Mrs. Charles MacVeagh

Name: Fountains of Papal Rome — The Lateran
Author: Mrs. Charles MacVeagh

Summary

“Fountains of Papal Rome — The Lateran”, is a work by Mrs. Charles MacVeagh. It explores elements such as obelisk, Fontana and pedestal.

Quotes from Fountains of Papal Rome — The Lateran (Mrs. Charles MacVeagh)

Mrs. Charles MacVeagh, Fountains of Papal Rome — The Lateran

“ An exquisite example of early Christian architecture, built in the shape of a Greek cross, this oratory was held in peculiar veneration by all classes; and the Roman people might not unnaturally conclude that the wanton destruction of anything at once so beautiful and so sacred as this oratory could only be ascribed to the promptings of the devil himself. Posterity can hardly accept Pope Sixtus V's fountain, even with its obelisk, as an adequate substitute for the three fountains of rare marble in the atrium of this oratory which perished by order of the Pope. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Mrs. Charles MacVeagh, Fountains of Papal Rome — The Lateran

“ I regard the present tendency to mistrust tradition, only because it is tradition, as in the highest sense uncritical."
Over the door of the Vatican Library is a fresco map of Sixtine Rome, It portrays not what Sixtus V actually left, but what he at one time intended to leave. In this fresco a great thoroughfare runs from the Piazza del Popolo to the Piazza Laterano, and at each end of the magnificent vista stands an obelisk erected by the Pope. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Mrs. Charles MacVeagh, Fountains of Papal Rome — The Lateran

“ Now, the Romans generally re-erected the obelisk, not directly upon its pedestal, but upon bronze crabs (as in the obelisk of the Vatican) or upon brass "dice" (as in the larger of the two obelisks in Constantinople) . The Egyptians sheathed the pyramidion of the obelisk with " bright metal " to reflect the rays of the sun, and the Romans crowned the apex, sometimes if not always, with metal ornaments, like the ball upon the Vatican obelisk, which, until it was removed by Sixtus V, was supposed to contain the ashes of Julius Caesar. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Mrs. Charles MacVeagh, Fountains of Papal Rome — The Lateran

“ There, in the wavering light of the altar candles and under the subtle influence of the incense, they became so impressed by the pathetic beauty of that marvellous Aria di Chiesa that they felt it impossible to put out of existence the man who could write such music ”

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Source: Wikisource

Mrs. Charles MacVeagh, Fountains of Papal Rome — The Lateran

“ The Roman method of blasting consisted in building a fire against the rock and pouring vinegar, or even water, upon the red-hot stone which then disintegrated. It would have been an easy matter to kindle great fires at every corner of the pedestal which, by the time this kind of destruction became popular, had already lost much of their original height through the gradual rise of the ground level. This method of blasting by fire would account for the all but universal gnawing away, or rough rounding off of the lower corners of the shaft, in which the bronze dowels were so firmly embedded. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Mrs. Charles MacVeagh, Fountains of Papal Rome — The Lateran

“ When the obelisk was at last erected, Fontana carved his name with his title of knight in Latin on the base, and the three mounts and the star of Sixtus V were fastened to the apex. Above everything was placed the huge bronze cross, for Sixtus V considered the obelisk to be the supreme sinybol of divinity in a great Pagan theology ”

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Source: Wikisource

Mrs. Charles MacVeagh, Fountains of Papal Rome — The Lateran

“ Between the shaft and the pedestal there was therefore a space, perhaps some four inches in height, through which light was visible. This was seen in the Vatican obelisk, which was still in situ when Fontana drew his plans for changing its location, and in the Central Park obelisk, as described by an eye-witness of its removal. Three historians of Rome's destruction Fea, Dyer, and Gibboir describe the almost incredible ingenuity, labor, and patience exerted by the Romans of the Dark Ages in their search for bronze and other metals. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Mrs. Charles MacVeagh, Fountains of Papal Rome — The Lateran

“ Modern photographs can still be found of the original fountain of the Lateran. It was the work of Fontana and was placed in this spot after he had erected the obelisk for Sixtus V. The present fountain is quite new and most inadequately replaces the old one which had stood there for over three hundred years. By the close of the nineteenth century the upper basin of Fontana's fountain was badly broken, while the lower one had been held together for some time by iron clamps. The carving was so worn and defaced that the dolphins and eagle were quite shapeless, and the figure of St. ”

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Source: Wikisource

Mrs. Charles MacVeagh, Fountains of Papal Rome — The Lateran

“ The eagle seems at first more difficult to explain. From the accession of Paul V the eagle denotes the Borghese family ; but Paul V did not become Pope until i6o5, and Fontana left Rome for Naples in i5g6. Therefore, the eagle of this fountain cannot have any connection with the Borghese family. Why did Fontana use it instead of the lion's head, which was another of Sixtus V*s emblems and would have made a better architectural outlet for the water ? It must have been because the eagle is the emblem of St. ”

Mrs. Charles MacVeagh

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