Luceria

Luceria

Quincunx of 211-208 BC from the mint of Luceria
Location	Canossa, Italy
Type	colonia
Area	10
History
Periods	4th century BC
Cultures	Ligurians, Romans
Site notes
Excavation dates	1776 - 1786, 1861 - 1862
Archaeologists	Angelo Schenoni, Gaetano Chierici

Luceria is an ancient city in the northern Apennines, located in the comune of Canossa in the Province of Reggio Emilia, on the right bank of the river Enza.

The name might derive from lucus, which means "sacred grove".
It is not clear if this was the proper name of the city or if it was called Nuceria.
The little stream which separates Canossa from San Polo d'Enza is still called the Rio Luceria today. The name of this stream is fairly old as it appears in the 1364 property records of Azzo da Correggio as Rivum Luxerae.
The Egyptian astronomer and mathematician Claudius Ptolemy (85-165 AD) describes the position of the city with great precision in his Geographia, indicating the latitude and longitude according to the system he invented, but he calls it Nuceria.

However, Luceria is the best-attested and most used name, even in official documents.

Luceria probably arose as a mercantile centre in the 4th century BC. It was located in Gallia Cispadana, at the meeting point of three important communication routes: the old road which travelled from the River Po along the right bank of the River Enza to the south where it crossed the Apennines to Tuscia; the foothill track which connected the western zone to the east; and the mountain track which led up towards the hills where the Medieval castle would later be built.

The first inhabitants of the place were the Ligurians, probably the Friniati, who developed close ties with the neighbouring Etruscans of Servirola (modern San Polo d'Enza), after some initial hostility. They took advantage of the strategic position of their settlement to trade with settlements which were further afield too.