Placentia at some distance makes a handsome appearance with its towers and buildings, and we entered it by a strong gate. Placentia, Piacenza, or Plaisance, the Roman, Italian, and French names, derives its name from its situation, and is a fine city, built in a plain, and containing 30,000 persons. The streets are broad and good, and the houses, though not lofty, have a clean and comfortable appearance.
The city is about a quarter of a mile from the Po*, over which is a fine bridge of boats : this river about three miles off receives the river Trebbia, and is broad and rapid. The chief street, called Stradone, is very long, broad, and straight, with a handsome footway ; here is the church of St. Agostino, which has a remarkably fine facade. The Grande Place is very handsome, but its greatest ornament is two noble equestrian statues of Alexander I., the great Duke of Parma and his son Ranuccio I, in fine bronze, with suitable inscriptions, which from their length are here omitted.
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At Placentia, we experienced much attention, several persons officiating as our conductors, one of whom to our surprise spoke English very well. As an instance of their liberality and good information, on our asking him in the way of conversation, if there were many protestants in the town, he answered. 'No, they were all christians.'
We now began to tread literally on classic ground, as the ancient Via Flaminia, which is connected by the Aemilian, going by Parma, Modena and Bologna, begins here. Although there are four gates at the different parts of the city, yet the fortifications are not strong ; the noble and ancient palace formerly inhabited by the dulces, which is a spacious building of brick, is now converted into a barrack, though there were not more than five hundred soldiers in the town ; such are the changes which a few years produce.
There are here, as in the other towns, strong marks of the devastations of the French, many churches being destroyed, and some shut up.
The city is about a quarter of a mile from the Po*, over which is a fine bridge of boats : this river about three miles off receives the river Trebbia, and is broad and rapid. The chief street, called Stradone, is very long, broad, and straight, with a handsome footway ; here is the church of St. Agostino, which has a remarkably fine facade. The Grande Place is very handsome, but its greatest ornament is two noble equestrian statues of Alexander I., the great Duke of Parma and his son Ranuccio I, in fine bronze, with suitable inscriptions, which from their length are here omitted.
...
At Placentia, we experienced much attention, several persons officiating as our conductors, one of whom to our surprise spoke English very well. As an instance of their liberality and good information, on our asking him in the way of conversation, if there were many protestants in the town, he answered. 'No, they were all christians.'
We now began to tread literally on classic ground, as the ancient Via Flaminia, which is connected by the Aemilian, going by Parma, Modena and Bologna, begins here. Although there are four gates at the different parts of the city, yet the fortifications are not strong ; the noble and ancient palace formerly inhabited by the dulces, which is a spacious building of brick, is now converted into a barrack, though there were not more than five hundred soldiers in the town ; such are the changes which a few years produce.
There are here, as in the other towns, strong marks of the devastations of the French, many churches being destroyed, and some shut up.
March 20th. — Left Placentia, at six in the morning, by a very strong gate and drawbridge, on each side of which are very deep moats. Our passports were here examined again and countersigned, a duty which the officers diligently perform. Every traveller ought to be attentive to this indispensable ceremony, as the least informality or neglect will put him to great in- convenience, and retard his journey, as we had before experienced at Turin, and were again doomed to experience at another place, as will be hereafter shewn. The road continued level, the country rich, and the men and women actively employed in agriculture. The Apennines were still on our right, the Tyrol Alps on the left, and of both we had a fine view.
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