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appear to be formed of a species of quartzose rock, similar to what I had before seen
near the summit of the Great St. Bernard ; but as to their form or shape, they seem to
resemble those of the secondary chain of the Maritime Alps, as I remarked that
their slope or declivity, but not their abrupt sides, are here again turned towards the
interior of those same valleys, and that in many parts their injecting angles correspond to
the salient or projecting ones,—appearances which have led me to suppose, that their
origin, or rather their present form, may be attributed to the operation of the sea, at its
last retreat, as observed in a former work », and not to the sudden sinking or falling of
any vaulted cavern, as the major part of those which are situated at the west or northwestern
chain of the Alps, where the abrupt sides of the mountains are in general turned
towards the internal part of the valleys.
Another remarkable circumstance, which shows the amazing similarity that exists
between the Pennine, Lepontine, and Maritime Alps, is, that, invariably, from the city
of Aosta to that of Ivrea, as from Limon, at the basis of the Col-de-Tende, to Com
(the fortress lately ceded to the French by his Sardinian Majesty, till a general peace
takes place), there reigns throughout those first mountains a striking and astonishing
confusion and variety, both as to form and direction of strata, as well as in their structure,
which is mostly composed of argil, hom-stone, quartz, mica, and feldspath ; likewise,
that the calcareous mountains which constitute the southern or eastern part of
the Alps are much fewer in number than those which form the long chain of tertiary
mountains at the north western. It is again necessary to observe, that, on the side of
Italy, the declivity or slope of the mountains, in general, is not only more abrupt than
on the sides towards France and Switzerland, but that the schisti and species of refractory
stones extend to the very plains of Lombardy, apparently free from that quantity
of calcareous matter which is so conspicuous on this side of the Alps, and which,
in fact, serve as a kind of medium between the secondary mountains and the sand
and pebble hiUs that are in general found at the entrance of most large or extensive
valleys.
At no considerable distance from Aosta, the road passes through Nuz, a village
seated on the banks of the Doria, and on the edge of a rapid torrent which falls from
Monte Servino. This village, which was formerly much more considerable than it is at
present, and commanded by an antique château, of which some vestiges may be seen,
•» The Aulijor'i Maritime Alps.
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is extremely romantic, being surrounded by mountains; for here the valley of Aosta
begins considerably to contract. From Nuz I proceeded across Chatillon, a small old
town, the streets of which are all on an extreme declivity, and the houses roofed with
wide dailas, or laminoe of a rock found near Madalena, a village seated at the basis of
Monte Servino. This stone seems to contain feldspath, mica, and quartz ; and in several
places I have observed a species of copperas veins, in small grains, not unlike writingsand.
Before entering this town, I crossed a considerable torrent, on a beautiful stone
bridge, which rests on two rocks, that bear every appearance of having been cut through
by the effect of the friction or attrition of the torrent itself. Not far from hence, and on
the same torrent, are the ruins of an arch, imagined by the people of the country to be
of Roman construction, a conjecture which the style of the building seems to confirm.
Contiguous to Chatillon, I observed on my left a lofty abrupt mountain, formed, as
far as I could judge, of a species of micaceous calcareous stone, which effervesced with
acids. Three miles further, the road passes through St. Vincent, a village much frequented
on account of its mineral springs, which have acquired great fame in Piedmont.
Its waters are ferruginous, containing a quantity of fixed air, Glauber and
marine salts, with calcareous and argillaceous particles.
About two miles hence, I again found myself in a defile, from whence I crossed, or
rather descended, Monte Jove, on which, it is also supposed, stood another temple dedicated
to Jupiter. The road, which is here hewn out of the main rock, in an extent of
above a mile, at a considerable height above the Doria, becomes particularly curious
and interesting, from the confused mixture of the rock, though the most conspicuous
may be considered as calcareous, quartzose, and micaceous : steatites I also remarked
in mass, as well horn-stone as schorl.
The direction of its strata is likewise in some parts vertical, and in others inclined,
without any specific arrangement or regularity, except the horn-stone, and a kind of
reddish schistus, which here and there appeared to have their strata nearly vertical to
the horizon. This visible confusion of primitive, secondary, and tertiary rocks, continues
from Aosta, for the space of sixteen miles, to the ancient village of Verrex, which
was not only known to the Romans, but used by them as the place where the gold and
copper found in the adjacent mines were worked.
There still exists, near this village, in the valley of Grana, a mountain deserving attention,
from having been, as it were, criblé, or nearly bored through, in every direction.
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