Editing Falisci (section)

==Geography==
The Falisci resided in a region called by the Romans the ''{{lang|la|Ager Faliscus}}'', "Faliscan Country", located on the right bank of the [[Tiber River]] between and including Grotta Porciosa in the north and [[Capena]] in the south. The 1st-century Roman writer [[Pliny the Elder]] and the 1st-century BCE Latin poet [[Horace]] both state that the [[Monte Soratte]] was within Faliscan territory;<ref>[[Pliny the Elder]]. ''[[wikisource:Natural_History_(Rackham,_Jones,_&_Eichholz)|Naturalis historia]]''. [[wikisource:Natural_History_(Rackham,_Jones,_&_Eichholz)/Book_7|7.2.19]].</ref><ref>[[Horace]]. ''[[wikisource:Translation:Odes_(Horace)|Odes]]''. [[wikisource:Translation:Odes_(Horace)/Book_I/9|1.9.1]].</ref> it likely functioned as the border between Faliscan country and [[Capena|Capenate]] territory. The land between Monte Soratte and the Tiber is of unclear ownership; although nearly all the 4th-3rd century BCE inscriptions from the area east of Monte Soratte are Faliscan, most scholars consider the land to have been part of the ''ager Capenas''.{{Sfn|Bakkum|2009|p=20}} To the west, the corners of the roughly square area were on the slopes of the [[Monti Sabatini]] in the south and the [[Monti Cimini]] in the north. Pollen samples from [[Lake Bracciano]], Lake Monterosi and [[Lake Vico]] reveal that the montane forests, formed by oaks, were very dense until the 2nd century BC.{{sfn|Bakkum|2009|p=19}} According to the 1st-century BCE Roman historian [[Livy]], the forest by Monti Cimini was dangerous for foreigners as of the 4th-century BCE; he claims that "not a single trader had, up to that time, ventured through it."{{Sfn|Bakkum|2009|p=19}}<ref>[[Livy]]. ''[[wikisource:From_the_Founding_of_the_City|Ab urbe condita]]''. [[wikisource:From_the_Founding_of_the_City/Book_9#36|9.36]].</ref>

The arable land was contained within an enclosure of volcanic highlands and the [[Tiber River]]. The northern border of the enclosure went along the ridge of the [[Monti Cimini]], the southern along the ridge connecting the [[Monti Sabatini]] and [[Monte Soratte]], the western along the highlands connecting the two large volcanic lakes. The inner slopes are drained by streams pointing at the Tiber, which collect into converging canyons and finally into the canyon of the Treja river, which empties into the Tiber. These streams required an extensive network of bridges.

Most of the through traffic went along the [[Via Tiburtina]] on the west bank of the river, which could only be crossed south of Capena or at Grotta Porciosa in the north. There the [[Via Flaminia]], earlier the [[Via Amerina]], led inland into the country of the [[Sabines]] via the valley of the Nar River. On the western side, the [[Via Cassia]] or its predecessor led to the coast over [[Sutri]] gap. The Falisci therefore prospered by being on a protected crossroad.

The primary urban center in Faliscan territory was the city of [[Falerii]], now the modern settlement of [[Civita Castellana]]. Falerii was situated at the conjunction of several small rivers from [[Monti Sabatini]] and the larger [[Treia]] river. Following the Roman conquest of 241 BCE, the city of Falerii was destroyed and the inhabitants were moved to the less defensible position of [[Falerii Novi]].{{sfn|Bakkum|2009|p=20}} Another major city mentioned in ancient literature is [[Fescennia|Fescennium]],<ref>{{cite journal |title=Some Excursions into Vergil's Faliscan Country: In Search of Fescennium |author=[[Bertha Tilly]] |journal=Vergilius |issue=23 |date=1977 |pages=39–49 |jstor=41591774 }}</ref> which is said by Festus to be the origin site of the [[Weddings in ancient Rome|Roman wedding]] tradition known as the [[Fescennine Verses|Fescennine verses]].{{sfn|Bakkum|2009|p=21}} Other Faliscan cities unmentioned by the ancient sources include [[Corchiano]], [[Vignanello]], [[Gallese]] and Grotta Porciosa.{{sfn|Bakkum|2009|pp=20–24}}