San Salvo: Archaeology under the stars

 ...  among archaeology, crafts and food the walking tours starts to discover the historical center of San Salvo, including .

The Archaeological Park of the Quadrilateral is located in the heart of the historical center of San Salvo; it's  made up of seven sites of historical and archaeological interest.

The Civic Museum Porta della Terra (Earth Gate) collects and presents some of the findings from the  San Salvo area. The finds on display have been selected on the basis of a coherent path, which proceeds backward in time from the Middle Ages to the Archaic period (sixth century BC), by way of settings marked by medieval and Roman walls.

The Museo  dell’Abbazia  (Abbey Museum)  and the Centro di Documentazione dell’Ordine Benedettino Cistercense fra Trigno ed Osento (Documentation Centre of the Benedictine and Cistercian in the Trigno-Osento area) collect artifacts and documents relating to the Benedictine presence in the southern Abruzzo, with particular reference to the Cistercian Abbey of San Vito e San Salvo. The Museum offers insights on some aspects of the millennial history of the Benedictine order: the differences between monks and conversi, the Food, the Prayer, the Work, the Chants, the Medicine, the Settlements, the Arts and Architecture. In the Museum is also preserved a photographic copy of the Chronicon Casauriense, the most important source for the reconstruction of the medieval history of Abruzzo. The original copy of the Chronicon is now preserved in the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris.

The Chiesa di San Giuseppe (Church of St. Joseph) in the Middle Ages was the church of the Benedictine monastery of San Salvo (XII century) and then of the Cistercian abbey of Saints Vito and Salvo (late thirteenth century) until the fifteenth century, when the monks abandoned it.

In the Isola Archeologica del Chiostro there are both Roman and medieval remains. There are Remains of a Roman Impluviu while of the cloister of abbey of San Vito and San Salvo is visible the concrete platform on which there was the well curb, which was covered with a roof supported by four pillars.

In the Isola Archeologica of Mosaic there are visible remains of Roman and medieval structures, including a boundary wall in two-color opus reticulatum (first century AD), a small temple, a room with a polychrome mosaic floor (IIII-IV century AD) and foundations of the building of the Quadrilateral (late thirteenth century),  set on the mighty walls perhaps belonging to a mausoleum of the third century.

The subterranean aqueduct of San Salvo crosses the Quadrilateral about 7 feet deep and feeds the "Old Fountain". Identified in 2001 and so far explored for about 90 meters, it is a monumental work still functioning. Thanks to the complex survey work carried out from the inside, up to today  two of the wells belonging to the monument have been located and brought to light: one rectangular and the other, totally original, pentagonal visible near the Isola Archeologica del Chiostro.

The Archaeological Park of the Quadrilateral promotes awareness of its historical and archaeological heritage and organizes activities on cultural heritage in general. The Archaeological Park of the Quadrilateral is one of the venues of the Center for Experimental Archaeology (CCSA), which since 2000 operates in accordance with the local authorities and with the Superintendence for Archaeological Heritage of Abruzzo and Molise.