The archaeological park of Iuvanum

At 1,165 metres, on a plateau that in winter is all wind: an Italic sanctuary, a theatre, a Roman forum and then a Cistercian monastery.

The story

At Fonticelle, in the municipality of Montenerodomo, 1,165 metres up, lies the Italic and Roman archaeological site of Iuvanum: a place inhabited since the Bronze Age, in the land of the Carricini — a tribe of the Samnite people — which became a Roman municipium and later a Benedictine monastery.

The name

The name of the site tells something of its use and its origins: on the one hand Iuvanum (iuvenes) seems to indicate that the area was inhabited mainly by young people; on the other it may come from iuvare, to play, since the Greeks are thought to have brought the practice of the Olympic games here: the plain of Montenerodomo is perfectly suited to running, wrestling and archery.

Before Rome

The place is the sum of natural and historical events that bear witness to human presence from the earliest times. Thanks to a number of finds we can say with certainty that the land between the Sangro and the Aventino was already inhabited in the lower Palaeolithic. The “Maiella man”, found at Lama dei Peligni, is direct evidence of a native population that was already holding this land in the 6th millennium BC.

One of the features of the Samnites is their organisation into tribes settled in different territories, in small city-states independent of one another. The representative of the tribe was called the “meddix”, and each place was guarded by strongholds set on the tops of rocky hills: in the Sangro-Aventino area the megalithic walls of Monte Pallano, Fara San Martino, Gessopalena, Montemoresco, Torricella Peligna and Montenerodomo are worth recalling. The cult practised was that of Hercules, god of strength.

The Carricini tribe had no outlet on the Adriatic coast, was the smallest settlement of all and lay between the Sangro and the Aventino. Its people were divided into the Carecini Supernates, based at Cluviae, and the Carecini Infernates, based at Iuvanum.

The sanctuary and the temples

The sanctuary was originally crowned by an enclosure that can now be traced only in part, since the top of the hill was disturbed more than once by the Cistercian friars who built a monastery there in the Middle Ages. Only the northern part of the wall can still be read. The road known as the “cardo”, which branches off towards the temples and towards the theatre, has recently come to light.

Inside the sacred enclosure stood two temples of the Italic period, facing east, and the ruins of the Cistercian monastery. The southern temple was destroyed by a fire, probably set by Hannibal's troops, and was never rebuilt: today only its base and its two flights of steps can be seen. The second temple is better preserved: there were perhaps four columns at the front and the cella was reached by three steps. It was probably built in the 2nd century BC.

In the land of the Carricini the most important sanctuary was that of Iuvanum, a point of reference for all the drove roads that crossed this area on their way to join those of upper Molise. The sanctuary was therefore not only a religious building but also a trading centre for the peoples who lived by transhumance.

The theatre

The technique used to build the theatre is the same as that of the Greeks: the slope of the hill was used to form the cavea. Set into the hillside, it gave perfect acoustics, and during performances the sun stood behind the hill, so that the actors' faces were fully lit. The first seven rows of steps survive, together with the semicircular orchestra and part of the paving. In rain the cavea was often covered by a cloth, held on wooden supports set into holes cut in the stone blocks.

The forum and the basilica

After the Samnites were subdued the Romans set about a policy of urbanisation: creating public buildings, organising the road system, developing the town. Iuvanum was divided into three parts: the existing structures (theatre and sanctuary), the forum with its basilica, and the private buildings.

The forum was the centre of economic and administrative life not only for Iuvanum but for all the surrounding towns. It has the form of a large rectangular square closed on every side by porticoes; the basilica stands on the north side. The open space was reserved for fairs and for traders coming from elsewhere. In the middle of the square, on the paving, an inscription set out on three lines could be read, recording those who had the work carried out, with two names: Herennius Capito, who began the forum, and Herennia Proiecta, who finished it in the 1st century BC.

The basilica was the public building given over to the magistrates and the legal authorities: it took up the north side of the forum and was entered through three doors. Near the western portico three worn steps can still be seen, on which the speaker climbed to address the citizens gathered in the square. The basilica also housed the court and political meetings, and served as a covered market. Its most important space was the apsed hall, with a marble floor and a curved end wall, to make room for statues.

Recent excavation suggests that there was a bath complex.