The city of Sepino, whose name derives from saepire (to fence) a reference to the ancient fenced pasture connected to the migratory breeding area, is situated at the foothills of the Matese mountain range and opens onto the valley of the Tammaro river.
In the Samnite era, a fortified centre was situated on the plain known as “Terravecchia”, seized by the Romans in 293 B.C.E. during the Third Samnite war. Its inhabitants then moved to the site of Roman Sepino.
The Roman settlement reached its greatest heights in the time of Augustus, when it was fortified and the most important buildings in the city were built or restored: the temples, Forum, basilica, macellum, theatre and baths. Fragments remain of an imposing honorary arch, dedicated to Lucius Neratius Priscus who was born in Sepino and once identified as a possible successor by Emperor Trajan. Other members of the city’s aristocracy, such as the Numisii and the Ennii families were responsible for burial monuments and public works, such as the so-called “fountain of the gryphon”.
Its decline began in the IV-V centuries CE. The most important buildings in the centre were abandoned and the residential centre became smaller, the flagstones of the Forum were covered over and the area used as a burial ground. In 667 C.E., during the Longobard era, the Dukes of Benevento allowed a colony of Bulgarians to settle in the plain as a reward for their services in battle. The agricultural activities relaunched by the Benedictine monks of the monastery of St. Sophia of Benevento sparked a period of slow rebuilding which lasted until the mid 9th century when Saracen incursions triggered the inhabitants’ move to the surrounding high grounds, where they subsequently built castles. The last descendants of Roman Sepino populated Castellum Sepini, present day Sepino.
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