OF THE REPUBLIC OF GENOA. 42 1 



churches are fplendidly decorated, and the houfes in 

 the flreets are hung with elegant tapeftr^es. ; 



The chief article of commerce is their velvet, parti - 

 cularly the black, which is fabricated not only in the 

 capital, but alfo by the peafants in the country. It is 

 the beft and handfomeft in all Europe. The damafk 

 and flowered filks, are more e {teemed for their intrinfic 

 value, than on account of any fuperior tafte in the 

 patterns. What they fabricate befides in the greateit 

 . abundance, are filk ftockings, ribbands, motley-co- 

 loured papers, which they fend to the Earl Indies, and 

 foap for Spain and Portugal, They likewife carry 011 

 a considerable trade in dried mufhrooms, morels, and 

 truffles, efpecially to Spain,, in unwrought marbles, of 

 which the alabafter of Seftri, the green and red of Pol- 

 cevera, and the white of Carrara, are the moll valua- 

 ble fpecies. Their Hates, which are dug up at La- 

 vagna, and their fine lackered boxes, pafs through all 

 Italy, and even much farther. But there is no doubt 

 that the profits arifing from their trade in foreign com- 

 modities, fuch as fugar, cacao, indigo, italian, french, 

 and fpanifh wines, and oil, levant wool and cotton, 

 englifh, french, and dutch cloths, german woollen 

 fluffs and worried ftockings, dried fifli from Holland, 

 and many other foreign articles of commerce, greatly 

 exceed what arife from their own. The Genoefe in 

 general are very acute merchants ; and no occurrence 

 that is advantageous to trade can happen in any one of 

 the four quarters of the world, but they know how to 

 turn it to account. They even build fhips of war and 

 trading veffels for foreign nations, though they have 

 not the proper timber for that purpofe of their own 



b e 3 growth 



