Princess Victoria's Italian exercises

This opening shows the Italian exercises written out by the 15-year-old Princess (later Queen) Victoria in 1835. On the left she noted (in Italian) that 'the City of London is larger and more populated than the city of Rome, but it is not as beautiful as the capital of the world', and on the right 'Italy is the most beautiful country in Europe even though it is very badly cultivated in many places'