Dennis, George: The cities and cemeteries of Etruria: in two volumes (Band 1) (London, 1848)

CHAP. VII.]

PORTA DEL BOVE.

137

was of prior formation, for its original door-way is blocked
up by tbe masonry of the tower itself. Whence it may
be inferred that the city was of subsequent construction,
and that the tomb had been profaned by the founders.
Near this is another instance of the city-wall blocking up
an ancient tomb. Facts of importance, as bearing on
the question by whom and in what age the city was built.
A little beyond this you reach another deep recess in the
line of cliff, with a magnificent mass of walling rising to
the height of twenty-eight courses, or fifty-four feet, and
stretching completely across the hollow. In the centre is
a gate, the Porta del Bove, fine in itself, but appearing
quite insignificant—a mere drain-hole in the vast expanse
of wall.1 Towers, bannered with oak-saplings, and battle-
mented with ivy, crest boldly the projecting cliffs at the
angles of the recess. " Desert caves, with wild thyme and
the gadding vine o'ergrown," yawn around. Soracte soars
bluely in the distance above the wooded glen. The whole
scene is one of picturesque grandeur, rendered more im-
pressive by the silence, loneliness, and desolation.2

1 This is perhaps the loftiest relic of
ancient city-walls extant in Italy, save
the Bastion in the polygonal walls of
Norba in Latium, which is about the same
height. The wall of the Forum of
Augustus at Rome, in the same style
of masonry, is, however, considerably
higher.

2 The gate derives its present appella-
tion from something carved in relief on
its key-stone, which may once have been
a bull's head, but is now quite undis-
tinguishable. Another appellation, Porta
della Puttana, is yet more difficult of
explanation. Within are traces of a
vaulted passage, much wider than the
gate itself, leading up to the higher ground
of the city. It must have been a very
steep ascent, as the gate opens at the

bottom of a deep gulley, and the ground
within is almost on a level with the top
of the wall. A large tree, now reduced
to charcoal, lies prostrate on the ram-
parts, which when it flourished high
above the wall, must have greatly in-
creased the picturesque effect from
below. The gate is 8 feet in span, and
the depth of the arch, or the thick-
ness of the wall in this part, is 9
feet. There are 13 voussoirs in the
arch, each 3 feet 9 inches deep, fitted
together with great neatness—all are of
tufo, and are rusticated in the return
facing of the arch. The haucranion
or bull's skull was a favourite ornament
of gateways among the Romans. I
need cite only the Gate of San Lorenzo
at Rome.