Horace ''Odes'' 3.13
O fons Bandusiae splendidior vitro dulci digne mero non sine floribus, :cras donaberis haedo, ::cui frons turgida cornibus primis et venerem et proelia destinat; frustra: nam gelidos inficiet tibi :rubro sanguine rivos ::lascivi suboles gregis. te flagrantis atrox hora Caniculae nescit tangere, tu frigus amabile :fessis vomere tauris ::praebes et pecori vago. fies nobilium tu quoque fontium me dicente cavis impositam ilicem :saxis, unde loquaces ::lymphae desiliunt tuae.

The Spring of Bandusium ( la, fons Bandusiae) is a natural water source in rural

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, to which the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

poet

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...

addressed a well-known ode (Odes 3.13). The location is thought to be the site of poet's beloved Sabine farm in what is now the commune of Licenza. In the poem Horace promises to sacrifice a young goat to the spring and praises the spring's constancy in the hottest days of summer. The poem ends with Horace promising to immortalize the spring through his song.

Location

Recent scholarship suggests that Horace may have named a pleasant spring near his Sabine farm after a similar spring in the vicinity of his native Venusia. Evidence that the original ''Fons Bandusiae'' may have been located in Apulia, near Horace's childhood home, comes from a papal bull of

Paschal II Pope Paschal II ( la, Paschalis II; 1050 1055 – 21 January 1118), born Ranierius, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 August 1099 to his death in 1118. A monk of the Abbey of Cluny, he was cre ...

, dating to 1103. This bull mentions a "church of the Holy Martyrs Gervasius and Protasius at the Bandusine spring in Venusia" (''ecclesia sanctorum martyrum Gervasii et Protasii in Bandusino fonte apud Venusiam''). Travelers have proposed the village of

Palazzo San Gervasio Palazzo San Gervasio ( Lucano: ) is a small agricultural town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. It is bounded by the comuni (Municipalities) of Acerenza, Banzi, Forenza, Genzano di Lucania ...

, 13 km east of

Venusia Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervasio, Ra ...

, as the probable location of the church but failed to match any of the nearby springs with Horace's description.,

References

{{coord missing, Italy Springs of Italy Spring of Bandusia, The

Location

See also

References