i. e.
‘In the most Western Part of Europe an Infant
shall be born of a double Marriage, who shall
lead a great Force towards the Po, and whose
Fame shall spread to the Eastermost Kingdom.’
This Child, born of a double Marriage, must be the Infante, who is the Son of Philip V. by his second Wife.
I heartily wish that I cou’d have staid at Florence till this Prince arriv’d; but I have order’d
my Affairs so as to be at Paris before Christmas, and I must steer my Course accordingly. Yet before I leave Leghorn, I must give you some Account of this City, which is of more Note for its great Trade, than for its Antiquity. ’Tis one of the neatest Cities in Italy, and that to which there’s the greatest Concourse of Foreign Merchants, either for the sake of Trade, or for Shelter from their Creditors: The City is well built, the Streets broad, strait and lightsome, and several have Canals in them, after the Manner of Holland. The great Square is beautiful, and the Port magnificent, being divided into the great and little Harbours, the former of which has been render’d convenient by the Expence of a fine Mole, and some Towers that serve for Light-houses; the other, which has a very narrow Entrance, serves for the Gallies. There’s an admirable Marble Statue of Cosmo I. de Medicis, which is rais’d on a Pedestal of the like white Marble: The Great Duke is represented in Armour, with a Ducal Mantle over his Shoulders, a Turban on his Head, and a Scymitar at his Feet. The Concomitants of this fine Statue are worthy of a nice Observation: At the very Foot of the Base or Pedestal, at the four Corners, there are as many Slaves in Brass, representing Turks, in admirable Attitudes, which seem, as it were, chain’d to the Pedestal: The Connoisseurs reckon them Master-pieces: Their Proportion, which is twelve Foot, makes the Vulgar think they represent four Giants; but Tradition says, that they are the Figures of four Turks, viz. the Great-Grandfather, the Grandfather, the Father, and the Son; who being all on board a Turkish Vessel, the youngest of them, who was an Astrologer, prophesied to his Companions, as they embark’d, that on such a Day they shou’d all be taken into Slavery by the Christians; which Prediction, to their Misfortune, came to pass; for they were taken by
the Great Duke’s Gallies, and this Prince caus’d their Statues to be carv’d, to transmit the Event to Posterity.
Pisa, tho’ a much more considerable City than Leghorn for its Antiquity, and the Beauty of its Buildings, is not so pleasant a Place by far. ’Tis a large, fine, well built City, but extremely thin of People; ’tis divided into two Parts by the River Arno, which comes from Florence, and forms two stately Kays here. The Cathedral is a great stately Fabric of Gothic Architecture: It has three great Gates, the Doors or Leaves of which are of Brass, and represent the Passages mention’d in the New Testament, a Proof how grosly they are mistaken, who say they were the Gates of Solomon’s Temple; but they are not near so fine as those at the Baptistery of Florence. The Inside of the Church is answerable to the Magnificence of the Outside, and the Roof is supported by sixty Marble Columns.
I say nothing to you of the Tower that leans to one Side, and which consists of six or seven Degrees or Rows of Pillars one above another, nor of the stately Baptistery, much less of the Church-yard, call’d il Campo Santo. Look into Misson, he will tell you the Measures of every thing; for that Gentleman always carry’d Mathematical Instruments about him, so that there was nothing but what he measur’d and weigh’d.
Pisa is a City, which a Traveller can’t avoid seeing, but ’tis impossible for him to stay in it; the People being so proud of the Honour their Ancestors gain’d by the Conquest of Carthage, that their Vanity is perfectly surfeiting.
Having stay’d but one Day at Pisa, I proceeded in my Journey to Genoa, passing thro’ the Forest of Viareggio, where, if I had had a great Charge of Money about me, and had credited what my