Today (Weds., June 24) we went to Alba Fucens, a city originally inhabited by a tribe called the Marsi in an area crossed by important trade routes through the mountains.
Panoramic photo of the area. The tops of the neighboring mountains are buried in cloud.
The Marsi people believed they were descended from Angitia, the sister of Medea and niece of Circe. Medea and Circe were two of the most famous witches in the ancient world, and Angitia inherited some of the ability as well. She was a good witch though, and specialized in healing, particularly snake bites.
Atop the highest hill at Alba Fucens was once a temple to Apollo. The early Christians used the structural materials of the temple and rebuilt it into a church. Here you can see the temple columns now used as interior supports.
The ancient town lies just down the hill from the church.
On the side of the hill, between the church and the ancient town is an amphitheater, built by Macro who was the Prefect of the Praetorian Guard who helped Caligula come to power. Caligula later ordered him to commit suicide. In his will, Macro had left enough money to build this amphitheater for his home town.
The inscription above the arch reads:
Q NAEVIUS Q F FAB CORDUS SUTORIUS MACRO
PRAEFECTUS VIGILUM PRAEFECTUS PRAETORI
TI CAESARIS AUGUSTI TESTAMENTA DEDIT
Since the Romans commonly abbreviated things, using common conventions (they would have felt right at home texting), the full script would read:
Quintus NAEVIUS Quinti Filius CORDUS SUTORIUS MACRO
PRAEFECTUS VIGILUM PRAEFECTUS PRAETORI
TIberi CAESARIS AUGUSTI TESTAMENTA DEDIT
Translated it reads:
Quintus Naevius Cordus Sutorius Macro, son of Quintus, from the Fabian tribe
Prefect of the Vigiles, Prefect of the Praetorian Guard
Of Tiberius Caesar Augustus gave this in his will.
In the ancient town are a variety of buildings. The building here was a fuller, and next to it was a bakery.
The last thing we saw was a Roman milestone, erected around 350 AD. It marks mile 58 from Rome.
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