our _cavallante_, and changed our mode of travelling. A primitive
_diligence_ plies occasionally between Ozieri and Sassari, by the new
road just constructed to join the Strada Reale between Cagliari and
Porto Torres. Missing the opportunity during our hunting excursion, we
hired a _voiture_ for the day's journey. It was comparatively a smart
affair, a light _calèche_ with bright yellow pannels, and drawn by a
pair of quick-stepping horses; so that we travelled in much comfort.
Carriages are seldom found in the island except on this great road, and
in a few of the principal towns; the mode of travelling in the interior,
for persons of all ranks and both sexes, being either on horseback or on
oxen.[71]
We rattled out of Ozieri with a flourish of the driver's horn, more
intent on which than on the management of his spirited horses he nearly
brought us to grief. After some narrow escapes of being capsized over
the heaps of stones scattered along the new road, now in the course of
construction, we came to a dead lock in an excavation; and one of the
horses, though mettlesome enough, hung in the collar, refusing to draw.
It was said to be an Irish horse, but how or when it got to Sardinia was
as much a myth as the immigration of some of the various races by which
the island is said to have been peopled in ancient times. However, Miss
Edgeworth's Irish postilion and “Knockecroghery,” could scarcely have
afforded us more amusement than our Sarde driver and his horse, whose
good qualities he ludicrously vaunted, alternately cursing and
glorifying, thumping and coaxing, the vicious beast, while we heaved at
the wheels. Our united efforts at length succeeded in extricating the
vehicle from the sandy hollow; and after jolting for awhile over the
new-formed road, the material having become solid and compact, we rolled
at our ease across the plain. I remarked, that though the road was well
levelled and macadamised, scarcely a man was to be seen employed in the
present operations. Boys were breaking the metal, and girls carrying it
in baskets on their heads.
The plains being undulating, extensive views are commanded by the
eminences far away over the Campidano, backed by the Limbara mountains
on the north-west. We passed the village of Nores, pleasantly situated
on a hill at the verge of the Ozieri plain, across which Monte Santo,
appearing from this point a long ridge, rose in full view to our left,
2000 feet high. The junction with the Strada Reale from Cagliari to
Sassari was reached soon afterwards. About noon, we halted while the
horses baited at a roadside _locanda_, the half-way house to Sassari,
standing at the foot of Monte Santo, here reduced to the shape of a
round-topped mountain. Lesser hills fell away to the great plain, the
slopes and flats being sprinkled with large flocks of sheep. On a
hillock two or three miles distant, were the ruins of a Nuraghe,
mellowed to a rich orange tint.
It was a pleasant spot, and at the present moment full of life, numbers
of Sardes of all classes having, like ourselves, halted there for rest.
Two _voitures_ were drawn up by the roadside, as well as several light
carts, with high wheels and tilts made of rushes or cloth, conveying
goods to and fro between Cagliari and Sassari. Women in yellow
petticoats and red mantles, with bright kerchiefs round their heads, and
men in their white shirt sleeves open to the elbow, and Moorish cotton
trowsers, contrasting with their dark jackets, caps, and gaiters, were
bustling about, fetching water and fodder for the horses. Others were
sitting and eating under the shade of a group of weeping willows,
overshadowing a bason of pure water, fed by a streamlet trickling down
from the neighbouring hills. Intermingled with these were Sarde
cavaliers, in a more brilliant costume; and a priest, carrying a huge
crimson umbrella, came forth from the _locanda_, and with his
attendants, mounting their horses, proceeded on their journey at a pace
suited to the priest's gravity, and the requirements of his gorgeous
canopy.
Presently a horn sounded, and a coach came thundering down the hill,—the
diligence on its daily service between the two capitals. The vehicle was
double-bodied, well horsed, and, altogether, a superior turn-out. We
took the opportunity of its pulling up for a moment to bespeak beds at
Sassari. After amusing ourselves with a scene of life on the road not
often witnessed in Sardinia,—having already lunched in our _voiture_ on
a basket of grapes, with bread, and a bottle of the excellent white wine
of Oristano,—we sauntered up the course of the rivulet to its source, at
the foot of a rock among the woods. There we drank of the clear
fountain, and washed; bees humming among the flowers, as in the height
of the summer, and the gabble from the roadside below, coming up mixed
with the cries of the carrier's fierce dogs. The spot commanded charming
views of Monte Santo and the far-stretching _campagna_ beneath.
Pursuing our route, the country assumed a peculiar aspect from the
number of the flat-topped hills, swelling in green slopes out of the
plains which spread before us in long sweeps. These vividly green
hillocks are probably the craters of long extinct volcanoes, as we were
now in the line, and near the centre, of that wide igneous action
mentioned in a former chapter. There were signs of more extensive
cultivation than we had hitherto observed, and the evident fertility of
the soil left no doubt on the mind of its powers of production under a
better system. Large flocks of sheep were feeding in every direction;
this being the season for their being driven from the mountains for
pasture and shelter in the teeming plains. Sardinia remains still in
that pastoral state, which, however picturesque to the eyes of the
traveller, as well as suited to the indolent habits of the Sarde
peasant, must yield to agricultural progress, or, at least, be reduced
within due bounds, before the soil of the island can be made the source
of that wealth which, with proper cultivation, large portions of it are
naturally fitted to yield. Sardinia will continue to be poor and
uncivilised while vast tracts of country are open to almost promiscuous
and lawless commonage, and while the occupation of the shepherd, with
all its hardships, is esteemed preferable and more honourable than that
of the tiller of the soil.
After this, we got among hills bounding the plain in the neighbourhood
of Florinas and Campo di Mela. The country became rugged, and, after
crossing a river, over a still perfect Roman bridge, of several arches,
with massive substructions of large square stones, which we alighted to
examine, there commenced a steep ascent, winding among woods. We walked
up it by moonlight, our driver's bugle echoing that of a _diligence_
which preceded us at some distance in mounting the pass. Sassari was
entered by an arched and embattled gateway in the square-towered wall
surrounding the place; and, passing through the best quarter of the
town, the dark mass of the citadel contrasting well with the white
_façades_ and lofty colonnades of the neighbouring houses, we were set
down at the Albergo di Progresso, opposite the great convent of St.
Pietro, one of the richest of the many religious houses of which Sassari
once boasted. The accommodations at the hotel were the best we enjoyed
in the island.
Sassari, the second city of Sardinia, containing a population of some
30,000 souls, has always been a jealous rival of Cagliari, the
metropolis, boasting an independent history of its own, of which it has
just pretensions to be proud. It was an insignificant village till the
inhabitants of Porto-Torres,—the ancient _Turris Libysonis_, founded on
the neighbouring coast by the Greeks, and colonised by the Romans,—were
driven by the incursions of the Saracen corsairs, and, finally, by the
ruin of their town by the Genoese, in 1166, to seek a refuge further
inland. They established themselves at Sassari, where the long street,
still called Turritana, was named from the new settlers. In 1441, the
archiepiscopal see and chapter of St. Gavino, near Porto-Torres, were
translated to Sassari by Pope Eugenius IV., and thenceforward it
rivalled the metropolis in opulence and power. When, in the thirteenth
century, the Genoese occupied the northern division of the island,
Sassari became a republic, entering into an alliance, offensive and
defensive, with that of Genoa. The articles of the treaty are a curious
amalgamation of independence assumed by the one, and of interference and
jurisdiction claimed by the other. The general effect was, that the
Sassarese accepted annually from the Genoese a Podesta, who swore
fidelity to their constitution; and the Sassarese assert that while
their city was under the protection of Genoa, they only styled that
haughty republic in their statutes and diplomas, “_Mater et Magistra,
sed non Domina:_” “_non Signora, ma Amica._”
Mutual quarrels induced a rupture of the alliance in 1306, and on the
Arragonese kings advancing pretensions to the sovereignty of the island,
the Sassarese made a voluntary transfer of their allegiance to Diego II.
of Arragon, who, in return, guaranteed their rights and privileges; and
Sassari continued to be governed as a republic long after the Spanish
conquest in 1325. The city, however, suffered severely during the
protracted contests between the Genoese, Pisans, and the Giudici of
Arborea, for the expulsion of the Spaniards; sustaining no less than ten
sieges, courageously defended, in the short interval between 1332 and
1409. It continued to be the victim of contending parties till 1420,
when for the last time, and after a struggle of nearly a hundred years,
it fell into the hands of Alfonso V., who conferred on it the title of
“Città Reale.” In the middle of the fifteenth century it flourished both
commercially and politically, enjoying privileges beyond any other town
in the island. From this power and prosperity arose its rivalry with
Cagliari; and the jealousies and dissensions in matters of government,
religion, and education, surviving the transference of the sovereignly
to the House of Savoy, have descended from generation to generation.
This feeling prevails to the present day, partly owing, perhaps, to the
circumstance of society in Sassari being less under the influence of
Piedmontese and Continental opinions than in the capital, Cagliari,—and
partly to the Sassarese population being mostly of Genoese extraction.
The descendants of these settlers having almost all the trade, commerce,
and employment in their hands, form a very important and influential
middle class. I found at Sassari opinions more distinctly pronounced on
the abuses of the government, and the necessity of reforms in the
various branches of the administration, than I have reason to believe
they are in the more courtly circles of Cagliari. Some numbers of a
work, in course of publication, were put into my hands during our stay
at Sassari, in which these topics were discussed in a sensible, bold,
but temperate style.[72] Though written by a foreigner, a Venetian
refugee, I have no doubt, from the manner in which it was spoken of by
well-informed persons, and from its having reached a second edition,
that it may be accepted as representing the opinions of a large class of
the Sassarese, and I imagine of Sardes in general.
Much interest attaches to the working of the constitutional system in
the Sardinian dominions, not only politically, but in its effects on the
social and economical condition of the country. Hitherto the island of
Sardinia has been treated by the cabinet of Turin much as it was long
the misfortune of the English government to deal with Ireland; regarding
the native race as a conquered, but turbulent, impracticable and
semi-barbarous people; the consequences of such misrule being poverty,
disaffection and bloodshed. But I trust we see the dawn of brighter
days, when this fine island, partaking of the benefits following in the
train of constitutional government,—its wrongs redressed, its great
natural resources developed, and the natural genius and many virtues of
its inhabitants being cultivated and having free scope,—will be no
insignificant jewel in the crown which assumed its regal title from this
insular possession.
With our own happy country in the van of political, social, and material
progress, there are three secondary European states, which, in our own
memory, have raised the banner of freedom, and are consistently marching
under it with firm, vigorous, and well-poised steps. It need hardly be
explained that we speak of Norway, Belgium, and Sardinia.[73] Occupying,
geographically and politically, important positions ranging, at wide
intervals, from the far north to the extreme south of Europe, these
small, flourishing, and well-ordered states, offer a spectacle as full
of hope and encouragement to all lovers of constitutional liberty, as it
must necessarily be offensive to the despotic governments of the great
continental monarchies, on whose thresholds the altars of freedom, newly
lighted, have burnt with so steady and pure a flame. They may serve as
beacon-lights to European populations gasping for that political
regeneration, the hour of which will assuredly come, and may not be far
distant.
Of the state and prospects of the kingdom of Norway,[74] we have treated
in another work. The democratic element is so predominant in its
constitutional code, that the only fear was lest it should clash with
the executive functions of even a limited monarchy. But, hitherto, the
natural good sense, patriotism, and loyalty of the Norwegian people,
though represented in a Storthing of peasant farmers,—and we may add,
the moderation displayed by the Bernadotte dynasty,—have so obviated the
difficulties of a hastily formed, and somewhat crude, code of
fundamental laws, that it has been harmoniously worked to the great
benefit of the nation. In Belgium, notwithstanding religious
antagonisms, which have also perplexed the young councils of Sardinia,
the constitutional system has been so consolidated, under the rule of a
sagacious prince, that it may be hoped its permanence is secured. We
need not speak of the rising fortunes of the Sardinian States, the only
hope of fair Italy. The eyes of Europe are upon them; they are closely
watched by friends and foes. Our business at present is, not with the
political, but with the social and material, condition of the insular
kingdom which forms a valuable portion of those singularly aggregated
dominions. In a work devoted to a survey of the island, even a passing
traveller may be pardoned for pausing in his narrative while he collects
some cursory notices of its present condition under these aspects, and
its requirements for improvement.
All enlightened Sardes with whom we conversed unite with Signor Sala,
who has devoted several sections of his work to the subject, in
representing the corruption and other abuses pervading the
administration of justice in Sardinia, as lying at the root of its
greatest social evil. It is the ready excuse for rude justice, for
private revenge, for the assertion of the rights of persons or of things
by the strong hand, that the laws are inoperative, or iniquitously
administered. There is too much reason to believe that this has been the
normal state of Sardinia under all its rulers for ages past. And when at
the same time we find the natural instincts of the people to be
turbulent and lawless, and prone to theft and robbery, and consider the
facilities afforded by a wild, mountainous, and densely wooded country,
for the commission of crimes of violence, the scenes of bloodshed and
rapine by which it has been desolated, are not to be wondered at. In the
absence of a vigorous justice, and a sufficient military or police force
for the protection of property, a voluntary association sprung up,
consisting of armed men, under the name of Barancelli, who, for a sort
of black mail paid by the peasants, undertook to recover their stolen
cattle, or indemnify them for the loss. They fell, however, into
disrepute, and I believe have been disbanded. Banditism has been finally
and effectually extinguished in Corsica, as related in a former part of
this work, by a total disarmament of the population, without respect of
persons, or of the purposes for which fire-arms may be properly
required. So stern a measure is neither suited to the genius of the
Sardes or their rulers. With a numerous resident gentry, who, with their
retainers, and the great mass of the population, are passionately fond
of the chase, and with wastes so stocked with destructive wild animals,
the total prohibition of fire-arms must be both unpopular and impolitic.
The law, however, requires that no one shall carry them without a
license. But it is not, or cannot be, enforced, for we saw them in every
one's hands.
It gave me great pleasure to learn, as it has been already stated, on a
recent visit to Sardinia, that the administration of the law was become
more pure, the police improved, outrages were less frequent, and
confident hopes entertained that banditism, now confined to a small
number of outlaws, would gradually die out. There is no doubt it will do
so when the laws are respected as in other parts of the Sardinian
dominions.
In regard to the judges and other civil functionaries, we found
everywhere the deepest antipathy towards the Piedmontese. Sardinia for
the Sardes, was like the cry we often hear from our own sister island.
Sala treats the subject with his usual temper and good sense. He admits
the advantages of an administration conducted by natives possessing a
knowledge of the country, conversant with its language and customs, and
of a temper more conciliatory than foreigners invested with authority
are likely to exhibit. He also admits that there is extreme mediocrity,
and even ignorance, in the lower class of functionaries who arrive in
the island with appointments obtained in Turin or Genoa. Sala relates a
ludicrous story of one of these officials, who chanced to be his
companion in the steam-boat from Genoa to Cagliari, being recommended to
the Intendant-General as the chief of a department under him. When
half-way across, the candidate for office had yet to learn whither they
were bent,—“_Si fece interrogarci per dove possimo diretti_.”
Afterwards, says Sala, when chatting in Cagliari, he reproached the
Sardes with ignorance and indolence because, though their land was
surrounded by the sea, they did not know how to supply themselves with a
river,—“_Non sapevano formarsi un fiume_;” adding, with great
self-complacency,—“_Li civilizzeremo, li civilizzeremo!_”
Such impertinences are calculated to irritate the native Sardes against
the continental officials; and they are generally detested. Our author,
however, candidly allows that intrigue prevails so universally in the
island, and the influences of relationship and connexions are so great,
as to raise suspicions of the purity and fairness of native
functionaries, especially of those who have been brought up under the
old system,—a school of corruption. Signor Sala therefore suggests, that
while appointments, both on the continent and the island, should be
equally open to competent candidates, without respect of birth, great
advantages would be obtained by this interchange. The Sardes being
habituated by residence for a while, and the transaction of business, on
Terra Firma; and thus withdrawn from unfavourable influences, would be
prepared to fill honourably offices at home. This seems a wise and
obvious mode of abating a grievance of which the Sardes not unjustly
complain.
Having mentioned before the gigantic evil of the vast extent of
commonage claimed and exercised throughout the island, destructive of
the rights of property and quite incompatible with agricultural
progress, I have only to add that measures are contemplated for
facilitating and protecting inclosures where lawfully made; but so as
not to injure the great interest of the proprietors of flocks and herds,
the staple production of the island. In this view it is proposed to
place the great domains of the communes under better management.
Among various other reforms and beneficial projects to which the
attention of a more enlightened government must be directed, in order to
raise Sardinia to the rank she is entitled to hold by the extent of her
resources, and the intelligence of great numbers of her inhabitants, we
can only enumerate, without observation, the educational system
generally, including a reform of the Universities of Cagliari and
Sassari,—sanitary measures tending, at least, to alleviate the
insalubrity which is the scourge of the island,—improved police
arrangements throughout the interior,—an increased supply of the
circulating medium, the deficiency of which is represented as extreme
and injurious to trade, and “Agrarian Banks;”—an entire new system of
communal roads, connected with the great national highways, which roads,
it is said, would double the value of property wherever they passed,—the
protection and careful administration of the forests,—measures for
developing the great mineral wealth of the island,—and the encouragement
of the coral fisheries.
Nor have we exhausted the list; but enough has been shown to satisfy the
reader who accepts the statements we have laid before him, from our own
observation and from the best information of the capabilities of
Sardinia and its present condition,—how much is required to place her
on a footing with other European states, and with what hope of eventual
success. A vast field is, indeed, open for cultivation by an enlightened
and patriotic administration. Great difficulties will have to be
encountered, arising mainly from the indolence, the supineness, the
prejudices, the ignorance, and the poverty of the Sarde population. The
progress must be gradual, but noble will be the reward earned by that
exercise of vigour, discretion, and perseverance, by which the obstacles
to improvement may be overcome.
There is one highly gifted man, who has long filled a distinguished
place in the service of his sovereign and the eyes of the world, in
whose hands the task of regenerating Sardinia, herculean as it may
appear, would be not only a labour of love, but facile comparatively
with any others on which it may devolve. I speak of General the Count
Alberto di Marmora, known to all Europe by his Topographical Survey, and
his able work, the _Voyage en Sardaigne_, of which two additional
volumes have been recently published. But, perhaps, his devotion to the
best interests of the Sarde people, his labours in that cause, and the
esteem and affection with which he is universally regarded in the island
are less understood. Enjoying also the confidence of the king and his
ministers, General La Marmora is eminently fitted to carry out the
beneficial designs which he has long conceived and furthered; but his
advanced age precludes the hope of his seeing them accomplished. May his
mantle fall on no unworthy successor!