Padua.
The next church, in point of rank, but far superior in point of
architecture, is that of St. Justina, built from a design of Palladio,
and reckoned, by some people, one of the most elegant he ever gave. St.
Justina is said to have suffered martyrdom where the church is built,
which was the reason of erecting it on that particular spot. It would
have been fortunate for the pictures in this church if the Saint had
suffered on a piece of drier ground, for they seem considerably injured
by the damps which surround the place where it now stands. There is a
wide area in front of the church, called the Prato della Valle, where
booths and shops are erected for all kinds of merchandise during the
fairs. Part of this, which is never allowed to be profaned by the buyers
and sellers, is called Campo Santo, because there a great number of
Christian martyrs are said to have been put to death.
St. Justina’s church is adorned with many altars, embellished with
sculpture. The pavement is remarkably rich, being a kind of Mosaic work,
of marble of various colours. Many other precious materials are wrought
as ornaments to this church, but there is one species of jewels in which
it abounds, more than, perhaps, any church in Christendom; which is, the
bones of martyrs. They have here a whole well full, belonging to those
who were executed in the Prato delta Valle; and what is of still greater
value, the Benedictines, to whom this church belongs, assert, that they
are also in possession of the bodies of the two evangelists St. Matthew
and St. Luke. The Franciscans belonging to a convent at Venice dispute
the second of those two great prizes, and declare, that _they_ are
possessed of the true body of St. Luke, this in St. Justina’s church
being only an imposture. The matter was referred to the Pope, who gave a
decision in favour of one of the bodies; but this does not prevent the
proprietors of the other from still persisting in their original claim,
so that there is no likelihood of the dispute being finally determined
till the day of judgment.
The hall of the Town-house of Padua is one of the largest I ever saw.
From the best guess I could make, after stepping it, I should think it
about three hundred English feet long, by one hundred in breadth: the
emblematic and astrological paintings, by Giotto, are much decayed. This
immense hall is on the second floor, and is ornamented with the busts and
statues of some eminent persons. The Cenotaph of Livy, the historian,
who was a native of Padua, is erected here. The University, formerly so
celebrated, is now, like every thing else in this city, on the decline;
the Theatre anatomy could contain five or six hundred students, but the
voice of the Professor is like that of him who crieth in the wilderness.
The licentious spirit of the students, which formerly was carried such
unwarrantable lengths, and made it dangerous to walk in the streets of
this city at night, is now entirely extinct: it has gradually declined
with the numbers of the students. Whether the ardour for literature, for
which the students of this university were distinguished, has abated in
the same proportion, I cannot determine; but I am informed, that by far
the greater number of the young men who now attend the university, are
designed for the priesthood, and apply to the study of divinity as a
science, for comprehending and preaching the mysterious parts of which, a
very small portion of learning has been observed to succeed better, than
a great deal.
There is a cloth manufactory in this city; and I was told, that the
inhabitants of Venice, not excepting the nobles, wear no other cloth
than what is made here. This particular manufactory, it may therefore be
supposed, succeeds very well; but the excessive number of beggars with
which this place swarms, is a strong proof that trade and manufactures in
general are by no means in a flourishing condition. In the course of my
life I never saw such a number of beggars at one time, as attacked us at
the church of St. Antonio. The D—— of H—— fell into a mistake, analogous
to that of Sable in the Funeral, who complains, that the more money he
gave his mourners to look sad, the merrier they looked. His G—gave all
he had in his pocket to the clamorous multitude which surrounded him,
on condition that they would hold their tongues, and leave us; on which
they became more numerous, and more vociferous than before. Strangers who
visit Padua will do well, therefore, to observe the gospel injunction,
and perform their charities in secret.