Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/644

 628 PICEXUM. called Flaminia, atd the two together constituted a province which comprised all the strip of Umbria along the coast of the Adriatic, as well as the terri- tory of the Sabines, Vestini, Pelifjni, and JIarsi. Hence we find the Liber Coloniarum including the whole of this extensive district under the name of Picenum, and enumerating not only Alba and Nursia, but even Nomentum, Fidenae, and Tibur, among the '• civitates Piceni." (Lib. Colon, p. 252—259.) But this arrangement did not last long. Flaminia and Valeria were again separated from Picenum, and that province was subdivided into two: the one called " Picenum suburbicarium," or simply Picenum, which was the original district of that name, corre- sponding to the Fifth Region of Augustus ; while the name of " Picenum Annonarium " was given to the tract from the Aesis to the Rubicon, which had been originally known as the " Gallicus Ager,'' and in the days of Augustus was comprised under the name of Umbria. (Lib. Colon, pp. 225 — 227; Mommsen, Die Lib. Col. pp. 208 — 214; Notil. Dign. ii. pp. 64, 65; Bucking, ad Not. pp. 432, 443; P. Diac. ii. 19.) In the wars between the Goths and the generals of Justinian, Picenum repeatedly became the imme- diate theatre of hostilities. Auximum in particular, ■which was at this time tbe chief city or capital of the province, was regarded as one of the most im- portant fortresses in Italy, and withstood for a long time the arms of Belisarius. (Procop. B. G. ii. 10, 23—27.) After the expulsion of the Goths, Pice- num became one of the provinces of the exarchate of Eavenua, and as such continued subject to the Greek emperors until the final downfal of the exarchs. It Was at this period that arose the geographical desig- nation of the Pentapolis, for a province which com- prised the greater part of Picenum, together with the maritime district of Umbria as far as Ariminum. The province of this name was one of those bestowed on the see of Rome by king Pepin after the defeat of the Lombard king Astolplms (a. d. 754), and has ever since continued to form part of the States of the Church. Picenum is a district of great fertility and beauty. Extending in a broad band of nearly uniform width from the central ranges of the Apennines, which form its boundary on the W., and which here attain their greatest elevation in the Monte Coi-no and Monti ddla Sibilla, it slopes gradually from thence to the sea ; the greater part of this space being occupied by great hills, the underfalls of the more lofty Apen- nines, which in their more elevated regions are clothed with extensive forests, while the lower slopes produce abundance of fruit-trees and olives, as well as good wine and corn. (Strab. v. p. 240 ; Liv. xxii. 9.) Both Horace and Juvenal extol the excellence of its apples, and Pliny tells us its ohves were among the choicest in Italy. (Hor. Sat. ii. 3. 272, 4. 70; Juv. xi. 72 ; Plin. xv. 3. s. 4.) Tbe whole district is furrowed by numerous streams, which, descending with great rapidity from the lofty ranges of the Apennines, partake much of a torrent-like character, but nevertheless serve to irrigate the whole country, which is thus rendered one of the pleasantest in Italy. These streams pursue nearly parallel courses, the di- rect distance from their sources to the sea in no case much exceeding 40 miles. They are, proceeding from S. to N., as follows : (1) The Matrinus, now called La Piomba, a small stream which formed the southern limit of Picenum, separating it from the territory of the Vestini ; (2) the Vomanus, still PICENUM. called the Vomano, which separated the district of Adria from that of the Praetutii ; (3) the Batinus, now called the Tordino, but sometimes also the Tronthio, which flows by Teramo (Interamna) ; (4)tl!eTRUESTUS (Tronto), the most considerable of all these streams, which flows under the walls of Ascoli (Asculum); (5) the Tinna, still called the Tenna ; (6) the Flusor, now the Chienti; (7) the PoTENTiA, still called the Potenza ; (8) the Misio or Misius, now known as the Musone. The.se last names are known only from the Tabula : on the other hand Pliny mentions a stream called Albula, to which are added in some MSS. the names of Suinus and Helvinus. All these are placed appa- rently between the river Truentus and the town of Cupra Maritima ; but besides the uncertainty of the reading, the whole description of this region in Pliny is so confused that it is very unsafe to rely upon his order of enumeration. The Albula cannot be iden- tified with any certainty, but may perhaps be the stream now called the Salinello, and the other two names are probably mere corruptions. 9. The Aesis (Esino), a much more considerable stream, flowing into the sea between Ancona and Sena Gallica, formed tbe boundary which separated Picenum from Um- bria. The towns of Picenum are numerous, and, from the accounts of the pojailousness of the country in early times, were prfibably many of them once con- siderable, but few have any historical celebrity. Those on the sea-coast (proceeding as before from S. to N.) were: (1) Matrinum, at the mouth of the river of the same name, serving as the port of Adria (Strab. V. p. 241); (2) Castrum Novum, at the mouth of the Batinus, near Giidia Nuova; (3) Cas- trum Truentinum or Truentum, at the mouth of the river of the same name ; (4) Cupr. Mari- TiJiA, at Le Groffe a Mare, about 3 miles N. of 5. Benedetto; (5) Ca.strum Firmanuth, now Pm-to di Fermo, at the mouth of the little river Leta ; (6) Potestia (Sta Maria a Potenza'), at the. mouth of the river of the same name; (7) Numana, still called Umana, at the southern extremity of the mountain headland called ifonte Comero; and (8) Ancona, at the northern end of the same promon- tory. This last was by for the most important of the maritime towns of Picenum, and the only one that possessed a port worthy of the name: with this exception all the most important cities of the region were situated inland, on hills of considerable eleva- tion, and thus enjoyed the advantage of strong po- sitions as fortresses. The most important of these were Auximum (Osimo), about 12 miles S. of An- cona ; CiNGULUM {CinQoli), in a very lofty situa- tion, between the valleys of the Aesis and Potentia ; Firmum {Fermo'), on a hill about 6 miles from the sea ; Asculum {Ascoli), the ancient capital of Pice- num, in a very strong situation on the river Truen- tus, about 22 miles from its mouth ; Interamna {Teramo), the chief city of the Praetutii ; and Adria {Atri), almost close to the southern frontier of Picenum. The minor towns in the interior were Beregra, which may perhaps be placed at Civitella di Tronto, not far from Ascoli ; Cupka Montana, so called to distinguish it from the maritime city of the same name, supposed to have occupied the site of liipatransone ; Cluana, at S. Elpidio a Mare, about 4 miles from the sea, and a little to the N. of Fermo; Novana, probably at Monte di Nove, ne&r Montalto; Faleria {Fallerone), in the upper valley of the Tinna ; Urbs Salvia {Urhisaglia) and Tolenti-