deed formed a serious impediment to the construction of the road, overcome, however, by the skill of the engineer, who has bored it through, with another of those artificial caverns. This Gallery of Gondo is the longest cut through solid rock in the whole line of the Simplon, as it measures 596 ft.; it was also the most difficult and costly to make, on account of the extreme hardness of the rock (granite?): for it required the incessant labour of more than 100 workmen, in gangs of 8, relieving each other day and night, to pierce a passage in 18 months. The progress of the work would have been still more tedious had the labourers confined themselves to the two ends; but the engineer caused two lateral openings to be made, by which means the rock was attacked in 4 places at once. The miners were suspended by ropes to the face of the rock until a lodgement was effected, to commence these side openings, which now serve as windows to light the interior. Opposite one of them is seen the inscription "Ere Italo, 1805."

Close to the very mouth of this remarkable gallery the roaring waterfall of the Frascinodi leaps down from the rocks, close to the road, which is carried over it on a beautiful bridge. Mr. Brockedon, an artist of skill, as well as a traveller of experience, remarks, in his Excursions among the Alps, that the scenery of this portion of the Val Doveria, in coming from Switzerland, bursting suddenly upon the traveller as he issues from the gallery," offers perhaps the finest assemblage of objects to excite an emotion of the sublime, that is to be found in the Alps." The traveller should pause and look back after proceeding about 40 yards. The rocks rise on both sides as straight as walls, attaining the summit of wild sublimity. The little strip of sky above, the torrent roaring in the dark gulf below, the white foam of the waterfall, the graceful arch, and the

black mouth of the cavern, form a picture which has been spread over the world by the pencils of all our first landscape-painters. A number of zigzags now conduct to a bridge which was carried away by an avalanche during a dreadful storm which ruined a great part of the Simplon road, on the 24th of August, 1834, and has only recently been replaced.

Gondo, the last village in the Vallais, consists of a few miserable huts, grouped round a singular, tall building, 7 stories high. An hour's walk by the side of the torrent, which falls in a cascade down the rt.-hand wall of the valley, leads to a gold-mine, which, though it barely produces a few particles of the precious metal, is still worked in the hope of gain. The traveller enters Italy a short while before reaching the Sardinian village of

2 Isella, where the custom-house and passport-office are situated.

The tempest of 1934 fell with all its violence upon this part of the road, which it destroyed for a space of nearly 8 miles; that is to say, for this distance the portion which it carried off was greater than that which it left. Every bridge of stone was swept away; in some instances, even the materials of which the bridge was built disappeared, and the very place where it stood was not to be recognised. Every torrent falling into this part of the valley brought down with it an avalanche of stones; the damage done to the road is even now (1837) scarcely repaired, but the air of desolation caused by it will never be effaced. The Gallery of Isella, a narrow arch of rock a little below the village, was flooded by the torrent pouring through it, so high were the waters swollen. At the mouth of the Val Dovedro, a handsome new bridge supplies the place of the one demolished by the torrent over which it passes.

Hereabouts a change comes over the valley, from nakeduess to the rich green foliage of the chestnut,

which shades the road, and to that of the dark fir which clothes the summits of the hitherto bare mountains above. The last gallery is traversed a little before reaching Crevola, where the Doveria is crossed for the last time by a fine lofty bridge of 2 arches, nearly 90 ft. high, previous to its flowing into the river Toccia, or Tosa, which here issues out of the Val Formazza, and the Val Vedro terminates in the Val d' Ossola. The mule-roads from the Gries and Grimsel, passing the falls of the Tosa (Route 29), fall into the Simplon route at Crevola.

It is now that the traveller really finds himself in a different region and in an altered climate: the softer hues of earth and sky, the balmy air, the trellised vines, the rich, juicy stalks of the maize, the almost deafening chirp of the grasshoppers, and, at night, the equally loud croakings of the frogsthe white villages, with their tall, square bell towers, also white, not only scattered thickly along the valley, but perched on every little jutting platform on the hill-sidesall these proclaim the entrance to Italy. Eustace has remarked that "the valley which now opens out to view is one of the most delightful that Alpine solitudes enclose, or the foot of the wanderer ever traversed;" a remark which, though true, will bear much modification, in the opinion of those who quit Italy by this route instead of entering it. It is only by those who approach it from the north that its charms can be fully appreciated.

24 Domo d' Ossola - (Inn: La Posta-tolerably good, and as clean as Italian inns usually are). This is a small and unimportant town, with few objects of interest, save that it is Italian-in very stone. Houses with colonnades, streets with awnings, shops teeming with sausages, macaroni, and garlic, lazy-looking, loitering lazzaroni, in red nightcaps, and bare, mahogany-coloured legs, inter

mixed with mules, burley priests, and females veiled with the mantilla, fill up the picture of an Italian town.

The ascent from this to Simplon occupies 7 hours. From Domo to Milan takes up 12 hours' posting, exclusive of stoppages. The bridge over the Tosa, about 6 miles below Domo, was carried off by the tempest of 1834, and has not yet been replaced (1837). Carriages are ferried across to

2 Vogogna-The Tosa, in spite of its rapidity, is navigable a short distance above this place; the barges are towed up by double teems of 6 or 8 horses on each bank. The interesting valley of Anzasca (Route 105), leading up to Monte Rosa, opens out opposite Vogogna. Near Ornavasca are the marble quarries (of magnesian limestone) which have supplied the stone for Milan Cathedral.

At Gravellona a small stream is crossed which drains the Lago d' Orta, and a road, running up its 1. bank, leads, in of an hour, to the lake of Orta, one of the most picturesque on the Italian border. (See Routes 101,102.) At Fariolo the Lago Maggiore bursts into view, with the Isola Madre, the northernmost of the Borromean Islands, in the distance. A little further are quarries of a beautiful pink granite, which derives its colour from the prevalence of pink felspar in it. That mineral is obtained here in beautiful fleshcoloured crystals.

3 Baveno (Inn: La Posta, near the lake, but the road runs between it and the water; tolerably good cuisine, but want of cleanliness).

The Monte Monterone, rising behind the village, commands one of the finest panoramic views of the Alps-having at its feet the Lago d' Orta on one side, and Lago Maggiore on the other. It takes 3 hours to reach the top. Its slopes are said to be infested with snakes.

The W. shore of the lake, as far as Sesto, being the Sardinian fron

tier, is lined with custom-house officers, who search all who land from the states of Austria or Switzerland.

The Borrome an Islands may be conveniently visited from Baveno; and the traveller on his way to Milan may send round his carriage to meet him at the Count's Stables (l'Escuderia), the nearest point, or at Stresa. A boat from Baveno, with 2 rowers, to go and return, costs 5 fr. if not kept more than 2 hours; beyond that, 10 sous per rower is charged for every hour. The steam-boat which navigates the Lago Maggiore passes near the islands every morning, about 9, on its way to Sesto, and again, on its way back, at 3; so that, by setting off early from Baveno, a traveller (having no carriage) might see them, and avail himself of this rapid conveyance to reach Sesto.

It takes 25 minutes to row from Baveno to the Isola Bella, passing, on the way, the Isola Pescatori, so called because its inhabitants are poor fishermen, whose rude semiplastered hovels contrast abruptly with the stately structures on the neighbouring island. The Isola Bella belongs to the Count Borromeo, who resides a part of the year in the vast, unfinished Palace which occupies one end of it. An ancestor of the family, in 1671, converted this mass of bare and barren slate-rock, which lifted itself a few feet above the surface of the lake, into a beautiful garden, teeming with the vegetation of the tropics. It consists of 10 terraces, the lowest founded on piers thrown into the lake, rising in a pyramidal form one above another, and lined with statues, vases, obelisks, and black cypresses. Upon these, as upon the hanging gardens of Babylon, flourish in the open air, not merely the orange, citron, myrtle, and pomegranate, but aloes, cactuses, the camphor-tree (of which there is a specimen 20 ft. high), sugar-cane, and coffee-plant-all inhabitants of tropical countries-and this within a day's journey of the Lapland cli

163

mate of the Simplon, and within view of the Alpine snows.

The proverbial disagreement of doctors is nothing in comparison with the discord of travellers on the merits of this island. To Simond the sight of the island at a distance suggests the idea of "a huge Perigord pie," stuck round with the heads of woodcocks and partridges;" Matthews extols it as 66 the magic creation of labour and taste ...a fairy-land, which might serve as a model for the gardens of Calypso ;" Saussure calls it "une magnifique caprice, une pensée grandiose, une espèce de création ;" while Brockedon sternly pronounces it as "worthy only of a rich man's misplaced extravagance, and of the taste of a confectioner." To taste, it may have little pretension; but, for a traveller fresh from the rigid climate of the north, this singular creation of art, with its aromatic groves, its aloes and cactuses starting out of the rocksand, above all, its glorious situation, bathed by the dark-blue waters of the lake, reflecting the sparkling white villages on its banks, and the distant snows of the Alps, cannot fail to afford pleasure, and a visit to the Isola Bella will certainly not be repented of.

Every handful of mould on the island was originally brought from a distance, and requires to be constantly renewed. It is probable that its foundation of slate-rock favours the growth of tender plants by long retaining the heat of a noon-day sun; but few persons are aware that, in addition to this, the terraces are boarded over during winter, and the plants protected from the frost by stoves heated beneath: thus converting the terraces into a sort of hothouse. garden is let out to a nurseryman from Genoa, who keeps it in order, shows it to strangers, and receives their douceurs.

The

A laurel (bay) of gigantic size is pointed out, as well for its remarkable growth as for a scar on its bark, where Napoleon, it is said, cut with a knife

the word "battaglia," a short while before the battle of Marengo. Rousseau once thought of making the Isola Bella the residence of his Julie, but changed his mind on reflecting that so artificial an abode would not be consistent with the simplicity of her character.

The Palace, standing cheek-byjowl with a group of ruinous and very humble cottages, is shown to strangers, but is, on the whole, scarcely worth entering, unless the visitor has plenty of time on his hands. The most remarkable among the pictures it contains are those by Tempesta-an artist who murdered his wife to marry another, and took refuge here after the deed, being sheltered by the owner of the mansion. The lower story is a suite of grottoes, intended as a cool retreat from the heat of summer.

The Isola Madre, the largest of the islands, also contains a beautiful garden, and has more natural beauty than the Isola Bella. The upper end of the Lago Maggiore is described in Route 91.

The Simplon road, where it skirts the lake, is an almost uninterrupted terrace of masonry, studded with granite posts at intervals of a few feet. Travellers coming from Milan may embark on the lake to visit the Borromean islands at Stresa, where boats are kept.

Beyond Belgirate, a pretty village, remarkable for the number of villas with terraces and gardens in front: the colossal statue of St. Carlo Borromeo appears on the hill above the road. 2 Arona-(Inn: Posta, close to the water; tolerably good).

An ancient town, of 4000 inhab., with a small castellated harbour. It is built on the very margin of the lake; the principal street, in which the inn is situated, is so narrow that only one carriage can pass. The Simplon road runs through the upper part of the town. The steamer touches here twice a-day; carriages can be embarked here.

The principal Ch. (Santa Maria) contains a beautiful picture by Gaudenzio Ferrari-a Holy Family, with shutters, bearing figures of saints, and the portrait of a Countess Borromeo, by whom it was presented to the church. St. Carlo Borromeo was born at Arona, 1538, in the old castle, now nearly destroyed.

On the summit of a hill, about half an hour's walk from the town, stands the Colossal Statue of St. Charles Borromeo, 66 ft. high, and placed on a pedestal 40 ft. high. The head, hands, and feet, alone, are cast in bronze, the rest of the figure is formed of sheets of beaten copper, arranged round a pillar of rough masonry which forms the support of it. The saint is represented extending his hand towards the lake, and over his birth-place, Arona, bestowing on them his benediction. There is grace in the attitude, in spite of the gigantic proportions of the figure, and benevolence beams from the countenance ;-altogether the effect of it is good and very impressive. It was erected, 1697, by subscriptions, principally contributed by the Borromean family. It is possible to enter the statue and to mount up into the head, but the ascent is difficult and fatiguing, and not to be attempted by the nervous. It is effected by means of two lad ders, tied together (provided by a man who lives hard by), resting on the pedestal, and reaching up to the skirt of the saint's robe. Between the folds of the upper and lower drapery the adventurous climber squeezes himself through-a task of some difficulty, if he be of corpulent dimensions; and he then clambers up the stone pillar which supports the head, by placing his feet upon the iron bars or cramps by which the copper drapery is attached to it. To effect this, he must assume a stradding attitude, and proceed in the dark till he reaches the head, which he will find capable of holding 3 persons at once. Here he may rest himself by sitting down in the recess

of the nose, which forms no bad substitute for an arm-chair. In the neighbouring church several relics of St. Carlo are preserved.

The view of the peaked snowy ridge of the Monte Rosa, from the lower part of the Lago Maggiore, is magnificent. A ferry-boat conveys the traveller across the Ticino, which forms the outlet of the lake, into the territory of Austrian Lombardy, aud the small town of

1 Sesto Calende.-No good inn. Passports are strictly examined, and no traveller is allowed to pass the frontier unless he be provided with the signature of an Austrian ministerin default of which he is sent back to Turin or Berne to procure it. Sesto is said to have been a Roman station, and to have received its name from a market held here on the 1st of the month-Sexto Calendarum. It stands upon the left bank of the Ticino, just below the spot where it quits the Lago Maggiore. The Ch. of St. Donato is a structure of the middle ages.

A Steamer starts at one o'clock every day, but Sunday, for the head of the lake, stopping at Arona and calling off the Borromean Islands. It corresponds with the velocifera (omnibus) to Milan, which sets out within half an hour of the arrival of the steamer. For fares, and other particulars respecting the Lago Maggiore, see Route 91.

The road to Milan lies over a monotonous flat, the beginning of the great plain of Lombardy, between avenues of cabbage-headed mulberrytrees, hedges of acacia, and rows of vines trained between fruit-trees, so as completely to hide all view on either side. The country is excessively fertile, but void of interest, and the road usually most disagreeable from the dust. The posting is not on a good footing, and the rate of driving is very slow-even the prospect of double buono-mano has little effect in accelerating the postilions.

The name of every village is written on the wall at the entrance. The first which we pass is Soma, containing an ancient castle of the Visconti, fringed with swallow-tailed battlements, and a remarkable cypresstree of great age, one of the largest known. It is stated to have been a tree in the days of Julius Cæsar; it is 121 ft. high and 23 ft. in girth. Napoleon respected it at the time of the construction of the route of the Simplon, causing the road to diverge from the straight line on account of it.

Near this was fought the first great battle between Scipio and Hannibal, commonly called the Battle of the Ticinus, in which Scipio was worsted.

11 Gallerati.-Beyond this is Cascina delle Corde (of the ropes), also called Cascina del bon Jesu. At Busto, a mile to the W. of this, is a church designed by Bramante, and containing frescoes by Gaudenzio Ferrari.

1 Legnanello.

1 Rho.-Outside the town is a very handsome church, designed by Pellegrini; the façade, recently finished, is by Pollack. Near this are extensive rice-grounds, the vicinity of which is very unhealthy.

The road terminates and enters Milan by the Arco del Sempione (della Pace), commenced by Napoleon, and finished by the Austrian government 1838. 1 MILAN · (Inns: Gran Bretagna; Albergo Reale; Croce di Malta good and quiet.) For a description of Milan, see Starke's Travels, or THE HAND-BOOK FOR TRAVELLERS IN NORTHERN ITALY.

CONSTANCE

ROUTE 66.

ΤΟ ST. GALL, BY THE LAKE OF CONSTANCE.

8 stunden 273 Eng. miles. Constance is fully described in Route 7.