iTALiATf CATTLE.] CATTLE, AND THEIE YAEIETIES. [ it alt a-t cattle. 



a man hatli touched — no, not for many days 

 together ; and if, by art or policy, they happen 

 to be taken alive, they will die witli very sudden 

 grief. If they meet a man, presently they 

 make force at him, fearing neither dogs, spears, 

 nor other weapons." 



CATTLE OF THE MAREMMA. 



We have already alluded to the Marerama 

 of Italy ; to viliich we must return, to notice 

 an uncouth, savage, wild breed of cattle, which 

 inhabit its marshes. This piece of country 

 consists of a flat strip, except in a few places 

 where hills intervene, extending from the 

 mountains of Grenoa to the extremity of Cala- 

 bri:i, a length of about seven hundred miles. 

 Its breadth is from the base of the lower range 

 of the Apennine chain to the shore of the 

 Mediterranean. This sweep of country is pes- 

 tilential in the extreme iti summer ; and though 

 it yields the most luxuriant harvests, is only 

 partially cultivated, the greater portion being 

 left for pasture. Here, besides the cattle used 

 as beasts of burden, or draught, and employed 

 in the work of the farms, large herds roam 

 unmolested under the care of keepers, which, 

 together with the buffalo-keepers, before al- 

 luded to, and forest- rangers, are the only sta- 

 tionary population in the wild Maremma. The 

 former, as wild and savage as the animals un- 

 der their charge, are always mounted on fleet 

 Lorses, and armed with a long lance, which 

 they use in driving the cattle, and in defending 

 themselves against the fierce bulls, which, as 

 well as the buffjiloes, are extremely dangerous. 

 These men are often criminals, who have fled 

 from justice into the Marem ma, where they are 

 obliged to sojourn, and where they are often 

 employed by the proprietors of the farms and 

 cattle, as rangers or drivers. Those who are 

 not fugitives adopt their occupation from 

 choice, which, dangerous and laborious as it is, 

 is one of independence and freedom. They are 

 tlie analogues of the Arab of the desert, or the 

 Gauchos of the Pampas. Besides being paid 

 for their services, they rear cattle of their own. 

 In the summer months they retire to the shady 

 forests along the sea-shore, where the air is 

 not so unwholesome as in the open plains. 

 The cattle are collected at various times, and 

 driven by these men, called Vaccari, to the 

 fairs hold in the towns, for sale. 

 628 



Both the bull and the buffalo are baited in 

 Italy by men and dogs, for the entertainment 

 of the Roman people, who seem to be as fond 

 of such scenes as were their great predecessors. 

 The scene of the sport, which is called La 

 Giostra, is, like many other buildings in Eome, 

 a curious compound of tlie modern and the 

 ancient. The Amfiteatro Correa, as the place 

 is designated, is situated in a massive cluster 

 of buildings raised upon the site, and partly 

 with the materials, of the mausoleum of the 

 Emperor Augustus, in the Campus Martins. 

 Tlae walls of this amphitheatre, and the seats, 

 are all of modern structure. Tlie arena occu- 

 ]-)ies the platform of the ancient mausoleum, 

 which, in otiier times, was cultivated with 

 flowers and rare shrubs ; while the pyramid, 

 that bore the statue of Octavius, rose in the 

 midst. The vaults beneath, which once held 

 the ashes of the Cte^ars, are now iu part used 

 as dens for the wild cattle that are brought 

 in from the Campagna, and other places, to be 

 baited. Twice every week, during the summer, 

 do these exhibitions take place ; commencing 

 at five in the evening, and lastiug till dusk. 

 The men who are to encounter the bulls and 

 buffaloes are called Giostratori. They are 

 dressed in white, with a red sash round the 

 waist. Each bears a short staff, with a red 

 pennon at the end of it ; and they muster in the 

 arena, make their bows to the assembled spec- 

 tators, and wait the onset of the might}- ani- 

 mal. Among them are generally two or tlu-ee 

 of great reputation for skill ; these are usually 

 vaccari (herdsmen), or bufialeri (bufi^alo-keep- 

 ers) — men brought up from their childhood 

 among the cattle they respectively manage, 

 and familiarised with their habits. The Gios- 

 tratori, from Viterbo, have the reputation of 

 excelling all others; and hence the term It 

 Viterlese (the Viterbonian) is used metony- 

 mically to designate any celebrated bull-fighter. 

 In the centre of the arena is a strong post 

 firmly fixed, by dodging round which a man 

 may, for a considerable time, evade the assaults 

 of a bull or buffalo. At a given sigiuvl, the 

 door of a den is opened, and the bull rushes 

 forth, wildly gazing around him, till, observing 

 the Giostratori, with their scarlet sashes and 

 pennons, he singles out one, and roariug and 

 lashing his tail, drives furiously towards him. 

 The man nimbly avoids the charge; others 



