is not the French republic, from internal change and unexpected revolution. Hence they submit with something like resig nation, to the imperial sway; and hence some life and activity, some share of confidence, and some appearance of business, enliven the Austrian quarter of Verona. It is indeed highly probable, that if the present precarious state of things lasts for any time, the ancient city will be almost deserted, and all the population of Verona pass to the Austrian territory. Not to speak therefore of the money raised, of the pictures, statues, and antiquities carried off by the French, Verona has suffered more, in a political sense, in the last convulsive war, than perhaps any city, Venice excepted, that lay within its range of devastation. Not content with dividing and enslaving it for the present, the French seem determined to prevent it from ever again becoming a place of importance; and have accordingly levelled its fortifications, and destroyed the walls of its castle, formerly a fortress of some strength from its ramparts and commanding position. The top and sides of the hill are now covered with its ruins; and the emperor is, I believe, obliged by an article in the treaty, not to rebuild them at any future period. Such was the state of Verona in the year 1802. Our last visit, as our first, was to the amphitheatre: we passed some hours, as before, in a very delightful manner, sometimes reclining on the middle seats, and admiring the capaciousness, the magnitude, and the durability of the vast edifice; at other times seated on the upper range, contemplating the noble prospect expanded before us, the town under our eyes, verdant plains spreading on one side, and on the other the Alps rising in craggy majesty, and bearing on their ridges the united snows of four thousand winters; while an Hesperian sun shone in full brightness over our heads, and southern gales breathed all the warmth and all the fragrance of spring around us. Prospects so grand and beautiful, must excite very pleasing emotions at all times, and such vernal breezes may well be supposed to "inspire delight and joy able to drive all sadness." But the pleasure which we felt on the occasion, was not a little enhanced by the contrast between our present and late situation. We had just descended from the mountains of the Tirol, where our view had long been confined to a deep and narrow defile: our eye now ranged at liberty over an immense extent of scenery, rich, magnificent, and sublime. We had just escaped from the rigors of winter: and were now basking in the beams of a summer sun. We still stood on the very verge of frost, and beheld whole regions of snow rising full before us; but vernal warmth, vegetation, and verdure, enveloped us on all sides. In such circumstances, when for the first time the traveller beholds the beauties of an Italian prospect expanded before him, and feels the genial influence of an Italian sun around him, he may be allowed to indulge a momentary enthusiasm, and hail Italy in the language of Virgil... Sed neque Medorum sylvæ, ditissima terra, Nec pulcher Ganges, atque auro turbidus Hermus Georg: 11. In the whole, we visited few places with more satisfaction, and left few with more regret, than Verona; whether as the first Italian city on our road, it happened, by its appearance and monuments very novel to a transalpine traveller, particularly to engage our attention, or whether it really possesses many means of exciting interest, I know not; but as we departed, we felt ourselves inclined to address it in the words of one of its poets. "Verona, qui te viderit, "Is, credo, se ipsum non amat, COTTA. If a traveller has any time to spare, (and he who wishes to travel with benefit to himself, ought always to have some days at his disposal) he may spend it with advantage at Verona, as his head-quarters, and take an opportunity of visiting Monte Bolca, about eighteen, and Valle Ronca, about fifteen miles distant; where the lovers of the picturesque will find some beautiful scenery, and the mineralogist some remarkable specimens of various stones, earths, petrifactions, incrustations, basaltic pillars, &c. Among similar curiosities, we may rank the Ponte Veia, a natural arch of considerable sweep and bold ness. * The best guide is the Compendio, della Verona, in four very thin, or two ordinary small octavo volumes, with prints. It is an abridgment of a larger work, entitled " Verona Illustrata," by the celebrated Maffei, The wines of Verona were formerly famous, as appears from Virgil's apostrophe. "et quo te carmine dicam "Rhætica? nec cellis ideo contende Falernis." But their reputation at present is very low, as, indeed, is that of almost all the wines produced on the northern side of the Apennines. CHAP. III. VICENTIA-BUILDINGS-OLYMPIC ACADEMY AND THEATRE-STYLE OF PALLADIO-CHURCH OF MONTE BEXICO-CIMBRI-SETTE COMMUNI-PADUA—ITS ANTIQUITY, HISTORY, LITERATURE, AND UNIVERSITY. THE distance from Verona to Vicentia is three posts and a half; the road runs over a plain, highly cultivated, and beautifully shaded with vines and mulberries. When I say a plain, I do not mean that the face of the country is a dead insipid flat, but only that it is not hilly. However, near Monte Bello, bold hills rise on either side, and present in their windings, or on their summits, villages, towns, and castles. Vincentia (Vicetia) Vicenza is a town as ancient as Verona, large and populous; its circumference is of three miles, and the number of its inhabitants is said to amount to 30,000. It has passed through the same revolutions as its neighbour Verona, but seems to have suffered more from their consequences. In fact, it was burnt by the Emperor Frederic the Second, while at war with the Pope, on account of its attachment to the latter, |