PUDMONT,
Milan.
Jîiftorieal
Epochs,
1097. Vercelli k faid to contain 20,000; and Alexandria 12,000: a
little to the eaft of the latter is Marengo, noted for ^ victory of Bona-,
parte* over the A.uftrians. The king of Sardinia nfed to maintain an
army of about 40,000. The chief exports cpnfift of filk, which was
chiefly manufactured at Lyons, fome hemp, and'large flocks of cattle.*
Next in ppfition, and now in qpnfcquence,. is the fertile duchy of
Milan,Taid to contain, on 2,432 fquare miles, a population of 1,11^,830..
The city of Milan was founded by the Gauls about 5 84 years before the
Chriftian era:; and the inhabitants are computed at’about I2j©,qoo,
After the fall of the kingdom of Lombardy, it became fubjeCt to the emperors
of the weft ; but impatient of the yoke, it was feverely punifhed
by the etnpcr°r Frederic I. x 162 ; who taking it after a liege of feven
monthsdeftroyed the gates, ramparts, and edificesi, except a few churches,
and fowed fait on the ruins. - Recovering flowly, amid the qontefts
between the emperors and the popes, it however could not alfert the
form of a. republic, but became fubje<3 : fo the arehbilhop, and tor the
Tprriani* Napoleon Torre oppofing Otto Vifconti, archbifhop of
Milan, wa$r defeated in 1277, and the prelate was proclaimed temporal
lord of Milan. He was fucceeded by his nephew ; and the family ofVif-
conti long po He fled this opulent principality. In i368.Yolande daughter
pf Galeazzo was married to Lionel dyke of Clarence fonof the Rnglilh
monarch. This family expired in 1494; and was followed by Sforza, and
by' the French kings. In 1535 Charles 5T. Seized Milan, #Sta.fief of the
empire, and gave it to his fomPhilip; whöfe fuccèöbrs, kings of Bpain,
held the Milanefe till 1706, when it became an appanage of A uftria;
hut a confiderable part had palfed to the houfe of Sardinia,. The revenues
of this duchy are computed at about 300,000b At Pavia is, an
univerfity of great repute, the profeffors having much diftinguiflied
themfelves in natural biftory. It is regarded'as the firft. in Italy*.
* T h e ifland o f Sardinia may be confidered as an appendage o f P iedmont. M r . Youn g (France
1 1. 2 5 7 ) informs u», feemingly from good authority, that this ffie has been (hatuefully ueglefted
b y the government; fo r, exclufive o f the mountains, the whole country m ay be regarded as wade
and only cultivated in a few fpots. T h e chief proprietors are abfentees, and thé peafantry crufhed
b y rapacious ftewards; the number o f inhabitants about 450,060. T h e frequent waftes abound
with wild ducks; but the number o f cattle and Sleep deplorably lmall, and the morafles produce
moft pernicious exhalations.
There
651
There are manufactures of wool and filk,'but ’thelatter is inferior to that Mitnitisg.
pf Piedm dfitd 'ithcfe are hlfo numerous workmen in-gbldj filver, erhbroi-
fteel,' and in cryftal,,:agate- avent-tirine,; and other .ftonesj' fo that
the gountry fvfrarms with'artizans/ Mr. Young» .reprefents the ;fojl aS
being Chiefly ftrong loam, or loamy ‘fetid ; ^Cnd? 'the moft reiharkable
circnrUftance-jm the .climate is .the mildnefs and Warmth of the northern Climate,
mountainous ffa&s, and the cold felt in the plains. I -Orange and lemon
trees'flourifh in the’ open air on the weftern fide of the lake of Cofno,
though bounded by the high Alps, which to the north are covered
with eternal fnovVj; while in the plain of -Lombardy, even ^o the Apennines;
thelsfrees r^fujf^elter. - The Boromean ifles alfoj.ip the Lag©
Maggiore; are covered with thefe delicate trees. In Farma feVere frofts
are,£^t,. which are not unknown in Tufcany,. and even at Rome. The
lands,in the Milanefe4 as in Piedmont, are moftly enclofed; and the
farmers were ihetayers upon the old French play, the,landlord paying
therfaxes and repairs,;the tenant providing cattle, implements,.and feed ;
and the produce being divided between them : a miferabie fyftem which
greatly impeded agriculture. The irrigation of the Milanefe Mr.
Young reprefents as a ftupendous effort of induftry; and the canals for
th;s purpofe are mentioned as early a® the eleventh century j fome of
them being more than30 xpiles long, and near 50 feetwide. The price
of land is near iool. the acre, and yields about three per cent, inteteft.
The cattle, dairies, and chjeefe, excellent.; bnt the ffleep few and-bad.
Though the Milanefe border, towards , the north, on the higher Alps,
and might thence be .fuppofed to-rival Piedmont, yet the mineralogy
has been little explored, as the houfe of Auftrla poifefles abundance of
ancient and productive mines. Yet. there are fome mines of topper
and lead above the lake. of Gomp, and the mountains, and Boromean
ifles. prefent flefh-cploured granite. Lapis ollaris abounds hear Como*.
The fmall duchy, of Mantua was held by the houfe of Gonzaga,
from the fourteenth century j but the laft of tjbe family being put to
the ban of the empire, Mantua has been fubjeCt to Auftrla, fince the
year 1707, and was ruled by the governof-genefai of the Milanefe. The
• Franee,«. ^4?, fidji
4 0 2 capital