Laurentum

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Laurentum on a map of Old Latium

Laurentum was an ancient Roman city of Latium situated between Ostia and Lavinium, on
the west coast of the Italian Peninsula southwest of Rome. Roman writers regarded it as
the original capital of Italy, before Lavinium assumed that role after the death of
King Latinus. In historical times, Laurentum was united with Lavinium, and the name Lauro-
Lavinium is sometimes used to refer to both.[1]

History[edit]
According to Livy, in the 8th century BC at the time when Romulus and Titus Tatius jointly
ruled Rome, the ambassadors of the Laurentes came to Rome but were beaten by Tatius'
relatives. The Laurentes complained; however, Tatius accorded more weight to the
influence of his relatives than to the injury done the Laurentes. When Tatius afterwards
visited Lavinium to celebrate an anniversary sacrifice, he was slain in a tumult. Romulus
declined to go to war and instead renewed the treaty between Rome and Lavinium.[2]
Under the Empire, Laurentum w
as the site of an imperial villa. Pliny the Younger may also have had a villa in the area.[3][4][5]

Etymology[edit]
The name "Laurentum" is either descended from many groves of Laurus nobilis (laurel
trees), or, according to Virgil, a single "sacred" laurel tree.[6][7]
Laurentius (feminine Laurentia), meaning "someone from Laurentum" or "The one who
wears a laurel wreath", was a common Roman given name. It survives in many regional
forms, such as the Italian and Spanish name Lorenzo, the French name Laurent,
the Romanian name Laurențiu, the Portuguese name Lourenço,
the English name Lawrence, the Dutch name Laurens, the Polish name Wawrzyniec, and
the Nordic and German Lars, Lauri and Laurits/Lauritz/Lavrans.
According to Virgil's The Aeneid the city Laurentum and its people the Laurentines gained
its name because the Laurel tree was Latinus' favourite.[8]

References[edit]
1. ^ Edward Herbert Bunbury (1854). "Laurentum". In William
Smith (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography.
London: Walton and Maberly. Archived from the original on
2012-06-29. Retrieved 2007-04-16.
2. ^ Livy, Ab urbe condita, 1:14
3. ^ T. W. Potter (2003). "Laurentum". In Simon Hornblower
and Antony Spawforth (ed.). The Oxford Classical
Dictionary (3rd edition, revised ed.). Oxford: Oxford
University Press. p. 822. ISBN 0-19-860641-9.
4. ^ "LAURENTUM". The New International Encyclopaedia.
vol. 13 (2nd ed.). 1918. p. 631.
5. ^ Pliny, Epistulae 1.9.
6. ^ Edward Herbert Bunbury (1854). "Laurentum". In William
Smith (ed.). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography.
London: Walton and Maberly. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
7. ^ Theodore C. Williams (1910). "Virgil, Aeneid 7.59". P.
Vergilius Maro. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
Retrieved 2016-10-27.
8. ^ Virgil, The Aeneid, Published by Penguin Classics (1990)
 Coordinates: 41°42′40″N 12°20′49″E

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