, &c.-8. Abuse of the rustic. -9. The introduction of low stories, called Mezzanini, and little windows between the principal stories.-10. The protuberance of columns in the shaft.-11. Multiplication of slips of columns and pilasters, with portions of capitals crowded together in the angles of edifices. Though many more might be mentioned, these are sufficient to give the reader an idea of the censure passed by the rigid admirers of antiquity on the modern style; and certain it is, that if greatness of manner consist in presenting few, and those essential parts to the eye, the more breaks, interruptions, and divisions there are, the more the appearance of the whole must tend to littleness and deformity *. THE ROMAN GOVERNMENT. Of the Roman government the reader may expect some account, although ere these pages become public, that government may cease to exist; all that can be said of it at present is, that though despotic and above all control, it is exercised by the Pontiff with mildness and submitted to by the people with respect. The sacred character of the bishop influences both the sovereign and the subject. The love and reverence with which it inspires the latter may be useful; but its effects on the former are perhaps less beneficial, as the justice of the prince is often suspended, and sometimes defeated by the indulgence of the pastor. But of this inconvenience we ought not to complain; it is not now, nor ever was it, a common or characteristic defect of any government, and few sovereigns recorded in history are reproached with want of severity. The worst consequences of pure unmixed monarchy, the general indolence which it inspires, and -the lethargy in which it involves all the powers of the mind, by excluding the nation from all share in the management of its own interests, are felt without doubt in the Roman terri * To enlarge upon this subject is the business of a professed architect, whose observation might easily enable him to fill an useful and entertaining volume on the subject. It is a pity that some gentleman of the profession, whose mind has been enlarged, and taste matured by travelling, does not undertake the work. |