Book: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4

V >> Various >> Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 4




See A. Graf, _Roma nella memoria e nella imaginazione del medio evo_, i.
ch. 8 (1882-1883); P. Meyer in _Romania_, xiv. (Paris, 1885), where the
_Faits des Romains_ is analysed at length; A. Duval in _Histoire litteraire
de la France_, xix. (1838); L. Constans in Petit de Jullevilles' _Hist. de
la langue et de la litt. francaise_, i. (1896); H. Wesemann, _Die
Caesarfabeln des Mittelalters_ (Loewenberg, 1879).

(M. BR.)

[1] In spite of the explicit statements of Suetonius, Plutarch and Appian
that Caesar was in his fifty-sixth year at the time of his murder, it is,
as Mommsen has shown, practically certain that he was born in 102 B.C.,
since he held the chief offices of state in regular order, beginning with
the aedileship in 65 B.C., and the legal age for this was fixed at 37-38.

[2] Suetonius, _Jul._ 76, errs in stating that he used the title
_imperator_ as a _praenomen_.

[3] The statement of Dio and Suetonius, that a general _cura legum et
morum_ was conferred on Caesar in 46 B.C., is rejected by Mommsen. It is
possible that it may have some foundation in the terms of the law
establishing his third dictatorship.

[4] Since the discovery of a fragmentary municipal charter at Tarentum (see
ROME), dating from a period shortly after the Social War, doubts have been
cast on the identification of the tables of Heraclea with Caesar's
municipal statute. It has been questioned whether Caesar passed such a law,
since the _Lex Julia Municipalis_ mentioned in an inscription of Patavium
(Padua) may have been a local charter. See Legras, _La Table latine
d'Heraclee_ (Paris, 1907).

[5] Brunetto Latini, _Tresor_: "_Et ainsi Julius Cesar fu li premiers
empereres des Romains._"

CAESAR, SIR JULIUS (1557-1558-1636), English judge, descended by the female
line from the dukes de' Cesarini in Italy, was born near Tottenham in
Middlesex. He was educated at Magdalen Hall, Oxford, and afterwards studied
at the university of Paris, where in the year 1581 he was made a doctor of
the civil law. Two years later he was admitted to the same degree at
Oxford, and also became doctor of the canon law. He held many high offices
during the reigns of Elizabeth and James I., including a judgeship of the
admiralty court (1584), a mastership in chancery (1588), a mastership of
the court of requests (1595), chancellor and under treasurer of the
exchequer (1606). He was knighted by King James in 1603, and in 1614 was
appointed master of the rolls, an office which he held till his death on
the 18th of April 1636, He was so remarkable for his bounty and charity to
all persons of worth that it was said of him that he seemed to be the
almoner-general of the nation. His manuscripts, many of which are now in
the British Museum, were sold by auction in 1757 for upwards of L500.

See E. Lodge, _Life of Sir Julius Caesar_ (1810); Wood, _Fasti Oxonienses_,
ed. Bliss; Foss, _Lives of the Judges_.

CAESAREA MAZACA (mod. _Kaisarieh_), chief town of a sanjak in the Angora
vilayet of Asia Minor. Mazaca, the residence of the kings of Cappadocia,
later called _Eusebea_ (perhaps after Ariarathes Eusebes), and named
_Caesarea_ probably by Claudius, stood on a low spur on the north side of
Erjies Dagh (_M. Argaeus_). The site, now called _Eski-shehr_, shows only a
few traces of the old town. It was taken by Tigranes and destroyed by the
Persian king Shapur (Sapor) I. after his defeat of Valerian in A.D. 260. At
this time it is stated to have contained 400,000 inhabitants. In the 4th
century Basil, when bishop, established an ecclesiastical centre on the
plain, about 1 m. to the north-east, and this gradually supplanted the old
town. A portion of Basil's new city was surrounded with strong walls and
turned into a fortress by Justinian; and within the walls, rebuilt in the
13th and 16th centuries, lies the greater part of Kaisarieh, altitude 3500
ft. The town was captured by the Seljuk sultan, Alp Arslan, 1064, and by
the Mongols, 1243, before passing to the Osmanli Turks. Its geographical
situation has made it a place of commercial importance throughout history.
It lay on the ancient trade route from Sinope to the Euphrates, on the
Persian "Royal Road" from Sardis to Susa, and on the great Roman highway
from Ephesus to the East. It is still the most important trade centre in
eastern Asia Minor. The town is noted for its fruit, especially its vines;
and it exports tissues, carpets, hides, yellow berries and dried fruit.
Kaisarieh is the headquarters of the American mission in Cappadocia, which
has several churches and schools for boys and girls and does splendid
medical work. It is the seat of a Greek bishop, an Armenian archbishop and
a Roman Catholic bishop, and there is a Jesuit school. On the 30th of
November 1895 there was a massacre of Armenians, in which several Gregorian
priests and Protestant pastors lost their lives. Pop., according to Cuinet,
71,000 (of whom 26,000 are Christians). Sir C. Wilson gave it as 50,000
(23,000 Christians).

(C. W. W.; J. G. C. A.)

CAESAREAN SECTION, in obstetrics (_q.v._) the operation for removal of a
foetus from the uterus by an abdominal incision, so called from a legend of
its employment at the birth of Julius Caesar. This procedure has been
practised on the dead mother since very early times; in fact it was
prescribed by Roman law that every woman dying in advanced pregnancy should
be so treated; and in 1608 the senate of Venice enacted that any
practitioner who failed to perform this operation on a pregnant woman
supposed to be dead, laid himself open to very heavy penalties. But the
first recorded instance of its being performed on a living woman occurred
about 1500, when a Swiss pig-gelder operated on his own wife. From this
time onwards it was tried in many ways and under many conditions, but
almost invariably with the same result, the death of the mother. Even as
recently as the first half of the 19th century the recorded mortality is
over 50%. Thus it is no surprise that craniotomy--in which the life of the
child is sacrificed to save that of the mother--was almost invariably
preferred. As the use of antiseptics was not then understood, and as it was
customary to return the uterus to the body cavity without suturing the
incision, the immediate cause of death was either septicaemia or
haemorrhage. But in 1882 Saenger published his method of suturing the
uterus--that of employing two series of sutures, one deep, the other
superficial. This method of procedure was immediately adopted by many
obstetricians, and it has proved so satisfactory that it is still in use
today. This, and the increasing knowledge of aseptic technique, has brought
the mortality from this operation to less than 3% for the mother and about
5% for the child; and every year it is being advised more freely for a
larger number of morbid conditions, and with increasingly favourable
results. Craniotomy, _i.e._ crushing the head of the foetus to reduce its
size, is now very rarely performed on the living child, but symphysiotomy,
_i.e._ the division of the symphysis pubis to produce a temporary
enlargement of the pelvis, or caesarean section, is advocated in its place.
Of these two operations, symphysiotomy is steadily being replaced by
caesarean section.

This operation is now advised for (1) extreme degrees of pelvic
contraction, (2) any malformation or tumour of the uterus, cervix or
vagina, which would render the birth of the child through the natural
passages impossible, (3) maternal complications, as eclampsia and concealed
accidental haemorrhage, and (4) at the death of the mother for the purpose
of saving the child.

CAESAREA PALAESTINA, a town built by Herod about 25-13 B.C., on the
sea-coast of Palestine, 30 miles N. of Joppa, on the site of a place
previously called _Tunis Stratonis_. Remains of all the principal buildings
erected by Herod existed down to the end of the 19th century; the ruins
were much injured by a colony of Bosnians established here in 1884. These
buildings are a temple, dedicated to Caesar; a theatre; a hippodrome; two
aqueducts; a boundary wall; and, chief of all, a gigantic mole, 200 ft.
wide, built of stones 50 ft. long, in 20 fathoms of water, protecting the
harbour on the south and west. The harbour measures 180 yds. across. The
massacre of Jews at this place led to the Jewish rebellion and to the Roman
war. Vespasian made it a colony and called it Flavia: the old name,
however, persisted, and still survives as _Kaisarieh_. Eusebius was
archbishop here (A.D. 315-318). It was captured by the Moslems in 638 and
by the Crusaders in 1102, by Saladin in 1187, recaptured by the Crusaders
in 1191, and finally lost by them in 1265, since when till its recent
settlement it has lain in ruins. Remains of the medieval town are also
visible, consisting of the walls (one-tenth the area of the Roman city),
the castle, the cathedral (now covered by modern houses), and a church.

(R. A. S. M.)

CAESAREA PHILIPPI, the name of a town 95 miles N. of Jerusalem, 35 miles
S.W. from Damascus, 1150 ft. above the sea, on the south base of Hermon,
and at an important source of the Jordan. It does not certainly appear in
the Old Testament history, though identifications with Baal-Gad and (less
certainly) with Laish (Dan) have been proposed. It was certainly a place of
great sanctity from very early times, and when foreign [v.04 p.0944]
religious influences intruded upon Palestine, the cult of its local _numen_
gave place to the worship of Pan, to whom was dedicated the cave in which
the copious spring feeding the Jordan arises. It was long known as _Panium_
or _Panias_, a name that has survived in the modern _Banias_. When Herod
the Great received the territory from Augustus, 20 B.C., he erected here a
temple in honour of his patron; but the re-foundation of the town is due to
his son, Philip the Tetrarch, who here erected a city which he named
_Caesarea_ in honour of Tiberius, adding _Philippi_ to immortalize his own
name and to distinguish his city from the similarly-named city founded by
his father on the sea-coast. Here Christ gave His charge to Peter (Matt.
xvi. 13). Many Greek inscriptions have been found here, some referring to
the shrine. Agrippa II. changed the name to _Neronias_, but this name
endured but a short while. Titus here exhibited gladiatorial shows to
celebrate the capture of Jerusalem. The Crusaders took the city in 1130,
and lost it to the Moslems in 1165. Banias is a poor village inhabited by
about 350 Moslems; all round it are gardens of fruit-trees. It is well
watered and fertile. There are not many remains of the Roman city above
ground. The Crusaders' castle of Subeibeh, one of the finest in Palestine,
occupies the summit of a conical hill above the village.

(R. A. S. M.)

CAESIUM (symbol Cs, atomic weight 132.9), one of the alkali metals. Its
name is derived from the Lat. _caesius_, sky-blue, from two bright blue
lines of its spectrum. It is of historical importance, since it was the
first metal to be discovered by the aid of the spectroscope (R. Bunsen,
_Berlin Acad. Ber._, 1860), although caesium salts had undoubtedly been
examined before, but had been mistaken for potassium salts (see C.F.
Plattner, _Pog. Ann._, 1846, p. 443, on the analysis of pollux and the
subsequent work of F. Pisani, _Comptes Rendus_, 1864, 58, p. 714). Caesium
is found in the mineral springs of Frankenhausen, Montecatini, di Val di
Nievole, Tuscany, and Wheal Clifford near Redruth, Cornwall (W.A. Miller,
_Chem. News_, 1864, 10, p. 181), and, associated with rubidium, at
Duerkheim; it is also found in lepidolite, leucite, petalite, triphylline
and in the carnallite from Stassfurt. The separation of caesium from the
minerals which contain it is an exceedingly difficult and laborious
process. According to R. Bunsen, the best source of rubidium and caesium
salts is the residue left after extraction of lithium salts from
lepidolite. This residue consists of sodium, potassium and lithium
chlorides, with small quantities of caesium and rubidium chlorides. The
caesium and rubidium are separated from this by repeated fractional
crystallization of their double platinum chlorides, which are much less
soluble in water than those of the other alkali metals (R. Bunsen, _Ann._,
1862, 122, p. 347; 1863, 125, p. 367). The platino-chlorides are reduced by
hydrogen, and the caesium and rubidium chlorides extracted by water. See
also A. Schroetter (_Jour. prak. Chem._, 1864, 93, p. 2075) and W. Heintz
(_Journ. prak. Chem._, 1862, 87, p. 310). W. Feit and K. Kubierschky
(_Chem. Zeit._, 1892, 16, p. 335) separate rubidium and caesium from the
other alkali metals by converting them into double chlorides with stannic
chloride; whilst J. Redtenbacher (_Jour. prak. Chem._, 1865, 94, p. 442)
separates them from potassium by conversion into alums, which C. Setterberg
(_Ann._, 1882, 211, p. 100) has shown are very slightly soluble in a
solution of potash alum. In order to separate caesium from rubidium, use is
made of the different solubilities of their various salts. The bitartrates
RbHC_4H_40_6 and CsHC_4H_40_6 have been employed, as have also the alums
(see above). The double chloride of caesium and antimony 3CsCl.2SbCl_3 (R.
Godeffroy, _Ber._, 1874, 7, p. 375; _Ann._, 1876, 181, p. 176) has been
used, the corresponding compound not being formed by rubidium. The metal
has been obtained by electrolysis of a mixture of caesium and barium
cyanides (C. Setterberg, _Ann._, 1882, 211, p. 100) and by heating the
hydroxide with magnesium or aluminium (N. Beketoff, _Chem. Centralblatt_,
1889, 2, p. 245). L. Hackspill (_Comptes Rendus_, 1905, 141, p. 101) finds
that metallic caesium can be obtained more readily by heating the chloride
with metallic calcium. A special V-shaped tube is used in the operation,
and the reaction commences between 400 deg.C. and 500 deg.C. It is a silvery white
metal which burns on heating in air. It melts at 26 deg. to 27 deg.C. and has a
specific gravity of 1.88 (15 deg.C.).

The atomic weight of caesium has been determined by the analysis of its
chloride and bromide. Richards and Archibald (_Zeit. anorg. Chem._, 1903,
34, p. 353) obtained 132.879 (O=16).

_Caesium hydroxide_, Cs(OH)_2, obtained by the decomposition of the
sulphate with baryta water, is a greyish-white deliquescent solid, which
melts at a red heat and absorbs carbon dioxide rapidly. It readily
dissolves in water, with evolution of much heat. _Caesium chloride_, CsCl,
is obtained by the direct action of chlorine on caesium, or by solution of
the hydroxide in hydrochloric acid. It forms small cubes which melt at a
red heat and volatilize readily. It deliquesces in moist air. Many double
chlorides are known, and may be prepared by mixing solutions of the two
components in the requisite proportions. The _bromide_, CsBr, and _iodide_,
CsI, resemble the corresponding potassium salts. Many trihaloid salts of
caesium are also known, such as CsBr_3, CsClBr_2, CsI_3, CsBrI_2, CsBr_2I,
&c. (H.L. Wells and S.L. Penfield, _Zeit. fur anorg. Chem._, 1892, i, p.
85). _Caesium sulphate_, Cs_2SO_4, may be prepared by dissolving the
hydroxide or carbonate in sulphuric acid. It crystallizes in short hard
prisms, which are readily soluble in water but insoluble in alcohol. It
combines with many metallic sulphates (silver, zinc, cobalt, nickel, &c.)
to form double sulphates of the type Cs_2SO_4.RSO_4.6H_2O. It also forms a
caesium-alum Cs_2SO_4.Al_2(SO_4)_3.24H_2O. _Caesium nitrate_, CsNO_3, is
obtained by dissolving the carbonate in nitric acid, and crystallizes in
glittering prisms, which melt readily, and on heating evolve oxygen and
leave a residue of caesium nitrite. The carbonate, Cs_2CO_3,
silicofluoride, Cs_2SiF_6, borate, Cs_2O.3B_2O_3, and the sulphides
Cs_2S.4H_2O, Cs_2S_2.H_2O, Cs_2S_3.H_2O, Cs_2S_4 and Cs_2S_6.H_2O, are also
known.

Caesium compounds can be readily recognized by the two bright blue lines
(of wave length 4555 and 4593) in their flame spectrum, but these are not
present in the spark spectrum. The other lines include three in the green,
two in the yellow, and two in the orange.

CAESPITOSE (Lat. _caespes_, a sod), a botanical term for "growing in
tufts," like many grasses.

CAESTUS, or CESTUS (from Lat. _caedo_, strike), a gauntlet or boxing-glove
used by the ancient pugilists. Of this there were several varieties, the
simplest and least dangerous being the _meilichae_ ([Greek: meilichai]),
which consisted of strips of raw hide tied under the palm, leaving the
fingers bare. With these the athletes in the _palaestrae_ were wont to
practise, reserving for serious contests the more formidable kinds, such as
the _sphaerae_ ([Greek: sphairai]), which were sewn with small metal balls
covered with leather, and the terrible _murmekes_ ([Greek: murmekes]),
sometimes called "limb-breakers" ([Greek: guiotoroi]), which were studded
with heavy nails. The straps ([Greek: himantes]) were of different lengths,
many reaching to the elbow, in order to protect the forearm when guarding
heavy blows (see J.H. Krause, _Gymnastik und Agonistik der Hellenen_,
1841). The _caestus_ is to be distinguished from _cestus_ (=embroidered,
from [Greek: kentein]), an adjective used as a noun in the sense of
"girdle," especially the girdle of Aphrodite, which was supposed to have
the power of exciting love.

CAESURA (Lat. for "cutting," Gr. [Greek: tome]), in prosody, a rest or
pause, usually occurring about the middle of a verse, which is thereby
separated into two parts ([Greek: kola], members). In Greek and Latin
hexameters the best and most common caesura is the penthemimeral (_i.e._
after the 5th half-foot):

[Greek: Menin a | eide, the | a, | Pe | leia | deo Achi | leos]
Arma vi | rumque ca | no, Tro | jae qui | primus ab | oris.

Another caesura very common in Homer, but rare in Latin verse, is after the
2nd syllable of the 3rd dactyl:

[Greek: Oio | noisi te | pasi Di | os d' ete | leieto | boule.]

On the other hand, the hephthemimeral caesura (_i.e._ after the 7th
half-foot) is common in Latin, but rare in Greek:

Formo | sam reso | nare do | ces Ama | ryllida | silvas.

The "bucolic" caesura, peculiar to Greek (so called because it is chiefly
found in writers like Theocritus) occurs after the 4th dactyl:

[Greek: Andra moi | ennepe, | Mousa, po | lutropon, | hos mala | polla]

In the pentameter verse of the elegiac distich the caesura is always
penthemimeral. In the iambic trimeter (consisting of three dipodia or pairs
of feet), both in Greek and Latin, the most usual caesura is the
penthemimeral; next, the hephthemimeral:

[Greek: O tek | na Kad | mou tou | palai | nea | trophe]
Supplex | et o | ro reg | na per | Proser | pinae.

[v.04 p.0945] Verses in which neither of these caesuras occurs are
considered faulty. On the other hand, secondary or subsidiary caesuras are
found in both Greek and Latin; thus, a trithemimeral (after the 3rd
half-foot) is combined with the hephthemimeral, which divides the verse
into two unequal parts. A caesura is often called masculine when it falls
after a long, feminine when it falls after a short syllable.

The best treatise on Greek and Latin metre for general use is L. Mueller,
_Die Metrik der Griechen und Romer_ (1885); see also the article VERSE.

CAFFEINE, or THEINE (1.3.7 trimethyl 2.6 dioxypurin), C_8H_{10}N_4O_2.H_2O,
a substance found in the leaves and beans of the coffee tree, in tea, in
Paraguay tea, and in small quantities in cocoa and in the kola nut. It may
be extracted from tea or coffee by boiling with water, the dissolved tannin
precipitated by basic lead acetate, the solution filtered, excess of lead
precipitated by sulphuretted hydrogen and the filtered liquid then
evaporated to crystallization; or, tea is boiled with water, and the whole
then evaporated to a syrup, which is mixed with slaked lime, evaporated to
dryness on the water-bath and extracted with chloroform (P. Cazeneuve,
_Bull. de la soc. chim. de Paris_, 1876-1877, 27, p. 199). Synthetically it
may be prepared by the methylation of silver theobromine and silver
theophyllin or by boiling heteroxanthine with methyl iodide and potash. E.
Fischer and L. Ach (_Berichte_, 1895, 28, p. 3135) have synthesized it from
dimethyl alloxan, whilst W. Traube (_Berichte_, 1900, 33, p. 3435) has
obtained it from 1.3 diamethyl 4.5 diamino 2.6 dioxypyrimidine. On the
constitution of caffeine see PURIN and also E. Fischer (_Annalen_, 1882,
215, p. 253).

Caffeine crystallizes in long silky needles, which are slightly soluble in
cold water. It becomes anhydrous at 100 deg.C. and melts at 234 deg. to 235 deg.C. It
has a faint bitter taste and gives salts with mineral acids. On oxidation
with nitric acid caffeine gives cholesterophane (dimethyl parabanic acid),
but if chlorine water be used as the oxidant, then it yields monomethyl
urea and dimethyl alloxan (E. Fischer).

CAFFIERI, JACQUES (1678-1755), French worker in metal, the most famous
member of a family several of whom distinguished themselves in plastic art,
was the fifth son of Philippe Caffieri (1634-1716), a decorative sculptor,
who, after serving Pope Alexander VII., entered the service of Louis XIV.
in 1660. An elder son of Philippe, Francois Charles (1667-1721), was
associated with him. As a _fondeur ciseleur_, however, the renown of the
house centred in Jacques, though it is not always easy to distinguish
between his own work and that of his son Philippe (1714-1777). A large
proportion of his brilliant achievement as a designer and chaser in bronze
and other metals was executed for the crown at Versailles, Fontainebleau,
Compiegne, Choisy and La Muette, and the crown, ever in his debt, still
owed him money at his death. Jacques and his son Philippe undoubtedly
worked together in the "Appartement du Dauphin" at Versailles, and although
much of their contribution to the palace has disappeared, the decorations
of the marble chimney-piece still remain. They belong to the best type of
the Louis XV. style--vigorous and graceful in design, they are executed
with splendid skill. It is equally certain that father and son worked
together upon the gorgeous bronze case of the famous astronomical clock
made by Passement and Danthiau for Louis XV. between 1749 and 1753. The
form of the case has been much criticized, and even ridiculed, but the
severest critics in that particular have been the readiest to laud the
boldness and freedom of the motives, the jewel-like finish of the
craftsmanship, the magnificent dexterity of the master-hand. The elder
Caffieri was, indeed, the most consummate practitioner of the _style
rocaille_, which he constantly redeemed from its mannered conventionalism
by the ease and mastery with which he treated it. From the studio in which
he and his son worked side by side came an amazing amount of work, chiefly
in the shape of those gilded bronze mounts which in the end became more
insistent than the pieces of furniture which they adorned. Little of his
achievement was ordinary; an astonishingly large proportion of it is
famous. There is in the Wallace collection (Hertford House, London) a
commode from the hand of Jacques Caffieri in which the brilliance and
spontaneity, the sweeping boldness and elegance of line that mark his style
at its best, are seen in a perfection hardly exceeded in any other example.
Also at Hertford House is the exceptionally fine lustre which was a wedding
present from Louis XV. to Louise Elizabeth of France. After Jacques' death
his son Philippe continued to work for the crown, but had many private
clients. He made a great cross and six candlesticks for the high altar of
Notre Dame, which disappeared in the revolution, but similar work for
Bayeux cathedral still exists. A wonderful enamelled toilet set which he
executed for the Princess of Asturias has also disappeared. Philippe's
style was gradually modified into that which prevailed in the third quarter
of the 18th century, since by 1777, when he died, the taste for the
magnificent mounts of his early days had passed away. Like his father, he
drew large sums from the crown, usually after giving many years' credit,
while many other years were needed by his heirs to get in the balance of
the royal indebtedness. Philippe's younger brother, Jean Jacques Caffieri
(1725-1792), was a sculptor, but was sufficiently adept in the treatment of
metals to design the fine _rampe d'escalier_ which still adorns the Palais
Royal.

CAFTAN, or KAFTAN (a Turkish word, also in use in Persia), a tunic or
under-dress with long hanging sleeves, tied with a girdle at the waist,
worn in the East by persons of both sexes. The caftan was worn by the upper
and middle classes in Russia till the time of Peter the Great, when it was
generally discarded.

CAGLI, a town and (with Pergola) an episcopal see of the Marches, Italy, in
the province of Pesaro and Urbino, 18 m. S. of the latter town by rail, and
830 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1901) of town, 4628; commune, 12,533. The
church of S. Domenico contains a good fresco (Madonna and saints) by
Giovanni Santi, the father of Raphael. The citadel of the 15th century,
constructed by Francesco di Giorgio Martini of Siena, is on the S.E. of the
modern town. Cagli occupies the site of an ancient _vicus_ (village) on the
Via Flaminia, which seems to have borne the name Cale, 24 m. N. of
Helvillum (mod. _Sigillo_) and 18 m. S.W. of Forum Sempronii (mod.
_Fossombrone_). Below the town to the north is a single arched bridge of
the road, the arch having the span of 381/4 ft. (See G. Mochi, _Storia di
Cagli_, Cagli, 1878.) About 5 m. to the N.N.W. of Cagli and 21/2 m. W. of the
Via Flaminia at the mod. _Acqualagna_ is the site of an ancient town; the
place is now called _piano di Valeria_, and is scattered with ruins.
Inscriptions show that this was a Roman _municipium_, perhaps Pitinum
Mergens (_Corp. Inscr. Lat._ xi. [Berlin, 1901] p. 876). Three miles north
of Acqualagna the Via Flaminia, which is still in use as the modern
high-road, traverses the Furlo Pass, a tunnel about 40 yds. long, excavated
by Vespasian in A.D. 77, as an inscription at the north end records. There
is another tunnel at lower level, which belongs to an earlier date; this
seems to have been in use till the construction of the Roman road, which at
first ran round the rock on the outside, until Vespasian cut the tunnel. In
repairing the modern road just outside the south entrance to the tunnel, a
stratum of carbonized corn, beans, &c., and a quantity of burnt wood,
stones, tiles, pottery, &c., was found under and above the modern road, for
a distance of some 500 yds. This debris must have belonged to the castle of
Petra Pertusa, burned by the Lombards in 570 or 571 on their way to Rome.
The castle itself is mentioned by Procopius (_Bell. Goth._ ii. 11, iii. 6,
iv. 28, 34). Here also was found the inscription of A.D. 295, relating to
the measures taken to suppress brigandage in these parts. (See APENNINES.)

Copyright (c) 2007. knowncrafts.net. All rights reserved.