Imágenes de página
PDF
ePub

500 feet long, and replenished with busts, statues and paintings. Here is the celebrated Venus de Medicis, and other beautiful specimens of art, carried off for a time by the French, but restored in 1815. Population 75,000.

Leghorn, situated in a marshy district on the coast, 12 miles S. of the mouth of the Arno, has more commerce than any other city in Italy. It is the residence of consuls from all the principal states in Europe and is annually visited by upwards of 4,000 ves sels. It supplies the interior of Italy with the produce of the rest of Europe, of Levant and of the colonies. Among the exports are straw hats which are celebrated for their fineness. The harbor is shallow and difficult to enter. The population in 1819 was 50,000, of whom 8000 were Jews.

Pisa stands on both sides of the Arno, 4 miles from its mouth. It is celebrated for its university which was long a distinguished nursery of literature, and is still one of the principal seats of edu cation in Tuscany. It has 40 professors. The population is 17,000. Siena, situated in a pleasant and healthy district 30 miles S. by E. of Florence, has little trade, but reckons among its inhabitants an uncommon number of gentry and literati. Population 24,000.

Government, &c.] The grand duke is an unlimited monarch. The revenue is stated at 3,000,000 dollars. The army contains about 2,500 men.

Island.] Elba is a small island lying off the coast of Tuscany and separated from it by the channel of Piombino. It contains 150 square miles and 14,000 inhabitants. Its general aspect is mountainous, and it produces wines, fruits and iron ore, all of which are exported. It is chiefly celebrated, however, as the residence of Bonaparte from May 1814 to 26th Feb. 1815, when he sailed on his fatal expedition to France.

6. DUTCHY OF PARMA,

The dutchy of Parma is bounded N. by the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom; E. by Modena; S. by a detached portion of Tuscany, and W. by Sardinia. It is divided into four districts, viz. Parma, Piacenza, Borgo San Domino and Guastalla. It contains 2,280 square miles and 377,000 inhabitants. The southern part of the territory is traversed by several branches of the Apennines, but the northern part consists of extensive plains. The principal river is the Po, which runs along the northern border and here receives the Taro, the Trebia and a number of smaller streams, all of which rise in the Apennines and traverse the dutchy from south to north. The soil is fertile and well cultivated. The power of the sovereign is not limited by any representative assembly. By the treaty of Paris in 1814 this dutchy was given to the ex-empress Maria Louisa, the wife of Napoleon

Bonaparte, and on her death it will devolve to Spain. The revenue is £160,000.

same name.

Chief Towns.] Parma, the capital, is on a small river of the It has 30,000 inhabitants, and a university with about 400 students. Piacenza or Placentia is near the Po, not far from the spot where it is joined by the Trebia. It has 20,000 inhabitants. Guastalla, situated on the Po at the confluence of the Crostollo, 21 miles N. E. of Parma, has 5,500 inhabitants.

7. DUTCHY OF MODENA.

The dutchy of Modena is bounded N. by the Lombardo-Venetian kingdom from which it is separated by the river Po; E. by the States of the church; S. E. by Tuscany and Lucca; S. W. by the Mediterranean; and W. by Parma. The area is estimated at 2,060 square miles, and the population at 370,000. It consists of eight districts, viz. Modena, Reggio, Mirandola, Correggio, Carpi, Novellara, Massa and Carrara. The southern part of the territory is intersected by the Apennines; the northern part has a gently undulating surface with a fertile soil, and is watered by the Crostolo, the Panaro, and the Secchia. This dutchy is possessed in full sovereignty by a lateral branch of the house of Austria, the archduke Francis of Este. The revenue is computed at £140,000 sterling; the army at 1,500 men.

Chief Towns.] Modena, the capital, is in a delightful plain between the rivers Panaro and Secchia, and contains 20,000 inhabitants. Reggio, 12 miles west of Modena, has 13,300 inhabitants. Massa, situated 2 miles from the coast of the Mediterranean, has 10,000 inhabitants. Carrara, celebrated for its beautiful marble, is 5 miles N. W. of Massa. Mirandola, 16 miles N. E. of Modena, is a regularly fortified town and contains 8,200 inhabitants.

8. DUTCHY OF LUCCA.

The dutchy of Lucca is bounded N. by Modena; E. and S. by Tuscany; and W. by the Mediterranean. It contains 420 square miles and 138,000 inhabitants. The territory is traversed by the Apennines,and two thirds of its surface are supposed to be covered by mountains and defiles; the remainder comprises the delightful plain around the city, and a number of fertile vallies. From the middle of the 15th century till 1805 it was an independent republic. In 1805 its government was changed by the French, and in 1815 it was erected by the Congress of Vienna into a dutchy and given to the infanta of Spain, Maria Louisa. Lucca, the capital, is situated in a fertile plain on the Serchio, and has a university and $8,000 inhabitants.

9. REPUBLIC OF SAN MARINO.

This small republic is in lat. 42° 56′ N. lon. 12° 24′ E. and is entirely surrounded by the papal dominions. Its territory consists only of a mountain 2,000 feet in height, with a small tract lying along its base; the area of the whole does not exceed 40 square miles. The population is 7,000. It is governed by its own laws, but is under the protection of the pope. This petty state boasts an existence of many centuries.

MALTA.

Malta is an island in the Mediterranean lying 50 miles S. from the coast of Sicily. It belongs to the British, together with the two small islands of Gozzo and Cerrino, which are separated from it only by a narrow channel. The area of the three islands is 170 square miles, and the number of inhabitants 90,000, of whom above 75,000 are in Malta, which is thus one of the most populous spots on the globe. The soil is formed of a reddish loamy mould, lying on a basis of rock and seldom exceeding 12 or 15 inches in depth. Every spot is cultivated with the greatest care; and soil, when deficient, is supplied in ship loads from Sicily. The fields are surrounded with small inclosures of stone to prevent the earth being washed away by the rains. From 1530 to 1798 Malta was in possession of the knights of St. John of Jerusalem, who highly distinguished themselves on many occasions by their valiant resistance to the Turks. In 1798 the island fell into the hands of the French and soon after was taken by the British, and was confirmed to them by the treaty of Paris in 1814. The island is very strongly fortified. In no fortress in Europe are the defences more imposing. In Gibraltar admiration is excited by the work of nature; in Malta, by the work of art. Valetta, the capital of the island, is situated on a peninsula which projects into the sea, and contains 32,000 inhabitants,an unusual proportion of whom are foreigners from many different countries. Valetta has two harbors, one on each side of the promontory on which the town is situated.

[ocr errors]

IONIAN ISLANDS.

The Ionian islands, sometimes called the Republic of the Seven islands, is a small and recently constituted republic, consisting of seven principal islands, and a number of islets extending along the S. W. coast of Turkey from 36° to 40° N. lat and from 19° 30 to 23° 10′ E. lon. The seven principal islands are Corfus

Cephalonia, Zante, Santa Maura, Theaki or Ithaca, Cerigo and Paxo. The coasts of these islands are rugged and difficult of access, and their harbors insecure, with the exception of those of Theaki and Cephalonia, to which, in consequence, most of the shipping belongs. The surface is generally uneven, and contains a number of barren rocks and hills, interspersed, however, with fertile plains and vallies. The productions are corn, vines, olives, currants, cotton, honey, wax, &c. Vines and olives form the chief source of income to the inhabitants. These islands within a few years have repeatedly changed masters, having been sometimes in the hands of the French, sometimes of the English, and sometimes under the protection of Russia and Turkey. In the arrangements made at the Congress of Vienna in 1815, it was agreed that the republic should be put under the protection of Great Britain. A constitution for this small state was soon after drawn up and ratified by the British government in July 1817. It vests the legislative power in a senate of 29 representatives from the different islands, as mentioned in the following table.

[blocks in formation]

The inhabitants are partly Italians, but principally Greeks The Greek religion and Greek language are also most prevalent. The principal occupations are navigation, commerce and agricul ture.

AUSTRIAN EMPIRE.

Situation and Extent.] The Austrian empire is comparatively of modern origin, and at different periods has received various important augmentations. It embraces about one third of Germany, nearly a quarter of Italy, a portion of ancient Poland, the whole kingdom of Hungary, and several smaller states, and is thus inhabited by nations varying in their origin. language, religion and modes of life, yet forming at the present day a firm and compact body politic. It is bounded N. by Saxony, Prussia,

the free city of Cracow, and the Russian empire; E. by Russia and Turkey; S. by Turkey, the Adriatic sea, and the river Po, (which separates it from the States of the church, Modena and Parma ;) W. by the kingdom of Sardinia, (from which it is separated by the river Tesino and Lago Maggiore) Switzerland and Bavaria. It extends from 42° 21' to 51° N. lat. and from 8° 30′ to 26° 41' E. lon. The area is estimated at 267,674 square miles.

Divisions.] The following table exhibits the size and population of the component parts of this great monarchy..

[blocks in formation]

Mountains.] The Carpathian mountains separate Hungary from Galicia, and Transylvania from Turkey. Branches proceed from the main range and encircle Transylvania on all sides as with a huge wall, through which there are 14 narrow passes, opening communications with the neighboring country. The highest summit in the range is the Lomnitz, 8,316 feet high. The Sudetic chain separates Moravia and Bohemia from Silesia and Saxony. The part between Silesia and Bohemia is called also the Riesengebirge mountains, and the part between Bohemia and Saxony the Erzgebirge or Metallic mountains. The Bohmerwald, or Bohemian Forest, is a chain of mountains separating Bohemia from Bavaria. The Alps proceeding in numerous branches from Switzerland, form the boundary between Germany and Italy, and under the names of Noric, Carnic and Julian Alps, overspread

« AnteriorContinuar »