Un approccio integrato al problema della ricostruzione della viabilità romana in Sicilia: La via Catania-Agrigento

This book focuses on the integrated application of geotechnologies and landscape archaeology to the goal of providing a reconstruction of the Roman road that connected Catania and Agrigento, with an emphasis on the central site of Sofiana (probably the mansio Philosophianis cited in the Antonine Itinerary) and its hinterland. The results of this study suggest that the road was built in the Augustan age, probably in the context of the reorganization of the Province undertaken by Augustus after his victory against Sextus Pompey. From this perspective, urban-type settlements such as Philosophiana, the material culture of which shows an intensive supply of products from Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, should probably be seen in a more nuanced light, as part of a larger programme based on new trade and political needs. This may also partly explain the demise of some settlements, such as Morgantina, and the rise of others, such as Philosophiana.