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Alsium ( el, ; modern:

Palo Palo may refer to: Places * Palo, Argentina, a village in Argentina * Palo, Estonia, village in Meremäe Parish, Võru County, Estonia * Palo, Huesca, municipality in the province of Huesca, Spain * Palo, Iowa, United States, a town located wit ...

) was an ancient city on the coast of

Etruria Etruria () was a region of Central Italy, located in an area that covered part of what are now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and northern and western Umbria. Etruscan Etruria The ancient people of Etruria are identified as Etruscans. Thei ...

, between Pyrgi and

Fregenae Fregenae ( el, ; it, Fregene), was a maritime town of ancient Etruria, situated between Alsium and the mouth of the Tiber. The modern Fregene is an Italian hamlet (''frazione'') of Fiumicino, in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio. As of 2012 i ...

, on the

Via Aurelia The ''Via Aurelia'' (Latin for "Aurelian Way") is a Roman road in Italy constructed in approximately 241 BC. The project was undertaken by Gaius Aurelius Cotta, who at that time was censor.Hornblower, Simon, & Antony Spawforth. ''The Oxford Cl ...

, by which it is about 35 km from

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

near the modern Ladispoli. It was one of the oldest towns of Etruria, but does not appear in history until the

Roman 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 lett ...

colonisation of 247 BC. It was never of great importance, except as a resort of wealthy Romans, many of whom (including

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

and the Antonine emperors) had villas there.

History

It is mentioned by

Dionysius The name Dionysius (; el, Διονύσιος ''Dionysios'', "of Dionysus"; la, Dionysius) was common in classical and post-classical times. Etymologically it is a nominalized adjective formed with a -ios suffix from the stem Dionys- of the name ...

among the cities which were founded by the

Pelasgians The name Pelasgians ( grc, Πελασγοί, ''Pelasgoí'', singular: Πελασγός, ''Pelasgós'') was used by classical Greek writers to refer either to the predecessors of the Greeks, or to all the inhabitants of Greece before the emergenc ...

in connection with the aborigines, and afterwards wrested from them by the Tyrrhenians (

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization () was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered, at its greatest extent, roug ...

). But no mention of it occurs in history as an Etruscan city, or during the wars of that people with Rome. In 247 BC a Roman ''colonia maritima'' was established there and which gave them exemption from all military service, which was, however, overruled during the exigencies of the

Second Punic War The Second Punic War (218 to 201 BC) was the second of three wars fought between Carthage and Rome, the two main powers of the western Mediterranean in the 3rd century BC. For 17 years the two states struggled for supremacy, primarily in Ital ...

. It is mentioned by

Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...

, Pliny, and

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importanc ...

, and it still retained its colonial rank (from an inscription of the time of

Caracalla Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor ...

), and corresponding municipal organisation. It become a favourite resort with wealthy Romans as a place of retirement and pleasure; and Pompey the Great had a villa there, 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, an ...

also, where he landed on his return from

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, and at which all the nobles of Rome hastened to greet him. Another is mentioned as belonging to Lucius Verginius Rufus, the guardian of Pliny, and emperor

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good E ...

had a villa there, to which several of his epistles are addressed. At a later period the town itself had fallen into utter decay, but the site was still occupied by villas, as well as that of the neighbouring Pyrgi. cites Rutilius ''Itin.'
i. 223
.

The site

The 17th century fort and mole at Palo Laziale use many ancient materials probably from the site of Alsium. Northeast of Palo is a row of large mounds called I Monteroni, which belong to tombs of the Etruscan cemetery. Over more than a mile of the shore to the east of Palo Laziale is occupied by considerable remains of ancient villas of the most magnificent scale and style of construction one of which, just east of Palo, occupies an area of some .

Notes

References

Attribution: * This cites G. Dennis, ''Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria'', i. 219. * {{coord, 41, 56, N, 12, 06, E, display=title, region:IT_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki Roman towns and cities in Italy Etruscan sites Coloniae (Roman) Former populated places in Italy Roman villas in Italy