Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1902-05-28
CALlCULk'S SUNKEN PALACES.
Another Attempt to Raise These Play'
things OF the Degenerate Emperor.

Another Attempt to Raise These Play'
things OF the Degenerate Emperor.
A company with capital Of S1O0,00O
has been organized for the purpose OF
draining Lake Nemi, small body Oh
water occupying what was once the
crater of volcano in the Alban HIS,
upon the estate of Prince Orsini, about
thirty-two miles from Rome. The OBJ
ject of draining the lake is to recover
two enormous floating gardens or
households OF the most extraordinary
character, which were built and used
by the crazy Emperor Caligula about
forty years after Christ.
The historian Suetonius tells us
that Caligula squandered in fantastic
schemes during a single year the sum
Of 2,700,000,000 sesterces equivalent
to about $100,o00,000 of our money!
that had been left him by Tiberius, and
describes among other remarkable toys
constructed for his amusement floating
gardens of cedar wood adorned with
jeweled prows, rich sculpture, vessels
of gold and silves, sails of purple silk,
bathrooms of alabaster and bronze and
other equally novel and costly features.
Upon these floating gardens We're vine.
yards and fruit trees. They We're not
only places of amusement, but temples
in which the mad Emperor worshipped
himself. Tho floors were paved with
glass mosaic, the window and door
frames were of bronze. many of the
decorations were of almost priceless
value, and the ordinary equipments
were of beautiful design and costly
workmanship.
These f1oatinG palaces We're attached
to the shore by chains and bridges
were stretched across the water for the
purposes of communication. Upon
them occurred some of the most ex-
traordinary orgies that a human being
ever INDUCED in, in which cruelty, mur-
der and the most revolving depravity
We're mingled with music and sport.
For some reason or another, prob
ably during the wars that followed the
reign of Caligula, these palaces were
sunk, and now lie in the mud 200 yards
distant from each other in five fathoms
of water; one is $50 feet from the bank
and the other about $50 feet. One
measures $50 feet in length and 60 feet
in width and the smaller is 179 feet
long and 26 feet wide.
The first attempt TO raise them was
made in the thirteenth century, but it
was found impossible. In 1446 Car
dinal Prospero Colonna employed Leon
Batista ~Alberti, the greatest engineer
of that period, but his mechanical ap-
pliances were wholly inadequate. lie
used pontoon bridges, windlasses and
inflated bladders. In 1885 Francesca
de March, Of Bologna, a great military
engineer, made another attempt, an
account of which is given in his work
on Military Architecture. He was
unable to do anything, out obtained
accurate measurements and other valu.
jects of his search. A diver who spent
several months in their examination
brought up samples Of richly wrought
bronze which had become detached
from the decorations. Nothing further
was done until 1927, when another en-.
gineer succeeded in breaking off the
PROV of one of the vessels to its per-
manent injury.
Five years ago Signor Borghi, a
learned antiquarian, obtained permis.
sion from the Orsini family to make
another attempt, and although he was
in accomplishing his pur
pose, he managed, with his graphing
irOnc tn rim no a tu
orally and has probably destroyed
much of their value and beauty. He
took out many beautiful decorations
of bronze and marble before he was
stopped by the Minister of Public In.
who has charge of antiquar.
ian researches in Italy. The articles
are now hidden away to escape confis.
cation by the Government. which has
been trying to get hold of them. There
has been q bitter controversy over the
matter in the newspapers and in
and the Government has
forbidden the use of any further meth.
DDS that will injure the boats. Borghi
has therefore organized a company,
and is now Offering the shares for sale
in order to raise money to drain the
lake far enough to allow him to get
the ships and dredge the bottom for
fragments that may have become de-
tached. The boats are made of cedar
with thick coating Of pitch and COW
cred with cloth, on the outside of which
a skin of sheet lead of great thickness
Is fastened with copper nails. The
decks are paved with glass mosaics of
exquisite beauty.
Archaeologists who have been look
Ing into the thing are not confident of
the success of the scheme. They think
the boats are too far decayed to hang
ogether.-Chicago Record Herald.