Fregellae was an ancient town of

Latium adiectum Latium adiectum () or Latium Novum was a region of Roman Italy between Monte Circeo and the river Garigliano, south of and immediately adjacent to Old Latium, hence its name of ''attached Latium''. Sources As a geographical term, it was used at le ...

, situated on the

Via Latina The Via Latina (Latin for "Latin Road") was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers. Route It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus; it was important in the ear ...

between

Aquinum Aquino is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of Italy, northwest of Cassino. The name comes from the Latin Aquinum, probably from ''aqua'', meaning "water" as witnessed by the abundance of water that still ...

(modern Aquino) and

Frusino Frosinone (, local dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. The city is the main city of the V ...

(now Frosinone, in central

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 ...

), near the left branch of the

Liris The Liri (Latin Liris or Lyris, previously, Clanis; Greek: ) is one of the principal rivers of central Italy, flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea a little below Minturno under the name Garigliano. Source and route The Liri's source is in the Mon ...

History

Mappa Riserva naturale Antiche Città di Fregellae e Fabrateria Nova e del Lago di San Giovanni Incarico

Fregellae was said to have been founded in early times by the Opici or

Oscan Oscan is an extinct Indo-European language of southern Italy. The language is in the Osco-Umbrian or Sabellic branch of the Italic languages. Oscan is therefore a close relative of Umbrian. Oscan was spoken by a number of tribes, including th ...

s, near the modern Arce, and later to have belonged the

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

. It was apparently destroyed by the

Samnites The Samnites () were an ancient Italic people who lived in Samnium, which is located in modern inland Abruzzo, Molise, and Campania in south-central Italy. An Oscan-speaking people, who may have originated as an offshoot of the Sabines, they for ...

a little before 330 BC; in that year the people of Fabrateria Vetus (modern

Ceccano Ceccano is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, central Italy, in the Latin Valley. History The town had its origins as an ancient Volscian citadel that surrendered to the Romans in 330 BC (424 Ab Urbe Condita).''The History ...

) sought the help of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

against them and in 328 BC a

Latin colony A Roman (plural ) was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It is also the origin of the modern term ''colony''. Characteri ...

was established there. The place was taken in 320 BC by the Samnites, but re-established by the Romans in 313 BC. It was largely faithful to Rome: by burning the bridges over the Liris, it blocked

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Puni ...

's advance on Rome in 212 BC at the cost of his general devastation of the area.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Ancient Rome, Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditiona ...

. ''

History of Rome The history of Rome includes the history of the city of Rome as well as the civilisation of ancient Rome. Roman history has been influential on the modern world, especially in the history of the Catholic Church, and Roman law has influenced m ...

'', Vol. 3
Book XXVI, §IX & XXIII
Accessed 24 Jan 2013. (A messenger from the city caused panic throughout

until word arrived that a Roman army was ''en route'' from

Capua Capua ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, in the region of Campania, southern Italy, situated north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. History Ancient era The name of Capua comes from the Etrusc ...

.) Fregellae's agent headed the deputation of the 18 non-revolting colonies

Roman Senate The Roman Senate ( la, Senātus Rōmānus) was a governing and advisory assembly in ancient Rome. It was one of the most enduring institutions in Roman history, being established in the first days of the city of Rome (traditionally founded in ...

in 209 BC, after 12 other colonies had revolted during the war. Fregellae appears to have been a very important and flourishing place owing to its command of the crossing of the Liris and to its position in a fertile territory. After the rejection of

Flaccus Flaccus was a composer from the 2nd century BC, of whom little is known. He was either a freedman or a slave of one of Terence's patrons and wrote musical scores for Terence's comedies (playing or composing music was no occupation for a free cit ...

's proposals for the extension of

Roman citizenship Citizenship in ancient Rome (Latin: ''civitas'') was a privileged political and legal status afforded to free individuals with respect to laws, property, and governance. Citizenship in Ancient Rome was complex and based upon many different laws, t ...

in 125 BC, a

revolt Rebellion, uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order. It refers to the open resistance against the orders of an established authority. A rebellion originates from a sentiment of indignation and disapproval of a situation and ...

broke out against Rome. A local traitor named Numitorius opened the gates to the Roman army under the

praetor Praetor ( , ), also pretor, was the title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to a man acting in one of two official capacities: (i) the commander of an army, and (ii) as an elected '' magistratus'' (magistrate), assigned to discharge vario ...

Lucius Opimius Lucius Opimius was a Roman politician who held the consulship in 121 BC, in which capacity and year he ordered the execution of 3,000 supporters of popular leader Gaius Gracchus without trial, using as pretext the state of emergency declared after ...

. The severity of its razing was later credited by the Romans with having prevented a general uprising among the Italian allies.Duncan, Wm. ''Cicero''.
Oration XI. Against L.C. Piso.
J. & J. Harper, 1833. Accessed 24 Jan 2013. The following year, Fregellae's place was taken by the colony of Fabrateria Nova, to the southeast on the opposite bank of the Liris. Under the empire, Fregellae is recorded as a small village and a post station at modern

Ceprano Ceprano ( Central-Northern Latian dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, in the Latin Valley, part of the Lazio region of central Italy. It is south of Rome and about north of Naples. History Ceprano was part of the P ...

called

Fregellanum Ceprano (Central-Northern Latian dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, in the Latin Valley, part of the Lazio region of central Italy. It is south of Rome and about north of Naples. History Ceprano was part of the Pa ...

is mentioned in the itineraries.

Archaeology

The site is clearly visible in the territory of Arce, in the frazione Isoletta di Arce, not far from the border with the municipality of

and

San Giovanni Incarico San Giovanni Incarico is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Frosinone in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome and about southeast of Frosinone. San Giovanni Incarico borders the following municipalities: Arce, ...

. Remains excavated starting from 1978 include items from the Republican age and a large temple of Aesculapius. Some of the items are in the museum of Ceprano.

References

* F. Coarelli. ed. ''Fregellae'' (1981). * F. Coarelli and M. Caputo ''Il santuario di Esculapio''. *

External links

Museo Archeologico di Fregellae (Ceprano)A 3D navigable reconstruction of the town, by Inglobe Technologies
a video tour of the reconstruction is also availabl
on YouTube
{{coord, 41, 32, 12, N, 13, 32, 20, E, type:landmark_region:IT_source:dewiki, display=title Roman sites in Lazio Former populated places in Italy Archaeological sites in Lazio

History

Archaeology

See also

References

External links