In the evening the flames burst forth in all parts of the town; much
valuable property was sacrificed amid the rejoicings of the frantic
populace, who screamed: "That is our blood; so may those burn in hell
who have sucked it out of us!" As on Sunday the Jesuits and Theatines,
now the Dominicans tried to appease the people. Their long processions
were to be seen in the square of the obelisk, moving on to the houses of
Sangro, Saluzzo, and Carafa, with burning torches; but the populace
interrupted their prayers and litanies with angry words and many
reproaches, and sent them home. Till late in the night the brilliantly
lighted churches were filled with agonized supplicants.
Early on the morning of July 9th, a more dreadful scene took place than
on either of the earlier days. The destruction began at daybreak. All
the property of the counsellor Antonio Miroballo, in the Borgo de'
Vergini, was burning before his palace. Andrea Naclerio had caused the
best furniture to be removed. The people traced it, destroyed it, dashed
to pieces everything in the house and in the adjoining beautiful garden.
At Alphonso Valenzano's everything that he possessed was ruined. In a
place of concealment two small casks were found full of sequins, a box
containing precious pearls, and a small packet of bills of exchange--it
was all thrown into the fire. All the rich and noble persons who were
concerned in the farming of tolls, as well as all members of the
government, saw their houses demolished. Five palaces of the
secretary-general of the kingdom, the Duke of Caivano, together with
those of his sons, were burned. In one of them at Santa Chiara the
valuable pictures which that noble, a lover of the fine arts, had
collected, were destroyed--the carpets of silk-stuff interwoven with
gold, the sumptuous silver vessels, and every sort of work of art, the
worth of which was valued at more than fifty thousand ducats. The mob
had already become so brutal that they stabbed the beautiful horses in
their stalls and threw the lapdogs into the flames, while they trampled
down the rare plants in the gardens and heaped up the trees for funeral
piles. Above forty palaces and houses were consumed by the flames on
this day, or were razed to the ground, while the unhappy possessors
looked on from the forts and watchtowers of Castelnuovo upon the rapid
conflagration, heard the threatening of the alarm-bells and drums, and
the howlings of the unbridled populace, among which many thieves were
pursuing their business and filling their pockets with plunder. News
came out of the neighborhood that the peasants were rising on all sides,
and that many beautiful castles belonging to illustrious noblemen were
already in flames.
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