Archaeological Itinerary in the Buried Towns

Noventa archaeological area and the ancient parish church of S. Mauro

Traces of the Roman nucleus from the 1st century BCE appeared as a result of excavations carried out at the end of the 1970s. A Roman, medieval and Renaissance complex has emerged in the archaeological area. In the period following the Roman era, Noventa suffered the fate common to the rest of the lagoon lands invaded by barbarian hordes: destruction. From these dark years, dark to us also because of the lack of any documentation, Noventa re-emerged around the tenth century when the Venetians established a port and market on the Piave River. Over the next four hundred years, Noventa experienced its peak of prosperity with lasting peace, a flourishing port and a lucrative horse trade from Hungary. With the fall of the Venetian Republic (1797) its decline began. The most tragic event in its history finally occurred during the First World War: in 1917, the town found itself in the line of fire and was reduced to an expanse of rubble. On these ruins, everything was subsequently rebuilt more or less where it was. And so, for the second time, Noventa was reborn.

The Mosaics

Above the remains of the Roman villas there are traces of a small Romanesque church, the early parish church dedicated to St. Maurus, dated around 1100. In the area where the ancient church stood, beneath the level of the floor, archaeological excavations have also unearthed two splendid mosaics datable to the end of the fourth century, with geometric motifs executed in black and white tesserae. Due to similarities in workmanship and decoration, these artefacts can be attributed to the same workers who created the mosaic of the basilica Apostolorum in Concordia Sagittaria.

Concordia National Museum in Portogruaro and Concordia Sagittaria Archaeological Area

In the name Portogruaro there is a port, and there are cranes (gru in Italian), at least according to the explanation most favoured by locals, so much so that the crane has become a town symbol. This is Portogruaro, with its pastel colours and the air of an island marooned on the mainland. The aforementioned port used to be on the Lemene River that flows through the town: what today is a lazy waterway was once a lively crossroads, but is still overlooked by some elegant residences and porticoes.

The ancient history of the place is well told by the Concordia National Museum and the Concordia Sagittaria Archaeological Area, which bears witness to the history of the Roman colony Iulia Concordia, now Concordia Sagittaria. The museum has the appearance and atmosphere of a basilica and in fact infuses the spirit with its solemn silence, in a harmonious alternation of marbles and sculptures, coins and precious glass, and everyday objects.

Portogruaro is also a place to stroll, with the tranquillity and certainty of always finding the way back to the centre and some picturesque view to photograph. One is from the Ponte Sant'Andrea: the view of the two mills on the river is an iconic snapshots.

The MUB – Museo della Bonifica di San Donà di Piave (San Donà di Piave Land Reclamation Museum)

In San Donà di Piave, both antiquity and history lovers can explore the past of the Lower Piave district. This town not only deserves a regenerating stroll in its pedestrian precinct, but also offers the Museo della Bonifica (the Museum of the Land Reclamation - the MUB). Opened to the public in 1983 in a former convent of the Clarisse nuns and divided into very well-organised sections, including an area dedicated to the Great War, the Museum takes us through the history of the Piave River along the thread of the impressive reclamation works that characterised the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Several Roman finds that have been unearthed (the ancient Roman Via Annia passed through San Donà), new multimedia content, material and intangible evidence, stories and traditions show us the intertwining of man with the landscape and amphibious nature of the lower Piave Valley over the centuries, from antiquity to the present day. All this along a network of various possible routes not only within the museum spaces, but which integrate with the external spaces.