Falerii Novi
Entrance gate
Falerii Novi is located in Italy
Falerii Novi
Shown within Italy
LocationFalerii, Lazio, Italy
Coordinates42°17′59″N 12°21′30″E / 42.2996291°N 12.35836207°E / 42.2996291; 12.35836207
TypeSettlement
History
Founded241 BC
Abandonedc. 700s AD
CulturesFalisci
Romans
Map of Falerii Novi

Falerii Novi (English: New Falerii[1]) was an ancient Roman walled town in the Tiber River valley, about 50 km (31 mi) north of Rome and 6 km (3.7 mi) west of Civita Castellana.[2]

Its impressive gate and the whole perimeter of its city walls are still visible.

History

According to Polybius and Livy, the Falisci people of Falerii Veteres revolted against the Roman Republic in 241 BC. Titus Manlius Torquatus was sent and during the first battle the Falerii defeated the Romans, but their cavalry was defeated. In the second battle the Romans defeated the Falerii.[3]

The war lasted six days, with the siege of Falerii Veteres taking three days.[4] The slaves of the Falisci and half of their territory were seized, and Falerii Veteres was destroyed.[5][6]

The Falisci were resettled in Falerii Novi, a new town in a less defensible position on the left bank of Rio Purgatorio on a low volcanic plateau 5 km west of Falerii Veteres, and in the ager Faliscus. The walls of the city made from tuff blocks had 50 towers and nine gates.[7] The city was built on the Via Amerina.

It became a colony (Junonia Faliscorum) perhaps under Augustus, though according to the inscriptions, apparently not until the time of Gallienus (who may have been born there). There were bishops of Falerii up until 1033,[8] when the desertion of the place in favour of the present site began. The last mention of it dates from 1064.[9]

Archaeology

Remains of the city wall
Deified Empress Livia from Falerii (Altes Museum Berlin
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Falerii Novi.

In 1829, the theatre was excavated and statues from the reign of Augustus depicting members of his family, with his wife Livia, and grandsons Gaius Caesar and Lucius Caesar were removed. In 1903, the city plan of Falerii Novi was mapped.[7]

In 2020, a ground-penetrating radar survey conducted by Cambridge and Ghent universities showed a network of water pipes that notably run beneath the insulae and not, as is more usual, along the streets. An open-air swimming pool within a large public baths was connected to a series of water pipes which lead to the aqueduct.

The survey also mapped a market, temple, bath complex and a public monument which are architecturally elaborate for a small city.[10][11] Near the north gate A unique pair of large buildings facing each other separated by a covered passageway with central row of columns was discovered.

From 2021, a new major excavation project[12] began across the site, which has so far revealed a market building, house, shops, and streetside infrastructure dating from the mid-Republic.[13][2]

Monuments

The site contains the remnants of a Roman temple, notable because it predates the settlement and because it is large, measuring roughly 120 x 60 m. The foundations of this temple were discovered by ground penetrating radar.[14]

An 11th Century Benedictine Abbey Church incorporating stone taken from the Roman structures is located near the west gate.[15]

References

  1. ↑ Valuing the Past in the Greco-Roman World. Brill. May 28, 2014. p. 99. ISBN 9789004274952 – via Google Books.
  2. 1 2 Andrews, Margaret; Bernard, Seth; Dodd, Emlyn; Fochetti, Beatrice; Kay, Stephen; Liverani, Paolo; Millett, Martin; Vermeulen, Frank (2023-07-21). "THE FALERII NOVI PROJECT". Papers of the British School at Rome: 1–26. doi:10.1017/S0068246223000053. hdl:2158/1321011. ISSN 0068-2462.
  3. ↑ Zonaras: 8, in Cassius Dio, Roman History, Fragments of Book 12
  4. ↑ Laurence, Ray (June 25, 2012). Roman Archaeology for Historians. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781136295317 – via Google Books.
  5. ↑ "Fragments of Book XII by Cassius Dio". Archived from the original on June 18, 2020.
  6. ↑ Downes, Sophy (2005). "Head of an Athlete from Falerii Novi". Papers of the British School at Rome. British School at Rome. 73: 271. doi:10.1017/S0068246200003044. JSTOR 40311098. S2CID 76399013.
  7. 1 2 "FALERII NOVI (Santa Maria di Falleri) Italy". 1976. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020.
  8. ↑ See also Roman Catholic Diocese of Civita Castellana and List of the Roman Catholic dioceses in Italy.
  9. ↑ Ashby 1911.
  10. ↑ "Archaeologists Discover Details of Buried Roman City Without Digging". June 12, 2020. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Archaeologists discovered 'elaborate' details of a complete ancient Roman city without digging". June 15, 2020. Archived from the original on June 18, 2020.
  12. ↑ Falerii Novi Project https://faleriinoviproject.org/
  13. ↑ Bernard, Seth; Andrews, Margaret; Ceccarelli, Letizia; Dodd, Emlyn; Kay, Stephen; Leone, Ninetta; Vermeulen, Frank (October 2022). "The Falerii Novi Project: the 2021 Season". Papers of the British School at Rome. 90: 341–345. doi:10.1017/S006824622200006X. ISSN 0068-2462. S2CID 253524050.
  14. ↑ Keating, Fiona (March 18, 2017). "Ancient Roman temple the size of St Paul's Cathedral discovered in Italy". ibtimes.co.uk. International Business Times. Retrieved March 20, 2017.
  15. ↑ Christie, Neil (2006). From Constantine to Charlemagne: An Archaeology of Italy AD 300–800. Routledge. ISBN 978-1859284216.

Sources

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