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Cesare Letta

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(231) LETTA C., La carriera politica di Cassio Dione e la genesi della sua Storia Romana, in «SCO» 65 (2019), 2 (Interpretazioni. Studi in onore di Guido Paduano), 163-180

«Studi Classici e Orientali» 65.2 (2019 = Interpretazioni. Studi in onore di Guido Paduano), 2019

A thorough analysis of the studies published after 1979 allows the Author to reaffirm the main co... more A thorough analysis of the studies published after 1979 allows the Author to reaffirm the main conclusions of his previous contributions.
1) Cassius Dio’s political career knew an abrupt interruption after his praetorship in AD 194 till 217. He was consul suffectus only in 222, legatus of Dalmatia in 222-223, and legatus of Pannonia Superior in 223-228. The first protests of the Praetorian Guard against him (80, 4, 2) happened in 223, at the very beginning of his Pannonic legation, before Ulpian’s death.
2) As Carlo Slavich convincingly demonstrated since 2004, Dio’s monography on the πόλεμοι καὶ στάσεις, clearly recognizable in the text of his Roman History from 73 [72], 23 to 75 [74], 8 (that is from the death of Commodus to the death of Niger), was published at the latest in early 195. This confirms the existence of a long interval between its publication and the beginning of Dio’s work on his Roman History. The ten years period Dio devoted to gather evidence on the history till the death of Severus (211) started shortly after that event, thanks to an intervention of Tyche (73 [72], 23, 4). Pace Swan, this intervention is almost certainly the dream of 79 [78], 10, 1-2, clearly datable after the death of Severus (February 4, 211: τεθνηκότος αὐτοῦ) and before Caracalla’s sole rulership (μοναρχία), that is before Geta’s assassination (December 211). Many references to Severus Alexander’s time in the pre-Severan books, together with many clues of non-revision of the entire work, confirm the late chronology the Author had proposed for its composition (from late 211 or early 212 till late 233 or early 234) and its posthumous publication.

KEYWORDS: Cassius Dio’s career, chronology of Dio’s work, Dio’s dream.

(227) LETTA C., Società, cultura, religione, in A. D’ALESSIO, C. PANELLA, R. REA (edd.), I Severi. Roma universalis. L’impero e la dinastia venuta dall’Africa, Catalogo della mostra (Roma, 15 novembre 2018 – 25 agosto 2019), Milano, Electa 2018, 56-61

A. D’ALESSIO, C. PANELLA, R. REA (edd.), I Severi. Roma universalis. L’impero e la dinastia venuta dall’Africa, Catalogo della mostra (Roma, 15 novembre 2018 – 25 agosto 2019), Milano, Electa 2018, 2018

The Author presents a brief overview of society, cults, literature and philosophy of the Severan ... more

(220) LETTA C., Iscrizioni inedite o poco note dal territorio dei Marsi e dal Cicolano, in H. SOLIN (ed.), Le epigrafi della Valle di Comino. Atti del Tredicesimo Convegno epigrafico cominese (Atina, 28 maggio 2016), Arezzo, F&C Edizioni 2017, 9-59

H. SOLIN (ed.), Le epigrafi della Valle di Comino. Atti del Tredicesimo Convegno epigrafico cominese (Atina, 28 maggio 2016), Arezzo, F&C Edizioni 2017, 2017

Thirty-five unpublished or little known inscriptions are presented: thirty-four come from the ter... more Thirty-five unpublished or little known inscriptions are presented: thirty-four come from the territory of the Marsi, and one from that of the Aequicoli. Among them some are noteworthy: a new dedication to Angitia from Luco (n° 3); the funerary inscription of Ursia C.f. Sabellina (n°16), wife of P. Scapula, perhaps of the senatorial family of the Ostorii Scapulae; the undecorated sarcophagus of a praeco (n° 21); a probable iambic epigram for a young man who died prematurely (n° 22); a small base with a few letters from the 3rd or 2nd century AD (n° 30); an inscription read by L. Colantoni in 1884 (n° 32) in which the same mysterious abbreviations BO CIO or BO CLO of CIL IX, 3654 (= I2, 1767) occur, for which a new interpretation is cautiously proposed.
In an appendix two architectural fragments with remains of dedicatory inscription from San Benedetto (Marruvium) are published, that can be attributed to a 13th century ambo like that of Santa Giusta in Bazzano (AQ).

KEYWORDS: Unpublished inscriptions, Marsi, Aequicoli, Angitia, Ostorii Scapulae, BO CIO (or BO CLO), medieval ambo.

(217) LETTA C., L’uso degli acta senatus nella Storia Romana di Cassio Dione, in V. FROMENTIN, E. BERTRAND, M. COLTELLONI-TRANNOY, M. MOLIN, G. URSO (edd.), Cassius Dion: nouvelles lectures (“Scripta Antiqua”, 94), Bordeaux, Ausonius Éditions 2016, 243-257 (cfr. bibl. gen. pp. 799-842)

V. FROMENTIN, E. BERTRAND, M. COLTELLONI-TRANNOY, M. MOLIN, G. URSO (edd.), Cassius Dion: nouvelles lectures (“Scripta Antiqua”, 94), Bordeaux, Ausonius Éditions 2016, 2016

Dio’s use of documents (senatus consulta and official letters) drawn from the acta senatus is mas... more Dio’s use of documents (senatus consulta and official letters) drawn from the acta senatus is massive and not limited to his own time, even if its value is reduced by Dio’s tendency to insert in his work only a small part of the copious material gathered. He probably began his research in Senate’s archives to fill gaps in his information on contemporary events; nevertheless, this aroused his curiosity also on more remote times, and induced him to do researches on the topics he was most interested in, that is institutional and administrative aspects, related to his political reflections on problems of his own time, ceremonial, protocol, and formulary of the imperial chancellery.

KEYWORDS: Cassius Dio, acta senatus.

(204) LETTA C., Augusto e le guerre alpine, in «Segusium» 52 (2015), Atti del Convegno “L’arco di Susa e i monumenti della propaganda imperiale in età augustea” (Susa, 12 aprile 2014), pp. 37-52

Segusium» 52 (2015), Atti del Convegno “L’arco di Susa e i monumenti della propaganda imperiale in età augustea” (Susa, 12 aprile 2014), 2015

For the Romans the coastal route remained a long time the only way to overcome, or rather bypass ... more For the Romans the coastal route remained a long time the only way to overcome, or rather bypass the Alps to reach Southern Gaul and Hispany. Sporadic military interventions against Alpine peoples had only occasional and limited goals, as the punishment of raids and plunderings or the exploitation of mines, not the stable control of passes. This also applies to the expedition led in 143 BC by Appius Claudius Pulcher against the Salassi of the Aosta valley, as demonstrated by a more correct reading of a passage of Strabo (4, 6, 7, 205 C).
Starting from the Seventies of the 1st century BC some sources record passages of Roman armies through passes of the Western Alps, in some cases with offensive actions, as that led by Caesar in 58 BC to cross the Montgenèvre pass, but there was no organic conquest action for a permanent control of the passes. Caesar probably conceived such a design in 57 BC, but after the failure of the attempt made by his legate Galba to occupy the Alpis Poenina (Great St. Bernard pass) this project was abandoned. Also the two expeditions against the Salassi conducted in triumviral age by C. Antistius Vetus and M. Valerius Messalla Corvinus do not seem to have been aimed to the control of passes.
On the contrary, this was precisely the goal of the expedition led in 25 BC by A. Terentius Varro Murena, that caused the annihilation of the Salassi and the foundation of the colony Augusta Praetoria. Augustus’ plan was now to control definitively the entire Alpine chain. So, after Murena’s expedition others followed: in 16 BC that of P. Silius Nerva against Camunni and Vennonetes in the Eastern Alps, in 15 BC the great expedition led by Tiberius and Drusus against Raeti and Vindelici in the Central Alps, and in 14 BC that for the annexation of Maritime and Cottian Alps. The definitive subjugation of the entire Alpine region was shortly afterwards celebrated by the Tropaeum Alpium erected in La Turbie, near Monaco, in 7-6 BC.

KEYWORDS: Alpine wars, Salassi, Caesar, Augustus, tropaeum Alpium.

(138) LETTA C., Il vicus come articolazione del pagus in area centro-appenninica: aspetti istituzionali e intrecci di competenze, in D. CAIAZZA (ed.), Samnitice loqui. Studi in onore di Aldo L. Prosdocimi per il premio “I Sanniti”, Piedimonte Matese (CE) 2006, II, 297-312

D. CAIAZZA (ed.), Samnitice loqui. Studi in onore di Aldo L. Prosdocimi per il premio “I Sanniti”, Piedimonte Matese (CE) 2006, 2006

This paper analyzes first of all some inscriptions that attest to magistrates of a vicus acting o... more This paper analyzes first of all some inscriptions that attest to magistrates of a vicus acting on the basis of deliberations of the pagus of which it was part. This happens when public works deliberated and financed by the vicus concern somehow land or structures of the pagus, as for example when the vicus corresponding to the present Secinaro decided to build a fountain to be connected to the existing aqueduct of the pagus of which it was part (CIL IX, 3312 = I2, 1797).
The reverse case is then examined when magistrates of a pagus act on the basis of a deliberation of a vicus, as in CIL IX, 3521 = I2, 1804, found at Barisciano (vicus Furfensis), near ancient ruins called “the Fountain”. Also this inscription concerns very likely an aqueduct of the pagus, but still to be built, and a deliberation of the council of the vicus was necessary in order to fix the path of the stretch that had to cross the vicus itself, or the location of a tank, and the amount to be allocated.
Finally, also the famous lex aedis Furfensis is re-examined (CIL IX, 3513 = I2, 756), attesting that a sanctuary of the entire pagus was administered by the magistrates of the vicus in which it was located. Some doubts are raised about the interpretation of the enigmatic fifeltares as Fif(iculani) et Tares(uni) proposed by A. La Regina, and the possibility of understanding Fifeltares or Fifeltare(n)s(es) as the name of the inhabitants of the pagus is mentioned. If so, the text would say that the individual accused to have robbed sacred objects from the shrine could choose between the popular trial of the vicus and that of the pagus.

KEYWORDS: Vicus, pagus, lex aedis Furfensis, fifeltares.

(135) LETTA C., Da Segusio ad Augusta Praetoria. La creazione del municipio segusino e i rapporti con la Valle d’Aosta nelle iscrizioni dei liberti della dinastia cozia, in Itinerari e itineranti attraverso le Alpi dall’Antichità al Medioevo (Trento 15-16 ottobre 2005), 85-100

Itinerari e itineranti attraverso le Alpi dall’Antichità al Medioevo. Convegno di Studi dell’AICC, Trento 15-16 ottobre 2005, pp. 85-100 (= «Studi Trentini di Scienze Storiche» 84, 2005, Sez. I, n. 4, Supplemento, pp. 851-866), 2005

After a survey of the Cottian district’s history from Augustus to Vespasian, two inscriptions are... more After a survey of the Cottian district’s history from Augustus to Vespasian, two inscriptions are re-examined. In CIL V, 7262, probably from Segusio, a freedman of Cottius I, [M. Iul]ius Cotti l. Urbanus, is mentioned as sevir; this means that Segusio was already a municipium (Latinum) at least since Tiberius, perhaps even since Augustus.
Inscr. It. X.1, 40, from Châtillon, attests to the presence of a freedwoman of Cottius I or Cottius II at Augusta Praetoria, perhaps documenting economic interests of the Cottian dynasty in the Aosta valley.

KEYWORDS: Segusio, municipium Latinum, Augusta Praetoria, Cottian dynasty.

(123) LETTA C., T. Caunius Priscus imperatore “malgré lui” in Britannia e console nel 187 in un’iscrizione dell’Antiquarium del Celio, in A.M. CORDA (ed.), Cultus splendore. Studi in onore di Giovanna Sotgiu, Senorbì (CA), Edizioni Nuove Grafiche Puddu 2003, II, 537-550

A.M. CORDA (ed.), Cultus splendore. Studi in onore di Giovanna Sotgiu, Senorbì (CA), Edizioni Nuove Grafiche Puddu 2003, 2003

In a recently published inscription preserved in the Celio Antiquarium in Rome (AE 1995, 231) G.L... more In a recently published inscription preserved in the Celio Antiquarium in Rome (AE 1995, 231) G.L. Gregory correctly recognized the Priscus, legate of a British legion, who refused under Commodus the imperial acclamation (C.D. 72 (73), 9, 2a, p. 290 B.), without proposing for him a more precise identification. As a matter of fact, the legion mentioned in line 5 is not the II Ị[talica] but the IIỊ [Augusta]. This enables us to identify Priscus with T. Caunius Priscus, governor of Numidia in AD 185-186 and consul suffectus in 187. A new dating is proposed also for its imperial acclamation, probably occurred before the arrival in Britain of Ulpius Marcellus in 182 or 183, and for each of the positions he held between his British legation and the consulate.

KEYWORDS: T. Caunius Priscus, refusal of imperial acclamation, Britain, Commodus, Ulpius Marcellus.

(122) LETTA C., La provincializzazione dell’Italia e la nascita della provincia Valeria, in U. LAFFI, F. PRONTERA, B. VIRGILIO (edd.), Artissimum memoriae vinculum. Scritti di geografia storica e di antichità in ricordo di Gioia Conta, Firenze, Leo S. Olschki 2004, 255-271

U. LAFFI, F. PRONTERA, B. VIRGILIO (edd.), Artissimum memoriae vinculum. Scritti di geografia storica e di antichità in ricordo di Gioia Conta (“Biblioteca di Geographia Antiqua”, 2), Firenze, Leo S. Olschki 2004, 2004

A re-examination of the inscriptions of Gregarius (CIL VI, 1706) and Eusebius (CIL VI, 1715), tog... more A re-examination of the inscriptions of Gregarius (CIL VI, 1706) and Eusebius (CIL VI, 1715), together with the Laterculus Polemii Silvii and the Notitia Dignitatum, allows to date to AD 398 the creation of the Italic province Valeria. Many sources attest to its permanence up to the Lombard age, against Clemente’s thesis of its suppression before AD 412.

KEYWORDS: Provincia Valeria, Laterculus Polemii Silvii, Notitia dignitatum.

(118) LETTA C., I praefecti di tribù non urbanizzate in Africa e in Europa, in M. KHANOUSSI, P. RUGGERI, C. VISMARA (edd.), L’Africa Romana, 14 (Sassari, 7-10 dicembre 2000), Roma, Carocci 2002, III, 2093-2110

M. KHANOUSSI, P. RUGGERI, C. VISMARA (edd.), L’Africa Romana, 14. Lo spazio marittimo del Mediterraneo occidentale: geografia storica ed economia. Atti del XIV Convegno di Studi (Sassari, 7-10 dicembre 2000), Roma, Carocci 2002, III, 2002

A re-examination of several cases from the western Alps, Pannonia, Dalmatia, and African province... more A re-examination of several cases from the western Alps, Pannonia, Dalmatia, and African provinces shows that prefects of non-urbanized tribes (civitates, gentes, nationes) were always endowed with the Roman citizenship, also when they were indigenous notables.

KEYWORDS: Praefectus civitatium, praefectus gentis, civitas Romana.

(117) LETTA C., Dalla Marsica romana alla Marsica cristiana: riflessioni sulla provincia Valeria e sull’epigrafia cristiana della Marsica, in G. LUONGO (ed.), La Terra dei Marsi: cristianesimo, cultura, istituzioni. Atti del Convegno di Avezzano (24-26 settembre 1998), Roma, Viella 2002, 3-24

G. LUONGO (ed.), La Terra dei Marsi: cristianesimo, cultura, istituzioni. Atti del Convegno di Avezzano (24-26 settembre 1998), Roma, Viella 2002, 2002

The re-examination of the inscriptions of Gregarius (CIL VI 1706) and Eusebius (CIL VI 1715), tog... more The re-examination of the inscriptions of Gregarius (CIL VI 1706) and Eusebius (CIL VI 1715), together with the Laterculus Polemii Silvii and Notitia dignitatum allows to date to AD 398 the creation of the Italian province Valeria. It follows that the Laterculus is later than 398. Furthermore two possible new readings and interpretations of a christian inscription from Marruvium (ICI 3, 29) are proposed: under a bas-relief with a procession of lambs towards the source there is a quotation of Isaiah 55, 6: [Q]u(a)erit(e) d(omi)n(u)m d(um) ị[nveniri potest], or a deprecatory formula against grave violators: [si quis sepulcrum violare vol]uerit d(omi)n(u)m Dẹ[um habeat iudicem].

KEYWORDS: Province Valeria, Laterculus Polemii Silvii, Notitia Dignitatum, Marruvium, christian inscription.

(112) LETTA C., Ancora sulle civitates di Cozio e sulla praefectura di Albanus, in S. GIORCELLI BERSANI (ed.), Gli antichi e la montagna. Ecologia, religione, economia e politica del territorio / Les anciens et la montagne (Aosta, 21-23 settembre 1999), Torino, CELID 2001, 149-166

S. GIORCELLI BERSANI (ed.), Gli antichi e la montagna. Ecologia, religione, economia e politica del territorio / Les anciens et la montagne. Écologie, religion, économie et aménagement du territoire. Atti del Convegno (Aosta, 21-23 settembre 1999), Torino, CELID 2001, 2001

A new reconstruction of CIL XII, 80 from Les Escoyères in Queyras is proposed. The inscription wo... more A new reconstruction of CIL XII, 80 from Les Escoyères in Queyras is proposed. The inscription would have been dedicated by the Roman citizen Q. Varinius Bussulli f. [- - -], whereas his brother Albanus, also in possession of Roman citizenship, would have been praefectus of some civitates on the French side of the Cottian Alps in about AD 68-69. As for the iscription of the Arch of Susa, the Author reaffirms with new arguments that the ceivitates quae sub eo praefecto fuerunt cannot be the same fourteen ceivitates listed by their own names.

KEYWPORDS: Inscription from Les Escoyères, Albanus Bussulli f., Cottian civitates, praefectus civitatium, arch of Susa.

(107) LETTA C., Un nuovo frammento dei fasti dei Salii Palatini, in G. PACI (ed.), ΕΠΙΓΡΑΦΑΙ. Miscellanea epigrafica in onore di Lidio Gasperini, Tivoli, Editrice Tipigraf 2000, 521-539

G. PACI (ed.), ΕΠΙΓΡΑΦΑΙ. Miscellanea epigrafica in onore di Lidio Gasperini, Tivoli, Editrice Tipigraf 2000, 2000

A fragmentary inscription from the Heikamp Collection is published, containing a list of names of... more A fragmentary inscription from the Heikamp Collection is published, containing a list of names of patrician characters. His formatting suggests that it is a fragment of the fasti of a priestlyly college, perhaps the Salii Palatini, for the years AD 4 and 5. If so, the presence of a member of the imperial family (Drusus, son of Tiberius) would be attested for the first time in this collegium. The A. [C]ae[cina] mentioned in the first line is probably the consul of AD 13, who then was called C. Silius A. Caecina Largus, having been adopted by a C. Silius.

KEYWORDS: Fasti of a priestly college, Salii Palatini, consuls of AD 13, C. Silius A. Caecina Largus.

(89) LETTA C., Seneca di fronte a Claudio e Nerone: data e significato politico dell’Apocolocyntosis, in «Semanas de Estudios Romanos» 7-8 (1996), Valparaíso (Chile), 239-258

«Semanas de Estudios Romanos» 7-8 (1996), Valparaíso (Chile), 1996

The Apocolocyntosis is mostly dated to the first year of the reign of Nero, as the treaty De clem... more The Apocolocyntosis is mostly dated to the first year of the reign of Nero, as the treaty De clementia. As a matter of fact, many clues show that it dates back to a later stage, when the hopes expressed in De clementia had already vanished. Even Augustus, who is presented as a positive model in De clementia, here is ridiculed as a caricature of the epicurean deity. The principate in itself is presented in a disenchanted and pessimistic light. The blame of Claudius involves the entire dynasty. In the farcical context the hints to the solar kingship of Nero as inaugurating a new golden age seems to have parody shades.
There are also more precise chronological clues. The frequent allusions to the misdeeds of Agrippina would be unthinkable before his elimination in 59 AD. The emphasis on Nero’s assimilation to Apollo as a citharist presupposes his exhibition at the Iuvenalia in 62 AD and his appearance in citharist dress on coins minted in the same year. The themes of solar kingship and golden age are strictly related to the image of the emperor with a radiate crown, that appears on coins beginning from 63 AD.
On the other hand, when Seneca enumerates Claudius’ misdeeds, he seems to allude to those of Nero, who belie the promises and hopes expressed at the very beginning of his reign.
The most probable dating of the work therefore seems between 62 and 63 AD, after Octavia’s death (june 19, 62 AD), but before the great victories won in 63 by Suetonius Paulinus in Britain and Domitius Corbulo in Armenia.

KEYWORDS: Dating of the Apocolocyntosis, Seneca, Claudius, Nero.

(85) LETTA C., Postille sulle iscrizioni della dinastia cozia, in «Segusium» 31, num. spec. fuori serie (Bimillenario dell’arco. Atti del Convegno, Susa, 2-3 ottobre 1992), Susa 1994, 115-127

«Segusium», anno 31, num. spec. fuori serie (Bimillenario dell’arco. Atti del Convegno, Susa, 2-3 ottobre 1992), Susa 1994, 1994

As G. Mennella has rightly pointed out, in line 8 of the great inscription fixed by the Cottian p... more As G. Mennella has rightly pointed out, in line 8 of the great inscription fixed by the Cottian prince Donnus II in the Roman theatre of Turin there can be no mention of [actorum do]mus; therefore, a new reconstruction is proposed: [port]ịcum c̣ụm [suis ornamentis et do]mus. On the contrary, in line 1 praef(ectus) [ci]v[itatium omnium quibus pa]ter eius praefuit must be reaffirmed against praef(ectus) [ci]v[itatium Cottianarum etc. proposed by Mennella. Moreover, on the basis of epigraphical use, the Author reaffirms that in the dedication of the Arch of Susa the ceivitates quae sub eo praefecto fuerunt are not the same fourteen ceivitates listed by their own name.

KEYWORDS: Roman theatre of Turin, Donnus II, praefectus civitatium, Cottian civitates, arch of Susa.

(82) LETTA C., Dall’oppidum al nomen: i diversi livelli dell’aggregazione politica nel mondo osco-umbro, in L. AIGNER FORESTI, A. BARZANÒ, C. BEARZOT, L. PRANDI, G. ZECCHINI (edd.), Federazioni e federalismo nell’Europa antica (Bergamo, 21-25 settembre 1992), Milano, Vita e Pensiero 1994, 387-405

L. AIGNER FORESTI, A. BARZANÒ, C. BEARZOT, L. PRANDI, G. ZECCHINI (edd.), Federazioni e federalismo nell’Europa antica (Bergamo, 21-25 settembre 1992), Milano, Vita e Pensiero 1994, 1994

The model of political organization proposed by Adriano La Regina for the Samnites and the minor ... more The model of political organization proposed by Adriano La Regina for the Samnites and the minor Sabellian peoples is questioned. According to this model the touto would correspond to nomen, and the meddix tuticus would be the annual elective head of the nomen, to be understood as an unitary “national” state, not as a federation of minor sovereign communities. A critical re-examinationof the list of meddices tutici attributed by La Regina to this supposed Samnite national state shows that they are instead local magistrates of various centres. Also the re-examination of the attestations of the word touto/touta shows that in this area it did not refer only to the national level, but on the contrary it was more often referred to an individual okri- (oppidum in Latin), that is to an individual centre. Moreover, the existence of coins of Aquilonia and Allifae contradicts the idea of an unitary national state. Therefore, it seems more probable that at national level, both in the phase of the Samnite wars and in that of the alliance with Rome, there were only federal structures that referred to sanctuaries like that of Pietrabbondante.

KEYWORDS: Samnites, okri-, touto, meddix tuticus, national state, federal state.

(81) LETTA C., Il “naufragio” di Caracalla in Cassio Dione, nell’Historia Augusta e nei commentarii degli arvali, in «ZPE» 103 (1994), 188-190

Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 103, 1994

In the fragment of the commentarii of the Arval Brethren relating to the last week of December 21... more In the fragment of the commentarii of the Arval Brethren relating to the last week of December 213 AD (CIL VI, 2103a [now CFA 99 b]), extraordinary sacrifices for Caracalla are mentioned. The Author contests the generally accepted reconstruction of the lines 5-8 [quod d(ominus) n(oster)… ex naufragi periculo s]alvus servatus sit, founded on an overestimation of the danger run by Caracalla in crossing the Hellespont (C.D. 67, 16, 7; HA, Carac. 5, 8) and proposes instead [quod d(ominus) n(oster)… in itinere s]alvus servatus sit. Moreover, thanks to Scheid’s clarifications on the text, we can specify that the crossing of Hellespont and the arrival of Caracalla at Nicomedia (to which the following lines refer, with celebrations of January 1, 214) date back to late autumn 213, not to August or September 214, as Millar proposed.

KEYWORDS: Caracalla, commentarii fratrum arvalium, crossing of Hellespont, arrival at Nicomedia.

(78) LETTA C., Catalogo delle epigrafi, in Gli Uffizi. La donazione Detlef Heikamp (“Gli Uffizi. Studi e Ricerche”, I pieghevoli, n. 17), Firenze 1994, 2-5

Gli Uffizi. La donazione Detlef Heikamp (“Gli Uffizi. Studi e Ricerche”, I pieghevoli, n. 17), Firenze 1994, 1994

A short presentation of seven Latin inscriptions already published, coming from illustrious colle... more A short presentation of seven Latin inscriptions already published, coming from illustrious collections, that have been donated to the Uffizi Museum in Florence by the famous art historian Detlef Heikamp. Besides two fragments of the commentarii of the Augustan Secular Games (AE 1988, 20-21) and a dedication to the emperor Hadrian (CIL VI, 969), there are five funerary inscriptions. Three characters stand out among those mentioned in them: a veteran from Actium (CIL V, 2503), a magistrate of the colony of Nemausus (CIL VI, 29718), and a victim of emperor Claudius, Sex. Curvius Tullus, maternal great-grandfather of the emperor Marcus Aurelius and father of Tullus and Lucanus, of which speak Pliny the Younger and Martial (CIL VI, 16671).

KEYWORDS: Detlef Heikamp, Commentarii of Augustan Secular Games, Sex. Curvius Tullus.

(77) LETTA C., Il dossier di Opramoas e la serie dei legati e degli archiereis di Licia, in B. VIRGILIO (ed.), Aspetti e problemi dell’Ellenismo. Atti del Convegno AICC (Pisa, 6-7 novembre 1992), (= “Studi Ellenistici”, 4), Pisa, Giardini 1994, 203-246

B. VIRGILIO (ed.), Aspetti e problemi dell’Ellenismo. Atti del Convegno AICC (Pisa, 6-7 novembre 1992), (= “Studi Ellenistici”, 4), Pisa, Giardini 1994, 1994

On the basis of the rich epigraphic dossier preserved at Rhodiapolis on the walls of the funerary... more On the basis of the rich epigraphic dossier preserved at Rhodiapolis on the walls of the funerary monument of the Lycian notable Opramoas, a new chronological table is proposed, showing synchronically the series of the Roman governors of the imperial province of Lycia et Pamphylia together with that of the archiereis of the koinon of Lycia from 103 to 152 AD. A better dating of the governorship of Q. Voconius Saxa Fidus (141/142-145/146 AD instead of 144-147) provided a fundamental stronghold to transform the relative chronology in absolute.

KEYWORDS: Opramoas, Fasti of Lycia et Pamphylia, koinon of Lycia, archiereis of Lycia, Q. Voconius Saxa Fidus.

(73) LETTA C., L’epigrafia pubblica di vici e pagi nella Regio IV: imitazione del modello urbano e peculiarità del villaggio, in A. CALBI, A. DONATI, G. POMA (edd.), L’epigrafia del villaggio. (Forlì, 27-30 settembre 1990), Faenza, Fratelli Lega 1993, 33-48

A. CALBI, A. DONATI, G. POMA (edd.), L’epigrafia del villaggio. (Forlì, 27-30 settembre 1990), Faenza, Fratelli Lega 1993, 1993

Preliminarily, it is specified that where are attested both a pagus and one or more vici, the la... more Preliminarily, it is specified that where are attested both a pagus and one or more vici, the latter were subordined to the first as its articulations. However, the distinguishing feature of the pagus remains the scattered houses, with a sanctuary as a meeting point for religious, economic and administrative activities (feasts, fairs and markets, assemblies and elections). For this reason most of the public works involving the pagus concerned a sanctuary or some structure annexed to it. In terms of content the public epigraphy of pagi and vici shows a clear willingness to adapt to urban models. Together with the formulae, the concepts of evergetism and patronage are fully accepted, as well as the parochial pride for illustrious fellow countrymen. It even comes to attributing the eponymous function to the local magistrates. Above all is evident the strong will of each rural community to affirm its own identity, distinguishing himself from the urban centre to which the municipal system aggregated it.

KEYWORDS: vici, pagi, public epigraphy.

(231) LETTA C., La carriera politica di Cassio Dione e la genesi della sua Storia Romana, in «SCO» 65 (2019), 2 (Interpretazioni. Studi in onore di Guido Paduano), 163-180

«Studi Classici e Orientali» 65.2 (2019 = Interpretazioni. Studi in onore di Guido Paduano), 2019

A thorough analysis of the studies published after 1979 allows the Author to reaffirm the main co... more A thorough analysis of the studies published after 1979 allows the Author to reaffirm the main conclusions of his previous contributions.
1) Cassius Dio’s political career knew an abrupt interruption after his praetorship in AD 194 till 217. He was consul suffectus only in 222, legatus of Dalmatia in 222-223, and legatus of Pannonia Superior in 223-228. The first protests of the Praetorian Guard against him (80, 4, 2) happened in 223, at the very beginning of his Pannonic legation, before Ulpian’s death.
2) As Carlo Slavich convincingly demonstrated since 2004, Dio’s monography on the πόλεμοι καὶ στάσεις, clearly recognizable in the text of his Roman History from 73 [72], 23 to 75 [74], 8 (that is from the death of Commodus to the death of Niger), was published at the latest in early 195. This confirms the existence of a long interval between its publication and the beginning of Dio’s work on his Roman History. The ten years period Dio devoted to gather evidence on the history till the death of Severus (211) started shortly after that event, thanks to an intervention of Tyche (73 [72], 23, 4). Pace Swan, this intervention is almost certainly the dream of 79 [78], 10, 1-2, clearly datable after the death of Severus (February 4, 211: τεθνηκότος αὐτοῦ) and before Caracalla’s sole rulership (μοναρχία), that is before Geta’s assassination (December 211). Many references to Severus Alexander’s time in the pre-Severan books, together with many clues of non-revision of the entire work, confirm the late chronology the Author had proposed for its composition (from late 211 or early 212 till late 233 or early 234) and its posthumous publication.

KEYWORDS: Cassius Dio’s career, chronology of Dio’s work, Dio’s dream.

(227) LETTA C., Società, cultura, religione, in A. D’ALESSIO, C. PANELLA, R. REA (edd.), I Severi. Roma universalis. L’impero e la dinastia venuta dall’Africa, Catalogo della mostra (Roma, 15 novembre 2018 – 25 agosto 2019), Milano, Electa 2018, 56-61

A. D’ALESSIO, C. PANELLA, R. REA (edd.), I Severi. Roma universalis. L’impero e la dinastia venuta dall’Africa, Catalogo della mostra (Roma, 15 novembre 2018 – 25 agosto 2019), Milano, Electa 2018, 2018

The Author presents a brief overview of society, cults, literature and philosophy of the Severan ... more

(220) LETTA C., Iscrizioni inedite o poco note dal territorio dei Marsi e dal Cicolano, in H. SOLIN (ed.), Le epigrafi della Valle di Comino. Atti del Tredicesimo Convegno epigrafico cominese (Atina, 28 maggio 2016), Arezzo, F&C Edizioni 2017, 9-59

H. SOLIN (ed.), Le epigrafi della Valle di Comino. Atti del Tredicesimo Convegno epigrafico cominese (Atina, 28 maggio 2016), Arezzo, F&C Edizioni 2017, 2017

Thirty-five unpublished or little known inscriptions are presented: thirty-four come from the ter... more Thirty-five unpublished or little known inscriptions are presented: thirty-four come from the territory of the Marsi, and one from that of the Aequicoli. Among them some are noteworthy: a new dedication to Angitia from Luco (n° 3); the funerary inscription of Ursia C.f. Sabellina (n°16), wife of P. Scapula, perhaps of the senatorial family of the Ostorii Scapulae; the undecorated sarcophagus of a praeco (n° 21); a probable iambic epigram for a young man who died prematurely (n° 22); a small base with a few letters from the 3rd or 2nd century AD (n° 30); an inscription read by L. Colantoni in 1884 (n° 32) in which the same mysterious abbreviations BO CIO or BO CLO of CIL IX, 3654 (= I2, 1767) occur, for which a new interpretation is cautiously proposed.
In an appendix two architectural fragments with remains of dedicatory inscription from San Benedetto (Marruvium) are published, that can be attributed to a 13th century ambo like that of Santa Giusta in Bazzano (AQ).

KEYWORDS: Unpublished inscriptions, Marsi, Aequicoli, Angitia, Ostorii Scapulae, BO CIO (or BO CLO), medieval ambo.

(217) LETTA C., L’uso degli acta senatus nella Storia Romana di Cassio Dione, in V. FROMENTIN, E. BERTRAND, M. COLTELLONI-TRANNOY, M. MOLIN, G. URSO (edd.), Cassius Dion: nouvelles lectures (“Scripta Antiqua”, 94), Bordeaux, Ausonius Éditions 2016, 243-257 (cfr. bibl. gen. pp. 799-842)

V. FROMENTIN, E. BERTRAND, M. COLTELLONI-TRANNOY, M. MOLIN, G. URSO (edd.), Cassius Dion: nouvelles lectures (“Scripta Antiqua”, 94), Bordeaux, Ausonius Éditions 2016, 2016

Dio’s use of documents (senatus consulta and official letters) drawn from the acta senatus is mas... more Dio’s use of documents (senatus consulta and official letters) drawn from the acta senatus is massive and not limited to his own time, even if its value is reduced by Dio’s tendency to insert in his work only a small part of the copious material gathered. He probably began his research in Senate’s archives to fill gaps in his information on contemporary events; nevertheless, this aroused his curiosity also on more remote times, and induced him to do researches on the topics he was most interested in, that is institutional and administrative aspects, related to his political reflections on problems of his own time, ceremonial, protocol, and formulary of the imperial chancellery.

KEYWORDS: Cassius Dio, acta senatus.

(204) LETTA C., Augusto e le guerre alpine, in «Segusium» 52 (2015), Atti del Convegno “L’arco di Susa e i monumenti della propaganda imperiale in età augustea” (Susa, 12 aprile 2014), pp. 37-52

Segusium» 52 (2015), Atti del Convegno “L’arco di Susa e i monumenti della propaganda imperiale in età augustea” (Susa, 12 aprile 2014), 2015

For the Romans the coastal route remained a long time the only way to overcome, or rather bypass ... more For the Romans the coastal route remained a long time the only way to overcome, or rather bypass the Alps to reach Southern Gaul and Hispany. Sporadic military interventions against Alpine peoples had only occasional and limited goals, as the punishment of raids and plunderings or the exploitation of mines, not the stable control of passes. This also applies to the expedition led in 143 BC by Appius Claudius Pulcher against the Salassi of the Aosta valley, as demonstrated by a more correct reading of a passage of Strabo (4, 6, 7, 205 C).
Starting from the Seventies of the 1st century BC some sources record passages of Roman armies through passes of the Western Alps, in some cases with offensive actions, as that led by Caesar in 58 BC to cross the Montgenèvre pass, but there was no organic conquest action for a permanent control of the passes. Caesar probably conceived such a design in 57 BC, but after the failure of the attempt made by his legate Galba to occupy the Alpis Poenina (Great St. Bernard pass) this project was abandoned. Also the two expeditions against the Salassi conducted in triumviral age by C. Antistius Vetus and M. Valerius Messalla Corvinus do not seem to have been aimed to the control of passes.
On the contrary, this was precisely the goal of the expedition led in 25 BC by A. Terentius Varro Murena, that caused the annihilation of the Salassi and the foundation of the colony Augusta Praetoria. Augustus’ plan was now to control definitively the entire Alpine chain. So, after Murena’s expedition others followed: in 16 BC that of P. Silius Nerva against Camunni and Vennonetes in the Eastern Alps, in 15 BC the great expedition led by Tiberius and Drusus against Raeti and Vindelici in the Central Alps, and in 14 BC that for the annexation of Maritime and Cottian Alps. The definitive subjugation of the entire Alpine region was shortly afterwards celebrated by the Tropaeum Alpium erected in La Turbie, near Monaco, in 7-6 BC.

KEYWORDS: Alpine wars, Salassi, Caesar, Augustus, tropaeum Alpium.

(138) LETTA C., Il vicus come articolazione del pagus in area centro-appenninica: aspetti istituzionali e intrecci di competenze, in D. CAIAZZA (ed.), Samnitice loqui. Studi in onore di Aldo L. Prosdocimi per il premio “I Sanniti”, Piedimonte Matese (CE) 2006, II, 297-312

D. CAIAZZA (ed.), Samnitice loqui. Studi in onore di Aldo L. Prosdocimi per il premio “I Sanniti”, Piedimonte Matese (CE) 2006, 2006

This paper analyzes first of all some inscriptions that attest to magistrates of a vicus acting o... more This paper analyzes first of all some inscriptions that attest to magistrates of a vicus acting on the basis of deliberations of the pagus of which it was part. This happens when public works deliberated and financed by the vicus concern somehow land or structures of the pagus, as for example when the vicus corresponding to the present Secinaro decided to build a fountain to be connected to the existing aqueduct of the pagus of which it was part (CIL IX, 3312 = I2, 1797).
The reverse case is then examined when magistrates of a pagus act on the basis of a deliberation of a vicus, as in CIL IX, 3521 = I2, 1804, found at Barisciano (vicus Furfensis), near ancient ruins called “the Fountain”. Also this inscription concerns very likely an aqueduct of the pagus, but still to be built, and a deliberation of the council of the vicus was necessary in order to fix the path of the stretch that had to cross the vicus itself, or the location of a tank, and the amount to be allocated.
Finally, also the famous lex aedis Furfensis is re-examined (CIL IX, 3513 = I2, 756), attesting that a sanctuary of the entire pagus was administered by the magistrates of the vicus in which it was located. Some doubts are raised about the interpretation of the enigmatic fifeltares as Fif(iculani) et Tares(uni) proposed by A. La Regina, and the possibility of understanding Fifeltares or Fifeltare(n)s(es) as the name of the inhabitants of the pagus is mentioned. If so, the text would say that the individual accused to have robbed sacred objects from the shrine could choose between the popular trial of the vicus and that of the pagus.

KEYWORDS: Vicus, pagus, lex aedis Furfensis, fifeltares.

(135) LETTA C., Da Segusio ad Augusta Praetoria. La creazione del municipio segusino e i rapporti con la Valle d’Aosta nelle iscrizioni dei liberti della dinastia cozia, in Itinerari e itineranti attraverso le Alpi dall’Antichità al Medioevo (Trento 15-16 ottobre 2005), 85-100

Itinerari e itineranti attraverso le Alpi dall’Antichità al Medioevo. Convegno di Studi dell’AICC, Trento 15-16 ottobre 2005, pp. 85-100 (= «Studi Trentini di Scienze Storiche» 84, 2005, Sez. I, n. 4, Supplemento, pp. 851-866), 2005

After a survey of the Cottian district’s history from Augustus to Vespasian, two inscriptions are... more After a survey of the Cottian district’s history from Augustus to Vespasian, two inscriptions are re-examined. In CIL V, 7262, probably from Segusio, a freedman of Cottius I, [M. Iul]ius Cotti l. Urbanus, is mentioned as sevir; this means that Segusio was already a municipium (Latinum) at least since Tiberius, perhaps even since Augustus.
Inscr. It. X.1, 40, from Châtillon, attests to the presence of a freedwoman of Cottius I or Cottius II at Augusta Praetoria, perhaps documenting economic interests of the Cottian dynasty in the Aosta valley.

KEYWORDS: Segusio, municipium Latinum, Augusta Praetoria, Cottian dynasty.

(123) LETTA C., T. Caunius Priscus imperatore “malgré lui” in Britannia e console nel 187 in un’iscrizione dell’Antiquarium del Celio, in A.M. CORDA (ed.), Cultus splendore. Studi in onore di Giovanna Sotgiu, Senorbì (CA), Edizioni Nuove Grafiche Puddu 2003, II, 537-550

A.M. CORDA (ed.), Cultus splendore. Studi in onore di Giovanna Sotgiu, Senorbì (CA), Edizioni Nuove Grafiche Puddu 2003, 2003

In a recently published inscription preserved in the Celio Antiquarium in Rome (AE 1995, 231) G.L... more In a recently published inscription preserved in the Celio Antiquarium in Rome (AE 1995, 231) G.L. Gregory correctly recognized the Priscus, legate of a British legion, who refused under Commodus the imperial acclamation (C.D. 72 (73), 9, 2a, p. 290 B.), without proposing for him a more precise identification. As a matter of fact, the legion mentioned in line 5 is not the II Ị[talica] but the IIỊ [Augusta]. This enables us to identify Priscus with T. Caunius Priscus, governor of Numidia in AD 185-186 and consul suffectus in 187. A new dating is proposed also for its imperial acclamation, probably occurred before the arrival in Britain of Ulpius Marcellus in 182 or 183, and for each of the positions he held between his British legation and the consulate.

KEYWORDS: T. Caunius Priscus, refusal of imperial acclamation, Britain, Commodus, Ulpius Marcellus.

(122) LETTA C., La provincializzazione dell’Italia e la nascita della provincia Valeria, in U. LAFFI, F. PRONTERA, B. VIRGILIO (edd.), Artissimum memoriae vinculum. Scritti di geografia storica e di antichità in ricordo di Gioia Conta, Firenze, Leo S. Olschki 2004, 255-271

U. LAFFI, F. PRONTERA, B. VIRGILIO (edd.), Artissimum memoriae vinculum. Scritti di geografia storica e di antichità in ricordo di Gioia Conta (“Biblioteca di Geographia Antiqua”, 2), Firenze, Leo S. Olschki 2004, 2004

A re-examination of the inscriptions of Gregarius (CIL VI, 1706) and Eusebius (CIL VI, 1715), tog... more A re-examination of the inscriptions of Gregarius (CIL VI, 1706) and Eusebius (CIL VI, 1715), together with the Laterculus Polemii Silvii and the Notitia Dignitatum, allows to date to AD 398 the creation of the Italic province Valeria. Many sources attest to its permanence up to the Lombard age, against Clemente’s thesis of its suppression before AD 412.

KEYWORDS: Provincia Valeria, Laterculus Polemii Silvii, Notitia dignitatum.

(118) LETTA C., I praefecti di tribù non urbanizzate in Africa e in Europa, in M. KHANOUSSI, P. RUGGERI, C. VISMARA (edd.), L’Africa Romana, 14 (Sassari, 7-10 dicembre 2000), Roma, Carocci 2002, III, 2093-2110

M. KHANOUSSI, P. RUGGERI, C. VISMARA (edd.), L’Africa Romana, 14. Lo spazio marittimo del Mediterraneo occidentale: geografia storica ed economia. Atti del XIV Convegno di Studi (Sassari, 7-10 dicembre 2000), Roma, Carocci 2002, III, 2002

A re-examination of several cases from the western Alps, Pannonia, Dalmatia, and African province... more A re-examination of several cases from the western Alps, Pannonia, Dalmatia, and African provinces shows that prefects of non-urbanized tribes (civitates, gentes, nationes) were always endowed with the Roman citizenship, also when they were indigenous notables.

KEYWORDS: Praefectus civitatium, praefectus gentis, civitas Romana.

(117) LETTA C., Dalla Marsica romana alla Marsica cristiana: riflessioni sulla provincia Valeria e sull’epigrafia cristiana della Marsica, in G. LUONGO (ed.), La Terra dei Marsi: cristianesimo, cultura, istituzioni. Atti del Convegno di Avezzano (24-26 settembre 1998), Roma, Viella 2002, 3-24

G. LUONGO (ed.), La Terra dei Marsi: cristianesimo, cultura, istituzioni. Atti del Convegno di Avezzano (24-26 settembre 1998), Roma, Viella 2002, 2002

The re-examination of the inscriptions of Gregarius (CIL VI 1706) and Eusebius (CIL VI 1715), tog... more The re-examination of the inscriptions of Gregarius (CIL VI 1706) and Eusebius (CIL VI 1715), together with the Laterculus Polemii Silvii and Notitia dignitatum allows to date to AD 398 the creation of the Italian province Valeria. It follows that the Laterculus is later than 398. Furthermore two possible new readings and interpretations of a christian inscription from Marruvium (ICI 3, 29) are proposed: under a bas-relief with a procession of lambs towards the source there is a quotation of Isaiah 55, 6: [Q]u(a)erit(e) d(omi)n(u)m d(um) ị[nveniri potest], or a deprecatory formula against grave violators: [si quis sepulcrum violare vol]uerit d(omi)n(u)m Dẹ[um habeat iudicem].

KEYWORDS: Province Valeria, Laterculus Polemii Silvii, Notitia Dignitatum, Marruvium, christian inscription.

(112) LETTA C., Ancora sulle civitates di Cozio e sulla praefectura di Albanus, in S. GIORCELLI BERSANI (ed.), Gli antichi e la montagna. Ecologia, religione, economia e politica del territorio / Les anciens et la montagne (Aosta, 21-23 settembre 1999), Torino, CELID 2001, 149-166

S. GIORCELLI BERSANI (ed.), Gli antichi e la montagna. Ecologia, religione, economia e politica del territorio / Les anciens et la montagne. Écologie, religion, économie et aménagement du territoire. Atti del Convegno (Aosta, 21-23 settembre 1999), Torino, CELID 2001, 2001

A new reconstruction of CIL XII, 80 from Les Escoyères in Queyras is proposed. The inscription wo... more A new reconstruction of CIL XII, 80 from Les Escoyères in Queyras is proposed. The inscription would have been dedicated by the Roman citizen Q. Varinius Bussulli f. [- - -], whereas his brother Albanus, also in possession of Roman citizenship, would have been praefectus of some civitates on the French side of the Cottian Alps in about AD 68-69. As for the iscription of the Arch of Susa, the Author reaffirms with new arguments that the ceivitates quae sub eo praefecto fuerunt cannot be the same fourteen ceivitates listed by their own names.

KEYWPORDS: Inscription from Les Escoyères, Albanus Bussulli f., Cottian civitates, praefectus civitatium, arch of Susa.

(107) LETTA C., Un nuovo frammento dei fasti dei Salii Palatini, in G. PACI (ed.), ΕΠΙΓΡΑΦΑΙ. Miscellanea epigrafica in onore di Lidio Gasperini, Tivoli, Editrice Tipigraf 2000, 521-539

G. PACI (ed.), ΕΠΙΓΡΑΦΑΙ. Miscellanea epigrafica in onore di Lidio Gasperini, Tivoli, Editrice Tipigraf 2000, 2000

A fragmentary inscription from the Heikamp Collection is published, containing a list of names of... more A fragmentary inscription from the Heikamp Collection is published, containing a list of names of patrician characters. His formatting suggests that it is a fragment of the fasti of a priestlyly college, perhaps the Salii Palatini, for the years AD 4 and 5. If so, the presence of a member of the imperial family (Drusus, son of Tiberius) would be attested for the first time in this collegium. The A. [C]ae[cina] mentioned in the first line is probably the consul of AD 13, who then was called C. Silius A. Caecina Largus, having been adopted by a C. Silius.

KEYWORDS: Fasti of a priestly college, Salii Palatini, consuls of AD 13, C. Silius A. Caecina Largus.

(89) LETTA C., Seneca di fronte a Claudio e Nerone: data e significato politico dell’Apocolocyntosis, in «Semanas de Estudios Romanos» 7-8 (1996), Valparaíso (Chile), 239-258

«Semanas de Estudios Romanos» 7-8 (1996), Valparaíso (Chile), 1996

The Apocolocyntosis is mostly dated to the first year of the reign of Nero, as the treaty De clem... more The Apocolocyntosis is mostly dated to the first year of the reign of Nero, as the treaty De clementia. As a matter of fact, many clues show that it dates back to a later stage, when the hopes expressed in De clementia had already vanished. Even Augustus, who is presented as a positive model in De clementia, here is ridiculed as a caricature of the epicurean deity. The principate in itself is presented in a disenchanted and pessimistic light. The blame of Claudius involves the entire dynasty. In the farcical context the hints to the solar kingship of Nero as inaugurating a new golden age seems to have parody shades.
There are also more precise chronological clues. The frequent allusions to the misdeeds of Agrippina would be unthinkable before his elimination in 59 AD. The emphasis on Nero’s assimilation to Apollo as a citharist presupposes his exhibition at the Iuvenalia in 62 AD and his appearance in citharist dress on coins minted in the same year. The themes of solar kingship and golden age are strictly related to the image of the emperor with a radiate crown, that appears on coins beginning from 63 AD.
On the other hand, when Seneca enumerates Claudius’ misdeeds, he seems to allude to those of Nero, who belie the promises and hopes expressed at the very beginning of his reign.
The most probable dating of the work therefore seems between 62 and 63 AD, after Octavia’s death (june 19, 62 AD), but before the great victories won in 63 by Suetonius Paulinus in Britain and Domitius Corbulo in Armenia.

KEYWORDS: Dating of the Apocolocyntosis, Seneca, Claudius, Nero.

(85) LETTA C., Postille sulle iscrizioni della dinastia cozia, in «Segusium» 31, num. spec. fuori serie (Bimillenario dell’arco. Atti del Convegno, Susa, 2-3 ottobre 1992), Susa 1994, 115-127

«Segusium», anno 31, num. spec. fuori serie (Bimillenario dell’arco. Atti del Convegno, Susa, 2-3 ottobre 1992), Susa 1994, 1994

As G. Mennella has rightly pointed out, in line 8 of the great inscription fixed by the Cottian p... more As G. Mennella has rightly pointed out, in line 8 of the great inscription fixed by the Cottian prince Donnus II in the Roman theatre of Turin there can be no mention of [actorum do]mus; therefore, a new reconstruction is proposed: [port]ịcum c̣ụm [suis ornamentis et do]mus. On the contrary, in line 1 praef(ectus) [ci]v[itatium omnium quibus pa]ter eius praefuit must be reaffirmed against praef(ectus) [ci]v[itatium Cottianarum etc. proposed by Mennella. Moreover, on the basis of epigraphical use, the Author reaffirms that in the dedication of the Arch of Susa the ceivitates quae sub eo praefecto fuerunt are not the same fourteen ceivitates listed by their own name.

KEYWORDS: Roman theatre of Turin, Donnus II, praefectus civitatium, Cottian civitates, arch of Susa.

(82) LETTA C., Dall’oppidum al nomen: i diversi livelli dell’aggregazione politica nel mondo osco-umbro, in L. AIGNER FORESTI, A. BARZANÒ, C. BEARZOT, L. PRANDI, G. ZECCHINI (edd.), Federazioni e federalismo nell’Europa antica (Bergamo, 21-25 settembre 1992), Milano, Vita e Pensiero 1994, 387-405

L. AIGNER FORESTI, A. BARZANÒ, C. BEARZOT, L. PRANDI, G. ZECCHINI (edd.), Federazioni e federalismo nell’Europa antica (Bergamo, 21-25 settembre 1992), Milano, Vita e Pensiero 1994, 1994

The model of political organization proposed by Adriano La Regina for the Samnites and the minor ... more The model of political organization proposed by Adriano La Regina for the Samnites and the minor Sabellian peoples is questioned. According to this model the touto would correspond to nomen, and the meddix tuticus would be the annual elective head of the nomen, to be understood as an unitary “national” state, not as a federation of minor sovereign communities. A critical re-examinationof the list of meddices tutici attributed by La Regina to this supposed Samnite national state shows that they are instead local magistrates of various centres. Also the re-examination of the attestations of the word touto/touta shows that in this area it did not refer only to the national level, but on the contrary it was more often referred to an individual okri- (oppidum in Latin), that is to an individual centre. Moreover, the existence of coins of Aquilonia and Allifae contradicts the idea of an unitary national state. Therefore, it seems more probable that at national level, both in the phase of the Samnite wars and in that of the alliance with Rome, there were only federal structures that referred to sanctuaries like that of Pietrabbondante.

KEYWORDS: Samnites, okri-, touto, meddix tuticus, national state, federal state.

(81) LETTA C., Il “naufragio” di Caracalla in Cassio Dione, nell’Historia Augusta e nei commentarii degli arvali, in «ZPE» 103 (1994), 188-190

Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik 103, 1994

In the fragment of the commentarii of the Arval Brethren relating to the last week of December 21... more In the fragment of the commentarii of the Arval Brethren relating to the last week of December 213 AD (CIL VI, 2103a [now CFA 99 b]), extraordinary sacrifices for Caracalla are mentioned. The Author contests the generally accepted reconstruction of the lines 5-8 [quod d(ominus) n(oster)… ex naufragi periculo s]alvus servatus sit, founded on an overestimation of the danger run by Caracalla in crossing the Hellespont (C.D. 67, 16, 7; HA, Carac. 5, 8) and proposes instead [quod d(ominus) n(oster)… in itinere s]alvus servatus sit. Moreover, thanks to Scheid’s clarifications on the text, we can specify that the crossing of Hellespont and the arrival of Caracalla at Nicomedia (to which the following lines refer, with celebrations of January 1, 214) date back to late autumn 213, not to August or September 214, as Millar proposed.

KEYWORDS: Caracalla, commentarii fratrum arvalium, crossing of Hellespont, arrival at Nicomedia.

(78) LETTA C., Catalogo delle epigrafi, in Gli Uffizi. La donazione Detlef Heikamp (“Gli Uffizi. Studi e Ricerche”, I pieghevoli, n. 17), Firenze 1994, 2-5

Gli Uffizi. La donazione Detlef Heikamp (“Gli Uffizi. Studi e Ricerche”, I pieghevoli, n. 17), Firenze 1994, 1994

A short presentation of seven Latin inscriptions already published, coming from illustrious colle... more A short presentation of seven Latin inscriptions already published, coming from illustrious collections, that have been donated to the Uffizi Museum in Florence by the famous art historian Detlef Heikamp. Besides two fragments of the commentarii of the Augustan Secular Games (AE 1988, 20-21) and a dedication to the emperor Hadrian (CIL VI, 969), there are five funerary inscriptions. Three characters stand out among those mentioned in them: a veteran from Actium (CIL V, 2503), a magistrate of the colony of Nemausus (CIL VI, 29718), and a victim of emperor Claudius, Sex. Curvius Tullus, maternal great-grandfather of the emperor Marcus Aurelius and father of Tullus and Lucanus, of which speak Pliny the Younger and Martial (CIL VI, 16671).

KEYWORDS: Detlef Heikamp, Commentarii of Augustan Secular Games, Sex. Curvius Tullus.

(77) LETTA C., Il dossier di Opramoas e la serie dei legati e degli archiereis di Licia, in B. VIRGILIO (ed.), Aspetti e problemi dell’Ellenismo. Atti del Convegno AICC (Pisa, 6-7 novembre 1992), (= “Studi Ellenistici”, 4), Pisa, Giardini 1994, 203-246

B. VIRGILIO (ed.), Aspetti e problemi dell’Ellenismo. Atti del Convegno AICC (Pisa, 6-7 novembre 1992), (= “Studi Ellenistici”, 4), Pisa, Giardini 1994, 1994

On the basis of the rich epigraphic dossier preserved at Rhodiapolis on the walls of the funerary... more On the basis of the rich epigraphic dossier preserved at Rhodiapolis on the walls of the funerary monument of the Lycian notable Opramoas, a new chronological table is proposed, showing synchronically the series of the Roman governors of the imperial province of Lycia et Pamphylia together with that of the archiereis of the koinon of Lycia from 103 to 152 AD. A better dating of the governorship of Q. Voconius Saxa Fidus (141/142-145/146 AD instead of 144-147) provided a fundamental stronghold to transform the relative chronology in absolute.

KEYWORDS: Opramoas, Fasti of Lycia et Pamphylia, koinon of Lycia, archiereis of Lycia, Q. Voconius Saxa Fidus.

(73) LETTA C., L’epigrafia pubblica di vici e pagi nella Regio IV: imitazione del modello urbano e peculiarità del villaggio, in A. CALBI, A. DONATI, G. POMA (edd.), L’epigrafia del villaggio. (Forlì, 27-30 settembre 1990), Faenza, Fratelli Lega 1993, 33-48

A. CALBI, A. DONATI, G. POMA (edd.), L’epigrafia del villaggio. (Forlì, 27-30 settembre 1990), Faenza, Fratelli Lega 1993, 1993

Preliminarily, it is specified that where are attested both a pagus and one or more vici, the la... more Preliminarily, it is specified that where are attested both a pagus and one or more vici, the latter were subordined to the first as its articulations. However, the distinguishing feature of the pagus remains the scattered houses, with a sanctuary as a meeting point for religious, economic and administrative activities (feasts, fairs and markets, assemblies and elections). For this reason most of the public works involving the pagus concerned a sanctuary or some structure annexed to it. In terms of content the public epigraphy of pagi and vici shows a clear willingness to adapt to urban models. Together with the formulae, the concepts of evergetism and patronage are fully accepted, as well as the parochial pride for illustrious fellow countrymen. It even comes to attributing the eponymous function to the local magistrates. Above all is evident the strong will of each rural community to affirm its own identity, distinguishing himself from the urban centre to which the municipal system aggregated it.

KEYWORDS: vici, pagi, public epigraphy.

(235) LETTA C., Tra umano e divino. Forme e limiti del culto degli imperatori nel mondo romano. Presentazione di John Scheid ("La Casa dei Sapienti", 3), Sarzana-Lugano, Agorà & Co. 2021 (pp. XVIII + 206) ISBN 978-88-89526-73-6 € 30.00

LETTA C., Tra umano e divino. Forme e limiti del culto degli imperatori nel mondo romano. Presentazione di John Scheid ("La Casa dei Sapienti", 3), Sarzana-Lugano, Agorà & Co. 2021 (pp. XVIII + 206) ISBN 978-88-89526-73-6 , 2021

A brief presentation of a book on the so called imperial cult.