Minturnae Aquaduct.JPG
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Minturno is a city and '' comune'' in the southern Lazio, Italy, situated on the north west bank of the Garigliano (known in antiquity as the
Liris The Liri (Latin Liris or Lyris, previously, Clanis; Greek: ) is one of the principal rivers of central Italy, flowing into the Tyrrhenian Sea a little below Minturno under the name Garigliano. Source and route The Liri's source is in the Mon ...
), with a suburb on the opposite bank about from its mouth, at the point where the Via Appia crossed it by the bridge called ''Pons Tiretius''. It has a station on the Rome- Naples main railway line.


History

The nearby sanctuary of Marica with an Italic tuff temple was built about 500 BC. Ancient Minturnae was one of the three towns of the
Ausones "Ausones" (; ), the original Greek form for the Latin "Aurunci", was a name applied by Greek writers to describe various Italic peoples inhabiting the southern and central regions of Italy. The term was used, specifically, to denote the partic ...
which made war against Rome in 314 BC, in the Second Samnite War, the other two being Ausona (modern
Sessa Aurunca Sessa Aurunca is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy. It is located on the south west slope of the extinct volcano of Roccamonfina, by rail west north west of Caserta and east of Formia. It is situated o ...
) and
Vescia Vescia was an ancient city of the Ausones (a subgroup of the Aurunci), in what is now central-southern Italy, which was part of the so-called Auruncan Pentapolis and was destroyed by the Romans in 340 BC. It was a fortified center, located perhaps ...
. It became a Roman settlement as a fort (''Castrum Minturnae'') in about 296 BC. The early town grew around the square fort with polygonal stone walls on the side of the river and on the contemporary via Appia as a military road. In the 3rd c. BC the town expanded with new tufa walls with towers. In 88 BC Gaius Marius hid himself in the marshes of Minturnae in his flight from
Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman general and statesman. He won the first large-scale civil war in Roman history and became the first man of the Republic to seize power through force. Sulla had ...
. The city was radically transformed when it became a '' colonia'' under Augustus when the urban tract of the via Appia was enhanced with
portico A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
s, temples to Augustus and
Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...
were built and the theatre was rebuilt. The city was further expanded under
Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
with thermal baths, the macellum,
nymphaeum A ''nymphaeum'' or ''nymphaion'' ( grc, νυμφαῖον), in ancient Greece and Rome, was a monument consecrated to the nymphs, especially those of springs. These monuments were originally natural grottoes, which tradition assigned as habit ...
and aqueduct. It was destroyed by the Langobards in 590. The city was probably also destroyed in 883 by the
Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...
, who in the following years held the surrounding plain. Its low site was increasingly abandoned by the population in favour of that of the modern town of Minturno (known as Traetto or Traietto, from Latin ''Traiectum'', until the 19th century), above sea-level. The Saracens were ousted by the Catholic league after the Battle of Garigliano (915), and Minturnae passed to
Gaeta Gaeta (; lat, Cāiēta; Southern Laziale: ''Gaieta'') is a city in the province of Latina, in Lazio, Southern Italy. Set on a promontory stretching towards the Gulf of Gaeta, it is from Rome and from Naples. The town has played a consp ...
. Two years later, however, it was again ravaged, this time by the
Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...
. In 1058 it was partly acquired by the
Abbey of Montecassino An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...
, but soon after was conquered by the Normans. In the 13th century it went to Richard V dell'Aquila, duke of Gaeta. Subsequently, it was a Caetani possession, and later assigned by
Charles VIII of France Charles VIII, called the Affable (french: l'Affable; 30 June 1470 – 7 April 1498), was King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13.Paul Murray Kendall, ''Louis XI: The Universal Spider'' (Ne ...
to his general Prospero Colonna. It was a Carafa fief until 1806, and was integrated in the newly formed Kingdom of Italy on 30 October 1861. Minturno was part of the Gustav Line during World War II, and suffered heavy bombing.


Main sights


Roman remains

Many of the main momumental buildings of the ancient city are visible at their site outside the modern city. The impressive Roman remains mainly date to the
Hadrian Hadrian (; la, Caesar Trâiānus Hadriānus ; 24 January 76 – 10 July 138) was Roman emperor from 117 to 138. He was born in Italica (close to modern Santiponce in Spain), a Roman ''municipium'' founded by Italic settlers in Hispania B ...
ic period (built over earlier buildings) and consist of the: * theatre in '' opus reticulatum'' * aqueduct in '' opus reticulatum'', the
quoin Quoins ( or ) are masonry blocks at the corner of a wall. Some are structural, providing strength for a wall made with inferior stone or rubble, while others merely add aesthetic detail to a corner. According to one 19th century encyclopedia, t ...
s of which are of various colours arranged in patterns to produce a decorative effect. A unique feature was that its '' castellum aquae'' (distribution basin) was part of the central pier of the city gate.Hansgeorg Bankel, The Augustan Aqueduct of Minturnae in Southern Latium, https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190690526.003.0003 Pages 43–44 in Building the Classical World: Bauforschung as a Contemporary Approach, Elisha Ann Dumser (ed.), Dorian Borbonus (ed.) It was more than 11 Km long from its source at the springs of Capodacqua. * thermal baths with large swimming pool * Two ''
Fora The Argentine Regional Workers' Federation (Spanish: ''Federación Obrera Regional Argentina''; abbreviated FORA), founded in , was Argentina's first national trade unions in Argentina, labor confederation. It split into two wings in 1915, the la ...
''; Republican and Imperial. The imperial forum was built under the reconstruction by Augustus, opposite the republican forum. On its eastern side were later the most important public buildings: the '' curia'' and the '' basilica'' * Appian Way as the decumanus maximus with monumental colonnade though the centre of the city * '' macellum'' (meat market) * '' Capitolium'', built in Italic style after 191 BC, on the south of the Republican forum next to the Appian Way. It is similar to other Capitolia of this period at Pyrgi and Cosa and most likely was an affirmation of Roman loyalty and identity * amphitheatre (now almost entirely demolished, but better preserved in the 18th century) Close to the mouth of the river, about 2km distant, was the sacred grove of the Italic goddess Marica.


Other sights

*The baronial Castle (C. 9th century) housed famous figures such as St. Thomas Aquinas,
Isabella Colonna Isabella Colonna (1513 – 1570) was an Italian noblewoman, a member of the Colonna family. Biography She was the only daughter of Vespasiano Colonna, duke of Traetto (modern Minturno) and count of Fondi, and Beatrice Appiani: However, she grew u ...
and
Giulia Gonzaga Giulia Gonzaga (1513 – 16 April 1566) was an Italian ruler and letter writer of the Renaissance. She was the countess regnant of Rodigo as the heir of her late spouse between 1528 and 1541. Biography Giulia was born in Gazzuolo (near Mantua) ...
*The church of St. Francis, built around 1360 by Roffredo III Caetani, nephew of
Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of b ...
*The church of ''Annunziata'' (c. 1300), damaged by the
Turk Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
s pirates in 1552, by the French-Polish troops in 1799 and by a fire in 1888. In 1930 a restoration removed all the Baroque additions and showed the presence of ancient frescoes. *The church of St. Peter (11th-12th centuries). The façade is preceded by a staircase and a porch with 4 arcades (14th century). The interior has a nave and two aisles divided by tall columns with ogival arcs. The right aisle houses the notable Baroque Sacrament Chapel (1587), decorated with polychrome marbles. Other art pieces include a candelabra (1264) with mosaic decoration, and the Pergagum, with antique columns and 13th-century mosaics. It has a three-floor belfry. *Ferdinandeo Bridge over the River Garigliano was the first iron catenary suspension bridge built in Italy, and one of the earliest in continental Europe. This bridge, which was technologically advanced for its age, was built in 1832 by the Bourbon Kingdom of Two Sicilies. The engineer who designed the bridge was Luigi Giura. The bridge has been rebuilt in recent time (1998), in fact was mined during the Second World War. The Bourbon bridge on the Garigliano., thumb The suburb of Scauri, on the
Gulf of Gaeta The Gulf of Gaeta is a body of water on the west coast of Italy and part of the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is bounded by Cape Circeo in the north, Ischia and the Gulf of Naples in the south, and the Pontine Islands in the west. The gulf is named for th ...
, may take its name from the Roman consul Marcus Aemilius Scaurus, who had a sumptuous villa here. It has some notable ancient watchtowers, including the ''Torre Saracena'', at the mouth of the river Garigliano, erected between 961 and 981, commemorates a victory gained by Pope John X and his allies over the Saracens in 915 (see battle of Garigliano). It is built of Roman materials from Minturnae, including several inscriptions and sculptures.


Emigrants

In the early 20th century, many residents of Minturno and the villages around it emigrated to Stamford, Connecticut, in the United States. A club for Minturnese immigrants, the Minturno Social Club was founded in the
West Side of Stamford The West Side of Stamford is the area immediately west of Downtown Stamford, covering the area north of Interstate 95 between the Greenwich town line and the Rippowam River. The northern boundary is commonly taken as West Broad Street and Palmers ...
in 1939 (and has since moved to the Springdale district) and only made up of members whose families hailed from Minturno, had 120 members in 2007. A Minturnese tradition, the
Festa de la Regna Festa may refer to: *Feast day for a Christian saint, in Italian, Portuguese, Galician, and Maltese *Festa della Repubblica, the Italian National Day and Republic Day Music * ''Festa'' (album), by Ivete Sangalo, or the title song, 2001 * "Festa" ...
("Festival of Wheat") celebration of harvest day and honoring the
Madonna delle Grazie Our Lady of Graces (Italian: ''Madonna delle Grazie'' or ''Nostra Signora delle Grazie'') or Saint Mary of Graces (Italian: ''Santa Maria delle Grazie'') is a devotion to the Virgin Mary in the Roman Catholic Church. Several churches with this d ...
, is still honored in Stamford with an annual procession.Stelloh, Tim, "Festival brings minturno to the fore: People with links to Italian region carry on ancient customes", article in ''
The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...
'', of
Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...
, July 9, 2007, page A7, Stamford edition
Michael Fedele, former lieutenant governor of Connecticut, was born in Minturno in 1955.


Twin towns

* Stamford, USA, since 2008


References


Sources

* *


External links

*
{{Authority control Municipalities of the Province of Latina Roman sites in Lazio Baroque architecture in Lazio