A sandstone wall over 20 metres wide, with rock inscriptions dating back to the first and second centuries BC.
Over 2000 years of history surviving to the present day!
Perhaps not many people know that, near the hamlet of La Sega, just before Ospitale in the municipality of Fanano, there is one of the most important pieces of historical evidence not only in the Apennines but in the whole of Italy.
We are talking about rock inscriptions engraved into a sandstone wall over 20 metres long and 3 metres high, which are believed to date back to 90 B.C. and to the period of the Social War against Rome.
The inscriptions have been the subject of numerous studies, including one by Oxford University, and have been deciphered thanks to the linguist Adolfo Zavaroni.
There has been much debate and research centred around the inscriptions, in an attempt to understand who may have been responsible for them.
According to a recent study by Adolfo Zavaroni, published in the journal “Il Frignano”, it may have been the Friniati people who were responsible for the inscriptions. The Friniati were a population of Ligurian lineage, who indeed gave their name to the region of Frignano. The same alphabet and semantic strain can also be found in other inscriptions in the area (for example on Hercules’ Bridge), in which the Friniati refer to themselves as Umbri or Ombri; and the inscriptions at Ospitale also refer to an Umbrian League or Federation. To find out more, you can see the full article atthis link.
The inscriptions on the wall, therefore, were intended to exhort any other travellers happening to pass through to join forces and form an Umbrian League; ‘strike, they must be beaten’, ‘break the chains’, ‘join us, do not delay’, ‘I shall tear to pieces whomever I catch’.
These are some of the inscriptions deciphered by Giancarlo Sani, an expert on rock inscriptions, and Adolfo Zavaroni. (Source: ModenainDiretta).
It should be noted that the wall was in a strategic and highly visible location.
In fact, it is located along a stretch of the Via Romea, the most important road to/from Rome, which would have been taken by all those travelling along the Via Romea Longobarda (which starts from Tarvisio) and the Via Romea Nonantolana (which starts from Nonantola).
When it comes to the inscriptions at La Sega, mention must be made of Davide Breveglieri, local history enthusiast and resident of La Sega, whose hard work and dedication over the years have shone more light on the site, attracting more interest and bringing further recognition.
What is more, the inscriptions are difficult to read, as they have been overwritten over the years.
How to reach the inscriptions at La Sega
The inscriptions are to be found in the woods stretching between the hamlets of La Sega and Ospitale, along the Via Romea Nonantolana.
To reach them, you might therefore like to visit the village of La Sega, and from there follow the Via Romea towards Ospitale. After a few hundred metres, you will come to a small path which branches off to the right, in the direction of the river.
During the time of writing (September 2022) the path is in need of some maintenance. We therefore recommend that you take great care when walking along it, and advise you to use suitable walking shoes and trekking poles. We do not advise going if there is the chance that it might be slippery underfoot.
Signposted path leading to the inscriptions.
Alternatively, you can reach the inscriptions by walking along the Via Romea all the way from Fanano, or just taking the stretch from Ospitale to La Sega (leaving your car at Ospitale).
Other engravings in the area
Similar inscriptions have indeed been found
-in the small cave known as the “Tana delle Fate” or “Fairies’ Den” near Lake Pratignano;
– in the “Buca del diavolo” or “Devil’s Hole” (also known as the Fox’s Den), near Treppio, in the Limenta Valley (Pistoia)
– at S. Michele di Pievepelago near the beginning of the path which leads to the “Ponte del Diavolo” or “Devil’s Bridge” near Fiumalbo (Upper Modena Apennines)
– at “Ponte d’Ercole” or “Hercules’ Bridge”, where three municipalities of the Modena Apennines converge: Polinago, Pavullo and Lama Mocogno
– at Le Caselle, an abandoned village dominating the middle Ospitale Valley
– at Rovinamala, about 30 km from Ospitale (Rovinamala is an old hamlet, now standing in ruins, in the municipality of Montecreto).
(Source: Gian Lauro Levrini)
