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Norba, an ancient town of 
The main gate is enormous, with jambs over 8 m in height, 4.30 m in width, and internal width of 12.8 m. Within, the remains of several buildings, including the foundations (podia) of two temples, one dedicated to Juno Lucina, have been examined. At the foot of the cliff are the picturesque ruins of the medieval town of Ninfa, (12th-13th centuries) abandoned on account of malaria. The remains of a primitive settlement, on the other hand, have been discovered on the mountainside to the southeast, above the 13th-century abbey of Valvisciolo, where there is a succession of terraces supported by walls of rough
Ferdinand Gregorovius' Walks - Norma
Antica Norba
*{{EB1911, wstitle=Norba, volume=19, page=738 Roman sites in Lazio Former populated places in Italy Archaeological sites in Lazio Coloniae (Roman) Roman towns and cities in Italy Polygonal masonry
Latium
Latium ( , ; ) is the region of central western Italy in which the city of Rome was founded and grew to be the capital city of the Roman Empire.
Definition
Latium was originally a small triangle of fertile, volcanic soil ( Old Latium) on ...
(''Adjectum''), Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. It is situated 1 mile northwest of the modern town of Norma, on the western edge of the Volscian Mountains or Monti Lepini. The town is perched above a precipitous cliff with a splendid view over the Pomptine Marshes below; the highest point stands to ca. 460 meters (over 1500 feet) above sea level.
History
Norba was a member of theLatin League
The Latin League (c. 7th century BC – 338 BC)Stearns, Peter N. (2001) ''The Encyclopedia of World History'', Houghton Mifflin. pp. 76–78. . was an ancient confederation of about 30 villages and tribes in the region of Latium near the ancient ...
of 499 BC. It became a Roman colony
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''.
Characte ...
in 492 BC, initially to protect the border with the Volsci
The Volsci (, , ) were an Italic tribe, well known in the history of the first century of the Roman Republic. At the time they inhabited the partly hilly, partly marshy district of the south of Latium, bounded by the Aurunci and Samnites on the ...
, and later serving as an important fortress guarding the Pomptine Marshes. It served in 199 BC as a place of detention for the Carthaginian hostages, and was captured and destroyed by Sulla's troops during the civil wars at the end of 82 BC. By the first century AD Norba is included by Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic ...
on his list of extinct cities in Latium.
Archaeology
From excavations begun in 1901 it seems clear that the remains now visible on the site are entirely Roman. The well-preserved walls are in thepolygonal
In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed '' polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two t ...
style, over 2.5 km in circuit, and are entirely embankment walls, not standing free above the internal ground level. The walls enclose an area of approximately 38 hectares. Remains of two towers, and of several gateways (notably the Porta Maggiore, defended by a tower), exist. The bastion at the Porta Maggiore still stands to 13 m. A square tower, referred to as "La Loggia" is also to be found along the curtain. The main gate is enormous, with jambs over 8 m in height, 4.30 m in width, and internal width of 12.8 m. Within, the remains of several buildings, including the foundations (podia) of two temples, one dedicated to Juno Lucina, have been examined. At the foot of the cliff are the picturesque ruins of the medieval town of Ninfa, (12th-13th centuries) abandoned on account of malaria. The remains of a primitive settlement, on the other hand, have been discovered on the mountainside to the southeast, above the 13th-century abbey of Valvisciolo, where there is a succession of terraces supported by walls of rough polygonal masonry
Polygonal masonry is a technique of stone wall construction. True polygonal masonry is a technique wherein the visible surfaces of the stones are dressed with straight sides or joints, giving the block the appearance of a polygon.
This techniqu ...
, and approached by a road similarly supported. Here a quantity of primitive pottery has been found. The necropolis
A necropolis (plural necropolises, necropoles, necropoleis, necropoli) is a large, designed cemetery with elaborate tomb monuments. The name stems from the Ancient Greek ''nekropolis'', literally meaning "city of the dead".
The term usually im ...
of this settlement was probably the extensive one situated at Caracupa (8th-7th century BC), near the railway station of Sermoneta, which belongs also to the 8th-6th century BC, terminating thus at the precise date at which the Roman city of Norba is believed to have been established.
Additional ancient remains are to be found in the hinterland of Norba, including the polygonal masonry structure at Poggio Serrone di Bove.S. Quilici Gigli “Insediamenti nel territorio di Norba: il Poggio di Serrone di Bove” ''ArchLaz'' 9 (1988) 227-32.
References
External links
Ferdinand Gregorovius' Walks - Norma
Antica Norba
*{{EB1911, wstitle=Norba, volume=19, page=738 Roman sites in Lazio Former populated places in Italy Archaeological sites in Lazio Coloniae (Roman) Roman towns and cities in Italy Polygonal masonry