The Marici were a
Celto-Ligurian
The Ligures (singular Ligur; Italian: liguri; English: Ligurians) were an ancient people after whom Liguria, a region of present-day north-western Italy, is named.
Ancient Liguria corresponded more or less to the current Italian regi ...
tribe dwelling around present-day
Pavia (
Lombardy) during the
Iron Age.
Name
The ethnic name ''Marici'' can be translated as 'the big ones', from the Celtic stem ''maro-'' ('tall'). According to
Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel
Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel (born 5 April 1953) is an Italian philologist, linguist and scholar of Celtic studies.
Biography
Patrizia de Bernardo was born on 5 April 1953 in Milan, Italy, the daughter of Mario de Bernardo and Adriana Marra. She ...
, such linguistically Celtic tribal names suggest that a Celto-Ligurian dialect played an important role among the languages spoken in ancient Ligury.
Geography
The Marici lived around the modern town of
Pavia. Their territory was located south of the
Laevi The Laevi, or Levi (who are not to be confused with descendants of Levi), were a LigurianLivius, ''Ab Urbe condita'' 5.34-35.3. people in Gallia Transpadana, on the river Ticinus, who, in conjunction with the Marici, built the town of Ticinum ( ...
, west of the
Ladatini, north of the
Anamares.
[, Map 39: Mediolanum.]
History
In the Third Book of his ''
Natural History,''
Pliny the Elder identifies them as the co-founders, along with the
Laevi The Laevi, or Levi (who are not to be confused with descendants of Levi), were a LigurianLivius, ''Ab Urbe condita'' 5.34-35.3. people in Gallia Transpadana, on the river Ticinus, who, in conjunction with the Marici, built the town of Ticinum ( ...
, of
Ticinum
Ticinum (the modern Pavia) was an ancient city of Gallia Transpadana, founded on the banks of the river of the same name (now the Ticino river) a little way above its confluence with the Padus ( Po).
It was said by Pliny the Elder to have been ...
, the modern
Pavia.
[The text, in Philemon Holland’s 1601 English translation, is available online at http://penelope.uchicago.edu/holland/pliny3.html]
References
Bibliography
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{{ethno-stub
Ligures
Pavia