Among the curiosities which delight strangers at Rome, there are two exhibitions which require to be noticed, viz. the exhibition of the luminous cross in St. Peter's on the night of Good Friday, and the illumi nation of the dome of St. Peter's with the fire works which are displayed at the anniversary of the festival of St. Peter. On the night of Good Friday the 100 lamps, that burn over the tomb of the apostle, are ex tinguished, and a stupendous cross of light appears, suspended from the dome between the altar and the nave. This exhibition is said to have been invented by Michael Angelo. " The magnitude of the cross," says Eustace, " hanging as if self-supported, and like a vast meteor streaming in the air—the blaze that it pours forth—the mixture of light and shade cast on the pillars, arches, statues and altars—the crowd of spectators placed in all the different attitudes of curi osity, wonder, and devotion—the processions with their banners and crosses gliding successively along the nave and kneeling around the altar, the penitents of all nations and dresses collected in groups near the confessional of their respective languages; a cardinal occasionally advancing through the crowd, and as he kneels humbly bending his head to the pavement; in fine, the pontiff himself, without pomp or pageantry, prostrate before the altar, offering up his adorations in silence, forms a scene singularly striking, by a happy mixture of tranquillity and animation, darkness and light, simplicity and majesty." The illumination of St. Peter and the Girandola, and fireworks from the castle of St. Angelo, which mark the festival of St. Peter, are allowed by all classes of spectators to be one of the grandest sights that the eye can witness. "The whole of this immense church," says the author of /?oine in the Nineteenth Century, columns, capi tols, cornices, and pediments, the beautiful swell of the lofty dome towering into heaven, the ribs con verging to one point at top, surmounted by the lantern of the church and crowned by the cross, all were de signed in lines of fire, and the vast sweep of the circling colonnades, in every rib, line, mould, cornice, and co lumn, were resplendent in the same beautiful light.
While we were gazing on it, suddenly a bell chimed, and the cross of fire at the top waved a brilliant light as if wielded by some celestial hand, and instantly 10,000 globes and stars of vivid fire seemed to roll spontaneously along the building as if by magic, and self-kindled, it blazed in a moment into a dazzling flood of glory. Viewed from the Querita de Monti it seemed to be an enchanted palace hung in air, and called up by the wand of some invisible spirit. The fireworks from the castle of St. Angelo commenced by a tremendous explosion, that represented the raging eruption of a volcano. lied sheets of fire seemed to blaze upwards into the glowing heavens, and then to pour down their liquid streams upon the earth. Hun dreds of immense wheels turned round, letting fall thousands of hissing dragons, and scorpions, and fiery snakes. Fountains and jets of fire threw up their blazing cascades into the skies, and the whole ended in a tremendous burst of fire, that, while it lasted, almost seemed to threaten conflagration to the world." The expense of the illumination is 1000 crowns when repeated on two successive evenings, and 700 when exhibited once. Eighty men are employed in the in stantaneous illumination of the lamps.
The population of Rome, in the spring of 1821, amounted to 135,171 souls, and at the same season in 1822 it amounted to 136,085, being an increase of 914 persons.
For the preceding description of modern Rome, we have been indebted principally to Eustace's Tour through Italy, Lond. 1813, Vol. 1.; and to Rome in the Nineteenth Century, Edin. 1820.