ITALY AND ITS WONDERS.

Shannon News, 20 December 1927, Page 3

ITALY AND ITS WONDERS.

. ADDRESS BY MR. A. W. HUTCHINGS. “A Little Chat on Italy,” by Mr A. W. Hutchings, who, with Mrs Hutchings, returned to New Zealand ear y in the year from a tour of the Ola World, was given at the Chamber of Commerce luncheon in the Oxford Rooms on Friday. Mr. T. F. Gibson, president of the Chamber, presided‘and extended a welcome to Mr. J.McArthur, of Christchurch, who has been on a visit to his son, the Rev. J. D. McArthur. The president apologised for the absence of Messrs J. A. McQueen and E. W. Crisp, and in introducing Mr. Hutchings praised the public spirit shown by that gentleman since taking un his residence in Levin. . A LIKENESS TO NEW ZEALAND. After thanking the President for his kind introduction, Mr. Hutchings described the ■ geographical features of Italy and mentioned that it had an area of 120,000 square miles and a population of 39 million. An aspect which had struck him very much was its similarity to this country: it had a dominant mountain chain, the Appeuines; there were 1 ive Vesuvius, Etna and StromboVi; thermal spiings, and lakes which were similar to. those of New Zealand. Italy Avas noted for its blue skies, blue seas, and its Riviera. Agriculture Avas the basis of its economic life, and there was a great, diversity in its agriculture owing to the different climatic zones. Grape-grow-ing was an important'industry, and t'vo years prior to his visit Italy Avas.produsing 800 million gallons of wine.. The olive oil production totalled 26 million gallons. The farmers also greAV a great deal of wheat, rye, tomatoes, beet-root and hemp. Italy AA r as famous for its silk, being, second only in this respect to Japan, which was the second highest producer of silk in the world. A good deal of steel manufacture Avas carried on, and there were big industries involved in the cotton mills and hat factories. ’ ; MOUNTAINS OF MARBLE.

On the journey, from San Remo to Pisa, Mr. and Mrs Hutchings noticed high ranges in the distance, apparently Avitli siioav on top of them. They Avcve informed that these were the Carrara mountains, and that the ‘ ‘ snow ” was marble. They were 5000 feet high, and. covered an area of 400 square miles. As a former railway official himself he Avas interested in the running of the Italian systems, which ho compared Avith those of France in a manner much to the advantage of the former. A special point AA r as made of running to time in Italy, and he did not remember being half a minute late. In France raihvay accidents Avcrc numerous, but in Italy such happenings were never heard of. Mussolini would not have a special train put on the lines if it was going to interfere Avith northern traffic running to schedule. The stranger arriA T ing had not much tiouble at stations, in finding lioav to reach his lodgings. Luggage Avas generally taken into the carriage, because if only 281 bs was put in the van it-had to bo paid for. On arrival at the station, it was taken by n porter to the taxi, and the whole process of transferring from train to hotel was very simple. As Mrs Hutchings Avas able to speak both French and Italian fluently, they were able,to got about Avithout difficulty and learn a good deal concerning the country. Raihvay methods Avcre progressing, ami about 300 miles of line per year were being comforted from steam to electric poAver, this being necessary owing to the high cost of coal. PARADISE OF FLOWERS.

After leaving the French Riviera and crossing into Italy, the speaker was struck by the demeanous of the customs officials, who were bottei set up better uniformed and of a more confident, bearing than' the. French officials. Mr Hutchings described the beauties of the flower-growing districts of the Italian Riviera, where the most beautiful carnations could be seen stretching away in rows tor miles; and the wonders of t-lie. fiower markets, >from which fresh blooms . are placed on special trains, some of the vans of which cross the English Channel by steamer, so that the blossoms are not distrutted until they are delivered. From Sau Remo, he travelled to Rapallo, noted as the place where Sir Austen Chamberlain occasionally resides} and from there an excursion was made to Portofino, which is known for its lacemaking industry. In the ,■ train on route to Genoa, the visitors met a prominent shipbuilder, who expounded in an interesting manner the ideals of Italy as a maritime power and spoke of the wonderful steamers being built at Genoa. After admiring the wealth of statuary to be seen in and around i Genoa, the travellers went on to Pisa, to be profoundly impressed by the cathedral, the baptistry and the Leaning Tower. Mr. Hutchings explained that the inclination of the tower was not intentional; the foundations had been laid on very swampy ground, and. as the construction occupied hundreds of years, the builders adjusted the design to withstand the gravitational pull. Rome was a place that would baffle description. What ivas very • noticeable was that the city had undergone a cleaning process as a result of the present regime. It had been made thoroughly up-to-date, and no beggars were to be seen as in the old days. ‘ With regard to Naples, the old adage “Bee Naples and die,” came to mind, and the visitors thought that if they stayed three days there they surely would die. It looked very nice from the sea, but it was one of those cities that had not been cleaned up under Mussolini’s rule. The speaker saw more filth, poverty and disease in Naplies than in all the rest of Italy.

LIGHT-HEARTED SICILY. From Naples a trip was made by a railway ferry to Sicily, landing at Palermo. Mr Hutchings described the island as a “mosaic country”; there were flowers to be seen in every direction, and blooms such as are cultivated in New Zealand gardens were growing wild. On both sides of the railway were lemon, orange, nut, fig and olive

trees, and the perfume waited through the carriage Avindows was practically indescribable. One could not help feeling that Sicily was full of happiness; everyone Avas bright and jolly. The teamsters Averc lively fclloAVs, Avith gaily decorated carts and harness, and they Avere constantly playing pranks on one another. Among many interesting sights and sounds of the Sicilian cities, Mr Hutchings spoke of, the street haAvkers and their cries, each of these meu*haA r ing a A T erse of ten or twelve Avords, by means of Avhich he advertised his trade Avith considerable din. In the smaller streets, many, craftsmen would be found carrying on their operations out in the open. The travellers visited Cattania, noted for its business prosperity, and Cyracuse, Avhere they inspected the catacombs and Avere slioavii the place where St. Paul had preached. As there Avas a difficulty in understand-; ing the dialect of the priest Avho acted as guide, Mrs Hutchings changed the iconA'ersation into Latin and the two exchanged their ideas Avithout difficulty in the ancient tongue, to the evident appreciation of the priest. After going to Taormina, a place noted for its beauty and its architectural antiquities, Mr and''Mrs Hutchings went To Messina, which lias been restored after its destruction iji the great earthquake, and is again a modern-city Avitli fine buildings! At this port their train _ Avas pushed on to a steamer, and Avithout leaving the carriage they crossed the straits to Italy, landing at San Giovanni after a trip on the Avater lasting about 45 minutes. After another visit to Rome, they Avcnt on to Florence and Venice, both of Avhich made a strong appeal on account of their historic interest. At the Lido, the famous Venetian seaside resort, the bathing houses extended for a distance of four or five miles, in roAA r s from four to six deep, and the hotels Avere like palaces. ACROSS THE ADRIATIC.

A journey was made by train to Trieste, which* formerly belonged to Austria, and the hotel where they stayed had been the property of an Austrian prince. They visited the palace .of Miramar, once the residence of the illfated Emperor Maximilian of Mexico. The garden, covering many acres, was one of the most artistic in the world. Returning again to Italy, a trip was made to Milan, celebrated for its great cathedral. This city, which has a population greater than that of Rome, contains the largest arcade in the world. There followed an extended tour of the lake districts and a visit to Locarno. In summing-up, Mr Hutchings said that many of the churches and cathedrals of Italy were veritable art. galleries, because of the valuable pictures and the treasures in gold, silver and gems which they contained. The people generally in Italy were very hind and courteous, and were willing to do all they could to make the visitor’s stay pleasant. He advised anybody, who intended going there to be careful in the choice, of food. “We have spaghetti in this country,” he remarked, “but we never have it a yard long. It would take you a long time to get used to day-old kid and lamb, cheese made from ewe’s milk, grated cheese on your soup, and oil of all kinds on your vegetuljlos. * ** The address was greatly enjoyed, and on the motion of Mr J. A. Smith a hearty vote of thanks was passed to Mr Hutchings by acclamation. The President extended the compliments of the season to the members and visitors, and a pleasant little function then came to a close.