Vescia was an ancient city of the Ausones (a subgroup of the

Aurunci The Aurunci were an Italic tribe that lived in southern Italy from around the 1st millennium BC. They were eventually defeated by Rome and subsumed into the Roman Republic during the second half of the 4th century BC. Identity Aurunci is the n ...

), in what is now central-southern

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 ...

, which was part of the so-called Auruncan Pentapolis and was destroyed by the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

in 340 BC. It was a fortified center, located perhaps on the left shore of the

Garigliano The Garigliano () is a river in central Italy. It forms at the confluence of the rivers Gari (also known as the Rapido) and Liri. Garigliano is actually a deformation of "Gari-Lirano" (which in Italian means something like "Gari from the Liri") ...

river, in the current ''

comuni The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of Cellole and Sessa Aurunca, where remains of pre-Romans walls have been found. According to some sources, it was located on the

Monte Massico Monte Massico (Latin: ''Mons Massicus'') is a mountain situated in the Italian Province of Caserta (Campania) between the rivers Volturno and Garigliano. Description Monte Massico is an Italian mountain ridge. In antiquity, it was described a ...

, where there also ancient remains including a subterranean aqueduct and large mosaic pavements. Two Latin inscriptions referring to Vescia, dating to 211-212 AD, have been found in Castelforte,

Formia Formia is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Latina, on the Mediterranean coast of Lazio, Italy. It is located halfway between Rome and Naples, and lies on the Roman-era Appian Way. It has a population of 38,095. Istat 2017 History ...

, in the southern

province of Latina The Province of Latina ( it, Provincia di Latina) is an area of local government at the level of province in the Republic of Italy. It is one of five provinces that form the region of Lazio. The provincial capital is the city of Latina. It is bo ...

. These are now in the Archaeological Museum of

Minturno 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), with a suburb on the opposite bank about from its mouth, at the point where the Via Appia crosse ...

References

Former populated places in Italy Archaeological sites in Campania {{Campania-geo-stub