The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-08-01
yALLOMBROSA FOREST.
The Spot Made Famous by Milton,
Where the italian forestry School Is
TFrom the Forester.l

F MS profession. ne VIII ma Something II
interest. All admire the beautiful views
and the forests and enjoy the fresh, dust
free mountain air and pure spring wa
ter, far above the bells and yells and
smells of Italian cities
The word Vallou1brosa itself means
I shady valley Thick as autumnal
/ leaves that strew the brooks in Vallom-
brOsa, where the Etrurian shades nigh
overarched embower," says Milton, who
visited this lovely spot before he lost
his sight.
Such a place in Italy. where the for
ests have been recklessly wasted. where
almost every tree is Topped and pollard
ed. and where the mountains are bare.
the streams dry at times. at others rush
ing, raging torrents is certainly re-
I freshing.
! Vallombrosa was formerly one Of the
richest and most famous of the monas-
teries Of Europe, and Is now Of special
interest to fOresrers because the only
forestry school in Italy is located there.
1t may be easily visited from Florence.
At s. Ellero. a short distance up the
Arn0 on the main line to Rome the
traveller must change cars. High on the
mountain top in the distance ValIoEn-
brOSa is partly visible, as a mass Of
dark green foliage surrounded by bare
mountain sides. The little train, con-
sisring ef one car and a small locomo-
tive, ascends by means OF a cog-wheeI
working IN a tootned middle rail The
engine was built in Philadelphia and the
car in Belgium, although the latter was
finished in American pine.
kept olive groves and vineyards the
scenery being very beautiful. The fruit
trees were in full bloom (ApriI 81 and
the olives were a rich, SiIverv color
Women dressed in bright coIored cos
( tunes were working in the soil. the
men were looping the trees to which
the vines are tied with willow withes.
/ Others were blowing the rich, brown
earth with teams Of large pure white
oxen.
Trees in Italy are planted for vine
ali.
for fuel and the leaves are used for
/ fodder. The twigs take the place OF
twine. Italian, agriculture is partly
arboriculture- Almost every field yields
grapes. nuts, figs, olives, wood, fodder
and grain.
We passed through a copice of chest
nut and oak with large mother trees on
the steep mountainside. The ground
was carpeted with broom gorse and
many other wild flowers, among which
we could hear the busy honey bees
humming. The woods were fled with
song birds. something unusual for It
ally, where formerly birds of every kind
were captured for the pot in a whole
sale fashion, by means of ingenious
nets a few sheep were visible, ramb-
ing among the heritage Here and
there choppers were cutting the young
chestnut trees for vine props, stripping
OF the bark. dipping the ends in tar
and binding up the fagOts.
In season many peasants are occu-
pied in picking the wild Strawberries
and raspberries and gathering rnush-
rooms A large income is Welded by
the chestnuts, from the -four of which
the bread of the peasants is made.
In the course of an hour the train
reaches SaltinO, the terminus Below
one stretching for miles, IS the we'll
titled valley of the ArnO. all about one
the bare mountain tops Of the Apen-
mines, and plainly in the distance the
famous city of Florence, with its ex-
tensive gardens and treasures of art
About half q mile from the station Of
Saltin0 the beautiful silver fir forests
Of VaIIombrosa begin. The trees are
large, with tall, straight boles and
dense, lark green canopy. The air Is
fragrant with the orange perfume ex-
hailed by the leaves in the sunshine.
/ One could easily imagine himself in the
midst OF the Black Forest at Herren-
/ Wies or St. Blasien.
/ The trees are in lines, betraying the
/ fact that they had been planted In
truth the whole Of the forests of Val
| I0mbrosa were planted by the patient
| and Industrious Benedictine monks.
/ who were arduous agriculturists and
/ f0resters during the Dark Ages. It is
l TO them in fact that civilization owes
much. and il was often with much in
! justice that their properties were con
6scated and their treasures of art and
science injured or destroyed. Some
beautiful stems. fit for the masts of
ships, were piled by the Wayside- They
seemed almost out of place in a land
where tWtgS and fuel are often sold by
weight and where a decent IRE is the
greatest of all Iuxuries.
Soon one reaches an open meadow,
surrounded on all but one of its sides
by the amphitheater of green, forest
clad hills It was here, in about the
year 1015. that San Giovanni Gualbert0
/ founded the famous monastery of Val
l0mbrOsa, under peculiar circumstances
too lengthy TO describe.
Above the silver FIR on the mountain
side fine forest Of old beech is visible.
| The silver fir being more hardy. is US
3 raIT a In II
hardness there comes first the spruce,
then the silver fir. then the red beech
and then the chestnut The monks, no
doubt had some special purpose IN
| placing the beech above the fir They
! raised many pigs which led upon the
mast.
IN front of the thick walled monastery
! is the AIbergO della E'OreStd. which IS
large and comfortable. Nearby there is
an old sawrniu and ponds built by the
] monks for the collection Of ice The
| water here is excellent, coming from a
famous spring which was long supposed
10 have great curative properties. Sew
! eral students dressed in uniform were
| working in the nurseries. They are
4 called to their work by bugle blasts
We presented our cards and were
most cordially received by the director,
/ Comm T. Picioli, and his accomplished
7 daughter. both of whom speak German
( and French. Director PicciOi was sent
4 by his government to France to study
/ the reforestation Of mountains, and his
I
/ Eseguiti in F'rancia." appeared in 1887.
We were shown the museum, the IL
/ brary, the dormitory, the queer old
/ kitchen and the refectOry, with many
/ portraits on the walls, including one of
/ GuaIberto the founder OF the nonas-
/ terry The institution has eight profess
/ sors and about thirty-ave students.
/ These students are of two clasSes-rhoSe
4 who expect government work and those
I who do not. The italian government
/ possesses only about 80, 900 hectares of
H..
/ needed is not large and their pay is
small. The students have four months