The visitators of Trebula


Several famous men have staied in the Trebula's territory: Claudio Marcello, Hannibal, Fabio Massimo and Cicero. Now we write about each of them.

Claudio Marcello

After the defeat of the roman army at Canne (216 B.C), Hannibal occuped Capua that yielded in pacific way when the town fell into power of the popular party. In fact the popular party sided with Hannibal while the aristocratic party sided with Rome. Nola have been yielded in pacific way too, because at Nola the popular party sided with Hannibal. This man, to clash Rome, tried to incite the samnite people to rebel against the roman supremacy. For the above reason the senate and the noblemen of Nola did something about it by sending ambassadors to Claudio Marcello consul that was settled at Casilino (on the outskirts of present Capua) to inform him about the serious situation. Next Claudio Marcello made for Nola to avoid the desertion from Rome. What was his way? Certainly passing along Capua wasn't profitable because Hannibal (his enemy) camped there! Therefore he chose to pass through the internal zones of the Samnium; from Casilino he crossed Saticula, carried on the bordering territory of Trebula and he arrived at territory of Caiazzo; from here he crossed the Volturno river and finally he made for Nola.

Hannibal

Polibio and Tito Livio, in their works relate that Hannibal, during his travel from Samnium to Campania, crossed the Mount Callicula through its narrow pass between the Pontelatone's commune and that of Bellona. (See photos A and B)

Clicca per ingrandire Clicca per ingrandire

Fabio Massimo

Hannibal crossed the territory of Trebula; therefore this territory was crossed by Fabio Massimo too, because this last man followed his enemy as his shape. He reconquered Trebula, Cubulteria and Austicula that, after the defeat of the roman army at Canne (216 B.C.), deserted from Rome allying with Hannibal. At Treglia the road linking "Via Roma" with the church has been dedicated to Fabio Massimo.

Cicero

This famous orator often went to Trebula where his friend Lucio Ponzio gave hospitality him . Lucio Ponzio was a member of one more important samnite gentes, that of Pontii. Herennius Pontius, the father of the Forche Caudine's winning was a member of this gens too. The Cicero's visits must have been more frequent from 49 B.C. when burst the civil war between Caesar and Pompeo. Cicero supported the cause of the senatus and Pompeo. The staies at Trebula gave him quiet and let him be far away from the stormy events of Rome that often disappointed him. At Trebula Cicero wrote one of his epistles that he was used to send to his friend Pomponio Attico. The epistles was written between 68 B.C. and 43 B.C.; they form the collection named "Epistole ad Atticum". In these epistles we can perceive references to political and personal life of Cicero. Here is the list of the epistles that refer to Trebula:

  • Epistola V-II
  • Epistola V-III
  • Epistola V-IV
  • Epistola VII-II
The other visitors of Trebula

In time relatively recent the following characters went to inspect the ruins of Trebula:

  • The english ambassador William Hamilton with his wife Emma Liona in 1758 and 1766. His friend was the lawyer Angelo D'Apisa, son of Carlo D'Apisa from Formicola. Since Hamilton was supported by a lot of people he embarked on excavations without permission of the government of Naples's kingdom.
  • Van Duhun, german historian, on 13rd September 1877
  • Teodoro Mommsen, famous german historian, with the canon Gabriele Iannelli, on 25th April 1878.
  • The historians from Campania as Melchiori, Mazzocchi, Marrocco, Trutta, Pratilli, Iadone, Pellegrino, Sanfelice, Iannelli, Faraone and, finally, Amedeo Maiuri. This last man was one of most famous archaeologists of the previous century.