The modern Bulgarian city of Plovdiv, most commonly known in antiquity as Philippopolis among a host of other names, is sometimes cited as being the oldest city in Europe, with habitation in the area dating back to the 6th millennium BCE. Perhaps part of what earned it the shared title of European Capital of Culture…
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Just to the south of the Capitolium are a few areas to visit Roman remains. The first is right across the street at Via Agostino Gallo 6, at the tourist information office housed at the Palazzo Martinengo Cesaresco Novarino. Housed in the basement and accessible via the tourist office are some remains associated with the…
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The modern town of Brescia is situated in Northern Italy at the foot of the Alps, between Lake Iseo and Lake Garda (Lacus Sebinus and Lacus Benacus in antiquity, respectively) and along the Mella River (seemingly retaining it’s ancient name). In the Roman period, the settlement was called Brixia, seeming to derive from the Celtic…
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Located on a plateau atop the Monti Lepini (Volscian Mountains), an anti-Apennine mountain range overlooking the Agro Pontino (Pomptinus Ager in antiquity; the land of the Pontine Marshes), sits the ancient settlement of Norba. The settlement’s commanding presence over the Pomptinus Ager made it a particularly important location in the control of the area. The…
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History Located at the mouth of the present-day Marecchia River (the Ariminus in antiquity) is the Italian Adriatic seaside resort town of Rimini, successor of the Roman settlement of Ariminum. The area seems to have been under the control of the Etruscans until about the 6th century BCE, when the Etruscans were dislodged from the…
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Continued From Verona Part I Arch, Gates, and Forum From the amphitheater, it’s a short 5 minute walk west to the Arco dei Gavi, the arch of the Gavii family. There is no entrance fee though there is a small gate that might restrict access at some times. Even with the gate, the arch is…
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Situated along the present day Adige River (the Athesis in antiquity) is the city of Verona, bearing the same name in the Roman period as it does today. The pre-Roman origins of settlement in the area are a matter of some debate. By some accounts it was the territory of the Euganei, a semi-historical italic…
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Continued From Paestum – Part I Southern Sanctuary Heading toward the southernmost part of the city and the southern sanctuary are the other two major temples of Paestum. The northern most of these two temples is the Temple of Hera II, or the Second Temple of Hera. Built between 460 BCE and 440 BCE, the…
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Today located in the fertile region of modern Campania (but was in antiquity part of the region of Lucania), the city of Paestum was founded by Greek colonists as Poseidonia sometime in the middle to late 7th century BCE. Strabo claims that the colonists were Achaean settlers from Sybaris, a Greek colony on the toe…
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Tibula The exact location of the city of Tibula, the northern terminus of the Tibula Sulcis road, is a matter of some debate. The generally accepted area is somewhere along the north coast of Sardinia. One theorized location is in the vicinity of present-day Castelsardo, just up the coast from Turris Libysonis. The other most…
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