The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1886-07-15
AROUND PERUGIA.
A HiIly Country. Honeycombed with
Etruscan Burial vaults.


The old town of Perugia is well worth
visiting on many accounts, writes cor
respondent of the journal OF Commerce.
Travelling by rail from Rome to Florence.
one sees large clusters OF houses perched
high on the hillside They are crowned
with campaniles and domes. surrounded
by high walls. and provoke ones curiosi
" to make their closer acquaintance. But
on consulting his guide-book the tourist
finds that these elevated settlements
contain few objects of interest. better
examples of which can pe found else
where. He also learns. which is as much
TO the purpose, that they have no good
hotels. Now, Perugia is very old, very
quaint. full OF venerable historical as
sociations, a center of Etruscan tombs
and other antiquities, 1,700 feet above
the sea, and has tirst-class hotel. This
modern structure occupies the highest
ground of the town, and commands a
magnificent view of the Umbrian valley.
East, south, and west | survey all the
details of a landscape of variety and
beauty unsurpassed. 1t is intersected
by the TIber and some smaller rivers.
which fash in the morning sun. Many
villages are visible as brown patches,
among them Assist, famous as the
birthplace of ST. Francis Mountains
bound the view on all sides. Some of
them are still tipped with snow, and
their SUBMITS would easily be mistaken
for clouds, if the latter were not scurry-
ing past in the south wind. This wind
will soon melt the snow, and is already
making Perugia uncomfortable. As |
write haze is beginning to blot out
the more distant villages. A heated
term is threatening. But Americans
are not to be frightened by that. Only
! wish the roads were not so white and
dusty.
This country is vast cemetery. No
one can say how many races were buried
here before the Etruscans passed away
in their turn and left the ground honey
combed with their tombs. When one
sinks we'll or digs cellar for a house
he is apt to strike his spade against a
rock, which gives back a hollow sound.
1t is the roof of an Euuscan burial vault.
From this subterranean chamber the air
has been excluded for more than two
thousand years. | am told that strange
things are sometimes seen in these tombs
at the moment when they are opened,
and then vanish forever. They say that
glimpses are caught of old Etruscan lords
and ladies sitting at banquets, and that
these disappear the instant the outer air
touches them. When the finder proceeds
to open and examine the tomb he dis
covers nothing but a heap of dust in
place of the vision that had startled him.
These are obviously fables, for the most
part. Though | believe that it is true
that an Etruscan knight in full armor
collapsed to dusty nothingnesS in pre-
cisely this way when his tomb was in
vaded few years ago. We have been
to see the sepulcher of the Voumnli,
about five miles below Perugia and found
it and its contents very strange and in
teresting. 1t is supposed to date back
to the third century, B. c. A descent
of some thirty steps leads down 10 it from
the roadside First, a chamber about
twenty-five feet square is entered, and
from this smaller apartments branch to
right and left. The sepulcher is hewn
out of the tufa rock. 1t is very damp
and cold. Heads of Medusa, dolphins,
and serpents are carved with much skill
on the top and sides of this tomb. All
dtOulu SiGltl Sllldil SlOllt uIuS. each one
bearing in alto reIicUO the representa-
ton of fight. One man is always kill
ing another unless the scene is varied
by the sacrifice of bound and helpless
woman or child on an altar. The covers
of these urnS are higher works of art.
They are surmounted with recumbent
figures of the men and woman. These
are dressed in the costume of their age
and sex, and each has in his or her hand
bowl for tears Lifting off cover
find inside the urn about a hat full of
ashes. | run my fingers through this
mass and feel fragments of burnt bones.
But am rudely stirring up all that re-
mains of some gallant warrior or some
naughty beauty, and | withdraw my
hand with q sense of remorsc. A great
many personal ornaments of exceeding
richness and grace have been taken
from these receptacles, and are separate
ly exhibited by the custodian. But if
one wishes to realize the full extent of
the arts and sciences familiar to the old
ETuscans he should inspect the splendid
collection in the university museum at
Perugia.