Fregenae ( el, ; it, Fregene), was a maritime town of ancient

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 ...

, situated between Alsium and the mouth of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by th ...

. The modern Fregene is an Italian hamlet (''

frazione 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 terri ...

'') of

Fiumicino Fiumicino () is a town and comune in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy, with a population of 80,500 (2019). It is known for being the site of Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport, the busiest airport in Italy and the eleventh-b ...

, in the

Metropolitan City of Rome Metropolitan City of Rome Capital ( it, Città metropolitana di Roma Capitale) is an area of local government at the level of metropolitan city in the Lazio region of the Republic of Italy. It comprises the territory of the city of Rome and 120 ...

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

. As of 2012 its population was of 6,445.

History

Ancient Fregenae

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

mentions Fregenae among the ''coloniae maritimae'' (xxxvi. 3); and there is every reason to suppose that it was established at the same time with Alsium, in 245 BCE, and that we should read Fregenae for Fregellae in

Velleius Paterculus Marcus Velleius Paterculus (; c. 19 BC – c. AD 31) was a Roman historian, soldier and senator. His Roman history, written in a highly rhetorical style, covered the period from the end of the Trojan War to AD 30, but is most useful for the per ...

, where he speaks of the foundation of these two colonies. This is confirmed by the Epitome of the 19th book of Livy, where, though Alsium is not mentioned, the foundation of Fregenae is coupled with that of

Brundusium Brindisi ( , ) ; la, Brundisium; grc, Βρεντέσιον, translit=Brentésion; cms, Brunda), group=pron is a city in the region of Apulia in southern Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. Histor ...

, which Velleius refers to the following year. No subsequent notice of it occurs in history: its marshy and unhealthy situation probably prevented its rising to prosperity; and, after the construction of the Portus Augusti on the right bank of the Tiber, it seems to have gradually sunk into insignificance. Hence, though its name is found in Strabo, Pliny, and the Itineraries, it is not noticed by Rutilius in his description of the coast of Etruria, and no ruins now mark the site. But the distances given in the Itinerary of 9 M.P. from Alsium, and the same from Portus Augusti at the mouth of the Tiber, enable us to fix its position with certainty at a spot now called ''Fregene'' in the ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of

Modern Fregene

The modern town was created in 1928 as part of a large

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic condition ...

project along the coasts of Lazio, near Maccarese, to create a sea resort. From the 1970s Fregene grew as part of the urban expansion of

Rome metropolitan area The Rome metropolitan area is a statistical area that is centred on the city of Rome, Italy. It consists of the entire province of Metropolitan City of Rome Capital (formerly known as the Province of Rome) and a single commune, Aprilia, in the n ...

. Until 1992 It was part of the municipality of

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 ...

, when Fiumicino was created as an independent municipality.History and territory of the municipality of Fiumicino

Geography

Fregene is located on Tyrrhenian coast, 31 km in north of

, near its international airport and the villages of Maccarese, Focene and

Passo Oscuro Passo Oscuro (or Passoscuro) is a small town and beach resort situated in the ''comune'' of Fiumicino in the Lazio region of Italy, west of Rome, at the Tyrrhenian Sea, 5 km north of Fregene. History The name Passo Oscuro, Italian for ''d ...

. It is 24 km far from

Ladispoli Ladispoli is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, central Italy. It lies about west of Rome, on the Mediterranean Sea. History Modern Ladispoli includes the site of the ancient '' Alsium'' at nearby Palo Laziale, the po ...

, 42 from

and 55 from

Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pier ...

. Nearest railway station is Maccarese-Fregene on Rome-Pisa line.

References

External links