AESERNIA
(Isernia) Abruzzi e Molise, Italy.
A pivotal communications center ca. 176 km by road
E-SE of Rome. It was a Samnite town before 295 B.C.,
a Latin colony after 263 B.C., and, from 80 B.C., a Roman
municipium. Polygonal walls of the Latin colony, in Via
Roma and elsewhere, postulate a town of ca. 12 ha,
whose cardo maximus was the modern Corso Marcelli.
The massive 3d c. B.C. podium now forming part of the
Cathedral probably supported the Capitolium. The campanile, Fontana Fraterna, and Sordo bridge also embody
Roman masonry. The sculpture collection in the Museo
Comunale includes important Italic pieces.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. La Regina, “Contributo dell'Archeologia alla Storia Sociale: I Territori Sabellici e Sannitici,”
Dialoghi di Archeologia 4-5 (1970-71) 443-59.
E. T. SALMON