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sulle aree del foro per visitarle.
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The Forum, place
of meeting and trade, is situated in the middle of the city, according to
a planning that dates back to the foundation of the colony. The complex
shows now its latest phase, dating to the severian era (beginning of the
3rd century A.D.), including the architectural decorations and the Basilica.
On the contrary, the square (platea) is earlier : between the end
of the 1st century b.C. and the beginning of the follwing should be dated
the paving and the aqueduct. The republican Forum (2nd-1st century b.C.)
had a lesser extension, because in the South half, under the pavement, the
excavations brought to light some houses : to the republican Forum refer
the buildings of the Curia-Comitium and of the older Macellum
(market) of the city. Later in the life of the complex, it must be remarked
the will - in the 4th century - to restore, preserve and promote the Forum
as a centre of city memories. We can mention for example an ancient votive
inscription (dedication to Venus Caelestis), that was placed
in a ruined spot of the pavement, and the setting of some statues by Septimius
Theodolus, governor of Venetia et Histria short before 361 A.D.,
recalling traditional values of the empire. A dramatical event is to be
read in the burned layer marking the end of the Basilica, the shops of the
eastern portico and of one of the western : the fire is related with Attila's
attack. Another serious danger - maybe the arrival of Theodoricus
in 489 - induced to the fortification between the South wall of the Basilica
and the North edge of the decumanus of Aratria Galla, re-using
ruins of the building : it divides the town into half, marking the eventual
abandonment of the Forum and of the North part of the city. Starting from
early Middle Age, the forum area turns gradually into a swamp : datations
between the 11th-12th century resulted from the analysis of wood and peat.
Into the swamp, people threw waste and carcasses, while destroying and reusing
of the monuments goes on, where possible. Eventually the eastern portico
falls down, probably because of an earthquake. It should be noticed that
the columns and blocks from the entablature are not damaged, probably because
the area had already turned into a swamp. The earthquake could be so identified
with the one that is known in 998. The Forum has been systematically excavated
since 1934 : the researches for its global comprehension include the Project
3D - Virtual reconstruction of the Forum" : some images of it are shown
in each section. |
