Extract

Praeneste (mod. Palestrina), with interesting polygonal walls, occupied a cool, lofty spur of the *Apennines 37 km. (23 mi.) east-south-east of Rome. Traditionally founded in the mythical period (Verg. Aen. 7. 678), the oldest finds belong to the recent bronze age. Immensely rich burials of *Etruscan type and 7th-cent. date show it to be the pre-eminent city in this region at that time. It first appears in history in the 5th cent. bce as a powerful Latin city (see latini) whose strategic site facing the Alban Hills was inevitably attacked by *Aequi. In the 4th cent. it frequently fought Rome and, after participating in the Latin War, was deprived of territory and became a civitas foederata which still possessed ius exilii 200 years later (Polyb. 6. 14) and apparently preferred its own to Roman citizenship (Livy 23. 19 f.; see citizenship, roman). After 90 bce Praeneste became a Roman municipium devoted to C.