[1] The Roman town lay 3 m. farther N.W. on the Via Annia. The Via
Flaminia, which did not traverse the Etruscan city, had two
post-stations near it, Aquaviva, some 2-1/2 m. S.E., and Aequum
Faliscum, 4-1/2 m. N.N.E.; the latter is very possibly identical with
the Etruscan site which G. Dennis (_Cities and Cemeteries of
Etruria_, London, 1883, i. 121) identified with Fescennium (q.v.).
See O. Cuntz in _Jahreshefte des osterr. arch. Inst._ ii. (1899), 87.
FALERIO (mod. _Falerone_), an ancient town of Picenum, Italy, about 10
m. S.E. of Urbs Salvia. We know almost nothing of the place except from
inscriptions, from which, and from the remains of its buildings, it
appears to have been of some importance. It was probably founded as a
colony by Augustus after his victory at Actium. A question arose in the
time of Domitian between the inhabitants of Falerio and Firmum as to
land which had been taken out of the territory of the latter (which was
recolonized by the triumvirs), and, though not distributed to the new
settlers, had not been given back again to the people of Firmum. The
emperor, by a rescript, a copy of which in bronze was found at Falerio,
decided in favour of the people of Falerio, that the occupiers of this
land should remain in possession of it (Th. Mommsen in _Corp. Inscr.
Latin._ ix., Berlin, 1883, No. 5, 420). Considerable remains of a
theatre in concrete faced with brickwork, erected, according to an
inscription, in 43 B.C., and 161 ft. in diameter, were excavated in 1838
and are still visible; and an amphitheatre, less well preserved, also
exists, the arena of which measures about 180 by 150 ft. Between the two
is a water reservoir (called Bagno della Regina) connected with remains
of baths.
See G. de Minicis in _Giornale Arcadico_, lv. (1832), 160 seq.;
_Annali dell' Istituto_ (1839), 5 seq. (T. As.)
FALGUIERE, JEAN ALEXANDRE JOSEPH (1831-1900), French sculptor and
painter, was born at Toulouse. A pupil of the Ecole des Beaux Arts he
won the _Prix de Rome_ in 1859; he was awarded the medal of honour at
the Salon in 1868 and was appointed officer of the Legion of Honour in
1878. His first bronze statue of importance was the "Victor of the
Cock-Fight" (1864), and "Tarcisus the Christian Boy-Martyr" followed in
1867; both are now in the Luxembourg Museum. His more important
monuments are those to Admiral Courbet (1890) at Abbeville and the
famous "Joan of Arc." Among more ideal work are "Eve" (1880), "Diana"
(1882 and 1891), "Woman and Peacock," and "The Poet," astride his
Pegasus spreading wings for flight. His "Triumph of the Republic"
(1881-1886), a vast quadriga for the Arc de Triomphe, Paris, is perhaps
more amazingly full of life than others of his works, all of which
reveal this quality of vitality in superlative degree. To these works
should be added his monuments to "Cardinal Lavigerie" and "General de La
Fayette" (the latter in Washington), and his statues of "Lamartine"
(1876) and "St Vincent de Paul" (1879), as well as the "Balzac," which
he executed for the _Societe des gens de lettres_ on the rejection of
that by Rodin; and the busts of "Carolus-Duran" and "Coquelin cadet"
(1896).
Falguiere was a painter as well as a sculptor, but somewhat inferior in
merit. He displays a fine sense of colour and tone, added to the
qualities of life and vigour that he instils into his plastic work. His
"Wrestlers" (1875) and "Fan and Dagger" (1882; a defiant Spanish woman)
are in the Luxembourg, and other pictures of importance are "The
Beheading of St John the Baptist" (1877), "The Sphinx" (1883), "Acis and
Galatea" (1885), "Old Woman and Child" (1886) and "In the Bull
Slaughter-House." He became a member of the Institute (Academie des
Beaux-Arts) in 1882. He died in 1900.
See Leonce Benedite, _Alexandre Falguiere_, Librairie de l'art
(Paris).
FALIERO (or FALIER), MARINO (1279-1355), doge of Venice, belonged to one
of the oldest and most illustrious Venetian families and had served the
republic with distinction in various capacities. In 1346 he commanded
the Venetian land forces at the siege of Zara, where he was attacked by
the Hungarians under King Louis the Great and totally defeated them;
this victory led to the surrender of the city. In September 1354, while
absent on a mission to Pope Innocent IV. at Avignon, Faliero was elected
doge, an honour which apparently he had not sought. His reign began, as
it was to end, in disaster, for very soon after his election the
Venetian fleet was completely destroyed by the Genoese off the island of
Sapienza, while plague and a declining commerce aggravated the
situation. Although a capable commander and a good statesman, Faliero
possessed a violent temper, and after his election developed great
ambition. The constitutional restrictions of the ducal power, which had
been further curtailed just before his election, and the insolence of
the nobility aroused in him a desire to free himself from all control,
and the discontent of the arsenal hands at their treatment by the nobles
offered him his opportunity. In concert with a sea-captain named
Bertuccio Ixarella (who had received a blow from the noble Giovanni
Dandolo), Filippo Calendario, a stonemason, and others, a plot was laid
to murder the chief patricians on the 15th of April and proclaim Faliero
prince of Venice. But there was much ferment in the city and disorders
broke out before the appointed time; some of the conspirators having
made revelations, the Council of Ten proceeded to arrest the ringleaders
and to place armed guards all over the town. Several of the conspirators
were condemned to death and others to various terms of imprisonment. The
doge's complicity having been discovered, he was himself arrested; at
the trial he confessed everything and was condemned and executed on the
17th of April 1355.
The story of the insult written by Michele Steno on the doge's chair is
a legend of which no record is found in any contemporary authority. The
motives of Faliero are not altogether clear, as his past record, even in
the judgment of the poet Petrarch, showed him as a wise, clear-headed
man of no unusual ambition. But possibly the attitude of the aristocracy
and the example offered by the tyrants of neighbouring cities may have
induced him to attempt a similar policy. The only result of the plot was
to consolidate the power of the Council of Ten.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--An account of Marino Faliero's reign is given in S.
Romanin's _Storia documentata di Venezia_, lib. ix. cap. ii. (Venice,
1855); M. Sanudo, _Le Vite dei Dogi_ in new edition of Muratori fasc,
3, 4, 5 (Citta di Castello, 1900). For special works see V.
Lazzerini's "Genealogia d. M. Faliero" in the _Archivio Veneto_ of
1892; "M. Faliero avanti il Dogado," ibid. (1893), and his exhaustive
study "M. Faliero, la Congiura," ibid. (1897). The most recent essay
on the subject is contained in Horatio Brown's _Studies in Venetian
History_ (London, 1907), wherein all the authorities are set forth.
(L. V.*)
FALISCI, a tribe of Sabine origin or connexions, but speaking a dialect
closely akin to Latin, who inhabited the town of Falerii (q.v.), as well
as a considerable tract of the surrounding country, probably reaching as
far south as to include the small town of Capena. But at the beginning
of the historical period, i.e. from the beginning of the 5th century
B.C., and no doubt earlier, the dominant element in the town was
Etruscan; and all through the wars of the following centuries the town
was counted a member, and sometimes a leading member, of the Etruscan
league (cf. Livy iv. 23, v. 17, vii. 17).
In spite of the Etruscan domination, the Faliscans preserved many traces
of their Italic origin, such as the worship of the deities Juno Quiritis
(Ovid, _Fasti_, vi. 49) and Feronia (Livy xxvi. n), the cult of _Dis
Soranus_ by the _Hirpi_ or fire-leaping priests on Mount Soracte (Pliny,
_Nat. Hist._ vii. 2, 19; Servius, _ad Aen._ xi. 785, 787), above all
their language. This is preserved for us in some 36 short inscriptions,
dating from the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C., and is written in a peculiar
alphabet derived from the Etruscan, and written from right to left, but
showing some traces of the influence of the Latin alphabet. Its most
characteristic signs are--
[symbol] a, [symbol] z, [symbol] f, [symbol] r, [symbol] t
As a specimen of the dialect may be quoted the words written round the
edge of a picture on a patera, the genuineness of which is established
by the fact that they were written before the glaze was put on: "foied
vino pipafo, era carefo," i.e. in Latin "hodie vinum bibam, cras carebo"
(R.S. Conway, _Italic Dialects_, p. 312, b). This shows some of the
phonetic characteristics of the Faliscan dialect, viz.:--