undi early in the thirteenth century. Such, too, Livorno, built by
the Medici in the sixteenth century. Such, too, the many little
military colonies of the Italian Republics, dotted over parts of
northern and middle Italy. Often it is easy to prove that, despite
their chess-board plans, these towns do not stand on Roman sites.
Often the inquiry leads into regions remote from the study of ancient
history.

Fortunately, enough examples can be identified as Roman to serve our
purpose. Some of these occur in the Lombardy plain where, both under
the Republic and at the outset of the Empire, many 'coloniae' were
planted full-grown and where town-life on the Roman model was
otherwise developed. Not all these towns survive to-day; not all of
the survivors retain clear traces of their Roman town-plan; in nine
cases, at least, the streets seem unmistakably to follow Roman lines.
Four of the nine date from early days; in the late third and the early
second centuries (218-183 B.C.), Piacenza, Bologna, Parma, and Modena,
were built as new towns with the rank of 'colonia'. The first three of
these were later refounded, about 40-20 B.C.--whether their streets
were then laid out afresh is an open question--and Turin and Brescia
were added. In addition, Verona, Pavia, and Como won municipal status
in or before this later date, though when or how they came to be laid
out symmetrically is not certain.[69] And there are other less certain
examples.

[69] Milan (Mediolanium), once the chief Roman town of north
Italy, is usually stated to preserve to-day no trace of Roman
street-planning. But the line of the Via Manzoni, Via Margherita,
and Via Nerino (cutting the Ambrosian Library) seems really to
represent one of its main streets, and the line of the Fulcorino
and Corso di Porta Romana the other, while one or two traces of
'insulae' can be detected near the Ambrosian Library. The town
was destroyed in A.D. 539 and again in 1162, and more survivals
cannot be expected.

Other instances, but not so many, may be quoted from south of the
Apennines. At Florence, for example, and at Lucca 'coloniae' were
planted full-grown and the street-plans still record the fact. At
Naples, at Herculaneum, perhaps at Sorrento,[70] proofs survive of
similar planning. But the towns of central Italy were in great part
more ancient than the era of precise town-planning, and many of them
were perched in true Italian fashion o