The Roman Era - Piemonte Feel

Before the Romans conquered the area of the western Alps, they had formed agreements granting the tribes living in the region a kind of confederate status. The first Roman settlement was Pollentia (Pollenzo), which developed in the years from 173 and to 125 BC in the area between the rivers Po, Tanaro and Stura. A few decades later, Dertona (modern-day Tortona in the province of Alessandria) was founded as a means of controlling movements along the via Aemilia Scauri and as a centre for the new agricultural interests developing in the Monferrato area. In around 100 BC, the Romans built the colony of Eporedia (present-day Ivrea in the province of Turin) whose purpose was to defend the region against raiding Celtic tribes from the Aosta valley. The first century BC was a period of intense Romanisation, as the idea of colonial expansion beyond the Alps forced the Romans to extend their control over the entire region. In 89 BC Roman citizenship was granted to the area south of the Po, a concession which benefited both Alba and Acqui Terme. Then, as Augustus planned to conquer and settle the entire Alpine range, the region’s ties with Rome tightened further. New colonies were founded (Augusta Taurinorum/Turin, Augusta Praetoria/Aosta, Vercellae/Vercelli and Novaria/Novara), and trading routes and local government reorganised. Also at this time, the first stone constructions were erected, traces of which can still be found today: triumphal arches, gateways, aqueducts, roads. Of particular interest are the aqueduct at Acqui Terme, the excavations of Libarna (Serravalle Scrivia), the bronzes from Industria (Monteu da Po), the amphitheatre at Ivrea, Augustus’ arch in Susa. The political situation was to remain stable until the third-fourth centuries AD, when the first Barbarian invasions led to radical changes and the eventual collapse of the Roman Empire in the West.