On one side, at a short distance from the city, lies a vast landscape commencing with rising hills covered with terraces of equal width, planted with olive trees and vineyards, rising in regular gradation one above another, like rows of seats in an amphitheatre, beautiful country seats here and there dotting the summits of these hills, fronted with gardens and groves of orange and lemon tree, loaded with golden fruit. These ranges of hills, continuing one above another, roll away in the distance into lofty mountains, and still onward until their towering peaks are mantled in perpetual snow. Before us, stretching far off beneath the encircling horizon, in calm and sweet repose, slumber the blue waters of the Mediterranean, whose broad bosom is whitened with sails from every land and clime.
We shall long remember our stroll through the parks and gardens of Marseilles, and along the sunny shore of the beautiful Mediterranean.
Venice, Italy, January 4th, 1873.
We left Marseilles by train, December 24th, continuing our route along the shores of the Mediterranean. Some portion of the country is rough and broken into hills and low mountains, generally covered with vineyards and olive orchards. The soil appears light, yet productive. Much labor has been required to bring this district to its present flourishing condition. A plan was adopted widely differing from that in Holland, which is a system of terracing, accomplished by removing the stones and rocks off the acclivities, and building them up into walls from three to eight feet in height, laterally, so as to form a level, varying in width from six feet and upward, according to the steepness of the hill to be terraced. Soil is gathered upon these levels, in which the vine, the olive, lemon and orange are planted. Mountains from base to summit, adorned by these terraces, like rows of seats rising in systematic order one above another, form a pleasant picture, frequently lovely and fascinating.
We arrived at Nice in the evening. It is a beautiful city, romantically located among the hills bordering the sea. It forms a fashionable resort for people of wealth in quest of pleasure, and invalids in search of health. The environs afford many attractions in promenades, extensive views, luxuriant vegetation, gardens and sloping hills covered with vines, olives, aloes, cypress, palm, together with lemon and orange trees loaded with golden fruit.
After spending two days pleasantly in Nice we left for Genoa, Italy, where we arrived on Friday, the 27th of December. We felt to award a tribute of respect to Genoa, as the birthplace of Christopher Columbus. One of these squares is ornamented with a fine monumental structure erected to his memory.
Sunday morning we attended Catholic service in the Cathedral St. Lorenzo, the most celebrated church in the city. During the worship an officer in uniform waited upon us through the building, pointing out and explaining various objects of interest. He conducted us to a small chapel enclosed by an ornamental paling, and showed us the "indentical" chain with which John the Baptist was bound while in prison previous to being beheaded, and also his ashes enclosed in a silver urn. Any doubts we entertained of the genuineness of these articles we refrained from expressing. No woman is allowed to enter this chapel of St. John, except one day in the year, because one of her sex instigated the death of this saint. My sister, who happened to be the only lady of the party present, bore this interdiction with her characterestic grace and fortitude.
Monday, 30th, we left for Turin. Some portions of this route were very attractive, in fact, I do not recollect ever having seen a landscape more lovely and enchanting. We arrived in Turin in the afternoon, and left the following morning for Milan, which we reached in the evening of the 31st of December.
Milan contains two hundred and seventy thousand inhabitants. It is situated on the river Alono, in the centre of the great plain of Lombardy, and is one of the richest and most beautiful cities of Italy; the streets regular, broad and well paved, the dwellings elegantly built, and commodious. The city embraces capacious squares, promenades and gardens, tastefully laid out and ornamented with fountains and statuary. The Arcade is a splendid structure; we visited it in the evening when lit up with its immense number of gas burners. An English company commenced this structure with speculative views, but after having sunk (so we were informed) nearly one million of dollars, relinquished the project, after which it became government property.
Milan is celebrated for its cathedral, built in honor of "Our Blessed Lady." Galeazo Visconti, Duke of Milan, owing to some cause which we failed to ascertain, made a solemn vow to build a rich and magnificent temple in honor of the Virgin Mary, and was joined in this undertaking by men of wealth and rank, with the intention of making it the most costly and beautiful ecclesiastical edifice in the world. For this purpose immense sums from time to time were contributed by distinguished individuals—single donations frequently reaching as high as from fifty to one hundred thousand dollars. Kings, popes, emperors and empresses bestowed their princely gifts; one Italian gentleman contributed thirty-five thousand gold ducats. The founder donated, together with other liberal gifts, marble at the quarry, sufficient to build the entire edifice.