The Romans in Oltrepò
I Romani di Oltrepò - parte 2 - testo + foto
As anticipated in the book, the arrival and active presence of the Romans in Oltrepò was linked to the introduction of a great strategic vision for the development of agriculture and trade, both here and in the European territories beyond. Accordingly, Cisalpine Gaul, including the Oltrepò Pavese area, became a junction between the Mediterranean and mainland Europe.
An immediate effect of the Roman presence in Oltrepò was, therefore, the establishment of contacts first with the French coast and the Iberian Peninsula, and then with the inland regions of France, Switzerland and Germany (in the north-westerly direction) and Austria and the Dalmatian area (towards the east). And these contacts certainly favoured our area’s production and economic growth.
For a period, probably encompassing the end of the 2nd and the first half of the 1st century BC, our lands were managed according to the provincial regime.
What is known for certain is that with the introduction of the lex Iulia (90 BC), Roman law, i.e., full citizenship, was extended to all the Latin colonies south of the Po, while the subsequent lex Pompeia (89 BC) saw Latin law granted to all the indigenous populations north of that great river.
Between 58 and 49 BC Caesar was governor in Cisalpine Gaul and managed to build a dense network of clientelist relationships with the various local elites, among whose ranks he recruited part of the troops with which he conquered Transalpine Gaul. This is one of the reasons why, in 49 BC, he extended full Roman citizenship to the communities that did not yet enjoy it.
I Romani di Oltrepò - parte 2 - testo + foto
Thanks to the active involvement of the local elites in entrepreneurial and economic activities in the region, and in its management, the process of Romanisation gathered pace considerably during the Caesarian period. It was indeed the collaboration between these “new men” and the central power that allowed the widespread, capillary penetration of Roman civilisation and influence in a territory that until recently had been considered barbaric.
Although, after Caesar’s death, control of the Po Valley became one of the key issues in the conflict between Octavian (young heir to the great military man and politician) and Mark Antony, this did not interfere with the continued economic growth of Cisalpine Gaul, which, probably in 42 BC, ceased to be a province and was finally annexed to the rest of the peninsula, Italia tota.
For the Romans, roads were crucial instruments for conquering and controlling a territory. Their roads were indeed part of a system involving the rational organisation of rural areas, fundamental for the economy, and the foundation of cities (or colonies), as service centres for these areas.
Roman roads very often followed ancient routes. But their very clear regularity, excellent layout and monumentality meant that they became symbolic of the new organisation, conveying a real sense of efficiency, security, and the presence of the state, and thus the perception of being part of a vast and well-connected community. Certainly, these roads allowed the movement of armies and men, but they were also a means to convey goods and spread culture.
A fundamental road in our area is the Via Postumia, commissioned in 148 BC by the consul Postumius Albinus to link the port of Genoa with that of Aquileia on Italy’s eastern edge. Starting from Genoa, it passed through Libarna (near Serravalle Scrivia) and Dertona (now Tortona, founded in 120 BC), before continuing on to Piacenza via Voghera, Casteggio and Camillomagus, a settlement whose exact position is still debated. The next colony on the route was Cremona, where the road crossed the River Po before ascending to Verona, Vicenza and Oderzo, and finally ending in Aquileia.
The Romans’ perfect integration of the territory into their system was further favoured by two other roads: the Via Fulvia (125 BC), which led from Tortona to Hasta/Asti, and the “Via Emilia Scauri”, a continuation of the Aurelia that led from Luni to Vado Ligure and Acqui Terme, before reaching Tortona. From 27 BC, the name Via Julia Augusta was given to the stretch of the Emilia Scauri that led to Vado, before continuing westwards to Arles.
Prima dei Romani - parte 1
Ancient sources offer very little information about what Oltrepò Pavese was like in pre-Roman times. We can only get an idea of the area’s landscape indirectly, from more general descriptions of the Po Valley, of which the Oltrepò is a southward-stretching appendage.
Prominent among these sources is Strabo, a historian and geographer in the Augustine period, who, in Geography (Book V, Chapters 4–12), after underlining the fertility of the Po Valley, its richness in fruits, and abundance of watercourses, examined first the main pre-Roman cities and populations of Transpadana, from Mediolanum (Milan) to the territory of the Veneti, and then of Cispadana, which lay south of the great river, towards the Apennines and the territory of the Ligurians.
His account of the lands south of the Po clearly seems to be intended to emphasise how this area was quickly and easily brought under Roman influence, while nevertheless keeping the pre-existing bloodlines intact. Indeed, he describes the cities of Cispadana in the order they lie in on the axes along which the process of Romanisation unfolded in the area: first the cities on the Via Aemilia, from Placentia (Piacenza) to Ariminum (Rimini); then, after a brief mention of Ticinum (Pavia), located near the confluence of the Ticino with the Po, those encountered when moving westwards from Placentia along the Via Postumia and “Via Aemilia Scauri”, namely Clastidium (Casteggio), Dertona (Tortona) and Aquae Statiellae (Aqui Terme); finally, he turns his attention to the westernmost territory towards the Dora.
The rationale behind the reclamation of the marshlands of Cispadana was to make the area more easily accessible via the roads that would become a tangible and enduring sign of the Romanisation process that took place there between the 2nd and 1st centuries BC.
Prima dei Romani - parte 2
In the 3rd century BC, which is when the Romans became interested in the north of the peninsula, the territory was home to nothing more than a mix of various local tribes. Indeed, present-day Liguria and southern Piedmont were inhabited by Ligurian tribes, while the various Gallic tribes predominantly occupied the central areas of the Po Valley, both north and south of the river, and the Veneti were settled in its eastern sector.
Humans inhabited Oltrepò, and the Staffora Valley in particular, from well before the Roman era. There exist traces of settlements dating back to the Neolithic period (5000 – 2500 BC), and human occupation of the area intensified up until the first Iron Age (950–400 BC), when those settled here identified as members the Ligurian Anari/Anamari tribe whose main urban locality seems to have been Casteggio.
There exists evidence of the presence here, during the first Iron Age, of proto-Celtic materials that can be linked to the Insubres, founders of Milan, but also to the Etruscans, who arrived via the trans-Apennine routes, and even to the Daunians, who came, perhaps via the Po, from present-day Apulia.
The arrival of the Boii at the beginning of the 4th century BC does not seem to have triggered any sudden upheavals. The Anari (or Anamari), according to ancient sources, were allies of Rome, even though, at the end of the century, they would transfer their allegiance to Hannibal.
The turning point in the process of conquering and controlling the Po Valley was the battle of Casteggio (222 BC), which led to the subjugation of the main Celtic communities (the Boii and the Insubres) and the foundation of the colonies of Piacenza and Cremona (218 BC). The subsequent passage of Hannibal led to an insurrection by the local tribes and the destruction of Piacenza, which was rebuilt and repopulated in 191 BC. Casteggio itself was violently destroyed before subsequently undergoing a phase of redevelopment (197 BC) that saw it turned into an important strategic point for the control of the Stradella strait, and therefore in relations between the western and eastern parts of the area. From that moment on, the whole of Oltrepò became part of the administrative subdivision of Piacenza, which extended westwards as far as the Staffora Valley.
