We left Florence for Bologna by train at 7.50 A.M. As we were about to
enter a railway carriage, a pleasant–looking English lady looked out
and cried to us deterringly, ‘This is not a smoking carriage.’ ‘Thank
you, madam,’ I replied; ‘that is just what we want.’ So, as the two
parties filled the compartment, we were not troubled with any selfish
smoker, and, as we were all English, with no needless exclusion of the
views by lowering the blinds. We reached Bologna at noon. The railway
passes through many tunnels, and in some places at a great elevation.
The views from it are fine.
* * * * *
Bologna is a singular old university town, very compact within the
walls, so as to accommodate its population of 109,000. From the twelve
or thirteen gates in the walls, leading streets converge to the centre,
constructed with arcades at the sides, under which the pavements and
shops are placed. The object of the arcading is probably to afford
shelter from the snow in winter and the rain in summer. The town
itself is dull, and the shops entering from the arcades are dark and
second–rate. Photographs of Bologna can be procured at Florence, and
perhaps in some as yet undiscovered region in Bologna itself. The Hotel
Brun (the principal one) is an old–fashioned house. Like many of the
Italian hotels, the _salons_ are entered direct from the court–yard.
As soon as possible, as we were only to stay one night, we went out
for a drive of some hours, and were taken first to the two leaning
towers, which stand together. These are long, lanky, and square, dark
with age and long exposure to the weather, often, I suspect, of a
humid character. One of them—the _Torre Asinelli_—said by Bædeker to
be 272, and in other authorities 320 feet high, was originally 476
feet, or 40 feet higher than the top of the cross of St. Peter’s. It
was shortened in 1416 after an earthquake. It now lies 3 ft. 5 in.
off the perpendicular. The other, that of Garisenda, is, according to
Bædeker, 138 feet high, and upwards of 8 feet out of the perpendicular,
and by no means assuring to look at. They are neither of them imposing
architecturally, although noted features viewed from outside the
city. From this point we went to the Etruscan Museum, in which a
variety of antiquities are exhibited, and, among other things, several
skeletons of an old date discovered in neighbouring excavations. Under
the same roof there is also a large library, comprising upwards of
100,000 volumes. I believe the museum and library are connected with
the University, 760 years old. Close by is the large church of San
Petronio, 384 feet long by 154 feet wide, intended to have been a
vast deal larger. Here Charles v. was crowned emperor in 1530. There
are various other large churches interesting to see, but, after those
in Rome and Florence, they have, with all their grandeur, rather a
provincial look. We then drove beyond the walls to the Villa Reale, one
of the royal palaces. It stands upon a height, and commands admirable
views of the town, out of which rise a good many towers, domes, and
spires, relieving its otherwise spiritless level. One also sees far
into the surrounding country, which, for the most part, is very flat.
The villa contains some long corridors, one of them 500 feet long,
adorned by statues. The church of the monastery is entered from the
galleries. From this we drove (still outside the walls) to the Campo
Santo, which is much larger, is more ramified, and is older than that
at Genoa, but it is by no means equal to it either in arrangement or
in monuments. Some of the monuments are good, but many are paltry. On
our way back to town we entered the churches of San Domenico and San
Pietro, both large, and containing greater objects of interest than San
Petronio.
Cab fares in Bologna are moderate. I paid the cabman half a franc more
than his fare, and, wonderful to say, he thanked me. It was the first
and only time in Italy. The usual course is to take all that is offered
and beg for more. Do the cabmen of Bologna graduate at the University?
* * * * *
Rain fell heavily the following morning, and as we were to leave for
Venice at twelve o’clock, we had not much time, but I could scarcely
leave Bologna without taking a hurried glimpse of the Academia delle
Belle Arti. An hour in this large gallery was, of course, far too
brief a space for seeing its contents, and in the galleries there are
many great paintings of more or less merit; among others, Raphael’s
celebrated and beautiful picture of St. Cecilia listening to heavenly
music, in which, however (such are the exigencies of art), six solid
angels, securely seated on a cloud, obtain their words and their time,
somewhat inconveniently, from two stout music–books, perhaps purchased
in the Via outside—a profane remark; but irreverent thoughts will
intrude even in the presence of the most wonderful works. It was a
change to pass from the well–favoured countenance of St. Cecilia to
Guido Reni’s Crucifixion. There are indeed two Crucifixions by Guido,
but the smaller one seems to me the grander effort of genius. The
effect of the darkness in the painting is truly sublime.