The eye aketch (Fig 264) shows the general position of Montemarro, which stood upon a nob or tongue of flat-
Fig. 264.
topped land, between two precipitous ravines, of immense depth, cut laterally by many minor ones, the clay banks continually shedding down, and the toes of the slopes washed away by the torrents. It occupied the whole surface of the tongue, which was built upon, out to the very edges, and even beyond the tops of the slopes.
The whole town is one vast heap of rubbish, and about an equal proportion, of the houses, &c., that stood at the extreme verges of the N.E. and S.W. banks, have been shot over in falling, so that streams of loose stone and rubbish, now whiten the slopes at both sides of the place. The great mass of the place is, of course, beyond reach of exact examination; the remains of four of the most important buildings, however, afforded all the indications I needed. Of these, a (Fig. 264) is the Palazzo Fino, a modern and large, well-built, cardinal mansion, standing right across the head of one of the deep ravines. It is
