VERBANUS LACUS
VERBANUS LACUS (
ἡ Οὐερβανός λίμνη:
Lago Maggiore), one of the principal lakes of Northern Italy, formed by the river Ticinus, where it first issues from the valleys of the Alps. (
Plin. Nat. 3.19. s. 24.)
It is the largest of the three great lakes of Northern Italy, whence its modern name of
Lago Maggiore; though Virgil appears to have considered the Larius as the largest, as lie calls it, “Te, Lari maxime,” and singularly enough does not mention the Verbanus at all. (
Georg. 2.159.) Strabo, by a strange mistake, describes the river Addua as flowing from the Lake Verbanus, and the Ticinus from the Larius (iv. p. 209): this may, perhaps, be an error of the copyists, but is more probably an accidental blunder of the author.
He gives the length of the lake at 400 stadia, or 40 geog. miles, which is somewhat below the truth, the actual length being 46 geog. miles: its breadth does not exceed 4 or 5 miles, except in one part, where it expands to a width of from 8 to 10 miles.
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