1824.] 



Excursion /rom Lugano to the Lake of Como. 



shaken Jown, while those built on the 

 roclc mostly weathered the shock. Every 

 church in the place, also the Fort, and 

 Government-house, are totally ruined. 

 At Santiago, tiie c;ipital, the damage is 

 inconsiderable, a lew houses having suf- 

 fered in tlie ruoi's. Quillota is reported 

 to be coni(iletely in ruins: it stands on 

 alluvlid soil in the valley near the river 

 of that name, and on a dead flat, about 

 seven leagues from the sea. 



The motion and direction of the shock 

 was from north-wesf to south-east ; and 

 fissures, running parallel to one another, 

 in a north- west and south-east direction, 

 from a few inches to two or three (ect 

 wide, were discovered after the earth- 

 cjuake, throughout the whole district, 

 vvjierever it was felt- 

 It is to be observed, that wafer placed 

 in a tumbler on the ground during the 

 ]jriucipal shocks, which were uiidula- 

 tory, was not tremulously agitated, but, 

 as it were, thrown up on the side of the 

 glass like a wave. On the contrary, 

 during (he inferior shocks, which arc de- 

 scribed as vibrating pcrpen<licular to 

 the general direction of the great con- 

 vulsion, the water in the tumbler was 

 observed'lo have a bubbling motion. 

 Mercury was also made use of, and the 

 same phenomena noticed. The average 

 duration of the shocks was about thirty 

 seconds. As felt on-board the ships in 

 the bay, it is described as if the chain- 

 cable had run out in an instant. Sounds 

 like distant artillery were heard some 

 days after the commencement of the 

 earthquake, but were not taken notice 

 of at the time. The water retired with 

 great rapidity in the outset, so as to 

 leave the launches dry opposite the 

 Customhouse ; but the return was gra- 

 dual, much to tlie satisfaction of the 

 inhabitants, and against the prophecies 

 of the priests, who expected to have 

 been swallowed u|) by it. T7te whole 

 line of coast has either risen, or the water 

 has subsided, nearly two feet, and rocks 

 have made their appearance above 

 water which before were never seen, 

 even at the lowest tides. 



Hio de Janeiro ; Aug, 4:, 1822. 



For the Monthh) Magazine. 



ItF.CF.NT EXCI'KSION //om LUGANO to the 

 LAKE of COMO, in LOMBAUUY ; hf the 

 cUKVALMUt AMOKETTI, keeper of the 



AMItltOSIAN LIliRAKY at MILAN. 



THE following contains some curious 

 |)artieulars on subjects of topo- 

 graphy, as exemplified in an excursion 

 tinongh part of the north of Ilaly. I'cw 

 6 



805 



ilistricts better deserve, that among its 

 visitors some should be found to do ho- 

 nour to its beauties, of which it jiossesses 

 many. To such as are studious in the 

 illustration of foreign climes, the paper 

 will be interesting, and may be justly 

 recommended. 



'I'hree roads lead from Lugano to the 

 Lake of Como: one through Codilago, 

 another througii Porlezza and Menagio, 

 and the third through Variza and Como. 

 The first and last are most frequented; but 

 the only travelling is on foot or horse- 

 back. But, in order to enjoy the 

 pleasantest parts of the Lake, and to 

 visit the most remarkable objects on its 

 banks, it would be advisable to halt at 

 the Cadenabbia ; for which purpose it 

 would be proper to embark at Lugano 

 for Porlezza, the situation of which ad- 

 mits of numerous plantations of olives: 

 the inhabitants, however, are unac- 

 quainted with the method of extracting 

 good oil from them. 



At a place called St. Maurice, in the 

 middle of a marsh, half of a church 

 steeple is visible; it appears that the 

 ancient city of Porlezza stood on this 

 spot, and that it was swallowed up by 

 an earthquake. In the new town arc 

 two glass-houses. 



The Cadenabbia is a good inn, on the 

 banks of the Lake, near the western 

 arm ; for this Lake is precisely in the 

 form of a Y upstt (x). The ancients 

 called it the Lake Larius, from the 

 Etruscan word Lar, which signifies 

 prince or principal, or else from the 

 word Lai us, denoting a ytdl or sea-mew, 

 an aquatic bird, will) flocks of which the 

 Lake is often covered. 



The banks of this Lake were succes- 

 sively inhabited by the Etrusci, the 

 Orobes, and the Gauls; these last were 

 subjugated by the Romans, who sent a 

 colony of Greeks into this country. 

 Strabo relates, that the father of Pom- 

 pey the Great sent 500 Greeks of the 

 first families to re-people these moun- 

 tains, which the Ilhelii had laid waste. 

 To this colony, a number of villages of 

 the Comasco are indebted for their 

 names and origin, 'J'he Goths succeed- 

 ed the Romans, and were constantly 

 engaged in civil war and anarchy. 

 Some considerable families, as the 

 Rusca, the I'orriani, the Visconli, the 

 Sfzorza, have ruled over this canton; 

 but Charles V. became master of it, 

 and united it to the duchy of Lombardy. 



All the mountains uhich surround 

 the Lake are calcareous to their very 

 summits; at least ten .species of marble 



are 



