DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.846#0043
The Church, of the Benedictines. 41
dome which crowns the staircase, .are all of the finest marble.
From a balcony, proportioned to the grandeur of the edifice,
you have a complete view of the city ; and from a terrace, the
port and the sea spread themselves before you, beyond a gar-
den of immense size. This garden, and this terrace, are ele-
vated in the air; but more firm and solid than the walls of
Babylon, the hands of man did not lay their foundations.
Nature traced the plan, and Etna executed the work. This
garden, unexampled in its kind, rests, in effect, upon the lava
which also formed the port itself, on the memorable day of the
12th of March, 1669.
In this garden you feel the want which you experience in all
the gardens of Sicily—the want of trees and shelter from the sun.
But you have that which you can find no where else. In
other gardens gravel or mown grass form the walks; but
here, fragments of lava, curiously wove together, extend
beneath your feet a volcanic carpet, ornamented with various
pictures, and glowing with various colours. The parterres
only are as in other gardens. The lava which supports them
disappears beneath a covering of earth.
The Church of the Benedictines^
This church, says Brydone, would be one of the finest in
Europe, if it were finished. I have seen it nearly fifty years
after this traveller. It is entirely finished; and I think the
prediction was altogether just.
As to accessory ornaments, the organ of this church is, un*
doubtedly, an uncommonly fine and beautiful instrument.
The light and elegant form of this organ, the absence of all
superfluous decorations, and above all the place itself which
it occupies, which is the bottom of the choir, contribute to
make this the finest instrument of its kind, and, with respect
to the latter advantage, place it above the celebrated organs of
Harleim and Trent.
This organ is very seldom touched; that is to say, only on
days of grand fetes; and generally, it is touched by very
inadequate hands. The organist has sixty miles to travel to
place himself before his instrument; the organ being at Ca-
tania, and the organist living at Messina.
Whatever be the beauty or richness of this organ, its con-
struction cost the convent little more than the price of the
materials. The artist, whose name I have unfortunately for-
gotten, desired no other recompence for building it than his
food and his lodging, and the exclusive privilege of perform-
ing the service himself as long as he lived. I leave the
reader to judge if the convent could reject such terms.
Voyages and Travels, No. 2. Vol. IV. G
dome which crowns the staircase, .are all of the finest marble.
From a balcony, proportioned to the grandeur of the edifice,
you have a complete view of the city ; and from a terrace, the
port and the sea spread themselves before you, beyond a gar-
den of immense size. This garden, and this terrace, are ele-
vated in the air; but more firm and solid than the walls of
Babylon, the hands of man did not lay their foundations.
Nature traced the plan, and Etna executed the work. This
garden, unexampled in its kind, rests, in effect, upon the lava
which also formed the port itself, on the memorable day of the
12th of March, 1669.
In this garden you feel the want which you experience in all
the gardens of Sicily—the want of trees and shelter from the sun.
But you have that which you can find no where else. In
other gardens gravel or mown grass form the walks; but
here, fragments of lava, curiously wove together, extend
beneath your feet a volcanic carpet, ornamented with various
pictures, and glowing with various colours. The parterres
only are as in other gardens. The lava which supports them
disappears beneath a covering of earth.
The Church of the Benedictines^
This church, says Brydone, would be one of the finest in
Europe, if it were finished. I have seen it nearly fifty years
after this traveller. It is entirely finished; and I think the
prediction was altogether just.
As to accessory ornaments, the organ of this church is, un*
doubtedly, an uncommonly fine and beautiful instrument.
The light and elegant form of this organ, the absence of all
superfluous decorations, and above all the place itself which
it occupies, which is the bottom of the choir, contribute to
make this the finest instrument of its kind, and, with respect
to the latter advantage, place it above the celebrated organs of
Harleim and Trent.
This organ is very seldom touched; that is to say, only on
days of grand fetes; and generally, it is touched by very
inadequate hands. The organist has sixty miles to travel to
place himself before his instrument; the organ being at Ca-
tania, and the organist living at Messina.
Whatever be the beauty or richness of this organ, its con-
struction cost the convent little more than the price of the
materials. The artist, whose name I have unfortunately for-
gotten, desired no other recompence for building it than his
food and his lodging, and the exclusive privilege of perform-
ing the service himself as long as he lived. I leave the
reader to judge if the convent could reject such terms.
Voyages and Travels, No. 2. Vol. IV. G