Mutina and Bononia: discovering the Roman heritage of Modena and Bologna

The journey into the past begins at Modena’s Novi Ark Archaeological Park, a veritable open-air museum where history emerges from basolata flagstones, amphorae and ancient remains. In this suburb of ancient Mutina, a strategic city on the Via Aemilia and an important commercial centre of northern Roman Italy, archaeological finds have been enhanced and made accessible to all.
Here you can:

• Walk along an ancient Roman road, with its original paving still visible
• See the furrows left by the wagons that travelled this stretch for centuries
• Admire tombs, funerary monuments and production systems relevant to the daily life of those times
• Observe the remains of amphorae and other artefacts, which were found in three large Roman landfills

Curiosities
The Park was created because of building redevelopment work between 2009 and 2011. An entire portion of the Roman Mutina was discovered at a depth of five metres during the works, including part of the road from Mantua, which led towards the town centre.

To know
The park is also ideal for families: the bilingual information panels (Italian and English) are available in two language levels, for adults and children.

Moving towards Viale Vittorio Veneto, the route continues in the Palazzo dei Musei, a treasure trove that preserves the Roman heritage of Modena. 
Here you will find some of the most important collections giving insight into the daily life, town planning and spirituality of the colony of Mutina.

Among the unmissable milestones:

• "Avia Pervia" immersive room  – Civic Archaeological Ethnological Museum
  A multisensory, accessible experience that accompanies the visitor on an emotional journey through the history of Modena and the civilisations that have inhabited it.
• Roman Lapidary – Civic Museum of Modena
  It exhibits inscriptions, funerary monuments and reliefs that in the last forty years have emerged from the monumental necropolises of the imperial age that developed along the ancient access roads to the city.
• Estense Lapidary
  A collection of finds that tells the story of the city from its Roman origins to the 19th century.
• Modena Civic Museum 
  Among the most striking finds is the burial of the Lovers of Modena, two individuals buried hand in hand in late antiquity. Analyses have revealed that they were two men: brothers, friends, comrades in arms? The mystery remains, but in the meantime the image has gone around the world.

The most significant finds include:

• Funerary inscriptions with names and professions: such as Lucius Rubrius Stabilio, barber (tonsor), or Caius Purpurarius Nicephor, fabric dyer
• The altar of Vetilia Egloge – one of Mutina's most important female figures

Curiosities

• Some finds were discovered between the 14th and 17th centuries during excavations for the construction of the city walls: they were repurposed by aristocratic families as status symbols.
• According to geo-archaeological studies, events such as the 2012 earthquake and the 2014 flood had similarly taken place in antiquity. They are believed to have contributed to the burial and exceptional preservation of this city.
• The site has been called a "second Pompeii" due to the wealth and variety of artefacts found.

Tips

• Given the size and quality of the preserved heritage, you should spend at least half a day visiting this museum. It's really worth it.
• There is a single ticket to visit Avia Pervia, the Civic Museum and Gipsoteca Graziosi.
  Free entry on the first Sunday of the month.

One thing is certain. More than 2,200 years after its foundation, Mutina splendidissima continues to be the object of research, discovery and protection – a sign of its recognised historical value. 

Leaving the Palazzo dei Musei, you find yourself before one of the most obvious signs of the Romanisation of the Po Valley: the Via Aemilia. 

Built in 187 BC at the behest of the consul Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, this great thoroughfare initially had a military purpose, but soon became the main arterial road in northern Italy, so much so that it gave its name to the region it went through.

Today, the Via Emilia coincides largely with the modern SS9 road, going through cities, historic centres and countryside. Its layout, still visible in the urban layout of Modena, testifies to the Roman origins of the city and the central role it played in the Empire’s commercial and logistical network. The area itself became established as a strategic hub for the production of ceramics, bricks and wool. The Via Emilia still connects Rimini to Milan today, with extensions to Pavia and Aosta.

Today, the ancient urban layout of Modena is not perfectly discernible. 

Although the maximum decumanus (main street) is clearly identifiable as Via Emilia, the cardo maximus (main crossroad), which is supposed to correspond to Rua Pioppa, is no longer a main thoroughfare. The original orthogonal layout of the city, oriented towards Piazza Garibaldi, is also difficult to recognise. The Roman forum was probably located between Rua Pioppa and Viale Martiri della Libertà, whereas the current city centre has gradually moved westwards.

Tips
The Via Aemilia connected not only two cities, but two worlds: the Adriatic Sea and the Po valleys. It brought together cultures and trade in a long artery that shaped the face of Emilia-Romagna.

Continuing along the Via Emilia to the east, you reach Corso Duomo, the spiritual and symbolic heart of Modena. It is precisely here that the Roman legacy intertwines with medieval magnificence, revealing how much the past continues to live in the present.

The Cathedral of Modena, a Romanesque masterpiece and UNESCO site, reveals tangible traces of ancient Mutina:

• The column-bearing lions at the entrance come from a Roman necropolis and date back to that time.
• Several marbles used in the construction of the cathedral come from pre-existing Roman buildings, in particular the ancient amphitheatre, which no longer exists.

These elements testify both to the Comacini masters’ creative reuse of ancient materials and to the strong link between the medieval city and its Roman origins.

Not far away, in Piazza Grande, is the famous Ringadora Stone, a large block of marble that tells stories of justice, pain and mystery. Although the testimonies refer to its use in medieval times as a public forum, it actually seems to be Roman in origin.

Curiosities
The stone not only had a punitive function: when the bodies of drowned people were recovered, they were laid on the large slab, waiting to be identified. If there was any suspicion that it was not an accident but murder, the stone also served as a starting point for the investigation and search for the culprits.

In Roman times, Mutina was one of the most important and prosperous cities of the Po Valley. As such, it would have also had its own amphitheatre, a central place in the social life of the time, dedicated to public performances and gladiatorial fights.

According to scholars, the amphitheatre was located near the current Albinelli Market, but the passing centuries and the floods of the Secchia and Panaro rivers buried it under several metres of sediment.

Walking through the historic centre, some clues help us reimagine the shape of the amphitheatre:

• Via Canalino and Via Mondatora were the curved sides of the structure
• Via San Geminiano marked its southern edge
• These streets were later transformed into medieval canals, and are again viable

Looking carefully at the urban map, it is still possible to trace the curvature of the ancient building, imprinted on the street layout like a scar of history.

Tips
If you are in Modena at the beginning of September, don't miss Mutina Boica, an extraordinary historical reenactment that takes place at the Ferrari Park. The event recreates encampments of Celts, Romans and Greeks, with:
• theatre performances and battle reenactments
• historical workshops for adults and children
• food, music, conferences and ancient rites

A unique opportunity to experience history first-hand, including teaching and entertainment, in an engaging atmosphere.

For the second part of the itinerary, we move to Bologna, on the trail of the ancient Roman colony of Bononia, founded in the second century BC. The ideal starting point is the modern and much-used Salaborsa Library, in Piazza del Nettuno.

Underneath the library, an authentic journey through time awaits: through the basement you can access a visitable archaeological area, which exhibits remains from prehistoric times to Roman times. Precisely in this area stood the ancient forum, the beating heart of the political and social life of Imperial Bononia.

Access to the site is free during the opening hours of the library. Even just walking on the transparent floor of the library you can:

• admire Roman floors and foundations
• discover the remains of public and civil buildings
• observe wells, cisterns, water and sewage structures

Curiosities

• The area corresponds to the original Roman forum: the place of public discourse, trials, debates and civil rituals
• The Salaborsa library is one of the symbolic places of the convergence of ancient and contemporary, of written culture and material stratification 

Passing through the historical centre of Bologna, you can still admire the ancient Roman streets. The Decumano Massimo, the main street of the colony of Bononia, corresponds to today's Via Ugo Bassi and Via Rizzoli. In the Sottopasso di Re Enzo (King Enzo's Underpass), you will come across original portions of this street perfectly paved to facilitate the transit of carts.

In addition to the paving stones, fragments of fistulae aquariae, the lead pipes used for the city's water supply, were also found. This archaeological section provides insight into the efficiency of the Roman infrastructure and its influence on present-day town planning.

Curiosity

Today the underpass is a multifunctional space that combines archaeology and city life. Next to the evocative fragments of fistulae aquariae, it is possible to sip a coffee, enjoy an aperitif or decide which film to see in the renovated Cinema Modernissimo.

A place where the past interacts with the present, with installations, cultural encounters and exhibitions transforming the former underground space into a true contemporary agora.

Proceed to the Museo Civico Archeologico, where already in the courtyard several testimonies of ancient Bononia are preserved. In the atrium, you can see a statue of Emperor Nero from the theatre, and on the upper floor are three floor mosaics from dwellings in and around Bononia, all from the imperial era. 

To see 
The Roman Lapidarium, one of the most important epigraphic collections in Italy.

The invitation is now to visit the Bologna History Museum, inside the evocative Palazzo Pepoli in the shadow of the Two Towers. 
An authentic fragment of the decumanus maximus of Via Aemilia, now Via Rizzoli, is preserved here. 
Discovered in 1959, this extraordinary archaeological find still bears the furrows left by wagons on the ancient paving stones, silent witnesses of Bologna's Roman past, tangible traces of daily traffic in Imperial Bononia.

To know
This experience in the evocative Palazzo Pepoli is suitable for visitors of all ages thanks to interactive and multimedia installations.

Leaving Bologna along the Via Aemilia and reaching Ozzano dell 'Emilia, you will come upon one of the most surprising archaeological sites in the entire region: that of ancient Claterna.
Founded in the second century BC, it was a city comparable in size and importance to Bononia and Forum Cornelii (Imola). But what makes Claterna truly unique is that it was not inhabited in the following centuries: there is no overlap with the medieval age, which allows us to make a "pure" study of Roman urban planning – something rare in Italy.
Thanks to ongoing excavation and enhancement campaigns, Claterna is a "sleeping" Roman city that is gradually re-emerging and giving a vivid picture of life in Roman Emilia.

Tips
To complete the experience, we recommend a stop at the Museum of the Roman City of Claterna, housed in the Palazzo della Cultura of Ozzano dell'Emilia. It exhibits finds from the excavations, including ceramics, coins and furnishings, offering a glimpse of daily life in a Roman city. 

The itinerary carries on towards Imola.  Inside the San Domenico Museum is the so-called Domus del Rasoio which was discovered during the renovation of the museum complex.

It is an elegantly decorated Roman residence that illustrates the living standards of the local elites in the imperial period. The house, dating back to the first and third centuries AD, has mosaic floors, wall structures, remains of frescoes and domestic environments that give us an authentic glimpse of everyday life at that time.

Curiosities

The domus is named after a bronze razor found during the excavations; a personal object that inspired its name.

The last stop on this Bologna area itinerary is a few kilometres from the city, in the hamlet of Sacerno. Here stands a monument that recalls one of the most significant events in Roman history: the birth of the Second Triumvirate. The Cippo di Sacerno, erected in the 16th century by the Servants of Mary, marks the place where, according to some historians, Octavian Augustus, Marcus Aemilius Lepidus and Marcus Antonius divided the provinces of the Roman Empire in 43 BC. 

The last stop on this itinerary takes us to the countryside of Sacerno, a hamlet of Calderara di Reno just a few kilometres from Bologna. Here, in a quiet area surrounded by greenery, there is a little-known monument full of symbolic and historical value: the Cippo di Sacerno.

According to tradition, it was precisely in this place that, in 43 BC, the three most powerful men of republican Rome – Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus – met after the death of Julius Caesar to institute the Second Triumvirate, dividing the provinces of the Empire and laying the foundations for the transformation of Rome into a monarchical system.

Although erected centuries later, the stone has become a symbolic place of Roman memory in the Bolognese territory: sited in a beautiful natural context, it is a must-see for anyone who wants to connect with the events that marked the destiny of ancient Rome.