I left this place on the morning of Monday, the 23rd, and began the ascent of the Apennines from the moment I left the inn. Though the mountains are high, the road is safe and easy. We were going up and down hill all day, the country being alpine in character and barren, and, after riding thirty miles, we slept that evening at Fornovo, in the dominions of the Conte di S. Secondo. I was glad, indeed, to get out of the hands of the thieves who dwell in the mountains, who use the most barbarous extortion imaginable towards travellers in the charges they make for food and stabling.[117] At table here they put before us various kinds of excellent mustard sauces, one of them being made of quince apples. In this region the price of horse hire is exorbitant, the business being in the hands of men who have no fixed charge and cheat all strangers who may fall into their hands. Travellers, as a rule, pay two giuli a horse for each post, but here they asked me to pay three or four or five, wherefore every horse I hired cost me more than a crown per diem; and again, they would often reckon one post as two. This place, Fornovo, was two posts distant from Parma; and, in going from Parma to Piacenza, I had to traverse the same road as if I went from Fornovo to Piacenza, save that by going to Parma I should lengthen my journey by two posts. I determined not to go to Parma, being anxious not to interrupt my plans.[118] Fornovo is a small village of six or seven cottages, situated on a plain and near a river called the Taro, along which we went a short distance on Tuesday morning on our way to Borgo San Doni,[119] twelve miles distant.
This is a small town which the Duke of Parma is now enclosing with a fine wall well set with bastions. Here at table they gave us mostarda[120] made with honey, and in it oranges cut in strips like quince marmalade, and half-cooked. Cremona is about as far as Piacenza from this place; and, leaving it on our right, we travelled over a fine level road running through a very fertile country, in which there was not a hillock to be seen as far as the eye can reach. We changed horses at every post, and for two posts I made them go at full gallop, so as to test the strength of my loins. I felt no ill effects or weariness therefrom.
Close to Piacenza are two large columns, one on each side of the road at a distance of about forty paces apart. On the bases is written in Latin a prohibition to plant trees or vines, or to raise any building between them. I know not whether this notice aims merely at the preservation of the width of the road or to keep the view uninterrupted, as it is now, from the site of those columns to the town, a distance of about half a mile. At the end of twenty miles we reached Piacenza, where we purposed to sleep.
This is a large city. As we arrived in good time I spent three hours in visiting every part of it, and found the streets muddy and unpaved, and the houses mean. The piazza contains the chief buildings of the place, the palace of justice, and the prison; it is, moreover, the meeting-place of the citizens. It has a few poor shops. I saw the castle, which is now in the hands of King Philip, who keeps there a guard of three hundred Spanish soldiers, and these, according to their own account, are very ill paid. Morning and evening they play the diana[121] for an hour on instruments called hautbois in France, and here fiffari. The castle has a large establishment, and in it I saw some fine pieces of artillery. The Duke of Parma[122] never comes near it now, but has lodging, whenever he happens to be in the city, in the Cittadella, a castle in another quarter, thus avoiding the castle, which is in King Philip’s keeping. In short, I saw nothing noteworthy except the new church of S. Augustino, which King Philip was building in place of another which he had pulled down and used in the construction of the castle. Moreover, he still kept possession of part of the income of the same. The new church is not yet finished, but the beginning is very handsome.[123] The friars’ lodgings, seventy in number, and the double cloisters, are finished; indeed with regard to corridors, dormitories, cellars, and other conveniences, this edifice seemed to be the most sumptuous and magnificent I had ever seen, if my memory does not deceive me, dedicated to the service of the Church. At table here they serve the salt in lumps, and the cheese in large pieces without a dish.
The Duke of Parma was awaiting in Piacenza the visit of the Archduke of Austria’s eldest son, whom I saw at Insprug; and the rumour was that this prince was on his way to Rome to be crowned king of the Romans.[124] Here they bring you water for hand-washing at table, and also for mixing with your wine, using a large brazen spoon therefor. The cheese they eat is the same Piacenzan cheese which is sold all through the district. Piacenza is exactly half-way from Rome to Lyons; but I was obliged, in order to take the direct road to Milan, to go on and sleep at Marignano, thirty miles distant, from which place it is ten miles farther to Milan.
I prolonged my journey by ten miles in order to see Pavia. On Wednesday, October 25th, I started early over a very good road, and during the way I voided a small soft stone and a good deal of gravel. We went through a small town belonging to the Conte Santafiore, and our road at last brought us to the Po, which we crossed on a sort of platform arranged on a double boat with a cabin for shelter, this ferry being dragged across the river by means of a long rope which was supported by a row of small boats arranged in the stream for this purpose. Close to this place the Po and the Ticino unite their waters; and hence we reached Pavia in good time after a journey of thirty short miles.
I quickly set to work to visit the principal sights of the city: the bridge over the Ticino; the cathedral; the churches of the Carmini, S. Tomaso, and S. Agostino,[125] which contains the shrine of S. Augustino, a splendid tomb of white marble with many statues. In one of the piazzas of the city is a brick pedestal surmounted by a statue which appears to be a copy of that of Antoninus Pius on horseback before the Capitol at Rome.[126] This one is smaller and not to be compared in beauty. What puzzled me was the fact that this statue has stirrups and saddle-bows before and behind, whereas the Roman statue has neither, which makes all the more cogent the opinion of the learned, which maintains that the stirrups and saddle-bows were later additions, some ignorant sculptor having fancied that they had been forgotten. I saw also the building which by the bounty of Cardinal Borromeo has been begun for the accommodation of the students.[127]
The town is large and certainly handsome, and full of hand workers of all sorts, but few of the houses are really fine, even the one in which the Empress lodged recently being of little account. I noticed the escutcheon of France, but the lilies had been erased therefrom, indeed there was nowhere anything remarkable to be seen. Hereabout they charged two giuli a post for horses, and the best inn I have entered between Rome and this place is the Posta at Piacenza; indeed, I believe it to be the best inn in all Italy, after the one at Verona. The worst I have seen is the “Falcone” at Pavia. Here and in Milan they charge separately for firewood, and the beds are unprovided with mattresses.
I left Pavia on Thursday, October the 26th. I diverged from the road about a mile to the right in order to visit the field where King Francis fought his battle, and found it a level plain. I went also to see the Certosa, which is justly celebrated as a very beautiful church, the façade of the entrance wall being built of marble, and astonishingly rich in ornamentation. On one of the altars is a decoration of carved ivory which represents divers subjects of the Old and New Testaments; and besides this the marble sepulchre of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the founder of the church, the choir, the ornaments of the high altar, and the large and beautiful cloisters are the finest things to be seen here. The buildings around are on a vast scale, and have all the appearance of the palace of a great prince from their grandeur, and still more from the number of servants, horses, carriages, artisans, and labourers everywhere apparent. Incredible sums are still being spent upon it, the money being supplied from the income of the brethren. The Certosa stands in a beautiful green plain.
From here to Milan is twenty miles. This city is the most populous in Italy, its granaries and workshops being full of merchandise and craftsmen. It has a great resemblance to Paris, and in general has the look of a French town. It lacks the palaces of Rome, Naples, Genoa, and Florence, but it surpasses them all in size, and is as busy and crowded as Venice. On Friday, October the 27th, I went to view the outside of the castle and walked all round it, and found it of great size and marvellous strength. It is occupied by seven hundred Spanish soldiers and admirably furnished with artillery; moreover, the works are still being strengthened on all sides. I stopped at Milan over this day because of the heavy rain which came on; up to this time indeed I have been very lucky in meeting with fine weather and good roads, and now on Saturday, October the 28th, I left Milan in the morning.