S89 ITALY. 



in which the Virgin Mary is said to have dwelt at Nazareth, was 

 carried thither through the air by angels, attended with many other 

 miraculous circumstances, such as that all the trees, on the arrival 

 of the sacred mansion, bowed with the profoundest reverence ; and 

 great care was taken to prevent any bits of the materials of this house 

 from being carried to other places and exposed as relics, to the pre- 

 judice ol Loretto. The image of the Virgin Mary, and of the divine 

 infant, are of cedar, placed in a small apartment, separated from the 

 others by a silver balustrade, which had a gate of the same metal. 

 It is impossible to describe the gold chains, the rings and jewels, 

 emeralds, pearls, and rubies, wherewith this image was loaded ; and 

 the angels of solid gold, who were here placed on every side, were, 

 equally enriched with the most precious diamonds. To the supersti- 

 tion of the Roman-catholic princes Loretto was indebted for this mass 

 of treasure. But on the approach of the French army, after the in- 

 vasion of the papal state, this treasure was privately witndrawn, and 

 invaders found little to gratify their rapacity : indeed it was before 

 very generally supposed tliat the real gold and jewels had long since 

 been carried away, and metals and stones of less value substituted in 

 their place 



There is nothing very particular in the pope's temporal govern- 

 ment at Rome. Like other princes, he has guards, or sbirri, who take 

 care of the peace of the city, under proper magistrates, both eccle- 

 siastical and civil. The Campagna di Roma, which contains Rome, 

 is under the inspection of his holiness. In the other provinces he 

 governs by legates and vice-legates. He monopolises all the corn in 

 his territories, and has always a sufficient number of troops on foot, 

 under proper officers, to keep the provinces in awe.* 



The king of Naples and Sicily,t or, as he was more properly called, 

 the king of the Two Sicilies (the name of Sicily being common to 

 both) was formerly possessed of the largest dominions of any prince 

 in Italy, as they comprehended the ancient countries of Samnium, 

 Campania, Apulia, Magna-Graecia, and the island of Sicily, contain- 

 ing in all, about 32,000 square miles. They are bounded on all sides 

 by the Mediterranean and the Adriatic, except on the north-east, 

 where Naples terminates on the Ecclesiastical State. The Apennine 

 runs through it from north to south ; and its surface is estimated at 

 35,000 square leagues. The air is hot, and the soil fruitful of every 

 thing produced in Italy. The wines called Vino Greco, and Lacrymse 

 Christi, are excellent. The city of Naples, its capital, which i3 ex- 

 tremely superb, and adorned with all the profusion of art and riches, 

 and its neighbourhood, would be one of the most delightful places in 

 Europe to live in, were it not for their vicinity to the volcano of 

 Vesuvius, which sometimes threatens the city with destruction, and 

 the soil being pestered with insects and reptiles, some of which are 

 venomous. The houses in Naples are inadequate to the population, 

 but in general are five or six stories in- height, and flat at the top ; 

 on which are placed numbers of flower vases, or fruit-trees in boxes 



* Gregory Barnabas Chiaramonti, the present pope, who has assumed the name 

 of Pius VII, was born at Cesena, Aueust 14, 1742, and elected pope at Venice, 

 March 13, 1800. 



•j- Ferdinand IV, king of the Two Sicilies, third son of his late catholic majesty, 

 the kiv.g of Spain, born January 12, 1751, ascended the throne October 5, 1759 ; 

 and married, April 7, 1768, to the archduchess Maria-Cajolina«.Loui63 f sister to 

 the late emperor. 



