Naples is situated towards the south and east on the declivity of a
long range of hills, and encircling a gulf of 16 miles in breadth,
and as many in length, which forms a basin, called Crater by the
Neapolitans. The city appears to crown this superb basin. One part
rises towards the west in the form of an amphitheatre, on the hills
of Pausilippo, St. Ermo, and Antiguano; the other extends towards the
east, over a more level territory, in which villas follow each other
in rapid succession, from the Magdalen Bridge to Portici, where the
king's palace is situated, and beyond that to Mount Vesuvius. The
Neapolitans have a saying, _Vedi Napoli e po mari_, intimating that
when Naples has been seen, every thing has been seen; and its
congregated charms of situation, climate, and fertility almost warrant
this patriotic ebullition.

"On the northern side, Naples is surrounded by hills, which (says
_Vasi_, in his '_Picture_,') form a kind of crown round the _Terra di
Lavoro_, the Land of Labour." This consists of a district, in the
language of ancient Rome,


------Lecos laeros, et amoena vireta
Fortunatorum nemorum, sedesque beatas--


and fertilized by a river, called Sebeto, which descends from the hills
on the side of Nola, and falls into the sea after having passed under
Magdalen Bridge, towards the eastern part of Naples.

The ancient history of Naples is involved in much obscurity. According
to some, says _Vasi_, Falerna, one of the Argonauts, founded it about