plains leading to Mount Vesuvius and Portici. If you look to the west,
you have the grotto of Pausilippo, the mountain on which Virgil’s
tomb is placed, the fields leading to Puzzoli, and the coast of Baia.
On the north, are the fertile hills, gradually rising from the shore
to the Campagna Felice. On the south is the bay, confined by the two
promontaries of Misenum and Minerva; the view being terminated by the
island of Procida, Ischia, and Caprea; and as you ascend to the castle of
St. Elmo, which is situated on a mountain of the same name, you have all
these objects under your eye at once, with the addition of a great part
of the Campagna.
“Independent of its happy situation, Naples is a very beautiful city. The
style of architecture it may be confessed, is superior to what prevails
at Rome; but though Naples cannot vie with that city, in the number of
palaces, or in the grandeur or magnificence of the churches, the private
houses, in general, are better built, and more uniformly convenient;
the streets are broader, and better paved. No street in Rome equals in
beauty the Strada di Toledo at Naples; and still less can any of them
be compared with those beautiful streets which open to the bay. This is
the native country of the Zephyrs; here the excessive heat of the sun is
often tempered with sea breezes, and with gales, wafting the perfumes of
the Campagna Felice.
“The houses in general are five or six stories high, and flat at the top;
on which are placed numbers of flower vases, or fruit-trees, in boxes of
earth, producing a very gay and agreeable effect.
“The garrison stationed at the fortress of St. Elmo have the entire
command of the town, and could lay it in ashes at pleasure, being built
on the mountain of the same name. A little lower on the same mountain
is a convent of Carthusians. The situation of this convent is as
advantageous and beautiful as can be imagined; and much expense has been
lavished to render the building, the apartments, and the gardens, equal
to the situation.”
On the morning which succeeded my arrival, (Saturday, March 5th),
after engaging a _servitore de piazza_, and delivering some letters of
introduction, I had the good fortune to arrange with one gentleman,
Dr. K⸺, whom I called upon with the latter view, to be accommodated
with apartments in his house; and farther, we agreed to mess together,
whenever it suited our convenience to dine at home; under which
arrangement, we continued to live in all possible harmony, during the
remainder of my stay in Naples.
As the doctor dined out on the following day, I preferred taking my
repast at a trattoria’s, called the Villa de Paregi, and had the
unexpected pleasure of being placed between two gentlemen, brothers,
whom I had known at Nice. Unfortunately, they were quitting Naples that
evening: I spent, however, a couple of hours very agreeably with them, at
their lodgings.
In the course of my walk on the following day, I met my friend Lady
C⸺ with Miss L⸺, and afterwards dined with Dr. K⸺ at the Villa di
Roma, where I had the gratification of finding Count K⸺ whom I have
before mentioned, as well as two or three other acquaintances. I was
much pleased with the situation of this trattoria’s house. It stands
by the sea-side, in that part of Naples termed Santa Lucia; there is
a room built directly over the sea, where one not only enjoys the
refreshing breeze, but also the additional cooling sensation of the waves
under-foot. The entertainment of the house is excellently good, and after
taking refreshment, it is delightful to walk by the sea-side, or a boat
may be had to sail upon the bay if it is preferred.
On the next day, Mr. C⸺, the gentleman whom I have mentioned as being
acquainted with formerly in America, called upon me. I had been at
his house, but did not find him at home; I left however, my letter of
introduction. This reminds me of some lines of one of the most pleasing
poets of our day, whose society I have had the pleasure of enjoying,
written under somewhat similar circumstances.
“Tho’ late the word of friendship came,
Thanks be to him who said it;
Impatient of the tardy claim,
Your friend was mine—before he read it.”
We walked together to the Grotto del Piede, and I had the pleasure, and I
may say advantage, of finding him, in addition to his original stock of
general information, become a most intelligent and agreeable Ciceroni. We
measured the entrance of the grotto, and found it seven good paces; it
extends in length, nearly a mile through the mountain, to its termination
on the other side. At certain points in the tunnel are apertures, which
admit an imperfect light from above; the deficiency is supplied by tapers
placed near the centre, which at the same time serve to illuminate a
figure of the Virgin Mary.
After my walk I took an artificial sulphur bath, and in the evening
drank from the spring at St. Lucia, which is impregnated with
sulphuretted hydrogen; I proposed continuing this plan occasionally
during my residence here. After this, I dined with Lady C⸺, and in the
evening took a drive with the family on the Strada Nuova.
I had arranged with Mr. C⸺ to accompany him, and two Neapolitan
gentlemen, to the royal palace at Caserta, which we had the prospect of
seeing to advantage, as the king was yet at Rome, and his chief agent
at that place, brother to one of our companions. We fixed on Saturday
the 12th for our excursion. We left Naples between four and five in the
morning, and arrived at Caserta about eight o’clock, being distance of
fifteen miles. In the first place, we inspected a smaller palace at
St. Lucia, about a mile distant from the large one, where his Majesty
generally resides in perfect retirement. The house is small, and by no
means well furnished; but in one room we noticed one of the greatest
luxuries of a hot climate, a marble bath, twelve or fourteen feet
square, and railed round, with little gates leading to the steps by
which you descend into it. We did not prolong our stay at this palace,
which contains little worth seeing, but retiring to the house of our
companion’s brother, were regaled with an excellent breakfast, but rather
a peculiar one; the first part consisted of eggs, cream and other
cheeses, with radishes, rolls and butter, and excellent wines; after
which, coffee was introduced, and then a variety of fresh and preserved
fruits, with two kinds of the finest _liqueurs_, one of which was said
to be only made at the convent of St. Rosa, probably by the hands of
fair nuns, at least, whether this was the case or not, the idea gave
an additional zest to the _gout_. It may seem inconsistent, that nuns
and monks should employ themselves in the composition of any thing to
intoxicate the brain, and contribute to gross and worldly enjoyments;
but, I believe, it is almost to them exclusively, that we are indebted
for the introduction of aqua vita, and other strong liquors, one of the
earliest receipts for making which will be found in the Rosa Anglica
of John of Gaddesden, a celebrated medical monk, and the first court
physician appointed in England, at the time of Edward the Second; John
is, however, so cautious respecting it, that he begs the secret may
neither be divulged to women or laymen, or the delicious compound tasted
by them, unless a handsome fee has been first paid for the gratification.
After breakfast we visited the king’s manufactory of silks and velvets,
in which eight hundred persons are employed; the works and spinning
machines are conducted upon similar principles with those of Lyons and
Spitalfields; in short, the director has passed some years at both these
places, in order to attain a thorough acquaintance with the various
processes. As far as I could judge, the quality and texture of the
articles manufactured here, were equal to any I had examined in England
or France. The larger wheels are, however, not put into motion by the
action of steam or water, but by two women walking within them. The
manufacturers reside in the adjoining village of Santa Lucia, and are
regulated by particular laws, and have privileges different from what are
possessed in any other parts of the kingdom, and which were given them by
the present king in his own hand-writing.
We now proceeded through the royal grounds, which are abundantly stocked
with game of every kind, to San Sylvestre, where is the king’s dairy,
and a small house, called his hunting box, situated in the middle of a
beautiful park well planted with the chesnut, and fine young oaks. After
this we visited the gardens, stored with the choicest fruit-trees, and
ornamented with flowers of every description. We here found, as guards,
two beautiful mastiffs, who were said to be in royal pay, each receiving
six ducats per month, which is wholly expended in provisions for them, as
they happen to require no other clothing than what nature has liberally
provided.
After this we passed through a woody walk to the cascade, formed by
the waters from the Ponte Madeloni, six miles distant, which I shall
hereafter describe. This cascade issuing from a reservoir situated on an
eminence termed Gazzano, is precipitated into a plain, where, formed into
a long straight canal well stocked with mullet, and losing its rapidity,
it is conducted by a succession of artificial falls to the palace; from
whence it is conveyed by pipes under-ground to Naples, affording a supply
of the best water which that city possesses.
After a most delightful walk, enhanced by the fineness of the day, we
reached the palace of Caserta, said to be the largest royal residence in
Europe, and which we found a truly noble and magnificent structure. The
building comprises nearly a square, and as the kitchens and offices are
under-ground, there is as much contained beneath, as above the surface.
After passing through a magnificent hall, we ascended a marble staircase,
fine without a parallel, the massy balustrade composed of the richest
workmanship, and of the whitest marble, said to be taken from an ancient
temple near Naples. The entrance upon the staircase on each side is
guarded by a lion of the same description of marble.
At the head of the first flight of stairs, apartments branch off in
different directions, which, however, were only slightly furnished.
The first room we entered was a chapel, most elegantly although only
partially fitted up. After this we were ushered into a suit of spacious
saloons and bed-chambers, with baths, &c.
The ground-floor contains a beautiful theatre, on the model of the
present one of St. Carlos, and so contrived as to admit of a side being
thrown open, to exhibit the natural scenery of the country around. This
palace also has a circular road from the bottom to the top, to allow the
king to ride up or down at pleasure.
Our time was too short, to enable us to take more than a cursory view of
this immense pile of building, as we had determined to visit the aqueduct
of Madeloni, before our return to Naples, and which was some miles out of
the direct road.
The palace of Caserta was commenced by Charles III. of Spain, in the year
1757, under the celebrated architect Vanvitelli, and is not complete
at the present day. I shall finish my account of it with the following
description from Dr. Moore.
“This palace is built on a plain where ancient Capua stood. It was
thought prudent to found a building, on which such sums of money were to
be lavished, at a considerable distance from Mount Vesuvius. It were to
be wished, that the contents of the cabinet of Portici were removed from
the same dangerous neighbourhood. That he might not be limited in ground
for the gardens, may have been his Spanish majesty’s motive for choosing
that his palace should be at a distance from Naples; and that it might
not be exposed to insult from an enemy’s fleet, was probably the reason
that determined him to place it at a distance from the sea.
“This immense building is of a rectangular form, seven hundred and fifty
English feet, by five hundred and eighty; about one hundred and twelve
feet high, comprehending five habitable stories, which contain such a
number of apartments as will accommodate the most numerous court without
any accessary buildings.
“The rectangle is divided into four courts, each of about two hundred
and fifty-two feet, by one hundred and seventy. In each of the two
principal fronts, are three corresponding gates, forming three openings,
which pierce the whole building. The middle gate forms the entry to a
magnificent portico, through which the coaches drive. In the middle of
that, and in the centre of the edifice, there is a vestibule, of an
octagonal form, which opens into the four grand courts at four sides of
the octagon; two other sides open into the portico, one to the staircase;
and at the eighth side there is a statue of Hercules crowned by victory
with this inscription;
VIRTUS POST FORTIA FACTA CORONAT.
The grand staircase is adorned with the richest marble; the upper
vestibule to which you ascend by the grand staircase, is an octagon
also, and surrounded by twenty-four pillars of yellow marble, each of
which is one piece of eighteen feet high, without including the pedestals
or capital.”
After quitting the palace, we were detained some time by dinner at the
village of Caserta, and which our exertions had made indispensable; after
this we visited the governor, a friend of one of our companions, who
received us with politeness, and paid a high compliment to the discipline
and bravery of the British army, which he had witnessed in Calabria and
Sicily.
We did not arrive at the Aqueduct before the evening began to close
in, and our driver, in consequence of the risk of banditti, became
solicitous for our returning to Naples, now seventeen miles distant. We
descended however from our carriage, and walked under one of the arches,
followed by a number of beggars and Ciceroni. This wonderful structure
consists of three rows of arches, elevated over each other, and filling
up an extensive chasm between two approximating mountains, over which
it conveys a whole river of the purest water, the channel for which is
about four feet wide, and covered over by an excellent road of sufficient
breadth to allow carriages of every description to pass.
The lower tier consists of nineteen, the second of twenty-seven, and the
upper one of forty-three arches, and the whole built of brick from the
designs of Vanvitelli, in magnitude and effect surpassing all similar
works of ancient or modern construction. Of the former we may in some
measure gain an estimate by drawing a comparison between the present and
the famous Roman aqueduct, the Pont de Guard near Nismes, of which I may
give the following description.
“It was raised in the Augustan age, by the Roman colony, at Nismes, to
convey a stream of water between two mountains, for the use of that city.
It stands over the river Gardon, which is a beautiful pastoral stream,
roaring among rocks, which form a number of pretty natural cascades, and
over-shadowed on each side with trees and shrubs, which greatly add to
the rural beauties of the scene. This work consists of three bridges, or
tier of arches, one over another; the first of six, the second of eleven,
and the third of thirty-six. The height, comprehending the aqueduct at
the top, amounts to one hundred and forty-seven feet three inches; and
the length between the two mountains which it unites, extends to 723
feet. The order of the architecture is the Tuscan, but the symmetry of it
is inconceivable.”
Thus it will be seen that the Ponte di Madeloni loses nothing in
comparison, as respects its height, and length, and number of arches, in
all of which points it exceeds the Pont de Guard; as to architectural
qualities, I must leave it to better judges to determine, which of the
two has the advantage.
My friend C⸺ was so delighted with the beauty and magnificence of this
aqueduct, that we could not induce him to leave it, until the obscurity
of evening made a longer stay unavailing; when we commenced our return
to Naples. On our way we had some reason to think the driver’s fears not
altogether groundless, as when within four miles of the city, we were
surprised by three fellows making their appearance upon a heath, who
followed the carriage for some distance, and kept looking at us as if to
reconnoitre our force. One of them even attempted to spring up behind the
carriage, but my friend C⸺ calling out loudly in the Italian language,
he desisted, and with his companions made off immediately. We certainly
acted imprudently in travelling near Naples at so late an hour, for
although the city was kept quiet by Austrian troops, it was well known,
that numbers of disbanded soldiers, and discontented peasantry, were
spread all over the country. We did not arrive at Naples until half after
ten o’clock, when I went immediately to my lodgings, leaving my companion
to settle the customary dispute of fare with the coachman; and which I
understood was not concluded until midnight, and then terminated in our
paying a dollar more than had been stipulated for.
CHAP. XIX.
NAPLES.
During my residence in this city I frequently walked on the delightful
promenade of the Villa Reale, which happened to be near my lodgings in
the Strada Bassiniana, and in the vicinity of Santa Lucia and the Caio,
two places, which for strangers, are preferable to any other part of
Naples.
In this garden is a bust of Tasso, the features of which the sentinel one
day permitted me to examine, when I was much struck with the contour.
The traveller will also see here the celebrated group, called Il Toro
Farnese, originally brought to Rome from Rhodes, and found in Caracallas
baths, from whence it was removed to the Farnese palace. It was supposed
to represent Amphion and Zetus, who, by order of their mother Antiope,
are binding Dirce to the horns of a wild bull. Apollonius is said to have
executed much of this group, which has however been restored in so many
parts, that little of the antique work remains, the bull excepted.
On the 15th, the king of Naples, about three o’clock in the afternoon,
made his public entry into his capital, after regaining possession of his
dominions, under two triumphal arches erected for the purpose, one at the
Botanic Garden, a short distance from the city, the other in the middle
of the Toledo. The whole way to the palace was lined with Austrian and
Neapolitan soldiers, who were ordered to prevent cheering, and it was
even said that some lazaroni, who attempted it, were placed in custody.
In the evening the city was illuminated, although this was partially
done, and chiefly confined to the public offices, and residences of such
individuals as were more particularly anxious to manifest their loyalty.
This was repeated on the two succeeding nights.
The entrance of the king, appeared to be the signal for the removal of
such persons as were supposed inimical to his government; many were
simply ejected from their situations, while others were imprisoned, or
had passports sent to them, with notice to quit the kingdom before a
certain day; I am not aware that the punishment of death was inflicted on
any.
On the 18th we experienced a very hot day; after breakfast, my friend
C⸺, Dr. R⸺, and myself, set out to visit Virgil’s tomb; which,
notwithstanding they had been there before, we contrived to pass beyond;
returning back we discovered it, and having entered a door which led
through a small vineyard, began to descend a number of steps, which
terminated near the entrance of a stone vault, in which were a number of
recesses for the reception of sepulchral urns, each about two feet high
and eighteen inches broad; these were formed on a level with the floor,
one on either side of the entrance, three in each lateral wall, and two
in front, being ten in all.
Some antiquarians have disputed, whether the ashes of the great Mantuan
bard ever reposed in this vault; this philosophically and abstractedly
taken, perhaps, is a matter of as little consequence to posterity, as to
Virgil himself; but in a sentimental point of view, unless they can point
out indisputably, the spot where the precious exuviæ of this immortal
spirit were actually deposited, it is but a cruel martyrdom of feeling,
to attempt to deprive us, the hapless Ciceroni of the day, of the
exquisite gratification of an imaginary _sepulchretum_.
Shortly after this interesting excursion, we determined to cross the
bay of Naples to Sorento, the birth-place of Tasso, at the distance of
about eighteen miles. Our party consisted of Lieut. B⸺, Mr. D⸺, and
myself; we had a short and pleasant passage, and just before the sails
were taken in, the crew sung a hymn to the Virgin Mary, to thank her for
their safe arrival, and then brought round a box for our contributions
to a libation in honour of her. We now found that the town was two miles
farther on, and the master prepared a small boat, with part of his crew,
to take us there, for which he gave us to understand, we were to pay as
much as for the voyage across the bay; notwithstanding he had informed
us that his was a Sorento boat, and we had engaged to be taken there. My
friends were unwilling to dispute the point; whereas, had it been left
to myself, he should not have received a _grain_ beyond his contract,
or even that, until he had landed us at the point stipulated for. The
impositions to which strangers are subjected in this country, are
unbounded, and it requires much art and manœuvring to defend oneself; not
that this is particular to Italy, for we have only to look at home, where
we find our hackney-coachmen and watermen, ready to avail themselves
of a similar licence. My plan is, in the first instance, to gain all
possible information as to the proper distances and charges; and then,
throwing myself accidentally, as it were, in the way of those persons I
wish to engage, to allow them to make the first attack, which they will
be sure to do, and which I receive with an indifferent air, laughing at
their price, which I know, and declare to be unreasonable, and offering
them a very low one;—if it is not accepted, I then walk away, for it is
endless staying to argue with them; they will be sure to follow and learn
my address, and make more reasonable proposals; in which case, with an
appearance of liberality, it is easy to say, that as I am pleased with
their civil manners, it induces me to give something more than the
regular fare, when the bargain is readily concluded.
On landing, our first object was to make out a comfortable inn for
dinner, but we were grievously disappointed. The best one was full and
unable to receive us; the second contained nothing to eat; and in the
third we found a dirty old man, getting out of one of the six beds, which
the room we were to have dined in contained, and from which issued so
disgusting a smell, that notwithstanding the keenness of our appetites,
we could not reconcile ourselves to continue there. We had recourse to
our only alternative, which was to proceed to the house of a gentleman,
Captain S⸺, at the distance of two miles, with whom Lieut. B⸺ wished to
treat, for summer apartments for his family, thinking we might elicit
information as to where a dinner could be procured. Captain S⸺ was dining
from home, but we had the pleasure of seeing his lady, whose account of
the accommodations of the neighbourhood put us quite in despair. She
insisted, however, upon sending for her husband, and had the kindness
to give us a refreshment of bread, wine, and oranges, which was truly
acceptable. Captain S⸺, on his arrival, with the greatest kindness,
offered us not only a dinner, but beds, which, although with reluctance,
we felt compelled to accept of.
In the interim, while dinner was in preparation, we walked out to call
on an English friend of Mr. B⸺’s, who resided two miles farther off;
he was, however, from home; but the attempt to see him, gave us an
opportunity of exploring the country; which my friends described as very
beautiful, although only visible through occasional interruptions to high
stone walls on either side, and which universally bound the roads in this
part of the country; and which are so narrow, that it must be impossible
for a common-sized waggon to pass along them; they serve, however, at
least one good purpose, that of affording shelter from the scorching rays
of the sun.