The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-04-23
FLORENCE, March 10Th, 1856.

Ile ultra mOuta06S, III lOUS GOWNS Will
shaved heads seem to have little sway
here. Monks and Friars are scarce
while newsboys are plenty. The city
is clean the streets are wide and
sunny, for an. Italian town, at least, and
the filth and feas are less obtrusive
than they are further south Flor
ence, the old Capital of Tuscany, i,
city of one hundred and twenty-f five
thousand inhabitants, lies in beauti-
full plain on both sides of the Arno,
surrounded in three directions by
spurs of the sAppenines.n Yester-
day l assembled the nights ION
the south. side Off the river, and
there beheld, lit up by bright sun,
a panorama not easilyto be forgotten.
There she lay-the cradle of the poets.
painters, and sculptors, the once pow
erful republic, and the now gay capt.
tai of a united and happy country, a
singular compound of the modern
and the medieval in appearance. The
grand dome with its magnificent cam
panile, all encased in various colored
marbles, forms the center of this
lovely picture. The most peculiarly
prominent feature. however, is the
square tower on the Palazzo
Vecchio; the same which for
centuries has looked down
upon the Piazza della Signorina, be-
ginning with the early days of the Re-
public, through the strife of the Guelf
and the Ghibbelines, through the long
hot days when the poor Pisan cap
tiyes were here made to do hard men
ial labor, and during the time of
Savonarela in his might and in his
subsequent downfall and execution.
From the north, where lies the little
old town of Fiesole at an elevation of
one thousand feet, the panorama is
even more beautiful and comprehen-
siye. This place, once formidable
rival of Florence, is said to have been
the retreat of Catalina after the mis-
carriage Of his. reasonable de-
signs against the Roman Re
public. In garden of "a Villa.
situated upon these hills one hun
dred pounds of silver coins were dug
up In 1929, all of them being of coin
age anterior to Cataline's defeat in
the mountains little north of this.
Here are,- also, remains of the walls
which, before the times of Rome, en-
circled the Etruscan City. The pc
culiarity of construction of this class
OF antique remains is denominatea
: cyclopean, technically. applying
the term to the mode of fitting to-
gether, at irregular angles, the stones
without mortar; but | cannot unqual-
ifedly agree, from the NEUROLOGICAL
Cyclop applying the. term to the
massiveness of the material or
the yastness of the works, as
l think was originally indicated by
the use of the term. 60 through
Florence and observe the appearance
OF its palaces; more particularly ex-
anime the Pitt palace, now inhab-
tied by the King, and you will find
masonry In its rugged grandeur. made
up OF immense rough hewn blocks,
much more deserving the appellation
Cyclopean /" than these remains of
old Etruria. In fact, | find every
where tendency to magnify the re-
mains of antiquity, and overrate their
peculiar excellencies, as compared
with the productions of later ages.
Following my own judgment, [ am
fast becoming skeptic in many things
of antique workmanshipand construc-
ton, by others considered orthodox.
Why is not the splendid marble groupe
in the Loggia del Lauzi by the Flor
entine Fedi,' only completed few
months ago, as grand in conception,
as perfect for action and as fine for
repose as the Farnese Bull " in the
museum at Naples ? Why is the
Venus. the Medic" placed at the
head Of all sculptured female forms,
Whon. hor xoonxv fonl{c
this subject, however. 1 can cite
authority of celebrity; it is no less
than thatIof Hiram Powers. He OBJ !
jectsB 70 one foot, both ankles,
and,e above all, the face. The
hands and arms are out of the
question, as they are reservations by
Bernlnl. Mr.. z. considers only
the Torso, or body, perfect This
all l have direct from Mr.. Powers
himself, while he pointed out to me
on plaster cast in his studio of that
same Venus, the points upon which
he expatiated. And why are the ar
chitectural remains of Greece and
Rome rated so high, when the present
age has st. Peters of Rome, st.
Pauls of London, Munster of Strass-
bourg, and Capitol at Washington?
When there is a Versailles, and a st.
Petersburgh? What are the cata-
combs of Rome to the honey combed
condition of subterranean Paris?
How do the Roman roads con-
pare with the modern achieve
ments in engineering, and, after all,
what incalculable advantages and
comforts has not the civilization of
to-day over and above that of the
brightest period Of the ancient world !?