FERENTINO (anc. Ferentinum, to be distinguished from

See also:

• FERENTUM, or FERENTINUM

Ferentum or Ferentinum in

See also:

• ETRURIA

Etruria)  , a town and episcopal see of Italy, in the province of Rome, from which it is 48 m . E.S.E. by rail . Pop . (1901) 7957 (town), 12,299 (commune) . It is picturesquely situated on a hill 1290 ft. above sea-level, and still possesses considerable remains of ancient fortifications . The lower portion of the outer walls, which probably did not stand free, is built of roughly hewn blocks of a limestone which naturally splits into horizontal layers; above this in places is walling of rectangular blocks of tufa . Two gates, the Porta Sanguinaria (with an arch with tufa voussoirs), and the Porta S . Maria, a double gate constructed entirely of rectangular blocks of tufa, are preserved . Outside this gate is the tomb of A . Quinctilius Priscus, a citizen of Ferentinum, with a long inscription cut in the rock . See Th . Mommsen in Corp .

Inscrip .

Lat. x . (Berlin, 1883), No . 5853 . The highest part of the town, the acropolis, is fortified also; it has massive retaining walls similar to those of the lower town . At the eastern corner, under the present episcopal palace, the construction is somewhat more careful . A projecting rectangular terrace has been erected, supported by walls of quadrilateral blocks of limestone arranged almost horizontally; while upon the level thus formed a building of rectangular blocks of local travertine was raised . The projecting cornice of this building bears two inscriptions of the period of Sulla, recording its construction by two censors (local officials); and in the interior, which contains several chambers, there is an inscription of the same censors over one of the doors; and another over a smaller external side door . The windows lighting these chambers come immediately above the cornice, and the wall continues above them again . The whole of this construction probably belongs to one period (Mommsen, op. cit . No . 5837 seq.) .

The

cathedral occupies a part of the level top of the ancient acropolis; it was reconstructed on the site of an older church in 1099—1118; the interior was modernized in 1693, but was restored to its original form in 1902 . It contains a fine canopy in the " Cosmatesque " style (see Relazione dei lavori eseguiti dall' officio tecnico per la conservazione dei monumenti di Rome a provincia, Rome, 1903, 175 seq.) . The Gothic church of S . Maria Maggiore, in the Lower town (13th-14th century), has a very fine exterior; the interior, the plan of which is a perfect rectangle, has been spoilt by restoration . There are several other Gothic churches in the town . Ferentinum was the chief town of the Hernici; it was captured from them by the Romans in 364 B.C. and took no part in the rising of 306 B.C . The inhabitants became Roman citizens after195 B.C., and the place later became a municipium . It lay just above the Via Latina and, being a strong place, served for the detention of hostages . Horace praises its quietness, and it does not appear much in later history . (T . As.) See further Ashby, Rom . Mitteil. xxiv .

(1909) .