Praeneste

About

Palestrina is sited on a spur of the Monti Prenestini, a mountain range in the central Apennines.

Modern Palestrina borders the following municipalities: Artena, Castel San Pietro Romano, Cave, Gallicano nel Lazio, Labico, Rocca di Cave, Rocca Priora, Rome, San Cesareo, Valmontone, Zagarolo.

Palestrina is still dominated today by the enormous ancient Roman sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia built on a series of terraces on the slope of the hill on which the town stands. Further massive Roman terraces support the town itself. The ancient city, however, probably dates from an even earlier period from the 7th c. BC.

Ancient mythology connected the origin of Praeneste to Caeculus, or to other fabled characters such as Telegonus, Erulus or Praenestus. The name probably derives from the word Praenesteus, referring to its overlooking location. [ citation needed ]

Early burials show that the site was already occupied in the 8th or 7th century BC. Excavations in the necropolis have shown that in the late 8th century BC ( Orientalising Period ) a major cultural advance took place with notable eastern imports and with a close relationship with Etruria; the princely 7th c. Barberini (excavated in 1855) and Bernardini tombs had contents of at least the same quality as those in the cemeteries of Etruscan Caere (Cerveteri).

Of the objects found in the oldest graves dating from about the 7th century BC, the cups of silver and silver-gilt and most of the gold and amber jewellery are Phoenician (possibly Carthaginian ), but the bronzes and some of the ivory articles seem to be of the Etruscan civilization.

The earliest settlement was probably a citadel on the top of the hill around which a cyclopean wall was built, some of which remains today. In addition two walls of the same date and also visible today descended the slopes down to the town where a cross wall along the lower part of the sanctuary completed the circuit.

Phoenician bronze bowl, Barberini tomb (Villa Giulia museum)

Kotyle from Bernardini tomb 675-650 BC (Villa Giulia museum)

Phoenician silver plate, Bernardini tomb 675-650 BC (Villa Giulia museum)

Præneste was already a rich and prosperous town when Rome was still emerging. The rapid development of the Latin towns led to the Latin League from the 8th c. BC for protection against the Etruscans and enemies from surrounding areas, and eventually brought Rome and Præneste together with the others. But Præneste because of her history and wealth felt superior to the others and became Rome's most hated rival as Rome grew rapidly.

Praeneste withdrew from the Latin League in 499 BC, according to Livy (its earliest historical mention), and formed an alliance with Rome after which they won the Battle of Lake Regillus against thirty Latin states. After Rome was weakened by the Gauls of Brennus (390 BC), Praeneste switched allegiances to stem Roman expansion into Latium and establish power for itself and fought against Rome in the long struggles that culminated in the Latin War. From 373 to 370, it was in continual war against Rome or its allies, and was defeated by Cincinnatus.

Praeneste had made a treaty with Rome whereby it retained its own citizenship and Latin status but was required to provide troops to fight in the Roman Republic’s wars. In the Latin War of 340-338 BC, Praeneste fought with the Latin rebels against Rome to retain their remaining independence but after the defeat Praeneste was punished by the loss of part of its territory. It became a city allied to Rome ( foedus aequum ) but equal, permitting Roman exiles to live there, which made the city more prosperous.

Dating to this period are tombs from which come the famous bronze boxes ( cistae ) and hand mirrors, some with inscriptions partly in Etruscan, among which is the famous is the bronze Ficoroni Cista (350-330 BC) ( Museo Nazionale Etrusco di Villa Giulia, Rome ) found in 1738. It is masterfully engraved with pictures of the arrival of the Argonauts in Bithynia and the victory of Pollux over Amycus. The inscription on it is in archaic Latin: Novios Plautios Romai med fecid / Dindia Macolnia fileai dedit ("Novios Plautios made me in Rome, Dindia Macolnia gave me to her daughter"). The caskets are unique in Italy, but a large number of mirrors of precisely similar style have been discovered in Etruria. Hence, although such objects may have come from Etruria, the evidence points decisively to an Etruscan factory in or near Praeneste itself. Other imported objects in the burials show that Praeneste traded not only with Etruria but also with the Greek east.

Praenestine graves from about 240 BC onwards are surmounted by the characteristic cippus made of local stone, containing stone coffins with rich bronze, ivory and gold ornaments beside the skeleton.

Præneste was linked to Rome by the major Via Praenestina Roman Road, which passed below the city, as an extension of the Via Gabiana.

From the middle of the 2nd century BC the city developed and extended intensively across the lower plateau beneath the slopes of the ancient city, even expanding beyond the valleys that border it and up to the edges of the vast necropolises. The buildings were predominantly in opus incertum. Among the public buildings here was the first thermal baths of "Madonna dell'Aquila".

At the end of the 2nd century BC a grandiose urban renovation project involved the entire city including at least 9 levels of terraces, including on the lower slope massive tuff terrace walls one of which was flanked by a street paved with limestone slabs, now the Via del Sole. The monumental sanctuary of Fortuna was also built at this time (around 120 BC), dominating the city and dwarfing all other buildings not only there, but even those in Rome.

An undertaking of this magnitude that required massive excavations and enormous landfills, drainage and canalisation works, the construction of terrace walls, elaborate sacred and public buildings took a long time, even with the slave labour force. Inscriptions with names of numerous magistrates involved in the project indicate its long duration.

Praeneste was offered Roman citizenship in 90 BC in the Social War, when concessions had to be made by Rome to cement necessary alliances and the town was made a municipium. Soon afterwards in Sulla's civil war, Gaius Marius was blockaded in the town by the forces of Sulla (82 BC). When the city was captured, Marius slew himself, the male inhabitants were massacred in cold blood, and a military colony was settled on part of its territory. From an inscription it appears that Sulla delegated the foundation of the new colony to Marcus Terentius Varro Lucullus ( consul in 73 BC).