The Mosaics of Aquileia

This booklet about the mosaics in Aquileia is published by the Italian publisher Bruno Fachin Editore. It is available in two editions, both of which include four languages:

** First edition: Italian, German, English, and French in one book

** Second edition: Polish, Russian, Czech, and Hungarian in one book

The text is written by the Italian author Marzia Vidulli Torlo who is also the author of Trieste: Historical and artistic Guide, also published by Bruno Fachin Editore.

In the beginning of the book there is a brief chronology, which covers the history of the town from the founding in 186 BC until AD 1915, when it was annexted into the kingdom of Italy. There is also a map, which shows the modern roads and the location of ancient monuments and archaeological sites.

The main text is divided into sixteen short sections where the author presents mosaics discovered or on display in the Cathedral (Basilica Patriarchale), The National Museum, The Early Christian Museum, and the Roman houses in Aquileia.

At the end of the book there is a chart which gives the opening times of the museums and other locations in the town. Here are the headlines:

1. The mosaics

2. The National Museum

3. Vine-shoots with a bow

4. The rape of Europe

5. Asaroton or “the unswept floor”

6. A small panel with a fish

7. Mosaics of the great baths

8. Houses in the CAL fields

09. Houses in the Cossar field

10. The Cathedral (Basilica Patriarchale)

11. The style of the mosaics in the Theodorian Halls

12. The southern Theodorian Hall

13. The northern Theodorian Hall and “the excavation crypt”

14. The Early Christian Museum

15. Basilica of Beligno or Tullio field

16. The mosaic of the phoenix

The book is fully illustrated. All mosaics mentioned in the text are shown with a picture. All illustrations are in colour except a few drawings and floorplans which are in black-and-white.

In antiquity Aquileia was a large city, in part because it had an important harbour, but in AD 452 Attila the Hun and his army conquered and sacked the city after a siege which lasted three years. Today Aquileia is a small town; not as well-known, and not as famous as Ravenna, which is also an important location for ancient mosaics. But Aquileia is definitely worth a visit, and this book is a good introduction to the mosaics that you can see there.

For more information about this place, I can suggest Aquileia: History, Art & Archaeology written by Marzia Vidulli Torlo and two other Italian scholars (Annalisa Giovannini and Paola Ventura) and published by Bruno Fachin Editore in 2012 (128 pages in large format).

I can also suggest Aquileia & Ravenna, where the English and Italian text is written by Alessandro Vigevani and the pictures are taken by Fulvio Roiter; published by Vianello Libri in 1994 (164 pages in large format).

If you think it is difficult to get to Aquileia, you have to think again. It is quite easy:

From Udine you can take a bus (which continues to Grado on the coast). There are many connections every day on weekdays (from Monday to Friday) and some connections during the weekend.

From Venezia Mestre you can take a train towards Trieste. Get off at Cervignano train station and from there take a bus to Aquileia.

Once you are there, you will find that the town is so small that you can walk to every destination in a short time. Many visitors use bicycles, which can be a good idea, because the landscape is flat, and there is a separate bicycle lane along several roads.

Marzia Vidullo Torlo’s slim volume about the mosaics in Aquileia is a great way to study and understand the ancient monuments in this town. If you are interested in ancient history, in particular ancient mosaics, I am sure you will enjoy this book.

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Marzia Vidulli Torlo,

Aquileia: Mosaici,

Bruno Fachin Editore, 2011, 64 pages

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