The Ducal palace—the church of St. Mark—that of St. Giminiano—a noble range of buildings, called Procuratie, the new and the old, in which are the Museum, the public library, and nine large apartments belonging to the Procurators of St. Mark; all these buildings are of marble.
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There is an opening from St. Mark’s Place to the sea, on which stand two lofty pillars of granite2. Criminals condemned3 to suffer death publicly, are executed between these pillars; on the top of one of them is a lion, with wings; and on the other, a saint—without wings;—there is, however, a large crocodile at his feet, which, I presume, belongs to him. At one corner of St. Mark’s church, contiguous to the palace, are two statues of Adam and Eve; they have neither wings nor crocodile, nor any kind of attendant, not even their old acquaintance, the serpent.
At the corner of the new Procuratie, a little distant from the church, stands the steeple of St. Mark. This is a quadrangular tower, about three hundred feet in height. I am told it is not uncommon4 in Italy for the church and steeple to be in this state of disunion; this shocked a clergyman, of my acquaintance, very much;[48] he mentioned it to me, many years ago, amongst the errors and absurdities5 of the church of Rome. The gentleman was clearly of opinion, that church and steeple ought to be inseparable as man and wife, and that every church ought to consider its steeple as mortar6 of its mortar, and stone of its stone. An old captain of a ship, who was present, declared himself of the same way of thinking, and swore that a church, divorced from its steeple, appeared to him as ridiculous as a ship without a mast.
A few paces from the church are three tall poles, on which ensigns and flags are hung on days of public rejoicing. These standards are in memory of the three kingdoms, Cyprus, Candia, and Negropont, which once belonged to this republic; the three crowns are still kept in the Ducal palace. Since the kingdoms are gone, I should think the crowns and the poles[49] hardly worth preserving; they are, however, of the same value to Venice, that the title of King of France is to his Britannic Majesty7. At the bottom of the Tower of St. Mark, is a small neat building of marble, called the Loggietta, where some of the Procurators of St. Mark constantly attend to do business. Some people are of opinion that, particularly when the grand council, or the senate, are assembled, these Procurators are placed there, as state centinels, to give warning in case of any appearance of discontent or commotion8 among the populace, which must necessarily shew itself at this place, as there is no other in Venice where a mob could assemble.
The patriarchal church of St. Mark, though one of the richest and most expensive in the world, does not strike the eye very much at first; the architecture is of a mixed kind, mostly Gothic, yet many[50] of the pillars are of the Grecian orders; the outside is incrusted with marble; the inside, cieling, and floor, are all of the finest marble; the numerous pillars which support the roof are of the same substance; the whole is crowned by five domes;—but all this labour and expence have been directed by a very moderate share of taste.
The front, which looks to the palace, has five brass9 gates, with historical bas-relieves; over the principal gate are placed the four famous bronze horses, said to be the workmanship of Lycippus; they were given to the emperor Nero, by Tiridates, king of Armenia; the fiery10 spirit of their countenances11, and their animated12 attitudes, are perfectly13 agreeable to their original destination, of being harnessed to the chariot of the Sun.—Nero placed them on the triumphal arch consecrated14 to him, and they are to be seen on the reverse of some of his medals; they were removed from[51] Rome to Constantinople, placed in the Hyppodrome by Constantine, and remained there till the taking of Constantinople by the French and Venetians in the beginning of the 13th century, when they were carried to Venice, and placed upon the gate of St. Mark’s church.
The treasury15 of St. Mark is very rich in jewels and relics16; and it was necessary to apply to one of the Procurators of St. Mark for leave to see it. I shall only mention a few of the most valuable effects kept here. Eight pillars from Solomon’s temple at Jerusalem; a piece of the Virgin17 Mary’s veil, some of her hair, and a small portion of her milk; the knife used by our Saviour18, at his last supper; one of the nails of the cross, and a few drops of his blood. After these it would be impertinent to enumerate19 the bones, and other relics, of saints and martyrs20, of which there is a plentiful21 show in this church, and still less[52] need I take up your time with an inventory22 of the temporal jewels kept here; it would be unpardonable, however, to omit mentioning the picture of the Virgin, by St. Luke. From this, compared with his other works, it is plain, that St. Luke was a much better evangelist than painter: some professions seem to be almost incompatible23 with each other. I have known many very good painters who would have made bad saints, and here is an instance of an excellent saint who was but an indifferent painter.
The old Procuratie is built of a kind of black marble; the new is of the pietra dura of Istria.
The church of St. Geminiano is an elegant piece of architecture, by Sansovino.
The Ducal palace is an immense building, entirely24 of marble. Besides the apartments[53] of the Doge, there are also halls and chambers25 for the senate, and all the different councils and tribunals. The principal entrance is by a spacious26 stair, called the Giants stair, on account of two Colossal27 statues of Mars and Neptune28, placed at the top; they are of white marble, the work of Sansovino, and intended to represent the naval29 and military power of this state. Their gigantic size might be proper enough formerly30, but they would be juster emblems31 of the present force of this republic if their stature32 were more moderate.
Under the porticoes33, to which you ascend34 by this stair, you may perceive the gaping35 mouths of lions, to receive anonymous36 letters, informations of treasonable practices, and accusations37 of magistrates38 for abuses in office.
From the palace there is a covered bridge of communication to a state prison, on the[54] other side of the canal. Prisoners pass to and from the courts over this bridge, which is named Ponte Dei Sospiri.
The apartments and halls of the Ducal palace are ornamented39 by the pencils of Titian, Paul Veronese, Tintoret, Palma, the Bassans, and other painters. The rape40 of Europa, and the storming of Zara, both by Paul Veronese are amongst the highest esteemed41 pieces of that master. The foot of Europa is honoured with the particular admiration42 of the connoisseurs43; the bull seems to be of their way of thinking, for he licks it as he bears her along above the waves. Some people admire even this thought of the painter; I cannot say I am of the number: I think it is the only thing in the picture which is not admirable; it is making Jupiter enter a little too much into the character which he had assumed. There are a few pictures in this palace by Titian, but a great many by the other[55] masters. The subjects are mostly taken from the history of Venice.
Within the palace there is a little arsenal44, which communicates with the hall of the great council. Here a great number of muskets45 are kept, ready charged, with which the nobles may arm themselves on any sudden insurrection, or other emergency.
The lower gallery, or the piazza under the palace, is called the Broglio. In this the noble Venetians walk and converse46: it is only here, and at council, where they have opportunities of meeting together; for they seldom visit openly, or in a family way, at each other’s houses, and secret meetings would give umbrage47 to the state inquisitors; they chuse, therefore, to transact48 their business on this public walk. People of inferior rank seldom remain on the Broglio for any length of time when the nobility are there.
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1
piazza
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| n.广场；走廊 | |
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granite
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| adj.花岗岩，花岗石 | |
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condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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4
uncommon
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| adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的 | |
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absurdities
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| n.极端无理性( absurdity的名词复数 )；荒谬；谬论；荒谬的行为 | |
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mortar
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| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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commotion
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| n.骚动，动乱 | |
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brass
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| n.黄铜；黄铜器，铜管乐器 | |
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fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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countenances
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| n.面容( countenance的名词复数 )；表情；镇静；道义支持 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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relics
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| [pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸 | |
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virgin
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| n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的 | |
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saviour
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| n.拯救者，救星 | |
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enumerate
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| v.列举，计算，枚举，数 | |
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martyrs
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| n.martyr的复数形式；烈士( martyr的名词复数 )；殉道者；殉教者；乞怜者（向人诉苦以博取同情） | |
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plentiful
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| adj.富裕的，丰富的 | |
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inventory
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| n.详细目录，存货清单 | |
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incompatible
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| adj.不相容的，不协调的，不相配的 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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spacious
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| adj.广阔的，宽敞的 | |
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colossal
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| adj.异常的，庞大的 | |
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Neptune
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| n.海王星 | |
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naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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emblems
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| n.象征，标记( emblem的名词复数 ) | |
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stature
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| n.（高度）水平，（高度）境界，身高，身材 | |
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porticoes
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| n.柱廊，（有圆柱的）门廊( portico的名词复数 ) | |
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ascend
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| vi.渐渐上升，升高；vt.攀登，登上 | |
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gaping
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| adj.口的；张口的；敞口的；多洞穴的v.目瞪口呆地凝视( gape的现在分词 )；张开，张大 | |
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anonymous
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| adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的 | |
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accusations
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| n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名 | |
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magistrates
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| 地方法官，治安官( magistrate的名词复数 ) | |
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ornamented
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| adj.花式字体的v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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rape
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| n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸 | |
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esteemed
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| adj.受人尊敬的v.尊敬( esteem的过去式和过去分词 )；敬重；认为；以为 | |
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42
admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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connoisseurs
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| n.鉴赏家，鉴定家，行家( connoisseur的名词复数 ) | |
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arsenal
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| n.兵工厂，军械库 | |
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45
muskets
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| n.火枪，（尤指）滑膛枪( musket的名词复数 ) | |
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46
converse
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| vi.谈话，谈天，闲聊；adv.相反的，相反 | |
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47
umbrage
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| n.不快；树荫 | |
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48
transact
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| v.处理；做交易；谈判 | |
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