Santa Marinella. Castrum Novum

Castrum Novum is an ancient Roman fortified centre founded in 264 BC. when Rome was preparing more and more to become a maritime power and to clash with Carthage. It is located in the territory of Santa Marinella on the coast north of Rome.

For this reason, before the First Punic War, it set up a series of ports and fortresses to protect them in order to counteract any Punic landings.

The centre was mentioned by Julius Caesar as the seat of the Colonia Iulia Castronovana and was to be all surrounded by walls. Its extension of about twelve hectares made it one of the largest Roman Castrums

In the castrum there is a system of fish ponds with imposing dimensions of 48 meters by 30 meters which is one of the largest in the Mediterranean.

Next to this piscicultural activity, the remains of a Roman house were found where there was probably a "taberna" and a post station for travelers to rest along the Via Aurelia.

Castrum Novum is one of the largest fortified centres of the Republican era which then became an important urban centre in the Imperial era. Recent excavations are bringing to light a theatre, a curia, houses, a small temple dedicated to Apollo, an aqueduct, other urban structures for the entertainment of the population, plus sewers.


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