DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61894#0023
Ch. I.
THROUGH ITALY.
IS
crag, and form a sea around its base. In the
heats of summer they overflow their usual limits,
till the whole marble concavity round the fountain,
and rise to a level with the square, where after
sun-set the inhabitants of the neighboring streets
assemble, to enjoy the united freshness of the
waters and of the evening.
Such is the celebrated Fontana di Trevi, the
noblest work of the kind in Rome, and probably
the most magnificent fountain in the world. The
basin itself is of white marble, and the vast en-
closure around it, is flagged and lined with
marble of the same color. A flight of steps of
white marble leads down to this basin; and to
prevent accidents, a chain supported by large
blocks of granite encloses the exterior border.
I know that the architectural part of the Fontana
di Trevi, and indeed of the Aqua Paola and
Aqua Felice, has been severely criticized; and
in candor I must acknowledge that the criticism
is in many respects well founded: for instance, it
must be allowed that the elegance and lightness
of the Corinthian or Ionic is ill adapted to the
simplicity of a fountain where Doric would be
more appropriate, because plainer and more
solid. It will be admitted also that these edifices
are broken and subdivided into too many little
parts; a process in architecture, as in painting
THROUGH ITALY.
IS
crag, and form a sea around its base. In the
heats of summer they overflow their usual limits,
till the whole marble concavity round the fountain,
and rise to a level with the square, where after
sun-set the inhabitants of the neighboring streets
assemble, to enjoy the united freshness of the
waters and of the evening.
Such is the celebrated Fontana di Trevi, the
noblest work of the kind in Rome, and probably
the most magnificent fountain in the world. The
basin itself is of white marble, and the vast en-
closure around it, is flagged and lined with
marble of the same color. A flight of steps of
white marble leads down to this basin; and to
prevent accidents, a chain supported by large
blocks of granite encloses the exterior border.
I know that the architectural part of the Fontana
di Trevi, and indeed of the Aqua Paola and
Aqua Felice, has been severely criticized; and
in candor I must acknowledge that the criticism
is in many respects well founded: for instance, it
must be allowed that the elegance and lightness
of the Corinthian or Ionic is ill adapted to the
simplicity of a fountain where Doric would be
more appropriate, because plainer and more
solid. It will be admitted also that these edifices
are broken and subdivided into too many little
parts; a process in architecture, as in painting