This content was automatically translated. View the original text.
Via dell’Aquila Romana in Arpino: in the heart of the city’s ancient decumanus
From Porta del Ponte, walk up Corso Tulliano and turn right into Via dell’Aquila Romana. This was once the ancient Roman decumanus, the main east–west street of the town. It remained Arpino’s “high street” until the early 20th century, when a new, wider avenue was built. Locals still affectionately call it “the old street”.
The ancient street and Museo dell’Arte della Lana (Museum of Wool Art)
In front of the former Church of San Domenico — now housing the (Museum of Wool Art) — traces of the old Roman paving can still be seen (most of the basalt slabs are intact). A little further on stands a Gothic‑arched doorway, probably the entrance to a medieval workshop. It illustrates the layering of different periods and uses in this part of town, with its alleys, steps and narrow lanes winding among the houses.
Above and below the city
Elegant 17th‑century buildings line the street with stone portals often decorated with coats of arms and carved details by local craftsmen. Beneath them runs part of the ancient Roman Cloaca Maxima (1st century BC), the sewer system that extended along the old decumanus from Fuoriporta to Porta del Ponte. These underground galleries are still visible in the foundations of several palaces, a tangible reminder of the ongoing connections between ancient and modern Arpino.
