Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/1328

 1304 TIA SALARIA. ficiently account for the one apppllation having be- come merged in the other. A continuation of the same road, which was also included under the name of the Via Praenestina, was carried from the foot of the hill at Praeneste, through the subjacent plain, till it fell into the Via Latina, just below Anagnia. The stations on it mentioned in the Antonine Itine- rary (p. 302) are: — From Rome to Gabii .... sii. m. p. Praeneste - -. xi. Sub Anagnia - - xxiv. The Tabula gives the same distances as far as Praeneste, which are very nearly correct. Strabo reckons it 100 stadia (121 miles) from Piome to Gabii, and the same distance thence to Praeneste. The continuation from Praeneste to Sub Anagnia is given only in the Antonine Itinerary, but the dis- tance is overstated ; it does not really exceed 18 miles. The Via Praenestina issued from the Porta Esqui- lina at Rome, together with the Via Labicana (Strab. v. p. 237) : it passed through the Porta Praenestina in the later circuit of the walls, now called Porta Maggiore; and separated from the Via Labicana im- mediately afterwards, striking off in a nearly direct line towards Gabii. About 3 miles from Rome it passed the imperial villa of the Gordians, the mag- nificence of which is extolled by Julius Capitolinus (Gordian. 32), and is still in some degree attested by the imposing and picturesque ruius at a spot called Turre dei Schiavi. (Nibby, Dintorni, vol. iii. pp. 707 — 710.) Nine miles from Rome the road is carried over the valley of a small stream by a viaduct of the most massive construction, still known as the Ponte di Nona: and 3 miles farther it passes the still existing ruins of the city of Gabii. Thence to Praeneste the line of the road was not so direct : this part of the Campagna being in- tersected by deep gullies and ravines, which necessi- tated some deviations from the straight line. The road is however clearly marked, and in many places retains its ancient pavement of basaltic lava. It is carried nearly straight as far as a point about 5 miles beyond Gabii, where it passes through a deep cutting in the tufo rock, which has given to the spot the name of Cavamonte : shortly afterwards it turns abruptly to the right, leaving the village of Gallicano (the probable site of Pkduji) on the left, and thence follows the line of a long narrow ridge be- tween two ravines, till it approaches the city of Praeneste. The highroad doubtless passed only through the lower part of that city. Portions of the ancient pavement may be seen shortly after quitting the southern gate (^Porta del Sole), and show that the old road followed the same direction as the raoJern one, which leads through Cavi and Pallcmo, to an inn on the highroad below Anagni, apparently on the very same site as the station Sub Anagnia (or Compitum Anagninum, as it is called in another route) of the Itinerary. (Westphal, RiJm. Kamp. pp. 97 — 107; Nibby, Dintorni di Roma, pp. 625 — 630.) [E. H. B.] VIA SALARIA (ji 'S.aKapia ohos, Strab.), one of the most ancient and well-known of the highroads of Italy, which led from Rome up the valley of the Tiber, and through the land of the Sabines to Reate, and thence across the Apennines into Picenum, and to the shores of the Adriatic. We have no account of the period of its construction as a regular roud, but there can be little doubt that it was a fre- VIA SALARIA. quented route of communication long before it was kid down as a regular highway : and the tradition that its name was derived from its being used by the Sabines to carry into their own country the salt that they obtained from the Roman salt-works at the mouth of the Tiber, in itself seems to point to an early age. (Fest. s. v. Salaria.) It was indeed, with the exception of the Via Latina, the only one of the great Roman highways, the name of which was not derived from that of its first constructor. But it cannot be inferred from the ex- pressions of Livy that the battle of the Allia was fought " ad undecimum lapidem," and that the Gauls on a subsequent occasion encamped " ad lertium Lipidem via Salaria trans pontem Anienis" (Liv. v. 37, vii. 9), that the regular road was then in ex- istence, though there is no doubt that there was a much frequented line of communication with the land of the Sabines. We learn from the latter passage that a bridge had been already constructed over the Anio ; and it is probable that the Via Salaria was constructed in the first instance only as far as Reate, and was not carried across the mountains till long afterwards. Even in the time of Strabo there is no evidence that it reached to the Adriatic ; that author speaks of it merely as extending through the land of the Sabines, but as not of great extent (oir TToWrj ovaa, Strab. v. p. 22S), which renders it improbable that it had then been carried to the Upper Sea. But the Itineraries give the name of Salaria to the whole line of road from Rome to Castrmn Truentinum on the Adriatic, and thence to Adria. The Salarian Way issued from the Porta Collina of the ancient city together with the Via Nomentana (Strab. I. c. Fest. s. v. Salaria^; but they di- verged immediately afterwards, so that the one quitted the outer circuit of the city (as bounded by the walls of Aurelian) through the Porta Salaria, the other through the Porta Nomentana. Between 2 and 3 miles from Rome the Via Salaria crossed the Anio by a bridge, called the Pons Salarius, which was the scene of the memorable combat of Manlius Torquatus with the Gaul. (Liv. vii. 9.) The present bridge is ancient, though not strictly of Roman date, having been constructed by Narses, to replace the more ancient one which was destroyed by Totila. On a hill to the left of the road, just before it descends to the river, is the site of the ancient city of Ajs'temnak, and a hill to the right of the road immediately after crossing the river is worthy of notice, as the spot where the Gauls encamped in b. c. 361 (Liv. I, c), and where Hannibal pitched his camp when he rode up to reconnoitre the walls of Rome. (Id. xxvi. 10.) Between 5 and 6 miles from Rome, after passing the Villa Spada, the road passes close to Castel Giuhileo, a fortress of the middle ages, which serves to mark the site of the ancient Fidenae. From this point the road is carried through the low grounds near the Tiber, skirting the foot of the Crustuinian hills, which border it on the right. Several small streams descend from these hills, and, after crossing the road, discharge themselves into the Tiber ; and there can be no doubt that one of these is the far-famed Allia, though which of them is en- titled to claim that celebrated appellation is still a very disputed point. [Allia.] The road continued to follow the valley of the Tiber till, after passing Monte Rotondo, it turned inland to Eretum, the site of which is probably to be fixed at Grotta MarozzOj