Labici or Labicum or Lavicum ( la, Lăbīcī or ) was an ancient city 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 ...

, in what is now 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 ...

, lying in the territory of the modern

Monte Compatri Monte Compatri () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italy, Italian region Latium, located about southeast of Rome on the Alban Hills. It is one of the Castelli Romani. History Monte Compatri has been identifie ...

, about 20 km SE from

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 ...

, on the northern slopes of the

Alban Hills The Alban Hills ( it, Colli Albani) are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcano, volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio. The high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak the centre of the caldera, bu ...

. Exact location of the original city is however disputed. It occurs among the thirty cities of the

Latin League The Latin League (c. 7th century BC – 338 BC)Stearns, Peter N. (2001) ''The Encyclopedia of World History'', Houghton Mifflin. pp. 76–78. . was an ancient confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the region of Latium near the ancient c ...

, and it is said to have joined the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi ( grc, Αἴκουοι and Αἴκοι) were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early his ...

and 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 ...

in 419 BC and to have been stormed by the Romans in 418 BC. After this it does not appear in history, and in the time of

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

and

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called "Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could see ...

was almost entirely deserted if not destroyed. Traces of its ancient walls have been noticed. Its place was taken by the ''respublica Lavicanorum Quintanensium'', the post-station established in the lower ground on the

Via Labicana The Via Labicana was an ancient road of Italy, leading east-southeast from Rome. It seems possible that the road at first led to Tusculum, that it was then extended to Labici, and later still became a road for through traffic; it may even have su ...

, a little SW of the modern village of

Colonna The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in medieval and Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Martin V) and many other church and politica ...

, the site of which is attested by various inscriptions and by the course of the road itself. Julius Caesar had a villa near here."And yet in September he went to his estate near Labicum and wrote his testament." -- Weinstock, Stefan. Divus Julius. London: Oxford/Clarendon Press. 1971. Page 198.

References

Sources

{{EB1911, wstitle=Labici, volume=16, page=5 Roman sites in Lazio Former populated places in Italy Catholic titular sees in Europe