Minturnae was originally an Auruncian city, one of the three towns of the Aurunci which allied themselves with the Samnites and made war against Rome in 314 BC., the other two being called Ausona and Vescia. The city was probably destroyed in 883 by the Saracens, who in the following years held the surrounding plain. Its site was increasingly abandoned by the population in favour of that of the modern town of Minturno. The Roman ruins consist of an amphitheatre, a theatre in opus reticulatum, and an aqueduct in opus reticulatum, the quoins of which are of various colours arranged in patterns to produce a decorative effect. There are also a statue commonly called of Sepeone, from the Late Empire age, and the remains of a Capitolium, built in Italic-Etruscan style after 191 BC, near the Appian Way.
The Roman theatre, built in the late Republican era or at the beginning of the Empire, Minturnae, Minturno, Italy
The Roman theatre, built in the late Republican era or at the beginning of the Empire, Minturnae, Minturno, Italy
A stretch of the Appian Way passing through the ancient city and serving as its decumanus maximus, Minturnae, Minturno, Italy
A stretch of the Appian Way passing through the ancient city and serving as its decumanus maximus, Minturnae, Minturno, Italy
The macellum (market) dating to the Hadrianic period (117-138) and the reconstructed monumental colonnade, Minturnae, Minturno, Italy
The macellum (market) and the tabernae dating to the Hadrianic period (117-138), Minturnae, Minturno, Italy
Black & white mosaic in the caldarium of the thermae depicting cupids pressing grapes, Minturnae, Minturno, Italy
The tepidarium, the warm bathroom of the baths complex heated by a hypocaust (underfloor heating system), Minturnae, Minturno, Italy
The natatio (swimming pool) of the bath complex, Minturnae, Minturno, Italy
The natatio (swimming pool) of the bath complex, Minturnae, Minturno, Italy
The ruins of the Capitolium (temple dedicated to the triad Jupiter, Juno and Minerva), an Etrusco-Italic type temple built ca. 191 BC, Minturnae, Minturno, Italy
The podium of the Temple of Augustus, built at the beginning of the Imperial age right alongside the Capitolium, Minturnae, Minturno, Italy
The podium of the Temple of Augustus, built at the beginning of the Imperial age right alongside the Capitolium, Minturnae, Minturno, Italy
Antiquarium of Minturnae, Minturno
Antiquarium of Minturnae, Minturno
Antiquarium of Minturnae, Minturno
Antiquarium of Minturnae, Minturno
Aqueduct near Minturnae, built between the end of the Republic and the beginning of the Empire, Minturno, Italy
credit: Following Hadrian