Palazzo del Magnifico, next the cathedral, built 1504-8, by P. Petrucci, tyrant of Siena, who is buried in the Observanza Franciscan Convent, outside the walls. Machiavelli praises him as a model tyrant; that name having its ancient anti-republican meaning of one who aspired to supreme power. Bronze work by Mazzini and B. Cozzarelli.

Palazzo Piccolomini-Bellanti, next the Carmine Church, has B. Peruzzi's fresco of Scipio; a medallion portrait of Laura; Fra Bartolommeo's Savonarola.

Palazzo Pollini, facing the Carmine Church, built by Peruzzi. This architect and painter was born at Accajano, near Siena; and after building Villa Farnesiana, at Rome, for the rich merchant Agostino Chigi, he became city architect at Siena, and built the walls, &c.

Palazzo Tolomei, an ancient house, erected 1205; facing the Aquila Nera Hotel. In Via de Maestri, where the painters lived, is Casa Beccafumi, a small brick house. The Casa Mensini and Casa Bambacini are ornamented with frescoes.

The Botanical Gardens are at the back of the Great Hospital. The large Theatre, next the Palazzo Pubblico, is from the designs of Bibbiena.

About 3 miles from the city is the Villa Belcaro, or Turamini, which has good frescoes by B. Peruzzi, especially his Judgment of Paris, from the designs of Raphael. Here St. Catherine had previously established a religious house. It is surrounded by old ramparts. Osservanza and

Oliveto Convents.

All the country round Siena is hill or mountain of a volcanic character, chiefly arable soil, with a few olive trees and vineyards.

Leaving Siena, the rail passes near Monte Aperto, the scene of the great victory of the Ghibelines of Siena and Pisa, over the Florentines, in 1260; and

comes to

Asciano (Stat.), population, 7,147, on Ombrone.

the

[Here a short rail branches off down the river to Grosseto, on the coast; past S. Giovanno d'Asso (Stat.); to the left of which is Buonconvento Castle, where the Emperor Henry VII. died, 1313, poisoned by the monks, it was said. Then Torrenieri (Stat.), not far from Monte Alcino, and its vineyards; followed by Monte Amiata, under a peak 5,000 feet high; Roccastrada, and Grosseto (Route 25). At Monte Leone, in the Maremma, are remains of walls of an extensive city, 15 miles ronnd, in the midst of dense forests.] The next place on the main line is

Rapolano (Stat.), near a little inland watering place (population, 3,855), on a hill, 1,200 feet high, resorted to in the summer, for its sulphur Springs, useful for the skin and rheumatism. Hotel, Theatre, old Church, and Castle. The hills ascend and descend into the Val Chiana, to

Sinalunga (Stat.), or Asinalunga, the ancient Sinus Longus, in a pleasant spot. Population, 8,440. Some distance to the left is Cortona (see Route 27). Torrita (Stat.) Population, 4,355. To the left (behind the hills) is Lake Thrasymene, where Hannibal defeated the Romans (Route 27).

The line then passes Montepulciano and SalCini, to Chiusi; the first-named station taking name from an old medieval cathedral town to the east (population, 3,200), on the site of an Etruscan city (Mons Politianus), 1,500 feet high, celebrated for wine, or rather for the praise bestowed on it by Redi, who styles it "d'ogni vino il Re" (the king of all). At Salcine is a curious sham cupola painted on a flat surface; and near it are the Cianciano Baths. About five miles further is PIENZA, the birth-place of two Popes, Pius II. and Pius III., above the valley of the Orcia.

Chiusi (Stat.), where the branch from Terentola comes in (Route 27). The ancient Clusium, one of the twelve allied cities of the Etruscans, the seat of "Lars Porsena of Clusium," of Macaulay's Lay; on a hill about 800 feet above the sea, and 300 above the marshy valley of the Chiana, the ancient Clanis. Population, 4,244. It is a cathedral town, near a lake, on the site of the ancient town, out of whose ruins the modern city has been constructed. The Cathedral of the twelfth century has eighteen columns from a Roman temple.

The bronze, and other antiquities discovered in this neighbourhood are described in Dennis's Cemeteries of Etruria. Many of them are collected at the Bishop's Palace, and in private museums, chiefly in the Palazzo Casuccini and Palazzo Paolozzi. Among the subterranean tombs are the Deposito del Colle Casuccini, Deposito della Scimia (so called from the figure of an ape), and Poggia Gajetta; the last said to be the tomb of Porsena, described by Pliny. Some Christian catacombs are at Santa Caterina. N.B.-Artificial antiquities are made here.

The line descends the Chiana, leaving on the left Città della Pieve (pop., 6.000), on a hill, in the province of Perugino, the birthplace of Pietro Perugino (about 1446), one of the chief quattrocento masters, whose Adoration of the Magi and Baptism are here. Perugia is 26 miles off. To the right are the volcanic hills (2,000 to 2,500 feet high), round Cetona and Radicofani, an old hunting-seat of the Grand Dukes of Tuscany.

Ficulle (Stat.), population, 2,284, from whence the line descends to Orvieto (on the Chiana); then to Orte (on the Tiber-see Route 27), where the rail from Ancona, Spoleto, and Terni falls in; and thence descends the Tiber to Rome.

ORVIETO (Stat.) The Urbs vetus of the Lombards, the Roman Urbibentum.

Hotels.-Belle Arti; Aquila Bianca.

A dingy-looking cathedral town, in a fine spot, and capital of a former Papal province, now united to the kingdom of Italy. Population, 7 000.

It stands on a volcanic hill, 1,300 feet high, close to the junction of the Paglia with the Chiana, and

was formerly a residence of many Popes of the Guelph party who found a refuge here Besides the Palazzo Pubblico (Town Hall) and the College, its most remarkable building is the handsome *Duomo, an interesting specimen of Italian-Gothic, founded in honour of the miraculous Host at Bolsena, and of an ancient image of the Madonna. It was begun in 1290, by L. Maitini, of Siena, nearly finished in the fourteenth century, but not finally completed till about 1600, after nearly 400 architects, sculptors, painters, &c., had contributed to build and adorn it. Its three-gabled Front, like that of Siena, is 132 feet wide and 160 feet high, ornamented, chiefly on the four pilasters, with a profusion of carvings, mosaics, and statues, by Giovanni da Pisa and his pupils; the subjects being events from the Old Testament, the Life of Christ, the Last Judgment, Hell, and Paradise.

The church contains the following objects of notice:-Colossal statues of the twelve Apostles; the best being Giovanni da Bologna's St. Matthew, and Ippolite Scalza's St Thomas; T. Zuccaro's Cure of the Blind Man; Muzianc's Christ in the Garden.

The paintings in the tribune and stained windows are of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries; Mochi's two statues of the Annunciation, at the high altar. S. Mosca's Adoration of the Magi. San Micheli's Visitation: a group of nine figures, executed by Mosca's son, aged fifteen years only. Scalza's pulpit; his statue of Ecce Homo; and a fine one of St. Sebastian. The

Madonna Chapel-has an old image of the Virgin della Stella; statues of Adam and Eve; Scalza's Pietà, a group of four figures (1579); frescoes in the ceiling, by Fra Beato and B. Gozzoli; and L. Signorelli's fine frescoes on wood of the Last Judgment, Paradise, and Hell, painted 1499, remarkable for the beauty of some of the figures and the curious mixture of heathen poets and mythological characters with Christian.

Chapel of Santissimo Corporale-so called from the Napkin stained by the Bleeding Host of Bolsena, is richly ornamented. It has R. da Montelupi's statue of Christ; a silver reliquary containing the napkin, by U. Vieri, a Siena goldsmith (1338), with twelve enamel paintings of the Miracle of the Host. S. Andrea and S. Giovinete are old churches.

S. Domenico Church, has Arnolfo's fine tomb of Cardinal di Brago, and S. Memmi's Virgin and Saints. Some old Palaces and Convents deserve notice.

The Theatre is in Palazzo Monaldeschi. At Palazzo Gualterio is a gallery of paintings, by Domenichino, C. Cignani, An. Carracci, &c. There are several old Palaces and empty Convents here.

The Pozzi di S. Patrizio (i.e., St. Patrick) are deep wells in the tufa rock, with two spiral staircases down to the water, constructed by Sangallo; wide enough for mules to go down the 250 steps. In 1863 some very interesting Etruscan Tombs were found at Poggio del Roccolo (1 hour's drive), with frescoed walls as fresh as ever. Another has since been discovered at Porta Cassia.

or 12 miles west of it is Acquapendente, an old town on a cliff, so called from its cascades; the birthplace of Fabricius, the anatomist.

From Orvieto the Rail is continued past Alviano, Attigliano (branch to Viterbo, page 142), and other unimportant stations, to Orte, and thence to Rome, by Cività Castellana and Montorso (page 131).

If the Road be taken it brings you to

BOLSENA

(12 miles), on the Lake of Bolsena, in former Papal territory,near the ancient Etrurian city of Volsinii, on Via Cassia, taken after a siege, 266 B.C., by the Consul Fulvius Flaccus. A new Volsini was founded, in which Sejanus, the favourite of Tiberius, was born. There is a Gothic Castle on the heights. Of the antiquities found here, in the sepulchres, Temple of Nurscia, &c., a granite vase and urn with fragments of pillars, face Santa Cristina Church; and other urns are in the vestry. This church is the scene of the miracle of the Bleeding Host, related in Church legends, and made the subject of one of Raphael's pictures in the Vatican. In 1264, a Bohemian priest, troubled with doubts about the doctrine of transubstantiation, was saying mass here, when he was astonished to see the Napkin which held the Host or consecrated wafer, stained with blood, proving, of course, that the wafer was converted into real flesh. Struck with the pretended miracle, he went to Urban IV., at Orvieto, confessed his error and received absolution. The Napkin, or Corporale, was carried in solemn procession to Orvieto, where a fine church was, in time, raised over the relic, and the festival of Corpus Domini, on Holy Thursday, appointed to commemorate it.

The Lake of Bolsena, the "great Volsinian mere" of Macaulay's ballad, is a shallow and unhealthy piece of water, about 70 square miles, surrounded by picturesque basalt hills, woods, and vineyards of red and white wines. It abounds with wild fowl and eels, which are excellent stewed in wine. On one of the two islands in the lake, Amalsonda, daughter of Theodoric the Goth, was confined and strangled in 535 A.D. The peak of Montefiascone is seen away to the south-east.

The Post towns from Bolsena to Rome are as follows, the route being along the old Via Cassia.Post.

Montefiascone Viterbo....

L' Imposta

Ronciglione

Post. 1

1

1

1

dominus meus, mortuus est." The bishop liked good wine, which he called est, and the butler's inscription is to the effect that his master died here through too much est.

The road passes on, leaving on the right, Lake Bulicame, and its sulphur vapours; and on the left, the ruins of Ferentium; soon after which Monte Cimino (or Ciminius) comes into view, 3,460 feet high. At the north foot of it, about 1,200 feet above sea, is

VITERBO,

(near the site of Fanum Voltumnæ), now reached by rail (24 miles) from Attigliano (see page 141). Population, 20,640.

Hotels: Angelo; Aquila Nera.

This is the first important city reached by the traveller in the former Papal dominions, and was rebuilt by the Lombards out of the ruins of the Etruscan town. There are traces left of an ancient necropolis. It is a large walled town, containing fifty Churches; has paved streets; and is remarkable for the number of its Fountains, the best of which are in the Piazza Grande, and Piazza della Rocca (by Vignola, 1566). Its Pecorino cheese is excellent. Hither several Popes came to reside when their turbulent Romans made themselves troublesome; after it had been compelled to submit to the Pontiffs, and give up to them the chain of its principal gate. Adrian IV., an Englishman, is said to have made the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa hold his stirrup here (1155), while he mounted his mule, before giving him the osculum pacis; but the meeting took place at Nepi (page 151), nearer Rome.

The Cathedral of S. Lorenzo is a Gothic church, on the site of a Temple of Hercules. It has tombs of Popes John XXI. (killed at the Bishop's Palace, by the falling of a wall), Alexander IV., Alexander V., Clement IV.; also, C. Maratti's St. Lawrence, F. Romanelli's St. Lawrence in Glory (at the altar), and A. Dürer's Christ and the Evangelists (in the sacristy). It was at this high altar that Henry of Cornwall, nephew of our Henry III., was, in 1279, stabbed by Guy de Montfort, in revenge for the king's treatment of his grandfather, Simon de Montfort, after the battle of Evesham. Dante refers to the murderer, as he who

"In God's bosom, smote The heart still worshipped on the banks of Thames," and puts him in the deepest pit of hell. At the old Bishop's Palace, a building of the thirteenth century, is the room in which the Conclave of Cardinals chose Gregory X. and Martin IV., after many weary months of delay. The former was Marco Polo's patron; and the latter, a Frenchman, was only elected in obedience to Charles of Anjou, by starving out the Conclave.

S. Angelo in Spada has in front an ancient Roman sarcophagus, containing the ashes of a certain beautiful Giuliana, of the thirteenth century.

S. Francesco has the tomb of Adrian V., and S. el Piombo's Descent from the Cross; and the

church of the Osserranti del Paradise contains his Flagellation. Santa Rosa, annexed to a nunnery, has a gold shrine, containing a famous black Virgin, called the "Rose of Viterbo." At the Church of Santa Maria della Verita, outside the walls, is Lorenzo da Viterbo's *Spozalizio, or Marriage of the Virgin; a large and interesting fresco, full of portraits, which occupied the painter twenty-five

years.

The Palazzo Pubblico was begun 1264, and finished by Sixtus IV., and has a good Fountain, some Etruscan sarcophagi in the court, with a collection of vases, &c., in the Museum. Here are paintings of the Madonna, by Romanelli and others. The Palazzo S. Martino, belonging to the Dorias, has a fine broad staircase, and the portrait and bed of the famous Olimpia Maidalchini, Innocent X.'s sister-in-law, and prime minister.

The Palazzo Farnese is now the Foundling Hospital.

Viterbo to Civita Vecchia, 35 miles; to Orte, where the rails from Florence and Ancona unite, 10 miles.

At the Church of Madonna della Quercia (on the Orte Road), built by Bramante, are some terra cottas by L. della Robbia. Farther on, at BAGNAIA, is the Villa Lanti, built by Vignola; and still farther is SORIANO, with a seat of the Albani family, on a cliff, commanding a fine view of the Tiber and the Monte Cimino ridge.

Descending towards Orte, is the Bassano Lake, ancient Lacus Vadimonis, where the Romans de feated the Etruscans, B.C. 308. At Orte (Stat.), under the name of Horta, a military colony was established by Augustus, and among other relics is a bridge called Ponte d'Agostino.

To the west of Viterbo, 5miles, is Castel d'Asso, or CASTELLACCIO, the site of the Etruscan Castellum Axiæ, remarkable for the number and size of its rock Tombs, hewn in the solitary valleys around it; and about 8 to 12 miles south-west of Viterbo, under Monte Cimino, are Bieda, ancient Brera, and Norchia, equally remarkable for Etruscan remains of the same character. They run in terraces, and are marked by rude sculptures and inscriptions. VETRULLA (population, 6,000) is the nearest town. Further south is Canino, the seat of the late Prince Lucien Bonaparte; who made large collections of antiquities here and published an account of his investigations.

Leaving Viterbo, the road ascends the slope of Monte Cimino to

L'IMPOSTA, near the top of this volcanic range, which is 3,000 feet high, and from which an extensive panoramic prospect is enjoyed, taking in the Apennines, the Valley of the Tiber, Mount Soracte, the Campagna, and even of Rome (if the air be clear), though a day's journey off. Descend to

RONCIGLIONE (population, 4,800), an old place, with an old castle, iron works, &c., in a ravine of lava beds, under Monte Cimino, near the Vico Lake, the ancient Lacus Ciminus, in a deep crater. Two or three miles south-west of it is SUTRI, the

ancient Sutrium, on the Via Cassia, with its Etruscan amphitheatre cut in the rock, having six rows of seats, and numerous cave tombs. To the east of Ronciglione is Caprarola, a palace built by Vignola, for Cardinal Farnese, on a rock, and surrounded by pentagonal walls. The paintings are by Zuccaro, &c., and the fine gardens are in the Italian style. The country about here belonged to the Farnese family, till seized by Innocent X. Farther on, towards the Tiber, is CIVITA CASTELLANA, SO called from a strong fort built by Julius II. (See Route 27.)

After leaving Ronciglione, we enter the Campagna or Comarca, a wide, level, and for the most part desolate tract of volcanic soil, extending beyond Rome, as far as Terracina, on the Naples frontier.

Monterosi (now Montorso Stat.), or Rossulum, on the slope of the volcanic hills, round Lake Bracciano, or Lacus Cabatus, to the right; 20 miles round, formerly a crater. Here, as elsewhere, are Etruscan remains. A little before this the road from Terni and Perugia falls in. In this neighbourhood are GALLERA, near the ancient Carciæ; BRACCIANO and its old Castle, near the Lake, and Rocca Romana, a hill 2,020 feet high; and CERVETRI, ancient Cære or Agylla, with its tombs or grottos. From Cære and its religious observances comes our word ceremony."

BACCANO, on the site of a crater, and of Ad Baccannas, with swelling hills on both sides. It is mentioned by Ariosto.

LA STORTA, the last post town before Rome, at the junction of Via Cassia and Via Claudia, close to the Pauline Aqueduct. A little road-side chapel was built here, 1700, by the General of the Society of Jesuits, to commemorate, as the inscription declares, a personal meeting between "God the Father" and "Signatio," or St. Ignatius, in 1537. To the left is ISOLA FARNESE, on the site of Veii, another famous Etruscan city, on the River Cremera, celebrated for the fatal Dies Cremerensis, when the Fabii were cut off by the Vejentes in an ambuscade, except one boy, who lived to perpetuate the family. It was taken by the Dictator Camillus, after a ten years' siege.

The road then passes the Tomb of Nero, or P. V. Marianus, with Frascati and Albano in view; and Ponte Molle, an old Roman bridge over the Tiber, where the adherents of Catiline were apprehended. To the right and left are St. Peter's, the Protestant Cemetery, &c., and we enter

Rome by the old Flaminian Gate, near the English quarter. (See Route 32.) Coming from Montorso by rail, the line passes Monte Rotondo (Stat.), 16 miles from Rome, near Mentana, where a stone Pillar records the names of those who fell 3rd November, 1867, when Garibaldi was defeated by the Papal troops.

ROUTE 27.

Florence to Rome, via Arezzo, Perugia, Assisi, Foligno, Spoleto, Terni, Orte, and down the Tiber.

By rail 233 miles. Part of this line is the new Direct Rail to Rome (see page 136) as far as Terontola; where a line joins it from Empoli and Siena, at Chiusi, whence it proceeds via Orvieto and Orte. Leaving the central terminus, at Florence, the line goes round the walls to Porta alla Croce Station, and thence ascends the Arno. The stations to Arezzo are

The line follows the north side of the river to Compiobbi (Stat.), with Fiesole, &c., in view. Pontassieve (Stat.) Population, 10,192.

Here

the Sieve joins the Arno; and roads strike off to Ravenna (over the Apennines), and to Arezzo (round the east bend, or head, of the Arno, in the province of Casentino); while the rail follows the direction of its western bend. Between the two bends is the Prato Magno ridge (4,700 feet high), in a gorge of which is Vallombrosa, 12 miles from Pontassieve (Route 26). Camaldoli, another celebrated convent, is high up the Apennines, about 20 miles.

Rignano (Stat.), population, 4,538, about 6 miles from Vallombrosa. On the other side of the Arno is S. Donato and its hill (1,320 feet high), celebrated for its fine prospect over Valdarno. The old Rinuccini Palace now belongs to the Corsini family Here the upper Arno, or Val d'Arno di Sopra, begins.

AREZZO (Stat.)

The ancient Arretium, now the capital of a province, and a bishop's sec.

Population, 12,000.

Hotels: Vittoria; Royal; de la Poste.

It stands on two hills, in a nne plain, 3 miles from the Arno, on or near the site of the old Estruscan city, which was occupied by the Consul Flaminius, when Hannibal made his flank movement down the Clusine marshes, and defeated him at Thrasymene. The present walls, 3 miles round, with four gates in them, were made by its warlike bishop, Guido Tarlate, who fortified the town, made roads, fought the Pope and the Florentines in several pitched battles, was a good statesman, and raised Arezzo for a time to a great height of power. He died at last in his bed, 1327, in spite of a thundering excommunication from the Vatican. In 1384 it was taken and plundered by Ingelram de Coucy, or Cosse, who sold it to Florence; and it was stormed by the French in 1800. It is well-built; the streets being paved, and comparatively wide and airy. The main street is called Corso Vit. Emanuele. At the top of one hill is the citadel; and near the Passionist Convent there are remains of an Amphitheatre, overlooking the town. In this, the principal square, are the Palazzo Pubblico, Dogana, Theatre, and old Church of La Pieve.

The

Arezzo is remarkable as the birthplace of many eminent men, from Mæcenas downwards. modern list includes Petrarch, accidentally born here, his parents being Florentines; Vasari, the painter, architect, and art-historian; Guido or Guittone d'Arezzo, the inventor of the musical staff and the musical scale, do, re, mi, &c.; another Guittone, a poet of Dante's age; Pope Julius III and Cardinal Bibbiena; Leonardi Bruni l'Aretino, whose monument is in Santa Croce; and Pietro l'Aretino, the satirist, sometimes called

Divino," being one of those, says Forsyth, who "owe their celebrity to the meanness of their contemporaries;" Cesalpini, the naturalist; and Redi, the scholar, and author of "Bacco in Toscano," who of course praises the wine of his native town, as "Fa superbo l'Aretino." Under the name of Alleatico, it ranks as the best in Tuscany.

Michael Angelo, who was himself born at Castel Caprese, near this town, puts the credit of this "nella sottilità dell' aria," to the fineness of the air. Tablets of these celebrated "Aretine," great and small, are seen all over the city.

In the old or upper town, called Sobborgo, stands the

Cathedral of S. Donato, built about 1277, in the Italian-Gothic style, by Arnolfo di Lapo, and Margaritone, who was an Arezzo man, and a painter, sculptor, and architect, and is buried here. It was enlarged in the fifteenth century, and ornamented with fine stained windows by a French monk, William of Marseilles; who also began the frescoes of the vault, finished by Castelluci d'Arezzo. High altar, by Giovanni da Pisa (1286), with bas-reliefs of the patron saint. Tomb and effigies, &c., of Tar

late, the fighting bishop, by the brothers Agostino and Agnolo (1327-30), with a series of sixteen basreliefs of the events in his stirring life. Margaritone's tomb of Gregory X., who died here. Statue of Ferdinand de' Medici, by Giovanni da Bologna. Monuments of Redi, Margaritone, &c.

Among the paintings are a Magdalene, by Pietro della Francisca; a St. Jerome, by Della Gatta: a Judith, by a towusman, Benvenuto Aretino. The Archives comprise 2,000 MSS. from the time of Charlemagne.

Close by the Duomo is Petrarch's House, in which he was born, 1304; it is two stories high, and has an inscription on the front. At the churches of Annunziata and S. Bernardo, are paintings by Spinello Spinelli, another native, sometimes called Spinello Aretino.

S. Francesco contains some good frescoes of the Invention of the Cross, and the Victory of Constantine, by P. della Francesca; an Annunciation, by Spinelli; and a window by William of Marseilles. S. Maria della Piere, in Piazza Grande, on the site of a Temple of Bacchus, a very old church, rebuilt, 1262, by Marchione (a native), and lately restored, has three rows one over the other, of round, angular, and twisted columns in its front, with many figures. It contains Vasari's St. George and the Dragon, and other paintings by him, with family portraits.

The Hospital of Santa Maria della Misericordia is a Gothic building of the fourteenth century. It has a library of 10,000 volumes and some antiquities. At the Abbey or Badia of S. Flora, or Monte Cassino, is a large painting of Ahasuerus, by Vasari; and a ceiling by Pozzi. Here is a Public Museum (rarely opened) of bronzes, majolica urns, and vases of red ware, for which Arezzo was celebrated.

The Palazzo Pubblico, or Town Hall, built 1332, has been modernised. Next to this is a gallery or Loggia, 400 feet long; a handsome pile, by Vasari, including a Theatre, Dogana, &c. Here is a statue of Ferdinand III. with portraits of P. Aretino, &c., and at the end of the promenade is a column to Mæcenas, erected by his admiring "concives.'

Palazzo Brilandi, or Montati, in Via di S. Vito, was the house in which Vasari was born.

Rail to Fossato (on the line between Ancona and Rome, page 155), 84 miles, through S. Giustino (page 153), Città Castello (page 153), Umbertide, and Gubbio (page 154).

The Palus Clusina, or Clusine Marsh, to the west of Arezzo at the head of Val di Chiana, has been drained by the Knights of St. Stephen, at Florence, and rendered one of the most fertile tracts in Italy. Its waters, which formerly ran into the Clanis and Tiber, are now diverted north, into the Arno. To reclaim the soil, great dykes were first erected to confine the waters, which, during their stagnation for a time, left a deposit of good earth, and were then sluiced off. This, being repeated, gave solidity to the bog, and gradually raised it above the level of the floods, and turned it into rich arable soil, now divided into large fattorie or farms.