Its water irrigates fertile fields and pleasant forests, but also brings ruin because The Po River, celebrated with the name of Eridanus and revered along its entire course to be assured of its favours. His last family member was Nero, who committed suicide during a popular uprising. Romans worshiped Augustus and the members of his dynasty as if they were gods, never forgetting that, while living, they were merely men. In a few years, the Republic becomes an empire and power is transmitted by dynastic succession.Īll forms of art – from temple architecture to the statues placed in theaters and honorary arches, from poems of love to epic poems, and each expression of essentially fine craftsmanship, from gems to ceramic tableware up to the coins used by everyone daily – refer to Augustus and his dynasty, and the new order of things that he gave to the world. As heir of a power transmitted by Caesar, he becomes pater, source of all power, lord of triumphs, and the man who realizes the fates of Rome. After defeating his final rivals, Mark Antony and Cleopatra, in the Greek waters of Actium in 31 B.C., he is the undisputed master of the Republic and is called Augustus. At just 19 years of age, Octavius wants to seize supreme power in Rome.
There were many workshops (figlinae), as evidenced by the large number of tiles and bricks stamped with trademarks of various factories, especially that of Pansiana, owned by Vibius Pansa, active until the middle 1st century AD.Īdopted in his will by Gaius Julius Caesar who was assassinated in the Roman Curia on 15 March 44 B.C. Thanks to the abundance of water, fine clay, and forests of poplar, oak, larch, pine trees to provide the firewood toįeed the furnaces, the delta was also an ideal environment for ceramic and brick production. They were used in roof construction, especially in wooden structures.Īgriculture was mostly directed at crops of cereals and legumes, and also at wine production. Marsh plants provided raw materials for producing baskets, mats, and other objects, including arrows. Main economic activities were the breeding of animals, especially pigs, hunting and fishing, as well as the production of salt, essential for producing famous garum sauce. Trade expanded not just locally, but also beyond the delta. The delta’s environment provided the basis for an economy that, in Roman times, was diversified and well organized for commercial and taxation purposes. The most important of the fossae was the Fossa Augusta, conecting Ravenna to the Po and to the most important cities in the Veneto.Īccess to the sea was through the mouth of the Po, for which ancient writers have passed down various names: ostium (port) Caprasiae, Sagis, and Volanae. Its main axes were Via Popilia, which allowed reaching Veneto, starting from Rimini ( Ariminum) the artificial channels (fossae) running alongside it, which enabled inland navigation and the inland lagoons. In Aufidia Venusta’s greeting, from a sepulchral inscription from Portomaggiore, the main geographical features of the Delta area and the existence of a major communications system appear in the background. “ Viatores et velatores salvete et bene valete”: "A greeting of good wishes to those who travel these roads and waterways." The center of this stewardship was Voghenza ( Vicus Abentia) One special feature compared to other areas in northern Italy was the presence of large landed estates (saltus) in this area, some of imperial ownership, administered by the emperor’s slaves and freedmen. Instead the existence of villas (farms), vici and pagi, i.e., rural villages, is recorded. The area became a Roman colony in which lands were distributed to army and navy veterans based in Ravenna as well as to ordinary citizens in good economic conditions.Īfter the decline of the Etruscan city of Spina, no urban center was established in the territory.
Rome extended its dominance in the Delta, defeating the Gauls and Lingones.
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