Ferentium was a town of ancient

Etruria Etruria ( ) was a region of Central Italy delimited by the rivers Arno and Tiber, an area that covered what is now most of Tuscany, northern Lazio, and north-western Umbria. It was inhabited by the Etruscans, an ancient civilization that f ...

, situated near the modern city of

Viterbo Viterbo (; Central Italian, Viterbese: ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in the Lazio region of Italy, the Capital city, capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in ...

in the northern part of the

Roman province The Roman provinces (, pl. ) were the administrative regions of Ancient Rome outside Roman Italy that were controlled by the Romans under the Roman Republic and later the Roman Empire. Each province was ruled by a Roman appointed as Roman g ...

Latium Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire. Definition Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil (Old Latium) on whic ...

, now in modern

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

. The city was also known as ''Ferentinum'', ''Ferentum'' or ''Ferentia'', and should not be confused with ancient ''Ferentinum'' (now

Ferentino Ferentino is a town and ''comune'' in Italy, in the province of Frosinone, Lazio, southeast of Rome. It is situated on a hill above sea level, in the Monti Ernici area. History ''Ferentinum'' was a town of the Hernici; it was captured from them ...

), which is in southern Lazio.

History

Ferentium had an Etruscan predecessor at modern Acquarossa, as shown by the presence of a

necropolis A necropolis (: necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'' (). The term usually implies a separate burial site at a distan ...

. In the Roman period, the city was a

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (: ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ('duty holders'), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privileges ...

of the Stellatina

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

and part of the seventh regio of the province of Italia. Several famous families came from the city, including that of the Roman emperor

Otho Otho ( ; born Marcus Salvius Otho; 28 April 32 – 16 April 69) was Roman emperor, ruling for three months from 15 January to 16 April 69. He was the second emperor of the Year of the Four Emperors. A member of a noble Etruscan civilization, ...

and Flavia Domitilla, the wife of the emperor

Vespasian Vespasian (; ; 17 November AD 9 – 23 June 79) was Roman emperor from 69 to 79. The last emperor to reign in the Year of the Four Emperors, he founded the Flavian dynasty, which ruled the Empire for 27 years. His fiscal reforms and consolida ...

. Either she or her identically named daughter were worshipped as ''diva Domitilla''. Around 400 AD. diocese Ferentium was established. After 700 AD, the diocese was suppressed. In 1172 Ferentium was conquered, sacked, and depopulated by

, and the territory incorporated into this neighboring city.

Remains

Extensive remains of the ancient Roman city are still extant, including the Ferento Roman Theater and several domestic and municipal buildings.

Archaeological investigations

Much of the early work at the site is due to the "archaeologist king"

Gustaf VI Adolf of Sweden Gustaf VI Adolf (Oscar Fredrik Wilhelm Olaf Gustaf Adolf; 11 November 1882 – 15 September 1973) was King of Sweden from 29 October 1950 until his death in 1973. He was the eldest son of Gustaf V and his wife, Victoria of Baden. Before Gustaf A ...

. The most recent excavations took place between 1994 and 2009 under the supervision of Tuscia University in Viterbo. Many of the most important remains may be found in the National Archaeological Museum at Rocca Albornoz, Viterbo, including some reconstructed building remains and some marble statues depicting characters from classical

tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...

and

comedy Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Greec ...

which presumably came from the area of the theater. A small wooden model of the theater is also present. Nearby sites include " Acquarossa" which was itself excavated in the years between 1956 and 1978 by the Swedish Institute in Rome.

Literature

The site appears in the famous ''The Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria'' by George Dennis.
online
.

References

Other projects

External links

* *
Archaeological excavations by Tuscia University
{{Coord, 42, 29, 19, N, 12, 7, 57, E, type:landmark_region:IT, display=title