Ordona is a small town and ''

comune The (; plural: ) is a local administrative division of Italy, roughly equivalent to a township or municipality. It is the third-level administrative division of Italy, after regions ('' regioni'') and provinces (''province''). The can also ...

'' of the

province of Foggia The Province of Foggia ( it, Provincia di Foggia ; Foggiano: ) is a province in the Apulia (Puglia) region of southern Italy. This province is also known as Daunia, after the Daunians, an Iapygian pre-Roman tribe living in Tavoliere plain, an ...

in the region of

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

in southern

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Geography

Ascoli Satriano Ascoli Satriano (; nap, label= Foggiano, Àsculë) is a town and ''comune ''in the province of Foggia in the Apulia region of southeast Italy. It is located on the edge of a large plain in Northern Apulia known as the Tavoliere delle Puglie.Cur ...

Carapelle Carapelle ( Foggiano: ) is a town and ''comune'' belonging to the Province of Foggia and situated in the Apulia region of southern Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Sou ...

Foggia Foggia (, , ; nap, label= Foggiano, Fògge ) is a city and former ''comune'' of Apulia, in Southern Italy, capital of the province of Foggia. In 2013, its population was 153,143. Foggia is the main city of a plain called Tavoliere, also known ...

Orta Nova Orta Nova is a town and ''comune'' about from Foggia, in the region of Apulia, in southern Italy. It stretches to the southern part of the ''Tavoliere'' (Foggia's plain) on the right bank of the River Carapelle. The origins of the name "Orta" ar ...

Cerignola Cerignola (; nap, label= Cerignolano, Ceregnòule ) is a town and ''comune'' of Apulia, Italy, in the province of Foggia, southeast from the town of Foggia. It has the third-largest land area of any ''comune'' in Italy, at , after Rome and Ra ...

are nearby towns.

History

Ordona lies near the ancient site of ''Herdonia'' or ''Herdoniae'', a Roman town where

Hannibal Hannibal (; xpu, 𐤇𐤍𐤁𐤏𐤋, ''Ḥannibaʿl''; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Pu ...

fought a major battle against the

Roman Army The Roman army (Latin: ) was the armed forces deployed by the Romans throughout the duration of Ancient Rome, from the Roman Kingdom (c. 500 BC) to the Roman Republic (500–31 BC) and the Roman Empire (31 BC–395 AD), and its medieval contin ...

. The ruins of Herdonia were discovered in the years after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, and remain only partially excavated; they are a short drive from the present-day town. The ancient centre, founded by the

Daunians The Daunians ( el, Δαύνιοι, Daúnioi; la, Daunii) were an Iapygian tribe that inhabited northern Apulia in classical antiquity. Two other Iapygian tribes, the Peucetians and the Messapians, inhabited central and southern Apulia respectiv ...

, immediately enjoyed a noteworthy development and saw its maximum splendour. Its economic decline began during the 4th Century BC. The construction of defensive walls during this period suggests a period of battles with other centres in the region, probably comprising clashes with the Greek hegemonic cities in the territory, among them neighbouring Taranto. It passed over to the Romans, with the rest of Apulia, after the wars of the Greek-Messapian League, commanded by King

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus (; grc-gre, Πύρρος ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. '' Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he be ...

(280-275 BC). Herdonia was a protagonist during the Second Punic War (219-202 BC) and in particular, during the events linked to the war's most famous battle at Cannae on 2 August 216 BC. According to the Roman historian

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in ...

, after the Battle of Cannae the City passed to Hannibal, but then was soon recovered by the Romans, in 214 BC; it was taken once more by the Carthaginian General Hannibal who demolished it completely and saw its population transferred to Metaponto and Turi. From this moment on, the city did not recover until its insertion along the

Via Traiana Via Appia ''(white)'' and Via Traiana ''(red)'' The Via Traiana was an ancient Roman road. It was built by the emperor Trajan as an extension of the Via Appia from Beneventum, reaching Brundisium (Brindisi) by a shorter route (i.e. via Canusi ...

route, a coastal alternative of the

Via Appia The Appian Way (Latin and Italian: ''Via Appia'') is one of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic. It connected Rome to Brindisi, in southeast Italy. Its importance is indicated by its common name, ...

(Appian Way), at the beginning of the 2nd Century AD. Today’s central habitation began in the 9th Century, but had difficulties in developing due to terrible conditions in the territory. In fact, during the Medieval era, the

Tavoliere delle Puglie 300px, The Tavoliere seen from the Gargano promontory. The Tavoliere delle Puglie (; ) is a plain in northern Apulia, southern Italy, occupying nearly a half of the Capitanata traditional region. It covers a surface of c. 3,000 km², once c ...

(Apulian Table) lost its agricultural vocation and became a main transhumance for sheep arriving from all of central Italy. The Jesuits took over the centre and tried to push Ordona’s economy by reclaiming part of its territory and allowing families to settle here. In 1774, Ordona became part of Royal Bourbon property, allowing important new reclamation work to take place throughout the entire 19th Century. Remains from the Roman Erdonia are situated in the following areas: the Forum, the Augustea Basilica, a part of the Via Traiana route where one can visit the remains of shops and the Market (Macellum), the remains of a temple from the Imperial era, the Amphitheatre and thermal baths with mosaic flooring. Below this level, in the area of the Basilica, finds uncovered tombs and houses from the Daunian city. The diffusion of Christianity is testified by the remains of a Paleochristian Basilica from the 6th Century AD. Today’s digs have still not touched all the various levels and the Herdonia site could still reserve many surprises for archaeologists and enthusiastic visitors.

Economy

Ordona's economy is agricultural.

References

{{authority control Cities and towns in Apulia