We crossed the _Piazza di Spagna_, ascended the superb flight of steps of
the _Trinità de' Monti_, where there is a French church called the Church
of St Louis: near it is the _Villa Medici_, which is the seat of the French
Academy of the fine arts at Rome. We then filed along the _Strada Felice_
till we arrived at the church of _Santa Maria maggiore_, a superb edifice,
the third church in Rome in celebrity, and the second in magnificence. An
immense Egyptian Obelisk stands before it. We then, turning a little to the
right, made the best of our way to the Coliseum where we remained nearly
two hours. I had figured to myself the grandest ideas of this stupendous
building, but the aspect of it far exceeded the sketch even of my
imagination. In Egypt I have seen the Pyramids, but even these vast masses
did not make such an impression on me as the Coliseum has done. I am so
unequal to the task of description that I shall not attempt it; I will give
you however its dimensions which my friend the Jew measured. It is an
ellipse of which the transverse axis is 580 feet in length and its
conjugate diameter 480; but it is not so much the length and breadth as the
solidity of this building that strikes the traveller with astonishment. The
arcaded passage or gallery (on the _rez de chaussée_ between the interior
and the exterior wall), which has a vaulted roof over which the seats are
built, is broad enough to admit three carriages abreast: and the walls on
each side of this gallery are at least twenty feet thick. What a
magnificent spectacle it must have been in the time of the ancient Romans,
when it was ornamented, gilded, and full of spectators, of which it could
contain, it is said, 86,000! The Coliseum has been despoiled by various
Popes and Cardinals to furnish stone and marble to build their palaces;
otherwise, so solid is the building, Time alone would never suffice to
destroy it. At present strict orders are given and sentries are posted to
prevent all further dilapidations, and buttresses have been made to prop up
those parts which had given way. What a pity it is that the Arena has not
been left empty, instead of being fitted up with tawdry niches and images