VERONA. Ocelle mundi, sidus Itali cœli, Flos urbium, flos corniculumque amonum SCALIGER. THE situation of Verona is extremely well chosen. It is built on the declivity of a hill at the foot of the Alps along the banks of the Adige, to which, with great good taste and good sense, openings have been preserved, as in Paris to the Seine. The immediate neighbourhood of the city is adorned by numerous villas and gardens, which give elegance and animation to the landscape. The interior of the city also presents many picturesque views, to which its abundant marble quarries have contributed. "This city," says Evelyn, "deserved all those eulogies Scaliger has honoured it with, for in my opinion the situation is the most delightful I ever saw, it is so sweetly mixed with rising ground and valleys, so elegantly planted with trees on which Bacchus seems riding as if it were in triumph every autumn, for the vines reach from tree to tree: here of all places I have seen in Italy would I fix a residence." "Verona," says Mrs. Piozzi, "is the gayest looking town I ever lived in; beautifully situated; the hills around it elegant, the mountains at a distance venerable, the silver Adige rolling through the valley, while such a glow of blossoms now ornaments the rising grounds, and such cheerfulness smiles in the sweet faces of its inhabitants, that one is tempted to think it the birthplace of Euphrosyne. Here are vines, mulberries, olives; of course, wine, silk, and oil; every thing that can seduce, every thing that ought to satisfy desiring man. Here then, in consequence, do actually delight to reside mirth and good humour, in their holiday dress. A Verona mezzi matti, say the Italians themselves of them, and I see nothing seemingly go forward here but improvisatori, reciting stories or verses to entertain the populace; boys flying kites cut square like a diamond on the cards, and called stelle; and men amusing themselves at a game called pallamajo, something like our cricket." The first object of interest in Verona is the ancient amphitheatre, which, in extent and magnificence, may almost rival the Coliseum. The gladiators' bloody circus stands, a noble wreck in ruinous perfection. This splendid structure, which according to the conjectures of some critics was never completed, in its outward circumference measures about 1300 feet, while the length of the area is upwards of 200 feet. It still exhibits more than forty tiers of seats, which before it fell into ruins must have been more numerous. De la Laude conjectures, that 22,000 persons might conveniently be seated within its circuit; and it is said, that when the sovereign pontiff, in 1782, bestowed his blessing upon the assembled multitude within its walls, a still greater number of persons were then collected. The seats, with the staircases and galleries of communication, are all formed of blocks of solid marble. Upon these seats Pliny the younger often sate to witness the furious combats which the amphitheatre then exhibited. "You are perfectly in the right," says the philosopher in one of his letters, "to promise a combat of gladiators to our good friends the citizens of Verona, not only as they have long distinguished you with their peculiar esteem and veneration, but as it was from that city you received the amiable object of your most tender affection, your late excellent wife. I am sorry the African panthers which had been largely provided for this purpose did not arrive time enough; but though they were delayed by the tempestuous season, the obligation to you is equally the same, since it was not your fault that they were not exhibited." Till the end of the last century, plays were occasionally acted in this amphitheatre, an use to which it was applied by the French on their entrance into Verona. For a long course of years, sums of money were appropriated to the preservation of this magnificent ruin, and two persons, with the title of Presidenti alla arena, were appointed to protect it from injury and decay. The period at which this edifice was erected is not known, there being no inscription or peculiarity of architecture to mark its origin. By some, it has been attributed to the age of Augustus ; by others, to that of the emperor Maximian. During the sitting of the congress at Verona, the area of the amphitheatre, which had been covered to the depth of nearly two yards by the accumulation of earth, was cleared, and the full proportions of this magnificent structure were rendered visible. The amphitheatre is not the only relic of Roman architecture which Verona possesses. In the middle of the corso or principal street stands a double arch or gateway of marble, inscribed with the name of Gallienus, and supposed to have been formerly the entrance into the Forum Judiciale. Opposite to the Palazzo del Podestà, or town-hall, stand the monuments of the Scaligers, the ancient lords of Verona-of the "Gran Lombardo" "Che porta in su la scala il santo augello," and of the celebrated Can Grande, the favourite subject of Dante's verse. "Colui, ch' impresso fue Nascendo si da questa stella forte Che notabili fien l'opera sue." "That mortal who was at his birth impress'd 66 These monuments have been considered fine specimens of the gothic; and though exposed for nearly five hundred years in the public street, they have remained undefaced. "A circumstance is worthy of observation in these monuments," says Mr. Stewart Rose, as indicative of the peculiar properties of Italian climate. curious unpainted iron trellice forms the protection of them, and is of the same age (1350, if I recollect rightly); yet this screen, though some parts of it, as the armorial bearings of the Scaligers, are thin, has not been injured by time. The Italian air, even when charged with seasalt, as in the Venetian islets, seems to have very little effect upon iron." Verona is rich in architectural edifices. Here San Micheli, an architect of high ability, nearly contemporary with Palladio, flourished, and has adorned the city with many specimens of his genius. Amongst these are the palaces Canossa, Terzi, Bevilacqua, and Pompei, of which the Palazzo Pompei has been thought to exhibit most favourably the skill of the architect. In addition to these buildings, San Micheli, also, designed the Capelli Pellegrini in the church of San Bernardino, and the Porta del Pallio, celebrated for its beautiful simplicity. The theatre, from the design of Palladio, is situated in the neighbourhood of the ancient amphitheatre. The portico has been decorated, by the celebrated Maffei, the illustrator of Verona, with Etruscan marbles and inscriptions. To this extraordinary person, the glory of Verona, and indeed of Italy, a statue was erected, after his death, by the gratitude of his fellow-citizens; but a more enduring monument is to be found in the numerous learned and excellent performances, which his genius and industry gave to the world. Scarcely any branch of literature or of science was left untouched by his pen-to which, also, his native city owes the valuable exposition of her literary treasures and antiquities in the "Verona Illustrata." To promote the study of antiquities he founded a museum, and established also a literary society at his own house. His countrymen, grateful for the benefits and the fame which they derived from Maffei, placed, during his life-time, in the hall of the Philharmonic Academy, a bust of him, with the following admirable inscription" Scipioni Maffæo adhuc viventi Academia Filhar |