The four vici of Valpantena: from Roman civilization to the present day

What are "vici"

The Roman influence in the Valpantena area is evident by briefly sifting through the history that characterizes this fascinating area at the foot of the Lessini Mountains. Among the information that comes from the past, the presence of a nucleus of four vici clearly emerges, ancestors of some of the best known places in the local Veneto area.
But what are the neighbors? They too originate from Roman civilization, which included a series of houses and land aggregated together without administrative aegis.
The vici (or vicus) were very varied, and distinguished from each other by the different structures from which they were composed. From castles to cottages to urban ones, in the case of a city habitat.
This type of agglomeration constitutes an important phase in the history of the Valpantena up to the present time.

What and where were they 

As can be deduced from the writings that are found on the ancient period of the area, in Valpantena there were four vici: Vendri, Sezano, Turano and the villa of Folloniano. Four important reference points for the area that have undergone various changes and transformations over time. With the construction of some castles, various key places in the area created their own space and developed over the years, establishing themselves with names that persist even today.
Vico di Turano soon changed its name, becoming Santa Maria in Stelle, still known today for its characteristic church and especially the Pantheon.
Around Villa Foloniano develops one of the centers that today constitutes one of the favorite destinations of the Valpantena, Marzana, together with Grezzana and Poiano.
Today the evolutions of those small agglomerations that have written the history of this valley remain. Vici that set out to become towns.

Today Santa Maria in Stelle

Today a district of the city of Verona, Santa Maria in Stelle probably represents the best example of the evolution that has accompanied the history of the alleys of the Valpantena. Countries in primordial form, in form and in substance, which have found their own path of growth and modernization over the centuries. From Turano to Santa Maria in Stelle in the 11th century, north-east of Verona, a place that welcomes one of the jewels in the cap of the area, the Pantheon (or Hypogeum) next to the Church of Santa Maria Assunta, whose bells welcome visitors to these once vici and now simply modern cradles of welcoming and natural serenity.