Parco archeologico di Sentinum

Sassoferrato

The ancient town of Sentinum rose on a plateau at the confluence of the Sentino River with its tributaries, less than 1 kilometer from today's Sassoferrato. Famous for being the scenario of the Battle of the Nations in 295 BC, which led to the Roman colonization of the Middle Adriatic, in 41 BC the city was destroyed during the clash between Marc Antony and Octavian, known as the Perugia War. Rebuilt and expanded, the city was delimited by a wall with circular turrets, datable to the Augustan era. Visiting the archaeological park, one can easily recognize the antique urban system arranged along perpendicular (decumanus and cardus) paved roads flanked by sidewalks; below the streets are the traces of an early Imperial Age sewer system. Of great importance are the baths, of which remain visible the swimming pool, the calidarium, the frigidarium and a large apsed hall decorated with polychrome marble. There are also the remains of environments pertaining to a bronze workshop, a glass-working furnace, and numerous homes. Outside the city wall, in Santa Lucia, there is a large building, characterized by the presence of vast bath environments, perhaps used for the reception of travelers. This structure, built in the 1st c. AD, remained in use until the beginning of the 5th c. AD. Between the 8th and 10th centuries AD, the city was abandoned and in 1150 the castle of Sassoferrato was built on a nearby hill. There are many archaeological finds from the ancient city of Sentinum, among the most famous being the Aion polychrome mosaic, now preserved in Munich. Other materials are kept in the Civic Archaeological Museum of Sassoferrato.