If you are passionate about history, today I want to introduce you to a truly special place: Aquileia. Looking at this small village in Google Maps it is difficult to imagine that in the second century AD this was one of the largest cities in Northern Italy, with over 100,000 inhabitants.
However, the impression changes as soon as you arrive. Along the main road to reach the village, it is impossible not to see the columns of what used to be the Roman Forum.
If you are arriving by car, I recommend that you park before the Roman Forum, in one of the available car parks, and start your exploration from there.
The River port
My advice is to start from the River Port. Despite being 11 Km (7 miles) away from the sea, Aquileia was an important port for the transport of goods. Aquileia, in the second century AD, was in fact the border, the city that protected the border to the east. The fact that Aquileia was a port city is something that, in the history of Italy, has had fundamental implications up to now.
The Romanesque Basilica
Cross the port and continue on the Via Antica. In a few minutes you will reach the Basilica of Aquileia. This is the most important element of the visit, for its historical value and for the value of what you will find inside: the largest mosaic floor of the Roman era. More than a thousand square meters of mosaic floors, divided between the basilica, the crypt, and the basement that surrounds the foundations of the bell tower.
The mosaics of the Basilica
You could spend hours there, inside the basilica, the crypt, the underground. Each mosaic is a masterpiece: animals, fishing scenes, portraits. Then there are the splendid frescoes in the chapel and crypt. I took hundreds and hundreds of photos. Too many to share them all.
During most of the visit you walk on glass walkways, so you can see everything without touching or stepping on anything.
Pit Stop
And this is still nothing, now it is time to start walking again. There are archeological areas, excavations, and museums to visit.
Definitely too much for a single post (the Basilica alone deserves a separate post) and too much for a single day.
If you’ve gotten hungry in the meantime, or just want to take a break, the town is full of bars, pastry shops and restaurants. We stopped at a pastry shop right next to the Basilica, to eat a sandwich and drink a coffee. An absolutely green and sustainable place, as you can read in my review.
The area is also full of small hotels and B & Bs, which often directly overlook the excavations. Ideal for a weekend, or even for a whole week, if you want to explore the area and visit the nearby Grado and discover the uniqueness of the fortress city of Palmanova
A small digression: Aquileia and Venice
Do you remember what I wrote at the beginning of this post? The fact that Aquileia was a port city is something that, in the history of Italy, has had fundamental implications up to now.
We have to go back in time about 1600 years, when the Roman Empire was in the midst of what were called the Barbarian Invasions. During the most violent, that of the 5th century AD by the Huns, Aquileia fell. Aquileia fell, but not its inhabitants, who fled into the sea, to reach a safe place, a lagoon not far away and full of small islands where they could survive, where they could build a new city, a new life.
A new city that we all know: Venice
March 25, 421 AD, is considered the day of the foundation of Venice, so last year, on the occasion of the 1600th birthday, I wanted to dedicate a post to this old lady: Happy birthday Venezia
What comes next?
As I said, there is still a lot, so for now I leave you here, waiting for the next episode.
But I leave you with a map and a list (both are work in progress) that you can save if you want to visit the area
Here is the list: Aquileia, Roman Empire in the north east of Italy
And here is the Map
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