Antium was an

ancient Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history through late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the development of Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient h ...

coastal town in Latium, south of Rome. An

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

was founded by people of

Latial culture The Latial culture ranged approximately over ancient Old Latium. The Iron Age Latial culture is associated with the processes of formation of the Latins, the culture was likely therefore to identify a phase of the socio-political self-consciousne ...

(11th century BC or the beginning of the 1st millennium BC), then it was the main stronghold of the

Volsci The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...

people until it was conquered by the Romans. In some versions of Rome's foundation myth, Antium was founded by Anteias, son of

Odysseus In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, Odysseus ( ; , ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; ), is a legendary Greeks, Greek king of Homeric Ithaca, Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, epic poem, the ''Odyssey''. Od ...

. The territory of Roman Antium almost entirely corresponded to modern

Anzio Anzio (, also ; ) is a town and ''comune'' on region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside resorts, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola, and Ve ...

and

Nettuno Nettuno is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy, south of Rome. A resort city and agricultural center on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it has a population of approximately 50,000. Economy It has a ...

.P. Brandizzi Vittucci, ''Antium: Anzio e Nettuno in epoca romana'', Roma, Bardi Editore (2000). .

Location

The Latin-volscian town stood in the Capo d'Anzio (modern Anzio), on a higher ground and somewhat away from the shore, though it extended down to it. This was defended by a deep ditch, which can still be traced, and by walls, a portion of which, on the eastern side, constructed of rectangular blocks of

tufa Tufa is a variety of limestone formed when carbonate minerals precipitation (chemistry), precipitate out of water in ambient temperature, unheated rivers or lakes. hot spring, Geothermally heated hot springs sometimes produce similar (but less ...

, was brought to light in 1897. The fortification of the town would included the acropolis, to which it would be adjacent to the east, isolated but connected. The Latin colony of 467 BC, of which it will be said later, would be installed alongside the fortified Latin-volscian oppidum, also to the east. A coeval port town, Caenon, was the port under the control of Antium (which did not have a natural harbour of its own): according to alternative theories, the port of Caenon would be located in the Capo d'Anzio,G. Lugli, ''Saggio sulla topografia dell'antica Antium'', Roma (1940). or the port town very north of it, or the town on a hill near Nettuno to the east, and the port over the mouth of the nearby river Loricina. The settlement of Roman Antium was certainly present in the area of the Capo d'Anzio (in particular, a presumed extensive town since the mid-republican age, the imperial colony and the great harbour of

Nero Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus ( ; born Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus; 15 December AD 37 – 9 June AD 68) was a Roman emperor and the final emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, reigning from AD 54 until his ...

), but a parallel agricultural settlement, with the same name, was likely to be in the same position as modern Nettuno since the colony of 338 BC; so from 60 AD the ''colonia Antium'' of Nero in the Capo d'Anzio would coexisted with a supposed, more ancient, ''civitas Antium'' in Nettuno, which in the 4th century AD would have been the only real town: a thesis that has found some perplexitiesB. Cacciotti, ''Testimonianze di culti orientali ad Antium'', on B. P. Benetucci (curator), ''Culti orientali tra scavo e collezionismo'', Roma, Artemide (2008). or an opposition.H. Solin, ''Arctos: Acta Philologica Fennica'', vol. 36, Helsinki (2002), pp. 210-211.

History

Volscian Antium

As said in the beginning, for a long time Antium was the capital of the Antiates Volsci, on the Thyrrenian coast. In 493 BC - the same year that, according to a theory, the Volsci likely settled in the town - the Roman consul

Postumus Cominius Auruncus Postumus Cominius Auruncus was a two-time consul of the early Roman Republic. In 501 BC, Cominius was consul with Titus Larcius, who Livy says was appointed as the first ''dictator'' of Rome. Other sources indicate the beginnings of hostilities ...

fought and defeated two armies from Antium and as a result captured the Volscian towns of Longula, Pollusca and

Corioli Corioli was a town in ancient times in the territory of the Volsci in central Italy, in Latium adiectum. Etymology Linguist Roger Woodard, based on McCone, suggests the name of the town, ''Corioli'', may derive from the Proto-Indo-European root *' ...

(to the north of Antium). According to

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

the Roman leader

Coriolanus ''Coriolanus'' ( or ) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Gnaeus Marcius Coriolanus. Shakespeare worked on it during the same ...

, who fought at Corioli, took refuge at Antium to the noble Attius Tullius Aufidius, when the Roman had been accused of

disloyalty Loyalty is a devotion to a country, philosophy, group, or person. Philosophers disagree on what can be an object of loyalty, as some argue that loyalty is strictly interpersonal and only another human being can be the object of loyalty. The de ...

to Rome and the Volsci. Aufidius obtained consent that, by Volscian hand, Coriolanus was first tried, then

assassinate Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

d before the end of the trial. In 469 BC the town Caenon was destroyed by the Roman consul Titus Numicius Priscus. In 468 BC Antium was captured by the Roman consul

Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus (513 BCafter 423 BC) was a Roman statesman and general who served as consul six times. Titus Quinctius was a member of the gens Quinctia, one of the oldest patrician families in Rome. He was the son of L ...

following a war started by the Volsci, and the mentioned Latin colony was planted there the next year. Three Roman ex-consuls were appointed as commissioners to allocate the lands (triumviri coloniae deducendae) amongst Roman colonists. They were Titus Quinctius, the consul of the previous year who had captured Antium from the Volsci; Aulus Verginius Tricostus Caeliomontanus, the consul of 469 BC; and Publius Furius Medullinus Fusus, the consul of 472 BC. In 464 BC the Antiates were suspected of allying with the

Aequi 300px, Location of the Aequi (Equi) in central Italy, 5th century BC. The Aequi were an Italic tribe on a stretch of the Apennine Mountains to the east of Latium in central Italy who appear in the early history of ancient Rome. After a long stru ...

against Rome. The chief men of Antium were summoned to Rome but they did not give adequate explanations. Antium was asked to contribute emergency troops for the Roman

war War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

against the Aequi, however the force of 1,000 troops from Antium arrived too late to help. In 338 BC the consul Gaius Menius Publius suddenly attacked and defeated the troops of Aricia,

Lanuvium Lanuvium, modern Lanuvio, is an ancient city of Latium vetus, some southeast of Rome, a little southwest of the Via Appia. Situated on an isolated hill projecting south from the main mass of the Alban Hills, Lanuvium commanded an extensive view ...

and Velitres as they were joining the Antiates next to the river Astura. Antium was finally defeated and its warships seized, a part taken to the arsenals in Rome, while the others burned. The town was banned from navigation, and Gaius Menius had the

rostra The Rostra () was a large platform built in the city of Rome that stood during the republican and imperial periods. Speakers would stand on the rostra and face the north side of the Comitium towards the senate house and deliver orations to t ...

of the burned ships mounted in the

Roman Forum A forum (Latin: ''forum'', "public place outdoors", : ''fora''; English : either ''fora'' or ''forums'') was a public square in a municipium, or any civitas, of Ancient Rome reserved primarily for the vending of goods; i.e., a marketplace, alon ...

as ornaments of the speaker's platform thenceforth called the ''Rostra''.

Roman Antium

MNR 307 - Mosaico parietale da Anzio 1010467

In 338 BC Antium became a '' colonia'' with Roman citizenship of the Antiates,Livy, viii. 14. and in 317 BC it became a ''

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...

''. The Roman colony had '' duumvirs'', and ''

quaestor A quaestor ( , ; ; "investigator") was a public official in ancient Rome. There were various types of quaestors, with the title used to describe greatly different offices at different times. In the Roman Republic, quaestors were elected officia ...

s'' were also present as magistrates. During the civil war against

Gaius Marius Gaius Marius (; – 13 January 86 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. Victor of the Cimbrian War, Cimbric and Jugurthine War, Jugurthine wars, he held the office of Roman consul, consul an unprecedented seven times. Rising from a fami ...

, Antium -

breadbasket The breadbasket of a country or of a region is an area which, because of the richness of the soil and/or advantageous climate, produces large quantities of wheat or other grain. Rice bowl is a similar term used to refer to Southeast Asia; Calif ...

of Rome - was allied with

Sulla Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix (, ; 138–78 BC), commonly known as Sulla, was a Roman people, Roman general and statesman of the late Roman Republic. A great commander and ruthless politician, Sulla used violence to advance his career and his co ...

: in 87 BC it suffered a surprise attack and was devastated by the Marian troops, with many citizen deaths. With the expansion of

Roman Republic The Roman Republic ( ) was the era of Ancient Rome, classical Roman civilisation beginning with Overthrow of the Roman monarchy, the overthrow of the Roman Kingdom (traditionally dated to 509 BC) and ending in 27 BC with the establis ...

Antium was just far enough away to be insulated from the riots and tumults of Rome. The Romans built magnificent seaside villas there and their remains are conspicuous all along the shore, both to the east and to the northwest of the town.

Gaius Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( 13 April 68 BC – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. ...

also had a villa. Many ancient masterpieces of sculpture have been found there: the '' Fanciulla d'Anzio'', the ''

Borghese Gladiator The ''Borghese Gladiator'' is a Hellenistic life-size marble sculpture portraying a swordsman, created at Ephesus about 100 BC, now on display at the Louvre. Sculptor The sculpture is signed on the pedestal by Agasias, son of Dositheus, who i ...

'' (in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

) and the ''

Apollo Belvedere The ''Apollo Belvedere'' (also called the ''Belvedere Apollo'', ''Apollo of the Belvedere'', or ''Pythian Apollo'') is a celebrated marble sculpture from classical antiquity. The work has been dated to mid-way through the 2nd century A.D. and is ...

'' (in the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

) were all discovered in the ruins of villas at Antium. When Cicero returned from exile, it was at Antium that he reassembled the battered remains of his libraries, where the scrolls would be secure. Of the villas, the most famous was the imperial villa, known as Domus Neroniana (Villa of Nero), which was used by each emperor in turn, up to the Severans and which extended some along the seafront of the Capo d'Anzio. Augustus received a delegation from Rome there to acclaim him ''Pater patriae'' ("Father of his Country"). The Julian and Claudian emperors frequently visited it; both Emperor

Caligula Gaius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), also called Gaius and Caligula (), was Roman emperor from AD 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the Roman general Germanicus and Augustus' granddaughter Ag ...

and

were born in Antium. Nero razed the villa on the site to rebuild it on a more massive scale and according to an imperial style. Including a theatre were built in Antium. In 60 AD Nero also founded a colony of veterans and built a new harbour, the projecting moles of which still exist. Of the famous temple of

Fortune Fortune may refer to: General * Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck * Luck * Wealth * Fate * Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling * Fortune, in a fortune cookie Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Fortune'' (19 ...

(

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

, ''Od''. i. 35) no remains are known, but its location is assumed in the Capo d'Anzio, area of the Domus Neroniana.

Late Antiquity

There are records of the participation of a few bishops of Antium in synods held in Rome: Gaudentius in 465, Felix in 487, Vindemius in 499 and 501. Barbarian incursions in the 6th century put an end to its existence as a residential

bishopric In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. Accordingly, Antium is today listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

Middle Ages

Attacked by the

Vandals The Vandals were a Germanic people who were first reported in the written records as inhabitants of what is now Poland, during the period of the Roman Empire. Much later, in the fifth century, a group of Vandals led by kings established Vand ...

Gaiseric Gaiseric ( – 25 January 477), also known as Geiseric or Genseric (; reconstructed Vandalic: ) was king of the Vandals and Alans from 428 to 477. He ruled over a kingdom and played a key role in the decline of the Western Roman Empire during ...

(5th century), the

Goths The Goths were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe. They were first reported by Graeco-Roman authors in the 3rd century AD, living north of the Danube in what is ...

Vitiges Vitiges (also known as Vitigis, Vitigo, Witiges or Wittigis, and in Old Norse as Vigo) (died 542) was king of Ostrogothic Italy from 536 to 540. He succeeded to the throne of Italy in the early stages of the Gothic War of 535–554, as Belisa ...

(6th century), and then by the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

, in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

Antium was deserted in favour of Nettuno, which maintained the legacy of the ancient town. Nettuno is usually attributed only a medieval origin, but in the

modern era The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...

it was considered a natural heir, a continuation of Antium;J. Hondius, Nova et accurata Italiae hodiernae descriptio, Apud B. et A. Elsevir, 1627, pp. 164-165: a map illustrating ''Neptunium olim Antium'', "Nettuno, once Antium". a view taken up by a contemporary orientation.

Notes

External links

Illustrated reconstruction of Nero's Villa
.
{{Authority control Archaeological parks Roman towns and cities in Italy Archaeological sites in Lazio Roman sites in Lazio Ostia (Rome) Mithraea Former populated places in Italy Mediterranean port cities and towns in Italy Roman harbors Roman harbors in Italy Volsci Anzio