La via Regio-Capuam nell'area del Savuto-Reventino : contributo alla ricostruzione del tracciato ed alla localizzazione di ad fl. Sabatum (It. Ant.)

Abstract

The Regio-Capuam road in the Savuto-Reventino region. Towards a reconstruction of its course and the location of ad fl. Sabatum (It. Ant.) The paper aims to contribute to the reconstruction of the Roman road system in the Savuto-Reventino region (west-central Calabria, Southern Italy). Thanks to the Itinerarium Antoninum, we know that a ford (ad fl. Sabatum) existed on the Savuto river at the end of the IIIrd century BC. The correspondence between the distances provided by the imperial itinerarium and those of the republican sources (Lapis Pollae and S. Onofrio’s miliarium) indicates that the ford is relating to the via Regio-Capuam, the praetorian road built in 131 BC. The main purpose of this study is the reconstruction of the Roman road section passing through the Savuto’s valley and the location of Savuto’s ford. With this aim, the research exploits different types of sources, as modern cartography (Maps of Martirano’s diocese – end of the XVI century – and the Bourbon land register – middle of the XVIII century), satellite images and data gathered with surface survey. The re-examination of the already known sources (Lapis Pollae, S. Onofrio’s miliarium and Itinerarium Antonini) has been conducted through a thorough practical verification of all data thanks to the QGis application. This allowed the author to highlight that the distances provided by the ancient sources do not match the geo-morphological assets and the road reconstructions that have until now been proposed. A number of considerations, concerning the topography, the place-names and, above all, the role of the local community in the road system management (shown by the Roman law) seem to suggest that the Regio-Capuam’s track was not continuous but divided on the basis of legal and administrative authorities.