PARE´NTIUM(Παρέντιον: Parenzo), a city of stria, on the W. coast of the peninsula, about 30 miles N. of Pola. (Plin. Nat. 3.19. s. 23; Ptol. 3.1.27; Itin. Ant. p. 271; Tab. Pent.;Anon. Rav. 4.31.) From the mention of the name by Stephanus of Byzantium (s. v.) it is probable that it existed as an Istrian town previous to the Roman settlement there. Pliny calls it an oppidum civium Romanorum,and it would seem that it was already one of the most considerable towns in the province, though it did not then enjoy the rank of a colony. But we learn from inscriptions that it subsequently attained this rank under Trajan, and bore the titles of Colonia Ulpia Parentium (Orell. Inscr. 72, 3729; Zumpt, de Colon. p. 402.) In common with the other cities of Istria, its most flourishing period belongs to the close of the Western Empire. The modern city of Parenzois a small place, but retains its episcopal see, which dates from a very early period.
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