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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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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I intended for the miscellaneous sites in the Sassari region to be a single post, but, it ended up running a bit long and made more sense to divide it up into two separate routes. This first of two Sassari routes essentially covers sites in the southern part of the region. A personal vehicle is…
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History Today, Porto Torres is one of the most important ports on the island of Sardinia. In antiquity, the city’s Roman predecessor, Turris Libysonis (alternatively Turris Libyssonis or Turris Libisonis), held a similar status on the island. Despite the name seeming to suggest some connection with North Africa, Turris Libysonis appears to be a settlement…
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History Located on the south bank of the Tirso River (called the Thyrsus in antiquity) are the remains of Forum Traiani in the modern town of Fordongianus. The spot of a natural hot spring, the location was likely a gathering and water cult site for the Nuragic population in the area; called the civitas Barbariae…
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Today’s post is another in the series that explores some of the smaller archaeological sites around Sardinia. This post focuses on an area generally defined as south-central Sardinia; essentially site in the modern provinces Medio Campidano, northern Cagliari, and southern Oristano. Many of the sites are fairly rural, so a car is absolutely essential in…
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There are a number of sites in the immediate vicinity of Tharros that are worth seeing. Two of these are in the tiny village of San Salvatore di Sinis, about 10 minutes north of Tharros. The village sits at the junction of the SP7 and SP6, the two roads one would take to get to…
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Like the settlement of Nora, Tharros was established by Phoenician colonists on a narrow promontory to allow for the construction of two harbors, and ensuring the ability for ships to come and go regardless of the wind conditions. Founded in the 8th century BCE by colonists from Tyre, in the same wave as those that…
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About 45 minutes to the south of Pani Loriga, at Capo Malfatano, is the Piscinnì quarry, a Punic-era quarry along the coast. This one requires a bit of hiking. There is a small parking area above the Cala Segreta beach park. There is a trail that leads down to the beach, and then up to…
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History Like other later Roman settlements on the southwest coast of Sardinia, Nora owes its urban foundations to the establishment of a Phoenician colony at the site; though there was native Sardinian habitation at the site previously. Pausanias also describes a mythological foundation of the city; an Iberian named Norax crossed to Sardinia, conquered the…
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