Cales was an ancient city of

Campania (man), it, Campana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demog ...

, in today's ''

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 Calvi Risorta in southern

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 ...

, belonging originally to the

Aurunci The Aurunci were an Italic tribe that lived in southern Italy from around the 1st millennium BC. They were eventually defeated by Rome and subsumed into the Roman Republic during the second half of the 4th century BC. Identity Aurunci is the n ...

Ausoni "Ausones" (; ), the original Greek form for the Latin "Aurunci", was a name applied by Greek writers to describe various Italic peoples inhabiting the southern and central regions of Italy. The term was used, specifically, to denote the partic ...

, on the

Via Latina The Via Latina (Latin for "Latin Road") was a Roman road of Italy, running southeast from Rome for about 200 kilometers. Route It led from the Porta Latina in the Aurelian walls of Rome to the pass of Mount Algidus; it was important in the ear ...

. The

Romans 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 ...

captured it in 335 BC and established a colony with Latin rights of 2,500 citizens. Cales was initially the centre of the Roman dominion in Campania. To the period after 335 belong numerous silver and bronze coins with the inscription ''Caleno''. It was an important base in the war against Hannibal, and at last refused further contributions for the war. Before 184 BC more settlers were sent there. After the Social War it became a ''municipium''. The fertility of its territory and its manufacture of black glazed

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

, which was even exported to Etruria, made it prosperous. At the end of the 3rd century BC it appears as a colony, and in the 5th century (AD) it became an episcopal see, which (jointly with Tano since 1818) it still is, though it is now a mere village. The

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

, of the 12th century, has a carved portal and three

apse In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...

s decorated with small arches and

pilaster In classical architecture, a pilaster is an architectural element used to give the appearance of a supporting column and to articulate an extent of wall, with only an ornamental function. It consists of a flat surface raised from the main wal ...

s, and contains a fine pulpit and episcopal throne in marble

mosaic A mosaic is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and were particularly pop ...

. Near it are two grottos, which have been used for Christian worship and contain frescoes of the 10th and 11th centuries. cites: E. Bertaux, ''L'Art dans l'Italie méridionale'' (Paris, 1904), i. 244, &c. Inscriptions name six gates of the town: and there are considerable remains of antiquity, especially of an amphitheatre and theatre, of a supposed temple, and other edifices. A number of tombs belonging to the Roman necropolis were discovered in 1883.

References

Attribution: * {{Authority control Roman sites of Campania Former populated places in Italy Archaeological sites in Campania Roman towns and cities in Italy

See also

References