The Anathemata
Rite and Fore-time (continued)
And over the Cis-padanea marls
searching the trapezoidal platforms:
for but for the Terramare disciplina
how should his Mantuanb have sung
the Quadrilateral Plan?1
David Jones notes
1 Cf. the opinion of scholars that the rectilineal layout of camps and cities characteristic of Rome and the Latin civilization was derived from the Bronze Age agriculturalists of the Po Valley who constructed their solid pile settlements with great care for alignment and consistent orientation, with intersecting streets, the whole forming a trapezoid. See page 55 above.
additional notes
a The Cispadane Republic (Italian: Repubblica Cispadana) was a short-lived republic located in northern Italy, founded in 1796 with the protection of the French army, led by Napoleon Bonaparte. In the following year, it was merged with the Transpadane Republic (until recently the Duchy of Milan) to form the Cisalpine Republic. These were French client states organized by Napoleon after the Battle of Lodi in May 1796. The republic’s name refers to the ‘near side’ of the River Po.
b i.e. Virgil (who is said to have been born near Mantua, in the Po valley).
(For ‘Terramare’ read ‘Terramara’ as in note 2 to page 55 or ‘Terremare’.)
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