Monuments

There were Roman lions cast in bronze, carved in sandstone, and sculpted in marble, almost everywhere all over the great city.

There were so many, one could say, that it was almost expected, when passing by a fountain or an public place, to find one or two of the giant cats lying stretched across a pillar or a gate.

When Francis had been summoned into the Holy City he had been transfixed by the lavish empire of artists, with their great works around the colonnades and vestibules, in houses large and small - detailed paintings and engravings, mosaics and marvellous effigies. It was apparent to him that the entire populace was touched by this beauty.

The faces of the folk dwelling in the city were markedly different, he had observed also. Perhaps it was that the wear of poverty, or the shadows of ale, did not afflict the countenance there.

No farmer or miner could be found in these streets. The merchants, and the soldiers who ventured the roads, appeared refined and well kept. Everywhere there were cassocks and shrouds, and an uncommonly vast number of Muslims who were taking quarters at the outskirts on a pilgrimage all of their own.

-Gabriel Brunsdon, AZLANDER: NEVER ENDINGS: Second Chances