New-York daily tribune., 1851-07-29
CHANCES AT EUROPE. No. XIV.
TIE COLISEUM.
TIE COLISEUM
Etitorisl COrrespontence Of The Trisnne.
RoNE, Friday, June y. lsji-EpSaIrg.


/ were accessible 10 the public the more lnpOr,
snt galleries being only open on Monday, snd
two or three OF the very finest not at all. | fear
! this restriction VIII deprive me Of = sight OF the
/ Apollo Belyidere. the Sl>tlne Chapel, and one or
twO others Of The worlds maryels know how
urrraclous It Is 70 look = gift horse IN the
/ mouth. and vet, since these works exist mainly
/ TO be seen, and as Rome derives so large share
! Of her income from the strangers whom these
/ works attract to her. must think It unwise to
send any away regretilng that they were denied
/ Z sight Of the Apollo or of some Of Raphaels
/ master pieces contained in the Vatican know
at what vast expense these works have been
! produced or purchased, and, though all who visit
/ Rome are made to pay great deal indirectly for
/ the privileges they ENJOY here, vet wish the
/ Papal Government would frankly exact, as for
one should most cheerfully pay, a fair price for
admission to the most admirable and unrvaled
! collections which are Its property. II, for In
/ stance. IL would abolish all Passport vexatons,
| encourage the opening OF Railroads. and stlmu-
late the establishment OF better lines of Dill
gences, &c. so that travelling in the Papal
States would cease TO be twice as dear and In
fnitelv slower than elsewhere in Italy, France
or Germany. and would then charge each
stranger visiting Rome on euands other than
religious something like five dollars for all that
is 70 be seen here. taking care to let them see IT,
and to cut off all private opportunities for ser
vices rendered in showing them the system
! would be a great improvement on the present,
and the number OF strangers in Rome would be
rapidly doubled and quadrupled. There might
be some calumny and misrepresentation, but
these would very soon be diSpelled, and the
world would understand that the Papacy did not
seek to make money ont of its priceless treas
ures but simply to provide equiably and prop
erly for their preservation and due increase.
Here as we all see, have immense sums been
already spent 10y this Government in excavat
ing, preserving, and IN some cases partially res
toring such decayed but inlmltable structures As
the Coliseum, the Capitol. the various Trum-
phal Arches. the Baths of Titus, Caracalla, &c
of all which labors and expenditures we who
visit Rome share the benefit, and It Is but the
simplest Justice that We should contribute to
deray the cost, especially when We know that
every dollar so paid woula be expended in con-
D
peting the galleries and other modern Struc
lures which are already SO peerless. Rome Is
too commonly regarded as only rum, or more
strictly, as deriving all It's eminence from the
Past, while in fact 1t has more neStimable
treasures, the product of our own century, our
own day, than any other city, and suspect
nearly as many rs all the rest of the world
Even the Vatican is still unfinished workmen
were busy in it to-day, laying additional
floors of variegated marble, putting up new
book cases, &c-nOne Of them reStoratlons, but
all extensions of the Library, which, apart from
the value of lis books and manuscripts, is
unique and mastery exposition OF ancient and
modern Art Here single Vases, Tables,
Frescoes. &c which would be the pride of any
other city one large vase OF Maachlte, pres
ent 10 Plus X from the Russian Autocrat, and
uneCaaed out of Russia. If IN the world
should udge that three-fourths of the Frescoes
which nearly cover the walls and ceiling Of the
fifteen or twenty large halls devoted to the Library
are less than two centuries old. This part OF
the Vatican Is approached through a magnificent
corridor probably five hundred feet long, with
an arched ceiling entirely lnlald with beautiful
Mosaic. and the same Is continued through
another gallery some two hundred teet long,
which leads at right angles from this to another
wipa of the edfce but the corridor leading
down this wing. and facing that first named, has
A naked arren-looklng ceiling, evidently wait
inc to be similarly lnlald when time and means
shall permit This Is but specimen OF what
IS purposed throughout and II the money when
visitors leave IN Rome could, IN some small part
al least be devoted to these works, instead oi
being frittered away vexatiOusly and useeSsly on
petty extortioners, official and unofficial, the
change would be a very great improvement. II
does seem a shame that, where so much IS ne
cessarily expended, so little OF It should be de-
voted to those still progressing works, from
which is derived all this instruction and intel
lectual enjoyment.
Here let me say one word in justice 10 the
prlncey families of Rome, whose palaces and
immense collections of Paintings and Sculpture
are almost daily open to strangers without
charge, save the tribe that you choose to give
the attendant who shows you through them. |
looked for hours to-day through the ten spacious
apartments OF the Palace OF the Orslni family
devoted to the Fine Arts, as had already done
through that of the Dora family, and shall to-
morrow do through others, and doubtless might
DO through hundreds of others-all Hospitality
open to every stranger on the simple condition
that he shall deport himself clyllly and refrain
from doing any injury TO the priceless treasures
which are thus made his own without the trouble
even Of taking care of them. know there are
instances OF like hberality elsewhere but Is 1t
anywhere else the rule and Is II In our country
even the exception What American ever thought
Of spending half al immense fortune IN the col
lection of magnificent galleries Of Pictures,
Statues. &c and then quietly opening the whole
to the public without expecting word of COM