Priverno Explained

Priverno
Official Name:Comune di Priverno
Coordinates:41.4667°N 24°W
Region:Lazio
Province:Latina (LT)
Frazioni:Boschetto, Casale, Case Alloggio Ferrovieri, Ceriara, Colle Rotondo, Colle San Pietro, Colle Sughereto, Fascia, Fornillo, Fossanova, Gricilli, Le Crete, Maccalè, Mezzagosto, Montalcide, Osteria dei Pignatari, Perazzette, Pruneto, San Martino, Stazione Fossanova, Stradone Grotte
Mayor:Anna Maria Bilancia
Area Total Km2:56.98
Population Total:13668
Population As Of:31 May 2022
Population Demonym:Privernati or Pipernesi
Elevation M:151
Saint:St. Thomas Aquinas
Day:March 7
Postal Code:04015
Area Code:0773

Priverno is a town, comune in the province of Latina, Lazio, central Italy. It was called Piperno until 1927.

It has a station of the Rome-Naples railway mainline. Nearby is the Monti Lepini chain. It was the birthplace of the canonist Reginald of Piperno.

History

Privernum is described by Livy as a flourishing Volscian site, which was conquered and destroyed by the Romans in the late 4th century BC. The Appian Way passed nearby. The town recovered under the Roman rule, but disappeared after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, probably destroyed by Saracen attacks.

Researchers studying the concrete used in Privernum concluded that the use of quicklime made ancient Roman concrete more durable than its modern counterpart.[1] [2]

It was later a minor center of the Papal States, to which it belonged until the capture of Rome in 1870.

Main sights

Nearby is the Abbey of Fossanova, which is where the town's patron saint, St. Thomas Aquinas died on 7 March 1274. Other churches include:

Lay buildings include the Villa Gallio, a residence of Cardinal Bartolomeo Gallio, the Communal Palace (13th century), with the Dolphin Fountain by Giuseppe Olivieri and the Porta San Marco and Porta Posterola, the only remains of the seven gates once giving access to Priverno. Remains of the old Privernum are outside the town, including parts of the walls, baths, three patrician houses and a temple. Here a colossal statue of Tiberius (now in the Vatican Museum) was found in the late 18th century.

Notes and References

  1. Seymour . Linda M. . Maragh . Janille . Sabatini . Paolo . Di Tommaso . Michel . Weaver . James C. . Masic . Admir . 2023-01-06 . Hot mixing: Mechanistic insights into the durability of ancient Roman concrete . Science Advances . en . 9 . 1 . eadd1602 . 10.1126/sciadv.add1602 . 2375-2548 . 9821858 . 36608117. 2023SciA....9D1602S .
  2. Web site: Scientists may have found magic ingredient behind ancient Rome's self-healing concrete. Quicklime may have made material more durable than its modern counterparts. 2023-01-06. Jacklin. Kwan. science.org.