Historical period: Roman Age
Senigallia’s Roman origins have been known and visible for long in the foundations of Rocca Roveresca. However, surprisingly, in 1989, important finds from the 2nd-3rd century A.D. were recovered during the excavation works of the new La Fenice theatre. Today La Fenice Archaeological Site is one of the few places in Italy where visitors can admire the remains of Roman buildings together with the finds that were recovered on site.
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Description
In the archaeological site visitors can see the remains of a typical Roman town - the old streets known as "Cardo" (North-South) and "Decumanus" (East-West) - which belonged to the southern peripheral area of the old Sena town. The flooring is extremely well preserved and visitors can still see the grooves created by the wheels of passing-by carts. A cross-section of Roman daily life can be seen in the remains of some "tabernae” (taverns) - the first one being a "termopolium" (where hot foods and drinks were sold) - and in the large "domus" (elegant house) with access from the "Cardo".
The well-preserved flooring is made of cocciopesto with white tesseras, while the "impluvium" of the atrium is covered with herring-bone brickwork. 130 medieval tombs were found during the excavation works, as an evidence of the different use of the space throughout the centuries. One of them is still visible and used for teaching purposes.
A visit to “Area Archeologica La Fenice” is a unique experience: walking a few meters under the ground level, visitors can see the places where the ancient population of the Roman town called Sena lived, together with some objects from their daily life.