1057 



VITERBO. 



VLADIMIR. 



1033 



N. lat, 30 5' E. long., and has about 17,000 inhabitants. The town 

 is surrounded with ancient walls and towers. The principal part of 

 it is built on the left bank of the river. On the right bank M the old 

 castle, surrounded with a very lofty rampart, and the handsomest 

 buildings. The streets are on the whole narrow and irregular, and 

 there are only a few stone houses. One of the finest edifices is the 

 convent of Greek monks of the order of St. Basil. There are 14 

 churches ; 8 monasteries, of which ij are Roman Catholic and 2 Greek ; 

 and 2 nunneries. Vitepsk has many charitable institutions, a large 

 bazaar, several woolieu-cloth factories, and tanneries. 



Welitek, or Wielir, a town with 6800 inhabitants, of whom 1000 are 

 Jew*, also situated on the Duna, has a considerable trade in the pro- 

 dace of the country. The public buildings are nine churches, a 

 synagogue, and a citadel. 



Polo/ti; mentioned in the ancient Scandinavian traditions anterior 

 to Rnrik, it situated near the right bank of the Duna, north-east of 

 Vitepsk, and is slightly fortified. The handsomest building in the 

 town is the former college of the Jesuits, with a beautiful church. 

 The population of Polotzk is about 10,000. 



VITERBO. a province of Central Italy, in the State* of the Church, 

 is bounded X. by the province of Perugia, E. by those of Spoleto and 

 Rieti, S. by the C'omarca di Roma and the province of Civita-Vecchu, 

 and W. by the Tuscan Sea and Tuscany. The area is 1083 square 

 miles: the population in 1850 numbered 129,074. The surface is 

 hilly in the north. The eastern part of the province lies in the basin 

 of the Tiber; the central part consist* of the basin of the Lake of 

 BoUena, and its outlet the river Marta ; and the western part consists 

 of the lower valley of the river Flora, which, ruin; in the Tuscan 

 territory, enters the Papal State, and after a course of nearly 50 miles 

 falls into the sea below Montalto. These three basins or valleys slope 

 southward towards the sea, and merge in the unhealthy maritime 

 plain of the Marcmma, which extends along the sea coast. There is 

 a good deal of fertile land in the province, which yields wine, oil, and 

 corn. Great numbers of cattle are reared. Alum is very abundant. 



The ridge called Cimino, the ancient Ciminus, of volcanic formation, 

 runs from north to south for a length of about 80 miles, from Monte 

 Soriano, north-cut of VHerbo, which is its highest summit, being 

 4000 feet above the sea, to Monte Virginio near the lake of Braociano, 

 and divides the basin of the Tiber from that of the Lake of BoUena. 

 The Ciminns and its impervious forest arrested for many yean the 

 progress of Roman conquest on the tide of Etruria. It is still a well- 

 wooded and picturesque mountain. Between Ronciglione and Viterbo 

 it U crossed by the high road from Rome to Florence. A succession of 

 lower bills incloees the lake of Bolsena on three sides, leaving an opening 

 to the southward, through which flows the river Marta. [BoLSiNA.] 

 On the south-east, between the lake and the Ciminian ridge, is a wide 

 plain, at the south-eastern end of which is the town of Viterbo. 



Viterbo, the capital of the province, a bishop's see, and the rtsiieaoe 

 of the delegate or governor, is pleasantly situated at the northern base 

 of the Monte Cimino, on the high road from Rome to Florence, 40 

 miles north-west of Rome, and has about 14,000 inhabitant*. It is a 

 large well-built town, inclosed by walls and towers ; it baa more than 

 fifty churches, several convents, and other considerable buildings ; the 

 streets are well paved but narrow, and adorned with handsome foun- 

 tains. The cathedral of San Lorenzo is adorned with some good 

 paintings, and with the monument* of popes John XXI., Alex- 

 is.. Adrian V., and Clement IV. Villani (vii. 40) says that 

 Prince Henry of England, son of the Earl of Cornwall, was murdered 

 at the high altar of the cathedral of Viterbo by Ouy de Montfort, 

 fourth son of Simon de Montfort, who fell at the battle of Evesbam. 

 Dante alludes to this tradition in the 12th canto of his ' Inferno.' In 

 the piazza before the cathedral Pope Adrian IV., an Englishman, com- 

 pelled the emperor Frederick Barbarona to hold his stirrup while ho 

 dismounted from his mule. The episcopal palace annexed to the 

 cathedral dates from the 13th century; it contains the great hall 

 where the conclaves) of the sacred college were held for the election of 

 several popes in the 13th century. The other ecclesiastical edifices 

 worthy of notice are the church of Santa Rosa, where the body of that 

 saint is preserved. The church of Santa Maria delta Verita, onteide of 

 the walls, which has a very good fresco painting representing the ' Spo- 

 salizio,' or Marriage of the Virgin Mary, by Lorenzo di Uiaoomo of 

 Viterbo, a pupil of Masaecio, and the church of San Angelo in Spata, 

 which contains a Roman sarcophagus with a basso-rilievo, and an 

 lion, which says that it was used as a sepulchral urn for the 

 'iliana, a beauty of the 12th century, whose charms are said to 

 have caused a war between Rome and Viterbo, in which the Romans 

 were defeated. 



The Palazzo Pnblico, or town-ball, begnn in 1264, has some good 

 fainting* and a collection of Etruscan sepulchral monuments and 

 other antiquities. The old palace of the Farnese family is now a 

 foundling hospital. Viterbo is celebrated by old Italian writers for 

 the beauty of its women and its fountains. 



the cornmouly received opinion that the Panum Vollumiut, 

 at which the ancient Etruscans held the general meeting of deputies 

 of the different states of their confederation, was on the site of Viterbo. 

 The name indicates that there was a temple on the spot, but the 

 meetings were of a political nature, although originally they may have 

 been of a merely religious character. There was no town in ancient 



times on the spot, but a large fair seems to have been held simulta- 

 neously with the meetings of the deputies. Viterbo is said to have 

 been built, or inclosed, by Desiderius, the last king of the Longobards, 

 aud to have been peopled by the inhabitants of several ruined towns 

 of the neighbourhood. It governed itself for a long time during the 

 middle ages as a free municipality, and was often at war with the 

 people of Rome, to which it was obliged at last to make its submission 

 about the year 1200. 



The population of Viterbo and its neighbourhood are supported 

 chiefly by agriculture ; wine and oil ara the principal produce of the 

 couutry. There are however some manufactures of woollens. Mauy 

 of the landed proprietors and local nobility reside at Viterbo. 



VITORIA, a town of Spain, in the Basque Provinces, capital of the 

 province of Alitva, or Vitoria, is situated on an eminence overlooking 

 an extensive plain, through which, at a short distance to the north, 

 flows the river Zadorra. It is on the main road from France to 

 Madrid, from which city it U distant about 190 miles N.N.E. The 

 population in 1845 was 14,901. The town consist* of an old part, 

 with narrow tortuous streets and a curious old plaza, and of a modern 

 part, with wide and regular streets of good houses, and a modern 

 plaza, which is an arcaded square of 220 feet each side, with shops 

 beneath, the town-hall forming the southern side, aud the centre being 

 used as the market-place. The town contains a collegiate church and 

 four parish churches, a custom-house, a handsome general hospital, 

 of classical architecture, an orphan asylum, a small theatre, a public 

 library, and a museum of antiquities. The manufactures consist of 

 iron-wares, earthenware, linen-cloths, leather, and caudles. The towu 

 is also an important centre of trade between Bilbao, San Sebastian, 

 Bayonne, and Castilla la Vieja. The aUmedas El Prado aud La Florida 

 are delightful public walks. Vitoria is an ancient town, and was pro- 

 bably occupied by the Romans. Sancho el Sabio of Navarre, about 

 1180, named it Vitoria in commemoration of a victory gained over 

 the Moors. The French occupied it from 1803 till June 21, 1S13, 

 when they were defeated by the British under the Duke of Wellington, 

 who soon afterwards followed the retreating army over tho Pyrenees 

 into France. (Ford, Handbook of Xpain.) 



V1TRE. [iLLK-E-r-VlLAISE.] 



VITRY. [MARKS; PAS-DB CALAIS.] 



VI VARAIS, LE, a province of the former government of Languedoo 

 in France, lay chiefly between the C'<Svennes and the Rhone, from 

 Mont Losore to a little north of Aunonay, and took its name from its 

 chief town, Vivien. It now forms the department of ARD&CHB. The 

 remaining part of the Vivarais extended west of the CeVennes, and U 

 now included in the southern part of Huute-Loire. 



VIVIEN, ST. [GEM.] 



VIVIKIW. [ARDiCHH.1 



VIZAOAPATAM. [CiacABS, Northern.] 



VI/.CAYA. [BAMJD* PBOVWCH.] 



VIZBN. [BEIRA.] 



VI2IL. [VtaB.1 



VLAAKDINOEX. [HoLLAKD.] 



VLADIMIR, or WLADIMIR, a government in the centre of 

 European Russia, is bounded N. by Twer, Yaroslav, and Costroma, 

 E. by Niachnei-Novgorod, a by Riaaao, and W. by Moscow. Its area 

 is 18,240 square miles ; the population in 1846 was 1,246,500. The 

 face of the country is an undulating plain, diversified by low hills, by 

 the steep banks of the rivers, and extensive forests ; there are also 

 many heaths and morasses. 



The principal river is the Oka, which traverses the south-west of 

 the government It is joined by the Kliozma, which comes from the 

 government of Moscow, crosses this province nearly in the middle, 

 and joins the Oka in Nischnei-Novgorod. Its affluents are the Nerl, 

 Sndogda, Schitka, Kolokecha, Kauianka, Tesa, and some others. 

 There are 22 large and small rivers, all of which have very pure 

 water, and abound in fish. Among the numerous lakes, the two 

 largest and most remarkable are the Peganowoe, in which floating 

 islands are sometimes seen ; and the Pleschtschejew, which is about 

 5 miles long and 4 J miles broad, and is celebrated on account of the 

 nautical exercises of Peter the Great. 



The rivers freeze in the middle of November, and thaw in March. 

 The winter is very cold; the summer is very hot; the spring and 

 autumn ara variable. Night-frost* continue till May, and return at 

 the end of September. The climate on the whole is healthy. 



Agriculture is the chief occupation of the inhabitants ; but though 

 the soil is in tome parts fertile, the heaths, marshes, sandy tracts, and 

 forests cover so great an extent of surface, that the produce of the 

 harvest is not sufficient on an average for the home consumption. 

 Wheat, rye, barley, oats, millet, and peas are cultivated. The gardens 

 produce all kinds of vegetables common in Russia, and moat of them 

 are full of apple- and cherry-trees; amongst the former is the beautiful 

 transparent apple called Nakiwui. Some hops, flax, and hemp are also 

 grown. Game, except hares and partridges, is rare; but bears, 

 wolves, and lynxes are still met with. Wild berries of various kinds 

 abound. The breed of horned cattle is merely sufficient for the wants 

 of the province ; the breed of horses is excellent. The peasants breed 

 plenty of domestic poultry. The principal fish are sturgeon and shad : 

 what U not consumed in the province is sent to Moscow, The minerals 

 are iron, alabaster, good potter's-clay, and freestone. 



