Archaeological areas of Aquileia
Discover Aquileia: A Roman Gem and UNESCO World Heritage Site! Founded by the Romans in 181 B.C., Aquileia is a treasure trove of history and culture. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998, this ancient city was once one of the largest and most influential cities of the Roman Empire. Explore the vibrant remnants of early Latin Christianity and marvel at one of the Adriatic’s most significant ancient ports. Aquileia served as a crucial hub for commerce, culture, and military routes leading to northeast Europe. Visit Aquileia and step back in time to experience the grandeur of Roman civilization!
Aquileia was a major trading center that connected the Mediterranean to Central Europe. Its wealth and status within the Roman Empire are evident in the magnificent public buildings and private residences that still stand today as archaeological remains. The archaeological area of Aquileia spans 155 hectares and includes the forum, civil basilica, river port, ancient markets, baths, theatre, burial ground, decumanus, Titus Macrus Domus, and the Domus in the Cal area. These sites offer a glimpse into the city’s glorious past. Today, Aquileia preserves significant archaeological evidence of its rich history. In spring and summer, join scholars to explore this ancient Roman metropolis like never before.
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HISTORY OF AQUILEIA
Step back in time to 181 BCE and explore one of the largest and wealthiest cities of the early Roman Empire. This historic gem thrived until 452 CE, when it faced the formidable Huns led by the legendary Attila. Uncover the rich history and marvel at the remnants of a once-great civilization.
The history of Aquileia
Roman forum: The Forum, the very heart of the political, administrative and social life of the city, was a square paved in limestone surrounded by public buildings and arcades on at least three sides: to the east and west there were numerous shops, to the south the civil basilica; the monumental arrangement and the evocative decorations with the faces of Medusa and Iuppiter Ammon (Jupiter with ram horns) date back to the first century A.D. The columns of the eastern arm of the portico survived and were raised and integrated with bricks in the 1930s.
Necropolis: The only portion of a necropolis now visible in Aquileia consists of five burial plots alongside a secondary road leading outside the city. The enclosed plots, all equal in width but different in length, belonged to five families from Aquileia.The tombs contained numerous burials made with incineration or inhumation burials dating between the 1st and 3rd century A.D. The burials also contained artifacts, which are recovered and stored at the National Archaeological Museum.
Ancient river port: Today an evocative archaeological walk carried out in the thirties between the area of the basilica and the remains of the river port – the so-called “via Sacra” – follows the ancient water course across the Roman settlement and that was almost fifty meters wide. The western docks, made of blocks of Istrian stone, are visible for about 400 meters, set on two different levels related to the flood tide, with horizontal mooring rings and vertical landing points. On the back there are the storehouses and the paved streets which connected the river to the market areas and the Forum. Boats of different sizes docked there from all over the Mediterranean and today it is one of the best preserved examples of port installations of the Roman times.
Titus Macer’s House: The dwelling extended for about 1500 square meters between two of the paved streets of the city, inside a block that returned some of the most valuable mosaics now exhibited at the National Archaeological Museum and that “of the Good Shepherd” provisionally located at Palazzo Meizlik. The houses feature scraps of walls and floors from different epochs, and namely from the 1st to the 4th centuries A.D. The middle portion of the site is occupied by one residential unit. To the north, some ruins of walls and mosaic floors may be referred to a third dwelling. The recent discovery of an inscribed weight allowed identifying the possible owner, one Titus Macrus. The enhancement of the area involves the reconstruction of the volumes of the ancient domus and an educational path through the rooms of the house.
Domus and Bishop Palace: Visitors will be able to make an exciting journey back in time, deep down into the underground of the ancient city of Aquileia, and watch the house of the 1st and 2nd centuries, as well as a wide portion of the mosaic floor and masonry of the bishop’s palace erected in the 5th century.
Ancient Markets | Pasqualis Area: The excavations carried out in 1953-1954 to the south- western end of the ancient city brought to light two stretches of walls built in the late Antiquity (4th-5th A.D.) and, behind these, three outdoor areas. The uncovered areas visible today, paved in sandstone and re-used material, have been interpreted as market squares, around which traders’ benches were arranged, covered by wooden structures or masonry porticoes.
Roman Domus | CAL Area: Some residential quarters had grown outside the oldest Republican city walls of Aquileia, immediately to the west of its main road, which coincides with today’s SR 352 road. The vestiges belong to a number of dwellings and to different times in the urban development of Aquileia. This bears evidence to the houses being altered, refurbished and grouped together on several occasions over time (from the 1st to the 4th-5th centuries A.D.). The archaeological site of Fondo CAL is overlooked, to the north, by a large apsed hall, now protected under a modern structure, formerly introduced by a columned yard. Originally identified as an early Christian oratory for the presence “of the Good Shepherd” mosaic floor (4th century A.D.), the hall is held today to have been a representation room in the house of a rich owner.
Decumanus of Aratria Galla: The decumanus of Aratria Galla was discovered in the 70s for a stretch of about one hundred meters. From east to west it connected the river port with the Forum and the theater: the civilian basilica overlooked it and you can see the remains in the archaeological area recently acquired by the Aquileia Foundation. The roadway, still intact, was made of trachyte, a volcanic rock from the Euganean hills. According to two twin inscriptions, referred to this street by some scholars, the paving was an act of munificence of a woman, Aratria Galla, hence the name conventionally assigned to the decumanus. When the “zigzag” walls, dating back to the 6th century, were built, the decumanus remained in use, although outside the city walls.
Where to get tourist information?
Contacts
Infopoint PromoTurismoFVG - Aquileia
Via Iulia Augusta 11, 33051 AQUILEIA (UD)
tel. +39 0431 919491
e-mail: info.aquileia@promoturismo.fvg.it
web: www.turismofvg.it
Fondazione Aquileia
Via Patriarca Popone 7, 33051 Aquileia (UD), Italy
tel. +39 0431 917619
e-mail: protocollo@fondazioneaquileia.it
web: www.fondazioneaquileia.it
How to get to Aquileia?
BY CAR
On A4 motorway, exit at Palmanova. Follow the directions to Aquileia-Grado on SR 352 road. As you reach Aquileia along Via Julia Augusta street, follow the silhouette of the Campanile to reach Piazza Capitolo, 1.
BY TRAIN
Railway Station: Cervignano-Aquileia-Grado. Then, take public transport (Saf or Apt buses) to reach Aquileia. Get off at “Aquileia Centro”, then follow the silhouette of the Campanile to reach the Basilica (5 minutes’ walk).
Configure
BY PLANE
International Airport of Ronchi dei Legionari. Then, take public transport (Saf or Apt buses) to reach Aquileia. Get off at “Aquileia Centro”, then follow the silhouette of the Campanile to reach the Basilica (5 minutes’ walk).
Tips for accommodation?
- Hotel Patriarchi, Via G.Augusta, 12 - 33051 Aquileia (Ud) - Italy
- Casa Magnolia, 3 Via XXIV Maggio, Aquileia, Italy
- Albergo Aquila Nera, Piazza Giuseppe Garibaldi, 5, 33051 Aquileia UD, Italy
- Ostello Domus Augusta, Via Roma, 25, 33051 Aquileia UD, Italy,