Vitrasia Faustina was a noble Roman woman that lived in the 2nd century during the Roman Empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

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Vitrasia was the daughter of Annia Fundania Faustina

Annia Fundania Faustina

Annia Fundania Faustina was a noble Roman woman that lived in the 2nd century during the Roman Empire.Fundania Faustina was the daughter of the Roman Consul Marcus Annius Libo and Fundania. Her brother was a younger Marcus Annius Libo who served as a Legatus in Syria in 162...

 and the Roman politician Titus Pomponius Proculus Vitrasius Pollio

Titus Pomponius Proculus Vitrasius Pollio

Titus Pomponius Proculus Vitrasius Pollio was a Roman Politician that lived in the 2nd century.Pollio was born into a family of Patrician rank. The name of his mother is unknown, however his father Titus Vitrasius Pollio, served as a Legatus in Lugdunum and became consul in 137 in the reign of...

 and her brother was Titus Fundanius Vitrasius Pollio. Her paternal grandfather was Titus Vitrasius Pollio consul of 137, while her maternal grandparents were the consul Marcus Annius Libo

Marcus Annius Libo

Marcus Annius Libo was a Roman who lived in the 2nd century. He was the son of Roman consul Marcus Annius Verus and Rupilia Faustina. He was consul in 128 and suffect consul in 161....

 and Fundania. Through her maternal grandfather, she was a distant relative to the ruling Nerva–Antonine dynasty of the Roman Empire. Vitrasia was born and raised in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

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Vitrasia through inheritances became a very wealthy heiress and had moved to Cales

Cales

Cales was an ancient city of Campania, in today's comune of Calvi Risorta in southern Italy, belonging originally to the Aurunci/Ausoni, on the Via Latina.The Romans captured it in 335 BC and established a colony with Latin rights of 2,500 citizens...

. Due to her influence, status and connections, Vitrasia became a public benefactor and a prominent citizen of Cales. Through her wealth, Vitrasia paid for the construction or repair for the Magna Dea

Magna Dea

Magna Dea is Latin for "Great Goddess" and can refer to any major goddess worshipped during the Roman Republic or Roman Empire. Magna Dea could be applied to a goddess at the head of a pantheon, such as Juno or Minerva, or a goddess worshipped monotheistically. The term "Great Goddess" itself can...

 Temple or Temple of the Great Mother in the city.

It is uncertain if Vitrasia had ever married or had children. It 182 or 183, she was involved in one of numerous conspiracies against her second unstable maternal cousin the Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

 Commodus

Commodus

Commodus , was Roman Emperor from 180 to 192. He also ruled as co-emperor with his father Marcus Aurelius from 177 until his father's death in 180. His name changed throughout his reign; see changes of name for earlier and later forms. His accession as emperor was the first time a son had succeeded...

who ruled 180-192. She was executed on the orders of Commodus.

Sources

• Septimius Severus: the African emperor, by Anthony Richard Birley Edition: 2 – 1999
• From Tiberius to the Antonines: a history of the Roman Empire AD 14-192, by Albino Garzetti, 1974
• Mutilation and transformation: damnatio memoriae and Roman imperial portraiture By Eric R. Varner 2004
• http://www.mjengh.com/femina_habilis_8457.htm