Regio VI Umbria (also named Regio VI Umbria et Ager Gallicus) is the name for one of the
11 administrative regions into which the emperor
Augustus
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 ...
divided
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 ...
. The main source for the regions is the ''
Historia Naturalis'' of
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
, who informs his readers he is basing the geography of Italy on the ''descriptio Italiae'', "division of Italy," made by Augustus. The ''Regio Sexta'' ("6th Region") is called ''Umbria complexa agrumque Gallicam citra Ariminium'', "
Umbria
it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman)
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including the Gallic country this side of
Rimini
Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...
."
[.]
Umbria is named after an
Italic people
The Italic peoples were an ethnolinguistic group identified by their use of Italic languages, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
The Italic peoples are descended from the Indo-European speaking peoples who inhabited Italy from at leas ...
, the
Umbri
The Umbri were an Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the ancient Umbria.
Most ancient Umbrian cities were settled in the 9th-4th centuries BC on ...
, who were gradually subjugated by the Romans in the 4th through the 2nd centuries BC. Although it passed the name on to the modern region of
Umbria
it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman)
, population_note =
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, the two coincide only partially. Roman Umbria extended from
Narni
Narni (in Latin, Narnia) is an ancient hilltown and ''comune'' of Umbria, in central Italy, with 19,252 inhabitants (2017). At an altitude of 240 m (787 ft), it overhangs a narrow gorge of the Nera River in the province of Terni. ...
in the South, northeastward to the neighborhood of
Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...
on the Adriatic coast, thus including a large part of central Italy that now belongs to the
Marche
Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...
; at the same time, it excluded the Sabine country (generally speaking, the area around modern
Norcia
Norcia (), traditionally known in English by its Latin name of Nursia (), is a town and comune in the province of Perugia (Italy) in southeastern Umbria. Unlike many ancient towns, it is located in a wide plain abutting the Monti Sibillini, a su ...
) and the right bank of the
Tiber
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...
, which - being inhabited by
Etruscans
The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, rou ...
- formed part of ''Regio VII Etruria'': for example
Perusia
The ancient Perusia, now Perugia, first appears in history as one of the 12 confederate cities of Etruria. It is first mentioned in the account of the war of 310 or 309 BC between the Etruscans and the Romans. It took, however, an important par ...
(the modern
Perugia
Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia.
The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part o ...
) and
Orvieto
Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...
(its ancient name is unknown), two Etruscan cities - were not part of Roman Umbria; on the contrary
Sarsina
Sarsina ( rgn, Sêrsna) is an Italian town situated in the province of Forlì-Cesena, Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy. Its territory is included in the Tuscan-Romagnolo Apennines.
History
Ancient Sarsina or Sassina was a town of the Umbri. Capt ...
,
Plautus
Titus Maccius Plautus (; c. 254 – 184 BC), commonly known as Plautus, was a Roman playwright of the Old Latin period. His comedies are the earliest Latin literary works to have survived in their entirety. He wrote Palliata comoedia, the gen ...
birthplace, was considered to be "in Umbria", while today it is in the modern
province of Forlì-Cesena
The province of Forlì-Cesena ( it, provincia di Forlì-Cesena) is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Emilia–Romagna region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Forlì. The province has a population of 394,273 as of 2016 over an area of . ...
, in
Emilia-Romagna
egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title ...
.
The importance of Umbria in Roman and medieval times was intimately bound up with the
Via Flaminia
The Via Flaminia or Flaminian Way was an ancient Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to ''Ariminum'' (Rimini) on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans had ...
, the consular road that supplied Rome and served as a military highway into and out of the City: for this reason once the Roman empire collapsed, Umbria became a strategic battleground fought over by the Church, the Lombards and the Byzantines, and suffered consequently, becoming partitioned among them and disappearing from history. The modern use of "Umbria" is due to a renaissance of local identity in the 17th century.
Italic Umbria
Before its defeat by and assimilation to the Romans, Umbria was an independent region organized al a loose confederation of towns whose inhabitants spoke the
Umbrian language
Umbrian is an extinct Italic language formerly spoken by the Umbri in the ancient Italian region of Umbria. Within the Italic languages it is closely related to the Oscan group and is therefore associated with it in the group of Osco-Umbrian lan ...
. This circumstance prevailed in history during the early and middle
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic ( la, Res publica Romana ) was a form of government of Rome and the era of the classical Roman civilization when it was run through public representation of the Roman people. Beginning with the overthrow of the Roman Kin ...
. By the late republic, Umbria was part of Rome. The language was no longer generally spoken.
Umbria in the geographers of the empire
![Umbria et Picenum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Umbria_et_Picenum.JPG)
Like any other region, over the centuries ''Region VI'' changed its borders. These changes are reflected in the writings of the imperial geographers.
Pliny
The ''sexta regio'' is described in some detail by
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
.
[
]
Gallia togata
Gallia Togata went along the northern Adriatic coast of Italy in Marche
Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...
from Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...
to "this side of Rimini." The southernmost point of Gallia Togata is Ancona. He mentions the Aesis River (Esino
The Esino (, la, Aesis) is a river in the Marche region of central Italy.
Geography
The source of the river is east of Monte Penna in the province of Macerata near the border with the province of Ancona. The river flows east past Esanatoglia and ...
) north of there, Senagallia (Sinigaglia), Pisaurum (Pesaro
Pesaro () is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Marche, capital of the Province of Pesaro e Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the Marche, ...
) and then Fanum (Fano
Fano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the ''Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by popula ...
) at the mouth of the Metaurus (Metauro
The Metauro is a river in the Marche region of central Italy. It rises in the Apennine Mountains and runs east for or if the Meta is included as its uppermost reach.
The name of the river in Latin is ''Metaurus'' or ''Mataurus.'' In Ancient Gr ...
) River.
There follows a folk-etymologic statement concerning the name of the Umbri. People believe, he says, that they are named from the thunderstorms (''imbres'') of the deluge and therefore that they are the oldest people on Earth. (The ancient Greeks and Romans inherited a mythological tradition of a deluge independent of that of the Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
.) Some of his further statements appear to be equivocal, leading to some historical misidentification of Gallia Togata. He declares:"The largest part of this district was occupied by Sicilians and Liburnians especially the territories of Palma, Praetutia and Adria."
This Adria (''Hadrianus'') is Atri, Italy on the coast of Abruzzi
Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...
south of Ancona. ''Praetutia'' is ''Interamnia Praetutia'', capital city of the Petrutii. From Interamnea comes Teramo
Teramo (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Tèreme ) is a city and ''comune'' in the Italian region of Abruzzo, the capital of the province of Teramo.
The city, from Rome, is situated between the highest mountains of the Apennines (Gran Sasso d'Italia) ...
and from Praetutia comes ''Aprutium'', later ''Abruzzo''. The coast of Abruzzo was in Augustus' Region IV; however, Pliny does not say that the Abruzzo was the largest part of Gallia Togata, only that it was the largest part of the region settled by Sicilians and Liburnians. Similarly if ''Hadrianus'' is taken to be Adria in Veneto
Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona.
Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...
then Gallia Togata would appear to be a synonym for all Gallia Cisalpina
Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC.
After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...
. However, Veneto is not "this side of Rimini."
Pliny states his belief that the Umbrians once held the north Adriatic coast, displacing Sicilians and Liburnians, and were in turn displaced by the Etruscans. The Gauls expelled them. Romans colonized the Gallic coast to control it, hence "togata."
Umbria proper
For Umbria proper Pliny simply lists the settlements: Spello
Spello (in Antiquity: Hispellum) is an ancient town and ''comune'' (township) of Italy, in the province of Perugia in eastern-central Umbria, on the lower southern flank of Mt. Subasio. It is 6 km (4 mi) NNW of Foligno and 10 km (6 ...
, Todi
Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction.
I ...
, Amelia, Attiglio, Assisi
Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and ''comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio.
It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born aroun ...
, Arna, Iesi
Jesi, also spelled Iesi (), is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Ancona in Marche, Italy.
It is an important industrial and artistic center in the floodplain on the left (north) bank of the Esino river before its mouth on the Adriatic ...
, Camerino
Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona.
Camerino is home to the University of Cam ...
, Casuentillum, Carsulae
Carsulae is an archaeological site in the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is located approximately north of San Gemini, a small comune in the province of Terni.
Origins and History
Most historians fix the town's foundation about 220-219 ...
, Dolates Sallentini, Foligno
Foligno (; Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clitunno river system. It is located so ...
, Market of Flaminius, Market of Julius, Market Brenta, Fossombrone
Fossombrone is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Pesaro e Urbino, Marche, central Italy.
History
The ancient Roman colony of ''Forum Sempronii'' took its name from Gaius Sempronius Gracchus.
Near the Furlo Pass, during the Gothic War ...
, Gubbio
Gubbio () is an Italian town and ''comune'' in the far northeastern part of the Italian province of Perugia (Umbria). It is located on the lowest slope of Mt. Ingino, a small mountain of the Apennines.
History
The city's origins are very ancient. ...
, Terni
Terni ( , ; lat, Interamna (Nahars)) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is ...
, etc.
Ptolemy
Ptolemy, 2nd century geographer, does not lump Gallia Togata together with Umbria, but describes them as separate regions.
Gallia Togata
In Ptolemy, Ancona
Ancona (, also , ) is a city and a seaport in the Marche region in central Italy, with a population of around 101,997 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region. The city is located northeast of Rome, on the Adriatic S ...
is in Picenum
Picenum was a region of ancient Italy. The name is an exonym assigned by the Romans, who conquered and incorporated it into the Roman Republic. Picenum was ''Regio V'' in the Augustan territorial organization of Roman Italy. Picenum was also ...
. The strip of country "above" the Apennines, "extending as far as Ravenna
Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...
," is Gallia Togata. Thirteen towns are listed for it, which are south of the Po River
The Po ( , ; la, Padus or ; Ligurian language (ancient), Ancient Ligurian: or ) is the longest river in Italy. It flows eastward across northern Italy starting from the Cottian Alps. The river's length is either or , if the Maira (river), Mair ...
, but are as far inland as Piacenza
Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...
. This region is somewhat larger than the one of the same name in Augustus' time, comprising almost all of Emilia-Romagna
egl, Emigliàn (man) egl, Emiglièna (woman) rgn, Rumagnòl (man) rgn, Rumagnòla (woman) it, Emiliano (man) it, Emiliana (woman) or it, Romagnolo (man) it, Romagnola (woman)
, population_note =
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. The towns are: Piacenza
Piacenza (; egl, label= Piacentino, Piaṡëinsa ; ) is a city and in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy, and the capital of the eponymous province. As of 2022, Piacenza is the ninth largest city in the region by population, with over ...
, Fidenza
Fidenza (Parmigiano: ; locally ) is a town and ''comune ''in the province of Parma, Emilia-Romagna region, Italy. It has around 27,000 inhabitants. The town was renamed Fidenza in 1927, recalling its Roman name of ''Fidentia''; before, it was cal ...
, Brescello
Brescello (; in the local dialect, in the Reggio Emilia dialect) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Reggio Emilia in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about northwest of Bologna and about northwest of Reggio Emilia. ...
, Parma
Parma (; egl, Pärma, ) is a city in the northern Italian region of Emilia-Romagna known for its architecture, Giuseppe Verdi, music, art, prosciutto (ham), Parmigiano-Reggiano, cheese and surrounding countryside. With a population of 198,292 ...
, etc.
Umbria proper
For the Umbri Ptolemy has only nine towns, omitting some of the major ones: Arna, Spello
Spello (in Antiquity: Hispellum) is an ancient town and ''comune'' (township) of Italy, in the province of Perugia in eastern-central Umbria, on the lower southern flank of Mt. Subasio. It is 6 km (4 mi) NNW of Foligno and 10 km (6 ...
, Todi
Todi () is a town and ''comune'' (municipality) of the province of Perugia (region of Umbria) in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction.
I ...
, etc.
The cities of ''Regio VI''
''Regio VI'' included the territory of many towns of Umbrian, Gallic and Roman foundation. Some of them were originally Picentian centres. Pliny the Elder enumerates 44 cities in addition to other minor localities, of these cities today 25 belong to the Umbria
it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman)
, population_note =
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, ...
region and 16[In the present territory of the Marche region there were 35 Roman cities in Roman times, 19 in the ''Regio V'' and 16 in the ''Regio VI''. Source: Archeologia nelle Marche, Mario Luni, ]2003
File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry into Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an epidemic in China, and was a precursor to SARS-CoV-2; A des ...
, pag. 136, ISBN 88-392-0744-9 to the Marche
Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...
region, 2 to Romagna
Romagna ( rgn, Rumâgna) is an Italian historical region that approximately corresponds to the south-eastern portion of present-day Emilia-Romagna, North Italy. Traditionally, it is limited by the Apennines to the south-west, the Adriatic to t ...
and 1 to Tuscany
Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze'').
Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...
.
See also
* Umbria
it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman)
, population_note =
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, ...
* Umbri
The Umbri were an Italic people of ancient Italy. A region called Umbria still exists and is now occupied by Italian speakers. It is somewhat smaller than the ancient Umbria.
Most ancient Umbrian cities were settled in the 9th-4th centuries BC on ...
* Umbrian language
Umbrian is an extinct Italic language formerly spoken by the Umbri in the ancient Italian region of Umbria. Within the Italic languages it is closely related to the Oscan group and is therefore associated with it in the group of Osco-Umbrian lan ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
{{Coord missing, Italy
Geographical, historical and cultural regions of Italy
History of le Marche
History of Umbria
Umbri