saying it was from this church the King of Poland had the Raphael; for it was from that of St. Sextus that it was purchased for him, in the year 1754, for twelve thousand sequins; which money the good Benedictines appropriated to the paying off some debts, and buying lands, to the increase Copy of a of their revenue. The copy, though very well Raphael. done, draws thither but few ftrangers; fo they lofe many perquifites, the original had procured them whilft in their poffeffion; but they should be content with having made fo fubftantial an exchange. It reprefents a Virgin with an Infant Jefus in her arms; at her feet, on one fide, is a Saint kneeling; on the other fide the like, with a chappe and a thierre at his feet. Lower down, and at the edge of the picture, are two angels. The Virgin's attitude is fimple and noble, finely draped, as are the other figures; the air of the heads admirable, and the faces fine and striking. His hands, who appears to be a Pope, are remarkably well done; and his face has all the appearance of being a portrait. The Infant Jefus and the Angels want thofe graces that belong to beautiful children. The clouds are grey, clear, foft, and light, exactly like real clouds in a fine fummer's day. The ground behind the Virgin is too white, which prevents her figure from appear

preaching Monks in Italy; but in general they take them from their bofoms, and holding them up to the eyes of the audience, exhort them, &c. to their duty.

ing as detached from the picture as she would

otherwise do.

Palace.

The Ducal Palace, defigned by Vignola, but Ducal not above half completed, is of brick. The Vignola. modern part (and that not finished) was built by Margaret of Auftria: it appears as intended to form a fquare; the architecture is fimple, and in a good ftile: the grand apartment on the rez de chauffee confifts of five rooms en fuite, including a bed-chamber: this apartment is decorated with ingenuity, and in a fine tafte. Children modelled in ftucco embellish the alcove in the bed-chamber, and are deservedly and univerfally admired, the work of Algardi. The ornaments Algardi. of the apartment on the first floor are so crowded as to appear heavy; but the brilliancy of the gilding is remarkable: it was gilt with the gold of fequins, which is esteemed the pureft by the Italians. It has never been touched, refreshed, nor cleaned, except common dufting, fince the time of Margaret of Austria, yet appears as fresh as if finished but yesterday, though this palace ftands in a damp fituation, is almost constantly enveloped with a fog which rifes from the Po, and has not been inhabited fince the year 1737, except for about fix weeks, by the King of Sardinia, in the late war, when he obliged the inhabitants of the town to furnish it for him. All its original furniture, with a large collection of pictures, were removed by order of the Infant Don Carlos to Naples in 1737, when he quitted.

Parma

Parma and Placentia to take poffeffion of that

kingdom.

Theatre. The Theatre built on to the palace, is well conftructed and convenient; but there are no other edifices, either public or private, excepting those I have mentioned, worthy the notice of a traveller. Much good company is faid to refide here during the summer season, and a vast number of coaches are kept in this town. The great ftreet is their corfo, where they take the air in the evenings; here is also a caffino, where the noblesse affemble to converfe and to play.

Corfo.

Number

of inhabitants.

Keysler afferts that Placentia contains twentyeight thousand inhabitants; Lalande fays ten Convents. thousand only.-Here are forty convents; therefore allowing but fifty persons to a convent, including the fervants, fweepers, &c. &c. they will amount to two thousand, which taken from ten, leaves eight thousand, fo that if Lalande's calculation of its prefent population be accurate, one fifth of its inhabitants are of or belonging to the church. But great muft have been the depopulation of this city in forty years, between Keysler's day and Lalande's calculation in 1768.

Fortifica

tion.

The town is ill built, feems thinly peopled, and

fays, is incapable of maintaining any fiege, (the direct contrary to what Lalande has afferted, p. 426,) and that a great part of it neither now has, nor ever had, any fortification, that is to fay, from the back of the palace and its garden to the Po.

As

As to the climate, it has all the appearance of Climate. being very difagreeable. They themselves own,

that from the latter end of Autumn to the commencement of Summer, they are full one half of the day involved in a clofe fog which rifes from the Po.

Trebia.

The spot on which the battle of Trebia was Battle of fought by Hannibal is about three leagues from hence; I do not mean the very identical spot, for that cannot be afcertained. M would have poftponed our departure in order to have vifited this ground, but he was affured there are no kind of veftiges remaining that might tend to elucidate the Roman Hiftorians; and it is remarkable that no remains of antiquity exift in that neighbourhood, nor has there ever been found, either in digging or ploughing the ground, antique weapons offenfive or defenfive, appertaining to Rome or Carthage, though many English have at different times offered confiderable fums to the peafants for procuring them any such, but always without fuccefs.

Piacenza has given birth to fome famous men; one of the moft remarkable is the Cardinal Al- Cardinal Alberoni.

beroni, who governed Spain for many years in quality of prime minifter: he was born 1664 in a wretched cottage, fituated in a fuburb of the town: his father was a gardener, but fo poor as to earn his bread by working by the day in little gardens belonging to the citizens; however, in process of time, Alberoni contrived fo to push his fortunes

by

by his ingenuity as to procure himself a small cure, which was to him, at that time, the utmost pinnacle of human felicity. When the wars of Italy broke out, a certain French poet who was in the fuite of the Duke de Vendome, having received little fervices from the poor curé, wished to make him fome flight return, for which purpofe he procured him the honour of seeing and faluting that general: the duke, who was a man of ftrong penetration, no fooner faw Alberoni than he became prejudiced in his favour; he converfed with him, and the curé did not fail to difplay his Patron's parts to the best of his capacity. The first business that was intrufted to him he acquitted himself of with alacrity; this was the discovering to the general where the peasants concealed their stores of provifions; and proved his first step towards thofe great dignities he afterwards attained. He fo attached himself to the perfon of the Duke de Vendome, that he was permitted to follow him first into France, and then into Spain, where he made a rapid progress by infinuating himself into the good graces of Madame des Urfins, who at that time might be said to govern that monarchy. After the death of the Duke de Vendome, Alberoni, by various intrigues (which would take me too much time to particularize), contrived to turn the favours and confidences of Madame des Urfins to good account. He negociated the second marriage of Philip V. with the Princess of Parma, having