Genoa
21st October 1833
My Dear Mother
You were right in supposing that we were all together at Varese when you were writing your last letter <1> to me, on the 1st October – On that day we went to see the Villa Serbelloni <2> – I wrote Mr F. <3> a long account of our visit to Varese which I hope he received. Constance <4> wrote to you the other day a Letter which I put into the post office at Lugano.
We arrived here last night by moonlight – Constance is delighted with the place, and I myself find it still more picturesque than I left it, the lapse of nine years and a half having impaired the mental picture, which therefore required a few fresh touches – Our first glimpse of the Mediterranean yesterday was impressive, a little bit of it is seen between two hills [illustration] while a great way to the left you discover at the same moment the three hill forts, the Sprone, Castellaccio, &c rising above a range of inferior hills. [illustration] We had this view by daylight, but it was moonlight when we reached the city. Caroline <5> reached Genoa about an hour before us. She is at the Quattro Nazioni, we at the Hotel de Londres.
The Carnarvons <6> have taken a house here for the winter, a palace I mean, with a grand terrace. She is not in good health & they were so unlucky as to meet with a misadventure in Switzerland – I wrote you word <7> how I met them on the Montanvert on a Thursday. The next day Friday 30th August we crossed the Col d’Anterne, a most enterprising and extraordinary excursion, of which you have received a full account in our letters – Next day Saturday came on dreadful weather, the same gale that did so much mischief in England – Unluckily the Carnarvons had chosen this day to cross the Tête Noire, and notwithstanding the unpromising morning, they persevered, the guides assuring them that it would be a fine afternoon – But one should never trust to guides in opposition to one’s own common sense – the gale only got worse & worse, & they were out in it ten hours before they got to Martigny: and Lady Carnarvon has never been quite well since.
We are going out walking, so I must conclude, meaning to write again very soon.
Yours affly
Henry
Lady E. Feilding
Lacock Abbey
Chippenham
Inghilterra
Notes:
2. In 1823, Lady Elisabeth and Charles Feilding enjoyed a three month stay at the Villa Serbelloni where they were joined by WHFT. The Villa Serbelloni is in Varese, in Lombardy, Italy, north of Milan and near Lake Como, and is known today as Palazzo Estense. Built as a baroque palace by Francesco III d’Este, Duke of Modena and Governor of the Duchy of Milan (1698-1780), it went by descent from his third wife by morganatic marriage, Renata Teresa d’Harrach, Princess Melzi, to Rosina Zinzendorf, Countess Serbelloni. The Countess allowed wealthy paying guests to stay there. Although this was their only stay in the Villa, the house remained strong in their family memory. Just days before he wrote this letter, WHFT was conceiving of the idea of photography at the nearby Villa Melzi. His sister Horatia made a point of visiting Serbolloni in 1847.
3. Rear Admiral Charles Feilding (1780–1837), Royal Navy; WHFT’s step-father.
4. Constance Talbot, née Mundy (1811–1880), WHFT’s wife.
5. Caroline Augusta Edgcumbe, née Feilding, Lady Mt Edgcumbe (1808–1881); WHFT’s half-sister.
6. Henry John George Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon (1800-1849) and his wife, Henrietta Anna, née Howard (1804-1876).
7. See Doc. No: 02744.