Читать книгу The Totall Discourse of the Rare Adventures & Painefull Peregrinations. The Long Nineteene Yeares Travayles from Scotland to the most famous Kingdomes in Europe, Asia and Affrica онлайн

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From Tuscany to the West, and North-west, lieth Lumbardy, intituled the garden of the World, which is now divided (besides the Venetian territory, of which I will speake in the owne place) in foure principalities, Milaine, Mantua, Parma and Modena: The other Cities be Cremona, Pavia, Lodi, Pleasance, Rhegio Brisiles, Palestra, Navarro and Allessandria di Paglia. This Province is mainely watered through the middle with stately Po, in which Phaeton was drenched, when he came tumbling downe from Heaven. The Rivers Ladishe, Montanello, Delia Guarda, and other forcible streames supporting the shoulders of it.

Piemont and Genuaes Jurisdictions.West from Lumbardy lieth Piemont, betweene it and Savoy: The City whereof, and wherein the Savoyan Duke hath his Residence is Torino, situate on Po. The other, Aste Verseilles and Cowie. South from Piemont and Lumbardy, lieth the Riviera of Genoa, along the Mediterrean sea: the territory of which is narrow, but above one hundreth miles in length: All which is exceeding rocky and mountainous, yet producing good store of Orenges, Lemmons, Figges and Ches-nuts, whereon the Mountaineri [I. 26.]onely live, being either rosted, or baked in bread: The chiefe Cities of this Genewesen Liguria, are Genoa, Italy lyeth as the right arme, reaching forth from the maine body of Europe.and Savona. Italy lying in forme of a legge, is on both sides environed with the Sea, save onely the North-west part, and roote thereof, which is devided from France and Germany, by the Ligurian, Savoyean, Grisonean, Zingalian, and Tirolian alpes, which bend North-east, and South-west, inclosing it from the body of Europe, from sea to sea. Italy of all other Regions under the Sunne, hath beene most subject to the vicissitude of Fortune, yet not a little glorying in these famous Captaines, Fabius Maximus the buckler, and Camillus the sword of Rome, Scipio, Pompey, and Cæsar; for venerable Poets Virgil, Ovid, and renowned Horace, famous also for the Orator Cicero, and the Historians Tacitus, and Livius: The soyle is generally abundant in all things necessary for humane life, and the people for the most part are both grave and ingenious, but wondrous deceitfull in their actions, so unappeasable in anger, that they cowardly murther their enemies rather then seeke an honourable revenge, and so inclind to unnaturall vices, that for bestiality they surpasse the Infidells: the women of the better sort are slavishly infringed from honest and lawfull liberty: They of the middle ranke somewhat modest in carriage, witty in speech, and bountifull in affection: They of the vulgar kind are both ignorant, sluttish and greedy, and lastly the worser dregs, their impudent Curtezans, the most lascivious harlots in the world. This much in generall for the briefe description of this Region, and so I revert to mine itinerary relation.