The Roman era and the Latin poet Sextus Propertius
One of the most illustrious sons of the city of Assisi, which as we have already told you was called Asisium in Roman times, is the Latin poet Sextus Propertius.
Born around 50 BC to an aristocratic family among the most important in the Umbrian center, at the age of twenty he moved to Rome with his mother, after his father had been killed in the clashes following the so-called war of Perugia in 41-40 BC, which saw Octavian (the future Augustus) and Lucius Antonius, brother of the triumvir Mark Antony, to whose faction the father of the little Propertius belonged. A sad period, to which the poet often refers in his writings.
In Rome he soon came into contact with the cultured circles of the city, frequenting the circle of Maecenas where he met Virgil, Ovid and above all Hostia, the rich Roman matron with whom he fell in love and to whom, under the pseudonym of Cinzia, he dedicated his first book of Elegies.
From internal references to his literary work, we are able to follow his life until 15 BC, and then lose track of him.
His bond with Assisi was strong: thanks to his verses we can have an idea of the urban planning and society of this city.
It will be the footsteps of Propertius that will guide us through the streets and monuments of Asisium.
