Today Concordia Sagittaria is in reality a city which has arisen many times and which bears with it some of the greatest historical testimonies of the Imperial and Paleovenetian epochs of the entire region of the Veneto: for this reason a visit of Concordia Sagittaria is an experienced not to be missed.
The site had already been stabilised before the coming of the Romans to the area. Traces of settlement have been found dating back as far as the 10th century B.C., and evidence of habitation from the following two centuries is widespread.
Julia Concordia was founded in 42 B.C. as a centre for war veterans, but also for its usefulness as a defensive position, situated as it was between the Via Annia and Via Postumia, which, with the river Lèmene, made it one of the most active centres of commerce of the Empire.
Nor should it be overlooked that the town played a major role in the diffusion of Christianity.
Julia Concordia was given the task of repelling the barbarian invasions, and became a centre for the production of arrows (“Sagittaria” derives from the Latin “sagittae” – “arrows”). Unfortunately it was not able to withstand the onslaught of Attila the Hun and in 452 A.D. was razed to the ground.
Today as a peaceful seat of agriculture and crafts, Concordia Sagittaria lays claim to its past, bringing it to light little by little through archaeological research, and has become a highly-prestigious artistic centre that, without any doubt, deserves a visit. Concordia Sagittaria has many important Roman vestiges, such as the thermal baths and amphitheatre, and the remains on display in the Archaeological Museum. The city also offers a host of unmissable treasures: for example the cathedral of Santo Stefano, with its three overlapping “museums”, has nothing to envy from the monuments in the main centres of Venetian art. The three “museums” are in fact a Roman house, on which was built firstly the Basilica Apostolrum Magnum (4th century), and then the Duomo (15th). Next to the edifice rises the Romanesque belltower, and to its right the baptistery (9th).