Wanderings in the Roman campagna . ium) by the Via latter ran along the shore between villas and cot-tages on the side toward the sea and the edge of the for-est on the land side; and where we now must quenchour thirst with water from wells dug in the sand, animperial aqueduct many miles long brought a substan-tial supply of water for public and private use. There is more history condensed within the walls ofthis solitary house than within those of many a greatcity. We can trace it twenty-eight centuries back to theday when the Laurentines beheld a strange fleet sailing Compare P
Wanderings in the Roman campagna . ium) by the Via latter ran along the shore between villas and cot-tages on the side toward the sea and the edge of the for-est on the land side; and where we now must quenchour thirst with water from wells dug in the sand, animperial aqueduct many miles long brought a substan-tial supply of water for public and private use. There is more history condensed within the walls ofthis solitary house than within those of many a greatcity. We can trace it twenty-eight centuries back to theday when the Laurentines beheld a strange fleet sailing Compare PoiiUe, Annales de Constanfine. a. 1878, p. 431; id., LesBains de Pompeiamis. Constantine, 1879; Corpus Itucr. Lat., vol. viii,Part II, n. 10889-10891. ^ Corpus Inscr. Lat., vol. x, n. 1085. THE LAND OF PLINY THE YOUNGER 313 westward along their beach in quest of a haven, andwondered whether it was manned by friends or had not yet come into existence, and the Lauren-tines could not foresee that its foundation would be the. The hamlet of Torre Paterna, once a hunting lodge of Roman emperors in theforest of Laurentum; later a watch-tower against the Algerian ])irates; at i)resentused for the royal kennels in connection with the preserves of Castel Iorziano result of the welcome they gave to the pilgrims led byiEneas. The name of the village, Laurentum, has been con-nected with that of the mythical Acca Larentia, whereasit owes its origin to the laurel groves by which it wassurrounded. For the same reason we find in Rome itselftwo aristocratic parishes of the iiventine named Laure-tum Majus and Lauretum Minus. Whenever electricitywas felt in the air the Emperor Vitellius sought shelterin the Laurentine forest, because the trees were con-sidered to be non-conductors. At the outbreak of thefearful plague of 189 a. d. Commodus was isolated at 314 WANDERINGS IN THE ROMAN CAMPAGNA Laurentum by the court physicians, because the power-ful and wholesome scent of the trees would k
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