the road, a streamlet murmurs along, and gradually increasing becomes a river, which, in the plain below, falls into the Clitumnus. The little post of Casenouve forms the first stage of the descent, which continues with little or no intermission to the neighbourhood of Foligno. About three miles from this town the mountains open and give the traveller a delightful view through the deep wooded defile into the adjoining vale, a view which, when we passed, was considerably improved by the splendid coloring of the evening sun. At the village, situate in the dell below amid woods and rocks, the river pent up between the closing crag, works its way through several little chasms, and tumbles in seven or eight cascades down the steep through tufts of box and ilex, amidst houses and fragments of rocks intermingled, into the plain below, where turning two or three mills as it passes, it hurries along to join the neighbouring Clitumnus. I should advise the traveller to alight, order his carriage to wait for him at the foot of the hill, and going down to the village, visit a very curious grotto, formed by the waters while confined within the caverns of the mountain. It is entirely under ground, may be about five-and-twenty feet high, is hollowed into several little niches supported by stalactite pillars, and ornamented on all sides with natural fretwork. He may then pass through the rows of olive trees that cover the opposite rocks, observe the singular situation of the village between two mountains, one of naked rock, the other covered with brush-wood; examine, as he descends, the picturesque effect of the several hills, bursting through masses of wall and verdure, and then he may follow the road that runs along the foot of the hill, and mount his carriage within a mile of Foligno. While at supper we were amused by the appearance of an Improvisatore, who, after having sung an ode of his own composition in honor of England, poured forth his unpremeditated verse with great harmony of tones, strength of voice, and rapidity of utterance. He asked for a subject, and we gave the prosperity of Italy, which he enlarged upon with some enthusiasm, asking emphatically at the conclusion of each stanza, how Italy, open as it was to two barbarous nations, such as the French and Germans, could ever expect prosperity? His extemporary effusions generally ended in the praises of England; and, after some bumpers and a suitable present, he retired with much apparent satisfaction. These characters, in their wandering habits, precarious mode of living, and interested exertions, so much like the bards of ancient days, have, it is said, decreased in number since the French invasion, owing partly to the depression of the national spirit, and partly to the poverty of their former patrons, and the absence of wealthy foreigners. The exhibition was perfectly new to us, and while we enjoyed it, we could not but agree that such an ease and versatility of talent, might, if properly managed, be directed to very great and very useful purposes. Foligno, the ancient Fulginia, though a large, is yet a very indifferent town. Its cathedral, unfinished without, is neat within, of handsome Ionic, if I recollect well, and contains two pretty side altars. In reality, there are few Italian churches which do not present something interesting to an attentive traveller, so generally is taste diffused over this classic country. But the situation of Foligno compensates all its internal defects. At the foot of the Apennines, in a delightful plain, that winds between the mountains, extending ten miles in breadth and about forty in length, adorned with rows of vines, corn fields, and villages, it enjoys the breezes and mild scenery of the mountains with the luxuriance and warmth of the valley. This, its site, is alluded to by Silius. Besides, about three miles distant, rises Bevagna, the ancient Mevania; and through the same valley the Clitumnus rolls his "sacred streams," and glories in the beauty and fertility of his banks. At Foligno, the traveller from Loretto again re-enters the Via Flaminia. The first stage from Foligno terminates at a place called Le Vene. Almost close to the post-house, on the northern side, rises, on a steep bank, an ancient temple; and a little to the south of it, from various narrow vents or veins, gushes out a most plentiful stream of clear, limpid water, forming one of the sources of the Clitumnus. From these sources the place takes its name, and the temple on the bank was once sacred to the river-god, under the appellation of Jupiter Clitumnus. The younger Pliny has given a lively and accurate description of this fountain, which the classical reader will prefer, no doubt, to the best modern picture. C. Plinius Romano Suo. S. "Vidistine aliquando, Clitumnum fontem? Si nondum (et puto nondum, alioqui narrasses mihi) vide: quem ego, pœnitet tarditatis, proxime vidi. Modicus collis assurgit, antiqua cupressu nemorosus et opacus: hunc subter fons exit, et exprimitur pluribus venis, sed imparibus, eluctatusque facit gurgitem, qui lato gremio patescit purus et vitreus, ut numerare jactas stipes et relucentes calculos possis. Inde, non loci devexitate, sed ipsâ sui copiâ et quasi pondere impellitur. Fons adhuc, et jam amplissimum flumen atque etiam navium patiens, quas obvias quoque et contrario nisu in diversa tendentes, transmittit et perfert: adeo validus ut illa qua properat, ipse tanquam per solum planum remis non adjuvetur: idem ægerrime remis contisque superetur adversus. Jucundum utrumque per jocum ludumque fluitantibus, ut flexerint cursum, laborem ocio, ocium labore variare. Ripa fraxino multa, multa populo vestiuntur: quas perspicuus amnis, velut mersas viridi imagine annumerat. Rigor aquæ certaverit nivibus, nec color cedit. Adjacet templum priscum et religiosum. Stat Clitumnus ipse amictus, ornatusque prætextâ. Præsens numen atque etiam fatidicum, indicant sortes. Sparsa sunt circa sacella complura, totidemque Dei simulacra: sua cuique veneratio, suum numen: quibusdam vero etiam fontes. Nam præter illum, quasi parentem cæterorum, sunt minores capite discreti; sed flumini miscentur, quod ponte transmittitur. Is terminus sacri profanique. In superiore parte navigare tantum, infra etiam natare concessum. Balineum Hispellates, quibus illum locum Divus Augustus dono dedit, publice præbent et hospitium. Nec desunt villæ, quæ secutæ fluminis amænitatem, margini insistunt. In summâ, nihil erit, ex quo non capias voluptatem. Nam studebis quoque, et leges multa multorum omnibus columnis, omnibus parietibus inscripta, quibus fons ille Deusque celebratur. Plura laudabis, nonnulla ridebis, quanquam tu vero, quæ tua humanitas, nulla ridebis. Vale." C. Plin. Lib. VIII. Epist. 8. Some changes have, however, taken place, not indeed in the great features of nature, but in those ornamental parts which are under the influence of cultivation. The ancient cypresses that shaded the hill, the ash and the poplar that hung over the river, have fallen long since, and have been replaced by mulberries, vines, and olives, less beautiful but more productive. The sacred grove has not been spared, the little chapels have disappeared, and the statue of the god has yielded its place to the triumphant cross. This circumstance is rather fortunate, as to it the temple owes its preservation. This temple consists of the cella and a Corinthian portico, supported by four pillars and two pilasters; the pilasters are fluted; two of the pillars are indented with two spiral lines winding round, and two ornamented with a light sculpture, representing the scales of fish. The inscription on the frieze is singular, "Deus angelorum, qui fecit resurrec tionem." Underneath is a vault or crypta: the entrance is on the side as the portico hangs over the river; the walls are solid, the proportions beautiful, and the whole worthy the Romans, to whom it is ascribed. I am, however, inclined to think, that the portico has been altered or repaired since the construction of the temple, as it is more ornamented than the general form of the edifice would induce us to expect. Besides, the capitals of the pilasters differ from those of the pillars, a circumstance very unusual in Roman architecture. It is not improbable, that this temple suffered considerably before it was converted into a christian church, and that when repaired for that purpose, the ancient pillars, perhaps thrown into the river, might have been replaced by columns from the ruins of the various other fanes, which, as Pliny informs us, were interspersed up and down the sacred grove, around the residence of the principal divinity. The Clitumnus still retains its ancient name, and recalls to the traveller's recollection many a pleasing passage in the poets, connecting the beauty of the scenery about him with the pomps of a triumph, and transporting him from the tranquil banks of the rural stream to the crowds of the forum, and the majestic temples of the Capitol. Hinc albi, Clitumne, greges et maxima taurus Victima, sæpe tuo perfusi flumine sacro, Romanos ad templa Deûm duxere triumphos. Vir. Geo. 11. 146. Propertius confines his softer muse to the beauty of the scenery, and seems to repose with complacency on the shaded bank, Qua formosa suo Clitumnus flumina luco Lib. 11. 17. |