The second ridge, called Colle di Pastore as far as the Gallicano cut, and Colle Collafri beyond it, along which for four miles runs the Via Prænestina, undoubtedly belonged to the domain of Præneste.[[13]] But it was not so important a piece of property as the ridges on either side, for it is much narrower, and it had no town at its end. There was probably always a road out this ridge, as is shown by the presence of the later Via Prænestina, but that there was no town at the end of the ridge is well proved by the fact that Ashby finds no remains there which give evidence of one. Then, too, we have plain enough proof of general unfitness for a town. In the first place the ridge runs oil into the junction of two roadless valleys, there is not much fertile land back of where the town site would have been, but above all, however, it is certain that the Via Prænestina was an officially made Roman road, and did not occupy anything more than a previous track of little consequence. This is shown by the absence of tombs of the early necropolis style along this road.
The next ridge must always have been one of the most important, for from above Cavamonte as far as Passerano, at the bottom of the ridge on the side toward Rome, connecting with the highway which was the later Via Latina, ran the main road through Zagarolo, Passerano, Corcolle, on to Tibur and the north.[[14]] As this was the other of the two great roads which ran to the north without getting out on the Roman Campagna, it is certain that Præneste considered it in her territory, and probably kept the travel well in hand. With dependent towns at Zagarolo and Passerano, which are several miles distant from each other, there must have been at least one more town between them, to guard the road against attack from Tusculum or Gabii. The fact that the Via Prænestina later cut the Colle del Pero-Colle Seloa just below a point where an ancient road ascends the ridge to a place well adapted for a town, and where there are some remains,[[15]] seems to prove the supposition, and to locate another of the dependent cities of Præneste.
That the next ridge, the one on which Zagarolo is situated, was also part of Præneste's territory, aside from the fact that it has always been part of the diocese of Præneste, is clearly shown by the topography of the district. The only easy access to Zagarolo is from Palestrina, and although the town itself cannot be seen from the mountain of Præneste, nevertheless the approach to it along the ridge is clearly visible.
The country south and in front of Præneste spreads out more like a solid plain for a mile or so before splitting off into the ridges which are so characteristic of the neighborhood. East of the ridge on which Zagarolo stands, and running nearly at right angles to it, is a piece of territory along which runs the present road (the Omata di Palestrina) to the Palestrina railroad station, and which as far as the cross valley at Colle dell'Aquila, is incontestably Prænestine domain.
But the territory which most certainly belonged to Præneste, and which was at once the most valuable and the oldest of her possessions is the wide ridge now known as the Vigne di Loreto, along which runs the road to Marcigliano.[[16]] Not only does this ridge lie most closely bound to Præneste by nature, but it leads directly toward Velitræ, her most advantageous ally. Tibur was perhaps always Præneste's closest and most loyal ally, but the alliance with her had not the same opportunity for mutual advantage as one with Velitræ, because each of these towns commanded the territory the other wished to know most about, and both together could draw across the upper Trerus valley a tight line which was of the utmost importance from a strategic point of view. These two facts would in themselves be a satisfactory proof that this ridge was Præneste's first expansion and most important acquisition, but there is proof other than topographical and argumentative.
At the head of this ridge in la Colombella, along the road leading to Marcigliano from the little church of S. Rocco, have been found three strata of tombs. The line of graves in the lowest stratum, the date of which is not later than the fifth or sixth century B.C., points exactly along the ancient road, now the Via della Marcigliana or di Loreto.[[17]]
The natural limit of Prænestine domain to the south has now been reached, and that it is actually the natural limit is shown by the accompanying illustration.
Through the Valle di Pepe or Fosso dell' Ospedalato (see [Plate II]), which is wide as well as deep, runs the uppermost feeder of the Trerus river. One sees at a glance that the whole slope of the mountain from arx to base is continued by a natural depression which would make an ideal boundary for Prænestine territory. Nor is the topographical proof all. No inscriptions of consequence, and no architectural remains of the pre-imperial period have been found across this valley. The road along the top of the ridge beyond it is an ancient one, and ran to Valmontone as it does today, and was undoubtedly often used between Præneste and the towns on the Volscians. The ridge, however, was exposed to sudden attack from too many directions to be of practical value to Præneste. Valmontone, which lay out beyond the end of this ridge, commanded it, and Valmontone was not a dependency of Præneste, as is shown by an inscription which mentions the adlectio of a citizen there into the senate (decuriones) of Præneste.[[18]]
There are still two other places which as we have seen were included at different times in the papal diocese of Præneste,[[19]] namely, Capranica and Cave.[[20]] Inscriptional evidence is not forthcoming in either place sufficient to warrant any certainty in the matter of correspondence of local names to those in Præneste. Of the two, Capranica had much more need of dependence on Præneste than Cave. It was down through the little valley back of Præneste, at the head of which Capranica lay, that her later aqueducts came. The outlet from Capranica back over the mountains was very difficult, and the only tillable soil within reach of that town lay to the north of Præneste on the ridge running toward Gallicano, and on a smaller ridge which curved around toward Tibur and lay still closer to the mountains. In short, Capranica, which never attained importance enough to be of any consequence, appears to have been always dependent upon Præneste.
But as for Cave, that is another question. Her friends were to the east, and there was easy access into the mountains to Sublaqueum (Subiaco) and beyond, through the splendid passes via either of the modern towns, Genazzano or Olevano.