Venusia
Venusia, located in southern Italy, was historically a significant town known for its strategic location on a ridge overlooking the upper valley of the Aufidus River. Originally a Samnite settlement, it came under Roman control in 292 BC, becoming an important military fortress and a major stop on the Via Appia, which was Rome's primary route to southern regions. The town played a critical role during various conflicts, including providing refuge during the Second Punic War after Hannibal's victories. It also witnessed notable historical events, such as the ambush of Roman general Marcus Claudius Marcellus. Venusia is particularly renowned as the birthplace of the poet Horace, whose father was of slave origin. Archaeological findings in the area include remnants of a Roman bathing complex, an amphitheater, and Jewish catacombs, alongside a Christian basilica reflecting its diverse historical influences. Today, Venusia's rich history and archaeological sites continue to attract interest from scholars and visitors alike.
Subject Terms
Venusia
(Venosa)
A Samnite and then a Roman town in the interior of southern Italy, on the borders of Apulia and Lucania; it was subsequently reckoned as part of Apulia (and is now in Basilicata). Venusia stood on a strong and defensible ridge—surrounded on three sides by deep ravines—and dominated the upper valley of the Aufidus (Ofanto), the largest river in the southern part of the peninsula. Extensive material from Palaeolithic times is preserved in the local museum.
In 292 BC, toward the end of the Third Samnite War, the Romans captured the place, and in the following year established a Latin colony there, so as to split the Samnite tribe of the Hirpini from the related Lucani to their south, while at the same time placing an obstacle in the way of the expansion of the Greek city of Taras (Tarentum, Taranto). Although the colonists at Venusia cannot have been nearly as many as the 20,000 indicated by Dionysius of Halicarnassus, they were numerous, and indeed this was the largest colony in the Roman world. It became a military fortress and an important station on the Via Appia, Rome's principal road to the south. In 280 BC the town provided refuge to survivors from a Roman army after its defeat by Pyrrhus of Epirus at Heraclea (Policoro), and in 216, during the Second Punic War, it performed the same function after Hannibal's victory at Cannae (216). It was also in this neighborhood that Marcus Claudius Marcellus was ambushed and killed in 208, and Hannibal, too, suffered a defeat not far off.
After the war, in 200, the colony was reinforced; but during the Social War (91–87), in which the Italian towns revolted against Rome, the town took the side of the rebels. It was the birthplace of the poet Horace (65), whose father, of slave origin, was a local auctioneer and small farmer. The triumvirs Antony, Octavian (the future Augustus) and Lepidus settled veterans on the site c 41. Excavations have revealed a bathing establishment of the time of Hadrian (AD 117–38), an amphitheater (used as a quarry), Jewish catacombs dating from the second to the sixth centuries, and, most recently, a three-naved Christian basilica of the time of Bishop Stephanus (489–504).