Ancient town in central Italy
Collatia
was an ancient town of central
Italy
, c. 15 km northeast of
Rome
by the
Via Collatina
.
[1]
It appears in the legendary history of Rome as captured by
King
Tarquinius Priscus
.
Vergil
speaks of it as a Latin colony of
Alba Longa
. In the time of
Cicero
it had lost all importance;
Strabo
names it as a mere village, in private hands, while for
Pliny
it was one of the lost cities of Latium.
[2]
According to
Livy
, it was taken, along with its population and surrounding land, from the
Sabines
by Tarquinius Priscus at the conclusion of his
war
against them. Livy records the wording of the form of the town's surrender.
[4]
The date of Tarquinius'
triumph
over the Sabines, according to the
Fasti Triumphales
, which Livy says occurred shortly after the surrender of Collatia, is 13 September, 585 BC.
By 509 BC the town was governed by the Roman
Lucius Tarquinius Collatinus
, who took his name from the town. It was the site of the rape of
Lucretia
in that year, and
Livy
records that the leaders of the
revolution
which followed thereafter, gathered in Collatia to hear Lucretia's tale, then gathered the youth of Collatia to commence their revolution.
[5]
The site is undoubtedly to be sought on the hill now occupied by the large medieval fortified farmhouse of
Castello di Lunghezza
immediately to the south of
the Anio
, which occupies the site of the citadel joined by a narrow neck to the tableland to the southeast on which the city stood: this is protected by wide valleys on each side, and is isolated at the southeast end by a deep narrow valley enlarged by cutting.
No remains are to be seen, but the site is admirably adapted for an ancient settlement. The road may be traced leading to the south end of this tableland, being identical with the modern road to Lunghezza for the middle part of its course only. The earlier identification with
Castellaccio
, c. 3.5 km to the southeast, is untenable.
See also
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References
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41°55′30″N
12°40′00″E
/
41.9251°N 12.6666°E
/
41.9251; 12.6666