SIGHTS AND THEATRES.
xxi
The usual viands for lunch are ham, sausages, cutlets, beefsteaks, and
eggs (uova da bere, soft; toste, hard; uova al piatto, fried).
Ices (sorbetto or gelato) of every possible variety are supplied at the
cafes at 30-90 c. per portion; or half a portion (mezzo) may be ordered.
Granita, or half-frozen ice (limonata, of lemons; aranciata, of oranges), is
much in vogue in the forenoon. The waiters, who expects a sou or more,
according to the amount of the payment, are apt to be inaccurate in chang¬
ing money.
The principal Parisian newspapers are to be found at all the larger
cafes, English rarely.
Cigars in Italy are a monopoly of Government, and bad. The
prices of the home-made cigars (Scelti Romani, Virginias, Vevays,
Pressati, Cavours, Napoletani, Toscani, Minghetti, etc.) vary from
5 to 15 c. Good imported cigars may be bought at the best shops
in the large towns for 25-60 c. each. — Passers-by are at liberty
to avail themselves of the light burning in every tobacconist's,
without making any purchase.
X. Sights, Theatres, etc.
Churches are open in the morning till 12orl2. 30, and generally
again from 4 to 7 p. m. Visitors may inspect the works of art
even during divine service, provided they move about noiselessly,
and keep aloof from the altar where the clergy are officiating. On
the occasion of festivals the works of art are often entirely concealed
by the temporary decorations. The verger (sagrestano, or nonzolo)
receives a fee of 30 - 50 c. from a single traveller, more from a
party, if his services are required.
Museums, picture-galleries, and other collections are usually
open from 10 to 4 o'clock. By a law passed in 1875 all the col¬
lections which belong to government are open on week-days at a
charge of 1 fr., and on Sundays (and sometimes on Thursdays also)
gratis. Artists are admitted without charge. The attendants are
forbidden to accept gratuities, but are sometimes very importunate
in endeavouring to sell photographs (dear and often bad).
The collections are closed on the following public holidays: New
Year's Day, Epiphany (6th Jan.), the Monday and Tuesday during the
Carnival, Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, Ascension Day, Whitsunday, Fete
de Dieu (Corpus Christi), the Festa dello Statute (first Sunday in June),
Assumption of the Virgin (15th Aug.), Nativity of the Virgin (8th Sept.),
Festival of the Annunciation (25th Mar.), All Saints'1 Day (1st Nov.), and
on Christmas Day. A good many other days are also sometimes observed
as holidays, such as the Thursday before the Carnival (Giovedi grasso),
the day sacred to the local patron-saint, and the birthdays of the king
(14th Mar.) and queen (20th Nov.).
Valets de Place (servitori di piazza) may be hired at 5-6 fr. per
day. They are generally respectable and trustworthy, but, as they
are seldom good judges of what is really worth seeing, the traveller
should specify to them the places he desires to visit. Their services
may generally well be dispensed with by those who are not pressed
for time. Purchases should never be made, nor contracts with vet-
turini or other persons drawn up, in presence or with the aid of a
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