il
guerriero
di
Capestrano
il
territorio
dei
vestini
le
vie
romane
antiche
pianta
mediovale
Pescara
odierna
Domenico
Buccella
|
In
1934,
a
farm
laborer
plowing
vineyard
fields
in
the
vicinity
of
Capestrano
(not
far
from
Loreto
Aprutino)
came
across
a
sculpted
stone
disk
and
what
appeared
to
be
a
nearly
life-size
torso
carved
out
of
local
limestone.
The
find
attracted
the
attention
of
archaeologists
who
identified
the
pieces
as
works
of
native
Italic
sculpture
datable
to
the
pre-Roman
period
of
the
Adriatic
coast.
An
excavation
was
soon
begun,
the
result
of
which
was
the
important
discovery
of
the
life-sized
standing
figure
known
today
as
the
Warrior
of
Capestrano.
Dated
to
the
6th
century
B.C.
the
statue
represents
a
Vestini
king
named
Naevius
Pompuledius.
The
figure
of
the
statue
is
that
of
a
well-preserved
male
warrior
over
two
and
a
half
meters
tall.
On
the
head,
as
a
separate
piece,
the
figure
wears
a
wide-brimmed
disk-shaped
helmet.
With
arms
folded
across
the
chest,
and
wearing
a
disk-type
armor
protecting
the
chest
and
back
(in
the
Samnite
fashion),
a
short
sword,
knife,
and
axe,
a
necklace
and
armlets,
a
stiff
apron
over
the
groin
with
a
shorter
version
covering
the
small
of
the
back
and
a
pair
of
sandals
on
the
feet,
this
spectacular
discovery
shined
a
light
on
the
remote
history
of
the
region
from
where
our
ancestors
came.
In
the
9th
century
B.C.
during
the
late
Iron
Age,
when
the
Romans
were
but
a
small
farming
tribe
living
in
huts
near
the
Tiber,
Italy
was
teeming
with
a
variety
of
distinctive
cultures
and
languages.
Generally
referred
to
as
the
Italic
peoples,
the
ancient
tribes
of
pre-Roman
Italy
originally
sprang
for
the
most
part
from
one
indigenous
stock,
sometimes
referred
to
as
the
Sabines.
Over
the
course
of
time,
and
with
the
eventual
infiltration
of
fresh
immigrants,
evolution
took
place
eastward
across
the
mountains
until
the
Adriatic
slopes
of
the
Apennines
were
populated
by
a
dozen
or
so
distinct
tribes.
All
of
them
spoke
very
similar
dialects
of
a
language
called
Oscan;
closely
akin
to
Latin
and
descended
from
a
mother
tongue
called
Sabellic.
One
of
these
so-called
Italic
tribes
were
the
Vestini,
an
ancient
Sabine
people
who
occupied
the
area
of
modern-day
Abruzzo
between
the
Gran
Sasso
and
the
northern
bank
of
the
Aterno
(Pescara)
river.
Their
main
centers
were
Pitinum
(near
modern
L'Aquila),
Aufinum
(Ofena),
Peltuinum
(Prata
d'Ansidonia),
Pinna
(Penne)
and
Aternum
(Pescara).
Since
many
of
the
people
and
place
names
found
in
antiquity
are
direct
references
to
the
gods
of
ancient
mythology,
it
is
probable
the
Vestini
were
worshipers
of
Vesta,
the
virgin
goddess
of
hearth,
home,
and
family.
The
Italic
tribes,
including
the
Vestini,
were
fierce
people
and
were
often
at
odds
with
one
another.
Among
them
the
Samnites
stood
out.
Much
is
known
about
the
Samnites
since
many
Roman
writers,
namely
Livy
and
Pliny,
recorded
accounts
of
the
Roman
expeditions
against
them,
describing
them
vividly
as
fearless
and
stubborn
foes.
From
the
fourth
century
B.C.
when
Rome
started
its
expansion
to
the
Abruzzo
territory
the
Italic
tribes
resisted
this
threat
to
their
sovereignty
for
many
decades.
The
final
outcome
of
this
struggle
was
very
much
in
doubt
throughout
the
duration
of
the
Samnite
Wars
(343
to
290
B.C.)
The
Romans,
however,
utilizing
patience,
arms,
engineering
and
political
savvy
methodically
worked
their
way
across
the
Apennines,
and
one-by-one
the
Oscan-speaking
peoples
fell.
The
Vestini,
perhaps
having
witnessed
the
more
violent
subjugation
of
their
fellow
tribes
to
the
west,
entered
into
the
Roman
alliance
in
302
B.C.
They
retained
a
measure
of
local
independence
(a
hallmark
of
Roman
rule)
and
issued
coins
of
their
own
in
the
following
century.
But
Rome
was
never
far
away;
collecting
tribute,
conscripting
young
men
into
military
service,
and
establishing
colonies
at
Alba
Fucens
in
303
B.C.
and
Hadria
(modern-day
Atri)
in
290
B.C.
They
solidified
their
control
of
the
region
through
the
construction
of
a
sophisticated
system
of
Roman
roads.
This
included
the
Via
Tiburtina,
which
began
at
the
Porta
San
Lorenzo
in
Rome
and
continued
through
Tivoli,
where
it
became
the
Via
Valeria
and
extended
across
the
whole
of
Abruzzo
to
ancient
Aternum
(Pescara).
During
the
First
World
War,
the
Italian
soldiers
who
hailed
from
the
Abruzzi
had
a
reputation
for
bravery
and
fearlessness.
Given
their
long
ancestry
from
the
proud
and
stubborn
Italic
peoples
of
pre-Roman
Italy,
it
is
no
surprise.
To
this
day,
the
people
of
Abruzzo
retain
an
independence
and
self-sufficiency
that
others
admire,
yet
cannot
fully
comprehend.
There
is
a
saying
which
describes
the
people
of
Abruzzo
well...
"forte
e
gentile".
Strong,
yet
kind.
There
is
no
more
fitting
description
of
these
people,
who
represent
our
cultural
and
genetic
roots. For
more
information
on
the
history
of
the
Abruzzo,
please
click
here.
|