Lucus Feroniae was an ancient sanctuary or, literally

sacred grove Sacred groves or sacred woods are groves of trees and have special religious importance within a particular culture. Sacred groves feature in various cultures throughout the world. They were important features of the mythological landscape and ...

(''"

lucus In ancient Roman religion, a ''lūcus'' (, plural ''lūcī'') is a sacred grove. ''Lucus'' was one of four Latin words meaning in general "forest, woodland, grove" (along with ''nemus'', ''silva'', and ''saltus''), but unlike the others it wa ...

"''), dedicated to the

Sabine The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divide ...

goddess

Feronia Feronia may mean: * Feronia (mythology), a goddess of fertility in Roman and Etruscan mythology * ''Feronia'' (plant), a genus of plants * Feronia Inc., a plantations company operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo * Feronia (Sardinia) ...

, protector of freedmen, ex-slaves. It was located near to the ancient town of

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 ...

on the ancient

Via Tiberina The via Tiberina was an ancient Roman road, which from the north of Rome, going up the right bank of the Tiber valley, crossed the ancient Faliscan-Capenate countryside to reach the Sabina and continued towards Ocriculum in Umbria. Today, in the m ...

, in what is now the territory of the modern commune of

Capena Capena (until 1933 called Leprignano) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio region (central Italy). The town has borrowed its modern name from a pre-Roman and Roman settlement that was to its north. Geography Capena i ...

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

. It was partially excavated when the A1 Rome-Milan motorway which crosses it was built, and the archaeological site is adjacent to that of the ancient Roman

Villa dei Volusii The ancient Roman Villa dei Volusii or Villa dei Volusii-Saturnini is an archaeological site located in the municipality of Fiano Romano, next to the ancient Roman town and sanctuary of Lucus Feroniae, along the route of ancient Via Tiberina. ...

. The sanctuary was located near the later port on the Tiber, facing the

settlement of Cures nearby. Later the forum was built on its south side.

History

According to tradition it was a Faliscan colony. In the time of

Tullus Hostilius Tullus Hostilius (r. 672–640 BC) was the legendary third king of Rome. He succeeded Numa Pompilius and was succeeded by Ancus Marcius. Unlike his predecessor, Tullus was known as a warlike king who according to the Roman Historian Livy, believ ...

(r.672–640 BC) it was visited both by

Latins The Latins were originally an Italic tribe in ancient central Italy from Latium. As Roman power and colonization spread Latin culture during the Roman Republic. Latins culturally "Romanized" or "Latinized" the rest of Italy, and the word Latin ...

and

Sabines The Sabines (; lat, Sabini; it, Sabini, all exonyms) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divid ...

even though it was in Etruria. In the 3rd c. BC, the most famous religious festivities in Italy took place here, with great yearly gatherings of worshippers and excavations have shown that the town expanded considerably in this period. Due to its rich contents, the sanctuary was plundered by

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 ...

in 211 BC. The rebuilt sanctuary was struck by lightning in 196 BC. The town surrounding the sanctuary was developed with rectangular ''

insulae The Latin word ''insula'' (literally meaning "island", plural ''insulae'') was used in Roman cities to mean either a city block in a city plan, i.e. a building area surrounded by four streets, or, later, a type of apartment building that occup ...

'' and streets probably through

Gnaeus Egnatius Gnaeus Egnatius (fl. second century BC) was a Roman senator who gave his name to the Via Egnatia. Biography Gnaeus Egnatius, the son of Gaius Egnatius, was a plebeian and a member of the tribe Stellatina. A member of the Roman Senate, he first tu ...

, governor of Macedonia and builder of the

via Egnatia The Via Egnatia was a road constructed by the Romans in the 2nd century BC. It crossed Illyricum, Macedonia, and Thracia, running through territory that is now part of modern Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . of ...

. Between 143 and 129 BC the sanctuary was rebuilt in stone as a Hellenistic temple of

corinthian order The Corinthian order (Greek: Κορινθιακός ρυθμός, Latin: ''Ordo Corinthius'') is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of Ancient Greek architecture and Roman architecture. The other two are the Doric order ...

and with porticos surrounding the sacred area. It was later destroyed perhaps in the Social Wars as were many other Italic sanctuaries after 90 BC. The settlement continued to grow as a market town with the trade done there on religious holidays. As Strabo (writing around 10 AD) says: In

Imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

times the sanctuary became part of the larger town of Feronia under the radical restructuring that the site underwent as ''Colonia Iulia Felix Lucoferensis'' after receiving a colony of

Octavian Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

's veterans.

The site

Inscriptions show that the sanctuary or ''

'' of Feronia lay behind the eastern wall of the forum and was accessible through a small portico built in the early Augustan period by the

duumvir Diarchy (from Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally misspelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate (from Latin ', "the office of ...

A. Ottavius.M. Torelli, LUCUS FERONIAE, Enciclopedia dell' Arte Antica (1973) The sanctuary consisted of the sacred wood (lucus), the temple and a large altar: the temple of an Italic plan has some of the ashlar foundations and parts of the facade with fluted columns, the architrave and the tympanum, all likely to be related to the reconstruction following Hannibal's sack. The altar is aligned with the entrance portico on the Forum; a further entrance seems to be located further north on the via Tiberina. In the 1960-61 excavations, remains of the votive

stipa ''Stipa'' is a genus of around 300 large perennial hermaphroditic grasses collectively known as feather grass, needle grass, and spear grass. They are placed in the subfamily Pooideae and the tribe Stipeae, which also contains many species form ...

were also found, with anatomical clay material, ceramics, bronzes and jewels. The wall of the

temenos A ''temenos'' (Greek: ; plural: , ''temenē''). is a piece of land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, such as a sanctuary, holy gro ...

on the northeast was also found, consisting of a sturdy structure in

opus incertum ''Opus'' (pl. ''opera'') is a Latin word meaning "work". Italian equivalents are ''opera'' (singular) and ''opere'' (pl.). Opus or OPUS may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Opus number, (abbr. Op.) specifying order of (usually) publicatio ...

with beautiful plaster with imitation marble stucco. A museum houses many finds from the site. The

is located nearby.

External links

Gladiators Rescued from Tomb Raiders Lie Forgotten under SheetsSoprintendenza Beni Archeologici Etruria Meridionale Sito Istituzionale > AREE ARCHEOLOGICHE > Villa dei Volusii

References

Roman towns and cities in Italy Etruscan religion Roman sites in Lazio Archaeological sites in Lazio National museums of Italy {{Etruria-stub

History

The site

See also

External links

References