Marco Emilio Lepido e i sacra di Piacenza

Abstract

The paper discusses historical-archaeological records and material relating to the most ancient phases of the colony of Placentia, which was founded with Cremona on the northern borders of the Cispadana between 218 and 190 BC, in the tragic years of the Second Punic War. It discusses urban, monumental and historical-social structures of the first two centuries of the Latin colony, noting in particular a lack of data and information regarding sacred buildings. To partially fill this gap, a new interpretation is now proposed for a group of architectural terracottas already known for some time, but recently re-examined. They certainly indicate the construction of at least one temple of high architectural quality during the first half of the 2nd century BC. The technical-artisanal and iconographical analyses of the pieces allow a more careful identification of the subjects and, from these, a glimpse of what lay behind the construction of the temple, namely the development of interests and policies of the Aemilii involving Rome, the Mediterranean and Cisalpine area.

KEYWORDS
Cisalpine Gaul, Placentia, Roman Architecture, Republican Age, Coroplasty