DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61894#0013
Ch. I.
THROUGH ITALY.
climate so dry may equal stone in solidity and
duration. Hence its general use in Italy, and
its reputation even among the ancients, who
employed it not only in ordinary buildings, but
even sometimes in porticos and temples ; as we
find in the temple of Fortuna Virilis at Rome
supposed by many to be a remnant of the Repub-
lican era, though more probably erected, or
rather rebuilt, in the Augustan age. To us,
stucco, however excellent in its kind, seems only
a bad imitation of stone, and conveys an idea
of poverty incompatible with grandeur or beauty.
Before I enter into details, I shall premise, in
order to give the reader a general idea of Modern
Rome, that it contains forty-six squares, five
monumental pillars, ten obelisks, thirteen foun-
tains, twenty-two mausoleums, one hundred and
fifty palaces, and three hundred and forty-six
churches 1 Of these objects most have some
peculiar feature, some appropriate beauty, to
attract the attention of the traveller.
SQUARES.
Of the squares, the most remarkable for its
extent is the Piazza Navona, which gradually
rose on the ruins of the Circus Agonalis. It is
adorned by the -handsome church of S. Agnes
and refreshed by three fountains decorated with
THROUGH ITALY.
climate so dry may equal stone in solidity and
duration. Hence its general use in Italy, and
its reputation even among the ancients, who
employed it not only in ordinary buildings, but
even sometimes in porticos and temples ; as we
find in the temple of Fortuna Virilis at Rome
supposed by many to be a remnant of the Repub-
lican era, though more probably erected, or
rather rebuilt, in the Augustan age. To us,
stucco, however excellent in its kind, seems only
a bad imitation of stone, and conveys an idea
of poverty incompatible with grandeur or beauty.
Before I enter into details, I shall premise, in
order to give the reader a general idea of Modern
Rome, that it contains forty-six squares, five
monumental pillars, ten obelisks, thirteen foun-
tains, twenty-two mausoleums, one hundred and
fifty palaces, and three hundred and forty-six
churches 1 Of these objects most have some
peculiar feature, some appropriate beauty, to
attract the attention of the traveller.
SQUARES.
Of the squares, the most remarkable for its
extent is the Piazza Navona, which gradually
rose on the ruins of the Circus Agonalis. It is
adorned by the -handsome church of S. Agnes
and refreshed by three fountains decorated with