Roman Colonization

Amidst our journey from Fontecchio to Amalfi, we stopped along the way at the remnants of the old Roman Empire town of Saepinum. The town as it is today, is just a glimpse of what it previously was and is now simply a monument to be marveled at. However it is still easy to tell from the layout of the town what was important to the society at the time. The article that my compatriot Jake and I discussed this week was all about the root reasoning for Roman Colonization and how former Roman colonies such as this one, reflect that.

It was always academically agreed upon that Roman Colonization was done to display the power Rome had and bolster their Military's status. However, the findings from this article suggest that there may have been more economical and agricultural motives than previously thought. One of the defining traits of this town is the road system that runs directly through it and as it was discussed in the article, roads like these were originally thought to be used for the military, but it was actually found out that they were more so used for transhumance purposes, or the movement of a herd from one grazing land to the next. Which, as it was confirmed by our Italian Guide Alessio, the roads of Saepinum were used for just that. Along with that, it was also thought that Roman colonies were almost exact replica's to that of Rome, however in this town, although it has similar characteristics it is by no means an exact replica. These were just a few of the main ideas that led to a deeper understanding of Roman Colonization.

It was very interesting to see something that we have researched come to life when we visited this town. On top of that, it is crazy to think of how old a place like this is and all of the history that has happened right below our feet, which is a feeling that I have had many times throughout this trip so far and hope to have many more times as we get closer and closer to the end of the class!