Part 1

GLEANINGS IN EUROPE.

ITALY:

BY

AN AMERICAN.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

_PHILADELPHIA_:

CAREY, LEA, AND BLANCHARD.

1838.

ENTERED according to ACT OF CONGRESS, in the year 1838, BY CAREY, LEA, AND BLANCHARD, In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

PREFACE.

If the author were required to give a reason why he has written on a country so well known as Italy, he might be puzzled to give any other answer than that he loved the subject, and has been indulging his own recollections possibly more than he will please his readers.

As this, like most other books, must speak for itself, the author has little to add, in the way of Preface, to what has already been published in the work with which his travels commence. He has endeavoured to avoid a pretension which his research would not justify, while he hopes some may be glad to go over again, even this beaten road, in his company.

ITALY.

LETTER I.

Departure from Milan.--Lodi.--A Quack.--Frog-eating.--Battle at the Bridge of Lodi.--Piacenza.--The Duchy of Parma.--Charges at Inns.--Castle Guelfo.--Parma.--Modena.--Composition Floors.--Bologna.--Its Towers.

Although we had breathed an atmosphere of delight from the moment the carriage turned out of the glen of the Doveria to enter the first really Italian valley, the ardour of expectation and enjoyment was scarcely diminished when we entered the carriage to quit Milan, on our way towards the barrier of mountains that separates the Upper from the Lower, the false from the true Italy. We had certainly some of the architecture, glimpses of the nature, and a multitude of the recollections of the latter, where we then were; but we well knew that there was more beyond, and we were glad to hurry towards it after the two or three days of repose that we had now taken. As yet we had only seen Cis-Alpine Gaul.

Old Caspar mounted his horse with renewed vigour, and he trotted through the southern gate with us, some time before the sun had risen. Although it was only the 15th of October, and we were now fairly on the great plain of Lombardy, the morning was so sharp that I found both a surtout and a cloak agreeable, if not necessary.

The streets of Milan, and indeed of all the towns of this part of Italy, have lines of flat stones, a sort of railways, laid for the carriage-wheels; the celebrated Corso having two tracks, in order that the vehicles may not intercept each other. The town walls are of bricks, and a good deal covered with ivy; and as the ditch is imperfect and neglected, they were probably more efficient in the days of the Visconti than in those of Napoleon. Military patrols march the streets at night, and all night, so that the place is orderly and safe. We saw many people with _goitres_ in the streets, peasants most probably from the valleys of the Alps.

We took the route to Lodi, which is about twenty miles from Milan, the road lay the entire distance through meadows and vines. There was little other prospect than that of fertility, for we were in a sea of plain, though the Alps still lifted their hoary peaks along the northern horizon. South, east, and west, the sight was bounded with a fringe of fruit-trees, with, here and there, a gaunt church-tower thrusting up its neck, to mark the site of a village. There was, however, a good deal of irrigation, with canal-like ditches, among the meadows, and occasionally a broad margin of faded verdure around us.

At Lodi we stopped two hours. The inn windows overlooked the market-place, which was teeming with the activity, gesticulation, bawling, humour, and wrangling of low Italian life. One fellow, mounted on a horse, was haranguing a crowd; and, leaning forward, I caught enough to discover that he was a quack dispensing immortality at very modest prices. Suddenly a peasant presented his face, when the fellow extracted a tooth, without dismounting. The operation was performed with great readiness, and, flourishing his prize in triumph, while the poor patient was holding his jaws and kicking right and left with pain, the fellow called on all around him to witness how slight a thing it was to lose a tooth.

Observing great quantities of what I supposed to be small birds, beautifully white and clean, strung on coarse grass, I went down to examine them, thinking they might be some game of which it would be well to know more; but, on inspection they proved to be the hind quarters of frogs! There were hundreds of strings of them in the market. I know not how the French got their reputation of frog-eaters, unless it comes through the usual English prejudice; for I feel certain that ten frogs are consumed in Italy for one in France. Indeed, frogs are rather an unusual dish in Paris; nor do I remember ever to have seen them any where on a private table. The country around Lodi, however, is just suited to such a stock, and literally, thousands are consumed by the inhabitants.

We were anxious, of course, to examine the celebrated bridge. I found, however, that the people on the spot did not deem the battle so serious an affair as it is usually imagined; and as I have heard, on pretty good authority, that several of Napoleon’s battles were fought principally in the bulletins, I went doubting to the river. The stream, you know, is the Adda; it is straggling, and a good deal disfigured by sand-banks. The bridge, six or eight hundred feet in length, is narrow; and the land opposite the town is a low meadow. A few houses on that side mark the approach to the bridge, and the buildings of the town do the same thing on the other. As it would be physically impossible to cross this bridge under the fire of batteries of any force that were in the least well managed, and as the Austrian artillery, moreover, if not the very best, is considered among the best in Europe, I was a good deal staggered with the appearance of things. The result of all my inquiries on the spot was as follows, and I presume it is not far from the truth.

The Austrian army was in retreat, and had thrown the Adda between itself and its enemy. Napoleon arrived in pursuit. Ascertaining that the stream might be forded, he sent a detachment with that object towards a flank of his enemy, and the Austrians retired, leaving a force to protect their retreat at the bridge. Anxious to strike a blow, Napoleon decided to force this point immediately, and ordered the attack. My informant affirmed that most of the Austrian artillery had commenced retiring before the assault was made, and this appears, at least, probable. Finding that his column paused under the fire of a few guns left, Napoleon and his generals cheered them on in person. The French did not get across until the Austrians were too far on their retreat to make the affair decisive, but soon enough to seize some of the guns in the rear; guns that the Austrians probably intended to sacrifice.

I give you this account as it was given to me by one who affirmed he was an eye-witness. Certainly, after seeing the bridge, I shall not believe that one army crossed it in face of another that was not completely disorganized. _Au reste_, it was sufficiently hazardous to attempt it in the face of a couple of efficient guns; and the personal intrepidity of the generals would be abundantly apparent even under such circumstances. It was probably a gallant thing, though by no means the precise thing we are accustomed to believe it.

Lodi is a town of some size, having a population of sixteen or eighteen thousand souls: it is the place in and near which the celebrated Parmesan cheese is made, the environs being chiefly in rich meadows. No Italian, I find, thinks of eating his soup without a spoonful of this cheese, which as regularly forms one of the ingredients as salt. It struck me as a discrepancy in civilization to eat frogs and not to know how to make good coffee; for we have quite taken leave of the latter since we crossed the Alps.

The country continued much the same beyond Lodi. Towards evening we discerned the towers of a town in the visible horizon, and soon after came to the side of a sluggish stream of some size, lying low between banks that it sometimes evidently filled. The town was on the opposite side, walled, and not immediately on the stream. The river was the Po, which we crossed by a bridge of boats, and, making a little circuit, we drove through a gate-way and entered Piacenza. Ordering dinner, I walked out to look at the place, which contains more than 25,000 inhabitants. It is gloomy, crowded, and dull. Indeed, it is not easy to see how so many towns of this size are kept up on so small a surface. There does not appear to be any commerce worth mentioning; the manufactures are usually on a small scale, and half the people seem idle. There is a small palace belonging to the sovereign, of tolerable architecture. It has fifteen windows in front, while that of the governor of the place has thirteen. I believe the White House has less than either of these; though Piacenza is merely a provincial town, and the duchy of Parma itself contains less than half a million of souls.

Austria has made a very convenient arrangement for the defence of this frontier. She has a right, by treaty, to maintain garrisons in several of the towns that lie in the adjacent territories; by which means she gains so many outworks beyond her own limits. Piacenza is thus garrisoned, as is also Ferrara. This town and its walls are principally constructed of bricks: an unusual thing on the continent of Europe. The walls seem going to decay.

In the evening I strolled into the great square, which I found thronged with people. These towns are so cramped within their fortifications, that walking, except in an area, like this, or on the ramparts, is almost out of the question; and as they all have a _place d’armes_, the people have acquired the habit of resorting thither for air and exercise.

There was a silent, gloomy crowd in the square; and as many of the men wore cloaks and were smoking, it reminded me of Spain, a country whose habits may very well have been introduced through the princes. You will remember that, by an intermarriage with the heiress of the Farnese family, this duchy passed into the possession of the Spanish Bourbons. It was a short time in the hands of the Emperor, as an indemnity, and by him again ceded to the Bourbons. Three generations of the latter family next reigned here; but the last gave up his duchy for the ephemeral kingdom of Etruria; one of the bungling jobs at king-making that Napoleon turned off during his own apprenticeship. At the peace of 1814, Marie Louise received Parma in full sovereignty; but this arrangement was subsequently altered, and she now holds it for life, the reversion being settled on the present Duke of Lucca, who is the son of its ancient sovereign, the King of Etruria. At his succession, I believe Lucca is to be annexed to Tuscany. In speaking of the size of the palace, I ought to have mentioned that Piacenza was once a separate duchy; to which circumstance it probably owes that structure.

We were off at six, as usual, and trotted on merrily, through a perfectly level country, though apparently less fertile and less peopled than Lombardy Proper. Until now, since we entered Italy, our course has been generally south; but on quitting Piacenza we diverged materially towards the east, travelling almost in a parallel line with the ranges of the Apennines, whose forms began to loom up, a little, in the haze of the atmosphere.

We had been warned of the necessity of bargaining at the inns for what was ordered; but higgling is so odious, that I had done nothing of the sort, preferring imposition. The last night at Piacenza, however, I left the family in the carriage, and went to look at the rooms myself, asking the price. Under these circumstances, I found that about half as much was demanded as I had hitherto paid. The result showed that our lodgings and supper cost very little more than the breakfast alone, and yet we had a parlour and four good bed-rooms! The next day, at breakfast, I ordered the meal at so much a head, and for so many persons: there was no difference in the service, or in its quality, and we paid three dollars for that which had cost us five the previous day.

We crossed the bed of a torrent that was absolutely dry, but broad, and spanned by a noble bridge that Napoleon had commenced and which his widow had just finished. Nearly every thing is constructed of bricks, still. Near Parma we passed an old castellated edifice that excited a good deal of curiosity among us by its name, which is Castle Guelfo. I could get no history of this fortress, but it is fair to presume it had some connexion with the wars of the Guelphs and the Ghibellines. The building stands directly on the road, like a tavern, and in a perfectly level country. The main edifice, which is very high, is ranged around a court; it is about one hundred and fifty feet on each front, and is constructed of bricks and small stones placed in alternate layers of about three feet in thickness. The structure is surrounded by a ditch that is now dry. Three or four low, heavy, awkward towers are attached to the square building; and several appendages are scattered about, without the ditch. The whole is dilapidated, though still inhabited.

We reached Parma very early, the day’s work being less than forty miles, over a perfect plain, although it nearly carried us from one side of the duchy to the other. This is a much finer town than Piacenza, and materially larger. We were no sooner housed and refreshed, than we hurried off to see the palace, the theatre, and the other curiosities. The first is an ancient, irregular edifice of bricks, with a small, new, stuccoed façade. The theatre is one of the largest in Europe, and, one would think, capable of holding all the _élite_ of the duchy. A covered gallery built on arches connects it with the palace, of which it is properly an appendage.

We saw many cockney sights, such as the cradle of the young Napoleon, and other similar wonders; but the duchess herself, of whom I could gladly have stolen a glimpse, was at Vienna, where she passes most of her time. The servants spoke of her as _Sa Majesté_, and told us that she maintained a good deal of state. She has three or four thousand troops, _gendarmes_ included; and we saw the garrison here, in coats of sky-blue faced with red.

The Academy of Arts repaid us for the visit. It has many good pictures, one in particular by Correggio, who was a native of the vicinity. Here we met, for the first time, with specimens of architecture that, I believe, are nearly, if not quite, peculiar to Italy. A tower is erected near the church to contain the bells, which is called the _campanile_; and a sort of dome stands at hand, a structure altogether apart, in which the office of baptism is performed. The latter, from its object, is called the _Battisteria_.

I have seldom seen quainter or ruder specimens of the Gothic than we found here, in a church of the middle ages. One of the bas reliefs is a car drawn by two horses, of which one is actually placed on the back of the other, from ignorance of all laws of perspective. This is almost as bad as the bas reliefs in the rotunda of the Capitol. But the nations have their Gothic ages; though it is to be hoped ours is to precede, and not follow the golden.

We breakfasted at Reggio, in the duchy of Modena, a place which gives the title of Duke to Marshal Oudinot. The country continued much the same, perfectly level, with the shadows of mountains on our left, and apparently fertile. We reached Modena itself, very early, and had time to look at the sights, the best of which are in the palace of the duke, consisting of pictures. Here we also first saw composition floors, made of stucco, in imitation of marble. When several coats of mortar have been laid, and beaten to a proper consistency, pieces of marble are stuck in it, so as to variegate the surface, and sometimes in a way to form designs. When the whole has indurated and set, the surface is polished. The result is a beautifully mottled floor, richer than any natural stone, much cheaper, and, if well made, perhaps as durable. It would be well to adopt this mode of ornamenting houses in America. We might commence in the public buildings and in large private houses. It has the additional recommendation of security against fire. In a warm climate, however, it is the most desirable; though carpets can be used over the stucco, in winter, as well as over boards. The servants told me that a little oil mixed with bran or saw-dust, and swept over the floor, had the effect of brightening the colours and of rendering the whole brilliant. This process is repeated once or twice a week.

The palace was neat, well kept, and large for the Duchy. Even this structure puts Windsor to shame, so far as the internal arrangements, and the beauty and lightness of the rooms are concerned. Modena is a town of five-and-twenty thousand souls, and, like most of the places of this part of Italy, the wonder is what they find to do. The reigning family was also at Vienna; for all this region, though governed by different princes and held by different titles, is virtually Austrian.

Our next day’s march was still easier, extending no farther than Bologna, where we arrived about noon. The frontier of the States of the Pope was passed near the town of Modena, most of the road lying in the new territory. It was on the line of the ancient _Emilia Via_.

Here, then, we were at last on the confines of Lower Italy, and though the Apennines threw up their bold heads between us and our goal, we began to feel as if we had arrived. In the mean time, we sallied out to see the wonders of Bologna.

The streets of this town are lined with arcades, like those of Berne, though loftier, lighter, and of better architecture than the gloomy vaults of the city of the _Burgherschaft_. The architecture is altogether superior. You will be surprised to hear that the same cause has induced this particular mode of building; viz. the snows! Although in the heart of Italy, Bologna, lying at the foot of the Apennines, and on their northern side, is liable to have its streets obstructed with snow. There is a church on a hill, at the distance of a league from the town, and certain pious persons have actually caused a covered walk to be constructed the whole distance to it. It is an arcade open to the south, and protected towards the north by a wall. So much for the climate of Cis-Alpine Gaul!

The pictures of Bologna gave us great satisfaction; but the subject is so hackneyed, that it is seldom I shall enter into details about such things. The wax-work preparations have a horrible truth, and though probably useful as anatomical studies, are odious as spectacles. The same things exist at Paris, in equally disgusting accuracy.

There are two ugly motiveless brick towers in this town, one of which is of great height, and the other is not low, that lean out of the perpendicular in the way to make a spectator shudder. They have not much more beauty than the chimneys of a paint manufactory, and seem to have been built precisely for the reason that boys often pile bricks, with one leaning over the other, or just to ascertain where a line drawn from the centre of gravity will fall without the base. These babyisms on a large scale are apt to succeed the noble conceptions of a great nation, when in its decline. I believe, however, there is some pretence of utility connected with the best of these extraordinary freaks, and some pretensions to workmanship.

Bologna gives one an idea of the riches of Italy, in palaces and the arts. Its venerable and celebrated university is on the wane; but there are noble remains of its former wealth, learning, and importance. Many of the first families of Italy still reside here, and its society is said to be very desirable. But what can one who passes a day in a tavern tell you of these things that is worth knowing?

LETTER II.

Prospect of discomfort from crowded Inns.--Wildness of scenery among the Apennines.--Apprehensions excited by a bandit-looking Peasant.--Disappointed of accommodation by a knowing Courier.--An Inn of truly Italian character.--In travelling, servants fare better than their masters.--Approach to Florence.--The Cathedral square.

Caspar paid me a visit, after dinner, with an ominous face and a more ominous report. He had ascertained that not less than twenty carriages were to cross the mountains next day. This augured badly for our comfort. In the first place, we might have a famine, or be brought to chestnuts, the true diet of the Apennines; and moreover, there was but a single house within a day’s work of Bologna where we could possibly sleep. The ex-dragoon affirmed that nothing could pass him while actually in motion; but they who travelled post had the advantage of not stopping at all, and of course would win the plate. Nothing remained to be done but to get the track at starting, and to throw ourselves on our speed with at least the hope of distancing all the _vetturini_.--We accordingly drove through the gates of Bologna, before the day had fairly dawned. The inquiry of Caspar, whether any one had preceded us, was satisfactorily answered, and, cracking his long whip, the happy fellow trotted merrily to the foot of the first ascent. The road carried us very soon into the mountains, and here we bade adieu to the sea-like plain of Upper Italy.