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r LIFE IN TURIN. 121
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Transcript
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
~—-— I««* — . Ab.Tistica:Li/Y Considered...
The great object of public attention at the time of my visit was the decennial exhibition of National Industry , comprehending every
branch of native produce or manufacture , held in the palace of the Valentino , on the outskirts of the city . As a sumptuous relic of
the . seventeenth century , when the Duchess Regent Christina , daughter of Henri Q , uatrehad introduced into Piedmont a taste for
, the French style of architecture and magnificence in decoration , the Valentino for itself alone is well worth an inspection ; and a
stranger could not have seen it to greater advantage than in the blaze , glory , and animation of those summer days . Approached by a
"wide avenue of noble trees , its peaked roofs stood out in glittering clearness against the deep blue sky , and the unwonted stir around _¥
and within its precincts , recalled the descriptions of tlie revelries in which the regent was wont to seek solace from the toils of state ,
or the loneliness of widowhood . Under the colonnades that form a semicircle on either side of the
piazza in front of the palace , in shady walks laid out with the dignified precision of the Louvre , in long ranges of apartments on the
ground floor , and in the grand suite of state-rooms upon the first , were arranged the varied specimens of industry , perseverance , and
improvement furnished by the different provinces of the Sub-Alpine kingdom ; Savoy , Piedmont , Genoa , Nice , and the island of
Sardinia . Agricultural and _fanning implements of all kinds , ploughs ,
winepresses , butter-churns , honey , wax , beehives , and cheeses of every description , from the twin-brother of the piquant Parmesan , to the rich
Gorgonzola or the mottled Mont Cenis . Wheat , Indian corn , beans , ricebarleybeet-roots for the production of sugar , hops , wines , beer *
, , liqueurs , sausages , hams . The fine paste in which Genoa especially excels ; maccaroni , vermicelli , rings , stars , balls , every imaginable
variety of shape , some white , some saffron-colored . Chocolate , dried and preserved fruits , others crystallised in sugar ; bonbons and
confectionery , which rival any that Paris can produce . Steam- engines * models of shipping , hydraulic and sewing machines , iron stoves ,
balconies , winding staircases , beds , surgical instruments , clocks , watchesplate , jewellery , gold and silver filigree , and coral
, variously wrought ; church ornaments , crucifixes , chalices , cande labras ; cannons , mortars , fire-arms ; lead and silver from the
mountains of Savoy , rich samples of copper ore from Aosta and _Pigneroi _* and iron from the island of Sardinia , disclosing a source of wealth
long dormant in the country , but now rendered available through the activity of the government in resuming the working of mines
almost wholly abandoned , and directing the exploration of new ones , coupled with the generosity of King Victor Emmanuel in throAving
open to national enterprise what had hitherto been a crown monopoly . Numerous chemical products , composition candles , soap ,
starch , colors , and varnishes . Glass and earthenware . Silk in every stage , from the cocoon to the flowered damask of Turin , the gauze
vol .. _iv . k
R Life In Turin. 121
r LIFE IN TURIN . 121
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), Oct. 1, 1859, page 121, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01101859/page/49/
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