Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 15, No. 88, April, 1875Various
History
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 15, No. 88, April, 1875
Various
Literature, Modern -- 19th century -- Periodicals; Science -- Periodicals
Let us now put back to port and walk through the city, visiting first
Old Nice, then the modern Pompeii, as Alphonse Karr pleasantly calls
the new town. Old Nice resembles Genoa on a small scale, and has very
narrow streets of lofty (and in some cases really fine) houses, no end
of churches, gloomy-looking convents, and one or two palaces. In the
narrow streets surrounding the cathedral--a large and showy building,
formerly a parish church--is a market supplied with native
fruits--oranges, lemons, grapes, figs, and many varieties of melons and
nuts. The streets, which are in places so narrow that you can almost
stretch your arms across them, are full of bright-looking shops, with
all their varied goods displayed at the open, unglazed windows. Here and
there one comes across remains of ancient times of considerable
interest. Thus, in the Rue Droite is an old house, with a series of
quaint little arches and a curious Gothic gateway, which was formerly
part of the palace inhabited by Joanna II. of Naples. Near the church of
St. Jacques is another old residence, with an odd decoration on its
front in the shape of colossal figures of Adam and Eve, executed in
alto-rilievo, which have their feet on either side of the doorway and
their heads above the fifth story. The tree of knowledge, over-laden
with its dangerous fruit, flourishes between the windows of what was
once the saloon, and is now a manufactory of maccaroni. In the Rue du
Centre is the quondam palace of the Lascaris family, an old Italian
mansion, with marble balconies, wide, majestic staircases adorned with
Corinthian columns, and vast apartments frescoed by Carlone, a reputable
Genoese painter of mythological subjects. Carlone's gods and goddesses
look down no longer on the members of the House of Lascaris, who once
ruled over Tenda, and were the lineal descendants of the imperial
Byzantine house of Del Comneno, but on those of an amiable Niçois
family, who most willingly show the old palace to any stranger who may
choose to knock at their door.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account