gana di Mare, or Custom-House, with a gilded ball surmounted by a figure of Fortuna; next to it is the Seminario Patriarchale, with a small collection of pictures and statuary. Farther on, left, the church of St Maria della Salute; right, Pal. Tiepolo-Zuchelli, now Hotel Britannia; Pal. Contarini, PAL. CONTARINI FASAN, recently restored (often shown as the house of Desdemona), with beautifully sculptured balconies. Next to it, Pal. Ferro, now the Grand Hotel. On the other side, left, Pal. Dario; Pal. Venier, only the ground floor completed; right, Pal. Fini- Wimpfen, also part of the Grand Hotel, PAL. CORNER DELLA CA GRANDE, by Sansovino, 1532, now the Prefature; left, Pal. Da Mula, pointed style, Pal. Zichy, Pal. ManzoniEsterhazy; right, Pal. Barbaro, Pal. Cavalli, in the pointed style, 15th century, now the property of the Duke of Bordeaux. We now reach the iron bridge. On the left, near the end of the bridge, is the Academy of Fine Arts; next, left, PALAZZI CONTARINI DEGLI SCRIGNI, 15th century; opposite, right, Pal. Giustinian-Lolin, 17th century, now belonging to the Duchess of Parma; left, Pal. dell Ambascitore; next, left, PAL. REZZONICO, 18th century, belonging to the Infanta of Spain. Opposite, right, Pal. Malipiero, and Pal. Grassi, 18th century, belonging to the Austrian Baron Sina; left, two Pal. Giustiniani, and then, on the same side, the PAL. FOSCARI, a noble edifice, 1437. The Foscari and the two adjoining palaces form a conspicuous group at the end of the first reach of the canal. Next, left, PAL. BALBI, now Guggenheim's magasin of antiquities. Opposite, right, Pal. Moro Lin, 17th century. This palace belonged at first to the family of Lin, on

whose extinction it passed to that of Moro, of whom was the Doge Christoforo Moro by some believed to have been the original Othello. Next, right, the three PAL. MOCENIGO, in the one in the centre Lord Byron resided in 1818. In the northern one is a small collection of pictures. Left, Pal. Grimini, Pal. Persico, Pal. Tiepolo, 16th century, PAL. PISANI, a splendid building of the 15th century. In this palace was formerly the "Family of Darius," by Paul Veronese, which was purchased by the British National Gallery for £13,500. Right, Pal. Contarini, 1546, with shields and torches in the form of trophies in the intervals of the windows of the first story. Left, Pal. Barbarigo del Terrazza, was once the residence of Titian. Pal. Grimini, Pal. Bernardo, a fine building of the 15th century. Right, PAL. CORNER SPINELLI, a beautiful Renaissance building of 1500, with exquisitely decorated balconies. Right, Pal. Cavalli, and left, Pal. Tiepolo (Renaissance style). Right, PAL. GRIMINI, 16th century, a noble building, now the Court of Appeal, Pal. Farsetti (once Dandolo), now the Municipio, partly of the 12th century, the front modernised and very rich. PAL. LOREDAN, of the 12th century, covered with the richest sculpture. Mr Ruskin says that "this palace is the most beautiful in the whole extent of the Grand Canal." In this palace, from 1363 to 1366, lived Peter V. Lusignan, king of Cyprus, as the guest of Federigo Corner Piscopia. It is now occupied by municipal offices. Pal. Dandolo, a Gothic building (a café on the ground floor) remarkable only as the residence of the great Doge Enrico Dandolo, the conqueror of Constantinople, who, when he took that city, was ninety-seven years old.

Pal. Bembo, Pal. Manin, 16th century, now the National Bank. The last Doge of Venice was a Manin, and lived in this palace.

We have now reached the BRIDGE OF THE RIALTO, until recently the only bridge over the Grand Canal. This part of the city is called the Rialto (Rivoalto), and was the centre of trade and business. Shakespeare refers to this quarter when he makes Shylock say—

"Signor Antonio many a time and oft In the Rialto you have rated me About my monies."

The bridge was built in 1588 under the Doge Pasquale Cicogna. It is of one span, 91 feet. Its width is 72 feet, and it is covered with shops. On the right, near the bridge, is the fish market, on the left is the fruit and vegetable market.

Passing under the bridge we see on the left the Pal. Camerlenghi, once the residence of the Finance Ministers. Right, the Fondaco de Tedeschi, now a custom-house, formerly the depot of the merchandise of German merchants. Pal. Mangili, Pal. Michieli della Colonne, 17th century. Left, PAL. CORNER DELLA REGINA, now the Monti de Pieta, or Government pawnbrokers' office, on the site of the house in which Catherine Cornaro, Queen of Cyprus, was born. Right, the CA D'ORO, or "golden-house," an elegant building, in the pointed style of the 14th century. It is one of the most beautiful and graceful of the Venetian palaces. Pal. Fontana-Left, PAL. PESARO, a magnificent edifice, built in 1697, called by Ferguson "a singularly picturesque piece of palatial architecture. This palace is open to visitors every day, 9 to 4; fee to attendant. The sumptuous apartments are well

worth a visit. The pictures are of no interest. Right, Pal. Erizzo, PAL. VENDRAMIN CALERGI, one of the finest palaces on the Grand Canal. It is well kept up, and has a garden at the side. It was built by Pietro Lambardo for Andrea Loredan. It is now the property of the Duke of Bordeaux. It contains some good pictures. Open to visitors daily; fee to porter and to attendant. Left, Fondaco de Turchi, a Byzantine edifice of the 9th century, one of the earliest secular buildings in Venice, now restored. It was the depot of the Turkish merchants. Left, MUSEO CORER, a collection of pictures and curiosities of no great value. Among the curiosities is the cap of the Doge Manin, the door of the Bucentaur through which the Doge threw the ring into the Adriatic. Among the pictures are "Doge Francesco Foscari," by Gentile Bellini; Doge Mocenigo," by Giov. Bellini; "The Salutation," by V. Carpaccio. Right, Pal. Labia. We now reach the iron bridge, completed in 1858, and the RAILWAY STATION.

The ARSENAL.-A small canal leading out of the Lagune about half-way between the Piazzetta and the Public Gardens leads in a few minutes to the Arsenal. It was begun in 1300 and is nearly two miles in circuit. In the time of the Republic 16,000 workmen were employed in it. It is now nearly abandoned for its original purpose, but a movement is on foot to re-establish it as one of the great arsenals of the Italian Government. It is open every day except Sunday and festivals from 9 to 3. At the outer entrance are the four antique lions, brought here in 1687 from the Piraeus.

"The lion in a sitting posture and

ten feet in height, stood on the inner shore of the Piraeus harbour, which it seemed to guard. From that statue, the harbour itself derived the name of Porto Leone, which it bore among the Franks, all through the Middle Ages, and down to our times. As such is it mentioned by Lord Byron in "the

Giaour."

"The second statue, also of Pentelic marble, was nearly equal to the first in point of art, but far less good in point of preservation. The travellers of 1675 saw it on its original base, a little outside the city, near the ancient Sacred Way. The animal is represented as couching and at rest; and Spon says that he felt inclined to address it in the following words: Sleep on, Lion of Athens, since the Lion of the Harbour watches for thee.'

"Close observers must from the first have noticed with surprise, that the statue of the sitting lion bore around each of its shoulders, and in serpentine folds, the remains of barbaric inscriptions. These strange characters were after a time recognised as Norwegian Runes. Their interpretation is due to Mr Rafnr, an antiquary of Copenhagen. 1f reduced to straight lines, the inscription on the lion's left shoulder is as foliows:

"Hakon combined with Ulf, with Asmund, and with Orn, conquered this port (the Piraeus). These men and Harold the Tall imposed large fines on account of the revolt of the Greek people. Dalk has been detained in distant lands. Egil was waging war, together with Ragnar, in Rou

mania and Armenia.'

"We will now give the inscription from the right shoulder of the lion:"Asmund engraved these Runestin combination with Asgier, Thorlief, Thord, and Ivar, by desire of Harold the Tall, although the Greeks on reflection opposed it." - Quarterly Review.

The interior contains an interesting collection of weapons and curiosities, among them in the LOWER HALL, Model of a Venetian house showing the piles on which it is built; Mast of the “Bucentaur, Model of the Bucentaur," from which annually, on Ascension Day, the Doge "wedded the Adriatic"

by throwing a ring into the sea beyond the Lido. In the UPPER HALL, Banners taken at the battle of Lepanto; Armour of Sebastiano Venier, the hero of Lepanto; Armour given to Henry IV. of France by the Republic in 1603; Sword of the Doge Pesaro; Armour used in torture; Doge's chair, used when he visited the arsenal; Revolvers and breechloaders of the 16th century. The attendants in each of the halls expect small fees.

THE BUCENTAUR was used in the ceremony of wedding the Adriatic, which was enjoined by the gratitude of Alexander III. after the victory of the Venetians under Doge Sebastiano Ziani over the fleet of Frederick Barbarossa, and which thenceforth annually proclaimed the naval supremacy of Venice to the world. This was attended by the Papal Nuncio and the whole of the diplomatic corps, who, without protest, every year witnessed the dropping of a sanctified ring into the sea with the prescriptive commandment : Despousamus te, mare, in signum veri perpetuique dominii (We espouse thee, sea, in sign of true and lasting dominion.)

The PUBLIC GARDENS were laid out in 1807 by Napoleon I., several monasteries having been demolished. They are planted with sycamores and acacías, and there is a small café. They are but little visited, except on Sundays, when they are much frequented by the lower classes.

The LIDO may be visited in one of the small steamers which leave several times a day from the Riva degli Schiavoni, near the Doge's Palace, making the journey in 12 minutes; a gondola takes half an hour. It is a walk of five minutes from the landing at the Lido across the narrow strip of land to the shore of the Adriatic, where there are extensive baths, restaurants, &c.

An interesting trip is that to MURANO, celebrated for its manu

facture of "Venetian glass." Permits are issued by the Venice and Murano Co., Grand Canal, to visit its glass works at Murano. The trip there and back by gondola occupies about three hours. The Cathedral has a splendid interior, being rich in mosaics and marbles.

The theatre Della Fenice, is the largest in Venice, and is capable of accommodating 3,000 persons. There are five other theatres in the city.

ancient re

HISTORY.-The public of Venice was founded when the Visi-Goths and Huns under Attila, in 452, and the Longobards, in 568, invaded the Roman empire, and particularly the upper part of Italy, which, even in the time of the Romans, was called Venetia. Many of the ancient inhabitants of this district retired to the islands in the lagoons of the Adriatic, especially that of Rialto, where they founded a small democratic republic, governed by ten tribunes. In 697, they elected their first doge (dux) Paolucci Anafesto. To the doge was entrusted the executive power; the people retained the legislative power in their own hands; the juridical authority was reposed in the tribunes and nobility. The first seat of the government was Traclea. It was afterwards removed to Malamocco; and in 737, to Rialto, where a populous city quickly rose out of the sea, and became the far-famed Venice. Great commercial privileges were granted to the young republic by Rome and Constantinople; and her wealthy sons, no longer satisfied with the possession of the islands of the lagoons, extended their conquest into Italy and Dalmatia. In the wars with the Arabs in the ninth century, the Venetians became expert sailors. In 997, the towns of Dalmatia

But the aristocracy had begun to encroach upon the rights of the people, and the Doge to extend his power; and several revolts took place.

In 1172 the Doge, Vitali Michieli, was assassinated, and the constitution modified; the arbitrary power of the Doge was now limited, and the supreme power given to a numerous assembly of the nobility. The commercial power of the republic reached its greatest height under the Doge Enrico Dandolo, who, in the crusade of 1202, undertaken by the Venetians and French, conquered Constantinople at the head of the Venetian fleet, and secured the possession of Candia, and several islands of the Archipelago and the Ionian Sea. After the re-establishment of the Byzantine Empire in 1261, the commercial road to India was transferred from Constantinople to Alexandria, and the Genoese gained great advantages over the Venetians. Still more important in its consequences was the decisive revolution by which the Doge, Gradeniego in 1279, consolidated an hereditary aristocracy, admitting only a fixed number of noble families to a share in the government. It was at this period that the horrible council of "The Ten," as it was called, was established. In spite, however, of the abuses and tyrannies of a haughty and all-power

ful aristocracy, the possessions of Venice on the continent were gradually enlarged, and her rival, Genoa, was humbled, after a struggle of 130 years for the supremacy in Lombardy. Vicenza, Verona, Bassano, Feltre, Belluno, and Padua, in 1402, Fruili in 1421, Brescia, Bergamo, and Cremona in 1428, and the islands of Zante and Cephalonia in 1483, were incorporated with the Venetian territory, and in 1486, after the death of Jacob, the last King of Cyprus, his wife Catherine Cornaro, a Venetian lady, ceded this beautiful country to the Republic.

The power of Venice had now reached its acme; henceforward it began to decline. The Portuguese, in 1498, discovered the way by sea to the East Indies, and the Venetians lost their commerce with that country by Alexandria. The Osmanli, who had become masters of Constantinople, gradually wrested from the Venetians all their possessions in the Archipelago, and in the Morea, and also Albania and Negroponte; and though the danger threatened the Republic by the league of Cambray, in 1508, was averted by skilful negotiations, its power had been greatly crippled by that war. The Osmanli took Cyprus in 1571, and Candia in 1669. The Morea was reconquered in 1687, but was again given up at the peace of Passarowitz in 1713; the Republic, however, preserved Corfu and Dalmatia.

From this period Venice ceased to take any part in the great affairs of Europe. By the peace of Campo-Formio, the whole territory on one side of the Adige, with Dalmatia and Cattaro, was given to Austria; that on the other side was incorporated with the Cisalpine Republic, which, in 1805, obtained also Austrian

Venice and Dalmatia, but without the Ionian Islands. In 1814, Venice and its territories were joined to the Lombard-Venetian Kingdom, of which they continued to form a part until 1866, when, in consequence of the misfortunes of Austria in her wars with Prussia and Italy, the city and province were ceded to Napoleon III., under whose auspices they were united to the Kingdom of Italy by a plebiscitum.

ROUTE 171.

MILAN TO THE LAGO MAGGIORE, BY VARESE.

HE route from Milan to Como, thence up the Lake of Como to Menaggio, and thence to Lugano (the latter in the inverse order), has already been described at page 451. By the routes already mentioned, Lago Maggiore may be reached by continuing on from Lugano to Ponte Tresa, and thence by omnibus to Luino on the Lago Maggiore, or from Lugano by steamer to Porto, thence by carriage to Varese, which latter place is only 12 miles from Laveno on Lago Maggiore.

VARESE may be reached directly from Milan by railway in 2 hours. Fares: first, 6.80 francs; second, 4.80 francs. The route from Milan, as far as Gallarate, is described in Route 166, in the inverse order. Passing Gallarate, we soon reach the terminus of the line at VARESE. (Hotel: GRAND HOTEL VARESE.) The city of Varese is a prosperous place, of about 15,000 inhabitants, but the