Fregenae () was a maritime 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 between Alsium and the mouth of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; ; ) is the List of rivers of Italy, 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 the R ...

. The modern Fregene is an Italian hamlet (''

frazione A ''frazione'' (: ''frazioni'') 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 consolidat ...

'') 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 ninth-b ...

, in the

Metropolitan City of Rome Capital Metropolitan City of Rome Capital () is an area of local government at the level of metropolitan city in the Lazio region of Italy. It comprises the territory of the city of Rome and 120 other ''comuni'' (: ''comune'') in the hinterland of the c ...

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 ...

. 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 i ...

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, 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, 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 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 ...

'' 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 water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils can prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditions that harm root gro ...

project along the coasts of Lazio, near

Maccarese Maccarese is a locality in Lazio, Italy, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Metropolitan City of Rome. Its administration is divided between the Municipalities of Rome (Maccarese Nord (zone of Rome), Maccarese Nord) and Fiumicino, of which ...

, to create a sea resort. From the 1970s Fregene grew as part of the urban expansion of Rome metropolitan area. Until 1992 It was part of the municipality of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, 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

, 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 ''da ...

. It is 24 km far from Ladispoli, 42 from

and 55 from

Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (, meaning "ancient town") is a city and major Port, sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea west-northwest of Rome. Its legal status is a ''comune'' (municipality) of Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Rome, Lazio. The harbour is formed by ...

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

References

External links

{{authority control Coloniae (Roman) Etruscan sites

Fregene Fregenae () was a maritime town of ancient Etruria, situated between Alsium and the mouth of the Tiber. The modern Fregene is an Italian hamlet (''frazione'') of Fiumicino, in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Lazio. As of 2012 its population ...