BUCA
BUCA (
Βοῦκα: Eth.
Bucanus), a city of the Frentani on the coast of the Adriatic Sea.
It is mentioned by all the geographers as one of the chief cities of the Frentani, but there is considerable difficulty in regard to its site. Strabo describes it as the southernmost of the Frentanian cities, so that its territory bordered on that of Teanum in Apulia.
In another passage he tells us that it was 200 stadia from the mouth of a lake near the Garganus, which can certainly be no other than the
Lago di Lesina. Ptolemy also places it between the mouth of the Tifernus and Histonium: but Pliny, on the contrary, enumerates it between Histonium and Ortona; and Mela, though less distinctly, appears also to place it to the N. of Histonium. (
Strab. v. p.242, vi. p. 285;
Plin. Nat. 3.12. s. 17;
Ptol. 3.1.18; Mela 2.4.)
The statements of Strabo accord well with the views of those who would place Buca at
Termoli, a seaport town on a projecting point of land about 3 miles from the mouth of the
Biferno (Tifernus), and 25 from the opening of the
Layo di Lesina: and this is certainly the most probable position. On the other hand the authority of Pliny has been followed by most local antiquarians, who have placed Buca at a spot now called
Punta della Penna, a projecting headland with a small port about 5 miles N. of
Il Vasto (Histonium), where it is said that considerable ancient remains were still visible in the 17th century. Two inscriptions, said to have been discovered oil this site, would be almost conclusive in favour of this view, but they are probably forgeries.
This subject is further discussed in the article
FRENTANI (Romanelli, vol. iii. p. 40--42; Mommsen,
Inscr. Regn. Neapol. App. p. 30.)
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E.H.B]
