Cisalpine Gaul (Latin: Gallia Cisalpina, also called Gallia Citerior or Gallia Togata) was the name used during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC for a region in northern Italy that was home to the Celts (Gauls). This area is now mostly northern Italy.

Starting in the late 3rd century BC, the Roman Republic saw this region as part of Italia geographically, but it remained separate in administration until 42 BC. It was a Roman province from about 81 BC until 42 BC, when it was officially merged into Roman Italy, as planned by Julius Caesar.

The term "Cisalpine" means "on this side of the Alps" from the Roman perspective, while "Transalpine Gaul" refers to the area "on the far side of the Alps."

Gallia Cisalpina was divided into two parts: Gallia Cispadana (south of the Po River) and Gallia Transpadana (north of the Po River).

In the 1st century BC, the Roman province of Cisalpine Gaul was bordered by the Alps to the north and west, the Po River as far as Placentia to the south, the Apennines and the Rubicon River to the south, and the Adriatic Sea to the east.

In 49 BC, all people living in Cisalpine Gaul were given Roman citizenship. Later, the province was split among four of Italy’s eleven regions: Regio VIII Gallia Cispadana, Regio IX Liguria, Regio X Venetia et Histria, and Regio XI Gallia Transpadana.

History

The Canegrate culture (13th century BC) may have been the first group of proto-Celtic people from the northwest part of the Alps. These people moved through Alpine passes and settled in the western Po valley between Lake Maggiore and Lake Como, where they created the Scamozzina culture. They introduced a new burial practice—cremation—which replaced burial. Some scholars believe that proto-Celtic people may have lived in northwestern Italy even earlier, during the Middle Bronze Age (16th–15th century BC). At this time, bronze tools and ornaments made in northwestern Italy were similar to those made by groups in Central Europe known as the Tumulus culture (1600–1200 BC).

The people of the Canegrate culture remained distinct for about 100 years before blending with the Ligurian people, forming a new culture called the Golasecca culture. This culture is now believed to be connected to the Celtic Lepontii. According to the Roman writer Livy (around 34 BC), groups of Celts such as the Bituriges, Arverni, Senones, Aedui, Ambarri, Carnutes, and Aulerci, led by Bellovesus, arrived in northern Italy during the reign of Tarquinius Priscus (7th–6th century BC). They settled between Milan and Cremona. The city of Milan (Mediolanum) was likely founded by Gauls in the early 6th century BC. Its name means “city in the middle of the plain” in Celtic. The Greek historian Polybius (2nd century BC) wrote that Celts in northern Italy lived alongside Etruscan people before the Sack of Rome in 390 BC.

The Ligures lived along the northern Mediterranean coast, including parts of southeast France, northwest Italy, Tuscany, Elba, and Corsica. They were also present in Latium (home to the Rutuli) and Samnium. Plutarch wrote that the Ligures called themselves Ambrones, suggesting a possible link to the Ambrones of northern Europe. Little is known about the Ligurian language, but place names and personal names suggest it was an Indo-European language with strong Celtic influences. Because of these influences, the Ligures were sometimes called Celto-Ligurians by ancient writers. Modern scholars, like Xavier Delamarre, believe the Ligurian language was closely related to Gaulish.

The Veneti were an Indo-European people who lived in northeastern Italy, in the modern regions of Veneto, Friuli, and Trentino. By the 4th century BC, the Veneti had adopted many Celtic customs. The Greek historian Polybius wrote that the Veneti of the 2nd century BC were nearly identical to the Gauls, except for their language. Another Greek historian, Strabo (64 BC–AD 24), suggested that the Adriatic Veneti were descendants of Celts who later lived on the Armorican coast and fought Julius Caesar. He also noted that the connection between the Adriatic Veneti and the Paphlagonian Enetoi, led by Antenor, was likely a mistake caused by similar names.

In 391 BC, Celts from beyond the Alps moved through Alpine passes and took control of the land between the Apennine Mountains and the Alps, according to Diodorus Siculus. The Roman army was defeated at the Battle of Allia, and Rome was sacked by the Senones in 390 BC.

The end of Celtic dominance in mainland Europe began after the Romans defeated a coalition of Samnites, Celts, and Etruscans in the Third Samnite War (290 BC). At the Battle of Telamon in 225 BC, a large Celtic army was trapped between two Roman forces and destroyed.

During the Second Punic War, the Boii and Insubres allied with Carthage and attacked Mutina (modern Modena). Rome sent L. Manlius Vulso to respond, but his army was ambushed twice. The Senate then sent Scipio with additional troops. These Roman forces were later defeated by Hannibal at the Battle of the Ticinus, causing most Gauls (except the Cenomani) to join the Carthaginian side. Rome then sent Tiberius Sempronius Longus, who was also defeated by Hannibal at the Battle of the Trebia. This forced Rome to temporarily abandon Gallia Cisalpina until Carthage was defeated in 202 BC.

In 191 BC, Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica completed the conquest of the Boii. The Ligurians were finally subdued in 155 BC when the Apuani were defeated by Marcus Claudius Marcellus.

This region was sometimes called Gallia Citerior (“Hither Gaul”), Provincia Ariminum, or Gallia Togata (“Toga-wearing Gaul”), reflecting its early Romanization. Gallia Transpadana referred to the part of Cisalpine Gaul between the Po River and the Alps, while Gallia Cispadana was the area south of the Po.

The province was likely established around 81 BC and governed from Mutina (modern Modena). In 73 BC, forces led by Spartacus defeated the legion of Gaius Cassius Longinus, the provincial governor.

In 49 BC, Julius Caesar granted full Roman citizenship to the people of the province through the Lex Roscia. The Rubicon River marked the southern boundary of the province with Italy. When Caesar crossed the Rubicon in 49 BC with his XIII Legion, it triggered a civil war that eventually led to the Roman Empire. The phrase “crossing the Rubicon” now means making a decision from which there is no turning back.

The province was merged into Italia around 42 BC as part of Octavian’s “Italicization” program during the Second Triumvirate. The dissolution of the province required new laws, though the exact name of the law is unknown. A bronze tablet preserved in Parma describes judicial arrangements, including appointing officials and a Prefect of Mutina.

Three famous people from the province were Virgil, Catullus, and Livy.

Archaeology

The Canegrate culture is from the late Bronze Age to the early Iron Age in the Pianura Padana. This area is now known as western Lombardy, eastern Piedmont, and Canton Ticino.

The Canegrate culture shows the arrival of people from the northwest part of the Alps. These people crossed alpine passes and settled in the western Po area between Lake Maggiore and Lake Como (see Scamozzina culture). They introduced a new burial practice, replacing the old tradition of burying bodies with cremation.

The Canegrate population remained similar for about a century before mixing with Ligurian people to form the Golasecca culture.

The Golasecca culture (9th to 4th centuries BC) spread from the end of the Bronze Age to the start of the Iron Age in northwestern Lombardy, Piedmont, and Canton Ticino. During the end of the prehistoric period, this area had frequent travelers who interacted with the Hallstatt culture to the west, the Urnfield culture to the north, and the Villanova culture to the south. The Golasecca culture started in the foothills south of the Alps and later expanded to the lake areas, creating many settlements that represent this culture. The oldest remains found are from around the 9th century BC.

Language

There is some discussion about whether the Lepontic language should be classified as a dialect of Gaulish or as a separate group within Continental Celtic. In addition to Lepontic, the "Cisalpine Gaulish language" refers specifically to the Gaulish language spoken by the Gauls who entered northern Italy around 400 BCE. This is a dialect of the broader Gaulish language, with certain known sound features that set it apart from Transalpine dialects, such as using -nn- instead of -nd- and s(s) instead of -χs-.