Castelvecchio Subequo (also Subrequo and Subrego; , ) is a ''

comune A (; : , ) is an administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions () and provinces (). The can also have the City status in Italy, titl ...

'' and town in the

province of L'Aquila The province of L'Aquila () is the largest, most mountainous and least densely populated Provinces of Italy, province of the Abruzzo region of Italy. It comprises about half the landmass of Abruzzo and occupies the western part of the region. It ...

in the

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, ; ; , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; ), historically also known as Abruzzi, is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four ...

region, central

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, at the feet on Mount Sirente.

History

Ancient Superaequum was a town of the

Paeligni The Paeligni or Peligni were an Italic tribe who lived in the Valle Peligna, in what is now Abruzzo, central Italy. History The Paeligni are first mentioned as a member of a confederacy that included the Marsi, Marrucini, and Vestini, with wh ...

, one of the three which possessed municipal rights, and among which the territory of that people was divided. Hence it is mentioned both by Pliny and in the '' Liber Coloniarum'', where it is termed Colonia Superaequana. It received a colony of veterans, probably under

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

, to which a fresh body of colonists was added in the reign of

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus ( ; ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 and a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher. He was a member of the Nerva–Antonine dynasty, the last of the rulers later known as the Five Good Emperors ...

.Plin. iii. 12. s. 17; Lib. Colon. p. 229;

August Wilhelm Zumpt August Wilhelm Zumpt (4 December 181522 April 1877 in Berlin) was a German classical scholar, known chiefly in connection with Latin epigraphy. He was a nephew of philologist Karl Gottlob Zumpt. Born in Königsberg, Zumpt studied at the Univers ...

, ''De Coloniis'' p. 361. The name is not mentioned by any other author, but several inscriptions attest its municipal importance. After the conquest of southern Italy by the

Lombards The Lombards () or Longobards () were a Germanic peoples, Germanic people who conquered most of the Italian Peninsula between 568 and 774. The medieval Lombard historian Paul the Deacon wrote in the ''History of the Lombards'' (written betwee ...

, it was known as Onuffolo or Nuffoli, returning to its former name under the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

. It accrued its other name (originally Castelvetere, meaning "old fort") later in the Middle Ages. It is on a hill on the

right bank In geography, a bank is the land alongside a body of water. Different structures are referred to as ''banks'' in different fields of geography. In limnology (the study of inland waters), a stream bank or river bank is the terrain alongsid ...

of the Aterno river, and about on the left of the

Via Valeria The Via Valeria was an ancient Roman roads, Roman road of Italy, the continuation north-eastwards of the Via Tiburtina from Tivoli, Lazio, Tibur. It probably owed its origin to Marcus Valerius Messalla, Roman censor, censor in 154 BC. A second V ...

. Its territory probably comprised the hilly district between that road and the Aternus.

Transportation

Castelvecchio Subequo has a station on the

Terni–Sulmona railway The Terni–Sulmona railway is a regional railway line in central Italy, managed by Rete Ferroviaria Italiana. It links three regions, Umbria, Lazio and Abruzzo, and three Provinces of Italy, provincial capitals: Terni, Rieti and L'Aquila. Togeth ...

, with trains to

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of the Province of L'Aquila and the Abruzzo region in Italy. , it has a population of 69,902. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valley of the A ...

and

Sulmona Sulmona (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the province of L'Aquila, in the Italy, Italian region of Abruzzo. It is located in the Valle Peligna, a plain once occupied by a lake that disappeared in prehistoric times. In the ancient era, it was ...

References

Sources

* Cities and towns in Abruzzo {{Abruzzo-geo-stub