Archaeological Marche

The unique archaelogical area of Colombarone is in the heart of the San Bartolo Natural Park; the excavations started in 1983 by the University of Bologna. After a 25-year research, important historical artifacts were found: Late Antique Villa, the San Cristofor ad Aquilam Basilica and a church dating back to the III century A.D..

The bilingual Etruscan and Latin inscription from the Augustan period is preserved at the Oliveriano Archaelogical Museum of Pesaro. The inscription was found in 1523 at the end of the Branca Street, not far from the ancient Porta Curina. The museum worths a visit for its important archaeological heritage. The marble windrose or amenoscope is a unique monument, found in Rome in 1759 near Porta Capena on the Appian way and hidden for a long period in a warehouse of the Almerici Palace; there are also some bas-reliefs made of glass paste, the most important of which shows Mithra divinity; three sandstone stelas, the first one was found at Saint Nicholas of Valmanente in 1860, the second one near Novilara in 1866, and the last one in the necropolis in 1892. They date back to the period between the VIII and VI centuries B.C..

Guided visits to the roman buildings under the Church of Sant’Agostino are organized by Fano Archeoclub during the year.

In winter (from mid-September to mid-June) visits are organized on the second Saturday in the month (when the Antiques Fair is also held) at 5:30 p.m.  In Summer (from mid-June to mid-September) visits are possible on Wednesday and Friday evening at 9:30 p.m. (in August also on Thursday evening).

Reservation required : Fano Archeoclub mob. 339.8070687 – archeoclubfano@gmail.com.

The Flaminian Way provided a vital link between ancient Rome, Cisalpine Gaul and the whole of Northern Europe. For the cities lying along its route this brought new-found prosperity.
From Rimini to Pesaro and on to Fano, it then turned inland towards the narrow Furlo Gorge, an incredible mountain canyon between Monte Pietralata and Monte Paganuccio, before continuing on to the Imperial capital. Subsequent improvements to the Flaminian Way were made under the rule of Emperor Vespasian between 70 and 76 AD, when a new tunnel was cut through the gorge to ease passage through the gorge.

Today, the Flaminian Way provides a fascinating route for visitors as well as being an important road link.

The extra muros Saint Mary Church and monastic complex date back to the 1300. A part of the museum containing artifacts and artworks showing the local culture has been renovated recently. The archaeological section has Neolithic and Roman objects: lapidary and statuary unearthed during the excavations in the Domus del Mito.

According to Festus the name Picenum derives from the fact that the insignia of the Sabines who migrated towards Asculum Picenum (present-day Ascoli Piceno) was a woodpecker (picus), a bird sacred to Mars, which aligh t ed on their standard; and from this they took the name Piceni or Picentes. The discovery of various cemeteries scattered between the rivers Foglia to the north and Pescara to the south, in Abruzzi, has revealed the existence – from the eighth to the first centuries B.C. – of what is known as the Picene culture, which flourished in the area in central Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea until it was conquered by the Romans. The most important burial sites, with rich grave goods, have been found at Novilara (province of Pesaro), Numana and Fabriano (province of Ancona), Matelica and Pitino (province of Macerata) and Belmonte Piceno (province of Fermo).

After being the site of a Bronze Age settlement and then an important Picene town, in about 390 B.C. Ancona became the home of a group of refugees who arrived from the Greek colony of Syracuse, in Sicily; living side by side with the Picenes, they set up a thri ving port that traded with the eastern Mediterranean. The nearby town of Numana, an old Picene port, also had important trading relations with the Greek civilization. In the fourth and third centuries B.C., the central and northern Marches up to Esino were occupied by the Gallic tribes known as the Senones. The most important settlements of this people – who produced splendid jewellery now exhibited at the Museo archeologico nazionale delle Marche – have been found at Arcevia and Senigallia. After the battle of Sentinum in 295 B.C. between an alliance of the Gauls and the Samnites and one of the Romans and Picenes, in the area between Camerino and Sassoferrato, the Romans occupied the territory of the Gauls, stressing its cultural distinctiveness by calling it ager Gallicus. Over the next twocenturies they conquered the rest of the region, building roads, such as the Via Flaminia, which still links Rome to Fano, and the Via Salaria, which they used to transport salt from Porto d’Ascoli. Along them, the Romans founded colonies and municipia (provincial cities whose citizens had the privileges of Roman citizens), evidence of which is still clearly visible today in the grid plans of a number of towns (Pesaro, Fano, Senigallia, Jesi, Ascoli Piceno) and in the ancient monuments, such as Trajan’s Arch at Ancona; on the Via Flaminia, the Arch of Augustus at Fano, Vespasian’s tunnel (76 A.D.) in the Gola del Furlo, and bridges, such as Ponte Mallio at Cagli, Ponte Grosso at Pontericcioli (Cantiano area); on the Via Salaria, Porta Gemina and Ponte del Solestà at Ascoli Piceno. The equestrian group in gilded bronze found at Cartoceto di Pergola is particularly interesting, as is the sculpture in bronze attributed to Lysippus found in the waters off Fano and currently on display at the Getty Museum in Malibù, California. Numerous relics from Picene, Gallic and Roman times are to be found in the archaeological museums (Ancona, Arcevia, Urbino, Pesaro, Pergola, Cingoli, Urbisaglia and Ascoli Piceno) and the numerous archaeological parks (Fossombrone, Sassoferrato, Castellone di Suasa, San Severino Marche, Urbisaglia, Falerone and Cupra Marittima).

According to Festus the name Picenum derives from the fact that the insignia of the Sabines who migrated towards Asculum Picenum (present-day Ascoli Piceno) was a woodpecker (picus), a bird sacred to Mars, which aligh t ed on their standard; and from this they took the name Piceni or Picentes. The discovery of various cemeteries scattered between the rivers Foglia to the north and Pescara to the south, in Abruzzi, has revealed the existence – from the eighth to the first centuries B.C. – of what is known as the Picene culture, which flourished in the area in central Italy bordering the Adriatic Sea until it was conquered by the Romans. The most important burial sites, with rich grave goods, have been found at Novilara (province of Pesaro), Numana and Fabriano (province of Ancona), Matelica and Pitino (province of Macerata) and Belmonte Piceno (province of Fermo).

After being the site of a Bronze Age settlement and then an important Picene town, in about 390 B.C. Ancona became the home of a group of refugees who arrived from the Greek colony of Syracuse, in Sicily; living side by side with the Picenes, they set up a thri ving port that traded with the eastern Mediterranean. The nearby town of Numana, an old Picene port, also had important trading relations with the Greek civilization. In the fourth and third centuries B.C., the central and northern Marches up to Esino were occupied by the Gallic tribes known as the Senones. The most important settlements of this people – who produced splendid jewellery now exhibited at the Museo archeologico nazionale delle Marche – have been found at Arcevia and Senigallia. After the battle of Sentinum in 295 B.C. between an alliance of the Gauls and the Samnites and one of the Romans and Picenes, in the area between Camerino and Sassoferrato, the Romans occupied the territory of the Gauls, stressing its cultural distinctiveness by calling it ager Gallicus. Over the next twocenturies they conquered the rest of the region, building roads, such as the Via Flaminia, which still links Rome to Fano, and the Via Salaria, which they used to transport salt from Porto d’Ascoli. Along them, the Romans founded colonies and municipia (provincial cities whose citizens had the privileges of Roman citizens), evidence of which is still clearly visible today in the grid plans of a number of towns (Pesaro, Fano, Senigallia, Jesi, Ascoli Piceno) and in the ancient monuments, such as Trajan’s Arch at Ancona; on the Via Flaminia, the Arch of Augustus at Fano, Vespasian’s tunnel (76 A.D.) in the Gola del Furlo, and bridges, such as Ponte Mallio at Cagli, Ponte Grosso at Pontericcioli (Cantiano area); on the Via Salaria, Porta Gemina and Ponte del Solestà at Ascoli Piceno. The equestrian group in gilded bronze found at Cartoceto di Pergola is particularly interesting, as is the sculpture in bronze attributed to Lysippus found in the waters off Fano and currently on display at the Getty Museum in Malibù, California. Numerous relics from Picene, Gallic and Roman times are to be found in the archaeological museums (Ancona, Arcevia, Urbino, Pesaro, Pergola, Cingoli, Urbisaglia and Ascoli Piceno) and the numerous archaeological parks (Fossombrone, Sassoferrato, Castellone di Suasa, San Severino Marche, Urbisaglia, Falerone and Cupra Marittima).

In Sirolo you will find an interesting archeological area at Pini place. This area is very important because it is the only one in Marche in which is possible visiting a sector of Picene Necropolis.

In 1989, in this archeological area it has been found out the “Sirolo Princesse Grave”, a funerary complex belonging to a Picene noble lady buried with a sumptuous set including also two chariots, referable to the Vi century b. C.

The two found chariots are of different typologies: a biga and a gig; as for other similar finds of central Adriatic Italy, they were disassembled and positioned in the sepulchre grave. This was a typical procedure of the Picene community funeral rites of the close Numana. Inside the Antiquarium Numana State Museum, into a support expressly provided to offer the dig, there have been positioned all the recovered and restored metal parts of the two chariots, leaving unaltered the proportions and the dimensions of the find.

Another as important as rare archeological find has been unearthed: an amber and ivory decorated kline which has confirmed the extraordinary importance of this royal burial. Besides of other interesting archeological finds (Attic bowls and cups with black shapes, oinochoe, strainer, bronze tripod, andirons and iron spears, terracotta dolii) there are materials and personal decoration artefacts regarding the funeral dress (sandals, pectoral-pendants, fibulas of different shapes and types).

Some of the rich and numerous archeological finds discovered is displayed at the Antiquarium Numana State Museum.

Osimo’s town walls are one of the most important evidence of town planning made by the ancient Roman colony of Auximum, founded in the 2^nd century A.D. and located between the Musone and Aspio Valleys. The town walls were built by the aristocracy; the historian Livio reported that the censors Q. Fulvius Flaccus and A. Postumius Albinus to build this project. The town walls are well preserved, in particular under the Saint Francis Convent. The walls are made of tuff, cut into big rectangular stones using the opus quadratum techinque. The town walls were three: Porta Vetus Auximum, on the way to Ancona, Porta Musone on the way to Cingulum, Aesis and Trea and Porta Potentia, no longer visible today. 
Near the centre of Osimo, there is the Fonte Magna, named after Pompeo Magno, who was in this area during the civil war against Caesar, even if the name is mostly explained by the fact that the Fonte Magna was one of the main source of water supply of Osimo. The structure has an important role in the archaeological scenario of the Marche Region, since it is one of the few monuments cited by historical sources. The Fonte Magna was mentioned by Procopius of Caesarea in his The Gothic War, because it was a strategic point for the commander of the Byzantine Empire Belisario who wanted to conquer the town occupied by the Goths.

The important archaelogical complex was part of a shrine dating back to the Tiberian period (the first half ot the I century A.D.) and it was dedicated to the Goddess Salus Augusta according to the inscription Salus Augustae Salviensis.The complex was made of a prostyle temple, located over a podium, which hosted the statue of the divinity and a cryptoporticus. The walls were decorated with frescoes representing hunting scenes, iconographic themes. he ceramic materials of the cryptoporticus are preserved in the National Archaelogical Museum of Urbisaglia.

The Archaelogical Park of Septempeda is located on the east side of San Severino Marche, near the S. Maria della Pieve Church, along the State Road 361, which is similar to the old Flaminia Prolaquense Way. This way was the Decumano Maximus of the town. Near the S. Maria della Pieve Church an intersection of two roads made of stones was discovered. The town walls was made of blocks of sandstone. On the north side of the State Road, there is a thermal building with a courtyard paved with opus spicatum. On the west side, a building dedicated to craftmanship has been discovered recently.

The archaelogical park mainly includes the urban area of the old town of Falerio Picenus, as well as the cemetery areas and suburban villas. The 30-hectare area can be divided into two parties: the first one affected by human activity; and the second one almost totally cultivated, and therefore ideal for research. The area stretches along the State Road 210.

It one of the best-preserved Roman theatre of the Marche Region, and it still used in summer for various performances. Nowadays, the first and the second order of the tiers (media and imma cavea), part of the stage building, the prospect of the proscenium in circular and rectangular niches are currently preserved and have been recently restored

The Civic Archaelogical Museum of Falerone is located two km far from the archaeological area. It allows visitors to have a deeper knowledge about the old Roman town, by showing objects from the local culture, craft products (instrumentum domesticum), and from artistic events (memorial stones, funerary areas, architectural statue and sculptures) and by giving information through the epigraphic documentation of the administrative and territorial system. Other remains of the town are preserved in various museums: floor mosaics at the Vatican Museums and at the Ascoli Piceno Archaelogical Museum, the head of Augustus and many pieces at the Antiquarium of Fermo and at the National Archaelogical Museum of Ancona.

The Cecco Bridge, dating back to the Republican age, is located over the Castellano river in Ascoli Piceno. According to a legend, the bridge was built in one night by the famous scholar and astrologer Cecco D’Ascoli, helped by the Devil. The two-arch structure was made of ashlars. The bridge was destroyed during the Second World War and it was rebuilt in 1971 using the original material.

The roman Arli Bridge, also called the Old Bridge, dates back to 1580 when it was rebuilt after a flood of the Tronto river destroyed the entire structure. Nowadays, it is only possible to see a block of tuff stone and the basis of a pier.

The Augustan Bridge of Porta Cappuccina over the Tronto river is one the largest Roman bridges (more than 22 meter wide) and one of the most representative of the Roman construction technique. The structure, was made using the opus quadratum technique in travertine. Over the years, the bridge was restored several times, the last one was in 1938. The one-arch building is 22 meter wide, and 62 meter long, and it is made of pillars leaning against the rock. The bridge is nowadays accessible from the inside through a corridor and it links the city centre to the Porta Cappuccina.

Cupra Marittima was already popular during the lower and middle Paleolithic near the Menocchia and Aso rivers. In the Picen age, the town was important for the sancturary dedicated to the Goddess Cupra; and it was a highly populated town as shown by the amount of necropolis dating back to the VI century B.C.. After the Piceno area was conquered by the Romans in 268 A.D., the territory was part of the ager publicus. The area of the park is situated north of the town which stretches over a 32 hectares surface; in this area there are important evidence of the Roman urban structure of Cupra Marittima. Outside the town, the remains of a villa are clearly visible, in particular a precious nymphaeum with a central pond, walls decorated with niches and frescoes, and a central exedra. The forum area is located in an upland in the “Civita” area where digs discovered the remains of a rectangular-plan temple and two arches. The Archaelogical Museum of Cupra Marittima also worth a visit.

Not far from Piazza del Popolo, the Roman cisterns are entered through a door in Via degli Aceti, a steep and evocative alley in the historical centre with characteristic brick paving. The large underground complex of the great Roman cisterns, datable to the end of the 1 st Century B.C. and unique in Italy for its area in square metres, is made up of 30 intercommunicating rooms, laid out in three parallel rows. They were part of a complex system involving a well-organized aqueduct which started with spring water and distributed it throughout the town. The imposing size and excellent condition add charm to an underground journey through Roman building techniques and hydraulic engineering. Inside we can observe traces of impermeable concrete, the brick lining of the partition walls, the imprints of the boards used to make the ceilings of the single rooms, the cleaning platforms, the aeration wells, the inlet and outlet pipes.

On the south of the town, lies the archaeological area of the Roman town of Potentia, where it is possible to visit the ruins of some buildings. There are also statuesque findings, kept inside the keep of the Swabian Castle.