They Have Been Already Described By Different Authors,
Who Were Much Better Qualified Than I Am For The Talk:
But you
shall have what observations I made on the most remarkable
objects, without method, just as they occur to my remembrance;
and I protest the remarks are all my own:
So that if they deserve
any commendation, I claim all the merit; and if they are
impertinent, I must be contented to bear all the blame.
The piazza of St. Peter's church is altogether sublime. The
double colonnade on each side extending in a semi-circular sweep,
the stupendous Aegyptian obelisk, the two fountains, the portico,
and the admirable facade of the church, form such an assemblage
of magnificent objects, as cannot fail to impress the mind with
awe and admiration: but the church would have produced a still
greater effect, had it been detached entirely from the buildings
of the Vatican, It would then have been a master-piece of
architecture, complete in all its parts, intire and perfect:
whereas, at present, it is no more than a beautiful member
attached to a vast undigested and irregular pile of building. As
to the architecture of this famous temple, I shall say nothing;
neither do I pretend to describe the internal ornaments. The
great picture of Mosaic work, and that of St. Peter's bark tossed
by the tempest, which appear over the gate of the church, though
rude in comparison with modern pieces, are nevertheless great
curiosities, when considered as the work of Giotto, who
flourished in the beginning of the fourteenth century.
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