THE ROUTE.
We now pass, on the left, a tomb of the Antonines; then an osteria, on the site of the Temple of Fortuna Muliebris, where Coriolanus was over-persuaded by his wife and mother. On our right is a ruined aqueduct, which supplied the Villa of the Quintilii, whose picturesque ruins we have previously passed.
We now soon reach the ascent to Albano, and strike the old Appian Way at Frattocchie, where Clodius was murdered by Milo. (See Cicero pro Milo.) At the twelfth mile, on the right, are the ruins of Bovillæ. Several unknown tombs line the road. At the intersection of the Via Appia with the town limits stands an ancient tomb, formerly considered to be that of the Horatii and Curiatii, those champions of their age. Now it is more correctly held to be
THE TOMB OF POMPEY THE GREAT.
For we know from Plutarch that his ashes were carried to Cornelia, who buried them in his land near Alba, though Lucan (viii. 835) complains that he had no tomb—
"And thou, O Rome, by whose forgetful hand
Altars and temples, reared to tyrants, stand,
Canst thou neglect to call thy hero home,
And leave his ghost in banishment to roam?"
The town occupies the site of the ruins of the Villa of Pompey, and the Albanum of Domitian. The best view of the Mediterranean is to be had at
ALBANO,
reached by rail in one hour from Rome. It is a favourite resort in summer, on account of its pure air, elevated position, and the delightful rambles that can be made in its neighbourhood. In winter it is frequented by all the Forestieri, who are to be seen there daily in carriages and on donkeys, doing all the attractions of the locality. From this point the tour of the Alban Hills, taking in all places of interest, can be most conveniently made. The peasants' costumes are very attractive. The town itself is not a centre of interest; a few ruins are shown in some of its streets, but they are neither very visible nor authentic.
VALE OF ARICCIA.
In the ascent to the town from the station, on the right is a beautiful valley, once a lake, but now drained, called the Vale of Ariccia. It is not known when it was drained. It is thus alluded to by Ovid ("Fasti," iii. 263):—
"Deep in Ariccia's vale, and girt around
With shady trees, a sacred lake is found;
Here Theseus' son in safe concealment lay,
When hurried by the violent steeds away."
Passing through the town, we come to the Viaduct of Pius IX. (1846–1863).
Just before reaching the viaduct, the old Appian Way branches off to the right, descending the side of the Vale of Ariccia. Several remains of tombs exist at this point, notably that of Aruns, the son of Porsena of Clusium.
TOMB OF ARUNS.
This ruin agrees exactly with the lower part of the Tomb of Porsena at Clusium, described by Pliny (xxxvi. 19). He says: "But as the fabulousness of the story connected with it quite exceeds all bounds, I shall employ the words given by M. Varro himself in his account of it. 'Porsena was buried,' says he, 'beneath the city of Clusium, in the spot where he had constructed a square monument, built of squared stones. Each side of this monument was 300 feet long and 50 feet high, and beneath the base, which was also square, was an inextricable labyrinth.... Above this square building there stood five pyramids—one at each corner and one in the middle—75 feet broad at the base and 150 feet in height,'" &c.
The present ruin is 49 feet long on each side and 24 feet high, surmounted at the angles with four cones, and one larger, in the centre, 26 feet in diameter, in which the urn was found in the last century.
ARICCIA.
The ancient ascent to Ariccia was the Clivus Virbii, so called from Hippolytus, who, on being restored to life by Diana, took the name of Virbius.
"But Trivia kept in secret shades alone
Her care, Hippolytus, to fate unknown;
And called him Virbius in the Egerian Grove,
Where then he lived obscure, but safe from Jove."
Virgil, Æneid, vii. 774.
The ascent was a noted place for beggars, as recorded by Persius (Sat. vi. 55) and Juvenal (Sat. iv.).
The village is three-quarters of a mile west from Albano, surrounded by beautiful woods. At its entrance is the Palazzo Chigi, built by Bernini, in the midst of a fine park; fee, half-franc. The ancient town lay lower down the hill, where some of its remains can still be traced. Horace (Lib. i. Sat. 5) tells us that for slow travellers it was the first halting-place from Rome.
"Leaving imperial Rome, my course I steer
To poor Ariccia and its moderate cheer."
Francis.
In the vale, just under the town, was the
TEMPLE OF DIANA ARICINA,
which Vitruvius (iv. 7) says was circular. The story of this temple is given by several classic writers. "Hippolytus came into Italy and dedicated the Temple of Aricina Diana. In this place, even at present, those who are victors in a single contest have the office of priest to the goddess given to them as a reward. This contest, however, is not offered to any free person, but only to slaves who have fled from their masters" (Pausanias, ii. 27). In 1791 a relief representing the scene was found at the circular ruin, and is now at Palma in Majorca. The temple was near a little stream from a source under the second viaduct, known as the
FOUNTAIN OF EGERIA,
which supplies the lake. The nymph was overcome by the death of Numa, as Ovid tells us: "Other woes, however, did not avail to diminish Egeria's grief; and, lying down at the very foot of the mountain, she melted into tears, until the sister of Apollo (Diana), moved to compassion, made a cool fountain of her body, changed into perennial waters."
"His wife the town forsook,
And in the woods that clothe Ariccia's vale lies hid."
Met. xv. 487.
"There, at the mountain's base, all drowned in tears,
She lay, till chaste Diana on her woe
Compassion took: her altered form became
A limpid fount; her beauteous limbs dissolved,
And in perennial waters melt away."
Met. xv. 548.
"O'er their rough bed hoarse-murmuring waters move;
A pure but scanty draught is there supplied;
Egeria's fount, whom all the muses love,
Sage Numa's counsellor, his friend, and bride."
Fasti, iii. 273.
After two miles of a picturesque and shady road, crossing four viaducts, and commanding beautiful views, we arrive at
GENZANO.
Its excellent wine is renowned, and this, together with its flowers and beautiful situation, are its sole attractions. The flower festival, held the eighth day after Corpus Christi, is fully described in "The Improvisatore." Up a path by the side of the Palazzo Cesarini we obtain a fine view of the
LAKE NEMI,
which occupies an extinct crater. The lake is three miles in circumference, and 300 feet deep, and passes out by an artificial emissarium, made by Trajan. The water is calm and marvellously clear.
Trajan erected on this lake a floating palace, 500 feet in length, 270 feet in breadth, and 60 feet deep. It was of wood, joined with bronze nails, and lead plated outside; the inside was lined with marble, and the ceilings were of bronze. The water for use and ornament was supplied from the Fount Juturna by means of pipes. Signor Marchi, a Roman, in 1535 descended in a diving-bell and explored this curious palace, which had sunk beneath the waters. He left an account of his discoveries. (See Brotier's "Tacitus," Sup. Ap., and Notes on Trajan.) A large fragment of the wood-work is preserved in the Kircherian Museum.
On the opposite side is the small medieval town of
NEMI,
picturesquely situated upon a hill above the lake. On the sides of the lake are the remains of villas built of opus reticulatum; and in the sixteenth century some of the wood-work, tiles, &c., of Cæsar's Villa—begun, but afterwards pulled down because it did not suit his taste—were found, and are preserved in the Library of the Vatican.
"Lo, Nemi! navelled in thy woody hills
So far, that the uprooting wind which tears
The oak from his foundations, and which spills
The ocean o'er its boundary, and bears
Its foam against the skies, reluctant spares
The oval mirror of thy glassy lake;
And, calm as cherished hate, its surface wears
A deep, cold, settled aspect naught can shake,
All coiled into itself and round, as sleeps the snake."—Byron.
THE TEMPLE OF DIANA NEMORENSE.
On the plateau at the east end of the lake, to our left of Nemi, his excellency Sir John Savile Lumley, the British ambassador, has recently made some most interesting excavations—uncovering the vast area of the Temple of Diana at Nemi, and at the same time discovering numerous objects of interest, which proved without doubt to whom the shrine was dedicated.
The front of the temple was formed with a portico of fluted columns, and its rear was towards the lake, so the temple faced east. The whole Artemisium shows traces of many restorations, not the least interesting being that made by Marcus Servilius Quartus, consul A.D. 3, whose tomb is on the Via Appia (Tacitus, "A." ii. 48; iii. 22).
When Iphigenia, priestess of the Temple of Diana at Tauris in the Crimea, fled with her brother Orestes, they carried off the statue of Diana, to whom all strangers cast on the coast were sacrificed, and founded a temple near the Lake of Diana, now Nemi, on the Alban Hills (Ovid, "Ep." iii. 2; "Met." xv. 485). "The temple is in a grove, and before it is a lake of considerable size. The temple and water are surrounded by abrupt and lofty precipices, so that they seem to be situated in a deep and lofty ravine" (Strabo, v. 3, 12).