PRESENTAZIONE DEI LUOGHI E STORIA DEGLI STUDI

Abstract

The municipal territories of Vitulazio and Pastorano are described in this paper, as well as the history of the studies that have
focused on them. The areas under examination, falling within the ager Calenus, are located between Monte Tutuli and La Santella
to the north and the Agnena Nuova canal to the south. The area has a strong impact on the landscape: the fertile plain cultivated
with orchards, vineyards and cereals, is characterised by numerous 19th century buildings, such as the majestic Capece Galeota
villa and its hunting lodge, downstream from Monte Tutuli.
To date, archaeological studies of the area have been scarce. The main source dates back to 1930, when Giuseppe Mingazzini
reported the discovery of a road and an adjacent burial. The data on the territory mainly concerns the ager Calenus, examined by
Ferdinando Castagnoli in the 1950s, followed by the group from the Besançon school and by Rita Compatangelo, who re-examined
the limitatio in the 1980s. Preventive excavations were conducted on the planned route of the Italian high-speed railway line
(known as the Treno Alta Velocità - T.A.V.) in 1997: these resulted in the discovery of a villa dating back to the late Republican/
Imperial period in Masseria San Vito (Vitulazio) and a sacred area belonging to the Hellenistic period in Nunziatella (Pastorano).
More recent excavations have been carried out in Torre Lupara, between Pastorano and Vitulazio: in 2024 a road was discovered
there, with an adjoining necropolis.

Keywords: ager Calenus, Vitulazio, Pastorano, limitatio, Capece Galeota villa and hunting lodge, T.A.V.