Altinum

Altinum (modern Altino, a "frazione" of Quarto d'Altino) is the name of an ancient coastal town of the Veneti [Ptolemy, "Geography" 3.1.30] in Venetia, 15 km SE of Tarvisium (now Treviso), in Italy, on the edge of the lagoons. It was reportedly very wealthy. Located on the eastern coast of that nation, at the mouth of the river Silis, it was first destroyed by Attila in 452 and gradually abandoned by its inhabitants, who sought refuge in the islands of the lagoon, such as Torcello and Burano, in the area where later Venice was to be built.

Altino has today some 100 inhabitants and a historical museum.

History

Altinum was both strategic and beautiful. Finds and Venetic funeral inscriptions show that it was a center as early as the fifth century BC. It increased in importance with the Romanization of the region and specifically with the construction of the Via Annia (131 BC), which passed through, linking Atria with Aquileia. At the end of the Republic, Altinum became a municipium whose citizens were ascribed to the Roman tribe "Scaptia". Augustus and his successors brought it into further importance with the construction of the Via Claudia Augusta which began at Altino and reached the "limes" of the northeast at the Danube, a distance of 350 m, apparently by way of the Lake of Constance. The place, thus, became of considerable strategic and commercial importance, and the comparatively mild climate (considering its northerly situation) led to the erection of villas which Martial ("Epigr". iv. 25) compares with those of Baiae.

Lucius Verus died there in 169 AD.

Altinum became the seat of a bishop by at least the fifth century AD, the first bishop being Heliodorus of Altino (Eliodoro). [ [http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/51000 San Liberale ] ]

Around 452, Attila the Hun captured the city and burned most of it, along with several other nearby cities. Refugees settled on the islands of the lagoons, forming settlements which eventually became known as Venice. In 568 it was conquered by the Lombards, whose domination spurred further emigration towards the Laguna Veneta. The Catholic diocese was moved to Torcello in 647. In the 10th-11th century the area of Altinum was totally abandoned; a new settlement appeared in the 15th centery, which was to become the nearby Quarto d'Altino. The current "frazione" of the latter was founded in the 19th century.

Discovery

The foundations of the city have recently been discovered near Marco Polo airport, seven miles north of Venice.

Notes and references

*1911
* [http://icarus.umkc.edu/sandbox/perseus/pecs/page.222.a.php Richard Stillwell, ed. "Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites", 1976:] "Altinum (Altino), Veneto, Italy"

External links

* http://www.classicaldictionary.bravepages.com/28.htm
* [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/2975502/Ancestor-city-of-Venice-unearthed.html Ancestor city of Venice unearthed]