Now, the Italian cottage assumes,
with the simplicity, _l'air noble_ of buildings of a higher order; and,
though it avoids all ridiculous miniature mimicry of the palace, it
discards the humbler attributes of the cottage. The ornament it assumes
is dignified; no grinning faces, or unmeaning notched planks, but
well-proportioned arches, or tastefully sculptured columns. While there
is nothing about it unsuited to the humility of its inhabitant, there is
a general dignity in its air, which harmonizes beautifully with the
nobility of the neighboring edifices, or the glory of the surrounding
scenery.
33. II. Brightness of effect. There are no weather stains on the walls:
there is no dampness in air or earth, by which they could be induced;
the heat of the sun scorches away all lichens, and mosses and moldy
vegetation. No thatch or stone crop on the roof unites the building with
surrounding vegetation; all is clear, and warm, and sharp on the eye;
the more distant the building, the more generally bright it becomes,
till the distant village sparkles out of the orange copse, or the
cypress grove, with so much distinctness as might be thought in some
degree objectionable. But it must be remembered that the prevailing
color of the Italian landscape is blue; sky, hills, water, are equally
azure: the olive, which forms a great proportion of the vegetation, is
not green, but gray; the cypress and its varieties, dark and neutral,
and the laurel and myrtle far from bright.
Pages:
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44