Carsulae on the Via Flaminia

Latitude:  42°38'21.20"N
Longitude:  12°33'32.71"E
elev 1460 ft.


Carsulae is an outstanding excavation of a once thriving city located on the ancient Via Flaminia.  It was built sometime around 220 BC, and was likely a rest stop for people traveling along the Flaminia. The site is situated in a magnificent location among rolling hills and small mountains, about 40 miles north of Terni. 



 It was abandoned sometime around the third century, and initially excavated in the 1850's, with more extensive excavations starting in the 1950's.  On the map below, you can see the location of Carsulae on the Flaminia.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Via_Flaminia

My initial research of Roman Roads took place back in the States. At one point I came across a photograph of an impressive arch on the Wikipedia website.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carsulae

I don't think there is any one specific way of finding a Roman Road.   I generally started by searching for old maps, which inevitably lead me to photographs, which in turn lead me to specific sites.  If I found an image that captivated me, then I dug in a little deeper and tried to find the location.  So it was this photograph that led me to Carsulae, one of the most magical places I've visited.

The trip to Carsulae started from our base in Umbertide.  Generally, it would take me a whole day to plot out the route to our destination.  I was traveling by public transportation so a lot of time was spent reading through train and bus schedules.  Remote locations often only had a few buses a day that ran to and from major cities.  I'd already been stranded a few times and didn't enjoy it.  Additionally, the last train of the day returning to Umbertide left Perugia at 7:00 PM.  This meant that wherever I was, I had to get back to Perugia in time to catch that train.   Once I had all the schedules and maps saved them on my flash drive, I would head to the local print shop in Umbertide, print them out, sort them, and place them in a folder that I'd travel with.

The trip to Carsulae took between 3 and 4 hours.  This meant that we traveled roughly 7 hours that day, allowing about 2 hours at the site before starting the trek back.  We took the train to Perugia Santa Anna, switched and took another train to Terni and caught a bus from Terni to Pozzo Azzuano.  I had mapped out a 2 kilometer walk from the final bus stop to the site, but it turned out that the very courteous bus driver let us off directly across from the excavation.

When I arrived at Carsulae, I found the Flaminia and started a slow, studious journey through the town.

Initially I headed to the south looking for an end of the Flaminia.

 

At the southernmost end of town, the Flaminia disapeared beneath 4 to 5 feet of topsoil.  This revealed both the extent of the excavation as well as the changes that had taken place in the landscape over the last 2000 years.

I turned and headed north to the other
end of the road.

The pavers were made from a softer more porous stone, a material I hadn't come across yet, clearly an indigenous rock to the area.  There were excellent examples of borders, wear marks and a gutter system.

The road passed through the central part of town where an arch marked an entrance to what was once an extensive structure.

In the photograph below you can see the grass growing in the wear marks, as well as a variety of different sized pavers.

As I followed the road up a small hill, I saw the arch in the distance.  It was a beautiful day, robust clouds, and a gentle wind.  The excavation was empty, except for my Janet who had headed into the woods to find images in the bark of trees (check out her website and this will make more sense (Wood Interpretation Society).  I proceeded very slowly toward the arch trying to understand everything that was going on around me.

In the next 4 pictures you can see details of my approach to the arch.  Originally named the Arch of Trajan and currently referred to as the Arco di San Damiano, the arch, that marked the early entrance to the city.  Though all of the original marble had been removed, and most of it's surrounding structures fallen, I was struck by both it's simplicity and massive weight.

The excavation of the Flaminia ended another 100 yards to the north, a little beyond the mausoleum below.