578 ITALY. 



the French, and is now at Paris. From the inscription on its base, 

 it appears to have been made by Cleomenes, an Athenian, the son of 

 Apoiioriorus. It is of white marble, and was surrounded by other 

 master-pieces of sculpture, some of which are said to be the works 

 of Praxiteles, and otner Greek masters. Every corner of this beauti- 

 ful city, which stands between mountains covered with olive-trees, 

 vineyards, and delightful villas, and divided by the Aino, is full of 

 Wonders, in the arta of painting, statuary, and architecture. It is a 

 pljce of some strength, and contains an archbishop's see and a 

 university. The inhabitants boasi of the improvements they have 

 made in the Iaiian tongue, by means of their Academia della Crusca; 

 and several other academies are now established at Florence. Though 

 the Florentines affect great state, ye: their nobilicy and gentry carry 

 on a retail trade in wine, which they sell from their cellar windows ; 

 and sometimes they even hang out a broken flask, as a sign where it 

 may be bought. They deal, besides wine and fruits, in gold and silver 

 stuffs. Upon the accession of the archduke Peter Leopold, after- 

 wards emperor of Germany, to this duchy, a great reformation was 

 introduced, both into the government and manufactures, to the great 

 benefit of the finances. It is thought that the great-duchy of Tuscany 

 could bring into the field, upon occasion, 30,000 fighting men, and that 

 its revenues were above 500,000/. a year. The other principal towns 

 of Tuscany are Pisa, Leghorn, and Sienna: the first and last are 

 much decayed ; but Leghorn is a very handsome city, built in the 

 modern taste, and with such regularity, that both gates are seen from 

 the market-place. It is well fortified, having two forts towards the 

 sea, besides the citadel. The ramparts afford a very agreeable pros- 

 pect of the sea, and of many villas on the land side. Here all nations, 

 and even the Mahommedans, have free access, and many settle. The 

 number of inhabitants is 58,000, among whom are said to be 20,000 

 Jews, who live in a particular quarter of the city, have a handsome 

 synagogue, and, though subject to very heavy imposts, are in a thriv- 

 ing condition, the greatest part of the commerce of this city going 

 through their hands. 



When the French erected Tuscany into a kingdom, by the name 

 of the kingdom of Etruria, they gave the sovereignty to Louis the 

 son of the duke of Parma, to whom the grand-duchy of Tuscany was 

 formerly ceded by the treaty of Luneville. Since his death, in 1803, 

 the government has been administered in the name of his infant son 

 Louis, born December 23, 1799, by the queen-dowager, Maria-Louisa^ 

 daughter of the present king of Spain. 



The republic of St. Marino is here mentioned as a geographical 

 curiosity. Its territories consist of a high craggy mountain, with a 

 few eminences at the bottom, and the inhabitants boast of having 

 preserved their liberties as a republic for 1300 years. It is under 

 the protection of the pope ; and the inoffensive manners of the inhabi- 

 tants, whose number is not more than 10,000, with the small value of 

 their territory, have preserved its constitution. 



The Ecclesiastical State, which contains Rome, formerly the capi- 

 tal of the world, is situated about the middle of Italy. The ill effects 

 of popish tyranny, superstition, and oppression, are here seen in the 

 highest perfection. Those spots, which under the masters of the 

 world were formed into so many terrestrial paradises, surrounding 

 their magnificent villas, and enriched with all the luxuries that art 

 and nature couid produce, are now converted into noxious pestilen- 



