ROUTE

32-Continued.

Rome. The terminus is near Porta Maggiore and the Baths of Diocletian. Leaving the city, the first place on the line is

Ciampino (Stat.), where the branch line turns off to Frascati, Tusculum, &c., in the Alban Hills (see page 220). A tram is open to this place, and to Marino beyond. Here and there are seen remains of great aqueducts, and the Tombs of Pompey, Domitian, Arnus, &c. The line then crosses the Via Appia, and winds round the base of the hills, to

Marino (Stat.), on the Appian Way. Then Cecchina-Albano (Stat.), short line to Albano, 3 miles, near the Alban Lake, Montegiove, and Corioli, from which Coriolanus obtained his famous surname (see page 220). Branch line to Nettuno

Velletri (Stat.), the site of Velitræ, an old city of the Volscians, and the birth-place of Augustus, picturesquely seated half-way up Monte Artėmesio, in the Alban Hills. Its ruined walls were built by Coriolanus. Its first inhabitants were carried to Rome, and are said to be the progenitors of the residents in the Trastevere. Population, 16,000. The Palazzo Lancelotti is the work of M. Lunghi. Near this was found the Velletri Pallas, now in the Louvre. Here the railway, leaving the old route towards the Naples frontier, along the Appian Way, strikes inland among the hills; but a coach leaves the station for the old route, as far as Terracina, to which a line is commenced.

[The old Coach Route on the Via Appia is perfectly straight and level, and lined with trees. It passes Tres Taberna, or Three Taverns, where St. Paul met the brethren from Rome; Cisterna and its oak woods, having on the left, Cora, or Cori, an old Volscian town with two ancient temples; Norba (now Norma); and Setia (or Sezze). At Tre Pont Tower, or Trepontium (there is a Roman bridge still) the Pomptine or Pontine Marshes begin, and extend to Terracina, 18 leagues; a fertile but watery tract, formerly well drained and peopled, and embracing upwards of twenty villages. Between 1777 and 1781, the work of drainage was resumed by Pius VI. ; and ditches were made to the Naviglio Grande Canal which runs by the side of the road and represents the canal of Augustus, on which Horace embarked on his journey to Brundusium. Foro Appio (Appii Forum), where he took boat, between Treponti and Bocca di Fiume, was then a great place for bargemen and tavern-keepers. Two ancient milestones of the Via Appia and a tomb are seen near this; and, to the left, Privernum, the birth-place of Camillus. Buffaloes, grey oxen, goats, horses, wild geese, &c., are seen among the sweet smelling flowers, canes, and long grass, backed by the Volscian Hills."

"Though the Pontine Marshes are now an unhealthy swamp, the inhabitants of which show the effects of malaria in their faces, yet the scene altogether is much more interesting and even beautiful than we expected to find. The morning was brilliant; the yellow canes contrasted well in colour with the deep blue pools of water, over which hovered birds of various kinds; and the large herds of cattle-fine grey, handsome creatures-standing in picturesque groups near the road, and gazing at us with their soft brown eyes, that form in their mild expression so striking a contrast with their formidable horns; with the little black dots in the distance, which we only know to be buffaloes from their colour and their numbers; all tended to give great life to the plain. The mountains were still more attractive; for their forms vary with every mile of the road, and with their snowy summits and the purple shadows revealing glens and hollows we longed to explore, they not only broke the monotony of the plain but rendered it more striking by contrast."-Miss CATLOW's Sketches of Travel.

Approaching Terracina, the Circean Promontory (Monte Circello) is seen on the right. Here the Romans came to hunt the wild boar and eat oysters.

Terracina (population, 5,000), where Horace's canal trip terminated, is on the coast of the Gulf of Gaëta, at a pass between the sea and the precipitous hills, which come down close to the water. It is the ancient Anxur, Trachna, or Tarracina; now a picturesque but half-ruined place, containing remains of its old walls and castle; a Cathedral, in a half-Byzantine style, on the site of a Roman temple; Pius VI.'s Villa, and the ruins of Theodoric's Palace, on a height. From this are extensive sea views, of the Gulf of Gaëta and its fortress; of Procida, Ischia, &c., at the corner of Naples Bay; of the Ponza Group; and of Vendotena, the ancient Pandataria, the place of exile of Augustus's daughter, Julia; her daughter, Agrippina. and Nero's wife, Octavia. The road follows the Via Appia, through a defile, the Lantuia, or Portella Pass, celebrated in the Samnian wars. Houses and medieval towers are perched on the rocks, covered with golden wallflowers. eitron, palm, and other marks of the south are seen, but there is a want of trees and grass.

The

TORRE DE CONFINI, the last place on the former Papal territory.

PORTELLA, in the province of Terra di Lavoro (i.e., Land of Labour, which here means that very little is required), or the Garden of Campania Felix, in the Kingdom of Italy. The old Castle of Monticelli stands on the heights. A lake here lines the shore of the ancient Bay of Amycle.

Fondi, consisting of a long narrow street in the Pass, celebrated for its Cæcubian wine; for its inn, the scene of Washington Irving's story; for its bandits, Fra Diavolo (whose real name was Michele Pezza), and Mammone; and for the Dominican Convent, in which St. Thomas Aquinas lived.

Population, 6,212. In 1534, the beautiful widow of Prosper Colonna, lord of the town, was nearly carried off by the brother of the Turkish corsair, Barbarossa (Red Beard), who intended to make a present of her to Soliman II. An inn is called Locanda Barbarossa. Ascend to

ITRI, on a height at the end of the pass, with its picturesque cattle, and a population of 4,000.

Mola di Gaëta (population, 8,203), a dirty town, including Castelbone, the site of Formiae, whose wine Horace compares to Falernian. The Villa Caposello, now an inn, is the site of Cicero's Villa Formianum, where he met and conferred with Cæsar before joining Pompey. Here he was assassinated in his sixty-fourth year, by the messengers of Anthony; one of the murderers being a tribune whom Cicero had successfully defended in a trial for his life. In the gardens behind, are the Baths of Cicero; and a building called the Tower of Cicero, near this, is supposed to be his grave. The bay before it, the Sinus Formianus, is a rival to that at Naples, for beauty. Vesuvius and the islands are in view. To the right of Mola, out of the road, on a high rock over the sea, four miles distant, is

Gaëta (population, 10,344), a bishop's see, and the Cajeta of Æneas, founded by him in memory of his nurse, on the Bay of Gaëta. Since 1440, it has become a strong fortress, the key of this part of Italy, and has undergone several sieges; the latest of which was that of 1860-61, when it was taken from the ex-king of Naples by the Sardinian army and fleet. The tomb of the Constable Bourbon, killed at Rome, 1528, is in the citadel. At the summit of the height is the tomb of L. M. Plancus (the friend of Augustus), called the Torre d'Orlando. In the Duomo, is a P. Veronese, with a standard of Don John of Austria, who fought at Lepanto, and an ancient marble sarcophagus. The palace was the residence of Pius IX., after his flight from Rome in 1849. A chapel is in the mouth of a cleft, said to have been made by the earthquake at the Saviour's death.

This place gave name to Cardinal Cajetan of Henry the VIII.'s time, now represented by the Gaëtani or Caetani family. Francis II. was here shut up from November, 1860, to February, 1861. with 16,000 men, and 800 guns, mounted on about thirty batteries. Cialdini's head-quarters during the investment and bombardment of the citadel, were at Villa Caposello, above Cicero's Villa at Mola, to which a road four miles long, by Monte Conca, was made by the Sardinian soldiers. He was assisted on the sea side by Admiral Persano, who was occasionally thwarted by the French and Spanish squadrons. Gaëta was besieged by Massena in 1806, for six months.

From Mola, the road crosses the plain of the Garigliano, marked by remains of an aqueduct and amphitheatre, &c., belonging to Minturnæ, in the marshes of which at the mouth of the river, Marius hid himself from the pursuit of Sulla, B.C. 89. The Garigliano, the sluggish Liris (" taciturnus

amnis") of Horace, and the old boundary between Latium and Campania, is crossed by a wire bridge since 1832; replacing that which the Chevalier Bayard defended singly against a great number of Spaniards, at the battle of 1503, when the French were defeated by Gonzalvo da Cordova. The Via Appia here hugs the coast on the direct way to Naples; passing Mondagrone, and the site of Sinuessa at the mouth of the Volturno, where Horace met his friends Virgil and P. Varius (" O qui complexus et quanto gaudia fuerunt ") and

Aversa (Stat.), a Norman town of the eleventh century, noted for its brisk wine, called Asprino, and its torrone or almond cake. Population, 20,183. But the high road goes on to

SANTA AGATA, near SESSA AURUNCA (population 5,600), or Suessa Arunca, on a volcanic height, which has three churches and a Roman bridge.

CASCANO, at the foot of Monte Massico, is in the Falernian wine country; the vineyards of which are still celebrated. Capua is on the railway, and River Volturno (see below.)]

Following the rail, the next place to Velletri is Valmontone (Stat.) A small town (population, 2,000) on a volcanic hill; with a palace of the Doria-Pamfili family, built 1662.

Segni (Stat.), near the site of Signia, on a hill in the Lepini hills. The town (population, 4,000) has a church which was a Roman temple, and is shut in by Cyclopean walls 4 miles in circuit, with seven gates. At Carpineto, about 10 miles up the hills, the present Pope, Leo XIII (Pecci) was born, in the old house of the Pecci family. The line passes between Monte Cavo and Monte Cacume to

Sgurgola (Stat.), near the River Sacco.

Anagni, or Anagnia, the ancient capital of Hernici, and the place where Boniface VIII. was arrested (1303) by the agents of Philip le Bel, of France, whose kingdom the truculent Pope had placed under an interdict, and even offered to the Austrians. Boniface was of the Gaëtani family, who were seated here, and with the Conti, and others, made up the Twelve Stars, or noble families, of Anagni.

A

Ferentino (Stat.) Population, 8,000. bishop's see, near an old Volscian town up the hills, Ferentinum, on the Via Latina, of which the Cyclopean walls remain, rough and uncemented.

The line descends the Sacco to

Frosinone (Stat.), near a town of 7,600 inhabitants, the site of the Volscian Frusino on the Cossa. It stands on a hill in a cultivated spot, and was the head of a Papal delegation, which extended to the Pontine Marshes and the coast; having a cathedral, castle, &c. Up the Cossa, the following places may be visited:-1. VEROLA, a bishop's sec, on a high hill. 2. ALATRI (population 10,000), a bishop's see, on a steep hill, among the Hernici Saxa, or Hernician Mountains, having a cathedral in a large open piazza at the summit.

It retains its ancient uncemented Walls, 3,000 years old, about 2 miles in circuit; built of irregular but well-fitted stones, some 6 to 9 feet long. These walls are 12 feet thick, and 50 feet high in some parts. The gate of the citadel is in the same Cyclopean style. 3. Further up the hills is a Carthusian Convent of Trisalti, in a solitary glen; and at COLLEPARDO (population, 1,000), is a fine stalactite Cave, 200 feet high to the top of its dome. Following the Sacco we come to

Ceccano (Stat.), and

Cerrano (Stat.), a walled town, at the junction of the Sacco with the Garigliano, or Liris, on the old Neapolitan frontier, where Murat was defeated in 1815. It is about half-way to Naples, and has a buffet. Population, 4,000

[Here a road goe sdown to Gaëta 25 miles, and another ascends the east or Neapolitan bank of the Garigliano, to Lake Celano in the Apennines; the latter passes the following places:--

1. Arce (population, 6,184), the ancient Arx, where Cicero's brother, Quintus, who was married to the sister of his friend Atticus, had a country seat. 2. ARPINO, or Arpinum, the birth-place of Cicero and Marius; also of G. Cesari, the painter, usually called the Cavaliere d'Arpino. Population, 13,450. It is a bishop's see, and stands among finely wooded scenery on a double topped hill near the junction of Febreno with the main stream. On the highest point are remains of the old Volscian town, called Civita Vecchia, including parts of uncemented walls, streets, and sewers, and a kind of triangular arch, called the Porta dell' Arco, made of overlapping stones; besides fragments of inscriptions and statues.

The Church of Santa Maria di Cività is on the site of the Temple of Mercury, the Woolbearer. In the public square is a modern Town Hall with busts of Cicero and Marius, whose houses are actually pointed out by the citizens. There is a Collegio Tulliano, named after the orator; and the initials of his full name, Marcus Tullius Cicero, are adopted as the town arms. When Arpino, in 1459, fell under the power of Pius II., the excellent Æneas Sylvius, he spared it for the sake of its two distinguished natives. It has manufactures of good cloth, leather, paper, parchment, &c. White and coloured marble, and iron are found in the hills around. There are several cascades on the Garigliano, the best of which is at the point of junction with the Febreno, where a small island, Isola di S. Paolo, is formed; corresponding to the "Amalthea" described by Cicero in his letters. Close to this is a ruined Dominican house, which was built out of the stones of his Villa; and another building on the river, called Casa Mari, is now a Trappist Convent.

In this neighbourhood one arch of a Roman bridge is left, called Ponte di Cicerone, which crossed the river, at a slope like a skew bridge.

3. Sora, a bishop's see (population, 12,313), on a hill close to the river, and under the Apennines

with remains of its ancient walls and a medieval castle. ISOLA DI SORA, near this (population 4,827), has manufactures of cloth and paper; with some good waterfalls.

4. Balsorano (population, 2,500) in the Roveto Valley, on the upper Garigliano or Liris, under an old castle and snow-covered mountains. Bears, wolves, and a sort of lynx called gatto pardo, are found in the oak forests about here. 5. Civita d'Antina on a hill, is the site of Antinum, with old walls and inscriptions. 6. Capistrello, in a narrow pass, at the head of the river (population, 2,625). Here the road continues to the north-west, to the Via Valeria; and by that round to Tivoli and Rome; or to Rieti, in Route 31. Here is also the tunnel, 3 miles long, which the Emperor Claudius ran through Monte Salviano, to drain the waters of the Fucine Lake, now Lago di Celano on the other side of the mountain. It took 30,000

men eleven years to make the canal. The lake was 11 miles long, by 5 to 6 broad, very shallow, being only 50 feet deep in the middle. It stands about 2,200 feet above sea. When Claudius opened the tunnel he gave a naval combat on the lake, between galleys manned by 19,000 gladiators. The Prætorian Guard lined the shore to prevent their escape; whilst the hills around were covered with spectators. The tunnel at the lake end, near Avezzano, is about 30 feet square, is well strengthened with masonry, and ventilated with shafts.

The work of draining this Lake, which was formerly attempted by the Cæsars and by Frederick II., has at length been successfully accomplished by Prince Torlonia, the Roman banker; and the whole space of 36,000 acres is converted into a Model Farm for 2,000 to 3,000 labourers. He began the work in 1858 and completed it 1873, at a total cost of above one million sterling. About 30,000 men were employed. It was done by means of a great lock and channel, 4 miles long and 21 yards wide, leading down to the river, 80 feet below. A church and column dedicated to the Virgin, with 400 cottages, have been erected by the owner, who expects a good return for the large sum expended on the work. Corn crops are raised yielding 30 per cent. profit, and requiring no manure for three years; while the surrounding slopes are covered with vineyards. Avezzano, on the north-west side, has a population of 4,718, a new piazza, and a castle of the Barberini family. On the northeast side is Celano (population, 6,525), and behind are some of the highest mountains of the Abruzzi, 8,000 to 9,000 feet above sea, including Monte Majella, 9,150 feet, and Monte Velino.] Isoletta (Stat.), half-a-mile farther Roccasecca (Stat.) Population, 4,369. birth-place of St. Thomas Aquinas (1224), the head of the Thomists, the Angelic Doctor, who takes his common designation from the next town. From here a short line runs to Arce (page 229), and is being extended to Avezzano (above).

The

Aquino (Stat.) The ancient Aquinum, on the Via Latina, the birth-place of Juvenal and Fescennius Niger, and a decayed town (population, 1,544)

on a branch of the Garigliano. It was a bishop's see, now united to Pontecorvo, but was ruined in the wars of Frederic II. of Suabia. There are many remains of old buildings; including a Roman Amphitheatre, a Theatre, a Doric Temple, 190 feet long, the Vescovato Church on the site of another temple, and a triumphal arch over the stream. It was famous for a purple dye, called fucus Aquinum.

PONTECORVO, near this, on the road to Gaëta, was the head of a small detached tract of Papal territory (now swallowed up by the Italian kingdom), which Napoleon converted into a principality for Bernadotte, King of Sweden. Population, 7,800.

Cassino (Stat.)-(Inn: Reale) the ancient Casinum, on Via Latina, and the river Rapido, under Monte Casino and the picturesque ruins of a feudal Castle. Population, 10,000. The learned M. T. Varro had a villa here, which was seized by Antony, and of which there are remains. There are some interesting relics of a temple in the Crocefisso Church; the arches of an Amphitheatre; a Roman paved road, with marks of carriages on it; besides tombs, inscriptions, &c. Above the town, on a steep hill, ascended by zigzag paths, is the famous Monte Cassino Monastery, the head-quarters of the Benedictine order, founded by St. Benedict, as far back as 528. It is the oldest of the religious orders. The monastery has been several times rebuilt, upon its destruction by the Lombards, Saracens, and others; and the present extensive pile, which looks like a castle or palace full of windows, encloses several courts in a plain but good style, joined by arcades; a fountain, with statues of St. Benedict and his sister, Santa Scolastica; cloisters adorned with statues and ancient pillars from a Temple of Apollo, which stood on the site; and a handsome

*Church, rebuilt 1727, over the Saint's restored Cell. It is richly decorated with marbles, mosaics, paintings, and carved work. Over the bronze door are the names of the castles and fiefs, formerly owned by the monastery, when its abbot was a powerful baron, and its revenue nearly £20,000 a-year. It contains a magnificent altar, Giordano's Consecration of the Church, by Alexander II., carved seats in the choir surrounded by fifty pillars, and a fine organ. In the Succorpo Chapel below, are the Saint's Grotto, and the bodies of himself and his sister. In the Refectory is the Miracle of the Loaves, by Bassano.

The old monks were famous for their patronage of literature; and the Library, though reduced to 18,000 volumes, contains many editions of the fifteenth century, with MSS. from the sixth century, including Commentaries of Origen, Sermons of Augustine, copies of Homer, Horace, Virgil, Ovid, &c.; a fine collection of Archives from the ninth century; letters of Mabillon, Montfaucon, Muratori, Tiraboschi, &c., who with Boccaccio and Bracciolini, either visited the library, or corresponded with the librarian; and letters of Mahomet V. and Pope Nicholas V. In the Tower are some

antiquities, inscriptions, a curious chair of rosso antico, and paintings by Giordano, Spagnoletto, and other artists.

The income of the convent (now a school) on the reduced establishment is £3,000 to £4,000; and the brethren now resident here are gentlemen of independent means and cultivated minds. Its history has been written by its librarian, D. E. Gattolo.

About 12 miles north, over Monte Cairo, is Atina, an old town of Latium, with some remains of walls The railway follows the Capua road, to Rocca d'Evandro (Stat.) Population, 2,729. Mignano (Stat.) Population, 1,869. Presenzano (Stat.), population, 978, near the junction of the road from Venafro and Pescara, across the Peninsula (Route 31). Pass

Caianiello (Stat.) Population, 990. A line is being constructed from here to Isernia, joining the line of the Rete Adriatico which is being laid from Campobasso (page 234) to Solmona.

Riardo (Stat.) Population, 1,304.

Teano (Stat.) The ancient Teanum, on the Savo, where three Roman ways met. Population, 12,007. It has a cathedral, with remains of a feudal castle, and a Roman amphitheatre. It stands under the Rocca Monfina, an extinct volcano, to the north-west.

Sparanisi (Stat.), population, 2.769; near CALVI (population, 2,750), the Roman Cales, where many remains of antiquity are found. A line is in construction from here to Gaëta (page 228).

Pignataro (Stat.) Population, 3,409.

Capua (Stat.), 27 miles from Naples, to which there are five or six trains daily, and four to Sarno and S. Severino, at the back of Vesuvius and Pompeii. Capua, pop. 16,000 (Inns: Posta; Italia), is an archbishop's see, and a fortified town of the eleventh century, on the deep and rapid Volturno, built out of the stones of the ancient city and the smaller town of Casilinum, which occupied the present site.

Fragments of Roman columns, friezes, inscriptions, &c., are incorporated in the churches and public structures, some of which are visible in the Gothic Cathedral, which also contains paintings by Solimena; a mosaic of the Annunciation; statues by Bernini, &c.; a Norman crypt, with a Roman tomb on granite pillars. At Porta Romana is an old statue of the Emperor Frederick II. (1236.) The fortifications, built in 1200, were improved by Vauban, and enlarged in 1855. A handsome railway viaduct traverses the river.

Capua is at the foot of a ridge, and flanked on three sides by the Volturno, a muddy stream in a narrow valley, difficult to ford, but crossed by a good bridge. The strong fort of Gaëta being behind it, the Bourbons, in 1860, resolved to make a final stand here and along the line of the Volturno, having an army of 40,000 men, including 7,000 cavalry, to oppose Garibaldi, who had 24,000 men, half of them volunteers from the south, who occupied Sant'Angelo, Santa Maria, Maddaleni, Caserta, &c. Sant' Angelo is under the lofty Monte Tifano; Caserta was the head-quarters of Garibaldi.

On the 19th September, Cajazzo was taken by Colonel Türr, and retaken by the Bourbons, with the loss of 100 of Garibaldi's forces, especially among a company of Adolescenti-mere boys-not more than fifteen, who were careless of danger, fought like lions, and were soon cut up.

The

The Battle of the Volturno was fought 1st October, Francis II.'s birthday, which, being reckoned auspicious, he, with a force of 30,000, attempted to cut through Garibaldi's army of 11,000. Neapolitans were commanded by General Retucci, and the king was on the field, with his brothers, Counts Trani and Bari. Being supported by a powerful force of artillery, the attack was partly successful against the left and centre of Garibaldi's line. He himself was nearly shot. Colonel Dunn. the commander of the Sicilian brigade, was wounded; but Sant' Angelo, the key of the line, was successfully held by Medici, and, after a long and arduous day's fight, the Bourbons were finally driven back, with a loss of 3,000. That of Garibaldi was 2,000, but he took nine guns, and the next day 5,000 surrendered themselves prisoners.

Count Arrivabene, following the army as a newspaper correspondent, was taken prisoner and carried to Gaëta, from which he was liberated in two weeks, as a naturalised British subject, by the interference of our envoy, Mr. Elliot. This battle decided the fate of the Bourbon dynasty, and the king retreated to Gaëta, leaving a garrison in Capua, which surrendered 2nd November. It was fought before the arrival of the Sardinian forces, which had been pressing across the peninsula from Ancona and Manfredonia; but only two companies arrived An action took by rail after the fight was over. place subsequent to this, in which the British Legion, under Colonel Peard, took part. It was the only action in which they figured. They proved unmanageable, and were sent home.

On 11th October, Victor Emmanuel crossed into Neapolitan territory, and soon after met Garibaldi at Santa Maria della Croce, between Calvi and Teano. Arrivabene describes the meeting:-"Our soldiers were drawn up in good order, and, although in rags, did not make a bad show. When the king made his appearance, followed by his staff, Garibaldi advanced to meet him. It was a singular sight. The elegant and splendid uniform of the Piedmontese officers contrasted with the coarse garb of the Garibaldians. The general himself wore his wide-awake, a plain red flannel shirt, half covered by his American gray cloak, and a pair of black trousers. At his side hung his famous English sword, which had done such service at Catalafimi and Milazzo-a sword worth all the embroidered uniforms in the world.

"The two great leaders of Italian unity cordially shook hands, and I could see by their faces that that action was the expression of a true sentiment of affection on Garibaldi's part, and of the greates admiration on the part of the king. He complimented the general by saying that without his daring expedition the unity of Italy would n