Tadinum

 archaeological site, Roman Empire, ancient ruins

The excavated archaeological site of the ancient Roman town of Tadinum (originally an Umbrian settlement called Tarsina) is located in the area called Rasina (or Taino) on the Via Flaminia (now Via Flaminia Antica) about 2.5 km to the southwest of modern Gualdo Tadino (which preserves the old Roman name). Only a small portion of the Roman and Early Medieval town has been excavated, to the west of the Via Flaminia, and includes the remains of a Forum, of the public baths (Thermae), of a shrine of Hercules (the area just west of it has been identified as a Forum Pecuarium), and a large private mansion (domus) with its own baths. Across the Via Flaminia is a Roman well (the Pozzo di Taino). The Roman city became a bishopric but declined after the Visigothic invasion along the Via Flaminia under Alaric in 409. The battle of Taginae or Tadinae (also known as the battle of Busta Gallorum) was fought in the vicinity in 552, resulting in the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) victory that finally ended the Ostrogothic control of Italy; the Ostrogothic king Totila, mortally wounded, perished in nearby Capraea (now Caprara). The town survived in some form until 996, when it was destroyed on the orders of the Holy Roman emperor Otto III. The settlement area moved to higher ground, eventually on the hill round the Rocca Flea castle and the San Benedetto abbey in the 13th century.

For more information, see:
www.keytoumbria.com/Gualdo_Tadino/Tadinum.html