| Description: |
Urbisaglia takes its name from the ancient Roman city of Urbs Salvia which stood here in the second century B.C. in an important urban environment, at the crossroads of two main roads: the one that linked Firmum (Fermo) with Septempeda (San Severino Marche), and the one linking Helvia Recina (Macerata) with Asculum (Ascoli Piceno). In 409 A.D. it was destroyed by Alaric’s Goths, and this forced the inhabitants who survived to move the built-up area to the top of the hill, where it still is today, and where, during the Middle Ages, the city walls and an imposing defensive stronghold were built.
The town is home to one of the most important archeological site in the region. It preserves some of the finest and most stunning relics of its Roman past, among which a huge tank, one of the largest and best-preserved theatres in Italy, and, above all, a gorgeous Amphitheatre housing every year a series of classical theatre performances set amongst idyllic spots of great naturalistic value; the Temple, dedicated to the Salus Augusta, surrounded by a Cryptoporticus with relics of various freskos depicting episodes relating to Augustus’s propaganda.
Just four kilometres off the urban area is the important nature reserve of Fiastra Abbey, partly belonging to the territory of Tolentino municipality.
Text by Fabio Santilli
Translation by Gianfranco Martorano |