Modern Italy occupies the central of the three great peninsulas of
southern Europe, together with Sicily, Sardinia, and some smaller
islands. The peninsula, which at the Strait of Otranto approaches
within less than fifty miles of Albania, is bounded west and south
by that portion of the Mediterranean known as the Tyrrhenian Sea,
east by the Adriatic, and north by the Alps, separating it from
France, Switzerland and Austro-Hungary. The frontier with France is
estimated at three hundred and seven miles; with Switzerland at four
hundred and seven miles; and with Austria at four hundred and
sixty-six miles. Its greatest length is seven hundred and ten miles;
the breadth ranges from three hundred and fifty-one miles in the
north to about twenty between the Gulfs of St. Eufemia and
Squillace, but in most places is about ninety or one hundred miles.
The seaboard of the peninsula extends to two thousand two hundred
and seventy-two miles.
=Mountains and General Configuration.=--On the northern frontier the
Alps sweep round in a mighty arc from Nice to Trieste, running out in
places into Piedmont, Lombardy, and Venice. For the most part they rise
steep and abrupt, except where their wall is pierced by long, deep
valleys; and some of the loftiest peaks in the system, including Mont
Blanc and Monte Rosa, belong to this mountain-girdle.
The highest mountain entirely within the kingdom is Gran Paradiso, the
culminating point of the Graian Alps, in Piedmont. Between the Alps and
the Apennines spreads the broad fertile Lombardo-Venetian plain, a
nearly level country, which differs altogether in character from the
peninsula to the south, and for a long period was politically distinct
from it. Most of this great alluvial tract, which fills nearly the whole
of northern Italy, belongs to the basin of the Po; it is irrigated by
numerous streams and canals, and is one of the most fruitful and
flourishing districts of Italy.
This great northern plain--generally but a few feet above
sea-level--round which the Alps rise like a wall, is believed to have
been at one period an extension of the Adriatic Gulf, which has been
gradually filled up with rich alluvial soil worn down from the steep
sides of the mountains by the snow-fed torrents.
=The Apennines.=--The form of all the more strictly peninsular part of
Italy is given by the central range of the Apennines, which extends
continuously through its length from the maritime Alps of France, round
the head of the Gulf of Genoa, down to Cape Spartivento in the extreme
south. The Apennines have their highest part, called the Gran Sasso
d’Italia, “the great rock of Italy,” near the center of the long range.
The slopes of these heights to the sea, northeast and southwest, are so
short as to allow of only small rivers.
Nearly parallel with the southern part of the Apennine range, and
westward of it, there appears a more recent chain of isolated volcanic
heights. Chief of these, on the peninsula, is the cone of Vesuvius,
which rises abruptly from the Campagna of Naples, above the old cities
of Herculaneum and Pompeii, buried by its lava streams and ashes. North
of Rome, in this volcanic region, the round lakes of Bolsena and
Bracciano occupy the craters of old volcanoes. Carrying the line
southward, across the Tyrrhenian Sea, we come to the volcanic group of
the Lipari Islands, with the ever-active volcano of Stromboli; and
farther on to Mount Etna, in Sicily, the highest of European volcanoes.
Almost all the rest of Sicily, not volcanic, is covered with mountains
of moderate elevation, the main line of which extends along the northern
side of the island from east to west as if in continuation of the course
of the Apennines across the narrow Straight of Messina.
=Islands and their Surface.=--The island of Sardinia, separated from
Corsica by the Strait of Bonifacio, one hundred and fifty miles long
from north to south, is for the most part mountainous, especially along
the eastern side, in the middle of which rises the granitic Mount
Gennargentu.
The island of Elba, famous as the place of Napoleon’s exile, between
Corsica and the peninsula, eighteen miles long, is high, its western
part being formed by Mount Capanne, which rises to three thousand three
hundred and twenty-three feet. Capri, south of the Bay of Naples, where
the Emperor Tiberius passed the last ten years of his life, and Caprera,
Garibaldi’s home, on the north coast of Sardinia, are other noteworthy
islands.
=Rivers and Coast Waters.=--The principal rivers are fed from the Alpine
lakes. The Po, which descends from Monte Viso, on the western frontier,
and, as it sweeps across the plain, receives the contributions of
numerous important streams, ranks for its volume of water among the
notable rivers of Europe. It is navigable for three hundred and twenty
out of its four hundred and twenty miles, and several of its tributaries
are also navigable. Many of the Po’s tributaries spread out at the foot
of the Alps.
The province of Venice, to the north and east of the Po, is traversed by
the Adige, Brenta, Piave and Tagliamento.
Along the coast of the Adriatic, north and south of the Po delta, there
exist large tracts of salt water, known as lagoons, in a flat and marshy
district. They are separated from the sea by narrow banks of sand in
which are inlets, so that the lagoons serve as harbors. The chief of
these is that in which Venice is situated. It extends over nearly forty
miles from Torcello in the north to Chioggia and Brondolo in the south.
The other coast-line of northern Italy is formed by a narrow strip of
land, closed in by the steep, abrupt rocks of the Apennines, and known
as the Italian Riviera.
The Arno, next to the Tiber the most considerable river of central
Italy, rises on Mount Falterona, an offset of the Apennines, at four
thousand four hundred and forty-four feet above sea-level, and
twenty-five miles north of Arezzo. It flows one hundred and forty miles
westward to the sea, eleven miles below Pisa. At Florence it is four
hundred feet wide, but is fordable in summer.
The Tiber, the chief river of central Italy, and the most famous in the
peninsula, rises in a dell of the Tuscan Apennines, eleven miles north
of the village of Santo Stefano, whence it winds two hundred and sixty
miles, and enters the Mediterranean by two branches, which enclose the
Isola Sacra. Towns on or near its banks are Perugia, Orvieto, Rome and
Ostia. It is navigable for boats of fifty tons to the confluence of the
Nera, one hundred miles from its mouth. The Tiber is supplied mainly by
turbid mountain-torrents, whence its liability to sudden overflowings.
Its waters, too, are still discolored with yellow mud, as when the poet
Horace described it.
=Lakes.=--To the south of the Alps, in the north of Lombardy and Venice,
lie the beautiful Italian lakes, Lago di Garda, Maggiore, Como, Lugano,
and Orto.
LAKE OF COMO, the Lacus Larius of the Romans, is generally considered
the most beautiful of the group. It is about thirty-six miles long, and
its greatest width is three miles. Its shores are studded with
picturesque villages and charming villas, with a background of forest
and mountains, some of which are seven thousand feet high. The loveliest
point is Bellagio, where the lake divides into two arms. Cadenabbia, on
the western shore opposite Bellagio, is also a pleasant place.
Como, at the other extremity, is a thriving town of twenty-five thousand
inhabitants, the birthplace of Pliny the Younger and of Volta. The
cathedral is one of the best in Northern Italy.
LAKE OF LUGANO, between Como and Maggiore, though much smaller than
either, is scarcely their inferior in the loveliness of its scenery. It
lies at the southern foot of the Alps, eight hundred and eighty-nine
feet above sea-level. Its length is fourteen and one-half miles; average
breadth one and one-quarter miles; area nineteen and one-half square
miles; maximum depth nine hundred and fifteen feet, and average depth
two hundred and forty-six feet.
LAKE MAGGIORE (_Madjō´ray_), the largest of the Italian lakes, is about
forty-five miles in length, averages three miles in breadth, lies six
hundred and forty-six feet above sea-level, and has a maximum depth of
one thousand two hundred and fifty feet. The river Ticino flows through
it. In a southwestern expansion of the lake are the Borromean Isles. On
the Isola Bella is the large palace built by Count Vitaleo Borromeo
about a century ago, with terraced gardens, fountains, grottoes, etc.,
all very elaborate and artificial.
LAKE GARDA, a beautiful, clear lake, lies between Lombardy and Venetia,
its northern end extending into the Austrian Tyrol. Situated two hundred
and twenty-six feet above sea-level, it has an area of one hundred and
fifteen square miles, a greatest length of thirty-five miles, a breadth
of two to eleven miles, and a maximum depth of nine hundred and
sixty-seven feet. The surface is studded with many islands. It is
drained by the Mincio, a tributary of the Po. The mild climate and the
beauty of the vicinity have caused its shores to be lined with villas.
=Climatic and Landscape Features.=--The north of Italy has the excessive
climate of the temperate region of continental Europe; in the central
parts of the peninsula the climate becomes more genial and sunny, and to
the south almost tropical. The plain of Lombardy, with an average
temperature of fifty-five degrees Fahrenheit, has winters which are as
cold as those of the Scottish lowlands, and the lagoons of Venice have
been frozen over; but its summers are as hot as those of Rome or Nice.
The changes are few; rain lasts for weeks together in autumn, but in
summer the blue sky is never clouded except when a violent thunder and
hailstorm occurs.
About Florence the winters are much milder, with the same summer heat,
and this difference between the seasons decreases still more to
southward.
The summer of the Campagna of Rome, when a heat mist rises over the
plain, is almost unbearable; in January the sky is blue, the mornings
may be frosty, and fresh spring air blows over the land; in March the
trees are already leafy, and in June the harvest begins; in July
everything withers under the excessive heat, till the autumn rains
revive the land.
In Naples and South Italy the sky is cloudless for months together, and
the air is so pure that distant plains appear to be close at hand.
The chief faults of the Italian climate are the cold mountain winds
called the Tramontana, like the mistral of south France, and the Bora of
the north Adriatic, and, in contrast, the hot Sirocco, which
occasionally blows from the African deserts, besides the malaria of the
western coast marshes and of the Venetian lagoons.
Round the lakes at the base of the steep southern slope of the Alps,
Mediterranean forms of vegetation appear; the chestnut reaches up to two
thousand five hundred feet; above that comes the belt of beeches and
oaks, still higher the pine woods, then the pretty alpine plants and
high pastures. Scarcely any part of the world is so covered with
irrigating canals as the highly cultivated plain of Lombardy, so that
the whole of it appears like a great garden. At the northern base of the
Apennines the Mediterranean flora of laurels and myrtles, cork oak and
cypress, covers the first slopes; above that groups of oaks appear, then
beech woods and the extensive summer pastures which reach all over the
Apennine range. The Apennines have no permanent snows, but their highest
summits are frequently snow-clad between October and May, and send down
cold breezes into the warm valleys.
In Sicily the vegetation takes an African character, and many tropical
forms flourish; it is not a well-wooded island, but forests occur here
and there.
=Riviera= (_Ree-vee-ay´ra_ “seashore”), is a term applied to the narrow
strip of coast-land bordering the Gulf of Genoa, strictly from Nice to
Spezzia, but generally understood to include the whole coast of the Alps
Maritimes, and the Italian coast as far as Leghorn.
West of Genoa, and extending into France, it is called the Riviera di
Ponente, or western coast, and beyond Genoa the Riviera di Levante, or
eastern coast. From Hyères to Genoa is two hundred and three miles; from
Genoa to Leghorn one hundred and twelve miles. Sheltered on the north by
mountains, the district enjoys an exceptionally favored climate, no
other region north of Palermo and Valencia being so mild in winter.
The western section is the mildest and most frequented. It abounds in
the most striking and beautiful scenery, and is planted with numerous
health and fashion resorts--Nice, Monaco, Mentone, Ventimiglia, San
Remo, Bordighera, etc.; and west of Nice are Hyères, Fréjus, Cannes,
Gresse, Antibes.
The famous Corniche (Ital. _Cornice_) road, widened by Napoleon I.,
leads along the Mediterranean coast from Nice to Genoa, and commands
magnificent views.
=Products and Industries.=--Of the whole surface of Italy it is
estimated that eighty-three per cent is suitable for cultivation. The
greatest proportion of agricultural land, however, lies in the great
plain of Lombardy and the Campagna Felice of Naples. Notwithstanding
this, the supply of corn grown in Italy is not sufficient for its wants,
and more is imported from Russia, Egypt and North America. Maize and
wheat afford the staple food of the lower classes, as polenta and
macaroni.
=Agriculture and Stock-Raising.=--A sixth of the area of the kingdom is
covered with wood or bush, the island of Sardinia having the largest
forests of all the kingdom--the districts of Lake Como, of southern
Tuscany, and Genoa, being the best wooded parts of the mainland. The
olive grows all over peninsular Italy, and enormous quantities of oil
are produced, much being exported.
All parts of the country are suited to vine-growing. Most wine, however,
is made in south Italy and Sicily. Most horses are bred in Lombardy,
where cattle are also numerous on the dairy farms, which supply enormous
quantities of cheese. Tuscany has most sheep; Sicily the finest mules
and asses; Umbria the greatest number of swine. Coral fishers go out
from Naples, Leghorn (Livorno), and Genoa to the coasts of the Balearic
Isles and of Algeria and Tunis in large numbers.
=Minerals.=--The most important mineral product of Italy is the sulphur
of Sicily; iron is widely distributed, but is obtained in most
considerable quantity in Lombardy and Liguria; lead is an important
product of Tuscany; sea salt of the vicinity of Cagliari, the chief town
of the island of Sardinia. Famous pure white marble is quarried at
Carrara and Massa, on the northwest coast-land of Tuscany.
=Manufactures.=--The zenith period of Italian manufactures, when Milan
was famous for its wool-workers, Venice for its dyes, Florence for its
cloth, has long since passed away, and in this respect Italy now
occupies a low position.
Silk-growing, spinning, and weaving it, is now the most important
branch, and in this the towns of Lombardy--Bergamo, Como, Milan,
Turin--take the lead, followed by those in the plain round Naples, and
by Catania and Palermo in Sicily. Glass-making has also fallen from its
old position; the works at Intra, on Lake Maggiore, and the manufacture
of beads and mosaics at Venice, are, however, still very important.
Porcelain is made chiefly at Milan and Florence; straw hats at Vicenza,
in Venetia, and in Tuscany, whence they come to us as Leghorn hats, from
the port at which they are shipped.
=People and Language.=--The present Italian people have arisen from a
perfect chaos of races. The ancient Ligurians of Iberian race and the
Umbrians of the north were joined, from an unknown quarter, by the
strange people called Etruscans or Tuscans by the Romans, who exercised
such an immense influence on European civilization. The Greeks peopled
the south, and held Sicily along with the Phœnicians; the Romans spread
out from the center of the peninsula to extend their conquests far
beyond its limits; then the Goths and Franks poured in from the north,
and after them the Longobards, who gave their name to Lombardy. The
Savoyards and Waldenses of the valleys of Piedmont along the French
border appear to be of Gallic descent. Insular Sardinia was free from
the irruptions of the northern people, but came under the influence of
the Greeks, the Arabs, and then of the Spaniards.
Here, as in France and Spain, the Roman language endured and prevailed
over all others, and now the people of Italy have one language and
literature, the Italian, descended from the Latin. Its dialects show
traces of the mixture of nationalities, but the Tuscan has now become
classic, for the great writers, like Dante and Boccassio were Tuscans.
=Religion.=--The Roman Catholic Church is reorganized as the state
church, but toleration is granted to all creeds. Over ninety-seven per
cent of the population is Roman Catholic. By the Act of 1871 the rank of
the Pope as a sovereign prince is recognized, the Vatican and Lateran
palaces and the papal villa at Castel Gandolfo having the privilege of
exterritoriality. Protestants number about sixty-six thousand, which
include some twenty-two thousand Waldensians; and there are about
thirty-eight thousand Jews, and about two thousand five hundred members
of the Greek Orthodox Church.
=Education= is controlled by the state under a minister of public
instruction, assisted by a council. Primary education is free and
compulsory, and the state also maintains, partly or wholly, secondary,
technical schools, and the universities. There are thirteen
universities. Private schools may not be opened without state
authorization.
=Cities.=--The largest city is Naples. Rome is the capital. Milan,
Turin, Palermo, Genoa, Florence, rank next. There are four others with
about one hundred and fifty thousand, and twenty-three towns over fifty
thousand.
=ROME=, the “city of the seven hills,” contains more objects of interest
than any other city in the world. It is situated mainly on the left or
east bank of the Tiber, about fifteen miles from its mouth. The river,
which has here an average breadth of two hundred feet, is spanned by
eleven bridges in its course from north to south through the city.
=The Seven Hills.=--On the left bank rise the famous seven hills of
ancient Rome, which, from north to south, are the Aventine, Cœlian,
Palatine, Capitoline, Esquiline, Viminal, and Quirinal. These hills rise
from eighty to one hundred and twenty feet above the river and the
intervening valleys.
[Illustration: =VIEW OF ROME FROM ST. PETER’S=]
The Royal Palace and chief public offices are upon, or adjoin, the
Quirinal Hill. The Aventine and the Cœlian are, in large part, not built
upon. The Esquiline and Viminal are modern industrial quarters. The
Palatine, with the Forum below it on the east, are covered with
important ancient ruins. The Capitoline, crowned by the Capitol, the
most imposing of the hills, the center of ancient life and worships,
has, apart from the new monument of Victor Emmanuel, suffered little
change since the sixteenth century.
=Mediæval and Rome= occupies chiefly the plain, known as the Campus
Martius of ancient times, nearer the river, and on the slopes of the
Pincian Hill, to the north, extending thence eastward to the Quirinal
and Viminal. The smaller part of Rome, on the right or west bank,
comprises the Borgo, or district, containing St. Peter’s, the Vatican,
the Castle of St. Angelo, and the Janiculum Hill, to the north, with the
Trastevere quarter, to the south.
The entire city is surrounded by a wall fourteen miles in circuit, with
thirteen gates, the wall on the left bank being substantially identical
with Aurelian’s Wall, built in the third century; while the Leonine Wall
round the Borgo was extended in the early sixteenth century.
=Modern Features and Districts.=--The business part of the city occupies
the plain on the bank between the hills and river, traversed by the Via
del Corso, the principal thoroughfare in Rome, about a mile in length,
leading from the Porto del Popolo to the foot of the Capitoline Hill,
where is situated the great National Monument to Victor Emmanuel. From
the Piazza del Popolo two great streets diverge on either side of the
Corso, the Via di Ripetta to the right, skirting the Tiber, and to the
left the Via del Babuino, leading to the Piazza di Spagna, whence the
Scala di Spagna, the resort of artists’ models, ascends to the Pincian
Gardens, on the site of the gardens of Lucullus, which command a
splendid view of the city, and form the fashionable drive and promenade.
Of the new streets the most important are the Via Venti Settembre, the
Via Cavour, and the Via Nazionale. The older foreign quarter lay at the
foot of the Pincian, around the Piazza di Spagna, but the healthier
sites on the slopes and summits of the Quirinal and Esquiline are now
more frequented.
Rome abounds in open Squares (_Piazzas_) adorned with fountains,
obelisks, or statues. Eleven Egyptian obelisks still ornament the
gardens and piazzas of Rome, brought by Augustus and others. That in the
Piazza of St. John Lateran, one hundred and four feet in height, is the
largest in existence. It was erected at Thebes by Thothmes III., and
removed by Constantine to the Circus Maximus. The triumphal arches of
Septimius Severus, of Titus, and of Constantine are still conspicuous.
Of the bridges over the Tiber, three are ancient.
The antiquities are legion, some of the most interesting are clustered
within the area from the Colosseum to the crest of the Capitoline Hill.
[Illustration: =SITE OF THE FORUM OF TRAJAN=
The Forum consisted of three parts: the forum proper, the huge Basilica
Ulpie, and the temple of Trajan, with it colonnaded inclosure. It was
once the grandest building in Rome. Trajan’s Column, still standing, is
a Roman Doric column of marble, on a square basement, the total height,
exclusive of the present statue of St. Peter, being one hundred and
twenty-seven and one-half feet. The entire shaft is occupied by vigorous
and lifelike reliefs ascending in a spiral, representing Trajan’s
campaigns. The reliefs contain about two thousand five hundred human
figures, besides those of animals and inanimate objects.]
=Famous Architectural Edifices, Ancient and Modern.=--The remains of
ancient Rome have suffered severely from the vandalism and the neglect
of past centuries, but they are now carefully preserved. The Forum, in
some places nearly forty feet below the present street level, has been
in great part excavated, and near it are many vestiges of by-gone Roman
splendor, including columns, arches and ruins of temples.
ROMAN FORUM.--In remote times, the marshy ground which later became the
site of this famous Forum served as _neutral territory_ whereon both the
Romans (who occupied the Palatine Hill), and the Sabines (who occupied
the Capitoline Hill) could meet. Gradually it became a market-place and
an exchange, till, at length, all the important business of Rome and of
the Empire came to be concentrated in and about the Forum.
A portico was built around the Forum, the first story being devoted to
shops and the second to offices for the collection of taxes. After some
centuries, these were destroyed by fire, when various basilicas and
temples were erected in their places. The Forum existed as such till the
eleventh century, A. D., when it was totally destroyed by Robert
Guiscard. Becoming then a waste, the rubbish of the city was thrown
there until the entire space was filled to the depth of twenty-four feet
and the location and names of the ancient buildings lost. In the revival
of learning, in the sixteenth century, interest began to be awakened in
the ruins of ancient Rome, and, in 1547, excavations of the Forum were
commenced, under Paul III., which, with much irregularity have continued
to the present day.
[Illustration: =ARCH OF SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS=
An arch in the Roman Forum, dedicated 203 A. D., in commemoration of
victories over the Parthians. It is of Pentelic marble, with a central
arch and two side arches, flanked by four Corinthian columns on each
face. There are panels over the side arches and a frieze above all with
reliefs of Roman triumphs.]
[Illustration: =ARCH OF CONSTANTINE=
Built in 312 A. D. in honor of Constantine’s triumph over Maxentius.
Much of its abundant sculpture was taken from the destroyed church of
Trajan.]
The most conspicuous remains of the Forum are the columns of the Temple
of Saturn, the temples of Castor and Pollux and of Vesta, and on its
northern side the arch of Septimius Severus, the Curia, the Basilica
Æmilia, and the temples of Antoninus and Faustina and of Romulus. In the
middle of the eastern part rose the temple and forum of Julius Cæsar.
The more ancient and famous forum from which Cicero spoke was at the
western end.
The latest excavations in the Roman Forum, including the stele and black
stone of Romulus, the Basilica Æmilia, the Chapel of Santa Maria
Antiqua, and the House of the Vestal Virgins, are of extraordinary
interest.
It was traversed by the _Via Sacra_, a winding road which led from the
southern gate of Rome to the Capitol, and was the route by which
triumphal processions passed to the Temple of Jupiter. The Arch of Titus
was at its summit. The great blocks of lava with which this road was
paved still, for the most part, remain.
Beyond it stands the great Column of Trajan, one hundred and twenty-four
feet in height, with spiral bas-reliefs representing scenes from
Trajan’s campaigns against the Dacians, forming the most instructive
historical monument in Rome.
=Palaces and Art Collections.=--THE VATICAN PALACE, the residence of the
pope, adjoining St. Peter’s, enjoys along with the Lateran the privilege
of “exterritoriality.” The massive building, said to include eleven
thousand apartments, contains the finest extant collection of ancient
sculpture, with many celebrated statues, a rich gallery of paintings, a
famous library, and other collections, besides the Sistine Chapel,
adorned with frescoes by Michaelangelo and other masters, and the Stanze
and Loggie, with paintings by Raphael and his contemporaries.
[Illustration: =VATICAN PALACE AND GARDENS=]
[Illustration: =THRONE ROOM OF THE POPE, VATICAN PALACE=]
THE QUIRINAL PALACE, another huge pile on the hill of that name, is
occupied by the king. In the Piazza del Quirinale are two famous marble
groups of Horse-Tamers.
THE VILLA UMBERTO PRIMO, formerly Borghese, outside the Porta del
Popolo, is noted for its beautiful grounds, which are a favorite
promenade connecting with that on the Pincian Hill by an embankment and
bridge opened in 1908. The Casino contains the picture-gallery formerly
in the Palazzo Borghese. It is now an important National Museum, and is
arranged according to schools. Among the masterpieces are Titian’s
Sacred and Profane Love, Raphael’s Entombment, Correggio’s Danaë, etc.
THE PALAZZO BARBERINI, built by Urban VIII., is a large and magnificent
structure, but chiefly notable for a small picture-gallery, the gems of
which are Raphael’s Fornarina, and Guido’s Beatrice Cenci. The library
contains seven thousand manuscripts, many of which are rare.
VILLA MEDICI (_ma´de-che_), was built in 1540, south of the Pincio, for
Cardinal Ricci. About 1600 it came into the possession of the Medici
family, and afterward into that of the grand dukes of Tuscany. Galileo
was confined there 1630-1633. The French Academy of Art, founded by
Louis XIV., was transferred to it in 1801, and it has a fine collection
of casts.
PALACES OF THE EMPERORS.--On the western side of the Forum Romanum rises
the Palatine Hill, its summit covered with the substructures of the
Palaces of the Emperors, the Houses of Augustus, of Tiberius, of Livia,
of Caligula, of Domitian, and of Hadrian. Most magnificent of all is the
Palace of Septimius Severus, rising in seven stages of massive masonry,
which form a southern extension of the Palatine Hill.
Besides these imperial palaces, the Palatine included a magnificent
Stadium, the most perfect in existence, imperial reception halls,
several temples, with gardens, baths, barracks for soldiers, and a
basilica or hall of justice, in which St. Paul must have pleaded before
the emperor.
The Golden House of Nero, built on the opposite side of the Forum, and
occupying the greater portion of the Oppian Hill, was demolished to make
room for the Colosseum and the Baths of Titus.
THE COLISEUM (or Colosseum), originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre,
was begun by Vespasian in A. D. 72, and dedicated by Titus eight years
later. It was built for gladiatorial exhibitions and for the combats of
wild beasts. It is the largest structure of the kind ever built, being
capable of seating from forty to fifty thousand spectators. Though
scarcely a third of the original edifice remains, it is by far the most
imposing monument of antiquity that the Imperial City has to show.
THE PANTHEON is the most perfect of the ancient buildings in Rome. It
was built B. C. 27 by M. Agrippa, and restored by Septimius Severus and
Caracalla about A. D. 202, and has suffered much since. The vast round
walls of brick, twenty feet thick, were once covered with marble. The
portico (now below, but once above, the square) has sixteen huge
monolithic columns of Oriental granite, thirty-nine feet high, with
Corinthian capitals of famed beauty. Statues of Augustus and Agrippa
once stood here. The circular interior is very impressive, and is
lighted from a place twenty-eight feet across in the center of the dome,
open to the sky.
This unrivalled dome is one hundred and forty feet high and one hundred
and forty feet across. The gilded bronze roof-tiles were carried to
Constantinople in 655; and all the other bronzes were used in making
cannon for the citadel and the canopy in St. Peter’s. The seven niches
in which statues of the gods stood are now occupied by altars. Raphael
is buried here, near his betrothed, Cardinal Bibiena’s niece; and here
is the tomb of King Victor Emmanuel of Italy.
THE CAPITOL, which is one hundred and sixty feet above the sea level and
is best approached by the grand staircase known as La Cordonnata. At its
foot are two lions of Egyptian porphyry; at its head the ancient
colossal statues of Castor and Pollux. Beyond these on either side are
the sculptures misnamed “the Trophies of Marius” and the statues of
Constantine and his son from the Baths of Constantine on the Quirinal.
The open space here is the Piazza del Campidoglio, the ancient
Intermontium, where Brutus harangued the people after the murder of
Cæsar. In the center is the celebrated statue of Marcus Aurelius, “the
only perfect ancient equestrian statue in existence.” It owes its
preservation to the fact that it was long supposed to be a statue of
Constantine. On the right is the Palace of the Conservatori, on the left
the Museum of the Capitol, both designed by Michaelangelo; between the
two, occupying the third side of the square, is the Palace of the
Senator, on the site of the ancient Tabularium. The fountain at the foot
of the stairs is adorned with statues of river-gods, the Tiber and the
Nile. The tower contains the great bell which is rung only to announce
the opening of the carnival or the death of a pope.
THE CAPITOLINE MUSEUM contains some of the most famous sculptures
extant, as the Dying Gladiator, the Venus of the Capitol, the Faun of
Praxiteles, the Antinous, etc. There is also the rich collection of
busts and statues of Roman emperors and empresses, statesmen,
philosophers, etc., “perhaps the most interesting portrait gallery in
the world.”
[Illustration: =VILLA UMBERTO PRIMO (FORMERLY VILLA BORGHESE), ROME=
Has art collections considered only second in importance to that of the
Vatican, and, despite the removal of many works, the number of really
great paintings retains for the collection its old pre-eminence.]
[Illustration: =THE MAGNIFICENT VILLA MEDICI, ROME=]
=Famous Churches.=--Ancient Rome contained about three hundred temples,
and modern Rome has about as many churches, eighty of which are
dedicated to the Virgin. St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, S. Maria
Maggiore on the top of the Esquiline, S. Paolo fuori le Mura (“outside
the walls”), perhaps the most gorgeously decorated church in Rome, and
S. Lorenzo fuori le Mura are the five Patriarchal churches, to one or
other of which all believers throughout the world are supposed to
belong. With Santa Croce in Gerusalemme and S. Sebastiano, they make up
the famous “Seven Churches of Rome” frequented by pilgrims. They are
also unsurpassed in their rich architectural and art interests.
ST. PETER’S, adjoining the Vatican, perhaps the most famous and
certainly the largest church in the world, has an area nearly twice that
of St. Paul’s in London, while its dome rises to the height of four
hundred and three feet.
Many architects were concerned in the building of the Cathedral of St.
Peter, but the principal credit is assigned to Bramante, the creator of
the design, and to Michaelangelo, whose chief work is the dome. To the
spectator, approaching from the Piazza di San Pietro, the majesty of the
dome is lost behind the façade, erected at the instance of Pope Paul V.
at the end of the nave lengthened by him in order to work out the idea
of a Latin cross; the design of Bramante was a Greek cross.
[Illustration: =CHURCH OF ST. JOHN LATERAN, ROME, THE MOTHER CHURCH OF
CHRISTENDOM=]
The building was commenced in 1506, but was not completed until 1626;
the total cost of erection was about fifty million dollars, and its
maintenance absorbs annually about forty thousand dollars.
It covers about eighteen thousand square yards; the length is two
hundred and thirty-two yards, of the transept one hundred and fifty
yards; height of the nave one hundred and fifty-one feet; height of the
dome from the pavement to the summit of the lantern four hundred and
four feet; to the summit of the cross four hundred and thirty-four feet.
Besides the high altar there are twenty-nine other altars; the high
altar being immediately over the Tomb of St. Peter. Round the Confessio
are ninety-five lamps, always lighted. The bronze statue of St. Peter,
on white marble, under a canopy, is by a pillar; the right foot of which
is worn smooth by the kisses of worshipers.
ST. JOHN LATERAN. (It. _San Giovanni in Laterano_), adjoining the papal
palace of the Lateran, claims to be the mother-church of all
Christendom. It was originally named from the Roman family Lateranus.
Beside it are its ancient Baptistery and a building enclosing the Scala
Santa, brought from Pilate’s palace in Jerusalem in 326.
Many other of the Roman churches contain treasures of art or are
interesting for their structure or history. S. Maria Sopra Minerva is
the only ancient Gothic church in the city. S. Pietro in Vincoli
contains Michaelangelo’s famous statue of Moses; and S. Maria delle Pace
Raphael’s beautiful frescoes of the Sibyls. The Gesù is the chief church
of the Jesuits. San Carlo al Corso is the fashionable church.
=Roads.=--The roads leading out of Rome beyond the Servian Walls were
bordered by tombs, many of which, on the erection of the Aurelian Wall,
were included within the city. The most famous of these celebrated roads
was the:
APPIAN WAY (called Regina Viarum) was begun B. C. 312 by Appius
Claudius, and ran to Capua, and afterwards to Brindisi, forming main
route to southern Italy, Greece and Egypt. There are beautiful views all
along, of Campagna, aqueducts, and Alban Mountains.
[Illustration: =APPIAN WAY=
A famous Roman military road, the skill with which it is taken through
difficult country, over hills, ravines, and marshes, is remarkable.
Horace, in his first satire, describes a journey along it, and St. Paul
came this way into Rome (Acts xxviii. 15).]
On Via Appia are Catacombs of S. Calixtus, with tombs of St. Cecilia and
many second and third century popes and martyrs, and seventh-century
Byzantine paintings. A quarter of a mile beyond is very ancient S.
Sebastiano Church under which are extensive catacombs. On a hill still
beyond stands the famous Tomb of Cæcilia Metella, round, sixty-five feet
in diameter, and in thirteenth century a tower of now vanished castle of
the Gaetani. Beyond, the Way is bordered by ancient tombs on either
side, and the old Latin pavement is the road-bed.
At Trivoli is Hadrian’s Villa (Villa Adriana) an extensive ruin, with
the gardens covering about 170 acres.
[Illustration: =POPE PIUS X. IN THE BED IN WHICH HE DIED=
(_Picture by Cav. G. Felici_)]
[Illustration: =PROCLAMATION OF POPE BENEDICT XV.= (Cardinal della
Chiesa) =IN FRONT OF ST. PETER’S, ROME= (_From a Painting_)]
=Florence= (Lat. _Florentia_ Ital. _Firenze_), one of the most famous of
Italian cities, is situated fifty miles from the sea, in the valley of
the Arno, and is built on both sides of the river, but chiefly on the
north. The outlying suburbs are singularly beautiful, and are surrounded
by finely wooded hills, bright with gay villas and charming gardens. The
old city itself is characterized by a somber grandness, and is full of
fine buildings of historic and artistic interest.
The chief building in the city is the Duomo, or Cathedral, the
foundations of which were laid with great solemnity in 1298; but not
until 1887 was the completed façade uncovered. The church contains
sculptures by Ghiberti, Luca della Robbia, Michælangelo, Sansovino,
Bandinelli, and other famous artists.
At the side of the cathedral springs up the light and elegant Campanile,
detached, according to the custom of the times. In front is the
Baptistery in the form of an octagon, supporting a cupola and lantern.
Three bronze gates in basso rilievo are a great additional adornment of
the Baptistery; the two by Ghiberti have been immortalized by
Michælangelo, with the name of Gates of Paradise.
The church of the Santa Croce, the Pantheon of Florence (built in 1294),
contains monuments to Galileo, Dante, Macchiavelli, Michælangelo,
Alfieri and others.
Among the numerous palaces Il Bargello, long a prison, but now restored
and opened as a national museum, is one of the most ancient.
The Palazzo Vecchio, the seat of the republican government from its
establishment till its abolition in 1530, is an imposing mass of
building. Adjoining the palace is the Piazza della Signoria, a square
containing a fine collection of statues, and a noble arcade, the Loggia
dei Lanzi.
The Uffizi Palace is a handsome building adjoining the Palazzo Vecchio,
founded by Cosmo I. On the second floor is contained the famous
Florentine gallery of art. A splendid apartment, known as the Tribuna,
contains the rarest treasures of the collection.
The Pitti Palace, formerly the grand-ducal residence, boasts of a superb
gallery of paintings. Behind it are the beautiful Boboli Gardens royal.
The Strozzi Palace is a fine type of Tuscan architecture.
Florence is the city of Dante, Petrarch, Michaelangelo, Leonardo da
Vinci, Boccaccio, Machiavelli, Galileo and many more of Italy’s great
men, and has a history of exceptional interest. It is an educational
center, and carries on a trade in straw-plaiting and silk, sculptures,
jewelry, and exquisite mosaics in rare stones.
=Genoa= (Ital. _Genova_), is situated on the Mediterranean gulf of the
same name, at the foot of the Apennines, and is an important seaport. By
rail it is eight hundred and one miles southeast of Paris, one hundred
and seventy-one miles northeast of Marseilles, and ninety-three miles
southwest of Milan. The slopes of the hills behind the city down to the
shore are covered with buildings, terraced gardens, and orange and
pomegranate groves; while the bleak summits of the loftier ranges,
rising still farther back, are capped with strong forts, batteries, and
outworks.
While strikingly grand as viewed from the sea, and so far worthy of
being entitled “Genoa the Superb,” is in reality built awkwardly on
irregular rising ground, and consists of a labyrinth of narrow and
intricate lanes. Of the palaces the most famous are the former palace of
the doges, now the meeting-place of the senate; and the Doria, presented
in 1529 to the great Genoese citizen Andrea Doria. Foremost among the
churches stands the Cathedral, a grand twelfth-century pile in the
Italian Gothic style. The marble Municipal Palace and the palace of the
Dogana must also be mentioned.
To Columbus and Mazzini, Genoa’s most famous sons, there are fine
monuments.
It is the commercial outlet for a wide extent of country, of which the
chief exports are rice, wine, olive-oil, silk goods, coral, paper,
macaroni and marble. The principal industrial establishments of the city
embrace ironworks, cotton and cloth mills, macaroni-works, tanneries,
sugar-refineries, and vesta-match, filigree, and paper factories. Genoa
benefited greatly by the opening of the St. Gothard Railway.
=Milan= (_me-lan´_, _mil´an_. Ital. _Milano_, _mee-lah´no_), the capital
of Lombardy, is one of the largest and wealthiest cities of Italy. It
was an important town under the Romans, was sacked by Attila in 452,
totally destroyed by Frederic Barbarossa in 1162, and has figured
prominently in more recent history.
The city, nearly circular in shape, is surrounded on three sides by
walls, has a circuit of nearly eight miles, and is entered by fourteen
gates.
Of the numerous churches the magnificent Gothic Cathedral is the most
famous. It is second only to St. Peter’s and Seville Cathedrals in size
and was built principally during the period 1386-1500. After many delays
and interruptions, work was resumed under Napoleon I. in 1805, but is
not yet fully completed. The façade has recently been restored. It is
cruciform, with double aisles and transept-aisles, separated by
fifty-two pillars, each twelve feet in diameter, with niches crowded
with statues. Interior four hundred and seventy-seven feet long, one
hundred and eighty-three feet wide and one hundred and fifty-five feet
high. It contains six thousand statues, a pavement of marble mosaic,
vast granite monoliths, superb stained windows, many tombs of magnates,
St. Carlo Borromeo’s wooden crucifix and gorgeous tomb, and life-size
silver statues of saints. The wonderful marble roof is studded with
ninety-eight Gothic turrets, hundreds of pinnacles, and over two
thousand life-size marble statues.
Of the other churches S. Maria delle Grazie (fifteenth century), partly
the work of Bremante, was originally an abbey church, and the refectory
in the rear contains Leonardo da Vinci’s celebrated fresco of the Last
Supper, which, in 1909, was successfully restored.
The Brera Palace (twelfth century), formerly a Jesuit college, has now a
great gallery of paintings by Raphael, Da Vinci, Luini, Mantegna, the
Bellinis, Titian, Vandyck, and others, an academy of art, a collection
of casts, the magnificent monument of Gaston de Foix, the National
Library, an archaeological museum, and an observatory.
The colonnade of Victor Emmanuel Gallery is the finest arcade in the
world, and was built in 1865-1867 at a cost of one million six hundred
thousand dollars. It is nine hundred and sixty feet long, forty-eight
feet wide, ninety-four feet high, surrounded by handsome shops, richly
frescoed, and adorned with statues of Raphael, Galileo, Dante, Cavour,
and twenty other famous Italians. The octagon under the dome (one
hundred and eighty feet high) is brilliantly lighted at night, when it
forms a favorite promenade.
On the adjacent Piazza della Scala is Leonardo da Vinci’s monument, and
the massive Municipal Palace. The Arch of Peace, built of white marble,
commemorates the exploits of Napoleon. The Della Scala Opera House is
the second in size (after San Carlo at Naples) in Italy; and the Milan
conservatoire is the most famous school of music in Europe.
Beccaria, Manzoni, the popes Pius IV. and Gregory XIV. were natives of
Milan. The city now carries on a vast trade, much increased since the
opening of the Gothard railroad, in raw silk, cotton, grain, rice, and
cheese, and manufactures silks, velvets, gold, silver, and iron wares,
railroad carriages, tobacco, porcelain, electrical apparatus, and is an
active center of the printing trade.
=Naples= (Ital. Napoli _nä´pō-lē´_).--The capital of the province of
Naples has a lovely situation within the bend of Naples Bay, spreading
from the foreshore back upon wooded hills and rising terraces, behind
which lie the snow-clad Apennines. To the east lies the old town with
its historic Via di Roma and narrow crowded thoroughfares; the newer
portion to the west is more spaciously laid out, and much has been done
in recent years over the whole city to improve the sanitation and water
supply. The National Museum, rich in Pompeii relics, the University,
the National Library, the Cathedral and the four mediæval gateways are
the chief architectural features.
Large quantities of wine, olive-oil, chemicals, perfumery, etc., are
exported, while woolen, silk, linen, glove and other factories carry on
a good home trade.
Naples became incorporated in the kingdom of Italy in 1861 after the
Bourbon dynasty had been swept away by Garibaldi.
[Illustration: =RUINS OF POMPEII, ITALY=]
POMPEII (pron. _Pom-pay’yee_), once a Greek seaport at the mouth of the
Sarnus, is fifteen miles south of Naples; it fell into the possession of
Rome about 80 B. C., and was converted into a watering-place, “the
pleasure haunt of paganism.” The Romans erected many handsome public
buildings, and their villas and theaters and baths were models of
classic architecture and the scenes of unbounded luxury. The streets
were narrow, provided with sidewalks, the walls often decorated with
paintings, and the number of shops witnesses to the fashion and gaiety
of the town. A terrible earthquake ruined it and drove out the
inhabitants in A. D. 63; they returned and rebuilt it, however, in a
tawdry and decadent style, and luxury and pleasure reigned as before
till in A. D. 79 an eruption of Vesuvius buried everything in lava and
ashes. The ruins were forgotten till accidentally discovered in 1748;
since 1860 the city has been disinterred under the auspices of the
Italian Government, and is now a favorite resort of tourists and
archæologists.
[Illustration: =BEAUTIFUL SORRENTO, ITALY=]
HERCULANEUM, so called from the local worship of Hercules, was situated
at the northwestern base of Mount Vesuvius, five miles east of Naples.
In 63 A. D. it was seriously injured by a violent earthquake, and, in 79
A. D., buried, along with Pompeii and Stabiæ, by the memorable eruption
of Vesuvius. In 1738 systematic excavations were commenced, the chief
building explored being the theater, which has eighteen rows of stone
seats, and could accommodate eight thousand persons; part of the Forum
with a colonnade, two small temples, and a villa have also been
discovered, and from these buildings many beautiful statues and
remarkable paintings have been obtained.
In 1880 ruins of extensive baths were brought to light. Among the
art-relics of Herculaneum, which far exceed in value and interest those
found at Pompeii, are the statues of Eschines, Agrippina, the Sleeping
Faun, the Six Actresses, Mercury, the group of the Satyr and the Goat,
the busts of Plato, Scipio Africanus, Augustus, Seneca and
Demosthenes--mostly now in the National Museum at Naples.
[Illustration: =VIEW OF THE CAMPANILE AND PALACE, VENICE, FROM THE GRAND
CANAL=]
=Palermo= (_pä-ler’mō_), capital of the province of Palermo, Sicily, a
seaport on the Bay of Palermo, at the foot of Monte Pellegrino, is
picturesquely situated in the midst of a beautiful and fertile valley
called the Golden Shell. It is a handsome town, with many public
buildings and nearly three hundred churches in Moorish and Byzantine
architecture, a university, art school, museum, and libraries.
The industries are unimportant, but a busy trade is done with Britain,
France and the United States, exporting fruits, wine, sulphur, etc., and
importing textiles, coal, machinery and grain.
[Illustration: =VISTA ON THE GRAND CANAL, VENICE=]
=Sorrento= (_sōr-ren’tō_), a town in the province of Naples, beautifully
situated on the Bay of Naples, sixteen miles south-southeast of Naples,
is a favorite watering-place; was noted in antiquity for its wines; and
was the birthplace of Tasso.
=Turin= (Ital. Torino _tō-re’nō_).--Capital of the province of Turin,
Italy, is situated on the Po, near its junction with the Dora Riparia.
It is regularly built, with many squares and broad streets; is the seat
of important trade for northern Italy; has varied manufactures; and is
rapidly growing. It contains a university, cathedral, castle (Palazzo
Madama), royal palace (with the royal armory and library), Palazzo
Carignano (former seat of Parliament, now containing collections in
natural history), palace of the Academy of Sciences (with a museum of
antiquities and picture-gallery), monument of Cavour, etc. Victor
Emmanuel and Cavour were born there.
[Illustration: =ST. MARK’S CATHEDRAL AND CAMPANILE FROM THE PLAZA=]
Turin was the ancient capital of the Taurini (whence the name); was
captured by Hannibal in 218 B. C.; and has played an important part in
the history of Europe. It figured prominently in the national movements
of the nineteenth century, and was the capital of the kingdom of Italy
1859-1865.
=Venice= (_ven’is_ Ital. _Venezia_), capital of the province of Venice,
is situated in the Laguns (lagoons) in a bay of the Adriatic. Now Venice
covers more than seventy-two islets, or rather mud-banks, its
foundations being piles (“time-petrified”) and stone. Through its two
unequal portions winds for over two miles the Grand Canal, spanned by
the Rialto Bridge (of stone) and two others (of iron), and into it flow
one hundred and forty-six lesser canals, all bridged at frequent
intervals. This vast network of waterway is patrolled by countless
gondolas, while the pedestrian has his choice of innumerable lanes
(calli). A railway viaduct, two and one-eighth miles long, connects
Venice with the mainland.
The Piazza di San Marco, a square five hundred and seventy-six feet long
and one hundred and eighty-five to two hundred and seventy feet wide,
paved with gray trachyte and white Istrian marble, surrounded by
time-stained marble palaces and St. Mark’s Church is the picturesque
center of Venetian life, especially at evening, when the bands play, and
the cafés are crowded by thousands. Flocks of fat pigeons have been fed
here by the city daily for seven hundred years. Palaces enclose three
sides and the palace arcades are occupied by cafés and bric-à-brac
shops.
Of its public buildings the following are the principal: the Ducal
Palace, standing on the site of a former official residence of the
Doges, which was burned in 976. Besides its painted ceilings and walls
there are many pictures by the Italian masters; the Academy of Fine Arts
whose twenty rooms are filled with some of the finest works of the Old
Masters. Its principal churches are St. Marco, St. Giorgio Maggiore, and
Sta. Maria della Salute, are all most highly decorated with frescoes,
mosaics, and carvings, besides containing many world-famed pictures. The
Campanile of St. Marco has been rebuilt since its fall, on July 14,
1902, after standing a thousand years. The palaces of the nobility on
the Grand Canal and other canals contain priceless collections of
pictures. The Arsenal contains many models of the old Venetian ships,
armor, collections of weapons, and spoils of war.
Venice was noted for its textile manufactures as early as the fifteenth
century; the principal manufactures at the present time are tapestry,
brocades, Venetian laces, wood carving, artistic wrought-iron work,
jewelry, bronzes, machinery, and clocks, and at Murano glass and glass
beads.
=Italian Seaports.=--The chief seaports of Italy after Genoa, “the
Superb,” which is the busiest of all, are in order round the
coast--Livorno, or Leghorn, the port of Tuscany and Florence; Civita
Vecchia, the port of Latium; Naples, with Castellamare on the south side
of its bay; Messina, on the Sicilian side of the Strait named after it,
with one of the finest harbors in Europe, beside the eddy which was
feared as the whirlpool of Charybdis in ancient times; Palermo, “la
Felice,” in the vale of the Golden Shell, on the north coast of Sicily;
Catania, on the east coast of the island. Coming round to the Adriatic
coasts we reach the port of Brindisi, a notable point in the most direct
route from western Europe to Egypt and the East. The most important line
of railway in Italy, that leads from the plain of Lombardy all down the
east side of the peninsula, has the port of Brindisi as its objective
point. Farther north in the middle of this coast is Ancona, the port of
the Marches. Lastly we come to Chioggia and Venice, the city of canals
and bridges, described above.