L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, APRIL 21, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano N o t m a n y a r e familiar with t h e n a m e N o r b a , a n d t h e h i s t o r y behind it. Once upon a time, Norba was a flourishing, wealthy Latin town, some 30 miles south of Rome, perched on the Lepini Mountains. Its origins, much like those of i t s l a r g e r n e i g h b o r , w e r e steeped in myth: according to some, it was founded by the Cyclopes, giants with a single eye of Homeric mem- ory, who built the polygonal d e f e n s i v e w a l l s t h a t s u r - rounded it. These majestic limestone blocks managed to survive wars and earth- quakes and stood well into the modern era when, dur- ing the times of malaria, val- ley people would seek refuge high up in the hills, often w i t h i n t h e o l d w a l l s o f Norba. Another legend says it was Hercules who found- ed it and another still associ- ates its creation to Aeneas a n d h i s p e o p l e , w h o h a d traveled to Latium after the fall of Troy. Historically, Norba's ori- g i n s d a t e b a c k t o t h e 7 t h century BC, when it was part of the Alban confederation and, by the 5th century BC, a thriving Latin community inhabited it. Norba could defend itself well from ene- mies, thanks to its favorable p o s i t i o n , w h i c h e n a b l e d views all over the surround- i n g v a l l e y s : i n d e e d , i t s a n c i e n t w a t c h t o w e r s a r e among the archaeological attractions of the area still today. But taking Norba was difficult also for another rea- son: the town only had one main gate, which was used to access it and to leave it, and it was constantly guard- e d . B e t w e e n i t s s t r a t e g i c position, its cyclopic walls, a n d t h e s i n g l e e n t r a n c e , Norba was, quite literally, near inexpugnable. Its people were fiery and proud and they never took well Rome's interest in their town. In an attempt to pro- t e c t t h e m s e l v e s f r o m a t t a c k s , t h e y e v e n t u a l l y joined the Latin League, a group created by local tribes with the aim of providing security to the area: read, to be ready and fight Rome. A n d t h a t e v e n t u a l l y h a p - pened at the beginning of the 5th century, when the Caput Mundi -which, back then, wasn't yet that famous nor invincible - conquered the city, making it a Roman province. For a number of centuries, the relationship between Norba and Rome wasn't troubled, but difficult times were to come. When the civil war between Sulla and Marius began, Norba sided with the latter, who had been trying to stop the former from reinstating a dictatorship. Unfortunately, Sulla won, Norba was con- sidered a traitor of glorious Rome and, for this reason, a nefarious, tragic destiny had been decided for the city and for its people: destruction. Roman troops guided by L e p i d u s w e r e a l r e a d y o n their way when the proud p e o p l e o f N o r b a d e c i d e d t h e y w o u l d h a v e r a t h e r destroyed their homes them- selves and die, rather than be killed by Silla's envoys. And this is exactly what they did: the people of Norba set their town on fire and then killed one another, in one last act of defiance against a ruler they did not choose nor approve of. It was between the years 80 and 81 BC, that the life and history of Norba ended, a t l e a s t f o r t h e f o l l o w i n g seven centuries, as traces of a new settlement are record- ed in documents dating 771 AD when Byzantine emperor Constantine V Copronymus donated Pope Zacharias the lands of Norba. Around the y e a r 1 0 0 0 , a l w a y s u n d e r papal rule, Norba reached a new apogee of wealth, and became a bishopric. After that, however, people began leaving it for nearby Vicolo (modern Norma) possibly because it offered better pro- tection from Arab attacks. Around the 12th century, Norba became a ghost town and it was never to be inhab- ited again. Today, Norba enjoys pop- ularity among history and archaeology lovers. Not far from Norma town centre, t h e g a t e s a n d w a l l s o f ancient Norba still stand, in all their majesty. Gates: did- n't we write there was only o n e ? Y e s , t h e r e w a s o n e main gate, the Porta Mag- giore, and some really small one, which were easily pro- tected and never represent- e d a r i s k : t h e i r v e s t i g e s , albeit not in conditions as good as those of the Porta Maggiore, are still visible today. Still extant are also Norba's two acropoleis, a larger one, known as major, and a smaller one, known as minor which, however, rep- r e s e n t s t h e m o s t a n c i e n t core of Norba's urban devel- opment. Between the two, archaeologists discovered a structure they named castel- lo delle acque, or the "castle of waters," perhaps a very early example of thermal baths. Just beside the acrop- olis major, the remains of Norba's forum can still be seen. Iconic are also Norba's four temples, dedicated to J u n o , D i a n a , a n d t w o u n k n o w n d e i t i e s . T o d a y , o n l y t h e i r f o u n d a t i o n s remain. But, archaeology and his- t o r y a s i d e , p e r h a p s w h a t truly strikes and attracts in Norba is the legendary end of existence, the way its peo- ple decided to put an end to centuries of culture, heritage and community life, only not to be subdued by the enemy. B e c a u s e i f i t ' s t r u e t h a t Norba raised from its ashes, at least for a short while, in the early Middle Ages, noth- ing quite compared to the glorious courage and deter- mination of the Latin people who refused to succumb to t h e c i t y t h e g o d s h a d blessed, the most powerful and beautiful in the world: Rome. A view of Norba, in the province of Latina (Photo: Marcovarro/Dreamstime) Norba, the city that wouldn't surrender to Rome CHIARA D'ALESSIO The archaeological site in Norba (Photo: Mauro Giordano/Dreamstime) HERITAGE HISTORY IDENTITY TRADITIONS

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