JOURNAL

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 978, 25 June 1883, Page 4

JOURNAL

' rWBITTBN BPEOIALI.Y FOB THE GUABDIAN.”] | NO, XIX | A PaKOBAMA — A WONDEKPHL VILLAi Genoa. I 1 must pass over Arenzano—merely ob| ■erring that from this place another charming view of the coast line as far at Genoa is obtained; and Yoltri, a aettls| ment on the banks of the Caruso, sum rounded by open, fertile country, diversi* fied by many picturesque private resi| dences; and Prh, a place where mariner* congregate, and shipwrights flourish; and linger awhile at the favorite watering place PeglL It may almostcalled d suburb of Genoa, and possesses manjj attractions. If Pan ever had a local habitation, I should think his home wad somewhere in the wooded valleys, or on one of the verdant slopes in the vicinity of Pegli. Some very superior villas, with extensive grounds artistically laid out, abounding in shrubs and flowers, enhance the besuty of the environs. Particularly* Villa Rostan, whose bead gardener, 1| imagine, must have been trained in Eng-| land, the surroundings are so home-like,| Villa Elena Doria, and last, but not least,{ the romantic Villa Pallavacini. Ingress; to this charming retreat is easily obtained.) By presenting a card, and inscribing your| name in the visitors’ book, a cu todian,| for the trifling gratuity of a franc, willi conduct yon over the domain. There you; may roam amidst groves of oleanders,) and a wilderness of azaleas and cameliaa, enjoying a prospect of vast ex ; tent and nnrivalled beauty. Ascend-? ing an eminence you come to a castle, from the battlements of which the! glorious panorama is still further enlarged, j You may fancy yourself carried back to the stirring scenes of the turbulent middle i ages —the illusion being heightened by! artistic contrivances to resemble a recent j aiege. There is the tomb of the c m-: mandsutewhorwmi slainjin ■thetgnsjdaght defending the fortress, and all around the graves of his companions in arms peeping up amid the scattered ruins. part of the grounds is a grotto, with stalactite formations, and a subterranean sheet of water; in crossing which you get a olimpae ol the lighthouse A variety*'of'wnarflenfal structures are placed at different points. Pagodas. Kioaques and elections of nameless design; some af er the style of the houses in the ancient city of Pompeii; and others might have been suggested by originals in the neighborhood Of Constantinople and Pekin. These artistic creations add very much to fairy-like region, and (JeJight'sentimontu,! visitors of romantic turn of mind : while soberminded practical naturalists may find equal pleasure in stuping the varieties of tropical plants and rare shrubs that flourish in the grounds. A day at Villa Pallavacini is a treat not soon.to be forgotten.hsfbrwiri. eldooti A few more tunnels, and passing Sestri Tonente and its famous grotto which I the celebrated city Genoa. I took up my quarters in the Hotel de, Gennea, which I presume must in fpßn& Jinfes have been the private residence of a Genoese grandee, for many of the apartments exhibited traces of original splendour. My bedroom w&WMf and four might have been driven round it without difficulty. The situation ; rof; Genpjq* jus t ifi es the title “La Superba, which some of the inhabitants delight to give it. Its natural with peculiar interest. I presume my readers to be acquainted withi@494>€ hisWfyOTf not.Talmdst tenvy them the pleasure, when they begin to read on the subject. It would alter the character of my sketehy joltings if l w.ro to attempt the Wofe ■sWWiba‘style of the historian, but for the sake of those who may be ignorant of the vicissitudes through which the city of Genoa has passed, I may be permitted to give a brief outline. When Rome was the mistress of the world, Genoa was one of her chief handmaids, controlling the commerce of the Ligurian. coast,, Jff- subsequent times was looked up to by surrounding weaker towns as their champion against Saracen ravagere and oppressors. But the bravesß*flcKßulsgad;4J reVersfes. 'ln the year 936, the proud city had/ to submit to be plundered by marauders from Frassineto. thi ! disaster, Wd wore the expiration of eighty years, wo retd of her having conquered ard annexed the Island of Cor.-ic*. Then followed a protwwted warfare with the rival republic of Pisa, whose mer chants disputed toe commerce of the Tyrrhenian sea. But the waSweriroxlty'OTtablimeir by the decisive naval battle of Meloria ; many Pisan war galleys were captured, and many were sunk. Pisa never blow. Sardinia next ’buccbmbed to Genoa’s ■ growing power. She had already sent her contingents to swell the forces of the Crusaders, and this .led. to a lucrative trade with the Levant, and enabled her to push her outports even to Constantinople and the Crimea. Cyprus, Syria and i unis Then *4t''kyjhfe£w*en Genba and Venice ; from the ;wC f 'h to the fourteenSo century, hi«r ry reeras with records of the liter strife. It culminated in a terrible bale e4n.:Q by »be Venetians in 1380 ; from that per "d t .e pride of Genoa was humbled, and her power began to decline. Intestine at life and division hastened Mor downfall. .The fierce contested Jho 9>.UP& anff GhjAbelItoes involved detrimental issues. Each party, in turn, when defeated, sought aaustance from foreign powers, who repaid thenUflßiiKitiy ‘The kings of Prance, and of Naples, the dukes of MihfldSnd counts ofoMonfetrat, at different periods domineered over the Genoese, and enriched themselves at their On one occasion, the populace rose in revolution, overturned patrician rale and invested a Doge with supremo authority. But the prestige of the city was irrecoverably gone. In the course

of time the monetary power outgrew and stifled the ambition for political power. The Banco Giorzo bid fair to transform the republic into a huge mercantile company, but a combination of circumstances involved Genoa in the quarrels of the great Eurot pean powers, and this tended still more to weaken her and accelerate her decay. Andrea Doria, the admual of the Emperor Charles V., re-established the oligarchical form of Government. His palace is still one of the attractions of Genoa. Then the unsuccessful conspiracy of FirschL All these commotions were pre}*odicxal to the maintenance of Genoa’s ormer power and influence. She was no longer able to resist spoliation. The Tows gradually deprived her of bor Oriental territories, and ere long the city itself was occupied successively by the French and the Imperialists. In 1736 a Westphalian adventurer of high degree, calling himself Theodore de Neuhoff, appeared on the troubled stage. • The Corsicans threw off their allegiance to Genoa, and proclaimed Neuhoff their king ; .but the Genoese displayed some remains of ancient spirit. They proclaimed the upstart to be a rebel, and he fled for his life. By the aid of France Corsica ■ was re-conquered; but only to be ceded very shortly afterwards to the French as ' the reward of their resistance. After the ! tattle of Marengo Napoleon took possesSon of Genoa ; and in 1805 it was formally annexed to the French empire. In ■ 1816 it passed over to Sardinia, and now ' forms part of the United Kingdom of Italy. ' (TTo be continued.] jfii//i i tl 1 , ,