DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.786#0270
CHAP. XLIV.]
LACUS PEELIUS.
253
Prom the height of Rusellse you look southward over
the wide vale of the Ombrone, with the ruined town of
Istia on the banks of that river; but Grosseto is not visible,
being concealed by the loftier height of Moscona, which is
crowned by the ruins of a circular tower.4 On the east is
a wooded hollow; but on the north lies a wide bare valley,
through which runs the road to Siena, and on the opposite
heights stands the town of Batignano, of proverbial insalu-
brity—" Batignano fa la fossa? There resides the present
proprietor of Rusellse, hight Jacobetti. On the west the
valley widens out towards the great lake of Castiglione,
the Lacus Prelius, or Aprilis, of antiquity, which of old
must have been as at present a mere morass, into which
several rivers discharged themselves ; but it had then an
island in the midst,5 which is no longer distinguishable.
4 I did not ascend this height, but
Sir Richard Hoare who sought here
for the ruins of Rusellse, describes this
tower as built over subterranean vaults,
apparently reservoirs. The same tra-
veller speaks of a small house in the
plain beneath Rusellse, belonging to one
Franchi, or Franceschi, which has many
inscribed tablets built into the wall, but
with their faces turned inwards. Clas-
sical Tour, I. pp. 50, 68.
5 This lake, or rather swamp, is called
" Aprilis," by the Itineraries (see page
212). Cicero (pro Milone, 27) calls
it " Prelius," and speaks of its island.
Pliny (III. 8) must mean the same
when he mentions the "amnes Prille,"
a little to the north of the Umbro.
These " amnes " seem to refer to seve-
ral mouths or emissaries to the lake.
The island of which Cicero speaks is by
some supposed to have been the hill of
Badia al Fango, nearly two miles from
the lake, but Repetti (IV. p. 10) con-
siders it rather to have been a little
mound now called Badiola, on which
are still some remains of ancient build-
ings, and which he thinks in the time of
Cicero may have stood in the midst of
the marsh, instead of hard by it, as at
present. It is impossible to say of
what extent the lake was of old ; before
the hydraulic operations commenced in
1828 for its " bonification," as the
Italians term it, it had a superficial
extent of 33 square miles, but it is now
reduced by the means taken, and still
taking, for filling it up ; this is done by
letting in the waters of the Umbrone,
which bring down abundant deposits
from the interior. It would seem from
the forcible possession Clodius took of
the island in its waters, as related
by Cicero (loc. cit.), that this spot
was much more desirable as a habita-
tion in ancient times than at present,
when it is "the very centre of the
infection of the Tuscan Maremma."
Repetti gives good reasons for regard-
ing this lake or swamp as originally the
bed of the sea. An interesting account
will be found in the same writer (II. v.
LACUS PEELIUS.
253
Prom the height of Rusellse you look southward over
the wide vale of the Ombrone, with the ruined town of
Istia on the banks of that river; but Grosseto is not visible,
being concealed by the loftier height of Moscona, which is
crowned by the ruins of a circular tower.4 On the east is
a wooded hollow; but on the north lies a wide bare valley,
through which runs the road to Siena, and on the opposite
heights stands the town of Batignano, of proverbial insalu-
brity—" Batignano fa la fossa? There resides the present
proprietor of Rusellse, hight Jacobetti. On the west the
valley widens out towards the great lake of Castiglione,
the Lacus Prelius, or Aprilis, of antiquity, which of old
must have been as at present a mere morass, into which
several rivers discharged themselves ; but it had then an
island in the midst,5 which is no longer distinguishable.
4 I did not ascend this height, but
Sir Richard Hoare who sought here
for the ruins of Rusellse, describes this
tower as built over subterranean vaults,
apparently reservoirs. The same tra-
veller speaks of a small house in the
plain beneath Rusellse, belonging to one
Franchi, or Franceschi, which has many
inscribed tablets built into the wall, but
with their faces turned inwards. Clas-
sical Tour, I. pp. 50, 68.
5 This lake, or rather swamp, is called
" Aprilis," by the Itineraries (see page
212). Cicero (pro Milone, 27) calls
it " Prelius," and speaks of its island.
Pliny (III. 8) must mean the same
when he mentions the "amnes Prille,"
a little to the north of the Umbro.
These " amnes " seem to refer to seve-
ral mouths or emissaries to the lake.
The island of which Cicero speaks is by
some supposed to have been the hill of
Badia al Fango, nearly two miles from
the lake, but Repetti (IV. p. 10) con-
siders it rather to have been a little
mound now called Badiola, on which
are still some remains of ancient build-
ings, and which he thinks in the time of
Cicero may have stood in the midst of
the marsh, instead of hard by it, as at
present. It is impossible to say of
what extent the lake was of old ; before
the hydraulic operations commenced in
1828 for its " bonification," as the
Italians term it, it had a superficial
extent of 33 square miles, but it is now
reduced by the means taken, and still
taking, for filling it up ; this is done by
letting in the waters of the Umbrone,
which bring down abundant deposits
from the interior. It would seem from
the forcible possession Clodius took of
the island in its waters, as related
by Cicero (loc. cit.), that this spot
was much more desirable as a habita-
tion in ancient times than at present,
when it is "the very centre of the
infection of the Tuscan Maremma."
Repetti gives good reasons for regard-
ing this lake or swamp as originally the
bed of the sea. An interesting account
will be found in the same writer (II. v.