ent. Salona, a principal city of his native province of Dalmatia,
was near two hundred Roman miles (according to the measurement of the
public highways) from Aquileia and the confines of Italy, and about two
hundred and seventy from Sirmium, the usual residence of the emperors
whenever they visited the Illyrian frontier. [115] A miserable village
still preserves the name of Salona; but so late as the sixteenth
century, the remains of a theatre, and a confused prospect of broken
arches and marble columns, continued to attest its ancient splendor.
[116] About six or seven miles from the city, Diocletian constructed a
magnificent palace, and we may infer, from the greatness of the work,
how long he had meditated his design of abdicating the empire. The
choice of a spot which united all that could contribute either to health
or to luxury, did not require the partiality of a native. "The soil was
dry and fertile, the air is pure and wholesome, and though extremely
hot during the summer months, this country seldom feels those sultry and
noxious winds, to which the coasts of Istria and some parts of Italy are
exposed. The views from the palace are no less beautiful than the soil
and climate were inviting. Towards the west lies the fertile shore that
stretches along the Adriatic, in which a number of small islands
are scattered in such a manner, as to give this part of the sea the
appearance of a great lake. On the north side lies the bay, which led
to the ancient city of Salona; and the country beyond it, appearing in
sight, forms a proper contrast to that more extensive prospect of water,
which the Adriatic presents both to the south and to the east. Towards
the north, the view is terminated by high and irregular mountains,
situated at a proper distance, and in many places covered with villages,
woods, and vineyards." [117]

[Footnote 115: See the Itiner. p. 269, 272, edit. Wessel.]

[Footnote 116: The Abate Fortis, in his Viaggio in Dalmazia, p. 43,
(printed at Venice in the year 1774, in two small volumes in quarto,)
quotes a Ms account of the antiquities of Salona, composed by
Giambattista Giustiniani about the middle of the xvith century.]

[Footnote 117: Adam's Antiquities of Diocletian's Palace at Spalatro,
p. 6. We may add a circumstance or two from the Abate Fortis: the little
stream of the Hyader, mentioned by Lucan, produces most exquisite trout,
which a sagacious writer, perhaps a monk, supposes to have been one o