a city of Etruria, near Falerii, supposed to have occupied the site of the modern Galese, and be- longing originally to the Siceli, who were dispossessed by the Pelasgi. Dionysius (i. 21) states that some customs of this latter nation were still observed in his time (29 B.C.). It is chiefly remarkable as having given birth to a species of verse called by the Romans Versus Fescennini, and sometimes also Saturnii, in reference to the remote anti- quity of its origin. As all specimens of this species of poetry have disappeared, we must rest satisfied with the account given of it by Horace. According to him, it was employed at the solemn festivals of their gods, sung in al- ternate verses by the performers, and was of a gay and cheerful character. The wit was of the rudest kind, and the satire was often so severe, that the laws of the Twelve Tables found it necessary to guard against its abuse. The irregular metre in which these songs, as well as all the poe- tical attempts of the early Romans, were written, received the name of Saturnian verse. (Hor. Ep. ii. i. 139; Liv. vii. 2; Casaubon De Sat. Graec. et Rom. Poes. p. 178; Palmström De Satir. Orig. p. 63.)