Libarna was a Roman city located on the left bank of the
Scrivia
The Scrivia, long, is a right tributary of the river Po, in northern Italy. It runs through Liguria, Piedmont, and Lombardy.
Main tributaries
* left hand:
** torrente Laccio;
** torrente Busalletta;
** torrente Traversa;
** rio San Rocco;
* ...
, on the stretch of the
via Postumia
The Via Postumia was an ancient Roman road of northern Italy constructed in 148 BC by the ''consul'' Spurius Postumius Albinus Magnus.
It ran from the coast at Genua through the mountains to Dertona, Placentia (the termination of the Via Aemil ...
between
Genua and
Dertona. Today Libarna's hamlet is part of the municipality of
Serravalle Scrivia
Serravalle Scrivia is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria.
Serravalle Scrivia borders the following municipalities: Ar ...
, in
Alessandria province
The Province of Alessandria ( it, Provincia di Alessandria; pms, Provincia ëd Lissandria; in Piedmontese of Alessandria: ''Provinsa ëd Lissändria'') is an Italian province, with a population of some 425,000, which forms the southeastern part o ...
. Libarna's excavation site is owned by the Italian State, alongside a dedicated museum, also used for musical and artistic events. In 2015 a number of 4565 visitors was recorded at the archaeological site
History
Libarna is first mentioned in the 2nd century BC. The village was initially founded by the
Ligurian Dectunini tribe, It is speculated that Libarna could be one of the fifteen
Oppidum
An ''oppidum'' (plural ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread across Europe, stretchi ...
s which according to Roman historian
Livy
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...
surrendered to the consul Q. Minucius Rufus in 191 BC.
The creation of
Via Postumia
The Via Postumia was an ancient Roman road of northern Italy constructed in 148 BC by the ''consul'' Spurius Postumius Albinus Magnus.
It ran from the coast at Genua through the mountains to Dertona, Placentia (the termination of the Via Aemil ...
in 148 BC favoured Libarna's growth, turning the village into an important economic and social centre. After obtaining the legal recognition of
Latin citizenship, Libarna became a colony in the 1st century AD reaching its economic and social peak. Following the
barbarian invasions Libarna experienced a period of decline until it was completely abandoned in 452, when the inhabitants joined existing communities or founded new ones, such as
Precipiano,
Serravalle and
Arquata.
Libarna is mentioned in some documents found in the monastery of Precipiano (
Vignole Borbera
Vignole Borbera ( lij, Ei Vgnêue; Genoese: ''Vigneue'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about southeast of Turin and about southeast of Alessandria. As of 31 December 2004 ...
) the town is also cited in the
Varinella land register of 1544.
The Libarna settlement was discovered and excavated in the eighteenth century alongside various other sites in the
Bobbiese and
Tortona
Tortona (; pms, Torton-a , ; lat, Dhertona) is a ''comune'' of Piemonte, in the Province of Alessandria, Italy. Tortona is sited on the right bank of the Scrivia between the plain of Marengo and the foothills of the Ligurian Apennines.
History ...
areas; in the nineteenth century, thanks to the work of the abbot
Bottazzi, Libarna historical-topographical classification was ascertained.
Libarna was the autonomous capital of a vast territory which bordered to the east with
Velleia, to the south with
Genua, to the west with
Aquae Statiellae and to the north with
Derthona. Located in a particularly fertile area, the agricultural economy was based on
viticulture
Viticulture (from the Latin word for '' vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of '' Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ...
, on tree crops for the exploitation of wood and on
cattle breeding. Other activities of the time included the production of
ceramics
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
and the brick industry. Thanks to its geographical position it was also an important commercial hub.
Although there is no certain information on the existence of religious buildings in the city, from the votive inscriptions found it is clear that the citizens of Libarna were devoted to
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
,
Diana and
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the ...
. The
imperial cult
An imperial cult is a form of state religion in which an emperor or a dynasty of emperors (or rulers of another title) are worshipped as demigods or deities. "Cult" here is used to mean "worship", not in the modern pejorative sense. The cult may ...
is also attested to have been present in Libarna.
Excavations
The discovery of the ancient city was accidental, as the ancient city started to surface due to excavation works to build the "
royal road
The Royal Road was an ancient highway reorganized and rebuilt by the Persian king Darius the Great (Darius I) of the first (Achaemenid) Persian Empire in the 5th century BC. Darius built the road to facilitate rapid communication on the western ...
" in 1820 (today's
Strada statale 35 dei Giovi) destined to connect Genoa, which had recently been annexed to the
Kingdom of Sardinia
The Kingdom of Sardinia,The name of the state was originally Latin: , or when the kingdom was still considered to include Corsica. In Italian it is , in French , in Sardinian , and in Piedmontese . also referred to as the Kingdom of Savoy-S ...
, with the capital
Turin
Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The ...
.
Two districts of Libarna have been unearthed near the
amphitheatre
An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...
, measuring 60x65m on each side. The excavation findings are for the most part preserved in the
Turin Museum of Antiquities, where among the most valuable works are mosaic floors, marble statues, bronze busts and figured amber.
The city stood on flat land, rich in water, surrounded by hills. It was crossed longitudinally by Via Postumia, which constituted its main axis from northwest to southeast. Another main axis was the
decumanus which, oriented from south-west to north-east, led to the amphitheatre. The streets divided the city into many square plots of different sizes. They were paved, rectilinearly with drainage manifolds conveyed towards today's
Rio della Pieve. The city received water through an aqueduct, was rich in springs, wells and fountains.
At the meeting point between the two main streets, stood the
forum
Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to:
Common uses
* Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States
*Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city
**Roman Forum, most famous example
*Internet ...
, a large paved square on which there were arcades and buildings, which until now has only been partially explored. The baths were located in the extreme north-east sector and the theatre rose towards the northern limit.
[
]
References
{{reflist
Roman towns and cities in Italy
Ancient Roman theatres in Italy
Tourist attractions in Piedmont
Archaeological sites in Piedmont
Populated places established in the 2nd century BC
Former populated places in Italy
Serravalle Scrivia