The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1889-01-07
UPON TIE RIVIERA.
PLEASANT PLACES ON THE SHORE
OF THE GULF or GENOA.

Italian Resorts Where All Travellers 60.
Differences OF opinion on the Old
Towns OF Interest to Readers and
Writers-Thrce winter Capitals.
The eastern shore Of the Gulf Of Genoa
tho Riviera III Levante-dilTcrs from the
Riviera di Ponente, which vas described ,n
my last letter, Ia being very much dampcr
Tie chief wind Is from tho west, which
coming over tne sea, nearly always brings
rain But. as the climate is fully as warm
rs at San Reno or Nice, the dampness adds
20 the beauty Of tho vegetation, there Is
plenty Of grass even in summer, and the
number OF dlciiuOus trees is much greater
When tho leaves are fallen these trees are
hardly noticed ia winter. but ia summer
their fresh green lends great charm 70 the
scmi-tropical aspect Of the palms, the lemons
and the olives. The nearncss Of the high
mountains 10 the coast, tho abrupt changes
of strata, the frequent precipitious rocks
and the pine groves which often come down
10 the edge Of the sea, give a different char
actcr 10 the scenery.
The only two places in this region which
are as yet thoroughly desirable are Sta
Margherita and Rapallo, in the latter OF
which there is an excellent good hotel ana an
English church. But as they are only about
a milo apart the conycnienccs OF one can be
oBioyed at the other There are an unusual
number OF beautiful walks and very good
carriage roads leading 70 various points M
me Interior The bay is SO protected by the
prom0utory of Porto Elmo that boating Is
nearly always possible aud pleasant There
are villas 10 be had at both places and on the
road between; but the resident foreign
colony is not yet large
Speza is still irequeuted in summer By
Italians for bathing, but its attractiyeness
20 foreigners has diminished since II has be-
come great Italian naval station, and It's
lovely hills have been covered with huge
Notifications.
TUE BROwNINGs' OPINION or PISA.
Pisa ia the remaining warm town Of North
ern ltaly IFS climate is SO much miiier
than that Of Florence that in the last cen
fury mvalids often passed tho winter there
and S. was a great place OF resort. The
court Of Tuscany, as Horace Mann tells us,
used o. como for month or two, and Sm0l
lett spent there the year before his death,
finishing bis best and most amiauie novel,
Humphrey Ciiukcrr In the early part OF
the century too, it had a large English
colony, in addition % Shelley, Lander,
Byron and Lady Bicssington, but 40 present
the English colony has 50 fallen OF that The
church. which is transferred Tor the summer
70 the Baths Of Lucca, has but q scanty con
gra-atOn The hotels are Of the very best
Iogh0m and VraIeggio are a short distance:
OF m one direction; Lucca, with its OLD
walls, now used as promenades, It's churches
and its pictures, close by, and Florence, but
two hours distant by express train, - thati
is leriectly easy 20 pass day there wheu
desirable.
When the Browning. spent the winter
there ~ 1917 they found 10 duh, but they
/ bad brought no English bo9ss with them,
apparently received no newspapers; the
church library was soon exhausted, and com
muuicatous wers not Sufficiently rapid 20
allow O subscription 20 Nieuss.clx's crculat
ing library at Florence. Since thea every
one else has voted Pisa dull although per
s0naiiy ! was not impressed by this 10 tLe
month that spent there Even the hotel
was entertaining; for except Oursalye7 no
one ever remained more than two days end
rarely moro than ones and, as in "a kaleid1
scope tlc changes were amusing and often
agreeable
There are really only three winter capitals
f in lnly-F0rence, Rome aud Naples Turin,
Milan aud Bologna are 100 cold and too
snowhound 60 attract sojouruers. Yet Turin
, has a charming society and brilliant court
+ iife, and il is tho onlypiace, outside OF Rome,
where, in Difference 10 family traditions, tne
f old court is maintained For those who can
I stand the cold 10 would be q good place Tor
au entorDrisiug mother 10 Introduce her
/ daughters into high society and perhaps mako
/ brilliant marriages for them IN Milan and
/ Bologna one has the best operas, the best
+ ballots and the best concerts ia Italy. AT
/ Venice, although 10 rarely freezes, 10 Is very
damp. and this dampnes5 Is sometimes Sd
COLI that one wonders why the canals are
not "a solid block of ice Add 20 that that
/ tue hou es and hotels have very large rooms
and small facilities for heating them.
FLORENCE, THE "wISIER CITY"
Florence is the literary aud artistic center,
and. according 10 Ouida, IS pre-emiucntiy tie
+ winter city, IT, galleries are througeI uy
/ those who delight n the infancy Of art, which
IS often 30 near akin 20 the art OF infancy
When one looks al the number OF tall, angu
f lar English Old maids, IN various positions of
rapture. one sometimes thinks that their adj
mlratiou for B0tticelli and Masaccio comes
from a vague idea that these artists have cu
deayored 10 idohze their own charms. There
too, one finds the latest productions OF mod
ern art, whether they 10 the water cOl0rs Of
/ Newman-sOme Of Tuscan country and OF
Iucca architecture, others such vivid rem
behring's OF the heat aud glare along the Nile
that one wishes never to go 10 Egypt again
or whether they be the last statues Of Italian
or American sculptors-ono SO perfect IN its
uaturalism, DO its details OF stuiis and clothes
that the artistic feeling is smothered' the
/ other snch "a clever production Roy skilled
Italian hands Of coarse ideal that one Won
ders that the So c,1ie4 sculptor ever dared to
put his hand 70 the clay model, Tor he rarely
does more.
For person OF literary tastes Florence has
. many attractions and advantages. Besides
tho archives, which are easily accessible,
there are several large public Libraries, the
best in Italy; aud the service OF the national
libraries las been 50 regulated and improved
/ that ON u simple request rare book or man
uscrpt will be brought II Jm the library Of
distant city and placed at the disposal Of tie
reader. In this way at Florence ono has tie
command Of tie national Libraries of the
kingdom with their treasures. Thou there is
the circulating library Of Nieussieux, By far
the best lending library out of England, with
its thousands OF books IN all languages, SIS
excellent reading rooms, where tno news
papers aud magazines Of every country may
be found, and It's Well known corner for the
chess players OF course there arc excellent
modern book shops, as well as ctaers large
and small, where old books and engravinss
may be bargained for. Indeed, book col
lector can have great fun Ia Italy, although
more a. Rome than Florence, as libraries OF
dead cardinals OF Of bankrupt princes coca
sionaly come into the market-Cor Fhlla-
dephia Times.
Educational.