Urbs Salvia

Historical Information - The town Urbisaglia gets its name from the Roman town 'Urbs Salivia', which is said to have been dedicated to the goddess Selus. The ruins of the Roman town are of great interest, and are the most important archeological site in the Marche region. There are remains of Roman walls that show the perimeter of the ancient Roman town. The amphitheatre, which dates from 70 B.C. is still perfectly recognizable, although a ring of oak trees has grown up around the perimeter of the ruins. Halfway up the hill stands the ruins of a Roman theater, which dates from the 1st century B.C.  Plays are still performed here during the summer.

We first visited the ruins of the ancient Roman amphitheatre. You can see the ring of oak trees that have sprouted up over time along the top of the ruins.

Here are some pictures of the ruins of the Roman theater. The seating area is still very visible, while the majority of the walls, tunnels, entrances, and backstage staging area were all destroyed by barbarians in 410 A.D. In the above picture, I am standing on the stone from which the main speaker, or narrator, would deliver his monologues.

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