get chilled sooner than before, and I did not perspire at all. On
returning to these baths I felt myself not merely well, but full of
health and spirits, and on the 16th I went to the ladies’ bath, which
I had never before used, in order to be by myself. It was too hot
for my taste, and, whether from the actual heat thereof, or from the
relaxing of the pores in yesterday’s bath, I soon became very warm. I
used the same bath on the two following days, and on the 19th I went
again and remained there two hours, rather later in the day in order to
allow a lady of Lucca the first turn, a just and proper rule being here
observed to give the ladies the use of their bath at their convenience.
The people here do not keep the feasts of religion so closely as we do,
especially the Sunday; but the women get through the greater part of
their work before dinner.
In the morning I wrote out my journal, and immediately after dinner
I was seized with colic, and in order to keep me still more on the
alert, a violent toothache began in my left jaw, a pain I had never
felt before. Finding the discomfort intolerable I went to bed after
three or four hours’ agony, and in a short time the pain left me. The
next morning I felt myself much better, the flatulence and colic being
abated; but I was very weak though free from pain. I took some food
without any relish, and I drank without tasting what I swallowed,
though I was very thirsty; and almost immediately the toothache
returned and troubled me greatly up to supper-time. I had a good
night’s rest, but I awoke in the morning somewhat indisposed, weary,
the mouth parched with roughness and bad taste, and breath like one in
a state of fever.
It would be too great cowardice and _ischifiltà_[93] on my part if,
knowing that I am every day in danger of death from these ailments, and
drawing nearer thereto every hour in the course of nature, I did not
do my best to bring myself into a fitting mood to meet my end whenever
it may come. And in this respect it is wise to take joyfully all the
good fortune God may send. Moreover there is no remedy, nor rule, nor
knowledge whereby to keep clear of these evils which from every side
and at every minute gather round mans footsteps, save in the resolve
to endure them with dignity, or boldly and promptly make an end of
them.[94]
On August the 25th my kidney troubles abated, and I found myself about
as well as before, save that I had frequent pain both by day and night
in my left cheek, but it did not last long. I remember to have been
troubled with the same pain when at home.
On the 27th I was so sharply troubled with toothache after dinner
that I sent for the doctor, who, when he had taken account of all the
symptoms, and had marked especially that the pain subsided while he was
there, decided that this was no material fluxion, but one extremely
subtle, and little else than wind which ascended from the stomach to
the head, and, having mixed itself with the humours there, caused this
disorder. This opinion seemed to me reasonable, seeing that I had often
suffered from similar seizures in other regions of my body.
On Monday the 28th of August I went at dawn to the Bernabo spring and
drank over seven pounds thereof. I am sure this draught gave me the
vapours and made my head ache, and on Tuesday I drank nine pounds from
the common spring and felt my head affected immediately after. In sooth
my head was in very bad case, having never recovered from the effects
of the first bath I took. It has pained me less often of late, and in a
different way, as it has not weakened me or dazzled my eyes as it did
a month ago. I suffered chiefly in the back, and pain never attacked
my head, but it flew to my left cheek, affecting all parts thereof,
the teeth down to the very roots, the ear, and a portion of the nose.
The pang would be brief, but as a rule sharp and burning, and wont to
attack me frequently both night and day. This is how my head fared at
this juncture.
I am firmly convinced that the fumes of this water both in drinking
and in bathing--though I hold drinking to be the worse--are very bad
for the head, and even worse for the stomach. And on this account the
patients here are forced to take medicines to correct the action of the
water. On the Thursday I gave up drinking and rode in the morning to
see Costrone, a large village in the mountains. I found many fine and
fertile level spaces and pasturage to the very tops of the mountains.
To this village are attached several hamlets with comfortable houses
roofed with stone. On my way back I made a long circuit through the
hills.
My head meantime continued in its usual condition--to wit, a bad one;
I began to get weary of these baths, and if I had received from France
news for which I had been waiting--indeed for four months I had heard
nothing at all--I should have set forth at once and finished my autumn
cure in some other bath. In travelling towards Rome the baths of Bagno
Acqua, Siena, and Viterbo would lie but little off the main road; and
towards Venice I should pass near those of Bologna and Padua.
In Pisa I had had my arms drawn in fine colours and gilded for the
cost of a French crown and a half, and I now pasted the drawing on
wood--it was done on canvas--and this wooden tablet I caused to be
carefully nailed to the wall of the chamber I had occupied, with the
understanding that the device should be held to be given to the room
itself, and not to Captain Paulino the proprietor, and that it should
not be taken down whatever might befall the house in the future. This
the captain promised, and confirmed his promise with an oath.
On Sunday, September the 3rd, I spent more than an hour in the bath,
and was much troubled by wind, but without pain. In the night and on
Monday morning I had toothache so badly that I feared it must arise
from a decayed tooth. I chewed mastic all the morning without relief.
During the night I sent for an apothecary, who gave me some _aqua
vitæ_, and bade me hold it to the spot where the pain was sharpest.
The relief I got was marvellous; for, as soon as I took it into my
mouth, the pain ceased; but as soon as I spat out the spirit the pain
returned, wherefore I was forced to keep the glass always at my lips. I
could not keep the spirit in my mouth continually, for, as soon as the
pain was reduced, I would through weariness fall into a heavy sleep,
and then some drops of the spirit would run down my throat and choke me
so that I was forced to get rid of it. Just at daybreak the pain seemed
to leave me.
On the Tuesday morning all the gentlemen staying at the bath came to
see me as I lay in bed. I afterwards caused a plaster of mastic to be
put on my left temple, where the throbbing pain had been worst, and had
less pain during the day. At night they applied lint to the cheek and
the left side of the head, and my sleep was painless though disturbed.
On the Wednesday I had constant toothache and pain in the left eye, and
on Thursday I spent an hour in the large bath. This same morning there
came to hand, by way of Rome, a letter from M. de Tausin, written from
Bordeaux on August 2nd, in which he informed me that, on the preceding
day, I had been chosen to be Mayor of that city by public choice, and
begged me that, out of my goodwill for the city, I would take up this
burden.[95]
On Sunday, September 10th, I spent an hour in the ladies’ bath, which,
being rather hot, caused me to perspire, and after dinner I went on
horseback to visit some places in the neighbourhood, and a little town
called Gragnaiola, situated on the top of one of the highest mountains
of this group. As I rode along these heights the slopes around
appeared to me the fairest and most fertile that the world could show.
In course of conversation with some of the peasantry I inquired of
a very old man whether the baths were much used by the inhabitants;
whereupon he answered that the people about Lucca were like those
living near the Madonna of Loreto, who very rarely go on pilgrimages
to the shrine there; in like fashion the baths of Lucca enjoyed little
favour, except from foreigners and people coming from afar. Moreover,
there was one matter which gave him disquiet, to wit, that for some
years past there had appeared manifest signs that the baths had done
more harm than good to those who used them. He declared the cause of
this to be that, whereas in former days there was no apothecary in
the whole district and physicians were rarely seen, these gentry,
now swarmed; and, having an eye to their own gain, established the
doctrine that the baths would prove of no service unless the patient
take medicine, not only before and after but at divers times during
the operation of the waters, which would not easily assimilate if taken
by themselves. He declared that the clearest proof of this appeared in
the fact that, of the people who used these baths, more died than were
cured; and that in a short time the place would fall into disrepute and
neglect.
On September 12th, 1581, we set forth early from Bagni della Villa and
arrived at Lucca in time for dinner, after riding fourteen miles. They
were just beginning to gather the grapes. The feast of Santa Croce
is the great one of this city, and during eight days all who may be
proscribed on account of debt are suffered to return without hurt to
their homes, so as to attend to their devotions. In all Italy I have
never found a barber who could shave me or cut my hair properly.
On Wednesday evening we went to hear vespers and see the processions in
the cathedral, where a vast multitude of the citizens were assembled.
There was an exhibition of the Volto Santo, which is here held in the
highest reverence because of the antiquity of the _cultus_, and of the
many miracles due thereto; indeed the cathedral was built especially
for the sake of this relic, and the little chapel where it is preserved
still stands in the centre of the great church in an incongruous
position, and in violation of all the canons of architecture.[96] As
soon as the vespers were ended the whole of the congregation went to
another church, which was formerly the cathedral.[97]
On Thursday I heard mass in the choir of the cathedral, when all the
government officials were present. The people of Lucca take great
pleasure in music and sing in unison, but it is rare to hear a fine
voice. There was a full choir for this mass, but it was not a great
performance; a high altar, very lofty in construction, had been
specially built of wood and cardboard, and covered with images, and
large silver candlesticks and vessels, the last being arranged with a
basin in the centre and four plates around it. The altar was decorated
in this fashion from top to bottom, and made a fine and imposing
spectacle.
Whenever the bishop says mass (as he did on this occasion), at the
_Gloria in excelsis_ he sets light to a bunch of tow suspended in a
grating in the middle of the church, especially contrived for this
purpose.
In this district the weather was already very wet and cold. On Sunday
the 18th of September took place the ceremony of the change of the
gonfaloniers of the city, and I was a spectator of the same at the
palace. Here they work on Sundays as much as on week days, and many
shops are open.
XIV
SECOND VISIT TO ROME
On Wednesday the 20th of September I left Lucca after dinner, having
first packed two boxes of things for despatch to France. We traversed
a level convenient highway, the country round being barren as the
Landes of Gascony. We crossed a wide river by a bridge built by Duke
Cosimo at a place where there are iron mills belonging to the Grand
Duke, and good lodging, also three fish ponds, places divided off like
enclosed pools and paved with bricks. In these they keep a vast number
of eels, which we could easily discern, as there was very little water.
We crossed the Arno at Fucecchio, and after a journey of twenty miles
arrived at dusk at Scala.
We left Scala at sunrise and travelled over a good level road through
a country of low fertile hills, not unlike France, taking our way
through Castel Fiorentino, a small walled town, and then passed by
the foot of the hill on which is situated Certaldo, the birthplace of
Boccaccio, and a handsome little town. After going eighteen miles we
halted for dinner at Poggibousi, a small town, and arrived in time for
supper at Siena, twelve miles farther on. I remarked that the cold at
this season was sharper in Italy than in France. The piazza of Siena is
the finest of any city in the world. Mass is said therein at an altar
in the open space, over which look all the houses and shops, wherefore
the craftsmen and all the people can participate without quitting their
work. At the elevation a trumpet is sounded to let every one know.
On Sunday the 23rd of September we left Siena after dinner, and
travelled over a convenient road, which was a little unlevel in
places, as the country is broken up in low fertile hills. At the end
of twenty miles we came to S. Chirico, a pretty little town, where
we found lodging outside the walls. Our baggage-horse fell down as he
was crossing a brook we had to ford, and thus damaged greatly all my
things, my books especially, and we were forced to stop and dry them.
Montepulciano, Montecello, and Castiglioncello, were towns standing on
neighbouring hills to the left hand.
Early on Monday I went to see a bath about two miles distant, called
Vignone, after a little town near thereto. The bath is situated in
a somewhat elevated position, beneath which runs the river Urcia,
and round about it are grouped about a dozen cottages, ill-found and
distasteful, a lousy-looking den. There is a large pool, surrounded
with a wall and steps, in the midst of which may be seen boiling up
several springs of the hot water which, as it has no smell of sulphur,
little exhalation, and a red sediment, seemed to me more ferruginous
than anything else. It is never drunk. The size of this pool is sixty
paces by thirty-five, and near it are four or five covered enclosures
for the use of bathers. The bath has considerable reputation, and for
drinking the patients here give the preference to the water of S.
Carriano near S. Chirico, and eighteen miles towards Rome, to the left
of the main road.
In looking at the earthenware of these parts, which resembles
porcelain, and is white, and clean, and very cheap, I thought it would
be far more appetising for table use than the pewter used in France,
which in the inns is especially disagreeable. About this time I felt in
my head a slight return of the pain from which I deemed I was now fully
delivered. It troubled me as before, round the eyes and brow, and the
forepart of the head generally, in the form of heaviness and a weary,
disquiet feeling, causing, me much anxiety. On Tuesday we dined at La
Paglia, after a ride of thirteen miles, and slept at a bad inn at S.
Lorenzo, sixteen miles farther on.
On Wednesday morning a dispute arose between our people, and the
_vetturini_ of Siena, who, thinking that we were over-long in the road,
made a demur about paying the outlay for the horses for this evening.
The matter became so serious that I brought it before the governor,
who, having heard it, decided in my favour, and sent one of the
_vetturini_ to prison. I argued that the accident to the baggage-horse
in the river, by which the greater part of my goods were spoilt, was
the real cause of any delay.
About six miles from Montefiascone, a few paces to the right of the
main road, is a bath called Naviso, in the middle of a wide plain. It
is three or four miles distant from the nearest hill, and the outflow
has formed a little lake, at one end of which is to be seen a strong
spring of hot water boiling up briskly. It smells of sulphur, having a
scum on the surface and a white sediment. On one side of this spring is
a pipe which conveys the water to two baths in a house near by. This,
the only bath-house in the place, has numerous chambers, but they are
very bad. I fancy, however, that few people come here. The water may be
drunk for seven days, ten pounds per diem, but before it is taken it
must be left some time to get cool, as at the baths of Preissac.[98]
The patients bathe in addition.
This house and the bath belong to a church, and is let for fifty crowns
per annum. The bath is likewise of great use to the sick people who
come here in the spring of the year, and the man who hires it sells a
quantity of the mud taken from the bath, which mud, when dissolved in
hot oil, is good for the itch in human beings, and for scabby dogs and
cattle, when diluted with water. The price of this mud when sold on the
spot is two giulios a load, but they sell it also in dried balls for
seven quattrini apiece. We saw here a lot of dogs belonging to Cardinal
Farnese, which had been sent here for the bath.
Three miles farther on we came to Viterbo, and our arrival here was so
ill-timed that we were forced to take dinner and supper together. I
was hoarse and had a bad cold through having slept in my clothes last
night on a table at S. Lorenzo, by reason of the vermin, a misadventure
which only befell me at Florence and this place. At Viterbo the people
eat a sort of acorn which they call _gensole_;[99] it is found in
various other parts of Italy and is pleasant to taste. Starlings are so
plentiful that they are to be had for one baiocco each.
On Thursday, September 28th, I went in the morning to see some
other baths near this place, situated in a plain in a remote spot
some distance from the hills.[100] Formerly there were two separate
buildings used as baths, not very long ago, but these have perished
through neglect. There is a rank smell throughout the place. All that
now remains is a cabin containing a small spring of hot water which
forms a pool for bathers. This water is odourless, with an insipid
taste, and not over-warm. It seemed to me to contain iron, and it
is occasionally drunk. Farther on is what they call the Palace of
the Pope, the story being that Pope Nicolas either built or restored
it.[101] Below this palace, in a deep hollow, three separate springs
of hot water rise from the earth, one of which serves for drinking,
having a moderate warmth, no smell, but somewhat sharp on the palate.
I believe it contains much nitre. I came here with the view of taking
the waters for three days, the quantity taken being just the same as in
other places. Exercise is used after drinking, and they set great store
on sweating.
This water is held in high esteem, and quantities of it are carried
all over Italy; and the physician, who has written a treatise on
the potable water of the baths of Italy, gives it the first place,
commending it especially for diseases of the kidneys. It is usually
drunk in May. I gathered faint hope of making a cure when I read an
inscription on the wall, written by a certain man who cursed his
physician for having sent him to such a place, and affirmed that he had
suffered much ill from his stay there. Moreover, the proprietor hinted
to me that I had come too late in the season, and certainly did not
urge me to take the waters.
There is only one lodging-house, but it is large and well arranged, and
situated only about a mile and a half from Viterbo, so I went thither
on foot. There are three or four baths of various properties, and in
addition provision for the douche. This water throws up a white scum,
which hardens readily and becomes solid like ice, making a crust on
the surface of the water. If a linen cloth be dipped therein, it will
quickly become loaded with this scum and quite stiff. This substance
is sold into other parts for use in cleansing the teeth, and when
chewed it has no more taste than earth or sand; indeed, the composition
thereof is reputed to be the same as that of marble, in which case it
might well harden in the kidneys. It is said, however, that the water
which is exported in bottles has no sediment and remains quite clear.
I imagine it may be drunk in any quantity, and that the sharpness
before-named may give it a certain savour and make it easier to swallow.
On my way back, I went over the same plain, which stretches out to
great length and is eight miles wide, to see the place where the
people of Viterbo (who are all either workers or traffickers with no
gentlemen amongst them) collect the flax and hemp, the working of which
is their chief industry, and found none but men employed, the women
taking no part in the work. There was a vast quantity of material, and
many craftsmen busy around a lake of water, which is boiling hot all
the year round, and is said to be fathomless. From this lake they have
formed other pools of warm water in which they put their hemp and flax
to steep.[102]
On Saturday, Saint Michael’s Day, I went after dinner to visit the
Madonna del Cerquio,[103] a church about a mile outside the city. The
road thither is a very fine one, level and straight and planted with
trees from one end to the other, the work of the Farnese Pope.[104]
The church itself is very fine, full of evidences of devotion and
innumerable _ex votos_. On the wall is the Latin inscription, some
hundred years old, telling how a certain man, having been attacked
by robbers and half-killed, sought refuge in an oak tree, upon which
was set the image of the Madonna now preserved here, and offered his
prayers thereto. By a miracle the Madonna made him invisible, and thus
he escaped a most pressing danger; and from this miracle arose this
particular worship of the Madonna. The present magnificent church was
built near where the oak stood, and the trunk of the oak tree, cut off
low down, may yet be seen; and the part to which the image was fixed,
together with the branches, is hung up on the wall.
On Saturday the last day of September I left Viterbo in the morning and
took the road to Bagnaia, a place belonging to Cardinal Gambaro, richly
embellished, especially with fountains, in respect of which it not only
equals but outdoes places like Pratolino and Tivoli.[105] In the first
place the fountains here all run with fresh spring water, which is not
the case at Tivoli, and the supply is so abundant--at Pratolino it
is very scanty--that they have been able to make all sorts of devices
therewith. Messer Tomaso da Siena, who designed the fountains at
Tivoli, or at any rate the principal ones, is still engaged on these,
which are unfinished, and in this, his latest work, he has touched the
highest point of art and beauty and grace, by adding continually some
fresh design to the original. There is a lofty pyramid, from which
three thousand jets of this matchless water gush forth in all kinds
of different ways, some ascending, others descending, and round the
pyramid are four beautiful basins full of clear fresh water. In the
middle of each is a little boat fashioned in stone, each one manned
with two arquebusiers and a trumpeter, who shoot water through their
instruments on to the pyramid. Round about are most lovely walks
furnished with seats made of fine stone and carved with most exquisite
art. Other portions of the place may seem more delightful to other
people; for instance, the palace itself, small, but well kept and
pleasant. For myself, however, I maintain that this place far outshines
any other in turning water to use and beauty. The cardinal was not
there, but being _francesco_ at heart as he was Francesco by name, his
people in charge of the palace showed me the greatest courtesy and
friendship.