than the Fibrenus.

The church of St. Michaele is shown as occupying the position of a Temple of the Muses; and that of S. Maria di Civita, on the apex of the hill, of a Temple of Mercury Lanarius.

The painter Giuseppe Cesari, commonly known as the "Cavaliere d'Arpino" (1560-1640), was born here, in a house which is still pointed out.

"The Cavaliere d'Arpino formed a great school, by means of which he directed the Roman practice, and formed a decided opposition to other masters, particularly the school of the Caracci."—Kugler.

He

"The Cavaliere d'Arpino left behind him progeniem vitiosiorem. was born a painter, and in so vast and difficult an art, had endowments sufficient to atone, in part, for his defects. His colouring in fresco was admirable, his imagination was fruitful and felicitous, his figures were animated. His works are almost innumerable.”—Lanzi.

Mounting above the houses on the left of the town, a stony path over glaring steeps of limestone rock thinly planted with olives, leads to the Citta Vecchia. It has considerable remains of Cyclopean walls, and behind a church on the citadel is one of the earliest architectural monuments in Europe, a most remarkable arch of gigantic rough-hewn stones without cement, projecting in different courses till they meet. It is said to resemble the gates at Tiryns and Mycena.

"It may be mentioned that the Cyclopes assisted in making the gate at Mycena (vide Pausanias in Argol), and there they cut and even squared their blocks; and that Diomede, who of course had often seen that gate, founded the city of Arpi, in Apulia. Query: Did any of that or any other Greek colony reach Arpinum, the name of which seems a derivative?-for the gate of Arpinum, now called Acuminata, remains in such a state, that the size, the form, and even the number of stones seem almost a copy of the gate of Mycena. The blocks also on each side of the portal advance, in the same manner, as if to embrace a triangulat stone above the opening. The triangular stone, with the two jambs, and

the architrave, unfortunately do not remain, but the upper part of the opening could have been closed in no other manner."-Gell.

"I stood high on the Cyclopean walls and gazed with rapture upon the Latian landscape, for the citadel being in such a lofty situation, the view around is grand and extensive. The hill of Sora looked like a little pyramid, like one of those in Egypt; and, in its black shadow, lay

the town; and fully exposed to view was the valley of the Liris, majestically surrounded by high hills. There is La Posta from whence the Fibrenus flows; there Sette Frati (Seven Brothers) dedicated to the sons of Felicitas, where that strange Alberic had the vision, which preceded that of Dante and may perhaps have been the foundation of it. Many other places and castles glimmer in the blue atmosphere of these most

glorious mountain ranges. On the Roman side we see Veroli, Monte San Giovanni, Frosinone, Ferentino, and at the side rises an obelisk-like bill surmounted by the castle of Arce, and another on which stands the solitary and very black tower of Monte Negro. All these castles are of Saturnian origin, and strange is the scene upon which one gazes, when sitting upon these ivy-covered Cyclopean walls, over which the elements have swept for thousands of years.

"It is a historical panorama which surrounds Arpinum, and I shall not leave its citadel without first recalling thať short and true picture into which Valerius Maximus compressed the career and origin of Marius. From that Marius, he says, a low-born Arpinian, an obscure man in Rome, who was even as it were disliked as a candidate, rose that Marius, who subjugated Africa, drove King Jugurtha before his chariot, annihilated the armies of the Teutons and the Cimbri, whose two-fold trophies were seen in the city, whose seven consulships are registered in the Fasti, who, from an exiled Consul and a proscribed man, became a proscriber. What is more full of contrasts than his career? Yes, this is a man who, regarded as miserable, seems most miserable, or, as fortunate, most fortunate."-Gregorovius.

On regaining the high road, we must (before returning to Sora) turn to the left for about half a mile, to visit the wonderfully beautiful Falls of the Liris at Isola. The cascade (greatly increased by the draining of the Lago Fucino) falls in a mass of water, encircled by smaller streams, from beneath an old castle, almost into the midst of the picturesque town of Isola. The colour is really glorious, and the Iris is even more beautiful than that of Terni.

(It is a pleasant drive of 13 miles from Isola down the valley of the Liris to the station of Rocca-Secca on the line from Naples to Rome. Arce (seven miles from Arpino) is seen upon the left: it is supposed to be identical with Arcanum, where Quintus Cicero had a villa.* Rocca-Secca, high on the mountain-side, is falsely mentioned by many authors as the birthplace of S. Thomas Aquinas, who was

⚫ Cicero ad Q. Fr. iii. 1, 9. Ad Att. v. z;

born in the family house at Aquino. The Counts of Aquino had a fortress at Rocca-Secca, but it was never used as a residence.)

It is a delightful drive of about five hours from Sora to S. Germano. Four miles from Sora, on the left, was once the little Lake of La Posta, but it has been entirely drained, to the great detriment of the scenery. As we approach Atina many ruined tombs appear near the road-side.

It

Atina occupies a striking position on a hill, and is approached by a beautiful ascent through rocks and trees. has an old castle, with a Roman statue and other fragments built into its walls. The position strikingly resembles that of Arpino. The Volscian city occupied the other apex of the double hill, and is approached by a very steep rocky path, almost a staircase, beginning behind a convent, opposite the gate of the later town. It has a double platform, guarded by two ranges of ancient walls, and at the summit is the citadel. Antiquaries suggest fragments of masonry as representing temples, &c., but they are very obscure. The situation is most imposing, girt in by rocks and with views into the depths of wild mountain gorges.

Pietro Diacono declares Atina to have been the oldest of cities, having been "built by King Saturnus, after he was expelled by his son Jupiter." Martial speaks of its age in his epigram on Marius Atinates.

"Mari, quietæ cultor et comes vitæ,

Quo cive prisca gloriatur Atina."

x. 92.

In some of its old inscriptions the town is called "Atina The place must have been of great strength,

Saturni filia."

and is mentioned as "Atina potens" by Virgil (Æn. vii.). After leaving this ancient city, there is nothing more to be seen, till, on descending to the plain, and turning the shoulder of the hills, the great convent of Monte Cassino and the castle of Rocca Janula below it are discovered upon the right.