Il paesaggio della Via Traiana nel Tavoliere settentrionale: continuità storiche e trasformazioni contemporanee

ANDREA DE MARTINO

DOI:https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22146542

Abstract

This study examines the transformations of the historic landscape along the Via Traiana, in the section between Masseria San Vito and Herdonia (province of Foggia, southern Italy). Situated at the intersection of landscape archaeology and territorial analysis, the research aims to assess how recent economic and infrastructural developments have reshaped a territory historically structured around the Roman road network. Through the analysis of known archaeological evidence, supplemented by data obtained from institutional geoportals and processed in a GIS environment, the study reconstructs the settlement system that developed along the ancient route and its relationship with the agricultural landscape of the Tavoliere plain. Particular attention is paid to the areas of Aecae (Troia) and Herdonia (Ordona), two key nodes within the Roman road network. The analysis highlights how the historic rural landscape, characterised by a long continuity of settlement and agricultural activity, is currently undergoing profound transformations, primarily associated with the development of renewable energy facilities. In particular, the widespread installation of wind farms and photovoltaic plants has significantly altered the visual and spatial characteristics of the area. The paper therefore offers an interpretative assessment of these recent dynamics, examining the relationship between archaeological evidence and contemporary processes of landscape transformation.

Keywords

Via Traiana; landscape; rural settlements; preventive archaeology; cultural landscape

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