the whole of the ellipse and its walls being entire, whereas in the Coliseum part of the walls have been pulled down.  Indeed the Amphitheatre of Verona may be said to be almost perfectly entire. Tempus edax rerum has been its only enemy; whereas avarice and religious fanaticism have contributed, much more than time, to the dilapidation of the Coliseum.  The Amphitheatre of Verona can contain 24,000 persons.  In it is constructed a temporary theatre of wood, where they perform plays and farces in the open air.  Verona is much embellished by several Palazzi built by Palladio, which form a curious contrast with the other buildings and churches which are in the Gothic style.  Verona can boast among its antiquities of three triumphal arches, the first, Porta de’ Bursari, erected in the year 252 in the reign of the Emperor Gallienus; the second, called Porta del Foro; and the third, built by Vitruvius himself, in honour of the family Gavia.

The churches here are richly ornamented and the Palazzo del Consiglio has many fine marble and bronze statues.  In this city also are the tombs and monuments of the Scala family, who were at one time Sovereigns of Verona.  They are in the Gothic style and of curious execution.  The Cathedral has an immense campanile (steeple), from which is a fine view of the surrounding country, and the progressive risings of the Alps, the lower parts of which lie close upon Verona.  Beautiful villas and farmhouses abound in the neighbourhood of this city.  The favourite promenades are the Corso and the Bra.  On the Bra I saw a very brilliant display of carriages, and some very pretty women in them.  The theatre is by Palladio, is exquisitely beautiful, and very tastefully fitted up.  I assisted at the representation of La Gazza Ladra, one of Rossini’s best operas.

I should think Verona would be a very delightful sejour; everything is very cheap; a fine country highly cultivated; a remarkably healthy climate; a society which unites much urbanity and a love of amusement with a taste for the fine arts and for the graver sciences, and a general appearance of opulence and comfort.  The shops in Verona appear very splendid, and the Bra, when lighted up in the evening, is a very lively and animating scene.

MANTUA, 15 June.

I could not go to Milan without stepping a little out of my road to visit this ancient and redoubtable fortress, so celebrated in the early campaigns of Buonaparte, besides the other claims it has on the traveller’s attention as the birth place of Virgil.  This place is of immense strength, as a military post; being situated on a small isthmus of land, separating two lakes, and communicating with the rest of the country by an exceeding narrow causeway.  This position, added to the strength of the fortifications, render the fortress impregnable, if well garrisoned and provisioned.  The city is, however, unhealthy