The Statielli, Statiellātes, or Statiellenses were members of a small Ligurian tribe that inhabited an area south of the river Padus (today the Po). Their chief town was Aquae Statiellae (

Acqui Terme Acqui Terme (; ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Alessandria, Piedmont, northern Italy. It is about south-southwest of Alessandria. It is one of the principal winemaking communes of the Italian DOCG wine Brachetto d'Acqui. The c ...

), on the road from Vada Sabatia, near Savona to Dertona (Tortona) and Placentia.Harry Thurston Peck, ''Harpers Dictionary of Classical Antiquities'' (1898). Article available onlin
here
The Statielli settled in the territory bordered to the west and north by the course of the

Tanaro The Tanaro (; ; ; ) is a long river in northwestern Italy. The river begins in the Ligurian Alps, near the border with France, and is the most significant right-side tributary to the Po in terms of length, size of drainage basin (partly Alpi ...

river, to the east by the Orba, and to the south by the Alpine- Apennine Ligurian watershed, an area now included between the current provinces of

Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...

Savona Savona (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...

Asti Asti ( , ; ; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 74,348 inhabitants (1–1–2021) located in the Italy, Italian region of Piedmont, about east of Turin, in the plain of the Tanaro, Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and ...

and

Cuneo Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...

. During the early

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

, the area today corresponding to southern

Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...

appears to have been inhabited by a different ethnic group without a clear ethnic diversification. It is only from the fourth century BC that the Statielli population is recognizable. The ethnonym contains the typical Ligurian suffix -ello-. The origin of the name can be traced back to the

Indo-European The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau with additional native branches found in regions such as Sri Lanka, the Maldives, parts of Central Asia (e. ...

root for "to stay", and therefore means "the natives, those who occupy a territory", evidently in contrast with other neighboring groups to which a movement is attributed. Their capital was "Caristum", an

Oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

that would later be called Aquae Statiellae by the

Roman people The Roman people was the ethnicity and the body of Roman citizens (; ) during the Roman Kingdom, the Roman Republic, and the Roman Empire. This concept underwent considerable changes throughout the long history of the Roman civilisation, as i ...

and was located in the area where the town of Acqui Terme now stands. The population occupied a vast territory, as the Statielli did not reside only in this area, but in other various oppida, castellari and villages, as well.

Roman conquest

The Statielli were subjugated by the Romans around the middle of the 2nd century BC. In 173 BC, the Roman legions led by the consul Marcus Popilius Laenas attacked the center of Carystum. The Statielli did not oppose the resistance; however, in contravention of the Roman law of war, the console reduced the Statielli to slavery and began to organize the sale of slaves from this population. A year later, due to intervention by the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

of Rome, this harsh treatment was terminated, and the Statielli, having regained their freedom, were gradually Romanized. The city of Aquae Statiellae was founded and, in 89 BC, the Lex Pompeia was extended with the concession of the Ius Latii.

References

{{ethno-stub Ligures