. The life of the Greeks and Romans. woRoman highways, the Yia Labicana and Yia Praenestina, whichhere met at a pointed angle. These portals are enclosed bytwo mighty piers, the upper parts of which are broken bysmaller arches and decorated with two semi-columns each, on thelatter of which rest beams and pediments. The centre pier * Compare the gate of Messene (Fig. 67), the opening of which seems to havebeen divided into two halves by a pillar, THE PORTA MAGGIORE IN ROME. 339 shows, below the just-mentioned opening, another small round-arched gate. The arches served at the same time to carry
. The life of the Greeks and Romans. woRoman highways, the Yia Labicana and Yia Praenestina, whichhere met at a pointed angle. These portals are enclosed bytwo mighty piers, the upper parts of which are broken bysmaller arches and decorated with two semi-columns each, on thelatter of which rest beams and pediments. The centre pier * Compare the gate of Messene (Fig. 67), the opening of which seems to havebeen divided into two halves by a pillar, THE PORTA MAGGIORE IN ROME. 339 shows, below the just-mentioned opening, another small round-arched gate. The arches served at the same time to carry twoaqueducts. Just above them lies an attic, which, however,does not contain water; but above this we see two other attics : the lower one forms the conduit of the Aqua Claudia, the upperone that of the Anio Nova. Three large inscriptions cover thethree attics. The first states that the Emperor Claudius built theaqueduct called Aqua Claudia, by which the waters of the twowells called Caeruleus and Curtius, lying near the forty-fifth. 0 19 ZO V j 1 1 M Fig. 358 and 359. milestone, were conducted into Rome. The second inscription saysthat the same emperor conducted the Anio Nova to Eome from adistance of sixty-two Roman miles. The third inscriptionmentions Yespasian and Titus as the restorers of the giganticbuilding of Claudius. More frequent than two, are three gate-openings, of which thecentre one is usually wider and higher than the two others: theformer being destined for horses and carriages, the latter for foot-passengers. The two purposes of defence and traffic are beauti-fully combined in a gate belonging to the fortifications of Aosta. z 2 340 GATE OF AO ST A. built by Augustus (see view, Fig. 358, and plan, Fig. 359). Thewall to which the gate belongs differs essentially from those ofPompeii, the interval between the lower and outer (Fig. 359, a),and the higher and inner, wall-facings (B) being not filled up withearth, but left empty. The connection between the two wall
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