THE COASTS OF SICILY. 3 



the strata of limestone, of sandstone and argillace- 

 ous schist formations. The Pelorian and Madonian 

 chains * exhibit numerous summits, which rise up- 

 wards of 4000 feet above the level of the sea; some 

 even exceed 5000 feet; and one of them, the Pizzo 

 di Palermo, attains an altitude of nearly 6000 feet. 



These high mountain-chains, which extend like a 

 wall from Palermo to Messina, are broken here and 

 there by the intervention of a cape or a small penin- 

 sula, whose deeply indented shores seemed to promise 

 us an abundant harvest. After much deliberation, 

 it was decided that these should form the scene of 

 our next explorations on leaving Favignana. In 

 order to lose no time by this retrograde move- 

 ment, we resolved once more to leave our boat ; and 

 having given Perone orders to await our arrival at 

 Cephalu, we set forth, accompanied only by the 

 faithful Carmel, and, guided by the muleteers on 

 whose mules we were to make the journey, tra- 

 versed a part of Sicily which is very rarely visited 

 by strangers. 



Here, as at Trapani, we everywhere observed 

 mournful traces of deficient civilisation, associated 

 with the remains of the splendour of a bygone age. 

 The church of Castelvetrano, in which lie the re- 



* The Pelores mountains, formerly known as the Neptunian 

 chain, border the whole north coast of Sicily from east to west, 

 and seldom devjate far from the coast line. The Madonian chain, 

 which was designated by the ancients under the name of the 

 Nembrodes, is situated to the south of the preceding range, extend- 

 ing in the same direction. Numerous less elevated branches join 

 these two larger chains, intersecting the district of Sicily in every 

 direction. 



B 2 



