The People » History

The Roman Colonization

The Roman penetration and colonization begins in the last decades of the 2nd century BC. The municipia of Bellunum and Feltria rise in the territory of the current province of Belluno. Cadore is a large appendix of the municipium of Iulium Carnicum (the current Zuglio), while Sinistra Piave, gravitating on Mel, belongs to the municipium of Opitergium (today Oderzo). From a landscape point of view, the most relevant evidence of the Roman period is Claudia Augusta-Altinate, the road leading from Altino, i.e. from the Adriatic Sea, to the Danube. This major road, of great importance for the local political and economic organization, crosses the piedmont area of Feltre and, through the Tesino, heads towards Ausugum (currently Borgo Valsugana), where it continues towards the valley of Adige. Its exact itinerary, as well as the itinerary of its presumed secondary roads in the valley of Piave, is still object of research activities and disputes.