The Alpine lakes of Italy thus play an important part in the economy of the country. They render the climate more equable, serve as high-roads of commerce, and, being the centres of animal life, attract a dense population. But it is not this which has rendered these lakes famous, which has attracted thousands of wanderers ever since the time of the Romans, and caused villas and palaces to rise on their shores: it is their incomparable beauty. And, indeed, there are few spots in Europe which bear comparison with the delightful Gulf of Pallanza, over which are scattered the Borromean Islands, or with the peninsula of Bellagio, which may be likened to a hanging garden suspended within sight of the snow-clad Alps, and affording a prospect of the rock-bound shores of the Como Lake, cultivated fields, and numerous villas. Perhaps even more delightful is the peninsula of Sermione, jutting out into the azure waters of the Garda Lake, like the tender stalk of a flower developing into a many-coloured petal. Most of the lakes in the plain have been drained into the neighbouring rivers. The Lake of Gerondo, mentioned in mediæval records, has dwindled down into a small swamp, or _mosi_, now, and its populous island of Fulcheria has become merged in the plain of Lombardy. The lakes on the southern bank of the Po, above Guastalla, have likewise been drained; and if the two shallow lakes of Mantua still exist, this is entirely due to the embankments raised in the twelfth century. It would have been much better, and would have saved the city the horrors of many a siege, if these lakes had been allowed to disappear likewise. * * * * *