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THE 


CITIES  AND  CEMETERIES  OF  ETRURIA. 


LONDON  : 
BRADBURY   AND    EVANS,    PRINTERS,   WHITEFRIARS. 


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Status  intereunt  tempestate,  vi,  vetustate;  sepulcrorum  autem  sanctitas  in  ipso  solo  est ;  quod 
nulla  vi  moveri  neque  deleri  potest.  Atque  ut  cetera  extinguuntur,  sic  sepulcra  fiunt  sanctiora 
vetustate. 

Cicbro,  Philip,  ix.  G. 


CONTENTS  OF  VOL.  II. 


CHAPTER   XXX. 
CIVITA  VECCHIA— CENTUM  CELL^E. 

PAGE 

Ancient  and  modern  condition  of  this  port — Etruscan  relics  at  Civita  Vecchia 
— Tombs  in  the  neighbourhood — Road  to  Corneto 1 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

SANTA  MARINELLA—  PUNICVM. 

Road  from  Civita  Vecchia  to  Rome — Castrum  Novum — Sta.  Marinella  and 
its  bay — Remains  of  Punicum — Puntone  del  Castrato — Excavations  of  the 
Duchess  of  Sermoneta — Discovery  of  an  Etruscan  town — Speculations  as 
to  its  name 5 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

SANTA  SEVERA— PYROI. 

Fortress  of  Sta.  Severa — Polygonal  walls  of  Pyrgi — The  town  was  Pelasgic — 
A  castle  and  port — Its  temple  of  Uithyia — Historical  notices — Remains 
on  the  site — Sepulchres  11 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

CERVETRI— A  GYLLA  or  CJBRE. 

The  Vaccina,  and  its  ancient  honours — Scenes  of  Virgil's  pictures — Cervetri 
and  its  accommodation — Antiquity  and  origin  of  Agylla — Change  of  name 
— History  of  Caere  —  Present  desolation  of  the  site — Vestiges  of  the 
ancient  city — Picturesque  charms — The  Banditaccia — Singular  cemetery 
— A  true  "city  of  the  dead" — Plans  of  the  tombs — Tumuli— Tomba 
l'ccently   opened — Grotta  della   Sedia — Ann-chair   of  rock — Tomb   of 


vi  CONTENTS. 


the  Seats  and  Shields — Grotta  del  Triclinio — Paintings  on  its  walls — 
Lamentable  decay  —  A  pretty  pair  —  Roman  inscription  —  Late  date  of 
the  paintings — Another  painted  tomb— Grotta  de'  Sarcofagi — Singular 
sarcophagi — Grotta  dell'  Alcova  —  Resemblance  to  a  temple — Archi- 
tectural interest — Tomb  of  tue  Tarquins — Probably  of  the  royal  blood 
of  Rome — Numerous  inscriptions — Sepulchral  niches — Grotta  Regulini- 
Galassi  —  Peculiar  construction  of  this  sepulchre  —  High  antiquity 
— The  warrior's  chamber,  and  its  furniture — The  Priest's  or  Princess's 
chamber,  and  its  wonderful  jewellery — Side-chambers — Sad  neglect  of 
this  sepulchre — Pelasgic  alphabet  and  primer,  inscribed  on  a  pot — Other 
relics  of  the  Pelasgic  tongue — Monte  Abatone — Grotta  Campana — Its 
decorations,  and  furniture — Grotta  della  Sedia,  Monte  d'Oro — Arm- 
chair of  rock — Grotta  Torlonia — Singular  entrance  and  vestibule — 
Crumbling  dead — Tombs   of  La   Zambra — Ancient   Pottery   of  Caere — 

Artena 17 

Appendix.     Shields  as  sepulchral  decorations — Genii  and  Junones  .         .     64 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

PALO— ALSIUM. 

Alsium  was  of  Pelasgic  antiquity — Local  vestiges — Tuniuli  of  Monteroni — Ex- 
cavations— Curious  shafts  and  passages — Palo  and  its  hostelry — Sea-shore 
scenes— Selva  la  Rocca — Fregense     ........     69 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 

LUNL— LUNA. 

Luua  an    Etruscan   town — Its  glorious   port — Site   and   vestiges  of  Luna — 

Historical  records — Its  produce — Marble  of  Luna 78 

CHAPTER  XXXVI. 
PISA— PIS^E. 

Leghorn — High   antiquity   of    Pisse  —  Historical    notices — Very   few   ancient 

remains — Etruscan  urns  in  the  Campo  Santo  85 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 

FIRENZE— FLORENTIA . 

Florence,  not  an  Etruscan  site — Museum  of  the  Uffizj — Etruscan  Cinerary 
urns — Various  subjects  in  the  reliefs — The  vase-room — The  King  of 
Etruscan  vases — Painted  vases — Black  ware  from  Chiusi — Canopi — 
Varieties — The  Bronze-room — The  Chimsera — The  Orator — Various  in- 
struments—  Tuscwiiica  Signa — Etruscan  warriors— Etruscan  Compass  ! — 


CONTENTS.  vii 

PAGE 

Warrior  in  the  Palazzo  Bonarroti — Singular  discovery  of  bronzes  on 
Monte  Falterona — Lake  full  of  antiquities — Votive  offerings — Mystery 
of  the  lake  explained — Style  of  the  bronzes — Singular  tomb  at  Figline — 

Etruscan  relics  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Florence 92 

Appendix.     The  Francois  Vase 115 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

FIESOLE— FjESULJB. 

Interest  of  Fiesole — The  Etruscan  walls — Character  of  the  masonry — Ancient 
pavement,  and  sewers — Fascinum — Roman  Gateway — Extent  of  the  city- 
walls — Faesulae  not  a  first-rate  city — "  The  top  of  Fesole" — Roman 
Theatre — The  Fairies'  Dens — Fonte  Sotterra — Another  ancient  reservoir 
— No  tombs  open  around  Fiesole — History  of.Feesulse — La  Badia — 
Inghiranii  .         .         .         . 118 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

SIENA— SENA. 

Siena,  not  an  Etruscan  site — Etruscan  tombs  in  this  district — Alphabetical 
tomb,  near  Colle — Pelasgic  alphabet  and  horn-book — Tomb  of  the  Cilnii — 
Montalcino,  its  tombs  and  wine  .         .         .         .         .         •         •         .135 


CHAPTER  XL. 

VOLTERRA—  VOLA  TERRJE. 

The   City. 

Commanding  position  of  Volterra — Size  and  importance  of  the  ancient  city 

— History    of  Volaterrae — Locanda  Callai — Modern  Volterra — Porta  all' 

Arco — Is   Etruscan — Three  mysterious  heads — Masonry — Portcullis — 

Walls  of  the  ancient  city — Porta  di  Diana — Fragments  of  the  city- walls — 

Extent  of  the  ancient  city — The  necropolis — Grotta  de'  Marmini — Tombs 

of  the  Csecinse — Tholi,  or   domed  sepulchres — Amphitheatre — Piscina, — 

Baths — Scenery  around  Volterra — Buche  de'  Saracini — Mysterious  passages 

in  the  rock        ............  141 


CHAPTER  XLI. 
VOLTERRA—  VOLA  TERR^E. 
The  Museum. 
The  Museum  of  Volterra,  and  its  treasures — Ash-chests  of  Volterra — Condi- 
tion of  woman  in  Etruria — Mythological  urns — Myths  of  Thebes — Myths 
of   the  Trojan  war — Myths  of  Ulysses,  and  Orestes — Etruscan   marina 
divinities — Scylla — Glaucus — Echidna — Typhon  —  Monsters  of    the    sea, 
earth,  and  air — Scenes  of  Etruscan  life — Boar-hunts — Games  of  the  circus 


vm  CONTENTS. 


— Judicial    processions — Triumphal    processions — Sacrifices — Schools — 
Banquets — Death-bed  scenes — Last  farewells — The  passage  of  souls — Good 
and   evil   demons— Funeral    processions — Etruscan    cars — Sarcophagi — 
Touching  character  of  these  scenes — Urns  of  the  Csecina  family — Urns  of 
the  Gracchi  and  Flavii — Antiquity  of  the  urns  of  Volterra— Terra-cotta 
urns — Relief  of  a  warrior — Marble  statue — Etruscan  pottery  of  Volterra 
— Bronzes — Coins — Jewellery  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .167 

Appendix.     The  Charun  of  the  Etruscans 206 


CHAPTER  XLII. 
THE  MAREMMA. 

Attractions  of  the  Maremma — Road  from  Volterra — The  Cecina — Pomarance 
— Castelnuovo — Hill  of  Castiglion  Bernardi — Pretended  site  of  Vetulonia 
— Massa  Marittima — Poggio  di  Vetreta — View  of  the  Maremma — Fol- 
lonica — Maremma  wilderness — Population  and  climate  of  the  Maremma 
in  ancient  and  modern  times  — "  Roba  di  Maremma  "  —  Caldane  — 
Campiglia — Locanda  Dini  —  Pretended  ruins  of  Vetulonia — Alberti's 
account  questioned — Etruscan  remains  near  Campiglia — Panorama  of  the 
Maremma 210 

Appendix.     Alberti's  description  of  the  pretended  ruins  of  Vetulonia         .     .  232 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

POPULONIA— POPULONIA. 

Road  to  Populonia — Ancient  port — The  castle  and  its  hospitable  lords — Area 
of  the  ancient  city — Its  antiquity  and  importance — Historical  notices — 
Local  remains — The  specular  mount — Etruscan  walls  and  tombs  of  Popu- 
lonia— Coins — Gorgonion 233 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

ROSELLE— RUSELL^E. 

Road  from  Follonica — Grosseto — Locanda  Palandri — Site  of  Rusellae — Its 
ancient  walls — Area  of  the  city — Modern  defences — The  ancient  Arx — 
Lago  di  Castiglione — Paucity  of  tombs  around  the  city — Rusellse,  one  of 
the  Twelve — Historical  notices — Utter  desolation 245 

CHAPTER  XLV. 
TEL  AMON  E—TELA  MON. 
The  Ombrone — Village  of  Telamone — Caution  to  travellers — Ancient  remains 
— Legendary  and  historical  notices — The  port — Road  to  Orbetello — The 
Osa  and  Albegna — Ferries 257 


CONTENTS.  IX 

CHAPTER  XLVI. 
ORBETELLO. 

PAGE 

Orbetello  and  its  fortifications — The  lagoon — Polygonal  walls — Etruscan  tombs 

— Antiquity  of  the  site — The  modern  town  and  its  hostelry        .         .         .  263 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

ANSEDONI  A— COSA . 

Site  of  Cosa — Advice  to  visitors — Walls  of  polygonal  masonry — Towers — Pecu- 
liarities of  the  walls — Gateways — Ruins  within  the  walls — The  Arx — 
View  from  the  ramparts — Bagni  della  Regina — Lack  of  tombs — Who  built 
these  walls  ? — Antiquity  of  polygonal  masonry — Peculiarity  of  the  poly- 
gonal type — It  must  be  Pelasgic — High  antiquity  of  Cosa  and  its  walls — 
Historical  notices 269 

CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

VETULONIA. 

Magliano — Discovery  of  an  Etruscan  city  in  its  neighbourhood — Site  and  extent 
of  this  city — Remains  discovered  on  the  site — Sepulchres  and  their  furni- 
ture— Painted  tombs— Relation  to  the  port  of  Telamon — What  was  the 
name  of  this  ancient  city  ? — Notices  of  Vetulonia — Its  accordance  with 
this  site — Maritime  character  of  Vetulonia  —  Monumental  evidence — 
Speculations 291 

CHAPTER  XLIX. 

SATURNI  A— SA  TURNIA . 

Roads  to  Saturnia — Scansano — Travelling  difficulties — Site  of  Saturnia — The 
modern  village — A  wise  resolve — Area  of  the  ancient  city — Walls  of  poly- 
gonal masonry— Relics  of  other  days — Natural  beauties  of  the  site — 
Sepulchral  remains  around  it — Fare  at  the  Fattoria — Advice  to  travellers 
— Piano  di  Palma — Singular  tombs — Resemblance  to  cromlechs — Analo- 
gous monuments — Speculations  on  their  origin — The  city  and  its  walls  are 
Pelasgic — Who  constructed  the  tombs  ? — The  type  not  proper  to  one  race 
— Monte  Merano — Manciano — Discovery  of  an  Etruscan  town  .         .         ,   305 


CHAPTER  L. 

CHIUSI— GLUSIUM. 

The  City. 

Citta  la  Pieve — Clusium,  its  antiquity,  history,  and  decay — Ancient  walls — 
Other  lions — Subterranean  passages — Museo  Casuccini — Statue-urn — 
Archaic  cippi —  Interesting  sarcophagus —  Cinerary  urns  —  Varieties — 
Terra-cotta  urns — Ancient  black  ware  of  Clusium — The  focolari  described 


CONTENTS. 


—  Painted  vases — Bronzes — Palazzo  Casuccini — The  Paris- vase — The 
Anubis-vase — Museo  Paolozzi — Interesting  cippi — Cinerary  urns — 
Canopi — Bronzes — The  "Gabinetto" — Curious  monument — Ottieri  col- 
lection— Private  Museums        .........  325 


CHAPTER  LI. 

CHIUSI— CZ  USIUM. 

The  Cemetery. 

The  necropolis  of  Clusium — To.mba  del  Colle  Casuccini — Ancient  Etruscan 
door — Chariot-races  —  Palsestric  games  —  A  symposium, — An  Etruscan 
butler — Peculiarities  of  these  paintings — Date  of  their  execution — Depo- 
sito  de'  Dei — Funeral  games — Banquets — Deposito  delle  Monache — Its 
furniture — Discovery  of  this  tomb — Tomba  del  Postino — The  Jewellers' 
Field — Scarabaei — Lake  of  Chiusi — Deposito  del  Gran  Duca — An  arched 
vault — The  urns— Tomba  della  Scimia — Games — Dwarfs  and  monkeys — 
Mediaeval  character  of  these  scenes — Inner  chamber — Singular  well  or 
shaft — Tomba  d'Orfeo  e  d'Euridice — Festive  scenes — Poggio  del  Vescovo  360 

Appendix.     Etruscan  family  names 384 

CHAPTER  LII. 
CHIUSI— CL  USIUM. 

POGGIO    GAJELLA. 

The  tomb  of  Lars  Porsena — Not  a  mere  fable — Analogies  in  extant  monuments 
— The  Labyinnth  in  Porsena's  tomb — Tumulus  of  Poggio  Gajella — Tiers 
of  tombs — Rock-hewn  couches — Sepulchral  furniture — Labyrinthine  pas- 
sages in  the  rock — What  can  they  mean  ? — Analogies — Reality  of  Porsena's 
monument  vindicated         ..........  385 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

CETONA  AND  SARTEANO. 

Etruscan  sites  around  Chiusi — Cetona— Museo  Terrosi — Painted  ash-chests — 
Sarteano — Etruscan  urns  in  the  Museo  Bargagli — Etruscan  collections  of 
Dr.  Borselli  and  Signor  Lunghini — Tombs  of  Sarteano  and  Castiglioncel 
del  Trinoro 401 


CHAPTER  LIV. 

CHIANCIANO  AND  MONTEPULCIANO. 

Scenic  beauties  —  Chianciano  — The  Casuccini  collection  —  Montepulciano  — 
Etruscan  relics  in  the  Palazzo  Buccelli—  The  Manna  of  Montepulciano — 
Val  ili  Chiana — Royal  farms  and  cattle — Etruscan  tombs  .         .         .410 


CONTENTS.  xi 


CHAPTER  LV. 
AREZZO— ARRETIUM. 

PAGE 

Glories  of  Arezzo — Arretium,  its  importance  and  history — Ancient  walls  of 
brick — Amphitheatre — Ancient  pottery — Its  peculiarities — Museo  Bacci 
— Museo  Pubblico — The  three  Roman  colonies  of  Arretium — Is  Arezzo  the 
Etruscan  site  ? — Discovery  of  ancient  walls  at  S.  Cornelio — Arezzo  cannot 
be  the  Etruscan  Arretium  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         ,         .417 


CHAPTER  LVI. 

CORTONA—  CORTONA. 

Venerable  antiquity  of  Cortona — Hints  to  travellers — Modern  Cortona — The 
ancient  fortifications — Cortona  at  sun-rise — Origin  of  Cortona — Early 
importance — Historical  notices — Local  remains  within  the  walls — Vault  in 
the  Casa  Cecchetti — Museum  of  the  Academy — Pottery  and  bronzes — The 
wonderful  lamp — Tombs  of  Cortona — The  Cave  of  Pythagoras — Singular 
construction — Cromlech-like  tombs — Grotta  Sergardi — Peculiar  construc- 
tion— The  Melon  tumulus,  and  its  furniture — Great  interest  of  Cortona      .  432 


CHAPTER  LVII. 

PERUGIA— PERUSIA . 

The  City. 

Travelling  incidents — The  Thrasymene  lake — The  celebrated  battle — Passig- 
nano  —  Inflammable  waters — Magione,  and  its  attractions  — Vale  of  the 
Caina — Perugia- — Its  modern  interest — Ancient  walls  and  gates — Arch  of 
Augustus  —  Porta  Marzia  —  The  Museum  —  Cippi  —  Cinerary  urns  — 
Celebrated  Etruscan  inscription — Vases — Bronzes — Singular  sarcophagus 
— Antiquity  of  Perusia — History 454 


CHAPTER  LVIII. 

PERUGIA— PERUSIA . 

The  Cemetery. 

Tomb  of  the  Volumnii — Banquet  of  the  dead — Dantesque  monument — Temple- 
urn,  with  a  bilingual  inscription — Gorgons'  heads — Decorations  of  the 
tomb — The  Velimnas  Family — Date  of  the  tomb — Great  interest  of  the 
Grotta  de'  Volunni — Sepulchres  of  Etruscan  families — Painted  ash-chests 
— Ipogeo  de'  Cesi — Ipogeo  de'  Vezi — Ipogeo  de'  Petroni — Ipogeo  degli 
Acsi — Ipogeo  de'  Fari — Palazzone  Baglioni — Tempio  di  San  Manno — 
Etruscan  vault  with  an  inscription  .         .         .         .         .         .         .471 


xu  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  LIX. 
ROME. 

I'AGK 

The  Etruscan  antiquities  in  Rome  —  Museo  Gregoriano  —  Origin  of  the 
Museum — Visitors'  difficulties — Vestibule — Chamber  of  the  Cinerary  Urns 
— Chamber  of  the  Sarcophagus — Hut-urns  from  the  Alban  Mount — 
Chamber  of  Terra-Cottas — The  Adonis-urn — First  Vase-Room — Second 
Vase- Room  —  Quadrant,  or  Third  Vase-Room  —  Fourth  Vase-Room  — 
Cylices — Bronzes — Armour — Candelabra — Statues — Caskets — Varieties — 
Mirrors — Clogs — Jewellery — Gold  ornaments  —  Coronse  Etruscse — Silver 
bowls — Chamber  of  the  Paintings — Chamber  of  the  Tomb — Museo  Campana 
— Terra-cottas — Vases — Gold  and  Jewellery — Bronzes  —  Other  Private 
collections  in  Rome. 490 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS  IN  VOLUME  II. 


PAGE 

the  farewell  of  admetus  and  alcestis.        From  a  tracing.      Frontispiece. 

TOMB    OF    THE   TARQU1NS,    CERVETRI G.  D.  17 

plan  of  a  tomb  at  cervetri       .         .         Monumenti  Inediti  dell'  Instituto  32 

tomb  of  the  seats  and  shields,  cervetri   .         .         .      Mon.  Ined.  Instit.  35 

inscription  in  the  tomb  of  the  tarquins G.  D.  44 

mouth  of  the  regulini-galassi  tomb           .                                           G.  D.  46 

pelasgic  alphabet  and  primer         ....     Annali  dell'  Instituto  54 

ETRUSCAN    FUMIGATOR                      .             .             .                        .            .            .            .             G.  D.  58 

ARCHAIC    BLACK    VASE    FROM    CHIUSI Micali  92 

canopus,  from  chiusi Micali  101 

tazza,  with  a  fury  and  two  fauns       ....  Museo  "Gregoriano  117 

pelasgic  ALPHiBET  on  the  walls  of  a  tomb       .        .        .           Dempster  138 

INSCRIPTION "  CVENLES  " G.  D.  139 

ETRUSCAN    WALLS    OF    VOLTERRA G.  D.  141 

INSCRIPTION "  VELATHRI  " G.  D.  144 

ETRUSCAN    MARINE    DEITY Micali  167 

INSCRIPTION "auceicna" G.  D.  199 

INSCRIPTION "  CRACNA  " G.  D.  200 

etruscan  candelabrum Museo  Gregoriano  204 

etruscan  walls  of  populonia      .         .         .         .         .         .      S.  J.  Ainsley  233 

etruscan  gorgonion Micali  244 

etruscan  walls  of  rusell^e S.  J.  Ainsley  245 

ancient  gate  and  walls  of  cosa G.  D.  269 

ancient  tomb,  saturnia G.  D.  305 

focolare — black  ware  of  chiusi            Micali  325 

etruscan  warrior,  museo  casuccini Micali  340 

the  anubis-vase,  chiusi Museo  Chiusino  352 

etruscan  canopus,  museo  paolozzi        ....         Museo  Chiusino  356 

DOOR  of  an  etruscan  TOMB,  CHIUSI G.  D.  360 

simpulum Museo  Gregoriano  366 

etruscan  lituus,  or  trumpet           ....          Museo  Gregoriano  380 

PLAN  OF  PART  OF  THE  PQGGIO  GAJELLA Gl'Unei*  394 


xiv  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

PAGE 

etroscan  sphinx Gruner  395 

etbuscan  strigil           .......      Museo  Gregoriano  426 

ANCIENT    WALLS    OF    CORTONA G.  D.  432 

four-winged  deity      .........          Micali  465 

BILINGUAL  inscription G.  D.  475 

calpis,  or  water-jar           ........       Gruner  490 

hut-urn  from  the  alban  mount      ......          Visconti  495 

CYATHUS,    OR    DRINK ING-BOWL Micali  507 

bronze  visor     ........          Museo  Gregoriano  513 

etruscan  candelabra  .......      Museo  Gregoriano  514 

fire- rake          .                  ......          Museo  Gregoriano  517 

bronze  ewer .      Museo  Gregoriano  518 

etruscan  jointed  clogs Museo  Gregoriano  522 


LIST  OF  MAPS  IN  VOLUME  II. 

plan  of  cere  and  its  necropolis         .         .         .         Adapted  from  Canina  28 

plan  of  tolterra,  ancient  and  modern Micali  150 

plan  of  cosa Adapted  from  Micali  268 

plan  of  cortona Adapted  from  Micali  434 

map  of  etruria From  Segato  and  others  557 


THE    CITIES   AND    CEMETERIES 


ETRURIA. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

CI  VITA  VECCHIA.— CENTUM  CELLM. 

Ad  Centumcellas  forti  deflexinius  Austro ; 

Tranquilla  puppes  in  statione  sedent. 
Molibus  sequoreum  concluditur  amphitheatrum, 

Angustosque  aditus  insula  facta  tegit ; 
Attollit  geminas  tuiTes,  bifidoque  meatu, 

Faucibus  arctatis  pandit  utrumque  latus. 
Nee  posuisse  satis  laxo  navalia  portu, 

Ne  vaga  vel  tutas  ventilet  aura  rates. 
Interior  medias  sinus  invitatus  in  aedes 

Instabilem  fixis  aera  nescit  aquis. 

Rutiucs. 

Whoever  has  approached  the  Eternal  City  from  the  sea 
must  admit  the  fidelity  of  the  above  picture.  As  Civita 
Vecchia  was  1400  years  since,  so  is  it  now.  The  artificial 
island,  with  its  twin-towers  at  the  mouth  of  the  port ;  the 
long  moles  stretching  out  to  meet  it ;  the  double  passage, 
narrowed  almost  to  a  closing  of  the  jaws ;  the  amphi- 
theatre of  water  within,  overhung  by  the  houses  of  the 
town,  and  sheltered  from  every  wind — will  be  at  once 
recognised.  It  would  seem  to  have  remained  in  statu 
quo  ever  since  it  was  built  by  Trajan.     Yet  the  original 

VOL.    II.  B 


2  CIVITA  VECCHIA.  [chap.  xxx. 

town  was  almost  utterly  destroyed  by  the  Saracens 
in  the  ninth  century  ;  but  when  rebuilt,  the  disposition  of 
the  port  was  preserved,  by  raising  the  moles,  quay,  and 
fortress  on  the  ancient  foundations,  which  are  still  visible 
beneath  them.1 

It  is  possible,  in  ancient  times,  when  the  ruler  of  the 
world  made  it  his  chosen  retreat,  and  adorned  it  with  his 
own  virtues  and  the  simple  graces  of  his  court,  that  Cen- 
tum Cellse  may  have  been,  as  Pliny  found  it,  "  a  right 
pleasant  place  " — locus  perjucundus.'1  Now,  it  is  a  paradise 
to  none  but  facchini  and  doganieri.  What  more  wearisome 
than  the  dull,  dirty  town  of  Civita  Vecchia  %  and  what 
traveller  does  not  pray  for  a  speedy  deliverance  from  this 
den  of  thieves,  of  whom  Gasperoni,  though  most  renowned, 
is  not  the  most  accomplished  %  Civita  is  like  "  love,  war, 
and  hunting,"  according  to  the  proverb — it  is  more  easy  to 
find  the  way  in,  than  the  way  out.  You  enter  the  gates, 
whether  on  the  land  or  sea-side,  without  even  a  demand  for 
your  passport ;  but  to  leave  them,  you  must  pass  through 
the  hands  of  a  score  of  custom-house  officers — a  fingering 
which  tends  neither  to  brighten  the  countenance  nor  to 
smooth  the  temper.  This  is  owing  to  Civita  being  a 
free  port — a  privilege  which,  in  conjunction  with  steam- 
traffic,  renders  it  the  only  thriving  town  in  the  Papal 
State,  pre-eminently — till  the  quickening  sun  of  Pius  IX. 
rose  upon  it — the  land  of  stagnation. 

It  does  not  appear  that  an  Etruscan  town  occupied  this 
site.    Yet  relics  of  that  antiquity  are  preserved  here,  some 


1  There   are   other  remains    of    the  arm   in  bronze  now  in  the  Gregorian 

Roman  town  on  the  shore  without  the  Museum,  which,  though  of  the  time  of 

walls ;  and  the  aqueduct  which  supplies  Trajan,  is  said  to  "  surpass  perhaps  in 

the  town  with  water  is  said  to  be  erected,  beauty  all  ancient  works  in  this  metal 

for  the  most  part,  on  the  ruins  of  that  with  which  we  are  acquainted."  Bull, 

constructed  by  Trajan.     On  the  shore,  Inst.  1837,  p.  5. 

at  this  spot,  was  discovered  that  colossal  2  Plin.  Epist.  VI.  31. 


chap,  xxx.]        ETRUSCAN  RELICS  AT  CIVITA  VECCHIA.  o 

in  the  Town-hall,  mostly  from  Corneto,3  and  some  in  the 
house  of  Signor  Guglielmi,  an  extensive  proprietor  of  land 
in  the  Roman  Maremma,4  besides  a  collection  of  vases, 
bronzes,  and  other  portable  articles  in  the  shop  of  Signor 
Bucci,  in  the  Piazza,  whom  I  can  highly  recommend  for 
his  uprightness  and  moderate  charges. 

Three  miles  from  Civita  Vecchia,  on  the  road  to  Corneto, 
at  a  spot  called  Cava  della  Scaglia,  Etruscan  tombs  have 
been  opened,5  which  seem  to  have  belonged  to  the  neigh- 
bouring Alga?,  though  that  place  is  known  to  us  only  as  a 
Roman  station.6  Its  site  is  marked  by  Torre  Nuova,  on 
the  sea  shore,  three  miles  from  Civita.7  The  country  tra- 
versed on  the  way  to  Corneto  is  a  desert  of  undulating 
heath,  overrun  with  lentiscus,  myrtle,  and  dwarf  cork-trees — 


3  These  have  been  placed  here  only 
since  1843  ;  and  consist  of  sarcophagi 
of  wnfro  with  recumbent  figures  on  the 
lids,  recently  found  in  the  Montarozzi ; 
and  half  a  dozen  female  heads  in  stone, 
painted  in  imitation  of  life,  and  very 
Egyptian  in  character.  Besides  these, 
there  are  sundry  Roman  cippi  and 
monumental  tablets,  among  which  will  be 
found  the  names  of  Pompeius  and  Cse- 
sennius — families  of  Tarquinii,  as  has 
been  already  shown  (Vol.  I.  pp.  307, 
368) — Veturius,  which  answers  to  the 
Velthur  in  the  Grotta  delle  Iscrizioni 
(Vol.  I.  p.  340) — and  several  milestones, 
probably  of  the  Via  Aurelia. 

4  The  collection  in  the  house  of  Signor 
Guglielmi  is  composed  of  articles  found 
upon  his  own  lands.  One  of  the  most 
remarkable  objects  is  an  urn  of  nenfro, 
found  near  Montalto,  in  1840.  It  is  in 
the  form  of  a  little  temple,  supported  on 
Ionic-like  columns,  with  a  moulded  door- 
way at  one  end,  and  a  male  figure,  in 
relief,  holding  a  wand  and  patera,  at  the 
other — probably  representing  the  de- 
ceased,  whose    name    is    inscribed    in 


Etruscan  characters  around  him.  In  the 
opposite  tympanum  is  a  human  head  set 
in  a  flower  ;  and  the  angles  of  the 
pediments  rest  on  lions'  heads.  Micali, 
Mou.  Ined.  pp.  403—7,  tav.  LIX. 

5  Excavations  were  made  here  in  1830 
by  Signor  Bucci,  but  with  no  great  suc- 
cess. His  attention  was  drawn  to  the 
spot  by  a  Figaro  of  Civita  Vecchia,  who, 
fifteen  years  previous,  had  found  there 
a  shoe  of  bronze,  which  he  had  esteemed 
of  no  value,  till  a  foreigner  entering  his 
shop,  seized  upon  it  and  carried  it  off, 
leaving  a  napoleon  in  the  palm  of  the 
astonished  barber. 

6  Mentioned  in  the  Maritime  Itinerary. 
Ut  supra,  Vol.  I.  p.  388. 

7  Three  miles  to  the  north-east  of 
Civita  Vecchia,  on  the  road  to  the  Allu- 
miere,  are  the  Bagni  di  Ferrata,  the  hot 
springs  lauded  by  Rutilius  (I.  249)  as 
the  Thermas  Tauri,  and  identical  with 
the  "  Aquenses  cognomine  Taurini," 
mentioned  by  Pliny  (III.  8)  in  his  cata- 
logue of  Roman  Colonies  in  Etruria, 
which  has  inconsiderately  been  referred 
to  Acquapendente.     See  Vol.  I.  p.  501. 

b2 


CIVITA  VECCHIA. 


[rHAP.  XXX. 


the  haunt  of  the  wild  boar  and  roe-buck.8  Corneto  is  so 
easy  of  access,  the  thirteen  miles  from  Civita  Vecchia  are 
so  rapidly  accomplished,  that  the  traveller  who  enters  the 
Papal  State  by  that  port,  should  make  a  point  of  visiting 
the  painted  tombs  of  the  Montarozzi,  which  will  open  to 
him  clearer  and  more  comprehensive  views  of  the  early 
civilization  of  Italy  than  he  can  derive  on  any  other  site, 
and  which  form  an  excellent  introduction  to  the  works  of 
ancient  art  in  Rome. 


8  About  half-way,  or  before  reaching 
Le  Mole,  a  little  to  the  right  of  the  road, 
is  a  spot  called  Piano  d'Organo,  where 


are  said  to  be  tombs  and  fragments  of 
ancient  walling  ;  but  I  have  had  no 
opportunity  of  verifying  this  report. 


APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XXX. 


The  ancient  sites  on  this  coast,  between  Rome  and  Centum  Cella?,  are 
thus  given,  with  their  distances,  by  tbe  Itineraries  : — 


Antonine  It: 

[NERARY. 

Peutingerian  Table. 

{Via  Aur 

elia.) 

{Via  Am 

'elia.) 

Roma 

Roma 

Lorium 

XII. 

Lorio 

XII. 

Ad  Turres 

X. 

Bebiana 

— 

Pyrgos 

XII. 

Alsium 

VI. 

Castrum  Novum 

VIII. 

Pyrgos 

X. 

Centum  Cellas 

V. 

Punicum 

V. 

Castro  Novo 

vim. 

Maritime  Itinerary. 

Centum  Cellis 

IIII. 

Roma 

In  Portum 

XVIIII. 

Another  Maritime  Itinerary, 

Fregenas 

vim. 

Portus  Augusti 

Alsium 

vim. 

Pyrgos 

XXXVIII. 

Ad  Turres 

IIII. 

Panapionem 

III. 

Pyrgos 

XII. 

Castrum  Novum 

VII. 

Castrum  Novum 

VIII. 

Centum  Cellas 

V. 

Centum  Cellas 

VIII. 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

SANTA  MARINELLA.— PUNIGUM. 

I  wandered  through  the  wrecks  of  days  departed, 
Far  by  the  desolated  shore. 

Shelley. 

Few  roads  in  Italy  are  more  frequented,  and  none  are 
more  generally  uninteresting,  than  that  from  Civita 
Vecchia  to  Rome.  He  who  approaches  the  Eternal  City 
for  the  first  time,  has  his  whole  soul  absorbed  in  her — in 
recollections  of  her  ancient  glories,  or  in  lively  concep- 
tions of  her  modern  magnificence.  He  heeds  not  the 
objects  on  the  road  as  he  winds  along  the  desert  shore,  or 
over  the  more  desolate  undulations  of  the  Campagna,  save 
when  here  and  there  a  ruined  bridge  or  crumbling  tower, 
in  melancholy  loneliness,  serves  to  rivet  his  attention  more 
fixedly  on  the  past.  How  should  he  ?  He  has  Coriolanus, 
Scipio,  Cicero,  Horace,  and  a  thousand  togaed  phantoms 
before  his  eyes ;  or  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's  swells  in 
his  perspective,  and  the  treasured  glories  of  the  Vatican  and 
the  Capitol  are  revealed  to  his  imagination.  The  scattered 
towers  along  the  coast,  to  his  view  are  simply  so  many 
preventive  stations  or  forts,  and,  with  the  inns  by  the 
way-side,  are  mere  mile-stones — indices  of  the  distance  he 
has  travelled  and  has  yet  to  travel,  ere  he  attain  the  desire 
of  his  eyes.  And  truly,  as  far  as  intrinsic  beauty  is  con- 
cerned, it  would  be  difficult  to  find  in  Italy  a  road  more 


fi  SANTA  MARINELLA.  [chap.  xxxi. 

unattractive,  more  bleak,  dreary,  and  desolate ;  and  to  one 
just  making  an  acquaintance  with  that  land  of  famed  ferti- 
lity and  beauty,  as  so  many  do  at  Civita  Vecchia,  nothing 
can  be  more  disappointing.  Moreover,  it  is  the  road  to 
Rome,  and  is  therefore  to  be  hurried  over  with  all  possible 
speed  of  diligence  or  vettura.  Yet  are  there  spots  on  this 
road  full  of  interest,  both  for  their  history,  associated  with 
that  of  Rome,  and  for  the  relics  they  yet  contain  of  the 
past ;  and  the  traveller  whose  curiosity  has  been  some- 
what allayed,  and  who  can  look  from  the  Imperial  City  to 
objects  around  her,  will  find  along  this  desert  sandy  shore, 
or  among  the  low  bleak  hills  inland,  sites  where  he  may 
linger  many  a  delightful  hour  in  contemplation  of  "  the 
wrecks  of  days  departed." 

Two  miles  and  a  half  from  Civita  Vecchia,  by  the  road- 
side, near  a  tower  called  Prima  Torre,  are  two  large 
barrows,  which,  from  a  slight  excavation  a  few  years  since, 
are  thought  to  give  promise  of  valuable  sepulchral  furniture. 

About  five  miles  from  Civita  Vecchia,  the  solitary  tower 
of  Chiaruccia  marks  the  site  of  Castrum  Novum,  a  Roman 
station  on  the  Via  Aurelia.  All  we  know  of  it  is  that  it 
was  a  colony1  on  this  coast,2  and  that,  with  other  neigh- 
bouring colonies,  it  reluctantly  furnished  its  quota  to  the 
fleet  which  was  despatched  in  the  year  563  (b.c.  191)3 

1  Liv.  XXXVI.  3 ;  Plin.  III.  8  ;  Ptol.  mention  of  an  ancient  figure  of  Inuus 
Geog.  p.  68,  ed.  Bert.  over  a  gate  at  Castrum  on  this  coast, 

2  Mela.  II.  4.  that  the  god  may  have  been  worshipped 

3  Liv.  loc.  cit.  The  Castrum  Inui  of  at  both  sites.  Inuus  was  a  pastoral  deity, 
Virgil  (/En.  VI.  776),  which  was  on  the  equivalent  to  Pan,  or  Faunus,  says  Ser- 
coast  of  Latium,  seems  to  have  been  vius.  Holstenius(Annot.ad  Cluver  p.  35) 
confounded  by  Servius  (ad  loc.)  and  by  and  Mannert  (Geog.  p.  375)  took  Sta 
Rutilius  (I.  232)  with  this  Castrum  Mariuella  for  Castrum  Novum,  though 
Novum  in  Etruria — the  former  a  place  Cluver  (II.  p.  488)  had  previously  indi- 
of  great  antiquity,  the  latter  probably  cated  the  ruins  at  Torre  di  Chiaruccia 
only  of  Roman  times.  But  Muller  to  be  the  site — an  opinion  which  is  now 
(Etrusk.  III.  3,  7)  thinks  from  Rutilius'  universally  admitted  to  be  correct. 


chap,  xxxi.]  THE  SITE  OF  PUNICUM.  7 

against  Antiochus  the  Great.  In  the  time  of  Rutilius  it 
was  in  utter  ruin — absumptum  fluctuque  et  tempore.* 

Two  miles  and  a  half  beyond,  the  road  crosses  the 
shoulder  of  a  low  headland,  on  which  stand  a  few  buildings. 
This  promontory  half  embraces  a  tiny  bay,  with  some 
ruins  of  a  Roman  mole  or  breakwater.  A  few  fishing- 
boats  are  drawn  up  on  the  beach ;  the  half-draped  tawny 
fishermen  are  sitting  beneath  their  shade,  mending  their 
nets  ;  and  two  or  three  similar  craft,  with  their  latteen 
sails  glistening  like  snow  in  the  sunbeams,  are  gliding 
with  swan-like  motion  over  the  blue  waters.  The  hamlet 
is  called  Santa  Marinella,  and  is  supposed  to  mark  the  site 
of  Punicum,  a  station  on  the  Via  Aurelia.5  A  few  furlongs 
beyond,  in  a  field  by  the  road-side,  are  many  traces  of 
Roman  habitation,  probably  marking  the  site  of  a  villa. 
Here  on  the  shore  are  a  couple  of  ancient  bridges  standing  in 
picturesque  ruin  near  the  road,  and  marking  the  course 
of  the  Via  Aurelia  along  the  coast.  Excavations  have 
been  made  of  late  years  in  this  neighbourhood  by  the 
Duchess  of  Sermoneta,  and  many  remains  of  Roman 
magnificence  have  been  brought  to  light.6 

Were  the  traveller  now  to  retrace  his  steps  from  Sta 
Marinella  for  about  a  mile  towards  Civita  Vecchia,  and 
cross  the  heath  to  the  extremity  of  the  range  of  hills 


4  Rutil.  I.  227.  with  the  Panapio  of  the  Maritime  Itine- 

6  Punicum  is  mentioned  only  by  the  rary. 

Peutingerian   Table.     Nibby    (Dintorni  G  In  the  winter  of  1837,  on  the  shores 

di  Roma,  II.  p.  313)  thinks  it  must  have  of  the  little  bay,  were  found  remains  of 

taken  its  name  from  some  pomegranate  baths  and  other  buildings,  with  mosaic 

{malum  punicum)  which  flourished  here,  pavements,    together   with    a    singular 

or  from  some  heraldic    device   of  tins  column,  and  a  beautiful  statue  of  Me- 

character  ;    but    it   is    more    likely   to  leager,  now  in  the  Museum  of  Berlin, 

have    arisen   from    the   association    of  Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  III.  tav.  LVIII.     For 

the   place   with    the   Carthaginians,   as  further  notices,  see  Bull.  Inst.  1838,  p.  1 ; 

Lanzi     (Saggio,    II.    p.    61)    suggests.  1839,  p.  85  ;   1840,  p.  115;   Ann.  Inst. 

Cluver  (II.  p.  497)  thinks  it  identical  1843,  p.  237,  ct  seq. 


8  SANTA  MARINELLA.  [chap.  xxxi. 

which  here  rise  from  the  coast,  he  would  find  some 
remains  of  far  prior  antiquity  to  those  at  Santa  Marinella, 
and  which  prove  the  existence  of  a  long-forgotten  Etruscan 
town  or  fortress  on  this  spot.  .  Let  him  ask  for  the 
"  Puntone  del  Castrato,"  or  "  Sito  della  Guardiola,"  and  he 
may  obtain  a  guide  at  the  little  osteria  of  Santa  Marinella. 
I  know  not  what  induced  the  Duchess  of  Sermoneta  to 
commence  excavations  on  this  site.  No  traces  of  sepulchres 
are  now  visible.  More  than  once  have  I  wandered  long- 
over  the  heathy  crag-strewn  ground  at  the  foot  of  these 
hills,  vainly  seeking  vestiges  of  a  necropolis.  It  is  certain, 
however,  that  here  have  been  discovered  many  tombs  of 
a  remarkable  character,  unlike  any  I  have  yet  described ; 
being  rude  chambers  hollowed  in  the  rock,  lined  with 
rough  slabs,  and  roofed  in  either  by  a  single  large  cover- 
stone,  or  by  two  slabs  resting  against  each  other,  gable- 
wise — extremely  similar,  as  far  as  I  can  learn  from  the 
description,  to  those  still  to  be  seen  at  Saturnia.  There  is 
some  analogy  also  to  the  tombs  of  Magna  Grrecia,  and  yet 
more  to  the  cromlechs  of  our  own  land,  and  other  parts  of 
Europe  and  of  the  East.  The  Egyptian  character  of  the 
furniture  they  contained  confirms  their  high  antiquity.7 

7  These  tombs  were  found  in  1840.  this    site.     Over    every  tomb    rose    a 

The  slabs  which  lined  them  were,  some  tumulus,  of  which  Abeken  saw  few  or 

calcareous,  some  volcanic,  partly  hewn,  no  traces ;  but  he  says  that  the  most 

partly  rough,  but  always  put  together  so  remarkable  feature  was  a  cuniculus,  or 

as  to  present  a  tolerably  even  surface.  passage,  lined  with  slabs,  surrounding 

A  single  massive  slab  often  lined  each  of  one  of  these  tombs  ;   and  he  thinks  it 

the  three  side-walls  of  the  tomb,  and  a  served  to  separate  the  sacred  space  of 

fourth,  leaning  against  the  front,  closed  the  sepulchre  from  the  surrounding  soil, 

the  doorway.    Sometimes  the  tombs  had  or  to  prevent  one  tomb  from  interfering 

two  chambers,  the  outer  of  which  served  with  another.     It  bears  great  analogy 

as  a  vestibule.    They  contained  benches,  to  the  trench  cut  in  the  rock  round  the 

or  sepulchral  couches,  of  rock.    Abeken  conical    tomb  at   Bieda.      See   Vol.  I. 

thinks  that  these   gable-roofed  tombs,  p.  271.     Among  the  sepulchral  furniture 

from  their  resemblance  to  guard-houses,  was  found   an  alabastrum  with  hiero- 

inay  have   suggested  to  the  peasantry  glyphics.     Abeken,    Bull.    Inst.     1840, 

the  name  of  LaGuardiola,  confeiTed  on  p.  113,  et  seq.;  Ann.  Inst.  1841,  p.  31  ; 


chap,  xxxi.]        DISCOVERY  OF  AN  ETRUSCAN  TOWN.  9 

Abeken  speaks  of  a  huge  tumulus  rising  in  the  midst  of 
these  tombs.  Tins,  however,  I  found  to  be  nothing  but 
the  termination  of  the  range  of  hills  which  here  sink  to 
the  coast ;  and  what  he  took  for  a  vast  sepulchre  inclosed 
by  masonry,  I  perceived  to  be  the  arx  of  an  ancient 
town,  marked  out  by  a  quadrangle  of  foundations,  almost 
level  with  the  soil ;  and  what  he  regarded  as  an  outer 
circuit  of  walls  to  his  tumulus,  I  discovered  to  be  the 
fortifications  of  the  town  itself,  extending  a  considerable 
way  inland,  along  the  brow  of  the  hill,  till  their  vestiges 
were  lost  among  the  crags  with  which  the  ground  is 
strewn.  Traces  of  several  gates  also  I  clearly  observed ; 
and  in  more  than  one  spot  remains  of  polygonal  masonry.8 


Mittelitalien,  pp.  239,  267.  To  this 
description  by  Abeken,  Micali  (Mon. 
Ined.  p.  356)  adds  that  the  corpses 
always  lay  on  large  slabs  of  nenfro. 
Tombs  of  this  simple  character  he  con- 
siders as  the  most  ancient  in  style,  but 
not  always  in  construction,  as  they 
must  have  continued  in  use  for  ages, 
and  probably  never  went  out  among 
the  peasantry.  He  describes  some  as 
built  up  of  many  blocks,  regularly  cut 
and  smoothed,  but  without  cement 
(p.  386,  tav.  LV.). 

8  I  have  given  notices  of  this  site  in 
Bull.  Inst.  1847,  pp.  51,93.  «  On  the 
summit  of  the  mound  or  tumulus,"  says 
Abeken,  "is  a  quadrangular  inclosure 
of  wall,  about  150  palms  one  way, 
and  1 80  the  other,  and  about  5  palms 
high,  of  calcareous  blocks,  uncemented, 
topt  with  a  battlemented  parapet  of 
nenfro.  Within  this  quadrangle  rises  a 
second,  still  higher,  at  the  very  summit 
of  the  mound ;  and  though  it  has  lost 
somewhat  of  its  original  height,  still 
measures  in  parts  8  or  9  palms  high. 
The  walls  bear  traces  of  red  stucco. 
The  ground  between  the  two  inclosures 
is  paved  with  marine  breccia.    The  space 


within  the  upper  quadrangle  has  been 
excavated,  and  a  sepulchral  chamber 
has  been  discovered  about  14  feet  below 
ground,  originally  lined  with  masonry, 
but  now  much  ruined.  The  entrance  to 
this  tomb  is  not  distinguishable ;  but  it 
was  probably  connected  with  a  corridor 
or  passage  above  it,  hollowed  in  the  rock, 
bent  at  right  angles,  and  full  of  human 
bones  when  discovered.  It  seems  clear 
to  me  that  the  whole  formed  a  cemetery, 
and  perhaps  the  inclosing  walls  served 
to  support  different  stories,  rising  above 
the  sepulchral  chamber ;  a  plan  adopted 
by  the  Romans  in  the  Mausolea  of 
Augustus  and  of  Hadrian,  and  in  the 
Septizonium  of  Severus."  Abeken,  Bull. 
Inst.  1840,  pp.  113—5 ;  and  Mittelitalien, 
p.  242. 

Abeken  elsewhere  (Ann.  Inst.  1841, 
p.  34)  suggests  that  the  inner  and  higher 
quadrangle  of  masonry  may  have  marked 
the  area  of  a  temple,  like  that  of  the 
Capitol.  If  so,  the  presence  of  bones  in 
the  passage,  even  supposing  (which  does 
not  appear  to  me  to  be  necessary)  that 
this  was  a  sepulchre,  is  explained  by  the 
well-known  connection  between  temples 
and  tombs. 


10  SANTA  MABINELLA.  [chap.  xxxi. 

Here,  then,  stood  the  town  in  whose  cemetery  the 
Duchess  of  Sermoneta  made  excavations.  What  was  its 
name  ?  We  have  no  mention  by  ancient  authors  of  any 
town  on  this  coast  between  Alsium  and  Centum  Cella?, 
whose  site  has  not  been  determined.  That  this  was  of 
very  ancient  date,  may  be  inferred  from  the  silence  of 
Roman  writers,  as  well  as  from  the  character  of  the 
remains,  which  mark  it  as  Etruscan.  Now,  on  the  coast 
immediately  below  it  stands  the  Torre  di  Chiaruccia,  the 
Castrum  Xovum  of  antiquity;  a  name  which  manifestly 
implies  the  existence  of  a  more  ancient  fortress,  a  Castrum 
Yetus,  in  the  neighbourhood;  which,  there  can  be  little 
doubt,  is  the  place  whose  remains  occupy  the  Puntone 
del  Castrato.9  This  may  have  fallen  into  decay  before  the 
domination  of  the  Romans,  or  it  may  have  been  destroyed 
by  them  at  the  conquest,  and  when  a  colony  was  to  be 
established,  a  fresh  site  was  chosen  on  the  coast  below, 
probably  for  convenience  sake  ;  or  it  may  be,  that  the 
entire  population  of  the  old  town  was  transferred  to  the 
new,  for  the  same  reasons  that  led  to  the  formation  of 
the  duplicate  cities  of  Falerii  and  Yolsinii.10 

9  This  conjecture  of  mine  is  confirmed  when  those  maps  were  executed. 
by  the  actual  name  of  the  site,  as  Dr.  10  Cramer  (Ancient  Italy,  I.  p.  203) 
Braun  suggests  (Bull.  Inst.  184 7,  p.  94) —  supposes  that  the  Castrum  Veins  implied 
Castrato  being,  probably,  a  mere  corrup-  in  the  Castrum  Novum  was  the  Castruiu 
tion  of  the  ancient  name.  I  am  indebted  Inui  of  the  Latin  coast,  mentioned  by 
to  the  Cav.  Canina  for  the  information  Virgil  (.^u.  VI.  770),  which  Servius  (ad 
that  a  mosaic  discovered  a  few  years  loe.)  and  Rutilius  (I.  232),  on  the  other 
since  at  Sta  Marinella,  bore  the  repre-  hand,  seem  to  confound  with  Castrum 
sentation  of  a  town  on  a  height,  which  Novum.  A  Castrum  is  mentioned  by 
he  suggests  may  have  been  this  on  the  Paterculus  (I.  14)  as  colonised  at  the 
Puntone  del  Castrato.  In  the  old  fresco  commencement  of  the  First  Punic  War 
maps  in  the  galleries  of  the  Vatican,  (cf.  Liv.  epit.  XI.)  ;  but  from  the  con- 
some  ruins  are  indicated  on  this  height,  text  it  may  be  gathered  that  the  Castrum 
though  no  name  is  attached.  This  iu  Picenum  is  here  referred  to.  Cramer, 
shows  that  the  site  was  recognised  as  p.  285. 
ancient  at  the  close  of  the  1 6th  century, 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

SANTA  SEVERA.— P  YRGI. 

Pyrgi  veteres. — Virgil. 
Grandia  consumpsit  mcenia  tempus  edax. — Rutilius. 

Six  miles  beyond  Santa  Marinella  is  the  fortress  of 
Santa  Severa,  standing  on  the  shore,  about  a  furlong 
from  the  high-road.  It  is  a  square  castle,  with  a  keep  at 
one  angle,  and  a  lofty  round  tower,  with  machicolated  bat- 
tlements, rising  in  the  centre.  To  the  casual  observer,  it 
has  nothing  to  distinguish  it  from  other  mediaeval  forts; 
but  if  examined  closely,  it  will  be  seen  that  its  walls  on  the 
side  of  Civita  Vecchia  are  based  on  foundations  of  far 
earlier  date,  formed  of  massive,  irregular,  polygonal  blocks, 
neatly  fitted  together  without  cement,1 — precisely  similar 
to  the  walls  of  Cora,  Segni,  Palestrina,  Alatri,  and  other 
ancient  towns  in  the  Latin  and  Sabine  Mountains — in 
short,  a  genuine  specimen  of  what  is  called  Pelasgic 
masonry.  This  wall  may  be  traced  by  its  foundations, 
often  almost  level  with  the  soil,  for  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  sea,  till  it  turns  at  right  angles,  running  parallel 
with  the  shore,  and,  after  a  while,  again  turns  towards  the 
sea — enclosing  a  quadrangular  space  several  times  larger 

1   Under  the   walls  of  the   fortress,  tion,   as  at    Orbetcllo.      One   block   is 

however,  the  blocks  are   imbedded   in  9  ft.  6  in.  long,  3  ft.  9  in.  liigh,  and  1  ft. 

mortar.    The   traveller    must    not    be  9  in.  thick, 
misled  by  this,  which  is  a  modern  addi- 


12  SANTA   SEVERA.  [chap,  xxxii. 

than  the  present  fort,  and  sufficiently  extensive  for  a  small 
town.2     This  is  the  site  of  "  the  ancient  Pyrgi."  3 

These,  and  the  slight  remains  on  the  Puntone  del 
Castrato,  are  the  only  specimens  of  polygonal  masonry 
in  this  part  of  Etruria,  though  such  is  found  on  three 
other  sites  further  north.  The  strict  similarity  to  the 
walling  of  cities  south  and  east  of  the  Tiber,  seems  to 
imply  a  common  origin,  and  an  origin  not  Etruscan. 
Moreover,  the  position  of  this  town  in  the  plain,  scarcely 
raised  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  is  so  unlike  any  purely 
Etruscan  sites,  which  are  always  strong  by  nature  as 
well  as  art,  and  the  materials  of  its  walls — limestone, 
travertine,  crag,  sandstone,  all  aqueous  formations — so  dis- 
tinguish them  from  the  volcanic  fortifications  of  the  other 
ancient  sites  in  the  southern  district  of  Etruria,  that  we  are 
led  irresistibly  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  built  by  a  dif- 
ferent race,  or  in  a  different  age.  Now,  though  we  have 
no  express  assertion  in  ancient  writers  that  Pyrgi  itself 
was  of  Pelasgic  origin,  we  know  that  its  temple  of  Ilithyia 
was  built  by  that  people,  and  that  it  was  the  port  of 
Agylla  or  Caere4  which  was  founded  or  occupied  by  the 

2  Canina  (Ann.  Instit.  1840.  pp.  39,  0f  little  consequence,  since  it  occupies 
40)  gives  the  dimensions  as  850  by  C50  the  relative  position  assigned  to  it  be- 
Greek  feet.     Abeken   calls   it   750   by  tween  Alsiuni  and  Castrum  Novum. 
600    ft.    (Mittelitalien,  p.   138),   which  4  Strabo,  V.  p.  226 ;  Diod.  Sic.  XV. 
nearly  agrees  with  my  measurement.  p.  337,   ed.  Rhod.     Pyrgi   can    hardly 

3  Strabo  (V.  p.  226)  says  Pyrgi  is  nave  been  founded  originally  as  the  port 
little  less  than  180  stadia  from  Graviscae,  0f  Crere,  for  it  was  50  stadia  (6}  miles) 
and  260  from  Ostia.  The  Itinerary  of  distant  from  that  city  (Strabo,  V.  p.  226), 
Antoninus  describes  it  as  34  miles  from  which  lay  only  4  miles  from  the  sea 
Rome,  which  is  the  true  distance,  and  (Plin.  III.  8) ;  and  there  can  beno  reason 
8  miles  from  Castrum  Novum.  The  why  a  sjte  should  not  have  been  chosen 
Maritime  Itinerary  makes  it  34  miles  for  a  port  much  nearer  the  city,  as  there 
from  Portus,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber,  is  nothing  in  this  spot  to  recommend  it 
16  from  Alsium,  and  8  from  Castrum  in  preference  to  any  other  part  of  the 
Novum.  The  Peutingerian  Table  calls  neighbouring  coast,  and  the  harbour  it 
it  10  miles  from  Alsium,  which  is.  cor-  once  possessed  must  have  been  entirely 
rect,  but  14  from  Castrum  Novum.  artificial.  I  think  it  much  more  probable 
These  discrepancies  iu  the  distances  are  that  the  earliest  structure  on  this  site 


chap,  xxxn.]  THE  POLYGONAL  WALLS  OF  PYRGT. 


13 


same  race,5  and  we  have  Virgil's  authority  as  to  its  high 
antiquity,6  and  its  name  in  proof  of  its  Greek  origin.  So 
that  while  history  gives  us  the  strongest  presumptive 
evidence  that  P}rrgi  was  a  Pelasgic  town,  its  existing 
remains  confirming  that  evidence,  may  be  considered  deci- 
sive of  the  fact.7 

The  small  size  of  the  town,  little  more  than  half  a  mile 
in  circuit,  as  determined  by  the  remains  of  its  walls,  is 
another  feature  which  distinguishes  it  from  all  the  Etruscan 
sites  already  described.  Yet  in  this  particular  it  quite 
agrees  with  the  description  we  have  of  Pyrgi,  as  "a  castle"  8 
and  "  a  small  town."  9     It  must,  nevertheless,  have  been  a 


was  the  celebrated  temple,  and  that  the 
castle  sprung  up  subsequently  to  protect 
that  wealthy  shrine,  and  that  the  ex- 
istence of  a  fortress  here  determined  the 
people  of  Caere  to  adopt  the  spot  for 
their  port,  instead  of  constructing  an- 
other on  a  more  convenient  site.  Canina 
(Ann.  Inst.  1840, p.  37)  cites  Dionysius, 
in  support  of  his  opinion  that  this  temple 
was  founded  by  the  Pelasgi  at  least  two 
generations  before  the  Trojan  War. 

5  Strab.  loc.  cit ;  Dionys.  Hah'c.  I. 
p.  16,  ed.  Sylb.;  Plin.  N.  H.  III.  8; 
Solinus,  Pol.  cap.  VIII. 

6  Virgil  (iEn.  X.  184)  calls  it  ancient 
even  in  the  days  of  ^Eneas  ;  and  he, 
though  at  liberty  to  indulge  in  the  pro- 
verbial licence  of  a  poet,  was  too  good 
an  antiquary  to  commit  a  glaring  ana- 
chronism. 

7  Cavaliere  Canina  (Ann.  1840,  p.  40) 
thinks  that  as  the  site  itself  did  not 
afford  the  Pelasgic  builders  of  Pyrgi 
materials  for  the  polygonal  masonry,  to 
which  they  were  accustomed,  they  cut 
the  blocks  from  the  neighbouring  moun- 
tains, now  called  Monti  del  Sasso, 
which  yield  a  calcareous  stone  naturally 
assuming  polygonal  forms.  Micali  (Mon. 
Incd.  p.  373)  will  not  admit  that  this  poly- 


gonal masonry  shows  a  Pelasgic  origin, 
but  thinks  such  a  style  would  be  natu- 
rally adopted,  in  every  age,  in  great 
walls,  especially  for  substructions,  and 
was  here  used  in  order  to  resist  the 
force  of  the  waves,  and  because  the 
oblique  stratification  of  the  mountains 
afforded  +he  masses  requisite.  My  rea- 
sons for  regarding  the  polygonal  masonry 
of  Italy,  in  type  at  least  if  not  always  in 
construction,  as  Pelasgic,  will  be  given 
in  a  future  chapter.  I  may  remark  that 
both  the  writers  cited  admit  that  a 
choice  was  exerted  in  this  instance. 
Indeed  it  was  not  necessary  to  go  to  the 
mountains  of  the  interior  to  find  stone 
for  building  ;  and  the  variety  of  materials 
employed — all  alike  thrown  into  poly- 
gonal forms — proves  that  the  adoption 
of  that  style  in  this  case  was  not  acci- 
dental, but  intentional.  At  Agylla, 
however,  where  the  rock  is  volcanic,  the 
Pelasgi  seem,  if  not  in  the  city  walls — 
which  can  hardly  be  ascribed  to  them — 
at  least  in  their  tombs,  to  have  hewn  it 
into  rectangular  blocks.     See  page  29. 

8  Serv.  ad  /En.  X.  184. 

9  Rutil.  I.  224.  Strabo  also  (V.  p.  225) 
classes  it  among  the  iroAi'x»"o  of  the 
Etruscan  coast. 


14 


SANTA  SEVERA. 


[chap.  XXXII. 


place  of  considerable  importance  as  a  port,  naval  station, 
and  commercial  emporium,1  and  it  was  renowned  as  the 
head-quarters  of  those  hordes  of  pirates,  who  long  made 
the  Tyrrhenians  as  dreaded  throughout  the  seas  of  Italy 
and  Greece,2  as  the  corsairs  of  Barbary  have  been  in 
modern  times. 

Much  of  the  importance  of  Pyrgi  must  have  arisen  from 
its  temple  of  Ilithyia  or  Lucina,  the  goddess  of  childbirth,3 
— a  shrine  so  richly  endowed  with  gold  and  silver,  and 
costly  gifts,  the  opima  spolia  of  Etruscan  piracy,  as  to 
tempt  the  cupidity  of  Dionysius  of  Syracuse,  who,  in  the 
year  of  Rome  370   (b.c.  384),  fitted  out  a  fleet  of  sixty 


1  Pyrgi  was  also  afishing-town  (Athen. 
VI.  cap.  1,  p.  224,  ed.  Casaub.).  It  seems 
to  have  suffered  the  usual  evils  of  a  sea- 
port, that — "  quaedam  corruptela  ac  de- 
mutatio  morum " — as  Cicero  terms  it 
(de  Rep.  II.  4)  ;  for  Lucilius  (ap.  Serv. 
Ma.  X.  184)  mentions  the — "scoi'ta 
Pyrgentia." 

2  Serv.  loc.  cit. — "  Hoc  castellum  no- 
bihssimum  fuit  eo  tempore,  quo  Thusci 
piraticam  exercuerunt ;  nam  illic  metro- 
polis fuit."  The  small  size  of  Pyrgi,  as 
Miiller  remarks  (Etrusk.  I.  4,  8)  is  no 
proof  against  its  importance  in  ancient 
times,  seeing  that  the  once  renowned 
ports  of  Greece  astonish  the  modern 
traveller  by  their  confined  dimensions. 

3  Rite  maturos  aperire  partus 
Lenis  Ilithyia,  tuere  matres  ; 
Sive  tu  Lucina  probas  vocari 

Seu  Genitalis  !  &c. 
Hor.  Carm.  Scec.  1 3. 
Aristotle  (G^conomic.  II.  20)  and  Po- 
lyrenus  also  (V.  cap.  II.  21)  call  this 
goddess  Leucothea.  Niebuhr  (II.  pp. 
478,  493,  Engl,  trans.)  and  Miiller 
(Etrusk.  III.  3,  4)  call  her  Mater  Ma- 
tuta,  who  was  identified  by  the  Romans 
with  the  Leucothea  of  the  Greeks.  But 
Matuta  also  is  allied  with  Eos  or  Aurora 


(Lucret.  V.  655)  ;  and  Gerhard  (Gott- 
heiten  der  Etrusker,  pp.  9,  25)  suggests 
an  analogy  between  Ilithyia-Leucothea, 
and  the  Etruscan  Aurora,  who  was  call- 
ed "Thescm."  Etrusk.  Spiegel,  I.  taf. 
LXXVI.  The  natural  relation  between 
the  goddess  of  the  dawn  and  the  goddess 
of  births  is  easily  understood  ;  that  with 
a  goddess  of  the  sea,  is  not  so  evident. 
As  Leucothea  was  deemed  powerful  in 
pi-eserving  from  shipwreck,  and  was  the 
patron-deity  of  sailors,  it  is  an  argument 
hi  her  favour  in  this  instance.  Were  this 
shrine  sacred  to  her,  it  would  seem  to 
imply  that  the  port  was  prior  to  the 
temple.  On  the  other  hand,  it  may  be 
said,  that  Ilithyia  being  but  one  form  of 
Juno,  the  great  goddess  of  Argos  (Hesych. 
El\r)6vias),  the  Pelasgic  colony  may  well 
have  raised  a  temple  to  her  honour — as 
did  the  Argive  colony,  called  by  Diony- 
sius (I.  pp.  1 6, 1 7)  Pelasgic,  which  settled 
at  Falerii.  She  is  sometimes  called  the 
daughter  of  Juno  (Paus.  I.  18  ;  Iliad. 
XL  271).  Homer,  however,  elsewhere, 
(Iliad.  XIX.  119)  speaks  of  this  goddess 
in  the  plural  number.  So  also  Hesychius. 
For  a  new  view  of  the  derivation  of  the 
name,  vid.  Ann.  Inst.  1842,  p.  95 
(Henzen.). 


chap,  xxxn.]         ANCIENT  TEMPLE  OF  ILITHYIA.  15 

triremes,  and  attacked  Pyrgi,  ostensibly  for  the  sake  of 
repressing  its  piracies,  but  really  to  replenish  his  exhausted 
treasury.  He  surprised  the  place,  which  was  very  scantily 
garrisoned,  spoiled  the  temple  of  not  less  than  a  thousand 
talents,  and  carried  off  booty  to  the  amount  of  five  hun- 
dred more,  defeating  the  men  of  Caere,  who  came  to  its 
rescue,  and  laying  waste  their  territory.4 

This  is  all  we  know  of  Pyrgi  in  the  days  of  Etruscan 
independence.  Her  history  must  in  great  measure  be 
identical  with  that  of  Csere,  on  which  she  was  so  inti- 
mately dependent.  We  find  her  mentioned  as  a  Roman 
colony  in  the  year  563  (b.c.  191).5  It  is  evident  that 
under  the  Roman  domination  she  lost  much  of  her  former 
importance.6  We  find  nothing  more  than  mere  statements 
or  hints  of  her  existence,7  till  in  the  fifth  century  after 
Christ  she  is  said  to  have  dwindled  from  the  condition  of 
a  small  town  to  that  of  a  large  villa.8  After  that  we  hear 
no  more  of  her  as  Pyrgi,  but  find  her  mentioned  in  a.d. 
1068,  as  the  Castle  of  Sta  Severa.9 

Of  the  celebrated  temple  there  are  no  traces  existing ; 
nothing  to  determine  even  the  site  it  occupied.  Canina 
suggests  that,  from  the  period  in  which  it  was  built,  it 
may  have  been  in  the  most  ancient  Doric  style.1  If  so,  it 
must  have  resembled  the  great  temples  of  Psestum,  stand- 
ing like  them  on  the  shore,  and  rearing  its  massive  capitals 

4  Diodorus  Sic.  XV.  p.  337  ;  Serv.  ad       implies  that  she  had  lost  her  impoi*tance 
^En.  X.  184.      See  also  Aristot.  CEcon.       with  her  piracies. 

II.  20  ;  Strab.  V.p.226  ;  Polyam.  Strat.  '  Liv.  XXV.  3  ;  Cic.  de  Orat.  II.  71  ; 

V.   cap.  II.   21  ;    cf.  ^Elian.  Var.  Hist.  P.  Mela,  II.  4  ;  Plin.  III.  8  ;  Ptol.  p.  68, 

1.20.  ed.  Bert. ;   Mart.  XII.  epig.  2;   Strab. 

5  Liv.  XXXVI.  3.     When  with  Fre-  loc.  cit.  ;  Serv.  loc.  cit. 

gense,  Castrum  Novum,  and  the  maritime  s  Rutilius  (I.  224 ),  speaking  of  Alsium 

colonies  of  Latium,  she  was  compelled  and  Pyrgi,  says — 

to  add  her  quota  to  the  fleet  fitting  out  "Nuncvillsegrandes,oppidaparvaprius." 

against  Antiochus,  king  of  Syria.  9    Nibby,   Dintorni     di   Roma,    III. 

6  Servius  (loc.  cit.)  speaks  of  Pyrgi  as  p.  94. 

"  nobilissimum  "   in    early    times,  and  '  Annal.  Inst.  1840,  p.  42. 


16  SANTA  SEVERA.  [chap,  xxxii. 

and  entablature  high  above  the  towers  and  battlements  of 
the  enclosing  walls,  at  once  a  beacon  to  the  mariner,  and 
a  stimulus  to  his  devotion. 

The  foundations  show  the  walls  of  Pyrgi  to  have  been 
in  parts  of  great  thickness,  implying  what  might  be  ex- 
pected from  its  exposed  situation  in  the  plain,  that  its 
fortifications  were  of  unusual  strength  and  loftiness.2 

The  port,  as  already  said,  must  have  been  wholly  artificial, 
which  seems  indeed  to  be  expressed  in  the  term  applied 
to  it  by  ancient  writers.3  Nothing  remains  to  determine 
the  shape  of  the  harbour,  but  Cav.  Canina  thinks  it  was 
formed  by  two  curved  moles,  each  terminating  in  a  tower, 
with  a  third  mole  in  front  of  the  opening  between  them, 
like  the  island  at  Civita  Vecchia. 

There  are  no  tombs  visible  around  Sta  Severa,  not  even  a 
tumulus  on  the  plain,  but  at  the  foot  of  the  heights  which 
rise  inland,  sepulchres  have  been  discovered.  On  one 
spot,  called  Pian  Sultano,  the  Duchess  of  Sermoneta  has 
excavated,  and  the  tombs  were  of  very  simple  character, 
and  similar  to  those  of  Palo  and  Selva  la  Rocca.4 

2  The  name  of  Pyrgi  denotes  the  ex-  ancient  walls  seem  to  have  varied  from 

istence  of  "  towers  "  in  the  ancient  walls,  8  to  12,  and  16  feet  in  thickness, 
yet   there   are  no   traces  of  any  now  3  Cav.  Canina  points  out  that  Strabo 

visible.    It  is  evident  they  did  not  project  and  Dionysius  both  use  the  term  eiriveiov, 

beyond  the  line  of  walls,  as  at  Cosa  and  instead  of  \i^v,  in  describing  Pyrgi — 

Falleri,  though  Cav.  Canina,  in  his  re-  the  former  term  implying  an  artificial 

stored  Plan  of  Pyrgi,  has  so  represented  port,  constructed  with  moles  or  break- 

them,  for  the  outer  face  of  the  founda-  waters — the   latter   a  natural    harbour 

tions  is  in  parts  clearly  definable  for  a  con-  only.  Ann.  Inst.  1840,  p.  43.     This  view 

siderable  distance;  nor  are  there  traces  of  is  favoured  by  Hesychius  when  he  says 

towers  within.    Perhaps  they  rose  only  that  Mi/eiov  is  smaller  than  \ifx.7)v. 
on  the  side  towards  the  sea,  where  huge  4  Micali,    Mon.   Ined.    pp.  375,  385. 

masses  of  ruin,  the  wTecks  of  the  fortress  The  tombs  which  Abeken  (Mittelitalien, 

and  port,  now  he  on  the  shore,  fretting  pp.  239, 242, 267)  describes  as  belonging 

the  waves  into  everlasting  foam.    There  to  Pyrgi,  or  to  a  village  dependent  on 

are  traces  of  Roman  work  on  this  side,  her,  are  those  at  the  Puntone  del  Cas- 

of  opus  incertum  and  reticulatum.     The  trato,  treated  of  in  the  last  chapter. 


roMR   of   t;if:    tarquins,   cervktri. 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


CERVETRl.— AG  YLLA  or  CJZRK 


— saxo  fundata  vetusto 
Urbis  Agylliuao  sedes  ;  ubi  Lydia  quondam 
Gens,  bcllo  prseclara,  jugia  insedit  Etruscis. — Virgil. 

Buried  he  lay,  where  thousands  before 

For  thousands  of  years  were  inhumed  on  the  shore. 

What  of  them  is  left  to  tell 

Where  they  lie,  and  how  they  fell  ? — Bvron. 

Soon  after  leaving  Santa  Severa,  on  the  way  to  the  Holy 
City,  the  traveller  will  espy  before  him  a  small  village  with 
one  prominent  building  sparkling  in  the  sun,  at  the  foot  of 
the  hills  which  rise  inland,  dark  with  wood.  When  he  has 
journeyed  onward  for  seven  miles,  he  will  find  himself 
between  this  village  and  a  solitary  tower  on  the  coast, 
called  Torre  Flavia.     Here  he  will  cross  a  rivulet  known  by 

VOL.    II.  c 


18  CERVETRI.  [chap.  xxxm. 

the  homely  name  of  La  Vaccina,  or  the  Cow-stream.  Insig- 
nificant as  this  turbid  brook  may  appear,  let  him  pause  a 
moment  on  the  bridge  and  bethink  him  that  it  has  had  the 
honour  of  being  sung  by  Virgil.  It  is  the  Cceritis  amnis 
of  the  JEneid,1  on  whose  banks  Tarcho  and  his  Etruscans 
pitched  their  camps,  and  iEneas  received  from  his  divine 
mother  his  god-wrought  arms  and  the  prophetic  shield 
eloquent  of  the  future  glories  of  Rome, 

clypei  non  enarrabile  textum. 

Illic  res  Italas,  Romanorumque  triumphos, 
Fecerat  Ignipotens. 

The  eye  wanders  up  the  shrub-fringed  stream,  over  bare 
undulating  downs,  the  arva  lata  of  ancient  song,  to  the  hills 
swelling  into  peaks  and  girt  with  a  broad  belt  of  olive  and 
ilex.  There  frowned  the  dark  grove  of  Silvanus,  of  dread 
antiquity,  and  there,  on  yon  red  cliffs — the  "ancient 
heights  "  of  Virgil — sat  the  once  opulent  and  powerful  city 
of  Agylla,  the  Caere  of  the  Etruscans,  now  represented,  in 
name  and  site  alone,  by  the  miserable  village  of  Cervetri. 
All  this  is  hallowed  ground — religione  patrum  late  sacer — 
hallowed,  not  by  the  traditions  of  evanescent  creeds,  nor 
even  by  the  hoary  antiquity  of  the  site,  so  much  as  by  the 
homage  the  heart  ever  pays  to  the  undying  creations  of  the 
fathers  of  song.  The  hillocks  which  rise  here  and  there  on 
the  wide  downs,  are  so  many  sepulchres  of  princes  and 
heroes  of  old,  coeval,  it  may  be,  with  those  on  the  plains  of 
Troy ;  and  if  not,  like  them,  the  standing  records  of  tradi- 
tional events,  at  least  the  mysterious  memorials  of  a  prior 
age,  which  led  the  poet  to  select  this  spot  as  a  fit  scene  for  his 
verse.  The  large  mound  which  rises  close  to  the  bridge 
may  be  the  eels  us  collis  whence  iEneas  gazed  on  the  Etrus- 
can camp.2     No  warlike  sights  or  sounds  now  disturb  the 

1  JEn.  VIII.  .5.07.      Pliny  (N.  H.  III.  8)  calls  it,  "Cseretanus  amnis." 
2  JEn.  VIII.,  G04. 


chap,  xxxiii.]  THE  MODERN  VILLAGE.  19 

rural  quiet  of  the  scene.  Sword  and  spear  are  exchanged 
for  crook  and  ploughshare ;  and  the  only  sound  likely  to 
catch  the  ear  is  the  lowing  of  cattle,  the  baying  of  sheep- 
dogs, or  the  cry  of  the  pecorajo  as  he  marches  at  the  head 
of  his  flock,  and  calls  them  to  follow  him  to  their  fold  or  to 
fresh  pastures.3  Silvanus,  "the  god  of  fields  and  cattle," 
has  still  dominion  in  the  land.4 

If  the  traveller  be  in  a  vehicle,  he  must  leave  the  high 
road  a  little  before  reaching  the  Vaccina,  where  a  country- 
track  crosses  the  downs  to  Cervetri.  This  same  track  he 
must  pursue  should  he  approach  Cervetri  from  the  side  of 
Palo.  For  the  pedestrian  or  horseman  there  is  another, 
but  longer  path,  just  before  reaching  a  second  streamlet, 
known  by  the  ominous  name  of  La  Sanguinara.5  By  the 
carriage-track  he  will  ford  the  Vaccina  at  the  chapel  of 
Sta  Maria  de'  Canneti,  and  presently  finds  himself  between 
the  walls  of  Cervetri  and  the  heights  of  the  ancient  city. 

Cervetri,  the  representative  of  Agylla,  is  a  miserable 
village,  with  100  or  200  inhabitants,  and  is  utterly  void  of 
interest.  It  is  surrounded  by  fortifications  of  the  fourteenth 
and  fifteenth  centuries,  and  stands  just  without  the  line  of 
the  ancient  walls,  so  that  it  is  annexed  to,  rather  than 
occupies,  the  site  of  the  original  city.     The  village,  and  the 

:i  This  scene,  of  sheep  following  their       1241)  speaks  of  the  valleys  or  glens  of 
shepherd,  attracted  by  his  voice,  often       Agylla,  abounding  in  flocks. — 

meets  the  eye  of  the  traveller  in  the  ,.     ,_,      a,    ,      .,#,,  , 

J  A7UAA7JS  0   ai  iroA\vpp7]voi  vavai. 

East  ;   and  beautiful  allusion  is  made  to 

it   in  Holy  Writ  (John  X.,  3,  et  seq.).  5  Livy  (XXII.  1,)  relates  that,  in  the 

Oxen   and   goats  also,  in   Corsica,  and  year  537,  "  the  waters  of  Caere  flowed 

even  swine,  in   Italy,  of  old,   used   to  mingled  with  blood."  Cf.Val.  Max.  I.  6,5. 

follow  their  herdsman,  at  the  sound  of  The  Aquse  Cseretes,  here  mentioned,  are 

his  trumpet.     Polybius   (XII.   pp.  6.54,  generally  supposed  to  be  the  same  as  the 

655,  ed.  Casaub.),  who  records  this  fact,  &ep^a  KaipeTava  of  Strabo  (V.  p.  220), 

remarks  that  while   the  swineherds  of  now  called  the   Bagni  del  Sasso,   four 

Greece  walked   behind,  those   of  Italy  miles  west  of  Cervetri.      May  not  the 

invariably  preceded,  their  herds.  above  tradition  be  preserved  in  the  name 

4  This  region  was  famed  for  its  cattle  of  this  stream? 

in  the  olden  time.     Lycophron  (Cass. 

C  2 


20  CERVETR1.  [chap,  xxxiii. 

land  for  sonic  miles  round  it,  are  the  property  of  Prince 
Ruspoli,  whose  palace  forms  a  conspicuous  object  in  the 
scene.  This  noble  seldom  makes  excavations  himself,  but 
allows  them  to  be  carried  on  by  his  friends,  who  are  of  a 
more  speculative  or  philarchaic  turn  of  mind.  It  is  to  the 
enterprise  of  the  Cavaliere  Campana,  of  General  Galassi, 
and  of  the  reverend  arch-priest  of  Cervetri,  Don  Alessandro 
Regulini,  that  we  owe  the  numerous  and  remarkable  objects 
of  Etruscan  antiquity  that  have  been  brought  to  light  here 
of  late  years. 

The  cicerone  of  whose  services  and  keys  the  visitor  who 
would  see  the  tombs  must  avail  himself,  is  a  good-tempered 
tobacconist,  Flavio  Passegieri,  to  be  found  in  his  shop  in 
the  little  piazza.  Most  travellers  will  find  it  sufficient  to 
lionize  the  site  in  a  day's  excursion  from  Palo,  four  or  five 
miles  distant,  where  there  is  a  decent  inn  ;  but  such  as 
would  devote  more  than  a  hurried  day  to  the  antiquities  of 
C?ere,  and  to  avoid  the  transit  to  and  from  Palo,  are  willing 
to  put  up  with  village  accommodation,  will  find  a  clean  bed 
and  refreshment  in  the  house  of  a  vetturino,  Pacifico  Rosati, 
one  of  the  most  obliging,  attentive  hosts  it  has  been  my 
lot  to  encounter  in  Italy.  He  will  also  dress  a  meal,  if 
need  be,  for  the  excursionist,  who  must  not  expect, 
however,  the  delicacies  for  which  Caere  was  renowned 
of  old.6 

Remote  as  are  the  days  of  the  Etruscans,  this  city  boasts 
a  far  prior  antiquity.  It  was  originally  called  Agylla,  and 
is  classed  by  Dionysius  among  the  primitive  towns  of 
Central  Italy,  which  were  either  built  by  the  united  Pelasgi 
and  Aborigines,  or  taken  by  them  from  the  Siculi,  the 
earliest  possessors  of  the  land,  ages  before  the  foundation 

6  Martial  relished  the  pemce  of  Caere       (de  Re   Rust.   III.    3)   testifies  to  the 
(XIII.  54),  and  compared  her  wines  to       abundance  of  her  grapes, 
those  of  Setia  (XIII.  124).     Columella 


chap,  xxxiii.]        ANTIQUITY  AND  ORIGIN  OF  AGYLLA. 


21 


of  the  Etruscan  state.7  That  it  was  at  least  Pelasgic 
and  of  very  remote  antiquity  there  can  be  no  doubt ; s 
though  we  may  not  be  willing  to  admit  that  that  occupation 
of  Italy  can  be  referred  with  certainty  to  the  third  genera- 
tion before  the  Trojan  war.9  Traditions  of  ages  so  long- 
prior  to  the  historic  period  must  be  too  clouded  by  fable, 
or  too  distorted  by  the  medium  of  their  transmission,  to  be 
received  as  strictly  authentic.  In  its  early  clays  Agylla 
seems  to  have  maintained  intercourse  with  Greece,  which 
corroborates,  if  need  be,  the  uniform  tradition  of  its 
Pelasgic  origin.10 


1  Dion.  Hal.  I.  p.  16  ;  cf.  IIT.  p.  193. 
Dionysius  does  not  specify  which  of 
these  towns  were  "  previously  inhabited 
by  the  Siculi,"  and  which  were  "  built 
by  the  Pelasgi  with  their  confederate 
Aborigines." 

8  Dionysius  is  confirmed  by  Strabo 
(V.  pp.  220,  226),  Pliny  (III.  8),  Ser- 
ving (ad  Virg.  Mn.  VIII.  479;  X.  183), 
and  Solinus  (Polyh.  cap.  VIII.),  who  all 
record  the  tradition  that  Agylla  was 
founded  by  the  Pelasgi.  Servius  states 
that  they  were  led  to  select  this  site  on 
account  of  a  fountain  ;  not  being  able  to 
find  water  elsewhere  in  the  neighbour- 
hood. Strabo  says  these  Pelasgi  were 
from  Thessaly  (cf.  Serv.  ad  Mn.  VIII. 
600).  Virgil  corroborates  the  tradition 
by  referring  the  grove  of  Silvanus  on 
this  site  to  the  Pelasgi — 

Silvano  fama  est  veteres  sacr&ssePelasgos. 

Lycophron  (Cass.  135.5)  calls  Agylla, 
Ausonian.  It  is  justly  remarked  by 
Lepsius  (Ann.  Inst.,  1836,  p.  202)  that 
there  are  more  witnesses  to  the  Pelasgic 
origin  of  Cuere,  than  of  any  other  city 
of  Etruria. 

9  It  is  stated  by  Hellanicus  of  Lesbos, 
that  the  Siculi  were  expelled  from  Italy 
at  that  period  ;  Philistos  of  Syracuse 
gives  the  date  as  80  years  before  the 


Trojan  War  ;  while  Thucydides  refers 
the  expulsion  to  a  period  much  sub- 
secment  to  the  fall  of  Troy  (ap.  Dion. 
Hal.  I.  p.  1 8).  Nibby  (Dintorni  di  Roma, 
I.  p.  345)  on  the  strength  of  the  tradi- 
tion of  Hellanicus  and  Philistos,  de- 
clares that  the  Pelasgic  occupation  took 
place,  "  certainly  more  than  1 350  years 
before  Christ." 

10  That  Agylla  had  a  Greek  origin 
may  be  inferred  from  the  circumstance 
of  its  having  dedicated  treasure  to  the 
Delphian  Apollo  (Strabo,  V.  p.  220), 
and  of  its  consulting  that  oracle  (Herod. 
I.  167).  Niebuhr  (I.  p.  127)  is  per- 
suaded that  this  dedication  and  con- 
sultation must  have  been  made  by  the 
earlier  inhabitants,  the  Pelasgi  ;  as  the 
Etruscans  would  have  been  content  with 
their  own  aruspicy.  Cf.  Canina,  Cere 
Antica,  p.  16.  Then  the  language  of  the 
city,  in  very  early  times,  if  Strabo  may 
be  believed,  was  Greek  ;  or  if  we  refuse 
credence  to  the  tradition  he  records, 
we  may,  at  least,  receive  it  as  evidence 
of  the  general  belief  in  the  Greek  origin 
of  the  city,  which  gave  rise  to  the  legend. 
The  name  is  considered  by  Gerhard  to 
be  derived  from  the  Greek — ayvid.  Ann. 
Inst.,  1831,  p.  205.  Servius  (ad  Mn. 
VIII.  597),  however,  derives  it  from  a 
heros  eponymos,  Agella. 


oo 


(KKVETRI.  [chap,  xxxin. 


It  would  appear  that  at  its  conquest  by  the  Etruscans  its 
name  was  changed  into  Caere,  but  the  reason  of  this  altera- 
tion we  know  not,  unless  we  choose  to  attach  credit  to  the 
old  legend,  which  tells  us  that  when  the  Lydian  or  Etrus- 
can colonists  were  about  to  attack  the  city,  they  hailed  it 
and  inquired  its  name ;  whereon,  a  soldier  from  the  ramparts, 
not  understanding  their  motives  or  language,  replied  with 
a  salutation — xaVe — "  bail !  "  which  they  receiving  as  a 
good  omen,  on  the  capture  of  the  city  applied  to  it  as  its 
name.1  But  this,  like  most  of  the  etymologies  of  the 
ancients,  savours  strongly  of,  what  Pliny  terms,  the  perversa 
subtilitas  of  the  grammarians. 

In  the  time  of  iEneas,  the  city  is  represented  by  Virgil 
as  under  the  sway  of  Mezentius,  a  cruel  and  impious 
tyrant,  who  was  expelled  by  his  subjects  and  fled  to 
Turnus,  king  of  the  Rutuli ;  while  the  liberated  Agyllans 
joined  the  ranks  of  the  Trojan  prince.2 

In  very  early  times,  Caere  is  said  to  have  cultivated  the 
arts  ;  for  Pliny  asserts,  that  in  his  day  paintings  were  here 
extant,  which  had  been  executed  before  the  foundation  of 
Rome  ;  and  he  cites  them  as  examples  of  the  rapid  pro- 
gress this  art  had  made,  seeing  that  it  appeared  not  to  have 
been  practised  in  the  days  of  Troy.3     Caere,  even  as  early 

1  Strabo,  loc.  cit.     Steph.  Byzaut.  v.  of  the  Etruscan.     Canina  (Cere  Antica 

Agylla.      Servius  (ad  /En.  VIII.  597)  p.  25),  who  is  of  the  old  or  literal  school 

relates    the    same    story,  but    on    the  of   historic   interpretation,  thinks  that 

authority  of  Hyginus  (de  Urbibus  Ita-  "  the  change  of  name,  and  the  mingling 

licis)  refers  this  blunder  to  the  Romans.  of  the  Agyllans  with  the  Etruscan  in- 

Miiller  (Etrusk.  einl.  2,  7,  n.  40)  thinks  vaders  can    be  established   in  the  first 

the  original  Etruscan  name  was  "  Cisra,"  ten  years  after  the  fall  of  Troy ; "  while 

and   cites  Verrius  Flaccus  (ap.  Interp.  Niebuhr,  on  the  other  hand  (I.  p.  127, 

JEn.  X.  183.  Veron.)    in  confirmation.  cf.  p.  385),  will  not  allow  it  to  have  been 

Lepsius  (die  Tyrrhen.  Pelasg.  p.  28)  re-  made  even  as  late  as  the  year  of  Rome 

gards  Caere  as  the  original  name,  which  220  (B.  C  534). 

came  a  second  time  into  use  ;  andtbinks  ';  Virg.  JEn.  VII.  C48  ;    VIII.  481,  ct 

it  was  Umbrian,  not   Etruscan,  iu  con-  scq. 

formity  with  his  theory  of  the  Umbrian  3  Plin.  N.  H.  XXXV.  G. 

race  and  language  being  the  foundation 


.hap.  xx.mii]  HISTORY  OF  CtERE.  23 

as  the  time  of  the  first  Tarquin,  is  represented  as  among  the 
most  flourishing  and  populous  cities  of  Etruria  ; 4  and  she 
was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  Twelve  of  the  Confederation.5 
But  what,  above  all,  distinguished  Caere  was,  that  she  alone, 
of  all  the  cities  of  Etruria,  abstained  from  piracy,  from  no 
inferiority  of  power  or  natural  advantages,  but  solely  from 
her  sense  of  justice;  wherefore  the  Greeks  greatly  honoured 
her  for  her  moral  courage  in  resisting  this  temptation.6 

The  first  mention  of  this  city  in  Roman  history  is,  that  it 
maintained  a  war  with  Tarquinius  Priscus.7  It  also  joined 
Veii  and  Tarquinii  in  the  twenty  years'  war  with  his  suc- 
cessor, Servius  Tullius,  and  at  the  re-establishment  of  peace, 
in  consequence  of  the  prominent  part  it  had  taken,  it  was 
punished  by  the  Roman  monarch  with  the  forfeiture  of 
a  portion  of  its  territory.8 

At  the  same  period,  or  about  the  year  of  Rome  220 
(534  B.C.),  the  Cserites  joined  their  fleet  with  that  of 
Carthage  on  an  expedition  against  a  colony  of  Phocteans, 
who  had  seized  on  Alalia  in  Corsica,  and  after  a  severe 
combat,  all  the  prisoners  taken  by  the  allies  were  brought 
to  Crcre  and  there  stoned  to  death.  In  consequence  of 
this  cold-blooded  massacre,  the  city  was  punished  with  a 
plague  ;  men,  herds,  and  flocks — whatever  animal  passed 
near  the  spot  where  the  bodies  of  the  Phocseans  lay,  became 
afflicted  with  distortion,  mutilation,  or  paralysis  ;  whereon 
the  Caerites  sent  to  Delphi  to  consult  the  oracle  how  they 
might  atone  for  their  crime,  and  were  ordered  to  perforin 
solemn  expiatory  rites,  and  to  institute  games  of  gymnastic 

4  Dion.  Hal.  III.  p.  1 93.  .  represents  Caere  as  a  powerful  city  of 

5  This    may    be    learned    from    the       Etruria. 

passages  of  Diouysius  and  Strabo  already  6  Strabo,  V.  p.  220. 

cited,  as   well  as   from  the  prominent  7  Dion.  Hal.  III.  p.  l!)3.      Nibby  (I 

part  the  city  took,  in  conjunction  with  p.  347)  thinks  it  may  then  have  changed 

Veii  and  Tarquinii,  and  the  independent  its  name  from  Agylla  to  Caere. 

course  she  subsequently   followed    with  8  Dion.   Hal.  IV.    p.   231    ;   cf.    Li  v. 

regard    to    Rome.      Livy  (I.    2)    also  I.  42. 


24  CERVETRI.  [chap,  xxxiii. 

exercises  and  horse-racing  in  honour  of  the  slain  ;  which 
they  continued  to  observe  in  the  time  of  Herodotus.1 

On  the  expulsion  of  Tarquinius  Superbus  from  Home,  he 
and  his  two  sons  took  refuge  in  Caere,2  probably  on  account 
of  his  family  connections  there ;  but  it  is  not  recorded  that 
this  city  took  part  in  Porsenna's  expedition  to  reinstate 
the  exiled  prince.  Unlike  Veii,  Fidenae,  Falerii,  and  other 
cities  in  this  part  of  Etruria,  Caere,  though  but  twenty- 
seven  miles  from  Rome,  seems  to  have  been  for  ages  on 
friendly  terms  with  that  city.3  When,  in  the  year  365, 
Rome  was  attacked  by  the  Gauls,  Caere  opened  her  gates 
and  gave  refuge  to  the  Flamen  Quirinalis,  and  Vestal 
Virgins,  and  eventually  restored  them  in  safety  to  their 
home.4  Nay,  we  are  told  that  the  Caerites  attacked  the 
retreating  Gauls,  laden  with  the  spoil  of  Rome,  routed 
them,  and  recovered  all  the  booty  they  were  bearing 
away.5  For  these  services  the  senate  decreed  that  the 
Capites  should  receive  the  hospitium  publicum,  or  be 
admitted  into  the  most  intimate  relations  with  the  Roman 
people6 — in  fact,  they  received  the  full  privileges  of 
Roman  citizens,  save    the    suffrage.7     The  origin  of  our 

1  Herod.  I.  166,  167.  more    or    less   pure   to    a  late  period. 

2  Liv.  I.  60.    Dionysius  (IV.  pp.  276,  Cf.  Millingen,  Ann.  Tnst.  1834,  p.  43. 
279)  however,   asserts  that  it   was   to  4  Liv.  V.  40.    Straho,  V.  p.  220.  Val. 
Gabii  he  fled,  where  his  son  Sextus  was  Max.  I.  i.  10.     Cf.  Plut.  Camil. ;    Flor. 
king.      Livy  says  it  was   Sextus  alone  I.  13.      See  also  an  inscription   in  the 
who  went  to  Gabii.  Vatican,  given  by  Gruter,  p.  492,  7,  and 


3  This   fraternity  and   intimate   con-       Muratori,  p.  172,  4. 

.  VIDERENT    CAPITOLIVM 

.  VESTALES    CAERE    DEDVXIT 

.  QVI    RITVS   SOLLEMNES    NE 

.  RENTVR    CVRAI    SIBI    HABVIT 

.  VENERATA  SACRA    ET   VIRGINES 

.      .  EXIT 


nection  were  probably  owing  to  the 
Pelasgic  origin  of  Caere,  and  the  con- 
sequent want  of  a  complete  sympathy 
with  the  Etruscans.  Niebuhr  (I.  p. 
386)  was  even  inclined  to  the  opinion 
that  Rome  was  a  mere  colony  of  Crere — 
an  opinion  which  he  had  at  first  held,  5  Strabo,  loc.  cit. 

but  afterwards  modified.   Lcpsius  (Ann.  c  Liv.  V.  50.     Strabo,  loc.  cit. 

Inst.,  1836,  p.  203)  thinks  that  the  Pc-  <  This  condition  became   proverbial, 

lassie  population  of  Care  was  preserved       and  what  had  originally  been  conferred 


chap,  xxxiii.]  HISTORY  OF  CMRE.  25 

word  ceremony — ccerimouia — has   been   ascribed   to  tins 
event.8 

A  year  or  two  before  the  capture  of  Rome  by  the  Gauls, 
Caere  was  engaged  with  another  enemy,  Dionysius,  the 
tyrant  of  Syracuse,  who,  in  362,  attacked  Pyrgi,  and 
spoiled  its  celebrated  temple  of  Ilithyia.  As  this  was  the 
port  of  Caere,  the  inhabitants  of  the  latter  city  rushed  to 
the  rescue,  but,  being  probably  unprepared  for  war,  not 
expecting  an  attack,  they  were  easily  routed  by  the 
Sicilians.9 

Caere,  though  closely  allied  to  Rome,  continued  to  main- 
tain her  independence ;  but  it  is  probable  that  this  was 
threatened,  otherwise  "the  sympathy  of  blood"  alone 
would  hardly  have  induced  her,  in  the  year  401  (B.C 
353),  to  take  up  arms  to  assist  Tarquinii  against  Rome, 
when  she  had  been  for  ages  intimately  associated  with  the 
Republic.  She  must  have  received  some  provocation  when 
she  sent  an  army  into  the  Roman  territory,  and  laid  it 
waste  up  to  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber.  Ere  long,  however, 
conscious  of  her  unequal  strength,  she  repented  of  this  step, 
and  besought  pardon  and  peace,  reminding  the  Romans  of 
the  services  she  had  rendered  in  their  distress.  The  senate 
referred  her  ambassadors  to  the  people,  who,  moved  by 
their  touching  appeal  and  the  remembrance  of  past  services, 

as  an  honour  was  made  significant  of  franchise  as  a  disgraceful  condition, 
disgrace  ;    for  tabuloe  Ccerites  and  cera  8  Val.  Max.  loc.  cit.    Festus,  v.  Cseri- 

Cceritis  came  to  imply  the  condition  of  monia.  The  etymologies  of  the  ancients, 

Roman  citizens,  who  had  been  deprived  however,  are  rarely  to  be  trusted  ;  but 

of  the  right  of  suffrage.      Hor.   I.  ep.  Niebuhr  (I.  p.  386)  thinks  this  derivation 

VI.  62.    Aul.  Gell.  XVI.  13,  7.    Strabo,  very  plausible.     It  has  been  suggested 

loc.  cit.     Niebuhr  (II.  pp.  60,  67)  is  of  to  me  that  the  first  syllable  of  the  word 

opinion,  from  the  classification  of  Festus  was  not  originally  Cieri,  but  Coeri  (for 

(v.  Municipium),  that  Care  was  really  Curi,  i.  c.  Cura) — monia — which,  at  least, 

degraded  from  the  highest  rank  of  citizen-  is  expressive  of  the  meaning;  and  the 

ship,  in  consecpience  of  her  conduct  in  two    diphthongs    are   sometimes   inter- 

the  year  401  ;  and  thus  he  accounts  for  changeable, 
the  proverbial  reference  to  the  Cseritan  °  Sec  the  last  chapter,  page  15. 


26 


CERVETRI. 


[CHAP.  XXX11I. 


rather  than  by  the  excuse  then  urged,  listened  to  their 
prayer  and  granted  them  a  truce  for  a  hundred  years.10  It 
is  highly  probable  that  the  Cserites  paid  the  penalty  of 
their  error  by  the  loss  of  their  independence,  for  we  have 
no  record  of  any  further  conquest  of  them  by  the  Romans ; 
indeed,  we  next  hear  of  Caere  as  a  Roman  dependency, 
providing  corn  and  other  provisions  for  the  fleet  of  Scipio, 
in  the  year  549,1  and  otherwise  assisting  in  the  Second 
Punic  War.2 

At  the  commencement  of  the  Empire  this  "splendid  and 
illustrious  city"  had  sunk  into  utter  insignificance,  retaining 
mere  vestiges  of  past  greatness,  being  even  surpassed  in 
population  by  the  Thermae  Crcretanaj — the  hot  baths  in  the 
neighbourhood,  which  the  Romans  frequented  for  health's 
sake.3  It  again  revived,  however,  as  appears  from  monu- 
ments and  inscriptions  found  on  the  spot,  and  became  a 
municipium.*     Nor  was  it  at  any  period  wholly  blotted 


»  Liv.  VII.  19,  20. 

1  Liv.  XXVIII.  45. 

-  Sil.  Ital.  VIII.  474. 

3  Strabo,  V.  p.  220.  Now  the  Bagni 
del  Sasso,  so  called  from  a  remarkable 
bare  crag  on  the  summit  of  the  neigh- 
bouring mountain.  It  is  about  4  miles 
west  of  Cervetri,  and  is  visible  from 
the  road  between  Sta  Severa  and  Palo. 
Mannert  (Geog.  p.  379)  places  the 
Aquae  Caeretanse  at  Ceri.  Cluver  (II. 
p.  493)  confounds  them  with  the  Aqua: 
Apollinaris,  on  the  upper  road  from 
Rome  to  Tarquinii,  now  the  Bagni 
di  Stigliano ;  and  the  Table  favours  his 
view.  Westphal  (Rbm.  Kamp.  p.  160) 
also  regards  these  names  as  identical. 
But  Holstenius  (Annot.  ad  Cluv.  p.  35) 
distinguishes  between  the  two  Aquae, 
placing  one  at  Stigliano,  the  other  at 
Bagni  del  Sasso.  Cluver  thinks  that 
.Martial  (VI.  42)  refers  to  the  Aquae 
Apollinaris  under  the  name  of  "  Phcebi 


Vada."  Gell  (v.  Agylla)  mistakes  the 
Careite  of  the  Itinerary  for  Caere ;  but  it 
is  evidently  the  station  on  the  Via  Clodia, 
now  called  Galera.     See  Vol.  I.  p.  77. 


ANTONINE 
ITINERARY. 

Roma 

Careias  XV. 

Aquas  Apol- 
linaris     XVI  III. 
Tarquinios         XII. 


PEUTINGERIAN 
TABLE. 

Roma 

Lorio  XII- 

Bebiana  — 

Turres  — 

Aquas  Apol- 
linaris      VIII. 
Tarquinis       XII. 
4  Festus  v.  Municipium.    Gruter,  pp. 
215,  1  ;  485,  5  ;  cf.  235,  9.    Cluver,  II. 
p.  493.    Bull.  Inst.,  1840,  pp.  5—8.— 
Canina.     In  excavations  made  in  1 840  on 
the  site  of  the  city,  some  beautiful  marble 
statues  of  Tiberius,  Drusus,  Germanicus, 
and  Agrippina  were  discovered,  together 
with   that   singular  bas-relief  with   the 
names  and  emblems  of  three  Etruscan 


chap,  xxxin.]  DESOLATION  OF  THE  SITE.  27 

from  the  map,  but  continued  to  exist,  and  with  its  ancient 
name,  till,  at  the  beginning  of  the  thirteenth  century,  part 
of  its  inhabitants  removed  to  a  site  about  three  miles  off, 
on  which  they  bestowed  the  same  name,  and  the  old  town 
was  distinguished  by  the  title  of  Vetus,  or  Csere  Vetere, 
which  has  been  corrupted  into  its  present  appellation  of 
Cervetri,  the  new  town  still  retaining  the  name  of  Ceri. 
This  has  misled  antiquarians,  who  have  sought  the  Etruscan 
city  on  the  site  which  seemed  more  clearly  to  bear  its 
name,5  but  inscriptions  recently  found  at  Cervetri  have 
established  its  identity  with  Caere  beyond  a  doubt.6 

Of  the  ancient  city  there  are  but  few  vestiges  extant ; 
yet  the  outline  of  its  walls  is  clearly  denned,  not  so  much 
by  fragments,  for  there  are  few  remaining,  as  by  the  cha- 
racter of  the  ground  which  the  city  occupied.  This  is  a 
height  or  table-land,  rising  in  steep  cliffs  above  the  plain 
of  the  coast,  except  on  the  northern  side  where  it  is  united 
by  a  neck  to  the  high  land  adjoining.  Within  the  space 
thus  marked  off  by  nature,  not  a  ruin  of  the  ancient  city 
now  rises  above  ground.  Temples,  towers,  halls,  palaces, 
theatres — have  all  gone  to  dust ;  the  very  ruins  of  Caere 
have  perished,    or   are   overheaped   with   soil ;    and   the 


cities,  Tarquinii,  Vetulonia,  and  Vulci,  of  the  letters  cut  in  marble  and  inlaid  on  a 

which  mention  has  been  made  in  a  former  darker  stone.    These  things  are  perhaps 

chapter.  Vol.  I.  p.  404.  To  the  references  still  to  be  seen  at  the  Convent, 

there  given,  add  Bull.  Inst.  1843,  p.  174.  5  A  bull  of  Gregory   IX.,  in    1236, 

— Cavedoni.    These  monuments  are  now  distinguishes  between  these  two  towns, 

among  the  chief  ornaments  of  the  new  specifying  "  plebes  et  ccclesias  in  Cere 

Museum  of  the  Lateran.     In  the  season  Nova,"  and  also,  "  in   Cere  Vetere  et 

of  1845-6,  the  Augustine  monks  of  Cer-  finibus  ejus."  Nibby,  Dintorni  di  Roma 

vetri  discovered  many  more  statues  and  I.  p.  355. 

torsi,  with  altars,   bas-reliefs,  beautiful  6  Bull.  Inst.,  1840,  pp.  5 — 8  ;    1846, 

cornices,  and  other  architectural  frag-  p.  129.     But  Gruter  (pp.  214  ;  652,  8) 

ments  of  a  theatre,  coloured  tiles  and  had   long  ago  given   some   inscriptions 

antefixw,   and    numerous  fragments   of  referring  to  Csere,  which  were  found  at 

Latin  inscriptions,  with  one  in  Etruscan,  Cervetri.    Canina  claims  to  have  been  the 

"Cusiach,"  which  is  unique  in  having  first  to  indicate  the  true  site  of  this  city. 


PLAN    OF    C^ERE    AND    ITS    NECROPOLIS, 

(ADAPTED  FROM  CANINA). 


chap,  xxxni.]  VESTIGES  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CITY.  29 

peasant  follows  his  plough,  the  husbandman  dresses  his 
vines,  and  the  shepherd  tends  his  flock,  unconscious  that  he 
is  treading  over  the  streets  and  buildings  of  a  city  among 
the  most  renowned  of  ancient  times,  and  thirty  times 
more  extensive  than  the  miserable  village  which  has 
preserved  its  name. 

Let  not  the  traveller  omit  to  visit  the  site  of  Caere  under 
the  impression  that  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen.  If  of 
antiquarian  tastes,  he  will  have  the  satisfaction  of  deter- 
mining the  extent,  form,  and  position  of  the  city, — he  will 
perceive  that  it  was  four  or  five  miles  in  circuit,  and  there- 
fore fully  substantiating  its  claim  to  be  ranked  among  the 
first  of  Etruria, — that  it  was  of  oblong  form, — that  it  had 
eight  gates,  all  most  distinctly  traceable,  some  approached 
by  roads  sunk  in  the  rock  and  lined  with  tombs,  others 
retaining  their  flanking  walls  of  masonry, — he  will  see  in 
the  cliffs  around  the  city,  the  mouths  of  sewers  above,  and 
more  frequently  tombs  of  various  forms  below;  and  he  will 
learn  from  the  few  fragments  that  remain,  that  the  walls  of 
Caere  were  composed  of  rectangular  blocks  of  tufo,  of 
similar  size  and  arrangement  to  those  in  the  walls  of  Veii 
and  Tarquinii,  and  utterly  different  from  those  of  Pyrgi, 
which  had  a  common  origin.7 

"  Canina   (Cere   Antica   p.    52)  says  still  more  distinct  on  the  western  side, 

there  are  no  vestiges  of  the  walls  which  I  could  perceive  no  such  remains ;  all 

surrounded  the  city  ;    but  foundations  the  fragments  I  observed  being  of  an 

may,  in  several  parts,  be  traced  along  uniform    character  —  rectangular    tufo 

the  brow  of  the  cliffs,  and  on  the  side  masonry,  of  smaller  blocks  than  usual, 

opposite  the   Banditaccia,  for  a  consi-  and  very  similar  in  size  and  arrangement 

derable  extent.     Many  of  the  ancient  to  the  fragments  of  walling  at  Veii  (Vol. 

blocks  have  been  removed  of  late  years  I.  p.  15),  and  Tarquinii  (Vol.  I.  p.  383), 

to  construct  walls  in  the  neighbourhood,  and  to  the  ancient  fortifications  on  the 

and  I  was  an  indignant  witness  of  this  height  of  S.  Silvcstro,  near  the  Tiber, 

destruction,  on  one  of  my  visits  to  the  which  I  take  to  mark  the  site  of  Feseen- 

site.     Nibby  (I.  p.  358)  speaks  of  traces  nium  (Vol.  I.  p.  ICO).     It  is  neverthe- 

of  the  more  ancient  or  Pelasgic  walls  less   possible   that    these   walls    are   of 

of  large  irregularly  squared  blocks,  along  Pelasgic  construction;  for,  as  the  only 

the  cliffs  on  the  east  of  the  city,  and  material  on  the  spot  is  soft  tufo,  which 


30  CERVETEI.  [chap.  xxxm. 

If  he  be  an  artist,  or  lover  of  the  picturesque,  taking  no 
interest  in  the  antiquities  of  the  place,  he  will  still  find 
abundance  of  matter  to  delight  his  eye  or  employ  his 
pencil  ;  either  on  the  site  of  the  city  itself,  with  its  wide- 
sweeping  prospect  of  plain  and  sea  on  the  one  hand,  and 
of  the  dark  many-peaked  hills  on  the  other,  or  in  the 
ravines  around,  where  he  will  meet  with  combinations  of 
rock  and  wood,  such  as  for  form  and  colour  are  rarely  sur- 
passed. The  cliffs  of  the  city,  here  rising  boldly  at  one 
spring  from  the  slope,  there  broken  away  into  many  angular 
forms,  with  huge  masses  of  rock  scattered  at  their  feet,  are 
naturally  of  the  liveliest  red  that  tufo  can  assume,  yet  are 
brightened  still  further  bv  encrusting  lichens  into  the 
warmest  orange  or  amber,  or  are  gilt  with  the  most  bril- 
liant yellow — thrown  out  more  prominently  by  an  occa- 
sional sombring  of  grey — while  the  dark  ilex,  or  oak, 
feathers  and  crests  the  whole, 

"  And  overhead  the  wandering  ivy  and  vine 
This  way  and  that,  in  many  a  wild  festoon, 
Run  riot,  garlanding  the  gnarled  boughs 
With  bunch  and  berry  and  flower." 

The  chief  interest  of  Caere,  however,  lies  in  its  tombs. 

has  a  rectangular  cleavage,  the  Pelasgic  composed  of  enormous  masses.  Though 
founders  of  the  city  could  not  avoid  I  acknowledge  the  influence  of  the  local 
using  it  except  by  fetching  limestone,  at  a  materials  on  the  style  of  masonry,  I 
great  expense  of  labour,  from  the  moun-  do  not  think  it  amounts  to  a  constructive 
tains  inland  ;  and,  using  the  tufo,  they  necessity ;  and  though  I  believe  the 
would  naturally  hew  it  into  forms  most  Pelasgi  may  have  employed  one  style  of 
easily  worked  and  arranged,  as  they  did  masonry  at  Cosa,  another  at  Cortona, 
in  the  Regulini-Galassi  tomb,  and  other  and  a  third  at  Agylla,  I  cannot  admit 
early  sepulchres  of  Csere,  whose  contents  that  they  exercised  no  preference,  or 
authorise  us  to  regard  them  as  Pelasgic.  that  any  other  people  with  the  same 
The  objection  to  assign  such  an  origin  to  materials  would  have  arrived  at  the  very 
the  remains  of  the  city  walls,  lies  not  in  peculiar  style  which  they  seem  always  to 
the  rectangularity  of  the  blocks,  but  in  have  followed,  where  practicable,  and 
their  small  size  ;  seeing  that  all  the  which  is  generally  called  after  their 
ancient  fortifications  we  are  best  war-  name.  For  further  remarks  on  this  sub- 
ranted  in  ascribing  to  the  Pelasgi,  are  ject,  see  chap.  XLVII. 


chap,  xxxm.]  THE  BANDITACCIA.  31 

These  are  found  on  all  sides  of  the  city,  but  particularly  on 
the  high  ground  to  the  north,  now  called  La  Banditaccia. 
Let  not  the  traveller  conceive  vain  fears  from  a  name  of  so 
ominous  a  sound,  and  which,  his  Guide-book  will  tell  him, 
was  derived  from  the  number  of  bandits  who  once  infested 
the  spot.8  The  name  is  simply  indicative  of  the  proprietor- 
ship of  the  land,  which  once  belonging  to  the  commie,  or 
corporation  of  Cervetri,  was  terra  bandita — "set  apart;" 
and,  as  it  was  uncultivated  and  broken  ground,  the  termi- 
nation descriptive  of  its  ugliness  was  added — banditaccia. 
It  retains  the  name,  though  it  has  passed  into  the  hands  of 
Prince  Ruspoli.  To  reach  it  from  Cervetri,  you  cross  the 
narrow  glen  to  the  north.  Here  in  the  cliffs  opposite  is 
hollowed  a  long  range  of  sepulchres,  all  greatly  injured 
within  and  without.9 

This  Banditaccia  is  a  singular  place — a  Brobdignag 
warren,  studded  with  mole-hills.  It  confirmed  the  impres- 
sion I  had  received  at  Bieda  and  other  sites,  that  the 
cemeteries  of  the  Etruscans  were  often  intentional  repre- 
sentations of  their  cities.  Here  were  ranges  of  tombs 
hollowed  in  low  cliffs,  rarely  more  than  fifteen  feet  high, 
not  piled  one  on  another  as  at  Bieda,  but  on  the  same 
level,  facing  each  other  as  in  streets,  and  sometimes 
branching  off  laterally  into  smaller  lanes  or  alleys.  In  one 
part  was  a  spacious  square  or  piazza,  surrounded  by  tombs 
instead  of  houses.  None  of  these  sepulchres,  it  is  true, 
had  architectural  facades  remaining,  but  the  cliffs  were 
hewn   into   smooth,    upright   faces,   and    here  and  there 

8  Mrs.   Gray,    from   whose    account  swarming    with     caverns,    might    well 

that  of  the  Hand-book  is  derived,  may  suggest  such  an  appellation, 

be    excused     having     fallen    into    this  9  One  of  them  has  a  small   pilaster 

error,  when  the  same  had  been  stated  against  its  inner  wall,  with  capital  and 

by  the  highest  archaeological  authorities  abacus  quite  Doric,  and  shaft,  also,  of 

in  Rome.     Cere   Antica,  p.  .51.     Bull.  early  Doric  proportions,  though  resting 

Inst.,  1838,  p.  171.     In  truth,  a  spot  so  on  a  square  base. 


32 


CERVKTKI. 


[CHAr.  XXXUI. 


were  fragments  of  an  ornamental  cornice.  Within  the 
tombs  the  analogy  was  pre- 
served. Many  had  a  large 
central  chamber,  with  others 
of  smaller  size  opening  upon  it, 
lighted  by  windows  in  the  wall 
of  rock,  which  served  as  the 
partition.  (See  the  annexed 
woodcut.1)  This  central  cham- 
ber represented  the  atrium  of 
Etruscan  houses,2  whence  it 
was  borrowed  by  the  Romans  ; 
and  the  chambers  around  it 
the  triclinia,  for  each  had  a 
bench  of  rock  round  three  of 
its  sides,  on  which  the  dead 
had  lain,  reclining  in  effigy,  as 

PLAN     OF    A     TOMB    AT    CERVETR1. 

at  a  banquet.     The  ceilings  of 

all  the  chambers  had  the  usual  beams  and  rafters  hewn  in 


1  The  above  plan  is  that  of  the  Seat 
and    Shield     Tomb,    presently    to    be 
described.       The   following   is   the   ex- 
planation :  — 
a.         Rock-hewn  steps  leading  down  to 

the  tomb. 
h.         The  vestibule. 

c.  c,     Chambers  on   each   side   of    the 

entrance. 

d.  Doorway  to  the  tomb. 

e.  Principal  chamber,  or  atrium. 
f,f,f.  Inner  chambers,  or  trie! in  in. 
;/,!/,!/■  Entrances  to  the  inner  chambers. 
/;,  //.     Windows  to  the  same,  cut  in  the 

rock. 
i,  i.      Arm-chairs  and  foot-stools,  hewn 

from  the  rock. 
I.         Niche  recessed  in  the  wall. 
1c,  k.    Windows  cut  in  the  rock. 

The  sepulchral   benches   which   sur- 


round each  chamber  are  here  indicated  ; 
sometimes  with  a  raised,  ornamental 
head-piece. 

The  shaded  part  of  the  plan  repre- 
sents the  rock  in  which  the  tomb  is 
hollowed. 

2  Described  by  Vitruvius  (VI.  3)j 
Varro  (L.  L.  V.  161),  and  Festus  (v. 
Atrium).  The  atrium  in  this  case  was 
not  a  true  cavcediwm,  not  being  open  to 
the  sky  ;  but  had  it  been,  the  purpose  of 
concealment  would  have  been  defeated. 
Indeed  it  was  sometimes  deemed  neces- 
sary to  support  the  ceiling  by  a  massive 
pillar  of  rock.  Yet  that  the  analogy 
was  intended,  and  was  preserved  as  far 
as  possible,  is  evident  from  the  windows 
around,  which  suppose  the  light  to  have 
been  received  from  the  centra!  chamber. 
See  the  above  Plan. 


chap,  xxxni.]  TOMBS  RECENTLY  OPENED.  33 

the  rock  ;  and  in  one  instance  was  the  same  fan-like  orna- 
ment in  relief,  and  walls  similarly  panelled,  as  in  a  tomb 
at  Vulci  ;3  whence  it  may  be  inferred  that  such  decora- 
tions were  at  one  period  fashionable  in  Etruscan  houses. 

Many  of  the  tombs  of  the  Banditaccia  are  surmounted 
by  tumuli.  Indeed  tumuli  are  scarcely  less  numerous  here 
than  at  Tarquinii.  Some  of  them  are  still  unexcavated, 
the  entrance  being  below  the  surface  ;  in  others  the  door- 
way opens  in  the  basement,  which  is  often  of  rock,  hewn 
into  mouldings  and  cornice,  and  more  rarely  of  masonry. 
The  cone  of  earth  which  originally  surmounted  these 
tumuli  is  in  most  cases  broken  down  almost  to  the  level 
of  the  soil.  As  at  Tarquinii,  there  are  no  architectural 
facades  in  this  necropolis  ;  the  decoration  is  chiefly  internal. 
Nor  could  I  perceive  more  than  a  single  instance  of  inscrip- 
tions on  the  exterior  of  tombs  ;  and  that  was  no  longer 
legible. 

Some  tombs  of  great  interest  were  opened  on  this  spot 
in  the  winter  of  1845-6.  The  first  you  reach  is  a  large 
tomb,  with  two  square  pillars  in  the  centre,  and  a  row  of 
long  niches  for  bodies  recessed  in  the  walls ;  beside  which 
the  chamber  is  surrounded  by  a  deep  bench,  separated  into 
compartments  for  corpses,  which  were  arranged,  not  in 
lines  parallel  with  the  niches,  but  at  right  angles,  with 
their  feet  pointing  to  the  centre  of  the  tomb.  There  is 
nothing  further  remarkable  in  this  sepulchre  beyond  an 
Etruscan  word — cvethn — cut  in  the  rock  over  one  of  the 
corner  recesses.4 

3  See  Vol.  I.  page  408.  word  of  another   inscription   given  by 

4  This  word,  from  its  position  in  the  Lanzi  (Sagg.  II.  p.  509  ;  cf.  Vermigl. 
corner  of  the  tomb,  seems  to  be  the  Iscriz.  Perug.  I.  p.  140).  See  Bull, 
first  of  an  inscription  never  completed.  Inst.,  1847,  p.  55.  This  tomb,  in  size, 
It  appears  to  have  some  analogy  with  form,  and  arrangements,  is  very  like 
the  Cethen.  Suthi,  which  commences  that  of  the  Tarquins,  which  is  repre- 
the  celebrated  inscription  of  S.  Manno,  sented  in  the  wood-cut  at  the  head  of 
near  Perugia,  and  also  with  the  initial  this  chapter. 

VOL.    II.  I) 


34  CERVETRI.  [chap,  xxxin. 


GrROTTA   DELLA    SEDIA. 

Hard  by  is  a  sepulchre,  on  the  plan  of  those  of  Bieda, 
-with  two  small  chambers,  separated  by  a  wall  of  rock,  in 
which  are  cut  a  door  and  two  little  windows,  surrounded 
by  the  usual  rod-moulding.  But  the  marvel  of  the  tomb 
is  an  arm-chair,  cut  from  the  living  rock,  standing  by  the 
side  of  one  of  the  two  sepulchral  couches  in  the  outer 
chamber,  as  though  it  were  an  easy-chair  by  the  bed-side, 
or  as  a  seat  for  the  doctor  visiting  his  patient!  But  why 
placed  in  a  tomb  %  Was  it  merely  to  carry  out  still 
further  the  analogy  to  a  house  %  Or  was  it,  as  Visconti 
suggests,  for  the  use  of  the  relatives  who  came  yearly  to 
hold  solemn  festivals  at  the  tomb  l5  Or  was  it  for  the 
shade  of  the  deceased  himself,  as  though  he  were  too 
restless  to  be  satisfied  with  his  banqueting-couch,  but 
must  have  his  easy-chair  also  to  repose  him  after  his 
wanderings.6  Or,  as  Micali  opines,  was  it  to  intimate  the 
blissful  repose  of  the  new  life  on  which  his  spirit  had 
entered. 7  Or  was  it  not  rather  a  curule  chair,  the 
insigne  of  the  rank  or  condition  of  the  deceased,  showing 
him  to  have  been  a  ruler  or  magnate  in  the  land  ?8 

Some  eighteen  or  twenty  years  since  a  tomb  was  opened 
in  the  Banditaccia,  which  contained  two  of  these  chairs, 
each  with  a  foot-stool  attached,  and  a  shield   suspended 

5  Antichi  Monumenti  di  Ceri,  p.  31 —  ''  Micali,  Mon.  Ined.  p.  152. 

where  he  gives  a  description  of  a  similar  8  The  form  of  this  and  similar  rock  - 

tomb.  hewn  seats  in  other  tombs  of  Cervetri  is 

fi  It  may  have  been  for  the  support  of  a  very  like  that  of  the  beautiful  marble 

funeral  urn  ;  for  in  the  tombs  of  Chiusi,  chair,  with  bas-reliefs,   in  the    Palazzo 

canopi,  or  vases  in  the  form  of  human  Corsini  at  Rome,  which  is  thought  to  be 

busts,  which  were,  probably,  the  effigies  Etruscan,  and  a  genuine  sella  curulis. 

of  the  deceased  whose  ashes  they  con-  It  will  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  curule 

tained,  have  been  found  placed  on  seats  chair  was  one  of  the  Etruscan  insignia 

of  this  form.    Bull.   Inst.   1843,  p.  68.  of  authority  ;  and  thence  adopted  by  the 

Such  canopi  have  also  been  discovered  Romans.    See  Vol.  I.  pp.  26,  376,  377. 
at  Caere,  says  Micali,  Mon.  Ined.  p.  18.5. 


CHAP.  XXXIII.] 


TOMB  OF  THE  SEATS  AND  SHIELDS. 


35 


TOMB    OF     THE    SEATS    AND    SHIELDS. 


against  the  wall  above  it,  all  carved  in  the  living  rock. 
The  annexed  woodcut,  which  gives  a  section  of  the  tomb, 
shows  the  seats, 


placed  between 
the  doors  of  in- 
ner chambers.9 
The  tomb  is 
still  open,  but 
my  endeavours 
to   discover   it 

among  the  thousand  and  one  sepulchres  of  the  Banditaccia 
have  proved  fruitless.1 

At  the  further  side  of  the  Banditaccia  is  a  group  of  four 
other  recently-discovered  tombs,  which  have  been  placed 
under  lock  and  key  by  the  Cavaliere  Campana.  One  of 
these,  opened  in  the  spring  of  1846,  is  a  painted  tomb — 
which  I  shall  designate 

Grotta  del  Triclinio. 

It, consists  of  but  a  single  chamber,  twenty-four  feet  by 
sixteen,  surrounded  by  deep  benches  of  rock,  on  which  the 
dead  were  laid,  and  at  the  head  of  each  compartment  still 
lies  a  skull,  whose  uniform  grin  startles  the  eye  on  entering 
the  sepulchre.  Just  within  the  door  are  bas-reliefs — a 
wild-boar  on  one  side,  and  a  panther  tearing  its  prey  on 
the  other.  But  the  paintings  ? — It  requires  a  close  and 
careful  examination  to  distinguish  them,  so  much  have 


9  Compare  the  Plan  at  page  32.  The 
shields  were  of  large  size,  like  the 
Argolic  shields,  and  like  that  on  the 
tomb  at  Norchia  (Vol.  I.  p.  252).  This 
tomb  has  been  described  and  delineated 
in  Bull.  Instit.,  1834,  p.  99.  Ann.  Inst., 
1835,  p.  184.  Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  II.  tav. 
XIX.  For  further  remarks  on  the 
shields,  see  the  Appendix  to  this  Chapter, 
Note  I. 


1  Mr.  Ainsley,  however,  in  a  subse- 
quent visit,  has  been  more  fortunate,  in 
falling  in  with  a  person  who  was  present 
at  the  opening  of  the  tomb,  and  remem- 
bered its  site.  He  represents  the  prin- 
cipal chamber,  indicated  asc  in  the  Plan, 
at  page  32,  as  being  hung  with  ten  or 
twelve  of  these  shields,  carved  in  the 
rock,  in  relief. 


36  CERVETRI.  [chap,  xxxih. 

they  suffered  from  the  damp  ;  and  if  unaware  of  their 
existence,  you  might  visit  the  tomb  without  perceiving  the 
figures  on  its  walls.  The  white  stucco  on  which  the  scenes 
are  painted  has  been  changed  by  the  damp  to  a  hue 
dark  as  the  native  rock.  In  a  few  places  only  where  it 
has  remained  dry  has  the  painting  retained  its  distinctness. 
On  the  left-hand  wall  you  perceive  the  heads  of  a  man 
and  woman,  who  are  reclining  together  at  a  banquet ;  and 
beautiful  heads  they  are,  with  features  of  Greek  symmetry, 
and  more  mastery  and  delicacy  in  the  design  than  are 
commonly  found  in  the  sepulchral  paintings  of  Etruria. 
He  is  garlanded  with  laurel  and  wears  a  short  beard ;  and 
his  flesh  is  of  the  usual  deep  red,  the  conventional  colour  of 
beatification — of  gods  and  heroes  ;  but  hers  is  of  the  white 
hue  of  the  stucco.  He  pledges  her  in  a  phial  a,  or  bowl  of 
wine,  to  which  she  replies  by  an  approving  look,  turning 
her  head  towards  him.  Her  face  and  expression  are 
extremely  pretty,  and  a  variegated  skull-cap,  and  a  full 
rich  tress  at  the  side  of  her  face  add  to  her  charms.  She 
wears  also  a  necklace  and  torque  of  gold.  A  round  table, 
resting  on  three  deer-legs,  stands  by  them,  with  meats, 
fruits,  eggs,  and  goblets  ;  and  a  large  round  shield  is  sus- 
pended on  the  wall  behind  the  man.  You  might  fancy  it 
Pericles,  who  had  just  laid  his  armour  by,  and  was 
pledging  the  fair  Aspasia. 

A  maraviglia  egli  gagliardo,  ed  ella 
Quanto  si  possa  dir,  leggiadra  e  bella. 

It  is  from  these  heads  we  must  judge  of  the  rest  in  this 
tomb  ;  for  the  same  scene  is  repeated  again  and  again  on 
the  walls — eight  other  couples  recline  on  the  festive  couch, 
each  with  a  tripod-table  by  their  side,  and  a  shield  sus- 
pended above.2     But  the  females  have  lost  the  fairness  of 

2  A    singular   feature    here   is,    that       the  revellers  are  depicted  reclining  on  a 
instead  of  a  separate  leclus  for  each  pair       continuous  couch,  which,  as  it  occupies 


chap,  xxxiii.]  THE  PAINTED  TOMB.  37 

their  sex,  and,  from  the  discoloration  of  the  stucco,  have 
become  as  dusky  as  negresses  ;  while  the  men,  from  their 
brick-dust  complexions,  are  much  more  distinct.  In  the 
centre  of  the  inner  wall  stand  a  couple  of  slaves,  at  a  large 
table  or  sideboard,  which  has  sundry  vases  and  goblets  on 
it  and  beneath  it,  and  a  tall  candelabrum  at  its  side,  the 
counterpart  to  which  is  seen  also  on  the  side-wall.3  On  a 
mixing-vase  which  stands  on  this  table  or  sideboard  is 
inscribed  the  word  ivnon  in  Roman  letters,  which,  as  it 
can  hardly  here  allude  to  the  "  white-armed/'  "  ox-eyed  " 
goddess,  must  refer  to  the  Juno,  or  presiding  spirit  of  some 
female,4  probably  the  principal  person  interred  in  the 
tomb. 

The  face  of  the  sepulchral  couches  is  also  painted — 
above,  with  the  usual  wave-pattern — below,  with  animals, 
of  which  a  pair  of  winged  hippocampi,  in  a  very  spirited 
style,  and  a  dragon  with  green  wings,  are  alone  discernible.5 

three  walls  of  the  tomb,  may  be  supposed  ticular  notice,  as  they  are  depicted  with 

to  represent  a  triclinium,  such  as  the  a  number  of  little  vases,  or  other  small 

Romans  used  ;  and  this,  I  believe,  is  the  objects  tied  to  the  stem  in  clusters  ;  and 

only   ancient  painting  of  that  sort  of  candelabra,  with  vases  so  attached,  have 

banqueting-scene,  now  in  existence.  The  also  been  discovered  in  Etruscan  tombs 

figures  here  lie  under  a  red  and  white  at   Vulci.      Bull.    Inst.    1832,  p.    194. 

striped    coverlet,    or    stragulum.     The  From  this  we  learn  a  secondary  use  to 

small  tables  by  the  side  of  the  triclinium.  which  these  elegant  articles  of  furniture 

are  not  the  usual  TpaireQxi  (i.  c,  rcTpd-  were  applied. 

irefci),  or  with  four  legs,  as  in  all  the  4  See  the  Appendix  to  this  Chapter, 

paintings  of  Tarquinii,  but  rpiirofes,  or  Note  II. 

with  only  three  feet.  s  In  the  floor  of  this  tomb  is  an  oblong 

3  Banquets  by  lamp-light  are  rarely  pit,  just  such  as  opens  in  the  ceilings  of 

represented  in  Etruscan  tombs — the  only  so  many  sepulchres  at  Civita  Castellaua, 

other   instance   I  remember   is  in  the  and  as  is  shown  in  the  roof  of  the  tomb  of 

Grotta  Querciola  at  Corneto  ;    the  re-  the  Tarquins,  in  the  wood-cut,  at  page 

vellers  are  generally  depicted  as  lying  17.      Whether  it  be  the  shaft  to  a  second 

under  the  shade  of  the  ivy  or  vine,  or  sepulchral    chamber   beneath    this,  as 

amid  groves  of  myrtle.      Even  in  the  analogy  suggests,  or  is  merely  intended 

Grotta  Querciola,  though  a  candelabrum  to  drain  the  tomb,  I  cannot  say,  for  I 

is  introduced,  the   festive  couches  are  found  it  full  of  water.     In  the  so-called 

surrounded  by  trees.     The  candelabra  "Tomb   of    Solon"   at  Gombet  Li,   in 

in  this  tomb  of  Caere  are  worthy  of  par-  Phrygia,   described   by   Steuart    in  his 


38  CERVETRI.  [chai\  xxxm. 

The  colours  in  this  tomb  have  been  laid  on  in  distemper, 
not  al  fresco.  The  freedom  of  the  design,  as  far  as  it  is 
discernible,  the  Greek  character  of  the  features,  and  the 
full  faces  of  some  of  the  males,  are  clear  proofs  of  a  late 
date — a  date  subsequent  rather  than  prior  to  the  period  of 
Roman  domination  ;  and  this  is  confirmed  by  the  presence 
of  the  Latin  inscription.6 

A  painted  tomb  at  Cervetri  has  peculiar  interest,  for  this 
is  the  only  site  in  Etruria  where  we  have  historical  record 
of  the  existence  of  ancient  paintings.  Pliny  speaks  of 
some  extant  in  his  day,  which  were  vulgarly  believed  to 
have  been  executed  prior  to  the  foundation  of  Rome.7  Those 
in  this  tomb  can  scarcely  lay  claim  to  a  purely  Etruscan 
antiquity.  Another  sepulchre,  however,  was  discovered 
some  twenty  years  since,  which  contained  figures  of  men 
and  animals  in  a  very  archaic  style,  bearing  in  their  singular 
parti-coloured  character  much  resemblance  to  those  in  the 
Grotta  Campana  at  Veii.8  The  tomb  is  still  open,  but 
when  last  at  Cervetri  I  could  find  no  one  who  was 
acquainted  with  its  site.9 

work  on  Lydia  and  Phrygia,  there  is  a  beard,  and  close  vest,  shooting  an  arrow 
similar  well  or  shaft  sunk  hi  the  middle  at  a  stag — a  lion  devouring  a  stag,  while 
of  a  sepulchral  chamber.  a  second  lion,  squatting  by,  looked  on — 
6  For  notices  of  this  tomb  see  Bull.  a  ram  flying  from  another  lion — and 
Inst.,  1847,  pp.  61,  97.  fragments  of  other  animals,  and  of  a 
"  Plin.  XXXV.  6.  second  man  with  a  bow.  There  was 
s  See  Vol.  I.  pp.  50 — 52.  much  truth  and  expression  in  the  beasts, 
9  Mr.  Ainsley  has  subsequently  re-  in  spite  of  their  unnatural  parti-colour- 
discovered  it.  He  describes  its  paintings  ing.  The  only  hues  used  in  this  tomb 
as  more  archaic  than  any  at  Tarquinii.  are  black,  white,  and  red.  The  face  and 
A  description  of  them  has  been  given  by  legs  of  the  archer  were  painted  white — 
Kramer  (Bull.  Inst.  1834,  pp.  97 — 101),  a  very  singular  fact,  as  that  was  thecon- 
who  represents  them  as  of  the  rudest  ventional  hue  of  females.  The  door- 
character,  painted  on  the  bare  porous  moulding  wTas  striped  diagonally,  as  in 
tufo,  which  has  undergone  no  prepara-  Egyptian  architecture,  with  red,  white, 
tion,not  being  even  smoothed,  to  receive  and  black.  Many  of  the  above  figures, 
them.  The  tomb  was  nearly  elliptical,  and  according  to  Mr.  Ainsley,  have  now  dis- 
had  an  upper  and  lower  band  of  figures  ;  appeared,  and  unless  some  means  are 
those  in  the  lower  were  almost  effaced  ;  taken  to  preserve  them,  the  rest  will 
but  above,  there  was  a  man  with  pointed  soon  perish.    Cf.  Ann.  Inst.  1835,  p.  1  83. 


chap,  xxxm.]  TOMB  OF  THE  SARCOPHAGI.  39 

Gkotta  de'  Sarcofagi. 

Close  to  the  last  is  a  sepulchre  which  I  shall  designate 
the  Tomb  of  the  Sarcophagi,  from  its  containing  three  of 
those  large  monuments,  which  are  very  rarely  found  at 
Caere,  the  dead  being  in  general  laid  out  on  their  rocky 
biers,  without  other  covering  than  their  robes  or  armour. 
The  sarcophagi  are  here  of  alabaster — not  that  from  Vol- 
terra,  but  another  kind  from  the  Circeian  Promontory.1 
Two  have  the  draped  figure  of  a  man  on  the  lid,  not  rest- 
ing, as  usual,  on  his  elbow,  but  reclining  on  his  left  side. 
They  are  in  a  very  archaic  style.  The  hair  of  one  is 
arranged  in  the  small  stiff  curls  which  are  seen  in  the  most 
ancient  Etruscan  bronzes,  as  well  as  in  the  early  monu- 
ments of  the  East,  and  are  shown  in  the  reliefs  from 
Nineveh,  recently  brought  to  this  country.  The  same 
figure  wears  a  chaplet  of  leaves,  and  holds  a  patera,  and  he 
has  two  small  lions  of  the  most  quaint  and  primitive  art  at 
his  feet.  His  eyes  are  painted  black,  and  his  lips  red ;  but 
the  rest  of  the  monument  is  uncoloured.  The  other  figure 
is  remarkable  for  his  fine  features ;  and  with  mustachios, 
and  a  torque  about  his  neck,  he  much  resembles  a  Gaul. 
He  has  four  similar  lions  on  his  couch,  one  at  each  angle. 
There  is  a  peculiarly  primitive  air  about  these  figures ; 
they  are  unlike  any  I  have  elsewhere  seen  on  the  lids  of 
sarcophagi,  where,  in  truth,  they  have  generally  nothing 
archaic  in  character. 

The  third  sarcophagus  is  of  temple-form,  like  that  from 
Bomarzo,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  but  without  sculp- 
tured decorations. 

On  the  wall  of  this  tomb  is  scratched  an  Etruscan  in- 
scription, which  in  Roman  letters  would  be  v:  apucus:  ac. 

1  Bull.  Inst.  1847,  p.  97. 


40  CERVETRI.  [chap,  xxxin. 

and  on  a  slab  which  served  as  a  cippus,  I  read  larthi  ap. 
vcuia,  in  Etruscan  characters.  Thence  it  appears  that  the 
sepulchre  was  that  of  a  family  named  Apucus  (Apicius  1) 
The  front  of  the  couches  is  painted  with  sea-monsters, 
dolphins,  lions,  and  other  animals,  on  a  stuccoed  surface  ; 
and  on  the  inner  wall  of  the  tomb  is  a  band  of  the  usual 
wave-pattern. 

Grotta  dell'  Alcova. 

Another  of  these  newly  discovered  sepulchres,  I  shall 
call  the  "  Tomb  of  the  Alcove,"  from  a  singular,  recessed 
chamber  in  the  further  wall,  like  a  chapel  in  a  cathedral. 
There  are  in  fact  three  of  these  recesses,  but  the  central 
one  is  the  most  spacious,  and  is  obviously  the  post  of 
honour,  the  last  resting-place  of  the  most  illustrious  dead 
here  interred.  In  it  is  a  massive  sepulchral  couch,  with  a 
cushion  and  pillows  at  its  head,  ornamented  legs  in  relief, 
and  a  low  stool,  or  scamnum  in  front — all  hewn  from  the 
living  rock.  It  may  represent  a  thalamus  or  nuptial-couch, 
rather  than  the  usual  festive  kAiV/  or  lectus,  for  it  is  double, 
and  must  have  been  occupied  by  some  noble  Etruscan  and 
his  wife,  whose  skulls  still  serve  as  a  memento  mori  to  the 
visitor,  though  a  confused  heap  of  dust  on  the  couch  is  all 
that  is  left  of  their  bodies  and  integuments. 

This  tomb  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  a  temple — 
in  its  spaciousness — in  its  division  into  three  aisles  by  the 
pillars  and  pilasters  which  support  the  rafter-carved  roof — 
in  the  dark  shrine  at  the  upper  end,  like  the  cella  of  the 
god,  raised  on  a  flight  of  steps — and  in  the  altar-like  mass 
of  the  couch  within.  Nor  are  the  many  large  amphora 
which  strew  the  floor,  unpriestly  furniture  ;  though  they 
seem  to  hint  at  copious  libations  to  a  certain  jolly  god, 
poured  forth  on  the  occasion  of  the  annual  sepulchral 
festivals. 


chap,  xxxni.]  TOMB  OF  THE  ALCOVE.  41 

But  this  tomb  has  other  features  of  interest.  The  two 
fluted  pillars  which  support  the  roof,  and  the  pilasters 
against  the  inner  wall,  present  specimens  of  capitals  and 
mouldings  of  a  peculiar  character,  and  throw  light  on  that 
little-understood  subject — the  architecture  of  the  Etruscans. 
Casre,  indeed,  is  particularly  rich  in  this  respect — more  so 
than  any  other  Etruscan  site.  Most  of  the  newly-found 
tombs  have  singular  or  beautiful  architectural  features  ; 
and  others  of  the  same  character  are  now  lost  sight  of,  or 
reclosed  with  earth ;  one  in  particular,  from  its  spacious- 
ness and  the  abundance  of  such  decoration,  had  acquired 
the  name  of  II  Palazzo.  Of  the  students  of  ancient  archi- 
tecture who  yearly  flock  to  Rome,  none  should  omit  to 
visit  the  tombs  of  Cervetri — and  none  would  regret  it.2 

The  last  tomb  I  have  to  describe  of  those  recently 
opened  in  the  Banditaccia,  is  the  most  interesting  of  all. 
In  truth  it  is  by  far  the  most  interesting  that  has  been 
found  in  this  necropolis,  since  the  discovery  of  the  cele- 
brated Grotta  Regulini-Galassi.     It  must  be  called 

Grotta  de'  Tarquinj, 

or,  the  "  Tomb  of  the  Tarquins  !  "  Yes,  reader — here  for 
the  first  time  in  Etruria  has  a  sepulchre  of  that  celebrated 
family  been  discovered.  The  name  had  been  met  with,  a 
few  times,  on  urns,  and  funeral  furniture,3  but  never  in  any 

2  The  pit  which  forms  the  entrance  to  construction.  Bull.  Inst.  1845,  p.  224. 
each  of  these  tombs  is  lined  with  tufo  The  frequent  traces  of  the  passages 
masonry.  The  style  is  not  uniform  ;  in  having  been  vaulted  in  by  the  gradual 
this  instance  it  is  what  I  have  termed  convergence  of  the  horizontal  courses, 
emplecton,  precisely  resembling  the  walls  establish  their  high  antiquity,  as  prior  to 
of  Sutri,  Falleri,  and  Nepi,  but  here  of  the  invention  or  practice  of  the  arch, 
rather  smaller  dimensions,  the  courses  3  On  a  spherical  cippus,  found  at 
being  only  1 9  inches  high.  Canina  re-  Chiusi,  was  inscribed  "  tarcnal,"  (Pas- 
marks  on  the  masonry  at  the  mouth  of  seri,  Acheront.  p.  66,  ap.  Gori,  III.) 
these  tombs  being  always  opus  quadra-  — "  tarchnas  "  on  a  cornelian  scarabcem, 
tum,  even  in  those  which  can  with  most  found  near  Piscille  (Vcrmiglioli,  Iscriz. 
confidence  be  pronounced  of  most  ancient  rerug.  I.  p.  81,  tav.  V.  2) — "iarchi," 


42  CERVETRI.  [chap,  xxxiii. 

abundance.  Nor  are  we  yet  assured  that  it  was  a  common 
name  in  Etruria.  We  only  know  that  there  must  have 
been  a  numerous  family  of  Tarquins  settled  at  Caere.  But 
can  this  have  been  of  the  same  race  as  the  celebrated 
dynasty  of  Rome  %  Nothing  more  probable.  We  know 
that  when  the  royal  family  was  expelled,  the  king  and  two 
of  his  sons,  Titus  and  Aruns,  took  refuge  at  Caere ;  Sextus, 
the  elder — 

"  the  false  Tarquin 
Who  wrought  the  deed  of  shame," — 

retiring  to  Gabii,  where  he  was  soon  after  slain.4  What 
more  likely  then  than  that  the  family  here  interred  was 
descended  in  a  direct  line  from  the  last  of  the  Roman 
kings  1  Though  Aruns,  one  of  the  princes,  was  slain  soon 
after  in  single  combat  with  the  consul  Brutus,  at  the 
Arsian  Wood,5  he  may  have  left  his  family  at  Caere,  and 
his  father  and  brother  still  survived  to  perpetuate  the  name 
of  Tarquin.6   However  it  be,  let  the  visitor  to  this  sepulchre 

on  a   column  in   the    Museo   Oddi  at  or  nas — Tarchnas  (Tarquinius),Tarchnai 

Perugia  (id.  I.  p.  148) — "tarchis,"  on  (Tarquinia).     The  termination  sa  or  isa 

one  of  the  urns  in  the  Grotta  de'  Vo-  is  indicative  of  connection  by  marriage, 

lunui  at  Perugia. — "  tarchisa,"  on  an  or  Tarchisa  may  be  equivalent  to  Tarquitia 

urn  in  the  Museum  of  Florence  (Lanzi,  — an  Etruscan  family  renowned  for  its 

Saggio,  II.  p.  417).     "  tarchu,"  on   a  skill  in  divination.    Plin.  N.  H.  I.  lib.  II. 

black  cinerary  pot  from  Chiusi,  now  in  Macrob.  Sat.  III.  7  ;  cf.  II.  16  ;  Amm. 

the  same  collection.     The  name  on  the  Marcell.  XXV.  2  ;  J.  Lydus  de  Ostent. 

spherical   disc   at   Toscauella,  which   I  II. 

thought    to    have    been    "  tarchnas,  "  4  Liv.  I.  60.    Dionysius  says  the  king 

(See  Vol.  I.  p.  448),  is  said  by  Keller-  fled  to   Gabii,  where  Sextus  was  king, 

mann    (Bull.    Inst.     1833,    p.    61,   and  and  after  staying  there  some  time  in  the 

Suppl.  47),  to  be  "  Tarsalus."     Lanzi  vain  hope  of  inducing  the  Latins  to  take 

fancied   that  Tarchu  and   Tarchi  were  up  his  cause,  he  removed  to  the  city  of 

the    original     Etruscan    forms   of    the  Etruria,  whence  his  mother's  family  had 

name,  and  "  Tarchun,"  the  Greek  form  come  ;  i.  e.  Tarquinii  (V.  pp.  276,  279)  ; 

adopted    by    the    Romans.     But    it    is  but  no  mention  is  made  of  Ctere. 

quite  unnecessary  to  refer  any  one  of  s  Liv.  II.  6. 

these  to  the  Greek.    Tarch  was  no  doubt  6  Livy  (II.  G,  9)  says  the  elder  Tar- 

the  primitive  form,  with  the  inflexion  of  quin  and  his  son  Titus  subsequently  went 

Tarch-/-M,  or  un;  from  this  the  adjective  to  Tarquinii,  Veii,  and  Clusium,  to  raise 

was  formed  by  the  usual  addition  of  va  the  cities  of  Etruria  in  their  cause,  and 


chap,  xxxiii.]  TOMB  OF  THE  TARQUINS.  43 

bear  in  mind  the  possibility,  to  say  the  least,  that  the 
skulls  he  handles,  and  the  dust  he  gazes  on,  may  be  those 
of  that  proud  race,  whose  tyranny  cost  them  a  crown — 
perhaps  the  Empire  of  the  World. 

The  first  chamber  you  enter  is  surrounded  by  benches 
of  rock,  and  contains  nothing  of  interest ;  but  in  the  floor 
opens  a  long  flight  of  steps,  which  lead  down,  not  directly, 
but  by  a  bend  at  right  angles,  to  a  lower  chamber  of 
much  larger  size.7  It  is  called  by  the  peasantry  the 
"  Tomb  of  the  Inscriptions,"  and  well  does  it  merit  the 
name  ;  for  it  has  not  merely  a  single  lengthy  legend,  as  on 
the  pillar  of  the  Pompey-Tomb  at  Corneto,  nor  a  name 
here  and  there,  as  in  the  Grotta  delle  Iscrizioni  of  the  same 
place  ;  but  the  tomb  is  vocal  with  epigraphs — every  niche, 
every  bench,  every  portion  of  the  walls  speaks  Etruscan, 
and  echoes  the  name  of  Tarquin. 

This  chamber  is  a  square,  or  nearly  so,  of  thirty-five 
feet,  with  two  massive  pillars  in  the  centre,  and  a  row  of 
long  recesses  for  corpses,  in  the  walls  ;  while  below  is  a 
double  tier  of  rock-hewn  benches,  which  also  served  as  biers 
for  the  dead.8  The  walls,  niches,  benches,  and  pillars,  are 
all  stuccoed,  and  the  inscriptions  are  painted  in  red  or 
black,  or  in  some  instances  merely  marked  with  the  finger 
on  the  damp  stucco.  Observe  these  scratched  epigraphs. 
They  are  remarkable  for  the  wonderful  freshness  of  the 
impression.  The  stucco  or  mortar  has  hardened  in  pro- 
minent ridges  precisely  as  it  was  displaced  ;  and  you  might 
suppose  the   inscription  had  been  written  but  one   day, 

when   the  campaign   of  Porsenna  had  Tusculura.     The  existence  of  this  tomb 

failed  to  reinstate  them  at  Rome,  they  at  least  establishes  the  Etruscan  origin 

retired  to   Tusculum,  to  their  relative  of    the   Tarquins,   which    Niebuhr   has 

Mamilius  Octavius,  (Liv.  II.  15).     We  called  into  question  (I.  pp.  37G,  511). 
hear  no  more  of  them  at  Csere,  yet  from  '  The  depth  of  the   floor  below  the 

their  choosing  that  city  as   their  first  surface  must   be   very   considerable  — 

place  of  refuge  in  their  exile,  it  is  highly  hardly  less  than  50  feet, 
probable  that  they  had  relatives  residing  8  See  the  wood-cut  at  page  17. 

there,  as  well  as  at  Gabii,  Tarquinii,  and 


44  CERVETRI.  [chap,  xxxiii. 

instead  of  more  than  two  thousand  years.  No  finger,  not 
even  the  effacing  one  of  Time,  has  touched  it,  since  that  of 
the  Etruscan,  who  so  many  centuries  ago  recorded  the 
name  of  his  just  departed  friend. 

Were  I  to  insert  all  the  inscriptions  of  this  tomb,  I  should 
heartily  weary  the  reader.9  Let  one  suffice  to  show  the 
Etruscan  form  of  the  name  of  Tarquin, 

Which  in  Roman  letters  would  be 

AYLE  •  TARCHNAS  •  LARTHAL  ■  CLAN 

The  name,  either  in  Etruscan  or  Latin,1  occurs  no 
fewer  than  thirty-five  times !  How  much  oftener  it  was 
repeated,  in  parts  where  the  paint  has  run  or  faded,  or  the 
inscriptions  have  become  otherwise  illegible,  I  cannot  say, 
but  should  think  that  not  less  than  fifty  epitaphs  with  this 
name  must  have  been  originally  inscribed  in  this  tomb. 
One  fact  I  noticed,  which  seems  to  strengthen  the  proba- 
bility that  this  family  was  of  the  royal  race — namely,  that 
it  appears  to  have  kept  itself  in  great  measure  distinct  by 
intermarriages,  and  to  have  mingled  little  with  other 
Etruscan  families — at  least  when  compared  with  similar 
tombs,  those  of  Perugia  for  instance,  this  sepulchre  will  be 
found  to  contain  very  few  other  family-names  introduced 
in  the  epitaphs  as  matronymics.2 

,J  I  have  given  all  the  inscriptions  that  out  referring  these  epigraphs  to  the 
remain  legible,  whether  Etruscan  or  period  of  Roman  domination.  More- 
Latin,  in  Bull.  Inst.  1847,  pp.  56 — 5.9.  over,  even  though  in  Latin  letters,  the 
Compare  Dr.  Mommsen's  version  of  some  name  sometimes  retains  its  Etruscan 
of  them  (p.  63)  which  differs  from  mine,  form — "  tarcna  " — which  is  quite  novel, 
though  I  cannot  think  in  every  instance  and  a  presumptive  evidence  of  antiquity, 
so  correct.  -  In  more  than  forty  inscriptions,  I 

1  The  Latin  inscriptions  in  this  tomb  could  find  only  eleven  names  of  other 

do  not  necessarily  indicate  a  very  late  families,  and  of  these  seven  only  were  in 

date  ;    if  the  family  were  of  the  royal  Etruscan  characters  and  connected  with 

blood  of  Rome,  the  occasional  use  of  the  the  name  of  Tarchnas  ;  the  other  four 

Latin  character  may  be  explained,  with-  were  in  Latin,  and  quite  distinct. 


chav.  xxxiii.]  GROTTA  REGULINI-GALASSI.  45 

Most  of  the  niches  are  double,  or  for  two  bodies.  Some, 
beside  inscriptions,  have  painted  decorations — a  wreath,  for 
instance,  on  one  side,  and  some  crotala,  or  castanets,  on  the 
other,  or  a  wreath,  and  a  small  pot  or  alabastron,  repre- 
sented as  if  suspended  above  the  corpse.  Between  the 
niches  are  elegant  pilasters,  and  in  front  are  the  legs  of 
couches,  and  the  usual  long,  paw-footed  stools,  all  painted 
on  the  stucco,  to  make  each  mortuary  bed  resemble  a 
festive -couch.  On  one  of  the  square  pillars  which  support 
the  beamed  roof,  is  painted  a  large  round  shield.  In  the 
ceiling  between  the  pillars  is  a  shaft  cut  through  the  rock, 
from  the  plain  above.3 

Like  most  of  the  tombs  of  the  Banditaccia,  which  are 
below  the  surface,  this  was  half  Ml  of  water.  At  the 
expense  of  wet  feet,  we  contrived  to  examine  them  all ;  but 
after  heavy  rains,  a  visit  to  Caere  would,  to  many,  prove 
fruitless.  One  tomb  was  completely  reclosed  with  earth 
washed  down  from  above,  so  that  we  were  obliged  to  have 
it  re-excavated  for  our  especial  inspection. 

Grotta  Regulini-Galassi. 

The  sepulchre  at  Cervetri  which  has  most  renown,  and  the 
greatest  interest  from  its  high  antiquity,  the  peculiarity  of 
its  structure,  and  the  extraordinary  nature  and  value  of  its 
contents,  is  that  called  after  its  discoverers — the  archpriest 
Regulini,  and  General  Galassi.  This  is  one  of  the  very  few 
virgin-tombs,  found  in  Etruscan  cemeteries.  It  was  opened 
in  April  1836.  It  lies  about  three  furlongs  from  Cervetri, 
to  the  south-west  of  the  ancient  city,  and  not  far  from  the 

3  See  the  woodcut  at  the  head  of  this  late  the  sepulchre,  in  preparation  for  the 

chapter.    The  shaft  was  either  used  as  an  annual  parcntalia.    Such  shafts  are  most 

entrance   after  the   doorway  had   been  common  in  the  tombs  of  Falerii ;   but 

closed,  by  means  of  niches  cut  for  the  feet  there  open  generally  in  the  anti-chamber, 

and  hands  ;  or  may  have  served,  by  the  rarely  in  the  tomb  itself, 
removal  of  the  covering  above,  to  venti- 


46 


CERVETRI. 


[chap.  XXXIII. 


walls.  It  is  said  to  have  been  inclosed  in  a  tumulus,  but 
the  mound  was  so  large,  and  its  top  has  been  so  broken  by 
frequent  excavations,  and  le veilings  of  the  soil  for  agri- 
cultural purposes,  that  its  existence  is  now  mere  matter  of 
history. 

The  sepulchre  opens  in  a  low  bank  in  the  middle  of  a 
field.      The    pecu- 
liarity of  its   con- 
struction is  evident 
at  a  glance.     It  is 
a  rude  attempt  at- 
an  arch,  formed  by 
the  convergence  of 
horizontal     strata, 
hewn  to  a  smooth 
surface,  and  slightly 
curved,  so  as  to  re- 
semble   a     Gothic 
arch.     This  is  not, 
however,   carried    up    to    a   point,    but   terminates   in   a 
square  channel,  covered  by  a  large  block  of  nenfro.     The 
doorway    is  the   index  to   the  whole   tomb,  which  is   a 
mere  passage,  about  sixty  feet  long,  constructed  on  the 
same  principle,  and  lined  with  masonry.4     This  passage 
is  divided  into  two  parts  or  chambers,  communicating  by 
a  doorway  of  the  same  Gothic  form,  with  a  truncated  top.5 


MOUTH    OF    THE    REGULINI-GALASSI     TOMB. 


4  The  masonry  is  of  rectangular  blocks 
of  nenfro,  in  the  outer  chamber  about  1 8 
inches  long,  in  courses  from  12  to  15 
inches  deep  ;  but  in  the  inner,  of  more 
massive  dimensions. 

5  The  outer  chamber  is  33  feet,  the 
inner  24£  feet  long,  and  the  thickness  of 
the  partition-wall,  3  feet  ;  making  the  en- 
tire length  60£  feet.  The  inner  doorway 
is  Q\  feet  high  and  4$  wide  at  the  bottom, 


narrowing  upward  to  1  foot  at  the  top. 
Similar  passage-tombs  have  been  found 
elsewhere  in  this  necropolis,  especially  in 
that  part  called  Zambra  (Bull.  Inst. 
1840,  p.  133),  as  well  as  at  Palo  and 
Selva  la  Rocca. 

Tombs  of  this  passage-form  are  gene- 
rally of  high  antiquity.  These  bear  an 
evident  relation  to  the  Treasuries  of 
Mycenae  and  Orchomenos,  and  to   the 


chap,  xxxm.]       HIGH  ANTIQUITY  OF  THIS  TOMB.  47 

The  similarity  of  the  structure  to  the  Cyclopean  gallery 
at  Tiryns  is  striking  ;  the  masonry,  it  is  true,  is  far  less 
massive,  but  the  style  is  identical,  showing  a  rude  attempt 
at  an  arch,  the  true  principle  of  which  had  yet  to  be  dis- 
covered. It  is  generally  admitted,  not  only  that  such  a 
mode  of  construction  must  be  prior  to  the  discovery  of  the 
perfect  arch,  but  that  every  extant  specimen  of  it  must 
have  preceded  the  knowledge  of  the  correct  principle.  It 
is  a  mode  not  peculiar  to  one  race,  or  to  one  age,  or  the 
result  of  a  particular  class  of  materials,  but  is  the  expedient 
naturally  adopted  in  the  formation  of  arches,  vaults,  and 
domes,  by  those  who  are  ignorant  of  the  cuneiform  prin- 
ciple ;  and  it  is  therefore  to  be  found  in  the  earliest 
structures  of  Egypt,  Greece,  Italy,  and  other  parts  of  the 
Old  "World,  as  well  as  in  those  of  the  semi-civilised  races  of 
the  New.6  The  Cloaca  Maxima,  which  is  the  earliest 
known  instance  of  the  perfect  arch  in  Italy,  dates  from  the 
days  of  the  Tarquins  ;  this  tomb  then  must  be  considered 
as  of  a  remoter  period,  coeval  at  least  with  the  earliest 
days  of  Rome — prior,  it  may  be,  to  the  foundation  of  the 
City.7 

Nurhags  or  Nuraghe  of  Sardinia  and  and  terminate  not  in  a  point,  but  in  a 

the  Talajots  of  the  Balearics,  in  as  far  square  head,  formed  by  the  imposition 

as   they   are   roofed    in    on  the    same  of  flat  blocks  ;  the  peculiarity  consists 

principle.     And  they  are  probably  of  not  in   the   courses  being   often   almost  at 

inferior  antiquity.     Like   the   Nuraghe  right  angles  with  the  line  of  the  arch, 

they  may  with  good  reason  be  regarded  showing  a  near  approach  to  the  cunei- 

as  the  work   of  the  Tyrrhene  Pelasgi.  form  principle. 

The   Druidical  barrows     of    our    own  "  Cavalier  Canina  (Cere  Antica,  p.  80) 

country     sometimes     contain    passage-  refers  its  construction  to  the  Pelasgi,  or 

formed  sepulchres  like  these  of  Cervetri.  earliest  inhabitants  of  Agylla,  aud  assigns 

6  Stephens'  Yucatan,  I.  p.  429,  et  seq.  to  it  and  its  contents  an  antiquity  of  not 

This   traveller's   description   and   illus-  less  than  3000  years,  making  it  coeval 

trations    show    the     remarkable    ana-  with  the  Trojan  war.     He  says  it  can  be 

logy  between  these   American  pseudo-  determined  that  precisely  in  the  reign  of 

vaults  and   those    of    ancient   Europe.  Tarquinius  Priscus,  the  change  in  the 

The  sides  of  the  arch  are  hewn  to  a  mode    of    constructing    the    arch    was 

smooth  curved  surface,  as  in  the  Regu-  effected  in  Rome,  for  Tarquin  introduced 

lini  tomb  (see  the  woodcut  at  page  46),  the  style  from  Tarquinii.     But  though 


48 


CERVETRI. 


[chap.  XXXIII. 


The  great  antiquity  of  this  tomb  may  be  deduced  also 
from  its  contents,  which  were  of  the  most  archaic,  Egyptian- 
like character.8  Scarcely  any  pottery,  and  none  figured, 
was  found  here  ;  but  numerous  articles  of  bronze,  silver, 
and  gold,  so  abundant,  so  singular,  and  so  beautiful,  that 
it  is  verily  no  easy  task  to  describe  them.  I  shall  here  do 
little  more  than  specify  the  position  which  they  occupied 
in  the  tomb. 

In  the  outer  chamber,  at  the  further  end,  lay  a  bier  of 
bronze,  formed  of  narrow  cross-bars,  with  an  elevated  place 
for  the  head.9  The  corpse  which  had  lain  on  it,  had  long- 
since  fallen  to  dust.  By  its  side  stood  a  small  four-wheeled 
car,  or  tray,  of  bronze,  with  a  basin-like  cavity  in  the 
centre,  the  whole  bearing,  in  form  and  size,  a  strong 
resemblance  to  a  dripping-pan ;  though  ornamented  in  a 
way  that  would  hardly  become  that  homely  instrument. 


we  were  absolutely  certain  that  Tarquin 
built  the  Cloaca  Maxima,  we  have  no  au- 
thority for  determining  when  the  first 
true  arch  was  erected  in  Rome.  The 
principle  may,  for  aught  we  know,  have 
been  known  and  practised  at  a  much 
earlier  period.  At  any  rate,  it  is  highly 
probable  that  it  had  been  known  in  Etru- 
ria  some  time  before  the  construction  of 
the  Cloaca  Maxima,  and  if  at  Tarquinii 
whence  Tarquin  migrated,  why  not  at 
Caere,  a  neighbouring  city  belonging  to 
the  same  people  ?  As  regards  this  tomb 
all  are  agreed  on  its  very  high  antiquity. 
Even  Micali,  who  sees  everything  in  a 
more  modern  light  than  most  of  his 
fellows,  admits  that  the  style  of  architec- 
ture shows  it  to  be  prior  to  the  foundation 
of  Rome  (Mon.  Ined.  p.  350).  Grin,  how- 
ever,andCavedoni(Bull.  Inst.  1843, p.  4  (5) 
refer  it  to  the  third  century  of  the  City. 
Canina  is  of  opinion  that  the  tomb  in  its 
original  state  was  surmounted  by  a  small 
tumulus,  but  that  after  the  arrival  of  the 


Lydians,  another  tumulus  of  much  larger 
size  was  constructed  about  it,  of  which 
it  formed  a  part ;  traces  of  such  a  second 
tumulus  having  been  found  in  an  encir- 
cling basement  of  masonry  and  several 
chambers  hollowed  in  the  rock  below  the 
original  tomb, — and  that  the  piling  up  of 
the  earth  around  the  latter  was  the 
means  of  preserving  it  iutact  from  those 
who  in  ages  past  rifled  the  rest  of  the 
sepulchre.  This  has  been  pronounced 
by  a  most  able  critic,  to  be  "  a  sagacious 
analysis.1'     Bull.  Inst.  1838,  p.  172. 

8  Lepsius,  no  mean  authority  on  Egyp- 
tian matters,  remarks  the  evident  imita- 
tion of  Egyptian  forms  (Ann.  Inst.  1836, 
p  187).  The  ordinary  observer  would  not 
hesitate  to  pronounce  the  figures  on  some 
of  the  vessels  to  be  purely  Egyptian. 

9  A  learned  friend  suggests  that  this 
reticulated  bier  may  be  regarded  as 
an  illustration  of  the  (VTprjTov  Aexos  °f 
Taris  and  Helen.  Iliad  III.  448. 


chap,  xxxni.]  THE  WARRIOR'S  CHAMBER.  49 

On  the  other  side  of  the  bier  lay  some  thirty  or  forty  little 
earthenware  figures  ;  probably  the  Lares  of  the  deceased, 
who  had  not  selected  his  divinities  for  their  beauty.  At 
the  head  and  foot  of  the  bier  stood  a  small  iron  altar  on 
a  tripod,  which  may  have  served  to  do  homage  to  these 
household  gods.  At  the  foot  of  the  bier  also  lay  a  bundle 
of  darts,  and  a  shield  ;  and  several  more  shields  rested 
against  the  opposite  wall.  All  were  of  bronze,  large  and 
round  like  the  Greek  aa-rrls,  and  beautifully  embossed,  but 
apparently  for  ornament  alone,  as  the  metal  was  too  thin 
to  have  been  of  service  in  the  field.  Nearer  the  door 
stood  a  four-wheeled  car,  which,  from  its  size  and  form, 
seemed  to  have  borne  the  bier  to  the  sepulchre.  And  just 
within  the  entrance  stood,  on  iron  tripods,  a  couple  of 
cauldrons,  with  a  number  of  curious  handles  terminating  in 
griffons'  heads,  together  with  a  singular  vessel — a  pair  of 
bell-shaped  vases,  united  by  a  couple  of  spheres.10  Besides 
these  articles  of  bronze,  there  was  a  series  of  vessels  sus- 
pended by  bronze  nails  from  each  side  of  the  recess  in  the 
roof.1  The  cauldrons,  dripping-pan,  and  bell- vessel,  are 
supposed  to  have  contained  perfumes,  or  incense,  for  fumi- 
gating the  sepulchre. 

This  tomb  had  evidently  contained  the  body  of  a  warrior  ; 
but  to  whom  had  the  inner  chamber  belonged  %  The 
intervening  doorway  was  closed  with  masonry  to  half  its 
height,   and  in  it  stood  two  more   pots   of  bronze,   and 

10  Much  like  that  shown  at  page  58.  Thesaurus,  but  that  certain  nodules  in 

1  The  nails  thus  supporting  crockery  the    blocks    have    been    mistaken    for 

or  bronzes  in  Etruscan   tombs,   throw  them.     Bull.  Inst.   1836,  p.  58 — Wolff, 

light  on  the  use  of  them  in  the  so-called  But  admitting  that  there   were   really 

Treasury  of  Atreus,  at  Mycense,  where  nails,  it  is  far  more  probable  that  they 

they  have  long  been  supposed  to  have  served  to  support  pottery  or  other  sepul- 

fastened  the  plates  of  bronze  with  which  chral  furniture,  than  a  lining  of  metal, 

it  was  imagined  the  walls  were  lined.    It  seeing  it  is  now  generally  admitted  that 

has  been   suggested,  however,   that  no  the   so-called   "Treasuries"   of  Greece 

nails    ever    existed   in    that   celebrated  were  no  other  than  tombs. 
VOL.   II.  E 


50  CERVETRI.  [chap,  xxxiii. 

against  each  door-post  hung  a  vessel  of  pure  silver.  There 
were  no  urns  in  this  chamber,  but  the  vault  was  hung  with 
bronze  vessels,  and  others  were  suspended  on  each  side  the 
entrance.  Further  in,  stood  two  bronze  cauldrons  for  per- 
fumes, as  in  the  outer  chamber  :  and  then,  at  the  end  of 
the  tomb,  on  no  couch,  bier,  or  sarcophagus,  not  even  on 
a  rude  bench  of  rock,  but  on  the  bare  ground,2  lay — a 
corpse  ?  —  no,  for  it  had  ages  since  returned  to  dust,  but 
a  number  of  gold  ornaments,  whose  position  showed  most 
clearly  that,  when  placed  in  the  tomb,  they  were  upon  a 
human  body.  The  richness,  beauty,  and  abundance  of  these 
articles,  all  of  pure  gold,  were  amazing — such  a  collection, 
it  has  been  said,  "  would  not  be  found  in  the  shop  of  a 
well-furnished  goldsmith."3  There  were,  a  head-dress  of 
singular  character — a  large  breastjDlate,  beautifully  embossed, 
such  as  was  worn  by  Egyptian  priests — a  finely  twisted 
chain,  and  a  necklace  of  very  long  joints — earrings  of  great 
length — a  pair  of  massive  bracelets  of  exquisite  filagree- 
work — no  less  than  eighteen  fibulce  or  brooches,  one  of 
remarkable  size  and  beauty — sundry  rings,  and  fragments  of 
gold  fringes  and  lamince,  in  such  quantities,  that  there 
seemed  to  have  been  an  entire  garment  of  pure  gold.  It 
is  said  that  the  fragments  of  this  metal  crushed  and 
bruised,  were  alone  sufficient  to  fill  more  than  one  basket.4 
Against  the  inner  wall  lay  two  vessels  of  silver,  with 
figures  in  relief. 

This  abundance  of  ornament  has  led  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  occupant  of  this  inner  chamber  was  a  female  of 

2  Canina  (Cere  Ant.  p.  75)  states  that  3  Bull.  Inst.  1836,  p.  60. 

the   floor    under    the   corpse,   in   both  *  Bull.   Inst.   1836,  p.   60.      Though 

tombs,  was  paved  with  stones  cemented  this  is  somewhat  vague,  it  conveys  the 

together  —  sclci  collegati  in  calce  —  an  idea  of  the  great  abundance  of  this  metal, 

unique  feature,  and  worthy  of  particular  It  was  found  crashed  beneath  a  mass  of 

notice  in  connection  with  the  very  re-  fallen  masonry, 
mote  antiquity  of  the  tomb. 


chap,  xxxm.]      THE  PRIEST'S  OR  PRINCESS'S  CHAMBER. 


51 


rank — a  view  confirmed  by  the  inscriptions  found  in  the 
tomb.5  But  may  it  not  have  been  a  priest  with  equal 
probability  %  The  breastplate  is  far  more  like  a  sacerdotal 
than  a  feminine  decoration ;  and  the  other  ornaments,  if 
worn  by  a  man,  would  simply  mark  an  oriental  character,6 
and  would  be  consistent  enough  with  the  strong  Egyptian 
style  observable  in  many  of  the  contents  of  this  sepulchre.7 
On  each  side  of  the  outer  passage  was  a  small  circular, 
domed  chamber,  hewn  in  the  rock,  one  containing  an  urn 


5  Canina,  Cere  Aiitica,  p.  76.  Cave- 
doni,  Bull.  Inst.  1843,  p.  46.  The  in- 
scriptions were  on  several  of  the  silver  ves- 
sels, and  consisted  merely  of  the  female 
name  "  Larthia,"  or  "  Mi  Larthia," 
in  Etruscan  characters.  This  was  con- 
jectured to  signify  the  proprietor  of  these 
vessels,  who,  it  was  concluded,  was  also 
the  occupant  of  the  tomb.  Larthia  is 
the  feminine  of  Lar,  Lars,  or  Larth,  as 
it  is  variously  written. 

6  The  necklace  appears  too  massive 
and  clumsy  for  a  female's  neck  ;  fibula 
would  be  applicable  to  either  sex  ;  ear- 
rings were  not  considei'ed  inappropriate 
to  males  in  the  East,  any  more  than 
they  arc  now  in  southern  Europe  ;  and 
bracelets  of  gold,  we  are  taught  by  the 
old  legend  of  Tarpeia,  to  regard  as  the 
common  ornaments  of  Sabine  soldiers  in 
very  early  times.  And  though  Niebuhr 
(I.  p.  226)  has  pronounced  these  golden 
decorations  of  the  Sabines  to  have  had 
no  existence,  save  in  the  imagination  of 
the  poet  who  sang  the  lay,  the  discoveries 
made  since  his  day,  especially  in  Etrus- 
can tombs,  prove  the  abundance  of  gold 
ornaments  in  very  early  times,  and  also 
their  warlike  application  ;  so  that  what- 
ever improbability  there  be  in  the  story, 
arises  merely  from  its  inconsistency  with 
the  simple,  hardy  manners  of  the  Sabines. 
Yet  even  here,  the  analogy  of  the  golden 
torques  of  the  rude  and  warlike  Gauls 


might  be  cited  in  support  of  the  legend. 

Micali  (Mon.  Ined.  p.  60)  is  surprised 
that  the  ornaments  in  this  tomb  should 
ever  have  been  supposed  to  belong  to  a 
priest,  for  the  breastplate  and  fibulae, 
from  their  fragility,  were  evidently,  he 
thinks,  mere  sepulchral  decorations ;  and 
the  bracelets  show  a  funereal  subject — 
a  woman  attacked  by  lions,  and  rescued 
by  two  winged  genii — which  he  inter- 
prets as  the  soul  freed  from  the  power 
of  evil  spirits  by  the  intervention  of 
good.  It  may  be  remarked  that  the  form 
of  this  tomb  is  that  prescribed  by  Plato 
(Leg.  XII.  p.  947,  ed.  Steph.)  for 
Greek  priests — "  a  grave  under  ground, 
a  lengthened  vault  of  choice  stones,  hard 
and  imperishable,  and  having  parallel 
couches  of  rock."  The  benches  alone 
are  here  wanting. 

7  Micali  (Mon.  Ined.  p.  62)  remarks 
that  the  silver  vessels  give,  in  the  design 
of  their  adornments,  the  most  perfect 
imitations  of  the  Asiatic  or  Egyptian 
style,  and  that  a  further  analogy  is  also 
displayed  in  the  religious  symbols  ex- 
pressed on  them  ;  yet,  with  all  this,  the 
stamp  of  nationality  is  so  strongly  marked, 
as  to  distinguish  them  altogether  from 
purely  Egyptian  works.  This,  and  the 
Isis-tomb  of  Vulci,  contain  the  earliest 
monuments  of  Etruscan  primitive  art, 
as  it  existed  before  it  had  been  subjected 
to  Hellenic  influence. 

e2 


52  CERVETRI.  [chap,  xxxiii. 

with  burnt  bones,  and  a  number  of  terra-cotta  idols  ;  the 
other,  pottery,  and  vessels  of  bronze.  These  chambers 
seem  of  later  formation.  Canina  indeed  is  of  opinion  that 
the  inner  chamber  alone  was  the  original  tomb  ;  that  the 
outer,  then  serving  as  a  mere  passage,  was  subsequently 
used  as  a  burial  place,  and  that,  at  a  still  later  period, 
the  side-chambers  were  constructed.8 

All  this  roba,  so  rich  and  rare,  has  been  religiously  pre- 
served, but  he  who  would  see  it,  must  seek  it,  not  on  the 
spot  where  it  had  lain  for  so  many  centuries,  but  at  the 
Gregorian  Museum  in  Rome,  of  which  it  forms  one  of  the 
chief  glories.  That  revolving  cabinet  of  jewellery,  whose 
treasures  of  exquisite  workmanship  excite  the  enthusiastic 
admiration  of  all  fair  travellers,  is  occupied  almost  wholly 
with  the  produce  of  this  tomb.  The  depositary  which  has 
yielded  this  wealth,  now  contains  nought  but  mud,  slime, 
and  serpents — the  genii  of  the  spot.  It  has  been  gutted 
of  its  long-hoarded  treasure,  and  may  now  take  its  fate. 
Who  is  there  to  give  it  a  thought  1  None  save  the  peasant, 
who  will  ere  long  find  its  blocks  handy  for  the  construction 
of  his  hovel,  or  the  fence  of  his  vineyard,  as  he  has  already 
found  a  quarry  of  materials  in  neighbouring  tumuli ;  and 
the  sepulchre,  which  may  have  greeted  the  eyes  of  iEneas 
himself,  will  leave  not  a  wreck  behind.  Much  of  the 
masonry  of  the  inner  chamber  has  been  already  removed, 
and  the  whole  threatens  a  speedy  fall.  Surely  a  specimen 
of  a  most  ancient  and  rare  st}rle  of  architecture,  has  public 
claims  for  protection,  as  well  as  the  works  of  the  early 
painters,  or  the  figures  of  bronze,  clay,  or  stone,  which  are 
preserved  in  museums  as  specimens  of  the  infancy  of  their 
respective  arts.  Were  its  position  such  as  to  render  it 
difficult  to  preserve,  there  would  be  some  excuse  for  neglect, 

8  Cere  Ant.  pp.  75,  78. 


chap,  xxxiii.]        PELASGIC  ALPHABET  AND  PRIMER.  53 

but  when  a  wooden  door  with  lock  and  key  would  effect  its 
salvation,  it  is  astonishing  that  it  is  suffered  to  fall  into  ruin.1 

Another  tomb,  of  precisely  similar  construction,  was 
found  near  the  one  just  described  ;  but,  having  been  rifled 
in  past  ages,  it  contained  nothing  but  an  inscription  rudely 
scratched  on  the  wall.2 

At  the  same  time  with  the  Regulini-Galassi  tomb,  several 
others  were  opened  in  the  neighbourhood  ;  in  one  of  which 
was  found  a  relic  of  antiquity,  insignificant  enough  in  itself, 
but  of  high  interest  for  the  light  it  throws  on  the  early 
languages  of  Italy.  It  is  a  little  cruet-like  vase,  of  plain 
black  ware,  a  few  inches  high,  and  from  its  form  has  not 
unaptly  been  compared  to  an  ink-bottle.3  What  may  have 
been  its  original  application  is  not  easy  to  say  ;  probably 
for  perfumes,  as  it  resembles  the  alabastron  in  form  ;  or  it 
may  have  served,  as  an  ink-stand,  to  hold  the  colouring- 
matter  for  inscriptions.  Whatever  its  purpose,  it  has  no 
obvious  relation  to  a  sepulchre,  for  round  its  base  is  an 
alphabet,  in  very  ancient  characters,  shown  in  the  bottom 
line  of  the  subjoined  fac-simile  ;  and  round  the  body  of  the 
pot  the  consonants  are  coupled  with  the  vowels  in  turn,  in 
that  manner  so  captivating  to  budding  intelligences.  Thus 
we  read — "  Bi,  Ba,  Bu,  Be — Gi,  Ga,  Gu,  Ge — Zi,  Za,  Zu, 
Ze— Hi,  Ha,  Hu,  He— Tin,  Tha,  Thu,  The- Mi,  Ma,  Mu, 
Me—  Ni,  Na,  Nu,  Ne— Pi,  Pa,  Pu,  Pe— Ki,  Ka,  Ku,  Ke— 
Si,  Sa,  Su,  Se— Chi,  Cha,  Chu,  Che— Phi,  Pha,  Phu,  Phe— 

1  For  the  foregoing  description  of  the  -  Bull.  Inst.  1836,  p.  62.     The  writer 

contents  of  this  tomb  and  their  arrange-  does  not  mention  in  what  characters  was 

ment,  I  am  indebted   to    Canina,  Cere  this  inscription,  though  he  says  it  was 

Antica,  parte  terza  ;  Braun,  Bull.  Inst.  not  worth  copying  !    I  could  not  learn  if 

1836,  pp.  56—62  ;  Bull.  Inst.  1838,  p.  the  tomb  is  still  open. 

173.     See  also  Grin,  Monumenti  di  Cere  3  It  has  been    erroneously   asserted 

Antica,  a  work  written  to  prove  from  the  that  this  "  horn-book"  was  found  in  the 

contents  of  this  tomb  the  oriental,  and  Regulini-Galassi   tomb.      Sepulchres  of 

especially    Mithraie,    character   of    the  Etruria,  pp.  26,  347. 
Etruscan  worship. 


54 


CERVETRI. 


[  CHAP.    XXXIII. 


Ti,  Ta,  Tu,  Te."  Now,  it  must  be  observed,  that  this 
inscription,  though  found  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  is  not  in 
that  character,  but  in  Greek,  of  very  archaic  style  ;  4  and 


\?A 


TirKr 


kmKB®\z 


m  ©  P^PvTr-r  ^T 


PELASGIC    ALPHABET    AND    PRIMER. 


there  is  every  reason  to  believe  it  a  relic  of  the  earliest 
possessors  of  Caere,  the  Pelasgi,  who  are  said  to  have  intro- 
duced letters  into  Latium.5  From  the  paleography,  this 
is  indubitably  the  most  ancient  monument  extant  winch 


4  The  difference  between  this  alphabet 
and  the  genuine  Etruscan  one,  found  on 
a  vase  at  Bomarzo,  is  very  apparent. 
See  the  fac-simile  in  Vol.  I.  p.  225.  That 
has  but  twenty  letters,  this  twenty-five, 
and  both  in  their  form  and  collocation 
there  are  wide  differences.  That  has  the 
Etruscan  peculiai'ity  of  running  from 
right  to  left.  In  Greek  letters  this 
alphabet  would  be  thus  expressed  :  — 
A,  B,  T,  A,  E,  F  (the  digamma),  Z,  H 
(the  ancient  aspirate),  0,  I,  K,  A,  M  (this 


is  the  letter  effaced),  N,  H,  O,  n,  Q  (kop- 
pa),  P,  2,  T,  Y,  X,  *,  y.  It  will  be  re- 
marked that  the  same  force  has  not  been 
assigned  to  certain  of  these  letters  where 
they  occur  in  the  primer,  and  the  reader 
will  be  ready  to  dispute  my  accuracy. 
Let  him  break  a  lance  then  with  Profes- 
sor Lepsius,  who  is  my  authority,  and 
who  gives  his  views  of  this  inscription  in 
the  Ann.  Inst.  1836,  pp.  186—203. 
5  Solinus,  Polyhist.  cap.  VIII. 


chap,  xxxni.]        RELICS  OF  THE  PELASGIC  TONGUE.  55 

teaches  us  the  early  Greek  alphabet,  and  its  authentic 
arrangement.6  This  singular  relic  has  now  past  from  the 
hands  of  General  Galassi,  its  original  possessor,  into  the 
Gregorian  Museum  of  the  Vatican. 

Another  small  black  pot,  found  by  Gen.  Galassi  in  the 
same  excavations,  has  an  inscription  similarly  scratched 
around  it,  and  then  filled  in  with  red  paint,  which  Pro- 
fessor Lepsius  also  determines  to  be  in  the  Pelasgic,  not 
the  Etruscan,  character  and  language.  The  letters  are 
not  separated  into  words,  but  run  in  a  continuous  line  round 
the  pot.     Lepsius  thus  divides  them — 

Mi  ni  kethu  ma  mi  mathu  maram  lisiai  thipurenai 
Ethe  erai  sie  epana  mdjethu  nastav  helephu, 

and  remarks  that  "  he  who  is  so  inclined  may  easily  read 
them  as  two  hexameter  lines,  after  the  manner  of  the  old 
Greek  dedicatory  inscriptions."  Though  he  pronounces, 
that  in  this  inscription  we  possess  one  of  the  very  rare 
relics  of  the  Pelasgic  tongue,  he  regards  the  date  of  it  as 
uncertain,  as  he  conceives  that  the  population  of  Caere 
remained  Pelasgic  to  a  late  period.7 

6  The  letters  here  are  of  the  most  doubtful.     I  have  given  that  assigned  to 

archaic   forms   known,  some   of    them  them  by  Lepsius,  who  has  eruditely  dis- 

strongly  resembling  the  Phoenician  ;  and  cussed  the  palaeography  of  this  inscrip- 

the  presence  of  the  vau  and  the  Jcoppa,  tion.     Notwithstanding  its  Greek  or  Pe- 

and   the  want  of   the   eta   and  omega,  lasgic  character,  there  are  circumstances 

establish  the  high  anticmity  of  the  pot.  which  seem  to  betray  that  it  was  scratched 

There  are  some  singular  features  to  be  by  an  Etruscan  hand.     For  evidences  of 

remarked.      The    arrangement  of    the  this,  I  refer  the  curious  reader  to  the 

letters  in  the  alphabet  does  not  corre-  said  article  by  Professor  Lepsius,  merely 

spond  with  that  in  the  primer,  and  in  both  mentioning  that  this  inscription  bears  a 

it  differs  from  that  generally  received.  strong  affinity  to  an  alphabet  and  primer 

The  vowels  in  the  primer  are  placed  in  inscribed  on   the   walls  of  an  Etruscan 

an  order  entirely  novel,  ;and  which  is  tomb    at    Colle,    near    Volterra.     (See 

at  variance  with  that  of  the  alphabet.  Chapter  XXXIX.) 
There  is  a  curious  instance  of  pentimento  ~>  See  the  above-cited  article  by  Lepsius. 

or  alteration  in  the  fourth  line.    Some  of  Ann.  Inst.   1836,  pp.  186 — 203,  where 

the  characters,  moreover,  have  new  and  the   inscription    is  given  in  its  proper 

strange  forms,  and  their  force  appears  characters;  and  his  more  recent  remarks 


56 


CERVETRI. 


[cHAK  XXXIII. 


The  high  ground  to  the  east  of  Caere,  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  Vaccina,  is  called  Monte  Abatone.  This, 
Canina8  regards  as  the  site  of  the  sacred  grove  of  Silvanus, 
described  by  Virgil,9  and  thinks  that  its  name  is  derived 
from  the  fir-trees — abietes — which  are  said  by  that  poet  to 
have  surrounded  the  grove.1  None,  however,  are  now 
visible.  Ceres  has  usurped  the  greater  part  of  the  hill, 
and  has  driven  Pan  to  its  further  extremity. 

The  interest  of  Monte  Abatone  is  not  its  doubtful  claim 
to  the  site  of  a  sylvan  shrine,  but  its  positive  possession  of 
tombs  of  very  singular  character.     About  a  mile  to  the 


in  his  pamphlet,  "  Ueber  die  Tyrrhenis- 
chen  Pelasger  in  Etrurien,"  pp.  39 — 42, 
where  he  lucidly  points  out  the  pecu- 
liarities both  in  the  language  and  cha- 
racters which  distinguish  this  inscription 
from  the  Etruscan,  and  mark  it  as 
Pelasgic.  He  states  that  Miiller  agreed 
with  his  opinion  on  this  point,  though 
it  was  disputed  by  Franz  (Elementa 
Epigraphices  Greecte,  p.  24),  who 
admitted,  however,  that  the  language 
was  not  Etruscan. 

8  Canina,  Cere  Ant.  p.  53.  So  also 
Abeken,  Mittelitalien,  p.  37.  Gell  (Topog. 
of  Rome,  I.  p.  1)  places  the  grove  on 
the  hills  on  the  opposite  side  of  the 
Vaccina.  But  Virgil  seems  to  have 
placed  it  rather  on  the  banks  of  the 
stream  than  on  a  hill  of  any  sort,  and 
I  should  therefore  consider  it  to  have 
stood  in  the  ravine  between  the  city  and 
Monte  Abatone,  in  which  case  the  colles 
cam  would  be  aptly  represented  by  the 
cliffs  hollowed  into  tombs,  and  the  slopes 
at  whose  foot  are  still  dark  with  wood, 
though  not  of  fir-trees. 

9  Virg.  .En.  VIII.  597— 

Est     iugens     gelidum    lucus     prope 

Caeritis  aninem, 
Religione    patrum     late    sacer :     un- 

dique  colics 


Inclusere     cavi,     et     nigra     nemus 

abiete  cingunt. 
Silvano    fama    est    veteros    sacrasse 

Pelasgos. 
Livy  (XXI.  62)  mentions  an  oracle  at 
Caere. 

1  Cavaliere  P.  E.  Visconti  (Ant.  Mo- 
num.  Sepolc,  di.  Ceri,  p.  17)  would 
derive  it  from  frfiarov — a  spot  sacred, 
not  to  be  trodden — on  the  ground  that 
this  was  the  name  applied  by  the  Rho- 
dians  to  the  edifice  they  had  raised  round 
the  statue  of  Artemisia  to  conceal  it 
from  the  public  view.  Vitruv.  II.  8. 
But  Cav.  Canina  rejects  this  deriva- 
tion, on  account  of  the  necropolis  of 
Ctere  being  on  the  opposite  side,  in  the 
Banditaccia.  Yet  the  cemeteries  of  Etrus- 
can towns  were  not  confined  to  any  one 
side,  though  one  spot  might,  for  conve- 
nience sake,  be  more  especially  devoted 
to  interment  ;  and  hi  this  case  in  parti- 
cular the  city  was  completely  surrounded 
by  tombs.  When  two  Roman  knights 
are  breaking  a  lance  together,  who  shall 
venture  to  step  between  them  ?  Yet  the 
probability  seems  in  favour  of  the  fir- 
trees  ;  unless,  indeed,  the  word  is  derived 
from  some  Abbey  that  in  the  middle  ages 
stood  on  the  spot. 


chap,  xxxni.]  GROTTA  CAMPANA.  57 

east  of  the  Regulini  sepulchre,  after  crossing  the  Vaccina, 
you  find  a  path  leading  up  to  the  southermost  point  of  the 
Monte.  Here,  at  the  very  edge  of  the  cliff,  facing  the  city, 
a  tomb  was  opened  in  May,  1845,  which  may  be  seen  with 
all  its  furniture,  just  as  it  was  found.  Flavio  Passegiere 
keeps  the  key.  The  traveller  is  again  indebted,  for  the 
conservation  of  this  monument,  to  the  good  taste  of  the 
Cavaliere  Campana — a  gentleman,  whose  zealous  exertions 
in  the  field  of  Etruscan  research,  and  in  the  advancement 
of  archaeological  science  in  general,  are  too  well  recognised 
to  require  laudation  from  me.  This  tomb  is,  or  should  be, 
known  by  the  name  of 

GrROTTA    CAMPANA. 

It  bears  considerable  similarity  to  that  of  the  same 
appellation  at  Veii — not  so  much  in  itself  as  in  its  contents. 
It  lies  beneath  a  crumbled  tumulus,  girt  with  masonry.2 
There  is  but  a  single  sepulchral  chamber,  but  it  is  divided, 
by  Doric-like  pilasters,  into  three  compartments.  The 
first  has  a  fan-like  ornament  in  relief  on  its  ceiling,  just  as 
exists  in  a  tomb  in  the  Banditaccia,  and  in  another  at 
Vulci,3  and  which  being  here  found  in  connection  with  very 
archaic  furniture,  raises  a  presumption  in  favour  of  its 
being  a  most  ancient  style  of  decoration.  Just  within  the 
entrance,  on  one  hand,  is  a  large  jar,  resting  on  a  stumpy 
column  of  tufo,  which  is  curiously  adorned  with  reliefs  of 
stripes  and  stars,  though  not  in  the  approved  Transatlantic 
arrangement.     In  the  opposite  corner  is  a  squared  mass  of 

2  The  entrance,  as  usual  in  the  tombs  two  side-chambers  which  open  on  the 
of  Cervetri,  is  lined  with  masonry.  The  entrance-passage  of  this  tomb,  the  walls 
doorway  is  cut  in  the  rock  in  an  arched  also  are  panelled  in  relief  with  the  very 
form,  and  around  it  is  a  groove,  into  same  pattern  as  decorates  the  said  tomb 
which  fitted  the  ancient  door,  a  slab  of  of  the  Sun  and  Moon  at  Vulci.  The 
stone.  two-fold  coincidence   in    this   sepulchre 

3  Ut  supra,  page  33.     In  one  of  the  is  remarkable. 


58  CERVETRI.  [chap.  xxxm. 

rock,  panelled  like  a  piece  of  furniture,  and  supporting 
small  black  vessels.  The  second  compartment  of  the  tomb 
is  occupied  by  two  sepulchral  couches,  hewn  from  the  rock, 
surrounded  by  sundry  articles  of  crockery,  and  containing 
nothing  of  their  occupants  beyond  some  dark  dust,  mixed 
with  fragments  of  metal,  though  their  skulls  are  still  left 
grinning  at  the  heads  of  their  respective  biers.  Between 
these  couches,  on  a  square  mass  of  rock,  retaining  traces 
of  colour,  rests  an  earthern  pan,  or  brazier,  for  perfumes, 
with  archaic  figures  in  relief  round  the  rim  ;  and  at  the 
foot  of  each  stands  a  huge  jar,  almost  large 
enough  to  hold  a  man,  which  probably  con- 
tained the  ashes  of  the  slaves  or  dependents 
of  those  whose  bodies  occupied  the  couches. 
In  the  inner  compartment,  against  the  wall, 
are  two  benches  of  rock  ;  on  the  upper, 
stand  several  similar  large  jars,  together 
with  smaller  vessels ;  and  on  the  lower,  is 
a  curious,  tall,  bell-shaped  pot,  of  black 
etruscan  fumigator.  earthenware,  similar  in  form  to  one  of  bronze 
found  in  the  Grotta  Regulini-Galassi.  It  was  probably  an 
incense-burner.     It  is  shown  in  the  annexed  woodcut. 

About  a  mile  from  the  Grotta  Campana,  but  still  on  the 
Monte  Abatone,  are  two  remarkable  sepulchres,  well  worthy 
of  a  visit.  They  are  not  under  lock  and  key,  yet  can 
scarcely  be  found  without  a  guide.  The  spot  is  vulgarly 
called  II  Monte  d'Oro,  from  a  tradition  of  gold  having  been 
found  there.  On  the  way  to  it,  you  may  observe  traces  of 
a  sepulchral  road,  flanked  with  many  tumuli — some  with 
architectural  decorations.  The  tombs  lie  in  a  small  copse, 
and  are  not  easily  accessible  to  ladies.  To  explore  them, 
indeed,  demands  much  of  the  sportsman's  spirit  in  the 
ruder  sex,  for  they  are  often  half-full  of  water.  The  first 
is  called  the  "  Tomb  of  the  Seat," — 


chap,  xxxiii.]    GROTTA  DELLA  SEDIA,  MONTE  D'ORO.  59 

GROTTA    DELLA    SEDIA. 

This  tomb  lies  under  a  large  tumulus,  with  a  square 
basement  of  masonry,  which  makes  it  highly  probable  that 
the  superincumbent  mound  was  in  this  case  of  pyramidal 
form.2  Half-way  down  the  passage  which  leads  to  the 
sepulchre,  you  pass  through  a  doorway  of  masonry,  which 
marks  the  line  of  the  tumulus-basement.  The  passage  is 
lined  with  masonry,  whose  converging  courses  indicate  the 
existence  originally  of  a  vault  overhead.  The  tomb  con- 
sists of  two  chambers,  aud  has  nothing  extraordinary, 
except  an  arm-chair,  with  a  footstool  attached,  hewn  out 
of  the  living  rock,  as  in  the  two  tombs  of  the  Banditaccia, 
already  described.  Here  it  is  not  by  the  side  of  a  sepul- 
chral couch,  but  against  the  wall  of  rock  which  separates 
the  two  chambers.3 

Tins  tomb  had  been  rifled  in  ages  past,  but  very  care- 
lessly, for,  when  recently  opened,  some  gold  leaf,  and 
several  jibulce  of  the  same  metal  were  discovered  in  one  of 
the  chambers.  Other  furniture  was  also  found,  indicative 
of  a  high  antiquity.4     A  singular  feature  was  the  skeleton 


2  The  basement  is  63  feet  by  56.  Vis-  seats  are  Mitliraic  symbols — and  so  he 
conti  makes  it  larger — 108  by  91  Roman  also  regards  the  celebrated  marble  chair 
palms.  At  the  back,  or  on  the  side  op-  of  the  Corsini  Palace.  Mon.  Ined.  p. 
posed  to  the  entrance,  is  a  square  pro-  152. 

jection  or  buttress  in  the  masonry.    The  ■*  Here  were  fragments  of  embroidery 

blocks  are  of  tufo,  and  the  courses  recede  in  flowers  of  smalt  of  Egyptian  workman- 

as  they  ascend,  as  in  the  walls  of  Servius  ship — a  piece   of  blue  pasta  inscribed 

Tullius  at  Rome.     Similar  square  base-  with  hieroglyphics — alabastra  in  the  form 

ments  of  masonry,  generally  emplecton,  of  Egyptian  females — and  bits  of  amber 

and  probably  the  bases  of  pyramids,  are  and  other  oriental  gums  placed  around 

not  uncommon  in  this  necropolis,  espe-  the  corpse.     A  morsel  of  one  of  these 

cially  in  the  glen  of  the  Vaccina,  beneath  gums  being  put  to  the  fire  emitted  so 

the  cliffs  of  the  city.  powerful  an  odour  as  to  be  insupportable, 

3  See  page  34.  Micali,  in  his  last  says  Visconti,  even  in  the  spacious  hall  of 
work,  in  which  he  seeks  to  establish  the  Ducal  palace  at  Ceri.  Ant.  Mon.  di 
oriental  analogies  in  Etruscan  monu-  Ceri,  pp.  29 — 32.  The  vault  at  the  en- 
ments,  expresses  his  opinion  that  these  trance  proves  this  tomb  to  be  very  ancient. 


GO  CERVETRI.  [chap,  xxxui. 

of  a  horse,  lying  by  the  bier  of  his  master,  and  suggesting 
that  he  had  been  slain  at  the  funeral  obsequies.5 

Grotta  Torlonia. 

The  sepulchre  under  the  adjoining  tumulus  has  received 
its  name  from  the  proprietor  of  the  land.  The  basement 
is  here  of  the  usual  circular  form.6  The  entrance  to  this 
tomb  is  its  most  singular  feature.  At  a  considerable  dis- 
tance a  level  passage  opens  in  the  hill -side,  and  runs  partly 
underground  towards  the  tumulus,  till  it  terminates  in  a 
vestibule,  now  open  to  the  sky,  and  communicating  with 
the  ground  above,  by  two  flights  of  steps.  The  inner  part 
of  this  vestibule  is  recessed  in  the  rock,  like  the  upper 
chambers  of  the  tombs  of  Castel  d'Asso  ;  for  there  is  a 
similar,  moulded  door  in  the  centre,  and  on  either  hand  are 
benches  of  rock,  which,  being  too  narrow  for  sarcophagi, 
suggest  that  this  chamber  was  formed  for  the  funeral  rites — 
probably  for  the  banquet,  and  generally  for  the  convenience 
of  the  relatives  of  the  deceased  in  their  periodical  visits  to 
the  tomb.  This  chamber  is  decorated  with  rock-hewn 
pilasters  of  Doric  proportions,  but  with  peculiar  capitals, 
and  bases  somewhat  allied  to  the  Tuscan. 

In  the  floor  of  this  vestibule  opens  another  flight  of 
steps  leading  down  to  the  sepulchre.7     There  is  an  ante- 


s  For  a  detailed  description  of   this  tombs  of  Civita  Castellana,  but  there  is 

tomb  and  its  contents,  and  for  illustra-  no   appearance  of  communication  with 

tive  plans  and  sections,  see  the  work  of  the  tomb  below,  and  it  could  not  there- 

Cav.  P.  E.  Visconti,  Antichi  Monumenti  fore    have    served    the    purpose    of    an 

Sepolcrali  di  Ceri.  entrance. 

6  This  tumulus  is  about  75   feet  in  7  Visconti  (Ant.  Mon.  di  Ceri,  p.  20) 

diameter.     The   masonry  of  the  base-  states,  but  apparently  as  a  mere  conjee  - 

ment  has  this  peculiarity,"  that   at  the  ture,  that  this  flight  of  steps  was  origi- 

distance  of  every  10  or  11    feet  a  block  nally  concealed,  so  that  a  person  entering 

projects,  so  as  to  give  the  whole  a  resem-  the  passage  or  descending  the  steps  from 

blance  to  a  vast  cog-wheel  lying  on  the  above,  would  take  the  vestibule  with  its 

ground.  In  the  masonry,  just  above  moulded  doorway  for  the  real  sepulchre, 
the  entrance,  is  a  pit   or  shaft,  as  in  the 


chap,  xxxiii.]  GROTTA  TORLONIA.  61 

chamber  at  the  entrance,  which  opens  into  a  spacious  hall, 
having  three  compartments,  like  chapels  or  stalls,  on  either 
hand,  decorated  with  Tuscan  pilasters,  and  a  chamber  also 
at  the  upper  end,  which,  being  the  post  of  honour,  was 
elevated,  and  approached  by  a  flight  of  steps.  Each 
chamber  contained  several  sepulchral  couches,  altogether 
fifty-four  in  number.  At  the  moment  of  opening  the  tomb, 
these  were  all  laden  with  their  dead,  but  in  a  little  while, 
after  the  admission  of  the  atmosphere,  the  bodies  crumbled 
to  dust  and  vanished,  like  Avvolta's  Etruscan  warrior  at 
Corneto,  leaving  scarcely  a  vestige  of  their  existence.8 
The  external  grandeur  of  this  tomb  augured  a  rich  harvest 
to  the  excavator,  but  it  had  been  already  stript  of  its 
furniture — not  a  piece  of  pottery  was  to  be  seen — so  com- 
pletely had  it  been  rifled  by  plunderers  of  old.9 

In  that  part  of  the  necropolis,  called  Zambra,  which  lies 
on  the  west  of  Cervetri,  towards  Pyrgi,  some  very  ancient 

s  Visconti,  p.  21.     A  full  description  Indeed,  if  the  tumular  form  of  sepulture 

of  this  tomb,  with  illustrations,  will  be  were  not  one  of  natural  suggestion,  and 

found   in    the    said    work   of   Visconti.  which  has  therefore  been  employed  by 

The   architectural   decorations   do    not  almost  every  nation  from  China  to  Peru, 

betray  a  very  high  antiquity.  it  might  be  supposed  that  the  Lydians, 

9  An  external  analogy  to  houses  is  who  employed  it  extensively  (see  Vol. 

not  very  obvious  in  these  tumular  sepul-  I.  p.  353),  had  copied  the  subterranean 

chres.     They   have  been   supposed    to  huts  of  their  neighbours  the  Phrygians, 

have   the   funeral  pyre   for  their  type  and  introduced  the  fashion  into  Etruria. 

(Ann.  Inst.  1832,  p.  275),  but  the  usual  The  conical  pit-houses  of  the  ancient 

analogy  may,  perhaps,  be  traced  in  the  Armenians  might  in  the  same  way  be 

habitations  of  the   ancient   Phrygians,  regarded  as  the  types  of  the  tombs  of 

who,  dwelling  in  bare  plains,  on  account  that   form  which   abound   in   southern 

of    the   scarcity   of    wood  raised   lofty  Etruria,  and  are  found  also  south  of  the 

mounds  of  earth,  weaving  stakes  above  Tiber,  as  well  as  in  Sicily  (see  Vol.  I. 

them  into  a  cone,  heaping  reeds  and  p.  121)  ;  for   the  description  given  of 

stubble    around    them,  and    hollowing  them  (Xenophon,  Anab.  IV.  5,  25  ;  cf. 

them   out   for   their   habitation.     Such  Diodor.  XIV.  pp.  258—9)  closely  cor- 

dwellings  were  very  cool  in   summer,  responds.     The  interiors  of  these  sub- 

and  extremely  warm  in  winter.    Vitruv.  terranean  huts   of  Armenia  presented 

II.   1,  5.     Externally  they  must   have  scenes   very   like   those    in   an    Italian 

resembled     the     shepherds'     capanne,  capanna. 
which  now  stud  the  Campagna  of  Rome. 


62 


CERVETRI. 


[CHAP.  XXX1I1. 


tombs  were  opened  in  1842.  In  construction  they  were 
very  like  the  Grotta  Regulini-Galassi,  being  long  passages 
similarly  walled  and  roofed  in  with  masonry,  and  lying 
beneath  large  tumuli  of  earth,  and  their  furniture  betrayed 
a  corresponding  antiquity.1 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  though  sepulchres  are  found 
on  every  side  of  Caere,  those  towards  the  sea  are  generally 
the  most  ancient.2 

The  ancient  pottery  of  Caere  is  in  keeping  with  the 
archaic,  Egyptian  character  of  the  rest  of  the  sepulchral 
furniture.  The  large,  fluted,  or  fantastically  moulded 
cinerary  jars,  of  red  or  black  ware,  with  figures  of  centaurs, 
sphinxes,  and  chimaeras  in  flat  relief,  resemble  those  of 
Veii ;  and  so  the  rest  of  her  early  unpainted  pottery,  which 
Lepsius  takes  to  be  Pelasgic  rather  than  Etruscan.3     The 


1  It  consisted  of  great  quantities  of 
black  ware  with  a  brilliant  varnish  ;  no 
painted  vases  except  fragments  in  the 
earliest  style  ;  bi'oken  sculpture  of  very 
archaic  character  ;  and  articles  in  smalt, 
and  bronze,  and  highly-wrought  orna- 
ments in  gold,  some  in  the  Egyptian 
style.  The  name  Zambra  seems  of 
Saracenic  origin,  and  recalls  the  old 
romances  of  Granada  ;  but  it  was 
used  in  Italy  in  the  middle  ages  for 
camera ;  and  it  seems  probable  that 
this  spot  derived  its  name  from  the 
sepulchral  chambers  here  discovered. 
The  word  is  also  met  with  in  several 
parts  of  Tuscany,  but  attached  to  streams 
and  torrents  (see  Repetti,  sub  voce)  ; 
so  that  it  is  difficult  to  trace  a  connection 
with  the  Moorish  dance.  For  an  account 
of  the  tombs,  see  Abeken,  Bull.  Inst. 
1810,  p.  133  ;  Mittelitalien,  pp.  236, 268, 
272  ;  Micali,  Mon.  Ined.  p.  375,  et  seq. 
tav.  LVI. 

-  Abeken  (Mittelital.  p.  240)  fancied 
there   might   be    some    reason   for   this 


westward  position  of  the  oldest  tombs, 
as  though  it  were  chosen  for  its  approxi- 
mation to  the  sea,  the  peculiar  element 
of  the  Tyrrhene  race.  He  notices  the 
analogy  of  the  Nuraghe  on  the  western 
shore  of  Sardinia. 

3  To  the  Pelasgi,  says  Lepsius,  must 
undoubtedly  be  referred  the  vases  of 
black  earth  of  peculiar,  sometimes  bi- 
zarre, but  often  elegant  forms,  adorned 
with  fantastic  handles,  figures,  nobs, 
flutes,  and  zigzag  patterns — as  well  as 
the  fine  old  gold  articles,  of  archaic  and 
extremely  careful  style,  very  thinly 
wrought,  and  sown  with  minute  gold 
grains,  and  studded  with  short  stumpy 
figures,  with  marked  outlines  and  many 
Egyptian  characteristics.  "  A  central 
point,  as  it  were,  for  this  entire  class  of 
articles,  which  we  might  pre-eminently 
call  Pelasgic,  is  now  obtained  through 
the  important  discoveries  in  the  sepul- 
chres of  the  ancient  Agylla  or  Caere." 
Tyrrhen.  Pelasg.  pp.  44 — 5. 


CHAP.   XXXIII.] 


ANCIENT  POTTERY  OF  C^RE. 


63 


most  ancient  painted  vases  are  also  found  on  tins  site,  not 
only  those  of  the  so-called  Egyptian  or  Phoenician  style, 
but  others  of  a  much  rarer  class  and  peculiarly  Doric 
character,  resembling  the  ancient  Corinthian  pottery,  as  we 
know  it  through  the  celebrated  Dodwell  vase,  and  others 
from  Greece  and  her  islands.4  Though  the  pottery  of 
Caere  is  generally  of  a  more  archaic  character  than  that 
of  Vulci  or  Tarquinii ;  yet  beautiful  vases  of  the  later, 
or  Greek,  styles  have  also  been  found  here.5 

Between  Csere  and  Veii,  and  in  the  territory  of  the 
former  city,  lay  a  very  ancient  Etruscan  town,  called 
Artena,  which  was  destroyed  by  the  Roman  kings.  Specu- 
lations have  been  raised  as  to  its  site,  but  it  will  probably 
always  remain  a  matter  of  mere  conjecture.6 


4  Of  this  rare  class  of  vases  from 
Caere,  there  are  two  in  the  Gregorian 
Museum.  One,  an  olpe,  represents  the 
combat  of  Ajax  (Aivas),  and  Hector, 
who  is  assisted  by  ./Eneas.  The  palaeo- 
graphy of  the  inscriptions,  just  like  that 
of  the  Dodwell  vase,  determines  this 
also  to  be  Doric  ;  especially  the  use  of 
the  O  instead  of  the  K  ;  for  the  koppa 
is  quite  foreign  to  Attic  inscriptions. 
Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  II.  tav.  38  ;  Ann.  Inst. 
1836,  pp.  306—310,  Abeken.  The 
other  vase,  a  Jiydria,  represents  a  boar- 
hunt,  as  on  the  Dodwell  vase.  Mus. 
Gregor.  II.  tav.  1 7, 2.  Another  good  spe- 
cimen of  this  class  of  Ceeritan  pottery 
is  in  the  possession  of  Cavaliere  Cam- 
pana  at  Rome.  And  there  is  one  at 
Berlin,  which  represents  the  combat 
between  Achilles  and  Memnon,  with 
birds  flying  over  the  horses'  heads— a 
frequent  symbol  on  painted  vases,  which 
has  been  interpreted  as  a  type  of  swift- 
ness, or  as  an  augury — and  also  with 
peculiar  palaeography.    Mon.  Ined.  Inst. 


II.  tav.  38  ;  Ann.  Inst.  1836,  pp.  310— 
311.  The  figures  on  these  vases  are 
black  and  violet,  on  a  pale  yellow 
ground  ;  and  the  outlines  are  scratched, 
as  on  other  vases  of  the  most  ancient 
style. 

5  Ann.  Inst.  1837,  p.  183. 

6  Livy  (IV.  61)  alone  mentions  this 
town,  and  he  does  so  to  distinguish  it 
from  the  Artena  of  the  Volsci,  which 
is  thought  to  have  occupied  the  heights 
above  Monte  Fortino.  He  says  the 
Etruscan  Artena  belonged  to  Caere,  and 
not  to  Veii  as  some  supposed.  Nibby 
placed  it  at  Castellaccio  in  the  tenuta 
of  Castel  Campanile,  where  he  found 
traces  of  an  Etruscan  town  ;  but  Gell 
thought  it  more  likely  to  have  stood  at 
Boccea,  or  Buccea,  near  the  Arrone, 
twelve  miles  from  Rome,  for  "  there  is 
here  a  high  and  insulated  point,  which 
has  all  the  appcai'ance  of  a  citadel,  and 
which  seems  to  have  been  occupied  at  a 
subsequent  period  by  a  patrician  villa." 
(I.  p.  195.) 


64  [appendix  to 


APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XXXIII. 


Note  I. — Shields  as  Sepulchral  Decorations. 

The  shields  carved  or  painted  in  this  and  other  tonihs  of  Csere,  proba- 
bly mark  them  as  the  sepulchres  of  warriors,  and  are  only  a  more  per- 
manent mode  of  indicating  what  is  expressed  by  the  suspension  of  the 
actual  bucklers.  This  was  a  Greek  as  well  as  Etruscan  custom.  The 
ancient  pyramid  between  Argos  and  Epidaurus,  mentioned  by  Pausanias, 
contained  the  shields  of  the  slain  there  interred.  Paus.  II.  25.  The 
analogous  use  of  them  as  external  decorations  of  sepulchres  by  the  people 
of  Asia  Minor  and  by  the  Etruscans,  has  already  been  pointed  out.  Vol. 
I.  p.  252.  The  shield  was  a  favourite  anathema  with  the  ancients,  who 
were  wont,  at  the  conclusion  of  a  war,  to  suspend  their  own  bucklers  or 
those  of  their  vanquished  foes  in  the  temples  of  their  gods — a  very  early 
and  oriental  custom,  for  David  dedicated  to  God  the  gold  shields  he  had 
captured  from  the  men  of  Zobah.  2  Sam.  viii.  7,  11.  Crcesus  the 
Lydian  offered  a  gold  shield  to  Minerva  Pronoea,  to  be  seen  at  Delphi  in 
the  time  of  Herodotus  (I.  92  ;  cf.  Paus.  X.  8),  and  sent  another  to 
Amphiaraus,  which  was  preserved  in  the  temple  of  Apollo  at  Thebes. 
Herod.  I.  52,  92.  After  the  battle  of  Marathon,  the  Athenians  dedi- 
cated their  shields  to  the  Delphic  Apollo,  and  fixed  them  to  the  entabla- 
ture of  his  temple.  Paus.  X.  19.  And  traces  of  shields  in  the  same 
position  may  still  be  observed  on  the  eastern  front  of  the  Parthenon — 
one  under  each  triglyph,  with  the  marks  also  of  the  bronze  letters  of  the 
inscriptions  which  alternated  with  them.  The  Roman  conquerors  of 
Corinth  suspended  a  number  of  gilt  shields  on  the  entablature  of  the 
temple  of  Jupiter  Olympius  ;  and  in  the  pediment  of  the  same  building 
was  a  golden  shield,  also  a  dedicatory  gift  (Paus.  V.  10)  ;  and  so  shields 
have  been  found  carved  in  the  pediments  of  the  rock-hewn,  temple-like, 
tombs  of  Phrygia.  See  Steuart's  Lydia  and  Phrygia.  Shields  may 
sometimes  have  been  symbols  of  protection  received  from  the  gods,  and 
thus  acknowledged  ;  but  were  often,  like  anathemata  in  general,  mere 
emblems  of  the  profession  of  those  who  dedicated  them  ;  as  was  the  case 
with  the  twenty-five  shields  of  the  armed  runners  in  the  Olympic  stadium. 
Paus.  V.  12.  Sometimes  they  seem  to  have  served  merely  decorative 
purposes,  as  when  Solomon  adorned  his  palace  with  five  hundred  gold 
targets  (1   Kings,    x.   16,   17)  ;  or  as  when,  in  Asia  Minor,  they  were 


chap,  xxxm.]    SHIELDS  AS  SEPULCHRAL  DECORATIONS.  05 

carved  on  city-walls,  and  the  proscenia  of  theatres.  And  they  were  a 
conventional  decoration  also  with  the  Romans,  who  emblazoned  them 
with  the  portraits  of  their  ancestors,  and  suspended  them  in  temples  or 
in  their  own  houses.  Plin.  XXXV.  3,  4.  The  use  of  shields,  however, 
as  fields  for  personal  devices,  is  as  old  as  the  War  of  the  Seven  against 
Thebes,  if  we  may  believe  iEschylus  ;  and  for  family  emblems  is  also 
very  ancient,  for  Virgil  {Mn.  VII.  657),  introduces  one  of  his  early 
Italian  heroes  with  a  formidable  escutcheon — 

Pulcher  Aventinus,  clypeoque  insigne  paternum, 
Centum  angues,  cinctamque  gerit  serpentibus  Hydram. 

The  shields  borne  by  the  figures  of  Minerva  on  the  Panathenaic  vases  are 
said  to  contain  the  devices  of  the  Italian  cities.  Bull.  Inst.  1843,  p.  75. 
We  must  look  beyond  the  days  of  chivalry  for  the  origin  of  armorial 
bearings,  and  for  their  blazonment  on  shields.  For  an  ingenious  theory 
of  the  Egyptian  origin  of  heraldry,  see  Mr.  Wathen's  most  interesting- 
work  on  "Ancient  Egypt,"  pp.  20  et  seq. 

Note  II. — Genii  and  Junones. 
The  spirits  which  were  believed  by  the  Romans  to  attend  and  protect 
human  beings  through  life,  were  supposed  to  be  of  the  same  sex  as  their 
individual  charge  ;  the  males  being  called  Genii,  the  females  Junones. 
Tibul.  IV.  6,  1  ;  Seneca,  epist.  110.  Such  spirits  were  supposed  not 
only  to  have  presided  over,  but  to  have  been  the  cause  of  birth,  which  is 
in  fact  implied  in  the  name — Genius,  a  genendo  (Festus,  v.  Geniales  ; 
Censorinus,  de  Die  Natali,  III.)  ;  and  hence  the  nuptial  couch  was  called 
lectus  genialis,  and  was  sacred  to  the  Genius.  Fest.  s.  v.  ;  Serv.  ad  Virg. 
JEn.  VI.  603.  Some  assert  that  every  man  at  his  birth,  or  rather  at 
his  conception,  had  two  Genii  allotted  to  him,  to  attend  him  through  life 
— one  inciting  him  to  good  deeds,  the  other  to  evil — and  whose  office  it 
was  also  after  death  to  attend  him  to  the  presence  of  the  infernal  judges, 
to  confirm  or  refute  his  pleadings,  according  to  their  truth  or  falsehood  : 
so  that  he  might  be  raised  to  a  better  state  of  existence,  or  degraded  to 
a  lower.  Serv.  ad  Virg.  Mu.  VI.  743  ;  cf.  III.  63  ;  Euclid.  Socrat.  ap. 
Censorin.  III.  A  similar  doctrine  of  protecting  and  attendant  spirits 
was  held  by  the  Greeks,  who  called  them  daemons — 8ainov€s  —  and 
believed  them  to  be  allotted  to  men  at  their  birth,  as  guardians,  always 
present,  and  cognizant  not  only  of  deeds  but  of  thoughts,  and  commissioned 
also  to  accompany  them  to  the  other  world.  Plato,  Phasdo,  pp.  107,  108, 
ed.  Steph.,  and  ap.  Apuleium,  de  Deo  Socrat.  p.  48,  ed.  1625 ;  cf.  Ilesiod. 
Opera  et  Dies,  I.  121  et  seq.,  250  et  seq.  ;  Pind.  Olymp.  XIII. 

VOL.    II.  F 


66  .  CERVETR1.  [appendix  to 

Genii  were  distinguished  from  the  Manes  and  Lares,  inasmuch  as  these 
were  the  deified  spirits  of  the  dead,  but  the  Genii  were  the  offspring  of 
the  great  gods  (Fest.  vv.  Genium,  Tages),  and  the  givers  of  life  itself, 
wherefore  they  were  called  Dii  Genitales.  This  distinction,  however, 
was  not  always  preserved,  for  the  Genii  were  sometimes  confounded  with 
the  Manes  and  Lares,  and  supposed,  after  the  death  of  their  charge,  to 
dwell  in  his  sepulchre.  Serv.  ad  JEn.  III.  63  ;  Censorin.  loc.  cit. ;  cf. 
Plin.  II.  5. 

A  man  was  believed  to  be  born  under  the  influence  of  a  favourable  or 
unlucky  Genius  (Pers.  IV.  27 — genio  sinistro) ;  and  the  Genius  or  Juno, 
as  the  case  might  be,  was  also  supposed  to  be  pleased  or  offended  with 
the  actions  of  the  individual.  Thus  Quartilla,  in  Petronius  (cap.  25), 
exclaims,  "  Junonemmeam  iratam  habeam,  si  unquam,"  he.  And  if  a 
man  restrained  his  passions  and  appetites,  he  was  thought  to  "  defraud 
his  Genius,"  or  if  he  gave  way  to  them,  to  "  indulge  his  Genius." 
Persius,  V.  151  ;  Serv.  ad  Virg.  Georg.  I.  302  ;   Terent.  ap.  eund. 

As  the  Genius  was  a  god  he  received  divine  honours,  especially  on  the 
birthday  of  the  individual,  when  he  was  propitiated  by  libations,  and 
offerings  of  flowers  (Horat.  Ep.  II.  1,  144  ;  Tibul.  I.  7,  50  ;  IV.  5,  9  ; 
Pers.  II.  3)  ;  and  so  also  the  Juno  of  a  woman  (Tibul.  IV.  6)  ;  and  it 
was  customary  to  anoint  the  head  of  the  image,  to  adorn  it  with  chaplets, 
and  to  burn  incense  before  it.  Tibul.  I.  7,  51;  II.  2,  6;  Ovid.  Trist.  V. 
5,  11.  Even  after  death  offerings  were  made  to  the  Genius  of  the 
deceased,  as  J^neas  to  that  of  his  father  (Ovid.  Fast.  II.  54:5),  to 
whom  he  offered  gifts — 

Hie  patris  Genio  sollemnia  dona  ferebat — 

a  custom  which  explains  the  inscription,  "  ivnon  "  (Junoni),  on  the  vase 
painted  on  the  wall  of  this  tomb  at  Cervctri. 

Women  were  in  the  habit  of  swearing  by  their  Juno  (Tibul.  III.  6,  48), 
as  men  by  their  Genius  ;  and  a  lover  would  even  swear  by  the  Juno  of  his 
mistress  (Tibid.  IV.  13,  15),  exalting  her  above  every  other  divinity. 
Juvenal  (II.  98),  denouncing  the  effeminacy  of  the  Romans,  sets  it  in  the 
strongest  light  by  saying  that  a  servant  swears  by  the  Juno  of  his  lord — 

Et  per  Junonem  domini  jurante  ministro. 

Not  only  men  and  women,  but  places  and  things,  had  their  Genii, 
according  to  the  Roman  creed  (Festus,  v.  Genium  ;  Serv.  ad  Georg.  I. 
302  ;  JEn.  V.  85,  95).  Cities,  as  well  as  their  component  parts — 
streets,  houses,  baths,  fountains,  &c. — had  their  individual  Genii ;  and 
so  also  with  regions,  provinces,  armies,  nations — every  portion,  as  well 


chap,  xxxiii.]  GENII  AND  JUNONES.  07 

as  the  whole  collectively,  had  its  presiding  spirit.  The  Genius  of  the 
Roman  People  is  often  represented  on  coins,  though  Prudentius  might 
well  question  his  individual  character — 

Quanquam  cur  Genium  Romse  mihi  fingitis  unum, 
Cum  portis,  domibus,  thermis,  stabulis,  soleatis 
Assignare  suos  Genios  ?  perque  omnia  membra 
Urbis,  perque  locos,  Geniorum  millia  multa 
Fingere,  ne  propria  vacet  angulus  ullus  ab  umbra  ? 

These  genii  loci  were  supposed  to  take  the  visible  form  of  a  serpent 
(Virg.  Mn.  V.  95  ;  Serv.  ad  loc.)  ;  and  so  they  are  constantly  represented 
on  the  household  shrines  of  Pompeii,  eating  meat  or  fruits  from  an 
altar. 

The  doctrine  of  Genii  and  Junones  as  held  by  the  Romans,  there  is 
little  doubt,  was  received  from  the  Etruscans  with  that  of  the  Lares. 
We  know  that  the  latter  people  worshipped  Genii.  A  Genius  Jovialis 
was  one  of  their  four  Penates  (Arnob.  adv.  Nat.  III.  40  ;  cf.  Serv.  iEn.  II. 
325)  ;  and  Tages,  their  great  law-giver,  was  himself  the  son  of  a  Genius 
(Fest.  v.  Tages).  And  that  the  Etruscans  held  the  doctrine  of  good  and 
evil  spirits  attending  the  soul  into  the  other  world,  is  demonstrated  by 
their  monuments  ;  by  none  more  clearly  than  by  the  paintings  in  the 
Grotta  del  Cardinale  at  Corneto.  This  dualistic  doctrine  is  thought  by 
Gerhard  (Gottheiten  der  Etrusker,  p.  57)  not  to  be  Hellenic  ;  Micali 
refers  its  origin  to  the  East.  Inghirami  (Mon.  Etrusc.  I.,  p.  59  et 
seq.)  did  not  perceive  that  it  was  held  by  the  Etruscans  ;  but  this  is 
now  admitted  on  every  hand.  It  is  not  so  clear  that  the  Etruscans 
held  the  distinction  between  Genii  and  Junones  ;  for  the  sex  of  the 
ministering  spirit  is  often  not  accordant  with  that  of  the  human  being, 
who,  whether  man  or  woman,  is  generally  attended  by  a  female  spirit. 
Thus  the  majority  of  the  demons,  represented  on  Etruscan  urns, 
sarcophagi,  and  mirrors,  are  females.  Therefore  it  is  not  strictly 
correct  to  term  such  female-demons,  Junones.  Passeri  (Paralipom. 
in  Dempst.,  p.  93)  employed  the  name  "  Genise."  Nor  is  it  always 
easy  to  distinguish  between  the  attendant  Genii,  good  or  bad,  and  the 
ministers  of  Fate,  who  are  introduced  as  determining  or  directing 
events,  or  the  Furies,  who,  as  ministers  of  vengeance,  are  present  at 
scenes  of  death,  or  assisting  in  the  work  of  destruction.  All  have  the 
same  general  characteristics.  Wings  at  the  shoulders — high  buskins, 
often  with  long  flaps,  which  are  apt  to  be  mistaken  for  talaria — a  short, 
high-girt  tunic — a  double  strap  crossing  the  bosom,  the  upper  ends 
passing  over  the  shoulders,  the  under,  behind  the  back,  and  united 
between  the  paps  in  a  circular  stud  or  rosette.     The  distinction  must 

f2 


68  CERVETRI.  [chap,  xxxiii. 

bo  drawn  from  the  nature  of  the   scene  into  which  these  demons  are 
introduced,   from   their  attitude   and    expression,    but  chiefly  from   the 
attribute  in  their  hands,  which,  in  the   case  of  a  Fury,  or  malignant 
Fate,  is  a  hammer,  sword,  snakes,  or  a  torch  ;  in  the  case  of  a  decreeing 
Fate,  is  a   scroll,  or  a  bottle  or  ink-horn,  with   a  stylus,  or  in  a  few 
instances,  a  hammer  and  a  nail  (see  Vol.  I.,  p.  510)  ;  in  the  case  of 
a  Genius  may  be  a  simple  wand,   or  nothing  at  all.     The  demons  of 
vengeance,  who  are  often  attendants  on  Charun,  from  their  resemblance 
to  the   Furies  of  Greek  mythology,  are  thought  by  Gerhard  to  have 
a  Hellenic  origin.     Gottheiten  der  Etrusker,  p.  17.       Their  Etruscan 
appellation  is  not  yet  discovered  ;  but  against  some  of  the  female-demons 
of  milder  character,  especially  those  which  have  the  attributes  of  Fates, 
the    name   "  Lasa  "  has  been   found   attached    on    Etruscan   mirrors 
(Lanzi,  Sagg.  II.  tav.  VI.  6  ;  Gerhard,  Etrusk.  Spiegel,  taf.  XXXVII., 
CLXXXI.     Bull.  Inst.  1846,  p.  106),  though  a  similar  goddess  is  some- 
times designated  "  Mean  "  (Etrusk.    Spiegel,  taf.   LXXXIL,  CXLI., 
CXLII.)     Lasa,  from  its  connection  with  other  names  in  the  instances 
cited,  seems  a  generic  appellation.     It  must  be  equivalent  to  "  Lara," 
the  r  and  s  being  interchangeable  letters  ;  wherefore  we  find  "  Lases" 
for  Lares  in  the  Carmen  Arvale.     Lara  or  Larunda  is  considered  by 
Midler  (Etrusk.  III.,  4,  13)  to  be  identical  with  Mania,  the  mother  of 
the  Manes  and  Lares.     The  origin  of  "  Lasa"  has  also  been  referred 
to  the  Aha  of  the  Greeks  (Bull.  Inst.  loc.  cit.)  ;  but  the  analogy  seems 
to  be  one  of  office  rather  than  of  appellation,  for  the  derivation  from  the 
Etruscan    "  Lar  "    is  perfectly  satisfactory.      Gerhard   (Gottheiten  der 
Etrusker,  p.  16)  on  this  ground  translates  Lasa  as  the  "mistress,"  not 
oidy  of  the  Genii  of  men,  but  of  the  analogous  Junones  of  women,  yet 
thinks  a  Lasa  must  never  be  mistaken  for  a  Juno. 

Though  the  female  ministering-spirits  of  the  Etruscan  mythology  are 
not  in  every  respect  analogous  to  the  Roman  Junones,  it  may  be  well, 
in  default  of  a  specific  name,  to  apply  to  them  the  same  appellation. 
To  the  mild  or  decreeing  Fates,  the  name  of  "  Lasa"  may  be  confi- 
dently attached  ;  and  the  malignant  Fates,  or  demons  of  vengeance, 
whose  Etruscan  name  has  not  yet  been  ascertained,  from  their  resem- 
blance to  the  Erinyes  or  Eumenides  of  Grecian  fable,  may  well  be 
designated  Furies. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

PALO.— ALSIUM. 

Alsia  praelegitur  tellus. 

Rutilius. 

The  place  of  tombs, 
Where  lay  the  mighty  bones  of  ancient  men, 
Old  knights,  and  over  them  the  sea-wind  sang, 
Shrill,  chill,  with  flakes  of  foam. 

Tennyson. 

Palo  is  well  known  to  travellers  as  the  half-way  house 
between  Rome  and  Civita  Vecchia  ;  but  few  bear  in  mind 
that  the  post-house,  the  ruined  fortress,  and  the  few  fishers' 
huts  on  the  beach,  represent  the  Alsium  of  antiquity — one 
of  the  most  hoary  towns  of  Italy,  founded  or  occupied  by 
the  Pelasgi,  ages  before  the  arrival  of  the  Etruscans  on  these 
shores.1 

It  is  strange  that  no  record  is  preserved  of  Alsium 
during  the  Etruscan  period  ;  but  this  may  be  owing  to  its 
dependence  on  Csere,  with  whose  history  and  fortunes  its 
own  were  probably  identical.  That  it  was  occupied  by  the 
Etruscans    we  learn  from  history,2    confirmed  by  recent 

1  Dion.  Hal.  I.  p.  1C.     Silius  Italicus  — a  grove,  as  Professor  Gerhard  opines 

(VIII.   476)   refers    its    origin  to   the  (Ann.  Inst.  1831,  p.  205),  in  reference 

Argive   Halesus,   son   of    Agamemnon,  to    the    dense    woods    on    this    coast, 

from    whom    he    supposes  it  to   have  For  both  he  and  Professor  Welcker  are 

derived  its  name —  of    opinion   that  the    Pelasgic    tongue, 

Necnon  Argolico  dilectum  litus  Haleso  though  differing  from  the  Greek,  bore 

Alsium.  sufficient  analogy  to  it,  to  enable  us  to 

Its  Pelasgic  origin  being  admitted,  it  trace  by  that  means  the  origin  of  the 

seems  just  as  likely  to  have  derived  its  names  of  certain  ancient  localities, 

name  from  a\s— the  sea  ;  or  from  &\cros  2  Dion.  Hal.  loc.  cit. 


70 


PALO. 


[chap.  XXXIV. 


researches.  The  earliest  notice  of  it  by  Roman  writers  is 
its  receiving  a  colony  in  the  year  507.3  At  no  time  does 
it  seem  to  have  been  of  much  importance ;  the  highest 
condition  it  attained,  as  far  as  we  can  learn,  being  that  of 
a  small  town.4  This  may  have  been  owing  to  its  unhealthy 
position,  on  a  low  swampy  coast.  Yet  it  was  much 
frequented  by  the  wealthy  Romans ; 5  and  even  the 
Emperor  Antoninus  chose  it  as  his  retreat,  and  had  an 
Imperial  villa  on  this  shore.6 

Haveva  un  bel  giardin  sopra  una  riva, 
Che  colli  intorno  e  tutto  '1  mare  scopriva. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  Alsium,  like  the 
neighbouring  Pyrgi,  had  sunk  to  the  condition  of  a  large 


3  Veil.  Paterc.  I.  14.  As  a  maritime 
colony  it  was  compelled  to  furnish  its 
quota  of  troops  in  the  year  547  (b.c. 
207),  when  in  the  Second  Punic  War 
Italy  was  threatened  with  a  second 
invasion  of  Carthaginians  under  Has- 
drubal.  Liv.  XXVII.  38.  But  it  is 
not  mentioned  with  the  other  naval 
colonies,  which,  in  563  (b.c.  191),  were 
reluctantly  compelled  to  aid  in  fitting 
out  a  fleet  against  Antiochus  the  Great, 
King  of  Syria.  Liv.  XXXVI.  3.  Pliny 
(III.  8),  and  Ptolemy  (Geog.  p.  68,  ed. 
Bert.)  certify  to  its  existence  as  a 
colony  in  their  days. 

4  Rutil.  I.  224.  Strabo  (V.  p.  225) 
also  speaks  of  it  as  a  mere  iroXixviov. 
Yet  the  fact  of  giving  its  name  to  a 
lake — now  Lago  Martignano — full  20 
miles  distant,  implies  an  extensive  ager, 
and  no  small  importance.  For  the 
Lacus  Alsietinus,  see  Frontinus,  de 
Aquseduct.  II.  p.  48.  Cluver  (II.  p. 
524)  errs  in  taking  the  Lago  Straccia- 
cappa  to  be  the  Lacus  Alsietinus. 

4  Pompey  had  a  villa  here.  Cicero, 
pro  Milone,  XX.  M.  yEmilius  Porcina 
also  built  one  on  so  magnificent  a  scale, 
that  he  was  accused  of  it  as  a  crime, 


and  heavily  fined  by  the  Roman  people. 
Val.  Max.  VIII.  1,  Damn.  7.  And  the 
mother-in-law  of  the  younger  Pliny 
had  also  a  villa  at  Alsium,  which  had 
previously  belonged  to  Rufus  Verginius, 
who  took  such  delight  hi  it,  that  he 
called  it  "  the  nestling-place  of  his  old 
age." — senectutis  sum  nidulum — and  was 
buried  on  the  spot.  Plin.  Epist.  VI. 
10  ;  cf.  IX.  19.  Cicero  (ad  Divers. 
IX.  6  ;  cf.  ad  Attic.  XIII.  50)  refers  to 
Alsium  as  the  spot  where  Csesar  was 
thinking  of  landing  on  his  return  from 
Africa. 

6  Fronto,deFeriis  Alsiensibus.  Gruter 
(p.  271,  3)  gives  a  dedicatory  inscrip- 
tion to  Marcus  Aurelius,  by  the  Decu- 
riones  of  the  Colony  of  Alsium,  which  was 
found  at  Palo.  Cf.  Cluver.  II.  p.  497. 
An  inscription  also,  found  at  Ceri,  men- 
tions a  villa  at  Alsium.  See  Visconti, 
Mon.  Ant.  di  Ceri,  p.  12  : — 

D.  M. 
T.  AELIO.  EVTYCHO. 
PR0C.  AUG.  N 
VILLAE.  ALSI 

ENSI 
HEREDES. 


chap,  xxxiv.]  VESTIGES  OF  ALSIUM.  7L 

villa  7 ;  but  we  have  no  subsequent  record  of  it,  and  it  was 
probably  destroyed  by  the  Goths  or  Saracens,  who  devas- 
tated this  coast  in  the  middle  ages.8 

Not  a  vestige  of  the  Pelasgic  or  Etruscan  town  is  now 
visible ;  but  there  are  extensive  substructions  of  Roman 
times  along  the  beach.  The  fort,  also,  which  was  built  in 
the  fifteenth  century,  has  some  ancient  materials  in  its 
walls.  About  a  mile  to  the  east  are  some  very  extensive 
ruins  on  the  shore,  apparently  of  one  of  the  Roman  villas.9 

Alsium,  though  its  site  had  been  pretty  clearly  indicated 
by  the  notices  of  the  ancients,1  had  been  well-nigh  for- 
gotten, when  a  few  years  since  the  enterprise  of  a  lady 
revived  interest  in  the  spot. 

About  a  mile  and  a  half  inland  from  Palo,  close  to  the 
deserted  post-house  of  Monteroni,  and  about  twenty-two 
miles  from  Rome,  are  four  or  five  large  tumuli,  standing  in 
the  open  plain.  They  bear  every  appearance  of  being 
natural  hillocks — huge  masses  of  tufo  rising  above  the 
surrounding  level.  Hence  their  ordinary  appellation  of 
"  Colli  Tufarini."  Yet  their  isolation  and  similarity  to 
the  sepulchral  mounds  of  Cervetri,  induced  the  Duchess  of 
Sermoneta,  in  whose  land  they  lay,  to  probe  their  recesses. 
This  was  in  1838.  One  of  the  most  regular  in  form, 
which  was  about  forty  feet  high,  was  found  to  be  girt  by 
a  low  basement  wall  of  tufo  masonry,  which  formed  a 

"  Rutil.  I.  224 —  on  this  coast  between  Pyrgi  and  Fre- 

Nuuc  villae  grandes,  oppida  parva  prius.  genae.       And    so    also    the    Maritime 

From  the  mention  made  by  the  Peutin-  Itinerary  marks  it  as  9  miles  from  the 

gerian  Table  we  also  learn  that  it  existed  latter,  and  1 6  from  the  former  town, 

in  the  time  of  Theodosius.  The  Peutingerian  Table  is  nearer  the 

8  Nibby,  Dintorni  di  Roma,  II.  p.  truth  in  calling  it  10  miles  from  Pyrgi 
526.  (ut  supra,  page  4)  ;  but  12  is  the  true 

9  Nibby  (op.  cit.  p.  528)  takes  these  distance.  These  discrepancies  are  of 
ruins  to  be  those  of  Pompey's  villa,  little  importance ;  the  general  position 
because  the  style  of  construction  marks  being  thus  indicated,  the  precise  site 
the  latter  days  of  the  Republic.  can  be  determined  by  extant  remains. 

1  Strabo  (V.  pp.  225,  226)  places  it 


72  PALO.  [chap,  xxxiv. 

periphery  of  nearly  eight  hundred  feet.  This  wall  had  two 
buttresses  on  the  north,  sundry  drains  on  the  south,  and 
on  the  west  a  hole  containing  a  small  stone  cylinder. 
Though  the  sepulchral  character  of  the  tumulus  was  thus 
clearly  indicated,  the  entrance  to  the  tomb  was  long  sought 
in  vain  ;  till  at  length,  some  forty  or  fifty  feet  up  the  slope, 
a  passage  was  found  cut  in  the  rock,  and  leading  to  the 
tomb  ;  and  it  was  remarked  that  the  mouth  of  the  passage 
was  pointed  at  by  the  cylinder  in  the  basement-wall.  The 
tomb  closely  resembled  the  Grotta  Regulini-Galassi  of 
Cervetri ;  for  it  was  a  long  passage,  walled  with  regular 
masonry,  the  courses  converging  till  they  formed  a  rude 
Gothic-like  arch,  which  terminated  in  a  similar  square 
channel  or  groove  ;  and  the  high  antiquity  indicated  by  its 
construction  was  likewise  confirmed  by  the  character  of  its 
furniture.  No  painted  vases  of  Greek  form  or  design  ; 
nothing  that  betrayed  the  influence  of  Hellenic  art ;  all 
was  here  closely  allied  to  the  Egyptian.2 

No  other  tomb  was  discovered  in  this  mound,  but  a  well 
or  shaft  in  the  floor,  twenty  feet  deep,  opened  into  another 
horizontal  passage,  about  a  hundred  feet  long ;  and  here 
were  three  other  shafts,  probably  sunk  to  other  sepulchral 
chambers  on  a  still  lower  level.  This  system  of  shafts  and 
passages  reminds  us  of  the  Pyramids,  and  is  in  harmony 
with  the  Egyptian  character  of  the  contents  of  this  tomb.3 

At  the  foot  of  this  mound,  sunk  beneath  the  surface  of 
the  plain,  was  discovered  a  double-chambered  sepulchre,  of 
more  ordinary  Etruscan  character,  and  its  contents  showed 

2  Rude  pottery  of  black  earth,  with  lamina  with  archaic  reliefs, 

figures  scratched  thereon  ;  flat  vases  of  3  There  were  other  passages  opening 

smalt,  ornamented    with    lotus-flowers,  on  that  which  formed  the  entrance  to  the 

purely     Egyptian    in     character,     and  tomb,  but  Abeken  considered  them  to 

ostrich-eggs  painted — both  as  in  the  Isis-  have  been   the   experiments  made   by 

tomb   of   Vulci    (see   Vol.  I.  p.  41.0);  former    excavators.       Mittelitalien,  p. 


beads  of  smalt   and  amber ;    and  gold       24 


oio 


CHAP.  XXXIV.] 


TUMULI  OF  MONTERONI. 


73 


only  that  resemblance  to  the  Egyptian  which  bespeaks  a 
high  antiquity.4 

These  tombs,  from  their  position,  must  have  belonged  to 
the  necropolis  of  Alsium ;  and  thus,  while  one  bears  out 
Dionysius'  statement  of  the  existence  of  an  Etruscan  popu- 
lation on  this  site,  the  other  confirms  his  testimony  as  to 
its  prior  occupation  by  a  more  ancient  race. 

Were  excavations  continued  here,  other  tombs  would 
doubtless  be  discovered.  But  since  the  Duchess's  death,  a 
few  years  since,  nothing  has  been  done  on  this  coast.  For 
antiquarian  zeal  and  enterprise  this  lady  rivalled  the  late 
Duchess  of  Devonshire. 

It  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  visit  the  tumuli  of  Monteroni, 


4  They  consisted  of  pottery  and  terra- 
cotta figures  in  the  archaic  or  Egypto- 
Etruscan  style,  some  with  four  wings, 
forming  the  feet  of  vases.  The  de- 
scription of  these  tomhs  I  have  taken 
from  Abeken,  Bull.  Inst.  1839,  pp. 
81—84  ;  1841,  p.  39  ;  and  also  from 
his  Mittelitalien,  pp.  242, 267, 272,  274  ; 
for  nothing  is  now  to  be  seen  on  the  spot. 
Micali,  who  takes  his  notices  from  the 
papers  of  the  late  Duchess,  gives  a  some- 
what different  description  of  these  tombs. 
He  says,  above  the  basement- wall  of  the 
tumulus  the  tufo  was  cut  into  steps  to 
the  height  of  1 8  feet,  and  then  levelled  ; 
and  on  this  was  raised  a  mound  of  earth 
to  the  height  of  27  feet  more.  In  the 
lower  or  natural  part  of  the  mound  was 
discovered  a  sepulchre  of  four  chambers, 
one  of  them  circular,  all  with  rock-hewn 
benches,  and  bronze  nails  in  the  walls 
around.  These,  from  his  description 
of  their  contents,  are  the  less  ancient  of 
the  tombs  mentioned  in  the  text.  The 
passage-tomb  he  represents  as  45  feet 
long,  sunk  in  the  same  levelled  part  of 
the  mound,  though  lined  with  masonry, 
regularly  squared  and  smoothed.  Upon 
it    opened,    by    a  door    of    the    usual 


Etruscan  form,  another  narrow  passage, 
similarly  lined  and  half  the  length, 
with  a  rock-hewn  bench,  and  numerous 
bronze  nails  in  the  wall.  Here  were 
found  some  articles  of  gold,  and  jewel- 
lery, fragments  of  Egyptian  vases,  and 
odorous  paste,  and  a  stone  in  the  form 
of  an  axe-head,  supposed  to  be  Egyptian. 
There  were  no  Etruscan  inscriptions  in 
any  of  these  tombs.  The  masonry  of 
the  passage  he  represents  (Mon.  Ined. 
tav.  LVII.)  as  opus  quadratum  of  tufo 
blocks,  but  2'>seudisodomon,  or  in  courses 
of  unequal  heights.  These  tombs  were 
drained  by  many  channels  cut  in  the 
rock,  and  branching  in  all  directions. 
Mon.  Ined.  pp.  378—390.  It  must  be 
the  less  ancient  of  these  tombs  in  which 
Mrs.  Hamilton  Gray,  who  visited  them 
shortly  after  they  were  opened,  saw  a 
pair  of  panthers  painted  over  the  door 
of  the  outer  chamber,  and  two  hippo- 
campi, with  genii  on  their  backs,  on  the 
walls  of  the  inner.  Sepulchres  of 
Etruria,  p.  123,  third  edition.  Mrs. 
Gray  errs  in  calling  the  site  "  Monte 
Ncrone  ;"  it  is  named  Monteroni,  from 
these  "large  mounds." 


'4  PALO.  [chap,  xxxiv. 

for  the  chambers  are  now  re-closed  with  earth ;  even 
the  basement-wall  is  re-covered  or  destroyed,  and  not  a 
trace  remains  to  attest  their  sepulchral  character. 

In  spite  of  its  venerable  ancientry,  Palo  is  a  most  dreary 
place.  Without  extant  antiquities  of  interest,  or  charms 
of  scenery,  it  can  offer  no  inducement  to  the  traveller  to 
halt  one  hour,  save  that  he  will  here  find  the  best  accom- 
modation in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cervetri ;  and  should 
he  propose  to  take  more  than  a  passing  glance  at  that  site, 
he  may  well  admit  the  claims  of  Palo  to  be  his  head-quar- 
ters. The  fare  is  not  such  as  the  place  once  afforded — no 
"  fatted  oysters,  savoury  apples,  pastry,  confectionery,  and 
generous  wines,  in  transparent  faultless  goblets/'  dainties 
fit  to  set  before  a  king — convivium  regium5 — but,  for  a 
wayside  hostelry,  the  post-house  is  not  to  be  despised. 
Yet  the  place  itself  is  desolate  enough.  Beyond  a  copse 
on  either  side  of  the  village,  there  is  nothing  to  relieve  the 
bare  monotony  of  the  level  waste.  It  is  hard  to  believe 
Alsium  could  ever  have  been  "  the  voluptuous  sea-side 
retreat"  it  is  described  in  the  time  of  the  Antonines.6 
Now  the  traveller  is  ready  to  exclaim — 

"  Oh,  the  dreary,  dreary  moorland  !  oh,  the  barren,  barren  shore  !  " 

Yet  the  lover  of  sea-side  nature  may  find  interest  here,  as 
well  as  in  the  sparkling  bay  of  Naples.  Though  to  me 
this  is  no  dilectum  litus,  as  it  was  to  Halesus,  yet  memory 
recalls  not  without  pleasure  the  days  I  have  spent  at  Palo. 
The  calm  delight  of  a  sunny  shore  finds  its  reflex  in  the 
human  breast.  The  broad  ocean  softly  heaving  beneath 
my  window,  ever  murmured  its  bright  joy;  mirroring  "the 

5  Fronto,  de  Feriis  Alsiensibus,  edged  tools  ;  which  Pollio  remembered 
epist.  III.  when  challenged  to  banter  by  Augustus. 

6  Fronto,  loc.  cit.  Were  it  not  that  the  Macrob.  Saturn.  II.  4.  Fronto,  how- 
author  was  writing  to  an  Emperor,  ever,  qualifies  his  praises  of  Alsium  by 
we    might     suspect     him     of     irony ;  mentioning  the  raucas  paludes. 

but  sovereigns,  especially  despots,  are 


chap,  xxxiv.]  SEA-SHORE  SCENES.  75 

vault  of  blue  Italian  day."  A  few  feluccas,  their  weary 
sails  flapping  in  the  breeze,  lay  off  shore,  lazily  rocking 
with  the  swell,  which  broke  languidly  on  the  red  ruins  at 
my  feet,  or  licked  with  foam  the  walls  of  the  crumbling 
fortress.  Away  to  the  right,  was  the  distant  point  of 
Santa  Marinella  ;  and  to  the  left,  the  eye  wandered  along 
the  level  shore,  to  which  the  dunes  of  Holland  were  moun- 
tains, uncertain  whether  it  were  traversing  sea  or  land, 
save  when  it  rested  here  and  there  on  a  lonely  tower  on 
the  coast ;  or  when  it  reached  a  building  on  the  extreme 
horizon,  so  faint  as  now  to  seem  but  a  summer-cloud,  yet 
gleaming  out  whitely  when  the  evening  sun  fell  full  on  its 
flank.  This  was  the  fort  of  Fiumicino,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Tiber,  the  port  of  modern  Rome.  Such  were  the  standing 
features  of  my  prospect ;  which  was  varied  only  by  scenes 
of  domestic  life,  at  the  doors  of  the  huts  opening  seaward, 
or  by  herds  of  long-horned  cattle,  which  came  down  to 
pick  their  evening  meal  from  the  straw  scattered  over  the 
beach.  When  the  sun's  last  glories  had  faded  from  the 
sky,  then  began  the  life  and  stir  of  Palo.  The  craft,  which 
had  lain  in  the  offing  all  day,  stood  in  after  dark,  and 
sent  the  produce  of  their  nets  to  land.  Then  what  bustle, 
what  shouting,  on  board  and  ashore  !  Red-cap t,  bare- 
legged fellows  with  baskets — my  chubby  host  of  Palo  bar- 
gaining for  the  haul — sky-blue  doganieri,  and  cloaked 
quidnuncs,  looking  on — all  common-place  features  enough, 
but  assuming,  from  the  glare  of  torches,  a  rich  Rem- 
brandtish  effect,  to  which  the  dark  masses  of  the  vessels, 
magnified  by  the  gloom,  formed  an  appropriate  background. 
About  three  miles  beyond  Palo,  on  the  road  to  Rome,  at 
a  spot  called  Statua,  are  some  ruins,  supposed  to  mark  the 
site  of  Ad  Turres,  a  station  on  the  Via  Aurelia.7 

*  Mentioned  in  the  Itinerary  of  Anto-       page  4.  Here  it  is  that  Cramer  (Ancient 
ninus,  as  22  miles  from  Rome.  Ut  supra,       Italy,  I.  p.  208)  places  Alsium. 


76  PALO.  [chap,  xxxiv. 

A  mile  or  two  beyond,  not  far  from  Palidoro,  and  at  a 
spot  called  Selva  la  Rocca,  the  Duchess  of  Sermoneta,  in 
1839  and  1840,  excavated  some  tumuli,  and  found  vases 
of  the  most  beautiful  Greek  style,  some  resembling  those 
of  Sicily  and  Athens  ;  besides  pottery  of  more  ancient 
character ;  together  with  articles  in  bronze,  and  gold, 
amber,  smalt,  glass,  and  alabaster.8 

Beyond  this,  or  six  miles  from  Palo,  stood  Bebiana, 
another  station  on  the  Via  Aurelia  ;9  and  at  or  near  Castel 
Guido,  stood  Lorium,  the  first  station  on  this  road  out  of 
Rome.1 

About  half-way  between  Palo  and  the  Tiber,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river  Arrone,  stands  the  Tower  of  Maccarese, 
which  is  supposed  to  mark  the  site  of  the  Etruscan  town 
of  Fregenae  or  Fregellae,2 — and  its  position  on  a  low 
swampy  shore,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  a  noxious  marsh  or 
fen,  called  Stagno  di  Maccarese,  answers  to  the  picture  of 
Silius  Italicus — obsesses  campo  squalente  Frcgellce?  In 
very  early  times  it  may  have  been  of  importance  ;  for 
Tarquinius  Priscus  invited  Turianus,  an  artist  of  this  place, 
to  Rome,  to  make  the  terra-cotta  statue  of  Jupiter,  for  his 
new  temple  on  the  Capitol.4    We  hear  no  more  of  it,  how- 

8  Abeken,  Bull.  Inst.  1839,  p.  84  ;  a  mile  or  two  nearer  Rome  than  Castel 
1840,  p.  133  ;  Mittelitalien,  p.  2G7  ;  Guido  ;  but  Nibby  (II.  p.  270)  thinks  it 
Micali,   Monum.   Ined.  p.  374.  occupied  the  sites  both  of  Bottaccia  and 

9  Mentioned  by  the  Peutingerian  of  Castel  Guido.  The  Emperor  Anto- 
Table.  Ut  supra,  page  4.  Gell  {sub  voce)  ninus  Pius  had  a  villa  at  Lorium,  and 
places  it  at  Torrimpietra,  a  tower  on  an  here  he  died.  A.  Victor,  de  Coes.  16. 
eminence  to  the  left  of  the  modern  road  2  Cluver  II.  p.  499.  Nibby,  Dint,  di 
to  Rome  ;  Nibby  (Dintorni  di  Roma,  Roma,  II.  p.  281.  The  Maritime  Itine- 
I.  p.  297)  at  Casal  Bruciato,  in  the  same  rary  places  it  between  Portus  Augusti 
tenuta  of  Torrimpietra,  6  miles  from  and  Alsium,  nine  miles  from  each. 
Palo,  where  is   still  some  regular  tra-  3  Sil.  Ital.  VIII.  477. 

vertine  masonry,  perhaps  the  cella  of  a  4  Pliny,     who     records     this     fact 

temple.   Cluver  (II.  p.  522)  placed  it  at  (XXXV.  45),  calls  the  place  Fregellse  ; 

Testa  di  Lepre,  near  the  Arrone.  but    that    he    refers    to  the   town    of 

1  See   the    Itinerary    and    Table    at  Etruria,  and   not   to    Fregellse   of  the 

page  4.     Gell  places  Lorium  at  Bottino,  Volsci,  is  manifest  from  the  context,  as 


CHAP.  XXXIV.] 


FREGENiE. 


77 


ever,  till  it  was  colonised  by  the  Romans  in  509  (b.c.  245)  ;5 
and  in  563  (b.c.  191),  with  the  other  maritime  colonies  of 
this  coast,  it  was  compelled  to  aid  in  fitting  out  a  fleet 
against  Antiochus  the  Great.6  It  was  in  existence  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Empire,7  but  after  that  we  lose 
sight  of  it ;  and  now,  as  far  as  I  can  learn,  there  are  no 
local  remains  visible  to  mark  the  Etruscan  character  of 
the  spot. 


well  as  from  a  comparison  with  Liv.  I. 
56  ;  and  is  confirmed  by  the  extended 
renown  of  the  Etruscans  in  the  fictile 
art.  Besides,  Silius  Italicus  calls  the 
Etruscan  town  Fregellre,  and  Pliny 
(III.  9)  the  Latin  town  Fi*eginte  ;  so 
that  the  names  seem  to  have  been  used 
indifferently.  Yet  Midler  (Etrusk.  IV. 
3,  2)  takes  the  town  whence  Turianus 
came,  for  the  Fregellse  of  Volscium,  on 
the  ground  that  the  fictile  art  was  early 
practised  in  that  land,  as  is  proved  by 
the  celebrated  bas-reliefs  found  at 
Velletri  ;    but,  to    reconcile   this   view 


with  the  rest  of  Pliny's  statement,  he 
supposes  this  Volscian  to  have  been  a 
disciple  of  the  Etruscan  school.  All 
this  seems  to  me  unnecessary,  and  the 
simplest  and  most  rational  interpretation 
is  to  suppose  that  Pliny  referred  to  the 
Fregense  of  Etruria. 

5  Veil.  Paterc.  I.  14  ;  cf.  Epitome  of 
Liv.  XIX. 

6  Liv.  XXXVI.  3. 

7  Pliny  (III.  8)  classes  it  among  the 
maritime  colonies  of  Etruria.  Strabo 
(V.  p.  225)  also  cites  it  as  a  small  town 
on  this  coast,  and  calls  it  Fregenia. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

LUNI.— LUNA. 

Lunai  portum  est  operae  cognoscere  cives  ! 

Ennius. 

Anne  metalliferse  repetit  jam  moenia  Lunse, 
Tyrrhenasque  domos  ? 

Statius. 

The  most  northerly  city  of  Etruria  was  Luna.  It  stood, 
indeed,  on  the  very  frontier,  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Macra, 
which  formed  the  north-western  boundary  of  that  land.1 
And  though  at  one  time  in  the  possession  of  the  Ligurians, 
together  with  a  wide  tract  to  the  south,  even  down  to  Pisa 
and  the  Arno,  yet  Luna  was  originally  Etruscan,  and  as 
such  it  was  recognised  in  Imperial  times.2     It  was  never 


1  Strabo,  V.  p.  222.  Strabo  speaks 
of  Macra  as  a  place — x^P10"  '■>  but  Pliny 
(III.  7,  8)  is  more  definite  in  marking 
it  as  a  river,  the  boundary  of  Etruria — 
flumen  Macra,  Ligui'iae  finis— patet  ora 
Ligurise  inter  amnes  Varum  et  Macram 
— adnectitur  septimte,  in  qua  Etruria 
est,  ab  amne  Macra— Tiberis  amnis  a 
Macra. 

2  Much  confusion  has  arisen  from  the 
contradictory  statements  of  ancient 
writers  in  calling  this  territory  some- 
times Ligurian,  sometimes  Etruscan. 
On  one  side  are  Mela  (II.  4 — Luna 
Ligurum)  ;  Frontinus  (Strat.  III.  2 — 
Luna,  oppidum  Ligurum)  ;  Persius 
(Sat.  VI.  6)  ;  Statius  (Sylv.  IV.  3, 
99)  ;  Justin  (XX.  1)  ;  Polybius  (II. 
16)  ;  Aristotle  (or  the  author  of  De 
Mirand.  Auscultat.,  c.  94)  ;  Lycophron 
(Cassandra,  13.56)  ;  cf.  Juven.  Sat.  III. 


257  ;  Liv.  XXI.  59.  On  the  other 
hand,  we  have  Strabo  (V.  p.  222)  ; 
Pliny  (III.  8  ;  XIV.  8,  5)  ;  Silius 
Italicus  (VIII.  482)  ;  Lucan  (I.  586)  ; 
Statius  (Sylv.  IV.  4,  23)  ;  Martial 
(Epig.  Xlli.  30)  ;  cf.  Plin.  XL  97 ; 
Ptolemy  (Geog.  p.  68,  ed.  Bert.)  ;  and 
Stephanus  (sub  voce  SeATJvjj)  ;  who  all 
represent  Luna  as  Etruscan.  Livy 
(XLI.  13)  explains  the  discrepancy  by 
stating  that  Luna  with  its  ager  was 
captured  by  the  Romans  from  the 
Ligurians  ;  but  that  before  it  belonged 
to  the  latter  it  had  been  Etruscan. 
Lycophron,  however,  represents  the 
Ligures  as  dispossessed  of  Pisa  and  its 
territory  by  the  Etruscans.  Cluver  (II. 
p.  458)  gathers  from  Servius  (Mn.  X. 
1 79),  that  Luna  must  have  been  founded 
some  ages  before  the  Trojan  War. 


CHAP.  XXXV.] 


LUNA,  AND  ITS  PORT. 


79 


renowned  for  size  or  power  ; 3  its  importance  seems  to 
have  been  derived  chiefly  from  its  vast  and  commodious 
port,  truly  "worthy  of  a  people  who  long  held  dominion  of 
the  sea,"  4  and  which  is  now  known  as  the  Gulf  of  Spezia.5 

Insignis  portu,  quo  non  spatiosior  alter 
Innumeras  cepisse  rates,  et  claudere  pontum.6 

But  its  size  and  security  are  the  least  of  its  charms.  To 
the  tranquil  beauty  of  a  lake  it  unites  the  majesty  of  the 
sea.  No  fairer  bay  could  poet  sigh  for,  "  to  float  about  the 
summer- waters."  Never  did  purer  wave  mirror  more 
glorious  objects.  Shining  towns — pine-crested  convents — 
luxuriant   groves — storm-defying   forts — castled-crags — 


3  Dempster  erroneously  classed  it 
among  the  Twelve  chief  cities  of  the 
Etruscan  Confederation  (II.  pp.  41, 80)  ; 
so  also  Targioni  Tozzetti  (Viaggi  in 
Toscana,  X.p.  406)  ;  and  to  this  opinion 
even  a  recent  writer  is  inclined,  on  ac- 
count of  the  port.  Promis,  Memorie  della 
Citta  di  Luni,  p.  24.  But  Strabo  testi- 
fies to  the  small  size  of  Luna.  Tozzetti 
says  it  was  not  more  than  two  miles  in 
circuit. 

4  Strabo,  loc.  cit. 

5  As  that  Gulf  lies  on  the  Ligurian, 
and  Luna  on  the  Etruscan  side  of  the 
Macra,  it  has  been  supposed  either  that 
there  was  anciently  a  port,  properly 
that  of  Luna,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
on  the  spot  now  called  the  Marsh  of  Sec- 
cagna  (Holsten.  ad  Cluver.  p.  25.  Tar- 
gioni, Viaggi  in  Toscana,  X.  pp.406,440), 
or  that  the  town  occupied  another  site. 
It  is  true,  as  Promis  observes  (p.  15)  that 
the  alluvial  deposits  of  the  Magra  have 
encroached  much  upon  the  sea,  so  as  to 
have  altered  the  course  of  the  stream, 
and  to  have  removed  the  site  of  the 
ancient  town  to  a  considerable  distance 
from  the  shore.  The  whole  plain  in 
which   it   stands   seems   to   have    been 


formed  by  these  deposits.  Yet  no  har- 
bour within  the  mouth  of  the  stream 
would  answer  to  Strabo's  description, 
which  manifestly  refers  to  the  Gulf  of 
Spezia.  Holstenius  (pp.  26,  277),  how- 
ever, insists  on  the  port  being  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Magra,  and  declares  he  saw 
the  posts  with  rings  attached,  to  which 
the  ancient  shipping  had  been  moored. 
Cluver  (II.  p.  456)  placed  the  site  of 
Luna  at  Lerici,  in  which  he  is  fol- 
lowed by  Mannert  (Geog.  p.  288),  who 
thinks  this  the  reason  why  the  Latin 
corrector  of  Ptolemy,  instead  of  Lunte 
Partus  puts  Ericis  Portus.  Others 
have  also  placed  it  on  the  right  bank  of 
the  Magra ;  while  Sarzana,  Avenza, 
Spezia,  even  Carrara,  have  respectively 
been  indicated  as  its  site  ;  and  Scaliger 
went  so  far  as  to  deny  it  a  local  habita- 
tion, and  to  submerge  it  beneath  the  sea. 
See  Repetti,  v.  Luni,  II.  p.  936.  Cramer 
(I.  p.  171)  however  and  Miiller  (Etrusk. 
einl.  2,  13)  think  its  site  is  clearly  esta- 
blished at  Luni. 

«  Sil.  ltd.  VIII.  483.  Pliny  (III.  8) 
also  speaks  of  Luna  as — oppidum  portu 
nobile. 


80  LUNI.  [chap.  xxxv. 

proud  headlands — foam-fretted  islets — dark  heights,  pro- 
digal of  wine  and  oil — purple  mountains  behind, — and 
naked  marble-peaked  Apennines  over  all, 

"  Islanded  in  immeasurable  air." 

About  three  miles  from  Sarzana,  on  the  high-road  to 
Lucca  and  Pisa,  and  just  before  reaching  the  modern 
frontier  of  Carrara,  the  traveller  will  have  on  his  right  a 
strip  of  low  grassy  land,  intervening  between  him  and  the 
sea.  Here  stood  the  ancient  city.  Let  him  turn  out  of 
the  high-road,  opposite  the  Farm  of  the  Iron  Hand' — • 
Casino  di  Man  di  Ferro — and  after  a  mile  or  more  he  will 
reach  the  site.  There  is  little  enough  to  see.  Beyond  a 
few  crumbling  tombs,  and  a  fragment  or  two  of  Roman 
ruin,  nothing  remains  of  Luna.  The  fairy  scene,  described 
by  Rutilius,7  so  appropriate  to  a  spot  which  bore  the  name 
of  the  virgin-queen  of  heaven — "the  fair  white  walls/' 
shaming  with  their  brightness  the  untrodden  snow — the 
smooth,  many-tinted  rocks,  over-run  with  "  laughing  lilies" 
— if  not  the  pure  creation  of  the  poet,  have  now  vanished 
from  the  sight.  Vestiges  of  an  amphitheatre,  of  a  semi- 
circular building,  which  may  be  a  theatre,  of  a  circus,  a 
piscina,  and  fragments  of  columns,  pedestals  for  statues, 
blocks  of  pavement,  and  inscriptions,  are  all  that  Luna  has 
now  to  show.  The  walls,  from  Rutilius'  description,  are 
supposed  to  have  been  of  marble;  indeed,  Ciriacus  of 
Ancona  tells  us  that  what  remained  of  them  in  the  middle 
of  the  fifteenth  century,  were  of  that  material ; s  but  not 
a  block  is  now  left  to  determine  the  point. 

"  Rutil.  Itiner.  II.  63 —  Et  lsevi  radiat  picta  nitore  mIox. 

Advehimur   celeri    candcntia    moenia  Dives  marmoribus    tellus,    quae   luce 

lapsu,  coloria 

Nomiuis    est  auctor    Sole  corusca  Provocat  intactas  luxuriosa  nives. 

soror.  8  Ciriacus,  who  wrote  in  1442,  is  the 

Iudigenis  superat  ridentia  lilia  suxis,  earliest    antiquary    who    gives    us    an 


chap,  xxxv.]  SITE  AND  VESTIGES  OF  LUNA.  81 

Since  so  little  remains  of  the  Roman  town,  what  vestige 
can  we  expect  of  Etruscan  Lima  1  No  monument  of  that 
antiquity  has  ever  been  discovered  on  the  site,  or  in  its 
vicinity  ; 9  not  even  a  trace  of  the  ancient  cemetery  is  to 
be  recognized,  either  in  the  plain,  or  among  the  neigh- 
bouring heights,  so  that  we  might  almost  doubt  the 
Etruscan  antiquity  of  Luna  ;  yet  such  is  expressly  assigned 
to  it  by  the  ancients.  No  record,  however,  has  come  down 
to  us  prior  to  Roman  times. 

The  earliest  mention  we  have  of  Luna  is  from  old 
Ennius,  who  took  part  in  the  expedition  against  Sardinia, 
which  sailed  from  this  port  in  539  (b.  c.  215),  under 
Manlius  Torquatus  ;  and  the  poet,  struck  with  the  beauty 
of  the  gulf,  called  on  his  fellow-citizens  to  come  and 
admire  it  with  him, — 

"  Luna'i  portum  est  operee  cognoscere,  cives  !"  l 

The  first  historical  notice  to  be  found  of  Luna  is  in  the 

account  of  Luni.  He  describes  the  blocks  The    broiize   coin,  with  this   name    in 

of  marble  as  being  8  "  paces"  (palms  ?)  Etruscan  characters,  has  on  the  obverse 

long  by  4  high.     Promis  does  not  credit  a  bearded,  garlanded  head,  which  Lanzi 

him  as  to  the  material  ;  all  the  remains  takes    for    that    of  the  genius  of  the 

of  masonry  at  present  on  the  spot  being  Macra  ;  and  on  the  reverse,  a  reed,  four 

of  the  coarse  brown  stone  from  the  neigh-  globules,  and  a  wheel  divided  into  four 

bouring  headland   of    Corvo  ;   and  the  parts,  and  surrounded  with  rays  like  a 

fragments  of  architectural  or  sculptural  sun.    Lanzi,  II.  pp.  26,  73,  tav.  I.  10  ; 

decoration,  which    are   of  marble,  are  Passeri,  Paralipom.  ad  Dempst.  tab.  V, 

not  more    numerous  than    on    similar  1 .    Midler  (Etrusk.  I.  p.  337)  is  inclined 

sites    in   Italy    (pp.    61,   6G).      Midler  to  refer  these  coins  to  Populonia  ;  so 

(I.  2,  4)  credits  both  Ciriacus  and  Ruti-  also  Mionnet  (Supplem.  I.  pp.  109, 203), 

lius,  and  thinks  these  marble  walls  must  Sestini   (Geog.   Numis.   II.  p.  4),  and 

have  been  of  Etruscan  times.     Targioni  Millingcn  (Numis.  Anc.  Ital.  p.  173).  A 

Tozzetti  (XII.  p.   1 42)    speaks   of  the  series  of  coins,  with  a  young  man's  head 

walls  as  still  of  marble  in  his  day.  wearing  the  cap  of  an  Aruspex,  and  with 

9  Except     a    stone     inscribed     with  a  sacrificial  knife,  an  axe,  and  two  crcs- 

Etruscan  characters,  foimd  in  the  Val  di  cents,  but  no  inscription,  on  the  reverse, 

Vara,  many  miles  inland,  at  the  head  of  is  supposed  by  Melchiorri  to  have  be- 

the  Gulf  of  Spezia.  Promis,  p.  61.  No  longed  to  Luna.  Bull.  Inst.  1839,  p.  122. 
coins    belonging    to  Luna    have   been  '  Ennius,  ap.  Pers.  Sat.  VI.  9  ;  cf.  Liv. 

discovered  on  the  spot.     Promis,  p.  23.  XXIII.  34. 

VOL.  II.  G 


82  LUNI.  [chap.  xxxv. 

year  559  (b.c.  195),  when  Cato  the  consul  collected  a 
force  in  the  port,  and  sailed  thence  against  the  Spaniards.2 
It  is  mentioned  again  in  the  }^ear  568,3  and  in  577,  in 
the  Ligurian  War,  it  received  a  colony  of  two  thousand 
Romans.4  In  the  civil  war  between  Ca?sar  and  Pompey, 
it  is  said  to  have  been  in  utter  decay,  inhabited  only  by  a 
venerable  soothsayer — 

Arruns  incoluit  desertae  moenia  Lun?e.5 

But  a  few  years  later  it  was  re-colonized  by  the  Romans  ; 6 
and  inscriptions  found  on  the  spot  prove  it  to  have  existed 
at  the  close  of  the  fourth  century  of  our  era. 

After  the  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  Luna  was  desolated 
by  the  Lombards,  Saracens,  and  Normans,  but  it  was  a  yet 
more  formidable,  though  invisible,  foe  that  depopulated  the 
site,  and  that  ultimately  caused  it,  in  the  fifteenth  century, 
to  be  utterly  deserted.7 

Luna,  under  the  Romans,  was  renowned  for  its  wine, 
which  was  the  best  in  all  Etruria ; 8  and  for  its  cheeses, 
which  were  stamped  with  the  figure,  either  of  the  moon, 
or  of  the  Etruscan  Diana,  and  were  of  vast  size,  sometimes 
weighing  a  thousand  pounds.9     But  what  gave  Luna  most 

2  Liv.  XXXIV.  8.  6  By  the  Triumvirate,  under  the  Lex 

3  Liv.  XXXIX.  21.  Julia.      Frontin.  de  Colon,  p.   19,  ed. 

4  Liv.  XLI.  13.     Whether  Luna  or       1583. 

Luca  is   here  the    correct  reading,   is  7  There    is    an     old     legend    which 

disputed.     Veil.  Paterculus  (I.  15)  has  ascribes    its     destruction     to     another 

Luca.      Promis    (p.    29)   thinks    Luna  cause.       The   lord   of    Luna    won    the 

was  intended  ;  but  Repetti  (II.  p.  939)  affections  of  a  certain  Empress,  who,  to 

holds  the  opposite  opinion.  obtaiu  her  end,   feigned   herself  dead  ; 

5  Lucan.  I.  586.  Here  again  some  her  lover  playing  the  resurrectionist, 
editions  have  "  Lucae."  Dante  (Inferno,  and  carrying  her  to  his  own  house. 
XX.  47)  places  this  soothsayer  in  the  This  coming  to  the  ears  of  the  Emperor, 
mountains —  he  not  only  took  vengeance  on  the 
Che  ne'  monti  di  Luni,  dove  ronca  offenders,  but  laid  the  city  in  the  dust. 

Lo  Carrarese  che  di  sotto  alberga,  Alberti,  Descrit.  d'ltalia,  p.  22. 

Ebbe  tra  bianchi  marmi  la  spelonca  s  Plin.  XIV.  8,  5. 

Per  sua  dimora  ;    onde  a  guardar  le  9  Martial.  XIII.  epig.  30;  Plin.  XL  97. 

stelle  Though  the  Greek  writers  translate  the 

E'l  mar,  nou  gli  era  la  veduta  tronca.  name    of    this    town    by    2eAij</»?,     and 


XXXV.] 


THE  MARBLE  OF  LUNA. 


83 


renown  was  her  marble  ;  known  to  us  as  that  of  Carrara. 
This  does  not  appear  to  have  been  known  in  the  time  of 
Etruscan  independence,  for  we  find  scarcely  a  trace  of  it 
in  the  national  monuments  ;x  and  surely  a  people  who 
made  such  extensive  use  of  alabaster,  and  executed  such 
exquisite  works  in  bronze,  would  have  availed  themselves 
of  this  beautiful  material,  had  it  been  known  to  them  ;  yet, 
on  the  other  hand,  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  its 
nivea  metalla  could  have  escaped  their  eye.  It  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  discovered  much  before  the  Christian 
era.  The  earliest  mention  we  have  of  it  is  in  the  time  of 
Julius  Csesar  ; 2  but  a  stone  which  was  whiter  than  Parian 
marble,3  and  yet  might  be  cut  with  a  saw,4  was  not  likely 


though  a  moon  seems  to  have  been  the 
symbol  of  Luna  under  the  Romans 
(Mart.  loc.  cit.),  we  have  no  ground  for 
concluding  that  such  was  the  meaning 
of  the  Etruscan  name.  Some  have 
thought  that  Luna  was  derived  from  the 
form  of  its  port — even  Miiller  (Etrusk. 
I.  4,  8)  held  this  opinion — but  the  name 
is  not  at  all  descriptive  of  the  harbour, 
which  cannot  be  likened  to  a  moon, 
whether  full,  half,  or  crescent.  Lanzi 
suggests  that  "  Losna,"  the  name  at- 
tached to  a  goddess  with  a  crescent  as 
her  emblem,  represented  on  a  mirror 
(Saggio,  II.  p.  26,  tav.  8. ;  see  also 
Gerhard,  Etrusk.  Spieg.  taf.  CLXXI), 
may  be  the  ancient  Latin  form  ; 
Midler  thinks  it  the  Etruscan.  But 
this  is  certainly  a  Roman  monument. 
It  appears  to  me  highly  probable 
that  Luna  was  an  Etruscan  word,  mis- 
interpreted by  the  Romans.  For  the 
three  chief  ports  on  this  coast,  as  we 
learn  from  coins,  had  this  termination 
to  their  names  —  Luna,  PurLUNA 
(Populonia),  and  Vetluna  (Vetulonia)  ; 
and  as  no  inland  town  of  Etruria  had 
the  same  ending,  it  is  not  improbable 
that  Luna  had  a  maritime  signification, 


and  meant  "  a  port" — this,  which  has 
no  prefix  to  its  name,  being,  from  its 
superior  size,  pre-eminently  "  the  port" 
of  Etruria. 

1  The  only  instance  I  remember  of 
such  marble  being  used  in  an  Etruscan 
work  (not  to  mention  the  inlaid  letters 
at  the  Augustine  Convent,  Cervetri,  see 
page  27),  is  in  the  Cathedral  of  Corneto, 
where  an  inscription  is  carved  on  a  slab 
of  that  material.  See  vol.  I.  p.  279. 
Kellerman  (Bull.  Inst.  1833,  p.  61)  gives 
another  inscription  on  a  cone  of  marble, 
also,  he  says,  now  in  Corneto.  The 
statue  of  Ilithyia  in  the  Volterra  Museum 
is  not  of  Luna  marble. 

2  Mamurra,  Prtefect  of  Caesar's  army 
in  Gaul,  was  the  first  who  had  his  house 
lined  with  marble,  and  every  column 
in  it  was  of  solid  marble,  either  from 
Carystos  or  Luna.  Corn.  Nepos,  ap. 
Plin.  XXXVI.  7. 

a  Plin.  XXXVI.  4,  2.  Strabo 
(V.  p.  222)  says  truly  that  the  quarries 
of  Luna  yielded  not  only  white,  but 
variegated  marble,  inclining  to  blue>. 

4  Plin.  XXXVI.  29.— Lunensem  sili- 
cem  serra  secari.  This  silcx  has  been 
supposed  only  a  white  tufo,  not  marble 

a   9 


84  LUX  I.  [chap.  xxxv. 

to  be  neglected  by  the  luxurious  Romans  of  that  age  ; 
and  accordingly  it  soon  came  into  extensive  use,  as  the 
Pantheon,  the  Portico  of  Octavia,  the  Pyramid  of  Caius 
Cestius,  and  other  monuments  of  that  period,  remain  to 
testify  ;  and  it  was  to  this  discovery  that  Augustus  owed 
his  boast — that  he  had  found  Rome  of  brick,  but  had  left 
it  of  marble.  From  that  time  forth,  it  has  been  in  use  for 
statuary,  as  well  as  for  architectural  decoration  ;  and  from 
the  Apollo  Belvidere  to  the  Triumphs  of  Thorwaldsen, 
"  the  stone  that  breathes  and  struggles  "  in  immortal  art, 
has  been  chiefly  the  marble  of  Luna.5 

(Quintino,   Marmi    Lunensi,    cited  by  5  For  further  notices  of  Luna  and  its 

Midler,  I.   2,  4,  n.  63)  ;  but  the  term  port,   I   refer  the  reader  to  Targioni's 

was  of  general  application  to  the  harder  Toscana  X.  pp.  403—466  ;  but  especially 

sorts  of  rock,  and  the  use  of  it  here  is  to  the  work  of  Promis,  already  cited, 

expressive  of  the  singularity  of  the  cir-  and  to  Repetti's  Dizionario  della Toscana. 

eumstanee   that    the    stone   should  be  Promis'  work   is  reviewed  by   Canina, 

sawn,  and  the  word  would  lose  its  force  Bull.  Inst.  1838,  p.  142. 
if  applied  to  a  soft  volcanic  formation. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

PISA.— PISJS. 

Alphese  veterem  conteniplor  originis  ui'bem 
Quam  cingunt  geminis  Arnus  et  Ausur  aquis. 

Rutilius. 

On  approaching*  Leghorn  from  the  sea,  I  have  always 
been  inclined  to  recognise  in  it,  Triturrita,  with  the  ancient 
port  of  Pisa,1  It  is  true  that  the  modern  town  does  not 
wholly  correspond  with  the  description  given  by  Rutilius. 


1  Rutil.  I.  527,  et  seq. ;  II.  12.  Called 
"  Turrita "  by  the  Peutingerian  Table, 
which  places  it  9  miles  from  Pisa?. 
The  Maritime  Itinerary  has  "  Portus 
Pisanus  "  in  the  same  position.  Much 
doubt  has  been  thrown  on  the  antiquity 
of  Livorno  (Repetti,  II.  p.  717)  ;  and 
the  highest  generally  ascribed  to  it  is 
that  of  Roman  times — either  as  the  Ad 
Herculem  of  the  Antonine  Itinerary,  on 
the  Via  Aurelia,  12  miles  from  Pisse  ; 
or  the  Labro  of  Cicero  (ad  Quint.  Frat. 
II.  6)  ;  or  the  Laburnum,  mentioned  by 
Zosimus  (Annal.  V.  cited  by  Cluver)  ; 
whence  the  modern  name,  Livorno, 
is  derived.  It  is  said  to  have  been 
called  Ligurnum  (Leghorn)  in  the  mid- 
dle ages.  The  arguments  Cluver  (II. 
p.  467)  adduces  to  prove  that  the  Portus 
was  at  the  mouth  of  the  Arno,  seem  to 
me  of  little  force.  Cramer  (Ancient 
Italy,  I.  p.  175),  however,  agrees  with 
him.  Mannert  (Geog.  p.  353)  on  the 
other  hand  contends  for  the  identity 
of  Leghorn  with  the  Portus  Pisa- 
nus.     He   places   Labro,    however,    at 


Salebro  and  Ad  Herculem  at  Violino. 
An  intermediate  opinion  is  held  by 
Targioni  Tozzetti  (Viaggi  in  Toscana, 
II.  pp.  398—420),  who  considers  the  port 
of  Piste  to  have  been  a  bay  between  the 
Arno  and  the  site  of  Leghorn,  now  filled 
up  with  alluvial  deposits  from  the  river  ; 
and  he  finds  Villa  Triturrita  in  some 
Roman  remains  on  the  inner  shore  of 
this  bay.  Indeed  it  is  well  known  that 
the  land  has  gained  considerably  on  the 
eea  in  the  Delta  of  the  Arno.  Midler 
(Etrusk.  I.  1,  2;  I.  4,  8),  who  follows 
Tozzetti,  considers  this  port  to  have 
been  connected  with  the  city,  by  an 
ancient  branch  of  the  Arno,  now 
stopped  up,  one  of  the  three  mentioned 
by  Strabo,  V.  p.  222.  Yet  from  the 
Maritime  Itinerary  it  seems  evident 
that  it  was  not  at  the  principal  mouth 
of  the  river,  but  .9  miles  to  the  south  ; 
which  favours  the  claims  of  Livorno. 
The  Villi  in  that  Itinerary  and  the 
Peutingerian  Tabic,  may  easily  be  an 
error  for  XIIII,  which  is  the  true  dis- 
tance between  Leghorn  and  Pisa. 


8fi  PISA.  [chap.  xxxm. 

It  has  now  more  than  a  mere  bank  of  sea-weed  to  protect 
it  from  the  violence  of  the  waves  ;  it  embraces  an  ample 
harbour  within  its  arms  of  stone  ;  but  it  lies  on  a  naturally 
open  shore  ;  it  has  an  artificial  peninsula,  on  which  the 
Villa  Triturrita  may  have  stood  ;  and,  by  a  singular  coin- 
cidence, there  are  still  three  prominent  towers  to  suggest 
the  identity. 

No  traveller,  now-a-days,  omits  to  make  a  trip  hence  to 
Pisa.  Like  the  Itinerant  Gaul,  he  leaves  his  vessel  in  the 
port,  and  hurries  away  to  lionise  that  city.  He  now  needs  no 
friendly  loan  of  a  carriage,  or  of  saddle-horses  ;  but,  thanks 
to  the  railroad,  he  may  run  to  Pisa  and  back,  while  the 
steamer  is  taking  in  coals  ;  for  presuming  on  his  privilege 
as  "  roba  di  vapore"  he  may  set  custom-house  officers,  and 
all  the  usual  stumbling-blocks  of  travellers,  at  defiance.2 

Of  the  multitudes  that  thus  visit  the  elegant  and 
tranquil  city  of  Pisa,  who  remembers  her  great  antiquity  % 
— who  thinks  of  her  as  one  of  the  most  venerable  cities  of 
Italy,  prior  to  the  Trojan  War,  one  of  the  earliest  settle- 

2  The  use  of  this  word  roba  is  most  his  goods  and  chattels,  as  his  roba.  A 
singular  and  amusing,  and  should  be  mountain  is  the  roba  of  the  Tuscan, 
understood  by  the  traveller.  It  is  of  Roman,  or  Neapolitan  State,  as  the  case 
universal  application.  What  cannot  be  maybe.  The  mist  rising  from  a  stream 
designated  as  roba  ?  It  is  impossible  to  and  the  fish  caught  in  it,  are  alike 
give  its  equivalent  in  English,  for  we  roba  di  fiume—"  river-stuff."  The  tra- 
have  no  word  so  handy.  The  nearest  veller  will  sometimes  have  his  dignity 
approach  to  it  is  "thing"  or  "stuff,"  offended  when  he  hears  the  same  term 
but  it  has  a  much  wider  application,  applied  to  himself  as  to  the  cloth  on  his 
accommodating  itself  to  the  whole  back — roba  di  Francia  or  roba  d'Jnghil- 
range  of  created  objects,  animate  or  terra,  according  to  his  country  ;  or,  as 
inanimate,  substances  or  abstractions.  in  the  case  referred  to  above,  when  he 
It  implies  belonging,  appertaining  to,  or  hears  himself  spoken  of  as  "  steam- 
proceeding  from.  The  Spaniards  use  stuff,"  because  he  happens  to  have  just 
the  cognate  word  ropa,  but  in  a  more  landed  from  a  steam-boat.  Even  the 
limited  sense.  Our  word  "robe,"  must  laws  and  institutions  of  his  country,  and 
have  the  same  origin,  and  "rubbish"  the  doctrines  or  observances  of  his 
must  come  from  its  depreciative  in-  creed,  will  be  brought  by  the  Italian 
iiexion — robaccia.  An  Italian  will  speak  under  this  all-comprehensive  term. 
"i  bis   wile   anil   children,  as   well   as  of 


CHAP.    XXXVI.] 


HIGH  ANTIQUITY  OF  PISiE. 


87 


ments  of  the  Pelasgi  on  this  coast  1 3  The  Pisa  of  the 
middle  ages  is  so  bright  a  vision  as  to  throw  into  dim 
shade  the  glories  of  her  remoter  antiquity.  This  is  one  of 
the  very  few  cities  of  Etruria,  which,  after  the  lapse  of 
three  thousand  years,  still  retains,  not  only  its  site,4  but  its 
importance,  and  has  shrouded  the  hoariness  of  antiquity  in 
the  gay  garlands  of  ever-flourishing  youth. 


3  PisEe  is  classed  by  Dionysius  (I. 
p.  16)  among  the  primitive  cities  of 
Italy,  either  taken  from  the  Siculi,  or 
subsequently  built  by  the  confederate 
Pelasgi  and  Aborigines.  Another  tra- 
dition ascribes  its  foundation  to  a  Greek 
colony  from  Arcadia,  who  named  it 
after  the  celebrated  city  of  that  land  ; 
another  to  some  of  the  Gi'eeks  who 
wandered  to  Italy  after  the  Trojan 
War,  whether  Epeus,  the  maker  of  the 
wooden  horse,  or  some  of  the  Pylians, 
the  followers  of  Nestor  (Serv.  ad  iEn. 
X.  179 ;  Strabo,  V.  p.  222)  ;  but  the 
connection  with  Pisse  of  the  Pelopon- 
nesus seems  to  have  been  most  gene- 
rally believed.  Virg.  JEn.  loc.  cit.  ; 
Serv.  ad  loc.  ;  Plin.  III.  8  ;  Claudian. 
de  Bel.  Gildon.  483  ;  Rutil.  I.  565,573  ; 
Solinus,  Polyh.  VIII.  Servius  records 
other  traditions  of  its  origin,  one  assign- 
ing it  to  the  Celts  ;  another  that  its 
site  had  been  occupied  by  an  earlier 
town,  by  some  called  Phocis,  by  others 
Teuta,  whose  inhabitants  the  Teutse, 
Teutani,  or  Teutones,  were  of  Greek 
race.  Plin.  III.  8.  Cato  (ap.  Serv.) 
though  admitting  that  this  region  was 
originally  possessed  by  the  Teutones, 
who  spoke  Greek,  could  not  trace  the 
foundation  of  Piste  earlier  than  the 
arrival  of  the  Etruscans  in  Italy  ;  and 
he  ascribes  it  to  Tarchon.  This  tradi- 
tion of  the  Teutanes,  Miiller  (einl.  2,  .9, 
n.  55)  regards  as  confirmatory  of  a 
Pelasgic  origin.  Some  say  Pisse  was 
taken  by  the  Etruscans  from  the  Ligu- 


rians.  Lycoph.  Cass.  1356.  cf.  Justin. 
XX.  1.  But  the  almost  concurrent 
voice  of  tradition  assigns  to  Pisse  a 
Greek  origin,  which  its  name  seems  to 
confirm;  though  on  the  other  hand  its 
name,  which  Servius  says  signified  a 
moon-shaped  port  in  the  Lydian  (i.e. 
Etruscan)  tongue,  may  have  given  rise 
to  these,  traditions.  Its  site  also  in  an 
open  plain,  so  unlike  that  of  most 
Etruscan  cities,  favours  the  view  of  its 
Pelasgic  origin. 

4  Pisa  anciently  stood  on  a  tongue  of 
land  formed  by  the  confluence  of  the 
Arnus  and  Ausar  (Strabo,  V.  p.  222  ; 
Plin.  III.  8  ;  Rutil.  I.  566)  ;  but  the 
latter,  the  Serchio,  at  the  close  of  the 
twelfth  century  altered  its  course,  and 
found  a  more  northerly  channel  to  the 
sea.  In  Strabo's  time  the  city  was  only 
20  stadia  (2^  miles)  inland,  but  by  the 
accumulation  of  soil  brought  down  by 
the  two  rivers  it  is  now  removed  6  miles 
from  the  sea.  An  old  tradition  repre- 
sents the  water,  at  the  point  of  con- 
fluence, rising  to  such  a  height  in  the 
middle  of  the  channel,  that  persons 
standing  on  the  opposite  banks  could 
not  see  each  other.  Strabo,  loc.  cit.  ; 
cf.  Pseudo-Aristot.  Mirab.  Auscult.  c. 
94.  Colonel  Mure  remarks  the  simi- 
larity of  site  between  the  Pisa  of 
Etruria  and  that  of  Greece — both  occu- 
pied "  a  precisely  similar  region,  a  low, 
warm,  marshy  flat,  interspersed  with 
pine-forest."  Travels  in  Greece,  II.  p. 
283.     The  analogy  of  site  may  explain 


$8  PISA.  [chap,   xxxvi. 

Her  remoteness  from  Rome  may  well  account  for  the 
absence  of  historical  mention  of  Pisa  during  the  period  of 
Etruscan  independence.  Virgil  introduces  her  as  sending 
aid  to  iEncas  against  Turnus5 — a  statement  which  can  be 
received  only  as  confirmatory  evidence  of  her  antiquity. 
Yet  a  modern  writer  of  great  weight  does  not  hesitate  to 
regard  her  as  one  of  the  Twelve  chief  cities  of  Etruria.0 
The  earliest  mention  of  Pisa  in  history  occurs  in  the  year 
529  (b.c.  225),  when,  just  before  the  battle  of  Telamon,  a 
Roman  army  from  Sardinia  was  landed  here.7  Frequent 
mention  is  subsequently  made  of  Pisa,  which  played  a 
prominent  part  in  the  Ligurian  Wars.8  It  was  colonised 
in  the  year  574,  at  the  request  of  its  citizens.9  Under 
the  Romans,  it  was  of  considerable  importance  on  account 
of  its  port,  and  was  celebrated  also  for  the  fertility  of  its 
territory,  for  the  quarries  in  its  neighbourhood,  and  for 
the  abundance  of  timber  it  yielded  for  ship-building.1 

Of  the  ancient  magnificence  of  Pisa  scarcely  a  vestige 

the  identity  of  name  ;  which  Colonel  been  a  flourishing  city.  Mannert  (Geog. 
Mure  is  doubtful  whether  to  derive  from  p.  339),  though  he  does  not  regard  it  as 
wlaos — a  marsh — or  from  iriaa-a — the  fir  one  of  the  Twelve,  calls  it,  apparently 
or  pine-tree.  The  former  or  an  equiva-  on  the  authority  of  Strabo  and  Poly- 
lent  derivation  is  favoured  by  Strabo  bius  (II.  16),  "  the  natural  rampart  and 
(VIII.  p.  35C),  aud  by  Eustathius  (ad  frontier-wall  of  Etruria  towards  the 
Horn.  Iliad.  XX.  9)  ;  but  the  latter  north." 
derives  support  from  the  actual  exist-  7  Polyb.  II.  27. 

ence   of   pine-woods,  both    around  the  s  ljV-     XXI.     39  ;     XXXIII.    43  ; 

city  of  Elis,  and  also  on  this  coast,  in  XXXIV.  56  ;  XXXV.  21  ;   XL.  41  ; 

the    royal    Cascine,    where    they  cover  XLI.    5.      Previously,   in   the    Second 

some  square  miles,  aud  are  in  all  pro-  Punic  War,  Scipio  had  made  use  of  its 

bability    the    legitimate   descendants   of  port.     Polyb.  III.  56. 

the    ancient    forests,    where    Rutilius,  9   Liv.    XL.    43.      Festus   calls   it   a 

when    weather-bound,   amused    himself  municipium.     Pliny  (III.  8)  and  Ptole- 

with  hunting  the  wild-boar  (I.  621 — 8).  my  (Geog.  p.  72)  mention  it  among  the 

The  city   is    called  Pissa  or    Pissse  by  Roman  colonies  in  Etruria. 

Lycophron,  Polybius,  and  Ptolemy.  l  Strabo,  V.  p.  223.     Pliny  also  speaks 

6  Virg.  JEn.  X.  179.     He  calls  it—  of  its  grain  (XVIII.  20),  of  its  grapes 

urbs  Etrusca.  (XIV.  4, 7),  and  of  its  wonderful  springs, 

r'  Miiller,   Etrusk.    II.   1,  2.     Strabo  where  frogs  found  themselves  literally 

(V.   p.  223)  says  that  it  had  originally  in  hot  water  (II.  106). 


cHAr.  xxxvi.]         VERY  FEW  ANCIENT  REMAINS.  89 

remains.  Various  fragments  of  Roman  antiquity  have 
been  discovered  on  the  spot ;  but,  with  the  exception  of 
sundry  sarcophagi,  broken  statues,  and  numerous  inscrip- 
tions, nothing  remains  above  ground  beyond  some  mean 
traces  of  baths,  and  two  marble  columns  with  Composite 
capitals,  probably  belonging  to  the  vestibule  of  a  temple  of 
the  time  of  the  Antonines,  now  embedded  in  the  wall  of  the 
ruined  church  of  San  Felice.2  As  to  the  city  of  the 
Pelasgi  and  Etruscans,  it  has  entirely  disappeared.  The 
traveller  looks  in  vain  for  a  stone  of  the  walls,  which  from 
the  exposed  position  of  the  city  must  have  been  of  great 
strength — in  vain  for  a  tumulus  or  monument  on  the  sur- 
rounding plain — the  city  of  the  dead,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
living,  of  that  early  period,  is  now  lost  to  the  eye.  Yet 
the  necropolis  of  Pisa  must  exist ;  but,  as  far  as  I  can 
learn,  it  has  not  been  sought  for.3 

The  only  relics  of  Etruscan  antiquity  at  Pisa  are  a  few 
sarcophagi  and  urns  in  that  celebrated  sepulchral  museum, 
the  Campo  Santo,4     Even  these  were  not  found  on  the 

2  Repetti,  IV.  p.  305  ;  Dempster  stood  originally  almost  on  the  shore. 
(II.  p.  248)  infers  from  Seneca  (Thyes-  It  is  now  six  miles  from  the  sea  ;  but  in 
tes,  I.  123)  that  Pisa  was  anciently  the  tenth  century,  according  to  that 
renowned  for  her  towers  ;  but  the  true  wandering  Jew,  Benjamin  of  Tudela,  it 
reading  is —  was  but  four  ;  and  in  Strabo's  time  only 

"  Pisaeisque  domos  curribus  inclytas,"  two  miles  and  a  half  inland  ;  therefore, 

and  the  line  refers  to  the  city  of  Elis.  at  the  same  rate,  we  may  conclude  that 

The  Italian  Pisa,  however,  was  renowned  a  thousand  years  earlier,  it  stood  almost 

for  her  towers  in  the  middle  ages.   Ben-  close  to  the  sea.     Repetti  (IV.  p.  372) 

jamin,  the  Jew  of  Tudela,  who  lived  in  says  that  numerous  Roman  sarcophagi 

the  tenth  century,  records  that  nearly  have  been  disinterred  within  the   city 

10,000    towers    were    to    be    counted,  itself,  for  the  most  part  on  the  right 

attached  to  the  houses — verily,  as  old  bank  of  the  Arno,  and  at  some  distance 

Faccio  degli   Uberti   says  of    Lucca —  from  the  river 

"  a  guisa  d'  tin  boschcto."     Other  chro-  4  There  are  some  small  copper  coins 

niclers  increase  this  number  to  15,000 ;  with  the  head  of  Mercury  on  the  obverse, 

and  Petrarch  vouches  for  a  great  multi-  and  an  owl,  with  the  legend  Peithesa, 

tude.  in  Etruscan  characters,  on  the  reverse, 

3  It  can  hardly  lie  between  Pisa  and  which  most  probably  belong  to  Pisa, 
(he  sea  ;  for  it  is  probable  that  the  city  The  opinion  of  early  Italian  antiquaries 


90  PISA.  [chap,  xxxvi. 

spot.  The  eye,  experienced  in  Etruscan  remains,  at  once 
recognises  them  as  the  roba  of  Volterra.  They  were  found  at 
Morrona,  in  the  neighbourhood  of  that  town,  and  presented 
in  1808  to  the  city  of  Pisa.  There  is  nothing  among  them 
of  remarkable  interest.  Most  are  small  square  cinerary 
urns,  or  "ash  chests,"  as  the  Germans  term  them,  with 
stunted  and  distorted  figures  on  the  lids.  One  of  these 
recumbent  figures  holds  an  open  scroll,  with  an  Etruscan  in- 
scription in  red  letters.  Among  the  reliefs  are — a  banquet ; 
a  sacrifice  ;  another  of  the  same  on  a  sarcophagus,  in  good 
style ;  the  deathbed  scene  of  a  female,  with  her  friends 
around  her  ;  a  soul  in  a  quadriga;,  conducted  to  the  shades 
below  by  Charun,  armed  with  his  hammer  ;  a  griffon  con- 
tending with  three  warriors  ;  an  Amazon  with  sword  and 
shield  defending  her  fallen  comrade  from  a  fierce  beast  like 
a  tiger,  which  is  emerging  from  a  well ;  Orestes  persecuted 
by  a  Fury  ;  Polites,  with  one  knee  on  the  altar,  defending 
himself  with  an  axe  against  Pyrrhus,  who  is  rushing  up, 
sword  in  hand,  to  slay  him,  while  two  demons,  one  with  a 
torch,  the  other  with  a  sword,  stand  one  on  each. side. 
A  large  sarcophagus  has  a  pair  of  figures  on  its  lid,  and  the 
hunt  of  the  Calydonian  boar  in  relief  below.  Perhaps  the 
most  interesting  monument  is  an  alabaster  urn,  on  which  a 
female  figure  reclines,  holding  a  rhyton,  or  drinking-cup,  in 
the  shape  of  a  horse's  head  and  fore-quarters  ;  in  the  relief 
below,  is  represented  a  female  demon  or  Fury,  winged  and 

was  generally  in  favour  of  Perusia;  Lanzi  (Ancient  Italy,  I.  p.  173)  also  remarks 
(Sagg.  II.  pp. 27, 76)  seems  to  bint  at  the  that  if  we  suppose  its  pronunciation  to 
ArretiumFidens  of  Pliny.  Sestini  (Geog.  have  been  Pithsa,  it  would  not  be  far 
Numis.  II.  p.  5)  was  less  extravagant  from  the  Pissa  of  Lycophron.  Millingen 
in  ascribing  these  coins  to  Veii  (cf.  (Numis.  Anc.  Ital.  p.  170)  thinks  that 
Mionnet,  Suppl.  I.  p.  204).  They  have  these  coins  belong  to  some  forgotten 
also  been  assigned  to  Pitinum  in  Urn-  town,  near  Todi  in  Umbria,  because 
bria  ;  but  Midler  (Etrusk.  I.  p.  338)  they  are  generally  found  in  that  neigh- 
suggests  that  Peithesa  may  be  the  old  bourhood. 
Etruscan  form  of  Pissa  ;   and  Cramer 


chap,  xxxvi.]     ETRUSCAN  URNS  IN  THE  CAMPO  SANTO.  91 

buskined,  but  without  drapery,  in  a  sitting  posture,  and 
with  a  spear  in  her  hand — extremely  like  one  of  the  evil 
spirits  painted  on  the  walls  of  the  Grotta  del  Cardinale  at 
Corneto,5  who  sits  as  guardian  over 

"  the  gates  of  grislie  Hell, 


And  horrid  house  of  sad  Proserpina." 

As  in  duty  bound,  I  have  noticed  these  Etruscan  relics  ; 
yet  few  who  visit  this  sacred  and  silent  corner  of  Pisa, 
where  the  grandeur  and  glory  of  the  city  are  concentrated, 
are  likely  to  give  them  much  attention.  Few  will  turn 
from  the  antique  pomp,  the  mosque-like  magnificence  of 
the  Cathedral — from  the  fair  white  marvel  of  the  Leaning- 
Tower — from  the  cunningly-wrought  pulpit  and  font  of 
the  Baptistery — or  even  from  the  frescoed  visions,  the 
grotesque  solemnities  of  the  Campo  Santo,  to  examine 
these  uncouth  memorials  of  the  early  possessors  of  the 
land. 

4  See  Vol.  I.  p.   321,  where  the  resemblance   this   figure   bears    to   the  Fury 
Tisiphoue  is  pointed  out. 


ARCHAIC    BLACK     VASE     FROM    CHIUSI. 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 


FIRENZE.— FLORENTIJ . 


Florence,  beneath  the  sun, 

Of  cities,  fairest  one  ! — Shelley. 

Di  te,  Donna  dell'  Arno,  anch'  io  favello. 
Tu,  in  regio  trono  alteramente  assisa, 
L'imperioso  ciglio 
Volgi  all'  Etruria! — Filicaja. 


Florence,  the  Athens  of  modern  Italy,  in  the  days  of 
Etruscan  greatness  and  of  the  earliest  civilization  of  the 


chap  xxxvn.]      FLORENCE  NOT  AN  ETRUSCAN  SITE. 


93 


land,  was  nought.  She  cannot  claim  an  origin  higher  than 
the  latter  years  of  the  Roman  Republic.1  Yet  she  may  be 
regarded  in  some  sort  as  the  representative  of  the  ancient 
Etruscan  city  of  Fsesulre,  whose  inhabitants  at  an  early 
period  removed  from  their  rocky  heights  to  the  banks 
of  the  Arno2 — an  emigration  in  which  Dante,  in  his 
Ghibelline  wrath,  finds  matter  of  vituperation — 

quelle-  ingrato  popolo  maligno, 
Che  discese  di  Fiesole  ab  antico, 
E  tiene  ancor  del  monte  e  del  raacieno — 


1  Frontinus  (deColoniis,p.  13,ed.  1588) 
saysFlorentia  was  a  colony  of  the  Trium- 
virate, established  under  the  Lex  Julia  ; 
which  has  led  some  to  conclude  that 
such  was  the  date  of  her  foundation. 
Yet  Florus  (III.  21)  ranks  her  with 
Spoletium,  Interamnium,  and  Prseneste, 
those  "  most  splendid  municipia  of 
Italy,"  which,  in  the  civil  wars  of 
Marius  and  Sylla,  suffered  from  the 
vengeance  of  the  latter.  Some  editions 
have  "Fluentia,"  but  this  can  be  no 
other  than  Florentia,  as  the  same  name 
is  given  by  Pliny  (III.  8)  in  his  list  of 
the  colonies  in  Etruria — Fluentiui  prse- 
fluenti  Arno  oppositi.  Repetti,  how- 
ever, embraces  the  opinion  of  Salutati, 
and  of  Borghini,  that  it  was  the  Feren- 
timim  of  the  Volsci,  to  which  Florus  in 
the  said  passage  alludes  ;  and  ho  thinks 
the  origin  of  Florence  is  to  be  dated 
from  the  colony  of  the  Triumvirate 
(Dizionario,  II.  pp.  108,  150).  Cluver 
(II.  p.  508)  admits  the  higher  antiquity. 
Mannert  (Geog.  p.  393)  thinks  the  city 
dates  its  origin  from  the  Ligurian  wars. 
In  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  Florentia  was 
an  important  colony  or  municipium,  one 
of  those  which  sent  deputies  to  Rome, 
to  deprecate  alterations  in  the  course  of 
the  tributaries  of  the  Tiber  ;  their  plea 
being  that  if  the  Clanis  were  diverted 
into  the  Arnus,  it  would  bring  destruc- 


tion on  their  territory.  Tacit.  Anna! 
I.  79.  She  is  subsequently  mentioned 
by  Pliny  (XIV.  4,  7),  by  Ptolemy  (p. 
72),  by  the  Antonine  Itinerary  and  the 
Peutingerian  Table.  Vestiges  of  her 
Roman  magnificence  remain  in  the  ruins 
of  the  amphitheatre  near  the  Piazza  di 
Santa  Croce. 

Livy  (X.  25)  speaks  of  an  Etruscan 
town,  Aharna,  or  as  some  readings  have 
it,  Adharnaha,  which  Lanzi  translates 
Ad  Arnum,  and  hints  that  it  may  be 
Florence,  though  not  giving  this  as  his 
opinion  (Sagg.  I.  p.  377  ;  II.  p.  394). 
But  Livy  refers  to  the  year  459,  at  which 
time  the  vale  of  the  Arno  must  have 
been  a  marsh,  as  it  was  in  the  year  537, 
when  Hannibal  invaded  Etruria  (Liv. 
XXII.  2)  ;  and  no  town  could  have 
occupied  the  present  site  of  Florence. 

2  The  fact  is  not  stated  by  the  an- 
cients, but  has  for  ages  been  traditional. 
Inghirami  (Guida  di  Fiesole,  p.  24) 
refers  the  emigration  to  the  time  of 
Sylla  ;  Repetti  (II.  p.  108)  to  that  of 
Augustus.  According  to  old  Faccio 
degli  Uberti,  the  city  received  its  name 
from  the  "  flower-basket "  in  which  it 
is  situated. 

Al  fine  gli  habitanti  per  memoria 
Che  lera  posta  en  un  gran  cost  de  fiori, 
Gli  dono  el  nome  hello  undo  sen  gloria. 


04  FIRENZE.  [chap,  xxxvii. 

though  it  would  puzzle  a  poet  now  to  find  any  analogy 
in  the  courteous  and  polished  Florentines  to  the  rugged 
crags  of  Fiesole. 

It  is  not  my  province  to  make  further  mention  of 
Florence,  than  to  notice  the  relics  of  Etruscan  anti- 
quity preserved  within  the  city,  or  discovered  in  the 
neighbourhood. 

The  collection  of  such  objects  in  the  possession  of  the 
Grand  Duke  is  kept  in  the  Gallery  of  the  Uffizj  ;  and 
though  a  meagre  notice  of  it  is  to  be  found  in  the  Guide 
Books,  I  should  not  be  justified  in  omitting  to  particularise 
rather  more  fully  the  most  interesting  articles. 

At  the  further  end  of  the  long  Gallery  in  the  western 
wing  are 

The  Urns. 

The  greater  part  of  these  are  from  Volterra,  being  a 
selection  made  in  1770  from  the  abundant  fruits  of 
the  excavations  then  carrying  forward,  and  at  that  time 
were  reputed  the  most  beautiful  relics  of  Etruscan  antiquity 
extant.3  A  few  have  been  subsequently  added  from  the 
same  city,  as  well  as  from  Chiusi.  They  are  either  of 
travertine,  alabaster,  or  of  a  yellow  tufaceous  stone.  Out 
of  nearly  fifty,  very  few  are  of  remarkable  beauty  or 
interest.  Indeed,  he  who  has  visited  Volterra  or  Chiusi, 
will  find  httle  to  admire  in  the  urns  of  the  Uffizj.  The 
figures  on  the  lids  are  of  the  stumpy,  contracted  form 
usual  in  the  "ash-chests"  of  Volterra.  All  are  reclining, 
as  at  a  banquet.  The  males,  as  usual,  hold  a  goblet ;  the 
females,  generally  a  fan  or  a  mirror  in  one  hand,  and 
a  pomegranate  in  the  other ;  though  one,  of  more  depraved 
taste,  holds  a  rhi/ton,  or  drinking-cup.4  Most  retain  traces 
of  the  minium  with  which  they  were  coloured. 

3  Iughiraini,  Monunienti  Etruschi,  I.  '  The  rhyton  is  a  drinking-cup,  ori- 

p.  1 1 .  ginally,  perhaps,  in  the  form  of  a  cow's 


CHAP.   XXXVII.] 


UFFIZJ— ETRUSCAN  URNS. 


95 


The  reliefs  on  the  urns  are,  for  the  most  part,  in  a 
wretched  style  of  art ;  yet,  as  illustrative  of  the  Etruscan 
belief  and  traditions,  they  are  not  without  interest.  Many 
represent  parting  scenes.  The  deceased  is  taking  a  last 
farewell  of  a  relative,  when  the  minister  of  Death,  hammer 
in  hand,  steps  between  them,  and  a  door  hard  by 
indicates  the  entrance  to  the  unseen  world.  In  another 
case  the  Genius  rushes  between  the  friends,  seizes  one, 
and  at  the  same  moment   another    demon  extinguishes 


horn,  as  it  is  often  so  repi-esented  in  the 
hands  of  Bacchus  on  the  painted  vases, 
but  it  frequently  terminates  in  the  head 
of  a  dog,  fox,  bull,  stag,  boar,  eagle, 
cock,  or  griffon.  In  this  case  it  is  in 
the  form  of  a  horse's  head  and  fore- 
quarters— a  favourite  shape  with  the 
Etruscans.  It  is  sometimes  represented 
in  ancient  paintings  with  the  wine  flow- 
ing in  a  slender  stream  from  the  ex- 
tremity, but  I  do  not  recollect  to  have 
seen  one  so  perforated.  As  it  could  only 
stand  when  inverted,  it  was  necessary  to 
drain  it  to  the  bottom  before  it  could  be 
laid  down.  It  may  therefore  be  re- 
garded as  indicative  of  a  debauch. .  By 
the  Greeks  it  was  considered  proper  to 
heroes  only.  Athen.  XI.  c.  2,  p.  461. 
From  these  female  effigies  holding 
patera,  and  even  rhyta,  we  learn  some- 
what of  the  habits  of  the  Etruscan 
ladies.  Indeed,  if  we  may  believe  all 
that  has  been  said  about  them,  they 
were  "  terrible  ones  to  drink,"  and  were 
apt  to  be  forward  in  pledging  any  gen- 
tleman to  whom  they  took  a  fancy,  not 
waiting,  as  modest  ladies  ought,  till  they 
were  challenged  to  take  wine.  Theo- 
pompus,  ap.  Athen.  XII.  c.  3,  p.  517. 
Very  different  was  the  condition  of  the 
Roman  woman  in  early  times.  She  was 
not  allowed  to  drink  wine  at  all,  unless 
it  were  simple  raisin-wine.  And,  how- 
ever she  might  relish  strong  drinks,  she 


could  not  indulge  even  by  stealth  ;  first, 
because  she  was  never  entrusted  with 
the  key  of  the  wine-cellar  ;  and  se- 
condly, because  she  was  obliged  daily  to 
greet  with  a  kiss  all  her  own,  as  well  as 
her  husband's  male  relatives,  down  to 
second  cousins  ;  and  as  she  knew  not 
when  or  where  she  might  meet  them, 
she  was  forced  to  be  wary,  and  abstain 
altogether.  For  had  she  tasted  but  a 
drop,  the  smell  would  have  betrayed  her 
— "  there  would  have  been  no  need  of 
slander,"  says  Polybius  (ap.  Athen.  X. 
c.  1 1,  p.  440).  The  precautionary  means, 
it  may  be  thought,  were  worse  than  the 
possible  evil  they  were  intended  to  guard 
against.  So  strict,  however,  were  the 
old  Romans  in  this  respect,  that  a  cez-- 
tain  Egnatius  Mecenius  is  said  to  have 
slam  his  wife,  because  he  caught  her  at 
the  wine-cask — a  punishment  which  was 
not  deemed  excessive  by  Romulus,  who 
absolved  the  husband  of  the  crime  of 
murder.  Another  Roman  lady  who, 
under  the  pretence  of  taking  a  little 
wine  for  her  stomach's  sake  and  fre- 
quent  infirmities,  indulged  somewhat  too 
freely,  was  mulcted  to  the  full  amount 
of  her  dowry.  Plin.  XIV.  14.  On  an 
amphora  from  Volterra,  in  this  same  col- 
lection, two  naked  females  are  repre- 
sented pledging  each  other  in  these 
rhyta. 


96  FIRENZE.  [chap,  xxxvn. 

a  torch.  Here  a  husband  is  taking  leave  of  his  wife,  ere 
he  mounts  the  steed  which  is  to  convey  him  to  the  land 
whence  no  traveller  returns — or  a  like  fond  pair  are 
pressing  hands  for  the  last  time  at  a  column,  the  funeral 
pine-cone  on  which  indicates  the  nature  of  their  farewell. 
There,  the  winged  messenger  of  Hades  enters  the  chamber, 
and  waves  her  torch  over  the  head  of  the  dying  one, — or 
two  sons  are  performing  the  last  sad  rites  to  their  father  ; 
one  is  piously  closing  his  eyes,  and  the  other  stands  by 
comforted  by  a  good  spirit,  while  the  Genius  of  Death 
is  also  present,  sword  in  hand,  to  indicate  the  triumph  he 
has  just  achieved.5 

The  subjects  are  sometimes  mythological.  Winged 
hippocampi,  or  sea-monsters — Scylla  with  double  fishes  tail, 
in  the  midst  of  a  shoal  of  merry  dolphins  6 — Castor  and 
Pollux  resting  on  their  shields,  with  a  winged  Fate  seated 
between  them — griffons,  and  other  chimeras,  or  winged 
Genii  guarding  the  urn  which  contains  the  ashes  of  the 
dead. 

Here  Paris  has  taken  refuge  at  an  altar,  to  escape  from 
his  brethren,  who  are  enraged  at  Ins  carrying  off  the  palm 
from  them  in  the  public  games.  His  good  Genius  steps  in 
to  save  the  victorious  shepherd.  There  the  young  Pohtes 
is  slain  by  Pyrrhus ;  the  altar  to  which  he  had  fled, 
and  the  wheel  of  Fortune  on  which  he  relied  availing 
him  nothing.  Here  is  the  boar  of  Calydon  at  bay,  fall- 
ing beneath  the  lance  and  double-axe  (bipennis)  of  his 
pursuers.  There  Ulysses  in  his  galley  is  struggling  to  free 
himself  from  his  voluntary  bondage,  eager  to  yield  to  the 
allurements   of  "the  Syrens   three,"  who,   in   the   guise 

5  This  scene  is  illustrated  by  Micali,  anchor  in  each  hand— the  decoration  of 
Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  LIX.  4.  an  urn  in  this  collection — is  illustrated 

6  One  of  these  marine  goddesses,  with  by  Micali,  Italia  avanti  I  Romani,  tav. 
a  pair  of  wings  on  her  brows,  and  an  XXII.;  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  CX. 


chap,  xxxvu.]  ETRUSCAN  URNS  IN  THE  UFF1ZJ.  97 

of  women,  with  flute,  lyre,  and  Pandean  pipes,  sit  on  the 
cliffs  of  their  fatal  island.  Here  is  a  scene  where  "  the 
King  of  men" — lo  gran  Daca  de'  Greci,  as  Dante  terms 
him — is  about  to  immolate  his  virgin-daughter — 

Onde  pianse  Ifigenia  il  suo  bel  volto, 
E  fe  pianger  di  se  e  i  folli  e  i  savi, 
Ch'  udir  parlar  di  cosi  fatto  colto. 

And  there  you  may  see  Clytemnestra  slain  on  her 
guilty  couch  ;  the  avengers  of  blood,  according  to  this 
version  of  the  legend,  being  three !  On  another  urn 
Orestes  and  Pylades  are  represented  sitting  as  victims, 
with  their  hands  bound,  at  an  altar ;  the  libation  is  poured 
on  their  heads,  and  the  sword  is  raised  by  the  priestesses 
of  Diana.  On  a  fourth  urn  the  drama  is  advanced  another 
step.  Iphigenia  discovers  it  is  her  brother  she  is  about  to 
sacrifice,  and  she  stands  leaning  on  his  head,  with  her 
hands  clasped,  in  deep  dejection,  hesitating  between  love 
and  duty.  The  second  priestess  has  still  her  weapon 
raised  to  slay  Pylades  ;  and  a  third  brings  in  a  tray  with 
libations  and  offerings.  The  daughter  of  Agamemnon  is 
naked  ;  but  her  fellows  are  attired  in  all  respects  like  the 
Lasas  and  Furies,  commonly  represented  in  Etruscan 
funeral  scenes.  This  monument  is  in  a  very  superior  style 
of  art  to  most  of  its  neighbours. 

The  subjects  on  others  of   these  monuments  are  not 
easy  of  explanation.7     One  urn  is  in  the  shape  of  a  little 

7  In   one  case  a  man,  sitting  on  an  a  female  Fury,  or  Fate,  stands  behind 

altar,  is  about  to  slay  a  child  in  his  lap,  him,  with  her  weapon  raised,  as  if  to 

to  the  great  alarm  of  two  females  ;  some  smite  them.     In  one  strange  combat,  a 

armed  men  rush  up  to  the  rescue.     A  minstrel-boy  with  a  lyre  mingles  in  the 

temple  is  represented   behind,  in  per-  fray.      In  another,  a  warrior   drags  a 

spective.     Some   are   battle-scenes.     A  female,  not  an  Amazon,  from  her  cha- 

quadriga  is  upset — old  Charun,  "  griesly  riot — the    horses  are   trampling   on   a 

grim,"  seizes  one  of  the  horses  by  the  fallen  man,  and  a  Fury  directs   their 

ear  and  nose — a  man  strikes  at  them  course.    Here,  two  combatants  are  scpa- 

with  one    of  the  broken   wheels — and  rated  by  a  female  demon  rushing  between 

VOL.   n.  H 


98  FIRKNZE.  [chap,  xxxvii. 

temple,  with  all  the  wood  and  tile-work  of  the  roof  repre- 
sented in  stone.8 

The  Vases 

are  all  contained  in  one  small  chamber.  The  Tuscan 
Government  has  not  availed  itself  of  the  opportunity  it 
possesses  of  forming  the  finest  collection  of  Etruscan  anti- 
quities in  the  world.  Most  of  the  articles  discovered  in 
the  Duchy  pass  into  foreign  countries,' — little  or  nothing 
finds  its  way  to  Florence.  With  this  apathy  on  the  part 
of  the  Government,  the  collection  of  vases  cannot  be  ex- 
pected to  be  extensive  or  remarkably  choice.  Yet  it  is 
characteristic.  Most  of  the  Etruscan  sites  within  the 
limits  of  Tuscany  are  here  represented  by  their  pottery  ; 
and  there  are  even  some  good  vases  from  other  districts  of 
Italy ;  partly,  I  believe,  collected,  of  old,  by  those  princely 
patrons  of  art,  the  Medici. 

The  chief  glory  of  this  collection  strikes  the  eye  on 
entering.  It  is  a  huge,  wide-mouthed  amphora,  perhaps 
the  largest  painted  vase  ever  found  in  Etruria — certainly 


them.     There,  two  others  are  fighting,  urn,  no  longer  in  this  Museum,  repre- 

and  a  monster  in  human  form,  with  a  sented  the   blinding  of  (Edipus.     Two 

ram's  head,  perhaps  one  of  Circe's  vie-  armed  men  hold  the  old  man,  while  a 

tims,  stands  by  with  a  stone  in  his  hand.  third  thrusts  a  dagger  into  his  eye  ;  his 

One  scene,  where  a  man  is  presenting  a  two  little  sons  are  running  up,  each  with 

goblet  to  a  female  seated  in  a  grotto,  his  hand  to   his   head,   to   express  his 

recalls  Comus  and  the  lady,  were  it  not  grief  ;  and  a  female  is  also  rushing  for- 

that     another      man     is     approaching  ward  to  save  him,  but  is  held  back  by  ;> 

stealthily,  to  transfix  her  with  a  spear.  slave.    Inghir.    I.    tav.   LXXI ;    Micali, 

Some  of  the  urns  described  by  Italian  Ital.  av.  Rom.  tav.  XLVI  ;  Gori,  I.  tab. 

antiquaries  as  in  this  Museum,  are  no  142.     It  will  be  seen  that  this  differs 

longer  to  be  seen  here.     Such  is  a  part-  from  the  Greek    version  of   the  story 

ing  scene  at  a  door.     A  woman,  about  to  which    represents    the    ill-fated   son  of 

enter  the  fatal  gate  of  Hades,  is  taking  Laius,    as    blinding    himself    with    his 

farewell    of  her   husband   and    family;  own  hand.  Sophoc.   OZdip.   Tyr.  1270; 

while  Charun,  or  the  minister  of  Death,  yEsehyl.  Sept.  ad  Theb.  783 — 4. 
with  his  hammer  on  his  shoulder,  is  on  8  In  one  of  the  reliefs  on  these  urns, 

the   point  of  striking  her  down  with  a  an  arched  gateway  is  represented,  with 

sword.      Inghir.    Mon.    Etrus.    I.   tav.  rusticated   vowsoirs  —  an    architectural 

XXXVIII.      Another  very  interesting  fact  worthy  of  attention. 


chap,  xxxvii.]  THE  KING  OF  ETRUSCAN  VASES.  99 

unrivalled  in  the  variety  and  interest  of  its  subjects,  and 
the  abundance  of  its  inscriptions.  It  is  about  twenty-seven 
inches  in  height,  and  little  less  in  diameter  ;  and  has  six 
bands  of  figures  all  in  the  Second  or  Archaic  Greek  style 
— black,  tinted  with  white  and  red,  on  the  yellow  ground 
of  the  clay.  It  has  eleven  distinct  subjects,  eight  of  which 
are  heroic,  some  quite  novel ;  and  no  fewer  than  one 
hundred  and  fifteen  explanatory  epigraphs  ;  besides  the 
names  of  the  potter  and  artist.  The  design,  as  in  all 
vases  of  this  style,  is  quaint  and  hard,  yet  the  figures  are 
full  of  expression  and  energy,  and  are  often  drawn  with 
much  minuteness  and  delicacy.  Unfortunately  it  was 
found  broken  into  numerous  pieces  ;  it  has  been  tolerably 
well  restored,  but  some  fragments  are  still  wanting  to 
complete  it.  Yet  even  in  its  imperfect  state  it  is  so  superb 
a  monument,  that  the  Tuscan  Government  was  induced  to 
relax  its  purse-strings,  and  purchase  it  for  one  thousand 
scudi. 

This  vase  may  be  called  an  Iliad,  or  rather  an  Achilleid,  in 
pottery,  for  its  subjects  have  especial  reference  to  the  great 
hero  of  the  Trojan  War — from  the  youthful  deeds  of  his 
father,  and  the  marriage  of  his  parents,  down  to  his  own 
death,  interspersed  with  mythological  episodes,  as  was  the 
wont  of  the  bard, 

"  Whose  poem  Phoebus  challenged  for  his  own." 

This  "  king  of  Etruscan  vases,"  as  it  has  not  unaptly 
been  termed,  was  found  at  Chiusi  in  1845,  by  Signor 
Francois.9 

There  are  many  other  painted  vases  in  this  collection. 
Among  them  I  may  point  out  some  amphorce,  or  wine-jars, 

9  Further- notices  of  this  remarkable       214  (Gerhard).     See  also  the  Appendix 
vase  will  be  found  in  Bull.  Inst.  1845,       to  this  Chapter. 
,,,,.  H3—119  (Braun)  ;  and  pp.210— 

H2 


100  FIRENZE.  [chap,  xxxvii. 

with  combats  under  the  walls  of  Troy — councils  of  the 
gods — battles  of  the  gods  with  the  giants — two  in  a  re- 
markable state  of  preservation,  one  with  a  group  of  four 
warriors,  the  other  with  Mercury  and  Minerva  standing  by 
a  war-chariot — and  two  very  small,  but  pretty,  representing 
a  winged  Apollo  playing  the  lyre,  and  a  nymph.  Of 
hydritz,  or  water-jars,  distinguished  by  their  three  handles, 
the  most  remarkable  are,  one  which  represents  Mercury 
pursuing  the  nymph  Herse,  whose  sisters  run  to  acquaint 
their  father  ;  and  a  beautiful  one,  of  the  form  called 
calpis,  with  Triptolemus  on  his  winged  car.  Of  mixing- 
jars — crateres,  celebce,  stamni — with  wide  mouths,  the  best 
display  the  contest  of  the  Centaurs  and  Lapithze, — Bacchic 
subjects, — a  solemn  procession, — and  priestesses  making 
libations  at  an  altar.  The  wine-jugs — cenoclioce — distin- 
guished by  their  single  handle  and  spout,  bear — some, 
Bacchic  scenes  ;  one,  Hercules  "taking  a  cup  of  kindness" 
with  his  patron,  the  "  grey-eyed "  goddess  ;  another,  a 
marriage-scene,  the  bride  veiled,  attended  by  her  pronuba, 
or  bridesmaid,  giving  her  hand  at  a  column.  There  are 
also  some  good  drinking-bowls — cylices  and  canihari.  The 
most  beautiful  of  these  painted  vases  are  from  Vulci  ;  and 
two  huge  ampJiorcc  from  Basilicata  contrast  their  florid 
adornments  with  the  more  chaste  and  simple  pottery  of 
Etruria. 

Arezzo  may  be  recognized  in  an  elegant  vase  of  red 
ware,  with  heads  and  fruit  in  relief.  Volterra  has  contri- 
buted sundry  articles  exhibiting  the  characteristic  defects 
of  her  pottery — rudeness  and  carelessness  of  design,  coarse- 
ness of  clay,  inferiority  of  varnish,  and  ungainliness  of 
form.  There  are  some  of  her  favourite  silhouette  jugs,  and 
little  monstrosities  in  the  shape  of  ducks,  with  a  female 
head  painted  on  each  wing.  Of  the  very  early  and  uncouth 
black  ware  of  Chiusi,  Sarteano,  Chianciano,  and  that  district, 


CHAP.  XXXVII.] 


BLACK  WARE  FROM  CHIUSI. 


101 


there  are  numerous  and  excellent  specimens  ;    and  it  is 

these  which  give  this  collection  its  chief  interest,  for  this 

very  characteristic  and  peculiarly  Etruscan  pottery  is  not 

to  be  seen  in  the  Museo  Gregoriano  at  Rome,  in  the  British 

Museum,  or  in  any  other  national  collection  in  Europe,  as 

far  as  I  am  aware.     Here  are  the  tall 

cock-crowned  vases,  with  veiled  larvce 

or  spirits  of  the  dead,  demons,  beasts, 

chimaeras,  and  other  strange  devices, 

surrounding  or  studding  them  in  relief 

— as  is  shown  in  the  curious  jug  at 

the  head  of  this  chapter.1     Some  are 

Canopi,  or  vases  shaped  like  the  head 

and  shoulders  of  a  man,  the  effigy  of 

the  dead  whose  ashes  are  contained 

within.     One   of  them,  shown  in  the 

annexed  wood-cut,  has  less  peculiarity 

than  usual,  and  has  the  body  adorned 

with  figures  in  relief.     The  lid  is  in 

the  form  of  a  cap,  tufted  by  a  bird.2 

There  are  also,  in  the  same  black  ware, 


CaNOPUS    FitCM    CHIUSI. 


1  The  black  ware  of  which  these  vases 
are  made  is  unglazed  and  imperfectly 
varnished;  often  incapable  of  containing 
liquid  ;  whence  it  may  be  inferred  that 
much  of  this  pottery  was  made  ex- 
pressly for  sepulchral  purposes.  Such 
appears  to  be  the  character  of  the  vase 
represented  at  page  92.  The  animals 
in  the  lower  band  are  panthers,  carry- 
ing stags,  conveniently  packed  on  then* 
shoulders,  as  a  fox  carries  a  goose. 
Wild  beasts  with  their  prey  are  most 
common  sepulchral  emblems,  not  only 
on  Etruscan  but  on  Greek  and  Oriental 
monuments.  See  Vol.  I.  p.  359.  The 
heads  in  the  upper  band  seem  to  have 
an  analogy  with  the  silhouettes  on  the 
painted  pottery  of  Volterra.     The  three 


things  between  them  appear  to  be  ala- 
baslra — common  sepulchral  furniture. 
The  horse  is  a  well-known  funereal  em- 
blem, indicative  of  the  passage  from  one 
state  of  existence  to  another.  The  eyes 
scratched  on  the  spout  have  evidently 
an  analogy  to  those  so  often  painted  on 
the  Hellenic  vases  ;  and  have  doubtless 
the  same  symbolic  meaning.  See  Vol. 
I.  Chapter  XXII.  page  438.  Micali,  in 
treating  of  this  vase  (Mon.  Ined.  p.  176), 
takes  them  for  a  charm  against  the  evil 
eye.  The  heads  which  stud  the  handle 
and  top  of  this  vase  are  supposed  to  be 
those  of  Larvce,  or  the  spirits  of  the 
defunct. 

-  This  Canopus  is  described  by  Micali, 
Mon.  Ined,  p.  172  et  seq.  tav.  XXIX. 


102  FIRENZE.  [chap,  xxxvii. 

a  pair  of  jocular i  or  fumigators,  one  round,  the  other  square, 
with  their  incomprehensible  tea-tray  contents — cullenders 
— some  singular  stands  which,  for  want  of  a  better  name 
and  acquaintance  writh  their  use,  are  called  "  asparagus- 
holders," —  large  basket-like  vases  or  trays,  commonly 
called,  for  similar  reasons,  ciste  mistiche, — and  a  variety 
of  drinking-cups  with  bands  of  minute  figures  in  relief, 
which  are  found  also  on  other  sites  in  Etruria.  Not  the 
least  interesting  of  these  Chiusi  vases,  is  a  cinerary  pot, 
with  "  Taechu  "  inscribed  on  it — a  name  rarely  met  with 
before  the  recent  discovery  at  Cervetri  of  the  Tomb  of 
the  Tarquins.3  Nor  must  I  forget  two  oblong  tablets 
of  black  ware,  with  Etruscan  inscriptions ;  commonly 
called  lavagne,  or  "  slates,"  but  which  Professor  Migliarini, 
the  Director  of  the  Antiquities,  jocosely  terms  "visiting- 
cards."  By  the  side  of  this  very  ancient  black  pottery,  there 
are  articles  in  a  very  different  and  much  later  style,  whose 
elegant  forms  and  reliefs,  and  brilliant  varnish,  betray  a 
Greek  origin  or  influence.  They  are  said  to  come  from 
Pompeii.  There  is  also  a  Roman  amphora,  with  a  female 
painted  on  it,  in  the  style  of  the  frescoes  of  Pompeii. 

Among  the  minor  articles,  notice  numerous  votive  offer- 
ings, chiefly  portions  of  the  human  frame, — heads,  portraits 
of  the  deceased,  often  found  in  sepulchres, — many  small 
figures  of  household  gods, — lamps, — masks, — cattle, — ah 
in  baked  clay, — eggs  still  unbroken, — a  curious  little  group 
in  ivory  from  an  Etruscan  tomb  at  Chiusi,  representing  two 
sleeping  children  attacked  by  a  wolf  and  her  young  ones. 
— and  two  beautiful  little  cups  of  variegated  glass. 

3  The    inscription   given    in    Roman  tion  must  refer  to  some  client  or  Greed 

letters,  would  read  thus: — "Mi  Tesan  man   of    the    gem    Tarqumia.     But  ii 

Keia  Tarchu  Menaia."     Micali  (Mon.  Beems  rather  to  mention  some  one  of 

[ned.  p.  Slid,  tav.  LV.   7),  who  gives  a  the  name  of  Tarchon. 
drawing  of  the  pot,  thinks  the  inscrip- 


chap,  xxxvii.]  THE  CHIMERA.— THE  ORATOR.  103 

The  Bronzes. 

The  ancient  bronzes  in  the  Uffizj  are  in  a  small  cham- 
ber— Greek,  Etruscan,  and  Roman,  mingled  indiscrimi- 
nately. The  most  remarkable  objects,  however,  are 
Etruscan,  found  within  the  Grand  Duchy.  In  the  centre 
of  the  room  stand  several  works  of  high  celebrity.  The 
Cholera,  found  at  Arezzo  in  1534,  is  the  legitimate  com- 
pound, having  the  body  of  a  lion,  a  goat's  head  springing 
from  its  back,  and  a  serpent  for  a  tail — the  latter,  however, 
is  a  modern  restoration.  The  figure  is  full  of  expression. 
The  goat's  head  is  already  dying,  and  the  rest  of  the  crea- 
ture is  writhing  in  agony  from  two  wounds  it  has  received 
from  the  spear  of  Bellerophon.  The  style  of  art  much 
resembles  that  of  the  celebrated  Wolf  of  the  Capitol,  but  is 
somewhat  less  archaic  ;  and  its  origin  is  determined  by  the 
word  "  Tinscvil  "  in  Etruscan  characters  on  the  fore  leg.4 

The  Arringatore,  or  Orator,  is  a  beautiful  statue, 
the  size  of  life,  of  a  senator  or  Lucumo,  clad  in  tunic  and 
pallium,  and  high-laced  sandals,  and  with  one  arm  raised 
in  the  attitude  of  haranguing.  On  the  border  of  the 
pallium  is  an  Etruscan  inscription,  which  in  Roman  letters 
would  run  thus  : — 

"Aulesj.  Metelis.  Ve.  Vesial.  Clensi. 
Cen.  Phleres.  Tece.  Sansl.  Tenine. 
tuthines.  chisvlics" 

showing  this  to  be  the  statue  of  Aulus  Metellus,  son  of 
Velius,  by  a  lady  of  the  family  of  Vesius.  Notwithstand- 
ing this  proof  of  its  origin,  the  monument  is  of  no  early 
date,  but  probably  of  the  period  of  Roman  domination, 
before  the  native  language  had  fallen  into  disuse.5  It  was 
found  in  1573,  near  the  shores  of  the  Thrasymene. 

See    Lanzi,    Saggio,    II.    p.    23G  ;       XLII.  2.     Inghir.  III.  tav.  XXI. 

Micali,  Ant.   Pop.  ltal.  III.  p.  61,  tav.  5  Lanzi    (Sagg.    II.   p.   547)    regards 


104  FIRENZE.  [ohap.  xxxvii. 

A  much  more  archaic  figure  is  that  of  Minerva,  found  at 
Arezzo  about  the  same  time  as  the  ChiniEera.  From  her 
attitude  she  might  also  be  engaged  in  haranguing.  Though 
regarded  as  Greek,  this  statue  has  much  of  the  quaint 
character  of  Etruscan  art. 

The  naked  youth,  sometimes  called  Mercury,  was  found 
at  Pesaro,  and  is  probably  Roman.  So  is  also  the  fine 
torso,  discovered  in  the  sea  near  Leghorn,  the  inside  still 
encrusted  with  shells, — and  the  horse's  head,  of  great  spirit 
and  beauty. 

In  the  glass-cases  around  the  room,  the  works  of  various 
ages  and  people  are  so  mingled,  as  to  require  an  experi- 
enced eye  to  pronounce  which  are  Etruscan.  There  are 
sundry  tripods,  and  candelabra  of  various  merit — cauldrons 
— spear-heads,  and  daggers — lamps — mirrors,  both  figured 
and  plain — -pater ce,  with  elegant  handles — a  phiala  of  silver 
— strigils  of  bronze — sacrificial  flesh-hooks — caps  of  chariot- 
wheels  in  the  form  of  dogs'  heads — handles  of  bronze 
amphorce,  with  masks  in  the  scrolls — and  sundry  situlce  or 
small  pails,  one  of  silver,  another  scratched  with  archaic 
figures. 

Two  sistra  are  probably  Roman,  and  so  are  most  of  the 
little  figures  of  deities  and  Lares,  here  so  numerous.  Some, 
however,  are  genuine  Tuscanica  signa,  to  be  distinguished 
principally  by  their  archaic,  and  often  grotesque  character. 
Some  are  as  rudely  misshapen  as  those  from  the  Nuraghe 
of  Sardinia  ;  others  are  fearfully  elongated — a  sure  crite- 
rion of  high  antiquity  ;  others  have  all  the  Egyptian  rigi- 
dity. Many  of  the  females  are  holding  out  their  gowns 
with  one  hand  as  if  preparing  for  a  dance  ;  yet  with  their 
feet  closely  set,  and  their  linibs  too  stiff  for  motion,  they 
remind  one  of  the  young  lady  who,  when  about  to  be  led 

this    statue    as    votive,   and    gives    the       III.  7).     It  is  also  given  by  Mieali  (op. 
inscription  in  Etruscan  characters  (tav.       cit.  p.  64,  tav.  XLIV.  2). 


chap,  xxxvn.]        THE  BRONZES.— ETRUSCAN  COMPASS!  105 

forth  in  a  quadrille,  remained  fixed,  immovable — would  not 
stir  a  step  ;  her  face  suddenly  clouded  with  dismay  and 
alarm,  which  was  not  shared  in  by  those  around  her,  when 
she  whispered  the  cause  of  her  seeming  waywardness — 
"her  garters  had  hooked  together/'  and  she  was  leg- 
locked  !  There  are  also  many  Genii  with  diadems,  and 
patera  in  hand  ;  one  with  a  child  in  his  arms  ;  two  winged 
Lasas,  bearing  the  corpse  of  a  warrior  ;  beside  numerous 
sphinxes,  chimaeras,  centaurs,  and  other  fantastic  monsters. 
Among  them  is  a  bull  with  a  human  head,  which,  from 
the  arms  of  a  man  clasped  round  his  neck,  must  represent 
the  river-god  Achelous,  conquered  by  Hercules. 

There  are  two  small  figures  of  Etruscan  warriors ;  the 
larger,  more  than  a  foot  high,  is  very  similar  to  the  beautiful 
Mars  from  Monte  Falterona,  now  in  the  British  Museum  ; 
and  to  a  painted  figure  in  the  Tomb  of  the  Monkey  at 
Chiusi.  His  helmet  has  a  straight  cockade  on  each  side, 
almost  like  asses'  ears  ;  he  wears  a  scaled  cuirass,  but  his 
thighs  are  bare ;  his  legs  are  defended  by  greaves ;  he 
carries  a  large  embossed  Argolic  buckler  ;  but  the  weapon 
held  in  his  right  hand  is  gone.6 

Much  inquiry  has  been  made  of  late  years  by  English 
travellers  for  a  certain  ''compass"  in  this  collection,  by 
which  the  Etruscans  steered  to  Carnsore  Point  in  the 
county  of  Wexford.  The  first  party  who  asked  for  this 
curious  instrument  met  with  a  prompt  reply  from  Professor 
Migliarini,  the  Director  of  Antiquities  in  Tuscany.  He 
ordered  one  of  his  officers  to  show  the  signori  the  Room  of 
the  Bronzes,  and  particularly  to  point  out  the  Etruscan 
compass.  "  Compass  !  " — bussola  ! — the  man  stared  and 
hesitated,  but  on  the  repetition  of  the  command  led  the 
way,  persuaded  of  his  own  ignorance,  and  anxious  to  dis- 

6  See  Micali,  Italia  av.  Rom.  tav.  XXI.  ;  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  XXXIX. 


|l)6  FIRENZE.  [chap,  xxxvn. 

cover  the  article  with  which  he  was  not  acquainted.  The 
search  was  fruitless — no  compass  could  be  discerned,  and 
the  English  returned  to  the  Professor,  complaining  of  the 
man's  stupidity.  The  learned  Director,  indicating  the  case 
and  shelf  where  it  was  to  be  found,  ordered  him  to  return 
with  the  party.  A  second  search  proved  no  more  suc- 
cessful ;  and  the  officer,  half  dubiously,  was  obliged  to  con- 
fess his  ignorance.  Whereon  the  Professor  went  with  the 
party  to  the  room,  and  taking  down  a  certain  article,  exhi- 
bited it  as  the  compass.  "  Diamine ! "  cried  the  man,  "  I 
always  took  that  for  a  lamp,  an  eight-branched  lamp," — 
not  daring  to  dispute  the  Professor's  word,  though  strongly 
doubting  his  seriousness.  "  Know  then  in  future."  said 
Migliarini,  "  that  this  has  been  discovered  by  a  learned 
Eno-lishman  to  be  an  '  Etrusco-Phcenician  nautical  com- 

o 

pass,'  used  by  the  Etruscans  to  steer  by  on  their  voyages 
to  Ireland,  which  was  a  colony  of  theirs,  and  this  inscrip- 
tion, written  in  pure  Irish  or  Etruscan,  which  is  all  tli6 
same  thing,  certifies  the  fact — '  In  the  night  on  a  voyage 
out  or  home  in  sailing  happily  always  in  clear  weather  is 
known  the  course  of  going.'  "  7 

In  the  Cabinet  of  Gems  in  the  Uffizj,  there  are  a  few  of 
Etruscan  antiquity,  among  them  the  well-known  one  of  two 
Salii  carrying  six  ancilia  on  a  pole  between  them.8     Here 

'  Sir  William  Betham,  when  he  found  the  centre  is  a  Medusa's  head,  with 
this  mare's  nest  (Etruria  Celtica,  II.  p.  wings  on  the  temples,  as  on  the  lamps 
268),  had  evidently  made  acquaintance  in  the  Tomb  of  the  Volumni  at  Perugia, 
with  the  relic  only  through  published  This  monument  has  been  illustrated  by 
illusti-ations,  which  all  present  but  one  several  of  the  early  writers  on  Etruscan 
view  of  it.  Had  he  personally  inspected  auticniities.  Dempster,  de  Etruria  Re- 
it,  he  must  have  confessed  it  an  eight-  gali,  I.  tab.  VIII. ;  Gori,  Museum  Etrus- 
branched  lamp,  with  the  holes  for  the  cum,  I.  p.  xxx. ;  Lanzi,  Saggio,  II.  tav. 
wicks,  and  reservoir  for  the  oil.     The  XIV.  3. 

inscription  runs  in  a  circle  round  the  8  This   is   illustrated   by    Lanzi,   II. 

bottom,  aud  in  Romau  letters  would  be  tav.  IV.  1;  but  better  by  Inghirami,  VI. 

— Mi.      Sithil.     Velthuri.     Thura.  tav.  B  5,  6  ;  and  Gori,  I.  tab.  CXCYIil. 

Turce.  Au.  Velthuri.  Ph.mslal.     In  1. 


chap,  xxxvu.]    SINGULAR  DISCOVERY  ON  M.  FALTERONA.        107 

are  also  some  beautifully  wrought  ornaments  in  gold,  from 
the  tombs  of  Volterra. 

Besides  the  collection  in  the  Uffizj,  the  Grand  Duke  has 
a  few  Etruscan  relics  in  his  private  laboratory,  principally 
brought  from  the  Maremma.  I  have  not  seen  them,  but 
the  tone  in  which  I  have  heard  them  spoken  of  by  high 
authority,  as  " roba  di  Maremma"  was  expressive  rather 
of  their  quality  than  of  the  place  of  their  discovery  ;  and 
satisfied  me  that  there  was  not  much  to  see. 

In  the  court  of  the  Palazzo  Buonarroti  at  Florence,  is  a 
slab  of  sandstone  with  the  figure  of  an  Etruscan  warrior  in 
relief.  He  is  almost  naked,  with  only  a  cloth  about  his 
loins ;  his  hair  hangs  loosely  down  his  back ;  he  holds  a 
spear  in  one  hand  and  a  lotus-flower,  with  a  little  bird  on 
the  stalk,  in  the  other.  The  clumsiness,  the  Egyptian 
rigidity  of  this  figure,  mark  it  as  of  high  antiquity  ;  an 
inscription  proves  it  to  be  Etruscan.  It  was  discovered 
ages  since  at  Fiesole.9 

Monte  Falterona. 

Relics  of  Etruscan  art  are  not  always  found  in  sepulchres 
— the  celebrated  lamp  of  Cortona  and  the  numerous  scara- 
bei  of  Chiusi  are  evidences  to  the  contrary.  But  the  most 
abundant  collection  of  non-sepulchral  relics  that  Etruria 
has  produced  was  discovered  in  the  summer  of  1838 — not 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  city  or  necropolis — not  even  in 
any  of  the  rich  plains  or  vallics  which  anciently  teemed 
with  population,  but,  strange  to  say !  near  the  summit  of  one 

9  Buonarroti,    Michael  Angelo's  ne-  Larthi  Asses;,  or  Anises.    Micali  (Ant. 

phew   (p.  95,  Explic.  ad  Dempst.  II.),  Pop.  Ital.  III.  p.  80,  tav.  LI.)  takes  the 

could  not  tell  the  date  of  its  discovery  ;  lotus  and  bird  to  be  mystic  emblems  of 

he  only  knew  he  had  received  it  from  the  resurrection  of  the  soul.  This  nionu- 

hia  ancestors.     The  relief  is  about  3  ft.  ment  is  illustrated  also  by  Gori,  Mus. 

9  in.  high.     The    Etruscan   inscription  Etrus.  III.  p.  ii.,  tab.  XV111.   1  ;  and 

would    run    thus  in    Roman    letters —  Micali,  Ital.  av.  Rom.  tav.  XI V.  1. 


108  FIRENZE.  [chap,  xxxvu. 

of  the  Apennines,  one  of  the  loftiest  mountains  in  Tuscany, 
which  rises  to  the  height  of  5,400  feet,  and  from  which, 
Ariosto  tells  us,  both  seas  are  visible.1  This  is  Monte  Fal- 
terona,  about  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  east  of  Florence, 
the  mountain  in  which  the  Arno  takes  its  rise,  as  Dante 
says — 

Un  fiumicel  che  nasce  in  Falterona. 

On  the  same  level  with  the  source  of  this  celebrated  river 
is  a  lake,  or  tarn,  called  Ciliegeto,  on  whose  banks  a 
shepherdess,  sauntering  in  dreamy  mood,  chanced  to  cast 
her  eye  on  something  sticking  in  the  soil.  It  proved  to 
be  a  little  figure  in  bronze.  She  carried  it  home  ;  and 
taking  it  in  her  simplicity  for  the  image  of  some  holy  man 
of  God,  set  it  up  in  her  hut  to  aid  her  private  devotions. 
The  parish-priest,  paying  a  pastoral  visit,  observed  this 
mannikin,  and  inquired  what  it  was.  "  A  saint,"  replied 
the  girl ;  but  incredulous  of  its  sanctity,  or  not  considering 
it  a  fit  object  for  a  maiden's  adoration,  he  carried  it  away 
with  him.  The  fact  got  wind  in  the  neighbouring  town  of 
Stia  del  Casentino,  and  some  of  the  inhabitants  agreed  to 
make  researches  on  the  spot.  A  single  day  sufficed  to 
bring  to  light  a  quantity  of  such  images  and  other  articles 
in  bronze,  to  the  number  of  three  hundred  and  thirty-five, 
lying  confusedly  on  the  shores  of  the  lake,  just  beneath 
the  surface.  They  then  proceeded  to  drain  the  lake,  and 
discovered  in  its  bed  a  prodigious  quantity  of  trunks  of  fir 
and  beech  trees,  heaped  confusedly  on  one  another,  with 
their  roots  often  uppermost  as  if  they  had  been  overthrown 
by  some  might}7  convulsion  of  nature  ;  and  on  them  lay 
many  other  similar  figures  in  bronze  ;  so  that  the  total 
number  of  articles  in  this  metal  here  discovered  amounted 


1  Inghirami,  the  astronomer,  called  it  2825  bracda,  P>  soldi,  above  the  level  of 
the  sea. 


chap,  xxxvii.]  BRONZES  OF  MONTE  FALTERONA.  109 

to  between  six  and  seven  hundred.  They  were  mostly 
human  figures  of  both  sexes,  many  of  them  of  gods  and 
Penates,  varying  in  size  from  two  or  three  to  seventeen 
inches  in  height.  But  how  came  they  here  1  was  the 
question  which  puzzled  every  one  to  answer.  At  first  it 
was  thought  they  had  been  cast  into  the  lake  for  preserva- 
tion during  some  political  convulsion,  or  hostile  invasion, 
and  afterwards  forgotten.  But  further  examination  showed 
they  were  mostly  of  a  votive  character — offerings  at  some 
shrine,  for  favours  expected  or  received.  Most  of  them 
had  their  arms  extended  as  if  in  the  act  of  presenting 
gifts  ;  others  were  clearly  representations  of  beings  suffer- 
ing from  disease,  especially  one  who  had  a  wound  in  his 
chest,  and  a  frame  wasted  by  consumption  or  atrophy ; 
and  there  were,  moreover,  a  number  of  decided  ex-votos — 
heads  and  limbs  of  various  portions  of  the  human  body, 
and  many  images  of  domestic  animals,  also  of  a  votive 
character.  All  this  implied  the  existence  of  a  shrine  on 
this  mountain,  surrounded,  as  the  trees  seemed  to  indicate, 
by  a  sacred  grove,  like  that  of  Feronia  or  Soracte,  and  of 
Silvanus  at  Caere  ;2  and  it  seemed  that,  by  one  of  those 
terrible  convulsions  to  which  this  land  has  from  age  to  age 
been  subject,  the  shrine  and  grove  had  been  hurled  down 
into  this  cavity  of  the  mountain.  It  is  well  known  that 
such  catastrophes  have  in  past  ages  occurred  on  Monte 
Falterona.  For  it  is  composed  of  stratified  sandstone 
(macigno),  and  argillaceous  schist  (Jrisciajo),  which  latter, 
being  very  friable,  has  given  way  under  the  pressure  of  the 
superincumbent  mass,  and  caused  tremendous  landslips, 
by  which  extensive  forests  have  been  precipitated  down 
the  slopes.3  No  traces,  however,  of  a  shrine,  or  of  any 
habitation,  were  discovered  with  the  relics  in  this  lake. 

2  That  of  Silvanus  was  girt  about  with  3  Repetti  (II.  p.  91)  records  three  of 

firs.     Virg.  Mn.  VIII.  59.0.  these  landslips  :  the  first  on  15th  May, 


110  FIRENZK.  [chap,  xxxvii. 

There  were  some  articles  of  very  different  character 
mixed  with  these  figures,  the  existence  of  which  on  such  a 
site  was  still  more  difficult  to  explain.  Such  were  frag- 
ments of  knives  and  swords,  and  the  heads  of  darts,  all  of 
iron,  in  great  numbers,  not  less,  it  is  said,  than  two  thou- 
sand, much  injured  by  rust ;  besides  great  chains,  and 
fibulae,  and  shapeless  pieces  of  bronze  from  two  ounces  to 
two  pounds  in  weight,  recognised  by  antiquaries  as  the 
primitive  money  of  Italy — the  <ss  rude,  which  preceded 
the  coined  metal,  or  ces  signatum,  and  was  valued  by  its 
weight — together  -with  fragments  of  the  better-known 
coinage.  Broken  pottery,  too,  of  the  coarsest  description, 
was  mingled  with  the  other  articles,  and  also  found  scat- 
tered at  some  distance  from  the  lake. 

The  weapons  have  been  accounted  for  in  various  ways — 
as  the  relics  of  some  battle  fought  on  the  spot,  which,  be 
it  remembered,  was  border-ground  for  ages  ;4  or  as  the 
offering  of  some  military  legion  ;5  or  as  indicating  that  the 
shrine  here  was  sacred  to  the  god  of  war.6 

A  solution  of  the  mysteries  of  tins  lake  has  been  offered 
by  Dr.  Emil  Braun,  the  learned  secretary  of  the  Archae- 
ological Institute  of  Rome ;  and  it  is  so  novel  and  ingenious 
that  I  must  give  it  to  the  reader. 

He  commences  by  observing  that  the  trees  found  in  the 
lake  had  been  completely  deprived  of  vitality,  the  water 

1335,  when  a  spur  of  the  mountain  slid  brought  about  the  fall  of  the  Ros> 

down  more  than  four  miles,  burying  a  in  Switzerland,  where  the  clayey  strata, 

town  with  all  its  inhabitants,  and  pen-  lying  beneath  the  heavier  conglomerate, 

dering  the  waters  of  the  Arno  turbid  for  were  converted  into  mud  by  the  perco- 

more  than  two  months  ;  the  second  on  lation  of  water,  and  ceased  to  be  able  to 

l"th    May,    1G41  ;    the   latest   on  15th  afford  support.     The  season  of  the  year 

May,  1827,  when  the   Arno  was  again  in  which  each  of  these  Italian  landslips 

reddened   for   several   weeks   with   the  occurred,  just  after  the  fall  of  the  early 

mud.     From  the  quantity  of  water  that  rains,  confirms  this  view. 

came  down  with  the  first  of  these  land-  4  Bull.  Inst.  1838,  p.  70 — Migliarini. 

slips,  it  is  highly  probable  that  the  same  5  Bull.  Inst.  1 038,  p.  66 — Inghirami. 

causes    were    in    operation    here    that  r'  Bull.  Inst.  1842,  p.  180. 


chap,  xxxvn.]     MYSTERY  OF  THE  LAKE  EXPLAINED.  Ill 

having  absorbed  all  the  resinous  parts  which  they  possessed 
when  green.  He  considers  that  the  convulsion  or  disloca- 
tion of  the  mountain,  which  hurled  them  into  this  spot, 
must  have  occurred  long  prior  to  the  period  when  the 
bronzes  and  other  articles  were  here  deposited,  otherwise 
the  latter  would  have  been  buried  beneath  the  former,  and 
not  regularly  set  around  the  lake.  He  thinks  that  the  lake 
was  formed  at  the  time  that  the  landslip  occurred,  and  that 
its  waters  acquired  a  medicinal  quality  from  the  trees  it 
contained,  the  parts  which  gave  them  that  virtue  being- 
identical  with  those  from  which  modern  chemistry  ex- 
tracts creosote.  Now,  the  diseases  which  are  shown  in 
the  ew-votos,  are  just  such,  he  observes,  as  are  remediable 
by  that  medicine.  The  stiptic  water  of  Pinelli,  so  cele- 
brated for  stopping  the  hemorrhage  of  recent  wounds,  has 
a  base  of  creosote  ;  and  hither,  it  seems,  flocked  crowds  of 
wounded  warriors,  who  left  their  weapons  in  acknowledg- 
ment of  their  cure.  The  virtues  of  the  same  medicine,  in 
curbing  the  attacks  of  phthisis,  are  now  recognised  by 
medical  men  of  every  school ;  and  by  patients  labouring 
under  this  disorder  the  lake  seems  to  have  been  especially 
frequented.  Creosote  also  is  a  specific  against  numerous 
diseases  to  which  the  fair  sex  are  subject,  and  such  seem, 
from  the  figures,  to  have  resorted  in  crowds  to  these  waters. 
To  free  his  theory  from  the  charge  of  caprice  or  fantasy, 
the  learned  doctor  cites  the  case  of  a  similar  lake  in  China, 
which  is  known  to  have  imbibed  marvellous  medicinal 
qualities  from  the  trunks  of  trees  casually  immersed  in  its 
waters.6 

7  Bull.   Instit.    1842,   pp.    179—184.  Coelo-Syria,  between  Biblos  and  Helio- 

The  opinion  that  the  bronzes  were  de-  polis,  stood  near  the  summit  of  Mount 

posited   as  votive  offerings  around  the  Lebanon,   and    in   its   waters   votaries 

lake,  is  borne  out  by  a  similar  fact  men-  were  wont  to  deposit  their  gifts,   which 

tioned  by  ancient  writers.     The  sacred  were   not    only   of    bronze,    gold,   and 

lake  and  grove  of  Venus  Aphacitis,  in  silver,  but  also  of  linen  and  bimta  ;  and 


112  FIRENZE.  [chap,  xxxvit. 

I  leave  it  to  medical  readers,  allcaopathic  and  homoeo- 
pathic, to  determine  the  correctness  of  this  theor}T  ;  to  me 
it  seems  that  se  non  e  rero,  e  ben  trovato. 

I  must  add  a  word  on  the  bronzes.  Most  are  very  rude, 
like  the  offerings  of  peasants,  but  a  few  are  in  the  best 
Etruscan  style.  One  antiquary  considers  them  to  show 
every  stage  of  art,  from  its  infancy  to  its  perfection  under 
Greek  influence,  and  again  to  its  decline.8  Another  per- 
ceives no  traces  of  Roman,  much  less  of  Imperial  times,  but 
refers  them  all  to  a  purely  native  origin.9  Certain  it  is 
that  some  show  the  perfection  of  Etruscan  art.  Such  is 
the  figure  of  a  warrior,  with  helmet,  cuirass,  and  shield, 
generally  called  Mars,1  which  may  rival  that  of  the  said 
deity  in  the  Florence  gallery, — a  Hercules,  with  the  lion's 
skin  over  his  shoulders — the  "  saint,"  I  believe,  of  the 
pastorella,  though  "not  in  saintly  garb,'"2 — a  Diana,  said  to 
resemble  the  celebrated  archaic  statue  of  marble  found  at 
Pompeii, — and  a  woman's  leg  and  arm  of  great  beauty,3 
These,  with  a  few  more  of  the  choicest  produce  of  the  lake, 
are  now  to  be  seen  in  the  British  Museum,  in  the  "  Room 
of  the  Bronzes,"  of  which  they  form  the  chief  ornament.4 

A  still  more  recent  discovery  has  been  made  on  one  of 
the  Apennines,  between  Monte  Falterona  and  Romagna, 
where  many  coins  were  found,  principally  asses,  but  among 
them  a  very  rare  quincussis,  like  that  in  the  Bacci  collec- 
tion at  Arezzo,  which  till  now  has  been  unique.5 

a   yearly  festival  was  long  held  there,  ■ — 68  (Inghirami) ;  Bull.  Inst.  1838,  pp 

which  was  ultimately  suppressed  by  Con-  69 — 70  (Migliarini)  ;  Bull.    Inst.   1842 

stantine.  See  Bull.  Inst.  1845.  p.  96  (Cave-  pp.179 — 184  (Braun)  ;    Micali,    Mon 

doni),  and  the  authorities  there  cited.  Ined.    tav.    XII. —  XVI.   pp.86  — 102 

s  Migliarini,  Bull.  Inst.  1838,  p.  69.  Braun's  review  of  the  same,  Ann.  Inst 

9  Micali,  Mon.  Ined.  p.  89.  1843,  p.  354. 

1  Idem.             tav.  XII.  4  The  rest  of  the  collection  is  also  in 

2  Idem.             tav.  XV.  London,  in   the   hands   of  Signor  Do- 

3  For  notices  of  this  curious  lake  and  nienico  Campanari. 

its  contents,  see  Bull.  Inst.  1838,  pp.  65  5  Micali,  Mon.  Ined.  p.  89. 


chap,  xxxvii.]  SINGULAR  TOMB  AT  FIGLINE.  113 

Eighteen  miles  on  the  road  from  Florence  to  Arezzo  is 
the  little  town  of  Figline,  which  had  never  been  suspected 
of  possessing  Etruscan  antiquities  in  its  neighbourhood,  till 
in  1843  a  sepulchre  was  discovered  on  a  hill  hardly  a  mile 
beyond  it.  The  roof  had  fallen  in,  but  it  was  evident  that 
the  tomb  had  been  formed  of  masonry,  the  hill  being  of 
too  soft  an  earth  to  admit  of  excavated  sepulchres  ;  the 
pavement  was  of  opus  incertum — a  very  singular  feature, 
which  I  have  never  seen,  or  heard  of  as  existing  else- 
where in  an  Etruscan  tomb.  But  a  still  more  remarkable 
thing  was  that  around  one  of  the  urns  which  had  a  female 
recumbent  figure  on  the  lid,  was  scattered  an  immense 
quantity  of  gold  leaf  in  minute  fragments,  twisted  and 
crumpled,  which  seemed  to  have  been  thrown  over  the 
figure  in  a  sheet  or  veil,  and  to  have  been  torn  to  pieces 
by  the  fall  of  the  roof,  which  had  destroyed  most  of  the 
urns.  It  was  of  the  purest  gold,  beaten  out  very  thin  ; 
and  the  fragments  collected  weighed  about  half  a  pound.6 

Other  Etruscan  relics  have  been  discovered  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Florence  in  past  times.  Buonarroti — the 
painter's  nephew — states,  that,  in  1689,  at  a  spot  called 
St.  Andrea  a  Morgiano,  in  the  heights  above  Antella,  a 
village  a  few  miles  to  the  south-east  of  Florence,  he  saw  an 
Etruscan  inscription  cut  in  large  letters  in  the  rock.7  At 
Antella  has  also  been  found  a  stele,  or  monumental  stone, 
with  bas-reliefs,  in  two  compartments — one  representing  a 

6  Migliarini,  Bull.  Inst.  1843,  pp.  seuts  it  as  merely  a  huge  stone  cut  from 
35 — 7.  It  may  be  that  the  so-called  the  rock,  1.5  Roman  feet  long,  by  6  high, 
opus  incertum  of  the  pavement  was  only  with  letters  (i  inches  in  height.  The 
a  collection  of  small  stones  put  down  at  inscription  translated  into  Roman  letters 
random,   for    no    mention    is   made   of  would  be 

cement,  which  forms  the  basis  of  the 
Roman  masonry  known  by  that  name. 

7  Buonar.  p.  95,  Explicat.  ad  Dempst. 
torn.  II.     Passeri  (p.  65,  ap.  Gori,  Mus.       It  was  found  on  the  estate  of  the  Cap- 
Etrus.  III.  tab.  XV.),  however,  repre-       poni  family. 

VOL.  TI.  I 


TULAll  .  Mr   .  A  .  VIS 
AU  .  CURCLI 


114  FIRENZE.  [chap,  xxxvii. 

pair  of  figures  on  the  banqueting-couch,  and  a  slave  standing 
by  ;  the  other,  a  pair  sitting  opposite,  with  a  table  between 
them.  It  is  of  very  archaic  character,  and  the  Egyptian 
rigidity  of  the  figures  and  cast  of  the  countenances  is  very 
marked.  It  is  now  in  the  possession  of  Signor  Peruzzi  of 
Florence.8 

At  SanMartino  alia  Palma,  five  or  six  miles  from  Florence, 
a  little  to  the  left  of  the  road  to  Leghorn,  some  monu- 
ments of  Etruscan  art  have  been  found — a  female  statue 
of  marble,  headless,  with  a  dove  in  her  hand,  and  an 
inscription  on  her  robes;9  and  a  singular,  circular,  altar-like 
cippas,  four  feet  high,  with  figures  in  high  relief — a  warrior, 
preceded  by  two  lictors,  and  followed  by  two  citizens,  one 
of  whom  is  embracing  him.  It  has  an  Etruscan  inscription 
above.1 

At  San  Casciano,  eight  or  ten  miles  on  the  road  to  Siena, 
Etruscan  inscriptions  and  bronzes  have  been  found  in  ages 
past  ;2  and  about  the  ruins  of  a  castle,  called  Pogna,  or 
Castro  Pogna,  on  a  height  two  miles  to  the  west  of 
Tavarnelle,  on  the  same  road,  numerous  Etruscan  urns 
have  been  found,  as  far  back  as  three  or  four  hundred 
years  since.  They  are  said  to  have  been  of  marble  and  of 
elegant  character,  and  to  have  had  peculiarities  of  form 


8  Inghirami  gives  illustrations  of  this  be   of  much   earlier   date,  and  of  un- 

singular  stele  (Mon.  Etrus.  VI.  tav.  C.  D.  doubted  Etruscan  antiquity.     See  Vol.  I. 

E.)     This  is  an  instance  of  the  fallacy  p.  344. 

of  the  mode  of  determining  the  antiquity  9  Buonarroti  (pp.  13,  29,  tab.  XLIII.) 
of  monuments  from  the  presence  or  took  this  figure  for  Venus,  or  the 
absence  of  the  beard.  Inghirami  pro-  nymph  Begoe,  of  whom  mention  has 
nounces  that  this  cannot  be  earlier  than  already  been  made — Vol.  I.  p.  447. 
the  fifth  century  of  the  City,  because  the  i  Buonar.  p.  29,  tab.  XLVI.  The  lictors 
males  here  are  beardless  ;  and  barbers  had  no  axes  in  their  fasces.  Both  these 
are  said  by  Pliny  (VII.  59)  to  have  monuments  were  formerly  in  the  posses- 
been  introduced  into  Rome  in  the  year  sion  of  the  Delia  Stufa  family.  Where 
454;  whereas  the  style  of  art,  a  much  they  are  now  I  do  not  know, 
safer  criterion,  shows  this  monument  to  2  Idem,  p.  96. 


chap.  xxxvu.J  THE  FRANQOIS  VASE.  115 

and  style.     The  castle  was  destroyed  in  1185.     The  site 
must  have  been  originally  Etruscan.3 


APPENDIX   TO    CHAPTER    XXXVII. 

Note. — The  Francois  Vase. 

This  monument  is  of  such  splendour  and  interest,  that  it  demands  a 
detailed  description.  Like  the  painted  pottery  of  Etruria  in  general, 
it  represents  subjects  from  the  mythological  cycle  of  the  Greeks,  and 
all  its  inscriptions  are  in  the  Greek  character 

To  begin  with  the  neck  of  the  vase,  which  has  two  bands  of  figures  : — 
The  upper  contains,  on  one  side,  the  Hunt  of  the  boar  of  Calydon.  All 
the  heroes,  and  even  the  dogs,  have  their  appellations  attached.  The 
most  prominent  are  Peleus,  Meleagros,  Atalate,  Melanion,  Akastos, 
Asmetos,  Simon,  and  the  great  Twin-brethren,  Kastor  and  Poludeukes 
(Pollux).  At  each  end  of  this  scene  is  a  sphinx.  On  the  other  side  is 
a  subject  which  is  explained  as  the  Return  of  Theseus  from  the 
slaughter  of  the  Minotaur,  and  the  rejoicings  consequent  on  his  triumph. 
A  ship  full  of  men  is  approaching  the  land  ;  Phaidimos  jumps  ashore  ; 
another  casts  himself  into  the  sea,  in  his  eagerness  to  reach  the  beach, 
on  which  a  band  of  thirteen  youths  and  maidens — all  named  seriatim 
— are  dancing  in  honour  of  the  hero  Theseus,  who  plays  the  lyre,  with 
Ariane  (Ariadne)  at  his  side. 

The  second  band  has,  on  one  side,  the  Battle  of  the  Centaurs  and 
Lapithae,  all  with  names  attached.  Here  again  Theseus  is  prominent 
in  the  fight.  On  the  other  side,  are  the  Funeral  Games  in  honour  of 
Patroclus,  represented  by  a  race  of  five  quadrigae,  driven  by  Oluteus, 
Automedon,  Diomedes,  Damasipos,  and  Hipo  .  .  on  ;  while  Achileus 
himself  stands  at  the  goal  with  a  tripod  for  the  victor,  and  other  tripods 
and  vases  are  seen  beneath  the  chariots. 


3  Buonar.  pp.  33,  et  seq.  Repetti  (IV.  to  the  cast,  a  marble  cippus,  with  an 
p.  498)  says  that  the  ruins  of  the  castle  Etruscan  inscription,  was  discovered  in 
are  now  called  Le  Masse  del  Poggio  di  1700.  Buonar.  p.  96.  The  "  marble  "  in 
Marcialla.     Near  Panzano,  some  miles       these  monuments  was  probably  alabaster. 

i  2 


116  FIRENZE.  [appendix  to 

The  third  ami  principal  hand  represents  the  Marriage  of  Peleus  and 
Thetis.  The  goddess  is  sitting  in  a  Doric  temple.  Before  the  portico, 
at  an  altar,  designated  Bo/* . .,  on  which  rests  a  cantharus,  stands  her 
mortal  spouse,  his  hand  held  by  the  Centaur  Chikon,  who  is  followed  by 
Iris,  with  her  caduceus  ;  the  Nymphs  Hestia  and  Chariklo,  and  another 
of  indistinct  name  ;  Dionisos  bearing  an  amphora  on  his  shoulders ; 
and  the  three  Horai.  Next  comes  a  long  procession  of  deities  in 
quadrigae  —  Zeus  and  Hera  in  the  first,  attended  by  Orania  and 
KALiorE.  Who  follow  in  the  next  two  chariots,  is  not  clear — the 
name  of  Anphitrite  is  alone  legible;  but  both  are  attended  by  the 
other  Muses.  Ares  and  Aphrodite  occupy  the  fourth  car  ;  Hermes 
and  his  mother  Maia,  the  sixth  ;  and  the  name  of  Ociieanos  is  alone 
left  to  mark  the  occupants  of  the  seventh.  Hephaistos  mounted  on  his 
donkey  terminates  the  procession. 

On  the  fourth  band,  Achilles  is  displaying  his  proverbial  swiftness  of 
foot,  by  pursuing  a  youth  who  is  galloping  with  a  pair  of  horses  towards 
the  gates  of  Troy.  The  same  subject  has  been  found  on  other 
vases  ;  but  this  is  the  first  to  make  known  the  youth  as  Tro'i'los.  The 
son  of  Peleus  is  followed  by  his  mother  Thetis,  by  Athena,  Hermes, 
and  Rhodia — all  near  a  fountain,  with  its  Greek  designation — KpT]m) — 
where  Troilus  seems  to  have  been  surprised.  Under  his  steeds'  feet  lies  a 
water-jar,  called  vbpla,  which  has  been  cast  away  in  terror  by  a  female  who 
is  near  him.  The  walls  of  Troy,  to  which  he  hastens,  are  painted  white, 
and  are  of  regular  Greek  masonry.  The  gate  is  not  arched,  but  has  a 
flat  lintel.  From  it  issue  Hektor  and  Polites,  armed  for  the  rescue  of 
their  brother.  Outside  the  gate,  on  a  seat  or  throne  marked  9a*co$, 
sits  the  venerable  Priamos,  talking  with  his  son  Antenor.  At  the  foun- 
tain are  two  of  the  Trojans  (Troon) — one  is  filling  a  jar,  the  water 
flowing  from  spouts  like  panthers'  heads. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  fountain,  is  the  Return  of  Hephaistos  to 
Heaven.  Zeus  and  Hera  occupy  a  throne  at  one  end  of  the  scene,  and 
behind  them  stand  Athena,  Ares,  and  Artemis  ;  while  before  them 
stand  Dionisos  and  Aphrodite,  as  if  to  plead  for  the  offending  son  of 
Jove.     He  follows  on  an  ass,  attended  by   Silenoi  and  the  Nymphs 

(NlPHAl). 

The  fifth  band  contains  the  common  subject  of  beasts  of  various 
descriptions  engaged  in  combat,  or  devouring  their  prey — griffons, 
sphinxes,  lions,  panthers,  boars,  bulls,  &c. 

The  sixth  band  is  on  the  foot  of  the  vase,  and  represents  the  Pigmies, 
mounted  on  goats  for  chargers,  encountering  their  foes,  the  Cranes. 
Neither   of  these  last    two  bands   has   inscriptions.      The  potter's   and 


CHAP.  XXXVII.] 


THE  FRANCOIS  VASE. 


117 


painter's  names  are  on  the  principal  band.  The  vase  speaks  for  itself, 
and  says,  \ASlQ>P<e\\3tA\f\\J  \  4  >  "  Clitias  drew  me," 
and  EPAOTIMO^MEnOIEJEA/  "Ergotimos  made  me."  The 
inscriptions  run,  some  from  right  to  left,  but  most  from  left  to  right, 
generally  according  to  the  direction  of  the  figures  to  which  they  are 
attached. 

On  one  handle  of  the  amphora,  is  a  winged  Diana  grasping  two 
panthers  by  the  neck,  and  on  the  other  the  same  figure  holding  a 
panther  and  a  stag.1  And  beneath  these  groups  is  Aias  (Ajax) 
bearing  the  dead  body  of  Akileus.  Within  each  handle  is  a  Fury, 
with  open  mouth,  gnashing  teeth,  wings  spread,  and  in  the  act  of 
running — the  same  figure  that  occurs  so  often  on  Etruscan  vases  and 
bronzes.  An  illustration  of  it  has  been  given  in  the  eyed  cylix  from 
Vulci,  at  page  397  of  Vol.  I.  ;  and  a  further  specimen  is  presented  in 
the  subjoined  cantharus,  or  goblet. 


1  The  winged  Artemis  on  the  Chest  of 
Cvpselus  held  in  this  way  a  lion  in  one 
hand,  and  a  panther  in  the  other.  Pausan. 
V.  19.     Such  figures  seem   to  have  their 


type  in  the  Babylonian  cylinders,  where 
they  are  often  represented,  throttling  lions 
or  swans. 


CANTHARUS,    WITH     A     FURY    AND    TWO    FAUNS. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

FIESOLB.— FJ2SULM 

Chi  Fiesol  hedifico  conobbe  el  loco 

Come  gia  per  gli  cieli  ben  composto. — Faccio  degli  Uberti. 

Vires  autem  veteres  earum  urbium  hodieque  magnitudo  ostentat  moenium. 

Vell.  Patercuias. 

The  first  acquaintance  the  traveller  in  Italy  makes  with 
Etruscan  antiquities — the  first  time,  it  may  be,  that  he  is 
reminded  of  such  a  race — is  generally  at  Fiesole.  The 
close  vicinity  to  Florence,  and  the  report  that  some  remains 
are  to  be  seen  there,  far  older  than  Roman  days,  attract 
the  visitor  to  the  spot.  He  there  beholds  walls  of  great 
massiveness,  and  a  few  other  remains,  but  forms  a  very 
imperfect  conception  of  the  race  that  constructed  them. 
He  learns,  it  is  true,  from  the  skill  displayed  in  these 
monuments,  that  the  Etruscans  could  not  have  been  a 
barbarous  people  ;  but  the  extent  and  character  of  their 
civilisation  are  still  to  him  a  mystery.  It  is  not  at  Fiesole 
that  this  early  people  is  to  be  comprehended. 

Who,  that  has  visited  Florence,  does  not  know  Fiesole — 
the  Hampstead  or  Highgate  of  the  Tuscan  capital — the 
Sunday  resort  of  Florentine  Cockneyism  '?  Who  does  not 
know  that  it  forms  one  of  the  most  picturesque  objects  in 
the  scenery  around  that  most  elegant  of  cities,  crowning  a 
height,  three  miles  to  the  north,  with  its  vine-shaded  villas 
and  cypress-girt  convents,  and  rearing  its  tall  Cathedral- 
tower  between  the  two  crests  of  the  mount  %     Who  has 


chap,  xxxvni.]     THE  ETRUSCAN  WALLS  OF  F^ESULjE.  119 

not  lingered  awhile  on  Ins  way  at  Dante's  mill,  and,  in 
spite  of  the  exclusiveness  of  English  proprietorship,  who 
has  not  in  imagination  overleapt  the  walls  of  the  Villa, 
hallowed  by  "  The  Hundred  Tales  of  Love,"  and  beheld 

"  Boccaccio's  Garden  and  its  faery, 
The  love,  the  joyaunce,  and  the  gallantry  !  " 

It  may  seem  superfluous  to  give  a  description  of  Fiesole 
when  it  is  to  be  found  in  every  guide-book  that  treats  of 
Florence ;  yet,  as  an  Etruscan  city,  it  demands  some 
notice ;  and  I  may  chance  to  state  a  few  facts  beyond 
what  are  to  be  found  in  the  said  publications. 

As  the  visitor  ascends  the  hill  by  the  new  carriage-road, 
he  will  perceive,  just  before  reaching  the  town,  a  portion  of 
the  ancient  wall  climbing  the  steep  on  the  right.  This  is  a 
very  inferior  specimen  in  point  of  massiveness  and  preserva- 
tion, to  what  he  may  see  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  city. 
Let  him  then  cross  the  Piazza,  and  take  a  path  behind  the 
Cathedral,  which  will  lead  him  to  the  northern  brow  of  the 
hill.  Here  he  finds  a  superb  remnant  of  the  ancient  forti- 
fications, stretching  away  to  his  right,  and  rising  to  the 
height  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet.  The  masonry  is  widely 
different  from  that  of  ancient  sites  in  southern  Etruria. 
The  hard  rock  of  which  the  hill  is  composed,1  not  admitting 
of  being  worked  so  easily  as  the  tufo  and  other  soft  volcanic 
formations  of  the  southern  plains,  has  been  cut  into  blocks 
of  various  sizes,  as  they  chanced  to  be  split  out  from  the 
quarry,  but  generally  squared,  and  laid  in  horizontal  courses. 
Strict  regularity,  however,  was  by  no  means  observed.  The 
courses  vary  in  depth  from  about  one  foot  to  two  or  three, 
the  average  being  above  two  ;  and  in  length  also  the  blocks 
vary  greatly,  some  being  square,  others  as  much  as  seven, 

1  It  is  correctly  termed  macigno  by  it  is  called  gramvackehy  Miillcr,  Etrusk. 

Dante  (ut  supra,  page  93),  a  term  ap-  I.  p.  246.      In   some   parts   it   is  much 

plieil  to  the  hard  sandstone  formations  more  schistose  than  in  others, 
of  the  offsets  of  the  Apennines.    Here 


120  F1ESOLE.  [chap,  xxxviii. 

eight,  nine  feet,  and  the  longest  twelve  feet  and  a  half. 
The  joints,  as  in  the  walls  of  Pompeii,  are  often  oblique,  in- 
stead of  vertical ;  and,  in  one  part,  there  is  a  wedge-course, 
as  in  the  bridge  of  Bieda,2  and  the  walls  of  Populonia, 
Perugia,  and  Todi,  but  without  any  apparent  object,  beyond 
saving  the  labour  of  squaring  the  blocks.  It  is  evident, 
however,  that  the  aim  of  the  builder  was  regular,  squared 
masonry,  but  he  was  fettered  by  his  materials.  In  many 
parts  where  the  angles  of  the  blocks  did  not  fit  close,  a 
portion  was  cut  away  and  a  small  stone  fitted  in  with  great 
nicety,  as  in  the  most  finished  polygonal  walling.  Though 
the  edges  of  the  blocks  have  in  general  suffered  from  the 
weather,  the  joints  are  sometimes  extremely  neat;  and  it  is 
apparent  that  such  was  originally  the  character  of  the  whole. 
No  cement  or  cramping  was  used ;  the  masses,  as  usual  in 
these  early  structures,  held  together  by  their  weight.  The 
marks  of  the  chisel  on  the  surface  of  the  blocks  are  often 
visible.3 

This  masonry  is  by  no  means  so  massive  as  that  on 
other  Etruscan  sites  of  the  same  character — Volterra, 
Roselle,  Cortona,  for  instance  ;  yet,  from  its  finish,  its 
excellent  preservation,  and  the  height  of  the  walls,  pictu- 
resquely draped  with  ivy  and  overshadowed  by  oak  and 
ash-trees,  it  is  very  imposing. 

2  See  Vol.  I.  p.  263.  This  is  seen  also  city  in  the  olden  time.  Guida  di  Fiesole, 
in  the  substructions  of  the  Via  Appia,  p.  55.  But  such  reckless,  destructive 
near  Aricia.  barbarism  is  necessarily   ignorant   and 

3  At  the  angles  of  the  blocks,  holes  indiseriminating.  A  striking  proof  of 
may  often  be  observed,  which  have  evi-  this  is  seen  in  the  temple  of  Jupiter  Pan- 
dently  been  made  by  art,  most  probably,  hellinus  in  ^Egina,  where,  even  in  the 
like  those  in  the  Colosseum,  in  the  search  monolithic  columns,  the  barbarians  have 
for  metal  cramps,  which  were  supposed  made  holes  for  the  same  purpose,  at  the 
to  hold  the  masses  together.  Inghirami,  height  where  they  had  been  accustomed 
however,  would  not  admit  that  such  to  find  the  joints  of  the  fi-usta ;  thus 
cramps  could  ever  have  been  suspected  unwittingly  paying  the  highest  compli- 
to  exist  in  the  ancient  masonry  of  ment  to  the  exquisite  workmanship  of 
Fiesole,  and  sought  to  explain  the  holes  the  ancients.  For  this  fact  I  am 
US  the  result  of  hostile  attacks  on  the  indebted  to  Mr.  Edward  Falkener. 


chap,  xxxvm.]    ANCIENT  PAVEMENT  AND  SEWERS.  121 

The  entrance  of  the  lane,  by  which  the  visitor  descends 
from  the  Piazza,  marks  the  site  of  an  ancient  gate ;  and  in 
the  road  below  it,  mixed  with  modern  repairs,  are  remains 
of  the  old  pavement — not  of  polygonal  blocks,  as  used  by 
the  Romans,  but  of  large  rectangular  flags,  furrowed  trans- 
versely on  account  of  the  steepness  of  the  road.  It  is  a 
style  often  adopted  by  the  Greeks.4  Its  dissimilarity  to 
Roman  pavement,  its  relation  to  the  gate  in  the  Etruscan 
walls  hard  by,  and  the  large  size  of  the  blocks  or  flags, 
rendering  removal  a  work  of  great  difficulty,  induce  me  to 
consider  it  of  Etruscan  origin,  though  this  is  the  only 
site  in  Etruria  where  it  is  found. 

In  this  portion  of  the  wall  open  two  passages,  whose 
narrow  dimensions  prove  them  to  have  been  nothing  else 
but  sewers,  to  drain  the  area  of  the  city ;  as  is  usual 
on  Etruscan  sites.5  In  the  volcanic  district  such  sewers 
are  cut  through  the  tufo  cliffs  on  which  the  walls  rest ; 
but  here,  as  in  other  cities  of  Northern  Etruria,  there 
being  no  cliffs,  and  the  fortifications  rising  from  the  slope 
and  forming  a  revetement  to  the  higher  level  of  the  city, 
they  are  made  in  the  wall  itself.  So  also  at  Volterra. 
Of  the  same  character  may  be  the  apertures  in  the  walls 
of  the  so-called  Pelasgic  towns  of  Latium — Norba,  Segni, 
and  Alatri ;  but  these  of  Fa^sula?  are  much  inferior  in 
size.6     The  smaller  of  them  has  a  doccia,  or  sill,  serving  as 

4  This  ribbed  pavement,  or  cordonata,  also.    My  friend,  Mr.  Edward  Falkener, 

as  the  Italians  call  it,  is  said  to  be  fre-  tells  me  that  he  has  remarked  similar 

qutntly  met  with  in  Cyclopean  cities,  in  pavement  at  Eleusa  or  Sebaste  in  Cilicia, 

the  gateways,  or  on  the  roads.     Orioli,  at  Labranda  in  Caria,  and  at  Termessus 

ap.  Inghir.  Mon.  Etrusc.  IV.  p.  159.    It  in  Pamphylia. 

is  found  at  Pozzuoli,  on  the  ascent  to  5  The  smaller  one  is  about  four  feet 

the  Street  of  Tombs.     I  have  observed  from  the  ground,  twenty  inches   high, 

it  also  in  the  ancient  roads  of  Syracuse,  and  fifteen  wide.     The  other  is  about 

but  there  it  is  the  rock  itself  which  is  so  eight  feet  above  ground,  four  or  five  feet 

furrowed.      Blocks   of  such    pavement  high,  but  scarcely  one  in  breadth, 
exist   on   the  ascent   to  the   Acropolis  R  The  openings  in  the  walls  of  these 

of  Athens  ;  and,  I  believe,  at  Messene,  three  Latin  towns  are  large  enough  for 


122  FIESOLE.  [chap,  xxxvhi. 

a  spout  to  carry  the  fluid  clear  of  the  wall.  The  other 
rims  in  a  great  way  in  a  straight  line,  but  being  too  small 
to  admit  a  man,  it  has  never  been  fathomed.  A  little 
child  was  once  sent  in,  who  crawled  for  a  considerable 
distance  without  finding  the  end,  till  Ins  courage  failed 
him,  and  he  returned  to  the  light  of  day.7  But  the  most 
singular  feature  of  this  sewer  is,  that  on  the  wall  beneath  it 
is  scratched  a  figure,  the  usual  symbol  among  the  ancients 
of  rejDroductive  power.  It  is  here  so  slightly  marked,  as 
easily  to  escape  the  eye  ;  it  may  possibly  have  been  done  by 
some  wanton  hand  in  more  recent  times,  but  analogy  is  in 
favour  of  its  antiquity.  That  such  representations  were 
placed  by  the  ancients  on  the  walls  of  their  cities,  there  is 
no  lack  of  proof.  They  are  found  on  several  of  the  early 
cities  of  Italy  and  Greece,  on  masonry  polygonal  as  well  as 
regular.8 

The  reason  of  this  symbol  being  placed  in  such  positions 
is  not  easy  to  determine.     Cavaliere  Inghirami  thought  it 

a  man  to  enter,  and  may  have  been  pos-  of  the  wall,  which  is  here  of  rectangular 

terns.     It  may  be  doubted  if  they  were  blocks  (Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  III.  p.  7, 

conduits  or  sewers,  though  that  at  Norba  tav.  XIII.)  ;  and  on  the  ancient  walls  of 

is  of  the  usual  size  of  Etruscan  sewers —  Todi,  on  the  Umbrian  bank  of  the  Tiber, 

about  seven  feet  high,  and  three  wide.  of  similar  masonry,  it  is  found  in  promi- 

The  larger  of  these  two  at  Fiesole  has  nent  relief,  near  the  church  of  S.  Fortu- 

also  been  thought  not  to  be  a   sewer  nato.     Ask  for  "  il  pezzo  di  mar  mo."   It 

(Ann.  Inst.   1835,  p.  15)  ;  but  I  see  no  is  also  to  be  seen  on  a  block  at  an  angle 

reason  to  doubt  it.  of  the  walls  of  Oea,  in   the  island  of 

7  Ann.  Inst.  1835,  p.  16.  Thera,  in  the  iEgean  Sea,  with  the  in- 

3  The  best  known   of   these   sites  is  scription  ro7s  cpiKois  annexed,  which  has 

Alatri,  where  the  symbol  tripled,  and  in  been  considered  a  mere  euphemism  to 

relief,  is  sculptured  on  the  lintel  of  the  assist    the   fascinum    in    averting    the 

above-mentioned  sewer,  postern,  or  pas-  effects  of  the  evil  eye.     The  same  twr- 

sage,  which  opens  in  the  polygonal  walls  picula  res,  as  Varro  (L.  L.  VII.  97)  calls 

of  the  citadel.     It  is  also  found  tripled  it,  is  said   to  have  been  found   on   the 

on  the  polygonal  walls  at  Grottatorre,  doors  of  tombs  at  Palazzolo,  the  ancient 

near  Correse  in  Sabina.    On  the  ancient  Acre  in  Sicily,  and  at  Castel  d'Asso  in 

walling  in  the  Terra  di  Cesi,  three  miles  Etruria,  and  even  in  the  Catacombs  of 

from  Terni,  the  same  symbol  in  relief  Naples.     Ann.  Inst.  1829,  p.  65  ;  1841, 

occurs  in  a  similar  position  at  the  angle  p.  1 9. 


chap,  xxxvin.]  ROMAN  GATEWAY.  123 

might  be  to  intimate  the  strength  of  the  city,  or  else  to 
show  defiance  of  a  foe,9  in  accordance  with  the  ancient 
gesture  of  contempt  and  defiance,  still  in  use  among  the 
southern  nations  of  Europe  ;  but  it  seems  more  probably 
to  have  had  the  same  meaning  in  this  as  in  other  cases, 
where  it  was  used  as  a  fascinum  or  charm  against  the 
effects  of  the  evil  eye.1 

Follow  the  line  of  walls  some  hundred  yards  to  the 
east — you  come  to  an  arch  standing  ten  or  twelve  feet 
in  advance  of  them.  Here  you  have  a  structure  of 
different  character,  and  apparently  of  later  date  ;  for  the 
masonry  is  much  less  massive  than  in  the  city  walls.  You 
will  perceive  that  it  formed  part  of  an  open  gateway,  or 
projecting  tower,  for  there  are  traces  of  a  second  arch 
which  joined  tins  at  right  angles,  uniting  it  to  the  wall.  It 
is  probably  a  Roman  addition.2 

Beyond  this  you  can  trace  the  walls  in  fragments,  mixed 
with  the  small  work  of  modern  repairs,  in  a  straight  line 


9  Guida  di  Fiesole,  p.  53.  may  remark  that  as  the  ancients  were 

1  The  occurrence  of  this  symbol  on  wont  to  place  these  satyrica  signa  in 

the  walls  of  Pelasgic  cities  may  be  ex-  their  gai'dens  and  houses,  to  avert  the 

plained   by   the    worship   that   ancient  effects  of  the  envious  eye  (Plin.  XIX. 

people  paid  to  the  phallic  Hemies.     It  19,   1),   so   they   may  well  have   been 

was  they  who  introduced  it  into  Athens,  placed  on  the  walls  of  a  city  to  protect 

and  the  rest  of  Greece,  and  also  into  its  inhabitants.     The  philosophical  idea 

Samothrace   (Herod.  II.  51,  confirmed  which  they  symbolise  will  also  account 

by  the  coins  of   Lemnos  and  Imbros,  for  their  use  as  sepulchral   emblems  ; 

says  Muller,  Etrusk.  einl.  2,  3)  ;   and  some  remarkable  instances  of  which  are 

probably  also  with  the  mysterious  rites  to  be  seen  at  Chiusi. 
of  the  Cabiri,  into  Etruria  and  other  2  The  arch  is  10  feet  high,  nearly  as 

parts  of  Italy.     Yet  the  worship  of  this  much  in  span,  and  about  3  feet  in  depth, 

symbol  was  by  no  means  confined  to  the  The  ancient  wall  to  which  it  was  at- 

classic  nations  of  antiquity.    It  seems  to  tached  is  in  this  part  destroyed,  and  its 

have  prevailed  also  among  the  nations  place    supplied    by   modern    masonry. 

of  the  far  East ;  and  recent  researches  This  double  gateway  resembles  those  of 

lead  us  to  conclude  that  it  held  even  Volterra   and   Cosa,  except   that   it   is 

among   the    early   people    of   the    New  here  without  the  line  of  walls.    Inghiranii 

World.     Stephens'  Yucatan,  I.  pp.  181,  suggests  that  a  tower  may  have  been 

434.     Not  to  dwell  on  this  subject,  I  raised  over  it. 


124  FIESOLE.  [chap,  xxxviii. 

along  the  brow  of  the  hill,  till  in  the  Borgo  Unto,  a 
suburb  on  the  east  of  the  ancient  city,  you  find  them  turn 
at  right  angles  and  tend  southward.  On  your  way  up  the 
hill  from  the  Borgo  Unto  to  S.  Polinari,  you  cross  some 
basaltic  pavement,  and  just  beyond  it,  in  a  portion  of 
the  wall  where  very  massive  blocks  are  laid  on  very 
shallow  ones,  you  may  observe  the  site  of  a  gate  now 
blocked  up,  but  indicated  by  the  pavement  leading  up  to 
it.  Beyond  this  is  a  long  line  of  the  ancient  masonry, 
more  irregular  and  less  massive,  tending  westward,  and 
terminating  at  some  quarries  ;  then  after  a  wide  gap  you 
meet  the  wall  again,  and  trace  it  down  the  steep  to  the 
modern  road  where  you  first  descried  it.3  Westward  of 
this  there  are  said  to  be  some  fragments  below  the  height 
of  San  Francesco,  but  I  never  could  find  them,  though 
I  have  traced  them  up  the  same  hill  on  the  opposite  or 
northern  side.  Few  will  think  themselves  repaid  for  their 
fatigue  in  tracing  out  the  entire  line  of  walls,  over  the 
broken  ground,  and  through  the  vineyards  and  olive-groves 
on  the  slopes ;  unless  the  visitor  wish  to  verify  for  himself 
the  extent  and  outline  of  the  city,  he  may  well  rest  content 
with  seeing  that  part  of  the  wall  first  described,  which  is 
by  far  the  finest  and  best  preserved  portion  of  the  whole. 

The  extent  of  the  walls  in  their  original  state  was  not 
great — less  than  two  miles  in  circuit.4    Fresulse  was,  there- 


3  There  are  said  on  this  side  of  the  work,  give  widely  different  measure- 
city  to  be  traces  of  a  gate,  which,  from  ments,  Fsesulse  being  much  superior  in 
one  of  the  lintels  still  standing,  must  size  to  the  last  two,  but  smaller  than 
have  been  of  Egyptian  form,  narrowing  the  first.  In  fact  his  plan  represents  it 
upwards,  like  the  doorways  of  the  as  about  8800  feet  in  circumference,  or 
Etruscan  tombs.  Ann.  Instit.  1835,  just  If  English  mile.  Niebuhr  (I.  p. 
p.  14.  121,  Eng.  trans.)  was  therefore  misin- 

4  So  says  Micali  (Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  II.  formed  when  he  said  that  the  walls, 
p.  20.0),  who  classes  it  with  Ruselke,  theatre,  and  other  ruins  of  Fsesulse  dis- 
Populonia  and  Cosa ;  but  the  plans  of  play  a  greatness  not  inferior  to  that  of 
the  said  cities  which  he  attaches  to  his  any  other  Etruscan   city.     He  inclines 


chap,  xxxvm.]     F^ESULiE  NOT  A  FIRST-RATE  CITY. 


125 


fore,  much  inferior  in  size  to  certain  other  Etruscan  cities — 
Veii,  Volaterrse,  Agylla,  Tarquinii,  for  instance.  The  highest 
crest  of  the  hill  to  the  north-west,  where  the  Franciscan 
convent  now  stands,  was  originally  the  Arx ;  for  here  have 
been  found,  at  various  times,  traces  of  a  triple  concentric 
wall,  engirdling  the  height,  all  within  the  outer  line  of  the 
ancient  fortifications.5  Nothing  of  the  triple  wall  is  now 
to  be  seen.  In  the  Church  of  S.  Alessandro,  on  the  same 
height,  are  some  columns  of  cipollino,  which  probably 
belonged  to  a  Roman  temple  on  this  spot.6 

Though  little  of  antiquity  is  to  be  seen  on  this  height, 
the  visitor  should  not  fail  to  ascend  it  for  the  sake  of 
its  all-glorious  view.  No  scene  in  Italy  is  better  known, 
or   has   been    more   often   described,   than    that    "  from 


on  this  account  to  rank  it  among  the 
Twelve.  And  so  also  Miiller,  Etrusk. 
II.  1,  2.  But  on  this  score,  there  are 
other  towns  in  Etruria  which  might 
compete  with  it  for  that  honour. 

The  early  writers  on  the  antiquities 
of  Italy — Raffael  Maffei,  Biondi,  Alberti, 
for  instance — also  took  Fsesulae  for  one 
of  the  Twelve  ;  even  Dempster  (Etrur. 
Reg.  II.  pp.  41,  73)  held  this  opinion. 
She  was  probably  dependent  on  Vola- 
terraj  or  Arretium. 

Miiller  (I.  3,  3)  cites  Fsesulae  as  an 
instance  of  the  quadrangular  form, 
which  was  usually  given  to  Etruscan 
cities,  and  thence  copied  in  the  original 
city  of  Romulus — Roma  quadrata — a 
custom  built  on  religious  usages.  Dion. 
Hal.  I.  p.  75.  Plutarch,  Romul.  10. 
Festus,  v.  Quadrata.  Solinus,  Polyh. 
cap.  II.  cf.  Varro,  Ling.  Lat.  V.  143. 
Miiller,  III.  6,  7. 

5  Inghirami,  Guida  di  Fiesole,  p.  38. 
It  is  said,  that  at  each  angle  of  the  outer 
square  circuit,  remains  of  a  tower  were 
discovered,  besides  two  larger  ones  in 
the  central  inclosure  ;  and  the  numerous 


openings  in  these  concentric  walls  gave 
a  faint  idea  of  a  labyrinth. 

This  inner  line  of  wall  is  not  of 
frequent  occurrence  in  Etruscan  towns  ; 
more  common,  however,  in  the  northern 
than  southern  district.  The  same  may 
be  said  of  double  heights,  or  arces,  within 
the  city-walls,  of  which  Feesulee  pre- 
sents a  specimen.  The  only  instances 
I  remember  in  southern  Etruria  are  at 
Fidense  and  perhaps  at  Tarquinii ;  but 
this  is  explained  by  the  level  character 
of  that  volcanic  region. 

6  On  this  height  was  discovered  in 
1814  the  only  instance  known  of  the 
favissce  attached  to  temples  (see  the 
Chapter  on  Rome)  ;  but  after  a  few 
months  they  were  reclosed,  and  are  no 
longer  to  be  seen.  Inghir.  loc.  cit.  p. 
40.  Miiller  (Etrusk.  IV.  2.  5)  who 
cites  Del  Rosso  (Giorn.  Arcad.  III.  p. 
1 1 3)  describes  them  as  "  round  cham- 
bers lined  with  masonry  and  contract- 
ing upwards  " — i.e.,  like  the  tholi  of  the 
Greeks,  the  Treasuries  of  Atreus  and 
Minyas,  and  the  lower  prison  of  the 
Tullianum  at  Rome. 


12o  FIESOLE.  [chap,  xxxviii. 

the  top  of  Fesole."  Poets,  painters,  philosophers,  his- 
torians, and  tourists,  have  all  kindled  with  its  inspiration. 
And  in  truth, 

"  Dull  would  he  be  of  soul  who  could  pass  by 
A  sight  so  touching  in  its  majesty." 

Description,  then,  would  here  be  needless.  Yet  I  may 
remark,  that  with  all  its  vastness  and  diversity,  the  scene 
has  a  simple  character.  All  the  luxuriant  pomp  of  the 
Arno-vale,  and  the  grandeur  of  the  inclosing  mountains, 
are  but  the  framework,  the  setting-off  of  the  picture,  which 
is  Florence,  fair  Florence — 

"  The  brightest  star  of  star-bright  Italy ! " 

hence  beheld  in  all  her  brilliancy  and  beauty. 

Within  the  walls  of  Fiesole,  there  are  few  remains 
of  antiquity.  The  principal  is  the  Theatre,  discovered 
and  excavated  in  1809  by  a  Prussian  noble,  Baron 
Schellersheim.  It  lies  in  a  vineyard  below  the  Cathedral, 
to  the  east.  When  first  disinterred,  it  was  found  to  have 
six  gates  or  entrances  in  the  outer  circuit  of  wall,  with 
twenty  tiers  of  seats,  and  five  flights  of  steps ;  but  little  of 
this  is  now  to  be  seen,  for  it  was  soon  re-covered  with 
earth,  that  the  pulse-consuming  canons  of  the  Cathedral 
might  not  be  put  on  short  commons  of  beans  or  artichokes. 
All  that  is  now  visible  is  a  portion  of  the  outer  circuit  ot 
wall,  of  small  stone-work — a  few  of  the  seats,  of  massive 
blocks,  quarried,  like  those  of  the  city-walls,  from  the  hill 
itself — and  a  flight  of  steps  leading  down  to  five  vaults  of 
opus  incertum  and  stone  brick-work,  called  by  the  Fiesolani, 
Le  Buche  delle  Fate,  or  "  Dens  of  the  Fairies  ; "  but  verily 
the  fairies  of  Italy  must  be  a  gloomy  race,  whom 

juvat  ire  sub  umbra. 


Desertosque  videre  locos, 


chap,  xxxvm.]  THE  ANCIENT  THEATRE.  127 

if  they  take  up  with  such  haunts  ;  no  way  akin  to  the 
frolicsome,  mischief-loving  sprites,  "the  moonshine  revellers" 
of  merry  England — 

"  Oh  these  be  Fancy's  revellers  by  night ! 

These  be  the  pretty  genii  of  the  flowers — 
Daintily  fed  with  honey  and  pure  dew — 

Midsummer's  phantoms  in  her  dreaming  hours  !" 

Such  dark,  dank,  dripping,  dismal  "  dens"  as  these  would 
freeze  the  heart  of  a  Mab  or  a  Titania. 

This  Theatre  was  long  thought  to  be  of  Etruscan  origin ; 
but  more  extensive  research  into  what  may  be  called  the 
comparative  anatomy  of  antiquities,  has  determined  it  to 
be  Roman.7 

Near  the  Theatre  is  a  half-buried  arch,  similar  to  that 
outside  the  walls,  but  of  smaller  span.  It  leads  into  a 
vault  of  opus  incertum ;  and  a  little  above  is  a  second 
similar  vault.  Near  the  Theatre  also  are  a  few  large 
rectangular  stones  beneath  the  surface,  which  have  received 


7  Niebuhr,  however,  has  thrown  the  is  in  the  grandest  Etruscan  style." 
weight  of  his  great  name  into  the  oppo-  Miiller  also  thinks  it  was  "  probably  of 
site  scale,  and  has  said,  "That  this  old  Etruscan  construction"  (II. p.  241). 
theatre  was  built  before  the  time  of  Inferior  men,  it  may  be,  but  better  anti- 
Sylla  is  indubitable ;  its  size  and  mag-  quaries,  have  decided,  however,  to  the 
nificence  are  far  beyond  the  scale  of  a  contrary.  Indeed  these  great  men  lose 
Roman  military  colony  ;  and  how  could  much  of  their  authority  when  they  treat 
such  a  colony  have  wished  for  anything  of  matters  within  the  province  rather  of 
but  an  amphitheatre  ? "  (I.  p.  1 35,  the  practical  antiquary  than  of  the  his- 
Eng.  trans.)  It  may  be  remarked  that  torian.  Their  want  of  personal  ac- 
Fsesulse  must  have  fallen  under  Roman  quaintance  with  localities  and  monu- 
domination  with  the  rest  of  Etruria  two  ments,  or  of  opportunities  of  extensive 
centuries  before  Sylla's  time  ;  and  that  comparison  of  styles  of  construction  and 
other  towns  of  Etruria  which  received  of  art,  leads  them  at  times  into  mis- 
military  colonies,  such  as  Veii,  Falerii,  statements  of  facts,  or  to  erroneous 
and  Luna,  had  theatres,  as  we  learn  from  opinions,  which,  under  more  favourable 
local  remains  or  from  inscriptions,  even  circumstances,  they  would  never  have 
where,  as  in  the  first  two  cases,  we  can  uttered,  or  with  the  candour  of  great 
find  no  vestiges  or  record  of  amphi-  minds,  they  would  have  been  most  ready 
theatres.  Niebuhr  elsewhere  (III.  p.  to  renounce. 
311)  asserts  that  "the  theatre  of  Fa?sulso 


128  FIESOLE.  [chap,  xxxviii. 

the  name  of  "the  Etruscan  Palace;"  but  to  the  Ciceroni 
on  these  sites  no  more  credit  should  be  given  than  to  the 
"drab-coloured  men  of  Pennsylvania."  In  the  garden 
above  the  house,  attached  to  the  ground  in  which  the 
Theatre  lies,  are  some  fragments  of  masonry,  running  at 
right  angles  with  the  city -walls  below,  and  probably  of  the 
same  origin  ;  and  hard  by  is  an  underground  vault  lined 
with  small  masonry,  and  covered  with  horizontal  flags. 

In  the  Borgo  Unto  is  a  curious  fountain,  called  "  Fonte 
Sotterra."  You  enter  a  Gothic  archway,  and  descend  a 
vaulted  passage  by  a  long  flight  of  steps  to  a  cave  cut  in 
the  rock,  bearing  marks  of  the  chisel  on  its  walls.  Here 
I  was  stopped  by  the  water ;  but  when  this  is  at  a 
lower  level,  you  reach  a  long  shapeless  gallery,  hewn 
in  the  rock,  and  ending  in  a  little  reservoir,  similarly 
hollowed,  but  for  what  purpose  is  hard  to  say.8  Inghirami, 
indeed,  imagined  it  might  have  been  formed  to  catch  the 
waters  which,  percolating  through  the  ground,  descended 
"  in  an  eternal  shower  of  gentle  rain"  into  the  reservoir.9 
But  who  ever  heard  of  such  a  fountain  1  and  cut  bono, 
when  there  is  manifestly  a  spring  on  the  spot  \  The  water 
is  extremely  pure,  supplying  the  whole  neighbourhood,  and 
evidently  wells  up  from  below,  as  its  height  varies  at 
different  times,  little  affected  by  rain  or  drought.  I  have 
found  it  even  higher  in  summer  than  in  winter,  after  the 
melting  of  snow  and  the  fall  of  heavy  rains.  It  very  rarely 
happens  that  it  sinks  low  enough  to  permit  a  descent  to 
the  bottom   of  the  passage.      Such  an  event,  however, 

8  You  first  reach,  says  Inghirami,  a  mount.     Its  length  is  1 50  Frencli  feet, 

large  hollow  like  a  quarry,  the  floor  of  if  the  plans  given  of  it  be  correct,  and 

which  slopes  in  two  ways  towards  an-  its  entire  inclination  from  the  threshold 

other  entrance,  in  which  commences  a  of   the  entrance   to  the  bottom  of  the 

gallery  of  great  length,  but  not  regular  steep  passage  is  about  50  feet, 

throughout,  and  sinking  from  north  to  9  Guida  di  Fiesole,  p.  56. 
south,  following  the  upper  slope  of  the 


chap,  xxxvni.]  FONTE  SOTTERRA.  129 

occurred  in  the  autumn  of  that  unusually  hot  year, 
1825,  and  has  been  thought  worthy  of  record  on  a  tablet 
at  the  entrance.1 

Inghirami  regards  this  Fonte  as  an  Etruscan  work  ;  but 
I  could  perceive  nothing  which  marks  such  an  origin.2 

Only  ten  or  twelve  paces  from  this  Fonte,  a  remarkable 
cistern  or  reservoir  was  discovered  in  1832.  Its  walls, 
except  on  one  side  where  a  flight  of  steps  led  down  into  it,3 
were  built  up  with  masonry,  in  large  rectangular,  rusticated 
blocks.4  It  was  roofed  in  by  the  convergence  of  several 
horizontal  layers  of  thin  stones,  and  the  imposition  of 
larger  slabs  in  the  centre,5  on  the  same  principle  as  the 
celebrated  Regulini-Galassi  tomb  at  Cervetri.  It  was 
remarkable,  that  though  undoubtedly  a  reservoir  or 
fountain — for  it  was  discovered  by  tracing  an  ancient 
water-channel  which  led  from  it — there  were  no  traces  of 
cement  in  the  masonry.  This  fact,  and  the  very  ancient 
style  of  its  vaulting,  indicate  an  Etruscan  origin;  which  is 
confirmed  by  the  discovery  of  sundry  amphora  of  that 
character,  and  fragments  of  water-pots  buried  in  the  mud 
which  covered  the  bottom.  This  reservoir  was,  unfor- 
tunately, reclosed  the  year  after  it  was  opened.6     It  seems 

1  "  Memorial. — Of  this  vast  cistern,  3  The  steps  had  subsequently  been 
hollowed  in  the  solid  rock,  and  sloping  rendered  useless  by  a  huge  slab  being 
down  from  the  entrance  a  distance  of      laid  across  the  opening  to  them. 

75  braccia  (144  feet  English),  Luigi  di  4  Inghirami    mentions    having    seen 

Giuliano  Ruggieri  was   the  first,  to  his  other  remains  of  similar  rusticated  work 

astonishment,  to  discover   the   bottom  among  the  ruins  of  Fiesole.  Ann.  Instit. 

dry,  the  16th  October,   1825  ;    and  in  1835,  p.  9. 

memorial  thereof  he    has   set  up  this  s  A  similar  vaulting  was  found  in  an 

stone.     Pay  respect  to  the  water."  Etruscan  crypt  at  Castellina  del  Chianti. 

2  The  walls  at  the   entrance  of  the  Ann.  Inst.  loc.  cit. 

passage  are  of  small  stones  uncemented,  6  Full  particulars  of    this  reservoir 

but  of  later  date  ;  some   large  blocks  have  been  given  by  Cav.  Inghirami  and 

mixed  with  them  may  be  of  Etruscan  Professor  Pasqui,  in  the  Annals  of  the 

hewing.     The   hollowing   in   the   living  Institute,  1835,  pp.8 — 18;  whence  the 

rock  is   certainly   an  Etruscan,  rather  above  account  is  taken, 
than  a  Roman  feature. 

VOL.    II.  K 


130  FIESOLE.  [chap,  xxxvni. 

to  me  highly  probable  that  this  was  the  original  fountain 
on  this  spot,  and  that  when  it  no  longer  answered  its  pur- 
pose, either  by  falling  out  of  repair,  or  by  ceasing  to 
supply  the  wants  of  the  population,  it  was  covered  up  as  it 
was  found,  and  the  Fonte  Sotterra  dug  in  its  stead.  The 
much  greater  depth  of  the  latter  favours  this  opinion. 

No  tombs  remain  visible  on  this  site,  though  a  few,  I 
believe,  have  been  opened  by  Signor  Francois.7  The  hard- 
ness of  the  rock  of  which  the  hill  is  composed  forbade  exca- 
vating sepulchres  in  the  slopes  around  the  town  ;  the  only 
sort  of  tomb  which  would  have  been  formed  on  such  a  site 
is  that  built  up  with  masonry,  and  piled  over  with  earth, 
like  the  Tanella  di  Pitagora  at  Cortona,  or  the  Grotta 
Sergardi  at  Camuscia.  If  such  there  were  they  are  no  longer 
visible.  Nothing  like  a  tumulus  could  I  perceive  around 
Fiesole.  Yet  there  are  spots  in  the  neighbourhood  which 
one  experienced  in  such  matters  has  little  hesitation  in 
pronouncing  to  be  the  site  of  the  ancient  cemetery.  All 
this  district,  however,  is  too  rich  in  agricultural  produce 
to  admit  of  excavations  being  made. 

Relics  of  ancient  Fsesulae  have  at  various  times  been 
brought  to  light,  within  or  around  the  walls  of  the  city. 
One  of  the  most  striking  is  the  bas  relief  of  a  warrior  in 
the  Palazzo  Buonarroti,  Florence,  mentioned  in  the  last 
chapter,  whose  Etruscan  inscription  and  archaic  character 
testify  to  the  high  antiquity  of  Fsesulse. 

In  1829,  a  singular  discovery  was  made  here  of  more 
than  one  thousand  coins  of  Roman  consuls  and  families  ; 8 
but  none  of  Etruscan  character.9 


Unghirami   (Mon.    Etrus.   I.  p.   14)  Bull.  Inst.  1829,  p.  211  ;  1830,  p.  205. 

speaks  of  cinerary  urns  found  at  Fiesole,  There    were    70   lbs.    weight   of    silver 

which  had  not  human  figures  recumbent  denarii — Inghirami    says  100    lbs. — all 

on  the  lids  as  usual.  coined  prior  to  the  defeat  of  Catiline,  63 

8  An  account  of  them  was  published  years  B.C.     Guida  di  Fiesole,  p.  17. 

by  Caval.   Zannoni  in   1 830.     See  also  9  Etruscan  coins  of  Fsesulee,  though 


TIJAP.   XXXVIII.] 


HISTORY  OF  VMSULM. 


131 


Fiesole,  though  known  to  have  been  an  Etruscan  city, 
from  its  extant  remains  and  the  monuments  at  various  times 
found  on  the  spot,  is  not  mentioned  as  such  in  history. 
This  must  have  been  owing  to  its  remoteness  from  Rome, 
which  preserved  it  from  immediate  contact  with  that 
power,  probably  till  the  final  subjugation  of  Etruria,  when 
it  is  most  likely  that  Fiesole,  with  the  other  few  towns  in 
the  northern  district,  finding  the  great  cities  of  the  Con- 
federation had  yielded  to  the  conqueror,  was  induced  to 
submit  without  a  struggle.10 


not  yet,  I  believe,  found  on  the  spot,  are 
not  unknown.  Specimens  which  were 
found  at  Caere  and  Vulci  are  preserved 
in  the  British  Museum,  in  the  Kircherian 
Museum,  and  the  Campana  collection  at 
Rome.  They  are  silver,  having  on  the 
obverse  the  figure  of  a  winged  Gorgon, 
in  a  long  tunic,  with  her  tongue  lolling 
out,  holding  a  serpent  in  each  hand,  and 
in  the  act  of  running, — on  the  reverse, 
something,  which  may  be  part  of  a 
wheel,  and  the  inscription  "  phesu,"  in 
Etruscan  characters.  The  Due  de 
Luynes  ascribes  these  coins  to  Ftesulse  ; 
so  also  Capranesi,  Ann.  Inst.  1840, 
pp.  203-7,  tav.  d'agg.  P.  n.  1.  But 
Cavedoni,  of  Modena,  considers  the  in- 
scription to  have  reference  not  to  the 
place  of  coinage,  but  to  the  Fury  or  Fate 
on  the  obverse,  and  explains  it  .as  Alcra, 
or  Fate,  here  written  with  a  digamma 
prefixed.  Bull.  Inst.  1842,  p.  156.  Alaot, 
we  are  told  by  Hesychius,  were  "  gods 
among  the  Etruscans  ;"  and  "  ^Esar," 
we  know  to  be  the  Etruscan  word  for 
"god."  Dio  Cass.  LVI.  29  ;  Sueton. 
Aug.  97.  It  has  been  suggested  that 
^Esar  may  be  but  the  Greek  word 
adopted,  and  with  an  Etruscan  termina- 
tion. Lanzi  considers  the  name  Fsesulse 
— written  QaurovAai  by  the  Greeks — to 
be  derived  from  Alaoi,  with  the  addition 
of  the  digamma  (II.  p.  444).     But  why 


refer  to  Hellenic  sources  for  Etruscan 
etymologies — a  system  which,  even  in 
Lanzi's  hands,  has  proved  so  unsuccess- 
ful and  unsatisfactory  ?  It  is  more 
probable  that  the  Etruscan  form,  with 
which  we  are  not  acquainted,  was  a 
compound  with  the  initial  "  Vel,"  so 
often  occurring  in  Etruscan  proper 
names.  The  gold  coin,  with  the  Etrus- 
can legend  "  Velsu,"  which  Sestini 
assigned  to  Felsina  (Bologna),  but 
Midler  referred  to  Volsinii  (see  Vol. 
I.  p.  503) — may  it  not  be  proper  to 
Faesulse  \  Millingen,  however,  consi- 
dered it  of  a  barbarous  people,  or  a 
counterfeit.     Num.  Anc.  Ital.  p.  171. 

10  The  name  is  found  in  Floras  (1. 1 1 ), 
but  it  is  manifest  from  the  connexion 
that  Feesulse  is  not  the  true  reading ;  for 
the  historian  is  relating  in  his  most  terse 
and  spirited  maimer,  the  arduous  con- 
test Rome  maintained  in  the  first  years 
of  the  Republic  with  the  Latin  cities 
around  her.  "  Cora  (quis  credat  ?)  et 
Algidum  terrori  fuerunt  ;  Satricum 
atque  Corniculum  provincise.  De  Veru- 
lis  et  Bovillis  pudet ;  sed  triumphavimus. 
&c."  "  Cora  (who  would  believe  it  ?)  and 
Algidum  were  a  terror  to  us  ;  Satricum 
and  Corniculum  were  like  remote  pro- 
vinces. Of  Verulse  and  Bovillse  I  am 
ashamed  to  speak — yet  did  we  triumph 
Tibur,  now  a  suburban  abode,  and 
K    2 


132 


FIESOLE. 


[chap.  XXXVIII. 


The  first  record  we  find  of  it  is  in  the  year  529,  when 
the  Gauls,  making  a  descent  on  the  Roman  territory,  past 
near  Faesulae,  and  defeated  the  Romans  who  went  out 
against  them.1  A  few  years  after  this,  when  Annibal, 
after  his  victory  on  the  Trebia,  entered  Etruria,  it  was 
by  the  unusual  route  of  Faesula?.2  The  city  also  is  repre- 
sented by  one  of  the  poets  as  taking  part  in  this  Second 
Punic  War,  and  as  being  renowned  for  its  skill  in  augury.3 
No  farther  record  is  found  of  it  till  the  Social  War,  about 
ninety  years  B.C.,  when  Faesulae  is  mentioned  among  the 
cities  which  suffered  most  severely  from  the  terrible  ven- 
geance of  Rome,  being  laid  waste  with  fire  and  sword.4 
And  again,  but  a  few  years  later,  it  had  to  endure  the 
vengeance  of  Sylla,  when  to  punish  the  city  for  having 
espoused  the  side  of  his  rival,  he  sent  to  it  a  military  colony. 


Prseneste,  a  delightful  summer  retreat, 
were  not  assailed  till  vows  had  been 
offered  in  the  Capitol.  Then  Faesulae 
was  what  Carrae  has  been  of  late — the 
grove  of  Arieia  was  as  dreaded  as  the 
Hercynian  forest — Fregelloewas  then  our 
Gesoriaeum,  the  Tiber  our  Euphrates." 
A  glance  at  the  passage  shows  that 
"  Faesulae"  is  here  out  of  place.  A  city 
so  remote  from  Rome,  and  of  Etruscan 
origin,  could  not  have  been  referred  to 
among  the  neighbouring  Latin  cities, 
The  true  reading  must  either  be  Fidence, 
which,  though  Etruscan,  was  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  Tiber,  or  more  probably 
^Esula,  a  town  near  Tibur.  Horat.  Od. 
III.  29,  6. 

1  Polyb.  II.  25.  Mannert  (Geog. 
p.  396),  however,  thinks  that  it  cannot 
be  the  city  near  Florence  to  which 
Polybius  alludes,  but  some  other  town 
of  the  same  name,  which  he  would  place 
to  the  west  of  Chiusi,  and  south  of  the 
Ombrone.  Cluver  (II.  p.  509)  does  not 
think  this  the  earliest  mention  made  of 


Faesulae,  for  he  considers  the  Castula, 
said  by  Diodorus  (XX.  p.  773)  to  have 
been  taken  from  the  Etruscans  in  the 
year  444,  to  be  a  mere  conniption  of 
Faesulae. 

2  Polyb.  III.  82;  cf.  Liv.  XXII.  3. 

3  Sil.  Ital.  VIII.  478— 

Affuit  et  sacris  interpres  fulminis  alis, 

Faesula. 
A  goddess  named  Ancharia  was  wor- 
shipped here,  says  Tertullian  (Apolog. 
24  ;  ad  Nationes,  II.  8),  which  has  been 
confirmed  by  inscriptions.  Midler,  II. 
p.  62,  who  cites  Reinesius,  CI.  II.  23,  and 
Gori,  Inscr.  II.  p.  77.  cf.  p.  88.  This 
fact  establishes  the  correct  reading  to  be 
"  Faesulanorum  Ancharia,"  and  not 
"  ^Esculanorum,"  as  some  copies  have 
it.  The  Etruscan  family-name  of 
"  Ancari,"  not  unfrequently  met  with  at 
Chiusi  and  Perugia,  and  also  found  at 
Montalcino  (see  page  1 40,  of  this  volume) 
has  doubtless  a  relation  to  the  name  of 
this  goddess.     See  Miiller,  I.  p.  421. 

4  Flor.  III.  1R. 


chap,  xxxvin.]  LA  BADIA— 1NGHIRAMI.  133 

and  divided  its  territory  among  his  officers.5  Still  later  it 
was  made  the  head-quarters  of  Catiline's  conspirators,  and 
actively  espoused  his  cause.6  We  learn  from  a  statement 
of  Pliny,  that  it  must  have  retained  the  right  of  Roman 
citizenship  in  the  reign  of  Augustus.7  It  was  besieged  and 
taken  by  the  troops  of  Belisarius,  a.d.  539.  At  what 
period  it  gave  birth  to  Florence,  which,  rather  than  the 
paltry  village  on  the  hill,  must  be  regarded  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  ancient  Faesulse,  is  a  matter  of  dispute; 
some  thinking  it  as  early  as  the  time  of  Sylla,  and  that  his 
colonists  removed  from  the  steep  and  inconvenient  height 
to  the  fertile  plain  ;8  others  regarding  it  to  have  been  at  a 
later  date.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  Florence  existed 
as  a  colony  under  the  Romans.  The  principal  emigration 
from  Faesulse  to  Florence  seems  to  have  taken  place  in  the 
middle  ages. 

One  of  the  attractions  of  Fiesole  was,  till  of  late,  La 
Badia,  a  quaint  old  abbey  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  long  the 
residence  of  the  Cavalier  Francesco  Inghirami,  the  patri- 
arch of  Etruscan  antiquaries,  whose  profound  learning  and 
untiring  research  had  won  him  an  European  renown. 
When  I  had  the  honour  of  making  his  acquaintance  he  was 
suffering  from  that  illness  from  which  he  never  recovered; 
yet  his  mind  was  active  as  ever;  even  then  his  pen  was 
not  idle,  or  he  relaxed  it  only  to  exchange  it  for  the  pencil. 
He  was  not  only  the  author;  he  was  also  the  printer,  the 
publisher,  and  even  the  illustrator  of  his  own  works.  It 
may  not  be  generally  known,  that  he  drew  with  his  own 
hand  the  numerous  plates  of  all  the  voluminous  works  he 


5  Cicero,  in  Catii.  II.  9  ;  III.  C;pro  "  Plin.   VII.  11.     Pliny  (III.  8)  and 

Murena,  24.  Ptolemy  (Geog.  p.  72)  mention  Faesulse 

G  Sallust.  Bell.  Cat.  24,  27,  30,  43.  among  the  inland  colonies  of  Etruria. 

Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  II.  3.      Cicero,  pro  8  Inghirami,  Guida  di  Fiesole,  p.  24. 
Murena,  24. 


134  FIESOLE.  [chap,  xxxvih. 

has  given  to  the  world  ;  and  to  insure  accuracy,  he  had 
recourse  to  a  most  tedious  process,  which  doubled  his 
labour.  In  default  of  a  camera-obscura,  or  lucida,  he 
traced  every  object  on  an  upright  plane  of  glass,  set  be- 
tween it  and  his  eye,  and  then  retraced  his  drawing  on 
paper.  His  illustrations  have  thus  the  merit  of  accuracy, 
which  in  the  works  of  some  Italian  antiquaries  is  wanting, 
where  most  essential.  Inghirami  it  was  who,  with  Micali, 
was  instrumental  in  bringing  the  almost  obsolete  subject  of 
Etruscan  antiquities  before  the  world.  They  took  the  dusty 
topic  from  the  shelf,  where  since  the  days  of  Dempster, 
Gori,  Passeri,  and  Lanzi  it  had  lain ;  held  it  up  to  public 
view,  till  it  became  popular  in  Italy  and  in  other  lands,  and 
was  taken  into  favour  by  princes  and  nobles.  Inghirami 
died  at  a  good  old  age.  Micali  was  cut  off  just  before 
him ;  and  our  own  countryman,  Millingen,  inferior  to  neither 
in  usefulness  or  merited  reputation,  followed  soon  after. 
Thus  goes  the  world,  as  the  proverb  says — 

II  niondo  e  fatto  a  scarpette — 
Chi  se  lo  cava,  chi  se  lo  mette. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

SIENA.— SENA. 

Noi  ce  traenio  ala  cita  de  Sena, 

La  quale  e  posta  en  parte  forte  sana  ; 
De  ligiadria  e  bei  costumi  plena, 

E  vaghe  donne,  e  huomeni  cortesi, 
E  laer  dolcie,  lucida,  e  serena. — Faccio  degli  Uberti. 

Data  sunt  ipsis  quoque  fata  sepulcris.— Juvenal. 

Siena  can  urge  no  pretensions  to  be  considered  an 
Etruscan  city,  that  are  founded  either  on  historical  records, 
or  on  extant  remains.  By  ancient  writers  she  is  men- 
tioned only  as  a  Roman  colony,  and  as  there  is  no  mention 
of  her  before  the  time  of  Caesar,  and  as  she  is  styled 
Sena  Julia  by  the  Theodosian  Table,  the  probability  is 
that  a  colony  was  first  established  here  by  Julius  Caesar, 
or  by  the  second  Triumvirate.1  Nor  is  there  a  trace  of 
Etruscan  antiquity  visible  on  the  site,  though  there  are  a 
few  shapeless  caves  in  the  cliffs  around,  which  seem  to 
have  been  mistaken  for  tombs.2 

Siena,  therefore,  would  not  have  been  mentioned  among 

1  See  Repetti,  V.  p.  295.      Sena  is  from  that  people — Senomim  de  nomine 

mentioned  as  a  colony  by  Pliny  (III.  8)  ;  Sena — Sil.  Ital.   VIII.  455;   XV.  552; 

Tacitus   (Hist.  IV.  45)  ;    and  Ptolemy  Polyb.  II.   19  ;   cf.  Appian.   Bell.    Civ. 

(p.  72,   ed.  Bert.).     Dempster   (II.   p.  I.  88.      Abeken    (Mittelitab'cn,  p.   33) 

342)  ascribes  its  origin  to  the  Senouiau  thinks  Sena  was  probably  of  Etruscan 

Gauls,  but  without  any  authority,  though  origin,  and  a  dependency  of  Volateme  ; 

not  confounding  this  city  as  others  have  but   I    see   no   valid   grounds   for   this 

done  with  Sena  Gallica,  now  Sinigaglia  opinion, 
on  the  Adriatic,  which  derived  its  name  2  Sepulchres  of  Etruria,  p.  508. 


136  SIENA.  [ohap.  xxxix. 

Etruscan  cities,  but  that  it  is  situated  in  a  district  which, 
at  various  periods,  has  yielded  treasures  of  that  antiquity ; 
and  from  its  position  in  the  heart  of  Tuscany,  and  on 
the  high  road  from  Florence  to  Rome,  it  might  be  made 
a  convenient  central  point  for  the  exploration  of  this 
region.3  It  has  two  comfortable  hotels — Le  Armi 
d'Inghilterra  and  L'Aquila  Nera — all-important  in  a  city 
so  full  of  medieval  interest,  whose  glorious  Cathedral  alone 
might  tempt  the  traveller  to  a  lengthened  stay,  and 
whose  inhabitants,  in  spite  of  Dante's  vituperations,  are  all 
the  stranger  could  wish  to  make  his  sojourn  agreeable. 

Sixteen  miles  north  of  Siena,  on  the  road  to  Florence, 
is  Poggibonsi,  the  Podium  Bonitii  of  the  middle  ages. 
Between  this  and  Castellina,  a  town  about  seven  or  eight 
miles  to  the  east,  Etruscan  tombs  have  been  found.  Near 
the  site  of  a  ruined  city,  called  Salingolpe,  as  long  since  as 
1507,  a  sepulchre  was  opened,  which,  from  the  description 
given  by  an  eye-witness,  must  have  been  very  like  the 
celebrated  Regulini  tomb  at  Cervetri.  It  was  in  a  mound, 
and  was  vaulted  over  with  uncemented  masonry  of  large 
size,  the  courses  converging  till  they  met.  It  was  about 
forty  feet  in  length,  six  in  breadth,  and  ten  in  height.  It 
had  also  two  side-chambers,  so  as  to  form  in  its  plan  the 
figure  of  a  cross  ;  and  one  of  these,  about  ten  feet  cube, 
was  a  very  "  magazine"  of  urns  and  vases,  Ml  of  ashes ; 
and  the  other  contained  more  valuable  relics,  "  the  adorn- 
ments of  a  queen " — to  wit,  a  mirror,  a  hair-bodkin,  and 
bracelets,  all  of  silver,  with  abundance  of  leaf  in  the  same 
metal — a  square  cinerary  urn,  with  a  golden  grasshopper 
in  the  middle,  and  another  in  each  of  the  corners — sundry 
precious  stones — boxes  of  rings  in  a  bronze  covered  vase 


3  Siena  is   40   miles  from   Florence,       39  from  Arezzo,  39  from  Massa  Marit- 
16  from  Poggibonsi,  36  from  Volterra,       tima,  and  48  from  Grosseto. 


chap,  xxxix.]  ALPHABETICAL  TOMB.  137 

or  pot,  perhaps  one  of  the  rare  caskets  in  that  metal — a 
female  bust  in  alabaster,  with  a  gold  wire  crossed  on  her 
bosom — and  many  cinerary  urns  of  stone  and  marble,  the 
finest  of  which  belonged  to  a  female.  The  long  passage 
in  this  sepulchre  was  quite  empty.4 

In  the  year  1723,  at  a  spot  called  La  Fattoria  di 
Lilliano,  about  half  way  between  Poggibonsi  and  Castellina, 
some  Etruscan  urns  were  brought  to  light,  but  they  were 
not  of  remarkable  character.5 

Still  nearer  Siena,  on  the  road  to  Colle,  and  hard  by  the 
Abbadia  all'  Isola,  a  most  remarkable  tomb  was  discovered 
in  the  year  1698.  It  contained  an  abundance  of  human 
bones  ;  but  whether  loose  or  in  sarcophagi  does  not  appear 
from  the  record  we  have  of  it.  It  seems  to  have  been  a 
deep  square  pit  or  shaft,  with  an  entrance  cut  obliquely 
down  to  its  floor.  But  the  most  extraordinary  thing  about 
it  was,  that  on  three  of  its  walls  were  inscriptions  in  large 
characters,  painted  on  the  rock,  not  horizontally,  as  usual, 
but  in  long  lines  from  the  top  to  the  bottom  of  the  chamber. 
Yet  more  strange — two  of  these  inscriptions  had  no 
reference  to  the  dead,  but  were  an  alphabet  and  a  spelling- 
book  ! — like  the  curious  pot  found  at  Cervetri,  and  now 
in  the  Gregorian  Museum6 — nor  were  they  Etruscan,  as 
would  be  expected  from  the  locality,  but  pronounced  by 
the  learned  to  be  early  Greek  or  Pelasgic ! 7  Here  is  a 
fac-simile  of  a  copy  of  the  alphabet  made  at  the  time  the 

4  Santi  Marmocchini  quoted  by  Buon-  7  So  says  Lepsius  (Ann.  Inst.  1836, 
arroti,  p.  96,  Explic.  ad  Dempster,  torn.  p.  195,  et  seq.)  Lanzi  (II.  p.  513) 
II.  Gori  (Mus.  Etr.  Class  II.  tab.  III.)  called  it  a  mixture  of  Etruscan  and 
gives  a  plan  of  the  tomb  which  differs  a  Latin.  Lepsius  seems  to  speak  of  this 
little  from  the  description  given  above.  tomb  as  if  it  were  still  in  existence,  but 
He  says  that  the  urns  show  it  to  be  of  it  is  now  mere  matter  of  history.  It 
the  Meminian  or  Memmian  family —  was  reclosed  and  its  site  forgotten  even 
in  Etruscan — "Memna."  in  Maffei's   day,  more  than  a  century 

5  Buonarroti,  p.  4 1 ,  ap.  Dempst.  since. 

6  Ut  supra,  page  53 — 5. 


L38  SIENA.  [chap,  xxxix. 

tomb  was  opened.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  alphabet  is 
unfinished  ;  the  letters  after   the  omicron  having   faded 

from  the  wall  before  the  tomb  was  discovered.  The  next 
line  bore  the  interesting  intelligence  "  ma,  mi,  me,  mu, 
na,  no"  in  letters  which  ran  from  right  to  left.8 

"Why  an  alphabet  and  hornbook  were  thus  preserved 
within  a  tomb,  I  leave  to  the  imagination  of  my  readers  to 
conceive.  Few,  however,  will  be  satisfied  with  Passeri's 
explanation — that  it  was  the  freak  of  some  Etruscan 
schoolboy,  who,  finding  the  wall  ready  prepared  for 
painting,  mischievously  scribbled  thereon  his  last  lesson.9 

Five  miles  east  of  Siena,  near  the  ruined  Castle  of 
Montaperti,  ever  memorable  for  the  great  victory  of  the 
Ghibellines  in  1260— 

Lo  strazio  e  il  grande  scempio 
Che  fece  l'Arbia  colorata  in  rosso — 

was  discovered  in  1728,  in  a  little  mound,  a  tomb  of  the 


8  Buonarroti,  p.  36,  tab.  92,  ap.  one  at  Beni  Hassan,  described  by  Sir  G. 
Dempst.  torn.  II.  Lanzi  II.  p.  512.  Wilkinson, — "  On  the  wall  of  one  of  the 
Maffei,  Osserv.  Lett.  V.  p.  322.  The  tombs  is  a  Greek  alphabet,  with  the 
three  inscribed  walls  of  the  tomb  were  letters  transposed  in  various  ways,  evi- 
divided  by  vertical  lines  into  broad  dently  by  a  person  teaching  Greek,  who 
stripes  or  bands,  in  which  were  the  in-  appears  to  have  found  these  cool  re- 
scriptions — seven  in  all.  Though  each  cesses  as  well  suited  for  the  resort  of 
commenced  at  the  top  of  the  wall,  the  himself  and  pupils,  as  was  any  stoa,  or 
letters  were  not  placed  upright,  as  in  the  grove  of  Academus."  Modern 
Chinese  inscriptions,  but  ran  sometimes  Egypt,  II.  p.  53.  There  is  no  reason  to 
from  left  to  right,  as  in  the  above  alpha-  believe  that  this  Etruscan  tomb  was  used 
bet,  sometimes  vice  versd.  for  another  than  its  original  purpose,  by 

9  Passeri,  ap.  Gori  Mus.  Etrus.  III.  a  different  race,  and  hi  a  subsequent 
p.  108.  Nor  can  it  be  supposed  that  age  ;  for  the  palaeography  shows  the  in- 
this  Etruscan  tomb  presents  an  instance  scriptions  to  be  very  ancient,  probably 
of  academical  tuition,  like  an  Egyptian  coeval  with  the  sepulchre  itself. 


chap,  xxxix.]  TOMB  UF  THE  CILNII.  139 

Cilnii — the  great  Etruscan  family  to  which  Maecenas 
belonged.  It  had  fifteen  square  urns  or  "  ash-chests"  of 
travertine,  and  seventeen  cinerary  pots  of  earthenware, 
almost  all  with  inscriptions ;  but  the  urns  were  remarkably 
plain,  without  figures  on  their  lids,  and  there  was  nothing 
in  the  sepulchre  to  mark  it  as  belonging  to  one  of  the 
most  illustrious  families  of  Etruria,  which  possessed  supreme 
power  in  the  land.1  The  name  was  written  Cvenle,  or 
Cvenles — 

M34V\3;D 

or  more  rarely  Cvelne  ;2  though  the  Etruscan  form  was 
sometimes  analogous  to,  or  even  identical  with  the  Roman.3 
On  the  door-posts  of  this  tomb,  as  in  the  Grotta  de' 
Volunni  at  Perugia,  were  carved  inscriptions — a  sort  of 
general  epitaph,  in  which  the  name  of  the  family  occurs. 

At  Montalcino,  a  small  city  on  the  heights  to  the  right 
of  the  road  from  Siena  to  S.  Quirico,  and  about  twenty 
miles  south  of  the  former  city,  Etruscan  tombs  have  been 


1  Liv.  X.  3 — Cilniuni  gens  prsepotens.  the  Etruscan  character.  But  Lanzi 
Silius  Italicus,  VII.  29—  (Sagg.  II.  pp.  366—7),  who  copied  the 
Cilnius,  Arreti  Tyrrhenis  ortus  in  oris,  original  inscriptions,  as  well  as  Gori 
Clarura  nomen  erat.  (Mus.  Etrus.  III.  pp.  96 — 7,  cl.  II. 
For  the  royal  origin  of  Maecenas,  see  tab.  12 — 17),  make  precisely  the  same 
Horat.  Od.  I.  1  ;  III.  29, 1.  ;  Sat.  I.  6,  transpositions.  Miiller  (I.  pp.  404, 
1_4  ;  Propert.  III.  9,  1  ;  Sil.  Ital.  X.  416)  thinks  that  the  Etruscan  form 
40  ;  Mart.  XII.  4,  2  ;  cf.  Macrob.  of  Maecenas1  name  must  have  been 
Saturn.  II.  4.  Etruscan  "  royalty  "  "  Cvelne  (or  as  he  writes  it,  Cfelne) 
must  be  understood  merely  as  the  Maecnatial,"  —  the  first  being  his 
supreme  power  delegated  to  one  of  patronymic,  the  second  his  mother's 
their  body  by  the  confederate  princes  or  family  name  with  the  usual  adjectival 
Lucumones.  termination. 

2  It  seems  at  first  sight  as  if  this  3  As  is  proved  by  an  inscription  on 
metastasis  were  an  error  of  some  of  the  one  of  the  recently  found  sepulchres 
copiers  or  transcribers,  who,  as  appears  of  Sovana,  where  the  name  is  written 
from  a  manuscript  account  of  this  tomb  "  Cilnia  ; "  though  the  more  peculiar 
in  the  Archaeological  Institute  at  Rome,  form  seems  also  to  occur  in  the  same 
were  not  always  well  acquainted  with  necropolis.     Vol.  I.  p.  500. 


140  SIENA.  [chap,  xxxix. 

opened  in  times  past,  though  no  excavations  have  been 
made,  as  far  as  I  can  learn,  for  many  years.  A  great 
part  of  the  Etruscan  urns  in  the  Museum  of  Ley  den  came 
from  this  site.  They  are  all  of  travertine,  and  belong  to 
different  Etruscan  families.4 

Montalcino  has  now  no  antiquities  to  show,  and,  indeed, 
little  more  to  boast  of  than  her  muscadel  wine,  lauded 
by  Redi,  as  drink  for  the  fair  of  Paris  and  London — 

II  leggiadretto, 
II  si  divino 
Moscadelletto 
Di  Montalcino. 
Un  tal  vino 
Lo  destino 
Per  le  dame  di  Parigi ; 
E  per  quelle, 
Che  si  belle 
j  Rallegrar  fanno  il  Tamigi. 

Castelnuovo  delT  Abate,  seven  miles  further  south,  is 
another  site  which  has  yielded  Etruscan  tombs  in  the  past 
century.5 

Near  Pienza,  a  town  on  the  heights  to  the  east  of  San 
Quirico,  and  seven  miles  west  of  Montepulciano,  was  found 
in  1779  a  tomb  of  the  family  of  "  Caes"  (Caius).6 

In  the  district  of  Siena  have  been  found  other  sepulchres 
of  the  olden  time  ;  one  of  the  family  of  "  Lecne"  (Licinius), 
and  another  of  that  of  "  Veti"  (Vettius).7 

4  Bull.  Inst.  1840,  pp.  97— 104.     The       (Arruntius?)- 

families  mentioned  in  the  epitaphs  are  6  Lanzi,  II.  p.  373.     Pienza  is  con- 

the    "Apuni"    (Aponius),    "Tite"    or  jectured  by  Cramer  (I.  p.  221)  to  be  the 

"Teti"  (Titus),  "Cae"  (Caius),  "An-  Manliana    of    Ptolemy  and  the   Itine- 

carni "    (Ancharius),   "  Laucani "    (Lu-  raries. 

canus),   and   others   whose   names  are  "  Lanzi,  II.  pp.  360,  361.     The  pre- 

not  fully  legible.  cise  localities  of   these  tombs  are  not 

5  Lanzi,    Saggio    II.   p.     368.       One  mentioned. 
was  of    the   family    of   the    "  Arntle " 


FTRUSCAN    WALLS     OF     VOLTERRA,    BELOW    STA.     CHIARA. 


CHAPTER   XL. 


VOLTERRA.—  VOLA  TERRM. 

The  City. 

tornemo  a  Vultera, 

Sopra  un  monte,  che  forte  e  anticha, 

Quanto  en  Toscana  niuna  altra  terra. — Faccio  df.gli  Uberti. 

We  came  e'en  to  the  city's  wall 
And  the  great  gate. — Shelley. 

From  whatever  side  Volterra  may  be  approached  it  is  a 
most  commanding  object,  crowning  the  summit  of  a  lofty, 
steep,  and  sternly  naked  height,  if  not  wholly  isolated,  yet 
independent  of  the  neighbouring  hills,  reducing  them  by 
its  towering  supereminence  to  mere  satellites  ;  so  lofty  as 
to  be   conspicuous  from  many  a  league  distant,  and  so 


142  VOLTERRA.— The  City.  [chap.  xl. 

steep  that  when  the  traveller  has  at  length  reached  its  foot, 
he  finds  that  the  fatigue  he  imagined  had  well  nigh  ter- 
minated, is  then  but  about  to  begin.  Strabo  has  accurately 
described  it  when  he  said  "  it  is  built  on  a  lofty  height, 
rising  from  a  deep  valley  and  precipitous  on  every  side, 
on  whose  level  summit  stand  the  fortifications  of  the  city. 
From  base  to  summit  the  ascent  is  fifteen  stadia  long, 
and  it  is  steep  and  difficult  throughout."1 

If  Volterra  be  still  "lordly"  and  imposing,  what  must 
she  have  been  in  the  olden  time,  when  instead  of  a  mere 
cluster  of  mean  buildings  at  one  corner  of  the  level  moun- 
tain-crest, the  entire  area,  four  or  five  miles  in  circuit,  was 
bristling  with  the  towers,  temples,  and  palaces  of  the  city, 
one  of  Etruria's  first  and  largest — when  the  walls,  whose 
mere  fragments  are  now  so  vast,  that  fable  and  song  may 
well  report  them — 

"  Piled  by  the  hands  of  giants, 
For  god-like  kings  of  old," 

then  surrounded  the  city  with  a  girdle  of  fortifications  such 
as  for  grandeur  and  massiveness  have  perhaps  never  been 


1  Strabo,  V.  p.  223.     Modern  mea-  the  name  of  (Enarea, — a  site  of  cxtra- 

surement  makes  the  mountain  on  which  ordinary  strength,  on  a  hill   30  stadia 

Volterra   stands     935     Tuscan    braccia  in  height.     To  this  view  Lanzi  (Saggio, 

(about  1800  English  feet)  above  the  level  II.   p.    94)  is  also   inclined.     Mannert 

of  the  sea.     Miiller  was  therefore  mis-  (Geog.  p.  357)  is  opposed  to  it,  on  the 

taken  when  he  guessed  Volterra  to  be  ground  that  (Enarea  had  probably  no 

probably  the   highest-lying  town  in  all  existence.     Niebuhr  (I.  p.  124,  n.  382), 

Italy.     Etrusk.    I   p.   221.     There   are  Miiller  (Etrusk.  II.  2,  10),  and  Arnold 

many   towns  and    villages   among  the  (Hist,  of  Rome,  II.  p.  530),  raise  the 

Apennines,  and  not  a  few  ancient  sites  more   valid    objection,   that    from    the 

in  the  mountains  of  Sabina  and  Latium,  usurpation  of  power  by  its  manumitted 

at    a    considerably   greater    elevation.  slaves,  (Enarea  must  be  identical  with 

Cluver    (Ital.     Ant.    II.   p.    513)    takes  Volsinii.      I   have  hesitated  to  bow   to 

Volaterrse    to    be    the     Etruscan    city  these  mighty  three,  and  have  suggested 

referred    to    by    the    pseudo  Aristotle  that  Monte  Fiascone  may  possibly  be  the 

(De  Mirab.    Auscult.   cap.   96),   under  site  of  (Enarea.     Vol.  I.  p.  518. 


chap,  xl.]  HISTORY  OF  VOLATERRiE.  143 

surpassed.     We  now  see  but  "  the  skeleton  of  her  Titanic 
form," — what  must  have  been  the  living  body  ? 

Her  great  size  and  the  natural  strength  of  her  position 
mark  Volaterra?  as  a  city  of  first-rate  importance,  and  give 
her  indisputable  claims  to  rank  among  the  Twelve  of  the 
Confederation.  Were  such  local  evidence  wanting,  the 
testimony  of  Dionysius,2  that  she  was  one  of  the  five  cities, 
which  acting  independently  of  the  rest  of  Etruria,  deter- 
mined to  aid  the  Latins  against  Tarquinius  Priscus,  would 
be  conclusive  ;3  for  no  second-rate  or  dependent  town 
could  have  ventured  to  oppose  the  views  of  the  rest.  This 
is  the  first  historical  mention  of  Volaterrse,  and  is  satis- 
factory evidence  as  to  her  antiquity  and  early  importance. 
The  only  other  express  record  of  Volaterra3  during  the 
period  of  national  independence,  is  in  the  year  456 
(b.c.  298),  when  L.  Cornelius  Scipio  encountered  the  Etrus- 
can forces  below  this  city,  and  so  obstinate  a  combat 
ensued  that  night  alone  put  an  end  to  it,  and  not  till 
morning  showed  the  Etruscans  had  retired  from  the  field, 
could  the  Roman  general  claim  the  victory.4  As  an 
Etruscan  city,  Volaterrse  must  have  had  a  territory  of 
great  extent ;  larger,  without  doubt,  than  that  of  any  other 
city  of  the  Confederation  ; 5  and  with  the  possession  of  the 


2  Dion.  Hal.  III.  p.  189,  ed.  Sylb.  and  the  rich  plains  of  Lucca;  eastward 
The  other  cities  were  Clusium,  Arre-  her  ager  must  also  have  extended  far, 
tium,  Rusellse  and  Vetulonia.  as  the  nearest  city  was  Arretium,  50 

3  It  is  so  regarded  by  the  principal  miles  distant ;  westward  it  was  bounded 
writers  on  the  subject.  Cluver.  II.  p.  by  the  Mediterranean  (Strabo,  V.  p. 
511;  Miiller,  Etrusk.  II.  1,  2,  p.  346;  223),  more  than  20  miles  off;  and 
Cramer,  I.  p.  185.  southward  it  extended  at  least  as  far  as 

4  Liv.  X.  12.  Populonia,  which  was  either  a  colony  or 

5  North  of  Volaterrse  there  was  no  acquisition  of  Volaterrcc  (Scrv.  ad  JEn. 
other  city  of  the  Confederation,  unless  X.  172)  ;  and  from  the  intimate  con- 
Pisse  may  at  an  early  period  have  been  nection  of  that  port  with  Elba,  it  is 
one  of  the  Twelve,  to  dispute  her  claim  highly  probable  that  it  also  compre- 
to  all   the   land  up  to  the  confines  of  hended  that  island  itself. 

Etruria,  including  the  vale  of  the  Arno, 


144 


VOLTERRA.— The  City. 


[CHAP.   XL. 


two  great  ports  of  Luna  and  Populonia,  she  must  have 
been  the  most  powerful  among  "the  sea-ruling  Etruscans," 
and  probably  also  the  most  wealthy.  Her  Etruscan  appel- 
lation, as  we  learn  from  her  coins,  was  Velathri  6 — 

l«Ofl>l23 

We  have  no  record  of  her  conquest,  but  from  her 
remoteness  and  strength  we  may  conclude  Volaterrse  was 
among  the  last  of  the  cities  of  Etruria  to  fall  under  the 
yoke  of  Rome.  In  the  Second  Punic  War,  in  common 
with  the  other  principal  cities  of  Etruria,  she  undertook  to 
furnish  her  quota  of  supplies  for  the  Roman  fleet ;  and  it 
is  worthy  of  remark  that  she  still  maintained  her  maritime 
character,  being  the  only  one,  save  Tarquinii,  to  furnish 
tackling   or   other   gear   for   ships.7     In   the    civil   wars 


6  This  is  almost  identical  with  the 
name  of  the  ancient  Volscian  town 
Velitrse,  now  Velletri  ;  and  there  can 
be  no  doubt  that  there  was  a  close 
analogy,  as  between  many  other  towns 
of  Etruria,  and  those  of  corresponding 
appellations  south  of  the  Tiber.  In 
fact,  the  coins  with  the  legend  of 
Velathri  have  often  been  assigned  to 
Velitrse.  Raffaelle  Maffei,  il  Biondo, 
and  other  early  Italian  antiquaries 
indulged  in  idle  speculations  as  to  the 
meaning  of  the  name  Volaterrte,  and 
resolved  it  into  "Vola  (which  they 
translated  urbs)  Tyrrhenorum,"  but 
Volaterrse  is  merely  the  Latin  form, 
and  in  our  present  ignorance  of  the 
Etruscan  language  all  sound  analysis 
is  out  of  the  question.  It  may  be  re- 
marked, however,  that  the  syllable  Vel, 
or  Vul,  is  a  frequent  initial  to  Etruscan 
names — Velsina,  Vulsinii,  Vulci,  Velim- 
nas,  &c. — and  the  rest  of  the  word 
Atri  seems  to  have  some  analogy  to 
the    Hat,   or    Hatri,   on   the    coins    of 


Hatria, — the  Etruscan  town  which  gave 
its  name  to  the  Adriatic,  and  to  the 
atrium,  or  court,  in  Roman  houses. 
Cramer  (I.  p.  184)  infers  from  this 
analogy  that  Volterra  was  founded  by 
the  Tyrrhene-Pelasgi,  when  they  quitted 
the  shores  of  the  Adriatic  to  settle  in 
the  land  of  the  Umbri.  The  same  origin 
for  the  city  is  inferred  by  Millingen 
(Numismatique  de  1'  Ancienne  Italie, 
p.  167)  from  the  name  Velathri,  which 
he  takes  to  be  identical  with  Elatria,  a 
town  in  Epirus,  the  land  whence  came 
many  of  the  colonists  of  Italy,  especially 
the  Pelasgi.  He  sees  Elatria  also  in 
Velitrse  of  the  Volsci,  and  even  in  Vul- 
turnus,  the  original  appellation  of  Capua  ; 
and  he  thinks  this  name  was  given  to 
these  three  cities  by  the  Tyrrhene- 
Pelasgi,  during  their  possession  of  the 
land,  in  remembrance  of  their  ancient 
country. 

"  Liv.  XXVIII.  45.  Tarquinii  sup- 
plied sail-cloth,  Volaterrse,  the  fittings- 
up   of  ships,  and   also   corn.     This   is 


chap,  xl.]  HISTORY  OF  VOLATERR^.  145 

between  Marius  and  Sylla,  Volaterra?,  like  most  of  the 
cities  of  Etruria,  espoused  the  part  of  the  former  ;  for  this 
she  was  besieged  two  years  by  the  forces  of  his  rival,  till 
she  was  compelled  to  surrender  ;8  but  though  thus  taken 
in  arms  against  him,  she  escaped  the  fate  of  Fsesulae  and 
other  cities  which  were  deprived  of  their  citizenship,  and 
had  their  lands  confiscated  and  divided  among  the  troops 
of  the  victorious  Dictator.  For  this  she  was  indebted  to 
the  great  Cicero,  who  was  then  Consul,  and  who  ever 
afterwards  retained  the  warmest  attachment  towards  her, 
and  honoured  her  with  the  highest  commendations.9  She 
subsequently,  however,  was  forced  to  receive  a  military 
colony,  under  the  Triumvirate.'1  After  the  fall  of  the 
Western  Empire,  she  suffered  the  fate  of  the  neighbouring 
cities,  and  fell  under  the  dominion  of  the  Vandals  and  the 
Huns  ;  but  was  again  raised  to  importance  by  the  Lombard 
kings,  who,  for  a  time,  fixed  their  court  here,  on  account  of 
the  natural  strength  of  the  site.  Of  the  subsequent  his- 
tory of  Volterra,  suffice  it  to  say,  that  though  greatly  sunk 
in  size  and  importance,  she  has  never  wholly  lost  her 
population,  and  been  abandoned,  like  so  many  of  her 
fellows,  to  the  fox,  the  owl,  and  the  viper  ;  and  that  she 
retains  to  the  present  day,  her  original  Etruscan  appella- 
tion, but  little  corrupted.2 

When  the  traveller  has  mastered  the  tedious  ascent  to 
the  town,  let  him  seek  for  the  "  Unione,"  the  best  inn  in 

according  to  the  usual  reading,  intcra-  citizens,  the  satirist  Persius.   Her  claim 

menta  ;  but  Miiller  (I.  2,  1,  IV.  3,   6)  is  better  founded,  I  believe,  as  regards 

prefers   that    of    Gronovius,  which   is  Linus,  the  successor  of  St.    Peter,  as 

inceramcnta.  bishop  of  Rome. 

8  Sti-abo,  loc.  cit.;  Liv.  Epitome,  '  Front.  deColon. p.  14.ed.  1588.  Pliny 
LXXXIX.  ;  cf.  Cic.  pro  Csecina,  VII.  ;  N.  H.  III.  8)  and  Ptolemy  (p.  72,  ed. 
pro  Roscio  Amerino,  VII.  Bert.)  also  speak  of  her  as  a  colony  in 

9  Cic.    pro   Domo   sua,    XXX.  ;    ad  their  days. 

Divers.    XIII.   4,   5  ;  ad   Attic.   I.    19.  2  For    the    post- Roman    history    of 

Volterra    claims    among    her    ancient       Volterra,  see  Repetli,  V.  pj>.  801  et  aeq. 
VOL.  II.  L 


146  VOLTERRA.— The  City.  [chap.  xi.. 

Volterra.  He  may  know  it  by  the  sign  of  three  naked 
females,  the  most  graceless  things  about  the  house.  The 
landlord,  Sigre-  Ottavio  Callai,  having  resided  several  years 
in  England,  understands  our  habits,  wants,  and  somewhat 
of  our  language,  and  his  general  intelligence  and  local 
information,  to  say  nothing  of  his  obliging  disposition,  will 
prove  of  real  service  to  his  guests. 

Modern  Volterra  is  but  a  country-town,  having  scarcely 
above  four  thousand  inhabitants,  and  covering  but  a  small 
portion  of  the  area  occupied  by  the  ancient  city.  The 
lines  of  its  battlemented  wall,  and  the  towered  keep  of  its 
fortress,  give  it  an  imposing  appearance  externally.  It  is 
a  dirty  and  gloomy  place,  however,  without  architectural 
beauty ;  and  save  the  heavy,  feudal-faced  Palazzo  Pubblico, 
hung  quaintly  all  over  with  coats  of  arms,  as  a  pilgrim 
with  scallop-shells — so  many  silent  traditions  of  the  stirring 
days  of  the  Italian  republics — and  richer  still  in  its 
Museum  of  Etruscan  antiquities  ;  save  the  neat  little 
Duomo,  and  the  alabaster  factories,  which  every  one  should 
visit,  there  is  nothing  of  interest  in  modern  Volterra.  Her 
glories  are  the  Etruscan  walls  and  the  Museum,  to  neither 
of  which  the  visitor  who  feels  interest  in  the  early  civiliza- 
tion of  Italy,  should  fail  to  pay  attention. 

To  begin  with  the  walls.  From  the  "Unione,"  a  few 
steps  will  lead  to  the 

Porta  all'  Arco.3 

I  envy  the  stranger  his  first  impressions  on  approaching 
this  gateway.  The  loftiness  of  the  arch  ;  the  boldness  of 
its  span ;  the  massiveness  of  the  blocks,  dwarfing  into 
insignificance  the  mediaeval  masonry  by  which  it  is  sur- 

■1  Dempster  (Etrur.  Regal.  II.  p.  286)        Gori  (Mus.  Etr.  III.  pp.  34,  44)  follows 
says  that  certain  learned  men  take  this       them  in  this  superfluous  etymology, 
for  a  corruption    of    Porta   Herculis. 


chap,  xl.]  THE  PORTA  ALL'  ARCO.  147 

rounded  ;  the  venerable,  yet  solid  air  of  the  whole  ;  and 
more  than  all,  the  dark,  featureless,  mysterious  heads 
around  it,  stretching  forward  as  if  eager  to  proclaim  the 
tale  of  bygone  races  and  events  ;  even  the  site  of  the  gate 
on  the  very  verge  of  the  steep,  with  a  glorious  map  of 
valley,  river,  plain,  mountain,  sea,  headland,  and  island, 
unrolled  beneath  ;  make  it  one  of  the  most  imposing  yet 
singular  portals  conceivable,  and  fix  it  indelibly  on  his 
memory. 

It  is  a  double  gateway,  nearly  thirty  feet  deep,  united 
by  parallel  walls  of  very  massive  character,  of  the  same 
masonry  as  those  of  the  city.4  This  is  decisive  of  its 
Etruscan  origin  ;  yet  some  doubt  has  been  raised  as  to  the 
Etruscan  antiquity  of  the  arch, — I  think,  without  just  ground. 
It  has  been  objected  that  the  mouldings  of  the  imposts  are 
too  Greek  in  character  to  be  regarded  as  Etruscan,  and 
that  the  arch  must  therefore  be  referred  to  the  Romans.5 
But  if  this  were  a  sufficing  reason,  every  article  found  in 
Etruscan  tombs,  which  betrays  a  Hellenic  influence,  must 
be  of  Roman  origin.  Those  who  hold  such  a  doctrine 
must  totally  forget  the  extensive  intercourse  the  Etruscans 


4  The  span  of  the  arch  is  1 3  ft.  2  in.  ;  of  the  gate  to  be  "  of  true  Etruscan 
the  height  to  the  top  of  the  impost  15  construction:"  (cf.  I.  p.  141).  By 
feet ;  so  that  the  height  to  the  keystone  Ruspi,  the  Roman  architect,  the  re- 
is  about  21^  feet.  Depth  of  the  door-  storation  has  been  referred  even  to 
posts  4  ft.  6  in.  The  inner  arch  is  13  Imperial  times.  Bull.  Inst.  1831,  p. 
ft.  6  in.  in  span,  and  its  doorpost  nearly  52.  The  connecting  walls,  the  door- 
5  ft.  in  depth.  The  length  of  the  con-  posts  of  the  outer  arch,  and  the  heads, 
necting  passage  is  18  ft.,  and  its  width  he  alone  allows  to  be  Etruscan  ;  the 
15  ft.  8  in.,  so  that  the  total  depth  of  arch  of  the  outer  gate  he  conceives  to 
the  gateway,  including  the  arches,  is  27  have  been  raised  during  the  Empire, 
feet,  C>  inches.  the  heads  to  have  been  then  replaced, 

5  Micali  (Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  III.  p.  5)  and  the  inner  gateway  to  have  been  at 
regards  them  as  of  Roman  character  the  same  time  constructed.  He  thinks 
and  construction,  and  thinks  the  whole  a  second  restoration  was  effected 
arch,  except  the  heads,  is  a  restoration,  during  the  middle  ages,  in  that  part 
probably  after  the  siege  of  the  city  by  where  the  portcullis  was  fixed. 

Sylla.      Yet  he  admits  the  lower  part 

1,2 


148  VOLTERRA.— The  City.  [chap.  xl. 

maintained  from  very  remote  times,  at  least  as  early  as  the 
Roman  kings,  not  only  with  the  Greek  colonies  of  Sicily 
and  Campania,  the  latter  long  under  their  own  dominion, 
but  also  with  Greece  herself — an  intercourse  quite  sufficient 
to  account  for  traces  of  Hellenisms  in  Etruscan  art, 
whether  exhibited  in  a  modified  form  in  architectural 
mouldings,  or  in  the  frequent  Doric  and  Ionic  features  of 
the  sarcophagi  or  rock-hewn  monuments,  or  displayed 
more  palpably  and  purely  in  the  painted  vases,  found  in 
myriads  in  Etruria,  which  are  unequivocally  Greek  in  form, 
design,  myths,  and  even  inscriptions.6  The  mouldings  of 
these  imposts  then,  were  they  even  more  strongly  assimi- 
lated to  the  Greek,  may  well  be  of  Etruscan  construction, 
though  not,  of  course,  of  the  most  remote  epoch. 

The  inner  arch  of  the  gateway  differs  from  the  outer  in 
the  material,  form,  and  number  of  its  voussoirs,  and  has 
much  more  of  a  Roman  character. 

Whether  this  archway  be  Etruscan  or  not,  it  cannot 
be  doubted  that  the  three  heads  are  of  that  character, 
and  that  they  occupied  similar  positions  in  an  arched 
gateway  of  ancient  Volterra.  This  is  corroborated  in  a 
singular  manner.  In  the  Museum  is  a  cinerary  urn,  found 
in  this  necropolis,  which  has  a  bas-relief  of  the  death  of 
Capaneus,  struck  by  lightning  when  in  the  act  of  scaling 
the  gate  of  Thebes  ;  and  the  artist,  copying  probably 
the  object  best  known  to  him,  has  represented  in  that 


fi  Orioli  (ap.  Inghir.  Mon.  Etrusc.  IV.  terised  as  Greek.     But  it  does  not  seem 

p.  162)  maintains  that  this  similarity  to  to  me  necessary  to  suppose  so  high  an 

Greek  art  does  not  militate  against  the  antiquity  for  the  Hellenisms  in  Etruscan 

Etruscan  construction  of  this  arch,  on  art,  which  are  more  simply  accounted 

the  ground  that  Greek  art  arose  and  for  in  the  manner  indicated  in  the  text, 

was   nurtured   in     Asia    Minor   rather  Canina,  a  high  architectural  authority, 

than    in    Greece  Proper,  and  that  the  regards  this  gate  as  one  of    the  most 

Etruscans  coming  from  the  East  may  ancient   Etruscan    monuments  in   this 

have  brought  with  them  a  knowledge  of  region.     Ann.  Inst.  1835,  p.  192. 
tliat  architecture  which  is  now  charac- 


chap,  xl.]     THREE  HEADS  ON  THE  ETRUSCAN  ARCHWAY.     149 

mythical  gate,  this  very  Porta  all'  Arco  of  Volterra,  with 
the  three  heads  exactly  in  the  same  relative  position. 
What  the  heads  might  mean  is  not  easy  to  determine. 
They  may  represent  the  heads  of  conquered  enemies,7  or 
the  three  mysterious  Cabiri,8  or  possibly  the  patron  deities 
of  the  city.9  They  could  scarcely  be  intended  for  mere 
ornament. 

The  masonry  within  the  gateway  is  very  massive,  and 
well  preserved.  There  are  eight  courses,  about  two  feet 
deep  each,  of  rectangular  blocks,  seven,  eight,  or  ten  feet 
in  length.  They  are  of  panchina,  a  yellow  arenaceous  stone, 
as  are  also  the  door-posts  of  the  outer  arch  ;  the  imposts 
and  voussoirs,  however,  are  of  travertine,  and  the  three 
heads  are  of  dark  grey  peperino.  This  difference  in  the 
material  has,  doubtless,  aided  the  opinion  of  the  subsequent 
formation  of  the  arch.1     It  is  highly  probable,  indeed,  that 


<  Orioli,  ap.  Ingli.  Mon.  Etr.  IV.  p. 
163. 

8  This  is  Gerhard's  view.  Gottheiten 
tier  Etrusker,  p.  ]'5.;  cf.  p.  48. 

9  Orioli,  Ann.  Inst.  1832,  p.  38.  This 
is  also  Micali's  opinion  (III.  p.  5),  who 
admits  them  to  be  Etruscan.  Gori 
(Mus.  Etrusc.  Ill  p.  46.)  takes  them  for 
heads  of  the  Lares  Viales,  placed  in 
such  a  position  to  receive  the  adoration 
of  passers  by  ;  as  Lucretius  (I.  317 — 9) 
describes  deities  in  bronze  placed  near 
city-gates,  whose  hands,  like  the  toes  of 
St.  Peter  and  other  saints  of  modern 
times,  were  quite  worn  down  by  the 
frequent  kisses  of  their  votaries.  Lanzi 
(cited  by  Inghirami,  Mon.  Etrus.  I. 
p.  679)  in  describing  the  said  urn  took 
the  central  head  to  represent  Antigone, 
and  the  others,  two  Thebans,  looking 
out  from  the  city.  He  could  not  have 
carefully  examined  the  monument ;  or  he 
must  have  confounded  it  with  another 
somewhat  similar  urn. 

1  If  the  outer  arch  were  a  restoration 


by  the  Romans,  they  must  have  pre- 
served and  built  up  again  these  three 
heads  of  peperino ;  which  is  a  great 
objection  against  the  hypothesis.  To 
me  it  does  not  seem  at  all  probable  that 
the  Romans  of  the  close  of  the  Republic, 
the  epoch  of  the  Pantheon,  and  the 
purest  period  of  Roman  art,  would  have 
destroyed  the  symmetry  of  the  gate  by 
the  replacement  of  such  heavy  unsightly 
masses.  It  is  much  easier  to  conceive 
them  to  have  been  placed  there  at  an 
earlier  period,  when  superstition  or 
convention  overcame  a  regard  for  the 
beautiful.  A  figure  or  head  in  relief 
on  the  keystone  was  common  enough 
in  Roman  gateways,  and  is  in  accord- 
ance with  good  taste,  not  destroying  the 
symmetry  of  the  arch,  but  serving  to 
fix  the  eye  on  the  culminating  point. 
But  it  may  safely  be  assertet]  that  the 
introduction  of  such  prominent  shape- 
less masses  around  an  arch,  was  wholly 
opposed  to  Roman  taste,  as  we  learn  it 
from  existing  monuments. 


150  VOLTERRA.— The  City.  [chap.  xl. 

the  arches  are  subsequent  to  the  rest  of  the  gateway, 
which  I  take  to  be  coeval  with  the  city  walls,  and  prior  to 
the  invention  of  the  arch ;  and  the  same  plan  must 
originally  have  been  adopted,  as  is  traceable  in  another 
gateway  at  Yolterra,  — namely,  flat  wooden  architraves 
were  let  into  the  door-posts,  having  sockets  in  them  corre- 
sponding to  sockets  in  the  threshold,  in  which  the  flaps 
of  the  doors  worked.  This  plan  is  proved  to  have  been 
used  by  the  Etruscans,  by  certain  tombs  of  Chiusi,  where 
the  doors  are  still  working  in  their  ancient  sockets.  But 
as  the  Etruscans  were  acquainted  with  the  arch  for  at 
least  two  or  three  centuries  before  their  final  subjugation 
by  Rome,  the  addition  of  it  to  this  gateway  may  still  have 
been  made  in  the  days  of  their  independence. 

Just  within  the  gate  on  each  side  is  a  groove  or  channel 
for  the  portcullis,  or  Saracinesca,  as  the  Italians  call  it, 
which  was  suspended  by  iron  chains,  and  let  down  from 
above  like  the  gate  of  a  sluice  ;  so  that  if  the  enemy 
attempted  to  force  the  inner  gate,  the  portcullis  was 
dropped,  and  all  within  were  made  prisoners.  This  man- 
trap, common  enough  in  the  middle  ages,  was  also  employed 
by  the  ancients ;  and  grooves  for  the  cataracta  are  found  in 
the  double  gates  of  their  cities — at  Pompeii  and  Cosa, 
for  instance,  where  the  gates  are  formed  on  the  same  plan 
as  this  of  Volterra.2 

From  the  Porta  all'  Arco  let  the  visitor  continue  his 
walk  eastward,  beneath  the  walls  of  the  modern  town, 
till,  leaving  these  behind,  and  following  the  brow  of  the 
hill  for  some  distance,  he  comes  in  sight  of  the  church 
of  Sta.  Chiara.  Below  this  are  some  of  the  finest  portions 
of  the  ancient  walls  now  extant.  They  are  in  detached 
fragments.     In  the    first    the    masonry  is    comparatively 

:  Mention   is  made   of  the  cataracta       (de  Re  Milit.  IV.  cap.  i),  who  sneaks  of 
by  Livy  (XXVII.  28),  and  by   Vegetius       it  as  an  ancient  invention. 


,N. 


H        '"' 


34  Remains  of  an  ancient  edifice. 

35  Piazza  Maggiore. 

3(5  Palazzo  Comunale,  containing 
the  Museum. 

37  Cathedral. 

38  Church  of  S.  Giovanni. 

39  ,,  S.  Filippo. 

40  ,,  S.  Francesco. 

41  „  S.  .Michele. 

42  . ,  S.  Agostino. 

43  ,,  S.    ietro. 

44  Locanda  Callai. 


PLAN  OF  YOLTERRA,  ANCIENT  AND  MODERN. 
From  U 


c 


'hap.  xl.]  THE  ETRUSCAN  WALLS.  151 

small ;  it  is  most  massive  in  the  third,  which  extends 
to  the  length  of  forty  or  fifty  yards,  and  rises  to  a 
considerable  height.  In  this  fragment  are  two  conduits  or 
sewers — square  openings,  with  projecting  sills,  as  at  Fiesole, 
ten  or  twelve  feet  above  ground.3  The  fifth  fragment  is 
also  fine ;  but  the  sixth  is  very  grand — forty  feet  in 
height,  and  about  one  hundred  and  forty  in  length ;  and 
here  also  open  two  sewers.4 

The  masonry  is  very  irregular.  A  horizontal  arrange- 
ment is  preserved  ;  but  one  course  often  runs  into  another, 
shallow  ones  alternate  with  deep,  or  even  in  the  same, 
several  shallow  blocks  are  piled  up  to  equal  the  depth  of 
the  larger.  The  masses,  though  intended  to  be  rectangular, 
are  rudely  hewn,  and  more  rudely  jDut  together,  with  none 
of  that  close  "  kissing"  of  joints,  as  the  Italians  say,  or 
neat  fitting-in  of  smaller  pieces,  which  is  seen  at  Fiesole. 
This  may  be  called  a  rectangular  Cyclopean  style,  if  that 
be  not  a  contradiction  of  terms.  Nevertheless,  it  is 
essentially  the  same  masonry  as  that  of  Fiesole  ;  but  here 
it  is  seen  in  its  rudeness  or  infancy,  while  Fiesole  shows 
its  perfection.  To  the  friability  of  the  sandstone  of  which 
it  is  composed,  is  owing  much  of  its  irregular  character, 
the  edges  of  the  blocks  having  greatly  worn  away ;  while 
the  walls  of  Fiesole,  being  of  harder  rock,  have  suffered 
much  less  from  the  action  of  the  elements.  Fair  com- 
parisons, however,  can  only  be  drawn  between  the  walls 
on  corresponding  sides  of  the  several  cities ;  for  those 
which  face  the  south,  as  these  fragments  under  Santa 
Chiara,  have  always  been  most  affected  by  the  weather. 

3  Some  of  the  blocks  in  this  fragment  is  shown  in  the  woodcut  at  the  head  of 
are  very  large — 8  or  10  feet  long,  by  this  Chapter.  The  largest  blocks  here 
2  to  3  in  height.  The  architrave  of  one  are  about  8  feet  long,  and  more  than 
of  the  sewers  is  particularly  massive.  3  in  height.     At  this  particular  spot  the 

4  It  is  this  portion  of  the  wall  which  wall  is  scarcely  20  feet  high. 


152  VOLTERRA.— The  City.  [chap.  xl. 

As  usual  in  the  most  ancient  masonry,  there  are  here  no 
vestiges  of  cement.     In  spite  of  the  saying, 

Duro  con  duro 

Non  fa  mai  buon  niuro, 

these  gigantic  masses  have  held  together  without  it  some 
twenty-five  or  thirty  centuries,  and  may  yet  stand  for  as 
many  more.  All  the  fragments  on  this  side  of  Volterra 
are  mere  embankments,  as  at  Fiesole,  to  the  higher  level 
of  the  city.  In  parts  they  are  underbuilt  with  modern 
masonry. 

From  Sta.  Chiara  the  walls  may  be  traced  by  detached 
fragments,  sometimes  scarcely  rising  above  the  ground,  till 
they  turn  to  the  north,  stretching  along  the  brow  of  the 
steep  cliff,  which  bounds  the  city  on  this  side.  At  a  spot 
called  "  I  Menseri,"  are  some  massive  portions  ;  and  just 
beyond  the  hamlet  of  S.  Giusto  are  traces  of  a  road 
running  up  to  an  ancient  gate,  whose  position  is  clearly 
indicated.  Here  the  ground  sinks  in  tremendous  preci- 
pices, "  Le  Baize,"  overhanging  an  abyss  of  fearful  depth, 
and  increasing  its  horror  by  their  own  blackness.  This 
is  the  Leucadia  — the  lovers'  leap  of  the  Volterrani.  But 
a  few  days  before  I  reached  the  town,  a  forlorn  swain 
had  taken  the  plunge. 

Beyond  this,  the  walls  may  be  traced,  more  or  less 
distinctly,  all  round  the  brow  of  the  point  which  juts  out 
towards  the  convent  of  La  Badia.  In  one  part  they  are 
seven  feet  in  thickness,  and  are  no  longer  mere  embank- 
ments, but  rise  fifteen  feet  above  the  level  of  the  city.  In 
another  spot  they  are  topt  by  small  rectangular  masonry, 
also  uncemented,  apparently  Roman.  They  continue  to 
follow  the  brow  of  the  high  ground  in  all  its  sinuosities  ; 
double  the  wooded  point  of  Torricella,  and  again  run  far 
up  the  hollow  to  Le  Conce,  or  the  Tanyards,  above  which 


chap,  xl.]  THE  GATE  OF  DIANA.  153 

they  rise  in  a  massive  picturesque  fragment  overgrown 
with  foliage.  Then  they  stretch  far  away  along  the  lofty 
and  picturesque  cliffs  on  the  west  of  the  hollow,  till  they 
lead  you  round  to  the  Portone,  or 

Poeta  di  Diana. 

This  is  another  gateway  of  similar  construction  to  the 
Porta  all'  Arco,  but  now  in  ruins.  In  its  ground-plan,  it 
is  precisely  similar,  having  a  double  gate  with  a  con- 
necting passage.  The  masonry  is  of  the  same  massive 
character  as  that  of  the  city-walls,  without  an  inter- 
mixture of  different  styles,  except  what  is  manifestly 
of  modern  date ;  so  that  no  doubt  can  be  entertained  of 
its  purely  Etruscan  construction.  The  dimensions  of  the 
gate  very  nearly  agree  with  those  of  the  Porta  all'  Arco.5 
The  arches  at  either  end  are  now  gone  ;  the  inner  gate 
does  not  indeed  appear  to  have  had  one,  for  the  door- 
post rises  to  the  height  of  about  twenty  feet,  and  at 
twelve  feet  or  so  above  the  ground  is  a  square  hole  in  a 
block  on  each  side  the  gate,  as  if  cut  to  receive  a  wooden 
lintel.  The  outer  gate  still  retains  traces  of  an  arch,  for  at 
a  height  corresponding  with  the  said  lintel,  there  are  cunei- 
form blocks  on  one  side,  sufficient  to  indicate  an  arch ;  the 
opposite  wall  is  too  much  ruined  to  retain  such  vestiges. 
It  is  highly  probable  that  this  gateway  was  constructed 
at  the  same  time  as  the  walls,  and  before  the  invention  of 
the  arch,  both  gates  being  covered  in  by  wooden  lintels,  but 
that  in  after  ages  the  outer  gate  was  repaired,  while  the 
inner,  needing  it  less,  was  left  in  its  original  state. 

This  sort  of  double  gateway  is  found  in  several  ancient 
towns  in  Greece,  as  well  as  in  other  cities  of  Italy.     It  is 

5  The  total  depth  of  the  gateway  is       is  12  ft.  4  in.,  and  in  the  passage  within 
27  ft.,  that  of  the  door-posts  of  each  gate       15  ft.  (>  in. 
4  ft.  4  in.     The  width  at  the  door-posts 


154  YOLTERRA.— The  City.  [ohap.  xl. 

to  be  seen  also  elsewhere  in  Btruria — at  Cosa,  for  instance, 
where  there  is  more  than  one  specimen  of  it.6 

From  the  Portone,  the  ancient  fortifications  may  be 
traced  along  the  wooded  steep  to  the  south,  and  then, 
instead  of  following  its  line,  suddenly  dive  into  the  hollow, 
crossing  it  in  an  independent  wall  nearly  thirty  feet  high. 
The  masonry  here  is  much  smaller  than  in  any  other  part 
of  the  walls,  the  courses  being  often  scarcely  a  foot  in 
height ;  yet,  as  in  other  respects  it  precisely  resembles  the 
more  massive  fragments,  it  may  be  safely  pronounced 
Etruscan.7 

At  the  point  of  high  ground  to  the  east,  is  a  fine  frag- 
ment of  wall,  six  feet  thick,  rising  twelve  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  city,  and  having  its  inner  surface  as  smooth  as 
its  outer.  Beyond  this,  are  two  remarkable  revetements, 
like  bastions  reverted,  or  with  their  concavities  towards  the 
city.  The  most  easterly  of  these  crescent  embankments 
rises  to  the  height  of  thirty  feet.s  Just  beyond  it,  there 
are  traces  of  a  postern ;  and  presently  the  wall,  pursuing 
the  edge  of  the  steep,  reaches  the  extremity  of  the  city  to 


fi  Canina    (Archit.  Antica,  V.  p.  96)  walls;  but  a  drain-hole  hard  by  seems 

suggests,  that  it  is  probably  from  this  sort  to  have  been  the  original  passage  for  it. 
of  double  gateway  that  the  plural  term —  8  Here  it  may  be  remarked,  that  the 

ai  irvhai — applied  to  the  gate  of  a  city,  blocks  in  the  lower  courses  are  small 

took  its  rise.     See  Vol.  I.  pp.  14,  15.  and  irregular,  in  the  upper  very  massive. 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  gate,  as  This  I  have  observed  on  other  Etruscan 

well    as    the    Porta  all'    Arco,    opens  sites.     Orioli  (ap.  Inghir.  Mon.  Etrus. 

obliquely,  so  that  the  approach  to  it  is  IV.  p.  161)  thinks  it  was  not  without  a 

commanded  on  one  side  by  the  city  wall,  reason— that  the    largest   blocks  were 

which  answers   the    purpose  of  towers  placed  at  that  height  in  the  walls,  where 

whence  to  annoy  the  foe  ;  and  the  ap-  they  would  be  most  likely  to  be  struck 

proach  is  so  planned  in  both  cases,  that  by  battering-engines    (cf.   Micali,   Ant. 

an  assailing  force  would  have  its  right  Pop.  Ital.  II.  p.  294)  ;  and  he  even  infers 

side,  or  that  unprotected  by  the  shield,  hence  the  existence  of  such  engines  in 

exposed  to  the  attacks  of  the  besieged.  remote   times.     One   block    covering   a 

This  is  a  rule  of  fortification  laid  down  cavity,  once  perhaps  a  sewer,  I  found  to 

by  Vitruvius,  I.  5,2.  »e    11  ft.  long,   3  in   height,  and   4   in 

'  At    the   bottom   of    the   hollow,   a  depth:    and    another   block,   below  the 

streamlet  flows  out  through  a  gap  in  the  cavity,  was  of  nearly  equal  dimensions. 


chap,  xl.]  EXTENT  OF  THE  ANCIENT  CITY.  155 

the  east,  and  turns  sharp  to  the  south.  The  path  to  the 
Seminario  leads  along  the  very  top  of  the  walls,  which  are 
here  from  fourteen  to  seventeen  feet  in  thickness.  They 
are  not  solid  throughout,  but  built  with  two  faces  of 
masonry,  having  the  intervening  space  stuffed  with  rubbish, 
just  as  in  the  cob-walls  of  England,  and  as  in  that  sort  of 
emplecton,  which  Vitruvius  characterises  as  Roman.9  Just 
beneath  the  Seminario  another  postern  may  be  distin- 
guished. From  this  point  you  may  trace  the  line  of  the 
ancient  walls,  by  fragments,  beneath  those  of  the  modern 
town  and  of  the  Fortress,  round  to  the  Porta  all'  Arco. 

The  circumference  of  the  ancient  walls  has  been  said  to 
be  about  four  miles  ; l  but  it  appears  more,  as  the  sinuosities 
of  the  ground  are  very  great.  But  pause,  traveller,  ere 
you  venture  to  make  the  entire  tour  of  them.  Unless  you 
be  prepared  for  great  fatigue — to  cross  ploughed  land — 
climb  and  descend  steeps — force  your  way  through  dense 
woods  and  thickset  hedges — wade  through  swamps  in  the 
hollows  if  it  be  winter — follow  the  beds  of  streams,  and 
creep  at  the  brink  of  precipices  ;  in  a  word,  to  make  a 
fairy-like  progress 

"  Over  hill,  over  dale, 

Thorough  bush,  thorough  brier, 
Over  park,  over  pale, 

Thorough  flood — " 

and  only  not 

"thorough  fire — " 

think  not  of  the  entire  giro.     Verily — 

Viribus  uteris  per  clivos,  flumina,  lamas. 

9  Vitiiiv.  II.  8,7.     Compare  Vol.1.  euit  will  be  more  than  4*  miles.  Gori(III. 

p.  107.     This  style  of  "  stuffed"  walls  is  p.  .'32)  cites  an  authority  who  ascribes  to 

not  uncommon  in  the  cities  of  Greece.  them  a  circuit  of  more  than  5  miles.    Old 

1  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.Ital.  I.  p.  141,  and  Alberti  says,  the  city  was  in  the  form  of 

II.  p.  209.  Abeken  (Mittelital.  p.  30)  calls  a  hand,  the  headlands  representing  the 

it  21,000  feet.  If  Micali's  map  he  correct,  fingers.     But  it  requires  a  lively  fancy 

which  calls  it  7,280-73  metres,  the  cir-  to  perceive  the  likeness. 


156  VOLTERRA.— The  City.  [chap.  xl. 

There  are  portions  of  the  wall  which  are  of  no  difficult 
access  :  such  as  the  fine  fragments  under  the  church  of 
Santa  Chiara ;  those  also  at  Le  Baize  di  San  Giusto,  whither 
you  may  drive  in  a  carriage  ;  the  thick  walls  below  the 
Seminario,  which  are  comparatively  near  at  hand  :  and 
from  these  a  sufficient  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  massive- 
ness  and  grandeur  of  the  walls  of  Volterra.  The  Portone 
also  is  of  easy  access ;  and  it  had  better  be  taken  in  the 
way  to  the  Grotta  de'  Marmini.  With  the  Plan  of  the 
city  in  his  hand,  the  visitor  will  have  no  difficulty  in 
finding  the  most  remarkable  portions  of  the  ancient  forti- 
fications. 

The  necropolis  of  Volterra,  as  usual,  surrounded  the 
town ;  but  from  the  nature  of  the  ground,  the  slopes 
beneath  the  walls  to  the  north  were  particularly  selected 
for  burial.  Here,  for  some  centuries  past,  numerous  tombs 
have  been  opened,  from  which  the  Museum  of  the  town,  as 
well  as  other  collections,  public  and  private,  in  various 
parts  of  Europe,  have  been  stored  with  antiquarian  wealth. 
From  the  multitude  of  sepulchres,  the  spot  received  the 
name  of  Campo  Nero — "Black  Field2" — a  name  now 
almost  obsolete.  But,  though  hundreds — nay,  thousands — 
of  tombs  have  been  opened,  what  remains  to  satisfy  the 
curiosity  of  the  visitor  ?  One  mean  sepulchre  alone.  All 
the  rest  have  been  covered  in  as  soon  as  rifled ;  the  usual 
excuse  being — "per  non  damnijicar  il  podere."  Even  the 
tomb  of  the  Csecinse,  that  family  so  illustrious  in  ancient 
times,  has  been  refilled  with  earth,  lest  the  produce  of  a 
square  yard  or  two  of  soil  should  be  lost  to  the  owner ;  and 
its  site  is  now  forgotten.  "O  optimi  cives  Volaterrani  /" 
Are  ye  deserving  of  the  commendation  Cicero  bestowed 
on  your  ancestors,3  when  ye  set  so  little  store  on  the 
monuments  of  those  very  forefathers  which  Fortune  has 

-  Gori,  Mus.  Etrus.  III.  p.  93.  3  Cicero,  pro  Domo  sua,  XXX. 


chap,  xi,.]  GROTTA  DE'  MARMINI.  157 

placed  in  your  hands  1  Should  not  yours  be  rather  the 
reproach  that  great  man  cast  on  the  Syracusans,  who  knew 
not  the  sepulchre  of  their  great  citizen,  Archimedes,  till  he 
pointed  it  out  to  them  ?9  Let  the  name,  at  least,  of  the 
only  proprietor  at  Volterra  who  has  rescued  a  tomb  from 
oblivion  be  honourably  distinguished  by  its  association 
with  that  sepulchre,  and  let  this  in  future  be  called 
La  Grotta  del  Cinci,  instead  of  its  present  appellation, 

Grotta  de'  Marmini. 

This  sepulchre,  which  is  said  to  be  a  type,  in  form  and 
character,  of  the  tombs  of  Volterra,  lies  on  the  hill-slope  a 
little  below  the  Porta  di  Diana,  on  a  spot  marked  by 
a  clump  of  cypresses.  The  key  is  kept  at  a  cottage  just 
outside  the  Gate,  and  torches  may  also  be  had  there. 
Like  all  the  tombs  of  Volterra,  this  is  a  hypoqceum,  or 
sepulchre  below  the  surface ;  and  you  descend  by  a  few 
steps  to  the  door,  above  which  is  some  rude  masonry. 
The  tomb  is  circular,  seventeen  or  eighteen  feet  in 
diameter,  but  scarcely  six  feet  in  height,  with  a  large 
square  pillar  in  the  centre,  and  a  triple  tier  of  benches 
around  the  walls — all  rudely  hewn  from  the  rock,  a  yellow 
conchiliferous  sandstone,  called  by  the  natives  " panckina" 
On  the  benches  are  ranged  numerous  urns,  or  ash-chests, 
about  two  or  three  feet  long,  miniature  sarcophagi,  with 
reclining  figures  on  the  lids,  some  stretched  on  their  backs, 
but  most  resting  on  one  elbow  in  the  usual  attitude  of  the 
banquet.1  In  the  southern  part  of  Etruria,  two  or  three, 
rarely  more  than  six  or  eight,  sarcophagi  are  found  in  one 

9  Cicero,  Tusc.  Qusest.  V.  23.  lie   one  on  each  side  of  the  entrance. 

1  These  urns  are  of  panchina,  traver-  There  is  a  hole  in  the  roof  of  the  tomb, 
tine,  or  alabaster,  but  are  so  blackened  but  whether  formed  in  ancient  times  to 
by  the  smoke  of  the  torches  as  to  have  let  off  the  effluvium,  or  by  modern  ex- 
lost  all  beauty.     Two  large  pine-cones  cavators,  is  not  very  evident, 
of    stone,    common    funereal    emblems, 


L58  VOLTERRA.— The  City.  [chap.  xi,. 

chamber  ;  but  here  are  at  least  forty  or  fifty  urns — the 
ashes  of  a  family  for  several  generations. 

"  The  dead  above,  and  the  dead  below, 
Lay  ranged  in  many  a  coffined  row." 

Such  is  said  to  be  the  general  character  of  the  sepulchres 
on  this  site.  Their  form  is  often  circular;2  while  in 
Southern  Etruria  that  form  is  rarely  found,  the  oblong  or 
square  being  prevalent.  No  tomb  with  painted  walls  has 
ever  been  discovered  in  this  necropolis.  Some,  however, 
of  a  singular  description  have  been  brought  to  light.3 

Tomb  of  the  Cecike. 

In  this  same  part  of  the  necropolis,  as  long  since  as 
1 739,  was  discovered  a  tomb  of  the  Cecina  family,  illus- 
trious in  Roman  annals.  As  described  by  Gori,  who  must 
have  seen  it,4  this  tomb  was  very  like  the  Grotta  de'  Mar- 
mini,  but  on  a  larger  scale.  At  the  depth  of  eight  feet 
below  the  surface,  was  found  an  archway,  of  beautiful  con- 
struction, opening  on  a  passage  lined  with  similar  masonry, 

'2  Gori  (Mus.  Etr.  III.  p.  93)  says  the  colate  through  the  roof  and  walls.     The 

tombs  of  Vol  terra  are  more  frequently  vases  are  generally  placed  between  the 

square  than  round,  and  are  sometimes  ums,  or  in  front  of  them,  if  there  be 

even  triangular.     Inghirami  says   they  not  room  at  the  side,  and  the  mirrors 

are  generally  circular,  especially  when  are  also  laid  in  front.    Inghir.  IV.  p.  83. 

small,    but    quadrangular    when    large  When  the  body  was  not  burnt,  as  usual, 

(Mon.  Etrusc.  IV.  p.  80)  ;  and  he  gives  it  was  laid  on  the  bare  rock.    Sarcophagi 

a  plate  of  one  with  four  square  chambers  were  very  rarely  used. 

(IV.  tav.  16).     Gori   asserts   that   the  3  A  tomb  was  found  in  this  necropolis, 

roofs  are  often  formed  of  a  single  stone  in   1738,  which  was  supposed,  from  the 

of  enormous  size,  sometimes  supported  numerous  pots,  pans,  and  plates  within  it, 

in  the  middle  by  a  pillar  hewn  from  the  to  have  been  an  Etruscan  kitchen — some 

rock.     The  entrances  generally  face  the  of  the  pots  being  full  of  the  bones  of  kids 

west.     Testimony,  unfortunately,  is  our  and  of  little   birds.      MS.    description, 

only  authority  in  the  matter.     A  second  cited   by  Inghirami,    Mon.    Etrus.    IV. 

tomb    is  sometimes  found  beneath  the  p.  .00.     But  these  must  have  been  the 

first,  says  Inghirami  (IV.    p.  94).      In  relics  of  the  funeral  feast ;  a  pair  of  gold 

the  centre  of  the  floor  of  the  tomb,  there  earrings  in  an  urn  was  hardly  consistent 

is  often  a  hole,  probably  formed  as  a  with  the  idea  of  a  kitchen, 

receptacle  for  the  water  that  might  per-  4  Gori,  Mus.  Etr.  III.  pp.  .01,  95. 


chap,  xl.]  TOMB  OF  THE  CMC1KM.  159 

and  leading  down  to  the  rock-hewn  door  of  the  tomb, 
which  was  closed  with  a  large  slab.  The  sepulchre  was 
circular,  about  forty  feet  in  diameter,5  supported  by  a 
thick  column  in  the  midst,  and  surrounded  by  a  triple  tier 
of  benches,  all  hewn  from  the  rock.  Forty  urns  of 
alabaster,  adorned  with  painting  and  gilding,  were  found 
lying,  not  on  the  benches  where  they  had  originally  been 
arranged,  but  in  a  confused  heap  on  the  floor,  as  though 
they  had  been  cast  there  by  former  plunderers,  or  "  thrown 
down  by  an  earthquake,"  as  Gori  suggests — more  pro- 
bably the  former.  Just  within  the  door  stood  a  beautiful 
Roman  cippus,  with  a  sepulchral  inscription  in  Latin,  to 
"A.  Csecina."6  Most  of  the  urns  also  bore  inscriptions, 
some  in  Etruscan,  a  few  in  Latin,  but  all  of  the  same 
family.  They  have  fortunately  been  preserved  in  the 
Museum  of  the  city,  just  then  commenced,  but  the  tomb 
where  they  had  lain  for  at  least  two  thousand  years,  has 
been  covered  in,  and  its  very  site  is  now  forgotten.7 

A  second  tomb  of  this  family  was  discovered  in  1785, 
containing  about  forty  urns  ;  none  of  them  with  Latin 
inscriptions.8 

A  third  tomb  of  the  Csecina  family  was  discovered  in 
1810,  outside  the  Gate  of  Diana,  containing  six  chambers, 
and  numerous  urns  with  Etruscan  inscriptions.9     Thus  it 


5  Maffei,  Osserv.  Lett.  V.  p.  318  ;  '  It  was  discovered  by  Dr.  Pagnini, 
Inghirami,  Mori.  Etrus.  IV.  p.  85.  whose  description  of  it  will  be  found  in 
Gori's  illustration  makes  it  only  30  feet.  Inghirami's  Mon.  Etrus.  IV.  p.  107.  The 

6  Gori  (III.  p.  94,  tab.  XI.)  and  door  was  1 2  braccia  (23  feet)  below  the 
Inghirami  (Mon.  Etrus.  VI.  p.  23.  tav.  surface ;  the  first  chamber  was  of  irre- 
D  3.)  call  it  an  altar,  which  it  resembles  gular  form,  having  a  column  in  the 
in  form  ;  but  the  inscription  marks  it  as  midst,  with  a  base  and  capital  of  the 
a  cippus.  It  is  now  in  the  Museum  of  Tuscan  order,  two  rows  of  benches 
Volterra.  around,  on  which  the  urns  were  found 

7  Illustrations  of  this  tomb  are  given  upset  and  in  great  confusion  ;  ten  of 
by  Gori,  III.  tab.  X,  and  Inghirami,  them  were  well  preserved,  and  with 
IV.  tav.  XIV.  XV.  Etruscan  inscriptions — none  with  Latin. 

s  Inghirami,  Mon.  Etrus.  I.  p.  11.  The  other  five  chambers  were  of  inferior 


160  VOLTERRA.— The  City.  [chap.  xl. 

would  appear  that  this  family  was  numerous  as  well  as 
powerful.     It  has  become  extinct  only  in  our  own  day.1 

In  1831,  Signor  Giusto  Cinci,  to  whom  most  of  the 
excavations  at  Volterra  of  late  years  are  due,  discovered 
the  vestiges  of  two  tumular  sepulchres,  which  had  been 
covered  in  with  masonr}^,  in  the  form  of  domes.  Though 
but  slight  vestiges  remained,  it  was  evident  that  the 
cone  of  one  had  been  composed  of  small  rectangular 
blocks  of  tufo,  rudely  hewn,  and  uncemented  ;  the  other, 
of  large  masses  of  travertine,  also  without  cement,  whose 
upper  sides  proved  the  structure  to  have  been  of  irregular 
polygons,  though  resting  on  a  basement  of  rectangular 
masonry.2  This  is  the  only  instance  known  of  polygonal 
construction  so  far  north  in  Italy,  and  is  the  more  remark- 
able, as  every  other  relic  of  ancient  architecture  on  this 
site  is  strictly  rectangular.  Though  the  construction  of 
this  tomb  betokened  a  high  antiquity,  the  alabaster  urns  it 
contained  betrayed  a  comparatively  recent  date,3  and 
seemed  to  mark  a  reappropriation  of  a  very  ancient 
sepulchre.  These  domed  tombs  must  have  borne  a  close 
analogy  to  the  Treasuries  of  Atreus  and  Minyas,  and  also 
to  the  Nuraghe  of  Sardinia,  and  the  Talajots  of  the 
Balearic  Islands.4 

size.  Inghirami  thinks  it  was  the  early  which  he  refers  most  of  the  urns  of  Vol- 
Christians  who  overturned  the  urns  in  terra  ;  but  he  generally  inclines  to  too 
these  tombs,  in  their  iconoclastic  zeal.  recent  a  date.     He  has  given  full  par- 

1  See  the  next  Chapter.  ticulars  of  these  tombs,  together  with 

2  These  monuments  were  only  5  feet  illustrations.     Ann.  Inst.  1832,  pp.  26 — 
apart.     Each  cone  had  a  basement  of  30,  tav.  d'  Agg.  A. 

such  masonry,  about  9  feet  square,  and  4  These  were  genuine  specimens  of 

beneath  one  of  these  were  several  courses  the   tholus,  or  domed  structure  of  the 

of  rude  blocks,  below  the  surface  of  the  Greeks,  such  as  we  see  it  in  the  Treasury 

ground,  and  resting  on  the  doorway  of  of  Atreus  at  Mycense  ;  and  they  are  the 

the  sepulchre,  which  was  composed  of  only  instances  known  of   such  tholi  in 

two  upright  blocks,  crossed  by  a  third  as  Etruria,  though  one  has  been  found  some 

a  lintel.  aSes  s'nce  at  Gubbio,  the  ancient  Igu- 

3  Inghirami  says,  as  late  as  the  seventh  viuin,  in  Umbria,  where  the  celebrated 
or  eighth  century  of  Rome,  the  period  to  inscribed  tablets,  called   the    Eugubian 


chap,  xt.]  THOLI,  OR  DOMED  SEPULCHRES.  161 

Excavations  are  still  carried  on  at  Volterra,  but  not 


Tables,  were  found.  Gori,  Mus.  Etrus. 
III.  p.  100,  tab.  XVIII.  6.  They  also 
closely  resemble  the  Nuraghe  of  Sar- 
dinia, and  still  more  the  Talajots  of  the 
Balearics,  inasmuch  as  the  latter  are 
cones  containing  but  one  such  chamber, 
while  the  Nuraghe  have  often  several. 
The  point  of  di  fferenee  is,  that  these  domed 
tombs  of  Volterra,  like  that  of  Gubbio, 
must  have  been  covered  with  a  mound 
of  earth,  while  the  Nuraghe  and  Talajots 
are  solid  cones  of  masonry,  like  one  of 
the  towers  in  the  Cucumella  of  Vulci, 
but  hollowed  into  chambers,  and  built 
above  the  surface.  The  Nuraghe,  al- 
ready referred  to  at  page  47,  still  exist 
in  great  numbers  in  Sardinia.  No  fewer 
than  3000  are  said  to  be  scattered  over 
the  shores  of  that  island  (De  la  Marmora, 
Voyage  en  Sardaigne,  II.  p.  46),  and  the 
Talajots  are  not  much  less  numerous  in 
the  Balearics.  The  former,  which  rise 
30  or  40  feet  above  ground,  have  some- 
times two  or  three  stories,  each  with  a 
domed  chamber  connected  by  spiral 
passages  left  in  the  masonry  ;  sometimes 
sevei-al  chambers  are  on  the  same  floor, 
communicating  by  corridors  ;  the  struc- 
ture, instead  of  being  conical,  is  some- 
times three-sided,  yet  with  the  angles 
rounded.  Some  of  them  have  basements 
of  masonry  like  these  tombs  of  Volterra ; 
and  othei-s  are  raised  on  platforms  of 
earth,  with  embankments  of  masonry 
twenty  feet  in  height.  Though  so  nu- 
merous, none  are  found  in  so  complete  a 
state  of  preservation  that  it  can  be  de- 
cided whether  they  terminated  above  in 
a  perfect  or  a  truncated  cone.  They 
are,  in  general,  of  regular  though  rude 
masonry,  but  a  few  are  of  polygonal  con- 
struction. They  are  evidently  of  high 
antiquity.  The  construction  of  the 
domed  chambers,  formed,  like  the  Trea- 
sury of  Atreus,  by  the  convergence  of 
horizontal  strata,  establishes  this  beyond 
VOL.    II. 


a  doubt.  But  to  what  race  to  ascribe 
them  is  still  in  dispute.  De  la  Marmora, 
Micali,  and  Arri,  assign  them  to  the 
Phoenicians  or  Carthaginians.  Petit- 
Radel,  on  the  other  hand,  ascribes  them 
to  the  Tyrrhene  Pelasgi,  in  which  he  is 
followed  by  Abeken  ;  and  to  this  view 
Inghirami  also  inclines.  Miiller,  how- 
ever, regarded  them  as  Etruscan,  rather 
than  Pelasgic  (Etrusk.  IV.  2,  2).  For 
Petit-Radel's  opinion  there  is  ancient 
authority  ;  for  the  pseudo- Aristotle  (de 
Mirab.  Auscult.  cap.  104)  mentions  the 
tholi  of  Sardinia,  built  by  Iolaus,  son  of 
Iphicles,  in  the  ancient  Greek  style. 
Diodorus  (IV.  p.  235,  ed.  Rhod.)  speaks 
of  them  under  the  name  of  Dsedalia,  so 
called  from  the  architect  who  built 
them.  These  tholi  can  be  no  other  than 
the  Nuraghe.  Though  Micali  (Ant.  Pop. 
Ital.  II.  p.  4.5)  does  not  take  them  to  be 
tombs,  and  Canina  (Archit.  Ant.  V. 
p.  547)  thinks  they  were  treasuries  or 
forts,  there  is  little  doubt  of  their  sepul- 
chral character  ;  for  skeletons  have  often 
been  found  in  them,  and  other  funereal 
furniture,  chiefly  in  metal.  For  detailed 
descriptions  and  illustrations  of  these 
singular  tombs,  see  De  la  Marmora, 
Voyage  en  Sardaigne,  torn.  II.,  and  Bull. 
Inst.  1833,  p.  121  ;  1834,  pp.  68—70  ; 
Petit-Radel,  Nuraghes  de  la  Sardaigne, 
Paris,  1826-8;  Arri,  Nur-hag  della  Sar- 
degna,  Torino,  1835;  Micali,  Ant.  Pop. 
Ital.  II.  pp.  43,  ct  seq.;  III.  p.  Ill,  tav. 
LXXI. ;  Abeken,  Bull.  Inst.  1840,  pp. 
155—160;  1841,  pp.  40-2  ;  Mittelitalien, 
pp.  236-8. 

Conical  structures,  roofed  in  exactly 
on  the  same  plan  as  the  Treasury  of 
Atreus  and  other  ancient  tholi,  have 
been  discovered  in  the  Valley  of  the 
Ohio.  Stephens'  Yucatan,  1.  p.  433. 
Mr.  Stephens  wisely  forbears  to  infer 
hence  a  common  origin,  which  could  be 
no  more  satisfactorily  established  by 
M 


L62  VOLTERRA.— The  City,  [chap.  xl. 

with  much  regularity  or  spirit,  since  the  death  of  Signor 
Cinci,  a  few  years  since.5 

Within  the  ancient  walls  are  the  remains  of  two  struc- 
tures which  have  often  been  called  Etruscan — the  Amphi- 
theatre and  the  Piscina.  The  first  lies  in  the  Valle  Buona, 
beneath  the  modern  walls,  to  the  north.  Nothing  is  now 
to  be  seen  beyond  a  semicircle  of  seats,  apparently  cut  in 
the  slope  of  the  hill  and  now  covered  with  turf.  It 
displays  not  a  trace  of  antiquity,  and  seems  to  have  been 
formed  for  no  other  purpose  than  that  it  is  now  applied  to 
— witnessing  the  game  of  the  pallone.  One  may  well 
doubt  if  it  has  ever  been  more  than  a  theatre,  for  the 
other  half  of  the  structure,  which  must  have  been  of 
masonry,  has  totally  disappeared.  Its  antiquity,  however, 
has  been  well  ascertained,  and  it  has  even  been  regarded 
as  an  Etruscan  structure,6  but  more  discriminating  criticism 
pronounces  it  to  be  Roman. 

Outside  the  gate  of  the  fortress,  but  within  the  w^alls  of 
the  town,  is  the  so-called  Piscina.  Like  all  the  structures 
of  similar  name  elsewhere  in  Italy,  this  is  underground — a 

these  monuments  than  by  the  coincidence  comparatively  modern  times  it  was  im- 

of  pyramidal  structures  in  Egypt  and  possible  to  say.     They  consisted  of  six 

Central  America.  crested  snakes,  their  sex  distinguished 

5  For  accounts  of  the  excavations  at  by  the  comb,  all  evidently  made  to  be 

VolteiTa  in  past  ages,  see  Inghirami,  Mo-  attached    as    adornments,    probably    to 

numenti  Etruschi,   IV.    Ragionamento,  helmets     or   shields — the   hemes  of   a 

V.   pp.  78 — 110.     For  the  more  recent  Genius,  18  inches  high,  with  diadem  and 

operations  consult  the  Bullettini  of  the  patera,    as    usually    represented— two 

Archaeological  Institute.     In  the  spring  female  figures,  most  ludicrously  attr-nu- 

of  1844,  I  saw  at  VolteiTa,  in  the  posses-  ated,  each  also  with  a  patera — a  male  in 

sionof  Signor  AgostinoPilastri,  a  number  a  toga,  about  a  foot  high,  in  an  excellent 

of  curious  bronzes,  which  had  been  just  style  of  art — a  horse  galloping,  probably 

discovered  in  the  neighbourhood,  not  in  a  mgrwm   militart — and    a  large  votive 

a  sepulchre  as  usual,  but   buried  at  a  dove,   10   or    12  inches   long,    of    solid 

little  depth  below  the  surface,  and  on  a  bronze,  with  an  Etruscan  inscription  on 

spot  where  no   ancient  relics  had   pre-  its  wing,  which  is  given  in  my  notice  of 

viously  been  found.    It  seemed  as  though  these  articles,  Bull.  Inst.  1845,  p.  137. 

they  had  been  hastily  interred  for  con-  6Gori,  Mus.  Etr.  III.  p.  59.  tab.  VIII. 
cealment,    but    whether   in    ancient    or 


chap,  xi..]  AMPHITHEATRE.— PISCINA.— BATHS.  163 

series  of  parallel  vaults  of  great  depth,  supported  by  square 
pillars,  and  evidently  either  a  reservoir  for  water,  or,  as 
the  name  it  has  received  implies,  a  preserve  for  fish — more 
probably  the  former.7  The  vaults  are  arched  over,  but 
the  pillars  are  connected  by  flat  architraves,  composed  of 
cuneiform  blocks,  holding  together  on  the  arch  principle. 
There  is  nothing  in  this  peculiar  construction  which  is 
un-Etruscan  ; 8  but  the  general  character  of  the  structure, 
strongly  resembling  other  buildings  of  this  kind  of 
undoubtedly  Roman  origin,  proves  this  to  have  no  higher 
antiquity.  Gori,  however,  who  was  the  first  to  descend 
into  it,  in  1739,  braving  the  snakes  with  which  tradition 
had  filled  it,  declared  it  to  be  of  Etruscan  construction,9 
an  opinion  which  has  been  commonly  followed,  even  to  the 
present  day.  He  who  has  seen  the  Piscine  of  the  Cam- 
panian  coast,  may  well  avoid  the  difficulties  attending  a 
descent  into  this.  A  formal  application  has  to  be  made  to 
the  Bishop,  who  keeps  the  key ;  a  ladder  of  unusual  length 
has  next  to  be  sought,  there  being  no  steps  to  descend  ; 
the  Bishop's  servant,  and  the  men  who  bring  the  ladder, 
have  to  be  feed  :  so  that  to  those  who  consider  time,  trouble, 
and  expense,  lejeu  ne  vaut l  pas  la  chandelle. 

A  third  relic,  which  has  erroneously  been  called  Etrus- 
can, is  the  Terme,  or  Baths,  which  lie  just  outside  the 
gate  of  San  Felice,  on  the  south  of  the  town.  The  form 
and  disposition  of  the  chambers,  the  brickwork,  the  opits 


7  It  has  three  vaults,  supported  on  six  and  woodcut  at  page  201)  ;  the  p  ople, 
pillars.  It  is  said  to  be  37  bracda  (71  moreover,  who  brought  the  arch  to  such 
feet)  long,  by  25  (48  feet)  wide,  and  the  perfection  as  is  seen  in  the  Cloaca  Max- 
vaults  are  elevated  16  bracelet  from  the  ima  and  certain  tombs  of  Perugia  and 
pavement.  Repetti,  V.  p.  816.  It  is  also  Chiusi,  could  have  had  no  difficulty  in 
known  by  the  name  of  II  Castello, or  the  constructing  a  cuneiform  architrave  like 
reservoir.  this. 

8  The  gates  of  the  theatre  of  Ferento,  9  Gori,  111.  p.  63.  It  is  called  by  1  [oare, 
which  are  most  probably  of  that  origin,  the  most  perfect  Etruscan  work  at  Vol- 
are  similarly  formed  (see  Vol.  I.  p.  206,  terra.     Clas.  Tour.  I.  p.  .') 


164  VOLTERRA.— The  City.  [chap.  xt.. 

incertum,  the  fragments  of  mosaic  pavement,  the  marble 
slabs  with  bas-reliefs — everything  on  the  site  is  so  purely 
Roman,  that  it  is  difficult  to  understand  how  a  higher 
antiquity  could  ever  have  been  assigned  to  this  ruin. 

The  traveller  should  not  omit  to  pay  a  visit  to  the  Villa 
Inghirami,  and  the  Buche  de'  Saracini,  in  the  valley  to 
the  east  of  Volterra  ;  for  though  there  is  little  to  satisfy 
antiquarian  curiosity,  the  scenery  on  the  road  is  magnifi- 
cent. May  he  have  such  a  bright  spring  morning  as  I 
chose,  for  the  walk.  The  sun,  which  had  scarcely  scaled 
the  mountain-tops,  looked  in  vain  through  the  clear  ether 
for  a  cloud  to  shadow  his  brightness.  The  wide,  deep 
valley  of  the  Cecina  at  my  feet,  all  its  nakedness  and 
wrinkled  desolation  lost  in  the  shadow  of  the  purple  moun- 
tains to  the  south,  was  crossed  by  two  long  lines  of  white 
vapour,  which  might  have  been  taken  for  fleecy  clouds,  had 
they  not  been  traceable  to  the  tall  chimneys  of  the  Salt- 
works in  the  depths  of  the  valley.  Behind  the  mass  of 
Monte  Catino,  to  the  west,  shone  out  the  bright  blue  Medi- 
terranean, with  the  rocky  island  of  Gorgona  prominent  on 
its  bosom ;  and  far  be}^ond  it,  to  the  right,  the  snow-capt 
mountains  of  Corsica  hovered  like  a  cloud  on  the  horizon, 
and  to  the  left,  rose  the  dark,  sullen  peaks  of  Elba,  half- 
concealed  by  intervening  heights.  So  pure  the  atmo- 
sphere, that  many  a  white  sail  might  be  distinguished, 
studding  the  far-off  deep  ;  and  even  the  track  of  a 
steamer  was  marked  by  a  dark  thread  on  the  bright  face 
of  the  waters. 

As  I  descended  the  hill  to  the  convent  of  San  Girolamo 
the  scenery  on  the  northern  side  of  Volterra  came  into 
view.  The  city,  with  its  walls  and  convents  crowning  the 
opposite  steep,  now  formed  the  principal  object ;  the 
highest  point  crested  by  the  towers  of  the  fortress,  and  the 
lower  heights  displaying  fragments  of  the  ancient  wall, 


chap,  xl.]  BUCHE  DE'  SARACINI.  165 

peeping  at  intervals  from  the  foliage.  At  my  feet  lay  an 
expanse  of  bare  undulating  country,  the  valley  of  the  Era, 
broken  into  ravines  and  studded  with  villages  ;  softening  off 
in  the  distance  into  the  well-known  plain  of  Pisa,  with  the 
dark  mountains  behind  that  city — 

Per  cui  i  Pisan  veder  Lucca  non  ponno — 

expanding  into  a  form  which  recalled  the  higher  beauties 
of  the  Alban  Mount.  There  was  still  the  blue  sea  in  the 
distance,  with  the  bald,  jagged  mountains  of  Carrara,  ever 
dear  to  the  memory,  overhanging  the  Gulf  of  Spezia  ;  and 
the  sublime  hoary  peaks  of  the  Apennines,  sharply  cutting 
the  azure,  filled  up  the  northern  horizon — sea,  gulf,  and 
mountains,  all  so  many  boundaries  of  ancient  Etruria. 
The  weather  had  been  gloomy  and  misty  the  previous  days 
I  had  spent  at  Volterra,  so  that  this  range  of  icy  sub- 
limities burst  upon  me  like  a  new  creation.  The  convent 
of  S.  Girolamo,  with  its  grove  of  ilices  and  cypresses, 
formed  a  beautiful  foreground  to  the  scene. 

The  Villa  Inghirami,  which  lies  lower  on  the  slope, 
belongs  to  one  of  that  old  Volaterran  family,  which  for 
ages  has  been  renowned  for  arts  and  arms, — 

Chi  puo  l'armi  tacer  d'  un  Inghirami  ?  — 

or  has  distinguished  itself  in  scientific  or  antiquarian 
research  ;  and  a  most  illustrious  member  of  which  was 
the  Cavalier  Francesco,  recently  deceased.  The  antiqua- 
rian interest  of  the  spot  lies  in  the  so-called  Buche  de' 
Saracini.  To  see  them  you  must  beat  up  the  gardener  of 
the  Villa,  who  will  furnish  you  with  lights,  and  then  you 
enter  a  little  cave  in  a  bank,  and  follow  him  into  a  long 
passage  cut  in  the  rock,  six  feet  wide  but  only  three  high, 
so  that  you  must  travel  on  all  fours.  From  time  to  time 
the  passage  widens  into  chambers,  yet  not  high  enough  to 
permit  you  to  stand  upright  ;  or  it  meets  other  passages 


L66  VOLTEEEA.— The  City.  [chap.  xl. 

of  similar  character  opening  in  various  directions,  and 
extending  into  the  heart  of  the  hill,  how  far  no  one  can 
say.  In  short,  this  is  a  perfect  labyrinth,  in  which,  with- 
out a  clue,  one  might  very  soon  be  lost. 

By  whom,  and  for  what  purpose  these  passages  were 
formed,  I  cannot  hazard  an  opinion.  Though  I  went  far 
into  the  hill,  I  saw  no  signs  of  tombs,  or  of  a  sepulchral 
appropriation — nothing  to  assimilate  them  to  catacombs. 
That  they  have  not  lost  their  original  character  is  proved 
by  the  marks  of  the  chisel  everywhere  still  fresh  on  the 
walls.  They  are  too  low  for  subterranean  communications, 
otherwise  one  might  lend  an  ear  to  the  vulgar  belief  that 
they  were  formed  to  connect  the  Palazzo  Inghirami  in  the 
town,  with  the  Villa.  They  have  no  decided  Etruscan 
character,  yet  are  not  unlike  the  tortuous  passages  in  the 
Poggio  Gajella  at  Chiusi,  and  in  the  Grotta  Regina  at  Tos- 
canella.  The  cave  at  the  entrance  is  lined  with  rude 
masonry,  probably  of  comparatively  recent  date.  Another 
tradition  ascribes  their  formation  to  the  Saracens,  once  the 
scourges,  and  at  the  same  time  the  bugbears  of  the  Italian 
coast.  Though  these  infidel  pirates  were  wont  to  make 
descents  on  these  shores  during  the  middle  ages,  carrying 
off  plunder  and  females,  they  were  often  creatures  of 
romance  rather  than  of  reality  ;  every  trace  of  wanton 
barbarity  and  destruction  is  attributed  to  them,  as  to 
Cromwell's  dragoons  in  England  ;  and  as  they  have  also 
the  fame  of  having  been  great  magicians,  many  a  marvel 
of  Nature  and  of  Art  is  ascribed  to  their  agency.  In  this 
case,  tradition  represents  them  as  having  made  these 
passages  to  store  their  plunder,  and  keep  their  captives. 
Twenty  miles  from  the  sea,  forsooth  !  Hence  the  vulgar 
title  of  Buche  dc'  Saracini,  or  "  the  Saracens'  Dens." 


lN    marine    deity. 


CHAPTER  XLI. 


VOLT  ERRA.—  VOL  A  TERRJ1. 

The  Museum. 

D'  Italia  1'  antico 

Pregio,  e  1'  opra  che  giova. — Filicaj  v. 

Miratur,  faeilesque  oculos  fert  omnia  circum 

yEneas,  capiturque  locis  ;  et  singula  ketus 

Exquiritque  auditquc  viriim  monimenta  priorum. — Virgil. 

Some  consolation  for  the  loss  of  the  tombs  which  have 
been  opened  and  reclosed  at  Volterra  is  to  be  derived 
from  the  Museum,  to  which  their  contents  for  the  most 
part  have  been  removed.  Here  is  treasured  up  the  accu- 
mulated sepulchral  spoil  of  more  than  a  century.  The 
collection  was  in  great  part  formed  by  Monsignor  Guar- 
nacci,  a  prelate  of  Volterra,  and  has  since  received  large 
additions,  so  that  it  may  now  claim  to  be  the  most 
valuable  collection  of  Etruscan  antiquities  in  the  world.1 


1  The   excavations  at   Volterra  were 
commenced  about  17-8,  in  consequence 


of  the  interest  excited  by  the  publica- 
tions   of    Dempster    and    Buonarroti. 


168  VOLTERRA.— The  Museum.  [chap.  xli. 

Valuable,  not  in  a  marketable  sense,  for  a  dozen  of  the 
Vulcian  vases  and  patera;  in  the  Gregorian  Museum  would 
purchase  the  contents  of  any  one  of  its  nine  or  ten  rooms  ; 
and  the  collection  at  Munich,  or  that  in  the  British 
Museum,  would  fetch  more  dollars  in  the  market  than  the 
entire  Museum  of  Volterra,  with  the  Palazzo  Pubblico  to 
boot.  But  for  the  light  they  throw  on  the  manners, 
customs,  religious  creed,  and  traditions  of  the  ancient 
Etruscans,  the  storied  urns  of  Volterra  are  of  infinitely 
more  value  than  the  choicest  vases  ever  moulded  by  the 
hand  of  Eucheir,  or  touched  by  the  pencil  of  Eugrammos. 
The  latter  almost  invariably  bear  scenes  taken  from  the 
mythical  cycle  of  the  Greeks,  and,  with  rare  exceptions, 
throw  no  light  on  the  history  or  on  the  inner  life  of 
the  Etruscans.  The  urns  of  Volterra,  Chiusi,  and  Perugia, 
on  the  other  hand,  are  more  genuine — native  in  concep- 
tion and  execution,  often  indeed  bearing  subjects  from 
the  Greek  mythology,  but  treated  in  a  native  manner,  and 
according  to  Etruscan  traditions.  Thus  the  Museum  of 
Volterra  is  a  storehouse  of  facts,  illustrative  of  the  civilisa- 
tion of  ancient  Etruria.  I  cannot  agree  with  Maffei,  that 
"he  who  has  not  been  to  Volterra  knows  nothing  of 
Etruscan  figured  antiquity  " 2 — this  is  too  like  the  unqua- 
lified boastings  of  the  other  Peninsula.  He  was  a  towns- 
man of  Volterra,  and  his  evidence  may  be  suspected  of 

They  were  continued  for  more  than  92)  ;  though  it  was  not  till  1761  that 
thirty  years  ;  and  such  multitudes  of  Monsignor  Guarnacci  presented  his  col- 
urns  were  brought  to  light  that  they  lection  to  the  Comune  of  the  city.  After 
were  used  as  building  materials.  It  that  time  interest  flagged  in  Etruscan 
was  seeing  them  lie  about  in  all  direc-  antiquities,  but  of  late  years  it  has  re- 
tions  that  first  excited  Gori's  curiosity,  vived,  and  excavations  have  been  car- 
and  led  him  to  the  study  of  Etruscan  ried  on  briskly,  chiefly  by  Signor  Giusto 
antiquities.     Even  in  1743,  he  said  that  Cinci. 

so  many  urns  had  been  discovered  in  -  Maffei,  Osserv.    Letter.  V.  p.  315. 

the  last  three  years,  that  the  Museum  The  remark  was  made  when  the  Museum 

of  Volterra  surpassed   every    other    in  had  but  sixty  urns  ;   now  it  has  more 

Etruscan   relics   (Mus.    Etrus.    III.    p.  than  four  hundred. 


chap,  xli.]  TREASURES  OF  THE  MUSEUM.  169 

partiality.  Yet  it  may  fairly  be  said,  that  this  Museum  is 
more  instructive  than  any  other  collection  of  Etruscan 
antiquities  in  Italy  or  in  other  lands,  and  that  Volterra  on 
this  account  yields  in  interest  to  no  other  Etruscan  site. 
He  who  has  seen  it  may  be  content  to  pass  by  many  other 
sites,  and  he  who  has  not  visited  it,  must  bear  in  mind 
that,  however  much  he  may  have  seen,  he  has  yet  much 
to  see. 

I  do  not  propose  to  lead  the  reader  through  the  nine  or 
ten  rooms  of  the  Museum  in  succession,  and  describe  the 
articles  seriatim ;  nor  do  I  pretend  to  give  him  every 
detail  of  those  I  notice  ;  it  will  suffice  to  call  his  atten- 
tion to  those  of  greatest  interest,  pointing  out  their  sub- 
jects and  characteristic  features  ;  assuring  him  that  not  a 
single  visit,  or  even  two  or  three,  will  suffice  to  make  him 
acquainted  with  the  Museum,  but  that  continued  study 
will  only  tend  to  develop  new  facts  and  supply  him  with 
further  sources  of  interest. 

The  urns,  of  which  there  are  said  to  be  more  than  four 
hundred,  are  sometimes  of  the  local  rock  called panchina,  but 
more  generally  of  alabaster,  which  is  only  to  be  quarried  in 
this  neighbourhood.  Thus  no  doubt  can  be  entertained  of 
their  native  and  local  character.3  They  are  miniature  sarco- 
phagi, resembling  those  of  Tarquinii  and  Toscanella  in 
everything   but   material   and   size ;    being   intended   to 


:i  This  panchina  is  an  arenaceous  gests  that  these  urns  may  be  the  work 
tufo  of  aqueous  formation,  contain-  of  Greeks  settled  at  Volterra,  after  its 
ing  marine  substances.  It  is  of  a  conquest  by  the  Romans  (Mon.  Etrus.  I. 
warm  yellow  hue,  more  or  less  reddish.  p.  541)  ;  but  such  a  supposition  is 
The  alabaster  quarries  are  at  Spicchia-  unnecessary,  inasmuch  as  the  Hellenic 
jola,  3  miles  distant,  and  at  Ulignano,  mythology  was  well  known  to  the  Etrus- 
5  or  6  miles  from  Volterra,  both  in  the  cans  ;  and  the  style  of  art  of  these 
Val  d'  Era.  A  few  of  the  Etruscan  urns,  and  the  mode  of  treating  the  sub- 
urns  are  of  travertine,  which  is  found  jects — neither  of  which  is  Greek — aro 
at  Pignano,  6  miles  to  the  east,  in  the  opposed  to  this  view, 
same  valley.      Inghirami.  indeed,   sug- 


170  VOLTERRA.— The  Musedm.  [chap.  xm. 

contain  not  the  entire  body,  but  merely  the  ashes  of  the. 
deceased,  a  third  of  the  dimensions  suffices, — 

Mors  sola  fatetui 
Quantula  sunt  hominum  corpuscula. 

These  "  ash-chests "  are  rarely  more  than  two  feet  in 
length ;  so  that  they  merit  the  name,  usually  applied  to 
them,  of  urnlets — urnette.  Most  have  the  effigy  of  the 
deceased  recumbent  on  the  lid.  Hence  we  learn  some- 
thing of  the  physiognomy  and  costume  of  the  Etruscans  ; 
though  we  should  do  wrong  to  draw  inferences  as  to 
their  symmetry  from  the  stunted  distorted  figures  often 
presented  to  us.  The  equality  of  woman  in  the  social 
state  of  Etruria  may  also  be  learned  from  the  figures  on 
these  urns.  It  is  evident  that  no  inferior  respect  was  paid 
to  the  fair  when  dead,  that  as  much  labour  and  expense 
were  bestowed  on  their  sepulchral  decorations  as  on  those 
of  their  lords.  In  fact,  it  has  generally  been  remarked 
that  the  tombs  of  females  are  more  highly  ornamented 
and  richly  furnished  than  those  of  the  opposite  sex.  Their 
equality  may  also  be  learned  from  the  tablets  which  so 
many  hold  open  in  their  hands 4 — intimating  that  they  were 
not  kept  in  ignorance  and  degradation,  but  were  educated 
to  be  the  companions  rather  than  the  slaves  of  the  men. 
Nay — if  we  may  judge  from  these  urns,  the  Etruscan 
ladies  had  the  advantage  of  their  lords ;  for  whereas  the 

4  What   I    call   tablets  Micali   (Ant.  If,   then,  these   were  tablets  —  tabulae, 

Pop.   Ital.  III.  p.   180)   takes  to    be   a  imgillares— they  must  have  been  made 

mirror  in  the  form  of  a  book.     But  no  of  wood,  coated  with  wax,  which  will 

mirrors  of  this  form  have  ever  been  dis-  account  for  no  specimens  of  them  having 

covered  ;   and  it  is   difficult  to  believe  been    found    in    Etruscan    sepulchres, 

that    an    article    so   frefmently   repre-  Two  such  tablets,  however,  of  the  time 

sented  on  Etruscan  urns,  would  never  of  Marcus  Aurelius,  have  come  down  to 

have  been  found  in  tombs,  if  it  had  been  us,  preserved  in   gold  mines  in   Tran- 

of  metal,    like    other   ancient    mirrors.  sylvania.       See    Smith's    Dictionary    of 

Besides,  it  is  well  known  that  the  tab-  Antiquities  v.  Tabulae, 
lets  of  the  ancients  were  of  this  form. 


bhap.  xli.]  ASH-CHESTS  OF  VOLTERRA.  171 

latter  are  rarely  represented  with  tablets  or  a  scroll,  but 
generally  recline  in  luxurious  indolence,  with  chaplet 
around  their  brows,  torque  about  their  neck,  and  a  patera, 
or  the  more  debauched  rhyton  in  one  hand,  with  some- 
times a  wine-jug  in  the  other  ;  the  females,  though  a  few 
seem  to  have  been  too  fond  of  creature  comforts,  are,  for 
the  most  part,  guiltless  of  anything  beyond  a  fan,  an  egg, 
a  pomegranate,  a  mirror,  or  it  may  be  tablets  or  a  scroll. 
Though  the  Etruscan  fair  ones  were  not  all  Tanaquils  or 
Begoes,  they  were  probably  all  educated — at  least  among 
the  higher  orders.  Let  them  not,  however,  be  suspected 
of  cerulean  tendencies  —  too  dark  or  deep  a  hue  was 
clearly  not  in  fashion  ;  for  the  ladies  who  have  the  tablets 
in  one  hand,  generally  hold  a  pomegranate,  the  emblem 
of  fertility,  in  the  other,  to  intimate  that  the  grand  duties 
of  woman  were  not  to  be  neglected — at  least  I  think  this 
interpretation  may  be  put  on  these  Etruscan  "  belles  and 
pomegranates."  5 

On  these  urns  the  female  figures  are  always  decently 
draped,  while  the  men  are  generally  but  half  clad.  Most 
of  the  figures  and  reliefs  were  originally  coloured  and  gilt, 
but  few  now  retain  more  than  very  faint  traces  of  such 
decoration. 

As  to  the  reliefs  on  the  urns,  it  may  be  well  to  consider 
them  in  two  classes ;  those  of  purely  Etruscan  subjects, 
and  those  which  illustrate  well-known  mythological  legends ; 
though  it  is  often  difficult  to  pronounce  to  which  class  a 
particular  monument  belongs.  We  will  first  treat  of  the 
latter. 

It  has  been  truly  remarked,  that  from  Etruscan  urns 
might  be  formed  a  series  of  the  most  celebrated  deeds 
of  the  mythical  cycle,  from  Cadmus  to   Ulysses.     Manx 

See  Micali,  Ital.  av.  Rom.  tav.  13  ;  fcion  of  this  fact — a  lady  of  the  Cseciua 
Ant.  Pop.    Ital.  tav.  105,  for  an  illustra-       family,  with  tablets  and  a  pomegranate, 


172 


VOLTERRA.— The  Museum. 


[chap.  xli. 


links  in  such  a  chain  might  be  furnished  by  the  Museum  of 
Voltcrra,  which  also  contains  other  monuments  illustrative 
of  the  doings  of  the  divinities  of  Grecian  fable.  I  can  only 
notice  the  most  striking. 

The  Rape  of  Proserpine. — The  gloomy  king  of  Hades  is 
carrying  off  his  struggling  bride  in  his  chariot ;  the  four 
steeds,  lashed  to  a  gallop  by  a  truculent  Fury  with  out- 
spread wings,  who  acts  as  charioteer,  are  about  to  pass 
over  a  Triton,  whose  tail  stretches  in  vast  coils  almost 
across  the  scene.  In  another  relief  of  the  same  subject  a 
snake  fakes  the  place  of  the  sea-monster. fi 

Aurora. — The  goddess  who  "  gives  light  to  mortals  and 
immortals,"  is  rising  in  her  chariot  from  the  waves,  in  winch 
dolphins  are  sporting.7 

Cupid  and  Psyche. — One  relief  represents  the  god  of 


6  Illustrated  by  Inghirami,  Mon.  Etrus. 
I.  tav.  9, 53  ;  VI.  tav.  D.  5.  Gori,  I.  tab. 
78  ;  III.  cl.  3,  tab.  3.  This  is  one  of  the 
most  common  subjects  on  Etruscan 
sepulchral  monuments.  It  is  thought  to 
symbolise  the  descent  of  the  soul  to  the 
other  world  ;  and  as  such  would  be  a 
peculiarly  appropriate  subject  for  the 
urns  of  young  females.  The  Fury  driving 
the  quadriga,  seems  an  illustration  of 
that  passage  in  Claudian  (Rapt.  Pro- 
serp.  II.  215),  where  Minerva  thus 
addresses  Pluto — 

qute   te  stimulis  facibnsque 

profanis 
Eumenidcs    movere  ?    tua    cur    sede 

relicta 
Audes     Tartareis    ccelum     incestare 

quadrigis  ? 
But  this  monument  must  be  much  earlier 
than  the  poem.  The  monster  and  the 
serpent  may  be  explained  by  another 
passage  in  the  same  writer  (II.  157), 
where  the  "  ruler  of  souls  "  drives  over 
the  groaning  Enceladus — the  fish's-tail, 
which  marks  a  Triton,  having  probably 


been  substituted  by  the  sculptor  through 
caprice  or  carelessness  for  the  serpent- 
tail  of  a  Giant — 

Sub  terns  quserebat  iter,  gravibusque 
gementem 

Enceladum  calcabat  equis  ;  immania 
findunt 

Membra  rotae  ;  pressaque  gigas  cer- 
vice  laborat, 

Sicaniam  cum  Dite  ferens  ;  tentatque 
moveri 

Debilis,  et  fessis  serpentibus  impedit 
axem. 
Inghirami  (I.  pp.  104,  443),  who  puts  an 
astronomical  interpretation  on  all  these 
myths,  sees  in  the  Rape  of  Proserpine  an 
emblem  of  the  autumnal  equinox,  which 
view  he  founds  on  Macrobius,  Saturn.  I. 
1 8.  In  this  case  the  serpent  would  be  an 
emblem  of  the  sun.     Cf.  Macrob.  I.  20. 

7  She  has  here  not  merely  a  pair  of 
steeds,  as  represented  by  Homer  (Odys. 
XXIII.  246),  but  drives  four  in  hand. 
For  illustrations  see  Inghirami,  I.  tav. 
.">.     Micali,  Ital.  av.  Rom.  tav.  25. 


chap,  xli.]  MYTHOLOGICAL  URNS.  17-3 

love  embracing  his  bride  ;  each  having  but  a  single 
wing.8 

Actseon  attacked  by  his  dogs. — This  scene  is  remark- 
able only  for  the  presence  of  a  winged  Fury,  who  sits  by 
with  a  torch  reversed.9  On  another  urn  Diana  with  a 
lance  stands  on  one  side,  and  an  old  man  on  the  other.10 

Centaurs  and  Lapitha). — A  subject  often  repeated.  In 
conformity  with  Ovid's  description,  some  of  the  monsters 
are  striving  to  escape  with  the  females  they  have  seized, 
while  others  are  hurling  rocks  at  Theseus  and  his  fellows.1 
From  the  numerous  repetitions  of  certain  subjects  on 
Etruscan  urns,  sometimes  precisely  similar,  more  frequently 
with  slight  variations,  it  is  evident  that  there  was  often 
one  original  type  of  the  scene,  probably  the  work  of  some 
celebrated  artist. 

Perseus  and  Andromeda. — The  maiden  is  chained  to 
the  walls  of  a  cavern  ;  the  fearful  monster  is  opening  his 
huge  jaws  to  devour  her,  when  Perseus  comes  to  her 
rescue.  Contrary  to  the  received  legend,  she  is  here 
draped.  Her  father  Cepheus  sits  by,  horror-struck  at  the 
impending  fate  of  his  daughter.  The  presence  of  a  winged 
demon — probably  the  Juno  of  the  maiden — is  an  Etruscan 
peculiarity.  On  another  similar  relief,  the  protecting  spirit 
is  wanting  ;  but  some  palm-trees  mark  the  scene  to  be  in 
Ethiopia,2 


8  So  it  is  represented  by  Inghirami,  '  Ovid.  Met.  XII.  223  et  seq.     Gori, 
I.  tav.  52.     I  liave  not  a  distinct  recol-  I.  tab.  152,  153  ;  III.  cl.  3,  tab.  1,  2. 
lection  of  this  urn.  2  Perseus  in  the  one  case  has  all  his 

9  In^hir.  I.  tav.  70.  This  may  be  attributes — pileus,  talaria,  harpe,  and 
Diana  herself,  who  was  sometimes  re-  Gorgonion^'va.  the  other,  the  last  two 
presented  with  wings  by  the  Greeks  only.  Gori,  I.  tab.  123  ;  III.  c.  13,  tab.  1 . 
(Pausan.  V.  19),  and  frequently  by  the  Inghirami,  I.  tav.  55,  56.  Ovid  (Met. 
Etruscans,  an  instance  of  which  is  IV.  fi!)0)  represents  both  the  parents  of 
shown  in  the  woodcut,  at  page  440,  of  the  maiden  as  present.  It  may  have  been 
Vol.  I.  so  in  the  original  scene  which  was  the 

10  Inghir.  I.  tav.  65.    Gori,  I.  tab.  122.  type  of  these  reliefs,  and  the  Juno  may 


171 


yOLTERRA.— The  Museum. 


I  ''II  \1\    XI, I. 


The  mythical  history  of  Thebes  has  afforded  numerous 
subjects  to  these  Etruscan  urns — perhaps  chosen  for  the 
moral  of  retributive  justice  throughout  expressed. 

Cadmus. — Here  he  is  contending  with  the  dragon  of 
Mars,  which  has  enfolded  one  of  his  companions  in  its 
fearful  coils.3  There  he  is  combating  the  armed  men  who 
sprung  from  the  teeth  of  the  dragon  which  Minerva 
ordered  him  to  sow — his  only  weapon  being  the  plough 
with  which  he  had  opened  the  furrows.  This  scene,  how- 
ever, will  apply  to  Jason,  as  well  as  to  Cadmus,  for  the 
former  is  said  to  have  sown  half  the  teeth  of  the  same 
dragon,  and  to  have  reaped  the  same  fruits.  This  is  a 
very  common  subject  on  Etruscan  urns,  especially  on  those 
of  terra-cotta.4 


be  an  Etruscan  version  of  the  mother. 
For  the  analogy  between  Perseus  and 
Bellerophon,  see  Ann.  Inst.  1834,  pp. 
328—331.  Due  de  Luynes.  cf.  Bull. 
Inst.  1842,  p.  60.  The  scene  of  this 
exploit  of  Perseus  is  said  to  have  been 
at  Joppa,  in  proof  of  which  the  skeleton 
of  the  monster  was  shown  there  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Empire,  and  was 
brought  to  Rome  to  feed  the  appetite  of 
that  people  for  the  marvellous.  Its 
dimensions  are  chronicled  by  Pliny. 
N.  H.  IX.  4  ;  Mela,  I.  1 1  ;  cf.  Strab. 
I.  p.  43  ;  XVI.  p.  759. 

Another  urn  represents  Perseus,  with 
the  gorgonion  in  his  hand,  attacked  by 
two  warriors ;  a  female  genius  steps 
between  him  and  his  pursuers.  Inghir. 
I.  tav.  54. 

3  Inghir.  I.  tav.  62,  p.  519.  Inghi- 
rami  (I.  p.  657)  offers  a  second  inter- 
pretation of  this  scene — that  it  may  be 
Adrastus  slaying  the  serpent  of  Nemca, 
and  that  the  figure  in  its  coils  is  the 
young  Opheltes.     Gori,  I.  tab.  156. 

4  Lanzi  took  this  scene  to  represent 
Jason  ;  Inghirami  referred  it  to   (VI- 


mus  ;  Passeri  and  Winckelmann  to 
Echetlus,  or  Echetlaeus,  the  mysterious 
rustic  who,  in  the  battle  of  Marathon, 
with  his  plough  alone  made  fearful 
slaughter  of  the  Persians  (Pausan.  I. 
32,  5  ;  cf.  I.  15,  3)  ;  Zoega,  to  some 
Etruscan  hero  of  whom  history  is  silent. 
See  Inghir.  Mon.  Etr.  I. pp.  402, 527  et  seq. 
It  is  likely  to  represent  a  mythical  rather 
than  an  historical  event.  Dr.  Braun 
doubts  if  the  instrument  in  the  hands 
of  the  unarmed  man  be  a  plough,  and 
takes  the  figure  to  represent  Cliarun 
himself,  or  one  of  his  infernal  atten- 
dants, who  is  about  to  take  possession 
of  one  of  the  warriors  who  is  slain. 
Ann.  Inst.  1837,  2,  p.  264.  This 
scene,  and  the  death  of  the  Tin  ban 
brothers,  are  the  most  common  of  all 
on  Etruscan  monuments,  and  will  be 
found  in  every  collection  of  such  anti- 
quities. There  are  several  of  it  in  the 
British  Museum.  For  illustrations  see 
Dempster,  Etrur.  Reg.  tab.  64  ;  Inghir. 
I.  tav.  63,  C4  ;  VI.  tav.  L  3.  Gori,  I. 
tab.  L57. 


chap,  xli.]  MYTHS  OF  THEBES.  175 

(Edipus  and  the  Sphinx. — The  son  of  Laius  is  solving 
the  riddle  put  to  him  by 

"  That  sad  inexplicable  beast  of  prey," 

whose  "man-devouring"  tendencies  are  seen  in  a  human 
skull  beneath  her  paws.  A  Fury  with  a  torch  stands 
behind  the  monster.5 

(Edipus  slaying  Laius. — He  has  dragged  his  father  from 
his  chariot,  and  thrown  him  to  the  earth  ;  and  is  about  to 
plunge  his  sword  into  his  body,  heedless  of  the  warning 
of  a  Juno,  who  lays  her  hand  on  his  shoulder,  as  if  to 
restrain  his  fury.  Another  winged  being,  a  male,  whose 
brute  ears  mark  him  as  allied  to  "  Charun,"  stands 
by  the  horses'  heads.6 

Amphiaraus  and  Eriphyle. — In  some  of  these  scenes  a 
female,  reclining  on  her  couch,  is  thought  to  represent  the 
treacherous 

"  Eriphyle,  that  for  an  ouche  of  gold, 
Hath  privily  unto  the  Grekis  told 
Where  that  her  husbond  hid  him  in  a  place, 
For  which  he  had  at  Thebis  sory  grace." 

For  behind  her  stands  a  figure,  thought  to  be  Polynices, 
with  the  necklace  of  Harmonia  in  his  hand,  with  which 
he  had  bribed  her  ;  and  on  the  other  side  is  a  man 
muffled,  as  if  for  a  journey,  who  is  supposed  to  represent 
Amphiaraus.7 


5  The  subject  is  repeated,   with  the  77,  pp.    182,  et  seq.     Micali,  Ital.  av. 

omission  of  the  skull.     Inghir.  I.  tav.  Rom.  tav.  36.     Inghirami  follows  Lanzi 

67,  68.  in  interpreting  this  scene  as  the  parting 

c  Inghir.  I.  tav.  66.     Gori,  III.  cl.  4,  of    Amphiaraus  and   Eriphyle.      Gori 

tab.  21,  1.     Gerhard  takes  this  figure  to  (II.    p.   262),  however,   took    it   for  a 

be  Mantus,  the  king  of  the  Etruscan  version   of    the   final   parting-scene  so 

Hades,  and  what  he  holds  in  his  hands  often  represented  on   Etruscan  monu- 

to  be  shields,  or  large  nails.     Gottheit.  ments,  without  any  reference  to  Greek 

d.  Etrus.  p.  63,  taf.  VI.  2.  mythology.     It  has  also  been  regarded 

7  Inghir.  I.  tav.    19,  20,  74,  75,  76,  as   the  death   of  Alcestis.     Ann.  Inst. 


170  VOLTERRA.— The  Museum.  [chap.  xli. 

The  Seven  before  Thebes. — There  are  three  urns  with 
this  subject.  One,  which  represents  the  assault  of  Capaneus 
on  the  Electrian  Gate  of  Thebes,  is  very  remarkable.  The 
moment  is  chosen  when  the  hero,  who  has  defied  the 
power  of  Jove,  and  has  endeavoured  to  scale  "  the  sacred 
walls,"  is  struck  by  a  thunderbolt,  and  falls  headlong  to 
the  earth  ;  -  his  ladder  also  breaking  with  him.  The 
amazement  and  awe  of  his  comrades  are  well  expressed. 
The  gate  of  the  city  is  evidently  an  imitation  of  the 
ancient  one  of  Volterra,  called  Porta  all'  Arco  ;  for  it  is 
represented  with  the  three  mysterious  heads  around  it, 
precisely  in  the  same  relative  positions.8  In  the  other 
two  urns  Capaneus  is  wanting,  though  an  assault  on  the 
gate  is  represented  ;  but  the  original  type  is  still  evident, 
though  the  three  heads  are  transferred  to  the  battlements 
above,  and  are  turned  into  those  of  warriors  resisting  the 
attack  of  the  besiegers.  In  one  of  these  scenes  a  female, 
probably  Antigone,  is  looking  out  of  a  small  window  by 
the  side  of  the  gate.  And  in  both,  the  principal  figure 
among  the  besiegers  grasps  a  severed  head  by  the  hair, 
and  is  about  to  hurl  it  into  the  city.9 


18-12,  pp.  40 — 7, — Grauer.  cf.  Mon.  mounted  warriors  appear  in  monuments 
Ined.  Inst.  III.  tav.  XL.  B.  The  of  the  highest  antiquity.  The  date 
parting  of  Amphiaraus  and  his  wife  of  this  urn  is  more  safely  determined 
was  one  of  the  scenes  which  adorned  by  the  style  of  art.  For  illustrative 
the  celebrated  Chest  of  Cypselus,  but  descriptions  of  this  scene  see  iEscliyl. 
there  he  was  represented  as  ready  to  Sept.  ad  Theb.  423 — 456,  and  the  pro- 
take  vengeance  on  her.  Pausan.  V.  17.  lix  yarn  of  Statius,  Theb.  X.  828 — ad 
8  lnghir.  I.  tav.  87.  Micali,  Ital.  av.  finera.  Pausan.  IX.  8.  The  subject 
Rom.  tav.  29  ;  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  108.  of  Capaneus  has  been  found  also  on 
Though  the  gate  in  this  scene  is  a  Etruscan  scarabai.  One  of  them  bears 
perfect  arch,  there  are  no  voussoirs  the  name  "  Capne  "  in  Etruscan  cha- 
expressed.  The  freedom  and  vigour  racters.  Bull.  Inst.  1834,  p.  118. 
of  design  in  this  relief  show  it  to  be  of  9  lnghir.  I.  tav.  88,  90  ;  Micali,  Ital. 
no  early  date.  Iiighirami  (I.  p.  678,  av.  Rom.  tav.  30,  31.  Gori,  I.  tab.  132. 
et  seq.)  infers  this  from  the  presence  of  Inghirami  (I.  p.  681)  thinks  the  female 
warriors  on  horseback,  for  such  are  at  the  window  is  intended  for  Antigone 
never    represented    by   Homer.      But  counting  the  besiegers.    He  remarks  that 


chap,  xli.]  MYTHS  OF  THEBES  AND  TROY.  177 

Polynices  and  Eteocles. — The  fatal  combat  of  the  Theban 
Brothers  is  a  subject  of  most  frequent  occurrence  on 
Etruscan  urns,  and  there  are  many  instances  in  this  Museum. 
They  are  generally  represented  in  the  act  of  giving  each 
other  the  death-wound.  A  Charun,  or  a  Fury,  or  it  may 
be  two,  are  present.1 

The  Trojan  War  has  also  furnished  scenes  for  some  of 
these  urns,  though  this  class  of  subjects  is  not  so  frequently 
represented  on  urns  or  sarcophagi  as  on  vases. 

The  Rape  of  Helen. — A  scene  often  repeated.  "  The 
faire  Tyndarid  lasse,"  is  hurried  on  board  a  "brazen-beaked 
ship" — attendants  are  carrying  vases  and  other  goods  on 
board — 

—  crateres  auro  solidi,  captivaque  vestis 
Congeritur — 

all  is  hurry  and  confusion — but  Paris,  marked  by  his 
Phrygian  cap,  is  seated  on  the  shore  in  loving  contem- 
plation of 

"  the  face  that  launched  a  thousand  ships, 
And  burnt  the  topmost  towers  of  Ilium." 2 

Sometimes  the  fond  pair  are  represented  making  their 
escape  in  a  quadriga? 

both  Greeks  and  Romans  were  wont  to  representation   of  this  combat  on  the 

hurl    the    heads   of    their    slaughtered  Chest  of  Cypselus,  a    female  demon  or 

foes  into  beleaguered  cities,  in  order  to  Fate,  having  the  fangs  and  claws  of  a 

infuse   terror    into    the   besieged  ;    an  wild  beast,  was  introduced  behind  one 

instance  of  which  is  seen  on  Trajan's  of  the  brothers.     Pausan.  V.  19.     This 

Column,    where    Roman    soldiers    are  and  Jason  or  Cadmus  fighting  with  the 

casting  the  heads  of  the  Dacians  into  teeth-sown     warriors,    are    the     most 

their  city.     From  this  he  unnecessarily  common   subjects  on   Etruscan  urns — 

infers  that  these  urns  are  of  the  same  chosen,  thinks  Inghirami  (I.  p.  403),  as 

date   as   that  celebrated  column.     The  illustrative   of  the    brevity  of    human 

style  of  art  proves  them  to  be  of  no  life,  and  its  continual  warfare, 

very   early  period  ;    one    of    them    is  a  Gori,  Mus.  Etrus.  I.  tab.  138,  139  ; 

among  the  most  beautiful  urns  yet  dis-  III.  class.   3,  tab.  5.     Gori   interprets 

covered  at  Volterra.  this  scene  as  the  fate  of  Auges  and  her 

1  Gori,  I.  tab.  133.     Inghirami,  I.  tav.  son  Telephus. 

92, 93 ;  VI.  tav.  V.  2.  In  the  very  similar  3  Gori,  III.  cl.  3,  tab.  7. 

VOL.  II.  N 


ilH  VOLTERRA.-^Thb  Museum.  [chap.  hi. 

One  scene  represents  the  death  of  Polites,  so  beautifully 
described  by  Virgil.4  The  youth  has  fled  to  the  altar  for 
refuge,  the  altar  of  his  household  gods,  by  which  stand  his 
venerable  parents ;  but  the  relentless  Pyrrhus  rushes  on, 
thirsting  for  his  blood — Priam  implores  mercy  for  his  son 
— even  his  guardian  genius  steps  in  to  his  aid,  and  holds 
out  a  wheel  to  his  grasp.  The  urn  tells  no  more,  but 
leaves  the  catastrophe — -finis  Priami  fat  ovum — to  the 
imagination  of  the  beholder.5 

A  scene  very  similar  to  this  shows  Paris,  when  a  shep- 
herd, ere  he  had  been  rendered  effeminate  by  the  caresses 
of  Helen,  defending  himself  against  his  brothers,  who, 
enraged  that  a  stranger  should  have  carried  off  the  prizes 
from  them  in  the  public  games,  sought  to  take  his  life. 
The  palm  he  bears  in  his  hand,  as  he  kneels  on  the  altar 
to  which  he  had  fled  for  refuge,  tells  the  tale.  The 
venerable  Priam  comes  up  and  recognises  his  son.  A 
Juno,  or  guardian  spirit,  steps  between  him  and  his  foes.6 

Ulysses  and  the  Syrens  is  a  favourite  subject.  The 
hero  is  represented  lashed  by  his  own   command  to  the 

4  Virg.  ^En.  II.  526 — 558.  and   in   one   instance  throws  her  arm 

5  Gori,  Mus.  Etrus.  I.  tab.  171  ;  III.  round  his  neck.  Yet  in  others,  the 
cl.  4,  tab.  16,  17.  The  demon  in  this  office  of  the  demon,  or  demons,  for 
scene  is  by  many  regarded  as  Nemesis.  there  are  sometimes  two,  is  more  equi- 
Gori  interprets  this  scene  as  "  Sacra  vocal  ;  and  they  have  been  interpreted 
Cabiria."  as   Furies  urging   on   the  brothers  of 

6  Gori,  I.  tab.  174  ;  III.  class.  3,  Paris  to  take  revenge.  Mus.  Oiius.  I- 
tav.  9  ;  cl.  4,  tab.  18,  19.  This  is  a  tav.  81.  In  such  cases  the  scene  will 
scene  frequently  occurring  on  Etruscan  well  admit  of  interpretation  as  the 
urns  ;  and  is  found  also  on  bronze  death  of  Pyrrhus,  and  the  man  who 
mirror-cases,  of  which  I  have  seen  slays  him,  would  be  either  the  priest  of  the 
several  instances  —  two  now  in  the  temple  (Pausan.  X.  24),  or  Machcereus 
British  Museum.  It  has  been  explained  (Strab.  IX.  p.  421).  Micali  (Ital.  av. 
as  the  death  of  Pyrrhus,  at  Delphi,  and  Rom.  tav.  48)  takes  this  scene  to  repre- 
the  female  demon  is  supposed  to  repre-  sent  Orestes  at  Delphi.  In  the  urn, 
sent  the  Pythia,  at  whose  command  the  which  he  illustrates,  the  Juno  has  an 
son  of  Achilles  was  slain. — Pausan.  I.  eye  in  each  outspread  wing,  just  as  in 
14.  But  in  most  of  these  scenes  the  the  marine  deity,  drawn  in  the  woodcut 
Juno  is  manifestly  protecting  the  youth,  at  the  head  of  this  chapter. 


chap,  xu.]  MYTHS  OF  ULYSSES  AND  ORESTES.  179 

mast  of  his  vessel,  yet  struggling  to  break  loose,  that  he 
may  yield  to  the  three  enchantresses  and  their  "  warbling 
charms."8 

The  great  hero  of  Homeric  song  is  also  represented  in 
the  company  of  Circe, 

"  The  daughter  of  the  Sun,  whose  charmed  cup 
Whoever  tasted  lost  his  upright  shape  ; " 

for  his  companions,  her  victims,  stand  around,  their  heads 
changed 

"  Into  some  brutish  form  of  wolf  or  bear, 
Or  ounce,  or  tiger,  hog,  or  bearded  goat, 
All  other  parts  remaining  as  they  were." 

The  death  of  Clytemnestra. — This  is  a  favourite  subject, 
chosen,  doubtless,  as  illustrative  of  the  doctrine  of  retri- 
bution. In  one  scene  the  matricide  is  reclining  on  her 
couch,  when  Orestes  and  Pylades  rush  in  with  drawn 
swords  ;  one  seizes  her,  the  other  her  paramour  iEgisthus, 
and  a  winged  Fate  stands  by  to  betoken  their  end.9  In 
another,  she  lies  a  corpse  on  her  bed,  and  the  avengers  are 
returning  from  the  slaughter.  But  the  most  remarkable 
monument  is  a  large,  broken  urn,  on  which  Orestes — 
"  Urste" — is  represented  in  the  act  of  slaying  his  mother, 
"  Clutmsta,"  and  his  companion  is  putting  to  death 
iEgisthus.  At  one  end  of  the  same  relief  the  two  friends, 
"  Urste"  and  "  Puluctre"  (Pylades),  are  kneeling  on  an 
altar,  with  swords  turned  against  their  own  bosoms,  making 
expiation,  while  the  truculent,  brute-eared  "  Charun,"  with 
his  fatal  hammer  raised,  and  a  Fury  with  flaming  torch, 
and  hissing  serpent,  are  rising  from  the  abyss  at  their 
feet.1     On  the  broken  fragment  adjoining  this  urn  is  a 

8  Gori,  I.  tab.  147.  torn.  III.  p.  183.     Inghirami,  Mon.  Etr. 

9  Gori,  III.  cl.  3,  tab.  11,  2.  VI.  tav.   A.  2.      Raoul-Rochette,  Mon. 
1    Micali,     Italia,     av.     Rom.     tav.       Ined.  pi.  XXIX.     Ann.   Inst.,  1837,2, 

XLVII.  ;    Ant.    Pop.   Ital.  tav.   CIX.,       p.  262— Braun.      Greek  names  arp  by 

N  2 


180  VULTERRA.— The  Museum.  [chap.  xi.i. 

warrior  also  kneeling  on  an  altar,  with  two  other  figures 
falling  around  him,  to  which  are  attached  the  names 
"  Acns"  and  "  Priumnes."  2 

Orestes  persecuted  by  the  Furies. — There  are  here  not 
three  only  of  these  avengeful  deities,  but  five,  armed  with 
torches  or  hammers,  attacking  the  son  of  Agamemnon, 
who  endeavours  to  defend  himself  with  his  sword.3 

Many  of  these  urns  bear  mythological  subjects  purely 
native.  The  most  numerous  class  is  that  of  marine  deities, 
generally  figured  as  women  from  the  middle  upwards,  but 
with  fishes'  tails  instead  of  legs — 

Desinit  in  piscem  mulier  formosa  superne. 

A  few,  however,  are  represented  of  the  male  sex,  as  that 
in  the  woodcut  at  the  head  of  this  chapter.  These  beings 
are  generally  winged  also,  probably  to  show  their  super- 
human power  and  energy;  and  smaller  wings  often  spring 
from  their  temples — a  common  attribute  of  Etruscan 
divinities,  symbolical,  it  may  be,  of  a  rapidity  and  power 

no     means     uniformly    expressed     on  choice  Irish,  and  may  hug  themselves  in 

Etruscan  monuments.     On  one  mirror,  the  discovery  that  Urste  means  "  stop 

which    represents    the    same   mythical  the  slaughter  ! "—  Clutmsta,  "  stop  the 

event  as  this  urn,  the  names  are  spelt  pursuit  !  "  —  Puluctre,    "  all    are    pri- 

"  Urusthe  "  and  "  Clutumsta,"  (Ger-  soners  !  "    (Etruria  Celtica,  II.  p.  166) 

hard,  Etrusk.  Spieg.  taf.  CCXXXVII.)  ;  — but  few  will  be  inclined  to  reject  the 

and     on     another,    "  Urusthe  "     and  old-fashioned  interpretation  of  Orestes 

"  Cluthumustha  ; "  and  a  fierce  demon,  and  Clytemnestra. 

named   "  Nathum,"   with    huge  fangs,  2  Inghir.  I.  tav.  43.    Micah,  Ant.  Pop. 

and  hair    on    an   end,    stands    behind  Ital.  tav.  109.    There  are  some  kindred 

the  avenger,  and  brandishes  a  serpent  scenes,  where  two  armed  men,  kneeling  on 

over     the     murderess's     head.      Gerh.  an  altar,  are  defending  themselves  against 

Etrusk.     Spieg.     taf.     CCXXXVIII.  ;  their  foes.     One  of  them  being  some- 

Gottheiten  der  Etrusker,  taf.  VI.  5,  pp.  times  represented  with  a  -head  in  his 

11,63;    Bull.  Inst.,  1842,  p.  47.     Ger-  hand,  seems  intended  for  Perseus.    Gori, 

hard  takes  this  demon  to  be  a  female,  I.  tab.  150,  175  ;  Inghir.  I.  tav.  58,  59  ; 

and   equivalent   to    Mania.      A    totally  VI.  tav.  A.  5. 

different  interpretation  has  been  found  3  Inghir.  I.  tav.  25  ;    cf.  Gori,  I  tab. 

for  this  urn.    Etrusco- Celts,  if  they  will,  151. 
may  pronounce  the  inscriptions  to  be 


chap,  xii.]  ETRUSCAN  MARINE  DIVINITIES.  181 

of  intellectual  action,  far  transcending  that  of  mortals.4 
They  have  not  serpent-locks,  or  the  resemblance  of  their 
heads  to  that  of  the  Greek  Medusa  would  be  complete  ; 
but  they  have  sometimes  a  pair  of  snakes  knotted  around 
their  brows,  and  uprearing  their  crests,  just  like  those 
which  are  the  distinctive  mark  of  Egyptian  gods  and 
monarchs.  These  trifold  divinities  bear  sometimes  a 
trident  or  anchor,  a  rudder  or  oar,  to  indicate  their 
dominion  over  the  sea — sometimes  a  sword,  or  it  may  be, 
a  firebrand  or  mass  of  rock,  to  show  their  might  over 
the  earth  also,  and  their  power  of  destruction,  or  their 
malignant  character ;  which  they  further  display  by 
brandishing  these  weapons  over  the  heads  of  their  victims. 
They  are  often  represented  with  a  torque  about  their 
necks.  Marine  deities  would  naturally  be  much  worshipped 
by  a  people,  whose  power  lay  greatly  in  their  commerce 
and  maritime  supremacy ;  and  accordingly  the  active 
imaginations  of  the  Etruscans  were  thus  led  to  symbolise 
the  destructive  agencies  of  nature  at  sea.  For  these  are 
evidently  beings  to  be  propitiated,  whose  vengeance  is  to 
be  averted  ;  very  unlike  the  gentle  power  to  which  the 
Italian  sailor  now  looks  for  succour  in  the  hour  of  peril — 

In  mare  irato,  in  subita  procella, 
Invoco  te,  nostra  benigna  stella  ! 

It  is  highly  probable  that  these  sea-gods  were  of 
Etruscan  origin  ;  yet  as  we  are  ignorant  of  their  native 
appellations,  it  may  be  well  to  designate  them,  as  is 
generally  done,  by  the  names  of  the  somewhat  analogous 
beings  of  Grecian  mythology,  to  which,  however,  they 
do  not  answer  in  every  respect.     The  females  then  are 

4  The  wings  may  be   considered   an  who   takes  the    dolphins'   tails    to    be 

Etruscan    characteristic,  for   they   are  symbols  of  torrents,  regards  the  wings 

rarely  found  attached  to  similar  figures  as  emblems  of  evaporation.    Ann.  Inst., 

on  Greek  monuments.     Forchhammer,  1838,  p.  290. 


182 


VOLTERRA.— The  Mosbdm. 


[chap.  XL1. 


usually  called  Scylla,5  though  wanting  the  peculiar  charac- 
teristic of  that  monster,  who 

Pube  preniit  rabidos  inguinibusque  canes. 

The  male  sea-divinities,  which  are  of  less  frequent 
occurrence,  are  commonly  called  Glaucus.6  On  one  urn 
such  a  being  is  enfolding  a  struggling  warrior  in  the  coils 
of  each  tail.7  In  another,  he  has  thus  entangled  two 
figures  of  opposite  sexes,  and  is  seizing  them  by  the  hair.8 
One  of  these  deities,  illustrated  in  the  woodcut  at  the  head 
of  this  chapter,  has  an  eye  in  either  wing,  a  symbol,  it 
may  be,  of  all-searching  power,  added  to  that  of  ubiquitous 
energy.9 

When,  instead  of  fishes'  tails,  the  woman's  body  termi- 
nates in   snakes,  she   is   commonly  called    Echidna,  the 


5  Scylla,  with  the  Greeks,  seems  to 
have  been  the  embodied  emblem  of  the 
sea,  or  of  its  monsters  ;  and  she  thus 
personifies  the  perils  of  a  maritime  life. 
Ann.  Inst.,  1843,  p.  182. 

6  Glaucus  is  very  rarely  represented 
on  ancient  works  of  art.  Never  has  he 
been  found  on  painted  vases — only  on 
medals,  gems,  Etruscan  urns,  and  in  an 
ancient  painting  in  the  Villa  Adriaua. 
Ann.  Inst,,  1843,  p.  184.  M.  Vinet, 
who  writes  the  article  cited,  regards 
Glaucus  as  the  personification  of  the 
colour  of  the  sea  (pp.  173,  181).  He 
thinks  the  word  expressed  "  that  clear 
hue,  verging  on  green  or  blue,  but  in 
which  white  predominates,  which  the 
sky  or  the  surface  of  the  waves  assumes 
under  certain  conditions,  and  at  certain 
hours  of  the  day.  On  viewing  these 
effects  of  light,  the  people,  who  of  the 
seven-hued  rainbow  had  formed  Iris, 
could  not  possibly  have  refrained  from 
increasing  the  abundant  scries  of  their 
cerations,  and  Neptune  henceforth 
counted  a  new  subject  in  his  empire." 


'  Were  it  not  for  the  sex  of  the 
monster  this  scene  might  represent  the 
companions  of  Ulysses  encountering 
Scylla  ;  or  it  may  be  an  Etruscan  ver- 
sion of  the  same  myth.  Gori  (I.  tab. 
148),  however,  represents  it  as  a  female. 

s  Micali,  Ital.  av.  Rom.  tav.  23. 

o  Mieali,  Ital.  av.  Rom.  tav.  24.  This 
writer  (Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  III.  p.  180) 
regards  the  eye  in  the  wings  as  a 
symbol  of  celerity  and  foresight  ;  In- 
ghirami  (I.  p.  79),  of  circumspection. 
On  another  urn  in  this  Museum,  the 
eye  is  represented  on  the  wing  of  a 
Charun,  who  is  conducting  a  soul  to  the 
other  world,  (Micali,  op.  cit.  tav.  1(14, 
1  ;  Inghir.  I.  tav.  8) ;  and  on  another, 
where  a  female  demon  protects  Paris 
from  the  assaults  of  his  brothers  (ut 
supra,  p.  178).  It  is  found  also  on  the 
wing  of  a  Charun  interfering  in  a  battle- 
scene,  on  a  Volterran  urn,  from  the 
tomb  of  the  CieciiiEe,  now  in  the  Museum 
of  Paris.  Micali,  op.  cit.  tav.  105  ; 
Ital.  av.  Rom.  tav.  43. 


chap,  xli.]        SCYLLA.— GLAUCUS.— ECHIDNA.— TYPHON.         183 

sister  of  Medusa  and  the  Gorgons,  the  mother  of  Cerberus, 
the  Hydra,  the  Chimaera,  the  Sphinx,  and  other  mythical 
monsters,  and  herself 

neXaipov,  ap.r)xavov,  ov8ev  eoikos 
Qvtjtois  avdpamoi*;,  ov6°  ddavdroian  6eoi<n, 
Stt^V  kvi  yXa(pvpu),  delrjv  Kparepocppov  '  E%i8vav  ' 
'H/xi<7u  p,ev  vvfKprjv,  iXiKC07n8a,  KaXXnraprjOv, 
"H/xtcrn  8  avre  rreXcopou  o<pii>,  8eivov  re  piyav  re, 
HoikIXov,  a>p.rj<TTr)v,  £ader]s  vtto  Kevdeai  yairjs- 

"  Stupendous,  nor  in  shape  resembling  aught 
Of  human  or  of  heavenly ;  monstrous,  fierce 
Echidna  ;  half  a  nymph,  with  eyes  of  jet 
And  beauty-blooming  cheeks  ;  and  half  again 
A  speckled  serpent,  terrible  and  vast, 
Gorged  with  blood-banquets  ;  trailing  her  huge  folds 
Deep  in  the  hollows  of  the  blessed  earth." 

Akin  to  her  is  the  male  divinity,  the 

"  Typhon  huge,  ending  in  snaky  twine," 

already  treated  of  in  describing  the  tombs  of  Corneto.2 
He  is  said  to  have  been  her  lover,  and  the  progenitor  of  all 
those  monsters, 

"  Horrible,  hideous,  and  of  hellish  race, 
Born  of  the  brooding  of  Echidna  base." 

As  the  fish  is  emblematical  of  the  depths  of  the  sea,  so 
the  serpent  would  seem  to  symbolise  those  of  the  land ; 
and  we  shall  probably  not  be  mistaken  in  regarding  these 
snake-tailed  beings  as  personifying  the  subterranean  powers 
of  nature,  such  as  have  to  do  with  fissures  and  caverns, 
and  especially  such  as  regard  volcanic  disturbances.3  That 
these  destructive  agencies  should  have  been  deified  in  a 

1  Hesiod.  Thoog.  295,  et  scq.  301.    It  is  well  established  that  Typhon, 

2  See  vol.  I.  pp.  303 — 5.  and  the  other  Giants  were,  in  the  Greek 
:<  In  a  cavern  under  a  hollow  rock       mythology,  symbols  of  volcanic  agencies. 

was  Echidna's  abode.     Hesiod.  Thcog.       See  vol.  I.,  p.  304. 


184  VOLTERRA.— The  Museum.  [chap.  xli. 

land  which,  in  various  ages,  has  experienced  from  them 
terrible  catastrophes,  and  which,  on  every  hand,  bears 
traces  of  their  effects,  is  no  more  than  might  be  expected  ; 
and  their  relation  to  the  sepulchre  among  a  people  who 
always  committed  their  dead  to  the  caverns  of  the  rock,  or 
to  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  will  be  readily  understood. 

Some  of  these  urns  have  the  heads  alone  of  these  wing- 
browed  divinities,  which,  in  certain  cases,  degenerate  into 
mere  masks.  One  head,  with  serpents  tied  beneath  the 
chin,  is  not  unlike  Da  Vinci's  celebrated  Medusa  in  the 
Florence  Gallery.  Other  urns  bear  representations  of 
dolphins  sporting  on  the  waves,  marine-horses,  or 
hippocampi* 

Et  qua  marmoreo  fert  monstra  sub  sequoie  pontus — 

symbols,  it  may  be,  of  maritime  power,  but  more  probably 
of  the  passage  of  the  soul  to  another  state  of  existence  ; 
which  is  clearly  the  case  where  one  of  these  monsters  bears 
a  veiled  figure  on  his  back.5 

Other  twofold  existences  are  of  the  earth.  Centaurs, 
of  both  sexes,  not  combating  their  established  foes  the 
Lapithae,  but  forming  the  sole  or  chief  subject  in  the 
scene  ;  sometimes  with  wings  ;  sometimes  robed  with  a 
lion's  skin,  and  holding  a  large  bough.  Etruscan  centaurs, 
be  it  observed,  especially  those  on  early  monuments,  have 
generally  the  fore-legs  of  a  man,  the  hind  ones  only  of  a 
horse.6  Like  the  sea-monsters,  the  centaur  may  be  a 
symbol  of  the  passage  of  the  soul.7 

4  The   idea  of   the   hippocampus   on  5  Inghir.  I.  tav.  6  ;  cf.  Braun,  Ann. 

ancient  monuments  was  probably  sug-  Inst.,  1837,  2,  p.  261. 

gested  by  the  singular  fish  of  that  name,  <>  So  the  Centaur  was  represented  in 

which   abounds   in   the   Mediterranean,  early  Greek  works — the  chest  of  Cypse- 

and  whose  skeleton  resembles  a  horse's  lus,  for  instance.     Pausan.  V.  19. 

head  and   neck  placed  on  a  fish's  tail.  ~  It  is  evident  from  the  frequent  in- 

See  Inghir.  VI.  tav.  D.  2,  3.  traduction  of  this  chimeera  ou  funeral 


chap,  xli.]  SCENES  OF  ETRUSCAN  LIFE.  185 

Griffons  are  also  favourite  subjects  on  these  urns.  That 
they  are  embodiments  of  some  evil  and  destructive  power, 
is  evident  in  their  compound  of  lion  and  eagle.  And  thus 
they  are  generally  represented  ;  now,  like  beasts  of  prey, 
tearing  some  animal  to  pieces ;  now  overthrowing  the 
Arimaspes,  who  sought  to  steal  the  gold  they  guarded.8 

One  small  urn  has  the  legs  and  seat  of  a  couch  carved 
in  relief  on  its  front,  and  a  couple  of  small  birds  below, 
apparently  picking  up  the  crumbs.  These  have  been 
interpreted  as  "  the  sacred  fowls  of  Etruscan  divination" 
— the  birds  from  whose  motions  was  learned  the  will  of  the 
gods.9  But  to  me  they  seem  inserted  merely  to  fill  the 
vacant  space  beneath  the  banqueting-couch. 

The  reliefs  illustrative  of  Etruscan  life  are  the  most 
interesting  monuments  in  tins  collection.  They  may  be 
divided  into  two  classes  ;  those  referring  to  the  customs, 
pursuits,  and  practices  of  the  Etruscans  in  their  ordinary 
life,  and  those  which  have  a  funereal  import.  It  is  not 
always  easy  to  draw  the  distinction. 

To  commence  with  their  sports.  There  are  numerous 
representations  of  boar-hunts,  of  which  the  Etruscans  of 
old  were  as  fond  as  their  modern  descendants.  The  Tuscus 


monuments  that  it  had  a  conventional       13,  27  ;  Plin.  VII.  2  ;  Pausan.  I.  24. 
relation  to  the  sepulchre.     Virgil   (JEn.  Inghirami  takes  these  scenes  to  sym- 

VI.  286)  represents  Centaurs  stalled  holise  the  weakness  of  humanity  to  con- 
with  other  monsters,  at  the  gate  of  tend  with  Fate  ;  though  in  pursuance 
Hell —  of  his  system  of  astronomical  interpre- 

tation  he    regards    the  griffon    as   an 


Centauri  in  foribus  stabulant,  Scyllseque 
biformes,  &c. 


emblem  of  the  power  of  the  sun  in  the 
vernal  eiminox,  and  where  it  is  devour- 
Inghirami  (Museo  Chiusino,  I.  p.  91)  ing  a  stag  he  takes  it  to  mean  spring 
regards  them  as  symbols  of  autumn.  overcoming   winter   (I.   pp.  328,  723). 

8  Inghir.  Mon.  Etrus.  I.  tav.  39,  41,       Servius  (ad  Virg.  Buc.  VIII.  27)  says 
42,  99.     Gori,  I.   tab.  154,    156;  III.       those  monsters  were  sacred  to  Apollo. 
cl.  3,  tab.  4.     The  Arimaspes  on  these  9  Inghir.    I.  tav.  36,   pp.    308—311. 

urns  are  not  one-eyed,  as  represented       He  remarks  that   out  of   six    hundred 
by  the  ancients.     Herod.  III.  116  ;  IV.       urns  this  alone  displays  the  holy  birds. 


|s«i  VOLTERRA.— The  Mlselm.  [chap.  xi.i. 

aper,  though  celebrated  in  ancient  times,  can  hardly  have 
abounded  as  much  as  at  present,  when  he  has  so  much 
more  uncultivated  country  for  his  range ;  for  the  Maremma, 
which  was  of  old  well  populated,  is  now  for  the  greater 
part  a  very  desert.  Some  of  these  scenes  may  have  re- 
ference to  Meleager  and  the  boar  of  Calydon,  or  to  the 
exploit  of  Hercules  with  the  fierce  beast  of  Erymanthus  ; 
for  the  subject  is  variously  treated.  Its  frequent  occur- 
ence on  urns,  as  well  as  on  vases  and  in  painted  tombs, 
shows  how  much  such  sports  were  to  the  Etruscan  taste.1 

Other  reliefs  represent  the  games  of  the  circus,  which 
resembles  that  of  the  Romans,  having  a  spina,  surmounted 
by  a  row  of  cones  or  obelisks.  In  some  of  these  scenes 
are  bull-fights ;  in  others,  horse-races,  or  gladiatorial  com- 
bats. The  two  latter  games  the  Romans  borrowed  from 
the  Etruscans.2 

These  urns,  though  not  being  of  early  date  they  can 
hardly  be  cited  as  proofs,  yet  tend  to  confirm  the  high 
probability  that  the  circus,  as  well  as  its  games,  was  of 
Etruscan  origin.  We  know  that  the  Romans  had  no  such 
edifices  before  the  accession  of  Tarquin,  the  first  of  the 
Etruscan  dynasty,  who  built  the  Circus  Maximus,  and 
"  sent  for  boxers  and  race-horses  to  Etruria ; " 3  and  we 


1  In  one  of  these  boar-hunts  the  beast  :  Liv.   I.    35  ;    Nicol.    Damasc.    ap. 

1 9  attacked  by  two  winged  boys,  who  are  Athen.  IV.  c.  13,  p.  153.     Before  the 

thought  to  be  Cupids  catching  the  boar  introduction  of  the  amphitheatre,  in  the 

which    killed    Adonis.       Theocr.    Idyl.  time    of   Augustus,   the    Romans    often 

XXX.  ;    Inghir.    I.    tav.    69,   p.    586*.  held  their  gladiatorial    combats  in   the 

Macrobius  (I.  21),  who  gives  the  astx-o-  circus,  as  here  represented.    See  Vol.  I. 

uomical  symbolism  of  the  legend,  tells  p.  95.     Inghirami  (I.  tav.   98,  p.  718) 

us   that   the   boar   was   an   emblem  of  gives  a  scene  from  an  urn,  in  the  Cinci 

winter  ;   and    on    this    account,    thinks  collection  at  Voltcrra,  whore  two  gladia- 

Enghirami  (I.  p.  594),  he  is  represented  tors  are  contending  over  a  vase, 
on  sepulchral  monuments,  to  indicate  the  3  Liv.   loc.   cit. — Ludicrum    fuit  equi 

season  when  the  annual  inf crier  or  pa-  ]>ugilesque    ex    Etruria   maxime   acciti. 

'    were   held    in    honour   of   the  Cf.  Dion.  Hal.  III.  p.  200. 
■  lead.     Gori,  III.  cl.  3,  tab.  1. 


chap,  xli.]  CIRCENSES.— JUDICIAL  PROCESSIONS.  187 

know  also,  from  the  frequent  representations  of  them  in 
the  painted  tombs,  that  such  sports  must  have  been 
common  in  that  land  ;  so  that  it  is  a  fair  conclusion  that 
similar  structures  to  that  Tarquin  raised  for  their  dis- 
play, already  existed  there.  As  an  Etruscan,  he  is  likely  to 
have  chosen  for  his  model  some  circus  with  which  he  was 
well  acquainted — probably  that  of  Tarquinii,  his  native 
city,  and  the  metropolis  of  the  Confederation.  That  no 
vestiges  of  such  structures  are  extant  may  be  accounted 
for  by  supposing  them  to  have  been  of  wood,  as  the  scaf- 
folding of  the  original  Circus  Maximus  is  said  to  have 
been.4 

Processions  there  are  of  various  descriptions — funeral, 
triumphal,  and  judicial.  In  one  of  the  latter,  four  judges 
or  magistrates,  wrapt  in  togas,  are  proceeding  to  judgment. 
Before  them  march  two  lictors,  each  with  a  pair  of  rods  or 
wands,  which  may  represent  the  fasces  without  the  secures 
or  hatchets,  just  as  they  were  carried  by  Roman  lictors, 
before  one  of  the  consuls  when  in  the  City.5  They  are 
preceded  by  a  slave,  bearing  a  curule  chair,  another 
insigne  of  authority,  and,  like  the  lictors  and  fasces,  of 
Etruscan   origin.6     Other   slaves   carry   the   scrinium  or 

4  Dion.  Hal.  loc.  cit.     The  only  Etrus-  introduced,  it  has  manifestly  a  figurative 

can  monument  which  shows  us  how  the  allusion  ;   for  a  man   and  woman   are 

spectators   were  accommodated  at  the  taking  their  last  farewell  at  it,  as  if  to 

public  games,  is  the    painted    tomb   at  intimate  that  the  soul  had  reached  its 

Corneto,  called  the  Grotta  delle  Bighe,  goal  and  finished  its  course.      Inghir.  I. 

and   that   represents   them    seated    on  tav.  100. 

simple  platforms,  apparently  of  wood —  5  Cicero,  de  Repub.  II.  31  ;  Val.  Max. 

just  such  as  are  now  raised  at  a  horse-  IV.   1,   1  ;  Plutarch.   Publicola  ;  Dion, 

race  or  other  spectacle  in  Florence  or  Hal.  V.  p.  278.     So  they  are  represented 

Rome,  but  with  curtains  to  shade  them  also  on  an  Etruscan  cippus,  described  at 

from  the  sun.     See  Vol.  I.  p.  327.  Pagc   114  ;  and  also  on  an  urn  with  a 

These  circus-scenes  ought,  perhaps,  to  banqueting-sccne,  which   Inghirami  in- 

be  classed  with  the  funereal  subjects  ;  terprets  as  the  curse  of  (Edipus  (1.  tav. 

for  it  is  not  improbable  that  they  repre-  72,  73  ;  cf.  Gori,  III.  cl.  3,  tav.  14). 

sent  the  games  in  honour  of  the    de-  6  Liv.   I.  8  ;  Flor.  T.  ,r>  ;  Dion.  Hal. 

ceased,     [n  one  scene,  where  a  spina  is  111.   p.    1  .').'>;    Strabo,  V.  p.  220;   Sil. 


188  VOLTERRA.— The  Museum.  [chai>.  xli. 

capsa,  a  cylindrical  box  for  the  documents,  and  pugiUares, 

or  wax  tablets  for  noting  down  the  proceedings.7 

On  another  urn  the  four  magistrates  are  returning  from 
judgment,  having  descended  from  their  seats  on  the  ele- 
vated platform.  The  lictors,  who  precede  them  in  this 
case,  bear  forked  rods.  They  are  encountered  by  a  veiled 
female,  with  her  two  daughters,  and  two  little  children  of 
tender  age — the  family,  it  must  be,  of  the  criminal  come 
to  implore  mercy  for  the  husband  and  father.8 

Here  are  also  triumphal  processions,  which  history  tells 
us  the  Etruscans  had  as  well  as  the  Romans  ;9  and  which, 
in  fact,  are  generally  attributed  to  the  former  people,1 
though  there  is  no  positive  evidence  of  such  an  origin, 
beyond  the  introduction  into  such  processions  of  golden  or 
gilt  chariots,  drawn  by  four  horses  ;  the  earlier  triumphs 
having  been  on  foot.2  Here  are  instances  of  both  modes, 
the  victor  being  preceded  by  cornicines  or  trumpeters,  by 
fifers  and  harpers,  and  where  he  is  in  a  chariot,  by  a  lictor 
also  with  a  wand.3     The  Etruscanism  of  the  scene  lies  in 

Ital.   VIII.   486—8  ;   Diodor.    Sic.    V.  eleg.  I.  32) ;  but  Plutarch  opposes  this, 

p.    316.   ed.    Rhod.  ;    Macrob.   Saturn.  and  cites  ancient  statues  of  that  monarch 

1.6  ;  cf.  Sallust.  Catil.  51.  to   prove  that  he   triumphed   on  foot. 

<  This  scene  is  illustrated  by  Micali,  The  introduction  of  the  quadriga  from 

Ital.  av.  Rom.  tav.  40  ;  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  Etruria  is  generally  ascribed  to  the  elder 

tav.  112,  1  ;  Gori,  III.  cl.  4,  tab.  23, 27.  Tarcmin. 

8  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  112,  2  ;  3  The  description  Appian  (loc.  cit.) 
Gori,  III.  cl.  4.  tab.  15.  gives   of   a  triumph   in    the   Etruscan 

9  Flor.  I.  5  ;  Appian.  de  Reb.  Pun.  style,  corresponds  nearly  with  the  scenes 
LXVI. ;  cf.  Plin.  XXXIII.  4.  on  these  urns.    The  victor,  he  says,  was 

'  Dempster,  Etrur.  Reg.  I.  p.  328  ;  preceded  by   lictors  in   purple   tunics, 

Gori,   Mus.   Etr.    I.   p.    370.      Miiller  and  then,  in  imitation  of  an  Etruscan 

(Etrusk.  II.  2,  7)  considers  the  Roman  pageant,  by  a  chorus  of  harpers  and  sa- 

triumph    to  be  either  immediately  de-  tyrs  belted  and  wearing  golden  chaplets, 

rived  from  Etruria,  or  to  be  a  coutinua-  dancing  and  singing  as  they  went.     One 

tion  of  the  pageants  which  the  kings  of  in  the  midst  of  them  wore  a  long  purple 

Rome  had  received  from  that  land.  robe,  and   was    adorned    with    golden 

-  Plutarch.  Romul. ;  Flor.  I.  5.    Dio-  bracelets  and  torques.  Such  men,he  says, 

nysius  (II.  p.  102)  says  Romulus    tri-  were  called    Lydi,  because  the   Etrus- 

umphed  in  a  quadriga  (cf.  Propcrt.  IV.  cans  were  colonists  from  Lydia.     These 


chap,  xli.]  TRIUMPHAL  PROCESSIONS.— SACRIFICES.  189 

the  winged  genius,  who,  with  a  torch  in  her  hand,  is 
seated  on  one  of  the  horses.4  It  may  be  that  the  scene  is 
rather  funereal  than  festive,  and  that  the  figure  in  the 
chariot  with  the  attributes  of  triumph  is  intended  to  re- 
present a  soul  entering  on  a  new  state  of  existence.  This 
is  rendered  more  probable  by  the  analogy  of  the  funeral 
procession  in  the  G-rotta  del  Tifone  at  Corneto,  where  souls 
are  attended  by  demons,  one  with  a  torch,  and  by  figures 
bearing  wands,  preceded  by  a  cornicen.5 

Of  marriages,  no  representation,  which  has  not  a 
mythical  reference,  has  yet  been  found  on  the  sepulchral 
urns  of  Etruria,  though  most  of  the  earlier  writers  on  these 
antiquities  mistook  the  farewell-scenes,  presently  to  be 
described,  where  persons  of  opposite  sexes  stand  hand  in 
hand,  for  scenes  of  nuptial  festivity.6 

There  are  several  representations  of  sacrifices ;  the 
priest  pouring  a  libation  on  the  head  of  the  bull  about  to 
be  slain.  In  one  case  the  victim  is  a  donkey — the  delight 
of  the  garden-god, — 

Cseditur  et  rigido  custodi  ruris  asellus. 

In  another  scene,  a  beast  like  a  wolf  is  rising  from  a 
well,  but  is  restrained  by  a  chain  held  by  two  men,  while 

were  followed   by  men  bearing  vessels  stands  a  warrior,  is  drawn  by  a  Fury, 

of  incense,    and    last   of  all  came  the  with  a  torch,  into  an  abyss.     Lanzi  (ap. 

victorious    general    in    his     quadriga,  Inghir.  I.  p.  669)  interpreted  it  as  the 

clad  in  his  toga  picta,  and  tunica  pal-  death  of  Amphiaraus — Amphiaraese  fata 

mata,  with  a  golden  crown  of  oak  leaves  quadrigae.     Ingh.  I.  tav.  84  ;  Gori,  III. 

on    his   brow,   and   an    ivory   sceptre,  cl.  3,  tab.  12. 

adorned  with  gold,  in  his  hand.     See  s  See  Vol.  I.  pp.  31 1 — 3.     Thispaint- 

Miiller,  Etrusk.  IV.  1,  2.     Illustrations  ing  has  been  supposed  to  represent  the 

of  these  urns  will  be  found  in  Micali,  triumphal   entrance   of  souls  into   the 

Ital.   av.  Rom.  tav.  34,  35  ;     Gori,  I.  unseen  world.     Bull.  Inst.  1839,  p.  47. 

tab.  178,  179  ;  III.  cl.  3,  tab.  28.  Urlichs. 

4  Muller   thinks  this   female   demon  6  Buonarroti,    Passeri,     Gori,    even 

may  be  a  Victory.     On  another  urn  in  Lanzi  and  Micali,  made  this  mistake, 

this    museum,    a    quadriga,  in    which  See  Inghirami,  I.  pp.  191,  208. 


190 


VOT/TEKRA.— The  Museum. 


[chap.  XI, I. 


a  third  pours  a  libation  on  his  head,  and  a  fourth  strikes 
him  down  with  an  axe.  It  is  evidently  no  ordinary  sacri- 
fice, for  all  the  figures  are  armed.7 

Here  also  is  seen  the  dreadful  rite  of  human  sacrifice, 
too  often  performed  by  the  Etruscans,  as  well  as  by  the 
Greeks  and  Romans.8  The  men  who  sit  with  their  hands 
bound  behind  their  backs,  and  on  whose  heads  the  priest- 
esses are  pouring  libations,  are  probably  captives  about  to 
be  offered  to  a  deity,'  or  to  the  Manes  of  some  hero.  It 
may  be  the  Trojans  whom  Achilles  sacrificed  to  the  shade 
of  Patroclus  ;  it  may  be  Orestes  and  Pylades  at  the  altar 
of  Diana.  Observe  the  altar  in  this  scene.  It  is  precisely 
like  a  Roman  Catholic  shrine,  even  to  the  very  cross  in  the 
midst,  for  the  panelling  of  the  wall  shows  that  form  in 
relief.9 


1  Ingliir.  I.  tav.  60  ;  VI.  tav.  E.  5,  4  ; 
Gori,  III.  cl.  3,  tab.  10.  Dempster 
(tab.  25)  gives  a  plate  of  a  Perugian  urn, 
with  a  similar  scene ;  but  the  monster 
lias  a  human  body  with  a  dog's  head. 
It  is  not  easy  to  explain  this  very  singu- 
lar subject.  Buonarroti  (p.  24,  ap. 
Dempst.  II.)  sees  in  the  victim  the 
monster  Volta,  which  is  said  to  have 
ravaged  the  land  of  Volsinii,  and  to 
have  been  destroyed  by  Porsenna.  Plin. 
II.  54.  Passeri  (Acheront.  p.  59,  ap. 
Gori,  Mus.  Etr.)  interprets  it  as  the 
demon  of  Temessa,  called  Lybas,  which 
was  clad  in  a  wolf's  skin,  and  was  over- 
come by  Euthymus,  the  pugilist.  Pau- 
san.  VI.  6.  Inghirami  takes  it  to  repre- 
sent Lycaon  protected  by  Mars,  with 
Ceres  as  a  Fury  by  his  side. 

s  Maffei  (Osserv.  Letter.  IV.  p.  65) 
indignantly  rejects  this  charge  against 
his  forefathers  :  "  They  cannot,  and  they 
ought  not  to  attribute  so  unworthy  and 
barbarous  a  custom  to  our  Etruscans, 
without  any  foundation  of  authority  !  " 
It  is  true  there  is  no  recorded  evidence 


of  such  a  practice  amoug  the  Etruscan-, 
unless  the  Roman  captives,  put  to  death 
— immolati — in  the  forum  of  Tarquinii, 
may  be  regarded  as  offered  to  the  gods. 
Liv.  VII.  19.  But  monuments  abun- 
dantly establish  the  fact.  Miiller,  in- 
deed, thinks  the  Romans  learned  this 
horrid  rite  from  the  Etruscans  (Etrusk. 
III.  4,  14).  Inghirami  (I.  p.  716), 
though  admitting  it  to  be  an  Etruscan 
custom,  thinks  it  had  gone  out  of  prac- 
tice before  the  date  of  these  urns.  Yet 
we  know  it  had  not  entirely  fallen  into 
disuse  in  Greece  or  Rome  till  Imperial 
times. 

9  Gori,  I.  tab.  170.  Two  of  these 
reliefs,  illustrated  by  Inghirami  (I.  tav. 
96,  97),  may  perhaps  represent  a  human 
sacrifice.  In  one,  a  man  is  on  his  knees 
amid  some  warriors  ;  and  slaves  are 
bearing,  one  a  ladder,  another  a  jar 
on  his  shoulder,  and  a  large  mallet  in 
his  hand,  and  a  boy  plays  the  double 
pipes.  The  other  relief  has  the  same 
features,  but  the  victim  is  falling  to  the 
earth,    apparently   just    struck   by    the 


chap,  xli]  SACRIFICES.— SCHOOLS —BANQUETS.  191 

In  another  scene  the  victim  lies  dead  at  the  foot  of  the 
altar,  and  a  winged  genius  sits  in  a  tree  hard  by.  Micali 
takes  this  to  represent  the  oracle  of  Faunus,  Inghirami 
that  of  Tiresias.1 

Not  all  these  sacrificial  scenes  are  of  this  sanguinary 
character.  Offerings  of  various  descriptions  are  being 
brought  to  the  altar,  and  in  one  case  a  tall  amphora  stands 
upon  it. 

On  one  urn,  on  which  a  young  girl  reclines  in  effigy, 
is  a  school  scene,  with  half  a  dozen  figures  sitting  together 
holding  open  scrolls ;  seeming  to  intimate  that  the  deceased 
had  been  cut  off  in  the  bloom  of  life,  ere  her  education 
was  complete.2  In  this,  as  in  certain  other  cases,  there 
seems  a  relation  between  the  figure  on  the  lid  and  the 
bas-relief  below,  though  in  general  the  reliefs,  especially 
when  the  subject  is  from  the  Grecian  mythology,  bear  no 
apparent  reference  to  the  superincumbent  effigy.3 

Banqueting  scenes  are  numerous,  and  bear  a  close  re- 
semblance to  those  in  the  painted  tombs  of  Tarquinii  and 
Clusium.  There  are  generally  several  couches  with  a  pair 
of  figures  of  opposite  sexes  on  each — a  corroboration  from 

sword  of  one  of  the  group.     Gori(I.tab.  style  of  art  betrays  a  wide  difference 

146)    calls  this    scene   "the    death   of  of  excellence,  and   even   of   antiquity. 

Elpenor."    Another  relief,  which  repre-  Inghirami  cites  a  case  of  a  young  girl 

sents  a  youth  stabbing  himself  on  an  reclining  on  the  lid  of  an  urn,  which 

altar,    is    interpreted    by    Lanzi     and  bears  an  epitaph  for  a  person  of  more 

Inghirami  (I.  p.  673,  tav.    86)  as  the  than  70  ;  and  explains  such  anomalies 

self-sacrifice  of  Menoeceus,  son  of  Creon.  by  regarding  these  recumbent  figures, 

1  Micali,  Ital.  av.  Rom.  tav.  41  ;  not  as  portraits  of  individuals,  but  as 
Inghir.  I.  tav.  78,  p.  654.  idealities — the  men  as  heroes,  the  women 

2  Gori,  III.  cl.  2,  tab.  12.  as  souls  (I.  p.  399  ;  cf.  408,  tav.  U.  3,  2). 

3  The  relation  is  seen  also  in  some  But  in  the  case  cited,  it  is  more  likely 
of  the  car-scenes  presently  to  be  de-  that  the  lid  was  shifted  from  one  urn  to 
scribed  ;  but,  with  rare  exceptions,  there  the  other,  in  the  removal  from  the  se- 
seems  to  be  no  relation  beyond  that  of  pulchre.  The  frequent  incongruities, 
juxta-position,  between  the  urn  and  its  however,  render  it  very  probable  that 
lid.  Besides  the  incongruity  of  subject,  the  urns  were  kept  in  store,  and  fitted 
the  material  is  often  not  the  same.     The  with  lids  to  order. 


192  VOLTERRA— The  Museum.  [chap.  xu. 

another  source  of  the  high  social  civilisation  of  the  Etrus- 
cans4— and  there  are  children  of  various  ages  standing 
around,  sometimes  embracing  each  other ;  pictures  of 
domestic  felicity,  such  as  are  rarely  seen  on  the  monu- 
ments of  antiquity.  The  usual  musicians  are  present — 
subulones,  with  the  double  pipes ;  citharistce,  with  the  lyre  ; 
and  players  of  the  syrinx  or  Pandean  pipes — all,  as 
well  as  the  banqueters,  crowned  with  garlands  of  roses. 
Tables,  bearing  refreshments,  stand  by  the  side  of  the 
couches,  together  with  scamna  or  stools,  on  which  the 
musicians  stand,  or  by  which  the  attendants  ascend  to  fill 
the  goblets  of  the  banqueters,  elevated  as  they  are  by  lofty 
cushions.5  Just  such  tables  and  stools  are  often  repre- 
sented in  relief  against  the  bench  of  rock  on  which  the 
body  or  sarcophagus  was  laid  in  the  tomb — the  banqueting 
hall  of  the  dead.6 

The  most  interesting  scenes,  because  the  most  touching 
and  pathetic,  are  those  which  depict  the  last  moments  of 
the  deceased.  A  female  is  stretched  on  her  couch  ;  her 
father,  husband,  sisters  or  daughters  are  weeping  around 
her ;  her  little  ones  stand  at  her  bed-side,  unconscious 
how  soon  they  are  to  be  bereft  of  a  mother's  tenderness — 
a  moment  near  at  hand,  as  is  intimated  by  the  presence 
of  a  winged  genius  with  a  torch  on  the  point  of  expiring. 
Sometimes  the  dying  woman  is  delivering  to  her  friend 
her  tablets,  open  as  though  she  had  just  been  recording 
her  thoughts  upon  them.  This  death-bed  scene  is  a 
favourite  subject.     It  may  be  remarked  that  the  couches 

4  See  Vol.  I.  p.  286.  his   sons,    which    happened   at  a  ban- 

5  Inghirami,  I.  tav.  72,  73,  82  ;  VI.  quet.     Another,  he   thinks,  represents 
tav.  Y.  3  ;  Micali,  Ital.  av.  Rom.  tav.  Ulysses  in  disguise,  at  the  banquet  of 
37,  38  ;  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  107  ;  Gori,  Penelope's  suitors.     Inghir.  VI.  tav.  F. 
III.  cl.  4,  tab.  14.     Two  of  these  ban-  6  See  Vol.  I,  pp.   59,  272  ;  Vol.  II. 
quet-scenes  Inghirami  takes  to   repre-  p.  40. 

sent    CEdipus    pronouncing  a  curse   on 


chap,  xu.]  DEATH-BEDS.— LAST  FAREWELLS.  193 

are  sometimes  recessed  in  alcoves,  and  sometimes  canopied 
over  like  bed-steads,  though  in  a  more  classical  style. 
Behind  the  couch  is  often  a  column  surmounted  by  a 
pine-cone,  a  common  funereal  emblem.7  Most  of  such 
scenes,  however,  bear  but  a  metaphorical  reference  to  the 
dread  event.  It  has  been  already  mentioned  that  souls 
are  often  symbolised  by  figures  on  horseback.8  On  an 
urn,  on  the  lid  of  which  he  reclines  in  effigy,  a  youth  is 
represented  on  horseback  about  to  start  on  that  journey 
from  which  "  no  traveller  returns,"  when  his  little  sister 
rushes  in,  and  strives  to  stay  the  horse's  steps, — in  vain,  for 
the  relentless  messenger  of  Death  seizes  the  bridle  and 
hurries  him  away.  It  is  a  simple  tale,  touchingly  told  ;  its 
truthful  earnestness  and  expressive  beauty  are  lost  in  the 
bare  recital. 

"  An  unskilled  hand,  but  one  informed 
With  genius,  had  the  marble  warmed 
With  that  pathetic  life." 

There  are  many  such  family-separations,  all  of  deep 
interest.  The  most  common  is  the  parting  of  husband 
and  wife,  embracing  for  the  last  time.  That  such  is  the 
import  is  proved  by  the  fatal  horse,  in  waiting  to  convey 
him  or  her  to  another  world ;  and  a  Genius,  or  it  may  be 

7  Inghir.  I.  tav.  95  ;  Gori,  III.  cl.  4,  part  it  was  probably  no  further  symbo- 
tab.  13,  23.  Such  an  alcove  is  also  Heal,  than  as  significant  of  a  journey, 
shown  in  an  urn,  illustrated  by  Gori  Ann.  Inst.  1837,  2.  p.  259.  It  was 
(III.  cl.  3,  tab.  6),  where  a  man  seems  frequently  introduced  on  funeral  urns 
to  be  taking  farewell  of  his  wife,  who  by  the  Greeks  and  Romans ;  the  latter 
reclines  on  the  couch.  Another  some-  probably  borrowed  it  from  the  Etrus- 
what  similar  relief  is  interpreted  by  cans.  Sometimes  the  beast's  head  alone 
Inghirami  (I.  tav.  61,  p.  514),  as  is  represented,  looking  in  at  a  window 
Stheneboea,  the  wanton  wife  of  Proetus,  upon  a  funeral  feast,  as  in  a  celebrated 
despatching  Bellerophon  to  Lycia.  relief  in  the  Villa  Albani.     Inghir.  VI. 

8  The  horse  on  sepulchral  monuments  tav.  G.  3.  On  one  of  these  urns  the 
has  been  thought  to  show  the  equestrian  horse  is  represented  trampling  over 
rank  of  the  deceased,  or  to  denote  the  prostrate  bodies,  as  if  to  intimate  the 
elevation  of  the  soul  to  divine  dignity.  passage  through  the  regions  of  the  dead. 
Inghir.    I.  p.   179.      But  for  the  most  Inghir.  I.  p.  246,  tav.  27. 

VOL.  II.  0 


194  VOLTERRA.— The  Museum.  [chap.  xr.i. 


J 


grim  Charun  himself,  in  readiness  as  conductor,  and  a 
slave,  with  a  large  sack  on  his  shoulders,  to  accompany 
him — intimating  the  length  and  dreariness  of  the  journey — 
while  his  relations  and  little  ones  stand  around,  mourning 
his  departure.  Here  the  man  is  already  mounted,  driven 
away  by  Charun  with  his  hammer,  while  a  female  genius 
affectionately  throws  her  arm  round  the  neck  of  the 
disconsolate  widow,  and  tries  to  assuage  her  grief.9  Here 
again  the  man  has  mounted,  and  a  group  of  females  rush 
out  frantically  to  stop  him.  In  some  the  parting  takes 
place  at  a  column,  the  bourn  that  cannot  be  repassed;  the 
living  on  this  side,  the  dead  on  that ;  or  at  a  doorway, 
one  within,  the  other  without,  giving  the  last  squeeze  of 
the  hand  ere  the  door  closes  upon  one  for  ever.1 

There  are  many  versions  of  this  final  separation,  and 
the  horse,  or  some  other  feature  in  the  scene,  is  sometimes 
omitted  ;  but  the  subject  is  still  intelligibly  expressed.2 

Numerous  urns  represent  the  passage  of  the  soul  alone, 
without  any  parting-scene  ;3  and  in  these  old  Charun, 
grisly,  savage,  and  of  brutish  aspect,  with  his  hammer 
raised  to  strike,  and  often  with  a  sword  in  the  other  hand, 
generally  takes  part ;  now  leading  the  horse  by  the  bridle, 
or  clutching  it  by  the  mane  ;  more  often  driving  it  before 
him,    while    a   spirit   of  gentle   aspect,    and   with   torch 

9  Inghir.  I.  tav.  28.  tunie   of   these   souls   is  generally   the 

1  Iughir.  I.  tav.  38  ;  VI.  tav.  Q,  2,1.  3  ;  simple  toga,  often  muffling  the  face — 
Gori,  I.  tab.  84,  189.  not  as  travellers  are  conventionally  dis- 

2  Micali,  Ital.  av.  Rom.  tav.  39 ;  tinguished  on  Greek  painted  vases  by 
Gori,  I.  tab.  169  ;  III.  cl.  4,  tab.  20,  21.  fctasus,  staff,  sandals,  and  dishevelled 
Visconti  interprets  these  parting-scenes  hair.  See  Ann.  Inst.  1835,  p.  78.  In 
as  representing  in  general  the  parting  one  case,  however,  the  deceased  ap- 
of  Protesilaus  and  Laodamia  (ap.  Inghir.  pears  to  have  been  a  warrior,  for  he  is 
I.  p. 297).  Inglrirami  considers  them  from  attended  by  two  squires  on  foot,  with 
being  always  of  opposite  sexes,  to  sym-  his  shield  and  lances,  besides  two  slaves 
bolize  the  separation  of  the  soul  and  at  the  ends  of  the  scene.  Inghir.  I. 
body  (I.  p.  724).  tav.  18. 

3  It  may  be  observed  that  the  cos- 


chap,  xli.]  THE  PASSAGE  OF  SOULS.  195 

inverted,  takes  the  lead.4  The  slave  with  a  sack  on  his 
shoulder  generally  follows  this  funeral  procession,  and 
refers  either  to  the  length  of  the  journey  which  requires 
such  provision,  or  to  the  articles  of  domestic  use  with 
which  the  tomb  was  furnished,  as  he  often  carries  a  vase 
or  pitcher  in  his  hand.  In  some  cases  a  vase,  in  others  a 
Phrygian  cap,  lies  under  the  horse's  feet,  as  if  to  express 
that  the  delights  and  pursuits  of  this  world  were  for  ever 
abandoned,  and  cast  aside  as  worthless ;  and  on  one  urn 
a  serpent  occupies  the  same  place,  intimating  the  funeral 
character  of  the  scene.5 

As  the  good  and  bad  demons  on  these  urns  are  not  to 
be  distinguished  by  their  colour,  as  in  the  painted  tombs, 
they  are  to  be  recognised  either  by  their  attributes,  by 
their  features  and  expression,  or  by  the  offices  they  are 
performing.  The  good  are  handsome  and  gentle,  the 
evil  ill-favoured  and  truculent.  Charun,  in  particular,  has 
satyresque  features  and  brute's  ears,  and  in  one  case  a  horn 
on  his  forehead,  The  hammer  or  sword  are  his  usual 
attributes,  as  well  as  those  of  his  ministers  ;  some  of  whom 
bear  a  torch  instead,  the  general  emblem  of  Furies.6  But 
the  good  spirits,  in  many  cases,  also  hold  a  torch  ;  indeed, 
this  seems  merely  a  funereal  emblem,  to  distinguish  between 
the  living  and  the  dead.  As  the  flame  symbolises  the 
vital  spark,  the  demon,  in  these  farewell  scenes,  who  stands 

4  The  genius  is  not  always  iutro-  Ann.  Inst.  1837,  2,  p.  2G0.  This  would 
duced.  Inghirami  takes  it  to  repre-  be  more  likely  in  tav.  33,  34.  The 
sent,  sometimes  a  Fury,  sometimes  one  demons  are  not  always  in  the  same 
of  the  Virtues  !  (I.  pp.  80,  139).  scene  with  the  other  figures;  as  where 

5  For  illustrations  of  these  urns,  see  a  muffled  soul  on  horseback  occupies 
Inghir.  Mon.  Etrus.  I.  tav.  7,  8,  14,  15,  the  front  of  the  urn,  Charun  one  of  its 
17,  18,  22,  23,  27,  28,  29,  32,  37;  ends,  and  a  genius,  with  torch  inverted, 
Micali,  Ital.  av.  Rom.  tav.  26  ;  Gori,  the  other.  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav. 
I.  tab.   84  ;  III.   cl.   3,  tab.   11  ;  cl.  4,  104,2,  3. 

tab.  24.     In  one  of  these  reliefs  (Ingh.  °  For     the     characteristics    of     the 

I.  tav.  28),  Dr.  Braun  recognises  the  Etruscan  Charun,  see  the  Appendix  to 
re-meeting  of  souls  in  the  other  world.        this  Chapter. 

0  2 


196  VOLTERRA.— The  Museum.  [chap.  xt.i. 

on  the  side  of  the  living  holds  his  torch  erect ;  he  on  the 
side  of  the  dead  has  it  inverted.  The  spirit,  therefore, 
who  leads  the  fatal  horse,  has  it  always  turned  down- 
wards.7 When  two  demons  with  torches,  thus  differently 
arranged,  are  in  the  same  scene,  they  seem  to  indicate  the 
very  moment  of  the  soul's  departure — now  here,  now 
there — 

"  Like  snow  that  falls  upon  the  river — 
A  moment  white — then  melts  for  ever  ! " 

It  may  be  observed,  that  the  good  spirits  are  almost 
always  females,  or  Junones,  an  Etruscan  compliment  to 
man's  ministering  angel ;  but  the  fearful  attendants  of 
Charun  are,  in  most  cases,  males. 

There  are  funeral  processions  of  a  different  character. 
A  covered  car  or  waggon,  open  in  front,  and  drawn  by 
two  horses  or  mules — what  the  Romans  called  a  carpentum, 
and  the  modern  Spaniards  would  term  a  galera — is  accom- 
panied by  figures  on  foot.  In  one  instance  it  is  preceded 
by  a  litter,  out  of  which  a  female  is  looking  ;  and  in  several 
it  is  encountered  by  a  man  on  horseback.  In  this  car  is 
seen  reclining,  now  a  mother  with  her  child,  now  an 
elderly  couple,  but  generally  a  single  figure,  the  counter- 
part in  miniature  of  the  recumbent  effigy  on  the  lid  of  the 
urn.  I  would  interpret  it  as  representing  the  transport 
of  the  actual  ash-chest  or  sarcophagus  to  the  sepulchre, 
which  seems  confirmed  by  the  drowsy  air  and  drooping 
heads  of  the  horses.  Nor  is  this  view  opposed  by  the 
figures  with  musical  instruments,  nor  by  an  armed  man, 
who  in  one  case  follows  the  car.8     On  one  urn  the  funeral 


7  This  might  be  supposed  to  mark  an  time,  but   not   a  malignant  spirit  who 
evil    demon,   but    I    think  it  has  more  revels  in  destruction,  like  the  hammer- 
probably  reference  to  the  surrounding  bearing  Charun,  who  also  attends  the 
figures  than  to  the  genius  himself.     He  soul, 
is    here    a    minister    of    Death,    it    is  s  In  general  it   is   essentially   distin- 


chap,  xli.]  FUNERAL  PROCESSIONS.  197 

procession  is  manifestly  represented,  for  the  deceased  is 
stretched  on  a  bier,  carried  on  men's  shoulders.  These 
car-scenes,  as  far  as  I  can  learn,  are  peculiar  to  Volterra ; 
for  I  have  seen  them  on  no  other  site.9 

Though  cinerary  urns  are  so  numerous  in  this  collection, 
there  are  but  two  sarcophagi,  properly  so  called ;  both 
found  in  the  tomb  of  the  Flavian  family  in  1760.1  The 
recumbent  figures  on  the  lids  are  of  opposite  sexes.  On 
the  sarcophagus  of  the  male  is  a  procession  of  several 
figures,  each  with  a  pair  of  wands,  not  twisted  like  those 
in  the  Grotta  Tifone  at  Corneto,  or  on  the  sculptured  tomb 
of  Norchia  ;  except  one  who  bears  a  short  thick  staff,  which 
may  be  intended  for  a  lictor's  fastis.  They  precede  a 
figure  in  a  toga,  which  seems  to  represent  a  soul ;  unless 
there  be  some  analogy  to  the  procession  of  magistrates 
already  described,  and  they  represent  the  infernal  judge 
on  his  way  to  sit  in  sentence.2     For  the  soul  is  figured  at 

guished  from  the  horse-scenes  by  the  and  drawn  by  two  mules  ;  mourners  on 
absence  of  Charun  and  his  ministers,  or  foot  are  accompanying  it,  all  with  their 
of  attendant  genii,  and  of  figures  taking  hands  to  their  heads  in  token  of  grief  ; 
farewell.  There  is  nothing  to  hint  that  together  with  a  suhulo  with  double- 
it  is  more  than  a  representation  of  pipes,  followed  by  a  number  of  warriors 
actual  life.  In  one  instance  only  does  lowering  their  lances.  Micali,  Ant. 
it  seem  to  refer  to  the  passage  of  the  Pop.  Ital.  III.  p.  150,  ta v.  96,  1. 
soul,  and  there  the  car  is  preceded  by  1  The  tomb  contained  moreover  forty 
a  demon  with  two  small  shields,  and  urns  all  with  inscriptions.  These  are 
followed  by  another  with  a  torch.  The  the  only  genuine  Etruscan  sarcophagi 
car  may  not  in  every  instance  be  the  Inghirami  ever  saw  from  the  tombs  of 
hearse  ;  in  some,  where  several  figures  Volterra  ;  so  universal  was  the  custom 
are  reclining  within  it,  it  may  answer  of  burning.  Mon.  Etrus.  I.  pp,  9,  34. 
to  the  mourning  coach,  conveying  the  2  Inghirami  (I.  p.  31,  tav.  3)  takes 
relatives  of  the  deceased,  for  we  know  this  for  a  funeral  procession  preceding 
that  the  Romans  used  caiyenta  in  funeral  the  corpse.  He  represents  the  three 
processions.  Sueton.  Calig.  1 5.  figures  in  the  middle  as  holding  swords 
9  For  illustrations  see  Micali,  Ital.  in  their  right  hands,  and  sticks  in  their 
av.  Rom.  tav.  27,  28.  Gori,  I.  tab.  1 69 ;  left,  and  he  thinks  them  gladiators  who 
III.  cl.  4,  tab.  22.  On  a  vase  from  were  to  fight  at  the  tomb  or  pyre,  first 
Vulci,  in  the  Archaic  style,  a  scene  with  sticks,  then  with  more  deadly 
very  similar  is  depicted.  The  corpse  weapons, 
is  stretched  on  a  bier,  placed  on  wheels 


L98  VOLTERRA.— The  Museum,  [chap.  xli. 

one  end  of  the  sarcophagus,  under  the  conduct  of  an  evil 
genius  with  a  hammer,  yet  not  Charun,  since  he  has  not 
brute's  ears,  nor  is  he  of  truculent  or  hideous  aspect,  like 
the  genuine  Charun,  who  is  to  be  seen  with  all  his 
unmistakeable  attributes  at  the  opposite  end  of  the 
monument.3 

The  other  sarcophagus,  on  which  reclines  a  female,  has 
reliefs  of  unusual  beauty,  whose  Greek  character  marks  them 
as  of  no  very  early  date.  There  are  two  distinct  groups  ; 
in  one,  a  mother  with  her  little  ones  around  her,  is  taking 
an  embrace  of  her  husband — in  the  other,  she  is  seated 
mournfully  on  a  stool,  fondling  her  child,  which  leans  upon 
her  lap.  The  one  scene  portrays  her  in  the  height  of 
domestic  felicity ;  the  other  in  the  lonely  condition  of  a 
widow,  yet  with  some  consolation  left  in  the  pledges  of  her 
love.  Or  if  the  first  represent  the  farewell  embrace,  though 
there  is  no  concomitant  to  determine  it  as  such,  in  the 
second  is  clearly  set  forth  the  greatness  of  her  loss,  and 
the  bitterness  of  her  bereavement. 

It  is  such  scenes  as  these,  and  others  before  described, 
which  give  so  great  a  charm  to  this  collection.  The 
Etruscans  seem  to  have  excelled  in  the  palpable  expression 
of  natural  feelings.  How  unmeaning  the  hieroglyphics  on 
Egyptian  sarcophagi,  save  to  the  initiated  !  How  deficient 
the  sepulchral  monuments  of  Greece  and  Home  in  such 
universal  appeals  to  the  sympathies  !  — even  their  epitaphs, 
from  the  constant  recurrence  of  the  same  conventional  terms, 
may  often  be  suspected  of  insincerity.4  But  the  touches 
of  nature  on  these  Etruscan  urns,  so  simply  but  eloquently 
expressed,  must  appeal  to  the  sympathies  of  all — they  are 

3  Inghirami  (I.  tav.  32)  gives  one  of  tiones,  propter  quas  vadimoninin  deseri 

these  end  scenes.  possit.      At   quum  iutraveris,  dii  deee- 

■»  Hear    a    Roman's    description   of  que  !  quani  nihil  in  medio  invenics  !" 

Greek  inscriptions.     "  Inscriptionisapud  Plin.  N.  II.  prsefat. 
Graecos  mira  fclieitas :     .      .     inscrip- 


chap,  xli.]  URNS  OF  THE  C^CINA  FAMILY.  199 

chords  to  which  every  heart  must  respond ;  and  I  envy 
not  the  man  who  can  walk  through  this  Museum  unmoved, 
without  feeling  a  tear  rise  to  his  eye, 

"  And  recognising  ever  and  anon 
The  breeze  of  Nature  stirring  in  his  soul." 

The  interest  of  the  urns  of  Volterra  lies  rather  in  their 
reliefs  than  in  their  inscriptions.  Some,  however,  have 
this  additional  interest.  It  has  already  been  said  that  this 
Museum  contains  the  urns  found  in  the  tomb  of  the 
Caecinae,  that  ancient  and  noble  family  of  Volterra,  which 
either  gave  its  name  to,  or  received  it  from,  the  river  which 
washes  the  southern  base  of  the  hill ; 5  a  family  to  which 
belonged  two  "most  noble  men"  of  the  name  of  Aulus 
Caecina,  the  friends  of  Cicero ;  the  elder  defended  by  his 
eloquence ;  the  younger  honoured  by  his  correspondence. 
The  latter  it  was  who  wrote  a  libel  on  Julius  Caesar,  and 
was  generously  pardoned  by  him ;  and  who  availed 
himself  of  his  hereditary  right,  as  an  Etruscan  patrician, 
to  dabble  in  the  science  of  thunderbolts.  The  name  is 
found  more  than  once  on  these  urns,  and  is  thus  written 
in  Etruscan — 

or  "  Aule  Ceicna."  But  it  occurs  also  in  its  Latin  form  on 
others  of  these  monuments — on  a  beautiful  altar-like  cipptcs, 
and  on  a  cinerary  urn.6  Others  of  the  CaccinaG  distinguished 
themselves  under  the  Empire  in  the  field,  in  the  senate,  or 

5  Miiller  (Etrusk.  I.  p.  416)  thinks  it  on   the    banks    of   the   river   (Rutil.   I. 

more  probable  that  the  family  gave  its  466)  ;  and  Miiller  (I.  p.  406)  remarks, 

name  to  the  river,  than  the  river  to  the  but  on   what  authority  is  not  obvious, 

family.       An    Englishman's   experience  that  this  estate  seems  to  have  been  in 

would  lead  him  rather  to  the  opposite  the    possession    of    the    family    for    a 

conclusion.     One  of  this  family,  Decins  thousand  years. 

Albinus    Csecina,   at   the    beginning    of  G  The  cipjms  has  already  been  mcn- 

thc  fifth  century  after  Christ,  had  a  villa  tioncd  at  page  159.     The  urn  hears  this 


200  VOLTERRA.— The  Museum.  [chap.  xli. 

in  letters.7  This  family  has  continued  to  exist  from  the 
days  of  the  Etruscans,  almost  clown  to  our  own  times ; 
though  it  now  appears  to  be  extinct.  I  learned  the  general 
opinion  at  Volterra  to  be,  that  the  last  of  his  race  was  a 
bishop,  who  died  in  1765.  His  epitaph  in  the  Cathedral 
calls  him,  "  Phil.  Nic.  Coecina.  Patric.  Volat.  Zenopolit. 
Epiis,  &c."  Fantozzi,  the  custode  of  the  Museum,  however, 
assures  me  that  he  remembers  a  priest  of  this  name  some 
twenty  years  since  ;  and  as  he  is  a  barber,  he  should, 
ex  officio,  be  well  informed  on  such  points.  In  Dempster's 
time,  more  than  two  centuries  since,  the  family  was 
flourishing — "hodie  nobilitate  sad  viget" — and  two  of  its 
members,  very  studious  men,  and  "  ad  bonas  artes  nati," 
were  his  intimate  friends.  One  of  them  rejoiced  in  the 
ancient  name  of  Aulus  Cecina.8 

Another  Etruscan  family  of  Volterra,   of  which  there 
are  several  urns,  is  the 

or  "Cracna  ;"  the  Gracchus,  or  it  may  be,  the  Gracchanus, 
of  the  Romans. 

The  Flavian  has  been  already  mentioned,  as  one  of  the 

inscription —  gives  a  detailed  account  of  the  various 

a  •  caecina  •  selcia  •  annos  xu.  individuals    of    this    illustrious    family, 

The  figure  on  this  urn  is  that  of  a  youth.  who  are  mentioned  by  ancient  writers  ; 

The  relief  displays  one  of  the  car-scenes  but  still  better  notices  will  be  found  in 

— a    proof,   among   many    others,   that  Dr.    Smith's  Dictionary  of   Greek  and 

after  the  Roman  conquest  the  Etruscans  Roman  Biography.    Cf.  Midler,  Etrusk. 

adhered  to  their  funeral  customs.     On  I.  pp.  416 — 8. 

another  urn  the  same  name — av-ceicna-  s  Dempster,  I.  p.  233.  An  A.  Cecum 
selcia— occurs  in  Etruscan  characters.  wrote  the  history  of  his  native  city- 
One  of  the  modern  gates  of  Volterra  is  "  Notizie  Istoriehe  di  Volterra  "— per- 
called  "Porta  a  Selci."  Can  it  have  haps  it  was  Dempster's  friend.  Inghir- 
derived  its  name  from  the  ancient  family  ami  (I.  p.  7)  mentions  a  Lorenzo  Aulo 
of  Selcia,  rather  than  from  the  blocks  of  Cecina,  a  proprietor  at  Volterra,  who 
its  masonry,  or  of  the  pavement  %  made  excavations  in  1740. 
"•  Dempster   (Etrur.  Reg.  I.   p.  23 1) 


chap,  xli.]      ANTIQUITY  OF  THE  URNS  OF  VOLTERRA. 


201 


Etruscan  families  of  Volterra.  In  its  native  form,  as 
found  on  these  urns,  it  was  written  "  Vlave."9 

The  inscriptions  on  these  urns  are  generally  cut  into 
the  stone,  and  filled  with  black  or  red  paint,  more  fre- 
quently the  latter,  to  make  them  more  legible  ;  so  that 
they  are  often  preserved  with  remarkable  freshness.10 

These  cinerary  urns  of  Volterra  cannot  lay  claim  to  a 
very  remote  antiquity.  They  are  unquestionably  more 
recent  than  many  of  those  of  other  Etruscan  sites.  This 
may  be  learned  from  the  style  of  art — the  best,  indeed 
the  only  safe  criterion — which  is  never  of  that  archaic 
character  found  on  certain  reliefs  on  the  altars  or  cippi  of 
Chiusi  and  Perugia.  The  freedom  and  mastery  of  design, 
and  the  skill  in  composition,  at  times  evinced,  bespeak  the 
period  of  Roman  domination ;  while  the  defects  display 
not  so  much  the  rudeness  of  early  art,  as  the  carelessness 
of  the  time  of  decadence.1 


9  Among  the  Etruscan  inscriptions  in 
this  museum,  I  observed  the  names  of 
"  UaiNATi,"  which  occurs  also  at  Bo- 
marzo,  Castel  d'  Asso,  Chiusi,  and 
Perugia  (see  Vol.  I.  pp.  222,  242); 
"  Setkes,"  found  also  at  Chiusi  ;  "  Tla- 
puni,"  written  "  Tlabo.m,"  iu  some  of 
the  Latin  inscriptions  ;  Cneunae,  Lau- 
cina,  Saijcni,  Pheljiuia,  Ranazuia, 
and  others,  which  I  have  seen  on  no 
other  Etruscan  site. 

10  Inghirami,  who  will  admit  nothing 
about  these  monuments  to  be  merely 
decorative,  but  puts  a  symbolical  inter- 
pretation on  every  feature,  considers  this 
red  paint  to  represent  the  blood  which 
was  offered  to  the  manes  of  the  deceased 
(I.  p.  129).  Pliny  (XXXIII.  40),  how- 
ever, tells  us  that  minium  was  used 
in  this  way  in  sepulchral  and  other  in- 
scriptions, to  make  the  letters  more 
distinct. 

1  Inghirami,  whose  mterion  seems  to 


be  chiefly  the  presence  or  absence  of 
the  beard,  assigns  a  very  late  date  to 
these  urns  of  Volterra.  In  truth  he 
regards  them  rather  as  Roman  than 
Etruscan  ;  and  as  he  considers  certain 
bas-reliefs,  even  when  of  very  archaic 
character,  to  be  subsequent  to  the  year 
454  of  Rome,  because  the  males  are 
represented  beardless  ;  so  these,  he 
infers  by  comparison,  must  be  of  a  very 
late  date — the  best,  of  the  days  of  the 
first  Emperors  ;  the  worst,  of  the  time 
of  Alexander  Severus  and  downwards. 
Mon.  Etrus.  I.  pp.  252,  G89,  709.  The 
fallacy  of  this  test  of  the  beard  hi 
determining  the  age  of  monuments  has 
already  been  shown.  Vol.  I.  p.  344  ; 
Vol.  II.  p.  114.  Inghirami  also  thinks 
those  urns  the  oldest,  which  have  reliefs 
at  the  ends,  because  they  must  have 
been  made  when  the  tombs  were  not 
crowded,  and  the  urns  could  be  placed 
far  enough  apart  for  the  decorations  to 


202  VOLTERRA.— The  Museum.  [chap.  xli. 

There  are  other  sepulchral  monuments  of  a  different 
character  in  this  Museum — steles,  or  slabs,  with  Etruscan 
inscriptions,  and  cippi  of  club-like,  or  else  phallic,  form. 

Of  terra-cotta  are  the  figures  of  an  old  man  and  woman 
reclining  together  as  at  a  banquet,  and  probably  forming 
the  lid  of  an  urn.  They  are  full  of  expression.  Monu- 
ments in  this  material  are  rarely  found  at  Volterra  ;  yet 
there  are  a  few  urns  of  very  small  size,  with  the  often 
repeated  subjects  of  the  Theban  brothers,  and  Cadmus  or 
Jason  destroying  the  teeth-sprung  warriors  with  the  plough. 
The  figures  on  the  lids  are  generally  wrapt  in  togas,  and 
recline,  not  as  at  a  banquet,  but  as  in  slumber. 

One  of  the  most  singular  monuments  in  the  Museum  is 
a  bas-relief  of  a  bearded  warrior,  the  size  of  life,  on  a  large 
slab  of  yellow  sandstone,  which,  from  the  Etruscan  inscrip- 
tion annexed,  would  seem  to  be  a  stele,  or  flat  tombstone.2 
He  holds  a  lance  in  one  hand,  and  his  sword,  which  hangs 
at  his  side,  with  the  other.  The  peculiar  quaintness  of 
this  figure,  approximating  to  the  Egyptian,  or  rather  to  the 
Persepolitan  or  Babylonian  in  style,  yet  with  strictly 
Etruscan  features,  causes  it  justly  to  be  regarded  as  of 
high  antiquity.  It  is  very  similar  to  the  warrior  in  relief 
found  near  Fiesole,  and  now  in  the  Palazzo  Bonarroti  at 
Florence,  though  of  a  character  less  decidedly  archaic.3 

The  capital  of  a  column,  somewhat  like  Corinthian,  but 
with  heads  among  the  foliage,  as  in  that  of  Toscanella,  is 
worthy  of  particular  attention. 

There  is  a  headless  statue  of  a  female  with  a  child  in 
her  arms,  of  marble,  with  an  Etruscan  inscription  on  her 
right  sleeve.     It  was   found   in  the   amphitheatre.     The 

be  seen.     I.  pp.  82,  247.     But  this,  as  a  represent  the  guardian  Lap. 

test  of  antiquity,  is  not  to  be  relied  on.  8  It  is  illustrated  by  Gori,  III.  cl.  4, 

2  Inghirami  (IV.  p.  84)  suggests  that  tav.    18,   2  ;    Inghirami,    VI.    tav.    A  ; 

it  may  have  formed  the  door,  or  closing  Micali,  Ital.  av.  Rom.  tav.    14,  2  ;  Ant. 

slab,  of  a  tomb,  and  the  warrior  may  Top.  Ital.  tav.  51,  2. 


chap,  xn.]       THE  ETRUSCAN  POTTERY  OF  VOLTERRA.  203 

child  is  swaddled  in  the  same  unnatural  manner  which  is 
still  practised  by  Italian  mothers.4 

There  is  not  much  pottery  in  this  Museum  ;  enough  to 
show  the  characteristic  features  of  Volterran  ware,  but 
nothing  of  extraordinary  interest.  The  painted  vases  of 
this  site  are  very  inferior  to  those  of  Vulci,  Tarquinii,  or 
Chiusi.  The  clay  is  coarse,  the  varnish  neither  lustrous 
nor  durable,  the  design  of  peculiar  rudeness  and  rusticity. 
Staring  silhouette  heads,  or  a  few  large  figures  carelessly 
sketched,  take  the  place  of  the  exquisitely  designed  and 
delicately  finished  groups  on  the  best  vases  of  Vulci.  Of 
the  early  styles  of  Etruscan  pottery — the  Egyptian  and 
the  Archaic  Greek — with  black  figures  on  the  yellow 
ground  of  the  clay,  Volterra  yields  no  examples.  Yellow 
figures  on  a  black  ground  betray  a  more  recent  date,  and 
the  best  specimens  seem  but  unskilful  copies  of  Etruscan 
or  Greek  vases  of  the  latest  style.  Everything  marks  the 
decadence  of  the  ceramographic  art.5 

Yet  there  is  an  ancient  ware  of  great  beauty,  almost 
peculiar  to  Volterra.  It  is  of  black  clay,  sometimes  plain, 
sometimes  with  figures  in  relief ;  but  in  simple  elegance  of 

*  Dempster,  tab.    42  ;  Gori,   III.   p.  Pyrgi.    Gottheiten  der  Etrusker,  pp.  39, 

60,  cl.  I.  tab.  9  ;   Gerhard,  Gottheit.  d.  60.    The  marble  of  which  this  statue  is 

Etrusk.  taf.  III.  1.     Some  have  thought  formed  is  not  that  of  Carrara,  but  a 

this  statue  represented  Nortia,  or  the  grey  description,  such  as  is  said  to  be 

Fortune  of  the  Etruscans — because  the  quarried  in  the  Tuscan  Maremma.     In 

Fortune  of  Praeneste   is   described   by  Alberti's  time  this  statue  was  lying  in 

Cicero  (de  Divin.  II.  41)  as  nursing  the  one  of  the  streets  of  Volterra,  together 

infant  Jove.     Pausanias  (IX.  16)  says  with  a  statue  of  Mars,  "  very  cunningly 

this    goddess    at    Thebes     was    repre-  wrought,  and  sundry  urns  of  alabaster, 

sented  bearing  the  infant  Plutus  in  her  storied  with  great  art,  on   which   are 

arms.     Buonarroti,  p.  20,  ap.  Dempst.  certain  characters,  understood  by  none, 

II.  ;  Gori,  loc.  cit.     Lanzi  (II.  p.  546)  albeit  many  call  them  Etruscan." 

thought  this  statue  might  be  Diana,  or  '  Micali    (Mon.    Ined.   p.   216)   says 

Ceres,  or  Juno  with  the  infant  Hercules,  that  most  beautiful  Greek   vases  have 

but  that  it  could  not  be  easily  referred  been    occasionally  found    on    this   site, 

to  any  one  goddess  in  particular.     So  They     were     probably     importations, 

also  Passeri,  Paralip.  in  Dempst.  p.  77.  Vases  like  those  of  Volterra  have  been 

Gerhard,  however,  thinks  it  represents  discovered    at    Tarquinii.      Inghir.    VI. 

Ilithyia  or  Juno-Lucina,  the  goddess  of  tav.  O  3. 


204 


VOLTERRA.— The  .Museum. 


[chap.  xli. 


form,  and  brilliancy  of  varnish,  it  is 
not  surpassed  by  the  ancient  pottery 
of  any  other  site  in  Etruria. 

There  is  a  fair  collection  of 
figured  specula,  or  mirrors,  in  this 
Museum — some  in  a  good  style  of 
art.  The  most  common  subject  is 
a  winged  Lasa,  or  Fate.  The  other 
bronzes  are  not  extraordinarily 
numerous  or  valuable  ;  and  consist 
of  candelabra,  strigils,  small  figures 
of  Lares  or  other  divinities,  ex-votos, 
and  the  usual  furniture  of  Etruscan 
tombs. 

There  are  numerous  Etruscan 
coins — many  belonging  to  the 
ancient  Volaterrae,  and  found  in  the 
neighbourhood.  They  are  all  of 
copper,  cast,  not  struck — some  are 
dupondii,  or  double  asses,  full  three 
inches  in  diameter,  with  a  beardless 
Janus-head,  capt  by  a  petasus,  on 
the  obverse,  and  a  dolphin,  with 
the  word  Velathri — 


MOfl^ 


ETRUSCAN    CANDELABRUM. 


in   large   letters   around,    on    the 

reverse.     The  smaller  coins,  from 

the  as  down  to  the  uncia,  differ 

from  these  in  having  a  club,  or  a  crescent,  in  place  of  the 

dolphin.     The  Janus-head  is  still  the  arms  of  Yolterra. 

The  dolphin  marks  the  maritime  power  of  the  city.6 


6  Volterra  presents  a  more  complete 
series  of  coins  than  any  other  Etruscan 


city.     But  they  are  all  of  copper  ;  none 
of  gold  or  silver.      The  as  has  some- 


CHAP.    XLI.] 


BRONZES.— COINS.— JEWELLERY. 


205 


Among  the  minor  curiosities  are  spoons,  pins,  and  dice 
of  bone  ;  astragali,  or  huckle-bones,  which  furnished  the 
same  diversion  to  the  Greeks,  Etruscans,  and  Romans,  as 
to  school-boys  in  our  own  day  ;  and  various  articles  in 
variegated  glass. 

There  is  also  a  collection  of  Etruscan  jewellery — chains, 
JibulcB,  rings  for  the  fingers  and  ears,  all  wrought  in  gold  ; 
but  these  articles  are  not  found  in  such  abundance  at  Vol- 
terra,  as  on  some  other  Etruscan  sites.  The  most  curious 
and  beautiful  jewellery  this  necropolis  has  yielded  is  pre- 
served in  the  Ufnzj  Gallery  at  Florence. 

In  the  Casa  Cinci  there  was  a  valuable  collection  of 
urns  and  other  Etruscan  relics,  but  since  Signor  Giusto's 
death  the  greater  part  of  them  has  been  sold.  In  the 
Casa  Giorgi,  there  was  also  a  collection  of  urns.7 


times  the  prow  of  a  ship  on  the  reverse, 
as  in  that  of  early  Rome  ;  and  some- 
times a  single  head,  instead  of  the 
Janus,  on  the  obverse.  This  Janus- 
head  was  put  on  coins,  says  Athenteus 
(XV.  c.  13,  p.  G92),  because  Janus  was 
the  first  to  coin  money  in  bronze  ;  on 
which  account  many  cities  of  Greece, 
Italy,  and  Sicily  assumed  his  head  as 
their  device.  Cf.  Macrob.  Saturn.  I.  7. 
But  Servius  (ad  Virg.  Mn.  XII.  198) 
gives  a  much  more  reasonable  expla- 
nation— that  it  symbolised  the  union 
of  two  people  under  one  government, 
and  this  interpretation  is  received  by 
modern  writers.  Lanzi,  Sagg.  II.  p. 
98.  Melchiorri,  Bull.  Inst.  1839,  p. 
113.  The  dolphin  is  understood  to 
mark  a  city  with  a  port — in  any  case 
it  is  an  Etruscan  symbol — Tyrrhcnus 
piscis.  These  coins  with  the  legend 
of  "  Velathri "  were  at  first  ascribed  to 
Velitrae  of  the  Volsci,  but  their  refer- 


ence to  Volaterrse  is  now  unquestioned. 
Ut  supra,  page  144. 

These  coins  of  Velathri  are  illustrated 
by  Lanzi,  II.  tav.  7  ;  Dempster,  I.  tab. 
56 — 9  ;  Guarnacci,  Origini  Italiche,  II. 
tav.  20 — 22  ;  Inghirami,III.tav.  I,and4; 
Marchi  and  Tessieri,  JEs  grave,  cl.  III. 
tav.  1.  See  also  Mailer,  Etrusk.  I.  p. 
332  ;  Lepsius,  Ann.  Inst.  1841,  p.  105  ; 
Bull.  Inst.  1838,  p.  189  ;  Mionnet, 
Suppl.  I.  pp.  205—7. 

7  One  of  these  represented  Poly- 
phemus issuing  from  his  cave,  and 
hurling  rocks  at  Ulysses  in  his  ship. 
A  Juno  interposes,  with  drawn  sword. 
In  this  Etruscan  version  of  the  myth, 
the  Cyclops  has  two  eyes  !  Micali,  Ital. 
av.  Rom.  tav.  45.  Another  urn  showed 
carpenters  and  sawyers  at  their  avoca- 
tions ;  this  is  interpreted  by  Micali 
(op.  cit.  tav.  49),  as  the  building  of  the 
ship  Argo.  I  have  seen  a  similar  urn 
in  the  museum  of  Leyden. 


20G 


APPENDIX  TO   CHAPTER  XLI. 


Note. — Tiie  Citarun  of  tiie  Etruscans. 

The  Charun  of  the  Etruscans  was  by  no  means  identical  with  the 
Charon  of  the  Greeks.  Dr.  Ambrosch,  in  his  work,  "  De  Charonte 
Etrusco,"  endeavours  to  show  that  there  was  no  analogy  between  them  ; 
though  referring  the  origin  of  the  Etruscan,  as  of  the  Greek,  to  Egypt 
(Diod.  Sic.  I.  c.  92,  p.  82,  ed.  Rhod.),  whence  Charon  was  introduced  into 
Greece,  together  with  the  Orphic  doctrines,  between  the  30th  and  40th 
Olympiad  (660 — 620  b.  c.)  ;  and  though  he  thinks  the  Etruscan  Charun 
owes  his  origin  immediately  to  the  scenic  travesties  of  the  Greek 
dramatic  poets.  Dr.  Braun  (Ann.  Inst.  1837,  2.  p.  269),  however, 
who  rejects  this  Orphic  origin  of  the  Etruscan  Charun,  and  thinks  him 
Cabiric,  maintains  the  analogy  between  him  and  the  aged  ferryman  of 
Hellenic  mythology.  But  in  the  Etruscan  system  he  is  not  merely 
"the  pilot  of  the  livid  lake;"  his  office  is  also  to  destroy  life;  to 
conduct  shades  to  the  other  world  ;  and,  moreover,  to  torment  the  souls 
of  the  guilty. 

Like  the  ferryman  of  the  Styx,  the  Etruscan  Charun  is  generally 
represented  as  a  squalid  and  hideous  old  man,  with  flaming  eyes,  and 
savage  aspect ;  but  he  has,  moreover,  the  ears,  and  often  the  tusks,  of  a 
brute,  and  has  sometimes  negro  features  and  complexion,  and  frequently 
wings — in  short,  he  answers  well,  cloven  feet  excepted,  to  the  modern 
conception  of  the  devil.  See  the  frontispiece  to  this  volume.  He  is 
principally,  however,  distinguished  by  his  attributes,  chief  of  which  is 
the  hammer  or  mallet ;  but  he  has  sometimes  a  sword  in  addition,  or  in 
place  of  it  ;  or  else  a  rudder,  or  oar,  which  indicates  his  analogy  to  the 
Charon  of  the  Greeks  ;  or  a  forked  stick,  perhaps  equivalent  to  the 
caduceus  of  Mercury,  to  whom  as  an  infernal  deity  he  also  corresponds  ; 
or,  it  may  be,  a  torch,  or  snakes,  the  usual  attributes  of  a  Fury. 

He  is  most  frequently  introduced  as  intervening  in  cases  of  violent 
death,  and  in  such  instances  we  find  his  name  recorded  ;  as  in  the  relief 


chap,  xr.i.]  THE  ETRUSCAN  CHARUN.  207 

with  the  death  of  Clytemnestra,  described  at  page  179,  and  as  on  a 
purely  Etruscan  vase  from  Vulci,  in  which  Ajax  is  depicted  immolating 
a  Trojan  captive,  while  "  Charun"  stands  by,  grinning  with  savage 
delight.     Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  II.  tav.  9. 

He  is  also  often  represented  as  the  messenger  of  Death,  leading  or 
driving  the  horse  on  which  the  soul  is  mounted  (ut  supra,  pp.  194 — 6) ;  or, 
as  on  a  vase  at  Rome,  and  another  from  Bomarzo,  now  at  Berlin, 
accompanying  the  car  in  which  the  soul  is  seated  (Ann.  Inst.  1837,  2. 
p.  261;  cf.  vol.  I.  p.  320);  or  attending  the  procession  of  souls  on  foot 
into  the  other  world,  as  shown  in  the  Grotta  de'  Pompej,  of  Corneto 
(Vol.  I.  pp.  310  etseq.  cf.  Ann.  Inst.  1834,  p.  275)  ;  though  this  scene 
both  Braun  and  Ambrosch  regard  as  not  so  much  a  real  representation  of 
the  infernal  minister  and  his  charge,  as  a  sort  of  theatrical  masquerade, 
such  as  were  used  in  Bacchic  festivals. 

Charun,  in  the  Etruscan  mythology,  is  also  the  tormentor  of  guilty 
souls  ;  and  his  hammer  or  sword  is  the  instrument  of  torture.  Such 
scenes  are  represented  in  the  Grotta  Cardinale  at  Corneto  (Vol.  I.  p.  320; 
cf.  Byers'  Hypogsei  of  Tarquinia,  Pt.  II.  pi.  6,  7,  Pt.  III.  pi.  5,  6  ; 
Inghir.  Mon.  Etrus.  IV.  tav.  27.);  and  in  the  Grotta  Tartaglia  at  the 
same  place  (Vol.  I.  p.  348  ;  Dempst.  II.  tab.  88  ;  Inghir.  IV.  tav.  24), 
as  well  as  on  a  Nolan  vase  in  the  Museo  Mastrilli,  and  on  another  in  the 
Musee  Pourtales-Gorgier  ;  in  all  which  instances  the  victim  is  supplicating 
for  mercy  (Ann.  Inst.  1837,  2.  p.  268). 

In  many  of  these  scenes  it  is  difficult  to  distinguish  between  Charun 
and  other  infernal  demons,  his  attendants,  with  hammers  or  other 
analogous  attributes.  For  two  or  more  are  sometimes  introduced  in 
the  same  scene,  as  in  that  which  forms  the  frontispiece  to  this  volume, 
and  as  in  the  Grotta  Cardinale  at  Corneto,  where  many  such  beings,  of 
both  sexes,  are  similarly  armed.  They  may  generally  be  supposed  the 
attendants  on  Charun.  Miiller,  indeed,  takes  many  of  these  demons 
on  Etruscan  monuments  to  represent  Mantus,  the  King  of  Hades 
(Etrusk.  III.  4,  10),  as  the  Romans  introduced  a  figure  of  Pluto, 
armed  with  a  hammer,  at  their  gladiatorial  combats,  to  carry  off  the 
slain  (Tertull.  ad  Nat.  I.  10).  Gerhard  also  (Gottheit.  d.  Etrusk.  pp.  16, 
56,  taf.  VI.  2,  3)  thinks  it  is  Mantus  that  is  often  represented  on  these 
urns,  especially  where  he  is  crowned,  though  he  distinguishes  the  beings 
with  hammers  and  other  attributes  generally  by  the  name  of  Charun. 
Both  Miiller  and  Gerhard  refer  the  origin  of  the  "  Manducus"  (Fest.  ap. 
P.  Diac.  sub  voce;  Plaut.  Rud.  II.  6,  51),  the  ridiculous  effigy,  with 
wide  jaws  and  chattering  teeth,  borne  in  the  public  games  of  the 
Romans,  to  this  source,  and  consider  it  as  a  caricature  of  the  Etruscan 


208  VOLTERRA .— The  Museum.  [appendix  to 

Charun,  or  leader  of  souls — Manducus — quasi  Manium  Dux.  Charun 
must  be  regarded  rather  as  a  minister  of  Mantus,  than  as  identical  with 
him.  He  is  often  represented  on  Etruscan  urns,  accompanied  by  female 
demons  or  Fates,  who,  in  other  cases,  are  substituted  for  him.  Dr. 
Ambrosch  fancied  that  the  sex  of  the  demons  indicated  that  of  the 
defunct ;  but  female  Fates  or  Furies  are  often  introduced  into  scenes 
which  represent  the  death  of  males,  as  in  the  mutual  slaughter  of 
the  Theban  Brothers.  The  eyes  in  the  wings  of  Charun,  or  of  a 
female  demon,  his  substitute,  have  already  been  mentioned,  as  intimating 
superhuman  power  and  intelligence  (ut  supra,  p.  182). 

Miiller  suggests  that  the  Charon  of  the  early  Greek  traditions  may 
have  been  a  great  infernal  deity,  as  in  the  later  Greek  poems  ;  and 
thinks  the  Xapaweta  (Xapwveiot  KXi/iaKes?)  or  Charontic  door,  of  the  Greek 
theatre,  indicates  a  greater  extension  of  the  idea  than  is  usually  supposed. 

It  is  singular  that  Charun  has  never  been  found  designed  on  Etruscan 
mirrors,  those  monuments  which  present  us,  as  Chevalier  Bunsen 
remarks,  with  a  figurative  dictionary  of  Etruscan  mythology  (Bull.  Inst. 
1836,  p.  18).  This  must  be  explained  by  the  non-sepulchral  character 
of  these  articles.  The  Etruscan  lady,  while  dressing  her  hair  or 
painting  her  cheeks,  would  scarcely  relish  such  a  memorial  of  her 
mortality  under  her  eyes,  but  would  prefer  to  look  at  the  deeds  of  gods 
or  heroes,  or  the  loves  of  Paris  and  Helen.  Occasionally,  however,  it 
must  be  confessed  that  scenes  of  a  funereal  character  were  represented 
on  these  mirrors. 

Charun  is  sometimes  introduced  as  guardian  of  the  sepulchre — as  in 
the  painted  tomb  of  Vulci  (Vol.  I.  p.  428);  and  also  in  a  tomb  at 
Chiusi,  opened  in  1837,  where  two  Charuns,  as  large  as  life,  were 
sculptured  in  high  relief  in  the  doorway,  threatening  the  intruder  with 
their  hammers  (Ann.  Inst.  1837,  2.  p.  258). 

It  has  been  remarked  by  Miiller,  as  well  as  by  Platner  in  his 
"  Beschreibung  der  Stadt  Rom,"  that  the  Charon  Michael  Angelo  has 
introduced  into  his  celebrated  picture  of  the  Last  Judgment,  has  much 
more  of  the  conception  of  his  Etruscan  forefathers,  than  of  the  Greek 
poets. 

The  hammer  is  considered  by  Dr.  Braun  rather  as  a  symbol,  or 
distinctive  attribute,  than  as  an  instrument,  yet  it  is  occasionally  repre- 
sented as  such.  In  one  instance  it  is  decorated  with  a  fillet  (Ann. 
Inst.  1837,  2.  p.  260)  ;  in  another,  encircled  by  a  serpent  (Bull.  Inst. 
1844,  p.  97).  In  every  case  it  appears  to  have  an  infernal  reference  ; 
in  the  Greek  mythology  it  is  either  the  instrument  of  Vulcan,  of  the 
Cyclops,  or  of  Jupiter  Serapis  ;  but  as  an  Etruscan  symbol  it  is  referred 


chap,  xli.]  THE  ETRUSCAN  CHARUN.  209 

by  Braun  to  the  Cabiri,  in  whose  mysterious  worship  he  thinks 
Charun  had  his  seat  and  origin.  Gerhard,  who  has  embraced  the  doc- 
trine of  the  northern  origin  of  the  Etruscans,  a  doctrine  so  fashionable 
among  the  Germans,  suggests  the  analogy  of  Thor  with  his  hammer  ; 
and  reminds  us  that  in  the  northern  mythology  there  was  also  a 
ferryman  for  the  dead;  that  female  demons,  friendly  and  malignant, 
were  in  readiness  to  carry  off  the  soul ;  and  that  even  the  horse,  as  in 
Etruria,  was  present  for  the  swift  ride  of  the  dead  (Gottheiten  der 
Etrusker,  pp.  17,  57). 

For  further  details  concerning  the  Etruscan  Charun,  see  the  work  of 
Dr.  Ambrosch,  "  De  Charon te  Etrusco,"  and  the  review  of  it  by  Dr. 
Emil.  Braun,  Ann.  Inst.  1837,  2.  pp.  253 — 274,  to  which  I  am  con- 
siderably indebted  for  this  note.  Dr.  Ambrosch's  work  I  am  not 
acquainted  with,  except  through  this  excellent  article  by  Dr.  Braun. 


VOL.    II. 


CHAPTER  XLII. 

THE  MAREMMA. 

Guarda,  mi  disse,  al  mare  ;  e  vidi  piana 

Cogli  altri  colli  la  Marema  tutta, 

Dilectivole  molto,  e  poco  sana. 

Ivi  e  Massa,  Grossetto,  e  la  distructa 

Civita  vechia,  e  ivi  Popolonia, 

Che  apenna  pare  tanto  e  mal  conduta. 

Ivi  e  ancor  ove  fue  la  Sendonia. 

Queste  cita  e  altre  ehio  non  dico, 

Sono  per  la  Marema  en  verso  Roma, 

Famose  e  grandi  per  lo  tempo  antico. 

Faccio  degli  Ubeuti. 
The  green  Maremma  ! — 
A  sun-bright  waste  of  beauty — yet  an  air 
Of  brooding  sadness  o'er  the  scene  is  shed  ; 
No  human  footstep  tracks  the  lone  domain — 
The  desert  of  luxuriance  glows  in  vain. 

Hemans. 

These  lines  of  Mrs.  Hemans  present  a  true  summer 
picture  of  the  Tuscan  Maremma  ;  and  such  is  the  idea 
generally  conceived  of  it  at  all  seasons  alike  by  most  Eng- 
lishmen, except  as  regards  its  beauty.  For  few  have  a 
notion  that  it  is  other  than  a  desert  seashore  swamp, 
totally  without  interest,  save  as  a  preserve  of  wild  boars 
and  roe-bucks,  without  the  picturesque,  or  antiquities,  or 
good  accommodation,  or  anything  else  to  compensate  for 
the  dangers  of  its  fever-fraught  atmosphere — in  short, 

"  A  wild  and  melancholy  waste 
Of  putrid  marshes," 

as  desolate  and  perilous  as  the  Pomptine.     They  know  not 


chap,  xui.]  ATTRACTIONS  OF  THE  MAREMMA.  211 

that  it  is  full  of  the  picturesque  and  beautiful  ;  a  beauty 
peculiar  and  somewhat  savage,  it  is  true,  like  that  of  an 
Indian  maiden,  yet  fascinating  in  its  wild  unschooled 
luxuriance,  and  offering  abundant  food  for  the  pencil  of 
the  artist  and  the  imagination  of  the  poet.  They  think 
not  that  in  summer  alone  it  is  unhealthy  ;  that  from 
October  to  May  it  is  as  free  from  noxious  vapours  as  any 
other  part  of  Italy,  and  may  be  visited  and  explored  with 
perfect  impunity.  They  scarcely  remember  that  it  con- 
tains not  a  few  sites  of  classical  interest ;  and  they  are 
ignorant  that  it  has  excellent  roads,  that  public  convey- 
ances bring  it  into  regular  communication  with  Leghorn, 
Siena,  and  Florence  ;  and  that,  in  winter  at  least,  its  ac- 
commodations are  as  good  as  will  be  found  on  most  bye- 
roads  in  the  Tuscan  State. 

As  my  object  is  to  point  out  sites  and  objects  of  Etrus- 
can antiquity,  I  pass  over  that  tract  of  coast  which 
extends  about  fifty  miles  south  of  Leghorn  to  the  promon- 
tory of  Populonia,  as  containing  no  interest  of  this  kind. 
The  ancient  port  of  Vada  Volaterrana,  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Cecina,  is  not  mentioned  as  Etruscan,1  though  it  seems 
very  improbable  that  the  maritime  city  of  Volaterrae  would 
not  have  availed  itself  of  it,  and  of  the  communication  with 
the  sea  afforded  by  the  Csecina. 

The  high-road  along  this  coast  follows  the  course  of  the 

1  Vada  is  mentioned  by   Cicero,  pro  of  Albinus  Czechia,  who  resided  here  at 

Quintio,  c.  VI  ;  Pliny,  III.  8  ;  Rutilius,  the  commencement  of  the  fifth  century 

I.   453 ;    and   the    Itineraries,   but    as  of   our    era   (Rutil.   I.   466 — 475  ;   cf. 

Roman  only.     It   must  have   received  Miiller,  Etrusk.  I.  pp.  406,  418),  which 

its  name   from    the    swamps    in    the  Repetti   places    on    the    neighbouring 

neighbourhood.     But  it  was  a  port,  as  height  of  Rosignano,  where  there  are 

Rutilius  shows,  and  it  still  affords  pro-  some    ancient    remains,    called     "  Vil- 

tection   to   small   vessels.     Repetti,   V.  lana."     I.   p.    65.     For   an   account  of 

p.  616.      There  are  said   to   be   some  the  gi'eat  improvements  of  this  deadly 

Roman  remains  at  Vada.  Viaggio  Antiq.  and  once  desert  shore  effected  during 

per  la  Via  Aurelia,  p.  5.    Here  were  also  the    last    fifteen  years    see   the    same 

some  ancient  Salt-works,  and  the  villa  writer.     Suppl.  pp.  261 — 4. 

p2 


2  1 2 


THE  MAREMMA. 


[chap,  xi.ii. 


ancient  Via  Aurelia.2  It  is  in  excellent  condition,  and  a 
diligence  runs  three  times  a  week  from  Leghorn  to  Piom- 
bino  and  Grosseto. 

I  propose  to  conduct  my  readers  to  Populonia  by  the 
road  from  Volterra. 

The  road  that  runs  from  that  city  southward  to  the 
Maremma  is  "  carriageable "  throughout,  though  some- 
what rugged  in  parts,  and  nowhere  to  be  rejoiced  in  after 
heavy  rains.  As  it  descends  the  long  bare  slope  beneath 
Volterra,  it  passes  through  a  singular  tract,  broken  into 
hills  of  black  marl  or  clay,  without  a  blade  of  grass  on 
their  surface,  seeming  to  mark  the  ravages  of  a  recent 
flood,  but  so  existing  for  ages,  perhaps  before  the  creation 
of  man.  At  the  foot  of  the  long-drawn  hill,  and  five  miles 
from  Volterra,  are  the  Saline,  the  government  Salt-works, 


2  The  following  are  the  ancient  sta- 
tions and  distances  on  this  road,  and 
along  the  coast,  from  Cosa  northwards 
to  Luna,  as  given  by  the  three  Itine- 
raries. 

Itinerary  of  Antoninus. 


Lacum  Aprilem 

XXII. 

Salebronem 

XII. 

Manliana 

vim. 

Populonium 

XII. 

Vada  Volaterrana 

XXV. 

Ad  Herculera 

XVIII. 

Pisas 

XII. 

Papiriana 

XI. 

Lunam 

XII. 

Peutingerian 

Table. 

Cosa 

Albinia,  fl. 

Villi. 

Telamone 

IIII. 

Hasta 

VIII. 

Umbro,  fl. 

Villi. 

Saleboma 

XII. 

Manliana 

Villi. 

Populonio 

XII. 

Vadis  Volateris  X. 

Velinis  X. 

Ad  Fines  XIII. 

Piscinas  VIII. 

Turrita  XVI. 

Pisis  Villi. 

Fossis  Papirianis  XI. 

Ad  Taberna  Frigida  XII. 

Lunse  X. 

Maritime  Itinerary. 
Amine,  fluv. 

Portum  Herculis  XXV. 

Cetarias  Domitianas  III. 

Almina,  fluv.  Villi. 

Portum  Telamonis  i 

Fluv.  Umbronis  I XVIII. 

Lacu  Aprile  J 

Alma,  flum.  XVII I. 

Scabros,  port.  \  I . 

Falesiam,  port.  XVII I. 

Populonium,  port.  XIII. 

Vada,  port.  XXX. 

Portum  l'isanum  XVII 1. 

Pisas,  fluv.  Villi. 

Lunam,  fluv.  Macra  XXX. 


chap,  xlii.]     THE  CECINA.— POMARANCE.— CASTELNUOVO.      2V6 

where  the  deep  wells  and  the  evaporating*  factories  are 
well  worthy  of  inspection.  Through  the  hollow  flows  the 
Cecina  of  classical  renown,3  a  small  stream  in  a  wide 
sandy  bed,  between  wooded  banks,  and  here  spanned,  to 
my  astonishment,  by  a  suspension  bridge, — verily,  as  the 
natives  say,  "  una  gran  betta  cosa ! "  in  the  midst  of  this 
wilderness.  From  the  wooded  heights  beyond,  a  magni- 
ficent view  of  Volterra,  with  her  mural  diadem,  is  obtained. 
A  few  miles  further  is  Pomarance,  a  clean  neat  town,  by 
moonlight  at  least,  which  is  all  I  can  vouch  for,  but,  as 
the  proverb  saith,  "  What  seems  a  lion  at  night  may  prove 
but  an  ape  in  the  morning — " 

La  sera  Hone, 

La  mattina  babbione. 

Pomarance  is  said  to  have  a  comfortable  inn.  Let  the 
traveller  then,  who  would  halt  the  night  somewhere  on 
this  road,  remember  the  same,  especially  if  it  be  his  in- 
tention to  visit  the  singular,  interesting,  and  celebrated 
borax-works  of  Monte  Cerboli,  about  four  miles  distant.4 
At  Castelnuovo,  a  village  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  beyond 
Pomarance,  I  can  promise  him  little  comfort,  as  he  will 
find,  if  he  have  my  lot,  his  bed  fully  preoccupied,  and  the 
mind  of  his  host  also  preoccupied  with  extravagant 
notions  of  the  wealth  and  pluckability  of  the  English.  All 
this  district,  even  beyond  Castelnuovo  and  Monterotondo, 
is  boracic,  and  the  hills  on  every  hand  are  ever  shooting 

3  Pliny  (III.  8)  shows  that  the  river  it   as  a  river,  as  Cluver  (II.  p.  469) 

had  the  same  name  in  his  time,  "  fluvius  opines,  who  would  read  the  passage — 

Caecinna," — how  much  earlier  we  know  "  Etrusca  et  loca  et  flumina,"  instead  of 

not  ;  but  probably  from  very  remote  the  current  version — "  loca  et  nomina." 
times.     Mela  (II.  4)  speaks  of  it  among  4  A  good  description  of  these  works 

the  towns  on  this  coast.     But  he  may  is  given  in  Murray's  Hand-book.     See 

have  cited  u  Cecina,"   instead  of  Vada  also  Repetti,  vv.  Lagoni,  Monte  Cerboli, 

Volaterrana,  the  port  which  was  near  Pomarance. 
its  mouth  ;  or  he  may  have  referred  to 


2  I  1  THE  MAREMMA.  [chap.  xlii. 

forth  the  hot  and  fetid  vapour  in  numerous  tall  white 
columns,  which,  by  moonlight  on  their  dark  slopes,  look 
like  "  quills  upon  the  fretful  porcupine/' 

Some  miles  beyond  Castelnuovo,  the  road,  which  has 
been  continually  ascending  from  the  Cecina,  attains  its 
greatest  elevation.  Here  it  commands  a  prospect  of  vast 
extent,  over  a  wide  expanse  of  undulating  country  to  the 
sea,  nearly  twenty  miles  distant,  with  the  promontory  of 
Piombino  and  Populonia  rising  like  an  island  from  the 
deep,  and  the  lofty  peaks  of  Elba  seen  dimly  in  the  far 
horizon.  Among  the  undulations  at  the  foot  of  the  height, 
which  the  road  here  crosses,  is  the  hill  of  Castiglione  Ber- 
nardi,  which  Inghirami  has  pronounced  to  be  the  site  of 
the  Vetulonia  of  antiquity. 

I  did  not  visit  this  spot,  for  I  was  deterred  by  one  of 
those  sudden  deluges  of  rain  common  in  southern  climates, 
Avhich  burst  like  a  water-spout  upon  me,  just  as  I  had 
begun  to  descend  to  it ;  and  I  thought  myself  fortunate  in 
soon  regaining  the  shelter  of  my  carrettino.  Not  relishing 
a  country  walk  of  some  miles  after  such  a  storm,  I  did  not 
await  its  cessation,  but  made  the  best  of  my  way  to  Massa. 
I  did  this  with  the  less  regret,  for  my  quondam  fellow- 
traveller,  Mr.  Ainsley,  had  previously  twice  visited  the  spot, 
furnished  with  directions  from  Inghirami  himself,  and  had 
sought  in  vain,  in  a  careful  examination  of  the  ground, 
for  any  remains  of  Etruscan  antiquity,  or  for  any  traces  of 
an  ancient  city  of  importance.  Inghirami  indeed  admits 
that  the  hill  in  question  is  but  a  poggetto  angusto — "  a 
circumscribed  mound,  not  more  than  half  a  mile  in  circuit, 
and  quite  incapable  of  holding  a  city  such  as  Vetulonia 
must  have  been  ; "  and  says  that  on  it  are  to  be  seen  only 
the  ruins  of  a  castle  of  the  middle  ages,  overgrown  with 
enormous  oaks,  nor  could  he  "  perceive  among  the  extant 
masonry  a  single  stone  which   bore  a  trace  of  ancient 


chap,  xlii.]       THE  HILL  OF  CASTIGLIONE  BERNARDI. 


215 


Tyrrhene  construction,  such  as  might  correspond  with  the 
remains  of  the  Etruscan  city  of  Vetulonia."5  Why  then 
suppose  this  to  have  been  the  site  of  that  famous  city  3 
First — because  he  finds  the  hill  so  called  in  certain  docu- 
ments of  the  middle  ages,  one  as  far  back  as  the  eleventh 
century.6  Secondly — because  it  is  not  far  from  the  river 
Cornia,  which  abounds  in  hot  springs,  some  of  which  he 
thinks  must  have  been  those  mentioned  by  Pliny  as  exist- 
ing,— ad  Vetulonios  ;  " 7  besides  being  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood  of  a  lake — Lago  Cerchiaio — of  hot  sulphu- 
reous water.  Thirdly — because  a  few  tombs  of  Etruscan 
construction,  and  with  undoubted  Etruscan  furniture,  have 
been  found  in  the  vicinity.  Fourthly — and  on  this  the 
Cavaliere  lays  most  stress — because  the  situation  assigned 
to  Vetulonia  by  Ptolemy  was  in  the  district  comprised 
between  Volterra,  Siena,  and  Populonia,8  which  he  thinks 


8  Ricerclie  di  Vetulonia,  Lettera  II. 
pp.  35,  36,  52.  Published  also  in  the 
Memorie  dell'  Institute  IV.  pp.  95 — 
136. 

6  Ric.  di  Vetul.  p.  29.  Repetti  (V. 
p.  706),  however,  tells  us  that  many 
documents  of  the  tenth  century  speak 
of  this  Castiglioue,  without  mentioning 
the  "  hill  of  Vetulonio."  How  this  spot 
acquired  the  name  of  Vetulonium  which 
it  bore  during  the  middle  ages,  it  is  not 
easy  to  say.  That  it  bore  this  appella- 
tion in  Etruscan  times  we  have  no 
proof.  That  the  names  of  places  were 
often  altered  by  the  ancients  we  have 
evidence  in  Etruria  and  its  confines — 
Camers  was  changed  to  Clusium,  Agylla 
to  Ccere,  Aurinia  to  Saturnia,  Nequinum 
to  Narnia,  Felsina  to  Bononia — and  we 
know  that  the  name  of  a  town  was 
sometimes  transferred  from  one  site  to 
another,  as  in  Falerii  and  Volsinii — and 
that  names  were  occasionally  multiplied 
we  see  in  Clusium  Vetus  and  Clusium 


Novum  ;  in  Arretium  Vetus,  Arretium 
Fidens,  and  Arretium  Julium.  It 
must  also  be  remembered  that  the 
nomenclature  of  the  middle  ages  is  no 
evidence  of  that  of  more  early  times. 
Through  the  fond  partiality  of  an 
ecclesiastic  for  his  native-place,  or  the 
blunder  of  some  antiquary,  ancient 
names  were  often  attached  to  sites,  to 
which  they  did  not  belong.  Such 
errors  would  soon  however  become 
traditional  with  the  people,  anxious  to 
maintain  the  honour  of  their  native 
town,  and  would  even  pass  into  their 
documents  and  monumental  inscrip- 
tions. Thus  it  was  that  Civita  Castel- 
lana  was  made  the  ancient  Veii  ;  and 
thus  Annio's  forgeries  and  capricious 
nomenclature  became  current  for  ages 
in  the  traditions  of  the  people. 

7  Plin.  N.  H.  II.  106. 

8  Ric.  di  Vetul.  p.  93.  He  even  pro- 
poses to  make  this  the  basis  of  his  re- 
searches for  the  site  of  Vetulonia.     But 


21G  THE  MAREMMA.  [chap.  xlii. 

may  correspond  with  this  hill  of  Castiglione  Bernard! 
Nevertheless,  so  little  could  he  reconcile  this  circumscribed 
site  with  that  of  a  first-rate  city,  such  as  Vetulonia  is 
described  to  have  been,  that  he  was  driven  to  suppose  the 
existence  of  two  ancient  cities  or  towns  of  that  name — 
the  one  of  greatest  renown  lying  on  the  northern  slopes  of 
the  Ciminian ;  the  other,  being  that  famous  for  hot  springs, 
occupying  this  hill  of  Castiglione.9 

I  shall  not  in  this  place  do  more  than  state  the  views  of 
the  late  Cavaliere  Inghirami,  which,  coming  from  a  man  of 
approved  archaeological  eminence,  are  entitled  to  all  respect. 
The  subject  will  be  further  considered  in  a  subsequent 
chapter,  when  I  treat  of  another  site  in  the  Maremma, 
which,  I  think,  has  much  stronger  claims  to  be  regarded 
as  that  of  the  ancient  Vetulonia.  Let  it  suffice  to  mention 
that  Mr.  Ainsley's  description  and  sketches  of  Castiglione 
Bernardi  represent  it  in  entire  accordance  with  the  admis- 
sion of  Inghirami,  as  a  small,  isolated,  conical  hill,  about 
the  size  of  the  celebrated  Poggio  di  Gajella  at  Chiusi,  cer- 
tainly not  so  large  as  the  Castellina  at  Tarquinii — a  mere 
"  poggetto"  or  " monticcllo"  without  any  level  space  that 
could  admit  of  an  Etruscan  town,  even  of  fourth  or  fifth- 
rate  importance.     To  which  I  may  add,  that  if  this  were 


how  unsound  a  basis  this  is,  and  how  quence  of  the  reasoning  of  Dr.  Ambrosch 

little   Ptolemy  is  to  be   trusted — being  in  a  letter  written  in  reply  to  the  three 

so  full  of  errors  and  inconsistencies,  that  published    by  the    venerable  antiquary 

if  the  towns  of  Etruria  were  arranged  (Memor.  Inst.  IV.  pp.  137 — 155),  and 

according  to  the  latitudes  and  longitudes  fell  back  upon  his  hill  of   Castiglione. 

he   assigns   them,    we   should    have   an  His   opinion    that  this  was  the  site  of 

entirely  new  map  of  the  land— I  have  Vetulonia  is  supported  by  Dr.  Ambrosch, 

shown   at   length  in  an  article   in    the  who   to   reconcile  this  mean  site  with 

Classical    Museum,    1844,    No.    V.    pp.  that  of  Vetulonia  is  driven  to  attempt 

229 — 246.  to    invalidate   the    evidence    of    Silius 

9  Ricerche  di  Vetulonia,  p.  50.     He  Italicus  as  to  the  importance  and  gran- 

ultimately  gave  up  the  idea  of  a  Ciminian  deur  of  that  ancient  city.    I  have  replied 

Vetulonia    (op.   cit.    pp.    93—6  ;    Bull.  to    his    objections   in    the    above-men- 

fnst.    1839,  pp.    150—152),   in   conse-  tioned  paper  in  the  Classical  Museum. 


chap,  xlii.]  PRETENDED  SITE  OF  VETULONIA.  217 

an  Etruscan  site,  as  the  neighbouring  tombs  seem  to  indi- 
cate, it  can  have  been  only  one  of  the  thousand  and  one 
"  villages  and  castles  " — castella  vicique — which  existed  in 
Etruria.  The  traveller  may  rest  satisfied  that  no  remains 
of  an  Etruscan  town  are  to  be  seen  on  the  spot.  Should 
he  wish  to  verify  the  fact,  he  will  find  accommodation  at 
Monte  Rotondo,  a  town  two  or  three  miles  from  the 
Poggio  of  Castiglione  ;  and  he  can  see,  in  the  house  of 
Signer  Baldasserini,  the  proprietor  of  this  tenuta,  a  number 
of  vases  and  other  Etruscan  antiquities,  found  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. 

A  continual  descent  of  many  miles  through  a  wild  tract 
of  oak  forests,  underwooded  with  tamarisk,  laurestinus,  and 
brushwood,  leads  to  the  plain  of  Massa.  That  city  crowns 
the  extremity  of  a  long  range  of  heights,  and  at  a  distance 
is  not  unlike  Harrow  as  seen  from  Hampstead  Heath ;  but 
its  walls  and  towers  give  it  a  more  imposing  air.  Though 
the  see  of  a  bishop,  with  nearly  3000  inhabitants,  and  one 
of  the  principal  cities  of  the  Maremma,  Massa  is  a  mean, 
dirty  place,  without  an  inn — unless  the  chandler's  shop, 
assuming  the  name  of  "Locanda  del  Sole,"  may  be  so 
called.  The  Duomo  is  a  small,  neat  edifice,  of  the  thirteenth 
century,  in  the  Byzantine  style,  with  a  low  dome  and  a 
triple  tier  of  arcades  in  the  facade.  The  interior  is  not 
in  keeping,  being  spoilt  by  modern  additions,  and  has 
nothing  of  interest  beyond  a  very  curious  font  of  early 
date,  formed  of  a  single  block. 

Massa  has  been  supposed  by  some  to  occupy  the  site  of 
Vetulonia,  an  opinion  founded  principally  on  the  epithet 
"  Veternensis,"  attached  to  a  town  of  this  name  by 
Ammianus    Marcellinus,1    the    only   ancient   writer   who 

1  Amm.  Marcell.  XIV.    11,  27.     He       Ciesar,  the  brother  of  Julian  the  Apos- 
speaks  of  it  as  the  birth-place  of  Gallus       tate. 


218  THE  MAREMMA.  [chap.  xmi. 

speaks  of  Massa,  and  which  is  regarded  as  a  corruption 
of  "Vetuloniensis."2  The  towns-people,  ready  to  catch  at 
anything  that  would  confer  dignity  on  their  native  place, 
have  adopted  this  opinion,  and  it  has  become  a  local  tradi- 
tion ;  not  to  be  the  more  credited  on  that  account.  I 
have  little  doubt,  however,  that  there  was  originally  an 
Etruscan  population  on  the  spot.  Adjoining  the  town,  to 
the  south-east,  is  a  height,  or  rather  a  cliff-bound  table- 
land, called  Poggio  di  Vetreta,  or  Vuetreta,  which  has  all 
the  features  of  an  Etruscan  site.  It  is  about  a  mile  in 
length,  and  three-quarters  of  a  mile  in  its  greatest  breadth; 
it  breaks  into  cliffs  on  all  sides,  except  where  a  narrow 
isthmus  unites  it  to  the  neighbouring  heights.  No  fragments 
of  ancient  walls  could  I  perceive  ;  but  there  are  not  a  few 
traces  of  sepulchres  in  the  cliffs.3  It  is  highly  probable 
that  the  original  name  of  this  town  is  to  be  traced  in 
its  Roman  appellation  (if  that,  indeed,  belong  to  this  site),4 


"  See    Targioni-Tozzetti,    Viaggi    in  that  town,  are  the  ruins  of  the  city  of 

Toscana,  IV.  p.  1 16.  Vetulonia  ;  but  Inghirami  ascribes  tins 

3  In     the    cliffs    just    opposite    the  tradition  to  its  true  source,  as  will  pre- 

Cathedral  are  some   sepulchral  niches,  sently  be  shown. 

and  so  also  in  the  rocks  beneath  Massa  4  Repetti  (III.  p.  139)  does  not  think 
itself.  Mr.  Ainsley  observed,  in  the  there  is  sufficient  authority  for  identify- 
cliffs  of  the  Poggio  de  Vetreta,  some  ing  the  Massa  Veternensis  of  Marcel- 
passages  running  far  into  the  rock,  like  hnus  with  this  town  of  Massa  Marit- 
the  Buche  de'  Saracini  at  Volterra.  tima  ;  for  he  shows  (cf.  p.  109)  that 
They  were  probably  sewers.  Below  numerous  places,  not  only  in  Tuscany, 
this  height  there  is  also  a  Giardino  di  but  in  the  Papal  State,  especially  in  the 
Vuetreta.  This  name  has  been  sup-  southern  district  of  Etruria,  had  the 
posed  to  be  derived  from  Vetulonia,  title  of  Massa,  i.e.,  «  a  large  estate,"  in 
but  is  more  probably  a  corruption  of  the  middle  ages,  most  of  which  have 
the  Latin  appellation  of  the  town  ;  if  now  dropped  it.  He  inclines  to  recog- 
it  be  not  rather  traceable  to  the  glass-  nise  the  birth-place  of  Gallus  in  Viterbo, 
factories,  once  common  in  this  district.  and  would  read  «  Massa  Veterbensis," 
Inghir.  Ric.  di  Vetul.  p.  39;  Memor.  instead  of  "Veternensis."  Cluver  (II. 
Inst.  IV.  p.  120.  Ximenes  (cited  by  p.  513),  however,  does  not  hesitate  to 
Iughiranh,  op.  cit.  p.  62)  asserts  the  identify  the  modem  Massa  with  that 
currency  of  a  tradition  at  Massa,  that  of  A.  Marcellinus. 
in    a    dense    wood    five   miles   west   of 


chap,  xlii.]  MASSA  MARITTIMA.  219 

which  indicates,  not  Vetulonia,  but  Volturnus  or  Volturna 
as  its  root ;  and  the  town  may  have  taken  its  name  from 
a  shrine  to  one  of  those  Etruscan  deities,  on  or  near  the 
spot.5 

The  rock  here  is  a  rich  red  tufo,  much  indurated,  and 
picturesquely  overhung  with  ilex.  Traces  of  volcanic 
action  are  occasionally  met  with  in  this  part  of  Italy, 
though  the  higher  mountains  are  of  limestone,  sandstone, 
or  clay  slate. 

This  height  commands  a  magnificent  view.  The  wide 
Maremma  lies  outspread  at  your  feet,  and  the  eye  is  led 
across  it  by  a  long  straight  road  to  the  village  of  Follonica 
on  the  coast,  some  twelve  or  thirteen  miles  distant.  Monte 
Calvi  rises  on  the  right,  overhanging  the  deep  vale  of  the 
Cornia  ;  and  many  a  village  sparkles  out  from  its  wooded 
slopes.  The  heights  of  Piombino  and  Populonia  rise 
beyond  it,  forming  the  northern  horn  of  the  Bay  of 
Follonica  ;  the  headland  of  Troja,  with  its  subject  islet, 
forms  the  southern  ;  and  the  dark,  abrupt  peaks  of  Elba, 
the  dim  island  of  Monte  Cristo,  and  the  deep  blue  line  of 
the  Mediterranean,  bound  the  horizon.6 

Its  elevated  position  might  be  supposed  to  secure  Massa 
from  the  pestiferous  atmosphere  of  the  Maremma  ;  but 
such  is  not  the  case.     The  city  does  not  suffer  so  much  as 


5  For   Volturnus    and   Volturna,  or  the  same  relation  to  this  town,  that  the 

Vertumnus  and  Voltumna,  see  Vol.   I.  ancient  family  Csecina  had  to  the  river 

p.    519.      Veternensis,   deprived   of  its  of  that  name.     A  tomh   of  the  family 

Latin   adjectival  termination,   becomes  of  Velthurna,  or  Velthurnas,  was  dis- 

Veterni    or     Veterna,     which    seems  covered  at  Perugia  in  1 822,  with  eight 

nothing  but  a  corruption  of  the  Etrus-  urns  bearing  this   name.      Vermiglioli, 

can  Velturna,  or  Velthurna,  the  Latin  Iscriz.  Perug.  I.  pp.  262 — 3. 

Volturnus,   according    to   the   frequent  6  Massa  is  38  miles  from  Volterra, 

Roman  substitution  of  o  for  the  Etrus-  40   from  Siena,   16  from   Castelnuovo, 

can  e.     Velthur  or  Velthurna  was  also  20  from  Piombino,  24  from  Populonia, 

an  Etruscan  proper  name  (sec  Vol.  I.  24  from  Campiglia,  30  from  Grosscto. 
pp.  340,  446,  499),  and  may  have  had 


220  THE  MAREMMA.  [chap.  xlii. 

others  on  lower  ground,  yet  has  a  bad  name,  proverbialised 
by  the  saying, 

Massa,  Massa — 
Salute  passa. 

It  is  a  dreary  road  to  Follonica  across  the  barren  plain. 
Let  the  traveller,  however,  drive  on  rather  than  pass  the 
night  at  Massa ;  for  the  inn,  though  of  no  high  pretensions, 
is  far  more  comfortable  at  the  former  place.  Follonica, 
indeed,  is  much  more  frequented,  having  a  little  port,  and 
large  iron  factories  ;  and  lying  on  the  high-road  from 
Leghorn  to  Civita  Vecchia.  This  little  industrious  village 
appears  quite  civilised  after  the  dreamy  dulness  of  Massa.7 

From  Follonica  there  are  two  ways  to  Populonia — one 
along  the  sandy  strip  of  shore,  called  II  Tombolo,  to 
Piombino,  fifteen  miles  distant,8  and  thence  six  miles 
further  over  the  mountains  ;  the  other  by  the  high  road 
to  Leghorn,  for  ten  or  eleven  miles,  and  then  across  the 
Maremma.  The  first,  in  fine  weather,  is  practicable  for  a 
carriage  throughout ;  the  second  only  as  long  as  you  keep 
the  high-road,  the  rest  of  the  way  being  by  a  path  through 
the  forest.     I  chose  the  latter  track,  which  is  shorter  by 

7  Abeken  thinks  that  the  abandoned  neighbouring   Etruscan   city   of    Popu- 

mines,  which  Strabo  (V.  p.  223)  saw  in  Ionia.     Ann.  Inst.  1834,  pp.  198—222. 

the  neighbourhood  of  Populonia,  must  Tav.   d'Agg.   D.    1.     Mon.   Ined.  Inst, 

have  been  at  Follonica.     Mittelitalien,  I.   tav.    58,    59.       Between    Follouica 

p.  30.     But  Miiller  (Etrusk.  I.  p.  240)  and     Piombino,    and     about    a     mile 

mentions  Caldana  as  the  site  of  these  only  from  the  latter,  is  the   Porto  de' 

mines.     They  are  probably  those  which  Faliesi,    the    Faleria    of    Rutilius     (I. 

have  been  re-opened  of  late  with  great  371),    the  Falesia  Portus  of  the  Mari- 

success  in  the  vicinity  of  Campiglia.  time  Itinerary,   see  page  212.      Demp- 

s  Piombino   is   not   an   ancient   site.  ster  (II.  p.  432)  erroneously  places  this 

Here,  however,  a  beautiful  votive  statue  ancient  port  at  the   other  end   of  the 

of  Apollo  in  bronze  was  found  in  the  bay,  near  the  island   of  Troja.      The 

sea  a  few  years  since,  having  a  Greek  neighbouring    lagoon,    which     Rutilius 

inscription    on    its    foot  —  A0ANAIAI  speaks  of,  is  that  into  which  the  Cornia 

AEKATAN— It   is  now  in   the   Louvre.  empties  itself.     Repetti  (IV.  p.  293)  says 

M.  Letronuc  thinks  it  may  have  deco-  the  ancient  port  is  now  much  choked  by 

rated  some  temple  of  Minerva  in   the  the  deposits  from  that  river. 


chap,  xlii.]        ITS  WOODS  AND  WASTENESS  WIDE.  221 

five  miles,  because  the  road  by  the  Tombolo  had   been 
rendered  uncarriageable  by  heavy  rains. 

My  road  lay  through  the  level  of  the  Maremma,  where 
for  some  miles  everything  was  in  a  state  of  primitive 
nature  ;  a  dense  wood  ran  wild  over  the  plain  ;  it  could 
not  be  called  a  forest,  for  there  was  scarcely  a  tree 
twenty  feet  in  height ;  but  a  tall  underwood  of  tamarisk, 
lentiscus,  myrtle,  dwarf  cork-trees,  and  numerous  shrubs 
unknown  to  me,  fostered  by  the  heat  and  moisture  into  an 
extravagant  luxuriance,  and  matted  together  by  parasitical 
plants  of  various  kinds.  Here  a  break  offered  a  peep  of  a 
stagnant  lagoon  ;  there  of  the  sandy  Tombolo,  with  the 
sea  breaking  over  it ;  and  above  the  foliage  I  could  see 
the  dark  crests  of  Monte  Calvi  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
lofty  promontory  of  Populonia  on  the  other.  Habitations 
there  were  none  in  this  wilderness,  save  one  lonely  house 
on  a  rising-ground.  If  a  pathway  opened  into  the  dense 
thickets  on  either  hand,  it  was  the  track  of  the  wild  beasts 
of  the  forest.  Man  seemed  here  to  have  no  dominion. 
The  boar,  the  roebuck,  the  buffalo,  and  wild  cattle  have 
the  undisputed  range  of  the  jungle.  It  was  the  "  woods 
and  wasteness  wide  "  of  this  Maremma,  that  seized  Dante's 
imagination  when  he  pictured  the  Infernal  wood,  inhabited 
by  the  souls  of  suicides, 

un  bosco 

Che  da  nessun  sentiero  era  segnato. 
Non  frondi  verdi,  ma  di  color  fosco  ; 

Non  rami  schietti,  ma  nodosi  e  'nvolti ; 
Non  pomi  v'  eran,  ma  stecchi  con  tosco. 

Non  han  si  aspri  sterpi,  ne  si  folti 
Quelle  fiere  selvegge,  che  'n  odio  hanno 

Tra  Cecina  e  Corneto  i  luoghi  colti. 

After  some  miles  there  were  a  few  traces  of  cultivation 
— strips  of  land  by  the  road-side  redeemed  from  the 
waste,  and  sown  with  corn  ;    yet,   like   the   clearings   of 


■Z2Z  THE  MAREMMA.  [chap.  xlii. 

American  backwoods,  still  studded  with  stumps  of 
trees,  showing  the  struggle  with  which  nature  had  been 
subdued.  At  this  cool  season  the  roads  had  a  fair 
sprinkling  of  travellers — labourers  going  to  work,  and  not  a 
few  pedlars,  indispensable  beings  in  a  region  that  produces 
nothing  but  fish,  flesh,  and  fuel.  But  the  population  is  tem- 
porary and  nomade,  consisting  of  woodcutters,  agricultural 
labourers  and  herdsmen,  and  those  who  minister  to  their 
wants.  These  colonists — for  such  they  may  strictly  be 
called — are  from  distant  parts  of  the  Duchy,  mostly  from 
Pistoja  and  the  northern  districts  ;  and  they  come  down 
to  these  lowlands  in  the  autumn  to  cut  wood  and  make 
charcoal — the  prime  duties  of  the  Maremma  labourer. 
In  May,  at  the  commencement  of  the  summer  heats,  the 
greater  jmrt  of  them  emigrate  to  the  neighbouring  moun- 
tains, or  return  to  their  homes  ;  but  a  few  linger  four  or 
five  weeks  longer,  just  to  gather  in  the  scanty  harvest, 
where  there  is  any,  and  then  it  is  sauve  qui  peut,  and  "  the 
devil  take  the  hindmost."  No  one  remains  in  this  deadly 
atmosphere,  who  can  in  any  way  crawl  out  of  it — even 
"the  birds  and  the  very  flies"  are  said,  in  the  emphatic 
language  of  the  Southron,  to  abandon  the  plague-stricken 
waste.  Follonica,  which  in  winter  has  two  or  three 
hundred  inhabitants,  has  scarcely  half-a-dozen  souls  left 
in  the  dog-days  ;  beyond  the  men  of  the  coast-guard, 
who  are  doomed  to  rot  at  their  posts.  Such,  at  least,  is 
the  report  given  by  the  natives  ;  how  far  it  is  coloured  by 
southern  imaginations,  I  leave  to  others  to  verify,  if  they 
wish  it.     My  advice,  however,  for  that  season  would  be 

— has  terras,  Italique  hanc  litoris  oram, 
Effuge  ;  cuncta  malis  habitantur  moenia ; 

for  the  sallow  emaciation,  or  dropsical  bloatedness,  so  often 
seen  along  this  coast,  confirms  a  great  part  of  the  tale.    In 


chap,  xmi.]  ITS  POPULATION  AND  CLIMATE.  223 

October,  when  the  sun  is  losing  his  power  to  create 
miasma,  the  tide  of  population  begins  again  to  flow  towards 
the  Maremma. 

The  same  causes  must  always  have  produced  the  same 
effects,  and  the  Maremma  must  have  been  unhealthy  from 
the  earliest  times.  Yet  scarcely  to  the  same  extent  as  at 
present,  or  the  coast  and  its  neighbourhood  would  not 
have  been  so  well  peopled,  as  extant  remains  prove  it  to 
have  been.  In  Roman  times  we  know  it  was  much  as  at 
the  present  day.9  Yet  the  Emperors  and  patricians  had 
villas  along  this  coast  in  spots  which  are  now  utterly 
deserted.  The  Romans,  by  their  conscriptions,  and  cen- 
tralising system,  diminished  the  population  ;  the  land  fell 
out  of  cultivation,  and  malaria  was  the  natural  conse- 
quence ;  so  that  where  large  cities  had  originally  stood, 
mere  road-stations,  post-houses,  or  lonely  villas  met  the 
eye  in  Imperial  times.  The  same  causes  which  reduced 
the  Campagna  of  Rome  to  a  desert  must  have  operated 
here.     The  old  saying, 

Lontan  da  citta, 
Lontan  da  sanita, 

is  most  applicable  to  these  regions,  where  population  and 
cultivation  are  the  best  safeguards  against  disease.  It 
is  probable  that  under  the  Etruscans  the  malaria  was 
confined  to  the  level  of  the  coast,  or  we  should  scarcely 
find  traces  of  so  many  cities,  the  chief  cities  of  the  land, 
on  the  great  table-lands,  not  far  from  the  sea  ;  on  sites 
which  now,  from  want  of  cultivation  and  proper  draining, 
are  become  most  pestilent ;  but  which,  from  their  eleva- 
tion, ought  to  enjoy  immunity  from  the  desolating  scourge. 
It  is  but  justice  to  add,  that  the  rulers  of  Tuscany,  for  a 

9  Pliny  (epist.  V.  6)  says  of  it — Est  sane  gravis  et  pestilens  ora  Tuscorum,  qure 
per  litus  extenditur.     Cf.  Virg.  ./En.  X.  184 ;  Serv.  in  loc.  ;  Rutil.  I.  282. 


224  THE  MAREMMA.  [chap,  xi.ii. 

century  past,  have  clone  much  to  improve  the  condition  of 
this  district,  both  by  drainage,  by  filling  up  the  pools  and 
swamps,  and  by  reclaiming  land  from  the  waste  for  agri- 
cultural purposes.  But  much  yet  remains  to  be  done  ; 
for  the  mischief  of  ages  cannot  be  remedied  in  a  day.  The 
success  already  attained  in  the  Val  di  Chiana,  and  the 
natural  fertility  of  the  soil,  offer  every  encouragement. 
"In  the  Mareinnia,"  saith  the  proverb,  "you  get  rich 
in  a  year,  but — you  die  in  six  months" — in  Maremma 
s'arricchisce  in  un  anno,  si  muore  in  sei  mesi. 

The  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  Maremma  are  made 
the  universal  excuse  for  every  inferiority  of  quantity, 
quality,  or  workmanship.  You  complain  of  the  food  or 
accommodation.  My  host  shrugs  his  shoulders,  and  cries, 
"  Ma  che — cosa  vnole,  signor  ?  siamo  in  Maremma' — 
what  would  you  have,  sir  1  we  are  in  the  Maremma. 
A  bungling  smith  well  nigh  lamed  the  horse  I  had  hired  ; 
to  my  complaints  he  replied,  "  Cosa  vnole,  signor  f  e  roba 
di  Maremma!'  "  Maremma-stuff  "  is  a  proverbial  expres- 
sion of  inferiority.  These  lower  regions  of  Italy,  in  truth, 
are  scarcely  deemed  worthy  of  a  place  in  a  Tuscan's 
geography.  " Nel  mondo,  o  in  Maremma"  has  for  ages 
been  a  current  saying.  Thus,  Boccaccio's  Madonna  Lisetta 
tells  her  gossip  that  the  angel  Gabriel  had  called  her  the 
handsomest  woman  "  in  the  world  or  in  the  Maremma." 
The  traveller  will  find,  however,  that  as  accommodation 
deteriorates,  the  demands  on  his  purse  become  more 
exorbitant ;  not  wholly  without  reason,  for  everything 
comes  from  other  parts — nothing  is  produced  in  the 
Maremma,  Milk,  butter,  fruit,  all  the  necessaries  of  life, 
even  bread  and  meat,  are  brought  from  a  distance  ;  fowls 
and  eggs,  and  occasionally  fish  or  a  wild-boar  chop,  are 
the  only  produce  of  the  spot.  Corn  is  not  yet  grown  in 
sufficient  quantities  for  the  winter  population. 


chap,  xlii.]  CALDANE.— CAMPIGLIA.  £25 

About  the  ninth  milestone  from  Follonica,  the  road 
crosses  the  Cornia,  which  flows  from  the  wide  valley  on 
the  right,  between  the  heights  of  Massa  and  Campiglia. 
The  latter  place  is  seen  from  afar  off,  glistening  on  the 
wooded  slopes.  A  mile  or  two  beyond  the  Cornia,  a  road 
branches  to  it,  thence  three  miles  distant ;  and  a  path 
turns  off  in  the  opposite  direction  through  the  jungle  to 
Populonia,  seven  miles  off.  Hard  by  this  spot  a  white 
house  by  the  road-side,  at  the  eleventh  milestone  from 
Follonica,  marks  Le  Caldane,  the  hot  springs,  which  have 
been  regarded  by  Inghirami,  as  well  as  by  earlier  writers, 
as  the  aqiice  calidce  ad  Vetulonios,  mentioned  by  Pliny.2 
They  are  still  used  as  hot  baths. 

Campiglia  is  a  town  of  some  consequence,  having  2000 
resident  inhabitants ;  but  in  the  cool  season  that  number 
is  almost  doubled  by  the  influx  of  the  labourers  from  other 
parts  of  the  Duchy,  who  migrate  to  the  Maremma.  A 
recent  traveller  complains  of  having  been  mobbed  here, 
and  followed  through  the  streets,  as  bears  and  monkeys 
are  by  children,  and  describes  the  locanda  as  the  worst 
that  could  possibly  exist.3  I  did  not  happen  to  be  mis- 
taken for  either  of  those  saltatory  quadrupeds  ;  and  more- 
over, in  the  Locanda  of  Giovanni  Dini,  I  experienced  great 
civility  and  attention,  and  as  much  comfort  as  can  be 
expected  in  a  country  town,  off  the  high  road,  and  where 
the  tastes  and  whims  of  foreigners  are  not  wont  to  be 


1  Tuscany  is  indebted  for  much  of  able!'"  Supplem.  p.  261. 
this  improvement  to  the  assiduous  -  Plin.  II.  106.  The  Cornia  is  sup- 
exertions  of  her  present  benevolent  posed  to  be  the  Lvnceus  of  Lycophron 
ruler,  Leopold  II.  "  He  who  in  1832,"  (Cassand.  1240),  a  river  of  Etruria 
says  Repetti,  "  visited  the  desert  and  which  abounded  in  hot  springs.  Clu- 
unhealthy  plain  between  the  Cecina  and  ver.  II.  p.  472.  Inghir.  Ric.  di  Vetul. 
the  height   of   Rosignano,  and   returns  p.  26. 

to  it  in  1846,  cannot  but  exclaim  with  3  Viaggio  Antirjuario  per  la  Via  Aure- 

me  : — 'The   evils   of  the  Tuscan   Ma-  lia,  p.  14. 
remma  are  not  then  in  every  part  incur- 

VOL.    II.  y 


•>M  THE  MAREMMA.  [chap.  xlii. 

studied.  Giovanni  himself  is  as  obliging  and  intelligent  an 
host  as  you  will  meet  in  the  wide  Maremma,  Therefore, 
those  visitors  to  Populonia,  who  do  not  accept  the  hospi- 
talities of  the  Desiderj,  or  seek  a  lodging  at  Piombino, 
cannot  do  better  than  make  the  acquaintance  of  Giovanni 
of  Campiglia. 

It  is  in  these  mountains,  and  not  far  from  Campiglia, 
that  Vetulonia  was  long  supposed  to  have  been  situated. 
Leandro  Alberti,  in  1550,  first  gave  to  the  world  a  long 
and  detailed  account  of  some  ruins  in  a  thick  wood  here- 
abouts, which,  from  the  name  of  the  wood,  and  from  the 
vicinity  of  the  hot  springs  of  Le  Caldane,  he  concluded  to 
be  the  remains  of  Vetulonia,  or,  as  he  calls  it,  Itulonium. 

He  asserts  that  between  the  Torre  di  S.  Vincenzio  and 
the  headland  of  Populonia,  three  miles  from  the  sea,  and 
in  the  midst  of  dense  woods,  is  a  spacious  inclosure  of 
ancient  masonry,  composed  of  blocks  from  four  to  six  feet 
long,  neatly  put  together,  and  without  cement ;  the  wall 
being  ten  feet  thick.  In  many  parts  it  is  overthrown 
to  the  foundations.  Within  this  are  many  fountains,  or 
reservoirs,  almost  all  ruined  and  empty ;  besides  certain 
wells,  some  quite  choked  with  earth  ;  mosaic  pavement  of 
marble  and  other  costly  stones,  but  much  ruined  ;  the 
remains  of  a  superb  amphitheatre,  in  which  lies  a  great 
block  of  marble,  inscribed  with  Etruscan  characters.  Both 
within  and  around  the  said  inclosure,  among  the  dense 
thickets  and  underwood,  lie  fragments  of  statues,  broken 
capitals  and  bases  of  columns,  slabs,  tablets,  tomb-stones, 
and  such-like  remains  of  antiquity,  together  with  very 
thick  substructions  and  fragments  of  massive  walling, 
which  he  thinks  belonged  to  some  temple  or  palace.  This 
wood,  he  says,  is  called  Selva  di  Vetletta,  and  the  ruins, 
Vetulia  ;  which  he  takes  to  be  Vetulonia,  or  a  temple 
called  Vitulonium.     All  around  these  remains  are  ruined 


ohap.  xui.]  PRETENDED  RUINS  OF  VETULONIA. 


2:27 


fountains ;  and  two  miles  beyond,  on  the  same  wooded 
hills,  is  a  large  building,  where  alum  is  prepared  ;  and 
three  miles  further,  are  the  mines,  where  iron  ore  is  dug  up. 
Following  the  said  hill,  which  faces  the  south,  for  another 
mile,  and  descending  to  its  foot,  you  find  the  marsh 
through  which  the  Cornia  flows  to  the  sea.5 

I  have  given  Alberti's  account  for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  would  seek  for  the  ruins  he  describes. 

Though  Alberti's  opinion,  as  to  this  being  the  site  of 
Vetulonia,  has  been  now  broached  for  three  centuries,  and 
though  it  has  been  adopted,  through  good  faith  in  his 
statements,  by  almost  every  subsequent  writer  on  Italian 
antiquities,6  no  one  has  hitherto  been  able  to  discover  a 
vestige  of  the  ruins  he  pretends  to  describe ;  yet  no  one 
seems  to  have  doubted  their  existence,  accounting  for  their 
disappearance  by  the  density  of  the  wood  which  covers 
the  slopes   of  these   mountains.7      The   wood,   however, 


5  Alberti,  Descrittione  d1  Italia,  p. 
27.  See  the  Appendix  to  this  Chapter. 
Inghirami  (Ric.  di  Vetul.  p.  38)  tells 
us  that  Leandro  Alberti  did  not  de- 
scribe these  ruins  from  his  own  per- 
sonal acquaintance,  but  copied  a  manu- 
script account  by  a  certain  Zaccaria 
Zacchio,  a  painter,  sculptor,  and  anti- 
quary of  Volterra,  who  wrote  long 
before  him  ;  and  pronounces  the  above 
account  to  be  the  offspring  of  Zacchio's 
lively  imagination,  copied  by  the  credu- 
lous Alberti. 

6  Cluver.  Ital.  Ant.  II.  p.  472  ;  Demp- 
ster, Etrur.  Reg.  II.  p.  432  ;  Ximenes, 
Maremma  Sanese,  p.  24  ;  Targioni- 
Tozzetti,  Viaggi  in  Toscana,  IV.  pp.  117, 
268  ;  Midler,  Etrusk.  I.  pp.  211,  347  ; 
Cramer,  Anc.  Italy,  I.  p.  187.  Lanzi 
(II.  p.  10G)  and  Micali  (Ant.  Pop. 
Ital.  I.  p.  144)  do  not  pronounce  an 
opinion.  Some  of  these  writers  had 
made   no   personal   researches   in    this 


district,  but  contented  themselves  with 
repeating  the  accounts  of  their  prede- 
cessors ;  and  even  those  who  had  tra- 
velled along  this  coast,  accepted  impli- 
citly the  assertion,  canned  away  by  the 
great  authority  of  Cluverius,  who  gave 
the  statement  to  the  world  as  his  own, 
at  least  without  acknowledging  that  he 
had  it  from  Alberti. 

"  Santi  (Viaggio,  III.  p.  189,  cited  by 
lnghir.  Ric.  di  Vetul.  p.  47)  sought  in 
vain  for  a  vestige  of  these  ruins  ;  yet 
would  he  not  impugn  the  authority  of 
previous  writers,  "  although  no  one  had 
been  able  to  ascertain  the  site  of  the 
ancient  and  irrecoverably  lost  Vetu- 
lonia." Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare  was 
also  disappointed  in  his  search  for  these 
ruins,  yet  did  not  call  in  question  their 
existence.  Classical  Tour,  I.  p.  46.  And 
it  must  be  confessed  that  Alberti's  de- 
scription, no  way  vague  or  extravagant, 
has  all  the  air  of  verity. 

q2 


228  THE  MAREMMA.  [chap.  ran. 

would  not  afford  an  effectual  concealment,  for  it  is  cut 
from  time  to  time,  at  least  once  in  a  generation  ;  so  that 
any  ruins  among  it  must,  since  Alberti's  days,  have  been 
frequently  exposed  for  years  together,  and  some  tradi- 
tional record  of  their  site  could  hardly  fail  to  be  preserved 
among  the  peasantry.  Inghirami  was  the  first  to  impugn 
Alberti's  credibility,  after  he  had  sought  in  vain  for  these 
ruins,  and  for  any  one  who  had  seen  them  ;  but  finding 
that  no  one,  native  or  foreigner,  had  ever  been  able  to  dis- 
cover their  site,  he  concluded  them  to  have  existed  only  in 
Alberti's  imagination.8  He  admits,  however,  the  currency 
of  such  rumours  along  this  coast ;  but  could  never  meet 
with  any  one  who  had  ocular  testimony  to  offer  as  to  the 
existence  of  these  ruins,  and  therefore  refers  such  tradi- 
tions to  their  probable  source — the  statement  of  Alberti, 
repeated  by  subsequent  writers,  till  it  has  become  current 
in  the  mouths  of  the  peasantry.9 

My  own  experience  does  not  quite  agree  with  Inghir- 
ami's ;  for  though  I  made  many  inquiries  at  Campiglia 
and  Populonia,  not  only  of  residents,  but  of  campagnuoli 
and  shepherds,  men  whose  life  had  been  past  in  the  neigh- 
bouring country,  I  could  not  learn  that  such  names  as 
Vetulonia,  Vetulia,  or  even  Vetletta,  or  Vetreta,  had  ever 
been  heard  in  this  district ;  nothing  beyond  the  Valle  al 
Vetro  (Vetriera,  as  I  heard  it)  which  Inghirami  speaks  of, 
the  valley  below  Campiglia,  towards  the  Caldane — a  name 
derived  from  the  glass-factories  formerly  existing  there,1 

s  Inghirami  investigated  all  this  coun-  glass.     He  also  shows,  from  other  pal- 
try  with   the  greatest  care,  but  could  pably  absurd  statements  of  Alberti  with 
find  no  vestige  of  Alberti's  Vetulonia  ;  regard   to    Populonia,   how  little  he  is 
nor  even,  among  the  traditions  of  the  worthy  of  confidence  in    such  matters, 
peasantry,  a  trace  of  the  name  Vetulia,  Ric.  di  Vetul.  pp.  40,  48,  49. 
or  Vetletta,   which    he  thinks  to  have  9  Ric.  di  Vetul.  p.  63.     To  this  source 
been  formed  by  Zacchio  or  Alberti,  from  he  ascribes  the  tradition  of  the  Masse- 
that  of  Vetreta,  which  exists  in  several  tani,  mentioned  above,  at  page  218. 
spots  along  this  coast  where  there  have  '  Ric.  di  Vetul.  p.  39. 
been  in  former  days   manufactories  of 


chap.  xui.J        ETRUSCAN  REMAINS  NEAR  CAMPIGLIA.  229 

traces  of  which  are  still  to  be  seen  in  the  dross  from  the 
furnaces.  There  are,  however,  not  a  few  remains  of  the 
olden  time  around  Campiglia.  At  Rocca  di  San  Silvestro, 
three  miles  to  the  north  towards  the  Torre  di  San  Vin- 
cenzio  f  at  Castel  di  Biserno,  a  mile  beyond  ;  at  Castel  di 
Monte  Pilli,  half  way  between  Campiglia  and  Suvereto  ;  and 
also  at  San  Bartolo — are  ruins,  but  all  of  churches  or 
castles  of  the  middle  ages. 

Though  the  ruins  Alberti  describes  are  not  now  to  be 
found,  that  there  was  an  Etruscan  population  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Campiglia  is  a  fact,  attested  by  tombs  that 
have  been  opened  at  Monte  Patone,  a  mile  below  the  town 
on  the  road  to  Populonia.  They  have  been  reclosed  with 
earth,  but  the  description  I  received  of  their  form  and 
contents — sarcophagi  with  reliefs,  and  recumbent  figures 
on  the  lids — fragments  of  bronze  armour,  embossed  with 
lions,  cocks,  boars,  serpents,  geese,  and  strange  chiniseras, 
such  as  had  never  been  seen  or  heard  of  by  my  informants 
— and  pottery  of  sundry  kinds — thoroughly  persuaded  me 
of  their  Etruscan  character. 

The  precise  site  of  this  Etruscan  town  I  did  not  ascer- 
tain. It  may  have  been  at  Campiglia  itself,  though  no 
traces  of  such  antiquity  are  now  to  be  seen  there.  In  fact, 
were  we  to  trust  to  such  blind  guides  as  Annio  of  Viterbo 
and  Leandro  Alberti,  we  should  hold  that  Campiglia  was 
founded  by  the  "  sweet-worded  Nestor,"  who  named  it 
after  his  realm  of  Pylos,  and  that  the  syllable  Cam,  by 
some  unexplained  means,  afterwards  stole  a  march  on  the 
old  appellation,  and  took  its  place  at  the  head  of  the  word.3 

After  all,  it  is  a  mere  assumption,  founded  partly  on 
Alberti's  description,  and  partly  on  the  hot  springs  at  Le 

2  To  this   ruined  fortress  Sir  R.  C.  to  be  a  corruption  of  Capitolium  ;    for 

Hoare  was  taken.      Classical    Tour,  I.  he  thinks  this  town  occupies  the  site  of 

p.  47.  the  Arx  or  Capitol  of  Vctulonia.    Viaggio 

:|  A  modern  traveller  takes  Campiglia  Antiquario  per  la  Via  Amelia,  p.  12. 


2  St  i 


THE  MAREMMA. 


[CHAP.  XL1I. 


Caklaue,  that  Vetulonia  stood  in  this  neighbourhood,  as 
tliere  is  no  statement  in  ancient  writers  which  should  lead 
us  to  look  for  it  here,  rather  than  elsewhere  along  the 
coast.4  But  the  fashion  was  set  by  Alberti,  and  it  has 
ever  since  been  followed — fashions  in  opinion  not  being  so 
easily  cast  aside  as  those  in  dress.5 

Roman  remains  have  also  been  found  in  this  neighbour- 
hood. I  heard  of  sundry  pieces  of  mosaic,  and  other 
traces  of  Roman  villas,  that  had  been  recently  brought  to 
light.6 

The  summit  of  the  hill  above  the  town  is  called  Cam- 
piglia  Vecchia,  but  there  are  no  remains  more  ancient 
than  the  middle  ages.  Forbear  not,  however,  to  ascend  ; 
for  you  will  thence  obtain  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
panoramas  in  all  Italy — where  mountain  and  plain,  rock 


4  Oliver  (II.  p.  473)  proposes  to 
alter  the  "  Velinis,"  which  the  Peutin- 
gerian  Table  places  on  this  coast  north 
of  Vada  Volaterrana  {ut  supra,  p.  212), 
into  "  Vetulonis,"  and  to  transpose  it 
so  as  to  place  it  between  Vada  and 
Populonia,  ten  miles  from  the  latter. 
Cramer  (I.  p.  187)  and  Mannert  (p.  358) 
agree  with  him.  But  this  is  a  purely 
arbitrary  transposition,  suggested  by  a 
belief  in  Alberti's  statements. 

s  Professor  Gerhard  (Ann.  Inst.  1829, 
p.  194)  suggests  three  causes,  which 
may  have  given  rise  to  this  opiuion. 
The  hot  springs  of  the  Caldane — the 
reported  existence  of  the  names  of 
Vetulia,  Vetleta,  &c,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood— and  "  the  order  in  which  Ptolemy 
mentions  Vetulonia,  after  having  cited 
Rusellse  and  Arretium  and  before  pass- 
ing to  Suana,  Saturnia,  and  Volci." 
With  regard  to  the  latter  reason, 
nothing  more  can  be  deduced  from 
the  order  of  these  places  than  from  the 
latitude  and  longitude  Ptolemy  assigns 


them,  as  it  is  evident  they  follow  no 
geographical  arrangement — "  Pisse,  Vo- 
laterrce,  Rusellte,  Feesulse,  Perusia,  Ar- 
retium, Cortona,  Acula,  Biturgia,  Man- 
liana,  Vetulonium,  Ssena,  Suana,  Satur- 
nia, Eba,  Volci,  Clusium,"  Sec. 

6  Near  Campiglia  some  ancient  mines 
have  of  late  years  been  reopened  and 
worked  with  great  success  by  an  English 
gentleman,  who,  as  I  heard  the  story, 
was  led  to  turn  his  attention  to  this  spot 
from  observing  the  mention  made  by 
Strabo  (V.  p.  223)  of  some  abandoned 
mines  near  Populonia.  ut  supra,  p.  220. 
According  to  Dempster  (II.  p.  432), 
Campiglia  could  boast  of  mines  of  a 
richer  metal,  for  he  calls  it — "  argenti 
fodinis  nuper  ditissima,  ac  monetae  ofti- 
cina."  In  the  mountains  of  Campiglia 
also  are  quarries  of  white  marble,  to 
which  the  Duomo  of  Florence  is  more 
indebted  for  its  beautiful  incrustations 
than  to  the  marble  of  Carrara.  Repetti, 
I.  p.  421. 


chap,  xlii.]  PANORAMA  OF  THE  MAREMMA.  231 

and  wood,  sea  and  sky,  lake,  river,  and  island,  are  brought 
together  into  one  mighty  spirit-stirring  whole,  where  Nature 
exults  in  undying  strength  and  freshness. 

Turn  your  back  on  the  deep  valley  of  the  Cornia  and 
the  lofty  mountains  inland,  and  let  your  eye  range  over 
the  other  half  of  the  scene.  Campiglia  lies  at  your  feet, 
cradled  in  olive-groves,  and  its  feudal  castle,  in  ivy-grown 
ruin,  scowls  over  the  subject  town.  Now  glance  south- 
ward, far  across  the  green  and  red  Maremma  and  the 
azure  bay  of  Follonica,  to  the  headland  of  Troja,  with  the 
islet  at  its  foot.  Far  beyond  it,  in  the  dim  horizon,  you 
will  perceive  another  island,  the  Giglio,  so  favourite  a 
feature  in  the  scenery  of  Corneto.  To  the  west  rises  the 
lofty  rock  of  Monte  Cristo.  Nearer  still,  the  many-peaked 
mass  of  Elba,  once  the  whole  realm  of  him  for  whom 
Europe  was  too  small,  towers  behind  the  heights  of  Piom- 
bino  ;  and  on  the  northern  extremity  of  these  heights 
gleams  the  castle  of  Populonia,  overhanging  its  sail-less 
port.  Due  west,  Capraja  rises  from  the  blue  deep  ;  and 
far,  far  beyond,  the  snow-capt  mountains  of  Corsica  faintly 
whiten  the  horizon.  More  to  the  north,  seen  through  a 
gap  in  the  olive-clad  heights  on  which  you  stand,  is  the 
steep  islet-rock  of  Gorgona. 

How  delightful  at  times  is  ignorance !  How  disenchant- 
ing is  knowledge  !  Look  over  these  luxuriant,  variegated 
woods,  these  smiling  lakes  at  your  feet  ;  admire  them, 
rejoice  in  them — think  not,  know  not,  that  for  half  the 
year  they  "  exhale  earth's  rottenest  vapours,"  and  curdle 
the  air  with  pestilence.  Let  yon  castle  on  its  headland  be 
to  you  a  picturesque  object,  placed  there  but  to  add  beauty 
to  the  scene ;  listen  not  to  its  melancholy  tale  of  desolation 
and  departed  grandeur.  Those  islands,  studding  the 
deep,  may  be,  some  at  least,  barren,  treeless,  storm-lashed 
rocks,   the  haunt  only  of  the  fisherman,   or  forsaken  as 


232  THE  MAREMMA.  [chap.  xlii. 

unprofitable  wildernesses  ;  but  to  you  who  would  enjoy 
this  scene,  let  them  be,  one  and  all,  what  they  appear, 

"  Summer-isles  of  Eden,  lying 
In  dark  purple  spheres  of  sea." 


APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  XLII. 

Alberti's  Description  of  the  pretended  ruins  of  Vetulonia. 
Voglio  discrivere  alcune  cose,  che  souo  fra  la  Torre  di  Santo  Vinceuzo,  ed  il 
Proruontorio,  sopra  lo  quale  era  posta  Populonia,  fra  quelle  selve,  e  folti  boschi  trc 
iniglia  da  '1  mare  discosto.  Vedesi  aduuque  iu  questo  luogo  tutto  silvoso,  un  graude 
e  lungo  muro  (che  abbraccia  molto  paese)  fabricato  con  gran  sassi  lunghi  comuna- 
mente  di  piedi  4  in  6,  tanto  diligeutemente  composti  insieme,  che  paiono  esser 
composti  sensa  calce  ed  altro  bitumo.  Onde  si  puo  couoscere  la  gran  diligentia  de 
gli  artefici  iu  drizzare  tanta  fabrica.  Ella  e  larga  piedi  1 0,  ben  e  vero  che  in  alcuni 
luoghi  vedesi  intiera,  ed  altrove  mezo  rovinata,  ed  anche  totalraente  insino  ai 
t'ondanienti  disfatta.  Sono  ne'l  mezo  di  questa  muraglia  molte  Fontane,  dico 
edificij  per  li  quali  scendevano  l'acque  che  hora  sono  quasi  tutti  guasti,  e  cosi  sono 
mancate  l'acque.  Etiandio  scoprensi  alquanti  pozzi,  qual  totalmente  pieno  di  terra, 
e  qual  mezo  vuoto,  e  chi  coll'  acqua,  e  chi  senza.  Vedensi  assai  silicati  alia  musaica 
molto  maestrevolmente  composti  di  preciose  pietre,  traversati  di  vaghi  compassi  di 
finissimi  marmi.  Vero  e  che  ella  e  guasta  per  maggior  parte  tanta  opera.  Altresi 
si  rapresenta  parte  d'un  superbo  Amphitheatro,  da  laquale  facihnente  si  puo  giudi- 
care  la  grandezza,  e  suntuosita  di  quello,  quanta  ella  fusse,  quando  era  in  essere. 
Quivi  giace  un  gran  pezzo  di  marmo  molto  misuratamente  intagliato  di  lettere 
Hetrusche,  come  affermano  i  curiosi  vestigatori  dell'  antichitati.  Ritrovansi  tanto 
deutro  da  detta  muraglia,  quanto  di  fuori,  per  i  vicini  luoghi,  fra  folti  boschi,  e 
cespugli,  e  pruni,  pezzi  di  nobili  marmi,  capitelli  spezzati,  basamenti,  tavole  di 
pietre,  mesule,  aveli,  ed  altre  simili  vestiggi  d'  antichitati  molto  artificiosamente 
lavorate.  Per  le  quali  si  puo  giudicare  che  fossero  ornamenti  de  nobih  edifici,  o  di 
qualche  Tempio  o  Palagio,  scoprendosi  etiamdio  grossissimi  fondamenti  con  alquanti 
pezzi  di  grandissime  mura  in  piedi.  Per  quanto  io  posso  divisare,  credo  che  questo 
fusse  edificio  (hora  tanto  rovinato,  e  abbandonato,  quanto  si  vede)  da  gli  habitatori 
de'l  paese,  Vetulia  dimandato,  e  questi  folti  boschi  nominati  la  Selva  di  Vetletta, 

quel  luogo  da  Tolemeo  Vetulonium  nominato E  se  deve  scrivere  questo 

luogo,  Itulonio,  e  cosi  si  vede  esser  corrotto  Tolemeo Fuori  di  questi  rovinati 

edifici,  da  ogni  lato  se  dimostrano  fontane  guaste  e  deri'ochatte.  Piu  avanti  cami- 
nando  lungo  quei  colli  tutti  selvaggi  e  pieni  di  cespugli  e  di  pruni,  da  Vetulia  due 
miglia  discosto,  appare  un  grand'  edificio,  ove  si  confetta  1'  alume,  c  quindi  a  tre, 
vedense  le  Fodine  overo  il  luogo  ove  se  cava  il  Ferro  molto  crudo.  Pur  piu  oltre 
seguitando  l'antidetto  colle,  che  risguarda  al  mezo  gioruo,  per  un  miglio,  e  scendendo 
alle  radici,  ritrovasi  una  Palude  che  mctte  capo  nclla  marina.  .  .  c  il  fiume  Cornia 
finisse  il  suo  corso  a  qucsla  raludc. 


ETRUSCAN     WALLS    OF     POPULONIA. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

POPULONIA—  POP  ULONIA . 

I  'roxinia  securum  reserat  Populonia  litus 

Qua  naturalem  ducit  in  arva  sinum 

Agnosci  nequeunt  £evi  monimenta  prioris 
Grandia  consumpsit  moenia  tempus  edax. 

Sola  manent  intercepts  vestigia  muris  ; 

Ruderibus  latis  tecta  sepulta  jacent. — Rutilius. 

So  long  they  traveile'd  with  little  ease, 

Till  that  at  last  they  to  a  castle  came, 

Built  on  a  rocke  adjoyning  to  the  seas; 

It  was  an  auncient  worke  of  antique  fame 

And  wondrous  strong  by  nature  and  by  skilful  frame. 


Spenser. 


He  who  would  drive  from  Campiglia  to  Populonia  must 
make  a  wide  circuit  by  the  Torre  di  San  Vincenzio.  I 
chose  the  direct  track,  which  is  practicable  only  on  foot  or 
horseback,  and  entered  the  jungle  which  stretches  from 


£84  POPULONIA.  [chap,  xliii. 

the  Leghorn  road  westward  to  the  heights  of  Populonia. 
The  wood  was  dense  enough  in  parts,  yet  I  could  catch  an 
occasional  glimpse  of  the  castle-crowned  headland  to  which 
I  was  bound.  The  ground  was  swampy  ;  the  paths,  mere 
tracks  made  by  the  cattle  ;  yet  such  difficulties  were  in 
time  overcome,  and  I  was  approaching  Populonia,  when  I 
encountered  a  more  formidable  obstacle  in  a  flock  of  sheep. 
Not  that,  like  the  knight  of  La  Mancha,  or  his  heroic  pro- 
totype, Ajax  Telamonius,  I  took  them  for  foes  to  be  sub- 
dued ;  but  some  half-a-dozen  dogs,  their  guardians,  large 
and  fierce  as  wolves,  threatened  to  dispute  my  further 
progress.  Seeing  no  shepherd  at  hand  to  calm  their  fury, 
and  not  caring  to  fight  a  passage,  or  to  put  Ulysses' 
example  and  Pliny's  precept  into  practice,  and  sit  down 
quietly  amongst  them,1  I  made  a  detour  by  the  sea-shore, 
where  a  range  of  sand-hills  concealed  me  from  their  view. 
Here  the  sand,  untrodden  perhaps  for  ages,  lay  so  loose 
and  deep  that  I  verified  the  truth  of  the  saying — 

Chi  vuol  path-  nel  mondo  una  gran  pena, 
Dorma  diritto,  o  cammini  per  arena. 

This  was  the  beach  of  the  celebrated  port  of  Populonia, 
once  the  chief  mart  of  Etruscan  commerce  ;  but  not  a  sail, 
not  even  a  skiff  now  shadowed  its  waters,  which  reflected 
nothing  but  the  girdle  of  yellow  sand-hills,  and  the  dark 
headland  of  Populonia,  with  the  turreted  ruins  on  its  crest, 
and  the  lonely  Tower  of  Baratti  at  its  foot. 

Let  future  travellers  take  warning,  and  trust  to  the  legs 
of  a  horse  or  mule,  rather  than  to  their  own,  in  crossing 
this  Maremma. 

It  is  a  steep  ascent  up  the  olive-clad  slope  to  Populonia. 

1  Homer  (Odys.  XIV.  31)  tells  us  and  let  his  stick  drop.  Pliny  (VIII. 
that  Ulysses,  on  being  attacked  by  the  61)  also  says  that  you  may  calm  dogs' 
dogs  of  Eumreus,  knowingly  sat  down,       fury  by  sitting  down  on  the  ground. 


chap,  nun.]     THE  CASTLE  AND  ITS  HOSPITABLE  LORDS.         235 

Just  before  reaching  the  Castle,  a  portion  of  the  ancient 
wall  is  passed,  stretching  along  the  brow  of  the  hill ;  but 
this  is  by  no  means  the  finest  fragment  of  the  Etruscan 
fortifications. 

The  Castle  of  Populonia  is  an  excellent  specimen  of  the 
Italian  feudal  fortress  ;  its  turrets  and  maehicolatecl  battle- 
ments make  it  as  picturesque  an  object  as  its  situation 
renders  it  prominent  in  the  scenery  of  this  district.  The 
ancient  family  of  the  Desiderj  have  been  the  hereditary 
lords  of  Populonia  for  centuries ;  and  though  the  donjon 
and  keep  are  no  more,  though  the  ramparts  are  not 
manned,  and  no  warder  winds  his  horn  at  the  stranger's 
approach,  the  Desiderj  still  dwell  within  the  castle  walls, 
in  the  midst  of  their  dependents,  retaining  all  the  patriarchal 
dignity  and  simplicity  of  the  olden  time,  without  its  tyranny; 
and  with  hospitality  in  no  age  surpassed,  welcome  the 
traveller  with  open  doors.  I  had  not  the  good  fortune  to 
make  the  acquaintance  of  this  amiable  family,  as  they 
were  in  the  metropolis  at  the  time  of  my  visit ;  but  a 
friend,  who  in  the  previous  spring  had  visited  Populonia 
for  the  sake  of  its  antiquities,  was  persuaded — compelled  I 
may  say — to  stay  a  week  at  the  Castle,  finding  it  impossible 
to  refuse  the  urgent  hospitality  of  the  Cavaliere.  It  is 
refreshing  to  experience  such  cordiality  in  a  foreign  land 
— to  find  that  hospitality  which  we  are  too  apt  to  regard 
as  peculiarly  of  British  growth,  flourishing  as  luxuriantly 
in  another  soil.  However  reluctant  to  receive  such  atten- 
tions from  strangers,  in  a  case  like  this  where  there  is 
no  inn,  nor  so  much  as  a  wineshop  where  refreshment 
may  be  had,  one  feels  at  liberty  to  trespass  a  little.  This 
dependence,  however,  on  the  good  offices  of  others 
must  interfere  with  liberty  of  action,  and  might  be  no 
slight  inconvenience,  were  the  antiquities  of  Populonia 
very  extended  or  numerous.     As  it  is,  the  traveller  may 


236  POPULONIA.  [chap,  xliii. 

drive  over  in  the  morning  from  Piombino,  five  miles 
distant,  or  even  from  Campiglia,  see  thoroughly  the 
remains  at  Populonia,  and  return  at  an  early  hour  the 
same  day. 

There  are  few  relics  of  antiquity  extant  at  Populonia 
beyond  its  walls,  which  may  be  traced  in  fragments  along 
the  brow  of  the  hill,  showing  the  Etruscan  city  to  have 
had  a  circuit  of  little  more  than  a  mile  and  a  half.2  The 
area  thus  inclosed  is  of  the  form  of  a  shoulder  of  mutton, 
with  the  shank-end  towards  the  north-east.  These  dimen- 
sions place  Populonia  in  the  rank  of  an  inferior  city,  which 
must  have  derived  its  importance  from  its  situation 
and  commerce,  rather  than  from  the  abundance  of  its 
population. 

Populonia  has  been  supposed  one  of  the  Twelve  chief 
cities  of  the  Etruscan  Confederation,3  but  without  adequate 
grounds.  Nothing  said  of  it  by  ancient  writers  marks 
it  as  of  such  importance  ;  and  the  only  statement  that  can 
in  any  way  be  construed  to  favour  such  a  view,  is  made  by 
Livy,  who  mentions  it  among  the  principal  cities  of 
Etruria,  but  at  a  time  when  the  whole  of  that  state  had 
long  been  subject  to  Roman  domination.4  The  authority 
of  Servius,  indeed,  is  directly  opposed  to  that  view,  in  the 
three  traditions  he  records  of  it : — first,  that  it  was  founded 
by  the  Corsicans,  "  after  the  establishment  of  the  Twelve 
cities  of  Etruria;"  secondly,  that  it  was  a  colony  of 
Volaterra) ;  and  thirdly,  that  the  Volaterrani  took  it  from 


-  Micali's    Plan  of  Populonia  (Ant.  not  improbable,  however,   as   Niebuhr 

Pop.  Ital.  tav.  II.)  makes  the  circuit  of  (I.    p.   118,  Eng.  trans.)  suggests,  that 

walls  to  be  more  than  8000  feet.  Populonia,  though  not  one  of  the  origi- 

3  Dempster,  II.  p.  56.  nal  Twelve  Cities,  may  in  after  times 

4  Liv.  XXVIII.  45.  Livy  can  only  have  taken  the  place  of  some  one 
mean  that  Populonia  at  the  time  re-  already  extinct  — perhaps  Vetulonia,  "  if 
ferred  to  was  among  the  first  cities  of  the  topography  be  correct  which  places 
the  Roman  province  of  Etruria.     It  is  Vetulonia  near  it.'' 


chap,  xliii.]  ANTIQUITY  AND  IMPORTANCE.  237 

the  Corsicans.4  At  any  rate,  it  was  an  inferior  and 
dependent  town  in  Etruscan  times,  and  its  consequence 
arose  from  its  commerce,  from  its  being  a  great  naval 
station,  and  also  from  the  strength  of  its  position,  which 
enabled  it  to  defy  the  attacks  of  pirates,  to  which  cities  on 
this  coast  were  then  subject.5  Moreover,  it  was  the  grand 
depot  and  factory  of  the  iron  of  Elba,  which,  as  at  the 
present  day,  was  not  smelted  in  the  island,  but  brought  for 
that  purpose  to  the  neighbouring  continent.6 

The  antiquity  of  Populonia  is  undoubted.  Virgil  repre- 
sents it  sending  forces  to  the  assistance  of  Mneas,  and 
bears  testimony  to  its  importance  in  early  times.7  Yet  we 
find  no  historical  mention  of  this  city  till  the  end  of 
the  Second  Punic  War.  When  Scipio  made  a  demand  on 
the  resources  of  the  province  of  Etruria  to  supply  his 
fleet,  each  of  the  principal  cities  furnished  that  in  which  it 
abounded — Ca3re  sent  corn  and  other  provisions;  Tarquinii, 
sailcloth ;  Volaterrae,  ship-tackle  and  corn ;  Arretium, 
corn,  weapons,  and  sundry  implements  ;  Perusia,  Clusium, 
and  Rusellae,  corn  and  fir  for  ship-building ;  and  Populonia, 
iron.8 

4  Serv.  ad  Virg.  JEn.  X.  172.  Mil-  was  not,  from  its  small  size,  entitled  to 
lingen  (Numis.  Anc.  Ital.  p.  163),  from  rank  as  a  city.  See  Muller's  remarks, 
the  character  of  certain  coins  of  Popu-       Etrusk.  I.  p.  348. 

Ionia,  attributes  the  foundation  of  the  6  Strabo,  loc.  cit.  ;  Varro,  ap.  Serv. 

town   to    the   Phocseans,   during   their  ad   Mn.   X.    174;    Pseudo-Aristot.   de 

settlement   in    Corsica,    and   thinks   it  Mirab.  Auscult.  c.  95. 

possible  that  they  may  have  long  held  "  Virg.  Mn.  X.  172.     Whereas  the 

possession  of  it.  whole   island    of    Elba  sent  only    300 

5  Strabo  (V.  p.  223),  and  Pliny  (III.  warriors,  Populonia  sent  600 — 

8)  tell  us  it  was  the  only  one    of  the  _       ,     . 

.     ^    -n±  -A-    "      ,  •  ,  Sexcentos  illi  dederat  Populonia  mater 

ancient    Etruscan     cities     winch     was  „.    .  T, 

..     .   ,  ,  , .  .,  Expertos  belli  juvenes  ;  ast   Ilva   tre- 

situated,  properly  speaking,  on  the  sea.  r  J 

cantos 
Whence  it   is   evident    that   Telamon, 

Graviscse,  Pyrgi,  and  the  other  places  8  Liv.    XXVIII.  45.      It    is    subse- 

on  this  coast  were  not  cities  ;  probably  quently   mentioned    in   the    year   552, 

mere  landing-places — ports  to  the  great  when  Claudius  Nero  the    consul   took 

cities   in    their   vicinity.      Even    Cosa,  refuge  in  this  harbour  from  a  storm. 

though  similarly  situated  to  Populonia,  Liv.  XXX.  39. 


238  POPULONIA.  [oha*.  xuir. 

Like  Volaterrse,  Populonia  sustained  a  siege  from  the 
forces  of  Sylla,  and  was  almost  destroyed  by  the  victor  ;  for 
Strabo,  who  visited  it  nearly  a  century  afterwards,  says 
the  place  would  have  been  an  utter  desert,  were  it  not  that 
the  temples  and  a  few  of  the  houses  were  still  standing;9 
even  the  port  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  was  better  inhabited. 
It  seems  never  to  have  recovered  from  this  blow,  though 
we  find  it  subsequently  mentioned  among  the  coast-towns 
of  Etruria.1  At  the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  of  our 
era  it  was  in  utter  ruin,  and  the  description  of  Rutilius  is 
quite  applicable  to  its  present  condition.2  Micali  ascribes 
its  final  destruction  to  the  Saracens  in  A.  D.  826  and  828  ;3 
but  Repetti  makes  it  more  than  two  centuries  earlier, 
referring  it  to  the  Lombards  in  the  time  of  Gregory  the 
Great.4 

Within  the  walls  of  Populonia  are  to  be  seen  a  line  of 
six  parallel  vaults,  co7icamerationes,  sometimes  erroneously 
called  an  amphitheatre  ;  a  curious  piece  of  mosaic,  with 
a  variety  of  fishes  ;5  and  some  reservoirs  of  water — all 
of  Roman  times.  Nothing  is  Etruscan  within  the  walls. 
On  the  highest  ground  is  a  tower,  where  the  French 
established  a  telegraph.  Strabo  tells  us  that  in  his  time 
there  was  a  look-out  tower  on  this  promontory,  to  watch 
the  arrival  of  the   tunny-fish  ;6   just   as   is   the  practice 

9  Juno  had  a  temple  at  Populonia.  *  Repetti,  IV.  p.  580. 

Macrob.  Sat.  III.  11.     And  there  was  a  s  gee  ;gun.  Inst.  1843,  p.  150,  for  an 

very   ancient    and    curious    statue    of  account  of  this  mosaic  from  the  pen  of 

Jupiter  here,  hewn  from  the  trunk  of  Inghirami,  who   mentions    the   various 

an  enormous  vine.      Pliny    (XIV.    2)  fish  under  their  scientific  names, 

speaks  of  it  as  extant  in  his  day,  though  fi  Strabo, loc.cit. — 0vvvoanoire7ov.   Hol- 

of  great  antiquity — tot  revis   incorrup-  stenius  (Annot.adCluv  p.  2.0)  interprets 

turn.  this  woi'd  as  piscatio  thummrum  ;  and 

1  Mela.  II.  4.     Plin.  III.  8.     Ptolemy  does   not   think   there   was  any   tower, 
(p.  68,  ed.  Bert.)  even  calls  it  a  city.  But  he  stands  alone  in  this  opinion.     It 

2  Rutil.  Itin.  I.  401 — 412.     See  the  was   probably   this  same   tower   which 
heading  to  this  Chapter.  was   standing  in  the  time  of   Rutilius, 

:i  .Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  I.  p.  150.  four  centuries  later,  who  speaks   of  a 


chap,  xltii.]  THE  SPECULAR  MOUNT.  239 

at  the  present  day  along  the  coasts  of  Italy.  It  may  have 
stood  on  this  height,  which  commands  a  wide  view  of  the 
Mediterranean,  though  Repetti  thinks  it  probably  occupied 
the  eastern  cliff,  which  is  still  known  by  the  name  of 
Punto  della  Tonnarella.  From  this  "  specular  mount"  you 
perceive  that  Populonia  is  situated,  as  Strabo  describes  it, 
"  on  a  lofty  promontory,  sinking  abruptly  to  the  sea,  and 
forming  a  peninsula."  The  Castle  hides  the  view  of 
the  bay ;  but  on  the  north  the  coast  is  seen  trending 
away  in  a  long  low  line  towards  the  mountains  around 
Leghorn  ;  and  even  the  snowy  Apennines  above  the  Gulf 
of  Spezia  may  be  descried  in  clear  weather.  As  the  eye 
sweeps  round  the  horizon  of  waters,  it  meets  the  steep 
rock  of  Gorgona,  then  the  larger  and  nearer  island  of 
Capraja,  and,  if  the  weather  be  very  clear,  the  mountain- 
crests  of  Corsica  beyond.  But  those  of  Sardinia  are  not 
visible,  though  Strabo  has  recorded  his  experience  to  the 
contrary,  and  Macaulay,  on  his  authority,  has  sung  of 

"  sea-girt  Populonia, 
Whose  sentinels  descry 
Sardinia's  snowy  mountain-tops 
Fringing  the  southern  sky." 

Even  were  the  distance  not  too  great,  the  broad  mass 
of  Elba  which  fills  the  south-western  horizon,  would 
effectually  conceal  them  from  the  view.  That  island  rises 
in  a  long  line  of  dark  peaks,  the  loftiest  of  which  on 
the  right  is  Monte  Campana  ;  and  the  highest  at  the 
other  end  of  the  range,  is  crowned  by  the  town  of  Rio. 

beacon-tower  on   the   fortifications,   in-  Sed   speculam,   valicUc    rupis  sortita 

stead  of  a  Pharos  built  as  usual  on  the  vetustas, 

mole  ;  so   that  a   double   purpose   was  Qua  fiuctus  domitos  arduus  urget 

served  (I.  403 — 8)  : —  apex. 

Non   illic   positas  extollit  in  sethera  Castellum   geminos  hominum  funda- 

moles  vit  in  usus, 

Lumine      nocturno      conspicienda  Presidium      tcrris,      indiciunique 

Pharos  ;  fretis. 


24-0 


POPULONIA. 


[chap,  xliii. 


Midway  lies  the  Bay  of  Portoferrajo,  so  called  from 
its  shipments  of  iron  ore  ;  and  the  town  itself,  the  court  of 
the  exiled  Emperor,  is  visible  on  a  rock  jutting  into 
the  bay.6 

The  finest  portions  of  the  Etruscan  walls  he  on  this 
western  side  of  Populonia,  and  from  the  magnitude  of  the 
masonry  are  appropriately  termed  "  I  Massi."7  They  are 
formed  of  blocks,  perhaps  less  rectangular  than  those  of 
Volterra,  but  laid  horizontally,  though  with  little  regularity. 
More  care  seems  to  have  been  bestowed  on  smoothing  the 
surface  of  the  masonry  than  on  its  arrangement ;  and  it  is 
often  vain  to  attempt  to  count  the  number  of  courses,  as 
blocks  of  very  different  heights  lie  side  by  side.  None  of 
them  are  of  the  vast  dimensions  of  some  at  Fiesole  and 
Volterra.8     But  the  frequent  splitting  of  the  rock  often 


0  Portoferrajo  is  20  miles  from  Popu- 
lonia,  but  the  nearest  point  of  Elba  is 
not  more  than  15  miles.  He  who 
would  cross  to  that  island  must  do  so 
from  Follonica  or  Piombino  —  better 
from  the  latter  from  which  it  is  only 
8  miles  distant,  and  whence  there  is  a 
regular  communication.  As  the  island 
belonged  to  the  Etruscans,  remains  of 
that  people  may  be  expected  to  exist 
there,  but  I  have  never  heard  of  such 
being  discovered  ;  and  I  have  had  no 
opportunity  of  visiting  it  for  personal 
research.  Sir  Richard  C.  Hoare  de- 
scribes some  ancient  remains  at  Le 
Grotte,  opposite  Portoferrajo,  and  on 
Capo  Castello,  where  they  are  called 
the  "  Palazzo  della  Regina  dell'  Elba," 
— both  he  considers  to  be  of  the  same 
date,  and  his  description  seems  to  indi- 
cate them  as  Roman. — Classical  Tour, 
I.  pp.  23,  26.  But  he  who  would  gain 
information  on  the  antiquities  of  Elba, 
should  seek  an  introduction  to  Signor 
Francois,  the  experienced  and  success- 
ful excavator  of  Tuscan  Etruria,  who  is 


now  a  resident  at  Portoferrajo.  Elba, 
however,  has  more  interest  for  the 
naturalist  than  for  the  antiquary.  It 
is,  as  Repetti  observes,  "  the  best 
stored  mineralogical  cabinet  in  Tus- 
cany." Its  iron  mines  have  been  re- 
nowned from  the  days  of  the  Romans 
(ut  supra,  page  237),  and  Virgil  (Mn. 
X.  174)  truly  calls  Elba, 

Insula  inexhaustis  chalybum  generosa 
metallis. 
For  an  account  of  this  beautiful  island 
and  its  productions  see  Repetti,  II.   V. 
Isola  dell'  Elba. 

'  It  is  this  portion  of  the  walls  which 
is  represented  in  the  woodcut  at  the 
head  of  this  Chapter.  The  block 
marked  a  is  6  ft.  6  in.  by  2  ft.  6  in.— 
that  marked  b  is  5  ft.  4  in.  by  2  ft. 
2  in. 

8  The  largest  I  could  find  was  7  feet 
in  length  ;  few  are  more  than  2  feet  in 
height,  and  many  much  less  than  one. 
It  may  be  observed  here,  as  at  Volterra 
and  other  sites  in  northern  Etruria, 
that  the  smallest  and  shallowest  blocks 


chap,  xliii.]  ETRUSCAN  WALLS  AND  TOMBS  OF  POPULONIA.  241 

renders  it  difficult  to  determine  their  original  size  and 
form  ;  and  in  parts  gives  them  a  very  irregular  character.9 
In  other  parts,  more  to  the  south,  the  walls  are  composed 
of  long  and  very  shallow  courses,  the  rock  having  there 
a  tendency  to  split  in  thin  lamince.  As  in  all  other 
Etruscan  walling,  there  is  an  entire  absence  of  cement  or 
cramping. 

In  every  part  of  the  circuit,  the  walls  of  Populonia  are 
embankments  only,  never  rising  above  the  level  of  the  city, 
as  is  sometimes  the  case  at  Volterra.  In  no  part  are  they 
now  to  be  seen  more  than  ten  or  twelve  feet  in  height. 

The  other  Etruscan  remains  of  Populonia  are  a  few 
tombs  in  the  surrounding  slopes.  About  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  below  the  walls  to  the  south,  are  some  sepulchres, 
called,  like  the  vaults  in  the  theatre  of  Fiesole,  Le  Buche 
delle  Fate — "the  Fairies'  Dens."  They  are  hollowed  in 
low  cliffs  of  yellow  sandstone,  and  have  passages  cut  down 
to  them,  as  in  the  southern  part  of  Etruria,  but  have  no 
monumental  facade.  They  seem  to  have  been  circular, 
but  the  rock  is  so  friable  that  the  original  form  is  nearly 
destroyed.  How  long  they  have  been  opened  I  could  not 
learn.  They  are  not  to  be  found  without  a  guide,  as  the 
path  to  them  lies  through  a  dense  wood  of  tall  lentiscus. 


are  generally  at  the  bottom,  as  if   to  split,  perhaps  from  the  superincumbent 

make  a  good  foundation  for  the  larger  weight,    and    often    diagonally,    so    as 

masses.  to  convert  a  quadrangular    mass    into 

9  The  walls  of  Populonia  have  been  two  or  more    of  triangular  form  ;   an 

styled    polygonal     (Gerhard,     Memor.  example    of    which    is    shown   in   the 

Inst.   I.  p.  79)  ;  but  I  could  perceive  woodcut  at   the  head  of  this  Chapter, 

nothing   to  warrant  such  a  nomencla-  In  truth,  it  is  singular  to  observe  how 

ture.     It  is  true  that  small  pieces  are  closely  this  masonry  in  some  parts  re- 

often  inserted  to  fill  the  interstices,  and  sembles  the  natural  rock,  when  split  by 

few  blocks  are  strictly  rectangular  ;  but  time  or  the  elements.     The  most  irre- 

if  carefully  examined  it  will  be  gene-  gular  masses,  however,  are  trapezoidal 

rally  found  that  the  most  irregular  are  or    triangular  ;    and     horizontally     is 

mere  splittings  from  larger  blocks,  for  throughout  the  distinctive  character  of 

the   rock,  a  schistose    sand-stone,  has  the  masonry. 

VOL.  II.  R 


242  POPULONIA.  [chap.  xliii. 

On  the  hill  to  the  east  of  Populonia,  and  about  one 
mile  from  the  castle,  are  other  tombs,  opened  in  1840  by 
Signor  Francois  ;  and  known  by  the  name  of  Le  Grotte. 
They  are  within  a  tumulus ;  and  other  similar  mounds, 
probably  containing  tombs,  rise  on  this  spot.1  They 
had  already  been  rifled  of  their  most  precious  con- 
tents in  former  ages,  so  that  little  was  learnt  of  the 
sepulchral  furniture  of  Populonia.  Some  painted  vases, 
however,  are  said  to  have  been  found  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, near  the  chapel  of  San  Cerboni,  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill. 

Not  a  vestige  now  remains  of  the  docks  or  slips  which 
Strabo  tells  us  anciently  existed  at  Populonia.2 

We  learn  from  coins  that  the  Etruscan  name  of  this  city 
was  "Pupltjna,"3 — a  name  which  seems  to  be  derived 
from  the  Etruscan  Bacchus — "  Phuphlttns  ; "  *  as  Mantua 
was  from  the  Etruscan  Pluto — Mantus  ;  if  it  be  not  rather 
a  compound  word  ;  for  "  Luna  "  being  found  in  the  names 
of  three  Etruscan  towns,  all  on  the  coast — Luna,  Pup-luna, 
Vet-luna — seems  significant  of  a  maritime  character.5 

Populonia  is  one  of  the  few  Etruscan  cities  of  which 
coins,  unquestionably  genuine,  have  been  found.    They  are 


1  Inghirami,  Bull.  Inst.  1843,  p.  148.  derive  Populonia  from  this  source;  and 

2  Strabo,  V.  p.  223.  so   also  Gerhard  (Ann.  Inst.  1833,  p. 

3  It  is  sometimes  written  "Puplana,"  193  ;  Gottheiten  der  Etrusker,  p.  29.) 
or  contracted  into  "  Pup."  The  town  But  may  it  not  be,  on  the  contrary,  that 
was  called  Populonia  by  Virgil,  Servius,  the  god  took  this  name  from  the  town, 
Mela,  and  Rutilius — Populonii,  by  Livy  as  Venus  did  hers  of  Cypris  and 
— and  Poplonium,  or  Populonium,  by  Cytherea,  from  her  favourite  islands  ? 
Strabo,  the  Pseudo- Aristotle,  Stephanus,  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  Etruscan 
Ptolemy,  and  the  Itineraries.  name    "  Pupli,"   "  Puplina,"    (Publius) 

4  Bacchus  is  so  designated  on  several  had  some  affinity  to  "  Pupluna."  For 
Etruscan  mirrors  —  e.  g.  that  which  the  distinction  between  Phuphluns  and 
forms  the  frontispiece  to  Vol.  I.  of  this  Tinia,  see  Grotefend,  Ann.  Inst.  1835, 
work.     See  Gerhard,  Etrusk.  Spieg.  taf.  pp.  274 — 8. 

LXXXIII.    LXXXIV.     XC.      Micali  3  Ut  supra,  page  83. 
(Ant.    Pop.    Ital.    III.    p.    173)    would 


CHAP.    XLIII.] 


COINS.— GORGONION. 


243 


of  gold  and  silver,  as  well  as  of  copper,  and  generally  have 
one  or  two  small  crosses,  which  mark  their  value.  The 
emblems  are  often  significant  of  the  commerce  of  the  town. 
The  head  of  Vulcan  ;  a  hammer  and  tongs,  on  the  reverse 
— in  allusion  to  its  iron-foundries.  The  head  of  Mercury ; 
a  cadnceus  and  trident — indicative  of  its  commerce  and 
maritime  importance.  The  head  of  Minerva ;  an  owl, 
with  a  crescent  moon  and  two  stars.6  But  the  most 
remarkable  type  on  the  coins  of  Populonia  is  the  Gor- 
gonion;  not  here  "  the  head  of  the  fair-cheeked  Medusa — "7 

"A  woman's  countenance  with  serpent  locks," — 

as  it  is  represented  by  the  sculptors  of  later  Greece,  and 
by  Leonardo  da  Vinci,  in  his  celebrated  picture  ;  but  a  mon- 
strous fiend-like  visage,  just  as  in  the  subjoined  woodcut,8 


6  Another  type  of  Populonia  is  a 
female  head,  helmeted,  with  a  fish  by 
its  side  ;  this  Lanzi  thinks  refers  to 
the  tunny  fisheries  mentioned  by 
Strabo.  Other  coins  have  a  wild-boar 
— an  apt  emblem  of  the  Maremma  ;  or 
a  lion,  about  to  seize  his  prey,  which 
Millingen  thinks  is  an  evident  imitation 
of  an  Ionic  coin.  One  mentioned  by 
Eckhel  with  a  female  head  covered 
with  a  lion's  skin,  and  a  club  on  the 
reverse,  Muller  considers  significant  of 
the  Lydian  origin  of  the  Etruscans. 
Many  of  the  coins  of  Populonia  have 
the  peculiarity  of  having  the  reverse 
cmite  bare.  For  descriptions  and  illus- 
trations of  the  coins  of  Populonia,  see 
Pa6seri,  Paralip.  in  Dempst.  tab.V.  3 — 5  ; 
Lanzi,  Saggio,  II.  pp.  27,  (11,  tav.  II. 
1 — 3  ;  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav. 
CXV.  ;  Ital.  av.  Rom.  tav.  LIX— 
LXI. ;  Muller,  Etrusk.  I.  pp.  323,  330  ; 
Mionnet,Med.  Ant.  I.  pp.  101 — 2  ;  Suppl. 
I. pp.  199—203  ;  Sestini, Geog.  Numis.II. 
p.  5  ;    Millingen,   Numis.    Anc.    Ttalie, 


p.  163,  et  seq.;  cf.  Capranesi,  Ann.  Inst. 
1840,  p.  204.  ;  Abeken,  Mittelitalien,  taf. 
XI.  1—3  ;  Micali,  Mon.  Ined.  p.  348, 
et  scq.  tav.  LIV. 

l  Pindar,  Pyth.  XII.  28. 

8  This  cut  is  taken  from  a  vase  from 
Chiusi,  but  it  is  characteristic  of  the 
Etruscan  Gorgonion. 

The  Gorgon's  head,  according  to  the 
Orphic  doctrines,  was  a  symbol  of  the 
lunar  disk.  Epigenes,  ap.  Clem.  Alex- 
and.  Strom.  V.  p.  676,  ed.  Potter. 

A  singular  opinion  has  been  broached 
by  Dr.  Levezow  of  Berlin — that  the 
type  of  the  Gorgon  of  antiquity  was 
nothing  but  an  ape  or  ourang-outang, 
seen  on  the  African  coast  by  some  early 
Greek  or  Phoenician  mariner  ;  and  that 
its  ferocious  air,  its  horrible  tusks,  its 
features  and  form  caricaturing  humanity, 
seized  on  his  imagination,  which  repro- 
duced the  monster  in  the  series  of  his 
myths.  See  a  review  of  Levezow's 
work  by  the  Due  de  Luynes,  Ann.  Inst., 
1834,  pp.  311—332. 

I!    2 


244  P0PUL0N1A.  [chap,  xliii. 

with  snaky  hair,  with  gnashing  tusks,  and  tongue  lolling 
out  of 

"  The  open  mouth,  that  seemed  to  containe 
A  full  good  pecke  within  the  utmost  brim, 
All  set  with  yron  teeth  in  raunges  twaine, 
That  terrifide  his  foes,  and  armed  him, 
Appearing  like  the  mouth  of  Orcus  griesly  grim." 


ETRUSCAN     GORGONION. 


KTRUSCAN    WALLS    OF     RUSELL-E. 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

ROSELLE .— R  USELLM. 

Jam  silvse  steriles,  et  putres  robore  trunci 
Assaraci  pressere  domos,  et  templa  Deorum, 
Jam  lassa  radice  tenent,  ac  tota  teguntur 
Pergama  dumetis  ;  et  jam  periere  mime. — Luca.n. 

It  is  a  tedious  drive  of  nearly  thirty  miles  from  Folloniea 
to  Grosseto.  There  is  a  track  along  the  coast  direct  to 
Castiglion  della  Pescaja,  leaving  the  Torre  di  Troja,  the 
Trajanus  Portus  of  antiquity,1  to  the  right ;  but  the  high- 
road, formed  of  late  years,  leaves  the  coast  at  Folloniea, 
and  runs  for  half  the  way  through  a  long  barren  valley. 
At  the  distance  of  nine  miles  is  the  Locanda  della  Potassa, 


1  Ptol.  Geog.  p.  fifi,  ed.  Bert 


246  RUSELLjE.  [chaf.  xliv. 

a  wretched  osteria,  yet  the  best  halting-place  on  the  road. 
Beyond  Gavorrano,  Caldana,  and  Giuncario,  the  scenery 
begins  to  improve,  and  Colonna  on  a  wooded  height  is  a 
picturesque  feature  in  the  landscape.  This  is  supposed  to 
be  the  Colonia,  near  which,  in  the  year  of  Rome  529, 
took  place  the  great  rout  of  the  Gauls,  commonly  called 
the  battle  of  Telamon.2 

The  half-way  house  to  Grosseto  is  Lupo,  a  wretched 
cabaret — a  mere  wolfs  den.  Here  you  emerge  from  the 
valley  into  a  vast,  treeless,  houseless  moor,  or  rather  swamp, 
containing  the  waters  of  the  Lake  Castiglione,  the  Lacus 
Prelius  or  Aprilis  of  antiquity,  and  realizing  all  your  worst 
conceptions  of  the  Maremma,  its  putrescent  fens,  its  deso- 
late scenery.  You  must  make  a  wide  circuit  at  the  edge 
of  the  swamp,  beneath  the  Monte  Pescali,  ere  you  reach 
the  gates  of  Grosseto.  If  the  morass  have  its  horrors,  it 
is  not  necessary  to  linger  amid  them,  for  the  road  is 
excellent. 

Grosseto,  the  capital  of  the  Tuscan  Maremma,  stands  on 
the  very  level  of  the  plain.  It  has  two  or  three  thousand 
inhabitants — a  population  almost  doubled  in  winter  ;  and 
in  comparison  with  the  towns  and  villages  in  its  neighbour- 
hood, seems  an  oasis  of  civilization ;  for  it  has  an  air  of 
neatness  and  cleanliness,  a  small  but  pretty  cathedral,  a 
faint  reflection  of  the  glories  of  Siena,  a  theatre !  and  an 
inn,  whose  praises  I  cannot  express  better  than  by  saying 

2  It  is  Frontinus  (Strat.  I.  2,  7)  who  of  the  same  when  in  that  part  of  the 

mentions   Colonia    as   the   site  of  that  country,  or  I  should  not  have  passed 

battle.     Polybius  (II.   27)  says  it  was  the  spot  without  examination.     Repetti 

fought  near  Telamon.     This  Colonna  di  (I.    p.     784)     does     not     think     this 

Buriano   is  said  to  have  the  remains  Colonna  can  be  the   site   of    the  said 

of     Cyclopean     walling     and     Roman  battle,  which  he  would  rather  place  at 

pavement    on  the  summit  of  the  hill  ;  a  village,  Colonnata,  in  the  neighbour- 

and  vases,  Roman  coins  and  other  anti-  hood  of  Toscanella.     Cluver  (II.  p.  475) 

quarian    treasures  are  stated   to   have  takes  this  Buriano  to  be  the  site  of  the 

been  there  discovered.     I  was  not  aware  Salebro  of  the  Itineraries. 


chap,  xliv.]  GROSSETO.— BAGNI  DI  ROSELLE.  247 

it  is  one  of  the  best  in  Tuscany,  south  of  Florence.  The 
padrona,  the  widow  Palandri,  is  known  far  and  wide 
through  the  Maremma — nay,  throughout  the  Duchy — not 
only  for  the  excellence  of  her  accommodation,  but  for  her 
boast  of  having  resided,  maid,  wife,  and  widow,  more  than 
sixty  years  at  Grosseto,  summer  as  well  as  winter,  and  in 
robust,  uninterrupted  health — a  living  monument  of  the 
elasticity  of  the  human  frame,  and  of  its  power  to  resist  by 
habituation  the  most  noxious  influences  of  Nature.  For 
Grosseto,  though  protected  from  the  assaults  of  man  by 
strong  fortifications,  has  no  safeguard  against  the  insidious 
attacks  of  the  marsh-fever,  which  desolates  it  in  summer ; 
and  the  proverbial  saying,  "Grosseto  ingrossa" — save  in  the 
case  of  La  Palandri,  where  it  applies  literally — is  no  mere 
play  upon  words,  nor  is  it  to  be  taken  ironically,  but  refers 
to  the  bloating,  dropsifying  effect  of  the  oft-recurring 
fever.  Grosseto  has  no  interest  to  the  antiquarian,  beyond 
its  vicinity  to  the  ancient  Etruscan  city  of  Rusellse,  which 
lies  a  few  miles  to  the  north,  near  the  high-road  to  Siena. 
At  the  distance  of  about  four  miles  on  this  road  are  the 
hot-springs,  called  I  Bagni  cli  Roselle.  Above  them  rises 
a  lofty  hill,  Poggio  di  Moscona,  crowned  with  ruins,  which 
the  traveller  will  be  apt  to  mistake  for  those  of  Rusellse, 
as  did  Sir  Richard  Colt  Hoare.3  At  the  little  wineshop 
hard  by  the  Baths  a  guide  is  generally  to  be  had.  I  found 
not  one,  but  half  a  dozen — young  peasants,  who  had  come 
to  hear  mass  in  the  little  chapel,  and  were  returning  to 
the  site  of  Rusellae,  where  their  cattle  were  grazing.  There 
are  two  ways  hence  to  the  ancient  city,  one  on  each  side 
of  the  lofty  hill  of  Moscona.  It  would  not  be  amiss  to  go 
one  way  and  return  the  other.  I  took  the  path  to  the 
right,  and  after  traversing  a  forest  of  underwood  for  a 

:l  Classical  Tour,  T.  p.  4.9. 


248  RUSELLjE.  [chap.  xliv. 

couple  of  miles,  ascended  the  steep  slope  on  which  Rusellae 
was  situated.  The  hill  is  one  of  those  truncated  cones 
sometimes  chosen  by  the  Etruscans  for  the  site  of  their 
cities,  as  at  Orvieto,  Saturnia,  and  Cosa ;  and  the  slopes 
around  it  are  covered  with  wood,  so  dense  that  it  effectually 
conceals  the  walls  from  the  spectator  at  a  distance.  By 
this  road  I  entered  Rusella?  on  its  south-western  side.  I 
then  turned  to  the  right  and  followed  the  line  of  walls, 
which  are  traceable  in  detached  fragments  along  the  brow 
of  the  hill. 

At  first,  the  masonry  was  horizontal — rudely  so  indeed, 
.  like  that  of  Volterra  and  Populonia,  but  such  was  its 
decided  character,  though  small  stones  were  inserted  in  the 
interstices  of  the  large  masses.4  But  when  I  had  gained 
the  eastern  side  of  the  city,  I  found  all  rectangularity  and 
horizontality  at  an  end,  the  walls  being  composed  of  enor- 
mous masses  piled  up  without  regard  to  form,  and  differing 
only  from  the  rudest  style  of  Cyclopean,  as  described  by 
Fausanias,  in  having  the  outer  surfaces  smoothed.  Speak- 
ing of  Tiryns  in  Argolis,  that  writer  says,  "  The  walls,  which 
are  the  only  ruins  remaining,  are  the  work  of  the  Cyclops, 
and  are  formed  of  unhewn  blocks,  each  of  which  is  so  huge 
that  the  smallest  of  them  could  not  be  in  the  least  stirred 
by  a  yoke  of  mules.  Small  stones  were  fitted  in  of  old, 
in  such  a  way  that  each  of  them  is  of  great  service  in 
uniting  the  laro-e  blocks.5'5  In  these  walls  of  Rusellre  small 
blocks  are  intermixed  with  the  large  masses,  occupying  the 
interstices,  and  often  in  some  measure  fitted  to  the  form  of 

4  It  is  this  regular  portion  of  the  walls  kXuttwv  fxtv  tcriv  tpyov,  irtiroir]Tai  Si 
which  is  represented  in  the  wood-cut  at  apyuiv  \idwv,  /xeyeOos  i%a'v  tnaaros 
the  head  of  this  chapter.  They  are  here  \idos,  &s  an  abrwv  fiitf  av  apxV 
about  15  feet  high  ;  the  block  marked  a  Kivydrjvai  rhv  niKporarov  vwb  (^tvyovs 
is  7  feet  4  inches  long,  by  5  feet  4  inches  rmiSvaiy.  \i8ia  Si  tvr\p\xoarai  ird\ai,  ws 
in  height.  fxaKiffra    aurwt/     enaarov    ap/ioviav    tois 

5  Pausan.    II.    25,    7.     Tb    5rj    t(?xos  ncya\  ois  \Wots  thai.     cf.  II.  16,4. 
h  St)   f.u6vov   rwv     iptnrioiv   Xt'nrtTai.     Kv- 


CHAP.  XLIV.] 


ETRUSCAN  WALLS  OF  RUSELL.E. 


249 


the  gap.  The  irregularity  and  shapelessness  of  this  masonry 
is  partly  owing  to  the  travertine  of  which  it  is  composed ; 
that  material  not  so  readily  splitting  into  determinate 
forms  as  limestone,  although  it  has  a  horizontal  cleavage.6 
The  masses  are  in  general  very  large,  varying  from  six 
to  ten  feet  in  length,  and  from  four  to  eight  in  height. 
Some  stand  vertically  seven  or  eight  feet,  by  four  or  five 
in  width,  and  I  observed  one  nearly  thirteen  feet  in  length.7 
The  walls  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  city  are  in  several 
parts  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high  ;  but  on  the  north,  where 
they  are  most  perfect,  they  rise  to  the  height  of  twenty  to 
thirty  feet.  Here  the  largest  blocks  are  to  be  seen,  and 
the  masonry  is  most  Tirynthian  in  character ;  here  also 
the  walls  are  not  mere  embankments,  but  rise  above  the 
level  of  the  city.      On  the  western  side  there  are  few 


6  These  walls  are  cited  by  Gerhard 
(Ann.  Inst.  1829,  p.  40;  cf.  1831, 
p.  410,  tav.  d'agg.  F.  1.)  as  an  example 
of  the  rudest  and  most  ancient  kind  of 
Cyclopean  masonry,  similar  to  those  of 
Tiryns  and  Mycenee  in  Argolis,  and  of 
Arpino  and  Aufidena  in  Italy  ;  but  the 
smoothing  of  the  outer  surface  distin- 
guishes them  from  the  Cyclopean  walls 
of  Pausanias,  as  well  as  from  the  ancient 
walls  above  Monte  Fortino,  thought  to 
be  those  of  Artena  of  the  Volsci,  and 
from  those  at  Civitella  and  Olevano, 
on  the  opposite  range  of  mountains  ; 
all  of  which  are  in  every  respect 
unhewn.  Mr.  Bunbury  (Class.  Mus.  V. 
p.  180)  speaks  of  portions  of  the  walls  of 
Rusellae  being  "  decidedly  polygonal " — 
a  term  by  no  means  applicable ;  for  there 
is  nothing  here  resembling  the  ancient 
masonry  of  Cosa,  or  of  Segni,  Alati'i,  and 
other  polygonal  fortifications  of  Central 
Italy.  Mr.  Bunbury,  however,  does  not 
speak  from  personal  acquaintance  with 
Rusellse.     He  also  states  that  all  the 


polygonal  portions  of  these  walls  are  of 
hard  limestone,  while  the  regular 
masonry  is  of  macigno,  or  stratified 
sandstone.  I  may  be  allowed  to  ques- 
tion this  fact,  for  to  me  the  rock  appear- 
ed to  be  travertine  throughout.  This  is 
confirmed  by  Repetti,  IV.  p.  820. 

7  I  add  the  dimensions  of  a  few  of 
these  blocks — 8  feet  4  inches  high,  by  3 
feet  2  inches  wide — 12  feet  8  inches  long, 
by  2  feet  10  inches  high — 7  feet  4  inches, 
by  4  feet  10  inches — 6  feet  4  inches,  by 
5  feet  4  inches. 

The  difficulty  of  raising  such  huge 
blocks  into  their  places  would  be  im- 
mense ;  but  I  believe  that  in  nearly  all 
these  cases  where  the  walls  are  formed 
of  the  local  rock,  they  have  been  let 
down  from  above — that  the  top  of  the 
insulated  height  chosen  for  the  site 
of  the  city  was  levelled,  and  the  masses 
thus  quarried  off  were  used  in  the  forti- 
fications. There  are  still  some  deep 
pits  in  one  part  of  the  city,  whence 
stone  has  been  cut. 


250  RUSELLiE.  [chap.  xliv. 

fragments  extant,  and  those  are  of  smaller  and  more 
regular  masonry  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  circuit.  On 
this  side  are  many  traces  of  an  inner  wall  banking  up  the 
higher  ground  within  the  city,  and  composed  of  small 
rectangular  blocks,  corresponding  in  size  with  those  usually 
forming  city-walls  in  the  volcanic  district  of  the  land.  The 
space  between  this  outer  and  inner  line  of  wall  reminded 
me  of  the  pomeerium,  the  sacred  space  within  and  without 
the  walls  of  Etruscan  cities,  no  signs  of  which  have  I  been 
able  to  trace  on  any  other  ancient  site.8  It  is  true  that  in 
this  part  the  inner  wall  embanks  the  high  mound  to  the 
north,  which  there  is  reason  to  suppose  was  the  Arx  ;  but 
the  same  walling  is  to  be  traced  round  another  mound  at 
the  south-eastern  angle,  as  well  as  at  several  intermediate 
points ;  which  makes  me  suspect  there  was  a  continuous 
line  of  it. 

The   area  enclosed   by  the  walls   forms  an   irregular 


8  The  pomczrium  was  a  space  marked  eluded  within  it.    Its  boundaries  were 

out  by  the  founder  within,  or  without,  marked  by  cippi  or  termini.     The  space 

or  on   both   sides  of,  the  walls  of  an  it  enclosed  was  called  the  ager  effatus. 

Etruscan  city,  or  of  those  cities,  which,  Liv.   I.    44  ;  Dion.   Hal.   IV.   p.    218  ; 

like  Rome,  were  built  according  to  the  Varro,  L.  L.  V.  143  ;  Plutarch.  Romul. ; 

Etruscan  ritual ;  and  it  was  so  called  Aul.  Gell.  XIII.  14  ;  Tacit.  Ann.  XII. 

by  the   Romans,  because   it   was  post  24,  25  ;  Festus,  r.  Prosimurium  ;  Serv. 

murum,  or  pone  muros  as  A.  Gellius  ad    Virg.    iEn.   VI.    197  ;    Cicero,  de 

says,  or  proximum    muro    as    Festus  Divin.    I.    17  ;    II.    35  ;    cf.    Miiller, 

intimates.     Though  its  name  is  Roman,  Etrusk.  III.  6,  9.     Niebuhr  (I.  p.  288) 

its   origin  was  undoubtedly  Etruscan  ;  thinks  the  "  word  pomeerium  seems  pro- 

and  it  was  marked  out  by  the  plough,  perly  to  denote  a  suburb  taken  into  the 

according  to  the  rites  which  the  Etruscans  city,  and  included  within  the  range  of 

observed  in  founding  their  cities.    It  was  its  auspices." 

ever  after  held  sacred  from  the  plough  If  the  above-mentioned  space  in  the 

and  from  habitation,  and  was  used  by  walls  of  Rusellse  were  the  pomeerium, 

the  augurs  in  taking  the  city-auspices,  of  which  I  am  very  doubtful,  it  was  the 

being  divided  into  "regions"  for  that  inner  portion.     But    the  inner   line   of 

purpose.      But  when  the  city  was  en-  masonry  may  be  merely  the  embank- 

larged  the  pomeerium  was  also  earned  ment  of  the  higher  ground  within  the 

further  out,  as  was  the  case  with  Rome,  city-walls,  or  it  may  be  a  sccoud  line  of 

where   one   hill   after  another  was  in-  fortifications. 


chap,  xliv.]  MODERN  DEFENCES  OF  THE  SITE.  251 

quadrangle,  between  ten  and  eleven  thousand  feet,  or  about 
two  miles,  in  circuit.9  The  city  then  was  much  smaller 
than  Volterra,  yet  larger  than  Populonia  or  Fiesole. 

I  traced  the  sites  of  six  gates — two  on  the  northern 
side,  one  at  each  angle  ;  two  in  the  eastern  wall,  and  two 
also  in  the  western.  In  the  southern  I  could  perceive  no 
such  traces. 

Let  no  one  venture  to  explore  the  site  of  RusellsQ  who  is 
not  prepared  for  a  desperate  undertaking,  who  is  not 
thorn-proof  in  the  strength  or  the  worthlessness  of  his 
raiment.  To  ladies  it  is  a  curiosity  more  effectually 
tabooed  than  a  Carthusian  convent,  since  they  can  hardly 
even  approach  its  walls.  The  area  of  the  city  and  the 
slopes  around  are  densely  covered  with  a  thorny  shrub, 
called  " marruca"  which  I  had  often  admired  elsewhere 
for  its  bright  yellow  blossoms,  and  delicate  foliage  ;  but  as 
an  antagonist  it  is  most  formidable,  particularly  in  winter, 
when  its  fierceness  is  unmitigated  by  a  leafy  covering. 
Even  could  one  disregard  the  thorns,  the  difficulty  of 
forcing  one's  way  through  the  thickets  is  so  great  that 
some  of  the  finest  portions  of  the  walls  are  unapproachable 
from  below,  and  in  very  few  spots  is  it  possible  to  take  a 
sketch.10     Within  the  city,  the  thickets  are  not  so  dense. 

9  See  Micali's  Plan  of  Rusellse  (Ant.  cut  at  the  head  of  this  chapter — and 
Pop.  Ital.  tav.  III.),  and  that  of  Ximenes  were  stopt  by  the  marrnca  from  seeing 
(Esame  dell'  Esame  d'un  libro  sopra  la  the  finest  fragments.  This  shrub  seems 
Maremma  Sanese)  from  which  it  is  to  have  a  long  hereditary  locus  standi  in 
taken.  Midler  (Etrusk.  I.  3,  3)  cites  this  part  of  Italy  ;  for  it  is  most  probably 
Rusellso  as  an  instance  of  the  usual  to  this  that  Polybius  (II.  28)  refers, 
quadrangular  form  of  Etruscan  cities.  in  his  description  of  the  battle  between 

10  When  writers  describe  the  walls  of  the  Romans  and  Gauls  in  this  neigh- 
Rusellse  as  "  of  well  hewn  parallelopiped  bourhood.  The  latter  were  evidently 
blocks"  (Micali,Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  I.  p.  144),  "freshmen  "  in  the  Maremma,  or 
or  "  of  squared  blocks  of  immense  size  "  they  would  not  have  been  so  ready  to 
(Cluver.  II.  p.  514),  it  is  clear  they  denude  themselves,  lest  their  clothes 
must  have  contented  themselves  with  should  impede  them  in  passing  through 
the  portions  to  the  south  and  west, —  the  thickets. 

such  as  that  represented  in  the  wood- 


252  RUSELLjE.  [chap.  xliv. 

Such  at  least  I  found  the  state  of  the  hill  in  1844.  Let 
him  therefore,  who  would  explore  this  site,  keep  in  mind 
the  proverb — "  tal  came,  tal  coltello  " — "  as  your  meat  is, 
so  must  your  knife  be" — and  take  care  to  arm  himself 
for  the  struggle. 

Within  the  walls  are  sundry  remains.  On  the  elevated 
part  to  the  north,  which  I  take  to  have  been  the  Arx, 
besides  fragments  of  rectangular  masonry,  are  some  vaults 
of  Roman  work,  winch  have  been  supposed,  it  seems  to  me 
on  no  valid  grounds,  to  have  formed  part  of  an  amphi- 
theatre.1 At  the  south-eastern  angle  of  the  city  is  a 
mound,  crested  by  a  triple,  concentric  square  of  masonry, 
which  Micali  takes  to  have  been  the  Arx,  though  it  seems 
to  me  more  probably  the  site  of  a  temple  or  tower.2 

On  the  south-western  side  of  the  city  are  three  parallel 
vaults  of  Roman  opus  incertum,  about  a  hundred  feet  long. 
They  are  sunk  in  the  high  embanked  ground  already 
mentioned,  in  which,  not  far  from  them,  are  traces  of  a 
gate  through  the  inner  line  of  wall. 


3 


1  Ximenes  (Esame,  &c),  who  pub-  Within  the  square  the  ground  sinks  in 
lished  in  1775,  was  the  first  to  give  a  a  deep  hollow.  This  would  seem  to 
plan  of  these  ruins  as  an  amphitheatre  ;  indicate  a  tower  rather  than  a  temple, 
but  Hoare  (Class.  Tour,  I.  p.  64),  in  but  its  small  size  precludes  to  my  mind 
1818,  could  see  nothing  of  such  a  the  idea  of  its  being  the  citadel,  which 
structure,  beyond  the  form  ;  and  that  on  other  Etruscan  sites  is  not  a  mere 
is  not  at  the  present  day  vei-y  apparent.  castle  or  keep,  as  this  must  have 
Repetti  (IV.  p.  820),  however,  speaks  been,  but  an  inclosure  of  such  extent  as 
of  it  as  an  undoubted  amphitheatre,  to  contain  within  its  area  a  triple 
but  perhaps  only  on  the  authority  of  temple,  like  that  on  the  Capitoline  at 
Ximenes,  whom  he  cites.  Rome. 

2  The  foundations  of  the  two  outer  3  At  this  spot  the  masonry  of  the 
quadrangles  are  not  now  very  distinct,  embankment,  each  course  of  which  re- 
though  the  terraces  can  be  traced  ;  but  cedes  from  that  below  it,  as  at  the  Ara 
the  inner  square  preserves  its  founda-  Reginaof  Tarquinii,  terminates  abruptly, 
tions  unmoved,  consisting  of  the  small  so  as  to  leave  an  even  break  all  the 
l'ectangular  blocks  already  described —  way  up,  making  it  clear  that  here  was 
the  only  sort  of  masonry  within  the  a  gate,  or  a  roadway,  to  the  high  ground 
city-walls.     The  square  is  48  feet,  and  within  the  embankment. 

the  thickness  of  the  wall  5  feet  6  inches. 


CHAP.  XL1V.] 


LACUS  PRELIUS. 


253 


From  the  height  of  Rusellse  you  look  southward  over 
the  wide  vale  of  the  Ombrone,  with  the  ruined  town  of 
Istia  on  the  banks  of  that  river ;  but  Grosseto  is  not  visible, 
being  concealed  by  the  loftier  height  of  Moscona,  which  is 
crowned  by  the  ruins  of  a  circular  tower.4  On  the  east  is 
a  wooded  hollow  ;  but  on  the  north  lies  a  wide  bare  valley, 
through  which  runs  the  road  to  Siena,  and  on  the  opposite 
heights  stands  the  town  of  Batignano,  of  proverbial  insalu- 
brity— "  Batignano  fa  la  fossa."  There  resides  the  present 
proprietor  of  Rusellse,  hight  Jacobetti.  On  the  west  the 
valley  widens  out  towards  the  great  lake  of  Castiglione, 
the  Lacus  Prelius,  or  Aprilis,  of  antiquity,  which  of  old 
must  have  been  as  at  present  a  mere  morass,  into  which 
several  rivers  discharged  themselves  ;  but  it  had  then  an 
island  in  the  midst,5  which  is  no  longer  distinguishable. 


4  I  did  not  ascend  this  height,  but 
Sir  Richard  Hoare  who  sought  here 
for  the  ruins  of  Rusellse,  describes  this 
tower  as  built  over  subterranean  vaults, 
apparently  reservoirs.  The  same  tra- 
veller speaks  of  a  small  house  in  the 
plain  beneath  Rusellse,  belonging  to  one 
Franchi,  or  Franceschi,  which  has  many 
inscribed  tablets  built  into  the  wall,  but 
with  their  faces  turned  inwards.  Clas- 
sical Tour,  I.  pp.  50,  68. 

B  This  lake,  or  rather  swamp,  is  called 
"  Aprilis,"  by  the  Itineraries  (see  page 
212).  Cicero  (pro  Milone,  27)  calls 
it  "  Prelius,"  and  speaks  of  its  island. 
Pliny  (III.  8)  must  mean  the  same 
when  he  mentions  the  "  amnes  Prille," 
a  little  to  the  north  of  the  Umbro. 
These  "  amnes  "  seem  to  refer  to  seve- 
ral mouths  or  emissaries  to  the  lake. 
The  island  of  which  Cicero  speaks  is  by 
some  supposed  to  have  been  the  hill  of 
Badia  al  Fango,  nearly  two  miles  from 
the  lake,  but  Repetti  (IV.  p.  10)  con- 
siders it  rather  to  have  been  a  little 
mound   now   called  Badiola,  on   which 


are  still  some  remains  of  ancient  build- 
ings, and  which  he  thinks  in  the  time  of 
Cicero  may  have  stood  in  the  midst  of 
the  marsh,  instead  of  hard  by  it,  as  at 
present.  It  is  impossible  to  say  of 
what  extent  the  lake  was  of  old  ;  befoi'e 
the  hydraulic  operations  commenced  in 
1828  for  its  "bonification,"  as  the 
Italians  term  it,  it  had  a  superficial 
extent  of  33  square  miles,  but  it  is  now 
reduced  by  the  means  taken,  and  still 
taking,  for  filling  it  up  ;  this  is  done  by 
letting  in  the  waters  of  the  Umbrone, 
which  bring  down  abundant  deposits 
from  the  interior.  It  would  seem  from 
the  forcible  possession  Clodius  took  of 
the  island  in  its  waters,  as  related 
by  Cicero  (loc.  cit.),  that  this  spot 
was  much  more  desirable  as  a  habita- 
tion in  ancient  times  than  at  present, 
when  it  is  "the  very  centre  of  the 
infection  of  the  Tuscan  Maremma." 
Repetti  gives  good  reasons  for  regard- 
ing this  lake  or  swamp  as  originally  the 
bed  of  the  sea.  An  interesting  account 
will  be  found  in  the  same  writer  (II.  v. 


254  RUSELL^.  [chap.  xliv. 

Castiglion  della  Pcscaja  is  seen  on  the  shore  at  the  foot  of 
the  hills  which  rise  behind  the  promontory  of  Troja. 

Scarcely  a  trace  of  the  necropolis  has  been  discovered 
at  Rusella).  The  hardness  of  the  rock  and  the  dense 
woods  winch  for  ages  have  covered  the  hill,  in  great  mea- 
sure account  for  this.  It  is  probable  that  here,  as  on  other 
sites  of  similar  character,  the  tombs  were  of  masonry, 
heaped  over  with  earth.  Such  is  the  character  of  one  on 
the  ascent  to  the  city  from  the  south,  not  far  from  the 
walls.  It  is  a  chamber  only  seven  feet  by  five,  lined  with 
small  blocks  of  unhewn  masonry  like  the  Tirynthian  in 
miniature,  and  covered  with  large  slabs,  about  eighteen 
inches  thick.  The  chamber  was  originally  of  greater  depth, 
being  now  so  choked  with  earth  that  a  man  cannot  stand 
upright  in  it.  It  can  be  entered  only  by  a  hole  in  the 
roof,  where  one  of  the  cover-slabs  has  been  removed ;  for 
the  original  doorway,  which  opened  in  the  slope  of  the 
hill,  and  which  is  covered  with  a  horizontal  lintel,  is 
now  blocked  up.  As  it  is  therefore  a  mere  pit,  without 
any  indications  above  the  surface,  it  is  not  easy  to  find. 
From  the  peculiarity  of  the  masonry,  and  from  the  general 
analogy  this  tomb  bears  to  those  of  Saturnia,  I  do  not 
hesitate  to  pronounce  it  of  high  antiquity.  This  was  the 
only  sepulchre  I  could  perceive,  or  that  I  could  hear  of, 
in  the  vicinity  of  Rusellae,  though  many  others  probably 
exist  among  the  dense  woods  below  the  walls.  No  excava- 
tions have  been  made  on  this  site  within  the  memory  of 
man.6 


Grosseto)  of  the  attempts  made  at  various  are  long,  passage-like  sepulchres  of  rude 

periods  and  by  different  means  to  reduce  stones,  and  covered   in   with    unhewn 

the  extent  of  stagnant  water,  and  lessen  slabs.     De  la  Marmora,  Voyage  en  Sar- 

the  unhealthiness  of  this  district.  daigne,  pi. IV.  pp.  21—35  ;  and  Bull.  Inst 

6  This  tomb  has  a  great  resemblance  1833,  p.  1 25,  ct  scq.  tav  d'  Agg. ;  Abeken, 

in  construction,  if  not  in  form,  to  the  Mittelitalien,  p.  240,  taf.  IV.  6a — d. 

Sepolture  di  Giganti  of  Sardinia,  which  Micali    (Mon.   Incd.  tav.  XVII.   11, 


chap,  xliv.]  HISTORICAL  NOTICES.  255 

The  walls  of  Rusellae,  from  their  stupendous  massive- 
ness,  and  the  rude  shapelessness  of  the  blocks,  are  indis- 
putably of  very  early  date,  and  may  rank  among  the 
most  ancient  structures  extant  in  Italy.  While  those  of 
Cosa  and  Saturnia,  in  the  neatly  joined  polygonal  style, 
have  been  referred  to  later,  even  to  Roman,  times,  no  one 
has  ever  ventured  to  call  in  question  the  venerable  anti- 
quity of  Rusellae ;  which  therefore  needs  no  confirmation 
from  historical  sources.  The  limited  extent  of  the  city, 
only  two  miles  in  circumference,  and  not  more  than  a  fourth 
the  size  of  Volterra,  does  not  seem  to  entitle  it  to  rank 
among  the  Twelve  chief  cities  of  Etruria.  Yet  this  honour 
is  generally  accorded  to  it ;  principally  on  the  ground  of  a 
passage  in  Dionysius,  where  it  is  cited  in  connection  with 
Clusium,  Arretium,  Volaterrae,  and  Vetulonia,  all  cities  of 
the  Confederation,  as  taking  part  in  the  war  against  Tar- 
quinius  Priscus,  independently  of  the  rest  of  Etruria  ; 7 
which  it  could  not  have  done  had  it  not  been  a  city  of 
first-rate  importance.  This  is  the  earliest  mention  made 
of  Rusellae  in  history.  We  next  hear  of  it  in  the  year  453 
of  Rome,  in  the  dictatorship  of  M.  Valerius  Maximus,  who 
marched  his  army  into  the  territory  of  Rusellae,  and  there 
"broke  the  might  of  the  Etruscans,"  and  forced  them  to 
sue  for  peace.8  And  again  in  the  year  460,  the  consul, 
Postumius  Megellus,  entered  the  territory  of  Rusellae,  and 
not  only  laid  it  waste,  but  attacked  and  stormed  the  city 
itself,  capturing  more  than  2000  men,  and  slaying  almost 
as  many  around  the  walls.9  When  we  next  find  it  men- 
tioned in  history,  it  is  among  the  cities  of  Etruria,  which 

p.  109)  describes  a  small  bronze  lamp  marbles,  columns,  bronze  figures,  and 

found  near  Rusellae  ;  which  is  in  no  way  ancient  coins  having  been  dug  up  before 

peculiar,  except  as   coming  from   this  his  time. 

site  ;  for,  as  far  as  I  could  learn,  it  is  all  7  Dion.  Hal.  III.  p.  189. 

that  has  yet  been  found  here.     Cluver  8  Liv.  X.  4,  5. 

(II.  p.  514),  however,  speaks  of  sundry  9  Liv.  X.  37. 


256  RUSELLjE.  [chap.  xuv. 

furnished  supplies  to  Scipio  in  the  Second  Punic  War.  It 
sent  him  its  quota  in  corn,  and  fir  for  ship -building.1  It 
is  afterwards  mentioned  among  the  Roman  colonies  in 
Etruria.2  It  continued  to  exist  after  the  fall  of  the 
Western  Empire,  and  for  ages  was  a  bishop's  see,  till  in 
1138,  its  population  had  sunk  so  low,  and  the  site  was  so 
infested  by  robbers  and  outlaws,  that  its  see  and  inhabi- 
tants were  tranferred  to  Grosseto,  its  modern  representa- 
tive.3 Since  that  time  Rusellai  has  remained  as  it  is  now 
seen — a  wilderness  of  rocks  and  thickets — the  haunt  of 
the  fox  and  wild  boar,  of  the  serpent  and  lizard — visited 
by  none  but  the  herdsman  or  shepherd,  who  lies  the  live- 
long day  stretched  in  vacancy  on  the  sward,  or  turning  a 
wondering  gaze  on  the  stupendous  ruins  around  him,  of 
whose  origin  and  history  he  has  not  a  conception. 

1  Liv.  XXVIII.  45.  either  this  latter   city  could   not  have 

2  Plin.  III.  8.     Ptol.  p.  72,  ed.  Bert.  been    as  unhealthy   as  at   present,   or 

3  Repetti,  II.   pp.   526,   822.      This  Rusellse  could  not  have  been  deserted 
writer  shows  that  at  the  period  of  the  on  account  of  malaria. 

transfer  of  the  bishopric  to  Grosseto, 


CHAPTER  XLV. 

TE  LAMONE .—  TELAMON. 

—  dives  opum  Prianii  dum  regna  manebant  ; 
Nunc  tantum  sinus,  et  statio  malefida  carinis. 

Virgtl. 

South  of  G-rosseto,  the  next  place  of  Etruscan  interest 
is  Telamone,  or  Talamone,  eighteen  miles  distant.  For 
the  first  half  of  the  way  the  road  traverses  a  wide  plain, 
crossing  the  Ombrone  by  a  ferry.  This,  the  Umbro  of 
antiquity — non  ignobile  jiumen — is  a  stream  of  no  great 
width,  and  ought  to  be  spanned  by  a  bridge.  In  Pliny's 
time  it  was  navigable  ; x  but  for  what  distance  we  know 
not.  Passing  Alberese  and  its  quarries,2  the  road  enters  a 
wooded  valley,  with  a  range  of  hills  on  the  right  renowned 
as  a  favourite  haunt  of  the  wild-boar  and  roebuck — 

Ul>i  cerva  silvicultrix,  ubi  aper  nemorivagus. 

Hither  accordingly  the  cacciatori  of  Rome  and  Florence 
resort  in  the  season,  taking  up  their  quarters  at  Collecchio, 

1  Plin.  III.  8. — Umbro,  navigiorum  trict  on  the  river  was  called  Umbi-ia. 
capax,  et  ab  eo  tractus  Umbrise.  Ruti-  2  A  modern  writer  opines  that  Albe- 
lius  (I.  337 — 341)  speaks  of  the  snug  rese  may  be  the  site  of  the  Eba  of 
port  at  its  mouth.  Cluver  (II.  p.  474)  Ptolemy.  Viaggio  Antiquario  per  la 
thinks  from  Pliny's  mention  of  it,  that  Via  Aurelia,  p.  43.  But  an  ancient 
it  gave  its  name  to  the  Umbrians  ;  but  etymology  is  here  quite  superfluous,  for 
Miiller  (Etrusk.  einl.  2,  12)  on  the  the  name  is  manifestly  derived  from 
contrary  considers  it  to  have  received  the  limestone — alberese — which  is  quar- 
ks name  from  that  ancient  people  ;  and  ried  here, 
interprets  Pliny  as  meaning  that  a  dis- 

VOL.  II.  S 


258  TELAMONE.  [ohap.  xiv. 

a  way-side  inn,  twelve  miles  from  Grosseto.3  Where  this 
rano-e  sinks  to  the  sea,  a  castle  on  a  small  headland,  a  few 
houses  at  its  foot,  and  a  vessel  or  two  off  the  shore,  mark 
the  port  of  Telamone. 

Telamone  lies  nearly  two  miles  off  the  high  road,  and 
to  reach  it  you  have  to  skirt  the  sandy  shores  of  the  httle 
bay,  sprinkled  with  aloes,  and  fragments  of  Roman 
ruin.  The  place  is  squalid  beyond  description,  almost 
in  utter  ruin,  desolated  in  summer  by  malaria,  and 
at  no  time  containing  more  than  some  hundred  and 
fifty  befevered  souls — -febbricitanti,  as  the  Italians  say — on 
whose  heads  Heaven  has  rained 

"  The  blistering  drops  of  the  JMaremma's  dew." 

Inn  there  is  none  ;  and  no  traveller,  who  seeks  more 
than  mere  shelter  and  a  shake-down,  should  think  of 
passing  the  night  here,  but  should  go  forward  to  Orbetello, 
twelve  miles  to  the  south.  Indeed,  I  know  not  why 
the  antiquarian  traveller  should  halt  at  Telamone,  for 
the  castle  is  only  of  the  middle  ages,  and  nothing 
within  it  is  of  higher  antiquity;  though  the  shores 
of  its  bay  are  covered,  like  those  of  Baiae,  with  abundant 
wrecks  of  Roman  villas.4  No  vestiges  of  Etruscan  times 
could  I  perceive  or  hear  of  at  Telamone,  or  in  its  immediate 
neighbourhood ;  although  the  place  can  lay  claim  to  that 
remote  antiquity.  There  are  said  to  be  Roman  remains 
also  on  the  tower-crested  headland  of  Telamonaccio,  which 
forms   the    eastern   horn   of  the   port,    and  which   even 

3  Not  far  from  Collecchio  is  a  ruiued  nople,  where  her  beauty  raised  her  to 

tower,   called   Torre   della  Bella  Mar-  share  the  throne  of  the  Saltan.     Repetti, 

silia  ;  and  tradition  asserts  that  a  fair  I.  p.  IG'i. 

daughter  of  the  Marsilj  family  was  in  4  There  are  said  to  be  some  Roman 

bygone  ages  seized  here  by  some  Bar-  vaults  on  the  heights  above  Telamone, 

bary  corsairs,  and  carried  to  Constanta-  but  I  sought  them  in  vain. 


chap,  xiv.]        LEGENDARY  AND   HISTORICAL  NOTICES.  259 

disputes  with  Telamone  the  honour  of  being  the  site  of 
the  Etruscan  town. 

Telamone  has  retained  its  ancient  name,  which  is  said 
to  be  derived  from  Telamon,  the  Argonaut,  who  touched 
here  on  returning  from  the  celebrated  expedition  to  Colchis, 
prior  to  the  Trojan  war,  and  thirteen  centuries  before 
Christ.5  But  such  an  origin  is  clearly  fabulous.  There  is 
no  doubt,  however,  of  its  high  antiquity ;  but  whether  it 
was  founded  by  the  Tyrrhene-Pelasgi,  who  built  many 
towns  on  this  coast,6  or  was  simply  of  Etruscan  origin,7 
we  have  no  means  of  determining. 

There  is  no  historical  mention  of  Telamon  in  the  times 
of  Etruscan  independence.  We  hear  of  it  first  in  the 
year  529,  when  the  Romans  defeated,  in  this  neighbour- 
hood, an  army  of  Cisalpine  Gauls,  who  had  made  an 
irruption  into  Etruria,8 

It  was  at  the  port  of  Telamon  that  Marius  landed  on 
his  return  from  Africa  (87  b.  a),  to  retrieve  his  ruined 


5  Diod.   Sic.  IV.   p.  259,    ed.  Rhod.  were  all   Etruscan    both    in    site   and 

Diodorus  calls  it  800  stadia  (100  miles)  name — Etrusca    et    loca    et    nomina  ; 

from  Rome,   which  is  rather  less  than  but  this  must  be  taken  with  reserva- 

the  distance  by  the  road.      Lanzi   (II.  tion,   as   in   the    same    list  are   Pisse, 

p.  83)  suggests  that  this  port  may  have  Pyrgi,  and  Castrum  Novum,  as  mani- 

received  its  name  from  its  form  of  a  festly   Greek   and  Roman  respectively 

girdle — TeAa/xdv.      Telamon  is  not  the  in    name,  as   they  are   known  to  have 

only  Argonaut  mentioned  in  connection  been  in  oiugin.     cf.  Steph.   Byzant.   v. 

with  Etruria.     Jason  also  is  said  to  have  TeAwfiwv. 

landed  in  Elba,  whence  Porto  Ferrajo  s  Polybius  (II.  27)  places  the  site  of 

received   its   ancient  name   of    Argous  this  battle   near   Telamon  ;    Frontinns 

Portus  (Strabo,  V.  p.  224  ;  Diodor.  loc.  (Strateg.  I.  2,  7)  says  it  was  at  a  place 

cit.)  ;  and  to  have  contended  with  the  called  Colonia,   which   some  think  was 

Tyrrhenes  in  a  naval  combat.     Possis  Colonna  di  Buriano,  between  Grosseto 

of    Magnesia  ap.    Athen.   VII.   c.    12,  and  Follonica  (Cramer,    Anc.  Italy,  I. 

p.  296.  p.  194)  ;  but  Repetti  (I.  p.  784)  opines 

fi  Cluver   (II.   p.    477)    ascribes   its  that  it  was  fought  much  to  the  south, 

origin    to    the    Pelasgi ;    and    so   also  in   the    neighbourhood    of    Toscanella. 

Cramer,  I.  p.  1 92.  Some  editions  of  Frontinus  have  "  Pop- 

7  Mela  (II.  4)  in  mentioning  it  among  Ionia"  instead  of  "Colonia." 
the  coast-towns  of    Etruria,  says  they 

»  2 


260 


TELAMON  K. 


[OHAP.   XLV. 


fortunes.9  This  is  the  last  historical  notice  we  have  of 
it  in  ancient  times ;  and  except  that  it  is  mentioned  in 
the  catalogues  of  the  geographers  and  in  the  Itineraries,1 
we  have  no  further  record  of  its  existence  till  the  beginning 
of  the  fourteenth  century.2 

Though  we  do  not  learn  from  ancient  writers  that 
Telamon  was  used  as  a  port  in  Etruscan  times,  it  is 
impossible  to  believe  that  the  advantages  of  a  harbour, 
sheltered  from  every  wind  save  the  south,  and  protected 
even  in  that  quarter  by  the  natural  break-water  of  Monte 
Argentaro  and  its  double  isthmus,  could  have  been  over- 
looked or  neglected  by  the  most  maritime  nation  of  their 
time,  the  "sea-kings"  of  Italy.3  The  recent  discovery  of 
an  Etruscan  city  of  great  size  in  the  neighbourhood, 
sufficiently  establishes  the  fact,4  which  is  further  confirmed 
by  the  evidence  of  its  coins.5 


9  Plutarch.  Marius. 

1  Plin.  III.  8  —  portusque  Telamon. 
Ptolemy  (p.  68)  speaks  of  its  "  pro- 
montory." 

-  Repetti,  V.  p.  498. 

3  Diodorus  (IV.  p.  259)  indeed  calls 
it  a  port  in  the  time  of  the  Argonauts, 
but  beside  that  such  a  record  of  fabulous 
times  cannot  be  received  as  authentic, 
the  word  he  uses  may  signify  merely  a 
natural  haven,  without  the  addition  of  a 
town. 

4  See  Chapter  XLV  HI.  on  Vetulonia. 
Miiller  hesitates  whether  to  regard 
Telamon  as  the  port  of  Ruselke,  Satur- 
nia,  or  Vulci,  but  inclines  to  the  latter. 
Etrusk.  I.  p.  296.  cf.  333.  But  Miiller 
knew  not  of  the  existence  of  a  first-rate 
city,  only  a  few  miles  inland,  to  which 
it  must  undoubtedly  have  served  as  a 
port.  Though  Stephanos  calls  Telamon 
a  "  city,"  it  can  have  been  but  a  small 
town,  or  a  fortified  landing-place  ;  just 
as  Gravisese,  the  port  of  Tarqmnii,  and 
Pyrgi,  the  port  of  Agylla,  together  with 


Alsium,  appear  to  have  been.     See  Vol. 
I.  p.  3.05  ;  II.  pp.  13,  70. 

5  The  coins  attributed  to  Telamon 
are  in  general  just  like  the  as  and  semis 
of  early  Rome,  having  the  bearded 
Janus-head  on  the  obverse,  and  the 
prow  on  the  reverse,  but  with  the 
addition  of  "  Tla  "  in  Etruscan  cha- 
racters. Sometimes  in  place  of  the 
Janus,  there  is  the  head  of  Jove,  or 
that  of  a  helmed  warrior,  whom  Lanzi 
takes  for  Telamon,  as  it  was  customary 
to  represent  heroes  or  heroines  on 
coins.  And  he  interprets  the  prow  also 
as  referring  to  the  Argonauts.  One, 
a  ikcussis,  has  the  legend  of  "  Tlate," 
in  Etruscan  characters,  which  Lanzi 
proposes  to  blend  in  such  a  way  as  to 
read  "  Tlamne,"  or  Telamon  ;  but 
Miiller  suggests  that  these  coins  may 
belong  to  the  fadus  Lutinum — Tlate 
being  put  for  Tlatium.  A  sextans 
with  the  head  of  a  young  Hercules,  and 
a  trident  between  two  dolphins,  with 
the  legend  "  Tel,"  is  referred  by  Ses- 


chap,  xlv.]  THE  PORT.— THE  OSA  AND  ALBEGNA.  261 

The  bay  is  now  so  choked  with  sand  and  sea-weed, 
that  even  the  small  coasting  craft,  when  laden,  have  much 
ado  to  enter  ;  and  in  summer  the  stagnant  pools  along 
the  shore  send  forth  intolerable  effluvia,  generating  deadly 
fevers,  and  poisoning  the  atmosphere  for  many  miles 
around.  What  little  commerce  is  now  carried  on,  consists 
in  the  shipment  of  corn,  timber,  and  charcoal. 

The  road  to  Orbetello  runs  along  the  swampy  shore, 
with  low  bare  heights  inland,  once  crowned  by  one  of  the 
proudest  cities  of  Etruria,  whose  site  had  been  forgotten 
for  ages ;  and  with  the  lofty  headland  of  Monte  Argentaro 
seaward,  and  the  wooded  peaks  of  the  Giglio — Igilii  silwsa 
cacumina& — by  its  side  ;  often  concealed  by  the  woods  of 
pine,  which  stretch  for  miles  in  a  dense  black  line  along 
this  coast.  The  river  Osa,  the  Ossa  of  antiquity,7  has  to  be 
crossed  by  a  ferry,  where  large  masses  in  the  stream  pro- 
claim the  wreck  of  the  Roman  bridge,  by  which  the  Via 
Aurelia  was  carried  across.  Four  or  five  miles  beyond,  is 
the  Albegna,  anciently  the  Albinia,8  a  much  wider  river, 
with  a  little  fort  on  its  left  bank,  marking  the  frontier  of  the 
Presidj,  a  small  district  on  this  coast,  which  belonged  first 
to  Spain,  then  to  Naples,  and  was  annexed  to  Tuscany  at 
the  Congress  of  Vienna.  This  stream  is  also  crossed  by  a 
ferry.  There  is  a  saying — "  When  you  meet  with  a  bridge, 
pay  it  more  respect  than  you  would  to  a  count" — 

Quando  vedi  un  ponte, 

Fa  gli  piu  onor  che  non  ad  un  conte — 

and  with  good  reason,  for  counts  in  Italy  are  plentiful  as 

tini  to  Telamon.      Lanzi,  II.  pp.  28,  84,  G  Rutilius,  I.  325.  Cucsar,  Bell.    Civ. 

tav.   II.   4—6  ;   Miiller,   Etrusk.    I.    p.  I.  34  ;   Mela,   II.  7.  Called   also  ,-Egi- 

333  ;    Sestini,   Lett.     Numis.   III.    pp.  liuni  ;    by   the   Greeks,    ^Egilon.   1'lin, 

11— 13  ;  Mionnet,  Suppl.  I.  pp.  203—4.  III.  12. 

Cramer,  Anc.   Italy,   I.    p.    192.     Mil-  "  Ptolem.  Geog.  p.  68. 

lingen   (Numis.    Anc.    Italie,  p.    173)  s  Culled  Albinia  by  tin-  Peutingerian 

doubts  if  these  coins  should  be  referred  Table,  Almina  by  the   Maritime    Itine- 

to  Telamon.  rary. 


262  TELAMONE.  [chap.  xlv. 

blackberries — you  meet  them  at  every  turn  ;  but  bridges ! 
— they  are  deserving  of  all  reverence,  albeit  patronised  by 
neither  saint  nor  sovereign.  Three  rivers  in  a  morning's 
drive  along  one  of  the  best  roads  in  Tuscany,  and  all 
still  under  the  protection  of  St.  Christopher,  the  first 
Christian  ferryman !  For  the  next  five  or  six  miles 
the  road  traverses  pine-woods,  and  then  branches  off  to 
Orbetello,  which  lies  at  the  extremity  of  a  long  tongue  of 
sand,  stretching  into  its  wide  lagoon,  and  is  overshadowed 
by  the  double-peaked  mountain-mass  of  Argentaro. 

Tenditur  in  medias  mons  Argentarius  undas, 
Ancipitique  jugo  ceerula  rura  premit. 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

ORBETELLO. 

Cyclopum  moenia  conspicio. — Virgil. 

Orbetello  makes  a  threatening  front  to  the  stranger. 
A  strong  line  of  fortifications  crosses  the  sandy  isthmus  by 
which  he  approaches  it ;  principally  the  work  of  the 
Spaniards,  who  possessed  the  town  for  a  hundred  and  fifty 
years — from  1557  to  1707.  On  every  other  side  it  is 
fenced  in  by  a  stout  sea-wall.  But  its  chief  strength  lies 
in  its  position  in  the  midst  of  the  wide  lagoon,  protected 
from  all  attacks  by  sea  by  the  two  necks  of  sand  which 
unite  Monte  Argentaro  to  the  mainland ;  and  to  be  other- 
wise approached  only  by  the  narrow  tongue,  on  whose  tip 
it  stands — a  position  singularly  like  that  of  Mexico.1 

This  Stagno,  or  lagoon,  the  "  sea-marsh  "  of  Strabo,2  is 
a  vast  expanse  of  stagnant  salt-water,  so  shallow  that  it 
may  be  forded  in  parts,  yet  never  dried  up  by  the  hottest 
summer ;  the  curse  of  the  country  around,  for  the  foul  and 
pestilent  vapours,  and  the  swarms  of  musquitoes  and  other 
insects  it  generates  at  that  season,  yet  blessing  the  inhabi- 
tants with  an  abundance  of  fish.3 


1  I  have  here  described  its  original  at  night,  and  in  the  way  often  practised 
position.  The  causeway  which  now  in  Italy  and  Sicily — by  harpooning  the 
connects  it  with  Monte  Argentaro,  is  of  fish  which  are  attracted  by  a  light  in 
very  recent  construction,  completed  only  the  prow  of  the  boat.  It  is  a  curious 
a  few  years  since.  s'ght,  says  Repetti  (III.  p.  C75),  to  see 

2  Strabo,  V.  p.  225. — \t/j.vodd\a.TTa.  on  calm  nights  hundreds  of  these  little 

3  The  fishery  is  generally  carried  on  skiffs  or  canoes  wandering  about  with 


2(54  ORBETELLO.  [chap.  xlm. 

Orbetello  has  further  interest  for  the  antiquary.  The 
foundations  of  the  sea-wall  which  surround  it  on  three 
sides,  are  of  vast  polygonal  blocks,  just  such  as  are  seen 
on  many  ancient  sites  of  Central  Italy — Norba,  Segni, 
Palestrina,  to  wit — and  such  as  compose  the  walls  of  the 
neighbouring  Cosa.  That  these  blocks  are  of  ancient 
shaping  no  one  acquainted  with  the  so-called  Pelasgic 
remains  of  Italy  can  for  a  moment  doubt ;  and  that 
they  are  also  in  great  measure  of  ancient  arrangement, 
is  equally  manifest  ;  but  that  they  have  been  in  some 
parts  rebuilt,  especially  in  the  upper  courses,  is  also 
obvious  from  the  wide  interstices  between  them,  now 
stopt  with  mortar  and  bricks.  The  masonry  tells  its 
tale  as  clearly  as  stones  can  speak  —  that  the  ancient 
fortifications,  having  fallen  into  decay,  were  rebuilt  with 
the  old  materials,  but  by  much  less  skilful  hands,  the 
defects  in  the  reconstruction  being  stopt  up  with  mortar 
and  rubble — that  the  blocks,  even  where  they  retain  their 
original  positions,  have  suffered  so  much  from  the  action 
of  the  elements,  especially  from  the  salt  waves  of  the  lake, 
which  often  violently  lash  the  walls,  as  to  have  lost  much 
of  that  smoothness  of  surface,  and  that  close,  neat  fitting 
of  joints,  which  characterise  this  sort  of  masonry;  and  that 
the  hollows  and  interstices  thus  formed  have  been  in  many 
parts  plastered  over  with  mortar.4     Ancient  masonry  of 


their    lights,    and     making     an     ever  the  usual  material  in  roads.     Still  less 

moving  illumination  on  the  surface  of  likely  is  it  that  they  have  been  brought 

the  lake.  from  Cosa,  for  the  walls  of  that  city  on 

4  Hoare  (Class.  Tour,  I.  p.  CI)  came  this  side,  and  towards  the  sea  generally, 

to  the  conclusion   that    the   blocks   in  are  too   perfect    to    have   supplied   so 

these    fortifications    must    have    been  great  a  mass   of  material  ;  and  again 

brought,  either  from  some  Roman  road,  the  masonry  of  Cosa  is  wholly  of  lime- 

or  from  the  neighbouring  ruins  of  Cosa.  stone  ;   that  of  Orbetello  is  principally 

But   they   are    of  larger    size,   and   of  of   crag,   or   marine    conglomerate,   as 

much   greater  depth   than    the  ancient  though  it  had  been  quarried  near  the 

paving-stones  ;  nor  are  they  of  basalt,  shore. 


chap,  xlvi.]    POLYGONAL  WALLS  AND  ETRUSCAN  TOMBS.     265 

this  description  never  had  and  never  needed  cement ; 
holding  together  by  the  enormous  weight  of  its  masses. 

It  seems  highly  probable  from  the  character  of  this 
masonry,  and  the  position  of  the  town  on  the  level  of  the 
shore,  that  Orbetello,  like  Pisa,  Pyrgi,  and  Alsium,  was 
originally  founded  by  the  Pelasgi;  to  whom  I  would  attri- 
bute the  construction  of  these  walls.  But  that  it  was  also 
occupied  by  the  Etruscans  is  abundantly  proved  by  the 
tombs  of  that  people,  which  have  been  discovered  in  the 
close  vicinity  of  the  city,  on  the  isthmus  of  sand  which 
connects  it  with  the  mainland.  Most  of  them  were  found 
in  the  vineyard  of  Signor  Raffael  de  Wit,  an  inhabitant  of 
the  town,  who  has  made  a  collection  of  their  contents. 
No  tombs  now  remain  open  ;  in  truth,  the  soil  is  so  loose 
that  they  are  found  with  their  roofs  fallen  in,  and  their 
contents  buried  in  the  earth.  The  articles  brought  to 
light  are,  sarcophagi  of  nenfro,  though  the  dead  were 
generally  laid  uncoffined  on  a  slab  of  rock,  and  covered 
with  tiles — vases,  seldom  painted,  and  then  coarsely,  like 
those  of  Volterra  rather  than  of  Vulci — tripods,  and  other 
articles  in  bronze  ;  but  nothing  of  extraordinary  beauty  or 
value.5 

Orbetello,  then,  by  these  remains  is  clearly  proved  an 
Etruscan  site.  What  was  its  name  \  Some  take  it  to  have 
been  the  Succosa  of  the  Peutingerian  Table  ;6  but  I  hesitate 


5  Bull.    Inst.    1829,   p.    7  ;    1830,   p.  of    Paris    and    Helen   in   Campanari's 

254.     Here  was  found  a  sistrum,   with  Garden  at  Toscanella  (Vol.  I.  p.  451), 

a  little   cow   on   the   top,  representing  in   having   human   heads   between   the 

Isis,  in  whose  worship  these  instruments  volutes. 

were  used.     Micali  (Mon.  Ined.  p.  109,  6  Gerhard,  Bull.  Inst.  1830,  pp.  251, 

tav.  XVII.    10)  says  it  was  found  not  254  ;  Memor.  Inst.  III.  p.  83  ;  Repetti, 

far  from  Cosa.     It  is  now  in  the  Labo-  III.  p.   665.     The  Peutingerian  Table, 

ratory    of  the   Duke   of  Tuscany.     In  which  alone  makes  mention  of  Succosa 

Signor   De  Wit's  garden  there  is  the  (see  Vol.  I.  p.  388),  places  it  two  miles 

capital    of    a  column,   taken   from   an  to  the  east  of  Cosa,  while  Orbetello  is 

Etruscan   tomb,   which  resembles  that  four   or   five   miles   to  the  west.     The 


266 


ORBETELLO. 


[chap.  xlvi. 


to  assent  to  this  opinion,  and  am  rather  inclined  to  regard 
it  as  an  Etruscan  town,  the  name  of  which  has  not  come 
down  to  us.  That  it  was  also  inhabited  in  Roman  times 
is  proved  by  columns,  altars,  cippi,  and  other  remains 
which  have  been  found  here.  Its  ancient  name  cannot  be 
traced  in  its  modern  appellation,  which  is  apparently  a 
mere  corruption  of  urbicula,1  unless  it  be  significant  of  its 
antiquity — urbs  vetus.  It  must  suffice  for  us  at  present 
to  know  that  here  has  stood  an  ancient  town,  originally, 
it  may  be,  Pelasgic,  certainly  Etruscan,  and  afterwards 
Roman.8 

Orbetello  is  now  a  place  of  some  size,  having  nearly 
3000  inhabitants,  and  among  Maremma  towns,  is  second 
only  to  Grosseto.9  Instead  of  one  good  inn,  it  has  two 
indifferent  ones,  called  Locanda  dell'  Ussero,  and  that  of 


correctness  of  these  Itineraries  may 
indeed  often  be  questioned.  But  I 
think  it  more  probable  that  Succosa, 
or  Subcosa,  was  a  station  at  the  foot 
of  the  hill  on  which  Cosa  stands,  only 
called  into  existence  after  the  ruin  of 
that  Etruscan  city.  See  Abeken,  Mit- 
talitalien,  p.  34.  Some  have  even  taken 
Orbetello  to  be  the  site  of  Cosa  itself. 
.Mionnet,  Suppl.  I.  p.  197. 

"  So  called,  it  may  be,  to  distinguish 
it  from  the  larger  city  of  Cosa  on  the 
neighbouring  heights.  Certainly  the 
name  cannot  be  derived,  as  has  been 
suggested,  "  from  the  rotundity  of  its 
walls,  which  form  a  perfect  circle," 
(Viag.  Antiq.  Via  Aurelia,  p.  50)  ;  see- 
ing that  the  said  walls  form  a  truncated 
cone  in  outline,  without  any  curve 
whatever.  There  is  nothing  round 
about  Orbetello.  Nor  is  it  more 
likely  to  be  dei'ived  from  Orbicum  and 
Tdlus,  as  Repetti  (III.  p.  665)  pro- 
poses in  preference  to  the  Urbt  Vittlli, 
suggested  by  Land.  That  it  was 
derived     from     urbicula,    or     urbicclla, 


seems  confirmed  by  the  fact  of  its 
being  called  Orbicellum  in  a  papal  bull 
of  the  thirteenth   century.     Dempster, 

II.  p.  432. 

8  That  such  a  town  is  not  men- 
tioned by  Strabo  or  Mela,  by  Pliny  or 
Ptolemy,  in  their  lists  of  places  along 
this  coast,  is  explained  by  its  distance 
from  the  sea,  from  which  it  could  not 
be  approached.  It  must  have  been 
regarded  as  an  inland  town,  and  may 
be  mentioned  under  some  one  of  those 
names  of  Etruscan  towns,  for  which  no 
site  has  yet  been  determined. 

9  It  is  a  proof  how  much  population 
tends  to  salubrity  in  the  Maremma, 
that  Orbetello,  though  in  the  midst  of  a 
stagnant  lagoon,  ten  square  miles  in 
extent,  is  comparatively  healthy,  and 
lias  almost  doubled  its  population  in  24 
rears  ;  while  Telamone,  and  other  small 
places  along  this  coast,  are  almost  de- 
serted in  summer,  and  the  few  people 
that  remain  become  bloated  like  wine- 
skins,   or    yellow   as   lizards.     Repetti, 

III.  p.  680. 


chap,  xlvi.]  THE  HOSTELRY.  267 

La  Chiave  d'Oro.  There  is  little  difference,  I  believe,  in 
their  merits  ;  but  I  have  generally  heard  the  former  pre- 
ferred. At  the  supper-table  I  met  the  arch-priest  of 
Telamone,  a  sprightly,  courteous  young  pastor,  whom  I 
had  seen  in  the  morning  among  his  flock,  and  a  motley 
group  of  proprietors,  or  country  gentlemen,  wild  boar 
hunters,  commercial  travellers,  monks,  bumpkins,  and 
vetturini ;  among  whom  the  priest,  on  account  of  his  cloth, 
and  I  as  a  foreigner,  received  the  most  attention.  Travel- 
ling in  this  primitive  land  levels  all  distinctions  of  rank. 
The  landlord's  niece,  who  waited  on  us,  presuming  on  her 
good  looks,  chatted  familiarly  with  her  guests,  and  directed 
her  smartest  banter  against  the  young  priest,  ridiculing  his 
vows  of  celibacy,  and  often  in  such  terms  as  would  have 
driven  an  English  female  from  the  room.  Yet  Rosinetta 
was  scarcely  sixteen ! 

Hie  nullus  verbis  pudor,  aut  reverentia  mensae. 


1.  Ancient  gates. 

2.  Probable  site  of  a  gate. 

3.  3.    Square  towers,  external  anil  internal. 

4.  4.     Circular  towers,  internal. 

5.  Hound  tower  of  Roman  work, 
(i.        Tbe  Acropolis. 

Kuins, — Etruscan,  Roman,  and  mediaeval. 
Deep  pit,  perhaps  a  quarry. 
Roman  columbarium. 


ANCIENT      GATF,     AND     WALLS    OF    COSA. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 


ANSEDONIA.— COSA. 


Cernimus  antiquas  liullo  custode  ruinas, 
Et  desolatae  mcenia  fceda  Cosse. 

Rutilius. 

Go  round  about  her,  and  tell  the  towers  thereof. 
Mark  well  her  bulwarks  ;  that  ye  may  tell  them  that  come  after. 

Psalm. 

As  Cosa  was  in  the  time  of  the  Emperor  Honorius,  such 
is  it  still — a  deserted  waste  of  ruins,  inclosed  by  dilapidated 
walls  ;  fourteen  centuries  have  wrought  no  change  in  its 
condition.  Yet  it  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  Etruscan 
sites,  and  should  not  fail  to  be  visited  by  every  one  inter- 
ested in  ancient  fortifications. 

It  occupies  the  flat  summit  of  a  truncated  conical  hill, 


270  cosa:  [chap,  xiaii. 

about  six  hundred  feet  high,  which  from  its  isolation,  and 
proximity  to  the  sea,  forms  a  conspicuous  object  in  the 
scenery  of  this  coast.  It  stands  just  outside  the  Feniglia, 
the  southernmost  of  the  two  necks  of  sand  which  unite 
Monte  Argentaro  to  the  main-land ;  and  is  about  five  or 
six  miles  to  the  south-east  of  Orbetello.1  It  were  best  to 
leave  the  high-road,  where  it  begins  to  rise  at  the  foot  of 
the  hill  of  Cosa,  and  turn  down  a  lane  to  the  right.  You 
will  presently  perceive  a  lonely  house  in  a  garden,  called 
La  Selciatella,  the  only  habitation  hereabouts.  Here  you 
can  leave  your  vehicle  ;  but  if  you  have  a  cavalcatura  you 
need  not  dismount — only  ask  for  one  Pietro  Fruggioni, 
who  dwells  here,  and  will  act  as  your  guide  to  the  ruins  ; 
and  a  more  obliging,  civil-spoken  cicerone  you  will  nowhere 
meet.  Some  travellers  who  have  visited  Cosa  have  fol- 
lowed the  high  road  to  the  further  side  of  the  city,  and 
taken  as  their  guide  a  soldier  from  the  Torre  della  Tagliata ; 
but  this  is  unnecessary,  for  Pietro  knows  the  site  as  well 
as  any  one,  having  tended  his  cattle  there  for  many  a 
year,  and  can  point  out  all  the  lions,  which  is  as  much  as 
can  be  expected  from  these  country  ciceroni ;  the  traveller 
must  exercise  his  own  judgment  as  to  their  origin,  antiquity, 
and  purpose.  Enquire  not  for  "  Cosa,"  or  you  will  be 
answered  by  a  stare  of  surprise,  and  "  non  c'  e  qui  tal  roba," 
but  for  "  Ansedonia,"  the  modern  appellation  of  the  site. 
It  is  a  steep  ascent  of  a  mile  or  more  to  the  walls  of 

1  The  site  of  Cosa  has  been  much  Portus  Hereulis,  and  hard  by,  the  sea- 
disputed.  Some  have  placed  it  at  marsh  ;  and  on  the  headland  which 
Orbetello,  others  at  Santa  Liberate,  overhangs  the  bay  is  a  tower  for  watch- 
near  Santo  Stefano  on  Monte  Argen-  ing  the  tunny-fish."  He  also  states 
taro ;  yet  Strabo  (V.  p.  225)  has  that  Cossa  is  300  stadia  (37-J  miles) 
described  its  position  so  as  to  leave  no  from  Graviscse  ;  and  from  Populonium 
reasonable  doubt  of  its  whereabouts.  nearly  800  stadia  (100  miles),  though 
"Cossa,  a  city  a  little  above  the  sea.  someday  600  stadia  (75  miles).  Cf. 
The  lofty  height  on  which  the  town  is  Rutil.  Ttin.  I.  285  et  seq. 
situated  lies  in  a  bay.     Below,  lies  the 


chap,  xlvii.]  WALLS  OF  POLYGONAL  MASONRY.  271 

Cosa.  You  may  trace  the  ancient  road  all  the  way  to  the 
gate,  running  in  a  straight  line  up  the  rocky  slope  ;  it 
is  but  a  skeleton,  marked  by  the  kerb-stones,  for  the  inner 
blocks  are  in  few  places  remaining.  On  the  way  it  passes 
some  Roman  ruins  of  brick,  among  them  a  columbarium. 

He  who  has  not  seen  the  so-called  Cyclopean  cities  of 
Latium  and  Sabina,  of  Greece  and  of  Asia  Minor,  those 
marvels  of  early  art,  which  overpower  the  mind  with  their 
grandeur,  bewilder  it  with  amazement,  or  excite  it  to 
active  speculations  as  to  their  antiquity,  the  race  which 
erected  them,  and  the  state  of  society  which  demanded 
fortifications  so  stupendous  on  sites  so  inaccessible  as 
they  in  general  occupy  ; — he  who  has  not  beheld  those 
sublime  trophies  of  early  Italian  civilization — the  bastion 
and  round  tower  of  Norba — the  gates  of  Segni  and 
Arpino — the  citadel  of  Alatri — the  many  terraces  of 
Cora — the  covered  way  of  Praeneste,  and  the  colossal 
works  of  the  same  masonry  in  the  mountains  of  Latium, 
Sabina,  and  Samnium,  will  be  astonished  at  the  first  view 
of  the  walls  of  Cosa.  Nay,  he  who  is  no  stranger  to  this 
style  of  masonry,  will  be  surprised  to  see  it  on  this  spot, 
so  remote  from  the  district  which  seems  its  peculiar 
locality.  He  will  behold  in  these  walls  immense  blocks 
of  stone,  irregular  polygons  in  form,  not  bound  together 
with  cement,  yet  fitted  with  so  admirable  nicety,  that 
the  joints  are  mere  lines,  into  which  he  might  often  in 
vain  attempt  to  insert  a  penknife  :  the  surface  smooth  as 
a  billiard-table ;  and  the  whole  resembling,  at  a  little 
distance,  a  freshly  plastered  wall,  scratched  over  with 
strange  diagrams. 

The  form  of  the  ancient  city  is  a  rude  quadrangle, 
scarcely  a  mile  in  circuit.2     The  walls  vary  from  twelve 

:  Micali's   Plan    of    the    city,  from       it   about   2,640    bracelet,  or   5,060   feet 
which  that  annexed  is  adapted,  makes       English,  in  circumference. 


272  COSA.  [chap,  xlvii. 

to  thirty  feet  in  height,  and  are  relieved,  at  intervals,  by 
square  towers,  projecting  from  eleven  to  fifteen  feet,  and 
of  more  horizontal  masonry  than  the  rest  of  the  fortifica- 
tions. Fourteen  of  these  towers,  square  and  external, 
and  two  internal  and  circular,  are  now  standing,  or  to  be 
traced  ; 3  but  there  were  probably  more,  for  in  several 
places  are  immense  heaps  of  ruins,  though  whether  of 
towers,  or  of  the  wall  itself  fallen  outwards,  it  is  difficult 
to  determine. 

Though  Cosa  resembles  many  other  ancient  sites  in 
Italy  in  the  character  of  its  masonry,  it  has  certain  pecu- 
liarities. I  remember  no  other  instances  of  towers  in 
polygonal  fortifications,  with  the  exceptions  of  the  bastion 
and  round  tower  of  Norba,  a  similar  bastion  at  Alatri, 
near  the  Porta  S.  Francesco,  and  the  towers  at  Fondi, 
apparently  of  no  high  antiquity.4  In  no  case  is  there  a 
continuous  chain  of  towers,  as  round  the  southern  and 
western  walls  of  Cosa.     Another  peculiarity  of  these  forti- 

3  On  the  northern  side  there  is  but  that  form  recommended  by  Vitruvius 
one  tower  and  that  in  a  ruined  state  ;  (I.  5),  who  says  they  should  be  either 
but  on  the  western,  or  that  facing  the  round  or  many-sided,  for  the  square 
sea,  which  was  most  open  to  attack,  ones  are  easily  knocked  to  pieces  by  the 
I  counted,  besides  a  circular  one  within  battering-ram,  whereas  on  the  circular 
the  walls,  seven  external,  in  various  it  can  make  no  impression.  The  weak- 
states  of  preservation,  the  southernmost  ness  of  square  towers,  however,  was 
being  the  largest  and  most  perfect.  ascertained  long  before  the  time  of 
This  tower  is  22  feet  wide,  and  about  Vitruvius  :  for  in  one  of  the  very  earlj- 
20  high,  as  it  now  stands.  In  the  wall  and  curious  Assyrian  reliefs  from  the 
to  the  south  are  five  towers  square  and  ruins  of  Nineveh,  recently  placed  in  the 
external,  and  one,  internal  and  circular,  British  Museum,  which  represents  the 
42  feet  in  diameter.  On  the  eastern  siege  of  a  city,  the  battering-ram  is 
side  there  is  but  one  ancient  square  directed  against  the  angles  of  a  tower, 
tower,  and  one  semicircular  of  smaller  from  which  it  is  fast  dislodging  the 
and  more  recent  masonry.     Though  I  blocks. 

have  called  these  towers  external,  they  4  Memor.   Inst.    III.   p.    00.      Even 

also  project  a  little  inward,  from  the  Pyrgi,  which  was  fortified  with  similar 

line  of  walls.     In  Mieali's  Plan  many  of  masonry,    though    its    name    signified 

these  towers  are  omitted.  "  towers,"  retains  no   trace  of  such  in 

It  will  be  observed  that  here,  as  at  its  walls  (ut  supra,  page  16). 
Falerii,  the  external  towers  are  not  of 


chap,  xlvii.]        PECULIARITIES  OF  THESE  WALLS.  273 

fications  is,  that  in  many  parts  they  rise  above  the  level  of 
the  area  they  enclose,  as  is  also  the  case  at  Volterra  and 
Rusellae  ;  whereas  the  walls  of  the  Latin  and  Sabine  towns 
are  generally  mere  embankments.5  The  outer  half  of  the 
wall  also  is  raised  three  or  four  feet  above  the  inner,  to 
serve  as  a  rampart :  this  I  have  seen  on  no  other  site. 
The  total  thickness  of  the  wall  in  this  superficial  part  is 
between  five  and  six  feet.  The  inner  surface  is  not 
smoothed  like  the  outer,  but  left  in  its  natural  state,  un- 
touched by  hammer  or  chisel ;  showing  in  the  same  piece 
of  walling  the  rudest  and  the  most  finished  styles  of 
Cyclopean  masonry,  and  bearing  testimony  that  the  outer 
surface  was  hewn  to  its  perfection  of  smoothness  after  the 
blocks  were  raised.  A  fourth  peculiarity  is,  that  while 
the  lower  portions  of  the  walls  are  of  decidedly  polygonal 
masonry,  the  upper  parts  are  often  composed  of  horizontal 
courses,  with  a  strong  tendency  to  rectangularity,  and  the 
blocks  are  generally  of  smaller  dimensions  than  the  poly- 
gonal masses  below  them.  The  line  between  these  different 
styles  is  sometimes  very  decidedly  marked,  which  seems 
confirmatory  of  the  notion  suggested  by  the  first  sight  of 
this  masonry,  that  it  is  of  two  different  epochs  ;  the  rect- 
angular marking  the  repairs — a  notion  further  strengthened 
by  the  fact,  that  the  material  is  the  same  throughout — a 
close  grey  limestone.  For  if  the  peculiar  cleavage  of  the 
rock  had  led  to  the  adoption  of  the  polygonal  style  in  the 
first  instance,  it  would  continue  to  do  so  throughout ;  and 
any  deviation  from  that  style  would  seem  to  have  been 
the  work  of  another  race,  or  subsequent  age.     On  the 


5  I  have  visited  most  of  those  ancient  above  the  level  of  the  city.     The  height 

cities  in  the  mountains  of  Latium,  and  in  of  the  eastern  wall  of  Cosa  above  that 

the  land  of  the  iEqui,  Volsci,  and  Hernici,  level  varies  from  a  few  feet  to  twelve  or 

and  remember  no  other  instance  than  fifteen,  and  externally   the   wall   is   at 

the  round  tower  at  Norba,  which  rises  least  double  that  height. 
VOL.    II.  T 


271 


COSA. 


|  OHAP.   XLVII. 


other  hand  it  may  be  said,  that  this  rectangular  masonry 
is  but  the  natural  finishing  off  of  the  polygonal,  just  as  the 
latter  generally  runs  into  the  horizontal  at  angles,  as  may 
be  observed  in  the  gates  and  towers  of  this  same  city.6 

From  the  ramparts  you  may  perceive  that  the  walls 
fall  back  in  some  degree,  though  never  so  much  as  in  a 
modern  revetement,  but  the  towers  are  perpendicular  on 
every  side,  save  in  a  few  cases  where  the  masonry  is 
dislocated,  and  they  topple  over.7 

Of  gates  there  is  the  orthodox  number  of  three  ;  one  in 
the  centre  of  the  northern,  southern,  and  eastern  walls  of 
the  city  respectively.8  They  are  well  worthy  of  attention, 
all  of  them  being  double,  like  the  two  celebrated  gateways 
of  Volterra,  though  without  even  the  vestige  of  an  arch. 
The  most  perfect  is  that  in  the  eastern  wall,  which  is 
represented  in  the  woodcut  at  the  head  of  this  chapter.9 


6  These  features  are  shown  in  the 
woodcut  at  the  head  of  this  Chapter, 
which  represents  the  eastern  gate  of 
Cosa.  The  masonry,  though  decidedly 
polygonal,  appears  in  the  door-post  of 
the  gate  to  be  rectangular.  In  the 
fragment  of  walling  to  the  left,  the 
blocks  are  polygonal  below,  and  regular 
above,  or  at  least  laid  in  horizontal 
courses.  The  manner  in  which  small 
pieces  were  fitted  into  the  interstices 
is  also  shown .  But  the  peculiarities  of 
the  masonry  are  not  so  striking  in  this, 
as  in  many  other  portions  of  the  forti- 
fications. It  was  selected  from  several 
sketches,  as  illustrative  also  of  the  gate. 
On  this  side  of  the  city  the  masonry  is 
smaller  than  on  the  others.  The  largest 
of  the  blocks  in  the  woodcut  is  not 
more  than  4  feet  square,  and  the  height 
of  the  wall  is  only  15  or  16  feet. 

7  The  bastion  and  round  tower  of 
Norba,  on  the  contrary,  narrow  up- 
wards considerably. 

8  There  may  have  been  a  postern  in 


the  south-eastern  angle  of  the  walls,  at 
the  spot  marked  2  in  the  Plan.  Sir  R. 
C.  Hoare  also  thought  he  could  perceive 
four  gates ;  and  he  speaks  of  four  ancient 
roads.     Classical  Tour,  I.  p.  58. 

9  Its  entrance  is  about  12  feet  wide, 
but  the  passage  within  is  double  that  in 
width  and  28  feet  long  ;  the  inner  gate 
is  no  longer  standing,  though  indications 
of  it  are  traceable.  The  depth  of  the 
outer  doorposts,  or  in  other  words  the 
thickness  of  the  wall,  is  7  feet,  8  inches. 
Gateways  on  a  similar  plan  are  found 
in  the  Cyclopean  cities  of  Latium — the 
Porta  di  S.  Francesco  at  Alatri,  and 
the  Porta  Cassamara  at  Ferentino  for 
instance  ;  the  latter  however  is  proba- 
bly of  Roman  construction. 

The  gates  of  Cosa,  unlike  those  of 
Volterra,  do  not  exemplify  the  precepts 
of  Vitruvius  (I.  5),  that  the  road  to  a 
gateway  should  be  so  aiTanged,  that  the 
approaching  foe  should  have  his  right 
side,  or  that  unprotected  by  his  shield, 
open  to  the  attacks  of  the  besieged. 


cHAr.  xlvii.]  THE  GATEWAYS.  275 

It  is  evident  that  it  was  never  arched,  for  the  door-post 
still  standing  rises  to  the  height  of  nearly  twenty  feet  in 
a  perfectly  upright  surface  ;  and  as  in  the  Porta  di  Diana 
of  Volterra,  it  seems  to  have  been  spanned  by  a  lintel  of 
wood,  for  at  the  height  of  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  is  a  square 
hole,  as  if  for  its  insertion.10  The  arch  indeed  is  never 
found,  in  Italy  at  least,  in  connection  with  this  style  of 
masonry  ;  but  the  gateways  of  Cyclopean  cities  were  either 
spanned  by  flat  slabs  of  stone,  or  when  of  too  great  a 
width,  by  lintels  of  wood,  or  else  by  stones  overlapping 
each  other,  and  gradually  converging  till  they  met  and 
formed  a  rude  sort  of  Gothic  arch.1 

The  other  two  gateways,  though  more  dilapidated, 
show  that  they  have  been  formed  on  the  same  plan 
as  this  in  the  eastern  wall.  In  the  one  to  the  south 
is  a  block,  nine  feet  by  four,  the  largest  I  observed  in 
the  walls  of  Cosa.  In  this  gate  also  is  a  large  round 
hole  in  the  inner  doorpost  for  the  insertion  of  a  wooden 
lintel. 

I  observed  no  instances  of  sewers  opening  in  these  walls, 
as  usual  in  Etruscan  fortifications,  and  as  are  found  also  in 

10  It  is  shown  in  the  woodcut,  together  usually  small  size.     It  was  discovered 

with  the  upright  groove  for  the  saraci-  by  Dr.  Ross  of  Athens,  but  first  made 

nesca,   or   portcullis,  like   that   in    the  known  to  the  world  by  Colonel  Mure, 

Porta  all' Arco  of  Volterra.  in  the  Ann.  Inst.  1838,  p.   140;   Mon. 

1  In      Greece,     however,     regularly  Ined.  Inst.  loc.  cit.  ;  and  afterwards  in 

arched  gateways  have   been  found   in  his  interesting  Tour  in  Greece,  II.  p. 

connection  with  this  polygonal  masonry.  248.   Several  archaeologists  of  eminence, 

At  (Eniadse,  in  Acarnania,  is  a  postern  how  ever,   who   have  seen   it  have   de- 

of  a  perfect  arch  in  the  polygonal  walls  clared  to  me  their  full  conviction  that 

of  the  city.     Leake,  Northern  Greece,  this  bridge  is  of  late  date  and  of  Roman 

III.   pp.    560   et  seq. ;  Mure,    Tour   in  construction.  Cf.  Bull.  Inst.  1843,  p.  77. 

Greece,  I.  p.  109  ;  and  Ann.  Inst.  1838,  In  the  polygonal  walls  of  (Enoanda  in 

p.  134.    Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  II.  tav.  LVII.  the  Cibyratis,  north  of  Lycia,  there  is  a 

And  at  Xerokampo,  in  the  neighbour-  gateway  regularly  arched,  with  Greek 

hood  of  Sparta,  is  a  bridge  on  the  time  inscriptions  on  tablets  in  the  masonry 

arch-principle,  in  the  midst  of  masonry  by  its  side;  as  I  learn  from  the  portfolio 

of  irregular   polygons,   though   of  un-  of  Mr.  Edward  Falkener. 

T    2 


276  COSA.  [chap,  xlvii. 

certain  other  Cyclopean  cities  of  Italy.2  Yet  such  may 
exist,  for  I  found  it  impossible  fully  to  inspect  the  walls  on 
the  southern  and  western  sides,  the  slopes  beneath  them 
being  covered  with  a  wood  so  dense  as  to  be  often  impene- 
trable, though  the  difficulties  are  not  aggravated,  as  at 
Rusellae,  by  any  thickets  more  formidable  than  myrtle, 
lentiscus,  and  laurestinus. 

Within  the  city,  all  is  ruin — a  chaos  of  crumbling  walls, 
overturned  masonry,  scattered  masses  of  bare  rock,  and 
subterranean  vaults,  "  where  the  owl  peeps  deeming  it 
midnight," — all  overrun  with  shrubs  and  creepers,  and 
acanthus  in  great  profusion.  The  popular  superstition 
may  be  pardoned  for  regarding  this  as  the  haunt  of 
demons ;  for  ages  it  was  the  den  of  bandits  and  outlaws, 
and  tradition,  kept  alive  by  the  natural  gloominess  of  the 
spot,  has  thus  preserved,  it  may  be,  the  remembrance  of 
their  atrocities.  At  the  south-western  corner  of  the  area 
was  the  Arx,  for  the  ground  here  rises  considerably  above 
the  ordinary  level,  and  is  banked  up  with  masonry  in  parts 
polygonal,  but  in  general  regular,  like  that  in  similar  situa- 
tions at  Rusella).  On  this  platform  are  several  ruins,  bare 
walls  rising  to  the  height  of  twenty  feet,  apparently  of  the 
low  Empire,  or  still  later,  of  the  middle  ages  ;  and  numerous 
foundations,  some  of  the  same  small  cemented  masonry, 
others  of  larger  rectangular  blocks,  decidedly  Roman,  and 
some  even  polygonal,  like  the  city-walls.     It  is  probable 

2  Besides  the  instances  of  such  open-  The  better  known  opening  in  the  walls 

ings  in  the  walls  of  Norba,  Segni,  and  of  the  citadel  of  Alatri,  I  do  not  believe 

Alatri,  referred  to  in  a  former  Chapter  to  be  a  sewer,  but  a  postern.     In  the 

(see  page  121),  I  may  mention  a  sewer  Cyclopean  walls  of  Verulse,  now  Veroli, 

in  the  walls  of  the  latter  city,  close  to  in  the  rudest  and  most  ancient  parts 

the  bastion  by  the  Porta  di  San  Fran-  of  the  masonry,  are  several  sewers — 

cesco,  which   is  of  very  peculiar  form  tall  upright  openings,  like  that  in  the 

— a    truncated    cone     inverted,   appa-  walls  of  Norba,  or  yet  more  similar  in 

rently    2   feet  wide   above,  tapering  to  form  and  dimensions  to  those  so  com- 

1  foot  below,  and  about  3  feet  in  height.  mon  in  the  cities  of  southern  Etruria. 


chap,  xlvii.]  REMAINS  WITHIN  THE  WALLS.  277 

that  the  latter,  as  the  earliest  masonry — for  in  many  parts 
the  Roman  work  rests  on  it — marks  the  foundations  of  the 
three  temples  winch  the  Etruscans  were  wont  to  raise  in 
every  city  to  the  divine  trio,  Jupiter,  Juno,  and  Minerva.3 

Within  the  gate  to  the  east,  are  many  remains  of  build- 
ings, some  with  upper  stories  and  windows  ;  and  not  far 
from  this  is  a  deep  hollow  with  precipitous  walls  of  rock, 
which  seems  to  have  been  a  quarry. 

Joyfully  will  the  traveller  hail  the  view  from  the 
ramparts  of  Cosa  ;  and  in  truth  it  were  hard  to  find  one 
on  this  coast  more  singular,  varied,  and  grand.  Inland, 
rise  lofty  walls  of  rock — rugged,  stern,  and  forbidding — 
blocking  up  all  view  in  that  direction.  At  his  feet 
spreads  the  sun-bright  bay,  with  Porto  Ercole  and  its 
rocky  islet  on  the  further  shore,4  but  not  a  skiff  to  break 
the  blue  calm  of  its  waters ;  the  wide  lagoon  is  mapped 
out  by  its  side ;  and  the  vast  double-peaked  mass  of  Monte 
Argentaro,  the  natural  Gibraltar  of  Tuscany,  overshadows 
all,  lying  like  a  majestic  vessel  along  the  shore,  moored  by 
its  three  ropes  of  sand5 — the  castellated  Orbetello  being 
but  a  knot  in  the  centre  of  the  middle  one.  To  the  north 
he  looks  along  the  pine-fringed  coast  to  the  twin  head- 
lands of  the  bay  of  Telamone,  and  then  far  away  over  the 
level  Maremma,  to  the  distant  heights  of  Troja  and  the 


3  Servius,  ad  Virg.  Mn.  I.  422.  difficult  to  account  for  the  formation  of 

4  The  Portus  Herculis  of  Rutilius  the  two  isthmi.  The  Tombolo,  or 
(1.293),  and  the  Itineraries.  It  was  also  that  to  the  north,  may  have  been  de- 
called  Portus  Cosauus.  Liv.  XXII.  11  ;  posited  by  the  Albegna,  which  opens 
XXX.  3fl.  I  did  not  visit  it;  but  Sir  hard  by;  but  for  the  Feniglia— there  is 
R.  C.  Hoare  says  it  is  a  singular  town,  no  river  discharging  itself  hereabouts, 
and  "  resembles  a  flight  of  steps,  each  The  circuit  of  36  miles,  which  Rutilius 
street  bearing  the  appearance  of  a  (1.  318)  ascribes  to  this  promontory,  is 
landing-place."  Classical  Tour,  I.  p.  56.  much  exaggerated.  For  the  physical 
There  are  said  to  be  no  antiquities  re-  features  and  productions  of  this  singular 
maining.  Viag.  Ant.  per  la  Via  Aurelia,  district,  see  Brocchi,  Osservazioni  natu- 
p.  54.  rail  sul  promontorio  Argentaro,  Bibliot. 

5  It  is  highly  probable  that  the  Monte  Ital.  XI.,  and  Repetti,  s.  v.  Orbetello. 
Argentaro  was  once  an  island ;  but  it  is 


~78  COSA.  [chap,  xlvii. 

grey  peaks  of  Elba.  The  Giglio,  the  so  called  "  Lily " 
island,  is  lost  behind  the  Argentaro  ;  but,  as  it  travels 
southwards,  the  eye  rests  on  the  islet  of  the  Giannutri  ;6 
and,  after  scanning  the  wide  horizon  of  waters,  meets 
land  again  in  the  dim  hills  above  Civita  Vecchia.  The 
intervening  tract  is  low,  flat,  desert, — here  a  broad  strip 
of  sand, — there  a  long,  sea-shore  lagoon,  or  a  deadly  fen 
or  swamp, — now  a  tract  dark  with  underwood, — now  a 
wide,  barren  moor,  treeless,  houseless — 

Arsiccia,  nuda,  sterile,  e  deserta. 

Yet  in  this  region,  all  desolate  as  it  now  appears,  stood 
Vulci,  that  mine  of  sepulchral  treasures,  and  Tarquinii,  the 
queen  of  Etruscan  cities,  with  her  port  of  Graviscae  ;  and 
Corneto,  her  modern  representative,  may  be  descried, 
thirty  miles  off,  lifting  her  diadem  of  towers  above  the 
nearer  turrets  of  Montalto. 

Around  the  walls  of  Cosa  there  are  few  relics  of 
antiquity.  It  is  said  that  in  the  plain  below  are  "  very 
extensive  remains  of  a  wall  of  much  ruder  construction  " 
than  those  of  the  city  ; 7  but  I  did  not  perceive  them.  Near 
the  Torre  della  Tagliata  are  several  ruins  of  Roman 
date,  of  which  those  commonly  called  Bagni  della  Regina 
are  the  most  remarkable.  You  enter  a  long  cleft  in  the 
rock,  sixty  or  seventy  feet  deep,  and  on  one  side  perceive 
a  huge  cave,  within  which  is  a  second,  still  larger,  appa- 
rently formed  for  baths  ;  for  there  are  seats  cut  out  of  the 
living  rock — vivo  sedilia  saxo — but  all  now  in  utter  ruin. 
The  place,  it  has  been  remarked,  recalls  the  grotto  of  the 
Nymphs,  described  by  Virgil ; 8  but  popular  tradition  has 
peopled  it  with  demons,  as  says  Faccio  degli  Uberti — 

Ivi  e  ancor  ove  fue  la  Sendonia, 
Ivi  e  la  cava,  ove  andarno  a  torme, 
Si  crede  il  tristo,  overo  le  demonia. 


6  The  Dianiuru,  or  Artemisia  of  the  "  Classical  Museum,  V.  p.  180. 

ancients.  Mela,  II.  7  ;  Tlin.  III.  12.  s  fan.  1.  Ifi7  ;  Repetti,  III.  p.  670. 


chap,  xlvii.]  WHO  BUILT  THESE  WALLS?  279 

Among  the  ruins  on  the  shore  at  this  spot  is  some 
mosaic  pavement.  The  site  has  been  taken,  with  con- 
siderable probability,  for  that  of  Subcosa.9 

No  tombs  are  to  be  seen  on  the  slopes  around  Cosa.1  It 
is  probable,  that,  like  the  one  at  Rusellse,  and  those  of 
Cortona  and  Saturnia,  they  were  constructed  of  rude 
masonry,  and  covered  over  with  earth.  Such  seems  to 
have  been  the  plan  adopted  on  sites  where  the  rock  was 
too  hard  to  admit  of  easy  excavation.  At  Volterra  and 
Populonia  it  was  not  necessary,  for  there  were  soft  strata 
in  the  neighbourhood. 

The  walls  of  Cosa,  so  unlike  those  of  most  cities  of 
Etruria,  to  what  people,  and  to  what  age  shall  we  refer 
them  1  Can  it  be  that  they  were  raised  by  the  Etruscans 
themselves — induced  to  depart  from  their  general  style  of 
masonry  by  the  local  rock  having  a  natural  cleavage  into 
polygons  1  Or  are  the  peculiarities  of  these  and  similar 
walls  in  Etruria  characteristic  of  the  race  which  con- 
structed them,  rather  than  of  the  materials  of  which  they 
are  formed  1  Are  they  to  be  attributed  to  the  earliest 
occupants  of  the  land,  the  Umbri  or  the  Pelasgi  \ — or  to 
much  later  times,  and  to  the  Roman  conquerors  1  The 
latter  view  seems  now  in  favour.  It  was  first  broached 
by  Micali,  the  great  advocate  of  the  indigenous  origin  of 
the  Etruscans,  and  who  sought,  by  invalidating  the  anti- 
quity of  this  polygonal  style,  to  enhance  that  of  the 
regular  masonry,  which  is  more  peculiarly  Etruscan.     He 

9  Mannert,  Geog.  p.  366.     According  1  Yet  excavations  have  been  made  in 

to  this  writer,  it  is  this  spot  which  is  the  neighbourhood.  Micali  (Mon.  Ined. 

called  Ansedonia,  and  not  the  ruined  p.  328)  states  that  what  was  found  here 

city   above.       Holstenius    (Annot.    ad  in   1837,  was  presented  by  himself  to 

Cluver.  p.  30)  made  the  same  distinc-  the  late    Pope  ;  and   speaks   of  a   flat 

tion  ;  but  both  seem  to  have  been  led  vessel  of  bronze,  containing  an  odori- 

to  this  conclusion  by  the  lines  of  Faccio  ferous  gum,  which,  when   burnt,  gave 

degli  Uberti,  quoted  above  ;  for  the  city  forth  a  most  agreeable  perfume, 
itself  is  certainly  now  called  Ansedonia. 


280  COSA.  [chap,  xlvii. 

maintains  that  the  walls  of  Cosa,  and  of  Satnrnia,  which 
resemble  them,  are  among  the  least  ancient  in  the  land  ; 
and  he  suggests  that  they  may  have  been  raised  by  the 
Roman  colony,  established  here  at  the  close  of  the  fifth 
century  of  the  City,  seeing  that  the  Romans  are  known  to 
have  employed  this  masonry  in  certain  of  their  public 

works.2 

It  would  demand  more  room  than  the  limits  of  this  work 
will  allow,  to  discuss  this  subject  to  its  full  extent.  But  I 
must  make  a  few  remarks. 

This  polygonal  masonry  is  of  high  antiquity,  long  prior 
to  Roman  times,  though  every  instance  of  it  cannot  claim 
to  be  of  so  remote  a  date.  It  must,  however,  be  of  later 
origin  than  that  composed  of  unhewn  masses,  rudely  piled 
up,  with  no  further  adjustment  than  the  insertion  of  small 
blocks  in  the  interstices — that  style  which,  from  the 
description  of  Pausanias,  is  sometimes  designated  "  Cyclo- 
pean;"3  for   this   polygonal  masonry  is   the  perfecting 

2  Micali,  Ant.Pop.Ital.  II  .pp.  144,196;  respectively  of  hard  limestone  and  tra- 
il!, p.  6.  "A  mere  glance,"  he  says,"  at  the  vertine.  I  cite  Micali  in  this  instance, 
walls  of  Cosa,  so  smooth  and  well  pre-  not  as  the  writer  who  has  treated  the 
served,  proves  their  construction  to  be  of  subject  in  the  most  able  manner,  but  as 
small  antiquity  in  comparison  with  those  the  originator  of  the  opinion  of  the 
of  Fiesole  and  Volterra,  of  quadrilateral  Roman  oi'igin  of  Cosa,  and  as  one  who 
blocks,  and  of  genuine  Etruscan  work-  has  been  referred  to  as  authority  on  the 
manship."     The  superior  sharpness  and  point. 

freshness  in   these  walls  of  Cosa,  how-  3  Pausan.  II.  16,  4  ;  25,  7  ;  VII.  25. 

ever,  are  no  proof  whatever  of  a  less  Pausanias,  however,  applies   the   same 

remote  antiquity.      Micali's   argument,  term  to  the  walls  of  Mycence,  which  are 

to   have  any  weight,  should  show  that  of  hewn  polygonal  blocks,  and  even  to 

the  material  of  which  these   walls  are  the  celebrated  Gate  of  the  Lions,  which 

respectively    composed,    is    either    the  is   of  regular,  squared   masonry.      The 

same,  or  one  equally  affected  by  atmo-  term  is  also  repeatedly  used  by  Euripides, 

spheric  influences.     Whereas  the  forti-  in  reference  to  the  walls  of  Mj  cente,  or 

fications  of  Volterra  and  Fiesole,  and,  it  of  Argos    (Elect.    1158;    Iphig.    Aul. 

may  be  added,  of  Populonia  and  Cortona,  152,   534,    1501;    Orest.    963;    Troad. 

are  either  of  macigno,      stratified  sand-  1083  ;  Here.  Fur.  944;  compare  Seneca, 

stone,  or  of  other  rock  equally  friable,  Here.  Fur.  997  ;  Statius,  Theb.  I.  252). 

while   those   of  Cosa  and  Satnrnia  are  It    is    therefore    clear   that   the    term 


chap,  xlvii.]     ANTIQUITY  OF  POLYGONAL  MASONRY. 


281 


of  that  ruder  mode  of  construction.4  Yet  that  this 
smooth-surfaced,  closely -joined  style,  as  seen  in  the  walls 
of  Cosa,  is  also  of  early  origin,  is  proved,  not  only  by 
numerous  instances  of  it  on  very  ancient  sites  in  Greece 
and  Italy — some  referred  to  as  marvels  of  antiquity  by 
the  ancients  themselves — but  also  by  the  primitive  style  of 
its  gateways,  and  the  absence  of  the  arch  in  connection 
with  it.5  The  fact  of  the  Romans  adopting  this  style  of 
masonry,  as  they  seem  to  have  done  in  the  substructions 
of  some  of  their  great  Ways,  and  perhaps  in  a  few  cities  of 
Latium,6  in  no  way  militates  against  the  high  antiquity 
of  the  type.  The  Romans  of  early  times  were  a  servile 
race  of  imitators,  who  had   little  original  beyond  their 


"  Cyclopean"  cannot  with  propriety  be 
confiued,  as  it  has  been  by  Dodwell, 
Gell,  and  others,  to  masonry  of  the 
rudest  unhewn  description,  in  contra- 
distinction to  the  neater  polygonal,  or  to 
the  horizontal  style.  The  term  was 
employed  in  reference  to  the  traditions 
of  the  Greeks,  rather  than  to  the  cha- 
racter of  the  masonry  ;  or  if  used  in 
this  way  it  was  generic,  not  specific  ; 
applicable  to  any  walling  of  great 
massiveness,  which  had  the  appearance, 
or  the  reputation  of  high  antiquity. 
"  Arces  Cyclopum  autem,  aut  quas 
Cyclopes  fecerunt,  aut  magni  ac  miri 
operis  ;  nam  quicquid  magnitudine  sua. 
nobile  est  Cyclopum  manu  dicitur  fabri- 
catum."  Lactant.  ad  Stat.  Theb.  I.  252  ; 
cf.  I.  630.  Though  rejected  altogether 
by  Bunsen  (Ann.  Inst.  1834,  p.  145), 
the  term  is  convenient — se  non  e  vero,  e 
ben  trovalo— and  in  default  of  a  better, 
has  some  claim  to  be  retained.  On  this 
ground  I  have  made  use  of  it  in  the 
course  of  this  work  in  its  generic  sense, 
applying  it  alike  to  all  early  massive 
irregular  masonry. 

*  Gell  held    the  contrary   opinion — 
that  the  polygonal  was  more  ancient  by 


some  centuries.  Topog.  Rome,  II.  p.  165. 

5  Gerhard  (Ann.  Inst.  1829,  p.  40), 
remarking  on  this  fact,  says  it  seems 
certain  that  even  the  least  ancient 
remains  of  this  description  preceded 
the  invention  of  the  arch.  But  this  is 
refuted  by  the  recent  discovery  of 
arches  in  connection  with  this  masonry 
in  Greece  and  Asia  Minor.  Ut  supra, 
page  275.  In  none  of  these  cases,  how- 
ever, have  the  structures  an  appearance 
of  very  remote  antiquity. 

6  In  the  Via  Salaria,  near  Rieti, 
and  in  several  places  between  Antro- 
doco  and  Civita  Ducale  ;  in  the  Via 
Valeria,  below  Roviano,  and  elsewhere 
between  Tivoli  and  Tagliacozzo  ;  and 
in  the  Via  Appia,  between  Terracina 
and  Fondi.  The  cities,  whose  polygonal 
fortifications  have  been  ascribed  to  the 
Romans,  are  Noi-ba  and  Signia.  Ger- 
hard, Ann.  Inst.  1829,  p.  55,  et  seq. 
83,  et  seq  ;  Bunsen,  Ann.  Inst.  1834, 
p.  144  ;  Bunbury,  Classical  Museum,  V. 
p.  167,  et  seq.  Strabo  (V.  p.  237)  states 
that  most  of  the  cities  on  the  Via 
Latina,  in  the  lands  of  the  Ilernic-i, 
vEqui,  and  Volsci,  were  built  by  the 
Romans. 


282  COSA.  [chap,  xlvii. 

beUipotentia,  and  were  ever  borrowing  of  their  neighbours, 
not  onlv  civil  and  religious  institutions,  and  whatever 
ministered  to  luxury  and  enjoyment,  but  even  the  sterner 
arts  of  war.  Thus  in  their  architecture  and  fortifications  : 
in  Sabina  they  seem  to  have  copied  the  style  of  the 
Sabines,  in  Latium  of  the  Latins,  in  Etruria  of  the  Etrus- 
cans. How  much  they  may  have  been  led  to  this  by  the 
local  materials,  is  a  question  for  separate  consideration. 

Conceding  that  the  style  of  masonry  must  to  a  consider- 
able extent  have  been  affected  by  the  character  of  the 
materials  employed,  I  cannot  hold,  with  some,  that  it  was 
the  natural  and  unavoidable  result — I  cannot  believe  in  a 
constructive  necessity — that  with  certain  given  materials 
every  people  in  every  age  would  have  produced  the  same 
or  a  similar  description  of  masonry.  There  are  convention- 
alities and  fashions  in  this  as  in  other  arts.  It  were 
easy,  indeed,  to  admit  the  proposition  in  regard  to  the 
ruder  Cyclopean  style,  which  is  a  mere  random  piling  of 
masses  as  detached  from  the  quarry  ;  a  style  which  may 
suggest  itself  to  any  people,  and  which  is  adopted,  though 
on  a  much  smaller  scale,  in  the  formation  of  fences  or  of 
embankments  by  the  modern  Italians  and  T}rrolese,  and 
even  by  the  peasantry  of  England  and  Scotland,  on  spots 
where  stone  is  cheaper  than  wood.  But  the  polygonal 
masonry  of  which  we  are  treating  stands  on  a  totally 
different  ground  ;  and  it  seems  unreasonable  to  suppose 
that  the  marvellous  neatness,  the  artistic  perfection  dis- 
played in  polygonal  structures  like  the  walls  of  Cosa,  could 
have  been  produced  by  any  people  indifferently  who  hap- 
pened to  fix  on  the  site.  For  it  is  not  the  mere  cleavage 
of  the  rock  into  polygonal  masses  that  will  produce  this 
masonry.  There  is  also  the  accurate  and  laborious  adjust- 
ment, the  careful  adaptation  of  parts,  and  the  subsequent 
smoothing  of  the  whole  into  an  uniform,  level  surface.     If 


cHAr.  xlvii.]    PECULIARITY  OF  THE  POLYGONAL  TYPE. 


283 


ever  masonry  had  the  stamp  of  peculiarity  it  is  this. 
Not  the  regular  isodomon  of  the  Greeks,  nor  the  opus  reti- 
culatum  of  the  Romans  has  it  more  strongly  marked.  I 
could  as  readily  believe  that  the  Corinthian  capital  was 
invented  by  every  nation  by  which  it  has  been  adopted, 
as  that  this  style  of  masonry  had  an  independent  origin  in 
every  country  where  it  has  been  found.7 

The  question  next  arises,  to  what  particular  race  is  this 
peculiar  masonry  to  be  ascribed.  No  doubt  when  once 
introduced,  the  fashion  might  be  adopted  by  other  tribes 
than  that  which  originated  it,8  but  the  type,  whose  source 
alone  we  are  considering,  would  still  be  proper  to  one  race. 
Now  at  the  risk  of  being  thought  to  entertain  old-fashioned 
opinions,  I  must  confess  that  I  can  refer  it  to  no  other  than 


"'  The  adoption  of  this  style  by  the 
Romans  in  the  pavements  of  their 
high-ways,  in  no  way  affects  the  ques- 
tion. The  earliest  of  these  roads,  the 
Via  Appia,  was  constructed  only  in  the 
year  442  (b.c.  312)  —  ages  later  even 
than  those  polygonal  cities  which  are 
sometimes  ascribed  to  the  Romans  ; 
and  it  may  be  that  they  but  imitated 
the  roads  of  their  predecessors.  Still 
less  can  the  use  of  polygonal  pavement 
by  the  modern  Florentines,  be  admitted 
as  an  argument  against  the  peculiarity 
of  the  type,  as  Micali  would  fain  have 
it.  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  I.  p.  197.  They 
have  but  adhered  to  the  style  which 
was  handed  down  to  them  from  anti- 
quity, while  the  modern  Romans  have 
preferred  the  opus  reticulatum,  as  the 
model  for  their  pavements.  And  though 
Micali  contends  for  a  constructive  ne- 
cessity, it  is  completely  set  aside  by 
the  fact,  which  he  mentions,  that  the 
stone  for  the  pavement  of  Florence  is 
brought  from  the  heights  of  Fiesolc ; 
for  the  horizontal  cleavage  of  that  rock 
is  most  manifest  and  notorious. 


Nor  can  the  existence  of  polygonal 
masonry  in  the  fortresses  and  other 
structures  of  the  aboriginal  Peruvians, 
be  regarded  as  opposed  to  the  pecu- 
liarity of  the  type.  Too  great  a  mys- 
tery hangs  over  the  origin  of  that 
singular  race,  and  of  its  civilization, 
for  us  to  admit  them  as  evidence  in 
this  question.  The  style  seems  to  have 
differed  from  that  of  the  polygonal 
masonry  of  the  old  world,  resembling 
it  in  little  more  than  the  close-fitting  of 
the  masses.  If  anything  is  to  be  learned 
from  these  structures,  it  is  that  they 
contradict  the  doctrine  of  a  constructive 
necessity ;  being  of  granite  or  porphyry, 
which  have  no  polygonal  cleavage  ;  and 
are  rather  suggestive  of  a  traditional 
custom.  See  Prescott's  Conquest  of 
Peru,  I.  pp.  16,  143. 

8  Chevalier  Bunsen  maintains  that 
many  of  the  polygonal  fortifications  of 
Italy  were  raised  by  the  Volsci,  yEqui, 
and  Hernici.  Ann.  Inst.,  1834,  p.  142. 
But  if  this  be  admitted,  it  does  not 
prove  that  the  type  originated  with 
them. 


284  COSA.  [chap,  xlvii. 

tlie  Pelasgi.  Not  that,  with  Sir  W.  Gell,  I  would  cite  the 
myth  of  Lycaon,  son  of  Pelasgus,  and  founder  of  Lycosura, 
as  proof  that  this  masonry  was  of  Pelasgic  origin9— I 
might  even  admit  that  "  there  is  no  conclusive  evidence  in 
any  one  instance  of  the  Pelasgian  origin  of  the  monuments 
under  consideration,"  10 — yet  the  wide-spread  existence  of 
remains  of  this  masonry  through  the  countries  of  the 
ancient  world,  the  equally  wide  diffusion  of  the  Pelasgic 
race,1  and  the  remarkable  correspondence  of  the  lands  it 
occupied  or  inhabited  with  those  where  these  monuments 
most  abound  ;  to  say  nothing  of  the  impossibility  of 
ascribing  them  with  a  shadow  of  reason  to  any  other  parti- 
cular people  mentioned  in  history — afford  satisfactory 
evidence  to  my  mind  of  the  Pelasgic  origin  of  the  polygonal 
masonry.  And  here  it  is  not  necessary  to  determine  the 
much  vexata  qucestio,  what  and  whence  was  that  Pelasgic 
race,  which  was  so  widely  diffused  throughout  the  ancient 
world  ;  it  is  enough  to  know  that  in  almost  every  land 
which  it  is  said  to  have  occupied,  we  find  remains  of  this 
description.2     In  Thessaly,  Epirus,  and  the  Peloponnesus, 

fl  Gell,  Rome,  II.  v.  Pelasgi.  more   widely    spread    than    any   other 

10  Bunbury,   Clas.    Mus.   V.  p.    186.  people  in  Europe,  extended  from  the  Po 

Yet  there   is,  in   most    instances,  the  and  the  Arno  almost  to  the  Bosphorus." 

same  kind  and  degree  of  evidence  as  I.  p.  52,  Eng.  trans. 

lead  us  to  ascribe  the  walls  of  Fiesole  2  Gerhard  (Memor.  Inst.  III.  p.  72) 

and  Volterra  to  the  Etruscans,  those  of  takes  these  structures  of  irregular  poly- 

Psestum  to  the  Greeks,  or  Stonehenge  gons  to  be  Pelasgic.      Muller  (Archa- 

to   the   Druids.      We  find  it  recorded  ologie  der  Kunst,  p.  27)  thinks  that  most 

that  in  very  early  times  the  lands  or  of    the    so-called    Cyclopean    walls    of 

sites  were  occupied  by  certain  races ;  Epirus    and    the     Peloponnesus    were 

and  finding  local  remains,  which  analogy  erected  by  the  Pelasgi.     We  know  that 

marks  as  of  high  antiquity,  and  not  of  they  built  the  ancient  wall  roimd  the 

Roman  construction,  we  feel  authorised  Acropolis  of  Athens ;   and  the  way  in 

in   ascribing    them    to    the    respective  which  this  fact  is  mentioned  by  Diony- 

people.  sius  (I.  p.  22),  in  connection  with  their 

1  "  It  is  not  a  mere  hypothesis,"  says  wandering   habits,  favours  the    opinion 

Niebuhr,    "  but    with   a   full   historical  of   some,  that  these   Pelasgi    were  the 

conviction,   that  I   assert,  there  was  a  great  fort-builders  of  antiquity,  a  migra 

time  when  the  Pelasgians,  then  perhaps  tory  race  of  warlike  masons,  who  went 


CHAP.  XLVII.] 


THIS  MASONRY  IS  PELASGIC. 


2S5 


the  peculiar  homes  of  this  people,  such  monuments  are 
most  abundant  ;  they  are  found  also  in  the  Isles  of  the 
iEgean  Sea,  and  on  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor,  which  were 
at  some  period  occupied  or  colonised  by  the  Pelasgi.  In 
Italy  also,  those  regions  which  abound  most  in  such  monu- 
ments were  all  once  in  possession  of  the  Pelasgi,  though  it 
must  be  acknowledged  on  the  other  hand,  that  we  have 
historic  mention  of  that  race  in  certain  other  districts — at 
the  head  of  the  Adriatic,  and  in  CEnotria — where  no  such 
remains  have  been  discovered  ; 3  nor  indeed  do  we  find 
walls  of  this  character  in  all  the  ancient  cities  of  central 
Italy — even  of  Etruria — which  are  said  to  have  had  a 
Pelasgic  origin.4  These  discrepancies,  whether  real  or 
apparent,  whether  occasioned  by  the  character  of  the 
local  rock,5  or  by  the  entire  destruction  of  the  earliest 


about  from  land  to  land,  sword  in  one 
hand,  hammer  and  chisel  in  the  other, 
fortifying  themselves  wherever  they 
conquered. 

3  It  is  asserted  that  no  polygonal 
structures  are  to  be  found  in  Basilicata 
or  Calabria  ;  nor,  indeed,  north  of  the 
Ombrone,  nor  south  of  the  Vulturnus — 
some  say  the  Silarus.  Memor.  Inst.  I. 
p.  72  ;  Ann.  Inst.,  1834,  p.  143.  But, 
as  regards  the  south  of  Italy,  the 
assertion  is  premature.  Have  sufficient 
researches  been  made  among  the  Cala- 
brian  Apennines  ?  Petit- Radel,  who 
maintains  the  Pelasgic  construction  of 
this  masonry,  asserts  that  there  are 
remains  of  it  far  south,  in  Apulia  and 
Lucania.  Memor.  Instit.  HI.  pp.  55 — 
66.  I  have  heard  also,  on  good  autho- 
rity, that  a  German  gentleman  has 
recently  made  some  singular  discoveries 
of  very  extensive  polygonal  remains  in 
this  part  of  Italy,  and  is  about  to  give  an 
account  of  them  to  the  world.  That  no 
such  walls  are  to  be  found  on  the  ancient 
sites  at  the  head  of  the  Adriatic,  where 


the  Pelasgi  first  landed  in  Italy,  may  be 
explained  by  the  nature  of  the  low 
swampy  coast,  which  did  not  furnish 
the  necessary  materials. 

4  At  Falerii,  Agylla,  and  Cortona, 
which  were  Pelasgic,  we  find  regular, 
parallelopiped  masonry  ;  at  Pyrgi  and 
Saturnia,  on  the  contrary,  whose  Pe- 
lasgic origin  is  equally  well  attested,  we 
have  remains  of  purely  polygonal  con- 
struction. 

r'  It  is  very  probable  that  the  local  rock 
sometimes,  though  not  always,  deter- 
mined the  style  of  the  masonry.  Where 
it  naturally  split  into  rectangular  forms, 
as  is  the  case  with  the  macigno  of  Cor- 
tona, and  the  volcanic  tufo  of  southern 
Etruria,  there  the  horizontal  may  have 
been  preferred,  even  by  those  who  were 
wont  to  employ  a  different  description 
of  masonry.  This  seems  to  have  been 
the  case  at  Agylla,  where  the  rock  is  of 
tufo  ;  there  are  no  traces  of  polygonal 
construction  ;  even  in  the  most  ancient 
tombs  the  masonry  is  rectangular.  See 
page  29.     Yet,  in  spite  of  these  natural 


286  COSA.  [chap,  xi.vii. 

monuments  of  the  land,  are  but  exceptions  to  the  rule,  and 
do  not  invalidate  the  evidence  for  the  Pelasgic  origin  of 
this  peculiar  masonry. 

With  respect  to  Cosa,  there  is  no  reason  whatever  for 
regarding  its  walls  as  of  Roman  construction.  There  is 
nothing  which  marks  them  as  more  recent  than  any  other 
ancient  fortifications  in  Italy  of  similar  masonry.  The 
resemblance  of  the  gateways  to  those  of  Volterra,  and  the 
absence  of  the  arch,  point  to  a  much  earlier  date  than  the 
establishment  of  the  Roman  colony,  only  two  hundred  and 
seventy-three  years  before  Christ  ;  but  whether  they  were 
erected  by  the  Pelasgi,  or  by  the  Etruscans  copying  the 
masonry  of  their  predecessors,  is  open  to  doubt.  As  the 
walls  of  Pyrgi  and  Saturnia,  known  Pelasgic  sites,  were  of 
the  same  polygonal  construction  ;  it  is  no  unfair  inference 
that  these  of  Cosa,  which  has  relation  to  the  one  by 
proximity,  to  the  other  by  situation  on  the  coast,  are  of  a 
like  origin.     The  high  antiquity  of  Cosa  is  indeed  attested 


inducements     to     the     contrary,     the  style ;    for  the  same  stone  which   was 

favourite  style  was  sometimes  carried  out,  hewn  into  horizontal    masonry  in  the 

as  is  proved  hy  the  tholus  of  polygonal  towers,  gateways,  and  upper  courses,  as 

construction    at    Volterra,    formed    of  shown  in  the  wood-cut'at  page  269,  could 

travertine  (ut  supra,  page  160)  ;  by  the  have  been  thrown  into  the  same  forms 

polygonal  walls  of  Saturnia  of  the  same  throughout,  had  not  the  builders  been 

material — a    stone    of    decidedly   hori-  influenced  by  some  other  motive  than 

zoutal  cleavage,  and  used  abundantly  in  the  natural  cleavage.     Another  singular 

regular  masonry  in  all  ages,  from  the  instance    of    disregard   of    cleavage   is 

Etruscan  walls  of  Clusium   and  Peru-  exhibited  in  the  walls  of  Empulum,  now 

sia,  and  the  Greek  temples  of  Prestum,  Ampiglione,    near    Tivoli,    where    the 

to  the  Colosseum,  St.  Peter's,  and  the  masonry,  though  of  tufo,  is  decidedly 

palaces  of  modern  Rome.     This  is  also  polygonal ;    this  is    the    only   instance 

proved  by  the  travertine  and  crag  used  known    of    that    volcanic    rock    being 

in  the   polygonal   walls  of  Pyrgi   (see  thrown  into  any  other  than  the  rectan- 

page  12),  and  by  the  crag  in  the  similar  gular  forms  it  naturally  assumes.     See 

fortifications  of  Orbetello  (see  page  264) ;  Gell's  Rome,  v.  Empulum.     These  facts 

and   even   these   walls   of   Cosa   afford  will  suffice  to  overthrow  the  doctrine  of 

abundant  proof  that  the  builders  were  a  constructive  necessity,  often  applied  to 

not  the  slaves  of  their  materials,  but  this  polygonal  masonry, 
exerted  a  free  choice  in  the  adoption  of 


chap,  xlvii.]    HIGH  ANTIQUITY  OF  COSA  AND  ITS  WALLS.     287 

by  Virgil,  when  he  represents  it,  with  other  very  ancient 
towns  of  Etruria,  sending  assistance  to  iEneas.6  Some, 
however,  have  inferred  from  Pliny's  expression — Cossa 
Volcientium — that  it  was  a  mere  colony  of  Vulci,  and  one 
of  the  latest  of  Etruscan  cities  ; 7  but  Niebuhr  with  more 
probability  considered  that  the  original  inhabitants  of 
Cosa  were  not  Etruscans,  but  an  earlier  race  who  had 
maintained  their  ground  against  that  people.8  The  con- 
nection indeed  between  Vulci  or  Volci,  and  Volsci,  is 
obvious,  and  from  the  fact  that  at  one  time  the  Etruscans 


6  Virg.  ./En.  X.  168  ;  Serv.  in  loc. 
Miiller  (Etrusk.  I.  3,  1)  remarks  that 
the  walls  of  Cosa  are  by  no  means  to 
be  regarded  as  not  Etruscan,  because 
they  are  polygonal,  and  considers  them 
as  evidence  of  its  antiquity  (II.  1,  2). 
Oi'ioli  (ap.  Inghir.  Mon.  Etrus.  IV.  p. 
1G1)  also  thinks  the  walls  of  Cosa  con- 
firm the  antiquity  assigned  to  it  by 
Virgil.  Abeken  (Mittelital.  p.  21)  takes 
Cosa  to  be  Pelasgic ;  and  Gerhard 
inclines  to  the  same  opinion  (Ann.  Inst., 
1831,  p.  205),  and  reminds  us  that  there 
was  a  city  of  the  same  name  in  Thrace. 
He  thinks  the  name  may  have  an 
affinity  to  the  Doric  ndrra,  KoSSd,  a 
head.  It  is  written  Cossse  by  Strabo 
and  Ptolemy,  but  Cluver  (II.  p.  479) 
thinks  this  was  merely  owing  to  the 
habit  of  the  Greeks  of  doubling  the  s  in 
the  middle  of  a  word.  It  is  not  written 
so  by  any  Roman  author  but  Pliny, 
though  Virgil  gives  it  a  plural  termi- 
nation. If  the  Etruscan  name  were 
analogous  it  must  have  been  spelt  with 
an  u — Cusa.  We  find  in  Etruscan 
inscriptions  the  proper  names  of  "Cusis  " 
or  "  Cusim,"  "  Cusinei,"  "  Cusithia,"— 
Lanzi,  II.  pp.  371,  402,  416  ;  Vermigl. 
Iscriz.  Perug.  I.  p.  324.  "  Cusiach " 
also  at  Cervetri,  (ul  supra,  page  27),  and 
«  Cusu  "  at  Cortona.     See  Chap.  LVI. 

7  Plin.  III.  8.       Cluver  (II.  p.  515), 


Lanzi  (II.  p.  56),  Micali  (Ant.  Pop. 
Ital.  I.  p.  147),  and  Cramer  (I.  p.  195), 
interpret  Pliny  as  saying  that  Cosa  was 
a  colony  of  Vulci.  But  the  expression 
he  uses  is  shown  by  Gerhard  to  have 
indicated  merely  the  territory  in  which 
a  town  stood,  without  reference  to  its 
origin ;  as  "  Alba  Marsorum  "  signified 
the  Latin  colony  of  Alba  in  the  land  of 
the  Marsi.  Ann.  Inst.,  1829,  p.  200. 
Mr.  Bunbury  (Classical  Museum,  V. 
p.  180)  argues  that  as  Vulci  itself  did 
not  begin  to  flourish  till  after  the 
decline  of  Tarquinii,  for  which  he  cites 
Gerhard's  authority  (Ann.  Inst,  1831, 
p.  101),  Cosa,  its  colony  or  offset,  must 
needs  belong  to  a  late  period.  But — 
the  question  of  the  colony  apart — that 
Vulci  was  of  so  recent  a  date  is  wholly 
unsupported  by  historic  evidence,  nay, 
is  refuted  by  the  very  archaic  cha- 
racter of  much  of  the  furniture  of  its 
sepulchres.  And  Miiller  (Etrusk.  II. 
1,  2)  justly  observes  that  Pliny's  men- 
tion of  Cosa  does  not  prove  that  before 
it  was  colonised  by  the  Romans  the 
town  had  no  existence. 

8  Niebuhr,  I.  p.  120  ;  cf.  p.  70.  He 
founds  this  opinion  on  the  mention  by 
Livy  (XXVII.  15)  of  a  people  called 
Volcentes,  in  connection  with  the  Hirpini 
and  Lucani,  whom  he  took  to  be  of  the 
same  race  as  the  Volsci. 


288  COSA.  [chap,  xlvii. 

possessed  the  land  of  the  Volsci,  it  would  seem  that  this 
was  not  one  of  name  merely.9  But  the  Volsci  were  of 
Opican  or  Oscan  race,  and  what  affinity  existed  between 
them  and  the  Pelasgi  is  doubtful ;  whether  an  affinity  of 
orioin,  or  one  arising  merely  from  the  occupation  of  the 
same  territory  at  different  epochs.  Confusion  of  names 
and  races  on  such  grounds  is  common  enough  in  the 
records  of  early  Italy.  As  the  Etruscans  were  frequently 
confounded  with  their  predecessors,  the  Tyrrhenes,  so  the 
Volsci  may  have  been  with  the  Pelasgi.1  It  is  well 
known  that  walls  precisely  similar  to  these  of  Cosa 
abound  in  the  territory  of  the  Volsci,  but  whether  erected 
by  the  Pelasgi,  by  the  Volsci  themselves,  or  by  their 
Roman  conquerors,  is  still  matter  of  dispute ;  yet  by 
none  are  they  assigned  to  a  later  date  than  the  reign  of 
Tarquinius  Superbus,  two  centuries  and  a  half  before  the 
Roman  colonization  of  Cosa,  which  was  in  the  year 
481.2  I  repeat  that  there  is  no  solid  ground  whatever 
for  ascribing  these  polygonal  walls  of  Cosa  to  so  recent 

9  Cato,  ap.  Serv.   ad   Mn.   XI.  567.  syllable  is  merely  the  ancient  adjectival 

The  connection  between  the  Etruscans  termination.   Alatrium  seems  connected 

and  the  Cistiberine  people,  especially  with  Velathri,  by  the  dropping  of  the 

the  Oscan  races,  is  very  apparent  from  digamma  ;  so  also  iEsula  with  Fsesulse. 

the  names  of  places.  Velathri  (  Volterra)  Instances  of  such  analogies  might  be  yet 

has  its  counterpart  in  Vehtrae  (Velletri)  further  cited. 

— Fregena;    in    Fregellse— Perusia    in  '  The  names,  indeed,  bear  a  strong 

Frusinum— Sutrium   in   Satricum.      A  affinity.     Niebuhr  (I.  p.  72)  points  out 

Ferentinum  and  an  Artena  existed  in  the  analogy  between  the  names  Volsci 

both   lands  ;    so    also    a    river  Clanis.  and  Falisci ;  the  latter  people,  he  thinks, 

There  was  a  Compsa  in  Samnium,  and  a  were   ^Equi,    but  they  are    called    in 

Cossa   in   Lucania,  as  well  as  a  river  history  Pelasgi ;  and  the  similarity  of 

Cosa  in  the  land  of  the  Hernici ;   and  the   words  Falisci  and   Pelasgi  is  also 

Cora  also  seems  connected  with  Cosa,  striking.  (Vol.  I.  p.  140). 

the   s    and  r    being    frequently  inter-  2  Val.  Patera  I.  14 ;  Liv.  Epit.  XIV; 

changeable.      That   the   Vulturnus    on  Cicero  (in  Verr.  VI.  61)  speaks  of  Cosa 

which    Capua   stood  had   an   Etruscan  as  a  munieiphim.  Gerhard  suggests  that 

name  needs  no  proof.     Capua  itself  is  she  may  have  been  colonised  with  the 

analogous  to  Capena  (Vol.  I.  p.  175)  ;  remains   of    the   population    of    Vul<a. 

so   is   Falerii   to    Falernus,  whose  Last  Ann.  Inst.  1831,  p.  404. 


ohap.  xr.vn.j 


HISTORICAL  NOTICES. 


289 


a  period.  With  just  as  much  propriety  might  the 
massive  fortifications  of  Psestum,  which  was  colonised 
in  the  same  year,  be  referred  to  the  Romans.3 

Beyond  the  mention  made  by  Virgil,  which  can  only  be 
received  as  evidence  of  her  high  antiquity,  we  have  no 
record  of  Cosa  in  the  days  of  Etruscan  independence. 
She  probably  fell  under  the  Roman  yoke  at  the  same 
time  as  Vulci— on  or  soon  after  the  year  474  (b.  c.  280).4 
Her  fidelity  during  the  Second  Punic  War,  when  with 
seventeen  other  colonies  she  came  forward  and  saved  the 
Republic,  at  a  time  when  Sutrium,  Nepete,  and  other 
colonies  refused  their  aid,  is  highly  commended  by  Livy.5 
At  what  period  the  city  was  deserted,  and  fell  into  the 
utter  ruin  which  was  witnessed  by  Rutilius  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  fifth  century  after  Christ,  we  known 
not;6  we  only  learn  from  the  same  poet  the  traditional 


3  If  the  Romans  had  any  hand  in  the 
construction  of  these  walls,  it  must  have 
been  in  the  upper  courses  alone,  which 
differ  so  widely  from  the  lower,  though 
the  material  is  the  same  throughout. 
It  is  possible  they  may  have  thus  re- 
paired the  walls.  But  if  Virgil's  testi- 
mony as  to  the  antiquity  of  Cosa  be 
admitted — and  who  can  reject  it  ? — the 
Romans  cannot  have  raised  them  en- 
tirely, or  what  has  become  of  the  prior 
fortifications  \  It  is  hardly  credible  that 
at  so  early  a  period  they  could  have 
been  rased  to  the  foundations,  so  as  not 
to  leave  a  vestige. 

4  Vol.  I.  p.  404. 

ft  Liv.  XXVII.  .0,  10.  She  is  subse- 
quently mentioned  in  Roman  history. 
Liv.  XXXII.  2  ;  XXXIII.  24  ;  Caesar, 
Bell.  Civ.  I.  34 ;  Cicero,  ad  Attic.  IX.  1 1 . 
Tacitus  (Annal.  II.  39)  speaks  of  Cosa 
as  "a  promontory  of  Etruria."  The 
Emperor  Vespasian  was  brought  up  in 
its  neighbourhood  (Sueton.  Vespas.  c.  2) ; 
VOL.    II. 


at  least  Cluver  (II.  p.  47  9)  and  Pitiseus 
consider  the  Cosa  of  Etruria  is  here 
meant  ;  but  Repetti  (I.  p.  829)  thinks  it 
is  the  Cossa  of  the  Hirpini. 

6  Rutil.  I.  285,  et  seq.  Inscriptions, 
however,  prove  the  city  to  have  been  in 
existence  in  the  middle  of  the  third 
century  of  our  era.  Repetti,  I.  p.  828  ; 
Reines.  III.  37,  cited  by  Midler,  I. 
p.  348. 

There  are  certain  coins — with  the 
head  of  Mars  on  the  obverse,  and  a 
horse's  head  bridled,  and  the  legend 
Cosano  or  Coza  on  the  reverse — which 
have  been  attributed  to  Cosa.  Lanzi,  II. 
pp.  24,  58;  Mionnet,  Med.  Ant.  I.  p.  97 ; 
Suppl.  I.  p.  197.  Lanzi  infers  from  the 
type  an  analogy  with  Consus,  an  eques- 
trian name  of  Neptune,  whence  the 
public  games  of  the  Consualia  were 
called  (Tertul.  de  Spect.  c.  5),  and 
thinks  Cosa  to  a  Roman  must  have 
liecn  equivalent  to  Posidonia  to  a  Greek. 
Midler  (Etrusk.  I.  p.  3411),  who  does 
U 


290  COSA.  [OHAP.  Xl.vil. 

cause  of  such  desolation,  with  needless  apologies  for  its 
absurdity.  The  mountain  laboured  and  brought  forth, 
not  one  "  ridiculous  mouse,"  but  so  many  as  to  drive  the 
citizens  from  their  fire-sides — 

Ridiculam  cladis  pudet  inter  seria  causam 
Promere,  sed  risum  dissimulare  piget. 

Dicuntur  cives  quondam  migrare  coacti 
Muribus  infestos  deseruisse  lares. 

Credere  maluerim  pygmeee  danina  cohortis, 
Et  conjuratas  in  sua  bella  grues. 

not  ascribe  these  coins  to  Cosa,  shows  Compsa  in  Samnium  ;  and  so  also  Mil- 

that  they  cannot  in  any  case  belong  to  lingen  (Nuniis.  Anc.  Italie,  p.  170)  ;    but 

the  times  of  the  Etruscans,  because  that  Sestini  (Geog.  Numis.  II.  p.  4)  to  Cossea, 

people  had  no   O    in    their    language.  a  city  of  Thrace. 
Cramer    (I.    p.    195)    refers    them   to 


CHAPTER  XLVIIL 

VETULONIA. 

Maeoniseque  decus  quondam  Vetulonia  gentis. 

Sil.  Italicus. 

The  deep  foundations  that  we  lay 
Time  ploughs  them  up,  and  not  a  trace  remains. 
We  build  with  what  we  deem  eternal  rock — 
A  distant  age  asks  where  the  fabric  stood. 

Cowper. 

In  former  chapters  I  have  spoken  of  the  ancient  city  of 
Vetulonia,  and  of  various  sites  that  have  been  assigned  to 
it ;  and  have  shown  that  all  of  them  are  far  from  satisfac- 
tory.1 In  the  course  of  my  wanderings  through  the 
Tuscan  Maremma  in  the  spring  of  1844,  I  had  the  fortune 
to  fall  in  with  a  site,  which  has  stronger  claims  to  be  con- 
sidered that  of  Vetulonia  than  any  of  those  to  which 
it  has  hitherto  been  referred. 

Vague  rumours  had  reached  my  ear  of  Etruscan  anti- 


1  It    may    be    well    to    restate    the  Ermolao  Barbaro,  the  earliest  writer  on 

various  sites  where  Vetulonia  has  been  the  subject,  who  places  it  at  Orbetello 

supposed  to  have   stood.      At  or  near  (see  Dempster,   II.   p.    56).     I   should 

Viterbo  (Vol.  I.  pp.  195, 200)— on  Monte  state  that  when  Mannert  (Geog.  p.  358) 

Calvi,  three  miles  from  the  sea,  buried  asserts  that  the  village  of  Badiola  on  an 

in  a  dense  wood  (ut  supra,  p.  226) — at  eminence   by  the  river  Cornia,  and  a 

Massa  Marittima,  or  five  miles  westward  geographical  mile-and-a-half  (about  six 

from  that  town  (ut  supra,  pp.  217,  218)  miles  English)  from  the  coast,  preserves 

—on  the  site  of  Vulci  (Vol.  I.  p.  405)  the  memory   of    the   ancient  city,   he 

—and  on  the  hill  of  Castiglione  Ber-  evidently  refers   to  the  site  five  miles 

nardi,  near  Monte  Rotondo   (ut  supra,  west  of  Massa. 
]).  214).     The  nearest  guess  is  tbat  of 

u2 


292  VETUL0N1A.  [chap.  mm. 

quities  having  been  discovered  at  Magliano,  a  village 
between  the  Osa  and  the  Albegna,  and  about  eight  miles 
inland  ;  but  I  concluded  it  was  nothing  beyond  the  exca- 
vation of  tombs,  so  commonly  made  at  this  season  through- 
out Etruria.  I  resolved,  however,  to  visit  this  place  on 
my  way  from  Orbetello  to  Saturnia.  For  a  few  miles  I 
retraced  my  steps  towards  Telamone,  but,  turning  to  the 
right,  crossed  the  Albegna  some  miles  higher  up,  at  a  ferry 
called  Barca  del  Grassi ;  from  this  spot  there  was  no 
carriage-road  to  Magliano,  and  my  vehicle  toiled  the  inter- 
vening five  miles  through  tracks  sodden  with  the  rain. 

Magliano  is  a  squalid,  innless  village,  of  three  hundred 
souls,  at  the  foot  of  a  mediaeval  castle,  in  picturesque  ruin.2 
On  making  inquiries  here  I  was  referred  to  an  engineer, 
Signor  Tommaso  Pasquinelli,  then  forming  a  road  from 
Magliano  to  the  Saline  at  the  mouth  of  the  Albegna.  I 
found  this  gentleman  at  a  convent  in  the  village,  amid  a 
circle  of  venerable  monks,  whose  beards  outshone  their 
robes  and  the  refectory  table  cloth,  in  whiteness.  I  was 
delighted  to  learn  that  it  was  he  who  had  made  the 
rumoured  discovery  in  this  neighbourhood,  and  that  it  was 
not  of  tombs  merely,  but  of  a  city  of  great  size.  The 
mode  in  which  this  wras  brought  to  light  wTas  singular 
enough.  Nothing  was  visible  above  ground — not  a  frag- 
ment of  ruin  to  indicate  prior  habitation  ;  so  that  it  was 
only  by  extraordinary  means  he  was  made  aware  that 
here  a  city  had  stood.  The  ground  through  which  his 
road  had  to  run  being  for  the  most  part  low  and  swampy, 
and  the  higher  land  being  a  soft  friable  tufo,  he  was  at  a 
loss  for  the  materials  he  wanted,  till  he  chanced  to  uncover 
some  large  blocks,  buried  beneath  the  surface,  which  he 


2  Magliano  does  not  appear  to  be  an  its  name  from  the  gens  Manila,  and 
ancient  site  ;  yet  like  all  other  places  of  must  have  been  anciently  called  Man- 
this  name  in  Italy  it  probably  derives        liainun. 


chap,  xlviii.]     DISCOVERY  OF  AN  ETRUSCAN  CITY.  293 

recognised  as  the  foundations  of  an  ancient  wall.  These 
he  found  to  continue  in  an  unbroken  line,  which  he  fol- 
lowed out,  breaking  up  the  blocks  as  he  unearthed  them, 
till  he  had  traced  out  the  periphery  of  a  city. 

With  the  genuine  politeness  of  Tuscany,  that  "  rare 
land  of  courtesy,"  as  Coleridge  terms  it,  he  proposed  at 
once  to  accompany  me  to  the  site.  It  was  the  first  oppor- 
tunity he  had  had  of  doing  the  honours  of  his  city,  for 
though  the  discovery  had  been  made  in  May  1842,  and  he 
had  communicated  the  fact  to  his  friends,  the  intelligence 
had  not  spread,  save  in  vague  distorted  rumours,  and  no 
antiquarian  had  visited  the  spot.  News  always  travels 
on  foot  in  Italy,  and  generally  falls  dead  lame  on  the  road. 
I  had  heard  from  the  antiquarians  of  Florence,  that  some- 
thing, no  one  knew  what,  had  been  found  hereabouts. 
One  thought  it  was  tombs  ;  another  had  heard  it  was  gold 
roba ;  another  was  in  utter  ignorance  of  this  site,  but  had 
heard  of  a  city  having  been  discovered  on  Monte  Catini,  to 
the  west  of  Volterra. 

The  city  lay  between  Magliano  and  the  sea,  on  a  low 
table-land,  just  where  the  ground  begins  to  rise  above  the 
marshy  plains  of  the  coast.  In  length,  according  to  Signor 
Pasquinelli,  it  was  somewhat  less  than  a  mile  and  a  half, 
and  scarcely  a  mile  in  breadth  ;  but  taking  into  account 
its  quadrilateral  form,  it  must  have  had  a  circuit  of  at  least 
four  miles  and  a  half.3     On  the  south-east  it  was  bounded 


3  This   account   differs  from   that  I  the    sea,   5,800   from   Magliano,   3,200 

heard  on  the  spot,  and  which  I  have  from  the  river  Albegna,  and  5,000  from 

elsewhere   given   to   the    world  : — viz.,  the   Osa.     "  A   distanza  di  circa   5,500 

that  the  circuit  was  not  less  than  six  tese  Inglesi  dal  mare,  1,G00  dal  flume 

miles.      I   have   since    received    more  Albegna,  2,500  dal  torrente  Osa,  e  2,900 

accurate  details  from  Signor  Pasquinelli,  dal  paese  di  Magliano,  sotto  la  superfice 

who  says  that  the  city  was  7200  English  della  campagna,  senza  nessun  vestigio 

feet  in   length,  by  4800  in  width.     He  apparente,  esistevano  da  secoli  sepolti 

also  states  that  a  certain  spot  in  the  city  gli  avanzi  di  numerose  fabbriche,  ak-unc 

was  afeout  11,000  English  yards  from  deUe   quali    ella  pote   vedere    in    detta 


294  VETULONIA.  [chap,  xlvih. 

by  the  streamlet  Patrignone,  whose  banks  rise  in  cliffs  of 
no  o-reat  height ;  but  on  every  other  side  the  table-land 
sinks  in  a  gentle  slope  to  the  plain.  At  the  south-western 
extremity,  near  a  house  called  La  Doganella,  the  only 
habitation  on  the  site,  was  found  a  smaller  and  inner 
circuit  of  wall ;  and  this,  being  also  the  highest  part  of  the 
table-land,  was  thus  marked  out  as  the  site  of  the  Arx. 

Though  scarcely  a  vestige  remained  of  the  walls,  and  no 
ruins  rose  above  the  surface,  I  had  not  much  difficulty  in 
recognising  the  site  as  Etruscan.  The  soil  was  thickly 
strewn  with  broken  pottery,  that  infallible  and  ineffaceable 
indicator  of  bygone  habitation ;  and  here  it  was  of  that 
character  found  on  purely  Etruscan  sites,  without  any 
admixture  of  marbles,  or  fragments  of  verd-antique, 
porphyry,  and  other  valuable  stones,  which  mark  the  seats 
of  Roman  luxury.4  Though  the  walls,  or  rather  their 
foundations,  had  been  almost  entirely  destroyed  since  the 
first  discovery,  a  few  blocks  remained  yet  entire,  and  cor- 
roborated the  Etruscan  character  of  the  city.5 

Within  the  walls  a  road  or  street  had  been  traced  by 
the  foundations  of  the  houses  on  either  hand.  Many 
things  had  been  dug  up,  but  no  statues,  or  marble  columns, 
as  on  Roman  sites — chiefly  articles  of  bronze  or  pottery.6 


circostanza,  circoscritte  entro  un  recinto  sembling  those  of   Populonia  in   their 

quadrilatero    di   mura   rovinate,    lungo  size  and  rude  shaping  ;  others  of  tufo, 

circa  1 ,200  tese,  largo  800."  or  of  the  soft  local  rock,  like  that  of 

4  Signer  Pasquinelli  mentioned  two  Corneto,  agreeing  in  size  and  form  with 
exceptions  only  to  this — a  small  oval  the  usual  blocks  of  this  material  found 
stone,  somewhat  like  black  porphyry,  on  Etruscan  sites.  Some  of  the  former 
and  a  fragment  of  white  marble,  found  had  been  found  nine  or  ten  feet  in 
near  the  foundations  of  a  building  which  length.  But  the  blocks  were  not  gene- 
seemed  to  have  been  a  temple.  rally  of  large  dimensions,  though  always 

5  As  to  the  style  of  masonry,  little  or  without  cement.  On  one  spot,  where  a 
nothing  could  be  ascertained,  seeing  portion  of  the  walls  had  been  uncovered, 
these  were  mere  foundations  ;  but  the  at  the  verge  of  a  hollow,  a  sewer  opening 
blocks  themselves  were  indicative  of  an  in  them  was  disclosed. 

Etruscan  origin— some  of  macigno,  re-  fi  Among  the  latter  was  a  huge  pot, 


ohap.  xLvm.]    REMAINS  DISCOVERED  ON  THE  SITE.  295 

I  myself  saw  a  piece  of  bronze  drawn  from  the  soil,  many 
feet  below  the  surface,  which  proved  to  be  a  packing- 
needle,  ten  inches  in  length,  with  eye  and  point  uninjured  ! 
It  must  have  served  some  worthy  Etruscan,  either  in  pre- 
paring for  his  travels,  perhaps  to  the  Fanum  Voltumnae, 
the  parliament  of  Lucumones,  perhaps  for  the  grand  tour, 
such  as  Herodotus  made,  which  is  pretty  nearly  the  grand 
tour  still ;  or,  it  may  be,  in  shipping  his  goods  to  foreign 
lands  from  the  neighbouring  port  of  Telamon.  This  vene- 
rable needle  is  now  in  my  possession. 

While  it  is  to  be  lamented  that  to  future  travellers 
scarcely  a  trace  of  this  city  will  be  visible,  it  must  be 
remembered,  that  but  for  the  peculiar  exigencies  of  the 
engineer,  which  led  to  the  destruction  of  its  walls,  we 
should  have  remained  in  ignorance  of  its  existence.  Other 
accidents  might  have  led  to  the  uncovering  of  a  portion 
of  the  wall ;  but  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  that  any  other 
cause  could  have  brought  about  the  excavation  of  the 
entire  circuit,  and  the  consequent  determination  of  the 
precise  limits  of  the  city.  So  that  in  spite  of  the  whole- 
sale macadamisation,  the  world  is  greatly  indebted  to  the 
gentleman  who  made  the  discovery.7 

Outside  the  walls  to  the  north  were  many  tumuli, 
originally  encircled  with  masonry,  which  had  been  broken 
up  for  the  road.     Some  were  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet  in 

one  metre  in  diametei',  and  not  much  complains  of  not  having  received  justice 

less  in  height,  of  rough  red  ware,  with  from  a  party  to  whom  he  committed  for 

its  rim  covered  with  lead,  clamped  into  publication  a  plan  he  had  made  of  the 

it  with  spikes  ;  the  lead  alone  weighed  city  and  its  environs,  drawings  of  the 

27  lbs.    This  pot  was  found  full  of  burnt  paintings  in  the  tombs,  and  many  other 

matter.        The    bronzes    consisted    of  particulars,  and  who  has  since  publicly 

fibulw,  lances,  javelins,  nails,  and  little  claimed  the  honour  of  the  discovery  for 

figures    of    deities   or  lares;   some    of  himself.     Nor  does  Repetti  (Suppl.  p. 

decidedly  Etruscan  character.  133),  who  mentions  the  fact  of  the  dis- 

7  I  am  the  more  desirous  of  referring  covery  on  the  occasion  of  forming  the 

the  merit  of  this  discovery  to  its  right-  road,  record  the  name  of  the  engineer, 
ful  owner,  because  Signer  Pasquinclli 


296  VETULONIA.  [chap,  xi.viii. 

diameter.  On  this  side  also,  i.  e.,  towards  Magliano,  I  saw 
some  Roman  remains — the  bases  of  small  Doric  columns  ; 
and  the  site  of  Baths,  where  mosaic  pavement  and  many 
coins  of  the  Empire  had  been  found,  was  also  pointed  out 
to  me.8  On  the  high  grounds  to  the  south-east,  I  heard 
that  many  tombs  had  been  opened,  undoubtedly  Etruscan 
in  character  and  contents.  They  were  not  hollowed  in 
cliffs,  but  sunk  beneath  the  surface,  as  at  Volterra  and 
Vulci.9  At  Magliano  I  saw  many  articles  found  within 
them — a  lion  of  peperino,  about  a  foot  long — a  small 
sphinx — Egyptian-like  figures — a  little  bronze  idol,  with 
sickle  in  his  hand — and  sundry  other  articles  in  sculpture, 
pottery,  and  bronze,  which  my  experience  enabled  me 
to  pronounce  indubitably  Etruscan,  and  chiefly  of  the 
most  archaic  character.  I  saw  no  figured  pottery,  but 
much  of  the  common  black  ware,  like  that  of  Chiusi  and 
Volterra ;  and  I  was  told  that  the  tall  black  vases  with 
relieved  decorations,  so  abundant  at  Sarteano,  had  been 
discovered  here.  Scarabei  of  cornelian  had  also  been 
brought  to  light. 

I  learned,  moreover,  that  several  painted  tombs  had 
been  opened  in  this  neighbourhood,  on  the  heights  between 
Magliano  and  the  Albegna.  I  could  not  see  them,  as 
they  had  been  reclosed  with  earth  ;  but  of  one  I  received 
a  description  from  Signor  Pasquinelli,  who  had  copied 
its  paintings.  It  was  a  square  chamber,  divided  into  two 
by  a  wall  hewn  from  the  rock,  on  each  face  of  which  figures 
were  painted.  One  was  an  archer  on  horseback,  drawing 
his  bow  ;  another  was  a  centaur  with  a  long  black  beard, 


8  These  coins  are  of  silver  as  well  as  lined  with  rude  masonry.  From  what 
copper.  Some  of  the  latter  are  of  I  could  learn,  traces  of  interment  were 
Vespasian.  much  more  numerous  on  this  site  than 

9  Many  of  these  tombs  were  mere  holes  of  cremation, 
in  the  earth,  of  the  size  of  a  body,  and 


chap,  xlviii.]  THE  NECROPOLIS.  297 

wings  open  and  raised,  and  a  tail  terminating  in  a  serpent's 
head ;  beside  which  there  were  dolphins,  and  flowers, 
and  "serpents  with  hawks'  heads;"  as  they  were  described 
to  me — probably  dragons.1  The  existence  of  Etruscan 
tombs  in  this  neighbourhood  has,  indeed,  been  known  for 
some  years,  and  excavators  have  even  come  hither  from 
Chiusi  on  speculation  ;  but  tombs  are  of  so  frequent 
occurrence  in  this  land,  that  the  existence  of  an  Etruscan 
town  or  city  near  at  hand,  though  necessarily  inferred,  was 
not  ascertained,  and  no  researches  were  made  for  its  site,2 
To  those,  however,  who  know  Italy,  it  will  be  no  matter  of 
surprise  that  the  existence  of  this  city  should  have  been  so 
long  forgotten.  Had  there  even  been  ruins  of  walls  or 
temples  on  the  site,  such  things  are  too  abundant  in  that 
land  to  attract  particular  attention ;  and  generation  after 
generation  of  peasants  might  fold  their  flocks  or  stall 
their  cattle  amid  the  crumbling  ruins,  and  the  world  at 
large  remain  in  ignorance  of  their  existence.  Thus  it  was 
with  Psestum ;  though  its  ruins  are  so  stupendous  and 
prominent,  it  was  unknown  to  the  antiquary  till  the  last 
century.  Can  we  wonder,  then,  that  in  the  Tuscan 
Maremma,    not    better   populated    or    more    frequented, 

1  It  must  be  this  tomb  which  was  probably  on  the  heights  of  Colle  di 
opened  by  Don  Luigi  Dei,  of  Chiusi,  in  Lupo,  three  miles  north-east  of  Magli- 
1 835  or  6,  and  is  described  as  having  ano,  where  sundry  relics  of  ancient 
two  chambers  with  chimerical  figures  in  times  had  been  discovered  (V.  p.  207). 
monochroms,  red,  green,  and  sky-blue  He  adds  that  many  sepulchral  urns, 
(Bull.  Instit.  1840,  p.  147).  The  same  fragments  of  Roman  inscriptions,  bas- 
is also  described  by  an  eye-witness  reliefs,  and  other  works  of  sculptural 
(Bull.  Inst.  1841,  p.  22),  with  more  adornment  in  the  local  travertine,  had 
minuteness  as  to  the  chamber,  but  no  been  at  various  times  brought  to  light 
further  details  of  the  paintings.  He  in  the  district  of  Magliano,  and  espe- 
says  this  tomb  is  about  one  mile  only  cially  on  a  lofty  hill  between  Colle  di 
from  Mao-liano.  Lupo  and  Pereta,  which  from  the  sepul- 

2  Befoi-e  Pasquinelli's  discovery  it  chral  remains  found  there,  was  called 
had  been  suggested  that  the  Etruscan  the  Tombara  (III.  p.  18).  On  a  hill,  a 
city  of  Caletra  stood  somewhere  in  the  mile  from  Magliano,  stands  the  ruined 
neighbourhood  of  Magliano.  Repetti  church  of  S.  Brizio,  of  the  low  Empire, 
thought  either  at  Montemerano,  or  more  with  other  remains  of  higher  antiquity. 


298  VETULONIA.  [chap,  xlviii. 

because  not  more  healthy,  than  the  Campanian  shore,  a 
city  should  have  been  lost  sight  of,  which  had  no  walls  or 
ruins  above  ground,  and  no  vestige  but  broken  pottery, 
which  tells  no  tale  to  the  simple  peasant  ? — a  city 

"  Of  which  there  now  remaines  no  memorie, 
Nor  anie  little  moniment  to  see, 
By  which  the  travailer,  that  fares  that  way, 
This  once  was  she,  may  warned  be  to  say." 

As  I  stood  on  this  ancient  site,  and  perceived  the  sea  so 
near  at  hand,  and  the  Bay  of  Telamone  but  a  few  miles 
off,  I  exclaimed,  "  This  must  have  been  a  maritime  city, 
and  Telamon  was  its  port!"  The  connection  between 
them  was  obvious.  The  distance  is  scarcely  more  than 
that  between  Tarquinii  and  her  port  of  Graviscre,  and 
between  Caere  and  the  sea.  When  I  looked  also  over  the 
low  marshy  ground  which  intervened,  I  could  understand 
why  the  city  was  situated  so  far  inland ;  it  was  for 
strength  of  position,  for  elevation  above  the  unhealthy 
swamps  of  the  coast,  and  for  room  to  extend  its  dimensions 
ad  libitum,  which  it  could  not  have  done  on  the  rocky 
heights  above  Telamone,  or  on  the  small  conical  headland 
of  Telamonaccio.  The  peculiarity  of  the  position  on  the 
first  heights  which  rise  from  the  level  of  the  swamp, 
seemed  to  me  a  sure  index  to  the  character  of  the  city. 
It  was  a  compromise  between  security  and  convenience. 
Had  it  not  been  for  maritime  purposes,  and  proximity  to 
the  port  of  Telamon,  the  founders  of  this  city  could  not 
have  chosen  a  site  so  objectionable  as  this,  but  would  have 
preferred  one  still  further  inland,  which  would  have  com- 
bined the  advantages  of  more  natural  strength  and  greater 
elevation  above  the  heavy  atmosphere  of  the  Maremma,  in 
every  age  more  or  less  insalubrious.3 

:i  At  the  present  day  the  swamps  of      healthy   in   summer.     Itepetti,   III.   p. 
Telamone   render   Magliano    very    un-       14  ;  V.  p.  497.     Yet  the  soil  is  wonder- 


chap.  xLvm.]       WHAT  WAS  THIS  ANCIENT  CITY  \  299 

Another  fact  which  forced  itself  on  my  observation,  was 
the  analogy  of  position  with  that  of  the  earliest  settlements 
on  this  coast — with  the  Pelasgic  towns  of  Pisa?,  Tarquinii, 
Pyrgi,  Alsium,  Agylla — a  fact  greatly  in  favour  of  the 
high  antiquity  of  this  site. 

Here  then  was  a  city  genuinely  Etruscan  in  character,  of 
first-rate  magnitude,  inferior  only  to  Veii,  equal  at  least  to 
Volaterrre,  probably  of  high  antiquity,  certainly  of  great 
importance,  second  to  none  in  naval  and  commercial  advan- 
tages ;  a  city,  in  short,  which  must  have  been  one  of  the 
Twelve.  Is  it  possible  it  could  have  been  passed  over  in 
silence  by  ancient  writers  ?  But  what  was  its  name  % 
Which  of  the  still  missing  cities  of  Etruria  can  this  have 
been  ?  I  called  to  mind  the  names  of  these  outcasts — 
Caletra,  Statonia,  Sudertum,  Salpinum,  &c. — and  reviewed 
their  claims  to  a  site  of  such  magnitude  and  importance  ; 
but  all  were  found  wanting,  all,  save  the  most  celebrated — 
Vetulonia ;  which,  after  much  consideration,  I  am  con- 
vinced must  have  stood  on  this  spot. 

Let  us  see  what  has  been  said  of  that  city  by  the 
ancients.  It  is  first  mentioned  by  Dionysius  as  one  of  the 
five  Etruscan  cities  which  engaged  to  assist  the  Latins 
against  Tarquinius  Priscus.  He  states,  that  not  all  the 
cities  of  Etruria  agreed  to  afford  assistance,  but  these  five 
only — Clusium,  Arretium,  Volaterra?,  Rusella),  and  also 
Vetulonia.4  This,  as  already  shown,  is  a  strong  argument 
for  regarding  each  of  these  cities  as  of  the  Twelve,  for 
second-rate,  or  dependent  towns,  could  not  have  acted  in 
opposition  to  the  rest  of  the  Confederation.5    Silius  Italicus 

fully  fertile,  and  presents  every  encou-  p.  473),  and  of  Miiller  (Etrus.  II.  1,  2). 

ragement  for  cultivation.     A  proof  of  Manncrt    (Gcog.    p.     358)    also    took 

this  exists  in  a  venerable   olive,  hard  Vetulonia    for    one     of     the     Twelve, 

by    Magliano,    which    has    a    circum-  Vetulonia  has  oven  been  supposed  the 

ference  of  thirty  feet.  metropolis  of  Etruria  (Ann.  lust.  1829, 

4  Dion.  Hal.  III.  p.  1!!!),  ed.  Sylb.  \>.  190),  but  on  no  valid  grounds. 

;'  This  is  the  opinion  of  Cluver  (II. 


800  VETULONIA.  [chap,  xlviii. 

bears  testimony  to  the  antiquity  and  former  glory  of  Vetu- 
lonia,  and  even  asserts  that  it  was  from  her  that  the  twelve 
fasces  with  their  hatchets,  and  the  other  symbols  of  power, 
the  curule-chairs  of  ivory,  and  the  robes  of  Tynan  purple, 
as  well  as  the  use  of  the  brazen  trumpet  in  war,  were  all 
first  derived.6  Beyond  this  we  find  no  mention  of  Vetu- 
lonia  except  in  the  catalogues  of  Pliny  and  Ptolemy;7  both 
place  it  among  the  "  inland  colonies  "  of  Etruria  ;  the  one 
adds  its  latitude  and  longitude,  and  the  other  elsewhere 
states,  that  there  were  hot  waters  at  Vetulonii,  in  Etruria, 
not  far  from  the  sea,  and  that  fish  lived  in  the  waters.8 

The  sum  total  then  of  what  we  learn  from  the  ancients 
on  this  point,  may  be  comprised  in  a  few  words.  Vetulonia 
was  a  city  of  great  antiquity,  importance,  and  magnificence, 
with  very  strong  claims  to  rank  among  the  Twelve  chief 
cities  of  the  land  ;  having  hot  springs  in  its  neighbourhood, 
and  though  not  situated  exactly  on  the  shore,  it  must  have 
stood  at  a  short  distance  from  the  sea.9 


6  Sil.  Ital.  VIII.  485.—  conniption  of  «  Vetulonis  ; "  but  there  is 
Mfeoniseque  decus  quondam  Vetulonia  no  solid  ground  for  such  an  opinion. 

gentis.  Dionysius  (II.  p.  104)  speaks  of  an 

Bissenos  hsec  prima  dedit  prsecedere  Etruscan  city  called  Solonium,  whence 

fasces,  a   Lucumo,    probably   Caeles   Vibenna, 

Et  junxit  totidem  tacito  terrore  se-  came   to   the  assistance    of    Romulus. 

cures  ;  Cluver  (II.  pp.  454,  473)  took  this  to 

Haec   altas  eboris    decoravit   honore  be  a  corruption  of  Vetulonium.      Cas- 

curules,  aubon   thought    it   meant    Populonium. 

Et  princeps  Tyrio  vestem  prsetexuit  But  Miiller  (Etrusk.  I.  p.  116),  by  com- 

ostro  ;  paring    Propertius     (IV.  2,  4),    comes 

Hsec   eadem   pugnas  accendere  pro-  to  the  more  probable  opinion  that  it  was 

tulit  aere.  Volsinii  that  was  here  intended. 

7  Plin.  III.  8.  Ptol.  p.  72,  ed.  Bert.  9  Dr.  Ambrosch,  in  order  to  reconcile 
Ptolemy  calls  the  city  Vetulonium —  the  insignificant  hill  of  Castiglione  Ber- 
ObiTovXwuiov.  nardi  (ut  supra,  p.  214)  with  the  site  of 

8  Plin.  II.  106. — (aquis  calidis)  ad  Vetulonia,  endeavours  to  invalidate  the 
Vctulonios  in  Etruria,  non  procul  testimony  of  Silius  Italicus  as  to  the  im- 
a  mari,  pisces  (innascuntur).  It  has  portance  and  magnificence  of  that  ancient 
already  been  stated  (ut  supra,  p.  230),  city.  He  founds  his  view  on  the  mention 
that  Cluver  and  others  took  the  "  Veli-  Dionysius  makes  of  it,  and  the  place  he 
nis  "  of  the  Peutingerian  Table  to  be  a  assigns  it  at  the  end  of  the  sentence,  after 


<•hap.xi.vmi.]  IT  MUST  BE  VETULONIA.  301 

Such  are  the  requisites  of  the  long-lost  Vetulonia.  Every 
one  of  them  is  fulfilled  by  this  newly -found  city.  On  its 
antiquity  and  importance  it  is  not  necessary  to  enlarge. 
Its  size  alone,  without  the  possession  of  such  a  port  as 
Telamon,  would  give  this  city  a  right  to  rank  among  the 
Twelve.  In  situation  it  also  corresponds,  being  near 
enough  to  the  sea  to  agree  with  Pliny's  "  non  procid  a 
mart,"  and  far  enough  inland  to  come  within  the  category 
of  " intus  colonice"  being  scarcely  further  from  the 
shore  than  Tarquinii  and  Csere,  kindred  cities  similarly 
classed.1  As  to  the  springs,  where  the  fish  in  Pliny's  time 
had  got,  in  a  double  sense,  into  hot  water,  I  had  the  satis- 
faction of  learning  that  near  Telamonaccio,  two  or  three 
hundred  yards  only  from  the  sea,  were  hot  springs  ;  but  I 
had  no  opportunity  of  returning  to  the  coast  to  ascertain 
if  the  advantages  the  ancients  possessed,  in  fishing  out  par- 
boiled mackerel  and  mullet,  have  descended  to  the  modern 
Tuscans.  For  any  traces  of  the  ancient  name  existing  in 
the  neighbourhood,  I  inquired  in  vain  ;  but  that  in  no  way 
affects  my  opinion,  as  no  traditional   memory  exists  of 

the  other  foux*  cities,  its  confederates  ;  Italicus  is  gratuitously  impugned  in  this 

but  chiefly  on  the  silence  of  Livy  and  matter,  as  that  writer  had  the  reputation 

other  historians,  of  Strabo  and  Virgil  ;  among  his  contemporaries  for  care  and 

for  he  considers  it  impossible,  if  Vetulo-  accuracy,  not  for  a  lively  imagination, 

nia  had  been  of  the  importance  Silius  For    a    more    detailed    reply    to    Dr. 

Italicus  ascribes  to  it,  that  no  mention  Ambrosch,  I  must  be  allowed  to  refer 

should  be  made  of  it  by  the   principal  the  reader  to  my  notice  of  Vetulonia  in 

writers  of  Rome.  Ricerche  di  Vetulonia,  the  Classical  Museum,  No.  V. 
pp.  65 — 92  ;   Memor.  Inst.  IV.  pp.  137  '  In  the  same  article  in  the  Classical 

— 155.     The  limits  of  this  work  will  not  Museum,  I  have  shown,  that  the  argu- 

allow  me  here  to  reply  to  these  arguments  ments    Inghirami     adduces,   from    the 

further  than  by  stating  that  Cluver  and  latitudes  and  longitudes  of  Ptolemy,  in 

Muller  put  a  totally  different  interpreta-  favour  of  Vetulonia  occupying  the  hill 

tion  on  the  words  of    Dionysius — that  of  Castiglione  Bernardi,  may  be  applied 

other  cities  of  Etruria,  some  of  no  less  with  superior  force  to  this  ancient  site 

importance  than  Vetulonia,  are  past  by  near  Magliano  ;  though  at  the  same  time 

in  equal  silence  by  the  said  writers  on  I  disclaim  as  unsubstantial  all  evidence 

Roman  legends,  history,  and  geography  drawn    from    this   source.       Ut   sii/>iih, 

— and     that    the     authority    of    Silius  page  2 1 5,  note  8. 


302 


VETULONIA. 


[(II  \V.    M.VIII. 


Veii,  Fidense,  Cosa,  and  many  other  ancient  cities  whose 
sites  have  been  fixed  beyond  a  doubt. 

One  important  feature  of  Vetulonia,  which  is  nowhere 
indeed  expressly  mentioned  by  the  ancients,  but  may  be 
inferred  from  their  statements,2  and  is  strongly  corroborated 
by  coins3  and  other  monumental  evidence,  is  its  maritime 
character.  This  feature  has  been  little  regarded  by  Inghi- 
rami  and  Ambrosch,  who  would  fix  the  site  of  this  ancient 
city  at  Castiglione  Bernardi,  fourteen  or  fifteen  miles  from 
the  sea.4     But  it  is  one  which  tends  most  strongly  to  esta- 


2  An  analysis  of  the  passage  in  Silius 
Italicus  will  lead  us  to  the  conclusion 
that  Vetulonia  must  have  been  a  sea- 
port, or  at  least  so  situated  as  to  be 
able  to  carry  on  a  foreign  commerce. 
The  city  which  first  introduced  the  use 
of  ivory  chairs  and  Tyrian  purple  into 
Etruria  must  surely  have  had  direct 
intercourse  with  the  East,  such  as  could 
not  have  been  maintained  had  she  been 
far  removed  from  the  coast.  We  are 
told  that  the  purple  robes  which  the 
Etruscan  cities  sent  to  Tarquin,  among 
the  other  insignia  of  royalty,  in  token 
of  submission  to  his  authority,  were 
such  as  were  worn  by  the  Lydian  and 
Persian  monarchs,  differing  only  in 
form.  Dion.  Hal.  III.  p.  10.5.  Now 
whatever  may  have  been  the  origin  of 
the  Etruscan  race,  it  is  manifest  that 
a  city  which  first  introduced  a  foreign 
custom  like  this,  must,  if  that  custom 
were  brought  directly  from  the  East  by 
its  founders,  have  been  on,  or  near,  the 
coast  ;  or  if  subsequently,  owing  to 
commercial  relations  with  those  lands, 
must  either  have  been,  or  have  had,  a 
port. 

3  There  are  certain  coins  with  a  head 
and  the  legend  "  Vatl  "  in  Etruscan 
characters  on  the  obverse,  and  on  the 
reverse  a  trident,  whose  two  outer 
prongs  rise  from  the  bodies  of  dolphins. 


One  as  has  a  wheel  and  an  anchor, 
with  the  legend  "  Vetl  .  .  a,"  for 
"  Vetiana,"  in  Etruscan  letters.  Lanzi 
describes  some  as  having  a  crescent, 
though  a  wheel  and  an  axe  are  the 
most  frequent  types,  the  one  indicating 
the  lictors,  the  other  the  curule  chair ; 
the  origin  of  both  being  ascribed  by 
Sil.  Italicus  to  Vetulonia.  Micali  sees 
in  the  anchor  a  proof  of  the  proximity 
of  this  city  to  the  sea,  and  of  her  mari- 
time commerce.  Passeri,  Paralip.  in 
Dempst.  p.  183,  tab.  VI.  1  ;  Guarnacci, 
Orig.  Ital.  II.  tav.  XIX.  6 — 16  ;  Lanzi, 
Sagg.  II.  pp.  31,  110,  tav.  III.  4—6  ; 
Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  I.  p.  144  ;  III. 
p.  1.01,  tav.  CXV.  8.  It  is  asserted 
indeed  by  Millingen  (Numis.  Anc. 
Italie,  p.  174)  that  these  coins  are  not 
found  in  any  known  collection,  and 
therefore  they  ought  to  be  considered 
imaginary.  But  Lanzi  (II.  p.  30)  and 
Passeri  speak  of  one  as  in  the  Museo 
Olivieri  ;  nor  is  their  existence  ques- 
tioned by  Mionnet  (Suppl.  I.  pp.  205 — 7, 
214),  Sestini  (Geog.  Numis.  II.  p.  .">), 
or  Muller  (Etrusk.  I.  p.  336),  who,  how- 
ever, ascribe  them  to  Vettuna,  now 
Bettona,  in  Umbria.  They  are  also 
stated  to  have  been  found  in  the  urns 
of  Volterra.  Bava,  ap.  Inghir.  Mon. 
Etrus.  IV.  p.  87. 

1  J'i  ntpra,  p.  214  et  seq. 


chap,  xi.vm.]     MARITIME  CHARACTER  OF  VETULONIA.  303 

blisli  the  identity  of  Vetulonia  with  this  newly-discovered 
city  near  Magliano. 

The  maritime  character  of  Vetulonia  is  indeed  esta- 
blished by  a  monument  discovered  at  Cervetri  in  1840, 
and  now  in  the  Lateran  Museum.  It  is  a  bas-relief, 
bearing  the  devices  of  three  Etruscan  cities — Tarquinii, 
Vulci,  and  Vetulonia.  The  latter,  which  is  indicated  by 
the  inscription  vetvlonenses,  is  symbolised  by  a  naked 
man  with  an  oar  on  his  shoulder,  and  holding  a  pine-cone, 
which  he  seems  to  have  just  plucked  from  a  tree  over  his 
head.  Dr.  Braun,  the  learned  secretary  of  the  Archaeolo- 
gical Institute  of  Rome,  whose  opinion  is  of  great  weight 
in  such  matters,  says  :  —  "  that  this  figure  represents 
Neptune,  seems  to  me  beyond  a  doubt ;  it  is  shown  not 
only  by  the  attribute  in  his  hand,  but  also  by  the  tree, 
sacred  to  that  deity,  which  stands  at  his  side.  However  it 
be,  no  one  can  presume  to  deny  that  the  figure  bearing  an 
oar  indicates  a  maritime  city,  such  as  Pliny  in  truth  implies 
Vetulonia  to  have  been." 5 

We  are  quite  in  the  dark  as  to  the  period  and  causes  of 
Vetulonia's  destruction  or  abandonment.  It  may  have 
been  malaria  ;  it  may  have  been  the  sword  which  desolated 


0  Ann.  Inst.  1842,  p.  38,  tav.  d'Agg.  joined  by  the  Cavalier  Canina  (Bull.  Inst. 
C.  Another  learned  antiquary  of  Rome,  1840,  p.  93),  that  this  bas-relief  formed 
who  agrees  with  me  as  to  this  being  the  one  of  the  sides  of  a  square  pedestal, 
site  of  Vetulonia,  takes  the  figure  with  whose  other  three  sides  bore  emblems  of 
an  oar  to  represent  Telamon,  the  Argo-  other  cities — the  Twelve  of  the  Etruscan 
naut.  Dr.  Braun  suggests,  from  a  consi-  Confederation  ;  and  they  think  that  as 
deration  of  this  monument,  that  there  the  relief  was  found  near  a  statue  of 
was  probably  a  pine-wood  in  the  neigh-  Claudius,  the  pedestal  originally  sup- 
bourhood  of  Vetulonia.  It  so  happens  ported  that  statue,  and  that  the  Twelve 
that  there  is  such  a  wood  extending  for  Cities  of  Etruria  were  symbolised  there- 
miles  along  the  shore  between  Telamone  on  in  compliment  to  that  emperor  having 
and  Orbetello,  which  may  be  the  remains  written  a  history  of  Etruria.  To  me, 
of  a  forest  yet  more  extensive  in  ancient  however,  the  relief  appears  rather  to 
times.  have  formed  part  of  a  throne,  for  at  one 

Dr.  Braun  is  of  opinion,  in  which  he  is  end  it  is  decorated  on  both  sides. 


304  VETULONIA.  [chap.  xlvhi. 

it.6  In  truth,  the  little  mention  made  of  it  by  ancient 
writers,  seems  to  mark  it  as  having  ceased  to  exist  at  or 
before  the  time  of  Roman  domination.7  The  total  silence 
of  Livy  and  Strabo  is  also  thus  best  explained.  The 
absence  of  Roman  remains  on  the  site  of  this  city  is  in 
accordance  with  this  view.  Yet  that  Vetulonia  existed, 
or  rather  re-existed,  in  Imperial  times,  is  proved  by  the 
mention  made  of  it  by  Pliny  and  Ptolemy,  and  by  an 
inscription  found  at  Arezzo.8  The  many  Roman  remains 
in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  this  site,  and  further  inland, 
probably  belong  to  that  colony ;  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that 
the  ancient  city,  like  Veii,  had  previously  lain  desolate  for 
centuries,  and  that  when  a  colony  was  to  be  established,  a 
neighbouring  spot  was  chosen  in  preference  to  the  original 
site,  which  was  abandoned  as  too  near  the  unhealthy 
swamps  of  the  coast. 

I  have  the  satisfaction  of  learning  that  my  opinion  as  to 
this  city  being  the  long-lost  Vetulonia,  is  concurred  in  by 
some  of  the  leading  antiquaries  of  Rome — Germans  as 
well  as  Italians.  But  be  it  Vetulonia  or  not,  it  is  manifest 
that  it  must  have  been  of  great  importance  in  the  early 
days  of  Etruria  ;  as  it  is  surpassed  but  by  one  city  of  that 
land  in  size,  and  by  none  in  naval  and  commercial  advan- 
tages of  situation. 

6  Signor    Pasquinelli    remarks    that  even  specifies  the  period  of  the  city's 

from  the  confusion  in  which  the  blocks  destruction, 

of  masonry  were  found,  overturned  in  s  Grater,  p.  1029,  7. — 

the  foundations  of   the  buildings,  min-  Q  •  spvrinnae  .  q  .  f. 

gled    with    fragments   of  pottery,   with  p  .  .  .  .  qvintiaxo 

burnt  matter  and  fused  metal,  this  city  eq  .  pvbl  .  lavr  .  lavjn 

had  probably  undergone  a  violent  de-  aedil  .  nviR  .  cvrat 

struetion.  kalexd  .  pleb  .  arret 

"  This  was  given   out  by  Dempster  cvr vbl  .  vetvi.h 

(Etrar.    Reg.   II.   p.    56)    as    a    mere  m.nmy.m     plebs 

conjecture  ;    but     has    been     assumed  vrbana 

as    a    fact    by   a    recent    writer,    who  i.  .  n  .  n  .  d 


ANC1FNT     TOMB,    SATUKNIA. 

CHAPTER   XLIX. 

SATURN  I A .— SA  TURNIA . 

A  few  rude  monuments  of  mountain  stone 
Survive  ;  all  else  is  swept  away. 


Wordsworth. 


Ed  io  :  maestro,  quai  son  quelle  genti, 
Che  seppellite  dentro  da  quell'  arche 
Si  fan  sentire  ? 

Dante. 


One  of  the  most  ancient  of  Etruscan  sites  is  Saturnia, 
which  lies  in  the  valley  of  the  Albegna,  twenty  miles  from 
the  sea.  It  may  be  reached  either  from  Orbetello  or 
Grosseto.1 


1  Saturnia  is  about   28   miles   from  by   the   direct  track   through    Sovana, 

Cosa,    13    from    Scansano,    nearly    30  but  16  or  17  by  the  high  road  through 

from  Grosseto,  1 1  or  12  from  Pitigliano  Manciano. 

VOL.    II.  X 


30G  SATURNIA.  [chap.  xlix. 

The  road  from  Orbetello  runs  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Albegna,  passing  through  Marsiliana  and  Monte  Merano, 
and  is  carriageable  to  this  latter  place,  which  is  but  three 
miles  from  Saturnia,  Those  who  would  take  the  more 
direct  track  must  leave  their  vehicles  at  Marsiliana,  and 
on  horseback  follow  the  banks  of  the  Albegna.  But  this 
will  not  do  after  heavy  rains,  as  the  river  has  to  be  forded 
no  less  than  fourteen  times  ! 

From  Magliano  I  took  the  route  of  Scansano,  a  town 
some  nine  or  ten  miles  to  the  north.  Half  way  is  Pereta, 
a  small  village,  with  a  ruined  castle  on  a  height,  over- 
hanging a  deep  valley ;  and  a  steep  ascent  of  some  miles 
leads  hence  to  Scansano.  This  is  a  town  of  some  size, 
near  the  summit  of  a  mountain,  but  with  no  interest 
beyond  being  the  only  halting-place  between  Grosseto  and 
Saturnia.  Inquire  for  the  house  of  Domenico  Bianchi — 
the  lack  of  comfort  will  be  as  far  as  possible  atoned  for  by 
civility  and  attention.  Grosseto  is  sixteen  or  seventeen 
miles  distant,  and  the  road  is  excellent,  but  terminates  at 
Scansano.  For  the  first  four  miles  from  Grosseto  it  crosses 
the  plain  to  Istia,  a  ruined  village  on  the  right  bank  of  the 
Ombrone,  with  a  double  circuit  of  crumbling  walls,  telling 
of  vanished  greatness.  Here  the  river  is  crossed  by  a 
ferry,  but  when  swollen  by  heavy  rains,  it  is  difficult  of 
transit.  I  had  much  ado  to  cross  it  on  my  way  from 
Scansano,  but  on  my  return  a  few  hours  afterwards,  it  had 
so  overstept  the  modesty  of  its  nature  as  to  rival  the  Tiber, 
nine  times  its  volume,  as  the  saying  goes — 

"  Tre  Ombroni  fanno  un  Arno, 
Tre  Ami  fanno  un  Tevere, 
Tre  Teveri  fanno  un  Po  ; 
E  tre  Po  di  Lombardia 
Fanno  un  Danubio  di  Turchia  " — 

and  as  to  oblige  me  to  leave  my  vehicle  behind,  and  do 


chap,  xjax.]  SCANSANO.— ROAD  TO  SATURNIA.  307 

the  rest  of  the  way  on  foot.  For  the  thirteen  miles  hence 
to  Scansano  it  is  a  continual  ascent,  through  woods  of  oak, 
chesnut,  and  Maremma  shrubs.  The  laurestinus,  then  in 
full  bloom,  and  numerous  flowers  of  varied  hue  and  odour, 
gave  the  country  the  appearance  of  a  vast  shrubbery,  or 
untrimmed  garden — 

"  A  wilderness  of  sweets — 
Flowers  of  all  hue  and  weeds  of  glorious  feature." 

But  never  did  shrubbery  or  lawn  command  a  view  so  mag- 
nificent as  that  from  these  heights.  From  the  headland 
of  Troja  to  those  of  Telamone  and  Argentaro, 

"  That  lovely  shore  of  solitude  and  light  " 

lay  unrolled  beneath,  with  its  bounding  belt  of  the  blue 
Mediterranean,  studded  with  many  a  silvery  islet. 

From  Scansano  to  Saturnia  there  are  thirteen  miles, 
winch  I  expected  to  accomplish  on  horseback  in  three 
hours,  yet  six  elapsed  ere  I  reached  my  destination.  The 
track  is  a  mere  bridle-path,  utterly  impracticable  to 
vehicles ;  here,  running  through  dense  woods ;  there, 
crossing  moors  which  the  rains  had  converted  into  quag- 
mires ;  and  often  disappearing  altogether ;  and  my  guide 
did  his  best  to  enhance  its  delights  by  assuring  me  the 
Albegna  would  be  too  swollen  to  be  fordable,  and  we  must 
certainly  retrace  our  steps  to  Scansano.  However — al  fin 
si  canta  la  gloria — we  reached  the  left  bank  of  the  stream, 
and  ascended  the  long  slope  to  Saturnia. 

The  situation  of  this  city  is  most  imposing.  Like  Cosa 
and  Rusellae,  it  occupies  the  summit  of  a  truncated  cone  ; 
but,  still  more  like  Orvieto,  it  also  rises  in  the  midst  of  an 
amphitheatre  of  lofty  mountains  ;  and  as  the  circuit  of  its 
walls  is  complete,  it  appears  at  a  distance  to  be  well 
inhabited.  It  is  only  on  entering  its  gates  that  the  deso- 
lation within  is  apparent. 


308  SATURNIA.  [chap,  xt.i  x. 

The  modern  Saturaia  is  the  representative  of  the  ancient 
merely  in  name.  It  occupies  but  a  fractional  part  of  the 
original  area,  and  is  a  miserable  "  luogliettaccio"  with  a 
church  and  some  score  of  hovels,  and  only  one  decent 
house — that  of  the  Marchese  Panciatichi  Ximenes,  a  noble 
of  Aragonese  blood,  whose  family  has  possessed  this  manor 
for  the  last  two  hundred  and  fifty  years.  It  were  folly  to 
expect  an  inn  in  such  a  hamlet.  There  is  indeed  what  is 
called  an  osteria,  but  a  peep  within  it  confirmed  all  I  had 
heard  of  its  horrors,  and  determined  me  to  effect  a  lodge- 
ment in  the  palace.  This  was  no  difficult  matter.  The 
fattore,  or  agent  of  the  Marchese,  readily  agreed  to  accom- 
modate me  ;  and  the  heifer  being  offered,  as  Sancho  would 
say,  I  was  not  long  in  fetching  a  rope — 

Quando  se  diere  la  vaquilla 
Corre  con  la  soguilla. 

Moreover  he  furnished  me  with  a  guide  to  the  antiquities 
— one  Domenico  Lepri,  whom  I  can  recommend  to  future 
visitors. 

The  form  of  the  ancient  city  is  an  irregular  rhomboid, 
the  angles  facing  the  cardinal  points.  It  may  be  rather 
more  than  two  miles  in  circuit,2  its  extent  being  deter- 
mined by  the  character  of  the  ground,  which  breaks  into 
cliffs  at  the  top  of  the  cone.  In  this  respect  also  Saturnia 
resembles  Orvieto,  and  differs  from  Cosa  and  Rusellae, 
which  have  no  cliffs.  The  existing  fortifications  were 
erected  on  the  ruins  of  the  ancient  in  the  fifteenth  cen- 
tury, and  are  evidently  prior  to  the  use  of  artillery.3 

2  Sir  R.   C.    Hoare   calls  the   circuit  never  seen  a  plan  of  Saturnia,  and  regret 

three  miles  (Classical  Tour,   I.  p.  52),  that  I  did  not  measure  it  myself, 
hut  that  is  certainly  an  overstatement.  3  In   a    few    parts    are    remains    of 

It  can  scarcely  he  the  two  miles  and  a  Roman    work — optis  incertwm  and  reti- 

half  which  Santi  ascribes  to  it.     Viaggio,  cidatum — the  repairs  of  the  still  earlier 

p.  88,  cited  by  Midler,  I.   '.',  3.     I  have  fortifications. 


chap,  xlix.]  WALLS  OF  POLYGONAL  MASONRY. 


309 


In  three  spots  only  could  I  perceive  remains  of  the 
original  walls.  The  finest  portion  is  on  the  south,  beneath 
the  ruined  castle,  and  hard  by  the  village.  Here  is  a  gate- 
way, called  Porta  Romana,  whether  from  the  direction  in 
which  it  opens,  or  from  its  evident  antiquity,  matters  not. 
On  either  hand  of  it  is  polygonal  masonry,  precisely  like 
that  of  Cosa  in  its  smooth  surface  and  the  close  "  kissing  " 
of  its  joints  ;  but  whether  topt  in  the  same  way  with  hori- 
zontal courses  cannot  be  determined,  the  loftiest  fragment 
not  rising  above  twelve  feet.4  The  gateway,  though  now 
arched  over  with  the  work  of  the  middle  ages,  is  mani- 
festly coeval  with  these  walls,  for  the  masonry  here  running 
into  horizontal  forms  as  usual  at  angles,  terminates 
abruptly  in  doorposts ; 5  and  there  are  no  traces  of  an 
ancient  arch,  the  gate  having  been  spanned,  like  those  at 
Cosa  and  kindred  sites,  by  a  horizontal  lintel  of  stone  or 
wood.  The  pavement  of  the  old  Roman  road  still  runs 
through  the  gate  into  the  city. 

In  the  eastern  wall,  at  a  spot  called  II  Marrucatone,  just 
above  the  Campo  Santo,  is  another  fragment  of  polygonal 
masonry.  Only  two  courses  are  now  standing,  and  there 
may  be  about  twenty  blocks  in  all ;  and  these  show  more 
tendency  to  regularity  and  horizontality  than  the  portion 
at  the  Porta  Romana. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  the  city  is  a  third  fragment,  in 


4  The  blocks  here  are  not  of  great  he  had  not  given  the  date  of  his  visit 
size.  Two  of  the  largest  I  found  to  be  I  should  have  doubted  that  he  had  ever 
respectively — 5  ft.  7  in.  in  length,  by  been  at  Saturnia.  It  is  surprising  that 
4  ft.  7  in.  high  ;  and  4  ft.  7  in.  long,  by  the  peculiar  character  of  this  masonry,  so 
3  ft.  2  in.  high.  A  view  of  this  frag-  decidedly  polygonal,  could  have  escaped 
ment  of  the  walls  of  Saturnia  is  given  his  eye.  His  inaccuracy  in  describing  it 
in  Ann.  Inst.  1831,  tav.  d'  Agg.  E.  as  macigno  must  also  be  attributed  to 

5  It  must  have  been  the  horizontality  want  of  observation  ;  and  his  opinion 
in  the  doorposts  that  led  Repetti  to  that  it  is  "rather  Roman  than  Etrus- 
speak  of  this  masonry  as  composed  "  of  can,"  can  therefore  have  little  weight, 
great  blocks  of  squared  maceV/Jio."      If  See  Repetti,  V.  p.  206. 


aiO  SATURNIA.  [chap.  xlix. 

the  foundations  of  the  modern  walls.  Beyond  this  I  could 
not  perceive,  nor  could  I  learn,  that  there  were  any  remains 
of  the  ancient  fortifications  ;  but  it  is  almost  impossible  to 
make  the  entire  tour  of  the  walls  externally,  on  account  of 
the  dense  thickets  and  scattered  rocks,  which  in  parts  for- 
bid a  near  approach.  Unlike  Cosa,  Saturnia  has  but  these 
few  disjecta  membra  left  of  her  former  might,  but  these 
suffice  to  attest  it — ew  pede  Hercidem. 

The  wide  area  within  the  walls  is  in  summer  a  cornfield 
— seges  ubi  Trojafuit ;  in  winter  a  sheep-walk.  Here  are 
but  few  relics  of  the  olden  time..  Near  the  Marrucatone 
is  a  singular  square  inclosure  of  artificial  concrete,  called 
Bagno  Secco  ;  but  that  it  was  anciently  a  Bath  is  very 
doubtful.     It  must  be  of  Roman  times.6 

The  few  other  antiquities  are  within  the  village.  The 
most  remarkable  is  a  tall  massive  pilaster,  square  in  front, 
but  rounded  at  the  back,  and  having  a  fluted  half-column, 
engaged  at  one  corner,  and  hewn  out  of  the  blocks  of 
travertine  which  compose  the  structure.  If  not  of  more 
ancient  date,  it  probably  formed  part  of  a  Roman  temple, 
rather  than  of  an  arch  or  gateway,  as  has  been  supposed.7 

There  are  also  sundry  scattered  relics — tablets — altars 
— cippi—  statues — cornices— all  of  Roman  times.  Nothing 
did  I  perceive  that  could  be  pronounced  Etruscan.8 

Few  ancient  sites  in  Etruria  have  more  natural  beauties 
than  Saturnia.  Deep  vallies  and  towering  heights  all 
around,  yet  variety  in  every  quarter.  Here  the  cliff-bound, 
olive-spread  hill  of  Monte  Merano ;  there  the  elm-tufted 

6  It  has  only  two  courses,  each  2  feet  as  to  be  scarcely  legible,  but  I  could 
high,  but  the  blocks  are  20  feet  in  perceive  them  to  be  of  the  time  of 
length.     It  forms  a  square  of  49  feet.  Marcus  Aurelius.     On  the  opposite  side 

7  Hoare,  Class.  Tour,  I.  p.  52.  of  the  Piazza  is  a  Roman  sepulchral 

8  In  front  of  the   Marchese's  house  monument.      There  are  other  inscrip- 
stand  two   large   altars  of    travertine,  tions  built  into  the  wall  of  the  church. 
with  very  long  inscriptions,  so  defaced 


chap,  xux.]    SEPULCHRAL  REMAINS  AROUND  SATURNIA.       311 

ridge  of  Scansano  ;  and  there  the  hoary  crests  of  Monte 
Labbro  and  Santa  Fiora.  From  the  northern  ramparts  you 
command  the  whole  valley  of  the  Albegna.  You  see  the 
stream  bursting  from  a  dark  gorge  in  its  escape  from  the 
regions  of  mountain  frost ;  and  where  it  is  not  lost  be- 
hind the  rock-mingled  foliage  on  the  slope,  snaking  its 
shining  way  joyously  down  the  valley  ;  and  its  murmurs 
come  up  with  the  fainter  sheep-bell  from  the  echoing 
hollow.  Whatever  Saturnia  be  within,  it  has  a  paradise 
around  it.  If  you  be  an  artist,  forget  not  your  portfolio 
when  you  stroll  around  the  walls.  These  ruins  of  art  and 
nature  —  these  crumbling  walls,  half-draped  with  ivy, 
clematis,  and  wild  vines — these  rugged  cliffs  beneath  them 
— this  chaos  of  crags  and  trees  on  the  slope — revel  among 
them,  and  declare  that  never  have  you  found  more  capti- 
vating studies  of  rock,  wood,  and  ruin  ! 

Here  is  food  for  the  antiquary  also.  Some  few  hundred 
yards  west  of  the  Porta  Romana  he  will  observe  among 
the  crags  of  travertine  which  strew  the  slope,  one  upright 
mass  about  fifteen  feet  high,  whose  squared  faces  bear 
marks  of  the  hand  of  man.  What  may  have  been  its  pur- 
pose, he  is  at  a  loss  to  conjecture.  High  at  one  end  he 
will  espy  the  remains  of  a  flight  of  steps  hewn  in  the  rock, 
and  formerly  leading  to  the  summit.  Let  him  scramble 
up,  and  he  will  behold  three  sarcophagi  or  graves  sunk  in 
the  level  summit  of  the  mass,  each  about  the  size  of  a  body, 
having  a  ledge  for  the  lid,  which  may  have  been  of  tiles, 
or  more  probably  was  a  slab  of  rock  carved  into  the  effigy 
of  the  dead.  Strange  this  trio  must  have  appeared,  half 
rising  as  it  were  from  the  tomb.  This  is  a  singular  posi- 
tion for  interment — unique,  as  far  as  is  yet  known,  in 
Etruria.9    The  natural  rock  is  used  abundantly  for  sepulture, 

9  In  the  island  of  Thera  in  the  Greek       isolated  rocks  with  sarcophagi  sunk  in 
archipelago,    there    are    several    such       them.     Professor  Ross  calls  them  Btjkcu 


312  SATURNIA.  [chap.  xlix. 

but  the  tomb  is  either  beneath,  or  within,  the  monu- 
mental facade ; — here  alone  it  is  above  it.  For  the  rock 
itself  has  been  carved  with  architectural  decorations,  per- 
haps on  each  face,  though  the  southern  one  alone  retains 
such  traces.1  The  extreme  simplicity  of  the  details  seems 
to  mark  this  monument  as  Etruscan. 

No  other  monument  could  I  perceive  near  the  walls ; 
but  on  the  slope  beneath  the  city  to  the  south,  and  on  the 
way  to  the  Bagni,  are  several  ancient  tombs,  similar  in 
character  but  of  smaller  size  and  more  ruined  than  those 
in  the  Pian  di  Palma,  which  I  am  about  to  describe.  This 
spot  is  called  La  Pestiera.  The  necropolis  of  Saturnia  does 
not  lie  so  much  on  the  slopes  around,  as  at  Volterra,  or  on 
the  opposite  heights,  as  at  Tarquinii ;  but  in  the  low 
grounds  on  the  other  bank  of  the  Albegna,  two  miles  or 
more  from  the  city.  Tins  may  be  in  great  measure  owing 
to  the  rocky  nature  of  these  slopes,  which  would  not 
readily  admit  of  excavation  ;  for  the  early  Italians  always 
sought  the  easiest  materials  for  their  chisels,  and  never 
attempted  the  marvels  in  granite,  porphyry,  or  basalt, 
achieved  by  the  children  of  Ham. 

On  these  slopes  are  traces  of  several  Roman  roads — all 
of  the  usual  polygonal  pavement.2 


Kai6ix-f)rai.     Ann.  Inst.  1841,  pp.  16, 19.  chisel  committed  to  it  far  better  than 

Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  III.  tav.    XXVI.     I  the   tufo   or  sandstone  of  which  most 

have  observed  them  also  in  the  necro-  Etruscan    monuments     are     hewn,    it 

polis  of  Syracuse.  seems  probable  that  there  were  none. 

1  Here  are  two  pilasters  with  square  -  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare  traced  five  of  these 

abaci,  of  most  simple    character,   sup-  roads — running  from  Saturnia  towards 

porting  an  architrave,  which  is  divided  Rome,  Monte  Argentoro,Rusell£e,  Siena, 

in  the  middle  by  a  sort  of  chimney —  and  Chiusi,  respectively.  The  first,  which 

the  whole  in  very  low  relief,  forming  issues  from  the  Porto  Romana,  is  almost 

indeed  but  a  panelling  to  the  smooth  perfect  for  some  distance  down  the  slope, 

face  of  the  rock.     No  traces  of  figures  This  must  be  the  Via  Clodia.     See  Vol. 

or  of  inscriptions  are  visible,  and  from  I.  p.  463.     The  second,  which  led  down 

the    hardness  of  the  travertine,  which  the  valley  of  the   Albegna,  I  traced  by 

would  preserve  any  such  works  of  the  its  kerb-stones  on  the  ascent  from  Scan- 


chap,  xlix.]  FARE  AT  THE  FATTORIA.  31:3 

As  an  excursion  to  the  necropolis  in  the  Pian  di  Palma 
demands  half  a  day,  I  deferred  it  to  the  morrow.  On 
returning  to  my  quarters  I  found  the  fattore  and  his 
people  about  to  sit  down  to  their  evening  meal.  Whether 
something  extraordinary  had  been  prepared  on  my  account, 
I  cannot  say,  but  I  am  certain  no  English  peasant  sits 
down  nightly  to  such  a  supper  as  this,  which  needed  no 
apologies  from  Signor  Gaspare.  There  was  soup,  beef, 
kid,  poultry,  game,  and  a  dessert  of  dried  fruits  and  cheese, 
all  the  produce  of  the  estate  —  cooked  in  the  spacious 
hall  in  which  it  was  served,  and  by  the  labouring  men, 
who  on  bringing  a  dish  to  table  sat  down  and  partook  of 
it.     It  was  a  patriarchal  and  excellent  meal — 

Prorsus  jucunde  coenam  produximus  illam  ! 

I  was  no  less  satisfied  with  the  accommodation  up  stairs, 
where  everything  did  credit  to  the  fattore  and  his  men  ; 
for,  be  it  known,  to  all  this  crew  of  shepherds  and  swains 
there  was  not  one 

"  Phyllis,  Charyllis,  or  sweet  Amaryllis  " — 

not  "  one  fair  spirit  for  a  minister." 

Let  future  visitors  to  Saturnia  follow  my  example,  and 
exchange  the  hostelry  for  the  palace.  No  one  of  course 
can  receive  accommodation  in  this  way  gratis ;  and  if  the 
traveller  pay  double  what  he  would  in  the  osteria,  he  is  no 
loser,  seeing  he  gains  comfort,  preserves  his  skin  and  his 
temper,  and  retains  a  pleasing  remembrance  of  the  place. 
Happy  he  who  in  his  by-road  wanderings  in  Italy  meets 
no  worse  welcome  than  from  the  sun-ruddied  face  and 
jovial  smile  of  Signor  Gaspare  ! 

sano.  That  to  Rusellse  is  also  very  the  north,  which  probably  led  from 
traceable  ;  and  I  observed  some  vestiges  the  Porta  di  Montagna,  I  did  not 
of  that  running  eastward  ;  but  that  to       perceive. 


314  SATURNIA.  [chap.  xlix. 

Let  the  traveller  eschew  the  summer  months  for  a  visit 
to  Saturnia.  In  spite  of  its  elevation  the  ariaccia  is  then 
most  pestilent ;  whether  arising  from  the  sulphureous 
springs  in  its  neighbourhood,  or  wafted  from  the  swamps 
on  the  coast,  it  well-nigh  desolates  the  spot ;  and  when 
the  harvest  is  cut  scarcely  a  soul  remains  within  the  walls. 

Ere  the  sun  had  risen,  I  was  on  my  way  to  the  Piano 
di  Palma.  The  track  down  the  slope  followed  the  line  of 
a  Roman  road,  probably  that  leading  to  Rusellse.  The 
Albegna  was  still  swollen  but  fordable,  and  about  a  mile 
beyond  it  I  reached  some  ploughed  fields  strewn  with 
fragments  of  pottery,  mingled  with  large  stones  and  slabs. 
Here  lay  the  tombs  of  the  ancient  dwellers  of  Saturnia. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  the  name  attached  to  ancient 
sepulchres  differs  in  various  parts  of  Italy,  and  it  is  well 
to  know  the  local  appellation.  In  some  places  they  are 
sepolcri — in  others,  though  rarely,  tombe — in  some,  ipogei — 
in  a  few,  camere,  or  cette — in  many,  grotte — here  they  were 
none  of  these,  but  depositi.  In  truth  they  required  a  peculiar 
name,  as  they  differed  from  anything  to  be  seen  elsewhere 
in  Etruria.  They  were  very  numerous  ;  piles  of  blocks  and 
slabs  being  scattered  over  the  plain,  each  bearing  traces  of 
regular  arrangement,  yet  this  was  so  often  disturbed  or 
almost  destroyed  that  the  original  character  of  the  monu- 
ments could  only  be  learned  from  a  few  which  remain 
entire,  and  serve  as  keys  to  the  rest.  They  are  quad- 
rangular chambers,  sunk  a  few  feet  below  the  surface, 
lined  with  rough  slabs  of  rock,  set  upright,  one  on 
each  side,  and  roofed  over  with  two  huge  slabs  resting 
against  each  other  so  as  to  form  a  rude  penthouse ;  or  else 
with  a  single  one  of  enormous  size,  covering  the  whole, 
and  laid  at  a  slight  inclination,  apparently  for  the  same 
purpose  of  carrying  off  the  rain.  Not  a  chisel  has  touched 
these  rugged  masses,  which  are  just  as  broken  off  from 


chap,  xlix.]  REMARKABLE  TOMBS.  815 

their  native  rock,  with  their  edges  all  shapeless  and  irre- 
gular ;  and,  if  their  faces  are  somewhat  smooth,  it  is  owing 
to  the  tendency  of  the  travertine  to  split  in  laminar  forms. 
These  are  the  most  rude  and  primitive  structures  conceiv- 
able ;  such  as  the  savage  would  make  on  inhaling  his  first 
breath  of  civilization,  on  emerging  from  his  cave  or  den  in 
the  rock.  Their  dimensions  vary  from  about  sixteen  feet 
square  to  half  that  size,  though  few  are  strictly  of  that 
form.3  Many  are  divided  into  two  chambers  or  com- 
partments for  bodies,  by  an  upright  slab,  on  which  the 
cover-stones  rest.4  In  most  there  is  a  passage,  about  three 
feet  wide,  and  ten  or  twelve  feet  long,  leading  to  the  sepul- 
chral chamber,  and  lined  with  slabs  of  inferior  size  and 
thickness. 

These  tombs  are  sunk  but  little  below  the  surface, 
because  each  is  inclosed  in  a  tumulus ;  the  earth  being 
piled  around  so  as  to  conceal  all  but  the  cover-stones,  which 
may  have  been  also  originally  buried.5     In  many  instances 

3  I  add  the  dimensions  of  some  that  of  rock.     One  tomb   indeed  was  lined 

I  measured  : — 1 6  feet  long  by  somewhat  entirely  with   small  stones  rudely  put 

less  in  width — 14  feet  by  11| — 14  feet  together,  very  like  the   solitary  sepul- 

by  1\ — 11  feet  by  6^ — 9^  feet  by  6 —  chre  I   have   described   as  existing  at 

9   feet  by   8 — 8   feet  by  6^.     All  the  Rusellse,  but  of  ruder  construction.     Ut 

tombs  were   about   5    or   6   feet   high  supra,  p.  254. 

within.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  4  This  is  shown  in  the  woodcut  at  the 
that  as  each  side  is  composed  generally  head  of  this  Chapter.  It  is  in  general 
of  a  single  slab,  so  the  dimensions  of  about  two-thirds  of  the  tomb  in  length, 
the  tombs  indicate  those  also  of  the  i.  e.,  when  placed  longitudinally,  for  it 
slabs,  except  as  regards  the  cover-  is  sometimes,  though  rarely,  set  trans- 
stones,  which  lap  over  about  a  foot  each  versely,  in  which  case  it  is  shaped 
way  and  are  therefore  so  much  larger.  above  into  a  gable  to  support  the  cover- 
When  single,  these  cover-stones  are  of  stones.  This  partition -slab  is  generally 
great  size — one  16  feet  by  12 — another  set  rather  obliquely.  Some  tombs  are 
16  feet  by  10^ — and  a  third  10  }  feet  even  divided  into  three  compartments, 
by  9£.  In  some  few  instances  where  the  one  at  the  end  and  one  on  each  side, 
tomb  is  very  large  there  are  two  slabs  with  a  passage  between  them,  just  as 
on  one  side,  and  the  interstices  between  in  so  many  of  the  rock-hewn  sepulchres 
them,  as  they  are  not  cut  to  fit,  are  of  Etruria.  But  these  are  rare, 
filled  with  small  stones  and  fragments  B  See   the   woodcut  at   the  head   of 


316  SATURNIA.  [chap.xi.ix. 

the  earth  has  been  removed  or  washed  away,  so  as  to  leave 
the  structure  standing  above  the  surface.  Here  the  eye 
is  startled  by  the  striking  resemblance  to  the  cromlechs  of 
our  own  country.  Not  that  one  such  monument  is  actually 
standing  above  ground  in  an  entire  state  ;  but  remove  the 
earth  from  any  one  of  those  with  a  single  cover-stone, 
and  in  the  three  upright  slabs,  with  their  shelving,  over- 
lapping Hd,  you  have  the  exact  counterpart  of  Kit's 
Cotty  House,  and  other  like  familiar  antiquities  of  Britain ; 
and  the  resemblance  is  not  only  in  the  form,  and  in  the 
unhewn  masses,  but  even  in  the  dimensions  of  the  structures. 
We  know  also  that  many  of  the  cromlechs  or  kistvaens 
of  the  British  Isles  have  been  found  inclosed  in  barrows, 
sometimes  with  a  circle  of  small  upright  slabs  around 
them ;  and  from  analogy  we  may  infer  that  all  were 
originally  so  buried.  Here  is  a  further  point  of  resem- 
blance to  these  tombs  of  Saturnia.6  In  some  of  the  crom- 
lechs, moreover,  which  are  inclosed  in  tumuli,  long  passages, 
lined  with  upright  slabs,  and  roofed  in  with  others  laid 
horizontally,  have  been  found ;  whether  the  similar  pas- 
sages in  these  tombs  of  Saturnia  were  also  covered  in, 
cannot  now  be  determined. 

The  shelving  or  dip  of  the  cover-stone  in  the  cairns  or 
cromlechs  has  induced  antiquaries  to  regard  them  as 
Druidical  altars,  formed  with  this  inclination  in  order  that 
the  blood  of  the  victims  might  more  easily  run  off.  But 
it  is  now  generally  agreed,  from  the  remains  found  within 
them,  that  they  are  sepulchral  monuments;  and  there  can 

this  Chapter,  which  represents  one  of  to  have  heen  quadrangular, 
these  tombs  with  a  single  cover-stone,  6  I   observed  only  one  instance  of  a 

1G  or  18  feet  each  way,  and  about  1  tumulus  encircled  by  small  slabs  ;  but 

foot  in  thickness.     The  tumuli,  as  far  it    is    probable    that    the    custom    was 

as    it   is   possible    to    ascertain,    were  general ;  the    small  size  of  these  slabs 

about  25  or  30  feet  in  diameter.     Mr.  offering  a  temptation  to  the  peasantry 

Ainslcy  remarked  one  which  appeared  to  remove  them. 


chap,  xhx.]  TOMBS  LIKE  CROMLECHS.  -'317 

be  no  doubt  that  these  structures  of  Saturnia  are  of  that 
character,  though  nothing  beyond  analogy  and  tradition 
now  remains  to  attest  it.  Here  the  slope  of  the  cover- 
stone  is  evidently  to  carry  off  the  rain. 

These  tombs  have  stood  for  so  many  ages  open  and 
dismantled — the  haunts  of  the  fox,  the  porcupine,  and 
unclean  reptiles — that  no  traces  of  the  ancient  dead  are 
now  visible,  beyond  the  broken  pottery  which  strews  the 
plain.  At  a  spot  called  II  Puntone,  west  of  the  Pian  cli 
Palma,  and  nearer  the  banks  of  the  Albegna,  are  more  of 
these  singular  sepulchres.  Those  at  La  Pestiera  on  the 
south  of  Saturnia  have  already  been  mentioned  ;  and  it  is 
possible  that  more  exist  on  other  sides  of  the  city,  but  I 
could  not  ascertain  the  fact. 

These  monuments  of  Saturnia  are  particularly  worthy 
of  notice,  as  nothing  like  them  is  to  be  seen  on  any  other 
site  in  Etruria.  Similar  tombs,  however,  have  in  ages 
past  been  discovered  at  Cortona,7  and  of  late  years  at 
Santa  Marinella;8  but  no  traces  of  them  now  remain  on 
either  site.  I  have  never  seen  any  description  of  these 
tombs  in  the  Pian  di  Palma  ;  nor  am  I  aware  that  any 
traveller  has  visited  them,  besides  Mr.  Ainsley  and  myself.9 

To  what  era,  and  to  what  race,  are  we  to  attribute 
these  tombs  1  Prior  to  the  Roman  conquest  they  must  be, 
for  that  people  never  constructed  such  rude  burial-places 
for  their  dead.     Can  we  assign  them  to  the  Etruscans — to 


7  Baldelli,  MS.  quoted  by  Gori,  Mus.  appears  after  hard  rains."  Classical 
Etms.  III.  pp.  75— G,  and  Inghirami,  Tour,  I.  p.  52.  But  he  does  not  appear 
Mon.  Etrus.  IV.  p.  72.  to  have  seen  them,   or  he  must  have 

8  Ut  supra,  page  8.  been  struck  by  their  peculiar  character. 

9  Sir  R.  C.  Hoare  merely  states  that  Repetti  (V.  p.  207)  only  mentions  those 
"  several  subterraneous  grottos  are  still  on  the  slope  beneath  Saturnia,  towards 
open  in  the  neighbouring  fields,  but  the  Bagni,  and  describes  them  simply 
there  is  great  reason  to  suppose  that  as  "  fosse  copertc  da  lastroni  di  traver- 
many  more  exist  undiscovered,  for  in  tino,"  containing  human  bones  and 
various  spots  the    water  suddenly  dis-  nothing  else. 


31 S  SATURNIA.  [chap.  xlix. 

that  race  of  whose  care  in  decorating  their  tombs  with 
architectural  facades,  or  internally  with  painting  and 
sculpture,  we  have  so  many  proofs  1  If  we  are  to  regard 
the  Regulini-Galassi  tomb  of  Caere,  with  its  regular,  squared 
masonry,  as  of  Pelasgic  antiquity,  surely  such  savagely 
rude  structures  as  these  cannot  be  of  later  date.  Be  it 
remembered  that  the  masses  are  wholly  unwrought — not 
even  hammer-dressed,  but  simply  split  off  from  the 
laminous  rock ;  the  principal  difficulty  lying  in  the  trans- 
port of  them  to  their  present  sites.  If  not  of  Etruscan 
construction,  to  whom  can  they  be  attributed  1  The  prior 
occupants  of  the  land,  as  we  learn  from  ancient  writers, 
were  first  the  Umbrians  or  Siculi,  and  then  the  Pelasgi. 
As  the  antiquity  of  these  monuments  is  connected  with 
that  of  the  city-walls,  we  will  consider  both,  in  reviewing 
the  few  notices  we  find  of  Saturnia  in  ancient  writers. 

Dionysius  mentions  Saturnia  together  with  Agylla,  Pisa, 
and  Alsium,  as  one  of  the  many  towns  either  built  by  the 
united  Pelasgi  and  Aborigines,  or  taken  by  them  from  the 
Siculi,  the  original  inhabitants.1  Beyond  this  there  is 
little  mention  of  it.  We  learn  that  it  was  one  of  the 
Roman  colonies  in  Etruria,  that  it  had  originally  borne  the 
name  of  Aurinia ; 2  that  it  was  in  the  territory  of  Caletra, 
and  that  it  was  colonised  in  the  year  of  Rome  571 
(b.c.  183).3 

Though   we   may   not   be   able    to   accord    Dionysius 

1  Dion.   Hal.   I.   p.    16.     It  may  be  2  Plin.   III.  8.—"  Saturnini  qui  ante 

thought  by  some  that  Dionysius  referred  Aurinini  vocabantur."     It  is  also  men- 

to    the    original    town    on    the   site    of  tioned  as  a  colony  by  Ptolemy  (p.   7"2, 

Rome  —  "  Saturnia,    ubi    nunc    Roma  ed  Bert.),  and  a  prcefectura  by  Festus 

est"    (Plin.  III.  9)— but  it  is  evident  (r.  Praefecturae).     The  Etruscan  family- 

that  this  town  of  Etruria  was  intended,  name  of  "  Sauturine,"  or  "  Sauturini  " 

as  all  the  other  places  mentioned  are  (Vermigl.   Iscriz.   Perug.    I.    pp.   267, 

in   this  land,  and  are  said  by  him  to  313),  seems  to  bear  some  relation  to 

have  been  afterwards  conquered  by  the  Saturnia. 

Etruscans.  3  Liv-  XXXIX.  55. 


chap,  xlix.]      THE  CITY  AND  ITS  WALLS  ARE  PELASGIC.      319 

unreserved  credit  in  his  accounts  of  such  remote  periods, 
we  may  safely  admit  his  testimony  as  to  the  great  anti- 
quity of  Saturnia.  The  very  name,  the  earliest  appellation 
of  Italy  itself,  is  corroborative  of  this  fact.  We  are  there- 
fore prepared  for  relics  of  very  ancient  times  on  this  spot. 
Yet  Micali  would  fain  have  it  that  its  polygonal  walls 
do  not  indicate  a  high  antiquity,  and  probably  date  only 
from  the  time  of  the  Roman  colony.4  It  is  unnecessary  to 
repeat  what  has  been  said  in  a  previous  chapter  in  refuta- 
tion of  his  views  ;  but  what  was  there  said  in  support  of 
the  antiquity  and  Pelasgic  origin  of  this  style  of  masonry,5 
applies  with  more  than  usual  force  to  Saturnia,  which  has 
the  addition  of  historical  testimony  in  its  favour.  It  is 
enough  to  entertain  doubts  in  those  cases  where  we  have 
no  record  of  a  definite  Pelasgic  origin.  Where  such 
record  exists,  we  may  take  it  to  be  authenticated  by  the 
walls,  if  of  accordant  structure,  and  the  walls  to  be  cha- 
racterised by  the  tradition.  Either  alone  may  be  open 
to  suspicion,  but  together  they  substantiate  each  other  into 
genuineness.  In  the  case  of  Saturnia,  moreover,  we  are 
particularly  entitled  to  ascribe  these  walls  to  that  people, 
with  whom  polygonal  masonry  was  the  rule,  rectangular 
the  exception,  rather  than  to  any  subsequent  race.  For 
the  doctrine  of  the  material  having  alone  determined  the 
character  of  the  masonry,  is  here  utterly  at  fault.  It  is 
not  limestone,  which  is  said  to  split  so  readily  into  polygonal 
forms  ;  it  is  travertine,  which  all  the  world  knows  has  a 
horizontal  cleavage.    The  natural  superfluities  of  the  blocks 


4  Ant.   Pop.    Ital.    I.   pp.    144,   196.  masonry   wherever    found  —  in    Italy, 

Micali's  objection  is  mere  supposition —  Greece,  or   Asia    Minor  ;    though   we 

"forse  " — "  si  pub  credere  "  — "  potrebV  are  well  assured  that  in  many  instances 

essere" — or  assertion  ;  the  only  argu-  walls  of  this  description    were  raised 

merit  he  uses  is  the  high  finish  of  the  in   very   remote    times,  prior    to    the 

masonry,  an  argument  which,  if  it  have  invention  of  the  arch, 

any   force,   will    apply   to    all    similar  s  Ut  supra,  pages  279 — 286. 


320  SATURNIA.  [chap.  xux. 

were  not  squared  down  as  the  Romans  always  treated  this 
material,  but  cut  into  those  angular  forms  which  best 
pleased  the  builders.6  So  much  for  the  doctrine  of  con- 
structive necessity  as  applied  to  Saturnia. 

But  if  the  walls  of  Saturnia  be  Pelasgic,  can  the  tombs 
have  the  same  origin?  Their  primitive  rudeness  would 
accord  better  with  walls  of  unhewn  Cyclopean  masonry, 
like  those  above  Monte  Fortino,  or  at  Civitella  and  Olevano, 
and  seems  hardly  consistent  with  the  highly-wrought  cha- 
racter of  the  polygonal  style, — it  is  difficult  to  believe  that 
the  same  hands  constructed  both  tombs  and  walls.  Yet  it 
may  be  urged  in  favour  of  a  Pelasgic  origin  for  the  former, 
that  they  are  very  similar  to  ancient  tombs  found  at  Santa 
Marinella,  on  that  coast  which  is  studded  with  Pelasgic 
settlements ;  and  the  resemblance  the  least  rude  among 
them  (those  with  gabled  roofs)  bear  to  the  sepulchres  of 
Paestuni  and  of  Magna  Grsecia  generally,  favours  a  Greek 
origin.  They  are,  however,  more  like  the  structures  of  a 
ruder  people,  such  as  we  may  conceive  the  Umbri  or 
Siculi,  the  earliest  possessors  of  the  land,  to  have  been. 
We  learn  from  Dionysius,  that  the  Aborigines  who  joined 
the  Pelasgi  in  expelling  the  Siculi  from  Etruria,  had 
cemeteries  of  tumuli  like  this,  but  of  the  internal  structure 
of  their  tombs  we  know  nothing.7  Unfortunately  we  have 
here  no  furniture  remaining  to  assist  our  inquiries.8  But 
it  may  be  objected — if  these  be  the  sepulchres  of  the 
earlier  occupants  of  the  site,  where  are  those  of  the 
Etruscans  ?  It  is  a  question  which  may  be  asked  at  Fiesole, 
Roselle,  Cosa,  Pisa,  and  many  other  sites,  where  no  exca- 

6  It  has  been  asserted  that  polygonal  B  The    articles   found    in    a    similar 

masonry    was    never    formed    of    tra-  tomb    at    Cortona,    as   far  as    can   be 

vertine  (Memor.  Inst.  III.  p.  90),  but  gathered  from  the  description  of  Bal- 

this   is  contradicted  by  these  walls  of  delli  (ut  supra,  p.  317),  seem  to  mark  it 

Saturnia.  as  Etruscan. 

'"  Dion.  Hal.  I.  p.  12. 


chap.  xlix.J  WHO  CONSTRUCTED  THESE  TOMBS?  321 

vations  have  been  made.  Future  research,  either  by 
finding  sonic  of  these  rude  tombs  intact,  or  by  discovering 
others  of  a  different  character,  may  be  expected  to  throw 
light  on  the  subject.9 

Yet  this  form  of  sepulchre  can  hardly  be  indicative  of 
any  one  race  in  particular.  The  structure  is  so  rude  and 
simple,  that  it  might  have  suggested  itself  to  any  people, 
and  be  naturally  adopted  in  an  early  state  of  civilization. 
It  is  the  very  arrangement  the  child  makes  use  of  in 
building  his  house  of  cards.  This  simplicity  accounts  for 
the  wide  diffusion  of  such  monuments  over  the  Old  World  ; 
for  they  are  found  in  different  climates  and  widely  distant 
countries,  from  the  mountains  of  Wales  and  Ireland  to  the 
deserts  of  Barbary,  and  from  the  western  shores  of  the 
Iberian  Peninsula  to  the  steppes  of  Tartary,  and  the 
eastern  coasts  of  Hindostan.  They  are  found  on  moun- 
tains and  in  plains,  on  continents  and  in  islands,  on  the 
sea-coast  and  far  inland,  by  the  river  and  in  the  desert, 
solitary  and   grouped    in    multitudes.1      That  in  certain 

3  The  quantity  of  coarse  broken  pot-  gigantic  proportions.     The  very  similar 

tery  strewn  over  the  plain,  hints  the  tombs  near  Santa  Marinella  contained 

character  of  their  contents  ;  but  llepetti  articles  like  those  found  in  the  earliest 

(V.    p.    207)    says   that  in  the  similar  sepulchres  of  Etruria,  of  very  archaic 

tombs   on   the  other  side  of   Saturnia,  character—  some  even  purely  Egyptian, 

already  mentioned,  were   found   human  '   How   numerous    these    monuments 

bones   alone,   without     any    articles   of  are  in  the  British  Isles  is  well  known, 

sculpture,  or    urns,    fictile   vases,  and  They  are  found  also  on  the  continent 

the  usual  furniture  of  Etruscan  tombs.  of   Europe,    particularly    in    the   north 

"  Di    tempi    incerti    e    una    specie    di  of   France  ;    and    also   in    the   Spanish 

Camposanto    che    ci    fu    indicate   no'  Peninsula,  though  to  what  extent  they 

campi  sotto  il  poggio  c  prcsso  il  Bagno  exist   there   is  unknown,   as   the  auti- 

di  Saturnia,  dove  furono  trovatc  delle  cmities   of    that   land  have  been    little 

ossa  umane    dentro    fosse    coperte   da  investigated.    (See    Borrow's   Bible   in 

lastroni     di     travertino,     senza    alcun  Spain,  Chapter  VII.).     On  the   shores 

oggetto  di  scultura,  senza  urne,  senza  of  the   Mediterranean   they  are  parti- 

vasi  di  tcrraglie  e  cose  simili,  facili  a  cularly   abundant.      Besides   the  other 

scuoprirsi    nei    sepolcreti    di    etrusco  two  sites  in  Etruria,  they  arc  found  in 

nome."     If  the  peasantry  may  be  ere-  Sardinia  and  the  Balcarics  ;  and  it  may 

dited,   the   hones   found   here   were   of  not  be  generally  known  that  they  exist 

VOL.    Ii.  Y 


322 


SATURNIA. 


[chap. 


instances  they  may  be  the  work  of  the  same  people  in 
different  countries  is  not  to  be  gainsaid,2  but  there  is  no 
necessity  to  seek  for  one  particular  race  as  the  constructors 
of  these  monuments,  or  even  as  the  originators  of  the  type. 

I  trust  that  this  notice  of  the  tombs  of  Saturnia  will 
excite  interest  in  this  unfrequented  spot,  and  lead  to 
further  investigation.  This  district  of  Italy  is  a  new  field 
to  the  antiquary.  No  excavations  have  been  made,  nor 
even  researches  for  monuments  above  ground.3 

From  Saturnia  you  may  proceed  to  Pitigliano,  Sovana, 
and  Sorano.  There  is  a  carriage-road  to  those  places 
from  Monte  Merano,  only  three  miles  from  Saturnia.     On 


in  abundance  in  the  Regency  of  Tunis, 
anciently  the  territory  of  Carthage,  as 
I  learn  from  the  notes  and  sketches  of 
Mr.  Catherwood,  who  has  penetrated 
far  into  that  unexplored  region,  and 
possesses  artistic  records  of  its  monu- 
ments of  such  value  and  interest  as 
to  demand  publication.  From  these 
documents  I  learn  that  the  tombs  of 
the  African  desert  exactly  accord  in 
construction  and  measurements  with 
the  better-known  monuments  of  this 
character.  The  three  sites  on  which 
he  found  them  were,  Sidi  Boosi,  to  the 
north-east  of  Hydrah,  Welled  Ayar, 
and  Lheys.  At  the  first  place  tliey 
were  particularly  numerous.  I  am  not 
aware  that  any  have  been  discovered 
in  Greece,  but  in  Asia  they  are  not 
wanting.  Captains  Irby  and  Mangles 
describe  a  group  of  them  on  the  banks 
of  the  Jordan.  Holy  Land,  p.  99. 
Colon.  Libr.  edit.  They  are  said  also 
to  have  been  found  among  the  moun- 
tains of  the  Caucasus,  and  on  the 
steppes  of  Tartary  ;  and  recent  re- 
searches have  brought  them  to  light  in 
the  Presidency  of  Madras.  For  in  a 
letter  read  at  the  Asiatic  Society. 
January   17th,  1846,  Captain    Newbold 


stated  that  near  Chittoor  in  North 
Arcot,  he  had  seen  a  square  mile  of 
ground  covered  with  such  monuments, 
mostly  opened  and  destroyed  by  the 
natives  for  the  sake  of  the  blocks  which 
composed  them,  yet  a  few  remained 
entire  to  testify  to  the  character  of 
the  rest.  In  them  were  found  sarco- 
phagi, with  the  bones  of  the  dead,  and 
pottery  of  red  and  black  ware.  They 
were  here  paved  with  a  large  slab, 
and  entered  by  a  circular  hole  in  one 
of  the  upright  slabs,  which  formed  the 
walls. 

2  In  the  British  Isles  and  in  France 
they  are  probably  of  Celtic  construction. 
In  the  Peninsula  and  the  isles  of  the 
Mediterranean  they  may  be  of  Punic 
origin,  like  those  in  the  territory  of 
Carthage  ;  though  those  of  Sardinia 
and  Etruria  are  more  probably  the 
work  of  the  Tyrrhene-Pelasgi. 

3  On  a  hill  three  miles  to  the  E.S.E. 
of  Saturnia  are  some  ruins,  called  Le 
Murelle.  I  had  no  opportunity  of 
visiting  them,  but  from  the  description 
I  received  I  doubt  not  they  are  Roman 
concamerationes,  probably  the  remains 
of  a  villa.  On  other  spots  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood, there  are  said  to  be  ruins. 


chap,  xlix.]      DISCOVERY  OF  AN  ETRUSCAN  TOWN.  '323 

the  way  to  it  you  pass  the  Bagni,  a  spring  of  sulphureous 
water,  like  the  Bulicame  near  Viterbo,  which  falls  in  a 
cascade,  encrusting  the  cliffs  with  a  many-hued  deposit. 
The  table-land  on  which  Monte  Merano  stands  is  strewn 
with  pottery,  which  may  possibly  mark  the  Etruscan 
necropolis  of  Saturnia.  Three  miles  beyond  is  Manciano, 
on  a  height  commanding  one  of  those  glorious  and  varied 
panoramas  which  give  such  a  charm  to  Italy.  Here  you 
are  on  the  very  frontier  between  the  Tuscan  and  Roman 
States.  The  Maremma,  its  well-known  headlands,  the 
isle-studded  deep,  Saturnia  in  the  vale  of  the  Albegna,  at 
the  foot  of  Monte  Amiata — are  all  in  the  Grand  Duchy  ; 
while  the  Patrimony  of  St.  Peter  greets  you  in  the  vast 
Etruscan  plain,  with  the  Ponte  della  Badia,  the  towers  of 
Montalto  and  Corneto,  the  Monti  di  Canino,  and  many 
other  familiar  objects  on  its  wide  surface,  which  is  bounded 
by  the  dark-crested  Ciminian,  and  the  distant  Apennines, 
a  range  of  icy  peaks  all  burnished  with  gold — sublime  as 
the  Alps  from  the  Jura,4 

Beyond  Manciano,  on  the  descent  to  the  Fiora,  some 
tombs  and  sepulchral  niches  in  the  cliffs,  and  fragments  of 
pottery  on  the  slopes,  proclaim  the  site  of  an  Etruscan 
town.5  I  could  make  no  researches  here,  as  the  sun  was 
on  the  horizon  as  I  passed,  and  I  had  no  opportunity  of 
returning  to  the  spot ;  but  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  town 
must  have  stood  on  the  cliff-bound  height,  now  crested 
with  a  castle  in  ruins.  What  its  name  was,  we  have  no 
means  of  determining.     It  may  be  remembered,  however, 

4  From  Manciano  a  road  leads  south-  aary    to    have    the    passport    vise    at 

ward  to  Montalto  and  Corneto.     There  Montalto,  hut  under  the  proposed  system 

is  also  a  track  to  the  Ponte  della  Badia.  of  an  Italian  Customs'  Union,  that  may 

The  traveller  who  would  make  an  ex-  probably  be  dispensed  with, 
cursion   from    Corneto    to    Cosa    and  5  It  has   been    already   stated    that 

Saturnia  will  have  no  difficulty  in  cross-  Campanari  has  made  slight  excavations 

ing  the  frontier.     It  used  to  be  neces-  in  this  neighbourhood.     Vol.  I.  p.  471. 

y2 


321 


SATURNIA. 


[CHAP.   XL1X. 


that  Caletra  stood  somewhere  in  this  district,  for  Saturnia 
was  in  its  territory.6  The  Fiora  has  here  the  same  charac- 
ter as  at  Vulci — a  rapid  stream  overhung  by  lofty  cliffs, 
half  draped  with  wood.  The  rocks  are  of  the  same  forma- 
tion— dark  red  or  brown  tufo,  overlaid  with  a  stratum  of 
white  travertine,  like  a  wedding  cake  with  its  top-crust  of 
sugar ;  but  as  the  plums  are  not  visible  till  the  cake  has 
been  cut,  so  you  can  only  see  the  soft  volcanic  rock,  where 
the  hard  aqueous  deposit  which  covers  it  has  been  broken 
away. 


■  Liv.  XXXIX.  55.  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  Livy  "does  not  speak  of  'a 
town  of  this  name,  merely  of  an  a/jer — 
"  Saturnia  colouia  civium  Romanorum 
in  agrum  Caletrannm  est  deducta  ;" 
and  from  this,  and  more  clearly  from 
Pliny's  notice  (III.  8)  — "  oppidorum 
veterum  nomina  retinent  agri  Crustu- 
minus,  Caletranus  "  —  it  appears  that 
the  Etruscan  town  had  ceased  to  exist 
before  Imperial  times  —  a  fact  which 
may  assist  researches  for  its  site.     It 


has  been  already  observed  (ut  supra, 
p.  2.97),  that  Repetti  suggests  for 
Caletra  a  site  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Magliano,  and  some  would  identify  it 
with  the  newly  found  city  between  that 
village  and  the  sea  ;  but  there  is  no 
reason  to  suppose  from  the  only  two 
notices  we  have  of  Caletra,  that  it  was 
ever  of  such  importance  as  tliat  site 
would  indicate,  which  corresponds  witli 
far  more  probability  to  the  ancient 
Vctulonia. 


FOCOLARF. BLACK     WARE    OF    CHIUBI. 


CHAPTER  L. 

CHIUSI.— CL  USIUM. 

The  City. 

]  pray  you  let  us  satisfy  our  eyes 

With  the  memorials  and  the  things  of  fame, 

That  do  renown  this  city. 

Shakspeare. 


Musseum  ante  omnw. 


Virgil. 


I  must  transport  my  reader  from  the  banks  of  the 
Fiora,  where  I  left  him  at  the  close  of  the  last  Chapter, 
to  the  door  of  the  Convent  of  S.  Antonio  in  the  little  town 
of  Citta  della  Pieve,  some  forty  miles  to  the  north-east, 
and  within  the  Roman  frontier.  He  will  have  no  reason 
to  regret  the  change  of  scene.  He  will  find  himself  on  a 
lofty  height,  commanding  a  wide,  deep  valley,  with  many 
a  slope  and  undulation,  among  which 

"  sweet  Clanis  wanders 
Through  com,  and  vines,  and  flowers." 


:3:2G  CHIUSI.— The  City.  [chap.  l. 

Chiusi,  once  the  proud  capital  of  Porsena,  crests  an  olive- 
clad  eminence  on  the  right ;  and  on  the  other  hand  is  a 
lono-  range  of  wooded  heights  studded  with  towns — 
Cetona,  with  its  impending*  castle  nearest  the  eye ;  Sar- 
teano,  on  the  hill-brow  beyond  ;  still  farther,  Chianciano 
and  Montepulciano,  apparently  blended  into  one — all  re- 
presentatives of  Etruscan  towns,  and  all  nestling  beneath 
the  majestic  Alpine  mass  of  Monte  Cetona.1 

Citta  la  Pieve  retains  no  traces  of  remote  antiquity, 
though  Etruscan  urns  have  been  found  in  its  neighbour- 
hood.2 But  as  it  contains  numerous  works  of  Pietro 
Perugino,  who  was  born  here,  to  say  nothing  of  his  genuine 
letters  and  paint-pots,  the  traveller  from  Orvieto  to  Chiusi 
will  probably  be  induced  to  halt  for  the  night.  Let  him 
eschew  the  inn  called  La  Luna,  which  is  a  mere  bettola, 
and  knock  at  an  opposite  house  with  the  name  of  "  Valen- 
tini "  over  the  door,  where  he  will  find  bed  and  board, 
average  comfort,  and  abundant  attention. 

It  is  but  six  miles  from  La  Pieve  to  Chiusi,  and  the  road 
is  delightful,  through  woods  of  brave  old  oaks,  baring  their 
lichen-clad  boughs  to  the  bright  winter  sky  ;  the  luxuriant 
vale  of  Chiana,  and  the  broad  Thrasymene  with  its 
islands,  in  the  distance  ;  and  the  Apennines  stretching 
their  snow  half  across  the  horizon.  The  frontier  is  crossed 
in  the  valley  below  Chiusi.3 

1  The  road  from  Pitigliano  to  Chiusi  houses.      The    entire   distance   may  be 

is  hardly  carriageable  throughout.     It  done  in  one  day,  by  starting  early.    The 

runs  through  Sorano,  crosses  the  high-  Baths  of  San  Casciano  are  proved  by 

road  to  Florence  near  the  Ponte  Centino,  numerous  remains  to  be  of  ancient  date. 

skirts  the  base  of  the  wild  mountain  of  Repetti  (I.  p.  22.5  ;  V.  p.  25)  takes  them 

Radicofani,    through  San  Casciano  de'  for   the   Fontes    Clusini   mentioned    by 

Bagni  and  Cetona,  to  Chiusi.     Another  Horace  (Epist.  I.  15,  i)). 

track  runs  through  Acquapendente,  but  -  Lanzi,  Sagg.  II.  p.  53.     Its  name, 

is  to  be  avoided  because  it  enters   the  derived  from  Civitas  Plebis,  seems  also 

Roman  territory,  and  exposes  the  tra-  to  indicate  a  classical  origin. 

veller  to  the  annoyance  of  two  custom-  *  Chiusi    is    10    miles   from   Arezzo, 


CHAP.  L.] 


ANTIQUITY  OF  CLUSIUM. 


327 


Chiusi  is  the  representative  of  Clusium,  the  city  of  the 
magnanimous  Porsena,  one  of  the  most  ancient  in  Italy, 
among  the  Twelve  of  the  Etruscan  Confederation  ;4  indeed 
it  would  appear  that  for  a  time 

"  The  banner  of  proud  Clusium 
Was  highest  of  them  all." 

Its   original   name    was    Camars,5    whence    it   has    been 


22  from  Cortona,  about  35  from  Orvieto, 
5  from  Cetona,  as  many  from  Sarteano, 
8  from  Chianciano,  12  from  Montepul- 
ciano,  20  from  Radicofani,  23  from 
Acquapendente,  20  from  Pienza,  48 
from  Siena,  and  88  from  Florence. 

Polybius  (II.  25)  says  Clusium  was 
three  days  journey  from  Rome  ;  Strabo 
(V.  p.  226)  calls  it  800  stadia,  or  100 
miles,  which  is  less  than  the  distance  by 
the  modern  road,  and  than  by  the 
ancient  Via  Cassia,  according  to 
Antonine  Itinerary. 


the 


Roma. 

Baccanas 

XXI. 

Sutrio 

XII. 

Foruni  Cassii 

XI. 

Vulsiuios 

XXVIII. 

Clusium 

XXX. 

The  Peutingerian  Table,  in  the  part  of 
this  road  after  Sutrium,  is  defective  and 
very  incorrect. 


Roma. 

Ad  Sextum 

VI. 

Veios 

VI. 

Vacanas 

Villi. 

Sutrio 

XII. 

Vico  Matrini 

— 

Foro  Cassii 

IIII. 

Aquas  Passaris 

XI. 

Volsinis 

vim. 

Pallio  fl. 

— 

Clusio 

Villi. 

4  That  Clusium  was  one  of  the  Twelve 
is  manifest  from  the  prominent  part  sin- 


took  in  the  war  which  Etruria,  under 
her  chieftain  Porsena,  waged  against 
Rome.  The  very  name  of  Clusium 
struck  terror  into  the  Senate — "  non 
unquam  alias  ante  tantus  terror  sena- 
tum  invasit,  adeo  valida  res  turn  Clusina 
erat,  magnumque  Porsense  nomen." 
Liv.  II.  9.  A  city,  whose  ruler  headed 
the  forces  of  the  whole  Etruscan  State, 
cannot  have  been  of  second-rate  im- 
portance. See  Florus,  I.  10.  Dion. 
Hal.  V.  pp.  303,  304.  Plutarch  (Pub- 
licola)  also  says  Lars  Porsena  had  the 
greatest  power  among  the  princes  of 
Italy.  There  is  no  reason  however  to 
believe,  that  though  Clusium  on  this 
occasion  took  a  prominent  part  among 
the  cities  of  the  Confederation,  she 
was,  as  Dempster  (II.  p.  71)  infers, 
the  metropolis  of  Etruria.  This  city 
has  further  claims  to  rank  among  the 
Twelve,  as  being  one  of  the  five  which 
assisted  the  Latins  against  the  first 
Tarquiu.     Dion.  Hal.  III.  p.  189. 

3  Liv.  X.  25  ;  cf.  Polyb.  II.  19,  5. 
Niebuhr  (III.  p.  377),  however,  thinks 
that  Polybius  here  refers  to  Camerinum 
in  Umbria,  and  says  Livy  remembers 
at  an  improper  time  that  Clusium  was 
called  Camars  in  Etruscan. 

There  arc  certain  coins  with  the 
type  of  a  wild  boar,  on  both  sides,  and 
the  legend  ka  or  kam,  which  are 
ascribed  to  Camars,  or  Clusium.  Yet 
the  legend  is  peculiar  in  running  from 
left    to    right,    and    if   the    letters    arc 


328 


CHIUSI.— The  City 


|  I'll  AT. 


inferred  that  it  was  founded  by  the  Umbri,  the  earliest 
inhabitants  of  Etruria.6  Whatever  its  origin,  it  is  certain 
that  from  a  very  remote  age  it  was  a  city  of  great 
might  and  importance,  and  that  it  maintained  this  condi- 
tion throughout  the  period  of  Etruscan  independence. 
Though  Virgil  represents  it  as  assisting  iEneas  against 
Turnus,7  the  earliest  notice  of  it  that  can  be  regarded  as 


Etruscan,  the  word  would  be  kas.  One 
of  those  illustrated  by  Lanzi,  to  the 
legend  ka  on  one  side,  adds  that  of 
raet,  in  Etruscan  letters,  on  the  other. 
Midler  (Etrusk.  I.  p.  332)  hints  that 
the  kas  may  possibly  have  reference  to 
Cisra,  the  native  name  of  Caere  (nt 
ynpra,  p.  22) — which  city,  as  he  re- 
marks, had  certainly  as  much  necessity 
for  coins  as  Clusium — and  that  "  Ka- 
raet "  may  find  its  equivalent  in  Ccerete. 
Certain  coins,  however,  with  this  type 
have  the  legend  kaji  in  Etruscan  cha- 
racters, and  running  from  right  to  left. 
Lanzi  thinks  the  wild  boar  was  an 
appropriate  type  for  Clusium,  charac- 
teristic of  the  country.  See  Lanzi,  Saggio, 

II.  pp.  24,  56  ;  tav.  I.  1,  2  ;  Guarnacei, 
Orig.  Ital.  II.  p.  206.  tav.  VIII.  ; 
Mionnet,  Med.  Ant.  p.  .07  ;  Suppl.  I. 
p.  1 96.  Yet  Millingen  has  pronounced, 
on  what  authority  does  not  appear,  that 
these  coins  are  all  counterfeits.  Numis. 
Anc.  Italie,  p.  170.  There  are  two 
other  series  of  coins  which  have  been 
assigned  respectively  to  Clusium  Vetus 
and  Clusium  Novum.  On  the  obverse 
is  a  wheel,  on  the  reverse  an  anchor, 
with  the  mark  of  value  and  the  legend 
CH  or  cha  in  Etruscan  characters. 
Marchi    and  Tessieri,    yEs    Grave,    cl. 

III.  tav.  VII— IX.  ;  cf.  Bull.  Inst. 
1839,  p.  124.  But  Lepsius  thinks  the 
attribution  of  these  coins  to  Camars 
cannot  be  justified  on  any  ground. 
Verbreitung  des  Italischen  Munzsys- 
tems,  p.  6!?  ;  Ann.  Inst.  1841,  p.  108. 


6  Cluver.  II.  p.  567  ;  Cramer,  I.  p. 
219.  Midler  (Etrusk.  einl.  2,  12)  con- 
siders the  ancient  name  of  the  city, 
Camars,  to  be  a  proof  that  the  Camertes 
of  Umbria  had  once  occupied  it.  Cluver 
thinks  that  these  Camertes,  the  original 
inhabitants  of  Camars,  were  driven 
across  the  Tiber  by  the  Tyrrhene- 
Pelasgi,  and  retained  their  ancient 
name  in  their  new  settlement ;  and  that 
the  Pelasgi  gave  the  city  the  name  of 
Clusium,  from  Clusius,  son  of  Tyrrhenus 
the  Lydian,  as  Servius  states  (ad  Mn. 
X.  167),  who  however  leaves  its  origin 
doubtful  between  Clusius  and  Telema- 
chus.  That  Camars  or  Gamers  was  an 
Umbrian  rather  than  a  Pelasgic  name 
is  the  more  probable,  as  Lepsius  assures 
us  it  is  not  derived  from  the  Greek. 
Ann.  Inst.  1836,  p.  201.  Mention  is 
made  of  these  Camertes  of  Umbria  by 
Livy,  IX.  36  ;  Pliny,  TIL  1 9  ;  Cicero, 
pro  Balbo,  20  ;  Strabo,  V.  p.  227  ; 
Sil.  Italic.  VIII.  463  ;  Frontin.  Strat. 
I.  2,  2.  riiny  (loc.  cit.)  also  men- 
tions a  Clusiolum  above  Intcranma  in 
Umbria.  The  Camers  of  Umbria  is 
supposed  by  Cramer  (I.  pp.  262,  274) 
to  have  occupied  the  site  of  Camerata, 
a  town  between  Todi  and  Amelia,  but 
Cluver  (II.  p.  613)  thinks  it  identical 
with  Camerinum,  now  Camerino,  on  the 
borders  of  Picenum. 

'  Virg.  yEn.  X.  167.  Virgil  else- 
where (X.  655)  says  Clusium  had  a 
king  Osinius. 


chap,  l.]  HISTORY  OF   GLUSIUM.  329 

historic  is  that  with  Arretium,  Volaterra?,  Rusellae,  and 
Vetulonia,  it  sent  aid  to  the  Latins  against  Tarquinius 
Priscus.8  We  hear  no  more  of  it  till  the  Tarqnins,  on 
their  expulsion  from  Rome,  induced  Porsena,  its  king  or 
chief  Lucumo,  to  espouse  their  cause.  That  war,  its 
stirring  events,  its  deeds  of  heroism,  are  among  the 
cherished  memories  of  our  boyhood,  and  need  no  record 
here.     Yet  modern  criticism  snatches  from  us 

"  Those  old  credulities  to  nature  dear," 

and  teaches  us  to  regard  the  deeds  of  Horatius,  Scawola, 
Cloelia,  Publicola,  as  mere  fictions  of  the  old  Roman  min- 
strels, sung  in  the  heroic  "  Lay  of  the  Tarquins."9 

When  Clusium  next  appears  in  history  it  is  as  the  occa- 
sion of  the  destruction  of  Rome  by  the  Gauls.  It  was  in 
the  year  363  (b.c.  391),  just  after  the  capture  of  Veii,  that 
one  Aruns,  a  native  of  Clusium,  having  been  dishonoured 
by  a  youthful  Lucumo,  his  pupil,  who  had  debauched  his 
wife,  and  not  being  able  to  obtain  justice  from  the  law, 
owing  to  the  young  noble's  rank  and  influence  in  the  state, 
determined  to  have  his  revenge,  even  at  the  sacrifice  of 
his  country.  The  prototype  of  Count  Julian,  who  for 
vengeance  sold  Spain  to  the  Moslem,  he  induced  the 
Senonian  Gauls  to  take  up  his  cause,  tempting  them  by 
the  figs,  the  oil,  and  above  all  the  rich  wine  of  Tuscany — 
the  royal  Montepulciano,  it  may  have  been — to  marcli 
against  Clusium.  The  citizens,  terrified  at  the  strange  and 
ferocious  aspect,  and  the  vast  hosts  of  these  unlooked-for 


s  Dion.  Hal.  III.  p.  189.  digies  and  miracles,  which  were  they 
9  Niebuhr  (I.  p.  551)  maintains  that  not  in  our  annals  would  now-a-days  be 
of  this  war,  from  beginning  to  end,  not  accounted  fables" — Tunc  ilia  Romana 
a  single  incident  can  pass  for  historical.  prodigia  atque  miracula,  Horatius,  Mu- 
lt is  evident  that  the  ancients  had  some  cius,  Cluclia  ;  quae  nisi  in  annalibus 
such  suspicions  themselves,  for  Florus  forent,  hodie  fabulce  videreiitur. 
(I.  10)  speaks  of  the  heroes,  as  "pro- 


330  CH1USI.— The  City.  [chap,  l. 

foes,  sent  to  beg  succour  of  Rome,  though  bound  to  her  by 
no  tie  of  friendship  or  alliance.  Flattered  by  this  compli- 
ment to  their  power  and  martial  spirit,  the  Romans  in  an 
evil  hour  interfered,  and  diverting  the  fury  of  the  Gaulish 
hordes  from  Clusium  to  themselves,  opened  the  way  for 
the  capture  and  destruction  of  the  Seven-hilled  City.10 

In  what  year  Clusium  fell  under  the  Roman  yoke  is  not 
recorded  ;  not,  however,  immediately  after  the  fatal  rout 
of  the  Etruscans  in  the  year  445  (b.c.  309)  at  the  Vadi- 
monian  Lake,  though  Perusia  was  in  consequence  com- 
pelled to  surrender ; x  for  in  the  year  459  (b.c.  295)  a 
Roman  legion  was  left  before  Clusium,  during  the  war 
with  the  Etruscans,  and  was  there  cut  to  pieces  by  the 
Senonian  Gauls,  their  allies.2  In  the  same  year  also,  after 
the  great  rout  of  the  Gauls  and  Samnites  in  the  territory 
of  Sentinum,  the  Clusini,  in  conjunction  with  the  Perusini, 
sustained  a  defeat  from  Cn.  Fulvius  the  Roman  propraetor.3 
We  hear  no  more  of  Clusium  in  the  time  of  Etruscan  in- 
dependence ;  for  the  next  notice  of  it  is  that  the  Gauls 
marched  a  third  time  to  this  city,  just  before  their  defeat 
near  Telamon  in  529.4  Clusium,  with  the  other  cities  of 
Etruria,  assisted  Rome  in  the  Second  Punic  War,  supplying 
the  fleet  of  Scipio  with  corn,  and  fir  for  ship-building.5 
More  than  a  century  later  Sylla  defeated  an  army  of  his 
foes  near  Clusium,  which,  it  is  probable,  had  joined  others 
of  the  Etruscan  cities  in  espousing  the  cause  of  Marius.6 

1,1  Liv.  V.  33,  35 ;  Dion.  Hal.  Excerp.  a  Liv.    XXVIII.    45  ;    cf.    SI    Ital. 

Mai.   XII.  24,  25  ;  Flor.   L  13  j  Plut.  VIII.  479.     The  grain,  indeed,  of  Clu- 

Camillus  ;   Diod.  Sic.  XIV.  p.  321,  ed.  sium  was  celebrated  for  its  whiteness. 

Rhod.     Dionysius'  version  of  the  story  Columella,  de  Re  Rustics,  II.  6.     Mar- 

of  Aruns  differs  somewhat  from  that  of  tial  (XIII.  8)  also  recommends  the  meal 

Livy.  of  Clusium. 

1  Liv.  IX.  39,  40.  6  Vel.  Paterc.  II.  28.     Appian.  Bell. 

2  Liv.  X.  25, 26.  Civ.   I.    89.      An    inscription   has   been 

3  Liv_  x.  30.  found   which   shows    that    the   Clusini 

4  Polyb.  II.  25.  raised    a    statue    to    Sylla,    two    years 


chaf.  l.]  DECAY   OF  CLUSIUM.  331 

Inscriptions  prove  Clusium  to  have  continued  in  existence 
under  the  Empire,  nor  does  she  seem,  like  too  many  of  her 
fellows,  ever  to  have  been  utterly  desolated  or  deserted, 
but  has  preserved  her  name  and  site  from  the  remotest 
antiquity  to  the  present  day.7  Yet  so  fallen  and  reduced 
was  this  illustrious  city  in  the  middle  ages,  principally 
through  the  pestilent  vapours  of  the  neighbouring  lakes 
and  marshes,  that  for  eight  centuries  and  more,  says 
Repetti,  she  might  be  called  "a  city  of  sepulchres." 
Chiusi  is  even  cited  by  Dante,  as  an  instance  of  the 
melancholy  decay  of  cities — 

Se  tu  riguardi  Luni  ed  Urbisaglia 

Come  son  ite,  e  come  se  ne  vanno 
Diretro  ad  esse  Chiusi  e  Sinigaglia, 

Udir  come  le  schiatte  si  disfanno, 
Non  ti  parra  nuova  cosa  ne  forte, 

Poscia  che  le  cittadi  termine  hanno. 

Since  the  draining  of  the  Val  di  Chiana,  she  has  risen 
from  her  low  estate,  and  though  she  no  longer  holds  her 
head  proudly  among  the  cities  of  Italy,  she  has  an  air  of 
snugness  and  respectability,  with  two  or  three  thousand 
inhabitants,  and  an  inn,  the  Leon  d'Oro,  of  more  than 
ordinary  bye-road  comfort. 

In  his  excursions  to  the  numerous  and  widely  scattered 
points  of  Etruscan  interest,  the  visitor  cannot  do  better 

after  this  battle,  or  80  b.c.     Repetti,  I.  which  is  continued  by  the  Church  of 

p  714  S.  Mustiola,  built  in  the  year  765.     It 

7  Repetti,  loc.  cit.     This  writer  thinks  has  been  supposed  that  the  site  of  the 

the  colony  of  Clusium  Novum  spoken  original  Camars,  was  not  at  Chiusi,  but 

of  by  Pliny  (III.  8)  was  established  by  at   Sarteano   (Bull.   Inst.   1840,  p.  4)  ; 

Sylla.     Clusium   is   mentioned   also  by  but   I   see   uo    valid    ground   for   this 

Ptolemy  (p.  72,  ed.  Bert.),  and  by  the  opinion,  which  is  founded  on  the  disco- 

Antonine   and   Theodosian    Itineraries.  very  at  the  latter  place  of  a  number  of 

The  catacombs  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Etruscan  urns  of  the  family,  "  Cumere" 

Chiusi,  moreover,  prove  its  existence  in  See  Chapter  LIU.  p.  40(i. 
the   early   ages  of  the  Christian  era  ; 


332  CHIUST.— The  City.  [chap.  l. 

than  have  at  his  elbow  Giambattista  Zeppoloni,  the 
"  souter  Johnny"  of  Chiusi,  who  claims  to  be  at  once 
"  shoemaker,  saddler,  cicerone  and  landed  proprietor." 

Chiusi  retains  few  traces  of  Etruscan  times  on  her  site, 
beyond  the  contents  of  her  museums,  drawn  from  the 
sepulchres  around.  Of  her  ancient  fortifications  some  frag- 
ments are  extant,  but  these  are  not  sufficiently  abundant 
or  continuous  to  determine  the  precise  extent  or  limits  of 
the  city.  Where  still  standing,  they  form  the  foundations 
of  the  mediaeval  walls.  The  fragment  of  most  easy  access 
is  beneath  the  Duomo,  near  the  Porta  delle  Torri,  or 
di  Pacciano.  It  is  composed  of  rectangular  blocks  of 
travertine,  a  few  of  large  size,  but  generally  small  and 
shallow — all  without  cement.8  Another  portion  of  the 
ancient  walls  is  to  be  seen  beneath  the  Prato,  or  public 
promenade.  This  is  also  of  travertine,  of  similar  and 
rather  more  regular  masonry  ;  but  still  of  small  blocks, 
rarely  exceeding  three  feet  in  length,  and  never  so  much 
as  two  in  height.9  It  can  be  seen  from  the  Giardino 
Paolozzi,  adjoining  the  Prato.  Beneath  this  garden,  which 
seems  the  site  of  the  ancient  Acropolis,  and  is  still  called 
La  Fortezza,  are  some  buttresses  of  Roman  work,  under 
which  are  also  a  few  courses  of  the  earlier,  or  Etruscan 
masonry. 

The  style  of  all  these  fragments  is  very  similar  to  that 
of  Perugia  and  Todi,  and  very  unlike  that  of  the  more 

8  I  am  surprised  to  find  Repetti  (I.  p.  taming  marine  deposits,  which  prevails 

720)    describing   this   masonry   as  "  of  in  this  district  of  Italy, 
large  polygons  ; "    when  it  is  as  hori-  9  Though  of  opus  quadratum,  it  is  not 

zontal   as   that    of    Perugia    or     Todi,  isodomon,  and  the  blocks  are  arranged 

though  not  so  regular.      He  also  errs  without   any    symmetrical    relation   to 

in   calling  it  the   only  fragment  of  the  those  above  or  beneath  them.    The  finest 

Etruscan  walls.      The  travertine  must  portion    is  below  a  brick  arch,  at  the 

have  been    brought    from   a   distance,  further  end  of  the  Prato.     The  courses 

probably  from  Sarteano,  for  the  hill  of  vary  from  15  to  21  inches  in  height. 
Chiusi  is  of  that  friable  sandstone  con- 


chap,  l]  ANCIENT  WALLS  AND  OTHER   LIONS.  333 

northern  cities — Fiesole,  Vol  terra,  or  Cortona;  the  blocks 
being  much  smaller,  the  courses  more  uniform,  and  the 
sharpness  of  the  edges,  preserved  by  the  hardness  of 
the  travertine,  giving  the  whole  a  much  more  modern 
appearance. 

In  the  Piazza  del  Duomo  are  more  traces  of  this  ancient 
masonry,  and  in  many  of  the  buildings  of  the  city,  as  well 
as  in  the  fences  without  the  walls,  are  large  blocks  of 
travertine,  probably  from  the  ancient  fortifications,  as  this 
is  not  a  local  stone. 

There  are  many  relics  of  early  days,  scattered  through 
Chiusi.  Fragments  of  architectural  decorations  built  into 
the  houses.  Over  a  well  in  the  main  street  is  a  sphere  of 
stone  resting  on  a  cube,  with  a  sphinx,  in  a  quaint  style, 
carved  on  each  side.  On  Signor  Paolozzi's  gate  are  two 
similar  monuments,  with  lions  instead  of  sphinxes.1  But 
on  the  Prato  hard  by,  are  numerous  sarcophagi  and  urns, 
and  a  menagerie  of  wild  beasts,  more  like  those  with 
which  "the  learned  stock  the  constellations"  than  anything 
that  ever  trod  terrestrial  desert — the  most  uncouth  savage- 
ness  ever  beheld  or  conceived,  grotesque  caricatures  of 
ferocity — the  majesty  of  the  king  of  beasts  relaxed  to 
a  ridiculous  grin — buffos  of  the  leo  species. 

In  the  Paolozzi  garden  is  a  so-called  "  Labyrinth." 
The  mere  word  brought  to  mind  the  celebrated  Tomb  of 
Porsena,  described  by  Varro  as  existing  at  Clusium,  and 
I  eagerly  rushed  into  the  cavern.  To  my  disappointment 
it  was  merely  a  natural  hollow  in  the  rock,  of  some  extent. 


1  Inghirami    (Mon.    Etrus.    VI.    tav.  can  cippi,  or   tomb-stones.      They   rc- 

P  5)  gives  a  plate  of  a  similar  monu-  mind  us  of  the  sphere  and  cylinder  on 

ment,  with  a  sphinx,  a  lion,  a  griffon,  and  the  tomb  of  Archimedes,  at  Syracuse — 

an  augur  with  his  litit/us,  on  each  side  i.  e.  on  the  real  sepulchre  discovered  by 

respectively.     The  style  of  art  is  very  Cicero  (Tusc.  Qurest.   V.  23),  not  that 

archaic.     These  were  probably    Etrus-  shown  now-a-days  under  the  name. 


334 


CHIUS1.— The  City. 


[chap.  r.. 


hut  without  a  sign  of  labyrinthine  passages.2  But  in  the 
cliffs  of  this  verv  height,  immediately  beneath  the  Palazzo 
Paolozzi,  are  some  singular  subterranean  passages,  running 
far  into  the  heart  of  the  rock,  yet  being  half  filled  with 
water  they  have  never  been  penetrated.  It  is  asserted, 
however,  that  there  are  seven  of  these  strade,  but  whether 
running  parallel  like  the  Sette  Sale  at  Rome,  or  radiating 
from  one  point  like  the  Seven  Dials  of  the  Great  Metropolis, 
I  could  not  ascertain.  The  only  passage  I  saw  was  hollowed 
in  the  sandy  rock,  and  rudely  shaped  into  a  vault ;  the 
marks  of  the  chisel  being  very  distinct.  Rumour  says 
there  are  many  other  such  passages ;  the  whole  city, 
indeed,  is  supposed  to  be  undermined  by  them,  and  by 
subterranean  chambers,  though  what  purpose  they  may 
have  served  is  a  mystery  no  one  can  fathom.3 


2  On  complaining  of  tliis  I  was  told 
that  a  passage  had  been  discovered 
here,  a  few  years  since,  but  it  was  not 
penetrated,  being  full  of  water  ;  I  could 
perceive  no  traces  of  it.  In  this  gar- 
den are  remains  of  Roman  baths. 

3  One  entrance  to  these  underground 
"  streets  "  is  near  the  church  of  San 
Francesco.  Another  is  on  the  Piazza 
del  Duomo.  In  1830,  in  lowering  this 
Piazza,  four  round  holes,  2  feet  in 
diameter,  were  discovered,  and  they 
were  found  to  be  for  lighting  a  square 
chamber,  vaulted  over  with  great  blocks 
of  travertine,  and  divided  by  an  arch. 
It  was  nearly  full  of  earth,  but  in  it 
were  found  a  large  flask  of  glass,  frag- 
ments of  swords,  pieces  of  marble, 
broken  columns.  About  100  feet  dis- 
tant was  another  light-hole,  giving  ad- 
mission to  a  second  vault,  about  27  feet 
deep,  but  so  large  that  its  extent  could 
not  be  ascertained.  In  the  Bishop's 
garden,  close  to  the  Piazza,  another 
subterranean    chamber,   very   profound 


and  spacious,  was  opened,  and  on  one  side 
of  it  was  a  small  well.  Signor  Flavio 
Paolozzi  has  also  discovered  two  under- 
ground streets,  about  3  feet  wide  and 
10  high,  partly  built  up  with  large 
squared  blocks  of  travertine.  Capitano 
Sozzi  takes  them  to  be  conduits,  because 
many  pipes  of  lead  and  terra  cotta  were 
found  in  them,  and  because  water  still 
chokes  them.  Bull.  Inst.  1831,  pp.  99 
— 102.  Perhaps  it  is  these  two  which 
rumour  has  multiplied  into  seven.  Un- 
der the  house  of  the  Nardi  Dei  is 
also  known  to  be  a  passage,  opened 
forty  or  fifty  years  since  ;  and  it  is 
said  that  a  reverend  prelate  ventured 
to  penetrate  it,  but  found  it  so  laby- 
rinthine, that  had  he  not  provided  him- 
self with  a  clue,  he  would  never  have 
seen  again  the  light  of  day.  It  is  by 
some  pretended  that  these  subterranean 
passages  form  part  of  the  Labyrinth 
of  Porsena,  but  that  this  opinion  is 
unfounded  will  be  shown  in  a  subse- 
quent Chapter.     They  are  much  more 


chap,  i..]  MUSEO  CASUCCINI.  335 

Chiusi,  unluckily  for  the  sight-seer,  has  not,  like  Vol  terra, 
its  Etruscan  relics  gathered  into  one  public  Museum,  but 
scattered  in  numerous  private  collections.  By  far  the 
largest  and  most  important  is  the  property  of  Signor 
Ottavio  Casuccini.  Next  to  his  ranks  that  of  Signor 
Paolozzi ;  and  these  two  alone  have  a  permanent  character, 
the  others  varying  from  year  to  year,  increased  by  fresh 
discoveries,  or  diminished  by  sales.  The  collections  of 
miscellaneous  character  are  those  of  the  Conte  Ottieri, 
Don  Luigi  Dei,  the  Signori  Luccioli  and  Ciofi.  Those 
of  Capitano  Sozzi  and  Signor  Galanti  are  now  in  the 
"  Gabinetto,"  in  the  high  street.  The  bishop  has  a 
number  of  choice  vases,  and  the  canons  Pasquini  and 
Mazzetti,  and  the  arch-priest  Carducci,  besides  the  ordinary 
articles,  are  rich  in  scarabcei.*  None  of  these  collections 
are  difficult  of  access.  A  request  from  a  stranger  will 
meet  with  prompt  attention,  and  he  will  be  received  with 
all  that  courtesy  and  urbanity  which  distinguish  the  Tuscan 
character. 

Museo  Casuccini. 

This,  the  largest  private  collection  of  Etruscan  antiqui- 
ties in  Italy,  second  in  the  number  and  interest  of  its 
urns  only  to  the  Museum  of  Volterra,  is  the  produce 
of  many  a  season's  excavation,  by  Signor  Pietro  Bonci 
Casuccini,  the  grandfather  of  the  present  proprietor.  To 
visit  it  should  be  the  first  object  of  every  traveller  who 
would  gain  an  acquaintance  with  the  peculiarities  of  the 

probably  connected  with  the  system  of  they  seem  to  bear   a  close  analogy  to 

sewerage  ;  and  the  subterranean  cham-  the  Buche  de'  Saracini  which  are  hol- 

bers  may  have   been  either  cellars  to  lowed  in  the  base  of  the  hill  on  which 

houses  or  favissce  to  temples.    However,  Volterra   stands.      Ut  supra,  pp.    165, 

the  idea  of  a  labyrinth  has    been  con-  166. 

nected  with  such  passages,  for  more  than  4  Captain   Cecehini  has  now  disposed 

a   century   past.      See    Maffei,   Osserv.  of  his  collection. 
Letter.  V.  p.  314.    From  the  description, 


386  CHIUSI.— The  City.  [chap.  l. 

Etruscan   relics  of  Cliiusi.     On  entering,  he  is  instructed 
"  how  to  observe"  by  this  notice — 

0  voi  che  qua  niovete  il  passo  amico 

1  pregi  ad  ammirare  del  bello  antico, 

Qui  posate  ogn'  impaccio,  e  sia  per  gli  occhi 
Libero  il  giro,  ma  la  man  non  tocchi. 

This  collection  is  crammed  into  three  chambers.  The 
object  that  first  arrests  the  eye,  is  the  figure  of  a  female, 
almost  as  large  as  life,  seated  in  the  midst  of  the  room, 
holding  out  a  pomegranate,  as  if  to  present  it  to  whoever 
approached  her.  The  first  feeling  excited  is  one  of 
astonishment  at  its  singularity  ;  the  next,  of  amusement 
at  its  droll  quaintness — its  more  than  Egyptian  rigidity 
— its  utter  want  of  anatomical  expression.  It  looks  like  a 
stone  effigy,  not  of  that  form  which  tempted  angels  to  sin, 
but  of  a  jointed  doll,  or  an  artist's  lay-figure.5  Further 
examination  proves  this  stiffness  to  arise  from  the  arms, 
feet,  head,  and  even  the  crown,  being  in  separate  pieces, 
removable  at  pleasure,  fixed  in  their  places  by  metal  pins. 
This  figure  is  at  once  the  effigy  of  the  deceased,  and  the 
urn  to  contain  her  ashes,  which  were  found  within  it ;  in 
truth,  it  is  but  a  variety  of  the  Etruscan  practice  of  repre- 
senting the  dead  reclining  upon  their  own  coffins.  The 
limbs  were  jointed,  probably  from  the  inability  of  the 
artist  to  carve  them  from  the  same  block,  or  from  the 
brittlcness  of  the  material,  which  would  not  allow  of  it. 


5  This  figure  has  been  styled  by  Mrs.  beauty  which  almost  melted  Mrs.  Gray 
Hamilton  Gray  (Sepulchres  of  Etruria,  to  tears.  Instead  of  regarding  it  as 
p.  475),  "  the  gem  of  Chiusi,"  and  said  "  the  most  beautiful  and  solemn  man- 
to  be  "  in  a  beautiful  style  of  art."  It  ner  of  embellishing  death,  that  ever 
were  paying  that  lady  a  poor  compli-  entered  a  mortal's  head,"  I  could  see 
ment  to  believe  she  took  a  note  to  that  in  it  only  a  caricature  of  humanity- 
effect.  Her  lively  imagination,  in  after  a  woman  made  her  own  coffin  —  in- 
••ontemplation  of  the  figure,  invested  it  teresting  only  for  its  singularity,  its 
with  a  halo  it  docs  not  possess.  Nor  undoubted  antiquity,  and  archaic  style 
could    I    perceive   any   of    that    moral  of  art. 


CHAP.  L.] 


SINGULAR   STATUE-URN. 


337 


The  pedestal  of  the  chair  on  which  the  figure  sits  is 
decorated  with  bas-reliefs  —  chariot  and  foot-races — of 
corresponding  archaic  character.  Red  paint  is  to  be 
traced  on  the  drapery,  sandals,  and  seat ;  and  the  whole 
monument  was  probably  originally  coloured.  It  is  of  cispo, 
or  fetid  limestone,  a  yellowish  brittle  material,  much  used 
in  the  most  ancient  monuments  of  this  district.6  Upright 
Etruscan  statues  in  stone,  be  it  observed,  are  extremely 
rare  ;  most  of  those  extant  being  of  bronze  or  terra-cotta. 
From  this   Museum  the  traveller  will  learn  that  the 


6  For  a  plate  of  this  monument  see 
Micali,  Mon.  Ined.  tav.  XXVI.  The 
height  of  the  figure  is  about  four  feet. 
Bull.  Inst.  1838,  p.  73.  Micali  (p.  152) 
regards  its  position  in  the  chair  as 
indicative  of  the  supreme  beatitude  of 
the  soul.  Inghirami  gives  illustrations 
of  a  very  similar  statue  found  near  Chiusi 
(Museo  Chiusino,  tav.  XVII.  XVIII)  ; 
which  he  takes  to  represent  Proserpine, 
and  thinks  the  ashes  of  the  deceased 
were  deposited  in  the  effigy  of  the 
Queen  of  Hades,  because  the  soul  was 
supposed  to  be  committed  to  her  keep- 
ing. Bull.  Instit.  1831,  p.  5.5.  Micali 
(op.  cit.  tav.  XXVI.  2)  also  represents 
a  similar  figure  of  a  man,  found  in  a 
tomb  at  Chiusi  ;  the  face  a  portrait, 
and  the  body  being  hollow.  A  colossal 
statue  of  a  male,  with  jointed  arms  and 
in  sitting  position,  was  discovered  in 
1839.  One  of  this  description,  of  most 
archaic  style,  the  bust  of  which  is  the 
lid,  and  the  lower  half  of  the  body,  the 
urn,  has  recently  been  placed  in  the 
British  Museum.  Another  of  these  statue- 
urns  has  been  found  of  alabaster,  yet  of 
a  very  curious  and  Egyptian-like  style. 
Bull.  Inst.  1840,  p.  150.  Similar  figures 
have  also  been  found  at  Chiusi,  of  much 
inferior  size, — one  a  female,  with  a  pome- 
granatein  her  hand,  very  like  this  in  the 
VOL.  II. 


Museo  Casuccini,  but  only  20  inches 
high.  Bull.  Inst.  1836,  p.  29;  1837,  p.  21. 
There  is  a  close  affinity  between  these 
early  works  of  the  Etruscan  chisel,  and 
those  of  a  corresponding  period  in 
Hellenic  art.  Let  any  one  compare 
with  these  the  terra-cotta  figures  of 
Minerva  and  another  female  found  at 
Athens,  and  illustrated  by  Stackelberg 
in  his  Graeber  der  Hellenen,  taf.  LVII. 
LVIII.  They  are  only  5  or  6  inches 
high,  but  are  in  similar  attitudes,  and 
of  a  very  analogous  style  of  art  ;  but 
are  painted  red,  white,  blue,  and  green, 
and  the  ornaments  are  gilt.  Sir  C  Fel- 
lows gives  a  cut  of  a  similar  figure  in 
terra  cotta,  found  in  a  tomb  near  Aby- 
dos.     Asia  Minor,  p.  81. 

The  most  remarkable  monument  of 
this  description  from  the  tombs  of 
Chiusi,  was  a  group,  the  size  of  life, 
representing  a  man  on  a  couch,  em- 
bracing a  winged  genius  who  was  sitting 
on  his  hip.  A  boy  and  dog  stood  at 
their  feet.  Even  this  was  a  cinerary 
urn,  for  in  the  drapery  of  the  couch, 
where  it  was  folded  on  the  man's  thigh, 
was  a  hole  with  a  stopper,  which  gave 
access  to  the  ashes.  Bull.  Inst.  1837, 
p.  21.  What  has  become  of  this  singular 
coffin,  I  cannot  learn. 


338  CHIUSL— Thr  City.  [chap.  l. 

tombs  of  Chiusi  and  its  neighbourhood  yield  articles  more 
singular,  quaint,  and  archaic  in  character,  than  those  of 
any  other  part  of  Etruria,  with  the  exception  of  Veii  and 
Ca3re. 

The  most  remarkable  of  these  early  monuments  are  the 
square  or  round  pedestals  of  cippi,  sometimes  supposed  to 
be  altars.  They  are  almost  invariably  of  the  fetid  lime- 
stone, peculiar  to  this  district.  Their  interest  lies  in  being, 
next  to  the  bronzes,  the  earliest  and  most  genuinely 
national  works  of  the  Etruscan  chisel.  Though  possibly 
of  different  epochs,  a  characteristic  archaicism  is  always 
preserved  :  the  figures  are  in  very  low,  almost  flat  relief, 
and  with  a  strong  Egyptian  rigidity  and  severity.  The 
style,  in  fact,  may  be  said  to  be  peculiar  to  these  monu- 
ments, and  in  some  measure  may  be  owing  to  the  material, 
which  would  not  admit  of  the  finish  and  delicacy  of  the 
high  reliefs  in  alabaster  and  travertine.7  The  subjects  are 
also  purely  national — religious  or  funeral  rites  and  cere- 
monies— scenes  of  civil  or  domestic  life — figures  in  proces- 
sion, marching  to  the  sound  of  the  double-pipes,  or  dancing 
with  Bacchanalian  furor  to  the  same  instrument  and  the 
tyre.8  There  is  no  introduction  of  Greek  myths,  so  fre- 
quently represented  on  the  sepulchral  urns. 


7  So  brittle  is  this  stone  that  it  is  pedestal,  and  must  have  been  a  cippus. 
rare  to  find  a  monument  formed  of  it  Inghirami  gives  a  plate  of  a  very 
in  a  perfect  state.  Whence  it  has  singular  monument  of  this  description 
been  unnecessarily  imagined  that  these  — a  square  cippus,  with  a  female  figure 
pedestals  were  purposely  broken  before  sitting  on  the  top,  holding  a  chaplet.  In 
being  placed  in  the  tomb.  Such  monu-  the  relief  below,  are  two  females  sitting 
inents  are  found  throughout  the  Val  di  opposite,  and  holding  a  chaplet  between 
Chiana,  and  some  even  at  Perugia.  them.     Inghirami  thinks  these  two  are 

8  One  of  this  subject  is  given  by  in  Tartarus,  and  the  upper  one  in 
Micali,  Ant.  Pop.Ital.  tav.  LIV.  LV;  and  Elysium.  Against  the  sides  of  the  mo- 
in  the  Museo  Chiusino,  tav.  II. — V.  On  nument  stand  two  large  figures,  as  if 
the  top  of  the  monument  are  traces  of  supporters  to  the  female  on  the  top. 
animals,  probably  lions,  couchant.  In  Mus.  Chins,  p.  185,  tav.  CXCI.  I  do  not 
this  case  it  can  hardly  have  served  as  a  remember  to  have  seen  this  curious  relic. 


chap,  i,.]  ARCHAIC   CIPPI.  339 

One  of  these  square  monuments  has,  on  each  of  its  sides, 
a  couple  of  warriors  on  horseback,  turning  from  each 
other.  They  retain  traces  of  red  colour,  and  are  in  a 
better  style  than  usual.9 

Another  pedestal  displays  a  judicial  scene — two  judges, 
with  wands  of  office,  sitting  on  a  platform,  with  their 
secretary,  who  has  stylus  and  tablets  to  take  notes  of  the 
proceedings  ;  a  lictor  or  attendant  stands  by  with  a  rod 
in  each  hand.  Before  the  bench  a  warrior  fully  armed — 
helm,  spear,  shield,  and  greaves — appears  to  be  awaiting 
judgment.  A  woman  behind  him,  dancing  with  castanets 
to  the  music  of  a  subulo,  seems  to  mark  him  as  some  hero 
or  victor  in  the  public  games.  The  judges  are  consulting 
as  to  his  merits  ;  and  their  decree  seems  to  be  favourable, 
for  the  officer  of  the  court  is  pointing  to  half  a  dozen  skins 
or  leathern-bottles,  beneath  the  platform,  which,  full  of 
oil,  probably  constitute  his  reward.1 

A  bas-relief,  not  forming  part  of  one  of  these  monu- 
ments, but  similar  in  style,  represents  several  figures  at  a 
banquet,  with  hands  and  paterce  raised  in  that  peculiar 
manner  characteristic  of  early  Etruscan  art.2  Another 
fragment  represents  a  youth,  with  veiled  head,  falling  to 
the  ground.3  On  a  third  relief,  in  this  archaic  style,  is  a 
race  of  trigce,  or  three-horse  chariots — a  very  rare  subject. 
The  resemblance  of  the  details  to  those  of  similar  scenes  in 
the  painted  tombs  of  Chiusi,  is  remarkable  ;  though  the 


9  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  LII.   1.  he  connects  the  scene  unnecessarily  with 

Inghirami  (Mus.  Chius.  tav.    I.)   takes  the  mythology  of  Egypt.     See  Braun's 

them  for  Castor  and  Pollux  ;  but  need-  strictures  on   him.      Ann.   Inst.    1843, 

lessly,  thinks  Gerhard.  Bull   Inst.  1831,  p.  359. 

p.  54.  2  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  LVIII.  1  ; 

1  Micali,  Mon.  Ined.  tav.  XXIV.   1.  Mus.  Chius.  tav.  XXXVIII. 

This  writer  considers  this  relief  to  hint  3  Micali,  op.  cit.  tav.  LII.  4  ;  Mus. 

either  at  some  honourable  deed  in  the  Chius.  tav.  XXX.     Beneath  him  is  an 

life   of  the    deceased,    or    to   represent  Etruscan  inscription, 
his  judgment  in  Tartai'us,  in  which  case 

Z  2 


340 


CHIUSI.— The  City. 


[chap,  l, 


latter  arc  by  no  means  in  so  early  a  style  of  art.4     Akin 
to  this  is  a  relief  with  a  contest  of  wrestlers. 

But  the  most  common  subject  represented  on  these 
monuments  is  the  death-bed.  The  corpse  is  stretched  on 
its  couch,  the  helmet  and  greaves  lie  neglected  beneath  it, 
the  relatives  stand  mourning  around,  and  the  prceficcE,  or 
wailing- women,  are  tearing  their  hair.  In  another  similar 
scene,  a  child  is  closing  the  eyes  of  its  parent,  while  the 
figures  around  are  tearing  their  hair  and  beating  their 
breasts.5 

On  a  round  cippus  are  fragments  of  three  warriors, 
marching  to  the 
sound  of  the  double- 
pipes;  probably  part 
of  a  funeral  pro- 
cession. It  is  in  a 
very  rigid  style  of 
art.6  One  of  the 
figures  is  shown  in 
the  annexed  wood- 
cut. 

A  glance  round 
this  Museum  will 
show  that  the  Etrus- 
cans of  Chiusi,  as  of 
Vol  terra,  were  wont 
to  burn  rather  than 


ETRUSCAN    WARRIOR,     MUSKO    CASUCCINI. 


4  Micali,  Mon.  Ined.  tav.  XXIV.  2. 
The  aurigce  have  the  reins  round  their 
bodies  ;  the  horses'  tails  are  knotted ; 
and  the  trees  which  are  introduced  are 
as  much  like  paddles  as  those  in  the 
painted  tombs. 

5  On  this  monument  one  of  the 
figures  is  represented  with  a  full  face, 
though    the    style    of    art     is   so    very 


archaic.  I  recollect  no  other  instance  of 
this  in  early  Etruscan  paintings  or  reliefs, 
except  in  the  cases  of  Gorgons,  whose 
faces  are  always  represented  in  full. 

6  Micali  (Mon.  Ined.  tav.  XXV.  1.) 
pronounces  this  to  be  in  the  best  archaic 
style.  In  the  same  plate  Micali  gives 
an  illustration  of  another  of  these 
monuments,  with  warriors  on  foot  and 


chap,  l.]  INTERESTING  SARCOPHAGUS.  341 

bury  their  dead.  The  cinerary  urns  are  most  numerous, 
piled  up  from  floor  to  ceiling,  but  of  sarcophagi  there 
are  but  two  or  three  examples.  The  most  remarkable  of 
these  bears  on  its  lid  the  headless  figure  of  a  female,  richly 
draped  and  ornamented,  and  in  too  good  a  style  to  be  of 
early  date.  The  jewellery  carved  about  her  neck  is  very 
curious,  and  its  counterpart  in  gold  has  been  found  in  the 
tombs  of  Chiusi.  The  relief  on  the  body  of  the  monument 
represents  the  farewell  embrace  of  a  married  pair.  He  is 
designated  "  Larth  Aphuna  ;"  in  Etruscan  characters ;  she 
has  the  feminine  inflexion,  "  Aphunei  ;"  and  it  is  probable, 
as  there  is  not  the  usual  inscription  to  set  forth  the  name 
and  family  of  the  deceased,  that  this  figure  represents  the 
lady  who  reclines  in  effigy  above.  She  is  gently  drawn 
from  her  husband's  arms  by  a  female  winged  demon,  the 
messenger  of  Death,  whose  name  is  almost  obliterated.7 
Another  woman,  named  "Thanuh"8 — a  contraction  of 
Thanchvil,  or  Tanaquil — probably  their  daughter,  lays  her 
hand  on  the  old  man's  shoulder,  as  if  to  rouse  him  from 
his  sorrow,  and  remind  him  of  the  ties  which  yet  bind  him 
to  life.  Four  others  of  his  family  stand  by,  three  of  them 
males,  each  with  a  scroll  in  his  hand.  One  of  these,  called 
"  Larce  Aphuna,"  is  evidently  the  son  of  the  severed 
couple.9      Next  to  this  group  stands    a    female   demon, 

horseback,  some  armed  with  swords  prainomcn  of  the  dying  wife, 
and  Argolic  shields,  like  that  in  the  8  Part  of  her  name  is  obliterated,  but 
above  wood-cut,  but  others  with  a  battle-  the  feminine  termination  .  .  ei,  pro- 
axe  in  one  hand  and  a  bow  in  the  other.  bably  of  Aphunei,  is  remaining.  She 
This  monument  was,  and  may  be  still,  has  been  taken  for  the  sister,  and  the 
in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Emil  Braun,  of  men  for  the  brothers  of  the  husbaud. 
Rome,  who  pronounces  it  to  be  of  "  the  Mus.  Chius.  loc.  cit.  "  Aphuna  "  seems 
most  magnificent  style  of  which  the  equivalent  to  the  Latin,  Aponius,  or 
Etruscans  were  ever  capable."  Ann.  Apponius. 
Inst.  1843,  p.  359.  ,J  The  other  males  are  called  «  Vel. 

7  Migliarini    and    Valeriani    (Museo       Arntni,"  and  "  Larsa "      The 

Chiusino,  II.  p.  213)  give  this  name  as  female  is  designated  "  Lartiii  Purnei." 

Fasti    (Fausta),   and  regard  it  as  the  But  if,  as  I  read  it,  it  be  "  Pursnei," 


3-42  CHIUSI.— Thb  Crnr.  [chap.  l. 

looking  on,  with  some  nondescript  instrument  under  her 
arm.1  She  is  named  "  Vaxth."  In  the  corner  of  the  scene 
a  Fury  or  Fate,  called  "  CtTLMU,"  with  naming  torch  on  her 
shoulder,  and  large  shears  in  her  hand,  is  issuing  from  a 
gateway,  the  portal  of  Death.'2 

On  another  sarcophagus  is  a  male  recumbent  figure, 
larger  than  life,  with  remarkably  fine  head  and  features. 
Like  the  former,  it  must  be  of  the  times  of  Roman  domina- 
tion, though  with  an  Etruscan  inscription  attached. 

The  sepulchral  urns  of  Chiusi  are  usually  of  travertine, 
or  sandstone,  rarely  of  alabaster  ;  yet  are  much  like  those 
ofVolterra  in  size  and  character,  and  differ  chiefly  in  being 
generally  of  an  earlier  style  of  art.  They  more  frequently 
retain  traces  of  colour,  both  on  the  recumbent  figures, 
which  were  painted  red,  and  on  the  reliefs  below.  The 
subjects  of  these  reliefs  are  very  similar,  often  identical ; 
and  were  I  to  give  a  detailed  account  of  the  "  ash-chests  " 
of  this  Museum,  it  would  be  little  more  than  a  repetition 
of  what  has  been  said  of  those  of  Volterra.  I  shall  there- 
fore have  some  regard  for  my  reader's  patience,  and  con- 
fine my  descriptions  to  a  few  of  the  most  remarkable 
monuments. 


her  name  will  be  equivalent  to  Lartia  The    shears    seem     also    an    adoption 

Porsena,  the  feminine  of  the  celebrated  from  Greek  fable,  whether   alluding  to 

chieftain  of  Chiusi,  Lars  Porsena.  Atropos,  who    cuts    the    thread    of    life 

1  It  bears  some  resembance  to  the  in-  spun    out    by   her   sister   Clotho,  or  to 

struments  of  torture  used  by  the  demons  Proserpine,  who  severs   the    hair   from 

in   the    Grotta    Tartaglia    of   Tarquinii.  the  head  of  the  doomed.      Virg.    j£n. 

Vol.  I.  p.  348.  IV.  698  ;  Stat.  Sylv.  II.  1,  147.     The 

-  Migliarmi  and  Valeriani  think  the  late    date    of    this    monument    is   also 

name    of    Culmu    belongs   not    to    the  shown  by  the  material — marble,  which 

Fury,  but  to  the  gateway.     Mus.  Chins.  is   found    in    very   few    works    of    the 

II.   p.   213.     For  illustrations  see  that  Etruscan  chisel  ;  never  in  those  of  hi"h 

work,    tav.    XIII.    XIV  ;    and    Micali,  antiquity.       There    are    several    other 

Ant.   Pop.  ItaL  tav.  LX.     This  monu-  urns   in    this    collection    of    the    same 

ment  is  evidently  of  a  late  period  in  stone,  which,  however,  does  not  appear 

Etruscan  art,  as  is  proved  by  the  atti-  to  be  from  the  quarries  of  Luna. 
tudes,  full  faces,  and  flow   of  drapery. 


<  hap.  l.]  SEPULCHRAL   URNS.  343 

It  has  been  often  asserted,  that  the  recumbent  figures 
on  Etruscan  urns  and  sarcophagi  are  portraits  of  the 
deceased.  The  correspondence  of  sex  and  age  with  the 
inscriptions,  and  the  individual  peculiarities  of  physiog- 
nomy, attest  this  beyond  a  doubt.  Here  is  a  singular  in- 
stance of  portraiture.  An  elderly  gentleman  is  represented 
blind.3  Yet  he  was  no  (Edipus  or  Belisarius  ;  he  was  not 
dependent  on  others  for  support  as  well  as  guidance.  He 
seems  to  have  been  a  noble,  for  he  wears  a  large  signet- 
ring  ;  and  as  a  Lucumo,  he  was  probably  skilled  in  augury 
— perhaps  a  Tiresias,  a  blind  seer  of  the  will  of  heaven, 
who  knew  alike  the  past,  the  present,  and  the  future — 

Os  f]8q  rd  t  eoj>ra,  rd  t   tacrofxeva,  irpo  t  iovra. 

One  of  these  urns  bears  the  effigies  of  a  wedded  pair 
reclining  on  it,  as  on  the  banqueting  couch.  Both  are 
half  draped  and  decorated  with  ornaments.  She  lies 
on  his  bosom,  while  he  has  one  hand  on  hers,  the 
other  holding  a  patera, — a  specimen  of  Etruscan  con- 
nubials  highly  edifying.  The  relief  below  displays  a 
furious  combat,  a  contrast,  perhaps,  intentionally  in- 
troduced to  show  the  turmoil  and  struggle  of  this  life,  as 
opposed  to  the  blissful  repose  of  a  future  existence,  which 
the  Etruscans  could  only  express  by  scenes  of  sensual 
pleasure.4 

These  urns  of  Chiusi  have  not  so  frequently  subjects 
from  the  Greek  mythical  cycle,  as  those  of  Volterra.  Yet 
there  are  a  few  of  the  favourite  subjects — Pyrrhus  slaying 
Polites5 — Paris  kneeling  on  an  altar  defending  himself 
against  his  brothers6 — combats  of  Greeks  with  Amazons, 


3Mus.  Chius.  tav.  XXIX.     He  is  not,  severed    head    of    Menalippus    in    his 

however,  represented  blind  in  this  plate.  hand. 

4  Mus.    Chius.     tav.    XXV.    XXVI.  5  Mus.    Chius.    tav.   XV.     Inghirami 

Inghirami    interprets    this    combat    as  calls  it  the  death  of  Astyanax. 

Amphiaraus   before    Thebes,   with    the  G  Mus.  Chius.  tav.  LXXXI. 


844  CHIUSI.— Thk  City.  [chap.  l. 

now  one,  now  the  other  victorious7 — Centaurs  carrying  off 
women8 — and  sundry  illustrations 

"  Of  the  dark  sorrows  of  the  Theban  line."9 

An  unusual  subject  is  Hercules  slaying  Laomedon,  who 
has  fled  for  refuge  to  an  altar,  hard  by  the  ashes  of  his 
forefathers  ;  and  a  female  demon  is  standing,  with  torch 
inverted,  at  each  end  of  the  scene.1 

In  one  relief  reclines  a  man  with  a  patera  in  one  hand, 
and  a  pen  or  feather  in  the  other.2 

Many  of  these  urns  have  combats,  sometimes,  it  may  be, 
representing  a  well-known  event  in  classic  mythology;3 
sometimes,  an  ordinary  contest  between  warriors,  without 
any  individual  reference,  or  illustrative  of  some  unknowrn 
native  tradition — 

"  The  reflex  of  a  legend  past 

And  loosely  settled  into  form." 

Of  such  a  character  appears  the  scene,  wrhere  two  men 
kneeling  on  an  altar,  one  holding  a  severed  head  in  his 
hand,  are  defending  themselves  against  their  foes.4 


7  Mus.  Chius.  tav.  XLIII.  CXCII.  so  to  distinguish  it.  Micali,  who  also 
There  is  a  sarcophagus  with  this  subject.  illustrates    this    monument    (Ant.  Pop. 

8  Mus.  Chius.  tav.  XCIII.  CLIX.  Ital.  tav.  LIX.  5,  6,  7),  does  not  attach 

9  Museo     Chiusino,   tav.     LXXVII.  any  particular  signification. 
CLXXXIX.  4  There  are  some  urns  with  this  sub- 

1  So  this  urn  is  explained  by  Inghi-  ject  in  the  Museum  of  Volterra,  ut 
rami  (Mus.  Chius.  tav.  LXIII)-  Were  supra,  p.  180,  n.  2.  Inghirami  puts  a 
it  not  for  the  lion's  skin,  it  might  be  strange  interpretation  on  it — Perseus 
interpreted  as  the  common  subject  of  contending  with  the  followers  of 
Pyrrhus  and  Polites.  Bacchus,  or  the  opposition  the  Bacchic 

2  Micali  (Mon.  Ined.  tav.  XLVIII.  rites  encountered  in  Greece,  from  the 
4,  p.  307)  calls  this  not  a  pen,  but  a  adherents  to  the  old  Pelasgic  religion  ! 
"sacred  bough,"  and  thinks  the  figure  Mon.  Etrus.  I.  tav.  LVIII.  LIX.  ;  VI. 
represents  the  deceased  who  had  entered  tav.  A  5.  It  seems  akin  to  another 
into  a  purified  state.  scene  in  this  Museum,  which  lie  inter- 

3  One  of  these  combats  is  interpreted  prets  as  Amphiaraus  before  Thebes, 
as   Achilles  overcoming  Mne&s    (Mus.  Mus.  Chius.   I.  tav.  XXV. 

Chius.  tav.  XXVII.), but  there  is  nothing 


chap,  l.]  SEPULCHRAL    URNS.  345 

The  ministers  of  death  are  generally  represented  at 
such  scenes,  ready  to  carry  off  their  victims,  or  rushing  in 
between  the  combatants.5  Sometimes  demons  of  opposite 
characters  are  present,  both  waiting,  it  would  seem,  to 
claim  the  soul.  Charun,  with  his  hammer,  plays  a  con- 
spicuous part,  and  is  often  attended  by  a  female  demon 
with  a  torch  ;  as  in  a  farewell-scene,  where  the  departing 
soul  stands  in  the  very  gate  of  Death,  guarded  on  either 
hand  by  one  of  these  fearful  spirits.6 

In  truth  there  is  no  lack  of  such  monsters  in  this 
Museum,  which  is  an  excellent  school  for  the  study  of 
Etruscan  demonology.  What  with  urns,  sarcophagi,  and 
pottery,  we  seem  to  have  here  specimens 

"  Of  all  the  demons  that  are  found 
In  fire,  air,  flood,  or  underground." 

A  favourite  subject  is  Scylla,  here  wielding  an  anchor 
in  each  hand,  as  if  combating  an  invisible  foe  ;  there, 
armed  with  an  oar,  contending  with  two  warriors.  She  is 
sometimes  winged,  sometimes  not ;  always  with  a  double 
fishes  tail.7 

Other  marine  emblems  are  abundant — winged  sea- 
horses— dolphins — hippocampi ;  and  on  one  urn  is  a  horse 
galloping,  with  a  dolphin  above  it — a  double  emblem  of 
Neptune.8 

Nor  is  there  any  lack  of  terrestrial  monsters — Gorgon's 
heads,  winged  and  snaked,  sometimes  set  in  acanthus- 
leaves — centaurs — griffons  devouring  stags  or  women,  or 

5  As  on  an  urn  where  a  winged  Fury  '  See  Mus.  Chius.  tav.  CXVII.,  and 

with   a   torch   rushes   in    between   the  Micali,   Ant.  Pdj).  Ital.   tav.    CXI.  for 

Theban  Brothers,  flying  by  each  other's  an  illustration  of  one  of  these  urns,  in 

hands.    Mus.  Chius.  tav.  LXXVII.  CXC.  which  the  monster,  being  apparently  a 

G  These    demons    have    occasionally  male,  represents   rather    Glaucus   than 

neither   wings,   buskins,    nor    anything  Scylla.     lit  supra,  p.  182. 

but  the  attributes  in  their  hands  to  dis-  8  Mus.  Chius.  tav.  CLXXXVIII. 
tinguish  them  from  ordinary  mortals 


34G  CHIUSL— The  City.  [chap.  l. 

overcoming  warriors — and  a  chimsera  with  human  head, 
lion's  body,  and  the  hind  parts  of  a  dragon. 

A  patera  is  a  very  common  device  on  these  urns,  and 
it  is  generally  set  between  a  pair  of  peltcB,  or  half-moon 
shields.9  The  favourite  sport  of  hunting  the  wild-boar  is 
not  omitted  in  these  sepulchral  reliefs.1 

The  urns  of  terra  cotta  are  very  numerous.  They  are 
miniatures  of  those  in  stone,  being  rarely  more  than 
twelve  or  fifteen  inches  long,  but  the  figures  on  the  lids 
are  not  generally  reclining  as  at  a  banquet,  but  are 
stretched  in  slumber,  muffled  in  togas.2  A  few  of  un- 
usually large  size  are  even  in  a  sitting  posture,  decorated 
with  very  long  and  highly- wrought  torques,  and  with 
rino-s,  which  for  size  might  be  coveted  by  Pope  or  Sultan.3 
There  is  never  much  variety  of  subject  on  these  urns. 
They  were  multiplied  abundantly  from  the  same  moulds. 
The  mutual  slaughter  of  Polynices  and  Eteocles,  and 
Jason  or  Cadmus  vanquishing  with  the  plough  the  teeth- 
sprung  warriors,  are  the  most  frequent  devices.4  These 
little  urns  were  all  painted — both  the  figure  on  the  lid, 
and  the  relief  below  ;  and  many  retain  vivid  traces  of 
colouring — red,  blue,  purple,  and  yellow. 

Some  of  the  inferior  sort  of  cinerary  urns  of  terra  cotta 
are  bell-shaped,  with  inscriptions  in  red  paint. 

9  The  patera  in  these  scenes,  has  been  Its    reference    to    the    sepulchre    may 

taken  by  a  fanciful  writer,  whose  theories  perhaps  be  shown  by  these  recumbent 

distort  his  vision,  to  represent  a  nautical  figures, 

compass  !     Etruria  Celtica,  II.  p.  270.  3  The  art   displayed   in   these   large 

1  Mus.  Chius.  tav.  CCIV.  figures  is  superior  to  that  usually  seen 

2  The  toga,  which  was  originally  an  in  the  urns  of  stone.  Indeed  these  terra- 
Etruscan  article  of  dress,  borrowed  by  cotta  monuments  seem  in  general  of 
the    Romans,    was    used,   in   Juvenal's  ^ater  date. 

time,  as  a  shroud  alone  in  great  part  of  4  Here,   however,    there    is   a  little 

Italy  (Sat.  III.  171)—  variety— parting-scenes    at   gateways- 

marine  monsters — griffons — gorgonia — 
Pars    magna    Italise    est,  si  verum       a  lion's  head  between  two pellce — agate, 
admittimus,  in  qua  without  any  figure,  but  a  simple  fillet 

Nemo  togam  sumit,  nisi  mortuus.  hung  on  each  side. 


chap,  l.]  ANCIENT  BLACK  WARE  OF  CLUSIUM.  347 

There  are  some  curious  sphinxes  in  stone,  with  wings 
curled  up  like  elephants'  trunks  ;  they  were  found  in  the 
tombs  of  the  Poggio  Gajella.5 

There  are  also  numerous  sepulchral  tiles,  two  or  three 
feet  long,  bearing  Etruscan  inscriptions — one  in  the  ancient 
style  called  boustrophedon,6  rarely  found  on  the  monuments 
of  this  people. 

The  pottery  in  this  Museum  is  deserving  of  particular 
attention.  It  is  not  of  the  beautiful,  painted  description 
so  abundantly  found  at  Vulci,  though  such  vases  are  by  no 
means  rare  at  Chiusi.  It  is  chiefly  of  coarse,  black,  un- 
baked ware,  of  uncouth  forms,  grotesque  decorations,  rude 
workmanship,  and  no  artistic  beauty,  yet  of  extraordinary 
interest  as  illustrative  of  Etruscan  art  in  its  earliest  and 
purest  stages,  ere  it  had  been  subjected  to  Hellenic  in- 
fluence.7 Such  ware  is  peculiar  to  Chiusi,  Sarteano,  Cas- 
tiglioncel  del  Trinoro,  and  the  neighbouring  Etruscan  sites. 
It  consists  of  tall,  slender-necked  amphora,  with  cock- 
crowned  lids,  or  of  quaint,  knobbed  jars — as  unlike  the 
Greek  in  form  as  in  decoration  ;  with  strange  figures  in 
relief — grinning  masks,  scowling,  tusk-gnashing  gorgons, 
divinities  of  most  ungodlike  aspect,  sphinxes,  pegasi, 
chimseras  of  many  a  wild  conception,  travesties  of  the 
human  form  and  face  divine,  and  many  an  uncouth  speci- 
men of  beast,  fowl,  fish,  and  flower — symbols,  it  may  be, 
of  the  earliest  creed  and  rites  of  the  Etruscans,  or  dim 
allusions  to  their  long  forgotten  myths.1     All  this  is  novel 


*  See  the  wood-cut  at  p.  395.  "'  If  the  early  ware  of  Care  and  the 

6  Bull.   Inst.    1829,   p.    180.      These  coast  should  be  referred  to  the  Pelasgic 

tiles  are  discovered  either  in  tombs  as  inhabitants  of  the  land,  rather  than  to 

covers  to  urns,  or  in  niches  in  the  rock  the  Etruscans,  as  Professor  Lepsius  is 

— two  or  three  being  arranged  so  as  to  of    opinion     (Tyrrhen.  Pelas.    p.  44), 

form  a  little  penthouse  over  a  cinerary  this  of  Clusium   cannot  be  of  inferior 

urn  ;  and  the  epitaph,  instead  of  being  on  antiquity, 

the  urn,  is  sometimes  inscribed  on  a  tile.  1  Illustrations  of  this  ware  are  given 


348 


CHIUSL— Thk  City. 


[chap. 


to  the  stranger  —  he  finds  himself  in  a  new  world  of 
Etruscan  art ;  for  this  ware  is  not  to  be  seen  in  the  Museo 
Gregoriano  at  Rome,  in  the  Louvre,  in  the  British  Museum, 
nor  in  any  other  of  Italy,  with  the  exception  of  Florence, 
where,  however,  it  is  seen  but  imperfectly.  The  smaller 
ware — the  jugs,  pots,  and  goblets,  with  handles  moulded 
into  every  form  of  life,  real  or  unreal,  and  bands  of 
minute  figures  of  mysterious  import  and  more  than 
Egyptian  rigidity  and  shapelessness — is  not  less  archaic 
and  curious,  though  not  confined  to  this  district  of  Etruria. 
Perhaps  the  most  curious  articles  in  this  ware  are  the 
focolari  or  recipient i ;  of  which,  however,  there  are  no 
superior  specimens  in  this  collection.  And  how,  oh  reader! 
shall  I  make  thee  understand  what  afocolare  is  1  It  is  a 
square,  paw-footed,  wall-sided  tray,  half  open  in  front,  set 


at  pages  92,  101,  352.  See  also  Mieali, 
Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  XXII  — XXVI  ; 
Mon.  Ined.  tav.  XXVIII— XXXI.  ; 
Mus.  Chius.  tav.  XII.  XIX  — XXI. 
XLV.  LXXXII.  This  ware  is  not 
baked,  but  merely  sun-dried,  and  un- 
glazed,  though  slightly  varnished.  It 
is  generally  designated  "  creta  nera." 
Mieali  thinks  it  was  not  of  ordinary  use, 
but  merely  for  sepulchral  rites.  It  is 
certain  that  it  is  more  illustrative  of  the 
religious  creed  of  the  Etruscans  than 
any  other  pottery  found  in  the  land. 
Inghirami  took  the  chimseras  on  this 
ware  for  "  the  chaotic  monsters  which 
preceded  the  order  of  nature  "  (Mus. 
Chius.  I.  p.  11).  The  cock,  which  crests 
so  many  of  these  jars,  is  thought  by  the 
same  writer  to  have  been  an  augury  of 
prosperity  to  the  dead.  It  had  certainly 
a  sepulchral  reference,  but  in  what  way 
it  is  symbolical  is  not  very  evident  ; 
perhaps  of  the  funeral  games,  as  Gerhard 
remarks  (Bull.  Inst.  1831,  p.  58)  that 
the  cock  in  Greek  and  Etruscan  art  was 


the   symbol  of  athletic  and   gymnastic 
exercises. 

It  is  said  that  this  black  ware  is 
formed  of  no  peculiar  earth,  aud  that 
when  broken  it  sometimes  shows  a 
gradation  of  colour  from  the  surface  to 
the  centre,  where  it  is  of  the  natural 
yellow  of  the  clay.  Depoletti  and  Ruspi, 
who  differ  from  the  ordinary  opinion  in 
considering  it  to  be  baked,  think  the 
black  hue  was  thus  obtained.  When 
moulded,  the  vase  was  put  into  a  recep- 
tacle of  larger  size  ;  the  intervening 
space,  as  well  as  the  vase  itself,  was 
filled  with  shavings,  or  sawdust,  and 
the  whole  plastered  over  with  mud,  so 
as  to  prevent  the  escape  of  the  smoke. 
Being  then  placed  in  the  furnace,  the 
woody  matter  carbonising  by  slew  and 
equal  heat,  coloured  the  vase  with  its 
smoke.  They  ascertained  by  experi- 
ment that  by  this  process  the  desired 
effect  might  be  obtained.  Bull.  Inst. 
1837,  pp.  28—30. 


chap,  l.]  CURIOUS   TRAYS,   CALLED   FOCOLARI.  349 

about  with  prominent  figures  of  veiled  women,  supposed 
to  represent  Larva,  the  spirits  of  the  dead,2  or  of  winged 
demons,  masks,  or  chimseras ;  and  it  contains,  that  is,  when 
found  in  the  tomb,  the  strangest  set  of  little  odds  and 
ends  of  crockery,  which  Mrs.  Hamilton  Gray  naturally 
enough  mistook  for  a  tea-service.3  Indeed  the  resem- 
blance to  that  useful  piece  of  furniture  is  striking,  though 
the  sugar-basins  inconveniently  outnumber  the  cups  and 
saucers  ;  but  there  are  these,  as  well  as  milk-jugs,  and 
spoons  and  ladles,  of  the  same  black  ware.  It  is  just  such 
a  quaint,  clumsy,  primitive  thing  as  you  could  imagine — 
peculiarities  of  art  apart — might  have  served  as  a  tea-tray 
in  the  time  of  Alfred,  if  our  sturdy  Saxon  ancestors  could 
have  condescended  to  such  effeminate  potations.  Certain 
strange  articles,  however,  quite  upset  the  tea-tray — un- 
auentaria,  or  perfume-bottles — vases  in  the  forms  of  cocks,4 
ducks,  and  other  animals — and  flat  strips  or  tablets  of 
black  pottery,  sometimes  scratched  with  Etruscan  inscrip- 
tions, which  have  been  jocularly  styled — in  ignorance  of 
their  purpose — "  visiting-cards." 

The  purpose  of  these  focolari  is  matter  of  dispute. 
Some  think  them  intended  for  the  toilet,  and  the  pots  and 
pans  for  perfumes;  others  take  them  for  culinary  appa- 
ratus, or  braziers  ;  while  a  third  consider  them  as  purely 
sepulchral  in  application  and  meaning.  If  the  latter  view 
be  correct,  I  should  still  regard  them  as  imitations  of 
domestic  furniture  once  actually  in  use,  and  rather  per- 
taining to  the  triclinium  than  to  the  toilet.     Being  raised 


2  Mus.   Chius.  I.    p.   17.      Here    re-  3  Sepulchres  of  Etruria,  p.  444. 

presented,  thinks  Inghirami,  to  remind  4  The  middle  pot  in  the  woodcut  at 

survivors  of  their  duties  in  performing  page  325,    is    in    the    foi*m    of   a   cock, 

the    sepulchral   rites.     Gerhard    thinks  though,  being  fore-shortened,  it  is  not 

they  may  have  reference   to  the  sacer-  very  clearly  shown,  but  the  beak,  crest, 

dotal  costume.     Bull.  Inst.  1831,  p.  .58.  and  wings  are  visible. 


350  CHIUSI.— The  City.  [chap.  l. 

from  the  ground  by  their  claw-feet,  they  seem  intended  to 
stand  over  a  fire.  In  domestic  life  they  were  probably  used 
to  keep  meats  or  liquids  hot,  like  some  of  the  braziers  in 
the  Museo  Borbonico.  At  the  sepulchre,  they  may  have 
served  the  same  purpose  for  the  funeral  feast,  or  they 
may  have  been  for  fumigation,  equivalent  to  the  censers, 
or  wheeled  cars  of  bronze,  sometimes  found  in  early 
Etruscan  tombs.5 

Not  all  the  pottery  in  this  Museum  is  of  this  archaic, 
un-Hellenic  character.  There  are  specimens  of  figured 
vases  and  tazze  in  the  various  styles  of  Etrusco-Greek 
art.  For  while  Chiusi  has  a  pottery  peculiar  to  itself,  it 
produces  almost  every  description  that  is  found  in  other 
Etruscan  cemeteries,  from  the  plain  black  or  yellow  ware 
of  Volterra,  to  the  purest  Greek  vases  of  Tarquinii  and 
Yulci ;  and  it  is  a  singular  fact  that  the  largest  vase,  the 
most  rich  in  figures  and  inscriptions  ever  discovered  in 
Etruria,  "  the  king  of  Etruscan  vases,"  was  from  the  soil 
of  Chiusi.6  It  must  be  admitted,  however,  that  the  painted 
ware  of  this  district  is  by  no  means  so  abundant,  or  in 
general  so  excellent,  either  for  clay,  varnish,  or  design,  as 
that  of  some  other  Etruscan  sites,7  though  occasionally 
articles  of  extreme  beauty  are  brought  to  light 

5  Inghirami    thinks    the}-   were    not  are  to  be  seen  in  almost  every  Museum 

actually  used  as  braziers,  but  were  left  of    such    antiquities.      Illustrations    of 

in  the  tomb  at  the  close  of  the  funeral  focoktri  are  given  by  Micali,  Ant.  Pop. 

ceremonies,  as  substitutes  for  those  of  ItaL   tav.    XXVI.   XXVII.      See  also 

bronze   which   had   been    used.      Mas.  Mus.  Cbius.  tav.  XXXI.  XXXII.  XL. 
Chius.  I.  p.  29.     These  wheeled  cars  or  6   Ut  supra,  pp.  99, 115,  ft  seq.     It  was 

censers — Ov/xiar-lipia — have   been    found  found  at   a   spot  called  Fonte  Rotella, 

in    the   most   ancient    tombs,   viz. — the  about  a  mile  west  of  Chiusi. 
Grotta  dTside  at  Vulci  (Vol.  I.  p.  423),  7  Micali,  Mon.  Ined.  p.  212.     It  has 

and  the  Grotta  Regulini-Galassi  at  Cer-  been  remarked  that  on  the  painted  I 

vetri  (ut  supra,  p.  48  ;  cf.  Mus.  Chius.  and  patera  of  Chiusi,  it  is  common  to 

tav.  XXXIX.  ;  Micali,  Mon.  Ined.  tav.  find  just  twelve  figures  on  the  outside. 

VIII.  p.  66)  ;  and  specimens  of  the  ordi-  Bull.  Inst.  1840,  p.  149. 
nary  braziers  of    Etruscan    sepulchres 


chap,  i..]  POTTERY    AND   BRONZES.  351 

Among  the  curiosities  of  pottery  here  is  a  rhyton,  or 
drinking-cup,  in  the  shape  of  a  man's  leg,  kneeling,  with  a 
human  face  at  the  upper  part  of  the  thigh.8  Rhyta,  ter- 
minating in  animals'  heads  are  common  enough,  but  of  this 
form,  they  are  very  rare. 

In  the  middle  room  are  copies  of  paintings  found  in  the 
Etruscan  tombs  of  Chiusi. 

This  Museum  is  rich  in  bronzes; — tripods — jugs — 
strainers — strigils — a  large  round  shield,  embossed — wea- 
pons— idols,  though  these  are  not  numerous — and  specula, 
or  mirrors,  some  figured,  and  some  gilt.  Neither  the  gold 
ornaments,  nor  the  scarabcsi,  are  numerous. 

As  in  every  other  collection  of  Etruscan  antiquities  in 
Italy,  public  or  private,  there  is  here  no  catalogue,  and 
unless  the  traveller  have  the  guidance  of  some  learned 
friend,  he  is  left  to  put  his  own  knowledge  to  the  test  ;  for 
the  guardians  of  these  treasures  are  mere  doorkeepers  ; 
and  in  the  Museo  Casuccini  the  visitor  will  look  in  vain  for 
a  ray  of  antiquarian  light  from  the  flashing  eyes  of  the  fair 
custode. 

The  choicest  vases  in  the  possession  of  the  Casuccini 
are  not  in  this  Museum,  but  in  his  Palazzo.  The  most 
beautiful  is  one  in  the  best  Greek  style,  representing  the 
Judgment  of  Paris  ;  indeed  this  is  one  of  the  finest  works 
of  art  ever  rescued  from  the  tombs  of  Clusium.  The 
happy  shepherd  is  not  alone  with  "the  three  Idaean 
ladies,"  as  Spenser  calls  them,  for  Mercury,  Cupid,  a 
warrior,  a  female  thought  to  be  (Enone,  and  a  Victory, 
are  also  present  to  inspect  their  charms.  This  vase  was 
found  in  the  singular  labyrinthine  tumulus,  called  Poggio 


8  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  CI.  12  ;  thinks  its  position  is  manifestly  syni- 
Mus.  Onus.  tav.  LXXVI.  Micali  takes  bolical  of  the  mysterious  birth  of  that 
the   face   to  be  that  of  Bacchus,  and       deity. 


352 


CUIUS!.— The  City. 


[chap.  I.. 


Gajella.9     Another  beautiful  vase  represents  the  birth  of 
Ericthonius.1 

But  the  most  remarkable  monument  here  is  a  large  jug- 
in  the  peculiar  black  ware  of  Chiusi,  studded  with  grinning 


THE    ANUBIS-VASE— BLACK     WARE    OF    CHIUSI. 


masks,  and  banded  with  figures,  in  a  group  of  six,  repeated 
three  times  round  the  body  of  the  vase.  The  first  of  these 
figures,  shown  in  the  above  wood-cut,    is    a   inonsrer   in 


9  An  illustration  and  description   of       1840.     See  also  Bull.  Inst.  1840,  p.  148. 
this  vase  are  given  by  Dr.  Braun  in  his  '     Ann.    Inst.     1841,      pp.    91 — 98. 

work   on   the   Poggio    Gajella,    Rome,       Braun.    Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  III.  tav.  XXX. 


chap.  l.  I  THE  ANUBIS-VASE.  353 

human  shape  with  the  head  of  a  beast,  supposed  to  be  a 
dog,  which,  from  its  resemblance  to  the  Egyptian  god,  is 
generally  called  Anubis.2  Next  to  him  is  a  winged  deity, 
probably  Mercury  the  conductor  of  souls  ;  then  a  Fury 
with  Gorgon's  head,  and  wings  springing  from  her  breast, 
is  gnashing  her  teeth  for  her  prey,  and  with  hands  up- 
raised seems  about  to  spring  upon  it.  The  rest  of  the 
group  represents  a  veiled  female  between  two  warriors, 
who  though  in  the  semblance  of  this  world  are  supposed 
to  have  reference  to  the  next.  Various  are  the  interpre- 
tations put  upon  this  singular  scene  ;  but  from  the  mani- 
festly remote  antiquity  of  the  monument,  it  is  probable 
that  it  bears  no  reference  to  any  subject  in  the  Greek 
mythical  cycle,  but  illustrates  some  doctrine  or  fable  in 
the  long  perished  creed  of  the  mysterious  Etruscans.3 

Museo  Paolozzi. 

The  collection  next  in  interest  at  Chiusi  is  that  of 
Signer  Flavio  Paolozzi,  once  much  more  extensive  than  at 
present.  It  still  contains,  however,  some  excellent  speci- 
mens of  early  Etruscan  art. 

Among  the  most  remarkable  is  one  of  the  square  cippi 

2  There  is  no  necessary  relation,  XXXIV.;  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  III. 
however,  to  Anubis  ;  for  there  was  a  p.  20,  tav.  XXII.  ;  Bull.  Inst.  1830,  p. 
tradition  among  the  ancients  that  mon-  63.  Levezow  interpreted  it  as  Perseus, 
sters  of  this  description  were  common  attended  by  Minerva,  about  to  cut  off  the 
in  mountainous  regions.  Ctesias,  the  Gorgon's  head ;  Mercury  and  a  genius 
Greek  writer  on  India,  declared  there  or  Gorgon  in  front  ;  the  swans  indicat- 
were  more  than  a  hundred  thousand  of  ing  the  neighbourhood  of  the  Tritonian 
them.  Plin.  VII.  2.  The  head  of  this  lake.  The  Due  tie  Luynes  saw  in  it 
figure,  however,  being  as  much  like  a  Ulysses  conducted  by  Circe  or  a  Sibyl 
bull's  as  a  dog's,  may  mark  it  as  the  to  the  infernal  regions,  indicated  by  the 
Minotaur,  which  is  usually  so  repre-  Gorgon,  Fear,  the  Minotaur,  and  the 
sented  on  painted  vases.  Stymphalian  birds.      Ann.  Inst.    1834, 

3  Illustrations,  descriptions,  and  opi-  pp.  320 — 3.  Cavedoni  also  regards  it 
nions  of  this  vase  are  given  by  Tnghi-  as  the  descent  of  some  hero  to  the  lower 
rami,  Mus.  Chius.  p.  29,  tav.  XXXIII.  world.     Ann.  Inst.  1841,  p.  59. 

VOL.  II.  A  A 


354  CHIUSL—  The  City.  [chap.  l. 

of  fetid  limestone,  with  archaic  reliefs,  representing  the 
death  of  an  Etruscan  lady.  She  is  stretched  on  a  couch — 
her  spirit  has  just  fled — several  women,  perhaps  hired 
mourners,  are  wailing  around  her,  tearing  their  cheeks 
and  hair — a  subulo  at  the  foot  of  the  couch  is  endeavouring 
to  drown  their  cries  in  the  shriller  notes  of  his  double- 
pipes — while  in  contrast  with  all  this  extravagance  of 
sound  and  gesture,  a  little  boy  leans  on  his  mother's  couch, 
with  one  hand  to  his  head ;  and  his  subdued  attitude  pro- 
claims as  strongly  as  stone  can  speak,  the  intensity  of  his 
grief.  His  feelings,  as  Inghirami  remarks,  could  not  have 
been  better  expressed  by  the  most  skilful  artist  of  our 
days.  On  another  face  of  the  monument  are  prceficce, 
with  dishevelled  hair,  beating  their  breasts,  wringing  their 
hands,  and  tearing  their  cheeks  and  garments.  A  third 
side  shows  some  togaed  figures  with  wands,  and  an  augur 
with  his  lituus — taking  part  in  the  funeral  rites.  What 
the  females  on  the  fourth  side  are  about  is  hard  to  deter- 
mine. They  appear  to  be  parting  the  raiment  of  the 
deceased  among  them.4 

On  this  cippus  stands  another,  of  round  form,  and  of  a 
much  later  style,  representing  women  dancing  to  the 
sound  of  the  syrinx.  On  this  is  a  slab  with  a  bilingual 
sepulchral    inscription,   Etruscan    and    Latin.5      Another 

4  This  cippus  has  been  illustrated  by  tore  their  flesh  to  make  the  blood  flow, 

Inghirami,  Mus.  Chius.  I.  tav.  53 — 56,  because   the    souls   of    the    dead    were 

and  by  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  56.  supposed  to  be  pleased  with  milk  and 

It  is  very  similar  to  a  relief  at  Perugia.  blood.      Serv.   ad   Virg.    Mxx.    V.    78  ; 

Mon.  Etrus.  VI.  tav.  Z  2.     But  it  still  Varro,  ap.  eund.  III.  67.     By  the  laws 

more  resembles,  as  regards  two  of  its  of  Solon   and    by   the   Twelve   Tables 

sides,  another  cippus  from  Chiusi,  once  women   were   forbidden   thus    to    tear 

in    the    Mazzetti    collection,   and    now  their   cheeks,   and    to    wail    the    dead, 

in    the    Museum    of   Berlin.     Abeken,  Cic.  de  Leg.  II.  23. 
Mittelitalien,  taf.  VIII.  ;  Micali,  Mon.  5  The  Etruscan  would  run  thus — 

Ined.   tav.    XXII.      Bull.   Inst.    1840,  vl  .  alphni  .  nuvi  . 

p.  150.     The  prafcce  beat  their  breasts,  cainal  . 

it  is  said,  to  squeeze  out  the  milk,  and  if  rendered    into    Latin   letters.     The 


chap,  l.]  MUSEO  PAOLOZZI— CIPPI  AND  URNS.  355 

fragment  of  a  relief  represents  a  faun  dancing  behind  a 
Menad,  on  one  side  ;  and  a  magnate  on  a  curule  chair, 
with  attendants  around  him,  on  the  other.6 

One  urn  displays  the  attack  on  a  city,  which  is  defended 
by  a  figure  hurling  stones  on  the  assailants.  A  Fury  is 
present  to  mark  the  slaughter. 

Another  monument  bears  a  subject  not  very  common. 
A  bull  is  represented  overturning  a  chariot.  The  driver 
is  thrown  to  the  earth,  and  a  genius  with  a  torch  bestrides 
his  body.  It  is  the  death  of  Hippolytus,  whose  horses 
took  fright  at  the  bull  of  Neptune.  His  history  is  thus 
quaintly  told  by  Spenser : — 

"  Hippolytus  a  jolly  huntsman  was, 
That  wont  in  charett  chace  the  foming  bore ; 
He  all  his  peeres  in  beauty  did  surpas  : 
But  ladies  love,  as  losse  of  time,  forbore. 
His  wanton  stepdame  loved  him  the  more ; 
But  when  she  saw  her  offred  sweets  refusd, 
Her  love  she  turnd  to  hate,  and  him  before 
His  father  fierce  of  treason  false  accusd, 
And  with  her  gealous  termes  his  open  eares  abusd  ; 

Who,  all  in  rage,  his  sea-god  syre  besought 

Some  cursed  vengeaunce  on  his  sonne  to  cast  ; 

From  surging  gulf  two  monsters  streight  were  brought 

With  dread  whereof  his  chasing  steedes  aghast 

Both  charett  swifte  and  huntsman  overcast. 

His  goodly  corps,  on  ragged  cliffs  yrent, 

Was  quite  dismembred,  and  his  members  chast 

Scattered  on  every  mountaine  as  he  went, 

That  of  Hippolytus  was  lefte  no  moniment." 

One  urn  bears  none  of  the  usual  reliefs,  but  is  carved 
into  the  form  of  a  banqueting-couch,  with  elegant  legs, 
cushions,  and  the  scamnum,  or  small  low  stool  beneath  it, 

Latin  inscription  is  other  ;  though  Kellermann  thinks  other- 

c  .  alfivs  .  a  .  f  .  wise.     Bull.  Inst.  1833,  p.  51. 

cainnia  .  natvs  .  6  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  53,  1. 

One   may  not  be  a  translation  of  the 

A  A  2 


:',:,ii 


CHIUSI.— The  City. 


[chap.  I.. 


for  the  Ganymede  or  Hebe  to  stand  on  while  replenishing 
the  goblets  of  the  revellers.7 

In  this  collection  are  some  curious  specimens  of  Canopi, 
or  head-lidded  jars.  They  are  of  the  same  frill-bellied 
form  as  those  of  Egypt,  but  always  of  pottery,  instead  of 
stone  or  alabaster  ;  and  they  are  surmounted,  not  by  the 

heads  of  dogs  or  other  animals, 
but  always  by  those  of  men, 
or  what  are  intended  for  such. 
The  jar  itself  represents  the 
bust,  which  is  sometimes  fur- 
ther marked  by  nipples,  and 
by  the  arms  either  moulded 
on  the  jar,  as  in  the  annexed 
wood-cut,  or  attached  to  the 
shoulders  by  metal  pins.  These 
are  all  cinerary  urns,  and  there 
is  a  hole  either  in  the  crown,  or 
at  each  shoulder,  to  let  off  the 
effluvium  of  the  ashes.  The 
heads  are  portraits  of  the  deceased,  though  some  imagine 
them  to  represent  Pluto  or  Proserpine,  according  to  the 
sex,  seeing  that  the  soul  of  the  deceased  had  passed  into 
the  charge  of  those  deities.8 


FTRUSCAN    CANOPUS,    MUSEO    PAOLOZZ1  . 


~>  Mus.  Chius.  tav.  CXXXIX. 

8  Inghirami  thought  the  jar  symbol- 
ised the  world,  and  the  head  the  pre- 
siding deity.  It  is  true  that  in  the 
Egyptian  canopi,  the  lids  are  generally 
the  heads  of  known  divinities,  hut  from 
the  analogy  of  the  Etruscan  sarcophagi 
and  urns,  and  of  the  heads  in  terra-cotta, 
it  is  much  more  reasonable  to  suppose 
them  here  to  be  portraits.  "  The  great 
variety  of  the  countenances,"  says 
Micali,  "the  different  ages,  the  various 
modes  of  wearing  the  hair,  the  purely 


national  character  of  the  physiognomy, 
the  agreement  of  the  facial  angle,  leave 
no  doubt  that  these  are  veritable  por- 
traits—so much  the  more  important,  as 
they  faithfully  and  without  any  embel- 
lishment, show  us  the  physical  type  of 
our  forefathers."  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  III. 
p.  11.  Illustrations  of  canopi  are  given 
by  Inghirami,  Mus.  Chius.  tav.  49,  67  ; 
Mon.  Etrus.  VI.  tav.  G  .5  ;  Micali, 
Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  14,  15;  Mon.  Ined. 
tav.  33.  They  are  generally  in  the 
black   ware   of  this  district,  but  a  few 


chap,  l.]  MUSEO  PAOLOZZI.— CANOPI.  357 

There  are  numerous  small  urns  of  terra-cotta,  with  the 
subjects  usual  on  such  monuments.9 

The  pottery  here  is  chiefly  of  the  black  ware  of  this 
district,  with  or  without  reliefs  ;  some  with  a  metallic 
varnish,  bright  as  if  fresh  from  the  maker's  hands. 

The  Paolozzi  collection  was  once  renowned  for  its 
bronzes  ;  and  there  are  still  many  remaining — mirrors — 
paterce  —  candelabra  —  cauldrons,  and  other  articles  of 
culinary  or  sacrificial  use  —  figures  purely  Egyptian, 
domestic  animals,  and  other  votive  offerings — and  many 
small  figures  of  gods  or  Lares,  of  marine  monsters,  and 
other  chimaeras,  which  the  Etruscans  delighted  to  honour, 
or  which  were  symbols  of  their  creed.  There  is  also  a 
cabinet  of  medals,  coins,  and  scarabcei,  which  can  be  in- 
spected only  with  the  proprietor's  special  permission. 

In  the  high  street  has  recently  been  opened  a  "  Gabi- 
netto,"  or  shop  for  the  sale  of  Etruscan  relics  ;  chiefly 
from  the  collections  of  Captain  Sozzi  and  Signor  Galanti.10 

are  of  yellow  clay.     The  eyes  are  some-  of  the   earliest  days  of  Etruscan  art. 

times  represented  by  coloured   stones.  All   analogy,    however,   is   opposed   to 

Some  have  been  found  resting  on  stools  his  opinion. 

of  earthenware  ;  others  placed  on  small  9  There  was  formerly  a  remarkable 

chairs,  in  form  very  like  those  of  rock  monument  of  this  material  in  the  Pao- 

in  the  tombs  of  Cervetri  (ut  supra,  pp.  lozzi  collection.     In  the   centre  of  the 

34, 35,  59),  either  of  oak,  preserved  by  a  scene  sat  a  woman  with  a  babe  at  her 

coating  of  calcareous  matter,  or  of  terra-  breast,  taking  farewell  of  her  husband 

cotta.  Bull.    Inst.    1843,    p.   68.     They  who  stood  by  her  side.     Hard  by  sat 

must  be  curulc    chairs,   and   indicative  Cliarun,  with  his  wonted  hammer  in  one 

of  the  dignity  of  the  defunct.     Such  jars  hand,  and  an  oar  in  the  other — a  fact 

evidently  bear  a  close  analogy  to  the  which   removes    all    doubt  as   to   the 

sitting  statues,  like  that  in  the  Museo  Etruscan    Charon    being    akin   to   the 

Casuccini,    which     are     also    cinerary  Greek — and  he  was  waiting  to  conduct 

urns.     The  style  of  art  likewise  shows  his  victim  to  the  Gate  of  Hell,  which 

a   similar   epoch.      Yet   Micali    (Mou.  yawned     close    at    hand,     surrounded 

Ined.    p.    151),   while     admitting    the  with   the  heads    of    wild    beasts,   and 

caiiopi  to  be  of  very  early  date,   pro-  surmounted    by     Furies,     brandishing 

noimces  the  statues  to  be   as  late  as  their    torches    and    threatening    their 

the  seventh  or  eighth  century  of  Rome.  expected  victim.     Bull.   Inst.   1840,  p. 

Abcken  (Mittelitalicn,  p.  275),  on  the  153.— Braun. 
other  hand,  thinks  the  canopi  not  to  be  10  I  looked  in  vain  in  the  Gabinetto 


35S  CHIUSI.— The  City.  [chap.  l. 

The  articles  are  principally  of  pottery  and  bronze,  and  the 
prices  are  attached  ;  and  very  moderate.  It  would  be 
well  for  the  visitor  who  intends  carrying  away  with  him 
reminiscences  of  the  city  of  Porsena,  to  cast  an  eye  round 
this  chamber  before  making  purchases  elsewhere  ;  as  he 
may  thus  learn  somewhat  of  the  market-prices  of  such 
anticaglia.  Here  is  a  singular  canopus  with  a  pendant  of 
bronze  in  one  ear,  and  bracelets  of  the  same  metal.  But 
the  strangest  monument  is  a  pot  of  uncoloured  clay,  with 
a  large  female  figure  standing  on  the  lid,  of  most  archaic 
character,  with  arms  attached  by  metal  pins  ;  holding  in 
one  hand  an  apple  or  other  fruit.  Her  body  is  hollow,  and 
the  effluvium  of  the  ashes  in  the  urn  passed  off  through  a 
hole  in  her  crown.  She  rises  like  a  giantess  from  a  circle 
of  eleven  Lilliputian  females  with  hands  on  their  breasts  ; 
and  round  the  outer  edge  of  the  urn  stand  seven  other 
similar  figures,  alternating  with  large  heads  of  snakes  or 
dragons,  with  open  jaws.  All  these  figures  are  remov- 
able at  pleasure,  being  merely  attached  to  the  urn  by 
pegs.  This  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  articles  to  be 
seen  at  Chiusi  ;  in  truth,  though  its  details  find  analogies 
elsewhere  in  Etruria,  as  a  whole  it  is  unlike  every  other 
monument  of  this  antiquity  }ret  discovered,  and  in  the  un- 
couth rudeness  of  its  figures  and  their  fantastic  arrange- 
ment, you  seem  to  recognise  rather  the  work  of  New  Zea- 
land or  Hawaii,  than  a  production  of  classical  antiquity.1 
Count   Ottieri's    collection    is    very  interesting   for    its 

for   some    monuments    I    had    seen   in  the  origin  of  the    Roman   Catholic   sa- 

Signor  Sozzi's  possession,  on  a  former  crament  of  extreme  miction — while   a 

visit  to  Chiusi.     On  one  urn,  the  soul  third  stood   at    the  foot  of  the  couch, 

of  a  female  was  represented  being  led  waving  a  fan  to  cool   the    dying  one. 

by  the  minister  of  death  through   the  Micali  (Mon.    Ined.  tav.    XLVIII.    3) 

portal    of  the   lower   world.      Another  gives  an  illustration  of  this  monument, 
relief  showed  a  female  on  her  death-  '  This   urn   stands   about  three  feet 

bed,  and  two  others  pouring  ointments  in  height.     It  is  illustrated  by  Micali, 

upon  her  head — which  recalls  to  mind  Mon.    Ined.  p.  1 88,  et  seq.  tav.  33  ;  cf. 


chap,  l.]      THE  GABINETTO  AND  PRIVATE  MUSEUMS.  359 

archaic  articles.  Here  are  three  Egyptian-like  figures  of 
fetid  limestone,  four  feet  and  a  half  high,  extremely  like 
that  from  the  Grotta  d'Iside,  at  Vulci,  and  if  not  by  the 
same  hand,  evidently  of  the  same  period.2  Here  are  also 
some  bas-reliefs, — the  chief  of  them  having  a  banqueting- 
scene  of  very  rigid  style,  the  figures  in  which  have  red 
borders  to  their  robes — one  of  many  illustrations  of  the 
toga  preetexta,  which  the  Romans  received  from  the  Etrus- 
cans.3 And  here,  moreover,  besides  the  usual  black  ware 
of  Chiusi,  are  some  painted  vases  —  a  beautiful  patera, 
with  banqueting-scenes — a  pelike,  representing  Gairymede 
holding  his  hoop,  seized  by  Jupiter — and  a  large  skyphos 
with  athletcB ;  all  in  the  Perfect  style. 

The  visitor  should  not  omit  to  see  the  painted  vases  in 
the  possession  of  the  Bishop,  taken  from  his  excavations 
in  the  Poggio  Paccianesi  ;  nor  the  pottery  and  bronzes  in 
the  houses  of  Signor  Luccioli  and  Don  Luigi  Dei.  Signor 
Ciofi  has  also  some  bronzes  ;  and  he  who  studies  beetles 
will  find  no  lack  of  matter  in  the  cabinets  of  the  reverend 
canons  Carducci,  Mazzetti,  and  Pasquini.  As  all,  or  most,  of 
these  gentlemen  are  willing  to  part  with  their  treasures,  no 
offence  will  be  given  by  inquiring  the  prices  of  the  articles.4 

Bull.  Inst.  1843.  p.  3  ;  Ann.  Inst.  1843.  ■  See  Vol.  I.  p.  422. 

p.  361.     Micali  takes  the  small  female  3  Liv.  I.  8  ;  Flor.  I.  5  ;  Plin.  VIII. 

figures  for  Junones ;    and   reminds  us  74  ;  IX.  63. 

that  the  number  seven  was  a  sacred  or  4  There  was   a   marble  cube  in  the 

mystic  number  among  the  Etruscans  as  Canonico   Carducci's   garden,  which   is 

well    as    among   the    Jews   and    other  said  to  be  quite  sublime  for  the  magni- 

people    of    antiquity,    being    supposed  ficent  style  of  its  reliefs.     Bull.   Inst, 

to  have  relation  to  the  term  of  human  1840,  p.  151.     Notices  of  the   articles 

life.      Censorin.  de  Die  Nat.  cap.  XI  ;  discovered  during  the  last  twenty  years 

Varro.  ap.  eund.  cap.  XIV.    Cicero  calls  at  Chiusi  and  its  neighbourhood  will  be 

seven  —  numerus  rerum   omnium   fere  found  in   the  publications  of   the   Ar- 

nodus.     Repub.  VI.   18;   ap.  Macrob.  clucological  Institute  at  Rome. 
Somn.  Scip.  I.  6  ;  II.  4. 


DOOR    OF    AN     ETRUSCAN     TOMB     AT    CHIUSI. 


CHAPTER  LI. 


CHUJSl—CLUSIUM. 


The  Cemetery. 


Have  they  not  sword-players,  and  every  sort 
Of  gymnie  artists,  wrestlers,  riders,  runners, 
Jugglers,  and  dancers,  antics,  mummers,  mimics  { 


Milton. 


No  Etruscan  site  has  more  general  interest  than  Chiusi. 
On  some  this  centres  in  walls  ;  on  others,  in  tombs  ;  on 
these,  in  museums ;  on  those,  in  historical  associations. 
Chiusi  combines  all,  though  not  to  an  equal  extent.     Her 


ohap.  li.]  TOMBA  DEL  COLLE  CASUCCINI.  361 

weak  point  is  her  fortifications  ;  but  for  this  she  makes 
amends  by  her  mysterious  underground  passages.  Her 
excavations  yield  as  abundantly  as  those  of  Vulci,  though 
a  different  roba ;  her  museums  together  may  rival  that  of 
Volterra  ;  and  in  the  extent  of  her  necropolis,  and  the 
variety,  singularity,  and  rich  decorations  of  her  sepulchres, 
she  is  second  only  to  Tarquinii.  As  regards  her  painted 
tombs,  it  must  be  confessed  that  she  is  inferior  to  the  city 
of  Tarchon  and  Tages,  and  not  in  number  merely  ;  there 
is  here  less  variety  of  style  and  subject.  Nevertheless, 
the  sepulchral  paintings  of  Chiusi  display  scenes  of  great 
spirit  and  interest,  differing  in  many  points  from  those  of 
Corneto. 

The  tombs  of  Chiusi  which  are  kept  open  for  the 
visitor's  inspection  are  not,  as  at  Tarquinii,  on  one  side  of 
the  city,  but  lie  all  around  it,  sometimes  several  miles 
apart ;  and  as  the  country  tracks  are  not  easily  travelled 
on  foot  after  wet  weather,  it  would  be  well,  especially  for 
ladies,  to  procure  beasts  in  the  town.  Another  incon- 
venience is  that  each  tomb  has  its  own  custode,  who  must 
be  dispatched  expressly  from  Chiusi  with  the  keys,  and 
the  visitor  in  his  rounds  runs  the  risk  of  not  finding;  this 
keeper  at  his  post  at  the  appointed  hour,  and  of  being 
obliged  to  pass  by  some  of  the  lions,  or  to  return  expressly 
for  their  inspection. 

The  most  accessible  of  these  painted  tombs  is  the 

TOMBA    DEL    COLLE    CASUCCINI. 

It  lies  "  a  short  mile  "  to  the  east  of  Chiusi.  It  is  hollowed 
in  the  side  of  a  hill,  and  is  entered  by  a  level  passage  cut 
in  the  slope.  At  Chiusi,  indeed,  almost  all  the  tombs  now 
open  are  entered  in  this  manner,  instead  of  by  a  descend- 
ing flight  of  steps,  as  at  Corneto,  Vulci,  and  Cervetri. 
The  marvels  of  this  tomb  meet  you  on  its  threshold. 


362  CHIUSI. — The  Cemeteky.  [chap.  li. 

The  entrance  is  closed  with  folding-doors,  each  flap  being 
a  single  slab  of  travertine.  You  are  startled  at  this  un- 
usual  sort  of  door — still  more,  when  you  hear,  what  your 
eyes  confirm,  that  these  ponderous  slabs  are  the  original 
doors  of  the  tomb,  still  working  on  their  hinges  as  when 
they  were  first  raised,  some  twenty  and  odd  centuries  since. 
Hinges,  strictly  speaking,  there  are  none  ;  for  the  doors 
have  one  side  lengthened  into  a  pivot  above  and  below, 
which  pivots  work  in  sockets  made  in  the  stone  lintel  and 
threshold ;  just  as  in  the  early  gateways  of  Etruscan 
cities,1  and  as  doors  were  himg  in  the  middle  ages — those 
of  the  Alhambra  for  instance.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
of  the  antiquity  of  these  doors  ;  it  is  manifest  in  their 
very  arrangement  ;  for  the  lintel  is  a  huge  mass  of  rock 
buried  beneath  a  weight  of  superincumbent  earth  ;  and 
must  have  been  laid  after  the  slabs  were  in  their  places  ; 
and  it  is  obvious  that  none  but  those  who  committed  their 
treasures  to  this  sepulchre,  would  have  taken  so  much 
labour  to  preserve  them.2  This  was  not  a  common  mode 
of  closing  the  tomb,  which  was  generally  done  with  one  or 
more  slabs  of  rock,  often  fitted  to  the  doorway,  and  some- 
times highly  adorned  with  reliefs,  as  in  the  Grotta  delle 
Inscrizioni  at  Tarquinii.3 

Just  outside  the  door  a  small  chamber  opens  on  either 
hand,  probably  for  the  freeclmen  or  slaves  of  the  family. 
The  tomb  itself  has  three  chambers,  two  only  decorated 
with  paintings,  the  third  unfinished.  The  first  is  the 
largest,4  and  has  a  doorway  in  the  centre  of  two  of  its 

1  Ut  supra,  pp.  150,  153.  '  With  the  exception  of  one  tomb  in 

2  This  ancient  doorway  is  shown  in  this  necropolis,  no  longer  to  be  seen 
the  woodcut  at  the  head  of  this  Chapter.  (Bull.  Inst.  1840,  p.  3),  this  is  the  only 
The  door  is  4  ft.  4  in.  high,  and  each  instance  known  of  an  Etruscan  tomb 
leaf  or  flap  is  about  18  inches  wide,  preserving  its  door,  still  working  as  it 
and  more  than  4   thick.     The  depth  of  was  raised. 

the  architrave  is   16  inches.     The  iron  *  The  dimensions  of  this  chamber  are 

handles  are  a  modern  addition.  14  ft.  2  inches  by    10  ft.  2  indies  ;  the 


chap,  li.]  ANCIENT  DOOR.— CHARIOT-RACES.  363 

walls,  opening  into  the  other  chambers  ;  but  on  the  third 
wall  is  a  false  door  painted  to  correspond,  as  in  the  tomb 
of  Tarquinii  just  mentioned.  All  the  doors,  true  or  false, 
narrow  upwards,  and  have  the  usual  Etruscan  mouldings. 
The  ceilings  are  not  carved,  as  usual  on  other  sites,  into 
rafters,  but  coffered,  as  in  the  Grotta  Cardinale  at  Tar- 
quinii, in  concentric  squares  and  oblongs  recessed,  and 
painted  black  and  red. 

The  paintings  do  not  stand  out  forcibly,  though  on  a 
white  ground.5  Beyond  this,  the  walls  have  undergone  no 
other  preparation  than  smoothing.  The  rock  is  a  sort  of 
sandstone,  which  will  not  take  a  very  fine  surface,  and 
therefore  hardly  allows  of  a  high  finish  or  of  much  force 
of  colour. 

The  figures  are  in  a  band  about  twenty-two  or  three 
inches  deep,  which  surrounds  the  chamber  as  a  frieze. 
They  are  twenty-six  in  number,  and  are  divided  into  two 
subjects,  banquets  and  games,  both  having  a  funereal  re- 
ference. On  the  portion  of  the  frieze  facing  you  as  you 
enter,  are  the  pal?estric  games.  To  the  right  of  the  central 
door  is  a  race  of  three  bigce.  The  charioteers  are  dressed 
in  white  scull -caps  and  tunics,  and  the  reins  are  as  usual 
passed  round  their  bodies.  Each  pair  of  horses  is  black 
and  red,  and  red  and  black,  alternately.6  By  the  side  of 
each  chariot  is  a  tree,  or  what  in  the  conventional  system 
of  the  Etruscans  was  intended  to  represent  such,  though 
to  our  eyes  it  is  more  like  a  tall  bullrush,  or  a  paddle 
stuck  into  the  ground,  the  stick  being  painted  red,  and  the 
blade    bright   blue.      Such    trees   may   be    intended   for 

height  to  the  cornice  is  6  ft.  8  in.,  and  Chiusi,  the  colours  are  laid  on  no  other 

about  7  ft.  5  in.  to  the  central  beam  ;  ground  than  the  natural  rock,  which  is 

which  runs  transversely  and  is  2i  ft.  of  a  yellowish  grey  hue. 

broad.  6  The   red   horses   have  black  hoofs 

6  This  chamber  is  peculiar  in  being  and   blue    tails  ;    the    black    have    blue 

whitened.      In   most   of  the   tombs   of  hoofs. 


•  Ill  I  CHIUSI.— The  Cemetery.  [chap,  li 

cypresses — cupressus  fwiebres.  The  action  of  both  men 
and  horses  is  natural  and  easy  ;  the  latter  especially, 
though  with  native  peculiarities,  have  more  spirit  and  free- 
dom than  any  of  those  in  the  painted  tombs  of  Tarquinii.7 
To  the  left  of  the  central  door,  are  represented  the 
games  on  foot.  First  is  a  pair  of  wrestlers,  or  it  may  be 
tumblers,  for  one  is  inverted  with  his  heels  in  the  air  and 
his  body  resting  on  the  shoulders  of  the  other,  who  is 
kneeling.8  They  strongly  resemble  certain  figures  in  the 
painted  tombs  of  Egypt.  An  agonothete  in  blue  pallium, 
and  holding  a  wand,  stands  by  to  direct  the  sport.  Next, 
a  naked  man,  whose  attitude  may  remind  you  of  the  cele- 
brated dancing  faun  at  Naples,  is  boxing  with  an  imagi- 
nary opponent,  to  the  sound  of  the  double-pipes.9  A  female 
follows,  dancing  to  the  same  music,  and  to  the  castanets 
which  she  rattles  herself.  She  is  draped  with  boddice  and 
light  transparent  gown,  and  a  cJdamys  or  scarf  on  her 
shoulders  ;  and  in  attitude  as  well  as  costume  she  is  very 
like  the  dancing-girls  in  the  tombs  of  Tarquinii.1  Next  to 
this  group  is  a  naked  man,  with  crested  helmet,  round 
shield,  and  long  wavy  spear,  running  as  if  to  charge  the 
foe  ;  or  he  may  be  practising  an  armed  dance,  such  as  the 
ancients  were  wont  to  perform.2   The  last  figure  is  a  naked 


'  The  whole  race-scene  is  very  like  de'   Dei,  who   has   an   opponent.      He 

one  on  a  relief  in  the  Museo  Casuccini ;  has  no  cestus,  though  one  fist  is  closed, 

but  the  latter  is  more  stiff  and  archaic,  Mus.  Chius.  tav.  CLXXXII. 

and   the  chariots   are  trigcs  instead  of  1  See  Vol.  I.  pp.  275,  289. 

bigce.     Ut  supra,  p.  339.     Micali,  Mon.  "  That   the     Etruscans    had   armed 

lned.  tav.  XXIV.  2.  dances  is  proved  by  other  monuments, 

s  For  illustrations  of  Etruscan  turn-  especially  by  a  silver  gilt  vessel  in  very 

biers  see   Micali,    Ital.   av.    Rom.  tav.  archaic  style  found  at  Chiusi.     Demp- 

LVI.  ster,   I.  tab.  78  ;  Inghir.  Mon.    Etrus. 

9  This  figure   seems  at    first  to  be  III.  tav.  XIX.  Miiller  (Etrusk.  IV.  1,  7) 

beating  nothing  but  the  air  with  his  is  of  opinion  that  the  Etruscan  hietriones, 

hands,  and  time  with  his  feet  ;  but  that  who   formed   an    essential    part   of   the 

he  is  a  pugilist  is  rendered  evident  by  a  pageantry  of  the  circus,  danced  armed, 

precisely  similar  figure  in  the  Deposito  because  they  are  compared  by  Valerius 


chap.lt.]  FEASTING  AND  GAMES.  365 

man,  exercising  himself  with  halteres,  or,  in  plain  English, 
using  the  dumb-bells,  which,  with  the  ancients,  served  the 
same  purpose  as  with  us.3 

Half  of  the  frieze  in  this  chamber  being  devoted  to 
games,  the  other  half  is  pictured  with  the  banquet.  Here 
are  five  couches,  each  bearing  a  pair  of  figures,  all  males, 
young  and  beardless,  half-draped,  and  crowned  with  blue 
chaplets.  The  absence  of  the  fair  sex  shows  this  to  be  a 
symposium.  Their  gestures,  animated  and  varied,  betray 
the  exhilarating  influence  of  the  rosy  god.  One  holds  a 
chaplet,  another  a  flower,  a  third  a  branch,  apparently  of 
myrtle,  and  several  have  patera,  which  the  slaves  are 
hastening  to  replenish.  The  whole  goes  forward  to  the 
music  of  the  double-pipes.  At  one  end  of  the  scene  stands 
a  tripod  with  a  large  triple  basin,  either  a  wine-cooler,  or 
containing  the  beverage,  mixed  to  the  palates  of  the 
revellers  ;4  and  a  slave  is  busied  at  it,  replenishing  wine- 
jugs.     A  second  figure,  who,  with  arm  uplifted,  is  giving 


Maximus  (I[.  4,  3)  to  the  Curetes.  lead.  Those  represented  in  this  tomb 
And  the  armed  dances  of  the  Salii  in  are  nearly  of  the  form  now  in  use,  but 
honour  of  Mars,  which  according  to  one  on  the  painted  vases,  as  on  some  in  the 
tradition  (Serv.  ad  Ma.  VIII.  285)  British  Museum,  they  are  represented 
were  of  Veientine  institution,  Midler  flat,  of  an  oval  form,  with  a  hole  for 
would  refer  to  an  Etruscan  origin.  the  insertion  of  the  hand  (Bull.  Inst. 
The  figure,  however,  in  this  painted  183G,  p.  29),  as  they  are  described  by 
tomb  of  Chiusi,  can  have  no  relation  to  Pausanias  (V.  2G)  who,  however,  speaks 
the  Salii,  who  danced  in  purple  robes,  of  their  handles  as  attached,  like  those 
with  brass  belts,  helmets,  swords,  and  by  which  shields  were  grasped, 
bucklers  of  a  peculiar  form,  described  4  This  basin  seems  to  answer  the 
by  Plutarch  (Nunia),  and  represented  purpose  of  the  crater,  or  ordinary 
on  a  singular  Etruscan  gem  in  the  mixing-bowl.  A  similar  basin  and 
Uffizj  Gallery  at  Florence.  Ut  supra,  tripod  is  shown  on  a  bas-relief  from 
p.  106.  Chiusi,  representing  the  funeral  feast 
3  Mart.  VII.  67,  5 —  and  dances,  in  very  archaic  style,  now 
gravesque  draucis  in  the  possession  of  Thomas  Blayds, 
Halteras  facili  rotat  lacerto —  Esq.,  of  Englefield  Green  (Micali,  Mon. 
cf.  XIV.  49;  Juv.  Sat.  VI.  421;  Incd.  p.  140,  tav.  23) ;  and  also  on  a  sin- 
Seneca,  Epist.  XV.  4  ;  LVI  ;  Pollux,  gular  sarcophagus  recently  discovered 
X.    c.    17.     Seneca  says   they  were  of  at  Perugia.  Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  IV.  tav.  32. 


366  CHIUSI.— The  Cemetery.  [chap.  m. 

the  slave  directions  — "  Deprome,  o  Thaliarche,  merum 
diotd !" — is  evidently  the  butler;  and  the  patera  sus- 
pended on  the  wall  marks  this  corner  as  his  pantry. 
Should  curiosity  be  excited  as  to  the  costume  of  butlers  in 
Italy  some  two  or  three-and-twenty  centuries  since,  I 
must  reply  that  this  Etruscan  worthy  is  "  in  leathers,"  as 
the  Spaniards  say,  though  not  in  buff,  chamois,  or  cordovan. 

One  of  the  slaves  in  this  scene  holds  a  long  ladle — 
simpidum,  or  capidula — with  a  handle  bent  into 
a  hook,  for  the  purpose  of  suspension  on  the  rim 
of  the  wine-vessel.  Such  simpida,  in  bronze, 
shown  in  the  annexed  woodcut,  are  occasionally 
found  in  Etruscan  tombs. 

The  inner  chamber  is  of  smaller  dimensions,5 
surrounded  by  a  bench  of  rock.  It  has  also  a 
frieze  of  figures,  here  only  fourteen  inches  high 
— a  chorus  of  youths;  one  with  &  patera,  another 
with  a  chaplet,  a  third  has  the  double-pipes,  and 
a  fourth  a  lyre,  by  which  they  regulate  the  dance.  All 
are  naked,  with  the  exception  of  a  light  chlamys  on  their 
shoulders.6 

The  natural  interpretation  of  these  scenes  is  that  they 
represent  the  funeral  rites  of  the  Etruscans.  Though 
antiquaries  of  great  renown  have  attached  a  symbolical 
meaning  to  them,  I  see  no  reason  why  they  should  not 


5  About  9  ft.  10  in.,  by  7  ft.  9  in.  ;  than  usual  in  Etruscan  tombs.  One  of 
and  it  is  7  ft.  8  in.  high.  these   figures,   not   being    painted    red 

6  This  chlamys  may  be  introduced  like  the  rest,  must  be  intended  for  a 
merely  for  the  sake  of  the  colour  ;  as  it  woman.  They  have  all  been  carelessly 
varies— red,  black,  blue,  and  white,  in  scratched  in  before  being  coloured  ; 
succession.  For  variety's  sake  also,  and  the  artist  has  not  always  adhered 
these  figures  are  made  to  alternate  with  to  his  outline,  which  in  some  cases  lias 
trees,  all  painted  black,  both  stems  and  evidently  been  retouched.  This  chorus 
foliage,  and  not  paddle-shaped,  like  is  very  like  one  once  existing  in  the 
those  in  the  outer  chamber,  but  branch-  inner  chamber  of  the  Mercareccia  tomb 
ing  out  with  more  nature  and  freedom  at  Corneto.     Vol.  I.  p.  362,  n.  7. 


S1MPULUM. 


bbap.  w.]         PECULIARITIES  OF  THESE  PAINTINGS.  367 

represent  the  feasting,  music,  dances,  and  palsestric  games, 
actually  held  in  honour  of  the  dead.7  It  is  possible  that 
they  may  be  at  once  descriptive  and  symbolical.  This  is 
a  point  on  which  every  one  is  at  liberty  to  hold  his  own 
opinion. 

The  figures  in  these  paintings  are  generally  outlined 
with  black.  The  colours  are  hardly  so  well  preserved  as 
in  those  of  Tarquinii;  the  blues  and  whites  are  the  most 
vivid.  Yet  all  have  been  seriously  injured.  Let  the 
visitor  have  a  care  as  he  moves  through  these  tombs. 
The  medium,  whatever  it  were,  with  which  the  colours 
were  laid  on,  having  perished  after  so  many  ages,  they 
now  remain  in  mere  powder  on  the  walls,  and  might  be 
effaced  by  a  touch  of  the  finger,  or  by  the  sweeping  of  a 
garment. 

These  paintings  have  no  chiaroscuro,  no  perspective,  no 
foreshortening ;  the  faces  are  always  in  profile  ;  the  figures 
sometimes  unnaturally  elongated;  the  limbs  clumsy;  the 
attitudes  rigid ;  the  drapery  arranged  in  stiff,  regular  folds 
— all  features  of  archaic  character.     Yet  there  are  more 


7  I  may  add  to  what  has  been  stated  to  the  scenes  in  this  tomb,  because  the 

elsewhere  (Vol.  I.  p.  296),  that  Inghi-  usual   tables     for  food   being   wanting, 

rami    regards     such     scenes    as    "  an  the  figm-es  are   drinking,  not   eating ; 

apotheosis    of    virtuous  souls  "  —  i.  e.,  and  souls  in  bliss  would  be  served  with 

that  the  figures  in  these  scenes  do  not  nectar  alone.     Ann.  Inst.   1835,  p.  22. 

represent  the  survivors,  thus  express-  But  this  difference  merely  indicates  a 

ing  tluir  sorrow  for  the  dead,  but  Bym-  drinking-bout  instead  of  a  regular  meal 

bolise  the  souls  of  the  departed,  thus  — a  symposium,   not    a    deipnon.      In 

depicted  in   the  enjoyment    of  sensual  either  case  it  may  be  a  funeral  feast,  in 

pleasures,  because  the  ancients  had  no  its   late,  rather  than  early   stage.     In 

other  way  of  representing  the  delights  the  trees  of  the  dancing-scene  in  the 

of  Elysium.      In  truth,  some  of  thorn  inner  chamber,  he  sees  the  "  fortunata 

considered  that  the   highest  reward  the  nemora,"  and  the  "  luci  opaci  "  of  the 

gods  could  bestow   on  the   virtuous  in  Elysian    regions    (Virg.   JEn.  VI.   639, 

another  life  was  an  eternity  of  intoxica-  673),  and  further   quotes  Virgil  (iEn. 

tion.     Musteus,  ap.  Plat.  Repub.  II.  p.  VI.  647)  to  prove  thp  orthodoxy  of  the 

363,  ed.  Steph.     Inghirami  thinks  such  lyre  in  this  scene, 
an  interpretation  the  more  appropriate 


368  CHIUSL— The  Cemetery.  [chap.  h. 

ease  and  power  than  arc  usually  found  in  connection  with 
such  signs  of  antiquity.  They  seem  the  work  of  a  man 
who  could  do  better  things,  but  who  either  felt  tomb- 
painting  to  be  a  degradation  of  his  talents,  or  was  re- 
strained by  conventionalities  from  the  free  exercise  of 
them.  These  are  of  later  date  than  most  of  the  paintings 
of  Tarquinii,  yet  must  be  of  Etruscan  times;  they  can 
hardly  belong  to  the  period  of  Roman  domination,  still 
less,  as  Inghirami  opines,  to  the  decadence  of  art.s 

This  tomb  was  discovered  in  May  1833,  by  accident, 
while  making  "  bonifications  "  to  the  soil.  It  must  have 
been  rifled  in  past  ages,  for  nothing  but  fragments  of 
pottery  and  urns  was  found  within  it.9 

Deposito  de'  Dei. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  Chiusi,  and  about  three  miles 
from  the  tomb  just  described,  is  another  with  paintings  so 
strikingly  similar,  that  on  entering  you  are  ready  to  abuse 
your  guide  for  leading  you  back  to  what  you  have  already 
seen.  The  resemblance  is  not  only  in  subject,  mode  of 
treatment,  and  style  of  art,  but  individual  figures  are 
almost  identical,  and  afford  convincing  proof  that  this 
tomb  and  the  Tomba  del  Colle  Casuccini  were  decorated 
by  the  same  hand.  Even  in  the  plan,  number,  and  arrange- 
ments of  the  chambers,  these  sepulchres  exactly  correspond. 
But  the  Deposito  de'  Dei  has  suffered  more  from  time;  the 
surface  of  the  wall  has  flaked  off  largely,  and  the  whole 
threatens  a  speedy  decay.1 

s  Ann.  Inst.  1835,  p.  26.  '  This  tomb  receives  its  name  from 

9  Illustrations  of  the   scenes  in    this  the    family    in     whose    ground    it   lay. 

tomb  are  given  in  the  Museo  Chiusino,  Since    its    discovery   in     1826,    it    has 

tav.    181 — 185.      For    further   notices  passed  into  the  hands  of  Signor  Felice 

see    Ann.    Inst.  1835,    p.    1.0,   ct   acq.  Giulietti  of  Chiusi.     It  lies  about  two 

— Inghirami.  miles  from  the  city,  to  the  north-west, 


chap,  li.]  DEPOSITO  DE'  DEI.— FUNERAL  GAMES.  3G9 

The  frieze  round  the  principal  chamber  is  devoted 
entirely  to  games.  Here  is  a  race  of  three  bigce,  as  in  the 
other  tomb,  but  drawn  with  more  variety  and  spirit.  The 
steeds  are  springing  from  the  ground,  as  in  the  gallop,  but 
the  middle  pair  is  refractory,  and  in  their  rearing  and 
plunging  have  broken  the  shaft  and  kicked  the  chariot 
high  into  the  air,  and  the  unlucky  auriga,  still  holding 
reins  and  whip,  is  performing  a  somerset  over  their  heads. 

There  is  a  repetition  of  the  subjects  of  the  Tomba  del 
Colle,  but  with  some  variety.  A  female  is  dancing  with 
crotala  to  the  music  of  a  subulo, — two  pugilists  are  boxing 
with  the  cestus,  one  being  the  exact  counterpart  of  the 
figure  in  the  other  tomb, — a  naked  man  is  performing  an 
armed  dance,2 — another  leaping  with  the  dumb-bells, — a 
pair  of  wrestlers,  or  tumblers,  in  almost  the  same  position, 
with  an  agonothete  leaning  on  his  staff  and  seeing  fair 
play  ;  and  a  pot  of  oil  rests  on  a  slender  pole  hard  by, 
from  which  they  may  anoint  their  limbs. 

In  addition,  there  is  a  discobolus,  about  to  cast  his  quoit, 
— a  man  with  two  long  poles,  which  I  cannot  explain,3— a 
boy  with  two  nondescript  articles  attached  to  a  string4 — 
four  youths  about  to  contend  in  a  foot-race,  under  the 
directions  of  a  pcedotribe,  who  appears  to  be  marking  the 

in  a  hill,  from  which  it  has  received  the  does  not  attempt  to  describe  it  ;  nor 

second  name  of  Tomba  del  Poggio   al  does  Micali  (Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  III.  p.  110), 

Moro.     Chevalier  Kestner  describes  it  though  he  represents  this  man  (tav.  70)  as 

under   the   name  of  Grotta  delle  Mo-  holding  a  long  curved  pole.     Inghirami 

nache      Ann.  Inst.  1829,  p.  116.  (Mus.  Chius.  II.  tav.   125)  more   coi-- 

2  It  is  possible  that  this  figure  is  in-  rectly  divides  this  into  two  sticks,  which 
tended  to  be  hurling  his  lance.      If  so  he  takes  for  darts. 

there  are  depicted  in  this  tomb  all  the  *  Kestner  (loc.  cit.)  takes  these  arti- 

games  of  the  Pentathlon,  or  Quinquer-  cles  for  quoits  ;  but  to  me  they  seemed 

tium,  viz.  leaping  (here  with  dumb-bells)  more   like    unguent-pots,   such    as   are 

—  the  foot-race — casting  the  discus —  sometimes  represented  tied  by  ribbons 

hurling  the  spear — and  wrestling.  to  candelabra   (ut  supra,  p.   37),   and 

3  Chevalier  Kestner  (Ann.  Inst.  1829,  as   have  been    discovered   in  Etruscan 
p.  118)  calls  it  a  damaged  figure,  and  tombs.    Bull.  Inst.  1832.  p.  194. 

VOL.   II.  B   B 


370  CHIUSI.— The  Cemetery.  [chap.  m. 

starting-post,5 — two  men  playing  at  ascolia,  or  trying  to 
leap  on  to  a  greasy  vase,  over  which  one  is  tumbling 
unsuccessfully6 — and  a  pair  of  figures  which  I  can  only 
explain  as  an  athlete,  playing  at  ball  with  a  boy,  i.  e., 
making  the  boy  his  ball,  &  la  Risley,  for  he  has  one  knee 
to  the  ground,  with  his  hand  raised  as  if  to  catch  the  boy, 
whom  he  has  tossed  into  the  air.  Hard  by,  are  a  couple 
of  stout  sticks,  propt  against  each  other,  which  seem  to 
have  something  to  do  with  his  operations.7 

The  banquets  in  this  tomb  are  painted  in  the  pediments 
over  the  side-doors.  In  each  scene  are  three  figures, 
males,  reclining  on  cushions.  One  plays  the  lyre;  another 
holds  a  flower ;  a  third,  a  branch  of  olive ;  a  fourth  offers 
a  goblet  to  his  neighbour.  In  one  corner  a  slave  is  busy 
at  a  mixing-vase,  like  that  in  the  Tomba  del  Colle.  In 
each  pediment  is  something  which  may  be  a  dog,  or  a 
saddle,  or  anything  the  imagination  pleases ;  it  seems 
introduced  merely  to  fill  the  angle.  But  what  is  more 
remarkable — in  each  pediment  one  of  the  figures  has  the 


5  The  meaning  of  these  figures  has  ing  on  it.  Schol.  Aristoph.  Plut.  1129. 
been  doubted  by  Inghirami  (Mus.  Chius.  It  was  an  amusement  much  akin  to  the 
II.  p.  132.  tav.  131),  because  one  of  greasy  pole  and  flitch  of  bacon  of  our 
these  youths  has  a  stick  in  his  hand  ;  own  rustic  fairs  and  merry-makings, 
but  the  subject  is  obvious.  From    the   action   of    hopping  in   this 

6  It    was  not    generally   vases,    but  game,  the  term  came  to  be  applied  to 

leathern  bottles — a<rKo\ — that  were  used  hopping  on  any  occasion.    Aristoph.  loc. 

in  this  sport ;  or  goat-skins  filled  with  cit.   Pollux,  II.  c.  4.  Inghirami    (Mus. 

wind,  and  greased,  as  Virgil  (Georg.  II.  Chius.  tav.  124)  fancied  the  man  stum- 

384)  describes  them —  bling  over  the  vase,  was  gathering  dust ! 

—  more  than  enough,  no  doubt  —  and 

Mollibus  in  pratis  unctos  saluere  per  ^  ^  yage  .^  contained  dust  with 


utres. 


which  to  strew  the  arena. 


See  also  Pollux,  IX.  cap.  7.     This  was  ?  Micali  (Ant.  Pop.  Itai.  III.  p.  110) 

an  amusement  also  of  the  Athenians,  designates  this  game,  "  *7  salto  del  caval- 

and  it  was  of  Bacchic  character,  for  the  Ictto,"  formed  by  two  sticks  balanced, 

goat  whose  skin  furnished  the  sport  had  These  may  represent  the  spring-board, 

previously  been  sacrificed   to  the  jolly  by  which  the  boy  is  thrown   into  the 

god.     The   skin    became   the    prize   of  air. 
him  who  succeeded  in  keeping  his  foot- 


CHAP.  LI.] 


DEPOSITO  DE'  DEI.— BANQUETS. 


371 


face  of  a  dog;  it  is  at  least  so  scratched  on  the  wall, 
though  the  colour  is  almost  effaced.8 

The  only  painting  in  the  inner  chamber  is  a  hideous 
mask,  or  Gorgon's  face,  with  tongue  hanging  out.9  Here, 
as  well  as  in  the  other  two  chambers,  are  a  number  of 
urns  and  other  sepulchral  monuments,  which,  however,  are 
said  not  to  have  been  found  in  the  tomb.  One  of  the 
sarcophagi  has  a  female  figure  reclining  on  the  lid,  and 
holding  a  small  bird  in  her  hand — the  effigy  of  some 
Etruscan  Lesbia  with  her  sparrow,  her  delicics, 

Quera  plus  ilia  oculis  suis  amabat ; 

and  her  mourning  Catullus  chose  thus  to  immortalize  her 
and  her  passion  in  stone.10 

Among  the  sepulchral  inscriptions  there  is  one  of 
bilingual  character.1 


8  A  painted  tomb,  very  like  the  two 
just  described,  was  opened  as  long  since 
as  1734,  in  a  hill  near  Poggio  Montolli, 
about  a  mile  from  Chiusi.  It  has  been 
long  reclosed,  but  a  record  of  it  is  pre- 
served by  Gori  (Mus.  Etrus.  III.  pp. 
84 — 7.  cl.  II.  tav.  6),  who  shows  us  a 
pair  of  wrestlers  in  the  same  singular 
positions — a  pah'  of  pugilists,  with  an 
oil-pot  on  a  column  hard  by — the  ago- 
nothete  with  his  rod,  and  with  a  tutu- 
lus,  or  high-peaked  cap — a  subulo  with 
double-pipes, — a  bearded  dwarf — a  cha- 
rioteer in  his  biga,  followed  by  a  man 
with  a  palm-branch  in  token  of  victory 
— a  recumbent  figure  with  a  patera,  to 
indicate  the  banquet,  though  Gori  takes 
it  for  the  soul  of  the  deceased — and  two 
men,  with  rods  and  something  twisted 
round  them,  which  seems  to  be  a  ser- 
pent, as  in  the  Grotta  delle  Bighe  of 
Corneto  ;  but  Gori  takes  these  figures 
to  be  centurions  with  their  vites.  Other 
figures  of  huntsmen,  dogs,  and  wild 
beasts,  all  prostrate  in  the  midst  of  a 


wood,  together  with  two  other  chariots, 
were  seen  in  this  tomb  when  first 
opened,  but  they  soon  faded  from  its 
walls. 

9  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  CII.  4. 

in  In  a  tomb  near  this,  Signor  Luccioli 
discovered,  in  1839,  about  a  hundred 
vases  of  the  black  relieved  ware,  all  glued 
together  in  a  mass  by  the  sandy  earth, 
and  in  the  centre  was  a  painted  tazza  in 
the  best  style.  Bull.  Inst.  1840,  pp.  5, 
61,  153. 

1  The  Etruscan  inscription  in  Latin 
letters  would  run  thus,  vel.  venzileal. 
phnalisle.     The  Roman  epitaph  is 

c.  vensivs.  c.  F. 

CAESIA  NATVS. 

Here  again  it  will  be  observed  that  the 
names  do  not  seem  to  correspond,  the 
"  Velus "  of  the  Etruscan,  as  in  the 
other  bilingual  inscription,  given  at  page 
354,  being  rendered  by  "Caius"  in  the 
Latin.  Yet  Kellermann  seems  to  regard 
them  as  referring  to  one  and  the  same 
B  B  2 


372  CHIUSI. — The  Cemetery.  [chap.  m. 

Deposito  delle  Monache. 

Not  far  from  the  sepulchre  just  described,  is  the  "  Tomb 
of  the  Nuns,"  so  called,  not  from  containing  the  ashes  of 
ancient  religious  virgins — Etruscan  civilization,  so  far  as 
we  can  learn,  never  having  encouraged  voluntary  celibacy 
in  either  sex — but  from  being  in  the  grounds  of  the 
nunnery  of  Santo  Stefano.  It  lies  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
from  Chiusi,  to  the  north-west,  in  a  hollow,  called  Val 
d'Acqua.  It  is  a  vaulted  chamber  of  small  size,  rudely 
hollowed  in  the  rock,  and  unpainted;  possessing  no  inte- 
rest beyond  the  preservation  of  its  monuments,  just  as 
they  were  discovered,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  which 
have  been  sold.  There  are  still  ten  left — two  sarcophagi, 
for  unburnt  bodies;  the  rest,  cinerary  urns,  of  alabaster  and 
travertine. 

On  one  of  the  sarcophagi  reclines  a  figure,  nearly  seven 
feet  long;  its  eyes  are  painted  black,  and  its  drapery 
retains  traces  of  colour. 

One  of  the  urns  exhibits  the  colour  yet  more  distinctly. 
The  relief  represents  a  bull  goring  a  man  in  a  Phrygian 
cap.  Another  man  runs  to  his  deliverance,  spear  in  hand. 
A  Juno  stands  by,  holding  a  second  bull  by  the  nose;  and 
she  seems  to  be  the  good  genius  who  urged  the  man  to 
the  rescue;  just  as  the  Virgin  is  often  represented  on 
modern  ex  votos,  seizing  a  bull  by  the  horn,  or  a  runaway 
horse  by  the  bridle.  The  robes  of  these  figures,  as  well  as 
the  wings  of  the  Juno,  are  of  a  rich  red,  the  old  Tyrian 
purple ;  and  her  eyes,  eyebrows,  hair,  lips,  are  all  coloured 
naturally.  The  sepulchral  urns  of  this  district  are  more 
generally  painted  than  those  of  Volterra;  but  the  poly- 

individual.     Bull.  Inst.  1833.  pp.  49,  51.       III.   pp.    108—111.      Inghirami,  Mus. 
This  tomb  is  illustrated  and  described       Onus.    tav.    122 — 133.     Kestner,  Ann. 
by  Micali,   Ant.  Pop.  Ital.    tav.  6»,  70.       Inst.  1829.  pp.  116—120. 


chap,  u.]  TOMB  OF  THE  NUNS.  373 

chrome  system  of  the  Etruscans  is  seen  to  most  advantage 
at  Cetona  and  Perugia. 

Of  the  other  urns,  one  has  a  wild  boar  hunt ;  another, 
some  Etruscan  legend,  not  easily  explained;2  a  third,  the 
figure  of  a  panther — an  uncommon  device  on  urns.  On 
the  last  reclines  a  figure,  full  of  expression.  Pass  him  not 
hastily;  for  he  is  called  "  Arnth  Caule  Vipina" — in  which 
you  may  recognise  the  name  of  Ca3les,  or  Cselius,  Vibenna, 
the  Etruscan  chieftain  who  assisted  Romulus  against  the 
Sabines,  and  gave  his  name  to  the  Cselian  hill.3  From 
what  city  that  illustrious  warrior  came  to  Rome,  we  know 
not;4  though  it  seems  probable  he  was  from  this  district  of 
Etruria.  The  individual  whose  ashes  are  inclosed  in  this 
urn  may  be  presumed  to  be  of  the  same  illustrious  race. 

But  this  is  an  interloper — he  is  not  of  the  family  to 
which  the  sepulchre  belonged,  which,  from  the  majority  of 
the  epitaphs,  was  evidently  that  of  "  Umrana."     This  is 


2  It  is  illustrated  in  the  Museo  Chiu-  remaining.  Miiller  (Etrusk.  I.  p.  117) 
sino,  tav.  212.  Inghirami  (op.  cit.  II.  would  read  it  "  Volcientes,"  because  of 
p.  206)  suggests  that  it  may  represent  the  neighbourhood  of  Volsinii,  to  which 
the  Theban  Brothers ;  but  there  is  city  he  would  refer  the  hero.  The 
nothing  in  the  scene  to  favour  this  view.  Lucumo,  whom  Dionysius  (II.  p.  104) 
A  warrior,  fallen  from  his  horse,  is  represents  as  coming  to  the  assistance 
supported  by  a  comrade  ;  a  figure  with  0f  Romulus,  "  from  Solonium,  a  city  of 
Phrygian  cap,  and  a  torch  in  hand,  the  Etruscans,"  both  Miiller  and  Nie- 
probably  a  genius,  seizes  the  bridle.  A  buhr  (I.  p.  297)  identify  with  Cteles 
warrior  stands  opposite.  Chaplets  are  Vibenna ;  but  as  no  such  city  is  men- 
suspended  behind,  and  a  column  sup-  tioned  by  any  other  writer,  it  is  pro- 
porting  a  vase  stands  in  one  corner.  bable  that  the  text  is  corrupt ;  though 

3  The  bronze  tablet  fourid  at  Lyons,  whether  we  should  read  "  Vetulonium," 
containing  a  fragment  of  an  oration  by  as  Cluver  (II.  pp.  454,  473)  imagines, 
the  Emperor  Claudius,  represents  him  or  "  Volsinium,"  as  Miiller  opines,  or 
as  the  chieftain  and  friend  of  Mastarna,  "  Populonium,"  as  Casaubon  and  others 
afterwards  Servius  Tullius.  Gruter,  would  have  it,  it  is  not  easy  to  deter- 
p.  502.  mine.      The   name    of   Vibenna — Vipi, 

4  Festus  (v.  Tuscum  Vicum),  who  Vipina,  Vipinanas — has  been  found  on 
chops  his  name  in  half,  and  makes  two  sepulchral  inscriptions  also  at  Tosca- 
brothers  out  of  it,  seems  to  hint  at  Veii ;  nclla,  Volsinii,  and  Perugia. 

but  the  word  is  imperfect — "  cntcs  "  only 


37  I  CHIUSI.— The  Cemetery.  [chap.  u. 

;in  interesting  fact,  for  in  this  word  we  recognise  the  name 
of  Umbria ;  and  it  is  confirmatory  of  the  historical  record 
of  the  early  relations  between  that  country  and  this  city 
of  Clusium.5 

This  tomb  was  discovered  in  1826,  by  some  clairvoyant 
peasant,  it  is  said,  dreaming  that  he  found  a  sepulchre  on 
this  spot.  But  the  fact  loses  much  of  the  marvellous  when 
it  is  recollected  that  the  discovery  of  tombs  around  Chiusi 
is  of  every-day  occurrence;  the  neighbourhood  being  so 
full  of  them,  that  on  any  spot  a  man  might  select,  he  would 
probably  meet  with  traces  of  ancient  sepulture.  But  such 
is  "the  stuff  that  dreams  are  made  of"  in  Italy,  where  the 
lower  orders  place  implicit  faith  in  them,  and  consult 
soothsayers  and  somnipatent  books  for  the  interpretation 
thereof.  In  lottery  matters,  dreams  are  the  Italian's 
oracles.  Before  purchasing  a  ticket  he  tries  to  dream  of 
"  buoni  numeri ; "  or  if  no  numbers  enter  into  his  visions, 
the  circumstances  of  the  dream  determine  its  character, 
and  the  phantasmagoria  of  his  somnolent  hours  are  trans- 
latable into  numerals. 

Not  far  from  the  Tomba  del  Colle,  and  to  the  east  of 
Chiusi,  is  a  sepulchre  called  Tomba  del  Postino,  from  its 
proprietor,  the  postmaster  of  the  town,  or  sometimes  Tomba 

5  The  last  syllable  of  Umraiia  is  but  often  derived  from  regions,  cities,  rivers, 
the  usual  augmentative,  as  from  Titi  is  &c. ;  and  the  discovery  of  a  family- 
formed  Thine,  from  Pumpu,  Pumpuni,  name  of  this  character  at  Chiusi  is  cor- 
from  Vipi,  Vipina.  On  an  urn  in  the  roborative  of  the  historical  record.  It 
Museo  Casnccini  the  very  word  Umbria,  may  be  further  observed  that  the  ap- 
expressed  as  well  as  it  can  be  in  the  pellation  Livy  (IX.  36)  attaches  to  the 
Etruscan,  which  has  no  B,  occurs  as  a  foreign  kindred  of  the  Clusians, — "Ca- 
family-name  — "Larthia  Umria  Puia."  mertes  Umbri,"  has  its  equivalent  hi 
From  the  known  relation  between  Ca-  this  tomb,  for  in  one  of  the  epitaphs  the 
mars  or  Clusium,  and  the  Camertes  of  names  are  coupled  together — "  Phastia 
Umbria  (ut  supra,  p.  328),  we  might  ex-  Umranei  Cumerunasa  " — which, divested 
pect  to  find  traces  of  that  connection  in  of  the  adventitious  terminations,  would 
the  names  of  families,  which,  among  the  be — Umra  Cumere. 
Etruscans,  as  among  other  nations,  were 


chap,  li.]  THE  JEWELLER'S  FIELD.— SCARABS.  375 

di  Pomponini.  It  contains  seven  chambers,  full  of  urns,  the 
fruit  of  excavations  made  in  the  neighbourhood.  In  the 
cliff  hard  by  have  been  discovered  many  urns  in  niches, 
covered  with  tiles.6 

Beyond  this  on  the  way  to  the  Deposito  del  Sovrano, 
you  pass  a  slope  called  Campo  degli  Orefici,  or  the 
"Jeweller's  Field,"  from  the  number  of  scambcei  there 
brought  to  light.  For  these  valuable  relics  of  ancient  days, 
which  are  found  much  more  abundantly  at  Chiusi  than 
on  any  other  Etruscan  site,  are  very  rarely  the  produce 
of  her  tombs,7  or  the  fruit  of  systematic  research,  but 

"  the  unlettered  ploughboy  wins 
The  casual  treasure  from  the  fun-owed  soil." 

Why  they  should  be  more  abundant  on  this  slope,  than  on 
any  other  around  the  town,  is  matter  for  speculative 
inquiry.  But  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  this  branch  of 
ancient  Etruscan  art  was  carried  on  extensively,  if  not 
even  exclusively,  at  Clusium.* 

Not  far  from  this  are  the  Catacombs  of  the  early  Chris- 
tians ;  which  are  too  like  those  of  Rome  and  its  Campagna, 
Naples,  and  Syracuse,  to  require  particular  notice. 

At  the  foot  of  these  slopes  lies  the  Lake  of  Chiusi,  a 
piece  of  water  about  two  square  miles  in  extent,  and 
of  no  great  beauty,  yet  heightening  the  charms  of  the 
surrounding  scenery.  Though  often  styled  the  "  Chiaro 
di  Chiusi,"  it  is  the  muddiest  lake  I  have  ever  seen;  as 


6  Near  this,  a  tomb  was  discovered  in  7  Bull.  Inst.  1829,  p.  13.     Other  arti- 

1837,  having  two  figures  of  the  Etrus-  cles    of    jewellery,   however,  are    dis- 

can  Charun,  as  large  as  life,  sculptured  covered  in  the  tombs  of  Chiusi,  such  as 

in  high  relief  in  the  doorway,  and  armed  acorns  of  gold,  and  chaplets  of  laurel  or 

with  hammers  as  if  to  guard  the  sepul-  other   leaves   in   the   same   metal,  like 

chre  against  violation.    Ann.  Inst.  1837.  those   of   Vulci.      Bull.  Inst.    1829,   p. 

2,  p.  258.     Unfortunately  this  tomb  has  180  ;  1840,  pp.  2,  61. 
been  rcclosed. 


376  CH1USI.— The  Cjsmktkuy.  [ohap.  l1. 

golden  in  hue  as  the  Tiber,  the  Tagus,  or  the  Guadalquivir. 
Its  eastern  shore  forms  the  frontier,  and  at  its  southern 
extremity  two  towers  frown  defiance  at  each  other,  and 
seem  to  say,  in  words  which  have  been  applied  to  them 
as  names — "Beccati  questo,"  and  "Beccati  quest'altro." 
In  the  olden  time  the  chief  magistrate  of  Chiusi  used 
yearly  to  wed  this  little  lake  with  a  ring,  as  the  Doges  of 
Venice  espoused  the  Adriatic  ;  yet  the  Chiusians  had  no 
great  reason  to  be  fond  of  their  misnamed  Cliiaro,  for  its 
stagnant  waters  render  the  city  unhealthy  in  summer,  in 
spite  of  its  elevation.7  The  atmosphere  at  that  season  is 
more  or  less  impregnated  with  miasma ;  it  is  always 
" grossa"  sometimes  even  " balorda" 

Deposito  del  Gkan  Due  a 

or  "  del  Sovrano/'  is  so  called  from  lying  in  the  property 
of  the  Crown.  It  is  also  known  as  the  "  Camera  della 
Paccianese."  It  lies  nearly  two  miles  to  the  north-east  of 
Chiusi,  in  a  slope  above  the  lake.  I  was  startled  on 
entering ;  so  unexpected  was  the  sight.  Yet  the  walls 
blazed  not  with  gorgeous  colours — no  Bacchanals  danced 
before  me — no  revellers  lay  on  their  couches — no  athletce 
contended  in  the  arena.  All  was  colourless  and  sombre. 
But  the  tomb  was  vaulted  over  in  a  perfect  arch !  with 
neat  masonry  of  travertine  ;8  and  on  the  benches  around 

'   Chiusi  stands  nearly  500  feet  above  It  has  been  asserted  that  the  measure- 

the  lake,  and  about  1300  above  the  level  ments  of  this  tomb  correspond  through- 

of  the  sea.  out  with  the  multiples  and  divisions  of 

8  The    masonry    is  not  massive,   the  the  Tuscan  braccio,  which  is  known  to 

courses    being   from    10    to    18   inches  be  just  double  the  ancient  Roman  foot; 

high,  and  the  blocks  varying  from  2 -J  and  it  is  hence  fairly  inferred  that  the 

to    3£    feet   in    length.      It   is   entirely  Romans   took  that    measure   from    the 

without  cement.     The    tomb    is    12    ft.  Etruscans,   and   that    it  has  descended 

6  in.  long,  by  9  ft.  9  in.  wide,  which  is  unaltered  to  the  modern  inhabitants  of 

consequently    the    span    of    the    vault.  Tuscany.     See  the  observations  of  the 

The  height  is  7  feet  1 1  inches.  architect  Del  Rosso,  appended  to  Ver- 


chap,  li.]    TOMB  OF  THE  GRAND  DUKE.— ARCHED  VAULT.     377 

lay  the  urns  exactly  as  they  were  found,  undisturbed  for 
more  than  two  thousand  years.  If  other  proof  were 
wanting,  this  tomb  would  suffice  to  show  that  the  Etrus- 
cans understood  and  practised  the  arch.9 

There  are  here  eight  urns  of  travertine,  some  without 
recumbent  figures  on  their  lids ;  and  none  with  reliefs 
of  great  interest — Gorgon's  heads,  winged,  and  snaked — 
sea-divinities  and  hippocampi — a  patera  between  two  half- 
moon  shields  ;  the  most  striking  is  a  male  riding  on  a 
panther,  probably  representing  Bacchus.  The  inscriptions, 
which  are  painted  in  red  or  black,  show  this  to  be  the 
tomb  of  the  Peris — one  of  the  noble  families  of  Clusium.10 

The  doorway  of  this  tomb  is  worthy  of  notice.  It  has 
a  lintel  of  a  single  stone,  but  above  that  is  a  low,  camber 
arch,  of  cuneiform  blocks,  springing  from  the  masonry  of 
the  doorposts,  which  seems  introduced  to  lessen  the  pres- 
sure of  the  superincumbent  earth  upon  the  lintel.  The 
door  was  formed  like  that  of  the  Tomba  del  Colle  Casuccini, 
shown  in  the  woodcut  at  the  head  of  this  chapter,  but  one 
flap  is  now  removed,  and  the  other  no  longer  works  on  its 
hinges.1 

This  tomb  was  discovered  in  1818.     From  the  style  of 

miglioli's  description  of  this  tomb,  Pe-  and  friable  to  admit  of  a  tomb  being 

rugia,  1819.     I  have  often  been  struck  excavated. 

with  this  same  accordance,  on  measur-  10  One    of  the    males,   called    "  Au. 

ing  ancient  masonry  and  tombs  in  Etru-  Pursna.  Peris.    Pumpual,"    must  have 

ria  with  the  Tuscan  braccio.     It  may  been  of  the  illustrious  race  of  Porsena 

be  observed  in  several  of  these  sepul-  by   a  mother    of    the  great   Etruscan 

chres  at  Chiusi.     What  other  instance  family  of  Pumpus,  or  Pompeius.     The 

can  be  shown  of  a   standard  measure  other  males  are  called  "  Au.  Pulphna. 

being  handed  down  unchanged  through  Peris.    Au.    Seiantial."  — "  Ltli.    Peris, 

so  many  ages  ?  Matausnal." — "  La.  Pulphna.  La."  .  .  . 

9  Though  now  in  the  slope  of  the  hill,  The  famales  are  "  Thania.  Seianti.  Pe- 

it  is  probable  that  this  tomb  was  origi-  risal." — "  Thana.   Arntnei.    Perisalisa." 

nally  built  up  as  an  independent  struc-  — "  Thana.  Arinei.  Perisalisai." 

ture,  and   then  covered  with   earth — a  '   The  door  is  six  feet  high,  and  about 

method  adopted,  it  would  seem,  because  half  as  wide, 
the   ground  in  this  part  was  too  loose 


378  CH1USI. — The  Cemetery.  [chap.  u. 

its  urns,  rather  than  from  the  character  of  its  construction, 
it  may  be  pronounced  of  no  early  period  of  Etruscan  art.2 

TOMBA    DELLA    SCIMIA. 

On  the  Poggio  Renzo,  or  La  Pellegrina,  an  oak-covered 
hill,  about  a  mile  from  Chiusi  to  the  north-east,  a  tomb 
was  opened  in  March,  1846,  with  paintings  of  singular 
interest.  For  though  the  style  proves  them  to  be  of  very 
early  date,  the  subject  has  features  which  recall  the  days 
of  chivalry.     I  shall  call  it  the  "  Monkey  Tomb." 

This  sepulchre  is  entered  by  a  deep  passage  sunk  in  the 
rock ;  in  form  and  arrangement  it  bears  a  great  resem- 
blance to  the  other  painted  tombs,  but  has  four  chambers.3 
That  in  the  centre  is  surrounded  by  a  band  of  figures, 
thirty  inches  high,  representing  palsestric  games.  The 
only  spectator  is  a  lady,  veiled,  sitting  beneath  the  shade 
of  an  umbrella,  just  like  those  of  modern  times,  and 
indicative,  it  is  probable,  of  her  rank  and  dignity.4     Her 

2  A   tomb    very   similar    to   this  in  double  the  size  ;  and  he  assigns  to  it  a 

every  respect  was  opened  in   1839,  in  very  high   antiquity.      Monuments    of 

the  Vigna  Grande,  about  three  quarters  Lydia  and  Phrygia,  p.  5. 
of  a  mile  to  the  south  of  Chiusi.     It  3  The  fourth  chamber  opens  in  the 

was,   however,    of   larger    dimensions.  side-wall,  where  there  is  merely  a  false 

It  contained  eight  urns,  which  showed  door  in  the  other  painted  tombs,  already 

it  to  be  the  family- vault  of  the  «  Phe-  described.     The  ceilings  here  are  simi- 

rini."     The  door  was  perfect,  of  two  larly    coffered.       The    first    or    outer 

leaves  of  travertine,  working  just  like  chamber   is    16^   ft.   wide,  by   13^  ft. 

that  of  the  Tomba  del  Colle  ;  and  each  deep.     The  inner  one  is  11 J  ft.  by  9£ 

leaf  had  had  a  handle  of  bronze,  which  ft.     These  two  only  are  painted.     There 

was  broken  off.     Bull.  Inst.  1840,  pp.  are  remains    of  nails  in  the  walls  of 

2,  3.     Signor  Ciofi,  in  his  "  Visita  ai  Se-  these  chambers. 

polcri  presso  Chiusi,"  speaks  of  this  4  Umbrellas  and  parasols,  be  it  re- 
tomb  as  if  it  were  still  open  ;  but  in  membered,  are  as  old  as  the  sun  and 
neither  of  my  visits  to  Chiusi  have  I  vain.  Though  of  modern  introduction 
seen  it,  and  I  was  told  that  it  had  been  into  this  country,  they  were  well-known 
reclosed  with  earth.  in  the   olden   time.     In   the   East  the 

Mr.  Steuart   describes  a  tomb  near  umbrella  has    been    used    from    time 

Afghan  Khiu,  in  Phrygia,  very  similar  immemorial,    though     chiefly     by     the 

t<>  this  in  construction,  though  nearly  groat ;    and   proud   is   the   oriental  de- 


chap,  li.]  TOMB  OF  THE  MONKEY.  379 

foot-stool  is  marked  with  a  pair  of  eyes,  like  so  many  of 
the  painted  vases.  Before  her,  is  a  table  or  couch  at 
which  stands  a  subulo,  blowing  his  pipes  for  her  amusement. 

There  is  a  race  of  three  bigce,  as  in  the  other  painted 
tombs,  the  goal  being  indicated  by  a  ribbon  suspended ; 
and  here  stands  the  umpire,  ready  to  bestow  a  branch  on 
the  victor.  Under  each  chariot  lies  something  like  a  bag 
or  skin,  probably  of  oil,  the  usual  prize  in  such  contests. 
The  artist  was  unable  to  group  them  together,  and  there- 
fore scattered  them  in  the  vacant  spots  of  his  picture.  In 
other  parts  of  the  scene  a  groom  is  exercising  a  pair  of 
horses,  and  a  man  is  riding  with  a  boy,  perhaps  instructing 
him  in  the  manege;  in  both  cases  the  riders  are  seated 
sideways,  as  horsemen  are  often  represented  in  Etruscan 
monuments.  The  steeds  are  black,  red,  or  white,  and 
though  of  no  desirable  forms,  are  not  deficient  in  spirit. 
Beneath  one  of  the  chariots  a  boy  is  playing  with  a 
greyhound. 

The  other  figures  are  as  follows  : — A  pair  of  wrestlers, 
in  even  more  difficult  attitudes  than  in  the  other  tombs — 

spot,  who  can  style  himself,  "  Brother  a  fair  one  of  Greece  and  Rome   from 

of   the    Sun   and  Moon,   and   Lord   of  Phoebus'  gaze,  as  we  learn  from  ancient 

the   Umbrella."      Assyrian    monarchs  vases,  bas-reliefs,  and  paintings.     They 

stood  beneath  its  shade  while  receiving  were  borne  by  the  men,  as  well  as  by 

homage    from    their    vanquished   foes  ;  the  Maids  of  Athens  in  the  days  of  Peri- 

and   Lycian   princes    sat    under    such  cles  (Aristoph.  Equit.  1345  ;  Thesmoph. 

shelter    while    directing    the    siege   of  830 ;   Aves,  1508,  1549)  ;    and   Roman 

a  hostile  city  ;  as  the  reliefs  recently  gallants  were  wont  to  hold  them  over 

brought   from   the   ruins   of    Nineveh,  their  mistresses.     Ovid.  Art.  Amat.  II. 

and  the  coast  of  Lycia,  and  now  in  the  209.     In  this  tomb  we  have  proof,  the 

British   Museum,    satisfactorily   attest.  first    proof,    that    they   were    used  in 

The  proudest  trophy  of  the  Gallic  arms  Etruria  also.     Yet  though  an  umbrella 

in  Africa  was  the  umbrella  of  Abd-el-  often  shadowed  the  rich  cheek  of  Cleo- 

Kader,  till  he  himself  shared  its  fate  ;  patra,  and  softened  the  glow  of  Aspa- 

though  he   was   soon  avenged   by   his  sia's  charms,  in  London,  the  centre  of 

victor  being  compelled  to  abandon  his  modern  civilisation,  not  a  century  since, 

in  a  far  ignobler  manner.      Umbrellas  Jonas  Ilanway  wasridiculed  for  carrying 

preserved  the  complexion  of  "  the  fair-  one  through  the  streets. 
cheeked  "   Helen,  and  sheltered  many 


380  CH1USI. — The  Cemetery.  [chap.  li. 

an  agonothete  in  blue  "  high-lows,"  seeing  fair  play. — A 
pair  of  pugilists,  boxing  with  the  cestus,  holding  one 
hand  open  for  defence,  the  other  closed  for  attack  ;  their 
robes  on  a  stool  between  them.  —  A  man  in  white 
armour — helm,  cuirass,  greaves,  Argolic  shield,  and  wavy 
spear — probably  a  gladiator  ;  his  helmet  has  the  two  long- 
cockades,  so  often  represented  on  the  painted  vases. — A 
naked  figure,  who  seems  to  have  been  hurling  a  long 
straight  lance,  having  a  looped  cord  attached  to  it,  is 
taking  a  flask  of  oil  or  wine  from  a  boy,  who  also 
offers  him  a  bough. — A  minstrel  with  lyre  and  bough. — 
A  trumpeter  with   a  large  horn,  a  peculiar  specimen  of 


ETRUSCAN     LITUUS    OR    TRUMPET,    OF     BRONZE. 


this  instrument,  which  wras  of  Etruscan  invention.5 — A 
priestess,  distinguished  by  a  string  of  huge  brown  beads, 
crossed  on  her  bosom,  as  the  female  demons  wear  their 
bands,  is  bearing  a  tall  candelabrum  on  her  head. — Two 
dwarfs  with  bushy  black  beards — one  with  tutuhis  and 
chaplet,  is  teaching  the  double-pipes  to  a  youthful  subido 
of  fair  proportions  ;  the  other,  bearing  a  large  paddle-like 
leaf  on  his  shoulder,  has  Ins  arm  seized  by  an  athlete,  who 


5  It   is   not   the    round    trumpet  or  pension.  The  trumpet  represented  above 

corn/a     represented     on    the    urns    of  was  found  at  Vulci,  and  is  now  in  the 

Volterra  (ut  supra,  p.  188),  but  curved  Gregorian  Museum  at  Rome  ;  it  is  the 

like  a  pedum,  or  lituus  ;  and  it  must  only  specimen  I  remember  to  have  seen 

be     of    that     sort    designated    by    the  of  an  Etruscan   trumpet,  and  its  exact 

latter   name.     See  Vol.  I.  p.  312.     The  counterpart  is  not  to  be  found  on  any 

curved  part  is  supported  by  cross  bars,  native   monument, — painting   or   sculp- 

and   at  the  extremity  is  a  ring  for  sus-  ture.     It  is  about  four  feet  in  length. 


chap,  li.]  DWARFS  AND  MONKEYS.  381 

seems  to  wish  to  instruct  him  in  gymnastics,  to  which  the 
little  man  naturally  shows  reluctance.6 

Dwarfs  and  monkeys  are  associated  in  our  minds ;  and 
so  apparently  in  those  of  the  Etruscans.  Here,  amid  the 
athletce,  sits  an  ape  chained  to  a  rock  ;  from  his  action  he 
seems  to  be  taking  a  pinch  of  snuff,  though  the  foul  weed 
never  tickled  Etruscan  nostrils.  He  has  no  apparent  rela- 
tion to  the  scene,  and  it  may  be  that,  like  the  dwarfs,  he  is 
introduced  to  fill  an  awkward  space  under  the  projecting 
lintel  of  a  door. 

It  is  impossible  not  to  be  struck  with  the  mediaeval 
character  of  much  of  this  scene.  It  requires  no  great 
exercise  of  the  imagination  to  see  a  castle-yard  in  the 
days  of  chivalry.  There  is  the  warder  with  his  horn,  the 
minstrel  with  his  lyre,  the  knight  in  armour,  the  nun  with 
her  rosary,  the  dwarfs  and  monkey — and  even  some  of  the 
other  figures  would  not  be  out  of  place.  Yet  the  style  of 
art,  bearing  a  close  resemblance  to  that  of  the  Grotta  delle 
Inscrizioni  at  Corneto,  proves  this  to  be  without  a  doubt 
the  most  ancient  of  the  painted  tombs  of  Chiusi,  and  at 
least  four  or  five  centuries  before  the  Christian  era. 

Below  the  figures  is  a  band  of  the  Egyptian  and  Greek 
meander-pattern.  Above  them  on  the  cornice,  on  each 
wall,  is  the  head  of  a  female  with  dishevelled  hair. 

The  inner  chamber  has  only  two  figures  painted — one 
on  each  side- wall.  They  are  boys  ;  one  holding  a  flask  of 
wine  or  oil ;  the  other  a  bill-hooked  lance.  Like  the 
outer  chamber  this  has  a  sepulchral  couch  hewn  from  the 
rock  ;  but  in  one  corner  a  square  mass  is  left,  which  would 
hardly  be  intelligible,  were  not  the  arm  of  a  chair  painted 
on  the  wall  above  it,  indicating  its  analogy  to  the  curule 
chairs  in  the  tombs  of  Cervetri.7     The  arm  in  this  case 


f'  Some  of  these  athletce  have  leathern  pads  to  their  knees  and  heels. 
7  lit  supra,  pp.  .°)4,  59. 


3S2  CHIUSI.— The  Cemetery.  [chap.  u. 

represents  a  spotted  snake,  a  proof  among  many  others, 
that  the  Etruscans,  like  other  nations  of  antiquity,  were 
wont  to  introduce  imitations  of  animal  life  into  their 
furniture.  Above  the  seat,  the  wall  is  painted  to  represent 
drapery. 

In  the  square  coffer  in  the  ceiling  are  painted  four  ivy 
leaves,  alternating  with  as  many  Syrens,  each  with  long- 
dishevelled  hair,  hands  to  her  bosom  as  if  beating  it  in 
grief,  and  two  pair  of  wings,  like  the  Cherubim  of  the  Jews. 

The  sexes  of  the  figures  in  this  tomb  are  as  usual  dis- 
tinguished by  their  colour  ;  the  males  being  a  strong  red, 
the  females  white.  Many  were  first  scratched  in,  then 
drawn  with  strong  black  outlines,  and  filled  up  with 
colour.  Some  show  that  the  artist  made  many  attempts 
before  he  could  draw  the  form  to  his  satisfaction.8 

Hard  by  the  "  Tomb  of  the  Monkey,"  a  remarkable 
circular  well  or  shaft  has  been  recently  discovered,  sunk  to 
a  great  depth  in  the  hill,  and  having  windows  at  intervals 
opening  into  tombs,  of  which  there  are  supposed  to  be 
several  stories,  but  the  well  has  not  yet  been  fully  exca- 
vated. The  absence  of  niches  in  its  walls  seems  to  mark 
it  as  a  means  of  ventilation  rather  than  of  entrance  to  the 
tombs. 

On  the  hill-slope  below  the  Tomba  della  Scimia,  is  a 
tomb  recently  opened,  which  contains  the  only  Etruscan 
inscription  yet  discovered  on  this  site,  graven  or  painted 
on  the  rock.  It  is  cut  over  a  large  body-niche  in  the  inner 
chamber,  as  in  the  tomb  by  the  Ponte  Terrano,  at  Civita 
Castellana.  The  inscription  is  legible,  but  does  not  appear 
to  be  a  proper  name. 

8  Near  this  tomb,  another  was  opened  art  was   very   inferior,  and   the   walls 

at  the  same  time,  having  three  chain-  much  dilapidated,   so   that   it  was  not 

bers,  one   of  which  was  painted  with  thought  worthy  of  being  kept  open  for 

the  scene  of  a  hare-hunt,  a  novel  sub-  public   inspection,  and    was    therefore 

ject  in  Etruscan  tombs.     The  style  of  reclosed  with  earth. 


chap,  li.]  TOMB  OF  ORPHEUS  AND  EURYDICE.  383 


Tomba  d'Orfeo  e  d'Euridice. 

About  a  mile  or  more  to  the  west  of  Chiusi,  at  a  spot 
called  I  Pianacci,  is  another  painted  tomb,  opened  a  few 
years  since,  and  now  from  neglect  and  humidity  almost 
destroyed.9  It  has  three  chambers,  two  of  them  with 
painted  walls.  In  one,  a  man,  with  a  light  pallium  on  his 
shoulders,  is  playing  the  lyre  in  the  midst  of  a  group  of 
dancers  ;  one  of  whom  is  a  female.  Antiquaries  of  high 
credit  think  to  see  in  this  scene  Orpheus  fetching  Eurydice 
from  the  shades ;  and  the  inclination  of  the  two  figures 
towards  each  other,  and  the  outstretched  arms  of  the 
female,  would  seem  to  favour  this  opinion.  In  this  case, 
the  other  dancers  might  represent  souls  attracted  and 
animated  by  the  magic  of  his  lyre.  But  I  doubt  if  this 
be  the  real  purport  of  the  scene,  for  there  is  no  other 
instance  of  a  mythological  subject  being  depicted  on  the 
walls  of  a  tomb.  It  more  probably  represents  the  ordinary 
dance  at  the  funeral  rites.  Trees,  more  freely  drawn  than 
usual,  alternate  with  the  figures. 

The  other  chamber  contains  festive  scenes — males 
reclining  at  the  banquet,  a  subido  playing  the  pipes,  and  a 
mixing-jar,  with  a  satyr  painted  on  it,  standing  on  the 
ground.  Here  were  also  the  funeral  games,  as  indicated 
by  a  figure  with  a  lance,  and  another  with  dumb-bells  ; 
but  the  surface  of  the  wall  has  been  so  much  injured, 
that  little  is  now  distinguishable.  It  is  evident,  however, 
that  in  point  of  design,  this  tomb  has  a  decided  superiority 
to  every  other  yet  discovered  at  Chiusi. 

The  paintings  in  this  and  the  Tomba  della  Scimia  have 

9  This  tomb   has    not    been  placed  of  lions,  and  will  not  be  shown  unless 

under  lock  and  key,  and  will  therefore  especially  demanded.      One    Monni,   a 

soon  cease  to  be  worthy  of  a  visit.     It  restorer  of  vases  at  Chiusi,  knows  its 

does  not  come  into  the  cicerone's  list  whereabouts. 


334  CHIUSI.—  The  Cemetery.  [chap.  li. 

never  been  described,  as  far  as  I  am  aware  ;  bnt  they  have 
been  copied,  and  will  shortly  be  published  by  the  Archaeo- 
logical Institute  of  Rome. 

In  a  hill  near  the  Poggio  Gajella,  called  Poggio 
Paccianesi,  or  del  Vescovo,  because  it  is  episcopal  property, 
is  a  tomb  with  seven  chambers,  arranged  like  atrium  and 
triclinia,  some  of  which  bear  traces  of  paintings  ;  but  little 
is  now  to  be  distinguished  be}^ond  a  pair  of  parti-coloured 
lions  in  one  of  the  pediments.  As  the  tomb  is  often 
flooded,  these  lions  may  be  left  unbearded  by  those  who 
have  seen  the  other  painted  tombs.  Here  were  found  the 
beautiful  vases,  now  in  the  possession  of  the  Bishop  of 
Chiusi. 

The  novel  wonders  of  the  Poggio  Gajella  demand  a 
separate  chapter. 


APPENDIX  TO  CHAPTER  LI. 


ETRUSCAN  FAMILY-NAMES. 

Among  the  Etruscan  families  mentioned  in  the  sepulchral  inscriptions 
of  Chiusi  and  its  neighbourhood,  are  the  following;  many  of  which  are 
well  known  in  their  Roman  form: — 

Achni,  Alphna,  Ani,  Aphune,  Apluni,  Arini,  Arntni,  Atina.  Cae, 
Caina,  Camarina,  Carcu,  Carpna,  Carna,  Causlini,  Cenci,  Clauca  or 
Clauce,  Creice,  Crisu,  Cucuma,  Cumeruni,  Cutlisna.  Larcna  or  Larcne, 
Latini,  Lautni.  Marcni,  Matausna.  Papasa,  Patislana,  Peris,  Perna, 
Pethna,  Pherini,  Phulne,  Phuphle,  Plauti,  Presnti,  Purna,  Pursna, 
Pulphna,  Pumpu.  Reicna,  Remzana,  Resna.  Satna,  Seiati,  Seianti, 
Sentinati,  Sethna,  Sethre,  Spaluria,  Stenia.  Tanasa,  Tetina,  Titi, 
Thesnti,  Thurmna,  Tlesna,  Trepu,  Tulus,  Tuna,  Tutna.  Umrana, 
Umria,  Urinati  or  Vrinati.  Varna,  Vecnati,  Velsi,  Velthurus,  Vensi, 
Veti,  Vipi,  Vipina,  Vusine. 


CHAPTER  LII. 

CmUSl.-CLUSIUM. 

POGGIO    GAJELLA. 

Crede  mihi,  vires  aliquas  natura  sepulcris 

Attribuit  ;  tumulos  vindicat  umbra  suos. 

Seneca. 

Ut  quondam  Creta  fertur  Labyrinthus  in  alta 
Parietibus  textum  caecis  iter,  aucipitemque 
Mille  viis  habuisse  dolum,  qua  signa  sequendi 
Falleret  indeprensus  et  irremeabilis  error. 

Virgil. 

It  is  a  notable  fact  that  but  one  description  of  an 
Etruscan  tomb  is  to  be  found  in  ancient  writers  ;  and  that 
tomb  was  at  Clusium — the  mausoleum  of  Lars  Porsena. 
It  is  thus  described  by  Varro,  as  quoted  by  Pliny  : — 

"He  was  buried  under  the  city  of  Clusium,  in  a  spot 
where  he  has  left  a  monument  in  rectangular  masonry, 
each  side  whereof  is  three  hundred  feet  wide,  and  fifty 
high,  and  within  the  square  of  the  basement  is  an 
inextricable  labyrinth,  out  of  which  no  one  who  ventures 
in  without  a  clue  of  thread,  can  ever  find  an  exit.  On 
that  square  basement  stand  five  pyramids,  four  at  the 
angles,  and  one  in  the  centre,  each  being  seventy-five  feet 
wide  at  its  base,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  high,  and  all  so 
terminating  above,  as  to  support  a  brazen  circle  and  a 
petasus,  from  which  are  hung  by  chains  certain  bells, 
which,  when  stirred  by  the  wind,  resound  afar  off,  as  was 
formerly  the  case  at  Dodona.  Upon  this  circle  four  other 
pyramids   are   based,   each    rising  to  the  height  of  one 

VOL.  II.  c  c 


386 


CHIUSI. — Poggio  Gajella. 


[chap.  1.11. 


hundred  feet.  And  above  these,  from  one  floor,  five  more 
pyramids,  the  height  whereof  Varro  was  ashamed  to  men- 
tion. The  Etruscan  fables  record  that  it  was  equal  to  that 
of  the  rest  of  the  structure." 

This  description  is  so  extravagant,  that  it  raised  doubts 
even  in  the  mind  of  the  all-credulous  Pliny,  who  would  not 
commit  himself  by  recording  it,  save  in  the  very  words  of 
Varro.1  Can  we  wonder  that  the  moderns  should  be 
inclined  to  reject  it  in  toto  f  Niebuhr  regarded  it  as  a 
mere  dream, — "  a  building  totally  inconceivable,  except  as 
the  work  of  magic," — no  more  substantial  than  the  palace 
of  Aladdin.2 

But  at  the  same  time  that  we  allow  such  an  edifice  as 


1  Plin.  N.  H.  XXXVI.  19,  4.— Nam- 
que  et  Italicum  (labyrintlnmi)  dici  con- 
venit,  quera  fecit  sibi  Porsenna  rex 
Etruriae  sepulcri  causa,  simul  ut  exter- 
uoi'um  regum  vanitas  quoque  ab  Italis 
superetur.  Sed  cum  excedat  omnia  fabu- 
lositas,  utemur  ipsius  M.  Varronis  in 
expositione  ejus  verbis  : — Sepultus  est, 
inquit,  sub  urbe  Clusio  ;  in  quo  loco 
monumentum  reliquit  lapide  quadrato  : 
singula  latera  pedum  lata  triceniim,  alta 
quinquagenum  ;  inquc  basi  quadrata 
intus  labyrinthum  incxtricabilem  :  quo 
si  quis  improperet  sine  glomere  lini, 
exitura  invenire  nequeat.  Supra  id 
quadratum  pyramides  stant  quinque, 
quatuor  in  angulis,  in  medio  una :  in 
imo  lata;  pedum  quinum  septuagenum, 
alta;  centum  quinquagenum  :  ita  fasti- 
gatte,  ut  in  summo  orbis  ameus  et  peta- 
sus  unus  omnibus  sit  impositus,  ex  quo 
peudeant  exapta  catenis  tintinnabula, 
qua;  vento  agitata,  longe  sonitus  refer- 
ant,  ut  Dodonse  olim  factum.  Supra 
quern  orbem  quatuor  pyramides  insu- 
per,  singula;  exstant  alta;  pedum  ccn- 
tcniim.  Supra  quas  uno  solo  quinque 
pyramides  ;  quanim  altitudinem  Varro- 


uem  puduit  adjicere.  Fabula;  Etruscan 
tradunt  eandem  fuisse,  quam  totius 
operis  :  adeo  vesana  dementia  qua;sisse 
gloriam  impendio  nulli  profuturo.  Pra;- 
terea  fatigasse  regni  vires,  ut  tamen  lau* 
major  artificis  esset. 

3  Niebuhr,  I.  pp.  1 30, 55 1 .  Engl,  trans. 
Letronne  (Ann.  Instit.  1829.  pp.  386 — 
395)  thinks  it  nothing  more  than  the 
fragment  of  an  Etruscan  epic,  preserved 
in  the  religious  and  poetical  traditions 
of  the  country.  So  also  Orioli,  who 
puts  on  it  a  mystic  interpretation. 
Ann.  Inst.  1833,  p.  43.  Hirt  (Geschichte 
der  Baukunst  I.,  p.  249)  according  to 
Miiller,  maintains  on  this  subject  a  pru- 
dent reserve.  The  Due  de  Luynes, 
however,  and  Quatremere  de  Quincy 
believed  the  whole  tale  literally,  and 
have  attempted  to  restore  the  monument 
from  the  description.  Ann.  Inst.  1829, 
p.  304—9.  Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  I.,  tav. 
XIII.  Canina  lias  also  made  a  restora- 
tion of  this  monument.  Archit.  Ant. 
Seg.  Sec.  tav.  CLIX.  The  worthy  father 
Angelo  Cortenovis  wrote  a  treatise  to 
prove  it  was  nothing  else  than  a  huge 
electrifying  machine. 


chap,  hi.]  THE  TOMB  OF  LARS  PORSENA.  387 

Varro  describes,  to  be  of  very  difficult,  if  not  impossible 
construction,  we  should  pause  before  we  reject  the  state- 
ment as  utterly  false  and  fabulous.  It  is  the  dimensions 
alone  which  startle  us.  Granting  these  to  be  greatly 
exaggerated,  the  structure  is  not  impracticable.3  We 
should  consider  the  peculiarities  of  its  construction,  and  if 
we  find  an  analogy  between  it  and  existing  monuments, 
we  may  pronounce  it  to  be  even  within  the  bounds  of  pro- 
bability. A  monument  would  hardly  have  been  tradi- 
tional, had  it  not  been  characteristic.  However  national 
vanity  may  have  exaggerated  its  dimensions,  or  extrava- 
gantly heightened  its  peculiarities,  it  could  not  have  con- 
ceived of  something  utterly  foreign  to  its  experience  ;  any 
more  than  a  Druid  bard  could  have  sung  of  a  temple  like 
the  Parthenon,  or  an  Athenian  fable  have  described  a  palace 
like  the  Alhambra.  That  such  was  the  Etruscan  tradition 
we  cannot  doubt,  for  Varro  was  not  the  man  to  invent  a 
marvellous  tale,  or  to  colour  a  story  more  highly  than  he 
received  it.4 

No  one  can  doubt  that  a  magnificent  sepulchre  was 
raised  for  Lars  Porsena,  the  powerful  chieftain,  whose 
very  name  struck  terror  into  Rome,  and  whose  victorious 
arms,  but  for  his  own  magnanimity,  might  have  swept  her 

J  Miiller  (Etrusk.  IV.,  2.  1.)  is  of  thinks  Varro  took  his  description  from 
opinion  that  the  lower  part  with  the  the  Etruscan  books.  Orioli  (ap.  Inghir. 
labyrinth  really  existed,  and  that  the  Mon.  Etrus.  IV.  p.  167)  thinks  Varro's 
upper,  though  greatly  exaggerated,  was  picture  must  have  been  not  only  con- 
not  the  mere  offspring  of  fancy.  sistent  with  the  Etruscan  style  of  archi- 

4  Miiller  (Etrusk.  IV.  2.  1.)  is  of  tecture,  but  drawn  from  a  real  object, 
opinion  that  Varro  must  have  seen  a  just  as  the  palaces  of  Ariosto's  and 
portion  of  the  monument  he  describes  Tasso's  imagination  had  evidently  their 
— "  he  would  hardly  have  gathered  such  originals  in  Italy.  And  Abeken  (Mit- 
precise  statements  from  mere  hearsay;  telitalien,  p.  246)  considers  it,  in  its  fun- 
yet  the  upper  part,  from  what  point  damental  conditions,  to  be  thoroughly 
upwards  is  uncertain,  was  merely  pic-  national,  and  in  accordance  with  other 
tared  to  him  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  edifices  of  the  land, 
city."     Niebuhr   (I.  p.  130),  however, 

C   C   2 


388 


CHIUSI.— Poggio  Gajeli.a. 


[CHAr.  HI. 


from  the  map  of  Italy.5     The  site,  too,  of  such  a  monu- 
ment would  naturally  be  at  Clusium,  his  capital.     That  it 


5  Lars  is  an  Etruscan  prcenomen,  sup- 
posed to  be  significant  of  rank  and 
dignity, as  Etruscan  princes  seem  always 
to  have  had  this  name — Lars  Porsena, 
Lars  Tolumnius — a  title  of  honour,  equi- 
valent to  dominus.  Miiller,  Etrusk.  I. 
p.  405.  The  fact  of  its  being  the  appel- 
lation also  of  the  household  deities  of 
the  Etruscans  favours  this  view.  Yet 
the  frequent  occurrence  of  this  name,  or 
its  varieties,  "  Lart,"  or  *  Larth,"  in 
sepulchral  inscriptions,  seems  to  deprive 
it  of  any  peculiar  dignity,  and  to  show 
that  it  was  used  indiscriminately.  Per- 
haps the  distinction  drawn  by  the  gram- 
marians is  correct — that  Lar,  Laris,  was 
significant  of  deity,  and  Lars,  Lartis, 
was  the  Etruscan  prcenomen.  The 
Romans,  however,  who  took  both  from 
the  Etruscans,  seem  to  have  used  them 
indifferently.  Muller,  I.  p.  408.  Thus 
we  find  a  Lar  Herminius,  consul  in  the 
year  306.  Liv.  III.  65.  The  old  patri- 
cian gens  Lartia  derived  its  name  from 
Lars,  just  as  many  other  gentile  names 
were  formed  from  prwnomina.  Lars  is 
supposed  by  Lanzi  (II.  p.  203)  to  signify 
divas,  but  it  is  more  generally  believed 
to  be  equivalent  to  "  lord  ; "  and  it  is 
even  maintained  that  the  English  word 
is  derived  from  the  Etruscan.  Some 
take  Lai-s  to  be  of  Pelasgic  origin,  from 
the  analogy  of  Larissa,  daughter  of 
Pelasgus ;  and  others  seek  its  source  in 
the  Phoenician.  However  that  be,  it 
can  at  least,  with  all  its  derivatives,  be 
traced  with  certainty  to  the  Etruscan. 

Porsena  is  often  called  King  of 
Clusium  or  of  Etruria.  Pliny  (II.  54), 
however,  seems  to  call  him  King  of 
Volsinii.  He  was  properly  chief  Lucumo 
of  Clusium,  and  "  King  of  Etruria  "  only 
in  virtue  of  commanding  the  forces  of 
the  Confederation. 

The    name   is    spelt    both    Porsena 


and  Porsenna,  but  in  any  case,  thinks 
Niebuhr  (I.  pp.  500,  541 ),  the  penulti- 
mate is  long,  from  the  analogy  of  other 
Etruscan  gentile  names — Vibenna,  Er- 
genna,  Perpenna,  Spurinna;  and  he  pro- 
nounces Martial  (I.  22;  XIV.  98)  guilty 
of  a  "  decided  blunder  "  in  shortening 
the  penultimate.  Mr.  Macaulay,  in  his 
admirable  "  Lays  of  Ancient  Rome  " 
(p.  44),  questions  the  right  of  Niebuhr 
or  any  other  modern  to  pronounce  on 
the  quantity  of  a  word  which  "  Martial 
must  have  uttered  and  heard  uttered  a 
hundred  times  before  he  left  school  ;" 
and  cites  Horace  (Epod.  XVI.  4)  and 
Silius  Italicus  (VIII.  391,  480)  in  cor- 
roboration of  that  poet.  Compare  Sil. 
Ital.  X.  484.  The  following  prose- 
writers,  though  their  authority  cannot 
affect  the  quantity,  also  spell  it  "  Por- 
sena."— Liv.  II.  9  ;  Cicero,  pro  Sext. 
21  ;  Flor.  I.  10  ;  Val.  Max.  III.  2.  2  ; 
Tacit.  Hist.  III.  72.  On  the  other  hand 
there  is  the  great  authority  of  Virgil 
(^n.  VIII.  646)— 

Nee  non  Tarquinium  ejectum  Por- 
senna jubebat; 
followed  by  Claudian  (in  Eutrop.  I.  444) 
Quaesiit,  et  tantum  fluvio  Porsenna 
remotus — 
by  Pliny  (II.  54  ;  XXXIV.  13,  39  ; 
XXXVI.  19),  and  Seneca  (Epist.  66  ; 
Benef.  V.  1 6),  for  the  lengthening  of  the 
penultimate — Porsenna;  Plutarch  (Pub- 
licola)  also  has  T\op<ri]vas,  and  Diony- 
sius  (lib.  V.)  TlopffTvos.  Servius  (ad  iEn. 
VIII.  646)  indeed  asserts  that  Virgil 
added  an  n  for  the  sake  of  the  metre, 
as  the  penultimate  is  short.  Now, 
though  Mr.  Macaulay  was  at  liberty  to 
adopt  either  mode,  I  believe  him  to  be 
right  in  his  choice  of  Porsena  ;  not  on 
account  of  Servius'  assertion,  or  because 
the  authority  of  Horace,  Martial,  and 


chap,  lii.]         ANALOGIES  IN  EXTANT  MONUMENTS.  389 

was  of  extraordinary  dimensions  and  splendour  is  likely 
enough  ;  otherwise  it  would  not  have  been 

"  A  worthy  tomb  for  such  a  worthy  wight  " — 

the  greatest  Etruscan  prince  and  hero  whom  history  com- 
memorates ;  nor  would  it  have  been  thus  traditionally  re- 
corded. That  it  had  a  square  basement  of  regular  masonry, 
supporting  five  pyramids,  as  described  by  the  legend,  is 
no  way  improbable,  seeing  that  just  such  a  tomb  is  extant 
— the  well-known  sepulchre  on  the  Appian  Way  at  Albano, 
vulgarly  called  that  of  the  Horatii  and  Curiatii.6  And 
though  this  tomb  be  Roman  and  of  Republican  date,  it 
shows  the  existence  of  such  a  style  in  early  times ;  and 
its  uniqueness  also  favours  the  antiquity  of  its  model. 
Whether  the  analogy  was  carried  further  in  this  monu- 
ment it  is  impossible  to  say,  for  its  cones  now  support 
nothing  but  themselves,  and  cannot  even  do  that  without 
assistance.  The  Cucumella  of  Vulci,  with  its  walled  base- 
ment and  pair  of  towers,  square  and  conical,  and  its  Lydian 
cousin,  the  royal  sepulchre  of  Sardis,  with  its  diadem 
of  five  termini,  though  both  are  circular  in  the  basement, 
bear  also  a  strong  affinity  to  the  Varronian  picture.7     For 


Silius  Italicus  outweighs  that  of  Virgil  shows  that  the  pyramid  had  a  specific 

and   Claudian,  but  because  it  is  more  form,  distinct  from  the  cone;  a  fact  not 

agreeable  to  the  genius  of  the  Etruscan  to  be  questioned.     Tombs  with  square 

language,  which  gives  us"  Pursna,"  as  its  basements    of   large    size,     either    for 

equivalent  (M£s!y>ra,  p.  377);  and  just  so  mounds  of  earth,  or  for  the  support  of 

the  "Ceicna"  of  the  Etruscans  was  writ-  pyramids  or  cones,  like  that  of  Albano, 

ten  Ctecina  or  Csecinna,  by  the  Romans.  are  still  extant  at  Cervetri.     Ut  supra, 

6  In  that  instance,  however,  there  are  p.  5.9. 

cones,  not  pyramids,  but  the  latter  word  7  The  cippi   so   commonly  found   in 

is   thought    by   some   to    have    had   a  Etruscan  tombs,  in  the  form  of  trun- 

generic  application  to  anything  having  catod  cones  on  square  pedestals — some- 

the  tapering  form  of  a  flame.     Cauina  times  several  rising  from  one  basement 

(Ann.  Inst.  1837,  2.  p.  56)  objects  to  — bear  much  analogy  to  the  pyramids 

this   on  the  authority  of  Cicero  (Nat.  of  the  Clusian  legend,  still  more  to  the 

Deor.  II.    18);    who,  however,  merely  tomb  at  Albano. 


390  CHIUSI.— Poggio  Gajf.u.a.  [chap.  lh. 

further  analogies  it  is  not  necessary  to  seek,  though  Varro 
himself  suggests  one  for  the  bells  ;  because  the  super- 
structure is  just  that  part  of  the  edifice,  which  offered  a 
field  for  the  imagination  of  the  legend-mongers.8 

But  the  distinguishing  feature  of  Porsena's  tomb  was 
the  labyrinth,  which  alone  led  Pliny  to  mention  it.  Here, 
if  in  any  point,  we  may  consider  the  tradition  to  speak 
truth  ;  and  here,  as  will  presently  be  shown,  a  close  ana- 
logy may  be  traced  to  existing  monuments.  Now  the 
labyrinth  being  within  the  basement,  was  in  all  probability 
underground  ;  which  may  account  for  its  not  being  visible 
in  Pliny's  day.  The  upper  portion  of  the  monument, 
whatever  it  may  have  been,  had  probably  been  long  pre- 
viously destroyed  in  the  Gallic  or  Roman  sieges  of  Clusium, 
and  the  labyrinth  itself,  with  the  sepulchral  chambers,  may 
have  been  completely  buried  beneath  the  ruins  of  the 
superstructure,  so  that  even  its  site  had  been  forgotten.9 
That  this  labyrinth,  however,  actually  had  an  existence, 
there  is  no  ground  for  doubt  ;  such  is  the  opinion  of  dis- 
tinguished critics  who  have  considered  the  subject.1 

8  Dr.  Braun  points  out  the  analogy  the  monument  had  been  entirely  of  ma- 
existing  between  the  far-projecting  roofs  sonry,  it  could  not  possibly  have  utterly 
of  Etruscan  houses — as  we  know  them  disappeared,  especially  so  early  as  Pliny's 
from  the  imitations  in  cinerary  urus —  time ;  and  thinks  it  was  more  probably 
and  the  x>ctasus,  which  Varro  describes  a  hill  or  mound  like  the  Capitoline  area 
as  resting  on  the  lower  tier  of  pyramids.  of  Rome.  Ann.  Inst.  1841,  p.  34  ;  Mit- 
Laberinto  di  Porsenna,  comparato  coi  telitalien,  p.  245.  In  this  case,  when 
sepolcri  di  Poggio  Gajella,  p.  3.  He  the  surrounding  masonry  was  removed, 
gives  a  plate  of  such  an  urn,  of  fetid  the  rest  of  the  monument  would  soon 
lime-stone,  found  at  Chiusi,  in  the  lose  its  artificial  character  and  sink 
shape  of  a  house,  with  an  overhanging  into  a  natural  mound  ;  yet  though  all  the 
roof,  "  whose  singular  aspect  recalls  external  adornments  of  the  tomb  might 
to  every  one  who  has  regarded  such  have  perished,  the  labyrinth,  being  hol- 
monuments  with  an  experienced  eye,  the  lowed  in  the  rock,  must  have  remained, 
peculiarities  of  the  tomb  of  Porsenna "  '  Niebuhr,  struck  with  the  extrava- 
(op.  cit.  tav.  VI.  a.  cf.  Abeken,  Mittelital.  gance  of  Varro 's  description,  condemned 
taf.  III.  6  ;  Bull.  Inst.  1840,  p.  150.)  it  at  once  as  fabulous,  which  as  an  his- 

9  Abeken  remarks  with  justice,  that  if  torian  he  was  justified  in  doing.     It  is 


chap,  ui.]  LABYRINTH  IN  PORSENA'S  TOMB.  391 

It  is  not  idle  then  to  believe  that  some  vestiges  of  this 
labyrinth  may  still  exist,  and  to  expect  that  it  may  yet  be 
brought  to  light.  If  subterranean,  it  was  in  all  probability 
excavated  in  the  rock,  and  traces  of  it  would  not  easily  be 
effaced.  In  truth  it  has  often  been  sought,  and  found — in 
the  opinion  of  the  seekers,  who  have  generally  placed  it 
on  the  site  of  Chiusi  itself,  in  the  subterranean  passages  of 
the  garden  Paolozzi,  or  in  those  beneath  the  city ;  misled 
perhaps  by  Pliny's  expression,  "sub  urbe  Clusio"  But 
that  such  was  its  position,  the  general  analogy  of  the 
sepulchral  economy  of  the  Etruscans  forbids  us  to  believe. 
It  must  have  been  outside  the  walls,  and  if  it  were  in 
one  of  the  valleys  around,  it  would  be  equally  (i  below 
the  city." 

Some  few  years  since,  the  attention  of  the  antiquarian 
world  was  much  drawn  to  the  tomb  of  Porsena,  in  con- 
sequence of  the  discovery  at  Chiusi  of  a  monument  not 
only  novel  in  character,  but  with  peculiarities  strikingly 
analogous,  and  in  extent  surpassing  every  other  Etruscan 
sepulchre. 

About  three  miles  to  the  north-north-east  of  Chiusi  is  a 
hill  called  Poggio  Gajella,  the  termination  of  the  range  on 
which  the  city  stands.  There  is  nothing  remarkable  in 
the  appearance  of  this  height ;  it  is  of  the  yellow  arena- 
ceous earth  so  common  in  this  district  ;2  its  crest  is  of 
the  same  conical  form  as  most  of  the  hills  around,  and 

the  province  of  the  antiquary  to  view  Miinchner   Akademie,    I.  p.  41.5)  and 

the  details  and  consider  how  far  they  Abeken    (Ann.     Instit.    1841,   p.    33  ; 

are  supported  by  reason  and  analogy.  Mittelitalieu,  p.  244)  who  cites  him. 

Miiller,  therefore,  makes  a  decided  dis-  2  Gruner  calls   this  rock  a  volcanic 

tinction  between  the  upper  and  lower  nenfro,  but  it  is  decidedly  of  aqueous 

part  of  the  structure,  and  is  of  opinion,  deposition,  often  containing  oyster-shells, 

not  only  that  the  latter  had  an  exist-  and   other  marine    substances.      It 

ence,  but  that  it  was  still  extant  in  the  compact    when     moist,    but   extremely 

days  of  Varro.     Etrusker,  IV.  2,  1.     So  friable   when    dry  ;  and,   like   chalk,   it 

also   think    Thiersch    (Abhandlung  der  has  occasional  layers  of  flint. 


392  CHIUSI.— Poggio  Gajella.  [chap.  lii. 

it  is  covered  with  a  light  avooc!  of  oaks.  There  was  no 
reason  to  suspect  the  existence  of  ancient  sepulchres  ;  for 
it  was  not  a  mere  tumulus,  but  a  hill,  raised  by  nature,  not 
by  art.  Yet  it  has  proved  to  be  a  vast  sepulchre  or  rather 
a  cemetery  in  itself — a  potyandrion — an  isolated  city  of 
the  dead — situated  like  other  ancient  cities  on  the  summit 
of  a  hill — fenced  around  with  walls  and  fosse,  filled  with 
the  abodes  of  the  dead,  carved  into  the  very  forms,  and 
adorned  with  the  very  decorations  and  furniture  of  those 
of  the  living,  arranged  in  distinct  terraces,  and  communi- 
cating by  the  usual  network  of  streets  and  alleys.3 

I  know  not  what  first  induced  Signor  Pietro  Bonci- 
Casuccini,  the  owner  of  the  hill,  to  make  excavations  here  ; 
it  may  have  been  merely  in  pursuance  of  his  long  and  sys- 
tematic researches  on  his  estate.  But  in  the  winter  of 
1839-40  the  spade  was  applied,  and  very  soon  brought  to 
light  the  marvels  of  the  mound. 

About  the  base  of  the  conical  crest  was  unearthed  a 
circuit  of  masonry,  of  rectangular  blocks  of  travertine,  un- 
cemented,  from  two  to  four  feet  in  length  ;  and  around 
this  was  a  fosse  three  or  four  feet  wide.  Many  of  the 
blocks,  removed  from  their  original  places,  he  scattered  at 
the  base  of  the  mound  ;  but  the  fosse  may  still  be  traced, 
and  will  be  found  to  mark  a  circumference  of  more  than 
nine  hundred  feet.4 

Above  it  the  crest  of  the  hill  rises  some  forty  or  fifty 
feet,  and  in  its  slopes  open  the  tombs,  not  in  a  single  row, 
but  in  several  tiers  or  terraces,  one  above  the  other ;  and 

3  Conical  mounds  or  isolated  rocks  of  4  Abeken  (Ann.  Inst.    1841,  p.    31) 

other  forms,  full  of  sepulchres,  are  not  says  285  metres,  which  are  equal  to  938 

uncommon  in  Asia  Minor.     Mr.  Steuart  feet  English.     A  similar  wall  and  fosse 

speaks  of  one  at  Dogan-lu,  in  Phrygia  have  been   found   encircling   tombs    at 

(Lydia  and   Phrygia,   p.   11),  and  Sir  Sta  Marinella  and  Selva  la  Rocca ;  and 

Charles  Fellows  describes  and  illustrates  a  fosse  is  cut  in  the  rock  round  a  tumu- 

one  atPinarain  Lycia.     Fellows'  Lycia,  lus  at  Bieda.     See  Vol.  I.  p.  271. 
p.  139. 


chap,  lii.]  POLYANDRION  OF  POGGIO  GAJELLA.  393 

not  in  regular  or  continuous  order,  but  in  groups.  A 
single  passage  of  great  length  cut  into  the  heart  of  the 
hill,  and  at  right  angles  with  the  girdling  fosse,  generally 
leads  into  a  spacious  antechamber,  or  atrium,  on  which 
open  several  smaller  chambers,  or  triclinia,  just  as  in  the 
tombs  of  Csere.5  Both  atrium  and  triclinia  are  surrounded 
by  benches  of  rock  for  the  support  of  the  bodies  or  of 
sarcophagi.  The  ceilings  are  generally  flat,  and  coffered 
in  recessed  squares  or  oblongs,  as  in  the  other  tombs  of 
Chiusi,  or  they  are  carved  into  beams  and  rafters.  They 
are  painted  in  the  usual  style,  and  the  walls  also  in  certain 
chambers  have  painted  figures,  which  though  often  almost 
effaced  and  in  no  case  very  distinct,  may  be  traced  as 
those  of  dancers  or  athletes,  circling  the  apartments  in  a 
frieze,  about  twenty  inches  high.6  The  benches  of  rock 
are  not  left  in  unmeaning  shapelessness  ;  they  are  hewn 
into  the  form  of  couches,  with  pillows  or  cushions  at  one 
end,  and  the  front  moulded  into  seat  and  legs  in  relief — 
so  many  patterns  of  Etruscan  furniture,  more  durable  than 
the  articles  themselves.  Many  of  these  couches  are  double 
— made  for  a  pair  of  bodies  to  recline  side  by  side,  as  they 
are  generally  represented  in  the  banquets  painted  on  the 
walls.  They  prove  this  monument  to  be  of  a  period  when 
bodies  were  buried,  rather  than  burned.7 

The  most  important  tombs  are  on  the  lower  and  second 
tiers.  On  the  lower,  the  most  remarkable  is  one  that 
opens  to  the  south.  It  is  circular,  about  twenty-five  feet 
in  diameter,  supported  in  the  centre  by  a  huge  column 

5  "The  antechamber  still  more  nearly  They  are  of  very  simple  character    of 
resembles  an  atrium,  inasmuch  as   the  two  colours  only,  red  and  black,  and  in 
roof  has  in  most   instances  fallen  in,  an  archaic  style.     See  Bull.  Inst.  1841 
leaving  it  open  to  the  sky.  p.  10. 

6  The  principal  of  these  paintings  7  The  doors  of  these  tombs  are  all 
are  in  a  group  of  tombs  to  the  right  of  moulded  in  the  usual  Egyptian  form,  with 
the  circular  tomb,  marked  e  in  the  Plan.  an  overhanging  simare-headed  lintel. 


l] 

m  ) 
11 
n  n 
P 


PLAN    OF    A    PORTION    OF    THE    PRINCIPAL    STORY 


POGGIO    GAJELLA 


W  ^tjv 


Entrance  from  the  south. 

Antechamber  or  vestibule. 

Recesses. 

I'oor  to  the  principal  chamber. 

Circular  chamber. 

Column,  hewn  from  the  rock. 

Cuniculus,  or  passage  cut  in  the  rock,  not  yet  cleared  out. 

Cuniculus,  leading  to  chamber  aa. 

Original  mouth  of  the  passages. 

Passages,  varying  in  size,  and  inclination,  but  only  large  enough  to  admit  a  man  on  all 
fours.  At  *  the  original  cuniculus  ni  seems  to  have  terminated,  or  to  have  turned  in 
another  direction  ;  the  rest  of  it  to  s  being  narrower  and  more  irregular. 

Spurious  mouth  of  the  passages,  opening  much  higher  in  the  wall  than  i. 

funiculi,  partly  unfinished,  partly  not  yet  excavated. 

Antechamber  to  the  group  of  square  tombs,  opening  to  the  west. 


«J 


Chambers,  more  or  less  rude,  and  all  unpainted,  with  rock-hewn  benches. 
In  s  are  the  mouths  of  the  cumculi  m  and  n. 

Antechamber  to 

A  tomb  found  tilled  with  large  stones. 
Chamber,  now  encumbered  with  earth. 
Hecesses  in  its  walls. 

The  shaded  part  represents  the  rock  in  which  the  tombs  and  passages  are  hewn. 


CHAP.  LII.] 


CONTENTS  OF  THE  SEPULCHRES. 


395 


hewn  from  the  rock,  ten  or  eleven  feet  thick,  rudely  formed, 
without  base  or  capital,  but  in  the  place  of  the  latter  there 
chances  to  occur  a  thin  stratum  of  flints.8  The  tomb  is 
much  injured,  retaining  no  traces  of  ornament,  except 
over  the  entrance,  where  is  something  like  a  head  in  relief 
on  the  lintel.  Some  beautiful  vases,9 
and  the  curious  stone  sphinxes  of 
the  Museo  Casuccini  were  found 
here.  Nothing  is  now  to  be  seen 
but  fragments  of  urns  of  cispo.  In 
this  circular  tomb,  as  well  as  in  the 
group  of  square  chambers  on  the 
same  level,  are  mysterious  dark  pas- 
sages opening  in  the  walls,  and  ex- 
citing the  astonishment  and  curiosity 


Of  these  more  will 


ETRUSCAN   SPHINX,   FROM   THE 
TOGGIO  GAJELLA. 


of  the  stranger, 
be  said  anon. 

There  are  four  other  groups  of  tombs  in  this  lower  tier, 
making  twenty-five  chambers  in  all,  besides  two  which 
are  unfinished. 

On  the  tier  above  this  are  several  tombs,  some  in  groups, 
others  single ;  two  to  the  south  seem  to  have  been  circular. 
The  finest  group  is  one  of  five  square  chambers  opening 
to  the  south-east,  whose  walls  retain  traces  of  painting, 
now  much  injured.  Here  were  discovered  articles  of  great 
beauty  and  value  : — the  magnificent  vase  of  the  Judgment 
of  Paris,  which  forms  the  gem  of  the  Casuccini  collection, 


8  The  entrance  to  this  tomb  is  by  a 
broad  passage,  or  rather  chamber,  with 
large  recesses  on  either  hand,  indicated 
in  the  Plan. 

9  For  an  account  of  these  vases,  some 
of  which  were  in  the  archaic  Etruscan 
style,  others  of  the  best  Greek  art,  see 
Bull.  Inst.   1840,  p.   128.— Feuerbach. 


At  the  entrance  to  the  round  chamber 
was  found  part  of  a  winged  lion,  of  cispo, 
in  the  most  severely  archaic  style  ; 
and  such,  it  is  thought,  must  have  sur- 
rounded this  tumulus  in  great  numbers, 
as  at  the  Cucumella,  of  Vulci.  Bull. 
Inst.  1841,  p.  9. 


896  CHIUSI. — Poggio  Gajella.  [chap.  lii. 

found  in  one  hundred  and  twenty  minute  pieces,  now 
neatly  rejoined — another  vase  on  a  small  bronze  stand 
or  stool,  with  legs  like  those  sculptured  on  the  couches 
of  rock — a  cinerary  urn  in  the  form  of  a  male  statue,  with 
a  moveable  head  as  a  lid — many  small  articles  of  gold  and 
jewellery,  and  some  thin  Iambics  of  gold  attached  to  the 
walls  of  one  of  the  tombs,  as  though  originally  lining  it 
throughout.  In  two  of  these  chambers  open  smaD  passages, 
like  those  in  the  lower  tier.10 

On  the  third  and  highest  tier  are  three  groups  of  tombs, 
one  of  which  is  supported  by  a  column  of  rock ;  and 
here  also  were  found  articles  of  jewellery,  and  fragments 
of  painted  vases.1 

The  marvel  and  mystery  of  this  curious  hive  of  tombs 
are  the  dark  passages,  which  have  given  rise  to  as  much 
speculation  as  such  obscurities  are  ever  wont  to  excite, 
in  works  sepulchral  or  literary,  ancient  or  modern,  of 
Cheops  or  Coleridge.  They  are  just  large  enough  for  a 
man  to  creep  through  on  all  fours.  Here,  traveller,  if 
curious  and  enterprising,  "  you  may  thrust  your  arms  up 
to  the  elbows  in  adventures."  Enter  one  of  the  holes 
in  the  circular  tomb,  and  take  a  taper,  either  between 
your  teeth,  or  in  your  fore-paw,  to  light  you  in  your 
Nebuchadnezzar-like  progress.  You  will  find  quite  a 
labyrinth  in  the  heart  of  the  mound.  Here  the  passage 
makes  a  wide  sweep  or  circuit,  apparently  at  random — 


10  The  longest  of  these  passages  extends  suggests  that  they  may  have  been  for  the 

to  35  braccia,  or  67  feet,  and  is  not  yet  slaves  or  dependents  of  the  family.    Ann. 

fully   cleared   out.      Another    passage,  Inst.    1841,  p.    32.     But  the   meanest 

which    is   nearly    3    feet   square,   runs  tombs  are  at  the  base  of  the  mound, 

some  distance  hi  a  straight  line  iuto  the  Some  have  seen  in  these  a  fourth  tier, 

rock,  and  then  meets  a  third,  at  right  though  they   can  hardly  be  said  to  be 

angles,  which  is  still  full  of  earth.  on  a  different  level  from  the  principal 

1  As  the  tombs  on  this  upper  tier  are  groups, 
inferior  to  those   below  them,  Abeken 


chap,  mi.]       LABYRINTHINE  PASSAGES  IN  THE  ROCK.  397 

there  it  bends  back  on  itself,  and  forms  an  inner  sweep, 
leading  again  to  the  circular  chamber — now  it  terminates 
abruptly,  after  a  longer  or  shorter  course, — and  now, 
behold !  it  brings  you  to  another  tomb  in  a  distant  part  of 
the  hill.  Observe,  too,  as  you  creep  on  your  echoing  way, 
that  the  passages  sometimes  rise,  sometimes  sink,  and 
rarely  preserve  the  same  level ;  and  that  they  occasionally 
swell  out  or  contract,  though  generally  regular  and  of 
uniform  dimensions.2 

What  can  these  cuniadi  mean  1  is  a  question  every  one 
asks,  but  none  can  satisfactorily  answer.  Had  they  been 
beneath  a  city,  we  should  find  some  analogy  between  them 
and  those  often  existing  on  Etruscan  sites,  not  forgetting 
the  Capitol  and  Rock  Tarpeian.  Had  they  been  beneath 
some  temple,  or  oracular  shrine,  we  might  see  in  them  the 
secret  communications  by  which  the  machinery  of  jugglery 
was  carried  forward ;  but  in  tombs — among  the  mouldering 
ashes  of  the  dead,  what  purpose  could  they  have  served  1 
Some  have  thought  them  part  of  a  regularly  planned 
labyrinth,  of  which  the  circular  tomb  was  the  centre  or 
nucleus,  formed  to  preserve  the  remains  and  treasure 
there  deposited  from  profanation  and  pillage.3  But  surely 
they  would  not  then  make  so  many  superfluous 
means  of  access  to  the  chamber,  when  it  already  had  a 
regular  entrance.  Moreover,  the  smallness  of  the  passages 
— never  more  than  three  feet  in  height,  and  two  in 
width,  as  small,  in  truth,  as  could  well  be  made  by  the 
hand  of  man,  which  renders  it  difficult  to  thread  them 
on  all  fours ;  the  irregularity  of  their  level ;  and  the 
fact  that  one   has  its  opening  just  beneath  the  ceiling, 


2  For  plans  of  the  several  stories  in  The  plans  and  plates  are  by  M.  Gruner, 

this  tumulus,  and  for  illustrations  of  the  the  well-known  artist.     The  plan  given 

articles  found  in  the  tombs,  see  the  beau-  at  page  394  is  from  that  work, 
tiful  work  of  Dr.    Braun  cited  above.  3  Feuerbach,  Bull.  Inst.  1841,  p.  8. 


B98  CHIUSI. — Poggio  Gajella.  [chap.  mi. 

destroying  the  beauty  of  the  walls  which  were  painted 
with  dancing  figures,  and  that  another  actually  cuts 
through  one  of  the  rock-hewn  couches — forbid  us  to 
suppose  they  were  designed  for  regular  communication,  or 
were  constructed  throughout  on  any  determined  system. 
In  truth,  the  latter  facts  would  seem  to  show  that  in  those 
cases,  at  least,  they  must  be  of  subsequent  construction  to 
the  tombs.  Could  they  then  have  been  formed  either  by 
the  burrowings  of  some  animal,  or  by  former  plunderers  of 
the  tombs  in  their  search  for  treasures  ? 

To  the  first  it  may  be  safely  objected  that  these  passages 
are  too  large,  and  in  general  too  regular.  In  one  of  the 
tombs  in  the  upper  tier,  however,  are  certain  passages  too 
small  to  admit  a  man,  and  therefore  in  all  probability 
formed  by  some  animal.  I  learned  from  the  peasants 
who  dwell  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  that  badgers  have  been 
killed  here.  On  the  roofs  of  several  of  the  chambers, 
which  I  was  told  had  been  found  choked  with  earth,  I 
observed  the  marks  of  that  animal's  claws.  But  it  is 
impossible  to  believe  that  these  labyrinthine  passages  have 
been  made  by  that  or  any  other  quadruped. 

It  is  more  easy  to  believe  that  they  have  been  formed 
in  by-gone  researches  for  buried  treasure.4  That  the 
tombs  have  been  opened  in  past  ages  is  evident  from  the 
state  in  which  they  were  discovered,  from  the  broken  pottery 
and  urns,  and  from  the  pieces  of  a  vase  being  found  in 
separate  chambers.5  Yet  in  general  there  is  too  much 
regularity  about  them,  for  the  work  of  careless  excava- 
tors. In  one  instance,  indeed,  in  the  second  tier,  there  is 
a  passage  of  very  careful  and  curious  formation,  which 

1  This  was  Abeken's  more   digested  must  have  been  overlooked  by  the  first 

opinion  (Mittelital.  p.  244),  and  that  of  riflers,  as  is  sometimes  the  case— articles 

Micali  also  (Mon.  Ined.  p.  36.5).  of  great  value  being  found  occasionally 

5  The    gold  and  jewellery  discovered  among  the  loose  earth. 


chap,  in.]  WHAT  CAN  THESE  PASSAGES  MEAN  1  399 

gradually  diminishes  in  size  as  it  penetrates  the  hill, 
not  regularly  tapering,  but  in  successive  stages — magna 
componere  parvis — like  the  tubes  of  an  open  telescope. 
From  a  careful  examination  of  the  cuniculi  in  this  hill,  all 
of  which  I  penetrated,  I  cannot  but  regard  them  as 
generally  evincing  design  ;  here  and  there  are  traces 
of  accidental  or  random  excavation,  such  as  the  openings 
into  the  tombs  which  spoil  their  symmetry  ;  but  these, 
I  think,  did  not  form  part  of  the  original  construction ; 
they  must  have  been  made  by  the  riflers  carrying  on  the 
passages  which  were  left  as  cul-de-sacs.6 

What  the  design  of  this  labyrinth  may  have  been,  I 
cannot  surmise.  Analogy  does  not  assist  us  here.  True, 
the  Grotta  della  Regina  at  Toscanella,  has  somewhat 
kindred  passages,  though  to  a  much  smaller  extent ;  but 
these  are  involved  in  equal  obscurity ;  and  in  one  of  the 
mounds  at  Monteroni  there  were  found  cuniculi  of  this 
description,  though  leading  not  from  the  tomb,  but  from 
the  grand  entrance-passage.7  There  seems  to  be  little 
analogy  with  the  system  of  vertical  shafts  and  horizontal 
ways  which  exists  in  the  same  tumulus  at  Monteroni,  in 
the  necropolis  of  Ferento,  and  in  the  Capitoline.  There 
is  more  apparently  with  the  subterranean  passages  beneath 
Chiusi ;  still  more  with  the  Buche  de'  Saracini  at  Volterra ; 
but  these  are  of  most  doubtful  antiquity,  origin,  and  pur- 
pose, and  probably  not  sepulchral.     Nor  can  any  affinity 

0  The  passage  which  connects  the  bench.  May  not  the  passages  have 
circular  chamber  with  the  group  to  the  been  formed  before  certain  of  the  tombs  ? 
west,  narrows  very  suddenly  as  it  May  they  not  have  formed  part  of  the 
approaches  the  latter,  and  opens  in  it  original  sepulchre  in  connection  with 
in  an  irregular  aperture,  which  seems  the  circular  chamber,  and  have  been 
of  more  recent  date.  In  the  circular  cut  into  by  the  subsequent  excavation 
chamber,  one  opening  is  regular,  and  of  other  chambers  ? 
another  quite  irregular.  Yet  in  one  7  Abcken  (Mittclitalicn,  p.  242)  sup- 
case  it  is  the  neatest  and  most  decidedly  poses  these  to  have  been  the  work  of 
artificial  passage  that  cuts  through  the  former  riflers. 


400  CHIUSI.— Poggio  Gajella.  [chap.  L1I. 

be  discovered  to  the  catacombs  of  Rome,  Naples,  and 
other  places  in  Italy  and  Sicily.  Future  researches,  either 
by  clearing  out  these  passages  where  they  are  now  blocked 
up,  or  by  analogous  discoveries,  may  possibly  throw  some 
light  on  the  mystery. 

We  have  now  seen  the  existence  of  something  very 
like  a  labyrinth  in  the  heart  of  an  Etruscan  sepulchral 
tumulus,  and  have  thus  established,  by  analogy,  the 
characteristic  truth  of  Varro's  description,  as  regards  the 
substructions  of  Porsena's  monument.  I  would,  however, 
go  no  further.  I  would  not  infer,  as  some  have  done, 
that  this  tumulus  of  Poggio  Gajella  may  be  the  very 
sepulchre  of  that  hero.  The  circular,  instead  of  the 
square  basement,  and  the  comparatively  late  date  of  its 
decorations  and  contents  are  opposed  to  such  a  conclu- 
sion.8 Yet  its  vast  extent,  and  the  richness  of  its  furni- 
ture, mark  it  as  the  burial-place  of  some  of  the  ancient 
princes  of  Clusium  ;  and  its  discovery,  after  so  many  ages 
of  oblivion,  encourages  the  hope  that  some  kindred  monu- 
ment may  yet  be  found,  which  may  unhesitatingly  be 
pronounced  the  original  of  Varro's  description.9 

Be  this  hope  realised  or  not,  the  memory  of  Porsena 
and  his  virtues  is  beyond  decay.  It  rests  not  on  mauso- 
leum or  "  star-y-pointing  pyramid,"  which,  without  that 
"monument  more  durable  than  brass,"  are  frail  and 
perishing  records  of  human  greatness ;  for,  as  an  old 
writer  observes,  "  to  be  but  pyramidally  extant  is  a  fallacy 
in  duration." 


8  This  is  also  Abeken's  opinion.  Mit-  seem  to  indicate  the  basement  of  a  sepul- 
telitalien,  p.  245.  chral  tumulus.     Here  is   a  most    pro- 

9  There  is  another  similar,  but  larger  arising  field  for  such  researches.  But 
hill,  not  far  off,  called  Poggio  di  San  no  excavations  have  been  yet  made  ; 
Paolo,  which  tradition  has  marked  as  and  are  not  likely  to  be  made  as  long 
the  depository  of  ancient  treasures.  as  the  mound  remains  in  the  hands  of 
Fragments    of    massive    masonry    also  its  present  proprietors. 


CHAPTER  LIIL 

CETONA  AND  SARTEANO. 

Molta  tenent  antiqua,  sepolta,  vetusta. 

Ennius. 

—  gia  furo 
Incliti,  ed  or  n'e  quasi  il  nonie  oscuro. 

Ariosto. 

The  hills  to  the  west  of  Chiusi  are  rich  in  Etruscan 
remains.  The  several  towns  of  Cetona,  Sarteano,  Chian- 
ciano  and  Montepulciano  are  supposed,  from  the  positions 
they  occupy,  and  the  mines  of  ancient  wealth  around 
them,  not  from  any  extant  remains  of  fortifications,  to 
indicate  the  sites  of  so  many  Etruscan  cities.  It  is  certain 
at  least  that  in  their  environs  are  ancient  cemeteries 
yielding  the  most  archaic  relics  of  Etruscan  times.  He 
who  visits  Chiusi  should  not  omit  to  extend  his  tour  to 
these  towns,  for  they  are  all  within  a  trifling  distance  of 
that  city,  and  of  each  other  ;  and  should  he  feel  little 
interest  in  their  antiquities,  he  cannot  fail  to  be  delighted 
with  the  glorious  scenery  around  them.  He  may  make 
the  tour  of  the  whole  in  a  day,  for  the  roads  are  very 
respectable. 

Cetona  is  only  five  or  six  miles  from  Chiusi — a  clean 
little  town,  and  a  picturesque,  on  an  olive-clad  height, 
with  a  ruined  castle  of  feudal  times  towering  above  it. 
Moreover,  it  has  a  decent  locanda,  kept  by  Alessandro 
Davide,  where  bright  eyes  will  look  brighter  when  the 
traveller  comes. 

VOL.    II.  D  D 


402  CETONA  AND  SARTEANO.  [chap.  un. 

The  Etruscan  antiquities  now  visible  at  Cetona  are  all 
contained  in  one  house,  that  of  the  Cavaliere  Terrosi,  who 
lias  drawn  most  of  these  treasures  from  a  spot  called 
Le  Cardetelle,  in  the  valley  of  the  Astrone,  half  way 
between  Chiusi  and  Cetona.  This  gentleman's  collection 
is  not  large,  but  very  select — the  choicest  produce  of 
his  excavations.  Here  are  some  beautiful  specimens  of 
the  black  pottery  of  this  district — the  tall,  cock-crested 
jars,  focolari,  and  other  articles  in  the  old  rigid  style  of 
Clusian  art ;  among  which  a  fine  goblet  of  the  rare  form 
called  carchesion,  with  a  band  of  figures  in  relief,  is  con- 
spicuous. There  are  painted  vases  also,  chiefly  in  the 
archaic  style,  with  black  figures  on  a  red  ground. 

But  the  gems  of  this  collection  are  two  ash-chests. 
One,  on  which  reclines  a  female  figure,  with  patera  in 
hand,  on  a  cushion  that  was  once  coloured  blue,  bears  in 
the  relief  below  an  armed  warrior,  seized  by  two  figures 
in  human  shape,  but  with  the  heads  of  a  pig  and  of  a  ram. 
A  draped  female,  who  seems  to  have  the  warrior's  sword 
in  one  hand,  stands  behind  him,  and  lifts  a  rod  over 
his  head  with  the  other,  while  round  the  same  arm  is 
entwined  a  serpent.  Another  female,  whose  attributes 
mark  her  as  a  Fury,  stands  at  the  opposite  end  of  the 
scene.  A  second  warrior  is  sinking  to  the  ground  in 
death.  It  is  not  difficult  to  recognise  in  this  scene 
the  attempted  enchantment  of  Ulysses  by  Circe.1  The 
drapery  on  these  figures  bears  traces  of  pink  colouring. 


1  Who  may  be  the  dying  warrior  is  cate  his  death.  Ann.  Inst.  1842.  p.  48  ; 
not  obvious.  Dr.  Braun  suggests  it  Bull.  Inst.  1843.  p.  CI.  Sozzi  (Bull.  Inst, 
may  be  Eurylochus  who  brought  the  1842.  p.  18)  took  this  scene  for  a  Bacchic 
hero  word  of  the  fate  of  his  companions,  dance.  Micali  (Mon.  Ined.  p.  310)  con- 
though  he  was  not  slain  on  this  occasion.  fesses  his  inability  to  explain  it.  An 
He  might  he  introduced  merely  for  the  illustration  of  the  urn  is  given  in  Ann. 
sake  of  the  composition,  were  it  not  Inst.  1842.  tav.  d'Agg.  D. ;  and  by 
that  the  Fury  seems  expressly  to  indi-  Micali,  op.  cit.  tav.  XLIX. 


chap,  mi.]  CETONA.— MUSEO  TEBROSI.  403 

The  other  cinerary  urn  is  the  best  preserved  Etruscan 
monument  of  this  character  I  remember  to  have  seen. 
The  relief  shows  a  female  without  wings,  but  with  a 
hammer  and  the  other  usual  attributes  of  a  demon,  sitting 
on  an  altar,  with  her  arm  about  a  naked  youth.  On  each 
side  a  man,  with  a  Phrygian  cap  and  a  light  robe,  stands 
with  drawn  bow,  threatening  the  life  of  the  youth.  A 
child  sits  weeping  at  the  foot  of  the  altar,  and  a  female 
figure  in  an  attitude  of  grief,  with  hands  clasped  on  her 
lap,  sits  on  the  other  side  of  the  demon.  It  is  difficult  to 
explain  this  scene.  It  may  represent  the  slaughter  of 
Penelope's  suitors — the  chaste  queen  being  portrayed  in 
the  weeping  female,  if  this  be  not  Euryclaea,  her  nurse  ; 
and  the  two  archers  being  Ulysses  and  Telemachus.2 

The  interest  of  this  urn  lies  not  so  much  in  the  subject 
of  the  relief,  as  in  its  high  state  of  preservation,  and  its 
peculiar  adornments.  The  necklace,  chaplet,  zone,  and 
anklets  of  the  genius  are  gilt ;  so  also  the  chaplet  of  the 
youth,  and  the  Phrygian  cap  of  the  warrior ;  and  the 
drapery  of  the  whole  is  coloured  a  rich  purple.  The 
recumbent  figure  on  the  lid  is  that  of  an  elderly  man,  and 
his  chaplet  of  oak-leaves,  his  long  and  thick  torque,  his 
signet-ring,  and  the  vase  in  his  hand,  are  all  gilt ;  while 

-  This  is  Dr.  Brain's  opinion.     Ann.  ing  at  her  feet  may  mean,  it  is  most 

Instit.  1842.  p.  48.  tav.  d'Agg.  E.     He  difficult   to   conjecture.      Micali  (Mon. 

elsewhere  suggests  that  the  demon  on  Ined.  p.  30.0)  sees  in  the  female,  Pene- 

the    altar    may    he    Proserpine.     Bull.  lope  caressed   by  the  insolent  suitors, 

Inst.    1843.    p.   61.      He   acknowledges  one  of  whom  tries  in  vain  to  draw  the 

that  Telemachus  is  not  so  represented  bow,  when  Ulysses  seizes   his  weapon 

by  Homer  :    but   Etruscan   versions  of  and  takes  his  revenge.     But  the  relief 

Greek  myths  generally  differ  more  or  will   not  admit  of  this   interpretation, 

less    from   those   which    are    received.  Sozzi  (Bull.  Inst.  1842.  p.  1!))  takes  the 

Though   there   are   no   corpses    repre-  demon  for  Proserpine  striving  to  keep 

sented,  he  thinks  that  the  demon  sufti-  the    soul    of   Alcestis    from    Hercules, 

ciently  indicates  the  work  of  destruction.  This  urn  is  illustrated  by  Micali,  Mou. 

Who    the  youth  under  her  protecting  Ined.  tav.  XLIX. 
arm  may  be,  and  what  the  child  weep- 


404  CETONA  AND  SARTEANO.  L'"AF-  ««• 

the  cushion  on  which  lie  reclines  and  the  drapery  on  his 
person  are  purple.  These  colours  are  perfectly  fresh,  and 
are  set  out  brilliantly  by  the  pure  white  alabaster  of  the 
monument.  The  effect  of  the  whole  is  very  rich  ;  and  as 
the  sculpture  is  not  of  a  high  order,  the  colour  does  not 
impair  the  ideality.  It  is  the  best  specimen  of  poly- 
chromy,  applied  to  sculpture,  that  is  to  be  seen  in  Etruria. 

A  just  value  is  set  on  this  relic,  for  it  is  carefully 
preserved  in  a  glass  case. 

The  Cavaliere  is  most  courteous  to  strangers,  and  per- 
mits his  treasures  to  be  freely  inspected.  Those  with 
Cockney  tastes  will  find  somewhat  in  his  grounds  to  delight 
them. 

Another  relic  of  classical  antiquity  to  be  seen  at  Cetona 
is  a  statue  of  marble,  the  size  of  life,  recently  discovered 
among  some  Roman  ruins  near  the  town.  It  represents  a 
philosopher  or  poet,  sitting,  half-draped,  in  an  attitude  of 
contemplation,  and  is  evidently  of  Roman  times.3  It  is  in 
the  possession  of  Signor  Gigli. 

If  Cetona  be  an  ancient  site,  we  have  no  clue  to  its 
original  name ;  the  earliest  record  we  have  of  it  being  in 
the  thirteenth  century  of  our  era.4 

From  Cetona  to  Sarteano  there  are  but  four  miles,  and 
the  road  is  full  of  beauty.  It  ascends  a  steep  and  lofty 
height  covered  with  wood,  and  from  the  summit  commands 
a  magnificent  view  over  the  vale  of  the  Chiana — Cetona 
nestling  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain  which  bears  its  name, 
a  mighty  mass  of  hanging  woods,  in  winter  all  robed  in 
snow  5 — La  Pieve  with  its  twin  towers,  like  horns  bristling 

3  See  Bull.  Instit.  1843.  p.  153,  for  can  relics  have  recently  been  discovered, 
further  notices  of  this  statue.  5  Monte  Cetona  rises  1957  braccia,  or 

4  Repetti,I.  p.  678.  For  notices  of  the  about  3751  feet,  above  the  level  of  the 
excavations  on  this  site  see  Bull.  Inst.  sea.  In  this  mountain,  says  Repetti,  we 
1839,  p.  50  ;  1842,  p.  17.  AtPalazzone,  find  verified  the  fable  of  Janus,  who 
six  miles  south  of  Cetona,  many  Etrus-  looks  with  one  face  at  the  regions  of 


chap,  tin.]  SARTEANO.— MUSEO  BARGAGLI.  405 

from  the  brow  of  the  long  dark  hills  which  stretch  up  from 
the  south — Chiusi,  nearer  the  eye,  on  a  rival  height — the 
intervening  valley,  with  its  grey  and  brown  carpet  of  olive 
and  oak  woods — the  lakes  gleaming  out  bluely  in  the 
distance — and  the  snowy  Apennines  billowing  along  the 
horizon. 

Sarteano  stands  on  the  brow  of  an  elevated  plateau, 
overhanging  the  valley  of  the  Chiana.6  It  is  a  place  of 
some  importance,  fully  as  large  as  Chiusi,  surrounded  by 
walls  of  the  middle  ages.  The  inn,  kept  by  a  dame  of  the 
ethereal  name  of  Serafina,  but  of  as  substantial  a  frame  as 
an  hostess  could  desire,  is  more  respectable  than  might  be 
expected  in  a  district  so  little  frequented  by  foreign  travel- 
lers ;  but  this  range  of  hills  is  much  resorted  to  by  the 
Tuscans  in  the  hot  season,  both  as  a  retreat  from  the  burn- 
ing heat  of  the  low  grounds,  and  for  the  sake  of  its  mineral 
waters. 

At  Sarteano  there  are  three  foci  of  interest  to  the  anti- 
quary— the  collections  of  the  Cavaliere  Bargagli,  the  Dottor 
Borselli,  and  Signor  Lunghini. 

The  first  of  these  gentlemen  has  some  choice  urns,  found 
on  his  estate  at  a  spot  called  Le  Tombe,  near  the  banks  of 
the  Astrone. 

One  represents  in  its  relief  Hippolytus  attacked  by  the 
sea-bull,  which  Neptune  sent  against  him,  and  which  caused 
his  horses  to  take  fright,  so  that  they  dashed  him  and  his 
chariot  to  pieces — 

littore  curium 
Et  juvenem  monstria  pavidi  effudcre  marinis. 

Vulcan,  with  the  other  at  the  realm  of  rise   the  lava-cone  of  Radicufani,  and 

Neptune  ;    for   though   it   rises    in    the  the  trachitc  of  Montamiata,  I.  p.  683. 
midst  of  hills  covered  with  marine  sub-  6  Sarteano   is   only   five   miles   from 

stances,  it  gives  vent  on  every  side  to  Chiusi ;    the  road  is  excellent.     About 

sulphureous   vapours   and  hot  springs,  half-way  is  a  hill,  called  Poggio  Montolo, 

which    have    completely    incrustcd    its  where  painted  tombs  arc  said  to  hare 

base  ;    while  at   a  few  miles'   distance,  been  discovered. 


40G  CETONA  AND  SARTEANO.  [chap.  un. 

A  female  demon  or  Fury,  holding  a  torch,  bestrides  the 
fallen  youth,  and  a  warrior  seems  about  to  attack  her,  sword 
in  hand.7 

There  is  a  very  good  urn  with  the  trite  subject  of  Eteocles 
and  Polynices.  The  moment,  as  usual,  is  chosen  when  the 
brothers  are  giving  each  other  the  death-wound.  A  Fury 
rushes  between  them,  not  to  separate  them,  but  to  indicate 
her  triumph  over  both  ;  she  sets  her  foot  on  an  altar  in  the 
midst,  and  extinguishes  her  torch.8  This  urn  is  worthy  of 
notice,  as  having  on  the  lid,  beside  the  usual  recumbent 
figure,  which  is  here  a  male,  a  little  child  also,  caressing  its 
father. 

Another  relief  represents  Orestes  in  Tauris ;  and  indi- 
cates the  discovery  by  Iphigenia,  that  the  stranger  she  is 
about  to  sacrifice  to  Diana,  is  her  own  brother.  Orestes, 
naked,  sits  weeping  on  the  altar ;  she,  also  naked,  stands 
leaning  on  his  shoulder  in  deep  dejection.  Pylades  is 
being  disarmed  by  a  warrior,  to  be  subjected  to  the  same 
bloody  rite  ;  and  the  female  attendants  of  the  priestess  fill 
up  the  scene.     The  execution  of  this  relief  is  admirable. 

Another  scene,  where  two  young  warriors  are  slaying  an 
old  man  and  seizing  a  maiden,  must  represent  the  death  of 
Priam  and  rape  of  Cassandra,  A  female  demon,  as  usual, 
is  in  at  the  death. 

These  urns,  with  others,  fourteen  in  all,  were  found  in 
one  tomb,  and  the  inscriptions  show  them  to  belong  to  the 
family  of  "Cumere."  l     The  door  of  the  tomb  was  closed 

'   This  urn  is  polychrome — the  flesh  and   weapons  also   of  the   warriors  are 

of  the  men,  the  horses,  the  flame  of  the  painted. 

torch,  are   all   red  ;    the   drapery,  the  '  The  name  is  found  also  with  the 

shield,  and  other  parts  of  the  relief  bear  inflexions  of  Cumeresa,  Cumerusa,  Cu- 

traces  of  yellow.  merunia.     Lanzi  gives  other  Etruscan 

8  She  has  wings  on  her  brows,  a  ser-  sepulchral  inscriptions  with  the  names 

pent  round  her  neck,  blue  wings  to  her  of    Camarina,    Camurina,   and    Camas, 

shoulders,  and  red  buskins.    The  armour  wl,i(h  last  he  would  read  Camars.    Sag- 

gio,  II.  pp.  376,  399,  134. 


chap.  Lin.]   COLLECTIONS  OF  BORSELLI  AND  LUNGHINI.        407 

by  a  large  tile,  bearing  the  same  name  ;  it  is  also  in  this 
collection.  The  discovery  of  a  sepulchre  of  this  family  in 
the  neighbourhood  has  led  some  to  regard  Sarteano  as  the 
site  of  the  ancient  Camars,  without  sufficient  reason,2  though 
the  very  archaic  character  of  the  pottery  found  in  its  tombs 
proves  the  existence  of  Etruscan  habitation  at  a  remote 
period.3 

Dr.  Borselli  has  a  collection  of  vases  ;  some  painted,  but 
most  of  the  black  ware  of  this  district.  Among  the  early 
pottery  are  canopi,  both  in  black  and  coloured  ware  ;  and 
there  is  also  a  round  urn  of  stone  in  the  shape  of  an 
Egyptian  female's  head,  with  a  conical  cap  for  a  lid  ;  in 
it  was  found  a  bronze  pot  containing  the  ashes  of  the 
dead.  Of  the  painted  pottery,  the  best  articles  have  been 
sold  of  late  years,  but  a  few  of  merit  remain.4 

Signor  Lunghini  possesses  a  large  collection  of  Etrus- 
can pottery,  both  painted  and  in  the  usual  black  relieved 
ware.5  The  most  remarkable  are  two  of  those  tall  and 
very  rare  vases,  commonly  called  holmi,6  a  good  specimen 

2  Cervetri  might  as  reasonably  be  vases  with  mythological  subjects — the 
supposed  the  site  of  the  ancient  Tar-  deeds  of  Theseus,  and  Prometheus 
quinii,  because  the  Tomb  of  the  Tarqums  delivered  from  the  vulture  by  the 
is  in  its  neighbourhood.  Lanzi  (II.  p.  arrows  of  Hercules.  There  was  also  a 
451)  thinks  Sarteano  may  be  traced  in  seat  or  curule  chair  of  pottery,  with  bas- 
the  Etruscan  name,  "  Satria."  reliefs  ;  much  resembling  the  beautiful 

3  For  notices  of  the  urns  in  the  Mu-  marble  throne  of  the  Falazzo  Corsini  at 
seum  Bargagli,  see  Bull.  Inst.  1836.  pp.  Rome.  For  notices  of  this  collection, 
30  —  32  (Sozzi)  ;  1840.  pp.  151 — 2  as  it  was  a  few  years  since,  see  Bull. 
(Braun).  Inst.  1840.  pp.  148,  149,  153. 

*  An  amphora,  with  Hercules  leading  5  On  the  painted  pottery  are  scenes 
Cerberus  (here  with  but  two  heads)  and  from  the  Trojan  War — the  deeds  of 
followed  by  Minerva,— a  celebs,  with  a  Hercules  — Europa  and  the  bull—  Mi- 
warrior  receiving  a  goblet  from  a  nerva  caressing  a  horse— fauns  feeding 
female,  in  very  good  style,— a  similar  the  ass  of  Silenus— fauns  pursuing  Bac- 
vase,  with  athlelce  exercising,— a  patera,  chantes  — chariot-races— sacrifices,  &c. 
with  naked  youths  at  the  bath,  holding  Here  are  also  some  minute  cups  and 
strigils, — a  scyphos,  with  Fauns,  Msena-  saucers,  and  other  toys  in  pottery — the 
des,  and  sphinxes.  There  were  for-  furniture  of  a  child's  sepulchre. 
merly  in  this  collection  some  beautiful  G  The   holwos   was   also    the    Hat    or 


408  CETONA  AND  SARTEANO.  [chap.  liii. 

of  which  decorates  the  Gregorian  Museum.  They  are 
about  three  feet  high,  and  are  composed  of  a  bowl-shaped 
vase,  resting  on  a  stand.  Whether  for  containing  the 
ashes  of  the  dead,  or  for  perfumes  I  cannot  tell ;  but  the 
lid  is  pierced  for  the  escape  of  effluvium.  One  of  these 
vases  is  painted  with  numerous  figures  of  men  and  animals 
in  separate  bands ;  the  other  is  of  black  ware  with  deco- 
rations in  relief.     Both  are  evidently  of  very  early  date. 

But  the  most  singular  article  in  this  collection  is  an  urn 
of  stone  in  the  form  of  a  little  temple  or  small  dog-kennel, 
with  a  high-pitched  roof.  Each  side  displays  a  scene  in 
very  low  relief.  First  is  a  death-bed — the  corpse  covered 
with  the  shroud — children  on  their  knees  in  attitudes  of 
grief  —  wailing-women  tearing  their  hair  —  subulones 
drowning  their  cries  with  the  double-pipes.  On  the 
opposite  side  is  a  race  of  trkjce,  or  three-horse  chariots ; 
and  at  the  ends  are  banqueting-scenes — the  feasting  and 
sports  attending  the  funeral.  On  the  ridge  of  the  roof  at 
each  end  is  a  lion  couchant — the  symbolic  guardians  of 
the  ashes.  The  urn  rests  on  the  bodies  of  two  bulls  with 
human,  or  rather  fauns',  heads,7  representing  either  river- 
gods,  or,  more  probably,  Bacchus  Hebon, — 

Semibovemque  virum,  seniivirumque  bovem. 

This  monument  is  an  excellent  specimen  of  the  very  early 
and  severely  archaic  style  of  Etruscan  sculpture.8 

So  rich  is  the  soil  around  Sarteano  in  Etruscan  trea- 
sures, that  in  the  ordinary  processes  of  agriculture  articles 

hollow  plate  placed  on  a  tripod,  as  the  supposed  to  represent  either    Bacchus 

seat  of  the  Pythia  when  she  delivered  Ilebou,  the   divinity   of  Campania,   or 

her  oracles.  the  Sebcthus,  a  rivulet  near  that  city, 

"  These  heads  are  like  that  shown  in  or  Achelous,  or  some  other  river-god. 

the   wood-cut  at   page   3.58   of   Vol.    1.  Ann.  Inst.  1841.  p.  133. 

This  is  a  figure  found  on  many  bronze  8  For  a  notice  of  this  urn,  see  Bull. 

coins  of  Neapolis  of  late  date  ;   and   is  Inst.  1846.  p.  l(i-2. 


chap,  liii.]  TOMBS   OF  SARTEANO.  409 

are  often  brought  to  light,  and  the  various  proprietors  of 
land  come  into  the  possession  of  antiquities  without  the 
trouble  of  research.  In  the  hands  of  Gaetano  Bernardini, 
a  shopkeeper  of  Sarteano,  I  saw  some  very  curious  bronzes ; 
indeed  this  necropolis  is  hardly  less  abundant  in  metals 
than  in  pottery. 

Most  of  these  relics  are  found  near  the  Madonna  clella 
Fea,  about  a  mile  to  the  west ;  others  also  at  a  spot  called 
Solaja,  in  the  same  direction  ;  but  the  most  archaic 
pottery  is  found  still  further,  towards  Castiglioncel  del 
Trinoro,  a  wall-girt  village,  with  the  ominous  alias  of 
de'  Ladri,  or,  the  Robber-hold,  three  miles  from  Sarteano, 
towards  Radicofani.9 

9  The  tombs  of  Sarteano  are  all  hoi-  which,  when  of  great  size,  is  supported 

lowed  in  the  rock,  as  usual.     They  are  by  a  rock-hewn    pillar  in    the   midst, 

very  simple,  without  decorations,  and  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  III.  p.  10.    None 

have  generally  but  a   single  chamber,  remain  open  for  inspection. 


CHAPTER  LIV. 

CHIANCIANO  AND  MONTEPULCIANO. 

Reliquias  veterumque  vides  monumenta  virorum. 

Virgil. 

Feom  Sarteano  to  Cliianciano  it  is  a  drive  of  seven 
miles  amid  glorious  scenery.  This  range  of  heights,  indeed 
the  whole  district  of  Chiusi,  is  prodigal  in  charms  — an 
earthly  paradise.  There  are  so  many  features  of  beauty, 
that  those  which  are  wanting  are  not  missed.  Here  are 
hill  and  vale,  rock  and  wood,  towns  and  castles  on 
picturesque  heights,  broad  islet-studded  lakes,  and  ranges 
of  Alpine  snow  and  sublimity  ;  and  if  the  ocean  be  want- 
ing, it  has  no  unapt  substitute  in  the  vast  vale  or  plain  of 
Chiana — a  sea  of  fertility  and  luxuriance ;  while  all  is 
warmed  and  enriched  by  the  glowing  sun  of  Italy,  and 
canopied  by  a  vault  of  that  heavenly  blue,  that 

Dolce  color  d'oriental  zaffiro, 

which  reflects  beauty  on  everything  beneath  it.  It  is  the 
sort  of  scenery  which  wins  rather  than  imposes,  whose 
grandeur  lies  in  its  totality,  not  in  particular  features, 
where  sublimity  takes  you  not  by  storm,  but  retires  into 
an  element  of  the  beautiful. 

Chianciano,  like  Sarteano,  stands  on  the  brow  of  a  hill, 
girt  with  corn,  vines  and  olives — a  proud  site,  lording  it 
over  the  wide  vale  of  the  Chiana,  and  the  twin  lakes  of 
Chiusi  and  Montepulciano.      It  is  a  neat  town  of  about 


chap,  liv.]       CHIANCIANO.— CASUCCINI  COLLECTION.  411 

two  thousand  souls,  and  is  much  resorted  to  in  summer, 
for  the  hot  springs  in  its  neighbourhood.  Here  are  two 
little  inns,  kept  by  Faenzi  and  Sporazzini ;  in  neither  will 
the  traveller  have  much  occasion  to  complain. 

There  are  no  local  remains  of  high  antiquity  at  Chian- 
ciano,  yet  it  seems  very  probable,  both  from  the  nature  of 
its  position,  and  from  the  discovery  of  numerous  sepulchres 
in  the  neighbourhood,  that  an  Etruscan  town  occupied 
this  site.  In  truth  the  modern  name  is  indicative  of  the 
ancient  appellation.1  Many  Etruscan  tombs  have  been 
opened  at  a  spot  called  Volpajo,  near  the  mound  of 
I  Gelli,  half  a  mile  from  Chianciano.2 

The  only  gentleman  who  at  present  makes  excavations 
in  tins  necropolis  is  the  Signor  Carlo  Casuccini,  cousin  of 
the  Casuccini  of  Chiusi.  From  the  collection  in  his 
possession,  I  learned  that  besides  the  peculiar  black  ware 
of  this  district — the  ciste  mistiche,  the  focolari,  and  cock- 
crowned  jars — vases  painted  in  the  finest  Hellenic  style 
are  sometimes  brought  to  light,  together  with  bronzes  of 
various  descriptions.  I  remarked  a  novelty  in  a  steel 
dagger,  with  a  ring  at  the  hilt,  for  fixing  it  like  a  bayonet 
to  a  pole.3 

1  The  derivation  from  Chiana  (Clanis)  ing  altogether  100  lbs.  Bull.  Inst.  1830.  p. 
is  obvious;  but  the  very  name  of  this  63;  1831.  p.  38.  These  were,  till  lately, 
town  has  been  found  in  an  Etruscan  in  the  possession  of  the  Signori  Conti 
inscription,  which  contains  that  also  of  of  Chianciano.  In  the  same  neighbour- 
Clusium  —  "Clunsia."  The  form  in  hood,  at  a  spot  called  Le  Fornaci,  was 
which  it  occurs  is  "Clanicianisth."  found,  half  a  century  since,  the  remains 
Mus.  Chius.  II.  p.  222.  This  is  pro-  of  an  ancient  factory  of  vases  and  tiles, 
bably  an  adjective,  the  last  syllable  of  Roman  times,  belonging  to  a  certain 
answering,  it  may  be,  to  the  Latin  ad-  L.  Gellius.  On  two  of  the  tiles  was 
jectival  termination, — estis — as  a  ccelo,  inscribed  the  name  of  that  Sisenua,  who 
ccelestis — ah  agro,  agrestis — an  inflexion  was  consul  in  the  year  of  Rome  7C.9, 
common  also  in  modern  Italian.  sixteen  years  after  Christ ;  but  though 

2  Among  the  antique  treasure  here  of  so  late  a  date  the  word  is  written 
brought  to  light  was  a  large  vase,  con-  from  right  to  left,  in  the  Etruscan  style 
taining  no  less   than  seven  axe-hcads,  Bull.  Inst.  1832.  p.  33. 

and  forty-three  spades, of  bronze,  weigh-  '   In  the  neighbourhood  of  Chianciano 


412  CHIANCIANO  AND  MONTEPULCIANO.       [chap.  uv. 

Chianciano  is  only  four  miles  from  Montepulciano.  The 
road  skirts  the  brow  of  the  hills,  which  are  covered  with 
oak-woods ;  about  half-way  it  crosses  the  Acqua  Boglia,  a 
sulphureous  and  ferruginous  spring  ;  and,  on  the  approach 
to  Montepulciano,  passes  a  bare,  conical  hill,  called  Poggio 
Tutoni,  or  Tutona — a  name,  which  from  its  affinity  to  the 
Tutni  or  Tutna,  often  found  in  Etruscan  inscriptions  in  this 
district,  appears  to  be  very  ancient.4 

Montepulciano  is  a  city  of  some  three  thousand  inha- 
bitants, girt  by  walls  of  the  middle  ages,  and  cresting  a 
lofty  height  at  the  northern  extremity  of  this  range  of 
hills.  It  is  built  on  so  steep  a  slope,  that  it  would  seem 
the  architects  of  the  Cathedral  had  leagued  with  the 
priests  to  impose  a  perjjetual  penance  on  the  inhabitants 
by  placing  it  at  the  summit  of  the  town.  The  most 
interesting  building  is  the  church  of  San  Biagio,  with- 
out the  walls,  a  modern  edifice  after  the  designs  of  San- 
gallo,  which  owes  its  existence  to  a  miracle  of  a  Madonna, 
who  is  recorded  to  have  winked  "  her  most  holy  eyes " 
at  two  washerwomen,  in  so  fascinating  a  manner  as  to 
bring  even  a  herd  of  cattle  to  their  knees  before  her 
image. 

Montepulciano  is  supposed  to  be  an  Etruscan  site.  Its 
situation  and  the  remains  discovered  in  its  neighbourhood, 
favour  this  opinion.  Some  have  ascribed  its  foundation  to 
Porsena  ; 5  others  more  modestly  have  regarded  it  as  the 

has  been  found  one  of  the  rare  bilingual  Etruscan   epitaph,    was    probably   T,  a 

inscriptions,    in    Etruscan    and    Latin.  character  which    in  the  Etruscan    may 

The  former  would  run  thus  in  Roman  easily  be  mistaken  for  an  U. 

letters—  4  In  the  Museo  Chiusino  (II.  pp.  124, 

cxi.vr.  send,  arntnal.  133,226)  will   be  found   Etruscan   in- 

scriptions  with  this  family-name  ;  and  I 

which  is  translated  by  ^  ^^  ^  bot);  &%  ^^  and 

q.  sentivs.  l.  r.  arria.  xatv>.  Cetoua. 

See  Bull.  Inst.  1841.  p.   14.  cf.  p.  80.  5  Auctores  ap.  Dempster.  Etrur.  Reg. 

The  last  letter  in  the  second  word  of  the        1  [,  p.  422. 


chap,  liv.]      MONTEPULCIANO.— PALAZZO  BUCCELLI. 


413 


Arretium  Ficlens  of  Pliny,6  or  as  the  Ad  Novas  of  the 
Peutingerian  Table.7  The  earliest  record  we  have  of  it  is 
in  the  year  715  after  Christ,  when  it  was  called  Castellum 
Politianum.8  Its  ancient  name  must  remain  a  matter  of 
conjecture,  till  fortune  favours  us  with  some  local  inscrip- 
tion, throwing  light  on  the  subject.  No  vestiges  of  ancient 
walls  are  now  extant,  nor  are  there  any  tombs  open 
around  the  town.  The  only  evidence  of  antiquity  is  in  the 
collection  of  monuments,  Etruscan  and  Latin,  discovered 
in  the  vicinity,  and  preserved  in  the  Palazzo  Buccelli.9 
Here  are  sepulchral  inscriptions,  and  reliefs  from  sarco- 
phagi and  urns,  embedded  in  the  facade — a  prodigal 
display  of  antiquarian  wealth,  which  is  lost  on  the  eyes  of 
the  natives,  but  has  the  advantage  of  attaching  the  relics 
to  the  spot.  In  the  reliefs  are  centaurs,  gorgons,  souls  on 
horseback — but  nothing  of  extraordinary  interest.     Some 


fi  Dempster.  II.  p.  423. 

7  Cluver.  II.  p.  569  ;  Cramer,  Ancient 
Italy,  I.  p.  247.  If  this  be  the  case,  the 
Villi,  of  the^  Table  is  probably  a  mis- 
copy  of  XIIII.  ;  but  Montepulciano 
seems  to  he  off  the  direct  road. 

North  of  Clusium  the  Tables  give  us 
the  following  stations,  on  the  ancient 
Via  Cassia. 


Ad  Aquileia 

XIIII. 

Florentia  Tuscorum 

Amum  fl. 

In  Portu 

IIII. 

Valuata 

XVII, 

Pisis 

VIII, 

From  Clusium  a  second  road  ran  more 
to  the  west  to  Sena,  and  apparently  to 
Florentia,  according  to  the  same  Table  ; 


ANTONINE 

ITINERARY. 

but  the  distances 

are  very  incorrect. 

V  l  ll^l  l  U  I  1  . 

Ad  Statuas 

XII. 

Clusium. 

Arretium 

XXV. 

Ad  Novas 

Villi. 

Ad    Fines,   sive 

Casas 

Manliana 

VIII. 

Caesarianas 

XXV. 

Ad  Mensulas 

XVIII. 

Florentiam 

XXV. 

Umbro  fl. 

XVI. 

Pistorium 

XXV. 

Sena  Julia 

VI. 

Lucam 

XXV. 

Ad  Sextum 

XVI. 
XXXIII. 

PEUTINGERIA 

TABLE. 

Clusium. 

8  Repetti,  III. 

P- 

465. 

Ad  Novas 

Villi. 

9  Gori,  Mus. 

Etrus.  I.  tab.  191—5  \ 

Ad  Grsecos 

vim. 

Lanzi,   II.   p.   269 

;     Inghirami,   Mon 

Ad  Joglandem 

XII. 

Etrus.  I.  p.  14. 

Bituriha 

X. 

414.  CHIANCIANO  AND  MONTEPULCIANO.        [chap.  i.iv. 

of  the  inscriptions  are  remarkable   for  having   Etruscan 
names  in  Roman  letters,1  as — 

TITIA  •  C  •  L  A  .  .  .  ABASSA 

FAYSAL  ARNTHAL  ■  FRAVNAL. 

Let  not  the  traveller  omit  to  pay  his  devoirs  to  the 
liquid  "  manna  of  Montepulciano,"  the  monarch  of  Tuscan, 
if  not  of  all  other  wines,  as  Bacchus  and  Redi  have  pro- 
nounced it — 

•'Montepulciano  cFogni  vino  e  il  Re." 

Hark  to  the  extatic  jolliness  of  the  god  ! — 

"  Sweet  Ariadne — 
Fill  me  the  manna  of  Montepulciano  ! 
Fill  me  a  magnum,  and  reach  it  me. — Gods  ! 
How  it  slides  to  my  heart  by  the  sweetest  of  roads  ! 
Oh,  how  it  kisses  me,  tickles  me,  bites  me  ! 
Oh,  how  my  eyes  loosen  sweetly  in  tears  ! 
I  'm  ravish'd  !     I  'm  rapt  !     Heaven  finds  me  admissible  ! 
Lost  in  an  ecstasy !  blinded  !  invisible  ! 
Hearken  all  earth ! 

We,  Bacchus,  in  the  might  of  our  great  mirth 
To  all  who  reverence  us,  and  are  right  thinkers  ; — 
Hear,  all  ye  drinkers  ! 

Give  ear  and  give  faith  to  our  edict  divine — 
Montepulciano  's  the  king  of  all  wine." 

Montepulciano  commands  a  most  extensive  view  of  the 
vale  of  the  Chiana,  which,  after  lying  in  confined  luxu- 
riance between  this  range  and  the  triple  paps  of  Chiusi, 
here  swells  out  and  unfolds  its  beauties  in  a  wide  expanse 
of  fertility ;  stretching  northward  to  the  walls  of  Arezzo 
and  the  tower-crowned  height  of  Cortona  ;  and  eastward 
beyond  the  twin  lakes,  to  the  broad  and  bright-bosomed 

1  Those  in  the  native  character  men-  (Sejanus),  Velthur  (Veturius),   Pethni, 

tion    the   families   of    Varna   (Varius),  &c,  but  the  greater  part  belong  to  the 

Trepu    (Trebius),    Tlesna     or    Tresna  families  of  Leene  (Licinius)  and  Tetina 

(Telesinus),   Latini     (Latinos),    Seianti  (Titinius). 


chap,  liv.]  VAL  DI  CHLANA.  415 

Thrasymene,  and  to  the  very  base  of  the  hoary  Apennines. 
This  was  for  ages  a  dreary  swamp,  proverbial  for  pestilence  ; 

"  But  that  is  past,  and  now  the  zephyr  brings 
Health  in  its  breath,  and  gladness  on  its  wings." 

It  is  now  one  of  the  most  fertile  tracts  in  Europe,  scarcely 
less  healthy  than  the  heights  around  it.  This  surprising 
change,  which  had  been  aimed  at  in  vain  for  two  centuries, 
has  been  effected  in  the  last  sixty  years  by  filling  up  the 
swamp  with  alluvial  deposits  ; 2  and  instead  of  slime  and 
putrid  water,  it  now  overruns  with  oil  and  wine,  and  all 
the  wealth  of  a  southern  soil,  and  in  place  of  the  fish  and 
wild-fowl,  for  which  it  was  famed  of  old,3  are  milk-white 
oxen,  fair  as  the  steers  of  Clitumnus,  and  flocks  of  sheep, 
tended  by  dark-eyed  Chloes  and  Delias,  who  sit  spinning 
by  the  road-side. 

A  great  portion  of  the  plain  belongs  to  the  Grand  Duke, 
who  has  a  small  palace  at  Bettolle,  eleven  miles  from 
Montepulciano,  and  much  of  the  land  is  parcelled  off  into 
small  poderi  or  farms,  all  built  on  one  plan,  and  titled  and 
numbered  like  papers  in  a  cabinet.  In  appearance  the 
plain  is  much  like  Lombardy,  the  products  are  similar,  the 
fertility  equal,  the  road  almost  as  level.  The  traveller 
who  would  journey  across  it  to  Arezzo  may  find  accom- 
modation at  Bettolle  or  Fojano.4 

2  In  the  Roman  portion  of  the  Val  and  the  project  was  abandoned.     Tacit, 

di  Chiana,  the  opposite  system  of  drain-  Annal.  1.  7.'). 

ing   lias  been    pursued,  and  with   little  3  The  \ijxvn  7repl  K\ov<riov  of  Strabo 

success.     Repetti,  I.  p.  685.   The  Clanis  (V.  p.  226)   must  refer  to  this  swamp, 

or  Chiana  originally  fell  into  the  Tiber,  then  under  water,  rather  than  to  either 

but  is  now  made  to  fall  into  the  Arno.  of  the  small  lakes  near  the  town,  which 

This  change  in  its  course  was  contem-  were  probably  hardly  distinguishable, 

plated    as  long  since  as  the   reign   of  4  Montepulciano    is    13   miles    from 

Tiberius ;  but  the  Florentines  of  that  day  Chiusi  by  the  direct  road,  7  from  Pienza, 

sent  a  deputation  to  Rome  deprecating  18  or  19  from  Cortona,  and  32  or  33 

such  a  change  on  the  ground  that  their  from  Arezzo.  A  so-called  diligence  rims 

lands  would  be  flooded  and  destroyed  ;  to  the  latter  city  several  times  a  week. 


416  CHIANCIANO  AND  MONTEPULCIANO.        [chap.  uv. 

Every  one  must  be  struck  with  the  beauty  of  the  cattle 
on  these  royal  farms.  They  are  either  purely  white  or 
tinged  with  grey,  which  in  the  sun  has  quite  a  lilac  bloom ; 
and  their  eyes  are  so  large,  soft,  and  lustrous,  that  one 
ceases  to  wonder  that  Juno  was  called  "  ox-eyed,"  or  that 
Europa  eloped  with  a  bull. 

At  various  spots  in  the  Val  di  Chiana,  Etruscan  tombs 
have  been  found ;  and  it  would  seem  that  some  of  the 
eminences  which  vary  its  surface,  must  have  been  occupied 
in  ancient  times  by  towns,  or  villages,  though  much  of  the 
low  ground  was  under  water.5 

There  is  a  good  road  through  Pienza  to  also   at   the   foot    of    the   "  Poggio   de' 

San  Quirico,  13  or  14  miles  distant,  on  Morti,"   or  "Dead   Men's    Hill,"   some 

the  high-road  from  Rome  to  Siena  and  Etrascan  urns,  of  the  families  of  "  Spu- 

Florence  ;  and  there  is  another  road  to  rina  "    and    "  Thurice,"    with    female 

Siena  by  Asinalunga  and  Asciano.  ornaments    of    gold    and    silver,    and 

5  Near  Asinalunga,  and  also  on  a  hill  painted   vases  in   the   latest  and    best 

near  the  farm  of  Fonte  Rotella,  tombs  style,  have  been  brought  to  light.     Bull, 

have  been  found  with  curious  articles  in  Inst.  1843.  pp.  37,  38  ;  cf.  Micali,  Mon. 

bronze.     Bull.  Inst.  1834.  p.  200;  1835.  Ined.  p.  213.  tav.  XXXV.  2.     At  Mar- 

p.  126.     Near  Lucignano,  in  some  hills,  ciano,  a  village  on  the  heights  by  the 

called  "  Poggi  Grassi,"  or  "  delle  Belle  road-side,   a  few    miles   from    Fojano, 

Donne,"  a  Roman  urn  of  marble  and  tombs    have    been    opened,   containing 

some  red  Aretine  vases  have  been  dis-  numerous  urns.  Bull.  Inst.  1830.  p.  202. 
covered.     Bull.  Inst.  1832.  p.  54.    And 


CHAPTER  LV. 

AREZZO.— ARRETIUM. 

Sic  terapora  verti 
Cernimus,  atque  illas  adsumere  robora  gentes, 
Concidere  has. 

Ovid. 

"  Can  any  good  come  out  of  Nazareth  1 "  was  asked  of 
old.  "  Can  any  good  come  elsewhere  than  from  Arezzo  1 " 
one  is  ready  to  inquire,  on  beholding  the  numerous  tablets 
in  the  streets  of  that  city,  recording  the  unparalleled 
virtues  and  talents  of  her  sons.  Here  dwelt  "  the  monarch 
of  wisdom, "■ — there  "  an  incomparable  pupil  of  Melpo- 
mene/'— this  was  "  the  stoutest  champion  of  Tuscany,  the 
dread  and  terror  of  the  Turks," — and  that, — the  world 
ne'er  saw  his  like, — for 

"  Natura  il  fece,  e  poi  ruppe  la  stampa  " — ' 

no  unapt  metaphor  for  a  city  of  potters,  as  this  was  of  old. 
Verily  may  it  be  said,  "  Parlano  in  Arezzo  ancora  i  sassi  " 
— the  very  stones  are  eloquent  of  the  past  glories  of 
Arezzo,  and  of  her  maternal  pride.  Yet  some  of  her 
children's  names  have  filled  the  trump,  not  of  Tuscan,  but 
of  universal  fame  ;  and  the  city  which  has  produced  a 
Ma)cenas  and  a  Petrarch  may  be  pardoned  for  a  little 
vanity.2 

1  This   seems   the   original  of  those  2  Even  Msecenas,  who,  having  found 

lines  of  Byron —  his   bard,  might   well    have    dispensed 

" — Nature  made  but  one  such  man,  with  it,  has  his  monument  in  Arezzo. 

And  broke  the  die,  in  moulding  Sheri-  On  the  grass-plot  by  the  Duomo  is  a 

dan."  granite   column   to  his  memory. — "  C. 

VOL.  II.  E  E 


4  ]  8  AREZZO.  [chap.  i.v. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  set  forth  the  modern  glories  of  Arezzo 
— her  Cathedral  with  its  choice  monuments  of  sculpture 
and  painting — the  quaint-fashioned  church  of  La  Pieve — 
the  localities  immortalised  by  Boccaccio — the  delightful 
promenade  on  the  ramparts — the  produce  of  her  vineyards, 
renowned  in  ancient  times,3  and  sung  at  the  present  day, 
as  the  juice  which 

Vermigliuzzo, 

Brillantuzzo, 

Fa  superbo  1'  Aretino. 

But  I  may  assure  the  traveller  that  nowhere  on  his  jour- 
neyings  in  Etruria  will  he  find  better  accommodation  than 
at  La  Posta  or  Le  Armi  d'  Inghilterra,  at  Arezzo.4 

This  large  and  lively  city  is  the  representative  of  the 
ancient  Arretium  or  Aretium,5  a  venerable  city  of  Etruria, 
and  one  of  the  Twelve  of  the  Confederation.  Of  its  origin 
we  have  no  record.6  The  earliest  notice  of  it  is,  that  with 
Clusium,  Volaterrse,  Rusellse,  and  Vetulonia,  it  engaged  to 
assist  the  Latins  against  Tarquinius  Priscus.7  "We  next 
hear  of  it  in  the  year  443  (b.c.  311)  as  refraining  from 
joining  the  rest  of  the  Etruscan  cities  in  their  attack  on 
the  town  of  Sutrium,  then  an  ally  of  Rome  ;8  yet  it  must 
have  been  drawn  into  the  war,  for  in  the  following  year,  it 
is  said,  jointly  with  Perusia  and  Cortona,  all  three  among 

C'ilnio    Msecenati     Arretino,    Concives  give  Arretium.     Cluver.  II.  p.  571. 

tanto  nomine  decorati,  P.  C.  Prid.  Idus  6  Cluver  considered  it  to  have  been 

Mai  1819,  l.  d.  s.  c."  prior  to  the  Trojan  War,  and  to  have 

3  Arretium  had  three  sorts  of  grapes  been  founded  either  by  the  Umbri  or 
— "  talpana,  et  etesiaca,  et  conseminia  "  Pelasgi.  But  there  is  no  statement  to 
— whose  peculiarities  are  set  forth  by  that  effect  in  ancient  writers. 

Pliny,  XIV.  4,  7.  "  Dion.   Hal.   III.  p.   189.     This,  as 

4  Arrezzoisl8  miles  from  Cortona,  already  stated  with  reference  to  the 
31  from  Montepulciano,  more  than  40  other  four  cities,  is  a  proof  of  the  rank 
from  Chiusi,  nearly  as  many  from  Siena,  Arretium  took  as  one  of  the  Twelve  ; 
nnd  51  from  Florence.  which  is  fully  confirmed  by  Livy. 

5  It   is    spelt   both    ways   by   classic  8  Liv.  IX.  32. 
writers  ;  but  ancient  inscriptions  always 


chap,  lt.]  HISTORY  OF  ARRETIUM.  419 

the  chief  cities  of  Etruria,  to  have  sought  and  obtained  a 
truce  for  thirty  years.9 

In  the  year  453  (b.c.  301)  the  citizens  of  Arretium  rose 
against  their  leading  family,  the  Cilnii,  whose  great  wealth 
had  excited  their  jealousy,  and  drove  them  out  of  the  city. 
The  Romans  espoused  the  cause  of  the  exiles,  and  Valerius 
Maximus,  the  dictator,  marched  against  the  Arretines  and 
the  other  Etruscans  who  had  joined  them  ;  but  during  his 
absence  from  the  army,  in  order  to  reconsult  the  auspices 
at  Rome,  his  lieutenant  in  command  fell  into  an  ambus- 
cade, and  met  with  a  signal  defeat.  The  Etruscans, 
however,  were  eventually  overcome  in  the  fields  of  Rusellae, 
and  their  might  was  broken.1 

In  the  war  which  the  Etruscans,  in  alliance  with  the 
Gauls  and  Umbrians,  waged  against  Rome  in  the  years 
459  and  460,  Arretium  took  part,  and  with  Perusia 
and  Volsinii,  the  mightiest  cities  of  the  land,  sustained 
another  defeat  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Rusellae,  and  was 
forced  to  sue  for  peace.2 

The  last  mention  we  find  of  Arretium,  in  the  time  of 
national  independence,  is  that  it  was  besieged  by  the 
Gauls  about  the  year  469,  and  that  the  Romans,  vainly 
endeavouring  to  relieve  it,  met  with  a  signal  defeat  under 
its  walls.3  There  is  no  record  of  the  date  or  the  manner 
of  its  final  conquest  by  Rome.  It  was  at  Arretium  that 
the  consul  Flaminius  fixed  his  camp  before  the  fatal  over- 


9  Liv.  IX.  37  ;  Diodoi*.  Sic.  XX.  p.  Maecenas  came. 

773.  2  Liv.    X.    37.  —  Tres    validissima; 

1  Liv.   X.   3 — 5.      Some    authorities,  urbes,  Etrurise  capita,  Volsinii,  Perusia, 

adds    Livy,   state    that   there   was    no  Arretium,  pacem  petiere. 

warfare  consequent  on  the  insurrection  3  Polyb.  II.   ]  9.    Orosius   (III.   22) 

of  the  Arretines,  but  that  it  was  peace-  refers  this  event  to  the  year  463,  but 

ably  suppressed  and  the  Cilnian  family  as  he  says  it  was  in  the  consulate  of 

restored   to  the  favour  of  the  people.  Dolabella  and  Domitius,  he  must  mean 

It  was   of  this    "  royal  "    house   that  471  (b.c.  283). 

E  E  2 


420  AREZZO.  [chap.  i.v. 

throw  on  the  shores  of  the  Thrasymene.4  The  city  did 
not  remain  faithful  during  the  Punic  War,  but  made 
several  efforts  to  throw  off  the  yoke,  and  the  Romans  were 
compelled  to  make  hostages  of  the  sons  of  the  senators, 
and  put  new  keys  on  the  city-gates.5  Yet  towards  the 
close  of  the  war,  Arretium  furnished  her  quota  of  supplies 
— corn,  weapons,  and  other  munitions  of  war — for  Scipio's 
fleet.6  In  the  civil  contests  of  Sylla  and  Marius,  she 
sided  with  the  latter,  and  would  have  suffered  from  the 
victor  the  loss  of  her  lands  and  citizenship,  but  for  the 
eloquence  of  Cicero,  who  pleaded  her  cause.7  Many  of 
the  colonists  afterwards  espoused  the  cause  of  Catiline.8 
In  the  war  between  Csesar  and  Pompey,  Arretium  was 
one  of  the  first  places  seized  by  the  former.9  Her  fertile 
lands  were  three  times  partitioned  among  the  soldiers  of 
the  Republic,  and  the  colonies  established  were  distin- 
guished by  the  names  of  Arretium  Vetus,  Fidens,  and 
Julium.1     The  former  was  still  one  of  the  chief  cities  of 


4  Liv.  XXII.  2,  3  ;  Polyb.  III.  77,  7  Cicero,  pro  Caecina,  33  ;  ad  Attic. 
80  ;   Cicero  (de  Diviu.    I.   35)  tells  us  I.  19. 

that  the  Consul  and  his  horse  here  fell  8  Cicero,  pro  Murena,  24. 

suddenly  to  the  ground  before  a  statue  9  Cicero,  ad  Divers.  XVI.  1 2  ;  Caesar, 

of  Jupiter  Stator,  yet  he  neglected  the  Bell.  Civ.  I.  11. 

omen  ;    and    when    he    consulted    the  l  Plin.   III.   8.     Repetti  (I.  p.  113) 

auspices,    though    the     holy    chickens  refers  the  colony  of  Arretium  Fidens  to 

would  not  feed  propitiously,  he  refused  Sylla  ;    yet   Cicero     (ad    Attic.    I.    1 9) 

to  regard   the   warning,  and  marched  expressly  states  that  though  Sylla  had 

out  to  his  own  destruction.  confiscated  the  lands   of  the    Arretini, 

5  Liv.  XXVII.  21,  22,  24.  he    was    prevented    by  himself  from 

6  Liv.  XXVIII.  45. — Arretini  triginta  dividing  them  among  his  legions.  The 
millia  scutorum,  galeas  totidem,  pila,  Arretium  Julium  was  established  under 
gaesa,  hastas  longas,  millium  quinqua-  the  Triumvirate,  as  Frontinus  (de 
ginta  summam  pari  cujusque  generis  Coloniis)  assures  us.  Arretium  is  also 
numero  expleturos,  secures,  rutra,  mentioned  as  a  colony  by  Ptolemy  (p. 
falces,  alveolos,  molas,  quantum  in  72,  ed.  Bert.),  and  as  a  municipium  by 
quadraginta  longas  naves  opus  esset,  Isidor  (Orig.  XX.  4)  and  by  inscriptions, 
tritici  centum  et  viginti  millia  modium,  Dempster,  II.  p.  311.  Cluver  (II. 
et  in  viaticum  decurionibus  remigibus-  p.  572)  thinks  it  must  have  been  a 
que  collaturos.  municipium  of  the  third  kind  described 


CHAP.  LV.] 


ANCIENT  WALLS  OF  BRICK. 


421 


Etruria  under  the  Empire.2  Though  said  to  have  been 
destroyed  by  Totila,  the  Vandal,  Arretium  rose  from  her 
ashes,  withstood  all  the  vicissitudes  of  the  dark  ages,  which 
proved  so  fatal  to  many  of  her  fellows,  and  is  still  repre- 
sented by  a  city,  which,  though  shorn  of  her  ancient 
pre-eminence,  takes  rank  among  the  chief  of  Tuscany. 

The  walls  of  Arretium  were  renowned  for  the  beauty 
and  peculiarity  of  their  construction,  being  formed  of 
brick3 — the  only  instance  on  record  of  such  a  material 
being  employed  in  an  Etruscan  town.  It  has  been  asserted 
that  those  ancient  fortifications  still  enclose  the  modern 
city  ;  but  after  a  careful  examination,  I  am  convinced  that 
not  a  fragment  of  the  existing  walls  can  lay  claim  to 
an  Etruscan  origin.4  In  truth,  as  will  be  presently  shown, 
it  is  extremely  questionable  if  Arezzo  occupies  the  site  of 
the  original  city. 


by  Festus  (sub  voce),  of  which  the  inha- 
bitants had  the  citizenship  of  Rome, 
together  with  the  internal  administra- 
tion of  their  own  city. 

2  Strabo,  V.  p.  2*26.  He  states  that 
it  was  the  most  inland  city  of  Etruria, 
and  a  thousand  stadia  (125  miles)  from 
Rome  ;  which  is  less  than  the  real 
distance.  The  Antonine  Itinerary  is 
nearer  the  truth  in  making  the  distance 
139  miles.     Vt  supra,  pp.  327,  413. 

3  Vitruv.  II.  8. — E  latere  ....  in 
Italia  Aretii  vetustum  egregie  factum 
murum.     cf.  Plin.  XXXV.  49. 

1  The  assertion  is  made  in  the 
"Sepulchres  of  Etruria,"  p.  503,  and 
copied  into  Murray's  Hand  Book.  I 
speak  confidently  when  I  state  that  so 
far  are  the  walls  of  Arezzo  from  being 
of  Etruscan  construction,  that  there  is 
not  a  fragment  of  such  antiquity  in  the 
entire  circuit.  I  paid  a  third  visit  to 
the  city  in  order  to  satisfy  myself  on 
this  point.  The  walls  are  for  the 
most  part  of  squared  stones,  not  unlike 


bricks,  in  size  and  form,  put  together 
with  cement  ;  and  they  are  patched 
here  and  there  with  larger  masonry 
also  cemented,  and  of  yet  more  recent 
date— all  undoubtedly  the  work  of  the 
middle  ages,  and  of  no  remote  period. 
In  the  walls  in  the  higher  part  of  the 
town,  around  the  Cathedral,  there  are 
fragments  of  earlier  construction,  of 
brick-work,  possibly  Roman,  for  it  is 
like  that  in  Roman  buildings  of  Impe- 
rial times.  The  best  fragments  are 
near  the  Porta  del  Casentino.  This 
brick-work,  if  it  be  Roman,  cannot  be 
earlier  than  the  close  of  the  Republic, 
but  may  be  of  very  much  later  date,  as 
this  style  was  employed  for  ages,  and  is 
even  imitated  at  the  present  day.  The 
brick-work  of  the  Etruscans,  the  pre- 
ceptors of  the  Romans  hi  architecture, 
would  resemble  the  fragments  found  at 
Veii  (Vol.  I.  pp.  15,  16),  or  the  earlier 
structures  of  the  Romans,  rather  than 
any  later  style  of  that  people. 


'[•29.  AREZZO.  [chap.  lv. 

Iu  the  garden  of  the  Passionist  Convent,  in  the  lower 
part  of  the  town,  are  some  Roman  ruins,  of  opus  reticu- 
lation, commonly  called  the  Amphitheatre,  but  not  a  seat 
remains  in  the  cacea  to  indicate  that  such  was  the  purpose 
of  the  structure.  Like  the  amphitheatre  of  Volterra, 
and  the  theatre  of  Fiesole,  this  building  was  long  con- 
sidered to  be  Etruscan,  but  its  Roman  origin  is  most 
manifest.5 

Arretium  was  celebrated  of  old  for  her  pottery,  which 
was  of  red  ware.6  Pliny  speaks  of  it  in  connection  with 
that  of  Samos,  Surrentum,  Saguntum,  and  Pergamos,  and 
says  it  was  used  for  dry  meats  as  well  as  liquids,  and  was 
sent  to  various  parts  of  the  world.7  It  was  much  employed 
for  ordinary  purposes,  and  on  this  account  is  sneered  at  by 
Martial.8 

In  excavations  made  at  various  times  within  the  walls 
of  Arezzo,  generally  in  laying  the  foundations  of  buildings, 
much  of  this  pottery  has  been  brought  to  light ;  in  one 
place,  indeed,  the  site  of  a  factory  was  clearly  indicated.9 
It  is  of  very  fine  clay,  of  a  bright  coral  hue,  adorned  with 

5  Gori  (Mus.  Etrus.  III.  p.  55,  cl.  I.  8  Mart.  I.  epig.  54,  6— 

tab.  7)  took  it   to   be   Etruscan.     Did  gic  ^^  ^^  crystallina  teste- 

not  remains  of  seats,  steps,  and   prce- 

ci  act  tones,   exist   beneath    the    soil,   as  And  agam,  XIV.  98 

Gorc   affirms,   I    should  take   the   ruin  Aretina  nimisnespernasvasa,monemus; 

for  a  bath,  as  it  bears  more  resemblance  Lautus  erat  Tuscis  Porsena  fictilibus. 

to  certain  structures  of  that  description, 

than  to  an  amphitheatre.  That  the  P°ttery  °f  Arret,um  was  used 

6  Isidor  One  XX   4  for  ordinarv  purposes  1S  als0  proved  by 
?  Plin.    XXXV.    ie.lsamia  etiam-  Persius  <L  130)  who  SPeaks  °f  an  8edile 

num   in   esculetis   laudantur.      Retinet       breakinS  thoSe  P°tS  whlch  Were  not  of 

hanc  nobilitatem  et  Arretium  in  Italia  ;  Just  measure- 

.    „„r           .                r.                      A   *  9  In   laying   the   foundations   of  the 

et   calicum   tantum,    Surrentum,    Asta,  J     ° 

•p  ,,     ,.        •      tt-         •      c         *  ™     •„  new  theatre  a  quantity  of  this  pottery 

rollentia  ;    in    Hispania    Saguntum,   in  ...                      J 

A   ■     r,                                .   '                   ,  •  was   found,   together   with   moulds  for 

Asia  Pergamum.  ...    sic  gentes  nobi-  .        ... 

...                 T,                                      .     .  casting  the  reliefs,  and  remains  of  vitri- 

litantur.      Haec  quoque  per  mana  ter-  °                ,  .       , 

.,         .                     .              .     •  tied  earth — marking  the  site  of  a  pottery, 

rasque  ultro  citroque  portantur,  insig-  °                      r         J 

^;v          *       «  •  •  Bull.  Inst.  1830,  p.  238. 

nilms  rote  officims.  '  r 


chap,  lv.]  PECULIAR  RED  POTTERY.  423 

reliefs,  rather  of  flowers  than  of  figures,  and  bearing  the 
maker's  name  at  the  bottom  of  the  vase.  In  form, 
material,  decoration,  and  style  of  art,  it  is  so  totally 
unlike  the  produce  of  any  Etruscan  necropolis,  that  it 
scarcely  needs  the  Latin  inscriptions  to  mark  its  origin.1 
Moreover,  the  decorations  betray  a  late  period  of  art — the 
elegance  and  finish  of  Augustan  times,  not  the  simplicity 
and  severity  of  the  purely  Etruscan  style — very  unlike 
the  quaint  reliefs  on  the  pottery  of  the  neighbouring 
district  of  Chiusi.  The  subjects,  too,  are  not  the  strange 
chimaeras  of  the  early  monuments  of  Etruria,  nor  the 
scenes  of  Etruscan  and  Greek  mythology  on  the  urns, 
on  the  walls  of  tombs,  and  on  the  painted  vases ;  but  in 
general  unmeaning  arabesques,  like  those  of  Pompeii, 
though  a  figure  or  two  is  occasionally  introduced.  As  far 
as  I  can  learn,  none  of  this  ware  has  been  found  with 
Etruscan  inscriptions  or  devices ;  nor  ever  in  Etruscan 
tombs,  though  often  in  Roman  ones  of  the  early  Empire.2 
Therefore,  though  it  were  too  much  to  assert  that  the 
Etruscans  never  formed  such  a  ware,  it  is  clear  that  all 
hitherto  found  is  of  Roman  manufacture.  It  is  discovered 
chiefly,  but  not  exclusively,  at   Arezzo.     Specimens   are 

1  The  inscription  is  generally  the  which  this  pottery  has  been  found  in 
maker's  name  alone,  though  his  busi-  connection  with  Etruscan  articles,  is 
ness  and  the  site  of  the  manufacture  where  a  small  marble  urn  with  a  bilin- 
are  sometimes  added,  thus —  gual  inscription   was    discovered   in   a 

a  .  titi  .  niche  in  a  rock,  half  a  mile  from 
figvl  Arezzo,  surrounded  by  these  red  vases. 
arret  .  Bull.  Inst.  1834,  p.  149.  But  from 
Bull.  Inst.  1834,  pp.  102,  150.  For  this  we  can  only  deduce  that  the 
the  names  stampt  on  these  vases,  see  Etruscan  character  had  not  wholly 
Fabroni,  Vasi  Fittili  Aretini,  tav.  XI ;  fallen  into  disuse  at  the  period  of  the 
Bull.  Inst.  1834,  pp.  102,  150.  Ing-  manufacture  of  this  ware.  Miiller 
hirami  remarks  that  some  of  these  (Etrusk.  IV.  3,  1)  regarded  this  pot- 
names  are  Greek  ;  which  he  regards  as  tery  as  Etruscan  ;  but  his  opinion 
a  proof  that  the  Etruscans  employed  seems  to  be  formed  rather  on  the 
Greek  artists.     Mon.  Etrus.  V.  p.  11.  notices  of   the  ancients  than  on    prac- 

2  The    only   instance    I   believe,   in  tical  acquaintance. 


424 


AREZZO. 


[chap.  lv. 


occasionally  brought   to  light  on   other   sites  in  Etruria; 
and  abundance  of  it  at  Modena.3 

There  are  two  collections  of  antiquities  at  Arezzo — the 
Museo  Pubblico,  and  the  Museo  Bacci.  The  latter  was 
once  of  great  renown,  but  having  been  reduced  by  sales, 
and  much  neglected  of  late  years,  it  is  shorn  of  its  pristine 
glory.  Yet  it  still  contains  a  large  number  of  bronzes, 
chiefly  small  figures  of  deities,  and  lares,  with  coins  ;4  but 
there  are  also  other  articles,  among  which  I  noticed  par- 
ticularly a  sacrificial  knife,  and  a  curious  urn  in  the  form 
of  a  lion  ;  his  body  holding  the  fire,  his  head  containing  a 
square  pot  for  the  water,  to  which  his  crown  serves  as  a 
lid,  and  the  steam  escaping  through  a  pipe  in  his  mouth — 
just  as  the  water  issues  from  the  mouths  of  the  granite 
lions  at  the  foot  of  the  Capitol,  or  of  those  in  the  Court 
of  the  Alhambra.  Of  pottery  there  is  none  worth  notice, 
except  a  painted  amphora,  with  red  figures,  representing 


3  In  the  British  Museum  is  a  tazza 
of  this  red  ware,  with  the  word  "  lapi  " 
on  it  in  Roman  letters.  It  was  found, 
with  others  of  the  same  description,  at 
Toscanella.  Bull.  Inst.  1839,  p.  28. 
The  same  pottery  has  been  discovered 
in  some  quantity  at  Cervetri.  Bull. 
Inst.  1839,  p.  20.  And  the  red  ware, 
found  in  abundance  at  Modena,  is  pre- 
cisely like  this  of  Arezzo,  even  to  the 
names  and  seals  of  the  potters,  which 
are  often  identical  (Bull.  Inst.  1837, 
p.  14  ;  1841,  p.  144) — a  fact,  which 
as  Mutina  had  also  its  peculiar  pottery 
(Plin.  loc.  cit. — habent  et  Tralles  opera 
sua,  et  Mutina  in  Italia)  must  be  ex- 
plained by  the  commerce  which  existed 
in  such  articles. 

For  an  account  of  the  Arretine  pot- 
tery see  Dr.  Fabroni's  work,  "  Storia 
degli  antichi  vasi  fittili  aretini,  1841, 
8vo.  pp.  78."  Iughirami,  Mon.  Etrus. 
V.  pp.    1 — 12,  tav.  I.      And  besides  the 


notices  in  the  publications  of  the  Archaeo- 
logical Institute,  already  cited,  see  Bull. 
Inst.  1837,  p.  10.5. 

4  One  is  a  qui7icussts,  4  inches  in  dia- 
meter. The  coins  which  are  commonly 
attributed  to  Arretium  have  a  wheel  on 
the  obverse  ;  and  an  anchor  or  the 
prow  of  a  ship,  on  the  reverse, — both 
equally  inappropriate  emblems  for  a 
city  which  was  further  removed  from  the 
sea  than  any  in  Etruria.  Nor  does  the 
legend,  in  Etruscan  letters,  "  vpn," 
bear  any  obvious  relation  to  Arretium. 
More  appropriate  are  those  which,  with 
the  wheel  on  the  obverse,  have  a  vase 
on  the  reverse,  either  a  crater,  or  an 
amphora.  Marchi  and  Tessiei'i  refer 
those  with  the  former  to  Arretium 
Vetus,  and  those  with  the  latter  to  the 
Roman  colony  of  Arretium  Fidens. 
Ms  Grave,  class.  III.  tav.  V.  VI ; 
Bull.  Inst.  1839,  pp.  123—4  ;  Ann. 
Inst.  1841.  p.  104. 


chap.lv.]      MUSEO  BACCI.— MUSEO  PUBBLICO.        425 

a  dance  of  Bacchanals,  Theseus  overcoming  an  Amazon, 
and  Hercules  slaying  a  warrior.  It  was  found  more  than 
a  century  since,  in  the  vicinity  of  Arezzo,  and  doubtless 
in  a  genuinely  Etruscan  tomb.5 

The  Museo  Pubblico  contains  a  more  numerous  collection 
of  Etruscan  antiquities.  Each  article  is  labelled  with  the 
name  of  the  spot  where  it  was  found — an  admirable  plan, 
greatly  facilitating  an  acquaintance  with  these  relics,  and 
which  ought  to  be  adopted  in  every  other  collection.  It  is 
due  to  Dr.  Fabroni,  the  learned  director  of  this  Museum. 

Here  is  an  abundance  of  the  red  ware,  mostly  in  frag- 
ments, and  the  greater  part  found  within  the  walls  of 
Arezzo.  Here  is  also  the  pottery  of  Sarteano,  red  as  well 
as  black, — a  canopus  from  the  same  place, — a  covered  pot 
from  Radicofani,  with  an  Etruscan  inscription,  "  Pupli 
Tarlntia,"6  which  calls  to  mind  the  celebrated  Ghibelline 
bishop,  Guido  Tarlati,  whose  tomb,  so  rich  in  storied  reliefs, 
forms  one  of  the  chief  ornaments  of  Arezzo  Cathedral, 
— a  tall,  painted  vase,  in  the  third  style,  found  at  Prato 
Antico,  three  miles  from  the  city, — another  vase,  in  the 
same  style,  representing  the  departure  of  a  warrior,  and 
his  return  from  the  field,  discovered  at  Alberoro,  nine 
miles  from  Arezzo,  on  the  road  to  Fojano.7 

Here  are  also  many  cinerary  urns  of  travertine,  without 
recumbent  figures  on  their  lids,  but  with  Etruscan  inscrip- 
tions ;  —  among  which  I  noticed  the  celebrated  name 
of  "  Spurina."  8  One  urn  of  late  date,  found  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  of  Arezzo,  is  remarkable  for  a  bilingual 


5  Dempster,  I.  tab.  XIX.  na  me  of  "  Tarlnia  "  occurs  on  an  Etrus- 

6  Micali    (Mon.    Ined.     p.    386,    tav.  can  urn  in  one  of  the  tombs  of  Perugia. 
LV.   6)   reads  it    "Pupli   Tarchntias,"  7  Bull.  Inst,  1838,  p.  74. 

or  Publius  Tarchuntias.      He  may  be  8  This  was  found  at    Lucignano,  18 

right,  for  the  addition  of  a  small  stroke  miles    distant,    in    the    Val  di    Chiana. 

would  convert  the  l  into  en.     Yet  the  Bull.  Inst.  1843,  p.  38. 


•l.iti 


AREZZO. 


[chap.  lv. 


inscription.9     Here  are  heads  and  other  articles  in  terra 
cotta  ;  and  also  a  few  bronzes — idols,  mirrors,  and  strigils.1 

Bronzes  seem  to  have  been  parti- 
cularly abundant  in  the  Etruscan 
tombs  of  Arretium,  Cortona,  and 
Perugia,  and  bear  a  much  larger 
proportion  to  the  pottery,  than  in 
the  cemeteries  near  the  coast. 

The  celebrated  bronze  Chimaera 
of  the  Florence  Gallery  was  found 
at  Arezzo  in  1534,  but  no  record 
exists  of  the  precise  site.2  And 
the  Minerva  in  the  same  Gallery, 
which  is  generally  thought  to  be 
a  work  of  early  Greek  art,  but 
may  well  be  Etruscan,  was  also 
discovered  on  this  site. 


ETRUSCAN     STR1G1L. 


9  This  is  the  urn  which  was  found 
with  the  red  vases,  as  mentioned  above. 
The  Etruscan  inscription  is  very  im- 
perfect, but  it  seems  to  run  thus  in 
Roman  letters — v  .  caszi  .  c  .  clans  . 
The  Latin  inscription  is — 

c  .  cassivs  .  c  .  f  . 

SATVRXINVS  . 

Saturninus,  being  the  Latin  cognomen, 
finds  no  equivalent  in  the  Etruscan. 
It  is  singular  that  the  Velus  of  the 
Etruscan  should  be  translated  by  Caius 
in  Latin,  but  the  same  occurs  in  other 
bilingual  inscriptions.  Vt  supra,  pp. 
354,  371.  See  also  Lanzi,  II.  p.  342  ; 
Bull.  Inst.  1833,  p.  51  ;  1834,  p.  149. 
Caius  is  sometimes  used  as  an  equiva- 
lent to  Larth. 

1  The  strigil  was  a  scraper  used  after 
bathing  to  remove  the  perspiration 
from  the  skin  ;  as  an  ostler  would 
remove  the  foam  from  a  horse's  coat. 
The  curved  part  of  the  instrument  is 


hollow  like  a  boat  ;  either  to  hold  oil 
to  soften  the  effect  on  the  skin,  which 
was  far  from  pleasant  if  the  instrument 
was  too  often  or  violently  used,  as 
Augustus  experienced  (Sueton.  Aug. 
80)  ;  or  to  allow  the  grease  scraped 
from  the  body  to  run  off  as  by  a 
gutter.  See  the  Scholiast  on  Juvenal, 
III.  262 — Strigla,  uncle  oleum  deteritur. 
It  was  generally  of  bronze,  sometimes 
of  iron  (Mart.  XIV.  51. — curvo  des- 
tringereferro),  and  I  have  seen  one  of 
silver.  The  metal  is  always  very  thin  ; 
and  it  is  rare  to  find  strigils  in  a  perfect 
state.  I  have  occasionally  seen  them 
with  Etruscan  inscriptions.  Roman 
strigils  were  of  different  forms,  but  the 
Etruscan  were  invariably  like  that  in  the 
above  wood-cut. 

2  Vt  supra,  p.  103.  The  Etruscan 
inscription  on  the  fore-leg  "  Tinscvil," 
is  almost  identical  with  the  "  Tinscil " 
on   the   shoulder   of    a  griffon   in   the 


chap,  lv.]  IS  AREZZO  AN  ETRUSCAN  SITE  ?  427 

It  has  been  stated  that  there  were  three  Roman  colonies 
of  the  name  of  Arretium,  distinguished  by  the  epithets  of 
Vetus,  Fidens,  and  Julium.  The  first  was  evidently  the 
Etruscan  city,  and  has  always  been  identified  with  Arezzo  ; 
the  other  two  are  supposed  to  be  in  the  neighbourhood,  but 
their  sites  are  not  satisfactorily  determined.3  I  am  per- 
suaded, however,  that  Arezzo  does  not  occupy  the  original 
site,  but  merely  that  of  one  of  the  colonies.  Its  position, 
for  the  greater  part  on  the  very  level  of  the  plain,  only 
rising  a  little  at  the  northern  end,4  is  so  unlike  that  of 
Etruscan  cities  in  general,  as  to  raise,  at  the  first  glance, 
strong  doubts  of  its  antiquity  in  my  mind.  Every  other 
Etruscan  town  in  this  district  is  on  a  lofty  height — Fiesole, 
Volterra,  Cortona,  Perugia,  Chiusi — why  should  Arretium 
alone  be  in  the  plain  ?  Necessity  did  not  here,  as  at  Pisa, 
dictate  such  a  site,  for  there  are  high  grounds  suitable  for 
a  city  in  the  immediate  vicinity. 

This  view  is  confirmed  by  the  discovery,  within  a  few 
years,  of  the  walls  of  an  ancient  city  in  the  neighbourhood 
of  Arezzo, — discovery,  I  say,  because  though  within  sight 
of  the  town,  and  familiar,  perhaps,  for  ages  to  the 
inhabitants,  they  were  unheeded,  and  no  one  had  made 
them  known  to  the  world.5     They  lie  two  or  three  miles 


Museum  of  Leyden.     See  Micali,  Ant.  4  The  height  of    the  upper  part  of 

Pop.    Ital.   tav.   XLII.      Inghir.   Mon.  the  city  above  the  lower  is  said  to  be 

Etrus.  III.  tav.  XX. ;  Gori,  Mus.  Etrus.  74  braccia,  or  142  feet  (Repetti,  I.  p. 

I.  tab.  CLV.  112)  ;  but  it  does  not  appear  nearly  so 

3  Cluver  (II.  p.  571)  did  not  attempt  much, 

to  assign  a  site  to  either.      Holstenius  5  Repetti  appears  to  have  been  the 

(Annot.   ad   Cluver,   p.    72),    however,  first  to  make  them  known  ;   and  that 

placed  the   Julian  colony  at  Subbiano  was  in  1833(1.  p.  585).     Even  Alessi, 

on  the  Arno,  some  ten  miles  north  of  who    in    the    fifteenth    century   made 

Arezzo,  and  the   Fidens    at  Castiglion  diligent   search     for    local    antiquities, 

Fiorentino,   on   the  road    to    Cortona.  makes  no    mention    of    them    in    his 

lie  is  followed  in  this  by  Cramer,  I.  Cronaca    d'    Arezzo,    a    MS.    in    the 

p.  213.     Dempster  (II.  p.  423)  placed  Biblioteca   Riccardiana,    at    Florence, 

the  Fidens  at  Montepulciano.  Micali,  Mon.  Ined.  p.  410. 


428  AREZZO.  [chap.  lv. 

only  to  the  south-east,  on  a  height  called  Poggio  di  San 
Cornelio,  or  Castel  Secco,  a  barren  eminence  of  no  great 
elevation,  yet  much  higher  than  Arezzo,  whose  level 
summit  is  so  strewn  with  fragments  of  rock  and  pottery, 
as  scarcely  to  nourish  a  weed.  On  the  brow  of  the  hill,  to 
the  north-west,  is  a  fragment  of  ancient  walling  of  regular 
masonry.6  More  to  the  west  are  traces  of  a  gate.  Then 
is  another  portion  of  the  walls,  with  narrow  buttresses, 
thirteen  feet  apart.  But  on  the  southern  side  of  the  hill 
the  wall  rises  nearly  thirty  feet,  and  extends  for  two 
hundred,  having  eight  massive  buttresses  at  short  inter- 
vals.7 The  masonry  is  horizontal  ;  and  though  perhaps 
originally  neatly  cut  and  fitted,  it  has  suffered  so  much 
from  the  weather,  and  the  rock  is  naturally  so  brittle,  that 
it  presents  as  rude  an  appearance  as  the  towers  in  the 
Cucumella  at  Vulci,  which  were  not  intended  to  see  the 
light  of  day.8 

I  regret  that  the  circumstances  under  which  I  visited 
it,  did  not  permit  me  to  make  a  plan  of  this  ancient  town, 
or  to  determine  its  precise  dimensions.9 

These  walls  are  very  peculiar ;  as  regards  the  buttresses, 
unique  in  Etruria.      They  have  the  appearance  of  great 

8  In  one  part  this  fragment  is  as  high  9  Repetti  (I.  p.  585)  says  it  is  only 

as    12    feet,  but  in  general  it  scarcely  1240  bracelet,  in   circuit  ;  Micali  (Mon. 

rises  above  the  ground.     The  blocks  are  Ined.  p.  410)  calls  it   1300  Iraccia,  or 

2  or  3  feet  long,  by  18  inches  high.  less  than  half  a  mile,  round  ;  and  says 

7  These  buttresses  ai-e  7  or  8  feet  it  has  the  form  of  an  irregular  ellipse, 
wide,  and  project  about  3  feet.  They  To  me  it  appeared  of  much  larger  size, 
might  be  taken  for  towers,  were  it  not  Indeed  this  hill  may  be  but  a  portion 
for  the  small  distance  between  them —  of  the  ancient  site,  for  it  is  connected 
1 5  feet.  Both  walls  and  buttresses  fall  with  high  grounds  of  considerable 
back  slightly  from  the  perpendicular.  extent,  apparently    capable    of  holding 

8  The  size  of  the  blocks  is  not  extra-  a  city  of  first-rate  importance.  But 
ordinary.  One  which  was  8  ft.  2  in.  having  had  no  opportunity  of  examin- 
long,  by  1  ft.  8  in.  high,  was  unusually  ing  these  heights,  I  cannot  say  if  they 
large.  But  the  tendency  of  the  stone  retain  vestiges  of  ancient  habitation, 
to  split  at  right  angles,  makes  it  some-  For  further  notices  of  this  site  see 
times  difficult  to  determine  the  size.  Bull.  Inst.  1837,  p.  06. 


chap,  lv.]  ANCIENT  WALLS  AT  SAN  CORNELIO.  429 

antiquity.  Inghirami  took  them  to  be  Roman,  and  to 
belong  to  one  of  the  two  colonies  qf  Arretium,  and  thought 
the  rudeness  of  the  masonry  might  be  the  result  of  hasty 
construction.  But  he  did  not  form  his  opinion  from 
ocular  inspection.  To  me  this  seems  an  Etruscan  town.1 
It  were  contrary  to  all  analogy  to  suppose  that  Arezzo 
was  the  original  site,  and  that  this,  so  much  stronger  by. 
nature,  was  a  Roman  colony.  This  was  just  the  position 
that  would  have  been  chosen  by  the  Etruscans  ;  that,  by 
the  Romans.  The  cities  of  the  former  were  founded  at  a 
time  when  the  inhabitants  had  to  struggle  for  existence 
with  neighbouring  tribes,  warlike,  restless,  ever  encroach- 
ing— semibarbarians  who  knew  no  law  but  that  of  sword 
and  lance.  It  was  necessary  for  them  to  select  sites  where 
nature  would  add  to  the  strength  of  their  fortifications. 
But  with  the  Romans,  the  case  was  very  different.  At 
the  time  the  latter,  at  least,  of  the  two  colonies  of  Arre- 
tium was  founded,  they  were  masters  not  only  of  all  Italy, 
but  of  the  greater  part  of  the  known  world.  They  had 
nothing  to  fear  from  foreign  invasion,  and  it  was  enough 
for  them  to  surround  their  cities  with  fortifications,  with- 
out selecting  sites  which,  though  adding  to  their  strength, 
would  involve  a  great  sacrifice  of  convenience.  This  was 
their  practice  much  earlier  than  the  establishment  of  these 
Arretine  colonies,  as  is  shown  by  the  instances  of  Volsinii 
and  Falerii,  whose  population,  about  the  time  of  the  First 
Punic  War,  was  removed  from  the  original  city  on  the 

1  Miiller,  who  visited  these  ruins  in  the  city.     Yet  he  admits  them  to  be  of 

1839  at   Micali's   suggestion,  regarded  Etruscan  construction.     Mon.  Ined.  pp. 

them  as  Etruscan  and  the  remains  of  41 1- — 413.      He    gives    a   plan   of  the 

the  original  city.     Micali,  however,  sets  bastions  and   a  view  of  the   masonry 

no  value  on  his  opinion   in  the  latter  (tav.   LX.).     Repetti    (I.   p.  585)  also 

particular,  and  considers  them  to  belong  hints  that  this  may   be   the    Acropolis 

to    an    advanced    or    look-out   post   of  of  Arretium,  but    says  no  excavations 

Ari'etium,    which    he     identifies    with  have  ever  been  made  to  determine  the 

Arezzo,  or  to  an  outwork  detached  from  fact. 


430  AREZZO.  [chap.  i.v. 

heights  to  a  new  one  in  the  plain.  This  may  have  been 
the  case  also  with  Arretium.2  Or  at  least  if  the  original 
town  were  not  deserted,  there  is  every  ground  for  con- 
cluding that  the  fresh  colony  was  established  on  a  no  less 
convenient  site.  However  this  be,  there  can  be  little 
doubt  that  the  Etruscan  city,  like  all  its  fellows,  stood  on 
an  eminence,  and  was  fortified  by  nature  as  well  as  by 
art.3  Whether  it  occupied  this  Poggio  di  San  Cornelio, 
or  some  of  the  neighbouring  heights,  I  do  not  determine  ; 
but  hesitate  not  to  assert  that  it  cannot  have  stood  on  the 
site  of  modern  Arezzo.  In  fact  not  only  is  all  evidence  of 
identity  wanting,  but  history  is  opposed  to  the  current 
opinion,  for  it  is  known  that  at  least  on  three  several 
occasions  have  the  walls  of  this  city  been  enlarged  ;4  and 
it  is  quite  impossible  that  the  original  site,  which  must 
have  been  the  circumscribed  height  on  which  the  Duomo 
stands,  could  have  held  a  first-rate  city,  like  the  Arretium 
of  the  Etruscans. 

In  a  word,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the 
illustrious  city  of  Arezzo  does  not  occupy  the  site  of  the 


2  In  the  case  of  Falerii  and  Volsinii,  completely  destroyed  the  ancient  walls, 
the  fact  is  not  mentioned  by  one  of  the  but  as  this  rests  on  tradition,  rather 
earlier  historians  of  Rome,  only  by  than  on  history,  it  is  subject  to  doubt. 
Zonaras,  a  Byzantine  writer  of  late  Yet  it  is  certain  that  the  walls  of  the 
date.  The  original  town  of  Arretium,  city  were  destroyed  in  the  year  1111 
however,  was  still  extant  in  Pliny's  by  the  Emperor,  Henry  V.,  and  were 
day  ;  but  it  may  have  been  inhabited,  not  restored  for  more  than  a  century, 
like  Falerii  and  Veii,  by  a  fresh  colony.  being  in    1 226    rebuilt    with  a  more 

3  Silius  Italicus,  a  writer  of  more  ac-  ample  circuit.  These  were  replaced 
curacy  than  imagination  (Plin.  epist.  III.  by  a  fresh  and  still  more  extended  line, 
7 — scribebat  carminamajore  cura  quam  commenced  in  1276,  and  completed  in 
ingenio),  in  speaking  of  the  Second  1322  by  Guido  Tarlati,  Bishop  of  Pie- 
Punic  War,  notices  "  the  lofty  walls  of  tramala.  And  lastly  the  walls  were 
Arretium"  (V.  122) — a  description  rebuilt  and  altered,  from  1549  to  1568, 
which,  by  hypallage,  must  refer  rather  by  Cosimo  I.  who  erected  the  bastions 
to  the  site  of  the  city  than  to  the  cha-  and  curtains  which  meet  the  eye  at  the 
racter  of  the  fortifications.  present  day.     Repetti,  I.  p.  1 14. 

4  Totila,  the  Vandal,  is  said  to  have 


chap,  lv.]      AREZZO  NOT  THE  ETRUSCAN  ARRETIUM. 


431 


Etruscan  Arretium,  but  of  one  of  the  Roman  colonies  of 
the  same  name  ; 5  and  as  all  analogy  marks  the  town  on 
the  Poggio  di  San  Cornelio  to  be  of  earlier  date  than  this 
in  the  plain,  the  question  turns  upon  that  town.  If  it  be 
proved  an  Etruscan  site,6  Arezzo  may  be  the  Arretium 
Fidens  ;  but  if  the  town  on  the  heights  cannot  be  identi- 
fied with  the  original  city,  it  must  be  the  Fidens,  and 
Arezzo  the  later  colony  of  Arretium  Julium ;  and  the  site 
of  the  Etruscan  city  has  yet  to  be  discovered. 


5  That  Arezzo  occupies  a  site  that 
was  once  Roman  is  abundantly  proved 
by  its  extant  remains.  The  fragments 
of  brickwork  around  the  higher  part  of 
the  city,  may  belong  to  the  Roman 
walls,  which,  if  this  be  the  site  of  the 
Julian  colony,  are  those  mentioned  by 
Frontinus,  —  w  Arretium,  muro  ducta 
colonia  lege  Triumvirali." 

6  It  may  be  urged  as  an  objection  to 
this  being  the  Etruscan  site,  that  the 
masonry  is  of  stone,  whereas  the  ancient 
walls  were  of  brick.  But  we  have  no 
positive  assurance  that  these  brick  walls 
were  of  Etruscan  construction.  If  on 
the  capture  of  the  city,  a  fresh  town 


were  built,  as  was  the  case  with  Falerii 
and  Volsinii,  it  may  have  been  that 
which  had  the  walls  of  brick ;  for  as 
nearly  three  centuries  intervened  to  the 
time  of  Vitruvius,  they  would  have  been 
entitled  to  his  designation  of  "ancient." 
Were  it  even  certain  that  Vitruvius  and 
Pliny  refer  to  the  Etruscan  walls,  it 
may  be  that  in  these  ruins  we  see  but  a 
small  portion  of  the  ancient  fortifica- 
tions, and  just  that  portion  which  from 
the  massiveness  of  the  masonry  has 
escaped  destruction.  If  the  brickwork 
were  not  strongly  cemented  it  would 
soon  be  pulled  to  pieces  by  the  peasantry, 
for  the  sake  of  the  materials. 


ANCIENT    WALLS    OF    CORTONA. 


CHAPTER  LVI. 


CORTON  A.— COR  TON  A . 


Corythum,  terrasque  requirat 


Ausonias  ! 


Clara  fuit  Sparte  ;  iuagnae  viguere  Mycenae  ; 
Vile  solum  Sparte  est  ;  altse  cecidere  Mycenae. 


Virgil. 


Ovid. 


Traveller,  thou  art  approaching  Cortona  !  Dost  thou 
reverence  age — that  fulness  of  years  which,  as  Pliny  says, 
"  in  man  is  venerable,  in  cities  sacred  %  "  Here  is  that 
which  demands  thy  reverence.  Here  is  that,  which  when 
the  Druidical  marvels  of  thine  own  land  were  newly  raised, 
was  of  hoary  antiquity — that,  compared  to  which  I(ome  is 
but  of  yesterday — to  which  most  other  cities  of  ancient 


CHAP.  LVI.] 


VENERABLE  ANTIQUITY  OF  CORTONA. 


433 


renown  are  fresh  and  green.  Thou  mayst  have  wandered 
far  and  wide  through  Italy — nothing  hast  thou  seen  more 
venerable  than  Cortona.  Ere  the  days  of  Hector  and 
Achilles,  ere  Troy  itself  arose — Cortona  was.  On  that 
bare  and  lofty  height,  whose  towered  crest  holds  com- 
munion with  the  cloud,  dwelt  the  heaven-born  Dardanus, 
ere  he  left  Italy  to  found  the  Trojan  race  ;  and  on  that 
mount  reigned  his  father  Corythus,  and  there  he  was 
laid   in   the   tomb.1      Such   is   the   ancient   legend,    and 


1  This  is  the  Italian  tradition.  It  is 
because  Dardanus  the  founder  of  Troy 
was  believed  to  have  come  from  Cortona 
that  Virgil  (^En.  I.  380)  makes  ^Eneas 
say— 

Italiam  qusero  patriam,  et  genus  ab 
Jove  summo. 
Servius  (in  loc.)  thus  explains  it,  and 
shows  that  elsewhere  (JEn.  VII.  122) 
Mneas  is  made  to  say  of  Italy — 
Hie  domus,  haec  patria  est. 
cf.  Mu.  III.  167  ;  VII.  206,  et  seq. 
The  oiiginal  name  of  Cortona  was  Cory- 
thus, or  Corithus,  so  called  from  its 
heros  eponymos,  Corythus,  the  reputed 
father  of  Dardanus.  The  legend  states 
that  Corythus,  who  ruled  also  over 
other  cities  of  Italy,  was  buried  on  this 
mount.  His  wife  Electra  bore  a  son 
to  Jupiter,  called  Dardanus,  who,  being 
driven  out  of  Italy  went  to  Phrygia  and 
founded  Troy.  Another  tradition  re- 
cords that  Dardanus,  repulsed  in  an 
equestrian  combat  with  the  Aborigines, 
lost  his  helmet,  and  rallying  his  men  to 
recover  it,  gained  the  victory  ;  to  cele- 
brate which  he  built  a  city  on  the  spot, 
and  named  it  from  his  helmet — ic6pvs. 
A  third  legend  refers  the  origin  of  the 
city  to  Corythus,  son  of  Paris  and 
CEnone.  Virg.  Mn.  III.  167  ;  VII. 
206—211  :  IX.  10  ;  X.  719  ;  Serv.  in 


loc.  and  ad  _<En.  I.  380  ;  III.  15,  104, 
170.  All  this  belongs  to  the  purely 
mythical  period,  and  cannot  be  regarded 
as  historical,  yet  may  be  received  as 
evidence  of  the  very  remote  antiquity 
of  this  city. 

It  is  generally  believed  that  Corythus 
was  really  the  ancient  name  of  Cortona, 
but  Miiller  (Etrusk.  IV.  4,  5)  questions 
this,  and  thinks  that  it  is  a  mere  Greek 
tradition,  arbitrarily  referred  to  that 
city.  Yet  there  can  be  no  doubt  that 
it  was  so  regarded  by  the  Romans. 
Besides  the  evidence  of  Virgil  and  his 
commentator,  the  identity  is  made  per- 
fectly clear  in  a  passage  of  Silius  Italicus 
(V.  122)  which  Niebuhr  (I.  p.  33)  pro- 
nounced decisive — 

Pcenus  nunc  occupet  altos 
Arreti   muros,   Corythi   nunc  diruat 

arcem  ? 
Hinc   Clusina   petat  ?    postremo    ad 
mocnia  Romse,  &c. 
The  poet  uses  the  ancient  name  for  the 
sake   of  the   verse,  as  elsewhere    (IV. 
721)— 

sedemque  ab  origine  prisei 
Sacratam  Corythi. 
There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  it 
was  retained  to  Annibal's  time,  to 
which  the  poem  refers,  much  less  to 
his  own. 


VOL.    It. 


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o  <:  c  c 


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H5in«l8«S»aOHfi«    3)22!223§5e1 


M    M    MM 


chap,  lvi.]  MODERN  CORTONA.  435 

wherefore  gainsay  it  ?  Away  with  doubts  ! — pay  thy  full 
tribute  of  homage — acceptam  parce  movere  fidem  !  Hast 
thou  respect  to  fallen  greatness  % — Yon  solemn  city  was 
once  the  proudest  and  mightiest  in  the  land,  the  metro- 
polis of  Etruria,  and  now — but  enter  its  gates  and  look 
around. 

Let  not  the  traveller  mount  with  baggage,  and  such 
impedimenta,  directly  to  Cortona,  thinking,  in  the  inno- 
cence of  his  heart,  that  in  a  city  of  five  thousand  inha- 
bitants, boasting  of  a  cathedral  and  seven  or  eight 
churches,  he  will  be  sure  of  accommodation.  There  is 
but  one  inn  within  the  walls,  marked  by  the  sign  of 
II  Dragone — which  monster  guards  no  Hesperidan  fruit, 
but  serves  to  scare  the  traveller  from  a  wretched  osteria, 
full  of  all  uncleanness.  Let  him  take  up  his  quarters  in 
the  snug  hotel  of  Camuscia,  on  the  high-road  at  the  foot 
of  the  mountain. 

Hence  it  is  half  an  hour's  walk  to  the  town,  and  the 
ascent  is  steep  and  toilsome,  scarcely  to  be  conquered  in 
a  vehicle.  Nor  when  the  gates  are  reached  is  the  labour 
over.  There  is  still  a  long  climb  to  the  upper  end  of  the 
town  ;  for  Cortona  is  not,  like  Fiesole  and  Volterra, 
spread  over  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  but  hangs 
suspended  from  its  peak,  down  one  of  the  slopes.  Steep, 
winding,  foot-torturing  streets,  rich  in  filth,  buildings  mean 
and  squalid,  with  hardly  a  shadow  of  past  magnificence, 
houses  in  crumbling  ruin,  heaps  of  debris,  and  tracts  of 
naked  rock — such  is  modern  Cortona.  Cheerless  and 
melancholy,  she  seems  mourning  over  the  glories  of  the 
past. 

Modern  Cortona  retains  the  site  of  the  ancient  city, 
which  was  of  oblong  form,  and  about  two  miles  in  circum- 
ference. The  modern  walls  are  in  most  parts  based  on 
the  ancient,  though  at  the  higher  end  of  the  city  the 

F  F   2 


4.36  CORTONA.  [chap.  i.vi. 

latter  made  a  considerably  wider  circuit.2  They  may  be 
traced  in  fragments  more  or  less  preserved  almost  entirely 
round  the  city  ;  and  are  composed  of  rectangular  blocks 
of  great  size,  arranged  without  much  regularity,  though 
with  more  regard  to  horizontality  and  distinct  courses 
than  is  observable  in  the  walls  of  Volterra  or  Populonia, 
and  often  joined  with  great  nicety,  like  the  masonry  of 
Fiesole.  At  the  lower  part  of  the  city,  they  stretch  for  a 
long  distance  in  an  unbroken  line  beneath  the  modern 
fortifications.3  But  the  finest  relic  of  this  regular  masonry 
at  Cortona,  and  perhaps  in  all  Italy,  is  at  a  spot  called 
Terra  Mozza,  outside  the  Fortress,  at  the  highest  part  of 
the  city,  where  is  a  fragment,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
feet  in  length,  composed  of  blocks  of  enormous  magnitude. 
A  portion  of  it  is  shown  in  the  woodcut  at  the  head  of  this 
Chapter.4 

The  masonry  is  of  a  grey  sandstone,  very  like  that  of 
Fiesole,  in  parts  flaky  and  brittle,  but  generally  very  hard 
and  compact ;  it  is  sometimes  hewn  to  a  smooth  surface, 


2  Micali's  Plan  (Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  the  ground,  is  10  feet  by  5.  Just  within 
VI.)  makes  Cortona  about  10,000  feet  the  Porta  Montanina  are  several,  10  or 
in  circumference,  but  taking  into  account  12  feet  in  length,  but  more  shallow  than 
the  wider  circuit  of  the  ancient  walls  usual. 

round  the  Fortress,  which  he  has  not  4  In  one  part  it  rises  to  the  height  of 

indicated,  the  city  cannot  have  been  less  seven  courses,  or  about  25  feet  high, 

than  two  miles  round.     Thus  it  would  but  the  general  height  is  about  15  or  16 

be  scarcely  larger  than   Rusellse,  and  feet,  which  is  that  of  the  fragment  deli- 

among  the  smallest  of  the  cities  of  the  neated.     The  blocks  vary  from  2  ft.   6 

Confederation.  in.  to  5  ft.  in  height,  and  from  6  or  7 

3  The  finest  portions  at  this  end  are  feet  to  11  or  12  in  length  ;  and  some- 
about  Porta  Colonia  on  the  north  of  the  times  are  as  much  or  more  in  depth,  as 
city,  where  the  blocks  are  from  9  to  1 3  the  smallest  end  is  seen  in  the  face  of 
feet  in  length  by  more  than  3  feet  in  the  wall.  Here  as  at  Volterra  and 
height,  hewn  to  a  smooth  surface  and  Rusellse,  the  smallest  blocks  are  often 
very  neatly  joined  ;  and  about  Porta  below,  as  if  to  fill  up  the  inequalities 
S.  Domenico  on  the  south,  where  they  of  the  ground,  and  make  a  basement 
measure  12  or  14  feet  by  2.     One,  at  for  the  larger. 

the  height  of  ten  or  twelve  feet  from 


chap,  lvi.]  THE  ANCIENT  WALLS.  437 

at  others  left  with  a  natural  face  ;  in  no  part  is  it  cemented, 
though  the  blocks  are  often  so  closely  fitted  together  as  to 
appear  so,  not  admitting  even  a  penknife  to  be  thrust  be- 
tween them.  The  joints  are  often  diagonal,  and  small 
pieces  are  inserted  to  fill  up  deficiencies,  as  in  the  walls  of 
Fiesole,  to  which  in  every  respect  this  masonry  bears  a 
close  resemblance,  though  more  massive,  and  on  the  whole 
more  regular.5 

These  walls  bear  evidence  of  very  high  antiquity,  cer- 
tainly not  inferior  to  those  of  Volterra  and  Fiesole.  That 
they  are  as  early  as  the  Etruscan  domination  cannot  be 
doubted ;  nay,  it  is  probable  they  are  of  prior  date,  either 
raised  by  the  Pelasgi  and  Aborigines,  or  by  the  yet  earlier 
possessors  of  the  land.6 

But  this  leads  us  to  consider  the  history  of  Cortona. 
First,  however,  let  us  mount  to  the  summit  of  the  hill, 
and  take  a  seat  on  the  cypress-shaded  terrace  in  front  of 
the  Church  of  Sta  Margherita.  Should  it  be  the  hour  of 
sunrise,  the  scene  will  not  lose  interest  or  beauty.  A 
warm  rosy  tint  ruddying  the  eastern  sky,  and  extending 
round  half  the  horizon,  proclaims  the  coming  day.  The 
landscape  is  in  deep  gloom — dark  mountain-tops  alone  are 
seen  around.  Even  after  the  sun  is  up,  and  the  rosy  red 
has  brightened  into  gold,  the  scene  is  purpled  and  obscured 
by  the  shadow  of  the  mountains  to  the  east.  But  pre- 
sently a  ray  wakens  the  distant  snow  of  Monte  Cetona, 
and  sparkles  on  the  yet  loftier  peak  of  Amiata  behind  it. 


5  The  principal  variety  observable  is  the  city  was  well  fortified  in  the  time  of 
within  the  Porta  Montanina,  where  the  the  Unibri,  and  the  Pelasgi  only  took 
blocks  are  very  long  and  shallow,  with  it  from  them  by  a  sudden  assault.  Lep- 
smaller  pieces  in  the  interstices.  Here  sius  regards  the  existing  walls  as  the 
the  line  of  the  ancient  wall  was  rather  work  of  the  Pelasgi  (Tyrrhen.  Pelas. 
within  that  of  the  modem,  as  shown  in  p.  10);  and  there  can  be  little  doubt 
tin  Plan.  that   they    have    that    antiquity.      Cf. 

6  According  to  Dionysius  (I.  p.    Ifi),  Miillcr,  Etrusk.  I.  .'?,  1. 


438  CORTONA.  [chap.  lvi. 

Then  the  dark  mass  of  Montepulciano,  rising  on  the 
further  side  of  the  wide  plain,  like  a  second  Cortona, 
is  brightened  into  life.  Anon  the  towers,  battlements  and 
roofs  of  the  town  at  our  feet  are  touched  with  gold — and 
ere  long  the  fair  face  of  the  Thrasymene  in  the  south 
bursts  into  smiles — and  the  beams  roll  over  the  mountain- 
tops  in  a  torrent,  and  flood  the  vast  plain  beneath,  dis- 
closing regions  of  corn  and  wood,  of  vines  and  olives,  with 
many  a  glittering  farm  and  village  and  town — a  map  of 
fertility  and  luxuriance,  in  which  the  eye  recognizes  Chiusi, 
La  Pieve,  and  other  familiar  spots  in  the  far  southern 
horizon. 

The  origin  of  Cortona,  it  has  been  said,  is  very  ancient 
— so  remote  indeed  that  it  is  necessarily  involved  in  ob- 
scurity.7 The  legend  that  makes  it  the  city  of  Dardanus 
and  elder  sister  of  Troy  has  already  been  mentioned. 
Tradition  asserts  that  long  ere  the  establishment  of  the 
Etruscan  State,  Cortona  was  "great  and  flourishing8" — 
"  a  memorable  city  of  the  Umbrians,9" — and  that  it  was 
taken  from  them  by  the  Pelasgi  and  Aborigines,  who  used 
it  as  a  bulwark  against  them,  seeing  it  was  well  fortified, 
and  surrounded  by  good  pastures.1     Subsequently,  with 

7  This  obscurity  is  increased  by  the  and  by  Theopompus  (ap.  Tzetz.  ad  Ly- 

different  names  by  which  the  city  was  coph.  loc.  cit.),  who  records  a  tradition 

known  —  Corythus,     Croton,    Crotona,  that  Ulysses,  called  by  the  Etruscans, 

Cyrtoniou,  Creston,  Gortynsea,  Cothor-  Nauos  (cf.  Lycoph.    1244  ;  Tzetzes  in 

nia,  or  Cortona.     The  latter  name,  if  loc),   sailed   to    Etruria,   took   up   his 

we   may   believe  Dionysius  (I.    p.    21)  abode   at   Gortynsea,   and     there   died, 

was  only  given  when  the  city  was  made  This  says  Muller  is  the  Hellenised  form 

a   Roman  colony,  not  long  before  his  of  Cortona,  for  no  other  Etruscan  city 

day,  taking  the  place   of  the  old  appel-  can  be  here  intended.     Etrusk.  IV.  4, 1. 

lation,  Croton.     Of  Corythus,  we  have  8  Dion.  Hal.  I.  p.  16. 

already  spoken.    Cyrtonios  or  Cyrtonion  9  Dion.  Hal.  I.  p.  20. 

is  the  name  used  by  Polybius  (III.  82)  *  Dion.    Hal.    I.    p.     16.     cf.     Hell- 

and  Stephanus  of  Byzantium.     Creston  anicus   of  Lesbos  ap.   eund.   I.   p.  22. 

is  found  only  in  Herodotus,  and  will  be  The   Pelasgic  character  of  Cortona  is 

further  mentioned  presently.     Gortynsea  also   intimated    by    the    legend,   which 

is    used    by    Lycophron    (Cass.    806),  represents  Jasius  son  of  Corythus,  king 


CHAP.  LVI.] 


ORIGIN  OF  CORTONA. 


439 


the  rest  of  the  land,  it  fell  to  the  Etruscans,2  and  under 
them  it  appears  to  have  been  a  second  metropolis — to 
have  been  to  the  interior  and  mountainous  part  of  the 
land  what  Tarquinii  was  to  the  coast.3  Even  under  the 
Etruscan  domination  it  seems  like  Falerii  to  have  retained 
much  of  its  Pelasgic  character,  for  Herodotus  says  that  in 
his  day  it  was  still  inhabited  by  a  Pelasgic  population, 
speaking  their  peculiar  language,  unintelligible  to  the 
people  around  them,  though  identical  with  that  of  Placia 
on  the  Hellespont,  another  colony  of  the  Pelasgi.4  Niebuhr 


of  this  city,  settling  in  Samothrace, 
when  his  brother  Dardanus  founded 
Troy.  Serv.  ad  ^En.  III.  15,  167  ; 
VII.  207. 

2  Dion.  Hal.  I.  p.  16. 

3  This  would  seem  to  be  implied  by 
the  designation  of  it  by  Silius  Italicus 
(VIII.  474)  «  superbi  Tarchontis 
domus."  Stephanus  of  Byzantium  (v. 
KpoToiv)  calls  it  "  the  metropolis  of 
Etruria,  and  the  third  city  of  Italy." 
Lepsius  is  of  opinion  that  this  is  also 
proved  by  its  coins,  for  that  the  entire 
system  of  Etruscan,  indeed  of  ancient 
Italian  coinage,  proceeds  from  Cortona. 
Tyrrhen.  Pelasg.  p.  10. 

The  coins  attributed  to  Cortona  are 
the  most  simple  of  all  ancient  Italian 
money.  All  twelve  sides  of  the  series, 
from  the  as  to  the  uncia,  bear  one  uni- 
form type  —  a  wheel.  Thex'e  is  no 
legend  to  mark  these  corns  as  belonging 
to  any  particular  city,  but  Marchi  and 
Tessieri  see  in  the  wheel  the  symbol  of 
Cortona,  whose  original  name  they  take 
to  have  been  "Rutun"  (instead  of 
K-rutun) — a  rotd — and  setting  all  his- 
tory aside,  they  regard  it  as  a  colony  of 
the  Rutuli,  who  had  a  similar  device  on 
their  coins.  yEs  Grave  del  Museo  Kir- 
cheriano,  cl.  III.  tav.  III.  Professor 
Lepsius,  though  condemning  this  expla- 
nation as  erroneous,  assents  to  the  attri- 


bution of  these  coins  to  Cortona,  and 
agrees  with  the  worthy  Jesuits  in  re- 
garding Cortona  as  a  most  ancient 
mint,  and  as  the  metropolis  of  five  other 
coining  cities,  which  have  a  wheel  on 
one  side  only.  Ann.  Inst.  1841,  pp.  103, 
1 09 ;  Verbreit.  d.  Ital.  Munzsyst.  pp. 
58,  69.  See  also  Bull.  Inst.  1839,  p. 
123.— Melchiorri ;  1842,  p.  126.— Gena- 
relli.  Abeken  (Mittelitalien,  p.  286) 
does  not  consider  the  wheel,  or  the  other 
devices  on  Etruscan  coins,  to  mark  any 
particular  sites,  and  he  regards  the  dis- 
tribution of  these  coins  to  a  metropolis 
and  its  dependencies  to  be  quite  ar- 
bitrary. 

4  Herod.  I.  57.  Herodotus'  state- 
ment is  repeated  by  Dionysius  (I.  p. 
23),  but  with  this  difference  that  in  the 
text  of  Herodotus  the  city  is  called 
Creston,  in  that  of  Dionysius,  Croton. 
That  they  were  identical  is  maintained 
by  Niebuhr  (I.  p.  34,  n.  89),  by  Cluver 
(II.  p.  574),  and  Mannert  (Geog.  p. 
418)  ;  but  opposed  by  Miiller  (Etrusk. 
einl.  2,  10),  by  Lepsius  (Ueber  die 
Tyrrhenischen  Pelasger  in  Etrurien, 
pp.  18  etseq.),  and  by  Mr  Grote  (His- 
tory of  Greece,  II.  p.  348).  Miiller  and 
Lepsius  consider  Herodotus  to  refer  to 
a  Creston  in  Thrace,  beyond  Mount 
Athos.  It  is  not  possible  here  to  state 
the  arguments  on  both  sides.    They  will 


410  CORTONA.  [chap.  lvi. 

suggests  that  Cortona  may  have  continued  distinct  from 
the  Etruscans,  as  he  thinks  Falerii  was.5  But  that  she  was 
included  in  the  great  Etruscan  Confederation,  and  one  of 
the  Twelve  chief  cities,  is  unquestionable.  Livy  describes 
her  as  one  of  the  "  heads  of  Etruria,"  in  the  year  of  Rome 
444,  when  with  Perusia  and  Arretium  she  was  forced  to 
sue  for  peace.6  It  is  singular  that  this  is  the  only  record 
we  find  of  Cortona  during  the  days  of  Etruscan  indepen- 
dence. She  is  referred  to  again  incidentally  in  the  Second 
Punic  War  when  Hannibal  marched  beneath  her  walls  and 
laid  waste  the  land  between  the  city  and  the  Thrasymene.7 
Yet  when  a  few  years  later  all  the  principal  cities  of 
Etruria  sent  supplies  for  Scipio's  fleet,  Cortona  is  not 
mentioned  among  them  ;8  which  is  not  a  little  strange,  as 
but  a  century  before  she  had  been  one  of  the  chief  in  the 
land.  Yet  she  did  not  cease  to  exist,  for  we  find  her  men- 
tioned as  a  Roman  colony  under  the  Empire.9  What  was 
her  fate  in  the  subsequent  convulsions  of  Italy  we  know 
not,  for  there  is  a  gap  of  a  thousand  years  in  her  annals, 
and  the  history  of  modern  Cortona  commences  only  with 
the  thirteenth  century  of  our  era.1 

Within  the  walls  of  Cortona  are  but  few  local  remains 
of  high  antiquity.2  There  is  a  fragment  of  walling  under 
the   Palazzo   Facchini,   composed  of  a  few  large  blocks, 


be  found  in  the   above   named   works,  9  Dion.   Hal.  I.  p.  21  ;  Plin.  III.  8. 

especially  in  that  of  Lepsius.  She  is  mentioned  also  by  Ptolemy,  Geog. 

s  Niebuhr,  I.  p.  119.  p.  72. 

6  Liv.  IX.  37.     Cluver  (II.  p.  575)  '  Repetti,  I.  p.  812. 

takes  Cortona  to  have  been  the  site  of  2  There  is  said  to  have  been  a  large 

the  great  rout  of  the  Gauls  in  the  year  piece  of  Etruscan   walling    under   the 

52.0,   instead    of  Colonia,  as    Frontinus  Spedale  Maggiore,  forming  the  base  of 

(Strat.  I.   2,  7)   has  it.     But   Polybius  a  vault  ;  another  fragment  behind  the 

(II.    27)    states    that    that    battle    was  Palazzo  Passerini  ;  and  a  third  outside 

fought   near    Telamon.      Ut   supra,   pp-  the   gate   of    the    Borgo    S.    Vineenzo. 

246,  259.  These  were  all  destroyed   however  at 

7  Polyb.  III.  82  ;  Liv.  XXII    I.  the   end   of    the   seventeenth   century. 
R  Liv.  XXVIII   45.  Inghirami,  Mon.  Etrus.  IV.  p.  71. 


chap,  lvi]  VAULT  IN  THE  CASA  CECCHETTI.  441 

apparently  of  the  same  date  as  the  city-walls.3  Another 
relic  of  Etruscan  times  within  the  walls  is  well  worthy  of 
the  traveller's  attention.  It  is  a  vault  beneath  the  Palazzo 
Cecchetti,  just  within  the  gate  of  S.  Agostino.  On  my 
begging  permission  to  see  the  monument,  the  owner  cour- 
teously proposed  to  show  it  in  person.  He  led  me  into 
his  coach-house,  raised  a  trap-door,  and  descended  into  a 
wine-cellar ;  where  I  thought  he  was  about  to  offer  me 
some  of  the  juice  of  his  vineyards,  but  on  looking  around 
I  perceived  that  I  was  in  the  very  vault  I  was  seeking. 

It  is  of  no  great  size,  about  thirteen  feet  in  span,  rather 
less  in  length,  and  nine  in  height,  lined  with  regular 
masonry,  uncemented,  neatly  cut  and  arranged,  and  in 
excellent  preservation.4  It  is  so  like  the  Deposito  del 
Gran  Duca,  at  Chiusi,  and  the  Grotta  di  San  Manno, 
near  Perugia,  that  it  is  difficult  to  deny  it  an  Etruscan 
origin.  Analogy  thus  seems  to  mark  it  as  a  tomb,  yet  its 
position  within  the  ancient  walls  is  opposed  to  this  view, 
and  there  is  nothing  to  determine  its  original  purpose.5 

The  only  other  local  antiquity  in  Cortona  is  a  fragment 
of  Roman  opus  incertum,  commonly  called  the  Baths  of 
Bacchus,  in  the  higher  part  of  the  town. 

Cortona,  for  more  than  a  century  past,  has  been  the  seat 
of  an  antiquarian  society,  the  Accademia  Etrusca,  which 
has  published  many  volumes  of  archaeological  treatises.  It 
has  formed  also  a  Museum  of  Etruscan  relics,  found  in  the 
neighbourhood.     There  is  little  pottery  here — no  painted 


3  Inghiranii    speaks   of   a   fragment,  5  It  may  have  an  affinity  to  the  sub- 

21  feet  long,  and  32  feet  high,  in  the  terranean,   tomb-like    chamber    within 

foundations  of  the  Palazzo  Laparelli,  in  the  walls  of  Tarquinii.     Vol.  I.  p.  ."585. 

the  Piazza   S.   Andrea.      Mon.    Etrus.  The  floor  is  the  bare  rock  ;  the  back 

IV.  p.  77.     I  sought  it  in  vain.  wall   of  the  vault  has  been  pulled  down 

■i  The  blocks  are  of  the  local  sand-  to  enlarge  its  dimensions.  Abcken  re- 
stone,  or  macigno,  as  it  is  called.  They  gards  it  as  undoubtedly  a  sepulchre.  Ann. 
vary  from  3  to  nearly  7  feet  in  length,  Inst.  1841,  p.  39  ;  Mittelitalicn,  p.  250. 
and  are  1 5  inches  in  height. 


I  1,2  CORTONA.  [chap.  lvi. 

vases  of  great  beauty  or  interest ;  merely  black  or  red 
ware,  often  with  bands  of  small  archaic  figures  in  relief. 
Many  little  idols,  or  figurine,  as  the  Italians  call  them,  of 
earthenware,  from  four  to  ten  inches  in  height,  votive 
offerings,  or  more  probably  the  Lares  of  the  lower  orders, 
who  could  not  afford  deities  of  bronze.  Heads  of  the 
same  material,  the  size  of  life  and  evidently  portraits,  con- 
taining the  ashes  of  the  person  whose  features  they  repre- 
sent.    Sundry  small  lamps,  some  of  them  grotesque.6 

There  are  several  small  cinerary  urns  of  terra-cotta,  with 
toga- wrapt  figures  on  the  lids,  and  the  usual  subjects  in 
relief. 

The  Museum  is  more  rich  in  bronzes  than  in  pottery. 
The  most  remarkable  are — a  naked  figure  of  Jupiter 
Tonans,  about  seven  or  eight  inches  high,  with  an  inscrip- 
tion on  the  stand  in  Greek  letters,  but  unintelligible, — a 
female  divinity  with  a  cock  on  her  head,  and  the  wings  of 
a  sphinx, — many  purely  Egyptian  idols,  found  in  the 
tombs  around  Cortona, — the  head  of  a  negro. 

There  is  also  a  considerable  collection  of  Etruscan  coins. 

But  the  wonder  of  ancient  wonders  in  the  Museum  of 
Cortona,  is  a  bronze  lamp  of  such  surpassing  beauty  and 
elaboration  of  workmanship  as  to  throw  into  the  shade 
every  toreutic  work  yet  discovered  in  the  soil  of  Etruria. 
Were  there  nothing  else  to  be  seen  at  Cortona,  this  alone 
would  demand  a  visit.  It  merits  therefore  a  more  detailed 
description  than  I  have  generally  given  to  individual 
articles.  It  is  circular,  about  twenty -three  inches  in 
diameter,  hollow  like  a  bowl,  but  from  the  centre  rises  a 
sort  of  conical  chimney  or  tube,  to  which  must  have  been 
attached  a  chain  for  its  suspension.  Round  the  rim  are 
sixteen  lamps,  of  classic  form,  fed  by  oil  from  the  great 

6  One   is  formed  like   a  face,  with  a       and  other  holes  in  the  forehead  and  cliin, 
hole  in  the  nose,  by  which  to  suspend  it,       for  the  wicks. 


chap,  lvi.]  THE  WONDERFUL  LAMP.  443 

bowl,  and  adorned  with  elegant  foliage  in  relief.  Alter- 
nating with  them  are  heads  of  the  horned  and  bearded 
Bacchus.  At  the  bottom  of  each  lamp  is  a  figure  in  relief 
— alternately  a  draped  Siren  with  wings  outspread,  and  a 
naked  Satyr  playing  the  double-pipes,  or  the  syrinx.  The 
bottom  is  hollowed  in  the  centre,  and  contains  a  huge 
Gorgon's  face  ;  not  such  as  Da  Vinci  painted  it,  with 

"  The  melodious  hue  of  beauty  thrown 
Athwart  the  darkness  and  the  glare  of  pain, 
Which  humanise  and  harmonise  the  strain." 

Here  is  no  loveliness — all  horror.  The  visage  of  a  fiend, 
with  savage  frown — eyes  starting  from  their  sockets  in  the 
fury  of  rage — a  mouth  stretched  to  its  utmost,  with 
gnashing  tusks  and  lolling  tongue — and  the  whole  rendered 
yet  more  terrible  by  a  wreath  of  serpents  bristling  around 
it.  It  is  a  libel  on  the  fair  face  of  Dian,  to  say  that  this 
hideous  visage  symbolises  the  moon.7  In  a  band  encircling 
it,  are  lions,  leopards,  wolves,  and  griffons,  in  pairs, 
devouring  a  bull,  a  horse,  a  boar,  and  a  stag ;  and  in  an 
outer  band  is  the  favourite  wave-ornament,  with  dolphins 
sporting  above  it.  Between  two  of  the  lamps  was  a  small 
tablet  with  an  Etruscan  inscription,  marking  this  as  a 
dedicatory  offering.8  The  weight  of  the  whole  is  said 
to  be  one  hundred  and  seventy  Tuscan  pounds.9 


7  This  is  a  well-known  Orphic  doc-  on  a  bronze  dog  in  the  possession  of  Sr. 
trine.  Epigenes,  ap.  Clem.  Alex.  Strom.  Coltellini  of  Cortona,  and  also  on  a 
V.  p.  676,  ed.  Potter.  The  serpents  small  pedestal  in  this  same  museum, 
also  are  supposed  to  be  emblems  of  the  Ann.  Inst.  1842,  p.  62.  Micali,  Mon. 
lunar  changes.     Ann.  lost.  1842,  p.  57.  Ined.    p.    80.      Inscriptions    like    this, 

8  The  inscription  is  not  very  legible.  attached  to  monuments,  are  not  of  un- 
Some  of  the  letters  are  peculiar  ;  but  frequent  occurrence.  It  was  the  custom 
one  word,  "  inscvil,"  marks  it  as  a  dedi-  to  attach  them  to  gifts,  as  now-a-days  it 
catory  gift.  It  is  in  all  probability  is  with  us  to  write  the  name  of  the  giver 
intended  for  "  Tinscvil,"  the  word  which  and  gifted,  in  a  presented  book. 

is  inscribed  on  the  Chimsera  in  the  Flo-  9  Bull  Inst.  1840,  p.  165.     Cf.  Micali, 

rence  Gallery,  on  the  Griffon  at  Lcydcn,  Mon.  Ined.  p.  78. 


1  H 


CORTONA. 


[chap,  lvi. 


From  the  higli  decoration  of  the  bottom  of  the  lamp, 
and  the  comparative  plainness  of  the  upper  part,  as  well 
as  from  the  analogy  of  similar  monuments,  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe  that  it  was  suspended,  perhaps  in  a  tomb, 
perhaps  in  a  temple,  as  a  sacrificial  lamp  ;  which  in  truth 
its  remarkable  size  and  beauty  seem  to  indicate.1 

The  style  of  art  proves  this  monument  to  be  of  no  very 
early  date,  yet  there  is  a  certain  archaicism  about  it  which 
marks  it  as  of  ante-Roman  times.2 

From  this  monument,  so  beautiful  in  art  and  elaborate 
in  decoration,  we  can  well  understand  how  it  was  that  the 
Etruscan  candelabra  and  other  works  of  toreutic  art  were 
so  admired  and  prized  by  the  Athenians,  even  in  the  days 
of  Pericles.3  In  truth,  as  Micali  observes,  in  mastery  of 
art  no  other  Etruscan  work  in  bronze,  except  the  larger 
statues,  can  rival  this  gem.4 


1  It  is  a  lyclinus,  such  as  were  hung 
from  the  ceilings  of  palaces  or  temples 
(Virg.  Ma.  I.  726  ;  Plin.  XXXIV.  8), 
and  as  have  been  found  also  suspended 
in  sepulchres — even  in  Etruscan  ones, 
as  in  the  Tomb  of  the  Volumnii,  at  Peru- 
gia. Micali  (Mon.  Ined,  p.  78)  thinks  it 
a  sepulchral  monument — a  funeral  offer- 
ing to  the  great  god  of  the  infernal 
regions,  consecrated  by  some  lady  of 
illustrious  race,  as  the  inscription  seems 
to  show.  He  suggests  that  it  may  have 
hung  in  the  chamber,  where  the  funei-al 
feast  was  wont  to  be  celebrated,  as  well 
as  the  anuual  inferice  or  parentalia.  The 
use  of  sepulchral  lamps  by  the  ancients 
is  well  known,  and  gave  rise,  in  the 
middle  ages,  to  strange  notions  of 
perpetual  fire ;  for  it  was  asserted 
that  some  were  found  still  burning  in 
the  tombs,  though  fifteen  or  twenty 
centuries  had  elapsed  since  they  were 
Lighted.  It  seems,  however,  that  lain) is 
\\cre  sometimes  kept  burning  in  sepul- 
chres long  after  the  interment.     Micali 


cites  an  extract  from  Modestinus  (leg. 
44,  Msevia  D.  de  Manumiss.  testam.), 
which  shows  that  a  certain  Roman  gave 
freedom  to  his  slaves  at  his  death,  on 
condition  of  their  keeping  a  light  burn- 
ing in  his  sepulchre  :  "  Saccus  servus 
meus  et  Eutychia  et  Hiene  ancillse  meae 
omnes  sub  hac  conditione  liberi  sunto, 
ut  monumento  meo  alternis  mensibus 
lucernam  accendant,  et  solemnia  mortis 
peragant." 

3  Micali  (Mon.  Ined.  p.  75)  says  truly 
that  it  is  of  a  style  between  the  cele- 
brated Wolf  of  the  Capitol,  and  the 
Chimaera  and  Orator  of  the  Florence 
Gallery  ;  but  he  would  refer  it  to  the 
sixth  or  seventh  century  of  Rome, 
which,  according  to  the  standard  of  the 
painted  pottery,  would  be  too  late  a 
date.  I  should  rather  say  the  fifth 
century,  or  the  close  of  Etruscan  inde- 
pendence. 

3  Pherecrates,  ap.  Allien.  XV.  c.  18, 
p.  700  ;  Critias,  ap.  eund.  I.  e.  22, p. 28. 

4  Micali,  Mon.  Ined.  p.  75. 


chap,  lvi.]  ANCIENT  TOMBS.  U5 

This  singular  relic  of  Etruscan  antiquity  was  discovered 
in  1840,  at  a  spot  called  La  Fratta,  at  the  foot  of  the 
Mount  of  Cortona,  on  the  road  to  Montepulciano  ;  not  in 
a  tomb,  but  in  a  ditch,  at  a  slight  depth  below  the  surface. 
The  fortunate  possessor  is  the  Signora  Tommasi,  of 
Cortona,  whose  husband  is  said  to  have  given  700  dollars 
to  the  peasants  who  found  it.5 

There  are  two  other  collections  of  antiquities  at  Cortona ; 
one  in  the  possession  of  the  Venuti  family,  the  other  in 
the  Palazzo  Corazzi,  though  the  greater  part  of  the  latter 
has  been  purchased  by  Holland,  and  is  now  to  be  seen  in 
the  Museum  of  Leyden.6 

There  is  nothing  more,  as  far  as  I  am  aware,  of  Etrus- 
can interest  within  the  walls  of  Cortona.  I  leave  the 
traveller  to  his  tutelar  deities  the  Guide-books  to  steer 
him  safely  among  the  churches,  the  paintings,  and  such 
rocks  as  the  sarcophagus  in  the  Cathedral — said  to  be  that 
of  the  Consul  Flaminius,  who  lost  his  life  by  "  the  reedy 
Thrasymene" — on  which  inexperience  and  credulity  have 
so  often  run  aground ;  but  I  will  resume  the  helm  when 
we  quit  the  Gate  of  S.  Agostino,  for  the  tombs  of  Cortona. 

The  height  on  which  the  city  stands  is  of  stratified 
sandstone,  the  same  as  composes  the  ancient  walls — too 
hard  to  be  easily  excavated  into  sepulchral  chambers,  at 
least  by  the  Etruscans,  who  had  not  the  aqua-fortis  tooth 
of  the  Egyptians,  and  rarely  attempted  to  eat  a  way  into 
anything  harder  than  tufo  or  light  arenaceous  rocks. 
Here  then,  as  at  Rusellaa,  Cosa,  and  Saturnia,  tombs  must 
be  looked  for  on  the  lower  slopes  or  in  the  plain  beneath, 
rather  than  immediately  around  the  city-walls.     Yet  on 

5  For  illustrations  and  notices  of  this  354  (Braun)  ;    Mon.  Ined.   Instit.   III. 

lamp    see   Micali,   Monumenti    Inediti,  tav.  XLI.  XLII. 

pp.  72,  et  seq.  tav.  IX.  X.  ;  Bull.  Inst.  fi  For  a  description  of  the  Etruscan 

1840,    p.    164  (Fabroni)  ;    Ann.    Inst.  monuments  in  that  Museum  see   Bull. 

1842,  p.  .53,  et  seq.  (Abeken)  ;  1843,  p.  Inst.  1840,  pp.  97—104  (Janssen). 


146  CORTONA.  [chap,  lti. 

ledges  in  the  slopes,  where  accumulations  of  soil  from  the 
high  ground  made  it  practicable,  tombs  were  constructed. 
As  the  soil,  however,  was  too  soft  to  preserve  the  form  of 
a  sepulchre,  it  was  necessary  to  construct  it  of  masonry, 
and  that  it  might  be  subterranean,  according  to  the  usual 
practice,  it  was  heaped  over  with  earth.  Of  this  descrip- 
tion is  the  celebrated 

Takella  di  Pitagoea, 

or  the  "  Cave  of  Pythagoras,"  so  called  from  the  vulgar 
belief  that  that  philosopher  dwelt  and  taught  in  this  city, 
though  it  was  at  Croton  in  Magna  Graecia,  not  the  Croton 
of  Etruria. 

This  most  remarkable  sepulchre  stands  on  the  slope  two 
or  three  furlongs  below  the  city.  It  has  been  known  for 
ages  to  the  world,  but  had  been  neglected  and  half  buried 
beneath  the  earth,  till,  in  the  }rear  1834,  it  was  re-exca- 
vated ;  and  it  now  stands  in  all  its  majesty  revealed  to 
the  sun,  like  a  temple  of  the  Druids,  amid  a  grove  of 
cypresses. 

The  monument  is  now  in  such  a  state  of  ruin  as  at  first 
sight  to  be  hardly  intelligible.  The  entrance  is  by  a 
square-headed  doorway,  leading  into  a  small  chamber, 
surrounded  by  walls  of  massive  rectangular  masonry,  in 
which  sundry  gaps  are  left  for  niches.7  One  side  of  this 
chamber  is  in  utter  ruin.  It  was  roofed  in  by  five  im- 
mense, long  blocks,8  resting  on  two  semicircular  masses 
which  crowned  the  masonry  at  the  opposite  ends  of  the 


'  The  doorway  is  5  ft.  8  in.  high,  by  the  entrance  to  another   tomb.      Bull. 

3  ft.  6  in.  wide.      The  chamber  is  only  Inst.  1834,  p.  197.— Castellani. 

8  ft.   6  in.  by  6  ft.  6  in.     Gori  (Mus.  8  These  cover-stones  are  about  10  ft. 

Etrus.  III.  p.  75,  cl.  II.  tav.  2)  describes  long,  3  ft.  wide,  and  22  in.  thick.     The 

this  tomb  as  if  it  had  another  entrance  weight  of  one  of  them  has  been  esti- 

by  a  subterranean  passage.     What  he  mated  at  10,000  lbs.     Bull.  Inst.  loc.  cit. 
mistook  for  such  has  been  proved  to  be 


chap,  lvi.]  THE  CAVE  OF  PYTHAGORAS.  447 

chamber  ;  forming  thus  a  vault,  which  differs  from  ordinary 
ones  in  this,  that  each  course  of  voussoirs  is  composed  of  a 
single  block.  It  is  not  easy  to  say  if  the  architect  under- 
stood the  principle  of  the  arch.  The  blocks  are  of  course 
cuneiform,  or  they  would  not  fit  closely,  and  be  in  harmony 
with  the  rest  of  the  masonry.  But  their  needless  massive- 
ness  and  length,  and  the  mode  in  which  they  are  sup- 
ported, seem  to  indicate  that  they  were  not  raised  with  a 
knowledge  of  the  arch-principle.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
semicircular  blocks,  on  which  they  rest,  could  not  have 
been  dispensed  with,  without  destroying  the  symmetry  of 
the  tomb.  Of  these  five  cover-stones,  one  only  retains  its 
position,  and  serves  as  the  key  to  the  whole  ;  a  second  has 
one  end  still  resting  on  the  lintel  of  the  door,  the  other  on 
the  ground  ;  and  the  remaining  three  have  been  broken  to 
pieces.  The  walls  of  the  chamber  are  of  immense  thick- 
ness, and  the  whole  is  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  masonry 
of  the  same  massive  description,  four  or  five  feet  high, 
resting  on  a  still  larger  basement,  seventy-six  feet  in  cir- 
cumference, and  now  almost  level  with  the  ground.9 

The  chamber  has  been  closed  in  the  same  way  as 
the  Grotta  Casuccini,  at  Chiusi ;  sockets  for  the  stone 
flaps  of  the  door  being  visible  in  the  lintel  and  threshold. 
The  sepulchral  character  of  the  structure  is  manifest  from 
the  niches,  of  which  there  are  eight,  evidently  for  cinerary 
urns  or  vases.  No  vestige  now  remains  of  such  furniture, 
nor  is  there  any  record  of  what  the  tomb  contained  when 
first  brought  to  light ;  but  in  the  recent  excavations  a 
great  quantity  of  rude  pottery  was  found  around  the 
monument.  The  most  surprising  feature  is  the  fresh- 
ness and  exquisite  finish  of  the  masonry,  especially  of  the 

9  The  circling  wall  terminates  above  earth.     For  illustrations  of  this  monu- 

in  a  plain  fascia — only  a  small  portion  of  ment  see  Gori,  Mus.  Etrus.  III.  cl.  II. 

it  is  standing — the  space  between  it  and  tab.  II. ;  Inghirami,  Mon.    Etrus.   IV. 

the  walls  of  the  chamber  is  filled  with  tav.  XI ;  Abeken,  Mittelitalien,  taf.  V.  3. 


448  CORTONA.  [chap.  i.vi. 

interior.  The  slabs  and  blocks  of  sandstone  seem  newly 
brought  from  the  quarry,  and  are  put  together,  though 
without  cement,  with  a  neatness  which  might  shame  a 
modern  mason.  It  is  difficult  to  believe  they  have  stood 
thus  between  two  and  three  thousand  years.  The  exter- 
nal circling  wall  shows  the  same  sharpness  and  neatness. 
From  the  analogy  of  other  monuments,  there  is  no  doubt 
that  this  wall  was  the  basement  to  a  mound  of  earth, 
forming  a  tumulus  over  the  sepulchre.1 

The  perfection  of  the  masonry  seems  to  imply  no  high 
antiquity,  yet  the  Cyclopean  massiveness  of  the  blocks,  akin 
to  those  in  the  city  walls,  and  above  all,  the  simplicity  of 
its  vaulted  roof,  apparently  prior  to  the  invention  of  the 
arch,  throw  it  back  to  a  very  remote  period,  earlier  than 
the  construction  of  the  Cloaca  Maxima,  and  perhaps 
coeval  with  the  foundation  of  Rome.  Nor  do  the  sharp- 
ness and  neatness  of  its  masonry  belie  such  an  antiquity, 
seeing  that  other  works  of  the  earliest  ages,  as  the  Gate 
of  Lions  at  Mycenae,  and  the  walls  of  Cortona  and  Fiesole 
display  no  inferior  skill  and  execution  ;  though  in  this 
case  much  of  the  freshness  is  undoubtedly  owing  to  the 
protection  of  the  superincumbent  earth. 

I  should  be  inclined  to  regard  this  monument  as  almost 
coeval  with  the  walls  of  Cortona,  and  of  Pelasgic  origin. 
A  slab,  however,  which  was  found  near  it  in  the  late 
excavations,  and  from  its  precise  correspondence  in  size, 
must  have  served  to  close  one  of  the  niches  in  the 
chamber,  bears  an  inscription  in  Etruscan  characters.2 


1  Abeken   (Ann.   Inst.  1841,   p.    37)  had  originally  surmounted  it. 

thinks  this  tumulus  was  a  cone  like  those  2  For  this  inscription  see  Ann.  Instit. 

of  Tarquinii,  but  truncated  ;  and  states  1841,  p.  37.     In  Latin  letters  it  would 

that  a  square  abacus,  topt  by  a  ball  of  run  thus, — 

stone,  similar  to  what  may  be  seen  in  v  .  cusu  .  cr  .  l  .  apa 

the    Museo    Casuccini    at   Chiusi,   had  petrial  .  clan. 

been  found  near  the  monument,  as  if  it  It  is  now  in  the  Museum  of  the  Academy. 


■  hap.  lvi.]  ANCIENT  SEPULCHRES  OF  CORTONA.  449 

It  is  singular  that  the  dimensions  of  this  Grotta  di 
Pitagora  agree  almost  precisely  with  the  multiples  and 
divisions  of  the  modern  Tuscan  braccio,  which  there  is  good 
reason  to  believe  is  just  double  the  ancient  Roman  foot. 
This  confirms  the  opinion  already  mentioned,  that  the 
Romans  took  that  measure  from  the  Etruscans,  and  that 
the  modern  Tuscans  use  the  very  same  measures  as  their 
celebrated  forefathers.3 

Near  this,  traces  of  other  tumuli  have  been  discovered, 
in  rounded  basements  of  rock.  Baldelli,  who  wrote  in 
1570,  states  that  in  his  time  there  existed  three  other 
sepulchres,  one  precisely  similar  to  this,  and  close  to  the 
road  leading  to  Camuscia  ;  a  second  beneath  the  church 
of  S.  Vincenzio  ;  but  both  had  been  almost  destroyed  by 
a  certain  man  who  dreamed  that  treasure  lay  concealed 
within  them  ;  and  a  third  on  the  site  of  the  church  of 
Sta.  Maria  Nova,  removed  to  make  room  for  that  edifice.4 

The  said  Baldelli  states  in  his  MS.,  which  though 
frequently  copied  has  never  been  printed,  that  the  two 
last-named  tombs  were  composed  of  five  enormous  stones, 
one  forming  each  side  of  the  quadrangle  and  the  fifth 
covering  it 5 — precisely  such  as  are  still  extant  at  Saturnia, 
and  resembling  the  cromlechs  of  our  own  country. 

Grotta  Sergardi. 

At  the  foot  of  the  hill  of  Cortona,  close  to  Camuscia, 
and  on  the  road  to  Montepulciano,  stands  a  large  mound 

3  Bull.  Inst.  1834,  p.  198.     Ut  supra,  weapons,  much  pottery,  and  many  sepul- 
p.  376,  n.  8.  chral  lamps.     This  record   is  valuable, 

4  In  this  last  tomb  was  found  a  large  as  throwing  light   on  the  character  of 
earthenware  pot,   containing  a   bronze  the  analogous  tombs  of  Saturnia. 

vase,  beautifully  chiselled,  with  a  smaller  5  Baldelli,  ap.  Gori,  III.  pp.  75,  76; 

vase  of  the  same  metal  within  it,  holding  ap.  Inghirami,  Mon.  Etr.  IV.  p.  72. 
the  ashes  of  the  deceased  ;  besides  sundry 

VOL.  II.  G  G 


450  CORTONA.  LCI1A1'-  IVI- 

or  barrow,  vulgarly  called  II  Melone.6  This  "  Melon  " 
had  long  been  suspected  of  being  sepulchral ;  and  at 
length  the  proprietor,  Signor  Sergardi  of  Siena,  determined 
to  have  it  opened,  and  secured  the  services  of  Signor 
Alessandro  Francois,  the  most  experienced  excavator  in 
Tuscany.  He  commenced  operations  in  the  autumn  of 
1842,  and  the  result  was  the  discovery  of  a  sepulchre  of 
most  singular  character,  bearing  some  analogy  indeed  to 
the  Regulini  tomb  at  Ca^re,  but  a  strict  resemblance  to  no 
other  yet  disclosed  in  the  soil  of  Etruria.  Unfortunately 
it  had  been  rifled  in  previous  ages,  so  that  little  of  value 
was  found  within  it ;  and  its  interest  lies  chiefly  in  its 
plan  and  construction,  in  which  respects  it  remains  un- 
injured. 

A  long  passage  lined  with  masonry  leads  into  the  heart 
of  the  tumulus.  For  the  last  seven  yards  it  widens,  and 
is  divided  by  a  low  thick  wall  into  two  parallel  passages 
which  lead  to  two  entrances,  now  closed  with  wooden 
doors.  The  partition  wall  is  terminated  in  front  by  a 
square  mass  of  masonry,  which  probably  served  as  a 
pedestal  for  a  lion  or  sphinx;  and  the  passage  opens, 
on  either  hand  at  its  further  end,  into  a  small  square 
chamber.  Enter  one  of  the  wooden  doors,  and  you  are 
in  a  long  passage-like  tomb,  communicating  by  a  door- 
way with  an  inner  chamber.  The  other  wooden  door 
opens  into  a  parallel  tomb  precisely  similar  in  every 
respect.7 

The  resemblance  of  this  tomb  to  the  Eegulini  at  Caere 
will  strike  you  immediately — not  only  in  its  passage  form, 
but  also  in  construction,  for  it  is  roofed  over  on  the  same 


6  This  mound  is  about  640  ft.  in  cir-  length.      In    the    inner  wall  of  one  of 
cumference,  and  46  feet  high.  these   tombs  is  a  hole,  through  which 

7  The  outer  chambers  are  1 4  ft.  long,  you  can  look  into  another  chamber  not 
by  8  ft.  wide  ;  the  inner,  only  1 1  ft.  in  yet  opened. 


chap,  lvi.]  GROTTA  SERGARDI.  451 

primitive  principle  of  the  convergence  of  the  blocks  to  a 
centre,  which,  before  they  meet,  are  covered  by  large  flat 
slabs.  The  difference  consists  in  the  double  passage  and 
in  the  size  of  the  masonry,  which,  instead  of  being  com- 
posed of  regular,  massive  blocks,  as  in  the  tomb  of  Cervetri, 
is  here  of  small  pieces  of  schistose  rock,  not  hewn,  but 
rudely  hammer-dressed  into  the  shape  of  long  shallow 
bricks  ;  it  is  equally  without  cement,  but  the  clayey  soil 
here  exuding  through  the  interstices  appears  like  a 
plaster  of  mud.  Masonry  of  this  description  is  not  found 
elsewhere  in  Etruscan  edifices.  It  seems  an  imitation  of 
brickwork,  and  belies  the  assertion  of  a  celebrated  archi- 
tect, that  this  sort  of  roof  could  not  be  formed  of  that 
material.8  Nothing  can  be  more  unlike  than  this  masonry 
and  that  of  the  Tanella  di  Pitagora,  and  at  first  sight  you 
are  ready  to  pronounce  it  impossible  that  both,  little  more 
than  a  mile  apart,  could  have  been  raised  by  the  same 
hands.  Yet  that  this  was  Etruscan  there  can  be  no 
doubt,  from  the  nature  of  its  contents ;  and  its  con- 
struction proves  it  to  be  of  at  least  equal  antiquity.  The 
character  of  the  masonry  seems  here  determined  by  local 
circumstances.  On  the  hill  of  Cortona  the  rock  admits 
of  being  hewn  into  square  masses  ;  here  at  its  foot,  it  is 
of  that  hard,  brittle,  flaky  character,  which  renders  vain 
the  labour  of  the  chisel,  and  prompted  the  adoption  of 
a  species  of  masonry  but  little  consistent  with  Etruscan 
habits  of  neatness. 

These  parallel  tombs  are  paved  with  large  flagstones, 
and  underneath  them,  in  the  rock  on  which  they  are  laid, 
are  channels  to  carry  off  the  water  that  might  percolate 
the  roof.     The  outer  passages,  which  are  now  open  to  the 


8  Canina,  Cere  Antica,  p.  67.      Tho       kept  in  their  places  by  the  weight  of  the 
bricks,  or  rather  stones,  in  this  case,  are       superincumbent  earth. 

GO  2 


452  CORTONA.  [chap.  i.vi. 

sky,  seem  to  have  been  covered  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  parallel  tombs. 

Though  this  "  Melon "  had  been  previously  opened, 
perhaps  more  than  once,  it  still  contained  a  few  pips ; 
such  as  broken  black  pottery,  a  few  remains  in  bronze 
and  bone,  and  very  small  fragments  of  gold  and  silver. 
These,  with  everything  else  that  has  been  discovered  in 
the  mound,  are  now  to  be  seen  at  the  Villa  Sergardi  hard 
by  ;  and  it  is  well  for  the  traveller  that  he  can  examine 
them  at  leisure,  for  he  is  soon  driven  out  of  the  tomb  by 
the  intolerable  clamp. 

Above  this  tomb,  in  the  higher  part  of  the  mound,  were 
discovered  three  very  small  chambers,  one  of  which  was 
unrifled,  and  contained  a  large  covered  pot  of  bronze, 
embossed,  and  a  vase  of  black  clay  like  the  most  ancient 
of  Caere  and  Veii,  with  a  procession  of  archaic  figures  in 
relief.  Both  contained  human  ashes.  Besides  these,  there 
were — an  elegant  tazza  with  similar  reliefs — a  quantity  of 
small  black  ware — unguentaria  of  ordinary  clay — and  a 
long  slab  of  stone,  apparently  part  of  a  sarcophagus,  with 
reliefs  of  very  archaic  style,  representing  a  number  of 
figures  kneeling.  Here  also  were  found  sundry  spear- 
heads of  iron,  in  one  of  which  is  a  portion  of  the  wooden 
shaft  almost  petrified  ;  together  with  a  hoe,  a  key,  and 
part  of  a  lock  of  the  same  metal,  all  much  oxydised,  a 
small  sphinx  of  bone,  and  remains  of  heads  in  terra- 
cotta.9 

This  tumulus  has  not  been  half  excavated,  and  it  is 
believed  with  good  reason  that  many  more  chambers  he 
within  it.  Yet,  as  the  researches  have  proved  so  little 
profitable,    owing    to    former    riflings,    it    seems    doubtful 

9  A  detailed  description  of  this  tomb  chiore  Missirini,  Siena,  1843.  For  an 
and  its  contents,  together  with  illustra-  account  of  the  excavations  see  also  Bull, 
tions,  has  been  published  by   Sr.   Mel-       Inst.  1843,  pp.  33,49. 


chap,  lvi.]  THE  MELON  TUMULUS.  453 

whether  they  will  be  continued.  The  "  Melon  "  appears 
wholly  artificial — not  like  the  Poggio  Gajella,  or  the 
Monteroni  near  Palo,  natural  heights  honeycombed  with 
sepulchral  cells — and  seems  to  have  been  raised  over  the 
masonry-built  tombs,  which  stand  on  the  very  level  of 
the  plain.  Another  mound  not  far  off  offers  a  further 
field  for  excavating  enterprise. 

Cortona  is  a  city  of  great  interest.  Its  very  high 
antiquity — the  mystery  hanging  over  its  origin,  lost  in 
the  dim  perspective  of  remote  ages — the  fables  connected 
with  its  early  history — the  problem  of  its  mighty  walls — 
the  paucity  of  tombs  discovered  around  them,  and  the 
singular  character  of  those  that  stand  open, — all  combine 
to  cast  a  charm  over  Cortona,  a  charm  of  mystery,  which 
can  only  be  fully  appreciated  by  those  who  have  visited 
the  site. 


CHAPTER  LVII. 

PERUGI  A—  PER  USIA . 

The  City. 
Sint  tibi  Flamiuius,  Thrasymenaque  litora  testes. 


Ovid. 


Vix  crediderim  tam  matvire  tantam  iirbem  crevisse,  floruisse,  concidisse, 
resurrexisse.  Vell.  Paterculus. 

Happy  the  man  who  with  mind  open  to  the  influences 
of  Nature,  journeys  on  a  bright  day  from  Cortona  to 
Perugia !  He  passes  through  some  of  the  most  beautiful 
scenery  in  all-beautiful  Italy,  by  the  most  lovely  of  lakes, 
and  over  ground  hallowed  by  events  among  the  most 
memorable  in  the  history  of  the  ancient  world.  For  on 
the  shores  of  "the  reedy  Thrasymene,"  the  fierce  Cartha- 
ginian set  his  foot  on  the  proud  neck  of  Rome. 

The  day  on  which  I  retraced  my  steps  over  this  well- 
beaten  road,  is  marked  in  my  memory  with  a  white  stone. 
Before  leaving  the  Tuscan  State,  I  halted  at  the  hamlet  of 
Riccio  to  dine,  for  the  worthy  merchant,  my  chance-com- 
panion, was  wont  to  make  this  his  house  of  call.  The 
padrona  was  not  long  in  answering  our  demands,  for  we 
had  not  arrived  at  sunset,  expecting  all  manner  of  impos- 
sibilities and  unheard-of  dainties,  but  had  drawn  on  her 
larder  at  the  reasonable  hour  of  noon,  and  had  left  our 


chai-.  lvii.]  BATTLE  OF  THE  THRASYMENE.  455 

appetites  to  her  discretion.  The  sun  shone  warmly  into 
the  room — the  hostess  smiled  cheerily— a  glorious  land- 
scape lay  beneath  our  window — and  what  mattered  it  that 
the  dishes  stood  on  the  bare  board  ;  that  the  spoons  and 
forks  were  of  tin,  and  that  the  merchant's  servant,  and  a 
bearded  pilgrim  in  sackcloth,  Rome-bound  for  the  Holy 
Week,  whom,  in  his  pious  generosity,  my  companion  had 
invited  to  partake,  sat  down  to  table  with  us  1  Travelling 
in  Italy,  for  him  who  would  mix  with  the  natives,  and  can 
forget  home-bred  pride,  prejudices,  and  exigencies,  levels 
all  distinctions. 

At  Monte  Gualandro,  we  entered  the  Papal  State.  Here 
at  our  feet  lay  the  Thrasymene,1  a  broad  expanse  of  blue, 
mirroring  in  intenser  hues  the  complexion  of  the  heavens. 
Three  wooded  islets  lay,  floating  it  seemed,  on  its  unruffled 
surface.  Towns  and  villages  glittered  on  the  verdant 
shore.  Dark  heights  of  purple  waved  around  ;  but  loftier 
far,  and  far  more  distant,  the  Apennines  reared  their 
crests  of  snow — Nature's  nobles,  proud,  distant,  and  cold, 
holding  no  communion  with  the  herd  of  lowlier  mountains 
around  them. 

Such  was  the  scene  on  which  the  sun  shone  on  that 
eventful  day,  when  Rome  lay  humbled  at  the  feet  of  Car- 
thage, when  fifteen  thousand  of  her  sons  dyed  yon  plain 
and  lake  with  their  blood.  From  the  height  of  Monte 
Gualandro  the  whole  battle-field  is  within  view.  At  the 
foot  of  the  hill,  or  a  little  further  to  the  right,  on  the 
shores  of  the  lake,  Flaminius,  on  his  way  from  Arretium, 
halted  on  the  eve  of  the  battle.  Ere  the  sun  had  risen  on 
the  morrow  he  entered  the  pass  between  this  hill  and  the 

1  The   Lacus  Thrasymenus,  Thrasu-  taken  from  the   oldest    native   dialect, 

menus,  Trasymenus,  or  Trasumcnus  of  Many    of    the   ancients  also   called    it 

antiquity.     Polybius   (III.  82)  calls  it  Tharsomcnus,  instead  of  Thrasumenus. 

Tapatfxevr)  Xi^vr),  which  Manncrt  (Gcog.  Quintil.  Inst.  Orat.  I.  5. 
p.  416)  takes  to  be  correct,  as  probably 


456  PERUGIA. — The  City.  [chap.  lvii. 

water,  and  marched  on  into  yon  crescent-shaped  plain, 
formed  by  the  receding  of  the  mountains  from  the  lake,  un- 
conscious that  he  was  watched  from  these  very  heights  on 
which  we  stand,  by  Hannibal's  Balearic  slingers  and  light- 
armed  troops,  and  that  the  undulating  ground  at  our  feet 
concealed  the  enemy's  horse.  Seeing  the  foe  in  front,  he 
marched  on  through  the  pass,  till  it  widens  into  the  plain, 
and  there,  enve^ed  by  a  dense  mist  which  arose  from 
the  lake,  he  was  suddenly  attacked  on  every  side  by 
Hannibal's  main  force  in  front,  and  by  the  cavalry  and 
other  ambushers  in  the  rear.  Flaminius  then  saw  he  was 
entrapped,  but,  nothing  daunted,  he  made  a  more  des- 
perate struggle  for  victory  ;  and  so  furious  the  contest 
that  ensued,  so  intent  were  all  on  the  work  of  destruction, 
that  an  earthquake  which  overthrew  many  cities  in  Italy, 
turned  aside  the  course  of  rapid  rivers,  carried  the  sea 
up  between  their  banks,  and  cast  down  even  mountains 
in  mighty  ruin,  was  unknown,  unfelt,  by  any  of  the 
combatants, — 

"  An  earthquake  reel'd  unheededly  away  ! 
None  felt  stern  Nature  rocking  at  his  feet." 

For  three  hours  did  the  Romans  maintain  the  unequal 
contest,  till  at  length,  when  their  leader  Flaminius  fell, 
they  broke  and  fled,  rushing,  some  to  the  mountain-steeps, 
which  they  were  not  suffered  to  climb,  others  to  the  lake, 
in  whose  waters  they  vainly  sought  safety.  Six  thousand, 
who  had  broken  through  the  foe  at  the  first  attack,  and 
had  retired  to  a  height  to  await  the  issue  of  the  fight, 
effected  their  escape,  only  to  be  captured  on  the  mor- 
row. Ten  thousand  scattered  fugitives  carried  the  news 
to  Rome.2 

-'  For  this  battle  sec  Liv.  XXII.  4 — 7;  15.  Pliny  (II.  86)  states  that  in  the 
Polyb.  III.  82—84 ;  Sil.  Ital.  V.  ;  Appian.  same  year  the  news  of  no  less  than  fifty- 
Reb.  Harm.  p.  31.0,  ed.Steph.     Oros.  IV.       seven  earthquakes  was  brought  to  Rome. 


chap,  lvii]  THE  THRASYMENE  LAKE.  457 

The  road  crosses  the  battle-plain — now  overflowing 
with  oil  and  wine,  then  steeped  in  a  deeper  flood,  whose 
hue  is  traditionally  preserved  in  the  name  of  a  brook, 
Sanguinetto  — to  the  village  of  Passignano,  where  the 
mountains  again  meet  the  shore.  Here  the  traveller  may 
halt  to  taste  the  fish,  for  which  the  lake  retains  its  ancient 
reputation;3  but  as  he  values  skin  and  comfort,  let  him 
not  tarry  here  the  night,  for  legions  of  light-armed  foes 
lie  thirsting  for  his  blood,  and  the  powers  also  of  air  and 
water — "  mali  culices,  ranceque  palustres  " — are  in  league 
to  rob  him  of  repose. 

To  set  the  Thames  on  fire  is  an  achievement  beyond 
our  degenerate  days,  but  the  Thrasymene,  if  we  may 
believe  tradition,  was  of  more  inflammable  stuff,  and  was 
once  utterly  burnt  up  by  fire  from  heaven.4 

On  the  summit  of  the  hill  beyond  the  lake,  are  fresh 
objects  of  admiration,  in  a  vale  of  Italian  richness  below, 
and  ruined  towers  of  feudal  grandeur  above ;  but  ere  I  had 
half  studied  the  scene,  I  found  myself  in  the  little  town  of 
Magione.  Here  my  companion  drew  bit ;  and  I  could  not 
blame  him,  for  he  was  welcomed  heartily  by  the  two  sister 
landladies,  and  a  welcome  from  the  younger,  one  of  the 
finest  specimens  of  the  sex  I  have  seen  in  this  land  of 
Junos,  were  enough  to  stay  the  steps  of  any  man.  The 
fair  Clotilda  has  already  been  made  a  public  character  by 

3  Sil.  Ital.  V.  581.  into  its  waters — 

4  Plin.  II.  111. — Trasymenum  lacum  Fulmina  Tyrrhenas  Trasymeni  torsi t 
arsisse    totum Valerius    Antias  in  undas  : 

narrat.     It  is  a  pity  to  spoil  a  pretty  Ictusque  aetherea  per  stagna  patentia 

tale  ;  but  in  justice  to  the  pure  waters  flamma, 

of  the  lake  it  must  be  said,  that  before  Fmnavitlacus,atquearsernntfluctibus 

Pliny's  time,   Valerius  Maximus  (III.  ignes — 

7,  6,)  had  recounted  it  among  Hannibal's  both  making  a  mere  metaphor  of  what 

great   deeds — Trasimenum   lacum    dira  Antias  recorded  as  a  fact.     Strange  that 

inustum   memoria.     Silius   Italicus  (V.  he  should  have  found  a  Pliny  to  repeat 

70 — 74)  also  made  Jupiter  cast  his  bolts  his  folly. 


1,58  PERUGIA.— The  City.  [chap.  lvii. 

Miss  ►Sedgwick  ;  she  is  no  longer  the  unripe  maiden,  but 
in  the  full  fructification  of  beauty,  and  it  may  be,  with  less 

"  Of  Cornelia's  mien 
Than  the  light  air  of  Egypt's  graceful  queen." 

But  these  are  not  matters  for  the  antiquary — "Aroint 
thee!  witch!" 

The  road  from  Magione  to  Perugia  traverses  the  rich 
vale  of  the  Caina,  a  stream  which  seems  to  have  retained 
its  Etruscan  name.5  Perugia  is  seen  at  some  miles'  dis- 
tance, crowning  its  lofty  olive-girt  height  with  a  long  level 
line  of  domes  and  towers.  About  two  miles  before 
reaching  it,  a  tower  with  a  few  houses  about  it,  by  the 
road-side,  marks  the  site  of  one  of  the  most  interesting- 
tombs  around  Perugia  ;  it  will  be  described  in  the  following 
chapter.  The  site  is  called  La  Commenda,  or  is  better 
known  as  the  Torre  di  San  Manno. 

Perugia  is  one  of  the  very  few  Etruscan  cities  that 
retains  anything  like  its  ancient  importance.  One  of  the 
"  heads  of  Etruria  "  of  old,  it  is  still  among  the  first  cities 
of  Central  Italy.  Its  glory  has  not  utterly  departed,  nor 
has  it  even  greatly  waned,  for  it  is  yet  a  large  and  wealthy 
city,  with  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  describe  or  even  enumerate  the 
manifold  objects  of  interest  in  Perugia,  either  in  its  pic- 
turesque streets,  its  cathedral  and  five-score  churches,  or 
in  its  treasures  of  architecture,  sculpture,  and  painting. 
Those  of  the  latter  art  alone,  the  works  of  Perugino  and 
the  Umbrian  school,  are  so  abundant  as  generally  to  absorb 
what  little  time  and  attention  the  traveller  passing  between 
Florence  and  Rome  has  to  spare  for  a  provincial  city  ;  so 
that  few  give  a  thought  or  an  hour  to  the  antiquities  in 

Caina  is  an  Etruscan  family  name,       Chiusi  and  its  neighbourhood.     It  is  the 
frequently  met  with  at  Perugia,  and  at      augmentative  of  Gaie,  or  Caia  (Caius). 


chap,  lvii.]      ANCIENT  WALLS  AND  GATES  OF  PERUGIA.       459 

■which  Perugia  is  equally  wealthy,  except,  it  may  be,  a 
five  minutes'  call,  on  their  road  to  Rome,  at  the  Grotta 
de'  Volunni,  which  has  become  a  somewhat  fashionable 
lion. 

The  walls  of  Perugia  are  in  many  parts  ancient,  agree- 
ing in  character  with  those  of  Chiusi  and  Todi,  and  com- 
posed, like  them,  of  travertine — a  material  which  preserves 
the  sharpness  of  its  edges  in  a  remarkable  degree,  so  as  to 
give  to  a  structure  composed  of  it  an  appearance  of  much 
less  antiquity  than  it  possesses.  Some  portions  of  these 
walls  are  fine  specimens  of  ancient  regular  masonry.  On 
the  west  of  the  city  they  may  be  traced  for  a  long  distance, 
rising  to  the  height  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet,  falling  back 
from  the  perpendicular,  and  banded  near  the  top  with  a 
projecting  fascia.  Behind  the  cathedral  are  also  some  fine 
fragments  of  rusticated  masonry.  At  the  Porta  S.  Erco- 
lano  is  a  portion,  forty  feet  high,  in  courses  of  eighteen 
inches,  very  neatly  joined.  This  gateway  is  of  ancient 
construction  as  high  as  the  imposts,  which  now  support  a 
Gothic  arch.  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Arco  di 
Bornia  and  the  Porta  Colonia.  The  former  was  originally 
spanned  by  a  flat  lintel  of  cuneiform  blocks,  like  the  gates 
of  the  Theatre  of  Ferento  ;  and  has  a  fine  fragment  of 
ancient  walling  on  either  hand.6  The  Porta  Colonia  is 
skew  or  oblique,  and  has  some  ancient  masonry  in  front. 
The  Arco  di  San  Luca  has  also  a  Gothic  arch  on  much 
earlier  foundations,  which  the  cement,  unless  subsequently 
applied,  marks  as  Roman.7 


6  On  one  side  it  flanks  the  approach  "  The  Porta  di  San  Pietro  is  evidently 

to  the  gate,  and  is  in  receding  courses  ;  Roman,  modernised,  as  set  forth  in  the 

on  the  other,  it  rises  to  the  height  of  inscription  attached  to  it.     The  Arco  di 

20  feet  beneath  the  modern  buildings.  Maesta,  or  de'  Buoni  Tempi  is  Roman 

The  lai'gest  block  I  observed  was  5  feet  below,  Gothic  above.     The  Arco  della 

by  2 — very  small  in  comparison  with  the  Conca  seems  wholly  medieval, 
colossal  masonry  of  Cortona. 


460  PERUGIA.— The  City.  [chap.  lvii. 

The  best  preserved  and  the  grandest  of  all  the  ancient 
gates  of  Perugia  is  the 

Arco  d'  Aitgusto, 

so  called  from  the  inscription,  avgvsta  pervsia,  over  the 
arch.  It  is  formed  of  regular  masonry  of  travertine, 
uncemented,  in  courses  eighteen  inches  high ;  some  of  the 
blocks  being  three  or  four  feet  in  length.  The  masonry  of 
the  arch  hardly  corresponds  with  that  below  it,  and  is  pro- 
bably of  subsequent  date  and  Roman,  as  the  inscription 
seems  to  testify,  though  the  letters  are  not  necessarily 
coeval  with  the  structure.  The  arch  is  skew,  or  oblique ; 
and  the  gate  is  double,  like  those  of  Volterra  and  Cosa.8 
Above  the  arch  is  a  frieze  of  six  Ionic  colonnettes,  fluted, 
alternating  with  shields  ;  and  from  this  springs  another 
arch,  now  blocked  up,  surmounted  by  a  second  frieze  of 
Ionic  pilasters,  not  fluted.  All  the  work  above  the  lower 
arch  is  evidently  of  later  date  than  the  original  construc- 
tion of  the  gateway.9  The  entire  height  of  the  structure, 
as  it  now  stands,  cannot  be  less  than  sixty  or  seventy  feet. 
This  gate  stands  recessed  from  the  line  of  the  city-wall, 
and  is  flanked  on  either  hand  by  a  tower,  projecting  about 
twenty  feet,  and  rising,  narrowing  upwards,  to  a  level  with 
the  top  of  the  wall  above  the  gate.     The  masonry  of  these 


8  The  gate  is  14  feet  6  inches  wide,  been  the  keystone  of  the  original  arch, 

20  feet  4  inches  deep,  and  about  22  feet  which    the    architects   of  the    existing 

from  the  ground  to  the  spring  of  the  structure   did    not    choose   to  replace, 

arch,  the  keystone  of  which  will  conse-  This  gate  is  sometimes  called  Arco  della 

quently   be   nearly    30    feet    from    the  Via  Vecchia. 

ground.     There  are  17  voussoirs.     The  &  Canina,  Arch.  Ant.  VI.  p.  55.     He 

moulding  round  it  is  very  simple,  not  says   that   though   there   are   no   valid 

unlike  that  of  the    Porta   di  Giove  at  documents  to  prove  this  gate  older  than 

Fallen.  In  the  spandrils  there  seems  to  the  time  of  Augustus,  to  which  the  in- 

have  been  on  one  side  a  massive  head,  scription  would  refer  it,  it  is  at  least 

now  quite   disfigured  ;  on   the  other  a  constructed    in    a    manner    similar  to 

projecting  stone,  though  not  in  a  corre-  works  of  the  most  ancient  times, 
sponding  position.     This  head  may  have 


chap,  lvu.]  THE  ARCH   OF  AUGUSTUS.  461 

towers,  to  the  height  of  the  imposts  of  the  arch,  corre- 
sponds with  that  of  the  gate  itself,  and  seems  to  be  the 
original  structure  ;  all  above  that  height  is  of  a  later  period. 
Within  the  city  a  noble  wall  of  rusticated  masonry  rises 
to  the  height  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet,  now  unconnected  with 
the  gate,  whatever  it  may  have  been  of  old.1 

This  gate  still  forms  one  of  the  entrances  to  the  city, 
though  there  is  a  populous  suburb  without  the  walls.  Its 
appearance  is  most  imposing.  The  lofty  towers,  like  ponde- 
rous obelisks,  truncated — the  tall  archway  recessed  between 
them — the  frieze  of  shields  and  colonnettes  above  it — the 
second  arch  soaring  over  all,  a  gallery,  it  may  be,  whence 
to  annoy  the  foe — the  venerable  masonry  overgrown  with 
moss,  or  dark  with  the  breath  of  ages — form  a  whole  which 
carries  the  mind  most  forcibly  into  the  past. 

Another  ancient  gate  very  like  that  of  Augustus,2  is, 
or  rather  was,  the  Arco  Marziale  or  Porta  Marzia ;  for 
what  is  now  to  be  seen  is  the  mere  skeleton  of  the  gate, 
which  was  taken  down  to  make  room  for  the  modern 
citadel.  But  to  preserve  so  curious  a  relic  of  the  olden 
time  from  utter ,  destruction,  Sangallo  the  architect  built 
the  blocks  composing  the  facade  into  a  bastion  of  the 
fortress,  where,  imprisoned  in  the  brick-work,  they  remain 
to  be  liberated  by  the  shot  of  the  next  besiegers  of  Perugia, 
and  seem  as  much  out  of  place  as  an  ancient  Etruscan 
would  be  in  the  streets  of  the  modern  city. 


1  Canina,  (Archit.  Ant.  V.  p.  96)  celebrated  Gate  of  Volterra.  Above 
points  out  the  similarity  of  this  gate  to  this  is  a  frieze  of  six  pilasters  alternating 
an  ancient  one  at  Antioch,  called  the  with  figures,  instead  of  shields,  three  of 
Gate  of  Medina.  men,  and  two  of  horses'  heads.    Over  this 

2  Like  that  it  has  a  projecting  head  is  the  inscription — 

in  one  spandril,  and  something  like  one  COLONIA  VIBIA  ; 

in  the  other  to   correspond,  besides  a  and  below  the  frieze  is  also  the  same 

third  on   the   top   of  the   arch,  which  inscription  as  on  the  other  gate  : — 
gives  the  whole  a  resemblance  to  the  AVGVSTA   PERVS1A. 


462  PERUGIA.— The  City.  [chap-  tvm- 

The  Museum 

is  in  the  University  of  Perugia,  and  is  rich  in  Etruscan 
antiquities,  especially  urns,  inscriptions  and  bronzes — the 
produce  of  the  tombs  in  the  neighbourhood. 

Among  the  most  ancient  relics  are  some  small  square 
cippi  of  fetid  limestone,  like  those  of  Chiusi,  with  archaic 
figures  in  low  relief.  In  one  of  these  a  number  of  females 
are  dancing  to  the  music  of  a  svbulo ;  a  lion  is  reclining 
on  each  side  above.3 

One  of  these  cippi  is  circular  and  displays  a  death-bed 
scene.  A  child  is  stretched  embracing  the  corpse  of  its 
parent — prceficce  are  beating  their  breasts  and  wailing  the 
dead — many  other  figures  stand  with  their  hands  to  their 
heads  in  the  usual  attitude  of  grief — priests  and  augurs 
with  chaplets  and  litui,  are  gathering  round  an  altar.  On 
this  monument  rests  a  tall  fluted  column,  terminating  in  a 
pine-cone,  and  bearing  a  funeral  inscription  in  Etruscan 
characters.4  There  are  other  singular  pillars — columella 
— of  travertine,  two  or  three  feet  high,  all  bearing  sepul- 
chral inscriptions.5 

The  Etruscans  of  Perugia  generally  burned  their  dead, 
for  very  few  sarcophagi  are  discovered  on  this  site.  The 
cinerary  urns  are  similar  to  those  of  Chiusi,  but  mostly  of 
travertine,  though  sometimes  of  nenfro,  or  a  similar  dark 
grey  stone  ;  and  the  urns,  it  may  be,  are  of  the  latter, 

3  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  tav.  LVIII.  2.  they  had  a  similar  application ;  for  one 

1  Inghirami,    Mon.     Etrus.    VI.  tav.  of  colossal  size  has  been  discovered  on 

Z  2.  the  tumulus  of  Alyattes,  at  Sardis  (Bull. 

5  These  are  all  phallic.     Such  monu-  Inst.  1843,  p.  58),  though  this  maybe 

ments  abound  in  this  district,  especially  the  same  thing  that  was  taken  by  Mr. 

at  Chiusi.     That  they  were  sepulchral  Steuart  (Lydia  and  Phrygia,  p.  4)  for 

there  is  no  doubt ;  it  is  proved  both  by  one  of  the  termini — olpot — which  Hero- 

the  inscriptions  on  them,  and  by  their  dotus  (I.  93)  tells  us  surmounted  that 

discovery   in    tombs.       In    Lydia,    the  monument.     Dr.    Braun   regards   them 

traditional  mother-country   of   Etruria,  as  Mithraic  symbols.    Bull.  Inst.  loc.  cit. 


chap,  lvii.]  THE  MUSEUM.  463 

while  the  figures  on  the  lids  are  of  the  former.  He  who 
has  seen  the  ash-chests  of  Volterra  and  Chiusi,  will  not 
find  much  of  novelty  here  ;  indeed  these  urns  are 
interesting  rather  for  their  inscriptions,  than  for  their 
intrinsic  beauty  or  singularity.  The  subjects  are  not 
very  varied.  Among  them  are,  combats  of  the  Centaurs 
and  Lapithse, — the  sacrifice  of  Iphigenia,  more  common  at 
Perugia  than  on  any  other  Etruscan  site,6 — the  hunt  of 
the  Calydonian  boar, — Medusa's  head  between  flowers, — 
Scylla  contending  with  two  warriors — Glaucus,  or  the 
male  deity  of  the  same  class,  coiling  his  fishes'  tails  round 
the  legs  of  a  man  armed  with  a  club, — a  winged  female 
seated  on  a  hippocampus, — two  men  riding  on  a  sea-horse, 
one  playing  the  Pandean  pipes,  the  other  the  lyre. 

This  Museum  affords  proof  that  the  Etruscan  modes 
of  burial  were  adhered  to,  after  the  city  had  become  a 
dependency  of  Rome  ;  for  several  urns,  truly  Etruscan  in 
every  other  respect,  bear  inscriptions  in  Latin  letters ; 
though  a  native  character  is  still  conspicuous  even  in  some 
of  these.7 

In  this  Museum  is  an  inscription,  celebrated  as  the 
longest  yet  known  in  the  Etruscan  character,  having  no 
less  than  forty-five  lines.  It  is  on  a  shaft  of  travertine 
three  feet  and  a  half  high  and  nine  inches  square ;  the 
inscription  is  on  two  of  its  sides,  and  the  letters,  which 
are  coloured  red,  do  credit  to  Etruscan  carving.8  It  was 
discovered  near  Perugia  in  1822.  The  subject  it  is  in 
vain  to  guess  at.  Sundry  attempts  have  been  made  at 
interpretation,  among  which  is  one  which  pronounces  it 

6  Vermiglioli,  Bull.  Inst.  1831,  p.  10  ;  8  Micali  (Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  III.  tav. 
Gori,  Mus.  Etrus.  I.  tav.  1 72  ;  Inghirami,  CXX.)  gives  this  inscription,  but  his 
Mon.  Etrus.  VI.  tav.  L.  "facsimile  "  by  no  means  does  it  justice. 

7  Such  as  "  Thania.  Caesinia.  Volunmi."  It  is  also  given  with  various  readings  by 
— "L.PomponiusEfarsini£eCnaius(Gna-  Vermiglioli,  Iscriz.  Perug.  I.  p.  85. 
tus?)  Pia"— "L.Volumni.  Lai.  Theonius." 


4G4  PERUGIA.— The  City.  [chap.  r.vn. 

to  be  written  in  choice  Irish,  and  to  be  a  notice  to 
mariners  about  the  voyage  across  the  Bay  of  Biscay 
to  Came  in  Ireland ! 9  A  notice  attached  to  it  hints 
more  modestly  that  it  may  possibly  refer  to  agrarian 
matters. 

In  vases  the  Museum  of  Perugia  is  not  rich,  yet  it 
possesses  a  few  worthy  of  notice.  Such  is  an  amphora 
of  large  size,  five  feet  high,  in  the  later  style,  though 
without  varnish.  The  subject  is  Penelope  and  her  son 
Telemachus  ;  the  design  betrays  great  beauty  and  free- 
dom, particularly  in  the  figure  of  a  female  behind  the 
chaste  queen.  Another  vase  in  the  same  style  represents 
a  bridal-scene — a  subject  often  found  on  vases,  but  never 
on  urns  or  sarcophagi.  There  are  also  some  vases  in  the 
earliest  style,  with  bands  of  animals,  black  and  purple,  on 
a  pale  yellow  ground. 

As  beautiful  painted  pottery,  like  that  of  Vulci  and 
Tarquinii,  is  very  rarely  found  at  Perugia,  it  seems  pro- 
bable that  it  was  not  manufactured  on  the  spot.  The 
ware  which  is  most  abundant,  is  unpainted,  of  black  or 
red  clay,  sometimes  with  archaic  figures  in  relief,  though 
not  in  the  style  peculiar  to  Chiusi  and  its  neighbourhood.1 

There  are  a  few  small  urns,  and  several  heads,  portraits 
of  the  deceased,  in  terra  cotta.  One  of  the  latter  has  a 
physiognomy  thoroughly  Egyptian. 

In  bronzes  this  Museum  is  much  richer  than  in  pottery. 
Here  are  many  lamina  of  this  metal,  wTith  reliefs  of  men, 
animals,  and  chimseras,  mostly  in  a  very  rigid  style  of  art. 
A  minotaur,  or  human  figure  with  a  bull's  head. — A  draped 
female,  with  a  bough  on  her  shoulder  and  an  unguentarium 
in  her  hand. — A  fragment  representing  a  biga — the  horses 

9  Etruria  Celtica,  I.  pp.  377 — 387.  the   figures,  that  it  is  not   worthy   of 

1  Micali  says  the  pottery  of  Perugia       notice.     Mon.  Ined.  p.  217. 
is  so  inferior,  especially  in  the  design  of  ' 


CHAP.  I.VII.] 


BRONZES. 


465 


and  charioteer  being  broken  away. — Two  small  fragments  ; 
one  with  Hercules  shaking  hands  with  some  divinity  who 
bears  a  four-pronged  sceptre — the  other  a  god,  one  of  the 
nine  great  Etruscan  deities  who  wielded  the  thunder, 
grasping  a  man  by  the  hair,  who  cries  for  mercy  and  tries 
to  stay  the  impending  vengeance. — A  fragment,  beautifully 
chiselled,  representing  the  beardless  Hercules  drawing  his 
bow  on  two  armed  warriors. — A  winged  sphinx,  with  a 
tutidus,  like  a  foolscap. 

There  are  also  many  little  deities 
and  other  figures  in  bronze  ;  some  of 
very  archaic,  even  oriental  character. 
Such  is  the  goddess  shown  in  the  an- 
nexed woodcut,  with  two  pair  of  wings, 
a  tutulus  on  her  head,  and  a  dove  on 
her  hand.  Another  has  a  single  pair 
of  wings  springing  from  her  bosom. 
A  third  is  a  mermaid,  with  but  one 
fish-tail,  instead  of  two  as  usual. 

All  these  relics  of  Etruscan  toreutic 
art,  besides  others  now  at  Munich,  and  some  reliefs  in 
silver  in  the  British  Museum,  were  found  in  1812,  on  a 
spot  called  Castello  di  S.  Mariano,  four  miles  from  Perugia, 
but  not  in  a  tomb  ;  which  makes  it  probable  that  they  were 
buried  for  concealment  in  ancient  times.2  They  are  sup- 
posed to  be  the  decorations  of  sacred  or  funeral  furniture.3 


ETRUSCAN   FOUR-WINGED 
GODDESS. 


2  For  descriptions  and  illustrations  of 
these  bronzes,  see  Vermiglioli's  work 
thereon,  Saggio  di  Bronzi  Etruschi, 
Perugia,  1813  ;  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital. 
III.  p.  32-41.  tav.  XXVIII.  6  ;  XXIX. 
1—5,  9  ;  XXX.  1  —  3,  5  ;  XXXI. 
The  spot  where  they  were  found  is  cele- 
brated in  Perugian  annals  for  a  victory 
obtained,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  over  a 

VOL.  II. 


band  of  British  condottieri. 

3  Micali,  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  III.  p.  40.  tav. 
XLV.  They  have  ofteu  been  supposed 
to  have  formed  the  adornments  of  a 
votive  car,  but  Micali  maintains  that 
there  is  nothing  in  the  form,  size,  or 
subjects  of  these  articles  to  favour  that 
view.  Duplicates  of  many  of  them,  and 
other  works  in  bronze  and  silver,  equally 
H  H 


fc66  PERUGIA.— The  City.  [chap.  lvii. 

There  are  also  in  this  Museum,  some  fragments  of  a  curule 
chair,  turned  in  an  elegant  Greek  style,  resembling  the 
representations  of  furniture  painted  or  carved  in  Etruscan 
tombs. 

Of  other  articles  in  bronze  there  are  very  massive 
handles,  probably  of  censers  or  braziers — ponderous  hinges 
— helmets,  some  with  cheek-pieces,  as  represented  on  the 
native  monuments — spears — a  pair  of  greaves,  with  the 
inscription  "  Tutas,"  in  Etruscan  letters,  on  each4 — -pater -a>, 
pots  and  vases  of  various  forms — strigils — ladles — strainers 
— armlets — fihulce — and  some  very  beautiful  specula  or 
mirrors.5 

There  is  also  a  collection  of  coins.6 

A  very  singular  monument  was  discovered  in  a  tomb 
near  Perugia,  in  1844.  It  is  a  sarcophagus  of  ne?ifro, 
with  reliefs  on  three  of  its  sides  ;  those  at  the  ends  repre- 
senting figures  reclining  at  the  banquet,  one  with  a  lyre 

remarkable,   discovered    on    the    same  the  dependence  of  this  city  on  Cortona, 

spot,  are  preserved  in  the  Glyptothek  at  of  which  this  is  the  sole  type  ;  and  that 

Munich.  the  battle-axe  is  expressive  of  the  ancient 

4  Vermiglioli  (Giorn.  Scient.  e  Letter.  name,  whose  initial  is  also  marked — 
di  Perngia,  1840)  interprets  this  "de-  "Verusia,"  or,  as  they  write  it,  "Fe- 
fend  me,"  deriving  it  from  the  old  Latin  rusia  "  —  wliich  they  derive  from  the 
verb  tuto  used  by  Plautus.  Mieali(Mon.  Latin  ferio;  just  as  they  derive  "Tu- 
Ined.  p.  338)  agrees  with  him.  tere,"  the  inscription  on   the   coins  of 

5  Among  these  is  a  singular  one  •  Tuder,  now  Todi,  from  tudcs,  a  tun- 
representing  "  Mean,"  or  the  Goddess  of  dendo — implied  by  the  club,  a  constant 
Fate,  attended  by  another  goddess,  called  device  on  those  coins.  But  this  system 
"  Leinth,"  crowning  "  Hercle,"  or  Her-  of  referring  the  names  of  Etruscan  cities 
cules,  with  Cerberus  at  his  feet.  Ger-  to  a  Latin  origin  is  more  ingenious  than 
hard,  Etrusk.  Spiegel,  II.  taf.  CXLI  ;  well-founded.  "  Peruse,"  which  occurs  in 
Gottheiten  der  Etrusker,  taf.  V.  4.  an  Etruscan  inscription  in  the  Museum 

6  Some  coins,  with  a  wheel  on  one  Oddi,  of  Perugia,  seems  to  be  the  origi- 
side,  and  a  bipennis  on  the  reverse,  with  nal  form  of  the  word.  Micali,  Ant. 
an  Etruscan  V,  are  attributed  to  Pe-  Pop.  Ital.  I.  p.  140.  That  the  coins  with 
rugia  by  the  worthy  Jesuits,  Marehi  the  legend  "  Peithesa,"  have  been  erro- 
and  Tessieri.  yEs  Grave,  class  III.  tav.  neously  attributed  to  Perugia,  has  been 
IV.  ;  cf.  Melchiorri,  Bull.  Inst.  183.0.  p.  already  stated.      I't  xvpra,  p.  89. 

123.     They  think  that  the  wheel  shows 


chap,  ia'ii.]  SINGULAR  SARCOPHAGUS.  467 

and  plectrum,  attended  by  slaves  ;  that  in  the  front  of  the 
monument    displaying   a   remarkable    procession,    which 
demands  a  detailed  description.     It  is  headed  by  a  man 
with  a  wand,  apparently  a  herald,  preceding  three  captives 
or  victims  chained  together  by  the  neck,  whose  shaggy 
hair  and  beards  distinguish  them  as  a  separate  race  from 
the  rest — apparently  ruder  and  more  barbarous.     Two  of 
them  carry  a  small  situla  or  pail  in  one  hand,  and  a 
burden  on  their  shoulders,  which  looks  like  a  wine-skin  ; 
the  third  has  bis  hand  fastened  by  the  same  rope  which 
encircles  his   neck.      They  are   followed   by  two   veiled 
women,  engaged  in  conversation  with  the  man  who  heads 
the  next  group.     This  is  composed  of  two  horses  or  mules 
neatly  laden,   attended   by  three  men,  the  first  with  a 
spear,  the  next  with  a  hoe  and  a  sword,  and  the  third 
without  weapons,  but  in  an  attitude  of  exultation.     A 
large  dog,  with  a  collar  round  his  neck,  accompanies  these 
figures.     Then  march  three  men  with  lances,  one   with 
a  burden  on  his  shoulder,  followed  by  two  others  similarly 
armed,  driving  a  pair  of  oxen  and  of  goats.     The  subject, 
from  its  position  on  a  sarcophagus,  has  been  supposed  to 
be  funereal,  and  to  represent  a  procession  of  victims  to  be 
sacrificed  at  the  tomb.     But  other  than  funereal  scenes 
are  often  found  on  such  monuments  ;  and  there  are  great 
difficulties  attending  such  an  interpretation.     It  seems  to 
me  much  more  satisfactory  to  suppose  that  it  is  a  return 
from  a  successful  foray.     There  are  the  captives  bound, 
and  made  to  carry  their  own  property  for  the  benefit  of 
their  victors  ;  their  females  behind,  not  bound,  but  accom- 
panying their  lords  ;  their  faithful  dog  following  them  into 
captivity ;  their  beasts  of  burden  laden  with  their  goods  : 
their  weapons  and  agricultural  implements  carried  by  one 
of  their  guards  ;  and  their  cattle  driven  on  by  the  rest. 
That  the  conquerors  have  no  armour  may  be  explained  by 

H   II  2 


468 


PERUGIA. -The  City 


[chap.  I.VII. 


supposing  them  not  regular  military,  but  the  inhabitants  of 
some  border  town.7 

The  style  of  art  is  very  rigid,  yet  not  deficient  in 
expression  ;  and  the  monument  is  evidently  of  early  date, 
undoubtedly  prior  to  the  Roman  conquest.8 

Perusia,  like  Cortona,  is  of  high  antiquity.  Justin  calls 
it  of  Achaean  origin  ; 9  while  Servius  makes  it  appear  that 
it  was  an  Umbrian  settlement.1  Its  antiquity  is  as  un- 
doubted as  its  former  splendour  and  importance.2  That 
it  was  one  of  the  Twelve  cities  of  the  Etruscan  Confedera- 
tion is  established  by  abundant  testimony.3 

We  have  no  record  of  its  early  history.  The  first 
mention  made  of  Perusia  is  of  the  time  of  Fabius,  who, 
after  having  crossed  the  dread  Ciminian  forest,  is  said  by 


"  It  was  supposed  by  Signor  Mel- 
chiorri,  that  this  relief  represented  a 
colony  going  forth  to  fulfil  the  vow  of  a 
"  sacred  spring,"  according  to  the 
ancient  Italian  rite.  Bull.  Inst.  1844, 
p.  42.  Vermiglioli  agrees  with  this 
opinion.  Bull.  Inst.  1844,  p.  143.  But 
this  view  has  been  ably  shown  by 
Dr.  H.  Brunn,  to  be  untenable  ;  yet 
his  opinion  that  it  represents  a  funeral 
procession,  with  human  and  other  vic- 
tims to  be  sacrificed  at  the  tomb  to  the 
manes  of  the  deceased,  though  inge- 
niously supported  (Ann.  Inst.  1846,  pp. 
188 — 202),  does  not  solve  every  diffi- 
culty, and  I  therefore  offer  in  the  text 
what  seems  to  me  a  more  plausible 
interpretation. 

8  Dr.  Brunn  considers  it  to  be  con- 
temporary with  the  earliest  paintings  in 
the  tombs  of  Tarquinii. 

An  illustration  of  this  singular  monu- 
ment is  published  in  the  Mon.  Ined. 
Inst.  IV.  tav.  XXXII. 

9  Justin.  XX.  1. —  Perusini  quoque 
originem  ab  Achseis  ducunt. 

1  Scrv.  ad  yEn.  X.  201. — Sarsinates 


qui  Perusise  consederant.  The  Sar- 
sinates were  an  ancient  Umbrian  tribe, 
who  inhabited  the  Apennines.  Polyb. 
II.  24,  7  ;  Strabo,  V.  p.  227  ;  Plin.  III. 
19  ;  Festus,  v.  Ploti.  Cluver  (II.  p. 
577)  hence  concludes  that  Perusia  was 
built  long  prior  to  the  Trojan  war, 
because  the  Umbrians,  when  driven  out 
of  Etruria  by  the  Pelasgi,  built  Sarsina 
beyond  the  Apennines.  Servius  seems 
to  hint  that  Perusia  was  founded  before 
the  latter  city.  Servius  (ad  yEn.  X.  198) 
records  another  tradition,  that  it  was 
built  by  Aules,  father  or  brother  of 
Ocnus,  who  founded  Mantua,  as  Virgil 
tells  us.     yEn.   X.  200. 

2  Appian.  Bell.  Civ.  V.  49 — SS^av 
apxcuSrwros  e'xovo-77  kcu  a^iciaeccs. 

3  Appian  (loc.  cit.)  expressly  asserts 
it.  And  Stephanus  also  (v.  Tleppalaiov). 
Livy  twice  cites  it  among  the  chief  cities 
of  Etruria — capita  Etruriae — once  (IX. 
37)  classing  it  with  Cortona  and  Arre- 
tium,  and  again  (X.  37)  with  Volsinii 

and  Arretium  ;  here  calling  the  ti-io 

urbes  validissimae. 


chap,  lvii.]  HISTORY  OF  PERUSIA.  469 

some  traditions  to  have  won  a  victory  over  the  Etruscans, 
under  the  walls  of  this  city — a  battle  which  is  more  gene- 
rally believed  to  have  been  fought  at  Sutrium.  However  that 
may  be,  as  Livy  remarks,  the  Romans  won  the  day,  and 
compelled  Perusia,  Cortona,  and  Arretium  to  sue  for  a  truce, 
which  was  granted  for  thirty  years.4  This  was  in  444 
(b.c.  310).  In  the  following  year,  however,  Perusia  joined 
the  rest  of  the  Etruscans  in  opposing  the  power  of  Rome ; 
and  after  the  fatal  rout  at  the  Lake  of  Vadimon,  it  still 
held  out  till  Fabius  marched  against  it,  defeated  the 
Etruscan  army  under  its  walls,  and  would  have  taken  the 
city  by  storm,  had  it  not  surrendered  into  his  hands.5 

We  next  find  Perusia  in  conjunction  with  Clusium,  in 
the  year  459,  opposing  the  propraetor  Fulvius  ;  but  the 
confederates  were  routed  by  him  with  great  slaughter.  Yet 
this  defeat  did  not  break  the  spirit  of  the  Perusians ;  for 
no  sooner  had  the  consul  Fabius  withdrawn  his  army, 
than  they  excited  the  rest  of  the  Etruscans  to  revolt ;  but 
Fabius,  quickly  re-entering  Etruria,  overcame  them  anew, 
slew  4500  of  the  citizens,  and  captured  1 740,  who  were  ran- 
somed at  310  pieces  of  brass  each  man.6  Not  yet  even  did 
they  relinquish  their  struggle  for  independence,  but  in  the 
following  year,  after  sustaining  two  other  defeats,  one  near 
Volsinii,  the  other  near  Rusellae,  they  were  compelled,  in 
conjunction  with  Volsinii  and  Arretium,  to  sue  for  peace  ; 
when  a  truce  for  forty  years  was  granted  them,  on  the 
payment  of  a  heavy  fine.7 

At  what  precise  period  Perusia  fell  under  the  Roman 
yoke  does  not  appear,  but  it  must  have  been  soon  after  the 
events  last  recorded,  as  ere  the  close  of  the  fifth  century 
of  Rome,  the  whole  of  Etruria  had  lost  its  independence. 
Perusia  joined  the  other  cities  of  Etruria  in  furnishing 

*  Liv.  IX.  37.      Diodorus   (XX.    p.  '  Liv.  IX.  10.        fi  Liv.  X.  30,  31. 

773)  also  places  this  victory  at  Perusia.  7  Liv.  X.  'M. 


470  PERUGIA.— The  City.  [chap.  lvii. 

supplies  for  Scipio's  fleet  at  the  close  of  the  Second  Punic 
War ;  its  quota,  like  that  of  Clusium  and  Rusellee,  con- 
sisting of  corn,  and  fir  for  ship-building.8  It  is  supposed 
to  have  been  colonised  about  the  year  71 1,9  and  a  few 
years  after,  it  played  a  conspicuous  part  in  the  civil  wars 
of  Rome  ;  for  Lucius  Antonius,  being  hard  pressed  by 
Augustus,  then  Octavius  Csesar,  shut  himself  up  in  this 
city,  which  the  latter  besieged,  and  starved  into  surrender. 
He  gained  little,  however,  by  the  capture ;  for  one  of  the 
citizens,  in  despair,  set  fire  to  his  house,  and  slew  himself 
on  the  ruins  ;  and  the  flames  spreading,  reduced  the  whole 
city  to  ashes.1  It  was  afterwards  rebuilt,  and  colonised 
afresh  by  Augustus,2  as  the  inscriptions  over  its  gateways 
testify,  and  it  still  maintained  its  rank  among  the  chief 
cities  of  Etruria,  even  in  the  latter  days  of  the  Roman 
Empire,  when  it  sustained  a  siege  by  the  Goths,  and  was 
ultimately  taken  by  Narses.3 


s  Liv.  XXVIII.  45.  as  patron  deity  of  Perusia.       Appian. 

9  This  inference  is  drawn  from  the  Bell.  Civ.  V.  49  ;  Dio  Cass.  XLVIII. 

inscription    "  Colonia   Vibia  "    on    the  14  ;  Florus,  IV.  5  ;  Veil.  Paterc.  II.  74  ; 

ancient  gate  called  Porta  Marzia  ;  be-  Sueton.  Aug.  9, 9G  ;  Lucan.  I.  41  ;  Serv. 

cause  C.  Vibius  Pansa   was   consul   in  ad  iEn.  VI.  833. 

that  year.     Cluver.  II.  p.  578  ;  Cramer,  2  Dion  Cass.  loc.   cit.      It  is   subse- 

Ancient  Italy,  I.  p.  219.  quently  mentioned  as  a  colony  by  Strabo 

1  Except  a  temple  of  Vulcan.     The  (V.  p.  226),  Pliny  (III.  8),  Ptolemy  (p. 

citizens  had  previously  been  accustomed  72,   ed.    Bert.),  and    is    placed  by  the 

to  worship  Juno,  according  to  the  rites  Peutingerian  Table  on  the  Via  Amerina. 

of  the  Etruscans,  but  after  this  catas-  See  Vol.  I.  p.  146. 

trophe  they  set  up  Vulcan  in  her  place,  3  Procop.  Bell.  Goth.  I.  16  ;  IV.  33. 


CHAPTER  LVIII. 

PERUGIA.— PER  USIA. 

The  Cemetery. 

Hie  maxima  cura  sepulcris 
Impenditur. 

Piu  die  non  credi  son  le  tombe  carche. 


Prudentius. 

Dante. 


The  necropolis  of  Perusia  offers  a  rich  field  for  research  ; 
and  of  late  years,  since  attention  has  been  directed  to 
excavations  in  Etruria,  numerous  tombs  have  been  brought 
to  light.  This  is  principally  owing  to  the  archaeological 
zeal  of  the  Cavaliere  Vermiglioli,  to  whom  it  is  also  due 
that  many  of  these  sepulchres,  fortunately  for  the  student 
of  antiquity,  remain  in  statu  quo,  with  all  their  urns,  just 
as  they  were  discovered. 

GROTTA    DE'    VOLUNNI. 

First  and  foremost  in  magnitude  and  beauty,  and  rival- 
ling in  interest  the  most  celebrated  sepulchres  of  the  land, 
is  the  "  Tomb  of  the  Volumnii,"  which  no  one  who  visits, 
or  even  passes  through  Perugia,  should  omit  to  see.  It  is 
easy  of  accomplishment,  for  the  high-road  to  Rome  passes 
the  very  door.  It  lies  about  two  miles  from  Perugia,  in 
the  slope  of  a  low  eminence,  which  rises  at  the  base  of  the 


47~  PERUGIA. — The  Cemetery.  [chap,  lviii. 

lofty  height  on  which  the  city  stands.     The  keys  are  kept 
at  a  house  hard  by  the  tomb. 

You  descend  a  long  flight  of  steps  to  the  entrance,  now 
closed  by  a  door  of  wood  :  the  ancient  one,  a  huge  slab  of 
travertine,  which  was  placed  against  it — a  mere  "  stone  on 
the  mouth  of  the  sepulchre," — now  rests  against  the  rock 
outside.  You  enter, — here  is  none  of  the  chill  of  the 
grave,  but  the  breath  of  the  scirocco, — you  are  in  a  warm, 
damp  atmosphere  ;  that  is,  in  winter,  when  it  is  most 
visited  ;  in  summer  it  is  of  course  cooler  than  the  external 
air.  On  one  of  the  door-posts,  which  are  slabs  of  traver- 
tine, an  inscription  in  Etruscan  characters  catches  your 
eye  ;  and  so  sharply  are  the  letters  cut,  and  so  bright  is 
the  red  paint  within  them,  that  you  can  scarcely  credit 
this  epitaph  to  have  an  antiquity  of  anything  like  two 
thousand  years.1 

Daylight  cannot  penetrate  to  the  further  end  of  the 
tomb  ;  but  when  a  torch  is  lighted  you  perceive  yourself 
to  be  in  a  spacious  chamber  with  a  very  lofty  roof,  carved 
into  the  form  of  beam  and  rafters,  but  with  an  extraor- 
dinarily high  pitch  ;  the  slopes  forming  an  angle  of  45° 
with  the  horizon,  instead  of  20°  or  25°,  as  usual.2  On  this 
chamber  open  nine  others,  of  much  smaller  size,  and  all 
empty,  save  one  at  the  further  end,  opposite  the  entrance, 
where  a  party  of  revellers,  each  on  a  snow-white  couch, 
with  chapleted  brow,  torque- decorated  neck,  and  goblet 


1  The   inscription   on    the    doorpost  ignorance  of   the  language,  to  give  an 

seems  to  be  a  general  epitaph   to  the  interpretation  ;  though  analogies  readily 

tomb.      It   would   be   thus    written    in  suggest  themselves.     The  initial  of  the 

Latin  letters — "  Arnth  Larth  Velinmas  fifth  and  last  words  may  possibly  be  a 

Aruneal    Phusiur    Suthi    Acil    Phece."  "  Th." 

It  seems  to  imply  that  the  sepulchre  -  The    dimensions     of     this    central 

was  made   by  the  two    brothers  Arnth  chamber  are  24  feet  long,  12  wide,  and 

and  Larth  Velimnas.    Of  the  rest  of  the  about  16  high— i.e.,  10  feet  to  the  top 

inscription  it  were  vain,  in  our  present  of  the  cornice,  and  0  in  the  pediment. 


chap,  lviii.]  TOMB  OF  THE  VOLUMNII.  473 

in  hand,  lie — a  petrifaction  of  conviviality — in  solemn 
mockery  of  the  pleasures  to  which  for  ages  on  ages  they 
have  bidden  adieu. 

There  are  seven  urns  in  this  chamber,  five  with  recum- 
bent figures  of  men,  one  with  a  female  in  a  sitting  posture, 
and  one  of  a  peculiar  character.  All,  except  the  last,  are 
of  travertine,  coated  over  with  a  fine  stucco  ;  they  are 
wrought,  indeed,  with  a  skill,  a  finish,  and  a  truth  to 
nature  by  no  means  common  in  Etruscan  urns.  The 
inscriptions  show  them  all  to  belong  to  one  family,  that  of 
"  Velininas,"  or  Volumnius,  as  it  was  corrupted  by  the 
Romans.3  Four  of  the  urns  are  very  similar,  seeming  to 
differ  in  little  beyond  the  ages  of  the  men,  each  of  whom  is 
reclining,  in  half-draped  luxury,  on  his  banqueting-couch  ; 
but  here  it  is  not  the  sarcophagus  or  urn  itself  which 
represents  the  couch,  as  is  generally  the  case  ;  but  the 
lid  alone,  which  is  raised  into  that  form,  hung  with 
drapery,  and  supported  by  elegantly-carved  legs,  while  the 
receptacle  for  the  ashes  forms  a  high  pedestal  to  the 
couch.  On  the  front  of  each  of  these  ash-chests  are  four 
patercB,  one  at  each  angle,  with  a  Gorgon's  head  in  the 
centre — no  longer  the  hideous  mask  of  the  original  idea, 
but  the  beautiful  Medusa  of  later  art — with  a  pair  of 
serpents  knotted  on  her  head,  and  wings  also  springing 
from  her  brows.4 


3  Mliller  (Etrusk.   II.  p.   62)  thinks  — "Volnius" — is  the  correct  one;  and 

the   Volumna   mentioned   by    Augustin  this  is  followed  by  Miiller  in  his  edition 

(de  Civit.  Dei,  IV.  21)  is  identical  with  of  Varro.     A  Lucia  Volumnia  is  men- 

Voltumna,   the    celebrated    goddess   of  tioned  in  the  songs  of  the  Salii  (Varro, 

Etruria  ;    so  also   Gerhard,   Gottheiten  op.  cit.  IX.  61.).    The  wife  of  Coriolanus 

der  Etrusker,  p.  35.     It  is  certain  that  is  well  remembered.     Liv.  II.  40.     The 

this   is   a   very   ancient    Italian    name,  goddess  Velinia,  who  is  said   by  Varro 

and  probably  Etruscan.     Varro  (Ling.  (V.  7 1 .)  to  have  derived  her  name  from 

Lat.  V.  55)  speaks  of  a  "  Volumnius  "  the  lake  Velinus,  may   have    taken    it 

who  wrote  Etruscan   tragedies,  though  from  the  same  source. 
Niebuhr  (I.  p.   135,   Eng.  trans.)  says  4  The   character   of    these   heads   is 

that  the  reading  of  the  Florentine  MS.  sufficient  to  prove  the  late  date  of  the 


b74  PERUGIA.— Tiik  Cemetery.  [chap.  i.\  hi. 

The  fifth  male,  who  occupies  the  post  of  honour  at  the 
upper  end  of  the  feast,  lies  on  a  couch  more  richly 
decorated  than  those  of  his  kinsmen,  and  on  a  much  loftier 
pedestal.  His  urn  is  the  grand  monument  of  the  sepulchre. 
In  the  centre  is  represented  an  arched  doorway,  and  on 
either  hand  sits,  at  the  angle  of  the  urn,  the  statue  of 
a  winged  Fury,  half  draped,  with  bare  bosom  and  a  pair  of 
snakes  knotted  over  her  brows.  One  bears  a  flaming 
torch  on  her  shoulder  ;  and  the  other  probably  bore  a 
similar  emblem,  but  one  hand,  with  whatever  it  contained, 
has  been  broken  off.  They  sit  crosslegged,  with  calm  but 
stern  expression,  and  eyes  turned  upwards,  as  if  looking 
for  orders  from  on  high,  respecting  the  sepulchre  they  are 
guarding.  The  archway  is  merely  marked  with  colour  on 
the  face  of  the  monument,  and  within  it  are  painted  four 
females — one  with  her  hand  on  the  doorpost,  and  eyes 
anxiously  turned  towards  the  Furies  outside — wishing,  it 
would  seem,  to  issue  forth,  but  not  daring  to  pass  the 
threshold  through  dread  of  their  stern  gaolers.  The  whole 
scene  has  a  mysterious,  Dantesque  character,  eminently 
calculated  to  stir  the  imagination. 

The  sixth  urn  belongs  to  a  female,  who  is  distinguished 
from  the  lords  of  her  family  by  her  position  ;  for  she  sits 
aloft  on  her  pedestal  like  a  goddess  or  queen  on  her 
throne  ;  indeed,  she  has  been  supposed  to  represent  either 
Nemesis,  or  Proserpine,5  an  opinion  which  the  frontlet  on 
her  brow,  and  the  owl-legs  to  the  stool  beneath  her  feet 


urns,   for  in  the  earlier  works  of  art,  meet,  it  was  believed  that  it  was  her 

whether  Greek  or  Etruscan,  the  Gorgon  marvellous  beauty,  not  her  hideousness, 

was  represented  as  fearfully  hideous  as  that  turned  beholders  into  stone.     Serv. 

the  imagination  of  the  artist  could  con-  ad  JEv.  II.  616. 

ceive  her.     See  the  wood-cuts  at  pages  5  Vermiglioli,    Sepolcro  de'  Yolunni, 

244,3.52.     But  in  after  times  it  became  p.  42.     Feuerbach,  Bull.  Inst.   1840,  p. 

customary  to  represent  her  as  a  "  fair-  1 20. 
cheeked    lass  ;  "    indeed,   as   extremes 


chap.  Lvm.]  BILINGUAL  INSCRIPTION.  475 

are  thought  to  favour.  This  is  more  probably,  however, 
an  effigy  of  the  lady  whose  dust  is  contained  in  the  urn, 
and  whose  name  is  inscribed  on  the  lid.  Why  she  is 
represented  in  this  position,  when  it  was  customary  for 
the  Etruscan  women  to  recline  at  banquets  with  the  other 
sex,  I  do  not  presume  to  determine.6 

The  last  urn  is  of  a  totally  different  character  from  the 
rest,  yet  not  less  interesting.  You  are  startled  on  behold- 
ing, among  these  genuine  Etruscan  monuments,  an  urn  of 
marble,  in  the  form  of  a  Roman  temple,  with  a  Latin 
inscription  on  the  frieze  ;  more  especially  when  from  the 
character  of  its  adornments  you  perceive  it  to  be  of  no 
early  date — apparently  of  Imperial  times,  or  at  least  as 
late  as  the  close  of  the  Republic.7  But  while  you  are 
wondering  at  this,  your  eye  falls  on  the  roof  of  the  urn, 
and  beholds,  scratched  in  minute  letters  on  the  tiles, 
an  Etruscan  inscription;  which  you  perceive  at  once  to 
correspond  with  the  Latin — 

P.    VOLVMNIVS  .  A  .  F  .  VIOLENS 
CAFATIA  .  NATVS  . 

The  Etruscan,  in  Latin  letters,  would  be  "  Pup.  Velimna 
Au.  Caphatial."8     That  is,  Publius  Volumnius,  son  of  Aulus, 

6  There  is  doubtless  an  analogy  to  fluted  pilasters  somewhat  of  the  Corin- 
the  sitting  female  statue  in  the  Museo  thian  order  at  the  angles.  On  the  sides 
Casuccini  at  Chiusi,  and  to  the  few  and  back  are  Roman  emblems,  such  as 
others  of  similar  character,  mentioned  boucrania  or  bulls'  skulls,  sacrificial 
above.  See  pp.  336, 337.  She  is  robed  vittce,  patera,  preferkula  ;  but  the 
in  a  long  Ionic  chiton  reaching  to  her  winged  Medusa's  heads  in  the  pedi- 
ankles.  Her  urn  is  precisely  similar  ments,  and  the  sphinxes  on  the  roof, 
to  that  of  her  kinsmen.  as  acroteria,  mark  rather  an  Etruscan 

7  This  little  temple-urn    has  regular  character. 

itodomon  masonry  marked  in  the  front,  8  Vermiglioli   (Sepolcro  de'   Volunni, 

with  a  panelled  door  in  the  centre,  and        p.  28)  is  in  error  in  making  this  "  Pui," 


476 


PERUGIA. — The  Cemetery. 


[chap,  lviii. 


by  a  mother  named  Cafatia.  So  that  here  is  a  precise 
correspondence  between  the  inscriptions,  save  the  omission 
of  "  Violens,"  the  Etruscans  not  having  cognomina,  or  at 
least  never  using  them  in  their  epitaphs.9 


for  Puia  —  daughter.  It  is  clearly 
"  Pup,"  for  "  Pupli,"  or  Publius. 
Cafatia,  written  "  Caphate,"  or  "  Ca- 
phates  "  in  Etruscan,  is  of  frequent  oc- 
currence at  Perugia.  Lanzi  thinks  it 
bears  an  analogy  to  Capua.  Sagg.  II.  p. 
358  ;  cf.  Bull.    Inst.  1841,  p.  16. 

9  The  Latin  inscription  on  this  urn 
has  been  pronounced  a  forgery  by  the 
author  of  "  Etruria-Celtica,"  on  no 
other  ground  than  that  it  contradicts 
his  fanciful  theories  of  the  identity  of 
the  Etruscan  and  Irish  languages. 
"  Velimnas,"  according  to  his  interpre- 
tation, would  mean  "lamentations  of 
women  ; "  and  when  he  finds  a  bilingual 
monument  which  shows  it  to  be  merely 
the  Etruscan  form  of  Volumnius,  rather 
than  renounce  his  theory,  he  attempts, 
in  the  most  unwarranted  manner,  to 
overcome  the  obstacle  by  declaring  the 
Latin  inscription  to  be  a  fraud,  and 
expresses  his  surprise  that  so  intelligent 
a  scholar,  and  able  an  antiquary  as 
Vermiglioli,  could  be  deceived  by  so 
clumsy  and  palpable  a  forgery,  the  form 
of  the  letters  being  quite  sufficient  to 
declare  its  modern  origin.  Etruria- 
Celtica,  II.  p.  239.  An  assertion  so 
groundless,  made  too  without  a  per- 
sonal acquaintance  with  the  monument, 
naturally  excited  the  indignation  of 
those  whose  honour  was  thus  gratu- 
itously impugned,  and  called  forth  from 
Cavaliere  Vermiglioli  the  following  well- 
merited  rebuke,  which  I  give  in  his  own 
words  : — 

"  Non  ometteremo  allora  an  qualche 
esame  sulle  troppo  vaghe,  arbitrarie,  e 
nuovc  interpretazioni  date  alle  epigrafi 
de'  Voluuni  da  Sir  W.  Betham,  nella 
sua  Etruria-Celtica,  pubblicata  in  Dub- 


lino,  1842,  e  libro  a  noi  cortesemente 
dair  Autore  donato  ;  e  die  potrebbe 
segnare  anche  un'  epoca  assai  rimarca- 
bile  ne'  fasti  delle  letterarie  stranezze. 
Noi  stessi  dovemmo  fare  delle  grandi 
meraviglie,  nel  vedere  come  1'  Autore 
di  questa  non  nuova,  ma  speciosissima 
Etruria-Celtica,  non  avendo  altro  scampo 
da  sostenersi  ne'  suoi  paradossi,  ed  in 
tanti  assurdi,  si  decise  a  proclamare 
falsa,  e  modernamente  inventata  1'  epi- 
grafe  latina  della  urnetta  marmorea 
bilingue,  ed  aggiugnendo  gentilezze  a 
gentilezze,  nutre  facilmente  qualche 
compassione  per  noi,  che  ci  siamo  cosi 
lasciati  ingannare.  Questo  guidizio 
azzardato  unicamente  come  a  sostegno 
di  assurdi  chiarissimi,  oltre  esser  falso, 
come  mostreremo  in  altri  tempi,  offende 
gli  scuopritori,  ed  i  possessori  eziandio 
di  quell'  insigne  monumento,  quelli  che 
incopiarono  V  epigrafe  latina  unitamente 
a  tutte  le  epigrafi  etrusche  nello  stesso 
istante  del  loro  discuoprimento. — Guidi- 
zio, che  non  si  legge  in  niun  libro,  in 
niuno  scritto  periodico  che  parlarono  di 
quella  tomba,  e  delle  nostre  esposizioni 
— guidizj  iuutili,  per  non  dire  mendicati 
sospetti,  che  niun  ebbe  mai  fra  tanti 
dotti,  intelligenti,  ed  amatori  italiani  e 
stranieri,  che  visitarono  e  visitano  fre- 
quentemente  quel  singolare  oggetto  e 
prezioso  della  veneranda  antichita,  che 
non  mai  vide  il  Sig.  Betham  ;  ma 
nel  libro  di  Sir  W.  Betham,  fra  tante 
bizzarrie,  potea  esser  anche  questa.  Gli 
studj  archeologici  per  meritarsi  il  nome 
di  scienza  devono  diffidare  di  tutto  cio 
che  non  vien  loro  dimostrato  ;  ma  la 
Tomba  de'  Volunni,  i  monumenti  ivi 
collocati,  rimasti  sempi-e  nella  prima 
lor  collocazione,  e  la  piena  lor  integrita, 


chap.  i.vm.]  GORGONS'  HEADS.  477 

But  look  at  the  ceiling  of  this  chamber.  It  is  coffered 
in  concentric,  recessed  squares,  as  in  the  tombs  of  Chiusi, 
and  in  the  centre  is  an  enormous  Gorgon's  head,  hewn  from 
the  dark  rock,  with  eyes  upturned  in  horror,  gleaming 
from  the  gloom,  teeth  bristling  whitely  in  the  open  mouth,10 
wings  on  the  temples,  and  snakes  knotted  over  the  brow. 
You  confess  the  terror  of  the  image,  and  almost  expect 
to  hear 

"  Some  whisper  from  that  horrid  mouth 

Of  strange  unearthly  tone  ; 
A  wild  infernal  laugh  to  thrill 

One's  marrow  to  the  bone. 
But,  no — it  grins  like  rigid  Death, 

And  silent  as  a  stone." 

Depending  by  a  metal  rod  from  the  lintel  of  the  door- 
way, hangs  a  small  winged  genius  of  earthenware,  and  to 
its  feet  was  originally  attached  a  lamp  of  the  same  material, 
with  a  Medusa's  head  on  the  bottom.  A  similar  lamp  was 
suspended  from  the  ceiling  of  the  central  chamber. 

Step  again  into  this  chamber,  and  observe  the  pediment 
over  the  doorway  you  have  just  past.  Here  is  a  large 
disk  or  circular  shield,  with  a  head  in  relief  in  the  centre, 
set  round  with  scales — a  head  which  some  take  to  be  that 
of  Apollo,  surrounded  with  laurel  leaves,  though  the  scales 
are  as  likely  to  represent  solar  rays  ; l  others,  that  of 
Medusa,  on  the  scaly  shield  of  Minerva.2 

ed  il  lor  discuoprimento,  di  quali  dimos-  sospetta   pubblicita"  —  Scavi    Perugini, 

trazioni  andavano    privi  ?      Testimoni  1843 — 1844  ;  cf.  Bull.  Inst.  1844.  p.  144. 

oculari  in  grandissimo  numero  che  vi  si  10  The  eyesand  teeth  are  either  painted 

affollarono    intorno    penetrando   impa-  white,  or  are  of  white  stone  inlaid, 

zienti,  anche  a  fronte  d'  ogni   tentata  l    Vermiglioli,    Sepolcri  de'   Volunni, 

resistenza  nelP    ampio    sotterraneo,   e  p.    22.     The  sun  is  sometimes  repre- 

nello  stesso  giorno  della  sua  apertura,  sented  as  a  head  in  a  disk  set  round 

quasi  negli  stessi  istanti  di  essa,  e  tosto  with  rays ;  as  on  a  vase  described  in 

che  se  ne  divulgo  la  voce  nella  citta  e  Ann.  Inst.   1838,  p.  270  ;  Mon.  Ined. 

nei   luoghi   vicini  ;  onde   alia  nuova  e  Inst.  II.  tav.  LV. 

classica  scoperta  fu  data  subito,  ed  all'  2  Feuerbach,  Bull.  Inst.  1840,  p.  119. 

istante  una  immediate,  debita,  e  non  mai  This   writer  considers  it  to  be  rather 


1 7  ">  PERUGIA. — The  Cemetery.  [chap,  lviii. 

On  each  side  of  the  shield,  and  forming  with  it  a  sort 
of  trophy,  is  a  curved  sword,  like  a  cimetar,  with  a  bird 
perched  on  the  hilt 2 — a  figure  doubtless  of  symbolical 
import,  but  not  of  easy  explanation.  Below,  in  the  angles 
of  the  pediments,  are  two  busts  ;  one  of  a  peasant  bearing 
on  his  shoulder  a  pedum,  or  crooked  staff,  on  which  is 
suspended  a  basket  ;  the  stick  terminating  in  a  serpent's 
head.  The  face  in  the  opposite  angle  is  broken  away, 
but  the  long  flowing  hair  is  still  visible  ;  and  behind  it  is 
a  lyre  of  elegant  form,  surmounted  by  a  griffon's  head. 
If  the  face  on  the  shield  be  that  of  Apollo,  these  two  busts 
may  represent  the  same  deity  in  his  pastoral  character, 
and  as  the  god  of  music  and  poetry.3 

In  the  pediment  at  the  opposite  end  of  this  chamber,  is 
a  corresponding  disk,  or  shield,  but  with  solar  rays,  instead 
of  scales.  It  is  too  much  broken  to  enable  you  to  perceive 
if  there  has  been  a  head  in  the  centre.  As  in  each  angle 
of  the  pediment  is  a  large  dolphin,  in  relief,  it  seems  to 
represent  the  sun  rising  from  the  waves — an  apt  emblem 
of  resurrection.  On  the  wall  below,  on  one  side  of  the 
entrance  to  the  sepulchre,  was  carved  a  demon  of  gigantic 
size  ;  but  its  sex,  attributes,  and  attitude  are  matters  of 
mere  speculation,  for  nothing  of  it  is  left  beyond  a  vast 
open  wing — but,  ex  pede  Here  idem.     There  was  probably 


the  Moon,  the  symbol  of  night,  in  con-  ever,  is  represented  in  the  hand  of  a 

tradistinction  to  the  solar  rays,  decidedly  figure   on   a   vase  from   Chiusi.     Mus. 

marked  in  the  opposite  pediment.     So  Chius.   tav.    CLXX.     See   also  Vol.  I. 

thinks  Aheken,  Ann.  Inst.  1842,  p.  57.  p.  253  of  this  work. 
There  is  no  other  instance  in  Etruria  of  8  Abeken  (Ann.   Inst.   1842,  p.  59), 

a  shield  or  disk  in  the  pediment  of  a  who   takes  the  Medusa's  head  here  as 

tomb  ;  but  such  are   found    sculptured  a   symbol    of  the    Moon,  sees  in  these 

in   this  position  on   the  facades  of  the  figures,  two  Tritons,  which  correspond 

temple-tombs  of  Phrygia.     See  Steuart's  to    the    dolphins    in   the  opposite  pedi- 

Lydia  and  Phrygia.  ment,  —  by   no    means    a   satisfactory 

"  Swords   of  this   form   are   rare  in  explanation, 
ancient  monuments.     Such  a  one,  how. 


ohap.  lyiii.]  DECORATIONS  OF  THE  TOMB.  479 

such  a  figure  on  each  side  of  the  doorway,  placed  there  to 
guard  the  sepulchre.4 

On  each  side  of  the  entrance  to  the  inner  chamber,  a 
crested  snake  or  dragon  projects  from  the  rocky  wall,  dart- 
ing forth  its  tongue,  as  if  to  threaten  the  intruder  into  this 
sanctuary — 

Ardentesque  oculos  suffecti  sanguine  et  igni 
Sibila  lambebant  Unguis  vibrantibus  ora. 

These  reptiles  are  of  earthenware,  but  their  tongues  are 
of  metal ;  and  it  has  been  thought  that  on  these  tongues 
lamps  were  suspended5 — an  unnecessary  supposition. 
The  place  serpents  hold  in  the  mythology  of  the  Etrus- 
cans, as  emblems  of  the  Furies  and  infernal  demons, 
explains  their  presence  here.  Below  one  of  these  snakes, 
just  above  the  level  of  the  pavement,  is  an  Etruscan 
inscription,  which,  being  on  a  stratum  of  sand-stone,  is 
unfortunately  almost  obliterated. 

It  remains  to  notice  the  side-chambers,  of  which  there 
are  eight,  four  on  each  side.  They  seem  never  to  have 
been  occupied,  as  no  urns  were  found  within  them.  Some 
of  them  are  still  unfinished.  They  were  intended,  it  would 
seem,  for  a  long  race  of  posterity,  but  the  family  may 
have  become  extinct,  or  they  may  have  been  merely  for 
pomp,  just  as  a  palace  contains  many  superfluous  cham- 
bers.6    The  four  inner  rooms  have,  each  a  bench  of  rock, 

4  Like  the  two  Charuns  at  the   en-  For  the  meaning  of  serpents  in  tombs, 

trance  of  a  tomb  at  Chiusi.     Ut  supra,  see  Vol.  I.  p.  221. 

page  375.  °  This  is  not  the  only  sepulchre  of 

s  Vermiglioli,  p.  16.    Feuerbach,  Bull.  this  family  discovered  at  Perugia,  for 

Inst.  1840,  p.  119.     In  the  Sepolcro  de'  another  was   opened  in   the   last  cen- 

Nasoni  on  the  Flaminian  Way,  which,  tury,  near  the  church  of  S.  Costanzo, 

though  of  Roman  times,  has  much  of  outside  the  walls,  and  not  very  far  from 

the  Etruscan  character,  a  serpent  was  this   tomb.      Vermiglioli,   Sepolcro  de' 

painted  on  the  wall  almost  in  the  same  Volunni,   p.    3  ;    Iscriz.    Perug.    I.    pp. 

position   as   in   this   tomb   of  Perugia.  21 — 23. 


480  PERUGIA. — The  Cemetery.  [chap,  lviii. 

and  two  have  Medusa's  heads  in  shields  on  the  ceiling, 
and  a  crested  snake  projecting  from  the  wall  above  the 
sepulchral  couch.  In  one  of  these  tombs  is  an  owl  in 
relief  in  each  corner,  and  a  snake's  head  below  it. 

Besides  the  monuments  now  remaining  in  tins  tomb, 
certain  articles  in  bronze  have  been  found,  such  as  ewers — 
a  helmet — a  fragment  of  a  shield  embossed  with  figures  of 
lions  and  bulls — a  pair  of  greaves  beautifully  moulded — a 
singular  spear  or  rod  with  a  number  of  moveable  disks, 
which  seem  to  have  been  rattled  together.7  They  are  all 
to  be  seen  in  the  Palazzone  Baglioni  hard  by. 

Before  leaving  this  tomb  we  must  say  a  word  on  the 
inscriptions.  Those  of  the  four  gentlemen  on  similar  urns 
are,  taking  them  in  the  order  of  their  arrangement, 

1 — "  Thephri  Velimnas  Tarchis  Clan." 

2 — "  Aule  Velimnas  Thephrisa  Nuphrunal  Clan." 

3 — "  Larth  Velimnas  Aides." 

4 — "  Vel.  Velimnas  Aules." 
The  grand  urn  in  the  centre  has, 

5 — "  Arnth  Velimnas  Aules." 
And  the  lady  is  called, 

6 — "  Veilia  Velimnei  Arnthial." 
It  scarcely  needs  the  analogy  of  the  names  to  prove 
these  of  one  family,  the  likeness  in  their  effigies  is  ob- 
vious ;  yet  the  precise  relation  in  which  they  stood  to 
each  other  could  only  be  set  forth  by  the  inscriptions. 
No.  1  seems  the  most  venerable,  the  progenitor  of  the 
rest,  and  in  his  name  "Thephri,"   in  other  inscriptions 

7  It  has  been  supposed  to  be  a  musi-  may  have  been  an  accompaniment  to  a 

cal  instrument  (Vermiglioli,  Sep.Volunni,  band.     A  similar  instrument,  found  in 

p.  21),  but  its  being  found  in  connection  the  neighbourhood  of  this  tomb,  and  also 

with   armour  and    weapons,   seems   to  in  company  with  armour  and  weapons, 

mark  it  as  of  military  use,  and  it  was  had  a   small   figure   of   a   naked  man 

probably  held  upright,  and  shaken   so  dancing  on  the  top  of  the  rod. 
as  to  rattle  the  plates  together ;  and  thus 


chap,  lvih.]  THE  VELIMNAS  FAMILY.  481 

written  "  Thepri,"  an  analogy  may  be  traced  to  the  Tiber, 
which  flows  beneath  the  walls  of  Perugia,  and  whose  name 
is  said  to  be  Etruscan  ;8  just  as  the  celebrated  family  of 
Volterra  bore  the  name  of  the  river  Csecina.  Thephri 
then  will  be  equivalent  to  Tiberius.  No.  2  appears  to  be 
his  son,9  and  the  son  of  a  lady  of  the  Nuphruna  family, 
and  is  certainly  the  father  of  the  three  other  males — 
Larth,  Velus,  and  Arnth  Velimnas.  No.  6  appears  to  be 
the  daughter  of  No.  5,  the  gentleman  who  occupies  the 
post  of  honour  in  this  tomb,  and  she  seems  from  her  por- 
trait to  have  reached  "  a  certain  age,"  and  in  spite  of  her 
nobility  and  wealth,  never  to  have  been  married,  for  no 
matrimonial  name  is  mentioned  in  her  epitaph. 

As  for  the  gentleman  in  the  temple,  who  could  not  be 
content  with  the  fashions  of  his  ancestors,  he  may  be 
another  son  of  No.  2  ;  as  his  father's  name  was  Aule  ; 
though  the  more  modern  style  of  his  urn  makes  it  pro- 
bable that  he  was  later  by  a  generation  or  two  than  his 
kinsmen. 

From  the  style  of  the  sculpture,  so  superior  to  that 
generally  found  on  Etruscan  urns,  from  the  painting  also 


8  Varro  (Ling.  Lat.  V.  29,  30)  states  the   Topino.     Cluver.    II.   p.  700.     Its 

that  the  name  of  the  river  was  claimed  ancient  name  is  doubtless  derived  from 

both  by  the  Etruscans  and  Latins, — by  the  Etruscan  Jove  who  was  called  Tina, 

the  former  as  being  called  after  Thebris  or  Tinia.     See  Miiller,  Etrusk.  I.  p.  420. 

(the  old  editions  have  Dehebris)  prince  B  Thephrisa  has  not  the  usual  form 

of  the  Veientes  ;  by  the  latter  as  being  indicative  of  the  patronymic  ;  the  ter- 

named    after    Tiberinus,    king    of    the  minntion  "  sa  "  or  "  isa,"  being  usually 

Latins.     Varro  seems  to  incline  to  the  applied  to  females  to  mark  the  names 

Etruscan  origin.     See  also  Festus,  s.  r.  of  their   husbands.     Yet  as   it  is  also 

Tiberis  ;  Serv.  ad  Virg.  JEn.  HI.  .500  ;  found  attached  to  names,  which,  as  in 

VIII.  72,  330.  this  case,  are  undoubtedly  males,  it  can 

Another  Etruscan  family  of  Perugia —  here  hardly  be  other  than  the  patrony- 

Tins,  Tinia — bears  the  same  relation  to  mic.      See  Midler,   Etrusk.    I.   p.  444. 

the  Tinia,  a  streamlet,  the  "Tinise  inglo-  "  Thephrisa"  may  be  put  for  "  Thephri- 

rius  humor"   of  Silius   Italicus  (VIII.  sal,"  i.  e.  the  son  of  Thephris,  the  filial 

4.54),  which  falls  into  the  Tiber,  some  relation    being    further    expressed    by 

miles  below  this  city.     It  is  now  called  the  word    "Clan."     See  Vol.1,  p.  313. 

vol.   n.  r  I 


1-S:!  PERUGIA. — The  Cemetery.  [chap,  lviii. 

on  the  principal  monument,  which  has  all  the  freedom  of 
those  in  the  Pumpus  tomb  at  Corneto,  as  well  as  from  the 
style  of  the  reliefs  on  the  ceilings  and  walls  of  this  sepul- 
chre, there  is  no  doubt  that  it  is  of  late  date,  subsequent 
to  the  Roman  conquest  of  Etruria,  though  before  the 
native  language  and  customs  had  been  utterly  absorbed  in 
those  of  world-wide  Rome.1 

This  interesting  sepulchre  was  discovered  in  February, 
1840.  Fortunately  for  the  traveller  it  is  the  property  of 
the  Conte  Baglioni,  a  relative  of  the  venerable  Vermig- 
lioli,  and  a  gentleman  whose  love  of  antiquity,  and  zealous 
research,  are  equalled  by  his  good  taste. 

Let  the  traveller  on  no  account  fail  to  see  the  Grotta 
de'  Volunni.  If  my  description  has  failed  to  interest  him, 
it  is  not  the  fault  of  the  sepulchre,  which,  though  of  late 
date,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  in  Etruria.  To  me  it 
has  a  more  than  common  charm.  I  shall  always  remem- 
ber it  as  the  first  Etruscan  tomb  I  entered.  It  was  soon 
after  its  discovery  that  I  found  myself  at  the  mouth  of 
this  sepulchre.  Never  shall  I  forget  the  anticipation  of 
delight  with  which  I  leapt  from  the  vettura  into  the  fierce 
canicular  sun,  with  what  impatience  I  awaited  the  arrival 
of  the  keys,  with  what  strange  awe  I  entered  the  dark 
cavern — gazed  on  the  inexplicable  characters  in  the  door- 
way— descried  the  urns  dimly  through  the  gloom — beheld 
the  family-party  at  their  sepulchral  revels — the  solemn 
dreariness  of  the  surrounding  cells.  The  figures  on  the 
walls  and  ceilings  strangely  stirred  my  fancy.  The  Furies, 
with  their  glaring  eyes,  gnashing  teeth,  and  ghastly  grins 


1  Vermiglioli   (p.    43)    considers    tin's  urns    must    be    of    the    time    of    the 

tomb  to  be  of  the  end  of  the  sixth  or  Antonines.     But  Micali,  as  Dr.  Braun 

beginning    of    the    seventh    century    of  lias   observed,   generally    puts  his   foot 

Rome,  "  or  even  as  late  as  the  days  of  on   a    wrong    date.       Ann.    Inst.    1843, 

the  Empire."  Micali  (Men.  Ined.  p.  154)  p  ?>fil. 
judges   from    the    style  of   art   that   the 


chap.  Lvm.]  INTEREST  OF  THE  GROTTA  VOLUNNI.  tS3 

— the  snakes,  with  which  the  walls  seemed  alive,  hissing 
and  darting  their  tongues  at  me — and  above  all  the  soli- 
tary wing,  chilled  me  with  an  undefinable  awe,  with  a 
sense  of  something  mysterious  and  terrible.  The  sepul- 
chre itself,  so  neatly  hewn  and  decorated,  yet  so  gloonry ; 
fashioned  like  a  house,  yet  with  no  mortal  habitant,2 — all 
was  so  strange,  so  novel.  It  was  like  enchantment,  not 
reality,  or  rather  it  was  the  realisation  of  the  pictures  of 
subterranean  palaces  and  spell-bound  men,  which  youthful 
fancy  had  drawn  from  the  Arabian  Nights,  but  which  had 
long  been  cast  aside  into  the  lumber-room  of  the  memory, 
now  to  be  suddenly  restored.  The  impressions  received 
in  this  tomb  first  directed  my  attention  to  the  antiquities 
of  Etruria.3 

The  Grotta  de'  Volunni  was  the  first  sepulchre  discovered 
in  the  hill ;  but  many  others  have  been  subsequently 
opened  around  it ;  in  fact,  the  entire  hill-slope  is  burrowed 
with  them.  Though  none  can  compete  in  size  or  beauty 
with  the  Grotta  de'  Volunni,  all  are  sufficiently  interesting, 
not  only  because  they  still  retain  their  urns,  but  because 
they  prove  many  well-known  Roman  families  to  have  been 
of  Etruscan  origin.  A  few  have  been  placed  under  lock 
and  key,  and  many  others,  which  yet  stand  open,  so  many 
dark  treasure-caverns  of  antiquity,  merit  a  more  careful 
preservation.  The  greater  part  are  quadrangular  chambers 
rudely  hewn  in  the  rock  ;  of  others  it  must  be  said,  they 
"  shape  have  none,"  for  they  are  mere  caves  hollowed  in 

2  This  tomb  is  thought  by  Feuerbacb  the    other   apartments    around,  to    the 

to  bear  a  resemblance  to  a  temple  ;  to  triclinia,  or  cubicv.la. 
me   it  has  more  analogy  to  a  Roman  8  For  further  notices  of  this  tomb, 

house.      The  very  arrangement  of  the  see    Vermiglioli's   pamphlet  —  Sepolcro 

chambers  is  the  same.      The  doorway  de'   Volunni,  with   the  book   of  plates  ; 

answers   to     the    ostium  ;    the    central  Bull.   Inst.    1840,  pp.    17 — 19,  Braun  ; 

chamber  to  the  cawediwm  ;  the  recesses  pp.    116 — 123,    Feuerbach  ;    1841,   pp. 

on  either  hand  to  the  ala ;  the  inner  12 — 14  ;  Ann.  Inst.  1842,  pp.  r>r>,  59. 
chamber  with  the  urns,  to  the  inhliniim  ; 

1 1  2 


484  PERUGIA. — The  Cemetery.  [chap,  lviii. 

the  hill ;  one  is  in  the  form  of  a  rude  dome  with  beams 
slightly  relieved.  None  show  any  of  the  internal  decora- 
tion, so  lavishly  bestowed  on  the  Grotta  de'  Volunni. 

The  monuments  in  them  are  all  urns,  or  ash-chests,  of 
travertine — no  sarcophagi ;  for  it  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  the  custom  at  Perusia  to  bury  the  corpse  entire. 
None  of  these  urns  equal  those  in  the  Grotta  de'  Volunni 
for  beauty  of  execution,  but  many  are  of  more  varied  cha- 
racter, though  to  him  who  has  seen  the  Museums  of  Volterra 
and  Chiusi,  few  will  appear  of  extraordinary  interest.  In 
one  point,  however,  they  are  peculiar.  Almost  all  are 
painted, — reliefs  as  well  as  the  figures  on  the  lids, — and 
the  colours  often  retain  their  original  brilliancy.  The  hues 
are  black,  red,  blue,  and  purple.  The  reliefs  are  sometimes 
left  white,  or  only  just  touched  with  colour,  while  the  ground 
is  painted  a  deep  blue  or  black ;  and  the  ornaments, 
frontlet,  necklace,  torque,  and  bracelets,  as  well  as  the 
armour  and  weapons,  are  often  gilt.  Gay  contrasts  of 
colour  were  aimed  at,  rather  than  harmony  or  richness.  In 
the  Grotta  de'  Volunni,  on  the  other  hand,  which  is  of  a 
better  period,  or  at  least  in  a  better  taste,  there  are  no 
traces  of  colour  on  the  sculpture,  except  where  the  lips 
and  eyes  of  one  of  the  recumbent  males  are  painted.4 

I  will  notice  the  principal  of  these  tombs,  and  touch  on 
their  contents. 

Ipogeo  de'  Cesi. — The  tomb  of  the  "  Ceisi "  family — 
in  Latin,  Csesius — is  very  small,  and  has  a  low,  domed 
ceihng.  It  contains  seven  urns.  One  bears  the  winged 
Scylla,  with  double  fishes'  tail,  brandishing  an  oar  over  the 
heads  of  two  warriors,  whom  she  has  entangled  in  her 
coils.  In  another  is  a  battle  between  Greeks  and  Amazons. 
And  there  are  several  with  a  griffon  as  a  device  ;   one 

4  The   painted  scene  of  the  souls  in  the  doorway,  described  above,  at  page  474, 
is  on  the  flat  surface  of  the  monument. 


chap,  lviii.]  TOMBS  OF  ETRUSCAN  FAMILIES.  485 

remarkable  for  having  an  eye  in  its  wing.  The  griffon,  be 
it  observed,  is  still  the  crest  on  the  arms  of  Perugia.5 

Ipogeo  de'  Vezi. — This  name  is  written  "Veti"  in 
Etruscan  characters,  and  answers  to  the  Vettius  of  the 
Romans.  The  tomb  is  very  rudely  hewn,  and  contains 
thirteen  urns.  In  one  of  them  was  found,  mingled  with 
the  ashes,  a  pair  of  gold  earrings,  in  another,  a  mirror. 
The  most  remarkable  is  one  which  represents  Thetis,  with 
a  spear,  seated  on  a  hippocampus,  or  sea-horse.  The 
goddess  is  robed  in  purple,  with  a  veil  of  the  same  hue  ; 
the  beast  is  left  white,  but  his  feet  and  mis  are  gilt.  The 
colouring  is  thrown  out  by  a  blue  ground.6 

Ipogeo  de'  Petroni. — ■"  Petruni  "  or  "  Patruni "  in 
Etruscan.  This  was  a  virgin  tomb,  with  a  dozen  urns  ; 
several  curious,  and  highly  decorated  with  colour  and 
gilding.  Two  bear  a  pair  of  figures,  a  married  couple, 
reclining  lovingly  on  the  lid  ;  in  one  case  she  has  a  patera, 
he  a  gilt  vase  in  one  hand,  and  a  naked  sword  in  the  other 
— the  only  instance  I  remember  of  a  weapon  at  these 
sepulchral  banquets.  On  another  is  the  oft-repeated  sub- 
ject of  the  sacrifice  of  Iphigenia,  here  represented  in  a 
double  row  of  figures  ;  in  the  upper,  the  maiden  is  being- 
dragged  to  the  altar  to  the  music  of  the  double-jripes  and 
lyre  ;  in  the  lower,  a  priest  is  pouring  a  libation  on  her 
head,  and  other  figures  are  bringing  fruit  and  various 
offerings  to  the  shrine.  Whether  there  were  any  resem- 
blance between  the  fate  of  the  deceased,  and  that  of  the 
daughter  of  Agamemnon,  I  know  not,  but  I  have  observed 
that  in  almost  every  case,  both  in  this  necropolis  and  else- 
where, where  this  subject  is  represented,  the  figure  on  the 


5  For  notices  of  this  tomb  see  Bull.  "  See  Bull.    Inst.  1843,  pp.    19,  "2:3  ; 

Inst.  1843,  pp.  18/22.     There  is  another  1844.  p.  136.     Two  other  sepulchres   of 

tomb  in  this  hill  which  seems  to  belong  this  family  have  been  discovered  here, 
to  the  same  family. 


486  I'ERUGIA. — The  Cemeteky.  [chap,  lviii. 

lid  is  a  female.  Probably  the  Etruscan  young  ladies  were 
as  fond  of  old  tales  of  woe,  as  those  of  modern  days,  and 
"The  sorrows  of  Iphigenia"  may  have  been  as  popular  a 
lay  with  them,  as  those  of  Werter  and  Charlotte  were  with 
our  grandmothers.  Here  is  an  urn  with  warriors  marching 
to  the  assault  of  a  tower — a  round  tower  too  ! — men  of 
Ulster,  look  to  this ! — behold  a  new  bond  of  affinity 
between  Etruria  and  the  Emerald  Isle — a  fresh  proof  that 
the  ancient  people  of  Italy  were  worshippers  of  Baal  or  of 
Buddli ;  and  pardon  my  common-place  opinion  that  the 
scene  may  represent  the  "  Seven  before  Thebes."  One  of 
the  urns  has  a  Latin  inscription.7 

Ipogeo  degli  Acsi. — In  the  name  so  spelt  in  Etruscan 
letters  it  is  not  difficult  to  recognise  the  Accius,  or  Axius, 
of  the  Romans.8  This  is  a  large  square  tomb,  whose  roof 
has  fallen  in  ;  it  contains  many  urns.  One  has  the  sacrifice 
of  Iphigenia,  finely  executed  in  high  relief.  Another  bears 
the  favourite  scene  of  the  death  of  Polites.9  The  most 
singular  urn  in  this  tomb  is  one  of  cylindrical  form,  with 
a  conical  lid  ;  it  is  said  to  have  been  coated  with  lead. 

Ipogeo  de'  Fari. — Spelt  "  Pharu  "  or  Pharus  in  Etrus- 
can, and   answering   to   the  Barms  or   possibly   to   the 


7  This  inscription  is  l  .  petkonivs  .  1841,  pp.   15,  b'7.     For  notices  of  this 

l  .  f  .  noforsinia  .     Most  of  the  other  tomb  see  Bull.  Inst.  1843,  pp.  18,  23  ; 

inscriptions  are  singular  in  this  respect,  1844,  p.  136  ;  1845,  pp.  106 — 8. 
that  the  name  Tite,  or  Titus,  precedes  8  This     name    is     sometimes     spelt 

that  of  Petruni,  not  as  the  prcenomen,  "  Achsi  "  in  Etruscan, 
but  as  the    no  men  ;  e.g. — "  Aule    Tite  9  Here  there  is  a  little  variety.     The 

Petruni,"    in    which    case   it   seems   to  young  man  kneeling  on  the  altar,  grasps 

answer   to    the   yas    in    Latin    names,  the  wheel  also  held  by  the  woman,  and 

though  such  a  distinction  has  been  sup-  the  warrior  rushes  on  to  slay  him,  as 

posed  not  to  have  existed  among  the  usual  ;  but  behind  the  woman  is  a  snake 

Etruscans.     In  the  same  way,  in  others  or  dragon  ;  and  in  a  doorway  at  each 

of  these  epitaphs  of  Perugia,  we  find  a  end  of  the  scene  stands  a   Fury  with  a 

recurrence   of   an   union   between   two  torch.    A  notice  of  this  tomb  is  given 

names — such  as  "  Vibi  Alpha,'"  "  Acuni  in  Bull.  Inst.  1844.  p.  140. 
Casni,"  "Cestna  Sininthi."     Bull    Inst. 


chap.  Lvin.j  TOMBS  OF  ETRUSCAN  FAMILIES.  487 

Varius  of  the  Romans.1  It  has  eight  urns,  and  six 
cinerary  pots. 

So  many  tombs  are  now  open  in  this  hill  that  it  is  not 
easy  to  know  when  you  have  seen  all,  as  the  entire  slope 
is  burrowed  with  them.  In  fact  these  sepulchral  treasures 
accumulate  almost  too  fast  for  the  local  antiquaries.2  Most 
of  these  tombs  are  without  the  protection  of  a  door,  and 
have  no  notice  announcing  the  family  to  which  they 
belong,  which  must  be  learned  by  an  inspection  of  the 
urns  within  them.3 

In  the  Palazzone  Baglioni,  which  stands  at  the  foot  of 
this  hill,  is  a  small  museum  of  antiquities,  the  fruit  of  the 
excavations  made  on  the  site.  Many  cinerary  urns  with 
inscriptions  and  painted  reliefs — vessels  of  terra  cotta,  in 
great  variety  and  abundance — one  large  vase  of  Greek 
form,  with  figures  and  flowers  in  high  relief,  painted,  but 
not  varnished — one  vase  only  in  the  best  Greek  style — 
part  of  a  curule  chair  of  bronze — mirrors — coins — gold 
ornaments — a  pair  of  curling-irons  ! — a  case  of  bone,  con- 
taining articles  for  the  toilet — and  the  lamps,  helmet, 
greaves,  and  fragment  of  the  embossed  shield,  found  in 
the  Grotta  de'  Volunni.4 

The  hill  which  contains  these  sepulchres  lies  to   the 


1  Vermiglioli  thinks  this  name  equi-  Cesina  —  Surni  —  Anani  (Annianus) — 
valent  to  the  Farms  or  Farianus  of  the  Luceti  or  Liceti — Upelsi — Suzi — Pum- 
Roraans  (Muratori,  p.  1-162,  9  ;  p.  422,  puni  (Pomponius)  —  Vusi — Larcani — 
12).  Bull.  lust.  1843,  p.  \9  ;  of.  24;  Apruti  —  Caphate  (Cafatius)  —  Acune 
1844.  p.  137.  (Aconius) — Varna    (Varus) — Vipi  (Vi- 

2  In  1843,  Vermiglioli  says  that  bius).  Bull.  Inst.  1844.  pp.  137,  et  seq. 
though  he  had  already  published  more  A  tomb  of  the  Pumpuni  family  was  also 
than  500  Etruscan  monuments  with  discovered  here  at  the  close  of  the  last 
inscriptions,  he  had  still  above  140  century,  the  urns  from  which  are  now  in 
waiting  for  publication.  Bull.  Inst.  1843,  the  Museum.  A  sepulchre  of  the  family 
p.  21.  Since  that  time  their  number  Velthurna,  or  Velthurnas  (Volturnus) 
has  greatly  increased.  was    opened    near    this   city   in    1822. 

3  Among  these  are  the  tombs  of  the  Vermigl.  Iscriz.  Perug.  I.  pp.  262 — 3. 
following   families  —  Petri — Casni   or  4  Bull.  Inst.  1841,  p.  14. 


k88  PKRUGIA. — Tin.  Cemetery.  [chap,  lviii. 

south  of  Perugia.  Other  tombs  have  been  found  else- 
where, near  the  new  Campo  Santo,  and  also  close  to  the 
city-walls,  where  the  Benedictine  monks  have  made  exca- 
vations. The  necropolis  of  Perusia,  however,  may  be  said 
to  be  only  just  disclosed,  and  we  may  entertain  the  hope 
that  further  researches  will  prove  it  to  be  of  an  extent 
and  interest  commensurate  with  the  ancient  importance 
of  the  city. 

Tempio  di  San  Maxxo. 

This  tomb,  or  "temple,"  as  it  is  called,  lies  at  the  hamlet 
of  La  Commenda,  two  miles  from  Perugia,  on  the  road  to 
Florence.  You  enter  a  mean  building,  and  descend  a 
flight  of  steps  into  a  cellar,  as  you  expect,  but  find 
yourself  in  a  vault,  lined  with  travertine  masonry,  very 
neat  and  regular,  but  uncemented.5  The  vault  is  very 
similar  to  that  in  the  Casa  Cecchetti,  at  Cortona,  and  to 
the  Deposito  del  Gran  Duca,  at  Chiusi,  but  is  much  more 
spacious  than  either,  being  twenty-seven  feet  long,  by  half 
that  in  width,  and  about  fifteen  feet  in  height.6  About 
half  way  down  the  chamber,  on  either  hand,  is  a  recess, 
also  vaulted,  in  one  of  which  stand,  in  the  inner  corners, 
two  blocks  of  travertine,  resembling  altars,  each  having  a 
groove  or  channel  at  the  upper  edge,  as  if  to  carry  off 
the  blood.7  It  is  this  >which  has  caused  the  vault  to  be 
regarded  as  a  temple,  though  I  think  it  more  probably 
was  a  sepulchre,  both  from  analogy8  and  on  account  of  its 

5  The  courses  are  from  12  to  18  end,  the  ancient  masonry  is  preserved, 
inches  in  height,  and  the  blocks  vary  in  but  has  been  broken  through  to  make 
length,  some  being   more  than   6  feet,       the  doorway  by  which  you  enter. 

and  one  even  7  feet  9  inches.    There  are  '  These  recesses  are  6  ft.  6  in.  high  ; 

twenty-nine  voussoirs  in  the  vault.  about    6    ft.    deep,   and    rather   less   in 

6  The  further  end  is  open,  or  rather       width. 

the   original   wall  at  this  end,  if  there  s  Similar  altar-like  masses  exist  in  a 

were  one,  has  been  destroyed  and  the  sepulchre   at  Sovana,  and  also   in   the 

vault  lengthened  out  with  brickwork  of  Grotta  Cardioale   and   other   tombs  at 

a  much  subsequent  age.     At  the  in  ;  ' 


chap,  lviii.]  ETRUSCAN  VAULT  AT  S.  MANNO.  489 

subterranean  character.9  Moreover,  the  existence  of  an 
altar  is  in  no  way  inconsistent  with  the  supposition  of  a 
tomb,  for  the  relation  between  tombs  and  temples  is  well 
known;  and  a  shrine,  where  offerings  might  be  made  to 
the  Manes,  was  not  unfrequent  in  ancient  sepulchres.1 

The  beauty,  the  perfection  of  the  masonry  in  this  vault, 
not  to  be  excelled  in  modern  times,  might  have  given  rise 
to  doubts  of  its  Etruscan  construction,  had  not  this  been 
put  beyond  all  question  by  an  inscription  in  that  language 
in  large  letters,  graven  deep  in  the  masonry,  and  extending, 
within  the  arch,  from  one  end  of  the  vault  to  the  other. 
There  are  three  lines,  and  the  inscription,  for  length,  may 
rival  that  in  the  Museum  of  Perugia.2  With  such  a  proof 
as  this,  who  can  doubt  that  the  Etruscans  knew  and 
practised  the  arch, — and  who  shall  throw  suspicion  on  the 
Etruscan  construction  of  certain  vaults  and  arches  in 
sepulchres  and  gates  in  this  land,  merely  on  account  of 
the  perfection  of  the  workmanship  and  excellent  preserva- 
tion of  the  monuments  \  This  vault  proves  that  such 
things  may  have  been,  and  heightens  the  probability  that 
certain  of  them  were,  of  Etruscan  origin. 

This  vault  has  been  open  for  ages ;  indeed,  it  is  among 
the  best  known  of  Etruscan  sepulchres.  Yet  though 
applied  to  base  purposes,  it  has  received  little  injury  ; 
probably  owing  to  the  hardness  of  the  travertine. 


9  Gori  (Mus.  Etrus.  III.  p.  81)  and  Virg.  Mn.  III.  t>?>,  305  ;  IV.  457  ;   V. 

Passeri    (ap.   eund.    III.   p.    100)   took  48,  86.     Arnobius  (adv.  Nat.  VI.  6,  7) 

it  for  a  sepulchre.    So  also  Abeken,  Mit-  gives  numerous   proofs  of  the  relation 

telitalien,  p.  250.     Ciatti,  a  native  his-  between  temples  and  sepulchres,  among 

torian  of  Perugia,  thought  it  was  a  prison  the  Greeks  and  Homaus. 

for  slaves.  -  This  inscription  has  been  published 

1  The  analogy  and  connection  between  by  Buonarroti,  p.  98,  ap. -Dempster,  II. ; 

temples  and  tombs  is  well  established.  by  Gori,  Mus.  Etrus.  III.  class.  II.  tav. 

The  sepulchre  was  in  fact  the  shrine  of  V. ;   Passeri,  ap.  eund.  III.  p.  107  ;  and 

the  Manes,  who  were  regarded  as  gods.  Lanzi,  Saggio,  II.  p.  514. 


^piiiiiissisi|k 


CALP1S,    OH     WATER-JAR. 


CHAPTER  LIX. 


ROME. 

Tokens  of  the  dead  : — the  wondrous  fame 
Of  the  past  world  .... 
Traditions  dark  and  old,  whence  evil  creeds 
Start  forth. 

Shelley. 

These  are  sad  and  sepulchral  pitchers,  silently  expressing  old  mortality,  the  ruins 
of  forgotten  times. 

Sir  Thomas  Browne, 


I  had  intended  treating  of  Rome  as  an  Etruscan  city, 
pointing  out  facts  both  in  her  early  history  and  in  her 
local  remains,  which  authorise  us  so  to  regard  her.  But 
this  would  lead  me  into  too  discursive  a  field  for  the  limits 
of  this  work,  and  I  am  convened  to  confine  myself  to 
notice  the  Etruscan  relics  stored  in  her  museums.     These 


chap,  lix.]  THE  GREGORIAN  MUSEUM.  491 

are  two — the  Museo  Gregoriano  of  the  Vatican,  and  the 
collection  of  Cavalier  Campana ;  each  in  its  way  unrivalled. 

Museo  Gregoriano. 

This  magnificent  collection  is  principally  the  fruit  of  the 
excavating  partnership  established,  some  twelve  or  fifteen 
years  since,  between  the  Papal  Government  and  the 
Campanari  of  Toscanella  ;  and  will  render  the  memory  of 
Gregory  XVI.,  who  forwarded  its  formation  with  more 
zeal  than  he  ordinarily  displayed,  ever  honoured  by  all 
interested  in  antiquarian  science.  As  the  excavations 
were  made  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Vulci,  most  of  the 
articles  are  from  that  necropolis  ;  yet  the  collection  has 
been  considerably  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  others 
previously  in  the  possession  of  the  Government,  and  still 
more  by  recent  acquisitions  from  the  Etruscan  cemeteries 
of  Cervetri,  Corneto,  Bomarzo,  Orte,  Toscanella,  and  other 
sites  within  the  Papal  dominions. 

As  no  catalogue  of  this  Museum  is  published,  the  visitor 
is  thrown  on  his  own  personal  stock  of  knowledge  or 
ignorance,  as  the  case  may  be,  or  on  the  dim  and  dubious 
enlightenment  of  the  custode.  I  have  therefore  considered 
that  something  like  a  guide  to  this  collection  would  be 
acceptable  ;  and  I  propose  to  lead  my  readers  through  the 
eleven  rooms  seriatim,  and  to  point  out  the  most  remark- 
able objects  in  each.  If  errors  should  be  found  in  my 
statements,  they  must  be  received  with  indulgence,  and 
laid  not  so  much  to  my  charge  as  to  that  of  the  Govern- 
ment, whose  jealousy  forbids  a  visitor  to  make  a  single 
note  within  the  walls.1 


1  The  appointed  guardians  of  these  a  scientific  investigator  of  antiquities, 
treasures  enter   fully  into   the  narrow  Matters  have  somewhat  improved,  how- 
spirit  of  their  employers,  and  do   not  ever,  since  the  accession  of  Pius  IX. 
distinguish  between  a  clodhopper   and 


492  ROME.  [chap.  lix. 

Vestibule. 

Three  recumbent  figures  in  terra  cotta,  a  male  and  two 
females,  the  size  of  life,  forming  the  lids  to  sarcophagi. 
They  are  all  highly  decorated;  he  with  a  chaplet  of  laurel, 
a  torque,  and  rings  ;  the  women  with  chaplets,  necklaces, 
earrings,  rings,  and  bracelets.2 — From  Toscanella,  the 
site  most  abounding  in  terra-cotta  articles.  Two  horses' 
heads  of  nenfro,  found  at  the  entrance  of  a  tomb  at  Vulci. 
The  horse  among  the  Etruscans  was  a  symbol  of  the 
passage  of  the  soul  to  another  world.  A  large  pine-cone 
— another  funereal  emblem.  A  square  cinerary  urn  of 
terra-cotta,  with  a  rounded,  overhanging  lid,  from  which 
rises,  like  a  handle,  a  small  head,  the  portrait  of  the 
individual  whose  ashes  lie  within. — From  Veii.3  Many 
heads  in  the  same  material,  portraits  of  the  deceased, 
which  were  placed  in  tombs,  are  now  embedded  in  the 
walls  of  this  chamber. 

Chamber  of  the  Cinerary  Urns. 

This  room  contains  thirteen  urns  of  alabaster  or  traver- 
tine, principally  from  Volterra,  which  were  in  the  Vatican 
before  the  formation  of  this  Museum.  They  bear  the 
usual  recumbent  effigies  on  the  lids,  ludicrously  stunted  ; 
most  are  females,  and  hold  fruit,  a  scroll,  tablets,  a  fan,  or 
a  patera,  in  their  hands.  The  principal  urn  is  at  the 
end  of  the  room,  and  has  a  pair  of  figures  on  its  lid — 
the  wife  reclining  fondly  in  her  husband's  bosom.  The 
relief  below   shows    the  myth    of   (Enomaus    overthrown 


-  The  position  of  two  of  these  figures,  repose   after   the    feast.       For  illustra- 

stretched  on  their  backs,  with  one  hand  tions  see  the  work  entitled  Museo  Gre- 

behind  their  heads,  and  one  leg   bent  goriano,  I.  tav.  XCII. 

beneath  the  other,  is  peculiar  ;  it  is  not  :i  See    Vol.    I.    p.    ~>7.     For  an  illus- 

the  attitude  of  the  banquet,  but  that  of  tration   see   Micali,    Mon.     Ined.    tav. 

slumber,  or,  it  may  be,  of  the  satisfied  XLVIII.  S. 


chap,  lix.]      MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— CINERARY  URNS.  493 

ill  his  chariot.  On  one  side  stands  Hippodamia,  his 
daughter,  on  the  other,  Pelops,  who  had  brought  about  the 
catastrophe.  Two  winged  Junones  mark  this  as  a  scene 
of  death.  In  style  of  art  this  urn  is  much  superior  to 
those  around  it.4 

These  bear,  as  usual,  Greek  myths  with  a  mixture  of 
Etruscan  demonology — the  Calydonian  boar — Dirce  about 
to  be  slain  by  Amphion  and  Zethus — the  rape  of  Helen, 
with  slaves  carrying  her  goods  on  board  the  ships  of  Paris 
— combats  of  Centaurs  and  Lapithae — Actaeon,  torn  to 
pieces  by  his  dogs — Paris  taking  refuge  at  the  altar  from 
his  wrathful  brothers  ;  the  palm-branch  in  his  hand 
indicating  the  prize  he  had  just  won  in  the  public  games 
— Cadmus  or  Jason,  armed  with  a  plough,  contending 
with  the  teeth-sprung  warriors — Iphigenia  on  the  altar, 
the  priest  pouring  a  libation  on  her  head,  musicians  around 
to  drown  the  cries  of  the  victim,  a  slave  bringing  in  the 
hind  which  Diana  had  sent  as  a  substitute.  On  the  lid  of 
this  urn  is  no  recumbent  figure,  but  a  banquet  in  relief. 
Besides  these,  there  are  several  scenes  emblematical  of  the 
last  journey  of  the  soul,  represented  as  a  figure  wrapt  in 
a  toga,  seated  on  horseback  ;  a  demon  is  leading  the 
animal,  and  a  slave  follows  with  a  burden.5 

On  the  shelves  above  the  urns  are  more  heads  in  terra- 
cotta, interesting  as  specimens  of  Etruscan  portraiture 
and  fashions.  One  has  the  lower  part  of  the  face  full  of 
minute  holes,  as  if  for  the  insertion  of  a  beard. 

Chamber  op  the  Sarcophagus. 

In  the  middle  of  this  room  is  a  large  sarcophagus  of 
nenfro,  found  at   Tarquinii  in  1834.     The  effigy  of  the 


i  Museo  Gregoriano,  I.  tav.  XCV.  I. 
5  For  these  urns  see  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XCIII. — XCV. 


194  R0]\1K.  [chap.  i.ix. 

Lucumo  on  the  lid,  reclining  on  his  back,  with  a  scroll  in 
his  hand,  recalls  the  monuments  of  the  middle  ages. 

This  sarcophagus  has  reliefs  on  all  four  sides.  One 
shows  an  altar  in  the  midst,  with  the  body  of  a  female 
lying  on  it,  which  must  be  Clytemnestra  ;  for  the  corpse 
of  iEgisthus  lies  on  the  ground  hard  by,  with  the  aveng- 
ing pair  standing  over  it ;  and  a  female  sits  mourning 
below,  who  may  be  Electra  ;  while  in  another  part  of  the 
scene  Orestes  is  persecuted  by  Furies,  brandishing  serpents. 
On  the  other  side  of  the  monument  is  the  story  of  the 
Theban  Brothers ;  here  engaged  in  altercation  ;  there 
driven  by  a  Fury  to  their  destiny,  which  is  set  forth  in 
the  centre  of  the  relief  where  they  are  dying  by  each 
other's  hands.  Their  father  (Edipus  is  here  also  ;  led 
away  from  the  sad  scene,  he  encounters  a  Fury  with  a 
torch.  A  female  seated  on  a  rock  is  probably  Jocasta. 
At  one  of  the  ends  of  the  monument  is  another  repre- 
sentation of  a  human  sacrifice — a  female  being  thrust  on 
an  altar,  and  stabbed  by  two  men — probably  Clytemnestra 
immolated  to  the  manes  of  Agamemnon.6  At  the  opposite 
end  Pyrrhus  is  slaying  the  infant  Ast}Tanax,  in  the  arms 
of  his  tutor,  who  has  vainly  borne  him  to  an  altar  for  pro- 
tection.7 

A  semicolossal  head  of  Medusa,  with  snakes  tied  under 
the  chin.  A  slab  with  a  bilingual  inscription — Latin  and 
Umbrian — on  both  sides. — From  Todi.  Two  choice  busts  ; 
one  of  a  youth  with  a  garland  of  flowers  ;  the  other  of  a 
maiden. 

In  the  corners  of  this  room  are  some  small  cinerary 
urns  of  pottery,  in  the  form  of  rude  huts  of  skins,  stretched 
on  cross-poles.     They  still  contain  burnt  ashes  ;  and  were 

6  1 1  can  hardly  represent  the  sacrifice  "  For  an  illustration  see  Mus.  Gregor. 

of  Iphigenia  ;  or  that  of  Polyxena  at  the       I.  tav.  XCVI. 
tomb  of  Achilles,  as  has  been  imagined. 


chap,  ux.]     MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— ALBAN  HUT-URNS. 


495 


found,  together  with  a  number  of  small  pots,  lamps,  rude 
attempts  at  the  human  figure,  fibula;,  knives,  and  lance- 
heads,  in  a  large  jar  of  coarse  brown  earthenware,  such  as 
stands  in  this  chamber,  and  is  represented  in  the  annexed 
woodcut.8  These  were  found  thirty  years  ago  on  the  Alban 


HUT-llRN     AND     OTHFIl     ARTICLFS    OF     POTTF.HY,    FROM     THF.    ALBAN     MOUNT. 

Mount  ;  and  analogy  marks  them  as  of  very  high  anti- 
quity— the  sepulchral  furniture  of  the  earliest  races  of 
Italy,  prior,  it  is  probable,  to  the  foundation  of  Rome.9 


8  The  above  wood-cut  shows  a  sec- 
tion of  one  of  the  large  jars,  containing 
one  of  the  hut-urns,  and  a  variety  of 
vessels  of  the  same  material  around  it. 
The  urns,  however,  are  not  always  so 
found,  but  separate,  with  fragments  of 
pipe  around  them.  Some  are  marked 
with  curious  figures  in  relief,  which 
used  to  be  supposed  Oscan  characters, 
but  it  is  evident  that  they  are  merely 
rude  decollations. 

9  These  remarkable  urns  were  found 
in    1817,  first  by  Signor   Carlo  Tomas- 


setti,  at  Montecucco,  near  Marino, 
close  to  the  road  to  Castel  Gandolfo  ; 
then  more  were  found  in  the  immediate 
neighbourhood  by  Signor  Giuseppe  Car- 
nevali  ;  and  again,  a  party  of  literati 
discovered  some  lying  beneath  a  stratum 
of  pepcrino,  about  18  inches  thick.  If 
their  conclusion  be  correct  that  this 
/>t  /><  rhio  was  ejected  by  the  volcano, 
whose  extinct  crater  is  now  occupied  by 
the  Alban  Lake,  after  the  monuments 
were  deposited  in  the  places  where  they 
wove    found,  these   must    indeed    be   of 


4.96 


ROME. 


[CHAP.    T,l\. 


Chamber  of  Terra-Cottas. 

In  the  centre  of  this  room  stands  a  beautiful  terra-cotta 
statue  of  Mercury,  with  caduceus  and  petasus,  found  at 
Tivoli,  and  of  Roman  art.1  There  are  also  three  fragments 
of  female  statues  in  marble,  from  Vulci,  and  much  admired. 
Genuinely  Etruscan  is  the  small  terra-cotta  figure  of  a 
youth  lying  on  a  couch.  From  the  gash  in  his  thigh,  and 
the  hound  at  his  bed-side,  he  is  usually  called  Adonis  ; 
but  it  may  be  merely  the  effigy  of  some  young  Etruscan, 
who  met  his  death  in  the  wild-boar  chase.  This  is  a 
sepulchral  urn,  found  at  Toscanella,  in  1834.2 


untold  antiquity.  As  far  back  as  his- 
tory extends,  the  crater  has  been  extinct 
and  filled  with  the  waters  of  the  lake. 
During  the  siege  of  Veii,  about  four 
hundred  years  before  Christ,  the  lake 
overflowed,  and  gave  occasion  for  the 
cutting  of  the  Emissary.  See  Vol.  I. 
p.  31.  Many  centuries  previous,  if  we 
may  believe  tradition,  Alba  Longa  was 
built  on  the  ridge  surrounding  the  lake 
(Dion.  Hal.  I.  p.  53),  so  that  the  volcano 
must  have  been  extinct  at  least  twelve 
hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era, 
possibly  even  many  ages  earlier.  It 
must  be  admitted,  however,  that  it  is 
more  probable  that  these  sepulchral 
relics  were  placed  beneath  the  volcanic 
stratum  for  greater  security,  especially 
seeing  that  they  were  found  near  the 
edge.  Yet  though  not  antediluvian,  as 
was  at  first  conjectured,  there  can  be 
no  doubt  of  their  very  remote  antiquity. 
All  analogy  proves  this.  As  the  Etrus- 
can and  Roman  sepulchral  monuments 
were  often  imitations  of  temples  or 
houses,  these,  which  have  a  much  ruder 
structure  as  their  type,  the  shepherd's 
hut  of  skins,  show  a  far  more  primitive 
origin  ;  and  the  style  of  art  and  the 
workmanship     confirm     this   view   and 


mark  them  as  among  the  most  ancient 
relics  in  Europe,  yielding  to  nothing 
from  the  tombs  of  Etruria.  The  ashes 
they  contain  are  probably  those  of  the 
inhabitants  of  Alba  Longa.  The  learned, 
however,  are  not  yet  agreed  as  to  their 
antiquity  ;  for  while  one  party  main- 
tains them  to  be  antediluvian,  another 
thinks,  from  their  resemblance  to  Alpine 
huts,  that  they  must  have  been  formed 
by  some  of  the  Swiss  soldiers  in  the 
Pope's  service  !  Such  an  opinion  I 
once  heard  broached  at  a  meeting  of 
so/vans.     Bull.  Inst.  1846,  p.  .0.5. 

A  detailed  account  of  these  disco- 
veries has  been  published  by  Dr.  Ales- 
sandro  Visconti,  in  his  "  Lettera  al 
Signor  Giuseppe  Carnevali  d'  Albano 
sopra  alcuni  vasi  sepolcrali  rinvenuti 
nella  vicinanza  dell'  antica  Alba  Longa, 
Roma,  1817,"  —  a  strange  farrago  of 
facts,  quotations,  fancies,  fallacies,  and 
leaps  at  conclusions.  For  illustrations, 
see  Visconti's  work,  and  Inghirami, 
Mon.  Etrus.  VI.  tav.  C  4,  D  4. 

1  There  is  B  similar  figure  in  marble, 
in  the  Galleria  Lapidaria  of  the  Vatican. 

2  Museo  Gregoriano,  I.  tav.  XCIII.  1. 
Abeken  takes  it  to  represent  Meleager. 
Mittelitalien,  p.  367. 


chap,  ux]      MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— TERRA-COTTAS.  497 

There  are  several  small  urns  of  the  same  material, 
similar  to  those  often  described  in  Etruscan  museums,  and 
with  the  usual  subjects.  The  mutual  slaughter  of  the 
Theban  Brothers.  Cadmus  or  Jason  slaying  the  teeth- 
sprung  warriors  with  the  plough.  Scylla,  represented 
according  to  the  Greek,  rather  than  Etruscan,  idea — 
having  a  double-tail  terminating  in  dogs'  heads.  Trunks 
and  limbs  of  the  human  frame  ;  some  for  containing  the 
ashes  of  the  dead,  others  votive  offerings, — antefixce  and 
tiles — and  heads,  portraits  of  the  deceased,  showing  abun- 
dant variety  of  feature,  expression,  and  fashion  of  head- 
dress.    Some  have  quite  a  modern  air. 

There  are  also  certain  reliefs  in  terra-cotta,  which  are 
not  Etruscan,  but  of  much  later  times — representing  the 
deeds  of  Hercules,  Mithras  slaying  the  bull,  Amazons  feed- 
ing or  combating  griffons. 

First  Vase-Room. 

This  room  contains  twenty-eight  painted  vases — mostly 
small  amphora,  in  the  Second  or  Archaic  style,  with  black 
figures  on  the  ground  of  the  clay.3 

In  the  centre  of  the  room,  on  a  pedestal,  stands  a  crater, 
or  mixing-vase,  with  particoloured  figures  on  a  very  pale 
ground,  and  in  the  most  beautiful  style  of  Greek  art ; 
indeed  it  is  one  of  the  finest  vases  ever  rescued  from  the 


3  It  may  be  well  here  to  repeat  the  lecythus,  prochus. 

names  of  the  principal  sorts  of  ancient  Vases    for  drinking — cantharus,  cy- 

vases,  classifying  them  according  to  the  athus,    cylix,  phiala,   scyphos,    hollicm, 

purposes  they  served  : —  ceras,  rhyton. 

TT          „      ,    ,,.          .               .,  There  are  many  more  varieties,  which 

Vases   for  holding  wine  or  oil — am-  J                          * 

7             7.  need   not  be   stated    here.      And    the 
pkora,  pehce,  stamnos. 

TT          c            .          ,               .,,     ,,  „,„  alahasira,  or  unguent-vases,  I  have  not 

Vases  for   water,  always  with  three  .                               > 

,       -,.         ,7-         7    •  thought  it   necessary  to   specify.     The 

handles — hydria,  calpis.  -    „  ,          ,           ,           . 

forms  of  all   have   been  shown   m    the 


Vases  for  mixing  wine  at  the  banquet 
— crater,  celebe,  oxybaphon. 

Vases  for   pouring  —  cenocho't,    olpe, 

VOL.    II.  R  K 


Introduction,  to  which  I  must  also  refer 
the  reader  for  the  difference  of  styles. 


ins  ROME.  [chap.  i.ix. 

tombs  of  Etruria.  It  displays  Mercury  presenting  the 
infant  Bacchus  to  Silenus,  whose  half-brutal  character  is 
marked  by  hairy  tufts  on  his  body.  Two  n}Tmphs,  the 
nurses  of  the  lively  little  god,  complete  the  group.  On  the 
reverse  of  the  vase,  is  a  Muse,  sitting  between  two  of  her 
sisters,  and  striking  a  lyre.4 — From  Vulci. 

On  a  second  pedestal  is  a  beautiful  celebe,  with  yellow 
figures,  in  the  Third  or  Perfect  style,  *  representing  a  com- 
bat of  Greeks  and  Amazons. 

The  vases  on  the  shelves  around  have  mostly  Bacchic 
subjects — the  deeds  of  Hercules — the  Dioscuri  on  horse- 
back. 

One  small  vase  in  the  corner  by  the  window  is  remark- 
able for  a  humorous  scene,  where  Jupiter  is  paying  court 
to  Alcmena,  who  regards  him  tenderly  from  a  window. 
The  god,  disguised,  it  would  seem,  in  a  double  sense,  bears 
a  brotherly  resemblance  to  "  honest  Jack  Falstaff,"  or 
might  pass  for  an  antique  version  of  Punch  ;  he  brings  a 
ladder  to  ascend  to  his  fair  one  ;  and  Mercury,  the  patron 
of  amorous,  as  of  other  thefts,  is  present  to  assist  his  father. 
— From  Magna  Grsecia. 

In  the  case  by  the  window  are  sundry  articles  in 
coloured  and  variegated  glass,  showing  to  what  perfection 
the  ancients  brought  their  works  in  this  material. 


•&■ 


Second  Vase-Room. 

This  room  contains  thirty-nine  vases.  In  the  centre 
are  five  on  pedestals.  The  most  singular  is  one  of  the 
rare  form  called  liolmos  —  a  large  globe-shaped  bowl 
on  a  tall  stand,  like  an  enormous  cup  and  ball.  Its 
paintings  are  most  archaic  in  subject  and  design — 
chimseras  and  wild  beasts,    principally   lions   and   boars, 

4  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XXVI. 


8hap.  wx.]         MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— PAINTED  VASES.  499 

as  they  are  commonly  represented  on  the  earliest  Greek 
vases ;  and  as  Hesiod  describes  them  on  the  shield  of 
Hercules5 — 

Ev  Se  crvcov  ayeXai  xhovvcov  e<rav,  rjde  \eovrav, 
Es  cr(f)eas  SepKOjAevuv,  KOTeovrcov  -r'te/u.e'j'coi/  Tf. 

The  bowl  of  the  vase  has  four  bands  of  figures,  but 
the  upper  one  represents  a  boar-hunt,  and  the  combat 
of  Greeks  and  Trojans  over  the  body  of  Patroclus. 
Earliest  style. — From  Cervetri.6 

Another  vase  in  the  centre  is  a  calpis,  with  Apollo,  or, 
it  may  be,  a  poet  of  less  celestial  origin,  seated  in  the 
midst  of  six  Muses.     Third  or  Perfect  style. — Vulci.7 

The  third  is  a  very  remarkable  vase — a  large  amphora,  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  specimens  of  the  Second,  or  Archaic 
style,  in  which  hardness  and  severity  of  design  are  combined 
with  a  most  careful  and  conscientious  execution  of  details. 
It  represents,  on  one  side,  the  curious  subject  of  Achilles 
("  Achileos")  and  Ajax  ("Aiantos")8  playing  at  dice,  or 
astragali.  Achilles  cries  "  Four!"  and  Ajax,  "  Three  \" — 
the  said  words  in  choice  Attic  issuing  from  their  mouths, 
as  would  be  represented  in  a  caricature  by  H  B.  From  the 
dice  not  being  shown,  and  from  the  hands  being  held  out 
with  the  fingers  extended,  they  might  be  supposed  to  be 
playing  at  the  old  game  of  dimicatio  digitorum,  known  to 
both  Greeks  and  Romans,  and  handed  down  to  modern 
times,  as  every  one  who  has  been  in  Italy  knows  to  the 
cost  of  his  peace— the  eternal  shouting  of  la  morra  assailing 
him  in  every  street.  In  the  richness  of  the  heroes'  attire 
and  armour,  and  the  exquisite  neatness  of  the  execution, 
this  vase  has  not  its  rival  in  the  collection.9     The  maker's 

6  Scut.  Here.  168.  capital   letters,   it   is  to  be  understood 

6  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XC.  that  so  they  are  written  in  Greek  cha- 

7  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XV.  2.  racters  on  the  monument. 

8  Where   the   names    are    given  in           9  This    subject    is    not    uncommon. 

K  K  2 


500  ROME.  [chap,  i.iv 

name,  "  Echsekias,"  is  recorded,  as  well  as  that  of  the 
person  to  whom  it  was  presented — "the  brave  Oxetorides." 
On  the  other  side  of  the  vase  is  a  family  scene  of 
"  the  great  Twin -brethren" — "  Kastor"  with  his  horse, 
"  Poludeukes"  playing  with  his  dog,  "  Tyndareos"  and 
"  Leea"  standing  by.  This  beautiful  relic  of  antiquity  was 
found  at  Vulci,  in  1834.10 

The  fourth  vase  on  a  pedestal  is  an  amphora,  represent- 
ing the  body  of  Achilles  borne  to  Peleus  and  Thetis, 
followed  by  his  companions  in  arms,  one  of  whom  bears 
the  Trinacrian  device  on  his  shield.  On  the  reverse  is 
Bacchus  driving  a  quadriga,  attended  by  Fauns  and 
Mamades.     Second  style.— Cervetri.1 

The  fifth  vase  is  a  calpis,  and  has  for  its  subject  the 
Death  of  Hector.  The  hero  "of  the  quick-glancing 
helmet"  is  sinking  in  death,  and  relaxing  his  hold  on  his 
arms.  His  beardless  victor  stands  over  him  with  drawn 
sword.  Minerva  supports  her  favourite  hero  ;  and  Apollo 
— or,  as  some  think,  Venus — stands,  bow  in  hand,  behind 
the  fallen  Trojan,  and  points  an  arrow  at  the  Greek,  as  if 
to  predict  the  fate  in  store  for  him.  A  beautiful  vase  in 
the  Third  style. — From  Vulci.2 

The  vases  on  the  shelves  around  the  room  are  mostly 
amphorcBJD.  the  Second  style  ;  some  of  them  Panathenaic. 
These  may  be  distinguished  by  a  figure  of  Minerva  on  one 
side,  with  an  inscription  stating  that  they  are  prizes  from 
the  Athenian  games. 

Among  the  varieties  are  the  following  : — 

A  hydria  of  extreme  beauty,  representing  Apollo  seated 

Specimens  of  it,  but  of  very  inferior  design  IT.   tav.  XXII.     Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav. 

and  execution,  are   to   be   seen  in  the  LIII.       Ann.     Inst.     1835,   p.    228. — 

Museo    Borbonico   at     Naples,    in    the  Panofka. 

British    Museum,   and    in     other    large  '  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  L.  2. 

collections  of  Etruscan  vases.  2  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XII.  2. 
10  Illustrated  in  the  Mon    Ined.  Inst. 


chap,  lix.]      MUSEO  GREGOKIANO.— PAINTED  VASES.  501 

on  the  Delphic  tripod,  which  is  speeding  its  winged  course 
over  the  waves.  Dolphins  and  other  fish  are  gambolling 
in  the  water,  attracted  to  the  surface  by  the  music  of  the 
god's  lyre.  It  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful,  and  best  pre- 
served vases  yet  discovered  at  Vulci.     Third  style.3 

A  calpis.  Theseus,  having  pierced  the  wild  sow  of 
Crommyon  with  his  spear,  and  wounded  her  with  a  stone, 
has  brought  her  to  bay,  and  awaits  her  attack,  sword  in 
hand,  with  his  cJilamys  wrapt  round  his  left  arm  ;  nearly 
as  the  Spanish  matador  encounters  the  bull  in  the  arena. 
Third  style.— Vulci.4 

Stanmos.  On  the  body  of  the  vase  is  a  band  of  figures 
representing  the  palsestric  games — wrestling,  boxing,  and 
chariot-racing.  In  an  upper  band  is  a  banquet  of  four 
couples  of  both  sexes,  very  like  the  feasting-scenes  in  the 
tombs  of  Tarquinii,  but  in  a  more  archaic  style.  Second 
style. — Vulci. 

A  hydria.  Nymphs  at  a  Doric  fountain ;  some  going, 
others  returning.  Their  pots,  true  hydrice  in  form,  just 
like  the  vase  itself,  are  laid  on  their  heads  in  different 
positions,  according  as  they  are  full  or  empty  ;  as  may  be 
observed  among  the  peasant-girls  of  Italy  at  the  present 
day.  In  an  upper  band  is  a  spirited  combat,  thought  to 
represent  iEneas  assisting  Hector  against  Ajax.  In  a 
lower  band,  boys  on  horseback  are  hunting  stags.  Second 
style. — Vulci.5 

Hydria,  with  a  race  of  women,  a  very  curious  scene. 
Second  style. 

On  the  shelf  near  the  window  is  a  remarkable  vase.  It 
is  that  sort  of  amphora,  contracting  towards  the  neck, 
commonly  called  a  police.     Two  men  are  sitting  under  an 

3  Micali,  Aiit.  Pop.  Ital.  III.  p.  147,  '  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XII.  1. 

tav.   XCIV.     Mon.  Ined.  Inst.    I.  tav.  *  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  IX.  2. 

XL VI.    Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XV.  1. 


502  ROME.  [chap,  ux, 

olive-tree,  each  with  an  amphora  at  his  feet,  and  one  who 
is  measuring  the  oil  exclaims,  "  0  father  Jupiter  !  would 
that  I  were  rich ! "  On  the  reverse  of  the  vase  is  the 
same  pair,  but  at  a  subsequent  period,  for  the  prayer  has 
been  heard,  and  the  oil-dealer  cries — "  Verily,  yea,  verily, 
it  hath  been  filled  to  overflowing."    Second  style. — Caere.6 

By  the  window  is  also  a  calpis,  in  the  Third  style.  A 
boy  has  his  hoop  in  one  hand,  and  a  cock  in  the  other, 
which  he  seems  to  have  stolen  from  a  hen-roost.  An  old 
man,  supposed  to  be  his  tutor,  or  peedotribe,  is  calling  him 
to  account  for  his  misdeeds.  It  is  not  known  where  this 
beautiful  vase  was  found,  as  it  had  been  in  the  Vatican 
Library,  long  prior  to  the  formation  of  this  Museum.7 

By  the  window  are  two  most  archaic  vases.  One  is  a 
hydria  of  singular  form.  The  subject  is  the  Boar  of  Caly- 
don  at  bay,  attacked  by  dogs,  and  by  hunters  armed  with 
spears,  all  of  whom  have  their  names  attached.  The  other 
is  an  olpe,  and  represents  Ajax  fighting  with  Hector,  who 
is  assisted  by  iEneas.  The  very  peculiar  design,  and  the 
palaeography,  mark  these  vases  to  be  of  that  rare  Doric 
class,  like  those  of  Corinth,  which  are  seldom  found  on  any 
other  Etruscan  site  than  Cervetri.8 

In  the  cases  by  the  window  are  sundry  articles  in  glass 
and  pottery  ;  among  the  latter  notice  a  small  canoe,  and 
a  rhyton  in  the  form  of  a  man's  leg. 

Quadrant,  or  Third  Vase-Room. 

This  is  a  long  hall  or  gallery,  with  the  vases  arranged 
on  shelves  along  the  inner  wall.     I  shall  specify  the  most 


6  Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  II.  tav.  XLIV.  ;  schoolmaster's  rod.  Mus.  Gregor.  II. 
Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LXI.  1.  tav.  XIV.  2. 

7  Some  see  in  this  scene  Jupiter  and  s  Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  II.  tav.  XXXVIII- 
Ganymede,  and  certainly  the  old  man's  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XVII.  2.  ;  Ann- 
wand    is   more  like   a    sceptre   than   a  Inst.  1836,  pp.  306 — 310,  Aheken. 


chap,  lix.]      MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— PAINTED  VASES.  503 

remarkable,  as  near  as  I   can  recollect  in  the  order  in 
which  they  stand. 

A  hydria,  representing  the  combat  of  Hercules  with 
Cycnus ;  Minerva  assists  her  hero,  and  Mars  his  son. 
Below  is  a  band  of  lions  and  boars.    Second  style. — Vulci. 

Hydria.  Combat  of  the  gods  with  the  giants,  who  are 
represented  as  warriors  in  armour,  not  of  larger  size  than 
their  opponents.  Jove  and  Hercules  are  in  a  quadriga. 
Second  style. — Vulci. 

Hydria.  Two  men  on  horseback,  who  might  represent 
the  Dioscuri  were  it  not  for  the  inscriptions  above  them. 
On  the  shoulder  of  the  vase  are  contests  of  racers  and 
pugilists.     Second  style. — Cervetri. 

Stamnos.  Combat  of  Greeks  and  Amazons.  Third 
style,  from  Vulci. 

Amphora.  Aurora  mourning  over  her  son  Memnon, 
who  lies  dead  in  a  myrtle-grove.  His  armour  is  lying  on 
the  ground,  or  is  suspended  from  the  trees.  A  dove  in  the 
branches  above  is  supposed  to  represent  his  soul,  or  it  may 
be  one  of  the  hero's  companions,  changed,  as  the  legend 
states,  into  birds.  Observe  the  expression  of  the  weeping 
mother.  On  the  reverse  of  this  scene  is  Briseis  led  away 
from  Achilles.     Second  style. — Vulci.9 

Hydria.  Theseus  slaying  the  Minotaur ;  youths  and 
maidens,  with  branches  in  their  hands,  stand  by.  In  an 
upper  band  is  Bacchus  holding  an  overflowing  keras  or 
wine-horn,  in  the  midst  of  Fauns  and  Msenades  dancing  to 
the  music  of  the  double-pipes  and  castanets.  Second  style. 
—Vulci. 

Amphora.  Achilles  and  Memnon,  contending  over  the 
body  of  Antilochus.  On  the  reverse,  Hercules  and  Minerva 
in  a  quadriga  accompanied  by  other  divinities.  Second 
style. — Vulci. 

9  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XLIX.  2. 


504  HOME.  [chap.lix. 

CaJpis.  "  Thamyras  "  with  his  lyre,  contending  with  the 
Muses.     A  very  beautiful  vase  in  the  late  style. — Vulci.10 

( 'alpis.  "  Poseidon  "  seizing  "  JEthra,"  as  she  is 
plucking  flowers.     Third  style. — Vulci.1 

Hydria.  On  the  shoulder  of  the  vase,  Theseus  is  slay- 
ing the  Minotaur,  with  youths  and  maidens  around ;  on 
the  body,  Minerva  is  mounting  her  quadriga,  attended  by 
Hercules  and  Mercury.     Second  style. — Vulci. 

Hydria.  A  fountain  with  a  Doric  portico,  having  snakes 
and  birds  painted  on  the  architrave.  The  water  gushes 
from  the  mouths  of  lions  and  asses,  and  flows  in  waving 
curves  into  the  pitchers !  On  the  shoulder  of  the  vase, 
Hercules  is  overcoming  the  Nemean  lion  ;  Minerva  and 
Iolaus  stand  by  with  a  chariot.     Second  style. — Vulci.2 

Hydria.  A  man  is  painting  a  stele  or  funeral  monu- 
ment ;  another  passes  him  in  a  chariot.  Third  style. 
— Vatican  Library.3 

Amphora.  Hercules  shaking  hands  with  Minerva,  salutes 
her  with  XAIPE.  Iolaus  stands  by.  On  the  reverse  a 
citharista  is  playing  between  two  athletes,  very  like  the 
figures  in  the  painted  tombs  of  Corneto.  Third  style. 
—Vulci.4 

Two  Panathenaic  amphorce,  with  the  figure  of  Minerva 
armed,  poising  her  lance  between  two  Doric  columns 
surmounted  by  cocks ;  and  with  the  usual  legend, 
TONA0ENE0ENA0LON,  "  of  the  prizes  from  Athens." 
On  the  reverse  are  the  public  games — races,  leaping,  or 
hurling  the  quoit.     Second  style,  very  archaic. — Vulci.5 

Amphora.  A  youth  with  the  discus.  On  the  reverse 
is  a  pcedotribe.  A  very  beautiful  vase  in  the  Third  style. 
—Vulci.6 

10  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XIII.  '-'.  4  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LIV.  2. 

1  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XIV.  1.  «  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XLII.  XLIII. 

2  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  X.  2.  r  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LVIII.  1. 
-■ins.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XVI.  1. 


chap,  ux.]      MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— PAINTED  VASES.  505 

Amphora.  Apollo  with  the  lyre,  crowned  with  laurel, 
and  rapt  in  song.  A  beautiful  vase,  in  the  Third  style, 
from  Vulci.7 

Amphora.  Hercules  and  Apollo  contending  for  the 
tripod.  Minerva  endeavours  to  part  them.  On  the 
reverse  are  dances  to  the  music  of  the  lyre  and  double  - 
pipes.     Third  style. — Cervetri.8 

Amphora.  "Ekabe  "  (Hecuba)  presents  a  goblet  to  her 
son,  "  the  brave  Hector  " — KAA02  EKTX2P — and  regards 
him  with  such  intense  interest,  that  she  spills  the  wine  as 
she  pours  it  out  to  him.  The  hoary-headed  "  Priamos  " 
also  stands  by,  leaning  on  his  staff,  looking  mournfully  at 
his  son,  as  if  presaging  his  fate.  The  reverse  is  very 
inferior  to  this  beautiful  scene.     Third  style. — Vulci.9 

Amphora.  Apollo,  with  his  lyre  in  hand,  endeavouring 
to  avoid  the  blow  which  Cassandra  aims  at  him  with  an 
axe.     A  beautiful  vase  in  the  Third  style. — Vulci.1 

Amphora.  A  warrior  departing  to  battle  ;  and  receiv- 
ing a  patera  from  a  female.     Third  style. — Vulci. 

Amphora.  Neptune,  with  his  trident,  and  bearing  a 
rock  on  which  are  painted  sundry  reptiles  and  fishes,  is 
overthrowing  a  warrior,  supposed  to  be  Polybotes.  Third 
style. — Vulci.2 

Amphora.  On  one  side  Achilles,  with  cuirass,  but  no 
helmet,  stands,  spear  in  hand ;  on  the  other,  a  maiden 
is  filling  a  patera  with  wine,  either  to  make  a  libation,  or 
to  offer  it  to  the  hero.  A  very  beautiful  vase  in  the  best 
style,  from  Vulci.3 

The  large  amphora  in  the  recess  is  from  Magna  Gra?cia, 
and  both  in  form  and  style  of  art  is  very  different  from 
those  of  Etruria. 

"  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LIX.  2.  interpret  this  scene  as  Orpheus  and  a 

8  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LIV.  1.  Bacchante. 

9  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.   LX.  2.  s  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LVI.  1. 
'Mus. Gregor. II. tav. LX.  1.  Some  a  Mus.  Grcxor.  II.  tav.  LV1II.  3. 


506  ROME.  [chap.  lix. 

Stamnos.  The  gods  in  council.  Jupiter  and  Juno  seated 
on  thrones,  sceptres  in  hand ;  Minerva,  Mercury,  and 
Neptune,  with  their  respective  attributes  ;  and  another  pair, 
cither  Vulcan  and  Venus,  or  Pluto  and  Proserpine.  Third 
style. — Vulci.4 

Stamnos.  "  Zeus  "  seizing  "  ^Egina,"  in  the  midst  of 
her  sisters  ;  who,  on  the  other  side  of  the  vase,  are  seen 
informing  their  father  "  Asopos  ,"  of  his  daughter's  abduc- 
tion.    Third  style. — Vulci.5 

Stamnos.  Hippolyta  on  horseback  and  in  close  mail, 
contending  with  Theseus,  aided  by  Pirithous.  Third 
style. — Vulci.6 

Amphora.  Hercules,  bearing  the  boar  of  Erymanthus 
on  his  shoulder,  is  bringing  him  to  Eurystheus,  who,  terri- 
fied at  the  huge  monster,  tries  to  hide  himself  in  a  well. 
Second  style. — Vulci.7  Humour  seems  hardly  consistent 
with  so  much  severity  of  style. 

At  the  end  of  this  gallery  is  a  pelice,  with  a  warrior 
receiving  a  goblet  from  a  winged  Victory.  But  the  most 
remarkable  thing  about  the  vase  is  that  it  was  broken  of 
old,  and  riveted  together  with  brass  wire,  just  as  it  is 
now  seen,  before  it  was  placed  in  the  tomb.  Third  style. 
Vulci.8 

On  the  side  of  the  gallery  towards  the  windows  are 
several  vases. 

Stamnos.  A  Trojan  youth  on  horseback,  probably 
Troilus,  has  been  surprised  at  a  fountain  by  Achilles,  and 
gallops  off,  followed  by  his  swift-footed  foe.  A  maiden 
alarmed  is  dropping  her  pitcher.     Third  style. — Vulci.9 

Stamnos.  The  winged  "  Heos"  driving  her  four-horse 
chariot.     Third  style. — Vulci.1 

4  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XXI.  1.  8  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LXIII.  2. 

s  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XX.  I.  9  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XXII.  1. 

6  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XX.  2.  '  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XVIII.  2. 
:  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LI.  2. 


chap,  ttx.]      MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— PAINTED  VASES. 


507 


Celebe.  Combat  of  Greeks  and  Amazons.  Third  style. 
— Vatican  Library. 

Celebe.  A  Faun  treading  grapes  in  a  wine-press. 
Bacchus  with  a  thyrsus,  another  Faun,  and  two  Msenades 
are  looking  on.  Third  style. — Vulci.  This  vase  was 
broken  in  the  foot,  and  restored  by  the  ancients.2 

Stamnos.  Hercules  pursuing  a  woman.  Third  style. 
This  vase  has  also  been  restored,  and  in  a  singular  manner ; 
for  a  piece  of  the  female  figure  having  been  broken  away 
has  been  supplied  with  a  fragment  of  a  banqueting-scene, 
in  a  totally  different  style  ;  showing  that  the  restoration 
was  made  for  the  sake  of  utility  rather  than  beauty. 

Besides  the  vases  already  described  there  are  many 
others  in  these  three 
rooms,  whose  position 
I  cannot  remember, 
seeing  that  no  note  is 
allowed  to  be  taken 
by  visitors.  Among 
them  are  many  bear- 
ing Bacchic  subjects. 
The  bearded  god, 
standing  with  wine- 
horn,  cyaihus,  or  can- 
tharus,  and  a  vine- 
branch  in  his  hand,  is 
surrounded  by  Fauns 
and  Msenades.  These 
are  generally  amphorce,  with  black  figures,  in  the  Second 
style,  and  from  Vulci. 

The  labours  and  deeds  of  Hercules  are  often  repre- 
sented, particularly  his  struggle  with  the  Nemean  lion. 
He    is    also     seen     bearing    the    Erymanthian    boar — 


ETRUSCAN    CYATHUS. 


2  Mub.  Grcgor.  II.  tav.  XXIV.  1. 


ROME.  [chap.  lis. 

overcoming  the  Centaurs — slaying  Cacus — vanquishing  the 
Amazons — wrestling  with  Nereus — striking  down  the 
triple-bodied  Geryon — fetching  Cerberus  from  hell — con- 
tending with  Apollo  for  the  tripod — in  company  with  the 
great  gods  of  Olympus  combating  the  giants — driving  his 
chariot  with  his  patron,  the  grey-eyed  goddess — playing 
the  lyre,  between  Bacchus  and  Minerva — rescuing  Dejanira 
from  the  centaur  Nessus. 

The  deeds  of  Theseus  are  also  favourite  subjects  on 
these  vases — he  is  contending  with  the  Amazons,  the 
Minotaur,  the  Centaurs — slaying  the  wild  sow  of  Crom- 
myon,  or  securing  the  bull  of  Marathon. 

Palsestric  exercises  and  games  are  also  often  repre- 
sented— wrestling — boxing — racing.  Hunting  the  hare  on 
horseback,  and  in  armour,  is  very  peculiar.  Youths  with 
strigils  at  the  bath.  Warriors  arming,  or  engaged  in  combat. 
Scenes  from  the  Trojan  War,  especially  the  deeds  of 
Achilles  and  Hector. 

Among  those  which  demand  particular  notice  is  an 
amphora,  in  the  Second  style,  representing  Jupiter  about 
to  give  birth  to  Minerva  ;  Neptune,  Mercury,  Mars,  and 
Juno  standing  around  him ;  Cervetri.  A  celebe,  in  very 
archaic  style,  representing  a  nuptial  procession ;  the  wedded 
pair  drawn  in  a  quadriga;  also  from  Cervetri.  An 
amphora,  in  the  Second  style,  from  the  same  site,  with 
the  combat  of  Hector,  assisted  by  iEneas,  against  Ajax  ; 
on  the  neck  is  a  goddess  between  two  lions.  A  pdice, 
with  Diana  offering  a  phiala  or  goblet  to  Apollo,  is  remark- 
able as  having  been  found  near  Norcia  in  Sabina,  on  one 
of  the  loftiest  peaks  of  the  Apennines.  And  an  amphora, 
with  Hercules  and  Minerva  at  the  gate  of  Hades,  offers 
in  its  inscription  a  specimen  of  the  unknown  tongue, 
occasionally  found  on  these  vases.3 

»  Mus.  Grcgor.  II.  tev.  LI  I.  2. 


chap,  lix.]      MUSEO  GREGORIANO.-PAINTED  VASES.  509 

Fourth  Vase-Room. 

This  chamber  contains  cylices,  or  paterce,  which  are 
more  rare  than  the  upright  vases,  and  not  inferior  in 
beauty  ;  indeed,  some  of  the  most  exquisite  specimens  of 
Etruscan  ceramographic  art  are  on  vessels  of  this  form. 
I  shall  only  notice  those  with  the  most  striking  subjects, 
some  of  which  are  painted  within,  others  outside  the 
bowl.     Most  of  them  are  from  Vulci. 

(Edipus  solving  the  riddles  of  the  Sphinx.  The  same  in 
caricature — the  Theban  prince  having  a  monstrous  head, 
and  a  little  crutch,  like  a  hammer,  in  his  hand  ;  the  "  man- 
devouring  monster"  being  reduced  to  the  figure  of  a  dog, 
monkey,  or  fox, — for  it  is  hard  to  determine  which.4 
Jason  vomited  by  the  dragon  ;  Minerva  catching  him  as 
he  falls.5  The  Rape  of  Proserpine  ;  the  King  of  Shades 
bearing  her  to  his  realms  below  :  her  ornaments  are  in 
relief — a  rare  feature  in  these  vases.6  Pelias  being  led  to 
the  cauldron,  where  the  treacherous  Medea  stands  ready  to 
sacrifice  him.7  Theseus  binding  the  bull  of  Marathon.8 
A  sick  warrior  on  a  couch,  his  head  supported  by  his  wife  : 
the  contrasted  pain  and  sympathy  are  admirably  ex- 
pressed.9 A  banquet  of  bearded  men,  one  playing  the 
lyre  ;  and  another  of  men  and  youths.10  Groups  oiathletce 
preparing  for  the  arena, — one  of  the  most  beautiful  vases  in 
this  room,  rivalled,  however,  by  the  next,  which  shows 
naked  youths  at  the  bath,  with  strigils  in  their  hands.1 
Several  specimens  of  the  curious  goblets,  painted  with 
large  eyes.     Between  each  pair  are  generally  some  small 

4  These  two  vases  are  illustrated  in  7  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LXXXII.  1. 
Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LXXX.  8  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LXXXII.  2. 

5  Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  II.  tav.  XXXV.  »  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LXXXI.  1. 
Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LXXXVI.  1.  10  Mus.  Gregor.  II.    tav.  LXXIX.  1  ; 

s  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LXXXIII.  2.       LXXXI.  1. 
But  more  common  on  those  of  Magna  1  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LXXXVI  I. 

Greecia. 


510  ROME.  [chap.  lix. 

figures,  such  as  Hercules  slaying  Cycnus, — a  mounted 
warrior  galloping, — Mercury  and  Bacchus, — warriors, — 
trumpeters, — heads  of  Minerva,  Mercury,  and  Hercules, 
three  together  in  profile  ;  but  the  most  common  subjects 
are  Bacchic. 

On  the  shelves  towards  the  windows  are  more  of 
these  cylices : — Ajax  bearing  the  dead  body  of  Achilles.2 
Prometheus  bound  to  a  Doric  column,  with  the  vulture  at 
his  liver,  talking  to  Atlas  with  the  world  on  his  shoul- 
ders.3 Warriors  shaking  hands.  Trumpeters  with  long- 
straight  horns.  Combats  of  Greeks  and  Trojans.  The 
exploit  of  the  infant  Mercury  as  cattle-lifter. 

"  The  babe  was  born  at  the  first  peep  of  day  ; 
He  began  playing  on  the  lyre  at  noon, 
And  the  same  evening  did  he  steal  away 
Apollo's  herds." 

The  god  of  light  is  seeking  for  his  cattle  in  the  cave  of 
Cyllene  ;  Maia  stands  by  her  new-born  son,  who,  in  his 
cradle,  lies  hid  in  a  corner  among  the  herd.4  Hercules, 
seated  in  the  bowl  he  had  received  from  Apollo,  is  crossing 
the  waves ;  outside  the  vase  is  the  Death  of  Hector.5 
Midas,  with  ass's  ears,  seated  on  his  throne,  and  his  servant 
standing  before  him  with  one  of  the  tell-tale  reeds  which 
wThispered  the  secret  to  the  world.6  Triptolemus  on  his 
winged  car,  drawn  by  serpents.7 

Some  of  the  smaller  goblets  are  not  painted  externally, 
but  have  the  maker's  name  inscribed  ;  and  on  not  a  few  is 
the  salutation  xaipe  kai  eiiei — "  Hail,  and  drink ! ' '  Another 
inscription,  often  seen  on   these  goblets,  ho  iiais  kalos, 

2  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LXVII.  2.  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LXXII ;  and  so 

a  This  is  a  burlesque.     Mus.  Gregor.  Dr.  Braun  interprets  it  (Ann.  Inst.  1844. 

II.  tav.  LXVII.  3.  P-  211.  tav.  d'  Agg  D.) ;  but  it  is  more 

4  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LXXXIII.  1.  like  one  of  the  crooks,  represented  in  the 

s  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LXXIV.  1.  hands  of  peasants.     See  Vol.  I.  p.  333. 
■  It  is  so  called  in  the  exposition  to  7  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  LXXVI. 


chap,  ux.]      MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— PAINTED  VASES.  511 

shows  that  the  vase  was  a  present  of  affection  to  some 
"beautiful  youth."  A  few,  however,  bear  inscriptions  in 
a  language  utterly  unintelligible,  or  rather  in  no  language 
at  all ;  for  the  epigraphs  are  composed  either  of  letters 
put  together  at  random,  or  of  mere  shapeless  dots,  grouped 
in  imitation  of  words. 

The  glass  cabinet  in  this  room  contains  a  number  of 
curious  articles  in  pottery — rhyta,  and  other  fantastic 
vases,  in  the  forms  of  human  beings  or  heads,  and  of 
various  beasts  and  birds ;  as  well  as  some  black  ware  of 
high  antiquity.8  Two  beautiful  phialce,  or  drinking-bowls, 
of  black  ware,  with  figures  in  relief,  not  painted,  are  rather 
Roman  than  Etruscan. 

Here  are  also  a  few  painted  vases  of  ordinary  forms. 
One,  an  olpe,  bears  a  scene  from  the  Etruscan  cockpit — 
the  literal,  not  the  naval  site  so  designated.9  Another 
beautiful  olpe  shows  a  Persian  monarch  receiving  an 
amphora  from  his  queen.1  A  third  vase  of  the  same 
form  displays  "  Meneleos  "  rushing,  sword  in  hand,  to 
take  vengeance  on  his  faithless  spouse.  "  Elene,"  with 
dishevelled  hair,  flies  for  refuge  to  the  Palladium  ;  but  little 
would  Minerva  avail  her  ;  and  her  own  peculiar  patroness, 
the  laughter-loving  "  Aphrodite,"  interposes,  stepping 
between  the  son  of  Atreus  and  his  vengeance.  He, 
evidently  startled  at  the  apparition,  lets  his  sword  drop, 
and  confesses  the  power  of  Love,  who  hovers  over  him 
with  a  chaplet,  while  soft  Persuasion  ("  Peitho  ")  stands 
behind  him.  The  moral  may  be  bad,  but  the  design  is 
excellent ;  in  truth,  this  is  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and 
best  preserved  vases  in  the  Museum.  Third  style. — Vulci.2 
On  a  calpis,  in  the  same  style,  Hercules  is  seen  reclining 

8  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XCIII.  XCVI  '  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  IV.  2. 
— XCVIII.                                                               2  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  V.  2. 

9  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  V.  ]. 


512  ROME.  [chap.  lix. 

on  a  couch  of  masonry,  and  wakes  to  find  the  fauns  have 
stolen  his  weapons. — Vatican  Library.3 

Room  of  the  Bronzes  and  Jewellery. 

This  is  a  most  interesting  chamber,  containing  a  great 
variety  of  articles  in  metal  from  the  tombs  of  Etruria. 

One  of  the  first  objects  that  strikes  you  on  entering  is 
a  couch  of  bronze,  with  a  raised  place  for  the  head,  and 
the  bottom  formed  of  a  lattice- work  of  thin  bars.  Though 
probably  just  such  a  couch  as  the  early  inhabitants  of 
Italy  were  wont  to  use,  it  served  as  a  bier,  for  it  was 
found  in  the  Regulini-Galassi  tomb  at  Cervetri,  and 
doubtless  once  bore  a  corpse.4 

Around  it  stand  four  or  five  tripods,  each  supporting  a 
huge  cauldron  of  bronze,  with  reliefs,  and  several  handles 
in  the  shape  of  dragons'  heads,  turned  inwards  to  the 
bowl.  These  were  all  found  in  the  same  tomb5 — indeed, 
the  most  interesting  articles  in  this  chamber  come  from 
that  celebrated  sepulchre. 

Six  large  circular  shields,  three  feet  in  diameter,  em- 
bossed with  reliefs — like  the  round  bucklers  of  the  heroic 
age,  the  aanrCbes  (zvkvkXol  of  Homer ;  four  smaller  ones, 
about  half  the  size,  decorated  with  a  sort  of  shell  in  the 
midst  of  three  panthers  ;  and  twelve  disks,  too  small  to 
have  served  any  purpose  but  ornament — now  hang  round 
the  walls  of  this  chamber,  and  were  found  in  the  same 
tomb,  where  the  smaller  ones  were  suspended  from  the 
walls  and  ceiling.6 

Observe  on  one  of  the  shelves  beneath  the  shields,  a 

3  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  XIII.  1.  flowers.     Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XVI.  .'!, 

4  See  Vol.  II.  p.  48.     It  is  about  6       9  ;  XVII. 

feet  long,  2  ft.  3  in.  wide,  and   about  5  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XV.  1,  XVI. 

1   foot  high,  standing  on   six  legs.     It  1 — 3. 

was  ornamented  with  embossed  reliefs  6  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XVIII — XX. 
of    men,    lions,    sphinxes,    dogs,    and 


chap,  lix.]  MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— BRONZES.  513 

singular  instrument  on  wheels,  having  a  deep  bowl  in  the 
centre,  just  like  a  modern  dripping-pan,  but  decorated 
with  reliefs  of  rampant  lions.  It  was  an  incense-burner, 
and  stood  by  the  side  of  the  bier  in  the  Regulini  sepulchre.7 
All  these  articles,  be  it  remembered,  are  to  be  regarded 
rather  as  Pelasgic  than  Etruscan. 

On  the  walls  hang  a  number  of  small  disks,  some  with 
the  head  of  the  horned  Bacchus,  others  with  that  of  a 
lion,  in  the  centre.  They  were  found  in  a  tomb  at 
Tarquinii,  and  are  supposed  to  have  adorned  the  coffers 
of  the  ceiling.8 

Among  the  shields  is  one  found  at  Bomarzo,  still 
retaining,  it  is  said,  its  lining  of  wood,  and  braces  of 
leather  ;  but  you  are  not  able  to  inspect  it  closely.9 

On  the  walls  also  hang  many  other  articles  of  armour, 
defensive  and  offensive — helmets,  cuirasses,  greaves,  shield- 
braces,  spears,  javelins,  arrow-heads, 
battle-axes.  Among  them  may  be  ob- 
served a  singular  visor  or  face-bit, 
shown  in  the  annexed  wood-cut ;  and 
a  long  curved  trumpet,  or  lituus,  the 
only  specimen  of  that  instrument  I 
remember  to  have  seen;  though  it  was  peculiarly  Etruscan.1 
Most  of  this  armour  is  from  Vulci. 

Among  these  weapons  are  half  a  dozen  more  peaceful 
instruments — fans,  or  the  handles  of  fans,  with  holes  for 
threads  or  wire  to  tie  in  feathers,  or  leaves.  Here,  too,  is 
a  hand  of  bronze,  studded  with  gold  nails — either  a 
gauntlet,  or  a  mere  votive  offering,  almost  too  attenuated 
for  the  former  ;  the  palm  seems  to  have  been  of  leather. 

7  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XV.  5,  6.  'A   plate   of  this   trumpet  is  given 

8  See  Vol.  I.  p.  357  ;  and  the  wood-  above,  at  page  380.     For  the   armour 
cut  at  p.  358.  see  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XXI. 

9  See  Vol.  I.  p.  2-24. 

VOL.  II.  LI. 


BRONZE    VISOR. 


514 


ROME. 


[chat.  lix. 


On  the  shelf  beneath  the  armoury  are  numerous 
candelabra,  of  elegant  form  and  fanciful  conception,  where 
all  kinds  of  animal  life  are  pressed  into  the  service  of  the 
toreutic  artists.  Two  specimens  of  this  beautiful  sepulchral 
furniture  are  given  in  the  annexed  cuts.2 


ETRUSCAN    CANDELABRA. 


3  See  also  the  woodcut  at  page  204. 
These  candelabra  vary  from  10  inches 
to  5  feet  in  height,  but  the  average  is 
between  3  and  4  feet.  They  invariably 
stand  on  three  legs,  either  of  men,  lions, 
horses,  stags,  dogs,  or  birds.  In  one 
case,  as  shown  in  the  cut,  the  tripod  is 
formed  by  the  bodies  of    three  human 


figures.  The  shafts  generally  rise  di- 
rectly from  the  base,  and  are  often 
fluted,  or  twisted,  or  knotted  like  the 
stem  of  a  tree,  but  a  figure  sometimes 
intervenes  as  in  the  above  cut.  It  was 
a  favourite  conceit  to  introduce  a  cat  or 
squirrel  chasing  a  bird  up  the  shaft, 
and  the  bowl  above  has  often  little  birds 


chap.  lix.]  MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— BRONZES.  515 

Near  the  bier  is  a  votive  statue  of  a  boy,  with  a  bulla 
round  his  neck.  He  has  lost  the  left  arm,  but  on  the 
shoulder  are  the  remains  of  an  Etruscan  inscription  in  four 
lines.  This  statue  was  found  at  Tarquinii,  and  is  supposed 
to  represent  Tages,  the  mysterious  boy-god,  who  sprung 
from  the  furrows  of  that  site.3  A  similar  boy,  with  a  bulla 
about  his  neck,  a  bird  in  his  hand,  and  an  inscription  on 
his  right  leg,  has  been  recently  brought  from  Perugia.4 

At  this  end  of  the  room  stands  a  bronze  statue  of  a 
warrior,  commonly  called  Mars,  rather  less  than  life,  found 
at  Todi  in  1835.  On  the  fringe  of  his  cuirass  is  an  inscrip- 
tion in  Etruscan  characters,  but  perhaps  in  the  Umbrian 
language.5 

Near  this  stand  two  tripods  ;  one  very  striking,  termi- 
nating below  in  lions'  paws,  resting  on  frogs,  and  decorated 
above  with  groups  of  fauns,  and  panthers  devouring  stags, 
alternating  with  human  figures,  in  one  case  Hercules  and 
Iolaus.6 

At  this  end  of  the  room  is  a  beautiful  cista,  or  casket,  of 
oval  form,  about  eighteen  inches  long.  The  handle  is  com- 
posed of  two  swans,  bearing  a  boy  and  girl  respectively,  who 
clasp  the  bird's  neck.     The  casket  is  decorated  with  reliefs 


around  it,  as  though  it  were  a  nest,  so  are  found  also  on  every  other  Etruscan 

that  the  whole  is  then  intended  to  re-  site.      Mus.    Greg.    I.    t;iv.    XLVIII — 

present   a    tree.     Sometimes  a  hoy  or  LV. 

monkey  is  climbing  the  shaft,  or  a  snake  a  Lanzi,  Sagg.  II.  tav.  XI.  5  ;  Micali, 

is  coiling  round  it.     It  often  terminates  Ant.  Pop.  Ital.  III.  p.  64,  tav.  XLIV  ; 

above,  not  in  a  bowl  but  in  a  number  of  Mus.  Greg.  I.  tav.  XLIIT.  4. 

branches  from  which  lamps  were  bus-  *  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XLIII.  5. 

pended,  and  in  the  midst  of  them  is  a  s  This  statue  was  found  among  the 

figure  of  a  deity  or  winged  genius,  of  ruins  of  a  temple  at  Todi,  the  ancient 

a  faun,  a  subulo  playing  his  double-pipes,  Tuder.     The   helmet   is   a   restoration, 

a  dancer  with  castanets  (see  the  cut  at  The  eyes  were  supplied  with  stones,  as 

page  204),  or,  it  may  be,  of  a  warrior  their  sockets   are   hollow.     Bull.  Inst, 

on  foot  or  horseback.     One  of  these  can-  1835,   p.    130;    1838,   p.     113.       Mus 

delalra  bears  an  Etruscan  inscription.  Greg.  I.  tav.  XLIV.  XLV. 

Most  of  them  are  from  Vulci,  but  they  °  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  LV1. 

LL2 


516  ROME.  [chap.  lix. 

— borders  of  flowers,  and  elegant  Greek  patterns,  and  the 
combat  of  Achilles  and  his  followers  with  Penthesilea  and 
her  Amazons.  The  beauty  and  spirit  of  these  figures 
recall  the  Phigaleian  marbles.  The  scene  is  repeated  three 
times  round  the  body  of  the  casket.  On  the  lid  are  four 
heads  amid  flowers.  Within  it  were  found  a  mirror,  two 
broken  combs  of  bone,  two  hair-pins,  an  ear-pick,  and  two 
small  glass  vessels  containing  rouge.  These  caskets  are 
very  rare,  not  more  than  two  or  three  dozen  having  been 
discovered  in  Italy.  They  are  found  principally  in  stone 
sarcophagi  at  Palestrina,  the  ancient  Praeneste,  in  Latium; 
but  this  one  from  a  tomb  at  Vulci  does  not  yield  in  beauty 
to  any  yet  known,  and  is  only  rivalled  by  that  in  the 
Jesuits'  Museum  at  Rome.7 

There  are  a  few  other  ciste,  but  of  inferior  beauty.  One, 
also  from  Vulci,  has  a  handle  formed  of  two  sea-horses ; 
and  winged  Scyllas  or  mermaids  at  the  setting  on  of  the 
feet.8  Another  has  its  handle  formed  of  two  youths 
wrestling,  and  its  reliefs  are  of  a  palrestric  character — men 
boxing  with  the  cestus,  or  being  anointed  for  the  contest. 
On  the  lid  are  marine  monsters.  In  this  were  found  three 
unguent-pots,  two  of  alabaster,  one  of  wood,  together  with 
a  broken  strigil.9 

On  stands  about  the  room  are  several  braziers  or 
censers,  about  two  feet  in  diameter,  resting  on  lions'  legs. 
On  them  still  lie  the  curious  tongs,  shovel,  and  poker, 


7  Mub.   Gregor.   I.  tav.  XL— XLII.  "  ciste  mistiche."    It  is,  however,  clear 

Illustrations  of  this  and   all   the  most  from  the  character  of  their   contents, 

beautiful  of  such  caskets  are  given  by  that  the  only  mysteries  attending  them 

Professor    Gerhard    in  his  Etruskische  were  those  of  the  female  bath  and  toilet. 

Spiegel.       Whether    from    the    doubt  There   is  one   of  these  caskets  in  the 

attaching  to  their  purpose,  or  owing  to  British  Museum,  bearing  the  subject  of 

the  idea  that  they  contained  the  para-  the  sacrifice  of  Polyxena. 
phernalia  of  sacrifices,  they  have  re-  s  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XXXVII.  4. 

ceived  from  the  Italians   the   name    of  9  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav   XXXVII.  1. 


chap,  lix.]  MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— BRONZES.  517 

or  rather  rake,  found  with  them.  The  tongs  are  on 
wheels,  and  terminate  in  serpents'  heads  ;  the  shovel's 
handle  ends  in  a  swan's  neck  ;    and  the  rake  in  a  human 

hand,   as  shown  in   the  annexed   wood-cut.      __ 

These  are  from  Vulci,  but  such  are  found      "_°:=::~'~1 
also  on  many  Etruscan  sites.1 

At  one  end  of  the  room  is  a  war-chariot — 
a  biga — not  of  Etruscan  antiquity,  but  Roman, 
found  many  years  since  at  Roma  Vecchia,  in 
the  Campagna,  six  miles  on  the  Appian  Way. 
The  body  alone  is  ancient — the  pole  and 
wheels  are  restored,  with  the  exception  of  the 
bronze  ornaments.2  By  its  side  is  a  colossal 
arm  of  bronze,  also  Roman,  of  the  time  of 
Trajan,  and  of  great  beauty  ;  and  the  tail  of 
a  huge  dolphin — both  found  in  the  sea  at 
Civita  Vecchia. 

On  the  shelves,  and  in  the  glass-cases  in 

FIRE  RAKE. 

the  corners  of  the  room  are  numerous  articles 
in  great  variety.  Creagrce,  or  grappling-irons,  with  six 
or  eight  prongs,  of  formidable  appearance,  and  myste- 
rious meaning,  but  probably  culinary  or  sacrificial  instru- 
ments, for  taking  up  and  turning  over  flesh.  One  with 
no  prongs,  but  similar  branches  of  metal  terminating  in 
serpents'  heads,  shows  that  they  may  sometimes  have 
served  other  purposes.3  Handles  of  cauldrons,  or,  it  may 
be,  of  wooden  furniture,  of  elegant  and  fanciful  forms 
and  rich  decorations,  often  with  figures  in  relief.4  Strigils 
— hair-pins,    ending   in  the   heads   of  rams    or    dogs,  a 


1  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XIV.  4  The  illustrations  given  in  the  Mus. 

2  Inghirami,   Mon.   Etrus.    VI.    tav.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  LVIII — LX.,  show  the 
U  5.  great   taste  and   elegant   fancy   of  the 

3  See  the  illustrations  at  page  435  of  Etruscans  in  this  branch  of  art. 
Vol.  I.,  and  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XLVII. 


518 


HOME. 


[chap.  lix. 


human  hand,  a  lotus-flower,  an  acorn — styli,  or  writing 
implements  —  ladles  of  various  forms  —  culenders  or 
strainers — cups — cauldrons — pails — vases  in  great  variety, 
some  of  uncouth,  clumsy  forms,  composed  of  plates  ham- 
mered into  shape,  and  nailed  together,  the  earliest  mode  of 
Etruscan  toreutics  ;  others  more  elegant,  yet  still  fantastic 
— human,  and  other  animal  forms,  being  tortured  to  the 
service  of  the  artist.5  A 
specimen  of  this  is  shown 
in  the  annexed  wood-cut 
of  a  jug,  in  the  form  of  a 
female  head,  with  an  acan- 
thus-leaf at  the  back  ;  and 
others  are  in  the  form  of 
bulls,  and  pigs,  which  do 
duty  as  hand-irons. 

Among  the  bronze  fig- 
ures, two  are  particularly 
worthy  of  notice.  One  is 
a  small  statue  of  Minerva, 
with  an  owl  on  the  back 
of  her  hand,  and  with  ves- 
tiges of  wings  on  her  shoul- 
ders, from  Orte.6  The 
other  is  an  Etruscan  arus- 
pej?,  in  a  woollen  tutidus, 
or  high  peaked  cap,  close 
tunic  without  sleeves,  and  a  loose  pallium  with  broad 
border,  fastened  on  the  breast  with  a,  fibula.  His  feet  and 
arms  are  bare.    On  his  left  thigh  is  an  Etruscan  inscription. 


BRONZK    EWFR. 


5  Mus.  Greg.  I.  tav.  I — IX.  Fortuna,  or  the  Etruscan  Nortia.     Got- 

6  This  is  a  representation,  said  to  be  theit.  d.   Etrask.  p.   61.  taf.  IV.   1  ;    c£ 
unique  in  metal.      Gerhard  takes  it  to  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XLIII.  1. 
represent  Minerva  in  her  character  of 


chap,  lix.]  MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— MIRRORS.  519 

This  is  very  curious,  as  exhibiting  the  peculiar  costume 
of  the  Etruscan  aruspew.  It  was  found  in  a  tomb  by 
the  banks  of  the  Tiber.7 

Certain  articles  on  the  walls  still  remain  to  be  described. 
Plates  of  bronze  with  reliefs,  the  decorations,  probably,  of 
long  perished  furniture.  A  vase,  like  a  powder-flask 
embossed,  with  moveable  handle,  is  remarkable  for  the 
site  of  its  discovery — Cosa.8  Paterce  with  handles,  some- 
times of  human  forms,  as  where  a  female  holds  a  mirror 
in  one  hand,  while  combing  her  hair  with  the  other  ;  or 
where  a  Juno,  half-draped,  supports  the  bowl  with  her 
upraised  wings.9 

Those  whose  patience  is  equal  to  their  curiosity,  will 
find  abundant  interest  in  the  specula,  or  mirrors,  which 
hang  on  the  walls  ;  but  as  the  figures  were  at  first  only 
lightly  graven  on  them,  and  as  the  bronze  is  often  much 
corroded,  it  is  not  always  easy  to  distinguish  the  subject, 
or  even  the  outlines,  of  the  decorations.  Some,  it  will  be 
observed,  retain  traces  of  gilding.  It  must  be  remem- 
bered that  it  was  not  the  concave  side,  on  which  the 
figures  are  drawn,  but  the  convex  that  was  used  as  a 
mirror.     Among  the  most  remarkable  are  : — 

One  with  figures  in  relief — Aurora  winged,  carrying 
the  body  of  her  son  Memnon.  She  might  well  be  taken 
for  the  Virgin  bearing  the  dead  Saviour  ;    she  has  even  a 


7  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XLIII.  2.  This  augurs,    but    Melchiorri    (Bull.    Inst. 

figure   is   illustrated  by   some    of    the  1839,  p.    122)   would   rather  attribute 

ancient   coins  of   Etruria,   which   bear  them  to  Luna,  on  account  of  the  cres- 

on  the  obverse  the  head  of  an  aruspex,  cent  stamp, 

in  a  precisely  similar  cap  ;  and  on  the  8  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  X. 

reverse  an  axe,  a  sacrificial  knife,  and  9  The  female   combing  her  hair    is 

two  crescents,  said  to  mark  its  value  as  copied  on  the  cover  of  this  work  ;  the 

a  semis.      Marchi    and     Tessieri,   Ms  patera  she  supports  has  been  exchanged 

Grave,   cl.    III.   tav.   2.      These   coins  for  a  speculum,  or  mirror.    Mus.  Gregor. 

have  been  referred  to  Fsesulte,  the  city  1.  tav.  XII.  XIII. 
where  there  was  a  college  of  Etruscan 


520  ROME.  [chap.  lix. 

halo  round  her  head  to  increase  the  resemblance. — From 
Vulci.1     These  relieved  mirrors  are  of  great  rarity. 

"  Chalchas,"  so  called  in  Etruscan  characters,  is  stand- 
ing at  an  altar,  inspecting  the  entrails  of  the  victim. 
—Vulci.2 

"Tinia,"  the  Etruscan  Jove,  grasping  two  sorts  of 
thunderbolts,  is  embraced  by  "Thethis"  (Thetis),  and 
"  Thesan  "  (Aurora),  both  winged,  as  usual  with  Etruscan 
divinities,  each  beseeching  him  in  favour  of  her  son  in  the 
coming  combat.  "  Menrva"  (Minerva)  stands  by,  and 
appears  to  remind  him  that  Memnon  is  doomed  by  fate. 
In  a  bad  and  careless  style  of  art.3 

"Pele"  (Peleus)  and  "Atlnta"  (Atalanta),  in  the 
wrestling-match.  He  is  naked,  but  she  has  a  cloth  round 
her  loins  ;  in  better  style  than  the  last, — Vulci.4 

Hercules,  here  called  "  Calanice,"  from  his  "  glorious 
victory,"  holds  the  apples  he  has  just  taken  from  "  Aril  " 
(Atlas),  who  bears  the  celestial  globe  on  his  shoulders. 
In  still  better  style. — Vulci.5 

"Nethuns"  (Neptune),  "Usil"  (Phoebus),  and"  Thesan" 
(Aurora).  In  a  good  style  of  art.  This  mirror  is  very 
bright,  and  might  still  almost  serve  its  original  purpose. 
— Vulci  or  Toscanella.6 

"  Turms  Aitas,"  or  the  infernal  Mercury,  supporting  a 

1  This  is  usually  styled  Aurora  and  the  chariot-race.  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav. 
Cephalus,  but  Dr.  Braun  with  more  XXXV.  1  ;  Gerhard,  Etrusk,  Spieg.  taf. 
probability  takes  the  corpse  for  that  of      CCXXIV. 

Memnon.     Mon.   Ined.   Inst.    III.   tav.  5  Etrusk.    Spieg.    taf.     CXXXVII  ; 

XXIII ;  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XXXVI.  1 ;  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XXXVI.  2. 

Abeken,  Mittelitalien,  taf.  VII.  6  It  has  been  doubted  if  the  name  of 

2  Gerhard,  Etrusk.  Spieg.  taf.  Neptune  be  "  Nethuns  "  or  '•'  Sethlns." 
CCXXIII ;  Mus.  Gregor. I.  tav.  XXIX.  1.  Sethlans    is    the    Etruscan    name    of 

;<  The  scene  is  curious,  but  the  art,  as  Vulcan  ;  but  the  figure  on  this  mirror 

in  many  of  these  mirrors,  is  bad.     Mus.  with  a  trident  must  be  the  god  of  the 

Gregor.  I.  tav.  XXXI.  1.  sea.     Etrusk.  Spieg.  taf.  LXXVI  ;  Mon. 

4  Her  cloth  is  marked  with  a  wheel,  Ined.  Inst.  II.  tav.  LX  ;  Mus.  Gregor.  I. 

supposed  to  be  the  sign  of  victory  in  tav.  XXIV. 


chap,  lix.]  MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— MIRRORS.  521 

soul,  called  "  Hinthial  (or  Phinthial)  Terasias,"  or  Tire- 
sias.  A  figure  sitting  by  with  drawn  sword  is  called 
"  Uthuie."— Vulci.7 

"Apul"  (Apollo),  "Menrva"  (Minerva),  "  Turan  ;' 
(Venus)  and  "Laran"  in  conversation  before  an  Ionic 
temple.     Very  bad  style. — Orte.8 

"  Tinia,"  "  Thurms,"  and  "  Thalna,"  or  Jupiter,  Mer- 
cury, and  Juno. — Vulci.9 

"  Hercle  "  crowned  by  a  winged  fate-goddess,  called 
"  Mean."  "  Vilae  "  (Iolaus)  sits  by.  In  better  style 
than  some  of  the  foregoing. — Vulci.1 

The  head  of  a  girl  on  one  of  these  mirrors  is  a  very 
unusual  subject. — Vulci.2 

Jove  on  his  throne,  with  his  sceptre  in  his  hand.  Mer- 
cury, with  the  infant  Bacchus,  is  dancing  before  him. 
—Orte.3 

Aurora  in  her  quadriga  drawn  by  winged  horses.  The 
grace  in  the  female  is  contrasted  with  the  spirit  of  the 
steeds. — Vulci.4 

Apollo  in  the  midst  of  three  Muses,  one  of  whom  is 
"Euturpa,"  and  a  faun  called  "Eris."  In  the  careless 
Etruscan  style. — Bomarzo.5 

The  meeting  of  Peleus  and  Thetis.  Phoebus  behind, 
rising  from  the  sea.  A  male  genius  and  some  female 
figures  looking  on.  In  a  good  style  of  art,  and  in  excel- 
lent preservation.     This  mirror  is  gilt. — Vulci.6 


7  Gerhard,  Etrusk.  Spieg.  taf.  CCXL;  '  Etrusk.   Spieg.   taf.   CXLII  ;  Mus. 
Gottheit.  d.  Etrusk.  taf.  VI.  1.  pp.  35,  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XXXII.  2. 

36.     Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XXXIII.  1;  2  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XXVI.  1. 

Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  II.  tav.  XXIX.     The  3  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XXXIV.  2. 

name  of  the  sitting  figure  is  by  some  4  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XXXV.  2. 

read  «  Uthuse  "  (Odysseus).  5  Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  II.  tav.  XXVIII.  ; 

8  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XXVIII.  1.  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XXV. 

9  Etrusk.    Spieg.   taf.    LXXV  ;  Mus.  6  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XXIII. 
Gresor.  I.  tav.  XXIX.  2. 


522 


ROME. 


[CHAP.   MX. 


The  cases  by  the  windows  contain  some  curious  relics. 
Coins — weights — small  bulls  and  other  figures  in  bronze, 
probably  votive  offerings — locks — handles  to  furniture — 
belt-clasps — iron  daggers — chain-bits,  jointed — articles  in 
bone  carved  with  reliefs.  Here  are  numerous  small  rude 
idols  or  lares  of  black  earthenware,  found  around  the  bier 
in  the  Regulini-Galassi  tomb  at  Cervetri.  Their  exceeding- 
rudeness  and  shapelessness  proclaim  their  high  antiquity. 
In  truth  they  must  be  considered  Pelasgic  rather  than 
Etruscan.7  Here  is  also  the  curious  bottle,  with  a  Pelasgic 
alphabet  and  spelling-lesson  scratched  on  it,  described  in  a 
previous  chapter  ;  8  and  another  conical  pot  with  a  hexa- 
meter couplet  painted  on  it,  in  the  same  mysterious 
language.9     Both  are  from  the  tombs  of  Cervetri. 

But  the  articles  which  perhaps  will  excite  most  general 
interest  are  a  pair  of  clogs — 
}^es,  a  pair  of  Etruscan  clogs, 
jointed,  which,  though  not  of 
the  form  most  approved  in  our 
days,  doubtless  stood  some 
Etruscan  fair  in  good  stead. 
They  are  formed  of  cases  of 
bronze,  filled  with  wood,  which, 
in  spite  of  its  great  antiquity, 
is  still  preserved  within  them. 
Thus  they  must  have  combined 
strength  with  lightness  ;  and  if 
clogs  be  a  test  of  civilisation, 
the  Italians  of  two  thousand 
years  since  were  considerably 
in  advance   of  "  the    leading    nation    of  Europe  "  in   the 


Fig.  1.  Fig.  2. 

ETRUSCAN    JOINTED    CLOGS. 


'  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  CIII.  see  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  CIII.  2. 

s  A    facsimile    of    the    inscription  is  n   [Tt  supra,  p.  55.     Mus.  Gregor.  II. 

given  at  p.  54.     For  the  form  of  the  pot       tav.  XCIX.  7. 


chap,  lix.]         MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— JEWELLERY.  523 

nineteenth  century,  whose  peasantry  clatters  along  in 
wooden  sabots.  These  clogs  were  found  in  a  tomb  at 
Vulci ;  and  they  are  not  the  sole  specimens  of  such  articles 
from  Etruscan  sepulchres.1 

After  all,  the  chief  glory  of  this  room,  if  not  of  the 
Museum,  is  the  revolving  cabinet  in  the  centre.  What 
food  for  astonishment  and  admiration  !  Here  is  a  jeweller's 
shop — all  glittering  with  precious  metals  and  stones,  with 
articles  in  great  variety — 

"  Infinite  riches  in  a  little  room  !  " 

and,  save  that  the  silver  is  dimmed  and  tarnished,  it  is  just 
such  a  stock  in  trade  as  an  Etruscan  Rundell  might  have 
displayed  three  thousand  years  since  !  Here  the  youth, 
the  fop,  the  warrior,  the  senator,  the  priest,  the  belle, 
might  all  suit  their  taste  for  decoration, — in  truth,  a  modern 
fair  one  need  not  disdain  to  heighten  her  charms  with 
these  relics  of  a  long  past  world.2  Can  Egypt,  Babylon, 
Greece,  Rome,  produce  jewellery  of  such  exquisite  taste 
and  workmanship,  or  even  in  so  great  abundance  as 
Etruria  1 

Your  astonishment  is  increased  when  you  hear  that  the 
greater  part  of  these  articles  were  the  produce  of  a  single 
tomb — that  celebrated  by  the  name  of  Regulini-Galassi,  at 
Cervetri ;  and  should  you  have  visited  that  gloomy  old 
sepulchre,  now  containing  nothing  but  slime  and  serpents, 
you  find  still  more  cause  for  wonderment  at  this  cabinet. 

1  In  fig.  1  is  shown  the  upper  part  of  2  Mrs.  Hamilton  Gray  states  that  "  a 
the  clog,  with  the  wood  in  the  two  cases,  few  winters  ago,  the  Princess  of  Canino 
and  the  hinge  uniting  them.  Fig.  2  appeared  at  some  of  the  ambassador's 
shows  the  metal  bottom  of  the  same  fetes  in  Rome,  with  a  pamre  of  Etrus- 
clog,  studded  with  nails.  Micali  gives  can  jewellery,  which  was  the  envy 
illustrations  of  another  pair  of  such  of  the  society,  and  excelled  the  chefs- 
clogs,  found  at  Vulci.  Mon.  Ined.  tav.  iVveuvres  of  Paris  or  Vienna,"  Sepul- 
XVII.  9.  They  are  now  in  the  posses-  chres  of  Etruria,  p.  272. 
sion  of  Dr.  Braun  of  Rome. 


524  HOME.  [chap.  lix. 

The  most  striking  object  is  a  large  breastplate,  embossed 
with  twelve  bands  of  figures — sphinxes,  goats,  pegasi, 
panthers,  deer,  and  winged  demons.  From  the  very 
archaic  character  of  the  adornments  it  might  have  hung  on 
the  breast  of  Aaron  himself.3  Next  is  a  remarkable  article, 
composed  of  two  oval  plates,  united  by  two  broad  bands, 
all  richly  embossed,  and  stuck  over  with  minute  figures  of 
ducks,  and  lions.  It  was  for  decorating  the  head  ;  the 
larger  plate  was  laid  on  the  crown,  and  the  rest  hung  down 
behind.4  Then  there  are  very  massive  gold  chains  and 
necklaces, — bracelets  of  broad  gold  plates,  embossed  to 
correspond  with  the  head-dress  and  breastplate, — earrings 
of  great  length  and  singular  forms, — numerous  fibula  or 
brooches,  in  filagree  work  of  extraordinary  delicacy.  All 
these  things,  together  with  many  of  the  rings,  and  frag- 
ments of  a  gold  garment,  were  found  in  a  chamber  of  the 
remarkable  Pelasgic  tomb  at  Cervetri, — most  of  them 
arranged  so  as  to  prove  that  when  there  deposited,  they 
decorated  a  human  body.5 

The  great  variety  of  necklaces,  brooches,  rings  for  the 
ears  and  fingers,  bailee,  buttons,  scarabcei  in  cornelian,  and 
such-like  "  bravery,"  from  Vulci  and  other  sites  in  Etruria,6 
would  require  an  abler  pen  than  mine,  and  more  knowledge 
of  such  matters,  to  do  it  justice.  The  fair  visitor  will  soon 
discover  more  excellencies  than  I  can  point  out.  But  I 
must  say  a  word  on  the  remarkable  collection  of  crowns 
or  chaplets,  which  will  excite  universal  admiration.     They 


3  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  LXXXII.  None  of  them  in  this  Museum,  though 
LXXXIII.  of   admirable  beauty,  rival    that  inimi- 

4  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  LXXXIV.  table  one  in  the  possession  of  Thomas 
LXXXV.  Blayds,    Esq.,     of     Englefield     Green, 

5  Ut  supra,  p.  50.  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  which  was  found  at  Vulci,  and  has 
tav.  LXVII.  LXXV — LXXVII.  heen  illustrated  by  Micali,  Mon.    Ined. 

6  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  LXVIII —  tav.  XXL;  or  that,  with  an  inscription, 
LXXIV.  LXXVIII — LXXXI.  One  of  in  the  possession  of  Cavalier  Campana 
these  fibulie  has  an  Etruscan  inscription.  of  Rome. 


chap,  lix.]         MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— JEWELLERY.  525 

are  all  in  imitation  of  garlands  of  leaves — oak,  laurel, 
myrtle,  or  ivy ;  and  so  truthfully  and  delicately  are  they 
wrought,  that  in  any  other  place  you  might  take  them  for 
specimens  of  electrotype  gilding  on  the  natural  articles. 
No  ornament  can  have  been  more  becoming  than  such 
chaplets  as  these  ;  though,  to  tell  the  truth,  it  was  not  so 
often  the  brow  of  beauty  as  the  battered  helm  of  the 
triumphant  warrior  that  they  were  made  to  encircle.  Most 
of  them  were  found  in  the  tombs  of  Vulci,  but  one  comes 
from  Ancona.7 

In  the  same  case  are  a  number  of  silver  cups,  bowls  and 
vases,  nearly  all  from  the  wonderful  tomb  of  Cervetri. 
Some  are  quite  plain  ;  others  highly  decorated  with  reliefs, 
in  severely  archaic  style,  of  military  processions  on  foot  and 
in  chariots  ;  wild  animals  contending,  or  devouring  their 
prey  ;  a  cow  and  calf  in  a  lotus-thicket ;  and  a  lion-hunt, 
where  the  beast  standing  on  the  body  of  one  of  his  foes,  is 
attacked  by  others  on  foot  and  horseback,  while  a  vulture 
hovers  over  him  in  expectation  of  her  prey.  All  these 
decorations  are  so  purely  Egyptian  that  they  might  be 
supposed  importations  from  the  banks  of  the  Nile.  Seve- 
ral of  the  plain  cups  have  the  inscription  "  Larthia,"  or 
"  Mi  Larthia  "  engraved  on  them  in  Etruscan  letters.8 

Chamber  of  Paintings. 
In   the   passage    leading   to    this    room    are    several 


7  For  illustrations  of  these  beautiful  first  who  imitated  leaves  in  gold  and 

wreaths    see    Mus.     Gregor.    I.     tav.  silver,  and  bestowed  such  crowns  on  the 

LXXXVI — XCI.     These  are  the  "  Co-  victors  in  his  games.      But  this  must 

Tonee    Etruscse  "    which    the    Romans  mean  that  Crassus  was  the  first  of  the 

borrowed    from    their    neighbours,    to  Romans,  who  was  guilty  of  such  extra va- 

decorate  heroes  in  their  triumphs.  Plin.  gance;  for  Pliny  speaks  of  these  Etrus- 

XXI.   4;    XXXIII.  4;    Appian.  Reb.  can  chaplets  of  gold  having  been  used 

Punic.    LXVI.  ;    Tertul.  de   Cor.    Mil.  in  triumphs  at  an  earlier  period. 

XIII.     Pliny  says  that  Crassus  was  the  "  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  LXII — LXVI. 


526  ROME.  [chap.  lix. 

sepulchral  monuments  in  stone,  bearing  Etruscan  inscrip- 
tions. One  is  in  the  shape  of  a  house  or  temple,  with 
a  moulded  door,  as  on  the  tombs  of  Castel  d'  Asso. 
Another,  a  cippus,  bears  the  name  of  "  Spurina"  in  the 
native  character  ;  the  name  of  the  haruspex,  be  it  remem- 
bered, who  warned  Caesar  of  the  ides  of  March.  On  the 
wall  hang  some  remarkable  reliefs  in  bronze,  found  at 
Bomarzo,  representing  sacrifices,  and  the  combat  of  the 
gods  with  the  giants,  in  a  very  rude  and  primitive  style 
of  art.9 

The  large  chamber  beyond  is  hung  with  paintings, 
copies  on  canvass  of  those  on  the  walls  of  the  tombs  of 
Tarquinii  and  Vulci,  and  duplicates  of  those  in  the  British 
Museum.  For  descriptions  I  must  refer  the  reader  to 
previous  chapters  ;  I  can  only  here  point  out,  for  his 
guidance,  the  order  in  which  the  paintings  are  arranged. 
Beginning  from  his  right  hand,  on  entering,  they  take  the 
following  order. 

Camera  del  Morto,  Tarquinii.1 

Grotta  delle  Bighe,  or  Grotta  Stackelberg,  Tarquinii.2 

Grotta  Querciola,  Tarquinii.3 

Grotta  delle  Iscrizioni,  Tarquinii.4 

Grotta  del  Triclinio,  or  Grotta  Marzi,  Tarquinii.5 

Grotta  del  Barone,  or  Grotta  del  Ministro,  Tarquinii.6 

The  painted  tomb  at  Vulci.7 

All  the  paintings  from  Tarquinii  are  still  to  be  seen 
on  that  site,  though  not  in  so  perfect  a  state  as  they 
are  here  represented.  But  the  tomb  of  Vulci  is  utterly 
destroyed.8 

9  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav.  XXXIX.  4—6.  s  Vol.  I.  pp.  288—298. 

1  Vol.  I.  pp.  298—302.  c  Vol.  I.  pp.  329—332. 

3  Vol.  I.  pp.  324—328.  '  Vol.  I.  pp.  409,  428—9. 

3  Vol.  I.  pp.  281 — 288.     Only  a  part  8  These  paintings  are  of  the  size  of 
of  the  scenes  in  this  tomb  is  shown.  the  original  frescoes,  and  not  incorrect 

4  Vol.  I.  pp.  338 — 343.  in  outline  ;  but  much  too   hard  in  the 


chap,  lix.]  MUSEO  GREGORIANO.— VARIETIES.  527 

Ranged  round  the  room  are  sundry  relics  in  stone  or 
pottery  —  weightier  matters  of  Etruscan  art.  A  flat 
circular  cippus,  like  a  millstone,  with  a  sepulchral  inscrip- 
tion round  its  edge.9  An  upright  sarcophagus,  like  a 
round  Ionic  temple,  and  with  an  inscription  on  the  archi- 
trave, which  recalls  the  fair  Tanaquil  — "  Eca  Suthi 
Thanchvilus  Masnial."1  The  base  to  a  statue,  bearing  a 
Latin  inscription,  of  the  date  of  305  or  306  after  Christ, 
found  at  Vulci,  and  interesting  as  determining  the  name 
of  the  city,  whose  cemetery  has  yielded  such  marvellous 
treasures.2  Two  steles  of  basalt,  with  Etruscan  inscrip- 
tions. Many  large  tall  jars,  of  red  or  brown  ware,  fluted, 
with  reliefs  in  a  very  archaic  style  ;  from  the  tombs  of 
Caere  and  Veii.3  Braziers  of  the  same  character,  with 
rows  of  figures  round  the  rim.  The  well-known  vase  of 
Triptolemus,  presented  to  the  Pope  by  Prince  Poniatowski. 
A  cinerary  pot  whose  lid  has  the  figure  of  a  horse  for  a 
handle. 

Chamber  of  the  Tomb. 

On  the  way  out  from  the  Bronze  Room,  you  pass 
through  a  small  chamber,  where  stands  a  tall  and  very 
singular  vase  of  bronze,  composed  of  two  bell-shaped  pots, 


colouring.      The  inscriptions  are  often  J  The     inscription     here,     however, 

inaccurate,  and  sometimes  omitted ;  and,  seems  from  the  termination  to  refer  to 

on  the  other  hand,  certain  parts  which  a  male  ;  for  the  first  part  of  it  see  Vol. 

are  now  deficient  in  the  originals,  are  I.  p.  242.     Mus.  Gregor.  I  tav.  CV.  3. 

here   supplied,   either    from    drawings  2  Mus.  Gregor.  I.  tav  CVI  2 
made  when  the  paintings  were  less  de- 
cayed, or  from  the  imagination  of  the 


D.N.  FLAVIO  .  VALE 


copier. 


It  must  be   remembered   that  RI°  •  SKVER0  ■  N0 


each  sheet  of  canvass  represents  a  sepa- 
rate wall  of  a  tomb. 

9  It  is  like  that  in  Campanari's  garden 
at  Toscanella,  shown  in  the  woodcut  at 
page  451  of  Vol.  I.  Mus.  Gregor.  I. 
tav.  CV.  2.  3  Mus.  Gregor.  II.  tav.  C 


BILISSIMO  . 
CAESARI  ORD 
ET  POPVLVS 
VVLCENTIVS 
D  .  N  .  M  .  Q  , 


528  ROME.  [chap.  i.ix. 

united  by  two  spheres,  and  covered  with  reliefs,  in  no  less 
than  eleven  bands,  of  animals — lions,  sphinxes,  griffons, 
bulls,  and  horses — chiefly  winged,  in  a  very  early  and 
severe  style  of  art.  It  was  found  in  the  Regulini-Galassi 
tomb,  at  Cervetri  ;  and  probably  served  as  a  fumigator.4 

Here  are  also  two  lions  in  netifro  from  Vulci,  one  on 
each  side  of  a  doorway.  Enter,  and  you  find  yourself 
in  a  small  dark  chamber  fitted  up  in  imitation  of  an 
Etruscan  tomb.  It  represents  one  of  the  most  ordinary 
class  of  sepulchres,  having  three  couches  of  rock  standing 
out  from  the  wall,  on  which  the  bodies  of  the  deceased  are 
supposed  to  have  lain,  surrounded  by  articles  of  pottery 
and  bronze,  which  are  also  suspended  from  the  walls 
of  the  chamber.  This  meagre  copy  of  an  Etruscan 
sepulchre  may  serve  to  excite,  but  ought  not  to  satisfy  the 
traveller's  curiosity. 


Museo  Campana. 


Little  inferior  to  the  Gregorian  Museum  in  interest  is 
the  collection  of  Etruscan  antiquities  in  the  possession 
of  the  Cavaliere  Campana,  at  the  Monte  di  Pieta  of 
Rome.  In  truth  in  some  points  the  public  collection 
cannot  rival  the  private.  To  gain  admission  an  introduc- 
tion to  the  Cavaliere  is  requisite,  and  he  will  appoint  a 
convenient  day  to  display  his  treasures. 

The  first  room  you  enter  is  a  small  cabinet,  containing 
a  great  number  and  variety  of  terra-cotta  figures — statuette, 
to  borrow  a  word  from  the  Italian — some  of  divinities, 
from  the  nine  great  gods  of  thunder  down  to  the  common 
herd   of  lares    and  manes ;    others,   votive   offerings,   so 

4  See  page  49.    In  form  it  is  very  like       without    the    props.      Mus.   Gregor.  I. 
the  pot  represented  at  page   58,  though       tav.  XI. 


chap,  lix.]  MUSEO  CAMPANA.— TERRA-COTTAS.  529 

common  in  Etruscan  sepulchres.  These,  however,  like 
everything  in  the  Cavaliere's  collection,  are  picked — Dii 
selecti,  so  to  speak,  though  not  all  are  the  great  rulers  of 
the  Etruscan  Olympus.  To  dwell  on  them  in  detail  would 
swell  my  page.  Two  are  especially  pointed  out  to  the 
English  visitor,  as  suggestive  of  his  own  adored  Penates 
— The  Duke,  and  his  facetious  rival,  Punch. 

Thence  you  pass  into  a  double  chamber,  whose  walls 
are  lined  with  the  exquisite  reliefs  in  terra-cotta,  which 
are  now  known  to  the  world  through  the  publications  of 
the  Cavaliere.5  As  they  are  of  Roman,  or  rather  of  Greek 
art,  the  fruit  of  excavations  on .  the  Appian  Way,  at 
Tusculum  and  other  Cistiberine  localities,  "  non  ragioniam 
di  loro."  Do  not,  however,  fail  to  notice  the  sly  satire  on 
the  sex  conveyed  in  certain  scenes  often  repeated — Helen 
in  a  chariot  borne  off  by  Paris  ;  and  again  brought  back 
by  Menelaus.  In  the  former  case  "  the  faire  Tyndarid 
lasse"  acts  a  passive  part,  and  leaves  the  reins  to  her 
lover ;  but  in  the  latter  she  invariably  takes  them  into  her 
own  hands,  and  suffers  her  liege  lord  to  stand  a  cipher 
behind  her. 

Ne  berza  riscaldata, 
Ne  moglie  ritornata, — 

neither  are  worth  having,  says  the  proverb.  The  son  of 
Atreus,  however,  thought  otherwise,  or  Troy  would  not 
have  fallen. 

In  these  rooms  are  some  of  the  best  specimens  of 
Etruscan  sepulchral  statuary  I  have  seen.  Ladies,  as 
large  as  life,  reclining  on  their  coffins,  decked  with  a  brave 
array  of  jewels,  with  garlands  of  flowers  on  their  heads, 
and  massive  torques  about  their  necks.  One  holds  a 
wreath ;  another  a  bird,  in  her  hand.     There  are  coffins 

6  Antiche  Opere  in  Plastica,  Roma,  1842. 
VOL.   II.  M  M 


530  ROME.  [chap.  lix. 

for  the  entire  body,  but  there  are  also  smaller  urns  for  the 
ashes,  with  toga-wrapt  figures  on  the  lids,  and  the  oft-told 
tales  of  the  Theban  Brothers,  and  Cadmus  combating  the 
teeth-sprung  warriors,  in  the  reliefs  below. 

The  most  beautiful  specimens  of  Etruscan  plastics  in 
these  rooms  are  the  terra-cotta  statues  of  women ;  one, 
whose  dress  is  pronounced  among  the  most  faithful  repre- 
sentations of  Etruscan  female  costume  extant  ;6  two 
others,  of  priestesses,  with  hands  raised  in  the  attitude  of 
prayer  ;  a  female  bust  ;  a  boy  with  an  apple  in  his  hand  ; 
and  an  infant  swaddled,  just  in  the  modern  Italian  fashion, 
save  that  its  feet  are  bare.7 

In  the  middle  of  this  room  is  a  most  singular  fumigator 
of  plain  ware,  about  eighteen  inches  high,  with  four  spouts 
or  chimneys,  set  round  with  two  heads  of  horses  and  four 
of  Gorgons,  which  mark  its  sepulchral  character.  It  has 
no  bottom,  and  must  have  been  placed  over  the  burning 
incense,  on  the  censer,  or  on  the  ground.8 

In  the  same  chamber  are  several  focolari,  or  braziers, 
with  reliefs  of  archaic  figures ;  one  still  containing  the 
charcoal  found  within  it.  Sundry  large  jars,  with  similar 
reliefs — the  usual  ware  of  Veii  and  Caere.  And  a  number 
of  earthenware  heads  from  the  same  sites,  painted  in  the 
Egyptian  style,  which  formed  antejixce  to  the  ridges  of 
tiles,  or  to  the  water-spouts  on  the  eaves  of  houses.  One 
of  them  shows  the  head  of  a  negro. 

The  next  room  is  that  of  the  Vases,  which  are  ranged 
around  it  on  shelves,  while  one,  a  choice  Vulcian  crater, 


f'  Micali,   Mon.   Ined.    p.     154,    tav.  mos  gentium  non  est.     Plin.  VII.  15  ; 

XXVI.  3.  cf.  Juven.  Sat.  XV.  139. 

7  There   is  a  similar  figure  in  the  8  A  head  of  terra-cotta  with  four  or 

Gregorian    Museum.       The  bodies    of  five   similar  chimneys  has  been  found 

infants  were  not  burnt  by  the  ancients,  at  Ruvo,  and  probably  served  the  same 

before  they  had  cut  their  teeth. — Homi-  purpose  as  this.      Ann.   Inst.   1839,  p. 

nem  priusquam   genito   dente   cremari  223  ;  Mon.  Ined.  Inst.  III.  tav.  VIII. 


chap,  lix.]  MUSEO  CAMPANA.— VASES.  531 

representing  Triptolemus  on  his  winged  car,  and  Ceres  by 
his  side,  stands  on  a  pedestal  in  the  centre.  The  collec- 
tion is  not  large,  but  choice,  as  regards  style,  subject,  and 
state  of  preservation.  Most  are  of  the  third  or  Perfect  Style, 
with  red  figures  on  a  black  ground  ;  but  there  are  a  few 
in  the  very  rare  and  early  Doric  style,  like  those  from 
Corinth,  and  with  inscriptions  ;  from  the  tombs  of  Cervetri. 
One  of  the  most  beautiful  in  this  collection  represents  the 
seduction  of  Danae,  and  her  committal  to  the  waves  with 
her  infant  Perseus,  by  order  of  her  father  Acrisius.9  One 
of  the  most  singular  is  a  crater  which  bears  three  figures 
"  of  infinite  humour " — caricatures  of  Jupiter  and  Juno 
scolding  Paris. 

But  the  king  of  storied  vases  in  this  collection  occupies 
the  centre  of  a  small  ante-chamber.  It  is  a  large  amphora, 
nearly  four  feet  high,  recording  the  myth  of  the  Golden 
Fleece  on  one  side,  and  the  Death  of  Hector  on  the  other. 
It  comes  from  Ruvo  in  Apulia,  and  serves  to  show  how  the 
pottery  of  Magna  Grsecia  differs  in  size,  shape,  and  design, 
from  that  of  Etruria.  In  the  same  chamber  are  rhyta,  or 
drinking-horns  of  rare  forms,  with  other  curiosities  in 
pottery  ;  among  which  notice  small  amphora  with  inscrip- 
tions in  Greek  characters,  but  in  an  unknown  tongue  ;  and 
a  pair  of  jugs,  one  with  the  head  of  a  man,  the  other  with 
that  of  a  female  garlanded  with  flowers,  just  beneath  the 
spout.    They  are  supposed  to  have  been  nuptial  presents. 

An  inner  room  contains  an  excellent  assortment  of 
Etruscan  glass  ware  of  variegated  hues  ;  besides  sundry 
large  cinerary  pots  covered  with  that  prismatic  coating 
which  glass  will  acquire  from  long  ages  of  interment.1 


9  Bull.  Inst.  1845.  pp.  214 — 8.  with  a  golden  hue  inside  had  been  filled 

1  Passeri  thought  this  colouring  was  with  balsam,  and  those  still  quite  pel- 
derived  from  the  milk  left  in  the  vessels  lucid  had  held  nothing  but  water.  Ache- 
at   the  annual  inferice,  and  that  those       ront.  p.  38,  ap.  Gori,  Mns.  Etrus.     But 

M  M  2 


532  ROME.  [chap.  lix. 

The  latter  are  mostly  Roman.  In  the  same  room  are 
heads  in  terra-cotta  ;  some,  portraits  of  Etruscan  females, 
show  their  characteristic  features,  and  various  fashions  of 
head-dress  ;  and  there  are  two  of  Greek  art,  from  Syracuse 
— one,  crowned  with  a  frontlet,  an  ideal  beauty  ;  the  other, 
a  Bacchante,  breathing  the  very  soul  of  voluptuousness. 

The  next  two  rooms  contain  the  choicest  treasures  of  the 
collection.  In  the  glass  cases  are  displayed  "  gems  rich 
and  rare,"  evidences  at  once  of  Etruscan  skill  and  luxury 
— necklaces,  chains,  bracelets,  rings  for  the  fingers  and 
ears,  and  such  "bravery"  as  most  delights  the  fair,  in 
quantity  enough  to  stock  a  jeweller's  shop,  and  in  work- 
manship far  transcending  the  produce  of  British  fingers ; 
rivalling,  say  those  knowing  in  such  matters,  the  filagree- 
work  of  Venice  or  Genoa,  or  even  that  of  China  and 
Trichinopoly.  And  in  truth  it  is  difficult  to  conceive  of 
anything  more  delicate  or  elegant  than  many  of  these 
ornaments.  Perhaps  the  most  remarkable  are  the  chaplets 
of  pure  gold  in  the  form  of  leaves — oak,  ivy,  myrtle,  or 
laurel — of  which  the  Cavaliere  possesses  a  choice  assort- 
ment, chiefly  from  Vulci.  There  are  three  torques  of  gold, 
like  those  of  the  ancient  Celts — of  very  rare  occurrence. 
One  chain  with  a  number  of  pendent  scarabcei,  also  from 
Vulci,  transcends  in  richness  everything  of  this  sort  I  have 
seen.2  There  are  many  other  scarabcei,  mostly  set  in  rings, 
too  numerous  to  specify.  Lamince  of  gold,  with  reliefs  in 
a  good  style  of  art, — elegant  frontlets,  like  semi-diadems  of 
the  same  metal,  also  embossed  with  reliefs, — and  not  a  few 
circlets,  which  served  as  stands  to  delicate  little  vases  of 


many  of  these  vessels  are  cinerary  urns  employed  in  the  excavations,  and  the 

and    probably    contained    nothing   but  Cavaliere   purchased    the   article  in  a 

the  ashes  of  the  dead.  mutilated  state  ;  but  the  missing  frag- 

2  A  portion  of  this  wonderful  chain  ment  also  found  its  way  into  his  hands, 

was  purloined  by  one  of  the  labourers  and  the  chain  is  now  complete. 


chap,  lix.]  MUSEO  CAMPANA.— JEWELLERY.  533 

blue  and  variegated  glass.3  But  the  most  marvellous  spe- 
cimens of  Etruscan  skill  in  metallurgy,  are  perhaps  shown 
in  two  circular  brooches,  a  little  head  of  the  horned 
Bacchus,  and  an  exquisite  fibula,  with  an  Etruscan  inscrip- 
tion,— all  of  wrought  gold ; 4  the  latter  rivalled  only  by 
that  imperial  one  in  the  possession  of  Thomas  Blayds,  Esq., 
of  Englefield  Green. 

Here  are  some  small  vases,  and  other  articles  in  silver  ; 
among  them  a  strigil,  unique  in  this  metal. 

In  articles  of  gold  and  jewellery  the  Etruscan  Museum 
of  the  Pontiff  is  even  surpassed  by  this  of  his  spirited 
subject. 

Here  are  a  few  of  the  tall  jars  with  reliefs,  and  several 
focolari,  or  braziers,  in  the  black  ware  of  Chiusi  and  its 
neighbourhood — the  most  ancient  and  genuine  pottery  of 
Etruria ;  together  with  specimens  of  the  black  jars  of 
Veii,  with  figures  scratched,  instead  of  in  relief. 

The  inner  room  contains  the  bronzes.  In  the  centre 
stands  an  "ash-chest"  of  that  metal,  similar  to  those  of 
stone,  but  not  decorated  with  reliefs.  The  recumbent 
figure  on  the  lid  wears  a  loose  torque  of  bronze.  It  is  the 
only  cinerary  urn  of  metal  yet  brought  to  light.  Within 
it  was  found,  among  the  ashes  of  the  deceased,  one  of  the 
broad  chaplets  of  gold  which  is  displayed  in  the  adjoining 
cabinet.  This  rare  monument  was  recently  discovered  at 
Perugia.5 

Here  is  a  bier  of  bronze,  composed  of  lattice-work — 


3  These  glass  vases  are  not  peculiar  nician  or  Egyptian.    See  Strabo,  XVI. 

to   Etruria.      They  are  found  also  in  p.    758.      In   Etruria   they   are  found 

ancient  tombs  in  the  East,  in  Egypt,  in  principally  at  Vulci  and  Toscanella. 

Greece,  and  her  colonies  in  Sicily  and  4  For  an  account  of  this  fibula,  and 

Italy.     The   estimation  in   which   they  other  jewellery   of  this  collection,  see 

were  held  is  shown  by  these  stands  of  Bull.  Inst.  1 846,  pp.  3,  et  seq. 

gold  ;  and  it  is  probable  they  were  of  5  Micali,  Mon.  Ined.  tav.  XXI.  I.  p. 

foreign  manufacture,  it  may  be  Phoe-  126. 


534  ROME.  [chap.  lix. 

almost  the  counterpart  of  that  from  the  great  tomb  of 
Caere,  now  in  the  Gregorian  Museum.  On  it  recline  the 
helmet,  cuirass,  greaves,  and  sword  of  its  quondam  occupier. 
Hard  by  is  a  helmet  with  deep  cheek-pieces,  adorned  with 
reliefs  of  wild-boars,  once  inlaid  with  silver ;  and  the 
casque  is  encircled  by  three  beautiful  chaplets  of  pure  gold, 
two  of  laurel  leaves  and  one  of  ivy,  fixed  on  with  golden 
studs.  You  fancy  this  to  be  some  elegant  caprice  of  the 
Cavaliere,  and  are  astonished  to  learn  that  the  helmet  was 
discovered  in  this  state  in  a  tomb  at  Vulci.6  Above  it 
hangs  one  of  the  largest  shields  ever  found,  four  feet  in 
diameter,  and  richly  embossed.7  It  is  one  of  a  number  of 
trophies — breastplates  (one  with  a  sword-thrust),  helms, 
greaves,  spears,  and  battle-axes,  "all  of  the  olden  time," 
which  adorn  the  room. 

There  are  two  beautiful  tripods,  one  with  the  Labours 
of  Hercules  ;  and  several  elegant  candelabra — one  sur- 
mounted by  an  Etruscan  warrior,  brandishing  his  spear. 
The  specula  are  not  numerous,  but  there  is  one  of  extraor- 
dinary size,  lustrous  as  if  of  polished  steel,  and  having 
some  figures  in  relief  on  the  back.  A  winged  Juno  forms 
the  handle.  There  are  some  bronze  figurine,  among 
which  a  little  Typhon  of  approved  ugliness,  bearded, 
horned,  and  winged,  with  legs  of  "snaky  twine,"  ending 
in  serpents'  heads ;  and  a  pair  of  demons  on  human  legs, 
all  from  Orte — are  the  most  remarkable. 

Not  the  least  charm  of  this  collection  is  the  exquisite 
taste  displayed  in  its  arrangement,  and  the  rare  courtesy 
with  which  the  gallant  owner  does  the  honours. 

6  One  of  the  golden  chaplets  of  myr-  7  In  the   centre   is   a  goddess  hold- 

tle-leaves,  in  the   Gregorian  Museum,  ing  two  2>crjasi,    each    mounted  by  a 

was  also  found  encircling  a  helmet  in  a  naked  boy. 
tomb  at  Vulci.     Bull.  Inst.  1836,  p.  169. 


chap,  ux.]  PRIVATE  COLLECTIONS  IN  ROME.  535 

Besides  these  two  Museums,  there  are  also  in  Rome 
other  smaller  collections  of  Etruscan  antiquities.  The 
Kircherian  Museum  is  rich  in  coins,  together  with  bronzes 
and  jewellery,  and  can  boast  a  superlative  cista  of  bronze, 
though  this  was  not  found  in  Etruria.  Chevalier  Kestner, 
the  Hanoverian  Minister,  possesses  many  Etruscan  trea- 
sures. The  Signori  Feoli  have  a  fine  collection  of  painted 
vases  from  their  excavations  at  Vulci.  Dr.  Emil  Braun, 
of  the  Archaeological  Institute,  has  also  some  vases  of 
extraordinary  beauty  and  remarkable  character ;  and 
besides  many  choice  relics  of  Etruscan  art,  boasts  of  the 
cabinet  of  Egyptian  articles  found  in  the  Isis-tomb  at 
Vulci,  and  formerly  in  the  possession  of  the  Prince  of 
Canino. 


BRONZE    BUST,    FROM    THE    ISIS-TOMB,    VULCI. 


* 


INDEX. 


A. 

Abbadia  all'  Isola,  ii.  137 

Abeken,  on  emplecton  masonry,  i.  108 ;  on  the 

Puntone  del  Castrato,  ii.  9 ;  on  the  tomb  of 

Porsena,  390 
Aborigines,  with  the  Pelasgi,  take  possession  of 

Etruria,   i.   xxxi ;    cemeteries  of  the,   353 ; 

ii.  320 
Achilles,  triumph  of,  i.  449;  on  vases,  ii.  115, 

505 ;  with  Ajax,  playing  at  dice,  i.  lxxx  ;  ii. 

499 ;  death  of,   500,   510 ;  pursuing  Troilus, 

116,  506;  combat  with  Penthesilea,  516 
Acquapendente,  erroneous  opinions  of,  i.  501 
Acsi,  tomb  of  the,  ii.  486 
Actaeon,  myth  of,  on  urns,  ii.  173,  493 
Acula,  i.  501 
Ad  Aquileia,  i.  501 
Ad  Baccanas,  i.  78 
Ad  Herculem,  ii.  85 
Ad  Novas,  ii.  413 
Ad  Turres,  ii.  75 

Admetus  and  Alcestis,  vase  of,  i.  lxxxix.,  xc. 
Adonis,  urn  of,  i.  450;  ii.  496 
Adria,  Etruscan  inscriptions  at,  i.  xxxv. ;  vases 

of,  xxxv.,  438 
iEgina,  painted  tomb  of,  i.  55  ;  temple  of  Jupiter 

at,  ii.  120 
JEneas,  scenes  of  his  deeds,  ii.  18 ;  on  Etruscan 

vases,  ii.  63 
jEquum  Faliscum,  i.  149,  161 
Ms  rude,  ii.  110 

JEsar,  Etruscan  for  God,  i.  xliv. ;  ii.  131 
Agger,  at  Veii,  i.  15 
Agylla,  see  Cjere,  and  Cervetri 
Aharna,  ii.  93 
Ainsley,  Mr.,  on  the  paintings  at  Tarquinii,  i. 

298  ;  discoveries  at  Sovana,  451,  482  ;  on  the 

tombs  of  Caere,  ii.  35,  38 ;  on  Castiglion  Ber- 

nardi,  214,  216 
Alabaster,  used  in  Etruscan  sculpture,  i.  lxxii. ; 

in  sarcophagi  at  Musignano,  439 ;  at  Caere, 

ii.  39;  in  urns  of  Volterra,  169 
Alabastra,   forms  of,  i.  c ;   imitation  of  Egyp- 
tian, 421 ;  painted  in  tombs,  ii.  45 
Alae  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  ii.  483 
Alatri,  postern  of,  ii.  122,  276 ;  bastion  of,  272 
Alba  Longa,  sepulchral  urns  of,  ii.  496 
Alban  lake,  prodigy  of,  i.  31 ;  Emissary  of,  lx., 

32 ;  ii.  496 ;  its  crater  extinct  for  ages,  496 
Mount,  temple  of,  i.  520;   hut-urns   of, 

lxvi.,  39;  ii.  495 
Albano,  tomb  at,  not  Etruscan,  but  in  imitation 

of,  i.  416 ;  its  analogy  to  the  tomb  of  Porsena, 

ii.  389 
Albegna,  ii.  261,  306  ;  vale  of  the,  311 
Alberese,  ii.  257 
Alberti,  his  description  of  Castro,  i.  466  ;  of  ruins 

called  Vetulonia,  ii.  226,  232 


Albinia,  ii.  261 

Algae,  ii.  3 

Alphabet,  Etruscan,  i.  xlvi. ;  inscribed  on  a  pot, 
225 ;  resembles  those  of  Lycia  and  Phrygia, 
xlvi. 

,  Greek,  on  the  walls  of  a  tomb  at  Thebes, 

ii.  138 

,  Pelasgic,  on  a  pot,  ii.  53,  522 ;  on  the 

walls  of  a  tomb,  137 

Alphia  or  Alphna,  i.  527 

Alsietinus,  Lacus,  i.  84 ;  ii.  70 

Alsium,  Pelasgic  origin  of,  ii.  69 ;  villas  at,  70 ; 
local  remains,  71;  necropolis,  73.    See  Palo 

Altar  of  iron,  ii.  49 

Alyattes,  tomb  of,  i.  353,  414;  extant  remains 
of,  415  ;  ii.  462  ;  analogy  to  the  tomb  of  Por- 
sena, 389 

Amber  in  tombs,  ii.  59,  72,  76 

Ambrosch,  Dr.,  on  Vetulonia,  ii.  216,  300 

Amphiaraus  and  Eriphyle,  on  Etruscan  urns,  ii. 
175 

Amphitheatres,  antiquity  of,  i.  96;  of  Sutri, 
hewn  in  the  rock,  94 ;  its  antiquity,  95  ;  deco- 
rations and  niches,  98 ;  recessed  seats,  99 — of 
Volsinii,  i.  511— of  Luna,  ii.  80— of  Florence, 
93— of  Volterra,  162— pretended  one  of  Vetu- 
lonia, 226— of  Kusellae,  252— of  Arezzo,  422 

Amphora,  form  of  the,  i.  xcv. 

Ancharia,  an  Etruscan  goddess,  ii.  132 

Anio,  i.  65 

Anitianae,  quarries  of,  i.  208;  similar  stone  from 
Manziana,  209 ;  not  at  Corneto,  363 ;  not  yet 
recognised,  514 

Annio  of  Viterbo,  his  forgeries,  i.  90,  190 

Ansedonia,  see  Cosa 

Anselmi,  Signor,  of  Viterbo,  i.  238 

Antefixse,  i.  493 ;  ii.  530 

Antella,  ii.  113 

Antemnae,  site  of,  i.  64 

Antoninus,  his  villa  at  Alsium,  ii,  70 ;  Itinerary 
of,  see  Itineraries 

Anubis-vase,  ii.  352 

Apennines,  i.  xxviii. ;  Etruscan  bronzes  and 
coins  found  on,  ii.  107,  112;  vase  from,  508 

Aphuna,  an  Etruscan  family,  ii.  341 

Apollo,  his  temple  on  Soracte,  i.  179, 181;  statue 
of,  on  the  Palatine,  lxix. ;  at  Piombino,  ii. 
220  ;  represented  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  478 ; 
on  the  Delphic  tripod,  501 ;  Musagetes,  505  ; 
and  Cassandra,  505 

Apul  or  Aplu,  Etruscan  names  of  Apollo,  i.  liii. ; 
on  a  mirror,  ii.  521 

Aquae  Apollinaris,  ii.  26 

CaBretes,  ii.  19,  26 

Passeris,  i.  202,  211,  244 

Tauri,  i.  501 ;  ii.  3 

Aqueduct  on  the  Ponte  dclla  Badia,  i.  400 

Aquenses,  i.  501 

Ara  della  Regina,  see  Taro.i'inii 


538 


INDEX. 


Ara  Mutia?,  i.  80 

Arch,  date  of  its  invention,  i.  lxiv. ;  ii.  47  ;  prac- 
tised by  the  Etruscans,  i.  lxiv.,  56,  200 ;  ii.  150, 
377,  441,  489  ;  found  in  connection  with  poly- 
gonal masonry  in  Greece  and  Asia  Minor,  i. 
lxiv. ;  ii.  275  ;  approximation  to  the  principle 
of,  i.  55  ;  ii.  447  ;  attempts  at,  i.  lxv.,  55  ;  ii. 
41,  46,  72,  129,  136,  451;  camber,  formed  by 
the  Etruscans,  ii.  377 

Architecture,  Etruscan,  i.  lxi. ;  imitated  by  the 
Romans,  131,  202  ;  painted,  362,  369,  491;  to 
be  learned  from  tombs,  i.  lxii. ;  ii.  41 

Arezzo,  inns  of,  ii.  418;  its  walls,  three  times 
destroyed,  430 ;  are  not  Etruscan,  421  ; 
Museo  Bacci,  424  ;  Museo  Pubblico,  425  ; 
Arezzo  not  the  site  of  the  Etruscan  city,  427  ; 
but  of  one  of  the  Roman  colonies,  431 ; 
discovery  of  ancient  walls  near,  427.  See 
Arretium 

Argonauts,  in  Etruria,  ii.  259 

Aril,  Etruscan  name  of  Atlas,  ii.  520 

Ariosto,  his  pictures  from  Etruscan  tombs,  i. 
308 

Arlena,  i.  462 

Arm-chairs  of  rock,  in  tombs,  ii.  34,  35,  59,  381 

Armenia,  pit-huts  of,  analogous  to  Etruscan 
tombs,  ii.  61 

Amine,  i.  398 

Arno,  ii.  85,  87,  93,  110 

Arpinum,  walls  of,  i.  107 

Arretium,  wine  of,  ii.  418 ;  history  of,  418 ; 
three  colonies  of,  420,  427  :  pottery  of,  100, 
422  ;  of  Roman  not  Etruscan  manufacture, 
423;  found  on  other  sites,  416,  424;  walls  of 
brick,  421 ;  coins  of,  424 ;  city  must  have 
stood  on  a  height,  and  not  at  Arezzo,  4,.7, 
430.    See  Arezzo 

Arretium  Fidens,  ii.  413,  420,  427,  431 

Julium,  ii.  420,  427,  431 

Arringatore,  or  Orator,  statue  of  the,  ii.  103 

Arsian  Wood,  i.  245,  377  ;  ii.  42 

Art,  Etruscan,  styles  of,  i.  lxviii ;  in  plastic 
works,  lxvii ;  on  mirrors,  lxxvi ;  in  painted 
tombs,  lxxvii ;  on  vases,  lixix. 

Artena,  site  of,  lost,  ii.  63 

Aruspex,  i.  32  ;  head  of,  on  coins,  ii.  81,  519; 
figure  of,  in  bronze,  518 

Ascolia,  game  of  the,  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  ii. 
370 

Asinalunga,  tombs  at,  ii.  416 

Aspendus,  theatre  of,  i.  208 

Assos,  reliefs  from,  i.  359 

Astrone,  tombs  near  the,  ii.  402,  405 

Athens,  size  of,  i.  19;  pavement  at,  ii.  121; 
vases  of,  i.  lxxxi.,  lxxxii.,  lxxxviii. 

Atreus,  Treasury  of,  i.  352  ;  ii.  160,  161 

Atria,  an  Etruscan  town,  i.  xxv.,  xxvi. ;  ii.  144  ; 
vases  of,  i.  xxxv.,  438 

Atrium,  in  Etruscan  houses,  i.  Lxii. ;  shown  in 
tombs,  ii.  32,  384,  393 

Augurs,  i.  312  ;  ii.  354 

Augury,  Etruscan  skill  in,  i.  xxxix. 

Aurora,  called  Thesan  by  the  Etruscans,  i.  liii. ; 
ii.  520  ;  mourning  over  her  son  Memnon, 
503 ;  carrying  his  corpse,  on  a  mirror, 
519 

Ausar,  ii.  87 

Aventine,  singular  tomb  on  the,  i.  361 

Avvolta,  Signor,  i.  279,  317,  349,  355;  Ms 
warrior-tomb,  353,  369 

Aztecs,  their  computation  of  time,  i.  lviii. 


B. 

Bade,  swaddled,  figure  of,  ii.  203,  530 ;    bodies 

not  burnt,  530 
Baccano,  lake  of,  i.  78,  84 ;  inn  of,  79 
Bacchic  rites  introduced  into  Etruria,  i.  297 


Bacchic  scenes  in  Etruscan  tombs,  i.  297,  300, 
340 ;  on  vases,  lxxxi.,  lxxxix ;  ii.  507 

Bacchus,  the  Etruscan,  i.  liii. ;  the  infernal,  53 

Bacchus  Hebon,  i.  358  ;  ii.  408,  443,  513 

Bacucco,  Le  Casacce  di,  i.  202 ;  site  of  Aqusa 
Passeris,  211 

Badiola,  ii.  291 

Baglioni,  Palazzo,  ii.  487 

Bagnarea,  i.  511,  525 

Bagni  di  Ferrata,  i.  501 ;  ii.  3 

di  Roselle,  ii.  247 

del  Sasso.ii.  19,  26 

di  Saturnia,  ii.  323 

delle  Serpi,  ruins  of,  i.  202 

di  Stigliano,  ii.  26 

Bagno  Secco,  at  Saturnia,  ii.  310 

Baldelli,  on  the  tombs  of  Cortona,  ii.  317,  449 

Balneum  Regis,  see  Bagnarea 

Banditaccia,  see  Cere 

Banqueting  couch,  of  rock,  i.  59,  272 

Banquets,  Etruscan,  on  walls  of  tombs,  i.  282, 
290,  335,  369;  ii.  36,  365,  370,  383;  in  the 
recumbent  figures  on  sarcophagi  and  urns, 
i.  444 ;  ii.  94,  472 ;  on  Etruscan  urns,  191 ; 
in  a  relief,  114,  339,  359;  on  vases,  509;  ex- 
pressive of  glorification  and  apotheosis,  i.  294, 
445  ;  ii.  367  ;  women  at,  i.  286,  293  ;  by  lamp- 
light, 284 ;  ii.  37  ;  Roman,  i.  287 

Barbers,  first  introduced  into  Italy,  i.  344 ;  ii.  114 

Bargagli,  Cav.  Etruscan  urns  of,  ii.  405 

Basilicata,  vases  of,  i.  lxxxiii. 

Bassanello,  i.  158 

Bassano,  i.  105  ;  in  the  Tiber-valley,  171,  172 

Baths,  ancient,  i.  230,  244,  274;  ii.  3,  19,  26, 
163,  225,  326 

Bath-scenes  on  vases,  ii.  509 

Beard,  not  a  test  of  the  antiquity  of  Etruscan 
monuments,  i.  344;  ii.  114 

Bebiana,  ii.  76 

Begbe,  the  nymph,  i.  lxi.,  447 ;  ii.  1 14 

Belmonte,  i.  80 

Benches  of  rock  in  tombs,  i.  54,  130,  223,  272; 
ii.  33,  51 

Beni  Hassan,  alphabetical  tomb  of,  ii.  138 

Bernardini,  Signor,  ii.  409 

Betham,  Sir  William,  i.  xxxvi. ;  his  compass,  ii. 
106,  346  ;  interpretation  of  Etruscan  inscrip- 
tions, 180,  464  ;  on  the  bilingual  inscription 
of  the  Grotta  Volunni,  answered  by  Vermig- 
lioli,  476 

Bettolle,  ii.  415 

Bieda,  the  ancient  Blera,  i.  260  ;  ancient 
bridges  at,  202,  265  ;  roads  sunk  in  the  rock, 
263;  necropolis,  261,  267,  269,  271;  Duke  of, 
264 

S.  Giovanni  di,  i.  272 

Biers  of  bronze,  ii.  48,  512,  533 

Biga,  in  painted  tombs,  i.  284,  325,  333  ;  buried 
with  the  dead,  369 

Biga,  Roman,  in  the  Gregorian  Museum,  ii. 
517 

Bilingual  inscription  in  the  Museo  Paolozzi, 
ii.  354;  in  the  Dcposito  de'  Dei,  371;  at 
Chianciano,  412 ;  at  Arezzo,  426 ;  in  the 
Grotta  Volunni,  475  ;  in  the  Gregorian 
Museum,  494 

Birds  in  the  hands  of  female  statues,  i.  423  ;  ii. 
371 

Birds  of  divination,  ii.  185,  420 

Bisentino,  isle  of,  i.  468,  515 

Blayds,  Mr.,  Etruscan  relief  in  his  possession, 
ii.  365;  his  extraordinary  fibula,  524,  533 

Blera,  sec  Bieda 

Boar-hunts  of  Etruria,  i.  284,  336 ;  ii.  88,  185 

Boar  of  Calydon,  on  Etruscan  urns  or  vases, 
ii.  90,96,  115,  493,  502 

Bolsena,  roads  to,  i.  501,  514;  not  the  site  of 
Volsinii,  507  ;  Roman  remains  at,  509—512  ; 
miracles  of,  512 ;  inn,  513.    See  Volsinii 


INDEX. 


539 


Bolsena,  Lake  of,  an  extinct  crater,  i.  514  ;  float- 
ing islands,  514 

Bomarzo,  accommodation  at,  i.  213 ;  Etruscan 
town  in  the  neighbourhood  of,  214 ;  its  name 
unknown,  216;  excavations  af,  216;  tombs 
of,  217—223  ;  reliefs  in  bronze  from,  ii.  526 

Bonaparte,  Lucien,  i.  405.  See  Canino,  Prince  of 

family,  i.  432,  436 

Bonarroti,  Etruscan  inscriptions  seen  by,  i.  85, 
156;  ii.  113 

Bonarroti,  Palazzo,  warrior  in,  ii.  107,  130,  202 

Bone,  Etruscan  articles  in,  ii.  205 

Books,  Etruscan  ritual,  i.  lvii. 

Borgo  Unto,  ii.  124 

Borselli,  Dr.  vases  of,  ii.  407 

Boucranion  an  architectural  ornament,  i.  137 

Boustrophedon  inscription,  in  Etruscan,  ii.  347 

Boxers  in  Etruscan  tombs,  i.  339  ;  ii.  364,  380  ; 
Etruscan,  exhibited  in  Home,  i.  95 

Bracciano,  not  the  site  of  Sabate,  i.  273 

Bracciano,  Lake  of,  i.  84,  273;  town  beneath  its 
waters,  274 

Braccio,  Tuscan,  its  agreement  with  ancient 
measures,  i.  88  ;  ii.  376,  449 

Braun,  Dr.  E.  possesses  Egyptian  articles  from 
Vulci,  i.  420,  436 ;  ii.  535 ;  his  opinion  of  the 
bronzes  of  Monte  Falterona,  110  ;  on  the 
Etruscan  Charun,  206 — 9 ;  on  a  relief  with 
the  device  of  Vetulonia,  303 ;  on  the  tomb  of 
Porsena,  390 ;  on  the  urns  of  Cetona,  402 ;  on 
the  vases  of  Etruria,  i.  lxxxviii ;  his  vase  of 
Admetus  and  Alcestis,  xc. 

Braziers,  ii.  516,  530 

Breast-garlands,  i.  365,  444 

Breastplate  of  gold,  ii.  50,  51,  524 

Bricks,  antiquity  of,  i.  16  ;  in  the  walls  of  Arre- 
tium,  ii.  421 

Brickwork,  imitation  of,  in  Grotta  Sergardi,  ii. 
451 

Bridges,  of  wood  and  stone,  i.  18 ;  natural,  398, 
478  ;  ruins  of,  130,  407  ;  at  Bieda,  262,  265  ; 
Roman,  84,  167  ;  ii.  261 ;  at  Santa  Marinella, 
7 ;  arched,  at  Xerokampo,  275 

British  Museum,  Etruscan  collection  in,  i.  458  ; 
copies  of  paintings  in  Etruscan  tombs,  290, 
291,  299,  302,  328, 343,  409, 428  ;  sarcophagus 
from  Bomarzo,  222,  227  ;  bronzes  from  M. 
Falterona,  ii.  112  ;  reliefs  from  Nineveh,  272 ; 
bronze  cista,  516 ;  vase  of  the  Hesperides,  i. 
lxxxiii. 
Bronze,  Etruscan  skill  in  working,  i.  lxix. 
Bronzes,  in  the  Museum  of  Florence,  ii.  104 ; 
of  Volterra,  204 ;  of  Cortona,  442  ;  of  Peru- 
gia, 464  ;  in  the  Gregorian  Museum,  512  ;  in 
the  Museo  Campana,  533  ;  from  the  Tyrol,  i. 

XXXV. 

Bronze  vases,  varieties  of,  ii.  518 

Brunn,  Dr.,  on  a  sarcophagus  of  Perugia,  ii. 

468 
Buccclli,  Palazzo,  relics  in,  ii.  413 
Bucci,  Signer,  excavations  of,  ii.  3 ;  his  shop  at 

Civita  Vecchia,  3 
Buche  delle  Fate,  at  Fiesole,  ii.  126 ;  at  Popu- 

lonia,  241 
Buche  de'  Saracini,  ii.  165 
Bulicame,  i.  230 
Bulls  with  human  heads,  ii.  408 
Bull-fights,  on  Etruscan  urns,  ii.  186 
Bunbury,  Mr.,  on  Etruscan  masonry,  i.  88 ;  on 

the  walls  of  Rusellae,  ii.  249 
Bunsen,    Chevalier,  on   Etruscan   mirrors,  i. 

lxxvi. ;  and  vases,  lxxx.,  lxxxix.,  426  ;  on  the 

tombs  of  Tarquinii,  328  ;  on  Volsinii,  508 
Burial  of  the  corpse  entire,  i.  39;  in  armour, 

54,  353,  417 
Burning  the  dead,  i.  39 ;  in  many  cases  coeval 

with  burial,  39,  56 
Bust  of  an  Etruscan  lady,  i.  423 
Bustum,  i.  419 


Buttresses,  in  city-walls,  ii.  428 
Byres'  work  on  the  tombs  of  Tarquinii,  i.  316, 
317,  322,  349,  360,  367 


Cabiri,  worship  of  the,  in  Etruria,  i.  liv. ;  ii. 
123,  149 

Cabiric  origin  of  the  Etruscan  Charun,  ii.  206, 
209 

Cadmus,  on  Etruscan  urns,  may  also  be  Jason, 
supposed  by  some  to  be  Echetlus,  ii.  174; 
most  common  on  urns  of  terra-cotta,  346 

Caecina,  an  Etruscan  family,  i.  511 ;  tombs  of 
the,  ii.  158,  159 ;  urns  of,  in  the  Museum  of 
Volterra,  199 

Csecina,  a  river  of  Etruria,  ii.  199,  213 

Caeles  Vibenna,  his  name  on  an  Etruscan  urn, 
ii.  373 

Cere,  produce  of,  ii.  20  ;  anciently  Agylla,  20 ; 
name  changed  to  Caere,  22 ;  history  of,  20 ; 
ancient  paintings  of,  mentioned  by  Pliny,  i. 
lxxvi. ;  ii.  22,  38 ;  in  alliance  with  Rome,  i.  1. ; 
ii.  24  ;  with  Etruscan  cities,  i.  377,  379 ;  privi- 
leges of,  ii.  24 ;  rebellion  punished  by  Rome,  25 ; 
baths  of,  26 ;  excavations  on  site  of  the  city,  26 ; 
local  remains,  29 ;  walls  of,  29 ;  La  Banditaccia, 
31  ;  Grotta  della  Sedia,  34 ;  del  Triclinio,  35 ; 
another  painted  tomb,  38 ;  Grotta  de'  Sarco- 
fagi,  39  ;  Grotta  dell'  Alcova,  40 ;  Tomb  of 
the  Tarquins,  41 ;  Grotta  Regulini-Galassi, 
45 ;  Monte  Abatone,  56 ;  Grotta  Campana, 
57;  Grotta  della  Sedia,  Monte  d'Oro,  59; 
Grotta  Torlonia,  60  ;  pottery  of,  62.  See  Cer- 

VETRI 

Caeritan  franchise,  ii.  25 

Cseritis  Amnis,  ii.  18 

Caina,  an  Etruscan  name  preserved,  ii.  458 

Calchas,  divining  from  entrails,  ii.  520 

Caldane,  ii.  225 

Caletra,  i.  473 ;  ii.  324 ;  placed  near  Magliano, 
ii.  29/,  324 

Calpis,  form  of  the,  i.  xcv. ;  ii.  490 

Camars,  the  ancient  name  of  Clusium,  ii.  327 

Camertes  of  Umbria,  ii.  328 

Camillus,  captures  Veil,  i.  9,  33 ;  cuniculus  of, 
10,  37,  38,  82,  118;  camp  of,  47;  rescues 
Sutrium,  91,  92;  captures  Nepi,  110,  113; 
besieges  Falerii,  142 ;  magnanimity,  143  ; 
triumph,  290 

Campagna,  delights  of  the,  i.  48,  65,  73,  153  ; 
contrast  of  its  condition  in  ancient  and 
modern  times,  21,  73 ;  shepherd  life  on  the, 
23 

Campagnano,  i.  80 

Campana,  Cavaliere,  his  tomb  atVeii,  i.  47—61 ; 
excavations,  410;  at  Caere,  ii.  35;  tomb  at 
Caere,  57 ;  his  collection  of  Etruscan  anti- 
quities, 528.    See  Museo  Campana 

Campanari,  his  excavations  at  Falleri,  i.  138  ; 
at  Bomarzo,  216;  at  Vulci,  408,  428;  at 
Toscanella,  456—8 ;  at  Ischia,  462  ;  at  Far- 
nese,  463 ;  at  Ponte  S.  Pietro,  474 ;  his  gar- 
den, 442 ;  tomb  in  it,  443 ;  the  family  of, 
441 

Campiglia,  ii.  225 ;  ruins  in  its  neighbourhood, 
229  ;  ancient  mines,  230  ;  Vecchia,  view  from, 
230 

Campo  Santo  of  Pisa,  Etruscan  urns  in,  ii.  89 

Camuscia,  inn  of,  ii.  435  ;  tomb  at,  449 

Candelabra,  Etruscan,  i.  lxx. ;  ii.  37,  204,  514  ; 
admired  by  the  Greeks,  i.  lxx. ;  vases  attached 
to,  ii.  37 

Candelori,  excavated  at  Vulci,  i.  408 

Canina,  on  the  invention  of  the  arch,  i.  lxv. ; 
on  the  amphitheatre  of  Sutri,  97 ;  on  em- 
plecton  masonry,  107  ;  on  the  Porta  di  Giove 
at  Falleri,  135;  on  the  walls  of  Falleri,  139; 


540 


INDEX. 


on  the  theatre  of  F£rento,  207 ;  on  the  site 
of  Graviscae,  394;   on  Pyrgi,  ii.   13,  10;  on 
the  Regulini-Galassi  tomb,  47 
Canino,    the  site  of  an  Etruscan  town,  i.  432 ; 
inn,  431,  432 

Monti  di,  i.  432 

Prince  of,  i.  405,  407  ;  his  excavations, 

408—411 
Canopi,  ii.  101 ;  in  the  Museo  Paolozzi,  356  ;  in 
the  Gabinetto,  Chiusi,  358 ;  at  Sarteano,  407  ; 
on  chairs,  34,  357  ;  their  antiquity,  357 
Canosa,  tomb  at,  like  Etruscan,  i.  270 
Cantharus,  form  of,  i.  xevii ;  sacred  to  Bacchus, 

xcvii. 
Capaneus,  struck  by  lightning,  on  urns,  ii.  176 
Capanne,  i.  22  ;  analogy  to  tombs,  ii.  61 
Capena,  history  of,  i.   173;  name  is  Etruscan, 
173;   site  difficult  of  access,   175;  local  re- 
mains, 184 

Capistrum,  i.  284 

Capitals  with  heads,  as  decorations,  i.  451,  491 ; 
ii.  202,  265 

Capital  of  Paris  and  Helen,  i.  429,  451 

Capitol,  temple  of  the,  built  by  the  Etruscans, 
i.  lxi. ;  its  connection  with  Etruria,  57,  403, 
510,  520 

Capranica,  i.  104 

Capraruola,  i.  85 

Caprium,  or  Coerium,  i.  505 

Capua,  built  by  the  Etruscans,  i.  xxv.,  xxvi. ; 
amphitheatre  of,  97 ;  vases  of,  sought  by 
the  Romans,  Ixxxiv.  356 

Carchesion,  form  of,  i.  xcviii.,  c. ;  ii.  402 

Carducci,  the  Canon,  ii.  359 

Careiae,  i.  77  ;  ii.  26 

Caria,  i.  xxxix. 

Caricatures,  Etruscan,  i.  219 ;  on  vases,  ii.  498, 
509,  531 

Carpentum,  ii.  196 

Cars,  Etruscan,  in  funeral  processions,  ii.  196 

Cars,  fumigating,  in  tombs,  i.  423 ;  ii.  49,  350 

Carthage,  alliance  of  Etruscans  with,  i.  lviii. ; 
ii.  23 ;  cromlechs  in  territory  of,  322 

Castanets  used  by  Etruscan  dancers,  i.  291,  332; 
painted  in  tombs,  ii.  45 

Castel  d'  Asso,  or  Castellaccio,  i.  229 ;  its  sepul- 
chres, 232  ;  inscriptions,  233,  242  ;  excava- 
tions, 236 ;  discovery  of,  238 ;  the  ancient 
town,  239 ;  probably  Castellum  Asia,  240  ; 
roads  to,  230,  461 ;  guide,  229 ;  fascinum  at, 
ii.  122 

Castel  Cardinale,  tomb  at,  i.  241 

Castel  Giubileo,  site  of  Fidenoe,  i.  66,  69 

Castel  Guido,  ii.  76 

Castel  di  Mariano,  bronzes  of,  ii.  465 

Castel  di  Santa  Elia,  i.  115 

Castel  Vetro,  relics  at,  i.  xxxv. 

Castellina  del  Chianti,  crypt  at,  ii.  129 

Castelnuovo,  ii.  213 

Castelnuovo  dell'  Abate,  tombs  at,  ii.  140 

Castellum  Amerinum,  i.  167  ;  not  Bassano,  but 
near  Orte,  171 

Castellum  Axia,  see  Castel  d'  Asso 

Castiglioncel  di  Trinoro,  tombs  at,  ii.  409 

Castiglione  Bernardi,  pretended  site  of  Vetulonia, 
ii.  214 

Castiglione  della  Pescaja,  ii.  245. 

Castles  of  Etruria,  ii.  217 

Castro,  destruction  of,  i.  464 ;  site,  465 ;  de- 
scribed by  Alberti,  466 ;  remains  at,  465,  467 

Castrum  Inui,  ii.  6,  10 

Castrum  Novum,  ii.  6;  confounded  with  Cas- 
trum Inui,  6 

Castula,  ii.  132 

Catacombs  in  Etruria,  i.  93 ;  ii.  122,  375 

Catania,  theatre  of,  i.  99 

Catherwood,  Mr.,  his  sketches  of  monuments  in 
the  territory  of  Carthage,  ii.  322 

Cava  della  Scaglia,  tombs  at,  ii.  3 


Cavaedium  displuviatum,  exemplified  in  Etrus- 
can tombs,  i.  257,  361 

Cecchetti,  Casa,  vault  in  the,  ii.  441 

Cefalu,  i.  270 

Ceilings,  coffered,  in  tombs,  i.  315  ;  ii.  363,  393, 
477 ;  decorated  with  fan  patterns,  i.  408 ;  ii. 
33,  57 

Ceisi,  tomb  of  the,  at  Perugia,  ii.  481 

Celebe,  form  of,  i.  xcvi. 

Celere,  i.  462 

Cemeteries,  Etruscan,  position  of,  i.  34  ;  ii.  56  ; 
of  the  Greeks,  i.  34  ;  of  the  aborigines  of  Italy, 
353 

Centaurs,  peculiarities  of  Etruscan,  ii.  184;  on 
Etruscan  urns,  343 

Centaur  in  a  painted  tomb,  ii.  297 

Centaurs  and  Lapithae,  on  Etruscan  urns,  ii.  173 

Centum  Cellae,  see  Civita  Vecchia 

Ceras,  form  of,  i.  xcix. 

Ceremony,  etymology  of,  ii.  25 

Ceres  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  i.  348 

Ceri,  ii.  27 

Cervetri,  ii.  19 ;  accommodation  at,  20 ; 
Cicerone,  20.  See  C^;re 

Cetona,  an  Etruscan  site,  ii.  401 ;  collection  of 
Cavaliere  Terrosi,  402 ;  Roman  statue  at,  404 ; 
roads  to,  401,  404 

Chaplets  in  Etruscan  tombs,  i.  291,  365 ;  Greek 
and  Roman,  365 

Chariot  of  bronze,  found  at  the  foot  of  a  preci- 
pice, i.  407 

Charon,  the  Etruscan,  i.  lvi.,  53,  310,  350  ;  ii. 
206 ;  origin  of,  206 ;  never  drawn  on  mirrors, 
208  ;  his  hammer,  i.  310 ;  ii.  208 ;  represented 
black,  i.  312 ;  his  wife  and  son,  312 ;  is  the 
Infernal  Mercury,  lvi.,  314 ;  ii.  207  ;  guardian 
in  a  tomb  at  Vulci,  i.  428 ;  ii.  208  ;  at  Chiusi, 
208,  375  ;  with  an  oar,  i.  437  ;  ii.  357  ;  in  bat- 
tle scenes,  97 ;  leading  souls  on  horseback, 
194 ;  tormenting  souls,  207 ;  his  appearance 
and  attributes,  195,  206  ;  his  attendants,  68, 
208  ;  the  Charon  of  Michel  Angelo,  208 

Charun,  so  called  on  Etruscan  monuments,  i. 
lxxxix.,  428  ;  ii.  179 

Cheeses  of  Etruria,  ii.  82 

Chest  of  Cypselus,  ii.  117,  176,  177,  184 

Chiana,  Val  di,  ii.  415  ;  Etruscan  tombs  in,  416 

Chianciano,  roads  to,  ii.  410,  412;  inns,  411; 
collection  of  Signor  Casuccini,  411 ;  origin  of 
the  name,  411 ;  tombs,  411 ;  bilingual  inscrip- 
tion, 412 

Chiaro  di  Chiusi,  ii.  375 

Children's  toys  in  sepulchres,  i.  418 ;  ii.  407 

Chimera,  Etruscan,  ii.  345 ;  figure  of,  in  bronze, 
103,  426 

Chimneys  in  tombs,  i.  123,  130,  361 

Chiusi,  atmosphere  of,  ii.  376;  roads  to,  i.  530; 
ii.  326  ;  inn,  331 ;  guide,  332 ;  Museo  Casuccini, 
335 ;  vases  in  the  Palazzo  Casuccini,  351 ; 
Museo  Paolozzi,  353  ;  Gabinetto,  357 ;  Ottieri 
collection,  359 ;  private  collections,  335,  359 ; 
the  bishop's  vases,  359,  384  ;  Tomba  del  Code 
Casuccini,  361  ;  Deposito  de'  Dei,  368  ;  De- 
posito  delle  Monache,  372  ;  Deposito  del  Gran 
Duca,  376  ;  Tomba  della  Scimia,  378 ;  Tomba 
d'Orfeo  e  d'Euridice,  383 ;  Tomba  del  Postino, 
or  di  Pomponini,  374 ;  Campo  degli  Orefici, 
375;  Tomb  of  the  Vigna  Grande,  378  ;  Poggio 
Gajella,  385.    See  Clushjm 

Church  hewn  in  the  rock,  i.  93 

of  S.  Pietro,  Toscanella,  i.  453 

Sta.  Maria,  i.  455 

Sta.  Cristina,  Bolsena,  i.  512,  513 

Cicero,  his  attachment  to  Volaterrae,  ii.  145, 156; 

defence  of  Arretium,  420 
Ciceroni,  their  blunders,  i.  5,  46  ;  ii.  128 
Cilnii,  family  of,  at  Arretium,  ii.  419 
Cilnii,  tomb  of,  at  Sovana,  i.  500  ;  at  Montaperti, 

ii.  139 


INDEX. 


541 


Ciminus,  Lacus,  i.  189;  legends  of,  190 

Ciminian  Mount,  i.  190  ;  forest,  170,  191 ;  pene- 
trated by  Fabius,  192 

Cinci,  Signor,  his  excavations  at  Volterra,  ii. 
157,  160,  168,  205 

Cincius,  an  ancient  antiquary,  i.  510 

Ciofi,  Signor,  ii.  359 

Cipollara,  tombs  at,  i.  461 

Cippi,  Etruscan,  ii.  115  ;  of  Chiusi,  i.  lxxi. ;  ii. 
338,  354 ;  like  millstones,  i.  448,  452  ;  ii.  527 ; 
analogy  to  the  tomb  of  Porsena,  389 

Roman,  i.  486 ;  ii.  3,  159 

Circus,  games  of  the,  introduced  into  Rome 
from  Etruria,  i.  95 

Circus,  on  Etruscan  monuments,  ii.  186 ;  pro- 
bably existed  in  Etruria,  187 

Circus  Maximus,  i.  95 

Cisra,  native  name  of  Caere,  ii.  22,  328 

Cispo,  in  monuments  of  Chiusi,  ii.  337,  338 

Ciste  of  bronze,  i.  426  ;  ii.  515;  of  pottery,  102 

Cities,  Etruscan,  position  of,  i.  xxx.,  201 ;  ii. 
248,  429;  square  form  of,  125,  251 ;  fortifica- 
tions, i.  xliii.,  17,  528  ;  had  three  temples,  i. 
10,  382,  520;  ii.  277  ;  change  of  names,  ii. 
215  ;  discovery  of,  i.  159,  238,  243,  474 ;  ii.  9, 
292,  323,  427 

Citta  la  Pieve,  ii.  326 

Civita  Castellana,  an  Etruscan  site,  i.  117; 
great  size  of  the  ancient  city,  119,  128;  erro- 
neously supposed  to  be  Veii,  128  ;  is  the  ancient 
Falerii,  128,  142,  144;  walls,  117,  119,  120; 
tombs,  118,  120,  125;  bridge  or  viaduct,  117, 
126;  inns,  127;  guide  at,  146.    SeeFALZKii. 

Civita  Vecchia,  an  ancient  port,  ii.  1 ;  Roman 
remains,  2,  517  ;  Etruscan  remains,  3 

Clan,  Etruscan  for  "son,"  i.  xliv.,  313 

Clanis,  change  of  its  course,  ii.  93,  415 

Claudius,  Emperor,  his  oration  on  the  Etruscans, 
ii.  373 ;  his  history  of  them  lost,  i.  xxiv. 

Cloaca  Maxima,  i.  lis. ;  date  of  the,  lxiv. ;  ii.  47. 

Clogs,  Etruscan,  of  bronze,  ii.  522 

Clusina  Palus,  ii.  415 

CixsruM,  one  of  the  Twelve,  ii.  327  ;  coins  of, 
327 ;  of  Umbrian  origin,  328,  374  ;  history  of, 
329 ;  ancient  walls,  332  ;  local  remains,  333 ; 
subterranean  passages,  334  ;  black  ware  of, 
L  438 ;  ii.  101,  347  ;  painted  vases,  350 ;  necro- 
polis of,  360—400;  scarabcei,  375  ;  catacombs, 
375 ;  Etruscan  families  of,  384 ;  tomb  of 
Porsena,  385 ;  Clusium  Novum,  331.  See 
Chiusi 

Cluver,  on  Castro,  i.  466 ;  on  Valentano,  468 

Clytemnestra,  death  of,  on  Etruscan  urns,  ii.  97, 
179 ;  on  a  sarcophagus,  494 

Cock,  a  sepulchral  emblem,  ii.  348 

Cock-fights,  on  a  vase,  ii.  511 

Cognomina,  not  used  by  the  Etruscans,  ii.  426, 
476 

Coins  of  Pisae,  ii.  89;  of  Luna,  81 ;  of  Feesulae, 
131;  of  Volaterrae,  204;  of  Populonia,  213; 
of  Telamon,  260 ;  of  Yetulonia,  302 ;  of  Clu- 
sium,  327 ;  of  Cortona,  439 ;  of  Volsinii,  i.  503 ; 
attributed  to  Graviscae,  388;  toCosa,ii.  289; 
to  Arretium,  424 ;  to  Perugia,  466 ;  to  Fae- 
sulse,  519 ;  to  Luna,  81,  519. 

Coins,  Etruscan,  found  on  the  Apennines,  ii. 
112 

Colle,  alphabetical  tomb  of,  ii.  137 

Colle  di  Lupo,  ii.  297 

Colli  Tufarini,  tee  Monteroni 

Colonna  di  Buriano,  supposed  site  of  the  battle 

of  Telamon,  ii.  246 
Colours  in  Etruscan  paintings,  i.  288,  331 ;  ii. 
38 ;  brilliancy  of,  i.,  289,  297,  330 ;    Kuspi's 
opinion,   285,  297,  298 ;  mode  of  laving  on, 
298  ;  ii.  38  ;  conventionality,  i.  326,  331 
Columbaria,  in  the  cliffs,  i.  12,  38,  80,  101,  155, 

167,  455,  465,  473,  478,  496,  509 
Columella?,  phallic,  ii.  462 


Combats,  represented  in  tombs,  i.  318 ;  on  urns, 
why  introduced,  ii.  343,  344 

Compass,  Etruscan,  pretended,  ii.  105,  346 

Cone,  sepulchral,  of  rock,  i.  202,  240,  271,  351 

Connubial  scenes,  i.  282,  439  ;  ii.  343,  485 

Constructive  necessity,  doctrine  of,  ii.  282 ;  upset 
by  facts,  286,  319 

Conventionalities,  in  colour,  i.  326,  331 ;  of  early 
Etruscan  art,  lxviii. 

Corchiano,  an  Etruscan  site,  i.  155 ;  local  re- 
mains, 155 ;  name  probably  Etruscan,  156 ; 
accommodation  at,  157 

Corinth,  vases  of,  i.  356,  357 ;  sought  by  the 
Romans,  lxxxiv. ;  like  some  found  in  Etrus- 
can tombs,  ii.  63,  531 

Coeneto,  Queen  of  the  Maremma,  i.  276  ;  inns, 
277;  antiquity  doubtful,  278;  remains  at, 
279 ;  cicerone,  280 ;  caverns,  363  ;  road  from 
Vetralla,  275 ;  from  Vulci,  397 ;  from  Toscan- 
ella,  461 ;  from  Civita  Vecchia,  ii.  3.  See 
Tarqvinii 

Cornia,  ii.  225 

Cornicen,  Etruscan,  i.  312 

Corsica,  possessed  by  the  Etruscans,  i.  xxv. ; 
colonises  Populonia,  ii.  236 

Cortona,  ii.  432  ;  ancient  legends  of  its  origin, 
433 ;  Umbrian  and  Pelasgic,  438 ;  the  inn, 
435 ;  ancient  walls,  436 ;  probably  Pelasgic, 
437  ;  gates,  436  ;  different  names  of  Cortona, 
438 ;  coins  of,  439 ;  a  second  metropolis  of 
Etruria,  439 ;  local  remains,  440  ;  its  Academy 
and  Museum,  441 ;  wonderful  lamp,  442  ;  col- 
lections of  antiquities,  445  ;  necropolis,  445 ; 
Tanella  di  Pitagora,  446 ;  cromlech-tombs, 
449 ;  Grotta  Sergardi,  449 

Cortuosa,  i.  276  ;  and  Contenebra,  279,  378 

Corybantes,  i.  295,  348 

Corythus,  original  name  of  Cortona,  ii.  433 

Cosa,  in  the  territory  of  Vulci,  i.  403  ;  and  not  a 
colony  of,  ii.  287;  site  of,  269,  270;  road 
to,  270;  guide,  270;  walls,  271;  towers,  272  ; 
gates,  274 ;  peculiarities  of  its  fortifications, 
272  ;  by  whom  built,  279;  Etruscan  antiquity 
of,  maintained,  286,  288 ;  probable  ancient 
name,  287  ;  history,  289 ;  coins  ascribed  to, 
289 ;  flask  found  there,  519 

Cosmogony  of  the  Etruscans  very  like  the 
Mosaic,  i.  xxxvi. 

Costume,  Etruscan,  i.  283,  292,  325,  333,  341  ; 
ii.  103 

Cotyliskos,  form  of,  i.  c. 

Couches  of  rock  in  tombs,  i.  59 ;  ii.  40,  58, 
393 

Couch,  drapery  of,  i.  293 ;  ii.  37 

Coverlets,  i.  283,  286,  293  ;  ii.  37 

Cramps  in  masonry,  ii.  120 

Crater,  form  of,  i.  xcvi. 

Creagra?,  see  Flesh-hooks 

Cremera,  i.  8,  42,  43 

Creston,  name  of  Cortona,  ii.  439 

Cromlechs,  in  Etruria,  ii.  316,  449;  by  whom 
formed,  317,  320 ;  not  proper  to  one  race,  321 ; 
wide  diffusion  of,  321 

Croton,  name  of  Cortona,  ii.  438,  439 

Crowns,  Etruscan,  of  gold,  i.  £66;  ii.  525  ;  found 
in  tombs,  i.  354,  369;  ii.  375,  532;  found  in 
an  urn,  533 ;  on  a  helmet,  534. 

Cucumella,  tumulus  of  the,  i.  399, 413 ;  its  towers, 
413;  contents,  414 ;  analogy  to  the  tomb  of  Por- 
sena, ii.  389 

Cucumelletta,  i.  416 

Cumere,  family  of,  ii.  406 

Cuniculus  of  Camillus,  see  Camillus 

in  tombs,  i.,  455  ;  ii.  396 

Cupid  and  Psyche,  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  i.  321 ; 
on  an  urn,  u.  172 

Cupra,  the  Etruscan  Juno,  i.  Ii.  Hi. ;  an  Etrus- 
can town,  xxvi. 

Curling-irons,  Etruscan,  ii.  487 


542 


INDEX. 


Curulc-chairs,  of  Etruscan  origin,  ii.  187 ;  in 
tombs  of  Cervetri,  34,  59 ;  of  Chiusi,  381 

Cyathua,  form  of  the,  i.  xcvii. ;  ii.  507 

Cybele,  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  i.  348 

Cyclopean  walls,  described  by  Pausanias,  ii.  248, 
280;— cities,  121,  123,  271;— application  of 
the  term,  281 

Cylix,  form  of  the,  i.  xcviii ;  397 


D. 

Danae,  myth  of,  on  a  vase,  ii.  531 
Dances,  Etruscan,  on  the  walls  of  tombs,  i.  283, 
291,  300,  325,  332 ;  ii.  364,  366,  383  ;  religious, 
i.  295 ;  Bacchic,  300,  340  ;  armed,  ii.  364 
Dancing,  philosophy  of,  i.  295 

Dardanus,  founder  of  Cortona,  ii.  433 
Dead,  crowned,  i.  367 

Death-bed  scenes,  in  a  painted  tomb,  i.  299 ;  on 
cippi  of  Chiusi,  ii.  340,  353 ;  of  Perugia,  462 ; 
on  urns,  90,  192,  358,  408 

Dedication  of  the  instruments  of  one's  craft, 
i.  249 

Dei,  Don  Luigi,  ii.  297,  359 

Delphi,  oracle  of,  consulted  by  the  Etruscans, 
i.  31 ;  ii.  23 ;  treasure  at,  dedicated  by  the 
Etruscans,  21 

Demaratus,  legend  of,  i.  357,  375 

Demons,  good  and  evil,  i.  319 ;  ii.  67  ;  distin- 
guished by  colour,  i.  319;  by  attributes  and 
expression,  ii.  195 ;  contending  for  a  soul,  i. 
320 ;  tormenting  souls,  320,  348 ;  conducting 
souls,  309,  362  ;  guarding  the  gate  of  Hades, 
321  ;  ii.  91 ;  in  combats,  345 ;  as  guardian 
spirits,  372  ;  their  sex,  i.  321 ;  ii.  196;  Etruscan 
generally  female,  i.  321;  ii.  67;  not  introduced 
on  earlier  monuments,  i.  345.    See  Genii 

Dempster  on  the  Twelve  Cities,  i.  xxix. ;  on 
the  Arsian  wood,  i.  245 

Depilatories,  used  by  the  Etruscans,  i.  345 

Desiderio,  King,  forged  decree  of,  i.  195,  197 

Desideri,  family,  ii.  235 

Design,  Etruscan,  i.  lxvii.,  lxviii.,  292 ;  ii.  367  ; 
attitudes  often  unnatural,  i.  292 ;  knowledge 
of  anatomy  displayed  in,  337 

Designatores,  officers  attached  to  theatres,  i.  98 

De  Wit,  Signor,  ii.  265 

Diamicton  masonry,  i.  107 

Diana,  Etruscan,  i.  liv;  winged,  ii.  117,  173 

Dianium,  ii.  278 

Diatoni,  i.  107 

Dice,  used  by  the  Etruscans,  i.  338 ;  Lydian 
invention  of,  xxxiii.,  339  ;  Achilles  and  Ajax 
playing  at,  ii.  499 ;  found  in  tombs,  205 

Dicaearchia,  i.  xxvi. 

Dii  Consentes  or  Complices,  i.  Ii. 

—  Involuti  or  Superiores,  i.  lii. 

Dionysius  of  Halicarnassus,  on  the  origin  of  the 
Etruscans,  i.  xxxiii. 

Dionysius  of  Syracuse  spoils  Pyrgi,  ii.  14,  25 

Dioscuri,  the,  worshipped  by  the  Etruscans,  i. 
liv. ;  on  monuments,  ii.  96,  500 

Dirce,  myth  of,  on  an  Etruscan  urn,  ii.  403 

Discobolus,  in  Etruscan  scenes,  ii.  369 

Discs  of  bronze,  i.,  357  ;  ii.  512,  513 

Divination,  Etruscan,  duration  of  i.  xl. ;  by  the 
effects  of  lightning,  i.  xxxix. ;  by  the  feeding 
of  fowls,  ii.  420 

Dodwell  vase,  the,  ii.  63 

Dog  buried  with  his  master,  i.  418 

Dog-faced  men  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  ii.  371 

Dogs,  ancient  mode  of  quieting,  ii.  234 

Dolphin,  an  Etruscan  symbol,  i.  220  ;  ii.  205  ; 
in  relief  in  a  tomb,  478 

Domed  sepulchres,  ii.  160 

Doors,  Etruscan,  still  working,  ii.  362,  378 ; 
similar,  unhinged,  377  ;  moulded,  i.  233,  270, 
408,  412 ;  false,  painted,  338 


Doric,  Etruscan,  i.  251,  270, 487 ;  ii.  31,  57 

Doric  pottery,  i.  357,  359  ;  ii.  63,  531 

Drapery,  mode  of  representing,  i.  292 

Dreams  in  Italy,  ii.  374 

Dualistic  principle,  i.  xl. 

Dumb-bells  used  by  Etruscans,  ii.  365,  369,  383 

Dwarfs  in  Etruscan  paintings,  ii.  371,  380 


E. 
Eba,  i.  473 

Ecasuthi,  an  Etruscan  formula,  i.  500 
Eeasuthinesl,  i.  242,  443 
Echetlus  on  Etruscan  urns,  see  Cadmus 
Echidna  on  Etruscan  monuments,  ii.  183 
Eggs,  found  in  tombs,  i.  166,  420 ;  ii.  72,  102  ; 

of  ostriches,  painted  and  carved,  i.  420 
Egypt,  analogy  of  its  art  to  that  of  Etruria, 

i.  lxvii.,  53,  233,  247,  300,  331,  338,  339,  408 ; 

ii.  48,   62,  202 ;    analogies    in  its  tombs,    i. 

233,  247,  489  ;  ii.  38,  72 
Egvptian  articles,   in  Etruscan  tombs,   i.  419, 

421;   ii.  8,  59,   72,  442;  cabinet  of,  i.  420; 

ii.  535 ;  Etruscan  imitation  of,  i.  420  ;  ii.  48, 

51,  525 
Elba,  possessed  by  the  Etruscans,  i.  xxv. ;  ii.  143, 

240 ;  iron  of,  237,  240 ;  antiquities  of,  240 
Elephant,  painted  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  i.  348 
Emissaries  formed  by  the  Etruscans,  i.  lx. ;  of 

the  Albanlake,  i.  32 ;  of  Lago  di  Baccano,  78 
Emplecton  masonry  described,  i.  87,  106  ;  in- 
stances of,  110,  117,  125,  134,  264,  401,  473, 

486;  ii.  41,  59 
Ephesus,  stadium  of,  i.  97 
Eretum,  battle  of,  i.  181 
Etruria,  extent  of,  i.  xxiv. 

Circumpadana,  i.  xxxiv.,  xxvi. 

Campaniana,  i.  xxvi. 

Proper,  xxvii. ;  north-west  frontier,  ii. 

78 ;  geological  features,  i.  xxviii.;  Twelve  cities 
of,  xxviii. ;  fertility  of,  xxix. ;  earliest  inha- 
bitants of,  xxxi. ;  pretended  etymology  of, 
xxxi. ;  great  plain  of,  i.  192,  231,  246 ;  infe- 
rior to  Greece  in  civilisation,  i.  xlviii. ; 
chronicles  of,  xxiii.,  xxiv.;  her  influence  on 
modern  Europe,  xcii. 

Etruscan,  Confederation,  i.  xlvi. ;  era,  i.  xxxii. ; 
monuments  found  in  the  Tyrol,  xxxiv. ;  cos- 
mogony, xxxvi. ;  divination,  xxxix. ;  disci- 
pline, lv.,  32, 373;  augury,  xxxix.;  thunder- 
calendar,  xxxix. ;  language,  xliii. ;  traces  of 
it  in  the  Tyrol,  xlv. ;  alphabet,  xlvi ;  words 
recorded  by  ancient  writers,  xliv. ;  system  of 
government,  xxxix.,  xlvi.;  feudal  system, 
xlvii. ;  slavery,  xlviii. ;  insignia  of  authority, 
26,  376 ;  religion,  character  of,  xlviii.,  345 ; 
mythology,  1. ;  deities,  li. — lvi. ;  mode  of  re- 
presenting the  bliss  of  Elysium,  294,  326; 
ii.  367 ;  games,  i.  95,  325 ;  theatrical  perform- 
ances, 95 ;  agriculture,  lviii. ;  commerce, 
lx. ;  piracy,  xci ;  intercourse  with  Greece,  ii. 
148 ;  luxury,  i.  xli.,  xci.,  282,  444  ;  modesty, 
293  ;  indecency,  327  ;  civilisation,  character 
of,  lvii.,  lix. ;  literature,  lvii. ;  science,  lviii. ; 
skill  in  astronomy,  lviii. ;  sewerage,  lix. ; 
roads,  lix. ;  tunnels,  lx.,  14,  40 ;  Architecture, 
lxi. ;  temples  and  houses,  lxi. ;  masonry, 
lxiii. ;  rites  in  founding  cities,  lxiii.  ;  sepul- 
chres, lxv. ;  modes  of  sepulture,  i.  39,  121 ; 
cities  of  the  dead,  231,  261,  494 ;  ii.  31 ;  taste 
in  sepulture,  i.  126  ;  Plastic  Arts,  lxvii.  ; 
analogy  of  early  works  to  those  of  Egypt, 
lxvii. ;  and  of  Greece,  lxviii. ;  ii.  337  ;  works 
in  terra-cotta,  i.  lxviii.,  57 ;  in  bronze,  lxix. ; 
in  wood  and  stone,  lxxi. ;  scarabsei,  lxxii. ; 
mirrors,  lxxiv. ;  Paintings,  in  tombs,  lxxvii.; 
on  vases,  lxxviii. ;  measure  in  use  at  the  pre- 
sent day,  ii.  376  ;  whisperer,  i.  447 


INDEX. 


543 


Etruscans,  called  themselves  Rasena,  i.  xxxi. ; 
their  origin  disputed,  xxxiii.  ;  oriental  cha- 
racter and  analogies,  xxxix. — xliii. ;  public 
works  of  the,  xlviii;  eminently  religious  or 
superstitious,  xlix. ;  superior  to  the  Greeks 
in  the  treatment  of  woman,  lx.,  286;  mari- 
time power,  lvii. ;  military  tactics,  lviii. ; 
medical  skill,  lviii. ;  draw  lightning  from 
heaven,  lviii. ;  their  connection  with  the  Cis- 
tiberine  people  evident  in  names  of  places, 
ii.  288 ;  practised  the  arch,  i.  lxiv. ;  maligned 
by  the  Greeks  and  Romans,  xci. 

Eueheir  and  Eugrammos,  i.  357,  375 

Euganean  relics  and  inscriptions,  i.  xxxiv. 

Eye,  evil,  i.  438;  ii.  101,  122 

Eyes  on  vases,  i.  425,  434,  438 ;  ii.  101,  509;  a 
decoration  of  furniture,  ii.  379;  in  wings  of 
Etruscan  deities  or  monsters,  ii.  182 

Excavations,  ancient,  in  Etruria,  i.lxxxiv.;  mo- 
dern, at  Veii,  i.  46;  Orte,  165 ;  Bomarzo,  216  ; 
Corneto,  355;  Vulci,  411;  Toscanella,  456; 
Bolsena,  512;  Cervetri,  ii.  20,  33,  Volterra, 
156,  160;  Populonia,  242;  Orbetello,  265; 
Magliano,  297;  Chiusi,  361,  392;  Cetona, 
402;  Sarteano,  409;  Chianciano,  411;  Val  di 
Chiana,  416;  Arezzo,  422;  Cortona,  450; 
Perugia,  471,  488 


Fabii,  heroism  of  the,  i.  28 ;  slaughter  of,  6,  29 ; 
castle  or  camp  of  the,  28,  34,  42—44,  62 

Fabius  crosses  the  Ciminian,  i.  192 

Fabroni,  Dr.  ii.  424,  425 

Face,  full,  very  rare  on  early  Etruscan  monu- 
ments, ii.  340 

Fjesul^:,  walls  of,  ii.  119;  pavement,  121; 
sewers,  121 ;  arch,  123  ;  size  of  the  city,  124; 
not  one  of  the  Twelve,  125 ;  Arx,  126 ;  theatre, 
126 ;  ancient  reservoirs,  128  ;  necropolis,  130 ; 
coins,  131 ;  history,  131 ;  augurs  of,  132 

Fairs,  held  at  national  shrines,  i.  181,  521 

Faleria,  or  Falesia,  Portus,  ii.  220 

Falerii,  history  of,  i.  41,  140  ;  inhabited  by  an 
Argive  or  Pelasgic  race,  140 ;  one  of  the 
Twelve,  141, 148 ;  temple  of  Juno  at,  140,  144 ; 
worship  of  Minerva,  Mars,  and  Janus,  141  ; 
pseudo-coins  of,  141 ;  occupied  site  of  Civita 
Castellana,  142 ;  schoolmaster  of,  142 ;  de- 
struction of,  144;  etymology,  150;  Umbrian 
inscription  found  at,  188.  See  Civita  Castel- 
lana and  Falleri 

Falisci,  an  Argive  race,  i.  140 ;  three  cities  of 
the,  141,  148 ;  incorporated  with  the  Etrus- 
cans, 140,  152 

Faliscum,  i.  141,  148  ;  probably  identical  with 
jEquum  Faliscum,  149 

Faliscus,  Ager,  beauties  of,  i.  153 ;  produce 
of,  154 

Falkener,  Mr.  Edward,  his  sketches  of  oriental 
cities  and  ruins,  i.  208  ;  cited  as  authority,  ii. 
120,  121,  275 

Falleri,  porticoed  tombs  of,  i.  130, 131 ;  singular 
inscription  in  the  rock  at,  132 ;  walls  and 
towers,  133—138;  gates,  134,  135,  137;  Arx, 
136;  sewers,  136;  tombs,  136,  145;  theatre, 
138  ;  ruined  convent,  138  ;  the  Roman  not  the 
Etruscan  Falerii,  144  ;  guide  to,  146 

Fans,  Etruscan,  i.  439;  ii.  513 

Fan  pattern  on  ceilings,  1,  408;  ii.  33,  57 

Fanum  Voltumnje,  seat  of  the  national  con- 
clave, i.  xlvii.,  195,  519 ;  not  at  Castel  d'Asso, 
239 ;  site  of,  disputed,  519 ;  probably  at  Monte 
Fiascone,  518;  speculations  on,  521 

Farewell  scenes,  on  urns,  i.  349;  ii.  95,  193, 
198,  357 

Farm,  an  Italian,  ii.  313 

Farnese,  inn  at,  i.  463  ;  antiquity  of,  463  ;  quar- 
ries of,  467 


Fascinum,  ii.  122 

Fasti  Consulares,  i.  505 

Fates,  Etruscan,  i.  lv. ;  ii.  67,  68 ;  with  shears, 

342 
Fauns,  i.  343 
Favissse,  ii.  125 

Felsina,  an  Etruscan  city,  i.  xxvi. 
Feniglia,   ii.  270 
Feoli  excavated  at  Vulci,  i.  408 ;  collection  at 

Rome,  ii.  535 
Ferentinuji,  of  Etruria,  i.  203  ;  ancient  temple 
of  Fortune  at,  204 ;  local  remains,  204 ; 
theatre,  205-8 ;  facade  is  Etruscan,  206 ; 
walls,  205;  quarries,  208;  well-sepulchres, 
210 
Ferento,  see  Ferentdtdm 

Feronia,  an  Etruscan  goddess,  i.  Ii.,  180,  181  ; 
inscription  referring  to  her,  113,  182;  shrine 
beneath  Soracte,   180;   other  shrines,   180 
annual  fair,  181 
Feronia,  town  of,  i.  180 
Fescennine  verses,  i.  152 

Fescennium,   a  Faliscan  town,  i.   151 ;   hence 
came  the  Fescennine  songs,  151;  site  uncer- 
tain, 152;  probably  at  S.  Silvestro,  161 
Fiano,  the  ancient  Flaviniurn,  i.  182 
Fibulfe  of  gold,  ii.  524 ;  with  an  Etruscan  in- 
scription, 533 
FiDENiE,  a  colony  of  Veii,  i.  62 ;  assisted  by  her, 
25,  30  ;  battle  ground,  66 ;  local  remains,  68  ; 
cuniculus,  70;  eight  captures  of,  71,  75;  her 
desolation  a  bye-word,  72 
Fidenates,  armed  with  torches  and  serpents,  i. 

311 
Fiesole,  see  Vxsxrus 
Figline,  tomb  at,  ii.  113 
Fiora,  i.  398,  431,  474 ;  ii.  324 
Fire-rake,  ii.  517 
Fishing  in  Italy,  ii.  263 
Flaminius,  his  defeat  at  the  Thrasymene,  ii. 

Flask  of  bronze  from  Cosa,  ii.  519 

Flavii,  family  of  the,  ii.  197,  201 

Flaviniurn,  now  Fiano,  i.  182 

Flesh-hooks,  i.  435 ;  ii.  517 

Florence,  antiquity  of,  ii.  93 ;  peopled  from 
Faesulae,  93,  133 ;  Etruscan  relics  in  the 
Uffizi — urns,  94  ;  vases,  98  ;  bronzes,  103 ; 
gems,  107  ;  in  the  laboratory  of  the  Grand 
Duke,  107 

Focolari,  ii.  102,  533  ;  described,  348 ;  purpose 
doubtful,  349 

Fojano,  ii.  415 

Follonica,  ii.  220 

Fonte  Sotterra,  ii.  128 

Fontes  Clusini,  ii.  326 

Foreshortening  in  Etruscan  paintings,  i.  336 

Forlivesi,  Padre,  i.  348,  362 

Fortunate  Island,  i.  lviii. 

Forum  of  Augustus,  i.  88,  137 

Aurelii,  i.  391,  398 

Cassii,  i.  245 

Clodii,  i.  273 

Fossati,  excavated  at  Vulci,  i.  408 

Fosse  round  tombs,  i.  271  ;  ii.  392 

Fountain,  nymphs  at  a,  ii.  501,  504 

Four-winged  deities,  i.  xl. ;  ii.  465 

Francois,  his  great  vase,  ii.  99,  115;  excava- 
tions, 130,  240;  at  Populonia,  242;  at  Cor- 
tona, 450 

Fregena?,  identical  with  Fregelloe,  ii.  76 ;  no 
local  remains,  77 

Frontlets  of  gold,  ii.  532 

Fronto's  description  of  Alsium,  ii.  74 

Fumigators  in  tombs,  ii.  58,  527  ;  like  a  drip- 
ping-pan, 48,  513 

Funeral  feasts  of  the  ancients,  i.  294 .  See 
Banquets 

Furies,  i.  311,  319,  320 ;  Etruscan,  ii.  67,  68,  97 


544 


INDEX. 


Furniture,  with  representations  of  animal  life, 
ii.  382 


Galassi,  see  Reguuni 

Galera,  i.  78 

Galiana,  tomb  of  the  beautiful,  l.  198,  200 

Galiese,  not  Fescennium,  i.  152, 159  ;  though  an 
Etruscan  site,  158 

Gallev,  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  i.  348 

Games,  Funeral,  i.  325  ;  ii._363,  369,  378 ;  pub- 
lie  spectators  at,  ii.  187,  378 

Garampi,  Cardinal,  i.  315 

Gates  three  in  Etruscan  cities,  i.  89  ;  double, 
15  ;  ii.  123,  147,  153,  154,  274  ;  -with  flat  lin- 
tels' of  cuneiform  blocks,  i.  206  ;  with  lintels 
of  wood,  ii.  150,  153, 275,  309  ;  arched,  i.  lxiv., 
383 ;  ii.  147  ;  with  oblique  approaches,  154 

Gate  of  Hell  on  Etruscan  monuments,  i.  321, 
350 ;  ii.  357 

Gauls  drive  the  Etruscans  from  the  vale  of  the 
Po  to  the  Rhaetian  Alps,  i.  xxxiv. 

Gauntlet,  Etruscan,  ii.  513 

Geese,  guardians  of  tombs,  i.  327 

Gell,  Sir  William— his  description  of  masonry 
at  Veii,  i.  15  ;  on  the  Ponte  Sodo,  40 ;  on  the 
Castle  of  the  Fabii,  43 ;  on  Monte  Musino, 
81 ;  mistake  about  the  sites  of  Fescennium 
and  Falerii,  118,  128,  145  ;  about  S.  Giovanni 
di  Bieda,  272 ;  about  riding  at  the  ring,  340 

Genii,  doctrine  of,  is  Etruscan,  i.  lv. ;  ancient 
belief  respecting,  ii.  65 ;  lucky  and  unlucky, 
66 ;  were  divinities,  66  ;  distinct  from  Manes 
and  Lares,  66 ;  swearing  by,  66 ;  of  Etruscan 
origin,  67  ;  of  Death,  i.  250,  253  ;  ii.  96.  See 
Demons 

Gerhard,  Professor,  on  the  painted  vases,  i. 
lxxxviii.;  on  the  tombs  of  Tarquinii,  286,  291, 
294,  297,328,  343,347;  on  Vulci,  403,426; 
on  the  vases  of  Vulci,  425 ;  on  Vetulonia,  ii.  230 

Giannutri,  ii.  278 

Giants,  emblems  of  volcanic  agencies,  i.  304 ; 
ii.  183  ;  introduced  in  Greek  architecture,  as 
in  Etruscan,  i.  305 

Giglio,  island,  ii.  261 

Gladiatorial  combats,  of  Etruscan  origin,  i.  95 ; 
lepresented  on  urns,  ii.  186 

Glass,  articles  in,  i.  427;  ii.  76,  102,  531,  533; 
like  those  of  Greece  and  the  East,  533 

Glaucus  on  Etruscan  monuments,  ii.  182 

Gold,  burial  of,  i.  lxxxv.;  ornaments  in  tombs, 
ii.  50,  51,59,524,  532;  sheet  of,  113;  lamhue 
of,  396 

Golden  Fleece,  myth  of,  on  a  vase,  ii.  531 

Gorgon's  head,  an  Etruscan  decoration,  i.  251 ; 
on  vases,  438 ;  on  urns,  ii.  345,  473 ;  in  tombs, 
371,  477  ;  in  bronze,  443  ;  on  coins,  131,  243; 
on  lamps,  443,  477  ;  emblem  of  the  moon, 
443 ;  difference  between  early  and  late,  474 

Gothic  vaults  in  Etruscan  tombs,  i.  351 ;  ii.  46 

Gracchi,  family  of  the,  ii.  200 

Grammiccia,  the,  i.  183 

Gra vises,  port  of,  i.  387 ;  site  disputed,  389, 
394  ;  on  bank  of  the  Marta,  392-4  ;  local  re- 
mains, 393  ;  coins  erroneously  attributed  to, 
388 

Gray,  Mrs.  Hamilton,  i.  230 ;  on  the  tombs  of 
Tarquinii,  281,  286,  288,  299,  309,  314,  320, 
329,  335 ;  on  Toscanella,  453 ;  on  tombs  at 
Monteroni,  ii.  73;  on  focolari,  349;  on  the 
statue-urn  of  the  Museo  Casuccini,  336  ;  on 
the  walls  of  Arezzo,  421 

Greaves,  with  Etruscan  inscriptions,  ii.  466 

Greece,  painted  tomb  in,  i.  55,  347 ;  tombs  of, 
have  analogies  to  those  of  Etruria,  252,  257, 
352 ;  ii.  46 

Greek  architecture  in  Etruscan  tombs,  i.  249 ; 
ii.  148 


Greek  art  in  Etruscan  monuments,  i.  lxviii., 
lxxi.,  lxxvii.,  Lxxx.,  Lxxxii.,  286, 294, 328 ;  ii. 
148 

Greek  cubit,  said  to  be  the  scale  of  some  Etrus- 
can tombs,  i.  255 

Griffons,  on  Etruscan  monuments,  ii.  185 

Griffon,  with  an  eye  in  his  wing,  ii.  485 

Grosseto,  roads  to,  ii.  245,  257  ;  inn,  247 

Grotta  del  Cataletto,  i.  230 

Colonna,  i.  240 

di  Riello,  i.  230 

Grottatorre,  ii.  122 

Grove,  sacred,  i.  81 

Gubbio,  ii.  160 

Guglielmi,  Signor,  his  Etruscan  articles,  ii.  3 

Gurasium,  i.  504,  51 7 


H. 

Hades,  Etruscan,  scenes  in  the,  i.  320,  428 
Hair,  mode  of  wearing,  i.  422,  423 
Hair-pins,  ii.  517 
Hammer,  weapon  of  demons,  i.  310,  314,  320, 

350 
Hand-irons,  ii.  518 
Hands,  iron,  i.  436 
Hand-mills,  invention  of,  i.  507 
Handles  of  furniture,  ii.  517 
Hare-hunt  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  ii.  382 
Hatria,  see  Atria 

Head,  gold  ornament  for  the,  ii.  524 
Heads  on  gateways,  i.  135,  137 ;  ii.  148,    149, 

460,  461 
Heads  of  terra-cotta,  i.  450 ;  ii.  102,  493,  497, 

530  532 
Hecto'r,  death  of,  ii.  500,  531 
Hecuba  and  Hector,  on  a  vase,  ii.  505 
Helen,  rape  of,  on  Etruscan  urns,  ii.  177,  493; 

pursued  by  Menelaus,  511;  brought  back  by 

Menelaus,  529 
Helmet,  Etruscan,  i.  lviii. ;  with  a  death-thrust, 

i.  54 ;  circled  with  gold  chaplets,  ii.  534 
Henzen,  Dr.,  his  explanation  of  an  inscription 

at  Falleri,  i.  132,  133 ;  record  of  a  tomb  at 

Corneto,  350 
Herbanum,  i.  526 

Herculaneum,  an  Etruscan  town,  i.  xxvi. 
Hercules,  an  Etruscan  deity,  i.  liii. ;  makes  the 

Ciminian  lake,  190  ;  temple  at  Viterbo,  198 ; 

slaying  Laomedon,  on  an  Etruscan  urn,  ii. 

344 ;  shaking  hands  with  Minerva,  504 ;  con- 
tending for  the  tripod,  505 ;  with  the  boar  of 

Erymanthus,   506  ;  deeds  of,  on  vases,   507  ; 

crossing  the  sea  in  a  bowl,  510  ;  called  Cala- 

nice  on  a  mirror,  520 
Herodotus,  on  the  origin  of  the  Etruscans,  i. 

xxxii. 
Hippocampi,  see  Sea-horses 
Hippolytus,  death  of,  on  Etruscan  urns,  ii.  355, 

405 
Hirpini,  i.  187  ;  marvellous  feats  of,  188 
Hirpus,  a  wolf  in  Sabine,  i.  187 
Hister,  Etruscan  for  ludio,  i.  95 ;  dances  of  the 

Histriones,  lvii. ;  ii.  364 
Histories,  Etruscan,  i.  lvii. 
Hoare,  Sir  K.  C,  on  the  walls  of  Orbetello,  ii. 

264 
Holcion,  form  of  the,  i.  xcviii. 
Holmi,  black  and  painted,  ii.  407,  498 
Horatiorum,  Campus  Sacer,  i.  205,  419 
Horse,  Etruscan,  peculiar  form  of,  i.  50,  340 ; 

buried  with  warriors,  391,  418  ;  ii.  60;  em- 
blem of  death,  i.  322 ;  ii.  101 ;  of  the  passage 

of  the  soul,  193 

head  of,  a  sepulchral  decoration,  ii.  492 

Horta,  a  goddess  of  the  Etruscans,  i.  liii.,  92, 

163  ;  ancient  Etruscan  town,  163.  See  Orte 
Hostia,  a  goddess  worshipped  at  Sutrium,  i.  92 
Hot  springs  of  Etruria,  i.  211,  330 ;  ii.  300 


INDEX. 


545 


Human  sacrifices  made  by  the  Etruscans,  i.  378, 

447  ;  shown  on  monuments,  ii.  190,  494 
Hydria,  form  of  the,  i.  xcv. 


I. 

lGn.rrii,  ii.  261 

Ilithyia,  i.  Ii. ;  statue  of,  510  :  ii.  83 ;  temple  of, 
12,  14 

II  Puntone,  tombs  at,  ii.  317 

Inghirami,  on  Etruscan  customs,  i.  287  ;  on  the 
Fonte  Sotterra,  ii.  128;  on  Castiglion  Bernardi 
as  the  site  of  Vetulonia,  214 ;  on  the  pretended 
Vetulonia  of  Alberti,  228  ;  on  the  painted 
tombs  of  Chiusi,  367 ;  his  labours  and  works, 
133 

Villa,  ii.  165 

Inns,  i.  213  ;  ii.  267,  454 

Inscriptions,  Etruscan,  usual  on  sepulchral 
furniture,  i.  60  ;  cut  on  the  facades  of  tombs, 
124,  157,  233,  242,  487,  496;  difficulty  of 
reading,  499;  within  tombs,  124,  132,  301, 
305,  313,  315,  339—342,  349,  368  ;  ii.  33,  39, 
43,  139,  382,  448,  472  ;  in  roads,  i.  85,  156, 
259;  on  cliffs,  85  ;  ii.  113  ;  on  marble,  83  ; 
on  statues,  103,  114,  202,  426,  515,518;  on 
reliefs,  107  ;  on  sarcophagi  and  urns,  i.  446  ; 
ii.  199,  341,  373,  377,480;  on  a  stele,  113; 
on  vases,  i.  lxxxi.,  lxxxviii. ;  on  bronzes,  ii. 
106,  162,  443,  466 ;  on  a  gold  fibula,  533 ;  on 
silver  bowls,  525;  inlaid  with  marble,  27; 
filled  with  paint,  201;  bilingual,  354,  371, 
412,  426,  475  ;  found  in  the  north  of  Italy,  i. 

XXXV. 

Greek,  on  vases,  i.  lxxxi.,  lxxxviii.; 

ii.  117,  504,  510;  in  an  unknown  tongue,  508, 
511,531 

— Latin,  in  Etruscan  tombs,  i.  132, 

306 ;  ii.  37,  44,  486 ;  with  Etruscan  peculiari- 
ties, i.  133 ;  referring  to  Etruria,  182  ;  ii,  24, 
70,  304,  527  ;  on  altars,  310 ;— Christian,  in 
Etruscan  cemeteries,  i.  136,  405 

Euganean,  i.  xxxiv. 

Umbrian,  i.  188  ;  ii.  494,  515 

like  Etruscan,  found  in  the  Tyrol 

and  Styria,  i.  xxxiv. 

Intoxication,  one  of  the  delights  of  the  ancient 
Elysium,  ii.  367 

Iphigenia,  on  Etruscan  urns,  ii.  97,  485,  493 

Iron  of  Elba,  ii.  237 

Ischia,  i.  273  ;  inn  at,  462 

Isis,  Tomb  of,  i.  419 ;  ii.  51 ;  pots  in  form  of, 
i.  421 

Islands,  floating,  i.  168—170,  469,  514 

Isola  Farnese,  i.  3 ;  not  the  arx  of  Veii,  34,  42 ; 
not  the  Castle  of  the  Fabii,  34,  42.    See  Veii 

Istia,  ii.  306 

Italian  nobles,  i.  264 ;  hospitality,  264  ;  ii.  235 

Italy,  little  explored,  i.  238,  481 

Itineraries,  i.  85,  146,  161,  273,  388,  463 ;'  ii.  4, 
12,  26,  71,  212,  327,  413 

Ivory,  Etruscan  articles  in,  ii.  102 


Janus,  an  Etruscan  god,  i.  liv. ;  head  on  coins, 

ii.  205,  260 
Jason  vomited  by  the  dragon,  ii.  509 
Jewellery,  in  tombs,  i.  417,  457  ;  ii.  50,  59,  73, 

136 ;    Etruscan  passion  for,  i.  444  ;   in  the 

Museo  Gregoriano,  ii.  523 ;    in   the  Museo 

Campana,  532  ;   Etruscan,  worn  by  modern 

ladies,  523 
Jewish  analogies,  in  Etruscan  monuments,  i. 

xxxvi.,  293 
Judicial  scenes  on  Etruscan  monuments,  ii.  187, 

339 

VOL.    II. 


Juno,  the  Etruscan,  i.  Ii. ;  called  Thalna,  li. ; 
ii.  521 ;  hurled  thunder-bolts,  i.  lii. ;  Curitis, 
141 ;  temple  of,  at  Veii,  9,  10,  33 ;  at 
Falerii,  140 ;  at  Populonia,  ii.  238 :  at  Perugia, 
470 

Junon,  inscribed  in  a  tomb,  ii.  37,  66 

Junones,  female  demons,  i.  lv. ;  ii.  65 ;  not  to 
be  confounded  with  Lasse,  68.  See  Genii  and 
Demons 

Jupiter,  called  by  the  Etruscans  Tina  or  Tinia, 
i.  Ii.,  lii. ;  hurled  three  sorts  of  thunder- 
bolts, lii. 

,  wooden  statue  of,  ii.  238 

and  Alcmena  on  a  vase,  ii.  498 ;  giving 

birth  to  Minerva,  508 


K. 

Kalpis,  see  Calpis 

Kantharus,  see  Cantharus 

Kelebe,  see  Celebe 

Keras,  see  Ceras 

Kestner,  Chevalier,   discovered  tombs,  i.  329, 

332  ;  on  the  tombs  of  Tarquinii,  328,  331,  332 ; 

Etruscan  collection  of,  ii.  535 
Keystone,  with  sculptured  head,  i.  135,  137 
Kings,  Etruscan,  i.  xlvii. 
Kircherian  Museum,  ii.  535 
Kitchen,  supposed  Etruscan,  ii.  158 
Koppa,  on  vases  of  Etruria,  ii.  55,  63 
Krater,  see  Crater 
Kylix,  see  Cylix 


L. 

La  Badia,  at  Fiesole,  ii.  133 
Labranda,  in  Caria,  ii.  121 
Labro,  ii.  85 
Labyrinth  in  Etruscan  tombs,  i.  455 

so-called,  beneath  Chiusi,  ii.  333,  391 

at  Volterra,   ii.  166;   in  the  tomb  of 

Porsena,  385,   390 ;    in  the  Poggio  Gaiella, 

396 
La  Castellina,  i.  383 
La  Commenda,  ii.  458,  488 
Lacus  Alsietinus,  i.  84 ;  ii.  70 

Ciminus,  i.  190 

Frelius,  or  Aprilis,  i.  469 ;  ii.  246,  253  ; 

island  in  it,  253 

Sahatinus,  i.  273 

Statoniensis,  i.  469 

Tarquiniensis,  see  Volsiniensis 

Thrasymenus,  i.  469  ;  ii.  455 

Vadimonis,  i.  167,  469 

Volsiniensis,  i.  468,  511,  514 

Lago  di  Baccano,  i.  78 

Bassano,  see  Vadimonian  Lake 

Bolsena,  i.  468,  503,  514 

— — -  Bracciano,  i.  273 

Castiglione,  ii.  246,  253 

Chiusi,  ii.  375 

Garda,  i.  xxv. 

Martignano,  i.  84,  274 ;  ii.  70 

Mezzano,  i.  467,  469 

—  Montepulciano,  ii.  410 

Stracciacappa,  i.  84,  274 

Trasimeno,  ii.  455 

Vico,  i.  189 

Lajard,  M.,  on  the  scenes  in  the  tombs  of  Tar- 
quinii, i.  297 

Lake,  full  of  Etruscan  bronzes,  ii.  108 

Lakes  of  Etruria,  i.  84,  190,  274,  469;  con- 
taining islands,  469 ;  drained  by  the  Etrus- 
cans, lx.,  78 

Lamps,  Etruscan,  i.  lxix. ;  ii.  106  ;  of  Cortona, 
442 ;  sepulchral,  444 

Landslips,  ii.  110 

Lanista,  an  Etruscan  word,  i.  xliv.,  95 
N  N 


546 


INDEX. 


Lanzi,  on  the  Etruscan  tongue,  i.  xlv. ;  on 
Etruscan  art,  Ixvii. 

La  lvllegrina,  painted  tomb  of,  ii.  378 

La  Pestiera,  ii.  312 

Laran,  an  Etruscan  deity,  ii.  521 

Lares,  Etruscan  origin  of  the,  i.  lv. 

Lars,  an  Etruscan  prcenomen,  ii.  388 ;  distin- 
guished from  Lar,  388 

Lars  Porsena,  see  Porsena 

Lars  Tolumnius,  i.  30,  67, 339 

Larva;  on  vases,  ii.  101,  349 

Lasa,  i.  lv. ;  ii.  68 

La  Sanguinara,  ii.  19 

La  Storta,  i.  3,  22 

Lateran  Museum,  relief  with  the  devices  of 
three  Etruscan  cities,  i.  404  ;  ii.  27,  303 

Latium,  perished  cities  of,  i.  74;  Cyclopean 
cities  of,  ii.  121 

La  Vaccina,  ii.  18 

Layard,  Mr.,  arches  discovered  by,  in  Assyria, 
i.  lxiv. 

La  Zanibra,  ii.  61 

Le  Cardetelle,  tombs  at,  ii.  402 

Lecne,  tomb  of  the,  i.  503 

Lectisternia,  i.  287 

Lecythus,  form  of  the,  i.  xcix. 

Leghorn,  ii.  85 ;  relics  found  at,  104 

Le  Murelle,  i.  398 

Le  Murelle,  near  Satm-nia,  ii.  322 

Lepaste,  form  of  the,  i.  xcviii. 

Lepsius,  Professor,  on  the  origin  of  the  Etrus- 
cans, i.  xxxvi. ;  on  the  Pelasgic  alphabet,  ii. 
54,  55  ;  on  the  pottery  of  Csere,  62 ;  on  the 
coins  of  Cortona,  439 

Leucothea,  ii.  14 

Levezow,  on  the  Gorgon,  ii.  243 

Levii,  tomb  of  the,  i.  133 

Lictors,  Etruscan  origin  of,  i.  26 ;  repre- 
sented, ii.  114,  187 

Lightning,  drawn  from  heaven,  i.  xlvii.,  lviii., 
507 

Liguria,  confines  with  Etruria,  ii.  78 

Lilliano,  ii.  137 

Lions,  Etruscan,  i.  49;  ii.  333;  painted  in 
tombs,  i.  301  ;  ii.  384;  stone,  as  acroteria,  i. 
251;  decorations  of  tumuli,  ii.  395 

Lituus,  both  staff  and  trumpet,  i.  312 

Local  antiquaries,  i.  82,  89,  165 

Lorium,  ii.  76 

Losna,  the  Etruscan  Diana,  i.  liv. ;  ii.  83 

Lotus  flowers  in  tombs,  i.  53 

Luca,  ii.  82 

Luccioli,  Signor,  ii.  359,  371 

l^ucignano,  tombs  at,  ii.  416 

Lucumo,  Tarquinius  Priscus,  i.  375 

Lucumones,  i.  xlvii. 

Luna,  an  Etruscan  site,  ii.  78;  its  port,  79,  81; 
not  one  of  the  Twelve,  79  ;  local  remains,  80, 
81 ;  walls  of  marble,  80 ;  coins  attributed  to, 
81;  produce,  82;  marble,  83;  meaning  of  the 
word,  83 

Lunghini,  Signor,  collection  of,  ii.  407 

Lychnus,  ii.  444 

Lycia,  analogy  to  Etruria  in  sepulchral  monu- 
'ments,  i.  xlii.,  49,  233  ;  ii.  392 ;  in  maternal 
genealogies,  i.  xlii.,  133 

Lydia,  the  mother-country  of  Etruria,  i.  xxxii., 
xxxvii. ;  analogy  to  Etruria  in  its  monuments, 
i.  236,  353,  359,  414,  415;  ii.  389;  in  its 
customs,  i.  xli.,  xlii. ;  often  svnonvmous  with 
Etruria,  284 

Lvnceus,  ii.  225 

Lyre,  Etruscan,  i.  283,  335 


Mac avi.ay,  Mr.,  on  the  word  Porsena,  ii.  388 
Maccarese,  Torre  di,  site  of  Fregenoe,  ii.  76 


Macigno,  ii.  119 

Macra,  i.  xxvii. ;  ii.  79 

Maecenas,  Etruscan  origin  of,  ii.  139  ;  monu- 
ment to,  at  Arczzo,  417 

Moeonia,  i.  216,  227 

Massian  wood,  i.  79 

Magione,  ii.  457 

Magliano,  city  discovered  near,  ii.  292 ;  remains, 
294, 296  ;  painted  tomb,  296 ;  excavations,  297 

Magna  Grsecia,  tombs  of,  i.  39;  vases  of,  i. 
lxxix.,  lxxxiii.,  lxxxiv. 

Maleos,  or  Malaeotes,  inventor  of  the  trumpet, 
i.  xli.,  398 

Manciano,  ii.  323 

Marcina,  built  by  the  Etruscans,  i.  xxvi. 

Manducus,  effigy  of,  ii.  207 

Manes  at  banquets,  i.  446 

Mania,  an  Etruscan  goddess,  i.  lvi. ;  ii.  68 

Mantua,  an  Etruscan  city,  i.  xxvi.,  lvi. 

Mantus,  the  Etruscan  Pluto,  i.  lv. ;  ii.  175,  207 

Manzi  and  Fossati,  excavations  of,  i.  216,  355,  382 

Marble,  walls  of,  ii.  80 ;  of  Luna,  or  Carrara, 
83 ;  few  Etruscan  works  of,  i.  lxxii. ;  ii.  83, 
342 ;  used  by  the  Romans,  84 ;  of  the  Mar- 
emma,  203,  230 

Marciano,  tombs  at,  ii.  416 

Marcina,  built  by  the  Etruscans,  i.  xxvi. 

Maremma,  the,  ii.  210 ;  its  wild  beauties,  221 ; 
population  and  climate,  222 — 3  ;  produce, 
224 ;  described  by  Dante,  221 

Marine  deities  on  Etruscan  monuments,  i.  488  ; 
ii.  180 

monsters,  i.  220  ;  ii.  96.    See  Sea-horses 

Maritime  power  of  Etruria,  i.  lvii.,  220,  329  ;  ii. 
144 

Marriage  scenes  on  vases,  ii.  100,  508 ;  none  on 
Etruscan  urns,  189 

Marruca,  avoid,  ii.  251 

Mars,  an  Etruscan  god  who  wielded  thunder,  i. 
lii. 

Marta,  Gravisese  on  its  banks,  i.  392  ;  emissary 
of  the  Volsinian  lake,  i.  515 ;  ancient  cloaca 
and  quay  on  the,  392 — 3 

Marta,  town  of,  i.  512 

Martana,  island  of,  i.  512,  515 

Martignano,  lake  of,  i.  84;  ii.  70 

Marzabotta,  bronzes  of,  i.  xxxv. 

Masonry,  Etruscan,  i.  lxiii. ;  no  cement  in,  i. 
18,  120,  215 ;  ii.  120,  129,  152,  265,  437 ;  ex- 
traordinary fragments,  i.  15,  16,  160;  rusti- 
cated, 67,  137,  218,  266  ;  ii.  98,  129,  459,  461 ; 
sometimes  determined  by  the  local  rock, 
285 ;  sometimes  independent  of,  286 ;  ancient 
materials  in  modern  buildings,  i.  87  ;  wedge- 
courses,  263;  ii.  120;  diamieton,  i.  107  ;  cm- 
plecton,  87,  106—8 

Roman,  i.  88,  111,  136,  215 

Massa,  ii.  217  ;  not  the  site  of  Vetulonia,  217 

Maternal  genealogy,  i.  xlii.,  133 

Matemum,  i.  463 

Matrai,  relics  found  at,  i.  xxxiv. 

Mean,  an  Etruscan  Fate,  i.  lv. ;  ii.  68,  521 

Meleager,  statue  of,  ii.  7 

Melon,  tumulus  of  the,  ii.  450 

Melpum,  an  Etruscan  city,  i.  xxvi. 

Menrva,  the  Etruscan  form  of  Minerva,  i.  Ii. ; 
on  mirrors,  ii.  520 

Mercurv,  called  Turms  by  the  Etruscans,  i.  liii. ; 
ii.  520  ;  infernal,  represented  by  Charon,  ii. 
206 ;  statue  of,  104 ;  in  terra-cotta,  496  ; 
infant,  as  cattle  lifter,  510 

Metcllus,  statue  of,  ii.  103 

Mexico,  pyramids  of,  i.  352 ;  analogies  of  its 
cemeteries  to  those  of  Etruria,  352 

Micali,  on  the  Twelve  Cities  of  Etruria,  i.  xxix. ; 
on  the  origin  of  the  Etruscans,  xxxiii. ;  on 
the  orientalisms  in  Etruscan  monuments,  xl. ; 
on  the  tombs  of  Monteroni,  ii.  73;  on  the 
Porta  all'  Arco,  14"  ;  on  the  walls  of  Cosa  and 


INDEX. 


547 


Saturma,   280,    319 ;    on    canopi,    356 ;   his 
labours  and  death,  134 

Midas,  on  a  vase,  ii.  510 

Migliarini,  Professor,  ii.  105 

Mignone,  i.  391 

Miilingen,  Mr.,  i.  xxxvi.,  459;  ii.  134;  on  Vel- 
athri,  144;  on  Populonia,  237 

Minerva,  winged,  with  an  owl,  i.  1GG  ;  ii.  518; 
statue  of,  in  the  Uffizi,  ii.  104  ;  on  Panathe- 
naic  vases,  i.  lxxxi.;  ii.  504 ;  called  Menrva  in 
Etruscan,  i.  Ii. ;  ii.  520 

Mines,  ancient,  near  Massa,  i.  lxix. ;  near  Po- 
pulonia, ii.  220 ;  now  re-worked  by  an  Eng- 
lishman, 230 

Minio,  i.  391 

Mirrors,  Etruscan,  i.  lxxiv. ;  classified,  lxxv. ; 
with  dances,  292 ;  in  the  Gregorian  Mu- 
seum, ii.  519 ;  gilt,  521 ;  with  reliefs,  521 ;  ex- 
traordinary one  in  the  Museo  Campana,  534 

Mithras  represented  as  a  dove,  i.  127 

Modena,  ancient  tombs  and  relics  at,  i.  xxxv. ; 
pottery  of,  like  that  of  Arezzo,  ii.  424 

Money,  primitive,  ii.  110.    See  Coins 

Monkey,  in  an  Etruscan  painting,  ii.  381 ;  tomb 
of  the,  378 

Montalcino,  ii.  139 

Montalto,  i.  397  ;  inn,  398,  430 ;  relics,  ii.  3 

Montaperti,  Etruscan  tomb  at,  ii.  138 

Montarozzi,  see  Tarquinii 

Montefiascone,  roads  to,  i.  461,  514;  its  wine, 
515,  518  ;  not  Volsinii,  508,  517 ;  nor  Tros- 
sulum,  517;  antiquity,  516;  perhaps  (I^narea, 
518 

Montepulciano,  ii.  412 ;  antiquity,  412 ;  Etrus- 
can relics  at,  413;  rnanna  of,  414;  roads  to, 
412,  415 

Monteroni,  tumuli  of,  ii.  71—3 

Monterosi,  i.  84 

Monte  Abatone,  ii.  56 

Argentaro,  ii.  262,  277 

Calvello,  excavations  at,  i.  212 

Cetona,  ii.  404 

■  Falterona,  bronzes  of,  i.  459  ;  ii.  107,  112 

Gualandro,  ii.  455 

Lucchetti,  i.  84 

Lupolo,  i.  79 

Merano,  ii.  323 

Musino,  i.  80—83 

d'Oro,  ii.  58 

Patone,  ii.  229 

Quagliero,  i.  355 

Razzano,  i.  79 

Romano,  i.  276 

Rotondo,  ii.  217 

Sorriglio,  i.  82 

Venere,  i.  191 

Monsters,  guardians  of  sepulchres,  i.  338 

Moscona,  hill  of,  mistaken  for  the  site  of  Ruselloc, 
ii.  247,  253 

Mosul,  coloured  sculpture  of,  i.  290 

Mouldings,  Etruscan,  i.  233,  241,  256,  269,  350, 
498 

Mugnano,  i.  214,  227 

Mullkr,  on  the  Twelve  Cities,  i.  xxix. ;  on  the 
Etruscan  era,  xxxii. ;  on  the  origin  of  the 
Etruscans,  xxxv.;  on  the  Mundus,  121  ;  on 
Fesccnnium,  128,  145,  150;  on  Falerii,  145, 
149,  150  ;  on  JEquum  Faliscum,  149,  150  ;  on 
Tarchon  and  Tyrrhenus,  372  ;  on  Demaratus, 
376 ;  on  Tarquin's  conquest  of  Etruria,  376—7  ; 
on  the  tomb  of  Porsena,  ii.  387,  391 

Mundus,  mouth  of  Orcus,  i.  lvi.,  121 

Murcia,  or  Murtia,  the  Etruscan  Venus,  i.  80 

Mure,  Col.,  on  the  site  of  Pisa,  ii.  87 

Museo  Campana,  ii.  528  ;  terra-cottas,  528 ; 
fumigator,  530 ;  vases,  530  ;  glass,  531 ;  jewel- 
lery, 532 ;  bronzes,  533 

Museo  Casuccini,  ii.  335  ;  statue-urn,  336  ; 
archaic    cippi,    338 ;     sarcophagus    of    the 


Aphuna,  341  ;  urns,  342  ;  of  terra-cotta,  346  ; 
pottery,  347  ;  bronzes,  351 

Museo,  Grcgoriano,  origin  of  the,  ii.  491 ;  sarco- 
phagi in,  i.  439 ;  ii.  493  ;  cinerary  urns,  492 ; 
sarcophagus,  493 ;  Alban  huts,  495 ;  terra- 
cotta=,  496;  vases,  i.  339;  ii.  55,  63,  497; 
cylices,  509;  bronzes,  2,  512;  armour  and 
weapons,  512 ;  candelabra,  514  ;  statues,  515  ; 
caskets,  515  ;  mirrors,  519  ;  clogs,  522  ; 
jewellery,  52,  523 ;  copies  of  paintings  in 
Etruscan  tombs,  i.  288,  290,  291,  299,  302, 
328,  332,  344 ;  ii.  526 ;  model-tomb,  527 

Museo  Paolozzi,  cippi,  ii.  353  ;  urns,  355  ; 
canopi,  356 ;  pottery  and  bronzes,  357 

Museo  Terrosi,  ii.  402  ;  pottery,  402  ;  painted 
urns,  402 

Museum  of  Perugia,  ii.  462  ;  cippi,  462 ;  urns, 
463  ;  celebrated  inscription,  463 ;  vaees,  464 ; 
bronzes,  464 

Museum  of  Volterra,  ii.  167  ;  urns  of  alabaster, 
169;  myths  on  them,  171;  inscriptions,  199; 
of  the  Csecinoe  and  other  Etruscan  families, 
199;  date  of  the  urns,  201 ;  sarcophagi,  197  ; 
terra-cottas,  202 ;  warrior  in  relief,  202  ; 
pottery,  203 ;  bronzes,  204 ;  coins,  204 ;  jewel- 
lery, 205 

Museums,  Etruscan,  of  Arrezzo,  ii.  424 ;  of 
Chiusi,  see  Museo  Casuccini  and  Museo  Pao- 
lozzi ;  of  Cortona,  441 ;  of  Florence,  94 ;  of 
Viterbo,  i.  197 

Musignano,  i.  432  ;  Etruscan  relics  at,  433—7  ; 
portraits  of  the  Bonaparte  family,  436 

Musical  instruments,  Etruscan,  i.  xli. ;  singular, 
ii.  480 

Mustachios,  statue  with,  ii.  39 

Mycenoe,  Treasury  of,  ii.  46,  49 ;  walls  of,  280 

Myths,  discrepancy  between  Greek  and  Etrus- 
can, i.  449 ;  ii.  403 


N. 

Nails  in  tombs,  i.  58,  338,  417  ;  ii.  49,  73,  378  ; 
driven  into  temples  to  mark  time,  i.  Ii.,  60, 
510 ;  in  the  hands  of  Etruscan  deities,  It.,  510, 
ii.  68 

Nanos,  Etruscan  name  of  Ulysses,  ii.  438 

Nasones,  tomb  of  the,  i.  lxv.j  67  ;  ii.  4  79 

Naviso,  pool  of,  mistaken  for  Lake  Vadimon, 
i.  202 

Nenfro,  volcanic  rock,  i.  5 

Nepi,  anciently  one  of  the  keys  of  Etruria,  i.  86, 
112;  walls,  110;  necropolis,  112;  remains  at, 
113;  inns,  113;  bond  between  Nepete  and 
Sutrium,  113  ;  ancient  names,  114 

Neptune,  on  vases,  ii.  504,  505  ;  on  mirrors, 
520 

Nethuns,  Etruscan  name  of  Neptune,  i.  liv. ; 
ii.  520 

Nibby,  on  Isola  Farnese,  i.  42 ;  on  the  Castle 
of  the  Fabii,  43 ;  on  the  amphitheatre  of 
Sutri,  97  ;  on  the  walls  of  Nepi,  111;  on  those 
of  Falleri,  139 

Niches,  sepulchral,  i.  12,  38,  122,  136,  456,  493, 
496 

Nicknames,  as  of  old,  i.  147 

Niebuhr,  on  the  Twelve  Cities,  i.  xxix ;  on 
the  Etruscan  era,  xxxii. ;  on  the  origin  of  the 
Etruscans,  xxxiii;  on  the  feudal  system  of 
Etruria,  xlviii. ;  on  the  cuniculus  of  Camil- 
lus,  37 ;  his  view  that  the  Falisci  were  not 
Etruscans,  149;  that  Rome  was  at  one  time 
Etruscan,  376 ;  on  the  legend  of  Demaratus, 
357,  376;  on  Vulci,  404;  on  the  servile  in- 
surrection at  Volsinii,  506;  on  Caere,  ii.  21, 
24,  25  ;  on  the  theatre  of  Ficsolc,  127  ;  on  Po- 
pulonia, 236;  on  the  tomb  of  Porsena,  386; 
on  the  word  Porsenna,  388 ;  on  Cortona,  440  ; 
ignorance  of  Italian  localities,  i.  37,  192;  ii. 
127;  mistakcabout  Etruscan  monuments,  i.xci. 
N  N  2 


543 


INDEX. 


Niobidcs,  sarcophagus  of  the,  i.  448  ;  its  value, 
460  ;  number  of,  449 

Nola,  built  by  the  Etruscans,  i.  xxv. ,  xxvi.  ; 
vases  of,  lxxxii.,  lxxxvii.,  425,  438 

Norba,  bastion  of,  i.  137  ;  ii.  272 ;  sewer  of,  122, 
27G;  round  tower  of,  273 

Nokchia,  discovery  of  its  necropolis,  i.  243; 
temple-tombs,  247  ;  sculpture,  251 — 3;  specu- 
lations on,  249,  254;  tombs,  256,  494;  no 
inscriptions,  257  ;  excavations,  257  ;  the 
Etruscan  town,  258 

Noric  Alps,  Etruscan  relics  anions;  the,  i.  xxxiv. 

Norcia,  in  Sabina,  vase  from,  ii.  508 

Nortia,  the  Etruscan  Fortuna,  i.  Ii.,  258,  509 ; 
temple  at  Volsinii,  509,  510;  supposed  statue 
of,  510 ;  equivalent  to  Atropos,  510 

Novem  Pagi,  i.  273,  525 

Novensiles,  or  Gods  of  Thunder,  i.  lii. 

Nuceria,  an  Etruscan  town,  i.  xxvi. 

Numerals,  Etruscan,  i.  xlvi. ;  on  tombs,  i.  242 

Nuraghe  of  Sardinia,  ii.  47,  62,  160 ;  described, 
161  ;  by  whom  constructed,  161 

Nyrtia,  i.  258 

O. 

CEdipus,  on  Etruscan  urns,  ii.  98, 175 ;  on  vases, 

509  ;  caricatured,  509 
(Enarea,  rebellious  slaves  of,  i.  518  ;  thought  to 

be  Vulsinii  or  Volaterrae,  518  ;  ii.   142  ;  per- 
haps Monte  Fiascone,  i.  518 
(Eniadce,  arched  gate  at,  i.  lxiv. ;  ii.  275 
(Enoanda,  arches  at,  i.  lkiv. ;  ii.  275 
(Enochoe,  form  of,  i.  xcvii. 
CEnomaus,  myth  of,  on  an  Etruscan  urn,  ii.  492 
Oil-dealer's  prayer,  on  a  vase,  ii.  502 
Olpe,  form  of,  i.  xcvii. 
Ombrone,  ii.  306 

Opus  incertum,  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  ii.  113 
Okbetello,  ii.   263 ;   lagoon,   263 ;     polygonal 

walls,  264 ;  tombs,  265 ;  origin  of  name,  266  ; 

inns,  267 
Orcle,  probably  the  ancient  name  of  Xorchia, 

i.  258 
Orestes,  on  Etruscan  urns,  ii.  97,  180,  406  ;  on 

a  sarcophagus,  494 
Oriental  analogies  of  Etruscan  monuments,  i. 

xl. ;  ii.  39 
Orioli  first  described  Castel  d'Asso,  i.  238  ;  and 

Norchia,  259 ;  his  explanation  of  the  Typhon 

tomb  at  Corneto,  305 
Oriuolo,  i.  273 
Orlando,  his  cave  at  Sutri,  i.  102  ;  figure  at 

Pitigliano,  475 
Ornano,  i.  501 

Orpheus  and  Eurydiee,  tomb  of,  ii.  383 
Orsini,  legend  of  the,  i.  475 
Orte,  the  ancient  Horta,  i.  163 ;  peculiar  site, 

164;    inn,    164;    excavations,    165;    painted 

tomb  destroyed,  167 
Orvteto,  not  the  site  of  Volsinii,  i.  508 ;  roads 

to,   511,    524,  526;  site,   526;  ancient  name 

unknown,  526  ;  not  the  Urbiventus  of  Proco- 

pius,  527  ;  tombs,  528  ;  Duomo,  529 
Oscan  language,  i.  xliv 
Osci,  the,  i.  xxv 
Oscum,  i.  82 

Osinius,  king  of  Clusium,  ii.  328 
Ossa,  ii.  261 
Ostrich-eggs  in  Etruscan  tombs,  i.  420  ;  ii.  72; 

imitated  in  terra-cotta,  i.  420 
Ottieri,  Count,  collection  of,  ii.  359 
Owl,  in  relief,  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  ii.  480 
Oxybaphon,  form  of,  i.  xcvi. 


P. 


Packing-needle,  Etruscan,  ii.  295 
Paglia,  i.  525 


Painted  tombs,  at  Veii,  i.  49;  at  Bomarzo, 
218 ;  at  Corneto,  see  Tarquinii ;  at  Vulci,  409  ; 
at  Cfere,  ii.  35 — 38  ;  at  the  citv  discovered 
near  Magliano,  296 ;  at  Chiusi,  363,  368, 
378,  383,  384,  393  ;  two  by  the  same  hand, 
368  ;  lost  or  destroyed,  i.  167, 347,  367  ;  ii.  371, 
382 ;  scenes  in,  how  far  symbolical,  i.  296 ; 
ii.  366 ;  particoloured  figures  in,  i.  50 — 52, 
301,  330,  343 ;  ii.  38,  384 

Paintings,  Etruscan,  intombs,  i.  lxxvii.,  50 ;  in- 
jured bv  atmosphere,  285 ;  like  those  on 
vases,  53",  301,  328,  343 ;  like  the  frescoes  of 
Pompeii,  306,  429  ;  the  most  ancient,  54 

Palaestrie  games,  represented  in  tombs,  i.  326, 
339;  ii.  363,  369,  371,  378;  on  vases,  501, 
508,  509 

Palazzo  Casuccini,  vases  in,  ii.  351;  the  Paris- 
vase,  351,  395 ;  the  Anubis-vase,  352 

Palazzolo,  in  Sicily,  ii.  122 

Palazzone,  ii.  404 

Palestrina,  ciste  found  at,  ii.  516 

Palo,  the  site  of  Alsium,  ii.  69  ;  inn,  74  ;  shore 
at,  75 

Pamphylia,  shields  on  tombs  of,  i.  252 

Panathenaic  vases,  i.  lxxxi.;  ii.  504 

Panchina,  ii.  149,  157,  169 

Panthers  in  Etruscan  tombs,  i.  285,  296,  301, 
327,  330,  333,  343  ;  grasped  by  Diana,  ii.  117 

Panzano,  ii.  115 

Paolozzi,  Giardino,  the  Acropolis  of  Clusium, 
ii.  332  ;  Museo,  see  Museo  Paolozzi 

Paris,  resisting  his  brothers,  on  Etruscan  urns, 
ii.  96,  178,  343,  493 

Pasquinelli,  Signor,  discoverer  of  an  Etruscan 
city,  probably  Vetulonia,  ii.  292,  295 

Passage-tcmbs,  ii.  46,  62,  72,  136,  450 

Passignano,  ii.  457 

Patera,  form  of,  i.  xcviii. ;  for  libations,  i.  444 

Paterae  of  bronze,  with  handles  in  the  form  of 
females,  ii.  519 

Patrignone,  ii.  294 

Patroclus,  on  Etruscan  monuments,  ii.  115 

Pavement  in  tombs,  ii.  50,451 ;  Etruscan,  i.  lx. ; 
ii.  121 ;  ribbed,  121 

Pediments,  marks  of  dignity,  i.  251 

Pediment;  half  of  Norchian,  i.  252 

Peithesa,  coins  with,  ii.  89 

Pelasgi,  first  conquerors  of  Etruria,  i.  xxxi. ; 
colonised  Falerii,  i.  140 ;  and  Fescennium, 
151 ;  built  Tarquinii,  372  ;  built  the  temple 
at  Pyrgi,  ii.  12  ;  built  Agylla,  21 ;  built  Alsi- 
um, 69 ;  Pisse,  87  ;  Saturnia,  318 ;  occupied 
Cortona,  438  ;  introduced  letters  into  Latium, 
i.  xliii. ;  ii.  54 ;  worshipped  the  phallic  Her- 
mes, 123;  masonry  of,  12,  13,  29,  284,  285; 
pottery  of,  62 ;  wide  extent  of  the  race,  284 

Pelasgic  alphabet  and  primer,  ii.  53,  54,  138, 
522 ;  hexameters,  55,  522 ;  language,  69 

Pelasgic  towns,  see  Cyclopean 

Peleus  and  Thetis,  "on  a  vase,  ii.  116 ;  on  a 
mirror,  521 ;  and  Atalanta,  wrestling,  on  a 
mirror,  520 

Pelice,  form  of,  i.  xcv. 

Penates,  Etruscan,  i.  liv.,  lv. 

Pentathlon,  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  i.  326 ;  ii.  369 

Pereta,  ii.  306 

Peris,  tomb  of  the,  ii.  377 

Perseus  and  Andromeda,  on  Etruscan  urns,  ii. 
173 

Perugia,  ii.  458 ;  roads  to,  454 ;  walls,  459 ; 
gates,  i.  15  ;  ii.  459 ;  Arch  of  Augustus,  460  ; 
Arco  Marziale,  461 ;  Museum,  462 ;  coins, 
466 ;  singular  sarcophagus,  466 ;  Palazzone 
Baglioni,  487.    See  Pervsia. 

Perusia,  antiquity  of,  ii.  468 ;  history  of,  469 ; 
burnt,  475;  necropolis,  471—489;  Grotta  de" 
Volunni,  471 ;  other  tombs  now  open,  484— 
487  ;  Tempio  di  S.  Manno,  488 ;  painted  urns, 
484.    See  Perugia. 


INDEX. 


549 


Petroni,  tomb  of  the,  ii.  485 

Peutingerian  Table,  see  Itineraries 

Pharu,  tomb  of  the,  ii.  486 

Pherini,  tomb  of  the,  ii.  378 

Phiale,  form  of,  i.  xcviii. 

Phocaei,  in  Corsica,  ii.  23 

Phoenician  origin  of  the  Etruscan  characters, 

i.  xlvi. 
Phrygia,  analogy  to  Etruria  in  its  alphabet, 

i.  xlvi. ;  in  its  monuments,  lx.,  49,  124,  233, 

236,  252  ;  ii.  37, 61, 378,  392  ;  shields  on  tombs 

of,  64,  478 
Phuphluns,  the  Etruscan  Bacchus,  i.  liii. ;  ii. 

242 ;  mirror  of,  i.  lxxvi. 
Piano  d'  Organo,  tombs  at,  ii.  4 
Piano  di  Pabna,  remarkable  tombs  at,  ii.  314 

Sultano,  ii.  16 

Piazza   d'   Armi,    the  Arx   of  Veii,  i.  7,  42; 

del  Mercatello,  i.  511 

Piazzano,  i.  508 

Piedmont,  Etruscan  inscriptions  in,  i.  xxxv. 

Pienza,  ii.  140 

Pietra  Pertusa,  i.  11 

Pigmies  and  Cranes  on  a  vase,  ii.  116 

Pine-cones,  sepulchral  emblems,  ii.    157,  193, 

492 
Pine-woods  of  old  on  the  coast  of  Italy,  i.  395  ; 

ii.  88,  303 
Piombino,  ii.  220 

Pipes,  Etruscan,  i.  xli.,  283,  291,  300,  312,  339 
Piracy,  Etruscan,  i.  xci. ;  ii.  14  ;  not  indulged 

in  by  Caere,  23 
Pirates,  Etruscan,  i.  xlviii;  Tyrrhene,  legend 

of,  i.  220 
Pisa,  ii.  85  ;  port  of,  85  ;  antiquity,  86  ;  site  of, 

87  ;  local  remains,  89 ;  towers  of,  89 ;  coins 

of,  89  ;  Etruscan  relics,  89—91 
Piscina,  at  Vol  terra,  ii.  162 
Pitigliano,  roads  to,  i.  469,  471,  501 ;  site,  472  ; 

remains  of  antiquity,  473 ;    inn,  472,  476 ; 

necropolis,  473 — 4 
Pit-sepulchres,  i.  121 
Plaid,  resemblance  to,  i.  336 
Pliny's  description  of  the  Vadimonian  lake,  i. 

168 ;  of  the  tomb  of  Porsena,  ii.  385 
Poggibonsi,  tombs  near,  ii.  136 
Poggio  Gajella,   ii.   385;  its  wall  and  fosse, 

392  ;  tiers  of  tombs,  393  ;  paintings  on  the 

walls,  393 ;  circular  chamber,  393  ;  furniture, 

395;  labyrinthine  passages,  396;  analogy  to 

the  tomb  of  Porsena,  400 
Poggio  Michele,  i.  48 
■ Montolli,  painted  tomb  of,  ii.  371,  405 

di  Moscona,  ii.  247 

Paccianesi,  or  del  Vescovo,  ii.  384 

Prisca,  i.  489 

Renzo,  painted  tomb  of,  ii.  378 

di  San  Cornclio,  ii.  428 

di  S.  Paolo,  ii.  400 

Stanziale,  i.  493 

1  Strozzoni,  i.  475 

Tutoni,  ii.  412 

di  Vetreta,  ii.  218 

Pogna,  Castro,  ii.  114 

Polimartium,  supposed  name  of  the  ancient 
town  near  Bomarzo,  i.  210,  226 

Polites,  on  Etruscan  urns,  ii.  90,  96,  178,  343, 
486 

Folledrara,  i.  419 

Polycbromy,  Etruscan,  i.  lxii.,  lxxii.,  254,  262 

Polygonal  masonrt,  at  Puntonc  del  Castrato, 
ii.  9;  at  Pyrgi,  11;  materials  of,  12;  at  Vol- 
terra,  160;  at  Orbetello,  264;  at  Cosa,  271; 
at  Saturnia,  309  ;  peculiarities  of,  at  Cosa, 
272 — 274  ;  topt  by  horizontal,  273  ;  runs  into 
the  horizontal  at  gates  and  towers,  274; 
antiquity  of,  280 ;  adopted  by  the  Romans, 
281,  283 ;  doctrine  of  constructive  necessity 
applied  to,  282 ;  peculiarity  of  its  type,  282  ; 


used  by  modern  Italians  in  pavements,  and 
by  the  ancient  Peruvians  in  walls,  283 ;  type 
proper  to  the  Pelasgi,  284 ;  found  in  various 
lands,  284,  285 
Polyphemus    with  two  eyes  on  an  Etruscan 

urn,  ii.  205 
Pomarance,  ii.  213 
Pomegranate  in  the  hands  of  female  statues,  ii. 

171,  336 
Pomcerium,  in  Etruscan  cities,  i.  lxiii. ;  ii.  250 
Pompeii,  an  Etruscan  town,  i.  xxvi 
Pompey,  an  Etruscan  family,  i.  307  ;  ii.  377 
Ponte  della  Badia,  i.  398  ;  singularity  of,  400  ; 
its   castle,   399,    430;    aqueduct,    400;   con- 
struction analysed,  401 
Ponte  Felice,  i.  159 

Fontanile,  i.  202 

Formello,  i.  17 

d'Isola,  i.  17 

Molle,  i.  67 

Salaro,  i.  67 

Sodo  at  Veii,  i.  13,  14,  40  ;  at  Vulci,  398 

Terrano,  i.  122,  125 

Pons  Sublicius,  of  wood,  i.  18,  401 
Populonia,  roads  to,  ii.  220,  225,  233 ;  a  colony 
of  Volaterrse,  143,  236 ;  its  ports,  234 ;  castle, 
235 ;   remains  at,  236,  238  ;  walls,   240 ;   not 
polygonal,  241 ;  tombs,  241 ;  Etruscan  name, 
2 12  ;  coins,  243 
Porsena,  his  campaign  against  Rome,  i.  27  ;  all 
the  events  of  it  are  legendary,  ii.  329 ;  in  what 
respect  a  king,  388;   his  tomb  at  Clusium, 
i.  415  ;  ii.  385  ;  its  dimensions  greatly  exag- 
gerated, 387  ;  analogy  to  the  tomb  at  Albano, 
to  the  Cucumella  of  Vulci,  and  the  tomb  of 
Alyattes  at  Sardis,  389 ;  its  labyrinth,  390 ; 
analogy  to  the  Poggio  Gajella,  400 ;  name  on 
Etruscan  urns,   377,  389;   whether  Porsena 
or  Porsenna,  388 
Porta  all'Arco,  ii.  146;  antiquity  of,  147  ;  three 
heads,  148;  portcullis,  150;  illustrated  by  an 
urn  in  the  Museum  of  Volterra,  176 
Portcullis,  antiquity  of,  ii.  150 
Porticoes  to  Etruscan  houses,  i.  lxii. ;  255,  418  ; 
to  tombs,  130,  131,  157,  249,  257,  491,  493  ; 
Araeostyle,  255 
Portoferrajo,  ii.  240 
Portraits  of  the  deceased,  painted  in  tombs,  i. 

222,  313 
Portraits,  in  Etruscan   sepulchral   statues,  ii. 

343  ;  in  canopi,  356 
Ports  of  Etruria  :  Graviscae,  i.  387  ;  Pyrgi,  ii. 
12,  16;  Pisse,  85;  Luna,  79;  Populonia,  143, 
234;  Vada,  211 ;  Telamone,  258,  260,  298 
Portus  Herculis,  ii.  277 
Pozzuoli,  ii.  121 

Priam,  death  of,  on  an  Etruscan  urn,  ii.  406 
Prima  Porta,  i.  82 

Prizes  in  public  games,  i.  lxxxi.,  Ixxxii.;  ii.  379 
Processions,  funeral,  on  sepulchral  monuments, 
i.  249,  253,  309;  illustrated  by  history,  311 ; 
funeral,   on  horseback,    193  ;   in  cars,  196  ; 
painted  on  a  vase,  197  ;  on  foot,  197  ;  judicial, 
on  Etruscan  urns,  187  ;  triumphal,  188  ;  with 
captives,  467  ;  of  priests,  348 
Prochous,  forms  of,  i.  xcvii. 
Procopius,  his  description  of  TJrbiventus  erro- 
neously applied  to  Orvieto,  i.  527 
Prometheus  and  the  vulture,  on  a  vase,  ii.  510 
Promis,  on  Luna,  ii.  7}),  81 
Proserpine,  rape  of,  on  urns,  ii.  172  ;  on  vases, 

509 
Prow,  on  coins,  i.  3S9;  ii.  205,  260,  424 
Ptolemy,  incorrectness  of,  ii.  216 
Pugilists,    received    by    Rome   from  Etruria, 

i.  95 
Fuglia,  vases  of,  i.  lxxxiii. 
Pumpuni,  tomb  of  the,  at  Perugia,  ii.  487 
Pumpus,  Etruscan  form  of  Pompcius,  i.  307 


550 


INDEX. 


l'unicum,  ii.  7 

Puntone  del  Castratn,  ancient  town  and  necro- 
polis at,  ii.  8 — 10  ;  must  be  Castrum  Vetus,  10 

Puntone  del  Ponte,  tomb  at,  i.  157 

Pupluna,  ii.  242 

Pyramids  in  Greece,  i.  252,  352 ;  ii.  64 ;  in 
"Etruria,  ii.  416 ;  ii.  59,  389 ;  in  the  tomb  of 
Porsena,  385 ;  in  Mexico,  i.  352 

Pyrgi,  polvgonal  Walls  of,  ii.  11 ;  size  of,  12, 
13;  Pelasgic,  13;  temple  of  Ilithyia,  12,  14; 
port  of  Caere,  12 ;  pirates  of,  14  ;'  no  towers, 
16,  272 

Pythagoras,  cave  of,  at  Cortona,  ii.  446  ;  its  great 
antiquity,  448 


Qvadriga,  of  Veii,  i.  57 ;  in  triumphs,  introduced 

from  Etruria,  ii.  188 
Quay,  ancient,  on  bank  of  the  Marta,  i.  393 
Quiueussis,  ii.  112,  424 


R. 
Races,  Etruscan,  i,  95,  326,  330,  340 ;  ii.  186, 

363,  369,  379  ;  institution  of,  24 

of  trigce,  ii.  339,  408 

on  foot,  ii.  369 

of  women,  ii.  501 

Race-horses,  Etruscan,  renowned,  i.  340 
Ranks,  distinction  of,  at  public  games,  i.  99 
Rapinium,  i.  391 
Rasena,  the  Etruscans  so  called  by  themselves, 

i.  xxxi 
Ravenna,  probably  of  Etruscan  origin,  i.  xxvi ; 

Etruscan  relics  found  at,  xxxv. 
Ravines  in  Etruria,  i.  127,  154,  259,  474 
Regis-villa,  i.  398 

Regulini-Galassi,  Grotta  di,  ii.  45  ;  construc- 
tion, 46  ;  antiquity,  47  ;  bronzes,  48,512  ;  gold 

and  jewellerv,    50,  524  ;   terra-cotta  figures, 

522 
Reliefs  on  the  exterior  of  sepulchres,  i.  249, 

251—254,  487 ;  on  the  interior,  358 ;  ii.  35, 

375 ;  on  urns,  painted,  346,  372,  403,  484 
Repetti,   on   Massa,   ii.  218  ;    on  the  battle  of 

Telamon,  246,  259 
Rhaetia,  connection  of,  with  Etruria,  i.  xxxiii ; 

Etruscan  remains  found  in,  xxxiv. 
Rhyta,  form  of,  i.  xcix. ;  ii.  94,  351,  511 
Rignano,  i.  185,  186 
Rings,  worn  by  the  ancients,  i.  444 ;  why  on  the 

fourth    finger,    445 ;    of  iron,    445 ;    luxury 

in,  445 
Rio  Maggiore,  i.  122 
Roads,  cut  in  the  rock,  i.  13, 1 7,  35, 1 1 5,  1 1 7 , 1 2 1 , 

155,  156,  259,  263,   267,  324,  473,  484,  496  ; 

ii.  29  ;  with  inscriptions,  i.  156,  259 
flanked  with  Etruscan  tombs,  i.  263, 324, 

496 

ancient,  or  causeway,  i.  393 

paved,  origin  of,  i.  lis. 

Greek,  i.  484 

Roman,  i.  7,  13,  77,  105,  135,  158.  204, 

478,  511  ;  ii.  124,312 
Rocca,  Romana,  i.  274 
Rocks,  like  Cyclopean  walls,  i.  226 
Rocking-stone,  i.  226 
Rods,  twisted,  in  funeral  processions,  i.  253, 

310,  312 
Home,  size  of,  i.  19;  rebuilt,  with  the  nuns  of 

Veii,  21 ;  distant  view  of,  80,  191 ;  domination 

of,  in  Etruria,  ii.  223  ;   road  to,  from  Civita 

Vccchia,  5 
Musco  Gregoriano,  ii  .491 ;  Musco  Cam- 

pana,  52S  ;  private  collections,  535 
lioma  quadrata,  ii.  125 
Roman  house,  resemblance  of  an  Etruscan  tomb 

to,  ii.  483 


Ronciglione,  an  Etruscan  site,  i.  85  ;  inns,  86 

Rossulum,  a  doubtful  name,  i.  84 

Ruggieri  of  Viterbo,  i.  212,  215,  229 

Ruins,  Roman,   on  Etruscan  sites,  i.  215,  392, 

402,  510 
Ruseix^:,  site  of,  ii.  24" ;   walls  of,  248  ;  not 

polygonal,  249 ;  local  remains,  252 ;  solitary 

sepulchre,  254 
Ruspi,  on  the  tombs  of  Tarquinii,  i.  297,  298  ; 

on  the  Porta  all'Areo,  ii.  147 


Sabate,  i.  273 

Sabatina  Tribus,  i.  273 

Sabatinus,  Lacus,  i.  84,  273 

Sabines,  ii.  51 

Sacrifice,  relief  of  a,  i.  511 ;  ii.  520  ;  painting  of 

a,  i.  342,  519 
Sacrifices  on  Etruscan  urns,  ii.  189 
Saleto,  i.  119 
Salii,  their  rites,  i.  81 ;  dances  of,  295 ;  ii.  365  ; 

gem  of  the,  106,  365 
Saline,  Le,  i.  389 
Salingolpe,  ii.  136 
Salpinum,  i.  504,  527 
Salt-works,  ancient,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Tiber, 

i.  25,  26,  378 

at  S.  Clemenrino,  i.  390 

S.  Andrea  a.  Morgiano,  ii.  113 
San  Casciano,  ii.  114 

de  Bagni,  ii.  326 

San  Clementino,  i.  389 

San  Cornelio,  ancieut  city  at,  ii.  428  ;  probably 

Etruscan,  429  ;  and  the  site  of  the  original 

Arretiiun,  430  ;  or  of  the  colony  of  Fidens,  431 
Sangallo,  his  chef  d'wuvre,  i.  116 
San  Giovanni  di  Bieda,  i.  272 
S.  Ippolito,  i.  244 
San  Lorenzo,  Grotte  di,  i.  502 

Nuovo,  i.  502 

Vecchio,  i.  502 

San  Manno,  Tempio  di,  ii.  488  ;  not  a  temple, 

but  a  tomb,  488  ;  an  Etruscan  inscription  o-j 

the  vault,  489 
San  Martino  alia  Palma,  ii.  114 
San  Martino,  site  of  Capena,  i.  1S3 
S.  Oreste,  an  Etruscan  site,  i.  179;  probably 

Eeronia,  ISO 
San  Silvestro,  ancient  city  at,  i.  160  ;  convent  of, 

on  Soracte,  179 
St.  Augustine,  legend  of,  i.  391 
Sta.  Maria  di  Faueri,  see  Faixeri 
Santa  Marinella,  bay  of,  ii.  7  ;  remains  found 

at,  7  ;  bridges,  7 
Santa  Severa,  site  of  Pyrgi,  ii.  11 
S.  Stefano,  Grotte  di,  i.  212 
Sandals,  Etruscan,  i.  lxx. 
Sarcophagi,  Etruscan,  hewn  in  the  rock,  i.  124 ; 

ii.  311 ;  curious  one  in  the  British  Museum,  i. 

222,  227;  at  Musignano,  436,  459;  at  Tosea- 

nella,  444 ;  that  of  the  Niobides,  448 ;  at  Caere, 

ii.  39 ;  of  terra  cotta,  529 ;    like  temples,   i. 

222,  227 ;   ii.  39 ;   in  the  form  of  a  circidar 

Ionic  temple,  527  ;  in  the  form  of  couches, 

i.  445  ;  made  to  order,  450  ;  market  value  of, 

460 
Sardinia,  probably  a  possession  of  the  Etruscans, 

i.  xxxv. ;  not  visible  from  Populonia,  ii.  339  ; 

Sepolture  de'  Giganti,  254 
Sarsinates,  ii.  468 
Sarteano,  supposed  site  of  Camars,  ii.  331,  407  ; 

roads  to,  404,  410  ;  inn,  405  ;  collection  ol'Cav. 

Bargagli,  405 ;  of  Dr.  Borselli,  407  ;  of  Signor 

Lungbini,  407  ;  tombs  of,  409 
Saturn,  an  Etruscan  god,  i.  liii. 
Saturnia,  roads  to,  Ii.  305,  307,  323;  modern 

village,  308;  guide,   308;  the  fattoria,  308, 

313  ;  ancient  polygonal  walls  of,  309 ;  Bagno 


INDEX 


551 


Secco,  310  ;  local  remains,  310  ;  sarcophagi  in 
the  rock,  311;  necropolis,  312,  314;  Pelasgic 
antiquity  of,  318 ;  and  of  the  walls,  319 
Satyrs  in  bronze,  ii.  443 

Savorelli,  Marchese,  proprietor  of  the  amphi- 
theatre at  Sutri,  i.  100 
Saxa  Rubra,  i.  43 
Scansano,  ii.  306 

Scarabaei,  described  and  classified,  i.  lxxii. ;  dis- 
tinguished from  the  Egyptian,  Ixxiii ;  collec- 
tions of,  ii.  335,   357,  359 ;  where  found,  i. 
lxxiv. ;  ii.  375 ;  a  chain  of,  532 
Scena,  the  best  preserved,  in  Italy,  i.  208 
Schellersheim,  Baron,  ii.  126 
Schmitz,  Dr.  on  the  Fescennine  songs,  i.  152 
School,  represented  on  an  Etruscan  urn,  ii.  191 
Scipio  Africanus,  the  first  who  shaved  daily,  i. 

344 
Scrofano,  i.  80,  83 
Sculpture,  Etruscan,  i.  Ixvii — lxxii. ;  coloured,  i. 

lxxii.,  446  ;  ii.  39,  337 
Scylla,  the  Etruscan,  i.  487 ;  ii.  96,  182,  345, 

484;  the  Greek,  497 
Scyphus,  form  of  the,  i.  xcviii. 
Sea-horses  on  Etruscan  monuments,  i.  220,  329 ; 

ii.  37,  184,  345 
Sebaste  in  Cilicia,  ii.  121 
Sec,  Etruscan  for  "  daughter,"  i.  xliv. 
Sejanus,  i.  507,  509 
Selva  la  Kocca,  ii.  76 
Selva  di  Vetleta,  ii.  226 
Semeria,  Padre,  i.  238 
Septem  Pagi,  i.  25,  26 

Sepulture,  modes  of,  i.  38  ;  Etruscan  —  not 
within  city-walls,  121 ;  exceptions,  385 ;  ii. 
441 

Roman,  i.  121,  385 

Greek,  121,  385 

Serchio,  ii.  87 

Sergardi,  Grotta,  ii.  449 ;  furniture  of,  452 

Sermoneta,  Duchess  of, — her  excavations,  ii.  7, 

8,  16,  71—73,  76 
Serpents  on  Etruscan  monuments,  i.  221,  311 ; 
their  sacred  character  among  other  ancient  na- 
tions, 221 ;  roundheads  of  Furies,  310;  orround 
arms,  311 ;   bestridden  by  boys,  323  ;   borne 
by  demons,  3ti8  ;  represent  Genii,  i.  221 ;  ii. 
67 ;    symbols   of   volcanic   powers,    183 ;    of 
bronze,  162 ;  of  terra  cotta,  crested,  on  the 
walls  of  a  tomb,  479 
Serpent-charmers,  i.  326 
Servius  Tullius,  agger  of,  i.  13 ;  walls  of,  ii.  59; 

triumphs  over  the  Etruscans,  i.  26 
Sethlans,  Etruscan  name  of  Vulcan,  i.  lii. ;  ii. 

520 
Sette  Vene,  i.  83 
Seven,  a  sacred  number  with  the  Etruscans,  ii. 

359 
Seven  before  Thebes,  on  an  urn,  ii.  486 
Sewerage  of  Etruscan  cities,  i.  lix. 
Sewers,  i.  40;  cut  in  cliffs,  87,  112,  118,  136, 
196,  215,  263,  453,  529;  ii.  29;  formed  in  city 
walls,  121,  151;  in  Cyclopean  cities,  121,  276 
Sex,    distinguished    by    colour,    in   Etruscan 

paintings,  i.  288,  290;  ii.  36,  382 
Shafts,  means  of  entrance  to  tombs,  i.  123,  210, 
212,  237,  302,  361,  490;  ii.  45,  382;    in  the 
floor  of  tombs,  ii.  37,  72 
Shepherds,   Roman,  i.  23,  116;   ii.  19;  make 

good  guides,  i.  146 
Shield,  Etruscan — singular  one  found  at  Bo- 
marzo,  i.  224 ;  ii.  513  ;  form  of  Etruscan,  i. 
252  ;  ii.  512 ;  borrowed  by  the  Romans,  i.  lviii., 
252  ;  decoration  of  sepulchral  monuments, 
252  ;  ii.  64 ;  emblazoned,  i.  253  ;  ii.  65 ;  in 
tombs,  i.  370,  417  ;  ii.  35,  30,  45,  49;  in  the 
pediment  of  a  tomb,  477  ;  as  in  Phrygia, 
478 ;  at  a  banquet,  36 ;  very  large,  534  ;  in 
Greek   tombs,  64 ;    on   city-walls,    i.   252 ; 


ii.   65 ;   an  anathema,  64 ;  on  Panathenaic 
vases,  65 
Sicily,  tombs  of,   i.  39;    pits  of,  121;    ii.  61; 

vases  of,  i.  425,  438 
Siculi,  the,  i.  xxxi. 
Siege  of  a  city,  represented  on  Etruscan  urns, 

ii.  176,  355 
Siena,  of  Roman  antiquity,  ii.  135 ;  inns,  136 ; 

tombs  in  the  neighbourhood,  136—140 
Silenus,  vase  of,  in  the  Museo  Gregoriano,  ii. 

498 
Silex,  quarries  of,  i.  209,  467 
Silex,  application  of  the  term,  i.  467  ;  ii.  84. 
Sili,  corn-pits,  i.  121 
Silicernium,  i.  294 
Silvanus,  an  Etruscan  god,  i.  liv. ;  grove  of,  ii. 

18,56 
Silver  vessels  in  tombs,  ii.  50,  525  ;   with  in- 
scriptions, 51 ;  now  in  the  Gregorian  Mu- 
seum, 525 
Simpulum,  ii.  366 
Sirens,  i.  127,  434;  ii.  96;  painted  in  a  tomb, 

382 ;  in  bronze,  443 
Sisenna,  ii.  411 

Sistrum  found  at  Orbetello,  ii.  265 
Skeletons,  crumbling,  i.  54,  354;  ii.  61 
Slaves  in  Etruria,  i.  xlviii ;   insurrection  of, 
i.  506,  518 ;   burial  of,  124 ;  in  funeral  pro- 
cessions, ii.  194,  195 
Smalt  in  Etruscan  tombs,  ii.  59,  62,  72,  76 
Solar  disk,  in  the  pediment  of  a  tomb,  ii.  478 
Solon,  tomb  of,  ii.  37 
Solonium,  opinions  on,  i.  504  ;  ii.  300,  373 
Sommavilla,  vases  of,  i.  188 
Soracte,  like  Gibraltar,  i.  177;  view  from  it, 
179;  geological  structure,  178,  182;  quarried 
by  the  Romans,    180 ;   temple  of  Apollo  on, 
179  ;  wolves,  187  ;  cave  with  foul  vapour,  187. 
Sorano,  site  of,  i.  477  ;  inn,  476;  remains,  478  ; 
Soriano,  i.  159 

Sovana,  necropolis  of,  discovered  by  Mr.  Ainslcy, 
i.  482  ;  great  variety  of  tombs,  483,  495  ;  decay 
of  the  city,  484  ;  local  remains,  486  ;  La  Fon- 
tana,  486 ;  Poggio  Prisca,  489 ;  Grotta  Pola, 
491 ;  Poggio  Stanziale,  493 ;  roads  to,  484, 497,; 
mouldings,  498 ;  Etruscan  inscriptions,  499. ' 
Souls,  symbolised  by  birds,  i.  127 ;  represented 
by  warriors,  285  ;   passage  of,  53,  313,   362, 
428 ;  in  charge  of  demons,  313,  319 ;    in  cars, 
320,  439 ;  ii.  90  ;  on  horseback,  i.  322 ;  ii.  193, 
493 ;    entering  the  gate  of   hell,   358 ;    tor- 
mented, i.  348 ;  costume  of,  ii.  194 ;  fed  by  the 
ancients,  i.  lxxxiv. 
Sow  of  Crommyon,  i.  337 
Sozzi,  Capitano,  his  collection,  ii.  358 
Spczia,  Gulf  of,  ii.  79 

Sphinx,  Etruscan,  i.  51 ;  painted  on  an  ostrich 
egg,  420  ;  in  stone,  ii.  346',  395  ;  in  bronze, 
with  a  tutulus,  465;    on  the  exterior  of  a 
tomb,  i.  257 
Spoon  of  bone,  i.  424 
Spina,  a  Pelasgic  city,  i.  xxvi. 
Spurina,  in  an  Etruscan  inscription,  ii.  425,  526 
Stackclbcrg,  Baron,  discovered  a  tomb  at  Cor- 

neto,  i.  329 
Stamnos,  form  of,  i.  xcv. 
Statonia,  placed  at  Farnese,  i.  463,  407  ;  at 
Castro,   467 ;    perhaps  Pitigliano,   473 ;    site 
not    determined,   but    near  Tarquinii,   467 ; 
quarries  of,  407  ;  Lake  of,  467,  469;  wine  of, 
502 
Statua,  ii.  75 

Statues,  Etruscan,  in  terra-cotta,  i.  lxix. ;  ii. 
530 ;  in  stone,  i.  lxxi. ;  of  females,  422  ;  ii. 
114,  202,  496;  sitting,  336,  474;  of  Furies, 
474;  of  Jupiter  in  wood,  238;  in  bronzr,  i. 
lxix.  ;  of  a  boy,  supposed  to  be  Tages,  ii. 
515;  Roman,  of  Meleager,  7;  Uinbrian,  of 
a  warrior  from  Todi,  515 ;    kissing  of,  149 


552 


INDEX. 


Steub,  on  the  relation  of  Rhcetia  to  Etruria,  i. 

Stia  del  Casentino,  u.  108 

Stone  bridges,  i.  18 

Btraociacappa,  lake  of,  i.  84 

Striirils,  ii.  426;  of  silver,  o33 

,  in  tombs,  i.  101,  222;  n.  3o,  43 

81  s  ria.  relics  found  in,  i.  xxxiv. 

guana,  tee  Borana  . 

Subulo,  Etruscan  for  tibicen,  l.  283 

Succinium,  an  engulfed  town,  i.  190 

Succosa,  ii.  26.">,  279 

Sudertum,  i.  463,  478 

Summanus,  an  Etruscan  deity,  who  hurled 
thunderbolts,  i.  lii. 

Superstition  of  the  ancients,  i.  33 

Surrentuni,  probably  of  Etruscan  origin,  L  xxvn. 

Surrina,  i.  159;  at  Viterbo,  197,  199 

Svtki.  i.  SG  j  history  of,  90  ;  ancient  proverb 
on  '  86,  91 ;  kev  of  Etruria,  86 ;  Etruscan 
name,  90  ;  allv  of  Rome,  90  ;  besieged  by  the 
Etruscans,  91,  379  ;  Porta  Furia,  91  ;  battle 
of  92;  amphitheatre,  94—100;  tombs  in  the 
cliffs,  100—102  ;  house  of  Pilate,  103 ;  excava- 
tions, 103  .    ,., 

Swords,  Etruscan,    i.  253,   369  ;    curved    like 
scimetars,  ii.  478 ;  in  the  hand  of  a  figure  on 
a  sepulchral  urn,  ii.  485 
Sylla,  his  body  burnt,  i.  39 
Symposium,  Etruscan,  i.  325,  335  ;  ii.  365 
Syracuse,  sepulchres  of,  i.  38,  263;  ii.  157,  312  ; 
'tomb  of  Archimedes,  333;  amphitheatre  of, 
i.  97 ;  ancient  roads  of,  ii.  121 


T. 

Tablets  in  th«  hands  of  statues,  ii.  170 
Tablinum,  in  an  Etruscan  tomb,  ii.  1S3 
Tabula  Cibellaria,  a  forgery,  i.  197 
Tages,  legend  of,  i.  lv.,  373  ;  supposed  statue  of, 

ii.  515 
Talajots  of  the  Balearies,  ii.  47,  160 
Talaria,  i.  319  .   n_ 

Tanaquil,  Etruscan  form  of,  l.  301 ;  ii.  o2/  ;  ner 

powers,  i.  lxi.,  447 
Taormina,  theatre  of,  i.  98 ;  its  tcena,  208 
Tapestry  in  a  tomb,  i.  368 
Tarchoii,  i.  372 

TaRQCINTI. 

its  necropolis,  i.  276,  323,  355 
Grotta  Querciola,  i.  281 

Triclinio,  i.  2S8 

del  Morto.  i.  298 

de'Pompej,  i.  302 

del  Cardinale,  i.  314 

delle  Bighe,  i.  324 

del  Mare,  i.  328 

del  Barone,  i.  329 

Francesca,  i.  332 

della  Scrofa  >"era,  i.  335 

delle  Iscrizioni,  i.  338,  519 

Ml  rcareccia,  i.  358 

comparative  antiquity  of  these  tombs,  i.  344 
fair  specimens  of  Etruscan  art,  347:  lost  tombs 
348,  367  ;  Tumuli  of,  350  ;  Mausoleum,  3o0 
Byres,  on  the  tombs  of,  316, 367 ;  excavations 
3o'5,  3S2  ;  potterv  of,  357  ;  remains  on  the  site 
381—385;  Arx,'3S2  ;  Ara  della  Regina,  383 
buried  arch,  3S3:   origin  of   the  city,  372 
Etruscan  name.  372,  380  ;  one  of  the  Twelve, 
374 ;  ecclesiastical  metropolis,  346,  374  ;  his- 
tory of,  374;  intercourse  with  Greece,  340, 
357':    priests    of,    armed,   with  torches  and 
serpents,  311,  37S;  city  destroyed,  380.    See 

CORXETO 

Tarquinius  Prisons,  his  conquest  of  Ktrana 
legendary,  i.  376  ;  introduced  the  Etruscan 
insignia  'into  Home,  377  :  and  the  Etruscan 
garni - 


Tarquinius    Superbus,    expelled   from  Rome, 

took  refuge  in  Care,  ii.  24,  4:2 
Tarquins,  tomb  of  the,  ii.  41 ;  Etruscan  forms  of 

the  name,  41,  44,  102 
Tarquitia,  family  of,  i.  10 ;  ii.  42 
Tarraco,  i.  lviii. 
Tartaglia,  tomb  of,  i.  34S 

Ti  i  oinx,  battle  of,  ii.  246,  259,  440,  coins  of, 
260 ;   was  the  port  of  the  newly  found  city 
near  Magliano,  298 
Telamonaceio,  ii.  258 
Telamone,  ii.  257  ;  its  port,  25S,  260 ;  antiquity, 

259.    See  Telamon- 
Temples,  Etruscan,  i.  lxi.,  lxii. 
Temple-like  sarcophagi,  i.  222  ;  ii.  39 
Temples,  on  heights,  i.  520 ;  and  on  Arces,  520  ; 

relation  to  tombs,  ii.  4S9 
Termessus  in  Paniphylia,  ii.  121 
Terni,  ii.  122 

Terra-cotta,  Etruscan  works  in,  i.  lxviii. 
Terra  Mozza,  walls  at,  ii.  436 
Terrosi,  Cavaliere,  collection  of,  ii.  402 
Tessenano,  i.  462 
Teutones,  ii.  87 
Thalna,  the  Etruscan  Juno,  i.  Ii. ;  on  mirrors, 

ii.  521 
Thamvras  contending  with  the  Muses,  ii.  504 
Theatres,  antiquity  of,  in  Italy,  L  95 ;  of  Falleri, 

138;  of  Ferento,  205  ;  of  Fiesole,  ii.  126 
Tbeban  Brothers,  on  Etruscan  urns,    ii.   177, 
406;   most  common  on  those  of  terra-cotta, 
346  ;  on  a  sarcophagus,  494 
Thebes,  the  Seven  before,  on  Etruscan  urns,  ii. 

176 
Theodoric  sanctioned  grave-spoiling,  i.  lxxxv., 

356 
Thephri,  Etruscan  form  of  Tibris,  ii.  4S1 
Thera,  isle  of,  ii.  122 ;  tombs  of,  311 
Thesan,  the  Etruscan  Aurora,  i.  liii. ;  on  mirrors, 

ii.  520 
Theseus,  on   Etruscan  monuments,  ii,  115;  on 

vases,  501,  503,  504,  508 
Thetis,  on  a  sea-horse,  on  an  urn,  ii.  485;  called 

Thethis  on  a  mirror,  520 
Tholi  in  Etruria,  ii.  125,  160,  161 ;  in  America, 

161 
Thrasymene,  Lake  of,  ii.  455 ;  battle  of,  455  ; 

burnt  up,  457 
Thunder-bolts,  eleven  sorts  of,  i.  lii. 

calendar,  i.  xxxix. 

gods,  i.  lii. 

Tiber,  vale  of  the,  i.  171,  214;  probably  an  Etrus- 
can name,  ii.  481 
Tibicina,  i.  333 

Tiles,  with  sepulchral  inscriptions,  ii.  347 
Tinia,  the  Etruscan  Zeus,  i.  1. ;  represented  on 
mirrors,  ii.  520,  521 ;  the  name  of  a  family, 
and  of  a  river,  4S1 
Tirvns,  gallery  of,  i.  352  ;  ii.  47 
Tisiphone,  i.  311,  321 
Todi,  i.  530  ;  ii.  122 ;  statue  from,  515 
Toga,  origin  of  the,  i.  xlii. :  received  by  the  Ro- 
mans from  the  Etruscans,  xlii. ;  ii.  359 
Tombs,   Etruscan,    subterranean,   i.  lx.,   lxv. : 
rifled  in  past  ages,  i.  lxxxiv .,  49,  236,  356 ;  u. 
398  ;  analo?v  to  houses,  i.  lxvi.,  59,  1:7,  233, 
262,  493;  ii.  32,  393,472,  483;  to  huts,  i.  Lxvi.; 
ii.  61 ;    to  temples,    i.    247.    255,    313,   4^.', 
491 ;  ii.  40  ;  to  funeral  pyres,  i.  271 ;  ii.  61 ; 
like  cromlechs,   at  Sta.  Marinella,    ii.  B  :    at 
Saturnia,   316;  at  Cortona.  449;    like  guard- 
houses, 8 ;  elliptical,  i.  237 ;  ii.  3S ;  circular, 
157,  158,   159,  393;   vaulted   with  a  perfect 
arch,  376,  441,  488 :  with  trench  and  ram- 
part, i.  271,  417  ;  within  citv-walls,  3S3  :  ii. 
441  ;  draining  of,  i.  100 :  ii.  73,  158,  451  ;  in- 
congruity between  exterior  and  interior,  i.  235, 
255;  arc  banquetinsr-halls  of  the  dead,  262, 
443;  luxury  in,  347 ;  sacredness  of,  347  ;  pro- 


INDEX. 


553 


fanation    of,   102,   118,   157,   268,   316,   359, 
474,  516 ;  described  by  Ariosto,  308 
Tomb,  Etruscan,  imitation  of,  at  Toscanella,  i. 

443 ;  in  the  Gregorian  Museum,  ii.  528 
Tombs,    Roman,    i.  lxv.,  136,    138,    347,   405, 
416;  Greek,  347;  ii.  46;  of  Greek  priests,  51 
Tombolo,  ii.  277 

Torch  on  funeral  monuments,  ii.  195 
Toreutic  art  in  Etruria,  i.  lxix. ;  earliest  mode 

of,  423 
Torquatus,  scene  of  his  combat  with  the  Gaul, 

i.  67 
Torques,  i.  444 ;  on  statues,  ii.  346,  533 
Torques  of  gold,  i.  xxxiv. ;  ii.  532 
Torre  Alfina,  i.  527 

di  Baratti,  ii.  234 

della  Bella  Marsilia,  ii.  258 

■ —  di  Cbiaruccia,  ii.  6 

Flavia,  ii.  17 

di  Maccarese,  ii.  7  6 

Nuova,  site  of  Algse,  ii.  3 

di  San  Manno,  ii.  458 

di  S.  Vincenzio,  ii.  226 

della  Tagliata,  ii.  278 

diTroja,  ii.  245 

Toscanella,  inn,  i.  441  ;  the  Campanari  and  their 
collection,  441—452 ;  tomb  of  the  Calcarello, 
447;  antiquity  of  the  site,  452;  S.  Pietro, 
453  ;  loeal  remains,  453  ;  necropolis,  455  ; 
Grotta  Regina,  455 ;  excavations,  456 — 458 ; 
pottery,  457 
Towers,  i.  133—138;  ii.  125;  of  Cosa,  272; 
double,  i.  453  ;  round,  represented  on  an  urn, 
ii.  486 ;  look-out,  on  headlands,  238,  270 ;  in 
tumuli,  i.  413 ;  as  prescribed  by  Vitruvius, 
134;  ii.  272 
Towns,  Etruscan,  nameless,  i.  215,  276;  ii.  229, 

266,  323.    See  Cities 
Towns,  engulfed  by  lakes,  i.  190,  273 
Tragedies,  Etruscan,  i.  lvii. 
Trajanus  Portus,  ii.  245 

Travertine,  used  in  polygonal  masonry,  ii.  160, 
286  ;  of  Saturnia,  319  ;  in  the  Cyclopean  walls 
of  Rusellae,  249 ;  in  the  horizontal  masonry 
of  Chiusi,  332 ;  and  Perugia,  459 
Treasure,  traditions  of  hidden,  i.  80,  103 ;  ii.  58 
Treasuries  of  Greece,  ii.  49,  160 
Treaty  between  Etruria  and  Carthage,  i.  lviii. 
Trees,  conventional  mode  of  representing,  ii.  363 
Treia,  glen  of  the,  i.  119 
Trevignano,  i.  274 
Triclinia,  in  Etruscan  tombs,  ii.  483 
Triclinium,  the  only  ancient  painting  of,  ii.  37 
Trigae,  race  of,  ii.  339,  408 
Tripods,  of  bronze,  ii.  49,  512,  515,  534 
Triptolemus,  vase  of,  ii.  531 
Triturrita,  Villa,  ii.  85 
Triumphs,  Etruscan,  ii.  188 

Roman,  derived   from   Etruria,  ii. 

188  ;  description  of,  by  Appian,  agreeing  with 
scenes  on  Etruscan  urns,  188 
Trossulum,  taken  by  Roman  knights,  i.  517  ; 

not  identical  with  Troilium,  517 
Troy,  Scsean  gates  of,  i.  15 ;  war  of,  shown  on 

Etruscan  monuments,  449;  ii.  99,  116,  177 
Trumpet,  Etruscan,  or  lituus,  i.  312  ;  ii.  380, 

513  ;  invention  of,  i.  xxxiii.,  xli. 
Tullianum,  ii.  125 

Tumuli,  at  Veii,  i.  46 ;  at  Tarquinii,  323,  350, 
358 ;  at  Vulci,  413 ;  at  Caere,  ii.  18,  33,  46, 
57,  59,  60;  at  Prima  Torre,  6 ;  at  Monteroni, 
71;  at  Volterra,  160;  at  Populonia,  242;  at 
the  city  discovered  near  Magliano,  295  ;  at 
Saturnia,  315  ;  of  Poggio  Gajella,  at  Chiusi, 
391,  400  ;  at  Cortona,  448,  449  ;  in  the  ceme- 
teries of  the  Aborigines  of  Italy,  i.  353  ;  ii. 
320  ;  in  Lydia,  i.  353,  414,  415 ;  ii.  61 ;  thought 
to  be  a  mark  of  distinction,  i.  413 
Tunnel,  Etruscan,  i.  14,  40 


Tunny-fishery  at  Populonia,  ii.  238 ;  at  Cosa, 

270 
Turan,  the  Etruscan  Venus,  i.  liii. ;  on  mirrors, 

ii.  521 
Turianus,  an  Etruscan  artist,  ii.  76 
Turms,  or  Thurms,  the  Etruscan  Mercury,  i. 

liii. ;  on  mirrors,  ii.  520,  521 
Tuscan  order  of  architecture,  i.  lxi. ;  illustrated 

by  monuments,  i.  255  ;  ii.  61,  159 
Tuscania,  see  Toscanella 
Tuscanica  signa,  i.  lxix. ;  ii.  104 
Tutni,  or  Tutna,  an  Etruscan  name  preserved 

in  a  hill,  ii.  412 
Tutulus,  worn  by  priests,  i.  341  ;  by  a  dwarf, 

ii.  380 ;  by  a  sphinx,  465  ;  by  a  deity,  465 
Twelve  Cities  of  the  Etruscan  Confederation — 

Veii,  i.  24,  41  ;  Falerii,  141,  148 ;  Tarquinii, 

372,  374  ;  Volsinii,  504  ;    Caere,  ii.  23  ;  Vol- 

terrse,  143  ;  Rusellae,    255  ;    Vetulonia,  299  ; 

Clusium,  327  ;  Arretium,  418 ;  Cortona,  440  ; 

Perusia,  468 
Typhon,  on  Etruscan  monuments,  i.  219,  303  ; 

ii.  183 ;  in  bronze,  534 
tomb  of  the,  see  Tarquinii — Grotta 

Triclinio 
Tyrol,  Etruscan  relics  in  the,  i.  xxxiv. 
Tyrrhena  Sigilla,  i.  lxix. 
Tyrrheni,  Etruscans  so  called  by  the  Greeks,  i. 

xxxi. ;    often  confounded  with  the  Pelasgi, 

xxxii. 
Tyrrhenus,  legend  of,  i.  xxxiii.,  372 


IT. 

Ulysses  and  the  Sirens,  on  Etruscan  urns,  ii. 
96,  178;  with  Circe,  179,  402;  slaying  the 
suitors,  403 ;  Etruscan  legend  of,  438 

Umbrellas,  antiquity  of,  ii.  378 ;  in  a  tomb  at 
Chiusi,  378 

Umbri,  the  earliest  inhabitants  of  Etruria,  i. 
xxxi. ;  ii.  318  ;  built  Camars  or  Clusium,  328  ; 
Cortona,  438 ;  and  Perusia,  468 

Umbria,  on  an  Etruscan  urn,  ii.  374 

Umbrian  inscription  on  a  statue,  ii.  515  ;  bilin- 
gual, with  Latin,  494 

Umbro,  ii.  257 

Umrana,  family  of,  ii.  374 

Unheal thiness  of  the  Etruscan  coast,  i.  390  ;  ii. 
222,  247,  258,  266 

Urinates,  Etruscan  family  name,  i.  222,  242. 

Urns,  with  head-handles,  i.  57  ;  ii.  492 ;  in  the 
form  of  statues,  ii.  336,  337,  396 ;  in  the  form  of 
Canopi,  356  ;  fantastic,  with  figures  of  women 
and  dragons,  358 ;  in  the  form  of  a  banqueting- 
couch,  355  ;  like  houses,  390 ;  like  temples, 
i.  457  ;  ii.  98,  408,  475,  526 ;  like  huts,  i.  39 ; 
ii.  494;  numerous,  in  one  tomb,  158,  159; 
painted  and  gilt,  159,  171,  342,  346,  372,  403, 
406,  484 ;  of  terra-cotta,  i.  450 ;  ii.  492  ;  of 
bronze,  533  ;  crowned  with  chaplets,  i.  366  ; 
value  of,  as  records,  ii.  168  ;  bearing  Greek 
myths,  96,  171,  343,  493 

Usil,  Etruscan  name  of  Phoebus,  i.  liii. ;  ii.  520 

Ustrinoe,  i.  418 ;  differed  from  busta,  419 


V. 

Vada  Voi.aterrana,  ii.  211 

Vadimonian  Lake,  battles  of,  i.  167,  170,  380; 
Pliny's  description  of  its  floating  islands, 
168 ;  erroneously  placed  near  Viterbo,  202 

Vado  di  Trosso,  i.  517 

Valentano,  i.  468 

Valerius  Antias,  his  legend  of  the  Thrasymene, 
ii.  457 

Valerj,  Signor,  i.  452 

Vandalism  in  Italy,  i.  77,  410 


55-A 


INDEX. 


Varro,  description  of  the  tomb  of  Lars  Porsena, 
ii.  385 

Vases  of  Etruria,  earliest  are  not  painted,  i. 
Isxviii. ;  of  Veii,  56;  of  Caere,  ii.  62;  ofClu- 
sium,  crowned  with  cocks,  101,  347  ;  how 
blackened,  348 

Painted,  classified  according  to  styles, 

i.  lxxviii. ;  "  Egyptian,"  lxxix. ;  "  Etruscan," 
huts. ;  "Greek,"  lxxxii. ;  "Doric,"  lxxix.; 
"Attic,"  lxxx.,  lxxxviii. ;  of  the  Decadence, 
lxxxiii. ;  classified  according  to  form  and  use, 
xciv. ;  ii.  49" ;  why  placed  in  tombs,  i. 
lxxxiii ;  Panathenaic,  i.  lxxxi ;  ii.  504  ;  with 
Greek  inscriptions,  i.  lxxxviii,  426;  ii.  115, 
499;  with  Etruscan  inscriptions,  i.  Ixxxix. 
xc. ;  inscribed  with  alphabets,  225 ;  ii.  53 ; 
with  an  unknown  tongue,  i.  Lxxxvi. ;  ii.  508 ; 
antiquity  of,  i.  Ixxxix.,  425 ;  of  Veii,  fix  the 
date  of  the  art,  56 ;  home-made  or  imported, 
lxxxvi. ;  commerce  in,  lxxxvi.;  with  eyes, 
425, 434 ;  ii.  509  ;  opinions  on,  i.  438 ;  adorned 
with  wreaths,  366;  king  of,  ii.  99,  115,  350; 
restoration  of,  i.  434  ;  mended  by  the  ancients, 
528 ;  ii.  506,  507  ;  value  of,  i.  lxxxv. ;  burnt, 
lxxxiv. ;  red,  of  Arretium,  ii.  422  ;  factoryof 
Roman,  411 ;  of  Sabina,  like  those  of  Etruria, 
i.  188 ;  Murrhine,  lxxxv. 

Veientines,  their  skill  as  potters,  i.  16,  57. 

Veii,  site  of,i.  2  ;  walls,  5,  7, 15  ;  gates,  5,  7,  11, 
14, 17  ;  of  brass,  lxx. ;  Arx,  7, 34,  37,  42 ;  cuni- 
culus  of  Camillus,  10,  37  ;  temple  of  Juno,  10; 
bridges,  14,  16,  17  ;  extent  of  the  city,  19  ; 
ager,  24;  history,  24;  siege,  9,  31;  kings, 
30,  46,  174;  wine,  25;  tombs,  12,  34,  45; 
GrottaCampana,48— 61,  343;  Columbario,  12  ; 
excavations,  14,  46 ;  pottery,  17,  56 ;  ii.  62, 
533;  Roman  colony,  i.  21,  468;  Roman  re- 
mains, 6,  7,  21 

Vejovis  or  Vedius,  an  Etruscan  thunder-wield- 
ing god,  i.  lii. 

Vel  or  Vul,  an  Etruscan  initial,  ii.  144 

Velathri,  ii.  144 

Velimnas,  Etruscan  form  of  Volumnius,  ii.  473  ; 
tomb  of,  471 

Velinia,  ii.  473 

Velletri,  i.  287  ;  ii.  144 

Velsina,  i.  503 

Velthurna,  i.  499,  519;  ii.  219,  487 

Venus,  called  Turan,  by  the  Etruscans,  i.liii. 

Aphacitis,  shrine  and  lake  of,  ii.  Ill 

Verentum,  i.  468 

Vermi^lioli,  Cavaliere,  ii.  471 ;   his  answer  to 

Sir  W.  Bethani,  4;6 
Vermilion,  the  conventional  hue  of  rank  and 

glorification,  i.  290,  446;  ii.  36 
Verona,     Etruscan    inscription    found    at,    i. 

XXXV. 

Vertumnus,  an  Etruscan  god,  i.  liii.,  519 

Verulae,  sewers  of,  ii.  276 

Vesentum,  i.  468,  515 

Vestibule,  singular,  to  a  tomb  of    sere,  ii.  60 

Veternensis,  Massa,  ii.  219 

Veti,  tomb  of  the,  ii.  485 

Vetralla,  i.  106,  244;  inn  at,  245;  guide,  246 

Yetuloxia,  falsely  placed  at  Viterbo,  i.  195, 
200 ;  at  Vulci,  405 ;  at  Castiglion  Bernardi, 
ii.  214  ;  in  the  mountains  near  Campiglia, 
226 ;  at  Campiglia  itself,  229 ;  at  Massa,  or 
in  its  neighbourhood,  217,  218,  291;  at  Or- 
betello,  291 ;  most  probably  near  Magliano, 
299  ;  history  of,  299 ;  insignia  of  empire  de- 
rived from,  300  ;  maritime  character  of,  3()2 ; 
established  by  monumental  evidence,  303 ; 
coins  ascribed  to,  302;  destruction  of,  un- 
certain, 303 

Vetulonii,  ii.  215,  225,  300 

Via  Amerina,  i.  84,  135,  146,  156,  158,  171 

— -  Appia,  i.  38,  419;  ii.  120,  283 

Aurclia,  i.  397;  ii.  6,  75,  212,  261 


Via  Cassia,  i.  2,  7,  77,  83,  84,  85,  104—106, 
244;  ii.  413 

Clodia,  i.  77,  272,  273,  452;  ii.  312 

Flaminia,  i.  43,  67,  83,  161,  177 

Salaria,  i.  63,  69 

Veientana,  i.  7,  47 

Vibenna,  i.  446,  504,  511;  name  in  Etruscan, 
ii.  .%73 

Vicarello,  i.  274 

Vico,  Lago  di,  i.  189 

Vicus  Matrini,  i.  105 

Vignanello,  i.  159 

Virgin-tombs,  i.  354,  356  ;  ii.  45 

Visconti,  on  the  hut-urns  of  the  Alban  Mount, 
ii.  496 

Visor,  Etruscan,  ii.  513 

Viteeeo,  Tetrapolis  of,  i.  195 ;  supposed  to  be 
Fanum  Yoltiunnae,  195  ;  more  probably  Sur- 
rina,  197, 193;  ancient  remains,  196;  inn,  199; 
cicerone,  229  ;  half  of  the  Norchian  pediment, 
252  ;  road  from  Toscanella  to,  461 ;  from  Vet- 
ralla, 244 

Vitorchiano,  singular  privilege  of,  i.  210 ; 
peopled  from  Norchia,  258 

Vitruvius,  his  definition  of  emplecton  masonry, 
i.  106  ;  on  the  monuments  of  Ferentum,  209  ; 
on  towers,  134;  ii.  272 

Vittori,  his  work  on  Polimartium,  i.  226 

Yolaterrje,  one  of  the  Twelve,  i.  xxviii ;  ii.  143  ; 
walls,  i.  107  ;  ii.  142,  154;  at  Sta  Chiara, 
151 ;  at  the  Seminario,  ii.  155  ;  gates,  i.  15 ; 
ii.  152  ;  Porta  all'  Arco,  146;  Porta  di  Diana, 
153 ;  urns  of,  in  the  Campo  Santo  at  Pisa,  ii. 
90 ;  in  the  Uffizj  of  Florence,  94 ;  in  the 
Museum  of  Volterra,  169 ;  in  the  Gregorian 
Museum,  492  ;  their  date,  i.  lxxii ;  ii.  160, 
201  ;  jewellery,  205 ;  pottery,  100,  203  ;  sar- 
cophagi in  the  Museum,  197  ;  bronzes,  162, 
204 ;  warrior  in  relief,  202  ;  position  of  the 
city,  141 ;  history,  143  ;  ager,  143  ;  Etruscan 
name,  144  ;  maritime  character,  144  ;  de- 
fended by  Cicero,  145  ;  size,  155 ;  necropolis, 
156;  Grotta  de'  Marmini,  157;  tomb  of  the 
Caeeina?,  158;  tholi,  160;  excavations,  160, 
161,  162,  167;  Roman  remains,  162;  Buche 
de' Saracini,  165 ;  Saline,  212;  scenery,  164  ; 
Porta  a  Selci,  200.    See  Volterra 

Volnius,  see  Volumnius 

Volsci  subject  to  Etruria,  i.  xxv.,  404 

Volscian  reliefs  from  Velletri,  i.  lxviii.,  287  ; 
ii.  77 

Volsinii,  history  of,  i.  504;  its  castles,  503; 
Etruscan  name,  503 ;  coins,  503 ;  one  of 
the  Twelve,  504 ;  two  thousand  statues, 
505  ;  insurrection  of  slaves,  506,  518 ; 
site  of,  507,  508 ;  Etruscan  city  destroyed, 
508 ;  local  remains,  509  ;  temple  of  Nortia, 
509;  amphitheatre,  511;  excavations,  512; 
Lake  of,  503,  511,  514;  islands,  514,  515; 
miracle,  515;  quarries,  208,  467,  514.  See 
Bolsena 

Volta,  the  monster,  i.  507 

Volterra,  ii.  141 ;  inn,  146 ;  museum,  167 ; 
alabasters,  146;  Baize,  152.    Sec  Volatikk  i 

Voltumna,  an  Etruscan  goddess,  i.  liii.,  196, 
519;   ii.   219;   her   shrine,    see  Fajum  Vol- 

TOHKS 

Volumna,  ii.  473 

Volumnius,  or  Volnius,  a  writer  of  Etruscan 

tragedies,  i.  lvii  ;  ii.  473 
Volumnii,  tomb  of  the,  ii.  471 ;  inscription  on 

the  doorpost,  472 ;  sepulchral  banquet,  472  ; 

urns,  473;   painted  scene   on  an  urn,  474; 

temple-urn,  475  ;  decorations,  477  ;  furniture, 

480 ;  the  Velimnas  family,  480 ;  date  of  the 

tomb,  482 
Votive  offerings,  ii.  109,  111,  522 
Vulcan,  called  Sethlans  by  the  Etruscans,  i.  lii ; 

ii.  520  ;  worshiped  at  Perusia,  470 


INDEX. 


555 


Vulci,  recently  rediscovered,  i.  397,  407 ; 
grand  bridge  and  aqueduct,  399  ;  site  of  the 
city,  402  ;  no  history,  403  ;  Etruscan  charac- 
ter of  the  name,  403 ;  connection  with  the 
Volsci,  404 ;  ii.  287  ;  Roman  remains,  i.  402, 
405 ;  tomb  of  the  Sun  and  Moon,  408  ;  ii.  57  ; 
painted  tomb,  i.  409,  428 ;  tombs,  412  ;  the 
Cucumella,  412 ;  Grotta  d'  Iside,  419  ;  painted 
vases,  424,  420 ;  compared  with  those  of  Tar- 
quinii,  425 ;  gold  and  jewellery,  427  ;  ii. 
524  ;  road  from  Toscanella,  i.  461  ;  inscrip- 
tion, ii.  527 


W. 

W  ailing-women,   i.    295 ;    ii.    340 ;   why  they 

beat   their  breasts  and    tore  their  flesh,   i. 

lxxxiv. ;  ii.  354 
Wallachia,  torque  found  in,  i.  xxxv. 
Warriors,  figures  of,  ii.  105, 112,  534;  reliefs  of, 

107,  130,  202,  340 
Warrior-tombs,  i.  54,  224,  353,  369,  417  ;  ii.  49 
Water-channels  in  roads,  i.  35,  117,  156,  263, 

267,  496 

in  the  amphitheatre  of  Sutri,  i.  99 

in  tombs,  ii.  451 

Water  preserved  in  an  ancient  pot,  i.  166 
Wathen,  Mr.,  on  the  arches  in  Egyptian  tombs, 

i.  lxiv ;  on  the  origin  of  heraldry,  ii.  65 
Weapons,  Etruscan,  ii.  513  ;  in  tombs,  49 ;  dis- 
covery of,  in  a  lake,  1 10 
Welcker,  Professor,  on  Vulci,  i.  426 
Wheel  on  Etruscan  coins,  ii.  439, 466 
Wild-beasts,  sepulchral  emblems,    i.   359;   ii. 


101,  116;  on  the  lamp  of  Cortona,  443;  on 

vases,  498  ;  i.  lxxix. 
Wilkinson,  Sir  G.,    on    Egyptian  tombs  with 

arched  roofs,  i.  lxiv ;    his  description  of  a 

tomb  at  Beni  Hassan,  ii.  138 
Windows  in  tombs,  i.   262,  270 ;  ii.  32 ;   in  a 

shaft  opening  into  tombs,  382 
Wines  of  Etruria,  i.  25,  395,  467,  502  ;  ii.  20,  82 
Wing,  solitary,  in  a  tomb,  ii.  478 
Wolf  of  the  Capitol,  i.  lxx. ;  ii.  103 
Wolves  of  Soracte,  i.  186,  187 
Women,  treatment  of,  in  Etruria,  i.  Ixi. ;  equality 

with   men,  286;   learned  from  the  urns,  ii. 

170 ;   Etruscan,  maligned  by  the  Greeks,    i. 

287,  293;    rouged,    293;    modesty  of,    293; 

unchastity  of,  xlii ;  beauty  of,  447 ;  effigies  of, 

422,  423  ;  habits,  ii.  95  ;  Roman,  95 
Wrestlers,  Etruscan,  i.  339;  ii.  364,  369,  379 

X. 

Xanthtjs,  the  historian  of  Lydia,    i.   xxxiii. 

xxxvii 
Xerokampo,  bridge  of,  i.  lxiv  ;  ii.  275 
Ximenes,  the  Marchese  Panciatichi,  ii.  308 


Yucatan,  pseudo-arches  of,  ii.  47  ;    fascinum 
on  monuments  of,  123 


Zacchio,  Zaccaria,  describes  ruins  called  Vetu- 
lonia,  ii.  227 


THE  END, 


LONDON : 
BRADBURY    AND    EVANS,    PRINTERS,    Vl'HITKPRIARS 


ERRATA  IN  VOL.  II. 


Page  27,  note  6,  line  5,  for  "Canina  claims,"  read  "Yet  Canina  claims." 

52,  line  15,  for  "depositary,"  read  "depository." 

83,  note  1,  omit  this  note. 

90,  note,  line  4,  for  "was  less  extravagant,"  read  "was  hardly  less  extravagant." 
103,  note  4,  line  3,  for  "  Inghir.  III.  tav.  XXI."  read  "  Inghir.  III.  tav.  XX." 
117,  line  15,  for  "  cantharus"  read  "cylix." 
125,  note  6,  line  3,  omit  "  See  the  Chapter  on  Rome." 
156,  line  8  from  the  bottom,  for  "  damniflcar,"  read  "  dannificar." 
158,  line  13,  for  "Cecina,"  read  "Caecina." 
165,  line  12  from  the  bottom,  for  "puo,"  read  "  pu6." 

178,  line  2  from  the  bottom,  for  "Syrens,"  read  "Sirens." 

179,  line  15,  for  "matricide,"  read  " mariticide." 

182,  note  6,  line  2  from  the  bottom,  for  "  cerations,"  read  "  creations." 

209,  line  12,  for  "  Dr.  Emil.  Braun,"  read  "  Dr.  Emil  Braun." 

218,  note  3,  line  5,  for  "  Poggio  de  Vetreta,"  read  "  Poggio  di  Vetreta." 

225,  note  1,  transfer  this  note  to  page  224. 

246,  line  2,  for  "  Giuncario,"  read  "  Giuncarico." 

253,  note  5,  line  13  in  2nd  column,  for  "TJmbrone,"  read  "Ombrone." 

288,  note  2,  last  line,  for  "  1831.  p.  404,"  read  "  1831.  p.  104." 

345,  line  3  from  the  bottom,  for  "  Gorgon's,"  read  "  Gorgons'." 

382,  line  7,  for  "  Syrens,"  read  "  Sirens." 

391,  note  2,  line  4,  read  "It  is  compact." 

413,  note  7,  for  the  sentence,  "  If  this  be  the  case,"  &c.,  read  "  But  the  distance  from  Clusium 

is  much  more  than  nine  miles." 
427,  note  3,  line  3,  for  "  ad  Cluver,"  read  "  ad  Cluver." 
516,  note  7,  line  3  from  the  end,  for  "  There  is  one  of  these  caskets  in  the  British  Museum, 

bearing,"  &c.,   read   "  There  are  several  of  these  caskets  in  the  British  Museum,  one 

bearing,"  &c. 


m 


&tst  of  ©gaorfcs  tit  General  ^Literature 


PUBLISHED    BY 


MR.  MURRAY,  ALBEMARLE  STREET,  LONDON, 


PUBLISHER    TO  THE   ADMIRALTY. 


HISTORY. 


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F  THE  MIDDLE  AGES.    8vo. 


HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND, 

rom  the  Peace  of  Utrecht  (1713)  to  the  Peace  of  Paris 
763).  By  Lord  Mahon.  Second  Edition.  4  vols.  8vo,  52s. 
"  Lord  Mahon  has  a  very  just  judgment  of  things.  He 
rites  sensibly,  clearly,  and  pleasantly.  His  book  has  the 
vacity  of  a  French  memoir,  without  its  insincerity." — 
xaminer. 

VI. 

STATE  PAPERS  DURING  THE  REIGN 
F  KING  HENRY  VIII.  5  vols.  4to.  20s.  each.  Published 
l  Authority. 

VII. 

RANKE'S  HISTORY  OF  THE  POPES  OF 
OME.  Translated  from  the  German  by  Mrs.  Sarah 
ustin.  Third  Edition.  2  vols.  8vo,  24s. 
"  An  excellent  book,  excellently  translated.  It  now  takes 
s  place  among  the  English  Classics."— Edinburgh 
eview 

Tin. 

RANKE'S  HISTORY  OF  SERVIA.  From 
ie  German.    By  Mrs,  Kerr.    Map.  8vo.    15s. 

"  A  work  much  required,  and  worthily  takes  its  place  by 
ie  side  of  Ranke's  Popes  op  Rome,  by  Mrs.  Austin." — 
lorning  Post. 

RANKE'S  HISTORY'  OF  PRUSSIA.  From 
ie  German.  By  Sir  A.  and  Lady  Dupp  Gordon.  Vol.  I. 
ad  II.    8vo. 

***  This  is  the  only  translation  authorised  by  the 
uthor. 


[May,  1848.] 


THE  ANCIENT  EGYPTIANS, 

THEIR  PRIVATE  LIFE,  MANNERS,  AND  CUSTOMS. 

By  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson.  With  COO  Illustrations. 
Third  Edition.    5  vols.  8vo,  41. 4s. 

"Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  has  done  more  to  make  the 
people  of  the  Pharaohs  known  to  us  moderns  than  any 
contemporary  writer." — Athenceum. 

XI. 

HISTORY  OF  INDIA, 
THE  HINDOO  AND  MAHOMMEDAN  PERIODS. 

By   Hon.  Mountstuart    Elphinstone.      New   Edition. 

With  Map.    8vo. 
"A  work  of  the  greatest  authority  and  learning— one  of 

thelatestand  most  valuable  works  on  the  Eastern  Empire." 

—Sir  Robert  Peel. 

WAR  OF  THE  SUCCESSION  IN  SPAIN. 
By  Lord  Mahon.    Second  Edition.    Map.    8vo,  15s. 

"Lord  Mahon's  narrative  reflects  a  singularly  well 
ordered  mind — it  is  comprehensive,  clear,  and  lively." — 
Quarterly  Review. 

xm. 

SPAIN  UNDER  CHARLES  THE  SECOND; 
Extracts  from  the  Stanhope  Correspondence,  froml690  to 
1700.   By  Lord  Mahon.   Second  Edition.  Post  8vo,  6s.  6rf. 

"A  very  curious  volume  :  of  sterling  value." — Spectator. 

XIV. 

HISTORY  OF  CHRISTIANITY, 

From  the  Birth  of  Christ  to  the  Extinction  of  Paganism 
in  the  Roman  Empire.  By  Rev.  n.  H.  Milman,  3  vols 
8vo,  36s. 

"A  safe  book  for  all  to  read.  The  divine  origin  of  Chris- 
tianity, and  the  authority  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  are 
everywhere  maintained."— Preface  to  the  American  Edi- 
tion, by  Dr.  Murdoch. 

xv. 

SIEGES  OF  VIENNA  BY  THE   TURKS. 
From  the  German.  By  Lord  Ellesmere.  Post8vo.  2s.  Sd. 

"  A  valuable  contribution  to  the  history  of  an  important 
period." — Athenceum. 

xvr. 

SKETCHES  OF  GERMAN  LIFE, 

AND  SCENES  FROM  THE  AVAR  OF  LIBERATION. 

From  the  German.     By  Sir  A.  D.  Gordon,  Post  8vo.  6s. 

"  This  is  a  selection  deserving  more  than  ordinary 
attention.  The  writer  lived  among  distinguished  people 
and  in  stirring  times." — Athenceum. 


THE    FALL  OF  THE  JESUITS  IN    THE 
18th  CENTURY.    From  the  French.    Post  8vo,  2s.  lid. 
"A  candid  and  moderate  work."—  Cheltenham  Journal. 

XVIII. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  SIEGE  OF  GIBRALTAR. 
By  John  Diiinkwatkh.    New  Edition.    Post  «vo,  2s.  6d. 
"A  hook  so  replete  with  interest  and  information  as  to 
be  truly  a  legend  of  the  United  Services  of  the  day."— 
United  Service  Magazine. 


Me.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OF  BOOKS.— Biography. 


BIOGRAPHY  AND  MEMOIRS. 


LORD  HERVEY'S  MEMOIRS  OF  THE 
COURT  OF  GEORGE  II.  Now  first  published.  Edited 
by  Right  Hon.  J.  W.  Croker.  Portrait.  2  vols.  8vo,  36s. 

"  I  know  of  no  such  near  and  intimate  picture  of  the 
interior  of  a  court.  No  other  Memoirs  that  1  have  ever 
read  bring  us  so  immediately,  so  actually  into  not  merely 
the  presence,  but  the  company  of  the  personages  of  the 
royal  circle. 

"  Lord  Hervey  is,  I  may  venture  to  say,  almost  the 
Boswell  of  George  II.  and  Queen  Caroline." — Editor's 
Preface. 

LORD   SIDMOUTH'S  LIFE.     By  the  Dean 

ok   Norwich.     Portraits.     3  vols.  8vo,  42*. 

"  A  book  which,  for  its  individual  subject,  and  the  asto- 
nishing importance  of  the  events  it  commemorates,  is 
exceeded  by  no  work  that  has  appeared.''— Morning  Post. 

LIVES  OF  THE  LORD  CHANCELLORS 
OF  ENGLAND,  from  the  earliest  times  to  1838.  By 
Lord  Campbell.    7  vols.  8vo,  102s. 

"  A  work  of  sterling  merits — one  of  very  great  labour, 
of  richly  diversified  interest,  aud,  we  are  satisfied,  of 
lasting  value  and  estimation.  We  doubt  if  there  be 
half-a-dozen  living  men  who  could  produce  a  Biographical 
Series  on  such  a  scale,  at  all  likely  to  command  so  much 
applause  Irom  the  candid  among  the  learned,  as  well  as 
from  the  curious  of  the  laity." — Quarterly  Review. 

LIFE  OF  LORD  CHANCELLOR  ELDON. 

By  Horace  Twiss.    Portrait.    Third  Edition.     2  vols., 
post  8vo,  21*. 

"  A  work  which  ought  to  he  in  the  library  of  every  lawyer, 
statesman,  and  English  gentleman."— Blackwood. 

SIR  HUDSON  LOWE'S  ACCOUNT  OF 
NAPOLEON  AT  ST.  HELENA.  Edited  by  Sir  N.  H. 
Nicolas,     Portrait.    3  vols.  8vo. 


SIR  FOWELL  BUXTON'S  MEMOIRS  AND 
CORRESPONDENCE.  By  Charles  Buxton.  Portrait. 
8vo,  16*. 

LIFE   OF   GENERAL   LORD  HILL. 
By  Rev.  Edwin  Sidney.  Portrait.  Second  Edition.  8vo,  12*. 

"There  is  no  military  memoir  which  we  should  so 
gladly  place  in  the  hands  of  a  youthful  soldier." — 
Dublin  U.  Magazine. 

vm. 

LIFE  OF  SIR  SAMUEL  ROMILLY. 
By  his  Sons.  Portrait.  Third  Edition.  2  vols.  fcp.  8vo,  12*. 

"  A  narrative  singularly  touching  and  striking."  — 
Alhenceum. 

CROKER'S  BOSWELL'S  JOHNSON. 

Including  the  Tour  to  the  Hebrides.    A  New  Edition, 
revised.    1  vol.  royal  8vo,  18*. 

"  We  pronounce  '  Croker's  Boswell'  as  the  best  edition 
of  an  English  book  that  has  appeared." — Quarterly 
Review. 

*»*  Be  particular  in  ordering  Croker's   Boswell,  in 
Osb  Volume. 

x. 
LIFE  OF  THE  GREAT  CONDF,. 
By  Lord  Mahon.    Post  8vo,  6*. 
"  A  very  skilful  and  interesting  narrative." — Quarterly 
Review, 

LIFE  OF  BELISARIUS. 
By  Lord  Mahon.  A  New  Edition-  Map.  Post  8vo,  10*.  Gd. 
"  An  able  and  valuable  performance." — Monthly  Review. 

SIR  JOHN  BARROW'S  AUTOBIOGRAPHY. 
From  Early  Life  to  Advanced  Age.    Portrait.    8vo,  10*. 
"Here  is  another  pleasant  English  book  to  be  added 
to  the  Englishman's  library."— Alheneeum, 


LIFE  OF  THE  GREAT  LORD  CLIVE. 
By  Rev.  G.  R.  Gleig.    Post  8vo,  6*. 

LIFE  OF  SIR' DAVID  WILKIE  ; 

With  bis  Journals,  and  Critical  Remarks  on  Works  o 

Art.  By  Allan  Cunningham.  Portrait.    3  vols.  8vo.  42*. 

"  A  work  of  great  interest." — Gentleman's  Magazine. 

xv. 

LORD  BYRON'S  LIFE. 

By  Thomas  Moore.      Portraits.    Royal  8vo,15*. 

"  A  work  which  must  always  form  an  interesting  pot 

tion  of  the  history  of  English  literature." — Times. 

XVI. 

LIFE  OF  ROBERT  BURNS. 
By  J.  G.  Lockhart.     Fifth  Edition,  fcap.  8vo,  3*. 

LIFE  OF  REV.  GEORGE  CRABBE. 
By  his  Son.     Portraits.    Fcap.  8vo,  4*. 
"  We  never  read  a  more  interesting  piece  of  biography. 
— Athenceum. 

LIVES  OF  BUNYAN  AND  CROMWELI 

By  Robert  Southev.    Post  Rvo,  2*.  Gd. 

"  Admirably  written  lives."—  Yorkshireman. 
xix. 
MEMOIRS    OF   LORD    SYDENHAM. 
By  G.P.  Schope,  M.P.  Second  Edition.  Portrait.  8vo,9*.  (k 
"We  have  risen  from  the  perusal  of  this  work  wit 
much  satisfaction." — Fraser's  Magazine. 
XX. 

EARL    DUDLEY'S    LETTERS    TO     TH] 
BISHOP  OF  LLANDAFF.    Second  Edition.  8vo,  10*.  C< 
"A  most  interesting  volume."— Literary  Gazette. 

THE  NAVAL  WORTHIES  OF  QJJEE] 
ELIZABETHS    REIGN.    By  John  Barrow.    8vo,  14, 

"This  nationally  interesting  volume."  —  Literal 
Gazette. 

XXII. 

LIFE  OF  EDWARD  GIBBON  ; 

With  Notes.     By  Rev.  II.  H.  Milman.  Portrait.  8vo,  9* 
"A  valuable  and  necessary  companion   to  the  Decth 
and  Fall." — Monthly  Review. 

xxiii. 

LIFE   OF  DR.  ANDREW  BELL. 
By  Robert  Southey,  LL.D.,  and   Rev.  C.  C.  Southbi 
Portrait.    3  vols.  8vo,  42*. 

XXIV. 

ADMIRAL  SIR  P.  DURHAM'S  LIFE. 
By  His  Nephew,  Capt.  A.  Murray.     8vo,  5*.  Gd. 
"  A   very  interesting  and  well    written   inemoir."- 
Aberdeen  Journal. 

XXV. 

LIVES  OF  GALILEO,  TYCHO  BRAHE 
AND  KEPLER.  By  Sir  D.  Brewster.  Second  Edition 
Fcap.  8vo,  4*.  Gd. 

"  Gem-like  portraitures  of threeextraordinary  geniuses.' 
— Literary  Gazette. 

xxvi. 

MEMOIR  OF  WILLIAM  SMITH,  Till 
GEOLOGIST.    By  John  Phillips,  F.R.S.     8vo,  7*.  Gd. 

"A  grateful  and  gratifying  recollection." — Lit.  Gazelle 

XXVII. 

LIFE  OF  JAMES  WATT.  By  M.  Aragc 
Translated  from  the  French,  by  J.  P.  Muirhead,  M.A 
8vo,  8*.  Gd. 

XXVIII. 

A  NAVAL  BIOGRAPHICAL  DICTIONARY 
of  Living  Officers.     By  W.  It.  O'Byrne.     Royal    8vo 

Nearly  Ready. 

XXIX. 

LIFE  OF  SIR  FRANCIS  DRAKE. 
By  John  Barrow.    Post  8vo,  2*.  Gd. 
"  Mr.  Barrow  has  enriched  our  biographical  literature.' 
—Edinburgh  Review. 


Me.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OF  BOOKS.— Voyages  and  Travels. 


VOYAGES   AND   TRAVELS. 


India  and  China. 

LADY  SALE'S  JOURNAL  OF  THE 
DISASTERS  IN  AFFGHANISTAN.  Eighth  Edition. 
Post  8vo,  12*. 

"  The  journal  of  one  whose  very  name  lightens  up  the 
eye,  and  gladdens  the  spirit— of  one,  whose  '  story  shall 
the  good  man  tell  his  son  '—the  journal  of  our  high- 
minded  noble  countrywoman,  Lady  Sale," — Athenaeum. 

THE   SIKHS  AND   THE  AFFGHANS, 
In  connection  with  India  and  Persia,  immediately  before 
and  after  the  death  of  Runjeet  Singh.    By  Shaha mat  All 
Po8t8vo,  12*. 

JOURNEY     TO    AND    RESIDENCE    IN 

CABOOL.  By  Sir  Alexander  Burnes.    Second  Edition. 
Plates.    8vo,  16*. 

"  The  charm  of  the  book  is  its  buoyant  style.  Personal 
character,  domestic  scenes,  and  oriental  manners,  are 
painted  with  vivacity,  ease,  and  lightness  of  touch." — 
Spectator. 


VOYAGE  UP  THE  INDUS  TO  THE 
SOURCE  OF  THE  RIVER  OXUS,  by  Kabul  and 
Badakhshan.    By  Lieut.  John  "Wood.    Map.    8vo,  14s. 

"  The  valuable  geographical  details  which  Lieut.  Wood 
has  collected,  and  his  clear  sketches  of  society,  render  his 
volume  one  of  the  most  agreeable  and  instructive  of  its 
class."- — Athtnaum. 


SKETCHES  OF  PERSIA. 

By  the  late  Sir  John  Malcolm.    Post  8vo,  6*. 
"  The  Persians  are  here  presented  with  all  the  interest 
but  without  the  caricature  of  our  amusing  friend  Hajji 
Baba."—  Quarterly  Review. 

XIII. 

NINEVEH  AND  ITS  REMAINS. 

Researches  and  Discoveries  in  Ancient  Assyria. 
With  a  Narrative  of  a  Residence  in  that  Country;  of  Excur- 
sions to  the  Vallies  of  the  Nestorian  Christians,  &c.  By 
A.  II.  Layard,  Esq.  With  Map,  and  Illustrations. 
2  vols.  8vo. 

XIV. 

NOTICES  ON  CHINA,  and  our  Commercial 
Intercourse  with  that  Country,  By  Sir  George  Staunton. 
Second  Edition.   8vo,  12*. 

xv. 
SIX  MONTHS  IN  CHINA. 
By  Lord  Jocelyn.    Sixth  Edition.    Fcap.  8vo,  5*.  Gd. 

"  Lord  Jocelyn  supplies  us  with  some  striking  facts 
and  unknown  particulars."— Literary  Gazette. 


THE   CLOSING   CAMPAIGN  IN  CHINA. 

Operations  in  Yang-tze-Kiang,  and  Treaty  of  Nanking. 
By  Captn.  G.  G.  Loch,  R.N.    Map.    Post  8vo.    8*.  6d. 
"  The  sketches  of  Chinese  character  are  the  most  strik- 
ing and  the  most  graphic  we  have  met  with."— Naval 
and  Military  Gazette. 

xvn. 
JAPAN  AND  THE  JAPANESE.    Described 
from  the  Accounts  of  Recent  Dutch  Travellers.  Post  8vo, 
9*.  6d. 
"  Containing  all  the  information  about  Japan  which  has 

been  obtained ;  well  arranged  and  well  put  together." 

Literary  Gazette. 

XVII  I. 

EVENTS   IN   BORNEO  AND  CELEBES: 

'Written  in  an  easy  unaffected  style:  and  the  sketches    From  the  Journals  of  Sir  James   Brooke.    Edited  by 
bicta  it  gives  of  European  life  and  manners  under  an    Capt.  MoNDy>  RN>    Portrait  and  piate8>     %  ^        * 

32*. 


A  JOURNEY  THROUGH  INDIA. 
By  the  late  Bishop  Heber.    2  vols.,  Post  8vo,  12*. 
"  We  envy  those  who  read  these  charming  Journals  for 
the  first  time." — Examiner. 

VI. 

MANNERS  AND  CUSTOMS  OF  INDIA. 
By  Rev.  Charles  Acland.    Post  8vo,  2s.  6d. 


which  it  gives  ol  liurope 

eastern  sun  must  interest  all  who  have  friends  in  India, 
and  who  would  like  to  know  how  they  pass  their  days." 
—  The  Theologian.  l  found  so  much  instructive  and  interesting  informa- 

tion  in   the  earlier  part  of  Mr.  Brooke's  Diaries,   not 
t  x"ivr«r,r,c     TjTjrvnT     ■»'/!  atidac  17  included  in  the  work  of  the  Hon.  Captain  Keppel,  that  I 

PROM     MADKAb  ;     or,     riEST    at  once  determined  on  giving  to  the  public  all  such  matter 


Impressions  ok  Life  in  India 
2*.  Cd. 

"A  welcome  addition  to  our  store  of  literary  entertain- 
ment."— Britannia. 

VIII. 

THE  STRAITS  OF  MALACCA 
Pbnang,  Malacca,  and  Singapore.    By  Lieut. Newbold. 
2  vols.  8vo,  26*. 

HINDOSTAN. 

Geographically,  statistically,  and  historically  described. 
By  Walter  Hamilton.     Maps.    2  vols.  4to,  M.  14*.  Gd. 


THIRTEEN  YEARS'  RESIDENCE  AT 
TnE  COURT  OF  CHINA.  By  Father  Ripa.  From  tho 
Italian.    By  Fortunato  Prandi.    Post  Ovo,  2*.  Cd. 

"  As  interesting  a  work  as  any  that  has  appeared,  not 
excepting  Borrows  Bible  in  Spain."— Spectator. 


By  A  Lady.  Post  8vo,  !  as  nad  previously  been  omitted.  By  adopting  this  plan, 
I  considered  that  the  career  of  Mr.  Brooke  might  be 
traced  with  some  degree  of  correctness  year  by  year, 
duringhis  longabsence  from  England. "—Captain  Mundy's 
Preface. 

Africa. 


THE  CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE  ;  with  Notes 

on  the  Natural  History  and  Native  Tribes.    By  C.  J.  F. 
Bunbury,  F.L.S.    Woodcuts.    Post  8vo,  !)*. 

"  The  statesman  who  may  be  called  upon  to  discuss  or 
decide  upon  the  public  affairs  of  the  Cape,  the  emigrant 
who  may  contemplate  removing  his  cares  thither,  the 
curious  inquirer  who  would 'know  the  rights,'  of  what  has 
given  rise  to  so  much  controversy,  will  find  Mr.  Bunbury 
an  intelligent  and  candid  guide."— Examiner, 

WESTERN  BARBARY,  WITH  ADVEN- 
TURES IN  MOROCCO  AND  AMONG  THE  MOORS. 
ByDRUMMOND  Hay.    Post  8vo,  2*.  Gd. 

"A  new  and  highly  interesting  work." — Greenock 
Advertiser. 


THREE  YEARS'  WANDERINGS  in  the 
NORTHERN  PROVINCES  of  CHINA.  With  a  Visit  to 
the  Tea  and  Cotton  Countries.  By  Robert  Fortune. 
Second  Edition.    Plates.    8vo.  IS*. 

"This  is  a  genuine  book — as  full  of  interest  and  amuse- 
ment as  it  is  empty  of  pretences  at  fine  writing.  A  tra- 
veller with  an  object,  who  naturally  details  the  adven- 
tures which  befell  him  in  pursuit  thereof,  and  modestly, 

but  earnestly  writes,  is  as  welcome  as  an  old  friend  or  a  '  WRITINGS  on  tho  Walls  of  Pompeii 
true  witness."— Athenaeum.  \  8vo,  2*.  Gd. 


Mediterranean,  and  Asia  Minor. 

XXI. 

CLASSICAL    TOUR    IN    ATHENS    AND 

ATTICA.  By  Rev.  C.  Wordsworth,  PJ).  Secomi  Edition. 
Plates.     8vo,  12*.;    also,  FACSIMILES  OF  ANCIENT 

Second  Edition , 


Mr.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OF  BOOKS.— Voyages  and  Travels. 


A  VISIT  TO  THE  IONIAN  ISLANDS, 
ATHENS,  AND  THE  MOREA.  By  Edward  Giffard. 
Platen    Post  8vo,  12*. 

'•  Mr.  Giffard's  work  is  very  creditable  to  its  author.*'— 
Quarterly  Review. 

xxm. 
TRAVELS  IN  CRETE. 
By  Robert  Pashley,  A.M.    Plates.   2  vols.  8vo,  21.  2s. 


AN 


XXIV. 

EXCURSION     IN 


ASIA    MINOR. 


XXXII. 

TYPEE  AND  OMOO  ;  or,  the  SOUTH  SEA 
ISLANDERS  :  a  True  Narrative  of  Real  Events.  By 
Herman  Mej.ville.    2  vols.,  post  8vo,  12*. 

' '  The  book  is  excellent,  quite  first-rate." — Blackwood. 

"  Since  the  joyous  moment  when  we  first  read  Robinson 
Crusoe,  and  believed  it  all,  and  wondered  all  the  more  be- 
cause we  believed,  we  have  not  met  with  so  bewitching  a 
work  as  this  narrative  of  Herman  Melville's." — JohnBull. 
xxxiir. 

RECOLLECTIONS  OF  BUSH  LIFE  IN 
AUSTRALIA,  during  a  Residence  of  Eight  Years  in  the 


Including  a  Visit  to   several  unknown  and  undescribed    Interior.  By  Henry  Willi  am  Ha  ygarth.  Post  8vo,  2s.  6c/. 

Cities.    Second  Edition.    Plates.    Impl.  8vo,  28*.    Also, 

DISCOVERIES  made  during  a  Second  Excursion.  Plates. 

Impl.  8vo,  21.  2s.     With  an  ACCOUNT  OP  THE  XAN- 

THIAN  MARBLES  in  the  British  Museum.     By  Sir 

Charles  Fellows.    Plates.    8vo,  5s. 

"Our  author  has  discovered  eleven  ancient  Lycian  cities, 
and  has  allowed  the  learned  world  to  perceive  that  Lycia 
has  a  mine  of  antiquarian  treasures,  of  which  he  has  only 
scraped  the  surface." — Athenceum. 


RESEARCHES  in  ASIA  MINOR,  PONTUS, 

AND  ARMENIA  ;  with  some  Account  of  the  Antiquities 
and  Geology  of  those  Countries.  By  W.  I.  Hamilton. 
Plates.    2  vols.  8vo,  38s 


A  RESIDENCE  IN  NEW  SOUTH  WALES. 
By  Mrs.  Meredith.     PostSvo.    2s.  M. 

"Mrs.  Meredith  is  a  pleasant  unaffected  writer;  and 
the  book  derives  interest  from  being  a  lady's  view  of  New 
South  Wales." — Spectator. 

XXXV. 

SOUTH  AUSTRALIA;  ITS  ADVANTAGES 
AND  ITS  RESOURCES.    A  Description  of  that  Colony  ; 
and  a  Manual  of  Information  for  Emigrants.    By  George 
Wilkinson,  Esq.    Map.    Post  8vo,  10*.  6<J. 
xxxvr. 

NEW  ZEALAND.  With  some  Account  of 
the  Beginning  of  the  British  Colonization  of  the  Island. 


'<  Mr.  Hamilton's  archjeological researches,  and  his  nar-  I  By  E.  J.  Wakefield.    With  Map.    2  vols.  8vo,  ! 
rative  in  general,  have  our  warmest  commendations."—        "The    most    complete    and    continuous    history    of 
Athenceum.  i  BritishColonizationinNewZealandwhichbasappeared. 

xxvi.  I  — Spectator. 

DALMATIA   AND  MONTENEGRO;  with  tnsm™w  7PAT  ANr> 

a  Journey  to  Mostar  ,n  Hertzegovina,  and  Remarks  TRAVELS    IN    NEW    ZEALAND, 

on  the  Slavonic  Nations.    By  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson.  <  By  Routes  through  the  Interior,  with  the  >atural  H.s- 
Plates  and  Woodcuts.    2  vols.  8vo.  t°ry  of  the  Islands-     **  E-  D.effenbach,  M.D. 

2  vols.  8vo,  2is. 


Plates. 


Egypt  and  Syria. 


Central  and  South  America. 


xxvir.  xxxvm, 

TRAVELS    IN   EGYPT,   NUBIA,  SYRIA,        INCIDENTS  OF  TRAVEL   IN  CENTRAL 

AND    THE    HOLY    LAND.     By  Captains   Irby    and  I  AMERICA.    58  Engravings.    2  vols.  8vo,   32s.    Also,  a 

Mangles.    Post  8vo,  2s.  6d.  [  SECOND  VISIT  TO  YUCATAN.    By  John  L.  Stephens. 

'  One  of  the  most  interesting  and  popular  works  of  the    120  Engravings.    2  vols.  8vo,  42s, 


present  century." — Aberdeen  Journal. 
xxvm. 
MANNERS    AND    CUSTOMS     OF     THE 

ANCIENT  EGYPTIANS.  By  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson. 
Third  Edition.  With  600  Illustrations.  5  vols.  8vo,  4/.  As. 
"Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson  has  done  more  to  make  the 
people  of  the  Pharaohs  known  to  us  moderns  than  any 
contemporary  writer." — Athenarum. 

XXIX. 

CAIRO,  PETRA,  AND  DAMASCUS; 
from  Notes  made  during  a  Tour  in  those  Countries.  By 
John  G.  Kinnear.    Post  8vo,  9s.  6<i. 

"Mr.  Kinnear  writes  extremely  well,  and  his  descrip- 
tions proclaim  him  a  good  observer." — Examiner. 


ARABIA   PETR.EA,  MOUNT  SINAI,  and 

tho  Excavated  City  of  Petra,— the  Edom  of  the  Pro- 
phecies. By  M.  Leon  de  Laborde.  Second  Edition. 
With  65  Plates.    8vo,  18*. 

"  A  publication  of  extreme  value  and  interest."— British 
Critic. 

•'  All  ministers  and  students  should  possess  this  vo- 
lume."— Evangelical  Magazine. 

Polynesia  and  the  South  Seas. 

VOYAGE     OF     DISCOVERY    TO     THE 

SOUTH  POLE  ;  1839-43.  By  Capt.  Sir  James  Clark- 
Ross,  R.N.    Plates  and  Maps.    2  vols.  8vo,  36*. 

"The  extracts  we  have  given  will  speak  better  thanwe 
eould  for  the 
— which  seem 
character  and  signal  services." — Quarterly  Review 


These  delightful  volumes  !  It  is  grievous  to  quit  a  store 
so  brimful  to  overdo  wingof  what  we  like  best." — Athenceum 

XXXIX. 

ADVENTURES  IN  MEXICO,  and  among 
the  Wild  Tribes  and  Animals  of  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains.   By  G.  F.  Rixton.    Post8vo,C*. 

"  Mr.  Ruxton's  Adventures  is  a  capital  book,  alike 
attractive  for  its  narrative  of  travel  with  its  hardships 
and  incidents,  for  its  pictures  of  scenery  and  society,  for 
the  direct  information  it  imparts  as  to  Mexico  and  the 
incidental  glimpses  it  gives  us  of  the  Americans  and  their 
armies  in  Mexico." — Spectator. 

JOURNEYS  ACROSS  THE  PAMPAS.    By 

Sir  Francis  Head.    Post  8vo,  2*.  Gd. 

"This  book  has  all  the  interest  of  a  novel."— Eclectic 
Review. 

XLl. 

JOURNAL  OF  A  PASSAGE  FROM  THI 
PACIFIC  TO  THE  ATLANTIC,  crossing  the  Andes  in 
the  Northern  Provinces  of  Peru,  and  descending  the  greal 
River  Maranon.    By  Henry  Lister  Maw,  R.N.    8vo,  lis 

XLII. 

VOYAGE  OF  A  NATURALIST  ROUNE 

THE  WORLD.    By  Charles  Darwin.    Post  8vo,  8*.  6d 

"  The  author  is  a  first-rate  landscape  painter,  and  tn< 

dreariest  solitudes  are  made  to  teem  with  interest."— 

Quarterly  Review. 

xliii. 
A  VOYAGE  UP  THE   RIVER   AMAZON 
AND  A  VISIT  TO  PARA.    By  William  H.  Edwards 
Post  8vo,  2*.  6d. 

Full  of  novelty ;  we  can  hardly  open  a  page  which  ha! 


plain,  modest!  and  manly  taste  of  the  author    not  its  picture  for  the  general  observer,  and L  its .  producl 
ns  entirely  worthy  of  his  high  professional     for  those  who,  like  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  look  on  the  eartli 


as  oue  vast  museum. 


Mr.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OF  BOOKS.— Voyages  and  Travels. 


Worth  America. 

XLIV. 

ARCTIC  VOYAGES    OF    DISCOVERY. 
From  1818  to  the  present  time.    By  Sir  John  Barrow. 
Portrait  and  Maps.    8vo,  15*. 

"A  book  to  make  one  proud  of  the  name  of  Englishman. 
It  is  a  record  of  enterprise  and  endurance,  of  resolute 
perseverance,  and  of  moral  and  physical  courage,  which 
we  take  to  be  peculiar  to  English  seamen." — Examiner. 

TRAVELS  IN  NORTH  AMERICA,  with 
Geological  Observations  on  the  United  States,  Canada, 
and  Nova  Scotia.  By  Charles  Lyell,  F.G.S.  Plates. 
2  vols,  post  8vo,  21s. 

"Mr.  Lyell  visited  America  not  merely  as  a  man  of 
science  or  a  philosopher,  but  as  a  man  of  sense  and  of 
the  world,  eminently  imbued  with  qualifications  to  con- 
stitute him  an  astute  observer." — Literary  Gazette. 

XLVI. 

FOREST  SCENES  AND  INCIDENTS  IN 
CANADA.  By  Sir  George  Head.  Second  Edition. 
Post  8vo,  10*. 

XLV1I. 

LETTERS  FROM  CANADA  AND  THE 
UNITED  STATES.  By  J.R.Godley.  2  vols.  post8vo,  16*. 

"Here  is  at  least  one  English  book  of  which  the 
Americans  cannot  reasonably  complain." — Athenaeum. 

MEMOIRS  OF  A  CHURCH  MISSIONARY 
IN  CANADA.  By  Rev.  J.  Abbott.    Post  8vo,  2*.  6d. 

"  The  little  work  before  us  is  a  genuine  account  of  what 
a  missionary's  life  is  now  in  Canada.  Under  ao  invented 
name,  it  is  the  story  of  the  writer's  own  experience,  told 
in  a  straightforward  and  unaffected  manner,with  consider- 
able power  of  description." — Guardian. 

XLIX. 

TOUR  THROUGH  THE  SLAVE  STATES, 
from  the  River  Potomac,  to  Texas  and  the  Frontiers  of 
Mexico.  By  G.  W.  Featherstonhaugh.  Plates.  2  vols. 
8vo,  26*. 

"  The  notices  of  the  natural  history,  and  the  mines, 
are  novel  and  interesting ;  and  his  pictures  of  the  heroes  of 
the  bowie  knife  are  remarkably  characteristic  and  enter- 
taining."— New  Monthly  Magazine. 

EXCURSIONS     IN'   NEWFOUNDLAND. 

The  Cod  Fishery — Fog  Banks — Sealing  Expedition,  &c. 
By  J.  B.  Jukes.    Map.    2  vols,  post  8vo,  21*. 

VOYAGE  TO  TEXAS  AND  THE  GULF  OF 
MEXICO.    By  Mrs.  IIoustoun.    2  vols,  post  8vo,  21*. 

"The  information  contained  in  this  admirable  work 
will  be  very  important  to  those  who  have  an  idea  of  settling 
abroad." — Time*. 

THE  JOURNAL  OF  A  WEST  INDIAN 
PROPRIETOR,  with  an  Account  of  Negro  Life  and 
Manners.    By  M.  G.  Lewis.    Post  8vo.  2*.  6d. 

"These  amusing  stories  of  actual  Jamaica  life." — 
Quarterly  Review, 

Europe. 

LIII. 

DATES  AND  DISTANCES ; 

Showing  what  may  be  done  in  a  Tour  of  Sixteen  Months 
upon  the  Continent  of  Europe.    Post  8vo,  8*.  6d. 

LTV. 

RUSSIA  AND  THE  URAL  MOUNTAINS  ; 
Geologically  Illustrated.  By  Sir  It.  Murchison,  G.C.S. 
Coloured  Maps,  Plates,  &c.    2  vols,  royal  4to. 

"  Many  admirable  memoirs  have  resulted  from  these 
xcursions  ;  but  the  crowning  triumph  is  the  great  work 
jefore  us.  It  is  impossible,  by  extract,  to  convey  an  idea 
)f  the  value  of  its  contents."— Athenaum, 

LV. 

DOMESTIC  MANNERS  OF  THE  RUSSIANS. 
)escribed  from  a  Year's  Residence  in  that  Country.  By 
[lev.  R.  L.  Venables,  M.  A.   Post  8vo,  9*.  6d. 


RUSSIA  UNDER  NICHOLAS. 
Translated  from  the  German.    By  Captain  Anthony  C. 
Sterling.    Fcap.  8vo,  5*. 
"Lively  and  comprehensive." — Athentsum. 

LETTERS  FROM' THE  BALTIC. 
By  A  Lady.    Post  8vo,  2*.  6d. 
"A  series  of  charming  descriptions.    The  style  is  full 
of  ease  and  freshness." — Examiner, 

LV1II. 

NORWAY     AND     HER    LAPLANDERS  ; 

With  Hints  to  the  Salmon  Fisher.  By  John  Milford. 
8vo,  10*.  6d. 

"  A  pleasant  book,  on  a  very  pleasant  subject :  the  obser- 
vation of  an  accomplished  and  good-natured  man." — 
Examiner. 

LIX. 

THE  CITIES  AND  CEMETERIES  OF 
ETRTJRIA.  The  result  of  several  Tours  made  for  the 
purpose  of  investigating  the  extant  antiquities  of  Etruria. 
By  George  Dennis.    Map  and  Ulustrations.    2  vols.  8vo. 

LX. 

THE    BIBLE    IN    SPAIN; 

Or  the  Journeys,  Adventures,  and  Imprisonments  of  an 
Englishman  in  an  Attempt  to  circulate  the  Scriptures 
in  the  Peninsula.  By  George  Borrow.  New  Edition. 
Post  8vo,  6*. 

"Mr.  Borrow  has  come  out  as  an  English  Author  of 
high  mark.  We  are  reminded  of  Gil  Bias,  in  the  narratives 
of  this  pious,  single-hearted  man." — Quarterly  Review. 

LXI. 

THE  GYPSIES  OF  SPAIN  ; 
Their  Manners,  Customs,  Religion  and  Language. 
By  George  Borrow.    New  Edition.    Post  8vo,  6*. 

"A  curious,  a  very  curious  work,  and  contains  some  of 
the  most  singular,  yet  authentic  descriptions  of  the  gipsy 
race  which  have  ever  been  given  to  the  public." — Literary 
Gazette. 

GATHERINGS  FROM  SPAIN.  Being  Ex- 
tracts from  the  Hand-book  of  Spain.  With  much 
new  matter.    By  Richard  Ford.    Post  8vo,  6*. 

"  The  best  English  book,  beyond  comparison,  that  ever 
has  appeared  for  the  illustration,  not  merely  of  the  gene- 
ral topography  and  local  curiosities,  but  of  the  national 
character  and  manners  of  Spain."—  Quarterly  Review. 

i.xtn. 

PEDESTRIAN  WANDERINGS  m  tub 
French  and  Spanish  Pyrenees.  By  T.  Clifton  Paris. 
Woodcuts.    Post  8vo,  10*.  6d. 

"Contain  better  descriptive  passages,  strikingly  pic- 
turesque, and  without  the  least  strain  and  effort,  than  we 
recollect  in  any  book  of  the  same  light  pretension." — 
Examiner. 

LXIV. 

PORTUGAL  AND  GALLICIA, 
From  Notes  made  during  a  Journey  to  those  Countries. 
By  Lord  Carnarvon.     Third  Edition.    Post  8vo,  6*. 

"  This  is  a  very  remarkable  work.  It  is  not  only  a 
graphic  description  of  the  face  of  the  country,  and  an  im- 
partial and  sagacious  account  of  the  moral  and  political 
condition  of  Spain  and  Portugal ;  but  it  relates  also  a  series 
of  personal  adventures  and  perils,  very  unusual  in  modern 
Europe;  and  which,  while  they  do  honour  to  the  spirit 
of  him  who  sought  information  at  such  risks,  exhibit  mure 
of  the  real  state  of  the  Iberian  Peninsula  than  could  havo 
been  obtained  by  a  less  ardent  and  less  intrepid  inquirer." 
— Quarterly  Review. 

TOUR     IN-    AUSTRIAN     LOMBARDY, 
TYROL,   AND   BAVARIA.  By   John  Barrow.  Wood- 
cuts.   PostSvo,  10*.  6d. 
"Agreeably written,  faithful  and  minute." — Athenmum 

lxvi. 
NARRATIVE  OF  TRAVELS  IN  AUSTRIA. 
With  Remarks  on  the  Social  and  Political  Condition  of  that 
Country.   By  P.  E.  Turnbull.    2  vols.  8vo,  24*. 


Mn.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OF  BOOKS.— Hand-Books. 


HAND-BOOKS  FOR  TRAVELLERS, 

Giving  detailed  and  precise  Information  respecting  Steamers,  Passports,  Moneys,  Guides  and  Servants, 
with  Directions  for  Travellers,  and  Hints  for  Tours. 


HAND-BOOK  OF  TRAVEL-TALK  ;  or,  Con- 
versations in  English,   German,  French,  and   Italian. 

l:  in Ki,  5*. 

o 

HAND-BOOK  FOR,"  NORTH  GERMANY 
and  the  RHINE,  HOLLAND,  BELGIUM,  and  PRUSSIA. 
Map.  Post  8vo,  12*. 

3. 
HAND-BOOK  FOR  SOUTH  GERMANY 
and  the  TYROL— BAVARIA— AUSTRIA— SALZBURG 
—The  AUSTRIAN  and  BAVARIAN  ALPS,  and  the 
DANUBE,  from  ULM  to  the  BLACK  SEA.  Map.  Post 
8vo,  10*. 

4. 
HAND-BOOK    OF    PAINTING— THE 
GERMAN,  FLEMISH,  AND  DUTCH  SCHOOLS.  From 
the  German  of  Kuqler.    Edited,  with   Notes,  hy  Sir 
Edmund  Hkad.    Post8vo,  12s. 
5. 
HAND-BOOK      FOR      SWITZERLAND, 
ALPS  of  SAVOY  and  PIEDMONT.    Map.    Post  8vo,  10*. 
6. 
ILLUSTRATIONS  to   the   HAND-BOOKS 
for   GERMANY   and   SWITZERLAND.    A  Series  of 
Maps  and  Plans  of  the  most  frequented  Roads,  Cities, 
and  Towns,  &c.    Post  8vo. 

7- 
HAND-BOOK     FOR     NORTH    EUROPE, 
DENMARK,  NORWAY,  SWEDEN,  and  RUSSIA.  Map 
and  Plans.    Post  8vo. 

8. 
HAND-BOOK   FOR    MALTA    AND    THE 
EAST,    the     IONIAN     ISLANDS,     TURKEY,    ASIA 
MINOR,  and  CONSTANTINOPLE.  Maps.  Post  Ovo,  15*. 
9. 
HAND-BOOK  FOR  EGYPT.— THE  NILE, 
ALEXANDRIA,  CAIRO,    the    PYRAMIDS,    MOUNT 
SINAI,  and  THEBES.     By  Sir  Gardner  Wilkinson. 
Map.     l."«*. 

10. 
HAND-BOOK    FOR  NORTHERN    ITALY 
and  FLORENCE,  SARDINIA,    GENOA,   THE  RIVI- 
ERA, VENICE,  LOMBARDY,  and  TUSCANY.     Map. 
Post  8vo,  12*. 

11. 
HAND-BOOK    FOR    CENTRAL    ITALY 
and   ROME,   the   PAPAL    STATES,    and    CITIES    of 
ETRURIA.    Maps.    Post8vo,  15*. 


12. 

HAND-BOOK   FOR  SOUTHERN   ITALY, 

SICILY,  AND  NAPLES.  Map.  Post  8vo.  Nearly  ready. 

13. 

HAND-BOOK      OF     PAINTING  —  THE 

ITALIAN  SCHOOLS.    From  the   German  of  Kugler. 

Edited,  with  Notes,  by  C.  I.  Eastxake,  R.A.  Post  8vo,  12*. 

14. 

HAND-BOOK    FOR    FRANCE  and   the 
PYRENEES,     BRITTANY,     the    RIVERS     LOIRE, 
SEINE,  RHONE,  and  GARONNE,    FRENCH    ALPS, 
DAUPHINE,  and  PROVENCE.  Maps.  Post  8vo,  12*. 
15. 

HAND-BOOK  FOR  SPAIN,  ANDALUSIA, 
GRANADA,  MADRID,  &c.  By  Richard  Ford.  Maps. 
Post  8vo,  16*. 

16. 

HAN  D-B  OOKOFPAINTIN  G— THE 
SPANISH  AND  FRENCH  SCHOOLS.  By  Sir  Edmund 
Head.     Post  8vo,  12*. 

17- 
HAND-BOOK   FOR   ENGLAND— THE 
NORTHERN  AND  MIDLAND   COUNTIES;   NORTH 
and  SOUTH  WALES,  &e.  Map.  Post  8vo.  Nearly  ready. 
18. 
HAND-BOOK   FOR   ENGLAND— THE 
SOUTHERN  AND  WESTERN  COUNTIES.  Map.  Post 
Ovo.    In  Preparation. 

19. 
HAND-BOOK  FOR  LONDON— PAST  AND 
PRESENT.    A  Complete  Guide  to  Stransers  visiting 
the  Metropolis.    By  Peter  Cunningham.   2  vols.      Pout 
8vo.    Nearly  ready, 

"  The  old  Lord  Treasurer  Burleigh,  if  any  one  came  to 
the  Lords  of  the  Council  for  a  Licence  to  Travel,  he  would 
first  examine  him  of  England;  if  he  found  him  ignorant 
would  bid  him  stay  at  home,  and  know  his  own  Country 
first." — The  Compleat  Gentleman,  by  Henry  Peucham, 
1662. 

20. 

HAND-BOOK  TO  THE  PICTURE  GAL- 
LERIES in  and  near  London.  With  Catalogues  of  the 
Pictures,  accompanied  by  Historical,  Biographical,  and 
Critical  Notices.    By  Mrs.  Jameson.    Post  8vo,  10*. 

21. 
HAND-BOOK     FOR    WINDSOR    AND 

WESTMINSTER  ABBEY.   Woodcuts.  Fcap.  8vo,2*.6rf. 
each. 


Crttttal  ©jpmt0nsS  011  tije  $an&--3S0ofca. 

"  Mr.  Murray's  series  of  Hand-books  seem  destined  to  embrace  all  the  sights  of  the  world."—  Spectator. 

"  The  useful  series  of  Hand-books  issued  by  Mr.  Murray." — Examiner. 

"  Mr.  Murray's  excellent  series.     Compiled  with  great  care.    The  information  full  and  satisfactory." — Athcnaum. 

"  Well  considered,  well  arranged,  and  well  compressed.  They  combine  every  practical  information,  with  satisfac- 
tory descriptions  and  extracts  from  the  most  accomplished  travellers,  unencumbered  with  long  historical  details, 
which  not  unfrequently  are  uselessly  intruded  into  these  manuals." — Gentleman's  Magazine. 

"An  immense  quantity  of  minute  and  useful  information  respecting  all  places  of  interest,  presented  in  a  plain, 
unostentatious,  and  intelligible  manner." — United  Service  Gazette. 

"  All  the  information  a  traveller  requires  ;  and  supplies  an  answer  to  every  difficulty  which  can  possibly  arise."— 
Atlas. 

"  An  excellent  plan,  and  contains  much  in  little  compass,  and  is  an  amusing  resource  when  the  road  is  dull  and 
our  companion  has  fallen  asleep." — Asiatic  Journal. 

"  A  world  of  useful  information." — British  Magazine. 

"  Capital  guides !  A  man  may  traverse  half  the  continent  of  Europe  with  them  without  asking  a  question.' 
— Literary  Gazette. 

"  Distinguished  for  the  clearness  of  their  arrangement,  the  specific  character  of  their  directions,  the  quantity  and 
quality  of  the  matter  they  contain,  as  well  as  for  the  style  and  finish  of  the  literary  workmanship."— Spectator. 


Mr.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OF  BOOKS.— Theology. 


RELIGIOUS  WORKS,  THEOLOGY,  &c. 


THE  ILLUMINATED  PRAYER-BOOK. 
With  Borders,  Initials,  Vignettes,  Titles,  &c,  in  gold  and 
colours.    8vo,  cloth,  morocco  or  vellum. 

"  The  most  elaborate  copy  of  the  Liturgy  ever  executed. 
A  noble  devotional  volume  and  fitting  Christian  ma- 
nual."— Times. 

DEAN  COMBER'S  FRIENDLY  ADVICE 
TO  THE  ROMAN    CATHOLICS    OP    ENGLAND.    A 

New  Edition,  with  Preface  and  Notes.    By  W.  P.  Hook, 
D.D.,  Vicar  of  Leeds.    Fcap.  8vo,  3*. 

III. 

THE  THREE  REFORMATIONS  ;  Luthe- 
ran, Roman,  and  Anglican.  By  W.  F.  Hook,  D.D.,  Vicar 
ofLeods.    Third  Edition.   8vo,  3s. 

ON  THE  UNITY  OF  THE  CHURCH. 
By  Henry  Edward  Manning,  Archdeacon  of  Chichester. 
Second  Edition.  8yo,  Ws.Gd. 

SERMONS  ON'MANY  OF  THE 
LEADING  DOCTRINES  AND  DUTIES  TAUGnT 
BY  THE  CHURCH  OP  ENGLAND.     By  The  Dean  of 

Norwich.    2  vols.  8vo,  2ls. 

SCRIPTURAL  COINCIDENCES. 
A  TEST  OF  THEIR  VERACITY.     By  Rev.  J.  J.  Blunt. 
Second  Edition.    8vo,  10*.  6</. 

"  Whoever  has  read  Dr.  Paley'3  Horts  Paulines,  will 
find  in  this  volume  an  extension  of  that  argument,  and  its 
application  to  the  Old  and  New  Testament,  conducted 
with  scarcely  inferior  ability  and  success."— John  Bull. 

VII. 

THE  MOSAIC  WRITINGS.     By  Rev.  J.  J. 

Blunt.    Post  8vo,  6*.  Qd. 

vnr. 
THE  ROMAUNT  VERSION  of  the  GOSPEL 
OF  ST.  JOHN  ;  originally  in  Use  among  the  Old  Wal- 
denses.  From  the  MSS.  existing  at  Dublin,  Paris,  Greno- 
ble, Zurich,  and  Lyons.  Edited,  with  Notes  by  Rev. 
W.  S.  Gilly,  D.D.    With  Facsimiles.    8vo. 

THE  EVIDENCES  of  CHRISTIANITY.  By 

William  Sewell,  B.D.,  Exeter  College,  Oxford.    Fcap. 
3vo,  7s.6d. 
"Ably  and  satisfactorily  treated.'' — Gentleman's  Mag. 

SUGGESTIONS  TO  THE  STUDENT 
UNDER  PRESENT  THEOLOGICAL  DIFFICULTIES. 
By  A.  C.  Tait,  D.C.L.    Post  8vo,  G*.  Gd. 

"  We  most  warmly  recommend  Dr.  Tait's  most  useful 
volume." — Church  and  State  Gazette. 
xt. 

SERMONS  PREACHED  ON  VARIOUS 
OCCASIONS.  By  C.  J.  Vaughan,  D.D.,  Head  Master  of 
Harrow  School.    8vo,  12*.  Gd. 

"Dr.  Vaughan's  sermons  are  forcible,  earnest,  and 
affectionate  ;  in  tone  moderate,  but  soundly  scriptural  in 
doctrine." — Morning  Post. 

XII. 

SERMONS  PREACHED  in  the  CHAPEL 
of  HARROW  SCHOOL.  By  Rev.  C.  J.  Vaughan,  D.D. 
Uvo,  10*.  6d. 

"  The  sermons  now  before  us  are  addressed  specifically 
to  the  boys  of  the  public  school ;  and  parents  will  fiudthem 
a  valuable  family  possession."—  Christian  Observer. 

PRAYERS,  FROM   THE  LITURGY, 

By  Right  Honble.  W.  E.  Gladstone.,  M.P.    12mo,  2*.  Gd. 

xiv. 

A  THREE-LEAVED  MANUAL  of  FAMILY 

PRAYER  ;  arranged  bo  as  to  save  the  trouble  of  turning 

the  pages  backwards  and  forwards,  Royal  8yo,  bound,  2*. 


ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  THE  LITURGY 
AND  RITUAL  OF  THE  CnURCH;  selected  from  the 
works  of  eminent  Divines  of  the  17th  Century.  By 
Rev.  Jambs  Brogden,  M.A.    3  vols,  post  8vo,  27*. 

"A  most  valuable  addition  to  every  churchman's  li- 
brary."— Bishop  of  Exeter's  Charge. 
xvi. 

CATHOLIC  SAFEGUARDS  against  the 
Errors,  Corruptions,  and  Novelties  of  the  Church 
of  Rome.  By  Rev.  James  Brogden,  M.A.  2  vols.  8vo, 
14*.  each. 

"  'Catholic  Safeguards  :'  a  Selection  of  the  ablest 
discourses  on  the  errors  of  the  Church  of  Rome,  chosen 
from  the  works  of  our  own   eminent   divines  who  lived 
during  the  17th  century." — Bishop  of  London's  Charge. 
xvir. 
THE  BOOK  OF  THE  CHURCH ; 
With  Notes  containing  References  to  the  Authorities,  and 
an  Index.    By  Robert  Southey,  LL.D.    Sixth  Edition. 
8vo,  12*. 

"  I  offer  to  those  who  regard  with  love  and  reverence  the 
religion  which  they  have  received  from  their  fathers,  a 
brief  but  comprehensive  record,  diligently,  faithfully,  and 
conscientiously  composed."— Preface. 

xvni. 
REMARKS    ON    ENGLISH    CHURCHES 

and  on  Rendering  Sepulchral  Memorials  subservient  to 
pious  and  Christian  Uses.  By  J.  H.  Markland 
Fourth  Edition.    Woodcuts.    Fcap.  8vo,  b'*.  Gd. 

"  This  work  may  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  important 
steps  made  lately  in  the  restoration  of  a  sound  and  efficient 
church-system  among  us." — Quarterly  Review. 

xix, 

REVERENCE  DUE  TO  HOLY  PLACES. 
By  J.  II.  Markland.  Third  Edition.  Woodcuts. 
Fcap.  3vo,  2s. 

xx. 

BISHOP  HEBER'S  PARISH  SERMONS; 

On  the  Lessons,  the  Gospel,  or  the  Epistle,  for  every 
Sunday  in  the  Year.    Sixth  Edition.   2  vols,  post  8vo,  1G*. 

XXI. 

SERMONS  PREACHED  IN  ENGLAND. 

By  the  late  Bishop  Hebkr.    Second  Edition.    8vo,  i)s.  Gd. 

XXII. 

PSALMS  AND  HYMNS, 

Adapted  to  the  various  Solemnities  of  the  Church.  By 
W.  B.  Holland,  M.A.,  Perpetual  Curate  of  Walmer 
24mo,  1*.  6cE. 

xxiii. 
VISITATION  SERMONS. 
Preached  during  the  Visitation  of  the  Bishop  of  Exeter 
in  1845.    12mo,  6*. 

XXIV. 

THE  LAWS  RELATING  TO  SUNDAYS, 
HOLIDAYS,  and  DAYS  OF  FASTING.  By  E.  V.  Nealk 
Fcap.  8vo.,  9*.  Gd. 

"An  excellent  handmaid  to  'Nelson  on  Fasts  and 
Festivals.' "—British  Magazine. 

XXV. 

THE   NESTORIANS,  or  LOST  TRIBES, 

With  Illustrations  of  Scripture  Prophecy.  By  Asahel 
Grant,  M.D.    Third  Edition.    Fcap.  8vo,  G*. 

"  An  important  accession  to  our  stores  of  geographical 
knowledge." — Church  of  England  Review. 

XXVI. 

ABSTRACT  PRINCIPLES  OF  REVEALED 
RELIGION.    By  Henry  Drummond.     Poet  8vo,  9*  Gd. 

"  Contains  many  striking  passages  of  great  power, 
depth,  and  truth,"—  English  Churchman, 


Mr.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OF  BOOKS.— Poetry,  tne  Drama,  A.c. 


POETRY,   THE   DRAMA,  &c. 


Lord  Byron's  Life  and  Works. 
(various  editions.) 

i. 
LIFE   AND  WORKS. 

(librarp  ffiDition.) 
Collected  and  arranged  with  Notes  by  Moore, Ellis, Ileber, 
Jeffrey,  Lockhart,  &c.    Plates.      17  vols.fcap.  8vo.    C3s., 
ur  half  morocco,  90*. 

II. 

FOETICAL  WORKS. 

(yoefcet  ©Bitionj 

CONTAINING 

Childe  Harold.    1  vol. 
Tales  and  Poems.    2  vols. ,  I     Miscellanies.    3  vols. 
Dramas.    2  vols.  I     Don  Juan.    2  vols. 

With  Vignettes,  10  vols.  18mo,  25s.,  or  gilt  edges,  35s. 


rOEMS  IN  ONE  VOLUME. 
With  Portraits  and  Vignette.    Royal  8vo,  15*. 

IV. 

CHILDE  HAROLD'S  PILGRIMAGE. 

(Illustrates-.) 
With  Portrait  and  Sixty  Vignette  Engravings.   8vo,  21*. 
"  A  splendid  work — worth  illustrating,   and  worthily 
illustrated." — Athenaeum. 


TALES  AND  POEMS. 


!.    OlAOUR. 

2.  Bride  of  Abydos. 

3.  Corsaik. 

4.  Lara. 

5.  Siege  of  Corinth. 


With  Vignettes. 


6.  Beppo. 

7.  Mazeppa. 

8.  Island. 

9.  Parisina. 

10.  Prisoner  of  Chillon. 
2  vols.  24mo,  5*. 


1.  Manfred. 
J.  Marino  Faliero. 
.'!.  Heaven  and  Earth. 
4.  Uakdanapalus. 

With  Vignettes 


DRAMAS. 

I   5.  Two  Foscari. 

6.  Deformed  Transformed. 

7.  Cain. 

8.  Werner, 
2  vols.  24mo,  5s. 


CHILDE  HAROLD'S  PILGRIMAGE. 

With  Vignette.    24mo,  2s.  6d. 

VIII. 

MISCELLANIES. 

With  Vignettes.      3  vols.  24mo,  7s.  Gd. 

IX. 

DON  JUAN. 

With  Vignettes.    2  vols.  24mo.  5s. 

&T  Mr.  Murray  alone  possesses  the  Copy- 
right of  Lord  Byron's  Works,  and  no  edition, 
illustrated  or  otherwise,  can  be  complete 
except  it  bears  his  name  on  the  title-page. 


Rev.   George    Crabbe's   Life   and  Works, 

LIFE  AND  POETICAL  WORKS. 

(ILlbrarp  EDuion.i 
Plates.  8  vols.  fcap.  8vo,  30*.,  or  half  morocco,  40*. 

POEMS  IN  ONE  VOLUME. 

With  Portrait  and  Vignette.     Royal  8vo,  15*. 

CAMPBELL'S      SPECIMENS     OF      THE 

BRITISH  POETS.    New  Edition.    Royal  8vo,  15*. 

"Rich  in  exquisite  examples  of  English  poetry,  and 
suggestive  of  delightful  thoughts  beyond  any  volume  in 
the  language." — Atlas. 

BISHOP   HEBER'S  POETICAL   WORKS. 

Including  PALESTINE— EUROPE— THE  RED  SEA, 
&c.    Third  Edition.    Portrait.    Fcap.  8vo,  7*- 6<f. 

"  Bishop  Heber  has  taken  a  graceful  station  among  the 
favoured  bards  of  the  day." — Literary  Gazette. 

REV.  H.  H.  MILMAN'S  POETICAL  WORKS. 

Including  the  Fall  of  Jerusalem — Samor,  Martyr  of 
Antioch — and  other  Poems.  Second  Edition.  Plates. 
3  vols.  fcap.  8vo,  18*. 

"A fine,  classical,  moral,  and  religious  poet." — Literary 
Gazette. 

IV. 

WORKS  OF  HORACE. 
With  an  Original  Life.    By  Rev.  II.  H.  Milman.    Illus- 
trated with  Views,  Vignettes,  Coloured   Borders,   &c 
Crown  8vo. 

v.' 
LOCKIIART'S    SPANISH    BALLADS;    with 

Illuminated  Titles,  Borders,  &c.    4to,  27. 2s. 

"A  more  appropriately  as  well  as  beautifully  embellished 
volume  never  was  offered  to  the  world." — Edinburgh 
Review. 

ALLAN     CUNNINGHAM'S    POEMS    and 

SONGS.     24mo,  2*.  6d. 

"The  works  of  the  most  tender  and  pathetic  of  the 
Scottish  minstrels,  in  a  cheap  and  elegant  form."— 
Blackwood. 

VII. 

FRAGMENTS   IN  VERSE.     By  Lord  Ro- 

rertson.    Crown  8vo,  Is.  6d. 

"The  author  sees  and  feels  as  a  scholar  and  a  poet, 
and  as  a  scholar  and  a  poet  he  expresses  himself." — 
Times. 

REJECTED  ADDRESSES. 
With    Notes  by   the    Authors,  and  Portraits  of  them. 
Twenty-first  Edition.    Fcap.  8vo,  6*. 

SPECIMENS  OF  ITALIAN  SONNETS 
From  the  most  celebrated  Poets,  with  Translations.    By 
Rev.  Charles  Strong,  M.A.    8vo,  6*. 

VERSE  TRANSLATIONS 
From  the  Swedish  Poems  of  Esaias  Tegner,  and  from  the 
German  of   Schiller.     By  II.   Drinkwateb  Bethune, 
Post  8vo,  12*. 

ENGLISH  HEXAMETERS  ;  from  the  German. 
By  Sir  John  Hehschell,  Dr.  Whewell,  Archdeacon 
Hare,  Dr.  Hawtrey,  and  J.  G.  Lockhart.  8vo,  9*. 
Also,  Verse  Translations.    8vo,  2*.6rf. 

XII. 

FRAGMENTS   FROM    GERMAN    PROSE 
WRITERS.    By  Sarah  Austin.    Post  8 vo,  10*. 
"A  delightful  volume." — Alhenaum. 


Mb.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OF  BOOKS.— Instruction. 


INSTRUCTION  &  ENTERTAINMENT    FOR    THE  YOUNG. 


Mrs.  Markham's  Histories. 
HISTORY  OF   ENGLAND. 

From  the  First  Invasion  by  the  Romans,  to  the  Reign  of 
Queen  Victoria.  46(ft  Thousand.  Woodcuts.   12mo,  7*-  6d. 

HISTORY  OF  FRANCE. 
From  the  Conquest  by  the  Gauls,  to  the  Reign  of  Louis- 
Philippe.    2Mh  Thousand.     Woodcuts.     12mo,  "]s.M. 

HISTORY  OF  GERMANY. 
From  the  Invasion  by  Marius,  to  the  Battle  of  Leipsic. 
3rd  Thousand.    Woodcuts.    12mo,  7*.  6rf. 

HISTORY  OF  ROME  AND  GREECE. 

For  the   Use  of    Schools  and  Young    Persons.     With 
Woodcuts,    12mo.     In  Preparation. 

"Mrs.  Markham's  Histories  are  constructed  on  a 
plan  which  we  think  well  chosen,  and  we  are  glad  to  find 
that  they  are  so  popular,  for  they  cannot  be  too  stroDgly 
recommended,  as  adapted  for  youth." — Journal  of  Edu- 
cation. 

ii. 
SERMONS  FOR  CHILDREN. 
By  Mrs.  Markham.    Second  Edition.    Fcap  8vo,  3s. 

in. 

AESOP'S  FABLES. 
A   New  Version,   by   Rev.  Thomas  James.    With  100 
Woodcuts  by  Tenniel.    Post  8vo. 

"  The  literary  object  of  this  edition  is  to  present  a  better 
and  less  coarse  translation  of  the  Fables  which  pass  under 
the  name  of  jEsop,  so  as  to  fit  them  for  youth  of  the  pre- 
sent age  :  the  bibliopolic  aim  is  to  clothe  and  illustrate 
those  universal  favourites  of  ancient  wisdom  in  a  style 
proportioned  to  our  mechanical  advancement  and  applica. 
tion  of  art  to  popular  pleasure.  These  ends  are  attained 
in  the  very  handsome  edition  before  us.  Mr.  James  has 
made  a  judicious  selection  of  the  Fables  themselves,  and 
of  the  version  to  be  taken  as  his  text :  his  translation  is 
at,  once  close  and  free;  the  wood  engravings  are  among 
the  triumphs  of  art." — Spectator. 

IV. 

BERTHA'S  JOURNAL  DURING  A  VISIT 
IN  ENGLAND.  With  a  variety  of  Information,  arranged 
for  every  Day.      10th  Thousand.    12mo,7s.6d. 

"  1  am  reading '  Bertha '  with  the  utmost  avidity.  I  can 
scarcely  take  my  attention  from  this,  the  best  of  all  juve- 
nile compilations." — Rev.  George  Crabbe. 

"An  excellent  little  work."—  Capt.  Basil  Hall. 


JESSE'S  NATURAL  HISTORY. 

For  Schools.    With  Anecdotes  of  the  Sagacity  and  Instinct 
of  Animals.    Sixth  Edition.    Fcap.  8vo,  6s.  6d. 

VI. 

PHILOSOPHY  IN  SPORT  MADE  SCIENCE 
IN  EARNEST;  or  Natural  Philosophy  inculcated  by  the 
Toys  and  Sports  of  Youth.  Sixth  Edition.  Woodcuts. 
Fcap.  8vo,  8*. 

"We  know  of  no  other  book  which  so  charmingly  blends 
amusement  with  instruction.  No  juvenile  book  has  been 
published  in  our  time  more  entitled  to  praise." — Examiner. 

VII. 

CROKER'S  STORIES  FOR  CHILDREN 
FROM  THE  HISTORY  OF  ENGLAND.  33rd  Thousand. 
AVoodcuts.    16mo,  5*. 

"This  skilful  performance  of  Mr.  Croker's  suggested 
the  plan  of  Sir  Walter  Scott's  Tales  of  a  Grandfather."— 
Quarterly  Review. 


LITTLE  ARTHUR'S  ENGLAND.  By 
Lady  Callcott.   23rd  Thousand.    Woodcuts.    18mo,  3*. 

"  This  little  History  was  written  for  a  real  little  Arthur, 
and  I  have  endeavoured  to  write  it  as  I  would  tell  it  to  an 
intelligent  child.  I  well  remember  what  I  wanted  to  be 
told  when  first  allowed  to  read  the  History  of  England." 
— Author's  Preface. 

"  Lady  Callcott's  style  is  of  the  right  kind ;  earnest  and 
simple." — Examiner. 

IX. 

CROKER'S  PROGRESSIVE  GEOGRAPHY 
FOR  CHILDREN,    loth  Thousand.    18mo,  U.  6d. 

"  The  best  elementary  book  on  the  subject." — Quarterly 
Review. 

HISTORY  OF  THE  LATE  WAR : 

With  Sketches  of  Nelson,  Wellington,  and  Napoleon.  18mo, 
2s.  6d. 

GOSPEL  STORIES  FOR  CHILDREN. 

An  Attempt  to  render  the  Chief  Events  of  the  Life  of 
Our  Saviour  intelligible  and  profitable.  Second  Edition. 
I8mo,  3s.  6d. 

FISHER'S  ELEMENTS  OF  GEOMETRY 
AND  ALGEBRA.  18mo,  3*.  each.  (Published  by  order 
of  the  Lords  of  the  Admiralty.) 

XIII. 

LOUDON'S  YEAR-BOOK  OF  NATURAL 
HISTORY.    Woodcuts.     18mo,  is. 

"  Mrs.  Loudon  has  begun  to  apply  her  excellent  talents 
and  extensive  knowledge  of  natural  history,  to  the  ser- 
vice of  the  young;  and  this  volume  is  a  very  delightful 
one." — Chambers'  Edinburgh  Journal. 


SENTENCES   FROM  THE  PROVERBS. 

In  English,  French,  Italian,  and  German.  For  Daily  Use 
By  A  Lady.     16mo,  3*.  6d. 

"The  design  of  this  volume  is  excellent."— Atlas. 

"  An  excellent  design." — Literary  Gazette. 

PUSS  IN* BOOTS; 

Suited  to  the  tastes  of  Little  and  Grown  Children. 
By  Otto  Speckter.    With  Illustrations.    16mo,  5*. 
"Twelve  designs  full  of  excellent  humour." — Examiner. 
"Complete  pictures,  and  tell  the  story  with  dramatic 
force." — Spectator. 

THE   CHARMED    ROE; 

The    Story    op    the     Little    Brother    and    Sister. 
By  Otto  Speckter.     With  Illustrations.    16mo,  5*. 
"A  book  for  kindly  remembrances." — Literary  Gazette. 

XVII. 

THE  FAIRY  RING  ; 

A  Collection  of  Tales  and  Stories  for  Young  Persons. ' 
With  Illustrations  by  Richard  Doyle.  Second  Edition. 
Fcap.  8vo,  Is.  Gd. 

"  Rare  news  for  young  people— whole  sacksful  of  new 
fairy  lore.  Nicely  illustrated  by  Mr.  Richard  Doyle,  who 
has  lived  a  long  time  in  Fairy  Land,  and  knows  all  about 
it." — Examiner. 

"Three  dozen  legends,  many  among  them  pointed  with 
that  humorous  wisdom  which  none  appreciate  better  than 
children,  make  up  a  month's  entertainment  of  charming 
quality."— Athenceum. 


10 


Mr.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OF  BOOKS.— School  Books,  &.c. 


CLASSICAL   AND    SCHOOL   BOOKS. 


3>r.  Smith's  Dictionaries. 

A  DICTIONARY  of  GREEK  and  ROMAN 
ANTIQUITIES.  With  numerous  Woodcuts.  Sccotid 
Edition:    8vo,  36*. 

"  A  work  much  wanted,  will  be  invaluable  to  the 
young  student,  and  as  a  book  of  reference  will  be  most 
acceptable  on  the  library  table  of  every  scholar."—  Quar- 
terly Review. 

SCHOOL  DICTIONARY  OF  ANTIQUI- 
TIES. Abridged  from  the  above  work.  With  200 
Woodcuts.    Square  12mo,  10s.  6d. 

"  Drawn  up  in  a  clear  and  concise  style,  and  weeded 
of  those  references  and  speculative  matters  which  tend 
so  much  to  confuse  the  student  who  is  not  far  advanced. 
It  is  a  most  valuable  addition  to  our  school  literature." 
— Cambridge  Chronicle. 

A  DICTIONARY  of  GREEK  and  ROMAN 
BIOGRAPHY  and  MYTHOLOGY.  2  Vols.  8vo,  36*. 
( To  be  completed  in  3  vols.) 

"The  only  Classical  Dictionary,  with  any  pretensions 
to  the  Dame,  in  our  language ;  and,  as  such,  it  must  form 
part  of  the  library  of  every  student  who  desires  to  be- 
come acquainted  with  the  mind  of  antiquity."  —  Athe- 
nceum. 

A  NEW  CLASSICAL  DICTIONARY 
OP    ANCIENT     BIOGRAPHY,    MYTHOLOGY,    and 
GEOGRAPHY.    8vo.    In  Preparation. 

This  work  will  comprise  the  same  subjects  as  are  con- 
tained in  the  well. known  Dictionary  of  Lempriere,  avoid- 
ing its  errors,  supplying  its  deficiencies,  and  exhibiting  in 
a  concise  form  the  results  of  the  labours  of  modern  scholars. 
It  will  thus  supply  a  want  that  has  been  long  felt  by  most 
persons  engaged  in  tuition. 


MULLER'S  DORIANS ; 
THE    HISTORY     AND     ANTIQUITIES     OF     THE 
DORIC    RACE.      Translated    by  Tufnel    and   Lewis. 
Second  Edition.    Maps.    2  vols.  8vo,  26*. 

"We  close  the  volumes  in  admiration  of  the  author's 
unwearied  industry  audgreat  knowledge." — New  Monthly 
Magazine. 

in. 
BUTTMAN'S  LEXILOGUS ; 
A  Critical  Examination  of  the  Meaning  and  Etymology  of 
various  Words  and  Passages  in  Greek  Writers.    Trans- 
lated, with  Notes,  by  Fishcake.    Third  Edition.    8vo, 
14*. 

"A  most  able  disquisition.  It  contains  a  deeper  and 
more  critical  knowledge  of  Greek,  more  extensive  research, 
and  more  sound  judgment,  than  we  ever  remember  to 
have  seen  in  any  one  work  before." — Quarterly  Review. 


BUTTMAN'S  GREEK  VERBS  ; 

With  all  the  Tenses — their  Formation,  Meaning,  and 
Usage,  accompanied  by  an  Index.  Translated,  with 
Notes,  by  Fishlake.    Second  Edition.    8vo,  7*.  6d. 

"  Buttman's  Catalogue  contains  all  those  prominent 
irregularities  so  fully  and  fundamentally  investigated,  that 
I  was  convinced  a  translation  of  them  would  prove  a  va- 
luable assistant  to  every  lover  and  student  of  Greek  lite- 
rature."— Pre/ace. 


CARMICHAEL'S  GREEK  VERBS. 

Theik  Formations,  Irregularities,  and  Defects. 

Second  Edition .    Post  8vo,  8*.  6ii. 

WORKS  OF' HORACE, 
With  an  Original  Life.    By  Rev.  II.  H.  Milman.    Illus. 
trated  with  A'iews,  Vignettes  from  the  Antique  Statues, 
Gems,  Coins,  Vases,  and  coloured  borders.    Crown  8vo. 

VII. 

MITCHELLS'  PLAYS  OF  ARISTOPHANES. 

With  EnglishNotcs.  Bvo.  CLOUDS.  10*.— 2.  FROGS.  15*. 

"  We  are  not  afraid  to  say  that  Mr.  Mitchell's  Anno- 
tated edition  of  Aristophanes  will  form,  when  completed, 
something  like  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  British  scholar- 
ship."— Quarterly  Review. 

VIII. 

PEILE'S  AESCHYLUS. 
THE    AGAMEMNON    AND     CUOEPHOROZ.      With 
English  Notes,  by    T.  W.  Peile,  D.D.,   Head  Master 
of  Repton  School.    Second  Edition.    8vo,  9*.  each. 

"  By  far  the  most  useful  edition  ever  published  in  this 
country." — Oxford  Herald. 

THE  ROMANCE 'LANGUAGES. 
By  G.  Cornewall  Lewis,  M.P.  Second  Edition.  8vo,  12*. 

SUVERN'S  ARISTOPHANES. 
THE    BIRDS    AND   THE   CLOUDS.    Translated    by 
W.  R.  Hamilton,  F.R.S.    Post  8vo,  0*. 


HASE'S  ANCIENT  GREEKS  ; 
Their    Public    and    Private    Life,    Manners,    and 
Customs.    Translated  from    the  German.      Fcap.  8vo, 
5*.  6d. 

"Some  work  appeared  to  be  wanting  on  Grecian  Anti- 
quities, which,  without  being  unnecessarily  diffuse,  should 
give  a  notion  of  the  discoveries  of  modern  scholars,  and 
particularly  of  German  scholars."— Preface. 


ON  THE  PRONUNCIATION  OF  GREEK. 
By  G.  J.  Pennington,  M.A.    8vo,  7*.  6d. 

MATTHIAS'S    GREEK   GRAMMAR. 

Abridged  for  Schools  by  Blomfield.     New  Edition,  re- 
vised by  Edwards.    12mo,  3*. 


INDEX  OF  GREEK  QUOTATIONS  iu 
MATTHLE'S  LARGER  GREEK  GRAMMAR.  Second 
Edition.    8vo,  7*-  6d. 

xv. 
THE  GREEK  CLASSIC  POETS. 
By   Henry   Nelson   Coleridge,  M.A.    Third  Edition. 
Fcap.  8vo,  5*.  6d. 

XVI. 

KING  EDWARD  Vlth's  LATIN  GRAM- 
MAR.   Neiv  Edition,  revised.    12mo,  3*.  6d. 


ENGLISH  NOTES  for  LATIN  ELEGIACS  ; 

designed  for  early  proficients  in  the  Art  of  Latin  Versifica- 
tion, with  Prefatory  Rules  of  Composition  in  Elegiac 
Mutre.  By  Rev.  W.  Oxenham,_M.A.,  Second  Editiun, 
revised,  12rno. 


Mr.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OF  BOOKS.— Art,  Science,  &c. 


11 


ART,   SCIENCE,  AND   MEDICINE. 


THE  ANATOMY  OF  EXPRESSION  AS 
'ONNECTED  WITH  THE  FINE  ARTS.  By  the 
ite  Sir  Charles  Bell.  Fourth  Edition.  Plates.  Im- 
erial  8vo,  21*. 

"  The  artist,  the  writer  of  fiction,  the  dramatist,  the 
lan  of  taste,  will  receive  the  present  work  with  gratitude, 
nd  peruse  it  with  a  lively  and  increasing  interest  and 
;light." — Christian  Remembrancer, 

SKETCHES  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF 
HRISTIANART.  By  Lord  Lindsay.  3  vols.  8vo.  31*.6cf. 

"  As  a  contribution  to  the  History  of  Art,  Lord  Lindsay's 
ork  is  unquestionably  the  most  valuable  which  has  yet 
ppearedin  England,  and  with  whatever  richness  of  detail 
lcceeding  writers  may  illustrate  them,  the  leading  lines 
f  Lord  Lindsay's  Chart  will  always  henceforth  be  fol- 
iwed."—  Quarterly  Review, 

CONTRIBUTIONS  to  the  LITERATURE 
t  the  FINE  ARTS.    By  C.  L.  Eastlake,  R.A.    8vo.  12$. 

KUGLER'S  HISTORY  OF  PAINTING- 
HE  ITALIAN  SCHOOLS;  Edited,  with  Notes,  by 
'.  L.  Eastlake,  K.A.    Post  8vo,  12s. 

KUGLER'S  HISTORY  OF  PAINTING- 
HE  GERMAN,  FLEMISH,  AND  DUTCH  SCHOOLS, 
dited,  with  Notes,  by  Sir  Edmund  Head,  Hart.  Post 
.0,  12*. 

HISTORY  OF  PAINTING— The  SPANISH 
ND  FRENCH  SCHOOLS.  By  Sir  Edmund  Head,  Bart, 
jst  8vo,  12s.      A  Companion  to  Kugler's  Hand-books. 

"  These  volumes  present  us  with  a  view  of  the  schools 
'  painting:,  and  we  recommend  them  as  very  candid  and 
.cellent  productions." — Literary  Uuzette. 

AN  ENCYCLOPAEDIA  OF  THE  ARTS  OF 
HE  MIDDLE  AGES.  By  the  Monk  Theophilus. 
ranslated,  with  Notes,  by  Robert  Hendrie.  8vo,  21*. 
"  Mr.  Hendrie  has  done  good  service  to  this  class  of  lite- 
ture  by  the  publication  of  the  completesteditioa  of  this 
.irk."—  Spectator. 

VIII. 

THE  ANCIENT  PRACTICE  OF  PAINT- 
VG  IN  OIL  AND  ON  GLASS,  and  other  Arts  described 
i   several   unpublished   Manuscripts.    With    Notel    by 

rs.  Mekiufield.    2  vols.  8vo. 

HISTORY  OF  POTTERY  AND  PORCE- 
VIN,  with  a  Description  of  the  Manufacture,  from  the 
irliest  Period.  By  Joseph  Marrvat.  With  Woodcuts.  8vo. 

NINTH  BRIDGEWATER  TREATISE. 
By  Charles  Babbage.    Second  Edition.    8vo,  9*.  Cd. 

THE  ECONOMY  OF  MACHINERY  AND 
ANUFACTURES.  By  Charles  Babbagb.  Fifth 
lition.    Fcap.  8vo,  Gs. 

TABLE  OF  THE  LOGARITHMS  OF  THE 
ATTJRAL  NUMBERS  from  I  to  108000.  By  Charles 
ibbage.    Second  Edition.    Royal  8vo,  Gs. 

XIII. 

CHEMICAL  MANIPULATION  ; 
■ing  Instructions  to  Students  on  performing  Experi- 
jnts.    By  Michael  Faradav,  F.R.S.    Third  Edition. 
o,  18*. 


COSMOS  ;  OR,  PHYSICAL  DESCRIPTION 
OF  THE  WORLD.  By  Baron  Alexr.  Von  Humboldt. 
Translated  under  the  superintendence  of  Lieut-Colonel 
Sabine,  F.R.  S.    Vols.  I.  and  II.    Post  8vo,  12s.  each. 

"  Je  vous  autorise,  Monsieur,  de  vous  servir  en  toute 
occasion,  de  la  declaration,  que  la  belle  Traduction  du 
Colonel  Sabine  enrichie  de  rectifications  et  de  notes  tres 
precieuses,  et  qui  ont  toute  mon  approbation,  est  la  seule 
par  laquelle  j'ai  vivement  desire,  voir  introduit  mon 
ouvrage  dans  la  litterature  de  votre  pays." — Le  Baron 
Humboldt  a  M.  Murray,  Dec.  15, 1816. 
xv. 

THE  CONNEXION  OF  THE  PHYSICAL 
SCIENCES.  By  Mary  Somerville.  Seventh  Edition. 
Plates.    Fcap.  8vo,  10*.  6d. 

"The  style  of  this  astonishing  production  is  so  clear  and 
unaffected,  and  conveys  with  so  much  simplicity  so  great 
a  mass  of  profound  knowledge,  that  it  should  be  placed  in 
the  hands  of  every  youth  the  moment  he  has  mastered  the 
general  rudiments  of  education."—  Quarterly  Review. 
xvi. 
PHYSICAL  GEOGRAPHY. 
By  Mary  Somerville.    Portrait.    2  vols.    Fcap.  8vo.  12*. 

"  We  have  followed  Mrs.  Somerville  through  her  intel- 
lectual journey  over  the  globe,  delighted  and  improved  by 
her  instruction.  The  work  is  written  in  a  style  always 
simple  and  perspicuous,  often  vigorous  and  elegant,  and 
occasionally  rising  to  a  strain  of  eloquence  commensurate 
with  the  lofty  ideas  which  it  clothes.  In  Mrs.  Somerville's 
pages  no  sentiments  are  recorded  which  the  Christian  or 
the  philosopher  disowns." — Norlh  British  Review, 
xvi  r. 

CORRESPONDENCE   OF  JAMES    WATT, 

on  His  Discovery  of  the  Composition  ok  Watkr.  By  J.  P. 
Muip.head,  Esq.,  F.R.S.E.    With  Portrait.    8vo,  10*.  Gd. 
xvin. 
ON  PRACTICAL  SURVEYING  WITHOUT 
INSTRUMENTS.    By  G.  D.  Buur,  of  Sandhurst.   Second 
Edition.    Woodcuts.    Post  8vo,  /*•  Gd. 

XIX. 

FACTS  TO  ASSIST  THE  MEMORY,  IN 
VARIOUS  SCIENCES.  Second  Edition.  Fcap.  8vo,  0*.  Gd. 

NAVAL  GUNNERY ; 

For  the  Instruction  and  Examination  of  Officers,  and  for 
the  Training  of  Seamen  Gunners.  By  Likut.-Geneisal 
Sir  Howard  Douglas,  Bart.    Second  Edition.    8vo,  15*. 

BRITISH  ASSOCIATION  REPORTS. 
York  and  Oxford,  1831-32,  13*.  Gd.  Cambridge,  1833,  12*. 
Edinburgh,  1834,  15*.  Dublin,  183.5,  13*.  Gd.  Bristol, 
1836,  12*.  Liverpool,  1837,  16*.  Gd.  Newcastle,  1838, 
15*.  Birmingham,  1839,  13*.  Gd.  Glasgow,  1840,  15*. 
Plymouth,  1841, 13*.  Gd.  Manchester,  1842, 10*.  G</.  Cor.K, 
1843,  12*.  York,  1844,  20*.  Cambridge,  1845,  12*. 
Southampton,  184G,  15*.    8vo. 

SIR  JAMES  CLARK  ON  THE  INFLU- 
ENCE OF  CLIMATE.  Fourth  Edition.  Post8vo,  10*.Gcf. 

XXIN. 

SIR  HENRY  HALFORD'S  ESSAYS. 
Third  Edition.  Fcap.  8vo,  G*.  6<L 

DR.  MAYO  ON     THE   PATHOLOGY   OF 

THE  HUMAN  MIND.    Fcap.  8vo,  5*.  6d. 

DR.  ABERCROMBIE  ON  DISEASES  OF 

Till;  STOMACH.    Third  Edition.    Fcap.  8vo,  6*. 
xxvi. 

DR.  GOOCH  ON  THE  MOST  IMPORTANT 
DISEASES  OF  WOMEN.     Second  Edition.     8vo,  12*. 

XXVII. 

DR.  FERGUSON'S  ESSAYS  ON  THE 
DISEASES  OF  WOMEN.    Part  I.    Post  8ro,  9*.  Gd, 


12 


Mr.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OF  BOOKS.— General  literature. 


GENERAL  LITERATURE. 


LITERARY  HISTORY  OF  EUROPE, 
By  Henry  Hallam-     Third  Edition.  3  vols.  8vo,36*. 

"The  most  important  contribution  to  literary  history 
which  English  libraries  have  received  for  many  years." — 
Edinburgh  Review. 

THE  EMIGRANT. 

By  SirFrancis  B.  Head.  'Fifth  Edition.    Post  8vo,  12*. 

"Sir  Francis  Head's  volume  is  singularly  spirited, 
imaginative,  nervous,  and  philosophical.  A  more  vigor- 
ous and  fascinating-  writer  does  not  live.— Times. 

REMARKABLE    CRIMES  AND   TRIALS. 

From  the  German.     By  Lady  Duff  Gordon.    8vo,  12*. 
"  The    present  collection   of    criminal   cases  forms, 
as  far  as  we  are  aware,  the  most  interesting  specimen 
existing  in  our  language."— Law  Magazine. 

HAWKSTONE  ; 

A  Tale  of  England  in  the  Year  184—.   Third  Edition. 
2  vols.  fcap.  8vo,  12*. 

"A  close,    finished,  and    powerful   composition." 

Spectator. 

OUTLINES  OF  ENGLISH  LITERATURE 
FOR  COLLEGES  AND  SCHOOLS.  By  Thomas  B.  Shaw, 
B.A.    Post  8vo. 

"The  author  has  endeavoured  to  produce  a  useful 
Introduction  to  English  Literature.  It  is  the  first  attempt 
to  treat  in  a  popular  manner  questions  hitherto  neglected 
in  elementary  books,  but  which  the  increased  intelli- 
gence of  the  present  age  will  no  longer  allow  to  be  passed 
over  unnoticed." — Preface. 

VISITS  TO  SPOTS  OF  INTEREST  NEAR 
WINDSOR  and  ETON.  By  Edward  Jesse.  Woodcuts. 
Post  8vo,  12*. 

"A  pleasing  and  popular  omnium  gatherum  about  inter- 
esting architectural  remains,  the  biography  of  their  by- 
gone inhabitants,  country  life,  rural  scenery,  literature, 
natural  history,  he."— Literary  Gazette. 

NOTES  FROM  LIFE,' in  Six  Essays.  Second 
Edition.     By  Henry  Taylor.    Post  8vo,  6*. 

CRITICAL   ESSAYS.'    By  Henry  Taylor. 

Reprinted  from  the  "  Quarterly  Review."    Post  8vo. 

ON  THE  PHILOSOPHY  OF  THE  MORAL 

FEELINGS.  By  John  Abercrombie,  M.D.  Seventh  Edition. 
Fcap.  8vo,  4*. 

ON  THE  INTELLECTUAL  POWERS.  By 

John  Abercrombie,  M.D.    Eleventh  Edition.    Fcap.  8vo, 
Cj.  6d. 


PROGRESSION    BY    ANTAGONISM.     A 

THEORY.  Involving  Considerations  touching  the  Pre- 
sent Position,  Duties,  and  Destiny  of  Great  Britain.  By 
Lord  Lindsay.     8vo,  6*. 

XVI. 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  BATTLE  OF 
WATERLOO.    By  Rev.  G.  R.  Gleig.    Post  8vo,  6s. 

"  This  account  is  instinct  with  spirit,  and  many  are  the 
touching  anecdotes  which  add  to  its  interest."— Literary 
Gazette.  J 

BRITISH  ARMY^'AT  WASHINGTON 
AND  NEW  ORLEANS.  By  Rev.  G.  R.  Gleig.  Post  8vo, 
2*.  6d. 

"The  personal  narrative  of  an  eye-witness."—  Times. 

XVIII. 

SALE'S  BRIGADE  IN  AFFGHANISTAN. 
By  Rev.  G.  R.  Gleig.    Post  8vo,  2*.  6d. 

"One  of  the  noblest  records  of  military  adventures  tha  t 
we  Know."— Morning  Chronicle. 

XIX. 

THE    WAYSIDE    CROSS.     A  Tale   of  tho 
Carlist  War.    By  Capt.  E.  A.  Milman.    Post  8vo,  2*.  6d 
"A  spirited  and  interesting  little  story."—  Atheneeum. 

LIVONIAN  TALES.  '  By  the  Author  of 
"Letters  from  the  Baltic."     Post  8vo,  2*.  6a". 

"Long  may  the  Baltic  lady  write  Esthoniau  Talcs  as 
good  as  these."— Atheneeum. 

BRACEBRIDGE  HALL.  By  Washington 
Irving.     Post8vo,  6*. 

"  The  most  charming  work  ever  written."— Cambridge 
Chronicle. 

XXII. 

THE  AMBER-WITCH:  a  Trial  for  Witch- 
craft. Translated  by  Lady  Duff  Gordon.  Post8vo,2*.6o". 

"We  have  read  nothiDg  in  fiction  or  in  history,  which 
has  so  completely  absorbed  our  interest."—  Quarterly 
Review. 

XXIII. 

THE  FRENCH  IN  ALGIERS.  Translated. 
By  Lady  Duff  Gordon.     Post  8vo,  2*.  6d. 

"A  narrative  of  romantic  and  absorbing  interest."—. 
Nor/hern  Whig. 

xxtv. 

TRANSACTIONS  OF  THE  ROYAL  SOCI- 
ETY OF  LITERATURE.  Second  Series.  With  Maps 
and  Plates.    Vols.  I.  and  II.    8vo,  12*.  each. 


Periodicals. 


ON    ENGLISH    ETYMOLOGIES.     By    H. 

Fox  Talbot,  F.R.S.    8vo,  12*. 

"The  most  interesting  work  on  the  derivation  of  the 
English  language  which  has  appeared  for  many  years."— 
Literary  Gazette. 

XII. 

AESOP'S   FABLES. 
A  New  Version,  chiefly  from  the   Greek.       By    Rev. 
Thomas  Jamf.s,  M.A.    With  more  than  lOn  New  Wood- 
cuts by  Tenniel.    Crown  8vo,  16*. 

XIII. 

FAMILY  ARABIAN  NIGHTS. 
Translated.  By  E.  W.  Lane.   With  Notes  and  600  Wood- 
cuts.   New  Edition.    3  vols,  post  8vo,  30*. 

ESSAYS  ON  THE  CONDUCT  OF  LIFE  : 
AND  MORAL  NATURE  OF  MAN.  By  George  Long. 
8vo,  6*.  each. 


XXV. 

THE  QUARTERLY   REVIEW.    8vo,  6s. 

XXVI. 

HART'S  QUARTERLY  ARMY  LIST.  8vo,5s. 

HART'S  ANNUAL  ARMY  LIST.      8vo,  205. 

THE  ROYAL  NAVY* LIST.     8vo,  2s.  6d.    I 
Published  Quarterly  by  order  of  the  Admiralty. 

THE  NAUTICAL  ^LMANACK,   8vo,  5s. 

Published  by  Order  of  the  Admiralty. 

XXX. 

ROYAL  AGRICULTURAL  JOURNAL.  8vo,  6s. 

XXXI. 

ROYAL  GEOGRAPHICAL  JOURNAL.     8vo. 

XXXII. 

HOME  AND  COLONIAL  LIBRARY.  8vo,  2s.6d. 
Published  Monthly. 


Mr.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OP  BOOKS.— Natural  History,  Sporting,  &.c. 


13 


NATURAL  HISTORY,  SPORTING,  &c. 


PRINCIPLES  OF' GEOLOGY;  or,  the 
Modern  Changes  of  the  Earth  and  its  Inhabitants.  By 
Cradles  Lyell,  F.G.S.  Seventh  Edition.  Woodcuts. 
8vo,  18*. 

"Should  be  read  by  every  one  who  takes  an  interest 
in  this  rising  branch  of  Natural  History." — Jameson's 
Journal. 

THOUGHTS  ON  ANIMALCULES.  A  Glimpse 

at  the  Invisible  World,  as  revealed  by  the  Microscope. 
By  G.  A.  Mantell,  D.C.L.     Plates.    Crown  8vo,  10*.  (id. 

"  The  object  of  this  volume  is  in  the  highest  degree 
commendable,  and  the  name  of  the  author  is  guarantee 
sufficient  for  its  correct  and  agreeable  treatment.  There 
is  no  branch  of  science  more  interesting,  none  whose 
revelations  are  more  wonderful,  than  that  which  unfolds 
the  forms  and  nature  of  minute  creatures.  Dr.  Man- 
tell's  idea  is  a  happy  one." — Chambers'  Journal. 

"The  work  before  us  is  a  small,  but  elegant  trophy  of 
the  popular  victory.  A  light  and  lucid  style  relieves 
and  carries  off  the  technical  terms  in  which  Dr.  Mantell, 
with  a  praiseworthy  boldness,  has  not  feared  to  explain 
his  subject." — Guardian. 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  RUSSIA. 
By  Sir  R.  Murchison,  G.C.S.      With    Coloured    Map, 
Tables,  Woodcuts,  &c.    2  vols,  royal  4to. 

"  The  publication  of  this  system  forms  an  epoch  in 
geological  research.  .  .  The  author  has  developed  the 
first  broad  outlines  of  a  new  system  of  classification, 
capable  of  effecting  for  geology  what  the  natural  system 
of  Jussieu  had  effected  for  botany.  It  is  a  work  which 
must  necessarily  become  a  standard  for  geologists." — 
Spectator. 

"The  impulse  given  to  geology  by  the  publication  of 
the  '  Silurian  System,'  cannot  be  too  highly  appreciated. 
The  author  at  once  took  his  place  in  the  foremost  rank 
of  geologists.  But  his  energy  did  not  permit. him  to  rest 
satisfied  with  the  accomplishment  of  so  noble  a  labour. 
Determined  to  compare  and  confirm,  he  followed  out  in 
foreign  lands  the  research  which  he  had  so  successfully 
commenced  at  home.  Many  admirable  memoirs  have 
resulted  from  his  excursions ;  but  the  crowning  triumph 
is  the  great  work  before  us." — Athenceum. 


THE  PRACTICAL  GEOLOGY  AND 
ANCIENT  ARCHITECTURE  OF  IRELAND.  By  G. 
Wilkinson.    Plates.  Roy.  8 vo,  28s. 

"  The  value  of  scientific  knowledge  when  applied  to 
practical  purposes,  is  strikingly  shown  in  this  curious 
and  useful  volume." — Spectator. 

"The  work  is  one  which  must  be  perused  with  profit  by 
every  architect  and  engineer."— Freeman's  Journal. 


THE  GEOLOGY  OF  YORKSHIRE. 
By  John  Phillips.  Part  I — THE  YORKSHIRE  COAST. 
Plates.  4to,  1UU  6d.  Part  II THE  MOUNTAIN- 
LIMESTONE  DISTRICT.  Plates.  4to,  21. 12*.  6d. 


JOURNAL  OF  A  NATURALIST. 

Fourth  Edition, with  Woodcuts.    Post8vo,  9s.  6d. 
"A  book  that  ought  to   find  its  way  into  every  rural 
drawing-room  in  the  kingdom." — Quarterly  Review. 


THE  NATURAL  SYSTEM  OF  PLANTS ; 
A  Popular  Introduction  to  Modern  Botany.  By  Mrs. 
Loudon.     Woodcuts.     Fcap.  8vo,  8*. 

"  To  any  one  who  wishes  to  comprehend  the  names  and 
nature  of  plants,  this  charming  volume  can  be  safely  re- 
commended."— S2>ectutor. 


DAYS  OF  DEER-STALKING  IN  THE 
FOREST'  OF  ATHOLL.  By  William  Scrope,  F.L.S. 
Woodcuts  by  Landseer.    Third  Edition.  Crown  8vo,  20*. 

"  Brief  and  imperfect  as  the  preceding  abstract  is,  we 
think  that  it  will  fully  justify  the  high  praise  we  have 
bestowed  on  this  work,  and  induce  our  readers  to  sit  down 
to  the  luxurious  repast  from  which  we  have  risen."— 
Edinburgh  Review. 

DAYS  and  NIGHTS  of  SALMON  FISHING. 
By  William  Scrope,  F.L.S.  Plates  by  Wilkie  and 
Landseer.     Royal  8vo,  42*. 

"  The  fisherman  will  find  in  this  volume  abundance  of 
instruction  in  his  art;  the  naturalist  a  large  addition  to 
bis  knowledge ;  and  the  general  reader  a  fund  of  adven- 
ture and  agreeable  and  exciting  narrative."— The  Critic. 

MOOR    AND    THE  'LOCH  ;  with  Practical 

Hints  on  Highland  Sports,  River,  Burn,  and  Loch  Fishing, 
&c.  By  John  Colquhoun.  Second  Edition,  with  Flates. 
8vo,  9*.  dd. 

"Unpretending,  clear  and  practical,  and  does  honour 
to  the  'parent  lake.'  The  book  breathes  of  the  mountain 
and  the  flood,  and  will  carry  the  sportsman  back  to  the  days 
of  his  youth."—  Quarterly  Review. 

XI. 

THE  CHASE— TURF— AND  THE  ROAD. 

By  Nimrod.  Second  Edition,  with  Plates  by  Alken  and 
Gilbert.     Post  8vo,  9*.  6d. 


MAXIMS  AND  HINTS  ON  ANGLING, 
CHESS,  SHOOTING,  AND  OTHER  MATTERS. 
By  Richard  Penn,  F.R.S.  Second  Edition.With  24  Plates. 
Fcap.  8vo,  5*. 

"They  have  the  air  of  novelty,  and  charm  by  their 
pregnant  brevity,  sly  sarcasm,  and  oily  raciness."— Qaar- 
terly  Review. 

FIELD  SPORTS  OF  FRANCE  ;  or,  Hunting, 

Shooting,  and  Fishing  on  the  Continent.    By  Roderick 
O'Connor.    Woodcuts.    12mo,  7*.  Gd. 


WILD  SPORTS  OF  THE  HIGHLANDS. 
By  Charles  St.  John.    Post  Svo,  0s. 

"The  work  is  full  of  interest  from  beginning  to  end. 
The  bays  and  rivers  team  with  wild  fowl  in  winter,  to  say 
nothing  of  trout  and  salmon  ;  and  the  woods,  forests,  and 
mountains  with  a  variety  of  animals,  the  natural  history 
of  which  opens  a  new  source  of  information  to  the  natu- 
ralist. Next  to  Mr.  Scrope'sDays  of  Deer  Stalking  and 
Salmon  Fishing,  we  have  met  with  no  author  who  writes 
more  agreeably  on  those  subjects  than  Mr.  St.  John."— 
Times. 

"The  descriptions  are  worthy  of  Scott,  from  their  clear- 
ness and  power." — Britannia. 


MUCK   MANUAL   FOR  FARMERS. 

A  Treatise  on  the  Nature  and  Value  of  Manures.  By  F. 
Falkner.  A  New  Edition,  with  a  Glossary  of  Terms. 
Fcap.  8vo. 

"A  very  useful  book."— Lord  Palmerston. 

"  Addressed  to  the  practical  farmer,  and  written  as  such 
books  ought  to  be." — Bell's  Messenger. 

"  A  valuable  work  for  farmers."— British  Farmer's 
Magazine. 

"  Will  be  read  with  avidity  for  its  valuable  informa- 
tion."— Farmer's  Herald. 

"Of  great  value,  and  ought  to  be  the  pocket-companion 
of  every  farmer."— Derbyshire  Courier. 


It 


Mr.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OF  BOOKS.— Domestio  Economy. 


POLITICS    AND    STATISTICS. 


A  PLEA  FOR  PEASANT  PROPRIETORS 
IN  IRELAND.    By  AV.  T.  Thornton.    Tost  8vo,7*.  Gd. 

ENGLISH  MISRULE  AND  IRISH  MIS- 
DEEDS.   By  Aubrey  de  Veke.    Post  8vo,  7s.  Gd. 

RICARDO'S  POLITICAL  WORKS.  With 
a  Biographical  Sketch.  By  J.  It,  McCulloch.  An  Index. 
8vo,  16s. 

"  The  high  esteem  in  which  these  works  are  held, 
and  their  increasing  scarcity,  have  occasioned  their 
being  collected." — Economist. 

PORTER'S  PROGRESS  OF  THE  NATION, 
In  its  Social  and  Economical  Relations.  Second  Edition. 
Ovo,  24s. 

"Mr.  Porter's  official  position  enables  him  to  give  cor- 
rect information  on  the  multifarious  topics  brought  under 
consideration." — Chambers'  Journal. 

THE  BANKCHARTER, 

And  the  State  of  the  Law  respecting  Currency  and  Bank- 
ing.   By  Sir  Robert  Peel,  Bart.,  M.P.    8vo,  3*. 

THE  FINANCIAL  CRISIS  CONSIDERED. 
By  Lord  Ashburton.    Fourth  Edition.   8vo,  Is. 

THE  REGULATION  OF  CURRENCIES. 

By  John  Fullarton.    8vo,  7*.  Gd. 

"  This  volume  is  one  of  great  merit,  and  ought  to  be  in 
the  hands  of  all  who  interest  themselves  in  the  subject." 
— Scotsman. 

VIII. 

THE    CRISIS    AND    THE    CURRENCY: 

with  a  COMPARISON  between  the  English  and  Scotch 
systems  of  Banking.  By  John  G.  Kinnear,  of  Glasgow. 
Second  Edition.    8vo,  3*. 

ON  THE  REGULATION  OF  BUILDINGS, 

nsregardsthc  Health  of  Towns.  By  AV.  Hosking.  8vo,7s.6d. 


THE  COMMERCIAL  POLICY  OF  PITT 
and  PEEL— 1785— 1846;  with  a  Reply  to  the  Quarterly 
Review.     8vo,3s.6d. 

THOUGHTS  ON  THE  PRINCIPLES  OF 
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Exceptions.    By  C.  Babbagb.    8vo,  Is. 


POPULAR  FALLACIES  REGARDING 
GENERAL  INTERESTS.  Translated,  with  Notes,  by 
G.  R.  Porter.    Fcap.  8vo,  2s.  Gd. 

THE  SCHOOL,  IN   FTS  RELATIONS   TO 

THE  STATE,  CHURCH,  AND  CONGREGATION.  Ovo, 
2s.  Gd. ;  or  Cheap  Edition,  3d. 

xir. 
ON    THE    JEWISH    DISABILITIES.     A 

Speech.    By  Right  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone,  M.P.    With 
a  Preface.    8vo,  is.  Gd. 

xv. 
ON  THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  PEOPLE. 
By  W.  E.  Hook,  D.D.,  Vicar  of  Leeds.    Tenth  Edition. 
8vo,  2s.  Gd. 

xvr. 
THE  PRISON  DISCIPLINE  op  AMERICA. 
By  Francis  C.  Gray.    8vo,  5s. 

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tone,  its  rigid  and  clear  analysis,  its  practical  good  sense 
and  directness,  and  its  marked  ability,  will  give  it  great 
weight  wherever  itis  dispassionately  read.*'— Boston  Daily 
Advertiser. 

xvi  r. 
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DOMESTIC  AND  RURAL  ECONOMY. 


MRS.  RUNDELL'S  DOMESTIC  COOKERY, 

founded   on    Principles  of    Economy,  and  Practice,  and 
adapted  for  private  families.  jOUi  Edition.  Fcap.  Svo,  6s. 
"  The  most  practically  useful  book  we  ever  met 
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n. 
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Ketv  Edition.    Fcap.  8vo,  5s.  Gd. 

"A  large  quantity  of  truly  valuable  matter."— British 
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Translated  by  W.  Hall.  Second  Edition.  Plates,  8vo,  15s. 

FARMING  FOR  LADIES. 

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Woodcuts.     Fcap.  8vo,  8s. 

"  Intended  for  those  who  study  healthful  domestic 
economy,  and  has  illustrations  of  Her  Majesty's  poul- 
Tr y-yard. "— Newcastle  Journal. 

GARDENING   FOR  LADIES  ; 
AA  ith  Instructions  for  every  Month.  By  Mrs.  Loudon.  Sixth 
Edition.    Woodcuts.    Fcap.  8vo,  Cs. 

"A  most  useful  and  agreeable  Manual."-- Salopian 
Journal.  r 


IVXiss  Siambert's  Books  on  Needlework. 

l. 
HAND-BOOK  OF  NEEDLEWORK. 

A  Guide  to  every  Kind  of  Decorative  Needlework, 
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Fcap.  8vo,  6s.  Gd. 

"Contains  a  great  deal  of  practical  information.  The 
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PRACTICAL  HINTS  ON  DECORATIVE 
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Printed  In  good  readable  type,  on  superfine  paper,  and 
designed  to  furnish  the  highest  Literature  of  the  day, 
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19. 


BORROWS  BIBLE  IN  SPAIN. 

"  There  is  no  taking  leave   of   a   book  like  this." — 
Athenaeum. 

2. 
BISHOP  HEBER'S  JOURNAL  IN  INDIA. 

"  One  of  the  most  delightful  books  in  the  language." — 
Quarterly  Review. 

3. 

IRBY  AND  MANGLES'  TRAVELS. 

"Irby   and  Mangles'  interesting    Travels." — Literary 
Gazette. 

A. 
DRINKWATER'S  SIEGE  OF  GIBRALTAR. 
"  Truly  a  legend  of  the  United  Services  of  its  day." — 
United  Service  Magazine. 

5. 
HAY'S  MOROCCO  AND  THE  MOORS. 
"  A  new  and  highly  interesting  work." — Greenock  Ad- 
vertiser. 

6. 

LETTERS  FROM  THE  BALTIC. 

"A  series  of  charming  descriptions." — Examiner. 

7- 

THE  AMBER  WITCH. 

"  Nothing  has   so  absorbed    our  interest." — Quarterly 

Review. 

8. 
'  SOUTHEY'S  CROMWELL  AND  BUNYAN. 
"Southey's  admirably  written  lives." — Yorkshireman. 
9. 
MRS.  MEREDITH'S  NEW  SOUTH  WALES. 
"  Impressions  recorded  with   a  fidelity  and  simplicity 
rarely  met  with." — Newcastle  Courant. 
10. 
LIFE  OF  SIR  FRANCIS  DRAKE. 
"  Mr.  Barrow  has  enriched  our  biographical  literature." 
— Edmburgh  Review. 

11. 
FATHER  RIPA'S  MEMOIRS. 
"  As  curious  a  book  as  any  that  has  appeared." — 
Spectator. 

12. 

LEWIS'  WEST  INDIES. 

"  These  highly  amusing  stories."—  Quarterly  Review. 
13. 

MALCOLM'S  SKETCHES  OF  PERSIA. 

"  Has  all  the  interest  of  our  amusing  friend  Hajji  Baba." 
—  Quarterly  Review. 

14. 
FRENCH  IN  ALGIERS. 
"  Of  romantic  and  absorbing  interest."— Northern  Whig. 
15. 

BRACEBRIDGE  HALL. 

"  The  most  charming  work  ever  written  by  Washington 
Irving." — Cambridge  Chronicle. 

16. 
DARWIN'S  VOYAGE  OF  A  NATURALIST. 
"  Mr.    Darwin    is   a    first-rate    landscape   painter." — 
Quarterly  Review. 

17. 
FALL  OF  THE  JESUITS. 
"A  candid  and  moderate  work."—  Cheltenham  Journal. 
18. 
LORD  MAHON'S  LIFE  OF  CONDE. 
"  A  very  skilful  and  interesting  narrative," — Quarterly 
Review. 


BORROWS  GYPSIES  IN  SPAIN. 

"These  singularly  attractive  pages." — Literary  Gazette. 

20. 

MELVILLE'S  MARQUESAS  ISLANDS. 

"  This  book  is  excellent — quite  first-iate." — Blackwood. 

21. 

LIVONIAN  TALES.    By  a  Lady. 

"  We  like  these  Livonian  Tales  much."— Athenaum. 
22. 
THE  MISSIONARY  IN  CANADA. 
"Reminds  one  of  the    'Vicar  of  Wakbpikld.'" — 
Morning  Post. 

23. 

SALE'S  BRIGADE  IN  AFFGHANISTAN. 

"  One  of  the  noblest  records  of  military  adventures."— 
Morning  Chronicle. 

2-1. 
LETTERS  FROM  MADRAS.     By  a  Lady. 
"  A  welcome  addition  to  our  literary  store." — Britannia, 
25. 
HIGHLAND  SPORTS.    By  Charles  St.  John. 
"  We  would  not  desire  a  more  pleasant  companion." — 
Morning  Post. 

26. 

HEAD'S  PAMPAS  JOURNEYS. 

"nas  all  the  interest  of  a  novel." — Eclectic  Review. 

27. 
FORD'S  GATHERINGS  FROM  SPAIN. 

"The  best  book  on  Spain  that  has  ever  appeared."— 
Quarterly  Review. 

28. 

SIEGES  OF  VIENNA  BY  THE  TURKS. 

"A  valuable  contribution  to  history." — Athenaeum. 

29. 

SKETCHES  OF  GERMAN  LIFE. 

"  A  work  deserving  much  attention." — Athenaeum. 

30. 

MELVILLE'S  SOUTH  SEA  ADVENTURES. 

"  A  companion  after  our  own  hearts." — Times. 

31. 

GLEIG'S  BATTLE    OF  WATERLOO. 

"This  account  is  instinct  with  spirit." — Literary  Gazette. 
32. 

EDWARDS'  VOYAGE  UP  THE  AMAZON. 

"  This  book  is  full  of  novelty." — Athenceum. 
33. 

MILMAN'S  WAYSIDE  CROSS. 

"A  spirited  and  interesting  little  story."— Athenceum. 

24. 

ACLAND'S  CUSTOMS  OF  INDIA. 

"Must  interest  all  who  have  friends  in  India. "-^ 

Theologian. 

35. 

BRITISH  ARMY  AT  NEW  ORLEANS. 

"  The  Personal  Narrative  of  an  eye-witness." — Times. 

36. 

RUXTON'S  ADVENTURES  IN  MEXICO. 

"  Full  of  interest  and  adventure." — Athenaeum. 
37. 
PORTUGAL  AND  GALLICIA. 

"  A  very  remarkable  work."—  Quarterly  Review. 
38. 
LIFE  OF  LORD  CLIVE. 

"  One  of  the  best  popular  biographies." — Spectator, 


16 


Mr.  MURRAY'S  LIST  OF  BOOKS  IN  GENERAL  LITERATURE. 


INDEX. 


11 


PAGE 

11  and  12 
.    3 

9  and  12 

.  12 

12 

12 

II 

14 

8 

and  14 

2  and  4 

2  and  5 

11 


Abercrombi  k's  Works 
Acland's  India 
jEsop's  Fables 
Agricultural  Journal 
Amber  Witeli      .        .        . 
Arabian  Nights 
Arts  of  the  Middle  Ages 
Ashhurton  on  Finance     . 
Austin's  German  Writers  . 
Babbage's  Works 
Barrow's  (Sir  John)  Works 

—  (John)  Works 
Bell  (Sir  C.)  on  Expression 
Bentley's  Correspondence  •  •  2 
Bertha's  Journal  .  .  .  .  9 
Bethune's  Swedish  Poetry  .  .  8 
Blunt's  (Kev.  J.  J.)  Works  .  .  7 
Borneo,  Brooke's  Journals  .  .  3 
Borrow's  Bible  in  Spain  .  .  5 
Boswell's  Johnson,  by  Croker  .  .  2 
Bracebridge  Hall  .  .  .  .12 
Brewster's  Martyrs  of  Science  .  .  2 
British  Association  Reports  .  .  11 
Brogden's  Catholic  Safeguards,  &c.  7 
Bubbles  from  the  Bruunen  .  .  5 
Bunbury's  Cape  of  Good  Hope  .  3 
Burnes'  (Sir  A.)  Travels  .  .  3 
Burr  on  Surveying  .  .  .  .  11 
Buttman's  Works  .  .  .  .10 
Buxton's  (Sir  Fowell)  Memoirs  .  .  2 
Byron's  (Lord)  Life  and  Works  .  8 
Campbell's  British  Poets           .  .     8 

Lord  Chancellors  .    2 

Careme's  Cookery       .        .        .  .  14 

Carmichael's  Greek  Verbs       .  .  10 

Carnarvon's  Portugal          .        .  .     5 

Charmed  Roe 9 

Clark  on  Climate         .        .        .  .  11 

Coleridge's  Greek  Poets           .  .10 

Colonial  and  Home  Library        .  .  15 

Colquhonn's  Moor  and  Loch  .  .  13 

Comber's  Advice  to  Catholics     .  .    7 

Crabbe's  Life  and  I'oems         .  .     8 
Croker's  England,  and  Geography  .     9 

—  Boswell's  Johnson  .  .  2 
Cunningham's  Poems  .  .  .  8 
Dates  and  Distances  .  .  .5 
Darwin's  Natural  History  .  .  4 
Dennis'  Cities  of  Etruria  .  .  5 
De  Vere  on  Ireland  .  .  .14 
Dieffenbach's  New  Zealand  .  .  4 
Domestic  Cookery  .  .  .  .14 
Douglas  on  Naval  Gunnery  .  .  11 
Drinkwater's  Siege  of  Gibraltar  .  1 
Drummond  on  Religion  .  .  7 
Dudley's  (Lord)  Letters  .  .  .  2 
Durham's  (Admiral)  Life  .  .  2 
Eastlake  on  the  Fine  Arts  .  .  11 
Education,  Minutes  .  .  .14 
Edward's  Voyage  up  the  Amazon  .  4 
Eldon's  (Lord)  Life  .  .  2 
Elphinstone's  India  .  .  1 
Ellesmere's  (Lord)  Vienna  ,  .  1 
English  Hexameters  .  .  .  .  8 
Facts  in  Various  Sciences  .  .  11 
Fairy  Ring  (The)  ....  9 
Family  Receipt-Book .  .  .  .  14 
Faraday's  Manipulation .  .  .11 
Farming  for  Ladies  .  .  .  .  14 
Father  Ripa's  China  .  .  .3 
Featherstonhaugh's  America  .  .  5 
Fellows'  Travels  .  .  .  .  4 
Ferguson  on  Women  .  .  .11 
Field  Sports  of  France  .  .  .  13 
Fisher's  Geometry  and  Algebra  .  9 
Ford's  Spain            .        .        .  .    y 

Fortune's  China 3 

French  in  Algiers    .        .        ,  .12 

Fullarton  on  Currencies      .        .  .  14 

Geographical  Journal          .  .  12 

Giffard's  Ionian  Islands       .         .  .     3 

Gladstone's  Family  Prayers    .  .     7 

—         Jewish  Disabilities  .  14 

Gleig's  Battle  of  Waterloo          .  .  12 

—  Life  of  Lord  Clive            .  .     2 

—  Washington        .        .  12 


1>age 

Godley's  Canada                  .        .  .     5 

Gooch  on  Women    .        .        .  .11 

Gordon's  German  Life         .        .  .     1 

Gospel  Stories  for  Children     .  .    9 

Grant's  Nestorians     .        .        .  .    7 

Gray  on  Prison  Discipline       .  .  14 

Grote's  History  of  Greece   .        .  .    1 

Halford's  Essays          .        .  .11 
Hallam's  Histories      .        .      land  12 

Hamilton's  Hindostan        .        .  .     3 

—  Asia  Minor  .        .  .4 

—  Aristophanes  .  .  .  10 
nand-books  for  Travellers  .  .  G 
Hawkstone,  a  Tale  .  .  .  12 
Hart's  Army  List  .  .  .  .12 
Base's  Ancient  Greeks  .  .  .  10 
Hay's  Morocco  ....  3 
Haygarth's  Life  in  the  Bush  .  .  4 
Head's  (Sir  F.  B. )  Travels      4  and  12 

—  (Sir  G.)  Travels  .  .  .5 
Heber's  Sermons        .        .         .  .     7 

—  India                    .         .  .3 

—  Poetical  Works  .  .  8 
Hervey's  (Lord)  Memoirs  .  .  2 
Highland  Sports  .  .  .  .  13 
Hill's  (Lord)  Life  ...  2 
History  of  the  late  War  .  .  .  9 
Holland's  Psalms  and  Hymns  .  7 
Hosking  on  Buildings  .  .  .  .  12 
Houstoun's  Texas  ...  .5 
Hook  on  Education    .        .        .  .   14 

—  Three  Reformations  .  7 
Humboldt's  Cosmos  .  .  .  .  11 
Irby  and  Mangles'  Travels  .  .  4 
Jameson's  Public  Galleries        .  .     6 

Japan 3 

Jesse's  Natural  History,  &c.   9  and  12 

Jesuits  (Fall  of )          .         .         .  .     1 

Jocelyn's  (Lord)  China  .        .  .3 

Jones  on  Wealth         .         .         .  .  14 

Journal  of  a  Naturalist    .        .  .13 

Jukes's  Newfoundland        .        .  .     5 

Ktnnear's  Cairo     .         .         .  .     4 

—  Currency  .  .  .  14 
Kugler's  Painting  .  .  6  and  11 
Laborde's  Arabia  Petrrea  .  .  4 
Lambert's  Needlework  Books  .  .  14 
Layard's  Nineveh  .  .  .  .3 
Letters  from  Madras       .        .  .3 

—            the  Baltic      .        .  .     5 

Lewis  on  Dependencies            .  .  14 

—  Negro  Life  .  .5 

—  Romance  Languages  .  10 
Lindsay's  Christian  Art     .        .  .  11 

—  Antagonism  .  .  .12 
Little  Arthur's  England  .  .  .  9 
Livonian  Tales         .        .        .  .12 

Loch's  China 3 

Lockhart's  Life  of  Burns         .  .     2 

—  Spanish  Ballads        .  .    8 

Long's  Essays 12 

Loudon's  Gardening  and  Botany  .  14 

—  Natural  History  .  .  9 
Lowe's  (Sir  H.)  Memoirs  .  .  .  2 
Lyell  on  Geology     .         .        .  .13 

—  North  America  .  .  .  5 
Mahon's  (Lord)  Histories      .  .    1 

—  Condi  and  Belisarius  .  2 
Malcolm's  Persia  .  .  .  3 
Manning  on  the  Church  .  .  7 
Mantell  on  Animalcules  .  .  .  13 
Manual  of  Family  Prayers  .  .  7 
Markham's  (.Mrs.)  Histories       .  .     9 

—  Sermons  .  .  .9 
Markland's  English  Churches  .  7 
Marryat  on  Pottery  .  .  .11 
Martineau's  Holy  Land  .  .  .  4 
Matthias's  Greek  Grammar  .  .  10 
Maw's  Maranon  .  .  .  .  4 
Mayo  on  the  Mind  .  .  .11 
Melville's  South  Seas  .  .  .  .  4 
Meredith's  New  South  Wales  .  4 
Merrifield  on  Ancient  Painting  .  .  11 
Milford's  Norway  .  .  .  .6 
Milman's  Histories     .        .        .  .     1 


PAGE 

.    2 


Milman's  Life  of  Gibbon 

—  Poetical  AVorks 

—  Horace 

—  Wayside  Cross 
Missionary  in  Canada 
Mitchell's  Aristophanes 
Moore's  Life  of  Byron 
Muck  Manual  for  Farmers 
Muller's  Dorians 
Murchison's  Geology  of  Russia 
Nautical  Almanack . 
Navy  List 

Neale  on  Feasts  and  Fasts 
Newbold's  Malacca . 
Newton's  (Sir  Isaac)  Life    . 
Nimrod  on  the  Chase 
O'Byrnb,  Naval  Biography 
Oxenham's  Latin  Elegiacs 
Paris'  Pyrenees 
Parry's  Parliaments 
Pashley's  Crete   . 
Peel  on  Bank  Charter 
Peile's  ^Eschylus 
Pellew's  Cathedral  Sermons 
Pennington  on  the  Greek 
Penn's  Maxims  and  Hints 
Phillips'  Geology  of  Yorkshi 
Philosophy  in  Sport  . 
Pitt  and  Peel  Policy 
Porter's  Progress  of  the  Nation,  &c. 
Prayer-Book  Illuminated   . 
Puss  in  Boots  . 
Quarterly  Review    .         . 
Ranke's  Histories  . 
Rejected  Addresses     . 
Remarkable  German  Trials 
Ricardo's  Political  Works  . 
Ride  to  Florence    . 
Robertson's  (Lord)  Poems 
Romaunt  Version  of  Gospel 
Romilly's  (Sir  Samuel)  Life 
Ross's  (Sir  James)  Voyage 
Royal  Society  of  Literature 
Ruudell's  Domestic  Cookery 
Ruxton's  Mexico     . 
Sale's  (Lady)  Journal 

—  Brigade 
Schroeder's  Mediterranean 
Scrope's  Deer  Stalking  and  Fishing  13 
Sentences  from  the  Proverbs 
Sewell  on  Christianity 
Shaw's  English  Literature 
Sikhs  and  Affghans     . 
Sidmouth  (Lord)  Life  of 
Smith's  Classical  Dictionaries 

—  ( Dr.  W.)  Life 
Somerville  on  Science 

—  Physical  Geography 
Southey's  Book  of  the  Church 

—  Cromwell  and  Buny; 

—  Life  of  Dr.  Bell 
Staunton's  China 
Stephens'  Central  America  .  .  4 
Sterling's  Russia  .  .  .  .  5 
Strong's  Italian  Sonnets  .  .  .8 
Sydenham's  (Lord)  Memoirs  .  2 
Ta  it's  Theological  Suggestions  .  7 
Talbot  on  Etymologies    .        .        .12 

Taylor's  Essays 12 

Thornton  on  Ireland       .        .        .14 

Turnbull's  Austria  . 

Twiss's  Lord  Eldon    .        .        .    .    2 

Vaughan's  Sermons       .        .        .7 

Venables'  Russia 

Visitation  Sermons  .        .        .7 

Watt's  (J.)  Life  and  Correspond.  2  &  11 

Wakefield's  New  Zealand        .        .     4 

Wilkie's  (Sir  David)  Life    .        .    .    2 

Wilkinson's  Egypt  .         .         .1 

—  Dalmatia         .        .    .    4 

—  Geology        .        .        .13 

—  South  Australia  .  4 
Wood's  Source  of  the  Uxus  .  .  3 
Wordsworth's  Athens      .        .        .    3 

—  Latin  Grammar      .    .10 


BRADBUaY   AND  EVANS,   PRINTERS,   WBITEFB1AXS. 


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