Chapter 249

1787Septempeda is supposed to have occupied the site of the modern San Severino, on the river Potenza. Tollentinum or Tollentura was probably on the site of the modern Tolentino. The town of the Treienses is supposed to have occupied a site near the modern San Severino, in the vicinity of Montecchio.

1788A colony of the people of Pollentia was established at Urbs Salvia, occupying the site of the modern Urbisaglia on the bank of the Chiento.

1789Cisalpine Gaul was so called because the inhabitants adopted the use of the Roman toga.

1790This fanciful derivation would make their name to come from the Greekὄμβρος“a shower.”

1791Now the Esino.

1792So called from the Galli Senones. The modern city of Sinigaglia occupies its site. The river Metaurus is still called the Metauro.

1793“The Temple of Fortune.” At this spot the Flaminian Way joined the road from Ancona and Picenum to Ariminum. The modern city of Fano occupies the site, but there are few remains of antiquity.

1794The modern Pesaro occupies the site of the town; the river is called the Foglia.

1795This was a flourishing town of Umbria. Augustus showed it especial favour and bestowed on it the Grove and Temple of Clitumnus, though at twelve miles’ distance from the town. The modern town of Spello occupies its site, and very extensive remains of antiquity are still to be seen. It probably received two Roman colonies, as inscriptions mention the “Colonia Julia Hispelli” and the “Colonia Urbana Flavia.” It is considered probable that Hispellum, rather than Mevania, was the birth-place of the poet Propertius. Tuder is supposed to have occupied the site of the modern Todi, on the Tiber.

1796The people of Ameria, an important and flourishing city of Umbria. There are still remains of the ancient walls; the modern town of Amelia occupies its site.

1797The site of Attidium is marked by the modern village of Attigio, two miles south of the city of Fabriano, to which the inhabitants of Attidium are supposed to have migrated in the middle ages.

1798The people of Asisium. The modern city of Assisi (the birth-place of St. Francis) occupies its site. There are considerable remains of the ancient town.

1799The people of Arna, the site of which is now occupied by the town of Civitella d’Arno, five miles east of Perugia. Some inscriptions and other objects of antiquity have been found here.

1800The people of Æsis, situate on the river of the same name. It is still called Iesi. Pliny, in B. xi. c. 97, mentions it as famous for the excellence of its cheeses.

1801The people of Camerinum, a city of Umbria. The present Camerino occupies its site. Its people were among the most considerable of Umbria. The site of the Casuentillani does not appear to be known.

1802The people of Carsulæ, an Umbrian town of some importance. Its ruins are still visible about half way between San Germino and Acqua Sparta, ten miles north of Narni. Holsten states that the site was still called Carsoli in his time, and there existed remains of an amphitheatre and a triumphal arch in honour of Trajan. Nothing seems to be known of the Dolates.

1803The people of Fulginium. From Cicero we learn that it was a municipal town. The modern city of Foligno has risen on its site. An inscription discovered here has preserved the name of Fulginia, probably a local divinity.

1804The people of Forum Flaminii, situated on the Flaminian Way, where it first entered the Apennines, three miles from Fulginium. It was here that the Emperors Gallus and Volusianus were defeated and slain by Æmilianus,A.D.256. The ruins at the spot called Giovanni pro Fiamma mark its site. The site of Forum Julii appears to be unknown, as also that of Forum Brentani.

1805The people of Forum Sempronii, the only town in the valley of the Metaurus. The modern city of Fossombrone, two miles distant, has thence taken its name. Considerable vestiges of the ancient town are still to be seen. The battle in which Hasdrubal was defeated by the Roman consuls Livius and Nero,B.C.207, was probably fought in its vicinity.

1806The people of Iguvium, an ancient and important town of Umbria. Its site is occupied by the modern city of Gubbio. Interamna on the Nar has been previously mentioned.

1807The people of the town of Mevania, now called Bevagna, in the duchy of Spoleto. The Mevanionenses were the people of Mevanio, or Mevaniolæ, in the vicinity of Mevania, and thought by Cluver to be the modern Galeata.

1808Their town was Matilica, which still retains that name. It is situate in the Marches of Ancona.

1809Their town still retains the name of Narni.

1810Their town was surnamed Favonia and Camellaria, to distinguish it from several others of the same name. The present Nocera stands on its site.

1811The people of Ocriculum, now Otricoli, previously mentioned.

1812According to Hardouin, the ruins of Ostra are those near Monte Nuovo, now Sinigaglia, but D’Anville thinks that the modern Corinaldo marks its site.

1813Nothing is known of the Plestini, nor yet of the Pitulani, who seem to have been a different people to those mentioned in the First Region.

1814The town of Sentis, according to D’Anville and Mannert, was in the vicinity of the modern town of Sasso Ferrato.

1815The people of Sarsina, an important town of Umbria, famous as being the birth-place of the comic poet Plautus. It is now called Sassina, on the Savio.

1816The people of Spoletum, now Spoleto. It was a city of Umbria on the Via Flaminia, colonized by the RomansB.C.242. In the later days of the Empire it was taken by Totilas, and its walls destroyed. They were however restored by Narses.

1817The people of Suasa; the remains of which, according to D’Anville and Mannert, are those seen to the east of the town of San Lorenzo, at a place called Castel Leone.

1818The monastery of Sestino is supposed to stand on the site of Sestinum, their town, at the source of the river Pesaro.

1819The site of their town is denoted by the modern Sigello in the Marches of Ancona.

1820Their town is supposed to have been also situate within the present Marches of Ancona, where they join the Duchy of Spoleto.

1821Their town was Trebia. The modern Trevi stands on its site.

1822The people of Tuficum, which Holsten thinks was situate between Matelica and Fabrianum, on the river called the Cesena.

1823The site of Tifernum Tiberinum is occupied by the present Citta di Castello, and that of Tifernum Metaurense, or “on the Metaurus,” by Sant Angelo in Vado in the Duchy of Urbino. The first-named place was in the vicinity of the estates of the Younger Pliny.

1824D’Anville and Mannert are of opinion that Urbania on the Metaurus, two leagues south-east of Urbino, marks the site of their town. The Hortenses probably dwelt on the site of the present Urbino.

1825The site of their town was probably the present Bettona. The site of the towns of the peoples next mentioned is unknown.

1826Nothing is known of its position. There were cities in Campania and Cisalpine Gaul also called Acerræ. The first has been mentioned under the First Region. Of the other places and peoples mentioned in this Chapter no particulars seem to have come down to us.

1827Now the Conca. It is called “rapax Crustumium” by Lucan, B. ii. l. 406.

1828One of the most important cities of Umbria. It played a conspicuous part in most of the internal wars of the Romans. The modern city of Rimini which stands on its site, still retains two striking monuments of its grandeur; the Roman bridge of marble, which crosses the river Ariminus, erected by Augustus and Tiberius, and a triumphal arch of marble, erected in honour of Augustus. The river Ariminus is now called the Marocchia, and the Aprusa is the Ausa.

1829A papal decree, issued in 1756, declared the river Lusa to have been the ancient Rubicon, but the more general opinion is that the Pisatello, a little to the north of it, has better claims to that honour. On the north bank of the Rubicon a pillar was placed by a decree of the Senate, with an inscription giving notice that whoever should pass in arms into the Roman territory would be deemed an enemy to the state. It is especially celebrated in history by Cæsar’s passage across it at the head of his army, by which act he declared war against the republic. See Lucan, B. i. l. 200-230.

1830The Sapis is the modern Savio, or Rio di Cesena; the Vitis is the Bevano, and the Anemo is the Roncone.

1831Strabo and Zosimus however state that it was first founded by the Thessalians. Ravenna first came into notice on being made one of the two chief stations of the Roman fleet. The harbour which was made for it was called “Classes,” and between it and Ravenna sprang up the town of Cæsarea. Though not deemed unhealthy, it lay in a swampy district. Theodoric made it the capital of the kingdom of the Goths. The modern city stands on the site of the ancient town. The river Bedesis is now called the Montone.

1832No remains of it are extant; but it is supposed that it stood near the entrance of the Lagunes of Comacchio.

1833The modern Bologna stands on its site, and there are but few remains of antiquity to be seen.

1834He probably means only the Etruscan cities north of the Apennines.

1835The modern town of Brescello occupies its site. Here the Emperor Otho put an end to his life on learning the defeat of his troops by Vitellius. It appears to have been a strong fortress in the time of the Lombard kings.

1836The modern Modena stands on its site. It was famous in the history of the civil wars after Cæsar’s death. Decimus Brutus was besieged here by M. Antonius, in the yearsB.C.44 and 43, and under its walls the consuls Hirtius and Pansa were slain. Its vicinity, like that of Parma, was famous for the excellence of its wool.

1837This was a Roman colony, which was enlarged by Augustus, and from him received the name of Colonia Julia Augusta. It was called, after the fall of the Western Empire, Chrysopolis or the “Golden City.” The modern city of Parma occupies its site.

1838A Roman colony. The present city of Piacenza stands on its site.

1839It still retains the name of Cesena, and is a considerable place. After the fall of the Western Empire it was used as a fortress of great strength. We shall find Pliny again mentioning it in B. xiv. c. 6, as famous for the goodness of its wines, a reputation which it still maintains. The name of Claterna, once a municipal town of importance, is still retained in part by a small stream which crosses the road nine miles from Bologna, and is called the Quaderna. An old church and a few houses, called Santa Maria di Quaderna, probably mark the site of the vicinity of the town, which was situate on the high road.

1840This Forum Clodii is said by D’Anville to be the modern Fornocchia. Forum Livii is supposed to have occupied the site of the present city of Forli. Forum Popili or Forli Piccolo occupies the site of Forum or Foro Popili.

1841This place is supposed to have stood on the spot where the episcopal town of Bertinoro now stands. In inscriptions it is called Forodruentinorum. Forum Cornelii, said to have been so called from the Dictator Sylla, occupied the site of the modern town of Imola. The poet Martial is said to have resided for some time in this town.

1842The people of Faventia, now Faenza. Pliny, B. xix. c. i., speaks of the whiteness of its linen, for the manufacture of which it was celebrated. At this place Carbo and Norbanus were defeated with great loss by Metellus, the partisan of Sylla, inB.C.82.

1843The people of Fidentia. The present Borga di San Donnino stands on its site, which is between Parma and Placentia, fifteen miles from the former city.

1844Cluver thinks that their town was on the site of the modern Castel Bondino.

1845So named after Æmilius Lepidus. The people of Regium Lepidum, the site of whose town is occupied by the modern Reggio.

1846Solonatium is supposed to have had the site of the modern Citta di Sole or Torre di Sole.

1847Nothing certain is known of this people or their town, but it is thought by Rezzonico that by this name were meant those who occupied the wood-clad heights of the Apennines, above Modena and Parma. Cicero mentions a Saltus Gallicanus as being a mountain of Campania, but that is clearly not the spot meant here.

1848Their town is thought to have stood on the same site as the modern Tenedo.

1849Their town was perhaps on the same site as the modern Villac, on the river Nura.

1850The modern city of Ombria probably stands on the site of Urbana, their town, of which considerable remains are still to be seen.

1851These and the Senones were nations of Cisalpine Gaul. The Boii emigrated originally from Transalpine Gaul, by the Penine Alps, or the Pass of Great St. Bernard. They were completely subdued by Scipio Nasica inB.C.191, when he destroyed half of their population, and deprived them of nearly half of their lands. They were ultimately driven from their settlements, and established themselves in the modern Bohemia, which from them takes its name. The Senones, who had taken the city of Rome inB.C.390, were conquered and the greater part of them destroyed by the Consul Dolabella inB.C.283.

1852The Po, which rises in Monte Viso in Savoy.

1853Already mentioned in C.7of the present Book.

1854Ovid in his account of the adventure of Phaëton (Met. B. ii.) states that he fell into the river Padus.

1855The Tanarus is still called the Tanaro. The Trebia, now the Trebbia, is memorable for the defeat on its banks of the Romans by Hannibal,B.C.218. The Incia is the modern Enza or Lenza, the Tarus the Taro, the Gabellus the Secchia, the Scultenna the Panaro, and the Rhenus the Reno.

1856The Stura still has the same name; the Orgus is the modern Orco. The streams called Duriæ are known as the Dora Baltea and the Dora Riparia; the Sessites is the Sesia, the Ticinus the Tessino, the Lambrus the Lambro, the Addua the Adda, the Ollius the Oglio, and the Mincius the Menzo.

1857This seems to be the meaning of “gravis terræ,” unless it signifies “pressing heavily upon the land,” and so cutting out channels for its course. He has previously stated that, though rapid, it is not in the habit of carrying away its banks. See a very able article on the question whether the name Eridanus belonged originally to this river or to some other in the north of Europe, in Dr. Smith’s Dictionary of Ancient Geography under the word “Eridanus.”

1858That is to say, the canal made by Augustus was so called.

1859It was on this occasion that, after a stay of only a few days in Britain, he quitted the island, returned to Rome, and celebrated a splendid triumph. This outlet of the Po has now the name of Po di Primero.

1860Now the Santerno, noted for the sluggishness of its waters.

1861The Ostium Caprasiæ is now called the Porto Interito di Bell’ Ochio, the Ostium Sagis the Porto di Magnavacca; Volane, or Volana, is the south main branch of the river. The Ostia Carbonaria, mentioned below, was the north main branch, subdivided into several small branches; and the Fossæ or Fossiones Philistinæ connected the river, by means of the Tartarus, with the Athesis.

1862The reading is doubtful here, and even this, which is perhaps the best, appears to be corrupt; for it is difficult to conceive how all the mouths previously mentioned could have been upon one canal, and besides it would seem that Olane was one of the natural mouths of the river.

1863More generally Adria, from which, as Pliny says, the Adriatic takes its name. Either a Greek, or, what is more probable, as Pliny states, an Etruscan colony, it became the principal emporium of trade with the Adriatic, in consequence of which it was surrounded with canals and other works to facilitate its communications with other rivers. It is still called Adria, and in its vicinity to the south, considerable remains of the ancient city are still to be seen.

1864So called from the Philistæi, said to have been the ancient inhabitants of the spot. They are now called the Bocca della Gnoca, the Bocca della Scovetta, the Busa delle Tole, the Sbocco dell’ Asinino, &c. The Ostia Carbonaria and the Fossæ Philistinæ were to the north of the ones previously mentioned.

1865He seems to confound the Fosses of Philistina with the Tartarus (now Tartaro). That river however connected the Fosses of Philistina with the Athesis, now the Adige.

1866Now the Bacchiglione.

1867The modern Brondolo.

1868Now Chioggia, formed by the rivers Brenta and Brentella. Hardouin thinks the Clodian Canal to be the same as the modern Fossa Paltana.

1869Now Monteu di Po, below Chevasso, mentioned in the 7th Chapter.

1870This place is supposed to have been situate in the vicinity of the modern Saluzzo, on the north bank of the Po. Segusio occupied the site of the modern Susa.

1871Augusta of the Taurini. The present city of Turin stands on its site. It was made a Roman colony by Augustus. With the exception of some inscriptions, Turin retains no vestiges of antiquity.

1872The present city of Aosta occupies its site. This was also a Roman colony founded by Augustus, after he had subdued the Salassi. It was, as Pliny says in C.5, the extreme point of Italy to the north. The remains of the ancient city are of extreme magnificence.

1873The Grecian pass of the Alps was that now known as the Little St. Bernard; while the Penine pass was the present Great St. Bernard. Livy in his History, B. xxi. c. 38, points out the error of taking these mountains to have derived their name from the Pœni or Carthaginians. There is no doubt that they took their name from the Celtic word signifying a mountain, which now forms the “Pen” of the Welsh and the “Ben” of the Scotch.

1874Now called Ivrea or Lamporeggio, at the entrance of the valley of the Salassi, the present Val d’Aosta. There are some remains of the ancient town to be seen.

1875The present town of Vercelli stands on its site.

1876Now called Novara, in the Duchy of Milan.

1877It became a Roman municipal town, but owes its greatness to the Lombard kings who made it their capital, and altered the name to Papia, now Pavia.

1878“Pompey’s Praises.” The present Lodi Vecchio marks its site.

1879It was the capital of the Insubres, a Gallic nation, and was taken by the Romans inB.C.222, on which it became a municipium and Roman colony. On the division of the empire by Diocletian, it became the residence of his colleague Maximianus, and continued to be the abode of the Emperors of the West till it was plundered by Attila, who transferred the seat of government to Ravenna. It afterwards became the capital of the kingdom of the Ostro-Goths, and was again sacked by the Goths inA.D.539, and its inhabitants put to the sword. The present city, known to us as Milan, contains no remains of antiquity.

1880The modern Como and Bergamo stand on their sites.

1881From its name, signifying the “market of Licinius,” it would appear to be of Roman origin. Its site is supposed to have been at a place called Incino, near the town of Erba, between Como and Lecco, where inscriptions and other antiquities have been found.

1882Deriving it from the Greekὄρος, “a mountain,” andβίος, “life.”

1883“Etiamnum prodente se altius quam fortunatius situm.” Hardouin seems to think that “se” refers to Cato, and that he informs us to that effect; but to all appearance, it relates rather to the town, which even yet, by its ruins, showed that it was perched too high among the mountains to be a fertile spot.

1884The district of the Veneti. These people, taking refuge in the adjoining islands in the fifth century to escape the Huns under Attila, founded the modern city of Venice.

1885Now called the Sile, which flows past Trevigio or Treviso.

1886The mountainous district in the vicinity of Tarvisium, the modern Treviso.

1887Situate in a marsh or lagune on the river Sile. It became a Roman colony after Pliny’s time, under the Emperor Trajan. Its villas are described by Martial as rivalling those of Baiæ. The Emperor Verus died hereA.D.169. The modern village of Altino is a very impoverished place. The Liquentia is now called the Livenza.

1888Now called Oderzo, on the river Montegano, which flows into the Liquenza. The conduct of the people of this place, in the wars between Pompey and Cæsar, is mentioned by Lucan, in his Pharsalia, B. iv. l. 462.

1889From inscriptions we find that this place was called Colonia Julia Concordia, from which it seems probable that it was one of the colonies founded by Augustus to celebrate the restoration of peace. It rapidly rose into importance, and is often mentioned during the later ages of the Roman Empire, as one of the most important cities in this part of Italy. It is now a poor village, with the same name, and no remains of antiquity beyond a few inscriptions.

1890The Romatinum is the modern Lemene. Pliny seems to imply, (though from the uncertainty of the punctuation it is not clear,) that on the Romatinum there was a port of that name. If so, it would probably occupy the site of the present Santa Margherita, at the mouth of the Lemene.

1891The greater Tiliaventum is the modern Tagliamento; and Hardouin suggests that the smaller river of that name is the Lugugnana.

1892This river is supposed to be the same with the modern Stella, and the Varamus the Revonchi, which joins the Stella.

1893Now called the Ansa. The Natiso is the modern Natisone, and the Turrus the Torre; the former flowed past Aquileia on the west, the latter on the east, in former times, but their course is probably now changed, and they fall into the Isonzo, four miles from the city.

1894The capital of Venetia, and one of the most important cities of Northern Italy. In the yearA.D.452 it was besieged by Attila, king of the Huns, taken by storm, and plundered and burnt to the ground. On its site, which is very unhealthy, is the modern village of Aquileia, with about 1400 inhabitants. No ruins of any buildings are visible, but the site abounds with coins, shafts of columns, inscriptions, and other remains of antiquity.

1895Ptolemy states that Concordia and Aquileia were situate in the district of the Carni.

1896Still called the Timavo.

1897Castel Duino stands on its site. It will be found again mentioned in B. xiv. C. 8, for the excellence of its wines.

1898Now the Gulf of Trieste. Tergeste was previously an insignificant place, but made a Roman colony by Vespasian. The modern city of Trieste occupies its site.

1899Most probably the modern Risano. Cluver and D’Anville are of that opinion, but Walckenaer thinks that it was a small stream near Muja Yecchia; which seems however to be too near Trieste.

1900In the time of Augustus, and before Istria was added as a province to Italy.

1901He alludes to an old tradition that the Argonauts sailed into the Ister or Danube, and then into the Save, till they came to the spot where the modern town of Upper Laybach stands, and that here they built Nauportus, after which they carried their ship across the mountains on men’s shoulders into the Adriatic. He intends to suggest therefore that the place had its name from the Greekναῦς“a ship” andπορθμὸς“a passage.”

1902The modern town of Laybach stands on its site. It is situate on the Save, and on the road from Aquileia to Celeia. The Roman remains prove that the ancient city exceeded the modern one in magnitude. According to tradition it was founded by the Argonauts. It subsequently became a Roman colony, with the title of Julia Augusta. It is again mentioned in C.28.

1903Now the Golfo di Quarnaro. Liburnia was separated from Istria on the north-west by the river Arsia, and from Dalmatia on the south by the river Titus or Kerka, corresponding to the western part of modern Croatia, and the northern part of modern Dalmatia. Iapydia was situate to the north of Dalmatia and east of Liburnia, or the present military frontier of Croatia, between the rivers Kulpa and Korana to the north and east, and the Velebich mountains to the south. Istria consisted of the peninsula which still bears the same appellation.

1904This passage, “while others make it 225,” is omitted in many of the MSS. and most of the editions. If it is retained, it is not improbable that his meaning is, “and the circumference of Liburnia which joins it, with the Flanatic Gulf, some make 225, while others make the compass of Liburnia to be 180 miles.” It depends on the punctuation and the force of “item,” and the question whether the passage is not in a corrupt state; and it is not at all clear what his meaning really is.

1905He alludes to C. Sempronius Tuditanus, ConsulB.C.129. He gained his victory over the Iapydes chiefly through the skill of his legatus, D. Junius Brutus. He was a distinguished orator and historian. He was the maternal grandfather of the orator Hortensius.

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