Ricina or Helvia Recina (present Villa Potenza) was a Roman town located in the lower Potenza valley, the contemporary Italian region

Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The region is located in the central area of the country, bordered by Emilia-Romagna and the republic of San Marino to the ...

Geography

In the lower Potenza valley, on the left bank of the river Flosis (modern

River Potenza The Potenza ( la, Flosis) is a river in the province of Macerata in the Marche region of Italy. The source of the river is in the territory of Fiuminata. The source is located at an elevation of on Monte Pennino. The river flows northeast throu ...

), some 15 km from the estuary of the river, lies the Roman town of Ricina. The area today is in part occupied by the small hamlet of Villa Potenza, part of the ''comune'' of

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza ...

, and is partially used as farmland. The town is located at the junction of the river Flosis with a crossroad of the Via Salaria Gallica Gallica and a byroad of the

Via Flaminia The Via Flaminia or Flaminian Way was an ancient Roman road leading from Rome over the Apennine Mountains to ''Ariminum'' (Rimini) on the coast of the Adriatic Sea, and due to the ruggedness of the mountains was the major option the Romans had ...

History

Due to small-scale rescue digs in several parts of the town, it is suggested that Ricina was already quite extensively occupied from the later 2nd century BC on however most of the urban evidence belongs to the period between the 1st century BC and the 4th century AD. Ricina became a

municipium In ancient Rome, the Latin term (pl. ) referred to a town or city. Etymologically, the was a social contract among ("duty holders"), or citizens of the town. The duties () were a communal obligation assumed by the in exchange for the privi ...

from the mid-1st century BC when the first colonists, veterans of the Civil Wars, were settled here. It flourished under the reigns of

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

(27 BC - AD 14) and

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

(AD 14-37) to judge by a series of funerary monuments and inscriptions which probably originate from a cemetery on the SW side, the construction of an aqueduct, and the largest theatre in Picenum. During the 2nd century AD a good deal of public building was achieved and squares and streets were repaved. Traces of a baths complex near the theatre and parts of houses with mosaic floors are also dated to the 2nd century AD. But as early as the first half of the 2nd century AD the municipal finances seem to decline when a curator rei publicae Riciniensium was appointed. During the reign of

Septimius Severus Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa (Roman province), Africa. As a young man he advanced thro ...

(AD 193-211), the town became a colony with the name Helvia Ricina Pertinax (CIL IX 5747), in honour of Septimius’ predecessor. The town may have suffered from invasions in the 5th and 6th centuries AD, with the remaining population seeking new dwellings in the hills to the east and west of the former Roman town.

Research

Due to several

aerial photography Aerial photography (or airborne imagery) is the taking of photographs from an aircraft or other airborne platforms. When taking motion pictures, it is also known as aerial videography. Platforms for aerial photography include fixed-wing aircra ...

campaigns and surveys on the farmland conducted by th
Potenza Valley Survey Project (Ghent University)
more information has been available about the general layout and organization of the town. Recently in July and October 2013, also geophysical surveys were undertaken by the geophysical survey company Eastern Atlas with the objective of locating and mapping more remains of subsurface archaeological features in Trea. Also the recent study of the Roman pottery to deliver chronological clues and help to determine functional zones as well as the study of stone architectural decoration to gain more insights in the embellishment of the town, has led to more information. It seems that the layout of the town was a fairly regular and quite flat, almost rectangular area of c. 22 ha. The valley road from Trea to

Potentia Potenza (, also , ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italy, Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania). Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital an ...

crossed roughly the centre of town from southwest to northeast and served as its main decumanus. One main NW-SE axis, if confirmed by further fieldwork, could have linked the main decumanus with the Roman bridge over the Potenza, which earlier observations located a few meters upstream from the present-day bridge. This street passed directly in front of and parallel with the stage building of the theatre. 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 ...

was probably located near the intersection of the north-south axis with the main decumanus. Although a major part of the ancient town is built over by the houses and streets of Villa Potenza, several large buildings can be distinguished in the crops of the fields north of the central area. One of them is a rectangular building (at least 18 x 33 m) oriented northwest-southeast, perpendicular to the main decumanus and possibly bordering a forum on its south. This was probably the main temple (

Capitolium A ''Capitolium'' (Latin) was an ancient Roman temple dedicated to the Capitoline Triad of gods Jupiter, Juno and Minerva. A capitolium was built on a prominent area in many cities in Italy and the Roman provinces, particularly during the Augu ...

?) of Helvia Ricina. Other traces of buildings may be seen in the fields: several large

domus In Ancient Rome, the ''domus'' (plural ''domūs'', genitive ''domūs'' or ''domī'') was the type of town house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It was found in almost all the ma ...

, a large

cistern A cistern (Middle English ', from Latin ', from ', "box", from Greek ', "basket") is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by t ...

, which may point to a nearby public facility or baths and a row of similar rectangular rooms, flanked by a corridor or portico suggest a set of

tabernae A ''taberna'' (plural ''tabernae'') was a type of shop or stall in Ancient Rome. Originally meaning a single-room shop for the sale of goods and services, ''tabernae'' were often incorporated into domestic dwellings on the ground level flanking ...

or possibly a

horreum A ''horreum'' (plural: ''horrea'') was a type of public warehouse used during the ancient Roman period. Although the Latin term is often used to refer to granaries, Roman ''horrea'' were used to store many other types of consumables; the giant Hor ...

. The latter is supported by the presence of many dolia and

amphora An amphora (; grc, ἀμφορεύς, ''amphoreús''; English plural: amphorae or amphoras) is a type of container with a pointed bottom and characteristic shape and size which fit tightly (and therefore safely) against each other in storag ...

sherds found at this location. There are also signs of habitation outside the walls, more specifically directly southwest of the town, outside the presumed location of the southwest gate and alongside the road to Trea as well as at the northeast side of the town were crop-marks and a wide scatter of Roman material point to an extramural settlement. The

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

is the only well-preserved remain of the city above ground. It has a cavea of 71.80 m diameter and is now surrounded by modern houses of Villa Potenza. During an aerial photography campaign conducted by the PVS team in May 2009 clear traces of an

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 ...

were detected as well. The building, positioned east of the theatre, was possibly originally connected with it and thus formed part of one architectural complex. Because of its position on the main east-west road along the valley to the coastal town of Potentia, which acts as the town’s decumanus, Ricina can be characterized as a road-town.

References

* Percossi Serenelli, E., Pignocchi, G. and Vermeulen, F. (eds.) (2006), I siti archeologici della Vallata del Potenza. Conoscenze e tutela, Ancona, Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali. Direzione Regionale per i Beni Culturali e Paesaggistici delle Marche. * Vermeulen, F. (2012), Topografia e processi evolutivi delle città romane della valle del Potenza (Picenum). In: de Marinis, G., Fabrini, G.M., Paci, G., Perna, R. & Silvestrini, M. (eds.), I processi formativi ed evolutivi della città in area adriatica, BAR International Series S 2419, Oxford, pp. 331–344. * Vermeulen, F., Verhoeven, G. (2004), The Contribution of Aerial Photography and Field Survey to the Study of Urbanization in the Potenza Valley (Picenum), Journal of Roman Archaeology 17, pp. 57–82.

External links

General Department for Archaeological Monuments in the Marches - Ricina

Ghent University - Potenza Valley Survey Project
{{Authority control Picenum Macerata Buildings and structures in Macerata Roman towns and cities in Italy Archaeological sites in le Marche Roman sites of the Marche Tourist attractions in le Marche Populated places established in the 3rd century BC Former populated places in Italy Ancient Roman theatres in Italy

Geography

History

Research

See also

References

External links