Mentana is a town and ''

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 ...

'', former bishopric and present Latin Catholic

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbi ...

in the

Metropolitan City of Rome 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 ...

, 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 ...

. It is located north-east of Rome and has a population of about 23,000.

History

Mentana is a town located in the region of Lazio in central Italy. The town's name in ancient times was ''Nomentum'', to which the

Via Nomentana The Via Nomentana was an ancient Roman road in Italy, leading North-East from 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 ...

led from

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, ...

. According to

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 ...

, the town was part of the

Latin League The Latin League ( – 338 BC)Stearns, Peter N. (2001). ''The Encyclopedia of World History''. Houghton Mifflin. pp. 76–78. . was an ancient confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the region of Latium near the ancient city of Rome, o ...

, which went to war with

during the reign of Rome's king

Lucius Tarquinius Priscus Lucius Tarquinius Priscus (), or Tarquin the Elder, was the legendary fifth king of Rome and first of its Etruscan dynasty. He reigned for thirty-eight years.Livy, '' ab urbe condita libri'', I Tarquinius expanded Roman power through military ...

. Nomentum was one of a number of towns captured by Tarquinius. It was a Latin town, but was considered by some to be

Sabine The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...

, and, like

Fidenae Fidenae () was an ancient town of Latium, situated about 8 km north of Rome on the '' Via Salaria''. Its inhabitants were known as Fidenates. As the Tiber was the border between Etruria and Latium, the left-bank settlement of Fidenae represent ...

and Ficulea, was excluded from the first region by

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 ...

, who made the Anio river its northern boundary. The city was part of the League defeated by

in the

Battle of Lake Regillus The Battle of Lake Regillus was a legendary Roman victory over the Latin League shortly after the establishment of the Roman Republic and as part of a wider Latin War (498–493 BC), Latin War. The Latins were led by an elderly Lucius Tar ...

, and was captured definitively in 338 BC. Subsequently, ''Nomentum'' received the ''civitas sine suffragio'', and in its municipal constitution the chief magistrate even in imperial times bore the title of dictator. Pliny and

Martial Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman and Celtiberian poet born in Bilbilis, Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of '' Epigrams'', pu ...

often praised the fertility of its neighbourhood.

Seneca the Younger Lucius Annaeus Seneca the Younger ( ; AD 65), usually known mononymously as Seneca, was a Stoicism, Stoic philosopher of Ancient Rome, a statesman, a dramatist, and in one work, a satirist, from the post-Augustan age of Latin literature. Seneca ...

affirmed on multiple occasions having property and retreating to ''Nomentum''. This property contained a villa and vineyards, probably acquired just before his withdrawal from politics. In 741, it was briefly occupied 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 ...

, and the inhabitants moved to a new centre on the

, which was more easily defendable. On 23 November 799, it was the site of the meeting of

Pope Leo III Pope Leo III (; died 12 June 816) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 26 December 795 to his death on 12 June 816. Protected by Charlemagne from the supporters of his predecessor, Adrian I, Leo subsequently strengthened Charlem ...

and

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...

. The Castle of ''Nomentum'' was a possession of the Roman family of the Crescenzi in the 10th and 11th century. In 1058 it was destroyed by 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 ...

, and the population was drastically reduced. The castle was acquired by the Capocci family, and later the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

entrusted it to the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

monks of San Paolo fuori le Mura. In the 15th century, it was under the control of the

Orsini family The House of Orsini is an Nobility of Italy, Italian noble family that was one of the most influential princely families in Middle Ages, medieval Italy and Renaissance Rome. Members of the Orsini family include five popes: Pope Stephen II, Step ...

. In 1484, it was damaged by an

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

. In 1594, it became a

fief A fief (; ) was a central element in medieval contracts based on feudal law. It consisted of a form of property holding or other rights granted by an overlord to a vassal, who held it in fealty or "in fee" in return for a form of feudal alle ...

of the Perett family, first under Michele Perett of

Venafro Venafro (Latin: ''Venafrum''; Greek: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Isernia, region of Molise, Italy. It has a population of 11,079, having expanded quickly in the post-war period. Geography Situated at the foot of Mount Santa Croce, elevat ...

, and then in 1655, it came under the control of Marcantonio Borghese and the House of Borghese. ItalyMentanaRMCastleFront

On 3 November 1867,Giuliano Procacci History of the Italian People London: 1970 p.331 the city was the site of the Battle of Mentana between French-

Papal The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

troops and the Italian volunteers led by

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as (). In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as () or (). 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, revolutionary and republican. H ...

, who were attempting to capture Rome in order to incorporate it into the newly unified

Kingdom of Italy The Kingdom of Italy (, ) was a unitary state that existed from 17 March 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 10 June 1946, when the monarchy wa ...

. The battle ended in a victory by the French-Papal troops. In Mentana, the monument (Altar of the Fallen) is built over the mass grave of the Italian patriots who died in the battle.

Ecclesiastical History

In 408 AD Nomento is mentioned as an

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

(established circa 40 AD), and in February 593 it gained the territory of the suppressed annexed the Roman Catholic Diocese of Passo Curese (Cures Sabinorum, Curi). In May 944 it was suppressed, its territory being merged into the diocese of Vescovio. The diocese was nominally restored as a Latin Catholic

titular bishopric A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbish ...

in 1966. It has had the following incumbents, of the lowest (episcopal) ''and once archiepiscopal (intermediary)'' ranks: * Emanuele Gerada (1967.02.15 – 1973.11.08) *'' Titular Archbishop Emanuele Gerada (1973.11.08 – 2011.01.21) * Habib Chamieh, Mariamite Maronite Order (O.M.M., Aleppians) (2013.04.17 – ...),

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of San Charbel en Buenos Aires of the Maronites (Argentina).

Main sights

* The Castle (c. 1000), housing the Archaeological Museum and is a site of art exhibitions. * ''Palazzo Crescenzio'' * Funerary Monument of the Appulei, a 2nd-century BC travertine frieze * Museum of the

Risorgimento The unification of Italy ( ), also known as the Risorgimento (; ), was the 19th century political and social movement that in 1861 ended in the annexation of various states of the Italian peninsula and its outlying isles to the Kingdom of ...

* Science Museum. * The Nature Preserve of Nomentum includes the Trentani Park and the ''Macchia'' (

Maquis shrubland 220px, Low maquis in Corsica 220px, High ''macchia'' in Sardinia ( , , ) or ( , ; often in Italian; , ; ; ; ) is a savanna-like shrubland biome in the Mediterranean region, typically consisting of densely growing evergreen shrubs. Maquis ...

) of Gattacieca, the remains of the ancient city as well as 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 ...

of the 8th century BC.

References

Source and External links

GCatholic, with titular incumbent biography links

{{Authority control Cities and towns in Lazio Roman sites in Lazio Castles in Italy