Text, scholarly version, translated from the 1570L(ABC), 1571L, 1571L/1572GKoler, 1573L(AB), 1574L, 1575L, 1579L(AB), 1580/1589G, 1584L, 1588S, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1602G, 1602S, 1603L, 1606E, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612L and 1609/1612/1641S edition:
129.1. {1570L{Lake COMO, {not in 1580/1589G & 1602G{once called LACVS LARIVS}not in 1580/1589G & 1602G}.
129.2. LACVS LARIVS (which they now call Lago di Como after Como, the ancient town lying next to it) {not in 1571L{and took its name from the Fen-duck, a bird which the Greeks call Larus {1588S, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S only [in Greek lettering]{laros}1588S, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S only}{1580/1589G & 1602G instead in Greek lettering {apo too larou}1580/1589G & 1602G instead}, and the Romans Fulica (1580/1589G & 1602G instead{hailgeese}1580/1589G & 1602G instead}, (1588S, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S only{in Spanish cerceta}1588S, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S only}{1608/1612I only{and in Italian Folega}1608/1612I} of which it has plenty}not in 1571L}, runs from North to South for a distance of sixty {1606E only{forty}1606E only} miles, {1570L(A) only{but it also has a fish, according to Plinius. Many small rivers flow into it, coming from}1570L(A) only} mountains everywhere, whose tops are covered with groves of chestnut trees. The slopes have vines and olives, [and] its feet with woods are provided with numerous deer for game.
129.3. On the edge of the lake there are many castles {1580/1589G & 1602G instead{villages}1580/1589G & 1602G instead}, among which on the South side {1570L(A) only{there is Lechum, [Lecco] where there is a bridge for crossing the [river] Ada joining the banks. Farther on these banks towards the East, there is a castle in the mountains (for the lake is crowned by mountains everywhere except on its Eastern shore where they recede to some extent). Then there are Mandella, Bolanum, &c. On the South side of this lake}1570L(A) only} there is the famous city of Como, a fair town founded by the Galli Orobij, or as some think by the Galli Cenomanes. Later Divus Julius {1580/1589G, 1588S, 1602S, 1606E & 1609/1612/1641S instead{Iulius Cęsar}1580/1589G, 1588S, 1602S, 1606E & 1609/1612/1641S instead} built a settlement with Romans, {not in 1570L(BC) & 1571L{[with] amongst [its] inhabitants five hundred Greek gentlemen, as Strabo says,}not in 1570L(BC) & 1571L} after which it was called Novum Comum. It is situated in a most pleasant place, so that one would think it to be a kind of paradise or a place devoted to pleasure and delight.
129.4. For on the front side it has the beautiful lake, on the back side excellent plains, well manured and fertile for all sorts of fruits. To which you may add the wholesome and sweet air. {1595L, not in 1602G, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S{About the brass statue long since taken out of this city, see Cassiodorus 2 Variar. cap. 35 and 36}1595L, not in 1602G, 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S}. {1570L(BC){This town brought forth the two Plinies, men worthy of eternal fame, in whose honour and memory the citizens ordered this eulogy to be engraved in marble on the front of St. Maries Church, {not in 1608/1612I{which we read {1606E instead{which we copied}1606E instead} in the year {1606E{of CHRIST}1606E} 1558 on our return from Italy}not in 1608/1612I}.
129.5. On the right part of the door:
129.6. THE STATE AND CITIZENS OF COMO HAVE GRACED C. PLINIUS SECUNDUS, THE MOST WORTHY FREEMAN OF THEIR CORPORATION (A MAN OF FERTILE WIT, HONOURABLE FOR HIS DIGNITIES, ADMIRABLE FOR LEARNING, WHO IN HIS LIFETIME OBTAINED THE LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP OF VESPASIANUS THE EMPEROR, HELD MANY GREAT OFFICES, EXCELLED ABOVE ALL WRITERS OF HIS TIME IN ELOQUENCE AND VARIETY) WITH THIS TITLE AND STATUE.
129.7. {as translated in 1606E{Such honour great and worthy fame me Plinius did adorne:
129.8. But much it grac'th me more what here is set}as translated in 1606E}.
129.9. On the left part of the door
129.10. TO C. PLINIUS CĘCILIUS SECUNDUS, THEIR WELL BELOVED CITIZEN, WHO HAVING BEEN CONSUL, AUGUR, AND BORN ALL OFFICES IN THE WARS, A FAMOUS ORATOR, POET AND HISTORIOGRAPHER. [HE HAS] MOST ELOQUENTLY WRITTEN ABOUT THE WORTHY RECOMMENDATION OF TRAIANUS THE EMPEROR, BESTOWED MANY FAVOURS AND BOUNTIES ON HIS NATIVE COUNTRY, GRACING IT WITH ETERNAL CREDIT. THE STATE OF COMO FOR THESE BENEFITS PLACED THIS MONUMENT HERE ON THE FIRST OF MAY IN THE YEAR 1498.
129.11. {as translated in 1606E{At home in peace, abroad in war, each office have I borne:
129.12. I lived, I died, and still I live as yet}as translated in 1606E; 1571L Como text ends here}.
129.13. {1592L, not in 1602G{But why should I not add to this the words of the same Plinius from his {not in 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S{second}not in 1602S & 1609/1612/1641S} book to Caninius writing like this? Do you study? Do you fish? Or do you do both at our lake? For you can do all these things at our lake, since it yields plenty of fish, the woods around it plenty of deer, [and] the seclusion of the place gives great opportunities to study. The same author, in his 4th Epistle to Licinius Sura has a story of a certain strange spring not far from this lake}1592L, not in 1602G}{1608/1612I only{which flows on the East side of the city, at a distance of about eight miles}1608/1612I only}.
129.14. Paulus Iovius has excellently described this lake and city named after it in a specific treatise from which we have taken this map of ours. {1579L(A){Moreover, Cassiodorus in his second book of Varieties to Gaudiosus has most exactly depicted the same}1579L(A)}. {1570L(BC) {Benedictus Iouius}1570L(BC}} {1579(A){and Thomas Porcacchius}1579L(A)} has/have written the histories of Como. {1570L(ABC){Read also Dominicus Niger's Geography, and Leander's Italia.}1570L(BC), 1571L, 1573L(AB), 1574L, 1575L, 1579L(AB), 1584L, 1588S, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L, 1602G, 1602S, 1603L, 1606E, 1608/1612I, 1609/1612L & 1609/1612/1641S end their Como text here.} {1570L(A) only{so well that you do not seem to read it, but to see it with your eyes}1570L(A) only}.
[Note that the order in which these authors are mentioned in this paragraph differs from one edition to the next].
129.14a. {1570L(ABC) & 1571L only, not in 1573L(AB) and later{FORVM IVLII.
129.14b. The origin of the name Fori Iulii is differently told by different authors, according to Leander. Some say it originates from Iulius Cęsar. Blondus says that it seems to have been named after the city Foroiulio. It has also been called the land of Aquileyen (after its main city), as has been proved by ancient inscriptions. The Venetians, (to which it belongs) also call the end of it Patria, which is a name used till the present day. Its location is as follows: one side of it borders on the sea, but soon it rises up with mountains which grow in height, enclosing it to such an extent that they form mountain ridge providing it with the shape of a natural amphitheatre. There is one narrow passage, like a gate, through which the river Sonti reaches it, coming from Tarvisio. For the rest, the Alps block all outlets to such an extent that there is no access unless by its port or through the mountain valleys or over their tops. It has various ports.
129.14c. There are many beautiful and fertile fields here, watered and irrigated, where good wine is grown, among which a variety highly praised by Plinius, called Pucinum after the city where it grows. This I take from Leandrus, in whose writings you may read more about it. See also Blondus & Ioannes Candidus in his History on Aquileya}1570L(ABC) & 1571L only}.
129.15. {1570L(ABC){The territories {1606E only{and liberties}1606E only} of the City of ROME.
129.16. As regards the city of Rome (once the empress of the world) and its liberties, because this place cannot contain as elaborate a description as its dignity deserves, it is better to say nothing at all about it than to say little. [Therefore] I think it best only to list those famous authors who have written at length about it and to refer [the reader] to them for further satisfaction. Of whom the more ancient ones are Q. Fabius Pictor, Sextus Rufus and P. Victor.
129.17. Of the modern writers Blondus in his Italia, Fabius Calvus of Ravenna, Bartholomęus Marlianus, {not in 1570L(ABC) & 1602G{Andreas Fulvius}not in 1570L(ABC) & 1602G}, Georgius Fabritius, Lucius Faunus, Andreas Palladius, Pyrrhus Ligorius and Lucius Maurus. {1601L, 1603L, 1606E, 1608/1612I & 1609/1612L only{And very recently Io. Iacobus Boissartus}1601L, 1603L, 1606E, 1608/1612I & 1609/1612L only}. Iacobus Mazocchius has collected and published his old epigrams, {1592L, not in 1602G{Fulvius Ursinus [has written about its] noble houses}1592L, not in 1602G} and Ulysses Aldroandus [about] its statues. Hubertus Goltzius, with as much art as diligence, and with great expenses, has expressed in the form of a book the table of his Fasti}1570L(AB), 1579L(AB), 1584L, 1592L, 1595L, 1601L & 1609/1612L end their Roma text here}, {1580/1589G, not in 1584L, 1592L, 1595L & 1609/1612L{most cunningly cut in copper}1580/1589G, not in 1584L, 1592L, 1595L & 1609/1612L, which end their Roma text here}. {1570L(C), 1571L, 1573L(AB), 1574L & 1575L only{We have published an image of the entire area in our map of the Roman Empire [a larger separate map, later reduced to Ort187] when it was at its most flourishing period}1570L(ABC), 1571L, 1573L(AB), 1574L & 1575L only; 1570L(C) & 1571L end their Roma text here}. {1608/1612I only{and most of all the famous Lipsius in his book on the Roman greatness, summarised by Philip Pigafetta in his Tuscany. But the region of the city of Rome has been described best of all by Giovanni Georgio Trissino, a lord from Vicentino, in the 18th book of his Heroic Poem on the liberation of Italy from the Goths}1608/1612I only which ends here}.
{1573L(AB), 1574L & 1575L only{Look for FORI IULII above at page 42, where a specific map of it is presented, as obtained from Ioannis Sambucus}1573L(AB), 1574L & 1575L only which end here}.
Text, vernacular version, translated from the 1571/1573 Dutch, 1572/1573 German, 1572/1574 French, 1581 French, 1587 French, 1598 French and 1598/1610/1613 Dutch editions:
129.18. {1571/1573D & 1598D only{The sea or}1571/1573D & 1598D only} {1571/1573D{lake of Como.
129.19. Larius Lacus is what the name of this lake used to be, after a kind of bird that you find here many of, which is called in Greek Larus and in Latin Fulica, and in Dutch, (as some think) Waterhoen [Moor hen] {1572/1573G instead{in German Wasserhuhn}1572/1573G instead} {1572/1574F, 1581F, 1587F & 1598F only{and in French Poulle d'eau}1572/1574F, 1581F, 1587F & 1598F only}. This is a very pleasant lake, about 60 Italian miles long, at its widest six miles wide, and at its narrowest point one mile. It is surrounded by fertile mountains, with in the middle, so to speak, a valley full of water.
129.20. On the mountain tops there are forests of chestnut trees, on the slopes vineyards and olive groves. At the foot of the mountains there are wood groves and bushes, with much game, so that there is always plenty of hunting and fowling. At the bank of the lake there are manor houses and castles, and in the lake a variety of good fish. Don't you think that this is a pleasant place to live in, shaped by nature?
129.21. At the end of the lake, on the South side lies the main city, called Como, (which belongs to the duchy of Milan) from which the lake derives its name. This city resembles a round lobster, sticking its front shears into the water, its body still being on the ground. The land around this city is so fertile in all kinds of fruits that it seems that it has been built as a playground (since the air is also fresh and healthy), fit for enjoying pleasure.
129.22. {not in 1587F & 1598F{Friuli}not in 1587F & 1598F}[after Rome in 1572/1574F & 1581F].
129.23. This land is called Frioul after its Latin name Forum Iulij. The Venetians, (to which it belongs) also call it Patria. It has also in former times been called the land of Aquileya (after its main city). One side of it borders on the sea, on the other side it is enclosed by a circle of mountains, providing it with the shape of a natural amphitheatre. Thus one can only reach this land by sea, or via some narrow roads winding through the mountain range.
129.24. There are many beautiful and fertile fields here, where good wine is grown, among which a variety highly praised by Plinius which he calls Pucinum after the city where it grows, which is now called Prosecho, {1571/1573D, 1581F & 1598D only{and in Dutch this wine is called Reynvael}1571/1573D, 1581F & 1598D only}. There are also mines of quicksilver here. The main cities here are Aquileya and Udine. This Udine is a big city, five Italian miles in circumference, with in the middle a hill with a strong castle. Aquileya is an ancient city, formerly with 120,000 inhabitants. It is a Patriarchy, first founded by St. Marcus, as they say. Below Aquileya there is an island in the sea with a city on it called Grado. There they still preserve the ivory chair of St. Marcus, with great reverence}not in 1587F & 1598F} [in 1572/1574F & 1581F Friuli follows the Rome section].
129.25. The area of Rome.
129.26. It is very difficult to say something about this land and about the city of Rome in the middle of it, which in former times subdued the entire world with courage and knowledge, in only a few words. Therefore, we prefer to be silent about it rather than describing it in an insufficient manner. And we advise the reader to turn to those authors who have devoted entire books to it. In this year we have also drawn up and published a map of the monarchy or empire of this city, [large two-sheet map Romani Imperii, model for Ort187] on which you can see how far and wide it ruled (when it was in its period of greatest flourishing)}1571/1573D, 1572/1574G, 1572/1574F, 1581F, 1587F, 1598F & 1598/1610/1613D end here}.