Aquileia in Italy
Rating: 8,7/10 (2049 votes)  Aquileia is an ancient city located in Northern Italy. The city was founded in 183-181 BC. by the Romans. The main reason was the retention of the Veneti in obedience and as a bulwark against the onslaught of the Imerian, Istrian and Celtic tribes in Macedonia. The Emilian road was laid up to Akvieja, there was a connecting point of the roads that led to Norik, Dalmatia, Istria and Pannonia. As an important trading point, Aquileia was strategically important, in this connection it was well fortified. In 167 A.D. the walls of the city managed to hold back the onslaught of the Germans during the Marcomanian war. In 238, the city also fought back against the army of the emperor Maximinus, who was killed during this siege. During the period of the Roman Caesars, most cities went into decline, Aquileia, on the contrary, developed its prosperity. At the same time, Emperor Diocletian erected one of his castles in the city. In the IV century, Constantine II was killed under the walls of the city, at the same time Aquileia was considered the fourth most important city of the empire. In 452 the barbarian tribe Attila destroyed the city after a long siege, and in 568 the ruin was completed by the Lombards. After the barbarian invasions, the harbor of Aquileia ceded its importance to the harbor located in Grado on the outer side of the lagoon. Part of the population of Aquileia settled in Grado, another part fled to the west, founding Venice there. But even during the economic decline, the city had a long glimmer of church life, which centered around the basilica built in the 4th century. In our time, only the mosaic floor and part of the baptistery have survived from the original basilica. The rest of the church was re-erected in 1031, and in 1379 large-scale reconstruction works were carried out here, during which the building acquired the Gothic style. From 554 to 1751, the city of Aquileia was the center of the Aquileia patriarchy.     We also recommend reading Ozalj Castle in Croatia Topic: Aquileia in Italy. |
