Carlo Fea: "Variet di Notizie Economiche Fisiche Antiquarie sopra Castel Gandolfo Albano Ariccia Nemi". Roma, 1820.

Article 23. About the cave of the so-called Nymph Aegeria.

In 1816 I published in the Prodromo a description of this much celebrated cave as it is nowadays, proving that it couldnt be the famous cave of that Nymph. This being more specifically about the necessary works to maintain as much as possible its integrity and reputation, I will start from showing in Table II picture 3 the drawings of its view, plan and vertical section, in a way thats never been done before, partly repeating the description I gave then. Last June through to early July 1816 I had the so-called Nymph Aegeria in the Valle della Caffarella freed from mud and debris, providing a way of discharge for the huge amount of water that gathers there. A coarse pavement constitutes the floor. About 4 palms1 beneath it, it was possible to see and touch a chunk of the old impellicciato [paneling] with serpentine2. The walls were of verde antico marble3, which matched the greenery around. The back niches, paneled in white marble, had multi-coloured glass mosaic in the conch, which with the coloured marble is a sign of Imperial age. All of the niches had freestanding white marble statues about four palms tall. Fragments of two of them were found: a foot and the torso of a little Faun, a fairly popular rural divinity. They were both recognizable, despite being damaged by water. In the middle back niche the statue wasn't inside, because it was, as it is today, lying on three protruding, original marble shelves, kept in place by lime. The headless statue, long and white4, slightly smaller than life, represents a young Water Spring [male divinity], lying and resting with his left arm against a hollow vase that apparently let out water (resembling the statue at Museo Pio Clementino, restored as Bacchus, and to another one in bas-relief at Capitolino). Similarly, water used to flow from the tip of the 3 shelves, thus forming 4 fountains on the faade. I made water flow back in the 3 shelves spouts, whereas before it flew from a crack in the right niche (to serve a lavatory which I dismantled). On the side opposite to the niches, outside, runs a clay pipe broken in many places, which carried water to the front side through a small fountain. For the sake of symmetry there probably was a fountain on the other side as well; but it is not possible to see which way water would get there. The main source of water came from several water veins joined together on the top left hand corner; from there, through an ample tank5, water got distributed as I mentioned, and possibly elsewhere. Through the aforementioned crack in the niche, being big enough, I could sneak in the tank and, bending a little, I could comfortably move around in it. But by candlelight I could see with regret that water drips in through various cracks in the walls, and it escapes irreparably from underneath it in the Linfeo6. The side of the hill that
1 2

About 30 cm 12 inches. Serpentino: green porphyry from Sparta (Greece). 3 Green marble with black, white and grey veins from Thessaly (Greece). 4 In Italian: gi a pan di zuccaro. Unsure of what it means. Pan di Zucchero can be a variety of chicory (looking like endive, long and white, about 35 cm long) or more generally a mound of some sort (geographically it is used to design rocks). I think hes referring to the shape of the statue (long and white) more than to its size. 5 In Italian: forma. I assume its some sort of upper tank where water gathered and flew to the fountains. 6 I think he means Ninfeo (Nymphaeum).

Carlo Fea: "Variet di Notizie Economiche Fisiche Antiquarie sopra Castel Gandolfo Albano Ariccia Nemi". Roma, 1820.

the building is leaning against, can be seen from the inside of the tank to be made of coarse earth, and not of tuff; but with all the plants and grass around and above, it gets so wet that the results can be seen in the weakened walls at the bottom. The cave was never a natural one, but an artificial one, taking water from many streams to form a big and great Linfeo (such as many others in the ancient ruins, and like the much smaller one on the coast down from S. Stefano Rotondo, towards S. Sisto Vecchio, etc.) The water tastes slightly sour, which is a feature of all waters in the surroundings; and much stronger in the Acqua Santa, which comes from the top of the opposite hill. This was written about by P. Lami and P. Moretti, but with many oversights in the archaeology and the physics sections; e.g. presuming that water would have been led there from far away and from there to Rome. They didn't know the source and cause of the sour taste well enough to believe that it could be an inherent quality of the water. I will just briefly mention here that Venuti mixes up the aforementioned waters with the Acqua Crabra, which cant flow through that valley surrounded by hills; but with other streams comes to form the open stream called La Marana, which runs outside the walls at the Porta Celimontana, then through the Ferratella (next to the small door, now closed, called Metronis by St. Gregory, Metrovia by the Anonymous Swiss, Metrosa by Guglielmo Malmesburiense circa 1096, Metroni by the Anonymous of de Mirabilis Romae, circa 13th century); and from there to the Tevere via Circo Massimo.