Sepino

Saepinum was a modest municipium on a sheep-droving route, and because it was never built over by a later town its plan survives almost complete: a circuit of walls with four gates, the two main streets crossing at a forum, a basilica, baths, a theatre and a market building, all readable on the ground. Farmhouses were later built inside the walls and even into the theatre's seating, and some remain, which is part of what preserved the fabric. The tratturo, a broad grass droving road used to move sheep between Abruzzo and Puglia for centuries, ran straight through the town and still crosses the site.

What you actually see

• The complete plan - walls, four gates and a full street grid.
• The forum and basilica - civic buildings standing at the crossing.
• The theatre with houses - farm buildings built into the seating.
• The tratturo - the sheep droving road crossing through the town.

When to go

April to October; the site is open, free and rarely busy, one of the quietest major Roman sites in Italy. Summer is hot with little shade.

Honest expectations

There is minimal interpretation and few facilities. Public transport is almost non-existent. The site is small compared with Pompeii or Ostia.

Nearby

Campobasso lies northeast; the Matese mountains rise west.