Corfinium (Greek: Κορφίνιον) was a city in Ancient Italy, on the eastern side of the Apennines, due east of Rome, the site of which is now occupied by the small hamlet of San Pelino, Avezzano commune, L'Aquila province, Abruzzo region. Area under Roman control  Roman Republic  Roman Empire  Western Empire  Eastern Empire Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a city-state founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... The Apennine Mountains (Greek: Απεννινος; Latin: Appenninus--in both cases used in the singular; Italian: Appennini) is a mountain range stretching 1000 km from the north to the south of Italy along its east coast, traversing the entire peninsula, and forming, as it were, the backbone of the country. ... San Pelino is a small frazione in the commune of Avezzano in LAquila province, Abruzzo region, Italy. ... Avezzano is a town and comune in the Abruzzo region, Province of LAquila, 70 km east of Rome. ... Aquila (It. ... Abruzzo is a region of Italy bordering Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and south-west, Molise to the south-east and the Adriatic Sea to the east. ...

History

Corfinium was the chief city of the Paeligni, situated in the valley of the Aternus, near the point where that river suddenly makes a sharp angle, and turns from a southeasterly to a northeasterly course, which it pursues from thence to the Adriatic Sea. It was distant 7 miles from Sulmo (modern Sulmona), and 30 from Alba Fucensis by the Via Valeria. There can be no doubt that Corfinium was from an early period the capital city of the Paeligni, and one of the chief towns in this part of Italy; but no mention of its name is found in history until the outbreak of the Social War, in 90 BCE, when it was selected by the confederates to be their common capital, and the seat of their government. It was probably to the importance of its situation in a military point of view that it was mainly indebted for this distinction; but the allied nations seem to have destined it to be the permanent capital of Italy, and the rival of Rome, as they changed its name to Italica, and adorned it with a new and spacious forum and senate house, and other public buildings of a style corresponding to its intended greatness. (Strabo v. p. 241; Vell. Pat. ii. 16; Diod. xxxvii. Exc. Phot. p. 538.) But before the end of the second year of the war they were compelled to abandon their new capital, and transfer the seat of government to Aesernia (modern Isernia). (Diod. l. c. p. 539.) The fate of Corfinium after this is not mentioned, but it probably fell into the hands of the Romans without resistance, and in consequence did not suffer; for we find it at the outbreak of the Civil War between Julius Caesar and Pompey, 49 BCE, still retaining its position as a city of importance and a strong fortress. On this account it was occupied by L. Domitius with 30 cohorts, and was the only place which offered any effectual resistance to the arms of Caesar during his advance through Italy. Nor was it reduced by force, but the disaffection which rapidly spread among his officers compelled Domitius to surrender after a siege of only seven days. (Caes. B.C. i. 15--23; Appian, B.C. ii. 38; Cic. ad Att. viii. 3, 5, ix. 7; Suet. Caes. 34; Lucan ii.478--510.) Along with the garrison, several important Republican personages were also captured; Caesar released these after obtaining their oaths of loyalty, oaths many promptly broke. The Paeligni were a people of ancient Italy, first mentioned as a member of a confederacy which included the Marsi, Marrucini and Vestini, with which the Romans came into conflict in the second Samnite War, 325 BC. On the submission of the Samnites they all came into alliance with Rome... The Aterno is a river in eastern Italy. ... A satellite image of the Adriatic Sea. ... View of the citys center. ... Via Valeria, an ancient Roman road of Italy was the continuation north-eastwards of the Via Tiburtina. ... Template:Campaignbox Social War This article is about the conflict between Rome and her allies between 91 and 88 BC The Social War (also called the Italian War or the Marsic War, Social come from Socii meaning ¨Allies¨) was a war from 91 – 88 BC between the Roman Republic and... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 140s BC 130s BC 120s BC 110s BC 100s BC - 90s BC - 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC 40s BC Years: 95 BC 94 BC 93 BC 92 BC 91 BC - 90 BC - 89 BC 88 BC 87... The Greek geographer Strabo in a 16th century engraving. ... Diodorus Siculus was a Greek historian, born at Agyrium in Sicily (now called Agira, in the province of Enna). ... Isernia (Latin: Aesernia or, in Pliny and later writers, Eserninus, or in the Antonine Itinerary, Serni; Greek: ) is a town and comune in the southern Italian region of Molise, and the capital of Isernia province. ... Area under Roman control  Roman Republic  Roman Empire  Western Empire  Eastern Empire Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew from a city-state founded on the Italian Peninsula circa the 9th century BC to a massive empire straddling the Mediterranean Sea. ... Combatants Julius Caesar and supporters, the Populares faction, Roman senate, the Optimates faction, Commanders Julius Caesar Pompey, Titus Labienus†, Metellus Scipio†, Cato the younger†, Gnaeus Pompeius The Roman civil war of 49 BC, sometimes called Caesars Civil War, is one of the last conflicts within the Roman Republic. ... Gaius Julius Caesar[1] (Latin pronunciation ; English pronunciation ; July 12 or July 13, 100 BC – March 15, 44 BC), often simply referred to as Julius Caesar, was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men in world history. ... Pompey, Pompey the Great or Pompey the Triumvir [1] (Classical Latin abbreviation: CN·POMPEIVS·CN·F·SEX·N·MAGNVS[2], Gnaeus or Cnaeus Pompeius Magnus) (September 29, 106 BC–September 29, 48 BC), was a distinguished military and political leader of the late Roman republic. ... Centuries: 2nd century BC - 1st century BC - 1st century Decades: 90s BC 80s BC 70s BC 60s BC 50s BC - 40s BC - 30s BC 20s BC 10s BC 0s BC 0s Years: 54 BC 53 BC 52 BC 51 BC 50 BC 49 BC 48 BC 47 BC 46 BC... Ahenobarbus (brazen-bearded or red-haired) is the name of a plebeian Roman family of the gens Domitia. ... Appian (c. ... Cicero at about age 60, from an ancient marble bust Marcus Tullius Cicero (IPA: ; Latin pronunciation:  ; January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was an orator, statesman, political theorist, lawyer and philosopher of Ancient Rome. ... This article is about the Roman historian. ... Lucan can refer to: Lucan, a town in County Dublin Lucan, a town in Minnesota, USA Lucan, a town in Ontario, Canada Earl of Lucan, a British peerage title Richard Bingham, 7th Earl of Lucan, the most famous holder Lucan, a Roman poet Lucan the Butler, a Knight of the...

From this time we hear but little of Corfinium; but inscriptions attest that it continued to be a flourishing municipal town under the Roman Empire, and its prosperity is proved by the fact that its inhabitants were able to construct two aqueducts for supplying it with water, both of which are in great part hewn in the solid rock, and one of them is carried through a tunnel nearly 5 km in length. (Romanelli, vol. iii. pp. 149-151; Orell. Inscr. 3695, 3696; Mommsen, Inscr. Neap. 5350, foll.) This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer) (symbol: km) is a unit of length equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words khilia = thousand and metro = count/measure). ... Christian Matthias Theodor Mommsen (30 November 1817 - 1 November 1903) was a German classical scholar and historian, generally regarded as the greatest classicist of the 19th century. ...

A part of the territory of Corfinium had been portioned out to new settlers as early as the time of the Gracchi: it received a fresh body of colonists under Augustus, but never assumed the title of a colony, all inscriptions giving it that of a municipium only. (Lib. Colon. pp. 228, 255.) It still appears in the Itineraries as a place of importance (Itin. Ant. p. 310; Tab. Peut.), and even seems to have been in the fourth century regarded as the capital of the province of Valeria, and the residence of its Praeses or governor. (Ughelli, ap. Romanelli, vol. iii. p. 151.) The period of its destruction is unknown, but it seems to have been still in existence as late as the tenth century. After that time we find a city named Valva, which appears to have succeeded to the site of Corfinium, but has now also disappeared, though the adjoining valley is still called La Pianata di Valva. The Gracchi were a plebeian family of ancient Rome. ... Augustus (Latin: IMP•CAESAR•DIVI•F•AVGVSTVS;[1] September 23, 63 BC–August 19, AD 14), known as Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus (English Octavian; Latin: C•IVLIVS•C•F•CAESAR•OCTAVIANVS) for the period of his life prior to 27 BC, was the first and among the most important of... The Antonine Itinerary is a Latin document that can be described as the Road Map of Roman Britain. ... The Tabula Peutingeriana (Peutinger table) is an itinerarium showing the cursus publicus, the road network in the Roman Empire. ... (3rd century - 4th century - 5th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Valeria - Russian female name. ... ( 9th century - 10th century - 11th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. ... Valva is an ancient Italian city that was built on the site of more ancient Corfinium. ...

The site of Corfinium is clearly marked at San Pelino in the immediate neighbourhood of Pentima (a large village about 5 km from Popoli, and 10 from Sulmona); the ruins of the ancient city, which are very inconsiderable, and consist of little more than shapeless fragments of buildings, are scattered round an ancient church at San Pelino, which was at one time the cathedral of Valva. But the numerous inscriptions discovered on the spot leave no doubt that this is the true site of Corfinium. The bridge over the Aternus, 5 km from the latter city, is mentioned both by Caesar and Strabo, and must always have been a military point of the highest importance. Hence Domitius committed a capital error in neglecting to occupy it in sufficient force when Caesar was advancing upon Corfinium. (Caes. B.C. i. 16; Lucan ii.484-504; Strab. v. p. 242.) This bridge must evidently be the same, close to which the modern town of Popoli has grown up; leading to the erroneous supposition by some authors that Popoli, rather than San Pelino, occupies the site of Corfinium. (Cluver. Ital. p. 758; Romanelli, vol. iii. pp. 148-156; Craven's Abruzzi, vol. ii. p. 18) San Pelino is a small frazione in the commune of Avezzano in LAquila province, Abruzzo region, Italy. ... Popoli is a commune and town in the Province of Pescara in the Abruzzo region of Italy Abruzzo · Communes of the province of Pescara Categories: | ... View of the citys center. ...

References

• This article incorporates text from the public domain Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography by William Smith (1857).