Continued From Beneventum, Samnium – Part II Just to the west of the cathedral, a little ways down Via Carlo Torre, is the Area Archeologica Arco del Sacramento. The archaeological remains in this park are those of a bathing complex, located in the vicinity of the forum of ancient Beneventum. Though impressive looking, the archaeological…
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Continued From Beneventum, Samnium – Part I From the Arch of Trajan, one of the streets leading due east out of the intersection in front of the arch is Viale dei Rettori (a slight uphill). About 300 meters along this street, it intersects with Via Sandro Pertini and curves to the south. On the southwest…
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Most Recent Visit: July 2023 Beneventum was located at the confluence of the Calor (modern Irpino Calore) and Sabatus (modern Sabato) rivers, now the location of the modern city of Benevento, which clearly derives its modern name from the ancient. Prior to the arrival of Roman hegemony, the name of the settlement here seems to…
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Most Recent Visit: July 2023 Little is known of Venusia (today modern Venosa in Italy’s Basilicata region) prior to conquest by the Romans, though according to legend it was founded by Diomedes after his arrival in Italy. He dedicated the city to Aphrodite in hopes of making amends with the goddess after he wounded her…
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Most Recent Visit: July 2023 The Roman city of Brundisium (modern Brindisi), located on the Adriatic coast of Calabria (modern Apulia) seems to have begun life as a settlement of the Messapi; though legends have the city being founded by the mythic king Diomedes of Thrace. The Messapi are thought to have originated in the…
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I intended for the miscellaneous sites in the Sassari region to be a single post, but, it ended up running a bit long and made more sense to divide it up into two separate routes. This first of two Sassari routes essentially covers sites in the southern part of the region. A personal vehicle is…
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There are a number of sites in the immediate vicinity of Tharros that are worth seeing. Two of these are in the tiny village of San Salvatore di Sinis, about 10 minutes north of Tharros. The village sits at the junction of the SP7 and SP6, the two roads one would take to get to…
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Like the settlement of Nora, Tharros was established by Phoenician colonists on a narrow promontory to allow for the construction of two harbors, and ensuring the ability for ships to come and go regardless of the wind conditions. Founded in the 8th century BCE by colonists from Tyre, in the same wave as those that…
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Having finished posting the sites of my swing through Sicily in the summer of 2017, I thought a short post tying everything together as an actual itinerary, as I did with my Spain trip in 2016, would be in order. I meant to post it last week, but didn’t get around to it. I definitely…
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Continued From Syracusae – Part I Just to the west of the park, though outside, are some rows of tiered seating associated with a possible viewing area, referred to as the ‘linear theater’. This may be the remains of a 5th century BCE, or earlier, theater that preceded the theater in the park. It has…
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