VESTINI

ancient Sabine tribe, which occupied the eastern and northern bank of the Aternus (modern Aterno) River in central Italy. They entered into the Roman alliance in 302 BC and remained loyal until they joined the Social War (9088 BC), by which they won Roman citizenship. The Vestini's local dialect, belonging to the Northern Oscan group, probably survived until this time. The oldest known Latin inscriptions of the district are not earlier than 100 BC, and they indicate that the Latin first spoken by the Vestini was not that of Rome but that of their neighbours, the Marsi and the Aequi (qq.v.).