next Friday, the only free day in each week, is the Emperor’s Name-day,
on which the governor gives a grand fête, and we have no desire to
prolong our stay another fortnight, I shall rather defer this second
concert till my return, and proceed forthwith to Venice. The first
concert moreover, has but little more than paid the expenses, which
amounted to fifty ducats.
A few days ago we visited the Picture Gallery in the Arena; the locale
is the finest we ever beheld. It consists of three large saloons, which
receive the light from above, of a long gallery, and two cabinets.
In the gallery are the pictures _al fresco_ collected from the
churches in Milan, from the walls of which they have been taken with
the plaster on which they were painted, and here let into the walls
again. Among them are some of high artistic worth, of which copies
and engravings have already been made. In the saloons, the paintings
are chronologically arranged, and the name of the master given under
each. In the first saloon are those of the earlier period, in the
middle are those of the later, and in the third those of the modern
school. Yet as far as I know there are no works of any living artists
hung up. In the Cabinets, the smaller paintings are exhibited. The
most precious of all, a _Raphael_, which although of his earlier days
when he still painted in the style of his master, is nevertheless of
infinite beauty. It is the betrothal of the Holy Virgin with _Joseph_.
In the centre stands the Rabbi who in a grave and dignified posture
pronounces his blessing; on his left is _Joseph_, a manly figure with
dark hair and beard, placing with a kindly expression the ring upon
the finger of the Virgin, who upon the right, softly blushes in all
the graceful sweetness of maiden modesty. Among the other figures, a
youth is also conspicuous, who breaks a stick against his knee. Artists
admire greatly the foreshortening of the inclined posture. At first
sight the sharp outline of the figures strikes one as unpleasing; but
after one has become somewhat used to it by a longer contemplation,
one is irresistibly fascinated with the elevated expression both of
countenance and position. In this as in all _Raphael’s_ pictures the
hands and feet are of exceeding beauty.
_Venice_, October, 5.
On Monday the 30^{th} September we set out upon our journey thither in
company with two amiable Polish Counts, whose acquaintance we had made
in Milan, and of a painter who had just returned from a tour in Sicily.
For myself and family I had hired a Vetturino as far as Padua, for
seven louisd’or, for which price it was also agreed he was to pay for
our supper and beds....
The road to Brescia presents very little variety. Brescia is an
ancient town, in which there is very little worth seeing; but it is
situated in a charming locality on the slope of a mountain covered
with vineyards and countryhouses. We took a walk through the town, in
which we saw nothing remarkable except a vine that covered the fronts
of five houses up to their roofs, and was every where loaded with
clusters of the finest grapes. One of the Poles, Count _Zozymola_,
had meanwhile paid a visit to Signora _Mulonatti_, one of the most
celebrated Contre-Altistes of the day, whose acquaintance he had made
in Florence, where a few months previously she had sung. She is now
reposing from the fatigues of the last months in the society of her
_Cavaliere serrente_, a Count _Secchi_ who has a fine house in Brescia,
and a still finer estate in the neighbourhood. During the Carnival she
will again make her appearance here in Venice, at a salary of 10,000
francs and a benefit. Her admirer, a man of large fortune and extensive
knowledge has devoted his whole life to his _Donna_, while his two
elder brothers have greatly distinguished themselves as Generals in the
French Army. For the last ten years he has accompanied her every where
she has sung, manages her affairs, and devotes himself to all her
caprices. His sole somewhat earnest occupation is to write her memoirs
_i_, _e_, her triumphs over other singers, and her love adventures.
Once a year she furnishes him with the written data for the latter,
which are the originals of the love-letters received, and although
he is very jealous, she nevertheless prevails on the good natured
fool to copy those letters himself, and introduce them with their
respective explanations in her history. She has a husband as well, and
two children by him, of whom she is said to be very fond. This husband
plays a thoroughly pitiful part; he always keeps a certain distance,
and awaits every look and beck of his ruling mistress. Up to the
present time Count _Secchi_ has seen neither Rome nor Naples, because
his lady has not yet sung in those Cities, and she would not readily
grant him permission to go there without her.
Between Brescia and Verona, the road passes along the Lago de Garda,
whose beautiful wooded shores studded with country seats and enclosed
by mountains, present the most beautiful views, which richly repaid us
for the uniformity of the previous days journies. At the farthest end
of the lake and half in the water, lies Peschiera, a small mean-looking
town containing but few houses, but with extensive fortifications.
From thence to Verona, the road is again very uninteresting. Upon
our arrival, we learned that a female Pianiste and Harpiste of note
from Naples was to give a Concert in the theatre, and we proposed to
ourselves to go there. Through the slowness of the waiters who brought
our supper an hour later than we had ordered it, we were however
prevented going. We went nevertheless, at eleven o’clock at night by a
beautiful moonlight to see the Coliseum, of all the monuments of Roman
greatness, the one which is in the best state of preservation.... We
ascended to the topmost benches, which equal in height the loftiest
buildings of the town; from thence we had a splendid view over the
whole colossal structure. We pictured to ourselves the immense mass of
stone filled with the Romans of old--how they cheered the victors in
the Arena beneath,--and then lost ourselves in the contemplation of the
perishableness of all human greatness, and in comparisons between that
vigorous people of yore and the present inhabitants of this beautiful
land.
On one side of the Oval, the prisons are still to be seen where the
malefactors were confined who were to be thrown to the wild beasts. The
arrangement is still existing also, by means of which in a few minutes
the circus could be laid under water for naval fights and boat races.
During the visit of the Austrian Emperor, the people were treated
with a resuscitation of the ancient horse and foot races. We had seen
something similar in Milan of which I had forgotten to speak.
_Napoleon_ has erected in the _Foro Buonoparte_, a Circus in the Roman
Style, whose exterior consists also of a wall having passages for
ascent; but the benches in the interior are of turf only. Of these
there are about twelve, but from 25- to 30,000 people find nevertheless
room sufficient. On one side of the breadth, stands a handsome building
with a fine colonnade looking into the interior, from which stone
benches run the whole breadth of the building down to the circus. In
this modern Arena, which can also be laid under water, the people were
treated at the time of the coronation of _Napoleon_, as king of Italy,
with a free admission to a _rechauffé_ of the ancient Roman games. A
third but smaller edition, on payment, took place the day before our
departure.
First of all, eighteen runners in Roman costume made their appearance,
who upon a signal from the trumpets ran forward in a seemingly
encumbered manner to the goal. The victor received a flag, from the
top of which was suspended a wreath of laurel. The two next best after
him, were also presented with tokens of triumph. Twelve horsemen
now advanced to compete in speed. Several fell from their horses at
the first start, and all of them rode so badly that they excited
nothing but laughter and compassion. After the winners had been again
rewarded, came the Chariot Race, which however presented both a new
and interesting sight. The six charioteers were mounted on small
two-wheeled Roman chariots such as one sees upon old coins, and on a
given signal to start, lashed their horses, of which there were two
to every chariot into a full gallop; at the extremity of the course,
one of them in turning fell twice, horses and all, but without taking
any harm. The others drove round the course three times, and the
victors were again presented with their rewards. Now commenced the
grand Triumphal-procession. From thirty to forty Hautboyists in the
_Roman_ costume with _Turkish_ music!--playing a March from the Opera
“John of Paris” opened the spectacle. Then came the Runners carrying
spears; and at length a large Roman triumphal chariot drawn by four
oxen, with the whole of the victors. The handsomely decorated oxen had
been harnessed in pairs in the Roman manner; but the poor animals had
not been accustomed to that sort of thing, and they would not move an
inch; so that it was at length found necessary to yoke them in the same
manner as they were used to, in their dung carts, and when this was
done they went off in style. Behind them came the unsuccessful riders
and charioteers who closed the procession.
The costume of all these people and animals was well chosen, and had
one not seen round the Circus the modern _beau monde_, with now and
then among the runners a three cornered hat, the wearer of which kept
order in the games, and, not have heard the Turkish music playing the
march from “Aline”, one might indeed for a moment have fancied, to see
beneath one the old Romans of yore. But these soldiers and hackney
carriage drivers were so sparing of their miserable horses, and at the
same time so clumsy, that they soon dissipated every deception.
On the 3^{rd} early in the morning we parted from our agreable fellow
travellers, who now proceeded on their farther journey by another road
through the Tyrol to Munich. We slept in Vicenza, a filthy dirty place.
Our windows looked out upon a lonely street, in which heaps of dirt
of the most disgusting kind infected the air in an unbearable manner.
But one meets with the same kind of thing here even in the largest
Cities, and in the most magnificent squares. If one ascends a retired
flight of steps, often of the finest marble, at the grandest palaces,
it behoves one to keep in the centre, to avoid contamination, and even
the Cathedral of Milan is unapproachable on many sides for the high
heaps of filth. This exceeding dirtiness, in which the Italians surpass
almost all other nations, prevails also in most of the apartments and
kitchens. I thought to myself that a Dutchman would go out of his
senses here!
On the 4^{th} at noon, we arrived at the ancient, unsightly Padua,
where we stopped till eight o’clock in the evening. We then continued
our journey by water in the Canal-Diligence. On getting into the bark,
deceived by the uncertain moonlight I missed my footing, and fell into
the water; but in my fall I fortunately caught hold of the gunwale of
the bark, and was immediately pulled on board again. With the exception
of the fright and the trouble of changing my clothes I experienced no
unpleasant consequences from this fall. The bark is very conveniently
fitted up for the accommodation of from twenty four to thirty persons,
and towed by a horse at full trot, goes very fast. The last half of the
Canal is thickly dotted on both sides with beautiful country seats and
gardens, which at this period are inhabited by the wealthy Venetians.
The Palace of the former Viceroy, in which the governor Count _Goes_
resides during the fine season, is particularly remarkable. We much
regretted passing this beautiful part of the country in the night, but
even by moonlight the view presented is magnificent. At five o’clock in
the morning, when all Venice was yet asleep, we arrived, and alighted
at the _Albergo della Scala_.
_Venice_, October, 10.
Little as Venice upon the whole, has come up with my expectations,
yet I was the more surprised by the beauty of some parts of the city.
The Piazza San Marco, is particularly imposing. The thousand-year
old church of St. Mark, built in the oriental style, with its five
cupolas, its innumerable statues and magnificent mosaic-pictures
with their resplendent gold ground; the colossal Bell tower with
its pyramid which serves as a beacon to the mariner far away on the
Adriatic sea, the three grand buildings almost in the same style of
architecture which enclose the square upon three sides; the busy life
under the Arcades, the rich shops of the traders and the tastefully
decorated coffee-houses, in and in front of which from eight o’clock
in the morning till far into the night the fashionable idle world of
both sexes may be seen collected: the mingled vociferations of the
numerous vendors of refreshments, and of the criers who read aloud the
proclamations of the government, or announce the pieces to be performed
in the evening at the different Theatres--all these together form so
varied a picture, that a stranger finds subject therein for a whole
week’s entertainment.
If one then proceeds to the second square which abuts on the first
near the church, enclosed on the east side by the former palace of the
Doges, and on the west by the prolongation of one of the three large
buildings adverted to; a new spectacle quite different from the former
one presents itself. Before you, the harbour dotted with gondolas,
barks and trading ships of all sizes; on the left the quay bordered
with magnificent buildings and churches extending as far as the
_giardino publico_. Opposite, situated upon a small island, a monastery
in whose handsome church the last Pope was elected, and to the right on
the other side of the grand canal the church of _San Giorgia maggiore_
with its majestic dome, surrounded by other beautiful buildings. When
the eye has feasted itself on these objects, it is attracted by the
nearer surroundings; by the motley crowd of human beings upon the
high-arched stone bridges leading over the numerous canals which from
this spot intersect the City; by the loading and unloading of the
larger ships, the embarking of the fashionable and unfashionable world
in gondolas and barks for pleasure-excursions, or journeys of business;
by the singular forms of the fish and shell-fish exposed here for
sale, and the other numerous striking objects peculiar to a sea-port.
Having seen all this, one returns gladly to the square of St. Mark,
and there finds new subjects for admiration. Upon contemplating the
church more attentively, the four gigantic bronze horses over the chief
entry first attract the eye, less by their artistic worth, for they
are not of the finest proportions, than on account of their antiquity
and their various fortunes. Carried off by the Venetians on the taking
of Constantinople, they were placed as war-trophies over the chief
entrance of the church of St. Mark, and there remained undisturbed
until the French after the conquest of Italy took them to Paris. From
thence with all the other treasures of art carried from Italy, they
were again brought back after the capture of Paris by the allies, and
reinstated in their old place amid the exultations of all Venice.
Besides these horses, there are many other memorials of the triumphs
of the Venetians in the church of St. Mark. Statues, bas-reliefs,
arabesques, columns and capitals from Greece, Egypt and the Barbary
States, and it is subject of astonishment in this building, that,
though comprising so many objects executed in the most different styles
of Art, it presents nevertheless a whole of such harmonious beauty.
In front of the church, stand three lofty red painted masts, which on
Festival days are decorated with long silken streamers reaching to the
ground, and their cast bronze foot-sockets are ornamented with fine
bas-reliefs.
On the second square, close to the water, stand two colossal pillars of
Egyptian granite, each pillar hewn in one single block. One supports a
winged lion in brass, which was also carried to Paris, the other, the
patron Saint, the holy Theodorus upon a crocodile.
The interior of the church of St. Mark, is not less beautiful than
the exterior. Walls, niches, and domes are entirely covered with
Mosaic-pictures, among which it is true some are of little artistic
worth; but in the most of them, the composition, drawing, and colouring
are very fine, and all have a pure gold ground which in spite of its
great age still shines as though it were new. Here, however, one
is soon surrounded by whole rows of mendicants, who plead hunger so
piteously and look so disgusting, that one is glad to make one’s escape
from them with the sacrifice of a few copper coins. In fact one cannot
pass through any part of the city at any time without being addressed
by beggars, and it is said as many as 25,000 here suffer from hunger.
At this period, it is true, the poor subsist very cheaply on cooked, or
rather roasted, pumpkins, which are sold at the corner of every street,
and of which a piece as big as the hand costs but a centisimo.
On leaving the Square, one finds but little to divert attention, for
in Venice people neither ride nor drive, the streets being so narrow
that frequently two persons cannot walk side by side. In the busiest
part of the city not far from the _Ponte Rialto_, the crowd is so great
that one has a difficulty to work one’s way through it. From the dirty
habits of the Italians, who throw every sort of refuse into the canals,
and from the pestilential smell of half-putrid fish and muscles,
together with the disagreeable effluvia from the workshops of most
of the artizans, it is very natural to suppose that in these narrow
streets, the whole year long, one cannot once breathe a pure air.
Here gondolas take the place of vehicles, and are to be had at a very
cheap rate. They all have an awning of black cloth, which gives them a
mournful appearance. At the time of the Republic such luxury prevailed
in the decoration of the gondolas, that the government found it
necessary to establish the present mode of covering. The gondoliers are
very expert in rowing and steering, and however great may be the throng
on the canals, they pass each other with great swiftness, without
coming in collision. When one hires two of them, the speed is equal to
that of a horse in full trot. As the houses have, besides the front
entry towards the water, a side door or exit upon the street, one can
go, it is true, everywhere by land; but on account of the bridges one
is obliged to make so many turnings, that one can get to the required
place as quickly again by water.
October 12.
By the most beautiful weather we to-day enjoyed the singularly splendid
view from the tower of St. Mark, which is ascended very conveniently
by a spiral ascent without steps. The view is truly enchanting! On one
side one sees over the extensive mass of houses to the mainland, in the
distance the snow-covered mountains of the Friaul; on the other side
the harbour with its varied and busy life, the Islands covered with
handsome churches and buildings; and in the back-ground the open sea.
I do not remember having ever seen so beautiful a view from any tower,
not even from that of St. Michael’s at Hamburg.
At 4 o’clock we visited the church of the Foundling, where a mass was
being performed by the female foundlings. The orchestra and choir were
composed entirely of young girls; an old instructress of music gave
the time, another accompanied on the organ. There was more to be seen
than to be heard, for the composition and execution were execrable. The
girls playing the violin, flute, and horns, looked strange enough; the
contra-bassist was unfortunately not to be seen, being hidden behind
the trellis. There were some good voices among them, and one quite
remarkable, which sang up to _g_ on the fourth leger line (_g_^3); but
the style of singing of all was horrid.
We have made the acquaintance of several lovers of music, the two
Counts _Tomasini_, and Signors _Contin_, _Filigran_, and several others
whose names I do not know. The two former are assisting me greatly in
making arrangements for my Concert, and if at the present bad time of
the year for business, when every body of note is in the country, I
should have a tolerable Concert, I shall have them to thank for it.