VISITING AN ANCIENT ITALIAN COMMUNITY

We travel north from Rome, about the year 250 ce, on the Via Flaminia. We cross the Apennines and, as we descend to the coast, we pass through the northern reaches of the agricultural plain of the ager Gallicus. Our knowledge of the Roman past reminds us that we journey through territory once the site of bloody encounters between Roman troops and Celtic invaders allied with Italic folk. Nearby flows the stream of the Metaurus, where Roman armies once destroyed a relief force sent to aid Hannibal. We reach the Adriatic coast at Fanum Fortunae; there the great highway follows the coastline to the north-west. A trek of 32 Roman miles (c. 48 km) takes us over a range of hills to traverse a small plain where the River Pisaurus runs into the sea. On the right bank of the river is a modest town: Colonia Iulia Felix Pisaurum (modern Pesaro), prosperous from its fishing, shipping, textile, and ship-building trades, but little renowned. We may remember that Pisaurum received passing mention by the poet Catullus (81.3) and that the town played a minor role in Julius Caesar's invasion of Italy in January of 49 (Caes. B Civ. i.11–12; Cic. Fam. xvi.12.2). We may recollect that Pisaurum was settled anew after the battle of Philippi by the veterans of M. Antonius and perhaps also, somewhat later, by Augustus’ military men.