The ancient city of Plestia and the Lacus Plestinus

Plestia was an ancient city located on the Colfiorito plateau, situated between the current regions of Umbria and Marche. It was positioned 99 miles from the city of Roma along the via della Spina, anchored by the shores of the Lacus Plestinus. The city served as a vital point where several roads met, including the via della Spina that led to Spoleto and the road toward Pieve Torina, while the intersection of the cardo and decumanus favored local settlements.

In the 1st century BC, the urban area covered approximately 35 hectares. The layout featured orthogonal streets oriented north-south and east-west, with a forum identified at the intersection of the via della Spina and the via nucerina. Archaeological finds reveal a wealth of public and private structures, including rich domus featuring mosaic floors from the late Republican and early Imperial periods. One of these homes contains a courtyard with a colonnade, stone slabs covering the sewers, and a tablinum.

The Plestini people occupied the area and were spread across a territory delimited by the Valle del Topino and the Valle del Menotre to the west, and the mountains of the Camerti territory to the east. Local records and ancient authors place the area at the site of a clash during the Second Punic War in 217 BC between Roman cavalry and Carthaginian troops. The rich buildings of the period testify to the importance of the city during the period of Roman control.

While the city disappeared in the 10th century for unknown causes, its history is rooted in deep antiquity. Before the urbanization of the Roman period, the sacred area of Cupra continued to exercise its function as an attraction due to its centrality and wealth of water. This led to the process of urbanization in the late Republican period, resulting in the birth of the city of Plestia and the creation of the Res Publica Plestinorum, a Roman municipality.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons