Want to See an Ancient Roman City? Don't go to Rome.

One of the best examples is a short train ride from the capital towards the coast. The city of Ostia served as Rome’s harbour and, in the first century AD, had a population of approximately 50,000 people. Large areas of the city were excavated in the twentieth century, exposing the forum, a theatre, and temples, as well as warehouses and multistorey apartment blocks known as insulae.

The most famous Roman-era towns where it is possible for visitors to again walk along the ancient streets are Pompeii and Herculaneum on the Bay of Naples, which were buried in the AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Here, the bars, shops, brothels, and houses attract more attention than the monumental public buildings.

Yet Roman settlements are found across Italy, and others which also allow for a greater understanding of ancient urbanism are less well-known. In the mountains of the Abruzzo region, lies the remote archaeological site of Iuvanum (modern Juvanum). Located 1000 meters above sea level, it presents a spectacular view of the Majella mountains.

The town began as a religious sanctuary founded by the Samnites, the Italic people who occupied this part of Italy in antiquity. In the second century BC, two temples were constructed on top of the rocky outcrop which dominates the site, and later a small theatre was built into the slope.

In 91 BC, the Samnites rebelled against Roman rule in an action known as the Social War. The outcome was that all Italic groups, not just the Latins, were granted Roman citizenship. Following this, in the second half of the first century BC, a significant new phase of building began at Iuvanum.

A large, rectangular, paved, open space known as a forum was laid out. This was surrounded by tabernae (shops and administrative buildings) on three sides, and a two-story basilica for civic functions was built on the fourth. Outside of the forum, the remains of houses have also been excavated and a bathing complex was added much later in the fourth century AD.

Today, it is possible to walk around and appreciate the entire site, even if most of the walls do not survive above waist height, as much of the stone was taken by later generations to construct new buildings elsewhere.

Further south, in the neighboring region of Molise, are the remains of the Roman town of Saepinum. Like Iuvanum, Saepinum was originally a Samnite settlement, likely dating back to the fourth century BC. Much of the town as seen today belongs to the first century AD, when key structures such as the forum, basilica, baths, theatre, markets, and sewers were built or rebuilt.

Also at this time, the emperor Tiberius paid for the construction of the visually striking town walls. These are made using small limestone pieces arranged in a diamond pattern, a technique known as opus reticulatum. This type of construction was commonly used for the walls of buildings not defensive structures, and the creation of the Saepinum’s circuit was as much a status symbol as a practical necessity.

By the sixth century AD, parts of the town had fallen into ruin; by the ninth century, it was largely abandoned. Later, parts were reoccupied and houses were constructed into the ruins of the ancient ones, often reusing architectural pieces, statues, and inscriptions as building material, as can still be seen.

These are only two of many examples of smaller, less well-known sites across Italy which in various ways help us understand more about Roman urbanism and the lived experience of the ancients than some of the more famous and more visited cities do.