s that to the ruins of the great
amphitheatre. It is constructed of red marble from the Veronese
quarries, upon basements of Roman brickwork. No other amphitheatre can
be compared with this for costliness of material; nor I believe, for
size, it having contained some fifty to sixty thousand spectators at a
time. It is somewhat oval in form, being 546 feet by 436 feet across;
the circumference is 1476 feet. The outer circuit once consisted of
seventy-two arches, but only four now remain. The height from the
pavement is 106 feet. Inside, the great flight of marble steps or seats
rise tier above tier, and when at length we gained the top, we had a
magnificent view of the whole city, and of its strong fortifications.
The outer wall of the amphitheatre, all rugged and overgrown with weeds,
seemed like the side of some huge cliff. There, far below in the piazza,
people were passing backwards and forwards, outside the _cafes_ loungers
sipped their chocolate and smoked their cigarettes. The city lay before
us, with all its palaces, churches, vineyards, picturesque towers, and
forked battlements, divided by the swiftly flowing river, which curved
round like a flash of light; and beyond lay the circling landscape,
crowned with convents and villas; and in the far distance the Euganean
Hills, with their blue and purple tints, and the snowy peaks of the
Tyrolese Alps. It was indeed a lovely and an interesting scene.

The amphitheatre, as it now stands, is in excellent preservation; I
believe a large sum is annually devoted to the purpose of keeping it so.
It is a noble specimen of the gigantic works of the indefatigable
Romans. These great Coliseums give one some idea of the immense
populations of the cities in those times. We were very pleased with the
fine echo in this Veronese amphitheatre.

The fortifications of the city are remarkably fine. Sanmicheli, the
Italian engineer who planned them, was certainly a great architect; the
Doric gate, Porta Strippa, Porta Nuova, and many of the buildings and
palaces in Verona, were designed and built by him, and are good examples
of his remarkable powers.

The shops here are fairly good, the town, as usual, abounding with
_cafes_ and confectioners. Oil and wine appear to be the principal
products now, but at one time there were some ten thousand hands
employed in the silk trade. There were evidently some very enjoyable
excursions to be made in the country surrounding the city, but our sho