Carsoli

Encyclopedia : C : CA : CAR : Carsoli

Carsoli is a town and commune in the province of L'Aquila, Abruzzo (central [[Italy]). What follows is a description of the ancient Roman city, which lies 4 km southwest of the modern town (of which this article contains not a word).

History

The city, known as Carsioli, was founded in the country of the Aequi between 302 and 298 BCE, just after the establishment of Alba Fucens, no doubt as a stronghold to guard the road to the latter. It is mentioned in 211 BCE as one of the twelve out of thirty Latin colonies which protested their inability to furnish more men or money for the war against Hannibal. It is known that, in 168 BCE, it was used as a place of confinement for political prisoners. It was sacked in the Social War, but probably became a municipium after it.

The modern town of Carsoli first appears in a diploma of 866 CE, but the old site does not seem to have been abandoned until the 13th century.

Main sights

The line of the city walls (originally in tufa, and reconstructed in limestone), built of rectangular blocks, can still be seen. There are remains of several ancient buildings, including the podium or base, of a temple, and also the ancient branch road from the Via Valeria. The forty-third milestone of the Via Valeria still lies at or near its original site; it was set up by Nerva in 97 CE.

Some 2 kilometers to the northwest of Carsioli are the remains of an ancient aqueduct consisting of a buttressed wall of concrete crossing a valley.

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.