Sinuessa

Sinuessa () was a city of Latium, in the more extended sense of the name, situated on the Tyrrhenian Sea, about 10 km north of the mouth of the Volturno River (the ancient Vulturnus). It was on the line of the Via Appia, and was the last place where that great highroad touched on the sea-coast. The ruins of the city are located in the modern-day comune of Sessa Aurunca . The city ruins are located, as the crow flies, 12.24 km SSW from the modern city of Sessa Aurunca and 41.43 km from the province of Caserta. It is 26.71 km from the regional capital (Naples/Napoli) Campania, Italy.

==History== Sinuessa is traditionally included in the list of five cities that made up the Aurunca Pentapolis (Ausona, Vescia, Minturnae, Suessa, Sinuessa). PRE-ROMAN The Aurunca Pentapolis is a fundamental concept for understanding the pre-Roman history of the territory stretching from southern northern Lazio to Campania beyond the Volturno, the area you are interested in (from Circeo to Sinuessa, up to the Liri). Here is a summary of its main characteristics: What is the Aurunca Pentapolis? Nature: It was a supposed federation or league of five city-states of the Aurunci people (or Ausoni, Oscan-speaking Italic peoples, whose distinction is still debated by scholars). Purpose: The alliance presumably had political and military purposes, particularly to defend the territory from the expansionist ambitions of Rome and the Samnites, especially during the Samnite Wars (4th century BC). Historical Location: The cities were located on the plains and hills of the fertile region of Latium Adiectum (as Pliny the Elder called it, extending to Circeo), between the Liri/Garigliano and Volturno rivers. The Five Cities Traditionally Included The five cities that, according to historiographical tradition (primarily based on Livy), formed the Pentapolis were: Ausona (or Aurunca, perhaps the capital, whose location is uncertain, often identified with modern-day Ausonia or a site on Mount Falerio). Vescia (destroyed, located in the coastal area, whose territory was later used for the foundation of Sinuessa). Minturnae (near the mouth of the Liri River, now Minturno). Suessa (now Sessa Aurunca). Sinuessa (the coastal town that, although mentioned as part of the Pentapolis, later became the Roman colony founded on the territory of Vescia). Fate under Rome The fate of the Pentapolis was tragic and marked the end of Auruncan independence: Destruction (314 BC): During the Second Samnite War, the cities of Ausona, Minturnae, and Vescia were destroyed by the Romans in a particularly violent manner (a "genocide" according to some sources), putting an end to Auruncan resistance. Roman Refoundation: Rome refounded the strategic centers for control of the territory and the Appian Way (the construction of which, let's always remember, began in 312 BC): Suessa Aurunca: Refounded as a Latin colony in 313 BC. (the later Sessa Aurunca). Minturnae and Sinuessa: Refounded as maritime Roman colonies in 296 BC. Hannibal, whose cavalry carried their devastations up to the very gates of the town. It subsequently endeavored, in common with Minturnae and other coloniae maritimae, to establish its exemption from furnishing military levies; but this was overruled, while there was an enemy with an army in Italy. At a later period (191 BCE) Sinuessa again attempted, but with equal ill success, to procure a similar exemption from the naval service. Its position on the Appian Way doubtless contributed greatly to the prosperity of Sinuessa; for the same reason it is frequently incidentally mentioned by Cicero, and we learn that Julius Caesar halted there for a night on his way from Brundisium to Rome, in 49 BCE. It is noticed also by Horace on his journey to Brundusium, as the place where he met with his friends Varius and Virgil.