YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

From the Library of
William M. Odom

TRAVELS

THROUGH

SICILY AND
THE LIPARI ISLANDS,
IN THE MONTH OF DECEMBER, 1824.

By A NAVAL OFFICER.
N
ILLUSTRATED WITH VIEWS AND COSTUMES PROM DRAWINGS MADE ON
THE SPOT, AND ON STONE BY L. HAGHE.

Altra volta quivi fiorivan le arti e popolo d'eroi era :
Or tutt' e fovinato tanto a fatto la guerra .
Citta distrutte vedonsi, con belle mine per diversi rivi
Fra piani fruttiferi non mai di frondi privi :
Rupi canuti o coperti di verdura, e monti altissimi
Con fiori ed erba fra prati amenissimi.
Mira 0 Stranier ! fuor del Tyrrheno non e mai uscita
Isola piu bella, con ciel phi sereno, od aura piu lieta.

LONDON :
PRINTED FOR T. FLINT, 28, BURLINGTON ARCADE.
1827.

/Vale

LONDON:
PRINTED BY T. AND J. B. FHINDELX,, 67, ST. MARTIN's-LANE.

INTRODUCTION.
Sicily, according to the hypothetical authority of
the earliest Greek writers, was originally a penin
sula, United to Calabria by a narrow neck of land,
which, by some great convulsion of nature, was
torn asunder, forming that passage which is now
denominated the Faro of Messina ; hence the name
of Reggio, which is derived from the Greek, sig
nifying to tear or break, and was applied by its
original founders, because built contiguous to the
supposed place of rupture.
Concerning the primitive inhabitants of this island
nothing satisfactory is known, their history being
entirely enveloped in mystery, or obscured by the
impenetrable veil of fable : and to the poets alone
we are indebted for that information which esta
blishes the existence of its gigantic race of pos
sessors, familiarly known by the appellation of
Cyclops and Laestrigons ; all of which, notwith
standing the grave assertions of Cluverius, Fazellus,
and others, we may, in the present age, safely un
dertake to treat as mythological and fictitious.
The idea, however, is supposed to have originated
in the Phoenicians, who were very early commer-
a2

IV INTRODUCTION.
cial visitors * round its coasts ; and viewing with
jealous apprehension the first and increasing incur
sions of the Grecian adventurers, who, in every
way, they considered to be rather formidable com
petitors, they endeavoured to warn them from the
island, by sedulously propagating alarming reports
and horrifying descriptions of monstrous giants,
that were said to inhabit the woods and caves, and
who indiscriminately destroyed all that came within
their reach, or approached their coast ; although
the result did not prove so successful as the Egypr-
tian trafficers anticipated. Considerable fears, how
ever, were naturally excited in the minds of many,
whieh, under the influence of the coward principle,
aided by time, led to a thousand inventions, illu
sory dangers, and exaggerated traditions, from
whence have originated all those incomparably fine
fictions of the Mseonian bard, as well as those, of
his imitative successors, who have made this coun
try the theme of song.
The island, on account of its triangular form,
and three characteristic capes, was denominated
by the early Greek adventurers Trinacria. It was,
for a long period occupied by people of various na
tions, none of whom obtained an empire over the
whole, or even any considerable part of it, until its
general appropriation by the Sicanians, who origi-
* The Tyrian factories are known to have been established
on the southern coast as early as the foundation of Carthage.

INTRODUCTION. V
nated in a colony from near the river Segra; in
Spain, under their leader, Sicanus : hence their
name, and that of the island, which they called
SiCania. To them succeeded the Sicels, or Siculi,
a horde of invaders, who, about twelve hundred
years before Christ, were driven, with their wives
and children, from Latium, in Italy, by the Oscans ;
after various struggles they subdued the Sicanians,
whom they confined to the western extremity, and
established an undisputed authority in the islandi
which they called by its present name of Sicilia.
At the destruction of Troy a party of Trojans,
under Elymus and Egestus, landed near the Cri-
nesus, on the territory of the Sicanians, by whom
they were hospitably received, and there established
a Colony called Elymians, from their royal leader^
and founded the towns of Elyma and Egesta.
During this period the Phoenicians increased in
wealth, power, and ambition ; but from the pirati
cal incursions, rivalry, and opposition, they began
to experience from the Greeks *, (who had become
skilful navigators, as well as daring in arms), they
united their factories into the three settlements of
Solus, Motya, and Panormus, which being most con-
* It is to be observed, that when the ancients speak of the
Greek colonies in Sicily, it is meant those which, in conse
quence of a mandate from the Delphic oracle, settled in vari
ous parts ; for Sicily was well-known to the Greeks before the
Trojah war, who, long antecedent to tnat period, established
commercial factories in rivalry with the Phoenicians.

VU1 INTRODUCTION.
by the combined efforts of Agrigentum and Syra
cuse, under the direction of the intrepid Gelon, the
expedition was annihilated, the Carthaginian leader
slain, and Sicily saved.
The jealousy of the mother country, too, did not
fail being stimulated by the prosperity and aggran
disement of Sicily, particularly the Athenians, who
having long ago agitated plans for its appropriation,
availed themselves, at length, of an application on
the part of Egesta, for aid against the Sehnuntines
and Syracusans ; and in consequence equipped a
formidable expedition against Syracuse in the year
413 b. c. But they were destined to experience
no better fate than the Carthaginians; for after a
series of ill success, sickness, and disaster, the ce
lebrated defeat of Nicias on the banks of the Assi-
narus completed the destruction of the Athenian
invaders. The Carthaginians, still bent on the execution of
their designs, and preserving a lively remembrance
of their disgrace, vigilantly waited a favourable pe
riod to revenge their fallen leader, and retrieve their
fame ; therefore, at the call of the still persecuted
Egesta, in the year 410 b. c, sent an army, under the
appropriate command of the fallen Amilcar's grand
son, Hannibal, who prosecuted a most inveterate
warfare against the Sicilians, in which he destroyed
Selinon with its proud temples, razed Himaera, and
spread death and devastation wherever he went.

INTRODUCTION. IX
A succession of desolating wars followed between
Carthage and the Graeco Sicilian cities, in which
each in their turn experienced the frowns or smiles
of fortune ; the latter always subject to the caprice
and ambition of the blood-thirsty tyrants who go
verned them, until the memorable era of peace and
liberty, which was restored by the magnanimous
Timoleon in the year 340 b. c.
But the harmony and independence thus esta
blished by the noble-minded Corinthian soon re
lapsed into the -former system of oppression ; fac
tions were excited, anarchies burst forth, and
wicked tyrants rose up ; amongst them the blood
thirsty Agathocles, who not only tyranised at home,
but prosecuted the most desperate war against the
Carthaginians ; in aid of which he sequestered the
properties of individuals, plundered cities, robbed
the public temples of their sacred riches, and in the
event of opposition perpetrated the most barbarous,
outrages and bloody deeds that ever violated the
laws of humanity. At his death a thousand con
tending interests prevailed, and anarchy raged
throughout the island, which reduced all parties to
the necessity of calhng in the aid of Pyrrhus, King
of Epire *, who, after reducing the various cities to
obedience, was prompted by his own ambition to
invade the rights of the people he came to defend;
and, casting off" the mask of friendship, he wielded
* 278 b. c.

X INTRODUCTION.
the sword of oppression, until an unanimous feeling
of opposition put a stop to his career, and drove:
him out of the island.
About this period a large body of Campanians*,
(who had been mercenaries employed in the army
of Agathocles,) on their return home, stopped at
Messina, where, being kindly received, they treach
erously abused the hospitality shown them, mas
sacred the inhabitants, seized on their town and
property, and established themselves there in. the
form of a republic, under the name of Mamertines,
entering at the same time into a confederacy of mu
tual protection with their opposite neighbours f of
Rheggium, who, like themselves, had by treachery
usurped the possession of the town.
These Mamertines, aided by the Rheggians, made
frequent aggressions on the territory of the Syra-
cusans, to whom they soon became such trouble
some neighbours, that Hiero of Syracuse entered
into a league against them with the Carthaginians,
and completely worsted them in a sanguinary battle,
which so reduced and weakened their army, that
they were precipitately obliged to consider, in gene
ral council, the best means of ensuring their own
preservation ; when a strong opposition of opinion
* From Campania, in Italy.
+ The then inhabitants of Rheggio were a legion of Romans,
who, tempted by the wealth of the place, had driven out the
rightful owners, and seized on the town.

INTRODUCTION. XI
prevailed ; the result of which was, that one party
united with the Carthaginians and gave up the
citadel, whilst the other shut themselves up in the
city, and sent ambassadors to Rome with an offer
of their submission, and an entreaty for immediate
protection against the arms of Carthage.
The senate, anxious to gain a footing in a coun
try that presented such advantages to their future
prospects of ambition against Carthage, lost no
time in sending an army* to Messina, under the
consul Claudius Appius, who soon succeeded in
driving out the Carthaginians, and forcing Hiero
into an»alliance with Rome, thus giving rise to those
protracted contests so well known in history by the
name of the Punic wars, the first of which lasted
twenty-one years, and terminated by obliging Car
thage to renounce the empire of the seas, and to
abandon Sicily, leaving Rome in possession of one-
half of the island.
Towards the end of the third century before
Christ, the defection of the Syracusans from the
Roman alliance caused the senate to aspire to the
exclusive possession of the island, which was effected
by a consular army under Marcellus, who, by the
celebrated siege and downfal of Syracuse, 212 b. c,
totally overthrew the Grecian power, and subju
gated the whole island, which was from that period
* 263 b. c.

Xll INTRODUCTION.
constituted the first province of the Roman republic,
and placed under the government of praetors.
Rome justly prided herself on so brilliant an acqui
sition. It proved an inexhaustible magazine for all
sorts of provisions, afforded a secure retreat for
their fleets ; and thus serving as a stepping-stone to
Africa, facilitated the conquest of her formidable
and rival power of Carthage.
Under the government of the Romans, the island
experienced many years of prosperity and happi
ness, until bowed down by the tyranny and pecu
lations of its governors, whose avarice and oppres
sion disturbed its tranquillity, and gave - rise to
tumults and seditions, which ultimately terminated
in a general rebellion of the slaves, and those san
guinary and ferocious struggles familiarly known in
the Roman annals by the name of the servile wars*;
during the continuance of which it is supposed more
ruin and destruction was caused than in all the
exterminating wars of the Carthaginians.
In the last century before Christ, during the wars
of the triumvirate, Sicily became the theatre of
contest between Pompey and Octavius, the latter
of whom ultimately prevailing, restored many of the
ruined towns, and re-colonised them with Romans.
In the year of our Lord 501, the Goths, under
Theodoric, subjugated the island, which they occu-
* 136 b. c, and 105 b. c.

INTRODUCTION. Xlll:
pied until 515, when the brave Belisarius restored
it. to the empire. It notwithstanding fell a prey to
the constant depredations of, pirates, and at the.
division of the empire became subject to Constan-)
tinople, when it dwindled into the most irretriev
able insignificance.
After this period, and about the middle of the
seventh century, the Saracens commenced their
desolating invasions of the island, and after a most
desperate attack, in the year 327 a. d., they reduced
the whole country to their subjection, established,
their capital at Palermo, changed the names of all;
the cities and places, and introduced the arts and
sciences, which flourished two centuries under a
succession of emirs, until the year 1038, when
George Maniaces was sent by the Greek emperor
to . recover the long lost island. Aided by some
valorous Normans, he succeeded, in alarming the
Mussulmanic power; but he repaid his brave asso
ciates with ingratitude, and was consequently de
serted by them ; on which the Saracens again gained
ground and resumed their sway : but the, Normans
now looked to the conquest of the island on their
own account, and in the year 1060 landed at Mes
sina with a body of troops under Robert Guiscard
and Roger, who, after ten years of intrepid strug
gle and bravery, finajly expelled the turbaned host,
tore down their crescented banners, and rehoisted
the standard of. the cross. The Normans were a

XIV INTRODUCTION.
peculiarly pious people; in the cause of Christianity
they were more fervent and active than any nation
of the age ; they founded innumerable conventual
establishments throughout the island, for the more
permanent promulgation of the faith of the Re
deemer, and built several fine churches and cathe
drals. In the year 1130, Count Roger annexed that
part of Italy called Apugha and Calabria (then by:
right of conquest belonging to the Normans, and
forming a department under the denomination of
Sicily), to the government of the island, and was
crowned at Palermo, under the title of king of the
Two Sicilies, which title has been continued ever
since, and transmitted, with the annexation of the
island, to the crown of Naples.
The Norman line legally was extinguished by the
death of William II., surnamed the Good, in 1189;
but such was the civil commotion caused by the
want of a succession, that the people were glad to
fix any one on the throne, and in consequence
elected Tancred, a natural son of King Roger, after
whose death Sicily fell by conquest into the hands
of the Suevi, under Henry V. and the emperor Fre
derick II.
After the battle of Benevento, Pope Clement IV-
drove out the Germans, and gave it, together with
all the islands, to the French, under Charles of
Anjou, during whose reign of seventeen years the

INTRODUCTION. XV
Sicilians suffered every species of oppression,' cru
elty, and slavery. At length the insulting conduct
and levity of the French officers towards their wives
and daughters urged them to .desperation, and gave
rise to that memorable insurrection of 1282 called
the Sicilian vespers*, at which period all the French
were simultaneously massacred, according to the
plans and instigation of John of Procida.
The crown was then offered to Peter I. of Arra-
gon, when the Spaniards first began to reign, and
continued until 1410, at which period the line of
Arragon became extinct by the death of Martin II.,
and the crown was ceded to Ferdinand I. of Cas
tile. At this time many Spaniards and Itahans of
all states came to reside in the island, which en
riched a number of its cities, particularly that of
Palermo, the present capital.
In 1453, when Mahomet took Constantinople,
innumerable 'colonies of Greeks fled also to Sicily,
where they estabhshed villages and hamlets, which
to this day are denominated Casali de Greci.
In 1458 the crown succeeded to John of Navarre
and the Austrian kings of Spain, under whom it
continued until the death of Ferdinand III., in the
year 1516. And at the peace of Utrecht, the island
was ceded to Victor Duke of Savoy, who yielded
* It received this appellation on account of the toll of the
vesper bell being fixed as a signal to commence the work of
destruction, which happened on the Easter Monday.

XVI INTRODUCTION.
it to Charles V., in exchange for the island of
Sardinia. At the commencement of the eighteenth century
the Spaniards again became masters of the island
by conquest, when the king gave it up, together
with Naples, to his second son, Ferdinand IV.,
under the title of king of the Two Sicihes, and
established the laws of succession also; that it should
never more be united to the monarchy of Spain.

TRAVELS

IN

SICILY AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS.

A lovely bright morning, ushered in by the golden rays
of the glorious orb of day, and the soothing zephyrs of
a southern clime, bespoke the most promising auspices of
a favourable passage to the fruitful shores of Sicily, whither
my friend and self had a long time looked forward with
secret feelings of enthusiasm, and peculiar sensations of
delight, to explore : but scarcely had we bid adieu to our
abode on the delightful Chiaja, than a sudden and unusual
change was manifested in the atmosphere as to our feel
ings. The "Barometer (we afterwards learnt) fell as by
magic, whilst Fahrenheit's thermometer descended from
45° to freezing point, and no sooner had we reached the
place of embarkation than the sky gathered up all the hor
rific frowns of a transalpine storm ; piles of dismally black
clouds rolled over each other with furious rapidity, enve
loping in their melancholy gloom the beautifying features
of Capo di Monte, Vesuvius, and St. Elmo, occasionally,
disgorging showers of immensely large hail stones, that
seemed to create a panic in the crowds that were assem
bled on the mole to witness the departure of our steam-
B

2 TRAVELS IN SICILY
boat the Ferdinando. The sea of that so recently tranquil
bay, which but a few moments before had reflected its
splendid shores as from the surface of a brightened mirror,
now rose with menacing fury, and presented all the dreary
blackness of the vault above. Every symptom, indeed,
indicated the approach of a tremendous confusion of the
elements ; the slip and rocks were crowded with spectators,
uttering prayers for the safety of their friends or fellow-
creatures, and reproaches on the English seamen for their
temerity in attempting to contend against such apparently
inevitable danger. The captain even for a moment hesi
tated, until I directed his attention to a bright gleam of
light from the north-west, which bespoke the return of fair
weather, and was no sooner observed than the anchor was at
the bows, the paddles put in motion, and we glided rapidly
away, leaving the murmuring sighs and complaints of the
motley group that tenanted the mole and its vicinity to be
wafted with the drifting storm against the mountain's top.
Two hours had scarcely elapsed before my prognostications
were realised ; the angry clouds dispersed, and the heavens
resumed the bright cerulean die which so pre-eminently
characterises an Italian sky, and the gales moderated to a
favourable breeze, which enabled us, by the application of
a couple of fore-and-aft sails, to give additional impulse to
the steam.
Such a change naturally tended to the comfort of all on
board, and not a little seemed to gladden the hearts of the
more timorous, as well as most numerous part of the pas
sengers, the Italians, who were now only beginning to
conquer the prejudices with which they at first viewed so
apparently precarious and unsafe a mode of conveyance.
They unanimously returned to the deck, from whence thev
had, at the commencement of the storm, most precipitately

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 3
retreated to the cabin, for the purpose, I imagine, of dimi
nishing the horrors of danger by avoiding its contemplation,
on the same principle of feeling which impels the silly
ostrich, when pursued by his destroyers, to run his head
into the bush.
All now was sociability and good humour, whilst every
one seemed desirous of coming forward with a stock of
courtesy and urbanity to cultivate an acquaintance with
his compagnons du voyage ; for, on such occasions, much
advantage occurs to the man of observation and inquiry ;
and the retiring aristocratic Englishman too frequently
denies himself a fund of both information and amusement
by yielding to that characteristic tendency of shrinking
from every individual who has not been known to him half
a century, or introduced to his acquaintance according to
the rigid rules of etiquette. I must confess I have ever
derived an inexhaustible source of diversion and instruction
by indiscriminately mingling with the various members
that compose the societies of steam-boats, packets, and
public coaches : some afford you knowledge on one or other
of the many departments of art and science ; some may
impart valuable local information ; whilst others beguile
the hours of travelling incarceration by their interesting
manners, and alluring (though perhaps lighter) style of col
loquial powers.
As we slid rapidly along the liquid path, the rocky emi
nence of the celebrated Capri rose before us, like a barrier
placed by nature to defend the enchanting bay from the
rude intrusions of the boisterous main.
An excursion a few days before enabled us to become
acquainted with this once-degraded theatre of imperial
iniquity. Quern rupes Caprearum tetra latebit incesto
possessa seni ? The island is a short mile distant from the
b2

4 TRAVELS IN SICILY
promontory Atenes, four miles in length from east to west,
and one in breadth, strongly fortified by nature with im
mensely high precipitous and broken rocks, encompassed
on every side by a deep sea, and gifted with an incompara
bly fine climate, tha* gives genial mildness to the colds of
winter, and yields an invigorating freshness to the heats of
summer. In the centre, between the eastern and western heights,
is a beautiful and luxuriant valley, abounding in figs, vines,
oranges, almonds, and olives, divided by fields of corn,
and embellished with a variety of odoriferous shrubs and
plants. At the end of this valley is situated the town of
Capri, old, shapeless, unpicturesque, and dirty, though
thickly populated with a well-disposed people, and has a
bishop's * palace, with two or three convents.
The island derives its present appellation from the num
ber of goats that formerly browsed and multiplied round its
rocks, and was first annexed to Rome by Augustus Caesar,
who, on landing for the first time, observed an old hollyoak,
which he interpreted into an auspicious omen, and in con
sequence exchanged the island of Enaria for it with the
republic of Naples : he made it an occasional place of re
tirement and relaxation from the trammels of imperial
dignity and was used to call it Aprosapolis, from the Greek,
which expresses its local amenity.
Tiberius also spent the latter part of his shameful life,
allured by a retreat at once so salubrious, so difficult of
access to an external enemy, so easy of defence, and at the
same time so favourable to the gratification of his diabo
lical propensities.
» m,bW,opd«™ih,p™cipai propciion of Id, rere„ue tom ,

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. O
He erected splendid and extensive palaces in different
parts of the island, adorned with groves and gardens ; un
dermined the rocks with highways, grottos, galleries, and
secret places of retirement, where he abandoned himself to
his brutal pleasures, and the commission of every iniquitous
vice that can degrade man or outrage nature.
On the east side of the island, which, although the most
inaccessible from the sea, stands the largest town, called
Ano Capri, where a beautiful statue, rich tessalated pave
ment, broken remains of amphorae lamps, &c. &c. were
found, and whither the traveller is first ushered by the
ciceroni of the place, to commence his classical researches.
In the centre of the valley above described stands a hill,
covered with the scattered ruins of the fortress, and one
of Tiberius 's choice abodes; though the most consider
able ruin is on the extremity of the eastern promontory,
which exhibits a series of immensely high apartments,
arched at the top, without either chimneys or windows; the
substructions only, I imagine, of the stately and prodigious
fabric they supported above. Medals, leaden pipes, muti
lated statues, and other specimens of antiquity, have been
more frequently discovered near this spot than elsewhere in
the island, consequently incline me to suppose this to have
been the most costly and favoured palace of the emperor.
What a splendid situation ! — how worthy the site of imperial
dignity ! — though tenanted and degraded by the worst and
basest of God's creatures. It commands an incomparably
fine panoramic view, comprehending^ towards the east, the
richly-featured bay, studded within its crescent sweep with
a variety of beautiful and luxuriant islands ; the bold pro
montories to the north and south, with their jutting rocks
and precipices; whilst a sparkling sea to the west contrasts

6 TRAVELS IN SICILY
its milder beauties with the scene. From this eminence
we traced an ancient paved road leading to the shore. The
few remains existing of these once massive and prodigious
edifices seems accounted for, according to Suetonius and
Pliny, by the Romans having, at the death of Tiberius,
sent an army of pioneers to deface or destroy every object
that might serve to record, in future ages, the horrors which
they were ashamed so long to have tolerated with impunity
in their wicked and tyrannical emperor.
I could not help feeling those sympathetic shudderings
which the memory or relation of cruel facts call forth, as
we passed under the heights once the scene of the mon
ster's blood-thirsty diversion. There it was he so fre
quently caused victims to be tormented in his presence,
then cast from the precipice to the shore beneath, where
sailors were stationed, with additional instruments of torture,
to complete the work of cruelty and destruction.
Rounding the southern point, we observed the Sirenum
Scopuli rising out of the rippling wave, celebrated by Vir
gil ; and opposite to them the Syren's Cave, now called
the Grotta Oscura, and is, of its kind, a great object of
curiosity and picturesque beauty. The entrance is low and
narrow, but opens to a spacious interior, nearly three hun
dred feet in length, lighted only by the glimmering reflec
tions from the water that laves its base : the roof is vaulted,
covered with a variety of incrustations and stalactitic forma
tions, and distils limpid streams of pure water through a
multitude of little pores that communicate with the earth
above. As we receded from the view, we were reminded
of the approach of night, and that time sped fast, by the
golden radiance of a setting sun, which was then shedding
his last sparkling beams on the shores we had left, and lent

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 7
to every object in nature that genial harmony of colouring
we are only gifted to behold in the more favoured regions
of the south.
At eleven we descried the shooting flames of Stromboli,
and after pacing the deck to a late hour in the enjoyment
of beholding that extraordinary volcano, whose unceasing
fires serve as a faro to the mariners of these seas, I enve
loped myself in my cloak, and on a chair, against the wea
ther bulk-head, partook of the delightful repose of undis
turbed slumber until five o'clock, a. m., when we disco
vered the little island of Ustica, standing like a solitary
guard-house on the main, to protect the approach to its
parent isle. It lies about forty miles n. J w. from Palermo,
and according to Diodorus, as well as Ptolemy, is the
Osteodes of the ancients, an appellation given by the Greeks,
which signifies the island of bones, on account of the scat
tered mass of human bones with which they found it co
vered, — the remains of an army of mercenaries, who were
inhumanly landed there, and left to perish by the Carthagi
nians. Being in considerable arrears for long services, be
sides which experiencing ill-treatment under the continual
sufferings of privation and fatigue in their various expedi
tions, they were roused to anger and revenge, consequently
meditated a revolt against their ungrateful masters, to be
put in execution the first favourable opportunity that occur
red ; which unfortunately too soon reached the ears of their
treacherous rulers, and they were selected, to the amount
of six thousand of the most dangerous, together with the
authors of the plot, and sent (on the pretence of setting out
on some favourite and long-looked-for expedition) to this
island, where they were mercilessly abandoned to their cruel
fate. It belonged, at that period, in common with the
rest of the Liparis, to the Carthaginians ; byStrabo, Pliny,

S TRAVELS IN SICILY
and the moderns, designated by its present name of Ustica,
which is a mere corruption of its Grecian one. The Ro
mans first colonised it, and built a considerable town, the
truth of which is attested by many discoveries of coins,
Roman pavements, amphoriae, &c. In the fourteenth cen
tury, it was thickly populated with christians, contained
an extensive convent and church, dedicated to the Virgin
Mary, but long since devastated by African corsaire, for
whom it became a favourite lurking-place in their predatory
pursuits, until the year 1765, when, to prevent which, the
King of Naples caused a colony to be established there,
and the present town to be built, which stands within the
cove, over a sandy beach, on the north-east side, called Santa
Maria, and presents an interesting object to the spectator,
who views it from the sea whilst gliding in his bark along
the rugged coast. It is pretty well fortified by forts, which
crown the northern heights, whilst a conspicuous pyramidal
watch-tower stands on the southern hill of the bay. It
contains nearly two thousand inhabitants*, who are healthy,
robust, and certainly more cleanly than their neighbours
the Sicilians. The island is of submarine volcanic forma
tion, boasts numerous valuable mineral specimens, parti
cularly of the chrysolite, and possesses a fertile soil, though
very few springs, which nature seems to have partly substi
tuted by abundant and copious dews. Guard-houses are
placed within hail all round the coast, which, with the
tower of Spalmadora, on the west, and the fort of Falco-
nara on the east, secure it against piratical invasion. On
* Their costume is novel and picturesque, particularly that of the wo
men, which consists of a long crimson mantle, neatly embroidered and
fringed at the bottom, with a little round cap or bonnet of the same colour
behind which a long green handkerchief hangs, and falls in graceful folds
over the shoulders. ° ua

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. if
the north side stands an isolated rock of lava, surrounded
with deep water, a feature that unaccountably characterises
the whole range of Liparis, without exception ; and round
the coast are to be seen a number of curious grottos, with
deep water within, particularly the one on the east side,
which presents a most singular staJagmictic incrustation of
shells, intermixed with lavas inclosing schorl.
As soon as day-light began to illuminate the distant ho
rizon, the gigantic peak of iEtna opened to our view, rising,
like a fabled monster, from the sea, vomiting forth thick
columns of black smoke into the pure firmament that
encircled his brow ; in the mean time we receded, with
astonishing rapidity, from little Ustica, for the wind had
entirely died away, and the sea, becoming perfectly calm,
pliantly yielded to the powers of the machinery.
At three in the afternoon we entered, for the first time,
the beautiful Bay of Palermo, formed by the rocky height
of Mount Pelegrino on the n. w. and Cape Zafferano on
s. e., enclosed, on the land side, by a bold chain of moun
tains, which presents to the eye the beautiful appearance
of a splendid amphitheatre, with the town of Palermo
stretching along the shore, whose cupolas, towers, and
palaces glittering in the sun like some gorgeous city of Ara
bian tale, exhibited a picture of incomparable beauty as
we glided down the bay, under the sterile rock of Pele
grino. To our right we passed the Lazaretto, in a
rocky creek, called Aqua Santa, and above it, at the base
of the hill, the princely mansion of Belmonte; and at four
came to an anchor in a fine harbour, protected by a strong
mole, carried out nearly a quarter of a mile, with a light
house and fort at one end, and an arsenal at the other^
After going through the accustomed forms of the pratique-
office, we landed in a cove called Cala Felice, the only
remnant of the so much celebrated ancient port.

10 TRAVELS IN SICILY
Palermo is the Panormus of the ancients ; so called (ac
cording to Diodorus) from the Greek*, signifying a great
haven, and was first settled by the Phoenicians, who, on
the incursions of the Greeks into Sicily, chose this, on ac
count of its commodious harbour, as one of the most suit
able places to concentrate their scattered factories under
the protection of the Carthaginians, and, in due time, made
it their strongest hold, to the great annoyance of the
Romans, who, in the first Punic war, found it necessary to
dispatch an armament, with three hundred ships, under A.
Aquilius and C. Cornelius for its reduction. The Romans,
on this occasion, experienced, near Messina, a considerable
loss by shipwreck and storm ; however, they arrived at their
destination, and notwithstanding along, brave, and spirited
resistance, they at length, together with two hundred ves
sels, got possession of the town, which they fortified, and
rendered of great importance to them in the further pur
suance of the war.
On account of its local amenity, and the luxuriance of
its soil, it became, successively, the favoured capital of the
Vandals, Goths, and Saracens ; the latter of whom long
flourished in barbaric splendour, holding it nearly two hun
dred and thirty years, with the rest of the island, and em
bellishing it, according to their characteristic taste, with
public buildings, palaces, and gardens : to which the Nor
mans also subsequently contributed, and it has since become
the modern metropolis of a viceroy.
It is the richest and most beautiful city of Sicily, situated
* n« o„«r, by the Saracens called Balirmu, afterwards modernised
into its present name of Palermo. It was sometimes called, by the Sara
cens, Medina, or the city, as is seen on a magnificently embroidered robe,
(now, I believe, at Nuremburgh), which originally belonged to the Mos
lem governors of Palermo, and contains an Arabic inscription of rich em
broidery, wherein it is styled Medina.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 11
in the Val di Mazara, standing on the sea at the extremity
of a plain, which, from its peculiar form and exuberant
fertility, is denominated the Vale of the Golden Shell. To
a transalpine eye, unaccustomed to view nature in her
wealthiest garb, nothing can present a more alluring spec
tacle : like an enchanted garden of the east, it is orna
mented with the most beautiful flowers and rarest fruit
trees, and strewed with innumerable odoriferous shrubs, the
indigenous production of the soil, all of which receive fresh
ness and fertility from a variety of limpid streams that flow
from the hills with graceful sinuosities intersecting the vale
below ; whilst the many palaces and villas of the nobles,
which every where spangle the plain, yield gaiety and ani
mation to the scene.
On landing we proceeded to the Prince of Wales hotel,
on the Piazza Marina, one of the only two habitable inns
which the Sicilian capital can boast, where we were speedily
accommodated to our wants or wishes; and, after a pala
table meal, we sallied forth, under the auspices of a soi-
disant sapient cicerone, to lionize the town, which, in its
general outline, we found regular, well-built, and, I may
say, handsome. It is enclosed by a thick though defence
less wall, intersected, at right angles, by the two principal
streets, upwards of a mile in length, called the Cassaro*
and Maqueda, but more commonly known by the Corso
and Strada Nuova, which are terminated by four gates,
with an octangular piazza, at the point of section, called
I quattro Cantonieri. The Cassaro is the finest and most
fashionable, as communicating with the palace; conse
quently made the corso, or promenade ; and is, like the
Toledo of Naples, every day, after dinner, (particularly the
* From the Saracenic word Cassar, a palace; the regal mansion of the
Mahometan chiefs having originally stood at the end of this street.

12 TRAVELS IN SICILY
jours defete), crowded with an incongruous group of cha
racters, of all nations and ranks, on foot, on horseback, or
sitting, with an assumed stateliness, in any vehicle they can
conscientiously dignify with the appellation of carrozza.
The town is extremely populous, containing nearly two
hundred thousand inhabitants, and exhibits all the bustle,
din, and confusion of its sister capital. It is particularly
orderly by night, and the only one in Sicily well lighted at
the public expense. The architecture is more remarkable
for its strength than beauty, partaking much of that heavy
style of the middle ages, with one peculiar characteristic,
the remains, I suppose, of Moorish taste, namely, a semi*
circular latticed guard, projecting from high attics, and
seeming to form part of a heavy entablature. An abundant
supply of water contributes to the health and cleanliness of
the town, issuing from the copious streams of jets d'eau
and fountains, the principal of which adorns the square in
front of the Praetorian Palace*, and constitutes a great sub
ject of Palermitan boast, though I was far from harmo
nizing in the eulogies I heard bestowed. It is profusely
surcharged with an infinity of ill-disposed figures, (animals,
river-gods, and nymphs), the principal merit of which con
sists rather in the labour they have cost, than the taste or
excellence exhibited in their style and execution.
The public buildings are numerous, and many liberal
institutions attest a more enlightened generation of Ita
lians. Amongst the latter the University ranks high ; it
possesses a fine anatomical collection, and a valuable library
of nearly thirty thousand volumes, besides manuscripts. On
* In the Prstorian Palace may be seen a variety of interesting inscrip
tions of antiquity, some valuable coins, vases, tablets, and other fragments
which, with a few specimens of ancient sculpture, will somewhat contri
bute to the gratification of antiquarian research.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 13
the Piazza Marina is the hall of justice and custom-house,
within the same building ; the ci-devant tribunal of the
Inquisition* ; and in the Cassaro is the Jesuit's college, a
large edifice, which contains also a valuable library, with
schools for instruction in every department of learning.
The Porta Felice, a richly ornamented piece of modern
architecture, opens from the Cassaro to the drive along
the shore, called the Marina, which is undeniably one of
the most beautiful drives or walks I ever beheld, excelling
even the celebrated charms of the attractive Chiaja at Na
ples. It is protected, to the right and left, by luxuriant
umbrageous trees, with the glittering waves of the Tyrhene
Sea on one side, and the ivied walls of the town on the
other ; above which a long range of palaces stands towering
with aristocratic pride to contrast their splendid magnifi
cence. Here it is the whole populace of Palermo assemble
during the evenings of the warmer seasons, to enjoy the
refreshing luxury of the " mamaliti," or sea breeze, in
dulging, to a late hour, in the innocent gratifications that
Punch, puppets, music, or amicable conversaziones can
provide. At the eastern extremity is the Flora, the Ken
sington gardens of Palermo, which, though circumscribed,
exhibits, in its plan, considerable taste as well as beauty:
parterres of the choicest flowers extend in every direction
to gratify the florists science, or regale the loanging passans
with their odoriferous sweets ; elegantly formed bowers offer
* This horrible institution was abolished, in 1794, by the memorable
efforts of the philanthropic Carraciola, who also established the cemetry
called the Campo Santo, at a distance from the town, and the present
Golgotha of Palermo : like the cemetry of the Annunciata at Naples it
contains almost a vault for every day in the year, one of which is con
stantly kept open for the reception of the dead, and closed at the expira
tion of twenty-four hours until the following year, when it is, by succession,
again required.

14 TRAVELS IN SICILY
shade and repose to the weary ; tree-laced avenues, over
arched by the spreading boughs of the citron, lemon, and
orange, invite the amatory pair to their solitary retreats ;
whilst, in a more secluded part, enclosed by appropriate
characteristic trees of mourning, the literary enthusiast
may contemplate the marbled epitaphs of Archimedes,
Chirondas, Stesichorus, and Epicharmus : all of which is
rendered complete by the refreshing streams from a variety
of fountains, the largest of which is ornamented with an
allegorical figure of Panormus standing surrounded by his
attributes on a rock, with all the consciousness of ancestral
fame. Adjoining the Flora is an extensive botanical garden,
liberally supported and well conducted ; annexed to which,
at the entrance, is a handsome classic building in the Gre
cian style though of Egyptian form, containing a library
for botanical reference, and an elegant lecture room, lighted
by a neat dome, and ornamented with statues appropriate
to the place. What a mixed sensation of horror and de
light I experienced when told these gardens, the generous
institutions of science and pleasure, occupied the site from
whence misery and ignorance once were spread abroad by
the diabolical and desolating ceremonies of the inhuman
inquisition. Amongst the modern edifices of Palermo the churches
occupy a formidable and conspicuous part, but whose
exteriors, however, (with the exception of the cathedral),
exhibit a discordant jumble of architecture without sym
metry, unity of design, or the adherence to any one known
order ; their notoriety consisting principally in the richness
of the materials that decorate their interior, which are
almost invariably so injudiciously disposed, and in such
gaudy profusion, as entirely to deprive them of every pre-

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 15
tension to beauty and effect ; they are extremely numerous,
and, notwithstanding their reputed splendour, they possess
few claims on the admiration of those persons who have
travelled through Italy, and run the gauntlet of church-
visiting in Rome and Naples, where, independent of an
equal display of costly material, the eye may be gratified
with the superior productions of both painting and sculp
ture. At the same time let me caution the traveller against
implicitly submitting (which is too frequentty the case) to
the opinions and reports of others. How often does it
happen that the more capacious and discriminating mind
is allowed to slumber in a state of inaction, by habitually
yielding to the futile ideas of inferiors, when, by a little
energy and activity, it might receive the conviction of error,
and, at the same time, afford light and instruction to so
ciety ? I strongly advocate the cultivation of an indepen
dent mind ; let every one, by mature observation, learn to
think for himself, and form a judgment of his own. I re
commend no person to leave any place or thing unseen
when time can be afforded ; for I have ever found, however
uninteresting objects may be thought, that, by association
or reality, some information, some beneficial idea, will re
sult from contemplation, more or less, to redeem the fatigue
or time they have cost ; independent of which, the reader
will concur with me in observing, that the neglect of the
most trifling object calls forth from our rival travellers the
accusation of having overlooked that which is the most in
teresting, the most captivating, or the most curious.
The cathedral *, or Madre Chiesa, is of Norman gothic,
built in the year 1185, on the foundations of an old church,
by Archbishop Walter, of Palermo, under the patronage
* The cathedral in Sicily is generally termed the Madre Chiesa, (mo
ther church), as in Italy it is denominated the Duomo.

16 TRAVELS IN SICILY
and assistance of William the Good, King of Sicily; but,
on account of the dilapidations caused by a succession of
disastrous earthquakes, little remains of the original struc
ture exceping the facade, which, with its richly chased
spandrils, archivolt mouldings, spiral and clustered pillars,
presents to the eye of the architectural critic a fine speci
men of the growing style of the subsequently finished gothic.
The interior consists of a nave separated from two side
aisles by eighty Ionic columns, of oriental granite, incon
sistently supporting Gothic arches. There are in it several
chapels, remarkable for the riches they contain, or their
religious importance in the estimation of the bigoted and
superstitious enthusiast, particularly those of the Holy Sa
crament and Santa Rosalia, the former of which is richly
incrusted with the most beautiful lapis lazuli, and contains
the valuable donations of devotees made to the holy shrine
of the patron saint * ; the latter is hallowed by the bones of

* Rosalia was the beautiful daughter of a Sicilian count, who, to pre
serve her chastity, and evade the brutality of the Saracens, retired to a
grotto on the top of Mount Pelegrino, where her body, together with a
tablet containing her history, were discovered, in 1624 (according to
Monkish legends), through the medium of a vision to a Benedictine friar,
at a period when the country was visited with a destructive plague, in
which vision it was made known to the holy brother that until the bones
of the chaste daughter had undergone the ceremony of sacred inhumation
the plague would continue to rage with unabated vigour; consequently,
they were immediately deposited, with funeral pomp, in the cathedral :
the pestilence ceased, and sanctification established Rosalia the patroness
of Palermo, which is solemnized every year, from the 9th to the 13th of
July, by all the gorgeous pomp of Roman Catholic pageantry, accompa
nied with festivity, illuminations, fire-works of the most ingenious and
beautiful species, and horse-racing through the Cassara, in the same style
as those of Rome and Naples. But the principal and most remarkable
object of this festival is the car of St. Rosalia, which is drawn in pom
pous procession through the streets by fifty oxen, accompanied with an
excellent band of music, and almost an army of the civil and military

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 17
the sanctified virgin, the exhibition of which is deemed an
effectual charm against plague, or any other national visi
tation. In the choir are several boasted productions of the Mes
sina sculptor Gaggini, the reputed Michael Angelo of Sicily,
which, although not totally devoid of merit, do not entitle
the author to so dignified a comparison : his figures are too
short, and attitudes too forced and excessive, for the easy
elegance of nature ; whilst that energy of physical, as well
as intellectual, expression is wanting, which so pre-emi
nently characterizes the efforts of his great prototype's
chisel. At the foot of the great altar repose the remains of the
valorous Earl Roger, the conqueror of Sicily, and the ter
ror of the Moslem arms ; and, to the left, are enclosed the
bodies of King Roger, the Emperor Frederick II.*, and
Henry V., besides other kings and queens of Sicily, in
authorities, protecting a host of the sacerdotal tribe, who close the fete by
a visit to the shrine of the saint on the mount. The car is of the most
splendid kind, decorated with a variety of illustrative figures, and stands
nearly seventy feet from the ground, bearing, on its summit, a handsome
statue of the patroness.
* In 1 781 the sarcophagus was opened, and the body of Frederick
found, with an extraordinary appearance of freshness, covered with the
following triple imperial dress : Alba, Dalmatia, and pluriale ; the former
was richly ornamented with embroidery and Arabic inscriptions in gold,
and below the left shoulder a cross of red silk, emblematic of his crusade
in Palestine. The Dalmatica was of green silk, the arms of which were
covered with gold lace, two inches broad : the pluriale or mantle had a
large gold clasp, ornamented in the centre with a rich amethyst, twenty
small smaragdus round the circumference, and four immense pearls : the
borders of the robe were enriched with a double row of pearls, and eagles
embroidered in ornamental circles, turning their beaks towards each other,
in pairs. Frederick was fond of oriental splendour ; he spoke the Arabic,
which, in his time, was a fashionable accomplishment, and introdced
many Arabic customs, amongst them the amusement of heron hunting
with hooded falcons.

18 TRAVELS IN SICILY.
three splendid porphery sarcophagi, with massive cano
pies of the same material, supported on columns of the
most curious workmanship : they are of the highest antiT
quity, though it is unknown to what nation they originally
belonged ; two of them were placed, by King Roger, in
the cathedral of Cefalo, in the year 1142, with a command
that his body should, at his death, be placed in one at the
foot of the altar: however, in the year 1186, Frederick had
them transported to Palermo, the body of King Roger
removed, with an order that, at his death, his own body,
and that of his father, Arrigo, should be enclosed : such is
the wayward will of unbridled power, always regardless of
another's feeling, ever studying selfih ends.
Of the remaining churches, the Jesuit's ranks next in im
portance, exceeding in splendour all the rest ; after which
the Sta. Catalina, and the St. Simon and Benedict, with
their annexed nunneries ; the Dominican church, that of
Saints Anne and Francis, (a convent of friars), and the
church of Olivella, which is rendered worthy of remark by
its beautiful altar of the crucifixion ; here, too, the rational
christian is called forth to contemplate, with unwilling
sensations of disgust, the mummery of a store of relics that
is occasionaly exhibited for the idolatry of a deluded race
of Roman Catholic worshippers ; some are set in diamonds,
and others in a variety of expensive ways, all ticketed with
a label of gold.
Palermo, I think, as a town, may be considered, in its
present condition, more opulent and more flourishing than
she has ever before been, during the most brilliant periods,
of her history, although, under the influence of a wiser and
more liberal policy, she might still experience an unbounded-
increase of prosperity. No vestiges can be traced of its
ancient beauty or magnificence ; and we in vain look for

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 19
the substructions of theatres, temples, or basilicas— the al
most invariable indications of Roman or of Grecian abode.
The attention of strangers is, generally speaking, early
directed to the convent of Capuchins, which is about a
mile from the Porta Nuova, or east gate. It is well
endowed, and has a comfortable table every day open for
a certain number of nobles who are reduced to want; but
is curious for the disposal and arrangement of the remains
of the departed fraternity, which are placed in a double
row of niches, through four long subterraneous corridors,
suspended, by the neck, in their monastic garb, with a label,
containing the name, age, and period of decease. At one
end is an altar incrusted with teeth, bones, and sculls, that
are inlaid in the style of mosaic work ; and, at the other,
a drying-room for the preparation of the bodies that are
to be exposed; whilst, along the flooring lie piles of coffers,
containing the bodies of deceased gentlemen or nobles of
Palermo, who have purchased a place for the repose of
their mortal part : the cases are closed with locks, and the
keys kept by the family or friends, who occasionally come
to shed a tributary tear over the relations they have lost.
The palace of the viceroy stands at the end of the
Cassaro, by the eastern gate, on a strong artificial founda
tion, first laid by the Saracens in 814, a. d., (when they
took Palermo), on the ruins of the old fortress, which be
fore them had been so bravely defended by the Phoenicians,
Chaldeans, Greeks, Romans, Vandals, and Goths. They
strengthened it, and established within its walls the royal
mansion of the infidel chief, the Emir Chbiz, governor of
the Sultan of Egypt; but nothing now remains of the Ma-
homedan edifice, it having been since razed, altered, and
rebuilt by a succession of kings and viceroys : however,
the greater proportion of the present building, with the
c2

20 TRAVELS IN SICILY
little church of St. Peter, and its beautiful crypt*, were
raised by King Roger, and the two Williams, his son and
grandson, who contributed all its richness and magnifi
cence, about the commencement of the twelfth century.;
Its exterior is far from denoting a royal residence, though
within it is adorned with a splendid suite of apartments,
and an armory which contains, besides many other curious:
antiquities, the desolating sword of Count Roger, and two
of the four celebrated rams, made of rich Syracusan bronze,
by the memorable genius of Archimedes, who placed them
on the gates of Tyche, to designate the cardinal points.
On the summit of that part erected by King Roger, called
the Torre Greca, is established an observatory, where the un
remitted labours of an eminent astronomer, named Piazza,
have been crowned by several most important discoveries
in the science. On the right hand of the staircase, de
scending towards the church, is a stone with inscriptions, in
Latin, Greek, and Saracenic, to record the introduction of
a clock made by a Saracen, under the direction of Count
Roger. The one in Latin is to the following effect : — " This
clock was caused to be made by the great King Roger, in
the year of the incarnation of Christ, 1142, the fifth of the
month of March, and the thirteenth year of his reign."
Those in Greek and Arabic, thus : — " Oh ! new and
wonderful spectacle ! the great Lord King Roger having,
received the sceptre from God, governs the flow of
movable substance, by distributing the knowledge of the
hours of time free from sin: the fifth of the month of
March, 1142, and thirteenth year of his happy reign."
On the seventeenth the sun rose in beauty, and we de-
* The crypt, with its rich mosaics and ornamental marble work, afford
a fine example of the luxury and taste which characterized the Norman
architecture of that early age.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 21
parted on a pilgrimage to the chapel of Santa Rosalia, erected
on the summit of Monte Pelegrino, over the grotto, where,
tradition says, she died : it is held in profound veneration
by the lower orders of Palermitans, and is adorned with a
bronze statue of the patroness, in a recumbent posture,
which is clothed in a gaudy glittering raiment of silver,
surrounded by votive offerings of the superstitious tribe who
resort to the sainted shrine. It is about a mile and three quar
ters from the gates of the town to the foot of the hill, from
whence a zig-zag road has been cut, and formed on arches
over numerous fissures, which affords easy access to the
mountain's top : beyond the chapel, on a high rock, is the
telegraph, and near it the remains of an ancient tower>
called the Torre de Corsari, which served, in the middle
ages, the purposes of a watch tower, and to warn the inha
bitants of the surrounding country, on the approach of
corsairs and barbarians, by lighting fires during the night,
which were seen at a considerable distance. Monte Pele
grino* is an immense mass of rock, nearly two thousand feet
above the level of the sea, from which it rises almost in a
perpendicular line. It was called by the ancient Greeks,
» Be*™ ; by the Romans, Mons Cratas ; and, by the Saracens,
Belgrin; signifying the neighbouring mountain, hence cor
rupted into the present appellation of Pelegrino. It is
composed principally of lime-stone, with a thick stratum
at the base of beautifully perfect specimens of marine
fossil shells of various species. On the top of this moun
tain the celebrated Carthaginian general, Hamilcar Barras,
established himself, towards the end of the first Punic
war, and where he gave to the world the most undeniable
* This mountain is, in the months of May and June, frequented by
myriads of quails, which afford both sport and profit to the amateurs of
the neighbourhood.

22 TRAVELS IN SICILY
proofs of his military genius, by the unparalleled skill and
audacious bravery, with which he sustained a war of nearly
three years against the combined armies of the Romans
and Grecians, now besieging, now besieged, alternately
suffering and inflicting dearth with a degree of desperation
and energy that is dfficult to describe, until the fatal defeat
of the Carthaginian fleet off Lilybeo, by which he was de
prived of all hopes of support, and reduced to the galling
necessity of suing for a peace on those humiliating terms
which obliged the Carthaginians to evacuate the whole
island, and thus made half Sicily a Roman province.
On descending, we visited the Favorita*, a fanciful
casino, belonging to the viceroy, situated about two miles
and a half from the town, built in a curious indefinable
style, intended to represent a Chinese edifice : it contains
a variety of apartments, decorated to suit the taste of
almost all nations, one of which is singularly constructed,
in imitation of a subterranean vault, to yield refreshing
airs during the summer heats : the surface of the walls is
irregular and humid, with a number of cooling plants,
shooting their dewy leaves through interstices, like the
vegetable offspring of a fountain grotto. The grounds are
fantastically distributed, and intersected with excellent
straight roads, bounded to the right and left with forest or
fruit trees, plantations, and gardens, laid out according to
the rules of Dutch formality, with, in one part, a Chinese
pagoda, rising up from the centre of a species of labyrinth.
There is a prodigious quantity of game within the enclo
sure, but it is most strictly preserved, and frequently sent in
great profusion to supply the royal larder at Naples.
* In a dining-room there is a table communicating with the kitchen
beneath by apertures, through which the dinner is sent up at the call of
the royal host, and is intended to obviate the necessity of servants' presence.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 23
Returning from the Favorita we were prevented the fur
ther continuance of our researches by an engagement we
had faithfully promised to fulfil at the hospitable board of
Mr. W  d, a resident English merchant and banker,
to whom we had been introduced by recommendatory let
ters, and had travelled with in the steam-boat from Naples:
his villa is situated near the one of Prince Butera, in a
most delicious and enjoyable part of the valley, command
ing a prospect of the town, the luxuriant environs, and the
deep cerulean waters of the crescented bay. We spent
an agreeable evening of sociable festivity, that amply re
deemed the suspension of our antiquarian pursuits i indeed,
such was the courteous hospitality and kindness we expe
rienced from him, as well as many others of the English
residents with whom we became acquainted, that I shall
never recur to my visit at Palermo but with feelings of the
most grateful rememberance.
In order to avail ourselves of the fast expiring period of
our limited stay within the " Happy City"*, we set out
again early the following morning on an excursion to
Mon Reale, Carini, and St. Martino. Qujting the town by
the Porta Nuova, we passed through a part of the enchant
ing Conca d'Oro, which I have before so vainly endeavoured
to describe, until our progress was arrested by a visit to
the remains of two Saracenic edifices, called the Kubba
and Ziza or Zizza, as it is now more generally styled, which
lie within half a mile of each other, and about one from
the town.
The Kubbaf, (which in Arabic signified a vaulted palace),
* Every city in Sicily is dendrhinated by some peculiar epithet,
illustrative of the merits or demerits that characterize their locality or in
habitants : hence, on account of the amenity and fertility of Palermo, it
has received the agnomen of " Felice.''
f The Kubba, a corruption of the Arabic word Kaaba,

24 TRAVELS IN SICILY
is now called Castel Reale, and converted into barracks,
possessing few marks of its ancient Moorish character;
even the Arabic inscription round the summit is now de
cayed and illegible. In its brilliant days, under the Mos
lem kings, it was surrounded with every species of horti
cultural beauty that could minister to the luxurious wants
and pleasures of the most fastidious imagination ; in the
centre of which was an immense piscina, encircled with
massive walls, whose form and extent may still be traced,
and attest a much higher antiquity than the Mahomedan
era, consequently has lead to the very probable suggestion
of a Roman naumachia.
The Ziza* is the most curious, most uniform, and, at the
same time, the most perfect structure of the two, having
experienced little or no alteration since it was erected by
the Moorish emirs in the ninth century, and is at the pre
sent moment the residence of a Palermitan prince. It is
a quadriform stone edifice of three stories, having windows
and doors of the pointed arch, ornamented with mullions
and tracery, surmounted by battlements, on each of which
there is a single letter of the Cuffic alphabet, forming alto
gether a Saracenic inscription, whose interpretation, how
ever, I could no where obtain a sufficiently satisfactory
account of to attempt describing. Refreshing streams dis
charge themselves from an elegant fountain, into a marble
basin in the centre of the entrance hall, which is vaulted
with frosted ceilings, richly decorated with finished drops,
and highly wrought pendentives. Originally the walls
were covered with Arabic inscriptions, and mosaics, ac
cording to the Moorish custom ; the whole forming a most
luxurious retreat and very much resembling those oriental
* Azziza signifies in Arabic, dear, very fine, or beautiful.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 25
summer-housesj called kioschks, particularly in Persia,
where the wealthy chieftians have a particular fondness
for the luxurious distribution of cooling streams through
their houses and gardens ; hence the curious author of the
Koran promises to all true believers, in the world to come,
the enjoyment of delightful gardens through which re
freshing streams shall flow.
The contemplation of this building, which is coeval
with the Alhambra of Grenada, and the Moorish mosque
of Cordova, more strongly confirmed me in the opinion
which I have always nurtured, in opposition to the many
discussions of erudite travellers and the numberless sug
gestions of architectural writers; namely, that the style
called Gothic solely owes its birth to that of the Saracenic,
and justly derives its appellation from the Goths*, who
first established Christianity throughout Spain, and raised,
at the revival of their power, churches in that style, on the
ruins of the Saracenic mosques; in which idea I cannot
help flattering myself I shall be borne out by such of my
readers as will, without prejudice, consider the matter, and
devote a little attention to the circumstances connected
with this subject, derivable from Saracenic, French, and
Spanish history.
In the first place, when the followers of Mahomed, at
the close of the seventh century, had, by dint of that fervid
enthusiasm which so peculiarly distinguished the propaga
tion of their faith, succeeded in so widely extending the
Mussulmanic doctrine, it is, I presume, generally known
that they studiously cultivated forms and habits entirely
* It was under the great and wise Reeared that Christianity, accord
ing to the creed of Rome, was generally disseminated throughout Spain,
and became the prevailing faith of the Gothic invaders, in spite of a
powerful arian faction established by his predecessor.

26 TRAVELS IN SICILY
peculiar to themselves, and, in consequence, invented a
new style of architecture, that might be deemed worthy
of distinguishing the sainted depositories of their new faith,
and of transmitting to after ages the memory of its great
author, their prophet.
With a combination of parts, therefore, deduced from
almost all the orders then known to them ; namely, the
round arch of the Romans; the three columns of the Gre
cians ; the pointed arch, tracery, and open lattice-work of the
Chinese, Hindoos, and Persians ; the spiral pillar and horse
shoe form, (which they adopted for the pediments of door
ways and cupolas), from the Egyptians ; all of which,
added to a few combinations of their own, they united into
a regulated ensemble, and raised according to its rules, a
multiplicity of religious structures throughout every coun
try they allured, or rather obliged, to embrace their fanatic
creed. It was introduced into Europe on the Moorish conquest
of Spain; an era of war, bloodshed, and infidelity; and
one of the most astonishing political revolutions that is
recorded in history.
At the commencement of the eighth century, the Moslem
horde entered the country on its southern shores ; and in
the incredibly short space of two years, concluding with
the fatal and sanguinary struggle of Xeres, the whole
territory of Spain was laid prostrate, and Christianity anni
hilated by the overwhelming invocations of the Mahome^
dan impostor ; for whose worship sanctuaries sprung up,
and exhibited, for the first time in Europe, this novel style
of architecture, which, according to the progress of im
provement in the arts, after a series of years received more
splendid forms, until it acquired that costly magnificence
and perfection so beautifully illustrated in the many re-

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 27
mains of Moorish mosques and palaces still extant in
Spain. But a happy period was yet reserved, when christians
and Christianity should again raise their heads in triumph
over the infidel race and their unhallowed doctrine. A brave
and illustrious band of fugitive Goths, who, in the mountain
fastnesses of the Asturias, under the influence of free air of
independence, having uncorruptedly preserved their ancient
habits, and nourished the true spirit of Christ, descended*
from the craggy abodes into the plains, against the enemies
of their creed, under the intrepid leader, Pelagius, who,
with his valorous companions, fortified with the love of
freedom and their faith, fought with unparalleled despera
tion, everywhere scattering destruction and dismay amongst
the host of turbaned warriors they opposed ; and, by a series
of successful warfare, during a period of nineteen years,
paved the way for the subsequent restoration of the christian
religion, and the Gothic kings, who, in the middle of the
eighth century, had already succeeded in prescribing
bounds to the ambitious usurpations of the Moors ; and in
proportion as the infidels were driven from their holds, so
did the pious zeal of Alphonso the Catholic cause new
churches to be built on the ruins of their numerous mosques,
in the erecting of which christian architects borrowed some
what from their Moslem brethren, particularly the pointed
arch and tracery, which, in its rudest style, subsequently so
characterised their religious edifices.
From Spain it passed into France, under the appellation
of Gothic,, through the medium of the Normans, an enter
prising and industrious people, who, after their conversion
to Christianity, became a most devoutly religious nation,
* A. D. 718.

28 TRAVELS IN SICILY
notoriously addicted to ecclesiastical architecture, which in
their zeal they gradually beautified and improved accord
ing to the new ideas they received from the shrines and
temples of all the countries they were at that period in the
habit of visiting.
Amongst their earliest productions in that style are the
cathedral of Chartres * and the church of the monastery of
Clugny; but richer and more ornamental parts became
progressively added, until, by the united efforts of all the
Norman architects, it acquired that characteristic beauty
and graceful elegance so exclusively peculiar to the pointed
or Gothic order, which existed inits greatest perfection about
that period when our English kings held dominion over the
fair provinces of Normandy : hence then its introduction
and rapid progress throughout England, which abounds in
its richest and most beautiful specimens.
The sudden change from the Roman + to the Gothic
* The original church being destroyed by lightning, the present cathe
dral was built under the directions of bishop Fuller, by Norman architects
in the year 1020, and principally at the expense of Richard Duke of Nor
mandy; and many of the same style were afterwards caused to be built by
Robert King of France. It must be observed, however, that the great
entrance and two steeples of Chartres cathedral are of rather a later period
than the rest of the building. The abbey of Clugny was commenced by
a Norman monk in 1093, at the expense of Alphonso king of Spain, but
not finished until 1131.
f In England, previous to the conquest, a corrupted style of Roman
prevailed, consisting of short round pillars, with rude capitals and bases
supporting circular arches, introduced by the Roman missionaries after
the conversion of the Saxons, to whom (instead of their own heathen
temples) they recommended churches built " after the Roman manner "
which became adopted and continued until the conquest; when the Nor
man abbots and prelates (who were most indefatigable and ingenious
architects, and well skilled in the science) introduced a variety of new
alterations and improvements, particularly a more delicate pillar, and a
series of small round arches made to intersect each other, &c &c Their

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 29
throughout Europe (for which we are exclusively indebted
to the piety of the Normans), is, generally speaking, sup
posed to have been simultaneous, and asserted to have been
brought from the Holy Land during the first crusade, by a
body of architects, who, on their return, introduced the
style to their respective native countries. Nothing, how
ever, can be more erroneous, since churches were built
according to Gothic rule in Europe long antecedent to that
period; and furthermore, its advancement from one coun
try to another, if traced with necessary accuracy and judg
ment, will be found to have proceeded as progressively,
(though with rapidity), and with the same regularity, by
imitation, as the dissemination of any other newly-disco
vered branch of art.
Its apparently contemporaneous adoption may probably
be accounted for by that zealous enthusiasm for raising
churches which marked the growing prevalence of Christ
ianity in Europe from the eleventh to the thirteenth centu
ries, and occasioned a species of competition amongst the
ecclesiastical bodies of different nations, from whence re-
efforts were incessant, and not without success, since their churches ex
celled all others in that age for beauty or form. They expended immense
sums in erecting, rebuilding, and decorating almost all the cathedral or
conventual churches of England ; and about the twelfth century brought
over from their own country the new pointed style, called Gothic, which
from that period kept pace with the improvements of the Norman inventors,
and assumed three marked characters, known by the forms of the arch,
and other alterations that distinguished the ages of their adoption, namely,
the first order was the acute or double lancet arch, sometimes highly
wrought with tracery : such are the cathedrals of Lincoln, Salisbury, and
Beverly, which prevailed from the twelfth to the end t>f the thirteenth cen
tury. The second order is distinguished by its perfect equilateral arch,
which continued from the latter period to the middle of the fifteenth cen
tury : of such are York Minster, Winchester, and Canterbury : to which
succeeded the compressed or obtuse arch, with the overloaded ornaments
that accompanied it.

30 TRAVELS IN SICILY.
suited the rapidity of its adoption, as well as the beauty of
style, which continued increasing in superadded ornaments
until the fifteenth century, when, on account of its exuber
ance, it received the epithet of " florid." Such are the
cathedrals of Milan and Cologne, the Carthusian monas
tery at Pavia, St. George's, Windsor, King's College cha
pel, Cambridge, and Henry the Seventh's chapel, West-^
minster. On quitting the Zizza we proceeded to Mon Reale, which
lies about three miles and a half from Palermo. It is
situated on the brow of a sterile mountain called Caputo *,
and hemmed in by a lofty range of hills, excepting towards
the north, which commands a splendid view of the plain,
the distant metropolis, and the Tyrrhene sea. On approach
ing it at a short distance, it appears as if rising out of a
richly wooded grove of olive and orange trees. An excel
lent winding road, full of picturesque objects and scenic
beauties, made by the public-spirited archbishop Testa,
affords easy access from the foot of the hill to the town : it
is supported on the sides by walls and buttresses, and orna
mented with a variety of inscriptions, urns, and refreshing
fountains, on the sparkling bosom of whose springs lie float
ing numerous vegetable productions of the aqueous tribe,
amongst which the bright-leaved lotus and the lily seem to
shine as the presiding tenants of the stream.
The town owes its rise to a Benedictine convent, built by
Count Roger, and to the present cathedral, which was
attached to it in the year 1172 by the pious William II. f
* On the summit of Monte Caputo, which overlooks the town, there
is an old tower erected by the Saracenic chief Bulcar, on the ruins of'
an ancient christian church and convent, traces of which may still be seen
t From the frequent visits of William the Good, and his erection of
the church, was derived the merited appellation of Monte Reale, and

AND THE UPARI ISLANDS. 31
surnamed the Good, which, on account of the reverential
devotion it excited by its magnitude, and then esteemed
splendour of architecture, as well as the salubrity and ame
nity of its situation, attracted a rapid augmentation of
residents around the holy shrine ; and in process of time
became a place of great consideration, soon after a bishop-
rick, and is now the seat of an archbishop, with a popula
tion of twelve thousand souls.
The cathedral *, as I have just observed, was erected at
an enormous expense by William, and though fine and
imposing in the general mass, will not bear the test of
modern architectural scrutiny, nor comparison with the
contemporary structures of his Norman brethren in France.
It is a bad style of Saracenic, being an incongruous mixture
of a variety of orders ; for instance, pointed arches sup
ported by Grecian columns on heavy bases or pedestals.
The Gothic incrustation of mosaic is greatly admired by
Sicilian amatures of art ; however, I think it produces a
sombre appaarance, and the effect of heaviness, which in
variably destroys architectural beauty. Here the remains
of the royal founder, as well as those of his father, William
the Bad, were deposited in two rich porphery sarcophagi,
also the intestines of St. Lewis, who died in his zealous pur
suit of the first holy war. Many valuable antiquities have
been taken from this church since the destructive fire of
1811, by which they were totally ruined or irreparably in
jured. The paintings that cover the walls are none of them
not, as has been suggested, from the Saracenic Monrahal ; for the Moors
only occupied the summit of the mountain above-mentioned, which they
called Bulcar, after their chief.
* The beautiful, gallery of the adjoining convent, the cloisters, and the
excessively fine view from the terrace, may be deemed well worthy of
observation.

32 TRAVELS IN SICILY
chefs d'csuvre of the art, although a martyrdom of St. Pla-
cido, by Novelli, is unmeritedly held up to the admiring
gaze of those who can be persuaded to esteem its author
as the Raphael of his day : the colouring is intolerably
vapid, the design incorrect, the expression unmeaning, and
seems really to possess no other claim to merit than the
ingenuity of its composition, consequently it does in no way
entitle the author to be designated as the head of any school
of painting, which 1 have in one or two works seen the
name of Novelli * dignified with.
From Mon Reale we proceeded on mules to the celebrated
convent of St. Martino, which lies about three miles and
a half north-west from its gates : the road runs through a
line of singularly picturesque mountains, checquered with
little cultivated patches, and spotted with groupes of moun
tain shrubs, and the silver olive, here and there broken by
rocks, declivities, and precipices, well calculated for the
gloomy tales of romance, or the wild pencil of a Salvator
Rosa. We passed the ruins of a Moorish castle, rearing its
tottering walls on the summit of a craggy height, (the one
seen from the gates of Palermo), and shortly afterwards
descended by a gradual undulation of hills into a small soli
tary dell, encircled by a chain of rude and rugged moun
tains, at whose base, in a secluded recess, is situated the
luxurious retreat of the followers of St. Benedict. It con
sists of a square building of three stories, surmounted by a
turret with dome and cross, and a wing on each side, be
hind which is annexed the church of St. Martin, that gave
rise to the appellation of the establishment. All was silence
and tranquillity as we advanced towards the holy dwelling ;
not even the shadow of a human being was visible around,
* Surnamed Morrealese.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 33
until approaching the half-closed portals of the church, we,
discovered the whole fraternity engaged in the ceremonies
of high mass. We immediately entered with the reverence
and respect due to their rites and to a chistian temple, and
I shall never forget the impressive effect of religious solem
nity I at that moment experienced, caused by a sudden
burst of voices from the choral chaunt of monks who had
just commenced that sublime and heart-moving composi
tion, the Te Deum of Graum, accompanied by the power
ful, yet mellifluous tones of an incomparably fine organ
the richness of whose expressive swells and general execu
tion readily announced the scientific skill of a master-hand.
The sacerdotal paraphernalia of the officiating priests exhi
bited a degree of costliness that might compete with the
papal splendor of the Sistine chapel, though somewhat in
consistent with the humble pretensions of the pious founder
of their order.
The choir is remarkable for the most exquisitely executed
carved work in walnut wood, that adorns it, and which
presents a fine specimen of the wonderful degree of perfec
tion to which the art of carving may attain. Round the
church many moderately-executed productions of painting
and sculpture may be seen which record the deeds of sacred
history or the memory of sainted mortals. After the ser
vice, one of the monks, with a great deal of courteous civi
lity, conducted us through the church and its subterraneous
apartments, namely, the cryptic chape] and cemetry ; the
former is neat, though marked with the gloominess of a
sepulchral vault, and is devoted to private masses ; the lat
ter, like the Capuchin dormitory of the dead at Palermo,
preserves the remains of the deceased monks, who are ex
posed in the most ludicrous attitudes round its obnoxious
aisles, from whose unpleasing spectacle we gladly returned,

34 - TRAVELS IN SICILY
afld entered the convent through a magnificent hall which
led by a splendid marble staircase to the spacious galleries
and chambers above, all presenting an appearance of
princely luxury and magnificence, furnishing another of
the innumerable pfoofs of that simplicity and self-denial
we are, generally speaking, taught to believe are the pro
minent characteristics of the humble votaries of monastic
life. The library is a fine, noble apartment, supported by
beautifully carved Corinthian pillars of walnut, contains a
valuable collection of books, manuscripts, &C, and, like
the principal corridor, is hung with pictures, and paved
with glazed tiles of various colours.
The church was built about the middle of the twelfth
century, by the pious spirit of Pietro Indulfo, who dedi^
cated it to St. Martin, and attached it to the church of Mon
Reale, under the patronage of King William the Good ;
but it was shortly afterwards given by the Archbishop Ema
nuel to the Benedictine monks, on the following condi
tions : that they should annex to it a monastery, from
whence the resident brethren were to come every year on
the holy feast of the Virgin's Nativity, in solemn proces
sion, with lighted candles in their hands* to the cathedral
of Mon Reale ; inconsequence of which the present edifice
was erected at a great expense from the funds of the opulent
fraternity, which, like that of Catania, only admits nobles,
half of whom are now laymen, though all, we must sup
pose, warmly devoted to the labours of an useful and a
pious life. Few trees or even shrubs are to be seen within
this sequestered glen, excepting those around the convent
and in an extensive luxuriant garden which the industry of
ages has accomplished in spite of the sterile rock on which
it is planted.
Time slipped away as we gathered information from the

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 35
communicative brothers of the cowl, and we were obliged
rather abruptly to bid adieu to its cloistered walls and soli
tary vale, from which, after the usual valedictory observ
ances, we emerged by a winding craggy path, and as we
slowly ascended the heights, the lugubrious toll of the con
vent bell echoed along the hills, and dwelt with a pleasing
melancholy on the ear, until we reached the distant range
which we traversed through a rugged picturesque country,
and soon descended into the fertile plain of Carini, where,
in a clean little town of the same name, an astonishingly
numerous population breathe in health and contentment
the salubrious air of the beautiful eminence on which it
stands. The town is about fifteen miles from Palermo, and
four from the sea, and as usual in Sicily, has a number of
religious edifices, with a fine old strong tower, not of Gothic
or Saracenic production, as sometimes intimated, but
the baronial fortress of Manfredi Chiaramontano, whose
arms it bears. The plain is luxuriantly productive, watered
by a variety of fountains and springs, besides a small river
which brings richness and fertility from the hills, and once
ministered its refreshing streams to the inhabitants of the
opulent but unfortunate Hyccara*, a Sicanian town, which
stood upon its banks about a mile from the sea, and enjoyed,
in the early ages of Sicily, the prosperity of undisturbed
commerce, until the arrival + of the Athenian expedition,
the year 416 b, c, under the feeble conduct of Nicias,
who sacked it, bore off a great part of the inhabitants as
slaves, and gave the remainder, with the town, to the city
of Egesta ; after which history is totally silent as to its
fate, and now scarcely a stone remains to identify the site
* to rmutfa. of the Greeks. f Thucydides and Diodorus.
d2

36 TRAVELS IN SICILY
it even occupied. Such is the destiny of man, such the
evanescent existence of human works, when divine autho
rity decrees their fall !
This was the birth place of the far-famed Lais *, who,
yet a child, together with the other prisoners of Nicias, was
carried to Catana, where they were sold into slavery by
public auction, and the lovely Sicel maid became the pro
perty of a Corinthian merchant, in after years the wonder
and admiration of man, the envy of woman, and the theme
of song.
The destruction of Hyccara and the levying of thirty
talents on the city of Egesta, proved the only solitary boast
of the Athenian general in this first ill-judged expedition
of Athens against the colonies of Sicily. No advantages
accrued to the state, no laurels crowned their general's
brow; for the valiant but unfortunate Nicias, baffled by
the treacherous promises of the Egestans, led his disap
pointed army through the country of the Sicels to the eastern
extremity of the island, where they ultimately fell a prey
to pestilence, famine, and defeat, thus affixing an indeli
ble stain on the glory of the Athenian arms, the affecting
and disastrous details of which are pathetically recorded by
the elegant and energetic pen of Thucydides.
About three miles from hence stands the beautiful little
town of La Favarotto, situated on a gentle rise near the
sea, and is more attractive probably for the charms of its
locality and the beauty of the surrounding plain ; fine tall
olives yield shade and riches to the soil, the gracefully
* Athensus says her beauty was so great, that painters came at a
great expense from distant countries to take her bust, for the purpose of
introducing in their pictures ; and that the celebrated painter, Apelles,
stood motionless with admiration on accidentally seeing her once at a
fountain.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 37
branching carob contrasts the richness of its bright dark
green, and in spite of the contiguity of the briny waters,
an innumerable variety of particularly beautiful shrubs and
flowers spring up in every direction to enliven and adorn
the scene. We proceeded homewards .by a less moun
tainous, though longer and more rugged path, with the bay
of Carini to our left, terminated at the eastern extremity by
the little islet of Femi (or, as it is now corrupted, Delle
Femine), which is merely an isolated rock, with a Sara
cenic tower, and only rendered remarkable by an instance
of ignorance and superstition of the sixteenth century,
namely, the execution of a political intriguant, who. on
this island fell a cruel victim to the accusation of sorcery.
The coast, as we learned from our intelligent-guide, is all
the way along, and particularly in the vicinity of Capo di
Gallo, celebrated for many curious and immense caverns,
made frequently the habitations of shepherds who lead a
life of primitive simplicity within their subterranean apart
ments ; but the lateness of the hour prevented our exploring
their singular recesses. I could not help observing how
largely the road and country over which we were then
passing partook of the same primitive state ; the hand of
man seemed never to have approached its soil, though in
the days of earlier ages it has successively exhibited a scene
of industry, populution, and warfare. From the stony
nature of its superstratum, and the consequent annoyance
it causes to horses, the whole region has received the appro
priate epithet of Sferra Cavalli. It was late at night before
we reached the capital, and the latter part of our ride was
rendered unpleasant by the unwelcome arrival of the sirocco,
a wind whose effects on the moral as well as physical sys
tem are indescribable to those who have never experienced
its saturnine influence ; it is more violent here (though of

38 TRAVELS IN SICILY
shorter duration) than I ever felt it in any part of Italy ; the
period of its continuance is irregular, butseldom attains three
days, which in summer is, notwithstanding, almost annihila
tion to a transalpine constitution. Itis the ^4 of the Greeks,
and the Africus Ventus of the Romans; it blows, generally
speaking, from the coast of Africa, between the south and
east-south-east points of the compass, and is the same wind
which produces such destructive influence in the desarts*
dispossessed, however, of its most obnoxious qualities, by
a passage over the sea ; yet in traversing the island, it seems
again to recover a proportion of its malignity, and to con
centrate all its powers within the vale of Palermo, where it
becomes more insupportable, and is more severely felt than
in any other part of Sicily. It dims the whole atmosphere
with suffocating, burning, misty vapours, which enervate
alike the animal as the vegetable world, and cause a depres
sion of spirits during its stay quite intolerably disagreeable.
In the hot weather the inhabitants altogether avoid expos
ing themselves to the external air, close every door and
window, and keep their apartments refreshed by the fre
quent sprinkling of water : however, from all the informa
tion I could obtain on the subject, it seems productive of
no diseases, but rather favourable than otherwise to cuta
neous affections.
With the fame of Syracuse, alluring the imagination^
and the temples of Agrigentum rearing their massive co
lumns in our minds eye, together with many other interest
ing sites of antiquity, that hung like the spell of enchant
ment round our necks, we experienced a sort of yearning
to set out in quest of their sacred remains, consequently
made active preparations for our departure on the follow
ing morning. The preparations necessary for a journey
to Sicily are of no unimportant nature, since the traveller

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 39
cannot, as in England, jump into a coach in the morning,
and after traversing a distance of a hundred miles before
seven o'clock in the evening, find himself in the quiet
possession of a comfortable inn, a clean bed, and a salutary
meal. The roads there, very unlike the paths of human
beings, are little better than goat tracks, and do not offer
much -choice as to the means of travelling, which are
limited to riding on mules or in the lettiga, a vehicle per
fectly resembling a rude species of Brighton or Chelten
ham fly, suspended like a sedan chair, between two poles,
on the backs of a couple of mules, one behind the other
before. The motion is irregular and disagreeable beyond
description, attended at the same time with considerable
danger of upsetting, if not driven with the greatest care
over .©raggy and uneven ground, and particularly along the
edges of precipices, where a false step would hurl the whole
establishment into the plain below, in spite of the sure-
footedness of the beasts that usually bear them. Therefore,
after due consideration, we determined on hiring mules as
the more preferable and independent mode of conveyance;
besides which, what is infinitely more essential to the
tourist, he can uninterruptedly gaze around him, and dwell
at leisure on the prospects he beholds without the inter
vention of pannels, dirty curtains, and the intollerable
nuisance of a small window, which on the occurrence of
any remarkable objects or scenery, occasions an incessant
interchange of most inconvenient courtesy.
Travelling too in Sicily is attended with a variety of
other inconveniences, particularly to those persons who are
more devoted to the consideration of physical comforts and
luxury than intellectual gratification ; for, excepting at
two or three of the larger towns of the island, few inns are
to be met with beyond the halting places of muleteers,

40 TRAVELS IN SICILY
which scarcely merit the epithet, since they are totally in
capable of furnishing wherewith to compose a decent meal,
and rarely the accommodation of a bed suited to the use
of civilized beings, such things being never required by
the general frequenters of those inhospitable abodes, namely
muleteers, who carry their own provisions, and usually
sleep in the stable by the side of their goods, under the
faithful guardianship of a dog. However, these difficulties
and inconveniencies may be alleviated by obtaining letters
of recommendation to the different monastic establishments,
which are invariably to be found in or near every tavern
and village of the island, and not only secure to the tra
veller hospitable reception and good cheer, but the addi
tional advantage of frequently learned information; in
such cases pecuniary compensation is, generally speaking,
expected, and, I may venture to say, as often most willingly
contributed by the guests who have the good fortune to
gain access to their dwellings.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 41

CHAPTER II.
20th November, 1824.
At seven in the morning, the arrival of our steeds and guide
announced the hour of departure, the former of which, like
Quixote's rosinante, neither boasted the costliness of their
caparison or the effects of easy labour and good living ;
whilst an athletic form and robust health bespoke the better
usage of the latter, a youth of thirty years, whose generous
countenance, smiling under the folds of a newly blanched
night cap, seemed to guarantee the faithful services of a
trustworthy guide : a sumpter mule bore our baggage and
provisions, and we quitted the town by the Porta Nuova,
proceeding at an easy pace of three miles per hour through
the valley of Palermo, at the end of which the road ascends
the mountains, and passes through a narrow defile of steep,
rugged, rocky hills, which immediately arrest the attention
of the military observer, as possessing powerful means of
defence against the attacks of a foreign enemy. The ter
mination of this defile opens into a hilly country, consisting
principally of corn lands and pasture, which, from the
time of year, and the want of those divisions that consti
tute the principal ornament of cultivated scenery, offer
nothing to the eye of the picturesque or beautiful, yet are
not totally devoid of attractions for those who love 'nature
in her simplest forms. The land appeared clean though
rudely farmed, and the grain was all in the ground for the
following spring, which, however, a long draught threatened
a total destruction of, and caused general gloom amongst,
the poor cultivators of the hills. Between here and Alcamo

42 TRAVELS IN SICILY
is the only part of Sicily where the dairy is cultivated ;
the butter is delicious and is principally taken to Palermo
for sale, where we were, previously to quitting, advised to
lay in a supply, which proved one of the greatest necessaries
during our tour, particularly as good bread may generally
be found at the smallest village, whilst the former is not to
be obtained even at the largest towns. Seven miles and a
half from Palermo, a rugged, though termed a good, mule
path leads from the high road about a mile and a half to
the temple and ancient site of Segesta, which, as we ap
proached, the tardy pace of our steeds permitted us to con
template at leisure the venerable pile as it rose with irnr
posing grandeur to our view. It stands on the declivity
of an eminence in the centre of a vale hemmed in by a
line of sterile hills, excepting to the north, from whence it
is ventilated by the invigorating freshness of the sea breeze;
all is barrenness around, no annual crops spring up to
crown the labourers toil, no hospitable thickets clothe the
mountain sides, and the deserted wilderness seems to ex
hibit a scene of melancholy solitude in sympathy with the
fallen greatness of the once powerful Segesta, whose,disr
astrous tale is left to be told by one solitary, yet interesting
and impressive memorial.
We alighted, and quickly found ourselves within the
venerable fane, whose massive proportions, austere sim
plicity, and perfect symmetry, wrested from us the imme
diate acknowledgment of most unequivocal superiority in
the style and taste of ancient art.
It is a pararellogramic periptera of the dorie order, conr
taining thirty-six columns, having thirteen at the sides and
six at the ends, including the angular ones in .both direc
tions ; the shafts are composed of four pieces, and, very
unlike those of Psestum and Agrigentum, are not flutedj

a

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 43
though much longer, and taper away without any swell,
from a diameter of four feet and a quarter under the ovolo
to six feet at their base, terminating at each extremity by
an intaglio for the insertion of bronze astragals ; they rest
on one common plinth, which, being cut through, in
all the intercolumniations of the fronts and the last of
each flank, gives the appearance of socles or bases to the
columns*. The entablature is perfect, and the two pedi
ments also (with the exception of a few stones of their
cornice) seem to have resisted the desolating hand of time.
The interior is perfectly clear, and without a cella, which
strongly attests the original unfinished state of the edifice,
probably suspended by the exterminating wars of the Car
thaginians f. The general form is graceful and elegant,
being one hundred and seventy feet in length, seventy-six
feet broad, and forty feet high in the fronts, built of a
porous concretion of marine substances mixed with calca
reous matter of a dingy brown cast ; its entrance, as may
be traced, was to the east, but obscurity hangs over alike
the period as the object of its erection, unless it is the
temple Cicero and Dyonisius of Halicarnassus mention,
which was raised in the days of Egestan prosperity to the
memory of iEneas, for whom they established honours
and the celebration of divine ceremonies.
A short distance from the temple we traced the sub-
* The stones of the architrave are worthy of remark for their enor
mous dimensions ; they are ten feet in length, supported by two columns
with intervening blocks between the ends.
f Having experienced some slight damage by earthquake, the temple
was repaired by Ferdinand in the year 1781. It is generally called a
temple of Ceres, because the ancients, from an old superstitious custom,
used to build their temples dedicated to Ceres outside the town, where
the one of Egesta is supposed to stand eastward of the old walls. The
restoration is commemorated by the following inscription. Ferdinandi
regio Augustissimi Provideritia. Restituit anno mdcclxxxi.

44 TRAVELS IN SICILY
structionsof an amphitheatre; little however remains of any
interest but its form, which denotes the position of the
spectators and the beautiful prospect they commanded of
a distant sea, an object highly calculated to compose the
mind when not engaged in the more alluring scenes of
their exhibitions ; a little farther we observed two immense
cylindrical fragments, apparently the parts of columns,
together with numerous scattered remains of architectural
materials, which now lie almost buried in the soil. The
Scamander meandered through the plains below, whose
stream we approached with classic interest, and lingered
with melancholy recollection over its once populous banks,
now endeared to the page of history by the deeds they have
furnished to record : whilst hanging in tranquil meditation
over the past, if the presiding deity of the waters could
have arisen to reveal its fame, how should we not have
learnt of battles lost and won, of murderous desolation, by
the hand of cruel victors or a tyrant king, of the floods of
human gore its streams have borne to the distant bosom
of the sea, of levelled towers and ruined walls, worked by
the annihilating sword of Vandal, Goth, and Moor.
The ancient town was founded by a colony of Trojans,
after the destruction of Troy, who, under the guidance of
Egesta and Elymus, landed near Drepanum, and were
hospitably received by the native Sicanians. • iEneas,
driven by tempestuous storms, arrived shortly after with a
host of fugitives from their consumed capital, of whom he
left an immense number in association with the first band,
recommending them, in the bonds of friendship, to build
cities, and support the name and valour of their Trojan
ancestry. They chose a site between two rivers, which, in
memory of their native streams, they called the Scamander
and Simoes, and built two cities, called after their leaders,

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 45
Egesta aad Elymus. At the former were placed the sick
and infirm, on account of its salubrious situation and me
dicinal sidphuric springs*, which still exist, to identify the
position, and corroborate the authority of historic record ;
they are the Segestance aqua of the ancient Romans, men
tioned in the itinerary of Antonine, in his route from the
Lilybaean promontory to Tyndaris. At the latter, which
stood at the end of the river, were placed the young and
healthy under Elymus, who, being of royal birth, gave the
name of Elymians to the inhabitants of both towns and
their surrounding territories. However, his premature
death suspended the progressive rise of his city, and in a
very short space of time it disappeared, and was forgotten,
whilst Egesta rapidly increased in magnitude, power, and
riches, and in a. few years shone forth in the splendor of an
independent republic : its port was established where Elymus
stood, called, according to Ptolemy, Segestanarum Empo
rium, and is mentioned by Thucydides as a maritime town.
It became the rival neighbour of the Selinuntines, who,
jealous of its rising eminence, appropriated by force of arms
a considerable proportion of their territory ; the result of
which proved a malignant contest between the two states,
and the ultimate defeat of the. Egestans on the banks of the
Simois. It was on this occasion Egesta (being first refused
by Syracuse and Agrigentum, who espoused the cause of
Selinus), applied for the succour and interference of the
Athenians, alluring them by artful reasonings, false pro
mises, and a deceptive display of wealth, to establish an
* Not far from the temple there are several mineral springs, containing
a considerable proportion of sulphur, one of which, about a mile from the
site of the town, is hot, and a more powerful sulphuric, renowned for its
efficacy in the cure of various diseases, particularly amongst the Moors,
who called it Jammet (the baths), which name, with a slight corruption,
it still retains, viz. Calameto.

46 TRAVELS IN SICILY
alliance against the common enemy, and furnish a suitable
force for the undertaking. In consequence of which that
celebrated armament, b. c. 415, under Nicias, Alcibiades,
and Lymachus, commenced one of the most memorable
wars in Sicilian history. In the year 412 b. c, Egesta,
dreading the exasperation and revenge of Syracuse, again
sued for foreign aid, and placed themselves under the pro
tection of the Carthaginians, who transported armies, and
brought desolation into the island ; and afterwards losing
every claim to independence, it fell a prey to the conquest
of successive powers, alternately betraying and betrayed ;
frequently levelled with the earth, and as often rose from its
ruinsunder thetemporary prosperityof some ambitious tyrant,
But a direr and more cruel fate awaited the unfortunate
Egesta in the year before Christ 319, when the remorseless
and blood-thirsty Agathocles lead thither an army, under the
pretence of quelling riot and rebellion in the city, but in
reality to extort from its opulent inhabitants the immense
sums of money his exigencies required ; the blood of nearly
two-thirds of the population purpled the streams of the
Scamander, whilst others suffered the excruciating torments
of the astragal and the brazen bed. The work of exter
mination accomplished, he gave up the city to a band of
fugitive and exiled foreigners, thenceforward calling it
Diceapolis. In the first Punic war, the Carthaginians, mortified by a
treaty of amity entered into by the Romans and Segestans,
brought a besieging army under their walls, with threats of
desperate revenge, from which, however, they were for
once relieved by the brave Duillius, after his glorious naval
victory off Mylce, 295 b. c. ; and when Sicily became a
province of the Romans, they colonized and called it Segesta,
because its original name implied a place of low extraction.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 47
Under the yoke of Rome it enjoyed comparative tranquillity,
and a suspension from the constant fluctuations of warfare.
Though under the plundering dominion of Verres* it suffered
the public robbery of its treasures and with impunity witnessed
the carrying off of its most beautiful specimens of art, par
ticularly the famous statue of Dianaf, held in such reverence
by the Egestans, and which, after being taken by the Car
thaginians, was restored in triumph by the victorious
Scipio, when Carthage fell a prey to his military prowess.
This once flourishing and powerful city of the Trojans
again experienced a succession of misfortunes under the
different hosts of barbarians that infested Europe on the
decline of the Roman empire, and was finally swept from
the earth by the Saracens in the beginning of the ninth
century, with the exception of its magnificent, temple,
which, amongst all the interesting objects of Sicilian anti
quity, is one of the most conspicuous and attractive. Like
a monument of the tomb, it remains to claim the remem
brance of once brighter days, to tell the passing traveller of
ancient greatness and of fame ; and, like a moral lesson,
warns mankind of the transitory state of human things as
of human life.
We concluded our visit to this interesting place by en
joying a morning meal on the steps of the venerable fane,
whose massive columns furnished shade whilst indulging in
the luxury of refreshment and repose. After which, re-
* Cicero ad Ver.
f This statue was of bronze, and supposed to be one of the finest pro
ductions of the art in Sicily, described by Cicero as of inimitable execu
tion, holding in the right hand a torch, in the left a bow, with a quiver
of arrows suspended from the right shoulder. Until plundered by Verres
(who had it conveyed to Rome), it stood on a handsome pedestal in
some public square, with a tablet, to record the liberality of the victor
who restored it.

48 TRAVELS IN SICILY
turning by the same path, we joined the high road, and
proceeded towards Alcamo through a hilly country, which
produces an abundance of the myrtle-leaved sumach*
(Rhus coriaria) and manna ash (Fruxinus rotundifolia),
the former of which is exported in large quantities for Eng
land, whilst the latter furnishes mannaf, by tapping in the
months of July and August, an article of great consumption
amongst the Sicilians. The distance from the place where
we rejoined the carriage-road to Alcamo is about twenty
miles ; we passed the little town of Borghetto to the right,
and Valguinera to the left, the former beautifully situated
in the mountains on the road to PartenicoJ, with a royal
palace and gardens, which command a fine prospect and
delightful air. In the corner of the garden there is a
curious old Saracenic tower, whose antique form, dilapi
dated walls, and singular position, constitute an interesting
and picturesque object in the front ground of the scene.
On a nearer approach to Alcamo, the country exhibited a
more hospitable aspect, with the varied appearance of a
more luxuriant and cultivated land; the mountain sides
are clothed with the graceful foliage of the vine, and herds
of cattle browsing along the plains, add to the rural delights
of an English eye.
Before entering the town, we halted to behold the en
chanting view that lay before us, including a rich undu-
* The leaves of this shrub are picked, dried, pounded, and put in
bags for exportation, being much used in Europe, as in the most ancient
times amongst the Greeks, for the purposes of tanning. The shrub gives
richness to the appearance of a country, being bushy, and spreading with
berries like those of the elder.
t After the juice of the ash is drawn from the tree it is exposed to the
sun, where it undergoes fermentation, indurates, and forms a sort of paste,
which is the manna so much esteemed in Sicily.
t The Parthenicum mentioned by Antoninus Pius, which is near the
mouth of a small river towards the sea.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 49
lated country down to the shores of Castell'a Mare bay, on
whose silvery bosom a thousand little barks seemed gliding
to and fro with their white sails shining in the sun ; here
and there a solitary old castle may be seen, or the falling
ruins of a Moorish fortress, to tell of wars and other days
when barbarous hordes laid waste the land.
Alcamo is a singular looking old town of 12,000 inha
bitants, situated on the brow of a hill towards the sea, called
Monte Bonefato, and enclosed by one of those thick heavy
walls characteristic of the middle ages, with a very pic
turesque ancient castle, remarkable for its two round and
two square towers. One comparatively good broad street
intersects the town, where, however, there is little to gratify
either the traveller's comfort or curiosity, excepting in the
cathedral, a narrow shapeless building, where may be seen
fine specimens of Sicilian marble, in the sixteen columns
which support the nave ; they are single blocks, of a yel
lowish red colour, produced in great quantities in various
parts of the island.
The town derives its name from Alcamac, a Saracenic
chief, who, with an army of forty thousand men, disem
barked near Mazzara, in the year of our Lord, 828, and
after destroying. Selinus, advanced towards Monte Bone
fato, on whose summit he established a fortress, to serve in
case of emergency as a place of retreat. After him it was
called Alcamo, and in process of time became a consider
able Moorish town, which, after the expulsion of the in
fidel host, continued increasing under the christians until
the reign of Frederick II. of Sicily, who built the present
town in the year 1332, offering (as an inducement for the
inhabitants of. the old town to resort thither) amongst
other privileges, exemption from military service ; a means
in those turbulent times thatdid not fail to procure a speedy
E

50 TRAVELS IN SICILY
translation of its population from the old to the new city,
which was styled Alcamo Nuovo. Outside the gates there
is a monastery and church, the latter of which was the ca
thedral of Santa Maria della Stella, belonging to the ancient
town in the time of the christians. A few traces of the old
fortress still exist on the top of the hill, from whence alsa
may be seen an extensive prospect of the surrounding
country. Unused to our new mode of travelling and the tedium of
so many hours confinement to the rude exercise of our
mules, we retired with feelings of enjoyment to the ac
commodations of even a dirty inn> for hunger and fatigue
make common repose sweet, and coarse refreshment a
luxury, and the most fastidious mind> under their influence,
soon becomes reconciled to the privation of delicacy and
refinement. November 21. — From Alcamo the carriage road ceases,
but is, however, substituted by a pretty good mule path, to
Trapani, twenty-one miles. The scenery this day by no
means presented objects for the excitement of sentiments
in praise of the sublime and beautiful ; the country wore a
bare, rocky, deserted aspect, unadorned by the more noble
arborescent productions of the vegetable world, and unenr.
livened by the animating prospect of human habitations ::
like wandering pilgrims in a foreign land we wound through
the solitary tracks, beguiling the hours, as we slowly paced)
along, by the agreeable interchange of thoughts on otlieE
scenes, sometimes listening to the traditionary tales or huf.
morous anecdotes of our, amusing guide ; however, such
is the interesting nature of a Sicilian tour, so fraught is it
with the richest sources of contemplative interest to the
classical reader, that I conceive it difficult for the mind of
the well-ipformed traveller to dwindle, for a moment, into.

Pa,s"tore cLell'a, Mcoata g'Jie txa Peuerjuo e- Trap am.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 5*b
that vague reverie which the want of excitement! is fre
quently apt to engender ; if the absence of landscape beauty
for a time weakens those pleasures: derivable through the
faculties of vision, the thoughts are directed to historic
associations,^ and active meditation is kept up by a
comparative view of the present with the memory of the
past. We traversed the villages of Baido and Magaria, between^
which, within a sequestered glen, the pellucid streams of a
rivulet murmuring at the base of a bold' projecting rock,
attracted1 our notice as well as admiration; afew shrubs •
and wild flowers, with their dew drops glittering in the sun,
embellished the rustic scene,- which^ from the contrast it
bore to the inhospitable regions we had so lately past, ex
cited feeling* of enthusiasm that induced us to- fix on the
spot as our halting place ; we consequently alighted, un
bridled the animals, and partook of a breakfast from the
provision basket with infinitely more satisfaction than if it
had been administered at the board of one of the most
luxurious caffes of the Palais Royal.
Nothing announced; the approach to the precincts of a
populous town until we came within a mile' and a half of
Trapani, and there but a few wretched hovels (inferior to
the negro habitations I have seen amongst some of the
wildest hordes of western Africa) lay scattered- here arid-'
there to betoken the miserable condition of the beings who:
tenant them ; however, a straggling party of portly looking
Carmelite friars indicated the vicinity of better quarters
and good fare, and we as quickly discerned, about a quarter
of a mile before 'us, their monastery' and'church : the latter
became: so celebrated for the shrine of the Madonna di
Trapani that,- like the Casa Santaof Loretfo, an annual
e2

52 TRAVELS IN SICILY
pilgrimage* is made to its altars. Encouraged by the
courteous invitation of the monks we crossed over and,
visited the establishment. The object, of idolatry consists ;¦'
in a moderately well executed statue of the virgin and child;
in fine Grecian marble, which this pious fraternity of Elisha's
descendants have contrived to obtain. It is empaled within
the church at an appropriate shrine, which, as well as. the .
convent, has been enriched by the grateful devotions of
tributary bigots from the town ; the cunning friars have,
by .the artful policy of their holy calling, succeeded in at
taching to it such sanctity and importance that it is now
held, in the greatest veneration by the Trepanese, who fre
quently come in crowds (particularly on the festival of the
Assumption) to offer up their adorations before the image ;
the face is barbarously bedaubed with paint, to give it the
colouring of life, whilst the few pretensions the chisel had
to merit, seem totally obscured by the taudry ornaments;
that surround it ; indeed, such is the bad taste; in the whole
style of decoration that I cannot help thinking it has been
expressly effected by the sly old monks to prevent .the
thoughts of its idolators being diverted from the worship" of
the saviour and virgin to the admiration of the artist's
skill. A good road communicates with the town, to the right of
which is a long line of aquaduct that supplies Trapani with
pure water from the springs of Monte Juliano.
We reached the muleteer's quarters at an early hour,
but, finding them still inferior to those of Alcamo, after
* The pilgrims, I learnt, do not come from very distant countries, and
are more attracted by the hospitality of the convent than the holiness ot
its church : and is not the urbanity and liberal treatment of the monks
rather a bribe for these professed penitents to keep up the farce 1

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. S3
depositing the baggage under the safeguard of the host,
we gladly sallied forth to avail ourselves of the remaining
day in visiting the local attractions, and breathing the
pure air.
Trapani is a moderately neat, well-built town, situated
on the land end of a long low isthmus, running out from
Monte Juliano ; it was strongly fortified, in its present
style, with wall, bastions, and rampart, in the time of
Charles V., who thus secured the advantages offered in a
good post and strong military position ; it encloses an old
castle in the north-east corner, appropriated to the residence
of the governor of the fortress, and other public purposes.
At the western gate we again descended into the subterra^-
nean conservatories of departed friars belonging to a Ca
puchin convent ; they are, however, less gloomy than those
we had hitherto seen, being enclosed by an open iron
grating, through which - we were content to take a mo
mentary glance at such an- appalling scene of memento
mori. The convent is well endowed, and, if I might be
allowed to judge from the robust appearance of its breth
ren, the abode of ease, health, and riches ; its halls are
adorned with the works of Sicilian painters, some by no
means devoid of merit, particularly those of a Trapanese
artist named Carrera.
From the convent a delightful public walk has been
formed along the isthmus, called the Carolina, and is ter
minated, at the western extremity, by the Torre Sigia,
which contains a telegraph. station, a lighthouse, and bat
tery, that give protection to the harbour's entrance, at the
same time denying access to an enemy, or facilitating that
of a friend.
It was Sunday ; assembled crowds, of all classes, in their
gay characteristic holiday costume lent an interesting ani-

54 TRAVELS IN SICILY
mation to the mai, and the long dark robes of the Trapa-
nese belles .floated gracefully in the breeze as they lightly
tripped along; for invigorating gales blew from the west,
and hurled the waves, with musical roar, against the rocks,
$n.d the Iris played beautifully through the spray as it rose
frpm the foam of Mai Consiglio*. We turned, however,
ito expatiate on the classical scene that lay before us ; one
bold sweep commanded a view of Mount Erix, the iEgadfis,.
|he-i*Mwr-ww«r of the Greeks, and the fatal Lilybajan coast,
wjth.thejr surrounding seas, the ,great theatre of ancient
War, and of conflicts as memorable for their consequences
as for the valour of the mighty hosts that fought ; at one
tjme a scene of sanguinary desolation, at another of peace
ful prosperity ; and though all now was sohtude and silenoe
on the watery, save the impetuous tide that rushed before
Ihe gale, how often have they not witnessed the destruction
of armies and the annihilation of fleets, its waves alternately
pwpled with the streams of Punic? Roman, or of Grecian
gore ! It was here Lutatwrs triumphed over Hanno's scorn
ful power, where exulting Carthage lost her naval fame,
and Rome jfhjst gained dominion of the sea. As we gazed
and stood in silent contemplation of the past, all the affect
ing detail of that once glorious period rushed upon the
mind which has been handed down to us by the masterly
pens of Polybhis, Diodojrus, Livy, and others, and we re
nted, not with the least feelings of interest, to that scene
oyer wbMi an everlasting lustre has been shed by the im-
• Mai Consiglio is a rock at the end of the isthmus under Sigia tower,
so named because tradition reports it to be the place on which John of
frocida .took his friends to advise with, and communicate the day and
hour appointed for the celebrated massacre of the Sicilian vespers, in
which the Trapanese took an active part, and afterwards called the rock
Buon Consiglio, which it retained until the last century, when the philan
thropy , of the ag« changed- it from Buon to Mai Consiglio.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 55
mortalizing strains of the Mantuan bard, beholding, in
imagination, the weary fleet of iEneas and his aged sire
take refuge from the raging storm in the port that lay
before us.
The iEgades consist of three islands, situated about twelve
miles west of Trapani, anciently called Egusa, Hiera, and
P.horbantia, now better known by their modern names of
Favognano, Maretimo, and Levanzo. The first of which,
namely Favignano, is the southernmost and most important
in point of productions, population, and extent : it is de
fended by three forts, the Castle of Santa Catharina being
the strongest, which stands on an eminence at the east side
over the town of San Leonardo ;* in one of the others, called
San Giacomo, are-immured the exiled criminals from Sicily,
who are doomed to waste away the remainder of their lives
in its dreary abodes. The island is well watered, and pro
duces an abundance of excellent vegetables and delicious
fruits, as well as sheep, goats, and poultry; it is celebrated
for its fisheries of the tunnyj- and anchovy, and abounds
* San Leonardo is populous for its size, containing nearly three thou
sand inhabitants, and has two or three churches, with a convent and cata
combs, called the Purgatorio.
f The tunny is the scomber thynnus of Ichthyology, of a dark steel
bine on the back, with a silvery white abdomen: it is migratory, and very
peculiar to the Mediterranean, which it enters in prodigious shoals about
the month of June, and remains until October and November, particularly,
round the shores of Sicily, where it is taken in great abundance, as for
merly by the Greeks and Romans who highly esteemed it. It is from
two to eight feet long, according to the age : the smaller ones of which
are eaten fresh, and the others cut up and salted. The flesh is extremely
coarse, and, I think, of very disagreeable flavour ; however, such is the
fondness for it here that it not only supports, thousands but yields an im
mense revenue to the crown. >
The tunny is taken by immense powerful nets, so distributed as to forim
four compartments, with- communicating passages, extending from twelve
two fourteen hundred feet in length. Boatmen are on the look out* and

56 TRAVELS IN SICILY
in various species of game, particularly of woodcocks,
snipes, hares, and rabbits, which I was astonished to hear
from a proprietor who courteously pressed us to go over for
a few days' shooting. There is an admirable, roadsted
between this island and Levanso, highly calculated for the
shelter and anchorage of the largest fleets ; but, indeed, it
has been frequented by numerous squadrons of modern as
of ancient times : Hannibal put in here with a large fleet
and armaments of ten thousand men, for the relief of Lily-
baeum, in the year 249 b. c. ; afterwards, it was a favourite
station of the Romans, and peculiarly celebrated for the
resort of the formidable armament under the Consul Lii-
tatius (in the year b. c. 241), who, to mar the design of
Hanno*, sailed thither with his whole fleetf from Drepa-
num, and, on the following morning, gained that memo
rable victory, over his insolent adversary, which first
awakened Carthage from the illusion that resistance to
as they discover the fish entering the first division, they close the entrance
by which the captive seeking escape gains the second compartment, and
so on until he arrives at the last, which is called the cammera della
morte, or chamber of death, being the place where he is finally taken
and destroyed.
* Hanno, with a prodigious fleet of war-galleys, and transports of pro
visions, sailed from Carthage with the intention of relieving Hamilcar on
Mount Erix, and of destroying the Roman fleet after he had lightened his
vessels and selected Hamilcar's choicest troops ; but stress of weather ob
liged him to put into Hiera, which occasioned the subsequent destruction
of his own expedition, turned the tide of war in favour of Rome, and
changed the fate of Carthage.
+ This was the fleet equipped entirely at the private expense of Roman
citizens, whose patriotic zeal on that occasion may justly be held up as an
example worthy of imitation to other nations labouring under similar
emergencies : the public treasure being exhausted, and the service of a
navy becoming so indispensible, wealthy individuals built vessels at their
own cost after that light model which had been taken from the Rhodian;
and, in a short space of time, placed an enormous fleet of 200 quin-
queremes at the disposal of the senate.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 57
their maritime dominion was vain, established the naval
prowess of Rome, and put an end to the first Punic war.
The sagacious Lutatius, descrying the enemy rapidly
proceeding from 'Hiera towards Eryx, with the eye of an
experienced warrior marked the moment for Hanno's ruin
and his own glory, and, whilst they were yet encumbered
with troops and provisions, hastened to the encounter of
the enemy, who, at the first onset, he put to confusion, and
completely defeated : fifty of their galleys were sunk and
seventy taken, whilst the rest escaped to Hiera, favoured
by a sudden change of wind.
Maretimo lies to the westward of the two others, the
ancient Hiera. It is a high, steep, rocky island, with a
few farm houses on the east side, composing the hamlet of
San Simone, which is defended by a castle ; the land is
particularly fertile in grain, and is covered with wild thyme,
consequently celebrated for the production of a large quan
tity of honey, which is taken to Marsala and Trapani for
sale. . It was here the miserable wreck of Hanno's fleet re
treated after their disgrace, and it has served, in succeeding
ages, as a lurking place for pirates of all nations, until the
last century, when it was put into a state of defence to
check their predatory excursions.
Levanso, the ancient island of Phorbantia*, lies to the
north of Favagnana ; it contains few inhabitants, although
the fertility of the soil is such, between the rocks and hills,
that any thing may be cultivated with the greatest facility,
and excellent fruits are produced, indigenously, in as great
luxuriance as when aided, in more northern regions, by the
advantages of horticultural science. Fish abounds round
its coast, as the other islands, and constitutes a great
* Called Phorbantia by the Greeks, on account of its hilly-resemblance
to Phorbantium in Thessaly.

58 TRAVELS IN SICILY
article of trade in this part of the world, from whence both
the government and individuals derive a considerable
revenue. How great are the chances and changes of this our sub"
lunary state ! what a field for philosophical reflection have
we not before us even in these three insignificant islands,
whichnowmay be said atbest to enjoy but a semi-barbaTous
existence; yet, as the iEgades, they hold a most ostensible
place in the history of olden times, were particularly pro-
Miinent features in the latter part of the first Punic war,
and are kept in memory by the records of Strabo, Ptolemy,
and Pliny.
The period when Trapani first rose to any degree of im
portance in the page of history remains (hitherto involved ia
mystery ; for, although situated in the country of the Sica
nians, who were an industrious enterprising people, no town
of consequence can be traced to their times : and the Trojan
refugees, who arrived here under JEneas, Elymus, and
Egestus, built their cities in the vicinity of Mount Erix,
and the country that lies to the westward. However, it
seems, by general authority, to derive its appellation from
the early Greek settlers, who were attracted thither by the
commodiousness of its port, and called it Drepanon*, from
its assimilated form to the scythe, to which they afterwards
attached the mythological tale of Saturn, who, they assert,
after the bloody deed he committed on his father Ccelus,
threw the sanguinary instrument into these waters, which
imparted its form to the adjacent shore.
Little mention is made of it in the wars between the
Carthaginians and the Sicilian towns, but it became a
great bone of contention in the first punic war, when Ha-
* apeiianon, a scythe.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 59
milcar, after a vigorous siege, took possession of and re
tained it until the close of the contest. The government
of it was given to Adherbal, who, conscious of its local ad
vantages to the Carthaginians, and the strength of its
position, defended it with obstinate intrepidity against the
incessant attempts of the Romans to dislodge them from
¦their hold, and most particularly in that dreadful siege
with which Lutatius opened the campaign after his ap
pointment to the consulship. Notwithstanding the consul
bad effected a breach in the wall, and, at the head of a
chosen party of valiant soldiers, was mounting to die as
sault, be was opposed with equal valour by the assailed,
and severely wounded, which obliged him to discontinue
die enterpraze, and direct his thoughts to the more impor
tant exploit of checking the progress of Hanno's fleet,
which he learned was at sea. However, the treaty of Lu-
itatius and Hamilcar, that put an end to the war, submitted
it with the whole of Sicily to the power of the Romans,
who thenceforward called it Drepaasunsa.
In the servile wars, and during the incursions of the va
rious barbarous hordes of tbe middle ages, it experienced
the same disasters, change of fortune, and dominion, in
common with the other towns, and did not attain any de
gree of consequence or prosperity until the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries, when its commercial pursuits increasing,
Charles the Fifth fortified the town, and established a mi
litary depot as a protection against the depredations of
pirates that in those days infested the seas.
It is now become a place of great consideration in the
island, various branches of traffic are actively pursued, and
it contains a population of twenty-five thousand souls,
whose industry has acquired * gceat proportion of indivi
dual affluence, when compared with tbe present state of

60 TRAVELS IN SICILY
Sicilian politics. It has several well conducted institutions
for charitable purposes and education, and the public edi
fices are, generally speaking, respectable, though they con
tain nothing within sufficiently attractive to merit the
stranger's notice. There are thirty-five churches, besides
a variety of monastic establishments ; of the former the
cathedral and San Lorenzo are the finest, while the Fran
ciscan convent boasts the superiority of the latter ; it is
celebrated for the possession of a beautiful golden chalice,
and a fine specimen of coral, sculptured into a figure of
our Saviour, twelve inches long, which commands alike the
admiration of religious enthusiasts and the amateurs of art.
The coral trade is carried on to a great extent in Trapani,
not only arising from the fisheries of its own coast, but
those of Tunis, for the privilege of which they pay a trifling
annual rent to the Bey*. However, the competition they
are about to experience from England I imagine will soon
deprive them of these benefits, and at the same time of the
means of livelihood to hundreds of poor wretches, who
have been their whole lives engaged in this pursuit.
Many artists are employed in the sculpture of alabaster;
wood, and Sicilian shells ; in the two latter they are the
most skilful, though the Cameos will admit of no compari
son with the beautifully executedones of Rome. Thesculp-
tors of wood have long enjoyed the fame of superiority in
this place, and have produced many wonderful specimens
of the peculiar art, particularly that in the oratorio of Sau
Michele, representing the subject of our Saviour's passion;
but their alabasters are very inferior, and lose all claim to
admiration when brought in contact with those of Florence.'
* I met at Trapani an English gentleman on his way to Tunis, for the
purpose of contracting with the Bey for a lease of the fisheries, which,
from the formidable means they intended employing to obtain the coral,
I conceive will be exhausted in a very few years.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 61
The port of Trapani, though formerly infinitely better
than at present, still affords accommodation for vessels of
two hundred and sixty tons, besides abundant shelter for
all sorts of small craft. By long neglect it has been consi-.
derably clogged, and contracted with accretions of mud
and sand from the sea, which, however, by the aid of a
little public spirit, may easily be removed whenever the
advantages of commercial prosperity render it worth the
inhabitants while : but let us look at the illiberal policy. of
their commercial code, and acknowledge the present im
possibility : let us reflect on the dominion to which they
are subject, and excuse their sloth. Vessels .discharge
alongside a good mole that runs out from the end of the
Marina, a fashionable promenade between the town wall
and the sea, where indifferently executed statutes of Philip
V. and Victor Amadeus, keep alive the memory of Spanish
and Sardinian yoke.
The wind abated in the evening, and we took a boat
from the harbour to the rocky islets that lie to .the south ;
we were now floating in that port whose waters are for ever
endeared to the memory of the classic reader, by the shelter
they gave to JEneas and his wandering fleet : it was( here
from wrecks and storms his shattered barks found refuge
and repose, and here his much loved parent landed never
to return. Hinc Drepani me portus, et illaetabilis ora
Accipit. Hie pelagi tot tempestatibus actus,
Heu genitorem, omnis curse casusque levamen
Amitto Anchisen. — Third Mneid.
A little farther and we lay on our oars, on the spot
where Claudius Pulcher paid the severe penalty of his
imprudent temerity ; for it was there, issuing from, behind
his concealment, the brave and vigilant Adherbal surprized

62 TRAVELS IN SIGILY
the Roman consul,, who, thunderstruck at the unexpeeted
appearance of such a formidable fleet, tacked and endear
voured to retreat; but it was too late,- the fleets were at-
ready in contact, and the conflict began, which, though
at first equally and valorously contested, soon decided' in
favour of the Carthaginians, who being to seaward of the
Romans, necessarily had many advantages, and ultimately
succeeded in driving on shore or capturing ninety-three of
the enemy's vessels, the remainder of the fleet to the
amount of thirty having escaped with Claudius, who stoed>
away for Lilybseum*.
The approach of night awoke us from our leisurely con
templations, and we skimmed rapidly through the tide, for
the sea wa& now calm, and our boatmen with their clumsy
oars, gave a lusty stroke to the time of an evening song,
which we excited by the never failing rhetoric of the purse.
The Columbara, the principal of the group, is a longitu
dinal rocky islet, inhabited by a few fishermen, with' a light
house and battery on the top, abreast of which vessels' of
large tonnage anchor that cannot enter Trapani; it is ren-
dered interesting to the ear by the retention of- its aneient
name, being the- imtiasrvmrart (or island of doves) > of the;
* 248 b. c. The Romans, discouraged by their successive misfor
tunes at sea, most particularly the simultaneous loss of this fleet, and the
one of one hundred and twenty sail by wreck off Cape Pachynus; under1
Junius Pullus, resolved on renouncing1 again the empire of the seas and
the further equipment of the navy. However, the experience of five
years fruitless warfare convinced' the senate of the impossibility of
achieving the conquest of Sicily without the aid of a naval: force, and they
once more raised an armament, not only of more skilfully built vessels,
but more numerous than any of the former, the result of which is already,
detailed in the glorious victory of Lutatius, who had the command.
f Captain Smith describes this island' asthe goal established by .ZEneaS
for the boat race, which, I think, a steady perusal of. this fifth book of the

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 63
Greeks, who gave it the appellation from the number of
doves that used to settle there during the periods of migra?-
tion. In the first Punic war it became a strong post of
the Romans, particularly during the sieges and blockade
of Drepanum and Lilyhaeum, when the Consul Fabius
Butes connected it with the main land by a mole, forthe
purpose, I imagine, of cutting off communication along
shore between the two ports : relics of the work remain to
attest the place and fact.
To the westward of Colombara are two rocky islets,
called from their size and form the Formiche or Ants ;
the largest is inhabited, and entirely devoted to the use of
the tunny fishery, with extensive storehouses for the salting
and packing of the fish for exportation.. The whole is
defended by a good tower.
Monday, 22d November. — Having proposed to go no
farther this day than Marsala, we rose at five and made
an excursion to Monte Giuliano, the celebrated Eryx of
antiquity, which lies about a mile and a half e. n. e. of
Trapani. It is. a bare sterile mountain, whose summit
stands nearly two thousand two hundred feet from the
level of the sea, into which it gradually shelves on the west
side, declining on the east into a rich luxuriant plain,
abounding in fruits, grain, the olive, and the vine ; the
adjoining shores are covered with a great variety of the
salsala, from which, by incineration, the barilla of comr
meree is extracted, and forms a great article of exportation.
Mneid will undeniably confute, and clearly prove the rock now called
Mai Consiglio, to be the one alluded to by the Mantuan bard, in the fol
lowing beautiful passage.
" Hie viridem iEneas frondenti et illice metam
Constituitj signum nautis, pater : unde reverti
Scirent, et: lpngasj uhj' circumflectere cursus."

64 TRAVELS IN SICILY
The grape of this country produces a most luscious wine,
and if properly cultivated and attended to would equal the
finest ; but the plant is neglected and allowed to spread
its prolific branches almost spontaneously along the earth,
to gratify the mistaken calculations of the proprietors'
avarice, quantity being more studiously cultivated than
quality. A mule path leads from the plain, through a variety of
rugged windings, to the mountain's top, once rendered so
easy of access by the famous road of Daedalus, parts of
which are still to be seen and are pointed out under the
denomination of a Cyclopean wall.
The mountain derives its title from Eryx, the son of
Butes,'who being exiled from his native country Bebryces,
sought refuge in this part of the island and married a
native damsel named Lycaste, who, from her extreme
beauty, received the appellation of Venus. Eryx, the only
fruits of this connection, inherited, at the death of his father
Butes, considerable riches, and became a powerful prince :
he founded a town on the west side somewhere near the
present site of the convent of St. Anna, which, after him
self, he called Eryx, and erected a temple of great riches
and magnificence on the summit, for the performance
of the sacred rites of paganism peculiar to the age,
but which (being dedicated to his beautiful mother)
was in the course of time styled the temple of Venus.
He established athletic exercises on the plain, in which,
from his gigantic stature he himself excelled, and ulti
mately ventured to challenge the world against his dex
terity with the cestus ; upon which Hercules offered
himself as a competitor, soon met the champion and slew
him. Eryx was buried on the summit of the mountain,
near the temple, and his country fell under the dominion

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 65
of Hercules and his successors ; notwithstanding which the
temple continued to be greatly reverenced, increased in
riches and splendour, and at length became solely appro
priated to the rites of the Paphian goddess. Daedalus the
renowned Athenian, at the period of his flight from Coca-
lus, king of Crete, adorned its altars with the inimitably
executed golden heifer (mentioned by Diodorus), and built
the road alluded to above. In the wars between Carthage
and the Sicilian Greeks, the Carthaginians became pos
sessed of the town, which they made a powerful hold, and
embellished the fane with sacred vases of costly materials,
but were driven out, 278 b. c, by Pyrrhus*, after a dreadful
and destructive siege. Wild doves frequented the plain
on the mountain during the summer heats, hence it was
said' that Venus, under their form,' had returned to visit the
temple, and games were in consequence established to
celebrate the presence of the goddess, which received, in
after times, the appellation of Anagogia, from the Greek
word expressing return.
The most beautiful women of all nations were procured,
and appointed the priestesses and perpetual guardians of
the sacred altars, and during the solemnization of the fes
tival, which was attended by the inhabitants of all the sur
rounding towns and villages, the rules of female chastity
and decorum were withdrawn, and every degree of sensua
lity and licentiousness became so tolerated and encouraged
that the non-indulgence in its wanton freedoms was consi-
* Pyrrhus having married the daughter of Agathocles, interested himself
in the fate of the Syracusan Greeks, and who, being besieged by the Cartha
ginians, implored his aid, upon which he transported an army into Sicily,
and, with the most incredible rapidity, accomplished the conquest of all
the towns they held, with the exception of Lilyba-o, where he expe
rienced considerable losses and was obliged to raise the siege and return
to Africa.

66 TRAVELS IN SICILY
dered supererogatory self-denial; indeed, such were the
social abuses into which it degenerated that, of all the pagan
rites of antiquity we are acquainted with, none exhibited
so much sensuality as those of Eryx ; the most degraded
debauchees resorted to their celebration, whose example
rapidly extended its baneful influence among a set of beings
untaught or unrestrained by the genial laws of Christianity;
It is said to have been carried to its greatest excess in the
lime of the Romans, who subjected (according to Diodorus)
fourteen towns to a heavy tribute for the support of the
annual expenses and ornaments of the temple*. Consuls,
praetors, magistrates, and commanders, bowed, inreverence,
to the fane of Eryx : even the insatiate Verres, who pro
faned every other temple by robbery and contempt, to the
accommodating and voluptuous shrine of this offered up
his unholy vows, and enriched its altar with a beautifully
executed cupid in silver.
The Romans first gained possession of the mountain in
the year 248 b. c, under the Consul Junius, who, having
lost his fleet by shipwreck, repaired thither, with the army,
to retrieve his character by some signal enterprise in his
country's service : he soon reached the city and temple,
which, through treason and surprise, he made himself mas
ter of, and secured by building a fort at the lower entrance
of the pass, as well as posting strong bodies of men near the
temple : however, Amilcar Barcas, notwithstanding these
•precautions, two years after, found a way, lying towards
the sea, by which he conveyed his men unnoticed into the
city of Eryx, where he fortified himself, and bid defiance,
both from above and below, to the attacks of the enemy,
* The beautiful statue of Venus which adorned the celebrated temple
in Rome was brought from hence by Marcellus, in obedience to the dic
tates of the CuniKan sybil.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 67
who in vain tried to dislodge this invincible leader from
his post: for two years the mountain was a scene of the
fiercest warfare, of vigorous attacks and mutual stratagems,
during which both parties successively experienced all. the
afflicting concomitants of a disastrous siege. How long the
city of Eryx existed after these wars seems unknown : Strabo
says, in his time it was swept from the face of the earth
and the temple entirely abandoned. On the summit, and
over the foundation of its ruins, now stands the modern
town of Eryx, or Monte Giuliano, but not a vestige re
mains to mark the site of the once celebrated fane', although
cioerones and natives have baptized a few Norman relics
with the title.
The town is a rude-looking dilapidated fortress, founded
(as I have every reason to conjecture) about the decline of
the Roman empire, when the disturbed state of the country
forced people to seek their abode in the most secluded and
inaccessible places ; it is surrounded by an antiquated wall
with turrets, and flanked, to the west, by a castle and
tower, evidently of Norman production, but all in a lament
able state of decay, all ready to fall in prostrate acknow
ledgement of the superior power of time. Eight
thousand souls tenant its dreary habitations, unknown for
any moral virtues, undistinguished by any manual skill ;
and their only solitary boast seems to be that the town is
the birth-place of the celebrated Alberto, a carmelite, who,
in the last century, practised on this deluded people a
variety of monkish tricks, under the denomination of mira
cles, wrought through the medium of divine aid.
The mountain air is refreshing, invigorating, and salubri
ous, the truth of which is strongly attested by the innumera
ble instances of longevity amongst the inhabitants ; and our
credulity of the fact was not a little operated upon by the
f 2

68 TRAVELS IN SlGlLY
delightful experience we enjoyed of but a few bours ; we
breakfasted on the top of a dilapidated wall, near the bor
der of a precipitous descent, commanding a splendid view
of land and sea ; and I cannot sufficiently describe the ex
hilarating effects I felt when inhaling the delicious breezes
as they lightly skimmed over the mountain's top, or the
ineffable delight such a panoramic display at once inspired
me with : ten thousand interesting ideas crowded across
my mind as I sat in silent admiration on the. elevated pin
nacle of the rock ; the sunny waters of the Mediterranean
lay shining to the west, studded with its rocks and isles ;. to
the east a spangled plain, teeming with. earLh's riches,
spread before us like another Eden's garden, both ennobled
by 'their ancient fame — fields and sea consecrated alike, by
the glorious contests of the brave. Wheresoever we di
rected our observation the beauties and sublimities of na
ture awakened the tender feelings of love and reverence for
a God, or the genius of history and poetry raised the soul
to enthusiasm by the sentiments they inspired ; so that the
eye may repose, in religious admiration, on the splendid
exhibitions of the one, or the mind become elevated by
the' fascinating and instructive recollections of the other.
We paused awhile in the rapturous enjoyment of this
scene, then bent our course down the western side of the
mountain, passing by Imico, near where we quaffed a pure
draught from the waters of what is called the Emperor's
fountain*, and reached the shore at Bonagiaf, and took
* So called because the Emperor Charles V., on his return from Africa,
visited this place and partook of the pure waters from its fountain.
f There is good anchorage and shelter here, consequently much fre
quented by srnall craft engaged in the tunny fishery which is extensively
pursued on this coast. The country, though fertile in grain, does not
boast much picturesque beauty, particularly as far as the river Foggio,
and solely derives its interest from its classic fame.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 69
boat ; yet, ere embarking, we dwelt in ecstacy of thought
on the classic scene that unfolded to our view ; for the
whole theatre of the fifth iEneid lay before us, and we now
trod the land where old Anchises died — once honoured
with his sepulchre. It was here, by boisterous billows
driven, once more iEneas landed with the Trojan host, and,
having found the grave, instituted funeral games to cele
brate the memory of his father. ¦ We traced the geogra
phical accuracy of the bard, and, in imagination, beheld
the glorious contest for the victor's wreath ; we saw the sea-
green Scylla swiftly speed around the oak-bound rock, Eu-
ryalus in the foot-race reach the goal, and, with laurel
crowned, Enthellus and Acestes, whose strongest arm and
fleetest arrow won the prize : in fancy, too, we viewed the
the crackling flames bursting from the sides of the Trojan
fleet ; for it was here the matrons, weary of their wandering
fate, set fire to the ships of poor iEneas.
The. traveller will find much pleasure in contemplating
the: scenes described by Virgil, from the fidelity with which
they are almost invariably delineated ; every spot may be
identified and traced, with surprising facility, by some
never-failing mark with which he characterises his locali
ties. We reluctantly resigned the contemplation of such cap
tivating scenes, and, on arriving at Trapani, we found the
steeds and guide awaiting our departure.

70 TRAVELS IN SICILY

CHAPTER III.
From Trapani to Marsala it is eighteen miles, a pretty
good mule road, along rather a dreary coast, which is de
fended, towards the beach, by towers at short distances. On
quitting the town we passed through the famous salt works,
where immense quantities of that article are made, by eva
poration, from sea water, which is let into a succession of
large basins for the purpose ; after the process it is scraped
together into pyramidal heaps, which lie strewed about the
ground for sale, and have the appearance, at a distance, of
a Liliputian encampment ; it is a lucrative article of expor
tation at Trapani, and the trade seems actively pursued
there. We skirted the territory of Paceco to our left (or
rather Paecio, as it is usually called) a small town of two
thousand inhabitants ; and a little beyond crossed the
streamlet of Agabuzzo, so called from the town of that
name near whence it takes its rise. Small as these rivulets
appear, during the dry season, they nevertheless interpose
formidable obstacles to the traveller's progress after a fall
of rain. Almost all the rivers of Sicily are little better than
mountain torrents (fiumare), whose rocky beds are generally
dry in summer, and afford passages to different parts of
the country, which are much frequented, as short cuts, by
the muleteers of the island : some of the larger ones, whose
channels are wider, and whose bold rocky sides are clothed
with shrubs and the grateful tenants of the forest, exhibit,
oftentimes, some of the most splendid specimens of pic
turesque scenery I ever witnessed in Sicily ; and, when ani-

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 71
mated by the grotesque groupes of a muleteer's convoy*,
present a picture that would challenge the powers of the
most skilful artist : but in winter, when the country is de
luged by the heavy falls of rain peculiar to that season, the
rivers became-impassable and travelling dangerous, there
being no bridges, and frequently neither shelter or place of
repose at hand. The rains generally continue from No
vember to the end of February, after which latter month,
I think, it must be advisable to commence the tour of the
island in preference to any other period of the year, for
many reasons, and principally because, at that time, nature
begins to bud forth all her beauties, the country is clothed
with the most exquisite variety of verdant hues, the most
beautiful flowrets adorn the land, and vegetation is occa
sionally refreshed by mild showers, which render it pro
bably the more desirable season for the traveller than the
fall of the year, previous to the setting in of the rains, when
the mid-day heats are powerful, and the country parched
up ; many, however, prefer the months of September and
October, on account of the autumnal tints which indubita
bly offer powerful attractions to the amateur of landscape
beauty. About half way between Trapani and Marsala the road
crosses the river Brigi, with Cape Theodoro and tower to
the right: from hence the country begins to assume a
more interesting character, and encreases in beauty as you
approach the city, for although but thinly interspersed with
human habitations, it is enriched by the fruitful produc
tions of horticultural labour ; the land rises gradually to
wards the interior, whose gentle undulations are adorned
with plantations of the olive and the vine. It is called
* In Sicily merchandise is carried inland on the backs of mules, and
they generally go in convoys of from ten to twenty in a drove, sometimes
uniting from a feeling of fellowship, sometimes for mutual security.

72 TRAVELS IN SICILY
the Terra Spagnuola*, from a town of that name which
we passed to the left : beyond it also we skirted the little
town of Mercauta, and arrived rather late at Marsala.
From Cape Theodoro to Cape Boeo the coast trenches
inland, forming a sort of bay, which encloses five rocky
islands called the Stagnonef, namely, Burrone, Favilla,
Cerdinisi, San Pantaleo, and Scuoletto, which latter is, as
it expresses, a mere rock ; the rest are all inhabited and
produce a considerable quantity of salt, particularly at
Burrone, which is the most esteemed.
San Pantaleo is an object of peculiar interest, and is
endeared to the traveller from its being the ancient and
celebrated Motya. It is nearly a mile and three-quarters
in circumference, and was originally inhabited by some
Greek settlers from Cnidos, but, from its very elegible
situation, it was soon forced from them by the Phoenicians,
who selected it as one the three holds they established for
their commercial protection when the Greeks began to
interfere with their pursuits in Sicily ; they fortified and
enriched it with the fruits of industry and traffic, and when
Carthage became the independent capital of these colonies,
its fortress was strengthened and became the principal place
d'armes of the Carthaginians ; for, sublimer views than the
simple acquisition of commercial, riches had already begun
to animate their ambitious citizens, and they looked for
ward, with secret feelings of delight, to the conquest of the
* In 1517 an army of Spaniards were encamped around here, having
been sent to suppress a serious tumult that had arisen at the death of
Ferdinand of Spain ; their stay was long, and from the scarcity and de
vastation they created around the country, ever afterwards retained the
name of Terra Spagnuola.
f Strictly speaking the appellation of Stagnone belongs only to that
space included between Capes Bueo and Theodoro, originally applied
on account of the tranquillity of its waters and the resemblance to a lake
which the word expresses ; but time and corruption have indiscriminately
applied the term to the islands as well as the waters that surround them.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 73
fruitful shores of Sicily through the aid of this little post,
which, by its situation and contiguity to their coast, ad
mitted of easy communication, and furnished a place of
security for the transport of their troops, from whence they
could at any suitable opportunity make a formidable attack
on the Greek towns*. Indeed, such was the annoyance it
ultimately proved to the Greeks, that the elder Dionysius
resolved to destroy it, and in consequence opened his cele
brated campaign against Carthage, 397 b. c, by the siege
of Motya; until this time it was connected with the main
by a narrow neck of land, which the Carthaginians cut
away for the better defence of the place. Dionysius, how
ever, soon restored it again for the purpose of approaching
his formidable war engines, particularly the newly invented
six storied towers f and destructive catapult : the siege was
conducted with the most desperate fury, and as vigorously
resisted by the besieged, who, notwithstanding, were re
duced to the humiliating necessity of yielding to the pre
vailing arms of the Grecian tyrant, who succeeded, by dint
of his tremendous engines, in battering gaping breeches
in the wall, through whence, like the irresistible tide of an
impetuous torrent, he poured his blood-thirsty troops ; but
still they met appalling opposition from their desperate
adversaries, who yielded not an inch of ground but at the
price of blood ; they combated with maniac fury, were
driven from street to street, from house to house, until
overwhelmed by the Grecian host, who, for their obstinacy,
put every soul to the sword, excepting those who fled, for
young men, women, and children, all were inhumanly
* Thucydides and Cluverius, the latter of whom, as usual, proves it
by a thousand quotations.
•f These towers were of wood six stories high, and, being mounted on
wheels, were capable of being brought close to the walls of a besieged
town so as to place the archers of the assailants on a level with those of
the assailed.

"74 TRAVELS IN SICILY
slaughtered, and the town was given up to pillage. It
again fell into the hands of the Carthaginians the following
year, who made it a complete island, but was subsequently
ruined by the Greeks in those exterminating contests that
preceded the Punic wars. The Romans fortified it again
during their long siege of Drepanum and Lilybaeum, and
for protection to the sacred altars of the temples ; old and
some of the Sicilian writers affirm, that the town was
standing as late as the early ages of the christians ; but
all now lies levelled with the earth, perhaps by the deso
lating sword of the infidels, who took possession of it for
the purpose of establishing a fishery there, and gave it the
appellation of Zezabug. A few fragments of walls still
remain to identify the sepulchre of so much ancient great
ness : they are not however of Phoenician but evidently of
Roman work, which is strongly attested by the regularity of
form in the stones, so contrary to the architectural style of
the former. Many relics, nevertheless, of undeniable Punic
productions have been discovered at various periods to set at
rest Fazello's doubts concerning the identity of Motya's site.
From a theatre of destructive warfare, it is now become
the tranquil scene of industrious husbandry, the sword is
turned into the ploughshare, and the smiles of a beautiful
nature annually remunerate the toils of the few inha
bitants who cultivate the fertile soil; its fruits are abundant
and boast peculiar superiority of flavour, particularly the
figs, for which it is pre-eminently celebrated ; the vine also
is managed there with more than usual care, and yields in
return an excellent species of wine, which, however, is
difficult to obtain, for the island has again become the
exclusive property of the Jesuits, whose cryptic hordes
monopolize all the generous liquor.
The land abounds every where with fragments of lamps,
paterae, building materials, and even valuable coins are

AND THE UPAftl ISLANDS. 75
occasionally found by the la bourers as they carelessly turn
up the antiquated soil. A trifling expense and a little in
dustry, in the way of excavation, I think would bring to
light antiquities that might prove the invaluable records
of historical fact, and at once supply sufficient evidence to
shake even the antiquarian's scepticism concerning its
Punic fame.
Our late arrival within the gates of Marsala, and the
absence of Mr. Woodhouse, to whom we had several in
troductory letters, prevented us accomplishing better ac
commodations than our worthy guide's accustomed place
of resort could afford ; however, experience had already
taught both of us an easy reconciliation with the fare of
chance, and, as hospitality too frequently interferes with
the pursuits of the tourist, we felt more independent in the
command of our own store basket, although sheltered by a
humbler tenement and seated on a couple of crazy stools
over a starving braciere*.
The morning had scarcely dawned through the innu
merable gaping crevices of doors and window-shutters, be
fore we were equipped for a sortie, and, ere breakfast was
prepared, we had traversed almost every street, and gained
a general outline of the interior character of the town.
Marsala enjoys the advantages of a salubrious situation.
It stands near the sea on a low promontory, the extremity
of which is called Cape Boeo (the celebrated Lilybceum -j-
of the antients). It contains nearly twenty-three thousand
inhabitants, and is surrounded by a quadrangular wall, for-
* The braciere is a large pan, in the form of an ewer, containing burning
charcoal, which the Sicilians place in the centre of a room to substitute
the superior luxury of a fire-place ; it has a most cheerless appearance,
and yields little heat unless constantly kept alive by the use of fans made
for the purpose.
f So called by the ancients, because it is opposite to the Lybian coast.

76 TRAVELS IN SICILY
tified with bastions, and an old castle, all of which are at
present in a very^ inefficient state for defence against exter
nal attack, though possessing every capacity for being ren
dered a formidable place of security. One good street, called
the Cassaro, intersects the town, and the houses are, gene
rally speaking, compactly built ; yet, from their, rough,
unfinished style, and the want of cleanly habits, exhibit to
an. English eye but a miserable specimen of what he consi
ders the comforts of a dwelling-house.
Convents and churches, as usual, swell up the list, of
public edifices, though none offer food for the curious, ex
cepting, probably, the sixteen Corinthian columns of Sici
lian marble in the cathedral, which are eagerly pointed out
to the British traveller as having been originally intended
for the church of St. Thomas of Canterbury. An officiating
priest advanced as we viewed their polished shafts, and sig
nified his friendly disposition towards us by an offering from
his snuff-box. He was a man advanced in years ; a digni
fied deportment accompanied his flattering urbanity of
manner, and he gained at once our confidence and respect,
which we had no reason to repent. The animated fire of
a dark eye betokened deep penetration and intellectual
activity, and the possession of a refined, well-informed mind
was soon made known to us by his brilliant and enlightened
conversation, during which, besides a history of the marbled
columns we stood before, he furnished a variety of very
valuable local information, giving us much cause of regret
when the fleeting hours rendered it necessary to withdraw
from the pleasure of his beguiling company.
The port, though so valued of old, though the haven and
rendezvous of the numerous warring fleets of ancient days,
is now incapable of giving shelter to any other vessels than
small craft. It is shallow, has but a narrow passage to its
bay, and is surrounded by rocks, which extend almost a

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 77
mile in every direction from the shore; hence the justness
of the poet's memorable and expressive words •*, " Saxis
Lilybeia ccecis." From its natural defects, it never could
have boasted the advantages of what (according to modern
estimation) we term a good haven ; nevertheless, I am in
clined to think it has been considerably better than it now
is. Surely the enormous quantity of massive stones sunk
by the Romans must have tended to injure the capacities
of the port ; in addition to which, Don Johnf of Austria
completed the ruinous work by the adoption of similar mea
sures for the purpose of preventing ingress to the Barbary
pirates, who were at that period frequently attracted thither
by the conveniency of ils haven.
A considerable trade is carried on here in wine and
barilla, the former principally conducted by an English
gentleman of the name of Woodhouse, who is not less
remarkable for his kindness and attentions than for the ex
tremely liberal hospitality he shows to any of his country
men travelling in that part of the world. He. has built a
good stone wharf, and erected near it an extensive range
of stores, from whence he exports the well-known Marsala
wine to almost all parts of the world. Vessels of burden
touching here are obliged to be at the anchorage about two
miles outside.
Marsala boasts a place of peculiar interest in the annals
of historic fame ; it is the ancient Lilybceum (mxi/3«ioi<), and
received its appellation from the promontory on which it
stands. It owes its origin to Hannibal, the son of Giscon,
who in the year .410, b. c, landed with that immense army,
* ^neid.
f In the year 1570. . Charles V. also before him did a great deal to
destroy the port, so that it cannot be wondered at that its advantages as a
haven have in some measure diminished in modern times.

78 TRAVELS IN SICILY
and took up his post on its present site previous to thp
destruction of Selinus. Not a human habitation was then
to be seen, and from a mere encampment, or fortified
position, it rose in a few years to a considerable town (but
the instance is not solitary, for many of the most celebrated
cities of modern times have risen from the establishment of
military posts), and from its favourable situation, good port,
and proximity to Africa, the Carthaginians were indueed
to colonize and increase it ; so that, in course of time, it
became one of the most formidable fortresses of the day,
and was constituted the capital of all their Sicilian pror
vinces. Polybius says it was surrounded by massive walls
and a deep ditch cut out of the solid rock, and' filled with
water from the sea ; it bid defiance alike to the catapult
and the battering-ram, and its strength proved impregnable
to all the efforts of both Greeks and Romans, who in vain
surrounded it with fleets and armies.
Carthage, conscious of its important value, was ever
jealous of its possession, consequently always confided the
command to their bravest officers, and such was the valour
and intrepidity with which they invariably defended it, that
it never opened its gates to an enemy until ceded by the
treaty which closed the first Punic war, and obliged. the
Carthaginians entirely to evacuate Sicily ; its port has wits'
nessed the annihilation of fleets, and the earth around its
walls has been the slaughten-house and grave of: the bravest
armies. In. the year 273, b. c, it successfully opposed a most
furious attack from. Pyrrhus, and obliged him to raise the
siege, although he had, by the irresistible force of his arms,
accomplished the expulsion of the Carthaginians from every
other hold but that in the island ;, and it was on this occa
sion that Pyrrhus, when embarking, said, " I am leaving

AND" THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 79
a fine field of battle for the Romans and Carthaginians."
The strength of its walls and the bravery of its inhabitants
long preserved it from the fury of their Roman invaders,
who closely invested and besieged it during the last; nine
years of the first Punic war, a siege ever memorable in the
records of ancient deeds. It was at this period the Romans
blocked up the port * by sinking vessels laden with enor
mous stones, when the Rhodian so skilfully evaded the
vigilance of the Roman fleet, and when the brave, the
enterprising Imilcon so ably defended the walls, and made
such destructive sallies on the Roman camp. The conflicts
on these occasions were dreadfully sanguinary to both par
ties, all the forces being more than once engaged at the
same time. Impelled by their own personal valour and
the intrepidity of their leaders, each fought with desperate
obstinacy, the Lilybaeans for the demolition, the Romans
for the defence of the tremendous works and engines they
had established round the walls for the siege of the town,
and which Imilcon ultimately succeeded (at the suggestion
¦of some Greek mercenaries) in totally consuming by fire ;
a strong breeze, that blew immediately on the enemy's
works, favoured the. design, and in a few hours enveloped
towers, catapults, and battering-rams in the ruinous ele
ment ; such was the fury of the flames that the massive
brazen heads of the latter were entirely melted. Thus, by
one wise and masterly stroke, were the besieged relieved
from the appalling fate with which they were menaced by
the already too successful effects of Roman enginery.
* Polybius tells us the stones thus sunk created an evident rising like
a ragged shoal, upon which the celebrated Carthaginian galley grounded
and fell into the hands of the enemy, who, by aid of its swiftness, ulti
mately succeeded in capturing the Rhodian and putting a stop to the in
telligence he enabled the besieged to keep up with Carthage.

80 TRAVELS IN SICILY
Notwithstanding, however, the irresistible bravery and
skill of so well conducted a defence, fortune doomed Lily-
baeum to fall prostrate before the rising power of Rome;
and by the treaty of Lutatius, the Carthaginians were ob
liged to abandon the fortress they had so long and so de
servedly retained, the theatre on which they had displayed
all their glorious achievements, and such splendid instances
of military prowess.
Under the Romans the town seems to have increased
in size, splendour, and luxury ; magnificent aqueducts*
supplied the inhabitants with water from the pure springs
of the distant mountains, temples rose on every side for
the various mystic rites of their pagan worship, and the
ornamental as well as useful arts flourished under their
guidance and patronage ; the truth of which is attested by
the innumerable relics that have at various periods been
discovered, such as architectural ornaments, urns, coiias,
vases -f-, sarcophagi, &c. &c. It became the point from
whence Rome hurled all the thunderbolts of war, and di-
rectedher vengeance against the faithless arms of Carthage J.
* There were three aqueducts which brought water from the three
fountains, about five miles eastward from the city, called since, by the Sa
racens, Rajala, Sadadi, and Sultani, which names they still retain. Ves
tiges of one of these aqueducts may be traced in different parts of the
country between the town and the hills.
f A magnificent alabaster vase, in a high state of preservation, may be
seen at the house of Countess Grignone.
t In the second Punic war, when Hannibal was pursuing his successes in
Spain, and the Carthaginians supposed the entire attention of the Romans was
directed to his movements, they sent a fleet of thirty-five galleys to attempt,
by force or stratagem, the recovery of their favourite and lamented fortress of
Lilybsum: but iEmilius, who was at that time praetor in Sicily," received
information of their purpose, consequently put the city in a fifstate of
defence, and doubled his vigilance on that part of the coast, so that, im
mediately on the arrival of the Carthaginians, a Roman fleet sailed out of

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 81
It was from hence Scipio Africanus*, when pro-consul of
Sicily, sailed with an enormous fleet and army, to carry the
war into Africa and humble the Carthaginian power, the
embarkation of which was conducted with peculiar pomp
and solemnity ; a subject that has been interestingly and
animatedly recorded by several of the Roman historians. —
Scipio iEmilianus-j- also sailed from this port with the cele
brated armament that finally levelled Carthage with the
earth, and terminated the wars of her treacherous leaders
against Rome.
The great, the noble minded Cicero, faithfully and
honourably fulfilled the duties of his praetorship here ; his
justice and moderation long reigned in the hearts of all
Sicilians, and during many ages they contrived to cele
brate, with marked expressions of gratitude, the memory
of this great man, whose eloquence had delivered them
from the oppression and rapacity of the cruel, the avari
cious Verres.
From the decline of the Roman power, little is known
of the history of Lilybaeum until the arrival of the Sara
cens, who, attracted thither by the port and convenience
of situation, raised upon the ruins of Lilybaeum^ the pre
sent town which they called Marsa Allu (port of God),
since corrupted into Marsala, the name it now bears.
Under the followers of the crescent it grew wealthy and
populous, and continued to flourish until the conquest of
Sicily by the Norman count.
port to meet them, gave them battle, and, after a long and , sanguinary
conflict, completely routed the enemy, took seven of their galleys, and
one thousand seven hundred of their soldiers, besides mariners.
* 203 B. v. t 148 B- c-
I When or by whom the ancient city was laid in ruin history seems
perfectly silent. G

82 TRAVELS IN SICILY
Charles V. modernized, enlarged, and improved the for
tifications, in which operation was discovered a beautiful
and extensive tessalated pavement, between the promon
tory and the walls, supposed to have been a square belong
ing to the ancient city.
Legendary fame celebrates Marsala as the place of re
sidence and sepulchre of the Sybil who burnt the two
books of prophetic records, and establishes her place of
resort at the well on the promontory, whither we walked
after breakfast, and devoted an hour to the examination of
the reputed retreat of the Cumaean prophetess : nothing,
however, exists to favour the truth of such a tale, though it
still enjoys the peculiar advantage of having a most abun
dant spring of water rising from its centre. The fountain,
so remarkable for its position and antiquity, has claimed
the attention of many ancient historians* : Diodorus says,
" Hannibal landed with his mighty army at the well of
Lilybaeum ;" and the Carthaginians applied the same appel
lation to their camp, previous to the building of the town.
Antiquity has attached many fabulous stories to its waters,
which were held sacred, and supposed by the ancients to endow
those who drank of them with the powers of divination ; in ad
dition to which, the fair sex of the present day drink of them
as a proof of their conjugal fidelity : upon what grounds, or
whether the spring was crowdedly frequented, I could not
learn ; at the same time I am inclined to believe that the
reputed desire of knowledge, which characterises the daugh
ters of Eve, induces them to quaff it rather as a prophetic
nectar than a test of virtue. The place is ornamented
with poor frescos and mosaics, and the catholic fraternities
have built over it a small church, dedicated to St. John
* Diodorus, Macrobius, and others.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 83
the Baptist, in the idea that the prevailing superstitions
might prove available to their cause, and attract to its
altars the frequenters of the spring.
On our return we passed the Chiesa del Carmine, whose
detached campanile, or bellfry, being unskillfully built out
of the perpendicular, sensibly vibrates in high winds, and
is vulgarly said by the inhabitants to be erected on a globe.
We proceeded by the eastern gate to the convent of San
Francesco e Paolo : it is a fine building, beautifully situated
on an eminence commanding a lovely prospect of the sea,
the town, and coast. It was the conventual hour of repast
when we approached, and being unintentionally ushered
into the presence of the feasting friars, we were enabled
to observe them engaged in a more solid refection than
would seem consistent with the rules of self-denial peculiar
to their order, particularly on a fast day : their sleak forms
appeared awfully distended by the effects of sated appe
tites, and their bright round faces flushed with the liberal
use of generous potations, announced a preponderating
feeling in favour of worldly enjoyment. With a salutation
of courtesy we liberated them from the restraint which our
presence might have caused, and walked through the con
vent. I reclined awhile in the casement of a latticed
window to view the scene that spread before me, which,
although beautiful and pleasing in itself, awakened in me
still higher feelings of delight, by retracing the endless
variety of objects and circumstances it calls to mind, and
which shed so memorable a lustre over its ancient days.
The imagination loves to dwell on the romantic spell
antiquity often weaves round the heart, and I indulged in
the enthusiasm of my reverie until I became lost in a chain
of thought, when my friend called me away. It is the
association of the past with the present, that creates the
g2

84 TRAVELS IN SICILY
greatest charm of classic scenes, and the susceptibility of
such enjoyment diffuses a species of glow over the days of
our travels, that neither time or circumstance can obliterate,
and must be reverted to in the days of age and retirement
with the most lively feelings of interest.
A long range of catacombs furnishes the usual exhibi
tion of smoke-dried skeletons of deceased friars, under the
convent, which is kept, however, as cleanly and wholesome
as a place of that kind will admit, and affords rather a
good specimen of that very singular custom, observed by
the monastic fraternities in Sicily, of preserving the de
ceased partners of their solitude.
At a short distance beyond the convent there is an im
mense extent of ancient quarries, from whence the Cartha
ginians and Romans took their stone for the building and
fortifying of Lilybaeum ; their appearance is somewhat
picturesque, being excavated in a variety of forms, with
grotesque caverns of different dimensions ; and time has
added beauty to the place by the production of luxuriant
shrubs and trees, which gracefully fold over the rocky
masses, or rise in elegant clusters along the area of the
quarry. The stone is curious, and merits the attention of
the naturalist; it is an extremely porous marine concre
tion, enclosing, in deep strata, beds of fine scollop shells,
many extremely perfect, and of a species not at present
known to exist.
Being but fourteen miles from Mazara, we determined
on making it our halting place for the night, consequently
mounted our mules at one o'clock, and bid adieu to the
interesting site of Lilybaeum, with whose amusing records
every classic reader must be already familiar who has
perused the annals of Carthage, Greece, and Rome. The
road leads along a low flat coast, by the side of the sea,

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 85
and although it is not remarkable for any prominent features
of the sublime or beautiful, the presence of a sunny sea,
sparkling with a thousand little objects, flitting to and fro
over its silvery wave, animates the lonely prospect of the
traveller : for T think there is a certain indescribable some
thing in the murmurings of a sea shore, and the view over
its wide sweep of waters, which tend to enliven the most
dreary solitude, and dispose the mind to a train of pleasing
meditation and reflections that very considerably redeem
the absence of objects more gratifying to the eye.
About two miles from the town we crossed the river
Marsala ; from a long drought its bed was almost dry, in
many parts stagnated, and scarcely afforded sufficient
flowing water to enable the animals to indulge in the cus
tom of paddling through and drinking, which (quite con
trary to our cisalpine mode of treatment) is encouraged by
the muleteers at every stream that happens to cross their
road, so much so, that the beasts are frequently swelled
out to such a degree, that they are rendered incapable of
accelerating their pace beyond a walk, without making it
painful to the rider ; however, as that is the accustomed
rate of journeying in Sicily, the travellers compassion is
seldom put to the test.
The banks of the Marsala are remarkable for their arbo
rescent luxuriance all the way almost to its source, and
particularly for a variety of domestic trees, which betoken
the favourable nature of the soil and climate; considerable
remains also of a fine marble aqueduct are to be seen a
few miles up, built by the Romans to supply Lilybaeum.
Having crossed the stream, we passed the small town of
Luna, where we fell into the train of an innumerable host
of mules laden with barilla and grain for Mazara : the

86 TRAVELS IN SICILY
the facetious babbling of their drivers, and the relation of
their adventures, amused us excessively; for it is thus in
an associated group, preceded by their animals, they travel
in good fellowship from town to town, beguiling the hours
of their journey by the narration of each others lives and
achievements. At San Giuliano, being half way from Mar
sala, we parted company with our entertaining companions,
and at the suggestion of the guide refreshed our steeds by
half an hour's repose.
From San Giuliano to Baracco the only object that
attracts the eye is an old castle or tower (called the Torre
Sibilina) standing in picturesque ruin on the shore; what
association authorised its appellation I could neither learn
or conjecture ; and beyond Baracco, a couple of miles to
the right, Cape Ferro (or Fero * as it is now more usually
spelt) stretches its rocky point towards Africa, said to be
the nearest point of Sicily to that country. We observedi
the white sails of a number of fishing boats apparently
approaching the cape with much eagerness, upon which
I interrogated our guide, who significantly pointed to two
or three clouds that were calmly crossing the sun's disk ;
from my previous acquaintance with the characteristic in
trepidity of the Italian mariner, who, at the appearance
of a silvery cloud in the sky, bears up for the nearest shore
and betrays as much fear as if a convulsion of the element,
threatened momentary distruction, I gave his dumb com
munications a proper interpretation, and, on further en
quiry, found there was a commodious cove on the south
side of the point, sheltered by a rock, much frequented by
fishing boats and small craft in bad weather. From hence
* It is the Caput Federis of the Romans.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 87
the coast is very low to the town of Mazara, which we
entered after previously crossing the river* of that name ;
the sea advances a considerable distance inland at its em
bouchure, forming a sort of port for small vessels called
by the natives Lo Stagno.
Mazara is a very inferior, irregularly built, dirty town,
containing between eight and nine thousand inhabitants ;
it stands on the sea, and is surrounded by an old thick wall,
thirty-five feet in height, principally of Norman structure,
flanked by square towers at a dittance of every thirty
yards, with a castle in the angle. The town boasts of a
higher antiquity than Lilybasum, before the building of
which it existed as a small fortress of the Greeks, and was
taken possession of by the Carthaginians previous to the
siege of Selinuntum. It was afterwards the emporium of
the Romans, who colonized it, and under whom it attained
the greatest importance as a town. The most ancient
works of art, inscriptions, and coins are of that people, or
Arabic, the latter of which have frequently been disco
vered in the opening of Saracenic tombs ; for it was here
the Saracens landed in the year 828, under their desperate
leader Alcamac ; who, to urge his soldiers to a greater spirit
of resistance, caused to be burnt, after the disembarkation,
eve^ ship that transported them to the island, and from
hence commenced the total Mussulmanic subjugation of
Sicily. They colonized and gave the present name to the
town, which continued to be inhabited by the turbaned
* This river derives its source from two springs, three miles from Sa-
lemi, called Sanagia and Rapiealdo, hence called by the Saracens Maz-
zara, which name they also afterwards gave to the town. Salemi lies
about twenty-two miles north-east of Marsala, so called from the Sara
cenic Salem, which expresses the amenity of the place.
t Diodorus, lib. 14.

88 TRAVELS IN SICILY
sons of Ishmael, until they were driven out by the intrepid
Count Roger, in the year of our Lord 1072, who fortified
it in its present style.
Mazara is notorious for the unconscionable number of
its ecclesiastical buildings and institutions, whose bellfries,
turrets, and domes, present an appearance from the sea in
finitely more attractive than the interior is calculated tq
inspire ; before night came on we took a skiff, pulled round
its antique walls, and took a distant view of the city, which,
partly thrown in shade and in part faintly lighted up by
the reflected glare of the departing sun, exhibited an object
by no means unpleasing to the eye, and created a momen
tary illusion that made us forget the scene of filth we had
so recently beheld.
There is one shapeless piazza in the town, in which are
the cathedral, bishop's palace, and town hall ; the former a
rude Norman structure founded by Robert Guiscard, in
1080, who constituted the bishopric. Over the principal
gate an equestrian statue of Count Roger destroying a
Saracen, commemorates the success of that redoubtable
warrior's arms against the infidel host ; and in the porch
there are three funerary urns, or sarcophagi, attributed to
the Greeks, but they are of inferior workmanship, and evi
dently Roman, by the Latin inscriptions, which, although
not now legible, have been preserved by the Sicilian anna
lists, who were enabled to decypher them less than a cen
tury ago. They are each ornamented with a bas relief,
one of which represents an Amazonian contest ; the other
two though usually termed a Caledonian hunt and the rape
of Proserpine, I think hitherto remain unsatisfactorily inter
preted. Nothing further arrests the stranger's attention,
excepting an object over the high altar, that seems more
calculated to disgust and insult the feelings of a purely

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 89
pious mind than to stimulate that religious awe suited to
a christian fane of the present enlightened age ; it is a
huge figure of a man, covered with stucco and bedaubed
with paint, intended to represent the physical incorporation
of the great creator's being; and, independent of thepaga-
nism of so barbarous an idea, such are its monstrosity and
ugliness, that I am tempted to believe the bust has been
taken from the rudder-head of some Dutch galliot in ex
change for an absolution bestowed, upon her crew.
Additional proofs of Sicilian ignorance and superstition
are afforded in the churches of the Madonna of Paradise,
and Saint Vitus, between which two saints the patronage
of Mazara is divided. The former building is situated
nearly a mile north-east of the town, and has a good road
up to it for the easier approach of vehicles : a portrait of
the Holy Virgin is kept enshrined in the tabernacle, and
is, said, when exposed* to the multitude, to perform the
miracle of shedding tears for the sins and wickedness of
mankind. The ceremony of exposition is performed twice
a year, on the fetes of the assumption and visitation, and
is accompanied with a variety of pompous and pagan-like
rites, so as to render it the more imposing to the deluded
wretches who attend : from the description I heard, it re
sembles the performance of a similar miracle which I have
witnessed at Naples, of the liquefying the blood of St.
Januarius. The church of St. Vitus is within the town, and enclo
ses, in a small chapel peculiarly dedicated to the saint,
his statue in silver; it is held in profound reverence by
the inhabitants, and, like the ancient Doges of Venice,
has a state barge exclusively reserved for his use, in which,
on the fete of St. Vitus, in August, he is towed in solemn
procession to the stagno, accompanied by a pomppus re-

90 TRAVELS IN SICILY
tinue of the ecclesiastical, civil, and military authorities,
with a band of music in their train : on his return to the
port he is landed amidst an uproar of squibs, crackers,
and the howlings of the crowd, borne on the shoulders of
four men, and again dandled through the streets to the
church, where he is deposited in the sainted shrine until the
following year. I think the ceremony well entitled to the
appellation of St. Vitus's dance, and when coupled with the
mummery of the abovementioned one, ought in this en
lightened era of Christianity to guard us against the in
fluence of Roman Catholic priestcraft. Were the enthu
siastic votaries of catholic emancipation to visit these coun
tries, and take an unprejudiced, unimpassioned view of the
dangerous effects resulting to society from the diabolical
abuses of that religion *, I am satisfied they would readily
change their sentiments on the subject, and uphold our
protestant establishment as the most liberal and best calcu
lated to secure the happiness and independence of the
human mind.
Mazara gives a name to one of the three great divisions
of the island called vales ; namely, the Val di Mazara,
which extends from the river Salso all round the west and
north-west coast to the river Rocella ; the Val di Mona, or
(as it is now corrupted) Val Demona, includes the eastern
* Many of my readers I have no doubt will observe, that the practice of
the religion may be divested of the abuses. No ! — And let me not be con
sidered illiberal when I say, that as long as the Roman Catholic religion
exists, so long will it remain more or less identified with those abuses^ in
proportion as it is tollerated or encouraged by the state ; and the followers
of its worship must (as always has been the case), either from ignorance, be
come theservile instruments of its superstitions, or from more reasonable un
derstandings, live in ^comparative state of apostacy,andnotunfrequentcon-
temptof their ministers. I argue not from hypothesis, but from observation
amongst millions of God's creatures, whom I have seen living in a state of
intellectual abasement under the iron sway of their priestly confessors.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 91
coast, from the Rocella to Catania; and the Val di Noto
from the latter place to the river Salso. This mode of
division was first established by the Saracens, and after
wards adopted by the Normans, since which it has conti
nued to the present day.
The Val di Mazara, of the three, is the most productive
in pulse and grain of all sorts, the vine is largely culti
vated, and being of a calcareous soil it is favourable to the
growth of the olive : it abounds in goats and sheep, and
furnishes more cattle than any other part of the island.
It is the least wooded ; and its mountains are, generally
speaking, precipitous, sterile, and perfectly bare. Cotton
is largely cultivated round the town of Mazara, and forms,
with grain and barilla, an article of considerable export
from that place, where there is necessarily a caricatore, or
government granary, on the same principle as our bonded
warehouses, in which the proprietors deposit their grain for
exportation ; they are subterranean excavations, generally
(if the local stratification will admit) in the rock, with ma
gazines built over them ; they produce an incredibly enor
mous revenue to the king, not by rental, but the profits
on the quantity gained by remeasurement* to the ex
porter. Wednesday, 24th November. — The bright dawn of the
morning induced us to quit our miserable tenement as
early as we could obtain egress, and at the solicitations of
an importunate ciceroni went to visit the old Norman
castle. It is remarkable for having been the residence of
* The grain is received and returned to the proprietor by measurement,
consequently, two or three days before it is measured into- the owner's
possession, it is brought from the subterranean conservatory into the stores
above,, during which period it swells considerably by, exposure to the
atmosphere, and necessarily gains in bulk.

92 TRAVELS IN SICILY
Robert Guiscard, and once boasted the possession of the
brave Count Roger's shield*, bearing the following memo
rable inscription: Dexter a Domini fecit virtutem: dextera
Domini exaltavit me, which he adopted after the vision of
the knight on the white horse, previous to his celebrated,
victory over the Saracens atCerami; and which afterwards
continued in use amongst all his Norman successors.
The upper rooms witnessed the last mournful days of
the cruel though accomplished Joan of Naples ; and in the
year 1494 became the retreat of Alphonso, who, intimi
dated by the arms of Charles of France, basely abdicated
the Neapolitan throne. Thus we felt no reason to regret
having accepted the services of our laquais de place, parti
cularly as we were further requited by his information of
an ancient tomb in the convent of San Michele, which we
visited en passant, and found it by the inscriptions to be a
Roman one of the family of Albinus.
We quitted the walls of Mazara at nine o'clock, and
proceeded towards Castel Vetrano by the way of Campo
Bello ; at a distance of three miles the road is intersected
by the small river of Delia or Arenaf, by which name it
is more generally known, but is unconnected, I believe, with
any circumstance of antiquity that can yield interest or
immortality to its stream ; from hence it is seven miles
through a fertile plain to Campo Bello, where we arrived
at noon, put up the mules in a fundaco, and went to see
the quarries from whence the stone was taken to build the
* Whether the shield is still in being, and if so, where it now reposes
I could gain no information.
t This river takes its rise from the waters of three fountains beyond
the town of Salemi, where they unite into one stream called there the Sa-
lemi, beyond which it maintains the appellation of Delia (called by the
Saracens Beligero), and at the lower part the Arena, on account of the
quantity of white sand near its embouchure.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 93
ancient town of Selinon ; they are not far from the town,
and are well entitled to the consideration of the traveller,
who at one coup d'ceil is furnished with a comprehensive
view of the manner adopted by the ancients of working
out the enormous masses they employed in building their
temples. As the Egyptians did their obelisks, they at once
cut into form, and finished whilst in the quarry, the different
individualities, such as capitals, shaft pieces, and architrave
lengths : specimens of which still remain projecting out of
the rock, to corroborate the fact, in the same unfinished
state they were left by the Grecian labourers four and twenty
hundred years ago; hence they saved both time and labour
by thus diminishing the mass that was to be transported
from the quarry to the place of building. The stone is of a
fine compact marine concretion, of a yellowish brown co
lour, enclosing, like that of Marsala, large well preserved
scollop shells.
Campo Bello* is a small town of about two thousand
inhabitants, whose squalid looks betray the insalubrity of
the place, perhaps occasioned by the marshes in the vicinity
towards the sea. At two o'clock we continued our journey,
and spent the remainder of the day at Castel Vetrano : it
is five miles distant, and is the Castrum Veteranum of the
Romans, and now a town containing nearly 15,000 inha
bitants, healthily situated on a gentle rise in the midst of
an extensive fertile plain, abounding in vineyards and olive
trees, whose oil is of the most superior quality ; notwith
standing, however, the native richness of the soil, and the
bounties nature has placed within the proprietors' reach,
* Campo Bello, called by the Saracens Ramussara. It is singular to
observe all the way from the Latomia or quarry to the site of Selinus, the
country strewed with pieces of columns, &c, as if from some sudden in
terruption they had been thrown down and left by the carriers.

94 TRAVELS IN SICILY
the greater proportion of the land seems left uncultivated
and neglected. It is in the barony of the Duke of Monte
Leone, who has a palace in the town, but seldom inhabits
it excepting at the period appointed for the payment of
rents. In order to command sufficient leisure for the examina
tion of the many interesting objects our next day's excur
sion embraced, we retired early, and rose with the dawn
of the following morning. The road, though but a rugged
path, leads through an agreeable woody country, abound
ing in game, which we repeatedly started as we occa
sionally diverged from the beaten track and passed through
the underwood. We soon descried the sea before us, over
which Aurora, just then emerging from the horizon, spread
a blaze of saffron hue, and shortly afterwards shed a stream
of light along the shore that enabled us to discover the
venerable piles of Selinuntum rising from their solitary
waste, appearing at the first view of a stranger's eye like
the crowded habitations of a populous town. They are
called by the natives Pileri di Castel Vetrano from whence
they are eight miles distant.
The ancient city was founded* 627 b. c. by a party of
Grecians from Megara Hybla, who, on account of the over
grown state of that colony, departed under the direction of
their leader Pammilius, and settled between the two rivers
Belici and Madiuni ; a choice of situation that, according to
my ideas, reflected little credit on either their judgment,
penetration, or foresight, since, from its entire exposure to
the sea, it offered no advantages as a port, and was even
at that period reputed for the insalubrity of its air, parti
cularly in the peculiar part they afterwards fixed upon for
* Thucidydes, 6th book.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 95
the site of their city. They drove out the Phoenicians, who
up to that time inhabited the surrounding country ; and
the Madiuni (from the quantity of wild parsley with which
its banks abounded), they* called Selinonf, a name that
they also gave to their new town, which was built on a
small elevation, and surrounded with thick massive walls,
to avoid the ruinous effects-of the stagnated sea water that
lay to the westward, now termed, according to the Sara
cenic appellation, Yhalico. Their massive walls, however,
availed them not, for some years afterwards a dreadful pest
visited the inhabitants, caused by the effluvia from the
corrupted water, and continued its destructive influence
until the J philanthropic Agrigentine philosopher Enipedo-
cles, at his own expense, caused the waters of the two rivers
to be conducted by channels through the morass, which
carried off the . stagnated matter, and staid the ravages of
the pest. Divine honours were instituted for the great
philosopher, and a magnificent statue was erected to cele
brate the occasion, and bear in memory the gratitude of
the citizens towards their worthy liberator.
Selinus, or rather Selinon, speedily attained a surprising
degree of wealth and greatness ; they adorned their city
with buildings of enormous magnitude, raised splendid
temples to their gods, and became the formidable rivals of
the Segestans, with whom they were in a state of incessant
domestic warfare about the possession of frontier lands,
which, as is almost invariable on such occasions, engaged
* Pliny and Ptolemy.
+ zeaeinon, parsley, still abounds there, and grows very luxuriantly :
it is the Apium Petroselinum of Linsus, a fine large complicated umbel,
and rich white flower, which opens in June, and, mingled with other
shrubs and plants, adds, great beauty to the banks.
I Dionysius Laertius in his lives af the philosophers.

96 TRAVELS IN SICILY
the neighbouring powers in the contest, and ultimately
involved the whole of the Grecian republics in Sicily in
ruinous hostility, not only with each other, but afterwards
with the foreign powers they called to their aid, who,
ever ready to pursue their own ambitious views, were ne
cessarily but too glad to gain a footing in a country that
offered so many temptations to the conquerors. It was go
verned by tyrants, and constantly convulsed by internal
dissentions or external hostility, sometimes espousing the
cause of Agrigentum, Syracuse, or Carthage ; at others
opposing them, as most suited the immediate purposes of
their interest or ambition. The first destructive siege that
is recorded of this city is the one by Hannibal, who, to re
venge the fate of his father Gisco*, and his grandfather
Hamilcon, resolved on razing it to the ground. He landed,
as before observed, at Lilybaeo in 410 b. c.f, with one
hundred thousand men, and closely invested the walls during
nine days, at the expiration of which time, notwithstanding
the desperate resistance of the besieged, he beat down the
walls by the immense engines he reared against them for
that purpose, and took the city by assault.
Historians describe this as -one of the most sanguinary
and desperate sieges, on the part of the assailed, that is
known in antiquity ; old and young, women and children;
all took an active part in the glorious cause of defending
their homes and their gods, and exemplified a degree of
firmness as well as valour on the occasion, that loudly de
mands our strongest expressions of sympathy and admira
tion. In spite of the enemy's numbers, twice they were
driven with dreadful slaughter from the gaping breaches
* Gisco was banished by the Carthaginians for his father Hamilcon's
losses at Himera, and he resided in Selinon during the term of his exile.
f See Pausanias, lib. 6, and the interesting descriptions of Diodorus.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 97
they had made, and even when they at length succeeded
in entering the town, the Selinuntiues continued to oppose
them with equal fury, contending every inch of ground
from the walls to the streets, and from the streets to the
houses, from the windows and roofs of which the women
and children were employed hurling enormous stones on the
assailants that caused frightful destruction amongst their
ranks, and so exasperated Hannibal, that he wreaked his
vengeance by putting sixteen thousand of the inhabitants
to the sword, dragged the remainder into slavery, and after
the accustomed work of pillage and rapine, set fire to the
town and destroyed the temples *.
It was on this occasion Empedion, the old friend of Han
nibal, was sent by the Syracusans as ambassador, after the
siege, to implore the Carthaginian to allay his vengeance,
and spare the temples, which at. that period boasted greater
magnificence than any in Sicily. Hannibal received his
friend with unchanged kindness and courtesy ; but in answer
said, that " The gods no longer inhabited the temples of
such a perfidious people, and the law would not allow those
places that had been consecrated to them to be converted
to profane use, therefore he should throw them down."
Shortly after this, Hermocrates, the great captain of the
Syracusan army, who had been ungratefully banished after
his memorable defeat of Nicias, came to Selinon, easily
gained possession, and called in all the inhabitants that
had deserted it ; then rebuilt the walls, and carried his
arms towards Syracuse, where he vainly attempted to ob
tain the government.
* The only clemency shown by Hannibal was to the women, who
fled with their infants to the temples ; and that arose more from a feeling
of interest than compassion, for knowing by repute the Selinuntine fanes
enclosed immense treasures, he strictly enjoined his army to respect them,
that he might more deliberately plunder and destroy them himself. H

98 TRAVELS IN SICILY
In the first Punic war, Selinon attached itself to the cause
of Rome, and afterwards took an active part with that power
against Syracuse ; however, having materially suffered in
the successive wars between Carthage and Rome, it again
sunk into ruin, and became almost deserted ; upon which
the Romans * colonized it, again rebuilt, and, according
to TJlpianus, endowed it with the privilege f of exemption
from imposts. But it never again rose to any degree of
consequence : the last slumbering sparks of freedom that
animated its inhabitants, and kindled at the recollection
of their ancient fame, burst forth during the factions of the
servile wars ; but it was like the last efforts of animation
before death, and the spirit of their departed glory and
freedom became for ever buried under the ruins and devas
tation of the middle ages.
Selinuntum was the first town in Sicily that was destined
to fall a prey to the fury of the annihilating host under the
infidel Alcamac. On landing at Mazara, in the year 628
of Christ, the Moorish commander directly proceeded
thence surrounded the walls, and, after a few days' siege,,
entered the city, which, for the purpose of intimidating
the remainder of the Sicilians to a more easy submission,
he gave up to the atrocious treatment of the infuriated
Mussulmans ; and such was the general destruction and,
horrible perpetration of their cruelties, that they failed not
in meeting his most sanguine wishes, creating a panic
through the island that caused many cities to anticipate the
arrival of the Saracenic general, by sending him their keys,
accompanied with an unqualified submission.
* When Sicily became a Roman province, at which period its name
was changed by the Romans from Selinon to Selinuntum.
f Called by the Romans, Jus Italicum.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 99
Several of the Sicilian annalists go so far as to assert, that
independent of other acts of barbarous outrage committed
at Selinuntum, Alcamac caused many of the most important
citizens to be put over the fire in boiling cauldrons.
They gave to the town and country around the appel
lation of Bidel el Bargoth (land of fleas), I suppose from
the number of those assailants they had to encounter;
and to this day it is styled by the Sicilians Terra delli Pulci ;
although Captain Smith, in his memoirs, contradicts the
Saracenic derivation, and ingeniously attributes the Italian
term to a corruption of Polluce or Pollux, to which deity,
in conjunction with his brother Castor, he asserts (upon
what authority I have been unable to discover) one of the
temples was consecrated. However, supposing the fact
established, why should that particular temple be selected
to distinguish the place, when a larger or more noble and
more celebrated one in every respect existed, and which,
upon the authority of Herodotus, Diodorus, and Pausanias,
we know to have been dedicated to the Olympian Jupiter.
Besides which, what association can there be between the
name of Pollux and the Saracenic Bidel el Bargoth, which
latter several Sicilian annalists, since the middle ages, are
agreed was decidedly applied by the infidels ?
Selinuntum having been, with the rest of Sicily, upwards
of two hundred years in the hands of the Saracens, had
become a populous town, and was by them again rendered
a strong hold, which was the last in their possession, and
making a determined resistance against the Norman arms
under Count Roger, was entirely razed to the ground, and
every inhabitant driven from the land. Thus ended the
calamitous career of the unfortunate Selinus, and a ruined
heap of massive parts alone remain to mark the site of her
ancient glory.
I approached the place thus rendered sacred to antiquity
h2

100 TRAVELS IN SICILY
not without some feelings of reverence, and with sensations
similar to those we sometimes experience in our contempla*
tions over the cemetery of departed worth and fame. This
indeed is the tomb of Selinuntine greatness. It now pre
sents nought but a scene of dreary solitude and silence, for
the surrounding country remains deserted and forsaken,
and is tenanted alone by the spontaneous productions
of nature, such as the myrtle, the oleander, wild parsley,
and the palmetto, which give an appearance of richness to
the earth, and in some measure redeem the absent fruits of
the cultivator's hand. In the abundance of the latter plant,
the traveller will recognise with delight the justly-applied
agnomen of Virgil *.
Malaria spreads its baneful influence over the adjacent
plains ; and the poisonous waters of the Yhalico still conti
nue to emit their destructive vapours in spite of the generous
Empedocles, whose mighty labours have for many ages been
hidden in the drifting sand.
The town was situated on two hills, which are now inters
spersed with melancholy piles of dislocated architectural
fragments, whose extraordinary magnitude strikes the ob-
* Palmosus Selinus, iEneid 3d. Many visitors to the ruins of Selinus,
on not seeing an abundance of that species most commonly known by the
name of the palm, such as the lofty date, &c, suppose either the worthy
bard's epithet inapplicable, or that the characteristic trees have, from time
or circumstance, entirely disappeared; unacquainted with the endless
variety with which that class or species abounds, and that the plant called
by the Sicilians giumara, is in fact the one alluded to by Virgil ; which is;
corroborated by one of the coins of Selinon, bearing on one side a head,
and the reverse a man holding in his left hand a branch of this plant. . It
is the chamarops humilis of Linnoeus, or dwarf fan palm ; it is a low
plant, growing very much like our fern ; the leaves are digitated with
from twelve to fifteen sword-shaped divisions, of a glaucous green colour,
emanating from the edge, and in a state of expansion very much resem
bling a fan. It abounds throughout Sicily, but particularly in the Val di
Mazara, and around the ruins of Selinuntum. The inhabitants make
various uses of it, such as for thatching, brooms, basket-making, &c. &c.

AND THE LIPAUl ISLANDS. 101
server with surprise at the tremendous efforts that must
necessarily have been employed by the ancients to raise the
splendid fabrics they composed.
The eastern hill commands a pleasing prospect of the
place and sea ; it falls with rather an abrupt descent towards
the beach, displaying, on a plain along its summit, the
prostrate vestiges of three temples, which lie in a parallel
line from north to south, at a distance of forty yards from
each other, with their porticos fronting the east. The two
smaller ones are parallelogramic peripteres, and the largest
pseudodipteral ; all, however, of simple, massive, austere
Doric, but differing in dimensions, and so much in the
style of finishing, that they are evidently the productions
of different ages.
The southernmost, or one nearest the sea, is the least dis
tinct in its parts, and lies in more confused masses than the
others. Its area measures about one hundred and ninety
feet long, and seventy-two broad ; the columns are fluted,
with a diameter of seven and a half feet at their base.
The centre temple is somewhat less ; it had six columns
in front, and thirteen at the sides, also fluted, but only six
feet in diameter, though of equal length, which takes some
what away from the characteristic massiveness of the Doric,
and gives them the appearance of an Ionic shaft. The
capitals are more finished and ornamental than the other,
and altogether it must have been a handsomer building.
It measures about one hundred and sixty-nine feet at the
sides, with a. breadth of seventy-nine feet, and lies in more
regular heaps than the above-mentioned one.
The northernmost temple * is considerably the largest,
' * It is worthy of observation, that almost all the ancient temples of the
Greeks, whether in the mother countries or in the colonies, were built
with similar proportions, namely, having one more than double the num
ber of columns in the front, to form the sides ; and although instances are
"known to the contrary, it may be considered as a general rule.

102 TRAVELS IN SICILY
being of colossal dimensions and grandeur. It is the cele
brated one of Jupiter Olympus, noticed by Diodorus and
Herodotus, so renowned for its ornamental riches, and the
immense treasure it enclosed, peculiarly consecrated to the
omnipotent deity of the pagans, all of which was transferred
by Hannibal to Carthage, after his destruction of4 the city.
Amongst other splendid objects of art this mighty fane pos
sessed, was the magnificent statue of Bacchus, described
by Pausanias, which had, most inimitably carved, head,
hands, and feet, of the purest ivory.
The edifice being pseudodipteral, had eight, columns in
front, and seventeen at the sides, with a double row in the
portico. The length of the upper area, forming the com
mon plinth to the columns, is three hundred and forty
feet, and one hundred and sixty broad. The pillars are
eleven feet in diameter at the base, tapering away to nine
feet ten inches under the capitals, and are all plain, ex
cepting the four at the angles of the portico, which are
fluted and filleted. Parts of two shafts (one in the portico
and the other at the side) are the only standing remains
of this tremendous heap.
The capitals are formed out of one solid block, and are
remarkable for the unusual bulkiness of the ovolos, one
of which lies inverted in. the centre of the heap, whose
abacus measures thirteen feet in width, and by its side a solid
block twenty-two feet long, belonging to the architrave.
The art of transferring, such ponderous blocks from place
to place, and raising them to the heights required, proves
the ancients to have been possessed, of a more intimate
and perfect knowledge of mathematical principles,, and
the application of mechanical powers, than the moderns
seem inclined to give them credit for. The wheel, a
power most in use at the present day, is known to have
been also applied amongst them, by the testimony of a

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 103
very ancient piece of bas-relief seen in the wall of a house
near the market-place of Capua, which represents labourers
occupied in raising blocks of stone to the summit of a for
tress. they are building, by aid of the wheel.
To the west of these ruins may be traced the ground-plan
of three other temples, originally separated from the former
by the ancient harbour which ran up in a circular form
between the two.
After the occupation of measuring, we retired to break
fast, which the faithful guide had already taken from our
basket and tastefully arranged under the spreading branches
of a wild fig tree, that has, like many other tenants of the
vegetable world, sprung up in picturesque beauty through
the crevices of these ruined heaps. I could not help con
templating the scene as a moral memento, as well as a
lively illustration of man's insignificance when opposed to
his Maker, as I viewed nature thus assuming her preroga
tive over the weak and evanescent works of human power,
and smiling as it were in contempt of man's proudest,
greatest efforts.
Exercise and exertion furnished excitement to appetite,
and the enjoyment of a refreshing repast was indescribably
enhanced by the attractions of so classical a retreat. The
interesting fragments, as they lay scattered before us, fur
nished an endless source of delightful ideas ; and whilst
indulging in the sweets of physical repose, we roved through
the beguiling path of fancy to the time before these proud
temples bowed to the yoke of Carthaginian * power. What
* The destruction of these temples has furnished matter for great doubt
amongst modern enquirers, as to whether they owe their total annihilation
to Hannibal's fury, or to that of more modern barbarians. Ancient histo
rians are silent as to the extent of injury caused by the former, though I
have no hesitation in concluding, from their expressions, that he was the
principal author of the devastation, supposing, at the same time, that
parts were left standing which have since been thrown down by earth-

104 TRAVELS IN SICILY
splendour, what magnificence, must they have exhibited
in the golden days of Selinon ! They evidently were the
greatest structures of Sicily, eclipsing in point of magni
tude even the boasted fanes of the Agrigentines.
No satisfactory authority exists that enables us to ascer
tain to which of the Heathen deities the two first-described
were consecrated, although they have been variously bap
tized by garrulous guides, and the hypothetical imaginings
of modern travellers. Against the former I feel it a duty
to warn those of my readers who may at any future period
visit this interesting country, recommending them not to
place the slightest confidence in any information commu
nicated by such cicerones, beyond what is purely local, for
they only lead to error and confusion, which greatly tend
to destroy the interest of classical research.
An immense mole, stretching from the mouth of the
Madiuni into the sea, formed the ancient port of Selinon,.
but not a vestige indicates the place. The scythe of time
has accomplished the work of destruction commenced by
Pagan enemies and barbarous hordes. The fragments are
all buried in the sand, and a modern watch-tower now
guards the site of the departed mole.
Not far from thence, on the eastern bank, was the an
cient cemetery, composed of deep tombs separate from
each other, and walled inside with prodigious blocks of
stone, that might have bid defiance to all but the desolat
ing fury of the invader *. ., ,
quake, as is very evidently the case, from the regularity with which twelve
of the columns have fallen, and continue to lie with their capitals and
shaft-pieces in uninterrupted line.
* The singular and unaccountable propensity which the Carthaginians
evinced for laying open the depositories of the dead, may be traced in
their frequent sieges of the Grecian cities of Sicily.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 105

CHAPTER IV.

At ten o'clock we bid adieu to the mournful remains of
ill-fated Selinon, and shortly after forded theBelici*; it
is a considerable stream in the winter, and impassable after
a fall of rain : it meanders for miles between high sloping
banks full of romantic wildness and picturesque beauty,
and whose summits are thickly crowned with wood of both
the shrubby as well as arborescent productions : the stately
elm towers over thick spreading bushes of the willow and
the tamarisk, which latter grows in as great luxuriance and
perfection as I ever saw it in any of the southern climes.
The Belici is, according to Ptolemy and Pliny, the
Hypsa of antiquity, though by some authors called the
Crimisus ; however, it is the stream that proved so fatal
to Carthaginian blood; and if, in their excursions along
the shores of Sicily, the lovers of freedom should cross its
waters, let them pause awhile on the memorable banks,
and, whilst in the admiration of nature's loveliness, pay a
tribute of recollection to the cause of independence, by
contemplating the scene where liberty unfurled her ban
ners, and valour gloriously triumphed over oppression : for
it was here the magnanimous Timoleon, after subverting
* It is three miles from the temples, from whence stones were taken
many years ago for the purpose of building a bridge; but the plan, for
want of energy, was abandoned, and the traveller is left to scramble over
the best way he can; however, higher up the stream we were told a
bridge existed.

106 TRAVELS IN SICILY
the Syracusan yoke of tyranny, bravely opposed with his
handful of warriors the Carthaginian host of invaders*, and,
by one of the most brilliant victories that is recorded of
ancient days, liberated Sicily from their opprestive arms.
Fortune doubtless favoured the Corinthian leader ; but it
was superiority of judgment and military skill that taught
him to profit by the advantages that were placed within
his reach ; which, combined with the most extraordinary
feats of intrepidity and firmness, enabled him to succeed
in totally defeating an army eight times as numerous as
his own, and one of the most splendid in point of equip
ment that Carthage had ever sent into Sicily.
In my enthusiasm, I made a libation from the stream
to the Corinthian victor, and offered up a prayer that
another Timoleon might soon spring up, and again restore
industry and happiness under the smiling influence of
freedom. The river owes it present name to a corruption of the
one given it by the Saracens, namely, Belich. The country
to the east of it is celebrated for the abundance of cattle
as well as game, which we witnessed as we proceeded
along the road, having met several immense herds grazing
about the hills; they are generally of a bright red colour,
with such tremendous horns that they absolutely appear
burdensome to the animals that bear 4hem, qualities that
characterize the whole of the Sicilian cattle. We soon
descended into a swampy plain, and crossed the river
* In the year 340 b. c. This army, consisting of sixty thousand Cartha
ginians, landed under Himilcon at Lilybso, for the purpose of redeeming
the ill success of the disgraced Mago, by spreading ruin and devastation
throughout the Grecian colonies in Sicily. For a description of the
battle which took place, June 13th of the same year, vide Plutarch's life
of Timoleon.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 107
Leone, whose embouchure forms a small port called Palu,
which is defended by the watch tower seen standing on a
hill near the sea.
The ruddy Cape of St. Marco bounds the horizon to
wards the south-east, presenting rather an interesting
object, with the tower and battery on its summit. From
hence the road leads through a country strewed with olive
plantations ; and after passing the rivers Cavaretto, Carabi,
and Cavalazzo, we entered the walls of Sciacca about six
o'clock. The approaches, as well as the whole country en
circling this town, are indescribably fertile, and, aided by
the local amenity of Sciacca, furnishes by no means an
unpleasing object for contemplation to the traveller as he
is slowly advancing on the back of his jaded mule. Clus
ters of immense orange and lemon trees, thickly spangled
with their golden fruits, are seen on every side ; gardens
shaded with the rich blossomed almond and the spreading
fig adorn the lands around the walls, whilst the lofty cedar
here and there lifts his gloomy head over groups of the
pistachio with which this place abounds, and whose nuts
I soon learnt formed, with other fruits, a principal article of
exportation ; it is the pistacia lentiscus of Linnaeus, or
mastic tree : the male and female flowers are on different
plants, consequently do not fructify unless planted con
tiguous to each other, or as is thus usually managed here.
When the female flowers are open, the gardeners put the
blossom of the male tree (distinguished here by the name
of scornabecco) into pots, and place them on the upper
branches of the female tree, which never fails producing
fructification. Sciacca is the ©e^* utara. of the Greeks, and belonged to
the territory of the Selinuntines, under whom it was at
first a mere hamlet, and only visited occasionally for the

108 TRAVELS IN SICILY
benefit of its waters, whose celebrity increasing, gave im
portance and magnitude to the place : it is distinguished
by the birth of Agathocles, one of the greatest tyrants of
antiquity ; his cruelties and inhuman atrocities are too well
known to my readers for me to enlarge on them. His
father, Carcinus, was a potter of Reghium in Calabria, but
from persecution settled here, and brought his art to that
perfection which afterwards obtaiued so much renown
throughout Sicily. Camarina, too, flourished in the same
way, and soon rivalled the manufactory of the Selinuntine
colony: their vases* were so delicate and beautiful in
point of form and decoration, that they became an object
of luxury, and were sought after with the same avidity as
is the foreign porcelain of the present day. The town was,
in the time of the Romans, called Thermas Selinuntiae; and
in more modern times received from the Saracens the ap
pellation of Sheichf, of which Sciacca is a Sicilian cor^-

* These vases are of peculiar beauty, and I think considerably surpass
those of the Etruscans both in elegance of shape and the choice of sub-
ject which adorns their exterior. They have been found in all parts of
Sicily in the various excavations particularly of tombs, where it was the
custom of the friends of the deceased to deposit them, containing offerings
to the memory of those ties that bound them together in life. Baron
Udica, of Palazzolo, has minutely examined the different species of vases
that have hitherto been discovered, and has been enabled to trace the
progressive improvement from the rudest specimen to the most finished :
he has classified them into five divisions : first, rude figures painted in
black, on clay ground, with drapery formed by simple scratches ; second,
black painted ground, with the figures left, in the clay, and drapery lined
as before; third, black ground, with figures painted indifferent colours;
fourth, figures relieved from the ground, and in better character; fifth,
in still higher relief, more finished, and with better composition. The
subjects of the first are generally Pagan sacrifices ; of the latter, scenes
from the Trojan war, or Grecian fable.
t Sheich signifies chief, and was appropriated to this place because
made the station of an Arabic chief during the Moorish occupation.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 109
ruption. At the expulsion of the infidels, Count Roger
converted it into a city, and gave it to his daughter
Julietta, who founded several christian churches and
nunneries: Frederick II. afterwards surrounded it with a
more solid wall, which was enlarged and modernized in its
present form under Charles V., and it is now become a
place of twelve thousand inhabitants, from whence corn*.
fruits, sulphur, and barilla are taken in considerable quan
tities. It is picturesquely situated at the foot of Mount
Calogero, and built on a bold rock hanging over the sea,
from whence, aided by the prominent forms of its public
edifices, it assumes the most flattering appearance. Its
mineral springs, which from the earliest ages of the
ancients have administered their efficacious qualities, are
still renowned for their almost infallible powers in a variety
of diseases, and would be invaluable to Europe if\the
island were in a more civilized state, or the town better
provided with comforts and accommodation than its pre
sent wretched aspect announces. The springs are nume
rous ; and although their debouchments, being so contiguous
to each other, seem to indicate a subterranean communica^
tion, yet from the very different properties each decidedly
possesses, they must necessarily pass through totally distinct
strata, composed of different mineral ingredients. They
are principally thermal, the highest degree of heat being
120° of Fahrenheit, which is considerably greater than the
celebrated springs of Bath: they are strongly impregnated
with the scoria of iron, sulphur, salt, with a small propor
tion of vitriol, and have proved of incredible benefit to par
tial palsy of the limbs induced byr rheumatism, cutaneous
* From the incommodiousness of the port, and the anchorage being
nearly a mile out, vessels make no stay here, but just run in and take
their consignments as they pass down the coast.

110 TRAVELS IN SICILY
disorders, wounds, and affections of the urinary organs.
I could nowhere, however, obtain a strict analysis, little
more being known at Sciacca than the effects produced
by their use. Modern bathing-houses have been built,
with contiguous dressing-rooms appropriated to each sex ;
but they do not yet constitute an establishment capable of
competition with the Roman thermae, whose luxuries of
the Apodyterium, Laconicum, and Unctuarium, are not
attainable to the frequenters of the Sciaccanese baths.
Our opinion of the inhabitants of this town was not much
predisposed in their favour by the first specimen we expe
rienced of their conduct, either as social christians or the
professed entertainers of wearied travellers : after riding
through a crowd, principally composed of friars, priests,
and monks, we entered, at the direction of our guide, the
habitation we were destined to repose in for the night ; it
was gloomy, filthy, and miserably cold, and the first subject
of entertainment that presented itself was a group of
its fiend-like inhabitants engaged in a tumultous affray;
which, from the screams of the women, the irascible phy
siognomies and uplifted knives of the men, I observed wore
a more desperate character than the effects of a common
family brawl ; however, by the advice of our guide, who, I
suppose, had learnt his philosophy from experience rather
than theory, and well knew that interference on the
part of a stranger is too frequently attended with more
aggravating than pacifying results, we retired from the
scene of action to the chamber assigned for our use,
and patiently awaited a cessation of hostilities for an
introduction to the proprietor of the albergo, who
at length came forth in the form of a woman, and, like
another Alecto, after the execution of some evil design,
demanded, in a very inhospitable tone, what we had got

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. Ill
for dinner; a question that, to the generality of my readers,
will doubtless appear somewhat singular, as applied from a
host to a guest; but in Sicily such is the want of resources
at the generality of halting places, that it is the custom of
travellers to carry their own provisions, which, on arriving
at an inn, they give to be warmed up or prepared in the
way most suitable to their taste, depending alone on the
store of the innkeeper for bread and wine, which may be
had good almost throughout the island. As ill-luck would
have it, our appetites (having been sharpened by the keen
air of the morning and the exercise of lionizing) were little
occupied at the preceding meal of breakfast in the provi
dent .consideration of future necessities; the consequence
of which was, our stock became nearly exhausted, and re
duced us to the scanty, unsavoury fare of the fury-looking
hostess, who, making an extraordinary effort to become gra
cious, promised, in our emergency, to serve us up the best
of her larder ; however, we experienced the truth of the
old French adage — " A bon apetit il 'ne faut point de
sauce," for hunger perfectly reconciled us to that which,
on any other occasion, would have been repulsive to the
palate. Before dinner we walked on the College terrace, which
commands a romantic prospect of the sea ; and afterwards
visited the corn magazines, which are curiously excavated
in the rock over the shore.
Friday, 26th. — At sunrise we set out on an excursion to
the mountain of Saint Calogero, to which is attached so
many monkish legends — so many papal superstitions, It
gradually rises from the town, towards the eastward, to a
height of one thousand and forty feet above the level of
the sea, and is covered, in every direction, with curious
caverns, grottos, mineral wells, and hot springs. It de^

112 TRAVELS IN SICILY
rives its appellation from the former residence of a her
mit, who professed to be of that sect termed, by the Greek
church, Calogeri *, and devoted himself to the care of those
invalids who visited the top of the mountain for the benefit
of the waters. Some years after his death he was suc
ceeded by a tribe of Romish monks, who created the pre
sent establishment of convent and hospital ; and availing
themselves of the then prevailing ignorance, canonized the
departed ascetic f under the name of Calogero, who, they
asserted, had been sent by St, Peter to heal the sick, and
cure those possessed of the devil: they constituted him the
patron of their new foundation, and afterwards caused him
to be adopted as the tutelary saint of Sciacca, where, to
this day, he equally participates the affections of its inha^
tants with the Holy Virgin and the Supreme Deity !
At the summit of the mountain and under the convent
there are three grottos cut out of the rock, from one of
which excessively hot mineral vapours exhale, forming an
excellent sudatory, and used with wonderful effect for a
variety of infirmities ; seats are formed in the rock, over
which antique inscriptions once announced the peculiar
disease the heat of each bench was most suited to ; but
the letters, which it is said were Phoenician, are nearly
effaced with thick incrustations formed over them by the
unctuous nature of the steam.
To the right of this is a most curious and extensive cave"
* From KaX„; and r^m. The peculiarity of this sect was, that they
chose the tops of mountains for their residence, Mount Athos, in Greece,
being celebrated as the first place of their resort. They followed the rule
of Saint Basil, and were the most austere of the order.
f The fete of the saint is celebrated in June, when the sick flock up
in crowds to the chapel on the mountain, and make their offerings at his
shrine, for which they consequently receive in return the priest's blessing,
and a promise of speedy relief.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 113
with a variety of winding passages and perforations that
distil hot waters from almost every pore, and is, with the
last mentioned one, particularly celebrated by Diodorus
as being formed by the old architect Daedalus when he fled
from the indignation of Minos. But there are many others,
together with wells, exhibiting phenomena that cannot fail
to produce gratification to the curious observer as well as
the naturalist.
The mountain is composed principally of argilla and
lime, enclosing beds of sulphur, mixed with a variety of
other mineral substances, which, being traversed by nu-
numerous springs, occasion the boiling vapours that are
seen issuing from every crevice, and the gurgling noises
that are heard in many of the holes and wells. The earth
is sterile and unproductive all round, and almost always in
a state of fermentation ; no verdure is seen but the pal
metto or giumarre.
At noon we descended, mounted our mules, and bade
adieu to Sciacca ; the road leads between the mountain
just described and the sea, over a hilly uncultivated
country, covered with the palmetto, wild parsley, and
thistles; and the winding nature of the path varied the
scenery as we went along, by occasionally approaching,
sometimes receding from the sea. Five miles from Sciacca
we crossed the river Mecaudo ; and shortly after, another
small river, having to our left a chain of bold mountains,
presenting their rugged sides towards the sea. It is on the
summit of one of those rocky heights, apparently inac
cessible to man, that the ancient town of Triocola stood ;
a place that holds so conspicuous a character in Roman
history, as being the birth place of that rebellious spirit
which occasioned the commencement of the servile wars
against Rome, and during four years spread consternation
even amongst her consular armies. Its position is par-

114 TRAVELS IN, SICILY
ticularly romantic and picturesque ; like an eagle's nesty
perched upon a lofty pinnacle, it seems to bid defiance to
a menacing enemy, who, if it were defended with com
mon bravery or skill, long might vainly gaze on its im
penetrable fastnesses and 'wild retreats. The slaves, many
of whom were distinguished in their native country by
birth, fortune, or renown, no longer able to endure the ig
nominy of their yoke, or submission to the oppression of
their wayward tyrants, justly rose up in rebellion against
their masters, and at the peril of their lives shook off the
galling chains of slavery. An innumerable host of these
servile wretches, at the call of liberty, rallied round the
standard of one Eunus, Antisthenes' slave, who, affecting
to be inspired by divine authority revealed to him in
dreams, created a degree of enthusiasm and desperation
among his adherents which gave strength to his arms : he
lead them from the craggy precipices of Triocola to such
a series of astonishing successes against the Roman prae
tors, that the number of his followers rapidly augmented
to an immense army ; but their cause of freedom was soon
weakened by the want of discipline in their ranks, and the
injudicious excess of revengeful perpetrations; and the
consular army, under Aquilius, struck the last fatal blow to
their hopes of emancipation. The town was razed by the
Romans ; and the Saracens afterwards, attracted by the
advantages of its position, built near its site the present
town of Calata Bellota, which, in many sanguinary con
tests, they defended against the army of the Norman
conqueror. They brought hither, in cases of danger, the
booty of the island, and made it not only the depository
of their richest spoil, but the safe retreat from the attacks
of an overpowing enemy ; but a bloody victory at length
obliged them to acknowledge the dominion of Count
Roger, and fly from the elevated rocks. From the spirit

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 115
of freedom that pervades the mountainous abode, or a
¦coneiousness of local security that inspires its inhabitants,
more modern times have been celebrated for its contempt
of public laws, and a participation of the same rebellious
principles that animated its oppressed ancestors : indeed,
until within very few years, it has been made the asylum
of murderers, the rendezvous of banditti, and even to the
present day, an occasional sanctuary for the perpetrators
of capital crimes.
We soon came to the river* Calata Bellota, so called
because it takes its rise near the town of that name, and
after wading some distance up its stony bed, crossed to the
opposite bank, and ascended a hill thickly clothed with
vineyards, to Ribera, a miserable looking town of about
five thousand unhealthy looking inhabitants. After giving
half an hour's repose to our animals, we continued through
nearly four miles of hilly country, and descended into a
wide-spreading, naked plain open to the sea, forded the
Macassoli, (ancient Isburus), and about four miles farther
to the north-east, came to the banks of the Platani : this
is the Halycus of the ancients, which is confirmed by the
interesting and remarkable notice taken of it by Diodorus,
Plutarch, and Poly bius, although some recent travellers have
designated it as the Hypsa, and the theatre of Timoleon's
victory over the Carthaginians ; the latter of which, Cap
tain Smith, in his Sicilian Memoirs, erroneously states;
confounding with that occurrence, I suppose, the Cartha
ginian army that was landed to the westward of this river
in the second Punic warf , under Himilco, for the purpose
* According to Ptolemy, the Socius of Antiquity.
f 212 b.c l2

116 TRAVELS IN SICILY
of aiding the Syracusans against Marcellus, which is re
corded by Livy in the following terms :— " Per idem fere
tempus et Himilco, qui Pachyni promontorium classem
diu tennerat, ad Heracleam, quam vocant Minoam, quin-
que et viginti millia peditum, tria equitum, duodecem
elephantes exposuit."— Lib. xxiv. cap. 35.
Besides, in the time of Timoleon, the Carthaginians
were in possession of Lilybaeum, and had no occasion to
risk an extensive fleet and armament like that on an ex
posed and open part of the coast.
The site of the ancient town of Minoa and Heraclea
dignifies this stream which was situated on the western
shore towards the mouth, first founded by the followers of
Minos, and afterwards taken possession of by the Hera-
clidae* when they came into Sicily, who gave it importance
by building a large new city on the ruins of the old onef
The Carthaginians, through envy, or perhaps the dread of
its attaining power, dismantled it ; and it was finally
ruined by Agathocles for rebelling against his authority!-
Cicero states, that the Romans again colonized it, and gave
it advantages, but it soon sunk again into a deserted ruin ;
and very little more than the fragments can now be traced
of the wall that surrounded the town. It was celebrated
as a great depository of grain, and the conservatories they
used may still be seen cut out of the rock near the shore,
which proves the similar adopted custom of the present
day to be of the oldest antiquity ; and Polybius, I believe,
mentions its notoriety as a grain store, from whence Lily
baeum was supplied previous to the first Punic war.
* Herodotus, lib. viii. Pausanias, lib. iii.
f The Carthaginians assembled their fleet at Heraclea previous to the
fatal battle of Ecnomos.
| Cicero 4, ad Verr.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 117
The Platani is numbered amongst the most considerable
rivers of Sicily, and although it is apparently in the sum
mer but a trifling stream, from the number of tributary
torrents that in the winter fall into its course, it swells to
an alarming size during the rainy seasons, rushes with
great impetuosity between its banks, and frequently be
comes impassable for days. It is remarkable for having
been made, by Timoleon, the boundary between the Gre
cian and the Carthaginian territories : it serves to record the
days of that hero's greatness, and keeps alive the memory of
his virtues, as well as the conviction of this impressive
truth — that talent and skill, disinterestedly employed in the
noble cause of general good, will never fail either in pro
ducing the most salutary fruits to mankind ; or securing
to the individual who so worthily exerts himself, the un
qualified esteem both of God and man.
Intending to sojourn at Cattolica* for the night, we lei
surely indulged in a meditative ramble along the side of the
river, which is not without its attractions to the eye of a lover
of landscape scenery : the beauties of grace and wildness
pre-eminently adorn some of it's windings, and here and
there a mass of projecting rock, clothed above with the
elegant foldings of vegetation, and a rippling current at
its base, furnish a feature that would enrich the brightest
imaginations of the most skilful artist. We crossed the
stream nearly opposite Cattolica, which, after traversing
about three miles of country, apparently better cultivated,
* The direct road from Sciacca to Girgenti is forty-s-two miles by the
way of Monte Allegro, which may be effected in one day by setting out
early, though it is usual to stop at Seculiana, which is thirty miles, and
to go the remaining twelve the following day, being the more advisable
plan, unless limited time urges the quicker progress.

118 TRAVELS IN SICILY
and covered with almond and other fruit trees on the emi
nences, we entered just as the several churches were tolling
the last peels of the Ave Maria. It stands on the side of
a hill, open to an extensive plain, and distant sea on the
south, and is shut in by a grim looking chain of moun
tains to the north; it is of very modern date, being
founded by the lord of the soil at the commencement of
the seventeenth century, though now a place of eight
thousand inhabitants, chief town of the district, and gives
title to a prince.
Qttr visit hence was for the purpose of examining the
sulphur mines for which it is celebrated, eonsequendy,
at an early hour the following morning, we pro
ceeded to them in company with an intelligent man be
longing to the works, who was recommended to our
notice: they lie about a mile from the town, and are
composed of a variety of caverns containing immense
quantities of sulphur in all its forms and combinations
with other earths, but principally with lime, which is the
prevailing stratum of the neighbourhood. On excavation
it is immediately freed from the extraneous matter by
being thrown into hot pans, having small holes at the
bottom through which the sulphur rans perfectly pure into
reservoirs below ; it is then sent down in cakes to Secu-
liana for exportation.
The mineralogist will find ample source of gratification
amongst the various productions of these caves: they
furnish the richest specimens of apatite, selenite, stron-
tianite, celestine, &c, &c, which occur in all their diversi
fied eolours as well as forms ; massive, fibrous, stellated,
and crystalized; white, grey, beautiful orange, yellow,
red, and frequently of a delicate blue. Stalactitic forma-

TVil'Touu i'f Cattolica from Un- NcvglibourKood ul'lhe
Sul pli Ml' Ml lie* .

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 119
tions also of the most beautiful and curious nature abound
there, as well as enormous geodes* enclosing the most
splendid crystalizations. Having a taste for the science,
and a sufficient smattering to enable me to enjoy the pur
suit, I dwelt with no small degree of delight on the
examination of the many extremely interesting specimens
that surrounded me.
Sicily is a country indescribably rich in its mineral pro
ductions; it is not of submarine volcanic formation, as
innumerable travellers have suggested ; the very form of its
mountains contradicts the assertion ; their pointed, rugged,
uneven summits, and steep acclivities, all characteristics of
the primitive rocks, attest its early existence; ana 1 have
no doubt, at some period or other, it united with the
Calabrian coast ; like it, producing all the gradations ot
mineralogical strata, from the most ancient granite rocks,
to the alluvial soils of the most recent formation : little
is known of the geology or mineralogy of either country.
Since these sciences have engaged the attention of the
present age in its rapid progress of human knowledge, no
researches have been made thither, no scientific connois
seurs have explored the interior of their plains or moun
tains ; which, I fear too, may long continue so, under the
dominion of a listless, unenterprising government, whose
narrow illiberal policy, not only refuses aid to other's
efforts, but jealously interdicts the pursuit of any thing
which tends to enlighten the world, or give freedom to the
human mind.
I feel persuaded, both Calabria and Sicily would furnish
an inexhaustible fund of interesting discovery in many

* >

' These geodes sometimes occur nearly two feet in diameter, lined
with perfect crystals of sulphur and strontian, exhibiting almost all the
prismatic colours.

120 TRAVELS IN SICILY
branches of natural science, if opened to the exertions of
genius, and the speculations of enterprise *. Sicily, of old,
was universally celebrated for its mines of lead, coppery
silver, and gold; and the most aneient writers have re
corded the variety of its precious stones, such as jaspers,
calcedonies, agates, and lapis lazuli, &c, all of which are
still found in many places without pains or cost, and
several of them abounding in every form along its prolific
shores, particularly jaspers, porphery, and agates, of the
finest and richest species. Granite, of various sorts, is
found in the south-eastern districts; and almost every
where veins of the richest marbles, amongst which are
excessively curious dendritic specimens that are employed
in the more ornamental parts of inlaid marble work.
An infinity of metaliferous, as well as earthy minerals,
in all their curious combinations and forms, occur more or
less in the different divisions of the island, many of them
hitherto unknown to the mineralogical world, consequently
remain as yet undescribed. In a volcanic island volcanic
productions are naturally expected to be numerous as well
as the most choice ; and the mighty caverns of iEtna fail
not to furnish all the richest ingredients, and the most fan
tastic formations so peculiar to so curious, so wonderful a
phenomenon; alum, nitre, vitriol, sulphur, hot mineral
springs, springs of naphtha, asphaltum, and bitumen, with
* On my return to Naples in December, I had a long conversation on
this subject with the Abbfe Montecelli, whose learning and general
scientific knowledge has acquired him the admiration and esteem of in
numerable talented foreigners, during their visits there. I was flattered
by his perfectly concurring with my opinions, and he lamented that so
little was done to forward the pursuit of general science in his country;
in uttering which, the shaking his head with an accompanying expressive
shrug, I thought spoke volumes in the cause.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 121
lavas of every gradation and sort, occur not only in the vici"
nity of the mountain, but in various and more distant re
gions of the island, which are influenced by the agency of
subterranean fire. At a distance of fifty and sixty miles
from the crater several parts of the country are strewed
with stones of the most curious nature, and well worthy the
consideration of the naturalist; they are decidedly vol
canic, bearing evident marks of heat, and in some even of
fusion, inclosing clusters of very small marine shells.
The fossils of Sicily are both abundant and curious ; where-
ever the transition and flaetz rocks occur, the most interest
ing organic remains, animal and vegetable, of the various
species and genera, extinct as well as existing, are to be
found in the greatest perfection. The summits of marfy
of the highest mountains are covered with strata of calca
reous matter, in which are imbeded extensive marine de
posits, containing an assortment of the most entertaining
specimens of testaceous fossils, whilst in other parts have been
no less frequently discovered the petrified remains of birds,
amphibious animals, and quadrupeds, amongst which lat
ter, parts of the elephant and rhinoceros have at no very
distant period been imposed on antiquarian curiosity as
fossil remains of the giants that were fabulously said to
have originally inhabited the island.
It is seven miles from Cattolica to Siculiana, through a
sterile, hilly country, with a road over rocks of gypsum, and
nothing to relieve the eye but a few wild shrubs and an
occasional prospect of the sea. About two miles from Si
culiana we entered the bed of the river Canna, where we
joined a convoy of mules, laden with sulphur, from the
mines; their company somewhat animated our solitary
march, and after tracing the course of the stream some
litde distance, we crossed to the opposite bank, and con
tinued with our clamorous companions to the town.

122 TRAVELS IN SICILY
The strange ludicrous noises incessantly applied by Sici
lian muleteers to their animals are altogether beyond the
descriptive powers of the pen, and so novel to the ear of an
English traveller, that it is quite impossible for him to
restrain his risible faculties when journeying at their side.
Siculiana is a miserable looking dirty town, of about five
thousand inhabitants, pleasantly situated at a short distance
from the sea, on two hills, which are connected by a long
street ; the houses are built of gypsum in a very rude style
of architecture, announcing neither regularity, cleanliness,
nor comfort, and the only support to the town is the com
merce in sulphur, the caricatore, or loading place for which
is on the west bank at the mouth of the river Canna ; how*
ever, there being no port, and the coast rocky, they aTe
deprived of advantages that would otherwise accrue if the
accommodation of a harbour enabled vessels to load so
near the mines. In the present case a great proportion of
the sulphur is carried to the port of Girgenti, either in boats
from the Caricatore, or on mules direct from the mines.
The prospect from the lofty eminence on which the
town stands is not unpleasing, it looks down on a fertile
valley, covered with fruit trees, with the dilapidated castle
Chiaramonte * to the west, and a wide expanse of sea to the
south, whose waters the classic tourist will, doubtless, re
cognize as the once animated theatre of naval strife and
contest between the fleets of Carthage, Rome, and the Si
cilian republics. As I beheld the deserted watery waste
before me, now untenanted even by the fisherman's fragile
bark, I could not help reflecting on the melancholy con*
trast, and reverting to the more glorious days of antiquity,
when the gorgeous fleet of Hanno was proudly striding
* This castle was erected during the turbulent times of the fourteenth
century, by Federigo Chiaramonte, whose arms it still bears under a ruined
part of the-attiq.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 123
along the shores to meet the consular armament and the
calamitous fate that awaited him off Ecnomos.
From Siculiana it is eight miles to the port of Girgenti,
over a road and country very much similar to the one we
traversed in the morning, which, though considered rather
better in the estimation of Sicilian travellers, scarcely ap
proaches our ideas of what is barely practicable for the
passage of four-footed animals.
I must confess, during the whole of my journey through
this island, which had been not only inhabited by a people
celebrated as the Greeks were for their luxury and ad
vancement in the arts and improvements of mankind, but
so long in the possession of the Romans, whose roads in
every other country they held dominion over, still consti
tute some of the most lasting monuments of their great
ness, I could not help experiencing the strongest surprize
at the total absence of the slightest trace or vestige of an
cient roads; and the more so, from the rocky nature of the
island, which we may rationally suppose would increase the
difficulty of excavated passages being so entirely effaced
by either the ravages of time or man. Yet it is very evident
there must have existed commodious roads, since from the
concurring testimonies of history, we know the ancients
lead their cavalry, their war chariots, and their elephants
through the island on different occasions ; and that in the
luxurious days of Agrigentum its opident inhabitants
kept splendid vehicles for their convenience*. Some of
my readers will probably suggest the effects of volcanic
action, in the neighbourhood of so formidable a feature as
* Diodorus says, that the opulent citizen Essenetus, returning victori
ous from the Olympic games, made a triumphal entry into the town,
seajted in a splendid chariot, and followed by three hundred others, all
of which were drawn by four beautiful white horses.

124 TRAVELS IN SICILY
that of ^tna : true, it might partially tend to such a
change, but I do not think we have any thing on record
that can warrant so general an hypothesis as the univer
sal obliteration of all the ancient roads of communication
by volcanic eruptions from ^tna ; it is a subject that re
quires philosophical investigation, and I should be glad to
hear the cause satisfactorily explained.
The port of Girgenti (called by the Girgen tines Porto
Nuovo) is comparatively of very modern date, being selected
in the time of Charles I., of Naples, on account of the suit
ableness of its rocky stratum for the establishment of corn
stores, which he caused to be excavated on an extensive
scale, built over them large magazines, and constituted the
place a caricatore, or place of export for corn *, which it has
continued to be ever since, and now possesses a population
of seven hundred inhabitants. A moie was constructed at
the same period as a defence against the sands that washed
in during southerly winds, and choked up the anchorage;
however, in spite of all efforts, considerable deposits still
continue to find their way inside, in consequence of which
a large body of convicts is kept there for the purpose of
clearing away the progressive accumulations of sand and
cleansing the harbour.
The mole is a work of great solidity and compactness ;
it is built of large blocks taken from the ruined temples,
though principally from the one of Jupiter Olympus.
Convenient mooring-posts are fixed in different parts for
the accomodation of vessels, and it is terminated by a
battery and light-house, which, with another fort and light
* The ancient celebrated emporium was at the mouth of the river
Akragus, now called the river Girgenti, but it is now entirely choked
up, and not a fragment indicates the situation of the once tremendous
mole, although the sailors say, in calm clear weather, they can see a ring
under water attached to an immense block of stone.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 125
on the cliff, constitute the nominal protection of the place;
but such is the insignificant twinkling of the One, that ves
sels running in at night are more likely to Confound, with
their boasted pharos, some of the stars in the constellation
of the Great Bear, which, brightly glittering above, seem
more justly to contest the right of guidance ; and so use
less and inefficacious are the others, that they can in no
way operate towards the defence of the place, excepting
in the mere prevention of boats landing within the har
bour. The port is very limited in point of space ; how
ever, the anchorage is good, and safe outside for all
descriptions of vessels, and it is much frequented for the
exportation of sulphur, grain, fruits, &c.
Nothing can exceed the beautiful effect of the present
town of Girgenti from the port, or more particularly from
the anchorage : it stands along the ridge of a rocky, and
one of the highest hills on the coast, fronting the sea, with
its cathedral and castle prominently towering above, and
a fine of architectural ruins just below, pitched on a
variety of eminences in the midst of a luxuriant country,
the prospect of which we enjoyed under every advan
tage as we advanced up the hill towards the tower ; for a
strong shower had just thrown a degree of freshness and
brilliancy over the vegetable world ; and the dying lights
of evening, so suited to the gloomy character of antique
dilapidations, lent a sort of melancholy beauty to the
scene, and imparted a foretaste of the enjoyment we
anticipated in the contemplation of the immortal parts of
the once formidable city of Akragas.
It is about four miles and a half from the port to the
town, by a good, though hilly road, lined with the aloe,
the cactus, and occasional fruit trees. Night crept upon
us before we entered the walls, and the chilly breezes of a

126 TRAVELS IN SICILY
November evening, which the elevated position of Ger-
genti exposed us to, made us feel excessively glad to reach
our place of abode, and indulge in the warmth even of a
pan of charcoal. There are now two locandas here, which
though of a rude nature, competition has caused to be im
proved, and in the one we frequented, of " II Sole," we
found what is most essential to the traveller, clean linen and
moderately good beds, besides an anxious solicitude to
please on the part of our host, which not only enhances the
enjoyment of comfort when it is bestowed, but greatly com
pensates where it is not. The remainder of our evening
was spent in tracing the fate and history of the prostrate
city we were about to visit ; and, in conjunction with the
cicerone who was recommended for our employment, of
marking out our plans for the following morning.
The ancient town 'owes its origin to a colony from the
neighbouring city of Gela, who, under the direction of Pis-
tillus, one hundred and fifty-three years after the building of
Syracuse, and 578 b. c, commenced the foundation of their
subsequently splendid republic. They were of Dorian extrac-*
tion, andgaveitthename of Akragas* (akpafaz), from the ap
pellation they had previously attached to the heights on which
it is built, signifyingits mountainous locality. By dintof those
gigantic labours and vigorous exertions for which the Gre
cian colonists were so peculiarly celebrated, it rose rapidly
into fame and prosperity, and soon attained the power and
authority of an important republic. Its local amenity con
tributed largely to its flourishing condition ; for the rich
productions of the surrounding soil were eagerly sought, at
immense prices, by the Carthaginian traders, which esta
blished such advantageous sources of wealth, that it became
* Aitpa Sommitas, and the Doric word raj terr*. — Polybius.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 127
one of the most opulent and luxurious cities in Sicily, With
a population, in the time of Empedocles, of eight hundred
thousand souls. It was surrounded by massive walls and
fortifications, adorned with magnificent temples, equally
celebrated for the beauty of their architecture as the mag
nitude of their dimensions, and its streets lined with the
splendid palaces of affluent individuals, in competition with
the pomp of royal habitations, which is, together with the
characteristic gourmandise of the Agrigentines, recorded
in the following words of Empedocles : — " The Agrigen
tines build as if they were never to die, and eat as if they
had but another day to live *." They were notorious for
their extraordinary hospitality, and displayed a degree of
courtesy and liberality towards strangers that is unparalleled
in history.
The military prowess of the state was frequently employed
in contesting the palm of power with neighbouring repub
lics, in which they manifested a nobleness and intrepidity
worthy of a brave people.
It was variously ruled, and submitted alternately to
monarchical, democratical, and tyrannical governments.
Under the sway of a virtuous, disinterested magistracy, it
exhibited the most delightful tranquillity and industry, and
seems occasionally to have slumbered away years in the
peaceful fruition of a voluptuous climate, a luxuriant soil,
and the captivating country that surrounded, it often
times agitated by the rivalries and pretensions of republican
administrations, until it ultimately fell under the usurpation
* Valerius Maximus relates, that an opulent citizen of Agrigentum,
named Gellias, used to keep servants at the gates of the city, with express
orders to invite to his house any strangers that might arrive unprovided
with a lodging, and who he never allowed to depart without some gene
rous gift.

128 TRAVELS IN SICILY
of tyranny *, which exposed it to foreign broils as well as
domestic misery.
The luxury and refinement of Akragas gave encourage
ment to genius and talent ; the sun of science illuminated
its walls, and the arts flourished : vases, paintings, and
sculpture, of the most exquisite workmanship, everywhere
adorned both public and private buildings ; and poets, phi
losophers, and historians, rose up to ennoble the pages of
its history ; amongst whom are numbered the well-known
names of Sophocles, Empedocles, and Senocrates. Dino-
locus and Archinus also swell the list of its poets and philo
sophers; the first, a disciple of Epicarmus, wrote fourteen
comedies in the Doric language, and the latter sixty
tragedies. Its power and prosperity not a little excited the jealousy
of the Carthaginians, who, long intent on the subjugation
of the island, now renewed their design, and determined
on commencing their operations against that city. Conse
quently, in the year 409 b. c, they equipped an arma
ment f proportioned to the magnitude of the undertaking,
and gave the command to Himilco and Hannibal J, who
laid desperate siege to the town. They closely invested it,
and built terraces against the walls to facilitate the work of
destruction : but they were bravely defended, and the re
peated attempts of assault were as often frustrated. They §
* The cruel Phalaris was the first usurper of Akragas.
f Polybius and Livy state, composed of one hundred and twenty thou
sand men.
X Hannibal of Rhodes, son of Asdrubal, and grandson of Hamilcar,
who was killed at Himaera.
§ Their priests or soothsayers always objected to this act of impiety,
and to prevent it on this occasion, imputed the pestilence they experienced
to the anger of the gods for their sacriligious work ; in consequence of

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 129
opened the tombs, threw down the sepulchral monuments,
and pursued every system of annihilation they could invent.
The siege lasted eight months, and was accompanied with
indescribable horrors, both on the part of the besiegers and
the besieged ; the former suffering under the most calami
tous effects of pestilence, which carried off Hannibal, their
most skilful commander ; the latter afflicted by the ravages
of famine, which at length reduced them to the galling
necessity of surrendering their town to the fury of a mer
ciless enemy*. All, who could, fled to Gela, and the
remainder were slain, without distinction of age or sex, the
town pillaged, and after serving as winter quarters for the
army, was, by order of Himilco, ruined and destroyed.
Being the first siege the city had experienced, the richness
of the plunder that fell into their hands is incalculable ; the
innumerable specimens of sculpture and painting were
taken by Himilco to Carthage, together with the celebrated
bull of Phalaris f, and every other valuable trophy that
which the tombs were repaired, and human sacrifices were made to Nep
tune and Saturn for the redemption of the crime.
* The opulent Gellias fled into the temple of Juno Lucina for protec
tion, but hearing the enemy respected not even their gods, he set fire to
the splendid fane and destroyed himself.
f A brazen bull, made and invented by'Perillo, of Agrigentum, which,
to gain favour in the eyes of the tyrant Phalaris, he presented to him as
anew instrument of torture. It was of the most beautiful execution, and
hollow inside, for the admission of human bodies, which he proposed to
be burnt alive, by having a fire placed under the bull; small holes were
made in the sides, through which the cries and groans of the tortured
produced sounds like the bellowing of the animal. The tyrant admired
the skill of the artist, who, he said, must possess the soul of a brute to
imagine so horrible a machine, therefore made the first experiment on the
poor inventor himself; and afterwards continued to exercise his Cruelties
on others, by which, according to Diodorus, he made himself so noto
rious for his tyranny. The bull was restored to Agrigentum by Scipio.

130 TRAVELS IN SICILY
could give splendour to his successes in the eyes: of the Car*
thaginian senate.
Such was the destruction of Akragas, that it no longer
bore the semblance even of a city ; it lay fifty years under
its ruins, and would have remained deserted and forgotten,
if Timoleon had not afterwards reassembled its old inha->
bitants, and sent thither a colony from Elos * to re-people
its devastated abodes, and restore its fallen importance-
Nearly a century and a half afforded ample time for com
parative recovery from all its disasters, and towards the
commencement of the first Punic war, it again ranked
amongst the formidable cities of the south coast, but now
engaged in the interests of the Carthaginians, who, learning
that king Thero, of Syracuse, had deserted their cause, and
formed an alliance with Rome, determined to make Akragas
the rendezvous of their forces ; consequently, in the third
year of the war, sent an army of mercenaries, under Han
nibal, to garrison and defend it, which they had no sooner
effected, than the Romans, under the consuls Poshumius
and Mamilius, vigorously attacked them, and after a
tedious siege of seven months, during which both parties
alternately suffered disadvantages, the Carthaginians were
forced by famine to surrender f, and Hannibal, with the
greater number of his troops, fled unperceived during the
night, by crossing the Roman works, over faggots with which
he filled up the entrenchments. The city was entered without
resistance in the morning, given up to pillage, and made
subject to the Roman empire, under the new appellation
of Agrigentum ; but destiny seemed to have marked her
* Elos, a city of Achaia, that had been swallowed up by the sea.
f This was the first important conquest the Romans gained over the
Carthaginians in the first Punic war.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 101
for a luckless fate ; the ancient city now no longer assumed
any pretensions; it became the sport of fortune, and foil a
prey to the various contending parties during the first aasd
second Punic wars.
In the year 212 b. c. the Carthaginians again took pos
session of it, by an army under Hanno, who landed at Hera
clea, and maintained their position three years, in spite of
Marcellus and the consul Lsevinius ; and even then the city
was surrendered* only through the treachery of a disgraced
Numidian officer. Laevinius gave it up to pillage and rapine,
the results of which may be pretty well imagined. This
completed the total reduction of Sicily, which then became
the granary of Rome -j-.
At what period Agrigentum was entirely destroyed and-
deserted, 1 can find no precise authority to state ; though
we may safely, I think, infer, from concurring circum
stances,: that it must have received its annihilating blow
during the incursions of the barbarous hordes of the dark
ages ; for, from the testimony of Cicero J, We know it was1
standing in his time, that the temples were still venerated
and frequented, and that the inhabitants were in sufficient
number to rebel against, and successfully oppose, the rapa-*
city of the wicked Verres.
It was also in existence in the year of our Saviour 825,
when the Saracens entered it, who are then supposed to
have founded the new town, on account of the strength of
its position. It stands on the site of the ancient Camicus,
* See Livy's interesting account, lib. xxvi., and Polibius, lib. i.
f Livy tells us, after this, under the pratorship of Titus Manlius, it
was again colonized by Romans, and part of the old inhabitants, who had
fled to different towns in the neighbourhood.
I Cicero ad Ver. lib. vi. and x.
K 2

132 TRAVELS IN SICILY
the residence of king Cocalus, for whom Daedalus con
structed a fortress to enclose the king's treasure, all of which
was razed, long previous to the arrival of the Greeks, by
the Cretans, who came to revenge the death of their king,
Minos *.
In the year 1086, the Norman conquerors, under Count
Roger, took the town from the Saracens, fortified it, and
according to their accustomed laudable and characteristic
exertions in the propagation of christian faith, founded the
cathedral, and established the bishopric, which was con
firmed under the popedom of Urban II. Different branches
of the Chiaramonte family increased the place by erecting
castles, founding convents, &c. in the fourteenth century;
and it is now a town of between fourteen and fifteen thou
sand inhabitants, but excessively dirty and irregular, with
narrow streets., almost impassable for carriages, although
two or three of the nobility do keep them for the purpose
of promenading up and down half a mile of road, expressly
kept in repair for their limited indulgence.
* Minos came with an army in search of Dsedalus, and under the
pledge of hospitality, resided with Cocalus, and fell in love with his
daughter, who, in concert with the father, scalded him to death whilst in
the bath, at the same time uttering lamentations and calling the attendants
to prove he had died a natural death whilst he was taking a hot bath.
Cocalus afterwards persuaded the followers of Minos to remain in the
island, und they accordingly founded a new town, which they called
Minoa, in memory of their king.

SB

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 133

CHAPTER V.

On waking in the morning, I was naturally led to the
window by that instinctive propensity which impels the
generality of travellers on rising from a strange bed, to peep
through every outlet in search of the novel scenes and
objects they expect to be surrounded with ; and what a
spectacle ! — what a voluptuous landscape lay unexpectedly
spread before me ! It broke at once like the creation of
enchantment on my sight; for some moments I almost
doubted the truth of what I saw, and more than once rubbed
my eyes to assure myself it was not the momentary illusion
of those aerial charms of the soul's imaginings which we
are occasionally apt to indulge in ; or the remaining impres
sions of some delicious dream from which I had suddenly
awoke — but no ! all was reality; and transported with the
delectable enjoyment of it, I sat for some minutes stretch
ing my gaze over the intoxicating scene, without being
able to give utterance to the feelings it called forth. The
window looked to the south towards the shore and upon the
luxuriant vale beneath, embracing at one coup d'ceil the
whole theatre of that attractive country we had been with
so much enthusiasm anticipating the contemplation of. The
sun, too, was just rising in all the splendour of his morning
brightness, spreading a blaze of golden light over the rich
brown masses of ruin that crown the undulating eminences
of Aorigentum's ancient site. To the east a tract of un
cultivated, yet imposing heights contrast their mournful
sterility with the reach of sunny country that borders on the
west, enriched with luxuriant groves of olive, almond,

134 TRAVELS IN SICILY
orange-trees, and vines ; whilst, in the centre, the noble, the
elegant fane of Concord elevates, with an air of command
ing and impressive grandeur, its massive, yet tottering
columns, like some tutelary deity of the surrounding scene.
In the front, the Mediterranean expanded its ceruleau
bosom as far as the eye could reach, enlivened by the
blanched sails of a few fishing barks in the distance, tha,t
had availed themselves of the first break of day to toil upon
its waters, besides a Turkish frigate and xebeck that were
slowly gliding from the port, whither we were told they had
been recruiting their stock of provisions and water. A
thousand different emotions flitted across my heart as I
viewed this lovely picture, and I felt at once the splendour,
the majesty, and magnificence that prosperous Akragas must
haye. boasted in her proudest days of greatness. I could
not hplp thinking bow much such a scene was calculated
to compensate a refined mind for the many disappointments
and mortifications incidental to a tour in this island. Whe
ther we heboid it for the charms of retrospection, and make
it the telescope through which to trace the numberless in
teresting events that have distinguished its early history;
whether we vie wit for the incomparable specimens of archi
tectural antiquities that ennoble its heights ; or whether the
eye wanders over the endless varieties of its surface, where
nature has shed all her graceful ornaments, and blended
her most enchanting beauties ; it must elicit equal admi
ration, and yield equal satisfaction and delight.
The sites pf many ruined monuments and antique remains
(as many of my readers will also have observed) exhibit bat
a mass of fragments altogether unintelligible and unpleas-
ing to the eye, and owe their interest solely to the under
standing, by aid of an intimate association with the past,
their beauties being sjone perceptible through the magpi-

AND. THE LIPARI ISLANDS.

135

fying medium of the imagination ; but here the visible
attractions pre-eminently contest the palm of merit with
those of the fancy and association, and claim an equal pro
portion of ardour from the man of taste and feeling.
At the same time let me not, by this description, encou
rage the traveller to believe he will find there parks, plea
sure-grounds, fanciful plantations, or decorated villas and
palaces. No, it is artless, uncivilized nature ; and which,
though rude and neglected, aided by a genial climate and
the mellowed tints of a southern sky, combines all that is
beautiful both of land and sea.
After breakfast we proceeded on donkeys to the ruins,
accompanied by our obsequious cicerone. The road leads
from the eastern gate, and after traversing an abrupt de^
scent to the right, (from whence a beautiful prospect of the
scene in front is worthy of remark), passes along a rocky
declivity, interspersed with an infinity of sepulchral excava
tions. To the right lay the ancient town, bordered to the
east and west by two branches of the river Akragas, which
unite ahout a mile below, previous to falling into the sea.
On a conic eminence to the eastward stood the temple of
Ayytm, dedicated to chastity, as the name expresses, and
was one of the earliest edifices of the colonists, who also
frequently called it the temple of the virgins, because its
altars were committed to the guardianship of a certain num
ber of young girls : hence the appellation of a tower raised
on its site during the tumults of the middle ages, which in
more modern times was known by the name of the " Torre
delle Pucelle ;" but even that has disappeared, and scarcely
more than a few isolated fragments of either remain to
identify the spot.
In the south-east angle, near the wall which formed the
defence on the sea side, are the beautiful ruins of a tern-

136 TRAVELS IN SICILY
pie, dedicated to Juno Lucina. It rises, as it were, majes
tically out of a luxuriant grove of olive trees, which grace
fully fold round its northern base, and stands on the sum
mit of a rocky ridge looking towards the sea on the south,
ItisaDoricperiptere of thirty-six fluted columns; namely,
six in the fronts and thirteen at the sides, of those massive
dimensions which characterise the earliest style of that
order. It is built on an artificial basement, nearly twelve
feet in height, composed of immense blocks of stone, which
add considerably to the effects of its imposing grandeur,
and exhibits an object of the most striking beauty and sub
limity to the eye of an observer who views it from amongst
the wooded shades beneath ; a few rich verdant shrubs,
growing round the dilapidated parts of the base, give an
elegant finish to the picture, and a noble aloe, that had but
recently flowered, and seemingly just divested of its blos
somed beauty, elevated its lofty stem up the side of the
wall, as if intent on peeping into the hallowed fane, and
bidding a last adieu to the companion of its numbered days,
ere it fell lifeless to the ground, from whence it had so
proudly risen.
We unbridled our long-eared steeds, and turned them
out to graze whilst we were occupied in the examination
and measurement of the ruins. The area, or common
plinth on which the pillars stand, is graduated by three
steps from the basement, and is one hundred and eleven
feet seven inches long, with a breadth of fifty-five feet
six inches. The shafts taper away without any swell,
from three feet six inches diameter under the ovolo, to
four feet six inches at the base. The ovolo tapers, with
a neat finish to the abacus, which is prominent and im
posing, well suited to the ponderous magnitude of the
entablature it supports. The north side alone is entire,

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 137
with the architrave and small proportion of the frieze ; the
remainder having fallen in a violent storm* from the
north-west, in the year 1774, accompanied, it is supposed,
with a slight shock of earthquake. Of all the divinities in
the pagan world, there was none more solemnly, or more
generally worshipped, than that of Juno, particularly in
the character of Lucina, when she peculiarly presided
over child-birth, and became an object of enthusiastic
adoration amongst the ancients of her sex, who propi
tiated her favours by enriching her temples, and offering
up a variety of sacrifices at her shrine. One of her most
splendid temples was raised in Rome, a. u. c. 396, in
which the Roman women consecrated one of the most
exquisite and splendid statues of the goddess. The one
also under our present consideration is reputed, according
to the testimony of many ancient writers, to have been
remarkable for the magnificence of its interior : it was de
corated with the finest works of the most skilful artists,
and Diodorus tells us, possessed a painting of Juno Lu
cina, that was esteemed the most incomparable produc
tion of the celebrated Zeuxis ; who, to satisfy the ambition
of the Agrigentine ladies, and do justice to his own
talents, selected the finest parts from five of the most beau
tiful virgins of Agrigentum, who occasionally appeared
naked before the artist, and enabled him to mould one of
the most perfect models of the female form. The fact is
confirmed by Pliny, as well as Aristotle : all was however
destroyed, when the Carthaginians first besieged the town,
* The reader will naturally imagine, from the direction of the storm,
why the southern columns, which were the least exposed, should have
been the most affected ; the reason of which is, that those parts of all the
temples which are open to the sea are invariably the weakest and most
dilapidated, from the corrosive action of the sea air.

138 TRAVELS IN SICILY
by the famous Gellias, who, together with an immense
number of women, depending on the protection of the
gods and the respect for their altars, fled thither for se
curity when the enemy entered the gates ; but in vain did
the altars flow with the blood of the sow and the ewe-
lamb; in vain were the offerings* of dittany and poppies
strewed before the shrine of the favourite divinity : the
merciless soldiers, reckless of the holy fane, vowed indisr
criminate vengeance ; which, on being made known, the
opulent citizen set fire to the building, and perished, with
all its contents, in the flames.
From the temple of Juno Lucina, the wall that con
stituted the southern boundary of the city runs all along
the precipice towards the west : it is formed out of the live
rock by excavating all the stone within to a level with
the depth of the wall, and must have been originally of
extraordinary solidity : small recesses of different forms
and sizes are cut in the inner side, suggested by some
travellers to have been coffins ; but we know it was cou>-
trary to the custom to inter within the city, therefore it
becomes quite a matter of doubt as to the use they were
appropriated by the ancients. Were they intended as the
depositories of dedicatory urns to public characters and
great men, which, in their original finished state, with
appropriate inscriptions, would not only have proved or
namental, but useful in keeping alive the memory of dis
tinguished personages, and thereby' influencing existing
generations by the honours that were paid to the merits
of departed genius and virtue ; or were they receptacles
for popular idols and tutelary deities, such as we see in

* Sacrifices and offerings usually made to conciliate the favours of the
goddess.

e>

c0

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 189
the more modern days of paganism in Italy, Spain, and
Portugal ?
The next temple is that chaste and beautiful one,
usually known by the name of Concord* : it stands in a
similar position to the one described, being elevated in a
most commanding view, on the borders of the rock
nobly towering over all the picturesque objects that lie
within its precincts : like the other, it is a Doric periptere
of thirty-six fluted columns, with six in the fronts, and
entire in all its parts, with the exception of a few stones in
the cornice of the pediments ; but evidently of later date
than that of Juno, from the exquisite and superior style in
which all its component parts are finished. It is nearly of
the same proportions, though somewhat larger, being one
hundred and twenty feet in length, and fifiy-nine feet
nine inches in breadth. The intercolumniations are five
feet nine inches, with a diameter pf three feet six inches
under the ovolo, and four feet ten inches at the base.
The entablature is ponderous, and the cornice more than
usually projecting, which probably adds to the dignified
effect of its massiveness. The cella is standing, with a
portal in the front between two pillars and two pilasters,
and six small arched doors at the sides, besides a staircase
to the right and left, communicating with the roof. At
* It received this appellation from the circumstance of a marble table
found somewhere near it to the following effect: —
Concordiae Agrigentinorum sacrum,
Respublica Lilibitanorum,
Dedicantibus, M. Atterio candido
Procos : et L. Cornelio Mar
Cello. Q. PR. PR.
Which I consider, however, in due submission to antiquarian science, to
be no authority: for what can a Roman inscription have to do with a
temple that must have been built long ere Rome was known to Akragas.

140 TRAVELS IN SICILY
the east end there is an area or pronaos* attached to the
building, composed of large blocks of stone, with a flight
of steps leading up from the side, which commands as fine
and interesting a subject for the pencil as the draughtsman
can possibly desire or imagine. Supposing the spectator
to be seated on the wall, with his back to the sea, he will
have immediately on his left, in the front ground, the
beautiful facade of the temple; beyond the outer pillars of
which the modern town appears ranged along the heights
in the distance, with the Dominican convent and gardens
on a hill to the right of it ; the church of San Nicholo,
and Franciscan convent below, picturesquely varied with
groups of olive and almond trees, that time has gracefully
raised over the ruined habitations, and once animated
scene of the Grecian city.
Altogether this ancient edifice, from its remarkable site,
high state of preservation, and architectural beauty, is one
of the most irresistibly striking objects I ever saw : highly
wrought in its ponderous and symmetrical individualities,
it is at once graceful, elegant, energetic, and austere ; and
exhibits a fine specimen of the wonderful durability of
these monuments of Grecian art.
In 1762, its dilapidated parts were strengthened and
repaired by Ferdinand IV., which, notwithstanding the
merit it claims, is with execrably bad taste commemorated
by a staring inscription to that effect, on a white ground,
at the lower part of the architrave ; an undeniable eye-sore
to the venerable character of the edifice.
* Many people are apt to confound the pronaos with the portico,
which I consider perfectly distinct ; the former being, as the Greek word
expresses it, a space merely in front of the temple, whilst the latter forms
a part of it, and is what the Greeks called 2T»a, hence the appellation
Stoics, because the followers of Zeno held their controversial meetings in
porticos.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 141
A little more than a quarter of a mile, along the same
line of wall, stood the temple of Hercules, where the
classical reader will easily recognise the position from
whence the plundering soldiers of Temarchides * were de
servedly precipitated.
One melancholy looking shaft alone is standing, like a
sentinel placed by antiquity to watch over the prostrate
pile of ruins, all of which seem to have fallen within the
area of the edifice, forming a perfectly disti net heap. Many
of the broken columns I found to measure seven feet in
diameter. It was the largest finished temple of the city f,
and held in the most sacred respect by the Agrigentines,
who proved their veneration by the bravery with which
they defended it against the violators of its altars. Its value
was enhanced by the possession of two of the richest works
of art the age could produce, namely, a superlatively exe
cuted bronze statue of Hercules, celebrated by Cicero,
who states such was the enthusiastic adoration and fond
ness for this image, that the lower part of the face was (like
the great toe of St. Peter) almost worn away by the oscu-
latory rites of the pagan worshippers. The other was a
painting by Zeuxis of the young Hercules, represented in
the act of strangling the serpents in his cradle, with Alc-
mena and Amphitrion, who, just entering the apartment,
stand terrified and aghast at the miraculous powers of the
infant boy J. Pliny, describing the exquisite beauty of
* A band of mercenary troops, commanded by Temarchides, was sent
by the rapacious Verres to plunder the temple of its riches, and particu
larly of the valuable statue of the god, but the guards spread the alarm
amongst the citizens, who repaired to the place, and after a desperate con
flict succeeded in driving out the sacrilegious depredators, many of whom
were thrown down the cliffs by the exasperated multitude.
t The one of Jupiter Olympus never having been completed.
t The celebrated statue alluded to in the splendid fane of St. Peter's
at Rome, is of bronze, an ancient image of some pagan deity converted

142 TRAVELS IN SICILY
this work, mentions, that the artist held it in such invaluable
estimation, that he could not affix a. price to his chef
d'ceuvre, therefore presented it to the Agrigentines for the
decoration of their temple. Both works were sent by Hi
milco to Carthage, but restored again by Scipio after the
destruction of that city. What was their final destiny I
could not learn, though I have no doubt they became the
ultimate property of the Roman conquerors.
The notice of already two inestimable productions of one
of the renowned painters of antiquity, induces me to di
gress a little from my subject, for the purpose of expressing
my astonishment at the erroneous opinion which, I think,
seems generally to prevail in modern days with regard to
the state of painting amongst the ancients, it being consi
dered as having by no means attained the same height of
perfection as the sister art of sculpture. My own impres
sion is, that in every refined country the art of painting
has always kept pace with that of sculpture, and that the-
perishable nature of the materials which the former em
ploys, has alone prevented its specimens being handed
down to Us like those of the latter. Paintings- suffer mate
rial injury from a variety of circumstances, independent of
the violence of man; from corrosive concretions, which, by
neglect, form upon the surface ; from decay of the sub
stance on which the painting lies, &c.-— whilst sculptural sub
jects have not only, from the durability of the marble of
which they are composed, withstood the test of time, but
after being hurled from their pedestals in the destructive

into a modern apostle for the worship of Roman Catholic idolaters; and!
such is the religious warmth it excites in adorers, that the greattoe (which
is the part, peculiarly selected by the faithful for the expression' of their
zeal), has actually been kissed away, replaced, and again almost redueed
to annihilation-.

AND THE LIPATM ISLANDS. 143
moments of local revolutions, and having laid in a state of
mutilation for centuries under ground, have been again
resuscitated, put together, restored to their almost pristine
beauty, and handed down through a succession of ages of
refinement for the admiration and criticism of our modern
taste*. We can judge of painting alone by the description and
opinions of ancient writers, whose unqualified eulogies of
many individual productions of the art give us every reason
to think favourably of the powers of ancient masters. We
learn, too, from the concurring testimony of historians,
that men of taste and letters every where sought and en
couraged the works of one art as well as the other. The
Carthaginian generals in their Sicilian conquests were
equally avid in the attainment of paintings and of sculp
ture, and of which they bore away innumerable highly
appreciated specimens to enrich the galleries of their
proud city.
Herodotus, Pausanias, and Plutarch tell us that the con
querors of Greece eagerly seized and carried away all the
beautiful chefs d'ceuvre of the pencil that adorned the pub
lic buildings, and that Xerxes entirely despoiled the beauti
ful temples of their paintings, which he sent as a present
to, his uncle Artabanes. The latter author also states, that
some of the most curious and exquisite works of that art
* The paintings of Pompeii and H«rculaneum are the only extant pro
ductions of the ancients, and although they exhibit a wonderful degree of
genius in the spiritedness of the composition, the beauty of colouring,, and
grace and elegance of their style, I do not consider them the standard by
Which we ought to judge of the state of the then art, any more than, pos
terity ought to form their opinions of the productions of West, Turner,
Wilkie, and Lawrence, from the works of house painters, which might be
found on the interior walls of London houses, supposing the town to have
undergone the same revolution as that of Pompeii.

144 TRAVELS IN SICILY
which hung round the walls of the temple of Minerva at
Plata^a, were still in existence in his time.
The next temple that comes under our notiee is the one
of Jupiter Olympus, whose site and dimensions are imme
diately recognised from the descriptions of Cicero and
Diodorus ; it was separated only by a street from the one
of Hercules, and is reputed to have been in point of archi
tectural magnitude the most stupendous fane of the heathen
world. According to the authority of Polybius and Dio
dorus, the Carthaginian war suspended the completion of
the interior, and it suffered in process of time a similar fate
to almost all the others, namely, of being levelled with the
earth, where it now lies in broken and unconnected masses,
sufficiently peifect, however, in the detail to admit of exact
measurement*. It was a hypaethros, of fourteen columns at the sides and
seven at the ends, measuring three hundred and sixty-four
English feet long, and one hundred and seventy-five broad
on the upper area or basement of the pillars. The inter-
columniations were walled up, contrary to any heretofore
known style, and the interior surfaces of the columns were
squared off with a flat level, unquestionably, I think, in
tended for the placement of those colossal figures of giants
that have been found at various periods, and may have
rested on high pedestals, supporting a heavy ornamented
entablature, to commemorate the subjugation of the giants
* Diameter of columns, thirteen feet; length of shaft, fifty-five feet;
depth of ovolo, three feet ; ditto of abacus, two feet and a half; architrave,
eleven feet ; frieze, twelve feet; cornice, four feet ten inches; pediment,
twenty-five feet; flutings of pillars, two feet wide. The capitals are di
vided into quarter pieces, uniting the ovolo and abacus, with deep intag
lios in the form of a horse-shoe, for the purpose of introducing ropes to
raise them into their places.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 145
by the heathen god of Olympus, to whom the temple was
most solemnly dedicated, as the Persians * of Pausanias
portico, which, but a few years before, had been invented
to celebrate the glorious victory of Plataea. I do not know
how far my antiquarian readers will bear me out in such
an opinion, particularly when opposed to that of the inge
nious and scientific Cockerell ; at the same time I feel such
an hypothesis strongly supported by a variety of facts ;
namely, the flatness and unfinished state of the backs as
well as the heads of the figures, which clearly establish
their having stood against a flat surface, and borne a super
incumbent body : independent of which, the more convinc
ing proof adduced by a Latin poem, composed to record
the fall of the last standing remains f of the edifice in 1401,
which has been handed down by the Sicilian annalists to
the following effect:
Qua veteris una tibi monumenta decoris
Magnorum testes operum gazaque potentis,
Virtutumque fuere Acragas gens clara tuarum
Reliquiae cecidere, et terno Athlante revulso
Sublimes miseram muri oppetiere ruinam,
Nunc ubi sunt Siculis regno de Principe signa
Quae referas 1 Oppressa jacent foedisque sepulta
Ruderibue, quorum spoliis se nona decembris
Unus a mille, et centum quater induit anni
Lux inimica, tua clade, et squallore triumphans.
Diodorus % informs us the tympanum of the eastern pe-
* Persians are male figures supporting heavy entablatures, and were
invented to keep alive the memory of the great victory gained by Pausa
nias over the Persians, who were for the first time lead in slavery to
Athens : they are generally confounded with Caryatides or Carians, which
are confined to female figures, supporting also, a heavy entablature, to
commemorate the total conquest of the Carians, and the infamy of their
wives, who were dragged into captivity by the Athenians.
f Part of the wall, including three pillars and three giants.
I Lib. xiii., chap. 24. L

146 TRAVELS IN SICILY ¦
diment was ornamented with a sculptural group, represent
ing the battle of the giants, the grandiosity and elegance
of which he describes as being unequalled ; and in the
western pediment a beautifully expressed subject of the
siege of Troy.
The scene now displayed, where once this magnificent
fabric raised its ponderous walls, affords a melancholy me
mento of the fame and greatness of Akragas ; and the mag
nitude of its now immoveable fragments excite the admira
tion and wonder of the traveller as he wanders through the
dilapidated waste. However, time has mitigated the ap
palling-appearance of the ruin by the graceful distribution
of a variety of shrubs and trees, whose spicy fragrance and
luxuriant fruits now fall where the blood of victims would
have .flowed, and whose folding branches spread their um
brageous foliage over the intended shrine of the Olympic
deity. A few almond and 'fig trees, with a fine pistachio, con
trast their mottled verdure with the mellow browned heaps
they shade ; and the place is rendered inexpressibly inter
esting in the 'early part of the year by a .prodigious number
of nightingales, which, from some unaccountable attach
ment, more particularly frequent this spot, selecting some
shaded branch from whence to pour forth the melancholy
yet pleasing expression of their gurgling song. The people
of Girgenti boast the possession of these lovely enchanters,
and are oftentimes led thither for the purpose of indulging
in the ravishing sweetness of their evening harmony.
Just as "we -were about to take our departure from this
lovely scene, a ludicrous occurrence interrupted for a few
minutes the agreeable train of thought that had been
awakened by the hallowed spot we were quitting, as well
as the happiness of our cicerone, who, being the proprietor

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 147
of the donkeys we rode, had, on alighting, with sagacious
caution, fixed the animals by their bridles to a weighty
block of stone ; but they, from some natural instinct, or
a previous knowledge of the locality, conscious of the
abundant store the place furnished of their favourite food,
broke from their limited tether in quest of the delicious
pasture ; consequently, on our return, we beheld, to the in
expressible horror of the guide, the broken bridles on the
ground, without the slightest signs of the beasts they had
so recently restrained ; nor could we, after diligent search,
discover the most distant traces of them, excepting the
suspicion that they were already in the service of another
master ; having crossed the path of a sailor, who, on in
quiry, intimated he had seen a man driving two donkeys
towards the port, at the hearing of which poor Giovanni,
With repeated signs of the cross, vociferatingly hailed the
blessed virgin, and invoked the protection of Saint An
tonio*, both of whom his superstitious zeal afterwards con
vinced him had graciously listened to bis appeal ; for on re
tracing our.steps through the ruins, we espied thelpngTeared
grazers tranquilly feasting onsome thistles, obscured from our
previous search by. a triglyph and capital, between which
they iwere snugly impaled ; when he joyfully exclaimed,
"•.Guards ,un poco.signQre, quantp e buona la Santa Ma
donna anche il nostro Sant Antonio." Near this temple
stood tije sea gate, parts of which still remain to, mark, the
spot. In the garden of the convent of San Nicfiolp massy
remains may be seen of some ancient architectural monu
ments, now baptized by the name of Cicero's.Palace. We
knoW Cicero performed the office of prffitor here, andrthat
heiinhabitexl a;Jarge building called, the Prffitorian Palace,
but.weihave no. authority to affix inexact position. Near
<* The patron saint of horses, asses, and mules. l2

148 TRAVELS IN SICILY
here also stood the theatre, which Jiulio Frontino, an Ita
lian author, states to have been of great height and splen
dour. To the south, without the town, and just below the
temple of Hercules, still stands, in melancholy solitude, the
celebrated tomb of Theron, which escaped the disastrous
demolition of the sepulchres by the army of Himilco,
through an artifice of the Carthaginian soothsayers, who
looked with evil bodings on such sacrilegeous outrage. It
had been just struck with lightning, which they declared
was an ominous signal of heaven, and held it impious to
touch that which was evidently marked by the gods, which
alone withheld the revengeful sword of the destroyers, and
preserved this remaining monument of the dead. Some
authors have doubted its identity, considering it one of
those sepulchral monuments which the Agrigentines were
accustomed to raise over their fallen coursers, or a favourite
steed ; however, the authority of Polybius not only proves
the existence of such a tomb, but also identifies its site,
when he states, " The tomb of Theron, situated opposite the
temple of Hercules, was struck by lightning :" independent
of which, Diodorus, in his second book, says, " on ac
count of the justice, modesty, and clemency with which
Theron, during sixteen years, governed the state, monu
ments were erected at his death, and divine honours esta
blished to commemorate his merits."
The edifice is twenty-nine feet and a half high, com
posed of two stories, the lower one of pyramidal form,
thirteen feet in diameter at the base, and nine at the top,
supporting a second, decorated with Ionic pilasters at the
corners, and a window in the centre. There was, how.-
ever, no attic, as has been remarked by some travellers,
for part of the entablature which crowned the building
still remains with its triglyphs. Within there is a vault,

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AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 149
ground floor, and chamber in the Ionic story, with a small
stair of communication ; and I have no doubt, in its
unimpaired and perfect state, with appropriate ornaments
and inscriptions, it may have been a splendid monumental
structure ; but the eye is too apt to judge of things as they
are ; and buildings composed of dead walls (very different
to columnar edifices), when by dilapidation they are di
vested of their ornamental accessories, lose a great propor
tion of their interest, as well as beauty, for which reason
many visitors have inconsiderately passed unmerited con
demnation on the object in question.
Its situation is classically picturesque, being enshrined as
it were in a solitary sanctuary devoted to itself alone, with
a grove of trees in the front, under whose gracefully
bending boughs the spectator discovers in the distance the
elegant temple of Concord towering over the ruined walls
of the precipice ; and beyond it, in beautiful perspective, the
tottering shafts of Juno Lucina, with a rich garden of olives
spreading beneath, to give a softened effect to this fascinat
ing landscape of classical history.
As I sat upon the fragment of a capital sketching the
lovely picture before me, I indulged in the day dreams of
imagination, associating myself with the city as it was, and
the distinguished ancients that once animated its crowded
streets and peopled its gorgeous palaces ; for the fancy de
lights in roving through the fields of distant time, and con
templating the records of ages that are gone ; and here
what an exhaustless source of intellectual amusement !
what an expanse for the exercise of rapturous thought !
A quarter of a mile to the westward of the temple of
Jupiter Olympus stood the one of JEsculapius*, so re-
* Two Doric columns, inserted in the wall of a modern edifice to the
southward of the temple of Concord towards the portt have been desjg-

150 TRAVELS IN SICILY
nowned in days of antiquity for the possession of the in*
comparable statue of Apollo, which is also known to have
visited Carthage after the siege, and constituted the boast
and glory of that city until Scipio redeemed the treasure^
and nobly restored it to the Agrigentine shrine. It was
the work of Miro, whose name CiGero says was inscribed
in silver on its side. The minute description of Polybius;*
enables us to identify the site of this temple, which he Says
stood at the west end of the town looking towards Heraclea.
Nothing,' however, now remains but mutilated shafts,- a
few fragments of columns, &c, which lie scattered in a
vineyard that occupies the site, surrounded by a tuft of
carob trees.
Many other temples existed in various parts of the
town, particularly the one of Minerva (also recorded by
Poly bias), to the westward of these temples, on a hill,
which was by the citizens of Akragas denominated
Aflawio?- *o<f«s-, but nothing remains to afford satisfactory
proof of their indentity; and what I have already de
scribed are sufficient to attest the beauty of ancient archi
tecture, as well as the luxury and power of the Agrigen-
tines. They are all of the Doric order, and built of a soft
porous stone, which was excavated from the quarries to
the westward of the Franciscan convent, and constitutes
the rocky stratum of the surrounding country. It is
formed from a concrete agglutination of marine sub
stances, enclosing beautiful specimens of testaceous fossils*
particularly of the Cytheraea and Venus species, some of
which are astonishingly remarkable for their size, high
nated as the remains of the temple of iEsculapius, but evidently without
the slightest foundation ; for neither the character of the pillars, nor the
situation, accord with the description of Polybius.
t Polybius, book i.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 151
state of perfection, and the wonderful preservation of their
natural colour.
Neither cement or mortar hold together these enormous
fabrics; they depend alone, for their strength and unity,
on the ponderous immoveable masses of which they are
formed ; and had it not been for the destructive revolu
tions of man, aided by the effect of terrestrial convulsions,
even the sweeping scythe of time would have handed
them down to us the perfect and most durable master
pieces of human art *.
Though we are not acquainted with the dates of their
erection, we know that the principal ones, as well as the
vivarium, the acqueducts, and other colossal works, with
which Akragas was adorned, were built after the defeat
of the Carthaginians, at Himera, in the year before
Christ 479, by Gelo and Theron, who divided the pri-r
soners amongst the friendly powers, to he employed in
public works for the use and ornament of their cities.
The vivarium lay to the west of the temples, just without
the walls, and, according to Diodorus and Athenaeus, con
stituted one of the most facinating objects, as well as the
most beautiful terminations to the magnificent city of
Akragas, that can well be imagined : the former states it
to have been seven stadia in circumference, and twenty
cubits deep, supplied with water by springs and streams
that were led into it from the north: an abundance of
swans and wild fowl inhabited the surface, and it supplied
every variety of fish f for the luxurious repasts of the rich.
It was excavated by the Carthaginian captives, and con-
* Cicero, lib. vi.
t We have nothing on record, I helieve, to inform us whether salt
water fish formed part of the contents of this conservatory, receiving new
form and flavour as in the Guernsey vivarium of the present day. — Vide
M'Culloch's Treatise on the subject.

152 TRAVELS IN SICILY
secrated by the citizens to the memory of Gelon, the
friend and liberator of Sicily.
It began to decay in the time of Diodorus, and now the
form alone is apparent; and the watery element has given
place to a captivating exhibition of luxuriant vegetation.
The remains of tombs the traveller will observe to
abound in all those parts that formed the suburbs of the
city, though particularly beyond the eastern branch of the
river, in that part called Neapolis, and afterwards, by the
Latins, the vale of the dead ; some were square, others
round at the top, with niches which contained vases and
urns, the votive offerings of friefids and relatives. Many
of these vases have been recently excavated, and may be
purchased from the owners ; though I ought to avert those
of my readers who travel hence, of the attempts frequently
made' to impose admirable imitations of modern manufac
ture on the unskilled visitor : the ancient ones are infi
nitely lighter, and will resist the effects of strong acids, with
which others become immediately corroded, and are thus
soon recognised. There are still visible some relics of the
enormous aqueducts which also formed part of the labours
of the unfortunate Carthaginians, and received the ap
pellation of Phaeaces, from their projector Phaeax. They
supplied the wells and fountains of the city with the pure
streams from the hills, and their remains are to this day
called Phaeaci by the inhabitants : they are cut out of the
solid rock, generally speaking, three feet wide, and five
feet deep, intersecting the town by a variety of ramifi
cations. Many of the fountains of Girgenti, as well as in innu
merable other parts of Sicily, produce on their surface a
quantity of fine soft oil which the natives burn in lamps,
and sometimes apply medicinally : Pliny peculiarly cele-

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 153
brates the production of it here. It is nothing but the
more subtile parts of certain bituminous matters sublimed
by the action of subterranean fires, which, being condensed
into a liquor by the cold of caverns through which they
force themselves, unite with aqueous particles, and make
their way through clefts and fissures to the surface of the
earth, where they have received the generic terms of
naphtha and petroleum *, according to their proportionate
state of viscidity, fluidity, and colour. This oil is in some
parts of Sicily scented and applied to the h air ; in others taken
internally, being an excellent antispasmodic and sudorific^
The only ruin, I believe, I have omitted to describe
is the remains of a Roman fountain, which lies be
tween the temple and the town. The front is perfect, with
the spout and abreuvoir ; and a square marble bas-relief
in the upper right corner, with the period of erection be
low, marked anno 161. Models of it, as also of the tem
ples, are beautifully executed in a soft stone f, at a mode
rate price, by a modern artist. Dilapidated masses of large
fabrics are observable in various parts of the country that
embraced the ancient town, but none sufficiently known to
be recognised as specified edifices ; though one site is
ascribed to the palace of Gellias, and another to the palace
of Cicero and Verres, who successively performed the office
of praetor here.
After passing the greater part of the day amongst the
ruins, we bent our steps towards the toWn, crossing to the
* I have seen quantities of this oil in the states of Modena and Tus
cany, where there are abundant fountains of it. It is also taken in great
profusion off the sea under Mount Vesuvius after stormy weather, when
it is supposed the agitated waters wash it out of the fissures.
t It is a variety of alabaster, scientifically denominated compact gyp
sum, which abounds near Girgenti.

154 TRAVELS IN SICILY
heights of Camicus, through that gardened plain that once
formed the Grecian vivarium ; it was the season forgather
ing the fruits of the Indian fig or prickly pear, which
abounds almost in all parts of Sicily, and particularly
around Girgenti ; it is the cactus opuntia of Linnasus, the'
leaves (or rather divisions as they are more properly termed)
are thick, oval, fleshy, covered with spines, and upwards of
a foot in length, growing one out of the other, and swelling
at the joints as they increase in age, until the whole of the
lower part forms a sort of cylindric trunk ; the flowers are
reddish yellow, or sometimes crimson, emanating from the
borders of the divisions, and the fruit like a large fig of a
deep red colour, enclosing a succulent pulp, which, although
I think very insipid, seems to constitute a favourite food of
the lower orders, being considered both nutritious and salu
brious. The plant propagates with facility and astonish
ing rapidity, from mere single divisions stuck in the earth;
hedge-rows are generally formed of them throughout the.
island, and they in a short time become impenetrable' bar
riers, bidding defiance to man or beast. I have seen them
ten and fifteen feet high, which, when covered with the fruit
or blossom, present a curious and interesting appearance ;
the plant is hardy, and will vegetate, and even flourish out
of old walls and stony ground, possessing the peculiar qua
lity of forcing its roots into the minutest fissures of rocks,
and pulverizing the hardened stratum into a species of soil ;
hence it is rendered inestimable in the cultivation of rocky
or lava countries, which being planted a few years with it
become capable of culture.
A bronze-faced, athletic looking dame, of about forty,
hailed us as we passed, with an offer of some of the fruit,
which formed the burthen of a wretched looking horse she
was leading. The poor beast exhibited but a sorry sped-

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 155
men of the once celebrated race of Akragas*, and from its
age, as well as condition, seemed to require the interference
of Mr. Martin's philozoonic benevolence ; though grateful
for her proffered generosity, I could not help expressing a
few words of reproach for her want of sympathy towards
the brute, at the same time thinking how time and circum
stances had changed the fate of the equestrian tribe since
their golden days in the ancient city, where, in their de
clining years, they were fostered by the kindly care of
their masters, and. not unfrequently, if favourites, interred
with the sepulchral pomp of human beings.
The contents of modern Girgenti offer very little to the
eye of the curious. The cathedral, as I before observed,
was founded by Count Roger, the Norman, in the year
1089, after the expulsion of the Saracens; and from a rude
specimen of the Norman style has become, by patched up
repairs at various periods, an inconsistent, unintelligible
jumble of architectural points, forming so discordant an
ensemble as to preclude it being classified with any known
order or style. The interior is, from the peculiar form, re
markable for its accoustic effects, which caused a source
of diversion to the wags of earlier days in the following
way. The slightest whisper is borne with perfect dis
tinctness from the great western door, where once stood a
confessional, to the cornice behind the high altar (a dis-
* The ancient race of Akragas was celebrated for their beauty, fleet-
ness, and strength, and never failed to display their superiority as compe
titors in the course ; besides the records of historians, their renown is
mentioned by Virgil and Silius Italicus, in the following lines : —
Arduus inde Acragas ostentat maxima longe
Mania magnanimum quondam generator equorum. — Third Mneid.
Altor equorum
Mille rapit turmam atque hinnitibus sera fiammat,
Pulverem volvens Acragas ad inania nubem.— Silius, lib. xiv.

156 TRAVELS IN SICILY
tance of two hundred and fifty feet) ; the consequence of
which was, all communications with the confessor were
transferred to that point, and listened to by young men
who repaired thither for that purpose, until a gentleman,
on one occasion, had his curiosity gratified by the avowal
of his own wife's infidelity, which caused the circumstance
to be generally known, and the consequent removal of the
confessional. The walls of this sombre looking edifice are ornamented
with numerous failures of the brush, excepting a tolerable
good representation of the Virgin, falsely attributed to
Guido ; the beautified expression of that inimitable artist
is wanting, neither does it possess his softness of touch or
delicacy of colouring.
The tabernacle encloses a silver sarcophagus, where are
enshrined the bones of the patron saints, which, together
with other relics, are exposed on the days of their particular
fetes for the worship of zealous devotees.
The greatest and most worthy object of admiration in
this church is an ancient sarcophagus of white marble,
which was discovered amongst the ruins of the ancient
city, and converted into the baptismal font of the modern
cathedral. I know there are many conscientious persons,
persevering sticklers in favour of certain religious ob
servances, strongly object to the transformation of
heathen works of art, particularly when ornamented with
pagan subjects, into the ritual purposes of a christian tem
ple : but, I positively confess, as no evils resulting from
such practice have ever come within the sphere of my
observation or knowledge, and as long as the pagan sub
jects, constituting the ornaments of the works in question,
shall not he associated with the ceremonies prescribed by
the holy religion of Christ, [ think it can be productive of

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 157
no possible injury to the cause of Christianity, therefore
ought not only to be tolerated but encouraged, since we
are indebted to|the practice for the preservation of some of
the most inestimable productions of antiquity.
The four sides of the sarcophagus are ornamented with
incomparably fine specimens of sculpture, executed in
mezzo relievo, which, though not of such exquisite finish
as some in the Vatican and Medicean galleries, neverthe
less rank amongst the most excellent and spirited works of
ancient art that time has preserved to us. The subject
has proved an inexhaustible source of contention amongst
the cognoscenti and antiquarians who have inspected it :
some have represented it to be the death of Phintias, the
last tyrant of Agrigentum ; but being expelled the throne
for his intollerable oppression and blood-thirsty cruelties,
he died in exile at Carthage; consequently it appears
very improbable that a funereal monument of such magni
ficence should have been erected to the memory of so de
tested an oppressor: some style it the death of Adonis, but
the chariot is irrelevant, to the subject of his history, and
totally destroys the idea, as much as the boar hunt does
the suggestion which others have ventured to make of its
illustrating the Trojan hero's fate under the wheels of
Achilles' car.
Again, the story of Phaedra and Hippolytus is supposed
by many, with much more justice and probability, to form
the subject of these beautiful reliefs, and which, after
minute examination, I have no hesitation in professing to
be my own decided opinion ; the melancholy tale seems
plainly told ; little or no exercise of the imagination is re
quired to call to the mind of the spectator the interesting
and pathetic description that has flowed from the polished
pen of Euripides : the details follow in regular succession

158 TRAVELS IN SICILY
round the monument, according to the suite of events that
characterise the sublime tragedy of the Grecian dramatist.
The first or front side presents a groupeof nine figures,
executed with an incomparable degree of boldness and ex>-
pression ; one, more perfect, more striking, and evidently
the hero of the subject, stands out with a greater relief
than the rest, rather bordering on the alto than the mezzo,
exhibiting a personification of that intellectual dignity and
physical beauty which so peculiarly marked the object of
Phaedra's incestuous attachment. He is listening with ma
nifest indignation to an old woman, who, in a supplicating
attitude at his feet, cannot be mistaken for the confidential
attendant of Phaedra, communicating the infamous propo
sals of his guilty stepmother. The next side 'to the right
eontains the figure of a distinguished female in a fit iof
despair, surrounded and supported by her companions,
unquestionably the guilty daughter of Minos, betokening
ber grief and vexation at the cold refusal 'of the virtuous
Hippolytus; the attitudes are elegant, easy, and natural;
the forms exquisitely beautiful and imposing, with a flow
ing gracefulness in the drapery that gives an additional
¦finish. The third subject represents a boar 'hunt, the fa
vourite sport. of the unfortunate son of Theseus, who appears
with a lance in his hand on horseback, and two other
armed attendants on foot endeavouring to destroy a^tre-
mendous and infuriated wild boar; on his return from
which he heard the unjust accusation of the malicious and
revengeful Phaedra. The fourth side exhibits a man
stretched lifeless on the earth, just thrown from his chariot
by the fury of four fiery coursers, which seem to have 'been
terrified at the appearance of a sea monster, faintly distin
guished in the corner, though easily recognizable as the
one sent by Neptune to seal the fate of the luckless Hip-

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 159
polytus in his flight from Athens. The two latter subjects
are in low relief and of inferior execution, the artist having
clearly devoted all his powers and concentrated all the ener
gies of his art in the two former.
In the library of the college are to be seen extremely
interesting specimens of the old Sicilian coins, together
with a fine collection of beautiful vases'*, whereby the
inexperienced traveller may form his judgment of those
curious objects of Sicilian antiquity.
. I discovered few traces during my Stay at Girgenti of
the characteristic beauty that distinguished the females of
ancient Akragas ; the people too, like the place, are dirty
and untidy, the appearance of which is considerably aug
mented by the wretched state >of poverty thatseems to per
vade all classes of society from the nobility down. Priests,
friars, and monks, I scarcely need observe, constitute, as
in almost every other habitable part of Sicily, a principal
proportion of the population, who live by preying on the
very vitals of their bigoted laymen, devouring their slender
and fast-fading means like a swarm of flesbflies on adecay-
ing carcass. However, the objects around here are so
strikingly interesting and various, that the antiquarian, the
draftsman, or the naturalist, may pass a few days at this
place in the possession of unceasing subjects of diversion.
To the; mineralogist, the whole country to the north of the
town presents an inexhaustible field for the exercise and
improvement of scientific information.
* Signor Politi also possesses a collection of interesting articles of anti
quity, besides excessively beautiful specimens of sulphuric and other
minerals, peculiar to the contiguous country. Although he is not-deeply
learned, his local knowledge and information respecting antiquities. and
other things are desirable to the visitor, who will find him communica
tive and easy of access, particularly as the greater proportion of what'he
has is for sale.

160 TRAVELS IN SICILY

CHAPTER VI.

We mounted qur mules on Saturday morning, December
4th, and devoted the whole of that day to exploring the neigh*
bourhood, more particularly about four miles from the town
towards the north, where there is an interesting specimen of
that uncommon phenomenon called the mud volcano. It is
confined to a plain about half a mile in circumference, at
the summit of an eminence, the whole surface of which is
composed of a thick mud, whose consistency varies with the
weather or the season, sometimes assuming a convex, some
times a concave form, with a number of small cones thrown
up at different distances, each of which is furnished with
a crater, and ejects a species of black mud, accompanied
with frequent rumbling noises and sulphuric air bubbles.
Every three or four ye.ars it changes its character, at which
time it assumes a very different form, is more violent in its
operations, and emits mud, calcareous tufa, iron pyrites,
stones, quartz, and gypsum, to the height of a hundred feet,
with considerable force and loud subterranean explosions.
Mineral springs are frequently seen issuing from little fis
sures, which bring with them naptha and petroleum. The .
surrounding stratum of this curious place is calcareous, with
a considerable admixture of sulphur, muriate of amonia,
which are frequently found chrystalised in their various
stages of combination with volcanic and other matters.
The place is now called Maccaluba, a corruption of the
name applied by the Saracens of Majaruca. It is worthy
a visit from any traveller curious in the observation of

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 161
nature's operations. Four miles farther, at a place called
Aberangis, is a salt mine, which, though little worked now,
or frequented, is curious for the mineral products of its
caverns, and the adjacent strata. After inspecting the
whole, and collecting the most choice specimens, we
returned homewards, but previous to entering the town
beguiled half an hour most agreeably in the company of
an enlightened, well-informed priest, who accidentallyjoined
us on the heights, and whose classical conversation led us
back to the more ancient days of his native town, and the
examination of the site we were then traversing, which we
identified as the position where the Romans lay encamped
eight months before the reduction of Agrigentum, in the
year 261 n. c. It was here too, at the same period, and
scarcely a mile from the Roman works, that Hanno pitched
his camp, and after anxiously waiting an opportunity of
engaging the consuls, at length brought them to a general
action, in which he was completely worsted, and' lost all
his elephants * and baggage.
Tuesday, the 7th, were solemnized the vigils of a festival
consecrated to the conception of the holy virgin ; the com
mon occupations of life were suspended— all seemed devoted'
for the day to the pagan-like forms and superstitious rites
of the church — the streets teemed with the noisy population,
and the white caps *f- of the men, and the gloomy costume
* It is singular to remark, that on this, as well as every other occasion
where the Carthaginians employed their elephants in Sicily, that these
animals contributed more to the dismay and confusion of their own ranks
than those of their enemies.
f A white night cap is the only covering worn by the men throughout
Sicily, which, in cases of rain or extreme cold, is surmounted by the
hood of their mantles or cloaks, pointed at the extremity in the form of a
cone, to throw off the water. I have no doubt it is the degenerate remains
of the musselmanic turban, which generally prevailed in the island during
the long occupation of the Saracens. M

162 TRAVELS IN SICILY
of the women, gave a character to the gathered crowds at
once ludicrous and picturesque. At noon a silver statue of
the virgin was paraded in solemn procession through the
streets, accompanied by the military, civil, and ecclesiastical
authorities, under the salute of squibs, peteraras, and
crackers. In the evening a general illumination took place,
and the cathedral was thrown into a blaze of light; within,
by an accumulation of wax candles, without, by a multi
tude of paper lanterns.
We quitted Girgenti at day-light the following morning,
and as we issued from the town, beheld, for the last time,
.those beautiful monuments breaking before us through the
morning's dawn with all the force of their local splendour,
accompanied with that attractive charm which antiquity
has for ever wove round their existence ; for the road winds
down those rocky heights east of the town, and after skirt
ing the sacred shades of Akragas, passes under the elevated
debris of Juno Lucina ; from thence it becomes bad, and in
wet weather almost impassable for miles, with a bare, rocky,
desolate country, until within four or five miles of Palma,
-when it assumes a more cheerful aspect, wooded, fertile,
luxuriant, with occasional rocky defiles, harmonised and
softened by frequent picturesque scenery. The approach
to Palma is strikingly romantic ; vegetation is beautiful,
the groves and fruit trees pour forth their riches with oriental
luxuriance. As we approached the ascent, a bare white
calcareous isolated hill, called Mount Calvary, towered
above this beautiful verdure to our left, usurped by a lonely
church and convent of Benedictines. Its solitary site and
barren earth accord well with the vows of its devoted inha
bitants, and it forms not an uninteresting object in contrast
with the surrounding scene. Beneath it, by the road side,
embosomed in a rock overhung with wood, a copious foun-

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 163
tain displayed to us the charms of an almost naked group
of washerwomen. They were neither specimens of Al bano's
playful sylvan nymphs sporting at the fountain of Tivoli,
or of the beguiling charms of Tasso's Damascan daughter;
.but the very extreme of female degradation and debase
ment, filthy, ragged to nudity, with dirty tanned hides,
haggard-looking, and more disgusting than the lowest order
of black tribes I ever saw on the shores of Africa. Such is
the characteristic picture of the softer sex amongst the
lower classes of Sicilians, little calculated for rustic elegance,
neither to excite admiration in the other sex, or to put the
moral habits of foreign travellers to the test.
Palma is a populous town, advantageously situated on a
rocky eminence looking over a picturesque plain towards
the sea, from whence it is two miles, and fourteen from
Girgenti. It gives title to a dukedom, and is the birth
place and tomb of Hodierna, the celebrated astronomer
and mathematician. It is but of comparatively modern
establishment, nothing being known of it before the latter
period of the middle ages. It seems to have engaged little
of the traveller's attention, though unmeritedly so ; for not
withstanding it boasts not the attractions or celebrity of
antiquity, it possesses, I think, qualities that would light
up the enthusiasm of the painter's eye, and animate the
sentiments of nature's admirer *. The surrounding country
exhibits one of the most captivating pictures of rural beauty
in Sicily. The town is hemmed in at the back by a hill
of olive trees, whilst groves of oranges and almonds, the
spreading locust, the vine and almond gardens, give to the
* For the lover of field sports also, this country, all the way to Alicata,
has peculiar attractions. Every species of land as well as water fowl
abounds, besides hares, rabbits, and other animals.
m2

164 TRAVELS IN SICILY
plain an indescribable appearance of richness, which, with
the castle of Monte Chiaro to the right, and the Mediter
ranean sparkling in the distance, constitute a scene well
worthy the artist's study.
The almond abounds here, and forms one of the princi
pal objects of commerce. It is the amygdalis communis
(amara and sativa) of Linnaeus, whose beautiful delicate
pink blossom displays the most elegant foliage in nature,
and is inimitably ornamental to a country, when, as here,
it is blended with the verdant vine, the dark green shades
of the olive, the orange, and the lemon. The bloom was
now, though in the month of December, just beginning
to peep forth, as in the genial days of a transalpine spring,
and a long succession of fine winter weather had given a
vernal character to the productions of the ground.
This town, independent of a variety of fruits, exports a
quantity of sulphur of the best species, which is excavated
from caverns towards the north-west, and shipped at what
is designated the port, a mere open bay and marina, with
a few store-houses defended by an old tower.
The wines of Palma are fine and of great variety, amongst
which I tasted a delicious Muscadel of the richest species.
The festive costume of the young women of Palma is
remarkably picturesque as well as elegant, an advantageous
specimen of which we had an opportunity of observing in
a bridal group that had paused on quitting the church to
offer up their praises to a madonna niched in the wall, in
conjunction with a quartetto'of Calabrian pipers, who were
at that moment paying their annual tribute at the shrine.
After refreshing at a dirty albergo, or rather fundaco, we
continued our route, proceeding over a line of rocky hills,
and for the first time looked down on the fertile fields of
Gela, the Campi Geloi of the Mantuan bard, and cele-

Dnmia di Palma.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 165
brated amongst the ancients for the superior quality of its
corn and the whiteness of the flower. We reached Alicata,
a distance of fourteen miles, at three o'clock, between which
and the close of day we occupied in contemplating the local
characteristics. Alicata occupies the site of the ancient and renowned
Gela, which, according to the authority of Polybius and
others, was colonized forty-five years after Syracuse by a
party of Cretans and Rhodians, under Eutimus and Anti-
phemus, who attached to it the appellation of the river so
named by the Siculi, on account of the dense vapours that
frequently occurred at its surface. It speedily rose to repute,
considerably distinguished itself in the wars between its
tyrant Hypocrates and his neighbours, and became so popu
lous and powerful a city, that, in one hundred and eight
years from its building, it founded and colonized the cele
brated city of Akragas ; but, like a sorrowful parent that
is doomed to outlive the ruin of his child, Gela survived
the destruction of this splendid colony, and gave sanctuary
to its wretched sons as they fled from the merciless de
stroyers of Himilco's Carthaginian host, who, in turn, ulti
mately laid it in ruins. Timoleon, however, recolonized it,
but it was again fated to be destroyed, and it had entirely
lost all its importance before the Romans conquered Sicily*.
Strabo, in his time, describes it as an uninhabited ruin. In
its brightest days it boasted the possession of one of the
finest colossal statues of Apollof in the world, which orna-
* Lib. 6.
f The statue of Apollo, after that of the omnipotent Jove, was, by all
the Sicilian Greeks, the most enthusiastically worshiped, and held in the
greatest veneration, because Apollo became their tutelar deity, the colo
nists having been originally sent to Sicily in consequence of the mandates
of his oracle at Delphos. _:  .

166 TRAVELS IN SICILY
mented the entrance of the principal gate, and was held in
great veneration by the citizens, according to Herodotus ;¦
who also states that it was at length borne away to Carthage,
as a symbol of conquest, by Ilamilcar.
On the hill to the westward of the town stood the famous'
fortress called the rock of Phalaris, built by the blood
thirsty tyrant of Agrigentum, who there inflicted the already
mentioned horrors of the brazen bull. At his death it was
razed to the ground, and over its ruins were soon reared the
lofty walls of Ecnomos, a fortress so called by the Gelans
as expressive of the monstrosities once committed on its
site ; it also fell a prey to the Carthaginian system of anni
hilation, and the name alone was left, which the Romans
consigned to the mountain, Mons Ecnomus*, so familiar to
the ear of every classic school-boy, and will naturally call
the attention of the reader to the recollection of that cir
cumstance which has served to perpetuate its name — the
memorable naval victory gained by Rome over her formi
dable enemy of Carthagef. It was near here that tremen
dous fleet, under the command of the Consuls Marcus At-
tilius Regulus and Lucius Manlius, came in contact with
and nearly annihilated the one under Hanno and Hamilcar:
the former consisted of three hundred and thirty ships, and
one hundred and forty thousand men ; the latter three hun
dred and forty ships with one hundred and fifty thousand
* Now corrupted into the modern title of Monte di Licata; it is com
posed of a calcareus stratum, and furnishes many beautiful testaceous
fossils. f Anno 255 b. c. The Carthaginian loss was sixty-four galleys taken
and thirty sunk, that of the Romans twenty-four galleys, which were lost
by wreck on the shore. See Polybius's animated and -interesting descrip
tion. Although it is called by the Romans the battle of Ecnomus, it was
fought nearer Heraclea, as is expressly stated by the descriptions of their
historians and annalists.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 167
men. Three divisions, at considerable distances from each
other, were closely contesting the palm of superiority at the
same moment, all of which proved favourable to the con
suls ; so that Rome in one day gained three glorious victo-r
ties. The sea was stained with human gore, and for months
after disgorged on its shores remnants of the vessels that
were wrecked or sunk. What classic reader can visit this
interesting spot without tracing the occurrence with the
most enthusiastic recollection, and who, in the remembrance
of such a fact, can contemplate it without the deepest,
the liveliest emotions of feeling ?
Gela was also the theatre of two sanguinary conflicts
between Hamilcar and Agathocles, memorable alike for
the barbarous atrocities as the humiliating defeat of the
latter. But doubts have been variously suggested as to
the identity of Gela, which some authors erroneously place
on the site of Terra Nuova ; an endless variety of circum
stances, however, concur in testifying the impossibility, unless
we trausfer also the site of Ecnomos ; but the authority of
Diodorus suffices alone to disprove it, who in his nineteenth
book says, in allusion to the above-mentioned contest be
tween the Carthaginians and Greeks, " The Carthagi
nians occupied a certain -position near Gela, called Ecno
mos, where formerly had been the fortress of Phalaris; on
the other side, Agathocles occupied a hold called Falerius,
between both of which ran the river, serving as a barrier
to each. Falerius was a mile and a half distant from the
river to the east, and Ecnomos was distant from Gela the
breadth of the river. The soldiers of Agathocles, he says,
dying with thirst during the dog days, fled in crowds to
wards Gela to drink at the river, which being impregnated
with salt, infected them with disease and created great
mortality." In another part also he observes, that Aga-

168 TRAVELS IN SICILY
thocles, after being totally put to route before Ecnomos,
and driven across the river, contrived in the night to throw
a garrison within Gela, and he fled to Syracuse, setting fire
to the fortress of Falerius.
Gela is further distinguished in the page of history as
being the birth-place of Gelon *, king of Syracuse, of the
famous comic poet Apollodorus, and the philosopher Timo-
genes ; it afforded also an asylum and retreat to the sub
lime iEschylus, the celebrated father of the Grecian drama :
disgusted with the preference given to Sophocles in the
contest for the prize of poetic merit, he retired to this city,
and died of disappointment and discontent; though, con
trary to this assertion of Plutarch, Pliny says he was killed
by a tortoise which an eagle had let fall on his head. His
tomb had long adorned the town, before which authors
who intended to dedicate their talents to the theatre were
accustomed to make libations and to recite their composi
tions. The Athenians also, in admiration of his genius,
decreed honours to his memory.
The modern town derives its origin, as well as its appel
lation, from the Saracenic invaders, who, as in many other
places in Sicily, wrought their new city from the materials
of the old ; it stands a little farther to the east than the
ancient site, which was more upon the eminence, identified
by the discovery of ruined fragments at various periods,
architectural, cinerary, plastic, together with coins, lamps,
* The history of Gelon is familiar to every classic reader ; his reign,
though short, was devoted solely to the happiness of his people, and the
welfare of the state ; arts and sciences flourished under his dominion,
and such was the perfection of the former, that in many cases they sur
passed the happiest productions of the mother country. Golden medals
of Gelon (who coined gold a century prior to Athens), in the highest
state of preservation, attest the fact by the extreme beauty of their design
and the excellence of their execution.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 169
&c. etc. At the expulsion of the turbaned Painims, the
Normans enlarged and fortified it with wall and towers,
which, in the revolution of ages, have assumed various
changes under the different reigning powers.
In the year 1553 it was partially consumed by a com
bined armament of Turkish and French incendiaries, who
landed and surprised its unresisting inhabitants with their
fire-brands. The actual town, which contains a population
of 12,000, stands partly on a gentle eminence without the
walls, and partly on the shores of a beautiful bay, which
is divided into two parts by a projecting peninsula, on
whose point stands a battery connected with the remains
of an old Norman castle, forming, with the castle of St.
Angelo on the hill, the principal protection of the place.
A brisk commerce is carried on here, although there is no
port, (yet possessing every capability), and the anchorage
is exposed on every side. Sulphur is the principal article
of export, heaps of which we observed piled along the shore,
intended for an English brig that was lying in the roads.
The river, anciently the Gela, runs to the east of the
town, and empties itself over a shoal sandy bar into the
sea ; it flows during the rains with incredible roar and
dangerous impetuosity ; hence Virgil's epithet in the fol
lowing passage : — Campique Geloi,
Immanisque Gela fluvii cognomine dicta*. — Third Mneid.
It has received the modern appellation of Salso, on ac
count of the saline particles with which it is impregnated
from some salt springs that unite with it near the moun
tains of Calatanisetta ; and it now forms the boundary
* See also Ovid's ib. iv., de Fasti. Pausanias called this river the
Southern Himsera,

170 TRAVELS IN SICILY
between the two great divisions of Mazzara and Noto
The latter (so called from the principal town of that name,
originally Saracenic, styled Neet) is for the most part
rocky, with an extremely stony soil, notwithstanding which
it is gramineous, fertile, herbaceous, producing, in many
parts, an abundance of wine, oil, honey, grain, and is be
sides celebrated for the most numerous amongst the re
puted towns of antiquity ; the mountains, however, of this
region, are infinitely less than those of the other two.
After an agreeable walk about the environs, and to the
Capuchin convent west of the town, we returned, and paused
awhile before the bay, where, as we stood in admiration of
the setting sun, which was just then beautifully illuminating
the ruined walls of the castle with the ruddy lustre of his
declining rays, the extreme mildness of the climate we
were enjoying was strongly impressed upon us by a group
of little children, in a perfect state of nature, sporting, in
savage gambols round the square or rather piazza; it
proved, however, at the same time, the degraded condition
of their existence. Good heavens ! how melancholy, how
revolting to the heart ! to think that mankind should be
living under such circumstances of wretchedness and po
verty, in a country teeming with all the prodigality of
nature's riches ; but such, alas ! must ever be the result
where a government fears to give the means of excitement
to its people.
We retired for the night to our quarters, at a. loeanda
in the most modern part of the town without the WaSls ;
it was comparatively clean and comfortable, and w 6 were
rendered independent of our viaticum by" the well stored
larder of a Parisian host, whose gastronomic skill' some*
what indemnified us for the meal we had ventured, to
make at Palma in the forenoon.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 171
As we proposed making a longer journey than usual the
following day, we mounted our mules at four in the morn
ing, and on quitting the town at a short distance forded
the Salso, but the waters were low, and as we tranquilly
crossed that stream, which of old had dealt such dire
destruction to the army of Agathocles, its history rushed
with redoubled interest on my mind, and I felt all the sacred
importance of the scene. . Here it was the Numidian ca
valry pursued the jaded soldiers of the reckless tyrant, who
for the last time traversed the blood-stained tide, after he
had mercilessly massacred four thousand of his allies in
Gela, and pillaged the whole of their treasure. The pale
moon shed a radiant brightness over the banks that might
have almost rivalled the mid-day splendor of a more northern
sun, and whose reflected light, glittering over the surface of
the undulating sea to the right, would bid defiance to the
perfection even of a Vernet's imitative powers. Terra
Nova * lies about twenty miles distant, along the sinuosities
of the shore, the road leading sometimes over the heights,
sometimes along the sands, where the conchologist may
gratify himself with a variety of extremely handsome and
curious shells. The cliffs in places are composed of a
green marie, tinctured by the impregnations of sulphur,
and producing on their fertile summits quantities of barilla
and saltwort. We crossed several small rivers, namely, the
Jarubba, Naufrio, &c, and about half way passed the
rocky point of Falconara, with its tower and battery, not
* Travellers wishing, like us, to reach Calatagirone in one day, fre
quently allow themselves to be influenced by the advice of the guides,
who, to save scarcely two miles, will go by a road a little inland, which
is uninteresting, desolate, marshy, uninhabited, and avoids Terra Nova
altogether, leaving it a short distance to the right. Nor is there any
other resting place half way, excepting a dilapidated shed by the side of
a stream, intended for the repose of muleteers' convoys.

172 TRAVELS IN SICILY
far from whence stands the casino of Prince Butera on an
eminence, supposed to be the site of some ancient fortress,
which Thucidydes places within the district of Gela.
TerraNova is a large walled town, situated on a flat emi
nence a short distance to the westward of a river of the
same name; it was founded about the middle of the
thirteenth century by Frederick II., consequently compara
tively modern, hence its name. Nearly ten thousand souls
inhabit its walls'; but it is ugly, filthy, dismal, and irregu
lar, with shapeless churches and a host of miserable con
vents. The palace is a fine edifice, but the cathedral is
of no style of architecture, though it presents, with its
dome, an imposing appearance from the sea.
A short distance from the walls stands the carricatore or
royal magazines, and its little port, by aid of the produce
of Calatagirone, exhibits symptoms of commercial activity ;
it exports corn, wine, a species of coarse cloth, and sul
phur, receiving protection from the adjacent tower, called
the Torre dell' Insegna.
A band of the celebrated Compagnia degli uniti sere
naded us whilst refreshing at the albergo, but they rivalled
not the soothing strains of the well-known Ciechi of Bo
logna. Like the Pfifereri of Calabria, they stroll about the
island in parties, but honestly reserve their profits, which are
on their return shared in common with the society.
This town evidently has usurped the site of some distin
guished city of antiquity, but around whose identity many
doubts and much obscurity hang ; its only existing testi
monials are a few remains of massive substructions within
the town ; and without, at a short distance from the walls,
a single massive column of the Doric order, stretched
prostrate on a bare sandy hill, the only solitary relic exist
ing to testify the site of perhaps some splendid Pagan

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS.. 173
fane ; the component parts, though detached, are perfect,
and lie in regular line along the earth, with the exception
of the basement and lower shaft piece, which are standing.
According to the authority of Ptolemy, Phintia stood to
the westward of Heraclea, and near to Agrigentum ;
therefore I have no doubt but that it must have been either
Callipolis or Euboia, which Strabo, in his sixth book, de
scribes amongst the ruined and deserted towns of his time
on this coast ; however, I submit to others more skilled in
antiquarian lore than myself the task of ascertaining such
a fact. Being anxious to reach Syracuse as early as possible, we
resigned the plan of exploring the coast as far as Cape
Pachynum of the ancients (now Cape Passero), and its in
termediate interesting classical sites, which, however, I
strongly recommend other travellers, to whom time is not
an object, by no means to avoid, for it exhibits the widest
expanse for historical illustration ; but indeed every town,
every part of Sicily, must be dear to the memory of the
classical reader, particularly so on this coast, which so pe
culiarly teems with the most interesting recollections.
There the people of Camerina* rose to insolent and rebel
lious prosperity ; and the name of its shores must ever be
* Camarina was founded by Syracuse, under Dascon and Menacolus,
one hundred and thirty-five years after its building, and was the third
town colonized by that city, according to Strabo and Thucydides. It
was situated between the rivers Oanus and Hypparis (modern Frascolari
and Camerana). It rapidly rose to a state of prosperity and greatness,
and became one of the most powerful cities on that coast; but rebelling
against the mother country, it was destroyed. It was celebrated for the
manufacture of the most beautiful vases and urns in Sicily, many of
v which are preserved to this day as monuments of their perfection in the
art. The town stood near a lake, the influence of whose noxious vapours
so annoyed the inhabitants, that they consulted the oracle of Apollo for

174 TRAVELS IN SICILY
perpetuated in the annals of the historian, as well as the
memory of the feeling reader, by the melancholy and dis
astrous shipwreck of the Roman fleet f under the command
of the consuls Fulvius and iEmilius, who, despising the
admonitions of their pilots, became the victims of their pride
and obstinacy. Out of four hundred sail, three hundred
and twenty of them either foundered in the deep or pe
rished on the rocks ; so that the coast from Cape Pachy-
num to Camarina Avas interspersed with the fragments of
the vessels and the lacerated corpses of the crews , for
months after exhibiting all the appalling horrors, of the
charnel house.
We remounted our plodding steeds at noon, passing
through the rich-looking environs on the north side of the
town, which are thickly wooded with the agrumi, the fig,
and the vine. Two roads lead to Calatagirone, a high and
a low one, distant about twenty-one miles and a half, the
latter swampy and bad in the winter ; the former, though
hilly, and somewhat longer, is infinitely more agreeable,
leading through a sandy forest of cork trees, carpeted with
underwood and lentiscus ; the scenery, though wild, is
pleasing, and about half way we traversed the small town
of Santa Maria di Niscemi, a celebrated mart for honey,
which the inhabitants abundantly collect from the neigh
bouring woods. Here we met a convoy of mules laden
permission to drain off its waters, which was expressly refused ; howr
ever, in contempt of the pagan mandate, the lake was drained, and sa
lubrity was restored : but a worse fate befel the city, to which it had
operated as a defence ; the walls on that side were exposed, ;and
afforded an easy access to the enemy, who entered and pillaged the
town. Hence the Greek saying in adoption of the oracle, Ma «i
Ka^flf.vav, ttxiv»l0f ya? apum*, and the much used proverb of the Romans,
Ne moveas Camarinurn.
Anno, 254 b. c.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 175
with apples, the production of Mount iEtna — an opportune
rencontre, for the day was oppressive, and the fruit more
refreshing and delicious than any I ever tasted.
The sun closed his daily career whilst yet we were a
league from our destination ; but the city, perched as it is
on the most elevated pinnacle of the mountain, and still
illuminated with his last glittering rays, which were re
flected from the windows of the houses like the glimmerings
of a distant pharos, producing an incomparably beautiful
effect amongst the rude rocky scenery that appeared before
us. All, however, faded into gloom as we scrambled up
the last craggy ascent into the town, and we arrived in
darkness at our comfortless abode in the market-place ;
where, somewhat to our consternation, a vociferating, fret
ful old hostess demanded what we had brought to eat, for
our basket was tenantless, and appetites sharpened by the
keen breezes of the mountain's top, and being giorno magro>
not a morsel of meat was to be procured for our heretical
stomachs ; however, good fortune threw a fellow-country
man in our way, who had at that moment arrived from
Lentini, and with much urbanity and good fellowship
pressed us to the participation of his fare, which we not un
willingly acceded to in our emergency.
Calatagirone is a large town of twenty thousand inha
bitants, in the Val di Noto, situated on the summit of a
high insulated rocky mountain, steep on all sides, inacces
sible to vehicles of any species, and difficult of approach
both to man and beast ; it is, however, surrounded by a rich
agricultural country, clothed with the vine and shaded by
the cypress.
It is of very ancient foundation, being identified by
Thucydides, as well as Antonine, in hisjourney from Agri
gentum to Syracuse, as the Hybla-haerea of antiquity,

176 TRAVELS IN SICILY
where the Greeks celebrated their splendid festivals in
honour of Juno. In the ninth century it fell into the hands
of the Saracens, who fortified it on account of its advan
tageous position ; however, Count Roger, in the year 1063,
wrested it from them previous to his first great victory of
Cerami over the Painim army, and richly endowed it with
the spoil of Zotica, as a remuneration for the friendly dis
position of the 'inhabitants to his cause.
At a subsequent period, the Genoese, in their predatory
adventures, landed with a powerful armament, and amongst
-other places took possession of this, which for some years
continued in their occupation. They erected a church,
consecrated to their patron, St. George, and gave the arms
of Genoa to the town, namely, a cross, which still conti
nues to be adopted. The costume of the inhabitants is
picturesque, surmounted in both sexes with a mantle and
pointed capuche ; that of the females being black, and of
the men brown or plum colour, bound with green.
The buildings are not particularly attractive. The Madre
Chiesa is a gloomy, heavy fabric of the fourteenth century,
without any thing to 4 recommend it. The bridge which
unites the two parts of the town was erected at the expense
of the Franciscans ; it consists of one wide elliptical span.
The most modern structures are the Monte de Pieta, and
the Casino; on the southern side.
The people are prosperous, industrious, and civil, and
the landed proprietors extremely opulent, who, in spite of
the unaccommodating locality for the indulgence of state
luxury, almost all keep their carriages, which are confined
to the limited and monotonous revolutions of a small drive,
formed and widened for the purpose, as far as the convent
of the Padri Osservanti.
From the more prosperous state of the Calatagironese,

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 177
the town assumes in many respects an air of superiority over
others of its size ; the public edifices are generally pretty
good ; there are a few fine noble mansions, and it pos
sesses in particular an extensive, well-regulated, collegiate
institution. It is celebrated for the cultivation of wines,
corn, and the manufactory of a coarse pottery made from
a peculiar clay, from which they form also, with tolerable
skill, grotesque figures, representing all the various costumes
of Sicily.
. Guides proffered to us their services in the course of the
evening for an excursion to the ancient city of Enna* ; but,
much as we desired it, circumstances forced us to reject the
idea of a visit to the place that has been the scene and
subject of so many of the most interesting historical events
and poetical inspirations f. It stands on a high hill in the
centre of the island, surrounded by a country at once sub
lime, romantic, and productive ; it was originally colonized
by Syracuse, two hundred years after the foundation of that
city. Diodorus describes it as the most perfectly beautiful
site in the island, abounding in groves and gardens covered
the year through with every variety of fruits and flowers.
It became one of the strongest cities of Sicily, and was not
less remarkable for its riches than its beauty J. Cicero
terms it the Umbilicus Sicilian, and the most fertile spot in
the world. It is the fabled residence of the beautiful Pro-
* Now called Castro Giovanni, a corruption of the Roman Castrum
Enni, being the place where the Romans established their camp after the
termination of the servile war.
t See Ovid Metam. v., Virgil ^.neidiv., Milton Parad. Lost iv., Clau-
dian de Rapt. Pros, and its spirited translation by Strutt.
t Cicero ad Verr. says of it, Tota vero omni aditu circumcisa atque
dirempta est, quam circa lacus, lucique sunt plurimi et lectissimi flores
omni tempore anni: locus ut ipse raptum ilium virginis, quern jama
pueris accepimus declarare videatur. N

178 TRAVELS IN SICILY
serpine, from whose flowery meads and limpid streams she
was ravished by the god of hell. King Gelon consecrated
there to Ceres, one of the richest temples of the heathen
world; whither Asia, Greece, and Rome afterwards, in
days of scarcity and famine, made pilgrimages to propitiate
the presiding goddess, and where were solemnised those
pompous, incomprehensible, and unmeaning rights of the
Eleusinian mysteries.
This place, too, is distinguished for the disastrous termi
nation of the serviles' struggle * in the cause of freedom.
Here Perpenna met the slavish host, of whom the blood of
twenty thousand paid the price of laudable temerity ; and
as an example to appal the rest, the vindictive consul ordered
the greater part to be crucified by the sides of the public
ways. * B. C. 132.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 179

CHAPTER VII.
We quitted our inhospitable quarters at seven in the
morning, proceeding towards Lentini, distant thirty-two
miles, and after descending again the precipitous acclivi
ties of this curiously-situated citv, we entered into a fine,
cultivated, fertile country, surrounded by ranges of hills,
whose wild and craggy heights imparted rather a pleasing
effect in harmony with the objects with which they were
combined. The countrymen were engaged in the labours
of tillage, and whose agricultural implements and equip
ments afforded us no small source of amusement; for they
bore all the characteristics of first invention, and the most
pristine rudeness. Sometimes a donkey and bullock, some
times a couple or more of donkeys, and in one place a don
key, horse, and bullock, constituted the team of the plough
share, which in many cases was merely a crooked piece of
wood; however, the purpose appeared answered, for the
ground was well worked and clean ; a circumstance per
haps owing more to the bounty of nature than the industry
or ingenuity of man.
Here, for the first time, the smoky columns of JEtna
opened to our view ; and traversing the little town of Palma,
we discovered, at some distance to our right, the city of
Mineo lifting its head above the mountain's top. It was
the ancient Menon, or menenon, built by Ducetius, near
which may still be seen the boiling sulphureous springs* of
the fabled Palici, and the site of their renowned temple,
raised also by the Sicilian king, and devoted by Pagan priest
craft to the debasing superstitions of their delusive religion,
* Now the Lago di Naftia.
n2

180 TRAVELS IN SICILY
whilst its vaults re-echoed with the oracles of state policy and
sacerdotal heathenism ; its altars offered refuge to the unfor
tunate, and inviolable sanctuary to the oppressed slave—
Perque lacus altos et olentia sulphure fertur,
Stagna palicorum, rupta ferventia terra. — Ovid. Met.
We halted at Palagonia, sixteen miles, a small modem
town, notorious only for its wretchedness and filth, though
situated on a salutary eminence, overlooking a delightful
vale : the Indian fig cloathes the adjacent rocks with its
blazing fruit and everlasting verdure; the majestic aloe
rears his pyramid of flowers ; and, what most called forth
my admiration, the carob tree, which, though common
throughout the island, appears to luxuriate in this neigh
bourhood with incomparable beauty. It is the ceratonia
siliqua (or St. John's bread) of Linnaeus, and rises on a high,
upright stem, with fine, elegant, crooked, and umbrageous
spreading branches, like those of the oak, at times folding
over in a graceful bend to the earth, with beautiful dark
evergreen pinnate leaves ; the fruit is enclosed in a long
siliqua, like a large bean-pod, which possesses a strong
saccharine flavour, and is occasionally given as a nutritious
aliment to cattle, and frequently eaten by the lower orders.
Nothing can be more ornamental to a landscape than this
singularly fine tree, for it gives as well richness to the dis
tance as picturesque beauty to a front ground.
From hence the road becomes hill}', with a rocky vol
canic soil, mixed with shorl and schistus, strewed with
heaps of lava-stones of the most curious species, which
enclose hundreds of small testaceous fossils, evidently of
crateral ejection, having undergone the action of fire.
After making a little digression to the little town of Cas-
tellana to our left, for the purpose of seeing a valuable and
beautiful collection of ancient Sicilian medals, we entered

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 181
into a more cultivated country and arrived at Lentini, the
approach to whence, with its lake Biviere to the left, and
rural scenery about the hills in front, exhibited a more
animated prospect than we had for some time witnessed.
The neighbouring hills of this part of the country abound
in curious and extensive caverns, producing saltpetre, and
rich with sulphuric chrystalizations and stalactitic forma
tions, well deserving the mineralogists researches.
There is another road from Calatagirone to Syracuse,
by the mountains to the eastward, which, though of equal
distance, is, on account of its rocky and more fatiguing
condition, avoided, if possible, by the guides ; it is, how
ever, interesting to the antiquarian, for the remains of an
tiquity that have been lately brought to light by the Baron
Judica, at Palazzuolo *.
* Palazzuolo is a town of eight thousand inhabitants, situated on a high
mountain, anciently called the Erbessus, and built on the site of the cele
brated Acne, a colony of Syracuse, founded seventy years after that city,
according to Thucydides and Pliny, who call its inhabitants Cretenses.
It was colonized by the Romans, who built there an amphitheatre,
and gymnasium; the former the baron has recently discovered in the
course of his excavations, an occupation in which his love of enter
prise seems to constitute his principal hobby, which is, however, fet
tered by the narrow policy of an illiberal government, that prohibited any
excavation without a special royal permission, and in case of discovery
claims a right of purchasing any objects at their own valuation. What
a stimulus to genius ! what an encouragement to enterprize ! He has
found coins of all sorts, in bronze, silver, and gold, on which he has
written an elaborate treatise, embracing those of ancient Sicily. Also
every variety of beautiful Sicilian vases (hitherto erroneously termed
Etruscan), which he has carefully studied and classified according to the
different ages of their production : the earlier ones are rudely ornamented
with Egyptian subjects, generally speaking, obscene heathenish supersti
tions; the latter Homeric subjects and Grecian designs. Besides many
other fragments of antiquity, the opening of an infinity of tombs has fur
nished innumerable curious relics as well as human skeletons, which,
however the worthy baron goes too far in presuming to think are Phoeni
cian or Greek, according to the position of the head. The Phoenicians,

182 TRAVELS IN SICILY
Lentini is a small unhealthy town, situated on a hill
looking over an extensive plain, whose fertile fields wrested
from Cicero the appellation of the magazine of Sicily,
and whose neighbouring caverns are the fabled habitations
of Homer's Laestrigon monsters, who sunk the ships of
Ulysses, and devoured his companions; hence Pliny's
" Campi Lasstrigonii. "
It is the Leontium of the ancients, founded 717 years b. c.
by a colony from Chalcis in Eubcea, and gave rise to
many important events in Sicilian history. The rapid in
crease of its population obliged it to colonize a town which
Strabo says lay to the north. It was the native place of
the eloquent Gorgias, the scholar of Empedocles, to whom
iEschylus was indebted for the embellishments of his sub
lime tragedies, and through whose rhetorical sophistry
Athens was beguiled into its calamitous war with Syracuse.
In the year 403 b. c. it aided considerably in raising
Dionysius to the tyranny of Syracuse, and sometime after
wards became the rallying place, from whence the deli
verers of that city (Timoleon and Dion), commenced their
enterprises against the tyrants, and liberated Sicily from
its oppressors. The Leontines were litigious, unprincipled,
and always at war with their neighbours : their town was
we know, were all driven from thence by the new colony, and after the
arrival of the Greeks in Sicily only inhabited the western parts of the
island. At all events, we shall feel much indebted to him for his con
tinued pursuits in the praiseworthy cause. The scenery is wild and ro
mantic in the neighbourhood ; old fortresses crown the rocky pinnacles,
and monasteries command the heights where beauty reigns, particularly
the one at Santa Maria d'Arcia, not far distant from thence. The hill of
Palazzuolo is still called Acre Monte, and it is entirely covered with cata
combs and subterraneous excavations, besides having on the summit ex
cavated conservatories for snow, which supply the neighbouring cities
with ice, as of old ; hence Silius Italicus says 
Non Thapsos non e tumulis, glacialibus Acrse
Defuerunt.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 183
on one occasion destroyed by the Syracusans, but, according
to Pausanius, shortly after rebuilt. The present town con
tains five thousand inhabitants, and the place is rendered
excessively unhealthy by the insalubrious exhalations from
the contiguous lake, particularly during the antumnal
heats, when the immense extent of marsh, exposed by its
retiring waters, send forth the most noxious, deleterious
vapours. The lake, the property of Prince Butera, pro
duces an enormous quantity of water-fowl and eels, be
sides game in the vicinity, a supply of which we pur
chased, for our next day's store, from a countryman who
had just filled his bag as we entered the town.
We took up our quarters in Carlentini, founded by
Charles V. on a hill above the old town, on account of its
more eligible air and situation ; it was intended by that
aspiring monarch to become a place of importance ; but
earthquake checked its progress towards the goal of fame,
and it remains, like its parent stock, an emblem of sick
ness and poverty.
Our quarters here were perfectly consistent with the
character of the place. We were obliged almost to con
test the possession with the myriads of creeping things that
tenanted the walls and beds, and felt glad when the hour
of repose arrived, that we might, by obscurity, hide from
our sight the numberless objects of disgust that encircled
us, for the fatigue of travelling proved propitious to our
circumstances ; the slumbering deity with liberality strewed
our pillows with his narcotic flowers, and enabled us to bid
defiance to the menacing host.
The morning was colder than we had before experienced
in the island ; a smart shower of hail assailed us at the
moment of departure, which, however, was of transient
duration, for the cloud as rapidly dispersed as came, leav
ing the blue firmament in all its characteristic transparency.

184 TRAVELS IN SICILY
The road from hence is execrably bad ; fatiguing, stony,
uncultivated ; after crossing the rivers St. Juliano and
Cantarra, it passes near the small town of Melilli, situated
on a pleasing eminence to the left, commanding a view
both of the plains and mountains on one side, and on the
other bounded by the African sea, the flowing meads of
Hybla, from whose trees and stony recesses the inhabitants
still continue to lay successful siege against the waxen
castles of the industrious bee. After traversing a curious,
rude-looking, rocky village, whose locality I should have
conceived uninviting to the most wretched of human
beings, we rested our animals at the Fundaco del Fico,
fifteen miles, a large muleteer's stable, tenanted at one
end by a family of squalid looking creatures, who gain a
subsistence by vending wine and bread to the travellers
who stop there ; the north end of the building is shaded
by an umbrageous clump of trees, amongst which predo
minates in size a fine mulberry, though in graceful beauty
the spreading foliage of an immense fig, which gives
name to the otherwise black looking mansion it adorns.
At the southern gable, on a heap of stones, which appeared
to us the most cheerful looking part of the mansion, we
(by the aid of two or three animated skeletons of the ca
nine race) emptied the contents of our basket. The re
mainder of the road, though still rocky and uncultivated,
exhibits a wonderful picture of spontaneous riches ; the
earth seems to teem with the most surprising assemblage of
luxuriant trees, shrubs, and plants ; the orange, the lemon,
and the carob tree; the pomegranate, the liquorice plant*,
* The Glycyrehiza echinata, (yXwm;, sweet, and pi $*, root) of Lin
naeus ; it grows in great abundance about here, and from the root is
extracted, by boiling, the black juice of commerce, commonly known
by the appellation of Spanish juice ; when hardened, it is formed into
sticks, and packed in bay leaves for sale.

v
... !'

11-

'-J

^ i:

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 185
and the wide spreading myrtle, whose flowers, as we passed,
diffused the most odoriferous scent, whilst the curious pal
metto, interspersed with the oleander, and a variety of
beautiful campanulates, cover the hillocks on every side.
To the left we passed an untenanted Benedictine monas
tery, (the first instance of the kind that has come within
my travelled experience), descended into the narrow
wooded bed of a rivulet, and shortly after, from an emi
nence, descried the steam-boat from Naples ploughing
along shore from Augusta, the novelty of whose appearance,
(for it was herfirst excursion on this coast), seemed to impose
no small degree of terror in the minds of a few muleteers
who had joined us on the road, and who, on viewing the
black volumes of smoke as they issued from the chimney,
made, with the necessary accompaniments of signs of the
cross, reiterated appeals to the virgin and their patron saints.
We pressed forward, ere she arrived, to procure accom
modations at the only inn in the place, and at four o'clock
entered the walls of Syracuse ! For the first time since we
quitted Palermo, we enjoyed the comforts of a regular inn,
where clean linen, clean beds, and good fare, with moderate
charges, and much courtesy, will induce me to recollect,
with satisfaction, our quarters at the Albergo del Sole.
Syracuse* was founded 732 years b. c. by Archias, from
Corinth, who, in compliance to the mandates of the Delphic
oracle, with a valiant and enterprising band of followers,
landed in the vicinity, and, after many valorously fought
battles, succeeded in driving out the Siculi and taking
possession of the island, which, from its insular character,
they, pro tempore, styled Nasosf, but afterwards Ortygia, in
* See Strabo, Diodorus, Cicero, and Livy.
t Km; (an island), formerly called Omotermona, signifying the bath or
spring, alluding to the waters of the fountain afterwards called Arethusa.

186 TRAVELS IN SICILY
honour of one of the daughters of Archias. Years of peace
and industry aided their new colony in the rapid march
towards human greatness ; and, stimulated by that ener
getic spirit of emulation and unbounded enterprise which
so strongly marked the towering genius of their progenitors,
the state grew up with such prosperous and inconceivable
celerity, that in the short period of a century they colonized
three celebrated cities, namely, Acre, Casmena, and Ca-
marina, afterwards the renowned one of Enna ; and ulti
mately, from a continued redundancy of population, pro
duced excrescences from the island composed of four sepa
rate walled cities united into one, named Ortygia, Achra^
dina, Tyche, and Neapolis, and encircled by an immense
wall eighteen miles in circumference, flanked, at conve
nient distances, with strong towers, to which the general
name of Syracuse was given, from the marshy territory
called Syraca that bordered it to the north.
It made no extraordinary figure in the records of events
until the celebrated reign of Gelon, under whose auspicious
guidance (being less than three centuries after the foun
dation of the city) it became one of the most flourishing
cities of the world, and eclipsed the fame of her Grecian
parent, rivalling her most splendid warlike achievements,
and, inmanycases, surpassing them in the excellency of art*.
No country, perhaps, ever experienced so great a variety
of internal political changes and convulsions, or exhibited
such opposite and inconsistent characteristics under its
varying circumstances ; sometimes docile, submissive, ab-
* On the decline of the arts in Greece, from the reign of the first suc
cessors of Alexander, they began to flourish in Sicily, and particularly in
Syracuse ; and continued, with a surprising degree of perfection, until
the taking of the city by Marcellus. The golden coins of Gelon, 470
years b. c, and the, silver ones of Agathocles, afford incontestible testi
mony of their pre-eminent excellence.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 187
jectly servile, conspiring against the common country, and
abetting its oppressors ; at others bold, intrepid, frantic in
the zeal for freedom, and struggling, with the most ener
getic vehemence, against tyranny. It successively assumed
the forms of republicanism, aristocracy, and despotism ;
ruled by governors, tyrants, and kings ; some raising it to
opulence and the splendour of freedom by their benevo
lence and wisdom, and by the cultivation of agriculture,
commerce, and the arts ; as such let us venerate the glo
rious memory of Gelon, the two Hieros, Dion, and Timo
leon : others destroying the sinews of the state, wasting its
means, and impoverishing its population by oppressive
cruelties and useless warfare, such the reader will readily
call to mind the execrable blood-thirsty characters of the
Dyonisiuses, Thrasybulus, Agathocles, and Hieronymus.
In its glorious days of greatness it exhibited talents and
energies that at once annihilated its enemies and astonished
mankind, whilst the brightest examples of virtue, wisdom,
courage, and genius, have diffused a lustre over the chroni
cled pages of its fame, that never can be obliterated as long
as literature and science shall continue to adorn the world.
Heroes whose splendid achievements and military prowess
stand out in all the most prominent relief of superior ex
cellence, and still light up the enthusiasm of the youthful
soldier ; philosophers, poets, and historians, whose talented
genius still continues to be held up as a landmark to the
muse of modern days ; and artists, whose brilliant produc
tions are still exhibited in modern galleries and museums as
the most pre-eminent and unrivalled specimens of art ; the
beau ideal of genius, and the models for the aspiring student.
The vast extent of Syracuse, its advantageous position,
the convenience of its ports, the strength of its fortifications,
the multitude and opulence of its citizens, rendered it one

188 TRAVELS IN SICILY
of the most powerful as well as the most beautiful of the
Grecian cities.
The magnificence of its streets and squares, and the
palaces, temples, and other edifices with which they were
adorned, excited the envy of cotemporary states; whilst
the fleets that floated in its ports, and the armies * that
dwelt within its walls, created the jealousy and terror of
Athens, Carthage, and Rome.
In the year 414 b. c. the Athenians, jealous of the grow
ing power of her Sicilian colonies (particularly of Syracuse),
and encouraged by the Leontines, who implored their
succour against that state, undertook to prosecute a vigo
rous war, in the hopes of ultimately making the tempting
acquisition of so rich and desirable an island to their do?
minions : hostilities continued between the parties three
years, each experiencing all the alternations of victory and
defeat, until the fatal and memorable seige 412 b. c. closed
the scene by the total extermination of the Athenian army,
and the disgrace of Nicias and Demosthenes, the former of
whom terminated his career by a disastrous conflict and
defeat on the banks of the Assinarius -f-.
Animated by the same prospects of lucrative conquest,
* Dyonisius, the younger, during his government of the city, kept in
constant pay an army of one hundred thousand foot, ten thousand horse,
besides a fleet of four hundred sail.
¦f The Assinarius, now called the river Noto, takes its rise in the moun
tains near the city of Noto, and disembogues itself on the north side of
Bernaba Point : it is much increased by two or three tributary streams,
and runs through a deep rocky bed with considerable violence during the
rains. It was here the last efforts of Nicias, and his exhausted band, were
exerted in the hopeless cause of Athens : emboldened by success in the
capture of Demosthenes and his division, the Syracusans followed up the
enemy with the most unparalleled and cruel carnage, plunging the
poor wretches into eternity whilst slaking their thirst by the stream
in the last agonies of death : thus ended one of the greatest wars
undertaken between the Greeks, about the month of May, 412 B. c,
which is thus remarked by Plutarch in his life of Nicias : — ¦

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 189
the Carthaginians, in 404 b. c, with an army of three
hundred thousand men, arid a prodigious fleet, under Himil-
con, laid siege to Syracuse. They posted themselves on
the north side of the town, destroying all the temples and
the tombs that lay without the walls, particularly the splen
did and devoted shrine which the Syracusans raised in
grateful memory of their venerated Gelon. But this work
of sacrilegious veneration remained not long unpunished :
pestilence and famine visited their camp ; Dionysius pur
sued them under every accumulation of affliction; their
fleet was sunk or burnt, and their army dismembered, leav
ing but a few soldiers to return with their disappointed and
disgraced leader, and bear the melancholy tale to Carthage.
¦ But the power and prosperity of their arms ultimately
rendered the Syracusans oppressive and overbearing to
their enemies ; proud, haughty, insolent, and imperious to
'their neighbours and allies ; whilst grandeur and extreme
opulence plunged them into an unconquerable degree of
sloth, sensuality, luxury, and levity, to which they fell the
unpitied victims before the arms of Rome, after the cele-
" Exx\nria.$ 5e iravtinftou Svpa.xouo'tw, xat Taw <rvfj.a.%w\i tevo^aevo? EupoxXwj
$nfiayoiyo$ eypairirEV orporoy ^uevtev vfASpav ev "% rov Nutlav sXetCov, Upuv e;£eiv ^uovrag xai
^oXtt&JVTttO- Epyw, A<rtyaptecv ttjv Eoprnv aire rov woraftov xaXowrag tifAEpa. 5e w*
TErpaj a£(vovto£ tov KttPVEttf [aevo$ ov AdEvatol MErayEtrytwyct Trpointyope-vomTi."
For the interesting details of this dreadful conflict I must refer the
reader to the accounts of Diodorus, and the pathetic narrative of Thucy
dides : a- monumental column still records the spot where Nicias, on his
knees, implored the mercy of Gylippus for his wretched soldiers. The
festivals above alluded to by Plutarch were accordingly instituted to com
memorate the glorious day, which, singular to observe, have been handed
down, through a long line of centuries, to the present day, though trans
muted now to a christian ceremony, in favour of some popular saint, in
the month of May, when two olive trees are borne, in triumphal proces
sion, to the city of Syracuse, and deposited, during some days, in the
town-hall, at which period certain privileges are granted by the magistrates
to the citizens.

190 TRAVELS IN SICILY
brated siege by Marcellus, 212 b. c, in spite of the tremen
dous engines of the giant-minded Archim edes *. Im mersed
in the revelries of Diana's fatal festival, the unguarded inha
bitants allowed the enemy to take, by surprise, what it had
cost them three years toil and sacrifice to defend, thus ending
the glorious career of this once resplendent city, and com
mencing the melancholy list of its future sorrows and deso
lation. Becoming, with the rest of the island, a Roman province,
it was, for a long time, governed, robbed, and abused by
the oppressive praetors and rapacious questors of Romef.
It afterwards suffered considerably in the civil dissensions
of the republic, and was laid waste by Sextus Pompeus,
but colonized again by Augustus Caesar, who restored the
town, confining it, however, within the walls of the original
Ortygia. Succeeding ages saw it variously occupied and
despoiled by the host of barbarous hordes that infested
Europe during the commencement of the middle ages, until
the year 824, when the Saracens (after a long, obstinate,
and most valiant defence, in which every age and sex was
vigorously employed), got possession of and destroyed the
town. The event of this siege is held in the most lively
remembrance in the modern annals of Sicilian history, on
account of the energies it exhibited, the unparalleled
bravery of the women, the horrible means resorted to by
the defenders, and the dreadful carnage it suffered in reta-
* Mirabilior tamen inventor ac machinator bellicorum tormentorum. —
Liv. lib. 134.
Marcellus also said of him, Why do we not cease fighting with this
mathematical Briareus ?
f The generous and noble-minded Cicero excepted, who was distin
guished, beyond all others, by his justice, moderation, and generosity.
The Sicilians looked to him as their common patron, and remembered
him, with lively gratitude, for his exertions in delivering them from the
tyranny and avarice of the wicked Verres.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 191
liation from the vindictive barbarians. Whilst the young
and efficient were employed in resisting the sanguinary and
reiterated attacks of the tremendous enemy that menaced
them from every side, the aged, the women, and the chil
dren, were separately busied in their appointed office of
destruction : some in amassing heaps of enormous stones,
some in hurling them on the turbaned heads of the be
siegers, others in pouring from the walls boiling water, oil,
and melted lead, upon the myriads of assailants as they
attempted to mount the ruined battlements. But their
brave resistance was vain ; their doom was sealed by the
fiat of providence ; the infidels entered, and death, with
every species of cruel outrage, ensued. The conquerors
repaired and strongly fortified it : henceforward it became
one of the strongest holds of the Saracens, until the victo
rious Normans restored it to the christians on the expulsion
of the painim tribe in the year 1034.
However, the cup of misery it was fated to experience
was not yet drained to the dregs ; the incursions of the
Pisans and the Genoese successively wasted it in the thir
teenth century, after which pestilence and earthquake
diminished its population and destroyed its form.
Under the military and aspiring ardour of Charles V.
it was raised to its present condition of a triple-walled for
tification, with moats, glacis, and ramparts, &c, which,
barring the unfortunate invention of powder and mortars,
might have smiled in contempt at the united efforts of the
world ; but modern tactics render its massive walls unavail
able, and is locality disadvantageous.
Notwithstanding, however, this once brilliant city is now
compressed within the narrow limits of its pristine colony,
although the surrounding environs, once crowded with beau
tiful edifices, and animated with the busy hum of a teem-

192 TRAVELS IN SICILY
ing population, present but a solitary scene of desolation,
and boast not even the marks of its fallen grandeur ;
although its now unpicturesque, naked tracts furnish neither
attractions for the eye nor beauties for the painter, who with
any soul can stand on the rugged heights of Achradina
and cast his eye over this skeleton of human power and
grandeur, without feeling all the sacred devotion of the
place, and experiencing a burst of the most delightful emo
tions and the most interesting associations that the human
breast of a refined mind is susceptible of ? Who can behold
the land that gave birth to the tremendous genius of .Ar
chimedes, the eloquent orations of Cicero, the rural strains
of the harmonious Theocritus (the prince and father of
pastoral poetry, and the inspiring model of the Mantuan
bard), without venerating its memory and deploring its
fate? What pious christian, too, will view the sacred
shore on which the genial rays of Christianity first began
to diffuse their benign influence in the northern world,
without some secret sensations of delight, and at least a
momentary indulgence of religious enthusiasm ? To the
learned traveller, the memory of the illustrious names whose
spirits still hover about the spot, will animate him with the
interest of its antiquity, arid indemnify him for the want
of attractions to the eye, by yielding a much higher and
nobler source of gratification to the heart.
Acradina, so called from the superior height of its locaj
lity, was the first division, according to the authority of all
the ancient writers, that became attached to Ortygia, in
the form of a regular fortified town. It extended from
Ortygia along the shore to the north-east, as far as a small
bay, anciently called the port of Trogylus, fatal to Syra
cuse as it was propitious to Marcellus, who first gained
entrance into the city at that point, and ultimately became

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 193
the richest, the most magnificent, and the strongest part
of Syracuse. It was adorned with beautiful . colonades, a
forum, a spacious senate-house, the celebrated Prytenasum,
Agathocles' boasted palace of sixty beds, and a temple* of
the Olympian Jupiter ; the latter, in the time of Cicero,
was existing in a perfect state, besides baths, and other
public edifices, which barbarism and warfare have long
laid waste, and whose history time has enveloped in the
veil of obscurity. Stones, substructions, and relics lie scat
tered about; but, like the bones of a charnel-house, without
an epitaph to record the noble structure of which they once
formed part.
Here, too, were the great quarries from whence the Sy
racusans excavated the stone to raise all their splendid
temples and other public buildings ; unaltered in point of
form, though adorned by time, they still exist, bearing, as
they did two and twenty centuries gone, when the Cartha
ginian captives were toiling within their rocky bosom, the
Grecian appellation of Latomiaf. They are interesting
not only for their antiquity and extent, but also for the
many curious circumstances connected with their history,
and the modern romantic garb they have assumed.
The largest and most beautiful is now called the Latomia
di Palombino, appropriated to the Capuchin convent that
stands upon the brink above, from whence there is to be seen
developing to the eye of the visitor who enters that way, the
tremendous area with all its rocky forms and picturesque
* This temple measured three hundred and sixty feet in length ; it was
built by Hiero, near the public square, and devoted to the celebration of
the Olympic games. It is described by Diodorus (16th book) as being
of great beauty, and adorned with cupolas and pyramids of the most
splendid construction.
t AsriB^ia, a quarry. o

194 TRAVELS IN SICILY
scenery. It presents the appearance of an immense dell,
surrounded by perpendicular rocks, from a hundred to a
hundred and fifty feet in height, in whose sides extensive
arched grottos and caverns are perforated, which, together
with the high, ponderous, insulated masses that rear up
their grotesque shapes in every direction, constitute a scene
of peculiar wildness and beauty.
A long course of years has covered the rock with an
exceedingly rich soil, from whence vegetation springs with
all its beautifying varieties, in some parts clinging to the
rugged sides with all the tenacity of the ivy branch, some
times hanging from the heights with the graceful folds of
the vine. At one end the friars have cultivated a beauti
ful garden called the Selva, in which they have reared
every species of luxuriant fruit and plant ; the pale olive,
the delicate-blossomed almond, the fiery pomegranate, and
the golden orange, all blend their beauties and their sweet
ness in this Eden-like, sequestered spot.
Here Gelon, after his glorious victory over Hamilcar,
at Himera, employed the Carthaginian captives in work
ing out the stone for the many temples and public edifices
with which he adorned Syracuse during his short but po
pular reign.
Here*, too, the ill-fated followers of Nicias, who survived
the melancholy disaster on the banks of the Assinarius,
were doomed to wretchedness and misery. Seven thou-
i * Here also the Dithrambic bard of Cythera composed some of his
sweetest poetic effusions, whilst paying the penalty of his improvidence
in censuring the poems of the tyrant Dionysius, who, being his brother-
in-law, unusually afforded him an opportunity of redeeming his crime by
sending for the prisoner from his rocky cell, and asking him what he then
thought of his composition ; but the soul of the high-minded Philoxenes
could not brook the insult, and he only replied, " Take me back to the.
quarries." — Vide Plutarch's Life of Dion.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 195
sand of them were confined within these once dreary pre
cincts, exposed to the horrors of death, famine, and disease,
created by their own poisonous atmosphere, until the sym
pathies of the state rescued them from their abode, and
portioned out the survivors to be employed for the benefit
of either private or public labour. Then it was many of
them moved their tyrant lords to pity, by singing the pathetic
compositions of Euripides; some gained provisions by thus
awakening the feelings of the passing listeners, whilst others
were enfranchised by their masters for teaching what they
remembered of his most beautiful tragedies, whose irre
sistibly moving strains excited their fullest sympathy. Of
all the Grecians, the tender muse of Euripides most charmed
the Sicilians ; from every stranger that landed in their
island they gleaned every smallest specimen of his works,
and felt a secret pride in relating them to each other.
Many of the ancient writers have recorded this interesting
story of the Athenians, in a most pleasing style, which has
been also most spiritedly detailed by the pen of our modern
native bard (the author of Childe Harold) in the following
terms : —
When Athens' army fell at Syracuse,
, And fettered thousands bore the yoke of war;
Redemption rose in the Attic muse,
Her voice the only ransom from afar :
See, as they chant the tragic hymn, the car
Of the o'ermastered victor stops, the reins
Fall from his hands, his idle scimitar
Starts from his belt, he rends his captive's chains,
And bids him thank the bard for freedom and his strains.
It was the fete of the patron saint of Syracuse, Santa
Lucia, when my friend and self walked through these
rocky labyrinths ; and the monastic proprietors, who accom
panied us, afterwards conducted us through their comfort-
o2

196 TRAVELS IN SICILY
able possessions within the convent. Like a heathen for
tress, this religious sanctuary is approached by moat and
drawbridge, and within contains a subterranean golgotha,
like the one described at Palermo ; a larger space, how
ever, is devoted to the use of citizens who choose to pay libe
rally for the gratification of seeing, once a year, the smoke-
dried corpses of their deceased relatives. Being the day
of their pilgrimage, we observed them in many parts en
gaged in their mournful meditations over the cases they
had just opened.
The other . latomia, or quarry, now called the prison of
Dyonisius, lies towards the borders of Tyche. Though not
so extensive as the last-mentioned, its rocks are bold, pro
jecting, picturesque, and full of enormous caverns, where
nitre and saltpetre are now manufactured ; and a curious
isolated rock standing in the centre, on the summit of which
there is a ruin, with a spiral approach leading to it, sup
posed to have been a watch-tower for the centinels who
guarded the prisoners that were confined here by Dyoni
sius. At the north end of the quarry is the celebrated
cavern known by the name of the ear of Dyonisius ; it is
twenty feet in breadth, sixty high, and one hundred and
fifty long, forming an elliptic curve ; the slightest sound, even
the tearing of paper, produces considerable reverberations,
which appear to be the great boast of the Ciceroni, who,
to illustrate the fact, deafen their credulous visitors with
the report of a pistol or peterara. At the summit of the
roof is a small chamber, cut out of the solid rock, forming
a tympanum, into which is concentrated and conducted
the sound of every thing that occurs below. Tradition says,
this curious grotto (although originally excavated to obtain
the stone) was subsequently modelled according to the
rules of accoustic science, under the direction of the tyrant

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 197
Dyonisius, for the purpose of discovering the sentiments or
plans of his enemies and state prisoners *, whom he confined
below ; and that, when finished, he put the artists to death,
to conceal the knowledge of its existence from any one but
himself and faithful adherents. Notwithstanding there is
no established authority to corroborate the fact, I feel
strongly inclined, from corresponding circumstances, to
give it some degree of credence. It has evidently been
constmcted with a great deal of art, and with an intent of
appropriating it to some peculiar purpose of secrecy ; such
means we know perfectly corresponded, as in all similar
cases, with the fears and suspicions of the tyrant : there he
might station a confidential person, and thus become ac
quainted with a thousand circumstances, which never would
meet his ear but through the incarcerated captives who
here unconsciously exposed their sentiments in supposed
secret communication.
The superior knowledge which the ancients decidedly
possessed over us in the doctrine of sounds, enabled them
to convey the human voice, through the medium of archi
tectural forms, in any direction, and to most astonishing
distances, consequently with facility to effect this plan so
congenial to tyrannic rule.
Cicero, in describing the wonders of these immense
quarries, says,
" Opus est ingens magnificum regum ac tyrannorumf."
The stone is composed of petrified marine substances,
intimately blended with calcareous earth, forming a com
pact, solid substance, excellent for the purposes of building.
* Verres also, during his oppressive prsetorship, confined whole legions
in this gloomy abode ; here he tortured the unhappy victims of his ava
rice, to extort from them their money and possessions; and few who
entered there under the excitement of his ire ever re-visited the light
of day.
t Cicero ad Verr.

198 TRAVELS IN SICILY
The inhabitants are constantly discovering relics and
coins of antiquity around those ancient sites, arid I was
fortunate enough to procure a bronze medal of the reign
t>f Hiero II., which was offered by a little girl for the small
sum of a few halfpence.
Adjoining this place is the ancient theatre, situated on a
height above; it is one of the earliest structures* of the
kind known, supposed to have been built shortly after their
invention by JEschylus, and exceeds the length of the
celebrated one at Athens by eight feet. It is formed on
the side of a hill, the seats of which are cut out of the solid
rock, forming three great divisions from top to bottom,
with corridors leading from the three grand entrances, and
communicating with each other by flights of steps. Along
the upper division runs a channel, into which water was'
occasionally led, to wash and cleanse the theatre ; and on
the lower part of the centre division may be seen the fol
lowing inscriptions, which, from their corroded, illegible
state, have lead to much hypothetical argument by the
lovers of antiquarian lore, inasmuch as the interpretation
is concerned.
i a 3 +
^'^^51AI£»HfflFMS!Ami2XAX$lACTJ^
6 e 7 3.9
AI-Zr'AYMINor;>iKO.TAS'^fP«Kv,A£5a^a'>7c,'53!fli-ti
The stage and scenic appurtenances ran across the plain
at the bottom, not a trace of which, however, is now exist
ing, having been composed of less solid walls than the
body of the theatre.
Nothing, I think, so strongly proves ancient skill in the
science of accoustics so much as these immense theatres,
where artificial means were incontrovertibly necessary to
aid the conveyance of the voice through such an extent of
* Probably constructed during the sixty years of liberty after the ex
pulsion of Thrasybulus.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 199
space ; the whole building was surrounded by a wall, and
being open overhead, was screened from the sun by an
awning similar to those of the amphitheatres.
There is now, through some unaccountable barbarism,
a water-mill erected in the interior, turned by a body of
water that falls into it after passing through the acqueducts
along the rocky heights above.
The traveller cannot avoid noticing here, as everywhere
else, how peculiarly happy the ancients were in selecting
the best possible aspects for their open theatres ; I presume,
that the spectators might be enabled, during the interludes,
to fill up any vacant moments by the contemplation of the
most agreeable prospects the country could afford. Just be
hind the theatre is a foundation under a high rock, now
called (though for what reason I know not) the Ninfeo : it
bears all the marks of a place that has been highly orna
mented, there being recesses, niches, &c, which, doubtless,
served to contain the sculpture that decorated the fountain.
Signor Polliti and the Cicerones have attached to it other
names and tales, for the amusement of their antiquarian
disciples. Not far from hence, in a low plain of Acradina, stands
the modern church of St. John ; the pious friend of Chris
tianity will visit it with feelings of veneration and delight.
Paul first preached the gospel of Christ in Europe on the
spot where it stands ; and Marcianus (first bishop appointed
by St. Peter, who established the episcopal see) erected
there a church, to commemorate the commencement of so
glorious an era. The building, of course, has submitted
to the convulsions of various ages, sometimes disseminating
the salutary principles of the Redeemer, sometimes levelled
with the earth in the days of pagan fury. The Gothic walls
of the present one are the production of the twelfth cen
tury, and form, with the rest of the building, an extremely

200 TRAVELS IN SICILY
picturesque object, deriving considerable pictorial effect
from an arcade composed of three Roman arches, which
stand in front of the entrance, shaded on each side by the
beautiful foliage of some spreading trees.
Under the church are the remains of one of the earliest
buildings that were erected, forming now a sort of cryptic
chapel, supported by granite pillars, in the oldest, heaviest,
and simplest style; a few rude fresco paintings adorn it,
and it boasts the mortal part of the bishop Marcianus.
From the church of St. John also are entered the great
catacombs of Syracuse, which struck me as more curious
and worthy of observation than those of Rome or Naples :
who they were executed by, or at what period, is alike
unkown ; obscurity hangs over their history, and everybody
assigns them a different age. At all events, the early
christians fled hither from persecution ; here, in furtive me
ditation with their God, they confessed the creed of Christ,
and here they silently deposited the mortal parts of those
who, with them, had rallied round the banners of the cross.
The excavations are out of the solid rock ; a principal
one, in a direct line with others diverging from the sides,
communicating with each other by smaller passages, or ter
minating in spacious chambers *, is formed like a rotunda,
with vaulted roofs and recesses for urns and coffins : on
each side of the passages are also, in a transverse line, hewn
out double rows of niches, about the size of the human form,
but the extent of the whole is unknown, having been filled
up in many parts, and never since explored. The columns
that are standing on the left, coming out of the present town
* These spacious chambers probably served for the religious meetings
of the persecuted christians. My own opinion is,' that these catacombs
are cotemporary with the city, and that the use of catacombs was adopted
in Rome in imitation of them, after the conquest by Marcellus. The Greeks
learnt the custom from the Egyptians and Phcenicians, who propagated
the adoption of it in every country they visited or colonized.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 201
into Acradina, belonged to the temple of Juno, described
by Diodorus as being near the shore of the great port.
Politi, with his accustomed sagacity, states it to be a cus
tom-house, built by the Romans, whose commercial affairs,
however, we know, as connected with Syracuse, were
neither sufficiently brilliant nor profitable to induce the
building of such a fabric as these pillars must have formed
part. There is another building in Acradina, which, though
of modern date, demands the attention of travellers, namely,
the church of the patron saint of Syracuse *, Santa
Lucia : it is a handsome building, of modern though impure
gothic, with an ornamented facade, and large square tower
at the west end. It is connected with a very extensive
Franciscan monastery, whose holy friars attach all the
sanctity to the shrine of the patroness that they deem
suitable to the interests of their community. Tradition
says, the saint, during the christian persecutions in Syra
cuse, suffered the most ignominious and cruel martyrdom
near this spot, in the cause of religion, and was in conse
quence raised to the calendar by Pope Stephen III. The
day of her martyrdom (13th of December) being appointed
her festival, it is conducted with all the superstitious pomp
and idolatrous worship that ever characterised the religious
observances of heathenism. A silver statue of Santa Lucia,
preserved in the treasury of the cathedral, is on this day
borne in solemn procession to the church, where it is de
posited a certain number of days for public worship. Crowds
rush round her altar — their sympathies are excited — their
* I in vain looked for that splendid picture of the Santa-morte, exe
cuted for this church by the bold pencil of Michael Angelo, which gained
him the veneration of the Syracusans, and an asylum from the persecu
tions of the irritated knights of Malta, one of whom he had slain in a duel,
and after a most miraculous escape reached this island.

202 TRAVELS IN SICILY
charities exacted ! Men arid women, according to some
previous vow, made in sickness or in sorrow, walk from the
town in barefooted pilgrimage to adore her.
We witnessed the festival and its ceremonies, and more
over the procession, which positively seemed more calcu
lated to provoke the ludicrous propensities than to inspire
religious feelings.
The silver image, covered with tinselled drapery, mounted
on a platform, was borne on the shoulders of four men,
preceded by a military band of music, and followed by
the ecclesiastical dignitaries in a vehicle very much like
a dilapidated cast-off lord mayor's state coach of the
last century ; a second carriage conveyed the civil and
military authorities, whilst a jumbled mass of priests,
monks, friars, soldiers, and citizens, formed an endless
train in the rear; and such was the conduct and ap
pearance of the ensemble, that Catholic, Protestant, Greek,
and Jew, who were amongst the spectators around me,
exclaimed, with surprise, at the existence of such rites
in a christian country of the nineteenth century. If I had
been transported again amongst the fettish ceremonies of
Dahomy and Callabar, greater paganism could not have
been exhibited, greater delusion practiced.
Tyche * (so called from the celebrated temple of Fortune,
erected there by Gelon) was the next division that became
attached to this great city. It extended north and south
along the walls of Acradina, terminating like a triangle in
a point towards the heights of Epipolis in the west, with
the beautiful gate of Hexapylon at the end, leading to the
fortress of that name. Cicero says it was more populous
than Acradina, and, according to Diodorus f, was fortified
and surrounded by strong walls during the interval of
* From Ti>x«, fortuna. f Diod. Lib. xi.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 203
liberty, after the expulsion of Thrasybulus ; it boasted a
greater number and more magnificent temples than any
other part of the city, and, like the rest of Syracuse, was
supplied with water by splendid aqueducts, cut out of the
solid rock beneath the town, those gigantic and beautiful
works executed in the reigns of Gelon and Hiero. Here
stood the temple of Diana, (from whose ruins were taken
the granite pillars that now adorn the Roman Pantheon)
and great gymnasium, erected by the noble-minded Timo
leon, for the exercises of youth; where the Syracusans,
after his death, instituted public games, to commemorate
the extirpation of tyrants and the restoration of liberty by
that philanthropic hero.
From this district also was taken, by order of Tiberius,
the beautiful fstatue of Apollo Temnites *, to adorn his
library; but the tyrant robber died ere it reached the
intended site. Do we not now admire this celebrated
statue in the Apollo Belvidere of the Vatican f 1
* So called from the open area before one of the temples where it
stood, as expressed in Greek te^evo?.
f A variety of circumstances incline me strongly to adopt this opi
nion ; in the first place, Sicily being the source from whence Rome de
rived that unbounded store of beautiful sculpture which to this day adorns
her museums and private galleries, accounts for the multiplied statues of
that subject that are everywhere seen in Italy. Apollo, as I have before
observed, was the tutelar deity of the Sicilian Greeks, under the influence
of whose oracle they crowded and colonized the island ; consequently
every temple, every square, and public edifice, boasted a beautiful
wrought statue of their god, all varying in the mode of expression, ac
cording to the attributes which characterized him, or the fancy of the ar
tist. At the conquest of Sicily, and particularly of Syracuse, by Marcel
lus, thousands of this and other incomparable models of the art were
shipped off for the ports of Rome, to swell the number of trophies that
graced the glorious victory; besides the endless list of the most choice
and beautiful specimens that were sequestered by the rapacity of Verres
and other Roman prstors in Sicily. Antium and Ostia teemed with the

204 TRAVELS IN SICILY
Tyche was built on a rocky stratum of limestone, Which,
being now cleared of all its edifices, and divested of every
thing like vegetation, exhibits a cheerless, desolate scene
to the traveller as he winds along the dreary road in order
to reach the modern town. Time has swept away every
vestige of antiquity, excepting what is deeply stamped on
thelimerock; and there he sees, on all sides, cells, recesses,
orifices, niches, and foundation lines, belonging to the gor
geous structures which once, in aristocratic majesty, towered
above. An ancient road (on which the marks of carriage wheels
are still visible) that divided Tyche from Neapolis, leads, in
rich spoil of the new conquered island, and there many of the most va
luable productions of Grecian antiquity that are preserved to us have been
found. At Antium, towards the end of the fifteenth century, was disco
vered the celebrated Apollo, which, from its being placed in the Belvi-
dere of the Vatican by Pope Julius II., received its present appellation,
and I have very little doubt is the famed statue of Temnites, so much
admired, so much valued by Syracuse of old. I do not think the gene
rality of readers are aware of the immense riches possessed by Syracuse,
and indeed Sicily at large, in the way of art, or the exquisite taste
and perfection acquired therein previous to its subjugation by Rome ; and
that the great, " the eternal city" owes to this island the foundation of its
taste in the arts, as well as the greater proportion of the ancient treasure
which now brings the world to gaze within its walls. The concurring
testimony of ancient writers, however, confirms the fact. Talking of
Syracuse alone, Strabo says it was the richest, the most wonderful, and
most powerful city of the Greeks ; that, without counting the suburbs, it
was twenty-two miles in circumference, with a population of a million
and a half of souls. Cicero called it the most beautiful city, an abode
worthy of gods and of men, whose spoils adorned and enriched the Roman
republic, Marcellus having (not only to increase his own glory but to
aggrandize that of the Roman people), borne away statues, pictures, and
every thing else that was precious, to the capital of Rome. Livy, too, in
alluding to that period, says, the Romans then began to see, to wonder
at, and appreciate the beautiful works of the Greeks ; besides Pliny and
others, who enumerate the various and rich productions of genius that
were constantly taken to adorn the works of the republic.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 205
a winding form, through a street bordered by a rock of
limestone, the numerous excavations in which identify the
spot allotted by the Syracusans for the public funereal
monuments and tombs of their distinguished countrymen :
they contain niches for the bodies, as well as for votive and
cinerary urns. Two, more perfect than the rest, attract the
strangersattention, one level with the road, surmounted by
another on the summit of the rock to its right; the former
exhibits a Grecian front, composed of two fluted Doric
columns supporting a pediment, all cut from the solid rock,
with an interior excavation possessing the usual appropriate
recesses on the three sides of which it is formed. No in
scription, coin, or relic, however, has been discovered to
denote whose manes it honoured, although Signor Polliti
and his fraternity have, to give importance to their anti
quarian knowledge, and somewhat of interest to the place,
baptized it with the dignified title of Archimedes' tomb, of
which we will hereafter treat.
Epipolis was not an inhabited district, but originally a
height overlooking the rest of Syracuse (hence its name
Em and noXu), now called Belvidere. After the siege by the
Athenians, who erected on the summit the fort of Lab-
dalon, it was walled in, uniting Hexapylon into one fortress,
called Epipolis. Under the height once stood the splendid
palace and gardens of Dionysius the elder, and whither,
according to Pliny, the plane-tree, for the first time, was
brought from Africa to ornament the grounds. Near
Epipolis may still be seen part of that immense wall, built,
with surprising rapidity, by Dionysius, in a case of emer
gency ; it was four miles in length, and of immense height
and thickness, all of which he completed within twenty
days, employing sixty thousand men, and twelve thousand
oxen: he encouraged the labourers by his presence ; he eat

206 TRAVELS IN SICILY
with them, and frequently aided individuals amongst them
by his own personal efforts. The nature of this gigantic
work may be correctly judged of by the vestiges that re
main, which are nearly nine feet in width, composed (like
what are termed the Cyclopean walls) of tremendous square
blocks united with cement.
Neapolis was the last acquisition made to the great city
of Syracuse, and, on that account, was called Neapolis, or
new town. During the siege of the Carthaginians under
Himilcon it formed a mere suburb, but contained the proud
temples of Ceres and Proserpine *, which being, according
to custom, situated without the town, were, together with all
the tombs, pillaged and destroyed by the army of Himilcon.
It contained a beautiful amphitheatre, which, though in
dilapidation and ruin, may still be seen, situated a little
below the theatre already described. It was not of great
magnitude, but beautiful in point of form ; partly cut out
of the rock, and in part built of immense square blocks of
stone and marble; its vomatories and corridors are perfect,
although only partially excavated, and the two grand en
trances into the arena are still visible : the arena measures
two hundred and sixty-four feet in length, and one hundred
and sixty-five in breadth ; but the bloom of a luxuriant ve
getation now smiles over its area, where once the, blood of
brute and human victims flowed to gratify the barbarous
diversions of Roman taste. It is usually reported to be of
Roman construction, because of the marble material found
in the building, which some sapient antiquaries have as
serted is confined to Roman edifices : had we no stronger
testimony, that were frail indeed . Hiero strengthened and
adorned his sumptuous fabrics with the marble of Mount
* These two temples, according to Diodorus, were erected by Hiero I.,
and were ranked amongst the richest of his reign.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 207
Tauros. Diodorus and Pliny style the smaller harbour the
marbled port, on account of the marble buildings raised in
the halcyon days of Dionysius and Agathocles.
However, we will not hesitate to pronounce the amphi
theatre Roman ; because that species of fabric is decidedly
of Roman invention, and at a period when Sicily formed
one of the provinces of Rome. The combats of wild beasts
were exhibited with extraordinary magnificence in the time
of Caesar and Pompey, but at that time in the circus, the
form of which would not admit all the spectators to an
equally advantageous view ; hence then the invention of the
amphitheatre, the firstof which was erected, by Julius Caesar,
of timber, and subsequently of more solid materials, of which
the celebrated Flavian fabric served as a model for the
numbers that afterwards appeared in almost all the colonies
of Rome. The amusements of the amphitheatre were as
indispensible to a Roman as the theatre and the opera are,
at the present day, to a Frenchman or an Italian : they
possessed an inordinate passion for public spectacles, parti
cularly such as were sanguinary, which the government
encouraged, as tending to preserve that characteristic "spirit
which had secured them the conquest of the civilized world.
The one of Syracuse then, in question, we may date to
about the commencement of the second century of Christ,
but at what particular period no relic or writing is extant
to bear satisfactory testimony.
Two beautiful gates, called Menetides, opened from
Neapolis upon the marsh, across whence a magnificent
paved triumphal road led to the temple of Jupiter Olym
pus. This marsh was the fatal scene of death and pesti
lence to the Athenians and Carthaginians * : it devastated
their armies, annihilated their plans, and proved the strongest
* During the siege of Syracuse, in 413 b. c, one half of the Athenian
army perished from the dire effects of this marsh, where Nicias improvi-

208 TRAVELS IN SICILY
barrier and safeguard to Syracuse. Vineyards and gar
dens have succeeded the fallen tenements of Neapolis,
whilst the morass continues to vomit forth its pestilential
vapours in the heats of summer and autumn.
Ortvgia, or the original town, was confined to the island,
and, on account of its commanding the two ports, contained
the citadel, the palace of the kings, and the royal treasury;
it was adorned with baths, a splendid forum, and temples,
and now constitutes the city of modern Syracuse, with the
reduced population of fourteen thousand souls ! The streets
are narrow and irregular, with the exception of the prin
cipal one, which intersects the town, and is distinguished
by the numerous club establishments called caff'e nobile,
belonging to the nobility and gentry who there lounge
away their hours of ennui.
There is little or nothing to be admired in any of the
public establishments or buildings excepting the cathedral,
which was one of the most ancient temples of Syracuse,
consecrated to Minerva, and supposed, from its rude, heavy
style of Doric, to have been erected in the reign of Gelon,
when, by aid of the Himera captives, so many stately edi
fices rose to adorn the city *. It contained thirteen pillars
at the sides and six at the ends, all fluted, and standing on
bases about a foot from the level of the common plinth or
area ; the capitals are heavy, with a more clumsy ovolo
than usual, and the shafts diminish with a considerable
dently pitched his camp ; and the Carthaginian, Himilco, falling into
the same error, lost nearly the whole of that splendid armament Carthage
sent against Syracuse, 404 b. c, and left one hundred and twenty thou
sand bodies unburied on the swampy plain.
* Length, one hundred and sixty feet ; breadth, seventy-five feet;
height of shaft, twenty-seven feet ; ditto of ovolo, one foot seven inches;
abacus, one foot five inches and a half; diameter of column at base, six
feet eight inches ; ditto under the ovolo, four feet nine inches; interco-
lumniations, seven feet.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 209
taper, all of which tends to evince the great antiquity of
the fabric. It was one of the most costly and the most
venerated of the Syracusan fanes. On the summit stood
a colossal statue of Minerva, bearing a large refulgent shield
of gold, whose glittering surface served as a landmark to
navigators on the distant sea. It was anxiously looked for,
and joyfully descried by the Syracusan sailors on approach
ing land ; and on quitting the port they took with them
from the Olympian altar an earthen vase, filled with con
secrated flowers, honey, spices, and incense, which, on
losing sight of the shield, they cast with superstitious rite
into the sea, in honour of Neptune and Minerva.
The interior was adorned with a splendid painting of
Agathocles in successful contest with a body of enemy's
cavalry, (mentioned by Cicero,) besides the portraits of seve
ral kings, &c. The same author also states the gates of
the temple to have been ornamented in the richest and
most skilful style, with gold, bronze, and ivory, on which
were sculptured, with inimitable art, a variety of subjects;
amongst others a splendid head of the Gorgon. This
temple, like the rest of the city, experienced the fury of
its successive enemies, until Verres despoiled it of its re
maining riches ; and the great earthquake of 1693 shook
its foundation, and destroyed the portico; however, the in-
tercolumniations are now walled up, the portico is supplied
by a modern facade, and the building appropriated to a
christian temple. Who will not glory in the conversion,
to see Christianity thus triumphing over paganism, and at
the same time a splendid specimen of ancient art handed
down for our admiration through such praiseworthy instru
mentality. The museum is but in its infant state, which we cannot
help expressing somewhat of wonder at in a place abound-
p

210 TRAVELS IN SICILY
ing with such resources for accumulation in every branch
of antiquarian riches ; it contains at present little more
than the fragments of architectural ornaments, and the
torsi of Grecian statuary, with two or three sarcophagi, a
few good fossil specimens, lamps, vases, and some inter
esting paleographic memorials. The principal boast,
however, of this museum is the Landolina Venus and an
iEsculapius ; the latter decidedly an admirable effort of the
Grecian chissel ; the former, notwithstanding the high
estimation in which it is held at Syracuse, I think below
mediocrity. Up stairs is the library, where may be seen
a fine copy of the Koran, taken by the Augusta murderers
from a French officer ; and in an adjoining room a fine
collection of the agates, jaspers, and marbles of the island.
The lovers of antiquity will, however, find much to gra"
tify, and perhaps instruct, them in the private collections
here, particularly in coins and medals, to which the pror:
prietors generously offer every facility of access.
We failed not to visit the celebrated fountain of Are-
thusa, whose waters have, almost in every age and nation,
inspired the eloquent strains of the historian, and the ten
der minstrelsy of the bard. From a similarity in the qua
lities of the waters with those of the Alphaeus in the Peio»
ponnesus, and the latter losing itself in the earth, the an
cients (of whom Pindar and Timaeus were the first) asserted
there was a communication between the two, and that the
Alphaeus, after traversing several hundred miles under the
sea, rose again in the island of Ortygia*. Hence, then,
* Alpheum fama est hue Elidis amnem,
Occultas egisse vias subter mare : qui nunc
Ore Arethusa, tuo Siculis confunditur undis. — Third Mneid.
Besides which see Pindar Nem., Ode first; Virg., Eclog. fourth, and
Geor. fourth; Ovid, Met. fifth; Glaudian, Lib. two ; Silius lialicus,
Lib. fourteen.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 211
all those beautiful inspirations- of genius which, like the
brilliant corruscations of a meteor, have shot their vivid
glare over the page of poetry and fable, and whose writers
thus attached such celebrity to the streams of Alphaeus,
which flowed by Pisa, or 01ympia> that it became customary
amongst the ancient Greeks to throw offerings into it, of
various kinds, during the festivities of the Olympic games ;
and in that Very interesting romance of Clitophon and
Leucippe, the river is supposed to carry these offerings as
bridal gifts to Arethusa. Kai E« mv Ap£(Wai/ Aim tov a?i$«ov mfj.^o\si
orav uv n tm 0KvfA.1ts.uy Eoprt), ». t. \ — Lib. 1st.
Without the association that is excited by the fountain
of Arethusa, or the knowledge of its poetic fame, the mo
dern traveller would feel neither interested or inspired by
its present locality ; it no longer retains any of its ancient
beauties ; the banks, once adorned with stataes and beau
tified with gardens*, no more exhibit the attractive shores
of Arethusa's limpid waters. The fountain now rises out of
a rock under the city wall, on the west side of the town,
a«d, from the brackishness of the water, is only appropri
ated to the purposes of washing; consequently, only fre
quented by an occasional group of dirty washer-women,
ifflstead of those beauteous nymphs, of ideal creation, with
which the poet once peopled the silvery spring.
Opposite the fountain a spring of fresh water rises out
of the sea, and, in calm weather, reaches the surface with
out mingling with the salt water; it is called Occhj di
Ziliea, and is supposed to proceed from the same source as
the fountain.
* Hence Virgil's prayer, which, from the present state of the fountain,
appears not to have been propitiously heard : —
Extremum hunc Arethusa, mihi concede labore,
Sic tibi cum fluctus subter labere Sicanos
Doris amata suam non intermisceat undam.— Tenth Eclog.
P 2

212 TRAVELS IN SICILY
The environs of Syracuse are remarkable for their fer
tility ; besides pulse, grain, and the olive, it produces a
great variety of delicious muscadel and other wines ; amongst
which one still bears the ancient name of Pollian, from
Pollis who first introduced the wine from Thrace. The
finest honey, too, is found in the vicinity, and constitutes,
as of old, a great article of -export.
Being the popular fete of the city (Santa Lucia), we saw
the place to the greatest advantage, and the people in their
most joyous, noisy mood ; feasting seemed to be the order
of the day, and our inn, the only one in the place, pre-
serited a bustling scene of festivity. The Duke San Gio
vanni, family, and suite, filled the house, with the excep
tion of the rooms we occupied ; our acquaintance was the
result, and we found them amiable as well as agreeable;
though I cannot neglect this opportunity of giving testi
mony to the general friendliness evinced towards us by all
the Sicilians to whom we were introduced.
The novelty of the steam-boat seemed to cause much
curiosity in the town; all paraded the Marina, or pulled
round in boats to view the maritime anomaly, whilst others
eagerly engaged a passage to Catania, whither she proposed
touching. In the afternoon we joined a party of Austrian
officers, in the steam-boat's cutter, to the waters of the
ancient Anapus : we now crossed that celebrated port of
antiquity the Portus Dascon*, the scene of so many in-
* Few places in Europe can furnish a more beautiful, a more commo
dious, or finer harbour than the one of Syracuse, whether applied to the
purposes of commerce or of warfare ; its anchorage is perfectly good and
safe, access free from dangers, and well supplied with good fresh water,
and abundant resources in the surrounding country for the supply of
fresh provisions. What a contrast between its present condition and its
ancient days of glory ! A Greek xebec, a Sicilian polacca, and the steam
boat, now formed the solitary tenants of the haven where once a thousand
vessels lay proudly floating on its liquid bosom.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 213
teresting events, the theatre of so much bloody contest on
its shores as on its tranquil waters ; and as we glided over
its now undisturbed and silvery bosom my imagination ra
pidly retraced the bloody days of Agathocles and Diony
sius, the misfortunes of Nicias and Himilco, and the as
sembled fleets of Rome as they fled from the destructive
engines of Archimedes. The port is about six miles in
circumference, and was once adorned round its wide sweep
with arsenal, magazines, and splendid buildings of every
description, guarded at the western point by fort Plemmi-
rium. The river empties itself, on the north side, into the
port, on the western bank of which was situated the famous
temple of Jupiter Olympus, and the adjacent fort, called
after it, Olympia. Hence Plutarch says, " Propinquum
erat Jovis Olympii fanum : quod capere qui multa ibi au-
rea atque argentea erant dona cupiebant Athenienses."
This temple, dedicated to the great heathen deity, was
enriched with the most costly offerings * of gold and silver
from the citizens and kings of Syracuse : it contained a
most beautiful statue of Jove, adorned with a solid golden
mantle, the former of which was transferred to Rome by
its lawless robber, Verres ; the latter stripped by the tyrant
Dionysius, who, in mockery, observed "such a clothing was
too cold in winter, and in summer too warm."
Nicias pitched his camp around the holy fane, and sa-
The small harbour, or Portus Marmoreus, was in a small bay on the
east side of Ortygia ; in the days of Dionysius and Agathocles it exhibited
one of the most brilliant spe*tacles of architectural splendour in the world.
Those two tyrants crowded round its shores the most unparalleled profu
sion of marble edifices, sumptuously adorned with every species of
beauty that contributed to the luxury of architectural taste.
* Gelon furnished the golden robe from the spoils of the Carthaginians,
and Hiero enriched it with precious stones of the greatest value.

214 TRAVELS IN SICILY
credly observed the religion of the place, by allowing the
prjests to remain, and a guard to defend its stores.
Himilco entered its walls with his sacrilegious host, vio
lated the altars, and robbed the treasure.
Ancient writers say it was in the usual style of Doric,
though of the largest dimensions ; the hand of time has
spared but two of its columns to denote the site ; though
erect, they seem to totter with the northern blast, and age
has almost worn down their flutings.
We entered the Anapus *, and the waters being low,
tracked the boat up the river, whose banks are covered
with underwood and weeds, shaded here and there by the
more beautiful foliage of the wild fig, the poplar, and the
tamarisk^ whilst tufts of the majestic papyrus rise up in
luxuriant abundance from the waters' brink, displaying on
their'lofty pinnacles the waving umbel of the beautiful floral
thyrsus, as it is fanned by the passing breeze. It is the
cyperus papyrus of Linnaeus, this river being the only place
in Europe where it is known to grow, and was first sent,
together with the plane-tree, by Ptolemy, King of Egypt,
as a present to King Hiero ; the latter of which he planted
to adorn his palace garden, the former he cultivated in the
Anapus. It is the plant from which the ancients made
their paper, and in point of appearance the most remark
able of its species : the root is very large and creeping,- the
leaves, or rather stem, thick, triangular, and naked, grow
ing as high as ten feet, tapering to a thin point, and ter
minated by a large compound umbel of innumerable
flowers. About a mile and a half up' the river the Cyane empties
* This river received its appellation on account of the grassy-weeds
it generates, as its derivation implies, Am and woa.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 215
itself from the westward; we proceeded along the banks to
join the celebrated fountain * of that name, from whence
it derives its source; it is extremely deep (according
to the natives, thirty-five feet), and though perfectly
pure, the surface exhibits a dark dingy blue shade, hence
its Grecian etymology f. Pliny says it rose and fell with
the change of the moon. I could not, however, learn
the truth of the assertion, the circumstance being neither
known nor observed by the Cicerones of the nineteenth
century. Possibly the present age may be a lucid interval
in the annals of the fountain's lunacy.
We now stood on the fabled site of Pluto's descent into
the infernal regions with the fair daughter of Ceres — a sub
ject to which we are indebted for the nervous and graces
fully eloquent composition of Claudian's Rape ; also for
the exquisitely expressed fable of Ovid's Fifth Metamor
phose. Nothing now distinguishes this once poetic scene but so
litude and wildness, consequently we hurried back to the
boat, and after cutting down a bundle of papyrus J stems
in the Anapus,- recrossed the port, and landed at the Marina.
In the evening we were pressed to accompany the Duke
San, Giovanni to a ball given by the governor, on the oc
casion of the grand festival of Santa Lucia, to which no
* Now called Pisma; and there js a smaller fountain adjoining, called
Pismotta. t Ku&veo;.
• J This plant was called by the Egyptians Babeer, hence the Latin and
English words papyrus and paper. The process of preparing the paper
is both simple and rapid. The pith of the stem is cut whilst fresh into
thin sliees, which, being freed from the external hard part of the weed,
are gummed- together at the edges, and put under a press, which, when
dry, is quite ready for the purposes of writing. On arriving at the inn,
we prepared a quantity of it with great success; though in a coarse way,
from the hurried manner we were obliged to adopt.

216 TRAVELS IN SICILY
excuses were considered admissible for non-attendance, al
though we had positively travelled round the island with
no other baggage than a change of linen. Our arrival
there relieved us from all embarrassment on that score, for
the doors of the entertaining apartment were scarcely
opened ere we were made sensible of our supererogatory
apologies ; however, the evening was rendered pleasant to
us by the attention of the host ; and hilarity, politeness,
and hospitality, redeemed in some measure the want of
that style and appearance we are accustomed to look for on
a similar occasion in our own island.
The following morning we again mounted our sturdy
steeds, and set out for Catania, distant forty-two miles.
About a league and a half from the town, towards Augusta,
stand the ruins of an ancient monument, now designated
the Guglia di Marcello ; it consists of the remains of a
decayed column standing on a pedestal, composed of large
square stones united without cement, altogether about
twenty-two feet high. Tradition has handed down the fact
of its being the work of Marcellus, without the occasion for
which it was erected ; consequently moderns have attributed
it to the commemoration of the conquest of Syracuse,
which no ancient writer or sculptured inscription testify as
having existed. Is it not, then, rather the sepulchral mo
nument of the celebrated Grecian sage of Syracuse, the
great Archimedes ? whose memory the noble minded con
queror honoured by celebrating his funeral with the utmost
pomp and solemnity, and erecting over his tomb a monu
mental pillar, distinguished alone by the geometrical de
monstration he strictly enjoined by will to be his only epi
taph ; namely, a cylinder, circumscribed by a sphere, with
the proportions underneath which the one bore to the
other. For such facts no proof is wanting, and the loca-

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 217
lity is identified by the elegant records of Cicero's Tusc.
Quaest. ch. v.
The ungrateful Syracusans, unmindful of their great
citizen's former services, allowed his memory to be ob
scured by oblivion, and the pillar to decay, until Cicero,
one hundred and seventy years afterwards, when quasstor
in Sicily, resolved on ascertaining the spot, and once more
exposing its remains for the admiring gaze of the vene
rators of science and the sage. Here, after a diligent
search, he discovered the fallen monument,- clogged up
with earth, and enveloped in brambles, through whose
foliage, however, he joyfully espied the sculptured cylinder,
and in adoption of Archimedes' accustomed exclamation,
cried out •• Evpox*." He describes it as situated a short dis
tance from the gates of the ancient city, which strictly
corresponds with the site of this guglia ; and, I think, who
ever will consult the Roman quaestor's beautiful account,
together with the local records of Thucydides and Livy,
cannot for a moment doubt its identity. Here, then, re
pose the remains of the greatest geometrician of antiquity,
whose sublime discoveries have, in all ages, been the ad
miration and wonder of the learned. After paying a
passing tribute to the manes of the Grecian philosopher,
we rejoined the path, and continued our route.
A smiling sun-rise cheered the prospect as it lay before
us, beautifully illuminating the numerous capes and head
lands that protruded themselves from the classic coast we
were about to travel. To the left we passed the bay of
Magnisi with its low peninsula, anciently called Thapsus *,
* BAnta Sepelio. On account of the extreme lowness of the land and
promontory . Lamis, the founder of the castle, was not the colonizer of
Megara, but a native of that place ; who, afterwards becoming governor
of Leontium, was driven out for cruelty.

218 TRAVELS IN SICILY
where the exiled Lamis built his solitary castle, now sue?
ceeded by a modern martello tower. The bay is, celebrated
for the active scene it exhibited in the Athenian war, Ni-
cius having disembarlied his troops here from Catania to
operate against Epipolis and Hexapylon. From hence
we crossed two or three small streams, and arrived at the
river Cantaro, the Alaba * of the ancients, so called on
account of its black muddy waters, and at whose mouth
stood the famed city of Megara, raised on the ruins of the
royal city of Hyblon, by a colony from Megara, in Achaia,
under a leader named Lamis, six hundred and seventy
years before Christ. It was the parent city of Selinon, but
destroyed by Gelon for rebellion; again rebuilt, and afterr
wards entirely razed by Marcellus, as a warning to Syra
cuse, which he then held in siege. Its walls were bathed
by the sea of the beautiful bay which now forms the. great
haven of Augusta, immortalised by the poetic record of
Virgil. Megarosque sinus, Tapsumque jacentem. — Fourth Mneid.
To the west it was surrounded by a rich fertile country*
with the honied hills of Hybla rising in the rear, and. is
still peculiarised by its characteristic richness; wild thyme
and the willow continue to encourage the industry of the
bee, groves of huge olive trees spread along the; heights,
whose venerable boughs have strewed the earth for full
two centuries with their oily fruits, and vineyards yield
their varied beauty tp the scene.
On the long low peninsula, which stretches towards the
south, from the north end of the bay, now stands the town
of Augusta: it derives its name from Augustus, who,
after the ravages committed along this coast by Sextus
* ArABA.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 219
Pompeius, amongst other places which he rebuilt and
colonized, founded a fortress on the neck of land under
our present consideration. It was held by the Saracens,
who called it Jesebalep ; and afterwards, in the year 1229
of Christ, on account of its attractions as a sea-port, and
eligibility for the purposes of commerce, demanded the
attention of Frederick II., who built a large town and forti
fication, since which,.its history furnishes a continued series
of disasters. It was attacked in 1363, by order of Frederick
III., for rebellion, and burnt to the ground by the Cata-
nians : it was, however, soon rebuilt by the same monarch ;
and again laid in ashes by a Turkish armament of one
hundred galleys, July 27, 1561, under Captain Sina, who,
after sacking the town, applied the fire-brand, and made
sail from the flames. Scarcely had it a second time risen
from its ruins, ere the destructive earthquake of 1693
shook the whole pile to the earth, burying under its walls
upwards of one-third of the inhabitants, and blowing up
the powder magazine and light-house. It has survived
all its accumulated misfortunes, and a fourth time makes
a conspicuous appearance amongst the modern towns of
this coast, presenting, with its formidable looking fortifica
tion, islands, and light-house, a most interesting subject
for the draughtsman, particularly from the sea, from whence
he will have a beautiful country in the back ground, ter
minated by the undulating swells of Hybla.
The present town, containing about nine thousand inha
bitants, is composed of three parallel streets, whose bouses,
in anticipation of future volcanic convulsions, are all ex
tremely low, consequently preclude any thing like gran
deur of general effect. The whole is well fortified, and
incase of emergency, might be rendered a place of con
siderable strength and importance. At the point of com-

220 TRAVELS IN SICILY
munication with the main, it is defended by a castle, two
strong walls, and appropriate out-works. The southern
extremity is guarded by an island, on which there is a
light-house and battery, presenting a circular front to
wards the sea, with two formidable tiers of guns, '. called
the Torre d' Avola; whilst the n. w. side of the town is
covered by two other strongly fortified islands, the larger
one called Garcia, the other Vittoria. The excellence of
the port, which is well watered, spacious, deep, and shel
tered, is admirably calculated for commercial purposes,
though only a few small craft are now engaged in carrying
away oil, with a trifling proportion of fruit and salt, which
latter article is manufactured as at Trapani, from the sea
water in the vicinity. The bay of Augusta is formed on
the north by Cape Santa Croce, thus denominated, from
the little chapel and convent erected there to commemo
rate the landing of the Empress Helena, with a part of
the cross from Jerusalem. Little can be said of the peo
ple of Augusta, who, in more than one instance, have ex
hibited traits of such barbarous cruelty, that will for ever
distinguish them from their countrymen. The blood of
three hundred French invalids returning from Alexandria,
in the year 1800, and mercilessly murdered, without the
power of defence, has imprinted abstain upon their shores,
that will require many years to blot out, many virtues to
redeem*. I can only account for their characteristic unso
ciability and ferocity, by their solitary locality and circum
stances ; they have very little communication with other
places, either by sea or land, consequently more left to the
* Another inhuman attack on a party of poor defenceless Greeks, who
were watering in the bay, occurred within the last two or three years,
the details of which I could not ascertain.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 221
common propensities of nature, and exposed to the defi
ciencies of education and good example.
About a mile from the Cantaro, we crossed the St. Ju-
liano, anciently the Millia, mentioned by Livy in his fourth
book of the Carthaginian war, and by the Saracens,
called Jadeda ; from thence passed through the small
miserable town of Ruda, five miles beyond which we
halted at Lepo, a village situated on an eminence near the
river Marcellino.
In order that we might combine the pleasures of refresh
ment with the contemplation of the country, we carried
our basket to the banks of the river, whose waters, as we
enjoyed our rural repast, rippled along its stony bed with
a melancholy murmuring that seemed to call forth our
sympathy for the long years of solitude they had borne
since the decline of Grecian prosperity.
The river is a branch of the Lentini, and was called by
the ancients, Pantagia, at whose mouth there is a curious
port, formed by rocks rising perpendicularly out of the
sea, to a height of forty or fifty feet : it is well worthy the
observation of the traveller, who will feel no small degree
of pleasure in recognizing the rocky characteristscs from
the words of Virgil : —
" Vivo pratervehor ostia saxo PantagiaB." — Third Mneid.
A bold rocky projection runs out to the centre of this
romantic little harbour, upon which are built a large
castle, magazines, and a small village, whose inhabitants
are employed in fishing for the tunny, and cutting stone
for building, which is .exported to Catania, and other
places. Mineral springs of various qualities issue from many
parts of this calcareous stratum ; rugged caverns penetrate

222 TRAVELS IN SICILY
its sides, whilst the neighbourhood of its barren heights
exhibit numerous fragments of antiquity, bearing testi
mony to the site of the ancient city of Morganzia, men
tioned by Cicero, Strabo, and Livy ; the latter of whom
says, the Romans kept a formidable fleet of observation
in its port, to watch the result of the Syracusan tumults,
previous to their great siege of that city. The port is now.
called Golfo d'Ariera, or Porta della Bruca, from the pro
montory of that name.
At noon we rejoined our mules, crossed the stream, and,
soon after, the ancient river of the Leontines, which runs
through the lake Biviere ; two miles beyond whence we
passed the lake Pantano, and the caricatore of Agnuni,
with the Torre Mauro, where may be also seen the re
mains of an immense large gothic church, commenced,
but left unfinished, in the thirteenth century, by Frederick
II. ; and after traversing as flat swampy country, we arrived
at the Giaretta, so called from the curious shaped boat, in
the form of a small flagon, formerly used to cross the
waters. It is the Simetus of the ancients, one of the largest
rivers on this coast, and served as a boundary between the
territories of Leontium and Catana. Its peculiarities in
spired the muse of poetic fable, which makes this stream
the metamorphosis of the nymph Thalia, after her amour
with Jupiter. From the many tributary rivulets that fall
into its course, towards the north and west, it is both dan
gerous and difficult to pass after a heavy rain; however,
we now forded it without even the possibility of splashing"
our suspended legs, as we rode across its diminished bed.
Some authors erroneously place the site of Morganzia at
the mouth of this river, which is impossible, both from the
descriptions of the ancient authors, and the nature of its
locality, which is flat, shallow, and exhibits no traces of

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 223
having ever been different; the shore here is flat and
sandy, very unlike the whole coast north of Catariia, which,
from the same low sandy shore as here, has been converted
into a high, bold, black, rocky coast by the lavas of iEtna,
which at some very remote period have flowed down to the
shore, and encroached upon the territory of the sea. This
fact has been proved by excavations,, which have brought
the shaft to beds of sand and shells.
A great quantity of amber is found about the river and
on the coast, as at Alicata, but all taken to Catania for
sale. I, however, procured one small specimen from a
native, valuable both for the rarity as the peculiar beauty
of its colour, which is an irisated purple. We now entered
the plain of Catania, which extends from the sea sixteen
miles to the west, in a total state of uneultivation, and rea
ders the ride as far as the city tedious, dull, and unvaried,
excepting by the spreading volumes of smoke and fire, as
they playfully issue from the towering summit ofiEtna,
or the appearance of a few coasting barks gliding to or
from the port of Catania.
The sun had already sunk into the west, and we tra
velled the last two or three miles in obscurity until we
reached the entrance of the " illustrious city,." where the
moon, just beginning to merge from the: horizon, cast a
silvery lustre over every object, around which, as in all;
similar cases, with the addition of imaginary aid, gave to
them attractions and beauty more than their reality pos
sessed. We established our quarters, by recommendation,.
at the Albergb delf Elefante, where we had no reason to
complain of either fare, accommodation, or attentions.

224 TRAVELS IN SICILY

CHAPTER VIII.
Catana, according to Thucydides, was founded seven
years * after Syracuse, by a colony of Chalcydians, under
Euarchus, who left Naxosf, drove out the Siculi, and set
tled there, where, for some time, they flourished in the new
city which they built ; but, being afterwards conquered by
Hiero, the inhabitants were expelled, and succeeded by a
party of Megarese, Geloans, and Syracusans, transported
thither by order of the tyrant, who gave it the name of
iEtna. At his death (which happened in this city) the
Siculi, in conjunction with the original Grecian inhabitants,
who had settled at Inuessa, came down and attacked the
colonists of Hiero, and obliged them to fly from the town,
which they again became possessed of, and restored its
former name of Catana. Dyonisius, in revenge for the
succour it afforded to the rebels of Syracuse against him,
levelled it to the ground, from whence jt soon rose again to
its former greatness. It was amongst the first acquisitions
made by the Romans in Sicily, when it became the resi
dence of a praetor, and was adorned with public edifices of
great magnificence. Sextus Pompeius, however, included
it in the general ruin and devastation he committed on this
coast during his short but destructive sway, and it was again
restored and colonized with Romans, by Augustus Cassar,
in a more splendid style than ever, receiving, some years
after, during the architectural splendour of imperial Rome,
those gorgeous edifices, whose ruins, though buried under
* 725 B. c.
f Hence its name from Karamx, habitatum colloco.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 225
the accumulated heaps of ^Etna's petrified streams, still
continue to be the boast of modern Catania. Frederick II.,
in imitation of his royal predecessor's levelling system, to
tally destroyed it for opposing his rights to the throne. His
thirst of vengeance being thus sated, he permitted the in
habitants to rebuild their dwellings, to control whom he
erected the large castle which is still standing, under the
name of Ursino*, having survived the shock of earthquakes
and the, destruction of the burning flood of lava that has
flowed around it.
In 1669 it was overwhelmed by a torrent of lava nearly
four miles in breadth, which rose over the walls, and buried
the greatest part of the city f ; and in 1693 £ was again en
tirely destroyed by the disastrous earthquake of that period.
After such a succession of calamities, arising from the
combined effects of war, fire, and earthquake, it has never
theless again sprung up out of its rubbish with redoubled
splendour and reviving embellishments, and now constitutes
the most compact, most beautifully ornamented, and most
attractive city of the island, with a population of sixty-five
thousand inhabitants; the streets are spacious, and built
with extreme regularity, being all at right angles from
each other, and profusely adorned with churches, convents,
and palaces, the two former of which are so numerous,
and, generally speaking, so richly embellished, as to betray
the predominating influence of ecclesiastical dominion.
What a remarkable instance this ill-fated city displays of
* This castle, once situated on the borders of the sea, was surrounded
by the lava of 1669, and is now crowded with houses built upon the
hardened stream, which has thrown it back considerably from the coast.
f In the reign of William the Good the town was also destroyed by
the volcanic fire and earthquake, when twenty thousand of the inhabi
tants perished.
I Between forty and fifty thousand souls are said to have perished in
this earthquake.

226 TRAVELS IN SICILY
that instinctive love and preference for our native soil
which nature has implanted in the heart of man ! Not
withstanding all the melancholy ravages it has witnessed,
the successive annihilations it has suffered from the convul
sions and fires of the neighbouring mountain, it has as often
re-appeared on the list of great cities, and risen with fresh
beauty from its ruins, undismayed by the fiery deluge
that has from time to time poured down from the groaning
crater, and laid waste their houses and their lands. Un-
appalled by the disasters of earthquake, whose dire effects
are still fresh on the minds of the present generation, they
have returned with undaunted zeal to the restoration of
their town, and the cultivation of their native soil ; fearless
of any. future recurrence, they calmly proceed in the work
of renovation, and with the material that has destroyed the
old, reconstruct the various combinations of the new city ;
for all is lava* — houses, walls, and pavement !
Such a spirit of intrepidity and confidence can only be
accounted for by those sublime energies with which the
great disposer of events has thought it wise to endow man
kind under similar circumstances. But this is no novel
case, no solitary illustration of the fact; innumerable other
countries spread over the wide surface of the globe, pecu-
liarized by local dangers, evince an equal fearlessness of
the dangers to which they are subject.
The public buildings of Catania, though striking objects
to the eye of an uncriticizing observer, are composed of a
combination of architectural fantasies, without unity of de
sign, or that chastity of style which so peculiarly distin
guish the productions of ancient art ; a most licentious ex-
* Though the whole city may be said to be constructed of lava, the
generality of public buildings and some private edifices are faced with a
calcareous stone brought from La Bruca, already mentioned, and the
Syracusan limestone.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 227
cess of ornament seems everywhere to betray a love of the
picturesque, in preference to that effect produced by mag
nitude and simplicity. Costliness and labour are redun
dantly applied to palliate ignorance and redeem bad taste.
However, the general mass of travellers do not view edi
fices with either the pedantry or scrupulosity of the archi
tect, but look more perhaps to general effect ; in which
case Catania, I think, will more frequently please than not.
The principal square, called Piazza Grande, or Piazza
dell' Elefante, is of considerable dimensions, regular, fronted
on the three sides by the town-hall, seminary, and cathe
dral, and ornamented in the centre with a fountain, sur
mounted by a large elephant of lava, supporting on its
back an ancient Egyptian obelisk of granite, covered
with hieroglyphics ; altogether producing an effect highly
ornamental to the space that surrounds it. The water
flows from each of the four angles of the pedestal into a
small basin, from whence it is again emptied into a large
reservoir beneath.
The cathedral possesses a very small proportion of the
original structure erected by the English abbot, Angerius,
in the year 1094, at which period it was consecrated to the
Holy Virgin, and richly endowed by Earl Roger with fer
tile lands in the neighbourhood of iEtna. It fell in the
general disastrous demolition of 1693, and occasioned the
total rebuilding of the present fabric, which is certainly one
of the handsomest, and least surcharged with unmeaning
decoration, in the town. The cupolo that rises from its
summit, and the pillars that ornament its facade, are grand
and imposing ; the latter were stripped from the ancient
Roman theatre by Roger, together with other rich mate
rials, for the construction of the old cathedral. It is now
consecrated by the superstitious Catanians to their tutelary
Q2

228 TRAVELS IN SICILY
patroness, St. Agatha *, to the total rejection of the more
holy patronage of the mother of the Redeemer ! and the
festivals, rites, and processions observed in honour of her
memory (which really savour more of paganism than
Christianity), seem to take precedence, in the considera
tions of the inhabitants, to the services peculiarly devoted
to the Deity.
The churches of this city, like those of Naples, are
gaudy, indiscriminately stuffed with costly materials, and
if they took rank from their riches, might be entitled to a
great share of our admiration; to those who are more fond
of the style than I confess myself to be, I will recommend
the gilded gratings, the painted prison, and the gorgeous
altars of the conventual church of St. Juliano.
The church of Santa Maria dell' Ajuto contains acurious
and rather singular instance of superstition and catholic
delusion, namely, an exact model of the holy house of
Loretto, erected at the expense of an individual, who,
about the middle of the last century, sent an architect to
Loretto, to take a plan of its character and dimensions ;
* Saint Agatha was a young woman of Catania, who suffered the
most cruel torments of martyrdom during the Christian persecutions of
Decius, consequently was enrolled on the list of saints, and by the in
fluence of priestcraft, became the adopted tutelary divinity of the city,
thus operating as a formidable engine in the service of sacerdotal inter
est and power. The great festival of Saint Agatha is on the 5th of
February, on which occasion a splendid car is borne through the town
in solemn procession, distinguished by the same bigotry and superstition
as the Palermitan one of Santa Rosalia.
In the small church of Santa Agata delle Carceri (anciently sacred to
her) may be seen an altar piece, representing the martyrdom of the virgin
of Catania, by Bernardus Niger, 1388 ; it is executed in the stiff de
formed style which peculiarized the Grecian masters of that age, but ren
dered interesting by the appearance of the Roman amphitheatre, as it
stood previous to being overwhelmed with lava, which forms one of the
accessories of the picture. Near this little church also was discovered
the marble sepulchre of Charondas.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 229
and such is the scrupulous imitation with which he has
constructed the model, that whilst vie win git I felt transported
again before the celebrated shrine of pilgrimage in Italy.
The Benedictine convent of Saint Nicolo d'Arena is one
of the wealthiest monastic establishments known ; the holy
friars originally lived in the present convent at Nicolosi,
from whence, however, they were frightened away by the
tremendous eruption of 1669 ; after which they raised the
present splendid edifice in Catania, where they finally
settled their abode ; the vastness of its extent, as well as
richness of material, are striking, but the grandeur of effect
arising from the magnitude of dimensions is considerably
destroyed by the morbid taste exhibited in the style of ar
chitecture, which is loaded, heavy, and divided into a thou
sand unmeaning parts. The hall and refectory are of noble
dimensions, and the library richly adorned, and well stored
with valuable works. A sumptuous staircase of fine mar
ble leads to a number of princely galleries, the longest of
which is upwards of one hundred and seventy feet ; a
great proportion of one wing is applied to the use of a mu
seum, containing an excellent collection of objects in the
different branches of natural history, as well as choice spe
cimens of antiquity, such as beautiful bronzes, vases, coins,
lamps, and Egyptian idols, &c, well deserving the notice of
the antiquary or the man of taste. The Graeco Siculo
vases are particularly striking ; many of them are orna
mented with Homeric subjects, of the most beautiful com
position and the most graceful design.
The church is the finest and most spacious in Sicily,
measuring five hundred and fifty feet in length and two
hundred and fifty feet in breadth, supported by beautiful
marble columns. The great altar is encrusted with the
most valuable stones, such as jasper, agates, &c. The
lateral chapels adorned with paintings and other rich de-

230 TRAVELS IN SICILY
corations, whilst the choir and stalls, which are of wood,
exhibit the most highly wrought and exquisitely finished
specimens of carving I ever saw, displaying in a variety of
compartments the most interesting subjects from religious
history, standing out in all the boldness and beauty of
high relief. The organ, which is justly esteemed a speci
men of art and workmanship equal to any the age has pro
duced, is celebrated as much for the ingenuity of its me
chanism as for the combined qualities of its sweetness and
extensive compass, and I think in every respect surpasses
what the boasted one of Haerlem was ; it produces the full
effect of a complete orchestra, with the perfect imitation of
string as well as wind instruments. It is the work of a Ca-
labrian monk, and a brother of the order, whose mortal re
mains lie buried beneath the instrument that has gained him
fame. On the hard dingy lava that surrounds this monkish
palace the fraternity have, at an immense expense, formed
a garden, which, on account of the nature of the soil, is
confined to the formalities of Dutch taste; tessalated walks
intersect each other at right angles, box borders enclosing
the orange, the cypress, and the Indian fig, two or three
little fountains, ornamented with grotesque groups, with
fine terraces that command a beautiful prospect both of the
country and the sea.
Prejudiced as I profess to be in toto against all monkish
institutions, I feel somewhat afraid of expressingmy opinions
on the subject, for fear of being unintentionally led into the
exaggeration of what is unfavourable to the members that
constitute the different bodies ; but I confess I could not re
sist smiling, as I quitted the walls of this gorgeous fabric, at
the pride and worldliness every branch of the establishment
displayed, notwithstanding the tenants it enclosed, profess,
in consonance with the humility and self-denial of their

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 231
pious founder, St. Benedict, to abandon the world, its follies,
and temptations, and to live alone for religion and their God !
The creator of the universe never intended the physical
and intellectual energies of mankind to be thus entombed,
to become thus devoted to the gloom of monastic seclusion.
No ! it is destined that we should be useful to each other,
and that every individual shall contribute his aid, by exam
ple or exertion, for the general benefit of social welfare.
The cause which led Saint Anthony to the first forma
tion of such institutions (namely, the distress of wandering
hordes, arising out of christian persecution), has long since
ceased ; the terrors of persecution are dispelled ; the church,
secured from its enemies, reigns in peace, and man can, in
safety, embrace the faith of Christ — with freedom practice
their religious observances ; therefore, their existence now
becomes a dangerous abuse, affording only an excuse for
leading a life of listlessness and profligacy, of licentiousness
and crime.
Every one who has witnessed their poisonous influence in
those countries where they most prevail, such as Spain,
Portugal, and Italy, will readily concur with me in con
demning them as baneful and destructive to .social welfare ;
but they are the veins and arteries by which the system of
popery is fed and kept alive, therefore must exist and be
encouraged as long as the omnipotence and infallibility of
the pope are acknowledged.
The museum of Prince Biscari is an object which no vi
sitor to this place should neglect seeing. It was established
by the present prince's grandfather, whose taste, literature,
and talents, were supported in the laudable pursuit by the
splendour of pecuniary resources : he explored, by expen
sive excavations, the ancient edifices that had been for cen
turies buried under the streams of Mtna, and wrested from
their tomb the most valuable relics of antiquity. The site

232 TRAVELS IN SICILY
and ruins of Camarina, lying on his estate, furnished him
with an inexhaustible store of all that was beautiful and valu
able ; and, by purchase, he procured antiquities of inesti
mable worth from the ruins of ancient Centuripa, to which
place his collection is indebted for, perhaps, some of the
most precious and admired articles. To enumerate the
contents of this interesting collection would require the ar
rangement of a voluminous catalogue ; therefore, suffice it
to say, it is adorned with beautiful sculpture, fragments of
Roman and Grecian architecture, inscriptions illustrative
of the ancient mystic rites, bronzes, ollae, lamps, Egyptian
and Grecian idols, valuable gems, cameos, and intaglios ;
also a fine collection of ancient Sicilian vases, remarkable for
the variety as well as peculiar beauty and preservation of the
figures and subjects that adorn them, serving as a fine illus
tration to the treatise by the Baron Judica on the subject.
I strongly recommend the attention of every traveller to
them ; their examination and study are neither unproduc
tive nor dreary. A beautiful collection of most valuable
medals, from the earliest ages of Sicilian history, here af
ford to the classic observer a mine of information ; they
throw a light on the distant ages of antiquity that other
wise might lie obscured by the dim veil of time ; they are
the faithful chronicles of events, of manners, and customs;
they immortalize heroes, sages, and kings, and hand down
to us the state of knowledge, the arts, and taste, which dis
tinguished the remotest ages of those nations which first
shone in literature, arts, and arms.
Amongst other objects particularly admired are the co
lossal torso, the Vas Murrhinum*, and a beautiful bas
* A small blue vase, made of a composition much valued by the an
cients, called murrha. Pliny says it came from the east, and was held
in such estimation, that Augustus, at the taking of Alexandria, selected
nothing from the royal furniture but a beaker of murrha. The torso is

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 233
relief found near the shore, under ground, in the year 1584,
the subject of which is the initiation into the nocturnal
mysteries of Bacchus. The grouping is fine, and the figures
full of expression, joyous, animated, characteristic !
There is also a choice collection in this museum of all
the minerals peculiar to the island ; marbles, jaspers, agate,
all the varieties of volcanic production, with innumerable
curious objects ejected from the crater, besides beautiful
fossils, and many specimens belonging to every other branch
of natural history.
The same enterprising and benevolent prince employed,
during a long period of distress in Catania, an immense
number of poor labourers in forming a garden on a barren
tract of black lava, about three-quarters of a mile from the
town, now called the labyrinth or Villa Sciarra ; he died,
however, before the design was completed, and total neg
lect has almost reduced it to a state of dilapidation : the
museum, too, it is to be lamented, betrays a proportion of
the same decay, strongly evincing that neither literature nor
taste have formed appendages to the pecuniary inheritance
of the grandson.
The garden is composed of fish-ponds, grottoes, walks
planted with the caper, the Indian fig, the cypress, orange,
and lemon trees, and commands a beautiful prospect of
Mount iEtna and the sea.
Catania vies with Naples in the number of its charitable
institutions ; but, like them also, they are badly conducted
and much abused: they want the vigilance of a Brougham
to direct the just appropriation of the bequests made for
their support.
supposed to be of Bacchus ; it is in the most nervous and finished style
of Grecian sculpture, a capo oVopere of art, and a perfect model of human
symmetry.

234 TRAVELS IN SICILY
This city* is also celebrated for its excellent university ;
the sciences are all taught under learned professors, parti
cularly divinity and civil law, and it is altogether regulated
with a great deal of good management ; it possesses an
excellent cabinet of natural history and antiquities, to
which strangers are freely admitted ; indeed I cannot too
warmly praise the extreme kindness and courtesy mani
fested to travellers by all the directors of public establish
ments, as well as that of private individuals who possess
valuable collections of antiquities, of whom there are many,
and all seem to feel a pleasure in affording either enter
tainment or instruction to those who express a wish to see
them. Being anxious to avail ourselves of every moment of our
sojourn in this delightful town, we set out early on the fol
lowing morning of our arrival, per boat, to visit the cele
brated islands, or rather rocks, of Cyclops, the Cyclopum
Scopuli, which have afforded so much interesting subject
for the pencil of ancient fiction and mythology ; the huge
rocks which the blinded monster hurled after the taunting
Ulysses and his fleet. They are distant about six miles
from Catania, and we arrived just as the glorious orb
emerged from the horizon, and shed upon the scene a saf
fron blaze of morning light, so bright, so beautiful, that its
effects were more picturesquely captivating than any thing
of the kind I ever recollect witnessing.
These rocks, now called Faraglioni, rise boldly out of
* Catania was renowned, in the earliest periods of its Grecian history,
for the sciences which flourished within its walls, a proportion of which
has been handed down as an inheritance to the modern inhabitants who
assuredly exhibit a greater taste for literature than any other people of
Sicily. Charondas, the great lawgiver and philosopher, also Andron, the
inventor of the pantomimic art, were of this city.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 235
the water, just opposite the town of La Trezza, in a beau
tiful romantic bay of the same name, formed by Cape
Molini to the north, and Lognina Point to the south ; and
so attractive and enchanting was the picture that presented
itself as we advanced towards the spot, that I could not
help sacrificing a few minutes to the securing a more dur
able impression of it than the memory is capable of re
taining amidst such a diversity of scenes and objects, and
which appear in such rapid succession to the eye of a mere
passing traveller, that the recollections of the most beauti
ful sentiments flit away as evanescently as the meteor's
blaze. The rocks are three in number, standing in a line from
north to south, the highest of which rises about two hun
dred feet from the water ; they are composed of vertical,
•columnar, basaltic prisms, filled up in the interstices with
a cement in some parts as hard as the basalt, consisting of
calcareous matter, enclosing perfect fossils of the scallop
shell. The superstratum of the basalts consists of a bluish
grey volcanic tufa, (not a marl, as has been suggested),
which appears to have undergone the action of fire and
water; and, besides beautiful zeolites, analcimes, quartz,
and lucite, contains a perfectly novel and hitherto unde-
scribed mineral, somewhat resembling analcime in the
general character, though found by the application of the
goniometer to differ considerably in the angular formation.
The southernmost is a high pyramidal one, with a pointed
pinnacle and small detached columnar masses at the base.
The two others are broader and more extensive, with
rounded summits, the largest of which is called the Isle of
Acis, and is cultivated, with the vine and other little pro
ductions, by some of the inhabitants of La Trezza, who
have built a grotto for their use during the labouring sea-

236 TRAVELS IN SICILY
son. A large cistern, with the fragments of dilapidated
buildings, prove it to have been formerly inhabited ; pro
bably used as a fort. This island, from its more advanced
state of decomposition, is less interesting to the naturalist
than the others, the basaltic prisms being less regular,
and more divided by wide fissures. The formation of the
smaller rocks is perfect and extremely curious; and I
have not the least hesitation in thinking, from the marine
fossils they enclose, that the whole of these rocks have
been forced up out of the sea by submarine volcanic
action, on which the cinders of iEtna have subsequently
fallen, and formed the tufa that now covers their surface.
La Trezza is a small town and caricatore, built entirely
of black lava whitewashed in parts, which gives it a gro
tesque appearance at a distance : a few small craft were
loading grain when we were there, which gave its shores
an appearance of animation and activity. The bay is not
without its classic interest, for, independent of the beauti
ful fiction with which poetry has adorned it, it was the
theatre of a sanguinary conflict* between the Carthaginian
fleet and the one of Syracuse ; also the occasional resort of
the Roman fleets, as well as the one of Sextus Pompeius
during his contest with Octavius.
The morning was mild and genial, and on quitting the
bay we again lay upon our oars for a few minutes, that I
* 396 b. c. Himilcon, proceeding from Messina towards Syracuse by
land, whilst Mago coasted along shore with the fleet, was impeded in his
march by a considerable irruption of iEtna, the stream of whose lava
flowed to the sea, consequently cut off his approach to Syracuse by the
south, and obliged him to wind round the north side of the mountain,
thus causing a separation between the land and sea forces, which Leptines
taking advantage of, came to an action with the wary Mago, in which,
together with his own life, he lost one hundred vessels and fourteen thou
sand men.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 237
might complete the sketch I had commenced of the scene.
The high pinnacled rock stood to the left, Acis and the
other to the right, between which appeared the town of
La Trezza, and beyond it, to the north, the small village
of St. Anna, with iEtna and its glittering distant towns and
villages towering over all in the back ground, and emitting
dense volumes of smoke from his lofty peak.
We reached Catania* again at ten o'clock, and after
breakfast commenced an examination of the antiquities,
which consist of ruined sepulchres, the remains of baths,
of a naumachia, of an amphitheatre, and theatre.
The amphitheatre was of great magnitude, built of lava,
and founded on a bed of the same material ; it was des
troyed by Theodoric the Goth, the greater part of the
stones taken to build the city, and the remaindar over
whelmed by the lava of 1669. It was discovered through
the enterprising spirit of Prince Biscari, who excavated also
the ancient theatre, a ruin of considerable interest ; much
obscurity, however, hangs over its origin. It is generally
supposed to be the ancient Grecian theatre, where Alci-
biades harangued the Catanians, though I think strongly
contradicted by the existence of bricks, of which the
vaulted parts are principally constructed, and being an
article never known to be employed by the Sicilian Greeks,
renders it difficult to reconcile the idea of its being of
Grecian architecture. It was of immense sizef, and com
posed of three stories, with galleries and vomatories en-
* Nothing can exceed the beautiful appearance the town of Catania
exhibits from the sea, with, the many domes and turrets of its churches
and convents, the luxuriant hills of iEtna glittering above, with its white
studded villages and towns, and the still more distant perspective of its
smoking crater.
t Upwards of four hundred feet in diameter.

238 TRAVELS IN SICILY
crusted and highly ornamented with rich marbles. The
proscennium was supported by immense granite columns,
and the whole enriched with beautiful sculpture; however,
the ornaments were all stripped by Roger the Norman, for
the decoration of other buildings ; and the granite pillars,
as before mentioned, applied to the decoration of the
cathedral. The exterior wall is still perfect, though, like
the one of Marcellus in Rome, crowded with modern habi
tations ; the staircases, some passages, and a few other parts,
remain in good preservation, where still are visible, vestiges
of the aqueducts which led water into all parts of the
theatre for cleansing. Could we for a moment delude
ourselves with the hope that this was the early Grecian
Fabric, where the eloquent Athenian beguiled the captive
Catanians with his soothing rhetoric ; where first flourished
in Sicily the perfected system of the iEschyline drama; how
much more satisfactory the imaginary pleasures derivable
from its contemplation ! how much more enjoyable those
illusions we are wont to form when standing within the
precincts of an edifice consecrated both by fame and time!
Adjoining the theatre, small remains of the odeon, and
the ancient gymnasium, are to be seen, but neither curious
nor satisfactory. A thousand other fragments of antiquity
are pointed out by the Cicerones, which, as they afford no
illustrative information, and uselessly consume the travel
ler's time, are not worthy of being visited. This town,
however, merits a much longer sojourn than travellers are
inclined to sacrifice to it ; not so much on account of the
ancient buildings and their sites, as the innumerable articles
collected from them, and the taste and spirit with which
their study has been pursued by the inhabitants, thus afford
ing an inexhaustible fund of information connected with
classical lore.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 239
On account of the hot locality of Catania, the early part
of the year is most recommendable for a visit, at which
period the country is luxuriant and enjoyable, the air fine
and the weather such as may enable the traveller to avail
himself of those numerous attractive excursions in its neigh
bourhood, which powerfully claim the attention of the
draughtsman, the naturalist, and the antiquary. Amongst
the most interesting may be reckoned the town of Cen-
torbi, anciently Centuripa, or, according to the Greeks,
Centuripyon ; it was celebrated of old for the high state of
perfection to which the inhabitants cultivated the fine arts :
in sculpture and engraving they surpassed all the Grecian
towns of Sicily, as is strongly testified by the beautiful
statues and inimitable cameos that have been at various
periods discovered there. They were equally distinguished
for their learning as well as refinement, and being one of
the fairest and most flourishing cities in Sicily, excited the
jealousy of their neighbours. When it fell into the hands
of the Romans, it became a prey to the wicked rapacity of
Verres, and lost all its characteristic greatness by a total
destruction under Pompey. Octavius, however, partially
restored it, and it sunk to rise no more in the civil wars of
the thirteenth century, when Frederick II. annihilated the
place, and transferred the inhabitants to the new town of
Augusta. Nothing can exceed the romanticity and picturesque
beauty of its locality ; it is situated on the summit of a
mountain, twenty miles to the north-west of Catania,
composed of a group of five pinnacles, abrupt on every
side, and difficult of access, with a noble prospect of the
gigantic iEtna to the east, and the luxuriantly fertile vales
tvhich hem it in on every side. It still affords testimony
of its former greatness, and continues to furnish beautiful

240 TRAVELS IN SICILY
specimens of art* in the way of coins, vases, and other
relics; the ruins of baths and sepulchres are still visible,
together with the remains of an ancient bridge, and the
castle of Conrad, whose resistance provoked the ire of
Frederick. The ruins of an Augustine convent add to
the numerous objects of its pictorial merits, which, with its
ancient celebrity, render it a place replete with interest.
Although now but a dreary and solitary abode, perched on
an isolated mass of savage heights, it is impossible not to
behold it with the most animated recollections ; to look
back on those early pages of its glory when, whilst it shone
in the full blaze of learning and refinement, and attained
all the meridian splendour of excellence and prosperity in
the arts, northern nations were as yet scarcely known or
peopled, at all events still immersed in the obscurity of ig
norance and babarism.
The commerce of Catania is not very important; it,
however, exports a quantity of wine, fruit, and wheat, and
supplies the island of Malta with the latter article, as well
as a large proportion of snow ice every year from iEtna.
Its silk manufactories are extensive, and employ a number
of poor labourers; and a great quantity of amber is worked
up here into a variety of trinkets, which, though generally
speaking enormously dear, are neither beautiful nor useful.
iETNA. — This mountain, from its form, size, productions,
and extensive volcanic operations, constitutes one of the
greatest objects of wonder and curiosity in the island, and,
* The excavations of this town have furnished more beautiful and
valuable objects of antiquity than any other in Sicily, such as gold and
silver coins, vases, statues, cinerary urns, and precious stones, &c. ; and
has greatly contributed to the valuable store of Prince Biscari. The
mountain on which it stands is covered with a volcanic tufa, overlaying
a stratum of marine concretions of great beauty and variety, well worthy
the naturalist's notice.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 241
inasmuch as its volcanic phenomena are concerned, the most
formidable and magnificent in the world ; from the earliest
ages of antiquity it has occupied the attention of men of
learning and genius; historians have described its majestic
form, its picturesque features, its gloomy caverns, its ro
mantic horrors, and the molten streams that have succes
sively burst from its sides and carried devastation to the
shores beneath. Poets*, dressing it up with all the beau
tiful imagery of mythology and fiction, have made it the
theme of their most harmonious and eloquent strains;
whilst philosophers, in the investigation of its origin, have
established a thousand contradictoty theories, and exhausted
all the varied speculations which the mind of man has
been capable of forming or suggesting.
Its etymology is unknown, though it with great confi
dence has been by different authors variously deduced
from the language of the early inhabitants of the island,
from that of the Sicels, from the Greek, and by some from
the Hebrew ; thus rendering it too bold and presumptuous
for me to undertake an explanation of its meaning ; which,
however, it is not essential to conclude, relates to its fiery
characteristics, if we may be guided by a reference to
almost all the volcanoes we are hitherto acquainted with.
The Saracens called it Gibel, or " the mountain," which
appellation it retained by the country people after their
expulsion, with the addition of the Italian meaning, namely,
Monte di Gibel ; hence then the corrupted term Mongi-
bello, by which it is most familiary known in the surround
ing neighbourhood of the present day.
* Pindar is the earliest poet known to have noticed the eruptions of
iEtna, Homer being perfectly silent on the subject. Thucydides men
tions three eruptions; the first without date, the next after the arrival of
the Greeks in Sicily, and the third in the seventy-seventh Olympiad. R

242 TRAVELS IN SICILY
The form of the mountain is a species of obtuse, trun
cated cone, rising from a broad spreading base, and
terminating in a curious bifurcated apex, whose elevation
from the level of the sea may be established at very nearly
eleven thousand feet, deduced from a mean of the philo
sophical calculations and measurements made by the ce
lebrated De Sausure, and other naturalists of eminence,
who have studiously analysed the characteristics of this
mountain. The iEtnean district is bounded by the sea to the east,
and on the other sides by the rivers Giaretta and Alcantara,
which take their rise almost from the same point towards
the north-west, flowing in opposite directions round the
mountain's base, when, after being increased by many
tributary streams, they empty themselves into the African
sea, the former to the south, the latter to the north, thus
enclosing one of the most populous, luxuriant, and fertile
parts of Sicily.
JEtna is divided into three distinct regions or zones, de
nominated la regione colta, or fertile region ; la regione
sylvosa, or the woody region ; la regione scoperta, or
desert region ; which exhibit all the characteristics and
productions of the torrid, the temperate, and the frigid
climates. The lowest, or la regione colta, extends in its broadest
part, (which is on the Nicolosi side), nearly eleven miles,
with a circumference of eighty-four, in that line of direc
tion which includes Paterno, Aderno, Bronte, Randazzo,
Francavilla, Taormina, and Catania. It is interspersed
with populous towns and villages, striated in different di
rections with indurated streams of dreary looking black
lava, that have been emitted in the various irruptions of
the mountain. The soil is composed of beds of tufa and

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 243
lava in all its other various stages of decomposition, whose
fertilizing properties contribute to the peculiar richness of
this district. It is everywhere carefully cultivated, and
divided into orchards, vineyards, pasturage, corn lands,
and olive groves. The fruits are of the most delicious
quality, and in the greatest abundance, witballthe species
peculiar to warm countries; figs, oranges, lemons, olives,
pomegranates, the Indian fig, the palma christi, the vine,
cherries, pears, and appples, all flourish in the greatest
perfection. The wines made from this region are of ex
cellent flavour and quality, and some of the apples in the
upper part of the district equal or superior to the much
esteemed New Town pippin. Sarsaparilla, cinnamon,
pepper, and a variety of other spices, grow in great quan
tities. In the months of May and June the inhabitants
collect also a quantity of the Spanish flies*, which in that
season swarm about the olive trees, and prove an article
of considerable profit to the proprietors of this neighbour
hood. The second zone, or the regione sylvosa, is composed of
a belt of wood, encircling the mountain, upwards of six
miles in width, separated in parts by excellent extensive
pasturages, and inhabited by the herdsmen and cottagers
who tend the numerous flocks that are fed there.
* This fly is of a beautiful green colour, with a golden burnish, and
was supposed to belong to the meloe genus of natural history, until very
recent discoveries have proved it to be a species of the lytta, cantharis
vesskatoria. The natives collect these insects by spreading cloths under
the trees, and shaking them off early in the morning, at which time they
are weak, and incapable of flying away, from the influence of the night
air; they are then killed by exposure to acid vapour, afterwards dried in
the sun, and packed in dry cases, for the valuable purposes of materia
medica, in which they are most frequently employed for vessicating the
skin, though occasionally administered internally.
R 2

244 TRAVELS IN SICILY
The surface of this region is very unequal, presenting
everywhere small conic mountains with their craters, which
have been formed by lateral eruptions from the great vent
of iEtna, but are now beautifully covered with wood,
herbs, flowers, and vegetation of every species ; the most
curious and beautiful of these is Monte Rosso.
These forests, in the days of the ancients, were famed
for the number of wild beasts they gave shelter to, and
furnished in those times abundant sport for the active dis->
ciples of Nimrod; but they no longer frequent these abodes,
with the exception of a few wolves and wild boars, the
chamois, and the roebuck, which inhabit the upper regions;
whilst in the lower part foxes, hares, edible snakes, par
tridges, and rabbits, are found in great plenty. Hunting is,
however, rendered difficult, by the predominating influence
of odoriferous scents, from the quantity of aromatic herbs
that everywhere spring up with luxuriance amongst the
vegetation of this as well as the upper part of the lower
region ; which circumstance is also celebrated by Aristotle,
Plutarch, and Diodorus.
Nothing can be more delightful than the climate of this
region; whilst the heats of a burning sun are scorching
the surface of the lower district, here may be enjoyed all
the delightful sensations of a mild, temperate climate :
cool refreshing breezes, loaded with perfumes from the
flowers and aromatic herbs that cover the ground, blow in
every direction through the woody shades of the forest;
whilst the eye is delighted with, in many parts, some of
the most heavenly, the most picturesque, and romantic
spots on earth, particularly near the pine forests of Bronte,
which are exuberantly thick, and rendered almost inac
cessible, on account of the rocks, the caverns, and the
precipices that surround them.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 245
The wood of which this region is composed is principally
ilex, beech, oak, fir, cork, pines, chesnut, poplars, and
thorns. The pines are of great magnitude in the neigh
bourhood of Bronte ; groves of cork and luxuriant chesnut
cloathe the eastern side, near Mascali, Piriano, Piemonte,
and Carpinetto. The oaks, though finest on the northern
side, do not correspond with our more northern ideas of
the beauty and magnitude of that tree ; however, they are
remarkable for being excessively thickly leaved, and the
picturesque form of their spreading boughs.
The upper part of this region is also peculiar for the
number of very curious grottoes and caverns that in many
parts present themselves, and furnish a variety of interest
ing objects to the geologist and mineralogist ; particularly
of felspar and augite* in their different combinations. The
Goat's Cavern, so called from the flocks of that animal
resorting thither for shelter, is one of considerable dimen
sions, and served, (previous to the erection of the more
commodious retreat called the Casa Inglese), as a place
of nocturnal repose for the visitors who explored the moun
tain's top : it stands about five thousand four hundred feet
above the level of the sea, embosomed in a wood of oaks
and other umbrageous trees, commanding splendid pros
pects from occasional openings where the wood has been
thinned or felled. In the neighbourhood are worthy of
being seen two little mountains, with their extinct craters
varigated with vegetation to a considerable depth down
the interior sides, the volcanic soil with which they are co
vered being of the richest and most fertile species.
The third zone, or la regione deserta, is composed of a
* These two minerals form the principal ingredients, though in dif
ferent proportions, of all earthy volcanic substances, whether compact,
vessicular, or amygdaloidal lavas.

246 TRAVELS IN SICILY
gloomy tract of lava, volcanic flags, and cinders, extending
with a very gradual elevation to a distance of seven miles,
and terminated by a flat plain, from whence rises the great
cone, with a most abrupt ascent, to the height of nearly
one thousand and sixty feet. Nothing can exhibit a more
dreary scene of barrenness and desolation than the whole
of this elevated district of the mountain ; not a blade of
vegetation springs up to afford variety to the eye ; all is a
gloomy expanse of waste, combining the effects of an un
relenting winter with those of destruction and devastation,
arising from the heaps of ignited matter ejected from the
yawning fiery gulf. Many parts of the year this region
is enveloped in snow, which article the natives preserve
throughout the summer in the enormous caverns before
described, for the purpose of administering luxury to the
inhabitants of Catania and the surrounding towns. The
Bishop of Catania derives a great source of revenue from
the sale of the snow, which is furnished from his stores
near the cone. When wanted, it is packed in straw or
grass, and brought down on mules to the places of con
sumption. The cone of iEtna, like those of all other volcanoes, is
composed of scoriae and loose cinders, which render the
task of ascending fatiguing beyond description. The sum
mit is covered with rocky lava and hot ashes, from whence
mephitic vapours* and sulphureous smokes frequently arise,
to the great annoyance of the travellers, and which create
considerable distress to the lungs of some persons.
The crater, though more horrific and extensive, presents
to the eye a picture less curious or gratifying than others I
* The application of volatile salts to the nose efficaciously dispels the
effects of these vapours, and affords great relief to those who suffer from
them.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 247
have witnessed. The edge of the summit is almost a mile
and a quarter in circumference, with a plain at the bottom
of the abyss, from whence rise up several little cones round
a large one, out of which incessantly issue volumes of
smoke, and loud vibrations even in the most tranquil state
of the volcano. But it is of little avail describing the in
terior of a crater that is every day changing its form ; every
slight eruption gives a new character to the scene, and
produces totally different forms and appearances. An
eruption is always predicted by the drying of springs and
wells in the neighbourhood, by slight earthquakes, and
tremendous noises from the crater ; and its termination in
dicated by successive showers of black, red, and white cin
ders, or ignited earthy powder.
It is these volcanic cinders, consolidated and cemented
by the agency of water, which constitute that substance
generally known by the appellation of tufa : they concrete
into different states of compactness, and when decomposed
by atmospheric influence form a rich productive soil.
Zeolites, leucites, and crysolites, are generated by filtration
of water through tufa, and are found either enclosed in
that substance or on the surface of its substratum.
At the base of the cone are the ruins of an ancient
building, designated by tradition the philosopher's tower,
supposed to have been erected by Empedocles for the con
venience of prosecuting his philosophical examination of
the volcano; others again attribute it to Adrian, who fre
quently ascended the mountain to witness its wonderful
phenomena; whilst some absurdly have suggested its being
a watch tower, raised by the Normans. At all events, at
whatever period, or by whomsoever it was constructed, I
think it is clearly evident to the eye of common penetration,
that its original destination must have been similar to that

248 TRAVELS IN SICILY
of the Casa Inglese, which was erected not far from hence
by the English during their occupation of this island, for
the accommodation of travellers, and consists of several
chambers, with stabling for the mules ; for such is the
gradual ascent as far as hence, by way of Catania, that
visitors may be with facility conveyed thither by those
animals, or in a lettiga, which is frequently had recourse to
by ladies whose laudable curiosity leads them to view this;
extraordinary natural phenomenon.
The most difficult task, the most arduous and painful
undertaking, is the ascent of the cone; but its achieve
ment is amply compensated by the sublimity of the pros
pect; all the labours of the exhausted traveller are redeemed
by the splendour of such a scene as he commands when
arrived at the summit : elevated thus beyond the level of
the earth, he views in one wide sweep the whole geography
of Sicily, the distant hills of Calabria, Malta, and the
Li pari islands; which if illuminated at the time by the
radiance of Aurora's golden beams, far exceeds in beauty,
diversity of objects, brilliance, and sublimity, any similar
picture in the known world.
Clear weather and moonlight nights should be chosen
for an excursion to iEtna; and it should be so managed to
arrive at the summit by sunrise, which may be effected by
leaving Catania at noon the previous day. The road
leads through Nicolosi, and by the celebrated convent of
San Nicolo dell' Arena, the original convent of those pious
Benedictines who emigrated from thence after the eruption,
of 1669, and established their famous palace of luxury in
Catania; a few lay brethren only are left to regulate the
extensive estates in the neighbourhood belonging to the
monastery, and who occasionally entertain travellers on
their road up the mountain ; but comfort fled with the

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 249
portly Benedictines into Catania, and it is now a most un
desirable, wretched place of halt. It was founded by Simon,
the nephew of Count Roger the Norman : since which it
has escaped many perils, and more than once been sur
rounded by the melted streams of lava in their descent
from the fiery gulf. Records are preserved there of all the
eruptions of iEtna, and the various phenomena that have
accompanied them, blended at the same time with a few
marvellous traditionary tales, savouring much of monkish
trickery as well as Roman Catholic superstitions : one par
ticularly interested me, since it explained the origin of a
delusion that is practised on the bigoted and the ignorant
of the modern population of Catania : namely, the bearing,
(in cases of public calamity, such as famine, awful erup
tions, or plague,) in solemn procession, the veil of the pa
troness, Santa Agatha, which is warranted by the rules of
priestcraft to stay the one, or divert the course of the other.
The record, or rather the monkish fiction, states, that on
the 1st of February, a. d. 254, a stone was ejected, during
a great eruption, from the mountain, containing the fol
lowing inscription, and which fell on the tomb of Santa
Agatha : —
Mentem sanctam, spontaneam, honorem Deo, et patris Liberatione.
The priests and people of Catania, moved by such a mira
cle, immediately opened the sepulchre, took out the veil
that enveloped the body, and carried it in front of the
burning lava, which suddenly changed its direction, and
left the city in safety. Hence then all the folly, the mum
mery, and bigotry, excited by this sacred veil, which is
enshrined in the treasury of the cathedral, and exposed
for public adoration on the holy festival of the saint.
From the convent of San Nicolo the ascent becomes
"more steep, and it is about fifteen miles to the summit of

250 TRAVELS IN SICILY
the mountain ; it may be performed without difficulty or
fatigue as far as the base of the cone, and at any period
of the year without danger, excepting under the imme
diate influence of snow storms; during which, or thick
rainy weather, an ascent could produce little or no gratifi
cation. Concerning the antiquity of iEtna as a volcano, nothing
satisfactory is known, although some geologists have pre
tended to affix a distinct number of years to its eruptions,
by the numerous beds of lava overlaying each other, and
interstratified with layers of what they term rich earth,
formed by a gradual decomposition of each stratum of
lava ; for which operation they assign a certain number of
centuries. No argument, however, can be more fallacious
or inconclusive, since it is now indubitably ascertained,
that the generality of those beds found interlaying lava
strata, are nothing more than volcanic cinders that have,
as is usually the case, fallen at the close of each eruption,
and which exhibit not the most distant traces of vegetable
matter. Besides, the time required for the decomposition
of lavas by atmospheric agency differs considerably, ac
cording to their situation, their consistency, their state of
fusion, and component parts; and we know for a fact,
that some of the lavas, both of this mountain and Vesu
vius, have been decomposed, converted into fertile soils,
and covered with verdure, before others of double their age,
which still continue, in their pristine obduracy, to resist all
external influence. With respect to the origin of the
mountain, the same philosophical reasoners have suggested
it to have gradually risen from the level of the island by
the successive accumulation of its volcanic ejections, which
hypothesis is, I think, successfully combated by the exist
ence, not only of all those products which characterize
primitive rocks, but also an abundance of beautiful perfect

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 251
fossils, peculiar both to secondary rocks and alluvial soils,
which it is very improbable could appear in such perfection,
supposing them to have undergone the action of fire and
ejection from a crater. Independent of which, its enor
mous height and snowy summit have been objects of
admiration and wonder to the earliest writers of antiquity
who are known to have mentioned it.
The mineral productions of iEtna furnish an inexhausti
ble store of gratification to the amateur. Antimony,
copper, manganese, mercury, iron, tellurium, titanium,
specular iron, cinnabar, amyanthus, and vitriol ; which with
beautiful chrystallizations of pyroxene, chrysolite, olivine,
felspar, schorls, leucite, hornblende, mica, and many
others, are abundantly found round the mountain.
Mineral springs of various qualities also abound in dif
ferent parts, particularly on the north-west side ; some pecu
liar for the strong mephitic vapour they emit, others for the
curious dyes with which they are impregnated ; whilst those
in the neighbourhood of Bronte and Paterno possess
valuable medicinal properties, sulphurious, saline, and fer
ruginous. The lavas of this mountain are very numerous, the prin
cipal basis of which is pyroxene and felspar, in different
proportions ; of course, a variety of other ingredients
enter into their composition, giving them different cha
racters and appearances. They exist under various forms
and colours, according to their state of fusion : compact,
amygdaloidal, vessicular, porous, vitrified, and in the earthy
state of tufa. In the more compact ones are found beau
tiful specimens of the afore-mentioned crystals, with all
their angular edges perfectly sharp and unaltered by the
action of heat, which inclines me to think their formation
has taken place subsequent to the ejection of the lava.

252 TRAVELS IN SICILY

CHAPTER IX.

Val Demone. — At Catania commences the third great
division or district of Sicily, called Demone, which em
braces the whole of the north-east side of the island, in
cluding the Faro, and extending along the northern shore
as far as the river Rocella, which forms the boundary. It
is the most elevated part of the island, and contains the
highest mountains, of which iEtna, Madonia, and the
Neptunian range, are the most conspicuous. It is the
most wooded and inhabited, and contains by far the
greatest number of populous towns and villages. The
amenity and fertility of the soil has induced a considerably
greater degree of cultivation than peculiarizes the other
districts. The land is comparatively well farmed, and the
people more affluent : and although, on account of its
hilly character, it produces less grain, it abounds in oil,
wine, and silk, together with the richest and most deli
cate fruits. The aloe there I observed grows to an enormous
size, and the oleander flourishes with peculiar luxuriance,
even in the most barren parts, being frequently seen
springing up spontaneously, with all its fragrant bloom, out
of the sandy shores of the sea.
The scenery is wonderfully exuberant, and diversified
with striking objects ; it is at once bold, austere, sublime,
romantic, picturesque : and if any place in the world is
more singularly calculated than another to perfect the as
piring genius of a landscape painter, it is this.
The terrible sublimities of its mountains, with the pre
cipitous acclivities, bold projecting rocks, and foaming
torrents ; the impervious labyrinths of its gloomy forests,

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 253
or the more pleasing shades contrasted with splendid vistas
of brightness that are to be witnessed in those magic scenes
that characterize the neighbouring shores of Faro ; emi
nences crowned with churches and convents ; ruined cas
tles or towns perched on the rugged heights of isolated
mountains; all viewed through the lucid medium of a
transparent atmosphere, and brightened by the glowing
lustre of a southern sun, tend to constitute an ensemble
that might realize the most sublime imaginings, the most
perfect beau ideal of pictorial inspiration. They furnish
ingredients to form the rich and studied combinations of a
Claude Lorraine ; the gay fascinating scenes of a Gaspar
Poussin; the savage gloomy compositions of a Salvator
Rosa ; or to inspire the animated descriptions of a Tor-
quato*, a Petrarch, an Ariosto, or a Dante.
Man, however, has contributed nothing towards the em
bellishment of all these beauties which nature has so largely
lavished on the land; and the traveller, as he proceeds
along the barren tracts over which the common path too
frequently leads, and through filthy, miserable looking
towns, villages, and hamlets, will probably experience
some little disappointment after my description ; but let
him not pass over the country as if performing a task;
like many tourists I have seen there, accomplishing the
journey for the mere purpose of saying they had done
so, and to make a journal, or rather catalogue, of the
places they have traversed. Let him digress from the ge
neral track ; studiously and without prejudice examine na
ture, and he will find the portrait faithful ; he will then, I
am sure, readily concur with me in asserting, such are the
natural capabilities of the country, that if it were blessed
* Vide Tasso's description of the garden of Armida.

254 TRAVELS IN SICILY
with that prosperity and independence peculiar to a more
enlightened policy than it now enjoys ; if the industry, taste,
and emulation of a free population contributed to the cul
tivation of their land those rural charms that so distin-
guishingly adorn our own happy island, it would be the
most Eden-like place on the face of the earth.
From Catania to Taormina it is thirty miles, for which
latter place we departed early on the morning of the 16th
December. Our faithful muleteer, Giovanni, stood with
his patient steeds at the door of the albergo at six o'clock,
and we left in darkness, as we had entered, the illustrious*
city and its smiling plains. The morning was surprisingly
mild, and the brilliant twinklings of the starry firmament
that canopied us afforded an abundance of light to guide
us over the execrable unevenness of the road, which, for
the first few miles, indeed as far as Aci, is intolerably bad,
being nothing but a rugged hill of barren, rocky lava.
Day-break discovered to our right the little bay of La
Trezza, and gave us a farewell glimpse of the fabled mis
siles of the cyclops. After traversing the small towns of
San Gregorio and Filippo, we arrived at Aci Reale (distant
ten miles from Catania), a regular built town, with an
active population of thirteen thousand souls, who carry on
a brisk traffic along the coast with their fruits and wines ;
the latter of which they export in immense quantities. The
origin of the term is of great antiquity, deriving its appel
lation of Acis from the Grecian river of the same name,
which flows a little below the town, under the more modern
designation of Acque Grandi, whose waters have so often
supplied the muse of poetry with a theme ; they are Virgil's
" golden streams of Acis ;" and, besides many other beau-
* " L'illustre,'' the agnomen by which Catania has been designated for
a series of ages.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 255
tiful- classical records of the ancients, we are indebted to
them for the exquisite inspiratioris of Ovid, whose allusion
to the rock this jealous giant threw at Acis is nothing more
than a metaphorical description of the lava ejected in one
of the eruptions of iEtna, which overwhelmed the river,
leaving only a small stream that fell into it, called by the
Greeks Galat&a, to which they, after the destruction of the
others, gave the name of Acis.
The town of Aci is situated on a bold promontory of
lava, nearly eight hundred feet above the level of the sea,
formed by a succession of eruptions from iEtna ; the last
of which was the celebrated one mentioned by the ancient
historians as having arrested the progress of Himilcon and
his army against Dionysius in the year 369 b. c, obliging
him to make the circuit of the mountain, and thereby se
parate himself from the co-operations of Mago's fleet,
which gave rise to the naval contest before alluded to in
the bay of La Trezza.
Having heard, as well as read, much concerning this
great promontory of lava, I felt somewhat curious to exa
mine it ; consequently we alighted, and descended to the
shore by an excellent formed road called La Scala, which
is cut through the rock, and exposes seven or eight differ
ent layers of lava, interstratified with as many beds of
volcanic cinders, (and not earth, as has been suggested in
support of many philosophical opinions and wild geological
speculations), which form a species of volcanic tufa, evi
dently without the slightest symptoms of vegetable matter
ever having entered into its composition.
Aci is remarkable for an endless number of churches
and convents, whose domes, turrets, and spires, towering
above the town and its rocky heights, present a most pic
turesque appearance from the sea.

256 TRAVELS IN SICILY
The Scala was constructed to facilitate a communication
with the loading place and store-houses below, where there
is a snug little harbour, formed by a projecting mass of
lava, which has been levelled into a convenient mole, and
is defended by the Bastion del Tocco, on the summit of
the rock near the town, On ascending from the shore
we remounted our mules and proceeded 6n our jour
ney; the waters of the African sea lay to our right;
to the left the white sparkling dwellings of the distant
towns of Terranova, Zafferano, Caselle, and Milo ; patches
of vineyards, groves of olive and fruit trees, convents rising
with their turretted fanes from the pinnacle of almost every
little eminence, all sweetly reposing on the sunny bosom of
JEtna's gardened side. After traversing the villages of
San Leonardo and Matteo, we arrived a little past eleven
at Le Giarre, the usual place of the muleteers' mid-day
repose. It is a town of nearly five thousand inhabitants,
and, like all the others on this side the mountain, fast im
proving from the industry and consequently more flourish
ing condition of the people. In Sicily, as in every other
bigoted country, where prosperity reigns, monastic institu
tions increase in an equal ratio, as drones augment in pro
portion to the labours of the bee; therefore has, Le Giarre,
like Aci, to boast of the prevalence of its conventual struc
tures and the advantage of its monkish benedictions.. , They
have lately built a fine new church, besides other public
buildings ; and the ci-devant caricatore of Ripostoisnow be
come a neat, regular, modern town, whose principal street
will very soon be united to Giarre. The port is defended by
a battery and tower, but from its badness affords very little
attraction for the resort of vessels. We entered a boat at -the
solicitations of a humorous son of Neptune, and plied into
the offing, which furnished us with the twofold advantage of

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 257
viewing the beautiful landscape from the sea, and leisurely
refreshing ourselves with an agreeable breakfast from our
viaticum, which we had brought with us for that purpose
to the shore.
On the height beyond Giarre, towards the north, is the
famous forest of chesnut trees, and the still more celebrated
monarch of that woody sphere the Castagno di Cento
Cavalli; for the purpose of seeing which we deviated from
the direct path and rejoined the grand sentier at the
river Camarello, or, as it is usually called, Fiume Freddo,
thus prolonging the usual day's journey nearly five miles.
Nothing can be more beautiful, more luxuriant, or more
picturesque, than the chesnut trees of Mascali Vecchio ;
many of them measure from forty to sixty feet in circum
ference, with the most grotesque formed ramifications fea
thering to the -ground, almost enveloped in an exuberance
of rich foliage. The large one abovementioned, called the
" Cento Cavalli," received its appellation from one of the
queens of Arragon, on a visit to the mountain, having, with
all her suite of horsemen, taken shelter, during a storm,
within the circumference of its decayed spreading trunk :
it is composed of five separated stems, standing in a circle,
measuring one hundred and seventy feet round, each of
which is hollowed to the core, and, being without bark on
the inner side, are asserted to have been originally united
into one large trunk : however, the assumption is preposte
rous ; they are all evidently of different growth, the roots
of which may be distinctly traced radiating from each
through the great circle, which could not be the case if
belonging to one parent stem. The whole forms a beau
tiful sheltered retreat; a public path leads through it, and
a hut stands in the centre for the use of the people who
gather the chesnuts in the season.

258 TRAVELS IN SICILY
Descending from the hill we traversed a country richly
interspersed with vineyards and mulberry trees, crossed the
Fiume Freddo, and, soon after, the Alcantara, or Al Can-
tar of the Saracens. It is the Onobalos * of the Greeks, so
called on account of the rapidity of the stream throwing
down the burthened asses as they crossed ; and was after
wards called, by the Romans, Asinus, for which see Appian,
Strabo, and Pliny. The river meanders through a pic
turesque country, sometimes between high basaltic rocks,
sometimes along thickly wooded banks or along narrow
valleys clothed with the richest shrubs and flowers. Its
reputed rapidity, however, we had no opportunity of wit
nessing, for the long drought had almost stilled the current
of its waters.
A little beyond the opposite bank of this river a small
promontory of lava stretches into the sea now called Punta
Schissone, on the extremity of which stands a large battery,
and an old castle called Torre Schissone, that marks the
venerable site of the ancient Naxos, the first Grecian colony
that was settled in Sicily, by a party of Chalcydians under
Theocles, in the year 733 b. c.f Naxos attained great cele
brity in the early annals of Sicilian history ; it became rich
and powerful, founded new towns J, boasted many splendid
temples, and, amongst them, the famous " fanum Veneris."
The venerated statue of Apollo Arcagetes stood enshrined
before the city gates, and it shone in all the strength and
prosperity of liberty under the government of Androma-
chus §, whose enthusiasm in the cause of freedom urged
* Ow>; asinus, and Ba\\a> jaceo.
f Thucydides, lib. vi., and Cluverius.
I Catania and Leontium.
§ 'Androniachus was the father'of the celebrated historian Timseus, who i i
was born at Taormina. i |

AND THE LIPARJ ISLANDS. 259
him to oppose the tyranny of Dionysius, and thus brought
destruction on the town* ; for the incensed oppressor wreaked
his vengeance by sending an army against them, which,
by the treachery of Procles, entered the walls, drove out
the inhabitants, and levelled the city with the earth.
Punta Schissone f, with the opposite Cape St. Andrea,
(the ancient promontory of Tauros,) form a beautiful little
bay, much resorted to by coasting craft whenever the wind
increases from the south-west or north-west with more than
the usual tranquillity of southern zephyrs. The shores of
this neighbourhood are bounded by high cliffs of fine red
and white marble.
After passing the bishop's statue to our left, we arrived,
at four, in Giardini, a small village situated on the Let-
tanno Fiumara ; and which, though afflicted with the pes
tilential effects of malaria, is preferred as a halting place
by the muleteers, for the purpose of avoiding the tedious
ascent of the mountain ; the consequence of which is, the
best accommodations are established there, and the Fortu-
na hotel is now become the common locanda of all travel
lers. Immediately on alighting from our jaded steeds we
ascended the mountain, repaired, in company with a guide,
to the romantic heights of Mola, and visited the splendid
remains of antiquity that adorn the modern town of Taor-
minaj. The road leads up by a winding path, commanding, at
* About the middle of the fourth century before Christ.
t This promontory, or point, possesses considerable classical interest.
Octavius, after vainly summoning Taurominium to surrender, pitched his
camp there, and lost his fleet in an action with Pompey, who, in the bay,
attacked and totally destroyed it, 35 b. c.
t Those travellers who wish to make any stay in this country, and con
sequently to avoid the malaria of Giardini, may obtain better quarters,
and more salutary air, at the Capuohin convent, by procuring a letter of
s2

260 TRAVELS IN SICILY
every turn, a variety of objects, and scenery quite enchant
ing to the eye ; and I never shall forget the striking picture
that particularly presented itself to our view as we paced
round the sinuosities of the acclivity. The sun, though
set to us by the intervention of iEtna 's towering heights,
still continued to illuminate the western side of the moun
tain with the golden effulgence of his declining blaze,
which, reflected against an unusually broad, thick qolumn
of smoke that was at that moment issuing from the crater,
gave to it the transparency and exact resemblance of a
bright flame of fire, extending over the canopying firma
ment as far as the curling cloud retained its density,! pro
ducing the most novel and curious appearance that can be
well imagined ; and which, blended with the romantic
scenery that surrounded us, constituted a picture so inimi
tably enchanting as to impoverish the brightest descriptions
of the pencil or the pen. Such was its electrifying effects
that the rude countrymen stood enthusiastically aghast to
behold the charm. But the enjoyment was of short dura
tion ; the sun sunk into the west, and left the smoky column
in all the gloom of its previous impenetrable density. .¦ I
could not help drawing a moral from this momentary scene
of beauty, whose evanescence, like almost all our other
pleasures, strongly recalled to mind the imprudence of ever
reposing human happiness on the transitory joys of this world-.
Taormina is situated on the ancient Mount Taurus, a high
calcareous mountain * looking towards the sea, and is the
recommendation to their hospitality : it stands behind the theatre, under
the projecting precipices of Mola; from its romantic gardens the amateur
may revel, in retirement, over the picturesque objects that surround him.
* It is, according to Diodorus, the Mount Tauros of the ancient Greeks,
celebrated for.-the excellence of its marble, which Hiero, Agathocles,
Dionysius, and others, employed in the embellishment of their buildings,

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 261
site of that renowned city called Taurominium by the Ro
mans, and tatpomenon by the Greeks. It was founded by
Andromachus, in the year 353 n. c, who led thither the
inhabitants from the ruins of Naxos, and established a
fortress, which proved the commencement of future
strength and greatness; hence the etymology of its Grecian
name Taup»t and mm..
It has. been the theatre of many sanguinary contests and
obstinate struggles in various ages ; and its citizens were
always renowned for their peculiar firmness, fidelity, and
bravery. The seeds of freedom were deeply implanted in
their bosoms ; they aided the noble cause of the magna
nimous Timoleon, who landed here with his ten vessels
and a thousand men to emancipate the island and destroy
the tyrannical oppressors that ruled it. They were the
last to accede to the treaty of alliance with the Romans,
made by Hiero II. ; but when they at length yielded,
ever afterwards attached themselves to the Roman in
terests, and, in cases of exigence, warmly espoused their
cause. The town and neighbourhood became a scene of
contention in the wars of the second triumvirate ; the
fofrner of which was destroyed by Sextus Pompeius, but
afterwards rebuilt by Octavius, richly endowed with lands,
arid colonized with Romans; under whom, during the
prosperity of the empire, it became a city of great affluence
arid splendour*, embellished with theatres, aqueducts, nau-
machia," and temples, whose remains constitute the great
attractions of the modern town.
At the commencement of the ninth century it made a
* Vide Cicero ad Verr. The Greek language continued to be spoken
in its purity ' until this period, when the numerous bodies of Roman
citizens, sent by Augustus to colonize various ruined towns of Sicily,
contributed greatly to its corruption.

262 TRAVELS Iti SICILY
most obstinate resistance against the Saracens, whose re
vengeful cruelty and atrocities^ on gaining possession,
still continue to be proverbial, and are strictly recorded in
the memorials of its annalists. Under the Musulmanic do
minion it was strongly fortified, and became a hold of con
siderable importance, designated by the Saracens Al Moez,
which with Syracuse were the last places in Sicily to acknow
ledge the yoke of the Norman conqueror. The Normans
greatly increased the fortifications, re-established Chris
tianity, and founded many churches and convents ; how
ever, it was at length totally destroyed by the Venetians
during their wars with Sicily in the twelfth century ; since
which it has never again risen to any degree of prosperity,
and is now a miserable looking dirty town, with a population
of not many more than three thousand sickly squalid look
ing inhabitants. Little more remains of the Saracenic
and Norman fortifications than parts of the walls, which,
in subsequent ages, have been added to, repaired, and
ultimately formed in their present condition by Charles V.
on account of the eligibility of the position. The castle,
however, above, between Mola and the town, erroneously
called Moorish, was erected by Lewis of Arragon, in the
fourteenth century, for the purpose of commanding the
town and its refractory inhabitants, and received the ap
propriate appellation of Malvicino.
Nothing can be more strikingly romantic than the
whole of the scenery which encircles Taormina ; all its
beauty, grandeur, and sublimity, inspiring at onCe the
opposite sensations of awe, and pleasing enthusiasm; it
unites the most extraordinary combination of picturesque
features that cari be conceived, amply redeeming the
gloomy, ungainly appearance of the modern town. The
surrounding hills are clothed with rich patches of vine-*

ANn THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 263
yard *, the low lands with fruit and luxuriant vegetation ;
the thickly wooded bosom of iEtna extends along the
west ; to the north-east the straights of Faro, and the distant
mountains of Calabria ; whilst high precipitous rocks hang
perpendicularly over the town, crowned on the summit by
the towering habitations of Mola and its castle, nearly at
a height of seventeen hundred feet from the level of the
sea ; the whole girded, towards the east, by a broad sweep
of azure sea that contributes perfection to this most capti
vating landscape.
A winding road leads up the precipice to the curiously
situated little town of Mola, whose population of three
hundred and seventy souls seem, to the stranger's eye, to
be for ever cut off from the associations of the lower world,
by its rugged and inaccessible acclivities. The adjoining
castle formerly served as a place of exile and incarceration
for state prisoners ; but to what purpose it is now particu
larly devoted, besides being a military station, I could riot
ascertain. The existing ruins of the ancient Taurominium, con*
sistof a theatre, naumachia, aqueducts, reservoirs, broken
sepulchres, and the unintelligible debris of a variety of
other buildings strewed in every direction about the neigh
bourhood, from whence relics of every description have
been found at different periods ; besides Roman and Gre
cian coins of bronze, silver, and gold.
- The theatre is one of the most splendid monuments of
antiquity that is preserved to us, and is held in the highest
* The vineyards are here carefully cultivated, and produce a peculiarly
delicious species of red wine, which, according to Pliny and others,
ranked high in the estimation of the ancients; and at the banqueting
entertainments of the Romans, was served up in rivalship with the cele
brated juice of the Falernian grape.

264 TRAVELS IN SICILY
estimation by antiquaries, on account of the beautiful
symmetry of its proportions, as well as the perfect preserva
tion of that part, namely, the stage and scena*, which in
almost all other ruins of similar edifices is deficient. It is
most advantageously situated on an eminence above the
town, opposite Mount iEtna, commanding the luxurious
prospect before described, and which the spectators had the
benefit of contemplating during the dramatic interludes.,
It was composed of three stories, built of pebbles and
fine brick, of which latter the vaultings were constructedj
the whole being encrusted with marble, and embellished
with columns, pilasters, and statues. The part devoted to
the actors is a parallelogram of one hundred and. forty feet
by sixty, from whence emanates the body of the theatre,
in a beautiful elliptical curve, nearly one hundred and fifty
feet in diameter, comprising three divisions of seats, capa
ble of accommodating six thousand spectators.
The foundation only of the latter part remains, whilst
the former is in a wonderful state of preservation. The
scena is a' thick wall, with a large door in the. centre, and
a smaller lateral one to the right and left, separated by
three intervening niches, and one at the ends, which ori
ginally contained beautiful statues, and were decorated
with Corinthian pilasters.
The proscenium is comparatively narrow, and ,the,
podion, or orchestra, small ; intervening which is a subter
ranean vault or gallery, partly open, intended, I imagine,'
for the prompters. The proscenium was composed of
several chambers, besides which two other divisions, ^^the,,
* The scena of the Romans was a large wall that transversely inter
sected the stage, and divided the proscenium from the pulpitum, where1
the actors stood. ; It was usually, adorned with architectural orders,
statues, &c, and contained a central with two or more lateral doors.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 265
extremities of the scena, two stories high, communicated
with the galleries of the theatre ; which, altogether in its
perfect state, must have constituted one of the most mag
nificent fabrics of the kind belonging to the ancients,
whether considering its magnitude or beauty ; and such is
the perfection with which it has been constructed, in com
pliance to the rules of accoustic science, that the lowest
sound of the human voice is, even in its present dilapi
dated state, distinctly heard round the whole theatre.
How symmetrical its proportions ! — how profoundly skilful
the architect !
The naumachia was an ellipsis of great extent, confined
by . excessively strong thick walls, built by the Romans
for the exhibition of sea fights and nautical exercises.
What a useless expense ! what a supererogatory work on
the borders of a beautiful tranquil sea !
The hand of time, however, has appropriated its space
to more suitable purposes : it is now clothed with vegeta
tion, and the area occupied by an olive garden, leaving
little more than a few traces of its colossal walls to mark
the spot which once resounded with the joyful acclamations
of forty or fifty thousand Roman spectators witnessing its
aquatic sports.
At a short distance above the naumachia are the re
mains of Several water reservoirs, the smallest only of
which retains its exact form; it is composed of two basins
parallel to each other, separated by eight pilasters, and
subpbrted by eighteen arches built of pebbles, strongly ce
mented together. The water was conveyed into them by
aqueducts, which in some parts are cut out of the solid
rock. The use of so many extensive reservoirs is a ques
tion that has occupied the inquiries of antiquaries, but,
from their situation and magnitude, I think there can be

266 TRAVELS IN SICILY
no doubt of their having served for the supply of the nau
machia. Although the gloom of evening rapidly increased, we
again stood to gaze on the wonderful scene that encircled
us. What an extensive field presents itself around this
interesting country for the unlimited exercise of pictorial
skill ! What an intoxicating excitement it offers to the
fond worshipper of Nature's charms ! — unparalleled in the
striking beauty of its features, as in the very rare, yet har
monious, combination of its objects, it is singularly calcu
lated to stimulate to its highest capability the genius of the
one, or to elevate to enthusiasm the admiration of the
other *. Independent of which, it is full of interest to the
classical reader, who, in contemplating it, will be reminded
of innumerable historical events, of which it forms a most
conspicuous object; in the struggles of Carthage and the

* The country also to the westward is particularly deserving of notice,
especially towards Francavilla, which is beautifully interspersed with
wild romantic objects, embosomed in splendid picturesque cultivated
scenery : the country abounds with majestic chesnut trees, mingled with
orange groves and olives, whilst the most interesting views present them
selves on every side ; amongst them a singularly fascinating one of Cas-
tiglione, and the romantic position of the Capuchin convent on the north
side of the valley : it is situated on an eminence between two very pic
turesque rocks, surrounded by woods and evergreens, in the centre of a
country memorable for that sanguinary conflict, in 1719, between the
Austrians and Spaniards, which terminated by a total defeat of the for
mer, and is minutely detailed in the MS. of the holy brethren, who, in
safety, witnessed from their elevated walls the progress of the action.
The convent garden boasts a peculiar proportion of exquisite beauty,
and commands a prospect that would inspire the eulogies of the most
fastidious painter. The fore-ground is closed in by the finest and mpst
elegant oaks of Sicily, and the distance terminated by the lofty form of
iEtna. A fiumara traverses the bottom of the garden, whose waters dur
ing the rainy seasons rush with rumbling impetuosity along its course, and
enhance the charms of pictorial effect.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 267
Greeks; in the Punic wars; in the servile* contests, as
well as those of the Triumvirate ; in the Saracenic and the
Norman invasions ; besides during the civil dissentions of
the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries, it was
ever, from its singular locality and strength, a desirable
acquisition, and consequently an object of contention
amongst all parties.
It was dark ere we returned to our quarters at Giardini,
which, although claiming the superiority over those of
Taormina, had little to recommend them, and can only be
described, according to the very appropriate mode of
French comparison in similar cases, as moins mauvais ;
however, after making a comfortable repast from our
basket, which we washed down with some of the celebrated
red wine of the mountain, furnished by our renegado
looking host, we retired to repose, and departed at five in
the morning for Messina, distant thirty miles. Though no
moon supplied us with the light of her silvery beams, the
heavens were transparently bright, and the beauty and
magnified luminous appearance of the constellations, as
seen through the lucid atmosphere of these southern re
gions, occupied our attention and admiration until the
brighter orb rose triumphant from the horizon, to the ex
clusion of the twinkling lights of night, unmasking to our
view a fine, cultivated, thickly-inhabited country, enriched
with a variety of picturesque objects. The road leads by
a rugged descent to the sea shore, where it is overhung by
high rocky cliffs as far as Capo Grosso. The sides of the
hills are covered with olive trees, corn fields, hemp grounds,
and vineyards; whilst the road is strewed with the beauti-
* The servile war, notwithstanding its short duration, was more de
structive to Sicily than all the contests of the Carthaginians, or even of its
more modern destroyers, the Painim infidels.

TRAVELS IN SICILY
ful oleander. We traversed the almost dry beds of the
fiumare Monguffi and Gallo d'Oro, from whence we
ascended a rocky promontory overhanging the sea *, where
the road, becomes considerably contracted, and leads
through a wild picturesque passage, bounded by high
rocks, called the Pass of St. Alessio, which being the only
direct road to Messina, is strongly fortified, and forms a com
manding military position : there is a redoubt, composed
on the left of a tower, turret, and wall, with loop holes,
united,, by a double wall, to a work on the summit of a
high conical: rock rising perpendicularly from the sea,
consisting of a telegraph and tower, with two or three
stages of platforms, surrounded by loop-holed walls.
On quitting St. Alessio we passed to the left, on the hill,
the town of Forza, with its castle and church prominently
towering above the rest, to announce at a distance the
predominating authority of church and military law.
After crossing another small stream called Agro, we
arrived at the Nisi, or, as it is more generally termed, Sa-
voca, and according to the authority of Thucydides, the
Enisus of the Romans, and Chrysorhoas-f- of the Greeks,
which latter epithet it received on account of the quantity
of gold dust washed down its bed ; indeed the ancients
derived considerable profit from a variety of other metallic
productions its vicinity furnished, and with which the sub
strata are still abundantly impregnated, such as marcasite,
cinnabar, lead, silver, and antimony : the last-imentioned
one, however, continues to be sought for with as much profit
as success; besides alum and an abundance of lapis lazuli.'
* Anciently called Arginus, but now Capo St. Alessio.
T Some travellers attribute this name to the next rivulet farther north,
which, however, is a mere torrent, and not known to have exhibited any
symptoms of its possession of that metal.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 269
Leaving the town of Roccalumera, and its bold romantic
castle, to the left, we soon after entered Ali, which being
half way, we breakfasted and refreshed our mules. It is a
small town situated at the foot of the hill, containing about
1,500 inhabitants, with a small village below, on the shore,'
called the Marina d'Ali, particularly celebrated for its nu
merous and valuable mineral waters, hot and cold, saline,
sulphuric, ferruginous, which are remarkable for the curious
circumstance of their varying in quality and heat at the
short distances of five or six feet. Such is the efficacy of
these waters, in innumerable corporeal afflictions, that this
little place might compete with the celebrity of a Bath or
Cheltenham, if it possessed accommodations suitable to the
exigencies of civilized invalids. But strangers are exclu
sively denied all possibility of taking up their abode thither,
either for health or pleasure ; neither the comforts of an
inn, or the luxury of a lodging-house, are inducements
that exist to arrest the progress of the invalid or the man
of pleasure ; besides which, the: places they have digni
fied , with, the appellation of baths are of such barbarous
construction, and so unsuited to the feelings of a sick per
son, that however tempting their efficacy, no humanized
patient pould be persuaded to resort to the town of Ali for
the restoration of health.
Whilst, our steeds were preparing for departure, we were
amused with the performances of a group of Calabrian
harpers and pipers, whono sooner recognised us to be Inglesi
than they put our liberality to the test by a powerful ap
peal from their instruments. They are, generally speaking,
mountaineers from the remote parts of Calabria, who an
nually frequent this island, and the principal towns of the
kingaom'of Naples, as well as those of the pontifical states,
six weeks previous to the festival of the nativity, for the

270 TRAVELS IN SICILY
purpose of playing hymns of adoration and rejoicing before
the various images and paintings of the Virgin and infant
Jesus, that occupy and give sanctity to some part or other of
almost every street in the town; for which they are paid by
voluntary contributions from the different parishes, inde'
pendent of liberal remunerations they receive for similar
performances before all shops and coffee-houses whose in
terests are especially placed under the auspicious patronage
of the Virgin. And such is the feeling of superstition on
the subject, that a neglect of the custom would be consi
dered the foundation of misfortune, the presage of some
calamitous event.
Of the two, the harpers are the most skilful, as well as
the most pleasing performers ; though to the eye the pipers
are the most rustic and picturesque : they are habited in
coarse sheep-skins, with sandals and Spanish gaiters * ; their
pipes as nearly as possible resemble those of the Scotch, but
more soft and harmonious, and I think less harsh in the
drone- The Calabrian, however, is little calculated to
compete with the skill of the Caledonian ; the energetic
powers of the latter inspire the followers of a M'Gregor or
Duncan with the excitement of martial enthusias»--rthe
badly-executed devotional hymneal style of the former
awakens the fervour of the idolater and the superstition of
the bigot, reaching the heart only through the medium of
the imagination.
Quitting Ali, we traversed the promontory of Capo Grosso,
and arrived at the town and pass of Scaletta, which being
well protected with a good wall and fortifications, effec-
* The Calabrian pipers are always accompanied by the inharmo
nious tones of another instrument somewhat resembling a rude species of
clarionet, which is played by a man or boy equally habited in sheep
skins. '

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 271
tually commands the passage, and is further secured by the
mountains above, and the castle or tower near the shore,
called Torre della Scaletta.
The coast from hence to Messina exhibits an animated
scene of populous towns and villages, Grampileri, Pezzolo,
Landaria, Bardonaro, Tremmisterj, Contessa, and Gazzi,
whose inhabitants are industriously occupied in the culti
vation of fruits, wine, and an abundance of silk. The
intervening country is luxuriantly interspersed with gar
dens, vineyards, olive grounds, and mulberry plantations
for the benefit of the silk worm, which is propagated to a
considerable extent in this neighbourhood.
At four o'clock we reached Messina, and took up our
quarters at the hotel of the Gran Brettagna. It is the best
of the three the town affords, and we found the accommo
dations clean, comfortable, and, in comparison to what
we had recently experienced, perfectly luxurious.
As circumstances rendered time valuable to us, we imme
diately proceeded with a laquais de place to explore the
town; but soon, however, being interrupted by the
obscurity of evening, we returned to dinner, and joined the
hospitable festivities of a merchant to whom we were fur
nished with letters of introduction. The steam-boat having
alrrived, our friend the Duke San Giovanni and his amiable
family were of the party, which diminished considerably
that unsatisfactory feeling arising from a consciousness of
being total strangers in a select private circle ; and aided
by the hilarity peculiar to a ball-room, as well as the
sociability of an unceremonious banquet, we most agreea
bly amused ourselves until one o'clock.
Day-light again saw us actively engaged in the pursuits
of lionizing, and before our breakfast hour at eleven o'clock,
we had mounted all the heights in the neighbourhood,

272 TRAVELS IN SICILY
traversed the town in various directions, and visited many
of the principal public edifices.
The history of Messina is as various as it is interesting.
From the convenience of its port, and contiguity to the
Italian shore, it has been the theatre of contention and
invasion through a long succession of eventful ages. It
was originally founded by the Sicels, or Opicians; sub
sequently, however, a party of Cumsean * pirates from the
Grecian Negropont, coasting along the Faro, and observing
the suitableness of its port and situation to their predatory
practices, landed, drove out the inhabitants, and raised a
new town on the present site, at the mouth of the harbour,
which they called Zanklon, or Zagklon f, from the form of
the port, whose curvature resembles a reaping-hook, as the
name implies. Hence Herodotus, in his allusion to the
place, says, " no\n xa\\umv za>*\i«."
In the course of a few years it acquired no small im
portance, and became a considerable city. Their unlaw
ful and piratical pursuits, however, kept them in a con
stant state of ferment and dispute with their neighbours ;
on one occasion of which a considerable body of Samians
and Ionians, who had been ruined in their wars with the
Medes and Phcenicians, and coming in the neighbourhood
of Zanklon with the intention of colonizing a town of their
own, availed themselves of the absence of the Zankleans,
treacherously seized upon the town, and enslaved the inha
bitants. Providence, however, destined them soon to meet
a punishment equivalent to the guilt of such treachery.
Rheggiumwas at that period inhabited by a colony of Mes-
sinians, under the government of Anaxilas, who, tempted
by the attractions of Zanklon and its locality, in company
* Pausainas and Thucidydes. f zayxXov falx.

7\>-

e -

Doiine di Jffessiao,

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 273
with another body of Messinians under Gorgos and Man-
ticlus, whom he had invited from Greece for the purpose,
crossed the Faro, attacked and took the town, which, after
great bloodshed, he razed to the foundation, and built a
city a mile farther south on the present site, which, in
honour of his country and companions, Anaxilas named
Messina, or, according to the Greek, meizanion. This hap
pened, according to the authority of Thucidydes, Strabo,
and Pausanias, about the twenty-ninth Olympiad, or six
hundred and sixty years before Christ.
Anaxilas *, we learn from Herodotus, yielded the care
of Rheggium to a trusty servant, and devoted his sole
attention to 'the new city. He greatly aggrandized and
adorned it, and made it the seat of government, which he
conducted with prudence, mildness, and justice, at a time
when almost all the other cities of Sicily were enslaved by
oppressive tyrants. At his death, however, the abuse of
power on the part of his successors instigated revolt, and
gave rise to the establishment of republicanism. In the
course of some years after, Ippas reduced it to his obe
dience, and exercised the most barbarous cruelties on the
inhabitants, until the magnanimous Timoleon came to their
relief, drove out the tyrant, and restored freedom to the
city. About two hundred and eighty years before Christ a large
body of Campanian soldiers, who had been employed in
the army of Agathocles, and now on their return home to
Italy, were hospitably received by the Messinians, against
whom notwithstanding, in an unguarded moment, these
* Anaxilas first introduced the hare into Sicily; and having gained the
prize at the Olympic games, explains the characters of some of the old
medals of that city, which on one side have a hare, on the reverse a
chariot and steeds. T

274 -TRAVELS IN SICILY
base mercenaries perfidiously rose, slaughtered many, drove
out the rest, and made themselves master of the town,
their wives, and property.
Secure in the possession of Messina they fortified the
city, established a republican form of government, called
themselves Mamertines *, and entered into a confederacy
of mutual protection with the Rheggians. Their trouble
some aggressions, however, on the territories of Syracuse
at length obliged Hiero to form a league with the Cartha
ginians for the extirpation of such neighbours ; on which
occasion, after a humiliating defeat, the Mamertines began
to think of providing for their safety : in the consideration
of which a division of opinion took place, and, two parties
being formed, one yielded up the citadel to the Carthagi
nians whilst the other retained the town and implored the
aid of Rome. In spite of the injustice of such interference,
and the ignominy it must unavoidably attach to the Roman
nation, the senate gladly availed themselves of the plea to
oppose the growing power of Carthage, consequently waved
the principles of honour and justice at the instigation of
those of interest and policy, and sent an army, under the
command of Appius Claudius, who immediately crossed
the straits, and, by his promptitude, ingenuity, and military
skill, succeeded in driving out the Carthaginians, putting
both armies to the route, and obtaining exclusive possession
of the cityf.
This was the first expedition of the Romans out of Italy,
and the commencement of their celebrated wars with Car-
* The Mamertines were an extremely warlike and ferocious people,
from which circumstance they assumed the appellation of Mamertines,
which, in the Latin tongue, signifies martial from Mamers, Mars, or the
god of war.
f Two hundred and sixty-three years before Christ.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 275
thage. Such measures, on the part of a great state that
prided itself on its virtues and dignity, could not be justified
on the score of probity and honour ; although, contrary to
the opinions of some witers, I feel persuaded that wisdom,
experience, long political foresight, and a natural dread of
the increasing ambition of Carthagew, arranted the adoption
of some decided steps for the protection of the future in
terests of Rome ; and we might not be at a loss for many
parallel cases in the more modern annals of history, when
society has enjoyed the superior advantage of the influence
of Christianity to fortify the heart against the unjust inva
sion of another's rights.
From this period Messina became a Roman colony, was
distinguished by many peculiar privileges and indulgences,
enjoyed a long interval of peace, and participated in the
honours and prosperity of Rome. It is remarkable for
having first beheld a Roman fleet floating on the bosbm of
the ocean, that fleet consisting of one hundred and thirty
galleys, which were constructed in the short space of sixty
days ; and afterwards so celebrated for obtaining the great
victory off Myloe over the Carthaginians.
It was the theatre of contest and bloodshed between the
contending parties of the last triumvirate, having espoused
the cause of Sextus Pompeus, whose misfortunes threw it
into the possession of Octavius and the empire. In the
year 829 a. d. it fell, with the rest of Sicily, into the hands
of the Saracens ; but the inhabitants, inheriting the same
firmness, bravery, and spirit of liberty which characterized
their Roman ancestors, yielded it not to their infidel con
querors without honourable capitulation ; and part of the
town was assigned to the christians for the uninterrupted
exercise of their own religion and laws : notwithstanding
which, it was the first to throw off the yoke and aid the
t2

276 TRAVELS IN SICILY
cause of George Maniaces; and, in 1060, opened its gates
to the brave Normans, who delivered the island from the
Paynim horde*.
In the following century, about 1190, Messina is distin
guished as being the winter quarters of the army of the
crusaders under Philip of France and our lion-hearted
Richard, which latter, exhibited a trait of his characteristic
violence and impetuosity towards Tancred of Sicily, and
gave rise to a scene of contention, bloodshed, and confla
gration that nearly interrupted the holy cause of the cross.
Tancred, jealous of the sojourn of Richard and his
English warriors, secretly instigated the Messinians to op
pose the interests of the northern monarch, and oblige him,
if possible, to depart from the island ; in consequence of
which, the inhabitants armed themselves, rose upon the
English, drove them out of the town, and shut the gates ;
a measure that was little calculated to be viewed with pa
tience by Cceur de Lion, who immediately laid siege to the
palace, broke down the walls, set fire to the town, and put
many of the citizens to the sword, and probably would
have exterminated the whole population, as well as dwel
lings, if not pacified by the interference of Philip, and the
promises of Tancred.
Messina is considerably indebted to Charles V. for many
embellishments, as well as useful improvements; he forti
fied and surrounded it with walls after his expulsion of the
Tunisians in 1535. It now begins to assume a more
flourishing aspect, after the various calamities of earth
quake and pestilence in the last century f, and is become
* Messina was the only town in Sicily that successfully opposed the
army ofEunus in the servile war ; for which, according to Livy, the inha
bitants enjoyed many exemptions and favours from the Romans.
f The most disastrous of these events, were the plague of 1743, when
half the inhabitants were swept away ; and the dreadful earthquake of

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 277
a fine interesting town, with a population of sixty thousand
inhabitants, adorned with many noble edifices, and inter
sected by several fine spacious streets, paved with lava ; of
which the principal ones are the Strada Ferdinanda, the
Corso, and the Strada d' Austria. It possesses many fine
churches, and is well endowed with hospitals, among
which the Loggia shines conspicuous. The conventual
establishments are innumerable, and some of them on a
splendid scale, perched on the heights round the suburbs
in some of the most delicious and captivating retreats in
the world.
The cathedral is a heavy gothic structure, raised by the
Normans in the twelfth century, but at the same time ex
hibiting in parts some of the finest and richest specimens of
the pointed style of that age existing; particularly the
great window and the central doorway of the facade, the
latter of which is most profusely ornamented with tracery,
sculptured busts, and armorial bearings, inclosed by an ex
tremely curious porch formed of thin Saracenic pillars,
richly decorated, divided into parts, and surmounted by a
beautiful pointed pediment of the most fanciful and inge
nious workmanship. Each side of the porch is fronted by
a low spiral pillar resting on the back of a lion, above which
stand four statues of saints, enshrined in- highly- wrought
sculptured niches one above the other, and terminated by
a winged angel, whose summits are nearly upon a level
with the pinnacle of the pediment, altogether constituting
one of the most interesting examples of early Gothic ar
chitecture I ever saw.
U83, which threw down the splendid range of buildings that lined the
Marina, and caused such general devastation, that to enable the city to
recover from the calamity, the government exempted it from all commer
cial restrictions, and made it a free port; which privilege, however, it is
hinted, is about to be withdrawn.

278 TRAVELS IN SICILY
The interior of the church is supported by twenty-two
pillars of granite, said to have belonged to a temple of
Neptune at the Faro ; and amongst the objects most wor
thy of admiration are the carved work of the choir, the
high altar, which is encrusted with the most valuable pietre
dure, splendidly inlaid, according to the richest designs of
Florentine mosaic, and the sculptured pulpit by Gaggini,
a work of considerable merit, and the only one that in
clined me to unite in the voice of praise so indiscriminately
lavished on that artist by the Sicilians.
The cathedral is consecrated to the Virgin Mary, who
has been raised by some monkish trickery to the distinction
of patroness of the city * ; to celebrate which, the annual
festival of the assumption is chosen, and is marked by all
the mummery and barbarous superstitions that ever were
invented to delude the human mind.
In front of the cathedral is an open space, called the
Piazza del Duomo, adorned in the centre with rather a
handsome fountain, representing emblematical figures of
the four great rivers, supporting other allegorical groups,
in a good style of sculpture. It was erected, together with
several others, in the middle of the sixteenth century, to
* The circumstance which gave rise to such adoption was a monkish
legend to the following effect: — " St. Paul, arriving at Messina, was per
suaded to return to Jerusalem, with an embassy from the city to the Virgin
Mary, which, being favourably received, he brought back an answer to the
citizens, written by herself in Hebrew, accompanied with a lock of hair,
the former of which was lost during the Saracenic invasion, but restored in
1467 by a Greek monk in a Latin copy, which is to this day preserved
in the treasury of the cathedral, whilst the lock of hair constitutes one of
the sacred relics of the chapel on the left of the altar ; and such is the
superstitious credulity of the great bulk of the Messinese, that whoever
doubts the fact is denounced as a heretic and infidel. I need not, I pre
sume, comment either on the historic inaccuracy respecting St. Paul, or
the absurdity of such a palpable imposition.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 279
supply the town with pure water, which is conveyed by
aqueducts from Cammari, two miles to the southward.
From this piazza, the street of the Quattro Fontane* in
tersects the town, terminating at the west with a quarter,
called Terra Nuova, the arsenal, and Don Blasco's battery.
Of the churches in Messina it may be remarked, in ge
neral, that there is very little to be admired in the archi
tecture ; though many of them being, according to Neapo
litan taste, heavily ornamented, and tawdry in their inte
rior, constitute great objects of boast amongst the natives,
but claim little attraction in the eye of a stranger. After
the cathedral, the church of St. Gregorio is more deserving
of notice than the rest; it is richly encrusted with beautiful
marbles, and possesses one or two well-executed paintings.
The church in the Piazza San Giovanni, of the Blessed
Virgin, or, as it is sometimes termed, Delia Graphia, is re
markable for being the last and only sanctuary in the
island for the performance of the Greek liturgy f, but on
account of the papal interference, it partakes now more
of the Latin than the Greek rites.
The Messinese are very devout, and being fond of reli
gious ceremonies, the church festivals are productive of
innumerable sacred processions, full of pageantry and
pagan-like pomp. The most popular is the festival of
the assumption, the celebration of which has been for
some years remitted from its usual period, to the month of
* So called from the four fountains that adorn the angles, caused by an
intersecting street, about half way up.
t Roger, the first king of Sicily, in the twelfth century, established
and endowed the Greek episcopal see in Messina, for the benefit of the
remaining professors of that liturgy, and appointed a supreme director,
under the denomination of the Protopapa, who is now chosen by the
Pope, and confirmed by the bishop of Messina.

280 TRAVELS IN SICILY
August, and it is now called the Festa del Barra, from the
gorgeous machine of that name, which, like the car of
Sta. Rosalia, at Palermo, constitutes the most attractive
part of the puppet-show. It stands between forty and
fifty feet high, embellished with angels, clouds, cherubims,
and a variety of other objects, grouped up to typify the
assumption of the Virgin ; all of which is surmounted by
a blasphemous incorporation of the Almighty, in the human
form, holding forth a tawdrily decorated female figure,
intended to represent the soul of the Virgin. The parts
which form the centre, namely, a bright radiated sun, and
blue globe, studded with golden stars, are kept in motion,
by revolving machinery, as the procession moves along
the streets; whilst, on the platform of the base, the apostles
are personated by twelve Messinese children, surrounded
by a choir chaunting hymns over the tomb of the Virgin.
A band of music, with religious as well as military ban
ners, precedes this holy pageant, accompanied by all the
constituted authorities of the city in full costume, followed
by nearly the whole population of Messina. The cele
bration of this fete lasts three days, during which other
public processions and exhibitions take place, commemo
rative of several auspicious events in the history of Mes
sina, namely, the expulsion of the Saracens, the arrival of
corn during an alarming period of famine, &c.
Pedestrian and equestrian statues, in either bronze or
marble, of the various sovereigns that have held dominion
over the city, every where abound ; but such is the poverty
of their execution that the mind of the spectator does not
hazard being seduced from the contemplation of the regal
characters they are intended to represent, by the excel
lencies and superior attractions of the artist's skill.
As to antiquities, Messina boasts none worthy of being

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 281
named or observed, though, like all other great cities of
the island, it has doubtless had its temples, its theatres,
and baths ; but, independent of those general causes of
annihilation — viz. the successive convulsions of war, con
flagration, and earthquake, from its desirable position as
a place of residence, for commercial pursuits, or a fortifi
cation, all the sites sacred to the classical reader have
been built upon, and the antiquated materials converted
to the purposes of modern use or ornament : however, the
want of interest to the antiquarian is amply redeemed by
the splendour of its romantic situation, and the exquisite
beauty of its scenery ; neither is it destitute of classical
recollections ; it is enobled by glorious achievements, and
associated with important events. Like the beautiful fea
tures of a fair woman, which acquire more durable attrac
tions, through the medium of intellectual expression, so
do the pictorial charms of Messina receive unbounded
animation though the soul of history, and of poetry.
Memory and imagination light up the scene and diffuse
a brilliant halo over every height and object round the
town, as well as the classic and enchanting straits of the
Faro ; and as long as ths records of Polybius, Livy, and
Diodorus, or the harmonious strains of Homer, Virgil,
and Ovid, continue to adorn and enlighten the mind of
the traveller, he cannot fail to view, with peculiar feelings
of pleasure and enthusiasm, the surrounding localities of
this place.
The city is situated on the borders of the Faro, stretch
ing in an oblong form along shore, girt by a beautiful un
dulation of picturesque hills and mountains, whose sides are
spangled with casinos, churches, and palaces, the summits
of which are crowned with convents*, forts, and castles ;
* One of the most interesting convents, is mat of the Capuchins, situated
on an agreeable elevation above the town, near Spanish battery, to

282 TRAVELS IN SICILY
amongst the latter, Gonzaga, Castellacio, and Matag-
riffone*; the smoking pinnacle of Mount iEtna towering
above all in the back ground, and giving the most exquisite
finish to this combination of striking features.
On the opposite shore across the straits rise, in lofty
grandeur, a bold chain of the Calabrian mountains, with
the town of Rheggiof at their base to the south, and the
fabled rock of Scylla to the north. From the moun
tainous shores of these two coasts being opposed, east and
west, the sun rises over one and sets behind the other,
throwing each alternately into light and shade ; and when
the lovely scenery of the Sicilian side is illuminated by the
first blaze of a morning sun, whilst the individualities of
the Calabrian acclivities, yet reposing in their twilight
gloom, are only rendered here and there visible by the
partial rays of reflected light from the intervening waters
of the Faro, it exhibits one of the most harmonious con
trasts, and one of the richest scenic subjects in the world,
most singularly calculated to inspire the painter's genius,
and to triumph over his brightest efforts of imagination.
which a good winding road affords easy access; the edifice is composed
of two quadrangles of cloisters, the interiors of which are adorned with
orange tree s, shrubs, and flowers.
* The tower of Matagriffone is said to have been constructed by Coeur
de Lion, during his sojourn and contentions with the Messinese. The
position might have been occupied by him and fortified ; but his short
stay in the vicinity renders the building of such a tower doubtful.
I From Messina to Rheggio it is about seven miles, and it is worthy
of being visited, on account of the beauty of its locality, as well as its
ancient celebrity. According to Diodorus, it was founded by a colony
of Greeks, who gave it the appellation, from the supposition that its site
was once united to Sicily, but broken asunder by earthquake, (PEyyvfti
to break). It is beautifully situated on the shore, surrounded by rocky
heights and fruitful valleys, luxuriantly adorned with the fig, the date,
palm, and every species of agrumi. It inspired the lays of Ariosto, and
the pencil of Salvator Rosa, both of whom fondly dwelt there, and stored
their minds with the rich imagery of nature.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 283
I never shall forget the exquisite pleasure and delight I
experienced when first introduced to the contemplation of
this matchless panorama, the morning after our arrival in
Messina. We stood by the side of an interesting Norman
ruin called Castel Guelfonio, situated on a picturesque
eminence above the town ; not a breath was stirring, all
was silence in the city that lay beneath us; for the hours
are late, and the inhabitants, like the rest of the Sicilians,
inactively disposed ; not a sound vibrated through the air,
excepting an occasional tinckling of the numerous convent
bells around, announcing to the cowled tenantry of these
gloomy abodes the hour of their morning orisons. A Nea
politan frigate, and a few merchant vessels bound to the
Levant, lay helplessly floating on the becalmed bosom of
the Faro, rocking only to the motion of the rippling tide ;
when, suddenly, the sun rose from behind the Calabrian
heights, diffusing such a blaze of golden splendour on every
object that encircled us, that we felt at once inspired with
reverence for the greatness of its divine author, and elec
trified by the effects of such matchless beauty ! — the loneli
ness of our situation, and the stillness of nature that pre
vailed around, doubly disposed us to the deeply wrought
fruition of the moment ; but our time was marked, and,
quitting the attractive spot, we passed on and descended
into the city.
The port of Messina is one of the safest, the most spa
cious, and commodious, for commercial pursuits, in the
island, and would conveniently afford shelter for the whole
navy of Europe. It is nearly four miles in circumference,
formed by a narrow tongue of land called the Braccio -di
San Raniero, stretching out from the southern extremity
of the city, in the shape of a sickle, towards the north, at

284 TRAVELS IN SICILY
which point a strong fort, called St. Salvatore *, guards,
in conjunction with the opposite battery of Porta Reale, the
entrance of the harbour ; between which and the citadel
stands the lighthouse, and near it, an excellent insulated laz-
zaretto, where vessels go through the disagreeable ceremo
nies of quarantine, the laws of which, here, as in all partsof
Sicily, on account of the calamities they have suffered from
pestilence, are most scrupulously rigid.
There is a depth of thirty fathoms nearly all round the
haven, and vessels load and discharge close to the merchants'
stores along the Marina, where they may be supplied with
fresh water from the fountains.
The citadel, which commands the town and port at the
south end, was constructed by Charles II. to keep in sub
jection the Messinese, who were in constant rebellion
against his authority. It is a formidable work, and, though
strong in itself, is not, from its situation, conformable to
the tactics of the modern engineer, since a fortified post on
any of the neighbouring heights would most effectually
ensure its destruction. It received considerable additions
and improvements under our engineers in the year 1812,
when the British were defending the island against the in
vasions of Murat ; but it can never possess that requisite,
which, in my opinion, is essential to the character of a cita
del, namely, of being able exclusively to command the
whole town. A covert way connects it with the battery of
the lighthouse.
The channel which separates Sicily from Italy is called
the Strait, or, more generally speaking, the Faro of Mes-
* So called from being the site of a church raised by Roger, the Nor
man, and consecrated to the saviour of the world, because he first landed
there in safety with his army for the invasion of the Saracens.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 285
sina : the latter though an appellation originally confined
to the lighthouse which stands there, being now, from vul
gar custom, applied to the whole passage. It is classically
immortalized, and distinguished by being the scene of
Ulysses' misfortunes ; and the still applied denomination
of Scylla and Charybdis will not fail to animate every tra
veller who stands upon its shores with the recollections of
those sublime poetical descriptions and beautiful fabulous
imagery of Homer, Virgil, and Ovid.
The narrowest part of the channel is at the northern en
trance, where it is three miles between Ganziri and Point
Pezzo, and three miles and a half between the rock of Scylla
and Faro Point ; and the captivating scenery exhibited to
a vessel sailing through the straight, which is eighteen
miles in length, surpasses any thing of the kind probably
in the world.
Charybdis *, to which has been attached so many horrors
by the poetical exaggerations and fictions of the ancients,
is a little to the southward of the port of Messina. It is a
powerful eddy, or re-action of the current, caused by some
irregularities in the formation of the submarine rocks, from
whence the waters, (meeting with opposition), rebound
with considerable velocity, and occasion at some periods
(when the current, from high winds or lunar influence, is
strong), a rotatory action like a whirlpool ; it is said to have
been infinitely more violent previous to the earthquake of
1793 ; and I can very easily imagine, that to the small,
rude species of vessel navigated by the early ancients, it
may have presented intimidating perils, which, described
in the imagery of poetical language, will render the pic-
* Charybdis first received' its appellation from the Greeks, which in
their language imports the properties for which it is celebrated, and is
derived from x«iv» hio, and poiOm sorbeo.

286 TRAVELS IN SICILY
tures * pourtrayed by the ancients not so fabulous as the
moderns seem generally inclined to imagine.
It is not, however, totally divested of its dangers in the
present day ; for small craft, approaching too near in light
winds, are still liable to be drawn by its currents, and cast
upon the Fangdora shoals. It assumes its most formidable
appearance under the influence of a descending current
from the north ; hence the acquisition of the denomination
by which it is most generally distinguished in the present
day, namely, the " Calafaro," which has been misnamed,
misinterpreted, and explained in the most absurd manner
possible by a variety of tourists, who have alternately called
it Calogero, Garofalo, and Calofero, annexing to each, the
ingenious discovery of some Grecian derivations.
When the stream is running to the south, the Messinese
mariners say, " Cala il faro," the tide or faro is running
down ; at which time the eddies of Charybdis being most
affected, it has given rise to the corruption and application
of the expression to the eddy itself. Consequently, for a
series of ages, Charybdis has been called the Calafaro, or
the running down of the stream.
We took a boat from the isthmus after breakfast, and
pulled across this once-dreaded vortex, but, as the mariners
observed to us, it was during one of the most tranquil periods
of the current; therefore being unable to witness any thing
more than a common reaction of the stream, we rowed
round St. Salvadore, and landed at the north end of the
town, where we walked about the suburbs to see a variety
of picturesque objects and sites, which receive additional
beauty from the rich and luxuriant productions of the vege-
s Vide Horn. Od. 12 ; Silius Ital. 14, Ovid in Ibin de Ponto, 4; and
Virg. Mn. 3.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 287
getable world. The aloe * grows here to an enormous ele
vation, which, with its majestic pyramidal flower stem,
affords a peculiar ornament, when, in combination with
other foliage, it becomes the neighbour of some architec
tural object. The pomegranate is uncommonly fine, as
well as abundant, about here, the flowers being nowhere
equalled for either their magnitude, splendid colour, or
odoriferous scent ; and the oleander, which with us is a
tender plant, grows with a profusion and richness that is
quite surprising, in the most sterile and otherwise unpro
ductive-looking spots that can be imagined. Indeed vege
tation in general is most fruitful and exuberant, whieh
contributes so greatly to the embellishment of the front
grounds of every scene a painter might select for his picture
around this country.
To the draftsman no place can present such attrac
tions for the improvements of his art as the environs of
Messina: a thousand little excursions amongst the hills,
particularly towards Rametta f and La Rocca will furnish
* The traveller through Sicily will observe the aloe to be of very com
mon growth all over the island. Like the Indian fig, it is easily propa
gated, and employed to make hedge-rows, which, in the course of two or
three years, assume a formidable appearance, and are impenetrable to
man or beast. It is the agave americana of Linnaeus, the leaves of which
are terminated by a sharp black spine ; they grow out in bushy suckers
from the base, with a thick vigorous flower-stem shooting up from the
centre, which rises to a height of from fifteen to thirty-five feet, and
comes to perfection in the space of from three to six years. When it is in
full bloom nothing can exceed its majestic beauty; it forms a splendid
floral pyramid, with clusters of greenish yellow flowers at every joint up
to the summit, a succession of which is continued for three or four months,
after which the stem falls, and is employed in garden fences, &c.
t Rametta is an old dilapidated town, most picturesquely situated on
the summit of a high isolated mountain of rock ; it is walled round, and
has a ruined castle of Saracenic construction, and appears quite inaccessi-

288

TRAVELS IN SICILY

him with innumerable romantic subjects, and the richest
pictorial eriibellishments.
The fiumaras in the neighbourhood leading to the moun
tains are inexpressibly rich in scenic beauty ; they almost
all afford a variety of splendid points of view, their banks
are covered with vineyards, orange grounds, and mulberry
plantations, everywhere interspersed with the rude tene
ments of the cultivators. Amongst the most striking are
those called Castellaccio and Melazzo : at the head of the
former stand the picturesque remains of a Norman castle,
known by the appellation of the Abazia, having been con
verted into a convent and church devoted to the Virgin
(since destroyed by fire); it is embosomed in a magnificent
retirement, surrounded by hills, with a most romantic ap
proach. The latter is peculiarised for its fantastic wind
ings, which have attached to the ascent, the epithet of the
cork-screw mountain, every turn of which developes to the
eye a picturesque prospect, embellished with the richest
details of a fore-ground. In the luxuriant solitudes also of
these fiumare the Messinese build their casinos, or country
villas, which constitute the most striking objects for, the pencil
in the sequestered dells formed there, and adorned by the
hand of nature ; they are lightly constructed, for the pur-
ppse of avoiding the dangers attending earthquakes, to
which they are subject, and consist but of two stories, sur
rounded with beautiful gardens, and immersed in the shade
of fine tall trees, whose spreading branches protect them
from the heats of a mid-day sun.
The climate of Messina is most exquisitely delightful,
ble, being surrounded by several high perpendicular mountains. It is
evidently the site of some habitation of the ancients, there being still the
remains of extensive baths, particularly in the gardens of the Capuchin
convent, where also a curious grotto is shown.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 289
and rhore suited to the general purposes of health than any
place in the globe. Its summer heats are tempered by its
contiguity to the sea, and the refreshing breezes that blow
from the Neptunian mountains, which not only bring with
them luxurious coolness, but ventilate and purify the at
mosphere of the city and its vicinity.
The commerce of Messina exhibits somewhat more of
the bustle and activity of business than Palermo. Silk is
the staple commodity of exportation, the worm being pro
pagated to a considerable extent all round the neighbour
hood, much according to the same plan adopted in the
north of Italy.
The eggs are kept in warm rooms for the purpose, with
merely small longitudinal apertures for the admission of air,
until the latter period of incubation, which . process is ac
celerated by women, who carry them in flannel in their
bosoms during the day, and at night deposit them in a
warm part of their beds, which ceremony is repeated until
the worm breaks forth, when they are fed on mulberry
leaves; and it* is almost incredible to hear the quantity
they devour before they attain the size and strength neces
sary for enveloping themselves in their curious silken balls.

290 TRAVELS IN SICILY

CHAPTER X.
In the afternoon of the 17th of December, having discharged
our muleteer and steeds, we bade adieu to the enchanting
shores of Messina, and embarked on board the Real Fer-
dinando steam-boat for Palermo. The weather was lour
ing, but a vessel full of passengers urged departure, and
skimming rapidly from the sickle-formed haven, we shot
past the fort of San Salvador, and launched into the Faro
before two o'clock. The landscape is embellished With
every charm on the Sicilian side, from Messina to the
point of Faro, from whence it is distant twelve miles ; be
sides the Palazzo Paradiso, the convent of San Salvador,
and the beautiful church of La Grotta, the shore is lined
with villages, and adorned with hills, here and there striated
with gullies, formed by the fiumare, that wash from the
heights during the rains.
The convent of San Salvador stands immediately on the
shore, and was, during the protection of the English, con?
verted into a military post, as also was the church of the
Grotta, which is similarly situated farther north, and forms
an object of great ornament on the borders of the sea ; it
is approached by a flight of three steps, and surrounded by
an elegant circular colonnade, with a beautiful little dome,
surmounted by a lanthorn or cupola. The buildings at the
side are the remains of the barracks that were occupied by
the English soldiers.
At half-past three we reached the northern extremity of
the straits, and were suddenly surrounded by a fleet of
fishing boats, whilst two or three vessels, bound to Palermo,

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 291
making a hopeless resistance against a head wind and lee
stream, seemed to look with envy on the independence of
our vaporous powers. The classic Scylla to the right, and
the celebrated Pelorus of the ancients to the left, aided in
warming up our imaginations at the farewell view of these
interesting regions, which all the passengers appeared oc
cupied in contemplating with the same feeling of unani
mous enthusiasm, as if beholding for the last time the
scenes of their youthful pleasures.
Scylla, so famous in antiquity for the fearful dangers it
presented to the untaught navigators of those ages, is a bold
rock, about two hundred feet high, forming the termination
of a small rocky promontory, which projects a short dis^
tance into the sea from the western extremity of Calabria,
On the seaward side it exhibits a three-forked cliff, with a
variety of caverns and detached rocks at the base, on which
the western current from the Tyrrhene sea sets at times
with considerable impetuosity ; consequently was the scene of
many disastrous shipwrecks amongst the early mariners of
the Greeks, who, inexperienced in the laws that influenced
tides and currents, were unconsciously drifted with their light
harks against its rugged sides. The Greeks first applied the
epithet, by which it has ever since been distinguished,
from the circumstance of numerous sea dogs * (called in
Greek swm«), frequenting the rocks and caverns at its
base; and it has been the subject of most beautiful poetical
descriptions from the pens of various ancient writers, but
particularly of Homer f and Ovid, which, though clothed
in the poetic garb of metaphor, perfectly delineate the
characteristics of the rock. The classic traveller will ex
perience no difficulty in recognising the " horrid jaws, the
* The phoea vitutina of Linnaus.
f See Odessey, 12th : Ovid Metamor, 14.
u2

292 TRAVELS IN SICILY
rows of teeth, the deformed feet, and the hideous roar"
described by the Moeonian bard ; in the denticulated form
of the cliffs, the gaping caverns, the many rocks round its
base, and the hollow roar of waves surging in the cavities
during a gale; which, with the many maritime disasters it oc
casioned to adventurers cotemporary with Ulysses, naturally
inspired the mariner's dread, as it did the poet's animated
narrative, of perils that were then real, though now ren
dered illusive by experience, as well as science, and the
improvement of nautical skill.
It is absurd to give a literal interpretation to the poetical
narrations of the ancients ; besides, what would become
of the beautiful mythological compositions of the Greeks,
all of which may be satisfactorily explained, as being the
faithful, though figurative, descriptions of historical facts.
The Grecian appellation is now modernised into Sciglio ;
a large castle and fort crown the summit, forming a beautiful
and conspicuous object to the eye of the spectator approach
ing from the Faro; and a town of the same name stretches
its houses and streets in picturesque form from the heights
of the adjacent rocks to the shore beneath. The earth
quake of 1783 caused dreadful havoc at this town, as well
as the neighbouring parts of the coast*. It seriously da
maged several churches, split the walls of the castle, and
hurled the turrets down upon the town, crushing to death
several hundred persons in the fall. The Prince of Sciglio/
with upwards of two thousand of his townsmen, alarmed
at the first shock, fled to the beach for protection, where,
in fancied security, they lay immersed in a profound sleep
during the night, when suddenly the promontory of Cam-
* This most calamitous earthquake occurred on the 3d of Feb. 1783,
when it is said upwards of forty thousand persons were destroyed on the
two shores that suffered from its dire effects.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 293
pala fell into the sea, forcing the waters over to the shores
of the Faro, from whence they rebounded with redoubled
violence, and by their resilition, overwhelmed every soul that
stood within several hundred yards of the beach of Sciglio.
The high mountains which overhang, and form the
beautiful back ground of Messina, gradually recede from
the shore as you approach the north end of the straights,
and terminate in a low sandy point, anciently called
the promontory of Pelorus, but, in more modern times,
the Faro point, which forms the north-eastern extre
mity of Sicily. It is a low green point with a yellow
beach,, on which is erected a pharos*, or light-house,
(hence its modern name) for the navigation of the straights.
ft is defended by strong batteries, and two Martello towers,
with a telegraph above, and a small rude village in the
neighbourhood, which, from the parent tower, assumes
the name of Faro. Qn the low flat part there is a large
lake, communicating with the sea by a narrow channel,
which was enlarged and deepened during the occupation
of the English, for the purpose of admitting the flotilla of
observation ; works were thrown up for their defence, under
the protection of which the boats lay in perfect security,
when pursued by a superior force or during bad weather.
The lake is still celebrated as of old, for the abundance
and excellence of its eels. The promontory of Pelorus is
celebrated in the events of ancient history ; it is familiar
to the ear of every classic reader as associated with the
successive struggles of Carthage, Rome, or Greece; as
witness to the humiliating flights of Hannibal and of Pom
pey, it must ever be rendered interesting as it is memorable.
. * Pharos is applied, by the moderns, to a light-house, from the name
of the island on which the first building, appropriated to that purpose,
was erected by Ptolemy Philadelphus,

TRAVELS IN SICILY
As we cleared the straits and got round the Point of
Faro, the wind headed us from the north-west, which,
freshening at intervals, considerably impeded our progress,
and before the approach of night it blew a regular gale.
The sea, so tranquil and serene before sun-set, now pre
sented a surface covered with foam, swelling into moun
tain billows that burst every instant over the vessel, and
which, at midnight, (having got from under the lee of
the Lipari islands), increased so tremendously without our
being able to make the slightest progress, that we we were
reduced to the necessity of bearing up for Melazzo. The
thunder rolled in reverberating peels along the heavens,
accompanied with vivid flashes of lightning that illumi
nated the whole horizon, and rendered the range of Li-
paris perfectly distinguishable ; which, combined with the
fiery vomitings hissing at intervals from the crater of
Stromboli, constituted as awful and imposing a night scene
as the most inventive imagination could depict.
We reached Melazzo about eight o'clock in the morn
ing, and considered the gale auspicious to our classical
researches, having scarcely quitted Messina ere we re
pented passing so interesting a part of the coast. Every
one of course immediately quitted the steam-boat with
the idea of making a comfortable breakfast on shore, after
a most miserable night spent on the boisterous billows;
but all were disappointed by the filth, wretchedness, and
scarcity of food, of the only tenement dignified with the
unappropriate epithet of Albergo, and we unanimously
returned to go through the ceremonies of our morning's
meal at the more hospitable board of the Real Ferdi-
nando, previous to exploring the localities of terra firma.
Melazzo is situated at the bottom of a sandy gufph of
the same name, formed by Cape Bianco, which is the

AND7THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 295
extremity of a long narrow promontory stretching from the
town to the sea), and Cape Rasaculmo; a battery and
light-house crown the former, whilst the latter is sur
mounted by a Norman castle and telegraph.
Than Melazzo, probably no place on the northern coast
of Sicily has been more eminently distinguished by those
memorable events that are calculated to perpetuate the
interest and recollections of antiquity ; twice it has seen
the fate of Rome decided off its port; and has been the
theatre of many bloody broils and contests. It is the
Melas' of the Greeks, which, according to the authority of
Strabo* and others, was colonized by the Zankleans, who
named it after the adjoining riverf; a temple of Diana
once stood on its banks, and the neighbourhood was far
biliously celebrated as the resort of the oxen of the sun, by
Seneca, Ovid, and Homer.
By the Romans the town was called Mylce, by which
name it holds a most conspicuous place, and awakens
considerable interest in the annals of their history. It
is celebrated for the famous victory gained over the Car
thaginians by the Consul Duilius, in the fust maritime
attempts of Rome 259 b. c.
Hannibal, in the celebrated septirem galley of Pyrrhus,
commanded the Carthaginian fleet, consisting of one hun
dred and thirty sail, and hearing of the Roman squadron
under Duilius being out, quitted the island of Hiera,
where he then lay, and pursued the enemy with, the cer-r
tainty of conquest if he had the good fortune to fall in
* Lib, vj.
t This river is still distinguished by its ancient name, which was so
called by the Greeks, on account of the remarkable darkness of its waters ;
a peculiarity still visible in many of the springs about the neighbourhood,
as well as the river.

296 TRAVELS IN SICILY
with them. A few hours favoured the wishes of the hero
of Carthage, and the fleets met off Mike, where the Ro
mans, to the astonishment of Hannibal, firmly awaited his
attack, and, by the assistance of their new invented engine,
called the corvus, grappled the light barks of their oppo
nents as they came up, fought hand to hand, and, by their
superior valour, succeded in obtaining a most decisive vic
tory * over the experienced veterans of Hannibal, who fled
precipitately through the Faro, with a loss of eighty ves
sels taken or destroyed.
Mylce was also the scene of warfare during the animosi
ties of the turbulent triumvirate of Octavius, Lepidus, and
Antony; when the younger Pompey, after experiencing
many reverses, determined, at length, to decide the contest
by a naval battle, to which he challenged his rival and come
petitor, Octavius ; who gladly availed himself of the oppor
tunity, and consigned the command of the fleet to Agrippa.
The action was fought in this bay, 35 b. c, in the presence
of the two armies ; during which the hills and shores re
sounded with the shouts of encouragement, and ultimately
with the joyful acclamations of the one, and the cries of
grief of the other. Agrippa, after a long and doubtful
struggle, at length routed and totally destroyed the fleet of
the unfortunate Pompey, who saved himself by flight in a
small boat to Messina ; thus yielding to his competitor the
mastery of the sea, and dominion over the future empire
of Rome.
The Saracens, too, gained a decisive victory in the bay
* As a reward for this victory, the Senate decreed Duilius a triumph ;
and to commemorate the event, a splendid naval column was erected; in
the Forum, which was standing in Pliny's time ; and after lying many
centuries buried in the ruins caused by the barbarous hordes, was again
found, with its inscription, in the year 1560.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 297
over the fleet of Bazilius, previous to the total submission of
the island to the army of the infidels, in the year 830. In
the year 1727 an Austrian army landed at Melazzo for the
conquest of the island, and was saved, after their defeat at
Francavilla, by a British fleet that embarked and carried
them away ; and in the year 1813 (the island being then
under the protection of England) it was in the possession of
a British garrison, and became a naval station for the Sur
veillance of Murat's movements on the coast of Calabria.
The promontory of Melazzo is a high, bold, rocky neck
of land, stretching nearly two miles into the sea, with the
modern city situated on the summit of its southern ex
tremity, whose churches, convents, and fortress, exhibit a
most formidable exterior, and constitute a remarkably fine
picturesque object when viewed from the bay.
The city possesses few internal merits to attract the eye,
though, from the natural strength of its site, it is admirably
calculated for a military post, and, by the skill of the en
gineer, I feel persuaded might be rendered perfectly im
pregnable *. The fortification was strengthened and mo
dernized into its present form by Charles V. It is surrounded
by a strong wall and bastions, defended by a large Norman
castle on the heights and the fort San Elmo below ; near
the latter are the health-office and a Carmelite convent,
and near the former stands, in a beautiful situation, a Ca
puchin convent, immersed in the shade of a most splendid
group of pines ; it has a cryptic conservatory for the de
parted brothers of the cOwl, and possesses a range of walks,
* The isthmus that unites the projecting promontory is low and level,
without any obstacle to prevent the whole fortification being doubly
strengthened by cutting a dyke across, and insulating the heights of Me
lazzo ; a work that would be neither attended with much labour or ex-
' pense. Frederick II. planned the execution of it, and had already com
menced when circumstances obliged him to discontinue.

298 TRAVELS IN SICILY
parterres, and gardens, well furnished with agrumi and
other luxurious fruits of the south.
The promontory from thence is richly cultivated and in
terspersed with vineyards, pasturage, and corn fields, secured
from maritime incursions by the precipitous rocks of gra
nite which surround the shores ; it was called the Aurea
Chersonesus by the ancients.
There is a lower town situated outside the walls, on the
shore of the low neck of land that connects the promontory
with the main ; it is more regular than the other, with by
no means badly constructed houses, but, from their filthy,
unornamented state, and the poverty of the inhabitants,
it presents to the stranger's fancy the most sickening and
forbidding picture of a place of human habitation that can
be imagined.
What a striking contrast between the poverty of art and
the exuberant riches of nature does this miserable abode
exhibit, in comparison with the luxuriance of the country
by which it is surrounded ! We might justly suppose it had
never yet emerged from the deplorable abasement and dis
tress into which, during the days of antiquity, it had been
plunged by the predatory visit of the blood-thirsty, rapai-
cious Agathocles.
, The only object of boast to which the attention of the visi
tor is directed, by the wretched-looking tenants of modem
Mylce, is the fountain of Melas, whose limpid streams flow
from a gloomy, badly executed group of sculpture, intended
as an allegorical representation of the presiding deity of the
neighbouring river. The purity of the water is its greatest
recommendation, and, like all the springs in the vicinity, it
flows considerably more abundantly in the summer than the
winter. Behind the town may still be seen the English lines,

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 299
outworks, and barracks,, which accommodated nearly five
thousand men during their occupation, and whose visit and
good fellowship the natives seem to revert to with no small
pleasure, having, during their sojourn, experienced consi
derable advantage in the sale of supplies, which, combined
with the well-regulated, subordinate conduct of the troops,
lent an animation to the place, and tended, in some mea
sure, to the temporary amelioration of their condition.
Now, all is deserted ; the tenantless mansions of the soldiers
are fast falling into dilapidation, and the soliiude is marked
alone by the melancholy murmurings of the ocean beating
on its pebbled shore.
Our arrival at Melazzo entirely changed our plan of ope
rations ; we now determined to visit the Lipari islands, con
sequently hired a speronara, with four robust looking tars,
and a couple of latteen sails ; and the weather clearing up
about noon we replenished our viaticum and bade adieu to
the Real Ferdinando.
The wind had moderated to a delightful breeze from the
south-west, and as we proposed first touching at Strom boli
our course was north, and we went away with a flowing
sheet, skimming more rapidly over the sea than I conceived;
from the peculiar build of our bark, came within the sphere
of its sailing capaities.
The Lipari or iEolian Islands lie in a group situated in
the Tyrrhene Sea, between twenty and thirty miles north
of Sicily, to which place they have generally been annexed,
and whose fate and fortunes they have successively been
doomed to participate from the remotest periods of anti
quity. To the archaiologist they must awaken considerable
interest, from the conspicuous place they held in the annals
of antiquity, where we find them inhabited long anterior to

300 TRAVELS IN SICILY
the great events of the Trojan war. They are of submarine
volcanic formation, and no part of the world, probably;
displays a finer field for the geologist's and the mineralo
gist's study of the characteristic phcenomena and products
of the volcano. One or the other furnishes all that is won
derful and curious, or that may be considered desiderata to
the scientific explorer. Craters totally extinct, surrounded
by heaps of matter ejected at periods far beyond the reach
of history, covered here and there with the beautiful ver
dure of luxuriant shrubs and trees that have sprung up from
the pulverized lavas, and many centuries gone have shed
their delicious fruits over the former bed of the fiery flood ;
others, partially exhausted, though still groaning with sub
terranean convulsions, and immersed in the smoke of sul
phureous vapours, with boiling streams, oozing from a thou
sand pores, impregnated with the mineral ingredients of
the ignited matter beneath ; whilst the incessant emissions
of Stromboli furnish all the wonderful peculiarities and
powers of a burning mountain in its active state. They ex
hibit every species of lava that is known, in all the most
beautiful forms and varieties ; compact and porpheritic, en
closing the finest crystalizations of felspar, shoerl, and horn-
stone ; curious breccias and basaltic specimens ; vitrified,
such as obsidians and enamels ; pumices, from the hardest
to the lightest and most subtle yet discovered; together
with all the varieties of ferruginous and argillaceous cinders,
converted into compact or friable tufas.
All the islands are uniformly steep, and almost inacces
sible on the western shores, shelving gradually towards the
east, with an isolated rock of lava on the north, many of
them having immense caverns of the most singular and
fantastic formation : however, on account of the extremely

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 301
absorbent qualities of the volcanic soil, there is a great de
ficiency of water, which obliges the general use of cisterns
for the preservation of the rain waters.
t. The climate is remarkable for its extreme mildness and
salubrity, consequently the inhabitants are a fine hardy race
of people ; though in some of the islands, from the filthy and
habitual neglect of their persons, frequently afflicted with
itch aud other cutaneous diseases.
The first mention we have of these islands being inhabited
and regularly governed, is when Liparus, son of Asonius,
King of Italy, having quarreled with his brothers, came
over here with a party of adherents, and built a city, which
he called after his own name ; and annexed to his dominions
the whole of the islands. Hence the origin of the appella
tion of Liparis. Some years subsequently, iEolus, the son
of Hippotas *, landing there in one of his maritime excur
sions, in the time of the Trojan war, was amicably received
by Liparus, who gave to him his daughter in marriage f,
and at whose death devolved upon him the dominion of the
islands, which he materially improved, and after a reign of
justice and liberality, raised to considerable importance.
From him the islands were called iEolides, and himself
metaphorically styled king or god of the winds, on account
of the incessant gusts and aerial convulsions that prevailed
within the precincts of his volcanic dominions : hence all
the mythological traditions and figurative allusions of the
poets. The islands are still remarkable for the prevalence of
irregular atmospheric motion, which is explained by that
great natural cause which regulates aerial motion in all its
* Hence Ovid's frequent allusion to the islands, under the appellation
of Hippotades.
t Pliny.

302 TRAVELS IN SICILY
varied forms, namely, cold air rushing in to equalize a more
rarified medium ; for, according to the laws of statics, we
know the more ponderous and cooler particles of air are
always in motion towards the lighter or more heated, until
a perfect equilibrium is restored.
Hence, then, the constant succession of calms, storms,
sudden gusts, and variable winds the mariner is subject to
when navigating these seas * ; for such is the heat of vapours
emitted from the ignited volcanic matter underneath the
different islands from time to time, combined with the in
cessant irruptions of Stromboli, that the cold air of the con
tiguous regions is frequently rushing in with impetuous
violence to moderate the heated temperature ; thus occa
sioning those atmospherical changes that have ever charac
terised the neighbourhood of the Liparis.
After the death of iEolus and his various descendants, a
colony of Cnidians and Rhodians settled there f, ohtained
possession of the islands, and fitted out a fleet to keep in
subjection the Etruscans, whose predatory incursions proved
a considerable annoyance to their new colony, but whom
they ultimately banished from the seas, carrying on them
selves a system of piracy, the profits of which were devoted
to the support of the republic, with the exception of a pro
portion retained for the propitiation of their gods.
Under the Greeks these islands assumed great import
ance; they raised towns and adorned them with public edi
fices and temples, the principal one of which was conse
crated to Vulean, and gave .rise to the appellation of Ephes-
* So great is the volcanic heat at times, that a submerged thermometer,
at a depth of four fathoms, will be raised ten degrees higher than at the
surface, whilst the scoriae and volcanic cinders on the shore of some of
the islands are hot, as if going through the process of baking.
f Diod. Lib. v. ,

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 803
tiades* (from H^a-nt, Vulcan), which was subsequently
applied by the Greeks to the whole insular dominions.
They submitted to the yoke of Carthage during her days
of maritime power and prosperity, and on the decline of
the Carthaginian arms in Sicily, fell into the hands of the
Romans, whore-colonized them, drew immense sources of
wealth from their mineral products, erected baths, together
with various other public buildings, and raised them to
greater consequence than they had ever hitherto enjoyed.
Stromboli. — After an agreeable sail of five hours, we
landed on the east side of Stromboli, at San Vincenzo,
which being united to San Bartolo, forms the principal
town of the place. For the want of a bill of health, with
which it is necessary to be furnished, we met with some
opposition to our approach, until the usual means were
resorted to for obviating difficulties and mollifying the
hearts of understrappers armed with authority, and we were
conducted by our boatmen to the house of an acquaintance,
whom they recommended for our escort to the crater. The
houses are miserable, low dwellings, with flat roofs, receiv-,
ing protection from the appalling menaces of one dilapi-
pidated, rusty gun.
The island lies about thirty-three miles north of Melazzo ;
it is ten miles in circumference, rising in the form f of an in
verted conic tea-cup, to the height of two thousand five hun
dred feet, strewed with several small villages, which contain
altogether nearly one thousand one hundred inhabitants.
Stromboli is a volcano known to every one for the cele
brity of its active powers; and of all the burning mountains
* Hence also Livy styles them iEoliaa Insulae, vel Vulcanic. 20. 51.
t Its form gave rise to its original appellation by the Greeks of Stron-
gyle, from 2TP0rrTAO2, Cilindrus.

304 TRAVELS IN SICILY
we are acquainted with, the only one peculiarized by the
incessant eruptions and flow of ignited matter ; but when it
first burst forth we are quite at a loss to determine, there
being no allusion made to that effect by the author of any
age. The most ancient notice of its conflagrations trans
mitted to us by history, is about two hundred and ninety-
two years before Christ. It was burning with great vehe
mence in the time of Augustus and Tiberius ; but no far
ther mention is made of its subsequent state by any of the
ancient annalists.
One half of the island presents a sterile, uncultivated
tract of lava, cinders, and scoriae, whilst the other is covered
with luxuriant herbage, and richly cultivated with all sorts
of fruits, cotton, and corn; it abounds in excellent figs and
grapes, particularly that species called the Corinthian grape,
which, when dried, forms the currants of commerce*.
The Indian fig everywhere springs up spontaneously in great
abundance, as well as the cane reed, which grows to a re
markable size, and is employed either in forming fences, or
the training of vines.
Stromboli is curious for its many caverns, celebrated for
their rare mineral productions, stalactitic formations, chry
solites, and transparent geodes ; particularly the one called
the Grotto Dei Bovi Marini, which is eighty-six feet long,
thirty-five wide, and produces many fine crystalizations.
It is situated at the termination of a black looking ferru
ginous beach, which extends from San Vincenzo to a re
markably high isolated rock called Strombolino.
Not far from San Vincenzo, at a place called Malpasso,
are also three or four caves, celebrated for their abundant
s The inhabitants export annually a quantity of raisins, currants, figs,
and wine to Sicily, where they receive in return clothing and other re
quisites for their consumption.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 305
production of beautiful specular iron, which is found in the
fissures of the lava, of which the projecting masses of rock
are composed. I procured a few specimens, containing sin-
gularlybrilliant and large lamina?, which have proved a va
luable acquisition to the little collection I have since made.
Enveloped in.our cloaks, we slept until two o'clock, when
our cicerone intimated the hour of departure, and we com
menced the ascent to the crater, which is a tedious opera
tion of two hours and a half. The road leads over an un
dulation of cultivated grounds, at the termination of which
we entered a peasant's house, reposed a short time, .and
refreshed with some fruit, bread, and wine, our rustic host
had spread before us on his homely board. ,
From hence the ascent is abruptly steep and precipitous,
which being entirely composed of scoriae and loose cinders, is
more painful and difficult to mount than can be imagined,
far surpassing the fatiguing passage up Vesuvius' slippery
pinnacle. The greatest efforts and most violent exertion are . re
quired to make any progress up the yielding sides of the hill,
which attimes totally sink under the pressure of the feet, and
suddenly precipitate the body five or six feet back again,
which, under the influepce of exhaustion, is discouraging
beyond description; however, we halted repeatedly to gain
strength, during which the mind was constantly kept alive
by the beautiful effects of the fiery vomitings from the
crater, and we at length arrived in safety at the summit,
where, on winding round a projecting rock, the blazing
chasm suddenly developed to our view. It is about six
hundred feet in diameter, situated considerably below the
pinnacle on the north-east side, which enables the spectator
to stand in perfect safety above, and contemplate the ap
palling spectacle of the volcanic operations beneath him.

306 TRAVELS IN SICILY
Thick volumes of smoke are incessantly issuing from the
mouth, which render it difficult to obtain a distinct view of
the bottom. However, the wind occasionally dissipates
them, and by patiently watching an opportunity, the ignited
matter may be seen rising and falling as in a boiling caul
dron, until it bursts forth with violent explosions and
hissings, emitting showers of cinders, red hot stones , and
molten matter; which (although they invariably fall in one
direction towards the sea), I must confess caused me at
times some involuntary sensations of trepidation, having
narrowly escaped destruction by approaching too near the
ejecting matter of Vesuvius in 1821.
There is a constant stream of red-hot lava flowing down
the mountain from a small crater on the seaward side, in
dependent of the eruptions from the large one, than which
combined nothing can offer a more awful, and, at the same
time, a more sublime picture of nature, in her most agi
tated and convulsed movements *.
What a splendid, though frightful spectacle, to the
novice to stand on the brink of such a gulf, whilst volleys
of immense stones enveloped in flames, cinders, and liquid
lava, are shot to a distance of five or six hundred feet into
the air, accompanied with roaring noises and loud detbna*
tions, that would put the nervous powers of the most vi
gorous constitution to. the test ; and our guide informed
us that during these ejections the whole island is sometimes
kept for minutes together in the most violent tremulous
motion. How happy is it that providence has enabled
mankind to become reconciled by habit to the contiguity of
such appalling horrors !
* It is observed by the natives of this island that the operations of
the mountain are considerably more active, and accompanied with greater
inflammation in the winter than in summer; also during, as well as at the
approach of stormy weather more violent than in mild breezes or calms.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 307
We amused ourselves in the admiration of this wonderful
phenomenon until the dawn broke from the eastern hori-
son, when we commenced the descent, and slid, or, I
may rather say, flew, with a rapidity quite incredible,
down the precipice of cinders that had so recently caused
us such painful fatigue to ascend ; and after again taking
a glass of wine with our friend at the cottage, we arrived
about eight o'clock at San Vincenzo, where, having par
taken of some refreshment from our basket, we embarked
for Lipari.

308

TRAVELS IN SICILY

CHAPTER XI.
From Stromboli to Lipari it is about ten miles,, with the
intervening islands of Panaria, Datolo, Baziluzzo, and
Lisca. The wind seemed quite propitious to our adven
tures, for having drawn round to the northward, we were
again enabled to make use of the sails, whilst our mariners
entertained us with songs, which they sung in parts with
considerable taste and effect : with one we were particularly
pleased, a hymn addressed to the Virgin, which seemed to
call forth a great deal of religious pathos and solemnity ;
the air was simple and plaintive, which they chaunted with
a degree of harmony and expression I could little have ex
pected from persons of their condition.
Panaria, according to Plato and Ptolemy, is the Euno-
nymus of the Greeks, and the Thermisia of the Romans,
who so styled it on account of the hot mineral waters it is
remarkable for. It is about six miles in circumference,
with a fine fertile soil, which is cultivated by two hundred
inhabitants, and produces an abundance of grain, fruits,
and oil.
We landed at a little port on the south side, called
Cala del Castello, from an old Roman castle, of which some
vestiges still remain. During the time of the Romans it
was a place of great importance, which has been proved
by the discovery of numerous fragments of antiquity; and
the island is peculiar, as being the only one possessing a
yellow sandy beach in the whole group of the Liparis.
The other islands lie to the east, and south east of Pana
ria, and were anciently called Heraclidse, but in more

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 309
modern ages, Datoli, on account of their similarity to a
bunch of dates ; however, one alone now retains the-name,
and is situated about a mile east of Panaria. It is merely
a white precipitous uninhabited rock, but favourable, I
imagine, to the industrious pursuits of the bee, since the
Pariariaris keep their hives there, and derive from them
considerable quantities of honey.
. Two miles and a half to the east of Panaria lies Bazi-
luzzo, the ikezia of the Greeks, and Hicetium of Ptolemy.
It is. nearly two miles in circumference, with steep.rocky
sides, which render it difficult of access. A very ancient
flight of steps, hewn out of the rock by the Romans, to
facilitate the approach, may still be . seen, together with
many other traces, that serve to identify its. antiquity.
It is inhabited by two or three families, who cultivate
its productive soil, in spite of the myriads of rabbits that
war against their industry.
.. Lisca Bianca, situated a mile from Baziluzzo, is a small
island, kept -in cultivation by • the Panarians, with two
sterile ;rocks to the southward, called Lisca Nera*, and
Bottaro,from the latter, of which sulphate of alum is fre
quently collected in large quantities. . ,
These islets are extremely remarkable for the heat of
the surrounding waters at a considerable distance below
the surface, and the sulphuric bubbles that are frequently
observed rising, which afford strong testimony of the active
operations of the volcanic fire beneath.
We reached the coast of Lipari about eight o'clock,
and skimming along shore under the blanched cliffs of
Campo Bianco, passed thelittletown ofCanneto, and entered
the harbour, alittie after nine, where we were again obliged
to have recourse to that infallible nostrum for removing
¦ ., ; * Sometimes also called Tila.Navi.

310 TRAVELS IN SICILY
some little opposition we experienced to our landing, for
the want of proper certificates of health; the administered
dose soon took effect, and we were conducted to the Capu
chin convent of Porto Salvo, where, by recommendation,
we established our quarters for the day.
Lipari, the richest and most extensive island of the
group, is nineteen miles in circumference, interspersed
with towns and villages whose inhabitants amount to eleven
thousand five hundred souls. According to Strabo, Pliny,
and others, its original name, previous to the arrival
of Liparus, was Meligonis, and on account of its size
and fertility, it appears always to have been selected as
the seat of government by the various adventurers that
have successively usurped the possession of the Lipari
islands. The capital is a town of the same name, situated within
a snug little bay at the south east extremity of the island.
It claims pre-eminence over all the other towns of the
Liparis for its antiquity, size, and romantic position. It
was founded by King Liparus, consequently dates its cele
brity as a city many years prior to the Trojan war. Its
history is replete with a variety of events calculated to
awaken the most animated interest of the classic traveller,
and is rendered illustrious by the visit of Ulysses, who so
journed here a month under the friendly auspices and
hospitality of King iEolus.
When it succeeded to the possession of the Greeks, it
became celebrated for its piratical adventurers, by whose
boldness and bravery the seas were swept of their Etruscan
opponents, and the city enriched with the spoil.
Livy relates the following interesting anecdote of the
Lipari pirates. In the year of Rome 356, after the taking
of Veii by Camilius ; the Roman citizens, to testify their

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 311
gratitude to the gods for the glorious successes they had
gained, seat an offering of a valuable golden cup filled
with the most costly jewels and ornaments, presented by
their matrons, to the temple of Apollo at Delphos, with a
deputation of priests and ambassadors, who, on their
voyage, were all captured by the pirates and taken into
Lipari ; but Timasitheus, then chief magistrate of the city,
dreading the vengeance of the Pythian Apollo, whom all
the Greeks held in profound veneration, received them
with honours at the public expense, and after manifesting
every species of hospitality, restored the cup, liberated the
deputation, and, furthermore, accompanied them himself,
under the protection of an escort, to the holy fane of Del
phos, where he assisted in dedicating the offerings.
Lipari, however, assuming a more honourable mode of
life, rose to fame and prosperity under the wise administra
tion of a republic, when it was adorned with temples and
a celebrated prytaneum, containing all the treasure conse
crated to iEolus and Vulcan.
Its riches tempted the cupidity of the wicked Agatho
cles, who sailed over from Sicily with a large fleet, ex
torted immense sums from individuals, robbed the temples
and prytaneum, and bore away every thing that was
valuable from the city; but Providence doomed the tyrant
to pay the penalty of his crime, though probably not to
the extent of his merits ; for on quitting the island he en
countered a violent storm, in which eleven ships, laden
with the plunder, foundered, having himself narrowly
escaped destruction from shipwreck on the rocky coast of
Sicily. During the proud days of Carthage, when her fleets
held dominion over the seas, Lipari was a place much
resorted to by them for supplies, shelter, or their surveil-

312 TRAVELS IN SICILY
lance of their enemies, the Sicilian Greeks ; and it was here
Hamilcar, in the first Punic war, 256 b. c, surprised the
unwary Roman, Cornelius, who" sailed over with seventeen
galleys ,to .reconnoitre the Carthaginian force, and storm
the rocky fastnesses of the city ; but Hamilcar, lying then
in Hiera with a superior force, and gaining intelligence of
his'tapproach, hastened to the timely assistance 6f Lipari,
and captured the whole fleet of the unfortunate consul, who
was also made prisoner. Before the conclusion of this war;
however, Lipari fell into the hands of the Romans, who
settled there, and ultimately made it a place of great com
mercial importance. Alum proved a very great source of
profit to them, which they collected in immense quantities
from the island, and carried to the mother country. ¦
In the middle ages Lipari fell a prey to the piratical
depredations of African corsairs, and was in the year 1544
partially destroyed, plundered, and many of the inhabitants
borne away in slavery by the celebrated Ariadeno Barba-
rossa ; who, with a fleet under the bloody banners of his
infidel race, .carried destruction along the eastern shores of
the Mediterranean, where he has left many memorials of
his cruelty and desolation. ¦¦ <
The town yvas immediately after restored by Charles V.,
who colonized it with Spaniards, and fortified it in itspreu
sent form. It is divided into two parts, the lower town and
citadel ; the former of which is composed of indifferently
builthouses, formed into miserable looking streets, or rather
alleys, crowded with churches and convents; the'llatter,
romantically situated on a high precipitous rock of partially
vitrified lava boldly projecting into the bay, contains the
only three conspicuous edifices of Lipari, namely, the cathe
dral, the castle, or governor's house, and the bishop's palace,
which, together with the rest of the town, • and the moun-

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 313
tain forms of the back scene, constitute, when viewed from
the water, one of the most interesting pictorial subjects that
can be imagined.
, The cathedral is an old edifice in the rudest style of Nor
man Gothic, raised by Count Roger, and consecrated to
St. Bartholomew. It is celebrated for the richness of the
utensils, and its quantity of plate, particularly a silver sta
tue of the patron saint, which, with the innumerable sacred
relics it contains, are held in the most profound veneration'
by Jthe bigoted Liparese, whose superstition will not be' won
dered at, when the reader is informed, that nearly half the
inhabitants are either priests, nuns, or friars of the different
orders. .  '•¦¦¦'.
The Liparese are a robust, hardy race, well formed, with
swarthy complexions, extremely friendly to strangers, and
I do not know any place where the traveller- is received with
more hospitality or greater kindness ;- still retaining the cour
teous character which their early ancestors manifested to the
great Trojan visitor.
; Traces are not wanting to attest the antiquity or former
fortunes of this town : many coins, both Grecian and Ro
man, have been discovered, which throw considerable light
on its history, besides tombs, fragments of beautiful sculp
ture, inscriptions, and the substructions of edifices ; the two
latter of which are principally Roman *.
The bay of Lipari is about two miles in circumference,
enclosed on the south by Cape Capistello, and on the north
*l The i most- important remains of Romain architecture consist in the
extensive substructions of a sudatory bath ; the passages for conveying the
steam are all perfect, supported by pillars, with a flooring'above, adorned
by a rude species of Mosaic in black and white marble, representing un-
intelligibleallegorical subjects, executed in a style. that leaves no room to
doubt their antiquity. < ' ; • .

314 TRAVELS IN SICILY
by the projecting base of Monte Rosso, at the foot of which
a very curious rock is to be seen, well worthy the attention
of the mineral explorer ; it is a porpheritic lava, beauti
fully red in parts, enclosing felspar, shoerl, and hornstone,
and I think may be ranked under the denomination of vol
canic breccia.
The island of Lipari is particularly fertile in parts, and
although it produces grain of all sorts, is richest in fruits,
abounding considerably in oil and wine, of which latter the
celebrated Malvasia is cultivated with great success ; the
Corinthian grape (called by the natives passolina) also grows
in great abundance, whilst splendid fig trees are everywhere
seen shooting with wonderful luxuriance from the . rocky
fissures of lava, where it is difficult to imagine whence they
derive the source of such vegetable productiveness.
Raisins, currants, figs, and Malvasia wine, together with
pumice, and two or three other mineral productions, consti
tute the chief articles of exportation from which they are
said to derive considerable profit.
The island is composed of a group of volcanic hills of
every form and shape, the most prominent of which are
those of St. Angelo and Guardia; their physical, character
is curious and excessively interesting to the mineralogist ;
and notwithstanding it is a volcanic production, no memo
rials are on record of any eruptions subsequent to the first
known periodof its habitation ; therefore, we maypresume
it is one of the earliest formations of the iEolides ; however,
its subterranean fires are not yet extinct, as is evinced by
the numerous hot mineral springs, as well as the increased
beat that is produced by excavation in various parts of the
island. Campo Bianco, about three miles from the city, is a
white-looking, sterile mountain, striated with gullies, formed

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 315
by the rains, and covered with all the most curious varie
ties of pumice, intermixed with obsidian and beautiful spe
cimens of light sulphuric scoriae, that reflect all the brilliant
colours of the prism, but so subtle as to be destroyed by a
breath. Some of the pumices are also equally fragile and
iridescent, with a fine pearly lustre, and translucent on the
edges, with sometimes white silvery scales or lamellae ; others
with fibrous angular nodules, and grains of black volcanic

Behind Campo Bianco there is a range of hills covered
with blackish and more compact pumice, vitrifactions, a
few breccias, and obsidian.
Monte Guarda, and others, furnish lavas of every colour,
some curiously encrusted with a vitrified matter, resembling
varnish, which, resisting the corrosive influence of air and
humidity, accounts for the little progress made in the de
composition of these hills, and their consequent sterile con
dition. Monte Castagna is remarkable for its quantity of obsi
dians of different species, and porpheritic lavas, enclosing
crystals of felspar, augite, mica, quartz, &c.
At the north end of the island, at the termination of the
fertile little valley of Malini, are several caverns, celebrated
for their hot vapours, which,, though variable in pointof tem
perature, are frequently known to exceed 140° Fahrenheit.
At a short distance from them is the Grotto del Demonio,
so called from an old monkish legend which reports his
satanic majesty to have escaped thither from the pursuit of
St. Calogero. On the shore stands the Torre Perm eta,
where there is a landing place and road leading to the
caves. The most celebrated baths mentioned by the ancients,
and particularly remarked by Diodorus, are now called the

316 TRAVELS IN SICILY
baths of St. Calogero. They are situated on the southern
coast near Punta Perciata, and have exercised the curiosity
and researches of philosophers of all ages ; the waters rise
in great abundance, with a temperature of, from 120° to
140° of Fahrenheit. Their analysis I could notl'earri; but
such is their efficacy in a variety of disorders, and the esti
mation in which they are held by the inhabitants, that they
are brought frequently to Lipari for the use of patients,
who are incapable of using them on the spot, on account
of the want of accomodation or comforts.
After exploring the town (where we met with unbounded
civility from every individual), and making a variety of
excursions in search of minerals and antiquities, we returned
to our quarters at the convent, where the worthy hosts of
the cowl gave us every reason to feel satisfied with their
company as with their fare : we found them communica
tive, and gained, during our sojourn, a fund of local infor
mation relative to the islands and their inhabitants. .
Four miles to the north-west of Lipari is situated the
island of Salina. According to Ptolemy, and others, it was
called Didyme by the ancients (ai aomh), on account of its
bifurcated form, which is composed of two high conic
mountains, Malaspina and Felice, between which runs a
beautiful valley, celebrated for its richness and ' fertility,
where, amongst other productions, a fine species of the
Malvasia grape is cultivated to a great extent.. The hills
on the north-west side are well wooded, picturesque, . and
abound in game. ..,,. ,
The island is twelve miles in circumference, with several
villages, and a population of four thousand souls, reputed
for their filthiness and disease. On the south-east side of
the coast, near the battery and church of Lingua Marina,
are the ruins of a Roman reticulated wall, like those of

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 317
Pozzuoli and Naples; and not far from thence a lake where
a quantity of salt is manufactured, hence the modern name
of the island. Alum and saltpetre are also procured here
in great abundance ; and the rocks are celebrated for that
curious. species of muscle called the Pinna Squamosa*,
from the byssus or beard of which the women of the inland
make extremely nice gloves. From the same article the
Romans spun a fine silk, and manufactured a costly stuff
of which their imperial robes were made.
The channel between this island and the main is me
morable for an obstinate drawn battle, fought between the
French and Dutch fleets, whose commanders, satisfied with
each other's bravery and exertions, mutually withdrew, and
made sail in different directions.
iFelicudi (anciently. Phaenicusa, from its abundant pro
duction of the palmetto), lies about ten miles to the west
ward of Lipari, and is ten miles in circumference, with a
population of one thousand souls; it is distinguished by
three high mountains f, and a long curved isthmus on the
south, which, forms the two snug little ports of Conca di
Lao andCaladi Speranza. The coasts are rugged, abrupt,
and inaccessible in the west, with an immense curious cave,
one hundred and sixty feet long, one hundred and twenty
broad, and fifty high ; formed into spacious chambers by
natural arches, and was a place of refuge for the Barbary
pirates that infested these seas until within a very.recent
period. On the north-west side of the coast there is a cu
rious slender-formed rock, rising out of the water to the
>.¦¦,. ... ¦¦ ' - >¦ '¦ ¦ - :
* This muscle abounds in the Mediterranean^ and is found from eight
\o twelve inches in length. By the Romans it was called the marine silk-
Worm. ' + Montagnuolo is the most lofty, being upwards of three thousand feet,
and the highest of all the Lipari islands.

318 TRAVELS IN SICILY
height of two hundred and eighty feet, which, in conse
quence of its longitudinal grotesque shape, has received the
appellation of Canna.
The island is extremely fertile, and produces grain,
olives, and grapes in abundance ; and boasts a finer species
of cattle than any of the Liparis.
The mineral productions are three-sided prismatic basalts
without joints, vitrified cinders and tufa, with ferruginous
and argellaceous lavas, enclosing crystalized felspar and
shoerl. Alicudi, (according to Strabo and Ptolemy the Ericusa
of the ancients, and so denominated from the heaths with
which it abounded), is about six miles to the westward of
Felicudi, and is six miles in circumference, with not more
than two hundred and fifty inhabitants : it is high, precipi
tous, surrounded by rugged rocks, and excessively difficult
of access, the only good landing place being on the south
side, near Cape Palomba. Its physical character is much
the same as Felicudi, and is cultivated wherever the volcanic
ingredients are sufficiently decomposed for the purposes^of
vegetation. Having replenished our viaticum we bade adieu to the
convent at four the following morning, (Monday, Decem
ber 20th), and embarked again for tbe neighbouring island
of Vulcano ; which, being but four miles distant, we arrived
and landed in the port, on the north-west side, at a little
past five.
Vulcano was the Hiera* of the Greeks (the Templum
Vulcani of Strabo, and Vulcania Tellus of Virgil), so called
because, as Diodorus Siculus states, consecrated by them,
on account of its fires, to their fabled god Vulcan. It was
* Diodorus.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 319
afterwards called Vulcania * by the Romans, who, when
in possession of these islands, annually celebrated at Lipari
the festivals of the Vulcanalia f.
The island is eleven miles and a half in circumference,
rising, to a height of about two thousand feet from the level
of the sea. The north and east sides are entirely barren,
presenting a dark gloomy aspect, without the slightest ap
pearance of vegetation, whilst the sides fronting the west
and south are covered with luxuriant pastures, interspersed
here and there with ilex, quantities of broom, underwood,
and shrubs.
On account of the deficiency of water it remained un
inhabited, and was only frequented by sportsmen in quest
of the rabbits, with which it is infested, or goatherds who
came over during the day to tend the herds of goats sent
by the Liparese for the benefit of the pasture; until within
the last five or six years, since which several houses have
been built on the south side on a beautiful verdant decli
vity called the Luna farm, where two or three families
have brought the soil to a profitable state of cultivation.
Works have also been recently established at the foot of
the crater to procure sal amoniac, alum, and sulphur,
which has considerably augmented the number of inhabit
tants, and, I have no doubt, in the course of a short pe
riod, will render it extremely populous. In the centre of
a valley a fine copious spring has been discovered, but
from the extensive sterility of its locality little advantage is
derived from it ; though, in case of emergency or an in-
* Insula Sicanium juxta latus, iEoliumque
Erigitur Liparea fumantibus ardua saxis.
Vulcani domus et Vulcania nomine tellus. — Mneid.
f Vide Lemprier's Classical Dictionary.

320 TRAVELS IN SICILY
creased population, it might easily be rendered subservient
to the supplies of more distant habitations.
Vulcano is one of the oldest burning mountains recorded
by ancient writers. The first account we have of its erup
tions is from the pen of Thucydides, and after him Aris
totle, Polybius, Strabo, and others, who have given length
ened descriptions of its convulsive operations, the first of
whom calls it the lighthouse of the mariners, on account
of its unceasing ignited state ; and during one eruption
describes the town of Lipari to have been menaced with
destruction by the prodigious quantity of ashes it ejected. -
The eruptions, however, became more intermittent in
the early ages of the christian era, and the last most vio
lent one known occurred in 1444, though others of less note
burst forth in 1726, 1775, and 1786, which latter closed
the list of its ejections, and confined its movements to the
interior of the crater. t
At the northern extremity of the island is a peninsulated
mass of volcanic matter, called Vulcanello, which rose from
the sea, accompanied with a violent eruption, in the year 204
b. c. *, and is recorded by Pliny and Eusebius, who observe,
that on account of the excessive heat produced in the sur?
rounding waters on that occasion, the surface of the sea
was covered during many days with an abundance of dead
fish, which, being .taken with avidity by the poor inhabi
tants of Lipari, caused the greater number of those who eat
of them to be poisoned. ,
There are two small craters, one of which only remains,
and still produces occasional noises, but without any signs
of ejection. Vulcanello was entirely separated from Vul
cano by a small strait, until the lavas of the last eruptions
* Some modern authors say 180 b. c, but the authority of Pliny and
others disproves the assertion.— Lib. ii. 90.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 321
closed up the channel and united it to the main. It now
forms two excellent commodious little ports for shipping,
one on the east, the other on the west side, named accord
ing to their situation Porto Levante and Porto Ponente,
the latter of which is enclosed by rugged rocks of lava,
presenting a most picturesque appearance within.
The access and ascent being easiest on this side the
island, and totally devoid of difficulty, we proceeded to the
great crater of Vulcano, accompanied by two of our boat
men. The road leads over a tract of earth covered with
scoriae, ashes, and ferruginous lava, and across a deep val
ley to the mountain that forms the crater, which stands
entirely unconnected with the circumjacent hills.
We paused a short time to examine the abovementioned
works, established at an excavation about half way up, for
the purpose of obtaining sulphur, alum, and sal ammoniac.
The cavern in places is impenetrable, on account of the
excessively dense hot vapours which issue from the fissures ;
but the specimens of stalactitic sulphur are so beautiful,
and so much finer here than at Cattolica, that I could not
resist exploring the various recesses, even at the expense
of a good vapour-bath.
The mouth of the great crater is on a plain at the sum
mit of the mountain, and exhibits, either to the common
observer or the mineralogist, a more beautiful and gratify
ing interior than any known volcano in the world. It is
a mile in circumference, and nearly a thousand feet deep,
encrusted with volcanic products of great rarity, and of
the most brilliant colours, which have been modified into
the most captivating varieties by decomposition, sulphuric
vapours, efflorescences, and deposits by sublimation.
A variety of obnoxious vapours at times rush from the
crevices; and about half way down the northern side

322 TRAVELS IN SICILY
hot spring issues from a rock covered with curious crystal
lizations and stalactites of alum ; in its fall it trickles over
several projecting masses, forming interesting specimens of
concretions, coated with alum, vitriol, &c. ; in other parts,
scoria; of : all sorts, from the most delicate yellow to dark
buff and orange, may be found, together with muriate of
copper, in small deliquescent crystals; red and yellow orpi-
ment, and obsidian in a perfect state of fusion. Indeed,
no crater can possibly present a grander or more splendid
display of volcanic products, or is better suited to the re
searches of the mineralogist. Though no eruptions now
occur, its subterranean fires are still in an active state,
being intimated by emissions of smoke, and loud noises
like the boiling of a cauldron *, accompanied with tre
mendous motions under the feet, which, at periods, our
companions told us seemed as if the whole island were
about to be swallowed up by the sea.
Other parts of the island, as well as the crater, are
equally interesting to the mineralogist, from the rare pro
duction of beautiful and curious breccias, varialitic lava
converted into fine enamels, one of which is peculiarly
remarkable ; it is dark grey, sprinkled with light round
spots, produced by globules under the enamel. Pumice,
of light beautiful texture, obsidians, and a great variety of
green and red vitrifications, are also abundant on the
north-east side of -the islandf.
* The water also, as well as the earth on the beach, in many parts of
the slior'e, are' at times in a state of the most surprising heat.
f The western eoast of Vulcano is peculiar for its caverns, particularly
those of Cala di Farmaggio and Grotto delCavallo: the former has a
large rock in the centre, and is now the resort of fishermen in bad wea
ther as formerly it was of pirates ; the latter is celebrated for its fine
specimens of green vitriol and sulphate of iron, Which latter occurs1 both
massive and crystallized in right oblique-angled prisms.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 323
Reposing on a porpheritic mass of lava, overhanging the
precipitous borders of the crater, we made a hearty break
fast from the contents of our basket; and after completing
a collection of specimens as we descended by the eastern
side to Porto Levante, (where we had appointed to rejoin
the boat), we embarked at nine o'clock for Sicily.

y2

324 TRAVELS iW SICILY

CHAPTER XII.
Auspicious breezes from the north-west favoured our
passage, which rendered the labours of the rowers unneces
sary, and after a most delightful sail of three hours, we
landed at the small village of Olivieri, seventeen miles
from Vulcano, situated on a river of the same name, and
anciently the streams of the Helicon. Having settled
accounts for the services of our faithful mariners and their
little bark, we proceeded on mules to the ruins of the
ancient Tyndaris, by a 'steep, rugged, winding path, called
the " Scala di Tindari," first visiting the old baronial
castle of Scalaproto, which is approached by a winding
road, beautifully shaded with trees ; it is the habitation of
a respectable old Sicilian baron, whose hospitable courte-
sey and kindness affords to the stranger an easy and ac
ceptable admission to the little collection of antiquities he
has made from the neighbouring ruins.
Tyndaris, situated on the summit of a high promontory,
steep and precipitous towards the sea, was founded by a
party of expatriated Messinians from the Peloponnesus,
in the reign of the elder Dionysius, who, with his cha
racteristic artful policy, favoured their colonization, and
bound them to his interests by endowing them with lands.
By a remarkable spirit of enterprize and industry, they
became, in a few years, a prosperous people, in possession
of a flourishing city, which they named after one in their
own country, and adorned it with temples, porticos, and
the splendid villas of its opulent citizens.
It obtained great renown for the magnificence of a tern-

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 325
pie consecrated to Mercury, and the pompous festivals that
were annually celebrated in honour of the god*; a statue
of whom, in the most exquisite style of the art, embellished
the heathen shrine, and was hallowed with extraordinary
reverence by the citizens. Such was its beauty and perfec
tion, that it was borne away by the Punic invaders to adorn
the galleries of Carthage, when, after the ruin of Hymaera,
they ravaged the whole of this coast. It was, however,
restored by the brave Scipio, at his destruction of Car
thage; an act that animated the inhabitants with such a
deep sense of gratitude and admiration, that they sealed
their allegiance to Rome with a solemn oath, to which they
ever after most religiously adhered ; and after the conquest
of the island by Marcellus raised an equestrian statue of
that hero, in the city, to celebrate their annexation to the
Roman power.
Tyndaris became conspicuous for the spirited resistance
of its citizens to the rapacity and attrocities of Verres, for
whose base conduct and cruelties they loudly demanded
vengeance from Rome ; and, through the irresistible elo
quence of Cicero, obtained from the senate his recall and
removal from the praetorship.
The Romans considerably embellished this city with
public edifices. Cicero f frequently mentions it, describing
it as noble, rich, and abundant, and its inhabitants the
allies and friends of the Romans. It was standing in
* The wicked praetor, Verres, ardently coveting the possession of the
beautiful statue from the temple of Mercury, commanded Proagoras, an
opulent and popular citizen, to procure it, who firmly refusing the re
quest, was publicly scourged and bound to the statue of Marcellus, where
he lay exposed until his sympathising countrymen procured his release,
on the promise of yielding up the object of the tyrant's exaction.
f " Nobilissimam et commeatu faecundam ac refertam et bello maritimo
satis accommodam."— Cicer. ad Verr.

326 TRAVELS IN SICILY
the wars between Octavius and Pompey, and even as late
(though in a reduced and decayed condition) as the reign of
Frederick II., after which, on account of earthquake, and
other disasters, it became totally deserted and annihilated,
and now presents but a few scattered heaps of ririrrsy with a
solitary convent boldly towering above the rocky eminence,
which, whilst it diffuses a holiness around the ancient site,
Serves to immortalize the mCriiory of its name and early
splendour, being distinguished by the appellation of Santa
Maria di Tindaro; The surrounding fields are strewed with
the vestiges of tombs and cisterns, fragments of sculpture,
columns, highly wrought cornices, broken vases, lamps,
&c, &c. ; whilst the remains of several important edifices
are still discernable, besides a spacious theatre, which was
in part formed by the rocky eminence on which it stood,
and is highly worthy of remark for the incomparable beauty
of its situation, where the spectators commanded the pros
pect of a delicious picture, that embraces a wide expanse
of the blue Tyrrhene sea to the north> studded with the
scattered isles of Lipari ; to the south the luxuriant
country of the Piano di Brolo, girt with the thickly wooded
mountains of Caronia, and to the east, the variegated plains
of Melazzo. Having had no refreshment since our break
fast at Vulcano, we seated ourselves in this splendid focus
of nature, and enjoyed the contemplation of its exquisite
beauty and subliriiity whilst partaking the homely luxury
of our travelling larder.
The architect has availed himself of a cavity in the hill
for the formation of the front of the theatre> which part
remains perfect with a proportion of the walls that com
posed the scenium ; but vegetation has nearly thrown a
covering over the whole, and it is difficult to distinguish
more than the form.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 327
Not far from the theatre are the remains of a splendid
edifice, which, I have no doubt, was the gymnasium al
luded to by Cicero in his orations; several finely formed
massive arches, with niches and pilasters, still exist, to
attest the former magnificence and architectural solidity.
According to Pliny, part of the town * was precipitated
into the sea by a dreadful earthquake, the place of which is
visible both by a steep broken precipice on the east side, and
the fragments of masonry that are found in the part under
the heights.
Tyndaris was surrounded by walls formed of immense
oblong stones, closely fixed together without cement, many
of which may be traced to this day as firmly united as if
but recently executed. One gate only appears to have
afforded access to the town, the highly preserved ruins of
which present a splendid monument of the durability and
excellence of ancient masonry.
To the eastward of the town, on the summit of a hill,
anciently stood a celebrated temple, consecrated to the
Olympic Jupiter, of which, though now levelled and an
nihilated, sufficient fragments remain to ascertain its
site; and the memory of it is awakened in the traveller's
reminiscences by the appellation of the hill, which, on ac
count of the ancient fane, is still called Monte Jove.
In the first Punic war, Tyndaris was much resorted to
by the Roman fleets, both on account of its plentiful sup
plies as well as its favourable locality for the surveillance of
the north coast of Sicily. Its name is immortalized, and
* The monkish records at the adjoining convent state this disaster to
have occurred on the day of the crucifixion of our Saviour ; but little
faith can be placed on such authority ; if we did, how many absurdities
must we not give credence to ?— how many palpable inventions framed to
render the world subservient to the sacerdotal interest and papal power,

328 TRAVELS IN SICILY
raised to an ostensible place in the interesting annals of
antiquity, by the memorable naval contest between Regulus
and the Carthaginians, 256 B. c. ; the latter of whom, stand
ing along the coast for Panormus, were no sooner espied
than attacked by the intrepid Regulus, who, with only ten
galleys, sallied out of the port in pursuit, leaving orders for
the remainder of the fleet to follow as quickly as possible;
but the Carthaginians, seeing the inferiority of their pur
suers, suddenly turned upon their too audacious enemy,
and destroyed every galley excepting the one of Regulus,
who immediately heading the rest of his fleet, which had
by that time come up, amply revenged his first loss and
disgrace by a most complete victory, after an obstinate and
bloody action, in which he sunk eight of the Carthaginian
vessels, took ten, and forced the remainder to fly into
Lipari for protection.
The ancient port is on the east side of point Tyndaris,
now called Porta Madonna, from the convent that crowns
the overhanging cliff. Appian, Pliny, and Cicero, all
extol its advantages; but although it might have been suf
ficiently convenient for the naval purposes of ancient days,
it is now only suited to the uses of small coasting craft or
fishing boats.
After wandering over the venerable site, and investi
gating the remains that lay scattered along the now silent
and deserted heights, we descended the hill by a path
called also on this side, the Scala di Tyndari, and pro
ceeded to Patti, distant six miles, where we arrived about
six o'clock.
The northern coast of Sicily has been hitherto most fre
quently neglected by travellers, being generally considered
unattractive, because unable to boast of the same number
of cities celebrated in the history of antiquity for their

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 329
warlike importance or military achievements as the south ;
however, I consider it by no means wanting in interest
either to the eye or the imagination, of which ample testimony
is afforded in the records of Diodorus, Strabo, Pliny, and
Cicero, who describe it as interspersed with towns reputed
for their riches and population, lands teeming with the bene
ficence of nature, and a climate even superior to that of
the south. Whilst in modern days it continues remarkable
for its local amenity and forest scenery, the fertility of the
soil, the beauty and luxuriance of its vegetation, and the
abundance of its delicious fruits ; also the beautiful for
mation of its coast, which is divided into gracefully curving
bays and picturesque creeks, by bold projecting promon
tories and rocky capes, whose precipitous heights are fre
quently crowned by the romantic ruins of some fallen
castle or deserted convent, which considerably enhance
the pictorial effect of the coast, and give additional zest to
the traveller's researches in quest of scenic beauties.
Patti is situated on an eminence open to the sea, girt
on the south by an amphitheatre of picturesque hills, and
watered at the base by the Fiume di Patti, or Timetus of
antiquity. It is tolerably well built, with regular streets,
and contains about four thousand inhabitants, who are
comparatively prosperous from their industry in the pur
suits of the tuuny fishery, and the manufacture of coarse
earthenware, for which this place is celebrated.
The town is not of very ancient origin. It was first
brought into notice by Count Roger the Norman, who in
1094 founded the Benedictine convent, and erected the
cathedral ; which latter is ennobled with the remains and
sepulchre of his wife Adelaide. It is of plain, rude,
Norman gothic, consecrated to St. Bartholomew, and in
conjunction with the aforementioned one of Lipari was,

330 TRAVELS IN SICILY
by permission of Pope Boniface, established as the head
church of an episcopal see. There is little to be seen
within, excepting a highly wrought gothic cross, and the
rich materials of which, as usual, the high altar is com
posed. The bishop's palace (formerly a Norman castle, and co
eval with the dilapidated walls which surround the town),
stands, with the cathedral, in the most elevated part of the
city, producing at a distance a beautiful effect when em
bodied with the adjoining landscape; and particularly so
when viewed from the western suburbs, where, strolling
in search of novelties on the evening of our arrival, our
attention was suddenly arrested by the splendour of the
prospect. The last ruddy glare of a brilliant evening gave
a mellow tinge to the prominent sides of the distant hills ;
the town lay before us, from whose centre reared the lofty
walls of the church and castle, memorials at once of the
valour and the piety of the great Norman chieftain whp
founded them ; to the right, rising from a chain of moun
tain heights, the pinnacle of iEtna disgorged its black
smoky volumes ; and to the left, on the tranquil bosom of
the Tyrrhene sea, lay the scattered isles of Lipari, with
the unceasing flames of Stromboli shooting into the ex
panse above, like a Pharos warning the distant mariners
from the rocky isles. All this we viewed with transported
feelings ; for nature was there in a variety of captivating
forms, and we were doubly disposed to the enjoyment of
such a scene by the extreme mildness of the evening and
the serenity of the atmosphere ; for not a breath stirred in
the heavens ; ,and although in the last days of December,
Fahrenheit's thermometer stood as high as 50°. Indeed
the climate throughout the year on this coast of Sicily is
so delightfully genial, that were the country in any way

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 331
enjoyable, as far as society and the common comforts Of
life are concerned, I am persuaded no place in the world
could offer greater attractions to those persons whose phy
sical happiness depends on the quality of atmosphere.
We here hired fresh mules to take us as far as Ter
mini ; and the following morning (Tuesday, 21st), at eight
o'clock, pursued our journey. Traversing the little town o
Sorrentino, we left the deserted heights of Giojosa* to the
right, and the figgy shades of Librizzi to the left, and
passed along a gently winding bay, formed by the Capes
CalaVa and Orlando ; the former a steep rock, clothed
above with corn-fields and vineyards, and remarkable for
a curious cavern called the Castello di Liago.
We soon skirted the town of Brolo, situated at the
confluence of two torrents, with its tottering Saracenic
castle near the shore, which is overlooked by the ancient
town of Pyracmium, now called Paraino. The beautiful
country that now lay before us is called the Piano di
Brolo, a valley at once picturesque, fertile, and beau
tifully adorned at every season with a variety of lux
uriant and odoriferous shrubs and plants. It is situated
between the sea and an undulation of hills, whose sides and
summits are here and there spread with the thick shades
of underwood and forest.
Hie gelidi fontes, hie mollia prata hie nemus.
The oleander and yellow poppy abound, as also the
mulberry, the fig, and the aloe, the latter of which seems
* Giojosa stands on a rocky eminence, but on account of several dis
astrous earthquakes is now deserted, and a new town built at the base
of the mountain, near the sea: the former now exhibits a most melan
choly picture; not a soul remains within its precincts; even the monkish
"piles are all abandoned to a host of probably equally useful race of beings,
rats> screech-owls, and bats. Librizzi is celebrated for its abundant pro
duction of figs, which the inhabitants dry for exportation.

332 TRAVELS IN SICILY
to claim pre-eminence over the rest, by rearing its floral
thyrsus frequently beyond tbe summit of the spreading fig,
with whose companionship it oftentimes is seen not unpic-
turesquely combined.
Diodorus lavishes the most unqualified eulogies on the
mountain heights, refreshing breezes, cooling springs,
wooded shades, and smiling plains, that so gracefully cha
racterize this part of the country ; and I am sure, however
bigotted the traveller may be in pursuit of antiquarian re
searches, here at least nature will triumph for a time, and
by expanding bis heart, will elevate his sentiments to the
contemplation of the beneficent power that created so many
wondrous charms ! — so much loveliness !
Five miles beyond Brolo is the town of Naso (the an
cient Nasidas), situated on an eminence clothed with wood ;
it is a place of between seven and eight thousand inhabi
tants, surrounded with walls, and possesses several good
edifices. After crossing a river of the same name, we ar- .
rived about twelve o'clock, put up our steeds, and accom
panied by a man whose services we procured for the car
riage of our basket, as well as for the supply of any local
information, we descended the hill to the store houses on
the Marina, and from thence proceeded to the heights of
Cape Orlando, a bold, sterile, rocky promontory, so called
from an ancient castle * of that name that crowned the sum
mit, and which, though a heap of ruins, still retains the
appellation of Castello. A small chapel has been built
from the fragments, with a tenement for its solitary priest,
who with an only man servant perform the combined
offices of spiritual and temporal defenders of the church,
* This castle derived its name from some valorous deeds having been
performed in the vicinity by the chivalrous nephew of Charlemagne, the
renowned hero of Ariosto's poetic tale.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 333
and claim the exclusive command of an adjoining battery
formed of four guns, which, however, will never put either
their valour or activity to the test, being under any cir
cumstances totally unserviceable. Seated on one of them,
we enjoyed our breakfast, and at the same time a magnifi
cent prospect of the sparkling sea on one side, and the
luxuriant country just described on the other, whilst the
old priest joined in our potations, and related, together
with many legends of the place, numerous instances of the
fatal shipwrecks of former days, which have given rise to
the absurd notion of the promontory being dangerous to
navigators, on account of sudden squalls. The danger,. how
ever, has arisen rather from a want of skill, and ignorance
of the rocks that lie near the shore, and it is no more to be
dreaded than any other head-land on the coast.
At two o'clock we returned to Naso, and remounted
our mules for St. Agatha, distant eleven miles ; the road
leads along a plain, and across the fiume Fitaglia, with the
village of Capri to the left, and Terra Nova to the right;
beyond whence stands, on an eminence to the left, the
city of San Marco, the Calacta of the ancients, which
Diodorus, Cicero, and others, describe as situated on the
most beautiful shore of Sicily: hence the origin of its
Grecian name *.
A variety of ruins in the neighbourhood attest its anti
quity, besides coins of different ages that have been found,
not many years ago, by the labourers of the place.
The modern town derives its name from a church raised
on the ruins of the old one during the middle ages, and
devoted to the apostle. The surrounding country is richly
cultivated, and with the plain below, which an Italian
author thus describes, " Bella, amenissima, pien d'ogni
* xaXoc pulchor, and «*tb littus.

TRAVELS IN SICILY
sorte di frutte e fontane," produces silk, fruits, grain, oil,
and wine.
The ancient town of Aluntium lay farther up the hills,
beyond Miletello, and is now called Alonge ; it was memo
rable in the days of the ancients for the riches and luxury
of the inhabitants, and was plundered on one occasion of all
its valuables by Agathocles.
We reached Sta. Agatha at five in the evening, the site
of the ancient Agathurnum, according to Diodorus, so
called from the name of its Grecian founder. No traces,
however, are left to record the classical site but a situation
eorresponding to the description of the early writers, and
the remains of a Roman bridge over the river ; its name,
having been handed down, has alone given rise to the appli
cation of the assimilated one of Sta. Agatha to the modem
hamlet on the shore, which is unhealthy and uninviting,
and furnished neither very clean or agreeable quarters
for our nocturnal sojourn.
Wednesday, 22d. — We set out at eight o'clock, after ex
ploring the adjacent river Inganno, or, as it is most frer
quently called, Rosa Marina, on account of the plant of
that name abounding on its banks, and which is seen beau
tifully mantling the rocks, with its grey flowers covered
with dew, and glittering in the sun. Oleanders and myrr
-ties also add to the flowing richness of this interesting
torrent, whilst mulberry trees cloathe the neighbouring
grounds. The remains of a massy Roman bridge, of seven arphes,
of which one continues perfect, give somewhat of stability
to the presumed site of Agathyrnum, which Livy says ex
isted jattthe period of Marcellus's conquest, and was enriched
as well as improved by the Romans.
From hence the hills approach nearer the sea, and our

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 335
path led along the shore, with the thick forests of Caronia
stretching their wooded heights nearly twenty miles east
and west ; besides producing oak, elm, cork, pine, and ash,
they are rich in fruit trees. Diodorus, in his fifth book,
calls them Heraei, and particularly celebrates their " ame
nity, perpetual summer, and refreshing streams ;" and to
their abundant fruits once a Carthaginian army owed its
preservation from famine and destruction.
We passed the convent of San Fratello * to the left on
the hill ; to the right two old watch towers on the shore ;
crossed several fiumare, and at eleven reached Caronia,
according to Ptolemy and Strabo the ancient site of
Alessa. It stands on a rugged eminence near the sea,
with a population of two thousand inhabitants, and an old
dilapidated castle.
There is nothing of peculiar interest to attract the tra
veller at modern Caronia : as Alessa it is enumerated by
Cicero amongst the most ornamented towns, and as cele
brated for the courtesy and good faith of the inhabitants; and
in his epistle he calls it noble and delicate. To the south
of the mountain forests of Caronia is the theatre of the
first great successes of the Normans over the Saracens,
Troina, Sperlinga, and Cerami, the latter of which is me
morable for a most glorious defeat of the infidels by Roger.
From Caronia the road leads round the curvature of a
little bay to the small town of Santa Stephano, and from
thence to Tusa, the Alicia or Aleta of the ancients, so
often mentioned by Cicero and Diodorus f. The modern
* This convent was established by the Lombards, and called San Phi-
ladelfo, on account of a pious christian of that name who suffered martyr
dom near the site during the persecutions of Valerian. Time has corrupted
it to the present name of Fratello.
f Cicer. ad Verr.

336 TRAVELS IN SICILY
town is situated on a healthy spot, on a hill between Mount
Tauro and the sea.
We next crossed the river Pollina, so called from the
town and old picturesque castle of that name, situated on
the pinnacle of a steep hill to the south-west, and reached
the village of Finale a little after sun-set, where we took
up our quarters for the night. It is situated just within
Cape Rasicalbo* and the little haven called Porto deCor-
sari, which is defended by a castle on the shore.
Thursday, 23d . — Intending to reach Termini this evening,
thirty-six miles, we mounted our mules before day-light.
The road to Cefalu leads across the rivers Malportuso and
Carbone, through a picturesque, fertile country, abounding
in oil, wine, and silk. Heaths, myrtles, cistus, with, tim
ber of various sorts, cloathe the romantic mountains to the
left, particularly the manna ash, which is celebrated for the^
superiority of its juices, and is a profitable source of rever
nue to this part of the country.
Cefalu (the Cephalaedis of the ancients) is a town of
about eight thousand inhabitants, surrounded by an old
bastioned wall, situated at the foot of a conic mountain
projecting into the sea. The ancient city stood on the
summit, and may be traced amongst the earliest of the
Graeco-Sicilian establishments on this coast; but notwith- ,
standing its local capacities and formidable position as a
fortress in those times, it never attained to any degree of
wealth or power, or figured in the page of fame. Accord
ing to Ptolemy, Cicero, and Strabo, it derives its. apellatipn
from its headland position (xE<faMi caput), andmany remains
of its Grecian founders are still identifiable, such as cis
terns, tombs, &c. ; besides the discovery of coins, now in
the possession of Prince Biscaris and others.
* The name of a Moorish corsair that was wrecked there.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 337
An old ruined Saracenic castle now crowns the most
elevated part ; and a short distance down the ascent stands
the skeleton of a structure, whose era or destination I feel
equally at a loss to establish. It has been absurdly as
cribed to the Phoenicians, who in no age had any settle
ment there ; and from the irregularity of its formation, as
well as style of construction, I deem it even of more recent
erection than the Roman or the Grecian ages.
The Saracens were the last inhabitants of the old town,
and the modern city was transferred to its present site by
King Roger the Norman, who in a perilous voyage from
Naples made a vow to raise a church in whatever place it
should please Providence to restore him safe to land,
which being at Cefalu, he caused the present cathedral to
be built in 1145, and by exemptions encouraged the inha
bitants of the ancient town, together with numerous other
people, to transfer their abodes round its walls, and thus
established in the course of a few years a populous city.
It is now an episcopal see*, and a place of considerable
trade, which is carried on by small craft, and possesses
several extensive tunny fisheries in the vicinity ; the har
bour, however, is not very spacious, admitting scarcely
more than fifty vessels, and those of limited tonnage.
The cathedral is a specimen of the rude gothic, sup
ported by marble pillars, with cloisters that merit the at
tention of the architectural amateur, as illustrative of the
style of gothic that peculiarized that period of the art.
It was originally adorned by Roger with two splendid
porphery sarcophagi, and was honoured with the remains
* The bishop's palace stands outside the walls ; it is a large edifice,
composed of three sides of a quadrangle, one wing of which is devoted
to the uses of a public seminary, where all the different branches of learn
ing are taught. z

338 TRAVELS IN SICILY
of its Norman founder, all of which (as before observed)
was transferred by Frederick to the cathedral of Palermo.
The town has by no means an unpicturesque appearance,
seen crouching under the projecting eminence of its parent
site. The neighbourhood produces oil, fruits, and manna;
hence the Saracenic name of the hill to the left on leaving
Cefalu, Gibelmanna* (given by the Saracens on account
of its celebrity for the manna ash), and the subsequent
application of it to a fine Capuchin convent, beautifully
situated amongst its sequestered recesses.
To the south of Gibelmanna lies the town of Collesano
(the ancient Paropus), near which Amilcar, 258 B. C, sur
prised and slew four thousand Sicilians, whilst suspending
their co-operations with the Romans to dispute the post
of honour and right of command, eloquently mentioned by
Polybius as a warning to excite unanimity amongst modern
commanders under similar circumstances.
From Cefalu the country presents to the left a pictu
resque mass of undulated mountains, terminated by a
more elevated range called Madonie, the Nebrodesf of
the ancients, so named from the abundance of wild deer
that in early ages frequented their retreats.
They are rich in picturesque scenery, combining the
wild horrors of rocky declivities with the more smiling and
ornamented graces of nature. Conventual retreats here
and there crown some of the most interesting eminences,
whose amenity, fertility, and local sublimities, have invited
the holy friars to linger away their useless lives in such
attractive seclusions ; but it may generally be observed, I
believe, that these pious fraternities in all parts of the
* Mount Manna.
f NEfyoj, hinnulus. Solinus also observes, " Nebrodem damulse et
hinnuli pervagantur unde Nebrodes."

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS 389
world have selected for their establishments the most
beautiful and romantic sites the country could afford;
seeking, I presume, in the splendid loveliness of nature,
compensation for those worldly gratifications their sacred
vows oblige them to forego.
These mountains, though no longer celebrated for the
wild deer, still afford an inexhaustible source of diversion
for the lover of field sports. They abound in nuts, mush
rooms, aromatic and medicinal herbs, which latter are
largely collected for the use of the conventual laboratories.
In minerals also they are particularly rich, and have fur
nished some of the finest fossils in Sicily.
Next to JEtna it is the most formidable range of moun
tains in the island, the highest peak being upwards of six
thousand feet above the level of the sea.
Twelve miles from Cefalu the road crosses the river
Rocella, the Auricellus of the ancients, and the present
boundary that divides the Val Demona from the Val di
Mazzara. We next traversed the fiume Grande, the ancient
Himasra Septentrionalis, and in the rainy season one of
the most important rivers of Sicily. On its banks stood
the celebrated town of the same name, founded, according
to the concurring testimony of the ancient historians, by a
colony of Zankleans, under Simus, Sacon, and Euelides,
composed of Chalcidians and Dorians, but principally the
latter, whose language and laws prevailed. It became, in
process of time, a great state ; but falling under the do
minion of Agrigentum, was governed by Theron's son,
Thrasidius, during whose magistracy one of the greatest
and most bloody battles recorded in antiquity was fought
under its walls, 480 B. c, which same year (and some
z2

340 TRAVELS IN SICILY
writers affirm the same day) was memorable for the glorious
encounter of the three thousand Spartans at Thermopylae.
The Carthaginians, endeavouring to recover their lost
territories in Sicily, sent a fleet and prodigious armament,
consisting of three hundred thousand men, under Amilcar*,
first to attack Himsera, and then to proceed against the
fortified cities of the south : but Gelon, the chief magis
trate of the republic of Syracuse, seeing the danger of
countenancing the progress of so formidable an army,
formed an alliance with Theron, and hastened with fifty
thousand men to the relief of Himsera: a sanguinary
conflict was the consequence, in which Amilcar was killed,
one hundred and fifty thousand Carthaginians slain, and
the fleet destroyed, with the exception of a few vessels,
which escaped only to meet a more disastrous fate of ship
wreck ; the remainder of the army beingJed into captivity,
the prisoners were divided amongst the friendly powers,
who employed them in all the most useful purposes of the
state, cultivating the lands, adorning the cities with public
edifices, temples, acqueducts, &c. ; and it was from; that
period that the Sicilian Greeks began to erect those gi
gantic and splendid monuments of architectural taste,
which have since so peculiarly distinguished the island of
Sicily. Such was the joy and popular feeling excited amongst
the Syracusans by this victory, that Gelon was immediately
raised to the throne, where he continued to reign until his
death as a benefactor to his country.
But the sword of vengeance hung over the fate of
* See Diodorus, lib. ii. Herodotus says, this enormous army was
transported in two thousand war galleys and three thousand vessels of
burden.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 341
Himaera; and Carthage, after being many times frustrated
in her attempts to regain power in Sicily, at length sent a
powerful army under the command of Hannibal, who still
burning to revenge the shame of Cartharge as well as the
lamented fate of his grandsire Amilcar, proceeded, after
the destruction of Selinon, to the siege of Himsera*, whose
walls, notwithstanding the most obstinate and courageous
defence, at length fell before the formidable engines and
battering rams of the enemy, just as a fleet of thirty-five
sail arrived off the port to their relief; but alas too late !
the work of destruction had commenced, the fire-brand was
applied, and every soul that remained was massacred with
the most reckless cruelty : three thousand were reserved
by order of the barbarous Hannibal, who, to appease the
manes of his grandfather, had them deliberately sacrificed
in cold blood over the spot where his ancestor had bravely
fought and fell.
After the siege, the city was entirely consumed by fire,
the walls levelled, and the fortifications totally destroyed.
Such was the diastrous fate of this unfortunate city ; and
not a vestige can be now traced to identify the ancient
site. Himaera is reputed to have been a splendid city. It
shone in literature as well as the fine arts, and was pecu
liarly celebrated for its sculptors, whose numerous beau
tiful works, both in bronze and marble, were carried off by
Hannibal to Carthage. It is further ennobled as the birth
place of the Greek poet Stesichorus, who was so beloved
by his countrymen, that they had his verses engraved in
their houses and temples : to him we are indebted for the
interesting fable of the horse and stag, which he invented
* b. c. 409.

342 TRAVELS IN SICILY
to urge his contending fellow citizens to concord, and
warn them against the ambitious designs of Phalaris ; and
whose beauties Horace and La Fontaine have, each in
their characteristic style, so exquisitely delineated. His
daughter inherited his talents, and continued many years
after his death to adorn the page of literature with her
compositions. Pindar sings the praises of Stesichorus, as
well as of the magnificent city in which he was born.
Leaving the fiume Grande and Mount St. Calogero on
the left, we crossed the fiume Torto, and proceeded along
the coast to Termini, where we arrived rather late ; and
the evening being somewhat cold, we were glad, after a
little refreshment, to retire to our quarters, which were
some degrees better than we had recently experienced.
This town is the Thermae of the Greeks, so called on
account of its hot springs, and belonged to the dominions
of Himaera, whose surviving inhabitants, that had escaped
by flight to Syracuse, returned to Thermae and built a
town, which they ornamented with the ruins of their native
city. However, it did not attain any degree of splendour
or renown until it became colonized with Romans, who
called it Thermae Hymerensis, and munificently adorned
it with architectural beauties. On the destruction of Car
thage, Scipio restored to them many of the bronze and
marble statues taken by Hannibal ; amongst them, a beau
tiful female figure, representing the city of Himaera, and a
statue of Stesichorus in his old age, reclining on a pillar,
with a book in his hand, which latter Cicero describes as
of inimitable workmanship.
Thermae is celebrated as being the birth-place of Sthe-
nius, whose generosity, firmness, and irresistible eloquence,
saved the city from the fury of Pompey, who was des
patched by the dictator Scylla to destroy it, on account of

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 343
the inhabitants uniting with the faction of Marius. He
was also the only person who boldly opposed the abuses
of the ambitious Verres, and successfully resisted his at
tempts to plunder the riches of the temples and other
public buildings.
Modern Termini is a place of twelve thousand inhabi
tants, picturesquely situated on the declivity of Mount
Euraco. It is surrounded with old dilapidated walls, and
defended by a Saracenic castle*, whose commanding po
sition, on a projecting rock above, presents an interesting
subject for the pencil of the draftsman, and to the lover
of the picturesque furnishes a wide and extensive expanse
of prospect from its heights.
Friday, 24th. — We rose early in the morning, that we
might see what was worthy of curiosity ere setting out for
Palermo. The town is irregularly built, with narrow filthy
streets, full of old convents and churches. In the town-
hall are preserved several paleographic relics of the ancient
Thermae, and a corroded statue, said to be of Sthenius,
whose memory is kept alive in modern days by the paint
ings of his most worthy deeds, which cover (I cannot say
adorn) the walls of the apartments.
The suburbs and neighbouring country of Termini pre
sent an infinitely more civilized and animated appearance
than the generality of similar towns in Sicily. It is well
cultivated, and seems richly clothed with olive plantations,
vineyards, the agrumi, and other fruit trees, which, blended
with a variety of villas interspersed around, constitutes not
an unpleasing picture.
Very scanty vestiges can be traced of the ancient town,
with the exception of an aqueduct, a few broken columns
* A Saracenic inscription is still visible over the entrance-gate of this
castle.

344 TRAVELS IN SICILY
inserted in modern walls, and hot springs, which still pre
serve their fame, and continue to be resorted to with won
derful effect by persons labouring under a variety of dis
eases. They vary in heat from 118° Fahrenheit to 126°
at different seasons of the year, and are strongly impreg
nated with sulphur, iron, &c. &c.
Termini is a caricatore, from whence a quantity of corn,
fruits, rice, wine, and oil, is annually exported, besides an
chovies and tunny, for which it is celebrated, particularly
the former.
From Termini there is a good coach road all the way
to Palermo, distant twenty-four miles. The first part pre
sents a series of naked heights to the left, with the sea to
the right ; we crossed the river Termini a short distance
from the town, and ten miles beyond it, after traversing
the town of Milicia, the fiume Milicia, beyond whence is
the small town of Altavilla, where we left our mules, and
proceeded to Castello di Solanta, a royal castle, stand
ing on a sandy bay under Mount Alfano*, on whose sum
mit stood the ancient city of Solus, and one of the three
fortresses, as recorded by Thucydides and others, built by
the Phoenicians for the protection of their commerce,
when the Greeks first began to overrun the island. On
their expulsion it was fortified, and ornamented with tem
ples by the Greeks, who called it z<>>>«?. Afterwards it re
ceived the appellation of Soluntum from the Romans, to
which people may be attributed the two ancient roads that
lead up to it on the south-east side.
Many vestiges of antiquity are visible about the moun
tain, such as the debris of architectural ornaments, traces
of two small temples, which, from their Doric character,
* A corruption of its Saracenic appellation Jalfan.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 345
are evidently Grecian, remains of aqueducts, walls, cis
terns, &c. &c, besides a considerable number of sepul
chres in the plain, in a high state of preservation, gene
rally imputed to Phoenician origin.
On the coast, just under the mountain, are the Tonnaras
of Solanta and St. Elia ; the former a royal fishery, and a
source of considerable diversion to the late King of Naples
whilst residing in Sicily, during the period of the French
invasion of his capital.
The quantity of tunny caught here in the season, we
were informed, is almost incredibly enormous, still pre
serving the same celebrity in that respect for which it was
so greatly renowned amongst the Saracenic toilers at the
net.: Indeed, there is no species of fishing in this, as well
as every other part of the Mediterranean, that may be
traced to so early a period of history as that of the tunny :
a fish that was esteemed by the ancients to be the best
aud largest of this sea. According to Aulus Gellius, it
was served up in every variety of form at the best tables
of the Romans, who considered the salted roe a peculiar
delicacy, thereby proving our modern tunny and Italian
caviar, or bottargo, to be articles of friandise of greater
antiquity than we are inclined to give them credit for in
the present day. As one of the recent Latin writers
observes, " Porro Thunnorum abdomina salita (Greci
a iA.ne.fimi) apud veteres in deliciis habita sunt. Id facile
intelligas, ex Lucilii versibus apud Nonnium, et Aul.
Gell. lib. 10.
Ad csenam adducam et prfmum hie abdomina Thunni
Advenientibus priva dabo
Poutarque salsamentum piscium.
The tunny fish pass the straits of Gibraltar about the
commencement of spring, from whence they proceed in

346 TRAVELS IN SICILY
immense quantities as far as the Grecian Archipelago, not
unfrequently passing the Dardanelles, and spreading their
species over the whole of the Black Sea*. They swim
in very large shoals, which is remarked by Ovid : " Et
pavidi magno fugientes agmine Thynnif." Pliny the
Elder, also, in noticing that characteristic, as well as their
propensity to follow ships, says, a tremendous shoal fol
lowing, on one occasion, the ships of Alexander, threw the
whole fleet into such a state of terror and dismay, that
they formed themselves into line, as if about to be attacked
by some formidable enemy.
According to Athenaeus J, the tunny formed a very con
siderable proportion of the sustenance of the early Greeks,
whose fisheries were numerous as well as extensive. They
established sacrifices, called funftaiw, which they celebrated
at the commencement of the season, when they offered
up oblations to the sovereign of the sea, imploring his
auspices and protection against the ravages of the sword-
fish, which frequently destroyed their nets. Remains of
these sacrifices may be traced down to the present day in
many parts of Sicily, where the fishermen are in the habit
of throwing the first fish caught, into the sea, accompanied
with prayers and libations, made to the patron saint of
the place.
The neighbourhood of Solanta also furnishes the sport
ing amateur with an abundance of fine quails, which in
their annual transit frequent this spot in considerable num
bers ; they are esteemed to be a peculiarly fine species,
consequently frequently sent to Naples for sale.
* Diodorus ; who also, in speaking of the Ichthyophagi in the neigh
bourhood of the Black Sea, describes their mode of taking the tunny.
t Pliny Hist. 1. ix., c. 3.
t Athenaus, 1. xvii.

Pe.stoTo d« Ba.g'aria.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 34?
From Solanta the coast trends suddenly to the north,
terminating in a bold elevated point, called Cape Zafferano,
which forms the bay of Solanta, where vessels frequently
take shelter during westerly winds; indeed, at the moment
we passed, many were lying there a I'abri du vent, for the
wind had blown fresh during the whole of the day from the
north-west, and menaced more gloomy prospects for the
timid mariners of this country.
At one o'clock we quitted Altavilla, and soon after passed
through Bagaria, a town of about six thousand inhabitants,
situated on a river of the same name, and in the midst of a
spacious smilingplain, which, gifted by nature with fertility,
and aided by skilful cultivation, exhibits a scene of exu
berant riches almost the whole way up to the gates of
Palermo. Like the celebrated vale of the Golden Shell, to the
• east of the city, it presents to the eye of the traveller a
more gratifying specimen of the profitable effects of human
industry and exertion than any other part of Sicily. It is
thickly interspersed with the villas and casinos of the Pa-
lermitan nobles, which diffuses an air of animation through
the neighbourhood, very much in contrast with the desolate
uninhabited tracts of country the whole interior of the
island displays. It abounds in corn lands and pasture,
divided by hedge rows of the cactus and the aloe ; on every
side are seen gardens, teeming with a profusion of vege
tables of every description ; sometimes girt with orchards,
like the gardens of the Hesperides, glittering with the
golden fruit of the lemon and the orange; sometimes with
fig trees and vineyards.
This romantic scene of beauty did not fail to excite
our most unqualified admiration, which was considerably
heightened by the peculiar effect of wildness the weather

348 TRAVELS IN SICILY
had contributed to the sky ; the sea, ruffled by the tem
porary blast, heaved up its angry billows to our right,
whilst a chain of rugged mountains bordered the plain to
the left, overspread with a lurid glare of evening light, that
would have admirably suited the imagination of a Salvator
Rosa. As we ruminatingly paced along, I could not help ob
serving how luxuriantly every little waste seemed to pro
duce, in addition to many other odoriferous shrubs and
flowers, the oleander, palmetto, and the palma christi.
At five we crossed a good modern bridge over the Ore^.
tus *, which, according to Ptolemy, was called by the Greeks
Eleutheros. It flows through a long tract of pasture lands
and orchards ; it is by no means wanting in classical inte
rest, its west bank being renowned in history for the skilful
stratagem of Caecilia Metellus, by which he gained a glo
rious victory over the Carthaginian army under Asdrubal,
taking or destroying the whole of those elephants which
had so long opposed the most formidable obstacles to the
struggles of the Roman armies in Sicily f.
The Roman commander having dug a deep trench near
the walls of Panormus, assumed the appearances of timi
dity, and retreated within the town ; which so effectually
decoyed the Carthaginians, that they boldly advanced
with their whole army close up to the trench, where the
elephants (being furiously galled with darts from a body
of archers stationed on the walls for that purpose) became
so infuriated and ungovernable, that many jumped into
the trench, whilst the remainder turned against their own
* The Oretus is now more familiarly known by the name of Amiraglio,
from the person of that name, at whose private expense the bridge was
built. t In the year 249 b. c.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 349
party, and threw the whole army into dismay ; which aus
picious moment Metellus sagaciously availed himself of,
by sallyiDg out with his whole force, driving the enemy as
far as the river, and there gaining that most complete and
advantageous victory which procured him the honours of a
splendid triumph on his return to Rome.
At six we arrived at our old quarters on the Piazza
Marina, where, after refreshing ourselves by a change of
apparel, and a more comfortable fepast than we had for
some time previously experienced, ^ve spent the remainder
of the evening in walking about the town. It was that
period called the Novena, or the nine days before the nati
vity, established by the Roman catholic church for the
exercise of certain devotions and religious ceremonies ap
propriated to the holy virgin, and which is celebrated in
Sicily with the most fervent piety.
The multiplied statues of the VirgiD, enshrined in the
numerous niches of every street, were brilliantly lighted
up by nine immense wax candles, emblematic of the anni
versary, before each of which were seen prostrate groups
of women and children offering up their idolatrous worship,
accompanied with groans, digital crossings, and the count
ing of beads. In front of some, parties of the Calabrian
pfifereri stood exercising their discordant energies in the
service of devotion ; at others, two or three harpers ac
companied the pious offerings of the religious enthusiasts
with the more soothing and inspiring harmony of their in
struments ; whilst in two or three parts of the city, excel
lent bands of music poured forth the most fascinating and
melodious strains before some of the more favoured and
most popular idols, which, decked out in all the gaudy
splendour of superstitious bigotry, seemed to excite the
universal enthusiasm of all classes.

350 TRAVELS IN SICILY
Attracted by the plaintive melody of the band, we too
paused with the crowd, and I must confess I never recpl-
lect enjoying a more exquisite musical treat than I that
night experienced in Palermo ; every thing aided to dis
pose the mind to pleasurable feeling, and to warm the imagi
nation ; the softness of the air lent its influence to the
tranquillity of the night scene ; not a sound met the ear,
save the melody of the performers and the occasional
responses of the devotees to the orisons of a few Benedic
tine friars, who, as on all similar occasions, took an osten
sible part in the ceremony, to excite religious enthusiasm
by their exemplary appearances.
The scene was striking, somewhat imposing, and pictu
resque ; and the partial glare of light from the shrine over
the expressive physiognomies of the surrounding group,
contrasted with the deep lurid shade into which the rest
of their persons were thrown, might have furnished a sub
ject worthy the greatest efforts of a Rembrandt's genius.
Nothing could exceed the touching expression given by
the performers to their equally spirited execution, whoso
brilliance as well as scientific precision might have done
honour to the orchestras of the Scala or the San Carlos ;
talents, however, little to be expected on viewing their
rustic exterior, and the apparent rudeness of their instru
ments. We continued to a late hour following the band
to the different shrines, for we felt the full force of its
attractive charms ; indeed, insensible must have been that
soul that could not bend to such magic influence. At the
same time, I could not help smiling at the subjects they
selected for the occasion, which, rather irrelevant to the
sacred festival, were for the most part chosen from the
profane compositions of Rossini and Mozart, and occa
sioned many most ludicrous inconsistencies,, when associated

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 351
with the operas from which they were taken, namely, Don
Giovanni, II Barbiere di Seviglia, and others.
On Monday, the 27th of December, we re-embarked on
board the steam boat for Naples, where, aided by a favour
able breeze from the northward, we arrived early the fol
lowing afternoon ; and I cannot avoid expressing the un
bounded satisfaction I derived in every respect from my
tour round this interesting island. The most delicious
weather favoured our excursion, from the period of our
departure to the day we arrived again in Palermo ; and
notwithstanding the dangers that travellers are frequently
exposed to, in traversing the solitudes and sequestered
paths of the island, we experienced neither insult nor in
civility from auy individual throughout the whole of the
journey*. The country is perpectly safe, and more free
from marauders or ill-disposed persons than any part of
Italy, and may be freely travelled through without the
urged necessity of a campiere's protection.
* I should nevertheless advise all travellers to carry arms with them,
in case of emergencies in a solitary path, where one ill-disposed indivi
dual, with weapons of destruction, would feel emboldened to attack
when aware of the harmless state of his opponent.

352 TRAVELS IN SICILY

CHAPTER XIII.
The character of the Sicilians exhibits features, which,
under a more liberal state of things, would elevate them
to a high rank in the scale of nations : they are animated,
warm hearted, courteous, with acute perceptions, strong
passions, and a natural disposition to friendliness; such
elements constitute the basis of true national excellence,
and which, when regulated by education, and directed to
the virtuous uses of society, might prove invaluable sources
of human greatness.
My necessarily circumscribed intercourse with the people
of this island will, I fear, incur the imputation of pre
sumption, by thus venturing to give my opinion of national
character; however, I am inclined to think that very
middle rate perceptive powers, when diligently applied by
observation, may in a very short time enable a man to
form a tolerably accurate idea of general character; parti
cularly when combined with authentic information from
persons, which I failed not to procure through every channel
where my judgment led me to place reliance.
Notwithstanding the numerous advantageous characte
ristics nature has endowed this people with, the action of
their powers is checked by a selfish government; a narrow
illiberal policy, both of church and state, suppresses and
restrains every germ of genius that might tend to unfetter
the physical or intellectual powers of the nation ; the con
sequence of which is, the people are poor, ignorant, and
superstitious, their religion being blended with ali the fol
lies and abuses of Roman catholic priestcraft, which, in

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 353
its exterior, possesses infinitely more the character of idola
trous paganism, than the simplicity and purity of christian
faith. Add to this, the nobility who form a most unequal and
superabundant portion of the community, never live on,
or even visit their estates but to enforce the annual pay
ment of their rent, which is made in kind, by a stipulated
proportion of the gross produce of each farm, as agreed
between the cultivator and the proprietor.
Many, and particularly the most opulent individuals, of
the aristocracy, usually migrate to Naples, or some foreign
country, where they squander away almost the whole of
their incomes ; thus depriving their native land, not only
of those moral benefits resulting from the influence of
communion with their fellow countrymen and dependants,
but also of those physical advantages, namely, the diffusion
of their wealth, and that excitement to the industry of the
labourer and the artisan, caused by the increased demand
for the necessaries and luxuries of life, which so unequi
vocally contribute to the prosperity and improvement of a
nation. The ingenuity and industry of man are called into action
by the wants of his fellow creatures, and those wants are
increased according to the circumstances of individuals.
Opulence generates luxury, and luxury teaches new neces
sities, thereby rendering the rich man dependant on the
exertions of the poor for his comforts, and creating that
reciprocity, of services so wisely ordained by providence
for the good intelligence and welfare of society.
In Sicily nothing is spent in the amelioration of estates ;
no encouragement is offered for the farmer to extend, his
system of cultivation ; whilst, on the contrary, every ob-
A A

354

TRAVELS IN SICILY

stacle interposes to check the progress towards improve
ment. The difficulties and expense of land carriage, created by
the almost total absence of roads, necessarily tend to en
hance the prices of articles conveyed, which, together with
the obnoxious restrictions of commerce, shut out the pur
chasers from foreign markets, and preclude all the associated
advantages of commercial competition.
Under such circumstances the tenants go plodding on
in the pristine rudeness of their forefathers, content to
make a sufficiency to meet the common exigencies of them
selves and families, and to supply the demands of taxation
and the church; which latter makes no trifling appeal
directly or indirectly to the earnings of industry in a
country swarming with monks and friars.
The poor labouring classes, almost without work, lead a
life of comparative sloth and inactivity ; deprived of any
stimulus to exercise their energies, they go grovelling on
in the most abject state of human abasement, without the
aid or consolatory presence of the more wealthy and in
telligent classes of the community, to prop them up in the
hour of sickness or of want*. However the horrors of
* This is the melancholy condition to which our own sister island is
now almost reduced ; and, though totally irrelevant to this work, I can
not resist making a few. remarks on a subject so intimately connected with
the best and most important interests of both England and Ireland, and
which claims the deepest consideration and attention of every English
man, who is endowed with any of those generous feelings that mark the
philanthropist and the patriot.
No one can, I imagine, for a moment doubt the distresses of the Irish ;
and (notwithstanding the sophistical arguments so violently supported
by prejudiced or interested persons), I cannot help thinking it must be
evident, to the perceptions of every reflecting man, that they exclu
sively arise from the fatal effects of absenteeism ; to it alone can be justly

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 355
poverty, and the physical sufferings of the wretched, are
greatly diminished in a country like Sicily, where nature
attributed the destructive poison that has been rankling at the viteds of
their country so many years..
The various classes and gradations of society constitute the composing
links of a great chain, whose strength and unity depend on the intimate
connection and soundness of each component part, any one of which
withdrawn or impaired, necessarily weakens or destroys the whole.
The reciprocal benefits each class renders to the other, constitute the
bond of union by which the community are kept together in mutual hax-,
mony and good intelligence. The wants of the wealthy supply the means
of labour to the poor, who in health are encouraged by those wants to the
exercise of honest industry ; whilst in sickness and distress they are aided
by the christian charities of the rich. The poor, by their energies, admU
nister to the luxuries and comforts of their superiors; in return for whose
sympathies and support they are urged to serve the rich with fidelity arid
respect, and in the hour of danger to defend their interests with zeal. Ac
cording to the old adage, " a good master will make a good servant."
However, in Ireland the supporting links of the chain are separated ;
the rich and the nobility have deserted their country; and their man
sions, from whence once emanated animation, joy, and activity, and where
once the hand of charity was stretched forth, are now become the solitary
abodes of silence and desolation. The oppressed cultivators of the soil
are left to the merciless exactions and abuses of stewards ; no one re
mains in the country to stimulate the industry of the labourer, to diffuse
the blessings of civilization, or to spread intellectual illumination. No
one is left to fill the municipal offices, to perform the important duties of
the magistracy, but agents, middle men, and shopkeepers, whose ig
norance and ineptness unfit them for the responsibilities thus devolved.
upon them ; the consequence of which is, the administration of the laws
is bad, the ends of justice unattained, whilst discontent and disprder are
spread abroad.
The welfare of the poor man depends as much on the fostering cares
and watchfulness of the rich, as that of a child does on the vigilance, and
protection of its parents. In his difficulties he looks up to them for
council and support ; in sickness and poverty, for those pecuniary and
physical aids, which, however trifling, when accompanied with the con
solations of sympathy, yield infinitely more content than greater boons,
ungraciously bestowed through the medium of agents or of stewards.
Besides which, by the benevolent attentions of the resident ladies of
A A2

356 TRAVELS IN SICILY
has blessed them with so genial a climate, and where the
indigenous productions of the land almost furnish man with
the parish, his children are directed into the path of religion and mo
rality : by those laudable exertions in the cause of christian charity which
so pre-eminently distinguish our fair countrywomen, the naked are
clothed, and a variety of sufferings relieved, peculiar to the abodes of the
sick and infirm poor. Indeed, what can we expect from a set of hu
man beings left to themselves, in a state of ignorance and want. The
moral powers of mankind are only invigorated and improved by instruc
tion and example. His inclination to respect and observe the laws of
society, is the result of moral influence ; his desire to follow the impulse
of passion and the dictates of necessity, that of instinct.
Are we, then, to be surprised at the misery of the poor Irish, at the
desperation to which they are driven, or at the crimes they commit, de
serted as they are by those persons to whom they can alone look up for
encouragement, example, and support ? No ! They are the natural
and inevitable consequences of such abandonment ; religion has nothing
to do with it ; to suppose it, betrays the height of absurdity, the extreme
of mental debility, as well as ignorance of human nature : and it is'an
insult to human reason to endeavour to persuade the thinking part of so
ciety, that emancipation would contribute one iota towards the ameliora
tion of the condition of the Irish.
The outcry of emancipation is made the watch-word of a formidable
faction, raised by a few ambitious place-hunters, who, to participate in
the loaves and fishes of public office, persuade the populace, through the
powerful influence and instrumentality of an interested priesthood, that
the degraded condition of Ireland arises from the oppressive restrictions
attached to Roman Catholicism ; thus, for the mere gratification of self
ish feeling, they run the risk of subverting the order of society, and ex
citing rebellion.
It is at the same time melancholy to observe so many excellent men,
of undoubted sincerity and unimpeachable integrity, either from ignorance
of circumstances, or mistaken notions of policy, lend themselves so stre
nuously to the cause of catholic emancipation. ,
Make the trial, exclaim some liberal-thinking politicians. Can they
be aware that, in trying the experiment, they would be, as it were, throw
ing open the flood-gates of civil and religious broils — of anarchy and
confusion ? Can any man, who is not in a fit state for a straight -jacket,
think for a moment, that persons so hostile to the established church of
England, should be rendered eligible to dispense the most important ec-

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 357
the means of supporting life ; the consequence of which is
the people are comparatively content, and every where
peaceful.

clesiastical patronage of the country ? Or, that being thus eligible and
in power, that they would not distribute such patronage in a manner
most suitable to the interests of their own church ?
If the members of the Roman Catholic religion are sincere in their
faith, they must necessarily feel as anxious to extend its influence and
further its interests as the upholders of Protestantism ; I should think
basely of them if they did not so. In such a case, what would become
of our universities, and of our civil rights ?
It is but too evident to common understanding, that present conces
sions, and the granted equality of civil rights, would inevitably lead to a
struggle for eventual superiority, to the re-establishment of Roman Ca
tholicism, and all those concomitant evils which our ancestors have,
during so many ages of war and bloodshed, laboured to root out ; to a
sacrifice of the very principles on which is founded the succession of the
House of Brunswick, and to the destruction of the principal support and
most important safeguard of our excellent constitution.
As a well wisher to the cause of the Emerald Isle, let me earnestly
advise her aristocracy, ere it be too late, to direct their exertions to the
only efficient means of affordiug aid to their suffering country ; let me
urge on their attention the beneficial results of that truly noble and ex
emplary conduct, exhibited during a very long and useful life, by one of
the most illustrious persons that ever adorned the British peerage; I
scarce need say her grace the Duchess of Buccleugh, whose decease I
lament to see recorded in the daily paper that lies before me.
In imitation of her principles, they will restore prosperity and activity
to their native land ; they will diffuse the smiles of contentment to mil
lions of their fellow-creatures, and lay up a store of blessings for themselves
and their posterity.
Wherever that eminent personage resided, misery was unknown, cheer
fulness and unanimity reigned around. The sufferings of sickness and
infirmity were alleviated, the poor and fatherless were protected, and the
distresses of misfortune were relieved.
Wherever she possessed a house or land, there her name was hailed as
a rallying point for the destitute ; absent or present, within an extended
sphere round the precincts of her possessions, the genial influence of her
beneficence and amiabilities was felt. The higher circles in which she

358 TRAVELS IN SICILY
It may be truly said that in Sicily the moral organization
of society amongst the great body of its population is left
entirely to the influence and guardianship of an avaricious
self-interested priesthood, whose tenets, it must be obvious
to any man of common sense and experience in the world,
are to retain the lower orders in particular, in the grossest
ignorance, and encourage their religious prejudices and
superstitions ; by which means they become instruments
within their power, and are more effectually rendered sub
servient to their selfish ends.
The habits, pursuits, occupations, and amusements of
the Sicilians, correspond very much with those of their
neighbours the Italians ; in the dress and general appear
ance however of the higher ranks, there seems to prevail
more style with a greater air of fashion, particularly amongst
the gentlemen, who are extremely partial to the inventions
of the English sneider which they usually patronize.
The festive costume of the lower orders is remarkably
ranged seemed to acquire a tone of superiority from the ascendancy of
her many elegant accomplishments, combined with her more weighty
principles of pure piety and moral rule; whilst the tenantiy, the trades
people, and the poor, constituted, as it were, parts of one family whose
interests and welfare she watched over with the unceasing anxiety
of a tender mother: she was a general benefactress and an universal
friend. Nor was her grace a solitary instance of such merits in the noble branch
whose name she dignified and adorned. Like a bright conspicuous Star,
in a brilliant constellation, she appeared in the midst of a family all of
whose goodness and whose virtues have shone with uninterrupted reful
gence through a long line of honourable ancestry.
May their laudable example be looked up to for general imitation by
the present age, as it will be held out in the page of history for the admi
ration of futurity : and may the youthful heir of their distinguished race,
realize the hopes he has hitherto given, of transmitting those virtues pure
and unpolluted to another generation.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 359
picturesque, particularly that of the women, which differs
almost in every district of the island : in some parts, like '
that of the Calabrian, it partakes of all the fanciful varieties
of Grecian dress which have been handed down through
a long series of centuries from their Grecian ancestors* —
the full sleeve, the apron fantastically adorned with figures
and terminated with fringe or lace, the square flat head
dress with long pendant ear-rings and plaited tresses, the
whole of which is sometimes surmounted by the graceful
folds of a long mantle. In other places the prevalence of
the basquina and mantilla betray the remains of Spanish
preponderance. The former is a sort of holiday petticoat,
of mixed colours, neatly trimmed with flounces, and when
thrown over the delicate form of a female is peculiarly
elegant, particularly when combined with the latter as
worn by the Spanish women ; it is a long veil falling from
the top of the head down to the waist, which in Sicily is
most frequently substituted by a cotton or linen handker
chief. The costume of the men more generally resembles
that of Spain, with a broad belt round the waist, and a
white cotton cap instead of a hat, which is protected from
the wet by the pointed capuche of a large cloak they usually
carry in case of rain.
The principal productions of Sicily, namely, wine, oil,
corn, with every variety of fruits, exist in the greatest
abundance ; which, with its further capability of productive-
* The Greek costume, in its more modern garb, may be seen in those
several hamlets and villages in Sicily called Casali Greci, which are
colonies established by a number of Greek families, who fled thither for
safety on the irruption of the Turks into Constantinople in 1453, and
who still continue exclusively to intermarry, preserving their original
habits, dress, and language. The most extensive is a place called
Piano di Greci, about fourteen miles from Palermo.

360 TRAVELS IN SICILY
ness and many excellent harbours, render it a most en
viable acquisition to any crown of Europe.
Had circumstances permitted, I would most willingly
have made a longer sojourn in the island ; which, indepen
dent of various local attractions, was strongly urged on
my inclinations by the very friendly disposition we every
where experienced from the inhabitants of all classes we
had any thing to do with. And I warmly recommend every
one who in his travels should reach as far south as Naples;
to make an excursion to this captivating island. The dif
ficulties which formerly interposed such formidable obsta
cles and objections have totally disappeared : long land
journeys through the dangerous paths of Calabria to the
Faro, or protracted ones by sea, in dirty, loathsome, un
skilfully conducted packets, are now altogether avoided,
by recently established steam boats, which are admirably
regulated by some of the most respectable commercial
houses of Naples, between whence and Palermo they ply
at stated periods, touching at Messina either going or
returning. So that instead of being from three till fre
quently ten days en route in an Italian packet, a passage
may now, in spite of unfavourable breezes, be ensured in
two and thirty hours.
A tour through Italy and Sicily I think productive of
the most valuable acquisitions in the way of scientific
knowledge, to any person who feels disposed to profit by
the advantages it holds out ; every inch of ground almost
has been rendered in some way or other sacred to the
muses, the contemplation of which not only revives what
we previously knew of classical history, but stimulates its
further cultivation ; and at the same time begets a taste
for the pursuit of that ornamental and entertaining science,

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 861
which, with all its interminable associations, constitute half
the dearest, the most durable, and delightful pleasures of
a refined mind.
Sicily, in a classical point of view, may be considered
equally important as Italy, intimately blended as it is with
the most interesting affairs of Greece, Carthage, and
Rome ; the knowledge of its history being essential to the
study of the other three. Through the medium of Sicily,
Rome first commenced her career of foreign greatness ;
there it was, she first acquired that taste for the fine arts,
by which she became, in after ages, so pre-eminently dis
tinguished ; and from thence she obtained all those splendid
works of Grecian skill and ingenuity, many of which to
the present day continue to adorn the galleries of the
" Eternal City," and to be held up as the most perfect
models of human art.
No one can travel round its shores withou.t his attention
being directed to the meditation of all that is striking and
noble in history and fiction ; it opens quite a new region
of intellectual enchantment ; it revives some of the sweetest
recollections of our juvenile studies, and improves the
mind by the consequent reminiscences which it excites of
our classical attainments and pursuits.
But Sicily does not owe its merit alone to its asociations
with antiquity ; such are its natural beauties, that it ex
hibits, for the study of the painter and the draftsmen, the
greatest possible variety of luxuriant scenery and romantic
forms ; subjects suited to the styles of a Salvator, a Poussin,
or a Claude.
The naturalist will find a never-ending source of grati
fication in its minerals, fossils, and volcanic phenomena ;
whilst to the antiquarian and archaeologist, it furnishes an
abundant store of riches, in the way of ruins and ancient

362 TRAVELS IN SICILY
relics, with palaeographic inscriptions to confirm their know
ledge and elucidate history.
Such is Sicily ; and if those persons, who in future may
be induced to explore its shores, should derive half the
gratification experienced by the author, they will feel
amply compensated for the many little inconveniences they
must necessarily undergo in such a tour ; besides laying in a
valuable stock of entertaining reflection for the many soli
tary hours we are all, more or less, destined to experience
in after life.

AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS.

363

ITINERARY OF THE
MOST FREQUENTED ROADS THROUGH SICILY.

FROM PALERMO,

ROUND BY TRAPANI, TO GIRGENTI

Palermo

Miles.

Alcamo

 30

Trapani

30

Marsala

: . 18

Mazzara*

14

Campo Bello

11
Castel Vetrano
5
Pileri or ruins
Df Selinon
: . 8
Sciacca
. 15
Siculiana :
.
. 30
Girgenti
.
. 12
There is a short though bad road, of two days journey,
from Palermo to Girgenti by Villa Frati and Fontana
Freddi, about seventy-four miles.
FROM GIRGENTI TO SYRACUSE.
Miles.
Girgenti Palma ........ 14
Alicata  14
Terra Nuovo ...... 21
Calatagirone .... .20
Palagonia  16
Lentini  16
Syracuse . . ¦ : .26
* From Mazzara to Castel Vetrano twelve miles, and from Campo
Bello to Pileri seven miles.
364 TRAVELS IN SICILY
The road from Calatagirone to Syracuse, by Vizzini and
Palazzuolo, is about the same distance as the above, but
more hilly and rocky. FROM SYRACUSE TO MESSINA. Miles.

Syracuse

Lepo .... . ¦

. 24

Catania 

. 18

Aci 

12

10

Taormina, or the inn at Giardini .

10

On account of the want of regular established inns, and
the consequent custom of carrying your own provisions in
Sicily, the expenses of travelling are not very heavy; how
ever, as the island seems likely to become more frequented
by tourists than formerly, circumstances may improve in
that respect more rapidly probably than will prove desire-
ble. A letter of credit is the best resource to be provided
with, as the traveller will generally lose by the gold and
silver of any other country, the mint even of Naples being
distinct from that of Sicily. The following is the common
currency of the latter, with its comparative value when at
par with England.
Sicilian.
English.
An ounce*, 30 tari . .
12s. 6d
A dollar or scudo, 12 tari
5 0
A ducat*, 10 tari
4 2
A tari, 1 0 baiocchi .
0 5
A baioccho, 2 grani
... 0 Oj
A grano, 4 piccooli .
0 Oi
* N.B. The ounce and ducat are of nominal valuation there being no
such coins.
AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS. 365
The hire of mules is generally from ten to twelve taris
per day each, and the hirer pays at the same rate the
number of days required for their return home ; conse
quently, it is always better for the traveller, if intending to
return to the same point, to retain the mules and guide
through the journey, whereby he will save half the expense,
and avoid the nuisance of constantly transferring the bag
gage and changing the guides. He is also advised pre
vious to concluding his bargain with the muleteer, to see
the animals he is to be furnished with, . otherwise he may
be treated with the luxury of riding a jaded steed the
whole of his journey ; and I should strongly recommend
every one to provide himself with arms, for although the
country is quiet, and the people generally well conducted,
yet, as in every other part of the world, there are evil
disposed individuals in Sicily whose designs are more fa
voured and facilitated than elsewhere, by the seques
tered solitudes through which the paths frequently lead ;
but who will never attempt an attack with the knowledge
of your being armed, and the chance of meeting with
resistance.

FROM PALERMO TO MARSALA. Miles.
Palermo
Alcamo ... . .30
Vita  11
Marsala • 30

FROM PALERMO TO MAZZARA.
Palermo Alcamo • . . 30
Vita . 11
Salemi • • . . 10
Mazzara . 20

366

TRAVELS IN SICILY
FROM PALERMO TO SCIACCA.

Miles.

Palermo

Parco 

6

Piano de Greci

8

Corleone . • . .

. 10

Contessa ....

8

Sambuca ....

. 18

Sciacca ....

. 10

FROM PALERMO TO SYRACUSE.

Palermo

Termini ...

. 24

Calatavutura

18

Alimena .....

• 18

Castro Giovanni ....

. 18

Piazza ......

. 18

Calatagirone .

. 14

Syracuse .....

58

FROM CATANIA, ROUND MOUNT JETNA, TO TAORMINA.
Catania
Paterno .  13

Aderno



12

Bronte

. 16

Randazzo

13
Francavilla .
16
Taormina
12
FROM
PALERMO TO SYRACUSE.
Palermo
Villa Frati .
20
Fundaco dei Xaccati ....
Val del Olino
.
26
Calatanisetta
22
Piazza .
30
Calatagirone
.
14
Syracuse
58
FROM
PALERMO TO CATANIA.
Palermo
24
AND THE LIPARI ISLANDS.

367

Miles.

Calatavutura

. 18

Alimena .....

. 18

Leonforte ...

. 24

Regalbuto .....

. 16

Paterno 

20

Catania .....

. 13

FROM MESSINA TO PALERMO.

Messina

Melazzo . . . . •

. 30

Furnari .

14

Patti .....

13

Brolo 

8

Naso 

5

St. Agatha . . ¦ •

11

Caronia ....

16

St. Stephano . . . •

8

Tusa 

7

Finale ....

5

Cefalu . . ¦ •

12

Rocella ....

. 10

Termini ....

. 14

Milicia ....

. 10

Bagaria ....

7

Palermo ....

. i • • 7

THE END.

-VAIE

LONDON:
PRINTED BT T. AND J. B. FLINDBLL, 67, 8T. M UlTIN'S-LANE.