CATANIA, SICILY, _March 27, 1841_.
I wrote you at Messina on the 10th inst. That city is delightfully
situated, partly on an eminence and partly on a plain, surrounded by
a luxuriant country, abounding with oranges, lemons, and many other
tropical fruits. The population was, at one time, eighty thousand,
but it is now somewhat reduced. It is said that the plague of 1743
carried off fifty thousand of its inhabitants, and the earthquake of
1783 nearly destroyed its beautiful quays in a few minutes, levelled
its finest buildings, and killed one thousand persons. The city, as now
rebuilt, has magnificent quays and a very pretty harbor. The walls of
the present buildings are very massive, and usually from two to three
stories high, to resist the shocks of earthquakes, which they are still
subject to. I omitted to state in my last that I had experienced one
slight shock since I had been in this latitude.
After remaining a sufficiently long time at Messina to see all the
objects of interest, and its beautiful sunrises, I took a steamer for
the city of Palermo, a distance of one hundred and fifty miles. The
approach to the city presents fine scenery. The mountains which form
the background, the deep blue sea, whence rise the most picturesque
rocks imaginable, the luxuriant plains immediately surrounding the
city, altogether, are peculiarly striking. The city has a gay and
Asiatic appearance, and the architecture is of the Saracenic, Greek,
and Roman styles. It is one of the most regular built cities I have
yet seen, and has a population of two hundred thousand. The Strada
Toledo, which is about a mile in length, wide, clean, and well paved,
intersects another street of the same character at right angles, and
leads into a handsome octangular piazza called Quatro Cantori, from
the centre of which both parts of each street and the four principal
gates of the city, are visible. The number of nunneries is immense. The
basements of these--many of them in the principal streets--are occupied
as shops, while the upper stories are the apartments of the nuns, as
may be discovered by the long, grated, projecting galleries.
The church of the Capuchins, about a mile distant from the city,
attracts the attention of travellers. Here we descended into an immense
vault, about one hundred and fifty feet in length, and probably sixty
in width, which is used as a depository for the defunct brethren. They
are dried, dressed, and placed upright in railings against the wall,
that their friends may visit and pray by them annually, on the second
of November. These catacombs also contain the vaults with iron doors
where the body is placed and dried for six months; at the end of which
time it is clad in its usual habiliments, and placed with the general
assembly. The floors are covered with coffins inclosing the remains
of persons not in holy orders. In one coffin I saw the late viceroy,
who had been embalmed seven months, and was in good preservation. In
one apartment are shelves devoted to females, who are disposed of in
glass cases, and are richly dressed, and decorated with ornaments.
This apartment must contain several thousands. The atmosphere is not
altogether agreeable, and the grim-visaged defunct monks contribute not
a little to make the sight appalling and disgusting.
Having finished our observations with the dead, we next visited
the palace of the king, which is rich in marbles, mosaics, fresco
paintings, tapestry, &c., and then made an excursion to the Chinese
villa, called “_La Favorita_,” the summer residence of the king
of Naples and Sicily, while at Palermo. The grounds are beautiful,
inclosing splendid drives, four miles in extent, embellished with
fountains, thickets, labyrinths, all varieties of tropical fruits, &c.
The palace is purely Chinese in construction, in furniture, and in
decorations.
After having examined most of the prominent sights of the city, we
chartered a private carriage, to take the route from Palermo to
Catania, a distance of one hundred and sixty-eight miles. The tour of
Sicily is not generally made by travelling about the island, as it is
attended with great fatigue and exposure, and want of accommodation;
the usual mode of travel being on mules and donkeys.
In the principal cities all the comforts required by a traveller can
be obtained, but in the interior the estates are large and owned
by few, the peasants poor and living mostly in villages, going for
miles to perform the labors of the day, instead of having farm-houses
scattered along the road. The accommodations to be found are of the
worst character. But we passed through a delightful country, with
all the variety of mountain scenery. Sicily was once denominated the
granary of Rome, and some writers say that hounds lost their scent in
hunting over Sicilian heaths, on account of the odoriferous flowers
which perfumed the air. This is the most delightful season of the year
for travelling here, as the green almond trees are in blossom, the
weather delightfully warm, and the flowers abundant. On our route we
saw immense pasturages and herds of sheep on the mountains, attended
by faithful shepherds with their crooks and watch-dogs. At sunset the
sheep are all gathered to the folds.
The city of Catania was greatly injured by an eruption of Mount Etna in
1669, and almost destroyed by the earthquake of 1693, when most of the
inhabitants were buried under the ruins of their houses and churches.
But it rose rapidly, and now has a population of seventy thousand. It
is regularly and handsomely built, and the streets are paved with the
lava of Mount Etna.
So terrible have been the eruptions that parts of the city have been
buried sixty feet deep with the burning lava. Excavations have been
made in many places, and one of the number I visited, and descended
sixty-three steps, when I came to the original earth and a spring of
water. In another place the excavation exhibits the ancient Greek
Theatre with its corridors, rows of seats, and other fixtures. In
another place may be seen the remains of an amphitheatre, with its
dens for wild beasts, and aqueducts for water, far below the surface
on which the present city is built. It is necessary to descend with
torches. All these things render it probable, if not certain, that
Catania shared the fate of Herculaneum and Pompeii, in ancient times as
well as in modern.
Since our party arrived here we have made an excursion up Mount Etna.
Having each provided ourselves with a mule, and one extra to carry
supplies, we set out on a lovely morning for Nicholosi, a small
settlement, twelve miles up the mountain from Catania. The first part
of the route presented a luxuriant and beautiful country abounding with
vineyards, olives, figs, oranges, limes, and almonds. Vegetation was
far advanced; the soil was very rich from the vast quantity of lava,
cinders, and ashes which covered this extensive tract of country at
the time of the eruption, and the destruction of Catania. On starting
the weather appeared highly favorable for the entire ascent, but on
arriving at Nicholosi the guide declined going up to the summit, as the
sky indicated a snow-storm, in which, if caught, we could not possibly
be saved at this season of the year. We therefore only ascended to the
top of what is called Monte Rossi, the volcano that destroyed Catania
in 1669, and covered the country with lava for thirty or forty miles.
The summit of Mount Etna is always covered with snows. Before we
returned we found that the snow-storm had commenced, and rejoiced
that we had escaped. At the height we attained we lost sight of all
vegetation, nothing being visible but lava, cinders, and ashes.