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It runs nearly parallel with the Via degli Arconi, and takes a direction which would strike the Via Praenestina where it crosses the Via Praenestina Nuova which runs past Zagarolo. That is, the most ancient piece of road we have leads up to the southeast corner of the town, but the oldest tombs point to a road the direction of which was toward the southwest corner.
The fact that the Via Praenestina later cut the Colle del Pero-Colle Seloa just below a point where an ancient road ascends the ridge to a place well adapted for a town, and where there are some remains, seems to prove the supposition, and to locate another of the dependent cities of Praeneste.
A few words about the roads leading to the several gates of Praeneste will help further to settle the antiquity of these gates. The oldest road was certainly the trade route which came up the north side of the Liris valley below the hill on which Praeneste was situated, and which followed about the line of the Via Praenestina as shown by Ashby in his map.
In the first place the ridge runs oil into the junction of two roadless valleys, there is not much fertile land back of where the town site would have been, but above all, however, it is certain that the Via Praenestina was an officially made Roman road, and did not occupy anything more than a previous track of little consequence.
There was probably always a road out this ridge, as is shown by the presence of the later Via Praenestina, but that there was no town at the end of the ridge is well proved by the fact that Ashby finds no remains there which give evidence of one. Then, too, we have plain enough proof of general unfitness for a town.
The second ridge, called Colle di Pastore as far as the Gallicano cut, and Colle Collafri beyond it, along which for four miles runs the Via Praenestina, undoubtedly belonged to the domain of Praeneste. But it was not so important a piece of property as the ridges on either side, for it is much narrower, and it had no town at its end.
This temple was a mile or more distant from the city, in the territory now known as Bocce di Rodi, and was situated on the little road which made a short cut between the two great roads, the Praenestina and the Labicana. SACRA VIA, Not. d. Scavi, Ser. 5, 4 , p. 49.
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