Urbisaglia

The Roman amphitheatre and the fortress

In the green valley of the Fiastra, south of Macerata, the archaeological park of Urbs Salvia preserves the remains of one of the most important Roman towns of the Marche, founded in the first century BC and destroyed in the fifth century AD by the Goths of Alaric, as the historian Procopius wrote, who described it as a heap of ruins. The ancient town, built on the slopes of a hill, was abandoned, and its stones were used in the Middle Ages to build the nearby Abbey of Chiaravalle di Fiastra and the village of Urbisaglia, which grew up on the top of the hill.

The Parco Archeologico of Urbs Salvia, one of the largest in the Marche, can be visited along a path that descends from the upper town to the plain, among the remains of the walls, the cisterns, the theatre, of the Augustan age, one of the largest in central Italy, with its stage and part of the seats, and the temple-cryptoporticus, a sacred area with a temple dedicated to the goddess Salus and a covered gallery whose walls preserve fragments of colourful frescoes. At the bottom of the valley, the amphitheatre, built in the first century AD, is one of the best preserved in the Marche, an elliptical arena surrounded by tiers, which could hold several thousand spectators for gladiator fights. On top of the hill, the village of Urbisaglia is dominated by the Rocca, a massive fortress built in 1507, with towers, a keep and walkways, which can be visited and offers a view over the valley.

Tip: start the visit from the top of the hill and walk down to the amphitheatre; in summer, the theatre hosts performances.

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