k 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. This is shown by the absence of tombs of the early
necropolis style along this road.

The next ridge must always have been one of the most important, for from
above Cavamonte as far as Passerano, at the bottom of the ridge on the
side toward Rome, connecting with the highway which was the later Via
Latina, ran the main road through Zagarolo, Passerano, Corcolle, on to
Tibur and the north.[14] As this was the other of the two great roads
which ran to the north without getting out on the Roman Campagna, it is
certain that Praeneste considered it in her territory, and probably kept
the travel well in hand. With dependent towns at Zagarolo and Passerano,
which are several miles distant from each other, there must have been at
least one more town between them, to guard the road against attack from
Tusculum or Gabii. 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,[15] seems to prove the supposition, and to locate another of
the dependent cities of Praeneste.

That the next ridge, the one on which Zagarolo is situated, was also
part of Praeneste's territory, aside from the fact that it has always
been part of the diocese of Praeneste, is clearly shown by the
topography of the district. The only easy access to Zagarolo is from
Palestrina, and although the town itself cannot be seen from the
mountain of Praeneste, nevertheless the approach to it along the ridge
is clearly visible.

The country south and in front of Praeneste spreads out more like a
solid plain for a mile or so before splitting off into the ridges which
are so characteristic of the neighborhood. East of the ridge on which
Zagarolo stands, and running nearly at right angles to it, is a piece of
territory along which runs the present road (the Omata di Palestrina) to
the Palestrina railroad station, and which as far as the cross valley at
Colle dell'Aquila, is incontestably Praenestine domain.

But the territory which most certainly belonged to Praeneste, and which
was at once the most valuable and the oldest of her possessions is the
wide ridge now known as the Vigne di Loreto, along which run