{{Short description|Ancient Town in Italy}} {{For|NORBA, the National Off-Road Bicycle Association|USA Cycling}} {{Infobox ancient site |name = Norba |native_name = |alternate_name = |image = Norma, Eingang mit Zyklopensteinen.jpg |alt = |caption = "Porta Maggiore", the main gate of Norba |map_type = Italy Lazio |map_alt = |location = Comune di Norma, [[Lazio]], [[Italy]] |region = Lazio |type = Settlement |part_of = |length = |width = |area = |height = |builder = |material = |built = 492 BC |abandoned = |epochs = [[Roman Republic]] |cultures = [[Ancient Rome]] |dependency_of = |occupants = |event = |excavations = yes |archaeologists = Raniero Mangarelli; Luigi Savignóni; Stefania Quilici Gigli |condition = |ownership = |management = Soprintendenza Archeologica per il Lazio |public_access = yes |website = [http://www.anticanorba.com/Antica Norba] {{in lang|it}} |notes = }}

'''Norba''', an ancient town of [[Latium]] (''Adjectum''), [[Italy]]. It is situated 1 mile northwest of the modern town of [[Norma, Lazio|Norma]], on the western edge of the [[Volscian]] Mountains or [[Monti Lepini]]. The town is perched above a precipitous cliff with a splendid view over the [[Pontine Marshes|Pomptine Marshes]] below;{{sfn|Ashby|1911}} the highest point stands to ca. 460 meters (over 1500 feet) above sea level.<ref name="SchmiedtCastagnoli1957">{{cite book|author1=Giulio Schmiedt|author2=Ferdinando Castagnoli|title=L'antica città di Norba: documentazione aerofotogrammetrica|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vYULtwAACAAJ|year=1957|publisher=Istituto Geografico Militare}}</ref> [[File:Norba map.png|thumb|Map of Norba]]

==History== Norba was a member of the [[Latin League]] of 499 BC. It became a [[Roman colony]] in 492 BC, initially to protect the border with the [[Volsci]],<ref>[[Livy]], ''[[Ab Urbe Condita (book)|Ab urbe condita]]'', 2:34</ref> and later serving as an important fortress guarding the Pomptine Marshes. It served in 199 BC as a place of detention for the [[Ancient Carthage|Carthaginian]] hostages, and was captured and destroyed by [[Sulla|Sulla's]] troops during the civil wars at the end of 82 BC.{{sfn|Ashby|1911}} By the first century AD Norba is included by [[Pliny the Elder]] on his list of extinct cities in Latium.<ref>http://latin.packhum.org/loc/978/1/240/171-177#240 ''Historia Naturalis'' 3.69.1</ref> [[File:Norba temple podium of the Minor Acropolis.jpg|thumb|A polygonal masonry temple podium on the Minor Acropolis of ancient Norba.]]

==Archaeology== From excavations begun in 1901 it seems clear that the remains now visible on the site are entirely Roman.<ref>L. Savignoni and R. Mengarelli in ''Notizie degli Scavi'' 1901 and 1904.</ref> The well-preserved walls are in the [[polygonal masonry|polygonal]] style, over 2.5&nbsp;km in circuit, and are entirely embankment walls, not standing free above the internal ground level.{{sfn|Ashby|1911}} The walls enclose an area of approximately 38 hectares. Remains of two towers, and of several gateways (notably the Porta Maggiore, defended by a tower), exist. The bastion at the Porta Maggiore still stands to 13 m. A square tower, referred to as "La Loggia" is also to be found along the curtain.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/norba_(Enciclopedia-dell'-Arte-Antica)/|title=NORBA in "Enciclopedia dell' Arte Antica"}}</ref><ref name="Becker2007">{{cite book|author=Jeffrey Alan Becker|title=The Building Blocks of Empire: Civic Architecture, Central Italy, and the Roman Middle Republic|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5kMjzj8WJhgC&pg=PR19|year=2007|isbn=978-0-549-55847-7|pages=19–}}</ref> [[File:Norba, detail of Porta Maggiore bastion.jpg|thumb|A detail of the polygonal masonry bastion flanking the Porta Maggiore.]]The main gate is enormous, with jambs over 8 m in height, 4.30 m in width, and internal width of 12.8 m.{{Citation needed|date=February 2026}} Within, the remains of several buildings, including the foundations (podia) of two temples, one dedicated to [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]] Lucina, have been examined. At the foot of the cliff are the picturesque ruins of the medieval town of [[Norba#Archaeology|Ninfa]], (12th-13th centuries) abandoned on account of malaria. The remains of a primitive settlement, on the other hand, have been discovered on the mountainside to the southeast, above the 13th-century abbey of [[Valvisciolo]], where there is a succession of terraces supported by walls of rough [[polygonal masonry]], and approached by a road similarly supported. Here a quantity of primitive pottery has been found.<ref>L. Quilici and S. Quilici Gigli. 1987. "L'abitato di Monte Carbolino." ''Archeologia Laziale'' VIII (QuadAEI, 14):259-277</ref> The [[necropolis]] of this settlement was probably the extensive one situated at [[Caracupa]] (8th-7th century BC), near the railway station of Sermoneta, which belongs also to the 8th-6th century BC, terminating thus at the precise date at which the Roman city of Norba is believed to have been established.{{sfn|Ashby|1911}}<ref>{{cite book|title=Papers of the British School at Rome|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ZkVAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA80|year=1906|publisher=R. Clay and Sons|pages=80–}}</ref>

Additional ancient remains are to be found in the hinterland of Norba, including the polygonal masonry structure at Poggio Serrone di Bove.<ref>S. Quilici Gigli "Insediamenti nel territorio di Norba: il Poggio di Serrone di Bove" ''ArchLaz'' 9 (1988) 227-32.</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== * [http://www.romeartlover.it/Norma.html Ferdinand Gregorovius' Walks - Norma] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20190127035352/http://www.anticanorba.com/ Antica Norba] {{in lang|it}}

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*{{EB1911|wstitle=Norba|volume=19|page=738|first=Thomas|last=Ashby|author-link=Thomas Ashby (archaeologist)}} {{Authority control}}

[[Category:Roman sites in Lazio]] [[Category:Former populated places in Italy]] [[Category:Archaeological sites in Lazio]] [[Category:Coloniae (Roman)]] [[Category:Roman towns and cities in Italy]] [[Category:Polygonal masonry]]