ch of ships of war. Floating batteries
therefore and gunboats are her best defence. The road from Fusina to Padua
is on the banks of the Brenta the whole way, and is lined with trees. There
are a great number of villas on the banks of the Brenta, well built in the
best style of architecture, the most of them after the designs of Palladio,
the Prince of modern architects.

Padua is an exceedingly large city: but its arcades and the narrowness of
the streets give it a gloomy appearance. There are however some beautiful
promenades in the suburbs. There are also the remains of an ancient Arena.
Padua is famous for its Seminario or University, which is a superb edifice.
The Church of St Anthony of Padua is of vast size, having six cupolas.
There are four organs in this church. In the chapel of the Saint himself
are a great many ornaments, among which are a crucifix in bronze and
fresques representing the different actions and miracles of this patron
Saint of the Padovani. Probably as this city was founded by the Trojan
Antenor they have transformed his name into that of a Christian Saint and
called him St Anthony, just as Virgil has been transformed into a magician
at Naples. There is a fine view from the steeple of this immense edifice.
There is another magnificent church also in this city, that of St Justine,
built after the designs of Palladio, the principal ornament of which is a
painting of the martyrdom of the Saint by Paul Veronese. But one of the
greatest curiosities in this ancient city is the immense Saloon in the
_Palazzo della Giustizia_. It is, I presume, the loftiest and largest hall
in the world that is supported by nothing but its walls, it being three
hundred feet long, one hundred feet broad and one hundred feet high. In
the Saloon is the tomb of Livy, the Historian, who was a native of Padua.
The inhabitants of Padua dress much in black, seem a quiet, staid sort of
people, and are very industrious. I put up at the _Stella d'Oro_, a good
inn.

VICENZA, 10th June.

I arrived at this beautiful _bijou_ of a town on the morning of the 9th
June at eight o'clock. I call it a _bijou_ from its exceeding neatness, and
the extreme beauty of the architecture of its edifices, which are almost
all after the designs of Palladio, of white stone and in the Greek taste.
Palladio was a native of Vicenza. The _Piazza_ and _Palazzo Pubblico_
perfectly correspond with the beauty of the rest of the city, and the
promenades a