Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 8.djvu/261

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ITALY
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ITALY

which account it lived apart a life of faith and of artistic inspiration all its own. It has a mild climate, and agriculture and the raising of cattle are the chief occupations of its inhabitants. Perugia (pop. 61,000), one of the twelve Ktruscan lucumonies or sacred towns, not far from the Tiber, contains many monuments of art, for the most part churches, and many antiquities. It was the adopted country of the Perugian Pietro Vannucci (1446-1524), the master of Raphael. Orvieto (pop. 18,000) is famous for its magnificent thirteenth- century cathedral, one of the grandest in Italy, espe- cially on account of its splendid fa?ade. At Gubbio, on the Chiascio, the Gubbio Tables were found. As- sisi, the birth-place of St. Francis and of St. Clare, was the cradle of the Order of the Friars Minor. Its con- vent and church contain treasures of the mystic art of Umbrian painters and are the objects of devout pil- grimages. Spoleto (pop. 25,000), between the Ticino and the Maroggia Rivers, was the seat of a powerful Longobard duchy, and afterwards the residence of the Frankish dukes, "of whom the last two, Guido and his son Lambert, were Kings of Italy. Terni (pop. 30,000), the ancient Interamna.homeof the historian Tacitus, is now the site of important metallurgical works that use the waters of the Nera River, into which flows the Velino, over the famous Falls of Terni. Norcia (Nur- sia) was the home of St . Benedict ; Narni, a very ancient city, on a precipitous height near the Nera, was the horaeoftheCondottiereGattamelata;Rieti is on a high plain called .\gro Reatino, one of the most fertile lands in Italy, where celebrated gi-ain is produced.

Lazio consists of but one province, called Rome, and has an area of 7400 sq. miles, a population esti- mated to be l,:i00,014 inhabitants, on the 1st January, 1908. Its boundaries are the Mediterranean from the mouth of the Flora to Terracina, anil the Rivers Liri, Turano, Farfa, Tiber, and Paglia. It includes the Roman Sub-.\pennines and Anti-.\pennines, the de- serted, undulating Roman Campagna, the Pontine Marshes, and the promontories of Linaro, Anzio, and Circeo. The lands on the right of the Tiber, formerly inhabited by the Etruscans and afterwards con- quered by the Romans, constitute the territory of Viterbo and the Campagna of Civitavecchia. The Al- banian and Sabine hills and the valley of the Tiber among them constitute the Comarca, better known by the name of Agro Romano; the valley of the Sacco or Tolero, with the hills that surround it, forms a region that is called Ciociaria on account of the style of footgear affected by its inhabitants. Lazio has es- sentially a maritime climate. The principal occupa- tion of its inhaliitants is the growing of corn, grapes, and olives, and the raising of horses and of cattle. The region is represented by Rome, that owes its origin and the beginning of its greatness to the advantages of its topographical position. In the volcanic zones of the Roman .\nti-.\pennines the centres of population are on the hill-tops, the principal ones being Acqua- pendente, an Etruscan city on the Paglia, that received its name on account of a neighljouring waterfall; Bolsena, on the lake of the same name; Montefiascone, to the south of that lake, famous for its Moscato wine; Viterbo, on the skirts of Mt. Cimino, rich in historical memories of the popes, and in the neighbourhood of which are the famous hot springs called Bulicame; Civita Castellana, near the ruins of the ancient Faleria and of the Castello di Patierno, where Otto II died; t'orneto, built on the site of the ancient Tarquinia; Civitavecchia (pop. 17,000), theancient Centumcellfc, a port built by Trajan, and now the principal one of Lazio, Rome (q.v.). Ostia, founded by Ancus Marcius, was the ancient port of Rome, but now its ruins are totally buried and at a distance of one and a half miles from the sea. In the valley of the .\niene is Subiaco, and near it the cave to which St. Benedict, the founder of monasticism in the West, was wont to withdraw; Tivoli (Tibur) contains many ruins of ancient monu-


ments and palaces. The falls of the Aniene River at this point furnish Rome with electricity. In this neighbourhood are found the rich quarries of traver- tine marble that the Romans used so much in their monuments, and the sulphur springs, which are a bathing resort. By the wooded and vine-clad Alban- ian hills are the Castelli Roraani, small villages that are popular summer resorts; Fra.scati, near the ruins of ancient Tusculum; Castelgandolfo, the papal villa; Marino; Ariccia, that has a splendid viaduct; .\lbano and Velletri (pop. 19,000). In the valley of the Sacco are Palestrina, upon the ruins of the ancient Praeneste, which was the home of Pier Luigi, known as Pales- trina, the prince of sacred music. Here remain still


Ni (XI Century)


the ruins of the Temple of Fortune, famous for its oracles, called sortes prcenestimv . Anagni, the home of Boniface VIII, who there received grievous offence at the hands of Sciarra Colonna and of Nogaret, envoy of Philip the Fair, King of France. Alatri, which has a Pelasgian burial-ground; Terracina (pop. 11,000) on the sea. the former .\nxur, a watering-place that was much freciupnted by the ancient Romans.

The Marches, comprising the provinces of Ancona, Ascoli Piceno, Macerata, Pesaro e Urbino, is bounded by the Apennines, the Adriatic Sea, the Marecchia River at the north.and the Tronto at the south; it unites the ancient maritime Umbria and the northern half of the ancient Picenum. Originally, its elevation was formed by a group of mountain chains, parallel to the Apen- ninesand diminishing in height as they approached the sea. but the rivers washed their way through these hills, cutting deep pas.ses into them, so that now are seen only some isolated trunks that indicate the primitive direction of the chains. The climate of the Marches is less mild than that of Tuscany, and agriculture is its chief industry, while the lisheries, if they were well directed, would make the fortune of the numerous por- tion of the population that lives by that industry. This region, which in ancient times was inliabited by dift'erent peoples, became Romanized after the Flamin- ian Way, which was the chief outlet of Rome, had been carried through; but it lost somewhat of its impor-