From Lans-Le-Bourg To The Hospice On
Mont-Cenis The Road Is On The Flank Of An Immense Mountain
And you have no
ravines to cross; the road is cut zig-zag on the flank of the mountain and
Forms a considerable number of very acute angles, as it is made with so
gentle a slope that you scarcely feel the difficulty of the ascent. These
repeated zig-zags and acute angles formed by the road, and the very slight
slope given to the ascent, make the different branches appear to be almost
parallel to each other, and it is a very curious and novel sight when a
number of carriages are travelling together on this road to see them with
their horses' heads turned different ways, yet all following the same
course, just like ships on different tacks beating against the wind to
arrive at the same port, a comparison that could not fail immediately to
occur to a sailor. There is scarcely ever any detention on this road from
the fall of snow, as there are a considerable number of persons employed to
deblay it as soon as it falls; but here, as well as on the Simplon, there
are maisons de refuge at a short distance from each other. We stopped for
two hours at the inn at Mont-Cenis, which is about one hundred yards from
the Hospice. It was a remarkable fine day, and I enjoyed my walk very
much. The mountain air was keen and bracing and particularly delightful
after being shut up for some many days in the close valley. We had some
excellent trout for dinner. At Mont-Cenis, near the Hospice, is a large
lake which is frozen during eight months of the year. Here reigns eternal
winter and the mountains are covered with snows that never melt. From
Mont-Cenis to Suza the descent is very grand and striking, and the scenery
resembles that of the Simplon; there are more obstacles of nature than on
the former part of the road, and here ravines are connected by the means of
bridges, and there are subterraneous galleries to pass thro. Several
chutes d'eau are here observable; one of them I cannot avoid mentioning,
as being very magnificent. It is formed by the Cenischia[74] which divides
Savoy from Piedmont and runs into the Dora at Suza. We were highly
gratified at the sight of the sublime scenery on all sides, and at the
magnificent chaussee, and we all (I mean the passengers in the two
coaches and myself) did hommage to the mighty genius who conceived and
caused to be executed such a stupendous work. We arrived at Suza at six
o'clock p.m.
TURIN, 18th August.
Suza is a tolerably large town and has a neat appearance. It is commanded
and defended by the fort of Brunetti, now dismantled, but which is to be
repaired according to the treaty of 1815. It will then be a very important
post and completely barr the pass of Suza. The road from Suza to Rivoli is
thro' a valley widening at every step; at Rivoli you debouche at once
from the gorge of the mountain into a boundless plain. The road is then on
a magnificent chaussee the whole way to Turin, and every vegetable
production announces a change of climate to those coming from Savoy. Here
are fields of wheat, indian corn, mulberry and elm trees and vines hung in
festoons from tree to tree, which give a most picturesque appearance to the
landscape, and, together with the country houses, serve as a relief to the
boundless plain. The chaussee is lined with trees on each side the whole
way from Rivoli to Turin; I observed among carriages of all sorts small
cars, like those used by children, drawn by dogs. These cars contain one
person each. They are frequent in this part of the country, and such a
conveyance is called a cagnolino. The Convent of St Michael, situated on
an immense height to the right of the road between Suza and Rivoli, is a
very striking object. The mountain forms a single cone and it appears
impossible to reach the summit except on the back of a Hippogriff:
E ben appar che d'animal ch'abbia ale
Sia questa stanza nido o tana propria.[75]
The castle seemed the very neat and lair
Of animal, supplied with plume and quill.
- Trans. W.S. ROSE.
TURIN, 14 August.
Turin is a large, extremely fine and regular city, with all the streets
built at right angles. The shops are very brilliant; the two Places, the
Piazza del Castello and the Piazza di San Carlo, are very spacious and
striking, and there are arcades on each side of the quadrangle formed by
them. The Contrada del Po (for in Turin the streets are called
Contrade) leads down to the Po, and is one of the best streets in Turin.
Over the Po is a superb bridge built by Napoleon. In the centre of the
Piazza del Castello stands the Royal Palace, and on one side of the
Piazza the Grand Opera house. The streets in Turin are kept clean by
sluices. The favorite promenades are, during the day, under the arcades of
the Piazza del Castello and those of the Contrada del Po; and in the
evening round the ramparts of the city, or rather on the site where the
ramparts stood. The French, on blowing up the ramparts, laid out the space
occupied by them in walks aligned by trees. The fortifications of the
citadel were likewise destroyed.
In the Cathedral Church here the most remarkable thing is the Chapelle du
Saint Suaire (holy winding sheet). It is of a circular form, is inlaid
with black marble and admits scarce any light; so that it has more the
appearance of a Mausoleum than of a Chapel. It reminded me of the Palace
of Tears in the Arabian Nights.
In the environs of Turin, the most remarkable buildings are a villa
belonging to the King called La Venezia, and the Superga, a magnificent
church built on an eminence, five miles distant from Turin.
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