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Hence we follow left to Porta Portati. After a long break in the continuity we reach the finest track of polygonal wall in Italy. The narrow dark streets are full of mediaeval houses, with gothic windows and loggie; and the two ancient churches have each a rose-window in the west front. But towering high above the buildings of all later ages are the walls of the ancient city, forming a quadrangle, and as perfect as if they were finished yesterday for though the stones are fitted together without cement, each is like a mass of rock, and the arched form of their fitting adds to their firmness. The Porta di Civita of the Arx opens under a single horizontal stone measuring seventeen feet by five. The emblem of Priapus is repeatedly sculptured on the walls, and it has long been a semi-religious custom for the inhabitants to go out en masse to mutilate it on Easter Monday. The place is mentioned by Plautus, under the Greek form 'Aλáтplov: Strabo calls it 'AXÉTρLov.

'Alatri, like Ferentino, was surrounded with walls, but the circle round the town has been almost entirely destroyed, and only the walls of the citadel remain, an astonishing monument of that period of civilisation, and without parallel amongst the towns of Latium, so that to see so wonderful, so unparalleled a work, which may be compared with the buildings of Egypt, is well worth a fatiguing day's journey.

The old citadel of Alatri (it is now called 'Civita'-the town, by itself) occupies the highest point in the place, and is now the site of the cathedral, for here, as at Ferentino, the bishopric has nestled within the old fortress. And this hill, on the broad flat surface of which is the cathedral, is surrounded, supported, and surmounted by Cyclopean walls reaching to a height of from eighty to a hundred feet. When I saw and I walked round these constructions, of black Titanic stonework, to which the eye looks up with astonishment, so well preserved that they seem as if their age might be reckoned not by thousands of years but by years, I was impelled to much greater admiration of human power than the sight of the Coliseum of Rome had inspired. For in times of advanced civilisation, with many complete mechanical appliances, amphitheatres or public baths like those of Caracalla or Constantine might be piled up, without imputing anything extraordinary to the strength of man; and even the walls of Dionysius of Syracuse, the grandest of such creations which I had yet seen, do not make an equal impression. But here we see before us walls, each stone of which is not a huge square but a block of irregular shape, many-sided, hewn out of the rock; and if we ask in wonder by what mechanical means such huge masses of rock could be lifted up and piled one upon another, still less can we understand how it was possible to arrange the many-cornered blocks so artistically that they fit into one another exactly without leaving spaces to be filled up, and form a complete gigantic mosaic.

'As these Cyclopean towns are found near one another, and scattered over the whole of Latium, it follows that in this country a great number of independent republics or states were established in very ancient times, whose connection with one another we do not know. But such immense fortifications imply constant war between the different towns, and particularly a predatory, unsafe, and isolated state of life. To bring the strength of the men into a suitable proportion to the colossal dimensions of the works, one must imagine those who erected them, or who came as enemies to storm them, to have been regular giants. But these erections only point to that colossal period with which the civilisation of men in all nations and in all parts of the world begins, till it gradually rises from the materially sublime to the representation of things pleasing and beautiful, which more perfect means render possible. Altogether these Cyclopean works should not be placed in too dark a time; erhaps some of them may have been built in Latium after Rome was founded, and the step from this many-cornered style of building to the hardly less colossal square stone walls of the Etruscans and Romans is by no means

a long one. [More recent research has established the fact that polygonal construction is merely matter of convenience.' There can be no doubt all of these walls in towns of the Campagna date from Roman times.]

'Out of the walls of this Capitol of the ancient Alatri led a principal gate which exists still, an enormous erection made of horizontal stones; besides this there is also a smaller entrance, and three square niches in the south wall lead to the conclusion that images of gods may have been set up there, while at the same time Cyclopean remains in the middle of the castle may with some probability he held to be the public altar on which festive sacrifices were offered.

Till the year 1843 these walls were half-buried under ruins and creepers, and no road led round them. A visit of Gregory XVI. inspired the Alatrians with the happy thought of cleaning and clearing out such unparalleled monuments of antiquity; so 2000 men worked for ten days at removing the rubbish, and thus the Acropolis was not only laid bare again but surrounded with a road called Via Gregoriana, by which one can walk round it comfortably. Then, too, the great gate was dug out, and the ascent to the plateau re-opened. This broad flat space is only surrounded by a stone bulwark, which rises above the Cyclopean wall, and as it contains no building but the cathedral, it admits a most charming view of the mountain scenery. And indeed the beautiful surroundings make such an enchanting picture that I will not attempt to describe it in words, or even to indicate the lines of the the mountains which rise from Elysian fields to the sunny blue above.'Gregorovius.

Within the precincts of the fortress stands the Duomo (S. Paolo). It only dates from the last century, though the see was created in A.D. 551; but it is a conspicuous feature in all distant views of the town, and contains in its baptistery a Cosmatesque 'Ambone.' Moreover, it occupies the site of the Ara Maxima. A finer church is that of S. Maria Maggiore, which has three gothic portals in its west front, and a rose-window above them. The mouldings are richly ornamented with acanthus. It had formerly two towers, but only one remains. The interior is completely modernised. From the heights overhanging the walls are grand views over the Volscian and Hernican hills, the most prominent feature being a bare mountain, crowned by a little town and a grove of cypresses. This is Fumone, the scene of the imprisonment and death of the abdicated hermit-Pope, Celestine V., immured here by his successor, Boniface VIII. A later (Avignonese) Pope, Clement V. (1305), presently enrolled him amongst the saints. In old days Fumone was carefully watched, for its lord had feudal rights over all the surrounding country, and, when he wished to summon his vassals, either in defence or attack, he lighted a bonfire on his hill-top, whence the proverb-'Quando Fumone fuma, tutta la campagna trema.' The people of Alatri are handsome, and as the women come down the steep stairs under the great gateway, with their flowing veils, their rich costume, and their gleaming brass conche poised upon their stately heads, they are in keeping with the scene. The drive back from Alatri to Ferentino in the gloaming of one of the most beautiful days in the beginning of April, gave us a perfect succession of charming pictures, not only of landscapethough that was beautiful exceedingly in the still late light—but of herdsmen in their closely-fitting blue dress, with their guidingpoles over their shoulders, following stately grey oxen down the hollow ways between the red earth and bright grass, singing as

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they went; and of women in white dresses, with snow-white panni folded over their dark hair, wearing large gold earrings and embroidered aprons, sometimes coming up from wayside fountains bearing the great brazen vessels of water, which one sees here everywhere, poised upon their heads, like Greek Caryatides. Our evening, moreover, was a perfectly Italian one seated in the brick-floored, painted room, lighted by Italian lamps with three burners and hanging chains, and waited on by a gaily-jewelled hostess, who had nothing to offer but eggs and salad, and smiles. Another beautiful morning found us rested, and out early to enjoy the light glinting through olive-trees under our window, and distant views of rosy peaks. Then we set off to explore the town, ancient Hernican Ferentinum,1 up the steep dark street, all balconies, and loggie, and gothic windows, with plenty of dirt beneath, and only a strip of opal sky lighting it up at the end. [It is 5 kil. from its station.] On the steepest part of the rock stands the Church of S. Valentino, with a porch, its canopy being formed by a projecting apse. A little further is S. Francesco, with strange bas-reliefs in its little forecourt. Hence the Via dell' Antico Acropole, a street full of long steep staircases, beloved by artists, leads up to a terrace under polygonal walls made of huge stones, something like those of Alatri. The dark passage caverned under these walls emerges close to the Duomo (SS. Giovanni e Paolo), which externally has much of its Lombard architecture remaining; and, within, a rich Cosmatesque pavement, mended with fragments of sculptured marble-work, and a twisted mosaic pillar nearly the whole height of the church, secured against the wall by iron clamps.

'Just at the point where the Inscription is, the walls of the Arx are carried up to form the Bishop's palace, and from the middle of one side rises the belltower of the Cathedral, a very good example of the usual Romanesque type of such buildings.'-Freeman.

Behind the church is the bishop's palace, with a stately staircase guarded by marble lions.

'Aulus Gellius, speaking of Caius Gracchus, quotes from a speech of the latter anent the wrongs done by arbitrary magistrates to allied cities: "The wife of a Roman Praetor suddenly wished the public baths of Ferentinum made ready for herself. The thing was not done as fast as the lady wished: so her husband bade the two quæstors of the town to be seized. One was scourged and the other threw himself over the wall."-Freeman.

A crowded street, where old women, like the Fates of Michelangelo, sit spinning in their doorways, surrounded by their domestic circles of goats, cats, dogs, and pigs, all joining vociferously in the conversation, leads to the lower town. The stone used as the font in the little church of S. Giovanni Evangelista has an inscription from the inhabitants of Ferentinum to Cornelia Salonina, wife of the 'unconquered Gallienus.' From the piazza, where a number of

1 Carriages and lodgings can be had at the Locanda Pettorini. To Anagni for 5 lire.

Roman altars are collected, we have a magnificent view over mountain and plain. Hence, also, one may learn, by looking down, to find one's way through the intricate maze of filthy alleys, many of which have such stately names as Via dell' Atreo, Vicolo dei Bagni di Flavio, Vicolo del Calidario, &c., to the finest of the churches, S. Maria Maggiore, which, in its beautiful west front, has a door with red marble columns collared together, and above it the emblems of the Evangelists on either side of the Lamb, and a grand rose window.

Old Italian histories assert that S. Maria Salome, the reputed mother of S. John the Evangelist, was buried at Ferentino,' 'as is attested by the archives in the cathedral of Veroli.'

Near the gate close to this church an inscription hewn in the solid rock records the erection of a statue by the grateful people of Ferentinum to Aulus Quinctilius, who, amongst other largesses, gave them crustula and mulsum (cakes and mead) upon his birthday, with sportulae (presents of money) for the decurions, and nucum sparsiones (scrambles of nuts) for the boys.

"The pride of Ferentino, amongst its antiquities, is the so-called 'Testament.' With difficulty I climbed over rocks and through the brambles in a vineyard to reach this curiosity, and at last I saw before me a great table hewn in the living rock. A long inscription in well-cut characters tells here that Aulus Quinctilius, Quatuorvir and Aedile, was the benefactor of his native town, bequeathing to it all his property by will, for which the town gratefully honoured him by placing his statue publicly on the Forum.'Gregorovius.

Outside this gate is preserved a fine tract of the Via Latina.

The three remaining gates of Ferentino are called Sanguinaria (E.), Stupa (N.W.), and San Francesco (N.E.); but none of them retains its original architrave. Instead there is seen Roman 'opus quadratum.' The polygonal pavement is still to be found here and there. The first of these gates, and the most imposing, leads the visitor direct upward to the Acropolis.

Another public carriage met us at the station of Anagni, ancient Anagnia, the capital of the Hernici. The town crests a long ridge, the noble advance-guard of the Hernican hills, with splendid views in every direction. We enter by Porta Cerere. Its streets are soon seen to abound in architectural fragments, griffins, lions, open loggias, outside staircases, trefoiled windows, and great arched doorways, and still recall the expression municipium ornatissimum,' which Cicero, in his defence of Milo, applies to this town. Virgil also speaks of its riches.

The centre of life here, as in all the mountain towns, is the piazza (Cavour), where groups of brilliantly-dressed peasants, the women all wearing panni again and glorious earrings, stand gossipping round the fountain, poising their brazen conche meanwhile upon its marble ledges. The men lie basking in the sunshine along the stone ledges of the terrace, for here only three sides of the piazza are surrounded with houses, the fourth opens over the valley toward the mountains.

'From this piazza the view is so beautiful that it enchants even those who have seen all Italy from the Alps to the African and Ionian sea. Immediately opposite rise the Volscian hills, whose sunny heights are so distinctly seen that the windows in the houses can be distinguished. Everywhere Volscian towns catch the eye, as they follow one another along the hills. Monte Fortino, the celebrated Segni, Gavignano, Rocca Gorga, Scurgola; then Morolo, Supino, Patrica, behind which the tall pyramid of Monte Cacume rises blue and beautiful, Further still are peak after peak; then more towns: here Ferentino on a hill; there Frosinone, whose citadel even is visible, and Arnara, Posi, Ceccano, and many other places which the eye can discover. Towards Rome extends a large plain bounded by the mountains of Palestrina, which is itself visible in the far distance. The Latin hills also appear, and thus the view embraces a large part of Latium.'— Gregorovius.

Beyond the piazza, on the left (opposite the Gallo), open the huge round arches of the portico of the old Civic palace (now Municipio). It was not here, however, but in his own palace that Guillaume de Nogaret insulted the mighty Boniface VIII., and imprisoned him, when the fleur-de-lis was seen in Anagni.' This palace no longer exists, except in a few fragments by the Palazzo Traietto, near the Duomo. Here Innocent III., Gregory IX., and Alexander IV., all powerful Popes, held their Courts in the 13th century, all born here, and all sprung from native families, and once canons of the cathedral. Behind the palace a fragment of a beautiful Gothic loggia (of two bays of round arches filled in with three acute ones apiece) of the time of Boniface remains; part of the interior is now used as a theatre. The cornice of it is decorated with five stemme. There is not a book-shop in Anagni, and we could find no one, not even the sacristan of the cathedral, who knew anything whatever of its history. The utmost they could tell, was that 'Bonifazio' had lived there, that his statue stood on their walls, and that Dante had written of him-what, or who he was, they were quite ignorant of.

It is a very short distance up the hill (turning sharp to R. at Piazza del Conte) to the Duomo (S. Maria), which is a most interesting mediaeval building, though it has little to show. The See dates from A.D. 487; the Duomo, from its rebuilding in 1074. On the wall, above what was once the great side entrance, Boniface VIII. sits aloft, in robes and tiara, on his throne of state in a corbelled-out canopy niche, looking out over the deep valley to the Volscian hills. For the little Piazza Gioberti below is again open westward. Over his head, blazoned in gold and mosaic, are the illustrious alliances of the Caëtani before his time. The steps beneath this statue, which must have had a magnificent effect in the open space, as seen from the valley beneath, were destroyed thirty years ago by a certain Marchese (even his name seems to be forgotten), and the present entrance is by the north, where a quaint winding staircase leads into a dark gallery, lined with curious old frescoes and eight Roman inscriptions, and on into the cathedral by a side door.

The cathedral of Anagni, though several times renovated by the bishops of the town and by the popes, still retains its original Gothic-Roman char

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