Chapter I. Of Roads

THE roads ought to be short, commodious, safe, delightful and beautiful; they will be short and commodious if made in a strait line, and if they be made ample, that so the carts and the cattle meeting, do not impede one another. And therefore it was an establish’d law among the antients, that the roads should not be narrower than eight foot, where they were strait; nor less than sixteen wide where they were crooked and winding. They will, besides this, be commodious if they are made even, that is, that there may not be any places, in which one cannot easily march with armies, and if they are not obstructed by water or rivers. We therefore read that the Emperor Trajan, regarding these two qualities, necessarily required in roads, when he repaired the most celebrated Appia way, which in many places was damaged by length of time, dried up fenny places levelled mountains, filled up valleys, and erecting bridges where necessary, made travelling thereon very expeditious and easy.

Roads will be safe if made on hills, or if, when made through fields, according to antient custom, they have a causeway to travel on, and if they have no places near them in which robbers and enemies can conveniently hide themselves; that so the travellers and the armies may he able to look about them, and easily discover if there should be any ambufeade laid for them. Those roads that have the three abovesaid qualities, are also necessarily beautiful and delightful to travellers, because of their strait direction from the city. The conveniency they afford, and besides being in them to see at a great distance, and besides 0 discover a good deal of the country, whereby great part of the fatigue is alleviated, and our minds (having always a new proper before our eyes) find great satisfaction and delight. A strait street in a city affords a most agreeable view, when it is ample and clean; on each side of which there are magnificent fabricks, made with those ornaments, which have been mentioned in the forgoing books.’

As cities beauty is added to the streets by fine fabricks: so without, they are adorn’d with trees; which being planted on each side of them, by their verdure enliven our minds, and by their shade afford very great conveniency. Of these kinds of roads there are many in the Vicentine; and among the rest, those that are at Cigogna, a villa belonging to the Signor Conte Opoarpo THEN, are celebrated; and at Quinte, a villa belonging to the Signor Conte Ottavio, of the same family: which being designed by me, have been since adorned, by the diligence and industry of the said gentlemen. The roads that are thus made, afford very great conveniencies, because that by their strait direction, and by being somewhat raised above the remaining part of the fields, speaking of those which are without the city, in time of war, as I have said, the enemies may be discovered from great distance, and so that resolution, which shall seem most convenient to the commander, may be taken; besides all which, at other times, with regard to the affairs that commonly happen among men, their brevity and conveniency will afford infinite advantages.

But because the streets are either within or without a city, I shall, in the first place, make particular mention of the qualities which those of a city ought to have; and then how those without are to be made. And since there are some that are called military, which pass through the middle of the city, and lead from one city to another, and serve for the universal conveniency of travellers, and are those through which armies march, and carriages are conveyed; and others not military, which departing from the military, either lead to anther military way, or are made for the use and particular conveniency of some villa: I shall, in the following chapters, only treat of the military ones, omitting the non-military, because these ought to be regulated by them; and the more they shall be like them, the more they'll be commended.