ir is octagonal, enclosed by an Ionic colonnade, and corresponds
in shape with the dome above, which is double, one dome within another;
the inner one is painted with frescoes by Vasari and Zacchero. From the
pavement to the top of the cross it is 380 feet. The beautiful Campanile
tower is encased with strips of differently coloured marbles, adorned
with bas-reliefs and statues. It is 269 feet in height, being ascended
by some 415 steps. The view from the top is very extensive. The adjacent
Baptistery is on the site of the Temple of Mars. It is an octagonal
building of the thirteenth century, and is chiefly remarkable for the
beauty of Ghiberti's great bronze gates, representing scripture scenes.

"Ghiberti left behind him wealth and children;
But who would know to-day that he had lived
If he had never made those gates of bronze
In the old Baptistery--those gates of bronze
Worthy to be the gates of Paradise?
His wealth is scattered to the winds, his children
Are long since dead; but those celestial gates
Survive, and keep his name and memory green."

There are also some very fine mosaics in the interior, but unfortunately
the darkness prevents their being properly seen. The only way to see
anything of them is to go into the darkest corner, shutting your eyes,
and then, opening them, look up at the dome suddenly. All the children
in the city are baptized here, the water being blessed by the bishop
twice a year. There is much of ancient interest around this old
Baptistery; indeed, in all places where the Romans have been, one cannot
but feel the presence of a mighty nation. So also with the Greeks; they
leave traces of a refined intellect behind them which centuries cannot
entirely efface.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Santa Croce--San Lorenzo--_Day_ and _Night_--Picture-galleries--The
Tribune--_Venus de' Medici_--Excursion to Fiesole--Ancient Amphitheatre
--Aurora _Cafe_--Climate of Florence--Heavy hotel charges--Departure--
Bologna sausages--Venice.

The church of Santa Croce--the Westminster Abbey of Italy--possesses
great interest to every classical student and lover of art and genius.
It is situated within a few minutes' walk of the Cathedral in its own
piazza, in the centre of which stands the striking monument and statue
of the intensely thoughtful Dante, by Canova:

"In Santa Croce's holy precincts lie
Ashes which make it holier, dust w