New-York tribune., 1903-04-29
TELLS OF SCENERY OF SICILY.
Charles Stewart Smith Writes of Palermo
Messina and Other Cities.

,rce has received the following letter from Flor
ence, dated April TO- from Charles Stewart snii'h'
an part of the edgGa54h ad 4Re of aoR aR
Te1d German writer says 'It is impossible 10
a8d FGa hsteFy Goethe Sth8r6 wrote
"Siciy is the key to all, and Goethe s'uuieu ~
seily I'll that fearl of the Medterraneap until
recently vas known to the ave1aee Volcanoes
and b-igands thought to be safe 10 't9ie the
Palermo and Messna, but to penetrate into d the
interior was believed to be foolhardy and dangefi
To-day it is as safe as to Visit NiasTI TitfIe has
berP pbhed 1e in English regarding scan epoch,
tme whose name is revered in Italy warmly as
Lincons is with us An old Scilian VINO serbie
bourbon dynasty. said with great emphasis that tnat
ns0n az and M fona Ref eVe Tag lived
Palermo has been named after L19Go aH s m onn oiie
sn is in in 9 fhG fit5e doks fTom
the Jancuium upon the dome Of st. Peters, at
Rome and dominates that part Of the fl1y boanicans
legends Of Greece and Rome. 1t has been the key
TO- the Medfterranean All the powerful nations Of
antiquity contiguous to this sea have contendeo toa
bafegTonnd bat of the csrthagnians Greeks Roi
Bourbons. ana is now thanks ;,aTbald part
Of united Italy All these races, chiefly the Greek
the ' manners customs and habits Of ne sicans
The The people o sem rsnf9 9Te life fk9 NAV be Seen
Geographically, this small island has no suPeaod5 d
scenery. All the hiii-set cities and villages are
surrounded by olive trees, which climb the ROCKY
heights and seem have eternal life. The valleys
have numberiess orange and lemon groves, and
Towering shrubs and blossoms at this season are
Whenever one discovers the site of Greek tenn
most commanding hill in its vicinity and always
more 5ree tfpes either in good preseryaon
in commanding ruin, than in all Greece. her
marble, like those Of Athens which have resisted
the storms Of centuries but put are IN ra0S doSeTn SG
OF stucco. The old Gree- theatre of syracuse
oaf forty thousand spectators in the
open air. is sufficiently preserved to show what II
in the days of the power OF the old historic
The view from this imposing monument as we
sunset and looked out upon the sea and mountain
one OF the decisive battles of the world occurred
n e 6enSn Mh'fa eet @Re6 nTaGed Sicily
tally destroyed, with loss of 5000 10 10000 killed
viii Which % included Tt the flower of Athenian manhood
was worse than death as death came to them by
starvation and disease in its most hdeous form,
This battle caused the fall of Athenlan power, 70
march of Roman conquest. You may visit the
of & he e 9a in the barb0r a3d readily trace
the details Of the struggle. as described by The
go ,rTn +Iestre az Taormjns origineilv4 C,reel,
and transformed by the Romans after their occup97
ruins. and through its broken arches have fun
view of Etna's smoking crater towering up nearly
eleven thousand feet and seemingly near enough to
be reached by the shot OF a modern gun The the
tains of various heights are all around the e. old
SeaWard.
old ruined castles, converts and monas-
teries give variety to the enchanting view.
city Of Palermo The beauty Of its situation ana
its many attractions are well known It's principal
collection Of mosaic pictures by far the best in the
Church Of Martorana and the small Cappella
Palatine This chapel Guy de Maupassant truly
describes as the most beautiful in the world; .The
most surprising religious jewel ever dreamed Of by
artist" This wonderful and harmonious effect is
produced by the combination of mosaic pictures of
Tlliu
upper walls and ceiling, with beautifully simple
isted t-d4 since the Normans produced them in the
thirteenth century and are still in perfect preser
one to the conclusion that for the decoration of
in Hadrian's villa are as perfect as ever while
cred up in Pompeii have vanished. Ghirandajo
mosaic work recently completed in the crypt OF
St Lorenzo In Rome, where Plus * is buried.
duced to-day with great beauty.
M Sfy with Pang d Of Tegre5 Fe5 we Xsteq ed
Perugia, Assist Orvieto siena and San Guingrano
cathedrals. churches and monuments, as well as
pictures by the great masters of the Middle Ages.
the Valley Of the Tiber. which rolls on to Rome
IS most mos interesting and extensive PerGga the
past and the present, unite II , has new hotel hotel
car, solely for the service Of this hotel runs to
place of carriage drive Of three-quarters Of an
Five n minutes walk from the hotel brings you to
Che house where Pietro Vannucci known in the
art world Perugino. had painting school four
hundred years ago and two OF whose tluStrious
pupils were Raphael and Pnturicehio. Raphael,
although he died at tirtvseven years. became the
first painter OF ali the and Pinturicchio left
his name linked to immortality by his superb
frescos in the Piccolonini library Of Siena and
in the Borgia rooms at the Vatican In short
walk from Perugino's house may under
an arch the foundations Of which laid by
the EtruScans three hundred be-
fore Christ. and the upper parts OF which are Of
Roman construction. You may visit the little
rooms where four centuries ago the Chamber Of
Commerce of Perugia held its arbitration meet
fngs to decide questions III dispute among mer
by the great master Perugino. and his frescos
on it's walls still in good preservation The
wood carvings upon the seats and tables used by
these old merchants are among the finest in Italy
in perfect preservation.
Politically, these old Italians constantly
contending with their neiEhbors for
and the prominent families OF each city often
fighting another. and staining their streets
in his sketches OF Italy that the name Perugia
suggests 1.-The lions lair OF of the fero-
cious broods OF heroic rufiiars who drenched Um-
bria their blood the Bagione who furnished
the armies of Venice. Florence, Ma pies and the
Church" AT the same period Giotto. the friend
of Dante, and his successors creating, from
the thirteenth TO the sixteenth centuries, those
immortal works which the glory OF italy.
In San Guingrano one the council
where Dante made an address six hundred years
ago. and the seats and tables still used by the
city government The streets and houses.
Dante's time, and you may walk the
pavements and look at the walls, buildings
and towers which the "Divne Poet" saw when
exiled from his home in Florence.
on Palm Sunday attended high at the
old Church OF the Annuncata. in Florence, where
for i've hundred years the Florentines have said