and his family at short allowance, that he may save money to build
palaces and churches, which remain to after-ages so many monuments of
his taste, piety, and munificence; and in the mean time give employment
and bread to the poor and industrious. There are some Genoese nobles
who have each five or six elegant palaces magnificently furnished,
either in the city, or in different parts of the Riviera. The two
streets called Strada Balbi and Strada Nuova, are continued double
ranges of palaces adorned with gardens and fountains: but their being
painted on the outside has, in my opinion, a poor effect.

The commerce of this city is, at present, not very considerable; yet it
has the face of business. The streets are crowded with people; the
shops are well furnished; and the markets abound with all sorts of
excellent provision. The wine made in this neighbourhood is, however,
very indifferent; and all that is consumed must be bought at the public
cantine, where it is sold for the benefit of the state. Their bread is
the whitest and the best I have tasted any where; and the beef, which
they have from Piedmont, is juicy and delicious. The expence of eating
in Italy is nearly the same as in France, about three shillings a head
for every meal. The state of Genoa is very poor, and their bank of St.
George has received such rude shocks, first from the revolt of the
Corsicans, and afterwards from the misfortunes of the city, when it was
taken by the Austrians in the war of 1745, that it still continues to
languish without any near prospect of its credit being restored.
Nothing shews the weakness of their state, more than their having
recourse to the assistance of France to put a stop to the progress of
Paoli in Corsica; for after all that has been said of the gallantry and
courage of Paoli and his islanders, I am very credibly informed that
they might be very easily suppressed, if the Genoese had either vigour
in the council or resolution in the field.

True it is, they made a noble effort in expelling the Austrians who had
taken possession of their city; but this effort was the effect of
oppression and despair, and if I may believe the insinuations of some
politicians in this part of the world, the Genoese would not have
succeeded in that attempt, if they had not previously purchased with a
large sum of money the connivance of the only person who could defeat
the enterprize. For my own part, I can scarce entertain thoughts so
pre