Parco Archeologico di Urbs Salvia

Urbs Salvia preserves the remains of a Roman town below medieval Urbisaglia. Walls, religious buildings and entertainment structures extend across a landscape shaped by successive urban terraces.

Why it matters

The settlement was a colony of Republican origin and underwent substantial monumental development from the Augustan period. Its remains reveal the relationship between public architecture and the organisation of an ancient town.

What to notice

The temple of Salus Augusta and its partly underground cryptoporticus form a major ensemble. Surviving wall paintings belong stylistically to the Third Pompeian Style. The theatre, amphitheatre and long stretches of city wall illustrate other aspects of Roman civic life.

Context and history

The ancient settlement declined in late antiquity as habitation shifted towards the hill occupied by modern Urbisaglia. The relative absence of later building over much of the Roman site helped preserve its urban layout.