City
Vibona Balentia
Vibo Valentia (Barrington)
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Vibona Balentia began life as Hipponion, a Greek town founded by settlers from Locri, and the Roman writer Pliny still remembered that past: "Hippo, which we now call Vibo Valentia." The Romans took it from the Bruttians and made it a colony early in the second century BC. The first part of the new name is probably Oscan. The town grew rich on tuna fishing, and its shipyards served the Roman fleet. Today it is Vibo Valentia in Calabria, known as Monteleone until 1928, and its ancient cemetery yielded a small gold leaf inscribed with Orphic texts.