CATANIA-PRINCE BISCARI'S MUSEUM-CATHEDRAL-GREEK THEATRE-SUBTERRANEAN AMPHITHEATRE-ANCIENT BATHS, ETC. "I stood within the city disinterred, And heard the autumnal leaves like light footfalls CATANIA, it is said, was anciently called Catætna, or the town of Etna, and is reported by the early historians to have been founded by the Cyclops, who were the fabled inhabitants of the mountain. Others inform us that it was founded by a colony from Chalcis, 753 years before Christ. Had I not been better instructed, I should have concluded that it derived its name from the numberless cats that nightly perambulate the walls and terraces of this extensive city. It was moonlight, and the pale beams shone into my open window as I awoke from my sound and refreshing sleep, serenaded by the most dismal and hideous caterwaulings imaginable. I lay still, hoping it might cease, but the chorus grew louder; and, as it showed no signs of abatement, I jumped up, and going out into the balcony, sent the whole multitude of tabbies, toms, tortoiseshells, and grimalkins, scampering over the roof tops, by a volley of such small missiles as my bedroom afforded. Away they went, and the distant crash of falling tiles, and the faint echo of renewed music elsewhere, gave me the cheering assurance of their departure from the chosen spot beneath my window. I arose early on the following morning, and sallied out along the Strada del Corso, the principal street to the north-east of the city, towards Giarra, for the purpose of making a sketch of Mount Etna, which I took from the open square that terminates the street. The lava is again visible here descending abruptly to the sea, and the view of the distant mountain, and the belted zones of vegetation that clothe its base, form a charming and magnificent feature in the landscape. I returned to the hotel, where I made a hasty breakfast, and after purchasing some specimens of amber and lava from the artisans, who found their way into my bedroom uninvited, and who most politely entertained me during my meal with a sight of their ingenious trinkets, I engaged a guide, and started at once for Prince Biscari's museum, which I understood contained many objects worthy of notice. The collection was formed by the Principi Ignazio Biscari, an enlightened and patriotic nobleman, who took great interest in the welfare and antiquities of his country. In the entrance court is a fine column of the Greek theatre, and an ancient obelisk of granite, somewhat similar to that upon the elephant in the Piazza del Duomo-sarcophagi of lava-a vase ornamented with bassi relievi, also of lava, and an immense pair of antique jars of coarse Sicilian pottery. Under the middle entrance is a statue of Biscari himself, and several other Sicilian worthies. One of them representing a doctor, whose face is dreadfully distorted by having received a kick from a mule, is very ludicrous, but uncommonly well managed. Among the collection of antiques in the long gallery, are two Bacchi, a beautiful sleeping female in variegated marble, portions of the tesselated pavements found in the ancient baths, tables inlaid with Sicilian and African marble, three sarcophagi of terra cotta, and a basso relievo of St. Nicholas, modelled in clay, from Caltagirone, a market town in the interior, long and justly celebrated for its manufactory of figures in terra cotta. A large collection of Roman penates, a curious harlequin with moving limbs; also a fine fragment of the head of Medusa, and upwards of 400 Græco-Sicilian vases, some of them of vast size, and all beautifully shaped, and tastefully painted and decorated. One of them in particular is very highly prized for having a white ground, a circumstance which is seldom met with amongst these antique vases. In the other apartments there is a good collection of lavas from Etna and Lipari, a number of shells and corals from the Mediterranean; a great variety of lavas and marbles finely inlaid in birds, flowers, &c.; a large piece of variegated brown and green wood opal from Palermo; impressions of leaves in sulphur, from the crater of Etna, and a collection of calculi from Trapani. In one case there is a most remarkable variety of lusus naturæ, some of which I noted down. There is a calf with one eye, (probably an Etnean Cyclops!) and an enormous tongue; calves with two heads; an exact mermaid, and a variety of children whose monstrous and unnatural appearances are not to be described. Returning by another gallery of antiques I was principally struck with the following articles of curiosity. A marble bust of Scipio Africanus, and another of Seneca; a beautiful cupid; a Venus similar to the one at Syracuse, but having a head; another fine Venus; some beautiful busts, with drapery of coloured marble; an infant lying on a cushion of lava! (modern ;) a collection of very old drawings, and a basso relievo of the battle of Constantine, A. D. 312. There is also a room filled with curious bronzes, and a philosophical cabinet which contains two exquisite ancient lachrymatories of iridescent coloured glass. I was much disappointed in not being able to see the coins, of which there is a very valuable collection. The entire museum indicates |