Heraclea

 archaeological site, Medieval / Middle Ages, invisible, do not draw title, historic ruins

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The early Medieval town of Heraclea (originally Melidissa) was located on the Via Annia in the area of modern Cittanova, between modern Fiorentina, Fossà, Staffolo, and Stretti. The town was a stronghold of the Eastern Roman Empire against the Lombards, and its name honored the emperor Heraclius. In the 8th century, it served as the original administrative center of the future polity of Venice. The town was destroyed in 804-811 in the course of the Franco-Byzantine conflict over the area, but the doge of Venice refounded it as Civitas Nova Heracliana ("New City of Heraclea"). The ruins were largely destroyed by local property owners in the 20th century and are almost completely obscured by modern agriculture. The name survives in modern Cittanova and Eraclea (before 1950, Grisolera).