Rome is superior to all the other cities of Europe in the number and splendour of its churches. The church of St. Peter has long been one of the wonders of the modern world. When the spectator approaches the entrance of the square in front of St. Peter's, he sees four ranges of lofty pillars, retiring in a bold semicir cle to the right and left, containing the obelisk already noticed. Before him he perceives the stupen dous front of St. Peter's, towering to the height of 180 feet, and raised on three successive flights of marble steps, extending 400 feet in length. Far be hind and above this, rises the dome of St. Peter's, to the height of 400 feet. The plan and the external architecture of St. Peter's have already been repre sented in Plate CLXXIV, of Civil. AUCHITECTURE, in contrast with our own national cathedral of St. Paul's.
The interior of St. Peter's corresponds with the grandeur of the exterior. Five lofty portals open into the portico, (a gallery equal to the most spacious ca thedral) 400 feet by seventy high and fifty broad, paved with variegated marble, covered with a gilt vault, adorned with pillars, mosaics, and terminated at each end by an equestrian statue,—one of Constan tine, and the other of Charlemagne. A fountain at each end refreshes the air. Opposite the five portals, are the five doors of the church. The middle one has folding doors of bronze, and three have pillars of the finest marble. On entering it, there is seen the most extensive hall ever built, paved with variegated marble, and roofed with a gilded vault. The view from the foot of the altar, in the centre of the church, is truly magnificent. Four superb vistas appear around you, and the dome rises above like the firma ment, to the height of four hundred feet, covered with mosaics of religious history, and crowned with the throne of the Eternal. Around the dome rise four other cupolas of inferior magnitude, and six more cover the different divisions of the aisles, and other six as many chapels or churches. All these cupolas are lined with beautiful mosaics, and the aisles and altars are variegated with every species of ornament, and with the finest sculptured monuments. The high altar which stands under the dome is a most striking object. At its corners, there rise from four ivory pe destals, four twisted pillars fifty feet high, sup porting an entablature, and bearing a canopy rising to the height of 132 feet from the pavement. All this, excepting the pedestals, is of Corinthian brass, and is the most lofty or massive work of that or of any other metal in the world. This brazen edifice is so disposed as not to obstruct the view of the cathedra or chair of St. Peter, which terminates the church. This is also of bronze, and consists of a group of gigantic statues of the four doctors of the Greek and Latin churches, supporting the patriarchal chair of St. Peter. The chair is a throne elevated seventy-five feet above the pavement; and a circular window, tinged with yellow, throws from above a mild radiance around it.
At the west end of the high altar of St. Peter's is the descent by a double flight of marble steps, to the tomb or confession of St. Peter. These steps lead to an area before two brass folding doors, which conduct into a vault whose grated floor is right above the tomb. The rails that surround this space above, are adorned with 112 bronze cornucopias, which support as many silver lamps, that burn constantly in honour of the apostle. The staircase, the pavement of the area, and the walls around, are lined with alabaster, lapis lazuli, verde antico, Sz.c.
The Sacre Grotte, which is on a level with the above pavement, has its regular entrance beneath one of the great pillars that support the dome. This grotto, con sisting of several long winding galleries, stretching under the first building in various directions, is the remains of the ancient church built by Constantine.— The beautiful passage in which Mr. Eustace describes his feelings in traversing this grotto, deserves to be read by every Christian. "I may be pardoned, says he, when I acknowledge that I felt myself penetrated with holy terror, while conducted by a priest in his surplice, with a lighted torch in his hand, 1 ranged through these dormitories of the dead, lined with the urns of emperors and pontiffs, and almost paved with the remains of saints and martyrs. The intrepid Otho, the turbulent Alexander, and the polished Christina, lie mouldering near the hallowed ashes of the apostles Peter and Paul, and the holy pontiffs Linus, Sylvester, and Adrian. The low vault closes over their porphyry tombs, and silence and darkness blood uninterrupted around them. They were increased as 1 approached the monument of the apostles themselves. Others may behold the mausoleum of an emperor or consul, a poet or an orator, with enthusiasm; for my part I contem plate the reputation of these Christian heroes with heart-felt veneration. What if a bold achievement, a useful invention, a well-fought battle, or a well-told tale, can entitle a man to the admiration of posterity, and shed a blaze of glory over his remains,—surely the courage, the constancy, the cruel sufferings, the triumphant death of these holy champions, must ex cite our admiration and our gratitude, ennoble the spot where their relics repose, and sanctify the very dust that imbibed their sacred blood. They enlightened the world by their doctrine, they reformed it by their example, they devoted their lives to the pro pagation of truth, and they sealed their testimony with their blood. They are therefore the patriots of the world at large, the common benefactors of mankind; and, in the truest and noblest sense, heroes and con querors." The vestry or sacristy of St. Peter's is a splendid building, connected with the church by a long gallery, and ornamented with mosaics, statues, and paintings. It is indeed a large church, covered with a dome, and surrounded with chapels.