Atchievements that Fame upon other occasions accustom'd to multiply proves deficient in this not being able should she lessen 'em to render your Great Actions credible to Posterity Prerogatives so sublime that they enforce all States to look upon 'em with a most profound Obsequiousness and have particularly induc'd my Republick to distinguish her self above all others to manifest it in such a manner that all the World may be apparently convinc'd of it And the most terrible and fatal Accident that ever befel her is this of incurring your Majesties high displeasure I cannot therefore proportionably display her extream Sorrow to have offended your Majesty though she is apt to flatter her self that this is befallen through an effect of pure Misfortune nevertheless she is desirous that whatever may have dissatisfy'd your Majesty may be cancell'd at any rate not only from your Memory but from the Remembrance of all Men she not knowing any way to alleviate her Afflictions till she beholds her self restor'd to your Majesties inestimable Favour Therefore that she may become worthy of obtaining it she assures your Majesty that all her most intent Applications and most sollicitous Cares shall be imploy'd to procure not only the preservation of it but also to habituate her self to increase it In order to which not content with expressions the most proper and most obsequious she resolv'd to make use of unusual and singular forms sending her Duke and four Senators in hopes that by such special Demonstrations your Majesty will be fully convinc'd of the most high esteem which my Republick has of your Favour and Good Will As for my own part Sir I acknowledge it for my greatest good fortune to have the Honour of declaring these my most sincere and most respectful Sentiments and prize above all things this Opportunity of appearing in the presence of so great a Monarch who invincible for his Valour and reverenc'd for his unparallel'd Magnanimity and Grandeur as you have surmounted all others in Ages Past so you secure the same Prosperity to your Progeny From so happy an Augury I assume the Confidence that your Majesty to make known to the Universe the singularity of your most Generous Soul will incline your Heart to look upon these Remonstrances no less just then sincere as Testimonies not only of the Integrity of my Heart as of the Minds of these Illustrious Senators and Citizens of my Country who with Impatience attend the reciprocal Marks that your Majesty will vouchsafe to grant 'em of your Benignity and Kindness CHAP. V. Of the States of the Dukes of Parma and Modena THE Duke of Parma is a Vassal to the Holy See to which he pays a Tribute of Ten Thousand Crowns for his Dutchies of Parma and Piacenza This State has undergone several Revolutions since the Decay of the Empire till the Church being in peaceable Possession of it Alexander Farneze being advanc'd to the Pontificate under the name of Paul III. erected Parma into a Dukedom and gave it his Son Peter Farneze in the year 1545. But the Emperor Charles V. disputed the Possession of it with him till the death of the said Duke who died Two years after However Octavio Farneze his Son being powerfully protected by the King of France secur'd that State to his Successors by the Marriage of Margaret of Austria natural Daughter of the same Emperor The Country adjoyning is very Ferril in Corn Wine Fruit but more especially in Cheese the excellency of which is sufficiently known 'T is sufficient to say that they make some of these Cheeses that weigh a Hundred and fifty pound and that they are esteem'd for so great Delicacies among the Turks that they are usually serv'd up to the Great Turk and his Visiers at their Banquets There are likewise several Wells of Salt Water in the adjacent parts out of which they draw White Salt and some Iron and Copper Mines The Revenue of the Duke of Parma amounts to Five hundred thousand Roman Crowns a year which make Seventeen hundred and fifty Livres of France and at a pinch of necessity he is able to bring into the Field Eighteen thousand Foot of his own Subjects The City of Parma Capital of the Dntchy and where the Duke keeps his Court is divided into three Parts by the River Parma over which are built Three Bridges that joyn the whole together It is adorn'd with a Bishoprick under the Arch-Bishop of Bologna and a Famous University Founded in the year 1599 by Ranuccio Farneze The Citadel consisting of Five Bastions is one of the strongest and best fortifi'd in Italy Foreigners always visit the Dukes Palace which is a most Magnificent Structure wherein there was no spare made of Marble Jasper or Porphyrie The Gardens belonging to the Palace and the Cathedral Church are the Rarities which next the Palace are worthy Observation Piacenza is the Second City in the Duke of Parma's Territories bearing the Title of a a Dutchy with a Bishoprick Suffragan to Bologna 'T is thought that it deriv'd the name of it from the Situation which is in a Plain extreamly Fertile It stands not far from the River Po being about Five Miles in circuit Near the City to the West they shew ye the Place where St. Anthony call'd down Fire from Heaven upon the Soldiers that derided his Name Thô what is more considerable is the Fountain in the great Piazza of Piacenza which Augustus caus'd to be brought to the City and the Statue of Alexander Farneze the First a Horseback in Brass MOdenois or the State of Medena lies to the East of Parma It was erected into a Dukedom by the Emperor Frederick III. in 1452. in favour of Borso d'Este The Country abounds with Plenty of all things As for the Dutchy it self it holds of the Emperor to whom the Duke of Modena pays a yearly Tribute of 4000 Crowns The Revenue of it amounts to about a Million of Italian Livres which make Seven hundred and fifty thousand Livres of France and in a time of Need the Duke is able to Arm Five and twenty thousand Men. Modena the Capital of the Dutchy is the usual Residence of the Duke It is seated between the Rivers of Sechia and Panaro and altho the Streets are somewhat narrow yet it is a very pleasant Habitation Foreigners go to see the Duke's and the Bishop's Palaces the Cathedral and the Citadel where there is nothing however very remarkable History informs us that Modena was formerly a Roman Colony and that after the death of Julius Caesar Brutus was there in vain Besieg'd by Marc Antonie in the year of Rome 710. That the City was afterwards ruin'd by the Goths and Lombards and rebuilt under the Reign of the Sons Charlemain and that it was near Modena that in the year of Rome 711 Hirtius and Pansa were defeated by Marc Antonie The Steeple of Modena is one of the Highest Towers in Italy CHAP. VI. Of the Territories of the Duke of Mantua THE Duke
Mountains afford Mines of Sulphur and several Quarries of Alablaster and all sorts of Marble The principal Rivers that water it are the Po the Adige Adda Arno and Tiber which contribute not a little to the Fertility of it from whence it is call'd The Garden of Europe The highest Mountains are the Alpes the Apennine which runs quite through the whole length of Italy Mount Masso Mount Barboro Vesuvius and Mount Gibello 'T is said the Italians are very wicked or very honest and virtuous The People are generally polite obliging quick of apprehension ingenious crafty eloquent politic and want not worth when they have once rid themselves of a certain Reservedness which frequently begets 'em the Epithete of Knaves These good Qualities are accompanied with some bad ones to which they are a little too much enclined For they are jealous quick of their promises slow to perform but above all revengeful insomuch that many times Revenge descends from Family to Family The Italian Language is a kind of adulterated Latin which the Goths Huns Vandals Lombards and other People inhabiting Italy have much corrupted Nor do they speak it equally polite in all parts of the Kingdom It is more refined in Tuscany then any where else but the Tuscans do not pronounce it so well as the Romans which is the reason of the Italian Proverb Lingua Tuscana in Bucca Romana And it is observed that the Italians speak in the throat the Venetians in the roof of the mouth the Neapolitans between the teeth and the Genoeses between the Lips The Roman Apostolic Religion is the only Religion allowed over all the States of Italy wherein for the preservation of it there are several Tribunals of the Inquisition erected not but that there are great numbers of Lutherans and Calvenists settl'd upon the Sea-Coasts drawn thither by the conveniency of Trade And thô the Magistrates know that they are departed from the Church yet 't is their interest to take no cognizance of it The Jews enjoy much more freedom and have their Synagogues even in Rome it self upon the Payment of an Annual Tribute There are also Greeks and Armenians in some Cities who perform their Church Worship according to the customs of their Country History informs us that after the Foundation of Rome Italy was govern'd by Kings for the space of 245 Years and that Tarquin the Proud was the last of her Kings That afterwards the Romans erected themselves into a Commonwealth which under the conduct of Consuls and Senarors acquir'd Immortal Honour as well for their Policy as for an infinite number of Victories which they obtain'd over their Enemies That Commonwealth lasted till the 706th Year of Rome at what time Julius Caesar was proclaim'd Emperor and extended the Roman Empire in all the three parts of the World which were then known for America was not discover'd in those days After this Empire had mounted to the highest period of its Grandeur it declin'd in such a manner that it has left us a memorable Example of the instability and fleeting condition of all Earthly Grandeur This formidable Empire being fallen to decay was dismember'd in the Reign of Honorius who dy'd in the year of Christ 423 and 4176th after the Foundation of Rome Italy after this fell under the Dominion of the Emperors of Constantinople who sent thither their Viceroys or Governors under the Title of Exarchs who kept their Court at Ravenna But that Government which began in the year of Christ 568 lasted not above 184 years at what time those Emperors were expell'd by the Kings of Lombardy Afterwards the Emperors of the West conquer'd Italy and the Kingdom of Lombardy was quite extinguish'd in 774 by Charlemain who made great Presents to the Holy See that Monarch and the Kings of France his Successors being the only Princes who rais'd the Temporal Power of the Pope to that degree wherein we now behold it This part of Europe is at this day divided among several Potentates That is to say the Pope in the Ecclesiastical State The King of Spain who is of the House of Austria of the Branch of Burgundy possesses the Kingdoms of Naples and Sicily the State of Milan and the Island of Sardigna These two Potentates are the most considerable in Italy the next to them are The Republic of Venice The Republic of Genoa The Republic of Luca. The Grand Duke of Tuscany of the House of Medici The Duke of Savoy of the House of Saxony The Duke of Mantua of the House of Gonzaga The Duke of Parma of the House of Farneze The Duke of Modena of the House of d'Este There are many other Sovereign Princes who have power of Life and Death over their Subjects with absolute authority to make War and Peace and to coyn Money but by reason of the small Extent of their Territories are call'd the Petty Princes of Italy Such are The Republic of St. Marin The Bishop of Trent The Duke of Guastalla The Duke of Sabionetta The Count of Novelare The Prince of Bozzolo The Duke of Mirandola The Prince of Monaco The Prince of Massera The Prince of Piombino The Duke of Bracciano And several others All the States of these Princes hold of the Church or of the Emperor of Germany Only the Territories of the Pope and the Republic of Venice are independent 'T is to be observ'd that the States that hold of the Church devolve to it again if the Proprietors happen to die without Issue Male the Daughters not being admitted to succeed their Fathers There are reckon'd to be in Italy 68 Principalities 95 Dukedoms an infinite number of Archbishoprics and Bishoprics and great store of Universities of which the most famous are those of Padua Venice Turin Pavia Siena Pisa Bologna Rome Ferrara Fermo Macerata Salerno Naples The Principal Cities of Italy are Rome which is the Metropolis of the whole Country term'd the Holy next to that Naples the Noble Florence the Fair Genoa the Proud Milan the Great Ravenna the Ancient Venice the Rich Padua the Learned and Bologna the Fat. It remains that I should speak of some Customs that are general in Italy In regard the Coasts of Italy upon the Mediterranean Sea are much infested by the Pyrates of Barbary who often Land there and carry away the Inhabitants in the Country with the best of their Goods there are little Forts built all along the Coasts about a mile distance one from another more especially upon the Riviera di Genoa and upon the Coasts of Naples and Sicily where six men keep Garrison with two Pieces of Cannon to prevent Descents These Guards every night kindle one or two Fires upon the neighbouring Mountains When there is but one it is call'd a Fire of Assurance as being a sign that no Turkish Brigantine has appear'd all that day But if they kindle two some Paces off one from another 't is to give notice to the Inhabitants to stand upon their Guards and that they
Confluence of the Rivers Arno and the Main but that the Fertility of the Soil gave it afterwards the Name of Florentia The ordinary Residence of the Grand Signior's Court contributes not a little to the Magnificence of it For assuredly the Grand Duke's Palace deserves to be the Mansion of an Emperour It is adorn'd with Statues of Marble and Brass much more noble then are to be found in any other place The Painting Sculpture and Guilding appear to be the Effects of Profusion And therefore not to engage in an exact description of this Palace I shall only take notice of some Pieces the most Magnificent There is to be seen a Candlestick or Luster all of Amber a Domo of Mother of Pearl and Gold Enamell'd with red a Table where you see the City and Harbour of Leghorn represented by several Stones of Jasper Marble Lapis Lazuli Topazes and Emraulds most artificially enchas'd another Table of Calcedon Enamell'd with Flowers Empal'd with Agates Lapis Lazuli and Emraulds supported with Enamel'd Pillars a Cabinet of Jet Inlay'd with several Gold Plates with Seven Doors where as many Organs play and withinside the Passion of our Saviour figur'd in Marble A Loadstone that sustains about Sixty pound weight of Iron but it has lost much of the Vertue of it since the last Fire that happen'd in the Palace A Nail half Iron half Gold which was thought to be an effect of Chimical Operation but some years since it was found out that the two Metals were only soder'd together but so imperceptibly that it was not possible to be discern'd An Agate Table a Statue of Lewis XIII on Horseback of Massie Gold an entire Service of Massie Gold Plate and a prodigious quantity of Silver Enamel'd Plate In short all the Apartments of the Palace and the Equipage of the Grand Duke are proportionable to this Immense Treasure Nor are these the only Rarities which this Palace encloses the only Objects worthy a Travellers Curiosity The Gallery wherein are the Portraitures of the Family of the Medicis and of all the Famous Men of this Age as well for Learning as for Arms delightfully allures a Travellers Eye for some Hours The Great Captains are plac'd upon the Right Hand among whom is Hannibal the Terrour of Rome Scipio who took Carthage and vanquish'd Hannibal Pyrrhus who rejoyc'd Rome by declaring War against it Scanderbeg the Scourge of the Turks Alexander Farneze who never lost a Battel Cortesius who discover'd the Streight of Magellan Andrew Doria who recover'd Genoa from the French Gaston de Foix whose Memory is still Terrible to the Spaniard Duke d' Alva who though Bloody and Cruel perform'd many great Exploits and who lamented at his Death not the Mischiefs he had committed but that he had never fought against the Turks Custruccio of whom no Body ever spoke ill Eccellino of whom no body ever spoke any thing that was good and Madam de Momorancy who was well contented to die in a Battel against the Religionaries of France In an Armory adjoyning are to be seen several curious Arms A Harquebuse the Barrel of which is Gold and which carries much farther then a Barrel of Iron A Pistol which is call'd the Good Night that discharges five times with once pulling the Trigger Also another with Ten Barrels that discharges as many times at once In one of the Cabinets stands a Mirrour into which if a Man looks he seems to be a Woman and if a Woman looks into it she seems to be a Man I forgot to tell ye that among the Grand Duke's Jewels there is a Diamond as thick as a Man's Finger that weighs a Hundred thirty eight Carrats and is lookt upon to be one of the fairest in Europe being valued at 150000 Crowns The Church of St. Mary of the Flowre is the Cathedral of Florence It is lin'd without-side with great square Panes of Marble White Red and Black intermix'd The Inside is answerable to the Outside and the Steeple is of Marble though of a prodigious heigth St. Laurence's also is a very Beautiful Church but that which renders it more remarkable is the Chappel wherein the Dukes of Florence lie Buried This Chappel is built all of Marble lin'd with Jasper Alablaster and other rare Stones so well polish'd and wrought that the Workmanship is more esteem'd then the Materials The Vault is lin'd with Lapis Lazuli of Persia which is a Pretious Stone of a Blue Colour interlac'd with Veins of Gold and which perfectly resembles the Colour of the Skie in a clear and serene Season Round about this Chappel are plac'd the Statues of all the Dukes of Florence all of Copper guilded in their Ducal Habits and between two Tombs one of the Cities of the State of Florence which takes up the whole void space In a word the Magnificence of that Mausoleum is so great that 't is enough to make those who are wrapt up with the Pride and Vanity of this World wish for Death if they might be assur'd of such Glorious Monuments after their Decease Having thus view'd the Magnificence of the Palace and Mausoleums of the Great Duke we come to the Curiosities of the City where there are to be seen upon the Bridge that leads to the Grand Piazza four Statues of White Marble representing the four Seasons and in the Piazza stands a Brass Statue upon a Pedestal of the same Metal representing Como de Medicis the first Duke of Florence together with his most remarkable Exploits in Relief This Piazza lies before the old Palace on both sides of which are to be seen the Statues of David and Hercules To this Palace belongs a Tower which is a Hundred and Fifty Fathom high without any other Foundations then those of the Palace it self which gave an occasion to the saying of the Florentines that they have one Tower in the Air another in the Water meaning the Pharo of Livorn and another in the Earth which is the Steeple of Florence Near the River is to be seen a large Column upon which is plac'd the Statue of Justice in Porphyrie upon which the Criticks have made two Burlesque Remarks the one is that Justice is plac'd so high that the poor cannot reach it the other is that she turns her Back to those places where Justice is usually administer'd It would be a great oversight not to visit the Houses of pleasure belonging to the Grand Duke of which the most considerable are Poggio Imperiale Pratolino aad Lampeggio where the Arbours the Alleys the Labyrinths Grotto's Waterworks and whatever can make any place delightful are in their highest perfection Strangers are often trickt near Cupid's Grotto in the Garden of Pratolino For before they come at it they are led a great way about so that coming to the Seats that are not far off they are willing to sit down and rest themselves But no sooner are they sate down but the pillars of the Seat giving way to the weight of their