Travels in Italy, : descriptive of the rural manners and economy of that country / by Frederick Lillin de Chateauvieux.

  • Frédéric Lullin de Châteauvieux
Date:
[1819?]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Travels in Italy, : descriptive of the rural manners and economy of that country / by Frederick Lillin de Chateauvieux. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    9/110 (page 5)
    ten miles from Turin, on the* other side of the hills which border the Po. The road to it lies over the hill of Montctdlier, on the summit of which stands a mansion, formerly the resi- w dence of the royal family; hut which is now uninhabitable, and retains nothing of its ancient grandeur but the fine landscape which it commands. From the terrace the eye follows the river, winding in numerous meanders through the country; its shores covered with plantations, which partly conceal the farm-houses and hamlets scattered among them. At the ter¬ mination of the plain, the view is bounded by the majestic inclosurc of the Alps and the Appennincs, which rise like a noble amphitheatre to guard these happy vales. These bul¬ warks of nature still strike the imagination, at the same time that they teach us that the globe has no longer any ramparts insurmountable to the genius and enterprize of man. I passed several days among the groves and orchards of Santenas, and carefully observed all the practices of its rural economy. They are so similar throughout the whole of Pied- mont, that this specimen will give a complete idea of all the rest. The estate is divided into four farms, contiguous to each other, and of considerable extent, lying along the banks of a canal, from which they may be watered at pleasure. The dykes which keep in the water are shaded by a long line of alders, poplars, and other trees, the lofty branches of which appear to be a sufficient shelter against the most violent, storms. Under these woods innumerable shrubs and flowers grow in luxuriance. When 1 traversed these paths, in an even¬ ing of the month of May, they were in full bloom, bent down under the weight of the dew, which is much more copious here than in France. The hay-harvest was going on ; and its fragrant exhalations, blended with those of the roses and orange-trees, added an inexpressible charm to the verdant beauty of the scene. The mansion stands at one end of the domain. Before it stretches a rich extent of turf, watered by the canal, and or¬ namented with groups of trees and shrubs. This is reserved for the proprietor. At the opposite extremity stands the first farm-house, with its roofs peeping above the fruit-trees which inclose the meadow; forming at once a pleasing object in the landscape, and an agreeable walk. It is built of red brick, uniting solidity with a sort of rustic elegance, and is remarkable, as are all the farm-houses of Lombardy, for its numerous and costly buildings: these oc¬ cupy a spacious court. In the centre of one of the sides stands a dwelling of two stories, of regular and agreeable pro¬ portions. The ground floor serves as a lodging for the farmer,