A CLASSICAL TOUR THROUGH ITALY. CHAP. I. DEPARTURE FROM VIENNA-MUNICH-SALTZBURG—SALT MINESDEFILE OF THE ALPS-INSPRUCK-ASCENT OF THE BRENNER -SUMMIT OF THE ALPS-DESCENT--BRIXEN- -BOLSANO TRENT. SOME travellers, having set out from England during the summer of 1801, met at Vienna the following autumn; and finding that their views and tastes coincided, agreed to make the tour of Italy together. Although eager to commence their journey, and reach its confines, they were detained by the charms of the Austrian capital, which, since the manners of Paris have been barbarized by the Revolution, has become the seat of politeness, and the school of refinement. An account of the state of society, as well as a description of the city itself, would be both entertaining. and instructive; but, as Italy is the grand object of these volumes, the reader will probably be as impatient as the travellers themselves, and dispense with details, which, however amusing elsewhere, would here only retard them in their progress towards that classic region. We shall, therefore, reserve the description of this city, as well as that of Munich and the intermediate country, for our German tour, and only inform the reader, that on Thursday, January the twenty-eighth, 1802, we withdrew from the attractions of Vienna, and commenced our journey, which we continued through deep snow, with little interruption, till we reached Munich, where we arrived late at night on the following Monday. We devoted four days to the inspection of this capital, and the usual ceremonies of presentation at court; and in justice to the Elector I must add, that by his affability and condescension, he converted this formality, in general dull and tiresome, into a very pleasing interview. On Friday the fifth of February, we set out from Munich at eleven o'clock at night. At break of day the Alps, just reddened by the beams of the morning, and mingling with the clouds, presented to our eyes a new and interesting object, and continued to attract our attention during the day, by shifting their situation with the windings of the road, and changing their tints with every shadow that flitted over them. We entered Saltzburg late in the evening. We are now at the foot of the Alps; and considering ourselves as treading classical ground, we may be allowed to expatiate more at large on the surrounding scenery. The mountains, now rising immediately before us, were represented by the ancients as an insuperable rampart raised by nature to separate Italy from the less favoured regions of the north, and to protect her beauties and her treasures from the assault of barbarian invaders.* Though this natural barrier has long ceased to answer that object, because one or other of the petty powers possessing the defiles has usually been in the interests of the common enemies, yet it is well calculated for such a purpose; and may, in times more favourable to Italy, be rendered a frontier far more impenetrable than the triple range of fortresses, which guarded the northern boundaries of France, and on a late occasion saved that country from invasion and ruin. These defiles, according to the same authors, were opened with incredible labour by the early inhabitants of Italy, and may be regarded as so many avenues leading to the garden of Europe. Saltzburg, a subalpine city, is placed, as if to guard the entrance into the grand defile, which traverses the Rhetian Alps; and it may be considered, for that reason, as forming one of the outposts of Italy. The cathedral is built of fine stone, and has two towers in front. It is said to be one of the earliest specimens of Italian architecture in Germany, and is fashioned internally on the Roman model; that is, with the choir behind the altar, and a canopy over the latter, supported by four marble pillars, an exact copy, as our guide pretended, of a similar ornament in St. Peter's; yet, with all these supposed advantages, this church is neither large nor beautiful, and has little to boast of besides its solidity. There are two palaces belonging to the Prince Bishop. In one there are several very fine rooms, in the other a spacious and most magnificent gallery. But the most striking object * Herodian, II. 39, viii. 2. that Saltzburg presents, is a yery noble gateway cut through the solid rock, which rises perpendicularly to a considerable elevation, is crowned with tall and spreading elms, and forms a natural rampart equally strong and beautiful. Through this mass of stone a passage has been opened, three hundred feet in length, thirty in height, and twenty four in breadth. The inscription, in honour of the bishop who executed this noble work, is neat and appropriate-Te saxa loquuntur. This grotto opens on a little square, the principal ornament of which is an equestrian statue of St. Sigismund, in dress, attitude, and form, extremely classical, The situation of this city is, however, its principal beauty and advantage; in a valley watered by the Salza, open only to the north, and enclosed on the other sides by hills and mountains of various forms and magnitude. Upon one of these hills, immediately contiguous to the town, stands the citadel, an edifice large and roomy, but ill supplied, ill furnished, and ill supported. The bishops of Saltzburg indeed, like all the petty princes of Germany, rely more upon the watchfulness and jealousy of the greater powers, than upon their own strength, for defence and independence. But, however neglected the citadel may be, its situation is very bold and commanding. Behind it, on the eminence, is a beautiful walk; and from an oak near this walk, expands a most romantic view, extending over fertile vales, deep dells, rocks and crags, hills and mountains. The descent from this lofty site is worked in the rock, and formed into regular flights of steps. It brought us under the wall to the gate which I have already described. Among the mountains in the immediate neighbourhood of the |