Observations on Italian medical institutions and practice : with a brief comparative sketch of some points of French and English practice, and remarks on Italian climate / by Edwin Lee.

  • Lee, Edwin, -1870.
Date:
1831
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Observations on Italian medical institutions and practice : with a brief comparative sketch of some points of French and English practice, and remarks on Italian climate / by Edwin Lee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    passages exists, Rome is the most advantageous winter resi- dence : with some patients, however, of this class Pisa agrees better. In the more chronic form of bronchial affection, and that called winter cough of elderly persons, the climate of Nice is preferable to either Rome or Pisa. Rheumatic and dyspeptic patients are generally benefited by wintering at Rome. Naples. The climate of Naples is one of the most vari- able in Italy: cold winds are severely felt in that part of the city inhabited by foreigners, viz. the Sta. Lucia Chiaja and Strada Vittoria, and the houses are less calculated to exclude cold air than those in other Italian cities. The heat of the sun, and the relaxing effects of the sirocco wind, render in- valids extremely susceptible of the great and frequent changes of temperature. All patients with thoracic, tracheal, or rheumatic complaints, should avoid Naplgs during the winter and early part of the spring. For nervous and hy- pochondriacal patients, who require mental relaxation, Naples joins to the bustle and gaiety of a large capital the advan- tages of clear sky, beautiful scenery, and a residence on the sea shore. Baths of Lucca. For those who are unable or unwilHng to leave Italy during the summer, the Baths of Lucca offer the most eligible and agreeable residence: the season is from the middle of May to the end of August, during which time the weather is fine and settled. It is the coolest summer residence in Italy, and possesses sheltered walks, where ex- ercise may be taken at any hour of the day. The part called the Ponte Seraglio, and the Bagni alia Villa, are pleasantly situate in a valley among the Apennines, on a branch of the river Serchio, and distant about three quarters of a mile from each other. The most eligible situation, however, for pulmonary or rheumatic invalids is the part called the Bagni Caldi, situate on a hill overlooking the Ponte Seraglio, at which last-named place, and at the Bagni alia Villa, conside- rable humidity prevails towards evening. The water which supplies the baths is derived from hot springs; it has not any active, medicinal properties, and is beneficial in rheumatic and other complaints. The months of September, October, and part of November, may be passed at Florence, where, during this period, the weather is generally fine and mild. Leghorn may also be advantageously resorted to during the month of September. On the whole, therefore, 1 should say that, in consump- tion, 1 isa and Rome are the only two places in Italy Hkely to *e beneficial m retarding the melancholy termination of the a