Thomas Ashby

“ The beetroot and oysters of Circei had a certain reputation. The view from the highest summit of the promontory (which is occupied by ruins of a platform attributed with great probability to a temple of Venus or Circe) is of remarkable beauty; the whole mountain is covered with fragrant shrubs. From any point in the Pomptine Marshes or on the coast-line of Latium the Circeian promontory dominates the landscape in the most remarkable way. ”

“ CARSIOLI (mod. Carsoli) , an ancient city of Italy, on the Via Valeria, 42 m. E. by N. of Rome. It was founded in the country of the Aequi between 302 and 298 B.C., just after the establishment of Alba Fucens, no doubt as a stronghold to guard the road to the latter. It is mentioned in 211 B.C. as one of the twelve out of thirty Latin colonies which protested their inability to furnish more men or money for the war against Hannibal. ”

“ SATURNIA (mod. Saturnia) , an ancient town of Etruria. Italy, about 23 m. N.E. of Orbetello and the coast. Dionysius of Halicarnassus enumerates it among the towns first occupied by the Pelasgi and then by the Tuscans. ”

“ The most famous remains of the ancient city are the temples, the most important of which form a row along the low cliffs at the south end of the city. All are built in the Doric style, of the local porous stone, which is of a warm red brown colour, full of fossil shells and easily corroded when exposed to the air. It should be noted that their traditional names, with the exception of that of Zeus and that of Asclepius, have no foundation in fact, while the attribution of the temple in antis, into the cella of which the church of S. Biagio has been built, is uncertain. ”

“ During this long period of nearly three centuries, in which the most dramatic incident is the conspiracy of Fieschi, the Genoese found no small compensation for their lost traffic in the East in the vast profits which they made as the bankers of the Spanish crown and outfitters of the Spanish armies and fleets both in the old world and the new, and Genoa, more fortunate than many of the other cities of Italy, was comparatively immune from foreign domination. ”

“ In the time of Strabo the Greek cities on the coast had fallen into insignificance, and owing to the decrease of population and cultivation the malaria began to obtain the upper hand. The few towns of the interior were of no importance. A large part of the province was given up to pasture, and the mountains were covered with forests, which abounded in wild boars, bears and wolves. There were some fifteen independent communities, but none of great importance.
For administrative purposes under the Roman empire, Lucania was always united with the district of the Bruttii. ”

“ Even in Strabo's time (v. 3. 5, p. 231) the harbour of Ostia had become dangerous: he speaks of it as a “city without a harbour owing to the silting up brought about by the Tiber . . .: the ships anchor at considerable risk in the roads, but the love of gain prevails: for the large number of lighters which receive the cargoes and reload them renders the time short before they can enter the river, and having lightened a part of their cargoes they sail in and ascend to Rome.” ”

“ SATRICUM (mod. Conca) , an ancient town of Latium, situated some 30 m. to the S.E. of Rome, in a low-lying region to the S. of the Alban Hills, to the N.W. of the Pomptine Marshes. It was accessible direct from Rome by a road running more or less parallel to the Via Appia, to the S.W. of it. ”

“ The picturesque covered bridge which joins Pavia to the suburb on the right bank of the river was preceded by a Roman bridge, of which only one pillar, in blocks of granite from the Baveno quarries, exists under the central arch of the medieval bridge, the rest having no doubt served as material for the latter. ”

“ A feud with the Thurians for the district of the Siris was settled in 432 by the joint foundation of Heraclea, which, however, was regarded as a Tarentine colony. In the 4th century Tarentum was the first city of Magna Graecia, and its wealth and artistic culture at this time are amply attested by its rich and splendid coins; the gold pieces in particular (mainly later than 360) are perhaps the most beautiful ever struck by Greeks (see Numismatics) . ”

“ The worship of Diana here was a very ancient one, and, as among the Scythians, was originally, so it was said, celebrated with human sacrifices; even in imperial times the priest of Diana was a a man of low condition, a gladiator or a fugitive slave, who won his position by slaying his predecessor in fight, having first plucked a mistletoe bough from the sacred grove, and who, notwithstanding, bore the title of rex (king) . It is curious that in none of the inscriptions that have been found is the priest of Diana mentioned ”

“ Remains of Roman villas are conspicuous all along the shore, both to the east and to the north-west of the town. That of Nero cannot be certainly identified, but is generally placed at the so-called Arco Muto, where remains of a theatre (discovered in 1712 and covered up again) also exist. Many works of art have been found. Of the famous temple of Fortune (Horace, Od. i. 35) no remains are known. The sea is encroaching slightly at Anzio, but some miles farther north-west the old Roman coast-line now lies slightly inland (see Tiber) . ”

“ The river has always had considerable military importance, and the colony of Volturnum (no doubt preceded by an older port of Capua) was founded in 194 B.C. at its mouth on the S. bank by the Romans; it is now about one mile inland. A fort had already been placed there during the Roman siege of Capua, in order, with Puteoli, to serve for the provisioning of the army. Augustus placed a colony of veterans here. The Via Domitiana from Sinuessa to Puteoli crossed the river at this point, and some remains of the bridge are visible. ”

“ ISCHIA (Gr. Πιθηκοῦσα, Lat. Aenaria, in poetry Inarime) , an island off the coast of Campania, Italy, 16 m. S.W. of Naples, to the province of which it belongs, and 7 m. S.W. of the Capo Miseno, the nearest point of the mainland. Pop. about 20,000. It is situated at the W. extremity of the Gulf of Naples, and is the largest island near Naples, measuring about 19 m. in circumference and 26 sq. m. in area. It belongs to the same volcanic system as the mainland near it, and the Monte Epomeo (anc. Ἐπωπεύς, viewpoint) , the highest point of the island (2588 ft.) ”

“ The Greeks were not the first settlers on the peninsula: excavations have brought to light signs of a pre-Hellenic settlement. To the Greeks Taras was a mythical hero, son of Neptune, and he is sometimes confounded with the oecist (official founder) of the colony, Phalanthus. Situated in a fertile district, especially famous for olives and sheep, with an admirable harbour, great fisheries and prosperous manufactures of wool, purple [1] and pottery, Tarentum grew in power and wealth and extended its domain inland. ”

“ A portion of the enclosed area is open country, dotted only here and there with houses and gardens. There are eight gates, the more important being Porta Pila and Porta Romana towards the east, and the Porta Lanterna or Lighthouse Gate to the west. The main architectural features of Genoa are its medieval churches, with striped façades of black and white marble, and its magnificent 16th-century palaces. The earlier churches of Genoa show a mixture of French Romanesque and the Pisan style—they are mostly basilicas with transepts, and as a rule a small dome ”

“ At the ninth mile the road crosses a ravine by the well-preserved and lofty Ponte di Nona, with seven arches, the finest ancient bridge in the neighbourhood of Rome. The line of the road is, considering the difficulty of the country beyond Gabii, very straight. ”

“ A marshalling station costing some £800,000, connected directly with the harbour by tunnels, with 31 m. of rails, capable of taking 2000 trucks, was constructed at Campasso in 1906 north of San Pier d’Arena (through which till then the traffic of the first three lines, representing 95% of the total, had to pass) . It is computed that some 40% of the total commerce of Italy passes through Genoa; it is indeed the most important harbour in the western Mediterranean, with the exception of Marseilles, with which it carries on a keen rivalry. ”

“ POPILIA (or Popillia) , VIA, the name of two ancient roads in Italy. (1) A highroad running from the Via Appia at Capua to Regium, a distance of 321 m. right along the length of the peninsula, and the main road through the interior of the country, not along the coast. It was built in 159 B.C. by the censor M. Popilius Laenias or in 132 B.C. by the consul P. Popilius. (2) A highroad from Ariminum to Aquileia along the Adriatic coast. It no doubt originally came into use when Aquileia was founded as a frontier fortress of Italy in 181 B.C., and Polybius gives the distance correctly as 178 m. ”

“ Large portions of the town are inaccessible to ordinary carriages, and many of the important streets have very little room for traffic. In modern times, however, a number of fine streets and squares with beautiful gardens have been laid out. The Piazza Ferrari, a large irregular space, is the chief focus of traffic and the centre of the Genoese tramway system; it is embellished with a fine equestrian statue of Garibaldi, unveiled in 1893, which stands in front of the Teatro Carlo Felice. ”

“ Between the amphitheatre and the theatre is the site of the Forum, of which nothing is now visible, and to the south on a projecting spur were tombs of the Roman period. There are also many remains of houses and villas. The citadel—which stood on the highest point an abrupt rock—was approached only on one side, that towards the city, and even here by a steep ascent of 150 ft. Upon it remains of the medieval castle, which stood here until 1191, alone are visible. The city walls, of which some remains still exist below the theatre, are built of blocks of the native “ lapis Albanus ” or peperino. ”

“ When Belisarius was sent by Justinian to recover Italy, Datius, the archbishop of Milan, joined him, and the Goths were expelled from the city. But Uraia, nephew of Vitigis the Gothic king, subsequently assaulted and retook the town, after a brave resistance. Uraia destroyed the whole of Milan in 539; and hence it is that this city, once so important a centre of Roman civilization, possesses so few remains of antiquity. Narses, in his campaigns against the Goths, had invited the Lombards to his aid. They came in a body under Alboin, their king, in 568, and were soon masters of north Italy. ”

“ There are no archaeological remains in Viterbo itself, except a few courses of masonry under the bridge which connects the cathedral with the city, near the cathedral, possibly the pier of an older bridge. But the site is not unreasonably considered to be ancient, and the name to be derived from Vetus urbs; tombs, too, have been found in the neighbourhood, and it is not an unlikely assumption that here, as elsewhere, the medieval town occupies the Etruscan site. ”

“ There are many modern public monuments—considerably more than in other Italian towns—and some of them are fine. The Mole Antonelliana, built by Alessandro Antonelli, is the most important example of modern architecture in Turin. It belongs to the municipality, and is used for the Risorgimento Museum. It is the highest brick edifice in Europe, its summit being 510 ft. above ground. It is a square edifice with a large dome and lofty spire, the dome being raised upon a hall with three galleries, one above the other, so that from the floor to the top of the dome is over 300 ft. ”

“ Even during the Social War Nuceria remained true to Rome, though the dependent towns joined the revolt; after it they were formed into independent communities, and Nuceria received the territory of Stabiae, which had been destroyed by Sulla in 89 B.C., as a compensation. In 73 B.C. it was plundered by Spartacus. Of the buildings of the ancient city nothing at all is to be seen; but on the hillsides on the S. are remains of villas of the Roman period, and here tombs have been found. ”

“ Of the ancient city walls a small fragment alone is preserved, and no other traces of antiquity are visible, not even of the amphitheatre which it once possessed, for which a ticket (tessera) has been found (Th. Mommsen in Ber. d. Sächsischen Gesellschaft d. Wissenschaften, 1849, 286) . It was a Volscian, not a Hernican, town; a part of its territory was taken from it about 306–303 B.C. by the Romans and sold. The town then became a praefectura, probably with the civitas sine suffragio, and later a colony, but we hear nothing important of it. It was situated just above the Via Latina. (T. As.) ”

“ Lobsters are exported, especially to Paris. The coral fishery—mainly on the west coast—has lost its former importance. Neither the tunny nor the coral fishery is carried on by the Sardinians themselves, who are not sailors by nature; the former is in the hands of Genoese and the latter of Neapolitans. The unhealthy lagoons contain abundance of fish. The mountain streams often contain small but good trout.
In Roman times Sardinia, relatively somewhat more prosperous than at present, though not perhaps greatly different as regards its products, was especially noted as a grain-producing country. ”