The Sun.
London, England, 1818-06-08 00:00:00

LITELU v REVIEW.

Many new' atlenturers,are preparing to follow
• the sante track;- and in the course of a few more sea,
sons, we may perhaps be enabled to construct a
literary Chart 'to Italy, in which every stage shall
• be marked by a reference to some itinerant seriter.
Amid(' perhaps he disposed to drpreeate the
elects-of this complicated cacoethes for travelling
and writing. but that occasionally, amongst the
,khoals of,ephemeral -writings which- the tide of
. emigration forces on the, public, we should some-
„. times recognise a volume'of real merit, worthy to
be ss:lected and preserved.amongst the varieties of
the literary cabinet. To this class belongs a work
latejy Published, by Mr.. Sass,, whose journey to
Dome and Naples is equally calculated to gratify
tiWuntravelled reader, and to direct the pursuits
"end facilitate" the l.hours of the future tourist.
'• Sass ii.-evidently etnbued with that taste and
' .enthusiasm for the arts, that liberal spirit, conge-
rtral to-all cOttivated minds, without which mere
acctrrate,details of towns and roads, of pictures
and scenery, are
.vapid and rstrinteresting. The
forowing• introduction to, Venice reminds us of
tine of the most beautiful Striniall in Lord IIYILON'S
fourth 'Canto of Crinnt.: Haftoca, by a coincidence
of observation which is equally creditable to the
trtalr of the Poet's.imagery and the spirit of the
tr.aveller's description
" On our arrival at'Fosina,a phenomenon struck our sight
in the appearance of a city, with al! its domes and spires,
rising front the sea.'* The chief 'celebrity of this city consists
in its situation, which is uniquo; in its. former power and
opulence; in the noble spirit of independence which once
animated its people, and from which it derived its origin:
and in its being the seat of that school of art, linown under
the name of Venetian, distinguished fOr all'its alluring blan7
dishments, decorations, and Ooliniring. At the head of this
school are the celebrated liarues of Titian, Paul Veronese
az: dTi nto t.

4, We passed the Lagnnes,in a gondola, and arrircet oppo-
site St. Mark's, where we resteelsonte time, to enjoy the de-
lightful scene. by which. we were surrounded. Magnificent
edifice's appeared on all sides emerging from the ocean; St.
Mark's in front; the Arrenal and St. Georgio Maggiore on
the right; the Grand Canal, with its superb range of build-
ings, on the left and the Custom-bouse behind.
" Boats piled up wits delicious fruits, displaying an assem-
blage of the most lovely colours in all their beautiful varie-

ties; others loaded with vegetables, or with casks filled with
fresh water brought from thii neighbonrhig shores, were
-:slowly inuring to their several. points of, debarkation. Innu-
.merable gondolas were passing in crery direction, with va-
, -riuus degrees of velocity, as business or pleasure might sway
their inmates, and steering amid cacti other with the greatest
nicety. The landing places were as crowded with people as
the water was with boats, and all was bustle and activity.—
We then pas Fed up the-grand canalovhich-winds through the

centre of the city, and came in sight of the far famed but

significant Rialto. Stretched on the downy pillows of a On-
dola, enjoying the most luxurious case, and gliding along the

canals which intersect the city. in every part, was delightful
The rittily decorated houses and splendid palaces which adore

their sides, presentin; themselves in constant succession

and in a capricious and almost endless variety,. formed a new

and pleasing sight.

" The windows of my chamber faced the north ; the grand
canal ran beneath, on 'which was a constantly moving scene ;

the Rialto on the right, and in front at a distance appeared
the snow-capt Alps. At night, the deep gloom .in which
every thing was immersed, was occasionally relieved by the

pacsing, crossing, and intermixture of the lights from the

gondolas, conveying their owners from the public amuse.
meats to their homes. The. gondolas, which are black, not

being seen, it had the appearance of manic; • and it was no',

ditheult to imagine there were airy sprites in the height
revelry, performing their evolutions.'.' •

The Author's first glcince 9f Rome is equally
impressive.

" Advancing upon the ancient Flaminian way, we entered
Rome be the Porto del pnpolo, and engaged apartments in
the Piazza d'Espagna.. Every one, on visiting a celehrated
city, should endeavour to become acquainted with its locali-
ties : to do this, I would recommend that the most elevated
points should be ascended, taking a map, and from thence
to compare every part, marking the situation of the principal
buildings. The circuit of the city should next be made, and
by doing this, in a short time the whole place would he fami-
liar. The best places fur this purpose are, the tower on the
Capitoline bill, and the tops of the, Antonine and Tvajan
columns ; these being centrically situated, the city, ancient
and modern, spfeads itself around them. Besides these,
there are fine points of view from the Pincean hill, Mount
Janiculum, the castle of St. Angelo, and the top of St.
Peter's.

" Rowe :-.-The subject is so overpowering that I know not
how to begin ; my mind is distracted by a thousand different
thonglits—a thousand various feelings agitate me. If I could
confine myself to its ancient state, what a glorious theme to
dwell upon ; but lam upon the spot—.;on the spot on/y—where
it formerly stood—the illusion is dissipated--and floods of
tears succeed each other when I find that Rome, with all its
greatness, has vanished from the earth.

" But I hare seen St. Peter's—St. Peter's—contemptible—
St. Peter's cannot. bear a comparison with the ruins of ancient
Rome ; how then can the sight of it compensate for the de-
struction of the other. Still more acute must this feeling he,
when sv knoW that not all the civil brawls; not all the igno-
rance and want of taste in the-latter Emperors ; not all the
rage and indiscriminate fury of the barbarians, nor the
Bigotry and fanatic zeal in the darker ages, have tended so
much to the destruction of ancient Rome, as those families
who, in 1 heir wretched feeling, would build themselves palaces
by the spoliation of the finest monuments of Roman grandeur.
Steil is the fact, they have not only robbed, hut they bare
utterly destvoyed many of the finest works. They had not
even the fac.tlty of appropriation. How many cornices,
fluted columns, and beautifully executed capitals, have I seen
cut up and used as'lnerely blocks of marble And after they

A JOURNEY to ROME and NAPLES, performed in 1S17;
giving "Account of the Present State of Society in ii.►J} ;
- and containing Observations on the Fine Arts. By HENRY
Sas', Student of the Royal Academy of Arts. LONGMAN,
7HURST, REEs, ORME, and BROWN, Paternoster Row.

Amongst the literary fashions of the present
Jlay'%iiegiqy.conside-r coptinental tours and travels,
whether exhibited if) fiaartos, octavos, Or duoile-
---"inai4 as' genetAlyr pievalent. l'Oe;s and Anti•
Artists and Novelists, have turned their
talents into this popular a.nd profitable direction.

had accomplished this destruction, what have they proditced ?
Buildings and streets, which area disgrace to the local beanties.
of the bills of Rome:.... With feelings of sorrow and indigna-

tion,. which it was: int po:sible to suppress, we wandcred
thremgh the streets of, 013 foodhit city; afltl.cenild not pro-
ceed many paces witlatit witnessing some of these works of
destruction, in columns of porphyry or verde antique, cut
down for door-posts, to grace the entry of paltry coutt-yards.
Reflecting on thes.shairges, and what use the best'tbina.,
may he converted, we were accosted by a-tawdry dr;;sed
jaaanapes, powdered, and bespattered with ti-usel, a running
footman, aho told -tri we should be run over by the equipage
that followed, if we did not move."

Alt. SASS .eonelncleS by suggesting a few' hints
on tlie-most eligible modes Of conveyance, which
wi•l be found highly useful for succeeding tra-
vellers.