Claternae, also called Claterna, was a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

town on the

Via Emilia The ( it, Via Emilia; en, Aemilian Way) was a trunk Roman road in the north Italian plain, running from ''Ariminum'' (Rimini), on the Adriatic coast, to ''Placentia'' (Piacenza) on the river ''Padus'' ( Po). It was completed in 187 BC. The ' ...

situated between the ''

coloniae A Roman (plural ) was originally a Roman outpost established in conquered territory to secure it. Eventually, however, the term came to denote the highest status of a Roman city. It is also the origin of the modern term ''colony''. Characteri ...

'' of Bononia and Forum Cornelii. Like many other evenly spaced settlements on the Via Emilia, each at a day's march for the

legionaries The Roman legionary (in Latin ''legionarius'', plural ''legionarii'') was a professional heavy infantryman of the Roman army after the Marian reforms. These soldiers would conquer and defend the territories of ancient Rome during the late Republi ...

, it probably arose as a stopping place for travellers between the major towns.

History

The beginning of Roman colonization of

Gallia Cisalpina Cisalpine Gaul ( la, Gallia Cisalpina, also called ''Gallia Citerior'' or ''Gallia Togata'') was the part of Italy inhabited by Celts (Gauls) during the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. After its conquest by the Roman Republic in the 200s BC it was con ...

and the building of the Via Emilia perhaps along a pre-existing trail, Claternae was founded at the junction between the Via Emilia and another road, perhaps the Via Flaminia Minor, which crossed the Apennines to provide a link with Arezzo. Accordingly, the town, of medium size for that period, arose in the early 2nd century BC, officially in 187 BC. It disappeared not long after the 4th-century AD fall of the

Western Roman Empire The Western Roman Empire comprised the western provinces of the Roman Empire at any time during which they were administered by a separate independent Imperial court; in particular, this term is used in historiography to describe the period ...

.La città romana di Claterna: Ozzano dell'Emilia

Bishopric

Lanzoni argues that, like other towns in the region which were of no greater importance, Claternae was the seat of a

diocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associa ...

, to which he attributes a bishop named Constantius, whom Saint Ambrose, as metropolitan archbishop, directed to make frequent visits to the nearby diocese of Forum Cornelii, which was then without a bishop. No longer a residential bishopric, Claternae is today listed by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

as a

titular see A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular metropolitan" (highest rank), "titular archbis ...

.''Annuario Pontificio 2013'' (Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2013 ), p. 872

Present situation

The remains of Claternae lie within the ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of

Ozzano dell'Emilia Ozzano dell'Emilia (; Eastern Bolognese: ) is an Italian ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Bologna, in northern Italy. History Its origins date back to the Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλ ...

at the hamlet of Maggio and close to the Quaderna stream, which gave the name to the town. An excavated '' domus'' with mosaic pavements on the south side of the Via Emilia, and a reconstructed workman's dwelling on the other side are on display. The other remains have been covered up again awaiting funds for their definitive arrangement.

References

{{Subject bar , portal1= Ancient Rome, portal2= Italy Catholic titular sees in Europe Former populated places in Italy Roman sites of Emilia-Romagna Archaeological sites in Emilia-Romagna Roman towns and cities in Italy

History

Bishopric

Present situation

See also

References