I left Pavia on Thursday, October the 26th. I diverged from the road about a mile to the right in order to visit the field where King Francis fought his battle, and found it a level plain. I went also to see the Certosa, which is justly celebrated as a very beautiful church, the façade of the entrance wall being built of marble, and astonishingly rich in ornamentation. On one of the altars is a decoration of carved ivory which represents divers subjects of the Old and New Testaments; and besides this the marble sepulchre of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, the founder of the church, the choir, the ornaments of the high altar, and the large and beautiful cloisters are the finest things to be seen here. The buildings around are on a vast scale, and have all the appearance of the palace of a great prince from their grandeur, and still more from the number of servants, horses, carriages, artisans, and labourers everywhere apparent. Incredible sums are still being spent upon it, the money being supplied from the income of the brethren. The Certosa stands in a beautiful green plain. From here to Milan is twenty miles. This city is the most populous in Italy, its granaries and workshops being full of merchandise and craftsmen. It has a great resemblance to Paris, and in general has the look of a French town. It lacks the palaces of Rome, Naples, Genoa, and Florence, but it surpasses them all in size, and is as busy and crowded as Venice. On Friday, October the 27th, I went to view the outside of the castle and walked all round it, and found it of great size and marvellous strength. It is occupied by seven hundred Spanish soldiers and admirably furnished with artillery; moreover, the works are still being strengthened on all sides. I stopped at Milan over this day because of the heavy rain which came on; up to this time indeed I have been very lucky in meeting with fine weather and good roads, and now on Saturday, October the 28th, I left Milan in the morning.