Libarna

Libarna is an archaeological site and museum located in the Province of Alessandria, Italy, preserving the remains of a former Roman city. Situated on the left bank of the Scrivia river within the modern hamlet of Libarna, part of the municipality of Serravalle Scrivia, the ancient settlement occupied a strategic position along the Via Postumia, the major consular road connecting Genua with Dertona. Founded in the mid-second century BC, Libarna grew into an important colonial hub before its abandonment in the fifth century AD. Today, the state-owned excavation site features visible ruins of its orthogonal street plan, theatre, and amphitheatre, supplemented by a dedicated museum area that displays architectural fragments, mosaics, and artifacts recovered from the city.

The earliest occupation in the area dates to the Iron Age, with the local Ligurian Dectunini tribe inhabiting the surrounding hills. The settlement is first mentioned in the second century BC, and it is speculated to be one of the fifteen oppida that surrendered to the consul Quintus Minucius Rufus in 191 BC. The opening of the Via Postumia in 148 BC catalyzed the village's growth, transforming it into a vital economic and social center. Libarna obtained Latin citizenship by 89 BC and later Roman citizenship, eventually achieving the status of a Roman colony in the first century AD, which marked its economic and social peak. During this period, a major building program reshaped the city. Following barbarian invasions, the settlement declined until it was completely abandoned in 452, when inhabitants left for surrounding hills to join or establish communities such as Precipiano, Serravalle, Arquata, and Curtis Nova. The city's exact location was subsequently lost, noted only in documents like the 1544 Varinella land register, until antiquarian interest in the eighteenth century led to its historical-topographical identification by Abbot Giuseppe Antonio Bottazzi.

The on-site museum area and associated repositories preserve a range of ornamental and decorative items from both public buildings and private houses of the Roman town. The collections encompass architectural elements, including fragments of capitals, cornices, and decorative friezes, alongside domestic and everyday objects such as pottery, oil lamps, and keys. Notable categories of finds include mosaic floors, marble statues, bronze busts, figured amber, and surgical implements. The museum also displays inscriptions and specialized artifacts that illuminate the civic, religious, and daily life of the ancient settlement.

Among the most valuable excavated works are mosaic floors, marble statues, bronze busts, and figured amber, which are primarily conserved at the Museum of Antiquities in Turin. Other significant finds are housed in Genoa at the Pegli museum and the municipal museum of Serravalle Scrivia. The local Libarna Museum Area features the G.F. Capurro Collection, owned by the Accademia Filarmonica Artistico Letteraria of Novi Ligure, which includes the second century AD epigraph of the scribe Caius Catius Martialis and a marble pinax decorated with the heads of Pan and Gorgon. Recent acquisitions at the museum include a fountain with marine motifs, two small herms, clay lamps, tableware, and a precious second century AD opus sectile emblem that formed the central decoration of a paved area. Additionally, a copper-alloy scalpel handle discovered near the amphitheatre suggests the presence of a local medical practitioner.

The ancient city was built on flat, water-rich land surrounded by hills. It followed a regular orthogonal layout centered on two principal axes: the Via Postumia, which ran longitudinally from northwest to southeast, and the decumanus, which ran southwest to northeast toward the amphitheatre. These broad, paved streets, complete with sidewalks and drainage channels directed toward the Rio della Pieve, divided the city into square blocks of varying sizes. At the intersection of the main streets lay the forum, a large paved square with arcades and buildings that has only been partially explored. A mid-first century AD inscription records that Caius Atilius Bradua paid for the forum's paving. Monumental gate structures with flanking towers and inner courtyards marked the northern and southern approaches, though no continuous city walls have been found. The eastern sectors contained the amphitheatre, measuring 60 by 65 metres and accommodating roughly seven thousand spectators, and a first century AD theatre with a capacity of about three thousand eight hundred. A bath complex occupied the extreme northeast sector.

The archaeological site is owned by the Italian State and managed within the regional Superintendency. It is located at Via Arquata, 63, in the Libarna hamlet of Serravalle Scrivia. The site is open from January to December, Tuesday through Saturday from 9am to 3:45pm, with last admission at 3:15pm. Admission is free, and guided tours are available by reservation, including thematic tours in English. Visitors can also utilize an app providing three-dimensional reconstructions of the archaeological area. The museum area, housed within the Palazzo Comunale at via Berthoud 49, can be visited by appointment. In 2015, the archaeological site recorded 4,565 visitors. The location also hosts musical and artistic events, with local organizations collaborating on site management and outreach.