are some smelting furnaces in Piedmont and Savoy. The tunny fisheries of the Island of Sardinia are said to produce 1,000,000 francs a year. The coral fishery is also a considerable source of revenue.

The king of Sardinia is an absolute hereditary monarch. The government is directed by a Supreme Council of State, a Council of Finances, a Council of Government, the Council of Savoy, the Senate of Turin, the Council of Nice, and the Council of Genoa. Justice is administered by the nobles. The army consists of 28,000 men, and the navy, of 2 ships of 54 guns, and 6 or 8 smaller vessels. Public instruction is entirely in the hands of the clergy and Jesuits. Gymnasiums and high-schools exist in most of the large towns, but little except Latin and scholastic theology are taught in them. The universities, with the exception of those at Turin and Genoa, are very insignificant. It is estimated that there are not 5 individuals in 100, who can read, write, and cipher. The censorship is severe. Few foreign books, and hardly any pamphlets or newspapers, are allowed to enter the kingdom.

The Island of Sardinia is one of the least valuable portions of the kingdom, though possessed of advantages which should render it very much the reverse. Few regions exceed it in natural fertility; the surface is finely variegated with gentle hills, which only along the western coast assume the character of mountains. Grain, notwithstanding the most wretched cultivation, affords a surplus for: export. The wines are reckoned equal to those of Spain, and the olives to those of Genoa and Provence. The salt-works and the tunny-fishery are very important objects; and the situation of Sardinia, in the heart of the Mediterranean, and with a number of fine harbours, might afford the opportunity of an extensive commerce. Yet the population is in the most uncultivated and savage state, perhaps, of any in Europe. The peasantry in the interior are clothed, in a great measure, in shaggy goat or sheep skins; they subsist chiefly by the produce of their flocks, and by hunting; and go constantly armed, for their own defence, against the numerous and desperate banditti, by whom the mountains are infested. A considerable portion of the horses, cattle, and sheep, are in a wild state. The Sardinian government is making exertions to improve the condition of the island, by the formation of roads, &c. Cagliari and Sassari are both considerable towns; the former having some trade, but crowded, ill-built, and ill-paved; the latter, smaller, but more elegant. Oristagno has a fine harbour, and flourishes by the tunny fishery, and by the culture of wine in its neighbourhood.

Turin, in Piedmont, the capital of the kingdom, is situated on the western bank of the Po, at the foot of a range of beautiful hills. It is the most regularly built of all the Italian cities, with broad, straight, and clean streets, and is admired for the symmetry of its squares, the splendour of its hotels, and the general elegance of its houses. It has 4 splendid gates, adorned with pillars and cased with marble; 110 churches, a university, and many fine palaces. The royal palace is spacious, and surrounded with delightful gardens. The outward view of the city is very imposing, and it has no mean suburbs or mouldering walls. Population, 114,000.

Genoa stands on the shore of a broad gulf to which it gives its name. This city spreads over a wide semicircular tract of rocks and declivities, and the aspect of its white buildings ascending in regular progression from the sea, is highly magnificent. The interior consists of streets, or rather, lanes, 8 or 10 feet wide, between immensely high palaces. When you look up, their cornices appear almost to touch across the street, leaving a strip of blue sky between. Two of the streets only are accessible to carriages. The Strada Balbi is one of the most magnificent streets in the world, and is full of splendid palaces. Genoa has a public library of 50,000 volumes, and a university. Its harbour is one of the finest in Europe, and it has a considerable trade. Population, 80,000.

Nice is beautifully situated on the Gulf of Genoa, and has a good artificial harbour. The mildness of its climate draws many invalids to this quarter. Population, 25,000. Chamberry, the chief town of Savoy, occupies a charming spot surrounded by gentle eminences covered with vineyards, pastures, and wood, but it is not a well-built place. Population, 12,000. Alessandria, on the Tanaro, a

branch of the Po, is the strongest place in the kingdom. It is well built, with broad and handsome streets. Population, 35,000. Other towns, Asti, 22,000; Coni, 18,000; Mondovi, 17,000; Vercelli, 16,000; Novarra, 15,000.

PRINCIPALITY OF MONACO.

THIS little state, comprising 6500 inhabitants, on 50 square miles, is situated within the Sardinian territory. The capital is Monaco, a village with 1000 inhabitants. The principality of Monaco is under the protection of the king of Sardinia.

THE LOMBARDO-VENETIAN KINGDOM.

AUSTRIAN ITALY, or the LOMBARDO-VENETIAN KINGDOM, consists of the great plain of the Po, bordered, on one side, by the highest ranges of the Alps, on the other by those of the Appenines. It has not the classic sites and monuments of Rome, nor the brilliant skies of Naples; yet it would be difficult to find on the globe a territory of the same extent equally fine. The luxuriant fertility of this vast plain, the grand, almost magic, landscapes presented by the southern declivity of the Alps, and the lakes which spread at their feet; the fine shores of the Adriatic-unite in making it one of the most desirable regions in Europe. It is an aggregate of several portions that were politically very distinct.

This kingdom occupies the eastern part of Northern Italy. They consist of two divisions: the Republic of Venice in the east, and Lombardy in the west. They are bounded north by the Tyrol and Carinthia; east by Istria, Carniola, and the Adriatic; south by the States of the Church, Modena, and Parma; and west by the Sardinian dominions. It extends from 45° to 47° N. lat.; and from 9° to 14° E. lon. Their greatest length from east to west is 220 miles, and their breadth 140 miles. It contains 18,534 square miles. Population, 4,279,764. The Po washes the southern limit of this territory. This river, denominated the Prince of the Italian streams, rises in the western Alps, on the confines of France and Italy, and passes easterly through the Sardinian States. The sand and gravel washed down from the mountains, have raised its bed in modern times to such an elevation, that in some places, banks 30 feet high are necessary to preserve the country from inundation. The Adige rises in the Alps of Tyrol, and flowing south, enters this territory, after which it turns to the east, and falls into the Adriatic; it is 200 miles in length. The Piave and several other small streams from the north flow into the Adriatic Sea. Lake Maggiore extends along the base of the Alps 27 miles: it is 3 miles in width, and 1800 feet deep. Its shores abound with Alpine beauties. East of this is the Lake of Como, 32 miles in length, and still farther east, the Lake of Garda: it is 30 miles long, and 8 miles wide. There are several other smaller lakes in the neighbourhood. All of them flow into the Po, and are highly beautiful. The climate of this region is delightful, yet the winter has some features of Alpine severity. The heats of summer are mitigated by the cool breezes from the Alps.

Lombardy is a level country, and consists entirely of an alluvial plain with one of the richest soils in the world. Near the mountains, gravel is mixed with the earth, but almost the whole tract is composed of a deep black mould. The irrigation applied to the lands in Lombardy is the most perfect in the world. The mountains which border the country afford an inexhaustible supply of water. The meadows yield six crops of hay in a year. Rice is cultivated in some parts. The grain and ordinary fruits are ripe in June or July, and the vintage takes place in October. The bee and the silkworm receive much attention, but the dairy is the main occupation of the farmer. The fields are separated by rows of poplars.

The chief manufactures are silk, glass, and hardware. At Venice and Murano beautiful mirrors are made. Hardware and fire-arms are made at Brescia. Jewelry and plate are wrought at Milan and Venice. There are some manufactures

of woollen, musical instruments, china, carpets, paper, artificial flowers, perfumes, vermicelli, macaroni, glass beads, &c. Venice has been made a free port, but its commerce is trifling. The internal trade is pretty active. The government is arbitrary, and is administered by an Austrian viceroy. There is a show of representation, yet everything is controlled by the authorities at Vienna. All the taxes are imposed by the Emperor. The administration of justice is arbitrary and wretched in the extreme, and the censorship is very rigid.

Milan, the capital of the kingdom, and the residence of the viceroy, is a large and splendid city, 11 miles in circumference. It stands in the middle of a vast plain, on a spot without any natural advantages, yet the fine canals from the Ticino and Adda make it the centre of a considerable trade. It is considered the most elegant city in Italy, and was very much improved and beautified by Napoleon. The finest building is the Cathedral, which is inferior only to St. Peter's at Rome. It is completely built, payed, vaulted and roofed with the whitest and most resplendent marble. Most of the buildings in this city are constructed according to a regular order of architecture, and a mean-looking house is as rare here as a palace elsewhere. Here is the famous Ambrosian Library, with 72,000 volumes, and 15,000 manuscripts. The hospitals and charitable institutions are numerous. Milan was founded 584 years before Christ, by the Insubrian Gauls. It has been 40 times besieged; 40 times taken, and 4 times destroyed. It has above 200 churches, and more than 100 monastic institutions. Population, 151,000. Venice is the most picturesque city in Europe, and full of character and variety. It is an unintelligible place to every one but an eye-witness. It stands in the Adriatic, about 5 miles from the main land, and is built upon a multitude of islands intersected by canals instead of streets. It is said to be a fitting place for cripples, because here, a man has no use for his limbs; he steps out of his house into a gondola, and out of the gondola into his house; this is all the exertion necessary to traverse the whole city. There are thousands here who never saw a hill or a wood, or an ear of corn growing, or a green field. The Grand Canal is crossed by the Rialto, a marble arch 90 feet in span. The prospect from this bridge is lively and magnificent. There are 500 other bridges. Most of the canals are narrow, and some have no quays, so that the water washes the houses. The ducal palace, and the churches of St. Mark and St. Gemignano are rich and splendid edifices. The Square of St. Mark is 800 feet in length, and has a magnificent appearance. The traveller at evening may view this fine square in all its marble beauty, with the domes and minarets of its ancient church, the barbaric gloom of the Doge's palace, and its proud towering Campanile; he may here see the Corinthian horses, the workmanship of Lysippus, and the winged lion of the Piræus; he may walk in the illumination of a long line of coffee-houses, and observe the variety of costume; the thin veil covering the pale Venetian beauty; the Turks with their beards and caftans and long pipes and chess-playing; the Greeks with their skull-caps, and richly laced jackets. Venice is in everything delightful, and may be called a great pleasure-house. It is the chief book-shop of the south, and prints for Italy in general, as well as for Greece and Germany. It has a public library of 150,000 volumes, and a population of 101,000.

Padua, the birthplace of Livy, has a famous university, founded by Charlemagne, and is said to have had at one time 18,000 students; in 1817, only 300. Population, 50,000. Mantua is a strong town, standing in the midst of a lake formed by the Mincio. The streets are broad and straight and the squares spacious. Here is a monument to Virgil, and a little village in this neighbourhood was the place of his birth. Population, 25,000. Cremona stands at the confluence of the Po and the Adda. It has a splendid cathedral and is regularly built, but the streets are grass-grown, and the place has a decaying look. Population, 27,000. Brescia, to the west of Lake Garda, has also a fine cathedral. Population, 31,000. Pavia, on the Ticino, has a university founded by Charlemagne. Population, 21,000. Lodi, on the Adda, is celebrated for a victory gained by Bonaparte over the Austrians in 1796. Population, 18,000. Verona, on the Adige, at the foot of the Alps, has a charming situation and many fine buildings. Its ancient walls and towers inclose a vast area, and have a noble appearance. The great amphitheatre

at this place is one of the ing. Population, 55,000. 18,000; Treviso, 15,000;

noblest monuments of Roman magnificence now existSome of the other towns are Vicenza, 30,000; Udina, Belluno, 8000; Rovigo, 7000.

TUSCANY.

THE Duchy of Tuscany ranks next to the Roman States as the theatre of great historical events, and has surpassed Rome itself as the seat of modern learning. It is bounded north and east by the Roman States, south-west by the Mediterranean, and north-west by Lucca. It contains 8759 square miles. The chief river is the Arno, which rises among the mountains in the eastern part, and flows westerly to the sea. It is navigable, by barges, from Florence to the sea. It supplies with water above 1000 canals. The Ombrone, in the south, is not navigable. The Tiber rises in the mountains of this country.

Tuscany is admired for its romantic scenery. The boldness, grandeur, and rich luxuriance of the country, are hardly anywhere equalled. The vale of the Arno is one of the most delightful regions in the world. It is abundantly rich and well cultivated. One half of this territory consists of mountains, producing only timber: one sixth is composed of hills covered with vineyards and olive gardens; the remainder consists of plains. The soil on the Apennines is stony. The coast is low, sandy, and in some parts swampy. In the southern part begins that desolate region called the Maremma, the soil of which consists of white clay impregnated with sulphur. Corn, wine, and oil, are common productions. The valley of the Arno is divided into very small farms, separated by rows of trees or small canals. The Maremma pastures great numbers of sheep and horses. Chestnuts are an important production; in some parts they are used for bread.

This Duchy is one of the most industrious countries of Italy. Silk manufactures are the principal branch of industry in the Florentine cities. Straw hats are made in great numbers, by women, in the valley of the Arno. The other manufactures are linen, broadcloth, soap, perfumes, letter-paper, china, marble, coral, alabaster, and mosaics. Leghorn has a considerable commerce with the Levant, Europe, and America.

The government is an absolute monarchy. There are 4000 regular troops, besides militia. The population, in 1826, was 1,275,000. Of these, 15,000 were Jews. The chief universities are at Florence, Pisa, and Sienna. They comprise about 1200 students. At Florence are also eight public schools.

The Island of Elba is nine miles from the coast of Tuscany. It is 60 miles in circumference, and contains 160 square miles. It is very mountainous, and instead of wood the mountains are covered with aromatic plants and bushes. The chief production is iron, taken mostly from a single mountain consisting of one immense mass of iron ore. The island contains also copper, lead and silver mines, and produces excellent wine. The chief town, Porto Ferrajo, has a good harbour, and contains 3034 inhabitants. In 1814, this island was given in entire sovereignty to Napoleon, who resided here from May, 1814, till February 26, 1815. Population, 13,700. The Island of Gorgona, near Leghorn, is famous for the fishing of anchovies.

Florence, the capital, stands on the Arno, 50 miles from the sea. It is 6 miles in compass, and, next to Rome, is the most beautiful city in Italy. It is built in a plain skirted by the Apennines. Antique towers and remains of fortifications, old convents, and other picturesque ruins, crown the inferior eminences around the city, and recall the remark of Ariosto, that on seeing the hills so full of palaces, it appears as if the soil produced them. The city is surrounded by walls; the buildings are magnificent, and the streets well paved and kept remarkably clean. The Via Larga, or Broadway, is full of noble palaces. Most of the other streets are narrow. The ducal palace, the cathedral, the church of Santa Croce, and many other edifices, are noted for their size and splendour. The Medicean gallery is rich in those treasures of painting and sculpture which draw to this city 34*

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visitors from every quarter of the civilized globe. Here stands that Venus which enchants the world. The Laurentian library has 120,000 volumes; others have 90,000 and 50,000. There are many splendid private galleries and libraries. Florence contains a great number of English residents. It was the cradle of the arts at the time of their regeneration, and the birthplace of Dante, Machiavelli, Filicaja, Guicciardini, Michael Angelo, Galileo, and Amerigo Vespucci. Population, 80,000.

Pisa, on the Arno, near the sea, was once the capital of a republic, the rival of Genoa and Venice. It is now decayed, but can still boast some marble churches, a marble palace, and a marble bridge. Its ancient towers may be traced in the walls of modern houses. The streets are broad, and the Lung' Arno, which extends along both banks of the river, is much admired. The cathedral is a large gothic edifice of marble. Near it stands that remarkable structure, the Leaning Tower: it is 190 feet high, and overhangs its base 15 feet, seeming to threaten a fall at every instant; yet it has stood four hundred years, and endured the shock of earthquakes which have overthrown many a perpendicular structure. To a spectator looking down from the top, the effect is terrific. Pisa has a university, with a library of 60,000 volumes. In the neighbourhood are celebrated baths. Population, 20,000. Leghorn is the chief seaport of Tuscany. It is a neat, wellbuilt, and busy town, with a tolerable harbour. The streets are filled with Europeans, Turks, Jews, Armenians, Greeks, and Moors, exhibiting a most picturesque variety of costume. Works of art and architectural monuments do not exist here. The commerce of the place is very active. Population, 66,000. Sienna has a magnificent cathedral and a university. Population, 18,000. Pistoja, at the foot of the Apennines, was once a republic. Population, 12,000.

DUCHY OF PARMA.

PARMA, Placentia, and Guastalla, though they have been formed into a state for the ex-empress of France, form in reality a complete appendage of Lombardy, and a continuation of its great plain, to the foot of the Apennines. They abound in the richest pastures, from which is produced that most celebrated of cheeses, to which Parma gives its name. The dukes of Parma, and especially the celebrated Alexander Farnese, have ranked among the first generals of Europe. The city of Parma, on a small river of the same name, is large, populous, airy, and clean. It does not contain any remarkable architectural features, except the theatre, modelled on the ancient plan, and perhaps the noblest in the world, but now in a state of decay; but Parma can boast a school of painting, one of the finest and most interesting that ever existed; in which grace was the predominant feature. The chief masters were Correggio and Parmegiano, whose works in fresco adorn the walls and cupolas of the churches in Parma; and the oil pictures, which the French carried off, have now been restored. Population, 30,000. Placentia, with 28,000 inhabitants, is also a large and well-built city; but its celebrated amphitheatre, which surpassed that of Verona, was burnt to the ground in one of the furious civil contests which laid waste Italy. The population of the duchy is about 440,000, and its area, 2240 square miles.

DUCHY OF LUCCA.

LUCCA, though an Etruscan city, is now governed by a duke of its own. It is one of the few Italian republics, which, amid the revolutions of 800 years, maintained its independence. The Lucchese reaped the benefit of this, in the superior education and more decent deportment of her nobles; in that agricultural industry, which, in a degree even beyond what appears in the rest of Italy, has converted a land liable to inundation, and destitute of many natural advantages,