residence in the capital for a considerable period in 1837 and 1838, and have been verified and enlarged by two subsequent visits.

In a work of this kind, embracing so great a variety of subjects, there must necessarily be deficiencies. Any corrections or additions, the result of personal observation, authenticated by the names of the parties who are so obliging as to communicate them to the "Editor of the Hand-Books for Travellers," under cover to the Publisher, will be thankfully employed for future editions.

The volume which will follow this will include the continental dominions of the King of Naples, the roads leading into them fron the Papal States, and the island of Sicily.

INTRODUCTION.

1. General Topography.-2. Government.-3. Justice.-4. Revenue.-5. Ecclesiastical Establishment.-6. Army and Navy.-7. Education.-8. Commerce and Manufactures.-9. Agriculture.-10. Characteristics of the Country.11. Pelasgic Architecture.-12. Cyclopean Architecture.-13. The Etruscans. -14. The Romans.-15. Christian Architecture.-16. Sculpture.-17. Painting.-18. Books.-19. Chronological Tables.-20. Addenda.

1. GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY.

THE Papal States are bounded on the north by the LombardoVenetian kingdom, on the east by the Adriatic, on the south-east by Naples, on the south-west by the Mediterranean, and on the west by Tuscany and Modena. The superficial area, according to Boscowich, is 18,117 Roman square miles: other authorities compute it as 13,000 or 14,000 Italian square miles, of 60 to a degree, and it has recently been estimated by government surveys at 13,017 Italian square miles. The Raccolta of 1833 shows that the total population of that year was 2,732,436, giving to the superficial area of 13,000 miles a ratio of rather more than 210 souls for every square mile. It is calculated, however, that only a third part of the surface is cultivated, and a considerable portion of the country is very thinly inhabited. Of its numerous rivers, the Tiber only is navigable: on the coast of the Adriatic the Tronto and the Metauro are the most important, and the mouths of a few others serve as harbours for the light fishing craft of the gulf. The two great ports are Civita Vecchia, and Ancona; the ancient harbours of Terracina and Porto d'Anzo have been rendered useless to vessels of large burden, by immense deposits of sand. The principal lakes are those of Trasimeno or Perugia, Bolsena, and Bracciano.

The territories comprised in the Papal States have been acquired at various periods, by inheritance, by cession, and by conquest. In the eighth century, the Duchy of Rome, which constituted the first temporal possession of the Holy See, was conferred by Pepin on Stephen II., with a large portion of the exarchate which had been conquered by that monarch from the Lombards. The duchy extends along the sea-coast, from Terracina to the mouth of the Tiber, and includes the southern Campagna, the Pontine marshes, and the Sabine and Volscian hills. In the twelfth century, the allodial possessions of the Countess Matilda passed by inheritance to the church; that portion of them, which is well known as the Patrimony of St. Peter, extends from Rome to Bolsena, including the coast line from the mouth of the Tiber to the Tuscan frontier. The March of Ancona and the Duchy of Spoleto were also included in this famous donation. On the return of the popes from Avignon, and on the subsequent subjection of the petty princes of Romagna and Umbria, other important districts

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gradually fell under the power of the church. Perugia, Orvieto, Città di Castello and numerous dependent towns acknowledged the sovereignty of the popes; and the conquests of Julius II. added to the dominions of the Holy See the important districts of Bologna and Ravenna. Ancona was occupied by the Papal troops in 1532, Ferrara was seized in 1597, the Duke of Urbino abdicated in favour of the church in 1626, and a few years later the Papal States received their last additions in the fiefs of Castro and Ronciglione, which were wrested from the Farnese by Innocent X. The isolated Duchy of Benevento, and the district of Pontecorvo, belong also to the church, although they are situated far within the Neapolitan frontier.

The States are divided into twenty provinces. The first is the Comarca of Rome, including within its jurisdiction the three districts of Rome, Tivoli, and Subiaco. The other nineteen are divided into two classes, Legations and Delegations. The Legations are governed by Cardinals, and the Delegations by Monsignori or Prelates. There are six Legations, Bologna, Ferrara, Forlì, Ravenna, Urbino (with Pesaro), and Velletri. There are thirteen Delegations, Ancona, Macerata, Camerino, Fermo, Ascoli, Perugia, Spoleto, Rieti, Viterbo, Orvieto, Civita Vecchia, Frosinone (with Pontecorvo), and Benevento. Each province is divided into communes, and eleven of them are divided into districts (distretti), with peculiarities of local government which will be described hereafter.

2. GOVERNMENT.

An unlimited elective hierarchy, the head of which is the Pope, who is chosen by the College of Cardinals out of their own body. The number of the Cardinals was limited to seventy by Sixtus V., in allusion to the number of disciples whom the Saviour commissioned to spread the gospel throughout the world; but the college is seldom full. All vacancies in their body are filled up by the Pope, whose power in this respect is absolute. The Cardinals constitute what is called the Sacred College, and are the Princes of the Church. They rank in three classes—1. The six Cardinal Bishops (Ostia, Porto, Sabina, Palestrina, Albano, Frascati); 2. Fifty Cardinal Priests; 3. Fourteen Cardinal Deacons. They all receive salaries, independently of any revenues which they may derive from benefices, and from the emoluments of public offices. On the death of the Pope, the supreme power is exercised by the Cardinal Chamberlain for nine days, and during that time he has the privilege of coining money in his own name and impressed with his own arms. On the ninth day, the funeral of the deceased Pope takes place, and on the day following the Cardinals are summoned to the secret conclave to elect his successor. They are shut up till they agree: the voting is secret, and the election is determined by a majority of two-thirds, subject to the privilege of Austria, France, and Spain, to put each a veto on one candidate. The conditions of the election require that the Pope be fifty-five years of age, a Car

dinal, and an Italian by birth. The government is administered by a Cardinal Secretary of State as chief minister, and by different Boards or Congregazioni. The principal of these are the Camera Apostolica, the Treasury or Financial department, presided over by the Cardinal Chamberlain, assisted by twelve Prelates, an Auditor, the Treasurer-General or Finance Minister, and Assessors; the Chancery, or Cancelleria, presided over by the Cardinal Chancellor; the Dataria, for ecclesiastical benefices, presided over by a Cardinal; the Buon Governo, for municipal police, presided over by a Cardinal Prefect, assisted by twelve other Cardinals and Prelates; the Congregazione de' Monti, for the public debts; the Sacra Consultà, a college of Cardinals, Prelates, Physicians, and Assessors, for the political and civil administration of the provinces, over which the Cardinal Secretary of State presides; the Court of the Segnatura; and the Sacra Ruota, the great Court of Appeal for the whole of the States. The Cardinal Chamberlain is the only minister who holds office for life. The Cardinal Secretary of State is generally a personal friend of the reigning pontiff, and is always the confidential minister. Subordinate to him is the Governor of Rome, who is always a prelate or monsignore of high rank. The power of the Governor is very great: he includes within his jurisdiction the whole province of the Comarca; he has the entire control of the police of Rome, and possesses the power of inflicting capital punishment. The Auditor of the Camera, the Auditor of the Pope (Uditore Santissimo), and the Major-Domo or Steward of the Household, are also prelates, and have the envied privilege of keeping carriages similar to the cardinals. The Pope's Auditor examines the titles of candidates for bishoprics, and decides all cases of appeal to the Pope: the Major-Domo is an officer of great influence, and is entitled to a cardinal's hat on quitting office.

In the provinces, the Legates and the Delegates have a Council (Congregazione di Governo), consisting of the Gonfaloniere of the chief town, and from two to four Councillors, named by the Pope, and holding office for five years. In the larger provinces there are four Councillors, two of whom belong to the town, and two to other parts of the province, except in the case of the Legation of Bologna, where all four Councillors are elected from the city. In the provinces of the second class there are three Councillors, two of whom belong to the chief town, and the other to the country. In the provinces of the third class there are only two Councillors, one taken from the town and one from the country. These Councillors have no vote, but when they differ in opinion from the Delegate their reasons are recorded and transmitted to the Secretary of State. The two Assessors of the Delegate are lawyers, and act as judges in civil matters in the chief town, but they must not be natives of the province. Eleven of the Delegations are divided into governments or districts (distretti), under the direction of a Governor, who is always subject to the Delegate, and must be a stranger to the district. These Governors exercise a civil and

criminal jurisdiction in the districts, similar to that of the Assessors in the towns. Each government, or distretto, is again subdivided into Communes, which still retain their ancient magistracy and councils. The Councils answer to our corporations, and consist of from eighteen to forty-eight unpaid members, according to the importance of the Commune: they are self-elected, subject, however, to the veto of the Delegate, and retain their seats for life. They are presided over by the Gonfaloniere, elected out of their own body for two years, and corresponding to our mayor. He is supported by a body of from two to six Anziani, or aldermen, half of whom retire with the Gonfaloniere every two years. These officers are chosen by the Council, subject to the approval of the Delegate. The Council have also the power of appointing all the other functionaries of the Commune, who must submit to a fresh election by ballot every two years. They also assess the rates and other imposts, and have an annual budget (tabella di prevenzione) presented to them by the Gonfaloniere. After it has received the sanction of the Council, it is submitted to the Delegate for approval, and at last is sent to the Buon Governo, and becomes law when it has been approved and returned to the Commune. No money for local purposes can be raised without these formalities, and no accounts can be discharged by the municipal authorities until they have been audited by the Council and approved by the Buon Governo. There are no less than 834 Communes in the Papal States which enjoy the advantage of this system of administration.

3. JUSTICE.

Justice is administered throughout the States on the laws of the Corpus Juris," and the Canon Law. The Judges are appointed by the Pope. They must be above thirty years of age, of unblemished character, of legitimate birth, doctors of law, and have practised at the bar as advocates for at least five years. Every Governor of a country district has jurisdiction, without appeal, in civil cases to the amount of 300 scudi; and in criminal cases of a minor character, subject to appeal. In the chief towns the Assessors of the Delegate have jurisdiction in lesser offences; and the Collegiate Court, composed of the Delegate, his two Assessors, an ordinary Judge, and a Member of the Communal Council, has both civil and criminal jurisdiction in the first instance for the whole province, with the power of appeal to one of the three higher courts. This Collegiate Court is also the Court of Appeal from the decisions of the local Governors and Assessors. In every criminal court the proceedings are conducted with closed doors, and the depositions are taken down in writing. The accused has a right to the assistance of an advocate, called the Avvocato de Poveri, who is always a person of high acquirements, appointed by the Pope and paid by government. All matters in which churchmen are concerned, and such cases as are referred to the eccle