Aveiro 



II 

 Avenche. 



AVE 0*7 



AVEIRO, or Bragawca Nova, a sea-port town 

 in the province of Beira, in Portugal, situated in a 

 flat and marshy country, at the mouth of the Vouga. 

 " The river Vouga," says Mr Link, " flows through 

 the town, which is still very narrow, but is adorned 

 with a handsome quay. Near the town it divides in- 

 to two brandies, one to the left and southward run- 

 ning to the sea, the other northward to Ovar. Its 

 trade is inconsiderable, only small boats coming to the 

 town, nor indeed could any but small ships pass the 

 bar, which is continually shifting. The fishing alone 

 is worthy of notice, for Aveiro chiefly supplies the 

 province of Beira with sardinhas. Large troops of 

 mules are continually seen carrying them into the. 

 higher parts of the province." Salt is also produced 

 here in considerable quantities. Number of houses 

 1400. Population 4400. See Link's Travels in 

 Portugal, chap, xxviii. p. 317. W. Long. 8 38' 45", 

 N. Lat. 40 38' 18". ttx) 



AVELLINO, a town of Naples, situated in the 

 Principato Ultra, or ulterior principality. It ex- 

 tends about a mile along the hollow of a hill, but is 

 not remarkable either for good streets, or elegant 

 public buildings. Cloth is manufactured here of va- 

 rious qualities and to a great extent. Wooden chairs, 

 maccaroni, and paste of various kinds, are among 

 the other articles of its trade. The soil of the sur- 

 rounding country being chiefly volcanic, produces lit- 

 tle corn. There is, however, abundance of fruit, and 

 particularly nuts, which grow in great quantities, and 

 which in good years produce an income of 11,250. 

 The hazels are planted in rows, and are dressed and 

 pruned with the greatest care. In September 1694, 

 this town was nearly destroyed by an earthquake. 

 Between Benevent and Avellino are the celebrated 

 passes of the Val-di-Gargano, where the Romans 

 were blocked up by the Samnites, A. U. 433, and 

 compelled to pass under the yoke. Population 9000. 

 E. Long. 14 46', N. Lat. 40 54'. See Rollin's 

 Hut. Rom. torn. iii. p. 252 ; and Swinburne's Tra- 

 Vtbi vol. i. p. 171. (v) 



AVENA, a genus of plants of the class Trian- 

 Iria, and order Uigynia. See Botany. (t) 



AVENCHE, the Aventicnm of the ancients, a 

 imall town in the canton of Berne, in Switzerland, 

 situated at the south extremity of the lake Morat, 

 near the river Broye. Avenche seems to have been 

 a very flourishing colony in the time of the Romans. 

 Within a space of about five miles in circumference, are 

 discovered the foundations of walls, inscriptions, Mo- 

 saic pavements, medals, and numerous remains of ar- 

 chitecture and sculpture in marble. A column of 

 white marble about 60 feet high ; the remains of an 

 amphitheatre ; the floor of an 3ncient bath, about 60 

 feet by 40, done in Mosaic work, and ornamented 

 with numerous human figures, are some of the re- 

 mains of its ancient magnificence. " Not far from 

 these ruins," says Mr Coxe, " stands a column of 

 white marble, about fifty feet in height, composed of 

 large masses, nicely joined together without cement ; 

 near it lies a considerable fragment of defaced sculp- 

 ture, which seems to have once formed part of the 

 portal belonging to a magnificent temple. At a 

 small distance from this column, in the high road, we 

 observed a cornice of white marble, sculptured with 



VOL. HI. PART I. 



AVE 



urns and griffins ; and as we walked through the town, Averu, 

 we remarked several other masses of cornice, orna- ' v~~ 

 mented with sea-horses and urns, and some marble 

 columns of beautiful proportions. 



About a mile from Avenche, near the village of 

 Coppet, on the other side of a little stream, which 

 separates the canton of Firburgh from that of Bern, 

 are the remains of a small aqueduct, discovered about 

 fifteen years ago, by the accidental fall of a sand- 

 hill. The outside is formed of stones and mortar, 

 and the inside of red Roman cement ; the vault of 

 the arch may be about two feet and a half high, and 

 one and a half broad. This aqueduct has been traced 

 to the east side of the town, and near the marble 

 column. We were also informed that it extends to 

 the tower of Gausa, between Vevay and Lausanne, 

 and that between Villarsel and Marnau, about four 

 leagues from Coppet, an arch of nearly the same di- 

 mensions is excavated in the solid rock." The emperor 

 Vespasian was one of the principal benefactors to thia 

 colony. In an inscription preserved in the church 

 of Avenche, it. is called Cnlonia pia Flavia, constans 

 emerita, Aventicnm Helvetiorum'fcederata. E. Long. 

 7 1', N. Lat. 46 52'. A description and engraving 

 of the Mosaic pavement will be found in Schmidt's 

 Recueil d' Antiquites de la Suisse. See also Coxe'B 

 Travels in Switzerland, vol. ii. p. 174 180; and 

 Diet, de la Suisse, vol. i. p. 24. (o) 



AVERNI, known also by the name of Mephites, 

 are certain lakes, or other places, which infect the at- 

 mosphere with pestilential vapours. The most fa- 

 mous of these was the lake Avernus in Campania, 

 celebrated by the ancients as the entrance into the in- 

 fernal regions. It was supposed to be bottomless, 

 and computed to be about two miles long, and one 

 broad. Its depth, however, is now ascertained, 

 which is in some places 188 feet. It is situated near 

 Puzzuoli in the province of Terra di Lavora, and is 

 called by the modern Italians Lago d'Averno, and 

 Lago di Tripergola. Strabo describes it as lying 

 within the Lucrine bay, and accessible ouly by a nar- 

 row passage. Its steep banks were covered with 

 impervious groves, which excluded every ray of light ; 

 and such was the poisonous quality of its water, and 

 the virulence of the vapours which it exhaled, that 

 all birds which attempted to fly over it sunk down 

 dead. A gloomy cave adjoining the lake is repre- . 

 sented by Virgil as the habitation of the Cumaean 

 Sibyl : 



Spelunca alia frit, vastoquc immanis Mat*, 

 Seruped, tutu lacu nigto nemor&mque ten&rh; 



Quam sujKr hand ulUc poterant itnpuni' colaMes 

 Ttndere it.-, r pennit : talis sttsfi, ItulUus atrts 

 Fauclbus effundent supera ud conrcia fcrebat ; 

 Untie, lot:ui)L Grail dlucrunt nomine Avernum. 



Virg. lib. vi. 236. 



Deep was the cave ; and downward as it went 

 from the wide mouth, a rocky rough descent; 

 And here th' access a gloomy grove defends, 

 And here th' innavigable lake extends. 

 O'er whose unhappy waters, void of light, 

 No bird presumes to steer his airv flight; 

 Such deadly stenches from the depth arise, 

 And steaming sulphur, that infects the skies. 

 Frbm hence the Grecian bards their legends make, 

 And give the name Averaui to the lake. 



Dkvden's firg. vol, iii. p. 122. 



