Fregenae () was a maritime town of ancient Etruria, situated between Alsium and the mouth of the Tiber.[Strabo v. p. 226; Pliny iii. 5. s. 8; Antonine Itinerary p. 300.]
History
Ancient Fregenae
Livy mentions Fregenae among the
coloniae maritimae (xxxvi. 3); and there is every reason to suppose that it was established at the same time with Alsium, in 245 BCE, and that we should read Fregenae for Fregellae in Velleius Paterculus,
[i. 14.] where he speaks of the foundation of these two colonies.
This is confirmed by the Epitome of the 19th book of Livy, where, though Alsium is not mentioned, the foundation of Fregenae is coupled with that of
Brundusium, which Velleius refers to the following year.
[Velleius Paterculus l. c.; Livy Epit. xix., where the reading Fregenae is supported by the best MSS., though the old editions have Fregellae.] No subsequent notice of it occurs in history: its marshy and unhealthy situation
[Alluded to by Silius Italicus, viii. 475.] probably prevented its rising to prosperity; and, after the construction of the
Portus Augusti on the right bank of the Tiber, it seems to have gradually sunk into insignificance. Hence, though its name is found in Strabo, Pliny, and the Itineraries, it is not noticed by Rutilius in his description of the coast of Etruria, and no ruins now mark the site. But the distances given in the Itinerary of 9 M.P. from Alsium, and the same from Portus Augusti at the mouth of the Tiber, enable us to fix its position with certainty at a spot now called
Fregene in the
comune of
Fiumicino.
Modern Fregene
The modern town was created in 1928 as part of a large
drainage project along the coasts of Lazio, near
Maccarese, to create a sea resort. From the 1970s Fregene grew as part of the urban expansion of Rome metropolitan area. Until 1992 It was part of the municipality of
Rome, when Fiumicino was created as an independent municipality.
[ History and territory of the municipality of Fiumicino ]
Geography
Fregene is located on
Tyrrhenian Sea, 31 km in north of
Fiumicino, near its international airport and the villages of
Maccarese,
Focene and
Passo Oscuro. It is 24 km far from
Ladispoli, 42 from
Rome and 55 from
Civitavecchia. Nearest railway station is Maccarese-Fregene on Rome-Pisa line.
See also
-
Arrone River
-
Rome-Fiumicino Airport
External links
