DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.61894#0442
412
CLASSICAL TOUR
Ch. XII.
cruelty; two vices intimately allied, and not in-
frequently most notoriously displayed in places
whence the smiling features of nature might
seem to have banished at least the latter. The
murder of a parent, the barbarous termination
of the feast of Caracalla, and the secret execu-
tions of the island of Caprea, only shew what a
monster man becomes when his power is equal
to his malignity. The supposed tomb of Agrip-
pina may possibly be a part, perhaps the theatre,
of the villa of Baulis, which once belonged to
Hori :: sins, and was afterwards the favorite re-
sort of some of the Emperors, and, upon this
occasion, the scene of the last interview between
Nero and his mother.
Under the lit le promontory of Baulis, are
the Cento Camerelle, a number of grottos, open-
ing1 in front to the sea, communicating with each
other within, and branching out into several
long galleries, that form a sort of labyrinth.
Their object is not known; they may have been
reservoirs of fresh water, or perhaps mere sub-
structions supporting some edifice. Ascending
the hill, we came to the Piscina Mirabile, a
subterraneous edifice, vaulted, and divided by
four rows of arcades. Its date, author, and des-
ination, are equally unknown. Some antiqua-
ri .. suppose it to have been a fish-pond, as its
CLASSICAL TOUR
Ch. XII.
cruelty; two vices intimately allied, and not in-
frequently most notoriously displayed in places
whence the smiling features of nature might
seem to have banished at least the latter. The
murder of a parent, the barbarous termination
of the feast of Caracalla, and the secret execu-
tions of the island of Caprea, only shew what a
monster man becomes when his power is equal
to his malignity. The supposed tomb of Agrip-
pina may possibly be a part, perhaps the theatre,
of the villa of Baulis, which once belonged to
Hori :: sins, and was afterwards the favorite re-
sort of some of the Emperors, and, upon this
occasion, the scene of the last interview between
Nero and his mother.
Under the lit le promontory of Baulis, are
the Cento Camerelle, a number of grottos, open-
ing1 in front to the sea, communicating with each
other within, and branching out into several
long galleries, that form a sort of labyrinth.
Their object is not known; they may have been
reservoirs of fresh water, or perhaps mere sub-
structions supporting some edifice. Ascending
the hill, we came to the Piscina Mirabile, a
subterraneous edifice, vaulted, and divided by
four rows of arcades. Its date, author, and des-
ination, are equally unknown. Some antiqua-
ri .. suppose it to have been a fish-pond, as its