Eustace, John Cretwode: A classical tour through Italy An. MDCCCII (Vol. 3): 3. ed., rev. and enl (London: J. Mawman, 1815)

Ch. II.

THROUGH ITALY.

63

rage the work, or to lower the reputation of the
architect. The fame of Vanvitelli is above the
reach of censure; as long as the aqueduct of
Maddaloni stands, so long· will his name be
placed with that of Michael Angelo and of Bra-
mante; and as long as the stranger ascends by
the marble staircase of Caserta to its marble
chapel, so long will it be numbered among the
first palaces in Europe. I only lament that the
former either did not, or could not, realize his
own sublime conceptions; and that the latter,
with all the advantages which it possesses, was
not carried one degree nearer to perfection.
The observations which I have ventured to
make on 'Caserta, might be extended to almost
all the palaces which I have had an opportunity
of visiting. The imperial residences, whether
at Vienna, Inspruck, or Prague, have no claim
to architectural ornament, at least externally;
and it is to the exterior that my observations are
at present confined. The palaces of the Tuille-
ries and Versailles are of a different description,
and cannot be said to want ornament, or even
symmetry, but the style varies so often, and the
scene is so perpetually changing on the eye, that
proportions are constantly counteracting each
other, and no part produces its full effect. Thus,
the front of the Tuilleries consists of five parts :