YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY TRAVELS IN THE TWO SICILIES. Vol. IV. TRAVELS IN THE TWO SICILIES, B Y HENRY SWINBURNE, Efq. I N The Years 1777, 1778, 1779, and 1780. THE SECOND EDITION. VOL. IV. «JTID VERUM ATQTJE DECENS CURO— • Ho*. L O N D O N: PRINTED BY J. NICHOLS, FOR T. CADELL, AND P. ELMSLY, IN THE STRAND. M.DCC XC. C v ] TABLE of CONTENTS O F T H E FOURTH VOLUME. QECTION XXXIX. Hijery of Girgenth ^ Defcription of the prefent City. — Mufeum. i SECT. XL. Defcription of the ancient City:, 14 SECT. XLI. Ditto. - 21 SECT. XLIL Journey to Syracufe.— Mines of Sulphur. — Palma. - - - 31 SECT. XLIII. Alicata.-*~Barilla>-~-Terranova> — Ruins. - - - 39 SECT. XLIV. Foreft.-<— Honey. -^Calatagerone. — Style of Living. 50 SECT* XLV. View of Etna. — Hiftory and De- 1 1 fcript'ion of Lentini. — Felicity of the Plains. — » Fine Profpetl. — Column of Marcellus.-~-R.uins of Syracufe. 63 h SECT. VI CONTENTS. SECT. XLVI. Extent and Divifion of ancient Syracufe. — Ortygie. — The prefent City. — Tem ple. — Fountain of Arethufa. 75 SECT. XLVII. Achradina. — Catacombs, gi SECT. XLVIII. Tycha.—Old Walls and Gates. — Epipolts.—Neapolis Theatre.— Ear of Diony- Jius. - 96 SECT. XLIX. Produaions Climate.— Port. — River Anapus. — Fountain ofCyane. 106 SECT. L. Journey to Mejfina. — Ruins of Ag- nuni. — Abundance of Game. — Immenfe Plains. — Giaretta. - - - 114 SECT. LI. Mufeum of Bifcan.—Veil of St. Agatha. — Hijlory of Catania.- — Mufeum of the Benediclines, - - 123 SECT. LII. Defcription of Catania. — Villa of the Prince of Bifcari. - 133 SECT. LIII. Journey to Etna. — Eruptions.— Woods. — Effebls of tbe Scanto. 140 SFCT. LIV. Chejlnut Tree of an Hundred Horfe. — Eruption of Hot Water. 1 5 3 SECT. LV. Site of Naxus. — Taormina. — The atre- — -Tombs. - - 161 SECT. CONTENTS. Vli SECT. LVI. Defcription of Me/ma.— Port.— Charybdis. — Letter of the Virgin Mary. — La Catholica. — Greek Protopapa. 172 SECT. LVII. Hifiory of Mejina.— Revolt.— Plague. - - - 189 SECT. LVIII. Trade to Sicily. 197 SECT. LlX. Voyage to Tropea. — Faro of Mejfma. — Rock of Scilla. — Earthquake of 1783. 216 SECT. LX. Fifhery.—Stromboli. — Tropea. 223 SECT. LXI. Journey to Naples. — Monteleone. — Ruins of Hipponium. - - 239 SECT. LXII. Swine-herds Nicafiro. — De- flruclion of St. Eufemia. - z$z SECT. LXIII. Mountains of La Sila.— Abbot Joachim. ... gtfg SECT. LXIV. Excurjion to Paula. — Hifiory of St. Francis. — His Pidgeons. - 280 SECT. LXV. Hifiory and Defcription ofCofen- za. — Tomb of Alarie. — Vale cf the Craft. — Bifignano. — Hi/lory of its Princes.— Tarfia. — Monte Pollino. — Murano. - 287 SECT. LXVI. Campo Temefe.— Woods,— Vale 3 of Viii C O N T E N T Si ofDiano — River lofes itfelf. — Appears again at La Pertofa.— Arrival at Naples. 301 SECT. LXVII. Journey to Rome.—Averfa — Murder of Andrew of Hungary. — -Old Capua.—* Amphitheatre. — Hi/lory, — Modern Capua 323 SECT. LXVIII. Seja.— Plains of tbe Ga- rigliano. — Ruins of Minturna. — Mttladi Gaeta. —Gaeta. - - - 335 SECT. LXIX. Formian Villa of Cicero,— His Death and Charafier.—r-Tomb, — Fondi.—Old Walls.— Plundered by the Turks. 347 SECT. LXX. JoUrney to Avezzano. — Carjoli. — Entrance of Abruzzo. — Tagliocozzo. — Battle and jdefeat of Conradine. — St. Maria della Viaoria- — Alba. — Avezzano. - 360 SECT. LXXI. Lake ofCelano. — Ancient Marfi, — Emiffarium made by Claudius .—Opening of the Sluices. — Account of Abruzzo. — Produc tions. — Charader of the Natives. — Return to Rome. — Sora. — Cicero's Villa near Arpinum.—* Ifola. - » - 271 G I R G E N T I. SECTION XXXIX, IT is four miles from the port to the city of Girgenti, which ftands upon one of the highcfl hills"cn the eoaft ; the houfes cover its fummit and fides compleatly, and feem like terraces, with the cathedral and caftle above all. The road thither is good, though hilly, and the vale delightfully planted with olive- trees in corn-fields : among the diftant groves towards the eaft the ruins of Agrigentum rife above the trees. The ftone of which the lower ftrata of thefe hills are compofed is a concretion of marine exuvia of a reddiih yellow tinge, ex- Vol. IV. B adly 2 GIRGENTI. adtly fimilarv to the colour of volcanic tufo when wet. I was lodged at the convent of the Scuolepie, which being fituated in one of the moft elevated parts of Girgenti, afforded me from my win dows a profped of the whole country towards the fea; the ruins of the old city appear diftin&ly amidft green fields ; the courfe of the torrents that flowed before its walls may be traced through all their meanders ; the remains of ancient encampments on the heights, the port, and the coaft for many leagues, all lie within the compafs of one view. No pencil can do juftice to the beauties of the intermediate vale, hemmed in by gentle eminences on three fides, and richly fet with evergreens, and al mond-trees powdered with blofibms. The firft perfon introduced to me was the Cicerone of the place, a poor fchoolmafter ; with moderate fkill in drawing, great attention, and exaclnefs, he has delineated all the ruins. I compared feveral of his draughts, and verified his GIRGENTI. 3 his meafurements, and had reafon to be fatisfied with his care and truth. Before I proceed to an account of the prefent ftate either of Old or New Girgenti, it will be proper to fltetch out a compendium of their origin and hiftory. Ancient authors inform us that Dedalus, the moft famous mechanician of fabulous antiquity, fled to this fpot for protec tion againft Minos, and built many wonderful edifices for Cocalus king of the ifland. Long after his flight the people of Gela fent a colony hither, fix hundred years before the birth of Chrift ; and from the name of a neighbouring ftream called the new city Acragas, whence the Romans formed their word Agrigentum. Thefe Greeks converted the ancient abode of the Si- culi into a citadel,, to guard the magnificent city which they erected on the hillocks below. An advantageous fituation, a free government with all its happy effects, and a very active commercial fpirit, exalted their commonwealth to a degree of riches and power unknown to B 2 the 4 GIRGENTI. the other Greek fettlements, Syracufe alone ex cepted*. But if we may truft chronologifts with "* Nummi Agrigentinorum. Ex Argento. i. Pagurus AKPArANTOS — Aquila pifcem difcerpena AKPArAN— 2. Pagurus— Aquila leporem difcerpens. 3. Pagurus- Aquila fuper colubrum ftans. 4. In quadr. caput muliebre AKPA — Jupiter fedens d. Aquil. s. bac. tenens. 6. Du£ Aquilae leporem difc. AKPArANTl — Figura in quadrig. a fupervolitante victoria coronat. fubt. pagurus. Ex ./Ere. 1. Aquila pifcem ten. AKPArANTlNfiN alis expands— « Pagurus Polypus et Concha. 2. Aquila pifc. ten. alis clauffis AKPA — Pagurus 3. Aquila ferpent. devor. — Pagurus . vermis. 4. Cap. Apollinis — duaj Aquila; Iepor. difcerp. 5. Cap. imb. ferto redim.— Pagurus. 6. Aquila lepor. difc— Pagurus. 7. Aquila lacertam devor.— Pagurus. a glob, delphin. 8, Aquila avem devor.— Pagurus. 2 glob. 2 pifces. 9. Cap. imb. pileat.— Pagurus. 10. Cap. GIRGENTI. 5 with refpedt to the periods they have fixed for the particular events of thofe remote ages, the 10. Cap. Apollin. AK— Aquila AKPArANTl. Ii. Aquila. lep. dev. — 3 glob. 12. Cap. Jovis— Aquila fulm. infift. AKPArANTINON. 13. Cap. Cereris AK — Mulier ftol. ftans AKPArANTl- NJ2N. 14. Cap. Apoll. AK — Aquila. 15. Cap. Cereris M— Vir nudus pat. ten. AKPArANTI NON. 16. Cap. imb. — mulier flans s. haft, tenens. 17. Cap. mulieb.— Tripus. 18. Cap. Palladis galeat. cum leone in galea — Victoria alat. et ftolat. flans, d. ramum s. bacul. ten. pagurus NIKA. v 19. Cap. Herculis barb. AKPArANTl — Aquila ferpent. dev. 20. Cap. Jovis AKPArANTl — Aquila lep. dev. I*. 21. Cap. Cereris cum caracht. jgriotis — Vir barb, ftans togat. 22. Aquila AKPA — 'Pagurus Al. 23. Triquetra— In laurea AGRIGENT. 24. Aquila AKPATANTOS. 25. Cap. viril. diadem, imbarb. cornutum AKPArAE— Aquila columns infid. capire conv. 6 glob, pagurus. B 3 felicity 6 GIRGENTI. felicity of Agrigentum was but of fhort du ration, and tyranny foon deftroyed its liberties. Phalaris was the firft that reduced it to fla- very. His name is familiar to moft readers on account of his cruelty, and the brazen bull in which he tortured his enemies. The ^letters fuppofed to be written by him were the fubject of a long difcuflion among the learned fome years ago; while one party maintained their au thenticity, the other proved them to be fpu- rious. Phalaris met with the common fate of tyrants, and after his death the Agrigentines enjoyed their liberty fifty years ; at the expira tion of which term Thero ufurped the fove- reign authority. The moderation, juftice, and valour of this prince preferved him from oppofi- tion while/ living, and have refcued his memory from the obloquy of pofterity ; he joined his fon-in-law Gelo, king of Syracufe, in a war againft the Carthaginians ; in the courfe of which, victory attended all his fteps, and Sicily faw hc-rfelf for a time delivered from her African oppreflbrs. GIRGENTI. 7 oppreffors. The memory of Thero's virtues could not preferve the fceptre in his family ; very foon after his deceafe, his fon Thrafydeus was defpoiled of the diadem, and Agrigentum reftored tp her old democratical government. Ducetius next difturbed the general tranquil lity : he was a chief of the mountaineers defen dants of the Siculi, and was an overmatch for the Agrigentines while they were unfupported by alliances, but fank under the weight of their, union with the Syracufans. Some trifling al tercations diflblved this union, and produced a war in which the Agrigentines were worfted, and compelled to fubmit to humiliating terms of peace. Refentment led them to embrace with joy the propofals of the Athenians, then meditating an attack upon Syracufe. Their new friends foon made them feel that the facri- fice of liberty and fortune would be the price of their protection, and this confideration brought them fpeedily back to their old connections. But as if it had been decreed that all friendship B 4 fhould 8 GIRGENTI. fhould be fatal to their repofe, the reconciliation and its effects drew upon them the anger of the Carthaginians : by this enemy their armies were routed, their city taken, and their race almoft extirpated ; fcarcely a veftige of magnifi cence was left, and Agrigentum lay fifty years buried under its own ruins, till Timoleon, after triumphing over the Carthaginians, and re- ftoring liberty to Sicily, collected the defen dants of the Agrigentines, and fent them to re-eftablifh the dwellings of 'their forefathers. Their exertions were rewarded with aftonifhing fuccefs ; for Agrigentum rofe from its alhes with fuch a renewal of vigour, that in a very fhort time we find it engaged in the bold fcheme of feizing a lucky moment, when Aga- thocles and Carthage had reduced Sjracufe to the loweft ebb, and arrogating to itfelf fupre- macy over all the Sicilian republicks. Xenodi- cus was appointed the leader of this arduous enterprize ; and had his latter operations been as fortunate as his firft campaign, Agrigentum would GIRGENTI. 9 would have acquired fnch a preponderance of reputation and power, that the rival ftates would not even have dared to attack it. But a few brilliant exploits were fucceeded by a fevere overthrow ; the Agrigentines loft courage, dif- agreed in council, and humbly fued for peace to Agathocles. This commonwealth afterwards took a ftrong part with Pyrrhus, and when he left Sicily to the mercy of her enemies, threw itfelf into the arms of Carthage. During the firft Punic war Agrigentum was the head quarters of the Carthaginians, and was befieged by the Roman confuls, who after eight months blockade, took it by ftorm. It neverthelefs changed mafters feveral times during the conteft between thofe rival ftates, and in every inftance fuffered moft cruel outrages. After this pe riod very little mention of it occurs in hif- tory, nor do we know the precife time of the deftruction of the old city, and the building of the new one. My IO GIRGENTI. My antiquary began his round with the ca thedral, a clumfy building patched up by bar barous architects with various difcordant parts; the Norman ftyle is injudicioufly blended with modern imitations of the Grecian orders. The roof is of wood and almofl flat, interfected by two ftone-arches ; my conductor placed me at the bottom of the nave, and went himfelf along the cornice to a poft behind the altar ; his loweft whifper reached me, and was heard with the ut- moft diftinctnefs, notwithftanding the line of communication was broken by the ifles, and a multitude of projecting pieces of ornamental architecture. This church is enriched with no works of modern painters or fculptors that claim any title to praife, but the baptifmal font is made out of an ancient farcophagus faced with very beautiful baflb relievos. The principal front exhibits feveral men with horfes and hounds preparing for the chace, and a little aged female holding the principal figure, as if fhe wiihed to keep him at home. The flab that forms GIRGENTI. II forms the back of the coffin is roughly chifleled, and reprefents the hunting of a wild boar, which keeps at bay a few dogs and five huntfrnen. On one end of the monument a hero is drawn as thrown from a chariot, the horfes in great con- fufion and difmay rearing up, while a fervant ftruggles to hold them in. On the oppofite ex tremity is a matron fitting in a melancholy pof- ture, furrounded by her maids, who endeavour to foothe her grief by the found of various in- ftruments. A' little Cupid behind her chair has his bow bent, and feems to be drawing a ihaft flily out of his quiver. Antiquaries differ in their explanations of thefe fculptures ; but all agree in allowing them a considerable lhare of elegance, fpirit, and correct- nefs of defign. Monfignor Lucchefi, the late Bifhop of this fee, and brother to the Prince of Campofranco, lies buried under a mafs of marble as imperfect in tafte and drawing as it is in execution ; the prelate deferved a better monument, for he pol- IS GIRGENTI. poffefled great virtues, and left behind him an excellent character both as a biihop and as an encourager of fcience ; he added a fpacious hall to his palace, and placed in it a large affortment of books for the ufe of the publick j he alfo bequeathed a cabinet of medals and antiquities as the beginning of a Mufeum, and an incitement to learningfand good tafte. Time will Ihew whether his laudable endeavours^ and the advantages he procured his flock in that line, have had all the effect he wifhed in pro pagating knowledge in his diocefe ; it is the richeft in Sicily, but has the character of being lefs enlightened and polifhed than the reft of the ifland. Among the curiofities belonging to the ca thedral is an Etrufcan vafe of rare fize and pre- fervation. There are alfo fonie golden pateras of extreme rarity, fimilar to one purchafed at Girgenti by Sir William Hamilton, and by him depofited in the Britilh Mufeum. From GIRGENTI. I^ From the cathedral, a canon, to whom I had brought letters, carried me in his coach to fee the town, and take the air in the only ftreet where horfes can draw a carriage with any de gree of eafe or fafety. This city, inhabited by fifteen thoufand perfons, has no remarkable buildings or works of art that deferve mention 3 the only antiquities I faw were a Latin infcrip- tion of the time of the Antonines, as is pre tended, relative to fome affociation between Agrigentum and Lilybasum ; and a piece of ancient mafonry in the foundations of a church, which my guide called the remains of a temple of Jupiter. SEC- 14 GIRGENTI. SECTION XL. ID E V O T E D the following day to a re gular furvey of the ancient city of Agri- gentuitn, the principal part of which lay in the vale ; the prefent town of Girgenti occu pies the mountahvon which the citadel of Co- calus ftood. It was fcarcely poflible to be more judicious and fortunate than the Agrigentines were in the choice of a Situation for a large city ; they were here provided with every requifite for defence, pleafure, and comfort of life ; a natural wall, formed by abrupt rocks, prefented a ftrong barrier againft affailants ; pleafant hills flieltered them on three fides without impeding the circu lation of air ; before them a broad plain watered by GIRGENTI. 15 by the Acragas, an agreeable ftream from which the city took its name, gave admittance to the fea-breeze, and to a noble profpect of that awful element ; the port or emporium lay in view at the mouth of the river, and probably the road acrofs the flat was lined with gay and populous fuburbs. The hofpitality and parade for which the Agrigentines are celebrated in hiftory were fup- ported by a brifk and extenfive commerce, that alfo gave an air of life and opulence to all the environs. So ftrong is this fupport to a com monwealth, that Agrigentum was able to refill many fliocks of adverfity, and always rife again with freih fplendour after the moft outrageous ftorms ; it was, however, crufhed by the ge neral fall of Grecian liberty ; the feeble rem nants of its population, which had furvived fo many calamities, were at length driven out of its walls by the Saracens, and obliged to lock themfelves up for fafety among the bleak and inacceffible rocks of the prefent city. The l6 GIRGENTI.' The day was as favourable for my purpofe as could be wifhed, clear and warm ; every object glowed with the brightnefs of the fun- beams, and all nature feemed to refume new life on the approach of fpring : the tints in the landfcape were ftrong, and imbrowned with the Shades of winter ; but the quantity of ever greens, and the patches of young corn, gave fufficient variety to the picture ; every gratifica tion I enjoyed in examining the noble veftiges of old magnificence was enhanced by the fweet temperature of the atmofphere. We began our rounds at the north-eaft angle, with fome foundations of large regular ftones, upon which a church has been erected ; a road appears hewn in the folid rock for the conve nience of the votaries that vifited this temple in ancient days ; it was then dedicated to Ceres and her daughter Proferpine, the peculiar pa- troneffes of Sicily. Bifhop Blaife has fucceeded to their honors, From GIRGENTI. 17 From hence we continued our walk to the fouth-eaft corner, where the ground, rifing gra dually, ends in a bold eminence, which is crown ed with majeftic columns, the ruins of a temple faid to have been confecrated to Juno : it was raifed upon a lofty bafe of- regular ftone work, in the heart of which was contrived a gallery either for apartments or ftore-houfes. On the weft front only (for as the temple was placed on the brow of a hill, the elevation of the giound rendered it unneceffary on the eaftern afpect) a grand flight of fteps leads up to the pronaos or veftibule. The fronts confifted of fix fluted Doric columns, the flanks of eleven plain ones ; of thefe few are now (landing, many having been thrown down by earthquakes within the memory of man ; what remains is in a tottering condition, and threatens foon to be proftrate with the reft. Their Situation on a gently fwelling eminence, rifing out of a wood of fruit-trees, its fides dotted with fingle trees, Vol IV. C pre- l8 GIRGENTI. prefents a moft delightful fubject for the pencil «f a landfcape-painter. Here we altered our direction, and moved from this temple, which flood at the fouth-eaft angle of the city-walls, along the brow of the hill towards the weft. We foon reached the building commonly called the temple of Con cord *. * The reafon given for fuppofing it was facred to Con cord is, that Fazzello, and fubfequent writers, have afcribed to this building the infcription now fixed in a wall at Gir genti. It runs thus: " Concordia; Agrigentinorum facrurn, " Refpublica Lilybitanorum dedicantibus M. AtterioCan- " dido Procos. et L. Cornelio Marcello D. Pr. Pr." and, as D'Orville very juflly concludes from many unanfwerable arguments, is fuppofititious. Upon this flight foundation, and an expreffion in Strabo, who fays, that all the public edifices of Agrigentum had been burnt or deftroyed before the time of Auguftus, Fazzello has formed his opinion that this temple was built after that period, and at the joint expence of the two cities mentioned in the infcription. If it was, it muft be deemtd impoffible to afcertain the age of a building by the ft) le of its architecture j for the ruins of Agrigentum feem to belong to an earlier period. The GIRGENTI. 19 r The ft°ne of this and the other buildings, is the fame asthatofthe neighbouring mountains a/id cliffs, a conglutination of fea-fand. and Shell's, full of perforations, of a hard and durable texture, and a deep reddifh-brown colour. This Doric tem ple has all its columns,,, entablature, pediments, and walls entire ; only part of the roof is want ing : it owes its prefervation to the piety of fome Chriftians, who have covered half the nave, and converted it into a church confecrated un der the invocation of Saint Gregory, biShop of Girgenti. Six columns in front, and eleven on the fides, without the angular ones, form the colonnade, in all thirty-four. The cella has a 1 door at each end between two columns and two pilafters, and in each fide-wall Six fmall doors, and a ftair-cafe that led up to the rooms in the roof. The pediments are much flatter than thofe ufed by the moderns, not being elevated above twenty-two degrees. The entablement is very large in its proportions ; the columns taper regularly without any fwelling, from a C 2 diamater 20 GIRGENTI. diameter of four feet three inches to one of three feet five inches *. This majeftie edifice Stands in the moft Strik ing point of view imaginable, on the brink of a precipice, which formed the defence of the city along the whole fouthern expofure ; from every part of the country the temple of Concord ap pears the moft confpicuous figure of a beautiful picture. * Meafures. fc. in. lines'. Pediment, height of the die 9 9 6 Cornice - 2 6 6 Entablement, height of cornice 2 6 6 Projection of ditto - ¦ 3 e o Height of frize 3 5 o Breadth of triglyph » 5 0 Height of architrave 3 io 3 Thicknefs of abacus O IO 3 Ditto of the ovolo i 8 6 Ditto of the annulet » S t IffH' c/ffa//rWftJ of' 7if'Mpt'/t/?f/?L ff-e-'M m^ ' Jf>nvfr-eS--7y%£r0 ^Temfle 01 J^rs a* »*.»** ****** W " «^ ****"»" * , . Temple of Concord-. • —FonpteofJiena. Tamt rfnerv. SIRGENTI. 21 SECTION XLI. FROM hence we proceeded in the fame direction between rows of fepulchres cut in the rock wherever it admitted of being exca vated by the hand of man, or was fo already by that of pature ; iome rnaffes of it are hewn into :the Shape of coffins, others drilled full of fmall Square holes employed in a different mode of interment, and ferving as receptacles of urns. One ponderous piece of the rock lies in an ex traordinary pofition : by the failure of its foun dation, or the Shock of an earthquake, it has been loofed from the general quarry, and rolled down the declivity, where it now remains fupine with the cavities turned upwards. / Our next Station was at a Single column that marks the confufed heap of mofs-grown ruins belonging to the temple of Hercules. It ftood n a projecting rock above a chafm in the ridge, C 3 - which 22 "GIRGENTI. which was cut through for a paflage to the em porium. , . „ „ We followed this road over fome hills to the building ufually called the tomb of Thero. It is fu. rounded by aged olive-trees, which eaft a wild irregular Shade over the ' ruin. The Situa tion is Solitary, the rocks' appear under the tem ple of Concord in the back 'ground, 'and the clufters of beautiful tre'esform'a variety bfrnaffes along the banks to'whi'cn;the: magic touches of a Salvator could alone db juftice. This edifice1 rather inclines to the pyramidical fliape, and confifts at prefent of a triple plinth and a bafe fupporting a fquare pedeftal: upon thisplain Solid foundation is raifed a fecond order, having a window in each front, and two Ionic pilafters at each angle ; they are crowned with an entablature of the Doric order, of which the triglyphs and metopes remain, but the cornice is fallen ; it is confequently impoSfible to divine how the building was terminated at the fummit, Notwithftanding this confufion of ornaments and GIRGENTI. aj and proportions, the monument has great ele gance in its form and Style. Its infide is divided intoa vault, a ground-room, and one in the Ionic ftory, communicating with each other by means of a fmall internal ftair-cafe *. Frem hence I wandered down into the plain ..to infpect the fragments of what is called the temple of Efculapius ; part of two columns and two pilafters with an intermediate wall fup- port the end of a farm houfe, and were, I fup- pofe, the front of the cella. From the plain I returned to Agrigentum by the fame road, and purfuing the track of the walls towards the weft, arrived at a fpot which * Meafures of Thero's Tomb. ft. in. Diameter of the lower ftory 13 0 Height of ditto *7 3 Diameter of the upper ftory 9 1 Height of ditto 12 3 Diameter of columns at top I 1 j 6 C 4 JS 24 GIRGENTI. is covered with the gigantic remains of the tem ple of Jupiter the Olympian, minutely defcribed by Diodorus Siculus. It may literally be faid that it has not one ftone left Upon another, and it is barely poflible, with the help of much con jecture, to difcover the traces of its plan and dimensions. Diodorus calls it the largeft tem ple in the whole iflahd, but adds that the cala mities of war caufed the work to be abandoned before the, roof could be put on ; and that the Agrigentines were ever after reduced to -fuch a State of poverty and dependence, that they never had it in their power to finiSh this fuperb mo*. nument of the tafte and opulence of their ancef- tors. The length of this temple was three hun-. dred and feventy Greek feet, its breadth fixty, and its height two hundred and twenty, exclu- five of the foundations or bafement-ftory ; the extent and folidity of its vaults and under-works were wonderful ; its fpacious porticos and ex- quifite fculpture were fuited to the grandeur of the whole. It was not built in the ufual Style of GIRGENTI. 25 of Sicilian temples with a cejla of maffive walls and a peryftile, but was defigned in a mixt tafle with half columns let into the walls on the out- fide, the infide exhibiting a plain furface. This account of Diodorus cannot be perfectly afcertained either as to length or breadth, and the height can only be gueffed at by calculating the diameter of the femi-columns, and their proportions ; we may thus form a plan by ana logy and comparison with other temples Still exifting in the ifland entire in all or moft of their parts ; but as this edifice, erected in honour of the fupreme deity of Paganifm, differed effen- tially in its de'fign from the reft, the difficulties offpeaking with precifion on the fubject are doubled ; I fuppofe that when the Sicilian au thor mentions height, he reckons from thepave- ment to the point of the pediment ; this brings it pretty near his meafurement, which otherwife feems abfurd or ill-copied. Still I fufpect he does not allow fufficient breadth. The half-columns meafure ten feet in diameter, and if we follow the ufual proportion 1 of 26 GIRGENTI. of columns in Sicily, muft have been only fifty feet high ; they have ten Sharp flutings, each of which was wide enough to allow me to Stand at my eafe in them. Their mighty fragments lie fcattered on the brow and fide of a gentle de clivity ; thefe and the parts of the entablature and pediment have a deep grove cut at each end in the figure of a horfe-fhoe, along which a rope was run in order to hoift the ftone into its pro per place. The pompous, defcription left us of this fa- brick, and the coloffal dimensions of its remains, impreffed Baron Reidefel with fuch enthufiaftic ideas, that in the warmth of his admiration and antiquarian zeal he treats all buildings of later date with moft profound contempt; if we were to truft to his decisions on the point, we Shpuld efteem the church of Saint Peter at Rome as no better than a chapel compared with this temple, either in magnitude, tafte, or decoration ; but upon cooler confideration, and the compafs in our hand, we Shall difcover that this writer, wh ance, and both they and a French merchant that joined our company gave a moft unfavour able account of the Palmefe ; they affured me that a native of Palma might be found in every jail in Sicily, for in atrocious villainy and bad-r nefs of character they were eminently remark able above all the inhabitants of the ifland. The old woman acknowledged that part of the accu- fation was true, and that the brother of the governatore was juft releafed from confinement for want of evidence of his having murdered his fifter-in-law. Thefe accounts took away all defire of making any acquaintances here, and reconciled me to my folitude. The houfe Stands on a rock that towers above an extenfive plain, divided into corn-fields by rows of almond-trees in full bloflbm ; fome fmaller inclofures fur- round clumps of evergreen fruit trees, and vines that run from the trees form arbours which in fummer muft be delicious Shady retreats ; but Shade and Shelter are amply fupplied at all D 2 feafons 36 JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. feafons by the locuft-trees fcattered over the vale ; the mother trunk is encircled by layers that Strike root and Shoot up to an equal height, thus from a Single original plant fpreading a grove over half an acre. In front of the win dows rifes a gentle knoll covered with a knot of tall palm-trees that hang their beautiful bran ches over a farm houfe ; the fea appears between their Stems. This rich vale is clofed on the weft fide by a wood of fruit trees that cover the hills, at the foot of which a limpid Stream winds its way to the fea— .Behind all rifes a mountain, planted to the fummit with olive trees. The view to the eaft is confined by a high country cultivated to the very top. In my whole, tour I never met with a fpot that pofleffed fo many points of rural elegance as this vale of Palma ; it feemed to me the image of what the whole fouthern coaft of Sicily was, while its inhabitants had nothing to fear from their African neighbours ; while they peaceably cultivated their fertile lands, and ran no JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. 37 no riSk of a barbarous invader's reaping the fruit of their toil, and carrying off their fami lies to Slavery in foreign climes. The face of the country along the coaft has undoubtedly undergone great alterations Since the ftates of Barbary began their depredations ; the terror they infpire has driven the natives into towns, or farther back from the fea, and, perhaps, induces them to keep the country clear of wood, that the approach of an enemy, may be more eafily' difcerned and guarded againft. A fmall caricatore is now the fource of fome profperity to the Palmefe, enabling them to difpofe of the excellent products of their terri tory. The wine of Palma is highly prized \ indeed the whole coaft affords that article in great perfection. I tafted various forts of white wine, fome low in colour, and others of a rich amber glow, refembling Sherry in look and tafte. The macaroni of this district is very fine, the bread extremely white and good, and D 3 wherever 38 JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. wherever I came, freSh eggs, pork, and fowls were to be had in great abundance. From Palma I travelled fome miles in a plea fant plain, part of which is planted with vines, the reft fown with corn and inclofed with rows of almond-trees. I then paffed over a high ledge of rocks, from whence I had a view of the fpacious plains which Fazzello calls the jEampi Geloi, fuppofed to have been feen by »iEneas as he coafted along *. A long infulated mountain divides this level track bf land from the fea-Shore. My guide, who knew the low grounds to be impaffable at this feafon of the year, conducted us near the beach, and by winding over the hills picked out a road to Alicata, which is twelve miles from the laft halt; whenever neceffity drove us down into the plain (for we could not always make good a paffage round the rocks), our progrefs was * Ad paret Pamarina procul campique Geloi Immanifque Gela fluvii cognomine difta. Virc. ^q. 1 flow JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. 39 flow and fatiguing both to man and beaft, for at every ftep we were mired and almofl: riveted in the dirt. SECTION XLI1I. A LICATA is a fmall town, built partly •*¦ *¦ upon a flope and partly on the beach at the end of a long chain of hills. It is a place of little ftrength, for the caftle of St. Angelo on the brow of the hill is ruinous, the town-wails are much decayed, and the fortrefs on the pe- ninfula is in want of great repairs to render it ftrong. It forms two fmall bays for the barges that carry out the corn to Ships lying in the offing. Alicata has great connections with Malta in the corn trade, and Maltefe fperonaras * * A kind of long boat that goes both with oars and fells, D 4 are 40 JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. are commonly to be hired here. My intention, was tp have embarked at Alicata, and to have vifited that ifland ; but the winds, had long blown from the wrong point, and feemed fixed for a length of time in the fame quarter. This, difficulty, and the great agitation of the fea, obliged me to give up all thoughts of the voyage. I alighted at the houfe pf a clergyman. The town contains ten thoufand inhabitants. The patron of Alicata is Saint Angelo, a Carmelite friar murdered by the Moors in the thirteenth. century j his body was expofgd to the venera tion of the publick while I was there, in com memoration of hi? having preferved the town from the havock occasioned in other parts of the ifland by the earthquake of 1693. The popu lace of this place carry their refpect for the fa- cerdotal character to a great height ; for as we walked through the ftreets, the old women and children eaft themfelyes on their knees before the clergyman my companion, touching his, garments with a finger, and then kiffing their hand. 'JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. 41 £iand with great veneration ; fome, more incon veniently Situated than the reft, contented thenar pelves with touching my cloaths, thinking, no doubt, that a blefling was like the electric fluid, and could be cpmmunicated by means of con ductors. Alicata poffeSTes fome curious Greek inferip- tions relative to the ancient city of Gela ; the moft remarkable is a pfephifma, or decree of the fenate, for crowning Heraclides director of the public academy. January 10. I left the Val di Mazzara at the ferry of the Fiume Salfo, and eptered the Val di Noto. This river was the Himera of the ancients ; it rifes in the heart of Sicily, near the fpurce of another river formerly Jcnown by the fame name of Himera, which difcharges itfelf into the gulf of Termini. The prefent denomination is derived from the brackiSh tafte of its waters, which are deep in winter, but extremely Shallow in fummer. On the oppofite bank I enjoyed a pleafant yiew of J\.lic&taf Stretching down the hill in an elegant 42 ' JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. elegant fweep. Its caftles terminate the line of houfes in a bold manner, and prefent a mi niature copy of the grand picture of Naples, when feen from the Shore of Portici. We kept near the fea for eighteen miles, fol lowing the finuofities of the coaft, and as much as poffible riding upon the fands ; they abound in Shells, fome of which would be valuable to a colle&or of natural curiofities; the broken cliffs that extend to the verge of the fea are compofed of greeniSh marie, full? of fulphur; fome of them are folid rocks of gypfum. A great deal of kali, or faltwort, grows on thefe marley grounds, and a confiderable quantity of barilla is burnt in the neighbourhood. The difcovery of the ufes of this plant appears to be a prefent of the Saracens to the Europeans ; for I have not been able to find any mention of it before the Mahometan asra. The ancients, as far as I have read, are Silent on that head. Pliny enters deeply into the nature of the va rious kinds of nitre, explains all the ingredients employed JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. 43 employed in making glafs, but in the number never hints at any mixture of vegetable afhes being ufed. He informs us in his 31ft book-, that nitre was naturally formed by evaporation in feveral lakes, without any art, and that in other places it was made in the fame manner as falt? in beds, and by regulated quantities of ni trous water let in to evaporate ; after which it was laid in heaps, and there hardened to the confiftence of a ftone. He adds, that a Ship laden with nitre having anchored off the mouth of a muddy river in Syria, called Bel us, the failors landed to drefs their dinner on Shore, but for want of Stones to fet their pot upon, fetched fome lumps of their cargo from the flap for that purpose,. As the fire increafed it melted the fait jointly with the fands of the beach, and foon produced a new liquor, which was glafs. Before I ventured to advance this opinion, I confulted fuch modern writers as have written profeffedly on the fubject. In the Encyclopedic I found, 44 JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. I found, under the heads Soude and Verre, a contrary affertion, grounded upon a mif-inter- pretation of Pliny's words *. It is there faid that, according to a ftory in Pliny, glafs was difcovered by fome merchants, who being caji away on the fands, near the mouth of the river Belus, happened to drefs their victuals with kali, the afhes of which united in fufion with the fand. No mention whatever is made by the Latin naturalift of any plant or aShes, but only pf nitre collected from water, and hardened into lumps. The compilers of that Dictionary are often guilty of Similar inaccuracies, and it had been more conducive to- the public uti lity, if they had devoted fome of the hours fpent in metaphysical differtations to the revifal * The text runs thus :— " Fama eft appulfa nave merr catorum nitri, cum fparfi per litus epulas pararent, nee eflet cortinis attollendis lapidum occalio, glebas nitri e nave fubdidifle. Quibus accenfis permifta arena littoris tranfluentes novi liguoris fluxifle rivos et hauc fuifle origi- nem vitri." 3 and J OU R N EY TO S Y R AC USE. 4^ and perfection of the eflential parts of their book. A flight criticifm upon this Dictionary will, I truft, be pardoned in a work that de- fcribes Palermo as a capital ftill exifting in a populous flourishing condition, while the En- cyclopediftes call it, " an ancient city destroyed, *' that was formerly Situated on the northern " coaft of Sicily, and vied with Meffina for the " title of metropolis." No appearance of ruined edifices occurred during my ride to Terranova, a large burgh belonging to the duke of Monteleone. It is chearfully Situated on a bank near the fea, and has a caricatore which exports a confiderable quantity of corn. The environs abound with figs and grapes, but produce no olives, which renders oil a fcarce and dear commodity. The water here is bad, and not always in fufficient quantity for the demand of the inhabitants. I am informed that Terranova has the unpleafant reputation of being more infected with the itch than any other town in Sicily, which proceeds from 46 JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. from the brackiSh water and fiery wine they drink, the fait pork and tunny they live upon, and the inactive life they lead. I leave it to the natives to fettle the juftice of this accufation ; but muft obferve, that thefe cutaneous diforders are far from uncommon in the other parts of the ifland, and that it bears the fofter appellation of ffocaccia, a heat. I apprehend that dirtinefs is a primary caufe of the frequency of thefe fait humours. Terranova has feveral remains of antiquity ; in the town are fome foundations and mutilated fragments of a great temple ; at a fmall diftance from the eaft gate, on a bare hill of fand *, a column of the Doric order lies proftrate. There * Its component parts are fix in number, feparate but unbroken, the fall having only disjoined them, not al tered their refpe£live pofitions. No cement had been ufed, only a bolt. One piece formed the capital five feet long ; the others cojnpofed the fhaft, are fluted, and four feet Column at Terra nova- JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. 47 There have been great debates among geo graphers concerning the Situation of Gela, whe ther it Stood at Alicata, or at Terranova. In both places are antique ruins, and behind both an immenfe plain, to which the name of Ge- loan-fields has been applied by antiquaries. I think with Cluverius, that Terranova has the clearer title to reprefent the ancient city. The account of Agathocles's defeat by the Cartha ginians feems to me a ftrong proof in its favour : they were encamped on the eminences to the weft of the river Himera, and the Sicilian tyrant was under a neceffity of croffing it before he could make his attack upon them. The Sici lians, being repulfed and routed, fled acrofs the plains, where the Numidian cavalry purfued them with great flaughter, and along the banks of the river; as the weather was infufferably hot, the foldiers exhausted with fatigue and feet long each ; the diameter at the bottom is five feet, s*t the top of the Shaft, four. parched 48 JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. parched up with thirft, fwallowed large draughts of its water, which poifohed many that the fword had fpared. Agathocles collected his fcattered forces, and retreated to Gela. From this account, the Himera being undoubtedly the fame as the Fiume falfo, it is evident that Gela could not be where Alicata now Stands, but fomewhere eaft of the river. But fuch amazing changes have happened along this coaft Since the days of Grecian fplendour, that perhaps the towns, whofe ruins we are fearching for, may now be buried deep under the waves, or the fands which have been accumulated at the mouths of the rivers. Gela was a Rhodian colony, and the parent of other colonies eftabliftied along the coaft ; its ftory refembles theirs, being compofed of great viciffitudes of liberty, profperiry, tyranny, and defolation. The moft remarkable asra of its annals was the reign of Gelo : it feems to have loft all confequence long before the Pvomans fubdued JOU RNE Y TO SYR AC USE. 49 fubdued Sicily; and, in the time of Auguftus, Strabo ranks it among the uninhabited places of the ifland *. * Nummi Gelenfium. Ex Argento, 1 . Dimidium bovis cum capite humano et cornu TEAA— Equus corona. 2. Idem Eques nudus d. baculum tenens. ' 3. Idem Vir in biga coronatus. 4. Cap. imb. diadem. — Minotaur us gradiens TE. Ex Mre. 1. Cap. imb. capillis horridis TEAAS— Bos et ramus. 2. Cap. Apoll. — Minotaurus. 3. Cap. Hercul. — Minotaurus. 4. Dimid. Minotauri.— Biga victoria fupervol. et coro- nam impon. 5.. Cap. cornut. diadem. — Taurus. 5 glob. 6. Cap. Apoll. — Dimid. Minotauri— delphin K. 7. Cap. imb. diad.— Minotaurus K. 3 globuli. Vol. IV. E SEC- JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. SECTION XLIV. \ T Terranova I quitted the fouthern coaft, *¦ ¦*¦ and directed my courfe north-eaft. The low road was impracticable on account of the late rains, and we were obliged to take a round-about way over the high country, which is almoft an entire fandy foreft of cork-trees. The profpects on every fide were grand. To wards the weft lay an immenfe plain, bounded by a gloomy chain of mountains ; while the Val di Noto extended on the right like a long peninfula. I now difcovered iEtna for the firft time, towering above all the interme diate mountains, white with fnow, and throw ing out from its fummit a eonftant but feeble Stream of fmoke. Lentifcus is the general un derwood of this foreft, and is called by the Si- i cilians JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. 5! cilians Jlinco *. Wild honey is found in great abundance in thefe woods, but the inhabitants have alfo hives near their houfes ; its flavour is delicious, and has been celebrated from the re- moteft antiquity, for Hybla was Situated in the centre of this country. Men may degenerate, may forget the arts by which they acquired re nown ; manufactures may fail, and commodities be debafed ; but the fweets of the wild flowers of the wildernefs, the induftry and natural me- chanicks of the bee, will continue without change or derogation. From the quality of foil, and the want of water, this upper part of the pro vince muft always have had a great deal of wafte land. The corn wore the moft promising appear ance ; the fallow- land feemed to be excellent foil. Twenty- three pair of oxen were ploughing together within a fquare of thirty acres. * Perhaps the name given it by the Germans, on account of its ftrong difagreeable finell. E z Beyond 52 JOURNEY-TO SYRACUSE, Beyond the town we entered a very fine tract of vineyards, which improved as we gradually approached the mountains of Calatagerone. Calatagerone, a royal city, containing about feventeen thoufand inhabitants, living by agri* culture and the making of potter's ware, is twenty miles from the fea, and Situated on the fummitof a very high, infulated hill, embofomed in thick groves of cypreffes ; the road to it, though paved, is very fteep, difficult, and dan gerous for any thing but a mule or an afs. I was conducted to the college of the Jate Je» fuits ; and, as the houfe was compleatly Stripped of furniture, full of dirt and cobwebs, I appre? hended my night's lodgings would be but i«t different. The fervant belonging to the gen tleman who has the management of this for feited eftate, and to whom I had brought a letter requesting a lodging in the college, per ceiving the difficulties we lay under in making our fettlement, ran home, and returned in a Short time with a polite invitation to his matter's J-OURNEY TO SYRACUSE. 53 matter's houfe. There was no refufing fuch an offer, though I was far from expecting any thing beyond a comfortable apartment, and homely fare, in a family fettled among the in land mountains of Sicily ; but, to my great furprize, I found the houfe of the baron of Kofabia large, convenient, and fitted up in a modern tafte with furniture that would be deemed elegant in any capital city in Europe. Every thing fuited this outward Shew ; atten dance, table, plate, and equipage. The baron and his lady, having both travelled and feen a great deal of the world, had returned to fettle in their native city, where they affured me I might find many families equally improved by an acquaintance with the manners of foreign countries, or, at leaft a frequentation, of the beft company in their own metropolis. Nothing could be more eafy and polite than their addrefs and converfation ; and my aStoniShment was hourly increasing during my whole Stay. After I had refreshed myfelf with a Short but excel- E 3 ' lent 54 JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. lent meal, they took me out in a very handfome coach. It was a Singular circumftance to meet a String of carriages full of well-dreffed ladies and gentlemen on the fummit of a mountain, which no vehicle can afcend, unlefs it be pre viously taken to pieces, and placed upon the backs of mules. We feemed to be feated among the clouds. As the vaft expanfe of the hills and vales grew dim with the evening vapours, our parading refembled the amufements of the heathen gods in fome poems and pictures, dri ving about Olympus, and looking down at the mortals below. The hour of airing being expired, which con- fifted of fix turns of about half a mile each, a numerous affembly was formed at the baron's houfe ; the manners of the company were ex tremely polifhed, and the French language fa miliar to the greateft part of it. When the card-tables were removed, a handfome fupper, drelfed by a French cook, was ferved up, with excellent foreign and Sicilian wines ; the con versation JOURMEY TO SYRACUSE, £^ verfation took a lively turn, and was well fup- ported till midnight, when we all retired to reft. Calatagerone has feveral houfes that live in the \fame elegant ftyle, and its inhabitants have the reputation of being the politeft people in the ifland. The climate in this elevated region is extremely different from that of the tepid Shores I had lately frequented; the night-air was Sharp ' and frofty, and a cloth-coat very neceffary. Every perfon in the affembly carried a fmall Silver vafe full of hot embers hanging at the wrift. The town prefents few objects worthy a tra veller's notice in the line of any of the arts, and the antiquities it poffeffes relate to other places. Much has been written by fome of the natives to eftabliSh'an idea of its high antiquity, and that it figured as a republick among the Sif cilians, during the zenith of Grecian glory, by the name of Inland Gela or Gelone. The Sara cens fortified it, but the Genoefe wrefted it from them : their force was however dwindled to a E 4 Shadow $6 JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. fliadow when the Normans arrived. Earl Roger availed himfelf on many occafions of the trufty valour of the Calatageronefe, and rewarded them liberally with eftates, which are ftill in their poffeffion, and render the corporation one of the richeft in Sicily. After leaving the baron's hofpitable and agreeable roof, I traverfed a plain of arable land furrounded by bare hills in tillage. The ancient city of Mineo crowns a mountain on the right, and oppofite to it the view opens, and difcovers a prodigious extent of flat country, that runs up to the foot of iEtna. I now dis tinguished this gigantic mountain from its fnowy fummit down to the corn-fields in the plain, that compofe the laft circle round its bafe. The middle region is dark with lavas and forefts ; below them the vineyards form a zone of a reddifh brown colour. At this point we entered upon volcanic ground ; the hillocks on each Side of the road are mere heaps of lava in various degrees of hardnefs and colour. The Jands JOUR NEY TO SYRACUSE. 57 lands are tilled with a fpecies of plough that feems to have been invented in the earlieft at tempts at cultivation, and ftill found of fufficient powers for this triturated prolific foil. It confifts Simply of one handle and a wooden coulter, and is drawn by mules, horfes, or oxen. I Slept at Palagonia *, that belongs to the fame matter as the monfters of La Bagaria. I brought no order to his agent, but was ac commodated with a room, and in every refpect treated as well by him as if I had come loaded with recommendations. We had now a very hilly country to crofs on the Skirts of the great plain of Catania. All the rocks that appeared were perfect lavas, fome fpeckled with white cryftalifations or fchoerl ; others thoroughly dark and extremely heavy. * Palagonia contains 1400 inhabitants. It did not exift before the expulfion of the Saracens. In the time of Peter the Firft it was the property of his famous Admiral Roger Lauria. It now belongs to the family of Gravina. We $S journey to Syracuse; We foon after met cardinal Branciforte, biShop of Girgenti, going to take poffeffion of his fee. My people were fo overjoyed at the Sight of fome acquaintances among his Nea politan domefticks, and entered fo deep into con versation, that they left me to proceed alone ; mean while, wrapt up in the cotemplation of JEtna and its grand circumference, I Suffered my mule to proceed at its own rate ; the confe- quence was, that the animal being unacquainted with the country, at the meeting of fome erofs roads, took the moft level but the wrong way, and in a Short time left fo many hills between me and the right road, that my fervants paffed on without having a glimpfe of me. Upon waking out of my reverie I perceived that they were not following ; but fuppofing they would foon overtake me, I trotted on towards a town which I took for Lentini. A runner of water drew my beaft out of the path to a well, where an old woman was lying on the ground beating her breaft and tearing her hair ; She was at the fame JOURNEYTOSYRACUSE. 59 fame time, with aftoniShing volubility of tongue, fcolding a very pretty girl, who Stood near her, with a fullen contemptuous countenance and fteady attitude. My mule feemed as much fur- prized as I was with her noife and gestures, and both of us hefitated Some moments whether to approach or pafs at a diftance. However, as the fight of me had checked the matron's vio lence, I ventured to draw near and aik the caufe of it. That inftant both the females fprang for wards and addreffed me together. They were fo agitated and fo boisterous, that I could un derstand but little of their difcourfe ; the only words I could make out were love, murder, banditti, marriage, the archprieft, and the devil. The old woman's voice failed firft, and imme diately the young one feizing me by the coat, and my mule by the mane, repeated the caufe of their quarrel in a moft pleafing tone of voice. She was the handfomeft woman 1 had feen in the ifland ; her action was extremely graceful, but every nerve in her frame feemed to quiver with 6© JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. with paffion ; numberlefs ftrong expreffions were, no doubt,, loft to me from my incompetent ac quaintance with the provincial jargon,; but I followed the thread of the ftory without diffi culty. As Sbon as She had entered fairly upon the fubject, the old woman fuffered her to go on for fome time without interruption; This girl had been prornifed in marriage by her mother, the old woman, to a young man of their town ; but, a few days before the time on which the wedding was to take place, he was drawn into a fcuffle in which he killed his antagonift. Upon this, he fled to the moun tains and joined the company of a famous cap tain of out- laws, who for twenty years had de fied the whole tribe of thief- takers ; he had fi> veral times cut his way through troops oicapitan real and efcaped by the fleetnefs of his horfe to the caverns and wilderneffes that environ Ca- flrogianni. However, the lover was fcarcely en tered as an affociate, before the captain and all his followers were furprized and carried in chains JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. 6l chains to Catania. This account having reached the native town of the bridegroom, a meeting of his friends had been held, wherein the arch- prieft and a lawyer hadpropofed that a fum of money Should be railed, which they would carry to Catania to buy him off; but unluckily the meeting was poor, and the only refource they had was in a legacy left to the bride by an uncle : This money She Steadily refufed to part with for a high way man, -a fellow She would never marry, though he were to comeback. Here the mo ther flipped in a few words to inform me, that the caufe of this refuial did not lie in her daugh ter's delicacy, but in her inconstancy ; for She had fallen in love with another man, who had feduced hex affections by fecrets of the black-art that he had learnt at Malta. The ftorm now began to rage again, and with much difficulty I obtained a hearing. I told them I fufpecled the lawyer meant to trick them out of their money, as it was impoffible it could be of any avail in the cafe. I had been informed, 2 that 62 JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE that the out-laws,- whom the magistrates were determined to make an example of, would be hanged before he could reach Catania ; and I, therefore, advifed the two females to Shake hands and be friends. They did fo with the fame vehemence that they had difplayed in the courfe of the quarrel, and walked merrily along with me towards the town. I foon found by their difcourfe that it was not Lentini; and, therefore, taking an abrupt leave of my company, I gallop ed back to the croffing of the roads, leaving them, perhaps, impreffed with an idea that I was a fupernatural being, which my foreign accent and appearance would Strongly corrobo rate. I arrived at .Lentini juft as the campiere and a countryman were coming to look for me ; my Neapolitan fervant had laughed at them for their anxiety about me, alluring them, that he knew me too well to be under any apprehen sions for my fafety, and that I had only wandered out of the road to draw an old wall, or watch the reflection of the rocks in a puddle. SEC- JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. 63 SECTION XLV. LENTINI was efteemed one of the moft ancient cities of Sicily, for the fruitfulnefs af its foil was fuppofed to have drawn inhabi tants to it as foon as mankind emerged from the Savage ftate, and difcovered the advantages of agriculture and fociety. The Naxians were the firft Greeks that invaded it, and from them it received the form and dignity of a principal city; like other Grecian ftates, it had its tyrants, but none of them were fuch fevere matters as the Syracufans when they fubdued this little com monwealth. The yoke grew daily more intoler able, and the Leontinians fecretly applied for relief to Athens, at that time the umpire of » Greece. The talk of perfuading that polite na tion to engage warmly in their caufe was im- pofed upon Gorgias, a citizen of uncommon eloquence, a talent well calculated for the pre fent 64 JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE.1 fent purpofe ; he wrought fo artfully upon the paffions of his hearers, that an alliance was formed, and war carried. into the territories of Syracufe ; but time and experience opened the eyes of the Sicilians, and taught them to fee the folly of destroying each other, fo peace was made, and the Leontinians fubmitted to act a fubordinate part and enjoy the bleffings of tran quillity under the guardianlhip of their more powerful neighbours. Diffentions, however, arofe ; tyrants disturbed their quiet,, and various. calamities afflicted them, till Rome overcame all opposition, and eftabliShed her defpotic fway throughout the ifland ; but as this people had always acted in concert with her enemies, She- confifcated and appropriated the Leontine plains peculiarly to the maintenance of the people of Rome. However a competency feems to have been left, for the Leontinians were reputed the greateft drunkards and voluptuaries among the Greeks long after they had loft their liberty. Lentini, once a city of note, is now a poor ill- built J0URNF. Y TO SYRACUSE. 65 built, folitary town, reduced to this ftate by various revolutions, but principally, by the de- folation of 1693. All its buildings were thrown down, and nothing is left that can detain a curi ous Stranger an hour ; the prefent dwellings are plain and humble. The Situation is very unwholefbme during fummer and autumn, on accout of its vicinity to the lake of Biveri, and a great fpace of country covered with fens and ponds, which in all ages have ^ infected its atmofphere. Thefe waters abound with eels and tench; of the roes the fifhermen make a large-quantity of butarga, a Species of caviar ; it is very fait, and has a ftrong tafte of tar, but is much reliShed by the Sicilian*. ......./.' The hills that inclofe Lentini on the eaft fide are hollowed into many large cavities, where faltpetre is produced in great quantities ; people are constantly employed in fcraping it off the walls and carrying it to a boiler. As few rem nants of ancient buildings are now to be met Vol. IV. F with, 66 JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE, xvith, I fuppofe the materials were employed irl the conflruction of a caftle, which in its turn is compleatly ruined. The fertility of the Leontine plains has been a conftant theme for admiration and declamation to all authors that have written on the hiftory of the ifland*. Diodorusj from the report of others, fays, that in the Leontine fields, and many other parts of Sicily, wheat grew wild ; but whether he meant the common couch-grafs, which is called by botanifts tritkum fylvtftre, or any other plant, which by culture could be fo improved as to produce a grain fit for grind ing into wholefbme flour, is a point not fuffici- cntly explained, r" It is clear that the wheat plant muft have fuffered fome alteration under the * E» it tu Aiotlmu to-eSib .....,'' ra ' ¦ In Leontina plariirie-et kpii& multos 'alios locos -Sicili'se ufque ad huac diem dicunt gignl? triticum 4juod agreftc vocant. operations JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. 67 Operations of agriculture, and cannot be fuppofed to refemble exactly the wild original plant that ftill grows on the wafte. But we have not fufficient documents to prove that Sicily is the country where the difcovery of the good quali ties of this grain was made, and from whence other countries have derived their knowledge of that branch of hufbandry *. : About * Nummi Leontiriofum. Ex Argento. 1. Cap. Apollinis inter 2 folia fubt. leo currefis AEON' TINON — Figura vir. ih quadr. fupervolit. vift. fubt. kd 2. Cap. leonis 4 grana hordei AEONTINON — Vir nudus equo incidens. 3. Cap. Apoll.— Cap. leon. 4 gran. AEONTINON, 4. Cap. imb. — Gran. hord. AEON. 5. Cap. leon. aeont— Vir nud. ftans d. paterem s, ramum pone fol. 6,! Cap. Apolh— Cap. leon. tripus 3 fol. AEONTINON. J. Leo dimid. refpiciens ungue tenens offa— qtfatuor arese decufs. lacerta AEO. F z 2. Lev 68 JOURNEY TO SY RACUSE. About two miles from Lentini, we paffed be fore Carlentini, a town of three thoufand fouls, built by Charles the Fifth, and almoft ruined 8. Leo dim. refp. AEONTINON — Hafta et clave a glob. 9. Cap. Leon. 4 gran. — In corona heder. AEONTINON. 10. Cap. Bacchi hed. cor. AEONTINON — Cap. Leon.- 4gr. .. Ex iEre. 1. Cap- imb, laus. — Ceres ftans d. duas fpicas s. lane, ten. aratrum AEONTINON. 2. Cap. Cereris, atrum — Manipulus fpicarum AEONTl NfiN. 3. 2 capita Jugata alt. imb. ajt. barb.— Manip. AEON TINON. • '. 4. Cap. Apoll. duplici lauro coron, AEON — Aquila et r coluba. £. Cap. Apoll. 2 pifces AEONTINON. 6. Cap. imb.— pagurus — Mulier vel. ft. d. papaves s. tridentem ten, AEONTINON. 7. Cap. Apoll.— Aratrum — Leogradiens AEONTINON. 8. Cap. Apoll. gran. AEON — Tripus et 2 gran. 9. Dimid. Leonis — Area quadrif. o. x. vas. 10. Dimid, Leon. — Area quadr. — globus et ramus. 11. Cap. imb. laur. Olor AEO roPriAS. by JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. 69 by an earthquake. It was placed on an emi nence, to be out of the reach of the unwhole- fome vapours of the marines. The country be* hind is very pleafant, and refembles many tracks of foreft land in the fouth of England ; the hills are of moderate elevation, feparated by wild, woody dingles, with clear brooks tumbling down the rocks, overShadowed by large un- lopped olive-trees. In the courfe of a few miles, the landfcape grew much barer and the hills higher; the furface ftony, with a ragged co vering of Short grafs. Jt poffeffes few romantic beauties, except where the grey rocks yawn to yield a paffage for the torrents, and where fome wild fig-trees hang over the gloomy hollows. From >the elevation of the country, a variety of exquifite views may be enjoyed on every fide, principally towards the north-eaft, where iEtna, Catania, the Streights of Meffina, and the coaft of Italy, form the grand line of the horizon. The ftrata of the hills near Lentini are to be claffed with the volcanic tribe of Stones ; thefe F 3 ended 7o JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. * ended gradually as I approached the fea, and were fucceeded by a cementation of marine fedi- ments. The flocks of Sheep that wander in the paftures are almoft all black ; the ewes had al ready yeaned. I now came to the brow of this high country, and commanded the whole tract of low lands along the gulf of Augufta. The vale immediately at the foot of the hills is neatly planted with Agrumi, and divided into vineyards and gardens, watered by copious Streams that turn a String of mills. Beyond this well-cultivated flip of land, lies a wide range of barren heath along the fea-Shore. Augufta is a fine object from this point of view, fituated on a narrow peninfula at the bottom of a bay. We foon after defcended to the beach, near an an cient monument called L'Agulia, or Needle, fuppofed to have been erected by Marcellus in commemoration of his conqueft of Syracufe *. It confifts of a pedeftal, nine feet fquare, built with feven courfes of ftones. It has the zocle * D'Orville thinks it was a tomb, i entire, The Columjnt of Maecellus Al The Maghisi between; Atjgusta and Syeacu.se JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. 71 entire, and faint traces of the cornice. Upon this was placed a round building, of which eight courfes of the ftone-work remain, but much Shaken ; the upper part was thrown down in 1542, by the Shock of an earthquake. Fazzello fays it was of a pyramidical form ; but as that author Shews little knowledge of architedture on other occafions, I rather truft to the testi mony of the part that remains; this is clearly round, and indicates a column of many pieces, not a pyramid. Two attempts have been made to break into the dye of the pedeftal, in hopes of hidden treafure ; but, as they do not feem to have been able to penetrate, I infer that the whole is a Solid piece of mafonry. On a hill weftward is Melelli, a town where the fugar-cane is ftill cultivated. Near the fea are ponds for making fait, which is piled up in great conical heaps. At the point of the penin fula of Magnifi is one of the moft productive tunny fisheries in Sicily. After four miles rid ing from the Aguglia, we came to a ridge of F 4. r»»Sh 72 JOURNEY TO SYRACUSE. high rocks that run from eaft to weft, and Shut up the plain entirely. On the fummit are the ruins of the walls, with which the ancient city of Syracufe was furrounded ; an afcent is cut through the rock, at a place called Scala Greca, where the tower is fuppofed to have ftood that was furprifed by the Romans. Having gained the fummit, I traverfed a large plain, four miles wide, full of loofe Stones, but divided into or chards. I then arrived at the defcent on the fouth fide, and had a full view of Syracufe and its environs. The biShop of this fee, who was apprized of my coming, was fo obliging as to meet me out of town, and carry me in his coach to a very handfome apartment in his palace. SYRACUSE [ 73 ] SYRACUSE, SECTION XLVI. i ¦ TH E fame of ftates now no longer exifting lives in books or tradition ; and we reve rence their memory in proportion to the wifdom of their laws, the private virtues of their citi zens, the policy and courage with which they ' defended their own dominions, or advanced their victorious Standards into thofe of their ene mies : fome nations have rendered their name lluftrious, though their virtues and valour had but a very confined fphere to move in ; while other commonwealths and monarchies have fub dued worlds, and roamed over whole continents in ha SYRACUSE. in fearch of power and glory. Syracufe muft be numbered in the former clafs, and among the moft distinguished of that clafs : In public and private wealth, magnificence of buildings, military renown, and excellence in all, arts and fciences, it ranks higher than moft nations of antiquity ; the great names recorded in its annals ftill command our veneration, though the tro phies of their victories, and the monuments of their Skill, have long been fwept away by the hand of time *. In * Nummi Syracufanomm. Ex Auro. i. Jovis caput laur. fulmen 2YPAKOSION — Pegafu* AY20N. 2. Cap. Herculis imb. IYPAK. — Area quadrifida in me dio cap. muliebre 2YPA. 3. Cap. mulieb. concha lyra 20TE1PA — Cap. Apoll. lyra et triangulum EYPAK02ION. 4. Cap. Apoll. — Lyra STPAKOSION. 5. Cap. Apoll.— Vas arclens — Tripus STPAKOSION. 6. Cap. mulieb. gran. hord. IYPAK0210N KI— Hercu les leon. Aran. gran. 7. Cap. SYRACUSE. ^^ In the Sketch prefixed to this tour, the Sici lian hiftory is in a manner that of Syracufe, and therefore fufficient to give as much infight into the revolutions of that republick, as is neceffary for undemanding my obfervations on its prefent ftate. Its chronicles commemorate endlefs and bitter diflentions among the feveral ranks of citizens, the deftrudtion of liberty by tyrants, their 7. Cap. mul. 4 delph. — Vir in quadr. triquetra 2TPA- KOSION. 8. Cap. vir imb. — Vir in biga trique. 2YPAK02I0N. g. Cap. Cereris — cornucopia 2YPAK0SION — Biga in qua vir alat. barb, luna annulus EtlHKETA. 10. Cap. imb.— Vir in biga T SYPAKOSION. 11. Cap. mul. — Saepia. j 2. Cap. mulieb. eleph. dent, cor.— Bos 2YPAK02ION. 13. Cap. mul. diad. 4 pifc. ZYPAK02ION — Quadriga fig. ftol. fuperv. vift. corona, fpica. 14. Vultus plenus capill. contort, fpic. cor. 4pifc— Biga fup, vol. vicl. et cor. imp. if. Cap. Pallad. gal.— Cap. Medufe. 16. Cap. id. ZTPAFC02ION— Diana grad. pharet. arc. tend, cams ad pedes SO SYPAK02ION. 1 7. Cap. 76 S Y R A C U S E. their expulfion and re-eftabliShment, vidtories over the Carthaginians, and many noble Strug gles to vindicate the rights of mankind, till the fatal hour arrived when the Roman Leviathan fwallowed all up. Inglorious peace and insig nificance was afterwards for many ages the lot of Syracufe ; and, probably, the Situation was an eligible one, except in times of fuch gover nors 17, Cap. id, cap. bovis N — Pegafus ° 18. Cap. Apoll. IIN — Cap. Diana: arcus. 19. Cap. imb. 2YPAK.02ION — Equus decurrens in qua- drata area 2YPAK02ION. 20. Jovis Cap. Y2 EAEY0EPIOE— Pegafus 2YPAK02U2N. Ex Argento. 1. Cap. Palladis gal — Dianx phar. canis ISA. 2. Cap. mul. prifc. — ZYPAK021ON — Polypus. 3. Cap. mul. SYPAKOSION— Vir nud. equo inf. 4. Facies mul. pi. 3 prifc— Vir nud. eques. lyra. 5. Cap. averfa imb. laur. ZYPAK.OXION prifc. — Equus ftella. 6. Cap. mul. in quad. — Eques 2YPA. 7. Cap. Apoll. ZYPAKOSION—Triquetra. 3 S. Cap. SYRACUSE. 77 nors as Verres. At length Rome herfelf fell in her turn a prey to conqueft, and Barbarians; di vided her ample fpoils. The Vandals feized upon Sicily; but it foon was wrefted from' them by Theodoric the Goth, and at his death fell into the hands of the Eaftern Emperor. To tila afflicted Syracufe with a long but fruitlefs fiege ; but it was not fo well defended againft the 8. Cap. Cereris 3 prifc. — Vir togat. in quadr. fupr. triquat. Al 2YPAKOSION. 9. Cap. Cerer. 4 pifc. 2YPAK02ION— Quaidr. Viclor. rropasa. 10. Cap. mul. diad. 4 prifc. — Vi&. in quadr. vicl. fuperv. cor. triton bifida caUda vas ten. humero- pifcis. fquilla. 11. Cap. Here. imb. — Quadrig. vicl. fupervol. a vafe. 12. Fac- mul. plen. diad. capit. contort. 3 pifc. — Mulier. in quad. vicl. fuperv. I fpica. 13. Cap. mul. 4 pifc. 2YPAK02ION — Vir nud. in big. vicl. fuperftante d. coronam ten. 14. Cap. Apoll. 4 prifc. 2YPAKOSION— Vir in big. fu pervol. vicl. leo. 15. Cap. Here, barb.— Vir nud. in big. MIA 2YPAKO- SION. 16. In 78 SYRACUSE. the Saracens. Thefe cruel enemies took it twice, and exercifed the moft favage barbarities on the wretched inhabitants. The infidels kept poflefiion of it two hundred years, and made an obftinate refiftance againft earl Roger in this fortrefs, which was one of the laft of their pof- feffions that yielded to his victorious arms. The 16. In afea rotunda decufs. cap. mul.T^B'gaZYSA. 17. Cap. mul. diad. 4 pifces 2YPAK02ION — Dimid* Pegafi. 18. Cap. mul. — In quadr. area 2YPA 2 pifces. 1.9. Cap. mul. — Area quadr. 20. Cap. Pall. Noclua ramo infid. clava SYPAK02ION. 21. Aquila ardeam difcerp. 2YPAK02ION,— Pagurus 2 pifc. 22. Vir nud. trid. Jacul. SYPAKOSION^— Prora navis. 23. Cap. Apoll.— Lyra 2YPAK02ION. 24. Cap. Jovis — Tridens 2 pifc. 2YPAK02ION. 25. Cap. mul. plena facie 4 pifc, 2Y ON — Vir nud. clyp, et haft. ten. Ieo. 26. Cap. Pall, pifc— Fulmen 2YPAK02ION VAS. 2;. Cap. id. — Pegafus 2YPAK02ION triquetra. 28* Cap, id. clava. pifcis ZYPA — Pegafus. triqu. 29, Cap. Syracuse. 79 The ancient city of Syracufe was of a trian gular form, and confifted of five parts or towns. Ortygia, or the ifland ; Acradina, that faced the fea; Tycha, joined to Acradina on the eaftj Neapolis, which lay along the Side of the great port ; and, at the eaftern extremity, Epipolse, an uninhabited tract inclofed within the city^walls j fome lofty rocks, crowned with ramparts, formed a ftrong, 29. Cap. id. — Pegafus, triquetral 30. Duo capita imb. gal. pegata — Pega,fus cum habe* nis A. 31. Cap. mulieb.— *Pegafus 21. 32. Cap. mal. cap. bovinum — Pegafus 2YPAK021ON. 53. Cap. Pall. — Pegafus bibens. 34. Cap. Herculis — In area quadr. cap. mul. 2YPA. 35. Cap. mul. pi. fac — Noclue ram. infill. 36. Cap. Jovis 2EY2 EAEYQEPI02— Pegafus 2YPAKO- 2ION. 37. Cap. Jovis SEY2 EAEY0EPIO2— Fulmen. gr. hord. 2YPAK02ION. 38. Cap. Cereris 2YPAK.02ION— Fig. Alata in big. fulm. / fpic. EriHKETA. 39. Cap. Apoll. 2YPAK02ION— Cap. Dianse tupus. 40, Cape gO SYRACUSE. a Strong defence all round, except in Neapolis^ where the walls croffed the low grounds. The circuit, according to Strabo, amounted to 180 Stadia, or 22 English miles, and four furlongs ; an account I once fufpedted of exaggeration, but, after fpending two days in tracing the ruins, and making reafonable allowances for the 40. Cap. mul. plen. fac. gal, et alat. 4 pifces — Mulier in quadriga vicl. fuperv. 2 pifces. 41. Cap. mul. fpicis red. 4pifc. 2YPAK02ION — Spica. 42. Cap. mu!. 4 pifc. 2YPAK.02ION— Dimid. Pegafi— ftella. Ex /Eve. 1. Cap. vir rad. — Mul. grad. luna in capite et baculo in fin, 2YPAK.02ION. 2. Idem — Fig. nud. d. Cor. s. bacillum 2YPAK02ION. 3. Cap. vir imb. — Mul. ftol. ftans. d. fceptr. s. bacul. 2YPAK02ION. 4. Cap. vir. barb, fpic red. — Diana, canis. 5. Cap. Dianas — Vir nud. phar. s. arc. d. cornuc. 2TPA. 6. Cap. gal. — Vicloria animal facrificans 2YPAKO- 2ION. 7- Cip, SYRACUSE. 8l the encroachments of the fea, I was convinced of the exactnefs of his meafurement. ORTYGIA. Ortygia is of an oblong Shape, about two - miles in circumference, and lies between two bays, the great and fmall harbour. The Siculi had a fettlement here before Archias came from 7. Cap. mul. 2YPA — ftella in ar. decufs. 8. Cap. Apoll. AI02 EAAANIOY— Aquila fulm. infid. ftella 2YPAK0SION. 9. Cap. Apoll. — Aquila fulm. infid. ftella. 10. Cap. Jovis in laur.- — Aquila lyra. 11. Cap. Herculis — Aquila. 12. Cap. barb. diad. lade— Tridens 2YFAK.02ION. 13. Cap. Jovis — Mul. ft. d.tem. s. haft. 2TPAK02ION. 14. Cap. mul. pifcis — Stella 2YPAK02ION— pifces. 15. Gap. id.— polypus. 16. MuKeris facies plena— polypus. 17. Cap, mul. concha 2YPAK0SION — Taurus AK 2. pifces. 18. Gap. mul. concha.— Delphin, riux pinea 2YPA. Vol. IV. Q 19. Duo 8i SYRACUSE, from Corinth with his Greeks and drove therh into the inland country. When population iri- creafed to that amazing degree that Ortygia became unable to contain the inhabitants, the narrow arm of the fea that made it an ifland was filled up, and a peninfula formed. During the triumvirate, Sextus Pompeius treated Syracufe with 19. Duo capita gal. Jug. — Delphin 3 Jaojla. KO. 20. Cap. Pall. ZYPA — Stella int. 2 delp. 21. Facies imb. plen. — Dimid. Pegafi 2YPAK02ION. 22. Cap. Jov. EAE02— Dimid. Peg. ZYPAKOZION. 23. Cap. mul. ZYPAK02ION — Dim. Peg. 24. Cap. vir. laur. imb. 2YPAK.02ION — Dim.Equi.delp. 25. Pall. cap. gal. 2 delph. ZYPA — Piftrix triquetra. 26. Cap. imb. vir. 2YPAK02I0N — Piftrix. 27. Cap. martis 2YPAK02ION— Pegafus 2. 28. Cap. Apoll. 2YPAK02ION— Pegafus A. 29. Minotaurus cap. pleno delph. 2 2YPAK.02ION— Vir nud. in quad. Vicl. fupero. 2 corones imp. 3«- Cap. mul. Apis— Vir. nud, in quadr. ftella ZYPA- KOZION. jr. Cap. mul. 4 delph. ZYPAK02ION— mulier ia biga vicl. fupera. 32. Cap SYRACUSE. 83 With great rigour, and when it was reftored by order of Auguftus, the citizens were confined to the original ifland, and the parts of Acradina that bordered upon it, and the reft of the moft magnificent city in the world was left to become the habitation of wild beafts, and birds of the night. Such was its ftate when taken by the Muflul- 32. Cap. mul. fpica ZYPAKOZION — Biga. ftella. T. 33. Cap. vir. barb, laun — Vicl. in biga. luna ZYPAKO ZION. 34. Dianae cap. ZOTEIPA — Fulmen ZYPAKOZION. 35. Cap. Jovis — Fulmen Acis 2TPAK02I0N. t . 36. Cap. Pall. — Fulmen ZYPAKOZION. 37. Cap. Jov. ZEY2 EAE9EPI02— Pegafus ZYPAKO ZION. 38. Cap. Hercalis— Pegafus. 39. Duo cap. Jug. 2 pifces ZYPAKOZION. — EquUs N fpica. 40. Cap. imb, — equus. 41. Cap. barb. — mul. ftans d. fe: ciam s. haft. ZYPAKO ZION. 42. Cap. imb. fpic. red.— C :res d. papau. s. tsedam. ZYPAKOZION. G 2 43. Ce« 84 SYRACUSE. Muflulmen ; it then fuffered ftill farther devasta tion, and was reduced to Ortygia alone. At prefent it is Strongly fortified towards the land ; and the ditches of the baftions form the com munications between the two havens. It is very weak towards the fea; but the Shelves render it hazardous to debark on that fide. The garrifon 43. Cereris cap.— 2 tsda; ZYPAKOZION. 44. Cap. imb. gram. red. ZYPAKOZION — In coron. pamp. aretrum. 4 c. Cap. Cerer. cornucopia;— In coron. fpicar. ZYPA KOZION. 46. Cap. Gelonis diad. arcus ZYPAKOZION. , Leo clava* et arcus. 47. Cap. vir. diad. ZYPAKOZION.— Triquetra. 48. Nept. cap. trid — Triquetra ZYPAKOZION. 49. Cap. mul. ZYPAKOZION— Dimid. minft. 50. Cap. Hercul. — Pharet. arcus ZY. 51. Cap. Apoll — Pharetra ZYPAKOZION. 52. Cap. imb.— Clava ZYPAKOZION. 53. Cap. fpic. red — In laurea clava. - 54. Cap. Pallad. ZYPAKOZION — Eques haftam ger. A- 55. Cap. imb.— Eques ZYPAKOSIfiN, 56. Cap. SYRACUSE. 8^ garrifon is one of the beftTappointed in the kingdom ; but I think the heights of Acradina command the works. About eighteen thoufand inhabitants are now contained in it. The dwellings are far from being memorials of ancient Syracufan architec ture or opulence. In any other Situation they might 56. Cap. Apoll. — Duo Equites manibus fublatis ZYPA KOZION. 57. Cap. Hercul. ZYPAKOZION— Minerva ftans s. clyp. d. haft. rota. 58. Cap. mul — Leo ZYPAKOZION. 59. Cap. Apoll. delphin.— Tripus ZYPAKOEION. 60. Cap. min. — 2 pifcus ZYPA — Piftrix. 61. Cap. radiat. — miles grad. cum haft, et clyp. ZYPA KOZION. 62. Cap. Jovis — Aquila tripus KO. 63. Cap. Jovis ZEIAA— tridens 2 pifces Z. 64. Cap. imb. ZYPAKOZION — Equus recumbens. 65. Cap. imb Flos. 2 fpicx ZYPAKOZION. 66. Duo cap. averfa barb— -Inftrumentum quoddarn ZYPAKOZION. 67. Cap. Ceteris — Pegafus. G 3 68. Cap. 86 S Y R A C U S E. might be thought tolerable; but to obfervers who refledt on the ftyle of thofe buildings that probably once covered the fame ground, the prefent edifices muft have a mean appearance. The cathedral now dedicated to Our Lady of the Pillar, was the temple of Minerva, on the 68, Cap. Jovis —Mulier ftans d. coron. s. haft. ZYPAKO ZION. 69. Cap. Herculis-^-ZYPAKOZION — Minerva enfe et clyp. arm. 70. Cap. mul. olea. cor. red. ZYPAKOZION. — Bos cor. nupeta clava 012. 71. Cap. mul. ZYPAKOZION — Dim. Pegafi. 72. Cap. mul. gran. red. ZYPAKOZION — Mulier in biga — ftella 2, 73, Cap. Jovis — Fulmen. pifcis ZYPAKOZION. 74. Cap. mul. diad — In 4 partibus SYPA. 2 pifces. 75. Cap. Apol!.— Triquetra. 76. Cap. imb, — Stella 4 radios 2 pii'ces ZYPA. 77. Cap. vir, barb. ZYPAKOZION =Leo * 78. Cap. Apoll, — Polypus. . tjo. Cap. Jani rad. baib. — Locufta ZYPAKOSION, 8c. Cap. Cereris — Equus. Si. Cap. Minerva:— Pegafus, fummit • SYRACUSE. 87 fummit of which her ftatue was fixed, holding a broad refulgent Shield. Every Syracufan that failed out of the port was bound by his religion to carry honey, flowers, and afhes, which he threw into the fea, the inflant he loft fight of the holy buckler j this was to enfure a fafe re turn. The church is made out of the old building; the walls of the cella are thrown down, and only as much left in pillars as is neceSTary to fupport the roof; the intercolum- niations of the peryftile are walled up *. This temple is built in the old Doric proportions ufed in the reft of Sicily ; its exterior dimen sions are 185 feet in length, and 75 in breadth. The columns taper, have twenty flutings, and meafure at the bafe fix feet five inches ; their * Mirabella has given a moft erroneous drawing of this temple ; and D'Orville's draughtfman has indulged his imagination, without paying any attention to the prefent ftate of the edifice. The work lately publifhed by Mr Houel, a French painter, contains different views of this edifice. G 4 height, 88 SYRACUSE. height, iricluding the capital, and a fmall focle inftead of bafe, is 32 feet 9 inches. The portico and frontifpiece were destroyed by an earthquake, and a new facade erected, which refledts little honour on the judgement or Skill of the architect ; he has compofed a front of the Corinthian order, quite different from the Style of the infide, and loaded it with fo many frivolous ornaments, and fubdivided it into fo many trifling parts, that all grandeur of effect, fymtnetry, and tafte, are compleatly baniftied. There are alfo fome remains of Diana's temple, near to St. Paul's church ; but not remarkable. I could find no other ruins in the ifland, and indeed was furprifed even thefe Should exift in a place fo often devaftated by enemies, and fo Shaken and unhinged by fre quent convulsions of the globe. A moft de structive Shock* happened in the Sixteenth cen tury ; but was flight, in comparifon of the hor rid conCuflion of 1693. On the nth of Janu ary, the earth Shook during a fpace of four minutes, SYRACUSE.' 89 minutes, and overturned almoft every city on the eaftern coaft. One fourth of the inhabitants of Syracufe periShed under the ruins of their houfes — Augufta was levelled to the ground, with half its people cruShed to death ; but Catania had the largeft proportion of calamity- Above Sixty thoufand perfons loft their lives in Sicily in that fatal hour. The quay is fmall, yet I fear it is more than fufficient for every commercial purpofe of the port. Near it is a large pool of water defended from the fea .by a wall, and almoft hidden by houfes on every other Side. — The water is not fait, but brackiSh, and fit for no purpofe but waShing linen. This is the celebrated fountain of Arethufa, whofe foft poetical name is known to every reader.— The fable of the nymph and her conftant lover Alpheus, the excellence of the fpring, and the charms of its Situation, are themes on which ancient and modern poets have indulged their fancy, and exercifed their pens. Alas ! how altered ! rubbifh chokes up its $)0 SYRACUSE. its wholefome fources, the waves have found a paSTage through the rocks, which repeated earthquakes have fplit ; and not a SiSh is to be feen in it. Sometimes, after an earthquake, it has been left dry ; and, at other times, the whole mafs of its waters have been tainted by fubter- raneous effluvia. Its fountain-head probably lies among the neighbouring hills. Not Are- thufa alone, but all the furrounding objects, imprint a melancholy fenfation on the mind, while it draws a comparifon between the prefent humble ftate of things, and their once flourish ing condition. The ancients have left pom pous defcriptions of the traffic carried on in this well-Situated port *, the almoft incredible wealth pofreSTed by its citizens, and the fplendid edi fices upon which they lavished a great part of their riches. I had already viewed thedefert * It was common among the ancients to reprove any perfon boafting of his own or another's wealth by a pro verbial farcafm : " The tenth part of a Syracufan fortune ** was more than al! that." Sites SYRACUSE. 91 fites of many great ancient cities ; and had as often mourned over their remains ; but never did I feel the impreftion of pity and regret fo ftrong as in wandering among the ruins of Syracufe. SECTION XLVII. ACRADINA. I PROCEEDED to Acradina, which ex tends over two confiderable levels, the firft low and even with the ifland, the other, divided from the firft by a natural wall of rocks, lies on the fame heights with Tycha. As I left my lodgings early, In order to fpend the whole day in the old city, I formed a regular plan of rid ing round, clofe to the walls, meafuring arid drawing every material object. In the low grounds ftands the church of St. John, one of the oldeft churches in Sicily ; it covers the en trance 02, SYRACUSE. trance of immenfe catacombs, where the ancient Syracufans buried their dead ; the primitive faithful are fuppofed to have aflfembled here fecretly in times of perfecution, and alfo to have interred their brethren in thefe vaults'. The pillars of the church are in the oldeft, heavieft, and fimpleft ftyle of Gothic, and the walls covered with very bad painting. I haftened to the vaults, which are formed in ftreets cut through one continued Stratum of foft ftone, a fediment of marine bodies. Thefe fubterra- neous alleys crofs each other in many directions, and are hewn with more care and regularity than the catacombs of St. Januarius at Naples ; thofe of Rome are not to be compared with either. At ftated diftances I came to large circular rooms lined with Stucco, and pierced at top to admit light and air. On each fide of the walls are receffes cut into the rock, and in the floor of thefe cavities coffins of all fizes have been hollowed out, fome even fo fmall as to be fit for nothing but the reception of a cat or a lap- 2 dog. SYRACUSE. 92 dog. In fome places there are twenty troughs, one behind another ; Skeletons have been often found in them, with a piece of money in their mouths. I faw a gold coin of the time of Icetas that was juft taken out of the jaws of a body found in a tomb here. From hence I afcended the hill to a convent of Capuchin friars, a light neat church. "When a Stranger walks up to this monaftery, he fees near him neither verdure nor tree ; all appears one bare dreary rock, and little does he fufpect he is within reach of extenfive orchards, which by their produce yield a handfome income to the friars. No iight can be more Singular than the gardens of this convent, which are in fome meafure fubterraneous, being contained in the areas of immenfe excavations, made by cutting ftone for the ancient city. I defcended by a flope into thefe extraordinary bowers, where my view was confined on all fides by Shaggy walls of great height, either purpofely hewn into Shape, or rudely figured by the corrofive fea 94 SYRACUSE. fea air. Huge maSTes have been broken off, and rolled on the platform, where they contri bute to the compofition of a moft wild, yet folemn picture. The area is covered with a thick grove of trees, loaded with rich-fcented bloSToms and beautiful fruit ; I was delighted with their variety of kinds, vigour of growth, and brilliancy of foliage ; the flim branches of the pale olive were interwoven with the buShy heads of orange, lemon, bergamot and cedrat- trees, while the tender colour of the full-blown almond formed a fine contraft with the fiery buds of the pomegranate, juft burfting into blow. The gardeners have Skilfully increafed the variety of their fruits by grafting and bud ding, and have procured a great diverfity in their tafte and colour. One of the friars brought me an orange, half of which was the original red pulp of that fruit, the other half was the tough pale flefh of the cedrato. There are feveral fepulchres in thefe quarries, and fome projections of the ftone are fcooped I into SYRACUSE. 95 ' into rings, by which I conjecture, that, after the , place ceafed to be ufed as a quarry, it was con verted into a prifon. The vaults of this convent have the property of drying the bodies of the dead in a very Short fpace of time ; after which they are dreSled in religious habits, and placed as Statues in niches on each fide of fubterraneous alleys. I paffed on to the fea fide, where no traces of antiquity fubfift, except fome fteps and a few courfes of Stones ; not a veftige of houfe, temple, or monument, is to be feen on this ex- tenfive plain, once the moft crowded, beft-built quarter of Syracufe. It is difficult to conceive what can fo thoroughly have cleared the furface, or, as I may fay, annihilated the materials with which fo large a city was built ; the rock is foft and friable, but fcarcely fo brittle as to fall into duft in the air, and be quite blown away ; nor could any works or buildings within many miles of Syracufe have employed a tenth - part of what was neceSTary for the construction of gS SYRACUSE. of fuch a town. The fea has undermined the Shore, and confumed that part on which the walls were founded. SECTION XLVIII. AT the bottom of the bay of Mapghifi, formerly called Thapfus, near the port of the Trogili, now called Stentino, Achradina terminated, and Tycha commenced. T Y C H A. The outermoft wall erected by Dionyfius the elder is vifible without interruption for fome miles, foUowing all the finuofities of the hill from Scala Graca, through which I had en tered this ancient inclofure. At a fmall diftance from this place,'! came to a fecond gate, of which a great part is yet ftanding. From hence , I traced a ftreet by the marks of wheels deeply worn in the rock, and by the holes in the mid dle SYRACUSE. 97 die where the beafts that drew the carriages placed their feet ; this indicates that vehicles in common ufe were drawn by horfes yoked one before another. The fame marks were vifible wherever any traces of ftreets could be difco vered., The fields within and near the walls are covered with immenfe heaps of Stones thrown confufedly together. On the outfide of the walls, a green flope reaches from the foot of the rocks to the plain, and is covered with aged olive-trees of great Size. E P I P O L I. At the promontory, where the declivity is eafy towards the country, and the grove re markably thick, I difcerned the traces of a high road : here I imagine ftood that part of the wall that had fix doors in it, and was called Hexapylum. A little farther, the hill grows contracted and almoft covered with the ruins of a fortrefs, probably Eurialus ; they are piled up on feveral hillocks, and command a full view of Vol. IV. H the 98 SYRACUSE. the country on both fides of Syracufe. Towards the north, the eye wanders over vaft plains, along aline of coaft to the foot of iEtna, whofe mighty cone Shuts up the horizon with unfpeakable majefty ; the mountains of Italy rife like clouds on each fide of it. The fouthern profpedt pre- fents a very different landfcape, but not lefs pleating ; the city of Syracufe feems to float on the bofom of the waters, guarding the entrance of its noble harbour. The Plemmyrian penin fula locks it in on the oppofite Shore, and beyond it a fine expanfe of fea Stretches away to Cape PafTaro. The hills of Noto bound the view to the fouth-weft, and the fore-ground is a tract of rich level plains thickly planted and watered by the winding ftreams of the Anapus. * This fpot was the extremity of Epipolse, and confequently of the whole city, but not of the rocks, which run two miles farther weft, and terminate in a lofty protuberance, called from the extenfive profpedt it commands, Bel- * Cluverius thinks that Epipolas extended to Belvedere. » vedere. SYRACUSE. 99 vedere. Epipolse was not taken into Syracufe, and inelofed with walls, till the reign of the elder Dionyfius ; he employed fo many thou* fands of men, carts, and oxen, and gave fuch, bounties to the able and active labourer, that in twenty days he compleated a wall of large hewn ftone, three miles and fix furlongs in length ; the walls between Epipolse, Tycha, and Nea polis were afterwards demolished as ufelefs. I now purfued my round in a contrary direc* tion, following the wall on the fouth fide of the city ; parallel with its ruins, which are not fo apparent here as on the northern afpedt, runs a ftream brought from Monte Crimiti in fubterra- neous channels : it was thus kept out of fight till it entered the walls, left any enemy Should difcover it, and cut off" the fupply. Soon after the aquedudt has paffed the place where the caftle of Labdalum Stood, the water appears above ground * ; under the ruins of Labdalum * Authors do not agree whether thefe Or he Latomise in T^eapolis were the prifons in which Dionyfius confined his enemies. H 2 is j00 SYRACUSE. is a quarry, or latomize. Near this fpot feveral ftreets croSTed each other, but no remains are to be found of any buildings. T Y C H A. I difcovered two regular oblong areas, deep cut in the rocky Stratum, which I fuppofe were the foundations of fome hall or temple. Leav ing the wall at a diftance on my right hand, I rode along the Straight line of the Stream, now received into an aqueduct upon arches, and conveyed to fome mills, where it falls with great force, and afterwards tumbles down the fteps of the ancient theatre at Neapolis. NEAPOLIS. As the greater portion of this place of en tertainment was hewn out of the live rock, little detriment has accrued from the lapfe of ages ; but all that was built upon this foundation has djf- appeared. What remains forms a moft roman tic fcene, for the white fteps are half hid with bufhes of various kinds ; fome tall poplars wave their SYRACUSE. ioi their heads over the ruin, and the waters in full cafcades and beautiful maSTes roll from rock to rock. When the theatre was in its perfedt ftate, the approach to the upper feats was upon a level with Tycha ; Acradina lay even with the middle part, and the people from Ortygia and Neapolis afcended to it. Two broad roads, carried deep through the rock in a femicircular form, meeting at the theatre, opened eafy com munications between the high and the low town. On each fide of thefe roads fepulchral caves were hollowed out, and fome ftill retain the bodies depofited within them. On the front wall of the grand circumambulatory paffage (that ran horizontally through the Theatre, and, di viding the feats into two parts, ferved as a gene ral communication,) are two infcriptions; one of them much damaged ; the letters AAKEOPPo&iTE to SYRACUSE. SYRACUSE.' 109 miles round * ; we Steered for the mouth of the river Anapus, two miles from the ifland. Syra cufe has a wonderful effect from this point. The hills of the ancient city appear majestically above a thick wood that covers the Shore j to the fouth of this beautiful Sheet of water, rifes the bare and abrupt promontory of MaffaOliveri. The ifthmus that joins it to the main land is covered with a row of tall trees, and irregular clumps ; fome Single trees and houfes are fcat tered on the flope, upon a fmooth lawn that terminates at the water edge. I landed beyond the river, to view the ruins of the Olympian fuburb ; little now remains except the mutilated Shafts of two fluted columns, ftanding at a consi derable diftance from each other : They are nineteen feet fix inches round at the bottom, and have only Sixteen flutings ; they reft upon a plinth of two Steps, each eighteen inches high. In the laft century, feven columns were ftill en- * Strabo gives it 80 ftadia, equal to ten miles, moft probably an error of the tranfcribers. tire} 110 SYRACUSE. tire j they belonged to the temple of Olympian Jove, which Gelo enriched with the fpoils of the Carthaginians, about two thoufand five hun dred years ago. We then proceeded up the river, which is very «lear and deep. On the fouth fide the ground rifes, but to the north, the country is a marfhy plain of great extent ; the river follows a ferpentine courfe through thickets of* the true Egyptian papyrus. * This is a tall reed, with a brittle triangular ftalk of a brightgreen colour. The root is knotty like thofe of other reeds ; the leaves are long and broad ; but as the new ones had not yet acquired their full growth, I could not afcertain their true colour. From the fummit of the ftera rifes a calyx of purple leaves, out of which iflues a large round bunch of filaments : thefe again are fplit at their extremity, and bear flowrets and fmall feeds fimilar to thofe of the common nifties. From this appearance, the pealants call it parroca, a perriwig. They make no ufe of it, but to deck out bowers for thepaflage of fome religious proceffion. The roots fwim near the furface of the water, when the ftalk falls, and ftrike down numberlefs fibres that at length reach the ground, and produce frefli items. i We SYRACUSE. Ill We left the river, and rowed up a Stream that falls into it from the fouth ; the thicknefs of the aquatic plants, that Shoot up through the water, impeded our progrefs, and made the voyage of fix miles extremely tedious and fa tiguing, especially as the flatnefs of the country, and the trees that Shade the banks, prevented my feeing above a few yards at a time on each fide. We arrived at laft at the head of this river, which rifes in a round pond twenty feet in diameter, and twenty-eight deep, as I found upon founding it in different places. Fazzello, and all thofe that have written Since his time, pretend no length of line can reach the bottom. The water is as clear as cryftal, and full of fifh; I could difcern the bubbling of the fpring at the bottom, and alfo fome broken earthen ware. This pool, now called Pifma, is at a great distance from the hills, and when joined by the Stream that rifes in the Pifmotta, another Simi lar pond, forms a large body of water. In an cient times La Pifma was facred to the nymyh Cyane. 112 SYRACUSE. Cyane. Here it was that Pluto Struck the earth with his fceptre, and plunged into the infernal regions with Proferpine, the fair prize he had carried off from the flowery fields of Enna ; here Cyane attempted to Stop him, and, for her officioufnefs, was by the angry god meta- morphofed into a fountain. Plutarch tells ano ther ftory of Cyane, but not fo agreeable a piece of mythology, therefore I Shall abide by the poetical origin of this fource. On my return to Syracufe, the biShop pro cured me a fight of the cameo of St. Lucy, a favour not eafily obtained, as it constantly hangs at the breaft of her Statue, and is locked up with it. This cameo is a very fine large Stone of feveral layers of colour ; it is cut down fo as to reprefent three heads of men ; the firft, of a yellowilh white eaft, is an emperor of a ferious afpect crowned with laurel, his frizzled hair joining his beard, and his chlamys buttoned on his Shoulder. The next is a muddy red, and is intended for an African ; a Shirt fattened round the SYRACUSE. 1X3 the throat, a cloak, thick lips, flattened nofe, are his distinctive marks ; the third, perfectly white, is an elderly face, with lank hair, a fcowlirig eye, and the under lip raifed to the nofe. By a quibble on the colours, fome con- noiffeurs have named thefe three heads, Severus, Pefcenius Niger, and Albinus j others call them the wife men of the eaft. Vol IV. I JOURNEY .2 C *x4 ] JOURNEY T O MESSINA. SECTION L. JANUARY 20. Upon leaving Syracufe, I diredted my fteps due north, meafuring back many miles of the road that had led me thither. Augufta was my next ftation, eighteen miles diftant by land, but not above nine by fea ; the length of the road is increafed by the neceSEty of feeking a paffage over two rivers, not fordable near their mouths. The country on each fide of thefe ftreams is exceedingly handfome, and the view of Augufta at the bot tom of a valley, through which the water mean ders, remarkably pidturefque. This JOURNEY TO MESSINA. 1 15 ' This town, built by the emperor Frederick the Second *, near the ruins of the Greek city of Megara, covers a fmall low peninfula, joined to Sicily on the north fide by a long caufeway. On each hand are extenfive falt-ponds. This pro* jection forms a very fine harbour, opening to a fouthern expofure, but Sheltered by the points of the coaft from both wind and fvvell ; it has nine fathom of water in almoft every part. A ruinous citadel guards the land gate ; and three forts, built on little iflands, defend the entrance of the port. The country along the oppofite Shore is beautifully diversified in its culture. ¦ The order of Malta, pofleffor of large eftates near Lentini, has established magazines at Au- * From the epithets Divus Auguftus in a modern in fcription over the town gate, it has been imagined that O&avianus Cafar was the founder, and the Swabiati prince the reftorer only. Some learned men have brought a medal of Auguftus to fupport the idea ; but, I believe, the coin has no connection with this place, and moreover doubt its genuinenefs. I 2 gufta Il6 JOURtfEY TO MESSINAC gulta of fait meat, bifcuit, and flour, for the fupply of their Ships, that are continually paff- ing between the islands. This gives a little animation to the place, which is fcarcely yet recovered from the devastation caufed in it by the earthquake of 1093. More than a third of the inhabitants were cruShed to death by the falling of their houfes ; the motion of the earth, or fubterraneous vapours, fet fire to the powder magazine in the citadel, which blew up, and added defolation to defolation ; the water forts were fplit to their foundations, and the light- houfe thrown headlong into the fea *. Since that tremendous day, the town has been rebuilt on a regular plan, with low houfes to prevent mifchief whenever another Shock Shall happen. * A gentleman aflured me its prefent population amounted to fixteen thoufand perfons, though the laft enumerations fix it at nine thoufand two hundred and five. I cannot account for this great difference. Augufta was long a baronial fief ; but, as it was a place of ftrength neceffary for the defence of the kingdom, it was purchased by the crown in 1567. In JOURNEY TO MESSINA. IT7 In the afternoon the whole town was in mo tion to attend a proceflion in honour of St. Se- baftian, one of the moft favourite faints in the Sicilian calendar ; he is particularly addreffed in behalf of children afflicted with hernias. The miraculous cure is performed in the following manner : the large Stage, or machine, on which his effigy is placed, is crowded with difeafed children, and then carried about the ftreets on the Shoulders of the inhabitants, who frequently fight for the honour of bearing the holy burden. The poor infants feemed feared out of their wits at being hoifted fo high on a tottering fcaf- fold ; this, and the awe which the pomp Strikes them with, has, as I was informed by a perfon of note in the place, confiderable eSficacy in contracting the affected parts, fo as to appear lefs than ufual ; but, left the motion and the fright Should -not adt with fufficient power, the Surgeon, whofe province it is to infpedt the children and certify the cure, always gives the little patient a fmart blow on the ear before he I 3 Pr°- n8 journey to messina; proceeds to the examination. With thefe helps, appearances are generally fuch as are defired for, the honour of the faint. The day was clear, but there blew a cutting eafterly wind, which caufed me to remark the drefs of a gentleman, a principal actor in the pageant ; he wore a new unlined lute-ftring, and notwithftanding the Sicilians are affedted by the leaft chilnefs in the air, he was fo well warmed within by devotion, that he feemed infenfibleof the cold. Next morning we mounted our horfes very early, and rode directly north, over the high promontory of Santa Croce, The |and very uneven, but cultivated with fpirit. As foon as we reached the north fide of the hill, and faced ¦JBtm, 1 perceived th: ¦ all the Stones were lurqps of black lava. We defcended to the Shore of the bay of Catania, at its fouth-weft angle, not far from La Brucca, a fmall caricatore, and baited at a public houfe called Agnuni ; near it are the foundations, and walls to the height 7 °f JOU RN EY TO MESSIU A. »I9 of ten feet, of a very large Gothic church, begun by king Frederick the Second, but left in an imperfect ftate either on account of his death, or of the infalubrity of the Situation. Near this fpot antiquaries place the emporium of Leontini, where the fuperabundance of their produce was Shipped for foreign parts. In the neighbouring fields grows a great deal of rue and lupines. The wafte was already dreffed in the fweet garb of fpring •, the myrtle, woodbine, and wild rofe, were powdered with flowers; among them, an iris, of a bright brim stone colour daShed with purple, was very re markable. From hence we travelled many miles clofe by jfche fands of the fea, and forded the river of Lentini at the place where it difcharges itfelf into the bay. The weather had been folong dry, that there was no depth of water to create either difficulty or danger. A fpacious plain extends towards the inland country, and alfo along the Shore, full of ponds 1 4 and 120 JOURNEY TO MESSINA.. and marShes, that abound with wild fowl of numberlefs forts. We Shot feveral birds out of the flocks of Snipes, teal, coots, ducks, &c. that rofe on all Sides, as we rode along ; I never faw a finer field for a keen fportfman than thefe foggie, the Sicilian name for marShy grounds near the fea. They are frequented by many fowlers ; the report of guns was almoft incef- fant; and wherever I turned my eyes, columns of fmoke were afcending from the fens. My campiere, who had often made one in thefe Shooting parties, informed me, that it was ufual to wade, up to the middle, in the fwamps, which in winter are full of water; and, on ac count of the banks, impracticable for boats. The fowler drags after him a couple of lackered baSkets for his 'ammunition and his game; while his dog fwims before him, or runs along the ridges of dry ground, to fpring the birds, and fetch them when Shot. The SiShing-net is not lefs amufing or profitable than the gun ; but as fpon as the fun enters the lion, this country ? become§ ^JOURNEY TO MESSINA. 121 becomes the houfe of death ; fevers of the moft malignant kind feize upon the imprudent or un fortunate wretch that fpends a night near them, and few efcape with life when attacked by fo virulent a diforder. We emerged from the fens to a noble plain, covered with promising crops of corn ; but without a Single inclofure, or even tree. No country feems better calculated for pigeons ; and indeed none has fuch incredible flights of them : from their abundance they are considered as nuifances, and therefore deemed public pro perty. My foldier Shot at them whenever they flew within reach ; nay, he even flopped his horie oppofite a cottage, and fired at aclufter of them baSking on the thatch ; the muletier went to the place and picked up the Slain, while the cottagers ftood at the door as unconcerned as if we had Shot a parcel of fparrows on a hedge. My fervants feafted feveral days on this game ; but enjoyed much more the eating of a magpie I Shot for them. The j£2 JOURNEY TO MESSINA. The dwejling-houfes of the peafants are fmall conical huts, covered with Straw ; and, I be lieve, unoccupied during part of , the year. Through this boundlefs plain flow the waters of the Giarretta, one of the largeft rivers in the ifland, deep and muddy, We paffed it in a ferry, in Sicilian Giarretta, from whence the river takes its modern name ; its ancient one Was Simaethus. We traverfed a. large tract of arable ground, the foil a fandy loam ; then turned again to the Shore, and foon after reached the horrid hed of lava which guShed out of the fide of iEtna in 1669, overwhelmed the greateft part of Catania, filled up its port, and quenched itfelf at laft in the depths of the fea. It is ftill black as a coal, and hard as iron, without the leaft fymptom of any vegetable feed or root being likely to take hold of its barren furface. We entered Catania by a triumphal arch of alternate courfes of Java and freeftone. n SEC- J0URKTE Y TP MESSIN A. 12$ SECTION LI. THE prince of Bifcari, to whom I was recommended, and to whofe many amia ble qualities every traveller, that has frequented his houfe, muft bear honourable testimony, took upon him the taSk of being my antiquary, If my feeble voice can contribute any thing to wards extending his well-deferved reputation of benevolence, hofpitality, and antiquarian zeal, I Shall not be backward in corroborating the evidence of preceding writers ; for I cannot think any of their praifes extravagant, when I confider how noble and' patriotic the motives, are, that have induced him to colledt and pre serve the fcattered memorials of his country's ancient Splendor.— How much fuperior he and his family Shew themfelves to the prejudices of his fellow citizens! how well verfed he is in many branches of learning ! and with what good-na ture^ 124 JOURNEY TO MESSINA. ture, eafe, and franknefs, he treats the perfons that come recommended to his notice ! His col lection is very rich and extenfive, especially in Etrufcan vafes, lamps, and antiquities of terra cotta. Every year brings new treafures to this department from the ruins of Camarina in the Val di Noto, where the prince employs feveral hands in digging. One of the moft remarkable lamps is moulded into the form of a camel, with an amphora on each fide fixed in a cradle. — The water-carriers at Palermo ufe a -Similar contrivance to this day, for conveying water uponaffes. Among his bufts and Statues fome are confpicuous on account of the perfection of their fculpture ; others, from the celebrity of the perfons they reprefent. His favourite piece of Statuary is the torfo of a god, of heroic Size, touched in a moft mafterly ftyle ; the fides and back are worked up with wonderful truth and knowledge. — The flowing contour and fwelling of the mufcles are admirable both to the fight and touch. The lavas and other productions of JOURNEY TO MESSINA. 12$ of JEtna compofe a large divifion of the cabinet, and a curious affortment of Sicilian foSfils and minerals fill up another. He informed me that no iron ore had yet been difcovered in the ifland. The colledtion of cameos and intaglios, and the fuite of Sicilian and Roman coins, are very va luable. I was introduced by him to the canon Jofeph Recupero, a merry philofopher, in fpite of a lethargic difpofition, which frequently over powers him, and will probably foon prove of fatal confequence. He has Studied the pheno mena and natural hiftory of iEtna with great per- feverance, and acquired a profound knowledge of its operations and productions ; he has pub lished fome differtations on the fubject, abound ing with fagacious obfervations ; and was then actually employed in revising and preparing for the prefs a voluminous hiftory of the mountain ; but his friends were apprehenfive he would not live long enough to complete it *. The canon * He died a few months after I left Sicily, and had not the fatisfaelion of feeing the abolition of the Inquifition, which took place in theViceroyalty of the Marquis Caracciolo. has H6 JOURNEY TO MESsiNA. has renounced all thoughts of ecclefiaftical pre ferment, of which he told me the doorhad been effectually Shut againft him on account of his bold, liberal way of thinking and fpeaking ; but it was a matter he was» become quite indifferent to, as he Should Spend the few days he had to live in happy retirement, at a fmall country - houfe near town, where his good friend and patron the prince of Bifcari had provided for all his wants. He has a fet of features Very like thofe of Socrates, whofe good-nature and placid philofophy he feems to have inherited. The prince conducted me to the remains of the ancient city, which, on account of the nu merous torrents of lava that have flowed out of Mount JEtna for thefe laft thoufand years, and taken their destructive cou'rfe this way, is now to be fought for in dark caverns, many feet be low the prefent furface of the earth* Were it not for St. Agatha and ^Etna, the an nals of Catania would be barren and unintereft- iag ; but the volcano, by its continual threats, and .- . .. v JOURNEY to MESSINA. 12) and frequently by its ravages, has provided the Catanian historians with ample materials for dif- fertation ; while the faint, by the repelling vir tues of her veil, furniShes them with fuch caufcs of triumph as reconciles them to the tafk of de- fcribing the horrible phenomena of the moun tain. I have perufed feveral volumes of its hiftory, without finding above a page of events worth Selecting, except thofe that relate to the conflagrations. Catania was founded by the Chalcidians foon after the fettlement of Syracufe, and enjoyed great tranquillity till Hiero the Firft expelled the whole body of citizens, and, after replenish ing the town with a new Stock of inhabitants, gave it the name of jEtna; immediately after his deceafe, 4t regained its ancient name, and its citizens returned to their abodes. Catania fell into the hands of the Romans, among their ear- lieft acquifitions in Sicily, and became the refi dence of a prsetor. To make it worthy of fucri an honour, it was adorned with fumptuous buildings 128 journey to MEsgiNA* buildings of all kinds, and every convenience! was procured to fupply the natural and artificial wants of life. It was destroyed by Pompey's fon, but reftored with fuperior magnificence by Auguftus. The reign of Decius is famous, in the hiftory of this city, for the martyrdom of its patronefs St. Agatha. On every emergency her interceSfion is implored. — She is pioufly be lieved to have preferved Catania from being overwhelmed by torrents of lava, or fhaken to pieces by earthquakes ; yet its ancient edifices are covered by repeated ftreams of volcanic mat ter; and almoft every houfe, even her own church, has been thrown to the ground. In the reign of William the Good, twenty thoufand Catanians, with their paftor at their head, were destroyed before the facred veil could be pro perly placed to check the flames. In the laft century the eruptions and earthquakes raged with redoubled violence, and Catania was twice demolished. The prince has been at infinite pains, and fpent a large fum of money, in working . down to JOURNEY TO MESSINA. 129 to the ancient town. We defcended into baths* fepulchres, an amphitheatre, and a theatre, all very much injured by the various cataftrophes that have befallen them. Th'ey were eredted upon old beds of lava, and even built with fquare pieces of the fame fubftance, which in no inftance appears to have been fufed by the con tact of new lavas. The fciarra, or Stones of cold lava, have conftantly proved as ftrong a barrier againft the flowing torrent of fire, as any other ftone could have been, though fome authors were of opinion, that the hot matter would melt the old mafs, and incorporate with it. This city has been frequently defended from the burning ftreams by the folid mafs of its own ramparts, and by the air compreffed between them and the lava ; this appears by the torrent having Stopped within a fmall diftance of the walls, and taken another diredtion. But when the walls were broken, or low, the lava collected itfelf till it rofe to a great height, and then poured over in a curve. A Similar inftance is Vol. IV. . K feen 12© JOURNEY TO MESSINA. feen at the Torre del Greco near Naples, where the ftream of liquid fire from Vefuvius divided itfelf into two branches, and left a church un touched in the middle. There is a well at the foot of the old walls of Catania, where the lava, after running along 'the parapet, and then falling forwards, has produced a very complete lofty arch over the fpring. We next vifited the Benedidtine convent of St. Nicholas, one of the largeft I ever faw, be longing either to t4iat, or any other religious order. Every part has been rebuilt Since the earthquake of 1693. The principal front is overcharged with ornaments, and nothing in architedture can have a more difagreeable effect than the decorations of the windows ; the cloy- fters are not quite compleat ; the dormitories and galleries are fo long that the perfpedtive view of them feems abfolutely to terminate in a point of light. The church is a noble fabrick, notwithftanding feveral blameable things in the defign ; the ifies are too wide for the nave, and the JOURNEY TO MESSINA, 13! the altars are in a very vicious tafte ; the archi tect feems in them to have Studied to deviate as much as poflible from the real line of beauty. This is accounted the largeft church in Sicily, though neither a porch nor cupola has been erected, from a« doubt of the folidity of the foundations, which are no other than the bed of lava that ran out of Etna in 1660, and is fup pofed to be full of cavities. The organ is much efteemed by connoiffeurs in mufical instruments* One wing of the monastery is appropriated to a considerable mufseum of antiquity and natural hiftory. It is eafy to form a cabinet of Greek medals at Catania *; for the demands of theBif* cari * Nummi Catanenfium. Ex Argento, 1. Cap. imb» diad. KATANAI— Quadriga vid. ftlpem cor. imp. 2. Jovis cap. quercea cor, red. — Sceptrum alat. KATA* NAIRN. 3. Cap. Apoll. KATANAION— Biga. 4. Cap. rir hub.*- Cap. fenile barbatum. . Ka 5. Cap* 122 JOURNEY TO MESSINA, cari colledtion have long drawn thither all per fons that had any to difpofe of, and that fuite being nearly perfedted, many coins muft now be rejected, and left for other dilettanti. I pur- chafed feveral of great rarity, and in excellent prefervation. SEC- 5. Cap. Apoll. pleno vultu capill. horridis KATA- NAliiN— Fig. in quadr. victoria fupervol. pifcis KATANAIfW. 6. Cap. Jovis cornut. KATANAlfiN — Fig. mulieb. d, lances s. cornucop. in laurea mon. ' 7. Cap. mul. coron. querc. oron, XOIKEfiN AIIOA- AS2N — Fig. in quadrig. vicl. fuperv. Squilla KATANAinN. 8. Cap. laur. imb HPAKAEIAN — Id. typus. 9. Cap. imb. diad. pifcis fquilla AMENA02 — Fig. in qtadrig. vift. fuperv. KATANAIflN. Ex iEre. 1. Anapias cum patre KATANAION— Amphinomus cum matre. 2. Fig. nud. rad. d. cornua. s. urceolum ten.— Noc- tuA infid. duob. pileis Diofcur KATANAION. 3, Cap. JOURNEY TO MESSINA. I3J SECTION LII. CATANIA is reviving with great fplen- dour ; and, when all the houfes now building are finished, will be a very handfome city. It has already much more the features of a metropolis and royal refidence than Palermo ; the principal ftreets are wide, ftraight, and well- paved with lava. An obelifk of red granite, placed 3. Cap. Jovis corn. KATANAION— Fig. mul. ftans i. lances, s. cornucop. 3 anagr. 4. Cap. imb. — Mulier ftans KATANAION. 5. Cap. Bacchi barb. — Racemus KATANAION. 6. Cap. Jani — Mulier ftans d. Flabellum s. trid. KATA NAION. 7. Cap. Bacchi imb. — 0AAA2ZIO — Anapias et Arn- phinomus KATANAION. 8. Cap. Apoll. KATAN — Mulier in curru a duob tygr. duel. s. thyrfum ten. 9. Cap. folis pleno vultu— Fig. nud. in big. fuperv. via. K 3 10. Capita I34 JOUR N E Y TO M E SS I N A. placed on the back of an antique elephant of touchstone, Stands in the centre of the great fquare, which is formed by the town-hall, fe* minary, and cathedral. The cathedral erected by the Abbot Angerius in the year 1094, was endowed by earl Roger with the territories of Catania and JEtna, for the fmall acknowledge ment of a glafs of wine and a loaf of bread offered once a year. It has fuffered fo much by earthquakes, that little of the original Struc ture remains, and the modern parts have hardly any thing, except their materials, to recom- 10. Capita jug, barb. K.A — Fig, vir. ftans columnar inn. 11, Capita Diofeur. Jngata-^Fig. vir. ft. col, innix. 12. Cap. Jugat. imb, laur.— 2 fpicas KATANAION. 13. Cap. Apoll. ftell.— Mul. grad. d. fol. KATANAION. 14. Cap. mul. — Mulier grad. KATANAION II. 15. Cap. mul, — TANA Ramus T. 16. Cap. Apoll. — Vift. ftans d. fpic. s. ramum III TA- " NAION. 17, Cap. mul. fpic. red, Eni-n-Pegafus galea, KATA- N UON. j Cap, Apoll,— Tripus KATANAION. mend JOURNEY TO MESSINA. 135 mend them. The other religious edifices of the city are profufely ornamented, but in a bad tafte. The fpirit of building feems to have feized upon this people ; and the prince of Bif- cari's example adds frefh vigour. It were na tural to fuppofe men would be backward in ' eredting new habitations, especially with any degree of luxury, on ground fo often Shaken to its centre, and fo often buried under the aShes of a volcano ; but fuch is their attachment to their native foil, and their contempt of dangers they are habituated to, that they rebuild their houfes on the warm cinders of Vefuvius, the quaking plains .of Calabria, and the black mountains of Sciarra at Catania ; it is how ever furprifing to fee fuch embellishments la vished in fo dangerous a Situation. There is a great deal of activity in the difpofition of this people ; they know by tradition that their an- eeftors carried on a flourifhing commerce ; and, that, before the fiery river filled it up, they had a fpacious convenient harbour,, where they K 4 now I36 'JOURNEY TO MESSINA.' now have fcarcely a creek for a felucca ; they therefore wifh to reftore thofe advantages to Catania, and have often applied to government for afliftance towards forming a mole and port } an undertaking their Strength alone is unequal to : but, whether the refufal originates in the deficiencies of the public treafury, orthejea- loufy of other cities, all their projects have ended in fruitlefs applications. The number of inhabitants dwelling in Ca tania amounts to thirty thoufand ; the Catanians make it double.— A confiderable portion of this number appertains to the university, the only one in the ifland, and the nurfery of all the lawyers. I fpent matiy hours in contemplating the greateft curiofity in Catania ; for fuch I efteem the villa Sciarra, belonging to the prince of Bif- cari. Some years ago he inclofed a large tradt of the lava, which iffued from iEtna in 1669, furrounded the old fortrefs where the Arrago- nian kings were wont to refide, and ended its 1 deftruc- <#©. *fns; .>etn-/rim,tf* We Stttqmzt af/Ae- Jblcano. JOURNEY TO MESSINA. 1 57 diminished of late years by the tops of the hranches being lopped to increafe its fruitful- nefs; the boughs yet meet at a very confiderablje elevation from the ground. When I firft Saw this tree, 1 concluded myfelf impofed upon by the descriptions of preceding travellers ; and was convinced that the, original tree had been cut down, and the prefent group formed by new moots fprung out of the old root j but upon a clofer examination I changed my opinion. This wonderful production of the vegetable kingdom confifts of a trunk, now fplit to the furiace of che earth, but, as I found by digging all round, united in one body at a very fmall depth below ; of this trunk five divisions are formed, each of which fends forth enormous branches. The exterior furface of thefe divisions are co vered with bark, none has yet grown, on their infide^ and; they all turn towards a commoni cen tre. The interfiices are of different extents ; one is wide enough for two coaches to drive abreaft — In the middle is a hut covered' with tiles, 5 158 JOURNEY TO MESSlNAi tiles, where the fruit of the tree is deposited* w Our whole caravan, men and animals, were at our eafe in this extraordinary inclofure ; and, while the horfes eat their oats, we fpread our cloaks on the ground, and dined in two fets, without interfering with each other. / This will not appear incredible, when I affure my rea ders, that, after three meafurements taken with the utmoft nicety and attention, I found the circumference of this mighty tree to be, at one inch above the ground, one hundred and ninety- fix English feet on the outfide. As the line was drawn ftraight acrofs the vacancies, the real fize of the circle ought to be computed ftill higher *. * Reidefel fays it meafured 204 palms (about 176 feet). He probably held his meafuring line farther from the ground than I did. Mentelle gives it 149 French feet, of near 160 Englilh. The author of " Voyages en differens Pays de l'Europe," who perhaps took his intelligence from Reidefel, and by miftake put feet for palms, gives it 304 feat circumference. Within / journ e Y lo Messina'. 159 Within fight of this chefnut-tree, which' for merly belonged to St. Agatha, but has lately been declared the property of the crown, grow feveral trees of the fame Species, perhaps Still more Worthy of admiration, as their trunk is yet intire. I took the dimenfions of the largeft at the height of three feet ; it is fifty-feven feet round, with a ftraight bole free from crack or flaw, and clear of branches to the height of fifteen feet; I never beheld fo beautiful and flourishing a tree. After thefe giants of vege tation all other trees appeared pigmies, and I paffed them" unnoticed. The decline of the day now warned me of the neceflity of quitting ./Etna and continuing my journey. We travelled down the eaftern declivity of the mountain, through a tract of well-wooded, and well-cultivated hills. The way was no other than the bed of a torrent, rough and ftony. I was fo accuftomed to bad roads, and fo confi dent of the Steady foot of my mule, that, I felt no apprehenfions from this rapid defcent; this animal l6o JOURNEY TO MESSINA. animal did not make the leaft falfe Step, or by any fudden motion once call off my attention from the enchanting fcenes around me. My heart was dilated with pleafure as I beheld the gay cloathing with which tbe rofy- coloured blof- foms covered tbe yet leaflefs almond-trees, and the golden glow with which the fetting fun tinged every object. The firft village we ar rived at is placed on the brink of an immenfe bed of Stones, which is at prefent dry, but bears the marks of a mighty ftream having heretofore taken its courfe this way. The great breadth of this channel furprifed me, for I faw no reafon from its depth to think it a natural refervoir, or paffage for the melted fnow in the fpring, which could not be fuppofed to form fo great a body of water as was neceffary to fill it. The curate of the village informed me, that it was occafioned by a moft afteniShing volume of hot water, which in the year 1753 had forced its way through the fides of the mountain, about two hundred years above, rufhing down to the fea JOURNEY TO MESSINA. I7 higheft of which a communicating gallery was carried along the back fcreen ; the diameter of the femicircular part of the theatre, where the audience fat, is 142 EngliSh feet*. 4- This ruin has an admirable effect, and, when entire, muft have been one of the moft noble * Further particulars may be found in D'Orville, Rei defel, and other authors. f A duke of St. Stephano carried off all the ftatues and ornaments of the theatre, but the magistrates of Taor mina, finding this monument admired by foreigners, have bellowed occational repairs upon it, and replaced fome fragments of the columns ; they are of white marble, and of the Corinthian order. By the turn of their foliage and other members, I take them to have been erefted about the time of Domitian. Nummi Tauromenitani. Ex Auro. 1. Cap. imb. laur. pileus. — Tripus TAYPOMENITAN. Ex Argento. 1. Bovis facies— Racemus TATPOM. M 4 Ex l68 JOURNEY TO MESSINA. noble buildings in Sicily. The wall of the city ran in a horizontal line under the brow of the hill behind the theatre, and without were placed the fepulchres of the citizens. — Some remain in ruin , others are converted into dwelling-hpufes ^ Ex ^Ere. i. Cap. Apollinis Archagetse — Minotaurus TAYPOME- NITAN. 2. Idem cap.— Racemus TAYPOMENITAN. 3. Id. cap. — Lyra TAYPOMENITAN. 4. Id. cap.— Tripus TAYPOMENITAN. 5. Cap. Bacchi — Diana s. lane, ten; canis TAYPOMENI TAN. 6. Cap. Jovis— Aquila fulm. inf. III. TAYPOMENITAN. 7. Cap. Pall noelua TAYPOMEN. 8. Cap. mul.— Mul. ft. s. bacul. TAYPO. 9. Cap. Apoll. TAYPO— Tripus AIIOAAflNO. 10. Cap. Apoll. — Taurus TAYPOMENITAN. 1 1 . Cap. mul. caniftro coron. — Minot. ftella. 32. Cap. imb. no&ua— Taurus TAYPOMENITAN. 13. Cap. imb. vir. — Minotaurus. 14. Cap. Apoll. Archagets — Taurus cornupet. TAY POMENITAN. and JOURNEY TO M ESSINA. 169 and one of thefe columbaria is actually ufed as a dove-cote. On the declivity above the town are feveral ancient refervoirs, arched and plaiftered ; the beft preferved one is divided by a row of maffive pillars into two rooms, lighted by femi circular windows near the cieling. The afcent to Taormina was very fteep and diffi^ cult, but I found the defcent on the other fide ftill more precipitate and perilous. The charms of the landfcape amply repaid my labours. Were I to namp a place that poffeffes every grand and beauteous qualification for the forming of a picture ; a place on which I Should wiSh to em ploy the powers of a Salvator or a Pouflin ; Taormina Should be the object of my choice. — Every thing belonging to it is drawn in a large fublime Style; the mountains tower to the very clouds, the caftles and ruins rife on mighty maffes of perpendicular rock, and feem to defy the attacks of mortal enemies ; iEtna with all jts fnowy and wqpdy fweeps fills half the ho rizon ; 170 JOU RNE Y TO M E SSINA." rizon ; the fea is Stretched out upon an immenfe fcale, and occupies the remainder of the pro fpedt. I regretted much not having it in my power conveniently to fpend fome days on this delightful fpot. We travelled many miles along the beach, which is extremely confined by high cliffs. They are calcareous and generally of a fpecies of red and white marble, which was in great efteem among the ancients. The houfes in the villages on the Shore are built with alternate courfes of brick and ftone, a me,thod very fre quently pradtifed by the Greeks and Romans. The torrents were all dry ; but their Stony beds, and the wide extent which the rubbleftones cover, Shew how furious their courfe muft be after heavy rains. I accounted it a very fortu nate circumftance in my tour through Sicily, that out of the great number of rivers and moun tain ftreams I was under the neceflity of paffing, only two were fo fwoln with floods as to caufe any delay in my journey, though from the feafon of JOURNEY TO MESSI N A. 171 of the year I had reafon to expect that fort of inconvenience more frequently. I Stopped at Fiume di Nifi, and early next morning entered the city of MeSfina, through a range of gardens and fuburbs, which prefented a very novel fcene, after a long coafting ride* M E S- C 172 ] MESSINA. SECTION LVL AS I entered MeSfina on the land fide, I felt none of thofe fenfations of furprize and delight, with which travellers declare them felves in a manner overcome on a firft view from the fea ; my admiration rofe gently and gradually as my walks led me to a view of the different beauties of its fituation ; for, in my way to the inn, nothing occurred to give me a very high x opinion of the city ; narrow ftreets, gloomy houfes, little buftle of trade, and ftill lefs Shew of Juxury. A large MESSINA. 173 A large chain of mountains preffes upon the fliore, and part of the city ftands upon elevated ground.— The mountains are many of thetn nobly wooded ; the hills before them finely chequered with groves and fields. As the town runs in a fweep along the edge of a declivity, every building of confequence is feen to advan tage, while the lefs noble parts are hidden by the Palazzata. This is a regular ornamental range of lofty houfes, with nineteen gates, an- fwering to* as many ftreets ; it follows the femi circular bend of the port for one mile and five poles, and would have been the handfomeft line of buildings in Europe, had the defign been completed ; but a confiderable part of the extent is not finished, except merely in the front wall, and that feems to be in a very ruinous condition. Philibert Emmanuel of Savoy, viceroy of Sicily in 1622, began this princely work. Before it is a broad quay, decorated with Statues and fountains ; Ships of any burden can moor clofe to the parapet, in great depth of water. At the 174 MESSINA. the weft extremity is a fmall fort and a gate ; the other end is clofed by the governor's houfe and the citadel, a modern pentagonal fortrefs, built on the point where the ifthmus or bracchio di San Raniero iffues from the main land. On this flip of low ground, which, with the Pa- lazzata, forms the circular harbour of MeSfina, one of the fineft in the world, are placed the light-houfe, lazaretto, and, on the point, the old caftle of St. Salvatore. The circumference of the port is four miles ; it probably owes its formation to an earthquake, which opened an immenfe chafm, and then filled it with water. The depth is fo great, and the Shore fo abrupt, that a few weeks before my arrival at MeSfina, an EngliSh Ship, by Shifting her ballaft, as She was hauling up to be careened, fank in feventy fathom water clofe by Salvatore. The Chroni clers fay, that the duke of Puglia and his Nor. mans landed firft on an ifland before MeSfina, and that he vowed to build a church there in honour of San Salvatore if he fucceeded in his enterprize. M E S S 1 N A. 175 enterprize. — From this expreflion, one woul4 imagine that the bracchio was not then con nected with the ifland of Sicily. Near the light-houfe is a kind of whirlpool in the fea, Shewn as the Charybdis of the ancients. I faw nothing in it more than a rippling occa fioned by the meeting of the tide and currents. The bottom of the Streights is Shallow, and full of rocks ; confequently, numberlefs points and cavities muft occur to obftruc): and perplex the regular courfe of the current, and caufe whirlpools that are dangerous in Stormy weather; or even in dead calms, when veffels may be embayed and drawn among the Shallows from which they want wind to extricate themfelves. I take it for granted that the fea has worn itfelf a paffage through the Faro much more eafy and expanded than it was when Homer com- pofed his Odyffey, which perhaps was not many centuries after the waves had burft through the connecting Ifthmus between Sicily and the coaft of Reggio. Then Scylla might indeed be a tremendous Ij6 MESSINA. tremendous rock, and the hollows under the1 fea, where the waters yet foaming, and agitated by the refiftance they had met with at Scylla, were hurried and whirled about, muft have been an irrefiftible vortex, from which no Ship could efcape. The alternate action of fwallow- ing up and revomiting the wreck, was Similar to that of a pool at the foot of any lofty caf- cade : logs of wood that are fwept over a pre cipice by the violence of a mountain torrent are thus abforbed, and thrown up again. Ulyffes might Stick to his fig-tree till the maft rofe again from the deep, and catch it as it emerged with the return of the tide, though the poet has extended the time of his hanging beyond all bounds of probability. I think it is clear from Homer's defcription, that Charybdis was almoft oppofite Scylla, and feveral miles north of the place where Meffina now ftands. No fpot an- fwers it fo well as the Pantano grande,i a large pool now furrounded with fand on the ifthmus of cape Peloro, but ftill communicating with the MESSINA. 177 the fea by fome fubterraneous conduit, as its waters are fait, and ebb and flow regularly with thofe of the Streights : it is full of purpura?, and other fea fhell-fifh. Before the fands were call up by fome commotion of the earth fo as to in- clofe this pond, it was probably the bottom of a fmall bay, refembling the end of a net, into which veffels that had the fortune to fleer clear of Scylla were hurried by the rapidity of the currents. They ftill reign at the entrance of the Faro, but are certainly lefs violent than they were when the paffage was more confined. A tide is very perceptible at all times ; but it has been obferved to be uncommonly ftrong between the full moon of December and the new moon of January. The fea is then fo disturbed with the Struggles and contrary motions of its tides and currents, as to produce innumerable whirl pools, that render the navigation of the Streights exceflively perilous : fishermen are afraid at that time to venture to fea, or to attempt fpread- ing a net : the fame effedts in a lefs degree are Vol. IV. N felt; 178 MESSINA. felt at the fummer folftice. The agitation of this narrow fea is alfo very great during the time of the Equinoxes; but there are two fetifons of the year, viz. the end of February, or be ginning of March, and the latter part of Sep tember, or the firft weeks in October, when there is fcarce any tide to be difcerned ; a ge neral calm and fmoothnefs reigns upon the fur face of the waters ; objects are reflected upon it as clearly as in a mirror ; and every danger of vortexes and currents difappears. The inner part of Meffina is dirty, though it contains a confiderable number of neat churches, and large fubftantial dwellings. The cathedral is Gothic, enriched with Saracenic mofaics on the altars and Shrines ; the front of the high altar is particularly fplendid ; Gagini has embel- lifhed the pulpit and fome tombs with excellent fpecimens of his art. As this waS not the epif- cppal church on the firft revival of that dignity by Earl Roger, I prefume the buildings were raifed under his fon or grandfon, either entirely from MESSINA. 179 from the ground, or upon the foundation and remains of fome ancient edifice. Among; the tombs of feveral illuftrious perfonages, is that of king Alphonfus the Second, whofe former exploits and ftern temper of mind were far from prognofticating the pufillanimity with which he fled from his throne, and the defpondency that difgraced the clofe of his career. During the life of his father Ferdinand, he had exerted him- felf with great vigour and animofity againft the rebellious barons, and, therefore, lived in con tinual fufpicion of their machinations. As foon as the approach of the king of France, Charles the Eighth, who claimed the crown of Naples in right of the fecond houfe of Anjou, had en couraged the difcontented nobles openly to de clare their hoftile intentions, a panic Struck the foul of Alphonfus ; he refigned his fceptre to Ferdinand his fon, a youth of great expecta tions, and a favourite with the nation, and threw himfelf into the arms of his coufin the king of Arragon. His fears operated moft N 2 powerfully iSo MESSINA. powerfully on his degraded mind ; but the na tural violence of his temper only changed its object ; for in his retreat at Meflina he became a mere penitent friar, paffing his days in the churches, and driving away the bitter reflections that haunted him by long prayer and fevere pradtices of mortification. In thefe habits he paffed ten months after his abdication, and then died, an object of wonder and contempt, but not of pity, to his contemporaries. In the treafury of this church is preferved the palladium of Meflina, a letter from the Virgin Mary to its citizens *. Thi* * The ftory is as follows : After Saint Paul had made fome ftay at Meflina, a circumftance of his travels unno ticed by Saint Luke, the Meffinefe prevailed upon him to return to Jerufalem with an embafly of four perfons fent by the city to the Virgin Mary. Their excellencies were gracioufly received by her, and brought back a letter written with her own hand, in the Hebrew tongue, which Saint Paul tranflated into Greek. By the irruption of the Saracens this invaluable treafure was loft, and utterly for gotten- MESSINA. 101 This is the title upon which the Meflinefe built their intensions to pre-eminence over the whole ifland, nay, over the whole world ; to its virtues and patronage they attribute every piece of good fortune, and to their own unworthinefs all Sinister events that have befallen them. The authenticity of this epiftle has been ferioufly impugned, and of courfe vigorbufly defended by many Sicilian divines and difputators. The writers gotten till the year 1467, when Conftantine Lafcaris, a refugee Greek, found a copy of it, and turning it into Latin, made it known to the citizens, and then to all the Catholic world. Its authenticity is now fo well eftabliflied at Meflina, that Regna the hiftorian candidly acknowledges, that whoever was to confefs even a doubt on the fubjecl in that city would be treated as an infidel. This curious epiftle is conceived in thefe terms. Maria Virgo Joachim filia Dei humillima Chrifti Jefu crucifhri Mater ex trtbu Judas ftirpe David meffanenlibu* omnibus falutem et Dei patris omnipotentis benedi&ionem. Vos omnes fide magna legatos ac nuncios perpublicum do- cumentum ad nos mififfe conftat. Filium noftrum Dei genitum Deum et hominem effe fatemini et in ccelum poll N 2 fuam lSz MESSINA. writers of this nation are remarkable for main taining with zeal every tradition, and pretenfion, however doubtful, that has ever been received among the inhabitants ; they will not allow the flighteft fault to be found with the natural or artificial productions of their country, or fuffer Sicily to be deemed inferior to any thing but Paradife. I believe the judicious prince of Torremuza is the firft Sicilian that dared to dif- pute the authenticity' of any infcription or monu ment, which had been admitted as genuine. This tenacioufnefs may perhaps originate in the influence of the inquifition ; for no man, how- fuam refurreflionem afcendiffe Pauli apoftoli eleeYi prsedi- catione mediante viam veritatis agnofcentes. Ob quod vos et ipfam civitatem benedicimus cnjus perpetuam prote&ri- cem nos effe volumus. Anno filii noftri XLIL Indict. I. III. Nonas Junii luna XXVII. feria V. ex Hierofolymis. Not to dwell upon the aftronomical blunders in thefe dates, let it fuffice to obferve, that Lafcaris was not aware that Denis the Little, a Syrian monk, in the fixth cen tury, was the firft who made ufe of the sera that com mences at our Saviour's birth. ever MESSINA. l8j ever certain of the falfity of an opinion, or of the forgery of a monument, will venture to fpeak his mind, or thwart the general fentiment in a country, where his life and property depend upon the judgment which prejudiced and, pro bably, ignorant men Shall pafs upon his work ; but whenever this fword of Damocles Shall be removed from the heads of the literati, we may expedt to fee in Sicily a moft happy change in the fyftem of fcience *. There is another church in this city that de- ferves particular notice, not fo much on ac count of its architecture or ornaments, as for its beingvthe laft refuge of the Greek liturgy, which was once the predominant fervice of the ifland, but gradually abolished by different con querors. It is dedicated to the V. Mary de Grapheo, or of the Letter, which denomination may, per- * Their Sicilian majefties, ever eager to adopt any plan that may tend to the welfare or improvement of their fub- jefts, have abolifhed this moft odious tribunal. N 4 haps, j{?4 MESSINA. haps, have furniflied Lafcaris with the idea of his letter. It is known at prefent by the name of la Cattolica. According to the Greek canons, the entrance of monaftic churches was recipro cally forbidden to each fex, and the cathedrals were the only places of worfhip where a daily facrifice was offered up by the bifhop and clergy, and where both men and women were prefent at the fame time, but in different parts of the church. From this general admittance, the building acquired the title of Catholic or uni- verfal.. When the victorious Norman earl had com pleted the redudtion of Sicily, he fixed the fee of a biShop at Traina, under whofe jurisdiction he placed all Greek as well as Latin Chriftians of the diflrict : upon the fee being removed to MeSfina, he indulged the Greeks with a fupreme paftor of their own by the title of Protopapa, a dignity which, with many effential diminutions of authority, fubfifts to this day. Since the fourth Lateran council in 1225, thefe Greeks have been fuppofed to conform to the MESSINA. 185 the Latin rite, and as a teft of their belief in the difputed points between the chiftxhes, are obliged to attend divine fervice on a particular day in the cathedral, and there to Sing certain paffages declaratory of thefe contefted articles. While commerce flourished at MeSfina, before rebellions and the plague had reduced its popu lation to a Shadow of its former ftate, the Greek fchool here was in great repute, and boafted of many learned men belonging to its body; but it has long been reduced to a ftate of insignifi cancy ; the Greeks actually refident at this port fend their youth into the Levant to Study, and however ignorant thefe fcholars may return, they at leaft bring back with ' them ftrong pre judices againft the Latin dogmas, though they may never be fo incautious as to divulge their fentiments. The protopapa is dreft in a very fumptuous manner, and performs many epifco- pal fundtions as far as mere ceremony goes, for he has no powers left; he is nominated by the pope,, and confirmed in his dignity by the archbifhop of Meflina. A fimilar jg6 MESSINA. A Similar institution was eftablifhed at Reggia in Calabria^by earl Roger ; though extremely hoftile to the Greeks, whom he knew to be dif- affedted to his government, he found it found policy to treat with lenity a people that was ftill formidable by its numbers, and to enflave them imperceptibly under the enjoyment of their own civil and religious laws ; the Greek communion has failed at Reggio from the beginning of the laft century, and its nominal paftor has long been a Roman prieft. After the introduction of the Christian hie rarchy, the faithful of Sicily and Magna Grecia were fubjedt to the jurifdiction of the biShop of Rome, and adhered to his communion long after the emperor Leo Ifauricus had renounced all obedience to that fee *. It was not till the tenth century that Peter, biShop of Otranto, in order to pleafe the patriarch Polyeudtes, and to * Pagi fays, Sicily acknowledged the patriarch of Con stantinople from that time ; but other authorities prove it to be a miftake. obtain MESSINA. 187 obtain the dignity of metropolitan, conformed to the Greek rite, and fet the example of fepara tion to the clergy of thofe parts of the empire ; Sicily being fubjedt to the Mahometan yoke, and loft to all connections with Rome, imitated the conduct of the Calabrians in thefe ecclefiafti- cal difputes ; but earl Roger, a zealous member of the Roman church, and, through policy, a declared enemy to the Grecian emperor and his communion, reftored the pope to full authority over Sicily as foon as he had perfedted the con- queft of it. He detained one third of all its lands * for the ufe of the crown, another he divided among his followers, and the laft divi fion he gave to the church, without any claim upon the two other Shares for tithes. But in the midft of this exceSEve liberality to the clergy, fome care was taken by the Sicilian law to guard againft their encroachments, though * I do not fuppofe he took all the lands from the old proprietors, as many Greek and Saracen families remained long after on the ifland in affluent circujnftances; probably l8S MESSINA. probably without conftant fuccefs. By one re. gulation it was Stipulated, that all ecclefiaftics, who by any means Should acquire poffeSfions that had been allotted to the laity, were to dif pofe of them, by fale or otherwife, within one year and a few weeks : trufts and fidtitious con veyances eafily defeated the intentions of this ftatute. The moft effential check to clerical power was given by the pope himfelf; Urban the Second, by a bull dated in the year 1098, which has been the fubjedt of much controverfy, appointed earl Roger and his fucceflbrs perpe tual vicars of the apoftolic fee, and legates in the ifland. The pontiff thus put into the hands of the Sicilian monarchs a weapon that has often been employed againft the court of Rome, and has defended Sicily againft many attempts to wards an extention of papal authority. This legatine power is exercifed by a tribunal called La Monarchia, which has often been attacked and anathematized. The pope entertained hopes of destroying this court during the precarious 2 Situation MESSINA. 189 Situation of Sicily under the houfe of Savoy, and inftigated the biShop of Lipari to difpute its authority, and appeal from its fentence to him ; but, contrary to expectation, Vidtor Amadeus defended his rights with vigour, and the plans of the court of Rome were defeated. This tri bunal judges all ecclefiaftical appeals from the ordinary, and in the firft inftance decides all caufes relative to perfons exempted from the common jurifdidtions, and fubjedt to the pope only. SECTION LVIL THE firft name of MeSfina was Zanclcv which in the old language of Sicily meant a fickle, alluding, as fome authors fuppofe, to the form of the port, or, according to others, to the fertility of the country. Allured by the advantages of its Situation, the Cumceans, a commercial ipO MESSINA. commercial and enterprising' people, invaded the ifland and drove the Sicul^ from this fettle ment ; they were in their turn overpowered by a band of Samian adventurers, who made way for a colony of citizens of Meffene, and under thefe matters it changed its name to Meffene, or Meffana "*. Their government was of Short du ration, for in the 289th year before Chrift, it was destroyed by the Mamertines, a war-like unprincipled nation, inhabiting the fouth part of Brutium. Thefe foldiers being received into Meflina, on tqeir return to Italy from Syracufe, where they had ferved as mercenaries in the army of Agathocles, took an opportunity " of maffacreing the inhabitants, and ufurping their poffeffions ; in order to fupport themfelves againft the refentment of the Sicilian powers, they im plored the protection of theRomans, who, eager * This name could not be derived from the word Mejfit, harveft, as Mr. Brydone fuppofes, becaufe the city wai called Meffene long before a word of Latin had ever been fpoken in Sicily. to MESSINA. I9I to extend their dominion beyond the limits of Italy, and jealous of the growing power of Car thage, made no fcruple to fuccour thefe aflaflins ^ with a confular army. This itep brought on the firft Punic war. The Mamertines reaped no other fruit from the alliance but a more ho nourable degree of Slavery, for fuch was the real nature of their connection with Rome, whatever name it might be difguifed under. Meflina was however always distinguished by particular attentions and favours from the fenate, and, excepting a Short period, during the wars of the Triumvirate, appears to have tafted all the fweets of Roman prosperity, without par taking of the bitter draughts of adverfity. Its fate, in the ruin of the empire, was fimilar to that of the reft of Sicily. In 829 Meflina fell into the hands of the Saracens, but obtained very honourable terms of capitulation ; for half the city was left, to the Christians, where they were to be governed by their own laws, and profefs their own religion undifturbed. In the other ig2 MESSINA. other refided the bey of one of the five provinces into which the Arabian conquerors had divided the ifland. Notwithftanding this indulgence, MeSfina Was the firft to eaft off the yoke in 1037, when George Maniaces landed an army of Greeks and Normans on the Shore of the Faro ; it afterwards held out againft the whole Muffulman force, till the feeble ftate of a diffracted empire Shut out all hopes of affidance from Constan tinople : this unfortunate city then opened its gates to the army of the caliph, and felt very feverely the weight of his refentment ; but it did not long groan under the yoke, for in lefs than twenty years Roger the Norman took it by furprize and delivered it from Mahometan oppreSfion. During the crufado, our Richard Cceur de Lion, and Philip Auguftus king of France, wintered here in their way to Palestine, a fojourn marked by continual quarrels, confla gration and bloodshed. The MeSfinefe were particularly tardy in entering into the national confpiracy of_i282, but afterwards exceeded the MESSINA. 193 the reft of the infurgents in deeds of cruelty t this and the importance of their Situation, An gled them out for the firft objedts of Charles's vengeance : he invefted their city very clofely, and declared fo openly his determination to re- fufe all terms whatever to the befieged, that they faw no hopes of fafety but in an obftinate defence. Their courage, perfeverance, and fuf- ferings were exceflive ; at length their ftrength and refources began to fail rapidly, and every circumftance feemed to denounce their fpeedy destruction, when Roger Lauria appeared off the harbour with the Arragonian fleet, forced the king to retire with precipitation acrofs the Streights, and, in his fight, defeated and de stroyed his naval armament. Robert, grandfon of Charles the Firft, alfo made a fruitlefs attack ; but in the diftiirbed reign of Frederick the Third, MeSfina was delivered up to Lewis king of Naples and his confort queen Joan, who en tered it in triumph.— In a few years it returned to its former poffeffors. The year 1672 was Vol. IV. O re- IQ4 MESSINA. remarkable for the revolt of the Meflinefe.— They threw off the SpaniSh yoke, and fwore al legiance to Louis the Fourteenth king of France: they were for fome time vigoroufly aflifted by the French ; but before the Spaniards had gained the leaft advantage to excite any hopes of reco vering fo valuable a poffeffion, Lewis found himfelf neceffitated, from motives of political in terest, to defert his new fubjedts, and leave them to the mercy of their old incenfed matters. The horror of being thus abandoned, and the chaf- tifement inflicted by Spain, broke the fierce fpirit of the Meffinefe; they were ftill Stunned with the remembrance, and effedts of this blow when the plague, in 1 743, was introduced from the Levant, and fwept away more than half the inha bitants. From this chain of calamities the opu lence, trade, and population of Meflina have been gradually finking, and, unlefs very fa vourable circumstances happen, will every year fall lower. The number of its inhabitants does not now exceed 30,000. The MESSINA. I95 The reception I had met with at" Palermo . difcouraged me from prefenting any of my Nea politan letters to the nobility of MeSfina, and after feeing the churches and other places of note, I prepared for my return to Naples. I accordingly agreed for my paffage with a Pro vencal, captain of the only Ship then in the harbour bound up the Mediterranean ; I paid him a high price on condition he left the port the next morning, or with the firft fair wind, but no fooner had 1, at his preSfing requeft, fent all my baggage on board, than he began to de- vife excufes for Staying in hopes of procuring more cargo or other paffengers. By affedted delays he put off failing for fome days, which I paffed in a very difagreeable manner in con tinual walks between my lodgings and, the Ship. I am indebted to the politenefs of Mr. Bomeefter, the Britifli conful, for the little refpite I had from this irkfome employment, and for the en. tertainment his company afforded me. At laft, feeing the captain as unwilling as ever to fulfil O 2 his Iq6 MESSINA.' his agreement, and being apprehensive if we did fail together in fuch ill-humour with each other, that he would not touch at Naples but carry me on to Marfeilles, I hired a fix oared fellucca for Naples and fet out immediately. The Provencal refufed to deliver up my effedts, and, for fear I Should compel him to give them by lodging a complaint before the governor, hoifted fail and dropped down to Punta del Faro, a few miles off, where he call anchor before I had left the port *. S E C- * Nummi MefTan. Ex Argento. i. Delphin. AANKAE — In tab. quadr. incufs. caput im- berbe. 2. Laurea in qua MES — Lepus currens concha. 3. Vir in big. fup. volit. vi£t. gran. hord. — In laurea le pus et concha ME2SANION. 4. Biga 2 delph. vi£t. fupervol.— Lepus cap, human. MEZSANION. 5. Figura nuda barb, in curru uno equo du&o— fol.— Lepus MEZEAMON. 6. Biga MESSINA. I97 SECTION LVIII. np H E commerce of both Sicilies is almoft entirely of a paffive nature, arifing from the neceflity of difpofing of their fuperfluous products 6. Biga 2 delph. MEI2ANION— Lepus. Arift. ME2XA- NinN. 7. Cap. mulieb. gran, redimit. 2 pifces — Victoria in big. — MEEZANIfiN. 8. Cap. imb. 2 pifces NAI — Mil. nud. d. haft. s. clyp, ten. MESSANinN. 9. Herculis cap. MESSANlfiN — Leo. clava ^"E. 10. Fig. in big. duabus mul. duft. 2 pifces ME22AN0— Apis MEESANO. 11. Fig. in curru cum mul. fulmen ME2XANO — Lepus concha. 12. Cap. Cereris 2 pifces ME2EANO — Miles nud. d. haft. s. clyp. MESEANIfiN. 13, Lepus IE. locufta ME2SANAION— Polypus. O 3 Ex Iq8 MESSINA. products in exchange for thofe of foreign coun tries, which habit and luxury have rendered neceffary to them for the fupport, cloathing, or convenience of their inhabitants. A very fmall proportion of their own raw materials are ma nufactured in the country either for home con- fumption or foreign fale, and no traSfick is here carried on by purchasing foreign commodities on fpeculation, and fending them out again to an advantageous market. Induftry of that kind is unknown, and the very trifling quantity of Shipping belonging to thefe realms, proves the little attention paid to fuch a line of trade ; the conftant warfare fubfifting between them and the States of Barbary, neceffarily confines them in their voyages, and induces them to give the preference to fuch bottoms as navigate under a Ex JEre. i. Cap. Here. imb. MESS ANION — Leo taeda. 2. Cap. mul. diad. MEEZANA — Figura in biga. 3. Biga cumfigur. nud. — Lepus MESZANI0N. Cteteri ad Mamertinos fpeftant. free MESSINA. Igg free flag. Almoft every article received into thefe kingdoms may more properly be faid to be called in by artificial wants and the caprices of luxury, than brought to fupply the real call of neceflity ; a moderate degree of fpirit and en couragement might eafily procure the fame fup- plies at home, or at leaft good fuccedanea; lead, iron, and fome other commodities, muft, no doubt, be excepted, and considered as ac quirable only by importation. On the other hand, all the exports are the raw unmanufac tured produce of the foil ; therefore in years of fcarcity, the inconveniences arifing from the inequalities in their fund, and the equality of the demand for foreign merchandize, muft be feverely felt. In many points Sicily has an advantage over Naples, biit as to its general mode of traffick is much more difagreeably Situated, for Sicily does not deal fo directly with foreign ports ; it re ceives moft of its imports through the medium O 4 of 200 MESSINA. of a consignment to Naples. I fpeak in general terms, for it fometimes happens that foreigners bring a freight to the ifland at the rifk of the market, and trade directly with the Sicilian mer chants : this is the cafe in years of bad crops in other countries, when Sicily, ftill the never- failing granary of Europe, offers her conftant and abundant harvefts to other nations, and be comes the general rendezvous, where the dif- treffed countries apply for fuftenance : the ba lance runs then Very high in favour of Sicily, especially againft Spain, and fpecie is then re markably plentiful in the ifland. The numerous rich articles produced in Sicily are fo neceffary to the well-being of other na tions, that its profits and profperity would be boundlefs, were it not for a multitude of vi cious arrangements and pernicious Shackles, with which its commerce is harraffed and wafted down. I Shall endeavour to point 'out fome of the moft onerous, after recapitulating the various commodities MESSINA. 201 commodities Sicily can part with to ftrangers, without injuring or cramping its home con- fumption. The real harbours are few where veffels can lie in fafety during a Storm, but there are many roads in which, during the fine Seafon, Ships can ride at anchor and receive their cargoes from lighters with great fecurity. The principal trade of the ifland is carried on at Palermo and MeSfina ; the former confumes of imports four or five times more than the latter ; but on account of lighter duties, Mef fina exports a greater quantity of Silk, and fup- plies the inland towns with more commodities. The bufinefs of other places on the coaft, con fifts folely in Shipping corn, wine, fait, &c. Trapani, on account of its famous falt-pans and the Shipping belonging to it, is one of the bu- fieft commercial towns in the ifland. E J* £02 MESSINA, EXPORTS. Corn. — No Ships can take in a cargo at any port or road in Sicily, without previously touch ing at Palermo, and procuring a permit for that purpofe at the rate of one tariper falma. No exportation of wheat can take place, but by leave of the real patrimonio, a tribunal that takes an account of the year's crop, and the demand for home -fupply, before it iffues any licences for exportation. Thefe are not diSficult to obtain, nor will I certify what I have heard infmuated, that the great feudatories find means to monopolize thefe permits, and to oblige the leffer proprietors of land to difpofe of their corn to them. In order to give greater opportunities of car rying on fo lucrative a trade, to which the number of ports, efpecially on the fouthern coaft, is by no means adequate, many establish ments have been made at proper places called caricatori. MESSINA. 20* caricatori. Here corn may be brought and de posited in public magazines till an opportunity offers of Shipping it off. A receipt is given, which is negociable like a bill of exchange dur ing one year. The depofit is taken care of, and accounted for to the proprietor, who is at full liberty to fell it in what proportion he pleafes. The caricatore finds its profit in a duty of eigh teen taris per falma on the corn exported, and in the increafe of weight in the corn. If a cargo be Shipped immediately after harveft, an additional tari is charged to make up for the lofs of increafe by this fpeedy removal. Gir genti, Termini, Sciacca, and Licata, are the four great caricatori ; the leffer ones are Marfala, Caftelamare, Siculiana, Terranova, Scoglietti, Melaffo, Cefalu, Oliveri, and a few very fmall ones befides. Large quantities of barley and pulfe grow in Sicily, but very little oats or millet. Canary- bird feed is exported to a large amount, and is almoft peculiar to the ifland. 2 Kidney- 204 M E ^ s * N A- Kidney-beans abound, and are Shipped moftly at Palermo and Scoglietti. Barley at Sciacca, Girgenti, Licata, and Scoglietti ; beans and other pulfe at Catania, Girgenti, Alicata, and Sciacca. Sicily produces but little Indian corn. Oil. — Large quantities of oil are exported from Melazzo, Oliveri, Pittineo, Cefalu, and Palermo, all which places lie on the north fide of the ifland. About 4800 falme annually. Wine. — In abundance and great variety from Syracufe, Catania, Caftelvetrano, Marfala, Caf telamare, and Melazzo, Brandy. — Much exported, becaufe the burn ing of it is not monopolized, nor the exporta tion restrained as at Naples. Cheese. — White of goat's milk, and yellow, or cagiocavallo of cow's milk. Salt Fish. — The fisheries are very produc tive, and great quantities of tunny, anchovies, and fardines are faked and fent from the neigh bourhood of thefe places, where they are caught. Silk. MESSINA. 205 Silk. — The art of feeding fil'k-wofms and making filk is faid by Procopius to have been brought to Constantinople in the reign of Juf- tinian the Firft, in the fixth century, by a monk from the eaftern parts of Afia. George of An- tioch, commander of a fleet belonging to Roger king of Sicily, having made a fuccefsful cruize on the coaft of Negropont, carried off feveral artificers Skilled in the manufacture of filk, and the management of the infects. He fettled them in Sicily, from whence the art was com municated to the weftern countries of Europe. Silk is considered as the fecond great fource of riches to Sicily, corn being undoubtedly the firft : a quantity of filk, equal in value to a million of ducats (187,5001.) is annually ex ported. Palermo and MeSfina alone fend it out > a confiderable quantity of the materials are ma nufactured in both places ; but Palermo, which? employs nine hundred looms, exports very little, moft of its filks being ufed at home.— MeSfina employs twelve hundred looms, and Catania ra- 1 ther 2o6 MESSINA. ther more. In the Meflinefe manufactures a variety of filks are made, but the filk is feldom well drawn, died, or matched, and the work is apt to prove hard and to rub. — Moft of it goes to the Levant. Fruit. — The environs of Girgenti abound with almonds, but other ports alfo furnifh a confiderable Stock. Lipari gives raifins and cur rants, but of a quality inferior to thofe pf Calabria. Sicily alone produces Piftachio nuts. Carob beans are likewife an article of trade. Two thoufand chefts of oranges are Shipped annually at MeSfina Flax, Hemp, and Cotton. — Very little is produced. Manna. — The Sicilian manna is not fo good as that of Monte Gargano. Moft of it is ga thered near Carini, Favarotta, &c. and exported from Palermo. A great deal goes likewife from Meflina, and, as there is neither prohibition nor monopoly, and the duty is fixed, thefe trees are cultivated with more fpirit and advantage here MESSINA. 207 here than in the kirtgdbm of Naples, where the manna is farmed out, and the trade ham pered with baneful exclusive rights and inhibi tions. Barilla. — A large quantity is Shipped from the fouthern coaft. The quantity fent to Eng land is near the half of the quantity fent thither from Spain. Salt. — Trapani produces the whiteft and heavieft : Augufta, Camarata, and Spaccaforno give a large quantity. It is entirely free from all duty, the nation having perfevered and fuc ceeded in a conftant oppofition to every attempt made towards railing a revenue out of it, except in the articles of fait for fifli, for exportation, and for feeding Sheep. Sumach. — The moft efteemed comes from Alcamo, Caftelamare, and Monreale. The next in quality grows at Termini and Girgenti. Lemon-juice. — Meflina fends off fix thou fand chefts of pickled lemons, and the reft of the 208 MESSINA. the kingdom about as much more ; two hun dred and eighty barrels of lemon-juice weigh ing ten falme each, and 27 cwt. of bergamot- juice. Hare and Rabbet Skins.— Principally the latter, as they bear a much better price. Rags. — Which the Sicilians are filly enough to fell to the Genoefe, and buy back again in paper, though they have the example of the Neapolitans before their eyes, who have built paper-mills. Sulphur. — Of good quality and great abun dance, made near Mazzareno and Shipped at Terranova. There are other objects of export trade, which might be recapitulated, but not being fuSfi- ciently confiderable, do not deferve a place in the lift. The principal articles are linfeed-oil, gall-nuts, turpentine, lumber, &c. 1 M« MESSINA. 209 IMPORTS. As all the fpecies of merchandize that are brought into the kingdom of Naples are alfo. imported into that of Sicily, the lift given in the firft volume of the articles imported into the Neapolitan ports will anfwer the fame purpofe here. The difference between the import traffick of each refpedtive country confifts in this, that the Sicilian merchants never fend commiffions to the original marts, fuch as England, France, Germany, or America, but receive their goods at fecond-hand from the Genoefe, Venetian, or Leghornefe factors. Indeed it muft be consi dered that they have no bottoms of their own to fend to market, and if foreign Ships were not to come and carry off the produce of their lands, it might rot on the furface. So that except the Trapanefe, who Shew a little fpark of activity and commercial intelligence, the reft of the na- Vol IV. P tion 3 j fl MESSINA." tion remains paflive to be plundered by the more adventurous fpeculators of other countries. Of late, on account of longer credit being given, the Sicilians incline more to deal with Naples than with Leghorn. The cuftom-houfe of Pa lermo allows fo Short and Confined a leave of dc. pofit or tranfit, and that embarraffed with fo many complex and inconvenient impositions, that fpeculation becomes too dangerous an* ex periment for a merchant with a moderate ca pital to try. DUES and IMPOSTS relative to TRADE. The proportions and modes of collecting ob-. ferved in the management of the cuftoms are fo various, that it is very diSficult to fpeak other. wife than in general terms, and according to average Statements. They agree in nothing but the vicious method of charging goods according MESSINA. 2 I J to their fuppofed value, not by a regular rate. ¦It is a rule in every port, except MeSfina, tp charge the duty upon merchandize, paffing through the cuftom-houfe, according to the efti- mate of a broker and the current prices, To that the duties vary every day, and great are the inconveniencies and injustices attending, fuch a vague procedure. It is; very difficult to give a precife idea of fo complicated a fubje£r, but I Shall endeavour to draw, up a Short Statement of the principal dues exacted at Palermo and all the reft of the Ifland, except Meflina, which will require an article apart. On IMPORTATION. All goods entered, are valued upon affidavit. If they are tranfmitted to any other place in Si cily, they are exempt from all further duties, provided they be landed at places belonging to P 2 the til MESSINA. the crown "• if on baronial eftates, or ccclefiaftu cal districts, they are left to the mercy of parti cular regulations. If entered at any other port than Palermo, they are fubjedt to the king's duty and the cuf- toms of the place, which vary exceedingly. Sugar and fine cloth can be landed no where but at the capital and MeSfina. The natives of twenty-four cities and towns enjoy the privilege of paying lefs than any other inhabitants upon certain entries, but there are fo many other charges made, that their fran- chifes and exemptions amount in reality to a very trifling faving. Befides, the fair of S, Chrif- tina at Palermo, during which foreigners and non-exempt natives have the liberty of import ing in a free manner, helps to put all parties nearly upon a level. - All goods pay two taris per onza, on the va luation, two grana and one half per cantaro for the ufe of the weights, and five taris for a per mit. Over and above this impofition, all pieces a of M E S S I N A> 213 of cloth, linen, or filk, pay for meafurement ten grana, and from one to four taris a piece ac cording to the quality. Refined fugars pay thirty taris per cantaro, Mufcavado fugars twenty, and half per cent. for the weights, and dried fiSh pays twelve per cent, in kind. Wax is the only commodity that has a fixed rate. It pays 14 ounces per cantaro. N. B. There is an increafe of thefe duties for foreigners and non-exempts that raifes the duty from 6\ per cent, to 8-j- per cent. Goods are allowed to remain fifteen days only in the public warehoufes before they are fent into the interior parts of the ifland. On EXPORTATION. Corn pays no duty but the tax upon the li cence for exporting. Nothing can be fo va rious as the method of taxation in the different ports, and therefore it is impoffible without en- P 3 tering 214 MESSINA. tering into long details to fpecify them. The only general rule is to tax according to the value given in by the brokers. Upon an average, the amount of duties paid upon goods exported is three per cent, for dazio regio and 34- for tratta locale. Foreigners and non-exempts pay i-J- per cent. more. It is now fifty-five years fince the commercial inhabitants of MeSfina, being convinced of the inconveniences attending the vague and per plexed fyftem of the Sicilian cuftom houfes, applied to government for leave to eftabliSh other regulations : this being obtained, they fixed upon an eafy, equal, and expeditious me thod of proceeding. All goods imported pay once for all one per cent, of their value according to a fixed mode rate rate, and may be exported again without any additional demand ; but if they^re fent into the country, even to Palermo, they become fubjedt to a duty of 34. per cent. All commodities, natives of Sicily, may be ntroduced upon the fame terms. There M'E 5 S X "N A* 215 There are fome fmall exceptions with regard to provisions, falr-fiSh, and fugar. Refpedting commodities exported, raw-Silk pays no duty a, -the place where it is made, every thing being paid at Palermo or Meflina ; at the latter it pays 6|- per cent, according to the book of rates, fix per cent, for the gabella, and four per cent, more for expences till the fhip fails. Manufadtured Silks are exempt from the ga bella. But there is alfo levied upon all goods imported or exported throughout the ifland, twenty-five grana per cantaro for weighing. P 4 V O Y- ( «« ) VOYAGE from MESSINA TO TROPEA. SECTION LIX. ON the 7th of February, at three in the afternoon, I entered the barge with my two fervants. We had only a few changes of linen, a mattrefs I had bought for the occafion, a fack of potatoes, and a keg of porter, the prefent of an English captain bound to the Le vant, our great coats, and the cloaths we then wore. The arms of the company confifted of my pocket piftols^ without a fecond charge of powder TOY AGE TO TROPE A. 2If powder and ball ; one hanger, which was grown fo rufty it could not be drawn out of the fcab- bard ; and two whips. Thus lightly equipped we left MeSfina, and rowed along the Shore of La Grutta, a famous pilgrimage ; and, faluting our French captain as we paffed him at anchor, reached Cape Peloro, and the Torre del Faro. This is a long, fandy neck of land advancing within one mile and an half of the Calabrian coaft, which is here very abrupt and lofty. This ifthmus Shuts up the Streights to the eye, fo that the tower and light-houfe appear to be on the Italian fide of the water. It is fo diffi cult to navigate through the entrance of the Faro, that pilots are always Stationed ready to put to fea, as -foon as a veffel is feen in the offing ; if the captain refufes to give up the helm, he becomes perfonally refponfible for any accident that may happen to the Ship. The diftance acrofs is fo fmall, that many instances occur in hiftory of its being paffed in a very ad venturous manner. Timoleon and the Corin thians, 2l8 VOYAGE TO TROPEA. thianss finding the feas too wellgiiarded by the tyrant Dionyfius and his confederates for them to attempt an invafion of Sicily openly, rtiade ufe of the following expedient to effect their purpofe. They embarked at Rhegium in fmall fifhing boats, and, making their horfes fwim by their fide, thus croffed the channel that Dio nyfius thought an infuperable barrier. . j. When the Univerfal fubmiffion of Puglia and Calabria gave the Normans leifure to meditate the conqueft of the neighbouring, ifland, Roger paffed over with a fmall body of forces, more for the fake of reconnoitring the country, the ftrength and Situation of his enemies, than with the hopes of gaining any folid advantage over hem in this firft expedition. He had fome en counters with them, and formed an idea of the oppofition he was to expedt; but, being ap- prehenfive his few followers might be over powered by numbers, thought it prudent to retire in time ; he carried them back to Reggie, in little cobles, and upon rafts. Bul i VOYAGE TO TROPEA. 210 But the moft extraordinary exploit of the kind is found in the life of St. Francis de Pau la: The writers of his hiftory boldly affirm, that being refufed a paffage in the ferry-boat, as he had nothing to pay it with, he fpread his cloak upon the waters, and raifed one end of it with his Staff, fo as to form the hull, fail, and malt ; he then Stepped upon it, and with a pros perous gale croffed the ftreights. I Stopped a few minutes to take a laft view of MeSfina, which appears very nobly from this point ; and then doubled the Cape of Pelorus, the northern promontory of the triangle, from which Sicily derived the name of Trinacria, and its emblematical fymbol *. We now glided clofe under Scylla's much dreaded rocks, with out caufe of fear ; for the water was fcarcely un dulated, and no furf was feen to break at the foot of the cliff, nor bellowing heard among its dark caverns. When a tempeft rages, the * Three human thighs joined in a full face crowned with ears of corn. dafhing 220 VOYAGE TO TROPEA. dafhing and roaring of the billows, as they are driven into thefe broken cavities, is truly hor rible, and capable of Striking terror into the moft intrepid mariner, if his veffel drives near this claSh of the elements. A large caftle co vers the fummit of this famous rock, and from it a line of houfes extends on both fides in a flope to the beach, which is fimicircular, planted with trees, and Sheltered by ver^ high cliffs *. The inhabitants of Scylla are induftrions mariners and fishermen, and have the reputation of being a mild, honeft race of men, but not wanting in proper fpirit, when roufed by oppreffion. They have lately exhibited a ftrong proof of their courage and perfeverance, in a profecution they have carried on againft the lord of the manor. The prince of Scylla, who is of the Rufo fa mily -j-, was accufed of exercifing the moft wanton * Thefe cliffs are compofed of calcareous rock refting upon a mafs of granite. f Tbe family of Rufo is fuppofed to be defcended from a relation VOYAGE TO TROPEA. 221 wanton tyranny over his vaffals, and of employ ing a band of mifcreants, not only againft the property, but even the lives of the unhappy Scyllitans. The continuance of fuch barbarous ufage drove them to an exertion rather uncom mon in a country where ariftocratical dominion has yet fo ftrong a hold ; they formed a com mittee, and fent it by fea to lay their grievances at the foot of the throne, and to implore the protection of the king, from whom alone they could expect fupport and fafety. Thefe pa triotic citizens were not daunted by the weighty intereft of the baronage, which they forefaw would join to defeat their attack upon one of its members, nor by the expence to be incurred, and the certainty of ftill greater fufferings, in cafe of ill fuccefs in their law fuit ; they liftened folely to the fenfe of their wrongs, and the acutenefs of their refentment, and purfued their a relation of the Norman dukes of Puglia, and has ever fince been rated amongft the richeft and greateft barons of the realm. object 224 VOYAGE TO TROPEA. object with unremitting vigour : during the ftruggle, they found an able affiftant in their fellow citizen P. Antonio Minafi, to whofe zeal and intelligence they probably owe the victory they at laft obtained over their antago nist. — A vidtory not fo complete as the juftnefs of their caufe might perhaps have entitled them to, but certainly very confiderable in fo unequal a conflict, and redounding highly to the praife of the ibvereign, who muft have found incre dible obstacles of all kinds to overcome before he could obtain a candid fair ftate of the cafe, whereon to found his Sentence ; it was a very humiliating one for the prince of Scylla *. S E C- * Thefe unhappy differences have been fettled by the terrible earthquake which, on the 5th of February, 1783, deftroyed the town of Scylla ; and by an inundation of the fea, that in one moment fwept into eternity 2743 inhabi tants, together with their baron. This fatal event ha9 made fo total an alteration in the face of the country I de- fcribe, that it feems a duty incumbent upon me to give fome VOYAGE TO TROPEA. %!'. w SECTION LX. E had fcarcely reached the point of Bag-, nara, before we found the current fet in fo ftrong towards Sicily, that all our effors- to fome account of it, in order to make my readers ac quainted with the prefent as well as the former ftate of the unhappy province of Calabria. For that purpofe, I fliall firft tranfcribe a letter written foon after from Scylla by a perfon who had been prefent at every fcene of the ca lamity. Scilla, February 10. " How am I to defcribe to you the horrors that " have furrounded me without intermiffion fince the fatal " day that faw the ruin of our wretched country ?— " Where am I to find words equal to the acutenefs of my *' feelings, or fit to exprefs even a thoufandth part of the " difafters 224 VOYAGE TO TROPEA. to advance were ineffectual, and we were ob liged to drop down with it to the Sicilian Shore, and " difafters that have befallen us ? Oh what a day ! But " what a night fucceeded it ! " On the 5th of February at 19 hours and 3 quarters *« we felt a fliock that began by an upward heaving mo- *' tion, which gave the alarm, and time to moft perfons " to run out of their houfes : fome fled to the windows " and balconies ; others took refuge under the arches of «* the doors. This upright motion of the earth was foon " fucceeded by dialing and rocking, during which we " beheld our houfes tumbling on all fides. The walls and " towers of the caftle were fplit afunder and overturned " upon the town ; the buildings below were crufhed to " atoms, and one hundred and fifty perfons perifhed in " this fall. At night a confiderable part of the inhabitants, ** chiefly of the clafs of failors, followed the example of " the prince, and repaired to the beach ; they there " pitched tents, or lay down in their barks, hoping topafs " the night in perfect fecurity at a diftance from all " buildings. The fky was bright and ferene, the fea ** lulled in a profound calm, and all thefe poor people " were indulging in fweet Sleep a fliort refpite from their woes. VOYAGE TO TROPEA. 225 and eaft anchor till the ebb of the tide. The evening was extremely pleafant, and the profpedt all "woes. In this treacherous ftate of thing6, a little after " midnight the whole promontory of Campala fell at once " into the fea, without any previous earthquake *. The " fea fled back before this mafs towards the Golilla del "Faro, where it "carried off twenty»eight perfons with " their boats and houfes ; then returning with redoubled " fury acrofs its natural channel, flowed on the fhore of " Scylla thirty palms above its ufual level, and three miles " along the coaft. As it fell back again, it fwept away "into the abyfs 2475 perfons,, who were lying on the "fands, or in boats. Horrible were the fhrieks of the " furvivors, who happened to be above the reach of the " furge, and tremendous was the alarm given over all " the furrounding hills, where the remainder of the in- * The mountains near Scylla hare a bafe of granite abounding in quartz, and mica, with a little field fpath. Above this lies a marine calcareous ftratum, and at intervals among it a metallic fchift, clay, and vegetable earth. The earthquakes had made great perpendicular fiffures in Monte Campala and detached it from the continent ; the torrents ruining from the higher mountains, and much increafed by rain, compleated the feparation by the weight and action of their waters. Vol. IV. Q "habitants 22(5 VOYAGE TO TROPEA. all round truly enchanting; mountains enclofed us on every fide but one, where the Liparean iflands " habitants were difperfed for fafety! no cries, no la- ?' mentations, were heard from thofe that were thus hur- " ried off; they had no power or time to utter any. Next " morning prefented a moft fhocking fpe&acle ; 800 bodies " were wafhed afhore, moft of them mangled in fo ikead- " ful a manner by the broken boats, goods, and logs of " wood that were floated off with them, that fcarcely a hu- " man feature remained in thofe faces which we had fo " long known, and looked upon with the pleafure of friends " or relations. With ftreaming eyes we laboured the en- " fuing day, in dragging thefe fad remains into heaps, " and confuming them with fire, to prevent the contagion " fo many dead bodies might breed, if left to putrify in " the open air. A few perfons were drawn out of the water " with figns of life : but fo wounded anddifabled as fcarcely " to afford room to hope they can recover. Hope, did I " fay ? Alas ! rather ought it to be fear ; for what have " they left in life that can be defirable? — their fortunes " ruined — their friends and families deflroyed; — famine, " difeafe, and pain, are all they have to expe£t." The fame inftant was fatal to the whole province, and she devaftation cauled by the repeated fhocks was much more VOYAGE TO TROPEA. 227 iflands rofe along the horizon. Strotnboli, a little to the right of them, threw up a great quan- more terrible in many places than at Scylla j they raged with fury from Cape Spartivento to Amantea above the gulf of St. Eufemia, and alfo affected that part of Sicily which lies oppofite to the fouthern extremity o£ Italy. Thofe of the 5th and 7th of February, and of the 28th of March, were the moft violent, and compleated the de finition of every building throughout the abovementioned fpace. Not one ftone was left upon another fouth of the narrow ifthmus of Squillace ; and what is more difaftrous, a very large proportion of the inhabitants was killed by the falling of their houfes : near 40,000 lives were loft. Some perfons were dug out alive after remaining a furprif- ing length of time buried among the rubbifh. Meflina became a mafs of ruins ; its beautiful palazzata was thrown in upon the town; it? quay cracked into ditches full of water. Reggio almoft deftroyed— Tropea greatly damag ed — Every other place I vifited in the province levelled to the ground. Before and during the concuffion, the clouds gathered, and then hung immoveable and heavy over the earth. At Palmi the atmofpfiere wore fo fiery an afpecT: that many people thought part of the town was burning. It was Q__2 after- 228 VOYAGE TO TROPEA. quantity of flames during the whole night. We' were furrounded by fiShing boats. The Cala- brefe afterwards remembered that an unufual heat had affefted the fkin of feveral perfons juft before the Shock; the rivers affumed a muddy afh-coloured tinge, and a fulphureous fmell was almoft general. A frigate paffing between Cala bria and Lipari felt fo fevere a fhock, that the fteerf man was thrown from the helm, and the cannons were raifed up on their carriages, while all around the fea exhaled a ftrong fmell of brimftone. Stupendous alterations were occafioned in the face of the country; rivers choaked up by the falling-in of the hills were converted into lakes, which, if not fpeediiy drained by fome future convulfion, or opened by human labour, will fill the air with peftilential vapours, and de stroy the remnants of population. Whole acres of ground, with houfes and trees upon them, were broken off from the plains, aad wafhed many furlongs down the deep hol lows which the courfe of the rivers had worn; there,, to the aftonifhment and terror of beholders, they found a new foundation to fix upon, either in an upright or an in clining pofition. In fliort, every fpecies of phaenomenon incident to thefe deftruftive commotions of the earth, was to be feen in its utmoft extent and variety in this ruinated country. ^Jta.*,// .«*,//• . '£ewj~ ot T r o PEA. VOYAGE TO TROPEA. 229 brefe fiShermen catch the larger fort of fiSh with a net of fmall twine about two hundred yards country. It may furnifli employment for the ingenuity of the naturalift to trace thefe paroxyfms up to fome favourite fyftem ; but he muft defpair of ever devifing any method of counteracting their baneful operations. The utmoft he can hope to attain is, to be able to afcertain preluding fymptoms, which, if attended to, may hereafter be the means of faving the lives of the inhabitants. With this view, and to fatisfy the general curiofity of Europe, ftrongly excited by the report of fuch a cataftrophe, their Sicilian majefties foon after fent into Calabria a committee of academicians, provided with every means of obtaining knowledge, and making obfervations. But the advance ment o'f fcience was only a fecondary object j warm with the genuine fentiments of humanity, heightened by a true paternal affection for their fubjefts, they difpatched veffel s loaded with every thing that could be thought of on the occafion for the relief and accommodation of the diftreffed Calabrians, A general officer went from Naples, with engineers and troops to direct the operations of the per fons employed in clearing away and rebuilding the houfes, and to defend the property of the fufferers. Q.3 The 2jO VOYAGE TO TROPEA." yards long, and twelve feet deep ; this weak net folds round the fifh in fo roany rolls, that, by his The king ordered this officer to take all the money the royal treafures could fupply or borrow ; for, rather than it fhould be wanting on this prefling call, he was deter mined to part with his plate, nay, the very furniture of his palace. Heaven knows how neceffary at this crifis. were the exei tions and liberality of the fovereigns ! for famine, with its ufual follower difeafe, was already felt in the moil hor; ible degree throughout the province. A mef- fenger fent off from a town near Reggio on the 8th of February, travelled four days without fhelter, and without being able to procure a morfel of bread ; he fupported nature with a piece of cheefe which he had brought in his- pocket, and the vegetables he was lucky enough to find near the road. To add to all their other fufferings, thq Calabrians found themfelves and the miferable wreck of their fortunes espofed to the depredations of robbers and pirates. Villains landed from boats, and plundered feve ral places, and thieves went even from Naples in fearch of booty : in order to firike a greater terror, they drafted) themfelves like Algerines ; but were difcovered, and driven, off. To this accumulated diflrefs fucceeded. a moft incle ment feafon, which obftructed every effort made to alle viate VOYAGE TO TROPE A. 23 1 his own efforts to efeape, he becomes quite hampered and difabled, without having the 1 - power viate it ; and almoft daily earthquakes kept the inhabitants in continual dread, not of being deftroyed by the fall of houfes, for none were left, but of being fwallowed up by the fplitting of the earth, or buried in the waves by fome fudden inundation. The earthquakes have continued at different intervals to this day, two years fince the great fliock. Upon comparing the dates of the great earthquakes, that have afflifted Calabria fince the eleventh century, I find that feven of them happened in the four firft months of the year, one in Auguft, and four in Novembei and Decem ber. The firft week in February had been twice fatal ; and the 27th day of March thrice marked by the calamity be fore 1783. I think it worthy of remark that, in the month of February, 1783, a perfon well acquainted with Naples, being at my houfe in the county of Durham, obferved upon the unufual variation of the barometer, that it was probable we fhould foon hear of fome great earthquake having happened in the fouth part of Europe. As the Neapolitan academicians intended to collect material for a minute defcription of the effetts of the Q_4 earth- 23a VOYAGE TO TROPEA. power of breaking the meflies ; the fiShermen guefs with great nicety the weight of the prey by the violence of the flroke with which his tail beats the water when taken. All this coaft abounds with teftaceous fiSh of many different fpecies. earthquake, the nature of its phenomena, and the prs» fent appearance of the country, it is to be hoped they will foon favour the world with the refult of their labours. Till it appears, the reader, whowifhes a fuller account of this cataftrophe, will find it in Sir William Hamilton's letter, inferted in the Philofophical Tranfadtions of 1783. To blend a tint of more pleafing colours to fo gloomy a picture, I muft not omit to record that the officers and porters belonging to the cuftom-houfe of Naples, who were employed in packing up and carrying to the fliips the goods, &c. for Calabria, univerfally refufed to accept of pay for their labour. Five Calabrians, cafually refident at Naples at the time; of the earthquake, received from the king's bounty a fum of two hundred ducats for prefent fubfiftence ; but as foon as thefe men found, by letters from Calabria, that their families and fortunes were not involved in the general ruin, they immediately 'returned the money to the treafury. ' "At VOYAGE TO TROPE A. 233 . At Stated feafons Shoals of fiSh appear at the mouth of the Faro, and are caught in furprifing numbers. The bays are full of them about the vernal equinox, when the multitudes of tunny, fword- fiSh, and pelamides, enter the Mediterranean, and pafs before Meflina, from the end of April to the beggining of July, in their way to the Adriatic, Archipelago, and Black Sea, They then return into the Sicilian feas, that their .females may depofit their fpawn in the calm bays of the Mediterranean. About October the young fry are caught on the coaft of Amalfi and Puzzuoli, and weigh about twelve pounds. At that feafon the parent fifh commonly efcapes, and with its remaining young repairs to the ocean. Thefe Shoals get into the line of the tides, or currents that run from weft to eaft, and in their way towards the feas of Greece coaft. along the Shores of Calabria, and through the Faro of MeSfina, where the narrownefs and fuftion of the paSTage accelerate their motion, a On 234 VOYAGE TO TROPEA. On their return they fwim with the ebb tide, and fleer to the fouth of Sicily, where the gra dual declivity of the bottom makes it more perceptible. Tunnies move in a pyramidical arrangement, prefenting the bafe to the ftream, by which means they are pufhed forward by it with greater velocity. While the weather is tempeftuous, or the tide does not anfwer, they play about in the bays, and feek food ; and here they often fall into fnares, and meet their fate. The fword-Afh, whofe long Sharp fnout is dangerous to a neighbour, keep at due diftance from each other, and travel in an irregular man ner. Dolphins form a column in their perio dical voyages ; but when they mean to give chace to the other inhabitants of the deep, they draw up in femicircular array, and force their terrified prey to fly towards the Shallows j it frequently leaps aShore to avoid the purfuing enemy, and there falls into the hands of fiSher men, who having perceived the attack made by the dolphins, run down to the beach to feize the fugitives. The VOYAGE TO TROPEA. 2JC The pelamides fwarm here at certain times of the year. Linnaeus fuppofes thefe fiShes to be the young fry of the tunny; but Minafi, who has applied his obfervations very particularly to this branch of natural hiftory, and has had innumerable opportunities of examining every circumftance relating to them, is pofitive they are quite a different fiSh, beihg without fcales, whereas the tunny is covered with them. During the Short winters of this latitude, the pelamides hide themfelves in mud near the mouths of rivers. Nothing can be more Simple than the night nets laid by the fiShermen ; they are only a kind of bafket made of the twifted branches of the myrtle, but are fufficiently ftrong to anfwer the purpofe, and to capture great quantities of divers forts of fifh. Seals, which are not uncommon on this coaft, break through thefe brittle toils with their teeth to devour the fifh contained in them, and, as I am credibly informed, often creep afhore, and eat the grapes that grow near the flrand. 4 A? %%fl VOYAGE TO TROPEA. As foon as the tide began to ferve, we hoifted anchor, and taking advantage of a hreeze from the Sicilian, coaft, fet up our fail, and Shot acrofs the bay of Gioia with great expedition ; this favourable wind fell before morning, and reduced us to the neceflity of making feveral tacks 'ere we could double Cape Vaticano : in deed, the crew were very unwilling to take to their oars while the fail could be of any fervice. This cape, famous for Sextus Pompeius's naval victory over Octavius, is not much elevated ; it is compofed of rocks that have more the ap pearance of hard clay than ftone ; I comforted myfelf under the vexation of proceeding fo Slowly with admiring the fiery operations of the ifland of Stromboli, that lay due weft of us, at the diftance of about fixteen leagues. It is a very blunt cone, and throws up fire from a huge orifice in its fide. — The convulsions of this in^ ceffant projection of flames and other fubftances, have riven its fummit almoft in two, and de ftroyed fo much of the foil that ufed to be cul tivated, VOYAGE TO TROPE A* 237 tivated* that the inhabitants can no longer pro cure fubfiftance. For this reafon, many of them abftain from wedlock, and confequently their numbers decreafe annually. They are a quiet inoSfenfive race, as I was informed from indifpu- table authority, and not, as fome navigators have reprefented them, a fet of favages, on whofe inhofpitable Shore thefe authors durft not fet their foot for fear of being murdered. When the wind comes from Scirocco levante, the whole mafs of flames and fmoke is, upon its iSTuing out of the crater, collected into a narrow cylindrical form, and blown along the furface of the fea for many leagues. The explofions intermit, and the inhabitants very dextroufly feize the quiet moment to pafs along the Strand ; if they mis-timed it, they would be buried under a Shower of red-hot ftones. With much difficulty we weathered the point of Tropea, and entered the noble gulf of St. Eufemia, which is near forty miles fquare ; the wind fpringing up rather briSk, though not quite 238 VOYAGE TO TROPEA. quite fuch as we wiShed, we boldly ftood acrofs in a diredfc northerly courfe ; but it foon veered about to the N. W. and baffled all our attempts to make Cape Suvero. The fteerfman obferving the gale from that quarter was increasing, and the difficulties of proceeding infurmountable, turned the helm about, and ran for the piaggia of Tropea, where we moored under the Shelter of a rock. In about an hour, as the weather was prodigioufly clear, and the fituation of our anchoring place clofely defended from the wind, I was led to hope we might continue our voyage^ at leaft by coafting round the gulf inftead of ftriking acrofs it. But no fooner had we fallied from our well- covered creek, than we found our boat toSTed about by an impetuous contrary wind, which it was out of our power to refift j it therefore behoved us to return to Tropea ; our bark was drawn afhore, and lodgings pro cured for me at a folitary convent of Minims, on a hill above the road, and fome diftance from the city. JOUR- C *39 ] JOURNEY T 0 N' A P L E S; S ECTION LXI. TROPEA* is a bifhop's fee, containing four thoufand inhabitants ; the more weal thy clafs of people and handicraftfmen refide * Tropea derives its name either from the trophies ercftedby Scipio on his t,ri,amphaint return from Carthage or from thofe of Sextus Pompeius after his navai victory off the neighbouring cape ; but fome authors draw it from the Greek word Tqncu, to turn back, becaufe this promon tory drives back the tide to the Streights, and fuffers it to proceed no farther north. Tropea was long a manor of tbe family of Rufo. Upon the forfeiture of Anthony Centella, who married the heirefs, Alphonfus the Firft united it to the crown. within 240 JOURNEY TO NAPLES. within the walls, the hufbandmen and labourers dwell on the outskirts on the lands they cul tivate. Its fituation is admirable, on the point of a lofty rock impending over the fea, and joined to the main land by an ifthmus that is almoft cut through at the gates, and thus leaves only a fmall paSTage to the town. A little to the north lies a large ifland, on which fome Sheep are turned to graze, and a fmall one, with a hermitage placed upon its fummit, in a moft romantic pofition. The ftreets of Tropea- are narrow, the houfes high and built of Stone, with great' folidity. Two gates give admittance, one to perfons coming up the hill from the bay, the other to fuch as approach along the high plain, on which there is a pleafant walk near two miles long. This level is half a mile broad between the fea and a chain of mountains fo fteep and rugged, that they feem to cut off all communi- . cation by land with the reft of Calabria. The whole flat, and the fides of the hills, yield abun dance of grapes, mulberries, olives, pulfe, vege tables, JOUR,NF. Y TO NAPLES. 241 tables, and garden fruit : copious ftreams ruSh from the mountain, and after watering the or chards, are collected into one body, and turn a great number of mills : the method ufed in working the wheels is uncommon ; the water is conveyed in a channel to the brink of a deep precipice over the mill, and there received into a ftone well ; by thefe means it falls a confider able height upon an overShot wheel, and having ferved the purpofe of this firft mill, is again collected in a fimilar manner, and turns feveral fucceSfive wheels till it reaches the fands. Some of thefe cafcades are exceedingly beautiful, as they fall through arbours of vines and groves of orange-trees. About two miles eaft of this city is a village called Paralia, inhabited by a race of manufac turers and mariners, who make cotton blankets, and carry them in their own barks to Marfeilles and Genoa. February the ioth. — Seeing no hopes of any change in the wind, as at this feafon of the year Vol. IV. R it 24* JOURNEY TO NAPLES. it frequently blows from the fame quarter for feveral weeks together, I difcharged my boat, and determined to purfue my journey to Naples by land. I had had thoughts of it while at MeSfina, but was diffuaded from the project by the per fons I confulted ; they gave fuch an account of the lawlefs country I had to pafs through, that they made a profound impreffion upon the fer vants ; but I had . feen too much of Calabria already to be fo eafily alarmed, and that con fideration would have had little weight with me, if my faithful campiere and muletier 'had not fet off for Palermo upon my engaging with the French captain. I did not choofe to truft my felf with untried men and horfes, efpecially as the Sicilians, though very fit guides to travel with in their own country, are not fo proper for that purpofe in Calabria, where they are looked upon with an evil eye. The common people in Sicily have a very extraordinary idea of themfelves ; I Should fcarcely I venture JOURNEY TO NAPLES. 243 Venture to afcribe it to them upon the ftrength of my own obfervations, had they not been con firmed by thofe of many perfons of long expe rience and acute judgment. The lower clafs of Sicilians generally feem to take it for granted that a Stranger thinks them both filly and. kna- vifh. In numberlefs instances they have begun their converfations with me by defending them felves againft fufpicions which I had not given the leaft hint of my entertaining ; I am affured, that at firft a Sicilian is eafily duped, but when once he has learnt experience at his coll, grows quickly a mafter in the art, able to retaliate with intereft upon thofe that had over-reached him. A confiderable number of banditti being hard preSTed by the purfuits of juftice, north of the Faro, paSTed into Sicily for fafety ; they joined a troop of Sicilian outlaws, whom they Soon began to tyrannize over as a fet of weak daftardly knaves. This ufage Sharpened the feelings of the Sicilians ; many of the Cala brians, who grew negligent and unfufpicious, R 2 were 244 JOURNEY TO NAPLES. were Separately deftroyed, and the remainder were fo reduced in number, that they had no thing left but to fell their lives as dear as they could ; a refolution that rid the country of more malefadtors in one year than all the tribunals would probably have done in ten. In actual fervice of danger the Calabrian outlaw is. an over-match for the Sicilian ; but his thoughts are not at all times equally bent upon mifchief ; the Sicilian, on the contrary, has no interval of humanity, when once he has abandoned himfelf to wickednefs. The poft-houfes, having an obligation only of keeping three horfes, would not have been able to furnifli me with a fufficient number, as I muft have had a poft-boy with me from each ftage ; I therefore hired horfes at Tropea to carry us in three days to Cofenza, wbere I was told I Should meet with is many frefh ones as I wanted ; the owners accompanied me on foot. We fet out about noon, and afcended the mountains by a fteep, Slippery road ; as foon as we had gained the JOURNEY TO NAPLES. 245 the fummit, we entered a large plain, where the highways are level and dry, though the foil of the fields is a clayey loam almoft without any mixture of ftones. The country refembles a" park, being entirely uninclofed, but Shaded by. irregular avenues and flraggling clumps of olive- trees of a fize large enough to cut for timber. In four hours I reached Monteleone, a confi derable town placed upon the brow of a hill facing the fouth, in a moft incomparable fitua* tion; from the road I had' long enjoyed the view of it. The baronial caftle occupies the higheft part, embowered in handfome tufts of deciduous and evergreen trees; the town crowns the reft of the flope in a very happy manners. The range of profpedt is inimitable towards the gulf of St. Eufemia, and towards the Apennines on the eaft fide not lefs enchanting : on that hand lies a charming woody vale, through which a river winds its way from the mountains ; they are darkened with extenfive forefts ; at their foot rife leffer hiUs, interfered by nUmberlefs R3 glens 246 JOURNEY TO NAPLES. glens, from the bofom of which afcends the fmoke of many fequeftered villages. A more chearful or a richer landfcape is no where to be met with ; the noble extent of drives and walks that might be carried through thefe airy plains ; the great variety of country within reach, and the finenefs of its climate would render Monteleone a moft heavenly country refidence for a great nobleman, if the Neapolitan nobility were ever to adopt the faShion of paSfing part of the year on their eftates, and expending a por tion of their income in improving and embellish ing their demefne. The duke of Monteleone (Pignatelli), the richeft fubject in the kingdom, does not poffefs any great quantity of land hereabouts, though the manor, royalties, and jurifdiclion belong to him. His valTals have often Struggled to eaft off his yoke by feeking flaws in the fale or grant, by which his anceltors obtained poSTeSfion of the fief, but they always have been baffled in the attempt: however, fuch is their perfevering fpirit, JOURNEY TO NAPLES. 247 fpirit, that they have again made an effort to carry their point, and obtain the advantage of being releafed from feudal fubjection, and be coming once more part of the crown lands. A gentleman attached to the duke's party, with whom I had fome converfation, informed me that this law-fuit has been carried on near eight years, and that the burghers were in all proba bility no nearer their favourite object than they were the firft day the caufe was opened. The partial obfervations of this gentleman added freSh conviction to my fentiments concerning the evil tendency and pernicious effects of the feudal fyftem. The burghers were the fubjedt of his ridicule, not from any fault he found with their claim, but from their folly in con tending with a lord of fuch mighty wealth and intereft ; he thought there was as much info- lence and madnefs in their oppofing the duke, as there would be in a cutter that Should fire a broadfide into a firft-rate man of war ; for money is here, as indeed in moft countries, a R 4 * moft 248 JOURNEY TO NAPLES. moft neceffary instrument for conducting alaw- fuit; a plea advanced in forma pauperis admits pf little profpedt of a favourable fentence. Monteleone was founded by Frederick of Swabia ; under the Arragonian race it was alie nated to the Pignatelli. It contains thirteen thoufand inhabitants, as I was told, but this number appears too great for the fize of the town. There are three parishes and twelve reli gious houfes, befides confraternities. I was received at a convent of Minims with the greateft civility, though I had no claim upon them but my want of a lodging; their readinefs to accommodate me was the more re- v markable, as their houfe was at that time crowded with friars of the order from other convents affembled on account of an annual official meefr- ing; there was not a Cell to fpare, but th§ worthy prior, a venerable m«nk of fourfcore years of age gave up his own, and had his pal let carried to the room of another monk. As JOURNEY TO NAPLES. 249 As I knew potatoes muft be a rarity here, I invited the heads of the monaftery to partake of my dinner, but no mode of drefling thefe roots, that I was able to direct, was fortunate enough to fuit their palates : after the firft mouthful, they all declined eating fo infipid a difh. My man was more fuccefsful at the mefs of the lay-brothers ; for having covered the plate with oiled butter, mixed with a ftrong feafoning of pimento and garlick, his cookery met with univerfal applaufe. I had intended to have devoted a day to the ruins of Hipponium or Valentia, - Situated at a place called Caftello di Bivona, about fix miles weft of Monteleone, but the friars affured me I Should find nothing to repay me for my' trou ble ; that fome vaults and fubterraneous paffages were the only veftiges of antiquity remaining ; for that Earl Roger had carried away to his great church of la Trinita at Mileto all the columns belonging to the temple of Proferpine; that fome pillars of fine marble had been dug 2 up 250 JOURNEY TO NAPLES. up within the memory of man, and removed they knew not whither. * Hipponium was a * Cluverius is of opinion that Hipponium ftood at Mon teleone ; and that Bivona was only its emporium, or port. * Nummi Hipponienfes. Ex Argento. 1. Cap. mul. diad. — Duplex cornucopia;. a. Idem cap. CiESAR DICT. PERP.— Duplex cornuc. ta:de VALENTIA. Ex ./Ere. 1. Cap. Jovis AIOS — Vas cumftelIaetcaduceoinnNIEf2N. 2. Cap. Apoll. — Minerva ftans d. cor. s. haft. ten. AANAINA infiNIEfiN. 3. Cap. mul. — Cornuc. et caduc. irmnNlEnN. 4. Cap. mul. OC AANA1NA— Mulier fedens. 5. Cap. Pallad. gal. — Victoria alat. ftans d. laur. s. bacul. t. innnNiEfiN. 6. Cap. id. L. CORANI C. NVMI Q^Cornuc. cum fulmine VALENTIA. 7 . Cap. muliebre S— Duplex cornu ftella S. VALENTIA. 8. Cap. Jov. I.— Fulmen VALENTIA. 9. Cap. Palladis gal. et globuli— Nottua 4 glob, ftella VALENTIA. 10. Cap. Apoll. 2 glob.— Tyra VALENTIA. 11. Cap. Herculis 3 glob. — Duplex clava 3 glob, ftella VALENTIA. fettle- JOURNEY TO NAPLES. 2£I fettlement made by the Locrians, and afterwards a colony of the Romans, by the name of Vibo Valentia. It is not an idle prefumption to fup- pofe that there was in it a temple dedicated to Proferpine ; for tradition, and many paffages of ancient poets pretend that the fair daughter of Ceres was wont to pafs over from Sicily to the delightful plain of Hipponium to gather the flowers that fpontaneoufly cloath its fertile fur face, infinitely better Situated for thofe tender produdtions of nature than the bleak rocks of Enna. Agathocles was fome time in poffeffion of Hipponium, and made it a ftation for his fleet ; nothing is more likely than that he or his admirals Should erect a temple in honour of the favorite goddefs of their nation. This is the place which Cicero came to, when he ab- furdly quitted Rome, and fled from the attack of Clodius, . inftead of remaining in the city to juftify his conduct during his confulShip, and confound his enemies. SECTION 2^2 JOURNEY TO NAPLES. SECTION LXII. THE account of its prefent ftate was fo difcouraging, that I relinquished the pro ject of vifiting it ; and next morning rofe with the lark to purfue my journey. The road, which continued to be fmooth and dry, lay acrofs a chain of beautiful hills, overlooking the rich valley and romantic village of St. Ono- frio, half hidden in the woods. On the coaft I defcried the town and fortrefs of Lo Pizzo, be longing to the dukes of Infantado, which was built to reprefs the infolence of the pirates that infefted the gulf; but if I am rightly inform ed, the prefent inhabitants of the place are themfelves the moft lawlefs, ferocious fet of peo ple in the whole province ; there is a valuable tunny fishery belonging to it. Upon leaving the hill§, we croffed the river Angitola, which ftill retains the name given it in JOURNEY. TO NAPLES. 253 in Antonine's Itinerary. There was little water in the bed ; but its breadth and huge heaps of ftones Shew to what a dangerous height it rifes in rainy feafons. In this plain Alphonfus the Second, while duke of Calabria, erected large fugar mills, and filled the level banks of the river with plantations of canes; this prince, though no great patron of elegant literature, was a ftrenuous encourager of arts, manufac tures, and agriculture ; and we do him great in justice when we confider his character only in a political light, for there he will appear a fan- guinary deftroyer rather than a protector of his people ; his neglect of learned men has contri buted greatly to. darken the colours with which hiftorians have painted his portrait. Upon his abdication thefe establishments fell to ruin ; a feries of civil contentions, that frequently rpade this province their fcene of action, nipped in the bud all feeds cf commercial induftry, and therefore it is not ft. "prifing that fuch works as thefe Should be utterly deftroyed. We 4^4 JOURI^Y TO NAPLES. We travelled fome miles near the fea through a marShy country. It is ftocked with fwine, of which I faw many very large herds attended each by one or two youths : they conduct their hogs by the found of a great bagpipe, playing juft what notes their imagination fuggefts. The ex- centric wildnefs of their mufick, their Simple attire, long Shaggy locks, and unconcerned va cant countenances, gave me the idea of beings as near the ftate of primitive nature as any fa vage in the moft unfrequented deferts of the globe. I arri perfuaded the Calabrian fwine- herds of thefe days are exact copies of the an cient ones; and alfo that their mode of manag ing the Stubborn animals entrusted to their care has been tranfmitted to them by a regular tra dition : Polybius, who was an exact obferver, fays, that the Italians do not pen their fwine up in fties, but lead them abroad to feek provender on the wafte and in the for^; the keeper does not, as in Greece, follo«\ and whip them on, but walks before them, And occasionally founds an JOURNEY To NAPLES. I55 an inftrument to call them forward ; the fwine keep near, and are perfectly well acquainted with its note ; and even when by accident dif ferent herds are mixed together, one company of hogs will, at the blowing of their leader's horn, feparate from the ftrangers, and with great impetuofity flock to their Standard. I faw this very circumftance happen as I rode up to the Fondaco del * Fico, where we baited. I dined at the door of this folitary inn, under the Shade of a venerable cork-tree, and from my feat enjoyed a view of the whole gulf; between it and the road is a fwamp full of ponds that abound with water-fowl. Behind the houfe ends a foreft of oaks and cork-trees, which covers a great part of the plain and of the Apennine, * I take this to be the Fundus Sicse, from which Cicero dates fome of his letters to Atticus, during his exile. The fituation correfponds with his route, and the prefent name bears a greater refemblance to the ancient one than thofe of many places fixed by topographers from a fimilarity of found, as the Situations of former towns. fur- 2^6 JOURNEY TO NAPLES. furrounding a rich corn country, diverfified with patches of olive-yards. After dinner I paffed along the Skirts of thefe woodlands, in which I faw much well- grown timber, to the banks of the Amat-o, * a river that fpreads itfelf over a large flat in fifty chan nels i it would overflow a ftill greater extent of country, if its devaflations were not flopped by high cliffs on each fide of its bed. In bad weather this pafs is efteemed very dangerous, as the waters are of a muddy white colour, and the bed full of deep holes worn in the clay, which a ftranger has no fufpicion of ; the river was white when I croffed it, though no rain had fallen for fome weeks, and no fnow appeared on the mountains where it takes its rife : I there fore imagine this is the conftant and natural hue of its ftreams. Our guides got up behind us to pafs the river, and with extraordinary ap- prehenfion and vociferation pointed out to each horfeman the precife direction he was to follow; * Anciently, Lametus. and, JOURNEY TO NAPLES. 257 and, by a due attention to their instructions, I and one of the fervants traverfed the plain with- out accident ; the other, by his own aukward- nefs, or the indocility of his horfe, miffed the track, and plunged over-head in a deep but narrow pool, out of which he crawled, without any mifchief, but a thorough wetting. At this point the chain of the Apennines that divides Italy lengthwife from the Punta dell' Armi is fuddenly broken, and ends in low hills that open an intercourfe between the two feas. North of thefe hills a tranfverfal mafs of moun tains extends from weft to eaft, where the con- tinent of Calabria grows much wider : they communicate with two lines of lofty mountains which fall into them at right angles, and run ning from them towards the north, fpread out afterwards fo as to cover almoft all the northern provinces of the kingdom. A continuation of thefe lines cuts the Roman ftate in two, divides Tufcany from Umbria, and above Bologna, taking a weftern direction, joins the Pennine Vol. IV. S Alps 258 JOURNEY TO NAPLES. Alps near the frontiers of France ; fo that after paSfing the Amato, I might have travelled to the utmoft limits of Swizzerland among the mountains without any interruption, but fome vallies of no importance in fo large a feale. This is the narrowest part of Italy, and here the road from Naples by Puglia and Catanzaro croffes from the Shore of the Ionic ,fea to that of the Mediterranean. At this paSIage of the Amato we'met a com pany of Greeks of both fexes belonging to a neighbouring village 5 their drefs was remark ably tawdry, with a great deal of red- and yel low; the women were much handfomer than the generality of Calabrian females. At the end of twenty- four computed miles we arrived at Ni- caflro, where I was accommodated with a room at the Dominicans. Its neighbourhood is re plete with beauties of landfcape. — High, woody mountains feem to block up all communication with any country farther north, while an eafy paffage opens towards the gulf of Squillace : the JOURNEY TO NAPLES. 2$$ the plain that lies to the fouth is diversified in the' moft luxuriant manner with corn fields, plan tations of fruit trees, and evergreen groves ; the nearer hills, brightened with verdure of many tints, are crowned with white buildings, that ferve greatly to animate the profpedt. — The town runs partly up a dell, and partly fpreads itfelf out on the plain, interfered by the rapid Wandering ftreams of a mountain torrent. Thefe fcenes and the environs of Monteleone equal in beauty the moft delightful fpots in Sicily ; and upon the whole, I think Calabria has greatly the advantage over that ifland in its general af- pedt. — In almoft all the parts I vifited, Sicily fuffered frdm its want of wood and population ; while no country abounds more' in towns and villages, ha$ a greater variety of culture, and is covered with finer forefts than South Cala bria. None of the country people or travellers I met on the road from Tropea carried any arms -, and yet, if credit is due to the repeated accounts S z I was 260 JOURNEY TO NAPLES. I was Stunned with, there is more occafion for them here than in Sicily, where every body tra vels armed. The Calabrian accent is very different from the Sicilian, being more guttural, and fuller of afpirations. * The caftle of Nicaftro is a romantic ruin, tottering above the bed of a roaring torrent that rolls below in a dark woody dale. Within thefe once folid walls, Henry, the rebellious fon of the emperor Frederick the Second, was long im-; prifoned; frequent attempts to dethrone his father, and connections with the enemies of. the ftate, juftified his rigorous confinement; at firft he was Shut up with his wife and children in Rocca Felice of Puglia ; but was afterwards transferred, for greater fecurity, to Nicaftro, and then to the neighbouring city of Martorano, , * This manor was once poffeffed by the Marfani, and in the fifteenth century a branch of the Caraccioli had it. It has long been vefted in the houfe of Aquino, princes of Caftig'lione. 4 whese JOURNEY TO NAPLES. 261 where defpair put an end to his existence ; Boc caccio fays that in a fit of frenzy he forced his horfe to leap over a bridge, and was drowned in the river Savuto. From the hill above the town the view ex tends over the whole country ; the Shore is in comparably fine, for at the water edge an eafy acclivity begins, ftill rifing in a beautiful wavy line, till it joins the Apennine. At the foot and along the flope, which is deeply furrowed with woody vallies, feveral towns and hamlets ap pear. Near that of San Biaggio, are warm baths of great efficacy in many difeafes ; their fulphureous quality Shews the volcanical com position of thofe hills, and the proximity of fub- terraneous fires, which have often contributed towards converting this delicious country into a fcene of defolation. Near this town ftood St. Eufemia, that gave name to the gulf, and, till the year 1638, ranked among the moft refpec- table towns in the province. — In that fatal year {00k place a moft portentous event, which is S 3 feelingly / 262 JOURNEY TO NAPLES. feelingly related by father Athanafius Kircher, an eye witnefs, in the preface to his Mundus Subterraneus. I Shall here tranflate part of his narrative for the entertainment of my readers, as it enume rates almoft every circumftance that ufually fore runs or attends earthquakes. " On the 27th of March, 1^38, we left the " coaft of Sicily at day-break ; the fea was un- " ufually agitated, and rolled in horrible whirl- " pools, more efpecially round the rocks of " Scilla, famous for fo many Ship-wrecks ; our " minds were ftruck with terror ; but not ours " alone, for the hardieft mariner fhuddered at " the fight. When we happily reached that " part of the fea which lies between Lipari and " Cape Vaticano, I viewed with great attention ,f the appearance of iEtna and Stromboli ; they " threw out immenfe volumes of fmoke like " mountains, which, fpreading over the fouth- *' ern horizon, foon hid not only the Lipari " iflands but all Sicily from our view ; the hor- " ror JOURNEY TO NAPLES. 263 " ror of the fcene was increafed by fubterra- " neous groans and cracks, accompanied with a >' ftrong fmell of fulphur ; thefe frightful founds " feemed to forebode the cataftrophe that was '« preparing for Calabria and Sicily. Seized " with difmay, we ran for Cape Vaticano, and " paffed near Stromboli, without difc.erning that " ifland, which was involved in impenetrable , " clouds of , Smoke ; but our ears were Stunned *? with loud reports, and our refpiration im- »' peded by a ftrong fulphureous Stench j though " all was perfectly ferene and lulled in the air, " the furface of the fea was in a boisterous fer- * " ment, bubbling up like boiling water, and f( the element appeared to undergo moft unu- ?' fual alterations from its natural ftate. Who-