THE FOUNTAIN OF JUTURNA.
This issues from the hill under the village, and serves the mill on the border of the lake. "Tell me, nymph Juturna, thou that wast wont to minister to the grove and looking-glass of Diana" (Ovid, "F." iii. 260). "The springs by which the lake is filled are visible. One of them is denominated Juturna, after the name of a certain divinity" (Strabo v. 3, 12).
A ramble through the woods brings us to the adjoining lake at Palazzolo, which is generally seen in the distance from the opposite side of the lake.
PALAZZOLO.
"And near, Albano's scarce divided waves
Shine from a sister valley."
Situated on Lake Albano, or it may be reached from Albano or Marino by other roads passing round the Lake Albano. It is a Franciscan monastery. In its gardens is a tomb supposed to be that of Cneius Cornelius Scipio Hispanus, B.C. 176.
A path through the woods leads up to Monte Cavo.
THE ALBAN LAKE
is 150 feet below Lake Nemi. Its outlet conducts its waters to the Tiber. This lake also occupies the crater of an extinct volcano; it is six miles round, and of unknown depth. The outlet was made at the time the Romans were besieging Veii, B.C. 394, to lower the waters which threatened to flood the Campagna. It is 1509 yards in length.
Situated on the bluff overlooking the lake is
CASTEL GANDOLFO,
formerly the summer residence of the popes. Its palace was erected by Urban VIII. This palace, and the charming situation, are its only features of attraction.
On the opposite shore, which can be reached either from Palazzolo, or by a path from the Albano or the Marino end of the lake, is the supposed site of
ALBA LONGA.
Built by Ascanius 1152 B.C., destroyed by Tullus Hostilius 666 B.C.
Virgil tells us that on Æneas consulting the oracle at Delos, the oracle replied,—
"Now mark the signs of future ease and rest,
And bear them safely treasured in thy breast:
When, in the shady shelter of a wood,
And near the margin of a gentle flood,
Thou shalt behold a sow upon the ground,
With thirty sucking young encompassed round,
The dam and offspring white as falling snow,—
These on thy city shall their name bestow,
And there shall end thy labours and thy woe."
Æneid, iii. 388.
Again, when Father Tiber appeared to him, he says,—
"And that this mighty vision may not seem
Th' effect of fancy, or an idle dream,
A sow beneath an oak shall lie along,
All white herself, and white her thirty young.
When thirty rolling years have run their race,
Thy son Ascanius, on this empty space,
Shall build a royal town, of lasting fame,
Which from this omen shall receive the name."
Æneid, viii. 70.
Again, after Father Tiber had disappeared, and Æneas, having invoked the god, fitted out two galleys to go up the Tiber to Evander:
"Now on the shore the fatal swine is found.
Wondrous to tell, she lay along the ground;
Her well-fed offspring at her udders hung—
She white herself, and white her thirty young!"
Æneid, viii. 120.
Thus, according to Virgil's own showing, the sow was found on the banks of the Tiber; how then could the shores of the Alban Lake be the site of Alba Longa? Ought we not rather to look for that site on the banks of the Tiber below Rome, where the sow was found, according to the voices of the oracle and the river-god, and the record handed down by Virgil? On the other hand, we are told Alba Longa was "built by Ascanius, the son of Æneas, thirty years after the building of Lavinium. Alba stood between a mountain and a lake: the mountain is extremely strong and high, and the lake deep and large. When one part of the lake is low upon the retreat of the water, and the bottom clear, the ruins of porticoes and other traces of habitation appear, being the remains of the palace of King Alladius, which was destroyed by the lake rising. Alba Longa was demolished by Marcus Horatius, by command of Tullus Hostilius" (Dionysius, i. 66. See Livy, i. 29).
From Castel Gandolfo a pleasant road by the lake leads to Marino, passing through a wood after leaving the lake. Just before entering the town we come to a wooded glen, the ancient
VALLIS FERENTINA,
where the diet of the Latin states assembled to discuss the interests of peace and war. A stream runs through the valley, and in the spring which feeds the stream, at the head of the valley, Turnus Herdonius, Lord of Ariccia, was drowned by the command of Tarquinius Superbus.
MARINO,
celebrated for its wine, is perched on an eminence 1730 feet high. It was a great stronghold of the Orsini, and afterwards of the Colonnas, whose towers and palace still stand. The principal street is the Corso. At the top, on the right hand side, is a house decorated with curious mosaics and bas-reliefs, surmounted with a Madonna. At the bottom of the Corso is the Cathedral of S. Barnabas, in which is a picture of S. Bartholomew, by Guercino. The fountain close by is picturesque, composed of half female figures supporting the basin, out of which four figures rise supporting a column.
Over a beautiful route of four miles we reach
GROTTA FERATTA, AND CICERO'S TUSCULAN VILLA,
which is now a Greek monastery, founded in 1002 by S. Ninus. In one of its chapels are frescoes from the life of the saint, by Domenichino, restored by Camuccini in 1819. Fairs are held here on the 28th of March and 8th of September, drawing large crowds from the neighbourhood as well as from Rome.
The villa stands on the site and is built out of the remains of Cicero's Villa, which he purchased of Sylla the dictator at a great price. To the south of the hill upon which the villa stands is a deep dell, falling into which is the stream of the Aqua Craba, mentioned by Cicero, now called the Maranna or running stream; and the plane-tree still flourishes here as it did in his day. Cicero likewise mentions that he had statues of the muses in his library, and a hermathena in his academy, and these statues were actually found here. The scenes of his "De Divinatione" and "Tusculan Disputations" were laid here. They were not addressed to any public assembly, but he used to retire after dinner to his so-called academy, and invited his guests to call for the subject they wished explained, which became the argument of the debate. These five discussions or conferences he collected and published as the "Tusculan Disputations" after the name of his villa, which was in the Tusculan territory, but not at the city itself. The subjects were,—Contempt of Death; On Bearing Pain; Grief of Mind; Other Perturbations of the Mind; Whether Virtue be Sufficient for a Happy Life. It was here that he received news of his proscription.
A pleasant drive soon brings us to the foot of the hills, passing on our way several tombs, and the ruined castle of the Savellis, a medieval stronghold of the tenth century, called Borghetto, of which only the outer walls are standing. Two miles below, on our right, are the ruins of an immense reservoir of the aqueducts coming from the Alban Hills, the Tepula, 126 B.C.; the Julia, 34 B.C.; and the Severiana, 190 A.D. It is known by the name of the Centroni. Just below the bluff on which it stands, the stream of the Aqua Craba, coming from Rocca di Papa, falls into the Almo coming from Marino; united, they flow through an old tunnel under the road beyond the bridge.
We now strike the Via Tusculana or Frascati Road.
On the left are the picturesque ruins of the Villa of Septimius Bassus, consul 317 A.D. It is known by the name of Sette Bassi, or Roma Vecchia. Part of the villa is of the time of Hadrian. About two miles further on, on our right, is a tumulus, Monte del Grano, in which was found the splendid sarcophagus now in the Capitoline Museum, which contained the Portland Vase. It is not known to whom it belonged. We next cross the Naples railway, and pass under Porta Furba (Thieves' Arch), supporting the Acqua Felice. Looking back through the arch, there is a beautiful view. Here we can see the arches of the aqueducts distinctly: on the left, under the arch by the fountain, the Claudia and Anio Novus; and on the right the Marcia, Tepula, and Julia. The stream in sight is the Maranna. From here the lane to the right, a pleasant drive, leads to the Porta Maggiore, whilst that straight on strikes the Via Appia Nova, near the Porta S. Giovanni.