Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-02-15
LETTERS FROM ITALY.
Rome, Its Walls, Its Misfortuncs. The
Pantheon-Annual Obsequies of victor
Emmanuel Routine of Sightseeing
sudden Death of an American.

ROME, Jan %, 1894.
To the Free Press
Rome. as doubtless many of your readers
know, is as it was 1000 years ago walled
city. Its present walls, built by the En-
peror Aurelian about A. d. 2i0, are - feet
high and II miles around. OF massive
brick work, with towers and buttresses, they
have withstood, besides many mortal hosts,
the assaults of more than 1900 years. With
in and around them, lived at the time of
Rome's greatest size and power popula-
ton estimated by the scholars all the way
from 4 600 600 to If, 600 0O0 including the
slaves. who formed half the number. They
contain now something over 400, 900 inhabi-
tants-the population of the city was 49,
100 in 1892 OF the space within them
about two-thirds is covered with ruins or
| occupied by gardens
Devastated by the Gauls, sacked by tho
Nandas. destroyed by the Goths, and raw
aged by the Saracens and other foes, Rome
I has suffered most from its own citizens in
! the destruction of its temples and monuments
| of antiquity. In the year $40, according to
an existing record Rome contained 324
| W
| O12 fountains: 1925 baths: 81 theatres: 3
amphithcatres: i1Sj bronze statues of en-
pcrors and generals, most of which have
disappeared: G6 ivory statues of the gods, of
which not one remains: so gilt statues of
| the gods. of which but one remains: and ~
| great equestrian statues, of bronze, of which
one remains. The popes, in the centuries
| following this period, cared nothing for
heather relics. They regarded all such
monuments of art and architecture as the
property of the papal State, and they de-
stroycd temples and baths and fountains.
without conjunction. to build from their
materials churches and palaces for prelates
The costliest marbles and sculptures We're
cast into the lime kilns to make mortar for
the new buildings, and rare and richly
sculptured stone were piled out of sight in
their foundations
In the civic fcuds of the middle ages the
whole city was divided into separate fortified
quarters with castles for the headquarters
of the mobiles, in the construction of which
many of the remaining ancient structures
were ruthles,ly destroyed. When from
time TO time the mobiles were put down their
stronghods were in turn destroyed by hun
dreds so il went ON. down to our times,
in which the present Italian government
=
lie heath-haS removed many ancient
memorials in the opening of new streets
and clearing away of crowded and pestilen-
tial rookerieS.
So it has come to pass that while the older
portions of the city abound in ruins and
fragments of ancient collonades aud
rorticoes and shattered columns. but
one of the temples and public struc
lures of pagan Rome remains
substantially entire, preserving its ancient
walls and vaultng. The tooth of time and
the hand of man has robbed it of its eXter
nal casing of marble: but its massive walls,
of admirable brick work 20 feet in thick
ness stand intact and look rs if they would
stand for - centuries more. Its shape is Q
circle. enclosing single great circular
room, covered 10y Il dome. l4'
feet high and 43 feet in interior
diameter 1t has no windows anc
the daylight enters only through circular
, opening 30 feet in diameter in the centre OF
, the dome This, during most of its exis
, tcnce has been open to the sky. and, in the
, middle ages when the pope officated here
in the annual feast of the Pentecost. show
ers of white rose leaves used to be SEN
down through it, to typify the descent of th'
, Holy Ghost. The aperture is now, however
in rainy weather. covered by a hood. \,
chapelS or corridors surround the interior
space. but its walls are divided by grea
columns of the rare and costly yellow
Numdian marble and seven large recesse
or inches, in which once stood statues o
, jupiter and other Roman gods. They ar
, Jow occupied by affairs Of various Catholi
saints. 1t is an interior of most majestic
simplicity and grandeur. THE world
F said Hawthorne, 'has nothing else like tn
| Pantheon,n and you remember how Byrol
apostrophised it as
shrine of all Saints, and temple of all gods
From ,Iove to Jesus, spared and blessed b
t Glorious dome
Shalt thou not last: Times scythe and tyr
: ants rods
l. SILVER upon thee Sanctuary and home
, Of art and piety-PanthcOn, pride of Rome.
In this venerable edifice was celebrated
on Friday last the anniversary of the buria
/ of Victor Emmanuel. The reverence of tn
K Italian people for the man under whom
5 Italian unity was achieved and the fila
= piety of King Humbert both not unmxe
3, perhaps with political motives, have mad
u this anniversary one of the important Stat
a occasions of the year: and it is celebrates
with elaborate funeral pomp. For 10 day
previous the public We're excluded from tn
Pantheon, which was in the hands of work
L men, who were arranging the decorations
During the forenoon of Friday-the servic
. commencing at 10 a. m.--the square il
), front was lined with soldiers in long clos
:. ranks, and guards stationed in the street
leading to it turned back all persons VIII
., were not provided with cards of admission
- These are naturally much in demand. TIL
;, number distributed to foreigners, this yeaI
- was, it is said, somewhat smaller than usual
perhaps because there are fewer foreigner
than usual in Rome. We were, however
fortunate enough to obtain couple. and
V was glad to witness what was decidedly tn
II most impressive ceremony that | have see
;, in Italy For an hour the people. dresse
II in black, colors being barred by the instruC
: tions on the tickets, poured between tn
n" parallel lines of soldiers drawn up in fror
. of the Pantheon and through the great co
- umns of oriental granite--the oldest Con
u nthan columns in Rome-which sustain th
p massive portco and into the dim area (dii
as compared with the outer light within
The darkness was, however, in measur
p dispersed by, | suppose thousan