The
Trees Commonly Planted For The Purpose Of Sustaining The Vines,
Are Maple, Elm, And Aller, With Which Last The Banks Of The Arno
Abound.
[It would have been still more for the advantage of the
Country and the Prospect, if instead of these
They had planted
fruit trees for the purpose.] This river, which is very
inconsiderable with respect to the quantity of water, would be a
charming pastoral stream, if it was transparent; but it is always
muddy and discoloured. About ten or a dozen miles below Florence,
there are some marble quarries on the side of it, from whence the
blocks are conveyed in boats, when there is water enough in the
river to float them, that is after heavy rains, or the melting of
the snow upon the mountains of Umbria, being part of the
Apennines, from whence it takes its rise.
Florence is a noble city, that still retains all the marks of a
majestic capital, such as piazzas, palaces, fountains, bridges,
statues, and arcades. I need not te11 you that the churches here
are magnificent, and adorned not only with pillars of oriental
granite, porphyry, Jasper, verde antico, and other precious
stones; but also with capital pieces of painting by the most
eminent masters. Several of these churches, however, stand
without fronts, for want of money to complete the plans. It may
also appear superfluous to mention my having viewed the famous
gallery of antiquities, the chapel of St. Lorenzo, the palace of
Pitti, the cathedral, the baptisterium, Ponte de Trinita, with
its statues, the triumphal arch, and every thing which is
commonly visited in this metropolis.
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