ITALY. A GLANCE at the past and present condition of Italy, awakens within us emotions akin to those which a young artist experiences, as he contemplates a painting from the hand of Raphael. Even though the dust of centuries had accumulated upon the canvas, he would still recognize the hand of a master in the conception, the delineation, and the finish. Time might have marred its beauties in the view of the ordinary observer, who might gaze with pleasure upon the showy production of an inferior artist; but the man of cultivated taste would recognize a beauty in the former which modern art cannot reach. Even so may the traveler, as he walks amid the ruins of palaces and cities, read an instructive story of the former greatness of Italy. The mighty spirits of the past have written their names in characters upon the tablets of her history, which will remain when every monument of ancient art shall have crumbled into dust. Italy! a land whose very soil is teeming with interest to the philosopher as well as to the antiquarian, and to the man of taste as well as to the classical student-the centre, whence emanated the Roman power! She was the home of the arts and sciences during a period in which nearly all the world besides was involved in darkness, and gave being to a new kind of despotism, which enthralled the souls as well as the bodies of men. How shall we use language worthy of association with those great names which are scattered all along the line of her history! Junius Brutus ! a name, the sound of which has thrilled the bosom of every patriot; how often has his example been abused to lend a coloring of virtue to crime, and to dignify with the name of heroism the basest conspiracies! Marcus Portius Cato, the severe censor, the stern reformer of Roman manners; how did Rome, in her degenerate days, seek in vain for incorruptible virtue like his ! Cato Uticensis, who refused to live to witness the downfall of his country's independence-Julius Cæsar, the orator, the soldier, the philosopher, who gratified the pride of his country by his conquests, but gave the death-blow to her liberties by his ambition-Marcus Brutus, whose example the infamous French regicides dared to plead in justification of the murder of their sovereign-Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Seneca, and a host of others, whose names dignify her history, and whose influence has been felt by every succeeding age! But Rome fell, and moral darkness settled down upon the world. Paganism and its unholy rites had long since fallen. In its place arose the Christian Church. After a fearful and protracted struggle for her existence against pagan superstition, the Church now found herself in the seat of power; and that which adversity had failed to accomplish, was wrought by prosperity, with fatal effect. Human passion and infirmity became blended with the sublime doctrines of the cross. The doom of Religion was sealed, when she was made to harmonize with the passions of men. Those rude barbarians who had conquered the Roman empire, came forward and were baptized. The cross was then assumed as an outward badge, in ignorance of its doctrines and neglect of its spirit. But all tended to elevate the temporal power and dignity of the Church, till mankind beheld the singular phenomenon of submissive looking priests, with shaven crowns, awing into subjection haughty barons and their retainers; or the mitred head of the Church at Rome, claiming the submission of monarchs, and impiously adopting the language," by me kings reign." That was a brilliant day for Italy, when numerous petty republics in her midst started into being. With them the arts and sciences arose, as with new life and vigor, from the repose of ages. Genoa and Venice led the way. The world was made tributary to their commercial greatness. Their light built craft were seen floating on every sea, bringing untold wealth to fill the coffers of their merchants. Palaces were built and decorated with princely magnificence, and their owners assumed a style and exclusiveness at variance with the spirit of republicanism. Venice and Genoa have attracted the admiration of the friends of liberty, who have eulogized the energy which raised them to their eminence, and the spirit which maintained them there. Yet these were qualities not diffused among the mass of the people, but confined to a few families, whose enormous wealth conferred upon them an elevated political as well as social rank. Aristocratic despotism was rife within the walls of these cities. Even in Genoa, the dungeons of the palace of the Doges have witnessed the cruel fate of many a victim of republican tyranny. The Council of Ten at Venice, whose adjudication upon cases brought before them was as prompt as their punishments were dark and terrible, was a tribunal whose very mention excites a shudder. What verdict mankind may now pass upon the deeds of this tribunal, after duly considering the state of society at that period, we know not. However, terrible necessity alone could have authorized the adoption of a system of espionage like that which prevailed, the seizure and conviction of the accused without the usual forms of trial, or being confronted with his accusers. But from scenes like these we turn away, to contemplate Venice as she is, a city majestic though in decline. Decay has stamped its impress upon the walls of her palaces and upon every work of art which the eye surveys. The merry gondolier, as he floats along, may sing in notes as cheerful as in years gone by; but the Venitian of rank, who can look unmoved upon the disgrace of his country, the victim of Austrian despotism, must have a heart callous to every honorable emotion. The patriot may find relief in recalling the past to mind. What fond recollections are associated with "Venice built on a hundred isles!" or who would not enjoy, with the noble bard, one of those moonlight scenes upon the Adriatic? The present decline of the city is overlooked, as the recollections of her past glory crowd upon the mind. Venice was founded in the fifth century, by persons that had escaped to these islands through fear of the Barbarians who had then invaded the north of Italy. Venice and Genoa were splendid cities when London and Paris were collections of miserable cottages. The ships of Venice brought into port the products of every clime, and her republican citizens vied with the sovereigns of Europe in the pomp of their equipages and the magnificence of their palaces. By means of her immense wealth, she was enabled to raise large armies of mercenaries and provide numerous fleets, by which she made herself the mistress of the Adriatic and the terror of the states of Italy. Through jealousy of her greatness, Pope Julius Second, assisted by the Emperor of Germany and the King of France, formed, in the year fifteen hundred and eight, the celebrated league of Cambray, for her destruction. The republic, confident in her resources, neglected to take the necessary precautions, until her armies were defeated and she was brought to the verge of destruction. The confederates were impatient for the spoil to accrue from the plunder of so rich a city. But the Pope, thinking that the Venitians had been sufficiently humbled, with pontifical duplicity, changed sides, and brought the other states of Italy to act in concert with him against France. Genoa, probably more than any other Italian city, witnessed within her walls, the mad civil feuds between the Guelfs and Ghibbelines; and even yet, one is impressed with peculiarities in the structure of private residences, betokening fierce civil dissension in times past. Whence those massive buildings, or those gloomy iron bars by which the windows of the lower story are preserved from intrusion? Does it not bring to light those fearful civil strifes, during which the narrow streets of the city were used as battle-grounds and the houses as fortifications? The watchword of Guelf, or Ghibbeline,* was sufficient to rouse the partisans of the Pope and the Emperor to open hostility. One entering the magnificent harbor of Genoa, passes between two strong Moles, built to serve as a protection against the violent storms which sometimes prevail in the Mediterranean. Within is a circular basin, where the once flourishing navy of the republic could ride in security. On one side of the amphitheatre of hills which enclose the harbor, stands the city, defended by massive stone walls, and commanded from behind by very strong fortifications. The remaining hills are thickly studded with palaces of the nobility, if that class deserves the name which has lost its political importance. The eye rests first upon the palace of Doria, a noble edifice, standing at the head of the bay, a monument of the gratitude of the republic to her Liberator. About the year 1530, Andrea Doria, a Genoese by birth, though at that time an officer in the service of the King of France, determined to free his country. Sailing with his fleet into the harbor, he expelled the French, and remained master of the city. A strong temptation was placed before him to retain the supreme command. But his design was more noble. He convened the people in the public square, and there reminding them of the ancient glory of the city, recommended them to appoint commissioners to frame a constitution which should * The former was the rallying cry of the friends of the Pope, the latter of those of the Emperor. Subsequently they served to mark the distinction between the democrats and the aristocrats. secure liberty to the citizens, and restore the state to its former renown. His advice was followed. Twelve commissioners were appointed, by whom a constitution was framed and subsequently adopted by the people. A new energy was given to private transactions and to public councils. A liberated country hailed Doria as its deliverer, and erected this palace and the noble statue of him so prominent at the head of the bay, as lasting monuments of their gratitude. The traveler, after entering the gate of the city, near the landingplace, finds himself in one of the narrow streets. He gazes with astonishment at the enormous height of the buildings, and at their massive proportions. Passing by the Exchange, where the merchants of Genoa used to traffic in the palmiest days of the republic, he soon emerges from the narrow streets upon the more modern Strada Balba and Strada Nuova. Thence he visits, with eager interest, the cathedral church of San Lorenzo, where are kept, deposited in an iron urn, the remains of John the Baptist, captured from the Venitians! Near by, the grim walls of the ancient palace of the Doges arrest his attention. He enters the gate, which is yet guarded by soldiers, and the exterior walls of the palace present the aspect of modern masonry, in striking contrast with that which surrounds the whole. This modern edifice has been erected in consequence of a disastrous fire which took place in the last century. But within are some remains of ancient art, proving that all was not lost in that conflagration. In a room adjoining the Council Hall, a large fresco on the wall overhead represents Columbus on his return from the New World, with a troop of natives to grace his triumphant entry into Seville. As the stranger passes through the Strada Nuova, lined with palaces on either side, and enters within their massive doors, his eye traces upon the walls the productions of artists whose names had been associated with his earliest lessons in the fine arts. The names of Guercino, Carlo Dolci, Paul Veronese, Guido, Titian, and Rubens, are recalled to his memory. The thought that he is surrounded by the works of men so renowned in their profession, and whom no subsequent age could equal, is enough to enkindle enthusiasm in a man of the dullest sensibility. It was amid the darkness and corruption of the middle ages, that a purer light was kindled within the petty states of Italy, than can consist with modern degeneracy. That light might have continued to glow till the more extensive diffusion of knowledge, and the spread of liberal principles, had prepared all classes for constitutional government. Upon whom, then, rests the guilt of having extinguished that flame in Florence, in Pisa and Lombardy? The student of history will recognize in it the handiwork of that Man of Sin, whose home has been in the Vatican, but whose dark policy has been manifested in its blighting effects throughout the fairest portions of Europe. Surely no political Eden could have been found to tempt the destroyer to play a more desperate game, than did the republics of Italy, as they rose from darkness and despotism to take an independent rank among the nations of the earth. In view of the dangers to be apprehended from the spread of that 12 ITALY. [Nov. spirit of liberty, Frederick Barbarossa, Emperor of Germany, and His Holiness the Pope, forgot their former enmities, and ratified a treaty for its extinguishment. The army of the Emperor was absolved from the guilt which it had incurred by the massacre of the Papal troops. Thus doubly armed, the Emperor proceeded to conquest and extermination. Milan was razed to the ground; and the insolent tyrant, thinking that the spirit of liberty had been extinguished in its fall, passed a plowshare over its ruins. But her doom served only to awaken a fearful spirit in Italian bosoms. The Emperor, in endeavoring to quell the revolt, was defeated, and narrowly escaped being made a prisoner; and nothing but his great personal energy could have enabled him to retrieve his fortunes and secure a peace honorable to both parties. But Italy was a doomed country. She was not left to go on and consummate the work of freedom. Of her, it might be said, "My people perish for lack of knowledge." Ignorance was the bane of improvement, the foe to social order. Military adventurers were enabled to seize upon the fortified places and make themselves absolute sovereigns. frowned from every mountain height, and troops of retainers extinTheir castles guished every manifestation of a spirit of liberty. Near the beginning of the fifteenth century, commenced the era of the Medici family in Florence. They were distinguished for their wealth, for the rank to which they had attained among the noble families of their city, and for the interest which all the members manifested in the advancement of literature, science, and the fine arts. In those days when commerce was limited to a few hands, the old republican merchants presented a striking contrast to the hard-working traders of modern times. Wealth, and with it political power, was rapidly acquired. But now there is no vestige remaining of the superb merchant of olden time. A nominal aristocracy is still maintained, though the members of this class gain thereby no political distinction. Giovanni de Medici was one of those men whose immense wealth gained him great influence in Florence. His son, Cosmo, succeeded to his father's wealth and honors-a precedent of hereditary right to political power, fraught with the deepest danger to the liberties of Florence. Dazzled by the display of his prodigious wealth, the people gave Cosmo the title of "Pater patriæ." family shows that private virtues and a cultivated taste are no security The history of the Medici for entrusting irresponsible power to the hands of individuals. Though Cosmo beautified the city and embellished it with works of art, yet he did nothing to promote a spirit of free inquiry. In the character of Lorenzo de Medici, "the Magnificent," one may find much to admire, after making due allowance for the enthusiastic zeal of Roscoe. We behold in him a man who had raised himself from the rank of a private citizen to an equality with the sovereigns of Europe. In the knowledge of diplomacy, he was unsurpassed. Individuals, illustrious by birth and talent, flocked to his court. It is true that Italian literature no longer boasted among its sons a Dante, Petrarch or Boccacio. The Inferno of Dante had wrought a mighty effect upon the Italian mind. The name of Petrarch will long live in |