France. The latter having demanded the Milanese for his second Son the Duke of Orleans, the Emperor promis’d to give him the Investiture of it, but he was so little a Slave to his Word, that he gave himself no Trouble to discharge his Promise, which bred an implacable Hatred between those Two Monarchs: It was indeed suspended more than once, but ’twas always to gain a Breathing-time, for they hated each other as long as they liv’d.
After I had stay’d awhile at Milan, I set out for the Court of Savoy. The first City I stopped at was Casal, formerly one of the strongest and most important Fortresses in Italy: The Citadel especially was by all good Judges look’d upon as one of the Wonders of the World. Lewis XIV. who had Possession of it for a long time, caus’d such fortifications to be made there, as are hardly to be match’d. That Monarch observing the Bigness of the Buildings, caus’d an Intrenchment and a second Rampart to be made, which form’d a new Bastion in the Centre of the first; but now there remain only some Vestigies of those fine Works; the Fortifications both of the City and Citadel having been demolish’d in 1695, according to a Capitulation made between the Germans and the French, when the former made themselves Masters of the Place.
Casal belong’d heretofore to the Dukes of Mantua, but now, by the Emperor’s Grant thereof, it belongs to the King of Sardinia.
I went in one Day from Casal to[25]Turin, the capital City of Piedmont, the See of an Archbishop,
and the chief Seat of the Duke of Savoy. ’Tis not very large, but is in the main a very pretty Town, the Streets being broad and strait, the Houses generally uniform, and intermingled with noble Edifices: Here is also a Citadel, one of the strongest that can be imagin’d, every Part of it being countermin’d. There is a Well of a very singular Construction, which, tho’ very deep, is so contrived, that several Horses may go down and up again, without meeting one another: This is perform’d by means of a double Stair-case without Steps, which winds so many times, that it makes the Descent easy.
The Entrance into Turin thro’ the new Gate gives one a grand Idea of the City: We come first into a great and very long Street, the Houses of which are all of the same Architecture: About the middle of it is the Square of St. Charles, which is encompass’d with Houses perfectly uniform, which would make a much more grand Appearance, if the Piazza’s, that run round it, were but higher. After one has pass’d the Square of St. Charles, the same new Street brings us to a second Square, that fronts the King’s Palace, on the Right Hand of which stands the Palace where liv’d Madame Royale, the King’s Mother: These Two Palaces have a Communication with each other by a Gallery.
There is nothing magnificent in the Outside of the King’s Palace, but then the Apartments are of an elegant Taste, and richly furnish’d, and here’s a great Number of Paintings, which good Judges reckon excellent Pieces. The Apartment of the King and Queen takes up the first Story, and forms a double Apartment, with a Guard-Room before it. The finest Part of the Palace is the famous Chapel of the Holy Handkerchief;
tho’ this Chapel be a Part of the Cathedral, I make no Scruple to call it the Chapel of the Palace, because the King always hears Mass there. I thought it a very gloomy Place, undoubtedly because ’tis lin’d with black Marble of a greenish Cast; and besides, there was no Brass nor Gilding to enliven all this Black. I ask’d, what could be the Reason, why they chose black Marble preferably to any other; and was told, that ’twas in Remembrance of the Death of our Saviour Jesus Christ, whose Holy Handkerchief is preserv’d over the Altar: This Altar is so made, that Two Priests may say Mass at it together, without seeing or interrupting one another.
On one Side of the King’s Palace stands, as I had the Honour to tell you, the Palace of Madame Royale the King’s Mother. This Building was very inconsiderable heretofore, the Apartments being very plain, and the only Stair-case leading to it extremely incommodious: But Madame Royale, who did not value Money, caus’d great Alterations to be made in it: Among other Embellishments she built one intire Front, for the Sake of having one of the finest Stair-cases to it in the World; for which Reason they say now, That here’s a Stair-case without a Palace, as they said before, That ’twas a Palace without a Stair-case. Indeed the rest of the Building is by no means answerable to the Magnificence of the Front and the Stair-case; yet, as mean an Appearance as it makes without, the Apartments within are magnificent; for look which way soever, one sees nothing but Marble, noble Gilding, Paintings by the greatest Masters, Pier-Glasses of a wonderful Size and Beauty, and other very rich Furniture. This Palace had only one Garden to it, which was encompass’d on the
Three Sides by Streets and very fine Squares: The Back-Part look’d towards that call’d the Street of the Po, which is one of the finest in Turin.