The voyage of Italy, or, A compleat journey through Italy : in two

parts : with the characters of the people, and the description of

the chief towns, churches, monasteries, tombs, libraries, pallaces,
villa's, gardens, pictures, statues, and antiquities : as also of the
interest, government, riches, force, &c. of all the princes : with
instructions concerning travel / by Richard Lassels ... ; never before
extant.
Lassels, Richard, 1603?-1668.
Printed at Paris ; by John Starkey ..., 1670.

https://hdl.handle.net/2027/gri.ark:/13960/t1mg90z6b

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A PREFACE
TO THE READER,
CONCERNING TRAVELLING
HEN I
firfi fet pen ta
Paper to handle this fub-
jecl^ I
had not the, leaft
thought of the Prefs j nor
of erecting my felf into
| an Author. / enly difcharged

I
my me-
\mory hafiily of fome things which
\had [ten in Italy; and wrapt up that
| untimely Embrio
in five fbeets of pa-
per , for the ufe of a noble per/on, Vcho
jet me that task^ Yet this Embrio tike*
ing the per/on for wfam it wdf con-
ceived y obliged me to licJ^ it over and
over again , and bring it into better

form- Second thoughts, andfucceeding

voyages into Italy, have finifhed it at
lafl •, and have made it what it is-, A
com pleat Voyage, and an exact Iti-
; nentry through Italy.
■And here I thought to have draw»
a bridle
bridle and refted, after fo long a jour-
ney ; when a learned friend having per-

ufedthis my Defcription ofltd\y,defi-

redmuch to fee a Prefaces it of my
fafhion, and Concerning Travelling. /•
could refufe nothing to fuch a friend ;
and have done it here willingly, both for
my own, avid my Country es fake.
For my own fake^ to pre-excufe fomt
things in my book^ which fome perchance
may di (like.
I
For fome, fear, will quarrel ^ith
my Englifi, andjufily, feeing three long
voyages into Flanders, fix into France,
five into Italy, one into Germany, and
Holland , hath made me live half of
my life time in forrain Countryes, to

the difturbance of my o\W language ,<

Tet if /bring not home fine language,

bring home fine things : and I have feed

great Lady es, andEnT
both in France.
gland , buy fine things of Chimneys
{Weepers, and Pedlars, that ft kf but
courfe Lombard language , and grofl
Stozch.
Others perchance will find fault, thai
J write merrily fometimes : Jndwhi
mot ? Seeing I
write to young nen, and

f or them •, and mirth is never fo law-

ful as in Travelling, whire it fbor*

tenm
wslongis, miles, andfveeetens badufage-,
hat makes bad dinnergo down,and

a
bud ho>rfe£o on.
Othenr mil fay, That fill my book^

J
vith too much Latin But thcfe muft
:
<e

minded, that am writing the La-

of
I
in

Country and that am carving forI

^

Scholars who can difgeflfolidbitts ha-

t
(

ving gooxdjlomacks.
Others mil fay, jeer now and then
I

i
Andw>»vild any man hauemego through
many divers Countries and praife
or

Or in earnefi
do

all not fome

I

fee-
f

,
be

things defcrve to jeered wben things

f

cannot b>e cured but

a by

jeering, jeering
faith Tertullhn, and
is

I
duty
^

thinks the Cynick Pbibfophers ftruck.

as great bloVv at Vice as the
a

Stoicks.
Others will fay, change fiile often
I

andfom,etimes run fmoothly, and fome-

times joftingiy Trm travelled not
[
;

alwajes upon (mooth ground, and pact"

ing horfes SwifTerland Savoy and
:

are mpdeh different from Campania

and Lombardy • and its one thing to
Pleafanc Garden, an other
a

defcribe
thing to> defcribe v enerable Cathe-
a

dral
he

and
in

one, and the other,

if
j
:

we have fever much more

al

lockes
;
ij

ought
a
ought we to have fever al words in de- j
Scribing them.
Others Will fay, I
affeil a world of ,

exotic^ words not yet naturalized in

England: No , 1 afeci them not-, I
cannot avoid them -, For who can/peal^
of Statues, but he mufl Jpcak of N>-
ches ^ or of Churches ;. Wrought ,
"
Torobes, e> inlay d tables ; but he
mufi sf)eal^ofCoupQ\3.s.; of bafti nli-
cvi -, and of piare commeffe ? myif
man under ft and them not^ its his faulty
not mine.
Others will fay, J

af-
hunt too much
ter Ceremonies, and Church antiqui-
ties. No^ only meet them. And as
I

he a
man cannot Jpea^of Hercules, but

mufl ffeak^of dubbs/if combats, La-

bours, and Vkioriesifo cannot Fpeah^ of
I

Rome the Chriflian but mvft

of

1
,

ffeah^of Relicks, Ceremonies, and Re-

ligion. Yet believe, give my Rea-
I
I

der full draughty too prophane anti-

a

of

quities, Mafcarades, Shews, dreffings,

Wpatiimes.
Others, in fine will fay
do

hat but
I
i
,

a thing done already feeing two others

;

have writ ten this Subject in Englifll.

of

Well others have Written upon this

if
;

fubjecj, why may not They did the

I?

befi
beft. they cottld,! believe: but they drew
not up the Ladder
after them. The
one Writes much of Italy, and ales f
^ ar "
little : the "fither Vorites little and lea- CU P'„
veth out much
-^ which
I
impute to the
M * a V"
^-
monCl
ones writing out
of old Geographers ,
long after he had been there : and to
the othtrs fiort flay in Italy, Vchen
he was there. And if thefe ingenious
gentlemen have painted out Italy in
bufto and profile^why may not
J
0/^/7,
paint her out at full face, and at her
full length? If
they, Ukf antient Sta-

tuaries^ have represented Italy unto m-

like a naked ftatue ; /
have fet her
out in all her beft Attire ; and Jew-
els. And thus much for my own

fake.
For my Countryes fake; To read
to my country-men two profitable Lef-
fons. Thefirft, Of the Profit of tra-
velling. Thcfecond, Of travelling with
profit.
I. For thefirft, to wit, the Profit of
Traveling , its certain , that if this The pro-
world be a great book , as S. Augu- of tra-
fit

ftine calls none ftudy this great veiling.

it
,

Book/o much as, the Traveler- They

that never ftir from home read one-
,

me page this Book and like

of
ly

;
iij*

the
a
the dull fellow in Pliny , who could
never learn to count further then five,
they dfteM alWayes upon one Lcffon,
They are Iks an acquaintance of mine >
who had alwayes a bonk^ indeed lying
open upon a Desk^\ but it was obferved
that it lay alwayes open at one and
the fame place , and by long cuftome t
could lye open no Cohere elfe. He then
that toill k?ow much out of this great
JBook^, thefVorld, mufl read much in
if. and as Ulifles is fet forth by
Homer as the Vcifeft of all the Greci-
ans, btcaufe he had travelled much ,
and had jeen mulcorum hominum
mores & Urbes , the Cittyes and
Cuftomes of many men : fo his fan
Telemachus is held for a very JhalloW'
witted man : and Homer gives the
reafon } becaufe his mother Penelope,
inflead of fending him abroad to fee
forrain Countries, had alwayes kept
him at home , and fo made him a
meer Onocephalus, and a homeling
Mammacuth. So true is the faying of
Seneca , that Imperitum eft animal
homo, & fine magna experientia re-
rum, fi circumfcribatur Natalis foli fui
fine.
2 Travelling preferves my young no-

bleman
bleman from furfeiting of hit parents,
and Veeans him from the dangerous

fondnefs of his Mother. It teacheth htm

wholefome hardship • to that

lye
in
beds
are none his acquaintance to ffeak^
he of

;
to men never Jaw before • to travel
in

in
the morning before day and the

•,
• to endure
evening after day any horfe
apd as well as any meat and
weather^
drinks whereas my Country gentleman
that never travelled can fcarce goto
,

London without making his Will at

leafi without wetting his hand-kerchief. ,
-And what generous mother will not fay
to her Son with that Antient} Malo c
enec<
tibi male efle quam molliter
I
;
,

had rather thou fhouldfl: be fick then

is ,

fofc. Indeed the coral -tree, nei-

ther hardy nor red till taken out the
of
%

Sea its native home. And have

I
,

read that many the old Romans put

of

be

eut their children to nurced abroad

Lacedemonians nurces, till they
by

were three years old then they put

j

them to their Uncles, till [even or

,

ten; then they fent them into Tofca-

and
be

ny Religion
in

to inftrulied
at laft into Greece to fludy philo-
sophy.
Travelling takes my young noble*
.
3

iiij

m&»
a
 man four notches lower, in his felf-
conctita,nd pride. For , whereas the
Country Lord that never faw any body
but his Fathers Tenants, and M- Par-
ion, and never read any thing but John
Stow, and Speed ; thinks the Lands-
end to be the Worlds-end ; and that
all folid greatncfs , next mto a great
Pafty, cenfifls in a great Fire, and a
great eftate. whereas my travelling
young Lord
, who hath feen [o many
greater men, and Eflates than his own,
comes home far more modefi and ci-
vil to his inferiours,andfarr lefs puft
up with the emptyconceit of his own
greatnefs. Indeed nothing cured Al-
cibiades his pride [o much , as to fee
in a Map {{hewed him for the nonce
by Socrates ) that his houfe and lands,

of which he was fo proud , either ap-

peared there not at all, oronely a little
Sen?c. fpot or dab ; and nemo in pufillo mag-
nus.
eff^
in

4. Travelling takes fomefirt,

that aboriginal curfe, which was
laid upon mankind even aimed at the
the World-, mean, the
of of

beginning
confufion which
is

Tongues fuch
:

curfe indeed that makes men

it
a

,
,

who arc one kind, and made tobefo-

of

ciaklc
 fly
a'able, (b ftrangely to we mother

\
that as great S. A#ftin faith, A man
-with his dog, than with

be
had rather

he
man whofe language underftands
a

not. Nay, this diverfity Language*

of
makes the wifeft man paffe for Fool

a
in ftrange Country, and the beft maw,
a

for an excommunicated perfon whofe

,
eenverfation ail men avoid. Now,
traveling tak^s this curfe, and this
iff

moral excommunication
by
making
;

m learn many languages and con*-

,

verfe freely with people other Coun*

of

tryes,
Travelling makes tit acquainted
5.

with Vvorld our kindred we never

«f
a

faw before. For feeing we are all*

,

come
from one man at firjl and con fre-
,

quently all kin to one another its but

a

thing that man fbould

a

reafonable
,

his life time make

in

ince at haft
a
,

journty into forrtin Coutries, to fee

his Relations, and vifit this kindred
;

having alwayes this faying

of

young
quaero fratres
in

Tofeph his mouth

-,

raeos.
a man, much
6,

Traveling enables

for his Countries fervice. It makes the

merchant rkh, fhtwing him wh<t
by

abounds,
abounds , and wantes , in other coun.
trjes j that fo he may know what to im-
forty what to export. It makes tht
mechanick come loaden home with
world of experimental knowledge fori
the improving of his trade. It makes\
the field officer, a knowing LeadeA

of an Army, by teaching him where am

Army in forrain Country es , can\
march fecurely, pafs Rivers eafily, in-
iamp fafely , avoid Ambttfcadoes and\
narrow pajfages difcreetly, and retreat
orderly. It makes the Common Sol-
dier play the Spy Well, by making Un
ffeakjhe enemies Languague perfeci:'
iy , that fo mingling with them , he
may find their defigns, and cr&fs their
flats. In fine , it makes a Noble-
man for the Employ-
fit

noblefi
Ambafftdor
be

that
is

#tent to
9

■abroad for his King forain Coun-

in

try es and carry about with him his

^

he

Kings perfon', which reprefents

,

And his Kings word which he enga-

,

ge^.
7. Travelling brings man a World
a

particular profits. It contents the

of

minde with the rare difcourfes we

bear from learned men, as the jQueet*
Saba was ravijked at the ypifdom
of
 f
6 Salomon. // make/ a wifeman
much the Wifer by making him fee
the good and the bad in others > Hence
the wifeman faith j Sapiens in terram
alienigenarum gentium pertranfiet:
bona enim & mail in hominibus ten-
tabit. It makes a man thinly himfelf
at home every where ,. and fmile at
unjufi exile : It makes him wellcome
home again to his Neighbours,
fought after by his betters, andliften-
ed unto with admiration by his infe-
riours. It makes him fit Hill in his old
age with fatisfatlion ^ and travel over
the world again in his chair and beef,
by difcourfe and thought r. In fine , its
an excellent Commentary upon hifto-
ries i and no man underftands Livy
and Caefar, Guicciardin *»^ Monluc,
like him, who hath made exablly the
Grand Tour 0/ France, and the Giro
of Italy.
8. Travelling makes my young No-
bleman return home again to his Coun~
try like a blefijng Sun. For a4 the
Sun, who hath been travelling about
the world thefe five thoufand and odd
years, not enely enlightens thefe places
Vphich he vifits; but alfo enrich-
ith them with all forts of Fruits ,
and
 and mettafs: fo t the Nobleman by
long traveling, having enlightened his
underftanding with fine notions, comes
home like a glorious Sun ; and doth
not onlyjhine bright in the firmament

«f his Country t the Parlament houfe;

but alfo blejfeth his inferionrs with
the powerful
influences if
his knowing

Sfiirit.
9- I» fine , Examples ( the befi
Ihilofophy ) Jhew us , that the grea-
tefi Princes Europe hath feen , thefe
many years , to wit , Charles the V.
Strada de and the King of Sweden , Guftavus
idloBelg Adolphus , were both ef them great
Travelers -t the firfi had been twice
in England , as often in Africk , f$ur
times in France, fix times in Spain ,
/even times in Italy, and nine in Ger-
many : The feconA had travelled in-
cognito (as M. Watts Writes of him)
into Holland, France, Italy, and Ger-
many in his youth: which made
him fay afterwards to the French
Ambaffador Marefchal Breze , in a
kind of threatning way , that he
knew the way to Paris, as well as to
Stockholme. Adde to this, that the
Tcsifeft and greatefi among the antient
fhilofopheis , Plato, Pythagoras,
Ana«
Anaxagoras , Anacharfc , Apollo-
nius, Architas, and Pjttkcus, whit/h
lafi left his fupream Command of
Mytelen to travel ) were all great
travellers ; and that Sf.Hjerorne (who

being no Bifhop, and 0nfequentlj not

obliged to refidence) having travelled
into France, Italy, Greece, and the
Holy Land, purchafed to him/elf fuch
rare acquifitions of Learning , by his
travels and Languages , that among all
the antient Fathers and Do&ors, the
Church in her Collect en his day, calls
him only, Do&orem maximum , the
greateft Doctor. And fo much far the
profit otTra veiling.
Now for as much as concemes the The Tra-
fecond LcfTon, to wit, the Travelling yelling
with Profit , divers things are to be wkhpro-
taken notice of—fome h
the Parents of fie,!

that travel ; others by thofe them-

-thofe
selves that travel : of all chichi will
Jpea^ briefly-
As for the Parents , their greatefi
care ought to be of providing their
children ( /
ffeak^ to men of high
con~

dition ) a good Governour , to travel

with them, and have a care of their
Perfons, and breeding : that is , tlay
the fart of the Arcuangel Raphael
te