The Lepontii were an ancient
Celtic people occupying portions of
Rhaetia
Raetia or Rhaetia ( , ) was a Roman province, province of the Roman Empire named after the Rhaetian people. It bordered on the west with the country of the Helvetii, on the east with Noricum, on the north with Vindelicia, on the south-west wit ...
(in modern
Switzerland
Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...
and
Northern Italy) in the
Alps
The Alps () are some of the highest and most extensive mountain ranges in Europe, stretching approximately across eight Alpine countries (from west to east): Monaco, France, Switzerland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria and Slovenia.
...
during the late Bronze Age/Iron Age. Recent archeological excavations and their association with the
Golasecca culture (9th-7th centuries BC) and
Canegrate culture (13th century BC) point to a Celtic affiliation. From the analysis of their language and the place names of the old Lepontic areas, it was hypothesized that these people represent a layer similar to that Celtic but previous to the Gallic penetration in the Po valley. The suggestion has been made that the Lepontii may have been celticized
Ligurians.
The chief towns of the Lepontii were ''Oscela'', now
Domodossola
Domodossola (; ) is a city and (municipality) in the Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, in the region of Piedmont, northern Italy. It was also known as Oscela, Oscella, Oscella dei Leponzi, Ossolo, Ossola Lepontiorum, and Domo d'Ossola (due to it ...
, Italy, and ''Bilitio'', now
Bellinzona, Switzerland. Their territory included the southern slopes of the
St. Gotthard Pass and
Simplon Pass, corresponding roughly to present-day
Ossola and
Ticino
Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...
.
map of Rhaetiashows the location of the Lepontic territory, in the south-western corner of Rhaetia. The area to the south, including what was to become the
Insubrian capital
Mediolanum
Mediolanum, the ancient city where Milan now stands, was originally an Insubres, Insubrian city, but afterwards became an important Ancient Rome, Roman city in Northern Italy.
The city was settled by a Celts, Celtic tribe belonging to the Ins ...
(modern
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
), was
Etruscan around 600-500 BC, when the Lepontii began writing tombstone inscriptions in their alphabet, one of several Etruscan-derived alphabets in the Rhaetian territory.
See also
*
Lepontic language
*
Canegrate culture
*
Celts in the Alps and Po Valley
*
Cisalpine Gaulish
*
Golasecca culture
*
Ancient peoples of Italy
This list of ancient peoples living in Italy summarises the many different Italian populations that existed in antiquity. Among them, the Romans succeeded in Romanizing the entire Italian peninsula following the Roman expansion in Italy, which ...
Notes
Sources
*Piana Agostinetti P. 1972, ''Documenti per la protostoria della Val d’Ossola. San Bernardo d’Ornavasso e le altre necropoli preromane'', Milano.
*Tibiletti Bruno, M. G. (1978). "Ligure, leponzio e gallico". In ''Popoli e civiltà dell'Italia antica'' vi, ''Lingue e dialetti'', ed. A. L. Prosdocimi, 129–208.
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, ...
: Biblioteca di Storia Patria.
*Tibiletti Bruno, M. G. (1981). "Le iscrizioni celtiche d'Italia". In ''I Celti d'Italia'', ed. E. Campanile, 157–207.
Pisa
Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...
: Giardini.
*ULRICH-BANSA O.1957, ''Monete rinvenute nelle necropoli di Ornavasso'', in “Rivista Italiana di Numismatica”, LIX, pp. 6–69.
*
*
*
*Stifter, D. 2020. ''Cisalpine Celtic. Language, Writing, Epigraphy''. Aelaw Booklet 8. Zaragoza: Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza.
*Stifter, D. 2020.
Cisalpine Celtic�, Palaeohispanica 20: 335–365.
Ancient peoples of Italy
Historical Celtic peoples
Golasecca culture
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