ill!
hifi
dear, thirty-five miles from either Monaco or Nice. The prefent min flill retains fo
much majefly and grandeur, that it is impoffible not to difcover it to be a work of the
Romans.
The ornaments on its bafe, which fupported a round tower, appear to have been of
the Tufcan order. This tower was covered .with infcriptions on-white marble, analogous
to the fubjeit, and embellilhed with military' trophies^ in bafs relief, admirably executed; of
tlie beauty of which one may eailly judge by the various fragments which now appear
under different forms, in fhe churches at Nice, Monaco, and the adjaccnt villages.
The Goths and Saracens, defpoilers of the arts, not content with divefting this noble
monument of its ornaments, attempted totally to deilroy it. The latter, in particular, finding
this impoffible, added fome battlements, and converted it into a fortrefs 5 and in that
ilate made ufe of it in tlieir wars againft the fovereigns of Provence.
The village of Turbia is in itj'elf fo ineonfiderable, confifting of about four hundred inhabitants
only, that it does not merit tlie particidar attention of the traveller, except that the
houfcs are in great meafure built with the ruins of the Trophjeum Augufti, fevcral of the
mutilated curious infcriptions being ftill difcemible in the front and fide walls.
This circumftance induced me to make the round of the town, and examine other
fragments which are indlfcriminately fcattered in various parts of the village.
I then defcended the mountain of Turbia by fo rugged and perpendicular a path, that
it is fcarcely poffible to form an idea of the abruptnefs of the maiTcs of rock which I was
forced to fcramble or climb over, in my way to Monaco, for the fpace of about two miles
and a half.
This fmall town, which was the Portus Monocci Herculis of the ancients, fo named on
account of the temple dedicated by the people to Hercules, is at prefent the capital of the
principality of Monaco. This prmcipality confifts of three very indifferent cities, and an
extent of land of about five or fix miles in length, and three in width, the greateft part of
which is barren rock. The foil which lies contiguous to tlie fea is, however, particularly
fertile, for the oranges and olives grow as profufely as at Nice, and the inhabitants make a
tolerable trafiic of the produce of thofe trees.
The annual revenue of this principality was computed at fcven thoufand pounds ftcrling
previous to the French revolution; and though thefe ftates were fo very inconfiderable,
yet the prince of Monaco enjoyed as abfolute a power as any potentate in Europe.
He had not only the privilege of coining, but of making whatever decrees or edidts he
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