Christian antiquities -- Italy -- Rome; Rome (Italy) -- Antiquities
The lands are described in other epigraphic documents as containing a
village named Triopium, wheat-fields, vineyards, olive-groves,
pastures, a temple dedicated to Faustina the younger under the title
of the New Ceres, a burialspace for the family, placed under the
protection of Minerva and Nemesis, and lastly a grove sacred to the
memory of Regilla.
[Illustration: Tomb of Annia Regilla (fragment).]
Many of these monuments are still in existence. The first structure we
meet with is a tomb of considerable size built in the shape of a
temple, the lowest steps of which are watered by the Almo. Its popular
name of "Temple of the God Rediculus" is derived from a tradition
which points to this spot as the one at which Hannibal turned back
before the gates of Rome, and where a shrine to the "God of Retreat"
was subsequently raised by the Romans. The Campagna abounds in
sepulchral monuments of a similar design, but none can be compared
with this in the elegance of its terra-cotta carvings, which give it
the appearance and lightness of lace. The polychrome effect produced
by the alternate use of dark red and yellow bricks is particularly
fine.
Although no inscription has been found within or near this heroön,
there are reasons to prove that it was the family tomb of Regilla,
Herodes, and their six children. A more beautiful and interesting
structure is hardly to be found in the Campagna, and I wonder why so
few visit it. Perhaps it is better that it should be so, because its
present owner has just rented it for a pig-pen.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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