Man has left a number of ancient marks in the Cinque Torri-Averau area since the early traces of seasonal settlements of shepherds and woodcutters and the alterations of the environment that followed.
An unpublished collection of 47th vintage postcards of Cortina and surroundings, from the 20's to the 50's .
Roman Inscriptions on mount Civetta, carved into the rock
Chapter 3 - The Romans on mount Civetta, Zuglio Carnico, Valle di Cadore, Aguntum, Sebatum, Feltre, Merano.
The Romans may have reached Cadore from Aquileia, by way of Julium Carnicum ( today's Zulio) - on the route of amber and salt from the Adriatic sea to the North of Europe – over Montecroce Carnico. There is evidence that our region was part of that municipium around the 1st century. Moreover, along the Boite river valley, there already existed the municipium of Belluno, whose territory bordered on Julium. Further south, the one of Feltre bordering on Trento; both municipia were called by Livio "retica oppida", that is in the territory of Rhaetia. In the past, two inscriptions were discovered (plus a third unfinished one) engraved into the rock, which read FIN BEL JUL. According to the scholars of Padua University, they mean Borders (of the municipium) of Belluno (on the municipium) of Julium. Therefore, as early as that time, the border of the region to the west was set between mounts Pelmo and Civetta. Other sources indicate that it stretched to the north as far as the Rienza-Drava basin (today's Pustorthal). This border will undergo minor changes over the centuries.
The Ampezzo bowl, or "Ampez" and Latin "Ampitium" as our valley was known in the past, lay in the north-west corner; Cortina (from Latin "curtis") was its central village. If the Romans were in Cortina, why did they leave no traces? A few years ago, one would have answered that there weren't permanent settlements, but it was only seasonally inhabited. Scholars are quite cautious today after the Paleo-Veneti finds in the nearby areas. Only some organic excavation campaign will bring an answer. No doubt, the Romans were all around.
To the north, beyond the mountains, they have left a consular road with an important settlement at Sebatum (a suburb of Brunico), a dozen military stones between Vipiteno and Innichen and a town with houses, baths, market-places and a forum at Aguntum(suburb of Lienz).
At Valle, 18 km to the south, there was a settlement in which a memorial stone was found, memory of a sundial presented by a Lucio Saufeio. At Pieve, the heating system of a villa (basement of today's Town hall) and a precious mosaic floor (palazzo della Comunità), have been unearthed. Important remains of a Roman road can be admired between Valle and Perarolo. Burial sites rich in objects and coins have been discovered at Pozzale, Calalzo, Vallesella, and Lozzo. The Roman presence is mostly evident at Belluno, where the name of the "Catubrini" tribe appears on two monuments. The inscriptions tell us that they used to trade timber with the support of a Marco Carminio, a tax collector, their patron "patrono catubrinorum". Finally, near Feltre, the huge Claudia Augusta consular road, 350 miles long from Atino on the Adriatic sea to the Danube, through Merano and over the Resia pass "quam Drusus pater Alpibus bello patefactis derexerat"...
