586 
M issonV ^Travels through the 
Book If. 
offer themfelves to my Memory. I could not give 
you an Account of thofe Academies of the Virtuoji^ 
that are eftablifhed in almoft all the Towns in Italy ^ 
becaufe I had not Time to enquire particularly about 
them i but if I may give Credit to the Information I 
received from feveral Perfons, they are certainly, not- 
withftanding the Noife they make about them, but very 
inconfiderable Societies, as I have intimated before. 
The affedled Oddnefs of their Titles are very whimlical, 
they are not much unlike the Names which the Grooms 
in France and England give to their Horfes. I fiiall only 
mention a Dozen of them. Thus the Academilis of 
Genoa c?dl thtmMvcz Addormentati^ i. e. Browfy ; thofe 
of Naples, Ardenti, i. e. Burning ; thofe of Alexandria, 
Immohili, i. e. Immovable ; thofe of Rome, Fantajiic and 
Humorijti, i. e. Fantajiical or Humurous ; thole of Viter- 
bo, OSiinati, i. e. Ohjlinate ; thole of Siena, Intronati, 
i, e. Giddy-headed, or Block-heads ; at Peruja they flile 
themlelves Infenfati, i. e. Mad ; at Parma, Innominati, 
i. e. Harmlefs j at Bologna, Otioft, i. e. Idle% at Milan, 
Nafcojii, i. e. Concealed ; at Ancona, Caliginati, i. e. Ob- 
fcure and confuted ; at Mantua, Invaghiti, i. e. Eafy or 
Pliable ; and at Mac er at a, Catenati, i. e. Chained. I 
perceive I have skipped from Place to Place without 
any Order, but that is not material in a Thing of this 
Nature. 
We were treated with a great deal of Civility and 
Kindnefs by the Italians, as far as we could judge by 
outward Appearances i but to deal plainly, their Com- 
plaifance is a Mixture of Flattery and Defign. We 
found alfo by Experience, that the People of this Na- 
tiori are very fober. The Inns in the little Towns, ef- 
pecially on certain Roads, are very ill furnilhed with 
Provifions. The firft Courfe they call the Antipalio, is 
a Dilb of Giblets boiled with Salt and Pepper, and 
mixed with Whites of Eggs ; after which Courfe, 
comes two or three fmall Dilhes, one after another, of 
different Ragous. Between Rome and Naples the Tra- 
veller is fometimes regal’d with Buffaloes and Crows. 
^ Some Hiftorians relate, that the firft Buffaloes that were 
feen in Italy, were brought thither Anno Dorn. 595 ; 
the Buffaloe^s Flelh is black, ftinking, and hard ; there 
are none but the moft beggarly Jews at Rome who eat 
it, and the Beaft mull be hunted, otherwife it is im- 
poffible to chew its Flelh. They have all the various 
Kinds of Wine in Italy, but the bell Sorts are fcarce. 
About Rome there is the Wine of Genfano, Albano, and 
Cadle Gandolfo, in which Places the Soil is the fame ; 
the Greco of Naples and the Lacryma Chrijii are ftrong, 
but the fmall Afprino bianco, and the Chiarello piccante, 
feemed more agreeable to our Tafte, though they are 
much lefs efteemed. At Florence and Montefiafcone the 
richeft Wines are pleafant, and have no more Fire than 
what is convenient for ordinary Drink ; but there is no 
great Quantity of them. The Great Duke’s delicate 
Mofcadello grows in a little Vineyard, and is confecrated 
to his own Ule, or to be fent as Prefents, but never 
difperfed through the Country. There are alio fome 
good Sorts of Wine near Verona, and in the State of 
Genoa. About Loretto the Casks are made fhort and 
broad, like a Butch Gheefe, but towards Pavia their 
Length is about feven Times their Diameter. Towards 
Parma and Placentia, where there are excellent Paf- 
tures, they make Cheefe of all their Milk. Butter is 
fcarce in Italy, inftead of which they ufe Oil in all their 
Ragous and Fricafies ; but though they draw it from 
their own Olive-trees, it is oftentimes worfe than in 
thofe Countries where none of thefe Trees grow ; for 
what will yield the Price and keep longeft is always 
tranfpqrted for the Sake of Gain, We have not feen 
the chief Seafon for Fruit in this Country. At Venice, 
where we ftaid two Months in Winter, we had white 
Grapes of Bologna, very firm, and of a moft delicious 
Tafte. At Naples we eat Winter Melons, and at Genoa 
we were entertained with all Sorts of fmall Fruits, and I 
never faw fo good and large Cherries as there. The 
Riviera di Genoa is peculiarly famous for excellent Fruit ; 
it may be truly faid of Genoa, that its Hills are without 
Wood, but all the reft of the Proverb is falfe. Men 
without Fmth, Ladies without Shame, and Sea without 
Fiffes. There are both Rogues and honeft Men every 
where^ and we found by Experience, that there arc 
very good Filh in the Sea of Genoa. I took Pleafure 
two or three Times to go in the Morning to fee the 
rilh-market at Naples, Venice, Ancona, and Leghorn 
and other Places, where I obferved feveral Sorts that I 
had never feen in other Places. The Gulph of Caieta 
abounds with Sturgeon, fome of which are alfo found 
in the Fiber ; it is excellent when roafted frefii. 
In all our Travels through Italy, we never faw either 
a Hare or Partridge in the Fields ; and I might alfo 
add, we faw as few in the Inns. It is very ftrange, in 
my Opinion, that thefe Animals are not more plentiful 
fince the Country is not wholly deftitute of them. There 
are large Extents of Ground in Italy, which are almoft 
uninhabited, and confequently ought to abound with 
Game, proportionable to the like Places in the reft of 
the World. And again it might be reafonably fup- 
luppofed, that the Game Ihould be more here than in 
other Places, becaufe the Lords of thefe Grounds are 
never wont to refide on them, and yet are no lefs jea- 
lous of their Rights than the Gentlemen of other Coun- 
tries. In England and France, there are many Perfons 
ot Quality who pafs their Time in the Country, but 
that IS not the Cuftom in Italy, where all Perfons of 
N(^e live in the Cities, out of which there are no 
Caltles 'or great Houfes to be feen, which belong 
to private Perfons, or at lead they are very rare, efpe- 
aalJy if we compare this Country with France and with 
England. To return to our Game ; it muft be acknow- 
Jedged, that Quails are not fo great Rarities here as 
Partridges, for on the Approach of Spring they come 
in Bevy’s from Africa and cover the whole Country, 
Thefe poor little Creatures are fo tired with their long 
Paffage, that they throw themfelves into Ships, and 
where- ever they can find a Place to repofe themfelves, 
1 hey may be caught in Heaps without the Jeaft Trou- 
ble ; but fince they are extremely lean, they who take 
them ufually feed them, for fome Time, before they 
eat them, I believe it is a Queftion not yet refolved 
whether thefe Birds fly over the Sea at one Flight, or 
whether they do not fometimes fwim to take Breath ? 
It is indeed hard to conceive that the Quail, which has 
not a ftrong Wing, and flies heavily, Ihould be able 
to continue its Flight fo long. But on the other Side, 
I am inclined to believe, that the Water would fo 
moiften and drench the Feathers, that it could never 
fpread its Wings again ; and befides, its Leanneft and 
Wearinefs, the Dangers to which it expofes itfeJf, and 
its Eagemefs to find a Refting-pJace, are, in my Opi- 
nion, convincing Arguments, that it flies ail the Way 
without Intermiffion, though, it muft be confeffed, this 
Notion is fubjed to Difficulties. 
I faw but one Scorpion in Italy, and I could not learn 
that thefe Animals are very mifchievous in this Coun- 
try : There are feveral Ways to guard againft them ; 
but I never faw any of thofe hanging Beds that are 
ufually talked of as common there. The People abou^ 
Verona make Ufe of Iron Eedfteads, which they place 
at fome Diftance from the Walls, that thofe Infeds 
may neither breed in them, nor be able to come upon 
the Beds, and the Feet of the Bedfteads are filed and. 
poliffied for the farne Reafon. If the Animal itfelf can 
be caught and bruifed, on the Part which it ftung, it 
is a certain Remedy ; and there are alfo Saks and°Oils 
extraded out of it, which produce the fame Effed : 
But after ah, the Stinging of Scorpions is not mortal 
in Italy ; and befides, fuch Inftances happen fo very 
rarely, that they who are defirous to travel into that 
Country, ought not be difcouraged by them. There 
are two Sorts of Animals to which the Italians give the 
Name Farantiila ; one is a Sort of Lizard, whole Biting 
is reputed mortal ; it is found efpecially about Fondi, 
Cajeta, and Capua : But this is not that, which other 
Nations call larantula. The true Tarantula is a Spider, 
and lives in the Fields ; there are many of them in 
Abruzzo, Calabria, and they are alfo found in fome Parts 
of Fufcany. Such as are ftung by this Creature, make 
a thoufand different Geftures in a Moment ; for they 
weep, dance, tremble, laugh, grow pale, cry, fwoon 
away. 
