Property Management and Social Patronage. The gens Neratia in Rome and Central-Southern Italy between the Second and the Fourth Centuries AD

The wealthy gens of the Neratii, which date back to an obscure figure of the Augustan age, achieved senatorial status under Vespasian. Among their members were M. HirriusFrontoNeratiusPansa, his brother (or cousin) L. NeratiusPriscus, and two nephews, L. Neratius Marcellus and L. NeratiusPriscus (iunior). The latter became one of the most important jurists of Ancient Rome, and Trajan even considered him worthy of inheriting the rule of the empire. All these figures, particularly those of the second generation, had very close relationships with the emperors of the Antonine period, and they even had the privilege of becoming part of the consilium Principis. Many members of the gens Neratia showed interest in Saepinum, the town they originated from. They constructed and restored public buildings there, and strengthened their links within the area by possessing large estates in the municipium and the surrounding territory of the LiguresBaebiani. Much later, oneNeratiusCerealis, praefectus annonae in AD 328 (the first holder of that position of senatorial rank), Roman praefect in 352 and consul in 358, became one of the most notable and wealthy men of his time. In Rome, he built large balnea on the Esquiline, in an exclusive area that hosted the villae of the most politically relevant senatorial families of the 4th century AD (FabiusCilo, VettiusAgoriusPraetextatus, IuniusBassus, etc). This contribution aims to explore the numerous aedilician activities of the gens Neratiorum between the 2nd and the 4th centuries in central Italy, paying special attention to Saepinum, Rome and Ostia. The aim of this research is to trace the fundamental details and sources of the Neratii’swealth, unpack the various forms of acquisition (purchases, lettings, confiscations, etc.) that were attached to them, identify the interconnections of such activities, and finally to discuss to what extent the aedilician activities of the Neratii changed and developed throughout time and space.