the next church, in point of rank, but far superior in point of architecture, is that of st. justina, built from a design of palladio, and reckoned, by some people, one of the most elegant he ever gave. st. justina is said to have suffered martyrdom where the church is built, which was the reason of erecting it on that particular spot. it would have been fortunate for the pictures in this church if the saint had suffered on a piece of drier ground, for they seem considerably injured by the damps which surround the place where it now stands. there is a wide area in front of the church, called the prato della valle, where booths and shops are erected for all kinds of merchandise during the fairs. part of this, which is never allowed to be profaned by the buyers and[271] sellers, is called campo santo, because there a great number of christian martyrs are said to have been put to death.
st. justina’s church is adorned with many altars, embellished with sculpture. the pavement is remarkably rich, being a kind of mosaic work, of marble of various colours. many other precious materials are wrought as ornaments to this church, but there is one species of jewels in which it abounds, more than, perhaps, any church in christendom; which is, the bones of martyrs. they have here a whole well full, belonging to those who were executed in the prato delta valle; and what is of still greater value, the benedictines, to whom this church belongs, assert, that they are also in possession of the bodies of the two evangelists st. matthew and st. luke. the franciscans belonging to a convent at venice dispute the second of those two great prizes, and declare, that they are possessed of the true body of st.[272] luke, this in st. justina’s church being only an imposture. the matter was referred to the pope, who gave a decision in favour of one of the bodies; but this does not prevent the proprietors of the other from still persisting in their original claim, so that there is no likelihood of the dispute being finally determined till the day of judgment.
the hall of the town-house of padua is one of the largest i ever saw. from the best guess i could make, after stepping it, i should think it about three hundred english feet long, by one hundred in breadth: the emblematic and astrological paintings, by giotto, are much decayed. this immense hall is on the second floor, and is ornamented with the busts and statues of some eminent persons. the cenotaph of livy, the historian, who was a native of padua, is erected here. the university, formerly so celebrated, is now, like every thing else in this city, on the decline; the theatre[273] anatomy could contain five or six hundred students, but the voice of the professor is like that of him who crieth in the wilderness. the licentious spirit of the students, which formerly was carried such unwarrantable lengths, and made it dangerous to walk in the streets of this city at night, is now entirely extinct: it has gradually declined with the numbers of the students. whether the ardour for literature, for which the students of this university were distinguished, has abated in the same proportion, i cannot determine; but i am informed, that by far the greater number of the young men who now attend the university, are designed for the priesthood, and apply to the study of divinity as a science, for comprehending and preaching the mysterious parts of which, a very small portion of learning has been observed to succeed better, than a great deal.
there is a cloth manufactory in this city; and i was told, that the inhabitants[274] of venice, not excepting the nobles, wear no other cloth than what is made here. this particular manufactory, it may therefore be supposed, succeeds very well; but the excessive number of beggars with which this place swarms, is a strong proof that trade and manufactures in general are by no means in a flourishing condition. in the course of my life i never saw such a number of beggars at one time, as attacked us at the church of st. antonio. the d—— of h—— fell into a mistake, analogous to that of sable in the funeral, who complains, that the more money he gave his mourners to look sad, the merrier they looked. his g—gave all he had in his pocket to the clamorous multitude which surrounded him, on condition that they would hold their tongues, and leave us; on which they became more numerous, and more vociferous than before. strangers who visit padua will do well, therefore, to observe the gospel injunction, and perform their charities in secret.
