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Archaeological Park of Urbs Salvia

The Marche's largest archaeological park, with a 23 AD theater and amphitheater near Urbisaglia.

  • Urbisaglia
  • Archaeological site
Plan your visit
Where
Urbisaglia
Best for
Largest Marche archaeological park
Allow
1 hr 30 min

Urbs Salvia was a Roman colony founded in the second century BC, and its ruins now form the largest archaeological park in the Marche, forty hectares under the management of the regional archaeological authority.

A theater built in 23 AD on a Hellenistic model still preserves the lower walls of its stage building beneath a three-tiered auditorium, and an amphitheater raised after 81 AD by the general Lucius Flavius Silva, the same commander who took Masada, ranks among the best-preserved examples of its type in the region, its arena measuring fifty-nine by thirty-five meters with semicircular niches that once supported the seating stairs. A temple complex and an on-site museum round out the visit, all open to the public in the quiet countryside around Urbisaglia.

Five things worth finding

If you see nothing else, see these.

  1. The Roman theaterBuilt in 23 AD on a Greek model

    A three-tiered auditorium with the lower walls of the stage building still in place, and a corridor ringed with steps leading up to a small sanctuary.On the hillside

  2. The amphitheaterCommissioned by Lucius Flavius Silva, after 81 AD

    An arena of fifty-nine by thirty-five meters, with semicircular niches that once supported the seating stairs, among the best-preserved of its kind in the region.Park area near the theater

  3. The sanctuary of Salus Augusta with painted galleriesRoman, Augustan to Tiberian

    A temple with a six-column façade is enclosed by four underground galleries with frescoes in the Third Pompeian style: animals, masks and trophies tied to Augustus’s imagery.At the foot of the hill, along the Via Salaria Gallica

  4. The Roman reservoirRoman concrete, Augustan

    Two barrel-vaulted tunnels about fifty-one meters long, holding about a thousand cubic meters of water fed by an aqueduct.Highest point, outside the medieval walls

  5. The archaeological museum

    Inscriptions, statues and portraits excavated here since the mid-18th century.Start of the itinerary

Plan your visit

Everything you need before you go.

Booking
No booking needed
Time needed
1 hr 30 min
Best time
A spring or autumn morning, when the forty-hectare park is coolest to walk
Getting there
In Urbisaglia, about 20 km southwest of Macerata; a car is the practical way in, with parking near the park entrance and museum.

Start at the on-site museum before walking the ruins: seeing the finds first makes the theater and amphitheater's scale easier to read on the ground.

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Good to know

How long should you spend at the Archaeological Park of Urbs Salvia?

Allow about an hour and a half. The park covers forty hectares and the highlights, theater, amphitheater, reservoir and sanctuary, are spread out along a walking route. Add more time if you include the museum.

Is Urbs Salvia worth visiting?

Yes, if you enjoy walking through a Roman town. It is the largest archaeological park in the Marche, and the plan of the city is unusually easy to read. It is also far from the crowds, in quiet countryside.

Can you see Urbs Salvia and Chiaravalle di Fiastra in one day?

Yes, they pair naturally. The monks of Chiaravalle reused Roman stone from Urbs Salvia in their abbey, so seeing both shows how one site fed the other. Do the park in the cool of the morning and the abbey later.

More to see nearby

Same city first, then the nearest across the region.

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