GENOA 675 streets are mostly narrow, irregular, and steep, paved with smooth slabs of lava, with a path- way of bricks in the centre for mules ; but the vie Balbi, Nuova, and Nuovissima are broad and straight ; and the more modern vie Carlo Felice, Carlo Alberto, Carretierra, and Giulia compare favorably with the chief thoroughfares of other commercial cities. The splendid archi- tecture of the palaces, the external frescoes of the houses, the imposing religious processions, and the varied attire of the passengers, the an- cient attractions of the city, are all gradually disappearing. Thepessotto, the long white veil with which the women formerly covered head and shoulders, is now rarely seen except on Sunday when they go to mass. The palaces were once renowned for their artistic riches, but the collections are constantly diminishing, and have become very small. The most striking of the palaces is the palazzo Doria, in a conspic- uous position overlooking the sea. It was con- structed in 1529 by the renowned Doria, prince of Melfi ; it is now almost abandoned, and re- tains but few traces of its former beauty. The ducal palace, restored in 1778 after designs by Sirnone Carlone, was formerly full of objects of art, which have been removed, some of them to the municipal palace, formerly the palazzo Doria Tursi. In the anteroom of the hall of the town council are a bust and autograph letters of Columbus. The Carlo Felice is one of the largest and finest theatres in the king- dom. That of Sant 1 Agostino is built entirely of wood, and can accommodate 2,000 specta- tors. A new cafe, with a garden and fountains, is one of the most splendid establishments of the kind in Europe. The dogana, or custom house, is the ancient edifice of the bank of St. George, and has in the hall two ranges of statues, larger than life, of the Dorias, Fies- chi, Grimaldis, and other renowned person- ages of the old republic. Among the nume- rous churches, that of Santa Maria di Cari- gnano is prominent for architectural beauty. The cathedral, dedicated to San Lorenzo, pre- sents a strange mixture of styles. It was built in the llth century, and has been restored many times. The richest part is the chapel of St. John the Baptist, into which no woman can enter except on one day in the year, in recollection of the daughter of Herodias. In it is preserved the sacro catino, affirmed to be one of the gifts of the queen of Sheba to Solo- mon, and the vessel from which Christ ate the paschal lamb. It was a part of the spoil taken at Csesarea in 1101. It was long supposed to be cut from a single emerald, but is now known to be glass. In the piazza di Acqua, a public promenade, stands a statue of Columbus on a circular pedestal with protruding prows of galleys ; at the feet of the statue kneels the figure of America. Genoa has a university with an observatory and a library of 50,000 volumes, a naval school, a lyceum, technical schools, seminaries, normal schools, and many societies for the promotion of arts and sciences. The foundling hospitals, orphan asylums, hospi- tals for the sick, crippled, insane, and deaf, and poorhouses, are in a praiseworthy condition. About two miles from the city is the campo santo (cemetery), with a magnificent circular chapel and many artistic monuments and vaults. The most delightful excursion in the environs is to the villa Pallavicini at Pegli, where the park extends to a considerable height on the slopes of the coast, affording charming views of Ge- noa, the sea, and the mountains. Luxuriant vegetation, kiosks in Pompeian, Turkish, and Chinese styles, a mausoleum, the remains of an ancient Roman burial place, and a stalactite grotto heighten the interest of the place. The railway to Alessandria brings to Genoa a large trade with the provinces of northern Italy, Austria, Germany, and Switzerland. Cotton industry employs about 3,000 workmen, and about 9,000 are employed in the manufacture of silk goods. There are large establishments producing lace, embroideries, and filigree work. The hat factories export yearly about 100,000 hats to South America. Other considerable industries are the extraction of oil, the fabri- cation of soap, the preparation of chemicals, the making of artificial flowers, and the pack- ing of candied fruit. The furniture factories employ several thousand workmen, and the construction of boats and ships is steadily in- creasing. In 1871 vessels of the aggregate tonnage of 50,000 were launched. Among them were two iron steamers, the first iron vessels built in Italy. Genoa is a free port. About 7,000 sailing vessels of 700,000 tons, and 3,000 steamers of 600,000 tons, enter every year. In 1871 the entries of vessels engaged in foreign trade were 3,009, with an aggregate tonnage of 934,263 ; the tonnage of coasting vessels entering in the same year was 406,265. The total imports amounted to $51,500,000; exports, $22,250,000. Numerous lines of steam- ers ply between Genoa and Leghorn, Civitd Vecchia, Spezia, Naples, Messina, Nice, Tunis, and other ports on the Mediterranean. The population of Genoa has increased but little during the past ten years, on account of the excessive octroi duties levied on almost every- thing that passes the gates. To escape these, many people have settled in the neighboring communes, and Sampierdarena and other vil- lages have grown largely in consequence. The history of Genoa may be traced in legendary traditions to a time preceding the foundation of Rome. Livy mentions it first, at the beginning of the second Punic war, as a town in friendly relations with the Romans. It was subdued and partly destroyed during that war by a Cartha- ginian fleet, which sailed from the Balearic isles under the command of Mago ; the Romans rebuilt it, and it afterward became a Roman municipium. In the time of Strabo it was an emporium for the produce of the interior, ex- changed by the Ligurians for the wine and oil of other parts of Italy. After the fall of the western empire it suffered greatly from the in-
