 Amphitheater of Larinum | |
| Location | Larino, Italy |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°48′19″N 14°55′1″E / 41.80528°N 14.91694°E |
| Type | city |
| History | |
| Founded | 4th century BC |
| Cultures | Frentanian, Roman |
| Site notes | |
| Public access | Yes (only in the morning) |
| Website | https://web.archive.org/web/20140821114326/archeologicamolise.beniculturali.it/index.php?it%2F179%2Flarino-la-citt-romana-e-lanfiteatro |
In Roman times, Larinum (today Larino) was a thriving and large settlement of ancient origin, located in the hills of the hinterland at an altitude of about 400 m, not far (about 26 km) from the coast of the Adriatic Sea, of considerable importance due to its strategic location: it stretched over a large, fertile and flat area (today's Piana San Leonardo), in a strategic position, overlooking the valley floor and the lower course of the Biferno river, and it was also an important road junction, as it was located at the convergence of important road axes, which allowed profitable trade exchanges.[1]
These particular geographical features, together with the favourable climate and the fertility of the soil, which was easy to cultivate, explain the prosperity and economic development of Larinum, which already reached its peak in the 3rd century BC. This made it a frontier town and a crossroads of cultures, between the Adriatic coast and the inland area of Samnium, always open to the influences of different cultural environments, as confirmed by the archaeological remains, which attest to the existence of a rich and populous town even before the Punic Wars.[2]
- ^ Alberto Magliano (1895). Brevi cenni storici sulla città di Larino. Campobasso. pp. 7–8.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ^ Angela Di Niro (1980). Larino: la città ellenistica e romana, in AA.VV. Sannio. Pentri e Frentani dal VI al I sec. a.C. Roma. pp. 286–313.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)