He Went Into The River To
Water His Horses, When He Was Carried Off By The Torrent And Would Have
Been Drowned, Had Not The Virgin, On Her Aid Being Invoked, Dashed Into The
River And Haled Him Out By The Hair Of His Head.
Of this story, to use a
phrase of old Josephus,[115] every one may believe as much as he
Thinks
proper; but certain it is that the postillion made oath (which oath is
registered) that his life was saved by the Virgin Mary in this manner, and
he has put up a votive tablet at her shrine, which remains to this day,
commemorative of the event. There is also a Roman aqueduct in the
neighbourhood, eleven Italian miles in length.
We arrived at Terni at three o'clock and immediately hired a caleche (the
other travellers and myself) to visit the famous cascade of the Velino,
about three miles distant from the town of Terni. The road thither is very
rugged, and is a continual ascent on the flank of a ravine. For a long time
before you arrive on the brink of the cascade, you hear the roaring of the
waters; and it certainly is the most magnificent and awe-inspiring sight of
the kind I ever beheld. It is far more stupendous than any cascade in
Switzerland. That of Tivoli compared to it is as an infant six months old
to a Goliath. The Velino forms three successive falls, and the last is
tremendous, since it falls from a height of 1,068 feet into the abyss
below. The foam and the froth it occasions is terrific; and the spray
ascends so high that in standing at the distance of fifty yards from the
fall you become as wet as if you had been standing in a shower of rain. The
first fall it forms is of 800 feet; the second little less; the third I
have stated already. No painting can possibly give a faithful delineation
of this, and very possibly no poetic description can give an adequate idea
thereof. We passed the whole night at Terni and the next morning we stopped
to dine at Spoleto. The same evening we arrived at Foligno. Spoleto is a
neat town and well paved. Several ruins of ancient buildings are in its
vicinity. Before you arrive there, on the left of the road, is an immensely
high two-arched bridge. There is an aqueduct likewise just outside the
town. We did not omit to read the inscription on the gate of the town, in
commemoration of the repulse of Hannibal, who failed in his attempt to make
himself master of this city, after having beat the Romans near the lake
Trasymene. The gate is called in consequence Porta Fugae, and this gate
constitutes the principal glory of Spoleto. We were shown the rums of a
Palace built by Theodoric. On leaving the town, just outside the gate, we
were shewn a bridge which had laid underground for many centuries and had
been lately discovered. A bridge was known to have been built here in the
time of Augustus, and it is very probably the identical one; we could only
see the top and part of the parapet.
Foligno is a large, well built city, neatly paved, populous and commercial,
renowned for manufactories of paper, wax, and confectionary.
The whole road between Spoleto and Foligno is thro' a beautiful valley in
high cultivation. There is a good deal of rich pasture ground, and it is
watered by the river called in ancient tunes Clitumnus. Here are to be seen
a fine breed of white cattle for which this part of the country has been
long renowned, which cattle were used, in preference, for sacrifices
(Albi, Clitumne, greges).[116] A similar breed is to be found in India
and Egypt.
The streets in Foligno are broad. I remarked the Palazzo Pubblico and
Cathedral as very fine buildings. Our next day's journey brought us to
Perugia, after passing by Assisi, the birth place of the famous St Francis,
founder of the order of Franciscans. It is situated on an eminence:
convents and churches abound therein.
Perugia is a large and opulent city, standing like a fortress on a
mountain, and towering over the plain below. It is of steep ascent from the
plain, and there are various terraces along the ramparts, commanding
several fine points of view of the rich and fertile plains all round. These
terraces are planted with trees and form the promenades appertaining to the
city. The architecture of the various churches and Palaces is very
superior. The streets are broad and every building has an air of
magnificence. The Cathedral, dedicated to St Laurence, is well worth
visiting; it stands on the Piazza del Duomo, where there is a fine
fountain ornamented with statues. In the church of St Peter's there are
some fine columns of marble and some pictures of Perugino and Raffaello.
[108] Virgil, Aen., VI, 886. - ED.
[109] Of the two persons here mentioned, by their initials only, the first,
Luigi de' Medici, was chosen as Chancellor of the Exchequer by King
Ferdinando in June, 1815. The second was Nugent, an Austrian
marescallo, who became capitano generale of the Neapolitan army,
August, 1816, and capo del supremo comando, February, 1817. - ED.
[110] This most distinguished lady, Marianna Candidi, was born in Rome in
1756; her mother, Magdalena Scilla, was the daughter of a well known
antiquary of Messina, Agostino Scilla. Marianna learned Latin, drawing
and music; she achieved a reputation as landscape painter, and was
elected a member of the Academies of St Luke in Rome, of Bologna, Pisa
and Philadelphia. She married the lawyer Domenico Dionigi, and gave him
seven children, one of whom, Henrietta, became Madame Orfei, and was
much esteemed as "improvisatrice." Madame Dionigi herself published
several works, among which a Storia de' tempi presenti, written in
view of the education of her children. Her salon in Rome was
frequented by many men of distinction, such as Visconti, d'Agincourt,
Erskine, etc.
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