DOI chapter:
Chap. XIV: Leghorn - Medusa Frigate - Portus Veneris - Delphini Portus - Harbor of Genoa - Its appearance - Palaces - Churches - Ramparts, and History
DOI Page / Citation link:https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.62268#0484
474
CLASSICAL TOUR
Ch. XIV.
faced with a colonnade. Bat this church has
not that decoration; it is a square building·,
adorned with Corinthian pilasters. The four
sides have the same ornaments and a similar
pediment; only the western side or front is rather
encumbered than graced with two towers. In
the centre rises a dome. The interior is in the
form of a Greek cross. The merit of this build-
ino· consists in its advantageous situation and its
simplicity. It has only one order, and one cor-
nice that runs unbroken all around ; this single
order is not loaded either with an attic or a
balustrade; the cornice is prominent and effec-
tive ; the windows are not numerous nor too
large, and the few niches are well placed. So
far the architect is entitled to praise ; but what
shall we say to the pigeon holes in the frieze, to
the little petty turrets on each side of the pedi-
ments, to the galleries that terminate on the
point of these pediments, a new and whimsical
contrivance, and above all, to the two towers
which encumber and almost hide the front.
These deformities might easily have been re-
trenched, if the architect could have checked his
inclination to innovate. The Genoese compare
this church to St. Peter’s,
Sic Canibus catulos similes, sic matribus hoedos.
Noram ...........
CLASSICAL TOUR
Ch. XIV.
faced with a colonnade. Bat this church has
not that decoration; it is a square building·,
adorned with Corinthian pilasters. The four
sides have the same ornaments and a similar
pediment; only the western side or front is rather
encumbered than graced with two towers. In
the centre rises a dome. The interior is in the
form of a Greek cross. The merit of this build-
ino· consists in its advantageous situation and its
simplicity. It has only one order, and one cor-
nice that runs unbroken all around ; this single
order is not loaded either with an attic or a
balustrade; the cornice is prominent and effec-
tive ; the windows are not numerous nor too
large, and the few niches are well placed. So
far the architect is entitled to praise ; but what
shall we say to the pigeon holes in the frieze, to
the little petty turrets on each side of the pedi-
ments, to the galleries that terminate on the
point of these pediments, a new and whimsical
contrivance, and above all, to the two towers
which encumber and almost hide the front.
These deformities might easily have been re-
trenched, if the architect could have checked his
inclination to innovate. The Genoese compare
this church to St. Peter’s,
Sic Canibus catulos similes, sic matribus hoedos.
Noram ...........