RICUPKHOOX. 



HIGA. 



304 



'I:.:. . 



brewery. Stnw.pUttii* and hone-hair weaving 



ar carried . Tbe markeiday i* Saturday." Fair, are held in July, 

 -. and November. The Grand Junction Canal pane* cloee 



TKKOUX. [AviYROX.l 

 R1DKAU LAKE and CANAU [CANADA.] 

 Ullx-.WKI.L. (Eawx.1 



KNOBBIROK. [OEEMAST.] 



RIKT1, UM ancient KtuU. once on* of the principal town* of the 

 Sabiai. and now UM ohW town of a prorince of th. Papal State*, .lands 

 OB UM Vfcno, 41 mile* N.N.E. from ROOM, about 1000 foot above 

 UM *, in an eUrtted plain, which i. part of the western UfUandl 

 of UM Apanninn, a Urn tract that project* out of the central chain 

 of UM Abruno. The *Tvated region in question formed the country 

 of UM aadtat Sabini Before the French occupation of Italy it formed 

 the province of Sabina, which U now called Rieti, from its chief town. 

 TU* tract begin* at the ridge eait of Antrodooo, which forma the 

 UM table-land of Aquila, 2500 feet above the sea, 



i of which ran by the Peecara to the Adriatic, and the baain 

 of UM V.lino, or of Rieti, the water* of which run into the Tiber. 

 Thi* mountain region belong! partly to the Papal and partly to the 

 Neapolitan UrrHorie*. It* length i* about 70 miles from north to 

 oatb, and from the source* of the Nera at the foot of Mount Tetricus, 

 above N\>raa, to the *ource* of the Anio, above Subiaco. Its greatest 

 breadth, from UM defile cast of Antrodooo, on the road from Aquila 

 to RieU, to UM fall of the Velino near Tcrui, is about 30 miles. The 

 Nera form* the northern boundary of this mass of highlands, and 

 dram* UM northern part of them by means of the river Corno, which 

 join* the Upper Nera near Cerreto. The Velino and its affluents drain 

 the central and largcat part of the region. The Anio drains the 

 outhern part a* far as the ridge which divides its basin from that of 

 UM Saeco. The Anio fall* by a caicade at Tivoli into the lowlands of 

 UM Campagna, and thence flows into the Tiber. The two waterfalls 

 of the Velino and Anio are the only outlets by which the waters of 

 UM highland* of Sabina find their way westward to the Tiber. 



A sncceesion of mountain ridges form the western boundary of the 

 highland* of Sabina on the side of the Tiber, extending from the Anio 

 at Tivoli to the Nera above Terni. The southern part of this range 

 near the Anio i* known by the ancient name of Lucretilia, now Monte 

 Qennaro ; and th* northern part, which extends to the Nera, by the 

 name of Mount Canteriua, which is seen from the valley of the Tiber 

 towering to the eastward above the towns of Magliano, Calvi, Otricoli, 

 and Kami. The eastern boundary of the region of the Sabini is 

 formed by the lofty ridge of the central Apennines, consisting of the 

 group* of Monte Sibilla, 7200 feet; Mount Terminillo, north-east of 

 Bieti, 7000 feet ; and Mount Velino, 8180 feet Between these two 

 ridge* li** the baain of the Velino, the lower part of which forms the 

 plain of Rieti. The FWino has its source in the central Apennines, 

 boot 16 miles north of Antrodooo, at the foot of Mount Cenatra, cot 

 fir from the source* of the Tronto, which flows on the opposite or 

 M*>im dope to the Adriatic. It flows first southward through a 

 narrow and deep glen until it reaches Antrodooo, where it turns to 

 the writ, puiing by Civita Ducale and Rieti. Before it reaches the 

 latur town it receive* the Salto, or Imele, from the south. The Salto 

 r Tagliaoono, not far from the Lake Fucino, and flows north- 



wt through a aecluded but interesting valley called Cicolano, belong- 

 ing to the Neapolitan territory. This valley abounds in remains of 

 eyclopemn constructions, which are supposed to belong to the towns 

 of th* aborigine* mentioned by Dionysius (i. 14) at destroyed long 

 before hi* tune. The district of Cicolano has acquired a certain 

 Bietorical intemt on account of the tragical end of the Cenci, a Roman 

 baronial family of the middle age*, the head of which, Francesco Cenoi, 

 we* murdered In the cutle of Fetrella, at the instigation of his wife 

 and daughter, who were put to death after a long trial. 

 The Velino, after it* confluence with the Salto, passes through 

 i*ti. dividing the city from the luburb, and then turning to the 

 north-wait receive* the Turano al*o from the south. The Turano, the 

 ""I lew**"*, lie** in the Neapolitan territory, in the mountains 

 which border the baain of the Fucino to the westward ; it runs in a 

 orth-wert direction nearly parallel to the Salto, passes by Carseoli on 

 UM Vie Tiburtina, and after flowing along the eastern base of Mount 

 i th* plain of Rieti, where it joins the Velino after a 



none of about 40 mile*, the greater part of which lies in the Papal 

 U wa* on the bank* of the Telonius that the consul P. Kutilius 

 900 mm wen defeated and killed during the Marsian or Social 

 W*VT. 



TlM plain of RMti 1* one of the most delightful spots in Italy. It 



covered who plantation* of mulberry-trees, vine* twining round 



elm* end maple-tree., field* of wheat, Indian corn, beam, flax, hemp, 



' L.Zy***^ ^ unrj kind ' !t * ** by two clear 



earn*, which unite their water* about three mile* below the town of 



horcbea, teeplea, and other massive buildings make a 



a* contrast with the brilliant verdure of the surrounding country 



Farther down th* river, between the right bank and the base of the 



Mine*, i* a roooeaaion of mar.be* and lake., the largest of which, 



flailed J-tt di Loop, i* about 10 mile* in circumference ; the bank, are 



**? * Piotnreequ*, but are considered unwholesome. The 



rater* of the lake have an outlet into the Velino. Near this pjace 



the two ridge* that bound the plain of Rieti approach near each 

 other, leaving only a narrow gorge through which the Velino flows on 

 a rocky bed with a rapid declivity until it reaches the edge of the 

 terrace, where it falls into the valley of the Nera amidst clouda of 

 mist. The whole perpendicular height from the edge of the rock to 

 the level of the Nera below is about 469 feet The fall however is 

 broken into two parU, the first of which is perpendicular, after which 

 the water forma a succession of cascades or rapids, until it meets the 

 Nera. A pavilion called 'la Specola,' erected by Pius VI. on a 

 projecting shelf of rock which overhangs the precipice, commands a 

 fine view of the fall and of the valley of the Nera. The cascade, 

 called Delia Marmora, has been considered as the finest in Europe, 

 the mags of water being superior to all the Alpine cascades, and the 

 height far superior to the fall of the Khine at Scliaffhausen. A 

 rainbow is often seen hovering on the mist produced by the spray. 



The name of Marmora has been given to the mountain from which 

 the river falls, on account of the abundant incrustations, resembling 

 marble, produced by the deposit of the waters of the Velino. 



The valley of the Veliuo is said to have been in very remote times 

 occupied by the Uinbri, before that people descended from the high- 

 lands of the Apennines into the valley of the Upper Tiber, which has 

 ever since retained the name of Umbria. [ElRURlA.] After the 

 migration of the Uinbri, another race of mountaineers from the central 

 parts of the Apennines about Amiternum, near the sources of the 

 Aternus or Pescara, became possessed of the valley of the Velinus ; 

 they were known by the name of Sabini, and they spread from thence 

 into the country between the Nera, the Anio, and the Tiber, which 

 they occupied almost as far as the gates of Rome. The Sabini were a 

 remarkable people; their manners were simple, and their habits 

 austere; they had a reputation for good faitu and domestic virtue. 

 They were religious, and even superstitious, and their country was 

 famed for omens and prodigies. 



The plain of Rieti was almost entirely covered with water, when the 

 consul M. Curius Dentatus, B.C. 240, made a cut through the rock, 

 deepening and widening the outlet for the waters of the Velino, and 

 drained thereby the fields of Reate. In modern times the bed of the 

 Velino above the fall has repeatedly become obstructed by calcareous 

 deposits, and the river has again overflowed the plain ; to remedy 

 which Pope Paul III. made a new cut, and Clement VIII. afterwards 

 restored the old one made by Curius. 



Reate is said to have derived its name from Rhea, or Cybele, the 

 ancient patroness of the place. Like the rest of the Sabini, Reate 

 was an early and constant ally of Rome, and is mentioned by Livy as 

 having, together with Amiternum, furnished soldiers for Scipio's expe- 

 dition to Africa. Cicero, in various places, extols the fidelity of the 

 Sabini, and particularly of the people of Reate. In modern times the 

 people of Rieti were among the first to pay voluntary allegiance to 

 the see of Rome as their temporary sovereign. Rieti was often an 

 asylum for the popes in the middle ages, when driven away from 

 Home by faction or foreign invasion. In 1831 the people of Rieti 

 showed their devotedness to the papal see by repulsing the insurgents 

 from Bologna and the Romagna who were advancing towards Home. 



Rieti is built partly on the slope and partly at the foot of a hill ; 

 it is a bishop's see ; it has a college and a clerical seminary ; it has 

 also manufactures of coarse woollens, silks, glass, and leather. The 

 population amounts to about 10,000, among whom are many wealthy 

 landed proprietors. The town-house, or governor's palace, is a massive 

 building in the highest part of the town, and enjoys a splendid view 

 of the surrounding country. The cathedral was built in the 12th 

 century, but has been repeatedly repaired. There are several churches 

 and convents, which, as well as the episcopal palace, are worthy of 

 notice. 



The province of Rieti was formerly united to that of Spoleto, the 

 two forming a province called Spoleto-e-Rieti. It contains 513 square 

 miles, with a population of 77,212 in 1850. 



1UEZ. [ALPES, BASSES.] 



above its entrance into the Gulf of Riga. The width of the river and 

 the distance of the town from the sea make the port very spacious 

 and secure, and the merchantmen come up to the quays. In summer 

 a bridge of pontoons, loosely attached to piles, and rising and falling 

 with the tide, is laid across the river ; this bridge is a pleasant and 

 fashionable promenade in the summer time. The central boats are 

 mpveable, to allow the passage of vessels. The town is surrounded 

 with ramparts and bastions, and is otherwise strongly fortified, the 

 fortifications having been materially strengthened and added to in 

 1854 and 1855, and defences were erected at the mouth of the river. 

 Besides the town itself there are one suburb within the palisades, and 

 two more distant suburbs on the left bank of the Duna. There are 

 three gates towards the country and four towards the Duna. The 

 streets are narrow and crooked, and the town dark and gloomy. Before 

 the palace is a spacious parade, in which the merchants erected in 

 1817 a granite column 23 feet high, surmounted by a bronze statue 

 representing the goddess of Victory, 9 feet high, in memory of the 

 repulse of a French force by the citizens of Riga in 1812. Of the 

 Lutheran churches, the most remarkable are the large and lofty 



