Progress of the Two Sicilies under the Spanish Bourbons, from the Year 1734-35 to 1840. By JOHN GOODWIN, Esq., Her Majesty's Consul for Sicily.

Of all the Italian States, none is so imperfectly known to the English reader as the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, than which none is richer and more fertile in historical recollections, architectural remains, and natural phenomena.

The battle of Cannæ in ancient days, and the revolt of Mass Aniello in modern, cloud the brilliant page of Neapolitan history. The earlier annals of Sicily are stained with the massacre of Selinus, and the latter with the horrors of the Sicilian Vespers. Herculaneum, Pompeii, and Pæstum still consecrate the soil of Naples. The fields of Sicily are still hallowed by Segesta, Selinus, and Agrigentum. The plains of Naples are as often overflowed by the lava of Vesuvius, as the vallies of Sicily are devastated by the fiery torrents of Etna.

To depict such scenes to delineate such monuments-and to describe such calamities—is the province of the historian, the antiquary, and the natural philosopher. The purport of the following pages is of a less ambitious character. To trace the progress of Neapolitan and Sicilian improvement from the accession of the Spanish Bourbons to the reign of the present sovereign, is the author's humble endeavour.

The past state of the kingdom has been described, on the authority of Colletta, Bianchini, Aceto, and Lanza,* whose works have been carefully consulted for authentic information. The present condition of the Two Sicilies has been delineated from observation and inquiry made by the author, during a residence of nine years in both divisions of the kingdom.

CHAPTER I.

Description of the Two Sicilies-Situation and Extent-Face of the Country-Soil and Climate-Chief Cities-Monies, Weights and Measures.

The kingdom of the Two Sicilies consists of the Hither Sicily, commonly called the Realm of Naples, and the Further Sicily, usually denominated the Realm of Sicily Proper.

Naples.-The Realm of Naples forms the southern extremity of the Italian peninsula, and extends from 38° to 43° of north latitude, and from 14° to 18° of east longitude, from Greenwich. Its greatest length is about 500 miles, and its greatest breadth about 150. Its area is about 30,000 square miles. It is traversed from north to south by the Apennines, from which chain proceed several branches, forming capes and headlands on the eastern and western coasts. It is washed by the Adriatic Sea on the eastern side, by the Ionian on the southern and by the Tuscan on the western side.

The principal rivers, as the Tronto and Ofanto on the eastern coast, and the Garigliano and Volturno on the western, are mere mountain torrents, which overflow their banks in winter and spring, and shrink into rivulets in summer and autumn. The chief lakes are, the great

* Bianchini-Storia delle Finanze di Napoli. 3 vols. 8vo. Napoli, 1834-35. Colletta-Storia del Reame di Napoli. 2 vols. 8vo. Capolago, 1836. Aceto-De la Sicile, et de ses Rapports avec l'Angleterre. 1 vol. 8vo. Paris et Londres, 1827. Lanza-Considerazioni Sulla Storia di Sicilia. 1 vol. 8vo. Palermo, 1836.

lake of Fucino or Celano, and the small but celebrated lakes of Averno and Lucrino.

Of the four provinces into which the territory was formerly divided, Abruzzo, in the north, is mountainous and barren; the Terra di Lavoro, in the centre, is beautiful and fertile; Apulia, in the east, has an immense plain, called the Tavoliere di Puglia, which serves as a sheep-walk ; and Calabria, on the south, is rich and well wooded.

The climate in the mountainous parts is as cold and bracing, as it is sultry and relaxing in the plains. On the western side, the shores are marshy and unwholesome; on the eastern, dry and perfectly healthy. Towards the end of October, the tops of the Apennines are covered with snow, which usually lies till the following summer. In some parts of Abruzzo, the winter lasts eight months of the year; in the Terra di Lavoro and Apulia, the cold weather continues only four or five months; and in Calabria it seldom exceeds three. In the severest season, the plains of Terra di Lavoro are thickly strewn with wild flowers of the richest and most variegated hue.

The chief cities are Naples, the metropolis of the kingdom, Caserta, Salerno, Potenza, Avellino, Foggia, Bari, Lecce, Cosenza, Catanzaro, Reggio, Campobasso, Chieti, Aquila, and Teramo, the capitals of the fifteen provinces into which the realm of Naples is now divided.

Accounts are kept in ducats and grains. Ten grains make a carline, worth about 4d. and 10 carlines make a ducat, worth about 3s. 4d.

Heavy goods are weighed by the cantaro and the rotolo. 100 rotoli make a cantaro, which is equal to about 196lbs. avoirdupois; so that a rotolo is somewhat less than 2lbs. avoirdupois. Corn is sold by the tumolo, of which 5ths make an imperial quarter; oil by the salm, of which 51⁄2 make a tun of 236 gallons; wine by the barrel, of which 12 make a pipe of 132 gallons: cloth by the cane (canna), which is equal to 24rd yards. Land is measured by the moggio, which is equal to ths of an acre.

Sicily.—The island of Sicily, washed on the northern side by the Tuscan Sea, on the eastern by the Ionian Sea, and on the southern and western by the African Sea, is situated between the 36th and 38th parallels of north latitude, and the 12th and 16th degrees of east longitude. Its shape is that of an irregular triangle, each angle terminating in a promontory. The eastern promontory is called Cape Faro, the southern Cape Passaro, and the western Cape Boco. Its greatest length is about 180 miles; its greatest breadth 130: its circumference about 600, and its area about 12,000 square miles.

The principal rivers are the Fiume Grande on the northern side, the Salso on the southern, and the Giarretta on the eastern; but none of them are navigable:

The chief lake is the Biviere de Lemtini, the size of which varies with, the season. In winter the circumference is about 19 miles, and in summer not more than 9 or 10 miles.

The loftiest mountains are the Apennines, or the Madonian Chain, which begins at Cape Faro, runs westward to the centre of the island, (where it throws off a spur, called the Heræan range, which stretches southwards to Cape Passaro), and then steadily pursues its course towards Cape San Vito, where it meets the Tuscan Sea. The volcano of Mingibello, better known as Etna, lies to the east of the Heræan chain. The largest plains are those of Catania, Terranova, and Sciacca. The

first, anciently called the Leontine Field, is about 20 miles long by 12 broad.

The interior of the island presents a vast assemblage of lofty mountains, divided from each other by fruitful vallies. The appearance of the northern and eastern coasts is bold and romantic: the aspect of the southern and western coasts is far less striking. The greater part of the soil, derived from the Jurassic limestone of the Madonian mountains, is calcareous a small portion lying at the foot of the Neptunian chain, on the eastern side, is granitic. Where the calcareous soil is deep, a black loam yields abundant crops; where it is shallow, a red sandstone renders a smaller produce. In both cases, the harvest depends much upon the rain.

The climate in general is healthy. The mean height of the barometer is 29° 80'. The mean temperature of the year is 63° Fahrenheit: that of January and February, the coldest months, is 52°; that of July and August, the hottest months, is 76°. An agreeable freshness which prevails in May, becomes a genial warmth in June: in July and August the weather is sultry and oppressive in September and October a pleasant coolness usually reigns. Cold and damp, just perceptible in November, are sufficiently felt from December until April to render a good fire agreable in the winter's evening. A drought commonly reigns from May until September. Slight showers in October lead to heavy falls of rain in November and December, which recur from time to time until April, when fine weather usually sets in. The mean quantity of rain which falls annually at Palermo is 22 inches. Sufficient snow is found upon the higher mountains from October until May to supply both Sicily and Malta with this necessary of life in a southern climate during the rest of the year.

The most remarkable wind is the scirocco, which checks perspiration, dries up the skin, and produces weariness and languor. Ushered in by a dead calm, the visitation lasts about three days, and is followed by a deluge of rain. During its continuance the atmosphere is oppressive, and the current of air resembles the blast of a furnace. Thunder-storms are frequent between August and January, and slight shocks of earthquake are common on the eastern coast during the first three months of the year.

The chief cities are Palermo, the capital, on the northern coast; Messina, Catania, and Syracuse on the eastern side; Girgenti on the southern, and Marsala and Trápani on the western. In the interior are the populous cities of Caltanisetta, Castrogiovanni, and Caltagirone.

Government accounts are kept in ducats and grains, as at Naples; but merchants' accounts are kept in ounces, taris, and grains. 20 grains make a tari, worth about 4d. sterling; 30 taris make an ounce, worth about 10s.

Heavy goods are sold by the cantaro and the rotolo. A rotolo is equal to about 1lbs. avoirdupois, and a cantaro, or 100 rotoli, is equal to 175lbs. avoirdupois. Corn is sold by the salm, of which 17th is equal to an imperial quarter; oil by the cafiso, equal to 2÷rd imperial gallons; wine by the botte, equal to 90 imperial gallons; cloth by the cane, equal to 2rd yards. Land is measured by the salm, equal to about 4 acres.

VOL. V.-PART I.

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