Praeneste
Praeneste, known today as Palestrina, is an ancient city located in the Lazio region of Italy, approximately 23 miles east of Rome. Perched on a ledge of Monte Ginestro at 1,350 feet above sea level, it was originally founded on a higher hill, where remnants of its early citadel can still be seen. Praeneste has a rich history, with legends attributing its foundation to notable figures such as Caeculus, a son of Vulcan, and Telegonus, the son of Ulysses. Archaeological findings indicate significant cultural development in the late eighth century BC, contributing to a distinct "Latian civilization" influenced by neighboring Etruscan cultures.
Throughout its history, Praeneste was involved in various conflicts, particularly with the Romans and the Aequi tribe, before securing its independence through a treaty with Rome. The city became a municipium in the first century BC and later gained prominence as a summer retreat for wealthy Romans. One of its most remarkable sites is the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, renowned for its unique architectural design and oracular practices. This sanctuary, characterized by an elaborate series of terraces and colonnades, reflects the city's importance in the ancient world, attracting visitors and scholars alike. Inscriptions and remains of various public buildings further illustrate Praeneste's historical significance, making it a notable site for those interested in ancient Roman culture and architecture.
Subject Terms
Praeneste
(Palestrina)
A city of Latium (Lazio), twenty-three miles east of Rome, commandingly situated on an isolated ledge of Monte Ginestro (an outcrop of the Apennines), 1,350 feet above sea level. But this was only a second foundation, since the original hill-town and citadel (now Castel San Pietro) had stood 1,200 feet higher, dominating the plain uniting the Anio (Aniene) and Trerus (Sacco) valleys, which provided the main landward route toward the south. Legends variously ascribed the city's foundation to Caeculus the son of Vulcan, Praenestes the son of Latinus, and Telegonus the son of Ulysses (Odysseus).
Excavations have now shown that a major cultural advance, involving urbanization and extensive eastern imports, took place in the later eighth century BC, and played a large part in the creation of a `Latian civilization’ which, although incorporating Italian traditions, displayed an intimate relationship with developments in southern Etruria; thus the rich contents of the Barberini and Bernardini tombs closely resemble finds in the cemeteries of Caere (Cerveteri). (Serious doubts have now been cast on the authenticity of a Latin inscription on a seventh-century Praenestine brooch).
After becoming one of the original members of the Latin League, Praeneste, according to Livy, formed a close association with the Romans, just before the battle they fought against the Latins at Lake Regillus (c 499). During the fifth century the city was repeatedly attacked by the tribe of the Aequi who had established themselves in the adjacent Alban Hills. It was also very often at war with the Romans until the dissolution of the Latin League (338); thereafter, despite a loss of territory, its independence was guaranteed by a treaty with Rome. In 198 a slave uprising had to be put down. Becoming a municipium (90/89) in common with other Italian communities, Praeneste sheltered Marius the Younger (Marcus Marius Gratidianus) in his civil war against Sulla who, after a siege lasting many months, sacked the town (82), executed 12,000 of its inhabitants, transplanted the remainder to a new location on a lower ledge, and established a colony for ex-soldiers upon a third site on the plain below. This settlement was reinforced by additional settlers in imperial times, when Praeneste became a favorite retreat from the heat of summer for wealthy Romans.
The original hill-town citadel was defended by polygonal walls, of which the surviving portions are datable to the mid-fourth century BC; they extended to the second town below. The sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia, one of the largest and most famous shrines of the ancient world, belonged to this second town, but spread up the hillside above. The priests of the sanctuary pronounced oracles, the sortes Praenestinae, inscribed on pieces of oak wood and greatly revered.
The philosopher Carneades was impressed by the renown of the Temple of Fortuna Primigenia when he visited Rome in 156/5. Its present form, however, is owed to Sulla, whose builders displayed a masterly use of concrete that amounted to an architectural revolution. The Sullan precinct contained two groups of buildings. The lower complex comprised three main structures, a partly natural and partly artificial `cave of the sortes’ (paved with a colorful mosaic of fish and other marine subjects), an apsidal hall (containing the famous Barberini mosaic of Nile scenes that is now in the Palazzo Barberini Museum on the site), and a colonnaded edifice that may have been a pagan basilica. The upper sanctuary comprised a series of terraces (to the multiplicity of which Praeneste apparently owed its names `Polystephanos,’ many-wreathed, and `Stephane’), ascending steeply, by ramps, to a huge enclosure flanked by roofed porticos and terminating in steps that led up to a semicircular colonnade. This colonnade enclosed a theater (employed for religious performances), and fronted the round temple of Fortuna at the summit of the entire complex—which was so extensive that it later housed the entire medieval town.
Inscriptions refer to a wide range of other public buildings at Praeneste, many of which were no doubt located at the foot of the hill, in Sulla's third town. Remains of a so-called Villa of Hadrian (AD 117–38), with stucco decoration, are to be seen not far away.