_Tempus
edax rerum_ has been its only enemy; whereas avarice and religious
fanaticism have contributed, much more than time, to the dilapidation of
the Coliseum. The Amphitheatre of Verona can contain 24,000 persons. In it
is constructed a temporary theatre of wood, where they perform plays and
farces in the open air. Verona is much embellished by several _Palazzi_
built by Palladio, which form a curious contrast with the other buildings
and churches which are in the Gothic style. Verona can boast among its
antiquities of three triumphal arches, the first, _Porta de' Bursari_,
erected in the year 252 in the reign of the Emperor Gallienus; the second,
called _Porta del Foro_; and the third, built by Vitruvius himself, in
honour of the family Gavia.
The churches here are richly ornamented and the _Palazzo del Consiglio_ has
many fine marble and bronze statues. In this city also are the tombs and
monuments of the Scala family, who were at one time Sovereigns of Verona.
They are in the Gothic style and of curious execution. The Cathedral has an
immense _campanile_ (steeple), from which is a fine view of the surrounding
country, and the progressive risings of the Alps, the lower parts of which
lie close upon Verona.
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