The Female Peasantry Wear The Spanish Costume And Are
Remarkably Well Dressed.
We arrived at Parma at twelve o'clock and stopped there three hours.
PARMA.
After a hasty breakfast, Mr G - and myself sallied forth to see what was
possible during the time we stopped in this city, leaving the Captain, who
refused to accompany us, to smoke his pipe. This city is very large and
there is a very fine Piazza. The streets are broad, the buildings
handsome and imposing, and there is a general appearance of opulence. We
first proceeded to visit the celebrated amphitheatre, called l'Amfiteatro
Farnese in honour of the former sovereigns of the Duchy. It is a vast
building and unites the conveniences both of the ancient and modern
theatres. It has a roof like a modern theatre, and the seats in the
parterre are arranged like the seats in an ancient Greek theatre. Above
this are what we should call boxes, and above them again what we usually
term a gallery. A vast and deep arena lies between the parterre and the
orchestra and fills up the space between the audience and the proscenium.
It is admirably adapted both for spectators and hearers; when a tragedy,
comedy or opera is acted, a scaffolding is erected and seats placed in the
arena. At other times the arena is made use of for equestrian exercises and
chariot races in the style of the ancients, combats with wild beasts, etc.,
or it may be filled with water for the representation of naval fights
(naumachia); in this case you have a vast oval lake between the
spectators and the stage. It is a great pity that this superb and
interesting building is not kept in good repair; the fact is it is seldom
or ever made use of except on very particular occasions: it is almost
useless in a place like Parma, "so fallen from its high estate," but were
such an amphitheatre in Paris, London, or any great city, it might be used
for all kinds of spectacles and amusements. A small theatre from the
design of Bernino stands close to this amphitheatre, and is built in a
light tasteful manner. If fresh painted and lighted up it would make a very
brilliant appearance. This may be considered as the Court theatre. At a
short distance from the theatres is the Museum of Parma, in which there is
a well chosen gallery of pictures. Among the most striking pictures of the
old school is without doubt that of St Jerome by Correggio; but I was full
as much, dare I be so heretical as to say more pleased, with the
productions of the modern school of Parma. A distribution of prizes had
lately been made by the Empress Maria Louisa, and there were many
paintings, models of sculpture and architectural designs, that did infinite
credit to the young artists. I remarked one painting in particular which is
worthy of a Fuseli. It represented the battle of the river God Scamander
with Achilles. The subjects of most of the paintings I saw here were taken
from the mythology or from ancient and modern history; and this is perhaps
the reason that they pleased me more than those of the ancient masters. Why
in the name of the [Greek: to kalon] did these painters confine
themselves so much to Madonnas, Crucifixions, and Martyrdoms, when their
own poets, Ariosto and Tasso, present so many subjects infinitely more
pleasing? Then, again, in many of these crucifixions and martyrdoms, the
gross anachronisms, such as introducing monks and soldiers with match-locks
and women in Gothic costume at the crucifixion, totally destroy the
seriousness and interest of the subject by annihilating all illusion and
exciting risibility.
Parma will ever be renowned in history as the birthplace of Caius Cassius,
the Mend and colleague of Brutus.
The Empress Maria Louisa lives here in the Ducal Palace, which is a
spacious but ornamental edifice. She lives, 'tis said, without any
ostentation. Out of her own states, her presence in Italy would be attended
with unpleasant consequences to the powers that be, on account of the
attachment borne to Napoleon by all classes of society; and it is on this
account that on her last visit to Bologna she received an intimation from
the papal authorities to quit the Roman territory in twenty-four hours. We
next passed thro' St Hilario and Reggio and brought to the evening at the
village of Rubbiera. At St Hilario is the entrance into the Duke of
Modena's territory, and here we underwent again &n examination of trunks,
as we did both on entering and leaving the territory of Maria Louisa.
Reggio is a large walled city, but I had only time to visit the Cathedral
and to remark therein a fine picture of the Virgin and the Chapel called
"Capella della Morte." Reggio pretends to the honour of having given birth
to the Divine Ariosto:
Quel grande che canto l'armi e gli amorl,
as Guarini describes him, I believe. The face of the country from Parma to
Reggio is exactly the same as what we have passed thro' already.
The next day (20 August) we passed thro' Modena, where we stopped to
breakfast and refresh horses. It is a large and handsome city, the Ducal
Palace is striking and in the Cathedral is presented the famous bucket
which gave rise to the poem of Tassoni called La Secchia rapita. An air
of opulence and grandeur seems to prevail in Modena.
At Samoggia we entered the Papal territory and again underwent a search of
trunks. Within three miles of Bologna a number of villas and several
tanneries, which send forth a most intolerable odour, announce the approach
to that celebrated and venerable city. On the left hand side, before
entering the town, is a superb portico with arcades, about one and a half
miles in length, which leads from the city to the church of San Luca. On
the right are the Appennines, towering gradually above you.
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