Aquino

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Aquino is town and comune in the province of Frosinone, in the Lazio region of Italy, 12 km northwest of Cassino.

History

The ancient Aquinum was a municipium in the time of Cicero, and made a colony by the Triumviri. It was crossed by the Via Latina.

Aquinum is thought to be the birthplace of the poet Juvenal, and was that of the emperor Pescennius Niger.

Aquino's patron saint is San Costanzo, or St. Constantius (different from St. Constantius of Perugia). St. Thomas Aquinas was born in the castle of Roccasecca, 8 kilometres northwards.

Main sights

One of the gates through which the Via Latina passed, now called Porta S. Lorenzo, is still well preserved, and there are remains within the walls (portions of which, built of large blocks of limestone, still remain) of two (so called) temples, a basilica and an amphitheatre.

Outside, on the south is a well-preserved triumphal arch with composite capitals, and close to it the 11th-century basilica of Santa Maria Libera, a building in the Romanesque style, but now roofless. Several Roman inscriptions are built into it, and many others that have been found indicate the ancient importance of the place, which, though it does not appear in early history, is vouched for by Cicero and Strabo.

References

• E. Grossi, Aquinum (Rome, 1907)
• http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01662b.htm - Catholic Encyclopedia article

External links

• Mapquest - Aquino
• Tuttocittà - Aquino
• Demographic data on Aquino

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Last updated on Tuesday May 27, 2008 at 07:15:52 PDT (GMT -0700)
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