PART II.—MODANE TO TURIN.

See Map of Mont Cenis Railway.

TURIN

58½

MODANE. At Modane passengers enter the carriages of the Alta

Italia Railway Company.

The Italian time is 47 minutes in advance of the Paris time. The best

time-table for Italy is the “Indicatore Ufficiale delle Strade Ferrate,”

1 fr.; also a smaller edition, 20 c., sold at all the railway

stations. Waiting-room is Sala d’Aspetto. W.-C’s., Cessi, or Latrine, or

Retirate. For ladies, Cessi per le donne. Smoking carriages, Pei

fumatori. Non-smoking carriages, E vietato il fumare. Way out,

Uscita. Way in, Entrata. Station, Stazione or Fermata.

MODANE

TURIN

5

53½

BARDONNECCHIA,

4127 ft., pop. 1600. At the station the Albergo della Stazione, and in

the town the Hôtel de France.

Situated near the Italian end of the tunnel, but in a more fertile

country than that above Modane.

MODANE

TURIN

12

46½

OULX, pop. 2000, and 3514 ft.

high. _Inn:_ Dell’ Alpi Cozzié, at the station.

At this pretty little village the road from Briançon, 17 m. S.W. by

Mont Genèvre, joins the rail. The mountains, which extend from Monte

Viso to Mont Cenis, were called the Alpes Cottiae, from King Cottius,

who, according to Pliny, reigned over this region some years before the

beginning of the Christian era (Pliny, _Hist. Nat._, lib. iii. cap.

20). Cottius erected the arch of Susa, and also constructed the road

from that town over the Cottian Alps, by Oulx to Ebrodunum, now Embrun, on the Durance (see page 343).

MODANE

TURIN

21¾

36¾

CHIOMONTE, 2526 ft.

Beyond are some charming views.

MODANE

TURIN

25½

33

MEANA, 1 m. from Susa, and 325

ft. above it. The train, having traversed beautiful chestnut woods,

crosses the Dora and arrives at Bussoleno, 30½ m. from Modane,

whence a loop-line of 5 m. extends to Susa, 1625 ft., pop. 5000. _Hotels:_ France;

Soleil.

This, the ancient Segusium, the chief city of the Segusiani, who

inhabited what is now called Savoy, is situated on the Dora, 1625 ft.

above the sea. On the W. side of the town is the Roman Triumphal Arch

erected about 8 b.c. in honour of

Augustus. It is adorned with Corinthian columns and sculptured friezes

on the entablature, but all are in a decayed condition. The cathedral,

San Giusto, dates from the llth cent.

12 m. from Bussoleno and 16 from Turin is San Ambrogio station, at the

foot of Monte Pirchiriano, 3150 ft. above the sea and 1500 above the

plain. On the summit is the convent of S. Michele della Chiusa,

founded by Ugone Marino in 966, and finished in 1000. It was partially

repaired by Carlo Alberto and Vittorio Emanuele II. The government

intend to establish a meteorological station here. A good mule-path

leads to the top in about an hour, passing the village of

S. Pietro, with a good inn, 2617 ft. above the sea.

opp. 293

plan of Turin

292

TURIN,

pop. 264,000, on the Po and the Dora Riparia, 785 ft. above the sea,

and 490 m. S.E. from Paris. The city derives its name from the

tribe Taurini, who were first the opponents and then the allies of the

Romans. When Hannibal descended from the Alps he destroyed the city,

that he might have nothing to dread from its hostility. Having risen

speedily from its ruins, it received within its walls the army of

reserve of Julius Cæsar when he marched against the Gauls. Under the

Lombards it was made the capital of a duchy, and became the favourite

residence of Queen Theodolinda, who, in 602, built the church of

S. Giovanni Battista, now the cathedral of Turin, reconstructed in

1498. Francis I. so damaged Turin in 1536 that its entire

reconstruction became necessary. The streets are wide, clean, and well

paved, and pass through spacious squares ornamented with statues and

bordered by handsome arcades. The most aristocratic part of Turin is the

western end of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II. and the streets

ramifying southwards from this.

_Hotels._—The *Europa, 19 Piazza Castello.

In the same square, and less expensive, is the H. di Londra. This

piazza is in the neighbourhood of the principal sights, and is the

terminus of the most important trams. The other first-class houses are:

the *Torino, opposite the arrival side of the station. The *Liguria, 14

Piazza Bodoni, with one end to the Via Carlo Alberto. Their new house is

at 9 Via Madama Cristina, near the English chapel and the Vaudois

church. The Liguria is patronised by Messrs. Cook. The H. Feder, 8

Via S. Francesco di Paolo. At 31 and 29 Via Roma, the Angleterre;

and the Trombetta. The Albergo Centrale, Via delle Finanze; Bonne Femme

(Buona Fama), Via Barbaroux. Less expensive: H. *Suisse;

H. Bologna, both opposite arrival side of station; *France et

Concorde, Via dell’ Accademia Albertina, with one side to the Via di Po;

Albergo del Campo di Marte, 40 Via della Providencia; the Dogana

Vecchia, 4 Via Corte d’Appello; Albergo del Gran Mogol, 41 Via

Lagrange.

_Cabs._—One

horse, from 6 a.m. till midnight, the

course, 1 fr. First half-hour, 1 fr. First hour, 1½ fr. Each

successive half-hour, 75 c. The course from midnight to 6 a.m., 1¼ fr. From the central station to any part of

the town, 1¼ fr. Trunks, 20 c. each. Cabs with 2 horses, ½ fr.

additional. Porters, for carrying each portmanteau from the station to a

cab, 2 sous. Each small article, either to cab or to the railway

carriage, 1 sou.

Horse-trams traverse Turin in every direction; while the steam-trams

293

run from the city to the towns and villages not only within but beyond

the suburbs. The fare of the horse-trams is universally 2 sous; that of

the steam-trams from 12 sous to 3 frs. 18 sous. In the horse-trams

no more than four may occupy one seat.

Turin: Stations.

_Stations._—The most important is the

Central Station, a well-situated and well-arranged and

spacious edifice. On a tablet on the departure side is an inscription to

the honour of George and Robert Stephenson. Parallel to the station is

the wide and handsome Corso Vittorio Emanuele, which traverses the city

from east to west, having at the eastern end the Po and the Giardino

Pubblico, and at the western the model prison, the Carcere giudiziario,

the artillery barracks, and the cattle-market. In front of the station

is a bronze statue of Massimo d’Azeglio, a poet and painter, who

died in 1866, one of those who helped to throw off the yoke of Rome.

Behind the statue is the garden or Piazza Carlo Felice, and the straight

street, the Via Roma, extending to the Piazza Castello, by the Piazza

S. Carlo, with, in the centre, a bronze equestrian statue,

modelled by Marochetti in 1838, of Emanuele Filiberto, Duke of Savoy,

and son of Carlo III. il Buono. He died in 1580. The attitude is

rather theatrical. The station for Rivoli, at the west end of the Piazza

dello Statuto, communicates with the P. Castello by the Via

Garibaldi. The Cirié Lanzo station is on the Dora, N. side of plan, at

the Ponte-Mosca. Opposite the Rivoli station, in the Piazza dello

Statuto, is a monument to the engineers of Mt. Cenis tunnel, in the

shape of a pyramid, 60 ft. high, composed of huge blocks of unhewn

granite, up which scramble discomfited, colossal, naked Titans in white

marble. On the pinnacle stands the Genius of Science, of a slighter

make, and on a tablet the names of the engineers, Sommeiller, Gratoni,

and Grandi.

Turin: Post Office. Booksellers.

_Post and telegraph

offices_ are in the Piazza Carlo Alberto, by the side of the

Palazzo Carignano (p. 297).

Stamps are sold at all the tobacco shops. This piazza is close to the

P. Castello, and connected with the Via di Po by a lofty arcade,

covered with glass, and bordered on both sides with well-stocked

shops.

_Booksellers._—For maps of Italy,

Carlo Crespi, 2 Via Lagrange. For guide-books, Loescher and Brero, both

in the Via di Po.

Money-changers in the central railway station and in the principal

streets. In the main streets are also elegant Cafés, where the charge in

all of them for a good cup of coffee with a piece of ice is 6 sous. The

same price for an excellent ice cream heaped up in a glass.

_Theatres._—See list on plan. A short

way east from the central

294

station, in the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, is the Vaudois church, built in

1853. Adjoining are the Vaudois schools, and behind, at 15 Via Pio

Quinto, the Anglican chapel. Near the chapel is the synagogue,

a handsome edifice with square towers crowned with balloon-like

cupolas.

Turin: Sights.

_Sights._—The museums and picture gallery

(Pinacoteca) in the “Accademia delle Scienze,” with one side to the

Piazza Carignano and another to the Via dell’ Accademia delle Scienze.

Nearly opposite is the Palazzo Carignano, containing the zoological and

mineralogical collections. The white marble statue in front represents

the philosopher, Vincenzo Gioberti, born 5th April 1801 in the house

opposite, 5 Via Lagrange, where a white marble tablet states: “II Conte

Camillo di Cavour naque in questa casa, addi 10 Agosto 1810. E vi

mori il 6 Giugno 1861.” The armoury, enter by door headed “Reale Armeria

Antica” under corridor, 13 Piazza Castello; adjoining is the Royal

Palace. On the other side of the palace is the cathedral, San Giovanni.

A walk down the Via di Po. Several drives in the horsetrams. All

the above places are near each other, around the Piazza Castello. The

only one that is at a little distance is the Museo Civico, up the side

street, V. Rossini, from the Via di Po. The Superga, by steam tram

from the Piazza Castello.

Turin: Palazzo dell’ Accademia. Museum of Antiquities.

The Museum of Antiquities and the Picture Gallery.

The Palazzo dell’ Accademia delle Scienze, designed by Guarini, was

built in 1678 as a college for the sons of noblemen. It is a vast

earthy-coloured brick edifice, of which the ornaments, mouldings, and

cornices are also of dingy brick. On the ground-floor are the more

massive, and in the first story the smaller antiquities. In the second

story is the picture gallery, containing about 800 paintings in fifteen

rooms. Open daily from 9 to 4, 1 fr. On Sundays and feast-days

free, when it is open from 12 to 4. The large antiquities are contained

in two halls. Hall 1. Left. In the centre, against the wall,

under an inscription in honour of the Egyptologist Champollion, is the

gem of the collection, a black basalt statue of Sesostris,

Rameses II., 1388 b.c. On his

right, in rose-coloured granite, is the colossal statue of

Amenophis II., 1565 b.c., and on

his left a small black basalt statue of Amenophis II., the god

Ptah. Opposite are three figures in a sitting posture, representing the

Egyptian Trinity, Osiris, Horus, and Isis. At the head of this hall is

the colossal red sandstone statue of Seti II., in whose reign the

exodus of the Israelites took place. From

295

this a room ramifies at right angles, containing Greek and Roman

statues, busts, friezes, vases, etc.

Parallel to Hall 1 is Hall 2. At the head of this hall, in a

sitting posture, is the black basalt statue of Thothmes III., 1591 b.c., who was one of the most powerful of

the Pharaohs.

Upstairs, first floor, are the smaller antiquities, contained in

three large halls and several rooms. Near the centre of the first hall,

left, is the oldest of all the articles in the museum, the pedestal of a

table covered with hieroglyphics, supposed to have been made about 2654

b.c. A little farther down, in

the centre of the hall, under a glass case, No. 13, is the Tabula

Isiaca, a bronze tablet, 4 ft. long by 2 ft. 2 in. wide, inlaid

with hieroglyphics in silver, made at Rome in the reign of Hadrian.

Exactly opposite this tablet commences the passage that leads to the

smaller rooms. In the first room, left, in the corner, is a colossal

bust of Juno, hollowed, that the priest might the more easily work the

oracle. In the first room, right, is a mosaic pavement, found at

Stampacci in Sardinia. The rooms contain besides Phoenician terracotta

figures, Etruscan vases, statuettes, urns, reliefs, ancient iron

ornaments, lamps, etc.

The Centre Hall contains idols, jewellery, amulets,

sarcophagi, mummies, Egyptian heads with the hair on, and bricks made by

the Israelites.

In the Third Hall are the Papyri, of which the most important

are: No. 4, near centre, against left wall, in second row, The Book

of the Dead, 35 ft. long and 8 in. wide, illustrated with plain

vignettes. Opposite, in centre of hall, is 126, fragments of the famous

annals of Manetho, which contained a list of more than 300 kings

of Egypt down to the 19th dynasty.

Turin: Picture Gallery.

In the second story is the Picture Gallery. All the paintings are

labelled. In Room 1 are portraits of princes of the house of

Savoy, and battles in which they were engaged. Room 2. In this

room are excellent specimens of the Turin painter, Gaudenzio Ferrari,

No. 49, St. Peter and Donor; 52, Madonna and St. Elizabeth; 53, God; 54,

Descent from Cross; 57, Joachim driven from the Temple. Rooms 3

and 4. Italian pictures, Massimo d’Azeglio, another Turin

painter, 90, a Landscape. Room 5. Italian paintings of the

14th, 15th, and 16th cents.: Clovio, 127 bis, an Entombment, painted on

silk; Bronzino, 127 and 128, Portraits of Eleonora da Toledo and her

husband, Cosimo I. de Medici. Room 6. J. da Ponte (II

Bassano), 148, Portrait; P. Caliari (Paolo Veronese), 157, Queen of

Sheba presenting

296

gifts to Solomon; A. Carracci, 158, St. Peter; Caravaggio, 161,

Musician; J. Robusti (Il Tintoretto), 162, The Trinity. Room

7. Guido Reni, 163, S. Giovanni; Spagnoletto, 174, St. Jerome.

Room 8. Enamels and paintings on porcelain by Constantin of

Geneva. Room 9. A small room entirely filled with fruit and

flower pieces by Dutch artists. Between rooms 9 and 10 is a dark lobby,

hung also with pictures. Room 10. Continuation of the Italian

school, 16th, 17th, and 18th cents.: B. Strozzi, 232, Portrait of

Prelate; 251, Homer singing his own Songs; Paolo Veronese, 234, Mary

Magdalene at our Lord’s Feet; Guido Reni, 235, Apollo; 236, Cupids;

G. Dughet (Poussin), 237, 238, Tivoli Waterfalls; G. F.

Barbieri (Il Guercino), 239, 262, *S. Francesca Romana, and in next

room, Return of Prodigal Son. Room 11. A. Canale (Il

Canaletto), 257 bis, Ducal Palace, Venice; F. Albani, 260, 264,

271, and 274, The Four Elements; S. Ricci, 272, Hagar sent away;

275, Solomon burns the Idols; C. Dolce, 276, Head of Madonna;

B. Bellotto, 283, 288, Royal Palace, Turin; Old Bridge across the

Po. Room 12. Flemish and German school: Acken (Bosch), 309, an

Adoration; G. Van Eyck, 313, St. Francis; Rogier Van des Weyden,

312, *Madonna; F. Franck, 335, Room with Ladies and Gentlemen; Van

Dyck, 338, 351, The three Children of Charles I. of England; *The

Princess Clara Eugenia of Spain; Rubens, 340, Sketch of his apotheosis

of Henri IV. in the Uffici of Florence. Room 13. Containing the

gems of the collection: A. Mantegna, 355, Virgin, Child, and

Saints; L. Credi, 356, *Virgin and Child; G. F. Barbieri

(Guercino), 357, *Virgin and Child; Hans Memling, 358, *The Seven

Sorrows of the Woman Mary; Saenredam, 361, *Interior of a Protestant

Church, the figures by A. Ostade; Van Dyck, 363, *Large equestrian

portrait of the Principe Tommaso di Savoia; his finest work is **384,

Holy Family; D. Teniers, 364, Tavern; G. Ferrari, 371, Jesus

giving up the Ghost; Raphael, 373, *La Madonna della Tenda; Donatello,

375, Virgin and child in relief on marble; Sodoma, 376, *Death of

Lucretia; P. Potter, 377, *Cattle grazing in a meadow;

H. Holbein, 386, Portrait of Erasmus. Room 14. Dutch and

German school: Picture by Jordaens; Sallaert, 398, Procession in

Brussels; Floris, 410, Adoration; P. P. Rubens, 416, Resurrection

of Lazarus; C. Vos, 417, Portraits of Snyders and his wife; Teniers

(the younger), 423, Card Players; Schalcken, 458, Old Woman. Room

15. French school: C. Gélée (Claude Lorrain), 478, 483,

Landscapes; I. Courtois (Bourguignon), 481, Cavalry Charge.

Catalogues sold of the contents of the museums and picture gallery.

297

Palazzo Carignano. Royal Armoury.

Museum of Zoology and Mineralogy.

Opposite the Palazzo dell’ Accademia, but a little to the left, is

the Palazzo Carignano, also by Guarini, and also of earthy-coloured

brick; but the decorations are superior, more varied, and more pleasing

than those of the Palazzo dell’ Accademia. In large gilt letters, on the

façade fronting the Piazza Carignano and the statue of Gioberti, are the

words, “Qui nacque Vittorio Emanuele II.” Within is a high and

spacious court, surrounded by lofty halls, and at the east end, fronting

the Piazza Carlo Alberto, with the beautiful bronze monument to him by

Marochetti, cast in London, is the more pretentious stone façade, built

in 1871, but not in harmony with the rest of the building. (See also

p. 293.) In this palace, magnificently

housed, are the zoological and mineralogical collections. Open daily,

1 fr. Sundays and feast-days free.

Royal Armoury.

No. 13 Palazzo Castello, open on feast-days from 11 to 3 free.

On other days procure admission from the secretary. This collection is

of great interest only to the inhabitants of northern Italy, as it is

filled chiefly with relics of their kings, dukes, and wars. In the first

room is “Favorito,” the favourite horse of the magnanimous Ré, Carlo

Alberto. Above it, near the roof, are numerous tattered flags taken in

battle. In the large hall are two rows of armed knights and

foot-soldiers. At the head of this hall, in a glass case, numbered 301,

is an embossed oval shield, inlaid with gilding, and surrounded by a

fringe of massive gold thread. On five medallions are represented, in

_alto-relievo_, scenes from the war of Marius against Jugurtha. It

belongs to the school of Giulio Romano, was executed probably in the

latter half of the 16th cent., and was presented to the university of

Turin by the Princess Vittoria di Sassonia Hilburghausen. Among the

relics are the sword worn by Napoleon at the battle of Marengo, the

saddle of Charles V., and some beautifully inlaid body-armour of

the Dukes of Savoy. The large door at the end of this hall opens into

the “Medagliere del Ré,” containing 30,000 Greek, Roman and ancient

coins and medals, including a complete series of those struck in the

State of Sardinia; and also 5000 medallions, seals and stamps. In this

same part is the Biblioteca del Ré, with 40,000 vols., 1800 MSS.,

numerous autographs, engravings and drawings by the great masters. To

visit these special permission must be obtained. From the windows of the

armoury is a view of the palace-gardens.

298

At the N.E. angle of the Piazza Castello is the Teatro Regio, considered

the finest work of Benedetto Alfieri. It is seated for 2500, and is open

only during carnival and on extraordinary occasions.

Turin: Royal Palace.

In the absence of the royal family the palace may be visited. It is a

plain brick building, commenced in 1646, with the front to the Piazza

Castello, plastered to imitate stone. Having passed the main entrance,

turn to the left. At the end of this corridor is seen, through a glass

door, the equestrian statue of Vittorio Amadeo I. (died 1675) in a

niche at the foot of the grand staircase. The rider is in bronze, the

horse in marble. Ascend the marble steps, then, to the right, two

flights of narrow steps lead to the hall of the palace, where the

servants will be found who show the palace. Fee, 1 fr.; party,

2 frs. After the guardroom succeeds a series of rooms with much

gilding, inlaid floors, and rich furniture. The pictures are all modern,

and of no great merit. The room called Maria Theresa’s contains some

fine china vases.

Turin: The Cathedral.

The Cathedral.

Adjoining the western end of the palace is the Cathedral San

Giovanni Battista. To the left of the altar is the pew of the royal

family. Behind the altar, and approached by two staircases of 37 steps

each, is the Cappella del Sudario (open till 9 a.m.), a circular chapel, separated from the

church by a glass screen. It was built by Guarini in 1694, and is

encrusted with the dark grayish-blue marble from Fabrosa, near Mondovi,

which brings out in striking relief the pure white of the statues and

the rich gilding of the ornaments, cornices, capitals, and eight-limbed

stars which spangle the interior. Double monolith columns of the same

dark marble, with bronze pedestals and capitals, support six arches

ornamented with diaper-work on the soffits. Above them rise six smaller

arches containing the windows, while the dome or cupola is composed of

an intricate series of interlacing zigzag arched ribs rising from the

second tier, and intermingled with loopholes, which throw light in such

a manner upon the star at the summit as to give it the appearance of

being suspended. The beautiful altar, lighted with gold and silver

lamps, has two faces, so that two masses are said before it at the same

time. The shrine on this altar is said to contain the shroud (Sudario)

in which Joseph of Arimathea wrapped the body of our Lord when he laid

Him in the tomb. Round the chapel are the beautiful white marble

monuments of three kings of the house of Savoy—Em. Filiberto (ob.

1580), by Marchesi; Carlo Emanuele II. (ob. 1675), by Fraccaroli;

and Amedeo VIII., first Duke of Savoy (ob.

299

1451), by Cacciatori. One prince, the Principe Tommaso (ob. 1656), by

Gaggini. In a sitting posture is the lovely statue of Queen Maria

Adelaide, consort of Vit. Em. II. (ob. 1855), by Revelli. The door

behind the altar communicates with the upper corridors of the palace.

Outside the palace gates is San Lorenzo, designed by Guarini, and

finished in 1687. The interior is gorgeous, but it is chiefly

distinguished for the boldness of its arches.

Turin: The Castello. Museo Civico.

The Castello.

The large brick building in the centre of the Piazza Castello was

erected in the 13th century, and called the Castello till 1718, when it

became the favourite residence of the widow of Carlo Emanuele II.,

Madama M. G. Battista, who built the stone façade, and in honour of

whom it has ever since been called the Palazzo Madama. Before the seat

of government was removed to Florence the senators assembled in the

great hall of this palace. One of the towers is used as an observatory,

and another part of the palace by the “Accademia reale di Medicina,” who

here hold their meetings, and have also a museum of craniology.

Museo Civico.

Via Gaudenzio Ferrari, No. 1, near the Via di Po. Open from 12 to 3,

1 fr. Sundays and feast-days free. First room, autographs and MSS.

of celebrated Piedmontese. 2. Water-colours, representing

landscapes and historical scenes in Piedmont. Under glass frame is a

solid oblong chased silver vase, 3 ft. and some inches in its greater

diameter, and 2 ft. 8 inches in its smaller. At each of the two long

ends is a lion’s head with a ring in his mouth. Near this vase, and also

under a glass frame, and also in solid silver, are two candelabra,

a vase, and two flower-holders adorned with figures in relief. The

first was presented in 1871 by the English Government, and the other by

that of the United States to the Count Frederic Sclopis, President of

the Geneva arbitration in the Alabama question, and given to this

institution by his widow. None of them display much art; as for the

English vase, it needs only a lid to turn it into a respectable

soup-tureen.

The rooms from 4 to 11 contain modern oil-paintings,

some very good, and all labelled. Down the centre are white marble

statues; among the best are Eve and the Serpent by Fantacchiotti, and

the Crucifixion of Eulalia by E. Franceschi. Second

story.—Room 12, Embroidery; 13, Miniatures and

illustrated MSS.; 14, Iron work; 15, Carving in wood and

ivory—notice 947, Judgment of Solomon; 16, Glass and

300

majolica; 17, Italian porcelain; 18, Busts; 19,

Small oil-paintings and uniform of Azeglio; *20, Italian painted

glass from 1300; 21, Egyptian pottery; 22, Pottery and

stone age.

Turin: Via di Po. University. Madre di Dio.

The Via di Po.

The finest of the streets is the Via di Po, which extends from

the Piazza Castello to the great rectangular square, the Piazza Vittorio

Emanuele, on the bank of the Po; and as both of these spacious squares,

as well as this magnificent street, are lined throughout with wide and

lofty arcades, they form together an excellent and interesting walk in

all weathers. The Via di Po is 768 yards long and 19½ wide, and the

pavement within the arcade 6½ yards wide. Good shops are ranged on both

sides of the street under the arcades. In the Via di Po is also the

University,

built in 1713 by Vittorio Amedeo II., but founded in 1404 by the

Prince Lodovico di Acaia. It is attended by 2500 students, and directed

by 70 professors. The Library, open every day from 9 to 4, contains

200,000 volumes and 3000 MSS. In the court are Roman bas-reliefs,

inscriptions, and statues, ancient and modern. Between the Via di Po and

the Piazza Carlo Emanuele ramifies the Via dell’ Accademia Albertina,

containing at No. 6 the Accademia Albertina delle Belle Arti. Open

daily. Apply to the custodi.

The Piazza Vittorio Emanuele is 394 yards

long and 121½ wide. In front, on the other side of the Po, is a

conspicuous church, the Gran Madre di Dio, built in 1818, in the

style of the Pantheon at Rome, by Bansignori, to commemorate the return

of Vittorio Emanuele I. to Turin after the fall of Napoleon.

A little to the right on a hill (Il Monte) is a Capuchin convent,

built towards the end of the 16th cent. The road up is very easy, and

the view from the terrace admirable. Immediately above the Madre di Dio

church is the palace, La Vigna della Regina, built by Prince Maurice of

Savoy, which after his time was inhabited by one of the queens of

Sardinia, from whom it acquired its present name, “The Queen’s

Vineyard.” It is now a government school for the education of children

of military men. Up the river, beyond the suspension bridge, is the

Castello del Valentino, distinguished from a distance by its four

pavilions with high-pitched roofs. It was built by the widow of Victor

Amadeus I., daughter of Henri IV. of France, and is now used as a

government school of civil engineering. It contains a good collection of

minerals, the larger part of which, obtained from Sardinian provinces,

are topographically arranged. The Botanical Garden belonging to

the university is also here.

301

Turin: Monument to Cavour.

Monuments.

In the Piazza Carlo Emanuele II., a short way S. from Piazza

Castello, is the monument to Camillo Cavour, by Dupré of Florence, for

which he received £1200, contributed by the inhabitants of every part of

Italy in 1872. The statues are in white marble, the tablets and friezes

in bronze, and the pedestal in granite. The monument is tame and mystic.

Cavour, in an upright position, holds in his hand a scroll bearing the

words, “libera chiesa in libero stato.” (See p. 294.) The climate of Turin is more suitable for

bronze than for marble statues. To the west is the Piazza S. Carlo,

with a bronze monument to Emanuele Filiberto (see p. 293). Farther west, in the Piazza Solferino, is

the remarkable, almost painful, bronze group representing Ferdinando di

Savoia (brother of V. Emanuele II.) at the battle of Novara in

1848. When about to lead the charge on the Bicocca his horse fell,

mortally wounded. The poor animal, on bended knees, with gaping mouth

and outstretched neck, seems about to breathe its last in an agony of

suffering.

A short way west from the Piazza Castello by the Via Palazzo di Citta

is the Piazza del Palazzo di Citta, having on one side the Palazzo di

Citta, or the Municipality buildings, designed by Lanfrachi, and erected

in 1659. At the entrance to the Palazzo are the marble statues of the

celebrated Prince Eugene and the Duke of Genoa, brother of King Victor

Emanuel, and under the portico statues of Prince Thomas di Carignano and

Victor Emanuel. In the centre of the square is a bronze group

representing Count Verde (Amadeus VI.) over a fallen Saracen. Close

to this square is the church of Corpus Domini, with the interior

encrusted with beautiful marble, and ornamented with frescoes and

gilding. From this the Via Milano leads towards the Piazza Em.

Filiberto, passing by on the left S. Domenico, and on the right the

Basilica. In S. Domenico, in the first chapel to the right of the

altar, is a picture of the Virgin by Guercino.

Turin: La Consolata. Cemetery.

Near the Piazza Em. Filiberto, by the Via Giulio, is the church

La

Consolata, with an ugly square brick tower. It consists of three

churches built at different periods. On the principal altar is a

miracle-working image of the Virgin; while a great part of the adjoining

walls is hung with pictures illustrating the cures and deliverances

effected by it. Two lovely kneeling figures, in the most precious

Carrara marble, looking towards the altar, represent respectively Maria

Theresa, queen of Carlo Alberto, and Maria Adelaide, queen of Vit.

Emanuele,

302

dressed in the same way as they used to be when they attended worship

every Sunday in this chapel. They both died in 1855. In the square

outside, on a granite column, is a statue of the Virgin, erected in

fulfilment of a vow when the cholera raged in 1835.

In the Piazza Savoia, near the Piazza dello Statuto, is an obelisk 72

ft. high, erected in 1854 to commemorate the abolition of the

ecclesiastical courts. On the four sides are the names of the towns

which contributed to the monument.

Less than a mile from the Ponte delle Benne is the cemetery or Campo Santo of

Turin. (See N.E. corner of plan.) It is badly kept and not worth

visiting. The inner or new part is a little better.

A little to the W. of the P. Solferino, and parallel to it, is the

citadel and the barracks of the Cernaia. In front of the entrance is the

monument to Pietro Mico, who, to save the citadel from the enemy, sprang

a mine at the cost of his own life.

Turin: La Superga.

La Superga.

Leave by the steam tram starting from the Piazza Castello; the

time-table is in the waiting-room, where the tickets are also sold half

an hour before starting. As the train can take only a limited number,

the tickets are generally all taken in the first 10 minutes. The tram

runs down the Via Po, crosses the Ponte Vit. Emanuele I., passes by

the western end of the church, the “Great Mother of God,” and descends

by the left side of the Po to the Cassale station, whence the ascent

commences by the rope and locomotive railway constructed by Agudio, and

opened in 1884. The ascent takes 20 minutes, the length is 3500 yards,

the average inclination 13%, and the greatest 20%. At the Superga

station are waiting-rooms, and a few feet below them a commodious

restaurant. On arriving at the station ascend by the road, right hand,

for the Superga. The walk down the mountain is very pleasant, and it is

probable that the pedestrian will fall in with some tram when on the

main road to Turin.

The Superga is situated 4½ m. N.E. from Turin, on a mountain 1420 ft.

above the Po, or 2146 ft. above the sea, and cost £100,000. It was

commenced by Vittorio Amedeo II. in 1717, and finished in 1731, to

fulfil a vow made by him on 7th September 1706, for the victory over the

French at the battle of Turin, when the house of Savoy regained the

duchy. The architect was Filippo Juvara.

Enter by door at the north side of the building, where the men will

be

303

found who conduct visitors over the church. Gratuity optional. The first

hall shown contains small and indifferent portraits of all the popes.

Then down 27 large marble steps to the crypt. At the foot is a white

marble group, St. Michael overcoming Satan. None of the monuments are

worthy the name of royal mausoleums. The best are: in centre, Carlo

Alberto, 1779-1849; at right hand end, Carlo Emanuele III.,

1701-1773; towards left, Duke Ferdinando de Genova, a colossal

white marble statue; at left end, Vittorio Amedeo II., the founder,

1666-1732. In an adjoining vault children under seven are buried.

From this ascend by 357 steps from floor of church to the gallery

outside the lantern. A door about 80 steps up opens into the

gallery round the interior of the octagonal dome, whence the church is

well seen. The top of the lantern is 229½ ft. above the pavement of the

church.

Turin: Views. Lamprede. Wines.

The chief object for visiting the Superga is the splendid view from

the outside gallery of the lantern. In one direction is the plain of

Piedmont with the Po wandering across it; everywhere else the horizon is

bounded by a vast chain of snowy Alps, with Monte Rosa on one side and

Mont Blanc on the other.

Among the delicacies of Turin are the lamprede, thin eels from 5 to 8 inches long, caught

in the Po. They are killed by being plunged into milk. The white

truffles are also celebrated, and when cooked “à la Piedmontese” or “à

la fonduta,” and taken with a bottle of Asti wine, make most enjoyable

dishes. The vermouth of

Turin is an agreeable aperitive, and is taken before sitting down to

table. The best wines of Piedmont are the Caluzo, a white wine; the

Barolo, a dryish red wine with a taste of the soil; the Barbera,

a strong red wine; and the Nebrolo. The Gressini are double baked

bread in strips 18 inches long and a quarter of an inch thick. In the

Italian houses a handful of them is put down to each cover at the

dinner-table. They are made at very many places besides Turin; even at

Cannes on the Riviera. A great deal of maccheroni (macaroni) is

consumed in Italy. In Turin are important silk mills.

Turin to Cuneo, 54¾ m. S., by Cavallermaggiore (see p. 153). Turin to Genoa,

103¼ m. S.E., by Asti, Alessandria, and Novi (see p. 279).

Turin to

Savona, 91¼ m. S.E., by Carmagnola, Bra, Carru, and Ceva (see

p. 183, and map

p. 27). Turin to Florence,

291 m. S.E., by Asti, Alessandria, Piacenza, Parma, Modena,

Bologna, and Pistoja (see p. 309, and map p. 199).

THE WALDENSIAN VALLEYS

and the Passes between France and Italy.

opp. 304

[Northwest] _See map, page 291._

[West] _For continuation of the French Waldensian Valleys see map, page 326._

see caption

_For S. continuation see map, page 103._

304

THE VALLEES VAUDOISES, OR

THE VALLEYS OF THE WALDENSES.

(See accompanying Map.)

The Waldensian valleys are very beautiful, are drained by splendid

trout-streams, and possess a rich variety of rare plants.

The chief town, Torre-Pèllice (formerly called Torre-Luserna) is 34¼

miles S.W. from Turin by rail, passing by Pinerolo, 23½ m. S.W.

from Turin, and 10¾ m. N.E. from Torre-Pèllice. From Pinerolo a

steam tram runs 12 m. N.W. up the valley of the Chisone to Perosa,

the second Waldensian town in importance. Time, 1 hr. 30 min. The tram

station is near the railway station.

Pinerolo is connected with Saluzzo by steam tram, 2 hrs. 20 min. S.,

2 frs. 15 c. and 1 fr. 55 c., passing Osasco and Cavour. This

tram station is at some distance from the Pinerolo railway station.

The Italian steam

trams run on single lines laid on one side only of the highroads.

Some towns they traverse, while others they merely skirt. They afford

excellent opportunities for seeing the country, but run neither so

quickly nor so smoothly as the railway trains.

Rail between Cuneo and Mondoví, 11½ m. E. and 58 m. S. by rail

from Turin. Mondoví, pop. 17,000, on the Ellero; _Inn:_ Tré Limoni

d’Oro. On one side of the Ellero is the railway station, and on the

other are the inn and town, built on the lower slopes of a wooded hill

rising from the river. The Via San Agostino contains the best shops. On

the top of the hill is another town nearly as large as Mondoví (see

p. 184).

The country of the Italian Waldenses consists of parts of the valleys

of Pèllice, San Martino, and Perosa or Chisone, is about 20 m. long

from W. to E. by 13 broad, is divided into 15 parishes, exclusive of the

isolated parish of Turin, and contains a population of about 25,000.

They have besides a thriving colony in Uruguay. Till Cavour in 1848

procured for Italy civil and religious liberty, the Waldenses were

confined by law to their valleys; now, however, they have spread

themselves over the best parts of Italy, while many emigrate every year

to the United States and to Uruguay. Of late mills and manufactories

have been established on their rivers, which has caused a large influx

of Piedmontese workmen, so that many Waldensian towns and villages which

up to 1848 were inhabited almost exclusively by Protestants have now a

larger population of Romanists.

These valleys are very fertile, bearing luxuriant crops of maize,

wheat, barley, potatoes, French beans, etc., intersected by long rows

305

of vines on high trelliswork, and studded with mulberry, apricot, peach,

apple, pear, and cherry trees, while at the base of the densely-wooded

mountains which enclose them are walnut and chestnut trees. The only

high mountain in the territory is Monte Meidassa, 10,185 ft., between

the valleys of the Pèllice and the Po, which river has its source 6625

ft. above the sea among the snowy summits of Monte Viso, 12,607 ft.,

a short way south from Monte Meidassa by either the Col dell’

Agnello or the Col Traversette, 9680 ft.

Waldensian Doctrines and

Persecutions.

The Vaudois inhabited originally not only the valleys on the E. side

of the Alps but also those of Louise, Embrun, and Barcelonnette on the

French side (pp. 344, 345), and, as

there was constant communication between them, French became the common

language, as it is still in a great measure. They consider themselves a

part of the Apostolic Church, which by its isolated position in the then

almost inaccessible ravines had escaped the early innovations introduced

by the church of Rome; albeit not altogether, for they admitted

confession by contrite prayer to God and the mention aloud of their sins

to a priest, the power of priests to bind and to loose, that sins were

of two classes, mortal and venial, and the efficacy of fasts and

penance. At the Reformation all these were swept away, and the doctrines

and church polity of Calvin adopted. The independent church of the

Waldenses, or valley-people, existed about a century before the arrival

of Pierre Valdo from Lyons in 1180. Their name is supposed to be derived

from “valle densa,” contracted into Vallenses, Valdenses, and finally

Vaudois. The first serious persecution of the Italian Vaudois was begun

at the instigation of Yolande, sister of Louis XI and wife of Amadée

IX., Duke of Savoy. By her representation Innocent VIII. in 1487

fulminated against the Waldenses a bull of extermination. Whoever killed

any of these heretics were to be absolved from promises they had made,

property wrongly obtained by them was to be rendered legal, and they

were to have a complete remission of all their sins. Persecution among

the French Vaudois commenced in the 13th cent.

Torre-Pèllice.

Torre-Pèllice, pop. 5200, _Inn:_

H. de l’Ours, good and comfortable, is situated on the Pèllice and

its affluent the Angrogna, 34¼ m. S.W. by rail from Turin,

10½ m. from Pinerolo, and 1¼ m. from the station of

Luserna-San Giovanni, pop. of both places together, 4200. Luserna is a

considerable town to the N. of the station. _Inn:_ Albergo del

Belvédère. Opposite is San Giovanni, a large unfinished-looking

village, with barracks, a “Tempio Evangelico,” and several

elementary Protestant schools.

306

Torre-Pèllice is a thriving town in the midst of a fertile valley

enclosed within most picturesque mountains. At the west end are the

Waldensian church, the manse, the college, and the higher school for

girls. At the other end of the town are the inn, the post and telegraph

office, the Romanist church and schools, and up by the Angrogna the

Baptist chapel and manse. On the rivers are cotton and flour mills, and

dye and calico-printing works. These establishments have attracted many

Piedmontese to the town, which, from this and other causes, have made

the Romanist population more numerous than the Protestant.

The wine made in the valley of Pèllice is principally red, and is

drunk in the second year. A beautiful walk extends up the valley of

the Angrogna to Perosa, about 6 hrs. N. by the defile of Pra de Tor,

4360 ft., and the village of Pramollo with Waldensian chapel and

schools. Pop. of the district of Pramollo, 1350.

Bobbio. Mirabouc. Col de la Croix.

Torre-Pèllice to Mont Dauphin

by Bobbio, Mirabouc, Les Granges des Pras, the Col de la Croix, La

Monta, and Abriés, 47 m. W., 16 to 17 hrs. walking. Up to Bobbio, 2838 ft, 7½ m. and 2½

hrs. walking, pop. 1520, Tempio Evangelico, _Inns:_ Camoscio, etc.,

there is nothing particular. Afterwards the valley gradually contracts

till it becomes a mere gorge, having at the entrance the ruins of

Fort Mirabouc. At Mirabouc,

4718 ft., the valley turns southward to the inn and custom-house

station, 5683 ft., about 3½ hrs. from Bobbio, where provisions and

accommodation may be had for the night. From this commences the ascent

of the Col, 7576 ft.,

17 m. from Torre-Pèllice and 30 from Mont Dauphin, commanding a

splendid view of Monte Viso. The top (with an Hospice) is nearly level,

and the descent by the French side easy. At La Chalp the track joins the

char-à-banc road leading to Mont Dauphin by La Monta, Ristolas, Abriés,

and Guillestre. (For Mont Dauphin and

Guillestre, see p. 344, and map

p. 304.)

Pinerolo.

PINEROLO.

23½ m. S.W. from Turin by rail and 10¾ m. NE. from Torre-Pèllice is

Pinerolo, 1237 ft., pop. 19,000. _Inns:_ *Couronne d’Or; Campana;

Cannon d’Oro. A handsome but rather a straggling town, with a large

Piazza d’Armi, a good promenade, several hospitals, and

representatives of the chief Italian banks. It contains besides a public

library, various colleges and schools, including one for cavalry and

another for music. The Waldenses have a chapel near the public garden,

and a school for girls and another for boys. In the Via Sommeiller is a

large seminary. The Cathedral is a handsome building, served by a large

staff of dignitaries. In the Piazzetta Santa Croce is

307

the Italian Alpine Club. _Cabs_—the course, 1 fr.; the

hour, 1 fr. 75 c.; each successive half-hour, 1 fr.

Perosa. Col d’Abriés.

Near the centre of the town is the terminus of the steam tram to

Saluzzo, 2¼ hrs. Near the railway station is the terminus of the steam

tram to Perosa, 12 m. N.W. from Pinerolo. Perosa, 2015 ft., pop. 2400, _Inn:_

H. National, agreeably situated on the Chisone near its junction

with the Germanasca. On the other side of the Chisone is Pomaretto, pop.

760, with a Waldensian chapel and school.

Perosa to Mont Dauphin.—There

is a post-road up the Germanasca and down the Guil, an affluent of the

Durance, to Mont Dauphin, passing by Perrero and Abriés. Abriés is 24 m. S.W. from

Perosa and on the S. side of the Col d’Abriés, and 21 m. N.E. from

Mont Dauphin. (For Mont Dauphin, see

p. 344.) About 7 m. W. from Perosa is Perrero, 931 ft, pop.

560, on the Germanasca at its junction with the Germanasca di Massello.

From this the road, still ascending the Germanasca, turns southward, and

passing by the hamlets of Pomeifre, Fontana, Gardiola, and Bonous on the

Germanasca at its junction with the Rodoretto, arrives at Prali on the

Gormanasca, 4502 ft., pop. of district 1370, about 4½ hrs. walk from

Perosa. The road from Prali passes Cugno, Ghigo, Orgiere, and Pomé to

Giordano, whence it becomes a mule-path, which at the hamlet of Ribba

separates from the path to the Pass Giuliano, 8358 ft. to the S.E., and

continues in a S.W. direction by the Germanasca to the Col d’Abriés,

8677 ft., frequented even in winter. The summit is 3 hrs. from Prali,

and the descent to the village of Abriés by the hamlet of Roux, 2½ hrs.

(For Abriés and Mont

Dauphin, see p. 344, and map,

p. 304.)

Fenestrelle. Col de Sestrières.

Perosa to

Cesanne, 28½ m. N.W. by the river Chisone, Fenestrelle,

Pragelas, and Sestrières. 9 m. above Perosa is Fenestrelle, pop. 1120,

_Inns:_ Croce Bianca; Scudo di Francia, one of the strongest

Italian fortresses on the frontier. 7 m. from Fenestrelle is

Pragelas, where the valley becomes more Alpine in character. Other

4½ m. is Sestrières, “whence the road mounts in zigzags to the

Col de

Sestrières, a nearly level plain 2 m. long, commanding

a good view of Mont Albergian. The descent is by long windings to the

level of the Dora, which is crossed to reach Cesanne, 8 m. from

Sestrières” (Ball’s _Alps_, p. 36). (For Cesanne to Briançon by Mont Genèvre, see under

Briançon, p. 333, and map p. 304.)

SALUZZO.

Saluzzo is 42¼ m. S. by rail from Turin, and 4 hrs. by steam

tram from the same city. Saluzzo is 2¼ hrs. N. from Cuneo by steam

308

tram, passing Cavour, pop. of district 7220. Coach daily to Paesana on

the Po, 14 m. W., fare 1½ fr.; also to Sampeyre, Albergo della

Posta, 6 hrs. S.W., on the Vraita; and to Barge, 1½ fr., _Inn:_

Lion d’Or.

The termini of the Cuneo and Saluzzo, the Pinerolo and Saluzzo, and

the Turin and Saluzzo steam trams are just within the town. The tram to

Pinerolo leaves Saluzzo near the railway station, passing by the marble

statue to the poet Silvio Pellico, born at Saluzzo in 1788,

d. 1854. Saluzzo, pop. 18,000, _Inns:_ Corona Grossa; Gallo,

is a town of considerable size, possessing great facilities for visiting

various places in the neighbourhood, either by tram, rail, or coach.

Paesana. Crissolo. Col de la

Traversette.

Saluzzo to Mont Dauphin, 65½ m. W.

by Paesana, Crissolo, Col de la Traversette, Abriés, and Queyras. Take

the coach which starts in the evening for Paesana on the Po, 1778 ft.,

with two fair inns, passing Martiniana and Sanfront. Above Paesana the

valley becomes very picturesque and the view of Monte Viso gradually

more and more imposing. After having passed Ostana, 4266 ft., the road

reaches the sanctuary of San Chiaffredo, and a little farther on is

Crissolo, 8 m. from

Paesana, 4374 ft.

Next is the Borgo, 4954 ft., the highest village in the valley of the

Po, consisting of three hamlets, the lowest having a small inn. On the

opposite side of the valley and about 1 m. farther up is the cave,

Balma Rio Martino, 5020 ft., in strata of dolomite. The valley shortly

after becomes wild and Alpine, yet enclosing two small oases—the

Pian Fiorenza,

6034 ft., and the Pian del

Ré, 6625 ft., containing in summer a rich variety of rare Alpine

plants. A little to the S.W. of the Pian del Ré is the source of

the Po. The road to the Col de la Traversette leads N.W. from the

Pian del Ré through a hollow covered with snow the greater part of the

year, whence the real ascent commences. About 300 ft. below the crest

and 9564 ft. above the sea is the tunnel, generally closed with snow,

pierced in 1480 by Ludovico II. The summit of the pass is 9680 ft. and about 4 hrs.

ascending from Crissolo. The descent into the valley of the Guil is by

the Buco di Viso. On the French side, 1897 ft. below the summit, is La

Bergerie du Grand Vallon. (See Mont

Dauphin to Saluzzo, p. 344, and map

p. 304; also Ball’s _Alps_, p. 22.)

Cuneo.

CUNEO.

54½ m. S. from Turin by rail, and 2½ hrs. S. from Saluzzo by rail, is

Cuneo, 1500 ft., pop. 1200, _Inns:_ H. Barra di Ferro;

Albergo di Superga. Steam tram to Borgo-San-Dalmazzo, pop. 4600, 45 min.

S.W.; also to Dronero on the Maira, 1¼ hr. W. (See also pp. 182 and 279.)

Cuneo to Barcelonnette, 61¼ m. W., by Borgo-San-Dalmazzo, Demonte,

Vinadio, Bersezio, the Col de Largentière and l’Arche, the frontier

village of France, with two inns. (See under Barcelonnette; Cuneo to Nice by the

Col di Tenda, see p. 182.)

309

Turin to Florence.

291 miles southwards by Alessandria, Piacenza, Parma, Modena, and

Bologna. Time by quick trains, 13 hours. For London to Florence, and

through tickets, see the Continental Time-tables of the London, Chatham,

and Dover Railway, 3d.

FLORENCE

291

TURIN. (For Asti, and the route as far as

Alessandria, see p. 280, and map p. 199.)

TURIN

FLORENCE

81

210

VOGHERA, pop. 10,000, on

the Staffora. _Hotel:_ H. Italia. Branch to Pavia, 17 m.

N., and Milan. Between Voghera and the next station, Casteggio, is on

the right Montebello, where the battle took place, 9th June 1800, which

preceded that of Marengo by five days.

Piacenza. Cathedral.

TURIN

FLORENCE

117

174

PIACENZA, pop. 36,000,

on the Po. _Hotels:_ S. Marco; Italia; Croce Bianca.

_Cabs_—the course, 1 horse, 70 c.; 2 horses, 1 fr. For

the first hour, 1 horse, 1 fr. 50 c.; 2 horses, 1 fr.

80 c.

In the middle of the town is the square called the Piazza de’

Cavalli, from the two bronze equestrian statues of Duke Alexander

Farnese and his son Duke Ranuccio. On one side is the church of

S. Francesco, and on the other the Palazzo del Governo, and

opposite it the picturesque Palazzo del Comune, begun in 1281.

The portico underneath is used as a market. The upper part of the

building is of red brick with handsome windows. The principal street,

the Strada Diritta, leads to the Cathedral (1122-1233), containing some

admirable paintings. In the interior the arches are round, but the ribs

of the roof meet at an angle. At the 3d altar is a picture, by

A. Sirani, of the Ten Thousand Martyrs; at the 4th a painting of

the Death of a Saint. In the right transept is an altar-piece, Three

Saints, by Calisto di Lodi, and on the ceiling frescoes by Agostino and

Lodovico Carracci, in Correggio’s style. The Coronation of the Virgin is

by Procaccini. The Cupola is divided into eight compartments; six

of them were painted by Guercino, with figures of prophets and sybils;

the other two figures were by Morazzone. Below are four allegorical

paintings by Franceschini. The roof of the crypt under the church rests

on 100 columns. S. Antonino (the former cathedral) was commenced in

the 10th cent., and restored in 1562. The curious vestibule and the

massive columns bearing the tower are relics of the earlier edifice. At

the W. end of the town is Sa. Maria di Campagna, famous for

paintings by Pordenone. On

310

the left of the chief entrance is a fresco by him of St. Augustine and

five Angels; in the 1st chapel left are two large frescoes, the Nativity

of the Virgin and the Adoration of the Magi. Crossing the transept we

have on the left the “Marriage of St. Catharine,” the faces being

portraits of the Pordenone family, and a fine fresco also by him,

representing the dispute of St. Catharine. By him are likewise the

frescoes in the eight compartments of the cupola; those in the

pendentives are by B. Gatti. The most highly decorated church is

_S. Sisto_ (built in the 16th cent.), with an Ionic atrium.

Raphael’s Madonna, now at Dresden, was taken from S. Sisto.

The _Palazzo Farnese_ is a great, unfinished, building, begun in

1558 by Margaret of Austria, now used as barracks. The Mandelli palace,

now the Prefettura, has a handsome façade. 24 miles to the south of

Piacenza is the site of _Velleia_, a town which was

overwhelmed by a landslip in the 3d cent. Many interesting objects have

been obtained there; which have been deposited in the museum of Parma.

In the vicinity are emanations from the ground of carburetted hydrogen

gas, which takes fire on the application of a flame.

Parma. Museum.

TURIN

FLORENCE

153

138

PARMA, pop. 46,000, on the

Parma. _Hotels:_ Albergo Centrale; Croce Bianca; Leone d’Oro.

Parma, although founded by the Boii, and conquered by the Romans 183

b.c., is a neat clean town of modern

appearance, surrounded by bastioned walls. The most important of the

edifices is the Palazzo Ducale, forming, with the _Palazzo

Farnese_, a large unsymmetrical assemblage of buildings in the

Piazza del Corte behind the Piazza Grande. In the Ducal Palace is a

collection of paintings belonging to the French school. In the Farnese

are the Museum of Antiquities, the Picture-Gallery, the Library, and the

Farnese Theatre, now in a ruinous condition. It was built in 1620, in

the time of Duke Ranuccio, and for many years was the scene of splendid

spectacles and grand public entertainments.

_The Museum of

Antiquities_ embraces a small collection, in four rooms, of Roman

altars, bronzes, busts, and mosaics, principally from Velleia and Rome.

Among the most remarkable, are “The Theft of the Tripoid,” in 1st room.

In the 2d room, a statuette of Hercules intoxicated, and the

“Tabula alimentaria,” a rescript of the Emperor Trajan, relating to

the support of certain poor children. In 4th room, a bust of Maria

Louisa, the first Napoleon’s second wife, by Canova. Higher up on the

same staircase is the _Library_, with 150,000 volumes, and some

thousands of MSS., in several large galleries and halls, at the end of

one of which is Correggio’s fresco of the Coronation of the Virgin.

311

Parma: Picture-Gallery—Correggio.

_The

Pinacoteca_ is on the same floor of the palace as the library,

and is open daily during the same hours. The collection is not large,

but is remarkable for the number and value of Correggio’s pictures. In

selecting the best pictures, we shall arrange the names of the painters

alphabetically to facilitate reference.

_Annibal Caracci._—Pietá. _Lodovico

Caracci._—Funeral of the Virgin; the Apostles at the tomb of

the Virgin (two large pictures). _Cima da Conegliano._—Two

very good pictures. (Correggio.)—1. The Madonna della

Scala, a fresco. 2. The Flight into Egypt, known as the Madonna

della Scodella, from the dish in the Virgin’s hand. 3. _The Madonna

with St. Jerome_, sometimes called Il Giorno, from its bright

daylight effect and in contrast with La Notte at Dresden—this is

Correggio’s best picture here, perhaps it is the best picture he ever

painted on canvas, and it is universally considered one of the marvels

of art. The letters A. A. (Antonio Allegri) are worked into the silk

that covers the walls of the cabinet. 4. The Martyrdom of St. Placidus

and St. Flavia (such subjects are not agreeable, however skilfully

treated). 5. The Entombment. 6. Christ carrying his Cross (some critics

think this to be a work of Anselmi, others that it is an early

production of Correggio). 7. A Portrait attributed to him. (On the

walls of some of the rooms are the drawings that were made for Toschi

the engraver from Correggio’s frescoes at Parma.) _Albert

Durer._—Man with a Skull. _Francesco

Francia._—Descent from the Cross; the Virgin enthroned with

Saints; the Virgin with the Infant and St. John (most charming).

_Garofalo._—Virgin and Child in the clouds, with a landscape

below. _Giovanni di San Giovanni._—A Singing party.

_Murillo._—St. Jerome. _Parmegianino._—The

Marriage of St. Catharine (an exquisite picture); Marriage of the

Virgin; Portrait of a Man with a music book (marked “incerto” on the

frame). _Fra Paola da Pistoia._—Adoration of Magi.

_Pordenone._—Portrait of a Man with an open book.

_Raffaello(?)._—Christ in the clouds with the Virgin and St.

John, and Saints below (it is by no means certain that this is a work of

Raffaello). _Giuseppe Rosa._—Landscape with Cattle.

_Lionello Spada._—Fortune-telling, three figures; Marriage of

St. Catharine. _Spagnoletto._—Twelve pictures of Saints.

_B. Schidone._—The Entombment; the Maries at the Sepulchre;

Virgin, Child, and St. John. _Vandyck._—Virgin and Child;

Portrait of an Old Lady. _Velasquez._—Portrait of a Man in a

black dress (there are other portraits ascribed to him). _L. da

Vinci._—Sketch of a Female Head. _Zuccarelli._—River

Scene.

_The Ducal Garden_, open daily to the public, is on the other

side of the river, and may be reached from the palace by a bridge called

the Ponte Verde. It is a large piece of ground, laid out in a formal

style; but when its chestnuts, limes, and acacias, are in leaf, it

affords a pleasant promenade. Within the grounds is a palace called

Palazzo di Giardino. The _Botanic Gardens_ are at the other side of

the town,

312

near the citadel. The broad road near it, called the Stradone, is

planted with trees, and is a favourite place of resort for the

town’s-people, both in carriages and on foot.

Parma: Cathedral.

By a narrow street leading east from the Ducal Palace is the Cathedral,

a good specimen of Italian Gothic, built in the 13th and 14th

cents. The portals are adorned with lions, by B. da Bisoni, 1281. In the

interior, along the top of clustered articulated columns, runs an

elegant triforium, and over it extends a lofty elliptical roof, painted

by G. Mazzola. The choir is above the level of the nave. Within the

great door, left side, is a portrait of Correggio, and on the other, one

of Parmegianino. _The cupola_ was painted by _Correggio_

(1526-30), with frescoes representing the _Assumption of the

Virgin_, but they are in a ruined state. Those on the vault of the

right transept were by a son of Correggio, while those on the left

transept were by Orazio Sammachini. In the Capella dei Canonici, on the

right side of the church, at the foot of the choir-steps, is an

altar-piece by B. Gatti; and near it a poor bust of Petrarch, with

an inscription recording that he was archdeacon here. Beneath the choir

is a spacious crypt, supported by thirty-four marble columns. On the

walls of the sacristy are frescoes of the 14th century, and intarsias by

L. Biancho.

Parma: Baptistery. S. Giovanni.

The _Baptistery_ is a lofty octagonal building

(1196-1281), with four deeply-recessed doorways, enriched with

bas-reliefs. The four tiers of open galleries with columns, and a fifth

tier of engaged arches, the pinnacled canopies at the top, and the ring

of fantastic carvings below, combine to render this one of the most

remarkable buildings of its class in Italy. In the interior there are

two tiers of galleries, some rude sculpture, and a profusion of fresco

painting—old, but not of much value. At the middle is a great

font, hewn out of one piece of marble, and having in the centre a place

where the priest could stand, protected from the water, whilst he

immersed the child. The font at which the Parmesans are now baptised is

at one side, ornamented with carvings, and supported by a marble lion.

S.

Giovanni Evangelista (1510), a church standing near the

cathedral, and much visited on account of the _frescoes painted by

Correggio_ (1520-25) _in the cupola_; they represent the Vision

of St. John, and, though blackened and badly lighted, they are

fortunately in a better condition than those in the cathedral. The

figures are on a large scale, and include the Evangelists and the

Fathers of the Church, who look with astonishment at the glory above.

Correggio also painted in grey the decorations of the vault of the

sanctuary; and over the door of the sacristy in the left transept a

fresco of St. John.

313

In the 1st chapel to the right of the principal entrance is a good

painting of the Modenese school, and the monument of

Sanvitale-Montenuovo; in the 2d an Adoration of the Shepherds, by

Giacomo Francia (the painter’s portrait is seen in the old man to the

left); in the 6th chapel is a copy of Correggio’s “Night,” now at

Dresden. On the arches of the 1st and 2d chapels on the left of the

entrance are much-damaged _frescoes by Parmegianino_ (four

subjects); and in the 6th chapel is a picture, by Anselmi, of Christ

with his Cross. The white marble holy-water fonts deserve notice. In the

adjoining _convent_ (now used as barracks) is a damaged fresco of

two children by Correggio.

Parma: S. Paolo—Correggio.

Near the Piazza Grande is the church of the _Madonna della

Steccata_, from designs by F. Zaccagni in 1521. The best

frescoes are by Parmeggianino, Moses breaking the Tables of Stone, Adam

and Eve, and the Virtues, on the archway of the choir. On the vault over

the high altar a Coronation of the Virgin, by Anselmi. Gatti painted the

cupola. The wooden pulpit combines elegance with simplicity. A good

Madonna in corner chapel left of main entrance. Near the Piazza di Corte

is the church of S. Lodovico, and adjoining it the suppressed

Convent of

S. Paolo, now a school. In this small building are the best

preserved works of Correggio, painted for the abbess of the convent

on the walls and ceiling of this her reception-room. The subject is

Children, or Amoretti, represented as being seen through the openings of

a bower or piece of trellis-work. Their varied attitudes are most

charmingly portrayed. Diana herself, whose Triumph is thus depicted, is

painted over the fireplace. Below the principal subjects are smaller

figures in grey. The frescoes in the next room are by Araldi. The

custodian is generally to be found in the picture-gallery.

The famous Parmesan cheese is made chiefly in dairies around Milan,

Lodi, and Pavia, and is called Formaggio di grana, because commonly used

in a granular form with soup. 17½ miles S.E. from Parma is Reggio Emilia (pop.

24,000). _Hotels:_ Posta; Cavaletto. _Cabs_—80 c. the

course; 1½ fr. the hour. _Sights_—Cathedral; house of

Lodovico Ariosto, born here 1474. His _Orlando Furioso_ went

through sixteen editions in the 16th cent. 9 m. N.E. is Correggio,

the birthplace of the great painter Antonio Allegri, called Correggio.

To the Castle of Canossa and back, 14 frs.

Modena. Cathedral.

TURIN

FLORENCE

185¼

105¾

MODENA, pop. 31,000.

_Hotels:_ Reale; San Marco; Italia. Their omnibuses await the

trains. _Cabs_—one horse, 80 c. the course, 1 fr. 50 c.

the hour; 2 horses, 1 fr. the course, 1 fr. 70 c. the

hour.

Modena (_Mutina_, Lat.), the capital of the former duchy of

Modena,

314

is a clean and well-built town surrounded by ramparts, some of which

serve the inhabitants as promenades. The country around is flat and

fertile. A canal connects the town with the Panaro,

a tributary of the Po, by which means water communication with the

Adriatic is obtained.

The Cathedral, begun in 1099, is in the centre

of the city. Its exterior is irregular, and encumbered with houses. The

principal façade is small but pleasing, with a large rose window and

three doorways. On the side next the Piazza Grande is a handsome porch,

with columns resting on rudely-carved lions of red marble. The interior,

though low, and destitute of paintings of merit, is interesting,

especially for the sub-choral chapel, with a roof supported by many

marble columns. At the entrance of this chapel is a group of lions, and

in one corner life-size figures in coloured terra-cotta, by Begarelli,

representing the Nativity. In the church notice the holy-water fonts,

which look as if they were the hollowed capitals of ancient columns, and

the stone pulpit with bas-reliefs. On the right side of the choir are

some curious old bas-reliefs, including one of the Last Supper; and on

the left side of the choir is the mausoleum of the last Duke of the

house of Este in the male line, died 1803. The _Campanile_, one of

the finest in Italy, 315 feet high, was erected in the 13th and 14th

cents. It received the name of Ghirlandina from its vane being

ornamented with a bronze garland.

Modena: Ducal Palace.

At the head of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele is the Ducal Palace,

an immense pile, containing the Picture-Gallery, occupying several halls

in the upper stories, with an entrance on the north side. It is open

daily from 9 to 4. The collection comprises between 500 and 600

pictures, amongst which, though there are no _chefs d’œuvre_, are

many good ones. The gallery once ranked high amongst Italian galleries,

but towards the end of the last century 180 pictures were sold,

including five Correggios, to the King of Poland (they are now at

Dresden); and the Duke when expelled in 1860 took away with him a few

more of the best. In two of the rooms are glazed cases full of drawings

and sketches by the old masters. Amongst them is a drawing in sepia for

Tintoretto’s masterpiece, the Miracle of St. Mark at Venice. In a room

kept locked, but which the custode will open on application, are some

interesting cabinets (one designed, it is said, by B. Cellini,

another of amber, a third of tortoise-shell); also bronzes, carving

in wood and ivory, majolica, enamels, etc. Amongst other curiosities is

a “Presepio,” with numerous figures in coral, the metal work being of

silver.

The _Library_, on the same staircase as the

Pinacoteca, contains

315

about 100,000 printed books (including 2500 quattrocentisti) and 3000

MSS. placed in several halls, one of which is very large. Also a few

Roman and Etruscan antiquities, and the series of coins and medals

struck at Modena. In the suppressed convent of S. Agostino, near

the gate of that name, is the Museo Lapidario. Among the articles is a

block of stone obtained from the ancient Via Mutina, at a depth of 18

feet below the surface. On the other side is a collection of mediæval

tombs. In the church of St. Agostino is a terra-cotta group, by

Begarelli, of the Entombment. M. Angelo spoke very highly of this

artist’s works.

The _Ducal Garden_ is a prettily laid out piece of ground, which

is open to the public daily from the early morning to the evening.

Bologna.

opp. 316

plan of Bologna

TURIN

FLORENCE

208¼

82¾

BOLOGNA, pop. 91,000.

_Hotels:_ Brun; Italia; Bologna; Aquila Nera; del Pellegrino; Tre

Re; Venezia; Commercio. _Restaurants:_ Stelloni; Felsineo.

Omnibuses from the hotels meet the trains. _Cabs_—one horse,

the course, 75 c.; by the hour, 1 fr. 50 c. To or from the railway

station, without luggage, 1 fr.

Bologna is a walled city, with twelve gates, situate on a fertile

plain near the foot of the Apennine range. The Bolognese school of

painting is called the Scuola Caraccesca, from its founders, Lodovico

Carracci (b. 1555, d. 1619), and his two cousins Annibale

(b. 1560, d. 1609) and Agostino, a man of erudition, who

furnished the general plan of the pictures. Their most distinguished

pupils were Guido Reni (b. 1575, d. 1642), Domenichino

(b. 1581, d. 1641), Lanfranco (b. 1581, d. 1647), G.

Barbiere, called Il Guercino, from his squinting (b. 1590,

d. 1666), Michel-Angiolo da Caravaggio (b. 1569,

d. 1609), and Carlo Cignani (b. 1628, d. 1719);

Bologna: Picture-Gallery.

beautiful specimens of whose works are to be seen in the various

churches, but especially in the picture-gallery of the “_Accademia delle Belle

Arti_,” situated at the north-east end of the town, near the

Porta S. Donato (see plan). It occupies eight rooms of the first

floor, contains 360 paintings, all bearing the names of the artists, and

is open from 9 to 3. Free on Sundays. The gem is St. Cecilia, by

Raphael.

The other best works are:—12. _Guercino_.—St. William;

13, St. Bruno; 15. St. John the Baptist; 18. St. John the Evangelist.

26. _Bugiardini_.—Marriage of St. Catharine. 34. _Agostino

Caracci_.—Last Communion of St. Jerome, one of his finest

paintings; 35. Assumption. 36. _Annibale Caracci_.—Virgin and

Child, with Angels and Saints; 37 Virgin enthroned, with Saints. 39, 40.

_Lodovico Caracci_.—Assumption;

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42. Saints (Bargellini portraits) adoring the Virgin and Child; 43.

Transfiguration; 44. Calling of St. Matthew; 46. St. John the Baptist;

47 to 53. Pictures by the same artist. 70. _M.

Desubleo_.—Christ appearing as a Pilgrim to St. Augustine. 75.

_Lavinia Fontana_.—St. Francis de Paul. 78. _Fr.

Francia_.—Virgin and Saints (1490), extremely fine; 79.

Annunciation; 80. Virgin and Saints; 81. Virgin and Saints. There are

several other unnumbered pictures by this master on frames. 84.

_Giacomo Francia_.—Virgin and Saints; 85. Virgin and Saints.

89, 90. _Innocenzio da Imola_ (an imitator of

Raffaello).—Virgin and Saints. 122. _Nicola da

Cremona_—Descent from the Cross.. 134.

_Guido_.—Madonna with the Protectors of Bologna; 135.

Massacre of the Innocents; 136. Crucifixion; 137. Samson with the Ass’s

Jawbone; 138. The Virgin of the Rosary (this is on silk, and was carried

in processions); 139. Bishop Corsini; 143. Portrait of a Carthusian.

152. _Raphael_.—St. Cecilia,

with other Saints, listening to the Music of the Angels (the instruments

of secular music lie broken on the ground). This celebrated composition,

painted in 1515, is well known from copies and engravings. 175.

_Elisabetta Sirani_.—St. Anthony of Padua; 176. Madonna. 181.

_L. Spada_.—Melchisedec blessing Abraham. 183.

_Tiarini_.—St. Catharine of Alexandria. 197.

_Perugino_.—Virgin and Saints. 204. _Timoteo delle

Vite_.—Magdalene. 206. _Domenichino_.—Martyrdom of

St. Agnes; 207. Madonna of the Rosary; 208. Martyrdom of St. Peter of

Verona (the same subject as that treated by Titian in a picture lately

burnt at Venice). 212. _Unknown_.—Sleeping Child. 291.

_Desubleo_.—St. John the Baptist. 292. _Innocenzio da

Imola_.—Virgin and Saints. 294.

_Bugiardini_.—Madonna. 360. _Aluno_ (_Nicolo da

Foligno_).—Virgin and Saints (given to the Gallery by Pius

IX.)

In the same building is a collection of old arms and armour

(_Oploteca_), and on the ground-floor a few good modern pictures.

A collection of original drawings is preserved in the library.

Bologna: University. S. Giacomo.

Nearly opposite the Accademia is the University, with about 430

students, directed by 59 professors, of whom, among the most famous,

have been Galvani, the first that observed the phenomena of Galvanism,

Laura Bassi, a lady professor (d. 1778), and Giuseppe

Mezzofanti (d. 1849), who spoke fluently upwards of forty-two

languages. From the tower is a good view of the town. Attached to the

University is a Museum of Antiquities and a Library. The Geological

Museum is in a separate building. From the University, walking towards

the leaning towers, we pass, in the Strada Donato or Luigi Zamboni (see

plan), the oratory of St. Cecilia, the church of S. Giacomo, and (14) the Palazzo

Maloezzi-Medici; and shortly after, stand below two of the peculiar kind

of watch-towers used in Italy during the middle ages.

_S. Giacomo Maggiore_ was built in 1267, but subsequently

restored. In the 6th chapel right is a fine work by Bart. Passarotti,

the Virgin

317

on a Throne, with Saints; in the 7th, Prospero Montana’s St. Alexis; in

the 8th, Innocenzo da Imola’s Marriage of St. Catharine; in the 11th,

three pictures by Lor Sabbatini; in the 12th, two frescoes by Pellegrino

Tibaldi, the Baptism in the same chapel is by P. Fontana. At the

end of the church, to the left of the altar, is the Bentivoglio chapel,

with Francesco Francia’s best work, a “Madonna,” the lunette above

by Giacomo Francia. The 5th, 7th, and 10th chapels, on the left side of

the church, contain good pictures, and in the 9th is Samacchini’s

Presentation in the Temple, which was engraved by Agostino Caracci.

Bologna: The Two Towers.

In St. Cecilia are frescoes representing the legend of St. Cecilia

and St. Valerian, by F. and G. Francia, Costa and Amico Aspertini.

During the French occupation they were considerably damaged. At the

commencement of the Strada Donato are the Two Towers (28 in plan), seen from a great

distance. The taller, the _Torre degli Asinelli_, commenced in

1109, is 272 feet high, with an inclination of 3½ feet, and ascended by

a rickety dirty staircase of 447 steps to the summit, whence there is

the best view of the town. The Torre Garisenda, commenced in 1110, is

139 feet high, with an inclination of 8½ feet. From the towers, the

Mercato di Mezzo leads W. to the _Piazza Vittorio Emanuele_, with,

on the S. side, the church of S. Petronio; on the N., the Palazzo

del’ Podesta; on the E., the Pal. dei Banchi; and on the W., the Pal.

Pubblico, an immense edifice, commenced in 1290, consisting of various

buildings thrown together. In front is the Fountain, by Laureti, adorned

with a statue of Neptune, by Bologna.

Bologna: S. Petronio.

S.

Petronio, commenced in 1390, but still unfinished, is of brick,

and in the pointed arched Gothic style. The doorways of the façade are

remarkable works; the middle one was by Jacopo della Quercia (1425). In

the interior, notice on the right side the stained glass of the 4th

chapel; Sansovino’s statue of St. Anthony of Padua, and Treviso’s

grisaille pictures relating to that saint in the 9th chapel; the windows

are said to be from M. Angelo’s designs; in the 11th chapel,

a bas-relief, an Assumption, by Tribolo, with Angels at the sides,

attributed to Properzia de’ Rossi, a Bolognese lady (d. 1535),

who was at once painter, sculptor, engraver, and musician. The campanile

is over this chapel. The large fresco of the choir is by Franceschini.

On the floor of the left aisle is the meridian line traced by Cassini in

1652. In the 1st chapel, on this side, is some modern Milanese glass; in

the 7th, a Madonna, by L. Costa; and in the 10th, Sa. Barba,

by Tiarini. At the southern end of the church is (29 in

318

plan) the Biblioteca Comunale, in the building called the Archiginnasio

Antico, originally the University, before it was removed to its present

edifice. Besides the Library, open daily from 10 to 4, it contains a

valuable Museum of Antiquities. Between S. Petronio and

S. Stefano are (17) the _Pal. della Mercanzia_, the Chamber of

Commerce, erected in 1294; (18) the Pal Pepoli, 1344; and (9) the

Casino.

Bologna: Santo Stefano.

Santo Stefano is a combination of ancient churches, chapels, and

courts, on the site of a temple dedicated to Isis. Enter first the

Church of the Crucifix, so named from the old painting at the great

altar. In the 1st chapel on the right is a picture by Muratori; in the

2d on the left St. Elisabetta, by Gessi. Then pass through a small

chapel into the circular chapel styled San Sepolchro, which contains the

tomb of St. Petronius, with curious carvings, and a miraculous well,

considered to have healing virtues. This building is thought to have

been formerly the baptistery of the next chapel (originally, perhaps,

the principal chapel), dedicated to St. Peter and St. Paul. From a small

court, called the Atrium of Pilate, from its alleged resemblance to that

at Jerusalem, we gain access to the chapel of the Trinity, which

contains four marble columns said to have belonged to the temple of

Isis, and some pictures by Tiarini and others. There are ancient mural

paintings in the sanctuary dedicated to Our Lady of Consolation; and in

the subterranean chapel of the Confession, a broken column is shown

which is said to afford the measure of the Saviour’s height. After

visiting a cloister, where the columns show much variety of form, we

have made the complete tour of this singular labyrinth of buildings,

which are of great interest to the ecclesiologist. Behind Santo Stefano

in the Strada Maggiore are (beginning at the leaning-towers’ end, see

plan), 2, S. Bartolommeo; 23, the Pal. Zampieri; 24 is the house of the

celebrated composer Rossini, built by him in 1825. On the opposite side

is the church Ai Servi, and No. 13 the Pal. Hercolani, once famous for

its collection of pictures.

Bologna: San Bartolommeo.

Palazzo Zampieri. San Domenico.

_San Bartolommeo_, built in 1653, has

some fine marbles and rather a gaudy dome. In 4th chapel right an

“Annunciation,” by Albano. The paintings behind the high altar are by

Franceschini. In the left transept, an oval picture of the Madonna, by

Guido. The Latin inscription on the wall relates how it was returned

from London in 1859. _Palazzo Zampieri_ (admission, ½ fr.),

although deprived of most of the pictures, still retains the admirable

frescoes by Agos. Annibale, and Lod. Caracci and Guercino. The church of

_Ai

Servi_, built 1393, has a fine interior, with thin columns. In

the 2d chapel left is a “Touch-me-not,” by Albano; and in the 4th,

a St. Andrew, also by him. In the 6th chapel an “Annunciation” by

Inno da

319

Imola. South from the principal square is (No. 1 in plan) the church of

S.

Domenico, attached to a convent where St. Dominic lived and

died. The church dates from the 12th cent., but restored in the 18th.

Interior—2d chapel right, Miracle of Ferrerio, by D. Creti.

Right of south transept—the splendidly decorated chapel of _St.

Dominic_, with his sarcophagus ornamented with bas-reliefs, by Nic.

di Pisa. The garlands and statuettes were by Nic. di Barri (Arca), 1469.

The kneeling angel on the right, and St. Petronius, over the

sarcophagus, were by Michael Angelo in his youth. The base of the tomb,

with its bas-reliefs illustrating the life of the Saint, was not added

until 1532, a work of Alfonso Lombardi. On the beautiful ceiling of

the chapel is a fresco by Guercino, “The Transformation” of St. Dominic.

The painting of the Saint burning Heretical Books (on the left wall) is

by L. Spada; that of the Saint recalling a Child to Life is by

Tiarini. In a chapel on the right side of the high altar is the Marriage

of Saint Catharine, by Filippino Lippi. The Adoration of the Magi at the

high altar is by Bart. Cesi. In the left transept should be noticed the

tomb of a Pepoli (1348), and on the wall a portrait of St. Thomas

Aquinas, considered here an accurate likeness, though painted 100 years

after the death of the saint.

Bologna: Guido’s Tomb.

Opposite St. Dominic’s chapel, and in the north transept, is the chapel

of the Rosary, containing in the centre, under a slab, the grave of

Guido Reni (b. 1575; d. 1642). Near him lie the remains of his

favourite lady pupil, Elizabeth Sirani, who, with her master and the

Caracci, executed the small paintings which adorn the frame of the

reredos of the altar in this chapel.

Bologna: San Pietro.

Directly north from the Palazzo Pubblico is S. Pietro, rebuilt in 1605,

containing, on the arch above the high altar, an Annunciation, the last

painting by Lodovico Caracci, who died a few days after finishing it.

Near S. Pietro is a small church Madonna di Galleria, with, in 1st

chapel left, St. Philip Neri, by Guercino, and in the next, a fine

Albani. N.E. from S. Pietro is S. Martino, 1217, restored. In

the 1st chapel right, Giorlanno da Carpi’s Adoration of the Magi; and in

the 5th chapel on the left side is an Assumption, attributed to

Perugino; in the next, a St. Jerome, by L. Caracci; and in the

chapel next the entrance, Madonna and Saints, by F. Francia. Old

monuments in the cloisters. East from the leaning-towers is

S. Vitale, consecrated in the fifth cent., and lately restored. At

the 2d altar, right, is a Flight into Egypt, by Tiarini; in a large

chapel on the left, Angels, with a beautiful landscape, by

F. Francia; and at the first altar in the body of the chapel on the

left, an Adoration of the Infant in Perugino’s manner.

320

ENVIRONS OF BOLOGNA.

Beyond the Porta Maniola are the convent and church of the Annunziata. In

the 2d, 3d, and 4th chapels of the church are three pictures by

L. Costa, and in the Chapel of the Sacrament a Madonna by Lippo

Dalmasio. In the choir is a very fine work by Fr. Francia (1500), and in

the sacristy an Entombment by Giacomo Francia.

Madonna di S. Luca. The Certosa.

Beyond the Porta di Saragossa is the much-visited church of the

Madonna di

S. Luca, on the top of a hill commanding a beautiful view.

It is approached by a portico of 640 arches, which begins just beyond

the gate, and extends to the church, a distance of nearly 3 m.

This portico was begun in 1672, but many years elapsed before it was

finished. The church derives its name from possessing a picture reputed

to have been painted by St. Luke. The best pictures have been removed

from the church. Outside the same gate is the Certosa, formerly a

Carthusian convent, now a cemetery. The church contains some pictures,

and the chains of some Algerine slaves with the amount of ransom

attached to each.

269¾ m. from Turin and 21¼ from Florence is Pistoja (see p. 231), and 291 m.

from Turin is Florence (see p. 233).

St. Pierre to Courmayeur by the

Little St. Bernard.

(74 m. N.E. See Map, page 290.)

COURMAYEUR

74

ST. PIERRE D’ALBIGNY (see p.

289), 15 m. S.E. from Chambery, and 45½ m. N.W. from

Modane.

ST. PIERRE

14

60

ALBERTVILLE, pop.

5000 on the Arly, and 1180 ft. above the sea. _Inns:_ Million;

Balances. A diligence runs between Albertville and Annecy,

22 m. N.

22

52

LA ROCHE

CEVINS, pop. 1000. _Inns:_ Croix Blanche; Lion d’Or. Hidden

and sheltered behind a great rock which closes the valley. 2 m.

beyond is the defile Pas de Briançon.

ST. PIERRE

COURMAYEUR

31

43

MOUTIERS, pop. 2100, and

600 ft. above the sea-level, on the confluence of the Doron with the

Isère. _Inns:_ Couronne; Courriers. One mile from the town is the

Roc du Diable, rising to the height of 8200 ft. At the base are the salt

springs, utilised both

321

by salt-works and a bathing establishment. From Moutiers the road

extends up a narrow and picturesque defile, following the course of the

Isère, past St. Marcel, pop. 500, then ascends to the summit of a rock

called the Detroit du Ciel, 945 ft. above the bed of the river, where

the valley is only 145 ft. wide; and after this enters a rich plain with

the village of Centron. On the opposite side of the river is Mont Jovet,

8375 ft., commanding a splendid view. Then, after passing the village of

Villette, pop. 500, we reach

Aime. Seez.

ST. PIERRE

COURMAYEUR

41

33

AIME, pop. 1100, and 2385 ft.

above the sea-level. _Inn:_ Petit St. Bernard. This, the “Forum

Claudii et Axuma,” possesses remains of extensive Roman fortifications,

and a very ancient church called St. Martin, built of stones from Roman

buildings. 4 m. beyond is Bellentre, pop. 1100, on the Isere, where

the culture of the vine ceases. The Pass of the Little St. Bernard comes

into view.

50

24

BOURG ST.

MAURICE, pop. 2600, and 2780 ft. above the sea. _Inns:_

Voyageurs; Royal. A village consisting of one long street, near the

confluence of the Isère with the Versoyen and Nantet.

52

22

SEEZ, the ancient Sextum, a

pretty village between six mountains, pop. 2600, and 2985 ft. above the

sea-level. From Seez the road passes the village of Villard-Dessus, and

then crosses the Recluse by a lofty bridge near an escarpment of gypsum,

called the Roche Blanche, supposed to be the place noticed by Polybius,

where Hannibal posted himself to protect his cavalry and beasts of

burden. 3 m. beyond is St. Germain; the last inhabited village

during the winter. From St. Germain the ascent is easy to the

ST. PIERRE

COURMAYEUR

58½

15½

HOSPICE, 7077 ft., founded

by St. Bernard of Menthon, on a grassy plain 3 m. long, and about a

mile from the summit (7193 ft.), indicated by the Colonne de Joux,

Jovis, or Jupiter, 23 ft. high, of Cipolino marble. From the Hospice,

Mont Belvidere, 10,093 ft, may be ascended. About 300 paces from the

column is the Cirque d’Annibal, consisting of a circle of large stones

lying on the ground, where Hannibal is said to have held a council of

war, 218 b.c. A few miles below

are Cantine des Eaux Kousses, with a small inn, and Thuile,

a hamlet, 4685 ft. above the sea-level, 9 m. from

Courmayeur.

Pré St. Didier.

ST. PIERRE

COURMAYEUR

70

4

PRÉ ST.

DIDIER, pop. 1300, on the Doire. _Inns:_ Poste; Pavilion.

Junction with road to Aosta, 23 m. E. (See map,

p. 290.)

322

74

COURMAYEUR, 4211

ft., the highest considerable village in the valley of Aosta.

_Inns:_ Royal; Angelo; Mont Blanc; Union. A public coach

leaves daily for Aosta by St. Didier. Fare, 7 frs.; time, 5 hrs.

Courmayeur is frequented by Piedmontese in considerable numbers every

summer, both on account of the mineral springs in its neighbourhood and

for the sake of the exquisite freshness of its climate. The waters,

which rise from alluvium, are saline and purgative. Those of La Saxe are

sulphureous. All who have visited Courmayeur, under favourable

circumstances, agree in considering its position one of the finest in

the Alps. Six different routes diverge from Courmayeur—the road to

Aosta; that of the Little St. Bernard; the Allée Blanche; the Col du

Géant; the Col Ferret; and the Col de Serène, leading to the Great St.

Bernard.

Paris to Modane by Lyons, Voiron, and Grenoble.

From Paris to Modane by this route the distance is 476 m., and

Modane to Turin 50 m. farther. This is the route to take for the

Baths of Allevard, the Monastery of the Grande Chartreuse, and for

Grenoble, which is one of the nearest railway stations to Mont Pelvoux

and the other lofty mountains in the Dauphiny. The best resting-places

are Dijon, Lyon, and Grenoble.

(Map, page 304.)

MODANE

476

PARIS. Start from the station of the Chemins de Fer de Paris à

Lyon, where buy one of their Time-tables, 40 c. From Paris to Lyons

follow pp. 1 to 29, and examine the maps referred to.

PARIS

318

158

LYONS. Perrache station. (See p. 29.)

325½

150½

ST. PRIEST, pop. 2800.

In the old castle here Charles VII. confined his son Louis XI., then the

Dauphin.

Bourgoin. Virieu.

PARIS

MODANE

344

132

BOURGOIN, pop. 5200.

_Inns:_ Europe; Parc. Situated among 16,000 acres of bog, producing

large quantities of peat. 10 m. farther is La Tour-du-Pin, pop.

3200. _Inn:_ Poste. On the Bourbre.

358

118

ST.

ANDRE-LE-GAZ. A coach at this station awaits passengers for

Chambery, 32 m. E., passing by Les Echelles, whence the Chartreuse

may be visited.

363

113

VIRIEU, pop. 2000. With a

large old 14th and 16th cent. castle, in good preservation, containing

tapestry and portraits, 16th cent.

323

Chabons. Rives. Voiron.

PARIS

MODANE

368

108

CHABONS, pop. 2000. 5 m.

distant is Lac Paladru, 3 m. long and 160 ft. deep, surrounded by

wooded slopes studded with villages. At the N. end of the lake is

Paladru, pop. 1000.

PARIS

MODANE

371

105

RIVES, pop. 2900. _Inn:_

Poste. Situated about 1 m. from the station, on the Fure. It has

some of the largest paper-mills in France, as well as some considerable

forges. A great proportion of the inhabitants employ themselves in

the weaving of silk and linen by hand-looms. The parish church was built

in the 14th cent. Here are the ruins of the castle of Châteaubourg,

destroyed by Richelieu in 1626. Branch line from Rives to St. Rambert,

35 m. W., on the Lyons and Marseilles line (see page 43).

PARIS

MODANE

378

98

VOIRON, 939 ft., pop.

12,000. _Hotels:_ Louvre; Cours; Poste. Coaches and gigs await

passengers for the Grande Chartreuse, 15 m. distant by the

village of St. Laurent-du-Pont, which is 9 m. from Voiron and

6 from the Grande Chartreuse. Fare, 5 frs. Voiron is a busy

town on the river Morge, with important silk, linen, and cloth

manufactories. Here the monks of the Grande Chartreuse have large

premises for the sale of their famous cordials, which they distil, not

in the monastery itself, but in a large building a little beyond St.

Laurent. The road from Voiron to the Grande Chartreuse joins the road

from Voreppe just before reaching the village of St. Laurent-du-Pont,

distant from both stations 9 m., 1344 ft., pop. 2000. _Inns:_

Princes; Nord. After leaving St. Laurent we pass on our right the

distillery of the monks, and then ascend by a narrow gorge, among fine

woods and perpendicular cliffs, to the convent, consisting of an immense

square building, garnished with pavilions, situated on a narrow plateau

3200 ft. above the sea-level, at the base of the Grand Som, which towers

3460 ft. higher, easily ascended from this place in about 3 hrs. This

monastery, the head establishment of the Carthusian friars, was founded

by St. Bruno, the originator of the order, in 1084. At first it

consisted only of a small chapel, with six poor cells, the habitations

of St. Bruno and his followers, built in what was then an almost

inaccessible spot among rocks and forests.

The Grande Chartreuse now contains from 70 to 75 monks, each provided

with a suite of three small upper and two lower chambers, and a small

garden. They pray 3 hrs. every day, the rest of their time being

occupied in cultivating their gardens and working at any of the

handicrafts they understand, and in the preparation of their simple

vegetable fare. On Thursdays they take together a 3 hrs.

324

walk in the surrounding woods, during which time they may converse; and

on feast-days they all dine together, when also they may converse.

Animal food and linen clothing are prohibited. At 7 a.m. they attend mass, excepting on Sundays, when

the hour is 8 a.m. Vespers are said at

4 p.m., and matins at a quarter to 12

midnight. Visitors who wish to see the monks should endeavour to be at

the chapel-door at any of these hours. For gentlemen guests there is

ample accommodation in the convent, clean beds, three large

dining-rooms, good wholesome food and excellent water. The men-servants,

of whom there are 59, inhabit the top story; the wives, however, of

these servants, not being allowed to enter the convent, dwell in a house

a few yards distant kept by nuns. It is in this house also that ladies

who accompany gentlemen must lodge, as no female is allowed to enter the

monastery.

Their principal revenue is derived from the sale of the liqueurs they

distil at St. Laurent, and which are sold both wholesale and retail at

Voiron, at the following prices:—Liqueur verte, 8 frs. the

litre bottle; liqueur jaune, 6 frs.; liqueur blanche,

4 frs.

From the monastery the ascent is made of the Grand Som, 6660 ft., in

about 3 hrs. It is necessary to make a considerable detour before

commencing the ascent. The first point reached is the Chapelle St.

Bruno, erected on the supposed site of the Hermitage. The view from the

top, though limited, is very beautiful. Coach to Grenoble, 17½ m. S.,

5 frs. Guests in the monastery should pay 6 to 7 frs. per

day.

Moirans. Voreppe. Grenoble.

PARIS

MODANE

381½

94½

MOIRANS, pop. 1000.

_Inn:_ H. de Paris. Junction with branch line to Valence,

50 m. S.W., passing, at about half-way, St. Marcellin, pop. 4000. _Inns:_

Poste; Courriers. From St. Marcellin a coach runs daily to the

picturesque village of Pont-en-Royan, on the Saône, 11 m. S.,

whence another coach runs to Die by the Grands Goulets and Chapelle.

(For Die, see

p. 47.)

385

91

VOREPPE, pop. 3000.

_Inn:_ Paris. Passengers for the Grande Chartreuse may alight here

also, from which it is 15 m. distant.

PARIS

MODANE

394

82

GRENOBLE, pop. 46,000,

and 702 ft. above the sea, beautifully situated on the Isère, by far the

greater part being on the left bank, while on the other there is a mere

strip hemmed in between the river and the steep declivities of the

Bastile. _Hotels:_ in the Place Grenette, the *Monnet; Europe; the

two principal hotels. Fronting the promenade, in the Rue Montorge, is

the Trois Dauphins, frequented by commercial travellers.

Napoleon I. on his way from Elba lodged in this house from the 7th

to the 9th March 1815. He slept in room

325

No. 9. Among the cheaper second-class houses are the H. des Alpes;

Marseille; *Bayard; all near each other and to the Place Grenette. Of

the small houses at the station, the best is the H. Savoie. Temple

Protestant at the W. end of the Rue Lesdiguières. Pleasant excursions

for a very small sum may be taken to all the important places in the

neighbourhood by means of the rail and the diligences and omnibuses

which start from the Place Grenette. On the road to the railway station

is a large and handsome hospital, founded in the 11th cent, by St.

Hugues. A little way down, on the other side of the river, is the

Esplanade, a very large oblong square, 430 yards by 120, surrounded

by trees, much frequented on feast-days. The band plays in the Jardin de

Ville, off the Place Grenette.

Grenoble: Coaches. Bastile.

From the Place de la Halle coaches start for Sassenage, Nogarey,

Seyssenet, and Seyssins; from the P. Notre Dame for Domene and

Gières; from the P. Grenette for La Chartreuse, time 4 to 5 hrs.,

fare 5 frs.; also to Briançon by Bourg d’Oisans, 6 frs., 7

hrs.

The most important place to visit in the neighbourhood is the summit

of the Bastile, 915 ft. above the river. To reach

it cross the river by the bridge highest up, then ascend by the first

road to the left in the village of La Tronche, beyond the gate. After

numerous windings by a bullock-cart-road through vineyards, on the side

of the mountain exposed to the S., a square house is attained on

the plateau behind the fort. The view is magnificent, but it is still

better from the peak immediately above, where there is one of the

quarries of argillaceous siliceous limestone, extensively used for

making cement. Ascend either by the continuation of the same

bullock-road or by the steep footpath. The isolated mountain, so

prominent from the village of La Tronche, is Mt. Eynard, 4846 ft.

Although Grenoble is of great antiquity, all that remains of its early

history are some fragments of the walls built by Diocletian. The most

interesting of the buildings is the Palais des Dauphins, now the Palais

de Justice.

Grenoble: Bayard. St. André.

In the square in front is a bronze statue of Bayard, one of the most

illustrious heroes of a chivalrous age, esteemed by his contemporaries

the model of soldiers and of men of honour. Born in 1476 at the

neighbouring castle of Pontcharrá, he died at Rebecq on the 30th April

1524 from wounds received at the battle of Romagnane, and was buried in

the church of the Minimes, 1¼ m. from Grenoble, whence in 1823 his

ashes were removed to the church of St. André and deposited in the tomb

in the N. transept. St. André, founded in the 13th cent., was

the private chapel of the Dauphins. From the intersection of the

transepts rises

326

a fine tower, terminating with a steeple 183 ft. high. Adjoining is the

Hôtel de Ville, fronting the promenade. The tower of the 12th cent,

attached to the Hôtel de Ville stands on foundations laid by

Diocletian.

Grenoble: Library.

E. by the Rues du Palais and Brocherie is Notre Dame, from the 10th

to the 15th cent. Next the altar is a beautifully-wrought stone

tabernacle, and behind it, in the aisle, the chapel of St. Hugues, 13th

cent. At the S. end of the town are the best streets and houses, the

Place de la Constitution, and the Botanic Gardens. The Préfecture

occupies the entire S. side of the “Place.” Behind are the Botanic

Gardens and the Natural History Museum. Opposite the Prefecture, in a

handsome building, are the class-rooms of law, science, and literature.

On the E. side are the Artillery School and a large handsome edifice

containing the public library and the picture gallery. It is 279 ft.

long and 156 ft. wide, and cost £67,585. The Library, open every day except

Monday, contains 150,000 vols. and nearly 2000 manuscripts. There is a

comfortable reading-room open to all. The great hall, 204 ft. long and

44 ft. wide, is lined with shelves of books in three stages, and lighted

by handsome cupolas. Round the sides, under glass, are displayed

richly-illuminated manuscripts, while down the centre are other glass

cases containing medals and antiquities, many belonging to prehistoric

times. Among the MSS. is a Bible (imperfect) translated into French by

Raoul de Sestre in 1377 by order of Charles V.; also a New

Testament, 12th cent., and another in Vaudois, 13th cent.

Grenoble: Picture Gallery.

The Picture Gallery, open also every day excepting Monday, contains

550 paintings in four spacious halls, of which the centre one is the

largest and contains likewise the best pictures. The principal artists

are:—Albani, Alfani, Allori, Battoni, Bellini, Blanc-Fontaine,

Bloemaert, Bloemen, Bol, Bonifazio, Bouchet, Breughel, Bronzino,

Canaletto, Ph. Champaigne, Cock, Coypel, Crayer, Dagnan, Desportes,

C. Dolce, Gustave Doré (landscape), Dubuisson, Faure, Feti, Flink,

Foschi, Fouquières, Fragonard, Franquelin, Tadeo Gaddi, Gautier, Claude

Gellée, Gerard, Giordano, Glauber, Guardi, E. Hebert, Heusch,

Holbeina, Jordaens, Jouvenet, G. Lacroix, Lafosse, Lanfranc, Lepic,

Licinio, Maltais Le, G. Manni, Massé, Meulen, P. Mignard,

Millet, Monnayer, Montessuy, Moor, J. Ouvrié, Pannini, Parrocel,

Perugino, Piombo, Procaccini, Rigaud, Rivera, Romano, Roos, Rubens,

Ruisdael, Rysbraek, Salvator Rosa, Sassoferrato, Sneyders, Sueur,

D. Teniers, Terburg, Thielen, Thulden, Tintoretto, Uden, Valentin,

Van den

327

Veldt, Van Loo, P. Vannucci, Verelst, P. Veronese, Vos. Off the last

room of the picture gallery is a chamber containing the busts and

portraits of the most famous Dauphinois. Round the room are the

Dauphins, Dukes Guigues I. to VI., Jean I. and II.,

Humbert I. and II.—Bayard, 1476-1524; Lesdiguières,

1543-1626; Vauconson, 1709- 1782; Condillac, 1715-1780; Champollion,

1791-1831, etc. Upstairs is a collection of valuable antique furniture,

porcelain, carved ivory, and other ornaments; also one of those models

of the Bastile which were distributed among the eighty-three departments

of France after the fall of that stronghold of despotism on the 14th of

July 1790. On one side of the picture gallery is the Rue Lesdiguières

leading to the Temple Protestant.

Grenoble: Museum.

On the way is passed the entrance to the Botanic Gardens, with the

Museum of Mineralogy and Natural History. The great interest of the

museum consists in the well-arranged collection of specimens

illustrating the organic and inorganic products of this part of the

Alps. The birds and ores are well represented. Near the gate leading out

to La Tronche is the church of St. Laurent, 11th cent. The crypt, 6th

cent., is supported on twenty-four slender marble columns from 4 to 5

ft. high.

Grenoble: Manufactures.

Twelve million pairs of gloves are manufactured annually at Grenoble,

representing a value of £1,600,000. The material is given out to the

workmen, both men and women, upwards of 25,000, who make it into gloves

in their own houses. Certain improvements introduced by Xavier Jouvin in

1840 gave a great impulse to the glove trade and manufacture of

Grenoble, but for some years both have been seriously on the decline.

Excellent liqueurs, principally of cherries, are made in the department.

The wines are indifferent, chiefly because the vines are not well

selected.

Courrier every night at 9 to La Motte, 15 m. N., for 2 frs.

Returns next day at 8. Coach daily to Barcelonnette, time 11 hrs. (see p. 341),

passing Monètier, Allemont, the ancient Roman station of Mutatio on the

Roman road and the Durance.

7½ m. N.E. are the ruins of N. D. de Chardavan, in a narrow

valley. 1¼ m. N.E. is St. Geniès, with a saline sulphurous spring,

and strata of anhydrite gypsum, black marble, anthracite, and lead

ore.

opp. 326

the french

WALDENSIAN VALLEYS

see caption

Sassenage.

3¾ m. N. from Grenoble by the Pont du Drac is Sassenage. Omnibuses start from the Place

Grenette, fare 40 c. The Sassenage et Noyarez omnibuses leave their

passengers at the entrance into the town near the H. Faure, but the

Sassenage-Fontaine omnibuses go up to the “Place” and stop before the

inn *H. du Commerce. To the left of the inn is the house of the

guide for Les Cuves, whose services are necessary to be able to cross

the Furon and the torrent from the Cuves.

328

This is a most enjoyable little trip from Grenoble, and Sassenage itself

makes a very pleasant residence in May. An immense number of small

vehicles are constantly running to the Pont du Drac; whence it is a very

pleasant walk of a little more than 2½ m. to Sassenage. The

suspension bridge over the Drac was one of the first of this kind

constructed in France, but instead of being hung on chains it is

supported by long narrow plates held together by strong pivots. The

gigantic and lofty cliffs about Sassenage are composed of limestone

strata of great thickness, much valued for building purposes. The path

to the Cuves commences at the left side (approaching) of the H. du

Commerce, and, having passed through a doorway, enters a kind of park

and ascends by the right side of the Furon. About 1½ m. up is a

great cavern, so sharply cut that it looks as if it had been made

artificially, out of which rushes a copious stream of pure water. After

crossing the torrent, an ascent is made of a little more than 150 ft. to

an enormous vault, within which are two caves, called Les Cuves, out of

each of which rushes a great volume of water, which united passes under

the cavern below called the Four des Fées. After this two or three

beautiful cascades, quite near, are visited, and the Furon is crossed

and the return made by the left side of this most picturesque river.

From the Cuves side is seen part of the ruins of the old castle of the

Berangers, to which a series of steps leads up, commencing near the

mills, left bank. Their modern castle, built in the 17th cent., stands

within a large park adjoining the village. The large halls are furnished

with antique furniture and hung with paintings, a large proportion

being family and historical portraits. The bedrooms of the marquis and

marchioness are hung with old tapestry. The so-called Sassenage cheese

is made in the mountains around Villard and Lans, some miles to the

south of Grenoble. The general quality is not so good as formerly, as

more of the cream now is used for making butter.

Grenoble to Briançon.

Grenoble

to Briançon by Bourg d’Oisans and the Col de Lautaret (see

map p. 304). Distance, 69 m.

E. Diligence daily. When there is much snow, the Col is passed on

sledges. Time, 15 to 18 hrs., according to the state of the road. Fare,

16 and 14 frs. As the diligence from Briançon to Grenoble stops several

hours at Bourg d’Oisans, it is a good plan to alight there for the

night. This magnificent mountain-road, commenced by Napoleon I. in

1804, opened in 1842, and finished in 1868, makes a charming walking

excursion; while from almost every village grand mountain tours may be

made. Bourg d’Oisans, with a comfortable inn, the H. de France,

makes capital quarters. There are besides very fair inns at Le Freney,

H. d’Europe; La Grave, H. Juge; Le Dauphin, Inn Dode; Le

Monètier, H. Alliey, and even in the Hospice itself on the top of

the Pass, where beds and food may be had at most reasonable charges.

Claix. Vizille. Séchilienne.

5 m. from Grenoble by a straight road bordered with elms, between the

river Drac and the railway, is the village of Claix. _Inn:_ H. de France, with a bridge

across the Drac, having a span of 85 ft. and 53 ft. above the river,

built in 1611 by Lesdiguières. 5½ m.

329

farther S. by a road between poplars is Vizille, pop. 3900. _Inns:_ Imbert; Lion

d’Or, near each other; their omnibuses await passengers at the station.

A manufacturing town on the Romanche, in a valley between high

mountains. 15 m. from Grenoble is Séchilienne, pop. 1300. _Inn:_ Petit

Versailles, where the horses are changed. A village of one street,

magnificently situated, 1182 ft. above the sea, in the valley of the

Romanche, surrounded by steep mountains towering above each other. To

the S. is Mont Taillefer, 9390 ft., ascended from Séchilienne in about 6

hrs. In 1½ hr. the hamlet of La Morte is reached, whence the ascent lies

through pastures and pine woods to some steep rocks. The track then,

leaving on the right a small tarn, keeps along the base of the rocks to

an abandoned mine, where it runs along the ridge called the Arete de

Brouffier, overlooking the valley of the Combe de Valloire on the right

and the Combe de Gavet on the left. The ridge leads to a small plateau,

usually covered with snow; whence a second ridge leads up to the highest

peak.

From Séchilienne the diligence passes through the hamlet of Riouperoux,

in a narrow defile, among broken masses of rocks brought down by the

terrible flood of the 14th September 1219, which desolated the plain

from Oisans to Grenoble. 22 m. from Grenoble is the hamlet of Livet

at the foot of the Grand Galbert, on the Romanche near its junction with

the Olle. Up the Olle are the foundries of Allemont and the

argentiferous lead mines of Chalanche. Here is also the Pointe de

l’Infernet, 8184 ft., at the entrance to the defile leading up to the

Bella Donna.

Bourg d’Oisans. Ecrins. Road to the

Ecrins.

29 m. from Grenoble is Le Bourg d’Oisans, 2190 ft, pop. 3100.

_Inns:_ France; Milan; Poste. As the diligence from Briançon

remains at the Bourg some hours, it is a good plan to break the journey

here and start next morning. The village is situated near the Romanche,

surrounded either by the vertical cliffs of mountains, upwards of 1000

ft. high, or by their steep but carefully-cultivated slopes studded with

houses and hamlets. An easy excursion of 4 hrs. may be made to Lac

Blanc, 6170 ft. above Le Bourg, one of the highest lakes for its

dimensions in the Alps. It is nearly ½ m. long and 110 yds. wide,

and commands an extensive view. From the Bourg a tract mounts nearly due

N. in 3 hrs. by the villages of La Garde and Huez to the plateau of

Brandes with ruins attributed to the Romans, abandoned mines and

valuable deposits of anthracite worked in several places. 1 hr. farther

is Lake Blanc.

Many interesting mountain excursions may be taken from this town, of

which the most important is to the Ecrin Group, by Vosc, 7½ m., St. Christophe

13 m., and La Berarde other 10½ m. Entire distance to La

Berarde from Oisans, 23½ m. A few miles above Oisans we leave

the narrow gorge of the Romanche and follow the course of the Venéon to

the hamlet of Pont Ecofier, commanding a magnificent view of the whole

valley of Oisans, confined in its mural precipices, terminated by the

distant peaks of the Bella Donna. In the extreme distance a glacier

summit rises in glorious perspective precisely in the

330

prolongation of the valley; while midway stands Venosc, pop. 900;

_Inn:_ Paquet, on an elevated slope, clothed with exquisite verdure

and noble walnut woods, on the right bank of the Venéon. Exactly

opposite Venose are the green pastures leading to the Col de la Muselle,

8300 ft. As the tributary valleys do not join the principal valley at

common level, but are considerably higher, a waterfall, often of

great beauty, almost invariably accompanies the meeting of the streams.

In ascending the valley of St. Christophe the gorge soon becomes

narrower, the rounded forms characterising the intruded lias are quickly

left, and, the torrent having been passed on a substantial bridge,

a very short distance brings us to a scene of sublime desolation.

A mountain on the right hand has at some remote time crumbled into

fragments and literally filled the valley from side to side with a

colossal heap of ruins. Through and amongst these winds a narrow path

practicable for mules, whilst the river dashes from rock to rock with

excessive commotion, sometimes passing under the fragments which it was

unable to displace. One huge slab of granite, wide enough for three

carriages to pass abreast, forms a natural and ponderous bridge,

harmonising with the desolation of the scene. On the right stands the

romantic village of Enchastraye, a hamlet consisting of a few

houses perched on a projecting rock in a tributary valley above one of

the beautiful cascades.

St. Christophe.

La Berarde.

Not much farther on, the road leaves the stream and leads up the face of

a rough hill to St.

Christophe, pop. 600, which gives its name to the valley. Just

before reaching the hamlet a bridge crosses a very wild and narrow

cleft, through which foams a wild glacier stream called the Torrent du

Diable. 2 hrs. farther up the valley is the village of Les Etages,

commanding one of the finest Alpine views which the admirers of Swiss

scenery can desire, terminated by the Montagne d’Arsine, standing

immediately above the hamlet of La Berarde. It presents a series of

rocky pinnacles in manifold rows, between which the snow can scarcely

adhere; and as seen from Les Etages, especially by the morning light, is

comparable to the Aiguilles of Mont Blanc, while the valley which

stretches beyond it to the foot of Mont Pelvoux may almost rival the

scenery of the Allée Blanche. La Berarde, which is placed in the midst of this

savage landscape, consists of a few poor houses, with a small chapel

distinguished from the rest by a belfry. Cultivation ceases just at the

village; a few stunted pines are found still higher up, but there

is no wood worth mentioning in the valley above Venose. This excessive

sterility peculiarly characterises the valleys of Dauphiné. The village

of La Berarde is at a height of only 5710 ft., that of St. Christophe is

4825, and of Venose 3365, but the character of the scenery is, like that

of Switzerland, at a greater elevation. The unbroken rocky surfaces

deceive the eye to such an extent that it is difficult to realise the

enormous scale of these mountains. To ascertain their height we must

attempt to mount them, and even then the eye has some difficulty to

submit to the testimony of the limbs. The ascent of the Pointe des

Ecrins is made from La Berarde, but it is extremely dangerous. Mont

331

Pelvoux is not accessible from La Berarde, but is ascended from Val Louise (see p. 333, and map p. 304).

Le Freney. La Grave.

Continuation of Road from Grenoble to Briançon.

After Le Bourg d’Oisans the road ascends by the side of the Romanche

flowing several hundred feet below in a deep narrow ravine, by the side

of La Combe de Malaval. 8 m. from Le Bourg and 37¼ from Grenoble is

Le Freney, 3085 ft.,

pop. 900; _Inn:_ H. Europe, with mines up in the mountains but

of difficult access. It is in these mines that the crystals and the

species of quartz containing gold are found, for which the Dauphiné is

so celebrated among mineralogists.

2 m. farther, among masses of rocks, is the hamlet of Le Dauphin, with a

small inn. From this place, until the summit of the Col de Lautaret is

passed, every gap in the mountains shows a glittering glacier or a

soaring peak. About 3½ m. farther up, near the hamlet of Les

Freaux, a tributary of the Romanche pours its torrent over a

precipice of granite, forming a beautiful cascade. 45 m. from

Grenoble and 24 m. from Briançon is

La Grave, 5000 ft.;

_Inn:_ H. Juge; pop. 1500. Built on a slope rising from the

road, with, behind, almost inaccessible cliffs containing copper mines,

and opposite, on the other side of the river, the great glacier which

streams from the summit of the Meije, 13,080 ft. To the E. of the Meije

is the Bec de l’Homme, 11,372 ft., with a smaller glacier. The ridge

called La Meije runs from E.S.E. to W.N.W., and is crowned by numerous

aiguilles of tolerably equal elevation. The two highest are towards the

eastern and western ends of the ridge, and are rather more than a mile

apart. Any attempts to ascend the highest or western aiguille must be

made from the northern side. The view of this mountain from the village

of La Grave can hardly be praised too highly; it is one of the very

finest road views in the Alps, and one cannot speak in exaggerated terms

of its jagged ridges, torrential glaciers, and tremendous precipices.

The perpendicular cliff, extending from the Glacier des Etançons to the

summit of the Meije, is about 3200 ft. From La Grave the road leads

through a bleak region and several tunnels to Villard d’Arene,

4½ m. from La Grave and 32 from Briançon, a miserable hamlet,

considerably under the high road, at the foot of the Bec de l’Homme.

Col de Lautaret. Le Casset.

51¾ m. E. from Grenoble and 17¼ m. W. from Briançon is the Hospice of the Col de

Lautaret, a very fair inn on the summit of Pass, 6791 ft.,

where refreshments are taken and the horses changed. The two diligences

pass it daily. An iron plate on the house indicates that it is 11

kilomètres (6⅘ m.) from La Grave and 13 kilomètres (8 m.) from

Le Monètier. The pass commands a grand view down the gorge of Malaval

and towards the lofty towering Meije or Aiguille du Midi, 13,081 ft.

above the sea. From one side of the pass the Romanche descends to

Grenoble, and from the other the Guisanne to Briançon. From the Hospice

the road traverses several galleries, and passes by a mine of anthracite

coal not far from the village of Lauzet.

332

The discovery of this mine has been a great boon to the inhabitants of

this region, where wood is so scarce and where the winter is so long and

inclement. 2½ m. from Lauzet and considerably below the road is the

hamlet of Le Casset,

at the foot of Mt. Vallon, 10,136 ft., at the entrance to the ravine of

the Torrent Tabue, descending from the great glaciers which spread

themselves over the eastern slopes of Mont Pelvoux. When the snow is

melted the effect of the sun upon them is splendid. 60 m. from

Grenoble and 9 from Briançon is

Le Monètier. Briançon.

Le Monètier de

Briançon, 4898 ft. above the sea, surrounded with barley-fields,

pop. 2600, on the Guisanne, near the foot of St. Marguerite, 8328 ft.,

which, like Mont Vallon, belongs to the Pelvoux group. Horses changed

here. _Inn:_ Alliey; mineral bath establishment, with hot

sulphurous springs. Mines of anthracite. The road then passes the

villages of Les Guibertes, 4689 ft.; La Salle, with cloth and night-cap

manufactories; and St. Chaffrey, 3¼ m. from Briançon and 4299 ft.

above the sea. 69 m. E. from Grenoble is

Briançon, 4335 ft., pop.

6000. _Inn:_ H. de la Paix. Temple Protestant. The Brigantium

of the Romans, and now a fortified town of the first class, with eight

strong fortresses, which guard this important entrance into France from

Italy. The town stands on the steep sides of an eminence rising

vertically from the Durance, here a roaring mountain torrent hemmed in

between the cliffs of the Mont Infernet, with strong forts on all the

salient points up to the very summit, 7810 ft. above the sea. At this

part the Durance is spanned by a bridge of one arch, 120 ft. wide and

108 ft. above the river, erected in 1734, in the reign of Louis XV. On

the right side of the river, above the town, is the Fort du Château, and

opposite, on the left side of the river, are the Trois Têtes, the

largest of the forts. The views from them are very extensive, especially

from the fort Pointe du Jour. Carriage up to it, 30 frs. Permission to

visit the forts must be procured from the commandant. The large building

down the Durance seen from the bridge, in the suburb called St.

Catherine, is a manufactory where the waste of silk on cocoons is carded

and prepared for spinning. About 800 people are employed. The women earn

14d. per day, working from 5 in the morning to 6 p.m., 1½ hr. allowed for meals. The longitudinal

streets of Briançon are narrow and steep, little better than staircases,

down the centre of each of which runs a stream of water in a marble

gutter, with such an impulse that all manner of garbage thrown into it

quickly disappears. At the foot of Briançon is the fertile valley formed

by the union of the Guisanne with the Durance, surrounded by

carefully-cultivated mountains studded with villages. All the Briançon

coaches start from the Place du Temple, in front of the church. “The

neighbourhood of Briançon abounds in rare plants. Amongst them may be

mentioned Astragalus austriacus and A. vesicarius, Oxytropus

Halleri, Prunus brigantiaca, Telephium Imperati, Brassica repanda,

Berardia subacaulis, Rhaponticum heleniifolium, Crepis pygmæa, Androsace

septentrionalis, and Bulbocodium vernum.” —Ball’s _Western

Alps_.

333

Val Louise. Grand Pelvoux.

The

great excursion from Briançon is the ascent of the Pelvoux group,

whose highest peak is 12,975 ft. It can only be effected, however, in

favourable weather and with experienced guides. A wheel-road

extends by the village of La Bessée to Val Louise, 3780 ft., whence a

path ascends by the hamlets of Claux and Aléfroide. The Ville de Val Louise lies near

the union of the Valley des Entraigues with the principal branch of the

Val Louise, called the Aléfroide, stretching up to the foot of the

monarch of the group, the Grand Pelvoux itself, which, although at no

great distance, cannot be seen from the village on account of the hill

which rises immediately behind. (See p. 345, and map

p. 304.)

Cesanne.

Briançon to

Oulx, 17 m. N.E. by diligence, 4 hrs., 7 frs., by a

beautiful road winding up fir-clad mountains disclosing charming views

of the valley of the Durance and of the Mont Pelvoux group. On the

summit of the Pass or of Mont Genèvre, the Mons Jovis of the Romans, is

the village of Genèvre (pop. 400), with the French custom-house, 6476

ft. above the sea or 2141 ft. above Briançon, and 7 m. from it and

10 m. from Oulx. An iron plate indicates that it is 11 kilomètres

from Briançon, 61 from Embrun, 10 from Cesanne, and 40 or almost

25 m. from Susa (p. 291). A few

yards beyond is an obelisk which marks the boundary between France and

Italy, and which commemorates in French, Latin, and Italian the opening

of this road in 1807 under Napoleon I., and its restoration or

rather repair in 1835. 5 m. farther is Cesanne, at the confluence of the Dora with the

Ripa, 4420 ft., or nearly at the same height as Briançon. Italian

custom-house. _Inn:_ Croix Blanche, where the horses are changed.

A post-road leads from Cesanne to Perosa,

28 m. E. (p. 307). 5 m. from Cesanne is Oulx, 3514 ft.,

with a good inn, the Dell’ Alpi Cozzié, close to the station. The

diligence halts at and starts from the station. (See also p. 291. From Oulx rail to Turin, p. 291.) The road between Briançon and Oulx forms a

pleasant and easy walking excursion, which can be considerably shortened

on the French side by following the footpath.

Grenoble to Gap

by diligence, 62 m. S. The Grenoble diligence goes only the length

of Corps, where the Gap passengers enter the diligence for Gap.

Grenoble to Corps.

By diligence, 39½ m. S., 9 hrs., 9 frs., by a very beautiful road. From

Grenoble the road extends nearly in a straight line between the railway

and the Drac to Claix, 5 m. S. (pp. 328 and

345), and thence in another straight line

between poplars to Vizille, 5½ m. farther. Coach from Vizille to La

Motte les Bains. From Vizille the diligence takes nine horses, and

having crossed the Romanche, ascends by the flanks of Mont Conex in 2

hrs. to the village of La Frey

or Laffrey, 2000 ft. above, and 4½ m. from Vizille, and

15 from Grenoble, in a cold situation on the top of this pass, about

3000 ft. above the sea; the horses

334

are changed, and time given to take a cup of coffee. On this plateau,

immediately beyond the village, is Lake Laffrey, 3050 ft. above the sea,

2 m. long and 875 yards wide. At its S. end is the village of the

Petit-Chat, whence commences the Lake Pierre-Châtel. To the right or

west of the road is Mt. Peychagnard, with rich anthracite coalmines,

some of the beds being from 10 to 15 yards thick. The diligence next

passes through Pierre-Châtel, 20 m. from Grenoble,

a considerable village, with to the E. Mont Tabor, 7829

ft.

La Mure. Corps.

23¾ m. S. from Grenoble and 38¼ m. N. from Gap is La Mure, 2860 ft., pop. 3800, the largest

town on the road, with the ancient castle of Beaumont, nail

manufactories, and the anthracite mines of Availlans, 3½ m.

distant. Horses changed. Between La Mure and La Salle, the next village,

is perhaps the grandest scenery, the road running along the edges of

high cliffs or in the profound depths of the ravine of the Bonne, which

it crosses by the Pont-Haut. The hamlet of La Salle is exactly half-way

between Grenoble and Gap, 31 m. from each, and 8½ m. from

Corps. The road, after passing the village of Quet and the gorge of La

Salette, arrives at

Corps, 39½ m. from Grenoble,

on a plateau 814 ft. above the confluence of the Drac with the Souloise,

or 3156 ft. above the sea. Pop. 1500. _Inns:_ *Poste; Palais; next

each other. Mules for La Salette with man, 4½ frs. Vehicles, 5 frs.

the seat, or 15 frs. the whole. La Salette is 5½ m. from Corps, and

2750 ft. above it, by a wheel-road. The ascent by mule takes 2½ hrs. It

is better to descend on foot. The excursion to La Salette is very

picturesque, and, like all the journeys among the mountains of the

department of Isère, of great interest to the botanist and geologist.

The inhabitants of these mountains wander in winter to distant parts

selling their plants, bulbs, and seeds. From the aromatic varieties most

justly famous liqueurs are distilled at the Chartreuse, La Salette,

Grenoble, and elsewhere. The rocks produce nearly every kind of metal,

one of the best cements, and many beautiful crystals and marbles, of

which the black variety of Beaumont is the most celebrated.

La Salette. Church of Notre Dame de la Salette.

LA SALETTE.

This place, formerly a dreary and desolate mountain plateau, is now

visited by thousands of pilgrims, especially on the great feast-day of

Notre Dame de la Salette, sanctioned by Pio IX. himself. The church,

a handsome and substantial edifice, built in 1860, of unpolished

marble, is 146 ft. long and 49 ft. wide, and 60 ft. high, inside

measure. Eighteen columns surround the nave and choir, while attached

pillars support the walls, all covered with votive offerings. The pulpit

was a gift from Belgian votaries. The façade, with three doorways, has

on each corner a handsome square tower. The expenses, which were very

great in a region of such difficult access, and where winter lasts six

months, were defrayed by spontaneous contributions. Opposite the façade

are well-executed colossal figures in bronze, the gift of a Spaniard,

representing the events of the story. On the south side of the choir

335

a door opens into the large and spacious building occupied by the nuns,

and on the north side another door opens into a similar building

occupied by the monks. The hotel accommodation in each is exactly the

same. The pension price, including wine and everything else, is 5½ frs.

per day. Visitors can have a good meat breakfast for 1½ fr., dinner 2½

frs., supper 2 frs., a bowl of café au lait ½ fr., a cup

of café noir 25 c. Both the monks and the nuns are very obliging. Books

approved of by the bishop of Grenoble are sold in the “magasin” of the

establishment, giving the history of the apparition, from which the

following is extracted:— “On the 19th of September 1846, at 2.30

p.m., was seen by a girl and a boy in

the place where the statue now is, a figure seated on a stone

shedding tears so copiously that they caused a dried-up spring, about 2

ft. in diameter and 2½ ft. deep, a little to her left, to flow

forth freely. Since then it has been fed by a pipe, and has been called

the miraculous fountain. The girl’s name was Fraçoise-Melanie Calvat

Mathieu, 15 years old, and the boy’s Pierre-Maximin Giraud, 11 years

old, both employed as cowherds, and both so ignorant that they could

neither read nor write. They understood only the patois, and had such

frail memories that the girl had as yet been hardly able to remember a

few lines of the catechism, while it had taken the boy three years to

learn the Pater Noster and the Avé Maria. The statues of the children in

the path between the railings indicate the place where they were

standing when they first saw the figure. When the apparition became

aware of their presence it arose, and calling them to her, said in

French, shedding tears abundantly all the time, ‘If my people will not

submit, I shall be obliged to let loose the arm of my son; it is so

heavy and weighty that I cannot retain it any longer. You may pray and

do what you like, you will never be able to recompense the labour I have

taken for you. I have given you six days for work, and have

reserved for myself the seventh, but they will not grant me it; it is

that that makes the arm of my son so heavy. Those who drive carts cannot

swear without using (inserting) the name of my son. These are the two

things which make the arm of my son so burdensome.’ She continued a

little longer in French till, observing the children did not understand

her, she added in patois a long harangue in the same strain,

a diatribe on the blasphemy of the age and the desecration of the

Sabbath— ‘only some old women go to mass.’ After her speech, and

having twice charged the children to make known her discourse, ‘a tout

mon peuple,’ she glided up the path between the railings, followed by

the children, to the eminence where the colossal statue stands with the

statues of the children before it, and, having ascended 5 ft., she

disappeared, looking to the S.E.” That this being was really Mary was

acknowledged by Pio IX., who sanctioned the institution of a feast-day

in her honour, and several plenary indulgences for pilgrimages and other

acts of devotion, to Notre Dame de la Salette. On the 6th August 1867

the worship (culte) of her was publicly established in Rome. The first

stone of the church, up on the mountain near the site where Mary

appeared to the children,

336

was laid by Bruillard, bishop of Grenoble, on 25th May 1852, assisted by

Chatrousse, bishop of Valence, in the presence of 15,000 pilgrims. In

the churches all over France and in many of those in Belgium are

pictures representing N. D. de la Salette addressing the children.

In the litany addressed to Mary of Salette she is appealed to as “the

tower of David,” “the gate of heaven,” “the morning star,” “the refuge

of sinners,” “the queen conceived without sin,” “the healer of

diseases,” “thou by whose supplications the arm of the irritated Lord

against us is held back,” “thou who hast said, If my people will not

submit I shall be forced to let go the arm of my son,” “thou who

continually beseechest thy divine son to have mercy upon us, pray for

us.”

The lad, Pierre Maximin, after serving his time in the army, kept a shop

at Corps, upon which was written, “Objets de Piété vendus par Maximin

Giraud.” He died about the year 1880. Melanie, the girl, was sent to a

nunnery at Naples. A priest is said to have affirmed that the

pretended Mary was an eccentric lady called Mlle. Lamerlière, born near

Saint-Marcellin, Isère.

From Corps either return to Grenoble or take the diligence to Gap,

22½ m. S. (See p. 333, and

map p. 304.)

Gières. Domene. Goncelin.

PARIS

MODANE

398

78

GIÈRES. At this station

omnibuses await passengers for the baths of Uriage, 4 m. N., and

1358 ft. _Hotels:_ Grand Hôtel; Cercle; Ancien Hôtel; Des Bains; Du

Rocher. The bathing establishment is comfortable and commodious, and is

pleasantly situated in a narrow wooded valley, about 400 ft. higher than

Grenoble. The water contains common salt, sulphates of magnesia and

soda, and carbonate of lime, and rises in a deep valley at the junction

of granite and lias, which is, however, concealed for some way by an

immense mass of detritus, through which the spring forces itself. It is

conveyed 700 yards in a subterraneous conduit to the establishment,

whence it issues with a temp. of 71° Fahr.

PARIS

MODANE

401

75

DOMENE, pop. 2000.

_Inn:_ Hôtel du Commerce. From this village is generally made the

laborious ascent of the Pic de Belledonne, 9780 ft. above the sea-level.

Guides necessary. The first night is generally spent at the village of

Revel. Two days required.

PARIS

MODANE

412

64

GONCELIN, pop. 1600.

Station for Allevard-les Bains, 6¼ m. distant by an excellent road

through a beautiful country, in comfortable omnibuses awaiting

passengers at the station, fare 2 frs. Here also a coach awaits

passengers for Tourettes, pop. 400, in the opposite direction, upon the

right bank of the Isére.

Allevard on the Breda, 1837 ft. above the sea, pop. 4000. The

337

three principal hotels are within the park, and the prices are from 8½

frs. to 12½ frs. per day, including everything. The Hôtel des Bains,

with the casino, theatre, and mineral water establishment. At the other

end of the park are the Louvre and the H. Parc. In the Place

contiguous to the Temple Protestant is the H. du Rhône, 8½ to 10½

frs. In a garden of its own, Le Châlet. Near the diligence office, the

France. The H. Very. Nearly a mile from Allevard at the junction of

the lias with the primitive talc-slate rise the springs, temp. 61°

Fahr., with a great deal of free sulphuric acid gas, especially

efficacious in diseases of the throat and the respiratory organs, for

the cure of which the establishment is especially adapted, the apparatus

for inhalation and gargling being both complete and varied.

Allevard possesses also important ironworks, where the rich carbonate of

iron ores from the neighbouring mountains are smelted.

Among the easiest of the many delightful walks around Allevard is the

road that leads up the gorge of the Breda to what is called the “Fin du

Monde,” 1 m. distant, where masses of rock render it impracticable

to proceed farther. To reach it, walk up the left bank to a bridge at

the upper ironworks. Do not cross it, but continue on the left bank and

ascend the road to the right. Finger-posts indicate the rest of the way.

At one part of the road travellers are requested to pay a toll of 10

sous.

The ascent of the Brame Farine, 3983 ft., takes 1¾ hr. It is an elevated

point on the ridge between the valleys of the Breda and the Isère. 25

min. from Allevard is the Tour de Treuil, 10th cent., the remains of a

castle belonging to the family of Crouy Chanel. From this a path ascends

through a ravine planted with walnut trees to the hamlet of Crozet.

Descend by sledge, 2 frs.

There are a great many other excursions into the valleys and up the

mountains, either by carriage or on horseback, for which there is a

tariff by the authorities of the place.

Sept Laux. Pontcharrá.

The most remarkable of these excursions, and at the same time the most

difficult, is 9 m. up the valley of the Breda by the hamlet of

La Ferrière, to the Sept

Laux or Lakes, 7144 ft. above the sea-level, and the Glacier of Gleyzin,

9480 ft. above the sea-level. Time required to go, 14 hrs. constant

walking, but to the lakes only, about half that time. This series of

lakes, above 30 in all, lies in a wild gloomy ravine, shut in on all

sides by low bare peaks. They are fed by springs, and are not

accumulations of stagnant water derived from the melting snow. The banks

are surrounded with fragments of rock, covered with snow nearly the

whole year, while the highest of the lakes, Lake Blanc, is almost always

frozen over. Some of them contain trout, and a sluggish frog inhabits

the marshy margins.

PARIS

MODANE

418

58

PONTCHARRÁ station.

An omnibus awaits passengers for the village of Pontcharrá, pop. 2800,

_Inn:_ Domenjon, 1¼ m. distant.

From Pontcharrá the coach proceeds 5 m. E. to the village of La

338

Rochette, in a beautiful valley. Near Pontcharrá, and seen distinctly

from the station, is the castle in which Bayard was born.

PARIS

MODANE

426

50

LES MARCHES, a

straggling village overlooked by a hill, on which stands the church of

Notre Dame de Myans, with a colossal statue of the Virgin. Beyond are

some small lakes and mounds formed by landslips from Mt. Granier, 6520

ft. 2½ m. from Les Marches is Montmélian, where passengers by this

route for Modane and Turin _change carriages_ and join the direct

line. For the rest of the journey to Modane (53 miles), see from Montmélian, p. 289.

Marseilles to Grenoble,

190 m. N., by Gardanne, Aix, Pertuis, St.

Auban, Veynes, and Clelles.

Fare—first class, 36 frs. 70 c.; second, 27 frs. 55 c. Grenoble is

394 m. S.E. from Paris by Lyons (see p. 324).

GRENOBLE

190

MARSEILLES. There are two ways from Marseilles to Aix, either by

Rognac 33 m., or by Gardanne 16¾ m. The Rognac route must be

chosen by those who desire to visit the aqueduct of Roquefavour (see p. 77).

Gardanne. Pertuis.

MARSEILLES

GRENOBLE

11

179

GARDANNE, pop. 3500, on

the stream Jaret. Both here and at Septêmes are important coal-fields.

Southwards, towards the Bouches du Rhône, are seen the chimneys of

numerous tile, brick, and pottery works. From Gardanne a branch line

extends to Carnoules, 52 m. S.E., on the line between Marseilles

and Cannes (p. 142), on which the only towns of

interest are Brignoles and St. Maximin.

MARSEILLES

GRENOBLE

18½

171½

AIX-en-provence (see p. 78). At Aix

change carriages for Rognac. 5 m. N. from Aix is La Calade station,

where a coach awaits passengers for St. Cannat, 5 m. N.W. (p. 80); and

Lambesc, 3½ m.

farther (p. 80). 5 m. S.W. from Lambesc is Pelissanne.

16 m. N. from Aix, or 34½ m. N. from Marseilles, is Meyrargues (see

p. 79).

MARSEILLES

GRENOBLE

38

152

PERTUIS, pop. 5800.

_Hotels:_ Reynaud; Thomas; both near each other.

Their omnibuses await passengers at the station. Situated 2 m. from

the Durance, at the junction of the branch line from Avignon, 48 m.

W., passing Cavaillon, the station for Apt, and L’Isle, the station for Vaucluse

(see pp. 64 and 66). The Marseilles canal from the Durance commences

near Pertuis

(p. 77). In the centre of Pertuis is the Tour d’Aigues, which was

part of the old fortifications. From Pertuis the country becomes

picturesque. 10 m. N. is the station of Mirabeau, pop. 800, with

the castle in which Mirabeau spent his boyhood, and in which his father

was born.

339

60 m. N. from Marseilles, and 130 m. S. from Grenoble, is Manosque, pop.

6200 (see pp. 166

and 168).

4½ m. N. from Manosque is Volx village and station, with beds of

lignite. 69½ m. N. from Marseilles is La Brillanne, pop. 400, on

the Oraison. 3½ m. N. from Brillanne is the station and village of

Lurs, pop. 1000, on a hill overlooking

the Durance. It contains the convent of Alaun, visited by pilgrims, and

a Roman road called the Chemin-Seinet.

Peyruis.

MARSEILLES

GRENOBLE

77½

112½

PEYRUIS, pop. 1000;

_Inn:_ Latil; curiously situated on the Durance, at the base of

cliffs of conglomerate more than 1000 ft. high, which by the action of

water have been cut up into tall pinnacles.

MARSEILLES

GRENOBLE

80½

109½

ST. AUBAN, pop. 250,

junction with line to Digne. (For Digne, see p. 166, and maps pp. 162 and 304.)

Digne to Barcelonnette by La Javie,

Seyne, Le Lauzet, and Thuiles, 53 m. E., by coach; time, 11

hrs.; fare, 10 frs. 9 m. from Digne is La Javie, famous for plums;

pop. 500; H. de France, at the junction of the Bléonne with the

Arigeol. 2 m. beyond is Beaujeu, pop. 400, on the Combefère, whence

a narrow valley leads to the Col de Labouret, 3990 ft. Thence descend to

Le Vernet, pop. 300, on the Besse, with beds of gypsum, 19 m. from

Digne and 33 from Barcelonnette. Near Le Vernet is commenced the ascent

of the Col de Maure, 4708 ft.; from which descend to Seyne-les-Alpes,

pop. 2800, on the flanks of a mountain, and half-way between Digne and

Barcelonnette. It contains a church of the 11th and 12th cents.

18 m. from Barcelonnette, and 5 from Le Lauzet, is St.

Vincent, pop. 600, situated on a grassy eminence overlooking the Ubaye.

From Le Lauzet to Barcelonnette, see Gap to Barcelonnette, p. 341.

Colmars. Sisteron.

Digne to Barcelonnette by Draix, St.

Thomas, Colmars, and Allos, 55 m. N.E. 10½ m. from

Digne and 4 from La Javie is Draix, pop. 200, on a confluent of the

Bléonne. 21¼ m. beyond is Colmars, pop. 1100, at the foot of Mts. Meunier and

Draye, on the Sence at its junction with the Verdon. Excellent cheese,

called Thorame. Cloth and saw mills. 5 m. beyond is Allos, pop.

1400, with a small inn, 18 m. from Barcelonnette. A short way from

Allos by the hamlet Champ Richard, in one of the wildest and most

sequestered valleys of the Alps, is Lake Allos, 7346 ft. above the sea,

4 m. in circumference, 140 ft. deep, containing capital trout, and

surrounded by cliffs in some places 590 ft. high, over which tower bleak

mountains, of which the most lofty is Mt. Pela, 8600 ft. The lake

discharges its surplus water through a subterranean canal 1640 ft. long,

whence it issues under the name of the torrent Chadoulin. From the

village of Allos proceed to Barcelonnette by La Foux, pop. 150, with an

interesting church, and Mourjouan, both on the Verdon, a tributary

of the Ubaye. (For Barcelonnette, see

p. 341. For Cannes and Grasse to Digne, see

p. 165.)

MARSEILLES

GRENOBLE

91

99

SISTERON, pop. 5000.

Good resting-place. _Hotels:_ Vassail; Negre; their omnibuses await

passengers at station.

Picturesquely

340

situated, 1575 ft. above the sea, on both sides of the Durance at its

confluence with the Buech. At the railway end of the town are the church

of Notre Dame, 11th cent., and three towers, part of the fortifications

built by the Counts of Provence. Notre Dame has been very much altered

externally by restoration and repairs. The effect of the graceful

octagonal tower has been destroyed by the square tower adjoining. In the

interior the arches are early pointed, inclining to the stilted form.

The three apsidal terminations are semicircular. The small window at the

end of each is closed. The end of the town farthest from the railway is

picturesque. From the gateway rise perpendicular cliffs of blue

limestone, on the top of which is a fortress of the third class.

Immediately opposite, on the other side of the Durance, are similar

strata heaved up and twisted into an enormous pyramid. A little

beyond the gateway, a good road leads up by the cemetery to a place

where there is a good view of the valleys of the Durance and the Buech.

7 m. N. from Sisteron is Mison station, 2002 ft. above the

sea, on the border of the Hautes-Alpes. 5 m. farther, Laragne

station, 1883 ft. 34 m. N. from Laragne is Eyguians-Orpier station,

1979 ft.

Serres. Veynes.

MARSEILLES

GRENOBLE

112½

77½

SERRES, pop. 1200;

_Inns:_ *Alpes; Voyageurs; Commerce; consisting of dirty, steep,

narrow streets, on the sloping side of a calcareous cliff rising from

between the Buech and the Blême. Diligence to Nyons, 41 m. E., p. 51. 8 m. N.

from Serres is Chabestan, 2411 ft.

MARSEILLES

GRENOBLE

121½

68½

VEYNES, 2614 ft. above the

sea, pop. 1800. _Inns:_ At station, H. and Rest, de la Gare;

in town, H. Dousselin.

Junction with rail to Mont Dauphin-Guillestre, 51 m. N.E.

This branch line extends to the passes leading to the roads which

traverse the valleys of the Waldenses.

Gap. Le Lauzet.

On this branch line, 16¾ m. E. from Veynes and 34¼ m. S.W. from

Mont Dauphin, is Gap, on the Luye,

2895 ft. above the sea, pop. 9300. _Inns:_ Poste; Nord; Provence;

France. This, the ancient Civitas Vappium, has a large Champ de Mars,

extensive barracks, long avenues of walnut trees, and a handsome modern

cathedral, built on the site of one of the 11th cent. In the Préfecture

is the mausoleum of the Connetable Lesdiguières, originally one of the

leaders of the Protestants. In the hamlet of Tareau, close to Gap,

Guillaume Farel, a celebrated French reformer, was born in 1489. He

died on the 13th Sept. 1565. The most remarkable features of his

character were dauntlessness and untiring energy and zeal. He possessed

a sonorous and tuneful voice, fluency of language, and passionate

earnestness; yet, although seldom failing to arrest the attention of

large audiences, he often, by imprudent torrents of denunciation,

aroused against his doctrines unnecessary opposition.

Gap to

Barcelonnette, coach daily; distance, 42 m.; fare,

8 frs.; time, 8 to 9 hrs. The road follows the Luye to its

confluence with the Durance, 5 m. S. from Gap. From this point it

ascends by the N. side

341

of the Durance, passing the pretty village of Remollons, 10 m. from

Gap. 3½ m. farther is the roadside station of Espinasse, where the

horses are changed. 300 yds. above the confluence of the Ubaye with the

Durance the road crosses the Durance by the bridge of Saulze, and

ascends by the right side of the Ubaye to the village of Ubaye,

23 m. from Gap, producing large quantities of walnuts, of which oil

is made. The apples of this neighbourhood were once famous. From almost

every part of the road between Espinasse and Ubaye are seen the

picturesque fort and extensive forest of St. Vincent. 28½ m. from

Gap is Le Lauzet, pop.

1000, _Inn:_ France, surrounded by great mountains, with narrow

gorges and lofty waterfalls. In the neighbourhood is a lake abounding

with trout. 3 m. higher up is the hamlet of Martinet, at the

entrance to the beautiful valley of the Laverq, extending to the S. side

of Mt. Siolane, on whose slopes the spire of the church of Meolans

occupies a prominent position. From Martinet the road crosses to the

right side of the Ubaye, whence, passing by Les Thuiles. 4½ m. from

Barcelonnette, and St. Pons, 1½ m., arrives at Barcelonnette. St.

Pons contains the ruins of a castle, a church said to be of the 7th

cent., and a Via Crucis up a steep hill. The most curious part of the

church is the S. portal, under a soffit, having pillars on each side.

Above the pillars are small quaint figures of the apostles, and over the

door one of J. C. On the tympanum is a fresco representing the

presentation of the kings to the child Jesus. On N. side of chancel is a

square tower with short spire, which seems to have served as a pattern

to all the church towers in, the department of the Alps, the

characteristics being that the height of the tower is proportionally

great to the height of the spire.

Barcelonnette. St. Paul.

Barcelonnette,

3718 ft. above the sea, pop. 2100, _Hotels:_ Nord; France; on the

Ubaye, in the midst of meadows, surrounded by mountains clothed with

walnut, larch, and fir trees. The present village was built in 1230 on

ground given by Reymond Beranger, in honour of whose ancestors, the

Counts of Barcelona in Spain, the newly-erected town received its name.

The parish church, begun in 1230, was, on account of a conflagration,

nearly rebuilt in the 16th and 17th cents. The tour de l’horloge at the

corner of the “Place” is all that remains of the church of N. D. de

Confort, built in 1290 and destroyed in 1789.

From Barcelonnette, besides the coaches daily to Gap and Digne, there is

also one to the village of St.

Paul, 4730 ft. above the sea, and 13½ m. N.E. from

Barcelonnette, fare, 2½ frs.; time, 3 hrs., by the Maddalena road, the

length of 2 m. above La Condamine, where it diverges 6½ m. N.

up the narrow and picturesque gorge of the Ubaye. The wheel-road

continues 10 m. beyond St. Paul to Maurin, 6565 ft. above the sea.

From this a bridle-road enters Italy by the Col Longet, 8767 ft., and

the hamlets of Chenal (Italian custom-house with a fair inn) and Château

Dauphin and the river Vraita.

Jausiers.

Barcelonnette to Cuneo by the Col

della Maddalena, Vinadio, Demonte, and Dalmazzo, 62 m. E., 12

hours’ walk to Vinadio; whence there is a diligence to Cuneo. Wheel-road

all the way (see map, p. 304).

342