Listed 7 sub titles with search on: Information about the place for wider area of: "ALERIA Town CORSICA" .
ALALIA (Ancient city) CORSICA
This city was founded by the Phocaean in about 565 B.C. It was the first commercial syndicate created in Corsica. The indigenous population, ensconced in the mountains, do not take much advantage of the richness and diversity of this international metropolis. Situated at the crossroads of the major trade routes of the Old World, it is immediately coveted by the Etruscans of Tuscany who are allied to the Carthaginians of Africa. The contribution of these successive civilizations is remarkable. Democratic processes, artistic and technical achievments with the notable development of the Eastern plain through the cultivation of vine and olive trees. Mineral extraction and fishing industries are all developed at this time. Then the people of Syracuse who came from neighbouring Sicily arrive. They in turn are ousted by the same Carthaginians (280 B.C.).
ALALIA (Ancient city) CORSICA
Aleria or Alalia (Alalie, Herod.; Allalia, Steph. B.; Aleria, Ptol.:
Allaliaios, Steph. B.), one of the chief cities of Corsica, situated on the E.
coast of the island, near the mouth of the river Rhotanus (Tavignano). It was
originally a Greek colony, founded about B.C. 564, by the Phocaeans of Ionia.
Twenty years later, when the parent city was captured by Harpagus, a large portion
of its inhabitants repaired to their colony of Alalia, where they dwelt for five
years, but their piratical conduct involved them in hostilities with the Tyrrhenians
and Carthaginians; and in a great sea-fight with the combined fleets of these
two nations they suffered such heavy loss, as induced them to abandon the island,
and repair to the S. of Italy, where they ultimately established themselves at
Velia in Lucania. (Herod. i. 165-167; Steph. B.; Diod. v. 13, where Kalaris is
evidently a corrupt reading for Alapia.) No further mention is found of the Greek
colony, but the city appears again, under the Roman form of the name, Aleria,
during the first Punic war, when it was captured by the Roman fleet under L. Scipio,
in B.C. 259, an event which led to the submission of the whole island, and was
deemed worthy to be expressly mentioned in his epitaph. (Zonar. viii. 11; Flor.
ii. 2; Orell. Inscr. no. 552.) It subsequently received a Roman colony under the
dictator Sulla, and appears to have retained its colonial rank, and continued
to be one of the chief cities of Corsica under the Roman Empire. (Plin. iii. 6.
s. 12; Mela, ii. 7; Diod. v. 13; Seneca, Cons. ad Helv. 8; Ptol. iii. 2. § 5;
Itin. Ant. p. 85.)
Its ruins are still visible near the south bank of the river Tavignano:
they are now above half a mile from the coast, though it was in the Roman times
a seaport.
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited July 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
One of the chief towns of Corsica, on the east of the island, founded by the Phocaeans in B.C. 564, and made a Roman colony by Sulla.
Half way down the E coast of Corsica, opposite the W shores of Etruria,
it was first a Greek, then a Roman colony. According to Herodotos (1.162-67),
a group of settlers from Phokaia established themselves on the site about twenty
years before the campaigns conducted by the Persian king Cyrus against the Greek
cities of Ionia, in other words about 565-560. They were joined around 545-540
by part of the population of the besieged Phokaia. By practicing piracy in Etruscan
territory and among the Carthaginian possessions in Sardinia, the Greeks of Alalia
provoked a punitive expedition by the Punic and Etruscan fleets. The battle of
Alalia (about 535) was a costly Pyrrhic victory for the Phokaians. Contrary to
Herodotos' assertions, it does not appear that the whole population then left
Alalia, first for Rhegion, then Velia (Elea). Certainly Etruscans, and possibly
Carthaginians, came to join the Greek and native elements. They made Alalia a
very active, cosmopolitan port. After a short period of Carthaginian control,
Rome took the town ca. 259 B.C. (the epitaph of L. Cornelius Scipio: HEC CEPIT
CORSICA(M) ALERIA(M)QUE URBEM: CIL 1.32). In 81 Aleria, which had resisted Sulla,
became a military colony. First Caesar, then Augustus made new settlements and
the town took the name of Colonia Veneria Julia Pacensis Restituta Tertianorum
Aleria. Augustus established a detachment of the Misenum fleet there. The development
of the port of Ostia led little by little to the economic decline of Aleria, but
it remained the political and administrative capital of Corsica under the Empire.
The town and its vicinity have been systematically explored since
1955. The first phase of occupation of the site by the Phokaians has left no remains
except for a stratigraphic level found in deep test pits made under the Roman
town. It corresponds to the 6th c. B.C. and is characterized by sherds of Ionian,
Phokaian, Rhodian, and Attic black-figure ware. Neither the dwellings nor the
tombs of this period have been brought to light as yet. However, the excavation
of the necropolis of Casabianda, whose access road has been cleared, has permitted
the discovery of tombs cut into the rock. They include a dromos, an antechamber
(sometimes double), and a chamber furnished with benches. Low brick walls blocked
the entrances. Some of these tombs retain traces of pictorial decoration. The
oldest goes back to the end of the archaic or the beginning of the Classical period.
The grave goods include works of the very first rank: jewels, weapons, metal artifacts,
bronze and ceramic plates and dishes--in particular, Attic cups, rhytons, kraters
with little columns, etc. They are decorated by artists such as the painters of
Pan, Alkimakos, Kalliope, Myson, and many others. They are all exceptional works
which are not found in such abundance except on the largest Etruscan sites, and
can be seen in the Aleria Museum.
In addition to the Casabianda necropolis, others prove the continuity
of occupation. No break appears in the material from the 5th c. B.C. until the
3d or 4th c. A.D. Even more, the enormous quantity and high value of the grave
goods show that before the Roman conquest Alalia was a center of importance. Further
excavations should permit the extrication of the sites and architecture of the
Greek and Hellenistic town. At the same time, they should provide an answer to
a difficult problem: what importance should be assigned to an Etruscan presence,
attested until now only by a very small proportion of the finds and by graffiti
still under study. The Roman town (no doubt like the earlier settlements) grew
up on a plateau ca. 3 km long. At its foot the river Tavignano describes a large
curve, and the commercial port was established inside this elbow. In relation
to the port a mansio was created, the baths of which have been discovered (the
so-called Baths of Santa Laurina). The war fleet anchored in the pool of Diana.
The Roman colony is still only incompletely excavated. A part of the
ramparts is visible to the W, on both sides of the Praetorian Gate which passed
over the decumanus. This last has been followed until it crosses the cardo just
outside the forum on its S side. The forum has the shape of a slightly irregular
trapezoid 92 m long, orientated E-W. After its founding by Sulla, it underwent
numerous rearrangements.
The E side is occupied by a temple, whose podium in opus incertum
has survived. Probably it was a Temple to Augustus and Rome (an inscription to
a flamen of Caracalla), and raised in the time of Hadrian. The N and S sides of
the square are adorned with porticos with brick columns. The W ends of the porticos
stand against two monuments of uncertain nature (a small temple to the N and an
office of the aediles to the S ?). Near them are two arches: a S arch marking
the beginning of the cardo and a second one, to the N and orientated to the W,
which gives access to the praetorium. This edifice occupies all of the W part
of the forum, to a depth of about 50 m. There are three porticos surrounding a
vast central court with a complex system of basins, cisterns, and nymphaea. The
NW corner contained chambers possibly used as strong rooms. The W portico was
altered at a late date in order to permit the construction of a new tribunal.
Several buildings have been excavated outside the forum. The most
important of these is located N of the praetorium and stands 5 m higher than it.
It includes two large cisterns, chambers adorned with mosaics, tabernae, and bath
pools with hypocausts. Tradition places the apartments of the governor there;
it is certain that this bath could not have been public. Perhaps it was the theater
of the events reported by Tacitus (Hist. 2.16), the assassination in the baths
of the procurator Decimus Pacarius. To the W was an establishment which included
many basins and contained an enormous quantity of shells; it must have been a
preserving and salting factory. North of the Temple of Augustus and Rome, the
so-called House of the Dolium has been excavated. Its oldest level has pavings
of opus signinum decorated with white lapilli and goes back to the period of Sulla.
A second level dates to the 1st c. A.D. and contains the outline of a house with
a peristyle. South of the temple another house (the House of the Impluvium) has
been only partly excavated. Also noteworthy are the foundations of a small Early
Christian chapel with an apse, on top of the remains of the N portico and virtually
touching the temple. Other monuments have been identified but not cleared. Notable
examples are the amphitheater, near the S gate of the ramparts, and a mausoleum
situated outside the W sector of the fortifications.
In the modern village the fort of Matra contains the museum, where
the rich collections from the necropoleis and the products of the excavations
in the town are on exhibit.
C. Goudineau, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
ALERIA (Town) CORSICA
Alalia later Aleria Corsica, France. Half way down the E coast of Corsica, opposite
the W shores of Etruria, it was first a Greek, then a Roman colony. According
to Herodotos (1.162-67), a group of settlers from Phokaia established themselves
on the site about twenty years before the campaigns conducted by the Persian king
Cyrus against the Greek cities of Ionia, in other words about 565-560. They were
joined around 545-540 by part of the population of the besieged Phokaia. By practicing
piracy in Etruscan territory and among the Carthaginian possessions in Sardinia,
the Greeks of Alalia provoked a punitive expedition by the Punic and Etruscan
fleets. The battle of Alalia (about 535) was a costly Pyrrhic victory for the
Phokaians. Contrary to Herodotos' assertions, it does not appear that the whole
population then left Alalia, first for Rhegion, then Velia (Elea). Certainly Etruscans,
and possibly Carthaginians, came to join the Greek and native elements. They made
Alalia a very active, cosmopolitan port. After a short period of Carthaginian
control, Rome took the town ca. 259 B.C. (the epitaph of L. Cornelius Scipio:
HEC CEPIT CORSICA(M) ALERIA(M)QUE URBEM: CIL 1.32). In 81 Aleria, which had resisted
Sulla, became a military colony. First Caesar, then Augustus made new settlements
and the town took the name of Colonia Veneria Julia Pacensis Restituta Tertianorum
Aleria. Augustus established a detachment of the Misenum fleet there. The development
of the port of Ostia led little by little to the economic decline of Aleria, but
it remained the political and administrative capital of Corsica under the Empire.
The town and its vicinity have been systematically explored since
1955. The first phase of occupation of the site by the Phokaians has left no remains
except for a stratigraphic level found in deep test pits made under the Roman
town. It corresponds to the 6th c. B.C. and is characterized by sherds of Ionian,
Phokaian, Rhodian, and Attic black-figure ware. Neither the dwellings nor the
tombs of this period have been brought to light as yet. However, the excavation
of the necropolis of Casabianda, whose access road has been cleared, has permitted
the discovery of tombs cut into the rock. They include a dromos, an antechamber
(sometimes double), and a chamber furnished with benches. Low brick walls blocked
the entrances. Some of these tombs retain traces of pictorial decoration. The
oldest goes back to the end of the archaic or the beginning of the Classical period.
The grave goods include works of the very first rank: jewels, weapons, metal artifacts,
bronze and ceramic plates and dishes--in particular, Attic cups, rhytons, kraters
with little columns, etc. They are decorated by artists such as the painters of
Pan, Alkimakos, Kalliope, Myson, and many others. They are all exceptional works
which are not found in such abundance except on the largest Etruscan sites, and
can be seen in the Aleria Museum.
In addition to the Casabianda necropolis, others prove the continuity
of occupation. No break appears in the material from the 5th c. B.C. until the
3d or 4th c. A.D. Even more, the enormous quantity and high value of the grave
goods show that before the Roman conquest Alalia was a center of importance. Further
excavations should permit the extrication of the sites and architecture of the
Greek and Hellenistic town. At the same time, they should provide an answer to
a difficult problem: what importance should be assigned to an Etruscan presence,
attested until now only by a very small proportion of the finds and by graffiti
still under study. The Roman town (no doubt like the earlier settlements) grew
up on a plateau ca. 3 km long. At its foot the river Tavignano describes a large
curve, and the commercial port was established inside this elbow. In relation
to the port a mansio was created, the baths of which have been discovered (the
so-called Baths of Santa Laurina). The war fleet anchored in the pool of Diana.
The Roman colony is still only incompletely excavated. A part of the
ramparts is visible to the W, on both sides of the Praetorian Gate which passed
over the decumanus. This last has been followed until it crosses the cardo just
outside the forum on its S side. The forum has the shape of a slightly irregular
trapezoid 92 m long, orientated E-W. After its founding by Sulla, it underwent
numerous rearrangements.
The E side is occupied by a temple, whose podium in opus incertum
has survived. Probably it was a Temple to Augustus and Rome (an inscription to
a flamen of Caracalla), and raised in the time of Hadrian. The N and S sides of
the square are adorned with porticos with brick columns. The W ends of the porticos
stand against two monuments of uncertain nature (a small temple to the N and an
office of the aediles to the S ?). Near them are two arches: a S arch marking
the beginning of the cardo and a second one, to the N and orientated to the W,
which gives access to the praetorium. This edifice occupies all of the W part
of the forum, to a depth of about 50 m. There are three porticos surrounding a
vast central court with a complex system of basins, cisterns, and nymphaea. The
NW corner contained chambers possibly used as strong rooms. The W portico was
altered at a late date in order to permit the construction of a new tribunal.
Several buildings have been excavated outside the forum. The most
important of these is located N of the praetorium and stands 5 m higher than it.
It includes two large cisterns, chambers adorned with mosaics, tabernae, and bath
pools with hypocausts. Tradition places the apartments of the governor there;
it is certain that this bath could not have been public. Perhaps it was the theater
of the events reported by Tacitus (Hist. 2.16), the assassination in the baths
of the procurator Decimus Pacarius. To the W was an establishment which included
many basins and contained an enormous quantity of shells; it must have been a
preserving and salting factory. North of the Temple of Augustus and Rome, the
so-called House of the Dolium has been excavated. Its oldest level has pavings
of opus signinum decorated with white lapilli and goes back to the period of Sulla.
A second level dates to the 1st c. A.D. and contains the outline of a house with
a peristyle. South of the temple another house (the House of the Impluvium) has
been only partly excavated. Also noteworthy are the foundations of a small Early
Christian chapel with an apse, on top of the remains of the N portico and virtually
touching the temple. Other monuments have been identified but not cleared. Notable
examples are the amphitheater, near the S gate of the ramparts, and a mausoleum
situated outside the W sector of the fortifications.
In the modern village the fort of Matra contains the museum, where
the rich collections from the necropoleis and the products of the excavations
in the town are on exhibit.
C. Goudineau, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Feb 2006 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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