Museo Nazionale d’Abruzzo dell’Aquila | Parco Archeologico di Amiternum (Anfiteatro e Teatro)

One of the most important Sabine centers corresponded to the present-day village of San Vittorino, located southeast of the current archaeological area. Some scholars have hypothetically identified it with the ancient settlement of Testruna, mentioned in classical sources.

Recent excavations have confirmed the existence of tombs and buildings dating back to the 7th century BC near the Church of San Vittorino. Archaeologists also discovered fragments of a vessel bearing a rare inscription scratched in the ancient Paleo-Sabellic language of the period.

In antiquity, the Amiternum area was regarded as the starting point of a series of organized migrations (ver sacrum), which over time led to the occupation of neighboring territories.

Following the Roman conquest of the region, possibly consolidated in 290 BC by the consul Manius Curius Dentatus, the territory of Amiternum was administratively organized as a praefectura (prefecture). Each year, a magistrate was sent from Rome to administer justice (praefectus iure dicundo).

From an urban planning perspective, the city developed along the route of the Via Caecilia, around which secondary roads, infrastructure such as the aqueduct, and both public and private spaces were established.

The area's principal economic activity was livestock farming, supported by its strategic location along the transhumance routes, which saw herds move southward during the winter and return north in the summer. Agriculture also expanded significantly after the Roman arrival. Latin sources mention the cultivation of a local grape variety known as pumila, as well as Amiternum’s turnips and onions.

The city underwent further phases of growth and monumental development with the construction of the theatre in the second half of the 1st century BC and the amphitheatre at the end of the 1st century AD, alongside temples and other richly decorated buildings. Additional restoration and embellishment works are documented throughout the Imperial period up to the 4th century AD.

From the 5th century AD onward, houses and cemeteries were established within the city's monuments. In the following centuries, part of the population settled near the Church of Santa Maria in Campo, close to the amphitheatre.

Amiternum remained inhabited until the 15th century, approximately two centuries after the foundation of the city of L'Aquila