Veleia Romana is one of the main archaeological parks in Emilia Romagna, as well as one of the most important Roman sites in Northern Italy.
Veleia was founded in 158 BC, after the final submission of the Ligurians to Rome.
It stood behind the colony of Piacenza in the valley of the river Chero and fell into ruin around the fifth century AD, probably due to a cliff of the mountains above that buried it suddenly, or for the continuous landslides that slowly led to the depopulation of the area.
The ancient city was rediscovered in the seventeenth century and excavations were started following the discovery of the Tabula Alimentaria Traianea, the largest bronze inscription that has come down to us from the Roman world.
The town of Veleia was distributed on a series of terraces and various building phases are recognized, even if the phase of greater economic and civil development is due to the Augustan age.
The first building you come across when visiting the area is the spa complex in the South East area of the Forum.
Of the Forum you can see the paved square , the rectangular basilica, the arcades and the tabernae. At the center of the square there is a long floor inscription in honor of Lucius Lucilius Priscus and a pink limestone stone dedicated to Augustus.
Not far from the Forum we find an elliptical structure interpreted as the amphitheater of the city even if its function is not certain: some, in fact, interpret it as a cistern for water.
Near the archaeological area in 1975 the Antiquarium was built where you can admire the casts of the Tabula and the Lex de Gallia Cisalpina, as well as a rich complex of finds and historiographical panels to relive the splendor of ancient Veleia.
