Aquileia
Encyclopedia
Aquileia is an ancient
Roman
city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic
at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natissa), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small (about 3500 inhabitants), but it was large and prominent in Antiquity, and is one of the main archeological sites of Northern Italy
.
Aquileia was founded as a colony by the Romans
in 180/181 BC along the Natissa River, on land south of the Julian Alps
but about 8 miles north of the lagoons. Presumably named from an indigenous word Akylis, the colony served as a frontier fortress at the north-east corner of transpadane Italy and was intended to protect the Veneti
, faithful Roman allies, during the Illyrian Wars
and act as a buttress to check the advance of other warlike people, such as the hostile Carni
and Histri
tribes. In fact, Aquileia was founded on a site not far from where Gaul
ish invaders had attempted to settle in 183 BC.
The colony was established with Latin rights by the triumvirate of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica
, Caius Flaminius, and Lucius Manlius Acidinus
, two of whom were of consul
ar and one of praetor
ian rank. They led 3,000 pedites (infantry), mainly from Samnium
, who with their families formed the bulk of the settlers and were soon supplemented by native Veneti
. It is likely that Aquileia had been a center of Venetia even before the coming of the Romans. And Aquileia's strategic military position also served to promote the Venetic trade in amber imported from the Baltic.
Aquileia was connected by road with Bologna
probably in 173 BC; and subsequently with Genoa
in 148 BC by the Via Postumia
, which ran through Cremona
, Bedriacum and Altinum
, joining the first-mentioned road at Concordia, while the construction of the Via Popilia
from Rimini to Ad Portum near Altinum in 132 BC improved the communications still further.
In 169 BC, 1,500 more Latin colonists with their families were settled in the town as a reinforcement to the garrison. The discovery of the gold fields near the modern Klagenfurt
in 130 BC brought it into notice, and it soon became a place of importance, not only owing to its strategic position, but as a centre of trade, especially in agricultural products and viticulture. It also had, in later times at least, considerable brickfields.
The original Latin
colony became a municipium
probably in 90 BC. Citizens were ascribed to the Roman tribe Velina. The customs boundary of Italy was close by in Cicero
's day. It was plundered by the Iapydes
under Augustus
, but, in the period of peace which followed, was able to develop its resources. Augustus visited it during the Pannonian wars in 12‑10 BC and it was the birthplace of Tiberius
' son by Julia, in the latter year.
It was the starting-point of several important roads leading to the north-eastern portion of the empire — the road (Via Iulia Augusta) by Iulium Carnicum to Veldidena (mod. Wilten, near Innsbruck
), from which branched off the road into Noricum
, leading by Virunum (Klagenfurt
) to Laurieum (Lorch) on the Danube
, the road into Pannonia
, leading to Aemona (Ljubljana
) and Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica
), the road to Tarsatica (near Fiume, now Rijeka
) and Siscia (Sisak
), and that to Tergeste (Trieste
) and the Istria
n coast.
Besides natives of Italy, Celts, Illyrians
, Greeks
, Egyptians
, Jews
, and Syrians all settled in the city and contributed to its commercial development. Jewish artisans established a flourishing trade in glasswork. Metal from Noricum
was forged and exported. The ancient Venetic trade in amber from the Baltic was continued. Wine, especially its famous Pucinum was exported. Oil was imported from Proconsular Africa.
In terms of religion, the Roman pantheon was adopted although a native sungod, Belenus
, had a large following. Jews practiced their ancestral religion and it was perhaps some of these Jews who became the first Christians. Meanwhile, soldiers brought the martial cult of Mithras.
In the war against the Marcomanni
in 167, the town was hard pressed; its fortifications had fallen into disrepair during the long peace. Nevertheless, when in 168 Marcus Aurelius made Aquileia the principal fortress of the empire against the barbarians of the North and East, it rose to the pinnacle of its greatness and soon had a population of 100,000. In 238, when the town took the side of the Senate
against the Emperor Maximinus Thrax
, the fortifications were hastily restored, and proved of sufficient strength to resist for several months, until Maximinus himself was assassinated.
During the 4th century, Aquileia maintained its importance. Constantine sojourned there on numerous occasions. It became a naval station and the seat of the Corrector
Venetiarum et Histriae; a mint was established, of which the coins were very numerous, and the bishop obtained the rank of metropolitan
archbishop. A council held in the city in 381
was only the first of a series of Councils of Aquileia
that have been convened over the centuries.
An imperial palace was constructed here, in which the emperors after the time of Diocletian
frequently resided; and the city often played a part in the struggles between the rulers of the 4th century. In 340, Emperor Constantine II
was killed under its walls while attempting to take the city from his younger brother Constans
.
, enumerated Aquileia as the ninth among the great cities of the world, placing Rome, Mediolanum
, Constantinople
, Carthage
, Antioch
, Alexandria
, Trier
, and Capua
before it. However, such prominence made it a target and it was besieged by Alaric
and the Visigoths in 401, during which time some of its residents fled to the nearby lagoons. It was again unsuccessfully attacked in 408 by Attila, who returned in 452. During this second invasion, the city was so utterly destroyed
by Attila and his Huns that it was afterwards hard to recognize its original site. the fall of Aquileia was the first of Attila's incursions into Roman territory, followed by cities like Mediolanum
and Ticinum
. The Roman inhabitants, together with those of smaller towns in the neighborhood, fled en masse to the lagoons, and so laid the foundations of the cities of Venice
and nearby Grado
.
Yet Aquileia would rise again, though much diminished, and continue to exist until the Lombard
invasion of 568. It was once more destroyed (590) by the Lombards. Meanwhile, the patriarch fled to the island town of Grado, which was under the protection of the Byzantines. When the patriarch residing in Grado was reconciled with Rome in 606, those continuing in the Schism of the Three Chapters
, rejecting the Second Council of Constantinople
, elected a patriarch at Aquileia. Thus, the diocese was essentially divided into two parts, with the mainland patriarchate of Aquileia under the protection of the Lombards
, and the insular patriarchate of Aquileia seated in Grado
being protected by the exarchate of Ravenna
and later the Doges of Venice, with the collusion of the Lombards. The line of the patriarchs elected in Aquileia would continue in schism until 699. However, although they kept the title of patriarch of Aquileia, they moved their residence first to Cormons
and later to Cividale.
The Lombard Dukes of Friuli
ruled Aquileia and the surrounding mainland territory from Cividale. In 774, Charlemagne
conquered the Lombard duchy and made it into a Frankish one with Eric of Friuli
as duke. In 787, Charlemagne named the priest and master of grammar at the Palace School Paulinus the new patriarch of Aquileia. Although Paulinus resided mainly at Cividale, his successor Maxentius considered rebuilding Aquileia. However, the project never came to fruition.
While Maxentius was patriarch, the pope approved the Synod of Mantua, which affirmed the precedence of the mainland patriarch of Aquileia over the patriarch of Grado. However, material conditions were soon to worsen for Aquileia. The ruins of Aquileia were continually pillaged for building material. And with the collapse of the Carolingians in the 10th century, the inhabitants would suffer under the raids of the Magyars.
By the 11th century, the patriarch of Aquileia had grown strong enough to assert temporal sovereignty over Friuli and Aquileia. The Holy Roman Emperor gave the region to the patriarch as a feudal possession. However, the patriarch's temporal authority was constantly disputed and assailed by the territorial nobility.
In 1027 and 1044 Patriarch Poppo of Aquileia, who rebuilt the cathedral of Aquileia, entered and sacked neighboring Grado, and, though the Pope reconfirmed the Patriarch of the latter in his dignities, the town never fully recovered, though it continued to be the seat of the Patriarchate until its formal transference to Venice in 1450.
In the 14th century the Patriarchate reached its biggest extension, stretching from the Piave river to the Julian Alps
and northern Istria
. The seat of the Patriarchate of Aquileia had been transferred to Udine
in 1238, but returned to Aquiliea in 1420 when Venice annexed the territory of Udine.
In 1445, the defeated patriarch Ludovico Trevisan acquiesced in the loss of his ancient temporal estate in return for an annual salary of 5,000 ducats allowed him from the Venetian
treasury. Henceforth only Venetians were allowed to hold the title of Patriarch of Aquileia. The Patriarchate was incorporated in the Republic of Venice
with the name of Patria del Friuli, ruled by a General Proveditor or a "Luogotenente" living in Udine.
It was finally officially suppressed in 1751, and the sees of Udine
and Gorizia
(Görz) established in its stead.
style by Patriarch Marquard of Randeck.
The façade, in Romanesque-Gothic style, is connected by a portico to the so-called Church of the Pagans, and the remains of the 5th century Baptistry. The interior has a nave and two aisles, with a noteworthy mosaic pavement from the 4th century. The wooden ceiling is from 1526, while the fresco decoration belongs to various ages: from the 4th century in the St. Peter's chapel of the apse area; from the 11th century in the apse itself; from the 12th century in the so-called "Crypt of the Frescoes", under the presbytery, with a cycle depicting the origins of Christianity in Aquileia and the history of St. Hermagoras, first bishop of the city.
Next to the 11th century Romanesque chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, at the beginning of the left aisle, flooring of different ages can be seen: the lowest is from a Roman villa of the age of Augustus
; the middle one has a typical cocciopesto pavement; the upper one, bearing blackening from the Attila's fire, has geometrical decorations.
Externally, behind the 9th century campanile and the apse, is the Cemetery of the Fallen, where ten unnamed soldiers of World War I are buried. Saint Hermangoras
is also buried there.
The site of Aquileia, believed to be the largest Roman city yet to be excavated, is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Ancient history
Ancient history is the study of the written past from the beginning of recorded human history to the Early Middle Ages. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, with Cuneiform script, the oldest discovered form of coherent writing, from the protoliterate period around the 30th century BC...
Roman
Roman Republic
The Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso (modern Natissa), the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times. Today, the city is small (about 3500 inhabitants), but it was large and prominent in Antiquity, and is one of the main archeological sites of Northern Italy
Northern Italy
Northern Italy is a wide cultural, historical and geographical definition, without any administrative usage, used to indicate the northern part of the Italian state, also referred as Settentrione or Alta Italia...
.
Roman Era
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
in 180/181 BC along the Natissa River, on land south of the Julian Alps
Julian Alps
The Julian Alps are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav. They are named after Julius Caesar, who founded the municipium of Cividale del Friuli at the foot of the mountains...
but about 8 miles north of the lagoons. Presumably named from an indigenous word Akylis, the colony served as a frontier fortress at the north-east corner of transpadane Italy and was intended to protect the Veneti
Adriatic Veneti
The Veneti were an ancient people who inhabited north-eastern Italy, in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of the Veneto....
, faithful Roman allies, during the Illyrian Wars
Illyrian Wars
Illyrian Wars were a set of conflicts of 229 BC, 219 BC and 168 BC when Rome overran the Illyrian settlements and suppressed the piracy that had made the Adriatic unsafe for Italian commerce. There were three campaigns, the first against Teuta, the second against Demetrius of Pharos and the third...
and act as a buttress to check the advance of other warlike people, such as the hostile Carni
Carni
The Carni were a tribe of the Eastern Alps in classical antiquity, settling in the mountains separating Noricum and Venetia....
and Histri
Histri
Histri were an ancient tribe, which Strabo refers to as living in Istria, to which they gave the name.The Histri are classified in some sources as a "Venetic" Illyrian tribe, with certain linguistic differences from other Illyrians. The Romans described the Histri as a fierce tribe of pirates,...
tribes. In fact, Aquileia was founded on a site not far from where Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
ish invaders had attempted to settle in 183 BC.
The colony was established with Latin rights by the triumvirate of Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica
Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica
Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica was a consul of ancient Rome in 191 BC. He was a son of Gnaeus Cornelius Scipio Calvus...
, Caius Flaminius, and Lucius Manlius Acidinus
Lucius Manlius Acidinus
Lucius Manlius Acidinus was a member of the Manlia gens who stood as praetor urbanus in 210 BC. He was sent by the senate into Sicily to bring back the consul Marcus Valerius Laevinus to Rome to hold the elections...
, two of whom were of consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
ar and one of praetor
Praetor
Praetor was a title granted by the government of Ancient Rome to men acting in one of two official capacities: the commander of an army, usually in the field, or the named commander before mustering the army; and an elected magistratus assigned varied duties...
ian rank. They led 3,000 pedites (infantry), mainly from Samnium
Samnium
Samnium is a Latin exonym for a region of south or south and central Italy in Roman times. The name survives in Italian today, but today's territory comprising it is only a small portion of what it once was. The populations of Samnium were called Samnites by the Romans...
, who with their families formed the bulk of the settlers and were soon supplemented by native Veneti
Adriatic Veneti
The Veneti were an ancient people who inhabited north-eastern Italy, in an area corresponding to the modern-day region of the Veneto....
. It is likely that Aquileia had been a center of Venetia even before the coming of the Romans. And Aquileia's strategic military position also served to promote the Venetic trade in amber imported from the Baltic.
Aquileia was connected by road with Bologna
Bologna
Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...
probably in 173 BC; and subsequently with Genoa
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....
in 148 BC by the Via Postumia
Via Postumia
The Via Postumia was an ancient Roman road of northern Italy constructed in 148 BC by the consul Spurius Postumius Albinus Magnus.It ran from the coast at Genua through the mountains to Dertona, Placentia and Cremona, just east of the point where it crossed the Po River...
, which ran through Cremona
Cremona
Cremona is a city and comune in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po River in the middle of the Pianura Padana . It is the capital of the province of Cremona and the seat of the local City and Province governments...
, Bedriacum and Altinum
Altinum
260px|thumb|Remains of the Roman [[decumanus]].Altinum is the name of an ancient coastal town of the Veneti 15 km SE of the modern Treviso, northern Italy, on the edge of the lagoons...
, joining the first-mentioned road at Concordia, while the construction of the Via Popilia
Via Popilia
The Via Popilia is the name of two different ancient Roman roads begun in the consulship of Publius Popilius Laenas.The first road was an extension of the Via Flaminia from Ariminum around the north of the Adriatic through the region that later became Venice...
from Rimini to Ad Portum near Altinum in 132 BC improved the communications still further.
In 169 BC, 1,500 more Latin colonists with their families were settled in the town as a reinforcement to the garrison. The discovery of the gold fields near the modern Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
in 130 BC brought it into notice, and it soon became a place of importance, not only owing to its strategic position, but as a centre of trade, especially in agricultural products and viticulture. It also had, in later times at least, considerable brickfields.
The original Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
colony became a municipium
Municipium
Municipium , the prototype of English municipality, was the Latin term for a town or city. Etymologically the municipium was a social contract between municipes, the "duty holders," or citizens of the town. The duties, or munera, were a communal obligation assumed by the municipes in exchange for...
probably in 90 BC. Citizens were ascribed to the Roman tribe Velina. The customs boundary of Italy was close by in Cicero
Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero , was a Roman philosopher, statesman, lawyer, political theorist, and Roman constitutionalist. He came from a wealthy municipal family of the equestrian order, and is widely considered one of Rome's greatest orators and prose stylists.He introduced the Romans to the chief...
's day. It was plundered by the Iapydes
Iapydes
The Iapydes were an ancient people who dwelt north of and inland from the Liburnians, off the Adriatic coast and eastwards of the Istrian peninsula...
under Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
, but, in the period of peace which followed, was able to develop its resources. Augustus visited it during the Pannonian wars in 12‑10 BC and it was the birthplace of Tiberius
Tiberius
Tiberius , was Roman Emperor from 14 AD to 37 AD. Tiberius was by birth a Claudian, son of Tiberius Claudius Nero and Livia Drusilla. His mother divorced Nero and married Augustus in 39 BC, making him a step-son of Octavian...
' son by Julia, in the latter year.
It was the starting-point of several important roads leading to the north-eastern portion of the empire — the road (Via Iulia Augusta) by Iulium Carnicum to Veldidena (mod. Wilten, near Innsbruck
Innsbruck
- Main sights :- Buildings :*Golden Roof*Kaiserliche Hofburg *Hofkirche with the cenotaph of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor*Altes Landhaus...
), from which branched off the road into Noricum
Noricum
Noricum, in ancient geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and a part of Slovenia. It became a province of the Roman Empire...
, leading by Virunum (Klagenfurt
Klagenfurt
-Name:Carinthia's eminent linguists Primus Lessiak and Eberhard Kranzmayer assumed that the city's name, which literally translates as "ford of lament" or "ford of complaints", had something to do with the superstitious thought that fateful fairies or demons tend to live around treacherous waters...
) to Laurieum (Lorch) on the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
, the road into Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
, leading to Aemona (Ljubljana
Ljubljana
Ljubljana is the capital of Slovenia and its largest city. It is the centre of the City Municipality of Ljubljana. It is located in the centre of the country in the Ljubljana Basin, and is a mid-sized city of some 270,000 inhabitants...
) and Sirmium (Sremska Mitrovica
Sremska Mitrovica
Sremska Mitrovica is a city and municipality located in the Vojvodina province of Serbia, on the left bank of the Sava river. As of 2002 the town had a total population of 39,041, while Sremska Mitrovica municipality had a population of 85,605...
), the road to Tarsatica (near Fiume, now Rijeka
Rijeka
Rijeka is the principal seaport and the third largest city in Croatia . It is located on Kvarner Bay, an inlet of the Adriatic Sea and has a population of 128,735 inhabitants...
) and Siscia (Sisak
Sisak
Sisak is a city in central Croatia. The city's population in 2011 was 33,049, with a total of 49,699 in the administrative region and it is also the administrative centre of the Sisak-Moslavina county...
), and that to Tergeste (Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
) and the Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
n coast.
Besides natives of Italy, Celts, Illyrians
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
, Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
, Egyptians
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
, Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, and Syrians all settled in the city and contributed to its commercial development. Jewish artisans established a flourishing trade in glasswork. Metal from Noricum
Noricum
Noricum, in ancient geography, was a Celtic kingdom stretching over the area of today's Austria and a part of Slovenia. It became a province of the Roman Empire...
was forged and exported. The ancient Venetic trade in amber from the Baltic was continued. Wine, especially its famous Pucinum was exported. Oil was imported from Proconsular Africa.
In terms of religion, the Roman pantheon was adopted although a native sungod, Belenus
Belenus
In Celtic mythology, Bel, Belenos was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Cisalpine Gaul, and Celtic areas of Austria, Britain and Spain. He is particularly associated with Cornwall, West Cornwall being anciently called Belerion, the place of Bel...
, had a large following. Jews practiced their ancestral religion and it was perhaps some of these Jews who became the first Christians. Meanwhile, soldiers brought the martial cult of Mithras.
In the war against the Marcomanni
Marcomanni
The Marcomanni were a Germanic tribe, probably related to the Buri, Suebi or Suevi.-Origin:Scholars believe their name derives possibly from Proto-Germanic forms of "march" and "men"....
in 167, the town was hard pressed; its fortifications had fallen into disrepair during the long peace. Nevertheless, when in 168 Marcus Aurelius made Aquileia the principal fortress of the empire against the barbarians of the North and East, it rose to the pinnacle of its greatness and soon had a population of 100,000. In 238, when the town took the side of the Senate
Roman Senate
The Senate of the Roman Republic was a political institution in the ancient Roman Republic, however, it was not an elected body, but one whose members were appointed by the consuls, and later by the censors. After a magistrate served his term in office, it usually was followed with automatic...
against the Emperor Maximinus Thrax
Maximinus Thrax
Maximinus Thrax , also known as Maximinus I, was Roman Emperor from 235 to 238.Maximinus is described by several ancient sources, though none are contemporary except Herodian's Roman History. Maximinus was the first emperor never to set foot in Rome...
, the fortifications were hastily restored, and proved of sufficient strength to resist for several months, until Maximinus himself was assassinated.
Corrector
A corrector is a person who or object that practices correction, usually by removing or rectifying errors.The word is originally a Roman title corrector, derived from the Latin verb corrigēre, meaning "an action to rectify, to make right a wrong."Apart from the general sense of anyone who corrects...
Venetiarum et Histriae; a mint was established, of which the coins were very numerous, and the bishop obtained the rank of metropolitan
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
archbishop. A council held in the city in 381
Council of Aquileia, 381
The Council of Aquileia in 381 AD was a church synod which was part of the struggle between Arian and orthodox ideas in Christianity. It was one of five councils of Aquileia....
was only the first of a series of Councils of Aquileia
Councils of Aquileia
In the history of Christianity and later of the Roman Catholic Church, there have been several Councils of Aquileia. The Roman city of Aquileia at the head of the Adriatic is the seat of an ancient episcopal see, seat of the Patriarch of Aquileia....
that have been convened over the centuries.
An imperial palace was constructed here, in which the emperors after the time of Diocletian
Diocletian
Diocletian |latinized]] upon his accession to Diocletian . c. 22 December 244 – 3 December 311), was a Roman Emperor from 284 to 305....
frequently resided; and the city often played a part in the struggles between the rulers of the 4th century. In 340, Emperor Constantine II
Constantine II (emperor)
Constantine II , was Roman Emperor from 337 to 340. Co-emperor alongside his brothers, his short reign saw the beginnings of conflict emerge between the sons of Constantine the Great, and his attempt to exert his perceived rights of primogeniture ended up causing his death in a failed invasion of...
was killed under its walls while attempting to take the city from his younger brother Constans
Constans
Constans , was Roman Emperor from 337 to 350. He defeated his brother Constantine II in 340, but anger in the army over his personal life and preference for his barbarian bodyguards saw the general Magnentius rebel, resulting in Constans’ assassination in 350.-Career:Constans was the third and...
.
Middle Ages
At the end of the 4th century, AusoniusAusonius
Decimius Magnus Ausonius was a Latin poet and rhetorician, born at Burdigala .-Biography:Decimius Magnus Ausonius was born in Bordeaux in ca. 310. His father was a noted physician of Greek ancestry and his mother was descended on both sides from long-established aristocratic Gallo-Roman families...
, enumerated Aquileia as the ninth among the great cities of the world, placing Rome, Mediolanum
Mediolanum
Mediolanum, the ancient Milan, was an important Celtic and then Roman centre of northern Italy. This article charts the history of the city from its settlement by the Insubres around 600 BC, through its conquest by the Romans and its development into a key centre of Western Christianity and capital...
, Constantinople
Constantinople
Constantinople was the capital of the Roman, Eastern Roman, Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, Constantinople was Europe's largest and wealthiest city.-Names:...
, Carthage
Carthage
Carthage , implying it was a 'new Tyre') is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC...
, Antioch
Antioch
Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River. It is near the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.Founded near the end of the 4th century BC by Seleucus I Nicator, one of Alexander the Great's generals, Antioch eventually rivaled Alexandria as the chief city of the...
, Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Trier
Trier
Trier, historically called in English Treves is a city in Germany on the banks of the Moselle. It is the oldest city in Germany, founded in or before 16 BC....
, and Capua
Capua
Capua is a city and comune in the province of Caserta, Campania, southern Italy, situated 25 km north of Naples, on the northeastern edge of the Campanian plain. Ancient Capua was situated where Santa Maria Capua Vetere is now...
before it. However, such prominence made it a target and it was besieged by Alaric
Alaric I
Alaric I was the King of the Visigoths from 395–410. Alaric is most famous for his sack of Rome in 410, which marked a decisive event in the decline of the Roman Empire....
and the Visigoths in 401, during which time some of its residents fled to the nearby lagoons. It was again unsuccessfully attacked in 408 by Attila, who returned in 452. During this second invasion, the city was so utterly destroyed
Sack of Aquileia
The Sack of Aquileia occurred in 452, and was carried out by the Huns under the leadership of Attila.Following the Battle of Catalaunian Fields, Attila launched an invasion of Italy, during which he razed Aquileia to the ground...
by Attila and his Huns that it was afterwards hard to recognize its original site. the fall of Aquileia was the first of Attila's incursions into Roman territory, followed by cities like Mediolanum
Mediolanum
Mediolanum, the ancient Milan, was an important Celtic and then Roman centre of northern Italy. This article charts the history of the city from its settlement by the Insubres around 600 BC, through its conquest by the Romans and its development into a key centre of Western Christianity and capital...
and Ticinum
Ticinum
Ticinum was an ancient city of Gallia Transpadana, founded on the banks of the river of the same name a little way above its confluence with the Padus ....
. The Roman inhabitants, together with those of smaller towns in the neighborhood, fled en masse to the lagoons, and so laid the foundations of the cities of Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
and nearby Grado
Grado, Italy
Grado is a town and comune in the north-eastern Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located on a peninsula of the Adriatic Sea between Venice and Trieste....
.
Yet Aquileia would rise again, though much diminished, and continue to exist until the Lombard
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
invasion of 568. It was once more destroyed (590) by the Lombards. Meanwhile, the patriarch fled to the island town of Grado, which was under the protection of the Byzantines. When the patriarch residing in Grado was reconciled with Rome in 606, those continuing in the Schism of the Three Chapters
Schism of the Three Chapters
The Schism of the Three Chapters was a schism that affected the Roman Catholic Church in North Italy lasting from 553 to 698 AD, although the area out of communion with Rome contracted throughout that time...
, rejecting the Second Council of Constantinople
Second Council of Constantinople
The Second Council of Constantinople is recognized as the Fifth Ecumenical Council by the Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholics, Old Catholics, and a number of other Western Christian groups. It was held from May 5 to June 2, 553, having been called by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian...
, elected a patriarch at Aquileia. Thus, the diocese was essentially divided into two parts, with the mainland patriarchate of Aquileia under the protection of the Lombards
Lombards
The Lombards , also referred to as Longobards, were a Germanic tribe of Scandinavian origin, who from 568 to 774 ruled a Kingdom in Italy...
, and the insular patriarchate of Aquileia seated in Grado
Patriarch of Grado
This is a list of the Patriarchs of Grado . The patriarchate came into being when the schismatic Patriarch of Aquileia, Paulinus , moved to Grado in the mid 6th century. But in their reunion with Rome in 606, a rival office was set up in Old-Aquileia. Aquileia later entered communion with Rome but...
being protected by the exarchate of Ravenna
Exarchate of Ravenna
The Exarchate of Ravenna or of Italy was a centre of Byzantine power in Italy, from the end of the 6th century to 751, when the last exarch was put to death by the Lombards.-Introduction:...
and later the Doges of Venice, with the collusion of the Lombards. The line of the patriarchs elected in Aquileia would continue in schism until 699. However, although they kept the title of patriarch of Aquileia, they moved their residence first to Cormons
Cormons
Cormons is a comune in the Province of Gorizia in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about 45 km northwest of Trieste and about 12 km west of Gorizia, on the border with Slovenia...
and later to Cividale.
The Lombard Dukes of Friuli
Friuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...
ruled Aquileia and the surrounding mainland territory from Cividale. In 774, Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
conquered the Lombard duchy and made it into a Frankish one with Eric of Friuli
Eric of Friuli
Eric was the Duke of Friuli from 789 to his death. He was the eldest son of Gerold of Vinzgouw and by the marriage of his sister Hildegard the brother-in-law of Charlemagne....
as duke. In 787, Charlemagne named the priest and master of grammar at the Palace School Paulinus the new patriarch of Aquileia. Although Paulinus resided mainly at Cividale, his successor Maxentius considered rebuilding Aquileia. However, the project never came to fruition.
While Maxentius was patriarch, the pope approved the Synod of Mantua, which affirmed the precedence of the mainland patriarch of Aquileia over the patriarch of Grado. However, material conditions were soon to worsen for Aquileia. The ruins of Aquileia were continually pillaged for building material. And with the collapse of the Carolingians in the 10th century, the inhabitants would suffer under the raids of the Magyars.
By the 11th century, the patriarch of Aquileia had grown strong enough to assert temporal sovereignty over Friuli and Aquileia. The Holy Roman Emperor gave the region to the patriarch as a feudal possession. However, the patriarch's temporal authority was constantly disputed and assailed by the territorial nobility.
In 1027 and 1044 Patriarch Poppo of Aquileia, who rebuilt the cathedral of Aquileia, entered and sacked neighboring Grado, and, though the Pope reconfirmed the Patriarch of the latter in his dignities, the town never fully recovered, though it continued to be the seat of the Patriarchate until its formal transference to Venice in 1450.
In the 14th century the Patriarchate reached its biggest extension, stretching from the Piave river to the Julian Alps
Julian Alps
The Julian Alps are a mountain range of the Southern Limestone Alps that stretches from northeastern Italy to Slovenia, where they rise to 2,864 m at Mount Triglav. They are named after Julius Caesar, who founded the municipium of Cividale del Friuli at the foot of the mountains...
and northern Istria
Istria
Istria , formerly Histria , is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner...
. The seat of the Patriarchate of Aquileia had been transferred to Udine
Udine
Udine is a city and comune in northeastern Italy, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps , less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 99,439 in 2009, and that of its urban area was 175,000.- History :Udine is the historical...
in 1238, but returned to Aquiliea in 1420 when Venice annexed the territory of Udine.
In 1445, the defeated patriarch Ludovico Trevisan acquiesced in the loss of his ancient temporal estate in return for an annual salary of 5,000 ducats allowed him from the Venetian
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
treasury. Henceforth only Venetians were allowed to hold the title of Patriarch of Aquileia. The Patriarchate was incorporated in the Republic of Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
with the name of Patria del Friuli, ruled by a General Proveditor or a "Luogotenente" living in Udine.
It was finally officially suppressed in 1751, and the sees of Udine
Udine
Udine is a city and comune in northeastern Italy, in the middle of Friuli-Venezia Giulia region, between the Adriatic sea and the Alps , less than 40 km from the Slovenian border. Its population was 99,439 in 2009, and that of its urban area was 175,000.- History :Udine is the historical...
and Gorizia
Gorizia
Gorizia is a town and comune in northeastern Italy, in the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. It is located at the foot of the Julian Alps, bordering Slovenia. It is the capital of the Province of Gorizia, and it is a local center of tourism, industry, and commerce. Since 1947, a twin...
(Görz) established in its stead.
Cathedral
The Cathedral of Aquileia is a flat-roofed basilica erected by Patriarch Poppo in 1031 on the site of an earlier church, and rebuilt about 1379 in the GothicGothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
style by Patriarch Marquard of Randeck.
The façade, in Romanesque-Gothic style, is connected by a portico to the so-called Church of the Pagans, and the remains of the 5th century Baptistry. The interior has a nave and two aisles, with a noteworthy mosaic pavement from the 4th century. The wooden ceiling is from 1526, while the fresco decoration belongs to various ages: from the 4th century in the St. Peter's chapel of the apse area; from the 11th century in the apse itself; from the 12th century in the so-called "Crypt of the Frescoes", under the presbytery, with a cycle depicting the origins of Christianity in Aquileia and the history of St. Hermagoras, first bishop of the city.
Next to the 11th century Romanesque chapel of the Holy Sepulchre, at the beginning of the left aisle, flooring of different ages can be seen: the lowest is from a Roman villa of the age of Augustus
Augustus
Augustus ;23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14) is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in 14 AD.The dates of his rule are contemporary dates; Augustus lived under two calendars, the Roman Republican until 45 BC, and the Julian...
; the middle one has a typical cocciopesto pavement; the upper one, bearing blackening from the Attila's fire, has geometrical decorations.
Externally, behind the 9th century campanile and the apse, is the Cemetery of the Fallen, where ten unnamed soldiers of World War I are buried. Saint Hermangoras
Hermagoras of Aquileia
Saint Hermagoras of Aquileia is considered the first bishop of Aquileia, northern Italy. Christian tradition states that he was chosen by Saint Mark to serve as the leader of the nascent Christian community in Aquileia, and that he was consecrated bishop by Saint Peter...
is also buried there.
Ancient remains
The ancient buildings of Aquileia served as stone quarries for centuries, and no edifices of the Roman period remain above ground. Excavations have revealed one street and the north-west angle of the town walls, while the National Archaeological Museum (one of the most important museums of Ancient Rome in the world) contains over 2,000 inscriptions, statues and other antiquities, as well as glasses of local production and a numismatics collection.The site of Aquileia, believed to be the largest Roman city yet to be excavated, is inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
Others
In the Monastero fraction is a 5th century Christian basilica, later a Benedictine monastery, which today houses the Paleo-Christian Museum.See also
- Schism of the Three ChaptersSchism of the Three ChaptersThe Schism of the Three Chapters was a schism that affected the Roman Catholic Church in North Italy lasting from 553 to 698 AD, although the area out of communion with Rome contracted throughout that time...
- Aquileian riteAquileian RiteThe Aquileian Rite was a particular liturgical tradition within the schismatical province of the ancient patriarchal see of Aquileia.-History:...
- Councils of AquileiaCouncils of AquileiaIn the history of Christianity and later of the Roman Catholic Church, there have been several Councils of Aquileia. The Roman city of Aquileia at the head of the Adriatic is the seat of an ancient episcopal see, seat of the Patriarch of Aquileia....
- List of Aquileia Bishops and patriarchs
- Acaste BrescianiAcaste BrescianiAcaste Bresciani was an Italian religious figure and author.He was born in San Lorenzo Nuovo, northern Lazio. Ordained priest at Montefiascone in 1905, and spent all his life as a pastor and teacher. He was Parish assistant at San Lorenzo Nuovo since 1905, where he also filled the position of...
Sources and references
- Catholic EncyclopediaCatholic EncyclopediaThe Catholic Encyclopedia, also referred to as the Old Catholic Encyclopedia and the Original Catholic Encyclopedia, is an English-language encyclopedia published in the United States. The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index...
- Neher in Kirchenlexikon I, 1184–89
- De Rubeis, Monumenta Eccles. Aquil. (Strasburg, 1740)
- Ferdinando UghelliFerdinando UghelliFerdinando Ughelli was an Italian Cistercian monk and church historian.-Biography:He was born in Florence. He entered the Cistercian Order and was sent to the Gregorian University in Rome, where he studied under the Jesuits Francesco Piccolomini and John de Lugo.He filled many important posts in...
, Italia Sacra, I sqq.; X, 207 - Cappelletti, Chiese d'Italia, VIII, 1 sqq.
- Menzano, Annali del Friuli (1858–68)
- Paschini, Sulle Origini della Chiesa di Aquileia (1904)
- Glaschroeder, in Buchberger's Kirchl. Handl. (Munich, 1904), I, 300-301
- HefeleHefeleHefele:* Melchior Hefele , Austrian-Hungarian architect* Karl Josef von Hefele , a German Roman Catholic theologian, bishop* Hermann Hefele , German historian* Herbert Hefele , astronomer...
, Conciliengesch. II, 914-23. - For the episcopal succession, see P. B. Gams, Series episcoporum (Ratisbon, 1873–86), and Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi (Muenster, 1898).