New-York daily tribune., 1851-07-28
CHANCES AT EUROPE No. XIV.

from morning TIL night, as others DO need TO
pause and think OF course, shall leave with
out seeing even tenth par, of the Oh ects of de-
cIded interest, but If | should thus be able to
carry away any clear and abiding impression Of
small part; shsll prefer this to = confused and
foggy perception Of 4 greater multiplicity Of de-
tails
That single view OF the Eternal City, from the
tower OF the Capitol. Is one that almost wish
had given up the first day TO- The entire Of
Rome and its inhabited suburbs lies 80 full and
fair before the eye. with the Seven Hills, the
Coliseum, the Pantheon. the Obellsks, the Pill
lars, the Vatican the Castle of st Angelo. the
various Triumphal Arches. ths Churches. &c,
&c. around you, that 1t seems the best use
that could be made OF one day 70 simply move
from look .ou, to lookout IN that old tower. using
the glass for few moments and then pausing
for reflection. have halt 4 mind thus to
spend one Of my three remaining days True.
the Coliseum will seem yaS:er close at hand, but
from no point can II be seen so completely and
clearly IN It's mmensity and Its dhapldatlon
combined as from that. The Tarpeian Rock
seems an absurd fable--lts fatal leap the daily
sport OF infants-but in all ancient cities the
same glaring discrepancy between ancient and
modern attitudes Is presented. and especially. we
hear at Jerusalem. The Seven Hills whereon
Rome was built are all dlStlnguIShable. visible
to-day but they are undoubtedly much lower
than at first. while all the intervening valleys
have been filing mp through centuries Monk
isl traditions say that what Is now the basement
OF the Church OF SIS. Peter and Paul (not the
modern st. PeterS) was originally on the level
of the street, and this Is quite probable though
did not so readily lubrlcate the stories was told
IN that basemcn, to-day OF SITS Peter. Paul and
Luke having tenated this basement. Paul having
lived and preached here for the first two years
ofhs residence in Rome and when they showed
me the altar at which St Paul was wont to nm
lister, stopped short and didn't hy to believe
any more But this soil Is thickly sown with
marvcs and very productive.
st Peters, or at least lis Dome, was IN sight
through the gre,ter part of the last eleven or
twelve miles Of our Journey to the city from
most other directions 1t Is doubtless visible at a
much greater distance | have of course seen
the immense structure aar of, rs well as
glanced at it in passing by night but | am not
yet prepared TO comprehend It's vast proportions
mean to visit it last before leaving Rome, so as
to carry away as unclouded an impression OF 1t
as possible
OF the three hundred ami sixty-tive Church
rs of Rome, have as yet visited but four and
may find time to see many more OF the most
noteworthy. They seem richer IN Sculpture,
Porphyry Mosaic, Carving, Tapestry, &c, than
anything elsewhere well can be but not equal
in Architecture to the finest Churches IN Genoa.
the Cathedral at Pisa, and think not externally
to Notre Dame at Paris. Indeed, though large
portions OF the present Rome are very far from
ruinous, and some of them quite modern and
fresh-looklng, yet the general Architecture OF
the city IS decidedly inferior to that of Genoa.
and | should say even to that OF Leghon. In
making this comparison, | of course leave out of
the account St Peters and the Churches Of both
cities, and refer mainly to private architecture,
in which Rome is not scendent-certalnlyn
in Italy The streets here are rather wide for an
Italian city, but would be deemed intolerably
narrow IN America.
As to Sculptlr, and Painting, | am tempted 10
say that if mankind were compelled to choose
between the destruction OF what IS IN Rome or
that Of all the rest in the world the former shall
De saved at the expense of the latter. Adequate
conception of the extent, the variety, the excel
lence of the works OF Art here heaped together
is impossible If every house ON Broadway
were gallery, the whole SIX miles OF them
Counting both sides of the street, might be
filled from Rome with Pictures, Statues, &c. Of
decided merit.
What little have seen does not Impress me
with the superiority of Ancient over Modern
Art OF course, II you compare the dozen best
things produced IN twenty centuries against
like number chosen from the productions of the
last single century, you will show a superiority
on tae part of the former but that decides no.
thing The Capltoline Venus Is paragon, but
there is no collection of ancient sculpture which
will compare with the extensive gallery OF heads
by Canoya alone. When benignant Time shall
have done his appointed work OF covering with the
pall Of oblivion the worse nIne,eentwentleths
Of the productions OF the modern chlsel, the
genuine successes Of the Nineteenth Century
VIII shine out clearer ana brighter Inah lhcy
now do So, | trHst with Painting, though do
not know what painter OF our age to place on
perllous enlnence with Canova as the champion
or representative of Modern As compared with
Ancient Art
It is well tia, there should be somewhere
Emporium Of The Fine Arts, yet not we'll that the
heart should absorb all the blood and leave the
limbs destitute / think Rome has been grasp
ing with regard 10 works Of Art, and IN some in
stances unhisely so. For instance, in 4 single
private gallery visited to-day, there were not
les, than twenty decidedly good pictures by
An.bal C.racci-psO5ably twice as many as
there are IN all the world out Of italy. That gal
lery wosM scarcely MISS hall oi these, which
nigh. be fully replaced by aS many modern