Aventino

The origin of this name is still today quite uncertain. The theories include: 1) from the Latin name “avēs > avis,” which in turn derives from the Proto-Italic “*awis,” meaning “a bird, omen, a portent.” 2) From the Latin name “adveniō > adventus”, meaning “arrive”, probably related to the Italic-Sabine river. A) Aventinus was a son of Hercules, and the priestess Rhea mentioned in Virgil’s Aeneid, Book VII. 656, as an ally of Mezentius and enemy of Aeneas. B) Aventinus was one of the mythical kings of Alba Longa, who was buried on the Aventine Hill later named after him. C) Saint Aventinus (†~537), a disciple of St. Loup. D) Aventinus was a hermit and friend of St. Thomas Becket. Living the life of a hermit in Tours, France, before being ordained a deacon by St. Thomas Becket, and subsequently accompanied him to the Synod of Tours in 1163. E) The Aventine Hill is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the twelfth rione, or ward, of Rome.