But The Women Are Not Handsome, Although The Town
Derives Its Name From Benoth (Venus).
Some genuine Roman families have
continued to exist to this day, such as that of Cenna (Cinna).
One of
them was the author of the chronicle above referred to; and there is an
antique bas-relief worked into the walls of the Trinita abbey, depicting
some earlier members of this local family.
One is astonished how large a literature has grown up around this small
place - but indeed, the number of monographs dealing with every one of
these little Italian towns is a ceaseless source of surprise. Look below
the surface and you will find, in all of them, an undercurrent of keen
spirituality - a nucleus of half a dozen widely read and thoughtful men,
who foster the best traditions of the mind. You will not find them in
the town council or at the cafe. No newspapers commend their labours, no
millionaires or learned societies come to their assistance, and though
typography is cheap in this country, they often stint themselves of the
necessities of life in order to produce these treatises of calm
research. There is a deep gulf, here, between the mundane and the
intellectual life. These men are retiring in their habits; and one
cannot but revere their scholarly and almost ascetic spirit that
survives like a green oasis amid the desert of "politics," roguery and
municipal corruption.
The City Fathers of Venosa are reputed rich beyond the dreams of
avarice.
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