Collatia was an ancient town of 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 ...

, c. 15 km northeast 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 ...

by the ''Via Collatina''. It appears in the legendary history of Rome as captured by

Tarquinius Priscus Lucius Tarquinius Priscus, or Tarquin the Elder, was the legendary fifth king of Rome and first of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned for thirty-eight years.Livy, ''ab urbe condita libri'', I Tarquinius expanded Roman power through military conqu ...

Vergil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

speaks of it as a Latin colony of Alba Longa. 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 esta ...

it had lost all importance; Strabo names it as a mere village, in private hands, while for

Pliny Pliny may refer to: People * Pliny the Elder (23–79 CE), ancient Roman nobleman, scientist, historian, and author of ''Naturalis Historia'' (''Pliny's Natural History'') * Pliny the Younger (died 113), ancient Roman statesman, orator, w ...

it was one of the lost cities of Latium. According to

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a 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 traditional founding in ...

, it was taken, along with its population and surrounding land, from the Sabines by Tarquinius Priscus at the conclusion of his

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

against them. Livy records the wording of the form of the town's surrender. The date of Tarquinius'

triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

over the Sabines, according to the

Fasti Triumphales The ''Acta Triumphorum'' or ''Triumphalia'', better known as the ''Fasti Triumphales'', or Triumphal Fasti, is a calendar of Roman magistrates honoured with a celebratory procession known as a ''triumphus'', or triumph, in recognition of an impor ...

, which Livy says occurred shortly after the surrender of Collatia, is 13 September, 585 BC. By 509 BC the town was governed by the Roman

Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus Lucius Tarquinius Ar. f. Ar. n. Collatinus was one of the first two consuls of the Roman Republic in 509 BC, together with Lucius Junius Brutus. The two men had led the revolution which overthrew the Roman monarchy. He was forced to resign hi ...

, who took his name from the town. It was the site of the rape of

Lucretia According to Roman tradition, Lucretia ( /luːˈkriːʃə/ ''loo-KREE-shə'', Classical Latin: ʊˈkreːtɪ.a died c. 510 BC), anglicized as Lucrece, was a noblewoman in ancient Rome, whose rape by Sextus Tarquinius (Tarquin) and subseq ...

in that year, and

records that the leaders of the

revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

which followed thereafter, gathered in Collatia to hear Lucretia's tale, then gathered the youth of Collatia to commence their revolution.

, '' Ab urbe condita'', 1.59 The site is undoubtedly to be sought on the hill now occupied by the large medieval fortified farmhouse of

Castello di Lunghezza The Castello di Lunghezza ("Lunghezza Castle") is a medieval fortification situated roughly east of Rome, Italy. It lies in Municipio VIII of Rome, and probably sits on the site of the ancient town of Collatia. History It was constructed in the ...

immediately to the south of the Anio, which occupies the site of the citadel joined by a narrow neck to the tableland to the southeast on which the city stood: this is protected by wide valleys on each side, and is isolated at the southeast end by a deep narrow valley enlarged by cutting. No remains are to be seen, but the site is admirably adapted for an ancient settlement. The road may be traced leading to the south end of this tableland, being identical with the modern road to Lunghezza for the middle part of its course only. The earlier identification with Castellaccio, c. 3.5 km to the southeast, is untenable.

References

* {{Coord, 41.9251, N, 12.6666, E, source:wikidata, display=title Ancient Italian history Roman sites in Lazio

See also

References