The Greville Memoirs, Part 1 (of 3), Volume 1 (of 3): A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William IVGreville, Charles
History
The Greville Memoirs, Part 1 (of 3), Volume 1 (of 3): A Journal of the Reigns of King George IV and King William IV
Greville, Charles
Great Britain -- History -- George IV, 1820-1830; Great Britain -- History -- William IV, 1830-1837
_12th._--Walked to Santa Agnese, in the Piazza Navona, a pretty
church, but hardly anybody in it; to Santa Maria sopra Minerva,
empty likewise, but Michael Angelo's Christ was there--a grand
performance, though defective about the legs, which are too
thick; he has one golden foot for the devotees, who were wearing
out the marble toe, and would soon have had it as smooth as that
of Jupiter's in St. Peter's; _ci-devant_ Jupiter, now St. Peter.
I went again to the Pantheon, and walked round and round, and
looked, and admired; even the ragged wretches who came in seemed
struck with admiration. It is so fine to see the clouds rolling
above through the roof; it passes my comprehension how this
temple escaped the general wreck of Rome. Then to St. Peter's,
and went up to the roof and to the ball, through the aperture of
which I could just squeeze, though there is plenty of room when
once in it. The ball holds above thirty people, stuffed close of
course. Three other men were going up at the same time, who
filled the narrow ascent with garlicky effluvia. It is impossible
to have an idea of the size and grandeur of St. Peter's without
going over the roof, and examining all the details, and looking
down from the galleries. The ascent is very easy; there are
slabs at the bottom taken from the holy gates, as they were
successively opened and closed by the different Popes at the
Jubilees.[4] At the top were recorded the ascents of various
kings and princes and princesses, who had clambered up; there was
also an inscription in Latin and Italian, the very counterpart of
that which is still seen on the wall in Titus's Baths, only
instead of 'Jovem omnipotentem atque omnes Deos iratos habeat,'
&c. &c., it runs, 'Iratos habeat Deum omnipotentem et Apostolos
Petrum et Paulum,' though I don't see why Paul should care about
it. Went afterwards and walked on the Pincian.
[4] The Jubilee was established by Boniface VIII. in 1300,
and was originally a centenary commemoration, but
reduced to fifty years, and afterwards to twenty-five,
as it still continues. Hallam remarks that the Court of
Rome at the next Jubilee will read with a sigh the
description of that of 1300. 'The Pope received an
incalculable sum of money, for two priests stood day
and night at the altar of St. Peter, with rakes in
their hands, raking up the heaps of money.'--MURATORI.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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