the foot of the Monte di Fo, in a space desirous of seeing more of the beauties of not more than a dozen yards in cir- of these Apennines make it their halting cumference; this spot is covered with place for days, and even weeks. "Seated loose stones, from among which flames on the highest summit of the Apennines, about a foot high constantly issue, pre- it overlooks the brow of a mountain senting an appearance like the fire of a which, although covered with trees, is coal-mine. The flames always burn almost perpendicular; while on the brightest in stormy weather, when they plain far below lies the beautiful vale crackle and rise to a height of three feet of Arno, bound by a circle of magnior more. They deposit a carbonaceous ficent hills, sometimes rising in acclimatter like soot, and give out consider-vities, sometimes in polished knolls or able heat. The colour somewhat re- bold promontories, cultivated to the sembles the flame of spirits of wine, very summit with the vine and olive, and is described by the country people interspersed with fruit and forest trees, as blue by day and yellow by night! and thickly studded with villas, conVolta investigated these phenomena, vents, and churches, presenting an and attributed them to the disengage- aspect of extraordinary animation and ment of oxygen gas, having no con- beauty. Turning from the contemplanexion with the surface. Another tion of this rich, lively, and cultivated phenomenon near Pietramala is the landscape, to the bold country spread spring called the Acqua Buja, which bubbles up like boiling water; it is, however, quite cold, and takes fire on applying a light, burning with a blue flame passing into yellow. From Pietramala a very steep ascent of about two hours brings us to— 1 Covigliajo, a solitary post-house, which had in former days a bad reputation. Monte Radicoso, near it, the highest summit of this part of the Apennines, was ascertained by the barometrical measurements of Sir George Shuckburgh, in 1775, to be 1,901 feet above the level of the sea; by the Italian authorities it is given as 2,718 Paris feet. Near the custom-house station of Futa, between Covigliajo and Monte Carelli, the river Santerno has its origin. abroad among the Apennines behind the Maschere, you behold a prospect finely contrasting nature in all its most polished splendour with the wild and majestic grandeur of mountain scenery."-John Bell. 1 Cafaggiolo, a small post-station on the right bank of the Sieve. A short distance beyond it the old road from Bologna to Florence through Firenzuola and Scarperia falls into this route. About midway between this and the next station we pass the villages of Tagliaferro and Vaglia, both on the torrent Carza, whose left bank the road follows to Fontebuona. On an eminence on the left, surrounded by cypress plantations, is seen the picturesque convent of Monte Senario, belonging to the Servites. 1 Monte Carelli. From this post- 1 Fontebuona. A third horse is station to Covigliajo, a third horse, or necessary from Florence to this station. oxen, are required by the tariff. The A short distance beyond Fontebuona road descends rapidly from this place on the left is Pratolino, once the into those beautiful valleys which are favourite seat of the Grand Dukes of so famous in the history of the middle Tuscany, situated on the southern ages, and in Italian poetry, under the slopes of a hill embosomed in fine general name of Val di Mugello. On trees. The beautiful villa, designed by approaching the valley of the Sieve, the great Florentine architect Bernardo about midway between Monte Carelli Buontalenti, for Francesco de' Medici, and Cafaggiolo, is Le Maschere, for- son of Cosmo I., to receive his celemerly a nobleman's country-seat, now brated mistress Bianca Capello, has converted into a good inn, and so pic- long been demolished. The money turesquely placed, that many travellers | lavished upon its decorations, its giuochi d'acqua, &c., most of which are in the worst taste, amounted to no less a sum than 782,000 crowns, an expenditure upon which the Grand Duke Ferdinand II. gave an expressive commentary when he said that the money there wasted would have built a hundred hospitals. Besides the grottoes, fountains, and labyrinths of Pratolino, there is a colossal monster, called the statue of the Apennines, sixty feet in height, conceived in the worst possible taste, and little fitted for the neighbourhood of such a city as Florence. The artist's name is happily unknown; for although some recent travellers have hinted at John of Bologna and Benvenuto Cellini, no one who has studied their works can imagine for a moment that either of these great men is answerable for such a deformity. The beauties of Pratolino and of Bianca are frequently celebrated by Tasso; "Dianzi all' ombra di fama occulta e bruna, 66 Rime, 360. The descent hence to Florence, along an excellent road, is one of the finest drives of the kind in Europe. Every eminence is studded with villas; the country rich in vineyards and olivegroves, seems literally a land of oil and wine"; cultivation appears in its highest perfection; the Etruscan fortress of Fiesole, consecrated by the genius of Milton, rises magnificently from the opposite bank of the Mugnone; and Florence, with its domes, and campaniles, and battlemented towers, bursts upon the view. This approach recalls the remark of Ariosto, that if all the villas which are scattered as if the soil produced them over the hills of the Val d'Arno, were collected within one wall, two Romes could not vie with Florence. "A veder pien di tante ville i colli, Per che' 1 terren vele germogli, come Vermene germogliar suole, e rampolli. Se dentro un mur, Florence is entered by the Porta San Gallo, the only one which is kept open at night. 1 FLORENCE; described in "Northern Handbook." ROUTE 8. FLORENCE TO FORLÌ. This is a very excellent mountain road, recently opened by the Tuscan government, for the purpose of establishing a direct communication across the Apennines between Florence, Rimini, Ravenna, and the other towns on the north-western shore of the Adriatic. It is in admirable order, and is constructed on the best principles of modern engineering. A diligence, or rather a large vetturino carriage with the mail, leaves Florence three times a week for Forlì, changing horses at Dicomano and Rocca. It leaves Florence at midnight, arrives at Dicomano about 6 A.M., reaches the summit of the pass about 11, arrives at Rocca about 2, and at Forlì about 7 P.M. The fare is 25 pauls. The time occupied in the journey would be less in a private carriage or a hired vetturin, and different resting-places would probably be chosen according to the convenience of the parties. The journey, however, would be too long and too fatiguing for many travellers if performed in a single day, and in that case San Benedetto would be the best halting-place for the first night. These matters should be arranged with the vetturino before departure from Florence. A party of two or three would find it much more agreeable to hire a carriage for the journey than to travel by the diligence; and it ought not to be much more expensive. Leaving Florence by the Roman road through Arezzo, we proceed along the banks of the Arno as far as the first post on that Route, Pontassieve, where the Forlì road strikes off to the northeast, and ascends the valley of the Sieve as far as Dicomano. The scenery is very fine in many parts, but it becomes wild and rugged as we approach the lofty chain of Apennines over which the road is carried. 20 m. Dicomano, the first stage. It is prettily situated at the foot of the Apennines, and has two inns, the Passerini and the Leone d'oro. It is an old town, but has little beyond its position to attract the attention of a passing traveller. On leaving the town, the road proceeds up the valley of the San Godenzo. At Carbonile extra horses are put on, in order to master the ascent, which is extremely steep. The village of San Godenzo, through which the road passes, is situated among richly wooded and agreeable scenery. Beyond it the steepness of the ascent increases, but the road is admirably constructed, although it appears dangerous in parts from being insufficiently protected above the deep ravines. The summit is usually reached by the diligence about 11 A.M. The descent is gradual and well managed; the Osteria Nuova is soon passed, and the road shortly reaches the banks of the Montone, along which it is carried to Forlì. 18 m. San Benedetto. This place is about half-way between Florence and Forlì; it has an excellent inn, the Leone d'oro, the best on the road, and although the diligence does not stop there, it would be the most eligible resting-place for travellers in a private carriage. If the journey be divided into two days, San Benedetto would be the proper sleeping place. Between this village and Rocca, the road passes through Portico, an old fortified town. tier town of Terra del Sole. We here leave Tuscany, and enter the Papal States at Rovere, where luggage and passports are examined. A fee will save much trouble at the dogana, but it does not ensure civility from an insolent inspector of police, who has too long been permitted to harass travellers by his vexatious interference. A short but pleasant drive through the village of Varano brings us to 20 m. FORLÌ (described in Route 14). ROUTE 9. FORLÌ TO RAVENNA. A good country road of about 20 miles, lying along the left bank of the Ronco, which is confined in its narrow channel by high banks throughout its course to the sea. Like the following Route, this road presents a succession of farm-houses thickly scattered over a country which is surpassed by no district of Italy in fertility or cultivation. 20 m. RAVENNA (Route 12). ROUTE 10. FAENZA TO RAVENNA. A cross-road of 24 Posts. An agreeable drive of about three hours through a country of extraordinary fertility, having more the character of a succession of highly cultivated farms than a public road. To the English traveller, the neat appearance of the farm-houses with their gardens and poultry-yards will recall many recollections of home. Soon after leaving Faenza, the road crosses the Lamone. Between Russi and Godo, which lie on the right of the road, the present route falls into the high road from Bologna to Ravenna through Lugo. 2 RAVENNA (Route 12). 12 m. Rocca San Casciano, the second stage of the diligence. (Inn, Locanda del Giglio, very tolerable.) A town situated on the junction of two small streams (the Fiume di S. Antonio VENICE TO RAVENNA, BY THE CANALS and the Ridazzo) with the Montone: it contains nothing of interest. Leaving Monte Grosso and Monte Colombo on the right, the road proceeds hence to Dovadola, and soon arrives at the fron ROUTE 11. AND THE COMACCHIO. The traveller who is desirous of proceeding from Venice to Ravenna by E the shortest route, may either do so by sea in one of the large grain-boats to be found in all the northern ports of the Adriatic; or by means of the canals with which the vast lagunes between the two cities are abundantly intersected. In the latter case, he will find that although only a short portion of the route can be performed in a carriage, there is a series of post stations from Chioggia to Ravenna, the route being estimated at 11 posts. The distance from Venice to Chioggia is 20 miles; the posts from thence are as fol lows:-Cavanella 2, Mesola 2, Pomposa 2, Magnavacca 2, Primaro 1, Ravenna 2-11 posts. A person having his own carriage must be prepared to run all risks of trans-shipment from the ferry-boats he will meet with; but a traveller not so encumbered will do well to rely on the canal boats and on the carriages of the country, which he will find at Mesola to convey him to Ravenna. It may be useful to premise, that persons proceeding by this route will have the best possible opportunity of visiting the famous Murazze, or great wall of Venice, during their progress; as the boat must pass along it, whether it follows the canal inside the island of Malamocco, or sails round it. The ordinary course is to proceed down the Malamocco canal, and from thence, inside the long narrow island which lies beyond it, to di Valle, crossing the Bacchiglione (often called here the Brenta), and the Adige, to Cavanella; ascend the Adige for a short distance, and then follow the Canal di Loreo to Cavanella di Pò, on the left bank of that branch of the Po called the Pò della Maestra. The other branch farther south is the Pò di Goro, and between the point of separation at Sta. Maria and the sea, these two arms of the river inclose an island, called Isola d'Ariano, frequently subject to the destructive inundations of both branches of the Po. On the northern shore of this island, nearly opposite Cavanella di Pò, is Taglio, to which, if the island be passable, the traveller should cross, and there leave his boat; otherwise he must ascend the northern branch of the Po, and make a tedious détour round the western angle of the island at Sta. Maria, near the town of Ariano: in either case he will land at Mesola, the frontier town of the Papal States. The difference of time occupied by these two modes is considerable: from Chioggia to Taglio the voyage by canal, direct, occupies about 8 hours; from Taglio to Mesola, across the island, it is little more than 1 hour; whereas the route from Chioggia to Mesola, going round by the Po, requires at least 14 hours. Mesola. This should be made the sleeping-place on the second day; there is a tolerable inn here; and a country carriage, quite good enough for the Chioggia or Chioza. This would be roads, may be hired for the next day's the best resting-place for the first journey. Mesola has a population of night. The time occupied in rowing 4,000 souls: it appears to have been the distance in a six-oared boat is considered important as a frontier town, about six hours: it would, of course, since it is recorded that it has been be much shorter in a sailing-boat, twice purchased of the House of Auswith a fair wind. Chioggia is a fine, tria by the Church; by Pius VI, for well-built town, with a convenient a million of scudi; and by Leo XII., port, much frequented by the coast- in 1822, for 467,000 scudi. The diffiing traders of the Adriatic. Its his culty and expenses of keeping up the tory and association with the naval embankments of the canals and rivers achievements of Venice, recalling in this part of Italy, which are admi"the Doria's menace," so beautifully rably constructed and managed, as the sung in "Childe Harold," belong to traveller will not fail to observe during the description of that city, and need his journey, are said by the inhanot be particularised here. Leaving bitants to have made the acquisition a the town, we proceed along the Canal dear one to the Papal government. Leaving Mesola, the road proceeds Ne' seni di Comacchio il nostro mare, Gerus. Lib. vii. 46. Ariosto calls Comacchio "La città, che in mezzo alle piscose Paludi del Pò teme ambe le foci." Orl. Fur. iii. 41, 3. From Magnavacca the road crosses the southern branch of the Po, called the Pò di Primaro, the Spineticum Ostium of the ancients, passing between the town of Primaro on the right, and its small port on the left, defended by the Torre Gregoriana. The ancient name of the Pò di Primaro recalls the celebrated Greek city of Spina, situated on the left bank of the river, a few miles from the Adriatic. The high antiquity of Spina has been the subject of much controversy; some writers, on the authority of Dionysius of Halicarnassus, referring it to the Pelasgi, who arrived on this coast from Epirus, long before the Trojan war; while others, who dispute its foundation by the Pelasgi, admit that it was of Greek origin, and that it had acquired much celebrity in the age of Croesus. There are no remains by which its ancient site may be iden tified; but it is generally supposed that it stood near the village of Argenta, on the left bank of the Pò di Primaro. Beyond Primaro the Lamone is crossed, and we soon enter the northern extremity of the Pineta, described in the account of Ravenna, in the succeeding Route. After a drive of a few miles along the turf through this venerable forest, we fall into the road near the tomb of Theodoric, and enter Ravenna by the Porta Serrata. The journey from Mesola to Ravenna occupies about 10 hours, and is a fair day's work. RAVENNA, described in the next Route. [A recent traveller, Dr. Fraser, who performed the journey from Ravenna to Venice, gives the following account of his progress :-" This route is not devoid of interest, although it is seldom followed. On leaving Ravenna, the road passes by the tomb of Theodoric, and soon after enters the Pineta. The deep silence of the forest is unbroken by the noise of the carriage, which now passes over the green turf, scarcely marked, and in some places not at all, by any track; and the traveller soon feels that without the aid of a guide, or the instinct of the North American, his path would soon be lost. We were told that wild boars abound in the recesses of the forest; but we saw no game, nor indeed any other living thing. After threading its mazes for two hours, we observed with regret a thinning of the trees, and gradually entered on the open country. An uninteresting drive brought us to Magnavacca, where, in addition to our own stock of provisions (for every person taking this route ought to carry a supply), we found the means of making a tolerable breakfast. We changed horses and carriage at this place, by which we neither improved our vehicle, nor the quality of the horses. now given to understand that no one would take a good carriage by this road, so that we had been deceived by the innkeeper at Ravenna, who had agreed to convey us to Mesola in his We were |