Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/232

 216 LUNA. &c. But it was speedily adopted for statuary pur- poses also, for which it was esteemed a finer mate- riul even than the Parian. (Plin. xxxvi. 5. s. 4, 6. s. 7 ; Stj-ab. v. p. 222 ; Sil. Ital. viii. 480 ; Rutil. I. c. ; Stat. Silo. iv. 2. 29, 4. 23.) The buildings of Luna itself, and even its walls, are said to have been constructed wholly of it, whence Eutilius calls them '' candentia moenia : " and Cyriacus, an anti- quarian of the 1.5th century, who visited the ruins of Luna, attests the same fact. The period of the final decay of Luna is uncertain. It was taken and plundered by the Noniians in 857, but was probably not destroyed ; and Dante, writing after 1300, speaks of Luni as a city that had sunk gradually into complete decay {Par. svi. 73); which was doubtless accelerated by the malaria, from which the neighbourhood now suffers severely. When it was visited by Cyriacus of Ancona, the ruins were still extensive and in good preservation ; but little now remains. Vestiges of an amphitheatre, of a semi-circular building which may have been a theatre, of a circus, and piscina, as well as fragments of columns, pedestals, &c., are still however visible. All these remains are certainly of Roman date, and no vestiges of Etruscan antiquity have been found on the spot. The ruins, which are obviously those of a small town, as it is called by Strabo, are situated about 4 m. S. of Sarzana, and little more than a mile from the sea. (Dennis's Etniria, vol. ii. pp. 78 — 84; Targioni-Tozzetti, Viaijfjia in Toscana, vol. X. pp. 403 — 466 ; Promis, Memorie della Citta di Luna, 4to. Turin, 1838.) Far more celebrated in ancient times than Luna itself was its port, or rather the magnificent gulf that was known by that name (Portus Lunae, Liv., Plin., &c. ; SfA.'^t'??? Ai^rji/, Strab.), now called the Gulf of Spezia. This is well described by Strabo as one of the largest and finest harbours in the world, containing within itself many minor ports, and sur- rounded by high mountains, with deep water close in to shore. (Strab. v. p. 222 ; Sil. Ital. viii. 482.) He adds, that it was well adapted for a people that had so long possessed the dominion of the sea, — a remark that must refer to the Etruscans or Tyrrhenians in general, as we have no allusion to any naval supre- macy of Luna in particular. The great advantages of this port, which is so spacious as to be capable of containing all the navies of Europe, seem to have early attracted the attention of the Romans ; and lontr before the subjection of the mountain tribes of Liguria was completed, they were accustomed to make the Lunae Portus the station or rendezvous of their fleets which were destined either for Spain or Sardinia. (Liv. xxxiv. 8, xxxix. 21, 32.) It must have been on one of these occasions (probably in company with M. Cato) that it was visited by En- nius, who was much struck with it, and celebrated it in the opening of his Annals (Ennius, ap. Pers. Sat. vi. 9.) At a later period it seems to have been re- sorted to also for its mild and delightful climate. (Pers. I.e.) No doubt can exist that the port of Luna is identical with the modern Gulf of Spezia ; but it is certainly curious that it should have derived that name from the town or city of Luna, which was situated on the left bank of the Magra, at least five miles from the gulf, and separated from it, not only by the river Magra, but by a considerable range of rocky hills, which divide the Gulf of Spezia from the valley of the Magra, so that the gulf is not even within sight of Luna itself. It is this range of hills which at their extremity form a promontory, LUPIAE. called by Ptolemy, Lunae Promontorium (2eXV'7S aKpov, Ptol. iii. 1. § 4.), now the Punfa Bianca. It is true that Strabo places Luna on the right bank of the Macra ; but this is a mere mistake, as he is certainly speaking of the Roman town of Luna: it is possible that the Etruscan city of that name may not have occupied the same site with the Roman colony, but may have been situated on the right bank of the Macra, but even then it would have been at some distance from the port. Holstenios and some other writers have endeavoured to prove that the port of Luna was situated at the mouth of the Macra ; and it is probable that the town may have had a small port or landing-place at that point ; but the celebrated Port of Luna, described by Strabo and extolled by Ennius, can certainly be no other than the Gulf of Spezia. The Gulf of Spezia is about 7 miles in depth by 3 in breadth : it contains within itself (as justly ob- served by Strabo) several minor ports, two of which are noticed by Ptolemy under the names of Portus Veneris ('A(^poSiT7)s Xl/xtiv), still called Poi'to Ve- nere, and situated near the western extremity of the gulf ; and Portus Ericis ('E^iKrjs koAttos), now Lerici, on the E. shore of the gulf. The former name is found also in the Maritime Itinerary. ( Ptol. iii. 1. § 3; Itin. Marit. p. 502.) [E.H. B.] LUNAE MONTES (SeAtjVtjs opos Alewmas, Ptol. iv. 8. §§ 3, 6), from which mountains, and from the lakes tbrmed by their melting snows, Ptolemy derives the sources of the Nile. Their position is unknown, and if they have any real existence, they must be placed S. of the Equator. [W. B. D.] LUNAE PORTUS. [Luna.] LUNAE PROMONTO'RIUM (^(Awv^ opos aKpov, Ptol. ii. 5. § 4), a headland on the W. coast of Lusitania, placed by Ptolemy 10 minutes N. of the mouth of the Tagus, and therefore corresponds to the C. da Roca, near Cintra, where Resendius found ruins of what he took for a temple of the Sun and Jloon, with inscriirtions {Antiq. Lusit. p. 52). Others, however, identify it with the more northern C. Carvoeiro ; and, in fact, the accounts of the head- lands on this coast are given in a confused manner by the ancient writers. [P. S.] LUNA'RIUJI PROMONTO'RIUM {oxw6.piov aKpov, Ptol. ii. 6. §19: C. Tordera, NE. of Bar- celona), a headland on the coast of the Baetuli, in Hispania Tarraconensis, formed by one of the SE. spurs of the Pvrenees. [P. S. j LU'NGONES. [Astures.] LUNNA, in Gallia, was on a road from Lug- dunum (^Lyon) to Augustodunum (^Autmi). The first station after Lugdunum is Asa Pauliiii, 15 M. P. from Lugdunum, and then Lunna 15 M. P. from Asa Paulini, according to the Antonine Itin. [AsA Paulini.] In the Table it is 24 M. P. from Lug- dunum to Ludnam, as the name is written in the Table, and Asa Paulini is omitted. Lunna and Ludnam are probably the same place; and the site is uncertain. [G. L.] LU'PIA. [LuppiA.] LU'PIAE (AouTTiaf, Strab. ; Aovtria, Paus.; Aeuir- iriai, Ptol. : Elk. Lupiensis : Lecce), an ancient city of the Salentines, in the Roman province of Calabria, situated on the high road from Brundusium to Hy- druntum, and just about 25 M.P. distant from each of these cities {Itin. Ant. p. 118). It was about 8 miles from the sea, whence Strabo correctly describes it as situated, together with Rhudiae, in the interior of Calabria (Strab. v. p. 282), though both Pliny and