Journal of a Tour in the Years 1828-1829, through Styria, Carniola, and Italy, whilst Accompanying the Late Sir Humphry DavyTobin, J. J.
History
Journal of a Tour in the Years 1828-1829, through Styria, Carniola, and Italy, whilst Accompanying the Late Sir Humphry Davy
Tobin, J. J.
Davy, Humphry, Sir, 1778-1829; Europe -- Description and travel
_November 1st._ We set out this morning from Planina, and drove over
the road we had formerly passed to Wippach. The roads as far as this
town were very hard and slippery, the snow which had fallen having
frozen during the night, but as soon as we passed the mountains between
Adelsberg and Wippach the scene was changed; we had left the winter and
wintry country behind us, and found ourselves in a valley, where the
trees were still adorned with the fine tints of autumn, and where the
temperature was delightful. Leaving Wippach, we entered the province of
Friuli, and drove on along a fine high road to Gorizia or Görz, where
we did not arrive till late in the evening. The country is fine; it
appears to be well cultivated, and the vines hang in festoons from tree
to tree. At Gorizia, Italian is the only language spoken, and with the
language the people seemed also to have changed, for instead of the
slow, awkward, and often insolent German servants, we had here quick
and intelligent attendants.
_2nd._ Leaving Gorizia, in which town there is very little interesting,
at one o'clock, we crossed the Isonzo, a beautifully clear and broad
river. The roads were excellent, and before us and on our right we
had the magnificent chain of the Julian Alps, still free from snow.
Palmanova, where we spent the night, is a strong fortress, but a
miserable little town with a corresponding inn.
_3rd._ The road from Palmanova to Codroipo lies through a flat country,
chiefly vineyards, and is lined on each side with mulberry trees.
Between Codroipo and Pordenone, we passed over a magnificent wooden
bridge across the Tagliamento, the bed of which is here nearly a mile
in breadth, and shows what a broad and wild river it must be when
swollen by the melting of the snows. Upon asking a man on the road the
distance to the next town, he only answered us by holding up his five
fingers, as much as to say five miles; a quick mode of expression which
a German peasant would never have arrived at. The dress of the peasants
was as much changed as the climate; instead of the black leather
breeches, huge boots, and sheepskin jacket of the Krainish boor, we
here saw striped cotton trowsers, a white cloth or flannel jacket, and
shoes and stockings. We to-day, for the first time, saw many donkeys on
the road, and little one-horse carriages, with one person sitting in
them and the driver standing behind. Pordenone is a small town, with a
fine view of the Friuli Alps in the distance.
_4th._ We quitted Pordenone and the Frioul, and dined at Cornegliano, a
small old town in the province of Venice, and on quitting it we caught
a glimpse of the Alps in the distance, and after a long drive through
flat and low lands, arrived in the evening at Treviso. An ancient Roman
gateway of beautiful architecture forms the entrance to this town, the
streets of which however are narrow and dirty. The Albergo Reale is a
very good inn.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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