Ferentium was a town of ancient

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscan civiliza ...

, situated near the modern city of

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...

in the northern part of the Roman province of

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whi ...

, now in modern

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. The city was also known as ''Ferentinum'', ''Ferentum'' or ''Ferentia'', and should not be confused with ancient ''Ferentinum'' (now

Ferentino Ferentino is a town and ''comune'' in Italy, in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, southeast of Rome. It is situated on a hill above sea level, in the Monti Ernici area. History ''Ferentinum'' was a town of the Hernici; it was captured from them ...

), which is in southern Lazio.

History

Ferentium had an

Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities ** Etrusca ...

predecessor at modern Acquarossa, as shown by the presence of a

necropolis A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead". The term usually im ...

. In the Roman period, the city was a

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...

of the Stellatina

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English language, English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in p ...

and part of the seventh regio of the province of Italia. Several famous families came from the city, including that of the Roman emperor

Otho Marcus Otho (; born Marcus Salvius Otho; 28 April 32 – 16 April 69) was the seventh Roman emperor, ruling for three months from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors. A member of a noble Etru ...

and Flavia Domitilla, the wife of the emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; la, Vespasianus ; 17 November AD 9 – 23/24 June 79) was a Roman emperor who reigned from AD 69 to 79. The fourth and last emperor who reigned in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty that ruled the Empi ...

. Either she or her identically named daughter were worshipped as ''diva Domitilla''. Around 400 AD. diocese Ferentium was established. After 700 AD, the diocese was suppressed. In 1172 Ferentium was conquered by and incorporated into neighboring

Remains

Extensive remains of the ancient city are still extant, including a

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

and several domestic and municipal buildings.

Archaeological investigations

Much of the early work at the site is due to the "archaeologist king"

Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: * Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short car ...

. The most recent excavations took place between 1994 and 2009 under the supervision of

Tuscia University University of Tuscia ( it, Università degli Studi della Tuscia, UNITUS) is a university located in Viterbo, Italy. It was founded in 1979 and comprises 6 faculties. On 26 February 2019, the President of Republic Sergio Mattarella inaugurated th ...

in Viterbo. Many of the most important remains may be found in the National Archaeological Museum of Viterbo at Rocca Albornoz, including some reconstructed building remains and some marble statues depicting characters from classical

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

and

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

which presumably came from the area of the theater. A small wooden model of the theater is also present. Nearby sites include " Acquarossa" which was itself excavated in the years between 1956 and 1978 by the

Swedish Institute in Rome The Swedish Institute in Rome ( sv, Svenska institutet i Rom, it, Istituto Svedese di studi classici a Roma) is a research institution that serves as the base for archaeological excavations and other scientific research in Italy. It also pursues ...

Literature

The site appears in the famous ''The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria'' by George Dennis.
online
.

References

Other Projects

External links

* *
Archaeological excavations by Tuscia University
{{Coord, 42, 29, 19, N, 12, 7, 57, E, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title Etruscan sites Etruscan cities Destroyed cities Archaeological sites in Lazio Former populated places in Italy