KINGDOM OF NAPLES. 



681 



resuvius. 



sides are mostly barren, but in some parts vines 

 and fruits are seen amidst fields of burning lava, 

 and its base is inhabited and cultivated. Sicily 

 contains two ridges extending across the island ; 

 the one from east to west, in which is the volcanic 

 JMount Etna, or Mongibello, 10,870 feet high, and 

 the other from north to south. 



3. Rivers and Lakes. The rivers descend from 

 each side of the Apennines into the sea. They 

 are all small ; the Volturno and the Gai'igliano, 

 flowing west into the Mediterranean, are the princi- 

 pal. The principal lake is Celano, in the northern 

 part of the kingdom. 



4. Islands. Sicily is the largest island in the 

 Mediterranean. It is shaped like a triangle, and 



was called, in consequence, Tnnacria by the ancient Greeks. It seems to have been 

 separated from the continent by some violent convulsion. The Strait of Messina, dividing it 

 from the continent, is 5 miles broad. Tliis is the ancient Charybdis, although the whirlpool 

 which rendered it such a terror to mariners, no longer exists. The mountains of this island 

 may be regarded as a continuation of the Apennines. Mount iEtna is near the eastern shore. 



This celebrated volcano has thrown out 

 flames, at intervals, for more than 2,000 

 years. Its immense size and solitary ele- 

 vation, the beauty and magnificence of the 

 surrounding scenery, and the terrific gran- 

 deur of the convulsions to which it has been 

 subject, have made it one of the wonders 

 of the world. At a distance, it appears 

 like a truncated cone. Upon a nearer ap- 

 proach, the traveler is astonished at the 

 wild and grotesque appearance of the whole 

 mountain. Scattered over the immense 

 declivity, he beholds innumerable small co- 

 nical hills gently rising from the surface to 

 the height of 400 or 500 feet, covered with 

 rich verdure and beautiful trees, villages, 

 scattered hamlets, and monasteries. As 

 his eye ascends, he discovers an immense 

 forest of oaks and pines, forming a beauti- 

 ful green belt round the mountain. Above 

 this, appears the hoary head of the volcano, 

 boldly rising into the clouds, and capped 

 with eternal snow. The crater is a hill of 

 ai: exact conical figure, composed of ashes and scoriae. From this opening, smoke is continu- 

 ally ascending.* There are several mud volcanoes in the island. The principal one is at 



Mount JiAita. 



" " The ascent from Catania to the summit is thirty miles-, 

 requiriniT a journey of thirty days. Fifteen miles are al- 

 lowed for the cultivated region, which is remarkable fi.ir 

 the g-real number of conical hills, generally two or three 

 miles in circumference. All of them have craters, and 

 one of them threw out an immense torrent of lava, in 1(56!:). 

 The second part of the ascent, called the uoody region, 

 e.xtends eight or ten miles toward the summit of the 

 mountain. The most remarkable object here is the cas- 

 ia.irnn dd crnti. cnralli, or chestnul-trce of a hundred /lorsrK, 

 which is 204 feet in circumference at the root. It is di- 

 vided into five branches, but they all unite in one root. 

 Near this, are to be found two others, seventy-six feet in 

 girth, and an oak of forty feet. As the traveler ascends, 

 the trees diminish in size and beaut)', and presently vege- 

 tation looks withered and stunted. After this, he passes 



8(5 



into the f/f5fc< region, or upper zone of .^Dtna ; this is over- 

 spread with snow and ice, and intersected by torrents of 

 melted snow. In the midst of this desert, the lofty sum- 

 mit of the mountain is descried, rearing its tremendous 

 head above the surrounding snows, and vomiting torrents 

 of smoke. The most difficult and dangerous part of tlie 

 ascent now begins. Violent gusts of wind chill the tra. 

 veler, and as he proceeds, the snow gradually increases in 

 depth and hardness, till it appears one continual sheet of 

 ice. Sometimes, from the partial heating of the surface, 

 pools of water are formed by the melted snow, which ar- 

 rest his progress ; the sand and ashes, at first thinly spread 

 over the surface of the hardened snow, deepen as he ad- 

 vances, and are at the same time so loose, that he is in 

 danger of being swallowed up at every step. Sulphure- 

 ous exhalations, constantly arising from the crevicer of 



