know I do not trouble you with the histories of cities, though I do
sometimes with that of particular buildings, which I am afraid you
consider much less interesting; but the shoemaker must not go beyond his
last. Ample remains still exist of its ancient magnificence, and four of
the most conspicuous and celebrated objects are found in a large
grass-grown piazza at the northern angle of the city. We here meet with
a style of architecture, which I believe is peculiar to this part of
Italy. The Cathedral is 297 feet long, 108 wide on the body of the nave,
228 on the length of the transept. The front is 127 feet high. The lower
part exhibits a range of seven arches, resting on six attached columns
and two pilasters. The middle arch is larger than the others. Over these
are nineteen smaller arches, occupying the whole extent. This brings us
up to the roof of the side aisles, and a second row of arches
corresponding with these in size, and nearly in height, is cut off on
the sides by the sloping roof, so that there are nine entire arches and
five commencements on each side: above these is a range of eight arches,
somewhat higher than either of those immediately below them, forming the
end of the clerestory, and as many more, taller in the middle and
diminishing in height towards the sides, occupy the gable or pediment:
each arch here is perfect, but it rests on a lower base, while under the
roof of the aisles the arches are cut off. The lines of the centre part
are not carried down, so as to preserve the appearance of a
self-supported mass; it is not a lofty centre with two lower wings, but
one building, finishing in a truncated pediment, surrounded by another
smaller one, of which the pediment is entire. In the four upper stories
all the arches rest on insulated columns. I am thus particular in my
description, not because I admire the arrangement, but because it
characterizes a style of architecture which prevailed in these parts in
the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The architect of this church was
Busketus. I write it with the Latin termination, because our knowledge
of him proceeds from a Latin epitaph. He is preferred in this
composition to the Dulichian leader. The one by his wisdom destroyed the
walls of Troy, while the other raised those of this basilica. This
Dulichian leader must be Ulysses; and the name of the place has nothing
to do with Busketus; and yet this appears to be the only authority for
the usual opinion, that he was a Greek artist. If we could determine
whence he had copied the peculiarities of his architecture, we might
perhaps make a reasonable guess at his country; but as far as I can
find, if they did not originate in his own mind, his types have been
destroyed. The time in which he lived is not exactly fixed; some authors
asserting, on the strength of documents which they pretend to have
examined, that the church was begun in 1005, and finished in 1015; while
others, supported by an inscription on the building, which seems
decisive, assert that it was begun in 1063, and conclude from some early
Pisan writers, that it was finished in 1092. The difference is of no
great consequence. On the flank of the edifice, a range of pilasters
corresponds with the columns of the front, and like them is surmounted
with arches; but the second range of pilasters on the side, occupies the
height both of column and arch in the front, and supports a continued
architrave. The clerestory presents a range of arches on attached
columns, considerably wider apart than the upper pilasters of the side
aisles: this want of exact correspondence may not be a defect, since
there is no necessary connexion between the parts, but it disappoints
the eye. The dome has no great elevation, and is surrounded in the lower
part by a range of insulated columns supporting arches. Whether these
are part of the original design, I know not; but some ornaments with
which they are crowned, and perhaps the dome itself, I conclude to have
been restorations after a fire which took place in 1596. The whole
design of the flank has a simplicity and harmony which are very
pleasing. We enter by magnificent bronze doors, sculptured from the
designs of Giovanni Bologna _de Douay_; an addition I do not recollect
to have before met with, and which seems to trace the art from Flanders.
The subordinate artists have all names which point them out as Italians.
Internally, the building forms on the ground plan a Latin cross, with
double aisles to the nave and square part of the choir, with sixty-eight
columns supporting arches on the ground-floor, and four piers supporting
an elliptical dome. The lateral tribunes however, do not open entirely
into the nave, and consequently rather appear as two additional
edifices, than as forming what should properly be called a transept.
Above the first order there are galleries, with a pier over each column
below, and supporting an arch of the same extent, but divided into two
smaller arches by the help of a little, intermediate column. Above these
arches is a high wall, in the upper part of which are small,
semicircular headed windows. Milizia sneers at these insignificant
openings; yet they shed a pleasant, diffused light, without ever
becoming in themselves important objects. The ceiling is flat: that of
the side aisles alone is vaulted: thus you see the internal disposition
is very much like that of some of the Roman basilicas. The galleries of
the choir are rather higher than those of the nave, and the pointed arch
occurs at the extremity of the latter. The lower columns may be classed
in two sizes, those which divide the side aisles being smaller than
those of the nave, but each range has varieties. The larger are of
granite; of the smaller, some are granite, some marble, of various
sorts; two or three are fluted, the rest are plain; and these smaller
columns differ also in height, giving sufficient proof of their having
been made up of the materials of more ancient buildings. Some perhaps
were brought from the East, as the Pisans carried on at that epoch a
very extensive commerce. Some of the capitals are Composite, but more
are Corinthian; and these vary in diameter, height, character, and
proportion to the column. The apophysis is generally large, and the
bases are of meagre, and ill understood Attic, but not all precisely
alike, or bearing the same proportion to the columns. One base only is
of the form peculiar to the Corinthian order. Some of the granite
appears to be that of Sardinia, or of the isle of Elba, and columns of
this material could hardly have come from the Levant. We may observe
also pavonazzo, cippolino, and Egyptian granite. A large plinth at
bottom, and a sort of pedestal above the capital, have enabled the
architect to spring all his arches from the same height.
The Baptistery stands nearly opposite to the western front of the
cathedral. This is a large, circular building, above 160 feet in
diameter externally, and about 176 feet high. It was begun in 1152, and
finished in 1154, the architect being Dioti Salvi. The whole of what
appears to the eye up to the dome is of marble. At bottom there is a
circle of twenty three-quarter columns supporting as many arches, and in
the spaces, four richly ornamented doorways, and fifteen small windows.
Above these is a circle adorned with sixty small, detached columns,
supporting arches, every two arches being surmounted with a triangular
gable, and between every two gables is a pinnacle. Over this is another
story, with twenty small windows, each also with its gable, and a
buttress in each interval, surmounted by an open shrine or tabernacle.
Above all this is a dome, and above the dome an obtuse cone. This is its
present state, but you know no small controversy has arisen with respect
to this building, because if all these Gothic ornaments really formed
part of the original design, it proves the use of that style of
architecture as early as the middle of the twelfth century. The
controversy can only last at a distance, for every practised eye which
looks at the work with such an object, must discern that all these
pointed ornaments are certainly additions of a posterior date. The first
range of gables dividing the building into thirty parts instead of
twenty, as is the case above and below, quite destroys the symmetry and
unity of design; at the same time it is easier to pronounce what was
not, than to determine what was, the original termination of this part.
I strongly suspect that when first erected, this baptistery terminated
in a spire or cone, rising on the inner circuit of arches, which I shall
presently describe, and that the present obtuse cone rising above the
dome, formed a part of the original spire. The dome itself is quite
inessential to the rest of the building, and if taken away, all the
important parts would be complete without it; the little cupola which at
present terminates the cone, I should also pronounce to be an addition,
as it harmonizes with the rest neither in appearance nor construction.
Internally, we find a circle of eight columns and four piers, supporting
twelve arches, with a gallery above, divided in the same manner; but
instead of columns of Sardinian or Elban granite like those below, there
are only piers formed of joined pilasters; and above these two stories
of arches, rises the cone, which is exposed to view internally for its
whole height.
The Pulpit is of an octagonal form, supported on columns; and a large,
octagonal, marble inclosure is provided for baptism by immersion; in the
centre of this basin, there is now a lofty pedestal supporting a statue.
This furniture (for such it actually is) is very handsome; but the
building itself wants finish, and one cannot say that it is well
proportioned.
In the same square with the cathedral and baptistery is the Campo Santo,
built to receive a cargo of earth from the Holy Land, which might
sanctify the ground which was to contain the relicks of the illustrious
Pisans. It is an oblong, or rather rhomboidal court, very narrow in
proportion to its length, surrounded by arcades of white marble. All the
arches of this arcade except four, have been filled with a sort of
Gothic tracery, entirely detached in the construction; differing
considerably in the style of work; and to introduce which the old
mouldings and ornaments have in places evidently been cut away; yet this
like the baptistery has been made a subject of dispute. We have two
inscriptions to help us in the dates, one of them stating the completion
of the building in 1283, under the direction of Giovanni Pisano; the
other the completion of the arches, which doubtless applies to this
tracery, in 1464. This building is rendered more interesting by the
ancient paintings with which the walls are nearly covered; and also by
several sarcophagi, and other remains of antiquity, which it contains.
Just behind the cathedral is the famous Leaning Tower. It is a cylinder,
surrounded on the ground with a wall, and half columns and arches; above
by six stories of columns supporting arches, leaving an open gallery in
each story, between the columns and the wall. Three of these stories
follow the same line of inclination as that on the ground; the fourth is
a very little rectified; the fifth and sixth are themselves in one line,
but form a very sensible angle with the work below. Above this is
another story of smaller extent, which is very nearly erect. It would
have small pretensions to beauty were it altogether upright; but at
present it is quite as displeasing as it is wonderful.
Several other churches in Pisa might deserve attention from their
architecture, and the numerous columns and other remains which embellish
them; but there is nothing which strikes me as new in their disposition
and effect. The little Church of Santa Maria della Spina, close to the
river, is of somewhat later date. It was begun in 1230, but most of what
is now seen must be attributed to about 1300: it is a very rich little
morsel of Gothic architecture; and if rather heavy, when compared with
our best works, is nevertheless an elegant little building. Pisa
altogether is a magnificent city, especially in the celebrated _Via
lung’ Arno_, yet there is little that I could particularize in its
domestic architecture. There are some curious old façades, and a richly
ornamented Gothic front of brickwork in the Lung’ Arno, part of which,
now occupied by the Caffè dell’ Ussaro, is worth notice.
On Tuesday, I went with the younger Dr. Savi, son to the professor of
botany in the university, to the baths of Pisa. The rock in the
neighbourhood seems a dark gray limestone. The water as it rises has a
temperature of from 95° to 104° in the different springs; it is clear
and tasteless; several other springs rise in the neighbourhood, just
sensibly warm to the hand. The mountain behind, called the Fageta, which
we ascended in order to botanize, is pretty high, but without any bold
rocks; the soil consists of mica-slate, and clay-slate, with great
masses of a quartz breccia, perhaps belonging to the old red sandstone.
The lower slopes are covered with olives, higher up are chesnut-trees
and pines: the latter are all small, being cut periodically for small
timber, or for fuel. We failed in finding some orchidiæ which I had been
taught to expect, but in other respects were pretty successful in our
search. The water of a clear and copious spring in these hills is
conducted to Pisa. The next morning from five to ten was spent in an
excursion to the wood of Pisa; a flat tract, covered with trees and
bushes, which extends a great way along the coast, between the
cultivated land and the sea. It offers little variety or beauty, nor was
the botany much better than the scenery, but considerable tracts were
almost covered with the _Serapias cordigera_. We passed through the farm
of the grand duke, and saw some of his camels at work on the road.
LETTER LX.
SCHOOLS.
1826.
BEFORE leaving Italy, I must give you a little account of what I have
seen here with respect to education. In Florence and Naples there are
district schools, where all poor children inhabiting within certain
limits, receive instruction gratis. From what I hear of them, I imagine
they are not very well conducted in either place, but though I have made
two or three attempts, I have not seen any of them in action, excepting
one of those at Naples, which is conducted on the system of mutual
instruction. In other cases the children had not arrived when I called,
or they were just gone, or they were gone, or going to mass, or it was
holy-day. At Rome I could hear of no gratuitous instruction in the
commencement of reading and writing, but after these first steps have
been attained, there is considerable facility there, and I believe all
over Italy, for a poor lad to improve himself further, especially in
learning Latin.
There are three Lancasterian schools at Florence. Two of them are
supported by a society; the other is at the expense of the Conte Bardi.
Of the two under the management of the society, the principal is that at
Santa Chiara. The master (Signor abate Bracciolini) is zealous and
intelligent, but he is afraid of teaching too much, or rather some of
the committee are afraid lest too much should be taught; on the plea,
that by exciting in too high a degree, the ambition of the children, or
of their parents, it may be an occasion of rendering the former unhappy.
The parents are frequently very desirous of having a son in one of the
learned professions; and the youth thus pushed forward, without the
funds which would enable him to wait patiently for the slow returns
obtained from these employments, and without that respect for his own
character, and for that of the class to which he belongs, which he might
have acquired by being brought up in a more respectable station in
society; is tempted to a line of conduct, which tends to lower both
himself and his profession in the public estimation. The argument is
specious, but I suspect it is a mere bugbear, since there are schools in
Florence of a higher sort, where any such parent may send his child
gratis. The salary of the master is only one hundred and fifty scudi per
annum. I regret that he has not seen other schools, as he is not
sufficiently aware of what boys are capable. The writing is perhaps the
best conducted part. The monitors have half an hour’s instruction after
the close of the morning school; it consists on Monday in a sort of
lecture on grammar, and as the Signor abate tells me, in morals; he
writes on a black board false sentiments and false grammar, and requires
the pupils to correct them; but on the morning in which I attended this
exercise, he only gave false spelling; and on other occasions, the
additional instruction had rather the character of a lecture, than a
lesson; giving the children nothing to do but to hear; a defect which
prevails in degree throughout the establishment. He professes to require
that the scholars should answer from reflection, and not from memory.
Yet he would be much discontented if the result of that reflection were
any thing but the echo of his own lesson, and even if it differed much
in words. No change of place is admitted at any time; the exertions were
rather languid, and a good deal of scolding was required. The master
never having seen a good school, is too easily contented, and too ready
to prompt the answers; yet he is on the whole a good master, and
desirous, from disposition as well as from principle, of the improvement
of his pupils. On Tuesday he teaches them linear drawing, _i. e._
forming by hand geometrical figures, but with no attempt at exactness;
and only one boy is to be employed at a time, while the others look on,
lest they should get on too fast. The numbers on the registers at Santa
Chiara, are about one hundred and fifty. The average number in
attendance is about one hundred and twenty. They try offences by jury,
apportioning certain punishments to certain misdemeanors; and the master
assures me that he has often admired their caution and sound judgment,
and has been surprised to see so much philosophy among a set of ragged
little boys. He amused me one day by the expression he employed to one
of the children, who was disputing some matter with the monitor,
assuring him that the monitor was a “_persona sacro-santa_,” and that
his dicta were to be implicitly obeyed. As a reward for the best boys, a
society of merit is instituted; they have the name, and a medal, which
they take away with them. The second school is in the Strada Sangallo,
and it partakes of the same merits, and the same defects. The masters in
both are too closely tied down under the superintendence of the
committee, or of the inspector appointed by it, and cannot have the
pleasure in the school, they otherwise might have. Requiring a strict
adherence to the letter of instructions is not the way to produce
excellence; nor ought we ever to forget, what is true in a great many
things besides religion, that “the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth
life.” There were two very good general monitors in the school at
Sangallo; and the master acknowledged it. One of them was about to be
sent to the _Scuole pie_, “_E così_,” said I to this lad, “_tu hai
imparato tutto ciò che si può imparare in questa scuola._” “_Sì
signore_,” was the reply. It is a curious fancy that you render a poor
boy insensible of the elevation which he has attained, by fixing his
attention downwards, and never suffering him to look upwards, and see
how much there is above him. The Conte Bardi has made some alterations
in the mode of instruction, and has printed two or three little school
books which are probably useful; yet I always consider, that with us,
one great advantage of employing the Bible is, that it keeps out
children’s books. The school seemed to me hardly equal to the one at
Santa Chiara, except in point of obedience to general orders, and there
it certainly has the advantage. The master told me he was there to
maintain order, and did not consider the instruction as his province.
This is a great mistake. If the master is not looked up to for his
superior knowledge, either he or the desire of improvement must suffer.
It is also a mistake, though springing from a generous motive on the
part of the count, that the boys most advanced, are sent to other places
for further improvement; both the example, and their services in
instructing others, are thus lost to the school. All these schools have
fallen off considerably in their numbers since their first
establishment: I am not satisfied why.
The preceding observations were principally made at the latter end of
the summer of 1825. After an absence of nearly a year, I revisited the
schools, and the master at Santa Chiara assured me that no jury had been
held, and no corporal punishment inflicted in the interval. I am always
rather suspicious of these disclaimers of all corporal punishment; but I
will confess that I never saw a school where there was less appearance
of anything of the sort being employed. There are similar institutions
at Siena, at Poggi Bonzi, at Leghorn, and at Pistoja. That at Siena had
obtained some reputation for teaching arithmetic, but this seemed to be
owing to the superintendence of the Cavaliere Spanocchi, rather than to
the ability of the master. The Cavaliere complained that his exertions
in favour of the school had excited jealousy. I could not but feel how
impossible it would be, that a Wilberforce or an Allen should arise
under a despotic government. It is not that the grand duke or his
leading ministers, would oppose their schemes; on the contrary, they
would probably encourage and promote them, after they had become of
sufficient importance to attract their notice; but when any
philanthropic individual first began to obtain by his exertions for the
public benefit, the esteem and confidence of his fellow-citizens, the
jealousy of the inferior authorities would mark him as an object for all
sorts of misrepresentation, and petty persecution.
I did not find the arithmetic very good anywhere; at Santa Chiara, there
was no boy who could with facility go through a sum of simple
multiplication by seven. At Siena, it is hardly possible that the
progress should be considerable, since the pupils only attend the school
one hour in the day. At Pistoja the master boasted much of his
contrivances for teaching numeration perfectly. I arrived rather late,
and a large proportion of the boys had departed before he gave me a
class, in order that I might try their proficiency in this respect. I
began—9909. Not one could write it. Only two wrote 900 correctly, and
these did not know where to place it, under the first number, to form a
sum in addition. They use at that school a curious method in teaching
Italian grammar. The pupils of the lowest class are to read,
distinguishing the first four parts of speech, and neglecting the rest;
the next class distinguishes two more, and the third three more. I do
not perceive the advantage of it.
Before the counter-revolution of 1821, there were several district
schools of mutual instruction at Naples. At that time they were all shut
up for ten months, and one alone has been re-opened on that system in
the city; but there is also one at the Albergo de’ poveri. At the
district school, the children were but about forty, and the master
seemed much disheartened, being thwarted in all his efforts for its
improvement. The pupils may not read even an authorised history of the
Old Testament, and are forbidden to go beyond the four first, simple
rules of arithmetic, so that to add up a sum of money would be a
trangression. Under such circumstances we cannot wonder that the school
should be languid and inefficient. Where the limits of instruction are
very much narrowed, the little within those limits is always badly
taught. The hours are from eight to half-past ten in the morning, and
when I was in Naples, there was no afternoon school.