HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Miseno is one of the ''
frazioni A ''frazione'' (plural: ) is a type of subdivision of a ''comune'' (municipality) in Italy, often a small village or hamlet outside the main town. Most ''frazioni'' were created during the Fascist era (1922–1943) as a way to consolidate territ ...
'' of the
municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...
of
Bacoli Bacoli (; la, Bauli) is a '' comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Naples in the Italian region Campania, located about west of Naples. Geography Bacoli borders the municipalities of Monte di Procida and Pozzuoli. Its territor ...
in the Italian
Province of Naples The Province of Naples ( it, Provincia di Napoli; nap, Pruvincia 'e Nàpule) was a province in the Campania region of southern Italy. In 2014/2015, the reform of local authorities (Law 142/1990 and Law 56/2014), replaced the Province of Naples ...
. Known in ancient Roman times as Misenum, it is the site of a great Roman port.


Geography

Nearby Cape Miseno marks the northwestern end of the
Bay of Naples A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a na ...
.


History

According to mythology, Misenum was named after Misenus, a companion of
Hector In Greek mythology, Hector (; grc, Ἕκτωρ, Hektōr, label=none, ) is a character in Homer's Iliad. He was a Trojan prince and the greatest warrior for Troy during the Trojan War. Hector led the Trojans and their allies in the defense o ...
and trumpeter to
Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...
. Misenus is supposed to have drowned near here after a
trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...
competition with the sea-god
Triton Triton commonly refers to: * Triton (mythology), a Greek god * Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune Triton may also refer to: Biology * Triton cockatoo, a parrot * Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails * ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus'' ...
, as recounted in
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
's
Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the fall of Troy and travelled to Italy, where he became the ancestor of ...
. In 39 BC, Misenum was the site where a short-lived pact was made between
Octavian Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pr ...
(heir of
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 ...
, who later became the emperor Augustus), and his rival Sextus Pompeius. Misenum was first established as a naval base ('' Portus Julius'') during the civil wars in 27 BC by Marcus Agrippa, the right-hand man of the emperor Augustus. It was then developed into the largest Roman port for the ''
Classis Misenensis The ''Classis Misenensis'' ("Fleet of Misenum"), later awarded the honorifics ''praetoria'' and ''Pia Vindex'', was the senior fleet of the imperial Roman navy. History The was founded by Caesar Augustus in 27 BCE, when the fleet of Italy, ...
'', the most important fleet. With its gorgeous natural setting close to the naval base and the nearby important Roman cities of Puteoli and Neapolis, Misenum also became the site of Roman luxury
villas Villas may refer to: Places * Villas, Florida, United States * Villas, Illinois, United States * Villas, New Jersey, United States * Las Villas, a region of Spain * Las Villas (Cuba), a former Cuban Province * The Villas, a housing estate in St ...
, such as the Villa of
Lucullus Lucius Licinius Lucullus (; 118–57/56 BC) was a Roman general and statesman, closely connected with Lucius Cornelius Sulla. In culmination of over 20 years of almost continuous military and government service, he conquered the eastern kingd ...
.
Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ' ...
was the '' praefect'' in charge of the naval fleet at Misenum in AD 79, at the time of the eruption of
Mount Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ; it, Vesuvio ; nap, 'O Vesuvio , also or ; la, Vesuvius , also , or ) is a somma-stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of ...
, visible to the south across the Bay of Naples. Seeing the beginnings of the eruption, Pliny left for a closer view and to effect a possible rescue, and was killed during the eruptions. The account of his death is given by his nephew
Pliny the Younger Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus, born Gaius Caecilius or Gaius Caecilius Cilo (61 – c. 113), better known as Pliny the Younger (), was a lawyer, author, and magistrate of Ancient Rome. Pliny's uncle, Pliny the Elder, helped raise and educate ...
, who was also resident in Misenum at the time.


Notable residents

In his Second Philipic,
Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the esta ...
mocked Antony for owning a property at Misenum (bequeathed to Antony by his paternal grandfather), since it was shared with co-owners, having been mortgaged due to Antony's debts. The powerful and influential Roman empress
Agrippina the Younger Julia Agrippina (6 November AD 15 – 23 March AD 59), also referred to as Agrippina the Younger, was Roman empress from 49 to 54 AD, the fourth wife and niece of Emperor Claudius. Agrippina was one of the most prominent women in the Julio-Clau ...
lived in a palace here, once owned by the orator Hortensius (then by the emperors, and some three centuries later by Symmachus) in which she resided in the months before her death. Misenum is also the place of death of Emperor
Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...
.Tacitus Annals 6.50 Misenum is said to be the birthplace of Saint Sossius, a
deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...
who was martyred with Proculus of Pozzuoli.


In fiction

Misenum is one of the main settings in Robert Harris' novel ''
Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was burie ...
'', whose protagonist, Attilius, works as the ''aquarius'' at the '' Piscina Mirabilis'' (the terminal reservoir into which the '' Aqua Augusta'' aqueduct emptied). In the novel Ben-Hur, Misenum is the location of a villa owned by Quintus Arrius later bequeathed to his adopted son Judah Ben-Hur. The Ben-Hur family would later live in Misenum.


References


External links


The Church of St. Sossio in Miseno
{{Authority control Frazioni of the Province of Naples Roman sites of Campania Roman towns and cities in Italy Bacoli Roman harbors Roman harbors in Italy Archaeological sites in Campania