TERRACINA, a town and episcopal see of the province of Rome, Italy, 63 m. S.E. of Rome by rail (56 by the Via Appia), 40 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1931) (town), 18,562 (corn mune). Its position, at the point where the Volscian hills reach the coast, leaving no space for passage between them and the sea, commanding the Pomptine marshes and possessing a small harbour, was one of great strategic importance. It appears in 509 B.C. under Roman supremacy. In 406 it was stormed by the Romans, unsuccessfully attacked by the Volscians in 397, and finally secured in 329 B.C. The construction of the Via Appia in 312 B.C. added to its importance: the road at first crossed the hill at the back of the promontory (748 ft.) by a steep ascent and descent, which had its strategic advantages. It was not until the imperial period (probably under Trajan) that a cutting in the rocks at the foot of the promontory (Pisco Montano) finally solved the problem. The depth of the cutting is indicated by marks on the vertical wall at intervals of Io Roman ft.— figures enclosed in large swallow-tail tablets—the lowest mark, 3 or 4 ft. above the present road, is CXX.
The construction of the Via Severiana, from Ostia to Ter racina, added to the importance of the place; and the beauty of the promontory with its luxuriant flora and attractive view had made it frequented by the Romans as early as 200 B.C. Galba and Domitian possessed country houses here. It appears in the history of the Gothic wars, and Theodoric is said to have had a palace here. It was sacked in 409 and 595. In 872 John VIII. brought it under the domination of the Holy See.
The picturesque modern town occupies the site of the old; the present piazza is the ancient Forum, and its pavement of slabs of travertine with the inscription "A. Aemilius A. F.," in letters
once filled in with bronze, is well preserved. It is supported by massive arched substructures, which extend under the surrounding houses. The cathedral of SS. Pietro e Cesareo, fronting upon it, is ensconced in a temple of Rome and Augustus. The vestibule, in the Cosmatesque style, is supported by ten ancient columns resting upon recumbent lions, with a mosaic frieze upon them. The interior has a fine Cosmatesque pulpit supported by ancient columns resting on lions, a Paschal candlestick of 1245, and a good pavement of the same period with beasts and dragons. There are remains of the town wall in the "polygonal" style, and also part of a later enceinte (4th [?] cent. A.D.) with towers.
The summit is occupied by a massive terrace, supported by arcades of fine opus incertum commanding a magnificent view seaward over the coast and over the Pomptine Marshes. On the terrace stood a temple of the early imperial period, 110 by 65 ft., probably of Jupiter Anxur, worshipped as a child. The lower town by the harbour had buildings of some importance (amphi theatre, baths, etc.), of the imperial period. Of the ancient har bour constructed by Antoninus Pius some remains exist.
Near the amphitheatre was found the famous statue of Sopho cles now in the Lateran museum. The ancient aqueduct, bring ing water some 35 m. from the slopes of the Volscian hills, has been repaired and is in use. Three miles to the north-west, at the foot of the Monte Leano, was the shrine of the nymph Feronia, where the canal following the Via Appia through the marshes ended. Along these 3 m. are numerous ancient tombs.
See G. Lugli, Forma Italiae I. i. i (Rome, (T. A.)