are very near under the same Climate and secondly because the Remarks which I have made upon each in particular being added together will afford matter but for a very small Chapter Xaintes seated upon the Banks of the Charante is beautify'd with many marks of Antiquity The Bridge over the River makes it evident by a Latin Inscription that it was built by Caesar upon which are also to be seen the remains of a Triumphal Arch. The Church of St. Peters which was the one and twentieth of those that Charlemaign caus'd to be built was ruin'd in the last Civil Wars Nor is it less remarkable for the remains of an Amphitheater and several Aqueducts and divers other Monuments of Roman Antiquity It is also a Bishops See and the Seat of a Presidial Court 'T is likewise observ'd that the Water of the River Charante keeps much longer sweet at Sea then the Water of other Rivers There are also several other fair Cities in Xaintoigne as Coignac Tonnay and Brouage famous for the Salt-pits adjoyning to it At the Mouth of the Sea which is call'd the Sea of Bourdeaux stands a Tower built upon a Rock which serves as a Pharos or Land mark to direct Ships that Sail upon that Coast It is call'd the Tower of Cordouan and we are assur'd that it is much higher and more beautiful then the Pharos of Alexandria Blaye built upon the River side is considerable for the Fortifications which hinder the Entrance of any Enemies Ships into the Harbour There is also to be seen the Sepulchre of Charibert King of Paris the Eldest Son of Clotaire the First The County of Xantoigne is very fertile in Corn Wine Pasturage Saffron c. greatly stor'd with Fish and abounding in Roman or Pontic Wormwood and it is a common Proverb among the People of the Country That if France were an Egg Xantoigne would be the Yolk Though the City of Angoulesm be seated upon a Rock at the top of a Mountain yet there is a Cittadel also built for the better Defence of it Which also serves for a Curb upon the City it self should their happen any Sedition Two Leagues from Angoulesm is a Fountain to be seen which issuing out of an Abyss never increases nor diminishes A certain Queen of France being desirous to know whence the Spring of this Fountain should arise order'd a Condemn'd Person to be let down into the Abyss who reported that he could see nothing but Dreadful Rocks and Monstrous Fish that would have devour'd him had he not speedily got out of their way At Montmeron a Silver Mine was discover'd but no-body was ever set to work in it The reason of which I believe to be because Nature has furnish'd it with so small a quantity of that Metal that the Mine will not afford Ore enough to Pay the Workmen The People of Xantoigne are lookt on to be very Witty and more Courageous Those of Angoulesm are no less Warlike and love to live like Gentlemen but the Common People are Clowns and Brutes CHAP. X. Of Limosin and Perigort THE City of Limoges is the Capital of Limosin remarkable for several Monuments of Antiquity and for three Councils held there in the Years 1029. 1031. and 1182. There are also to be seen several Aqueducts built by the Romans Three Churches and a great Number of Monasteries 'T is also the seat of a Presidial Court and an Audit for the King's Finances Nor are Travellers to pass through it without seeing the Artificers for Enamelling wherein they are so perfect in this City that there is not better Workmanship of that sort in any part of the World and going to Vssel you see 'em no less busily employ'd in making of false Diamonds The other most considerable Cities of Limosin are Gueret Tulle Brive Vserche a very Strong Hold Roche Abeille famous for the great Battel there fought in 1569. Chalos noted for the Horse-Fairs there kept Aines Aimotier c. Though Perigort be Stony and Mountainous yet the Inhabitants are well enough contented with their Condition For the vast Number of Chesnuts which grow in this County not only serve 'em for the Nourishment of their Families but to fatten their Hoggs Besides that it is well stor'd with Medicinal Waters and Iron Mines Periguex is the Capital City of this Province so very Ancient that some scruple not to affirm it to have been built by one of the Sons of Noah But others from the Name of Vesuna which the Ancients gave it derive the Name of it from Venus who was formerly worshipt in this City where there are still to be seen the Ruins of a Temple dedicated to that Goddess with several other Antiquities The Fountain of Marlac not far off from Periguex ought to be visited for the Ebbing and Flowing of the Waters that supply it Which contributes not a little to confirm the Opinion of those who say that Periguex is built upon a floating piece of Ground Some Years ago there was a Well in the Great Market-Place stopt up which was thought to be an Abyss in regard that several People being let down could could never find a Bottom only they reported upon their coming up again that they saw a large Plain cover'd with Water It may be some may put the Question whence those People had so much light as to make such a Discovery To which I shall answer according as they told me that it was from other Wells of the City and parts thereabout which let the light into that Subterraneal Sea and by floating Lanthorns which they drove before 'em with Engines Besides there are few Houses in the City but the owners if they dig never so little in their Cellars presently meet with Water which by the weight the taste and other marks seems to be the same with that of the Well which was stopt up because the Harlots were wont to throw their Children into it Two Leagues from the City there is another Fountain the Water of which changes it self into Stones of what form you please But among the most remarkable things there is a Cavern near Miramont which is call'd Cluseau which extends it self five or six Leagues under Ground wherein are to be found Apartments pav'd with Mosaic Work Altars adorn'd with beautiful Pictures Fountains and a River six and twenty foot broad and beyond that as they say there is a vast Plain or Champian Country where no body yet durst be so bold as to plant any Colonies In the Abby of Cadouan at Sarlat is to be seen a Sacred Napkin or rather Winding Sheet wherein they affirm that the Body of Christ was wrapt when he was put into the Sepulchre of Joseph of Arimathea Libourne upon the Banks of the Dordogne is a pleasant City to which that River Ebbing and Flowing brings up Vessels of a Considerable bigness But there is one thing very extraordinary nor do I know that there is any other like it in the World which is
splendid then the King of Spain's The Air is temperate the Haven the Fountains and the Magnificence of the Buildings contribute not a little to render Palermo a pleasant Habitation and therefore the Chiefest of the Nobility reside there In the Great Piazza that faces the Palace stands the Statue of Philip IV. upon a Pedestal upon which are represented the Victories of that Monarch supported by Four Figures representing the Four Virtues the whole of White Marble In another Piazza stands a Brass Statue of Charles V. upon a Pedestal of Marble In the meeting of the new Street and Cassaron street which are two of the fairest Streets in Palermo is to be seen the Palace a noble Fountain and Four Statues of the King 's of Spain Charles V. Philip II. III. IV. which are the most beautiful Ornaments of the City In the Piazza right against the Palace of Justice stands a Fountain which deservedly is lookt upon to be the most beautiful in Europe It consists of several hollow Receptacles one above another separated by Galeries whither you ascend to admire the variety of large Animals that spout forth Water after different manners The whole is of Marble with a great number of Figures of the same Stone After that you have seen all that is curious in Palermo Travellers go to visit Mount Peregrin at the top of which after an ascent of Three Miles you meet with a Cave almost like that of St. Beaume in Provence which was the retirement of Sta Rasalia and 't is reported that the Fountain within that Grotto has a peculiar Quality to Heal several Distempers Thô the City of Mont Real be not above Four Miles distant from Palermo however it is an Archiepiscopal See From thence there is a Prospect of Nine Islands call'd by the Name of Lipari which is the name of the most considerable among ' em Of which two Vulcano and Stromboli are not inhabited because of their continual vomiting forth Flames and Smoak for which reason they are call'd the Burning Islands of Sicily However these Islands are not to be taken confusedly for Mount Aetna commonly call'd Mount Gibello the highest Mountain in Sicily which thô almost cover'd with Snow yet continually vomits forth flames of Fire like a Glass-house Furnace and spreads the Ashes of the consum'd Materials with that impetuosity that the Country is frequently much endamaged thereby thô if the same Ashes are but moderately scatter'd over the Ground they enfertilize the Earth The City of Catanea lying under this Mountain has suffer'd many Conflagrations occasion'd by the sparkles of this Infernal Gulph Several Persons that have been so curious as to climb to the Top of Mount Gibello have been either lost in the Snow or buried in the Ashes and many times the Flames enforce their way through Chawns and Rifts ne'r known before with such an amazing noise as alarms all the Island Not far from Mount Gibello is the place where some will have it that Ceres first began to sow Wheat and they will undertake to shew ye the Meadows where Hercules fed his Oxen. The Lake Naphtica is noted for this that the stench of the Water is so noisom that it poisons the adjacent Air and very much impairs the Health of the neighbouring Inhabitants There is another Lake near Castro Giovanni which is said to have no bottom 'T is call'd the Lake of Proserpina upon a suspition that it was the place where Proserpina was Ravish'd and carried to the Infernal Regions by her Ravisher Messina is an Archiepiscopal City famous for the Haven that belongs to it near Cape Faro which makes it a Town of Great Trade and much frequented by Foreigners In the Grand Piazza stands a Brass Statue of Philip IV. upon a Horse of the same Metal the whole Adorn'd with Base-Reliefs representing his most famous Actions Over the Door of a Tower near the Metropolitan Church stands a French Inscription Grand-merci a Messina in remembrance as they say that the French began with Messina when they made themselves Masters of the Island There are several other Whirlpools or Abysses of Water in the Sea adjoyning to Messina among the rest Charybdis Famous among the Latin Poets This Whirlpool is about Thirty Paces in Diameter which compass of the Surface is usually cover'd with Froth Bulrushes and other foul excrescencies of the Sea which throw themselves into it and are swallow'd up by it Nevertheless the Mariners of Messina Sail over in flat bottom'd Barks where after several times being whirl'd and turn'd about they row themselves back The Tides of Ebb and Flood are so rapid in the Channel that separates Sicily from Italy that they many times force the Vessels riding there from their Anchors let 'em be never so strong which is the loss of many a Ship Saragossa or Syracuse was formerly lookt upon as the largest and most Magnificent City in the Universe Athens beheld her self abandon'd by the Greatest part of her Inhabitants who betook themselves to settle at Syracuse And the most sumptuous Edifices in Rome derive their chiefest Ornaments from the Spoils of her Structures The most beautiful Ruin of her Antiquity remaining is the Aqueduct cut out of a Rock that carries the Water over the Haven about Ten Miles in length Without the City is to be seen Arethusa's Fountain that rises in great abundance out of a Rock by the Sea-side and they report that this Water comes from the Holy Land by a conveyance that runs under the Abysses of the Sea But the greatest Evidence that they alleadge for it is this That a Pilgrim one day taking up Water out of the River Alpheus by chance let his Dish fall into the River and lost it to his incredible Grief for that he had hid within it Seven Pistoles for unforeseen occasions That embarking to return for Europe he landed in Sicily and going to the Fountain Arethusa to Drink he found his Dish floating upon the Water which he knew again not only by the Seven Pistoles but by several other marks Dionysius the Tyrants Grotto lies not far distant from Saragossa much more considerable than any of those about Puzzuolo For there you may see a whole City cut out of a Rock with subterraneal Streets Palaces Piazza's and other admirable Structures But you must have some notable Antiquarie for your guide that knows all the Turnings and Windings and be well provided with Matches and Torches There are several other Islands between Sicily and Barbary as Maltha Gozes Limosa Lampadousa c. but in regard they rather belong to Africa then Europe I shall say nothing of 'em here Nevertheless I cannot forbear observing that in the last there is a Chappel where you shall meet with all sorts of Refreshments for Sea faring People and all that is necessary for Navigation as Biscuit Cordage Anchors Sails Oil Wood Fish Stuffs c. And all that Sail near that Island and have occasion for any of those things goe and
to be admitted into the Nobility or for the laying new Taxes or Impositions In short in this Assembly it is that all the Power and Authority of the State resides But these Matters are all prepar'd in the Lesser Council before they are propos'd in the Grand ones The City of Genoa adorn'd with an Arch-Bishoprick is the Capital City of the State Surnam'd the Superb as well by reason of the Humor of the Inhabitants as the Magnificence of the Buildings being seated by the Sea side upon the Ascent of a Hill in the Form of an Amphi-Theater It is surrounded with good Walls on that side next the Land and well fortify'd in all parts where it lies liable to be attackt It is about Six Italian Miles in Circuit but the Streets are very narrow and dark by reason of the height of the Houses Four Gates belong to it a great number of Magnificent Palaces and a good Harbor tho' the entrance into it be somewhat difficult by reason of several Rocks that lye round about it under water It is defended by a Mole which the Genoeses built since they revolted from France At the end of the Mole stands a Phanal fot the direction of Ships that Sail along the Coast in the night time and by the situation of the Lanthorn they in the City understand what Course the Vessels steer which they perceive This Phanal is built in that part where Lewis XII K. of France built a Fort to bridle the City There is to be seen in Genoa an Aquaeduct which carries the Water from one to the other end of the City and which supplies an infinite number of Fountains some of which furnish the Vessels before they put to Sea with fresh Water If they who Sail from Genoa to Legorne should happen to want Water they will meet with a Spring of fresh Water in the middle of the Golph de l'Esprece that bubbles up through the Salt Water to the surface of the Sea and still preserves its sweetness The Domo for so are all the Cathedrals call'd in Italy is consecrated to St. Laurence It is all lin'd without side with Black and White Marble having Three Doors in the Front sustain'd with fair Columns of Marble The Riches within-side also is exactly correspondent to the out-side Imbellishments But they who are desirous to see the Reliques are oblig'd under a forfeiture to leave their Weapons at the Door An Iron Gate with Four Locks opens into the Treasury of which the Senators keep the Keys Among other things they shew ye a Dish all of one Emrauld which they would make ye believe was presented to Solomon by the Queen of Sheba and that Christ made use of it at his last Supper with his Disciples adding withal that when Antioch was taken the Genoeses made choice of it for their share of the Booty Nevertheless some Authors say That Christ Eat the Paschal Lamb in a Silver Dish as Richard Lassels the Famous English Traveller has observ'd Moreover they will have the Ashes of John the Baptist to be preserv'd in this Cathedral There are also other very fair Churches in Genoa of which I forbear to say any thing for fear of Prolixity I shall also say nothing of the Palaces of which there are almost as many as there are Houses Which Magnificence has occasion'd this Remark that the Genoeses are the Richest Private Persons in Italy and the poorest State and that the People took as much care of their Private Estates as the Venetians of their Republick But of all the Palaces Prince Doria's is without all contradiction the most Superb For among other Rooms there is in it a long Gallery pav'd with Black and White Marble Sixscore Paces long and Six and Twenty Broad from whence you may behold all the Vessels and Ships that enter the Port of Genoa The Apartments are so richly furnish'd that a Governor of Milan not being able to believe that they could all belong to Doria told the Queen of Spain who was to take Shipping at Genoa that She should Lodge in one of the most Noble Palaces of the World but that the sumptuous Furniture was borrow'd out of all the most wealthy Houses in the City Doria being told of this before the Queens arrival caus'd to be Engrav'd upon the Gate of his Palace By the Grace of God and the King the Whole belongs to the Master of the House In his Garden is to be seen a large Statue of a Giant under which is to be read the Epitaph of a Dog that while he liv'd had Five hundred Crowns a year allow'd him for his Maintenance There are few States of Europe where the Civil Policy is better establish'd then at Genoa There are certain Magistrates who are call'd the Magistrates of Abundance whose Care it is to see that the City be provided with Corn Meal Wine and Oil for a whole Year how Dear soever it be besides what comes daily to the Market and to regulate and set the price of Provision according to the Fertility or Scarcity of the Year And to prevent mis-management there are in all the Quarters of the City more especially near the Courts of Judicature certain Holes in the Wall into which all People have the liberty to throw in Accusations against those whom they suspect to have mis-manag'd themselves in their Imployments or Commissions and sometimes without any other Conviction it happens to be the misfortune of an innocent Person to be punish'd I must not conclude this Chapter without speaking a word of that which gave the occasion to the Bombing of Genoa in 1684. by the French Fleet. The King having make several complaints to this Republick by Mr. S. Olon his Envoy Extraordinary of the proceeding of this City in opposition to the Interests of that Crown and the injuries done his Subjects that Minister could obtain no reasonable satisfaction In the Second place his Majesty demanded of the Republick free passage by Land through their Territories for his Salt to Cazal and that he might erect a Magazine at Savona of which the Magistrates of Genoa had one Key to secure 'em from any suspition that it was vended in the City of Savona which the Republick refused and not so contented they made a private Treaty with Spain against France by which the Republick oblig'd themselves to maintain Four thousand Men in the State of Genoa which were to be rais'd in the name of the Count de Melgar and at the charges of the Republick As also to add Six more Gallies to the Six already prepar'd to joyn with the Spanish Fleet. The most Christian King therefore inform'd of their Design commanded his Minister to know their Reason and offer'd at the same time his Mediation or his Forces if they had occasion But the Genoeses were so far from accepting the King's Proposals that they return'd haughty and ambiguous Answers which enforc'd the King to send a Fleet thither to the end that the appearance of
he said but no body answer'd he added also that the roaring Noise continu'd for half the way and seem'd to be over his Head This Rehearsal augmented the Curiosity of the Magistrates of Tarascon and oblig'd 'em to send Work-men to force open the Gate but unwillingness or fears over-mastering their Obedience and Duty there were none resolute enough to be found for they lookt upon the last Gate to be certainly the Gate which led to Hell However the Magistrates found an Expedient to gain their good wills perswading 'em that there was some vast Treasure hid there and that if they found it to be really so they would give 'em the twenty fifth part of it Upon that they found Work-men more than enow and the Gate being soon open'd they as soon discover'd that the hollow way led to Beaucaire that it was a Subterranean Communication between one City and the other and that the Noise was nothing but the Rapidness of the Rhone which rolling the Stones along with it caus'd that hideous rumbling in the Vault Since which time 't is a common saying among the Bricklayers of Tarascon That the Twenty fifth part of Beaucaire belongs to them Arles formerly the Capital of a Kingdom is seated also upon the Banks of the Rhone drawing towards the Sea People say the Air is not so wholesom there and that there is a passage from thence under Ground to Nimes but I could never find any certainty in that report There are to be seen in this City two Porticoes of an admirable Structure an Amphitheater and an Obelisque built by the Romans and the Sepulchre of Rowland Nephew to Charlemaine There is also in the Town-house a Marble Statue of Diana which Goddess had formerly a Temple in an Island of the Rhone a little below the City Travellers that delight in viewing Ancient Tombs may find a great number near Arles For 't is said that the Pagans call'd these parts the Elysian Fields and that they who inhabited along the River from Arles to Lyons desirous that their Bodies should be there buri'd they ty'd 'em to Planks with Money sufficient for their Enterment and put 'em into the Water verily believing that the Stream would carry 'em to the Elysian Fields without going any farther They also shew'd me the house where Eight Children all Twins were born at one Birth which the Mother would needs have thrown into the River all but the Ninth And they farther told me 't was through the Judgment of God that this Woman had so many Children at a time because she had tax'd a Beggar-woman of unchastness for having Three at one Delivery who thereupon wisht if she were not a Whore that her Accuser might have as many as a Sow barrows Piggs at once Let the Story be true or false certain it is that 't is not only in these parts where such Prodigies are pretended to have happen'd for I have seen in Holland the Castle of a Lady who is reported to have been brought to Bed at one time of as many Children as there are days in the year St. Maximin is a little City in the Neighbourhood of Aix remarkable for the Holy Vial which is there kept and which draws Pilgrims to it from all parts of Europe They pretend that in this Holy Vial there is the Blood and Water which issued from our Saviour's side which by a Miracle moves every Good Friday from Eleven a Clock till high Noon In the year 1679. I was there upon the same day and what I happen'd to observe was this They carri'd us up into a Gallery guarded by six Halberdeers as well to prevent disorder as for the security of their pretious Relique In the midst of the Gallery in a kind of by-corner we found a Jacobin Frier holding the sacred Vial in his hand Which is a Vial much in the Form of our Hour Glasses of Sand in which you may perceive a Liquor as clear as Rock-water with a little black Moat that danced up and down in the Viol and which sometimes inclining to fall down to the Bottom sometimes mounted up all of a sudden to the Top. This Devotion draws great Profit to the Convent So that the Inhabitants of the place would never care how often the Miracle happen'd There is also in the same Church the Head of Mary Magdalen in a Golden Shrine and her Body in another From thence we mounted for four Hours together that we might get to St. Baume through a dreadful Desert In this place they say it was that Mary Magdalen did Pennance and there is to be seen in a Grotto where the Rock-water distills from all parts one little place dry which was the Place where Magdalen lay There is in this Nook a small Convent of Jacobins with one only Inn belonging to it where were above four thousand Persons in all very ill accommodated The next day we ascended above the Clouds at least when we were at St. Piton we saw the Clouds thicken and gather together under us This is the Place as the Tradition goes where the Angels brought Penitent Magdalen her Victuals Afterwards we travell'd through a continual Desert to Toulton For we went above eight Leagues before we met with one House or a drop of Water to drink Toulton is a very fair City seated upon the shoar of the Mediterranean Sea It has a good Haven where the Kings biggest Men of War ride secure from the injuries of the Weather or the Attempts of an Enemy Henry IV. fortifi'd it with Walls for the security of the Port and the Arsenal which is the chiefest the French have upon that Sea Marseilles is another Sea Port which is held to be the safest in all Europe The City is very antient as having been built six hundred thirty three years before the Birth of Christ and 't is the usual place where the Kings Galleys which are very numerous ride This Haven is defended by the Fortress of our Lady of the Guard by two Citadels at the entrance into the Port which is barr'd up with a huge chain and there are there Forts in the little Islands a league from the City which secure the Road. They are call'd the Fort of St. John Le Rattoneau and the Castle Dif furnish'd with good Garrisons and with all things necessary for their Defence This last Castle is remarkable for this that 't is the Place where they shut up Youths of Good Houses that vex their Superiors by their Exorbitant Debaucheries and Leud behaviour and where they are kept so long as is thought convenient with a moderate allowance The City it self is very Beautiful and without all contradiction the most wealthy in the Province by reason of the Haven by which means it has all the Trade of the Levant Italy Spain and Africa to it self The Cathedral is dedicated to St. Lazarus in memory of this that the Persecutors of the Primitive Church having put Lazarus together with Mary Magdalen and Martha
granted her by her Soveraigns from time to time and they who have been once honour'd with the Shrievalty of Lion are ennobl'd both they and their Posterity CHAP. XIV Of Burgundy and Nivernois BVrgundy is a Province with the Title of a Dutchy and Peerdom though it were formerly a Kingdom and the Title is now born by the Dauphin's eldest Son This Province extends it self from North to South above Fifty Leagues not above Forty says De la Croix and Thirty from East to West Thirty two says De la Croix The Source of the River Seine rises in a Village of Burgundy which is call'd St. Seine The Burgundians are an obliging people and love Honour but they are naturally opinionated and obstinate and you must have a great Ascendant over 'em to make 'em alter their Sentiments Dijon is the Capital of this Province and Historians report that the Emperour Aurelian having utterly raz'd and destroy'd a certain place call'd Burg-Dogne or Burgus Deorum was afraid of the Anger of the Gods to whom that place was Consecrated whereupon his Mother Priestess of the Sun advis'd him for the Expiation of his Fault to build a Temple and a Castle in the same place which were the First Foundations of this Capital City It is remarkable for the Walls which are fortify'd with Towers and Bastions the Castle flank'd with Four Great Towers and Two Ravelins a fair Charter-House wherein are the Stately Tombs of the Dukes of Burgundy the Palace of Justice the King's House Sixteen Churches two Abbies five Hospitals the Town-House and for being the Place where the States of the Country meet every Three Years This Country enriches it self by her Corn and Wine being generally call'd the Magazine of Paris St. Bernard was Born in a Village of this Province call'd Fontaine Beaune is a very ancient City with a Chancery and a Bailliage seated advantageously for every thing but most chiefly fruitful in delicious Wines Autun is also very Ancient and some there are who derive the Etymology of the Name from Augustus However it were the Romans thought it worthy of their Friendship and enter'd into an Alliance with it The Druids held their Senate in this City There are also to be seen the Ruins of a Temple of Juno which they call Janitoye And among other Antiquities there are still to be seen a Field of Mars the Mount of Jupiter and the Ruins of Triumphal Arches Pyramids Aqueducts c. The Cathedral Church and the Episcopal Palace are worth the sight of the most curious Travellers Auxerre is a very good City with an Episcopal See a Presidial Court and a Bailliage This City is very Ancient and it 's said that Julian the Apostate stopt here for some time to refresh his Army In the next Age it was taken and almost ruin'd by Attila in the Year 451. After that K. Robert took it in 1005. from Landri Count of Nevers Since which time it was govern'd by particular Counts of her own 'T is a very great Thorough-fare having a Stone Bridge Large Piazza's several Fountains beautiful Churches among which the Cathedral is very Magnificent stor'd with Reliques and adorn'd with a most beautiful Quire a Steeple remarkable for the heighth of it and a Chapter of Fifty nine Canons but the Earldom is now united to the Crown The Bishop resides in the Castle which it would be no difficult thing to fortifie in regard it stands upon a rising Ground which Commands the City There have also been two Councils held in this City the one under the Pontificate of Pelagius in 578. the other in 1147. It is seated upon the River Yonne that falls into the Seine at Montereau Nevers the Capital City of Nivernois is a considerable City not only for the goodness and fertility of the Soil but for the Advantages it receives from the River Loire which washes the Walls of it and runs by the Fortress that Commands it and over which it has a Bridge of Twenty Arches Travellers are always us'd to visit these Parts where the Inhabitants make Glasses and Earthen Pots which bring great Profit to this City The Bishoprick is under the Archbishop of Sens and one of the best in the Kingdom In the last Assembly of the States General of the Kingdom the Deputies of Nivernois appear'd under the Government of Orleanois There are in this Little Province both Iron and Silver Mines but the People make little Advantage of ' em CHAP. XV. Of Berry and Burbonnois THough the Province of Berry be of no great Extent yet is it very Rich. The Cloth which is there made is in great Esteem and the Wool in this Province is the best in the Kingdom The Inhabitants who were in Ancient Time call'd the Bituriges were very formidable And History informs us not only of the Conquests which they made in Germany and Italy but that the same People who a long time held the Empire of the Gauls were they who gave Caesar the Greatest Trouble in his Conquests The Capital City of Berry is Bourges being an Archbishoprick with the Title of a Primacy and Patriarchate having also a Presidial Court a Bailliage a Generality and a University The Situation of it is very Advantageous by reason of the two Rivers that make a kind of Bogg and fill the Moats It has seven Gates and as many Suburbs The Walls are in a good condition fortify'd with Four and twenty Towers The Ramparts are Cannon-proof the Stones being cut Diamond fashion and Nineteen Foot thick The Cathedral Church is dedicated to St. Stephen a most beautiful Structure supported by Fifty Pillars The Treasury of this Cathedral contains many Curiosities which Foreigners will be glad to see and of which I would have inserted here a Catalogue had I not unfortunately mislay'd it in my Travels This City suffer'd much by the Irruptions of the Barbarians in the Fifth Age and still it feels the furious sack of the Huguenots upon the 27th of May 1562. when the Count of Montmorancy who was their General took it Bourbonnois is separated from Burgundy by the River Loire which lyes to the East Berry bounds it to the West Auvergne and Forest to the South and Nivernois to the North. This Province is not so considerable for it self though the Soil be very fertile as for the Honour which it has to see the Illustrious House of Bourbon wear the Crown of France The City of Bourbon bequeath'd her Name to this Province though it be not the Capital which is attributed to Moulins The Castle of Bourbon is environ'd with 24 Towers which renders it extremely strong Near the Castle lies a great Marsh where are the Baths of Bourbon so renown'd all over Europe Moulins is a very large and fair City seated upon the River Allier and remarkable for the Mineral Waters and for the great Number of Cutlers Shops The Presidial Court is one of the greatest Ornaments that belong to it CHAP. XVI Of Poitou and the Country
Merchandizes are brought that are transported from the Indies and besides that it is a Bishops See it is also the seat of a Presidial Jurisdiction and a Soveraign Court for the Western Salt-Pits The people in their Humour partake of the Air of the Sea which they breath and are therefore very boisterous and insolent and no less full of Vanity and Pride Rochefort is a Sea-Port Town at the Mouth of the River Charante formerly no more then a Village now a City with good Bastions upon which are planted Rows of Trees that make very pleasant Walks There is also in this place several Ware-houses and an Hospital for sick and wounded Seamen CHAP. XVII Of Bretagne BRetagne is a very large Province which is also usually call'd by the Name of Little Bretaigne to distinguish it from Great Britain which contains the Kingdoms of England Scotland and Ireland and the small Islands adjoyning There is no Province of France that has so great a Number of Havens as this for it is environ'd by the Ocean to the North South and West Eastward it is bounded by Poitou Anjou Maine and Normandy It extends it self above Forty Leagues from South to North that is to say from the Island of Bouitz to the Mouth of the River Couenon and Sixty from East to West that is to say from Vitrey to the Point of Conquet and contains Nine Bishopricks Formerly it was govern'd by Kings for above Three hundred Years together but was afterwards contented with the Title of a Dukedom till the Year 1491. that Ann of Bretaine the only Daughter of Francis II. the last Duke married Charles the Eighth of France and after that Lewis XII who both United this Dutchy to the Crown The Soil is fertile in Corn Flax Hemp and Fruits affords good Butter and Breeds good Horses but produces little Wine to the great Grief of the Inhabitants who are great Lovers of it Between Chasteau-Briant and Martigues are several Mines of Iron and Lead In the Signory of Salle is a Source of Water that smells of Antimony and drives before it a sort of Sand of the colour of Gold and not far off upon a high Hill they find Antimony Sulphur and Copper And in another place they dig out Talc and Stone Allum which being pounded into Powder may be spun into long Threads or Candlewieks which never go out as long as there is any substance remaining and is thought to be the Asbestos of the Ancients In the Mines of Valgoet are to be found both Jasper Stones and very clear Chrystal with several other Rarities Moreover in this Province there is a great Value put upon the Secrets of the Mount Menehaldec the Beauties of the Forrest of Besban where is still to be seen the square Base of Stone call'd Perron-Merlin the ancient Divertisement of the Knights Errant and the Fountain of Balanton c. They also make great reckoning of the Amber of Bell-Isle the Aqueducts of Dal the Vaults between Rieux and Redon the Subterraneal Torrent in the Forrest of St. Aubin du Cornier the Singularities of the River Ardre and the Lake of Grandlieu near Nantes And having already told yee how the Province is seated upon the Sea I think it needless to tell yee that they are stor'd with all sorts of Fish among the rest there is taken upon the Coast of Bretaigne a certain Fish which at Marseilles is call'd Imperador or the Emperour but in Bretanie Gracieux Seigneur which is very delightful to the tast The Bretons are of a very sociable Humour and there are two sorts of People whose Company pleases 'em better then any other The first are those that can stoutly hold out to drink with 'em The next are they who in their Discourses or otherwise make appear their Hatred of the Normans For the People of those two Provinces have such an Antipathy one against another that they can never speak well of each other Rennes is the Capital City of Bretagne divided by the little River of Vilaine which brings up great Barks to the Town though it stands above Twenty Leagues from the Sea Henry II. erected a Parlament in this City which is also a Bishop's See adorn'd with fair Churches two Abbies St. Magdalens and St. Georges with several other Religious Houses and the Bell belonging to the Palace Clock is accompted one of the biggest in the Kingdom and having been formerly the Residence of the Dukes of Bretagne it is stor'd with several Reliques for Travellers to see either out of Curiosity or Devotion Nantes contends for Superiority with Rennes as being likewise a Bishops See and pretending that her Haven renders her more wealthy more famous and makes an ample amends for the Parlament with which the other is Honour'd But not to trouble my self to decide the Controversie between these two Cities I shall only observe that Nantes is very ancient and some Authors will have it that Nantes one of the Progeny of Noah was the Founder of it and gave it his own Name However it were she had once particular Counts of her own and the Beauty and Fertility of her Soil appropriated to her the Sirname of the Eye of Bretagne There is a Castle belonging to this City which secures the Port and her Presidial Court where there is a Tower and a Clock both considerable for the rarity of their Workmanship and an Election render her no less remarkable then her University for the Law founded by Pope Pius II. in the time of Francis II. the last Duke of Bretagne When you visit the Churches you shall see the Tombs of several Dukes of Bretagne The Town-House is built after the Modern Mode and her large Ware-Houses for all sorts of Merchandizes merit the View of all Travellers who will then admire the vast Wealth of this City The Edict which Hen. IV. set forth at Nantes in favour of the Protestants in April 1598. was revok'd by Lewis XIV in October 1685. St. Malo's is another famous Sea-port Town of this Province seated upon a Rock in the Sea in the Island of St. Aron joyn'd to the Land by a long Causey the entrance into which is defended by a Castle flank'd with large Towers environ'd with good Moats where there is a Garison and a Governour The Bishoprick of St. Quidalet was translated thither in the Year 1172. I have here two things to observe concerning St. Malo's one of which is true the other seems to me to be a Fable The first is That every Night they let out a dozen or fifteen great Mastiffs that presently run their Rounds about the City upon the Ramparts and infallibly tear to pieces all people that they meet with So that before they suffer 'em to walk their Patrolle there is a Bell Toll'd for some time to give people notice that the merciless Watch is a coming These Dogs are kept on purpose to preserve the City from surprize which gave occasion for some to say That Dogs had
the Guard of St. Malo's My second Remark relates to a Raven and a Crow that are in the Island whose number never increases When one of these two Dies all that are in the Neighbouring Parts flock thither to take possession of the Vacancy as if it were an Inheritance and in regard they have no Knowledge of Littleton's Tenures or the Canon-Law much less of the Genealogy of their Ancestors so as to leave their Estates to the next Heirs they fall to Bloody Wars one among another many are slain on both sides many are wounded and many betake themselves to Cowardly flight and save themselves upon the Continent and thus at length the strongest carries it and becomes peaceable Possessour of the Island all the rest of his days As to the Surviver I know not whether upon the loss of his Companion he loses his Privileges or whether he measures Beaks and Claws and then Duels it out with the new Comer Brest is the best Seaport-Town which The French have upon the Ocean for which reason it is the Great Maritime Arsenal of the Kingdom and the Rendevouz of the French Fleets The Entrance into the Bay is very dangerous by reason of several Rocks that lye under Water upon high Tides but there are always skilful Pilots ready to carry in great Ships without any hazard The King caus'd this Place to be fortify'd after a wonderful manner and not without Reason it being one of the Principal Keys of the Kingdom and the Rendevouze of all his Men of War CHAP. XVIII Of Anjou and Touraine THE Province of Anjou dignify'd with the Title of a Dukedom has Bretagne to the East Maine to the North Touraine to the West and Poitou to the South It is Thirty Leagues in Length and Twenty Broad Twenty two says de la Croix and being water'd with the Loire the Sarre and several other Rivers no less then Six and Thirty says de la Croix it is extremely fertile and the People are Witty and very Crafty Anger 's the Metropolis call'd by some Authors the Black City by reason that all the Houses are cover'd with black Slate which they dig out of the Quarries adjoyning is the Seat of a Bishop a Presidial Court a Bailliage a Mint and a University for the Law Founded by Charles V. in 1364. others say by Lewis XII in 1398. The Cathedral dedicated to St. Maurice is a lovely Structure and the three Steeples over the Portal are wonderful pieces of Architecture of which that in the middle seems as if it hung in the Air being supported by the Foundations of the other two Among the Antiquities of the Treasury there is to be seen St. Maurice's Sword and one of the Cisterns that contain'd some part of the Water which Christ turn'd into Wine at the Galilean Wedding The Castle is very Ancient and built upon a Rock flank'd with Eighteen large round Towers and defended with a wide deep Moat cut out of the Rock whither many times Prisoners of State are sent for more Security The Huguenots surpriz'd this Castle in the Year 1585. but they were soon after expell'd again by the Anjovins Anger 's is also remarkable for the University there Erected according to the King's Letters Patents bearing Date June 1605. with the same Privileges which the Academy of Paris enjoys except the Comittimus The Number of the Academies is fix'd to Thirty besides the Bishop the King's Lieutenant the first President the King's Proctor in the Presidial Court and some others who have their Places in the Academy by vertue of their Employments The City it self is govern'd by a Mayor and Twenty four Aldermen or Sheriffs La Flesche stands upon the Loire about Ten Leagues from Anger 's to the South There is in it a very fair College of Jesuits Founded in the Year 1605. by Henry IV. containing three Courts and three Piles of Lodging Chambers sufficient to Lodge the King and all his Court The Heart of that great Monarch lyes in the Chappel under the Steps ascending to the Altar as he ordain'd by his Last Will. Saumur is applauded by all Forreigners for the Pleasantness of the Situation where there is also a Strong Castle and well fortify'd Touraine lyes to the North of Anjou about Thirty Leagues in length and as many broad This Country is so fertile that it 's call'd the Garden of France The People are good Natur'd Sincere and Witty If you will gain their Friendship you must have a care of being Melancholy And therefore they are call'd The Laughers of Tours Les Rieurs de Tours They who have seen Tours the Capital City of this Province agree that it is one of the most delightful Mansions in the Kingdom It is the seat of an Archbishop a Presidial Court and a Money-Chamber The Loire over which there is a Bridge of Nineteen Arches causes it to abound with all things There are great Quantities of Silk Stuffs made in this City which are thence transported all over Europe The Church of St. Martins is of a vast length being a Hundred and sixty Foot long with two and fifty Windows twenty Columns nineteen Doors and three very High Towers in the Year 1591. there were found in it two Urns full of the Ashes of several Bodies consum'd by Fire Amboise stands upon the Loire with a Castle Royal built there by Charles VIII to signalize the Place of his Birth Loches is remarkable for the Castle and a beautiful Forrest adjoyning to it Lewis XI enlarg'd this Castle and added a Dungeon to it where he kept the Cardinal de Balve a long time and here it was that Lewis Sforza being confin'd by Lewis XIII dy'd in his Imprisonment and was Buri'd in the Church of Nostre Dame where is to be seen the Tomb of Agnes Surel Charles VIIth's Mistress Chinon is a pleasant City where Charles the Seventh was retir'd when Joane of Arc came to find him out and proffer him her Service And more lately remarkable for being the place where Rablaise was Born CHAP. XIX Of Beausse which Comprehends Orleanois Blesois and Le Pais Chartrain IN regard there have been no just Bounds given to this Province because several Authors out of a humour joyn the Neighbouring Provinces to it I shall not undertake to limit the extent of it but following the Opinion of those who divide it into Upper Middle and Lower which are commonly call'd Le Pais Chartrain Orleanois and Blesois I shall only observe what is most curious in the Principal Cities of the Province By the way you are to observe that this Country is call'd the Granary of France by reason of the great quantity of Corn which it produces As for the People the Chartrains are look'd upon to be Zealous Catholicks The Orleanois somewhat addicted to Slandering and Backbiting The Blesois are said to speak the best French yet both the one and the other are very civil and obliging Chartres is a City so Ancient that some
Authors affirm it to have been built by the Gomerites who were sent into Gaul a little after Noah's time However certain it is that the Druids built this City long before the Birth of Christ whose Nativity they foretold and that he should be Born of a Virgin which was the reason that Priscus the Roman Governor erected a Temple there which he consecrated Virgini Pariturae to the Virgin that should bear a Son And seeing that St. Paul coming to Athens met with an Altar dedicated to the Vnknown God we may the more readily believe that either by some Prophetick Spirit or by some other Prerogatives only known to Providence that the Pagans in the midst of their Darkness had some glimmerings of that knowledge which God reserv'd for the Christians And hence I may observe that if some Christians were to be met among the Pagans of those Times there are more Pagans to be found among the Christians at this day There is a Well to be seen at Chartres which is call'd the Saints Well because the Romans were wont to throw the Primitive Christians into it There belongs to this City a Presidial Court together with a Bishops See under the Archbishop of Paris ever since 1622. for before it depended upon the Archbishop of Sens. There are to be seen in this City many Pieces of Antiquity and a great number of Reliques The Cathedral dedicated to the Holy Virgin is very considerable for the Quire the Church under-ground and the two Steeples are the Admiration of Forreigners The Streets are fair and straight the Houses neatly built the Market-Places large and the River Eure affords a Water very proper for several sorts of Manufacture In the Year 1591. Hen. IV. took it from the League and caus'd himself to be Crown'd in it by reason that Reims held out in Rebellion Orleans is a very considerable City dignify'd with the Title of Dukedom and a Bishop's See under the Archbishop of Paris with a Presidial Court and a University for the Law founded by St. Lewis and confirm'd by Philip the Fair in 1312. All this advances much the Honour of the City but her greater Glory to be the Appanage or Childs Portion and Title always belonging to the Second Son of France much more Exalts the Idea that Forreigners have of her This City is seated upon the Banks of the River Loire in a Country full of Vineyards that furnish it with excellent Wine Among the most considerable Buildings is to be seen the Church of the Holy Cross which the Religionaries ruin'd in the last Age but though Henry the Great caus'd it to be rebuilt he has not restor'd it the Beauty of her Pristin Antiquity This City was several times Besieg'd and twice miraculously deliver'd Once by the Prayers of her Bishop St. Aignan when Attila King of the Hunns besieg'd it in the Year 450. Long after that the English besieg'd it in the Year 1417. at what time it was succour'd by Joan of Arc call'd the Maid of Orleans The Kingdom was then in a Low condition and upon the very brink of Ruin at what time this Maid who was no more then a poor Shepherdess born at Dompremi upon the Meuse receiv'd a Command from God to go and succour Orleans and to Crown Charles VII K. of France at Reims Coming to Court she made up to the King whom she had never seen in her life before and though he had nothing to be signaliz'd from the rest in the croud of Courtiers that were in a huddle about him She told him of the Command she had receiv'd from Heaven They gave her what Men she desir'd with which she defeated the English and reliev'd Orleans After that she caus'd the King to be Crown'd at Reims re-conquer'd all Champagne and had expell'd the English quite out of France but that she had the Misfortune to be taken before Compiegne which she had laid Siege to When the English had her in their power they carri'd her to Rouen and Burnt her for a Witch She was call'd the Maid or Virgin because that having been search'd by several Matrons in the presence of the Queen of Sicily she was found to be so The Orleanois had so great a Veneration for her Memory that they set up her Statue upon the Bridge of Orleans There are several very fair Country seats in the Parts about Orleans of which Chambort is the most remarkable as being built by the Command of Francis I. and the Stairs belonging to it are look'd upon to be a kind of a Prodigy for that when you would go up into the Chamber over head from the Room where you are instead of ascending you must descend The Loire washes the Walls of Bloise as well as of Orleans This City is seated in a most delightful Air which the Pleasure of the Walks about it renders much more Charming provided the Weather be dry For otherwise the Soil is so fat that the least Rain makes the ways almost impassable There is a very beautiful Castle belongs to it built upon a Rock which has been the seat of several Kings There is also a Pyramid erected upon the Bridge that crosses the River in Honour of Hen. IV. of France There are also to be seen some fair Ruins of Roman Antiquity and Travellers will find a great deal of Pleasure in viewing the Park that belongs to the Royal Castle At some distance from the City is to be seen the Castle of Buri in the Court of which is erected a Pillar on the top of which stands a Figure of King David in Brass which was brought from Rome The Lake also which is in the Dutchy of Vendosme is very remarkable for this that the Water abounds in it for seven Years together but the next seven Years it lyes quite dry During which time you may perceive Caverns in it that are extreamly deep The Country people also know by certain Marks of the Height of the Water whether the seven Years that the Water is absent will be fruitful or barren Amboise is a very ancient City where Charles VIII was Born and this Prince it was who built the Castle which is the greatest Ornament of it In this Castle Lewis XII instituted the Order of the Knights of St. Michael the First day of August in the Year 1469. This City is also famous for the Conspiracy there discover'd against Francis II. Catherine de Medicis his Mother and all the Court in 1560. And History informs us that there was a most Bloody Butchery of the Conspirators among whom there was a great number of Persons of Quality CHAP. XX. Of the Island of France VVHen Forreigners hear talk of the Island of France unless they cast their Eyes upon the Map they take it for a Land divided from the rest of the Kingdom But though it be intercut and intercepted with many Rivers however they do not make any Island only it is a Name which the Province has deriv'd from
Bridge and stands where the Red Bridge stood before There are moreover several other Bridges very considerable as the Change Bridge St. Michael's the Bridge of Nostredame and Pont Marie which have Houses on both sides so high that they cannot be perceiv'd to stand over the Water The French Academy is become so famous over Europe that all Men have a particular Esteem for all the Learned Men who have the Honour to be Members of it It was not Confirm'd by the King's Edict till the Year 1635. though it were set up five or six Years before and was instituted by Chance For that in the Year 1620. certain Learned Persons that Lodg'd in several parts of the City resolv'd to meet once a Week at one of their Houses by Turns that so they might with more ease confer together And this was that which gave a Beginning to this Academy which was at first under the Protection of Cardinal Richlieu Now the Number of the Academies is fix'd to Forty Besides this Academy Paris has also Three others The Academy Royal of Painting which owes the Beginning of it to M. de Noyers Secretary of State and Surveyor of the King's Buildings in the Reign of Lewis XIII They met at first in the Palais Royal but were afterwards remov'd into the Galleries of the Louvre at what time it was settl'd by a Decree of Council in the Year 1648. The Academy Royal of Sciences compos'd of a great number of Learned Physicians Philosophers and Mathematicians settl'd by Mr. Colbert Minister of State at the Sollicitation of M. du Clos and the Abbot of Bonzaisi And for the sake of these Learned Men it is that the King has erected an Observatory in the Suburb of St. James for the making new Experiences and discovery of new Secrets in Physick and Mathematicks And lastly The Royal Academy of Architecture settl'd by the same Mr. Colbert in 1671. As for the Divertisements of Paris no body can be ignorant that there are wanting neither Exquisite Voices for Opera's nor good Actors for French and Italian Comedies nor any sort of excellent Company whether for Conversation Play or Courtship And for Places of Meeting and Walking there are the Tuilleries the Queen's Court and the Groves of Boulogne and Vincennes But I perceive this Chapter has carried me too far which obliges me to omit a Thousand Wonderful Things which Paris encloses and only to tell Forreigners That they can never be able to understand the Beauty and Magnificence of it till they have made a considerable stay in the Place and that the most elevated Idea's which I could give 'em by a more Copious Description and better Study'd would come short of what they really are CHAP. XXI Of the Places adjoyning to Paris AFter what I have said of the Grandeur Beauty and Magnificence of Paris 't will be no hard matter to believe that the parts about it are extreamly well peopled There being Ten Thousand Boroughs Villages or Castles within Ten Leagues round it I shall only say something of the most Considerable places not much caring for the Criticisms of those who shall censure me for not reporting faithfully all their Beauties For I declare to 'em before hand that I shall not engage to satisfie 'em with a Piece of Perfection For in short if a Man should go about to examine all the Wonders Magnificence and Riches of the Royal Seats not far from Paris it would be enough to dazle his Eyes nor can any Man Contemplate 'em without being ravish'd into Extasie Since the Reign of Lewis the Just Versailles was no more then an Ordinary Castle consisting of a Body of Lodgings accompani'd with two Wings and ending in four Pavillons But in 1661. the King proposing to himself to make some stay there enlarg'd this Building with another much more Magnificent At length in 1678 the Old Castle not appearing worthy the State and Grandeur of so Great a Monarch it was pull'd down to make room for another more Superb for the rearing of which all the most Famous Masters in Europe for Architecture Sculpture and Painting were sent for to display their utmost Skill So that the Magnificence of every Apartment out-does whatever there is of most rare in Forreign Countries Even the Stables of Versailles are more Magnificent and Nobler then the Palaces of several Princes of Europe There is a City built on two sides of the Castle with extraordinary Symmetry The Castle is of so large Extent that not only all the Princes and Princesses of the Blood have Large and Convenient Lodgings within it but also all the Ministers and Secretaries of State and a great number of other Lords The Soil about Versailles is naturally dry and unpleasant But Lewis the Great has enforc'd Nature as I may so say to be more favourable to that Part which he had made choice of for his Residence For the Earth not only produces all the Plants the Fruits the Flowers that grow in the most fertile places in the World but by the benefit of the Aqueducts this place abounds so much in Water that you would take it rather for a Sea when all the Engins play then for a Garden of Pleasure And what is more particular and almost incredible those Engins throw the Water up into the Air in different Figures You shall perceive Galleries of Water Triumphal Arches Pavillions Arbors Theatres Mountains c. The fairest Receptacles for Water are those of Ceres Flora Apollo and Bacchus The Banqueting-Hall the Labyrinth the Walk of Water are Machines worthy the Curiosity of Strangers All this Water is drawn from the Sein by the Assistance of a great number of Pumps ranvers'd and carry'd to Versailles by the only Engin which is to be seen in Europe being the Invention of the Sieurs de Ville and Ranequin This Piece of Workmanship which may contend with the Seven Wonders of the World consists of Fourteen Wheels that have Eight and twenty Motions which are caus'd by Twenty Chains and Eight Water Engins with which they force up the Water into an Aqueduct of Thirty six Arches seated upon the Top of a Mountain and Five hundred and seventy Foot from the side of the River All these Motions work Night and Day there being no more then 18 Men in three different Divisions to look after ' em All people admire the Effects of the King's Glory and Grandeur and the large extent of the Genius of those Artists who invented this Engin to the highest degree of Perfection They who will visit the Apartments of Versailles the Gardens the Park the Place where all sorts of Strange Creatures are kept the Grotto's the Labyrinths and the Castle of Trianon which is a real Jewel all wrought within and without with Marble of divers colours have need of Eight days time neither will that suffice to view all these Wonders that surpass Imagination The Castle of Merli but a small League from Versailles is another Royal Seat
a small Copper Coyn two of which make a Sol. The Milanois Livre is worth about 10 Sols of France Milan an Archiepiscopal City is the Metropolis of the Duchy built by the Gauls when they settl'd in Italy about the year 170 after the building of Rome The Romans expell'd 'em thence 462 years after This Country was often expos'd to the Incursions of the Barbarians the Goths and Huns and after that was subdu'd by the Lombards who possess'd it till the Reign of Charlemain who made it a part of the Empire By degrees this City became so powerful that she commanded all her Neighbours and her Pride swell'd to that height that she several times rebell'd against her Sovereigns The Emperor Frederic the First was constrain'd to make use of Force to reduce her to Obedience which he brought to pass in 1160 and soon after the Empress his Wife going to Milan the People rose out the throats of the Imperial Garrison and seizing upon the Empress set her upon an Ass with her face toward the Tail which they gave her in her hand in stead of a Bridle and so led her through the whole City The Emperor justly incens'd at such a piece of Insolence besieg'd the City and forc'd it to surrender at Discretion the 3d of March 1162. Which done he levell'd it with the Earth all but three Churches drew a Plough over the whole and sow'd it with Salt as an Eternal Memorial of Reproach and Infamy upon the People who had no way to redeem their Lives but by drawing with their Teeth a Fig out of the Fundament of the Ass upon which they had set the Empress and they that refus'd to do it were put to the Sword Nine years after the City was rebuilt and rose by degrees in such a manner that now it is call'd the Great The Duchy of Milan is claim'd by the Kings of France upon account that John Galeazzo first Duke of Milan having given his Daughter Valentina in marriage to Lewis of France Duke of Orleans Second Son of Charles the Fifth surnamed the Wise it was covenanted by the Articles of the Contract That if the said John happen'd to dye without Male Issue the Duchy of Milan should descend to Lewis his Son-in-Law and his Successors So that John-Maria and Philip-Maria dying without Legitimate Offspring the Succession belong'd without dispute to Charles Duke of Orleans the Son of Lewis Charles the Fifth was not ignorant of this Pretension when he promis'd Francis the First King of France to give him the Investiture of it for one of his Sons at the Sollicitation of the Electors of the Empire But taking the advantage of his Power and the disorders of France the Emperor was so far from standing to his word that he gave the Investiture to Philip the Second his own Son and ever since the Kings of Spain have possess'd that Duchy It is observ'd that the City of Milan has been besieg'd 40 times taken 22 that it has 22 Gates including those belonging to the Suburbs 230 Churches 96 Parishes and that it is 10 miles in circuit It has a Senate consisting of a President and twelve Senators of which three must be natural Spaniards There is in it so great a number of Handicraft Tradesmen that 't is commonly said That Milan ought to be ruin'd to accommodate Italy This City is defended by a Castle fortifi'd with six Bastions lin'd with Brick and environ'd with Moats of running Waters There are three different Inclosures able to make great Resistance for which reason it is look'd upon to be one of the best Fortresses of Europe It is about a mile in compass containing whole Streets wherein all manner of Artificers keep their shops It also includes large Palaces where the Officers lodge and several Piazza's in one of which 6000 men may be drawn up in Battel-array There are in it likewise four Wells or Fountains which are never empty one Mill above 200 Pieces of Cannon mounted upon the Bastions not counting in those which are in the Arsenal which is furnish'd with all manner of Arms. In one Hall of the Castle is to be seen the Cannon that kill'd Marshal Crequi when he besieg'd Breme which is laid upon the Ground to the end it may never be made use of again The Cathedral Church which is call'd the Domo is the largest and most superb in all Italy except St. Peter's in Rome being lin'd with Marble within and without sustain'd with 60 Columns of white Marble which three men can hardly fathom the least of which cost 1000 Crowns those of Adam and St. Bartholomew are the best esteem'd The whole Church is about 250 Paces long In St. Anthony's Church is to be seen a Brazen Serpent which they would make you believe to be the same that Moses lifted up in the Desert and that the Emperor Theodosius brought it to Milan Strangers go to see the Great Hospital at Milan considerable for the largeness and magnificence of it the conveniency of the Building and the good order of the Government It is endow'd with a Revenue for the maintenance of above 4000 Persons The Chambers of the Sick are built in form of a Cross with an Altar open on four sides in the middle where the sick People go to say Mass at their going to bed Besides this Hospital there is another upon the Moat of the City wherein there are as many Chambers as there are Days in the Year There are to be seen at Milan the Ruins of Triumphal Arches Baths and other Roman Edifices and the Church of St. Lanrence built after the Model of the Roman Pantheon was a Temple dedicated to Hercules In former times the Emperors were crown'd at Milan with an Iron Crown and at Alexandria in the same Province with a Crown of Straw The other Cities belonging to this Duchy are Coma Cremona Tortona Lodi Novara Valencia Pavia c. which are all considerable in some respect or other but my purpose is to speak of Milan and Pavia only which are the principal Pavia regularle fortified is seated in a Plain upon the River Tecino In the Cathedral is to be seen a small Mast of a Ship which the People believe to be Rowland's Lance who was Nephew to Charlemain St Austin's is remarkable for the Tomb where that Saint lies Enterr'd In the Grand Piazza stands a Statue of the Emperor Constantine though some will rather have it to be the Statue of the Emperor Antoninus It stood formerly at Ravenna from whence it was remov'd to Pavia And History observes upon this Subject that Laurec the French General having taken that City by storm in 1527 a Soldier of Ravenna who enter'd first desir'd of his General that Statue for his Reward to the end he might send it back to Ravenna But the Inhabitants being more afflicted with that loss then the loss of their Estates which the Soldiers were just going to plunder from 'em or the Lives of their Country-men
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
He cannot stir out of the Laguna without leave and can do nothing without the Advice of his Counsellors which are allotted him chosen out of the most considerable Gentlemen of the Republick When the Duke gives his Opinion in the Senate he has but one Voice but his suffrage goes for two in the Grand Council The Duke is clad in a Purple Robe with hanging Sleeves and when he parades upon any publick Ceremony he walks under a Canopy of Cloth of Gold eight Silver Trumpets marching before him and a Youth carrying a Torch of white Wax a Sword is also carried before him as a mark of his dependency All Declarations and Letters of State are written in his Name and the Money is also stamp'd with his Portraiture though there is always on the Reverse a Lyon and the Image of St. Mark with the Duke kneeling before him The Duke is Elected after the following manner The Grand Council being assembl'd at the hour prefix'd the Door is shut and after they have counted the number of those in the Hall they throw into a Bason an equal number of little Balls among which there are thirty guilt and when they are well jumbl'd and mix'd every Gentleman goes and takes one Then the Thirty that have the Golden Balls assemble together in another Room where there are ready prepar'd as many little Balls of which there are but Nine guilt These Nine Gentlemen whose chance it is to light upon the Nine guilt Balls choose out forty Gentlemen of the Assembly which forty are reduc'd to Twelve by means of the guilt Balls and those Twelve elect Five and twenty which are reduc'd to Nine Those Nine choose out Forty five who are reduced at length to Eleven who choose out One and forty Gentlemen and they Elect the Duke This Tedious Ballating prevents the Effects of Canvossing Now when these Electors are approv'd by the Grand Council they are shut up in the Palace of St Mark out of which they never stir till they have Elected the Duke And it is to be observ'd that though the Election be authentick it must be corroborated by Five and twenty Suffrages and while the Electors are thus shut up they are carefully guarded and diligently lookt after almost in the same manner as the Cardinals in the Conclave The Venetian Nobility is distinguish'd into four Classes The first comprehends the Families descended from the Tribunes who in the Year 709. were the Electors of the first Duke of Venice and which have continu'd by a kind of Miracle to this present time Those Twelve Electoral Families are the Contarini the Morosini Badouari Ziopoli Micheli Sanudi Gradenighi Meonni Falieri Dandoli Polani and Barozzi There are also other four Noble Families that have continu'd in a Lineal Succession ever since the Year 800 viz. The Justiniani Cornari Bragadini and Bembi For which reason the first are vulgarly call'd the Twelve Apostles and the latter the four Evangelists The second Classis of Noblemen are they that began to be enregister'd in the Golden Book when Gradenigo the Duke settled the Aristocracy in 1289. The third comprehends about fourscore and ten or a hundred Families who purchas'd their Nobility for a Thousand Ducats apiece These Noblemen are never employ'd in the high Preferments of the Republick The fourth Order of Nobility is that which the Republick confers upon Forreign Princes and other Illustrious Personages Thus Hen. III. and Hen. IV. of France were admitted into the Body of the Nobility of Venice The Noble Venetians walk the Streets in a long Black Robe and a Bonnet of black Tissue border'd with a Fringe that hangs round about and falls down over their Hair for they are not suffer'd to wear Perriwigs their Gowns are open before and discover a rich Cassock their Shooes are all of black Spanish Leather and for their Gate and Aire they are very Grave and Majestick But this Nobility of theirs deprives 'em of the freedom of conversing with Forreigners Nor will their Jealousie of all other Nations permit 'em so much as to give Strangers a Visit or to pay the least Civility to Ambassadors their Wives nor any other person belonging to their Retinue without express leave from the Senate Nor dare they speak to a Venetian Merchant if he be known to frequent a Forreign Minister's House Having thus discours'd of the Government both Politick and Ecclesiastick of Venice I shall only speak one word of what is most worthy the Curious Observation of Travellers If they happen to be there at the Festival of the Ascension they will see the Ceremony which is annually perform'd upon that Day of the Duke's Espousing the Sea At what time the Duke and the Senators in their Purple Robes accompanied by the Patriarch the Pope's Nuncio and the Ambassadors go aboard the Bucentaure which is a sort of Galley with several Decks guilded down to the Water and cover'd with Crimson Velvet with broad Gold Fringes and attended by all the Nobility and the People in four or five Thousand Gondola's and other Vessels rows forward within a Mile of the Main Sea And then it is that the Duke Espouses the Golf of the Adriatick Sea in Testimony that the Republick is the Mistress of it The Ceremony of this Espousal is perform'd by casting a Gold Ring into the Sea and saying these words We Espouse Thee our Sea as a Mark of real and perpetual Superiority After which the Patriarch gives his Benediction accompanied with the roaring of the Canon Thence they go to hear Mass upon the Lido and so return to the Palace where the Duke treats all the Senators and Great Lords Alexander III. instituted this Ceremony as a Mark of Gratitude to the Republick who had so strenuously upheld him against the Prosecutions of the Emperour Frederick Barbarossa But it is an Errour to believe upon the Credit of some Historians ill inform'd that the Republick of Venice held the Soveraignty of the Adriatick by Donation from that Pope for besides that it was never disputed with the Venetians the Holy See never had nor ever pretended to any Right over the Adriatick so that that same Pontiff could never bestow upon the Republick a thing that never was in his power to give And there needs no more then to read the Pope's own words to the Duke Ziani while he acknowledg'd the Republick's Right and instituted the Ceremony of Espousing the Sea Receive said he this Ring to give it every Year upon the same Day to the Sea as to your lawful Spouse so that your Posterity may know that the Sea belongs to You by Right of Arms. The Cathedral Church was formerly dedicated to St. Theodore but after the Body of St. Mark was brought thither from Alexandria the City made choice of that Saint for her Patron and the Church is Consecrated under his Name being one of the most Beautiful Edifices in the World and what is more surprizing is that such a weighty Bulk should have no
Prophesie of an Astrologer that in the time of Tiberius foretold that Caligula should be Emperor when he should ride on Horseback over the Golph between Puzzuolo and Baiae joyn'd to the Bridge which the Romans had then already begun two rows of Ships stay'd by huge Anchors over which he laid a great number of Planks and so rode over both on Horseback and in his Chariot There are some who believe that Caligula did not only design the fulfilling of that Prophesie but that he was at that vast expence to imitate Xerxes and to terrisie the People of Europe that were unsubdu'd at that time The Sand all along that Coast has two peculiar Qualities that although the Water be cold the Sand at the bottom of the Sea is so hot that you can scarce endure to touch it and when it comes out of the Water it becomes as hard as Marble It was at Baiae where Agrippina was stabb'd by the Command of Nero her Son who was so cruel as to rip open her Body that he might inspect the place where he had lain Nine Months This Misfortune was foretold that Princess long before For having consulted the Oracle concerning the Destiny of the Fruit which she bare in her Womb answer was return'd her Thou shalt bring forth a Son who shall be Emperor but he shall put Thee to Death To which she reply'd Let him put me to Death provided that he Reign Her Tomb is in a Grotto where there is a Cave cut out of the Rock adorn'd with some Sculptures which represent the Empress surrounded with some Birds of Prey There is also a certain Subterraneal Structure to be seen at Baiae which is call'd Piscina Mirabile or The Wonderful Fish-Pond It is supported with about 45 or 50 Pillars and lin'd with Ciment which makes People believe that it is a Cistern wherein the Ancients preserv'd Rain-water for their Drink in regard that all the Water thereabout tastes strong of the Minerals There is another Subterraneal Structure call'd the hundred Little Chambers all built of Brick wherein they formerly put their Slaves belonging to the Galleys that always Winter'd at Baiae There are an infinite number of Curiosities more in the parts about Puzzuolo and Baiae and without question there is no part of Europe where there are to be seen the Ruines of so many Pagan Temples Tombs Amphitheaters Aqueducts Grotto's Palaces c. So that in regard it would take up above six Months for a Traveller to take up an exact view of all those Rarities it would require a Volume in Folio to make a faithful Enumeration and Description of ' em But though I am leaving the Parts adjoyning to Puzzuolo yet I am not quitting the Kingdom of Naples before I have made some other Remarks worthy the Reader 's Curiosity In the Province of Tarentum there are a sort of Lizards by which if a Man be bitten he cannot be cur'd but by Dancing and the sound of Instruments They add further that these Animals never bite any but the People of the Country and that it was a Punishment which befel 'em because that being Dancing one Day they would not quit their Jollity but for so long time till the Host past by ' em The Territory of Otranto is a kind of Peninsula environ'd with the Adriatick and Ionick Seas and much infested with Locusts that are pursu'd and hunted after by a sort of Birds not to be seen in other Parts The City of Otranto the Metropolis of the Province is considerable for being an Archbishoprick and for the Haven from whence they generally take Shipping for Greece In former time Pyrrhus had a design to have joyn'd Greece to Italy with a Bridge of Ships in that part where Otranto stands though the two Coasts are above 60 Miles or 25 French Leagues asunder Otranto had the Misfortune to be plunder'd by the Turks in 1481. but it was nothing near so strong then as it is now Brindisi or Brundusium another Archbishopprick and Haven famous for the Passage of Julius Caesar into Greece in pursuit of Pompey whom he Besieg'd and forc'd to retire into Epirus The Extrrordinary Devotion that oblig'd several Emperors and Kings to visit Mount St. Angelo especially the Emperor Otho who Travell'd Bare-foot to Rome with all his Court engages me to say something of it 'T is reported that St Michael having had a Vision in those parts made choice of it for the Place of his Abode and digg'd a Grotto in the Rock A Marble Portal leads into this Subterraneal Cavern and you go down a descent of 55 Marble Steps into it There is to be seen the little Altar consecrated by St. Michael himself together with several other Chappels under Ground Besides there is a Fountain of Water of Sovereign Vertue for the Cure of several Distempers The Devotion paid to this Place and the Resort of People to it has occasion'd the building of a City and several Churches Rossano is another Archiepiscopal City of Calabria for nothing considerable but for the Church of St. Maries into which the Women are not admitted to enter For which the People of the Country give this Reason The Holy Virgin say they having shew'd St. Bartholomew the Place where he should build that Church she still appear'd to him at a distance from the Enclosure of the Walls while the Church was building and commanded that Saint not to let any Woman enter into it but to order 'em to stand without and hear Mass They further add that some Women happening to go in either out of Curiosity or Devotion there arose such a violent Storm of Rain Hail and Thunder that never ceas'd till the Women were gone out and had given Testimonies of their Repentance for their Rashness and they pretend that their Ancestors have seen several Tryals in Confirmation of the Truth of this Story Salerno the Metropolis of the hithermost Principato derives its Name from the little Rivers of Salo and Erno that water the Territory belonging to it When Naples was Govern'd by particular Kings of their own their eldest Sons bore the Title of Princes of Salerno In the Convent of Jacobins there is a Bell that sometimes Towls alone of it self and they pretend that such a spontaneous Towling presages the approaching death of some Fryer in the Convent Amalfi in the same Province is famous for the invention of the Needle and Compass and for being the First place that contributed to the Order of the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem Capoua An Archiepiscopal City in the Terra di Lavoro was formerly accounted the third City in the World Rome and Carthage being the other two It is now seated about two Miles distant from the place where ancient Capua stood nor is considerable for any thing but the Name of it and some deplorable Ruins of her Ancient Theaters Aqueducts Portico's Temples and Subterraneal Vaults It was formerly call'd the Mansion of Pride and Pleasure as well by reason
fetch 'em from that Chappel leaving the value in other Commodities with which their Vessel is best provided All Nations even the Turks themselves goe thither for what they want and 't is said that if they fail to leave a Compensation their Ships can stir no farther let the Wind be never so favourable We are assur'd that several have known this to be true by many Tryals However it be that Chappel is hewen out of a Rock and some Paces from thence there is a Spring of excellent fresh Water which will keep sweet a long time at Sea As for Sardigna there are not so many Remarks to be made upon that Island All that I can say of it is that 't is an Island in the Mediterranean Sea with the Title of a Kingdom belonging to the King of Spain who Governs it by a Viceroy The Air is so thick that formerly such persons were banish'd thither as the State had a mind to be rid of that there is a Breed of Great Dogs there bigger then the Dogs in England and such an infinite number of Rats that the King of Spain has enjoyn'd all the Owners of Houses to keep as many Cats as they have Rooms The Ancient Sardignians had a Law which ordain'd that the Sons should knock out their Parents Brains when once they came to be Superannuated for fear the Infirmity of their Minds should incline 'em to commit Faults prejudicial to their Families or the Government CHAP. XIV Of the Island of Corse THis Island is seated to the North of Sardigna from whence it is separated by a Channel that may be Sail'd over in an hour and lies between the 40 and 42 Degree of Latitude and between the 31 and 32 of Longitude The largest extent of it from South to North is about 40 Leagues 20 Broad and in Circuit about Fourscore and Ten. It is said to have been so call'd from a Woman of Liguria whose Name was Corsa Bubulca who carried thither a Colonie out of her own Country The Island of Corse has belong'd to the Genoeses ever since the year 1559. at what time Henry II. Granted it to 'em at the request of the Spaniards after the Battel of St. Quintin Nevertheless the People are not pleas'd with their Government and the Genoeses on the other side who are afraid of their Revolting or lest some Foreign Power should make themselves Masters of it do as much as in them lies to lay it waste and give out that the Air is too unwholsome for People that are not bred there Besides that the Soil is so ungrateful that it will hardly return the Seed that is sown in it However 't is certain that this is spoken either out of Malice or Sloth for that it brings forth Corn Wine and all sorts of Fruits more then sufficient the Inhabitants that it produces good Horses and Timber for Shipping and that there are in it several Mines of Copper Lead c. Baths and Mineral Fountains among which that of Povera in the Province of Ampugnano cures the Dropsie Besides that they fish for Coral upon the Coasts Moreover this Island might be made a place of great Trade for that there is no want of good and convenient Havens of which the chiefest are San Fiorenzo Ajacho and Porto Vecchio big enough to contain whole Fleets The First was formerly Fortifi'd by the French but the Genoeses have demolish'd the best Works having left nothing but the Foundations which are of Free-stone The Corses are good Soldiers very strong but very slothful and no less revengeful so that upon their Death-beds they recommend the revenge of Injuries done 'em to their Kindred Thô there be Five Bishopricks in the Island yet there is but one considerable City which is Bastia the Metropolis of the Country and Residence of the Governor There are but Five hundred Men in the Pay of the Republick for security of the whole Island so that it might be an easie thing to surprize it especially for those that are stronger at Sea then the Genoeses are The END
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Very useful for all Gentlemen Merchants Druggists Doctors Apothecaries Chirurgeons and their Apprentices As also for all Travellers Sea-men Custom-House Officers and all others that either Traffick in them or make any use of them or those that Import or Deliver any of 'em at the Water-side Giving a true Account of all those that are Prohibited and those that are not whereby many needless Disputes and Law Suits may be prevented The whole Work Alphabetically digested with a compleat Catalogue of all Drugs c. By Jo. Jacob Berlu of London Merchant in Drugs Price 1 s. 4. The Revelation Vnveiled Or An Essay discovering 1. When many Scripture Prophesies had their Accomplishment and turned into History 2. What are now Fulfilling 3. What rest still to be Fulfilled with a guess at the time of them With an Appendix proving That Pagan Rome was not Babylon Rev. 17. and that the Jews shall be Converted By Samuel Petto Minister of the Gospel at Sudbury in Suffolk Price 1 s. 6 d. THE Third Volume OF Historical Travels OVER EUROPE Containing the most Select Curiosities of ITALY THE Various Constitutions of Government under several Sovereign Princes and States their Strength their Riches and Revenues the sundry Customs Manners Coyns and Trade of the People Together with A Particular Description of the City of ROME the Conclave the Election of the Pope and Promotion of the Cardinals Accompany'd with a Great Number of Remarks never yet before imparted to the World Done out of French LONDON Printed for Hen. Rhodes at the Star the Corner of Bride-Lane in Fleetstreet 1694. TO THE READER 'T IS very true that several have set forth Descriptions of Italy but 't is no wonder that all Geographers should be Ambitious of making their Court to a Country that was once the Mistress of the World The Author is also very brief I must confess but many timas succinct Manuals are better Companions for a Gentleman then large Volumes They will go by Water with him and ride in his Coach where weighty Folio's would be too cumbersomo and unweildy Besides the Author himself assures ye that though he has not been so tedious as others yet that you shall meet in the succeeding few Chapters not only with Novelties which are pleasing to all Men but with an infinite number of most curious Remarks which never yet before were committed to the Press and which were the Observations of a Great and Learned Cardinal in some particulars and as to others of an Eminent Person who by means of his Publick Employments and his long Residence in the Courts of several Princes of Italy had gain'd a peculiar and perfect knowledge of the Country a great Argument of the Truth of what is offer'd to your View that there is much in a little and all clean from Fabulous Report Now then after these Encouragements to heighten your Curiosity I think it not convenient to add any more for fear of putting a long Epistle before a little Book HISTORICAL TRAVELS OVER EUROPE ITALY CHAP. I. Of Italy in General ALthô above fourscore Authors have wrote the Description of Italy nevertheless it is not known from whence it derives its Name Some deduce it from Oxen or Bulls which in the ancient obsolete Greek were called Itali and for the feeding of which Italy was then in high repute Others will have it so called from one Italus one of the first Kings of the Country It formerly bore the Names of Saturnia Ausonia Oenopia and Hesperia which it receiv'd from several Princes and renowned Captains that regin'd therein at several times This part of Europe is seated in the middle of the Temperate Zone between the 28th Degree and a half and the 42d and a half of Longitude and between the 37th Degree and a half and 48th and a half of Latitude It is bounded to the North by a ridge of Mountains called the Alpes which separate it from Germany and Switzerland to the West by the Alpes also and the River Var which divides it from France and Savoy to the East by the Mediterranean Sea otherwise call'd the Adriatic Sea or the Golph of Venice and to the South by the Tyrrhene or Tuscan Sea Where it is longest to take it from the Frontiers of Savoy to the farthest extremity of the Kingdom of Naples it extends it self about 280 French Leagues or 450 Italian Miles But the breadth of it is not all alike sometimes 30 in other places 40 60 80 and 100 French Leagues resembling a Boot that seems to kick at Sicily to force it into Africa Most Geographers divide Italy into four parts the first comprehends the ancient Lombardy wherein are contain'd the States or Dominions of the Dukes of Savoy Mantua Parma Modena Milanois the Republic of Venice Genoa and some other Petty Principalities The second includes the Ecclesiastical State and Tuscany The third the Kingdom of Naples And the fourth the Islands of Sardigna Sicily Corsica c. The Air is very wholsome and very temperate over all Italy except in the Ecclesiastical State where certain malignant Fevers are very rife and were much more frequent before the use of Ice in Summer to cool their Drink Italy produces in great plenty whatever is necessary for the support of Human Life as Corn Oyl Oranges Citrons Pomegranates with all sorts of Fruits and Flowers There is to be found both Sugar and Cotton in the Kingdom of Naples besides great store of Silkworms very good Horses and Bufalo's The
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
Bodies out flies the Water all of a sndden and washes 'em from Head to Foot Siena with an Archbishoprick and a University was formerly much more considerable then now it is as having once contain'd above seventy five thousand Inhabitants whereas now there are not above Four and twenty Thousand in the City The Streets are broad and all pav'd with Brick Formerly the Sienois who had a great many Children were exempted from all manner of Impositions in regard they had supply'd the Republick with several Members and they who had no Children bare the Burthen of the Taxes The Cathedral is pav'd with spotted Marble upon which is engrav'd the Sacrifice of Abraham and several other Histories of the Old Testament The Roof is all of Azure spangl'd with Stars of Gold There are also to be seen the Marble Statues of several Popes and Emperors together with Twelve Angels of Brass every one holding a Wax Taper in their hands The Piazza of Siena is round and the Houses built exactly according to the Rules of Symmetry supported by Arches like those in the Royal Piazza in Paris where you may walk Winter and Summer without being annoy'd either by Rain or Sunshine The middle of the Piazza is hollowed like a Scallop Shell and may be fill'd with Water from a Fountain adjoyning for the Lanching of several Shallops into it wherewith to imitate a Naval Engagement And near to the Roman Gate upon two high Pillars stands a Wolf giving suck to Rhemus and Romulus But is Siena has lost her ancient Splendour Pisa is no less unfortunate For she was once the most potent City of all Tuscany as having been Mistress of the Islands of Corse and Sardigna as also of the City of Carthage at what time above 50 Gallies might have been seen in her Harbour all belonging to her but now she is no longer remarkable for any thing else but her Archbishopprick her University and the House of the Knights of St. Stephen where several who prefer Celibacy before a Marry'd Life are maintain'd at the Charges of the Order They wear a Cross of Red Sattin upon their Habits and in St. Stephen's Church are to be seen several Flags Ship-Lanthorns and Colours taken from the Turks by those Knights The Steeple of the Domo is admir'd for the height of it because it seems to lean on one side though in the judgment of skilful Workmen it stands as upright as it is possible This Church is supported by Seventy six Columns of Marble of all Colours and has three Gates of Brass which they say belong'd to the Temple of Salomon The Great Piazza is call'd Campo Santo by reason it was fill'd up with a vast quantity of earth which the Galleys brought from Jerusalem in 1224. Livorno or Ligorno is a Sea-port Town within the Territories of Tuscany of which the Haven is accounted one of the safest and most convenient on that side Now in regard the City is but new built the Streets are large and streight and the Houses very convenient Here it is that the Duke's Galleys and Men of War lie The Pharos or Tower of Livorn is lookt upon to be one of the most beautiful and most necessary in all Italy One of the most Remarkable Things in this City is the Marble Statue of Ferdinand I. having under his Feet four Slaves of Brass in allusion to the four Turkish Slaves who seiz'd one Night upon a Galley with a design to have made their Escapes into Barbary but were taken in the Act. Some say 't was the Father and his Three Sons who came on purpose from Turkey by the Sultan's Order to have Massaker'd the Grand Duke but that their Design being discover'd they were taken and punish'd according to their Deserts CHAP. X. Of the Ecclesiastical State THIS State is called the Ecclesiastical State because the Pope is both the Spiritual and Temporal Sovereign of it It is compos'd of Twelve Provinces La Campagna di Roma St. Peter's Patrimony La Terra Sabina Ombria or the Dutchy of Spoleto Orvietano Perugia the Earldom of the City of Castello La Marca d' Ancona the Dukedom of Vrbin La Romagna the Territories of Bologna and Ferrara This State is bounded to the North by the Republick of Venice to the South by the Dukedomes of Mantua and Modena to the West by the Grand Dukedome of Tuscany and to the East by the Kingdom of Naples The Pope is able to bring into the Field an Army of 50000 Foot and 10000 Horse and ought to have Twelve Galleys for the security of his Coasts The Revenues of the Holy See amount to about Two Millions of God But the Popes have a blessed and easie way to augment it when they please and therefore Sixtus IV. had good reason to say that he could never want Money so long as he had a Hand and a Pen. This easie way of filling the Apostolick Treasuries with Money has been the cause several Popes not having Children of their own to enrich as Paul III. had have solely apply'd themselves to raise the Fortunes of their Nephews Paul V. left the Prince of Salmone his Nephew a Revenue of a Thousand Crowns a Day And others have done well for Theirs proportionably to the Times that they enjoy'd the Papal Chair and by this means it was that the Number of Petty Princes multiply'd so greatly in Italy Besides the Spanish Pistoles Piasters Sequins and some other Foreign Pieces that are currant in the Ecclesiastical State the Pope Coyns several sorts of Money viz. Pistoles Piasters Testons Giulios Gros half Baioques and Quatrini The Popes Pistole goes at 30 Giulio's and the Spanish at 31 Three Giulio's make a Teston the Giulio is worth 5 Baioques and one Baioque worth 5 Quatrini One Baioque is worth 8 Deneers of France the Giulio 3 Sols 4 Deneers so that by that accompt the Ecclesiastical Pistole is not worth above 100 Sols Money of France Now in regard I intend a particular Chapter for the City of Rome I shall in this Chapter mention only the other principal Cities of the Ecclesiastical State and begin with Bologna call'd The Fat because of the Excellency and Fertility of the Soil It is so delightfully built that in the most part of the Streets you walk under Portico's secur'd from Rain and Sun It is not above 5 Miles in Circuit but if the Air were not so unwholsome it would be one of the most pleasant Abodes in Italy Though it be under the Jurisdiction of the Holy See yet is it lookt upon at Rome rather as a Sister then a Subject in regard that by voluntarily surrendring her self to the Church she has preserv'd to her self the freedom of sending Ambassadors to Rome from whence she has Coadjurors which is a kind of Bridle to curb the Power and Pride of the Legates The Bolognese's also have this farther considerable Priviledge that if one Citizen kills another and that he can make his Escape his Goods