Roman treasures peak out all over Assisi and not all are as evident as the stunning 1st c B.C. Temple to Minerva in the main piazza…
The Temple to Minerva is a stunning stage set for our medieval May festival, Calendimaggio
Thanks to Assisi photographer Andrea Angelucci for his photos of the Minerva
Walk up a nearby medieval alleyway and you’ll come to the 12th-c Cathedral of San Rufino. You might not even note the parking barriers in front of the Cathedral: some are bits of truncated Roman columns and others are modern, made to look like the column slabs.
Parking barriers in front of the Cathedral (the one on the right is Roman and the other is a copy…)
To the left of the church is a medieval fountain, the basin of the fountain built with Roman slabs, not suprisingly: there were Roman temples on the present site of the Cathedral di San Rufino.
Look to the right of the fountain and note the doorstep of the palazzo: The corner piece is Roman travertine, probably another temple tidbit:
To the left of the fountain is a 16th-c palazzo and just behind the lavender-colored bike there (where lavender is now sold), note the massive Roman stones (from the temples once nearby..…?) of the corner of the building:
Across the street from the shop, look over the wall and note below the pink limestone slabs of the 1st BC Roman road. This thoroughfare once led from the Minerva Temple sanctuary in the center of Roman Assisium up to the area of the circus and nearby amphitheater.
The area of the circus is a parking lot today – Piazza Matteotti – but across the street rises a section of a massive Roman mausoleum:
….and on another corner of the piazza, note the Roman column perched on a wall near parked cars:
And a few strides away, Pino’s team is now restoring a house in the area of the 1s BC Roman amphitheater.
They’ve found Roman pipes. Will they find other treasures? Not unlikely: Roman stones are evident all around the work area.
I’ve seen some of these stones. Cannot wait to go back next year and look for the others. Just love your articles Anne! XO
You ARE due!…e la nostra porta e’sempre aperta!