delightful shores of Pozzuoli; on the East, towers the Volcano of Vesuvius, with its luxuriant sides and smoking summit; in the centre stands the city, with its palaces, churches, and gardens, rising gradually one above the other: these, with the verdant islands at the mouth of the bay, and the wide expanse of sea, form altogether an almost unrivalled assemblage of picturesque and beautiful scenery. The city is about eight miles in circuit, but twice this including all its suburbs: it is surrounded by a wall, defended by a number of towers, and three large castles; but its fortifications are not adapted to resist an army. The splendour of the churches and other public edifices, consists more in the richness of their paintings, marbles, and other decorations, than in the elegance of their architecture. The cathedral church is a handsome Gothic edifice, supported by more than 100 columns of granite, belonging originally to a temple of Apollo, upon, or near, the site of which it has been built. In the subterranean chapel is deposited the body of St. Januarius, the patron of Naples, and its preserver from the desolations of the terrible Vesuvius; it contains, amongst other wonders, the pretended blood of the saint, carefully kept in two vials, which, on the day of his festival it is said, liquefies of itself. The Lazzaroni are a part of the populace, without either dwellings or regular occupation, who work only to supply the immediate wants of nature; they may be said to spend their life in the streets, lying in the shade, or sauntering about during the day, and sleeping at night under a portico, on the pavement, or on the steps of a church: their number is estimated at nearly 40,000. A large tract of country, extending both to the N. and S. of the metropolis, has obtained the name of Campagna Felice, from the happiness of its climate, and the lavish hand with which nature there pours forth all her treasures. 41. About nine miles to the E. of Naples is the volcano of Vesuvius, which rises in a gentle swell from the Gulf of Naples to the height of 3,950 feet above the level of the sea. This is the only active volcano on the continent of Europe; the principal elevation is conical, and composed of scoriæ and lava. The crater is above 1,500 feet in diameter, and 500 in depth. Mount Somma, of less elevation, but connected with Vesuvius, and about eight miles distant, is precipitous, and formed principally of porphyry. The upper part of the mountain has been torn by a series of convulsions, and is strewed with its own fragments; the part next in the descent is mixed with dried lava, extending in wide black lines over its surface; whilst the lower part of the volcano, as if danger were far remote, is covered with villages and country seats, with groves of fruit trees, vineyards, and other luxuriant productions, all displaying the great fertility given by the ashes to the soil. The total number of great eruptions on record is above 50, reckoning from the celebrated one of A. D. 79, which proved destructive to Herculaneum and Pompeii: one of the latest, though not most formidable, took place in 1819, and has some. what lowered the height of the mountain. The volcanic matter which covered Herculaneum was begun to be removed in the year 1689, since which period a prodigious number of ancient monuments of every kind has been discovered, such as basilicks, temples, theatres, paintings, statues, furniture, utensils, &c. : whole streets have been cleared, and are found to be paved and flagged on both sides. The relics are in a surprising state of preservation, and afford a good idea of the manners of the age, and the improvement in the arts. The statues, vases, tripods, and lamps, are often of the finest workmanship, being much superior to the pictures. But the relics, which have lately excited the greatest interest, are the Manuscripts; they are chiefly in Greek, but partly also in Latin, and are nearly 2,000 in number: several of them have been unrolled, but by far the greater portion of them is illegible. Pompeii has been likewise opened; it had been almost forgotten till the middle of the last century, when it was discovered, and about one-fourth of the town is now cleared. The streets are paved, but narrow; the houses small; some have two stories, but most of them only one: and, on the whole, Pompeii has, in many respects, a strong resemblance to modern Italian towns. Salerno, the capital of the province of Principato Citra, and situated at the head of a gulf to which it has given name, lies about thirty miles to the S. E. of Naples; it possesses a good harbour: its streets are paved with lava from Vesuvius. It contains an obscure university, formerly in great repute as a medical school, much resorted to by the Arabians and Saracens. Gaeta, another convenient port, lies to the N. W. of the metropolis, upon the confines of the Papal Territory; it is by no means large, but it is very well fortified, and as regularly as the ancient wall would permit. On the South Eastern coast of Italy, and at the head of the great gulf to which it has given name, stands Taranto, or Tarento, as it is also called, possessing several advantages as a maritime position: it has a castle of some strength for the protection of its harbour, and contains about 15,000 inhabitants; but it is, notwithstanding, a town of but little interest, either as a commercial or military station, though it filled such a conspicuous place in ancient history. 42. Crossing the Strait (or Faro) of Messina into Sicily, we find the city of Messina, the most important place in the island after Palermo. The harbour is the best in Sicily, and is esteemed superior to any other in the Mediterranean: the city itself is well defended, and is considered stronger than any other in the island. Messina has been remarkable for its misfortunes: the most recent and calamitous were, the plague of 1743, which carried off, in a few months, 35,000 of the inhabitants: and an earthquake, which took place 40 years afterwards, and levelled one half of the city with the ground. To the S. of Messina, about the middle of the Eastern side of the island, stands Catania, remarkable for having been visited by several tremendous earthquakes: one of these, in 1693, completely laid it in ruins, and destroyed 18,000 people. It has revived, however, with great splendour, and has much more the features of a metropolis than Palermo: most of the edifices have an air of magnificence unknown in other parts of the island, and the town has a title to rank among the elegant cities of Europe. Its university is celebrated through the whole island, and its inhabitants have always been noted for their superiority in politeness of manners over the other Sicilians. There are many religious edifices in Catania: one of these is remarkable as the dwelling-place of the successors of the Knights of Malta, so long the terror of the Crescent. The volcano of Etna, or Gibello as it is also called, from the Arabic word Gebel, signifying a mountain, is about 15 miles to the N. W. of Catania. The circumference of its base is upwards of 60 miles; and thence it rises, like a pyramid, to the height of 10,940 feet above the level of the sea. The crater is upwards of two miles in circuit, and presents the appearance of an inverted cone. The mountain contains an epitome of the different climates throughout the globe; presenting at once all the seasons of the year, and almost every variety of produce. It is accordingly divided into three distinct zones, or regions, known by the names of the cultivated region, the woody region, and the desert region in the first of these, pasture, corn fields, vineyards, and fruit trees of nearly every description, are extremely abundant; here are said to be no less than 77 towns and villages, numerous monasteries, and a population of 120,000 souls. In succeeding to the woody or temperate region, the scene changes; instead of suffocating heat, the air has a genial freshness; the surface and soil present great inequalities, and are covered with a variety of trees, which diminish in size towards the upper zone. In this last, vegetation entirely disappears, and the surface is a dreary expanse of snow and ice. The summit presents a prospect of unrivalled beauty and grandeur, embracing a wide extent of land and sea in a clear day, Etna may be distinctly seen from Valetta, the capital of Malta, a distance of 112 miles. The number of eruptions on record, to which this volcano has been subject, is said to amount to 81; but of these not more than 10 are supposed to have issued from the highest crater, the others having torn openings in the sides of the mountain. Syracuse has lost all its ancient magnificence and splendour; but still possesses an excellent and beautiful harbour, capable of receiving vessels of the greatest burden, and of containing a numerous fleet. At present the only inhabited part is the island formerly called Ortygia, with a small portion of Acradina: it is walled, and entered by drawbridges. The cathedral is the ancient temple of Minerva. The catacombs still exist, and form a remarkable feature of Syracuse: they are only seven or eight feet high; but their extent is such that they form a kind of subterranean city, with a number of narrow streets, some of which are said to be a mile long. The speaking grotto, or, as it was called by the ancients, the Ear of Dionysius, is a cave 170 feet long, 60 high, and about 30 wide, with so strong an echo, that the slightest noise made in it is heard in the small chamber near the entrance, in which Dionysius is said to have listened to the conversation of his prisoners. The fountain of Arethusa has lost nearly all its poetry, being now the resort of the laundresses of Syracuse. Palermo, the capital of Sicily and the residence of the Viceroy, stands on the Northern coast of the island, towards its W. extremity: it is situated on the Western shore of a bay, in a beautiful plain, presenting the appearance of a magnificent garden, filled with fruit trees and watered by rivulets. The form of the city is nearly circular: it is fortified, though in a weak manner, towards the sea; but on the land side it is altogether open. The cathedral of Palermo is one of the finest Gothic buildings in Sicily. There are some catacombs in the city, celebrated for the singular property of converting into mummies the bodies which are placed in them, and which are therefore arranged in attitudes as whimsical as they are disgusting. Palermo is likewise celebrated for a splendid festival, which is annually held in honour of St. Rosalia; its population numbers about 180,000. The army of Naples on a war footing would consist of above 9,000 artillery and engineers, 10,000 life guards, 50,000 infantry of the line, 15,000 chasseurs, 10,000 Swiss, and 10,000 cavalry, in all above 100,000 men; but in peace of not more than half that number. The navy is formed of 2 vessels of the line, 5 frigates, 2 corvettes, 5 brigs, 12 steam frigates, and other smaller vessels. 43. THE MALTESE ISLANDS lie about 45 miles from the Southern shore of Sicily, and 150 to the E. of the coast of Africa, in the neighbourhood of Cape Bon: they are nearly due North from Lebida, the ancient Leptis Magna, the distance between them being 190 miles. They are composed of the three islands Malta, Gozo, and Comino, of which the first is by far the largest: their superficial extent is about 120 miles, and their estimated population about 120,000 souls, of whom above 100,000 are in Malta alone, which is thus one of the most populous spots in the globe. Malta was formerly possessed by the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. This order, founded about the end of the eleventh century, was originally a charitable institution, but its members, called Hospitalers, became military, and took the title of Knights shortly afterwards. On the final loss of Jerusalem by the Christians, they retired to Acre, which they defended valiantly against the Turks. They subsequently followed the king of Cyprus, and in 1310 took Rhodes, but 200 years afterwards, this latter island having fallen into the hands of the Turks, the knights retired into Candia, and thence into Sicily. In the year 1530, the emperor Charles 5th gave them the island of Malta, that they might defend his valuable possession, Sicily, against the Turks. Malta was then a barren rock, producing little else than fruit and seeds; it was likewise without any means of defence, and the knights therefore fortified it with much labour and address. Having greatly distinguished themselves by their enterprise and valour, Solyman, at that time Sultan, determined in 1564 to extirpate them. His first attempt on the island having failed, he afterwards sent an army of 30,000 men against it, provided with artillery and all the requisites for a grand attack. The siege that ensued has been the object of the most animated descriptions, and was certainly one of the most obstinate on record; T but the Turks, after losing four months in reiterated attacks, and sacrificing a great part of their army, were obliged to re-embark, and from that time forbore from all farther attempts upon Malta. The Knights continued long afterwards to bear a part in the hostilities of the various Mediterranean powers against the Turks, but nothing of importance occurred in their history till 1798. In that year, the French expedition to Egypt, under the command of Buonaparte, suddenly appeared before Malta, and summoned it to surrender after a short delay, the Knights submitted without resistance, and Malta received a French garrison. The naval superiority of the British soon enabled them to blockade the island; but the works being too strong for attack, it remained in the hands of the French till the year 1800, when being pressed by famine, it surrendered. Since this period it has continued in our possession, having been confirmed to us by the treaty of Paris in 1814. The Maltese, however, have been allowed to retain the greater part of their ancient rights and usages, amongst others, that of electing their own magistrates: the civil and military governors are both British. In no fortress in Europe are the defences more imposing admiration is excited in Gibraltar by the work of nature, in Malta, by the labours of art. The coast of Malta is in general steep and rugged, the only good harbours being those of Marza and Marza Murzet: these are separated by a peninsula on which stands Valetta, the chief town, built in 1566 by the knights of St. John, and called after a celebrated grand master of the order; its present population is estimated at 60,000 souls. CHAPTER XV. DACIA, MOESIA, THRACIA, AND MACEDONIA. DACIA. 1. Dacia was bounded on the S. by the Danube, on the E. by the Euxine Sea, on the N. by the Danaster Dniestr, and on the W. by an imaginary line, commencing near the source of this river, and terminating on the Danube, a few miles to the East of Belgrade. To the S. it bordered on Mosia, to the N. on Sarmatia Europæa, and to the E. on the territory of the Jazyges Metanasta, who separated it from Pannonia and Germany. It included the Eastern part of the Banat, the whole of Walachia and Transylvania, Moldavia, Bessarabia, and the Southern part of Galicia; in all, 87,000 square miles. The inhabitants were called Daci1, or Getæ 2, Virg. Georg. II. 497. Hor. Carm. I. xxxv. 9. Id. III. vi. 14. the |