f (TITALIAN
SCENERY, MANNERS, AND CUSTOMS.
PILATE XT.
THE FOUNTAIN OF CAPUA.
ITALY ¡S perhaps furnished with more convoniencies ibr the pubhc service than any other
country in Europe. We are now considering only tlio puljhc fountains, though every house
is provided with awcU of very good water. To have ii perfect idea of the magm6cenoe of
these, ivhicli in many toivns conduce very little to their cmbelHshment, it is necessary to have
been at Rome, where the different foimtains pour forth so much water, that if it were to float
on the surface of the earth, it would imuidatc the whole city in the space of twenty-four hours.
Capua, one of the most ancient towns of Italy, is amply supplied with establishments for
the public welfare. The present eify ¡ iHode rn, the site ¿f ancient Capua being about a mile
distant, where considerable ruins are still to be seen in the village of Santa Alaria, between
the rivers Volturno and Clanio. The Romans, in order to punish Cajjua for having sided with
Hannibal, who had promised to make it the capital of Italy, took it after a long siego, and
delivered it up to the soldiery to pillage ; the lower class of the inhabitants were made slaves,
and sold by auction, the patricians were dispersed, and the senators whipped and afterward
beheaded. Genserie, king of the Vandals, completed the destruction of this city in the
vear 455.
It is remarkable, as may be seen in the plate, that the form of the pitchers is the same
now, as was anciently given to this kind of earthen ware. The kingdom of the Two Sicilies
has preserved it's ancient customs better than any other country of I t a ly; and the attentive
antiquary will observe thoni in many instances in the lower class of the people. The headdress
of the women resembles very much that we see in ancient busts, the hair being plaited
or curled on each side of the forehead. The head is covered with a piece of red cloth hieed
with gold, or with a kind of linen veil falling backward. The gown and apron are bordered
with dillerent coloured ribands, and as the shape and fashion of the dresses change but little,
all the taste consists in the brilliauey and distribution of the colours.