Praeneste

/pree nes"tee/, n.

ancient name of Palestrina.

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modern Palestrina

Ancient city, Latium, central Italy.

Praeneste was located on a spur of the Apennines. Founded before the 8th century BC, it saw many battles with Rome before becoming part of the Roman Empire. It was a major centre for the cult of the goddess Fortuna, whose sanctuary and temple oracle were surrounded by an immense complex of buildings. It became a favourite summer resort of wealthy Romans, including Augustus, Hadrian, and Pliny the Younger. The modern town is the birthplace of composer Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina.

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▪ ancient town, Italy

modern  Palestrina 

      ancient city of Latium, located 23 miles east-southeast of Rome on a spur of the Apennines, home of the great temple to Fortuna Primigenia. After the Gallic invasion (390 BC), Praeneste fought many battles with Rome; defeated in the Latin War (340–338), it lost part of its territory and became Rome's ally. After 90 BC it received Roman citizenship and became a municipium. In the civil wars the younger Marius was blockaded in the town by the Sullans (82 BC), who took the city, massacred its males, and settled a colony of Sulla's veterans on part of its territory, moving the remainder of the people to lower ground.

      Under the empire, Praeneste became a favourite summer resort of wealthy Romans, including Augustus, Hadrian, and the younger Pliny.

      The city was a major cultic centre for the worship of the goddess Fortuna Primigenia. Her sanctuary and temple oracle were surrounded by an immense complex of buildings rising up the hillside like a pyramid of terraces, visible even from the sea. The cult was flourishing by 241 BC, but the time during which the great buildings were constructed is a matter of debate.

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