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Aquileia
- one of the most important Roman cities
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| The good sheperd
- detail from the 700 square meters mosaic under the Basilica
in Aquliea |
Though
Romans founded Aquileia in 181 BCE, the city's name is taken from
an old Celtic word meaning "dark" or "watery" - an apt description
for the Natissa River that run through the city.
Aquileia
had everything a modern Roman city must have - temples, baths, mosaics,
frescos and an amphitheater. By time Attila devastated the city
after a three-month siege in 452 CE, it had grown to the astonishing
size of 200,000 inhabitants. Only five thousand Aquleians escaped
the destruction of the city and fled to form the village of Grado,
further along the coast.
According
to tradition, St. Peter sent St. Mark to Aquileia in 57-58 CE to
Christianize the city. A basilica, built in 1031 CE, still houses
a copy of the original rotunda from the Church of the Holy Sepulchre
in Jerusalem. Naturally, this place became a stopover for pilgrims
traveling to the Holy Land. Inside the basilica there's an amazing
700 square meter mosaic floor dating from the 4th century. This
is the largest intact early Christian mosaic floor in Western Europe
today.
Aquileia
probably had a fairly substantial Jewish presence. A synagogue stood
there until 388 CE when soldiers under command of the emperor Theodosius
destroyed it.
Aquleia
is today a small village with only 3,000 inhabitants - but with
major archaeological importance. Similar to Jerusalem, you can't
dig here without stumbling over ancient artifacts. Thanks to this
rich archaeological heritage, the village is home to one of Italy's
finest Roman antiquities museums.
Related
links:
The official Aquileia
web site
The
National Archaeological Museum of Aquileia
The
Jews of Aquileia
Aquileia interactive
map
Trieste
| Udine | Gorizia
| Cividale | Aquileia
| Grado | Palmanova
|
