Decumanus domus, Pareti theater and archaeological area

In the Nocera Superiore area, three sites tell different stories of the ancient city: the Decumanus Domus, the Hellenistic-Roman theater, and the archaeological area in the urban park preserve valuable traces between Roman and medieval times.

In the territory of Nocera Superiore three archaeological sites restore a complete fresco of urban life in Nuceria Alfaterna. The domestic dimension of the Domus del Decumano, the Hellenistic-Roman theater in the Pareti locality, and the monumental architecture and public infrastructure of the archaeological area in the “Alfonso and Matteo Fresa” Urban Park allow us to traverse a time span between the late Samnite and late antique ages.

The Domus of the Decumanus

The site is located at San Clemente in the northeastern part of Nocera Superiore, discovered in 1979 during railroad work and investigated until 1984. The excavation uncovered a portion of a Roman block including a large house and a section of the Decumanus Inferior, recognizable by the furrows left by the passage of chariots.

The domus dates from the 1st-2nd century AD and repeats the classical pattern of Roman habitation, with a vestibule leading into theatrium, equipped with a basin(impluvium) to collect rainwater. On the side of the atrium are bedrooms and service rooms. The floors, made of mosaic or cocciopesto (an impermeable mixture), and the remains of frescoes testify to the richness of the building. Today mostly the western part of the house is visible, while the rest is buried by alluvial layers. Along the street opened stores(tabernae), where large vessels(dolia) used for storing food have been found.

The exposed decumanus segment is paved with large stone paving stones; oval blocks that served as crosswalks are clearly recognizable along the western edge. The wide raised sidewalks and the altar (ara) with the inscription TERTULLII tell of the road’s importance as a commercial axis. A dozen Christian burials have emerged in the garden of the house, documenting a Late Antique funerary use of the area.

The Hellenistic-Roman theater of Pareti

Between the localities of Pareti and Pucciano, on the southern slope of the city walls, are the remains of the large Hellenistic-Roman theater, built in the 2nd century BC and rediscovered in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The earliest part, attributed to the Samnite phase, is built of large rectangular blocks, while renovation in the Augustan period replaced the load-bearing structures with brick masonry(brickwork) and irregular stone dividers(uncertain work).

The theater survived the eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79 but was abandoned after the 4th century and used as a quarry for materials. Only part of the structure can be seen today, but the dimensions remain impressive: the cavea Roman had a diameter of about ninety-six meters, among the largest in theaters in Campania. The stage wall was articulated by three niches while the stage(pulpitum) was decorated with alternating niches. In theorchestra (the semicircular space in front of the stage) a polychrome marble floor and a gutter for water drainage are still preserved; some steps of the lower and middle tiers of seats are visible, although they lack the tufa covering. In the western parodos (the side passage) traces of frescoes belonging to the so-called third Pompeian style remain.

Investigations have identified the structures of a gymnasium nearby, confirming the monumentality of the area. The proximity to the gate called Porta Romana and the cavea ‘s support to the walls emphasize the relationship between the theater and the city. Recent interventions have recovered the frescoes and improved the tour route, enhancing the reading of the monument.

Urban park and archaeological area

Within the “Alfonso and Matteo Fresa” Urban Park in the central area of Nocera Superiore, a green pathway introduces the remains of the ancient baths of Nuceria. Excavations begun in 2006 uncovered public structures frequented from the Republican period to the Middle Ages.

The shallower levels preserve nineteenth-century walls with communicating basins (one with a Greek cross imprinted on the plaster) and a well. At a depth of about seven meters a monumental building with brick columns covered with engraved plaster, resting on a high podium, has emerged. Adjacent to it are rooms pertaining to a bath complex, identified through the presence of a probable apodyterion, the dressing room.

Theapodyterion retains high walls punctuated by brick niches covered with a thick layer of stucco. During a phase of renovation, the walls were decorated with fine stucco bas-reliefs depicting scenes from the cycle of Heracles. The room has seats along the walls and a mosaic floor made of black and white tiles. In another room the walls are painted Pompeian red and have graffiti, including a drawing of a trireme (ancient warship).

Investigations have also identified remains of columns with engraved decorations, structures from the late antique period dividing the rooms with large wall partitions, and a storage room with vessels still in their original position, containing provisions. The abandoned phase of the complex is marked by the presence of chest tombs dating to the 6th century AD. Today the archaeological park is an open-air museum, integrating the excavations into a nature trail where visitors can observe sarcophagi, millstones and other artifacts along the paths.