DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61893#0127
Ch. I. THROUGH ITALY. 99
Brixia Chinaea supposita specula ;
Flavus quam mol'i percurrit flumine Mela.
Brixia, Veronae mater amata me®.*
The River Mela, described in these verses as a
yellow and smooth flowing stream, and repre-
sented by Virgil as meandering through culti-
vated valleys still retains its ancient name and
character, and runs near the last mentioned
town f.
The descent from the little plain of Bressinone
is not so steep as the road which leads to it. On
a bill not far from Ckiusa stands the abbey of
Sabiona the only remains of the ancient Sabina:
thus bearing its former name, with little varia-
tion. Chiusa or Clausen, once Clusium, takes
its name, as other towns of similar appellations,
from its situation; as the plain, in which it
stands, is terminated by a tremendous defile,
whose rocky sides jut out so far and rise so
high, as almost to hide the face of heaven : while
the river, contracted into a torrent, or rather a
* Catull. lxv; 3‘2. 34.
t ..... tonsis in vallibus ilium (florem)
Pastores, et curva legunt prope flumina Mellee.
It is remarkable, that while Virgil calls this river Melia,
Catullus, a citizen of Verona, gives it the exact appellation
which it still retains, and which probably was then current
in its neighborhood.
H 2
Brixia Chinaea supposita specula ;
Flavus quam mol'i percurrit flumine Mela.
Brixia, Veronae mater amata me®.*
The River Mela, described in these verses as a
yellow and smooth flowing stream, and repre-
sented by Virgil as meandering through culti-
vated valleys still retains its ancient name and
character, and runs near the last mentioned
town f.
The descent from the little plain of Bressinone
is not so steep as the road which leads to it. On
a bill not far from Ckiusa stands the abbey of
Sabiona the only remains of the ancient Sabina:
thus bearing its former name, with little varia-
tion. Chiusa or Clausen, once Clusium, takes
its name, as other towns of similar appellations,
from its situation; as the plain, in which it
stands, is terminated by a tremendous defile,
whose rocky sides jut out so far and rise so
high, as almost to hide the face of heaven : while
the river, contracted into a torrent, or rather a
* Catull. lxv; 3‘2. 34.
t ..... tonsis in vallibus ilium (florem)
Pastores, et curva legunt prope flumina Mellee.
It is remarkable, that while Virgil calls this river Melia,
Catullus, a citizen of Verona, gives it the exact appellation
which it still retains, and which probably was then current
in its neighborhood.
H 2