Luna (Etruria)

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Luna (mod. Luni) was an ancient city of Etruria, Italy, 4~ miles southeast of modern Sarzana. It was the frontier town of Etruria, on the left bank of the river Macra (now Magra), the boundary in imperial times between Etruria and Liguria. When the Romans first appeared in these parts, however, the Ligurians were in possession of the territory as far as Pisa.

It derived its importance mainly from its harbour, which (according to the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica) was the gulf on the Tyrrhenian Sea now known as the Gulf of Spezia or La Spezia Gulf, and not merely the estuary of the Macra as some authors have supposed. The town was apparently not established until 177 BC, when a colony was founded here, though the harbour is mentioned by Ennius, who sailed from there to Sardinia in 205 BC under Manlius Torquatus.

An inscription of 155 BC, found in the forum of Luna in 1851, was dedicated to M. Claudius Marcellus in honor of his triumph over the Ligurians and Apuani. It lost much of its importance under the Roman Empire, though traversed by the coast road (Via Aurelia), and it was renowned for the marble from the neighboring mountains of Carrara, which in ancient times bore the name of Luna marble. Pliny speaks of the quarries as only recently discovered in his day. Good wine was also produced. Luna is supposed to have been mistakenly sacked by the viking leader Hastein, who thought it was Rome. He tricked his way in by pretending to be a dying Christian convert. The town was destroyed by the Arabs in 1016, and the episcopal see transferred to Sarzana in 1204.

There are some remains of the Roman period on the site, and a theatre and an amphitheatre may be distinguished. No Etruscan remains have come to light. 0. Cuntz's investigations (Jahreshefte des Osterr. Arch. Instituts, 1904, 46) seem to lead to the conclusion that an ancient road crossed the Apennines from it, following the line of the modern road (more or less that of the modern railway from Sarzana to Parma), and dividing near Pontremoli, one branch going to Borgotaro, Veleia and Placentia, and the other over the Cisa pass to Forum Novum (Fornovo) and Parma.

[edit] References

This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain. That, in turn, references:

  • G. Dennis, Cities and Cemeteries of Etruria (London, 1883), ii. 63. (T. As.)
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