From Hannibal's crossing to Spartacus' rebellion of slaves, the stories of one of the greatest cities of the ancient world
With over twenty-eight centuries of history, Old Capua became, in its heyday, one of the most important and thriving urban centres in the world. For many centuries, old Capua was the main centre of the fertile Ager Campanus and played a fundamental role in the history of northern Campania. It had connections with the inland areas of the peninsula, with Etruria, with the Mediterranean and with the first Greek colonies, particularly Cuma, and remained in close contact with them. The sheer military power of its cavalry made it fearsome. Thanks to its economic strength and strong bonds with Rome, it contributed to the building of the Appian Way, which was then the first stage. Old Capua still lives on in the depths of the town of Santa Maria Capua Vetere and shows its magnificence with the monumental remains of the Imperial Amphitheatre and the Adrian's Arch, where the Queen Viarum passed underneath the archways.
History
Just as important was the Campanian Amphitheatre, which was probably the first of its kind in the world and second in size only to the Colosseum in Rome. The site of the first school of gladiators, the Campanian Amphitheatre was also the starting point of the third slave rebellion, led by the gladiator Spartacus between 73 and 71 BC against the Roman Republic. Destroyed by the Vandals after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the amphitheatre was used as a fortress for the Longobard rulers of Capua and was heavily plundered from the end of the 9th century onwards.
Heritage
In September 1726, excavations in front of the southern gate of the amphitheatre brought to light a mutilated epigraph, which was supplemented by the Campanian archaeologist, priest and philologist Alessio Simmaco Mazzocchi (1684 - 1771). The epigraph bears the following inscription:
"La Colonia Giulia Felice Augusta Capua fece, il divo Adriano Augusto restaurò e curò vi si aggiungessero le statue e le colonne, l'imperatore Cesare T. Elio Adriano Augusto Pio dedicò." (The Colonia Giulia Felice Augusta Capua made, the divus Adriano Augusto restored and cared for the statues and columns to be added, the emperor Cesare T. Elio Adriano Augusto Pio dedicated)
Originally placed at the entrance to the Amphitheatre, the epigraph was first displayed under the arch of the Church of Sant'Eligio in Capua and then transferred to the Campanian Museum in Capua, where it is now on display.
