Frosinone

Frosinone (Italian pronunciation: [frosiˈnoːne]) is a town and comune in Lazio, central Italy, the administrative seat of the province of Frosinone. It is located about 75 kilometres (47 mi) south-east of Rome close to the Rome-Naples A1 Motorway. It is commonly identified as the capital of the geographical region of Ciociaria.

History

The first traces of human presence around modern Frosinone date from the lower Palaeolithic (around 250,000 years ago). The earliest settlements in the area are from around 4000 years ago, including late Bronze Age remains in what is now the upper part of the city (12th-10th century BC) and 7th-6th century BC sepoltures. 21 tombs from a Volscan necropolis were found in the Frosinone centre. Frusino (as it is called in ancient Latin sources) was part of the Hernici but its inhabitants were mostly Volscans. In 306 BC the city took part in the Hernic League against Rome; defeated and sacked, it lost much of its territories to the nearby Ferentino. Later, during the Second Punic War, it was devastated by Hannibal's armies, to which it has refused to surrender.