2-995-779 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Revolution in Sicily - "Our First Bivouac at sunrise, near Villafrati" - from a sketch by our special artist, 1860. 'General Turr's column...left Palermo...towards the close of last month, its supposed destination being Syracuse...the column halted [at Villafrati] till the 26th, owing to the illness of General Turr...The scarcity of villages in this centre part makes the march of a column in the middle of summer, without tents, and in a country almost devoid of trees except in the immediate neighbourhood of villages, a matter of serious difficulty. No movement is practicable except very early in the morning and late in the afternoon, for you must contrive to find shelter during the heat of the day, which, above all in the time of sirocco, is overpowering...It often struck me that the country people have very indifferent ideas of distances which are the most familiar to them; thus, according to their account, it was only a couple of miles to the top: elastic miles they were, to be sure, and we thought the ascent never would have ended...The difficulty for some time was to fix the eye in any particular direction, so wonderful was the effect of this sea of mountains'. From "Illustrated London News", 1860.