Riflessioni sullo sviluppo urbano di Ausculum

The advance of research in urban archaeology has underscored the necessity to re-examine the data we possess on the Roman city of Asculum. An understanding of the development of the Roman settlement is possible only by looking both at the previous Picenic epoch and at the following transformations. The Picenic centre has left scarce archaeological remains, among which are perhaps those of the town walls. The study of this centre has brought to light some questions, such as: the identification of the forma urbis, the location of the forum, the epoch in which some public buildings were built. Finally, during the Early-Medieval period, some significant changes of the urban layout took place, such as that which led to the construction of the Cathedral.