long before the dominion of the Romans they were the preponderating
race of all Italy. They occupied not only the whole of the southern
slope of the Apennines as far as the Tiber, but had also founded a
confederation of twelve towns in the Campagna, of which Capua was
the head, and as traders and pirates they held possession of the
Tyrrhenian Sea, still named after them. The island of Capri was one
of their most advanced outposts towards the south. The Adriatic was
likewise their own, for Adria, Bologna (called Felsina by them),
Ravenna, and Mantua were Etruscan colonies, and the Rhætians in the
Alpine valleys were their allies, and perhaps kinsmen. But who were the
Etruscans? They have been classed with Aryans, Ugrians, and Semites;
with Greeks, Germans, Scythians, Egyptians, and Turks. The Etruscan
inscriptions on ancient monuments, though very legible, have not
hitherto been deciphered satisfactorily. If Corssen’s interpretation is
accepted, their language resembled the Latin tongues; but this {249}
philologist, after all, may not be entitled to be called the “Œdipus
of the Etruscan sphinx.”
The most common type of the Etruscans, as transmitted to us on cinerary
vases, is that of squat men, often inclining to obesity, with broad
shoulders, prominent face, curved noses, broad retreating forehead,
dark complexion, dolichocephalous skull, and curly hair. This type is
neither Hellenic nor Italian. Amongst their monuments there are none
of those curious structures known as _nuraghi_, which abound in Malta,
Sardinia, and Pantellaria, but dolmens are numerous. The sepulchral
monuments, of which many thousands have already been brought to
light, prove that the arts had attained a high degree of development
in ancient Etruria. The paintings in the interior of the vaults,
the bas-reliefs on the sarcophagi, the vases, candelabra, pottery,
and bronzes, resemble similar work produced by the genius of Greek
artists. The arrangement of their dwelling-houses, though not devoid
of originality, proves the intimate connection existing between the
civilisations of the Etruscans and early Greeks. It was the Etruscans
who initiated Rome into the arts. The _Cloaca Maxima_, the most ancient
monument of the Eternal City, the wall named after Servius Tullius,
the Mamertine prison, and, in fact, all the remains of the Rome of the
kings, were their work. It was they who erected the temples, supplied
the statues to deities, built the dwelling-houses, and furnished them
with articles of ornament. Even the she-wolf of bronze, now in the
Capitoline Museum, and a symbol of the Roman people, appears to be of
Etruscan workmanship.
The Tuscans of our day differ, however, in many respects from their
Etruscan ancestors. These latter, to judge from the paintings in their
sepulchral cities, were an austere race. They appear, likewise, to have
been a nation of cooks and gluttons. Neither of these qualities can be
laid to the charge of their descendants. The modern Tuscan is of an
amiable and kindly disposition, he is possessed of wit and artistic
tastes, easy to move, and altogether perhaps a trifle too pliant of
character. The Tuscans of the plain, but not those of the Maremmas,
are the most gentle of Italians; they “live and let live,” and are
exceedingly good-natured. A singular trait distinguishes them from the
rest of the Italians: though brave when carried away by passion, they
turn with horror from a dead body. In this we may trace the persistence
of ancient superstitions, for though the Tyrrhenians concealed their
tombs, the worship of the dead was the most prominent of their
religious observances.
The modern Tuscans, like their ancestors, have known a time when they
took the lead amongst the people of Italy, and even now they stand at
the head of the nation in certain respects. After the decadence of
Rome, when civilisation gravitated towards the north, the valley of the
Arno became one of the great centres of the world’s activity. At that
time the passage of the Alps was still difficult, but communications
by sea were established between Tuscany, France, and Spain. The
Apennines not only sheltered the fertile valleys opening upon the
Tyrrhenian against cold northerly winds, but also against the hordes
of barbarian invaders. Tuscany was, indeed, a favoured region, and its
intelligent {250} inhabitants made the most of the natural advantages
they possessed. “Work” was the great law of the Florentines, and all,
without exception, were expected to engage in it. Whilst Pisa disputed
the dominion of the sea with Genoa and Venice, Florence became the
head-quarters of commerce, and its bankers extended their operations to
every part of Europe.
But Tuscany was more than a commercial and industrial country. What
Athens had been to the world two thousand years ago, republican
Florence became during its period of prosperity, and for the second
time in the history of mankind there arose one of those centres of
light the reflected rays from which still illuminate our own times.
Arts, letters, sciences, and political economy—everything, in fact,
that is noble in this world was cultivated with an energy to which
nations had been strangers for a long time. The pliant genius of the
Tuscans revelled in every species of work, and amongst the names great
in history Florence may fairly claim some of the greatest. Where are
the men that have exercised a greater influence in the world of art
and intellect than Giotto, Orgagna, Masaccio, Michael Angelo, Leonardo
da Vinci, Andrea del Sarto, Brunelleschi, Savonarola, Galileo, or
Macchiavelli? It was a Florentine, too, Amerigo Vespucci, who gave his
name to the New World, and justly so, for it was Vespucci through whom
the discoveries made by the Spaniards first became known, and who, in
1501, bestowed the name of _Novus Mundus_ upon the newly discovered
countries, whilst Columbus died in the belief that he had reached the
eastern coast of Asia.
The dialect of Florence has become the polished language of the whole
of Italy, and it is curious that this honour should not have been
carried off by Rome. But whilst Florence cultivated the arts and
sciences, and through her great writers exercised an immense influence,
the city of the popes yielded herself up to the worship of the past,
and its literature was written in a dead language, more or less
successfully imitated from that of Cicero. The dialect of Rome never
became a language like that of Florence, but Italian is nevertheless
indebted to Rome for its musical pronunciation, that of the Tuscans
being harsh and guttural. Hence the old proverb, “Lingua Toscana in
bocca Romana.” The delicate, pure poetry breathed in the _ritornelli_
which Tuscan peasants chant in the evening is highly appreciated by
all admirers of Italian, and the influence which the fine dialect of
the Florentines exercised upon the unification of Italy can hardly be
overestimated. The worshippers of Dante are almost justified in saying
that Italian unity dates from the day on which the great poet first
expressed himself in the firm and sonorous language which he had forged
out of the various dialects spoken throughout the peninsula.
* * * * *
The geographical position of Tuscany accounts for the influence it has
exercised upon Italy and the rest of the world, whilst its topography
gives us the key to the local history of the country. The Apennines
and the mountains to the south of the Arno divide it into a number of
separate basins, each of which gave birth to a small state or republic.
At the time of the Tyrrhenians Etruria formed {251} a confederation
of cities, whilst during the Middle Ages it was divided into numerous
small republics, frequently at war with each other. Since that time
many changes have taken place in the relative importance of the various
towns, but even now most of the free cities of the Middle Ages, and
even some founded by the ancient Etruscans, occupy a high rank amongst
the provincial towns of Italy.
Florence (Firenze) is not one of these ancient cities of the
Tyrrhenians; it is merely a Roman colony of comparatively modern
origin. In the time of the Empire it was of small importance, for
Fiesole, on a hill to the north, remained the leading town of the
country until destroyed by the Florentines, who carried its columns
and statues to their own town. The rapid growth of Florence during
the Middle Ages is due to its position on the highway which connects
Germany, Lombardy, and even Bologna with Southern Italy. As long as
Rome was the capital of Italy travellers starting from the valley
of the Tiber crossed the Apennines in the direction of Ancona and
Ariminum. But after the fall of Rome, when barbarian hordes inundated
the country from the north, the high-roads connecting the plains
of Lombardy with the valley of the Arno rose into importance. This
great military highway became simultaneously a high-road of commerce,
and it was only natural that a great emporium should spring up on
the site occupied by Florence. The “city of flowers” prospered, and
became the marvel which we still admire. But the wealth of the growing
commonwealth proved its destruction. The rich bankers grasped at
political power, the Medici assumed the title of princes, and though
the arts continued to flourish for awhile, public virtues decayed, the
citizens became subjects, and intellectual life ceased.
Florence, as in the days of republican liberty, owes much of its wealth
to the industry of its inhabitants. There are manufactories of silks
and woollen goods, of straw hats, mosaics, china, cut stones (_pierra
dura_), and other objects, all of them requiring workmen possessed
of taste and manual dexterity. But neither these industries nor the
commerce carried on by the town would have raised Florence above the
level of other populous Italian cities. The prominent position it holds
is due entirely to the beauty of its monuments, which attract to it
the lovers of art from every quarter of the world. Not even Venice is
equally rich in architectural masterpieces of the Middle Ages and the
Renaissance. The museums of Florence “la Bella”—such as the Uffizi, the
Pitti Galleries, and the Academy of Arts—are amongst the richest in
Europe, and contain some of the most highly prized treasures of art;
its libraries abound in curious manuscripts and rare old books. Nay,
the very streets and piazzas of the town, with their palaces, towers,
churches, and statues, may be likened to a huge museum. Brunelleschi’s
Duomo; Giotto’s Campanilla, which was to “surpass in beauty all
imagination can conceive;” the Baptistery, with its incomparable doors
of brass; the Piazza della Signoria; the monastery of San Marco, now a
museum; the gloomy palace of the Strozzi; and numerous other buildings
of superior merit make Florence the delightful place it is. Its charms
are enhanced by the beauty of the surrounding {252} country, and the
traveller will always recall with pleasure the walks along the Arno,
the hills of San Miniato and Belle Sguardo, and the picturesque spur
upon which lie the villas and ruins of Etruscan Fiesole. Unfortunately
the climate of Florence leaves much to be desired; the wind changes
abruptly, and the heat in summer is overpowering. _Il caldo di Firenze_
has become proverbial throughout Italy. Narrow streets, and to some
extent the disregard of the laws of hygiene, cause the mortality to
exceed that of nearly every other town on the Continent. During the
Middle Ages pestilence was a frequent visitor, and Boccaccio tells us
that in an single season nearly 100,000 inhabitants, or two-thirds
of the entire population, were swept away by it. Targioni Tozetti
contrasts the site of Empoli, a small town to the west, with that of
Florence, and regrets that a project for removing Florence thither
should not have been carried out, as proposed in 1260.
[Illustration: Fig. 88.—FLORENCE: THE DUOMO AND PALAZZO VECCHIO.]
The only town of any importance in the upper valley of the Arno
is Arezzo, an ancient city of the Etruscans, and at one time the
capital of one of the most prosperous republics of the Middle Ages.
The inhabitants ascribe to the “subtile {253} air they breathe
the subtility of their spirits,” and indeed the list of famous men
connected with the town is very long. The present Arezzo, however, is
a decayed place, and lives upon the memories and the monuments of a
past age. Cortona, farther south, near the Lake of Trasimeno, claims
to be the most ancient city of Italy; but all traces of its former
greatness have disappeared. Siena, which formerly governed the whole
of the hilly tract between the Arno and Ombrone, has fallen from her
high estate, not without the fault of its own citizens, who were
continually quarrelling amongst themselves. Siena no longer rivals
Florence in population, power, or industry, but may still compare with
the city on the Arno as regards its public buildings—many of them in
the Gothic style—its works of art, its quaint streets and piazzas, and
its magnificent position on the slopes of three hills. Chiusa, one of
the most powerful towns of ancient Etruria, is of no importance now,
and only attracts antiquarians in search of its ancient tombs. The
vineyards of Montepulciano, on the same side of the vale of Chiani,
produce the “king of wines.” Volterra is only a small town now,
interesting, however, on account of its cyclopean walls and a museum
abounding in Etruscan antiquities. The environs are dreary in the
extreme. Salt-works, yielding from 7,000 to 8,000 tons a year, quarries
of alabaster, copper mines at Monte Catini, sulphur springs, and the
famous _lagoni di Monti Cerboli_ (see p. 242), are in the neighbourhood.
The cities at the foot of the Apennines, on the other side of the
Arno, have retained their importance, for they are favourably situated
for commerce. Prato, where the valley of the Arno is widest, is the
centre of a rich agricultural district. The quarries of serpentine
in the neighbourhood have furnished building stones for many of
the most beautiful edifices of Tuscany, including the cathedral of
Prato, celebrated on account of Donatello’s marvellously sculptured
pulpit. Pistoja, where the railway descends from the Apennines, is a
busy manufacturing town. Other towns of some importance are Pescia,
Capannori, in the “garden of Italy,” and Lucca the industrious, with
its celebrated pictures by Fra Bartolommeo.
The basin of the Serchio is of incomparable productiveness since its
marsh lands have been brought under cultivation. From the ramparts
of Lucca one of the most charming views may be enjoyed. On the one
hand we have the towers and cupolas of the town, on the other fertile
fields and orchards, with white houses peeping through the verdure, and
distant hills surmounted by old towers. The impression made by this
view is one of perfect peace. In a country so fertile and beautiful,
it would seem, the people ought to be happy, and, if enthusiastic
writers can be believed, such is really the case, and the peasants of
Lucca and of Lower Tuscany in general enjoy advantages denied to their
class elsewhere in Italy. They are farmers for the most part, but hold
their land by long leases, and their share of its produce is regulated
by ancient custom. The land, however, does not suffice for their
wants, and they emigrate in thousands in search of work. Many of these
emigrants work as grinders.
The inhabitants of the Upper Serchio valley, known as the Garfagnana,
are as industrious as those near Lucca, which is the natural outlet for
its produce. The slopes and spurs descending from the Apennines and
Apuanic Alps are cultivated {254} in terraces. Castelnuovo, the chief
town of this valley, occupies one of the most delightful spots of this
picturesque district. The common people near it are said to speak the
best Italian, superior even to that of the Sienese.
The valley of the Magra is far more frequented than that of Garfagnana,
for the high-road from Parma to the Gulf of Spezia leads through it.
In its upper portion, in the heart of the Apennines, stands the small
town of Pontremoli. Its inferior portion, known as the Lunigiana,
from the ancient city of Luni, is as beautiful as the parallel valley
of the Serchio. At Sazana it opens upon the sea, and to the south of
that charming town, where the Apuanic Alps approach close to the sea,
leaving only a narrow passage of some note in history, are situated
the towns of Carrara and Massa. Carrara, the “Quarry,” has replaced
Luni as the place from whence the white marbles so highly esteemed by
sculptors are exported, and choice blocks of which sometimes fetch £80
a cubic yard. No less than 720 quarries perforate the neighbouring
hills, and about 300 of these are being worked now. The town may be
likened to an agglomeration of sculptors’ studios, and its Academy has
trained artists of high reputation. Massa enjoys a better climate than
Carrara, but its marbles are less highly esteemed. As to the marbles
of Serravezza, which are quarried in the Altissimo and other mountains
of the Apuanic Alps near the town of Pietra Santa, they are in many
instances as beautiful as those of Carrara. Michael Angelo highly
appreciated them, and had a road constructed to facilitate access to
them. The quarries and mines in the neighbourhood also yield slates,
iron, lead, and silver.[84]
These towns at the foot of the Apuanic Alps were bound to prosper in
proportion as the country increased in wealth, whilst Pisa, the great
commercial republic of mediæval Tuscany, was doomed to decay, owing to
the silting up of its harbour. This Porto Pisano was situated about ten
miles to the south of what was then the mouth of the Arno. In 1442 its
depth had been reduced to five feet, a century later only rowing boats
could enter it, and soon after it was abandoned definitely. There are
no traces of it now, and its very site is disputed. But though Pisa is
dead—Pisa _morta_—the city still possesses admirable monuments of its
past grandeur. It has a wonderful cathedral; an elegant baptistery;
its Campo Santa, with the famous frescoes of Orgagna and Gozzoli; and
a leaning tower commanding a view of the Pisan hills and the alluvial
plains of the Arno and Serchio. Its commerce has dwindled away, but
it is still the capital of a rich agricultural district, and its
university is one of the best in Italy. It possesses, moreover, that
which no change in the commercial highways can deprive it of, a mild
climate, and during winter attracts numerous visitors from the north.
Leghorn, or Livorno, has inherited the commerce of Pisa. It is the
natural outlet of the fertile districts of Tuscany, and its commerce
is far more important than might be supposed from the unfavourable
configuration of the coast, and is surpassed only by that of Genoa and
Naples.[85] Thousands of Spanish and {255} Portuguese Jews who found a
refuge here have contributed in no small measure to the development of
the resources of the town. From an architectural point of view, Leghorn
is one of the least interesting cities of Italy, but as the outcome of
human labour it is one of the most curious. Before the city could be
built, the swamps which occupied its site had to be drained, and an
artificial harbour had to be excavated for the protection of vessels.
Numerous canals intersect the north-western portion of the town, which
is known as New Venice. A huge breakwater marks the entrance to the
harbour, and on a sand-bank in the offing rises the tower of Meloria,
which recalls the naval engagement in which the fleet of the Pisans was
destroyed by the Genoese.
[Illustration: Fig. 89.—THE HARBOUR OF LEGHORN.
Scale 1 : 112,000]
Insular Tuscany consists of Elba and several smaller islands, which
mark the site of an isthmus that formerly joined the mainland to
Corsica, and contribute greatly towards the beauty of the Tuscan
littoral.
Elba, once the miniature kingdom of Napoleon, is larger than all the
other islands together.[86] An ancient dependency of the Etruscan city
of Populonia, Elba rises above the blue waters of the Tyrrhenian a
picturesque group of mountains. A narrow and dangerous strait separates
its steep coasts from the promontory of Piombino, where passing vessels
were formerly obliged to pay toll.
The granitic heights of Monte Capanne, the eastern extremity of the
island, {256} attain an elevation of 3,303 feet; the dome-shaped hills
of serpentine at the other extremity are 1,600 feet in height, and
the centre of the island is occupied by hills of various formations,
covered with brushwood. The variety of rocks is very great, taking into
account the small extent of the island. Associated with the granites
and serpentine, we meet with beds of kaolin, and with marble similar to
that of Carrara. Remarkable crystals and precious stones abound to such
an extent, that Elba has been likened to a “mineralogical cabinet” on a
vast scale.
Formerly, when the sea was infested by pirates, the inhabitants
retreated to the recesses of the interior, or to the summits of steep
promontories, where the picturesque ruins of ancient fortifications
may still be seen. Several of the old inland villages continue to
be inhabited; amongst others, that of Capoliberi, the “Mountain of
the Free,” which is looked upon as a sort of acropolis. After the
suppression of piracy the islanders came down to the _marina_, or
coast, and established themselves in the towns of Porto Ferrajo,
Porto Longone, Marciana, and Rio. The resources of the island
are considerable, and afford plenty of occupation to fishermen,
salt-makers, wine-growers, and gardeners. The inhabitants are
hospitable, and, though neighbours of the fierce Corsicans, they
possess all the gentleness of Tuscans.
Elba is not, however, so much noted on account of its fisheries,
vineyards, salt-works, or commerce, as because of its rich deposits of
iron ore. The russet-coloured cliffs of ironstone are visible from the
mainland. The huge excavations made by the miners, many of whom are
convicts, resemble the craters of extinct volcanoes, and the reddish
brown, violet, or blackish colour of the rocks helps the illusion. Of
the quantity of ore carried away from here in the course of twenty-five
or thirty centuries we can hardly form a conception. The ironstone is
bedded in layers, differing in colour according to the nature of the
earthy ingredients, and rising into hills 600 and more feet in height,
the slopes of which are covered with brushwood (_macchie_). Shovels
and spades are the only mining tools required in clearing away these
heaps of ore, of which at least 100,000,000 tons remain. By regular
mining operations 500,000 tons might be obtained annually during
twenty centuries. The annual produce at present hardly exceeds 100,000
tons. The ore is more particularly suited to the manufacture of steel.
Loadstones abound near Capo Calamita. The mariners of the Mediterranean
formerly made use of them in the construction of a primitive ship’s
compass, by placing them in a piece of cork, which they allowed to
float in a basin of water.
The smaller islands of the Tuscan archipelago are—Giglio, with quarries
of granite; Monte Cristo, a pyramidal rock rising 2,130 feet above the
sea-level; Pianosa, with an agricultural penal settlement; Capraja,
with a small town built within an amphitheatre of pink-coloured
granite; and Gorgona (987 feet).[87] {257}
V.—THE ROMAN APENNINES, THE VALLEY OF THE TIBER, THE MARCHES, AND THE
ABRUZZOS.
That portion of the Italian peninsula which has Rome for its centre
may be likened to the trunk of the body, for it is there the Apennines
attain their greatest height, and nowhere else to the south of the Po
are rivers of equal magnitude met with.[88]