Fontana Romana

A fragment of Roman water engineering stands in Numana's harbour quarter, near the boats and beach huts. It is a remnant of the port area's ancient infrastructure.

Why it matters

Numana's Fontana Romana is an example of ancient hydraulic engineering and a valuable archaeological find, testifying to Roman water management. The partially preserved structure illustrates Roman water-supply engineering. It also links the modern harbour quarter with the history of an ancient port settlement.

What to notice

The surviving masonry of the hydraulic structure remains legible as water-management infrastructure. Its position in the port quarter reflects the relationship between the Roman settlement and harbour. The structure also evokes daily life around a Roman port. The state museum preserves further archaeological material from the ancient town.

Context and history

Numana's history extends well before the Roman period, when it was already an established port community on the Adriatic coast. The fountain belongs to that Roman chapter: water-supply works of the kind the empire standardised across its port towns, built to endure. The necropolises and museum collections of the ancient city document earlier phases of settlement along this shore. The medieval and modern town grew, suffered and rebuilt above these remains. The surviving structure remains part of the working harbour quarter rather than an enclosed excavation.