{"id":332,"date":"2024-05-18T11:22:05","date_gmt":"2024-05-18T11:22:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.faleriopicenus.it\/the-archaeological-park\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T11:47:26","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T11:47:26","slug":"the-archaeological-park","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.faleriopicenus.it\/en\/the-archaeological-park\/","title":{"rendered":"The Archaeological Park"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Falerio Picenus Archaeological Park: History and Culture<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Falerio Picenus: Art, History and Culture in Ancient Falerone<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Welcome to the Falerio Picenus Archaeological Park: a journey through Roman history<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Falerio Picenus<\/em> Archaeological Park was established in 1994 with the main goal of preserving the area’s splendid archaeological heritage and its historical and environmental context. The park is unique in the region: it is a scattered archaeological park integrated into the modern town of Piane di Falerone. In fact, while the theater, the amphitheater, and the Bagni della Regina (a monumental cistern) are located in isolated areas along three invisible town boundaries on the Faleriense road, once you enter the village, you can admire other monuments–a beautiful sarcophagus, the probable podium of a temple, impressive substructures, a cistern, various reuses of ancient elements–still living in a curious symbiosis with the modern inhabitants. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What to Visit<\/h1>\n\n

THE THEATRE<\/h3>\n\n
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The theatre of Falerio Picenus has always been the main attraction of the archaeological area, and for good reason. Still used for a varied program of performances, it is the smallest Roman theatre in the Marche region (cavea measuring 39 m and orchestra of 18 m), and maybe the best preserved. Based on its construction techniques, the structure\u2014dates back to the Augustan age, when the town underwent a major phase of monumentalisation. In Augustus’s political propaganda programme, theatres played a key role; however, the building continued to be embellished for centuries, under Emperor Claudius (41-54 CE), Commodus (177-192 CE) and Probus (276-282), as attested by epigraphs found in the theatre itself and surrounding areas. In the second half of the 2nd century CE, a local priestess, Antonia Picentina, completed the decoration of the theatre with a series of statues. Although we do not know exactly which statues were installed, epigraphs, fragments of statues themselves, and descriptions by early excavators in the 18th and 19th centuries indicate that there were two sculptural cycles: one dedicated to the gods and the other to the imperial family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The structure was magnificent, one must imagine it covered with precious marbles from across the empire, brightly colored stuccoes, and adorned with some replicas of the most famous statues of the ancient world, including the famous “Augustus of Prima Porta” and a Venus like the one from Milo! One of Falerone’s statues is now exhibited in the Louvre! We say “one must imagine,” but thanks to the RAV60 project (Municipality of Falerone with funding from the Marche Region, Studio 111 by L. Tampieri and G. Canuti, scientific advisor P. Storchi), it is now possible to experience all this through an evocative, immersive three-dimensional reconstruction, particularly fascinating when viewed on site. <\/p>\n<\/div>

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