From the
Natural History
From the river Padus the eleventh region receives its name of Transpadana; to which, situate as it is wholly in the interior, the river, by its bounteous channel, conveys the gifts of all the seas. The towns are
Vibî Forum1 and
Segusio; and, at the
foot of the Alps, the colony of Augusta Taurinorum2,
at which place the Padus becomes navigable, (infatti Torino aveva il suo porto fluviale) and which was founded by the ancient race of the Ligurians, (Plinio dice che Torino c'era già prima che diventasse colonia di Augusto; è forse come Como, fondata da precedenti popolazioni e poi rifondata con una nuova città da Cesare) and of
Augusta Prætoria3 of the Salassi, near the two passes of the Alps, the
Grecian4 and the Penine (by the latter it is said that the Carthaginians passed into Italy, by the Grecian, Hercules)—the town of Eporedia5, the foundation of which by the Roman people was enjoined by the Sibylline books; the Gauls call tamers of horses by the name of "Eporediæ"—Vercellæ6, the town of the Libici, derived its origin from the Salluvii, and Novaria7, founded by the Vertacoma- cori, is at the present day a district of the Vocontii, and not, as Cato supposes, of the Ligurians; of whom two nations, called the Lævi and the Marici, founded Ticinum8, not far from the Padus, as the Boii, descended from the Transalpine nations, have founded Laus Pompeia9 and the Insubres Mediolanum10.
From Cato we also learn that Comum, Bergomum11, and Licinîforum12, and some other peoples in the vicinity, originated with the Orobii, but he admits that he is ignorant as to the origin of that nation. Cornelius Alexander however informs us that they came from Greece, interpreting their name as meaning "those who live upon the mountains13." In this district, Parra has disappeared, a town of the Orobii, from whom, according to Cato, the people of Bergomum are descended; its site even yet shows that it was situate in a position more elevated than fruitful14. The Caturiges have also perished, an exiled race of the Insubres, as also Spina previously mentioned; Melpum too, a place distinguished for its opulence, which, as we are informed by Cornelius Nepos, was destroyed by the Insubres, the Boii, and the Senones, on the very day on which Camillus took Veii.
1 This place is supposed to have been situate in the vicinity of the modern Saluzzo, on the north bank of the Po. Segusio occupied the site of the modern Susa.
2 Augusta of the Taurini. The present city of Turin stands on its site. It was made a Roman colony by Augustus. With the exception of some inscriptions, Turin retains no vestiges of antiquity.
3 The present city of Aosta occupies its site. This was also a Roman colony founded by Augustus, after he had subdued the Salassi. It was, as Pliny says in C. 5, the extreme point of Italy to the north. The remains of the ancient city are of extreme magnificence.
4 The Grecian pass of the Alps was that now known as the Little St. Bernard; while the Penine pass was the present Great St. Bernard. Livy in his History, B. xxi. c. 38, points out the error of taking these mountains to have derived their name from the Pœni or Carthaginians. There is no doubt that they took their name from the Celtic word signi fying a mountain, which now forms the "Pen" of the Welsh and the "Ben" of the Scotch.
5 Now called Ivrea or Lamporeggio, at the entrance of the valley of the Salassi, the present Val d'Aosta. There are some remains of the ancient town to be seen.
6 The present town of Vercelli stands on its site.
7 Now called Novara, in the Duchy of Milan.
8 It became a Roman municipal town, but owes its greatness to the Lombard kings who made it their capital, and altered the name to Papia, now Pavia.
9 Pompey's Praises." The present Lodi Vecchio marks its site.
10 It was the capital of the Insubres, a Gallic nation, and was taken by the Romans in B.C. 222, on which it became a municipium and Roman colony. On the division of the empire by Diocletian, it became the residence of his colleague Maximianus, and continued to be the abode of the Emperors of the West till it was plundered by Attila, who transferred the seat of government to Ravenna. It afterwards became the capital of the kingdom of the Ostro-Goths, and was again sacked by the Goths in A.D. 539, and its inhabitants put to the sword. The present city, known to us as Milan, contains no remains of antiquity.
11 The modern Como and Bergamo stand on their sites.
12 From its name, signifying the "market of Licinius," it would appear to be of Roman origin. Its site is supposed to have been at a place called Incino, near the town of Erba, between Como and Lecco, where inscriptions and other antiquities have been found.
13 Deriving it from the Greek ὄρος, "a mountain," and βίος, "life."
14 Etiamnum prodente se altius quam fortunatius situm." Hardouin seems to think that "se" refers to Cato, and that he informs us to that effect; but to all appearance, it relates rather to the town, which even yet, by its ruins, showed that it was perched too high among the mountains to be a fertile spot.
The Natural History. Pliny the Elder. John Bostock, M.D., F.R.S. H.T. Riley, Esq., B.A. London. Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street. 1855.
di Aldo Grasso
