VIRGIL.

LAKE AND TOWN OF LUGO.

Hic ver assiduum atque alienis mensibus æstas.

Figlie di Nereo, che inghirlandate

Di verdi canne sul flutto argenteo
I sollazzevoli balli guidate.

Voi che riempiere le torte conche,

Triton, godete di suon festevole
Cui ripercuotono l' ime spelonche.

MAZZA.

THE Lake of Lugo, or, as it is sometimes called, of Pie de Luco, was the Lacus Velinus of the ancients, and is situated in the pleasant Vale of Rieti, a few miles from the Cascade of Terni. It forms the basin, or reservoir, into which the torrents and rivulets that descend from the Apennines are continually flowing, and which, by their frequent inundation, before the channel was cut for the Velino that forms the cascade, proved so detrimental to the inhabitants of the vale of Rieti, and reduced that naturally fertile district to little better than a mere swamp. This useful work was undertaken, as stated, by the Roman consul Curius Dentatus.

Tourists are generally so well satisfied with viewing the beauties of the cascade of Terni, that they seldom wish to deviate further from their route. Yet the quiet beauties of the Lake of Lugo would amply reward them for the trouble of seeking it. Having the advantage of some notes, obligingly submitted to us by G. Morant, jun. esq., who was recently tempted to explore the source of the

Velino in the Apennine mountains, we obtained from them the following account of the lake.

"After proceeding about three miles from the cascade of Terni, we were obliged to leave our carriage, and walking to the side of the rapid river Velino, we were ferried across. The venerable appearance of our aged conductor, his crazy bark, and the turbid stream, reminded us of that prince of ferrymen, Charon. After traversing some short distance we soon had a charming view of the beautiful little lake and village of Lugo. It is surrounded by the richly wooded Apennines; the foliage of aged trees overhanging the lake, and forming one of the most placidly beautiful and secluded scenes we had ever witnessed. The village is but scantily inhabited; and the few who reside there trust principally to the fish of the lake for their subsistence. On a great height commanding the town are the ruins of an ancient feudal castle, the mutilated towers and battlements of which produced a truly wild and picturesque effect at the distance from which we beheld them.

"We again embarked in a very rude and primitive sort of boat, and our ancient Charon availed himself of the assistance of his daughter in its management. They rowed us across the lake; and, landing near a wood, we heard a most extraordinary echo, which I never heard surpassed except by that at Simonetta near Milan. Our boatman had provided himself with a large tube, through which he made various noises to show the effect and the repetition of the sound. We departed on our adventure quite delighted with the quiet and sequestered beauty of the romantic lake of Lugo."

The following description of the lake of Lugo and the adjacent scenery is from the pen of the author of "The Classical Tour:"-" Ascending still higher, you come to an angle, where the road is worked through the rock, and forming a very elevated terrace, gives you a view of Terni and its plain; of the dell below with the Nar; of the mountains around with their woods; and of the Velino itself, at a considerable distance, just bursting from the shade, and throwing itself down the steep. The road still continues along the precipice, then crosses a small plain bounded by high mountains, when you quit it, and follow a pathway that brings you to a shed, placed on the point of a hill just opposite to the cascade, and so near to it, that you are occasionally covered with its spray.

"Here we sat down, and observed the magnificent phenomenon at leisure. At a little distance beyond the cascade, rise two hills of a fine swelling form, covered with groves of ilex. The Velino passes near one of these hills, and suddenly tumbling over a ridge of broken rock, rushes headlong down in one vast sheet, and in three streamlets. The precipice is of brown rock; its sides are smooth and naked; it forms a semicircle, crowned with wood on the right, and on the left it rises steep, and feathered with evergreens. On the one side it ascends in broken ridges, and on the other sinks gradually away, and subsides in a narrow valley, through which the Nar glides gently along till its junction with the Velino, after which it rolls through the dell in boisterous agitation. The artificial bed of the Velino is straight, but before it reaches it, it wanders through a

fertile plain spread between the mountains, and extending to the lake Pie de Lugo.

"This beautiful expanse of water, about a mile in breadth, fills the defile, and meanders between the mountains for some miles. The way to it from the fall is by a path winding along the foot of the mountain, and leading to a cottage, where you may take a boat, and cross to a bold promontory opposite. There, seated in the shade, you may enjoy the view of the waters, of the bordering mountains, of the towns perched on their sides, the village Pie du Lugo, and rising behind it the old castle of Labro, whose dismantled towers crown a regular hill, while its shattered walls run in long lines down the declivity. We were here entertained with an echo the most articulate, the most retentive, and the most musical I ever heard, repeating even a whole verse of a song, in a softer and more plaintive tone indeed, but with surprising precision and distinctness. We sat for some time on the point of the promontory, partly to enjoy the view, and partly to listen to the strains of this invisible songstress, and then crossed the lake to the village now called Pie di Luco, or ad Pedes Luci*.' This name is probably derived from a grove which formerly covered the hill, and was sacred to Velinia, the goddess who presided over the 'Lacus Velinust.' Around and above the lake are the Roscida rura Velini ‡," so celebrated for their dews and fertility, and always so interesting for their variety and beauty.

*The foot of the grove.

The Velinian lake.

The dewy fields of the Velinus.

"We would willingly have followed the banks of the Velino up to its source, and visited Reate, now Rieti, with its vale of Tempe, alluded to by Cicero; but the day was on the decline, and it would have been imprudent to have allowed ourselves to be benighted, either amid the solitudes of the mountain, or on its declivity. We therefore returned, again visited the cascade, ranged through a variety of natural grottos and caverns, formed in its neighbourhood by the water, before the present spacious bed was opened to receive it; and then descending the hill we hastened to Terni."