Alessandro Ciminello and Cesare Car- | useful chalybeate, and the large quantity of carbonic acid gas which it contains (nearly 7 cubic inches in a pint) renders it a grateful stimulant." Its temperature is 68°. Artesian Wells. The inadequate supply of water, especially in the upper part of the town, induced the Munici mignano, at their own expense, in the beginning of the 17th cent. It commences near Sant' Agata de' Goti, and conveys the waters of the Isclero into the city by a circuit of about 30 m. It was so damaged by the earthquake of 1631, that it became necessary to seek a new supply at Maddaloni, whence the water is conveyed into the former chan-pal authorities some years ago to enter nel at Licignano. From its source to that place the channel is enclosed in masonry, and from Licignano to Naples it is subterranean. In 1770 a further supply was obtained by directing into the channel the surplus waters of the aqueduct at Caserta. Most of the city fountains and houses are supplied from this aqueduct. The Acqua della Bolla, derived from springs and an Artesian well on the declivity of Monte Somma, is brought into the city by a covered channel 5 m. long. It supplies the lower quarters of the city. The surplus waters of this aqueduct are discharged into the Sebeto. The water supplied by these aqueducts has often, at first, an unfavourable effect upon strangers. City Springs.-There are four in different quarters of the city: the Tre Cannoli in the street of the same name; the Acqua Aquilia in the Strada Conte Olivares; the Acqua Dolce at Santa Lucia; and the Acqua del Leone in the Mergellina. The latter is in great repute as the purest spring. Mineral Waters.-There are two mineral springs within the city, which have a local celebrity-the Acqua Solfurea, in the Strada S. Lucia, containing sulphuretted hydrogen and carbonic acid gas, at a temperature of 64° Fahr.; it is used extensively in eruptive diseases, and as a general alterative, and is said to be as efficacious as it is popular; and the Acqua Ferrata di Pizzofalcone, a chalybeate spring, situated in a cave near the sea, below the Quay on the Chiatamone. In the summer it is much used, and is carried to all parts of the city in earthen bottles. It is a very into a contract with the French engineer M. Degousse, for sinking two Artesian wells-one near the King's Palace, and the other on the Largo della Vittoria, near the Chiaia: the former, after many years' labour, and attaining the depth of 590 yards below the surface, and 486 yards below the level of the sea, has reached two abundant sources, which rise to within a few yards of the surface, producing a mass of water of 1296 tons daily, but of a quality which renders it unfit for domestic purposes, being a mineral water in the strictest sense, containing an immense volume of carbonic acid gas, and holding in solution a considerable quantity of supercarbonate of lime with a little magnesia and iron. To the geologist these borings will prove interesting. After traversing a considerable mass of volcanic tufa, the tertiary pleiocene strata were cut through, and the two springs in question appear to be entirely derived from them. The second boring, in the Largo della Vittoria, has reached a spring of purer water. More recently, two Artesian wells have been sunk to a depth of 73 yards at the foot of Poggio Reale and the Cemetery, and the water used for turning mills, and for irrigation. No city in Italy, in proportion to its population, is So ill supplied with water as Naples; several projects have been presented to remedy this evil, but none has been yet adopted. That which appears the most feasible, although it would necessitate a very large outlay, would be to re-establish the Julian aqueduct from Serino, 40 m. from Naples. Fountains. The principal fountains have been already described in the account of the Piazze (§ 11). Among the others may be mentioned the Fon tana del Gigante, at the E. extremity | bridges and staircases constructed, and of the Quay of Santa Lucia; the Fon- the necessary roughness of the work tana Coccovaia, by the same artist, in disguised by draperies, mirrors, and the Strada di Porto; the Fontana del lamps. The theatre, the extempore Sebeto, erected in 1590 from the de- passage, and the merit of Carasale signs of Carlo Fansaga, and deco- formed the general subject of converrated with statues of the recumbentsation. Ere long his accounts were Sebetus and Tritons; and the Fontana called for by the Camera della Somdel Ratto d'Europa, in the Villa Nazi-maria, and, not being able to satisfy the onale, the work of Angelo de Vivo in auditors, he was threatened with imthe last century. prisonment. The beauty of his work, the universal applause, the favour of his sovereign, the respectability of his past life, and his present poverty were of no avail to him. The inquiries of the Sommaria were renewed, and at last the unfortunate Carasale was imprisoned in There is no really good water at Naples, and it is as well to drink as little as possible. A contract has been entered into with an English company for bringing water to the city from a considerable distance; and, as the sur-the castle of St. Elmo, where, during vey has been completed and the works commenced, it is to be hoped that there will be no delay in carrying out a plan by which Naples will be supplied with plenty of good pure water. § 13. THEATRES. the first months, he lived on the support his family with extreme difficulty procured for him, and afterwards was obliged to subsist on prison fare. He lingered there for several years, till at length grief and want put an end to his miserable existence. His sons sunk into poverty and obscurity, and even the very name of the unfortunate architect The Teatro Reale di San Carlo, adjoin- would have been by this time long foring the royal palace, is celebrated gotten, did not the merit and beauty throughout Europe as one of the largest of his work perpetually recall him buildings dedicated to the Italian opera. to the memory of posterity. In the It owes its origin to Charles III., by last cent. this theatre resounded with whose order it was designed by the Sici- the melodious notes of Anfossi, Gulian Giovanni Medrano, and built in the glielmi, Pergolesi, Cimarosa, Paesiello, short space of eight months by the Nea- and other great masters of harmony, politan architect Angelo Carasale. It and in our days it has echoed the apwas first opened with great solemnity plause of an audience enchanted with on the 4th Nov. 1737. During the the melodies of Rossini, Bellini, Doniperformance the king sent for Carasale zetti, and Mercadante. The Donna del into his presence, and having publicly Lago, the Mosè, the Sonnambula, the praised him for his work, remarked Lucia, the Giuramento, &c., were first that, as the walls of the theatre were brought out on this stage. Having contiguous to those of the palace, it been accidentally burnt down in 1816, would have been convenient for the it was rebuilt in the space of seven royal family had the two buildings months by Niccolini; but the walls been connected by a covered passage; having remained uninjured, no altera"but," he added, "we will think of it." tion was made in the original form. On Carasale took the hint, and did not re-entering it for the first time, when it is main idle. No sooner was the evening's entertainment concluded than he appeared before the king, and requested him to return to the palace by an external communication opened in the course of three hours. In this short space of time walls of enormous thickness had been demolished, wooden lit up at night, the stranger cannot fail to be struck with its great size and the splendour of its general effect with its six tiers of boxes of 32 each. It has been closed for a time on account of the absence of a subsidy, but when open the prices usually are: Boxes, (loggie) 1st tier, 40 fr.; 2nd tier, 50 fr.; 3rd tier, 32 fr. Stalls (poltrone) 8 fr. Pit (platea), numbered seats, 4 fr. 50 c. The prices are doubled on state occasions. Opens at 7 to 8 o'clock. The Teatro del Fondo, sometimes called the Teatro Mercadante, built in 1778 in the Str. Molo, the second of the two royal theatres, is a miniature San Carlo, being under the same management, supplied by the same singers, dancers, and musicians, and likewise devoted to operas, ballets, and French dramas. Boxes, 15 and 20 fr.; stalls, 4 fr.; pit seats, 2 fr. The Teatro de' Fiorentini, for Italian farce and drama, in the street of the same name, is the oldest theatre in Naples, and is so called from the ch. in its vicinity. It was built in the time of the viceroy Oñate for the Spanish comedy. It afterwards became the theatre of the opera buffa. It is now chiefly devoted to the Italian drama, and is very popular. Boxes, 1st tier, 12 fr.; 2nd, 13 fr.; pit, 1 fr. 40 c. The Teatro Nuovo, in a small street of the same name, opening out of the Toledo, built in 1724 by Carasale, is chiefly devoted to Italian and Neapolitan burlesque. Boxes, 1st tier, 7 fr.; 2nd, 8.50; pit, 1 fr. The Teatro della Fenice, in the Piazza del Municipio, converted, in 1806, from a stable into a theatre, is devoted to opera buffa and melodrama. It has two performances daily. Boxes, 5 fr.; pit, 1 fr. The Teatro Partenope, in the Piazza Cavour, is one of the popular theatres in which broad comedy and farces are performed twice a day in the Neapolitan dialect. 66 | the Neapolitan dialect. The awkwardness which is the characteristic of a clown is combined in Pulcinella with a coarse but facetious humour, which popular licence has made the vehicle of satire. He is therefore in great request, and his performances take place twice a day, morning and evening. "What," says Forsyth, "is a drama in Naples without Punch, or what is Punch out of Naples? Here, in his native tongue, and among his own countrymen, Punch is a person of real power; he dresses up and retails all the drolleries of the day; he is the channel and sometimes the source of the passing opinions; he can inflict ridicule; he could gain a mob, or keep the whole kingdom in good humour. Capponi and others consider Punch as a lineal representative of the Atellan farcers. They find a convincing resemblance between his mask and a little chickennosed figure in bronze which was discovered at Rome; and from his nose they derive his name, a pulliceno pullicinella! Admitting this descent, we might push the origin of Punch back to very reAtella, and therefore an Oscan. Now mote antiquity. Punch is a native of the Oscan farces were anterior to any stage. They intruded on the stage only in its barbarous state, and were dismissed on the first appearance of a regular drama. They then appeared as exodia on trestles; their mummers spoke broad Volscan; whatever they spoke they grimaced like Datus; they retailed all the scandal that passed, as poor Mallonia's wrongs. Their parts were frequently interwoven with other dramas, consertaque fabellis (says Livy) potissimum Atellanis sunt. Quod genus ludorum ab Oscis acceptum; and in all these respects the Exodiarius corresponds with the Punch of Naples." Boxes, 6 fr. 40 c. and 5 fr. 10 c.; pit, 85 c. The Teatro di San Carlino, in the Piazza del Municipio, is the headquar§ 14. POPULAR AND CHURCH FESTIVALS. ters of Pulcinella and the characteristic theatre of Naples. The wit of Pulcinella and the humour of the other performers make it a favourite resort of all classes. The performance is almost always in The traveller who has witnessed the imposing church ceremonies at Rome will not find much novelty in the religious festivals of Naples, except that they appear to constitute an im- virons to stipulate in marrying that portant element in the amusements of the bride should be taken to this the people. Like their Greek pro- festa. genitors, the Neapolitans, on all occasions, associate their devotions with their pleasures. The veneration for the Virgin is no longer so universally manifested as formerly; but there may still be seen in many shops a picture of the "Madre di Dio," with one or two lamps burning perpetually before it. The Festa di Monte Vergine takes place on Whit Sunday, and derives its name from the sanctuary of the Madonna di Monte Vergine, near Avellino (Exc. V.). Three days are usually devoted to the festival. At the sanctuary the Neapolitans are met by crowds of pilgrims from every province in the kingdom; great, therefore, are the varieties of costume, and strongly marked are the shades of national character and the differences of dialect, to be observed in this gathering of many races. Here the ethnologist may study the peculiarities of the descendants of Greeks, Samnites, Etruscans, Bruttii, Marsi, Lucanians, Longobards, Normans, Suabians, Provençals, and Aragonese. The archeologist may observe the population of Naples indulging in customs and observances which denote unmistakably their Greek origin. Their persons are covered with every variety of ornament; the heads of both men and women are crowned with The Festa di Piedigrotta, once the great popular festival of Naples, which took place on the 8th Sept., was one of the most singular displays of national character and costume. It was instituted by Charles III. in commemoration of the victory of the Spaniards over the Austrians, at Velletri, in 1744, but has ceased to be celebrated since the fall of the Bourbon dynasty. In honour of the day all the available troops of the continental dominions, amounting often to 30,000 men, were marched into the city, and, after having defiled before the king and royal family in the piazza before the palace, they pro-wreaths of flowers and fruits; in their ceeded to line the streets from the palace to the ch. of Piedigrotta, including the long line of the Chiaia. At 4 o'clock his majesty and the royal family, in their state carriages, attended by the ministers and the great officers of the Court, set out in procession through this line of soldiery, whose brilliant uniforms give unusual gaiety to the scene. Each member of the royal family proceeded in a separate carriage and in the order in which he would succeed to the throne. After performing their devotions at the ch., the royal family returned to the palace in the same order; and the rest of the day was a scene of unrestrained rejoicing to the thousands of gaily-dressed peasantry who come from all parts of the kingdom to swell the throng of merrymakers in the city. The Villa Reale was on that day open to all classes, and full of numbers of country people from the environs, in their gay national costumes. It was formerly the practice among the common people of the en hands they carry garlands or poles, like thyrsi, surmounted with branches of fruit or flowers. On their return homewards, their vehicles are decorated with branches of trees intermixed with pictures of the Madonna purchased at her shrine, and their horses are gay with ribbons of all hues, and frequently with a plume of showy feathers on their heads. The whole scene as fully realises the idea of a Bacchanalian procession as if we could now see one emerging from the gates of old Pompeii. On their way home the Neapolitans take the road by Nola, where they stop on the Sunday evening, and the next morning, Whit Monday, they proceed to the other great sanctuary The Madonna dell' Arco, 7 m. from Naples, at the foot of Monte Somma. A great number of the people, who cannot afford to go to Monte Vergine, visit the Madonna dell' Arco, where they dance the Tarantella and sing their national songs. From that place to Naples the road is a continued scene of dancing, singing, and rejoicing, mingled with a kind of rude music. At the village of Ponticelli, between here and Portici, there is a disgusting exhibition on the Thursday of Holy Week, in the ch., where 50 or 60 fellows in cowls, but their naked backs exposed, whip each other to the blood, accompanied by terrible howlings; until recently bodies interred were exposed to the public gaze; these penitents, still bare - backed, parade in procession, following a hideous image of the Saviour. The Festa di Capodimonte takes place on the 15th of August, on which day the grounds of the Palace of Capodimonte are thrown open to the public, and to vehicles of all descriptions except hackney carriages. The approach of Christmas is indicated by the arrival of the Zampognari, the bagpipers of the Abruzzi, who annually visit Naples and Rome at this season to earn a few ducats from the pious by playing their hymns and carols beneath the figures of the Madonna. The appearance of these mountain minstrels, with their pointed hats, their brown cloaks, their sandals, and their bagpipes, is as sure a sign of Christmas as the vast collections of good cheer which the Neapolitan tradesmen expose with such quaint fancies and devices in the principal streets and squares during the week preceding Christmas Day. On Christmas Eve, and on Christmas Day, there is a solemn service in the cathedral, and another in the Cappella Reale; and from that time to the 2nd of February, the day of the Purification, the principal churches, and a few private houses, exhibit Presepi, or representations of the Nativity. In some cases they are worked by machinery, displaying not only the scenery, the buildings, and the furniture, but the domestic occupations and economy of the Holy Family. At Easter, on the Thursday before, and on Good Friday, the principal churches exhibit a representation of the Holy Sepulchre. At vespers on the Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, the Misereres of Zingarelli and Mercadante are sung in the ch. of S. Pietro a Maiella. Easter Day is a universal holiday; in the morning the common people repair to Antignano, and in the evening to Poggio Reale. Carriages as well as other vehicles drawn by horses are not allowed to circulate from 1 P.M. on Holy Thursday and Good Friday in the principal thoroughfares of the Chiaia, Str. di Roma, Via dei Tribunali, &c. On Ascension Day there is a festival at the Ch. of the Madonna at Scafati, near Pompeii, and another at the village of Carditello beyond Casoria, on the road to Caserta. On the Festival of Corpus Domini the archbishop and clergy in procession carry the Host to the ch. of Sta. Chiara, where formerly they were met by the king and the royal family. After the archbishop had given his benediction to the king, his majesty accompanied the procession to the cathedral, the streets on this occasion being lined with troops. On the day of the Quattro Altari, or the octave of Corpus Domini, the host is carried in procession from the ch. of S. Giacomo degli Spagnuoli, through the streets of S. Carlo and Toledo, and back again to S. Giacomo, stopping at four altars erected with great magnificence for the occasion in different parts of the route. The king and court witnessed this procession, in which the military took part, from the balcony of the theatre of S. Carlo. Festa di S. Gennaro.-There are three festivals of S. Januarius, the first in May, the second in September, and the third in December, as noticed in our account of the Cathedral, where the "miracle of the liquefaction" is described. The Festa di S. Antonio Abate, for the blessing of the animals, is observed in Naples, as in Rome, on the 17th January, and is continued on every succeed |