Out of her own states, her presence in Italy would be attended
with unpleasant consequences to the powers that be, on account of the
attachment borne to Napoleon by all classes of society; and it is on this
account that on her last visit to Bologna she received an intimation from
the papal authorities to quit the Roman territory in twenty-four hours. We
next passed thro' St Hilario and Reggio and brought to the evening at the
village of Rubbiera. At St Hilario is the entrance into the Duke of
Modena's territory, and here we underwent again &n examination of trunks,
as we did both on entering and leaving the territory of Maria Louisa.
Reggio is a large walled city, but I had only time to visit the Cathedral
and to remark therein a fine picture of the Virgin and the Chapel called
"Capella della Morte." Reggio pretends to the honour of having given birth
to the Divine Ariosto:
Quel grande che canto l'armi e gli amorl,
as Guarini describes him, I believe. The face of the country from Parma to
Reggio is exactly the same as what we have passed thro' already.
The next day (20 August) we passed thro' Modena, where we stopped to
breakfast and refresh horses. It is a large and handsome city, the Ducal
Palace is striking and in the Cathedral is presented the famous bucket
which gave rise to the poem of Tassoni called La Secchia rapita.
