.i(iS _ _THE CYl'RESS. 



a ver)- sombre effect. Cypress wood was much valued in 

 ancient times and a thick trunk represented a small capital. 

 According to Plin^■ this is the origin of the custom of 

 planting a C\'press \\ hen a daughter was born, to ensure her 

 a dowr^■. There was hardh' an^' timber better suitecl for 

 ship building, and this wood, like that of the North African 

 Callitris, was used to make boxes to protect clothing 

 from moth. Sarcophagi for the rich, and idols were carved 

 out of it. In the times of the Caesars the C^'press pro- 

 vided the ^\■ood for funeral p\ res and, as it was 

 thought to be indestructible, it was regarded amongst 

 Christians as the "Tree of Life", the symbol of immor- 

 tality. For the same reason it adorns the burial places 

 of the Mohammedans and in our latitudes, where it cannot 

 stand the severe climate, the Cypress has been replaced 

 b\' the somewhat similar North American TJiiijd occi- 

 dentalism which has also been called Arbor \'itae the 

 "Tree of Life". In the second half of the "Quattrocento" 

 it was a common custom in Italian gardens to remove 

 the branches at certain intervals so as to form terraces 

 round the main stem. In his interesting work "Die Natur 

 in der Kunst", Felix Rosen has referred to the fact that 

 Cypress trees are frequently thus r-epresented in old 

 Italian pictures. 



Sestrl Levante possesses a priceless joearl in its cas- 

 ket, a jewel which ever\- place on the Riviera might 

 covet — the \'illa Piuma. It adorns the end of the 

 promontory that juts out into the sea like an island, and 

 on which the oldest parts of the town rise, culminating 

 in a cemetery at the summit. 



