WÄLSCH-TIROL.
THE WÄLSCH-TIROLISCHE ETSCHTHAL AND ITS TRIBUTARY VALLEYS.
It is not some Peter or James who has written these stories for a
little circle of flattering contemporaries; it is a whole nation
that has framed them for all times to come, and stamped them
with the impress of its own mighty character.--Aksharounioff,
Use of Fairy Tales.
It is time that we turn our attention to the Traditions of South and
Wälsch-Tirol, though it must not be supposed that we have by any
means exhausted those of the North. There are so many indications
that ere long the rule over the province, or Kreis, [184] as it is
called, of Wälsch-Tirol, may some day be transferred to Italy, that,
especially as our present view of it is somewhat retrospective, it
is as well to consider it first, and before its homogeneity with the
rest of the principality is destroyed.
Wälsch, or Italian-Tirol sometimes, especially of late, denominated
the Trentino, comprises the sunniest, and some at least, of the most
beautiful valleys of Tirol. The Etschthal, or valley of the Adige,
which takes its source from the little lake Reschen, also called
der Grüne, from the colour of its waters, near Nauders, traverses
both South and Wälsch-Tirol. That part of the Etschthal belonging to
the latter Kreis takes a direct north to south direction down its
centre. There branch out from it two main lines of valleys on the
west, and two on the east. The northernmost line on the west side
is formed of the Val di Non and the Val di Sole; on the east, of the
Avisio valley under its various changes of name which will be noted
in their place. The Southern line on the west is called Giudicaria,
and on the east, Val Sugana, or valley of the Euganieren.
The traveller's first acquaintance with the Wälschtirolische-Etschthal
will probably, as in my own case, be made in the Val Lagarina,
through which the railway of Upper Italy passes insensibly on to
Tirolese soil, for you are allowed to get as far as Ala before the
custom-house visitation reminds you that you have passed inside
another government. It is a wild gorge along which you run, only
less formidable than that which you saw so grimly close round you as
you left Verona. If you could but lift that stony veil on your left,
you would see the beautiful Garda-See sparkling beside you; but how
vexatious soever the denial, the envious mountains interpose their
stern steeps to conceal it. Their recesses conceal too, but to our
less regret, the famous field of Rivoli.
Borghetto is the first village on Tirolese soil, and Ala, in the
Middle Ages called Sala, the first town. It thrives on the production
of silk, introduced here from Lombardy about 1530. It has a picturesque
situation, and some buildings that claim a place in the sketchbook. The
other places of interest in the neighbourhood are most conveniently
visited from Roveredo, or Rofreit as the Germans call it, a less
important and pleasing town than Trent, but placed in a prettier
neighbourhood. It received its name of Roboretum from the Latins, on
account of the immense forests of oak with which it was surrounded
in their time. The road leading through it, being the highway into
the country, bristles all along its way with ancient strongholds,
as Avio, Predajo, Lizzana, Castelbarco, Beseno, and others, which
have all had their share in the numerous struggles for ascendancy,
waged for so many years between the Emperor, the Republic of Venice,
the Bishops of Trent, and the powerful families inhabiting them. The
last-named preserves a tradition of more peaceful interest. At the
time that Dante was banished from Florence, Lizzana was a seat of the
Scaligers, and they had him for their visitor for some time during his
wanderings. Not far from it is the so-called Slavini di San Marco,
a vast Steinmeer, which seems, as it were, a ruined mountain, such
vast blocks of rock lie scattered on every side. There is little
doubt the poet has immortalized the scene he had the opportunity of
contemplating here in his description of the descent to the Inferno,
opening of Canto XII. It is said that a fine city, called San Marco,
lies buried under these gigantic fragments, concerning which the
country people were very curious, and were continually excavating
to arrive at the treasure it was supposed to contain, till one day a
peasant thus engaged saw written in fiery letters on one vast boulder,
'Beati quelli che mi volteranno' (happy they who turn me round). The
peasant thought his fortune was made. There could be no doubt the
promised happiness must consist in the riches which turning over
the stone should disclose. Plenty of neighbours were ready to lend a
hand to so promising a toil; and after the most unheard-of exertions,
the monster stone was upheaved. But instead of a treasure they found
nothing but another inscription, which said 'Bene mi facesti, perchè
le coscie mi duolevano (you have done me a good turn, for I had a
pain in my thighs). [185] As the peasants felt no great satisfaction
in working with no better pay than this, the buried city of San Marco
ceased from this time to be the object of their search. Nevertheless,
near Mori, on the opposite (west) side of the river, is a deep cave
called 'la Busa del Barbaz,' concerning which the saying runs, that
it was, ages ago, the lurking-place of a cruel white-bearded old man,
who lived on human flesh, and that whoso has the courage to explore
the cave and discover his remains, will, immediately on touching them,
be confronted by his spirit, who will tell the adventurous wight
where an immense treasure lies hid. Some sort of origin for this
fable may be found in an older tradition, which tells that idols,
whose rites demanded human sacrifices, were cast down this cave by
the first Christian converts of the Lenothal. The Slavini are closed
by a rocky gorge, characteristically named Serravalle; and as the
country again opens out another cave on the east bank is pointed out,
which was for long years a resort of robbers, who plundered all who
passed that way. These were routed out by the Prince-bishop of Trent
in 1197, and a hospice for the relief of travellers built on the very
spot which so long had been the terror of the wayfarer. The chapel
was dedicated in honour of S. Margaret, and still retains the name.
Roveredo itself is crowned by a fort--Schloss Junk, or Castel
nuovo--which has stood many a siege, originally built by the Venetians;
but it is more distinguished by its villas and manufactories. The
silk trade was introduced here in 1580, and has continuously added
to the prosperity of the place. Gaetano Tacchi established relations
with England at the end of the last century, and the four brothers of
the same name, who now represent her house, are the richest family
in Roveredo. They have a very pretty family vault near the Madonna
del Monte, a pilgrimage reached by a road which starts behind the
Pfarrkirche of Sta. Maria. Another pilgrimage church newly established
is the Madonna de Saletto. While the silk factories occupy the
Italian hands, the Germans resident in Roveredo find employment
at a newly-established tobacco factory. Much tobacco is grown in
the Trentino.
A great deal of activity is seen in Roveredo. The Corso nuovo is
a broad handsome street with fine trees. A new and handsome road,
between the town and railway station, was laid out in the autumn of
1869. Outside the town is the so-called Lenoschlucht, reached by the
Strada nuova, which crosses it by a daring high arched bridge. The
cliff rises sheer on the right hand, and overlooking the dangerous
precipice is the little chapel of S. Columban, seemingly perched
there by enchantment. It is built over the spot where a hermit,
who was held in veneration by the neighbourhood, had his retreat.
There are seven churches, but not much to remark in any of them. That
of S. Rocchus was built in consequence of a vow made by the townspeople
during the plague of 1630, to invite a settlement of Franciscans if it
was stayed. The altar-piece is ascribed to Giovanni da Udine. There
are several educational establishments, and a club which is devoted
to propagandism of Italian tendencies.
The time to see Trent to advantage is in the month of June, not only
for the sake of the natural beauties of climate and scenery, but
because then falls the festa of S. Vigilius (26th), the evangelizer
of the country, and the churches are crowded with all the surrounding
mountain population, who, after religious observances have been duly
fulfilled, indulge in all their characteristic games and amusements,
often in representations of sacred dramas, [186] and always wind up
with their favourite and peculiar illumination of their mountain sides
by disposing bonfires in devices over a whole slope. This custom is the
more worth noting that it is thought to be a remnant of fire-worship,
prevailing before the entrance of the Etruscans. [187]
That their city was the see of S. Vigilius, and the seat of the great
council of the Church, are reckoned by its people their greatest
glories; and they delight to trace a parallel between their city
and 'great Rome.' They reckon that it was founded in the time of
Tarquinius Priscus by a colony of Etruscans, under a leader named
Rhætius, who established there the worship of Neptune, whence the name
of Tridentum or Trent. That they occupied and fortified the country,
and subsequently became a power formidable to the Empire; but some
twenty-five years before the Christian era, Rhætia, as the country
round was called, was conquered by Drusus, son-in-law of Augustus,
and colonized. An ancient inscription preserved in the Schloss Buon
Consiglio shows that Trent was the centre of the local government,
which was exactly modelled on that of Rome. S. Vigilius, who spread
the light of the faith here, was a born Roman, and suffered martyrdom
in a persecution emulating those of Rome in the year 400. The city
endured sieges and over-running from many of the barbarous nations
which over-ran and sacked Rome, and researches into the ancient
foundations show that the accumulation of ruins has raised the soil,
as in Rome, some feet above the original ground plan--Ranzi says
more than four metres. The traces of three distinct lines of walls,
showing just as in Rome the progressive enlargement of the city,
have been found, as also remains of a considerable amphitheatre, and
many of inlaid pavements, &c., showing that it was handsomely built
and provided. To complete the parallel, it was under the régime of
an ecclesiastical ruler that, after years of distress and turmoil,
its peace and prosperity were restored. The Bishop of Trent still
retains his title of Prince, but the deprivation of his territorial
rule was one of the measures of secularization of Joseph II.
There are sixteen churches in Trent, of which the most considerable is
the Cathedral, dating from the eleventh century--with some remnants
of sculpture, as the Lombard ornaments of the three porches, reckoned
to belong to the seventh or eighth--a Romanesque building of massive
design, built of the reddish-brown marble which abounds in the
neighbourhood, with a Piazza and fountain before it. The interior is
extensively decorated with frescoes. It is dedicated to S. Vigilius,
whose relics are preserved in a silver sarcophagus. Among its
other notabilia are a Madonna, by Perugino, and some good paintings
of less esteemed masters; also a copy of the Madonna di San Luca
of the Pantheon, presented in 1465 to the then Bishop of Trent,
while on a visit to Rome, by the Pope, and ever since an object of
popular veneration. As a curiosity, is shown a waxen image of the
Blessed Virgin, modelled by a Jew. It also contains several curious
brass monuments. The Church of Sta. Maria Maggiore, where the great
Council was held, on this account, surpasses it in interest, though
of small architectural merit. There is a legend that when the final
Te Deum at the close of the Council was sung on December 4, 1563,
[188] a crucifix, still pointed out in one of the side chapels [189]
of the Cathedral, was seen to bow its head as if in token of approval
of the constitutions that had been established. Sta. Maria Maggiore
contains a picture of the Council, with the fathers in full session,
which is not without interest, as all the costumes can still be made
out, though quaint and faded and injured by lightning. It has also a
very fine organ, the tone of which was so much esteemed at the time
it was built, that it is said the Town Council determined to put out
the eyes of the organ-builder, [190] lest he should endow any other
city with as perfect an instrument. The meister, finding he could
not prevail on the councilmen to relent, asked as a last favour to be
allowed to play on his organ, which was willingly conceded; but as soon
as he had obtained access to the instrument, he contrived to damage
the stop imitating the human voice, which he had invented, and which
had been its great merit, and thus punished the pride and cruelty of
the municipality. In the remarkable Gothic Church of St. Peter is a
chapel, built in commemoration of the infant St. Simeon, or Simonin,
whose alleged martyrdom at the hands of the Jews, in 1472, I have
already had reason to mention. Many relics of him are shown in the
chapel, where a festa is still kept in his honour on March 24. The
cutting of his name in the stone is still quite legible.
My limits forbid my speaking in much detail of the secular buildings
and institutions which are, however, not unworthy of attention. There
are clubs and reading-rooms--in some of which aspirations after
union with Italy are steadily propagated. The spirit of loyalty
to Austria, though still strong in many breasts, has nothing like
the same influence as in 1848-9, or in 1866, when the attacks and
blandishments of the revolutionists of Italy were alike powerless to
shake the allegiance of the Trentiners. No one will overlook the vast
Schloss buon Consiglio in the Piazza d'Armi, said to be an Etruscan
foundation. The public museum is a very creditable institution,
enriched in 1846 by the legacy of Count Giovanelli's collection,
chiefly of coins and medals; and paintings, not to be despised, are to
be seen in the collections of the best families of the place--Palazzi
Wolkenstein and Sizzo, Case Salvetti and Gaudenti. Two great ornaments
of the city are the Palazzi Tabarelli, and Zambelli or Teufelspalast;
and with the legend of the latter I must wind up my notice of Trent.
Georg Fugger, a scion of the wealthy Anthony Fugger, of Augsburg, the
entertainer of Charles Quint, was deeply enamoured of the spirited
Claudia Porticelli, the acknowledged beauty of Trent. Claudia did
not appear at all averse from the match, but she was too proud to
yield herself all too readily; and besides, was genuinely possessed
with the spirit of patriotism, to which mountain folk are never
wanting. Accordingly, when the reply long pressed for from her lips
came at last, it informed him that never would Claudia Porticelli
of Tirolean Trent give her hand to one whose dwelling was afar from
her native city; she wondered, indeed, that one who did not own so
much as a little house to call a home in Trent, should imagine he
possessed her sympathies. To another this answer would have amounted
to a refusal, for it only wanted a day of the time already fixed, of
long date beforehand, for the announcement of her final choice. But
Georg Fugger, whose vast riches had long nursed him in the belief that
'money maketh man,' and that nothing was denied to him, would not yield
up a hope so dearly cherished as that of making Claudia Porticelli
his wife. To his determined mind there was a way of doing everything
a man was resolved to do. To build a house, however, in one night,
and that a house worthy of being the home of his Claudia, when men
should call her Claudia Fugger, was a serious matter indeed. No human
hands could do the work, that was clear; he must have recourse to help
from which a good Christian should shrink; but the case was desperate;
he had no choice. Nevertheless, Georg Fugger had no mind to endanger
his soul either. The game he had to play was to get the Evil One to
build the house, but also to guard from letting him gain any spiritual
advantage against him; and his indomitable energy devised the means
of securing the one and preventing the other. Without loss of time
the devil was summoned, and the task of building the desired palace
propounded. The tempter willingly accepted the undertaking, on his
usual condition of the surrender of the soul of him in whose favour it
was performed. Georg Fugger cheerfully signed the bond with his blood,
only stipulating first for the insertion of one slight condition on
his side--namely, that the devil should do one little other thing for
him before he claimed his terrible guerdon. 'Whatever you like! it
won't be too hard for me!' boasted the Evil One; and they separated,
each well satisfied with the compact.
'The Devil's Palace has a splendid design, worthy the genius of
Palladio,' writes a modern traveller, who has only seen it in its
decadence. On the night in which it was built, it was resplendent with
marbles and gilding and tasteful decoration; furnished it was too,
to satisfy the most fastidious taste, and the requirements of the most
luxurious. With pride the devil called Georg Fugger to come and survey
the lordly edifice, and name his 'final condition.' Georg Fugger was
prepared for him; he had taken a bushel of corn, and strewn it over all
the floors of the vast building. 'Look here, Meister,' he said. 'If you
can gather this corn up grain by grain, and deliver me back the whole
number correctly, then indeed my soul will be yours; but if otherwise,
my soul remains my own and the palace too. That is my final condition.'
The devil accepted the task readily, and with no misgiving of his
success. True, it took all the time that remained before sunrise
to collect all the scattered grain; still he had performed harder
feats before that day. But the hours ran by, and still there were
five grains wanting to complete the count; where could those five
grains be! With a flaring torch, lighted at his fiercest fire, he
searched every corner through and through, but the five grains were
nowhere to be seen, and daylight began to appear! 'Ah! the measure
is well-heaped up, the Fugger won't discover they are missing,'
so the fiend flattered himself. But Georg Fugger was keener than he
seemed. Before his eyes he counted out the corn, and asked for the five
missing grains. 'Stuff! the measure is piled up full enough, I can't
be so particular as all that. The number must be there.' 'But it is
not!' urged Fugger. 'Oh, you've miscounted,' rejoined the Evil One;
'I'm not going to be put off in that way. I've built your house,
and I've collected your measure of corn, and your soul is mine;
you can't prove that there were five more grains.' 'Yes, I can,'
replied Fugger; 'reach out me your paw;' and the Devil, not guessing
how he could convict him by that means, held out his great paw, with
insolent confidence of manner. 'There!' cried Fugger, pointing to it
as he spoke; 'there, under your own claws, lie the five grains! That
corn had been offered before the Holy Rood, and by the power of the
five Sacred Wounds it was kept from fulfilling your fell purpose. You
had not collected the full number of grains into the measure by
the morning light, so our bargain is at an end. Begone!' The Devil,
self-convicted, had no refuge but to strive to alarm his victor by a
show of fury, and with burning claw he began tearing down the wall so
lately raised. But Fugger remained imperturbable, for he had fairly
won the palace, and the Devil himself had no more power over it. He
could only succeed in making a hole big enough for himself to escape
by, which hole was for many and many years pointed out.
But Fugger had also hereby established his claim to Claudia's hand,
who rejoiced at the gentle violence thus done her; and many happy
days they spent together in the Teufelspalast. In later years it
passed from their family into the hands of Field-Marshal Gallas,
who lived here in peaceful retirement after his renowned exploits
in the Thirty Years' War, whence it was long called Palazzo Gallas
or Golassi; but it has lately again changed hands, and thus acquired
the name of Palazzo Zambelli.
The suburbs of Trent, among other excursions, offer the pleasing
pilgrimage of the Madonna alle Laste, [191] which is reached through
the Porta dell' Aquila, on the east side of the city, by half an
hour's climbing up a mountain path off the road to Bassano. On a spur
of this declivity had stood from time immemorial a marble Maria-Bild,
honoured by the veneration of the people. Somewhere about the year
1630 a Jew wantonly disfigured and damaged the sacred token, to
the indignation of the whole neighbourhood. Christopher Detscher, a
German artist, devoted himself to restoring it; but it was impossible
altogether to obliterate the traces of the injury. By some means or
other, however--the people said by miraculous intervention--it was
altogether renewed in one night; and this prodigy so enhanced its fame,
that there was no case so desperate but they believed it must obtain
relief when pleaded for at such a shrine. A poor cowherd named Antonia,
who had been deaf all her life, was said to have received the power
of hearing after praying there; and a child, who had died before
there was time to baptise it, a reprieve of existence long enough
to receive that Sacrament. The grateful people now immediately set
themselves to raise a stone chapel over it, and by their ready alms
maintained a hermit on the spot to guard the sacred precincts. Twelve
years later, by the bounty of Field-Marshal Gallas, a community of
Carmelites was established on the spot, which continued to flourish
down to the secularization of Joseph II. The convent buildings,
however, yet serve the beneficent purpose of a Refuge for foundlings
and orphans. The prospect from the precincts of the institution is
very fine; between the distant ranges of mountains and the foreground
slopes covered with peach trees, lies the grand old city of Trent,
shaped, like the country of Tirol itself, in the form of a heart. [192]
Very effective in accentuating the outline are the two old castles
of the Buon' Consiglio and the Palazzo degli Alberi, both formerly
fortress-residences of the Prince-Bishops of Trent, the former
vieing with the castle of the Prince-Bishop of Salzburg in extent and
grandeur. The curious isolated rock of Dos Trento is another centre of
a splendid view. The Romans called it Verruca, a wart. It was strongly
fortified by Augustus, and remains of inscriptions and bas-reliefs
are built into the wall of the ancient church of St. Apollinaria,
occupying the site of a temple of Saturn. The vantage ground it
afforded in repelling the entry of the French in 1703 obtained for it
the name of the Franzosenbühel. It has lately been newly fortified. A
charming but somewhat adventurous excursion may be made on foot, by a
path starting from the fort of the Dos Trento rock, to the cascade of
Sardagna. Somewhere about this path, in the neighbourhood of Cadine,
it is said, St. Ingenuin, [193] one of the early evangelizers of the
country, planted a beautiful garden, which was a living model of the
Garden of Eden; but so divinely beautiful was it, that to no mortal
was it given to find it. Only the holy Albuin obtained by his prayers
permission once to find entrance to 'St. Ingenuin's Garden.' Entranced
with the delights of the place, he determined at least to bring back
some sample of its produce. So he gathered some of its golden fruits,
to show the children of earth. To this day a choice yellow apple,
something like our golden pippin, grown in the neighbourhood, goes
by the name of St. Albuin's apple.
The only remaining towns of any note in the line of the
Wälschtirolische Etschthal, are Lavis and S. Michel. Lavis is a pretty
little well-built town (situated at the point where the torrents of
the Cembra, Fleims, and Fassa valleys, under the name of the Avisio,
are poured into the Etsch), remarkable for a red stone viaduct, nearly
3,000 feet long, near the railway station, over the Avisio. Lavis
fell into possession of the French in 1796, when the church was burnt
and the houses plundered. In 1841--forty-five years after--a French
soldier sent a sum of one hundred gulden to the church, in reparation
for having carried off a silver sanct-lamp for his share of the booty.
Lavis has on many another occasions stood the early brunt of the
attacks of Tirol's foes, and its people have testified their full
share of loyalty. There is a tradition that the French, having on
one occasion gained possession of it with a band two hundred strong,
the people posted themselves on the neighbouring heights and harassed
them in flank; but a cobbler of Lavis, indignant at the havoc the
French were making, left this vantage ground, and running down into
the town, shouting 'Follow me, boys!' dispersed the French troops
before one of his fellows had time to come up! [194]
San Michel, or Wälsch Michel, is the boundary town against the circle
of South Tirol, once the last town on Venetian territory. There
are imposing remains here of a fine Augustinian priory, which
originated in a castle given up to this object by Ulrich Count of
Eppan in 1143; the building has of late years been sadly neglected;
it is now a school of agriculture. A little way before Wälsch Michel,
the railway crosses, for the first time since leaving Verona, to the
left bank of the Adige, by a handsome bridge called by the people
'the sechsmillionen Brücke.' Here we leave the Etschthal for a time,
but we shall renew acquaintance with it in its northern stretch when
we come to visit South Tirol.
The two northern tributary valleys of the Etschthal on the west are
the Val di Non [195] and Val di Sole; among the Germans, they go by
the names of Nonsberg and Sulzberg, as if they considered the hills in
their case more striking than the valleys. The Val di Non is entered
at Wälschmetz or Mezzo Lombardo by the strangely wild and gloomy
Rochettapass. Wälschmetz is a flourishing Italian-looking town, whence
a stellwagen meets every train stopping at San Michel. Conveyances
for exploring the valleys can be hired either at the 'Corona' or
the 'Rosa.' The Rochetta is guarded by a ruined fort fantastically
perched on an isolated spur of rock called Visiaun or Il Visione,
said to have formed part of a system of telegraphic communication
established by the Romans.
In the church of Spaur Maggiore, or Spor, so called because the
principal place in the neighbourhood, which at one time all belonged to
the Counts of Spaur, is a Wunderbild of the Blessed Virgin, which has
for centuries attracted pilgrims from the whole country round. The
church of the next place of any importance, Denno, is remarkably
rich in marbles, and handsome for its situation; a new altar-piece
of some pretension, and a new presbytery, were completed here in
August 1869. Flavone or Pflaun, the next village, is particularly
proud of a rich silver-gilt cross, twenty-five pounds in weight,
and set with pearls, a gift of a bishop of Trient. At the time of
the French invasion it was taken to Vicenza, but as soon as peace
and security were re-established the people would not rest till it
was restored to them. The hamlet is adorned with a rather handsome
municipal palazzo, built in the sixteenth century, when the ancient
Schloss, which overhangs the Trisenega torrent, was pronounced unsafe
after several earth-slips. This valley is, if possible, richer in such
remains than any other: every mountain spur bristles with them. One
of the most important and picturesque is the Schloss Belasis, near
Denno, claiming to be the cradle of the family of that name, which
has established itself with honour in several countries of Europe,
including our own. Behind Pflaun are large forests, which constitute
the riches of the higher, as the Seidenbaum [196] is of the lower,
level of the valley. In its midst lies the Wildsee of Tobel, which,
frozen in winter, serves for the transport of the timber growing on
the further side. The safety of its condition for the purpose is
ascertained by observing the time when the trace of the sagacious
fox shows that he has trusted himself across.
Cles, situated nearly at the northernmost reach of the valley, is a
centre of the silk trade, and the factory-girls are remarkable for
their tastefully adorned hair, though they all go barefooted. The site
of a temple of Saturn, of considerable dimensions, has been found,
coinciding with traditions of his worship having been popular here; and
remains of an ancient civilization are continually dug up. There is a
wild-looking plain outside the town, still called the Schwarzen Felder,
or black fields, because tradition declares it to be the place where
the Roman inhabitants burnt their dead. Here SS. Sisinius, Martyrius,
and Alexander, are believed to have suffered death by fire on May 29,
397, because these zealous supporters and missionaries of St. Vigilius
refused to take part in a heathen festival. St. Vigilius no sooner
heard of their steadfast witnessing to the truth, than he repaired
to the spot, and after zealously collecting and venerating their
remains, preached so powerfully on their holy example, that great
numbers were converted by his word. A church was shortly after built
here, and being the first in the neighbourhood, was called Eccelesia,
whence the name of Cles. The devout spirit of these saintly guides
does not seem wanting to the present inhabitants; when the jubilee
was held on occasion of the Vatican Council, more than two thousand
persons went to Communion. At the not far distant village of Livo,
on the same occasion, it was found necessary to erect a temporary
building to supplement the large parish church, for the numbers who
flocked in from the outlying parishes. The same thing occurred when
the faithful were invited to join in prayers for the Pope after the
Piedmontese invasion of Rome, September 20, 1870.
On these 'Campi neri' was found, in the spring of 1869, a tablet
since known as the 'Tavola Clesiana.' It is a thickish bronze tablet,
about 18 in. by 13 in., with holes showing where it was attached to
a wall by the corners. It bears an inscription in Roman character,
the graving of which is quite distinct and unworn, as if newly
executed. It is as follows, and has given rise to a great deal of
controversy among archæologists, and between Professors Vallaury and
Mommsen, concerning its bearing on the early history of Annaunia:--
Miunio . sIlano . q . sulpicio . camerino . CoS idibus . martIs .
baIs . in . praetorio . edictum . ti . claudi . caesaris .
augusti . germanici . propositum . fuit . id . quod . infra .
scriptum . est . ti . claudius . caesar . augustus . germanicus .
pont . maxim . trib . potest . VI . imp . XI . P . P . cos .
designatus . IIII . dicit . cum . ex . veteribus . controversIs .
petentibus . aliquamdiu . etiam . temporibus . ti . caesaris .
patrui . meI . ad . quas . ordinandas . pinarium . apollinarem .
miserat . quae . tantum . modo . inter . comenses . essent .
quantum . memoria . refero . et . bergaleos . is que . primum .
apsentia . pertinaci . patrui . meI . deinde . etiam . gaI .
principatu . quod . ab . eo . non . exigebatur . referre .
non . stulte . quidem . neglexerit . et . posteac . detulerit .
camurius . statutus . ad . me . agros . plerosque . et . saltus .
meI . iuris . esse . in . rem . praesentem . mIsi . plantam .
iulium . amicum . et . comitem . meum . qui . cum . adhibitis .
procuratoribus . meis . quisque . in . alia . regione .
quique . in . vicinia . erant . summa . cura . inquisierit .
et . cognoverit . cetera . quidem . ut . michi . demonstrata .
commentario . facto . ab . ipso . sunt . statuat . pronuntietque .
ipsi . permitto . Quod . ad . condicionem . anaunorum . et .
tulliassium . et . sindunorum . pertinet . quorum . partem .
delator . adtributam . tridentinis . partem . neadtributam .
quidem . arguisse . dicitur . tam . et . si . animaduerto .
nonnimium . firmam . id . genus . hominum . habere . civitatis .
romanae . originem . tamen . cum . longa . usurpatione . in .
possessionem . eius . fuisse . dicatur . et . ita . permixtum .
cum . tridentinis . ut . diduci . ab . Is . sine . gravi .
splendi . municipI . iniuria . non . possit . patior . eos .
in . eo . iure in . quo . esse . existimaverunt . permanere .
beneficio . meo . eo . quidem . libentius . quod . plerisque .
ex . eo . genere . hominum . etiam . militare . in . praetorio .
meo . dicuntur . quidam . vero . ordines . quoque . duxisse .
nonnulli . collecti . in . decurias . romae . res . iudicare .
Quod . beneficium . Is . ita . tribuo . ut . quaecumque . tanquam .
cives . romani . gesserunt . egeruntque . aut . inter . se . aut .
cum . tridentinis . alIsve . ratam . esse . iubeat . nominaque .
ea . que . habuerunt . antea . tanquam . cives . romani . ita .
habere . Is . permittam .
A fragment of an altar was found at the same time, with the following
words on it:--
SATURNO SACR
L. PAPIRIUS L
OPUS
Livo is the first village of the Val di Sole, which runs in a
south-westerly direction, forming nearly a right-angle with the Val
di Non, than which it is wilder, and colder, and less inhabited. At
Magras the Val di Rabbi strikes off to the north. Its baths are
much frequented, and S. Bernardo is hence provided with four or five
capacious hotels. A new church has just been built there, circular
in form, with three altars, one of which is dedicated in honour of
St. Charles Borromeo, who visited the place in 1583, and preached
with so much fervour as effectually to arrest the Zuinglian teaching,
which had lately been imported.
Male is the chief place of Val di Sole, and contains about 1,500
inhabitants. At a retreat held here last Christmas by the Dean of Cles,
so many of them as well as of the circumjacent hamlets were attracted,
that not less than 3,000 went to communion. Further along the valley
is Mezzana, the birthplace of Antonio Maturi, who, after serving in
the campaigns of Prince Eugene, entered a Franciscan convent at Trent,
whence he was sent as a missionary to Constantinople, and was made
Bishop of Syra, and afterwards was employed as nuncio by Benedict
XIV. It was almost entirely destroyed by fire a few years ago,
but is being rapidly rebuilt. After this place the country becomes
more smiling, and cheerful cottages are seen by the wayside, with an
occasional edifice, whose solid stone-built walls suggest that it is
the residence of some substantial proprietor. The valley widens out
to a plain at Pellizano, round which lofty mountains rise on every
side. The church here has a most singular fresco on the exterior
wall, which is intended to record the circumstance that Charles Quint
passed through in 1515. Some restoration or addition was made to the
church at his expense, and a quaint inscription hints that he did it
somewhat grudgingly.
A few miles further the valley divides into two branches, the Val
di Pejo and the Val di Vermiglio. At Cogolo, the chief place of Val
di Pejo, had long been stored a magnificent monstrance, offered
to the church by Count Megaezy, who, though resident in Hungary,
owned it for his Stammort. [197] It had long been the admiration of
the neighbourhood, and the envy of visitors; but it was stolen by
sacrilegious hands in the troubles consequent on the invasion of the
Trentino by 'Italianissimi,' in 1849. Count Guglielmo Megaezy sent the
village a new one of considerable value and handsome design, whose
reception was celebrated amid lights and flowers, ringing of bells
and firing of mortaletti, July 18, 1869. This branch of the valley
is closed in by the Drei Herren Spitz, or Corno de' tre Signori, the
boundary-mark between the Valtellina, Bormio, and Tirol, and so called
when they belonged to three different governments. The Val di Vermiglio
is closed by Monte Tonale, the depression in whose slope forms the
Tonal Pass into Val Camonica and the Bergamese territory. Monte Tonale
was notorious in the sixteenth to early in the eighteenth century for
its traditions of the Witches' Sabbath, and the trials for sorcery
connected with them. [198] Freyenthurn, a ruin-crowned peak at no
great distance, bears in its name a tradition of the worship of Freya.
On the vine-clad height of Ozolo, above Revo, a few miles north of
Cles, is a little village named Tregiovo, most commandingly situated;
hence, on a fine day, may be obtained one of the most enchanting
and remarkable views, sweeping right over the two valleys. Hence
a path runs up the heights, and along due north past Cloz and
Arz to Castelfondo, with its two castles overhanging the roaring
cascade of the Noce. Along this path, where it follows the Novella
torrent, numbers of pilgrims pass every year to one of the most famed
sanctuaries of Tirol--Unsere liebe Frau im Walde, or auf dem Gampen,
as the mountain on which it is perched is called by the Germans; and
this reach of the Nonstal is almost entirely inhabited by Germans. The
Italians call it le Pallade, and more commonly Senale. The chapel
is on the site of an ancient hospice for travellers, which became
disused, however, as early as the fourteenth century. A highly-prized
Madonnabild, of great sweetness of expression, found in a swamp near
the place, stands over the high-altar. A celebration of the seventh
centenary of its being found was kept by a festival of three days
from August 14, 1869, when crowds of pilgrimages, comprising whole
populations of circumjacent villages, both German and Italian, might
have been seen gathering round the shrine. Fondo, though but a few
miles distant, is a thoroughly Italian town; and so great is the
barrier this difference of tongue sets up, that great part of the
population of the one never visits the other. It was nearly burnt
down in 1865, and has hardly yet recovered from the catastrophe;
the church, which occupies a very commanding situation, was saved,
and its fine peal of six bells. Near it is St. Biagio, where was
once the only convent the Nonsthal ever possessed. Near this again
is Sanzeno, which, by a tradition a little different from that given
at Denno, is made out to be the place of martyrdom of SS. Sisinius
(supposed to be another form of the name of St. Zeno), Martyrius,
and Alexander. Their relics, at all events, are venerated here in
a marble urn behind the high-altar of the church, which bears the
title of the Cathedral of the Val de Non; and the Roman remains,
which are continually being discovered, [199] show that there were
Romans here to have done the martyrdom. The legend is, that these
saints were three brothers of noble family, of Cappadocia, who put
themselves under the bidding of S. Vigilius, Bishop of Trent (who was
already engaged in the conversion of the valley), A.D. 390. Their
conversions were numerous during a series of years; but on May 23,
397, the inhabitants of the valley, who adhered to the old teaching,
desirous to make their usual sacrifice to obtain a blessing on their
crops, called upon the Christian converts to contribute a sheep for
the purpose. On the Christians refusing a strife ensued, of which
two of the three missionaries were the immediate victims; but the
next day, the third, Alexander was also arrested; he was burnt alive,
along with the corpses of his companions. A church was subsequently
built on the spot where they were said to have suffered; their acts
may be seen in a bas-relief of the seventeenth century. San Zeno
is also famous for being the birth-place of Christopher Busetti,
whose verses, no less than the details of his life, earned for him
the title of the Tirolean Petrarch. A little east of San Zeno is the
narrow inlet into the Romediusthal, so called from S. Romedius, whom
we heard of at Taur, [200] having chosen it for a hermitage whence to
evangelize the Nonsthal, and in which to end his days. A more secluded
spot could not be found on the whole earth. Perpendicular rocks narrow
it in, leaving scarcely a glimpse of the sky above; the torrent which
files its way through it, called San Romedius-Bach, continually works
a deeper and deeper bed. Two other torrents strive for possession of
the gorge (Romediusschlucht), the Rufreddo and the Verdes, between
them; near their confluence rises a stark isolated crag, from whose
highest point, almost like a fortress, rises the far-famed hermitage,
accessible only from one side. The legend has it that S. Vigilius,
knowing his exalted piety, conceived the idea of consecrating the
cell whence his holy prayers had been poured out, for a chapel, but
was warned in a vision that angels had already fulfilled the sacred
task. When this was known, it may be imagined that the veneration
of the people for it knew no bounds, and the angelic consecration
is still remembered by diligent pilgrimages every first Sunday in
June; the Saint's feast is on January 15. The shrine is overladen
with thank-offerings, which might attract the robber in so lonely
a situation. Due precautions are taken for the preservation of the
treasury; the chapel is surrounded by strong walls, and ingress
is not permitted to strangers after nightfall. There is no record
of any attempt having been made on it but once, some thirty years
ago. On this occasion three men presented themselves at the gate,
and urgently begged to be admitted to confession; their devotion was
so well assumed, and their show of penitence so hearty, that the good
priest could not refrain from letting them in. He had scarcely taken
his seat in the confessional, however, than the three surrounded
him, each presenting a pistol at his breast; all three missed fire,
and the would-be robbers, convicted by the portent, knelt and made
a real confession of their misdeeds, and left as really penitent as
they had feigned to to be on arriving.
The spot has never ceased to be honoured since the death of the saint,
somewhere about 398. It is strange to stand between the walls of the
living mountain and realize the fact. There are few shrines in all
Europe which can boast of such antiquity, such unbroken tradition,
and such exemption from desecration. The building is as singular
and characteristic as the locality. The chapel, where the saint's
remains rest, and where he himself raised the first sanctuary of the
Nonsthal, is reached by one hundred and twenty-two steps, necessarily
very steep; and on attaining the last, it must be a very steady head
that can turn to survey the rise without giddiness. The interior is
quite in keeping with the surroundings. Its light is dim and subdued,
sufficient only to reveal the countless trophies of answered prayer
which cover the dark red marble columns and enrichments. There are two
other chapels at lower levels, one of the Blessed Sacrament, called
del Santissimo, and one over the hermitage in the rock. Flanking this
curious pile of chapels on chapels are, on one side, the priory or
residence of the chaplain of the place, and on the other the Hospice
for pilgrims and visitors, the whole forming a considerable corps
de bâtiment, and enclosed by a wall which seems to have grown out
of the rock. Another little crag, jutting up as if in emulation of
that so gloriously crowned, was made into a Gottesacker, by a late
prior, and its churchyard cross affords it a striking termination
too; though not many monuments of the dead bristle from its sides
as yet. This singularly interesting excursion may be made direct
from S. Michel by those who have not time for visiting the whole
valley. They will pass several striking old castles, particularly that
of Thun, nearly opposite Castle Bellasi, the Stammschloss of one of
the oldest and noblest German families, founded by one of the dearest
companions and patrons of St. Vigilius. No other has given so many
distinguished scions to the service of the Church; Sigmund von Thun was
the representative of the Emperor at the Council of Trent. There is a
strong attachment between it and the people of the valley, who delight
in celebrating every domestic event by what they call a Nonesade,
or poem in the dialect of the Val di Non. The castle is well kept
up; the interior is characteristically decorated and arranged, and
many curiosities are preserved in the library; its grounds also are
charmingly laid out. It is supplied with water by a noble aqueduct,
raised in 1548, right across the valley from Berg St. Peter; crowned
also by an ancient castle, but in ruins. Few will have a prettier
page in their sketch-book than they can supply it with here.
Half way between Sanzeno and Fondo, by a path which forms a loop with
that already mentioned, by Cloz and Arz, and just where the opening
into the Romediusthal strikes off, is a village named Dambel or
Dambl, where a very curious relic of antiquity, and an important one
for throwing light on the history of the earlier inhabitants of the
valley, was unearthed a couple of years ago. It is a stout, handsome
bronze key, 14 1/2 in. long, the bow ornamented with scroll-work,
which at first sight suggested the idea that it had formed part
of a comparatively modern casting of the Pontifical arms. Closer
inspection showed that on an octagonal ornament of the upper part of
the stem was an inscription, not merely engraved, but deeply cut (it
is thought with a chisel), and in perfect preservation, in characters
described by a local antiquary as 'parte Runiche, parte Gotiche,
del Greco e Latino del 388 dell' era volgare, descritte da Ufila;
ma molte somigliano a quelle del Latino dell' Ionio 741 B. C.'
The owner of the ground, Bartolo Pittschneider, the jeweller of the
village, seems to have been digging the foundation for a rustic house,
intending to make use of a remnant of a very ancient wall long thought
to have formed part of a temple of Saturn. At a depth of about 18 or
20 in. he came to a sort of pavement, or tomb or cellar covering,
of roughly-shaped stones resting against and sloping away from the
base of the ancient wall, so as to form a little enclosure. Along with
the key lay some other small objects, which unfortunately have been
dispersed, [201] but among them were two bronze coins of Maximilian
and Constantine the Great, thought to indicate the date of the burial
of the key and not that of its manufacture.
This key was subsequently sent to Padre Tarquini, [202] and a copy has
been given me of his report upon it. He pronounced the inscription
to be undoubtedly Etruscan, but at the same time he did not think
the work of the key to be of older date than the fourth century of
our era; inasmuch as there are other examples of Etruscan writing
surviving to as late a date in remote districts; that its size and
material (a mixture of silver and copper) denoted it to belong to some
important edifice, and most probably to the very temple of Saturn
amid whose ruins it was found buried. He found in it two new forms
of letters not found in other Etruscan inscriptions, but says that
similar aberrations are too common to excite surprise. He translated
it in the following form:--'Ad introducendum virum (1) addictum igni
in Vulcani (2) Vivus aduratur ob perversitatem--incidendo incide
(3)--Sceleratus est; sectam facit; blasphemavit--In aspectu ejus
ascendentes limen paveant, videntes hominem oblitum Ejus (4) præstare
jubilationem retinenti ad cruciatum, tamquam hostem suum.' [203]
It would be curious to know how Mr. Isaac Taylor would read the
inscription by his different method, for Padre Tarquini found a
curious coincidence of circumstances to afford an interpretation to
his translation. It would seem that it was only after translating it as
above that his attention was called to the Christian local tradition,
and then he was struck with several points of contact between it and
them. 1. The date which he had already assigned to the key is that
given by the Bollandists to the martyrdom of St. Alexander and his
two brothers. 2. It was found within the very precincts where he was
said to have been burnt, and (his translation of) the inscription
commemorates a human burnt sacrifice (il vivicomburio). 3. The
inscription (by his translation) seems to allude to Christians,
to their suffering expressly for propagating their religion. 4. The
inscription points to the sacrifice having taken place in an elevated
situation, as it uses the verb 'to ascend,' and the contemporary
narrative of St. Vigilius to St. Chrysostom of the event, as it
had happened before his eyes, says 'Itum est post hæc in religiosa
fastigia, hoc est altum Dei templum ... in conspectu Saturni.' He
further goes on to approve a conjecture of the local antiquary that
the key was a votive offering made on occasion of the martyrdom of
St. Alexander with SS. Zeno and Martyrius, in thanksgiving for the
triumph over their teaching, and inscribed with the above lines as
a perpetual warning to their followers.
The Avisiothal--the northernmost eastern tributary of the
Etschthal--consists of three valleys running into each other; the Val
di Cembra, or Zimmerthal; the Val Fieme, or Fleimserthal; and the Val
di Fassa, or Evasthal. The Val di Cembra is throughout impracticable
for all wheeled traffic. Nature has made various rents and ledges
in its porphyry sides, of which hardy settlers have taken advantage
for planting their villages, and for climbing from one to another;
but even their laborious energy has not sufficed to make roads over
such a surface. This difficulty of access has not been without its
effect in tending to keep up the honesty, hospitality, and piety of
the people; but as few will be able to penetrate their recesses,
their characteristics will be better sacrificed to the exigencies
of space than those of others. I will only mention, therefore,
the Church of Cembra, the Hauptort (about four hours' rugged walk
from Lavis), which is an ancient Gothic structure well kept up, and
adorned with paintings; and a peculiar festival which was celebrated
on the Assumption-day, 1870, at Altrei, namely, the presentation of
new colours to the Schiess-stand, by Karl von Hofer, on behalf of
the Empress of Austria. One bears a Madonna, designed by Jele of
Innsbruck, on a banner of green and white (the national colours);
the other the names of the Empress ('Karolina Augusta') and the word
'All-treu,' the original name of the village, conferred on it by Henry
Duke of Bohemia, when he permitted ten faithful soldiers to make a
settlement here free of all taxes and customs. And yet the Italians,
regardless of derivations, have made of it Anterivo.
Cavalese (which can be reached in five hours by stellwagen running
twice a day from the railway station at Neumarkt) stands near the
point where the Val di Cembra (which runs nearly parallel to the
railway between Lavis and Neumarkt) passes into the Fleimserthal. It
is a charmingly picturesque, thriving little town, and should not
be overlooked, for the church is a very museum of Tirolese art:
painting, sculpture, and architecture, all being due to native
artists, and highly creditable to national taste, culture, and
devotion. Among these artists were Franz Unterberger, who was chosen
by the Empress Catherine to execute copies from Raffael's Loggie,
Alberti, Riccaboni, and others, whose fame has resounded beyond the
echoes of their native mountains. Many private houses also contain
works of Tirolese art. Cavalese stands on a plateau, overlooking a
magnificent panorama, and shaded by a grove of leafy limes. Under these
is a stone table, with stone seats arranged round it, where a sort of
local parliament was formerly held. Respecting the appropriation of
this plateau for the site of the church, tradition says that in early
times, when the church was about to be built, the commune fixed upon
this plateau, in the outskirts of the town, as the most beautiful,
and therefore most appropriate, situation. But the old lady, part
of whose holding it formed, could be induced on no consideration to
give it up. Some little time after, however, she had a very serious
illness; on her sick bed she vowed, that if restored to health she
would devote as much of her fair meadow to the use of the church
as a man could mow in one day. [204] She had no sooner registered
her vow than health returned. The commune appointed a mower, and
he mowed off the whole of the vast meadow in one day. The old lady
always maintained that there was something uncanny about it, and
anyone can see for themselves that no human mower could have done
it. The Market-place is adorned with a very handsome tower. A new
church is now building, after the design of Staidl, of Innsbruck,
on the site of the little ruined church of St. Sebastian, which shows
that the study of architecture is not neglected in Tirol. The space
being very restricted, the novel expedient has been resorted to of
placing the sacristy under the sanctuary, and with good effect to
the external appearance. The former palace of the Bishops of Trent,
now a prison, is not to be overlooked. Predazzo is the only other spot
in this valley we will stop to look at. The extraordinary geological
formation of the neighbourhood has attracted many men of science to
the place, whose names may be seen in the strangers' book. The people
are singularly thrifty and industrious. A high road connecting it
with Primiero is just completed, which is to be continued to meet
the railway projected between Belluno and Treviso. A new church is
being raised there, of proportions and design quite remarkable for
so remote a place. It was begun simultaneously with the troubles in
Italy, in 1866, and a creditable amount has been since laid out upon
it. The lofty vaulting of the nave is supported by ten monolithic
columns of granite; the floor is paved with hard cement, arranged
in patterns formed in colour; the smaller pillars, doors, steps,
mouldings, are all of granite; much of the tracery is very artistic;
the windows are of creditable painted glass, though not free from
the German vice of over-shading. The architect is Michel Maier, of
Trent; the elegant campanile by Geppert, of Innsbruck. It will be the
largest church in the whole of Wälsch-Tirol, after the Cathedral of
Trent. The interior arrangements and decoration bid fair to be worthy
of the structure. There is some good polychrome in the presbytery,
by Ciochetti, a young artist, native of the village of Moena, in
Fassathal, who in the last five years has had eleven medals from
the Academy of Fine Arts at Venice. It is the custom all through
the valley that each village should have its own gay banner, which
is carried before bridal processions to and from the church. But
at Predazzo they have many other peculiarities; among these is the
following:--The night before the wedding the bridegroom goes to the
house of the bride, accompanied by a party of musicians, knocks at
the door, and demands his bride. The eldest and least well-favoured
member of the household is then brought to him, on which a humorous
altercation takes place and a less ancient dame is brought, and so
on, till all have been passed in review, and then the intended bride
herself is brought at last, who admits the swain to the evening meal
of the family. The friends and neighbours then come in, and bring
their wedding gifts to the loving pair.
The Fassathal begins just after Moena. One of its wildest legends
is that of the feuriger Verräther. It dates from the time of the
Roman invasion. The mountain-dwellers appear to have been as zealous
defenders of their native fastnesses then as in later times, and it
is said the conquering legions were long wandering round the confines
without finding any who would lead them into the interior of the
country. It was at last an inhabitant of the Fassathal who betrayed
the narrow pass which was the key to their defences, and which
cost the liberty of the nation--all for the sake of the proffered
blood-money. But he was never suffered to enjoy it; for a flash like
lightning, though under a clear sky, struck him to the earth, and
ever since, the traitor has been to be met by night wrapt in flames,
and howling piteously.
Vigo is the principal town, and serves as the starting-point for
the magnificent mountain excursions of the neighbourhood. The most
difficult of these, and one only to be attempted by the well-seasoned
Alpine climber, [205] is that of the massive snow-clad Marmolata,
10,400 feet high, surnamed the Queen of the Dolomites; but she is
a severe and haughty queen, who knows how to hold her own, and keep
intruders at a distance; and many who have been enchanted with her
stern beauty from afar have rued the attempt at intruding on the cold
solitude of her eternal penance. For the legends tell that in her
youth she was covered with verdant charms, which made her the delight
of the people; but they were not content to use with pious moderation
the precious gifts she had in store, and for some sin of theirs--some
say for selfish disregard of the law of charity to the poor; [206] some
say for disregard of the Church's law forbidding to work on the hohe
Unser-frauentag (the Assumption), [207] some say for unjust striving
for the possession of the soil--the vengeance of Heaven overtook them,
and the once smiling meadows were converted into the hard and barren
glacier. Near Vigo is a little way-side chapel, highly prized, because
near it some French soldiers in the invasion of 1809 lost their way,
and the town was thus saved from their depredations; and the legend
arose that the Madonnabild had stricken them blind. Several of them
died of falls and hunger, and tradition says, that on wild nights notes
of distress from a dying bugler's horn may be heard resounding still.
The Avisio was once the boundary against Venetian territory; and
St. Ulrich dying on its banks, on his return from Rome, exacted of
his disciples a promise that they would carry his body across, so
that he might find his final rest on German soil.