The Roman settlement of Tarsatica rose in the area of today’s Old Town of Rijeka. Nowdays well researched and documented, it was first mentioned by Roman authors in their descriptions of the Eastern Adriatic coast. A smaller settlement in the beginning, Tarsatica slowly reached the status of a municipium and finally became an important military stronghold, the starting point of the Claustrae Alpium Iuliarum – a late Roman defence system. The walls, the military headquarters or principia and the baths were constructed in that period. At the end of the Roman times, Tarsatica became a Christian cult seat. The construction of a basilica decorated with a rich mosaic floor points to the acceptance of the Christian faith in this area in the 5th century. A stroll through the Old Town should include a visit to the principia, the arch, the decumanum and the floor of a residential house. A part of the limes of the Alpine enclosure can be followed along the ascending Kalvarija Street.
The town of Tarsatica rose in the Roman times, in the area of today’s Old Town of Rijeka. Nowadays well documented after extensive archaeological research, it was already mentioned by Roman authors in their descriptions of the Eastern Adriatic coast.
During the first centuries of its existence, Tarsatica was a smaller Roman settlement, presumably preceded by an emporium, which slowly reached the status of a municipium. In the course of the second half of the 3rd century, Tarsatica became an important military stronghold, the starting point of the Clausurae Alpium Iuliarum, a complex defence system of the Empire. In that period, the defence walls, the military headquarters or principia and the baths were reconstructed, and the city infrastructure changed. At the end of the Roman period, Tarsatica became the seat of the Christian cult. The construction of a basilica decorated with a rich, high-quality mosaic floor points to the phenomenon of the spreading of the Christian faith in this area in the course of the 5th century.
The principia are the buildings of the Roman military headquarters, the residence of high-ranked military officials and their entourage as well as the administrative and religious centre of the camp. The remains of the principia were discovered in the Old Town in the centre of Rijeka, after which an extensive archaeological research was carried out in 2007. The Rijeka's principia are laid out in a rectangular area. There was an open central courtyard from where steps led towards the northern, main part of the building used for military, administrative and religious purposes. Further entrances led into the side wings and other rooms. The principia in Rijeka date from the second half of the 3rd century. It soon became the starting point of the defence system of Claustra Alpium Iuliarum whose main purpose was to prevent the incursion of non-Roman peoples into the centre of the Empire. The remains of the tilling of the courtyard, the central stairs and the western rooms that were most probably the armouries can be seen on Juraj Klović Square. The square can be reached by an alley leading through the so-called Roman gates that were the main entrance into the principia.
The Liburnian limes, the Alpine enclosure or Catena mundi are some of the names of the Roman defence system also known as Clausurae Alpium Iuliarum, built in the course of the 4th century between Tarsatica and Nauport (Vrhnik, Slovenia). The system was composed of scores of kilometres of protective walls and larger fortifications with accompanying military formations with the aim to block barbarian incursions towards Italy, the centre of the Roman Empire. The starting point of the limes was the Roman Tarsatica and the principia from where the wall ascended over today's Kalvarija and the hill of Kozala towards North-West, all the way to Vrhnika. As represented on Valvasor's illustration from the end of the 17th century, the part of the limes in Rijeka prevailed throughout times.
The archaeological remains at Pul Vele crikve Square testify about the history of the Roman Tarsatica from the period between the first and the 5th century. Although the remains are temporarily covered, the preparations are in progress for their permanent presentation. The Roman baths built between the first and the 2nd, and subsequently the end of the 3rd and the beginning of the 4th century, were situated along the southwest border of the square towards Užarska Street. The excavated remains were a part of the pools that included frigidarium, caldarium, tiepidarium, together with the remains of the underfloor heating or hypocaust, and parts of a Roman road. The construction of the larger baths concurs with the construction of the principia and the arrival of Roman soldiers to Tarsatica. In the 5th century, a part of the bath's structure was occupied by a monumental basilica, laid out in an east-west configuration under the Leaning tower (Kosi toranj) and the Church of St. Mary of the Assumption. It was a three-nave, longitudinal building with a narthex, decorated with a rich multicoloured mosaic floor with a prevailing motif of a cross. Because of the richness and the versatility of the motif as well as the quality of its making, the basilica can be compared with the most renowned early-Christian European locations.
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