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Archaeological Area of the Most Holy Stigmata in Velletri: from the Iron Age Village to the Etruscan-Italic Temple
The SS. Stimmate Archaeological Area occupies the hill where the first settlement of Velletri arose, in a commanding position over the valley looking towards the Colli Albani and the Pontine Plain as far as the sea. Excavations brought to light traces of human occupation dating back to the Iron Age (9th–8th centuries BC), and the remains of an Etruscan-Italic temple built around 530 BC, perhaps at the behest of Tarquin the Proud as an anti-Volscian gesture. In 1602, on the same site, the church of the Confraternity of the Most Holy Stigmata of St Francis was built.
The Tabula Veliterna and the Borgian Terracottas
The first finds date to 1784, during restoration works on the church. What emerged was the celebrated Tabula Veliterna — a bronze sheet with an inscription in the Volscian language and Latin alphabet, datable to the 3rd century BC — and the polychrome terracottas that decorated the temple's pediment. Both entered the collection of Cardinal Stefano Borgia, and are today preserved at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.
Recovery and Musealisation
After the partial demolition of the church, the area became municipal property in 1992. From 1989 to 2017 the Soprintendenza (cultural heritage superintendency) and La Sapienza university conducted new excavation campaigns. In 2016 a protective structure in wood, metal and glass was completed, allowing the site to be visited today.
