650 



ITALY. 



by abutments, or mutual binding of any sort. The Leaning Tower, at Pisa, is elsewhere de- 

 scribed. 



13. Food and Drink. The food of the Italians is light ; neither the climate, nor the na- 

 tional indolence, requires any other. Chestnuts are used, in many parts, as food, made into a 

 heavy bread ; and, in several of the cities, roasted chestnuts are sold hot. They are 6 times 

 as large as the same nuts in America. Potatoes are growing somewhat into use with the com- 

 mon people. At Rome, polenta^ or hasty pudding, made of the flour of Indian corn, is a 

 general dish with the common people. Macaroni is a common food only at Naples, where it 

 is both a luxury and a necessary. It is, however, much used over all Italy. It is a dried 

 preparation of flour, in long tubes, which are boiled till they become swelled and soft, when 

 they are eaten with a sprinkling of grated parmesan cheese. It is, with the lazzaroni, the hap- 

 piest time of their happy 24 hours, when their toil, their tricks, or their importunity, have ob- 

 tained a few grains, to purchase macaroni, which they hold in long vermiform strings, above 

 the head, which is thrown back, and feed themselves, as it were, by a measure of length. 

 Fruit and vegetables form considerable articles of food. Coffee is a common beverage, and 

 no shops are more frequent than cofTee-rooms. A traveler is surprised to see a course of 

 small birds on the table, not larger than wrens. They make a part of every dinner, in the 

 south of Italy. 



The wines of Italy, in spite of the want of skill in making, are excellent. They are light, 

 and reach their perfection in a year. The wines of Sicily are the most exported. The Mar- 

 sala, or Sicily Madeira, made from the Madeira grape, is a strong white wine, and much of it 

 is consumed in the United States. The wines of Sardinia and Corsica, might, with care, be 

 made of a superior quality ; and those of Tuscany are of established reputation. The Ale- 

 atico is a red muscadine, and the best is produced at Montepulciano, in the Val de Nievole, 

 and in the Lucchese territory. The sweetness of the wine is tempered with an agreeable 

 sharpness. At Artimino, is produced an excellent claret. The Verdea is a pleasant, white 

 wine, made in the vicinity of Florence ; and the Trebbiano is so sweet, that it is almost a 

 syrup. The Orvieto is a delicious table wine, and the best which is produced in the states of 

 the church. Montefiascone, in the vicinity of Orvieto, produces a most luscious Muscat wine. 

 The Neapolitan territory produces the Vino Greco, a sweet wine ; the Lachryma Christ!, 

 sweet and luscious ; and a muscadine wine, very aromatic. The Gragnano, is an agreeable 

 red wine, produced at Castellamare, in the vicinity of Pompeii. The Lachryma Chrisli is 

 raised in a soil, mixed with the lava, or ashes, of Vesuvius. All these wines are cheap ; for 

 the narrow policy of several of the governments imposes restrictions on exportation, and the 

 inland transportation to the cities is not easy. The Italian wines seldom improve after a year. 

 The domestic consumption of them is great, yet the Italians are as temperate, nearly, as the 

 Spaniards. The rosoglio, a cordial, is drank at Naples ; and various cordials in different 

 places. 



14. Traveling. The most expeditious way of traveling, is by post ; which is somewhat 



cheaper than in France. But a common 

 method is, to go with a vetturino, in a coach, 

 containing 6 or 8 persons. There is no want 

 of this conveyance on all the principal routes. 

 It is cheap, and as the rate is but 30 or 40 

 miles a day, affords the best opportunity of 

 seeing the country. The vetturino looks 

 out among foreigners for his passengers, to 

 each of whom he tenders a ducat in pledge, 

 to be forfeited if he should fail to go ; but 

 if the passenger should fail to be ready, he 

 also forfeits his ducat. The bargain with 

 the vetturino, generally includes the passage, 

 and accommodations at the inns ; and this 

 arrangement saves the traveler much over- 

 charging and wrangling. The route from 

 Rome to Naples, perhaps 150 miles, costs 



about 6 dollars, and the vetturino is held to furnish a supper of several courses, and a single bed- 

 room, to each passenaer. It is common, to make him sign a contract, specifying the particu 



Hannibal Crossing the Mjis. 



