GALLIA ROMANA

« In saxis illius [Mediolani Santonum amphitheatri] inscriptiones nonnullæ conspiciuntur, quibus adducor ut credam Galienum, Imperatorem Romanum, theatri opus hoc visendum construxisse, cum siquidem Aquitania summè delectatum ferunt, arcemque egregiam, vetustatis monumentum, Burdigale erexisse, quæ etiam hodiè Palatium Galieni nominatur. Sed hæc multa carie & situ exolescunt, vix enim vetera hodiè rudera extant, quando manu factum nihil est, quod aliquando non conficiat & consumat vetustas. »
= “Several inscriptions, which can be made out on the stones [of the amphitheatre at Saintes], lead me to believe that this theatre was built by the Roman emperor Gallian, who, it is said, was very taken with the Aquitaine region and who built in Bordeaux the famous old citadel known today as the 'Gallian Palace'. Today, however, it is in bad repair, the site is neglected and only a few ruins remains, proof that all man-made things disappear and there is nothing that time does not waste and consume.”