FUNDI
(Fondi) Italy.
An Auruncan town
astride the Via Appia in a fertile triangular valley opening
on the sea. It is first known in 338 B.C. (Latin war). It
won full Roman citizenship in 188 B.C. and was inscribed
in the tribus Aemilia. Many important Romans of the
Late Republic had villas in the neighborhood, and its
wine was esteemed (Pliny
HN 14.65).
Much of the ancient city plan survives in the modern
town; the insulae seem to have been small and squarish,
while two main streets cross at right angles at the center
of town next to the forum. There are excellent remains
of the fortifications, laid out in a square, with at least
one gate of sophisticated plan, flanked by towers and provided with a portcullis. The original construction (3d c.
B.C.) is of large polygonal blocks of the local limestone,
well fitted on the outer face, but without snecking, with
coursing and arching for short stretches. The inner face
is less finely finished. The rectangular towers are in bond
with the curtain, and beds at joints and corners are usually level. Subsequently (1st c. B.C.) the walls were extensively rebuilt in opus incertum with round towers.
The town was known for a cult of Hercules (Porphynon on Hor.
Epist. 1.1.4), but no remains of the temple
have been traced. There are ruins of numerous monumental tombs along the Appia nearby and many villas.
A bath has been discovered just outside the SE gate and
partially excavated.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
C. F. Giuliani,
Studi di urbanistica
antica (Quaderni dell'Istituto di Topografia Antica della
Università di Roma 2, 1966) 71-78
MPI; E. L. Caronna,
NSc (1971) 330-63.
L. RICHARDSON, JR.
