Aquino, Italy

Aquino
Comune
Comune di Aquino
Church of Santa Maria della Libera

Coat of arms
Aquino
Location of Aquino in Italy
Coordinates: 41°30′N 13°42′E / 41.500°N 13.700°E / 41.500; 13.700Coordinates: 41°30′N 13°42′E / 41.500°N 13.700°E / 41.500; 13.700
Country Italy
Region Lazio
Province Frosinone (FR)
Government
 • Mayor Libero Mazzaroppi
Area
 • Total 19 km2 (7 sq mi)
Elevation 106 m (348 ft)
Population (28 February 2017)
 • Total 5,342
 • Density 280/km2 (730/sq mi)
Demonym(s) Aquinati
Time zone UTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST)
Postal code 03031
Dialing code 0776
Patron saint Saints Thomas Aquinas and Constantius of Aquino
Saint day March 7 and September 1
Website Official website

Aquino is a town and comune in the province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of Italy, 12 kilometres (7 mi) northwest of Cassino.

The name comes from the Latin Aquinum meaning "water" as witnessed by the abundance of water that still crosses the territory today including many small springs.

History

The town was founded in the 4th century BC by the Volsci, who successfully defended it against Samnite invasions.

After its conquest, Roman Aquinum became an important commercial and production centre situated on the ancient Via Latina. In 211 BC it was given the title of Urbs, the prerogative of Rome alone. In 125 BC the nearby town of Fregellae was destroyed and Aquinum grew to become the most important nucleus between Rome and Capua.

Aquinum was a municipium in the time of Cicero, and made a colonia during the Triumvirate.[1]

Aquinum is thought to be the birthplace of the poet Juvenal, and also of emperor Pescennius Niger.

The earliest recorded Catholic Bishop of Aquino was Bishop Giovino in 593 AD.

The patron saint of Aquino is St. Constantius of Aquino (San Costanzo).[2] St. Thomas Aquinas, OP was born in 1225 in the castle of Roccasecca, 8 kilometres (5 mi) north of Aquino, to a collateral branch of the family of the Counts of Aquino, whose primary seat was Aquino.

Main sights

One of the gates through which the Via Latina passed, now called Porta San Lorenzo, is still well preserved, and there are remains within the walls (portions of which, built of large blocks of limestone, still remain) of two (so called) temples, a basilica and an amphitheatre.[1]

Outside, on the south is a well-preserved 1st century BC triumphal arch with composite capitals, known as Arco di Marcantonio, and close to it the basilica of Santa Maria Libera, a 9th-century building in the Romanesque style erected over the remains of an ancient temple of Hercules Liberator, now roofless. Several Roman inscriptions are built into it, and many others that have been found indicate the ancient importance of the place, which, though it does not appear in early history, is vouched for by Cicero and Strabo.[1][3]

References

  1. 1 2 3  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Ashby, Thomas (1911). "Aquino". In Chisholm, Hugh. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 252.
  2. ↑ He is distinct from St. Constantius of Perugia.
  3. ↑ According to H. Nissen, Ital. Landeskunde (Berlin, 1902), ii. 665, a road ran from here to Minturnae; but no traces of it are to be seen.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.