After Waterloo: Reminiscences of European Travel 1815-1819Frye, William Edward
History
After Waterloo: Reminiscences of European Travel 1815-1819
Frye, William Edward
Europe -- Description and travel
Pisa is one of the most beautiful cities I have seen in Italy. The extreme
elegance and comfort of the houses, the spacious Quai on the Arno which
furnishes a most agreeable promenade, the splendid style of architecture of
the _Palazzi_ and public buildings, the cleanliness of the streets, the
salubrity of the climate, the mildness of the winter, the profusion and
cheapness of all the necessaries of life, and above all the amenity and
simplicity of the inhabitants, combine to make Pisa an agreeable and
favorite residence. Yet the population having much decreased there appears
an air of melancholy stillness about the city and grass may be seen in some
of the streets. This decay in population causes lodgings to be very cheap.
The most striking object in Pisa is the leaning tower _(Torre cadente)_ and
after that the Cathedral, Baptistery, and _Campo Santo_ which are all close
to the tower and to each other. Imagine two fine Gothic Churches in a
square or place like Lincoln's Inn Fields; a large oblong building nearly
at right angles with the churches and inclosing a green grass plot in its
quadrangle and a leaning tower of cylindrical form facing the churches: and
then you will have a complete idea of this part of Pisa.
I must not omit to mention that there is a breed of camels here belonging
to the Grand Duke; I believe it is the only part of Europe except Turkey
where the breed of camels is attempted to be propagated.
LEGHORN, 17 Novr.
I left Pisa for Leghorn on the morning of the 15th November, and after a
drive of two hours in a cabriolet I arrived at the latter place and put up
at the _Aquila Nera._ The distance between Pisa and Leghorn is only 10 or
11 miles and a plain with few trees, either planted in corn or in
pasturage, forms the landscape between the two cities.
Leghorn (Livorno), being a modern city, does not offer anything remarkably
interesting to the classical traveller either from its locality or its
history. Founded under the auspices of the Medici it has risen rapidly to
grandeur and opulence, and has eclipsed Genoa in commerce. It is a
remarkably handsome city, the streets being all broad and at right angles;
the _Piazze_ are large and the _Piazza Grande_ in particular is
magnificent. There is a fine broad street leading from the _Piazza Grande_
to the Port. The Port and Mole are striking objects and considerable
commercial bustle prevails there.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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