gardens,
supplied with running waters; and in which I always find something
to do, that amuses me. I have another way of diverting myself,
which is going every April and May; and, likewise, every September
and October, for some days, to enjoy an eminence belonging to me
in the Euganean mountains, and in the most beautiful part of them,
adorned with fountains and gardens; and, above all, a convenient
and handsome lodge; in which place I likewise now and then make
one in some hunting party suitable to my taste and age. Then I
enjoy for as many days my villa in the plain, which is laid out
in regular streets, all terminating in a large square, in the
middle of which stands a church, suited to the condition of the
place. This villa is divided by a wide and rapid branch of the
river Brenta, on both sides of which there is a considerable
extent of country, consisting intirely of fertile and
well-cultivated fields. Besides, this district is now, God be
praised, exceedingly well inhabited, which it was not at first,
but rather the reverse; for it was marshy; and the air so
unwholesome, as to make it a residence fitter for snakes than men.
But, on my draining off the waters, the air mended, and people
resorted to it so fast, and increased to such a degree, that it
soon acquired the perfection in which it now appears: hence, I may
say with truth, that I have offered this place, an alter and a
temple to God, with souls to adore him: these are things which
afford me infinite pleasure, comfort, and satisfaction, as often
as I go to see and enjoy them.

At the same seasons every year, I revisit some of the neighbouring
cities, and enjoy such of my friends as live there, taking the
greatest pleasure in their company and conversation; and by their
means I also enjoy the conversation of other men of parts, who
live in the same places; such as architects, painters, sculptors,
musicians, and husbandmen, with whom this age certainly abounds.
I visit their new works; I revisit their former ones; and I always
learn something, which gives me satisfaction. I see palaces,
gardens, antiquities; and with these, the squares and other public
places, the churches, the fortifications, leaving nothing
unobserved, from whence I may reap either entertainment or
instruction. But what delights me most, is, in my journies
backwards and forwards, to contemplate the situation and other
beauties of the places I pass through; some in the plain, others