Here below, a picture of the funerary stele of Didia Salvia (1st-2nd century CE) found in Milan, the ancient Mediolanum in the Regio Transpadana, one of the 11 Italian regions established by the Emperor Augustus. It is now exposed at the Archeological Museum of the City (Corso Magenta 15, Milano, Italia).
The funerary stele was dedicated by Quintus Didius Tertullinus (son of Quintus), Roman Knight with public horse, to the Deads’ Gods (Dei Mani) of his optima mater Didia Salvia, freedwoman of Marcus.
The remains of the Roman Villa, Albisola (photo: m.v.)
The present-day town of Albisola Superiore, near Savona in the Italian region of Liguria, in the ancient Roman times was probably named Alba Docilia. In fact, the modern Albisola has been linked to the ancient Alba Docilia on the basis of the Peutinger Map (Tabula Peutingeriana), a 13th century parchment (pergamena) showing the road network in the Roman Empire, probably, as it was in the 4th-5th century CE [1]. The Roman town of Alba Docilia was located along the road between Genua (present-day Genova) and Vada Sabatia (Vado Ligure).
Section of the Peutinger Map showing Liguria and Corsica: the village of Alba Dociclia is circled in red
At the end of the 19th Century, father Schiappapietra, the parson of the little St. Peter’s Church [2] (Chiesetta di S. Pietro) started some excavations and unearthed the remains of a large Roman villa. Further excavations, carried out in the years fifties of the 20th century during the building of the railway station, allowed to delimit the extension of the Roman villa. The Roman villa, covering an area of about 8,000 sq.m., consists of a residential part (pars urbana) which includes rooms with hypocaust (indicated with A in the map below) and thermal baths (thermae). The thermae embed the circular bulding (indicated with D). This circular construction is believed to be a sauna (sudatio or laconicum) or a warm pool (piscina calida) within the baths’ calidarium. Around the large internal courtyard (B) there are the farmhouse’s buildings (pars fructuaria) that include the warehouses (C).
Source: “Villa romana di Alba Docilia”, leaflet printed by “Rete dei musei e delle aree archeologiche della Liguria”, Albisola Superiore
In the last years, new hypotheses were made about the real use of the villa. It has been argued that the structure of the villa (e.g. the large internal courtyard, the presence of thermae etc.) suggests that actually it could be a mansio, i.e. an ancient service station and hotel for travellers.
Here below some picturesof the archeological area taken by myself in a recent tour.
Circular building: “cisterna” or “piscina calida” (photo: m.v.)
The residential part of the Roman Villa
Ancient rooms with hypocaust (photo: m.v.)
Ancient Roman wharhouses (photo: m.v)
Church of S. Pietro (photo: m.v.)
M. Valentini
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Notes:
[1] The Peutinger Map is named after a 16th-century German antiquarian, Konrad Peutinger. The map is now conserved at the Austrian National Library in Vienna. According to some hypotheses, the Map could be based on what reported in documents dating back to 4th or 5th century, i.e. it could represents the road network in the late Roman Empire. On the other hand, some particulars reported in the Map – not in line with the historical references dealing with the 4th century – have brought some researchers to think that it could be a late reproduction of an original map of the roads drafted by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa under the Emperor Augustus.
[2] The Church was partially destroyed in 1887 and restored, following its original Romanesque architecture, in the beginning of the 20th century.
The Roman city of Ariminum (present-day Rimini, situated in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna) was founded in 268 BC by Roman colonies and soldiers, near the estuary of the Ariminus river (present-day Marecchia), after that those territories fell under Roman control following the battle of Sentino in 295 BC, where the Celtic tribe of Galli Senoniwere defeated by the Romans. The toponym of the city of Senigallia, not far away from Rimini, recall that ancient Gallic tribe (the Romans called these Celtic populations with the name of Galli, Gauls in English).
Tiberius’s Bridge, 1st century CE – Rimini (photo: m.v.)
Initially, the City – founded as a colony under Latin law (ius Latii) – represented an important stronghold in the Ager Picenus et Gallicus(i.e. the territory between the present-day regions of Romagna and Marche) against the potential attacks of Gauls as well as a starting point for the northward further expansion of the Res Publica Populi Romani, i.e. the ancient Roman State. After the establishment of the Roman province of the Gallia Cisalpina at the end of the 2nd century BC, Ariminum resulted to be the main important city along the eastern boundary, marked by the Rubicone river, between the provinces of Italia and Gallia Cisalpina. It is believed that Caius Julius Caesar, after having transpassed that boundary with his legions on January 12th, 49 BC, made a speech to his troops at the Ariminum’s Theatre during which he said the famous words “Alea iacta est” .
Roman Theatre, Rimini
Paving of the Roman Forum, Rimini
The City was also a strategic settlement at the crossroad of important ways such as the Via Arretina, which followed the Marecchia’s valley, the Via Popilia, which reached Ravenna and Aquileia toward east, the Via Aemilia toward Placentia and Mediolanum and, southward, the via Flaminia to Rome (the last three viae enjoyed the rank of consular roads).
In the beginning of the 1st century CE, under the principatus of Caius Octavius Augustus, Ariminum became a municipium with administrative autonomy and an important imperial city. The City’s infrastructures were improved and several important building and monuments were built. Among them, the Archdedicated to Augustus by the Senatus in place of the Porta Romana at the entry of the City from the via Flaminia as well as the monumental bridge over the Marecchia river. The building works of the bridge started in 14 CE under Augustus and finished in 21 CE under his successor Tiberius (the bridge is nowadays called Ponte di Tiberio, Tiberius’ Bridge).
Arch of Augustus, former Porta Romana
Arch of Augustus, particular
Arch of Augustus
Reconstruction of the Arch of Augustus
The City’s decumanus maximus (present-day Corso d’Augusto) departed from the Arch of Augustus/Porta Romana and arrived until the Tiberius’ Bridge, the cardo maximus (present-day Via Garibaldi and Via IV Novembre) departed from Porta Montanara (where started the Via Arretina) and reached the port of the City. At the crossroad of the aforesaid two main streets, there was the ancient Forum, situated where nowadays is Piazza Tre Martiri.
(Reconstruction of the Roman Ariminum – Source: www.riminiromana.it)
Several ancient Roman houses were unearthed along the years in Rimini, like the “Domus praefecti”, under Palazzo Massani and the so-called “Surgeon’s House” (“Domus del Chirurgo”), dating back at the imperial age, called in this way after the finding of many surgical instruments in the taberna medica, i.e. the room used as doctor’s office/surgery.
Ancient Roman surgical instruments, Rimini
Ancient Roman surgical instruments, Rimini
Ancient pots for medical preparations, Rimini
The Surgenon’s House was built in the second half of the 2nd century CE and destroyed by fire in the 3rd century, probably during a raid of German tribes under the reign of the Emperor Gallienus. In this period of instability, the walls of the City were rebuilt and reinforced.
Surgeon’s House, 2 cent. CE, Rimini
Surgeon’s House, 2nd cent. CE
Surgeon’s House, 2nd cent. CE
Between the 5th and 6th centuries, Ariminum regained a period of prosperity due to the vicinity of Ravenna, which had become the capital of the Western Roman Empire in 402. During this period, a large important palace was built near and on top of the former “Surgeon’s House” . Beautiful mosaics and rooms with hypocaust highlight the high rank of the owner this palace of the late imperial period (see pictures below).
Mosaic, 5th cent. CE
Mosaic, 5th cent. CE
Room with hypocaust of a Palace dating 5th cent. CE
Mosaic, 5th cent. CE
Unfortunatley, Ariminum and all the surrounding territories were again ravaged and sacked during the terrible war between the Goths and the Roman-Byzantine Eastern Empire, which lasted more than 15 years (535-555 CE). Since this time, Ariminum and all the region started a long decline. In fact, the victory of Roman-Byzantines against the Goths was an ephemeral succes since few years later another German tribe, the Longobards or Lombards, started the occupation of the northern regions of the Italian peninsula, signing the very end of the Roman Era in Italy. The Longobards, who had adopted the Christian religion, ruled a vast part of Italy for about 200 years (the present-day region of Lombardia, in northern Italy, takes its name from this population).
Here below some other pictures of the Roman Rimini, including some findings exposed to the Archeological Museum of Rimini.
Mosaics from the Domus at the Vescovado, Imperial age, Rimini
Roman Mosaic, Rimini
Mosaic 2nd cent. CE, from the Domus under Palazzo Diotallevi, Rimini
Province of Rimini/Riviera di Rimini “Ariminum-Archaeological discoveries and journeys through the area of Rimini”; Edited by G. Barberini, A. Biondi and M. Campana; 2011.
Sisani S. “Il significato del termine Italia nella tabula Heracleensis e la data di costituzione a provincia della Gallia Cisalpina”, in Historica VI, 2016.
(Reconstruction of the Roman Ariminum – Source: www.riminiromana.it)
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