Before We Arrived At Acquapendente
We Had A Troublesome River To Cross, Which At Times Is Nearly Dry, And At
Other Times The Water Comes Down In Torrents From The Surrounding Mountains
And Precipices, So As To Render Its Passage Extremely Dangerous.
It is
always necessary previous to the passage of a carriage, to send on a man to
ford and
Sound it, from its meandering and forming different beds crossed
seven times, twice less than Styx novies interfusa, and it is a very slow
operation from the number of rocks and quicksands; so that, should the
torrent come down while you are in the act of crossing, you and your whole
equipage would be swept away by the stream and drowned or dashed to pieces.
Travellers going to and returning from Rome are frequently detained for a
day or two at Ponte Centino or Acquapendente during the rainy season; for
immediately after heavy rains, there is always a great risk and it is
better to halt for several hours to allow the waters to pass off. The
extent of ground that this river covers by its meandering and forming so
many beds nearly parallel to each other renders it impossible to construct
a bridge long enough; and it would be always liable to be swept away by the
torrent. Nobody ever thinks of crossing the river in the dark. There having
no rain fallen for several days we passed it without difficulty.
Within a mile of Acquapendente the landscape varies and the approach to
this town is exceedingly picturesque. Acquapendente is situated on a lofty
eminence from which several magnificent cascades descend into the ravine
below and which give the name to the town. There are a great number of
trees about this town and they afford a great relief to the eye of the
traveller after so many hours' journey thro' volcanic wastes. The town of
Acquapendente is very ancient; it is very large, but ill-paved and dirty;
the best buildings in it are, however, modern. The inhabitants appear lazy
and dirty. On entering into conversation with some soldiers belonging to
the Papal army, who were stationed at this place, I found that most of them
had served under Napoleon. They spoke of him with tears of affection in
their eyes, and I pleased them much by reciprocating their opinions of that
great man. To speak well of Napoleon is the surest passport to civility and
good treatment on the part of the soldiers and douaniers.
In the evening we arrived at Bolsena, the ancient Volsinium, a city of the
Volscians. It is an ancient looking town, not very clean, and inhabited by
indolent people. It is situated on the banks of a large lake, on which
there are three small islands. It is very aguish and unhealthy, and the
inhabitants appear sickly, with marvellous sallow complexions. The inn
where we put up was a pretty good one, and as this lake abounds in fish, we
had some excellent trout and pike for supper; among other dishes there was
one that was very gratifying to me, an old East and West Indian; and that
was the Peveroni or large red and green peppers or capsicums fried in
oil.
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