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LANDSCAPE 



ARCH. 



LIBRARY 



LA MORTOLA. 



STARTING from Caravan, that part of the Bay of Mentone which is 

 so well protected by the red rocks of the " Berceau or Longuira," 

 a mountain rising to 3600 feet above the sea, one reaches, after a 

 short half-hour's walk, the Gorge of the Pont St. Louis, which 

 since 1806 has been bridged over by the famous Corniche road. 

 At this point, as at many others, the picturesque road does full 

 justice to its name, " La Cornice " the cornice. On the left the 

 road skirts the limestone rocks which there stretch forward to the 

 coast, while on the right it is protected by supporting walls. The 

 stone upon the bridge bears on the west side the inscription 

 " France," and on the opposite side " Italia," for French territory 

 has extended to this point since the campaign of 1859. From the 

 frontier the road mounts abruptly to a promontory whose steep 

 sides have been metamorphosed into charming gardens by Dr. 

 Bennett, a physician residing in Mentone, who has bestowed years 

 of labour upon this task. These gardens surround an old Saracen 

 watch-tower, and look down upon the far too splendidly -situated 

 Italian custom-house. In this picturesque garden the fruit of 

 the date-palm ripens, although it never attains much sweetness. 

 Higher up the mountain peeps out the little church of Grimaldi, 

 the first village on Italian soil, nestling among its olive-trees, 

 which we soon leave behind as we proceed eastwards. For a long 

 distance only a few meagre specimens of Pinus halepensis clothe 

 the highest points of these dry and sterile limestone rocks. All 

 the more charming seems the view, looking back over the double 

 bay of Mentone, and the beautiful harbour of Villafranca ; while 

 eastwards the eye rests with delight on the green-clothed shore of 

 Bordighera, sharply contrasting with the white cliffs above Venti- 

 miglia. " La Croce della Mortola," and the charming national 

 schoolhouse opposite, mark one of the many turnings in the road 



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