Was not so submissive a Speech as this more likely to feed the Vanity of the King of Spain, than all the Excuses made by the Doge of Genoa to puff up Lewis XIV? And is not a Prince of Piedmont at Madrid, a Person of more Consequence than a Doge of Genoa at Versailles? Nevertheless, the Spaniards have neither struck any Medals, nor raised any Monuments to transmit that Event to Posterity. Pardon me, Sir, for this Digression: The Prince of Piedmont’s Speech is not to be met with in all the Historians: I believ’d it would be acceptable to you, and thought it was not altogether foreign to my Subject, to put the Reparation made by that Prince in a Parallel with that of the Doge. I now resume the Thread of my Narrative.
The Street Balbi, and the new Street, are more like Galleries than Streets. The former lies near the beautiful Church of the Annunciation and the first considerable Structure that appears in it, is the Jesuits College, of which James Balbi, a Genoese Nobleman, made a Present on his Death-bed to the Society, on Condition that his Arms would always remain over the great Gate. The Reverend
Fathers the Jesuits have laboured much to efface this poor Remembrance of their Benefactor, and for this End have had great Law-Suits with the Balbi Family; but at length they were condemn’d by an Arret of the Senate to keep up the Arms of the Founder, and there they still remain.
The two Palaces Purazzi, which are in the same Street, are very magnificent, and richly furnished. In one of those Palaces there is a Theatre, called the Theatre of the Falcon, which is so extremely well laid out, that every Spectator may see and hear what passes with Ease, and without incommoding his Neighbour, the Boxes being large and convenient, and the Ornaments dispos’d every-where with Judgment.
The new Street is every whit as magnificent as the Street Balbi. Here are the two Palaces Brignole, and indeed they are both stately Buildings. Their Ornaments are the finest that can be imagined, and of the newest Fashion: The Furniture is extremely rich, there being excellent Pictures by the greatest Masters, Chimney and Pier-Glasses of an extraordinary Size, and placed to Advantage; Tables of choice Marble upon Stands of an excellent Contrivance, and very richly gilt: In short, one wou’d not wish to see any thing more fine, and more complete. Messieurs Brignole are four Brothers, of whom there is but one that has a Son: They are immensely rich, and have seven magnificent Palaces in Genoa.
The Palace of the Duke Doria, which is in the same Street, is grand and stately; but not so richly furnished as the Palace of the Prince Doria, without the Gate of St. Thomas, which owes its Foundation to the celebrated Doria, who was a General of the Emperor Charles V. This Palace is
very extensive, and has a Prospect of the Sea, but the Apartments are low and old-fashioned.
The Suburb of St. Peter d’Arena is very large, and contains several noble Palaces, of which the Palace Imperiali, where the Emperor and Empress lodged at their Return from Spain, is esteemed by the Connoisseurs in Architecture.
The People at Genoa are more sociable than they are at Venice, and the Nobility here much more easy of Access. I don’t believe, that they who accuse the Italians of Jealousy, include the Genoese in that Charge; there being few Countries in the World where the Women are allow’d more Freedom, and where, to all Appearance, they take more. A Woman must have very few Charms indeed, if she has not two or three profess’d Lovers. These Sparks, who go by the Name of Cicisbei, are never out of their Sight; but they take great Pains in their Amours, being obliged to run so fast by the Side of their Mistresses Sedan, that they earn a Glance from the Fair with the Sweat of their Brows. There are Ladies here, who have five or six of these Admirers always attending them where-ever they go; and ’tis happy for these Rivals, that they never fall together by the Ears. ’Tis true, that if they quarrel, they would be obliged to box it; for the Gentry here don’t wear Swords, their Dress being like that of the Lawyers in France; but they always wear short silk Mantles, which I could wish the Counsellors of Parliament in France would likewise wear, in order to distinguish them from Tailors and Shopkeepers.
The People of Quality here dress very well, and the Genoese of both Sexes have a much better Air than those of Florence and Rome. The Princess of Modena’s Residence with them has not been to their Detriment; for they have contracted