Archeology of the city of Feltre (English/inglese)

Città di Feltre

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ARCHAEOLOGY

ARTE, CULTURA CULTURE ART,STORIA, HISTORY,

TIME STANDS STILL

Museo Civico, satyr’s head, I A.D.

Feltre is a lovely artistic town lying at the foot of breathtaking mountains belonging to the UNESCO Dolomites (System 3 - Pale di San Martino, San Lucano, Dolomiti Bellunesi and Vette Feltrine).

The Dolomites have been designated a site of outstanding universal value due to their contribution to the development of geological science, their many different types of geodiversity, the role they have played in the evolution of life following devastating situations (extinction, volcanic eruptions) and the scenic, aesthetic and structural features of the landscape.

Many famous geologists were born in Feltre; a large number of literary figures, inventors, scientists, doctors and artists were inspired by the beauty of these places.

The town of Feltre experienced its greatest glory when it made the most of its particular geographical position, as it played a key role in linking the mountains with the plain. The Roman era was, without a doubt, one of the most prosperous periods in the history of Feltre: the town became an important trading centre for wood and wool which, thanks to the river Piave, could be transported down to the towns on the lower land. As business in the town flourished, associations began to spring up for fabri (builders), dendrophori (wood merchants) and centonari (wool manufacturers) which are mentioned several times in inscriptions displayed in the town’s museum (Museo Civico). It is no coincidence that the builders of Altino dedicated a statue to Caio Firmio Rufino, a Feltre man born and bred, electing him their patron. The base of this statue is still preserved in the museum.

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FELTRE, LYING BETWEEN THE DOLOMITES AND THE PLAIN

Photographs courtesy of: Archives of the Veneto Department of Archaeology, Padua (Foto Storti; drawing L. Zega, on kind permission of the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism, reproduction forbidden), Photographic archives of the town museums of Feltre; Diego Malvestio

Compiled by the Feltre town council department of tourism

Museo Civico of Feltre, Rhaetic inscriptions, 3-2 B.C.

Feltre, defined as an oppidum raeticum by Pliny, is a town with thousands of years of history and was founded by the Pre-Roman Rhaetian people. In 39 B.C. it became a Roman municipium, and later, in I A.D., the city grew in strategic and commercial importance when it was included on the Via Claudia Augusta route which linked Altino with the Danube.

Its area of jurisdiction was extremely widespread and included the whole of Valsugana, Primiero and modern-day Feltre area, probably stretching as far as Santa Giustina. The town flourished throughout the Roman era, as testified by the important archaeological and epigraphic finds referring to that time.

This situation of relative prosperity continued until the Late Antiquity period and was such that, in 526 A.D., Theoderic, king of the Ostrogoths, sent a letter to the possessores (owners) of Feltre, inviting them to build a civitas in regione tridentina (town in the Trento region).

FELTRE IN ANCIENT TIMES

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ARCHAEOLOGY

The excavations under the cathedral square in Feltre and THINGS in the historical centre of the walled town, have brought TO SEE to light hundreds of finds. Some are still being studied, while others are on display in the town’s museum (Museo Civico), but they are all invaluable in helping establish the history of Feltre and the events that involved such an important town in Roman times.

By far the most significant find is a big statue dating from 2 A.D., the largest portrayal of the god of medicine found in the whole of northern-central Italy. This statue, unearthed in 1974, has been on display in the Oratorio dell’Annunziata since 24 October 2015. Under the cathedral square is an entire district of the Roman and medieval town which is accessible to visitors, giving us an important insight into a number of aspects of commercial, residential and religious life. The archaeological site of Feltre, excavated between 1970 and 1976, is one of the largest underground sites of its kind today in the whole of Veneto, with 1000 m² open to the public.

TIME STANDS STILL

Feltre and the surrounding area have witnessed events spanning several thousands of years; as man evolved, he interacted with this land, leaving an indelible mark. Some of his traces are stored for safekeeping, while others are clear to see in the relationship between natural and manmade phenomena, defining the very essence of the landscape, including that linked to more recent developments.

Ruins abound, vestiges of times gone by in the distant and not so distant past.

These populations must have appreciated the beauty of these places as, over the centuries, they built, decorated and lived in buildings of great architectural importance in this extraordinary setting.

Statue of Aesculapius, 2 A.D.

General view of the archaeological site

for info and visiting times of the places described: www.feltre.info/orari