The Memoirs of Charles-Lewis, Baron de Pollnitz, Volume II / Being the Observations He Made in His Late Travels from Prussia Thro' Germany, Italy, France, Flanders, Holland, England, &c. in Letters to His Friend. Discovering Not Only the Present State of the Chief Cities and Towns; but the Characters of the Principal Persons at the Several Courts.

by Freiherr von Karl Ludwig Pöllnitz

I afterwards came to Asti, where I found nothing good but an Inn, which indeed is one of the best of Italy, From thence I went and lay at Quieri, a great Town in Piedmont, ill built,

but full of People of Quality, and situate in a Plain, which is perfectly beautiful; but I was in so much Haste to get to Turin, that I did not stay there. I pass’d by the Foot of a Hill, on which stands the Castle of Montcallier, a Royal Palace built by her late Royal Highness, the Mother of King Victor Amedeus. The Apartments are large and magnificent, and command one of the finest Prospects in the World; but the Gardens belonging to it are no more worth a Traveller’s View, than the Village of Montcallier itself.

At some Distance from this Place I cross’d the Po over a wooden Bridge, and came thro’ a pleasant Avenue to Turin, the Capital of Piedmont, and the ordinary Residence of the Dukes of Savoy. Those Princes chose also to make it the Seat of the Chamber of Accompts, and of the Senate, which is what they call in France the Parlement; and they have rendered it one of the strongest and finest Cities of Italy, exclusive of its charming Situation. ’Tis divided into two Parts, the old and the new City, with Bastions and Outworks, well fac’d, and a Citadel very regularly fortify’d. It stands eighteen Miles from the Alps, in a Plain which has the Po on one Side, and the Duero on the other.

This City will always be remember’d for the Siege which it sustained in 1704, when the Marshal and Count Daun, Governor of Milan, commanded here, by the Emperor’s Permission, at the Request of the Duke of Savoy. He defended the Place against the Duke of Orleans, the Grandson of France, and gave Time to Prince Eugene of Savoy to come to its Relief, and oblige the Enemy to raise the Siege. The French pretend, that all this was done by Order from Court; and that the Duchess of Burgundy, the Daughter

of King Victor Amedeus, was the Person that prevail’d on Lewis XIV. to consent to the raising of the said Siege. As I am not privy to what pass’d at that Time in the Cabinet of the King of France, this is an Anecdote, which I can neither affirm nor deny; but as the Belief of what the French give out upon this Head is not an Article of Faith, I hope they will not be angry, if I do not give Credit to Rumours, so much to the Dishonour of the greatest King that ever they had: For how can it be imagin’d, that if Lewis XIV, had really a Desire, that his Army should decamp from before Turin, he would have chose to have subjected that Army to the Hazard of being obliged to fight against his Will and his Orders, and by that Means to have expos’d the Honour of his Nephew, the Glory of his Arms, and the Lives of a great many brave Men, which were lost in that Defeat? Surely, a Retreat concerted in the Cabinet would have been made in better Order, and would not have had the Appearance of a Flight. But the French have this Notion: They were never routed, but ’twas either because it pleased the Court that they should be routed, or because of some Jealousy betwixt their Generals. They lost the Battle of Hochstet, for want of a right Understanding betwixt the Elector of Bavaria, and the Marshal de Tallard; that of Ramillies, because the Marshal de Villeroy would not let the Elector of Bavaria have the Honour of beating us; that of Audenarde, because the Duke of Vendosme’s receiving that Shock, was a real Satisfaction to the Duke of Burgundy, the Presumptive Heir of the Throne: And M. de la Motte, too, suffered himself to be beaten near Wynendale, only in Complaisance to the Duke of Burgundy, who was apprehensive that he should not be able to persuade the King his Grandfather

to the Peace, which he had very much at Heart, if Lisle was not taken by the Allies, which City could not have been mastered, but by letting the Convoy pass, which M. de la Motte had attack’d. The Passage of the Scheld, the raising of the Siege of Brussels, the Surrender of Ghent, without strikeing a Blow; all this was done also by Order of the Duke of Burgundy, who was for a Peace upon any Terms, and cou’d not obtain it without sacrificing both the Army and Glory of the King his Grandfather. But to speak the Truth, were all the Marshals of France to tell me the same Story, they would find me as great an Unbeliever as St. Thomas, and wou’d never prevail with me to be guilty of such an Insult upon the Memory of the Duke of Burgundy, the wisest Prince of his Time, as to believe that he had the Honour of his Country, and the Interests of his Family so little at Heart.

Nothing can be more regular than that Part of Turin, which is called the new City. The Houses are of Brick, and three Stories high. The Streets are wide, strait, and well-pav’d. It has fine Churches, particularly the Metropolis, or Chapel of the Holy Handkerchief, which is also the Royal Chapel, and may be reckon’d the Master-piece of Architecture. ’Tis in the Form of an Octogon Dome, all fac’d, not excepting the Roof, with black Marble. The Altar is in the Middle of the Dome. There is preserved the precious Relique of our Lord’s Handkerchief, of which there’s the like in St. Peter’s Church at Rome, and at Besançon. I had been told, that I should be able to distinguish the very Print of the Face in this Handkerchief, and a Part of our Saviour’s Body; but I was not so happy as to discern any thing like it.

The King’s Palace makes no great Appearance, nor indeed is it quite finish’d; nevertheless,

the Apartments are well contriv’d; The Furniture is rich, and there are excellent Pictures, and magnificent Cielings. There are Gardens in this Palace, which are artfully dispos’d in the Manner of Fortifications, according to beautiful Plans; but setting this aside, they are not much adorn’d.

The finest, and the completest Thing at Turin, and perhaps in Europe, in the modern Architecture, is the Front of the Palace of the late Madame Royale, the King’s Grandmother. This Palace is contiguous to the King’s Palace, and communicates with it by a Gallery. ’Twas a very old Building, and made a poor Appearance; but Madame Royale spar’d no Cost, either in Gilding or Painting, to set off the Inside. When this was done, it happened that the Stair-case was inconvenient; upon which her Royal Highness, who was in every Thing magnificent, undertook to build one; and to this is owing the stately Front, of which I here make mention. This Princess consulted with all the skilful Architects in Italy, and fix’d upon the Plans, which to her appear’d the most grand and beautiful. Before this Stair-case was built, they us’d to say that Madame Royale’s Palace was a House without a Stair-case; and now they say ’tis a Stair-case without a House; and really, the Stair-case wou’d become the Louvre, it being by much too big for the Building it belongs to.