The Molo of Naples is a strong, well-constructed stoneย pier, jutting far into the sea like Ranisgate pier, givingย security to the harbour, and having at its extremity aย goodly lighthouse. In the warm seasons of the yearย (that is to say, for nearly seven months out of the twelve)ย it is the favourite promenade and lounging place ofย the Neapolitan bourgeoisie and poorer classes of citizens, who are but too happy to escape from the hotย pent-up air of their narrow and tortuous streets andย lanes. On the Molo they can hear the cooling plash ofย the sea upon the rocks, and inhale the pure ย vening air.ย And, as if this were not pleasure and bliss enough, underย that glorious sky, and with the fairest view upon earthย spread before and around, hither resort singers and conjurors, mountebanks and improvisator!, men with learnedย pigs, and men with dogs that can tell fortunes, to affordย amusement to the promenaders and loungers. Theย vividness of my impressions, which lays the whole sceneย before my eyes, makes me use the present tense when Iย ought rather to use the past. I am told that the busyย and rnerry Molo has been almost ungarnished, of lateย years, of the men and things which made its merriment;ย and that a police far more ruthless than that which sometimes wageth war in our streets against Punch, hathย swept away Policinella, Canta-Storia, Ciarlatano, pig andย dog, together with every other object that used to raiseย a boisterous laugh. But I can only think of the Moloย as it was in its pristine glory, and when, as Forsyth observed, it was an epitome of the town, exhibiting the mostย of its humours, a theatre where any stranger mightย study, for nothing, the manners of the people…
