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Antium

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Antium
Plan of Antium
Antium is located in Italy
Antium
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Map
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LocationAnzio and Nettuno, Rome, Italy
RegionLazio
Coordinates41°26′52.61″N 12°37′44.59″E / 41.4479472°N 12.6290528°E / 41.4479472; 12.6290528
TypeSettlement
History
Founded11th century BC – early 1st millennium BC
AbandonedMiddle Ages
CulturesLatial culture, Volsci, Ancient Rome
Site notes
ConditionRuined
OwnershipPublic
Public accessYes

Antium was an ancient coastal town in Latium, located south of Rome. Initially settled by the Latial culture in the 11th century BC or early 1st millennium BC,[1] it later became the principal stronghold of the Volsci until its conquest by Rome.

According to one version of the Roman foundation myth, Antium was founded by Anteias, a son of Odysseus.

The territory of Roman Antium roughly corresponds to the modern municipalities of Anzio and Nettuno.[2][3][4]

Location

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The ancient Latin-Volscian[1] town was located on the Capo d'Anzio, an elevated area slightly inland from the coast, though its settlement extended to the shoreline. The site was defended by a deep ditch—still partially visible—and fortified walls. A section of the eastern wall, built with rectangular blocks of tufa, was uncovered in 1897.[5] The fortifications included an acropolis to the east, likely connected but distinct. The Latin colony established in 467 BC appears to have been built adjacent to this pre-existing Volscian settlement.[3][2]

The nearby port of Caenon served as Antium’s harbor, as the town itself lacked a natural one.[6] The location of Caenon is debated: it may have been on the Capo d'Anzio,[2] further north,[7] or on a hill near Nettuno, with a port at the mouth of the river Loricina.[3]

Roman Antium was centered at Capo d'Anzio—especially from the mid-Republican period onward, with the imperial colony and Nero’s harbor—but may have coexisted with a more ancient agricultural settlement near present-day Nettuno. From 60 AD, Nero's colonia Antium in Capo d'Anzio likely existed alongside an older civitas Antium in Nettuno, which appears to have remained inhabited into the 4th century AD.[3][8] This theory has met with skepticism and opposition.[9][4]

History

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Volscian Period

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Antium served as the capital of the Antiates Volsci on the Tyrrhenian coast.[10] In 493 BC—possibly the year of Volscian settlement[1]—the Roman consul Postumus Cominius Auruncus defeated two armies from Antium and captured the towns of Longula, Pollusca, and Corioli.[11]

According to Plutarch, the Roman leader Coriolanus fled to Antium and was hosted by the Volscian noble Attius Tullus Aufidius, but was ultimately assassinated.[12]

In 469 BC, the port of Caenon was destroyed by Roman consul Titus Numicius Priscus.[13] In 468 BC, Titus Quinctius Capitolinus Barbatus captured Antium, and in 467 BC a Latin colony was founded. Land distribution was overseen by ex-consuls Aulus Verginius Tricostus Caeliomontanus, Publius Furius Medullinus Fusus, and Quinctius himself.[14]

In 464 BC, Antiates were suspected of conspiring with the Aequi. Their explanations to Roman authorities were deemed unsatisfactory, and though ordered to provide troops, their forces arrived too late.[15]

In 338 BC, Antium was decisively defeated. Its warships were seized or burned, and navigation from the town was banned. The bronze rostra of destroyed ships were mounted in the Roman Forum, giving the speaker’s platform its name.[16][17]

Roman Period

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Mosaic from the nymphaeum
Ruins of the Domus Neroniana

After 338 BC, Antium became a Roman colony, and in 317 BC it was designated a municipium.[18] Local governance was administered by duumvirs[19] and quaestors.[2]

During the civil wars, Antium, as a Roman grain supplier, sided with Sulla but was attacked and devastated by Marian forces in 87 BC.[20][3]

Antium later became a resort town, hosting Roman aristocrats who built elaborate villas along the coast. Famous sculptures such as the Fanciulla d'Anzio, the Borghese Gladiator (now in the Louvre), and the Apollo Belvedere (in the Vatican Museums) were discovered here. Cicero restored his library at Antium following his exile.

The imperial villa, Domus Neroniana, extended about 800 metres (2,600 ft) along Capo d’Anzio and was used by emperors through the Severan dynasty.[5] Augustus was acclaimed Pater patriae there, and both Caligula and Nero were born in the town. Nero later rebuilt the villa and constructed a theater. In 60 AD, he founded a veterans’ colony and built a harbor whose piers are still visible.[21]

No trace remains of the famed temple to Fortuna referenced by Horace, though it is believed to have stood near the Domus Neroniana.[5][3][9]

Late Antiquity

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Several bishops from Antium are recorded in synods held at Rome: Gaudentius (465), Felix (487), and Vindemius (499 and 501). Invasions in the 6th century ended its status as a residential bishopric. It is now a titular see.[22]

Middle Ages

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Antium was attacked by the Vandals under Gaiseric, the Goths under Vitiges, and later by Saracen raiders.[23] These incursions contributed to its decline in favor of Nettuno, which inherited its legacy.[5]

Though often described as a medieval foundation,[4] Nettuno was viewed in early modern and modern eras as Antium’s successor.[24][3]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference Pensword2014 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference Lugli1940 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Cite error: The named reference Brandizzi2000 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ a b c H. Solin, Arctos: Acta Philologica Fennica, vol. 36, Helsinki (2002), pp. 210–211.
  5. ^ a b c d  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Antium". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 147.
  6. ^ Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854), William Smith, "Antium"; The Topography of Rome and Its Vicinity, Sir William Gell (1846), "Antium"; Handbook for Travellers in Central Italy, John Murray (1843), "Nettuno", p. 534.
  7. ^ G. Cifani, A. Guidi, A. M. Jaia, Nuove ricerche nel territorio di Colle Rotondo ad Anzio, in G. Ghini (ed.), Lazio e Sabina 7 (Rome, 2010), Edizioni Quasar, 2011.
  8. ^ L. Ceccarelli, F. Di Mario, F. Papi et al., Atlante storico ambientale Anzio e Nettuno, Rome, De Luca (2003), pp. 94–96, 160–161.
  9. ^ a b B. Cacciotti, Testimonianze di culti orientali ad Antium, in B. P. Benetucci (ed.), Culti orientali tra scavo e collezionismo, Roma, Artemide (2008).
  10. ^ Livy, vi. 6, 9; viii. 1.
  11. ^ Livy, Ab urbe condita, ii. 33.
  12. ^ Plutarch, Parallel Lives, xx. 1–3; xxii. 1.
  13. ^ Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Roman Antiquities, ix. 56; Livy, ii. 63.
  14. ^ Livy, ii. 64–65; iii. 1.
  15. ^ Livy, iii. 4–5.
  16. ^ Livy, viii. 13–14.
  17. ^ Florus, Epitomae de Tito Livio bellorum, i. v.
  18. ^ Livy, ix. 20.
  19. ^ Cicero, Epistulae ad Atticum, ii. 6.
  20. ^ Livy, lxxx (Periocha); Appian, De bellis civilibus, i. 69; Valerius Maximus, i. vi. 5.
  21. ^ Tacitus, Annals, xiv. 27; Suetonius, The Twelve Caesars, vi. 9.
  22. ^ Annuario Pontificio 2013 (Libreria Editrice Vaticana, 2013), p. 834. ISBN 978-88-209-9070-1
  23. ^ A. La Regina. "PORTO D'ANZIO, in Enciclopedia dell'Arte Antica (1965)". treccani.it. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  24. ^ J. Hondius, Nova et accurata Italiae hodiernae descriptio, Elsevir, 1627, pp. 164–165.

Further reading

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  • Antonio Nibby, Dintorni di Roma, vol. I, p. 181; Notizie degli scavi, various.
  • Smith, William (1854). "Antium". Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography.
  • Sir William Gell, The Topography of Rome and Its Vicinity (1846), "Antium"
  • John Murray, Handbook for Travellers in Central Italy (1843), "Nettuno", p. 534
  • F. Lombardi, Anzio antico e moderno: opera postuma (1865)
  • G. Lugli, Saggio sulla topografia dell'antica Antium (1940)
  • P. Brandizzi Vittucci, Antium: Anzio e Nettuno in epoca romana (2000)
  • H. Solin, Arctos: Acta Philologica Fennica, vol. 36 (2002)
  • L. Ceccarelli, F. Di Mario, F. Papi et al., Atlante storico ambientale Anzio e Nettuno (2003)
  • B. Cacciotti, in B. P. Benetucci (ed.), Culti orientali tra scavo e collezionismo (2008)
  • G. Cifani et al., in G. Ghini (ed.), Lazio e Sabina 7 (2011)
  • T. De Haas et al., in D. Malfitana et al. (eds.), Facta, vol. V (2011)
  • A. Pensword (10 October 2014). "Anzio. Vallo Volsco: Vallo Italico Tirrenico". Retrieved 2022-02-02.
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