Page:Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1827) Vol 1.djvu/486

 462 THE DECLINE AND FALL CHAP, near two hundred Roman miles (according to the mea- •^^^^' surement of the pubHc highways) from Aquileia and the confines of Italy, and about two hundred and seventy from Sirmium, the usual residence of the em- perors whenever they visited the Illyrian frontier "". A miserable village still preserves the name of Salona ; but so late as the sixteenth century, the remains of a theatre, and a confused prospect of broken arches and marble columns, continued to attest its ancient splen- dour ^ About six or seven miles from the city, Dio- cletian constructed a magnificent palace; and we may infer, from the greatness of the work, how long he had meditated his design of abdicating the empire. The choice of a spot which united all that could contribute either to health or to luxury, did not require the par- tiality of a native. " The soil was dry and fertile, the air is pure and wholesome, and though extremely hot during the summer months, this country seldom feels those sultry and noxious winds, to which the coast of Istria and some parts of Italy are exposed. The views from the palace are no less beautiful than the soil and climate were inviting. Towards the west lies the fer- tile shore that stretches along the Adriatic, in which a number of small islands are scattered in such a manner, as to give this part of the sea the appearance of a great lake. On the north side lies the bay, which led to the ancient city of Salona ; and the country beyond it, ap- pearing in sight, forms a proper contrast to that more extensive prospect of water, which the Adriatic pre- sents both to the south and to the east. Towards the north, the view is terminated by high and irregular mountains, situated at a proper distance, and in many places covered with villages, woods, and vineyards ''." ^ See the Itiner. p. 269. 272. edit. Wessel. a The abate Fortis, in his Viaggio in Dalmazia, p. 43. (printed at Venice in the year 1774, in two small volumes in quarto) quotes a manu- script account of the antiquities of Salona, composed by Giambattista Giu- stiniani about the middle of the sixteenth century. add a circumstance or two from the abate Fortis. The little stream of the Hyader, mentioned by Lucan, produces most exquisite trout, which a saga-
 * » Adam's Antiquities of Diocletian's palace at Spalatro, p. 6. We may