The first city in the army’s path was Aquileia (northeast of Venice). Eight miles from the Adriatic, Aquileia was settled in 181 B.C. as a frontier fortress designed to block entrance into Italy. It’s fortifications had been in disrepair, but the delay of Maximinus gave the city time to re-build the walls and stock the city for battle.
When Maximinus and his army arrived, they decided to pursue a siege strategy and proceeded to cut trees for the construction of siege engines. By the time he was ready, the two commanders of the town, Crispinus and Menophilus, were equally prepared for him. The council of twenty had arranged for all roads to Rome to be blockaded to prevent re-supply of the invaders. The army of Maximinus was repulsed in repeated attacks, his siege engines destroyed by flaming projectiles. The attacks went on from March to May of 238 A.D.