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Province, 117 CE
Italia
Roman heartland — not a provinceCapital: Rome
Italy was never a province — it was the empire's metropole, its free citizens exempt from the land tax every provincial paid. Augustus split it into eleven administrative regions for the census, from Latium et Campania around Rome to Venetia et Histria in the northeast. By 117 CE the whole peninsula had been Roman for two centuries and its cities competed for imperial building projects, not survival.
Cities on the map
- Ostia Antica — Rome's port at the mouth of the Tiber, at its commercial peak under Trajan.
- Pompeii — Buried 79 CE by Vesuvius. Frozen at that moment — houses, shops, graffiti and all.
- Herculaneum — Coastal resort town buried by Vesuvius. Wood, papyri, and food survived under 20m of pyroclastic mud.
- Rome — Caput mundi. Around 1 million people in 117 CE — the largest city on earth for centuries either side.
- Aquileia — Adriatic gateway to the Danube — a booming port and one of the largest cities in Italy in 117 CE.
- Verona — Prosperous northern-Italy city on the Adige. Its arena, built around 30 CE, was already old when Trajan died.
- Ravenna — Base of the Classis Ravennas, the Adriatic fleet, from Augustus onward. In 117 CE Ravenna sat directly on the coast — the shore is now 8 km east.
- Portus — Rome's imperial harbor. Trajan's inner hexagonal basin was finished just before our snapshot — you can still see its outline today.
- Tivoli — Roman Tibur, a hillside retreat above the Aniene falls. Old sanctuary of Hercules Victor, favored by Rome's senatorial class. Hadrian's villa was still on the drawing board.
- Palestrina — Roman Praeneste. Home to the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia — a vast terraced complex climbing the hillside, one of the most ambitious pieces of architecture the Republic ever built.
- Pozzuoli — Roman Puteoli, Italy's main port for eastern grain and luxury goods before Portus took over. Its Flavian amphitheatre — the third-largest in the empire — was newly built at our snapshot.
- Baiae — The emperors' favorite spa. Domed bath halls fed by volcanic hot springs on the Bay of Naples. Trajan and his court would have known it well.
- Cumae — The oldest Greek colony in Italy, home of the Cumaean Sibyl. By 117 CE its acropolis temples were already tourist attractions.
- Capua — Once the second city of Italy, home to a huge amphitheatre that later served as the model for the Colosseum. Its gladiator school was Spartacus's starting point.
- Benevento — Roman Beneventum, terminus of the Via Appia and starting point of the Via Traiana. Trajan's Arch here was dedicated in 114 CE — three years old at our snapshot.
- Paestum — A Greek colony absorbed into Rome. Its three Doric temples — 500 years old in 117 CE — were already ancient monuments.
- Brescia — Roman Brixia, a northern-Italy city under the Alps. Vespasian's Capitolium — three temples in one — was newly built and dominated the forum.
- Milan — Roman Mediolanum, the largest city in northern Italy. In 117 CE, a booming provincial hub — not yet the imperial residence it would become in the 3rd century.
- Rimini — Roman Ariminum, the pivot of Roman north — the Via Flaminia met the Via Aemilia here. Its Arch of Augustus (27 BCE) and Bridge of Tiberius (21 CE) both still stand.
- Ancona — Adriatic naval harbor. Trajan enlarged its port; his commemorative arch was dedicated in 115 CE, two years before our snapshot.
- Luni — Roman Luna, the marble port. All the white Carrara marble that clad imperial Rome shipped from here.
145 places on the map
- Aedes Castoris et Pollucis · Temple
- Aedes Concordiae Augustae · Temple
- Aedes Divi Iulii · Temple
- Aedes Iovis Optimi Maximi Capitolini · Temple
- Aedes Saturni · Temple
- Aedes Vestae · Temple
- Albanum Domitiani · Villa
- Amphitheatrum Flavium · Amphitheater
- Amphitheatrum Polense · Amphitheater
- Amphitheatrum Pompeianum · Amphitheater
- Aqua Virgo · Aqueduct
- Aquae Claudia et Anio Novus (ad Portam Maiorem) · Aqueduct
- Ara Pacis Augustae · Monument
- Arcus Titi · Arch
- Arena Veronensis · Amphitheater
- Arretium · Kiln
- Atrium Vestae · Monument
- Augustan Villa of the Farnesina · Villa
- Basilica Aemilia (Basilica Pauli) · Basilica
- Basilica Iulia · Basilica
- Basilica Pompeiana · Basilica
- Bedriacum · Battle
- Bedriacum · Battle
- Bibliotheca Ulpia · Library
- Campus Salinarum Romanarum · Salina
- Cannae · Battle
- Capitolium Ostiense · Temple
- Circus Flaminius · Circus
- Circus Gaii et Neronis · Circus
- Circus Maximus · Circus
- Classis Ravennas · Naval Base
- Columbaria of Vigna Codini · Necropolis
- Columbarium Pomponii Hylae · Tomb
- Columna Traiani · Column
- Comacchio Wreck · Shipwreck
- Curia Iulia · Curia
- Decumanus Maximus · Road
- Domus Augustana · Palace
- Domus Aurea · Palace
- Domus Cervorum · House
- Domus Flavia · Palace
- Domus Vettiorum · House
- Forum Ostiense · Forum
- Forum Pompeianum · Forum
- Forum Romanum · Forum
- Forum Traiani · Forum
- Fossa Traiana · Canal
- Grotte di Catullo, Sirmione · Villa
- Herculaneum · City
- Horrea Grandi · Warehouse
- Horrea Hortensiana · Warehouse
- Ilva · Mine
- Ludus Capuanus · Ludus
- Ludus Dacicus · Ludus
- Ludus Gallicus · Ludus
- Ludus Magnus · Ludus
- Ludus Matutinus · Ludus
- Ludus Ravennas · Ludus
- Marmor Lunense · Quarry
- Mausoleum Augusti · Mausoleum
- Mausoleum Hadriani · Mausoleum
- Mercatus Traiani · Market
- Mutina · Battle
- Necropolis Aquileiensis · Necropolis
- Necropolis Isolae Sacrae · Necropolis
- Necropolis Portae Herculaneae · Necropolis
- Necropolis Portae Nucerinae · Necropolis
- Necropolis Vaticana · Necropolis
- Oplontis Villa B · Villa
- Palatium · Villa
- Palazzo Imperiale · Palace
- Pantheon · Temple
- Pantheum · Temple
- Pharos Portus · Lighthouse
- Piazzale delle Corporazioni · Market
- Piscina Mirabilis · Cistern
- Pompeii · City
- Porta Marina · Gate
- Porta Marina · Gate
- Porta Romana · Gate
- Portus Claudii · Port
- Portus Misenensis · Naval Base
- Portus Traiani (Portus Traiani Felicis) · Port
- Pyramis Cestii · Mausoleum
- Regia · Monument
- Roman Villa of Positano · Villa
- Rostra Augusti · Monument
- Salinae Aquileienses · Salina
- Salinae Ficoclenses · Salina
- Scoppieto · Kiln
- Sedes Augustalium · Collegium
- Sepulcrum Auli Umbricii Scauri · Tomb
- Sepulcrum Caeciliae Metellae · Mausoleum
- Sepulcrum Eurysacis Pistoris · Tomb
- Sepulcrum Hateriorum · Tomb
- Sepulcrum Horatiorum et Curiatiorum · Mausoleum
- Sepulcrum Lucii Munatii Planci · Mausoleum
- Sepulcrum Mamiae · Tomb
- Sepulcrum Naevoleiae Tyches · Tomb
- Sepulcrum Priscillae · Mausoleum
- Sepulcrum Rotundum · Mausoleum
- Sepulcrum Scipionum · Tomb
- Sepulcrum Vestorii Prisci · Tomb
- Sublaqueum · Dam
- Synagoga Ostiensis · Synagogue
- Tabularium · Monument
- Templum Apollinis · Temple
- Templum Apollinis, Pompeii · Temple
- Templum Dianae Nemorensis · Sanctuary
- Templum Iovis (Capitolium) · Temple
- Templum Isidis, Pompeii · Temple
- Templum Romae et Augusti · Temple
- Theatrum Maius · Theater
- Theatrum Marcelli · Theater
- Theatrum Ostiense · Theater
- Thermae Neptuni · Bathhouse
- Thermae Neronianae · Bathhouse
- Thermae Portus Marinae · Bathhouse
- Thermae Stabianae · Bathhouse
- Thermae Suburbanae · Bathhouse
- Thermae Titi · Bathhouse
- Thermae Traiani · Bathhouse
- Torre Selce · Mausoleum
- Via Celle Necropolis · Necropolis
- Vicus Habentia (Comacchio) · Salina
- Villa ad Gallinas Albas · Villa
- Villa Arianna · Villa
- Villa dei Papyri · Villa
- Villa di Damecuta · Villa
- Villa Diomedis · Villa
- Villa in Insulis Pullariis · Estate
- Villa in Tuscis · Villa
- Villa Iovis · Villa
- Villa Laurentina · Villa
- Villa Neroniana Antii · Villa
- Villa of Agrippa Postumus, Boscotrecase · Villa
- Villa Pompeiana Mysteriorum · Villa
- Villa Poppaeana · Villa
- Villa Regina · Estate
- Villa Romana di Minori · Villa
- Villa San Marco · Villa
- Villa Sestiana (Settefinestre) · Estate
- Villa Sora · Villa
- Villa Speluncae · Villa
- Villa Volusiorum Saturninorum · Estate
Sources
- Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World
- Pliny the Elder, Natural History 3
Roman Maps shows the empire frozen at 11 August 117 CE, the day Trajan died — its moment of greatest territorial extent. Explore the full map →