and not undeservedly as one of the most mervellous things they see in the voyage of Italy T is cover'd round with galleries 7. rowes one above another of Marble Pillars so that 't is hard to bee imagin'd by what engines so great a structure should be supported it being built so declining to one side that all men which regard it at the first expect its fall Hard by is the Dome or Cathedrall Church of Pisa where threescore Pillars testifie as well its Antiquity as the Gates of Brasse its rarity Joyning to this is the Campo Santo or Cimetiere firm'd in with a wall of Marble and much resembles a Cloyster in the midst is the Church yard from whence the place hath its denomination that implies the holy Field because halfe the ground was brought from Jerusalem and it hath a particular propriety that all bodies which are buried there are consum'd within the space of 40. houres Here are likewise reserv'd many Ancient Urnes which with the story of the Old and New Testament painted of old worke make the place very venerable Hard by is the Baptistary or San Giovanni wherein the Font and pulpit leaning on foure Lyons will for the preciousnesse of the stone yield to no other in Italie Leaving the Area where these things stand together a little more into the towne is the Chappell and Palace of the Knights of the Order of St. Stephen the Frontespiece of the Chappell is of Marble neatly pollish't The inside is adorn'd with the truest Ensignes of Valour I meane Trophees taken from the common enemies of Christianity the Turkes Before their Palace is the statue of the great Duke Cosmus with a Fountain This Dignity of Knighthood is much like to that of Malta both to maintain Christs cause against the Mahometans yet these may marrie the others I conceive may not These weare a red Crosse for their badge in this fashion ✚ From hence we walk't to the Physitians garden which is more for use then delight although there be good walks water-works that well washt us yet for the most 't is cover'd with simples outlandish Plants and the like Joyning to it is a gallery very commodious for Medecinall things it abounding with all curiosities of Nature as forreign creatures Stones Mineralls and whatsoever strange the farthest Indies produce In generall this City stands so opportunely as few like for the receiving of all forreign Wares In the midst thereof runnes the river Arno from thence to its Embuschment navigable for very great Vessels so that here is a place where the Duke builds his Gallies On one side of the river is a faire street cald Longarno where is the great Dukes Palace and before it the statue of Ferdinand the third On the other side is the Exchange little but of Marble then which nothing more common in Italy In a word 't is prayse enough to say t is the third City under the great Duke who I thinke hath the fairest of what Prince soever Having taken a satisfactory view hereof we went on our way to Ligourne whither there is an hourely convenience of a Coach to transport Merchandise from Ligorne to Pisa the Duke hath made an artificiall Channell of 15. miles long which bares small boates like to Venetian Gondoloes The Escluse of which Channell we saw at our setting forth out of Pisa cover'd for 250. paces The most part of the way to Ligorne is through Fennes till one enters into the great Dukes Forrest which continues to the towne Ligorne the only maritimate place of importance under the Great Duke is situated in a plaine at the board of the Mediterranean Sea t is but little yet the great concurse of Merchants which flow thither from all Nations chiefly from my one make it more spoken of than many Cities of a larger extent 'T is an innumerable summe of money the Duke receives yearly from this small Port wherefore his Predecessors with him have omitted nothing to make it strong witnesse the royall Bastions and mote wherewith t is fenct The great Port where the Ships lay at Anchor is defended by the Mole and about hath many fanalls The Darcina where the Gallies then but six in number lay as quiet as in a Chamber is most exquisitely well contriv'd Before stands that best of moderne Statues the Duke Ferdinand in Marble and the Colosses of foure slaves under him in brasse in divers Postures so lively represented that if the Statuary could have fram'd a voice as well as those bodies he might have conquerd nature Besides this piece there are no more curiosities in this towne yet many conveniences The streets are generally large the houses low but uniforme unlesse some which have been put out of order by an Earthquake to which this place is often Subject The great place is very beautifull and fit for the assemblies of Merchants On the houses round about and in the fairest streets are pictur'd all the battels and victories of the great Dukes gallies obtained over the Turks which a slave did to gaine his redemption The Jewes which are here in great number have the fairest Synagogue I ever yet saw wherin on a saturday their Sabbaoth we saw the manner of their divine if so I may call it service Their priviledges here are more then ordinary they wearing no marke of distinction as in other Townes so that here the wealthier and richer sort are of that Sect. The Greeks likewise have a Congregation and Church here In a word Ligorne is compacted of forreigners yet the unwholsomenesse of the aire banisheth a great part from thence which I by dangerous experience found true for the day before I was to depart for Florence having all the while I stayed at Ligorne found a strange alteration of the aire different both from that of England and France I was ill dispos'd to sicknesse however not so much but that I adventur'd on my journey which though with much difficulty I perfected The first night we lay at Pisa which way we had formerly past The next morning we tooke Coach a very unpleasant passage over hilly way and past first by S. Roman a Convent of the Observantins standing on high from whence is a pleasant prospect downe the valley from thence we came to Empoly a neat little towne where we lay and the next day towards noone arrived at Florence Which for its singular excellencies amongst all other Cities of Italy is cal'd {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} the Faire Florence the Capitall of Toscany and seat of the great Duke is scituated at the bottome of very high hills environ'd on all sides with the same excepting towards the West side before which lies a plaine Countrey vulgo Pianura di Fiorenza This City is divided in two by the river Arno over which are built foure Bridges of stone upon one of the two chief is the Goldsmiths street upon the other of very stately structure stand the foure quarters of
ConLibert Concubin Piae Plautiae Aug L. Faustae Libert. That day wee dind at Mola where there is to bee seen Ciceros Grote in which he wrote many of his familiar Epistles In the afternoone eight miles from Mola we came unto Garigliano where the famous City Minturna stood as a very entire Aquiduct an Amphitheatre with many other ruines testifie Having past here the river Liris that terminated old Latium we came into the Medowes of Minturna where Marius hid himselfe in his flight from Sylla at the end of those fields runs along Mons Massicus so renown'd for the wines it produc't t is now cald Garo and from thence the river Liris Garigliano adjoyning are the ruines of Senuessa as Martiall Et Senuessanis venerunt Massica Praelis That night wee lay in Ager Falernus at a Village calld S. Agatha at the bottome of Sessa formerly Aurunca The Ager Falernus is all that space of ground which lies betwixt the Mons Massicus and the River Vulturnus so that because of their affinity Vinum Massicum and Falernum was us'd promiscuously by the Ancients The next morning we past by Torre di Francolesse where Hanniball being besieg'd by Fabius Maximus escapt through that famous stratageme of making his enemies drunke Two mile farther wee came in view of that happie Plaine of Campania now Terru di Lavoro which most Authors as well Moderne as old extoll for the most fruitfull plat of earth that is in the Universe In a word t was the Subject of Virgils Georgicks In which having rode five miles wee came to dinner at New Capua which though so cald in regard of the other yet hath some remnants of Antiquitie In the Cloister of a Church are some Ancient Tombes In the midst of the City at the entrance as I suppose of the Jesuites Colledge is this old Inscription Julio Auroxonti Leonidae V. C. Quaestori Praet. Curatori Capuensium Ob multa praeclara in cives patriamque Honori Licentiae suae merita Institutori Novorum ac Renovatori Operum Publicorum Ab origine Patrono omni laude dignissimo Regio Competi The old Capua the delight of Hanniball and Paragon with Rome and Carthage is two mile off out of the way on the left where the ruines of Columnes Theatres Temples Porches shew its former Magnificence From Capua to Naples the way is even spacious and like a garden t is indeed Campania The fertility of which is such that if the owner have not as much Wine out of one Vine as will load five Mules he thinkes his labour ill spent an incredible though true argument of the fruitfullnesse of this Countrey In the mid-way stands Anversa and eight miles farther Naples This Metropolis of that Kingdome which takes its denomination from thence is a Maritimate on the Mediterranean shoare T is ancient though Neapolis and was first cald Parthenope At this present t is reckond the third City in Italy and so great are the delights which nature hath allowed to this place that t is still frequented by men of high condition and great personages so that it hath taken the Epethite Naples the Gentle The streets of Naples are generally well pav'd of free-stone especially that of Toledo very large and even Which indeed is necessarie here in regard of the multitude of Coaches that passe to and fro The Houses are very uniforme built flat at the top to walke on a notable convenience in these hot parts Another like accommodation which this City hath against the heats is the Mole which is like an Artificiall street casting it selfe into the Sea hither all the Gentry at the evening retire to take the Fresco At the end of the Mole is the Fanal and underneath a fountaine with the statues of the old Dieties of Parthenope From thence one hath in view the mountanous Iland Capreas the delight of Tyberius Amongst the Palaces of Naplee the Vice Kings then Duca d' Arcos is the fairest There are three Castles S. Elmo above Castel nuovo Castello del Ovo below The Churches are generally the best I ever came into fild with Marbles chiefly the Carthusians the Jesuits the Bishops Chappell The onely Antiquity within the City is at the Theatins Church which was a Temple of Castor and Pollux the Frontispiece or Porch of ancient Pillars with a Greek Inscription over it which Language this City spake when it was cald Parthenope as likewise the remnants of their two Statues yet standing The Inscription is this {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} It beiug May while we staide at Naples We saw the famous Miracle of the bloud of Santo Gennaro carryed in procession Naples is extremely populous and consequently vitious he that desires to live a retired or indeed chaste life must not set up there as the gardens are fild with Oranges so the houses want not for Lemmon Jusque datum Sceleri saith the Poet There were at my being there thirty thousand Courtesans Registred that paid taxes for their pleasure The things within Naples are not to be omitted yet those about give farre more satisfaction and truly if a traveller Hyperbolise in any part of his voyage of Italy the most fit Theame he can take are the Wonders a little distant from Naples and first the Tractus Puteolanus scatens hominum ac naturae miraculis Parting for Pozzuoloes on the left a Suburb by the Sea side leads to the Margouline where in the Church cald Santa Maria Del Parto is the Sepulcher of Sincerus Sannazarius with many figures of Marble excellently cut and this Epitaph Actius Sincerus D. O. M. Da Sacro cineri Flores Hic ille Maroni Sincerus Musa Proximus ut tumulo Vix Ann. LXXI Obiit MD XXX A Countreyman of ours in honour to that worthy Poet hath left this paper of verses beside his Tombe Sonulus hendeca-Syllabicus Rithmicus Valum Nobile par brevi Camoena Longum mensus iter Fleam necesse Quorum fertur oves ita iste flesse Vt narint lachrimis uda Avena Seu pisces lepida sed ille vena Tam pisces cecinit probe atque presse Se tanquam placidos ut ipse adesse Cura praestiteriut oves arena Partum Virginis unus arte rara In sanctos rotulos modosque cultos Alter quem memorant Sybillae ad arâ— Annos Vaticinatus ante multos Quid mirum est igitur jacere clara Ambos Virginis Vrbe Consepultos Ad Aras P. Virgilii Maronis c. Act Sin Poetarum Princip Hugo Hollandus Nobilis Cambo Britannus Flevit Fixitque Autore vero egregio amico Alexandro Hebruno Nobili Anglo Britanno 1626. Mart. 5. Returning back a little wee came to the entrance of the famous Grotte over which on the left hand stands Virgils Tombe upon a high rock so that it is scarce to be seen by those that passe below The Guides commonly shewing a false wherefore some few dayes after we walkt up into it Over the Dore of
his guard No lesse strange though true is the report of the Tarantula which some say is a Flye but at the opening of a doore in the Vatican their skipt out a creature not much unlike an Eft onely with longer clawes at which some Italians then in our company cryd out Vna Tarantula Tarantula The venome of the Tarantula is of such operation as hee that is stung while the fit continues falls a caparing and nothing can allay it but Musick I saw a Capuchian at Siena who was perfectly well in his sences all the yeare till precisely the day came about whereon hee received a Bite of a Tarantula then on a suddaine hee would skip like a Madman Were these occurrences as Pleasing to my Reader as to my selfe I should build gates for my Cities to run out of This roughly hewed Portaile resembles the Alpes which past behold Rome the Holy Page 67 Venice the Rich. pag. 187 Naples the Gentle p. 138 Florence the faire p 28 Genua the Superbe p. 10 Milan the Great p. 238 Bolonia the Fat p. 168 Padua the Learned p. 205 Verona the Ancient p. 226 AN ITENIRARY CONTAINING A breife Narration of a Voyage made through Italy in the yeare 1646. and 1647. THere are but two ordinary passages out of France into Italy the one over the Alpes the other by the Mediterranean Sea those commonly which goe by the first returne by the second and so contrary We November being quite expired ere we left France for our owne convenience preferred a boate before a horse I meane the Sea voyage before the Land Wherefore being come to Antibe the utmost City of France wee found favour of the Governour it being a Frontiere and place of strength in giving us a Bill of health without which it is very difficult to enter into any of the Italian States or Cities having over night procured a Filoaco to carry us all our way to Genua if so be wee mett with no Boate of returne betwixt thence and Monaco the next morning we departed and about nine in the forenoone came before Nice in Savoy situated on the Sea side but hath no Port the buildings are after the Italian it is commanded by a strong Castle that stands on a hill Finding no convenience of imbarquing better here we sayled on but at the point of Land that turnes towards Morgues there arose a contrary winde which forc't us to retyre into the next harbour to wit Villa Franca aunciently called Portus Herculis where by permissiō of the Governour of the Citadell we lay that night This place likewise belongs to the Duke of Savoy The next day going out of the Haven we met with a Genova Filouco having agreed for our passage in that quitted our former yet no sooner were we in the boat but a Tempest drove us againe into the harbour so that we lost that day entirely The day following we had both faire weather a calme Sea which encourag'd our watermen to adventure out about 2. miles from Villa Franca we dis a great vessell making towards us which our Boatmen seemed to feare taking it for a Turkish man of War but we were afterwards informed to the cōtrary A little further we strooke into the Port of Monaco and after an houre or two stay there the wind growing contrary our Boatmen wisht us to tarry longer least wee should be exposed to a greater inconvenience which wee the more willingly condiscended too in regard t is so remarkable a place as no stranger can well passe without especiall observation thereof for I must confesse I know no so small a principality of the like consideration either for strength or riches The Prince of the family of the Grimaldi of Genua is in his state soveraine and coynes mony but hath still some greater King for his Protector of late yeares hee left the Spanish party and gave himselfe with this his cheife Towne to the King of France's tuition so that at our arrive there there was a strict garison of French the Marquis of Corbon being then Governour to whom wee had addresse from his Brother in Law at Antibe us'd us very civilly and sent a souldier with us to shew us all the rarityes that are there to be seene Monaco whether I may properly call it a Town or Castle I know not is situated on the top of a rockey Promontory of incredible hard accesse inviron'd with strong walls within which are some streets very neately representing the face of a City in the middest is a spacious court fit for to exercise military discipline in at the end is the Princes Palace which though Beautifull on the outside yet contains greater wealth within cheifly in his Gardrobe where the variety of Tapistries the great quantity of plate with the vastnesse of vessels as Fountaines Tables and such like of pure silver striks amazement into him that sees it besides this rich furniture there are two Cabinets or Galeries of rare curiosities which excepting the Duke of Florences may be equaled with most of that nature in Italy amongst other singularities I was much taken with the statue of an Indian of Porphyre and other materiall as likewise a gemmery compil'd of severall pretious stones with these letters Otium Francisci Bembi The Prince was then in enlarging this Palace and beautifying it with Marbles and waterworks Having with great satisfaction seene all the particularities of this place we returned downe to our Inne and it growing towards night some few howers before our departure a hard accident befell us which was the losse of our Bill of health wherefore though it was darke and the watch was set yet wee sent up a letter by a string to the Governour who very courteously returned us a Ticket of larger extent then our former At midnight wee departed from Monaco past eight miles farther by Menton a village belonging to the same Prince and about breake of day we came before Vintimiglia the first city towards France of the Republique of Genua from hence we were in view of the mountaines of Corsica and foure miles farther we past by Saint Remes where the shore which is called by the name of the rive of Genua is all covered with Orange Citron and Date Trees Past the rest of that day without seeing any thing remarkable unlesse Porto Mauritio where heretofore there was a very good Port which the Genuesians ruin'd fearing it should bring prejudice to their owne Towards night we strooke in at Oneille a city which seemes to interrupt the Genois dominions and belongs to the Duke of Savoy After we had supt wee tooke boate and sayled all night by many Townes viz. Diano Araisse where they fish for Corall Albengue Luan a city of the Prince of Oria a Genois Final a place of strength and the only garrison the King of Spaine hath in these coasts the Port though small yet serves much in the conveyance of men and amunition towards Milan This
halfe the following that wee might take a more full view of this famous City of Bolonia the second in the Stato della Chiesa It is situated at the foot of the Appenins the neighbouring Countrey producing so great abundance of things necessarie to humane life that it hath got the name Bolonia the Fat For strength it is not much considerable there being but a single wall without Bulwarks Ramparts or the like T is a fiter habitation for the Muses then for Mars the fame of that University which flourisheth there making this Motto common BOLONIA DOCET Amongst the things I tooke notice of at Bolonia the first is the generall uniformity in the buildings there running before all the houses a very stately Cloyster with Arches all of the same structure so that a large street appeares one building which manner though it differ from the ordinary Italian way yet is no lesse admirable Amongst other faire edefices of this City the Popes Pallace very spacious is chiefe over the Gate is the statue of a Pope in mettall Before this Pallace is the Piazza as remakable as most in Italy In the midst stands a very sumptuous Fountaine where the Brasen Neptune made by John of Bolonia a famous Sculpturer is very considerable at one end of this Place is the Dome not yet finisht The great Schooles are said to be as stately as most in Europe And likewise the Hospitalls are worth seeing The Convents at Bolonia are generally very glorious especially S. Dominick and out of the Town S. Michael in Bosco In briefe the Bolonians agree with the other Italians in having their houses built decently and in their Courts still have some Verts set as Orange trees Cypresses or the like which much pleaseth the eye of a stranger as he passeth the streets In the heart of the City stands the Tower of the Asinelli cald so from a Family that rai'sd it some making Bolonia to represent the forme of a ship set this for the maine Mast It is growne somewhat to decay through time and the staires are very rotten however wee adventurd to goe up to the top and from thence wee had a full view of the Towne below with the streets lying in a straight line as likewise a faire Prospect on the plaines of Lombardy On one side of this Tower is another cald Garisenda which seemes to fall much after the manner of the Campanile at Pisa some impute it to the Architecture others say it was of the same height with that of the Asinelli but the Citizens fearing it would fall pull'd downe the upper part and left the rest standing crooked as at the present it doth This is the summe of what I saw in Bolonia yet berore I went from thence I tooke a taste of those famous Saltsages that are compos'd at Bolonia the which are transported thence not onely into other places of Italy but also into diverse parts of Europe as a rare and costly dish which addes and maintaines her Epithite Bolonia La Grassa Leaving Bolonia for our more free entrance into the State of Venice wee tooke a Bill of Health The first day we past the Canall that goes to Ferrara having our boate drawne by a Horse in which way we went through about nine Sustegne Machines not much unlike our Sluses to keep up and let down the water for the turning of all sorts of Milles and the passage of Boates Towards Evening wee past by Bentivoglio a Castle that gave denomination to the learned Cardinall of that name Some two houres later wee came to Mal Albergo an infamous Inne both in name and in deed where having poorely supt wee imbarqu't in another lesse Boate and having past all night through the fennes The next morning we arriv'd at Ferrara Ferrara heretofore a Dutchy by it selfe yet now subject to the Apostolique See is more considerable for strength then beauty however it is in Italy and therefore secundum nos no meane City It s scituation is on a plat so that by it runnes two Channels the one towards Bolonia the other towards the Po it is fortified with very faire Ramparts upon most of which are planted Allies of trees Within the Towne are some faire buildings as the Palazzo del Diamante belonging to the Duke of Modena the Castle where in the Court are pictur'd the Dukes of Ferrara and t is said that at the last there was no Roome left for another Before the Pallace are two small Statues of a Marquis and Duke of Ferrara many other things are observable as the Epitaph of the famous Poet Ariostus and of many other famous men buried there which my short stay would not admit me to collect Our Inne was the Angelo a too sumptuous edifice to have been made a Taverne where having dind wee went by boat downe the Channell and about three mile beyond Ferrara came into the Po which is the greatest and farthest navigable river in Italy for breadth and length much above Tyber it selfe the ancients cald it Padus the Poets Erydanus on the Bankes whereof they feignd that Io transformd into a heifer was want to feed About evening wee came on the confines of the Venetian territoire and supt at Corbua a place three miles distant from that most ancient yet now dejected City Adria which formerly gave the name of Mare Adriaticum to the Sea now cald the Golfe of Venice Three miles farther wee changd our Barke for a bigger Vessell to carrie us to Venice and having now past thirty miles on the Po we came suddenly by an artificiall cut into the River Adice Athesis in Latin that passeth by Verona and the next morning about the opening of the day wee enterd into the Golfe passing by Chioza a City in an Island on the left Palestina on the right with other Islands that lay rang'd in a row to Venice it selfe where wee arriv'd the twelfth of September and being come to the Port wee as the custome and order is were not permitted to set foot on shoare on paine of death till wee had a ticket of licence Venetia is a word never heard of in the Romans dayes the originall of this name being not above thirteen Centuries of yeares since yet Historians generally report that at the decay of the Roman Empire when the invasion of the Hunns and other Barbarous Nations overspread Italy Some provident Fishermen began to build Cottages in those scatterd Islands and in processe of time others for their better security retyr'd thither From this poore and low beginning imitating her elder sister is shee growne to that height that all deservedly call her Venice the rich This very mirrour of State and Policy as shee was borne about the death of old Rome so shee seemes ro bee hereditarily Possessour of that which maintaind Rome in her soveraigne glory The magnificent Genius of the People the Gravity of the Senate the solidity of her lawes very much consonant with those of Rome
the Embushment of the Lago di Garda into that of Mantua The greater part of the afternoone wee past by the side of the Lake which by the Ancients ws cald Benaca From Peschiera it extends it selfe towards the North five and thirty miles T is very rough and tempestuous as Virgil saith Fluctibus fremitu assurgens Benaca marino Which I believe proceeds from its enclosure between mountaines which stop up the winde yet being fenct so with Alpes which keep of the Northerne blasts and warmd by the reflection of the Sunne those hills produce great store of Olive Citron and Orange trees The Lake abounds with fish especially with Troutes equall to them of the Lake of Geneva which wee tasted of that night at supper at Lunato In the midst of the Lago di Garda is an Island wherein stands Sermonea The next day wee had very bad Coach way yet at dinner time wee were at Brescia where because of bad weather wee tarried that day Brescia by the Romans Brixia may be cald the Venetians Magazine here is a perpetuall appearance of Warre though they live in peace every shop is stord with Armes In a word the chiefe traffick of this place are Swords Muskets and other military Engines from whence t is vulgarly cald Brescia the Armed It hath a plaine on all sides excepting towards the Castle which stands on Hill behinde which are very high Mountaines By reason of this vicinity to the Hills the City is beautified with many Fountaines a commodity which few of the Cities in Lombardy have In some of the streets there runnes Porches whereby one may walke drye in rainy weather The Torre della Pallada is of rare Tuscan structure the Piazza is but little yet the Towne house may be reckoned amongst the fairest of Italy The Dome was a repairing when I was there In that is kept a skie colour Crosse which they hold to be the same which appeard to Constantin There is little observable onely some Churches at Brescia which we left the next morning and dind at Vrsa Vecchio after dinner wee past by Vrsi Novi a strong Garrison in the Venetian Frontiers that way A little farther having past the river Oglio we went by Soncino the first place where wee saw the Armes of Spaine over the Gates a signe wee were come into the State of Milan but wee soone were out of it again for that night wee lay at Crema which is under the Signory of Venice It stands in a plaine very well fortified with Ramparts and a Mote The Dome the Tower the Place and the Podestas Pallace are worth seeing The next morning foure miles beyond Crema wee enterd into the State of Milan and past by Lodi a great City on the side of the River Ada this City is famous for the cheeses made there which are not much different from the Parmisano Lodi was cald by the Romans Laus Pompeia From Lodi wee went to dinner at Marignano ten miles from Milan All which way the Countrey is more Garden-like then in any part of Lombardy the high wayes are as streight as one can imagine on both sides runne Channells of water on both sides trees planted and in the fields there is Corne Wine Fruits and Medowes altogether till wee came to the very gates of Milan Milan for the mighty circuit of her walls the great number of Churches is before any other City in Italy said to be the Great The Metropolis of either France or England either Paris or London goe much beyond it for bignesse yet they must be lookt on as Heads of Kingdomes this as the Capitall of a Dutchy or Province besides their chiefest greatnesse is in their Suburbs Milan hath none at all but lies within a stately wall of ten miles compassc T is plac't in a wide plaine and hath about it green Hills delightfull Medowes Navigable Rivers and enjoyeth a wholsome Ayre the territory doth so well furnish it with all necessary provisions that t is worth a dayes journey onely to see the Market of Milan Neither doth it want Trade to support it in a flourishing condition for t is so throngd with Artisans of all sorts that the vulgar Proverb goes Chi volesse Rassettare Italia rouinarebbe Milano For the Antiquity of this place Mediolanum its ancient appellation speakes it old and some pieces of Roman edefices yet standing there confirme the same Before San Lorenzo's Church stand sixteene Marble Pillars a a remnant of the Temple of Hercules at one end of them is this Inscription put in Imp Caesari L. Aurelio vero Aug Arminiaco Medico Parthico Max Trib Pot VII IMP IIII Cos. III PP Divi Antonini Pii Divi Hadriani Nepoti Divi Trajani Parthici ProNepoti Divi Nervae Abnepoti DEC DEC Since Milan shooke off Paganisme to imbrace the faith of Christ that glorious Pillar of the Church Saint Ambrose was her Bishop To whom there is a Church dedicated vulgo Sanct ' Ambrogio Under the high Altar supported by foure Porphyre Pillars is interred the body of Saint Ambrose t is beleev'd that Saint Ambrose stood at the gates of this Church when he excommunicated Theodosius the Emperour and would not suffer him to enter therein Hard by is a poore Chappell in a blinde corner with a Well where Saint Ambrose baptiz'd Saint Augustine and began the Te Deum as the Inscription on the wall witnesseth Hic Beatus Ambrosius baptisat Augustinum Deodatum Alippum Hic Beatus Ambrosius incipit Te Deum laudamus Augustinus sequitur Te Dominum Confitemur This place is so meane and so little regarded that t is very probably true for t is incredible how the name of Carolus Baromaeus a Councell of Trent Saint highly cryd up at Milan hath extinguisht the memory of that learned Father In S. Eustorgios Church is to be seen the Sepulcher wherein lay the bodies of the three Magi the bodies were transported to Colen in Germany but there remaies the Tombe in this forme SEPVLCHRVM TRIVM MAGORVM Most of the Churches in Milan deserve the eye of the curions yet all may bee included in the Dome or Cathedrall for the Fabrick the most like ours of any I saw in Italy yet for the materialls more costly T is all of white Marble and about it are five hundred Statues of the same The Addition that is now in building is very glorious especially for the huge Pillars of Granito a sort of Marble very common at Milan About the body of the Church are set up pictures of the miracles wrought by Saint Charles Barromee And in a Chappell under Ground is devoutly worshipt the body of that new founded Saint with a Treasure of rich presents As these divine buildings are glorious so the private mens houses of Milan are not inferiour to those of other Cities in Italy The streets are of a more then common breadth and there are very many gardens within the walls The fairest Pallace in
that they goe down by one side and come up the other It hath a hundred and fifty staires and seventy Windowes The Dome is such as all Italy hath few the like t is built of Pietra Teverina and on the Front are most exact Ouerages of Marble In or about Rome I know no place I mist excepting Bagnaia on this side and Albano on the other the latter deserves seeing if not for the Antiquity yet for the good Wine one of the best sorts in Italy However Florus saith Alba Latii Caput before Romulus had laid his Cities foundation Besides the Tombes of Ascanius and of the three Horatii yet stand there There are many Ensignes of the Romans greatnesse and places often cited amongst ancient Writers As Canna Sulmo Ovids Towne Brundusium with many others towards Calabria but few or none steere that course Those that make the circuit in Italy far il Gyro as they say goe to Venice by the way of Loreto Between Rome and Loreto one passeth by divers Remnants of Antiquity as first the ruines of Otricoli then Narnia which Martiall Describes thus Narnia Sulphureo quam Gurgiti Candidus Amnis Circuit Ancipiti vix adeunda Jugo Out of the Towne there are most huge arches of a Bridge standing over the River made by Augustus out of the Sicambrian spoyles the Reliquiae declare it to have been the worke of some flourishing Empire 'T is of Marble One Arch though not entire is two hundred foot broad a hundred and fifty high nor can I thinke Martiall spoke of any other Bridge in the precedent Epigram which hee concludes thus Sed jam parce mihi nec abutere Narnia Quinto Perpetuo liceat sic tibi Ponte frui There comes an Aquiduct into the City fifteen miles in length at the embushment are three faire Fountaines of Brasse Beyond Spoleto runnes the River Clitumnus the water whereof the old Poets feign'd made the Oxen that dranke of it white as Virgill in his Georgicks Hinc albi Clitumne Greges maxima Tauri Victima saepe tuo persusi Flumine sacro Romanos ad Templa Deûm duxere triumphos Keeping on the Via Flaminia you come to Foligni of old Forum Flaminii some step out of the way to Assisa famous for the birth of Saint Francis institutor of the Capuchian Order but the nearest is to goe to Recanati and so to Loreto Great was Diana of the Ephesians great is the Lady of Loreto Loreto is of it selfe but a little Bourg or Village yet by the noise it makes through Christendome especially in the Catholike Regions t is as much frequented as Saint Peters Chaire Hee 's no zealous Romanist that hath not made one pilgrimage thither or sent some Offering to the Virgin here ador'd The Church is on an Eminence In the midst with great reverence is kept the Cottage or chamber as they tell where the Virgin Mary liv'd and conceiv'd her heavenly Offspring The house is environd with a case of Marble most curiously workt their Legend runnes that this lodging was brought out of Palestina by the Angels and plac't here at the Adriatick shoare Why not at Rome I wonder To confirme this story they shew the Window where the Angell enterd at the Salutation Here is without dispute the greatest Treasurie in Christendome and is daily increast by new Oblations from Catholike Princes Which the Turks and other Pyrates well know and would make incursions were the place as weake as it is little Though little it deserves a longer survey then my speed will admit I passe now towards Ravenna and first Ancona presents it selfe to my view Ancona the greatest maritimate under his Holinesses Jurisdiction is mountainously scituated yet before hath a most capacious and commodious Port ancient without any farther enquiry that arch-Triumphall erected by the Senate to Trajan is so firme and solid an Antiqual as Rome her selfe can scarce shew the like t is of Parian Marble each stone of a prodigious bignesse cimented with no Morter but with Lead In the Front these words are legible Imp Caesari Divi Nervae F. Nervae Trajano OptimO Aug. Germanic Daci Co. Pont. Max. TR. Pot. XIX Imp. IX CosT VI P. P. Providentissimo Principi Senatus P. Q R. Quod Accessum Italiae Hoc etià m addito ex Pecunia sua Portum tutiorem Navigantibus Reddiderit On the right side Plotinae Aug. Conjugi Aug. On the left Divae Marcianae Sorori Aug. Ancona gives the name to the Country Marca d' Ancona anciently Ager Pisenus all under the Pope though the next Cities Senogallia and Fossombrone belong to the Dukedome of Vrbin This Dukedome is at the present vacant both the Pope and the Duke of Toscany lay claime thereto t is thought there will be a publick Contest shortly After Fossombrone you finde the River Metaurus and the Via Flaminia cut through a Rock Vrbin is a City amongst the mountaines of very hard Accesse Raphael d' Vrbino purchast it a great fame by his deserving Pensill of which many excellent Pieces are here extant one especially his owne Picture drawne by his owne hand The Pallace the Bibliotheck and Castello durante ten miles off may bee seen if you have leasuâ—e Before the Place are the statues of the Dukes Pesaro succeeds Vrbin a neat City in a plaine under the same Duke the Princes Pallace and his other seats of Pleasance but above all Mille Fiore deserve any ones sight The next City of Note is Ariminum famous for Caesars ingression when he past the Rubicon of which take this In the Piazza at Rimini heretofore Forum Ariminense upon the stone whereon Caesar stood when he made a speech to his Souldiers C. CAESAR Dict. Rubicone Superato Civili Bello Commilit suos hic In Foro AR Adlocut 1555. per Cos. restit At the East Gate comming from Pesaro there 's an old decayed Arch of Marble built by Augustus where the Via Flaminia ended Over the Marecchio is a bridge began by Augustus and finished by Tyberius as the title thereon intimates Arimini stands on the sea-side but the Port is very bad the place is faire grac't with the Pope Paulus Quintus his statue in Brasse Betwixt Ariminum and Cesena neere to Cesena on the high way upon a white Marble is yet visible the Decree of the Senate when Caesar past the Rubicon and sayd Eatur quo Deorum ostenta inimicorum Iniquitas vocat jacta sit Alea The edict runs thus Jussu mandatuve P. R. Cos Imp Mili Tyro Commilito Manipularive Cent. Turmaeve Legionariae Armat Quisquis es hic sistito vexillum Sinito nec citra hunc Amnem Rubiconem Signa Arma Ductum Commeatum exercitumve traducito Si quis hujusce Jussionis ergo adversus jerit feceritve Adjudicatus esto hostis P. R. ac si contra Patriam arma tulerit sacrosque Penates e Penetralibus aspâ—rtaverit Sanctio Plebesci Senatusve Consult Vltra hos fines Arma proferre liceat nemini This
did then sway the Allcoercive Scepter on Earth when our Redeemer assum'd the flesh To her we owe our Civility shee purchast it by conquests in the Levant Propogated it by Victories in the North till dispairing of a Farther Plantation the Picts wall was her Vltima Thule perhaps least that people should have stumbled at the Innovation To bee Retrograde on this subject were to rob History of her birthright to insist on my owne ocular observation but veniall vsury There are three evitable dangers that divert some from this Voyage the first is the heates of the Climate A second that horrible in Report Inquisition the last Hazard of those mercilesse Out Lawes Banditas The first may bee allayd by Moderation the second prevented by discretion the last avoided by the defence of those states you passe through This Duke of florence quite extirpated that savage Race out of his Dominions by raising a competent number that personated Robbers and joynd in league with the reall ones till they fouud opportunity to dispatch them As there is connivance at the Luterani for so they terme us so t is rashnesse to proclaime ones opinion weakenesse to disclose it This may gaine the Odium of the Better this the injuries of the Vulgar A novice of late so soone as he was come to Florence said Methinks this place is somewhat popishly affected Another with more pardonable ignorance when his Host askt him whether he was walking in the Afternoone replyd to Masse One of my Cotemporaries discoursing with a Fryar in a Complemēt protested he did reverence Clergy men for that he was the sonne of a Priest in England which the Monke could not conster but either an Irony to his Order or Infamous to the Gentlemans owne descent The most cautious tongue is incident to these Errours yet that nation is not so scrupulous as to take notice of a strangers words or actions unlesse openly scandalous for as Heretico is a name utterly detestable so Tramontano by the Multitude is held contemptible which low reputation begets a happy privacy to the Reserv'd Forreigner That sort of People which Travellers have most agitation with as Vetturino's Hosts the like are very peremptory and crosse which if you menace they wil repaire with double insolence knowing that if in the contest their Stilletto should do mischiefe the next Church may be their Asylum where no Law or violence can attempt them The safest way is Dissimulation and to winne better Accommodation amongst them disparage not rather commend the worst Their Osterias or Innes stand usually alone remote from any Village so that Passengers must bee content with what those Tabernae can afford and he that seemes to dislike their feeble * Minestra perhaps shall have nothing but an * Allegramente for amends This Inference I lay hold on to speake more amply of the Italian Whilst Rome wore the Imperiall Diadem of the subdued World it might have been a disputable Criticisme whither Rome stood in Italy or Italy in Rome That voice of fame which attributed all to the Roman derogated from the Renowne of the Italian Now since Rome did resigne the Crowne to the Miter Italy allowes her no Supremacy but Ecclesiasticall and in the generall voge t is the most proper phrase to say such a man is an Italian though a Native of Rome However in the Survey of this present Generation I finde a residue of the old Genius still surviving That Roman Generosity yet runnes in the bloud of their Noble Families which I have heard can draw their Pedigree from the great Masters of the World as that of the Savelli from Scipio Africanus Neither doth the height of their spirits argue lesse The Neopolitan is so elevated with his imaginary Revennewes that in his deepest poverty hee will speake thousands rather then betray his wants One will sit gravely before his doore picking his teeth and condemne the Capon hee eate last when a morsell of Bread would passe downe merrily Another I have seen begging in this method first he lookes about to see whether the Coast be cleare before hee will utter one suppliant word then hee approaches in a more submisse straine yet if any one chance to cast an eye that way he retreates to familiarity Pressing the justnesse of his Demands till hee obtaines the almes which if but a penny or so hee casts it contemptibly in the Donours face but soone after peaceably searches for the money and when t is found prayes for the Benefactour This is consonant with the Spaniard so is the Genuesian as lofty as his buildings so proud in his Garbe that at our first nights Supper in Genua some Fidlars came to welcome us with their Musick but with so grave and stately a Preamble that wee all withdrew from our seats to salute the men imagining them no lesse then Magistrates The Plebeians or Commonalty of Italy savour much of the Goths and Vandalls yet even these are frequently distinguisht with the worthy Appellations of Julio Flaminio Fabio c. In the Campagna di Roma I once espyde a Labourer tilling the ground neer some decayed Monuments whereupon I made towards the fellow and askt him what those Ruines were Hee answered mee hee knew nothing but he had often heard his Grandfather tell a Story of one Signor Romolo that fought there A twinckling Tradition and implies much They have a Recreation certainly deriv'd from their Ancestours viz La Mora anciently micare Digitis at the first it appeares but childishly ridiculous after better acquaintance a kinde of Conjuration T is of force to binde the Fancy yet the most illiterate are best at the Game And no wonder since this Ayre hath from all Ages checherisht the strongest Atlase's for Invention and Art What Braine but Italian could contrive Engines to raise so vast a Moles as the Vatican Obelisque Observe what machivillian unheard of Weapons they devise to surprize an enemy unawares At Venice I saw a pocket Church Booke with a Pistoll hid in the binding which turning to such a Page discharges A plot I conceive to entrap him you hate whilst you are at your devotions together when there 's least suspition Another as rare is a Pocket stone-Bow which held under a Cloake shoots needles with violence to pierce a mans body yet leaves a wound scarce discernable A third is a walking staffe in appearance at the top is a Spring which graspt hard at the other end will jet forth a Rapier with force enough to kill at a yards distance A fourth is a Gunne to bee charg'd with winde which for six paces will not faile of execution with a small or no report To these I may adde their curious yet Illegall tricks in poyson some mortall by smelling to others that given now shall have no operation till many moneths after Some will attempt to poyson Rivers if they can but finde the Source or Fountaine and in Milan there stands a Pillar cald Colonna
place commonly pillageth strangers they taking all for Frenchmen but praysed be God wee past quietly and towards breake of day came before Savona The most ancient and greatest city of the Genevoisat after Genua it selfe Behind this city the Apennines that cleave Italy in sunder begin to take their rise From hence to Genua is 35. Italian miles all which way one goes more and more into the pleasantnesse of Italy the whole board being fild with Country Seats and Villages which for beauty surpasse many cities I have seene elsewhere Amongst those San Pietro d' Arania whither the richer Genuesians retire themselves in the sommer and indeed may bee call'd another Genua for the gallantry of the buildings is the best but three miles distant from Genua the Metropolis of that most flourishing Republick which contains so stately Palaces that from all the rest of Italy it hath gotten the name of Genua the superbe T is situated at the foot of very high mountaines which though sterile yet want nothing that Art can enrich them with In gardens water-workes and the like That which exceeds all the rest is the Prince of Orias Palace reaching from the bottome of the shoare to the top of the mountaines divided into three gardens In the first whereof the Terrasses or Porches one above another bore up with marble Pillars is very magnificent as likewise the Fountaine of the Eagles and the Family of Neptune at the one side that famous Cage of ironworke which is of so vast an extent that it encloseth a wood of Cypresse and other trees The other two are fild with Grottes Orange trees and other variety of delights At the upper part of all stands the statue of Jupiter tonant Within the Pallace the Gardrobe full of rarietyes the Tapestries and precious Furuiture declare greatly the richnesse of that Prince Next to this is the house of Hieronimo del Negro where the excellent Pictures the fall of waters the Fountain the Piscina the Grove and other delightfull departments are well worth seeing On all sides of the City is an infinity of such places of pleasure especially round about the Port which is of a large circuit resembling much the forme of a Theatre enclos'd with faire buildings T is defended by a solid Bulwarke which they call Il Mole that lyes about 2 hundred paces into the Sea rais'd at a very great expence Opposite to that a rocky Promontory casts it selfe forth at the head whereof stands a very lofty Pharos bearing a lanterne of more then an ordinary bignesse to guide Ships in the night Within the Haven is a place where the Gallyes lay every one in a particular Classis As for the City it selfe it is enough to say the Genuesians live in a Kingly luxury and I believe it is the best built and compacted City not onely of Italy but also of Europe The houses generally are very high the streets for the most part its onely fault are somewhat narow so that no Coaches are here admitted which though an inconvenience yet preserves the wayes more cleane and neater I except here that spacious long even and indeed Mistris of streets the Strada Nova which I am confident may be justly preferd before any in Christendome so proud in Architecture so rich in Marbles are the Palaces t is fild with The fairest one belongs to the Duke of Oria. Amongst the publick Edifices the Exchange or Merchants Hall the Dukes Palace with the Armory for 30 thousand men deserv'd our walking to Neither are the Genuesians lesse splendid in adorning their Consecrated places witnesse the mighty quantity of polish't Marble wherewith all the Churches are fild especially San Lorenzo the Dome and Santo Ambrosio belonging to the Jesuites But that which surpasseth all and is of most admiration is the Chappell of the Anunciade begun to bee built not many yeares since at the expence of one Family whose Palace joynes to it yet is of so incredible richnesse for the red and white Marble Pillars and other ornaments that one would imagine the revenues of a whole City could not bee enough to raise so glorious a Worke as that will be when t is finisht Finally the Genuesians to defend this their brave City have encompast it with Walls no lesse commendable for beauty and strength then prodigious for their large extent The people of this Common-wealth are habited all alike somewhat tending towards the Spanish Mode and are of a very austere and superbe humour hardly vouchsafing to look so low as a stranger wherefore having with much satisfaction seene their Flourishing Estate wee left them We set out from Genua in a Filouca about Sun-setting and having sayld all that night about noone the next day we strooke into Porto Venere and after dinner crost the Golfe of Aspecia which is defended with many strong Fortifications to Lerizi This Bourg being the mid way from Genua to Ligourne such is the villany of the watermen in these parts if they get their passengers chiefly strangers hither they will so delay their departure pretending the inconveniences of the weather that by lying still at so great an expence they may bee forc'd to give them their pay and to hire horses for the rest of the way by Land Which trick wee were forc't to suffer patiently after a day and halfes attendance for our boat Hence we tooke Post and having past through the Olive woods over the hills that lay neerest the shoare wee came into a low plaine Countrey which continued so to Ligorne First we past the River Magre then went by Sarazana a good City and last of the dominion of Genua after that we came into the Principality of Massa wherin we past by Lavenza and Carrara where out of the hills they dig great store of Marble and then through Massa it selfe where the Prince resides in Estate Soveraigne The Towne is very pleasant standing in a Territorie fruitfull in Orange trees and other fruits Hence wee came suddenly into Tuscany but quickly left it falling into a woody Country belonging to the State of Lucas and so to Viregio under the same power standing at the mouth of a small river which runnes from Lucques Here we were forc't to lye and the next morning some two mile farther wee past the river that parts the Republique of Lucques from Toscany and so in the morning arriv'd at Pisa Which City was heretofore a great free state of it selfe but at the rising of the family of the Medicis on which line the Dukes of Etruria successively runne this with many other noble cities was reduced to the great Dukes subjection From whom it hath received many Embellisments T is situated in a Marshy land so that the unholesomnesse of the aire renders it scarce of the native people much more of strangers which seldome tarry any longer then to see the rarities of the place Amongst which I preferre that worthy peece of arte the Falling Tower which travellers boast of
the yeare in marble Opposite to this before the Trinity stands a vast Columne with a statue of Justice in Porphyre at the top which Cosmus the first great Duke rais'd as a Trophee in that place because the newes there came to his eare of the taking of Siena Hard by is the Palazzo de Strozzi no lesse to be admir'd for the immensity of its fabrick then for its rude and unusuall Architecture From hence towards the right hand is the Merchants Vault supported with faire Pillars and before it a brazen Boare jetting forth water Keeping right on one comes into the great Place in the midst thereof is the great Duke Cosmus a horse-back in brasse with this inscription under Cosmo Medici Magno Etruriae Duci Primo Pio Felici Invicto Justo Clementi Sacrae Militiae Pacisque in Etruria Authori Patri Principi Optimo Ferdinandus F. Mag. Dux Mag. Dux III. erexit An. M. DLXXXXIV on each side of the Basis Profligatis hostibus in deditionem acceptis Senensibus Plenis liberis Sen: Fl. suffragiis Dux Patriae renuntiatur Behinde Ob Zelam Religionis praecipuumque Justitiae studium Betwixt this horse and the Palazzo vecchio is a Fountaine which all Italy cannot shew the like besides round about the Laver is the family of Neptune in brasse with his Colosse of Marble in the midst bore up by foure horses The whole not possible to be equald much lesse excel'd by humaine art In this same Piazza is a Porch archt and adorn'd with some statues amongst which that of Judith in brasse with that of the Rape of the Sabines three Persons in severall Postures cut all out of one stone are most remarkable Just against it is the Palazzo Vecchio at the entrance stands two Colosses the one of David the other of Hercules trampling on Cacus the first of Michael Angelo which in my judgement comes short of the other though he the more famous statuary Within is a Court set about with Pillars of Corinthian worke Above is a very spacious Hall with divers Statues and amongst them those of two Popes Leo the tenth and Clement the seventh of the family of the Medicis the apertenants of this lodging are very great and costly but it being not so frequented as if the Court were kept there every thing looseth its luster Wherefore having speedily dispatcht the sight hereof that which requires a week to observe well is at hand I meane that richest of Treasures the great Dukes Gallery In the lower story sit the Courts of Justice with an arcade to walk in on each side Above are the shops of divers Artisans which work continually for the great Duke In the uppermost part is contained as many wonders as things Some to be admir'd for their preciousnesse and art others for their rarity and Antiquity On each side of the Gallerie are ranged Statues to the number of fourescore and odde of which for Antiquity I preferre the Idoll brought from the temple of Apollo at Delphis with this verse on the Pedistall Vt potui huc veni Delphis fratre relicto As likewise that of Scipio Africanus holding up his Gowne under his arme according to Ciceros words Nobis quidem olim annus erat unus ad cohibendum brachium toga constitutus ut exercitatione ludoque campestri tunicati uteremur After these I may reckon the two triumphant Pillars from whence they were taken I know not but their worke speaks them Roman Over the statues hang the Pictures some Prototypes of the most famous men of the moderne times on the one side Schollars on the other souldiers At the right hand of this gallerie are severall stanzas full of curiosities into which whosoever enters is astonisht at the quantity of wealth confus'd with the variety of things worth observation In the first Roome we went into stands the Tabernacle or altar destinated for S. Laurence Chappell no part thereof of common Marble but totally compacted with Jewells and Precious stones The value inestimable In the next Chamber is a Table with Flowers and Birds in their naturall colours of Precious stones with a Cabinet priz'd at two hundred thousand Crownes coverd with Agaths Emerauds Anamathists c. Within is the passion of our Saviour with the twelve Apostles all in Amber In the third is a Cabinet with Calcidon Pillars fild as they told us with ancient medailles of Gold round about this Roome is an infinite number of Naturall and artificiall curiosities as the Nalle turn'd halfe into Gold by Alchymy The Emperours head on a Turqu'oise bigger then a Walnut with thousands more Next is the Armory wherein are the habits and diverse sorts of armes of severall ages and People amonst those the King of China's habit Hannibals Head-piece of Corinthian metall Charlemain's Sword and an argument of the Italian Jealousie an Invention to lock up female frailty Here likewise is a Magnet which beares up fourescore pound weight of Iron In the last Cabinet we saw the curious Turnity of Ivory a Pillar of Orientall Alablaster c. and from thence wee went into the Gardrobe where are twelve great Cubbards of silver Plate a service all of pure Massie Gold A saddle which the Emperour gave in a present to the great Duke all Embroyder'd with Pearles and Diamonds These with many other Particularities of this gallerie which might be a Theame copious enough to write a Volume on declaring the wealth of this Prince equall with any Kings in Christendome From the said gallery is a Corrider or private passage to the Palazzo de Pithi on the other side of the river where the Duke keeps his Court The Front of this edifice is very majestique towards the Basis of Dorick work in the midst of Ionick in the uppermost story of Corinthian In the Court is a Grotte with statues and a fountaine over it yet that which is most wonderfull is the Loadstone of a most prodigious greatnesse Neither are the gardens to be omitted which for their largenesse have the face of a Forrest for their variety of a Paradise Here Cypres groves there Walkes with statues here a Sea of Fountaines there Swans Austriches and other recreative Creatures Being now on this side of the Arno I will take notice of all I saw there before I returne to the other And first there stands a Pillar bearing on it the statue of Peter Martyr in the same place where hee was beheaded Next on the wall of S. Nicholas Church above a mans reach are these veses signifying an inundation of the River ☞ Fluctibus undisonis similis pelagique procellis Huc tumidis praeceps irruit Arnus Aquis Prostravitque suae spumanti gurgite Florae Opida Agros Pontes Maeâ—ia Templa Viros M DL Id sept. Going now back into the fuller body of the City on the other side of the River on the banck there is a Marble which I found of no great consequence yet set by a Venetian Embassador as a Monument
to a horse there buried which had done him good service in the siege of the City The Epitaph runs thus Non ingratus Herus sonipes Memorande sepulchrum Hoc tibi pro meritis haec monumenta dedit Least I should dwell too long amongst these earthly delights wherewith Florence is fil'd I will goe and meditate in the Churches and first in the Dome which I conceive either for the exquisitenesse of the worke or worth of so vast a Bulke of Red Black and white Marble to be the fairest Cathedrall without that ever man laid eyes on It s better part is the Cupola so high that the brasse Globe at the top is capable of holding sixteen persons No lesse wonderfull is the Steeple which without exempt will yield to no other in the world composed of the same stone and materialls with the Church but with more art and ornaments Before the Dome is the Temple of Mars built in an Octogon now cald S. John or the Baptistary The foure gates of Brasse vvhich Ortelius prefers before any else in the world the broken Pillars of Porphyre the pavement the old Grecian Pieces at the top are things to be noted From hence wee went to see that mirrour of Art and wonder of this present age Saint Laurents Chappell which is so glorious that whosoever enters will even imagine himselfe in some place above terrestriall 'T is wholly overlaid with fine Pollisht stones neither is any colour upon Earth but it is there in stones naturally all which I have been since told by diverse an argument of the great riches included in the Bowells of Italy are dugg up within the great Dukes dominions Round about this Chappell are all the scutions of the townes under the great Duke in their proper Colours of stone Above are Niches for the statues of the great Dukes Beside them their Urnes The intent of this whole sumptious Fabrick being that it should successively serve for the Sepulcher of the great Dukes Saint Laurents Church and Convent joyne to this where the Library fild with Bookes all in Manuscripts is not contemptible Not farre from hence is Santa Maria Novella in the Court are two Marble Pyramids that stand on brasse Turtoises Hard by is S. Maries Church belonging to the Jacobins where on the North wall is the Tombe of Picus Mirandola an eminent schollar with this Epitaph Joannes jacet hic Mirandola caetera morunt Et Tagus è Ganges forsan Antipodes In the same Church is Politianus his Tombe subscribed thus Politianus in hoc tumulo jacet Angelus unum Qui caput linguas res nova tres habuit From hence I went to the Anunciade and saw in the way the Fountaine of the Centaure The Anunciade is a place of great devotion to a Madonna drawne by the hand of Saint Luke In the Piazza before is the statue of the Duke Ferdinand the first on horseback in brasse made by the same hand with the former above mentioned so that there is little difference betwixt them Hard by are kept the Lions and other wilde beasts and a little farther the Menage or Stables of the great Duke stord with Barbary and other excellent horses and as I remember I never saw better horse then at Florence On the wall of the Cavalrizza is this Inscription Franciscus Medices Magnus Etruscor Dux 11. Quod Nobilissimorum Adolescentium qui equestri splendore se ornari cupiunt Imprimisque Joannis fratris commodo fiere◠hunc in Equo se exercendi Locum extrui jussit Rustico Picardino Equorum Magistro M DLXXXVI Next to these though much distance Santa Croce deserves seeing Before it is a faire spatious Court in which it being Carnavall time while wee were at Florence we saw the play at Calce with Cavalcades shewes and other assemblies of the Nobility Within the Church is the tombe of that famous Statuary Picturer and Architecture Michael Angelo made by his owne hand Over his Urne stand those three arts hee was so renowned for with their instruments broken bewailing the losse of their Patron underneath this Inscription Michaeli Angelo Bonerotio Evetusta Simoniorū familia Sculptori Pictori Architecto Fama Omnibus notissimo Leonardus Patruo amantiss de se optime meritro Translatis Roma ejus ossibus atque in hoc templo Major suorum Sepulchro conditis cohortante Serenissimo Med Magno Hetruriae Duce P. 6. An. Sal M DLXX. Vixit ann. LXXXVIII M. XI D. XV To conclude my description of Florence the houses are high built the streets pav'd with great stones even and long many Fountaines and other publick ornaments declaring the magnificence of the great Dukes For eight mile round about the City there seemes another Florence so full are the fields speckled with Country seats Neither are those delights to private men alone but there are likewise publike walkes witnesse that of Pines two mile long that of Cypresses leading to Poggio Imperiale and many more Two miles up into the Northerne Mountaines lies the old Fesuli often spoke of amongst the ancient Writers but now a poore Village not having so much as the remnants of Antiquity In fine there is no Province in Italy more furnish't with delightfull and well peopled Cities then that of the great Duke whose Ancestours having united the States of three Common-wealths together to wit Of Pisa Florence and Siena doth now entirely possesse all Toscany the nobler part of Italy The wife of this present Great Duke Ferdinand the second of that name comes from the Duke of Vrbin of the family of Rovori The Revenues of this Prince of Toscany exceeed yearly ten hundred thousand Crownes which will amount to a hundred thousand pound English his ordinary guard is of Cavalry and Infantry with Germans very well equipag'd The Florentins have commonly notable head pieces so that from hence spring notable Polititians and States-men Machevil was of them and 't is said that three Embassadours from severall Kings meeting accidentally on the way prov'd in the conclusion to be all Florentins So soone as we had fill'd our selves with the sight of those many singularities that are in and about Florence wee set forward for Siena Going out of Florence at the Porta Romana one leaves Poggio Imperiale a Villa of the great Dukes which I had omitted above At the entrance of the walkes of Cypres that leads to it are the statues of the Tybre and Arno those of the famous old and new Poets Virgil Ovid Petrarche and Dante The house swarmes with rarities chiefly with excellent Pictures amongst them all the line of Austria this great Dukes mother who built this house being sister to the Emperour After wee had past by that wee lay that night at a little Bourg call'd Santo Cassiano The next morning wee rode through a Village Barbarino from whence the mighty stirring family of the Cardinalls tooke their originall Wee din'd at Poggio Bonci a place noted for the perfumd Tobacco compos'd there which
Temple of Peace where Vespasian conserv'd that precious Treasury he brought away from Hierusalem On the Palatin the Temple of Isis One morning we went to S. John Latran where we saw the solemnity of a Moore and two Iewes baptis'd in Constantins Baptistary From thence we went to the Villa Matthei in the way runs Claudus his Aquiducts and hard by is the Temple of Fannus a very entire Antiquity now Saint Stefano Rotundo In the Villa Matthei there is an ancient Pila a Pyramid the Colosse of Alexander things as pleasing to the judicious as the other delights of the gardens to the ignorant The same day about the Evening we went to the Greeks Church where wee saw the Ceremonies of the Easterne Churches and heard their Service all in Greek On Easter day wee went to Saint Peters to see the manner of his S. receiving the Eucharist The rest of that day wee repos'd to fit our selves for the voyage of Naples so that now after so satisfactory a sight of this Mistris of the world Rome we bid her adieu for a time leaving what we now omitted till our Returne The voyage from Rome to Naples though it bee the most dangerous passage in Italy because the wayes are so throng'd with Banditos yet in the upshot it proves no lesse requisite to mindes inquisitive in the Roman Antiquities no lesse delightfull to men that would see the Wonders of Nature then any other in Europe There is all the way so many fragments of the Roman glory that t is hard to judge whither Rome and Naples were once joynd together or whither Pozzuolo was the Suburbe of Rome From whence wee set forth out of Port. Lat anciently Asinaria a mile out of the City there are on all sides pieces of Antiquity On the right hand we left the Aquiducts of of Ancus Martius and Claudius with the new of Sixtus Quintus not so stately as the old on which the Aqua Felice runnes sixteene miles A little farther on the right upon the Via Appia is the * Sepulcher of Metella Crassus his wife now Capo di buove from the Oxes heads of Marble upon it with many more ancient Tombes Hard by is the Cirque of Caracalla where lies the Pyramid that the old Earle of Arundell would have bought but in regard of the vastnesse could find no possibility of conveying it to the Tyber t is said the present Pope after his Nephewes Pallace in Piazza di Navona is finisht will erect it there in Circus Agonalis These and diverse more Antiquities we had in view round about us till wee came unto Frescati Where having dined wee walkt up to old Tusculum to see Ciceros house where hee compos'd that immortall testimony of Morality and learning his Tusculans Qnestions t is situated on the top of a hill two mile above Frescati so that some give the Etemology {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} from {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} {non-Roman} vexare because t is troublesome to goe up to Tullies house stands that continually t is refresht with gales of winde and hath on all sides a most pleasant Prospect even to the Mediterranean Sea it shewes it self thus in its ruines Jullies Jusculan House In the ruine vnder the letter A. was of late yeares found a treasure B. Tullies house whereof 10. Vaults are yet very firme C. The place where his Piscina or Fish-ponde was The territorie of Frescati as it was the ancient delight of the Romans so it is as yet coverd with Gardens and Villas about ten Cardinalls having their Countrey seats there A place of such ravishing delights as fitter's for the Gods to inhabit then men Such is the Quantity of trees which keep perpetually green the murmuring of Fountaines and the like Amongst the the Villa's the chiefe and which wonderfully declares the ingenuity of the Italians is the Aldobrandina which for divises in water is the first within or without Rome I think I may say in the world Quite through the garden falls a Cataract or deluge of water towards the Embushment of which stand two Serpentin Pillars of Mosaick from the tops of which the water creeps downe Below in the Court is that admirable Fountaine in which is represented Atlas throwing up water which forceth artificiall Thunder and a perfect Rainbow Whil'st the Elements seeme here to bee at difference A Satyre blowes a horne lowder then I ever heard a man And Pan in the Interim playes two diverse tunes upon the Organes Things that strike astonishment to all the Spectators which whosoever they be must looke to goe away wet to the skinne as we did and from thence went into a place cald the terrestiall Paradise and not undeservedly for as the other inventions are mov'd by water so these goe by wind At the end of it is fashiond a hill Parnassus whereon set the nine Muses with severall winde Instruments that sound by art Underneath this hill are Organs which plaid divers tunes so distinctly that wee conceiv'd some Master was playing on them but looking wee saw they went of themselves the cause of all this wee afterwards saw In the midst of the roome there being a Hole out of wch winde issueth so violently that for halfe a quarter of an houre it beares up a Ball Leaving Frescati that afternoone we past by Diana's Lake and the wood famous for the fiction of Acteon From thence wee had a woody and mountanous way unto Veletri where wee lay Veletri heretofore belongd to the Volsci and the ancestors of Augustus came from thence The best things to be seen in it now is the statue of Pope Vrban the eight in â—rasse and the publick fountaines The next morning having past downe the hill whereon Veletri stands wee came into a plaine Country and din'd at Sermoneta fifteen miles from Veletri In the afternoone about three miles from Sermoneta we past by a Tower built on the top of a Rock to defend the Country from Robbery as they say though I believe more to take money for passage through the Gate below Five Italian miles farther neere to the Casa Nuova and casa Biancha at the foot of the hills at the left are the Tres Tabernae or three Tavernes where the Brethren met Saint Paul in his voyage to Rome according to the Acts. They shew themselves in this forme now are indifferent entire they being built as the other Fabricks of the Romans of great stones and Bricks in Square Tres Tabernae mentioned Act 28th Just before the Tres Tabernae are the Pomptine Fennes and above on a hill stands Setia which Martiall saith Pendulam Pomptinos spectare campos That night wee lay at Piperno at the Post house on the other side of the Hill but before we there arriv'd wee saw the Quarters of many Banditas hangd on the high way side an argument of the great hazard one undergoes in this journey if not a competent number together Piperno heretofore Privernum
Infame rais'd where a Magicians house was puld downe who for a time poysond the whole City I omit not their excellency in Statuary Limming Architecture Gardning Sceanes Musick in which all Europe gives them the precedency In what perfection they have these faculties you may conclude from these Instances Upon a Sepulcher in S. Peters at Rome in a Combent posture lie the feminine Statues of Old age and of Youth In the latter the Sculpturer hath so exceeded Nature for Limbes Features and Comelinesse that t is said a Spaniard at his Beads left his Devotions to expiate his sense on that Niobe-like Lady and for that reason a vaile of black Marble now covers Youths nakednesse whilst her neighbour old Age wants a Smock For limming one Mattia Casale of Sienna though no eminent Artist drew the Picture of a Prince so exactly and with that vivacity that in the Princes eyes hee plac't his own Effigies perfectly discernable as in the Originall Sir Henry Wotton a friend to Ingenuity and a great admirer of it in the Italian had transported out of Italy a Piece of two Dogs combating for a bone done with that life that a third more living Curre entring into the Roome very eagerly assaulted the Colours which wanted nothing but motion to resist him For their Architecture I referre you to their Cities A Flandrian Embassadour leaving Florence told the Great Duke his City deserv'd to bee seen never but on Holy-dayes For their Gardens I dare considently avow all Christendome affords none so voluptuous as those within the Walls and Territory of Rome and at Bagnaia as I remember there 's a Walke for a hundred paces archt with Fountaines so that a man may passe drye under the Element of water A trick might raise a Question in the Schooles Their Sceanes or as they terme them Operas are Regalios they have not yet fully communicated to us their other Arts wee daily borrow A yeare since in a Representation at Venice Phaeton in his Charriot drawne by foure Naturall well pamperd Steeds were all hurld over the Theater in an Artificiall cloud In this they but imitate Nature marke how they subdue her At the Marriage of the Duke of Florence there was brought on the Stage a Balletta or dance of Horses whilst an Ape playde the ayre on a Gittarre A Florentin said a third Miracle was intended Viz a Consort of Parachitos voices but the Schollars had not got their lesson perfect against the day appointed for the Nuptialls They are so addicted to Musick especially that of the Voyce which indisputably is the best that great Persons keep their Castrati viz. Eunuch's whose throates and complexions scandalize their breeches Neither is the Rout lesse propense to that though with lesser skill and art There 's no Fachin or Cobler but can finger some Instrument so that when the heats of the Day are tyr'd out to a coole Evening the Streets resound with confused yet pleasant Notes Their Carnavall is the fitest Season to vent any humours Hee 's most extold that can act the Mimick best So many men so many Crochets some abusive others for Mirth A Sanesian perhaps to satyrize on the French Vanity got on a Sute a la Mode with all things correspondent but for his trimming where wee place Gold Buttons as downe the Breeches Round the knees along the skirts c. he wore little Hobby Horse Bells and on his Crest stood a Cocks combe Triumphant Thus whilst he footed it gingerly through the streets the spectators voushsaft him no other Title then Monsieur From these passages I have here cited the Reader may collect of what temper this people is by these following what that of the Country Southern climates Philosophically refine the braine those that have adorn'd Italy with their singular endowments owe perhaps as much to their Countrey as she to them Yet most certainely had Romulus his Successours aspird no farther then the Mud wall hee left them had those Legions of Worthies never beene borne there wee should never have had such an esteeme of this Cisalpine clod the fertility of which I attribute not to the Soyle but Site The Earth yealdes these five Harvests successively First in June that of Silke in July of diverse fruits in August that of Corne which they afterwards sow with Millio Rice Turkie Wheate or the like graine and within two moneths have another croppe In September that of their wines In October that of Oyle Most of those places celebrated by the old Poets for the rich gifts of Bacchus are degenerated from their pristine worth yet in lieu of those others are so enobled that in a Moderate computation they have no lesse then twenty distinct Species of Liquor to please the Gusto the most dilicious and but the Ethnick Ambrosia in a Christian Phrase they call Lachrymae Christi They have few trees but what wee have seene in these parts The Hesperian Apple or Orange Tree is of a most ravishing beauty perpetually Verdant bearing an Hortyard of Blossoms greene and ripe Fruite altogether Amongst their Medicinall Plants scarce knowne amongst us but in Apothicaries shoppes I tooke notice of one Odoriferous Hearbe called Basilico which hath this innate power that if laid under a stone in some moyst place in two dayes it produceth a Scorpion this I can assert by experience and to countenance this story there fell out a strange accident in my stay at Siena A Gentleman was so pleas'd with the smell of this Basilico that he had some dry'd and beaten into powder which he snuft up imagining it of the same force with Tobacco to cleare the head but hee bought the experience at the price of his life for hee dyed distracted His skull being afterwards opened by the Chyrurgion a nest of Scorpions were found feeding on his Braine For their creatures they have many not known to this Island but for curiosity About Rome they plow the land with Buffolos neere Sienna they hunt the wild Boare with the Rowbuck the Wolfe the Porcupine and the Tasso Cane or Mountaine Dog They have many Reptilias of strange natures The Cimici are most Troublesome bed fellowes but Fleas in Folio yet so dainty as they will chuse their flesh my Chamberfellowes face hath lookt bigge as Boreas with them in one night when they have not so much as toucht my skin or disturbd my sleepe They are very offensive to his nostrills that destroyes them The Cantherides are greene flyes by day and in the night passe about the fields a pleasing spectacle like flying Glowormes with fire in their Tayles A Rimarra is a Philanthropall creature in forme like a Lyzzard in bignesse much exceeding it A Countryman told mee nature had so provided that the property of that beast was thus If a Peasent lay to repose himselfe in the shade The Rimarra will vigilantly attend him if a Serpent approach with which she is at enmity shee tickles the Countryman in the eare summoning him to stand on