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CHAP. 20. (15.)—THE EIGHTH REGION OF ITALY; THE PADUS.

The eighth region is bounded by Ariminum, the Padus, and the Apennines. Upon the coast we have the river Crustumium1, and the colony of Ariminum2, with the rivers Ariminus and Aprusa. Next comes the river Rubico3, once the boundary of Italy, and after it the Sapis4, the Vitis, and the Anemo, and then, Ravenna, a town of the Sabines5, with the river Bedesis, 105 miles from Ancona; and, not far from the sea, Butrium6, a town of the Umbri. In the interior there are the colonies of Bononia7, formerly called Felsina, when it was the chief place of Etruria8, Brixillum9, Mutina10, Parma11, and Placentia12. There are also the towns of Cæsena13, Claterna, Forum Clodî14, Forum Livî, Forum Popilî, Forum Truentinorum15, Forum Cornelî, Forum Licinî, the Faventini16, the Fidentini17, the Otesini, the Padinates18, the Regi- enses19, who take their name from Lepidus, the Solonates20, the Saltus Galliani21, surnamed Aquinates, the Tannetani22, the Veliates23, who were anciently surnamed Regiates, and the Urbanates24. In this district the Boii25 have disappeared, of whom there were 112 tribes according to Cato; as also the Senones, who captured Rome.

(16.) The Padus26 descends from the bosom of Mount Vesulus, one of the most elevated points of the chain of the Alps, in the territories of the Ligurian Vagienni27, and rises at its source in a manner that well merits an inspection by the curious; after which it hides itself in a subterranean channel until it rises again in the country of the Forovibienses. It is inferior in fame to none whatever among the rivers, being known to the Greeks as the Eridanus and famous as the scene of the punishment of Phaëton28. At the rising of the Dog-star it is swollen by the melted snows; but, though it proves more furious in its course to the adjoining fields than to the vessels that are upon it, still it takes care to carry away no portion of its banks, and when it recedes, renders them additionally fertile. Its length from its source is 300 miles, to which we must add eighty-eight for its sinuosities; and it receives from the Apennines and Alps not only several navigable rivers, but immense lakes as well, which discharge themselves into its waters, thus conveying altogether as many as thirty streams into the Adriatic Sea.

Of these the best known are the following—flowing from the range of the Apennines, the Jactus, the Tanarus29, the Trebia which passes Placentia, the Tarus, the Incia, the Gabellus, the Scultenna, and the Rhenus: from the chain of the Alps, the Stura30, the Orgus, the two Duriæ, the Sessites, the Ticinus, the Lambrus, the Addua, the Ollius, and the Mincius. There is no river known to receive a larger increase than this in so short a space; so much so indeed that it is impelled onwards by this vast body of water, and, invading the land31, forms deep channels in its course: hence it is that, although a portion of its stream is drawn off by rivers and canals between Ravenna and Altinum, for a space of 120 miles, still, at the spot where it discharges the vast body of its waters, it is said to form seven seas.

By the Augustan Canal the Padus is carried to Ravenna, at which place it is called the Padusa32, having formerly borne the name of Messanicus. The nearest mouth to this spot forms the extensive port known as that of Vatrenus, where Claudius Cæsar33, on his triumph over the Britons, entered the Adriatic in a vessel that deserved rather the name of a vast palace than a ship. This mouth, which was formerly called by some the Eridanian, has been by others styled the Spinetic mouth, from the city of Spina, a very powerful place which formerly stood in the vicinity, if we may form a conclusion from the amount of its treasure deposited at Delphi; it was founded by Diomedes. At this spot the river Vatrenus34, which flows from the territory of Forum Corneli, swells the waters of the Padus.

The next mouth to this is that of Caprasia35, then that of Sagis, and then Volane, formerly called Olane; all of which are situate upon the Flavian Canal36, which the Tuscans formerly made from Sagis, thus drawing the impetuous stream of the river across into the marshes of the Atriani, which they call the Seven Seas; and upon which is the noble port of Atria37, a city of the Tuscans, from which place the sea was formerly called the Atriatic, though now the Adriatic.

We next come to the overflowing mouths of Carbonaria, and the Fosses of Philistina38, by some called Tarta- rus39, all of which originate in the overflow of the waters in the Philistinian Canal, swollen by the streams of the Atesis, descending from the Tridentine Alps, and of the Togisonus40, flowing from the territory of the Patavini. A portion of them also forms the adjoining port of Brundulum41, in the same manner as Edron42 is formed by the two rivers Meduacus and the Clodian Canal. With the waters of these streams the Padus unites, and with them discharges itself into the sea, forming, according to most writers, between the Alps and the sea-shore a triangular figure, 2000 stadia in circumference, not unlike the Delta formed by the Nile in Egypt. I feel somewhat ashamed to have to borrow from the Greeks any statement in reference to Italy; Metrodorus of Scepsos, however, informs us that this river has obtained its name of Padus from the fact, that about its source there are great numbers of pine-trees, which in the Gallic language are called "padi." In the tongue of the Ligurians this river is called "Bodincus," which signifies "the bottomless." This derivation is in some measure supported by the fact that near this river there is the town of Industria43, of which the ancient name was Bodincomagum, and where the river begins to be of greater depth than in other parts.

1 Now the Conca. It is called "rapax Crustumium" by Lucan, B. ii. l. 406.

2 One 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.

3 A 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. 1. 200–230.

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

5 Strabo 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.

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

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

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

9 The 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.

10 The 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 years B.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.

11 This 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.

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

13 It 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.

14 This 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.

15 This 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.

16 The 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, in B.C. 82.

17 The 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.

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

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

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

21 Nothing 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.

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

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

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

25 These 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 in B.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 in B.C. 390, were conquered and the greater part of them destroyed by the Consul Dolabella in B.C. 283.

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

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

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

29 The 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.

30 The 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.

31 This 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."

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

33 It 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.

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

35 The 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.

36 The 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.

37 More 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.

38 So 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 Fosse Philistinæ were to the north of the ones previously mentioned.

39 He 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.

40 Now the Bacchiglione.

41 The modern Brondolo.

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

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

The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.

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