Arpinum dates back to at least the 7th century BC.

Connected with the Pelasgi, the Volscian andSamnite people, it was captured by the Romans and made a civitas sine suffragio in 305 BC. The city gained Roman suffrage in 188 BC and the status of a municipium in 90 BC. Both Gaius Marius and Cicero were natives of Arpinum. There is an oral tradition that persists to this day that Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa was also a native of Arpinum. Historians have not been able to confirm his origin.