e, a
public walk and drive, and from it a covered walk (colonnade)
half a mile long up to the church on the hill. One of the most
remarkable things here is the Olympic Theatre, which was begun by
Palladio and finished by his son. It is a small Grecian theatre,
exactly as he supposes those ancient theatres to have been, with
the same proscenium, scenes, decorations, and seats for the
audience. There appeared to me to be some material variations
from the theatre at Pompeii. In the latter the seats go down to
the level of the orchestra, which they do not here, and at
Pompeii there is no depth behind the proscenium, whereas here
there is very considerable. It is, however, a beautiful model.
The air and the water are good, and there is shooting, so that I
really think it would be possible to live here. They talk with
horror of the French, and of the two seem to prefer the
Austrians, but peace is better than war, _caeteris paribus_.

[Page Head: BRESCIA AND MILAN]

Brescia, June 21st, 1830 {p.412}

This is a particularly nice town, airy, spacious, and clean, and
in my life I never saw so many good-looking women. There is a
drive and walk on the ramparts, where I found all the beauty and
fashion of Brescia, a string of carriages not quite so numerous
as in Hyde Park, but a very decent display. The women are
excessively dressed, and almost all wear black lace veils, thrown
over the back of the head, which are very becoming. The walks on
the ramparts are shaded by double rows of trees, and command a
very pretty view of the mountains and country round. This inn is
execrable. I stopped at Verona to see the Amphitheatre, which is
only perfect in the inside, and has been kept so by repeated
repairs. It is hardly worth seeing after the Flavian and the
Pompeiian. There is a wooden theatre in it, where they act, and
the spectators occupy the ancient seats. The tombs of the
Scaligeri are admirable, the most beautiful and graceful Gothic;
their castle (now the Castle Vecchio) a gloomy old building in a
moat, but with a very curious bridge over the Po. The Church of
St. Zeno is remarkable from its Gothic antiquity and the
profusion of ornament about it of a strange sort. Here is the
tomb of Pepin, erected by Charlemagne, but empty; for the French,
in one of their invasions, carried the body to France. In the
Cathedral is a fine picture of the 'Assumption of the Virgin' by
Titian. I saw many Veronese beauties in their balconies, bu