Chap. iir. 
Gredtefl Part of 1 1 A L Y. 
Cento Cdmerelle, befides d great many other remarkable 
Remnants of Antiquity, but that I had not fufficienc 
Leifure to make fo exa»^ an Obfervation of them as was 
fufEcient to give you a full Defcription of them. 
From Bajce we took Boat to PuzzoU again, and thence 
went on Horfeback to Naples. But before we depart, 
I muft fay a Word or two of the Tomb of FirgiL At 
the Entrance of the Grott of Paufilypus;^ which leads to 
PuzzoU, {lands an ancient Monument fhaped like a Py- 
ramid, but above half deflroyed. Some modern Hif- 
torians affure us, that in their Time there were nine 
fmall Columns of Marble in the little Chamber of this 
Maufolisum, which fupported an Urn of the fame Sub- 
Ranee, with this Diftich upon it : 
Mantua me genuit, Calahri rapuere, tenet nunc 
Parthenope 5 cecini, pafcua, rura. Duces. 
But now there are neither Columns nor Urn to be feen 
here. The Maufolaufn is built of very large fquare 
Stone, notwithftanding which, it is almoft coverM with 
Bufhes and Shrubs, that have takep Root between the 
Stones ; among the reft there grows a Lawrel on the 
Top of it, which, if you will believe the Inhabitants, 
has been often cropp’d and pluck’d up, but always 
grows again. 
Virgil is look’d upon by many of the Inhabitants of 
this Country as a great Sorcerer ; whence it is that they 
have attributed to him the making of the Grott of 
Pauftlypus, as alfo ©f the brazen Horfe, the Head 
whereof, as I told you before, is ftill preferved at the 
Palace of D. Diomedes Caraffa. Unto this Horfe they 
attributed, for the fame Reafon, a fecret Virtue of cu^ 
ring all Sorts of Difeafes in Horfes, and of preferving 
them from finifter Accidents, and for a confiderable 
Time ufed to brmg their Horfes from the remoteft 
Parts of the Kingdom of Naples, to lead them in Pro- 
ceffion round this pretended Horfe of Virgil ; till at 
laft the Horfe was, by the Order of a certain Arch- 
bifhop of that Kingdom, removed from thence, and a 
great Bell call of its Body, which remains in the Ca- 
thedral, and is of fomewhat more Ufe than the Horfe. 
The Houfe of Sannazarius, which flood on the Sea- 
fide, at the Foot of the Hill of Pauftlypus, being de- 
flroyed by the War, a Church was built in the fame 
Place, dedicated to the moft holy Birth of the Mother 
cf God, where his Tomb is now to be feen in one of 
the Chapels. The Tomb is of white Marble, done by 
the excellent Hand of St. Croce : Upon it you fee the 
Bull of Sannazarius crowned with Lawrel, and on each 
Side the Statues of Apollo and Minerva, which they 
commonly call David and Judith. I fuppofe you are 
informed, that James Sannazarius changed his Name 
into that of Adtius Sincerus, according to the Cuftom 
or rather AfFeftation of thofe Times. 
II. Your Letter I received with a great Pleafure, in 
Return whereof I will endeavour to fatisfy your Curid- 
fity, in refolving your Queftions concerning Venice, in 
the fame Order you have propofed them ; after which 
I will proceed to give you an Account of Rome. 
I. Whatever your Friend may fay on Pretence of his 
being a Citizen of Venice, of the Number of Inhabi- 
tants in that City, which he makes amount to 250,000, 
J cannot allow him a competent Judge *, though on the 
other hand I muft tell you, that you carry the Matter 
too far, when you declare, that it is impoffible to know 
the exaft Number of Inhabitants in great Cities, Sir 
William Petty having propofed to us a rational Method 
of making fuch a Computation, without any remark- 
able Error. I ought however not to pafs by in Silence, 
that in my Computation I included the Inhabitants of 
the Ifle of La Giudeca, but not the Ifte of Murano. 
II. The two Columns of Granite in the Place of the 
Broglio, fome fay, were brought from Egypt, others from 
Conjiantinople, (perhaps they were brought from Egypt 
to ConBantinopk.) Upon one of thefe Columns {lands 
the Arms of Venice, viz. the winged Lion of St. Mark 
holding an open Book, with the Infeription of Pax tibi 
Marce. On the other you fee the Statue of St. Theo- 
dore, The like Columns the Venetians erefl in all the 
great Cities under their Jurifdi6iion, as Trophies of the 
Republick. The hmt Venetian alfo . mi fin form’d yoii 
about the three great Banners fet on Feftiyal Days upori 
the brazen Pedeftals oppofite to St. MarPs Church, viz: 
That they feprefent the Venetian State, and the two* 
Kingdoms of Cyprus and Candia, the Republick’s Arni.^ 
being to be feen without the leaft Alteration in all the 
three Banners. Another vulgar Error is. That the Ve- 
netian Signiory has no Coat of Arms, though the Lion i^ 
to be feen in ail thofe Places where the Arrhsof a State 
are generally to be feen. The Lion of St. Mark takes 
its Origin from theVifion of Ezekiel, and not from the 
imaginary Transformation of St. Mark into a Lion, td 
check the inceftuous Love of his Sifter. Herice it is, 
that the Venetian AmbafTador being ask’d, what Coun- 
try it was that produced thofe winged Lions ? replied. 
The fame that brought forth the double-headed Eagles 5 
alluding to the Arms of the Empire, Rufjia, and other 
Sovereignties. 
III. What I told you concerning the Air of Venice 
muft be taken with fome Grains of Allowance, though 
the Air of Venice is none of the worft. In the Lagunes 
it is fo bad, that the Inhabitants of the lelTer Ifles com- 
monly leave their Habitations in the hot Seafon, and 
retire elfewhere. But this is not peculiar to Venice, but 
is alfo common in feveral other Parts of Italy, efpecially 
in the Country about Rome. 
IV. That the Doge of Venice continues for Life,^ 
whereas the Doge of Genoa reigns only for two Years, is 
fufficiently known. The Revenues of the Doge of Ve- 
nice, fo far as I was able to learn, do not amount to 
quite 3000 /. Sterling per Annum \ but the Frugality 
wherewith the Venetians manage their Government, has 
taught them not to allow their Spoules any Share ia 
thofe ufelefs Honours they pay to their Husbands. 
V. Concerning the Libertinifm in the Monafteries of 
Venice, as I will not profefs myfelf to be acquainted 
with it in particular, fo I can oiAy tell you, that it 
generally acknowledged here, that the Nuns are often 
vifited by Perfons in Mafquerade at the Grates ; that 
they go to Plays and other Places in Difguife ; that they 
have made Tables on Purpofe for Entertainments, one 
half within, and the other half without the Grates ; 
nay, that they are often engaged in Intrigues ; and that 
the Friers are guilty of fuch Debaucheries as can fcarce 
be imagined. Thefe, I fay, are common Reports ; but 
I do not affirm them^ 
VI. What your Friend has been pleafed to alledge 
againft the Sovereignty of the Doge, is not Worth ta- 
king Notice of, the fame being fufficiently known to 
all that have had any Infight into the Venetian State, or 
enquired into the Principles of their political Confti- 
tution. 
VII. The whole Revenue of this Commonwealth, ac- 
cording to the beft Computation, amounts annually to 
fix Millions of Crowns, including the Sale of Offices and 
Nobility, Confifeations, &c. 
VIII. They permit fome Jews to live at Venice, who 
are rich, efpecially the Portuguefe ; Their Quarter is 
called II Ghetto, or the Jewry % their Hats are cover’d 
with Scarlet, lined and edged with black. The poorer. 
Sort are contented with wax’d Linen. By the Help of 
Money this Badge may be difpenfed with. 
IX. The whole Number of their Nobility, arrived to 
a proper Age of fitting in the Great Council, amounts' 
to about thirteen hundred 1 but one half of them being 
generally abroad in Civil or Military Employments,^ 
this AlTembly fcarce ever exceeds fix or feven hundred ; 
yet thefe feem too many for the Management of thole 
Matters of Confequence that come before them, which 
hath given Birth to this Proverb, Troppo Tefie, tropptf 
Fejfe, troppo Tempe§fe ; Too many Heads, too many FeBV 
vals, and too many Tempefis ;• And as the firft is meant 
of the Great Council of Venice, fo their Pefiivals are fo 
frequent, that they exceed thofe obferved in France by 
one third Part, and they are commonly pefter’d with 
Storms in the Summer. 
X. The Golden Book I have mentioned, contains a 
Catalogue of all the Noblemen in their State j and as 
all the Brothers of every Family have an equal Share 
in 
