Before the castles: Celts, Romans and Lombards between the Serra and the Dora

In depth

Eight pages for those who want to know more: the Iron Age and the Salassi, the Bessa gold mine, the views compared, the colony of Eporedia, the centuries from the first Christians to the Franks, the method, the dates and the places to visit. Every hypothetical sentence carries its label and every section its sources.

1. 1. After the pile dwellings: the Iron Age and the SalassiFrom the end of the village on Lake Viverone to the Roman conquest: Paraj Àuta, the Mazzè stele and the Salassi.
2. 2. The Bessa gold mineThe open-cast gold mine between Mongrando and Cerrione: where the gold came from, how it was washed out with water, who worked there and when.
3. 3. Those who think otherwiseWhose mines they were, how the digging was done, when the mine closed and what Victimulae was: Pipino's views beside those of the archaeologists.
4. 4. Eporedia, the Roman townThe colony founded in 100 BC on the Dora: bridges, theatre, amphitheatre, streets and the people recorded on gravestones.
5. 5. From the first Christians to the FranksFrom the 4th century to 891: the gravestones of the first Christians, the Lombard duchy, the Borgomasino necropolis and the Franks up to the march of Ivrea.
6. 6. How we knowAncient authors, inscriptions, excavations and geology: what "we know", "probable" and "uncertain" mean and what we still do not know.
7. 7. The datesThe essential dates from about 1000 BC to 891, each with its source.
8. 8. Where to see it todayWhere to see the Bessa, the remains of Eporedia and the objects in museums today, with the official websites for opening times and tickets.