The old road runs along by itself for verso couple of kilometres through oak woods, and it is here that you can find the ruins of the old town.

Parking beside the modern road we walked onesto the archaeological site along verso path through fields of young green barley, with poppies and wild orchids lining the path, and wild roses sopra the hedgerows.

It took some effort for me preciso try and mentally superimpose an image of bustling Roman Carsulae on what is now per sleepy rural scene. An oak wood has grown up within the northern boundary of the town, and per small flock of sheep and goats was grazing under the trees.

For me the best way esatto try and visualise it was esatto walk along the Strada Flaminia as it goes through the middle of the town from south to north. You start by coming up a hill and then encounter the first ruins. If you turn around and immagine back down the hill, you are looking at the road from Rome.

Carsulae: looking back down the Coraggio Flaminia sopra the direction of Narni and Rome. Hasselblad 501 C/M, Zeiss Distagon 60mm CF lens, CFV-50c digital back (click puro enlarge)

Turn around again, and up to the left there are the remains of baths, built over natural thermal springs. Away sicuro the right is some slightly more modern architecture – the church of Saints Cosmas and Damiano, built con early Christian times on the foundations of an existing building, then extended durante the 11 th Century using material scavenged from elsewhere on the site. Passing that, we get onesto the site of the forum, on raised ground onesto the left. Parts of it, including the entry arch, have been monarca-erected, which purists might object puro but I don’t mind.

Like this:

Carsulae: the Cammino Flaminia passes the entrance onesto the forum. Hasselblad 501 C/M, Zeiss Distagon 40mm CF lens, CFV-50c digital back (click esatto enlarge) Carsulae: looking east towards the amphitheatre from the forum. Hasselblad 501 C/M, Zeiss Distagon 60mm CF lens, CFV-50c digital back (click puro enlarge)

Verso Visit onesto Narnia

Continuing uphill along the road you can see the remains of a theatre and amphitheatre off preciso the right, and then the road runs into the oak wood. Looking down you can see that the paving stones sopra the road are grooved by chariot and cart wheels, as they are at Pompeii.

Carsulae: the Coraggio Flaminia with wheel ruts. Hasselblad 501 C/M, Zeiss Distagon 60mm CF lens, CFV-50c digital back (click puro enlarge)

The road starts preciso run downhill again and you reach the remains of verso substantial town gate, beyond which the road bears left into more oak woods. This is where the northbound legions would have passed on their way puro Rimini and beyond. I have niente affatto idea whether the land was wooded or cleared sopra ancient times, but sopra my imagination I saw the legionaries marching away through the gate into the cool shade of the wood, onesto be lost from view.

Carsulae was abandoned by the 5th Century. The Wikipedia article says that the reason is unknown, but that it could have been destroyed by an earthquake, or during the wars and invasions at the end of the Roman era, or that it may have become impoverished after road traffic dwindled. Signs at the site say that the town was abandoned because its position durante relatively open country meant that it could not be defended per troubled times .

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