Ancient Latin city located on the southern edge of the Crater of Castiglione, about 20 km (12.4 miles) east of Rome, along the route of the Via Prenestina, originally known as Via Gabina
The city
probably developed with the progressive unification of various settlements,
located southeast of the Crater of Castiglione
Its ancient
history is connected by the sources to Sicily and also to Albalonga, of which
it was probably a colony
In the archaic
period it reached its maximum power and the extension of the urban area was
about 300 hectares (741 acres). Archaeological findings confirmed this.
REMAINS OF
THE WALLS in square blocks of tuff from Aniene. The circuit was studied with
aerial photographs and discoveries made during agricultural work
EXTRA URBAN SANCTUARY in the Valle del Fosso
San Giuliano
SACRED
AREAS INSIDE THE ANCIENT CITY
In the archaic
period the pact known as Foedus Gabinum
was agreeded with Rome, one of the oldest examples of treaties of alliance in
Roman history, written on a shield made out of cowhide, preserved until the
beginning of the imperial age in the Temple
of Semo Sancus Dius Fidius on Quirinal Hill, where the church of
S. Silvestro al Quirinale is now
Relations
between Rome and Gabii had ups and downs, but in the sixth century BC, however,
the city ended up being subject to the hegemony of Rome
After the
fourth century BC the unstoppable crisis of Gabii began
During the
third century BC the agro gabino (the
area of the Sabine people) and maybe the city itself, were devastated by the
passage of Hannibal, coming from Tusculum and heading to Rome
Also in the
third century BC maybe began the systematic exploitation of quarries of lapis Gabinus, a kind of lava stone used
in large scale in many public and private buildings
From the urban
point of view, during the republican period, two facts seem most relevant:
1) The new restructuring
since the third century BC of the entire route of Via Prenestina
2) The
complete renovation of the TEMPLE OF JUNO GABINA
Rebuilt in
the mid-second century BC as a peripteros
sine postico preceded by a staircase and a large altar. It was built on a
large sacred area oriented north-south partly cut into the rock and partly
artificial, with a portico and taverns on three sides and a theater on the
south side
It is an
early example of that Hellenistic-Italic architecture in which the temple seems
often connected with a theater
In the
early years of the imperial period, the classical sources mention Gabii as a
village almost abandoned, a sort of simple coach station along the Via
Prenestina
Some
sources refer to the presence of an important source of healthy water in Gabii,
which would have been enjoyed by Augustus himself, so it must be assumed that
there would have been fairly popular bathing complexes
In the Hadrian
(117/138) period a large square with arcades was built, in the middle of a number
of public buildings, overlooking the Via Prenestina. It was unearthed in 1792,
during excavations conducted by Visconti on behalf of Prince Borghese and Sir
Gavin Hamilton
Also during
the period of Hadrian the construction of an aqueduct was carried out
The
continuation of life in the ancient center is proven by the mentioning of the Christian
Gabina Diocese by the sources, which
would imply also the existence of a sizeable town
The Diocese
Gabina is maybe to be connected to the CHURCH OF St. PRIMITIVO, built on the
remains of Roman buildings, and dedicated to the martyr who, according to the
hagiographic tradition, was killed nearby Ponte
di Nona and thrown into the Lacus
Buranus i.e. Lake Castiglione
In the
Middle Ages a village developed, a castrum,
which, as it would usually happen in that period, was entrenched on the highest
spot of the Castiglione Crater, with a fortified wall and a tower for sighting
and signalling, still visible today
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