New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1894-08-19
THE ROMAN SUMMER.
a DEFENCE OF THE ANCIENT CITY.
ENLIGHTENED CARE OF THE STREETS WHAT
BRINGS on ROMAN FEVER THE REC
LAMATToN OF THE CAMPAGNA-A
WONDERFUL WATER SUPPLY
Rome. July %.

Rome. July 25
The prevalent superstition as 10 Roman
| weather in midsummer hurts those who hold II
| as we'll as Rome. On the Fourth OF July there
were said TO be just 40 Americans In Rome There
| would probably have been one thousand and ten
| or thrice that number, II the most erroneous and
| absurd IDEAS had not long been established IN
regard 10 the "unhealthiness' Of the city at this
time Guide books and timid people unite in
pronouncng the climate of Rome dangerous In
midsummer. As matter Of fact, the city Is then
one Of the healthest and most comfortable in
Europe. People have died here. OF course, in the
summer; and they have died OF fever to which
the prefix Of Roman" has been heedlessy given,
but people have died Of exactly the same disease,
typhus. in American cities in the same months
and no one has ascribed II to permanent local
causes
Thirty years ago the popular terror Of the city
was Justified. Then the great marshy tracts sur
rounding the city had no; been reclaimed for
purposes Of agriculture. The water supply was
poor. and much Of 1t was deleteriously affected
by an imperfect system Of piping The drainage
Of the city Is said 10 have been little short Of
Infamous. and people who have survived that
period express their wonder that they have done
So The domestic habits Of the population were.
on the whole filthy. and were but slightly mod-
He'd by municipal regulations. Every reader Of
en1essohn's familiar letters from Rome will
recall his despalrng accounts Of what II meant TO
go abroad through the streets In his time. An
old resident here told the other day that
under Pic Mono II impossible TO walk on the
narrow sidewalks for fear Of being covered with
the refuse that was continually being thrown
from the upper windows Of the houses. The
roadways were vIllanously paved. and pedestrians
noundered through mud AMI even more offensive
matter year after year. hoping in vain for some
respite from the dirt and smells Of the city. Is
1t any wonder that people fell III and died? Is 1t
surprising that malaria and typhus stalked ram
pant? Rome justly acquired FOR herself one OF
the most evil regulations % the Continent, But
the respite came Rome underwent. at last. a
drastic change. Not 50 the superstition concern
Ing her unhcalthIness. II has stood firm as a
rock: and at this moment in n city where there
are sometimes some thousands OF English and
American residents and travellers. the Anglo
Saxon type Is almost unknown. To discuss the
situation lightly. making careless assertions that
might have a serious consequence. would be acu-
ally mischievous. and I have taken great pains
TO obtain the fullest authority for the statement
that Rome Is. as have said. one OF the health
Test and most comfortable summer cities I'm Eu-
rope. 7 have talked with people who have lived
here fox years. Americans. Italians, Spanards.
English and French. The conclusion Is unani
nous. Rome they insist. Is the most mallgned
OF cities Personal observation has more than
corrobora'el this. An exploration OF Rome from
one point 81 the compass 10 the other. through
ont the strangers quarters and the districts In
habltci By the natives alone. has discovered that
the city IS. q begin with swept and garnishe1
more perfectly than any other capital In Europe.
This sounds exaggerated perhaps II Is. neverthe-
| less. true. have seen Paris on n great Jour
| De fite." when the boulevards were swept and
cleared for dancing and they have been no
| cleaner than the streets Of Rome are everywhere
| on every day Of the week Men patrol the city
all day long and the fragments that from time q
time Hitter the streets disappear as quickly as II by
| magic. The great thoroughfares. the Corso. the
| Via Macdonald. the Corso Vittoro Emmanuel.
and all the large squares like the Piazza Colonna
and the Piazza del Popolo: these. which are as
| clean as wax. no cleaner than the thousands
| Of little streets adjacent. II you ind dust or
| refuse anywhere you see at once that 1t has but
recently appeared. There never any accumu-
| lations. never any little heaps OF stale rubbish.
The fine paving Of the highway Is kept in fault
| less repair ana there IL never hole in which
waits and s,rays might settle. The soft breeze
|
| slant aiChSf the street cleaner.
| This breeze. by-,he-way. brings up one OF the
| important questions Of the Roman summer. Il 1t
| healthy or not Does II come laden with the
sweet breath Of the country. with the salt tonic
| Of the sea (Which IL only twelve miles dstanU.
or Is Il charged with the poisonous vapors OF
| the Campagna? This last Interrogation Is an
swered ~ the fact that the Campagna has no
| poisonous vapors with which 10 burden the wind.
| For some years past II has been subjected 10
| the most careful supervision on the part OF the
| Government and the landowners. Farms are
| scattered all the vast plain. and 10 travel
through the fertile pastures. gay with the brill
fancy Of countless peoples. Is to realize once for
all how ridiculous IL the talk about the dangers
| Of the Campagna." The air there II clear and
| drv The vegetation shows no sign Of the weedy,
dark growth which nourIshes so luxuriantly In
the Campagna Of the travellers Imagination, es-
pecially the Imagination Of the traveller who has
never visited Rome In summer. What that trav-
| eller misses Is difficult TO describe. IL may be
said boldly that there IL nothing oveer In all
| Europe than the Campagna In summer. 1t Is
| exquisite In the spring. when the sunshine Is less
| fierce and when the greens Of the province are
| Young and fresh But the excessive heat Of sum-
mer Is itself n reinforcement in the beauty or the
| plain II drenches the horizon in purple mist SO
| delicate and soft that II seems to CULVER Ike
| some dlarhanous veil stirred by faint breezes 1t
| makes the poppes blaze their brightest II leaves
| the entire magnificent panorama Of waving green
and crimson. OF russell yellows and deep blues
shot with Infinite streaks OF golden light more
vivid than flame. over all. the dome OF 81
Peters floats like a mirage and sets ones mag
ination working through inspiring channels
Whether you stand In the centre OF the cam
| pagna knee deep In the dry grasses; whether
YOU survey II from the shaded alleys OF the villa
| D'Este at Tivoli. gaze free OF all distractions
on the highest level OF ancient Tusculum. ABOVE
Frascati. the vision Of majestic BREADTH with the
Roman church crownng the whole II one Oh the
| n,out ravishinR and unfOrgettable sights In the