﻿677 



LOMBABDO-VENETUN KINGDOM. 



LOMBAKDO-VENETIAN KINGDOM. 



67S 



and magnificent in this." Among other public worka of great utility 

 must be mentioned the repairing of the dykes in the province of 

 Mantua ; the completion of the great caual, called Naviglio; the con- 

 struction of roads in the mountainous districts of Bergamo : the 

 great commercial road of the Splugen ; the road over the Stilfser 

 Jocb, and its continuation along the eastern bank of the lake of Como 

 down to Lecco; completing the cathedral of Milan; the splendid 

 bridge at Bufialora on the Ticino ; the construction of railways from 

 Venice to Treviso ; from Venice through Padua, Vicenza, and Verona 

 to Milan, which is all but completed from Verona to Mantua, and 

 from Milan to Como ; and finally the measures taken for the free 

 navigation of the Po from the mouth of the Ticino by means of 

 steam-tugs. 



In the department of popular education the Austnan government 

 has extended to the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom the same general 

 and uniform system established iu its German states. The elementary 

 schools were first opened in Lombardy in 1822, and ten years after 

 there was hardly a commune without its school, whilst several of the 

 more extensive and populous communes had two. The number of 

 communes in the Lombard provinces is 2234, and the elementary 

 schools for boys are 2038 and those for girls 1852. There were besides 

 328 adult schools, 25 infant schools, 75 training or upper schools, and 

 87-1 high schools, making a total of 5192 schools of all kinds in the 

 crowulanii of Lombardy in 1847. The total number of schools in the 

 crownland of Venice iu the same year amounted to 2218. 



In the upper elementary schools of the chief towns of provinces 

 there are courses of methodical teaching for those who are intended 

 for schoolmasters. There are also in the towns and villages of Lom- 

 bardy Sunday and holiday schools for children above twelve years of 

 age, or for those below that age who cannot on account of their 

 occupations attend the daily elementary schools. 



From the upper elementary schools boys who intend to pursue their 

 studies pass into the gymnasia, of which there are 64 in Lombardy and 

 24 in the crownland of Venice. The gymnasial course lasts six years, 

 four of which are employed in the study of Latin and Greek, the 

 geography and history of the Au.ttrian empire, and Roman history. 

 The other two years are engrossed by rhetoric and poetry, study of 

 the classics, algebra, general geography, and history, ancient and 

 modem, and religious instruction. Besides the gymnasia there are 

 numerous private institutions for youth approved of by the govern- 

 ment, which exercises an inspection over them. There are two general 

 direzioni, or boards, at Milan and Venice, for the superintendence of 

 ■11 the establishments for secondary or grammar education throughout 

 the kingdom. For the instruction of young ladies there are several 

 female colleges, mostly under the direction of the nuns of Santa 

 Teresa, of -Saint Francis of Sales, of Santa Chiara, and other orders, 

 which devote themselves to the education of youth. 



The Lombardo-Venetian kingdom is not only better supplied with 

 elementary instruction than any other Italian state, but it is the only 

 one in which a universal system of popular education has been 

 established. With regard to ' secondary or gymnasial education this 

 kingdom is also better provided than any other Italian state, the con- 

 tinental dominions of the king of Sardinia alone excepted. Above the 

 gymnasia are the Lycea, or schools of philosophy, of which there are 

 20 in the crownland of Lombardy and 16 in that of Venice. The 

 Lycea are devoted to philosophical studies, and the coun^e lasts two 

 years. Lastly, the two universities of the kingdom, Padua and Pavia, 

 supply instruction in all professional branches of learning. 



The object of the Austrian government iu this extensive system of 

 education was clear and definite ; it proposed to form a population of 

 docile but not indolent or ignorant subjects ; to make individuals in 

 general contented with their respective stations in life, without pre- 

 cluding any one from using his honest exertions to make the best of 

 that station ; and also, if talents and opportunity should favotu*, to 

 rise to a higher one without injury to others or disturbance to society. 

 The emperor Francis being urged, says St. Valdry, once by some 

 Milanese noblemen to proclaim a distinct criminal statute for his 

 Italian territories, as the Austrian statute was consiilered too mild 

 for the temper of the Italians, he refused, saying that the spread of 

 education and civilisation would render his code as fit for Lombardy 

 as it was for the hereditary states. " When all the people shall be 

 able to read," said ho, " they will stab no longer." Events since 1848 

 have blunted the point of this hopeful observation. 



The Austrian civil and criminal codes are in force in the Lombardo- 

 Venetian kingdom. According to this system trials are not public. 

 Every species of torture has been abolished since the reign of Joseph II. 

 The Austrian penal code also abolished the penalty of coufiscatiou, 

 which the Code Napoleon retained in certain cases — among others, 

 a^inst emigrants; but since 1849 the Austrian government has 

 violated its own code by confiscating the property of the emigrants 

 settled in Sardinia. By the Austrian law, the property of a state 

 prisoner or political emigrant who will not surrender himself for 

 trial is placed in the hands of trustees, who administer it for the 

 benefit of bis family, creditors, and heirs ; and it is restored to him 

 on his return, or to his next of kin after his death if he dies an 

 emigrant. 



Religious toleration is guaranteed by the Austrian laws. The Jews 

 have synagogue* at Venice, Mantua, Fadua, and other towns. 



OBOO. BIV. VOL. in. ' 



The Italian regiments are — eight of infantry of three battalions 

 each, one battalion of light infantry, and one regiment of cavalry. 

 These are Bumbered among the other regiments of the Austrian 

 army, and, like them, are called to do duty iu any part of the empire. 

 There are besides two garrison' battalions at Mantua and Venice ; and 

 a corps of gendarmerie for the police service. There is a military 

 college and a school of artillery at Milan. The principal station of 

 the Austrian navy is at Venice, where there is a college for cadets, 

 also a corps of marines, and a battalion of naval artillery. [Austria, 

 vol. i., col. 734.] In all, the number of the military furnished by the 

 kingdom in time of peace amounts to about 36,000 men. There are 

 eight fortresses in the kingdom, namely, Mantua, which is the strongest 

 of all, Peschiera, Legnago, O.sopo, Pizzighettone, Kocca d'Aufo, Palma 

 Nova, and Venice. Since the late rebellion Verona has been greatly 

 strengthened, the walls being built in the Cyclopean style. The 

 Austrian troops garrison also, conformably to treaties, three frontier 

 places belonging to neighbouring states, namely, Piacenza in the ducliy 

 of Parma, and Ferrara and Comacchio iu tho Papal States. The 

 military head-quarters is stationed at Verona. 



The hierarchy consists of two archbishops, of Milan and Venice, 

 the latter of whom has the rank of patriarch, and 1 8 bishops. The 

 parishes number 4483, and the clerical seminaries 20. 



The judiciary in ordinary times consists of a tribunal of first 

 instance, both for civil and criminal matters, in every head town of a 

 province ; of two courts of appeal, one at Milan and the other at 

 Venice ; and lastly, of a supreme court for the whole kingdom, called 

 tho Senate, which sits at Verona. Two commercial courts are estab- 

 lished, one at Milan and the other at Venice. In each of the smaller 

 towns is a Pretore, or inferior judge. 



The Lombardo-Venetian kingdom is generally one of the most 

 fertile countries of Europe ; and the industry of the inhabitants and 

 the extensive system of irrigation increase the natural fertility of the 

 soil. 



The numeroas rivers which come from the Alps are perennial, and 

 the fields of Lombardy never appear in that parched condition which 

 those of southern Italy, and of many parts of Spain and Portugal, 

 exhibit in summer. The most fertile provinces ol' the kingdom are 

 those of Lombardy proper, and those of Padua, Treviso, Vicenza, 

 Verona, and Friuli, in the Venetian territory. The poorest provinces 

 are Sondrio or Valtellina, and Belluno. 



Lombardy proper produces in abundance everything that is neces- 

 sary for the sustenance of its population, corn, wine, rice, fruits, 

 cheese, and excellent meat. The two principal articles of exportation 

 are silk and rice. The districts in which the rice is cultivated are the 

 low fiats of the provinces of Mantua, Lodi-e-Crema, Cremona, and part 

 of that of Milau, as well as the provinces of Padua and Kovigo. The 

 cultivation of rice, which requires the fields to be laid permanently 

 under water for a certain period, is considered by many as productive 

 of diseases among the peasantiy. The other articles of exportation 

 are cheese, especially from Lodi, and hemp, which is cultivated iu the 

 provinces of Padua, Venice, and Rovigo. Salt is imported from Istria, 

 Parma, and Sicily. 



The principal manufactures, besides those of silk, are glass, especially 

 at Venice, paper, ornamental works in bronze, and straw hats. There 

 are also establishments for spinning cotton, and other minor works. 

 Lombardy is essentially an agricultural country, and receives most 

 of the manufactured goods which it uses from other parts of the 

 Austrian empire. The bookselling and publishing trade, aUhougU ' 

 subject to the censorship, was until lately more flourishing at Milan 

 than in all the rest of Italy put together. About 1 000 new works of 

 every description were published annually throughout the kingdom. 

 The journals published in the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom amounted 

 to nearly 40 ; but it is needless to say that under the militaiy govern- 

 ment which has lately prevailed the greater number of these have 

 been suppressed. Milan and Venice have each an academy of the 

 fine arts, and Milan has also a ' conservatorio,' or college for musical 

 pupils. 



The public charitable establishments, hospitals, orphan and foundling 

 asylums, houses of industry, 'monti di pietji,' &c., in the whole king- 

 dom, are to the number of 88. 



The taxes paid by the kingdom amount in ordinary times to about 

 three millions and a half sterling, and the sources of taxation havo 

 remained for the most part the same as they were under the French 

 administration, but the respective burdens have been somewhat alle- 

 viated. The tax which the French government had put on those who 

 exercised the liberal professions has been abolished, and a cheap 

 postage has been established. Since the late rebellion the provinces 

 have had to pay more than one forced loan. 



Lombardy takes its name from the Longobardi, a nation of ancient 

 Germany, mentioned by Tacitus (' German.,' 40) as a tribe of the Suevi: 

 he describes them as few in number, but secured by their bravery 

 against their more powerful neighbours. It appears that they lived 

 east of the Elbe, towards the shores of tho Baltic Sea. Warnefridus 

 says that they came originally from Scandinavia, and that their name 

 WHS Viniles, which was aftenvards changed into that of Langobards, 

 from two Teutonic words, ' lang ' and ' bart,' ' long-beards.' The 

 Lougobards joined Armiuius against Maroboduus, king of the Suevi. 

 (Tacit., ' Anoal.,' ii. 46.) 



2 r 



