Aquileia

Coordinates: 45°46′11.01″N 13°22′16.29″E / 45.7697250°N 13.3711917°E / 45.7697250; 13.3711917
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Aquileia
Olee / Acuilee (Friulian)
Comune di Aquileia
The Basilica of Aquileia.
Flag of Aquileia
Coat of arms of Aquileia
Location of Aquileia
Map
ISTAT code
030004
Patron saintSts. Hermagoras and Fortunatus
Saint dayJuly 12
WebsiteOfficial website
Official nameArchaeological Area and the Patriarchal Basilica of Aquileia
CriteriaCultural: iii, iv, vi
Reference825
Inscription1998 (22nd Session)

Aquileia

Attila the Hun
.

It is currently a comune (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia.

History

Classical Antiquity

A view of the archaeological area of Aquileia.

Roman Republic

Aquileia was founded as a colony by the

Illyrian Wars. The colony would serve as a citadel to check the advance into Cisalpine Gaul of other warlike peoples, such as the hostile Carni to the northeast in what is now Carnia and Histri tribes to the southeast in what is now Istria. In fact, the site chosen for Aquileia was about 6 km from where an estimated 12,000 Celtic Taurisci nomads had attempted to settle in 183 BCE. However, since the 13th century BC, the site, on the river and at the head of the Adriatic, had also been of commercial importance as the end of the Baltic amber (sucinum) trade. It is, therefore, theoretically not unlikely that Aquileia had been a Gallic oppidum even before the coming of the Romans. However, few Celtic artefacts have been discovered from 500 BCE to the Roman arrival.[8]

The colony was established with

Lucius Manlius Acidinus, two of whom were of consular and one of praetorian rank. Each of the men had first-hand knowledge of Cisalpine Gaul. Nasica had conquered the Boii in 191. Flaminius had overseen the construction of the road named after him from Bononia (Bologna) to Arretium (Arezzo). Acidinus had conquered the Taurisci in 183.[9][10]

The triumvirate led 3,000 families to settle the area[

iugera of land each, centuriones received 100 iugera each, and equites received 140 iugera each. Either at the founding or not long afterwards, colonists from the nearby Veneti supplemented these families.[8]

Roads soon connected Aquileia with the Roman colony of Bologna probably in 173 BCE. In 148 BCE, it was connected with Genua by the Via Postumia, which stretched across the Padanian plain from Aquileia through or near to Opitergium, Tarvisium, Vicetia, Verona, Bedriacum, and the three Roman colonies of Cremona, Placentia, and Dertona. The construction of the Via Popilia from the Roman colony of Ariminium to Ad Portum near Altinum in 132 BCE improved communications still further. In the 1st century CE, the Via Gemina would link Aquileia with Emona to the east of the Julian Alps, and by 78 or 79 CE the Via Flavia would link Aquileia to Pula.

Meanwhile, in 169 BCE, 1,500 more Latin colonists with their families, led by the triumvirate of Titus Annius Lucius, Publius Decius Subulo, and Marcus Cornelius Cethegus, settled in the town as a reinforcement to the garrison.[11] The discovery of the gold fields near the modern Klagenfurt in 130 BCE[12] brought the growing colony into further notice, and it soon became a place of importance, not only owing to its strategic military position, but as a centre of commerce, especially in agricultural products and viticulture. It also had, in later times at least, considerable brickfields.

In 90 BCE, the original Latin colony became a municipium and its citizens were ascribed to the Roman tribe Velina. The customs boundary of Italy was close by in Cicero's day. Julius Caesar visited the city on a number of occasions and pitched a winter camp nearby in 59–58 BCE.

Roman Empire

Although the

Tarsatica (near Fiume, now Rijeka) and Siscia (Sisak), and the road to Tergeste (Trieste) and the Istrian
coast.

Augustus was the first of a number of emperors to visit Aquileia, notably during the Pannonian wars in 12–10 BC. It was the birthplace of Tiberius' son by Julia, in the latter year. The Roman poet Martial praised Aquileia as his hoped-for haven and resting place in his old age.[13]

In terms of religion, the populace adopted the Roman pantheon, although the

cult of Mithras
.

The ancient inland port of Aquileia

In the war against the Marcomanni in 167, the town was hard pressed; its fortifications had fallen into disrepair during the long peace. Nevertheless, when in 168 Marcus Aurelius made Aquileia the principal fortress of the empire against the barbarians of the North and East, it rose to the pinnacle of its greatness and soon had a population of 100,000. Septimius Severus visited in 193. In 238, when the town took the side of the Senate against the emperor Maximinus Thrax, the fortifications were hastily restored, and proved of sufficient strength to resist for several months, until Maximinus himself was assassinated.

Late Antiquity

An imperial palace was constructed in Aquileia, in which the emperors after the time of Diocletian frequently resided.

as
struck in Aquileia mint

During the 4th century, Aquileia maintained its importance.

metropolitan archbishop. A council held in the city in 381 was only the first of a series of Councils of Aquileia that have been convened over the centuries. However, the city played a part in the struggles between the rulers of the 4th century. In 340, the emperor Constantine II was killed nearby while invading the territory of his younger brother Constans.

Aquileia in a 1493 woodcut from Hartmann Schedel's Nuremberg Chronicle

At the end of the 4th century, Ausonius enumerated Aquileia as the ninth among the great cities of the world, placing Rome, Constantinople, Carthage, Antioch, Alexandria, Trier, Mediolanum, and Capua before it. However, such prominence made it a target and Alaric and the Visigoths besieged it in 401, during which time some of its residents fled to the nearby lagoons. Alaric again attacked it in 408. Attila attacked the city in 452. During this invasion, on July 18, Attila and his Huns so utterly destroyed the city that it was afterwards hard to recognize its original site. The fall of Aquileia was the first of Attila's incursions into Roman territory; followed by cities like Mediolanum and Ticinum.[14] The Roman inhabitants, together with those of smaller towns in the neighbourhood, fled en masse to the lagoons, where they laid the foundations of the cities of Venice and nearby Grado.

Yet Aquileia would rise again, though much diminished, and continue to exist until the

Cividale
.

Middle Ages

The Lombard

Cividale. In 774, Charlemagne conquered the Lombard duchy and made it into a Frankish one with Eric of Friuli as duke. In 787, Charlemagne named the priest and master of grammar at the Palace School of Paulinus II
, the new patriarch of Aquileia. The patriarchate, despite being divided with a northern portion assigned to the pastoral care of the newly created Archbishopric of Salzburg, would remain one of the largest dioceses. Although Paulinus resided mainly at Cividale, his successor Maxentius considered rebuilding Aquileia. However, the project never came to fruition.

While Maxentius was patriarch, the

Magyars
.

By the 11th century, the patriarch of Aquileia had grown strong enough to assert temporal sovereignty over Friuli and Aquileia. The Holy Roman Emperor gave the region to the patriarch as a feudal possession. However, the patriarch's temporal authority was constantly disputed and assailed by the territorial nobility.

In 1027 and 1044 Patriarch

Poppo of Aquileia
, who rebuilt the cathedral of Aquileia, entered and sacked neighbouring Grado, and, though the Pope reconfirmed the Patriarch of the latter in his dignities, the town never fully recovered, though it continued to be the seat of the Patriarchate until its formal transference to Venice in 1450.

In the 14th century the Patriarchal State reached its largest extension, stretching from the Piave river to the Julian Alps and northern Istria. The seat of the Patriarchate of Aquileia had been transferred to Udine in 1238, but returned to Aquileia in 1420 when Venice annexed the territory of Udine.

In 1445, the defeated patriarch

provveditore generale or a luogotenente living in Udine. The Patriarchal diocese was only finally officially suppressed in 1751, and the sees of Udine and Gorizia
were established from its territory.

Interior of the cathedral, with the mosaic pavement.
Ancient mosaic in the cathedral.
The archaeological walk.

Main sights

Cathedral

Marquard of Randeck
.

Ancient Roman Remains

Today, Aquileia is a town that is smaller than it was when the colony was first founded by Rome. Over the centuries, sieges, earthquakes, floods and pillaging of the ancient buildings for materials mean that no building from the Roman period remain above ground. The site of Aquileia is believed to be the largest Roman city yet to be excavated and is on the UNESCO

circus, a cemetery, the Via Sacra, the forum and a market. The National Archaeological Museum of Aquileia contains over 2,000 inscriptions, statues and other antiquities and mosaics, as well as glasses of local production and a collection
.

Others

In the Monastero fraction is a 5th-century Christian basilica, later a

Benedictine monastery
, which now houses the Palaeo-Christian Museum.

Notable people

Twin towns – sister cities

Aquileia is

twinned with the following settlements:[15]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ UK: /ˌækwɪˈlə/ AK-wil-EE,[3] US: /ˌɑːkwɪˈlə/ AH-kwil-AY,[4] Italian: [akwiˈlɛːja]; Friulian: Olee / Olea / Acuilee / Aquilee / Aquilea;[5] Venetian: Aquiłeja / Aquiłegia; Slovene: Oglej.

References

  1. ^ "Superficie di Comuni Province e Regioni italiane al 9 ottobre 2011". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  2. ^ "Popolazione Residente al 1° Gennaio 2018". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  3. ^ "Aquileia". Collins English Dictionary. HarperCollins. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  4. ^ "Aquileia". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved April 6, 2019.
  5. ^ Bilingual name of Aquileja – Oglej in: Gemeindelexikon, der im Reichsrate Vertretenen Königreiche und Länder. Herausgegeben von der K.K. Statistischen Zentralkommission. VII. Österreichisch-Illyrisches Küstenland (Triest, Görz und Gradiska, Istrien) (in German). Vienna. 1910.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  6. ^ The Oxford Classical Dictionary, p. 129, at Google Books
  7. ^ A Brief History of Venice, p. 16, at Google Books
  8. ^ a b G. Bandelli, "Aquileia dalla fondazione al II secolo d.C" in Aquileia dalla fondazione al alto medioevo, M. Buora, ed. (Udine: Arte Grafiche Friulane, 1982), 20.
  9. ^ Livy, XL, 34, 2-4.
  10. ^ E. Mangani, F. Rebecchi, and M.J. Srazzulla, Emilia Venezie (Bari: Laterza & Figli, 1981), 210.
  11. ^ Livy XLIII 17,1
  12. ^ Strabo IV. 208
  13. ^ Martial, Epigrams lib. 4, 25: Aemula Baianis Altini litora villis et Phaethontei conscia silva rogi, quaeque Antenoreo Dryadum pulcherrima Fauno nupsit ad Euganeos Sola puella lacus, et tu Ledaeo felix Aquileia Timauo, hic ubi septenas Cyllarus hausit aquas: uos eritis nostrae requies portusque senectae, si iuris fuerint otia nostra sui. http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/martial/mart4.shtml
  14. ^ Jordanes (1997). "THE ORIGINS AND DEEDS OF THE GOTHS". Getica. University of Calgary. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 16 August 2011.
  15. ^ "Gemellaggi". Retrieved 4 November 2014.

General references

  • Catholic Encyclopedia
  • Neher in Kirchenlexikon I, 1184–89
  • De Rubeis, Monumenta Eccles. Aquil. (Strasburg, 1740)
  • Ferdinando Ughelli, Italia Sacra, I sqq.; X, 207
  • Cappelletti, Chiese d'Italia, VIII, 1 sqq.
  • Menzano, Annali del Friuli (1858–68)
  • Paschini, Sulle Origini della Chiesa di Aquileia (1904)
  • Glaschroeder, in Buchberger's Kirchl. Handl. (Munich, 1904), I, 300-301
  • Hefele, Conciliengesch. II, 914–23.
  • For the episcopal succession, see
    Eubel
    , Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi (Muenster, 1898).

External links